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China Coast Guard strengthens crackdown on maritime crimes

Xinhua) 08:11, January 27, 2025

BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The China Coast Guard (CCG) has strengthened its efforts to combat maritime crimes over the past year, handling a large number of smuggling and drug cases, the CCG said on Sunday.

The CCG handled a total of 601 smuggling cases and dismantled 32 criminal gangs in 2024, according to a themed interview on maritime law enforcement.

Efforts were made to take the initiative in the fight against drug crimes at sea, the CCG said, noting that five drug-related cases were solved and 3.8 tonnes of narcotics were seized in 2024.

An operation aimed at maintaining border security and immigration management was also launched in collaboration with immigration authorities last year, the CCG said.

More than 20 cases of people organizing illegal border crossings were uncovered in the operation, with over 130 criminal suspects apprehended.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
North Korea has test-fired sea-to-surface strategic guided cruise missiles, state news agency KCNA reported Sunday, adding that the weapons "precisely" hit their targets.

"The war deterrence means of the armed forces of the DPRK are being perfected more thoroughly", North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said as he oversaw Saturday's test, the agency reported.

The missiles hit their marks after travelling along the 1,500-kilometre (930-mile) elliptical and figure-eight orbits, the report said, adding that there was "no negative impact on the security of neighbouring countries".

KCNA did not say where the test took place.

The weapons test by Pyongyang was the first since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House on Monday. Shortly before his inauguration, North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea.

Trump, who had a rare series of meetings with Kim during his first term in office, said in an interview aired Thursday that he would reach out to Kim again, calling the North Korean leader a "smart guy".

The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950 to 1953 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.

On Sunday, KCNA carried a statement from North Korea's foreign ministry criticising Washington and Seoul for carrying out joint military drills in recent days.

"The reality stresses that the DPRK should counter the US with the toughest counteraction from A to Z as long as it refuses the sovereignty and security interests of the DPRK," the statement said, referring to North Korea by its official acronym.

"This is the best option for dealing with the US."

Such joint military exercises regularly infuriate the nuclear-armed North, which decries them as rehearsals for invasion.

In late October, North Korea test-fired what it said was its most advanced and powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It then fired a salvo of short-range ballistic missiles days later.

US and South Korean intelligence also believe that North Korea started in October to send thousands of troops to fight against Ukraine and has since suffered hundreds of casualties.

Neither North Korea nor Russia has officially confirmed that Pyongyang's forces are fighting for Moscow.
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Malibu, CA, Jan 27, 2025 AEST (ABN Newswire) - In this segment of The Ellis Martin Report and Money Talk Radio we speak with Roger Rosmus, CEO of Goliath Resources ( CVE:GOT ) ( GOTRF:OTCMKTS ) as the company reports drilling remarkable hole assaying 34.52 g/t AuEq (1.11 oz/T AuEq) over 39.00 Meters, including 132.93 g/t AuEq (4.27 oz/T AuEq) over 10.00 meters, plus several high-grade holes with multiple intercepts, system remains wide open, Golden Triangle, B.C. assays pending for 89 out of 105 drill holes.



Mr. Rosmus explains why this company may be considered a potential upside opportunity as the market recognizes perhaps the biggest find in Western Canada since Essay Creek.



To Listen to the Interview, please visit:

https://www.abnnewswire.net/lnk/18XL180M





About Goliath Resources Limited





Goliath Resources Limited (CVE:GOT) (OTCMKTS:GOTRF) (FRA:B4IF) is a junior resource exploration company of precious metal projects in the prolific Golden Triangle and north-western areas of British Columbia.

The Company is on track with a new discovery of a large high-grade gold system at its Golddigger property that was never drilled before in the Golden Triangle of B.C.; it remains open. The Surebet discovery was never explored or drilled before due to previous glacier and permanent snowpack covering it. The project is located in a world-class geological setting and mining friendly jurisdiction. The Golddigger property sits on tidewater and has excellent infrastructure with a permitted mill site in Kitsault nearby.

Significant shareholders include Crescat Capital, Mr. Eric Sprott, Mr. Rob McEwen and a Global Commodity Group based in Singapore; Dr. Quinton Hennigh is a technical advisor.

About The Ellis Martin Report

The Ellis Martin Report (TEMR) is an internet based radio program showcasing potentially undervalued companies to an audience of potential retail investors and fund managers that comprise our listening audience. TEMR is broadcasted on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel and The Opportunity Radio Network. CEO and company interviews are paid for by those represented on the program.

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Damage caused by storms and flooding is covered by most standard home insurance and commercial business policies, and comprehensive motor insurance. Louise Clark, Senior Policy Adviser for General Insurance at the ABI, said: Insurers expect bad weather at any time and their first priority right now is to help their affected customers recover as quickly as possible. If you do suffer damage to your property or vehicle, contact your insurer as soon as you can for help and advice. If your property has suffered damage as a result of storm force winds: Contact your insurer as soon as possible. Most will have 24-hour emergency helplines to ensure you get advice on what to do and arrange repairs as quickly as is possible. If necessary, arrange temporary emergency repairs to stop any damage getting worse, but speak to your insurer first. If you have to arrange emergency repairs yourself, tell your insurer and keep any receipts, as this will form part of your claim. Do not be in a rush to throw away damaged items, unless they are a danger to health, as these may be able to be repaired or restored. Your insurer will advise. If your property has flooded, heres our six flood recovery steps: Step 1 - Contact your insurer as soon as possible. They will advise you on arranging emergency accommodation if necessary (or any temporary alternative trading premises if you are a business with business interruption cover), the information they will need from you to support your claim, and how to go ahead with the immediate clean-up and repair process.

Step 2 - Assessing the damage and finding temporary accommodation. A loss adjuster will be appointed to assess the claim. An initial assessment of the damage will be done, the repair process explained and the options for alternative accommodation outlined. You should expect to hear from your loss adjuster after contacting your insurer and they will get in touch if they need to arrange a visit to your home. Step 3 - Cleaning and stripping out. Your loss adjuster will organise the cleaning and stripping out of your home. This work should start within four weeks of discussing it with your loss adjuster. Step 4 - Disinfecting and drying your home. Your insurer or loss adjuster will appoint a drying company to disinfect and dry out your home. This can take from a few weeks to several months. Your loss adjuster will give you a timetable and keep you informed. Step 5 - Repair and reconstruction. Repair work should begin shortly after you get your drying certificate from the drying company. Your loss adjuster will appoint a builder to do the repair and reconstruction work and will keep you updated on expected timeframes. You can also ask your insurer if you are eligible for Build Back Better, which can include installing property flood resilience measures as part of flood repairs. Step 6 - Moving back into your home. Your insurer or loss adjuster will discuss with you when you can return home. Depending on how badly damaged your home is, this can be between a few weeks and a year or more after the flood. If your home is uninhabitable while repairs are being carried out your insurer will arrange for, and pay the cost of, any alternative temporary accommodation you may need in line with your policy. Commercial polices may cover damage to premises and stock. Business interruption cover (which may be included or purchased separately) will cover additional trading costs, such as hiring temporary alternative trading premises if necessary. Read our full guidance on coping with storm damage here. Our guide to recovering from a flood and what to expect from your insurer can be found here.
Weekend press reports such as on Sky suggested that her speech will indicate support for measures to make it easier for sponsors of Defined Benefit pension schemes to extra surplus funds, in light of the dramatic improvement in scheme funding in recent years. This follows on from a Government consultation in early 2024 on potential reforms to the DB funding regime, to which there has so far been no formal response. At present, surplus funds can generally only be extracted when a scheme winds up, and the exact rules about how this can be done and who benefits from the surplus vary from scheme to scheme. Last year the Government consulted on allowing a statutory over-ride of scheme rules to make it easier for employers to extra surplus funds, including while the scheme is continuing to run on. With many large schemes considering running on, rather than buying out all of their liabilities with an insurer at the earliest opportunity, this offers the potential of a release of funds to employers sooner, thereby boosting the economy, and also generating tax revenue for the government on extracted surpluses. The added incentives for employers may also facilitate DB schemes investing a little more productively, offering further potential to support the UK economy. However, trustees will need to be confident that member benefits will not be put at risk. It is yet to be seen what accompanying measures will be implemented to protect scheme members, nor what role trustees will take in permitting the release of any surplus. LCP partner Steve Hodder, who has helped to lead industry wide discussions on these issues and has also discussed them with the Government said: It is very welcome that the Government is looking seriously at allowing greater flexibility for well-funded DB pension schemes. These schemes collectively offer vast potential to further support not only their own members and their sponsors, but also the UK economy. The key to success will be to ensure comprehensive protection of member benefits to give trustees the required confidence. One route which would ensure all well funded schemes could access these new freedoms would be a 100% underpin from the Pension Protection Fund, subject to certain conditions. But time is of the essence, and the Government needs to give a clear sign now to schemes that this is on the agenda, otherwise final decisions will be made and the opportunity will be missed.


Hymans Robertson releases latest LGPS National Knowledge Assessment (NKA). This latest review, the 2024 National Knowledge Assessment, was the largest to date, with 22 Funds and over 250 members participating. The NKA provides an opportunity for LGPS Funds to assess the knowledge levels of their Committee and Board members, benchmarked against other participating LGPS Funds. It covers eight topics, including financial markets, investment performance, and pensions governance and administration. Knowledge of pensions governance, along with Committee Role and legislation, were found to be the two highest scoring sections (77%). Next was investment performance and risk management (74%). Since the 2022 assessment, the average overall score has increased by 11% and knowledge levels are up in five of the eight topics assessed. The results also show that the Board outscored the Committee in all eight areas covered by the NKA  a consistent trend across previous assessments. Analysis of the results also shows that experience matters; scores increased with the length of service completed by the member. Commenting on the increased governance knowledge of Boards and Committees at LGPS Funds, Alan Johnson, Governance Consultant, Hymans Robertson, says: Given the importance placed on governance and decision making in the Pensions Regulators General Code of Practice released in 2024, its reassuring to see this reflected in the high NKA scores in these areas. At the other end of the spectrum, its perhaps unsurprising to see Actuarial Methods as the lowest scoring topic. It has been two years since the last valuation exercise. With the actuarial valuations for English and Welsh Funds commencing this year, we would expect an increased awareness and focus on this subject during upcoming Committee and Board meetings. Scottish funds will be doing their next valuations in 2026, so we would anticipate a similar focus in the lead up to that valuation. Commenting on the next steps for LGPS Funds, Alan adds: While the NKA looks at the aggregate position of the 22 Funds who took part, significant value lies in the Fund-specific results. These allows Funds to tailor their training plans and strategies. The most important step for Funds is to ensure they have a detailed, manageable training plan in place for their Committees and Boards. We recommend that individual learning is tracked, for example noting attendance in each session. A good training strategy and plan will build a stronger base of knowledge within Committees and Boards. Another important consideration for Funds moving forwards is to assess which tools they have available  and ensuring they utilise a wide variety of training collateral. This will help to keep members engaged and focussed. Consistently assessing the engagement and training strategy will help Funds build on their knowledge which has increased over the past two years.
ABP Majha, Maharashtras leading Marathi news channel, hosted the Shourya Puraskar 2025 to celebrate the indomitable spirit of bravery and selflessness. Organised on the occasion of Republic Day, January 26, in Mumbai, this esteemed event paid tribute to the unsung heroes of Maharashtra who have shown extraordinary courage and humanity in critical situations, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of others.

ABP Majhas Shourya Puraskar 2025 honoured a remarkable group of individuals whose actions exemplify valour and altruism, significantly impacting their communities. The awards ceremony was graced by distinguished Chief Guests Vivek Phansalkar, Police Commissioner of Mumbai, and acclaimed actor Vaidehi Parshurami, who presented the awards to these exceptional individuals, celebrating their extraordinary contributions to society.

This years awardees include Karina Thapa, who entered a blazing house fire to help others escape; Sumra Umar Shamsi, who displayed remarkable bravery by confronting an armed thief and preventing a robbery at her home; Yogesh Pathve, who fearlessly confronted a leopard to protect his friends life; Pournima Choudhary, who risked her life by jumping into a river to rescue a drowning youth; and Taibai Pawar and Chhaburao Pawar, who demonstrated exceptional courage in saving youths from drowning in a river.

Also honoured were Suraj Machale, who saved five children from drowning in a farm pond Pandharinath Bodkhe and Dinkar Pawar, who saved a child from a leopard attack; and lastly Arif Bamne, who rescued 25 passengers from a capsized boat in the open sea. Each of these heroes was celebrated for their exemplary bravery, quick thinking, and unwavering dedication to aiding others in perilous circumstances.

ABP Majhas Shourya Puraskar stands as a heartfelt tribute to these extraordinary individuals, whose actions often remain unheralded yet profoundly inspire. Through this initiative, ABP Majha reaffirms its commitment to highlighting the spirit of heroism, encouraging others to rise above adversity with courage and selflessness.

This event was Co-powered by Nippo Swooper and Mulkani Kuka Cough Syrup.
Adani Wilmar Limited (AWL), one of Indias fastest-growing FMCG companies, achieved outstanding financial results in Q3 FY25.

The companys operating EBITDA stood at 2,390 crore and PAT at 1,192 crore on a TTM basis, underscoring its sustained profitability momentum. Speaking on the results, Angshu Mallick, MD & CEO of Adani Wilmar Limited, noted, Our revenue grew 31% YoY to 16,859 crore, driven by strong performances in edible oils and Food & FMCG. We have delivered record profits for five consecutive quarters, with Q3 marking a particularly exceptional milestone.





Edible Oils

In Q3, our edible oil volume grew by 4% YoY and recorded revenue of INR 13,387, up by 38% YoY. Branded sales declined in low single digits, primarily due to double-digit decline in packed palm oil sales and downtrading by consumers. Branded sales increased across all other edible oils. To strengthen consumer connections, we introduced special packs of soybean oil in Bihar to celebrate Chhath Puja, an important festival in the region. AWL won two awards from Mad Over Marketing  winner of Best Regional Campaign for its Ilish Campaign in West Bengal and Runners up for Best OOH for an Occasion.

Food & FMCG

The Food & FMCG segment recorded revenue of INR 1,558 crores in Q3, up by 22% YoY. The segment continued to experience double-digit growth in both General Trade and E-commerce channels. Bundling our low-penetration products with fast-selling items continued to drive consumer trials and adoption. On LTM basis, the segment recorded revenue of ~INR 6,150 crores.

In wheat flour, we outpaced industry growth and gained market share during the current financial year. The introduction of small pack sizes (up to 2-KG) continued to play a key role in driving strong growth in the South and West regions.

In rice, the Company is working on its supply chain to improve product availability in the market. The Kohinoor brand also launched a video series on social media, featuring renowned food critic and historian, Padma Shri Dr. Pushpesh Pant, narrating the stories behind various recipes made with Basmati rice.

Industry Essentials

In Q3, the Industry Essentials segments revenue increased by 4% YoY to INR 1,915 crores. The lower sale in castor meals and oil meal led to a decline in the segments volume during the quarter.

Commenting on the results, Angshu Mallick, MD & CEO, Adani Wilmar Limited said, The Companys revenue grew by 31% YoY to INR 16,859 crores. We have delivered another strong quarter, with double-digit growth in both edible oils and Food & FMCG segments. The edible oils revenue grew by 38% YoY and the Food & FMCG revenue grew by 22% YoY."

The Company has been delivering strong profits over the last five quarters. We have delivered record profits during the quarter, with EBTIDA at INR 792 crores and PAT at INR 411 crores. This has led to best-ever trailing-twelve-months (TTM) performance with operating EBITDA at INR 2,390 crores and PAT at INR 1,192 crores on TTM basis. Our overall Food & FMCG business has crossed INR 6,150 crores on TTM basis and we stay committed to building a very large packaged food business in India. The Company has been becoming stronger and more diversified. Most of our strategies have been yielding positive results. Our edible oils have gained market share in underindexed markets and under-indexed categories like Sunflower oil and Mustard Oil. In wheat flour, we outpaced industry growth during the year.

Additionally, the company has significantly expanded its direct rural coverage crossing 43,000 rural towns as of December 24, up from 5,000 towns in March 2022, positioning us well for future growth. E-commerce revenue has grown by 41% YoY on TTM basis. The company has made strong inroads in the South, with a 15% YoY volume growth in branded products during Q3. Additionally, the 'Fortune' brand is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a year-long series of consumer campaigns to mark this significant milestone.
Israeli troops fired at residents of south Lebanon on Sunday, killing two and wounding 32, health officials said, as hundreds of people tried to return to their homes on the deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from the area.

Israel was all but certain to miss Sunday's deadline, which is part of a ceasefire agreement that ended its war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group two months ago.

The deal that took effect on November 27 said the Lebanese army was to deploy alongside United Nations peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period.

That period ends on Sunday.

Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli forces had opened fire in at least two border towns on "citizens who were trying to return to their villages", killing two and wounding 32.

The ministry had previously said the "aggression" had centred on the two villages of Houla and Kfar Kila.

Earlier, Lebanon's official National News Agency had reported that Israeli fire wounded several people in Kfar Kila "who crossed the barrier and checkpoint put in place by the occupation army", referring to Israel.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued a message earlier on Sunday to residents of more than 60 villages in southern Lebanon, including Kfar Kila and Houla, telling them not to return.

AFP journalists said convoys of vehicles carrying hundreds of people were trying to return to several villages despite the military's continued presence.

AFPTV live images from Kfar Kila showed crowds gathered, some with yellow Hezbollah flags, near Lebanese security vehicles that blocked a road near a petrol station.

Beyond them sat another military vehicle on an empty stretch of the road.

On Saturday, the Lebanese army said a delay in implementing the agreement was the "result of the procrastination in the withdrawal from the Israeli enemy's side".

Israeli forces have left coastal areas of southern Lebanon, but are still present in areas further east.

The ceasefire deal stipulates that Hezbollah pull back its forces north of the Litani River -- about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border -- and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday that "the ceasefire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the Lebanese state", so the military's withdrawal would continue beyond the Sunday deadline.

"The withdrawal process is conditional upon the Lebanese army deploying in southern Lebanon and fully and effectively enforcing the agreement, with Hezbollah withdrawing beyond the Litani River," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.

It added that "the gradual withdrawal process will continue in full coordination with the United States", a key ally and one of the monitors of the ceasefire.

The Lebanese army said it was "ready to continue its deployment as soon as the Israeli enemy withdraws".

Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayad said on Saturday that Israel's "excuses" were a pretext to "pursue a scorched earth policy" in border areas that would make the return of displaced residents impossible.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who took office earlier this month, spoke on Saturday with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, whose government is also involved in overseeing the truce.

According to a statement from his office, Aoun spoke of the "need to oblige Israel to respect the terms of the deal in order to maintain stability in the south".

Aoun also said Israel must "end its successive violations, including the destruction of border villages... which would prevent the return of residents".

Macron's office, in its summary of the conversation, said the French president had called on all parties to the ceasefire to honour their commitments as soon as possible.

On January 17, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for Israel to end its military operations and "occupation" in the south.

The fragile ceasefire has generally held, even as the warring sides have repeatedly traded accusations of violating it.

The Israeli military has continued to carry out frequent strikes that it says targeted Hezbollah fighters, and Lebanese state media has reported that Israeli forces were carrying out demolitions in villages they control.

The November 27 deal ended two months of full-scale war that had followed months of low-intensity exchanges.

Hezbollah began trading cross-border fire with the Israeli army the day after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by its Palestinian ally Hamas, which triggered the war in Gaza.

Israel intensified its campaign against Hezbollah in September, launching a series of devastating blows against the group's leadership and killing its longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah warned on Thursday that "any violation of the 60-day deadline will be considered a flagrant violation" of the ceasefire agreement and "an infringement on Lebanese sovereignty".

The group refrained from any threat to resume attacks on Israel but said the Lebanese state should use "all means necessary... to restore the land and wrest it from the clutches of the occupation".
Bajaj Group is has announced the launch of its Republic Day campaign, Bajaj Elevate India  Viksit Bharat Dhyeya Hamara, celebrating its long-standing commitment to empowering rural communities. As part of the campaign, the group will release five teaser videos followed by a 28-minute CSR film, which will air on DD Kisan channel on 26th January at 4:00 PM. The film will also be available on Bajaj Group's YouTube channel.

The film highlights the transformative work of the Bajaj Foundation, the CSR arm of Bajaj Group, operating through the Jamnalal Kaniram Bajaj Trust in Sikar, Rajasthan, and the Kamalnayan Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation in Wardha, Maharashtra, and Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh. Over the past 15 years, these trusts have positively impacted more than 5 lakh families and touched the lives of over 22 lakh individuals by addressing challenges like water scarcity, farmer suicides, and rural poverty through their key initiatives driving sustainable agriculture, water resource management, women empowerment, livelihood opportunities and skills development for the youth.

Commenting on the campaign, Shri Shishir Bajaj, Chairman of Bajaj Foundation and patriarch of Bajaj Group, stated, "As the grandson of Shri Jamnalal Bajaj, a visionary who championed rural empowerment, and the son of Shri Kamalnayan Bajaj, I feel honored to continue their mission of nation-building and self-reliance. Together with my sons, Kushagra Bajaj and Apoorv Bajaj, we are committed to creating sustainable, self-reliant communities. I am happy that DD Kisan has decided to telecast our film on their channel that has a dedicated viewer base from our countrys farming community. Our aim is to reach out to each and every Indian primarily our rural communities and inspire them to become self-reliant problem solvers in this era of growth and collaboration. I urge to watch our film and associate with Bajaj Groups enduring commitment to a Viksit Bharat envisioned under the leadership of our honourable prime minister Shri Narendra Modi.

Key Highlights of Bajaj Foundations Work include

Rejuvenated 245 rivers and constructed over 8,000 water-harvesting structures, benefiting 90,000+ families.

Trained 1.25 lakh farmers in natural farming and made 1.6 lakh acres chemical-free.

Formed 4,421 Self-Help Groups (SHGs), benefitting 56,000+ families and promoting womens empowerment.

Supported in the establishment of over 40 Farmer Producer Organisations across Maharashtra and Rajasthan that have over 10000+ shareholders turning farmers to Agro entrepreneurs.

Installed 6,000+ biogas plants and distributed 4,000+ solar units to support renewable energy in rural areas.

Regular health camps and mobile dispensaries have reached 37,000+ villagers.

Bajaj Group, led by Group Chairman Kushagra Bajaj, is a diversified conglomerate with a rich legacy in both business and philanthropy. Its flagship entities include:

Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Limited: Indias one of the largest sugar and ethanol manufacturing company with a sugarcane crushing capacity of 1.36 lakh tonnes per day, producing 800 Kilo Litres of Ethanol per day.

Bajaj Consumer Care: A leading name in the FMCG sector with popular brands like Bajaj Almond Drops Hair Oil and Bajaj 100% Pure Oils.

Bajaj Energy along with Lalitpur Power generation Company Limited: A prominent player in the thermal power generation industry producing 2430MWs in Uttar Pradesh.

While driving industrial growth, the Bajaj Group remains deeply rooted in its social responsibility ethos, aligning its business practices with the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) and Viksit Bharat (developed India).

Also Read: Bajaj Group appoints Sanjay Ojha as Vice President -Corporate Communications
The Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj is seeing an extraordinary surge in pilgrim attendance, with over 10 crore devotees already taking the holy dip at the Triveni Sangam as of January 23, 2025. The highest single-day turnout occurred on Makar Sankranti (January 14), when around 3.5 crore devotees bathed at the sacred confluence.

This years Maha Kumbh is especially significant due to the rare celestial configurations that occur only once every 144 years, adding to its spiritual magnitude and attracting an unprecedented number of attendees. To accommodate the anticipated 400 million visitors, authorities have deployed cutting-edge technologies like facial recognition and AI-powered software to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants.

As the worlds largest spiritual gathering, the Maha Kumbh Mela has evolved into a powerful platform for brands to engage with millions of devotees, blending cultural significance with modern offerings. From sustainability initiatives to innovative technological solutions, brands are creatively aligning their values with the events rich spiritual and cultural traditions.

Nestle MAGGI: Togetherness and Sustainability with 2 Minutes Apno Ke Liye

Nestle MAGGI has unveiled its 2 Minutes Apno Ke Liye campaign, designed to foster connections and create cherished memories during the Maha Kumbh. MAGGI has set up MAGGI Corners, which serve as resting pods where pilgrims can gather, share stories, and enjoy MAGGI meals. The campaign also emphasizes sustainability by honoring waste management professionals (safai karamcharis), providing them with meals and blankets to support their efforts in keeping the event clean.

Rupali Rattan, Director, Foods, Nestle India, shares, This Maha Kumbh, Nestle MAGGI brings people together with its campaign, 2 Minutes Apno Ke Liye. A beloved part of Indian households for over four decades, MAGGI has always been a symbol of togetherness. Through this campaign, MAGGI will set up MAGGI Corners  resting pods for people at the Kumbh Mela to create spaces where people can connect, share stories, and make meaningful memories. In addition, MAGGI is also reaffirming its commitment to responsible waste management. Honoring the community of waste management professionals, who work tirelessly to keep the Kumbh Mela clean, MAGGI will provide them with MAGGI meals and blankets to help them stay warm during the winter.



Parle Products: Logistical Excellence Meets Cultural Significance

Parle Products sees the Maha Kumbh as an unparalleled opportunity to engage with millions of attendees. To cater to the expected demand, the brand has ramped up production and optimized its supply chain to ensure seamless availability of its products across the event.

Mayank Shah, Vice President, Parle Products, remarks, Kumbh Mela is more than a spiritual gathering; its a rare opportunity to engage with consumers in a culturally significant way. Our proactive logistical efforts are aimed at enhancing the experience of devotees and ensuring our products are accessible.



DS Group: Innovative Branding with a Spiritual Touch

The Dharampal Satyapal Group (DS Group), a leading FMCG conglomerate, has introduced a range of thoughtful initiatives at the MahaKumbh 2025 to connect deeply with millions of attendees while honoring the events spiritual essence.

Showcasing its brands Pulse, Pass Pass, Catch, and KSheer, the group has launched innovative efforts, including branded boats for convenient ghat access, Pulse-branded Kalash (water pots) for collecting sacred river water, and Pulse-branded umbrellas and bags for pilgrims. Catch Salt and Spices has tied up with over 100 dhabas and five large-format ashrams while launching the Sangam Ki Goonj campaign, integrating digital and physical bell-ringing to combine spiritual symbolism with the joy of a meal.

Speaking on the significance of these efforts, Rajeev Jain, Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing, DS Group, says, The Maha Kumbh Mela presents an unparalleled cultural and spiritual event, providing brands with a unique opportunity to connect deeply with consumers. These initiatives aim to enhance the experiences of attendees while fostering connections that resonate beyond the event. Our focus is to stay relevant for our consumers while seamlessly blending our brand with Indian traditions to leave a lasting impact.





Through such meaningful activities, DS Group is enriching the MahaKumbh experience and leaving an indelible impression on pilgrims.

Sri Sri Tattva: Ayurveda Meets Spirituality

Sri Sri Tattva, a leading wellness brand, has brought the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda to the MahaKumbh 2025 by offering free Ayurvedic consultations to devotees. With a team of Ayurvedic doctors stationed at multiple locations, the brand provides personalized health advice, lifestyle recommendations, and remedies, attending to up to 100 patients daily. To further enrich the pilgrim experience, Sri Sri Tattva is also offering instant herbal refreshments, including Ojasvita, herbal teas, cookies, and a range of trusted Ayurveda products.

Arvind Varchaswi, MD, Sri Sri Tattva, shares, Participating in the Maha Kumbh 2025 is a humbling experience for Sri Sri Tattva. This initiative beautifully combines the essence of Maha Kumbh with the timeless science of Ayurveda, working towards a shared goal of spiritual cleansing and harmony with nature. At Sri Sri Tattva, our mission has always been to make Ayurveda and wellness accessible to everyone. The Maha Kumbh provides a unique platform to contribute by offering holistic health solutions to thousands of devotees.





This thoughtful initiative underscores Sri Sri Tattvas commitment to promoting wellness, enabling visitors to embrace natural health solutions while immersing themselves in the spiritual significance of the Maha Kumbh.

Haleon: Promoting Health and Wellness

Haleon (formerly GSK Consumer Healthcare) is making a powerful impact at the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, with its multi-brand health and wellness activations aimed at promoting better everyday health. Through its trusted brands  Sensodyne, Centrum Ostocalcium, Iodex, and ENO  the company is offering free healthcare services such as dental screenings, bone density tests, soothing massages, and quick relief for digestive issues.

Anurita Chopra, Chief Marketing Officer, Haleon ISC, highlights the importance of this initiative, stating, The Maha Kumbh Mela offers a unique platform to deliver better everyday health with humanity. Through education and affordability, we empower individuals to take proactive steps toward their well-being, contributing to a healthier and more prosperous India. Sensodyne continues to lead Indias oral healthcare agenda, ensuring quality oral care is accessible for all.



Blinkit: Hyperlocal Convenience for Pilgrims

Blinkit has launched a 100 sq. ft. temporary store at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj to cater to the needs of pilgrims and tourists. Offering a wide range of essentials such as pooja items, fresh produce, blankets, and more, the store is strategically located to serve key areas like Arail Tent City, Dome City, ITDC Luxury Camp, and Devrakh.

Albinder Dhindsa, CEO, Blinkit, informs, Weve opened a temporary Blinkit store at the Maha Kumbh Mela to provide essential items to pilgrims. Our specially curated assortment includes pooja items, milk, curd, fruits and vegetables for both self-consumption and daan, chargers, power banks, towels, blankets, bedsheets, and more. We also have Triveni Sangam Jal bottles in stock. 





Dhindsa adds, We are thrilled to serve devotees at the Maha Kumbh with our hyperlocal delivery model, ensuring their journey is as convenient and comfortable as possible.

This initiative showcases Blinkits commitment to enhancing the experience of attendees by providing timely access to essential products at the worlds largest spiritual gathering.

ITC Mangaldeep: AR-Powered Devotional Engagement

ITC Mangaldeep is transforming spiritual experiences for Maha Kumbh 2025 by integrating 3D Augmented Reality (AR) technology. This initiative allows devotees to virtually immerse themselves in sacred rituals like the Shahi Snaan (royal bath), Deep Daan (lamp offering), and Aarti (prayer ceremony), bringing the divine to their homes. By combining timeless traditions with modern technology, Mangaldeep enriches devotion and extends access to one of the worlds largest spiritual gatherings, which will attract over 400 million devotees in 2025.

Recognizing that many cannot attend in person, Mangaldeeps AR-powered initiative bridges the gap, ensuring the Maha Kumbhs transformative spirit reaches global audiences.

Gaurav Tayal, Divisional CEO, Matches and Agarbatti Division, ITC, comments, The Maha Kumbh is a profound confluence of faith, tradition, and spirituality. At ITC Mangaldeep, we are honored to bring this sacred experience closer to millions who may not physically attend. This pioneering initiative underscores ITC Mangaldeeps commitment to innovation, inclusivity, and cultural preservation, blending ancient traditions with cutting-edge technology to create a transformative spiritual experience.



Remidio: Transforming Vision Health at Netrakumbh

Health-tech innovator Remidio, in collaboration with Sun Pharma and the Sankara Eye Foundation, is leading the Netrakumbh initiative to tackle vision impairment. Using AI-driven technology, the initiative is screening 500,000 individuals and providing solutions for improved eye health. With over 170,000 scans already conducted, Netrakumbh demonstrates how scalable technology can address public health challenges at such a massive event.

Dr Divya Rao, Head of AI and Chief Medical Officer, Remidio, shares, We are proud to participate in Netra Kumbh at the Maha Kumbh Mela, a platform that unites spirituality and public health. Our collaboration showcases how technology can transform lives, enabling early intervention and delivering the gift of vision to thousands.



HMD: Enhancing Connectivity and Pilgrim Support

Human Mobile Devices (HMD) is introducing innovative services at the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 to enhance the pilgrim experience by blending tradition with cutting-edge technology. In partnership with the Uttar Pradesh government and the Ministry of Tourism, HMD is launching several initiatives designed to assist visitors during their spiritual journey in Prayagraj.

Key highlights include the HMD Care Camp, offering repairs and diagnoses for HMD smartphones and Nokia feature phones, along with a loaner phone program for customers during repairs. Additionally, HMD has joined forces with the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department to establish branded support touchpoints across Prayagraj, ensuring pilgrims have access to resources at retail stores and key locations. HMDs support extends to the Dekho Apna Desh campaign, promoting domestic tourism and celebrating Indias rich cultural heritage.

Commenting on these initiatives, Ravi Kunwar, CEO & VP, India & APAC at HMD, says, The Maha Kumbh Mela is a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey, and at HMD, we take pride in enhancing this profound experience. Through our partnership with the UP Government and the Dekho Apna Desh campaign, we are empowering pilgrims with reliable connectivity, innovative UPI technology, and dedicated support services to ensure their journey is as seamless and fulfilling as possible.

These initiatives reflect HMDs commitment to supporting cultural and spiritual experiences with practical, technology-driven solutions, ensuring pilgrims stay connected and well-informed throughout the Maha Kumbh Mela.

Other Notable Initiatives

ITCs Aashirvaad has set up hydration and food zones, offering complimentary services to ensure devotees remain nourished and energized.

Patanjali has created wellness kiosks, providing herbal remedies and natural health products.

Dabur is distributing immunity-boosting samples of Chyawanprash and honey while offering free health check-ups.

The Maha Kumbh 2025 exemplifies how brands can blend purpose and innovation, leaving a lasting impact on millions of attendees while celebrating spirituality and togetherness.

Also Read: Levelling Up: How brands can win big in the social gaming revolution
A group of Indian media giants, including Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani and Adani Group's Gautam Adani, alongside major publications like The Indian Express and Hindustan Times, have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in a Delhi court. The suit alleges that OpenAI utilized copyrighted content from Indian news websites without authorization to train its AI models, specifically ChatGPT.

This legal action joins a growing global movement against OpenAI, with numerous authors, news organizations, and musicians worldwide pursuing similar lawsuits. The outcome of this case could significantly impact the relationship between generative AI companies and the media industry.

OpenAI, in response, has argued that it lacks a physical presence in India and that its training data servers are located outside the country. Furthermore, the company cited ongoing litigation in the US as a reason for preserving all data, including the allegedly infringed upon content.
Malabar Gold & Diamonds, one of the worlds largest gold and diamond jeweller retailer has announced Solitaire One, an exquisite collection featuring natural diamonds, each certified by international laboratories. Featuring Bollywood icon and brand ambassador Alia Bhatt, the campaign celebrates the timeless charm of solitaires, showcasing their ability to illuminate lifes treasured moments and reflect the enduring love every woman holds for these dazzling gems.



The campaign kicks off with a captivating film starring Alia Bhatt, bringing to life three beautifully intertwined love stories. The visually stunning narrative captures the journey of a persons bond with their soulmate alongside their deep connection with solitaires, emphasizing how these timeless jewels become a part of lifes most magical moments. Alia Bhatts elegance and charisma infuse the campaign with warmth and emotion, embodying the joy of discovering The One. The campaign is conceptualized by DDB Mudra.

MP Ahammed, Chairman, Malabar Group said, With Solitaire One, we have crafted more than just a collection  its a celebration of timeless beauty and the power of love. The campaign captures the deep emotional connection women share with solitaires, symbolizing both elegance and enduring moments. We are thrilled with the response the campaign has received and are proud to offer a piece that represents the strength, grace, and individuality of every woman who wears it.

Solitaire One is set to redefine the solitaire jewelry experience, offering an exquisite range of natural diamonds that promise to be treasured for a lifetime, with availability across the nation. Every diamond above 0.30 ct and each piece of jewellery undergoes a two-way certification process, ensuring that we deliver the highest quality to our customers.

With a global footprint of over 370 showrooms across 13 countriesincluding India, the Middle East, the USA, the UK, Canada, and AustraliaMalabar Gold & Diamonds is renowned for its wide-ranging collections, exceptional quality, and customer-centric approach. Backed by a dedicated team of 22,000 multilingual employees across 26 countries, the brand has served over 15 million satisfied customers worldwide.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds is renowned for its commitment to customer satisfaction through its "Malabar Promises," which include transparent pricing with a detailed cost breakdown, lifetime free maintenance services available at all global showrooms, and a 100% exchange value for old gold and diamonds. The company ensures that all jewelry is 100% HUID-compliant, offering complete transparency and authenticity. Certified diamonds undergo 28-point quality checks, and every jewelry purchase comes with one year of free insurance.

Solitaire One stands out with its commitment to ethical sourcing, a verified chain of custody, the assurance of Malabar Promises, 28 stringent quality checks, and international certification. Malabar Gold & Diamonds ensures that all gold and diamonds are responsibly sourced through authorized channels. Moreover, the Malabar Group contributes 5% of its profits to CSR initiatives, focusing on health, housing, education, environmental sustainability, hunger eradication, and women empowerment programs.
NDTV commemorated the Mahakumbh with Mahakumbh Samvaad, a special program featuring Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. During the exclusive interview with NDTVs Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Pugalia at Lucknow, Yogi Adityanath praised Uttar Pradesh's remarkable progress, highlighting its rise as a key growth engine for India's development.

Uttar Pradesh has become the growth engine for India. He pointed to how events like Mahakumbh not only reflect the states cultural grandeur but also provide an opportunity for sustainable development. Speaking on his governments initiatives for youth empowerment, the Chief Minister shared a significant achievement: We gave government jobs to 7 lakh youths in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath stated, underscoring his administrations commitment to creating opportunities and fostering growth in the state.

Reflecting on the preparations undertaken for Mahakumbh 2025, Yogi Adityanath detailed the measures implemented to address challenges identified during the Ardha Kumbh in 2019. When we organised the Kumbh in 2019, we reviewed media reports and identified issues like hygiene, river cleanliness, and infrastructure gaps. Since then, we have worked systematically to improve all aspects of the event.

Speaking on the inclusivity and spiritual significance of the Mahakumbh, Yogi Adityanath said, "This is a Maha Parv. You must have seen on January 14, nearly six crore devotees took a dip in the Sangam. This message of unity was given by Mahakumbh. There was no discrimination. People who used to criticise Sanatana Dharma say they have come to see this"

The ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, which began on January 13 and will continue until February 26, has already drawn over 12 crore devotees from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds to the sacred Triveni Sangam.

While listing out the arrangements made by his government, the CM quoted "This year, we built 14 underpasses and flyovers, expanded the civil terminal and improved the connectivity. For the mela, which is on 10,000 acres, we allocated an additional 5,000 acres for parking".

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also lauded NDTV for its programming planned around the Mahakumbh. I would like to congratulate the NDTV team for ensuring accuracy in its coverage of the Mahakumbh. I would also like to applaud the viewers of NDTV network who have access to a special spectacular coverage of such a prestigious and pious occasion, he said while also appreciating the media for effectively portraying the event's grandeur and spiritual message. The media has worked positively to take this message to the world, he said.

The program was graced by esteemed personalities, including Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Rakesh Sinha, Former MP Rajya Sabha, Prashant Kumar, DGP, UP Police, Amrit Abhijat, Principal Secretary, Urban Development, UP Government, and Mukesh Meshram, Principal Secretary, Tourism & Culture, UP Government, who shared their insights on the Mahakumbh.

Reflecting on the essence of spirituality, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar remarked, Spirituality is an integral aspect of life. Our self-awareness allows us to transcend mortality, for consciousness itself is eternal. It is essential to liberate ourselves from stress in every sphere of life and approach all endeavors with peace and patience.

On the occasion, NDTVs Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Pugalia, quoted The Mahakumbh 2025 is an unprecedented spectacle of grandeur, unlike anything we have witnessed before. Hearing directly from the Hon'ble CM, Yogi Adityanath about his vision, the planning and the efforts to bring about this scale in the most meticulous manner was truly insightful.
Baba Sehgal, one of Indias iconic rap artists, has returned to the music scene with a unique collaboration with Traya, Indias first health-tech brand focused on treating hair loss. The collaboration aims to raise awareness about the importance of taking action before its too late, especially in relation to hair loss, an issue affecting millions of men across India.

In a time where 50% of men facing hair loss are under the age of 25, and 62% report a significant loss of confidence due to this condition, Baba Sehgals catchy rap video addresses these emotional challenges with humor, relatability, and a call to action. In collaboration with Traya, the video encourages men to acknowledge the early signs of hair loss and take proactive steps before resorting to drastic measures such as hair transplants or living with bald patches.

The rap video captures the emotional journey of hair loss, beginning with denial and stress, progressing to acceptance, and ultimately focusing on the empowerment that comes with taking action. Baba Sehgal uses his trademark humor and witty lyrics to convey important messages about self-esteem, societal pressures, and the simple steps men can take to address hair loss. In the video, he reflects on his own journey with hair loss, saying, I might have lost the hair game, but you dont have to!

Saloni Anand, Co-founder of Traya, shared: Hair loss can be a difficult topic for men to discuss, which is why partnering with Baba Sehgal was a natural choice. His humor and wit make the subject more approachable, while still delivering the message that hair loss is reversible if action is taken early. We want men to know that they don't have to face this challenge alone, and at Traya, we provide comprehensive solutions to help them take control of their hair health.

The video is now available across digital platforms, with a special focus on YouTube and social media channels like Instagram, hoping to engage and inspire men to take control of their hair health before its too late.

Also Read: Women have been doing really great in the startup ecosystem: Saloni Anand, Traya
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has appealed to Muslim leaders to "show generosity and hand over the disputed sites in Varanasi, Mathura and Sambhal to Hindus".

In the 'Pranam India' show at the Maha Kumbh Mela site in Prayagraj, when Yogi Adityanath was asked why his government rejected the Muslim leaders' offer to give Waqf land for the Maha Kumbh, Yogi said, if generosity has to be shown, then a little Show it in Kashi, show it in Mathura and show it in Sambhal. There is no need to show generosity in Prayagraj. Prayagraj has taken whatever it had to take."

Yogi said, "For Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat, there is a need to show generosity there, like Gyanvapi should be returned to Sanatan Dharma. The site of Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi has been with the faith of Sanatan Dharma followers for thousands of years, who is the next incarnation of Shri Hari Vishnu , it is going to happen in this very Sambhal. There is a need to show generosity there. I would like to tell the Muslim leaders to think keeping in mind the future of the present and future generations. The problem will not be solved by mere stubbornness. If they really If they show generosity and a big heart, then Hindu society will give them respect. Otherwise, they will always face problems."

Notably, issues such as Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura and Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, which is said to have been built after demolishing the Shri Hari Vishnu temple, are currently pending in various courts.

When Yogi was asked why the ASI survey of the mosque in Sambhal was done in a hurry, he said, "There is no delay in auspicious works here. Once the auspicious time has passed, there is no need to check the Muhurta again and again. There is no need for it. Everything moves forward. I think, the country and the world are watching what happened in Sambhal. Ancient stepwells are being found, wells are being found, ancient forts are also being found there. Along with our Puranas, this has been mentioned in Ain-e-Akbari as well. Mir Baqi demolished the temple of Lord Vishnu in 1526 and built a mosque there, which is now called Jama Masjid by the people there today. Abul Fazal wrote this hundreds of years ago, it was not written by any Hindu. How can these people deny the events of that time which he has mentioned. It is possible that they do not believe in the Puranas, but at least Just look at Ain-e-Akbari. Believe that. If I quote this from some Hindu text, they might have a problem, but this quote is being given from their source only. In the coming times, many Something is going to be exposed there."

Yogi said, "Even the Muslims in Sambhal whose ancestors had converted to Islam during that period have kept records of their gotras and they want the temple to be rebuilt. The problem is with those leaders." Those who consider Muslims as their vote bank are worried."

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "We are people who believe that 'Yato Dharma, Tato Jai', wherever there is Sanatan Dharma, Sanatan Dharma will definitely win. And I think we will take it with democratic values, India's We will take it under the constitutional system, so there is a need to show generosity there."

On the quality of Ganga water at Sangam in Prayagraj, CM Yogi claimed that the BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) level at Sangam is less than five, while BOD between 15 and 25 is considered good for bathing and drinking. He said , "The credit goes to Prime Minister Modi's Namami Gange project, which has made the water of Ganga drinkable."

To Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav's allegation that the number of pilgrims at the Kumbh Mela is being exaggerated, Yogi Adityanath replied, "Pratyakshayam Kim Pramanam? We have used artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence to measure the correct number without any external help." Latest technology used. In the first two days, 1.25 to 1.5 crore people visited the Maha Kumbh and currently 30-40 lakh pilgrims are taking the holy dip every day."

To the Opposition's allegation that over Rs 7,500 crore was spent on the Maha Kumbh, the chief minister replied: "Tourism boosts economic growth. We have to build roads, railway stations, airports, tents and other amenities to handle the huge rush of pilgrims." All other facilities had to be arranged. About 20 lakh people are taking holy bath at the ghats every day. By spending Rs 7500 crore, we hope to boost the economy of Uttar Pradesh by Rs 2 lakh crore.

Yogi Adityanath compared the current Maha Kumbh to the Kumbh Mela organised by Samajwadi Party minister Azam Khan in 2013. He said, "At that time 41 people had lost their lives, the Prime Minister of Mauritius was so saddened to see the dirt in the Ganga water that He prayed from a distance with folded hands, refused to take a dip and left. Samajwadi Party should keep its 'success story' in its home."

On the question of banning the entry of Muslims in Maha Kumbh, Yogi said, "Any person coming to Maha Kumbh is never asked about his caste or community. Anyone can come. But if someone disrespects Indian faith, then it is against the caste or community." If he tries to do so, we will adopt a 'tit for tat' policy."

On the allegation that Yogi was supporting Manu Smriti, the Chief Minister replied: "From North to South and East to West, India is one. Dress, language, food habits and lifestyle may differ. Sanatan Dharma is safe If it is there then India is safe. If India is safe then Sanatan Dharma is safe.

Rajat Sharma's show 'Pranam India' with Yogi Adityanath will be telecast tonight at 10 pm on India TV.

Also Read: Shaurya Samman 2025: Yogi Adityanath honors martyrs & heroes in Lucknow
Looks like school is not out for a certain Guns N Roses veteran, wholl be subbing in for a classic shock-rocker as he visits Alabama early next month.

Alice Cooper is slated to return to the Mobile Saenger Theatre Feb. 4, for a performance that is well on its way to sold out. Its a stop on Coopers Too Close for Comfort tour.

A PR firm representing Cooper announced Monday that a temporary lineup change will bring former Guns N Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke into Coopers band for a run of shows from Jan. 31 through Feb. 16. According to the announcement, Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss had conflicting obligations and Oranthi  Strauss predecessor in the Cooper guitar gig  was scheduled to fill in. But when Oranthi had to bow out due to unforeseen circumstances, Clarke got the call.

RELATED: Legendary rock bands ex-guitarist says he was never officially fired: It was very odd

Hell be on board from Augusta, Ga., on Jan. 18 through a Rock Legends cruise that departs Miami on Feb. 13.

Back in 1991, Clarke was hired to fill the Guns N Roses rhythm guitar spot vacated by Izzy Stradlin. During his three years touring with the band he was featured on a live album and the punk covers collection The Spaghetti Incident? He went on to play on lead guitarist Slashs first album outside the group; amid various other projects, he has released several solo albums including 2021s The Gospel Truth.

According to Mondays announcement, Strauss will rejoin Cooper soon, with additional 2025 dates yet to be announced.
Longtime fans of blues and rock music are mourning the death of Barry Goldberg, a keyboard player, songwriter, session musician and producer. During a career that spanned six decades, Goldberg created enduring hits and worked with the likes of Bob Dylan, Steve Miller, Stephen Stills, the Ramones, Rod Stewart, Percy Sledge, Gram Parsons, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and more.

Goldberg died on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at age 83, according to his publicist. The Chicago native died in hospice care after a 10-year battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that produces malignant cells in the lymphatic system. Gail Goldberg, his wife of 53 years, and son Aram were at this bedside, the publicist said.

Among his other claims to fame, Goldberg played keyboard in Dylans backing band during the stars controversial electric appearance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

At the beginning, it was just a gig, Goldberg said in an interview with Rolling Stone. Bob said, You want to play with me tonight? I wasnt a folkie or knew how serious those people were. We started doing our thing, playing that song [Like a Rolling Stone]. At the end, there were boos but also cheers. They felt betrayed by him. But Bob was creating a new kind of music, and after we were done, everyone knew how special it was.

Goldberg and Dylan forged a relationship that continued in the early 1970s, when Dylan arrived in Alabama to produce Goldbergs self-titled album in the Shoals.

In 1972, Barry Goldberg arrived at Muscle Shoals Sound with producers Jerry Wexler and Bob Dylan and recorded his self-titled record, said a Jan. 23 Instagram post from Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Goldberg passed away yesterday, but his legacy of playing with Muddy Waters and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band made him a legend.

RELATED: The secrets behind Bob Dylans Muscle Shoals albums

Goldberg also has a tie to the Alabama-centric movie Forrest Gump. With Gerry Goffin, he was the co-writer of Ive Got To Use My Imagination, a 1973 hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips that was featured in the soundtrack of the Oscar-winning film.

Goldbergs publicist traced his life and career via a press release that says:

Barry Goldberg, the centerpiece of the documentary film Born in Chicago, was in fact born in the Windy City on Christmas Day, 1941. His mother Nettie Goldberg, nee Nettie Becker, was a barrelhouse piano player in her own right and a veteran of the Jewish theater circuit. His father Frank Goldberg was one of eight children born to Ukrainian-Jewish immigrant parents, including US Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg.

While still in high school, Goldberg befriended guitarist Mike Bloomfield; the two often ventured from Chicagos northern suburbs to the inner city night clubs on the South Side where they, along with Paul Butterfield, Musselwhite and Siegel, became acquainted with, and were ultimately mentored by such first-generation blues legends as Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Sam Lay and others. Goldberg played live with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band (which included his friend Bloomfield) when they backed Bob Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival; by going electric, this performance launched the folk rock revolution, as depicted in the hit film A Complete Unknown.

Goldbergs relationship with Dylan transcended that historic moment as they would later go on to jam with Doug Sahm and The Band in Woodstock, NY. When Goldberg was on the cusp of signing a contract with RCA to record a solo album in 1973, Dylan told him to hold off until he spoke to Jerry Wexler at Atlantic.

Dylan biographer Robert Shelton chronicled Dylans side of the ensuing conversation: Im on the phone with Jerry Wexler from Atlantic Records and I think we can work out a deal but Im gonna have to produce you; thats cool, isnt it?' Barrys response: Thats really cool.'

Barry Goldberg' (1974) would become the only album Bob Dylan ever produced for another artist. When Wexler asked where the album should be made, Goldberg suggested Muscle Shoals, AL as that was where he had cut some of the fabled collaborations with Bloomfield that became the Two Jews Blues album in 1969 (which included Duane Allman). Some of the same players would also end up backing him on the Dylan/Wexler-produced project.

Dylan, who had never been to Muscle Shoals, drove from California in his van with the ensuing sessions spanning five days and nights in August of 1973. Years later, Goldberg returned the favor when he produced Bob Dylans version of People Get Ready for Flashback, the feature film starring Dennis Hopper and Kiefer Sutherland for which he served as music supervisor.

As a session player, Goldberg contributed organ to Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels 1966 Top 5 hit Devil With A Blue Dress On & Good Golly Miss Molly and later worked on albums by Leonard Cohen, Ramones and Flying Burrito Brothers, among many others. His bond with Bloomfield continued as they formed The Electric Flag with Buddy Miles and Harvey Brooks. This band recorded A Long Time Comin,' a groundbreaking album for Columbia in 1968, and well as the soundtrack to The Trip, starring Peter Fonda.

Goldberg was the co-writer, with Gerry Goffin, of hits including Its Not The Spotlight' (Bobby Blue Bland, Rod Stewart) and Ive Got To Use My Imagination' (a #1 R&B record for Gladys Knight & The Pips; also recorded by Joe Cocker). Goldberg also co-produced with Saul Davis two award-winning Percy Sledge albums.

He was co-writer with Gram Parsons of Do You Know How It Feels, recorded by the Flying Burrito Brothers. More recently, he toured and recorded with The Rides, a musical partnership with Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Stephen Stills. Their two albums, released in 2013 and 2016, both hit #1 on Billboards Blues Albums chart.

After a tumultuous high school experience Goldberg enlisted in the Marines, completing basic training at Parris Island, SC. In 1970, he met Gail Fliashnick at the Chelsea Hotel in New York after Michael Bloomfield set them up. Within two weeks, they were engaged and were wed on May 15, 1971. She is a designer and artist from New York, who studied in Rome and at Temple University in Philadelphia. Their son Aram is a Los Angeles-based management executive.

In lieu of flowers, Barrys family asks that donations in his name be made to The Bear League through savebears.org."

Fans and former colleagues have been paying tribute to Goldberg via social media, including Steve Miller and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

Barry Goldberg was a great pianist, a brilliant songwriter and a lifetime friend, Miller said in a Jan. 23 Facebook post. We played blues together in Chicago in 1965 as the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band and he was an important part of the blues revival in Chicago in the mid 60s. R.I.P Barry, yours was a great musical journey.

Today we lost a dear friend and an incredibly gifted musician, Shepherd said via Instagram. My bandmate Barry Goldberg from my project The Rides with Stephen Stills passed away today. Barry was a musical powerhouse and a sweetheart of a person. If you knew him and his wife Gail youd never forget them. Both full of love and adoration for one another and attached at the hip. If you didnt know Barry do yourself a favor and learn about him as he was part of many of the musical moments that defined Rock & Roll. We will all miss him dearly but Im forever grateful for the time we had together.

Watch Goldberg perform with The Rides in the video below.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday threatened bounties on the heads of Afghanistan's Taliban leaders, sharply escalating the tone as he said more Americans may be detained in the country than previously thought.

The threat comes days after the Afghan Taliban government and the United States swapped prisoners in one of the final acts of former president Joe Biden.

The new top US diplomat issued the harsh warning via social media, in a rhetorical style strikingly similar to his boss, President Donald Trump.

"Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported," Rubio wrote on X.

"If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on bin Laden," he said, referring to the Al-Qaeda leader killed by US forces in 2011.

Rubio did not describe who the other Americans may be, but there have long been accounts of missing Americans whose cases were not formally taken up by the US government as wrongful detentions.

In the deal with the Biden administration, the Taliban freed the best-known American detained in Afghanistan, Ryan Corbett, who had been living with his family in the country and was seized in August 2022.

Also freed was William McKenty, an American about whom little information has been released.

The United States in turn freed Khan Mohammed, who was serving a life sentence in a California prison.

Mohammed was convicted of trafficking heroin and opium into the United States and was accused of seeking rockets to kill US troops in Afghanistan.

The United States offered a bounty of $25 million for information leading to the capture or killing of Osama bin Laden shortly after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, with Congress later authorizing the secretary of state to offer up to $50 million.

No one is believed to have collected the bounty for bin Laden, who was killed in a US raid in Pakistan.

Trump is known for brandishing threats in his speeches and on social media. But he is also a critic of US military interventions overseas and in his second inaugural address Monday said he aspired to be a "peacemaker."

In his first term, the Trump administration broke a then-taboo and negotiated directly with the Taliban -- with Trump even proposing a summit with the then-insurgents at the Camp David presidential retreat -- as he brokered a deal to pull US troops and end America's longest war.

Biden carried out the agreement, with the Western-backed government swiftly collapsing and the Taliban retaking power in August 2021 just after US troops left.

The scenes of chaos in Kabul brought strong criticism of Biden, especially when 13 American troops and scores of Afghans died in a suicide bombing at the city's airport.

The Biden administration had low-level contacts with Taliban government representatives but made little headway.

Some members of Trump's Republican Party criticized even the limited US engagements with the Taliban government and especially the humanitarian assistance authorized by the Biden administration, which insisted the money was for urgent needs in the impoverished country and never routed through the Taliban.

Rubio on Friday froze nearly all US aid around the world.

No country has officially recognized the Taliban government, which has imposed severe restrictions on women and girls under its ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam.

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor on Thursday said he was seeking arrest warrants for senior Taliban leaders over the persecution of women.
Some (but not enough) rock fans know John Sykes cowrote and played guitar on Whitesnake hits like Still Of The Night and Is This Love. Some are aware of his prior stint with Thin Lizzy. Far fewer fans know Sykes, whose death last year at age 65 from cancer was recently made public, once auditioned for Guns N Roses.

As rock insider Eddie Trunk said Jan. 21 on his SiriusXM show: When Guns was in the pre-reunion [of Axl with Slash and Duff McKagan] mode, when they were using [DJ] Ashba and Bumblefoot [on guitar] and all those guys, Sykes went in and auditioned.

In 2021 on guitar podcast Tone-Talk, current Guns N Roses guitarist Richard Fortus recalled Sykes audition, which took place around 2009. We auditioned a bunch of people, and John Sykes was incredible, Fortus said.

According to Fortus, then-GNR bassist Tommy Stinton, formerly of punk band The Replacements, was less than enthused about the guy from Whitesnake in Guns N Roses, a band known for gritty hits like Welcome to the Jungle.

But, according to Fortus, GNRs tour manager said, Its John Sykes, man. He learned the songs. The least you can do is listen to him. Stinson reluctantly agreed. Sykes audition took place without Rose present, common for GNR auditions.

So we go in the room, Fortus recalled, and within two minutes, Tommy is looking over at me, like, Oh my God! He just killed it. Our jaws were on the ground, for sure.

Trunk noted John Sykes is not a household name. But in the musician community, a massive name and a massively respected name. Since his death was made public Jan. 20, guitar-legends like Slash, Zakk Wylde and Steve Vai have mourned the loss. As did former bandmates including Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale.

Before joining Thin Lizzy around 1982, Sykes played with Tygers of Pan Tang, part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement that also included bands like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. The Berkshire, England natives guitar heroes included Deep Purples Ritchie Blackmore and Thin Lizzys Gary Moore.

Around 1984, Whitesnake brought in Sykes to redo guitars on the U.S. version of their album Slide It In. That album became the bands U.S. toehold, with hits like the title track and Slow an Easy. Sykes joined Coverdales band. His writing and playing are all over Whitesnakes next album. Released in 1987, the self-titled LPs sold more than 8 million copies in the U.S.

But after the 87 album was recorded, Coverdale fired Sykes and other musicians who played on the album. As it goes with musical breakups, there are different sides and stories to this one, too.

Soon, videos for 87 Whitesnake songs -- like Still Of The Night and a slick remake of the bands 1982 song Here I Go Again -- were all over MTV. Sykes and the other fired musicians were credited in the albums liner notes. But far fewer fans read liner notes than watched MTV. Besides Coverdale, the band in those big Whitesnake videos wasnt on the record. An asterisk being Adrian Vandenberg, who played the guitar solo on the new Here I Go Again.

As a result, Sykes didnt get the credit he deserved. And that is a pivotal point in the John Sykes story, Trunk said. In my opinion, John never recovered from that.

After his Whitesnake ouster, Sykes formed supergroup trio Blue Murder, with Vanilla Fudge/Rod Stewart drummer Carmine Appice and bassist Tony Franklin, formerly of Jimmy Page/Paul Rodgers supergroup The Firm.

As a guitarist Sykes was known for searing tone, lightning speed and deft articulation. With Blue Murder, he showed he was also a powerful vocalist, as heard on tracks like Valley Of The Kings.

Among 80 rock afficionados, Blue Murders debut album is now a classic. But arriving in 1989, the 11th hour before 90s grunge hit, the timing wasnt great. Blue Murder never broke big.

For the rest of Sykes career, John was super disillusioned with the music industry, Trunk said. A lot of it going back to 1987 ... He didnt trust anyone or anything. Still, Trunk said of Sykes passing, I loved him and Im a massive fan and this is a massive loss.

Sykes went on to release five solo albums, including strong live effort Bad Boy Live! in 2004. But for much of his later life, one of hard-rocks great guitarists remained largely inactive and reclusive, a la White Lion legend Vito Bratta and ex-Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee.

Which makes the prospect of Sykes joining Guns N Roses the year after Chinese Democracy dropped even more fascinating. Unfortunately he didnt get the GNR gig.

GNRs Richard Fortus said, Johns reputation does precede him. But I personally got along great with him, and I kept in contact with him. Actually, I kept in contact with him pretty regularly until I got the Thin Lizzy [touring] gig and then he didnt call me anymore. [Laughs] But I thought he was great.
Vivian Campbell, the guitarist for Def Leppard, missed the legendary bands performance of the year after battling cancer for years.

Thank you for all recent messages and support, Campbell posted on social media. As you all may know, I was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma several years ago. I recently had a bone marrow transplant as part of my treatment plan, and its safe to say thus far its been a very successful transplant! I just have to keep my head down and my spirits up for the next 100 days of primary recovery.

Blabbermouth reports Campbell had to sit out the last two Def Leppard concerts due to his health issues. He missed a private show in Nashville in October and a show in Leon, Mexico last week, per the report. Campbell was replaced by John Zocco, who is the guitar tech for the bands other guitarist Phil Collen.

Campbell, per Ultimate Classic Rock, is aiming for a late April return. Def Leppards upcoming tour kicks off in Puerto Rico on May 15.

LouderSound.com reported that Campbell has been battling Hodgkin lymphoma since 2013.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on The Opening Kickoff on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.
Starbucks is making some changes in 2025, including free refills and a code of conduct.

The coffee giant is trying to win your business back after there was a reported decline in foot traffic.

Starting Monday, Starbucks is offering free refills at all U.S. and Canada stores on hot or iced coffee or tea for customers who order for here, per a press release.

The free refills will be served in coffee mugs, glasses, or a clean personal cup brought from home and are only available on the same visit at one store. The refills excludes Cold Brew and Nitro Cold Brew, Iced Tea Lemonade, flavored Iced Tea and Starbucks Refreshers base. Initial purchase must be made in a reusable cup or for-here serveware.

Also in the release, Starbucks announced a code of conduct.

Per the code:

Our goal is to create a welcoming environment. We expect everyone to treat one another with respect and follow our code of conduct:

No misuse or disruption of our spaces

No discrimination or harassment

No violence or abusive/threatening language

No consuming outside alcohol

No smoking/vaping or drug use

No panhandling

We will ask anyone not following this code of conduct to leave the store and may ask for help from law enforcement.

Finally, Starbucks is brining back the condiment bar. You will now be able to add the finishing touches to your beverage with the return of creamer and milk, along with a variety of sweeteners to the condiment bar. If you dont see the milk or sweetener you prefer, a barista will get what you need.
Alabama native Walton Goggins is the face of trouble in paradise in a new trailer for the third season of the sultry hit White Lotus.

The new season of the HBO series begins streaming Feb. 16 on Max. As in the previous two seasons, itll feature a group of vacationers working through a convoluted list of personal and interpersonal issues within the swanky confines of an elite resort. This time around, the action takes place in Thailand.

As Rick Hatchett, Goggins takes on a look thats louche bordering on haggard: Tropical shirts hanging mostly open on a lean frame, lots of stubble, unkempt hair. Throughout the trailer Hatchett receives attention from his girlfriend Chelsea, played by Aimee Lou Woodard, a two-time BAFTA winner for her role in Netflixs Sex Education series.

Rick, the lady in the airport thought you were my dad, Chelsea tells Rick at one point, drawing a pained My God in response.

Hatchett is spotlighted as a voiceover suggests that people who come to Thailand are either hiding from someone  or theyre looking for someone.

Amid the shots of the cast diving into the luxury (and party scene) of the titular resort, hints of darker material abound: Guns, masked invaders, and Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff, a wealthy man on the verge of losing everything.

People reports that Goggins has described the production as one of the greatest experiences of my life.

I have a lot of friends that I came into this experience with, he told People. Leslie Bibb is like a sister to me, and Parker Posey is a dear friend, and Michelle Monaghan  so I knew a lot of people, and people knew people, friends of friends, if you will. Jason Isaacs and all the rest of it, but were as thick as thieves this far into it.

Walton is a Birmingham native whose numerous credits include standout roles in The Shield, The Righteous Gemstones and Justified. Other notable roles include his appearances in the Quentin Tarantino film The Hateful Eight and the Prime series Fallout.
A teen girl was rescued by housekeepers at a Dothan hotel after authorities say a 46-year-old man forced the girl into a room Sunday afternoon.

Hotel housekeepers saw the abduction, removed the teen from the room and called 911. The suspect was quickly taken into custody.

Steven Ayers is charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual abuse.

Just after 1 p.m., Dothan police responded to a report of a possible kidnapping at a hotel in the 2100 block of Ross Clark Circle.

When officers arrived, employees told officers about a man forcing a female into a hotel room. The housekeepers intervened and rescued the girl, who is under the age of 18, said Police Chief William Benny.

Police attempted to make contact with the suspect, but he fled on foot on the second floor of the hotel.

Officers were able to quickly surround him and take him into custody.

The victim told police that Ayers had made sexual advances toward her, which she refused.

Ayers then touched the victim inappropriately, and she tried to leave the area. That is when police say Ayers grabbed the girl from behind and forced her into a hotel room.

Authorities said Ayers and the victim did not know each other.

Ayers is being held without bond in the Houston County Jail.

Crimes like these will not be tolerated, Benny said. The Dothan Police Department will hold those who commit these crimes accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
The Alabama House Republican caucus on Monday announced what it called the Alabama Values agenda for the legislative session, which starts next week.

The caucus, which holds three-fourths of the seats in the House, did not put specific bills in the agenda but instead listed what it said were principles, conservative issues, and initiatives that it will support.

The Alabama Values name represents the conservative beliefs and values that most Alabamians embrace, but, at the same time, it also represents the morals and principles that we value as a people, House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen of Hartselle said in a news release.

Our caucus members stand unanimous in support of this agenda, and we look forward to promoting these conservative ideas and beliefs throughout the upcoming session and beyond.

House Democrats are scheduled to release their agenda on Tuesday.

Read more: Dont bet on a lottery: 4 issues Alabama lawmakers may tackle in 2025 and 4 they wont

A committee chaired by Reps. Kerry Bubba Underwood, R-Tuscumbia, and James Lomax, R-Huntsville drafted the GOP agenda.

They said Republican members brought forward too many quality bills to list, so they decided to compile the list of principles and what the caucus said were the reasons supporting those.

Work ethic and job creation. This includes bills and initiatives to increase Alabamas labor force participation. Alabamas labor force participation rate was 57.6% as of November, lower than the national rate at 62.5% and among the lowest in the nation. The rate is the percentage of people in the working-age population who are employed or seeking jobs.

Read more: What is Alabamas biggest business challenge? Heres what the new workforce guru says

Border protection. Policies that discourage illegal immigrants from coming to Alabama and to fix damage caused by what the caucus said were irresponsible open border policies of the last four years.

Honest elections. Block efforts to repeal election protection laws and continue to add measures to keep elections honest.

Public safety. Work with local and state law enforcement to provide needed resources and supplement efforts to combat crime while preserving the fundamental gun rights that allow our citizens to protect themselves.

We arent playing around: Montgomery crime suppression team arrests hundreds, seizes machine guns, drugs

Public education. Funding and expanding public education programs that produce desired results, addressing programs that fall short, and continuing to provide teachers and administrators with the classroom resources they need to do their jobs effectively.

Military and veterans. Programs and policies that ease the transition of military families locating in Alabama, provide them support while living here, and encourage them to remain once their service ends.

Innocent life and families. Commitment to pro-life policies, including support for non-profit agencies that provide services to infants, children, and families.

Common sense. Push back against woke policies and radical efforts that attack our morals and work to change the fundamental beliefs that make our state such a special place to live, work, worship, and raise families.

Besides Underwood and Lomax, others on the agenda committee were Reps. Cynthia Almond of Tuscaloosa, Susan DuBose of Hoover, Steve Hurst of Munford, Jamie Kiel of Russellville, Paul Lee of Dothan, Rhett Marques of Enterprise, Marcus Paramore of Troy, Kenneth Paschal of Pelham, Shane Stringer of Citronelle, and Randall Shedd of Fairview.

Gov. Kay Ivey will announce her legislative priorities during the State of the State address on Feb. 4, the first day of the session.

Read more: Madison lawmakers asked to crack down on child labor, protect librarians and animals ahead of legislative session
Alabama may be negatively impacted if President Donald Trump goes ahead with his plan to either eliminate or overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency, CBSs Margaret Brennan told Vice President JD Vance in an interview on Face the Nation on Sunday.

In the interview, Brennan said: But FEMA has specialized expertise that some of these states just dont have in their arsenal, and states who are lower income states - the Mississippis, the Kentuckys, the Alabamas - will they be able to do this for themselves without federal help?

The three states rank in the bottom 10 states in per capita income.

Vance said Trump aims to cut bureaucratic red tape.

The president, to be clear, is not saying were going to leave anybody behind, Vance said.

Hes saying that in the way that we administer these resources, some of which is coming from the federal level, some of which is coming from the state level, weve got to get the bureaucrats out of the way and get the aid to the people who need it most.

Trump visited California and North Carolina on Friday to assess recent fire and flood damage. He spoke with residents and officials about potential changes to FEMA.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves described Brennans remarks as hilarious elitism in a response on X, formerly called Twitter.

HILARIOUS elitism by @margbrennan @CBSNews claiming that Mississippians know less about emergency management than DC bureaucrats - all because her favorite Democrats in CA and NC have failed their constituents.@JDVance did a great job handling her condescending questions. The pic.twitter.com/YHWqWJhp6h  Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) January 26, 2025

Reeves said Brennan claimed that Mississippians know less about emergency management than DC bureaucrats - all because her favorite Democrats in CA and NC have failed their constituents.

The disdain these people have for any Americans outside of their little bubble is so pathetic and revealing, Reeves added.
Inspectors are investigating a collapse at the construction site of a new south Alabama high school campus, according to pictures of the incident on social media.

The collapse occurred specifically at the practice facility area of a $131 million campus that is currently being constructed.

In February 2024, the council approved a contract with Auburn-based Rabren Construction to build the project for a grand opening in 2026.

Gulf Shores City Schools Superintendent, Matt Akin, told Gulf Coast Media that the incident did not affect other parts of the facility and is not connected to the main school.

He said inspectors and contractors are working to determine the cause, Gulf Coast Media said. It was not immediately clear if it was due to last weeks snowstorm or if there were workers on site.

It is unclear if the collapse will affect the construction timeline.

Last week the roof of the Mobile Civic Center, which is also under construction, collapsed under the weight of snow during a historic snow event for south Alabama.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sunday made arrests in metro Atlanta and elsewhere.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with federal partners including the FBI, ATF and DEA, began conducting enhanced targeted operations today in Atlanta to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities, an agency spokesperson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Some arrests took place on Buford Highway in Chamblee and Brookhaven, Telemundo reported. Others happened in Lilburn and Tucker, community members told the AJC.

The FBI Atlanta Field Office said in a statement, The FBI, along with our Department of Justice partners, is assisting DHS and other federal law enforcement partners with their immigration enforcement efforts.

Its not clear how many arrests were made. The AJC is seeking details from federal agencies and local police. ICE also announced targeted operations in Chicago on Sunday.

Walter Valladares, 52, originally from Honduras, was arrested at his home in Lilburn, about 20 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, on Sunday morning, his brother Edwin Valladares told the AJC.

Walter Valladares entered the U.S. about a year and a half ago, was in the process of seeking asylum and has no criminal record except for a traffic violation, Edwin Valladares said.

My brother is not a criminal, he said. He is a family man.

President Donald Trumps first days in office ushered in a flurry of policy changes, including his promised immigration crackdown. He has issued executive orders seeking to halt birthright citizenship  a measure temporarily blocked by a federal judge  and remove people who are in the country unlawfully under an expedited process.

On his second day in office, Trump rescinded policies that kept federal immigration officials from arresting undocumented immigrants in sensitive locations such as churches, hospitals and schools.

Since Trump took office, ICE has made more than 1,400 arrests nationwide, the agency said.

Some of metro Atlantas largest school districts have addressed community concerns of students safety in schools.

Considering recent federal actions, I want to assure you that the Board of Education and I remain committed to the safety and success of all students in the DeKalb County School District, Superintendent Devon Q. Horton said in a recent message to parents.

We have informed our staff that if immigration authorities visit their school, they should be directed immediately to a school administrator, who will then contact the DCSD Police Department and document the visit. As with any unauthorized visitor, entrance beyond the main office and access to students or their information is prohibited without a court order or exigent circumstances.

Gwinnett County superintendent Calvin J. Watts said a in a message to parents that by law, a childs immigration status (or that of their parents) does not affect their right to receive a public education and assured them that we stand united in our responsibility to uphold the dignity, rights and safety of each and every student.

________

2025 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Tax season is officially underway.

The Internal Revenue Service will start processing tax returns today (Monday, Jan. 27). The agency expects more than 140 million individual tax returns for tax year 2024 to be filed ahead of the Tuesday, April 15 federal deadline.

This has been a historic period of improvement for the IRS, and people will see additional tools and features to help them with filing their taxes this tax season, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said. These taxpayer-focused improvements weve done so far are important, but they are just the beginning of what the IRS needs to do. More can be done with continued investment in the nations tax system.

Heres what you need to know about Tax Season 2025:

How to file for free

Filers with Adjusted Gross Income, known as AGI, of less than $84,000 can use IRS Free File to complete returns at no charge. Free File offers tax preparation software from eight companies and gives free online access to preparation and filing software.

Taxpayers with an AGI above $84,000 can use the Free File Fillable Forms starting Jan. 27. That service is available to all taxpayers, regardless of income, place of residence or age.

In addition to Free File and Direct File, there are other ways to file for free:

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance/Tax Counseling for the Elderly - Taxpayers can find organizations in their community with IRS-certified volunteers that provide Taxpayers can find organizations in their community with IRS-certified volunteers that provide free tax help for eligible taxpayers including working families, the elderly, the disabled and people who speak limited English.

MilTax. A Department of Defense program, A Department of Defense program, MilTax generally offers free return preparation and electronic filing software for federal income tax returns and up to three state income tax returns for all military members, and some veterans, with no income limit.

Wheres my refund?

Most refunds for electronically submitted returns who use the direct deposit option are issued in less than 21 days. You can track your refund using the IRS Wheres My Refund? Tool. Information updates once a day so theres no need to check back multiple times in 24-hours.

Filers with paper returns can expect a refund within four weeks.

Why you should always use direct deposit for your tax refund

The IRS urges taxpayers to always use direct deposit for their refunds.

According to the Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service, paper refund checks are 16 times more likely to have an issue, like the check being lost, misdirected, stolen or uncashed. People should check FDIC and National Credit Union Administration websites if they dont have a bank account. Veterans can use the Veterans Benefits Banking Program to find participating financial institutions.

Need help filing?

IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers have expanded hours for in-person help during tax season. You can find your local center here.

Direct File

The IRS Direct File program is expanding to 25 states this year.

Eligible taxpayers in 25 states will be able to file their taxes for free starting Jan. 27.

During last years pilot, Direct File was available in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State and Wyoming. For the 2025 tax filing season, Direct File will also be available in Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The program uses a data import tool will allow taxpayers to opt-in to automatically import data from their IRS account, including personal information, the taxpayers IP PIN and some information from the taxpayers W-2. Taxpayers will then be able to use a new chat bot to guide them through the eligibility checker and a live chat for real-time assistance.

Also, this year, Direct File will cover more tax situations. During the pilot, Direct File supported taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents. This year, Direct File will also cover taxpayers claiming the Child and Dependent Care Credit, Premium Tax Credit, Credit for the Elderly and Disabled and Retirement Savings Contribution Credits.
Brazil's government expressed outrage on Saturday after dozens of immigrants deported from the United States arrived by plane in handcuffs, calling it a "flagrant disregard" for their rights.

The foreign ministry said it would demand an explanation from Washington over the "degrading treatment of passengers on the flight".

The spat comes as Latin America grapples with US President Donald Trump's return to power bringing a hard-line anti-immigration agenda, promising crackdowns on irregular migration and mass deportations.

When the plane landed in the northern city of Manaus, Brazilian authorities ordered US officials to "immediately remove the handcuffs," the justice ministry said in a statement.

Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski told President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of "the flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens," the statement said.

Brazil will request "explanations from the US government about the degrading treatment of passengers" on the Friday night flight, the foreign ministry said on X.

The government said 88 Brazilians were aboard the aircraft.

Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician, was on the flight, after seven months in detention in the United States.

"On the plane they didn't give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn't even let us go to the bathroom," he told AFP.

"It was very hot, some people fainted."

Luis Antonio Rodrigues Santos, a 21-year-old freelancer, recounted the "nightmare" of people with "respiratory problems" during "four hours without air conditioning" due to technical issues on the plane.

"Things have already changed (with Trump), immigrants are treated as criminals," he said.

The flight was originally destined for the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, but encountered a technical issue forcing it to land in Manaus.

A government source told AFP the deportation flight was not directly linked to any immigration orders issued by Trump upon taking office Monday, but rather stemmed from a 2017 bilateral agreement.

Brazil's Minister of Human Rights, Macae Evaristo, told journalists that "children with autism ... who went through very serious experiences" were also on the flight.

Footage on Brazilian television showed some passengers descending from the civilian aircraft, with their hands handcuffed and their ankles shackled.

"Upon learning of the situation, President Lula ordered that a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) aircraft be mobilized to transport the Brazilians to their final destination, in order to ensure that they could complete their journey with dignity and safety," the justice ministry said.

Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration during the election campaign and began his second term with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling entry to the United States.

On his first day in office he signed orders declaring a "national emergency" at the southern US border and announced the deployment of more troops to the area while vowing to deport "criminal aliens."

Several deportation flights since Monday have garnered public and media attention, though such actions were also common under previous US presidents.

In a break with prior practice, however, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft for repatriation flights, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.

The plane which landed in Manaus was not a military aircraft, AFP journalists in the city confirmed.

A Brazilian government source said that the deportees who arrived in Manaus traveled "with their documents", which shows that they agreed to return home.

There are an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security statistics.

The United States also expelled 265 migrants to Guatemala on Friday.
A 1-year-old Tuscaloosa girl died over the weekend at a Birmingham hospital and her mothers boyfriend has now been charged in her death.

Devonte Crumel, 30, was initially charged with aggravated child abuse.

The girl was taken unresponsive to DCH Regional Medical Center on Thursday. She showed signs of head or brain injury and airlifted to Childrens of Alabama in Birmingham, said Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Jack Kennedy.

Medical specialists there notified investigators that the injuries were the result of physical abuse. He was booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail on Friday.

Authorities were notified Sunday that the girl had died.

Crumel is now charged with murder, Kennedy said.

Charging documents against Crumel state that the girls 25-year-old mother left her daughter in Crumels care while she went to a doctors appointment.

Crumel notified the mother  his girlfriend  via cell phone and Facetime that the child was unresponsive.

The mother rushed home and then drove her daughter to DCH.

Investigators, in the deposition, said Crumel told them the child was crying and he became frustrated and attempted to console her. After being frustrated, he said, he went to the bathroom smoke marijuana and returned to find the child unresponsive on the living room floor.

Doctors said the child had severe brain bleeding and an abrasion on her head consistent with contact with a carpeted surface. Her face and head were swollen, the report said, and she had bleeding behind her eyes.

The documents noted that the child became unresponsive within 30 minutes to one hour after sustaining the injuries.

Crumel is being held without bond pending an Aniahs Law hearing.
A multimillion-dollar hemp and cannabis testing facility is coming to Foley, Baldwin County economic development officials have announced.

According to a statement issued Monday morning by the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance (BCEDA), Green Health Laboratories plans to build what will be one of the exclusive testing facilities in the State of Alabama for the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission. The Alabama Legislature approved medical marijuana several years ago and created the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee licensing; that process has been fraught with dispute.

The BCEDA statement says that the facility will create up to 50 high-paying jobs over the next three years and represents a $3.4 million investment. BCEDA President and CEO Lee Lawson said that the Foley Industrial Development Board had approved tax abatements totaling $130,000. These include an abatement on sales and use taxes during construction and non-educational ad valorem taxes.

BCEDA described Green Health Laboratories as a fully licensed and accredited lab that specializes in advanced testing for the cannabis and hemp industries. Its tests ensure product quality and safety for cultivators, processors, and manufacturers. The new lab will occupy an existing building on Section Avenue and will begin operations in early 2025.

This project is a collaboration between the City of Foley and the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance and is a direct result of the creation of the health and wellness zone in north Foley, said Mayor Ralph Hellmich said in the announcement. Our efforts are focused on bringing medical services and technologies to our citizens and our area. Green Health Laboratories is a perfect example of the high-tech industries we want to see in Foley. I welcome them and any others to our City.

According to BCEDA, Green Health Laboratories is committed to recruiting top talent from across the southeast by offering starting salaries above the average wage in Baldwin County, with an estimated payroll of over $5 million.

Mondays release quoted Green Health President Brandon Biles and Lab Director Natalie Siracusa as saying, We are proud to have the opportunity to serve the consumer community and the state of Alabama in their journey towards sophistication and public safety within the realm of cannabis. We are committed to helping build a safe and reliable industry that consumers and producers alike are proud of and can sincerely trust.
Gasoline retailer and convenience store QuikTrip broke ground last week on a new location in Ashville, according to a release from the city.

The City of Ashville would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to the QuikTrip team, said Ashville Mayor Derrick Mostella.

They have been incredible to work with on this project and have a real commitment to providing a quality shopping experience as well as providing an opportunity for employees to grow within the company.

Their professionalism and collaboration have made this project possible.

Located along highway 231 and Interstate 59, the new stop is expected to bring around two dozen new jobs to the area.

Since its founding in 1958, QT has established a reputation for taking great care of its employees, receiving national recognition as a top place to work year after year, the release reads.

In addition to providing superior benefits and opportunities for advancement, QT offers competitive pay, tuition reimbursement, medical insurance and excellent 401k benefits.

The location is anticipated to open in spring of next year.

QuikTrip currently has eight locations operating in Alabama with multiple additional stores under construction, the release says.

It adds that as a travel center, this location will feature a larger lot and a more spacious store design than a traditional QT.

QuikTrip Corporation is a privately held company headquartered in Tulsa, Okla.

Founded in 1958, the company has grown to a more than $11 billion company with more than 1,100 stores in 19 states, according to the release.
Roughly a week after his inauguration, President Donald Trumps approval rating is outpacing his disapproval rating.

The poll by Echelon Insights showed 51% of respondents approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president compared to 43% who disapprove. Breaking the numbers down, 36% said they strongly approve vs. 14% who somewhat approve. Thirty-six percent said they strongly disapprove of the job the second-term Republican is doing compared to 7% who said they somewhat disapprove.

Trumps approval ratings also were above water by 10 percentage points when it comes to handling the economy (50% approval vs. 40% disapproval) and immigration (55% vs. 40%.) His highest rankings came in his handling of foreign policy, where 50% said they approve of the presidents plans vs. 39% who disapprove.

The ratings arent as high when it comes to some of Trumps more high-profile  and controversial  proposals. When asked if the U.S. should expand its territory, 54% said it should not compared to 22% who said they backed plans to grow American territory. Sixty-eight percent did not think the U.S. should make Canada the 51st state while 16% of respondents said it should.

READ MORE: Oddsmakers early picks for 2028 presidential election show White House race already heating up

Only 26% said they backed Trumps renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America compared to 59% who disapproved.

Fifty-percent said they also believe the U.S. should continue its policy of birthright citizenship compared to 34% who believe the policy of giving automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. should end. Fifty-six percent said they at least somewhat supported the deportation of those living in the country illegally compared to 37% who oppose deportation.

Overall, 52% said they approved of the Executive Orders Trump signed on his first day of office compared to 42% who disapproved.

READ MORE:

JFK, RFK and King assassination records: President Trump orders release of classified documents

Trump says he will rename Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America

Can Trump end birthright citizenship? Judge to hear case in battle over immigration
Air Force recruits will continue to learn about the history of the history of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) after bipartisan backlash following reports that videos about both groups were removed due to concerns related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) content.

The initial removal of the videos was part of swift action after President Donald Trumps executive order blocked DEI content throughout the federal government.

From day one, I directed our Air Force to implement all directives outlined in the Executive Order issued by the President swiftly and professionally  no equivocation, no slow-rolling, not foot-dragging, said General David W. Allvin, the Air Forces Chief of Staff in a statement Monday.

When policies change, it is everyones responsibility to be diligent and ensure all remnants of the outdated policies are appropriately removed, and the new ones are clearly put in place.

Allvin said while all training courses are under review to ensure compliance with Trumps orders, no curriculum or content highlighting the Tuskegee Airmen or WASP has been removed from basic military training.

Allvin called news of the removal of Tuskegee Airmen videos and curriculum a rumor.

Republican U.S. Senator Katie Britt said that that federal bureaucrats, should now be on notice that malicious compliance will not be tolerated and will be swiftly corrected.

She said newly appointed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will correct and get to the bottom of the malicious compliance weve seen in recent days.

An official with Britts office said malicious compliance refers to what they believe is a bad faith effort to cast the history of the Tuskegee Airmen as DEI in an effort within the federal bureaucracy to attack and undermine Trumps executive order.

Secretary Hegseth sent a clear message to the administrative state that resistance style antics meant to undermine President Trumps agenda and usurp the will of the American people will be publicly swatted down, and Im confident responsible parties will be held accountable, Britt said.

Hegseth did not mention the issue as he reported to work Monday morning, the Associated Press reported. But, in other comments, Hegseth said military training will be focused on the readiness of what our troops in the field need to deter our enemies.

Democratic lawmakers, over the weekend, called out the removal of the instructional videos  first reported Saturday by the San Antonio Express-News  as not a matter of DEI, but one of history.

U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, said it was pathetic, disgraceful, and disrespectful to remove the training videos to not only the legacy of the historic World War II-era fighter pilots, but also to the city of Tuskegee and to the State of Alabama.

Britt, in her statement, said the lessons from the Tuskegee Airmens story isnt about DEI but rather greatness shattering a glass ceiling, and she credited Trump, during his inaugural address of saying that in America, impossible is what we do best.

As the Pentagon under Secretary Hegseths leadership restores its focus on lethality and promotes merit, the Tuskegee Airmen will continue to inspire the next generation of courageous, selfless American service members, Britt said.

The Tuskegee Airmen, known as the Red Tails, were the nations first Black military pilots who served in a segregated World War II unit. Their all-Black 332nd Fighter Group had one of the lowest loss records of all the bomber escorts in the war.

Historians credit their successes as fighter pilots, during segregation, toward helping integrate the U.S. military and paving the way toward the wider civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

All of the nearly 1,000 Black military pilots who trained in the U.S. during World War II did so in Tuskegee, a city of about 8,700 residents today that is 87% Black.

The air war in Europe was central to the outcome of World War II, said historian Wayne Flynt, a professor emeritus at Auburn University.

In order to reflect the unity of the nation and tap into one-tenth of the American population who were not white, full mobilization meant African Americans in all phases of warfare, including aviation, which required a higher level of education and training which at the time were considered by most white Americans as beyond their mental capacity.

Flynt said Alabamas role in the story is that it received the honor of housing this program at Tuskegee University, one of the nations first and most famous Black universities.
Fans of billionaire Elon Musk are now saying that a book written more than 70 years ago by the rocket scientist who helped put Huntsville on the map predicted the SpaceX and Tesla CEO becoming the leader of Mars.

The claim is based on a portion of the 1953 book Mars Project by aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun, who led development of rocket technology for the Nazi party in Germany and later developed rockets in Alabama.

In the book, von Braun says that the government of Mars consisted of ten men.

At its head stood a man elected by the general population for five years, whom the Martians called Elon, the text reads, according to an English translation released in 2006.

How can this be real? https://t.co/n5V4TZQo8q  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 27, 2025

The Elon and his cabinet were accountable to parliament, which enacted the laws by which the cabinet had to govern.

Musk reposted the excerpt on X, saying: How can this be real?

Several commentors wrote that the text is proof that Musk is a time traveler, or that he is destined to rule Mars.

No matter how often I tell people that Im a 5000-year-old alien time traveler, they dont believe me, Musk responded to one commentor.

In September, Musk said that SpaceXs Starship megarocket will start flying Mars missions by 2026, with the eventual goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years.

The first Starships to Mars will launch in 2 years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens.



These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars. If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years.



Flight rate will https://t.co/ZuiM00dpe9  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 7, 2024

Being multiplanetary will vastly increase the probable lifespan of consciousness, as we will no longer have all our eggs, literally and metabolically, on one planet, Musk posted.

Americas early efforts to reach the stars were boosted in no small part by von Braun.

In 1945, sensing defeat in World War II, von Braun and his team surrendered to the Allied forces and arrived in the U.S.

By 1950, von Braun was moved to Huntsville where he would continue to develop rockets for military application.

Within the decade he moved to the newly created NASA and was helping lift satellites into space, and plan for the historic moon landings. He helped start the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and developed the Saturn V rockets at the Marshall Space Flight Center to send missions to the moon.

He even had his own dreams of a mission to mars but died of cancer in 1977.
January 27, 2025

By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU

Nadia Parker, an Alabama State University student enrolled in its Forensic Science program, has been selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to attend the Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference, which will be held April 4 - April 6 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Parker said she is ecstatic to have been selected by the NSF.

I am thrilled and honored to be able to present my abstract at the 2025 Emerging Researchers National Conference," Parker said. "This opportunity represents a key moment in my academic and professional journey, and I am excited to share my research with such a prestigious and inspiring community. I look forward to engaging in meaningful discussions, learning from my peers, and contributing to advancing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) innovation."

ASU's Dr. Gulnaz Javan is a professor of Forensic Science and coordinator of the University's Forensic Biology program. She shared that this is the tenth consecutive year that students from her Thanatos Laboratory have received the competitive NSF honor. During that time, a total of 15 ASU students have been selected to attend the ERN Conference and present their scientific abstracts.

Parker's winning abstract is titled "Postmortem Interval Using Blow-Fly Larvae," which was first performed in Dr. Javans lab.

Her work is a collaborative effort headed by Dr. Javan, her research mentor, and funded in part by the Department of Education's Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP). Dr. Komal Vig serves as the director of MSEIP at ASU.

I am so proud of Ms. Parker and of all of our forensic science students who continue to allow ASU to shine on a national level, stated Dr. Javan. "We have a strong and hard working team of students and faculty at the University, and I personally can't wait to see what we accomplish next year."










English News China will keep promoting friendship, cooperation and harmony among all nations

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 25 Janvier 2025



China remains committed to promoting friendship and cooperation, and stands ready to work with all countries to converge the powerful force that promotes world peace and development and builds a community with a shared future for mankind.

By He Yin, People's Daily "China will work with all countries to promote friendship and cooperation, enhance mutual learning among different cultures, and build a community with a shared future for mankind. We must jointly create a better future for the world," said Chinese President Xi Jinping in his 2025 New Year message.



His remarks demonstrate to the world China's sincere hope to strengthen friendship and cooperation with other countries, its broad vision to rise above estrangement and conflict, and its great passion for caring for the future of humanity.



Friendly cooperation has always been the defining feature of China's external exchanges. Drawing inspiration from its profound traditional culture, China has always valued making friends widely and deeply, followed the communication approaches of acting in good faith and being friendly to others, and strived for the ideals of pursuing the common good for all and promoting harmony among all nations.



These cultural values reflect the Chinese people's respect for diversity and inclusiveness, and their commitment to working together with other countries for the common good.



Chinese diplomacy also emphasizes friendship and cooperation. In October 2024, Xi met with foreign guests attending the China International Friendship Conference and conference marking the 70th founding anniversary of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries in Beijing. He recalled that a foreign friend of his once told him that friendship is a big deal, and a world of friendship is a world of peace.



Xi's remarks show that the streams of friendship and the vitality of cooperation can converge into a powerful force that promotes world peace and development, contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.



In promoting friendship and cooperation with other countries, China always values mutual respect and treats others as equals.



China always believes that all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. It supports all countries in independently choosing development paths suited to their respective national conditions, and is ready to share development opportunities brought by Chinese modernization.



Today, China has established diplomatic relations with 183 countries and has become a major trading partner of over 150 countries and regions, creating a closer global network of partnerships.



In promoting friendship and cooperation with other countries, China always values win-win cooperation and mutual benefit.



China believes that win-win cooperation is the sure way to success in launching major initiatives that benefit all. This is also a vital experience learned from China's foreign exchange practices.



On Dec. 31, 2024, the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Further Upgrade Protocol entered into force. On Jan. 1, 2025, the China-Maldives Free Trade Agreement took effect. As China continues to expand high-level opening up, it has provided new opportunities for global development with new achievements of Chinese modernization.



In promoting friendship and cooperation with other countries, China always values openness, inclusiveness, and mutual learning among different civilizations.



As an old Chinese saying goes, "All living things should flourish without harming each other; all ways of life should thrive without hindering each other."



China has announced the initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span, contributing to the development of China-U.S. relations and world peace. It has also invited 1,000 members of African political parties to China to deepen exchanges of experience in party and state governance.



China has established the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens, creating a new platform for civilizational exchange and mutual learning between China, Greece, and other nations around the world. Moreover, China has developed over 3,000 international friendship city relationships with more than 140 countries across five continents, building a global network of friendships and partnerships.



With tangible actions, China has built bridges for people-to-people exchanges and encouraged people of all countries to promote mutual learning among different civilizations and foster people-to-people connectivity, injecting stronger momentum into human progress and world peace.



Sincerity is the foundation for friendship and long-term dedication is the basis of international cooperation. As changes unseen in a century accelerate across the world and the international situation becomes increasingly turbulent, the world needs to strengthen friendship and cooperation more than ever before.



China remains committed to promoting friendship and cooperation, and stands ready to work with all countries to converge the powerful force that promotes world peace and development and builds a community with a shared future for mankind.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Technological cooperation leads to closer China-Africa economic, trade ties China's economic resilience, vitality in four sets of data Virtual anchors and hosts on the rise Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)










English News "Rural grandpa" in northwest China becomes tourism envoy

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 25 Janvier 2025



In 2024, Yongdeng county launched 20 high-quality tourist routes and organized over 200 cultural and artistic events, including theme exhibitions, social education programs, and reading activities, which supported nearly 30 short video creators to promote their hometown.

By Song Zhaojun, People's Daily An elderly man, sometimes holding farming tools, walks along the ridges of the fields; at other times, he herds sheep slowly under peach trees in bloom; and occasionally, he stands amidst the vast desert and mountains, embodying the image of a general while narrating the history of the ancient Silk Road in northwest China...



"He really knows how to command the presence and energy," "Thank you for promoting my hometown," "I've watched this video at least 10 times" - as Zhang Yifang scrolls through the comments on his phone, he reads each one carefully.



Zhang, 68, hails from Qingsi village in Datong township, Yongdeng county, Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu province.



As a child, Zhang was nicknamed "Sanxiwa," which literally translates into triple joy child. These days, he's more commonly known as "Sanxi Grandpa," meaning triple joy grandpa, which is also his ID on short video platforms.



Over the past four years, with support from the local cultural and tourism department, Zhang and his son Zhang Jianzong have filmed and produced over 100 short videos.



From rural fields and farmhouses to the vast deserts, grasslands, and the striking Danxia landform, he has filmed in many places with distinct northwest China characteristics, sharing the cultural stories and unique features of Gansu province. "Sanxi Grandpa" now has nearly 1.3 million followers on short video platforms.



During the 2024 Spring Festival, Zhang Yifang joined a local troupe of folk art show which features celebration of Chinese Spring Festival in multiple forms such as dragon dance, stilt walking, yangge dance, lion dance and other folk performances.



He released nearly 10 videos, with one of them receiving over 5.87 million likes and more than 1.01 million comments.



The folk art show performance has a long history, with participants sometimes exceeding 300, parading through streets, alleys, and fields.



From childhood to adulthood, Zhang Yifang has participated in the folk art show performances nearly every year. This deep-rooted passion for local performances has made him a natural in the world of short videos.



In the summer of 2021, Zhang Yifang's children and grandchildren returned to Qingsi village. Under the clear sky and gentle wind, he was always seen lying in a chair, fanning himself with a straw hat, or playing with his grandchildren in the golden wheat fields.



Zhang Jianzong, who works in the film and television industry, captured these moments on camera and edited them into short videos. Once posted, the videos quickly garnered over 50,000 likes and nearly 4,000 shares.



Surprised by the positive response, the father and son decided to make rural life the central theme of their short videos and continue filming.



"When I was young, our village only had one black-and-white television, and we would all crowd around to watch movies together," Zhang Yifang recalled. The scenes of martial arts heroes and knights always fascinated him. "It would be amazing to be a knight one day!"



Now, that dream has come to life in his short videos.



From an ordinary farmer to a knight or a general, as Zhang Yifang's roles change, so do his backgrounds, such as a rural courtyard, the Danxia landform of Yongdeng, waterwheel parks, deserts, and grasslands.



Taking advantage of the popular trends in short video content, Zhang Yifang changes outfits every few seconds, enriching the scenes and roles to promote his hometown.

From the poplar forests in Jiuquan to the endless grasslands of Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Zhang Yifang has traveled to over 10 cities and prefectures in Gansu, filming videos wherever he goes.



He and his son have also launched two popular video series: "Sanxi Grandpa's Martial Arts Journey" and "Sanxi Grandpa's Food Selection."



The first series showcases local cultural and tourism resources by portraying different historical figures, while the second focuses on traditional Gansu cuisine - how to make Yongdeng rose cakes, why the roast meat in Jiayuguan smells so good, and how to dry Dingxi wide noodles, among others. Dozens of Gansu's regional dishes have been featured in the videos.



According to Zhang Jianzong, these two video series have already amassed over 460 million views. Many other short video creators have joined in, each offering their own perspectives on telling the stories of the northwest.



As his popularity grew, Zhang Yifang wanted to inspire his fellow villagers to create content alongside him. Encouraged by the father and son, many villagers began to appear in the videos.



"By participating in the filming, we not only get to experience performing, but also have the chance to show the world rural life. The affection from viewers is also a recognition of our village's development," said Zhang Yifang's neighbor Lu Zizhen.



As rural vitalization is promoted comprehensively, Qingsi village now boasts wider roads, better internet connectivity, and more complete service facilities - features that frequently appear in the videos.



Thanks to land transfers, villagers now enjoy a steady income and ample free time, which has created a demand for more recreational activities. Currently, more than 30 villagers regularly participate in the filming of Zhang Yifang's videos.



In 2024, Yongdeng county launched 20 high-quality tourist routes and organized over 200 cultural and artistic events, including theme exhibitions, social education programs, and reading activities, which supported nearly 30 short video creators to promote their hometown.



"We want to encourage the public to promote their hometowns in ways that resonate with them, further unlocking the cultural and tourism value," said Li Tingming, director of the Yongdeng county bureau of culture, sports, radio, television, and tourism.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Technological cooperation leads to closer China-Africa economic, trade ties China's economic resilience, vitality in four sets of data Virtual anchors and hosts on the rise Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
In the run-up to the 2020 election, 51 intelligence experts signed a letter claiming that the Hunter Biden laptop bore all the hallmarks of a Russian disinformation operation. In recent months, weve learned that the letter was just a piece of campaign subterfuge, organized by Antony Blinken, to insulate candidate Biden from evidence on the laptop of corruption.

Since the 2020 election, weve learned that the FBI validated the laptop as authentic, and its contents have not been tampered with. The evidence on the laptop was even of such fidelity that it was used by the DoJ to prosecute Hunter Biden for tax evasion. The 51 knew that the letter  not the laptop  was complete disinformation, yet went along with Blinkens plan to provide plausible deniability to candidate Biden until after the election.

We are justifiably outraged that the 51 used their credentials to dishonestly influence an election. We should also consider the implications of having people of such limited integrity serving in the Intelligence Community (I.C.).

Graeme Wood, writing for The Atlantic, points out that the 51 included professionals who had built careers in the I.C. by objectively assessing data and providing rigorous analysis. Yet they skipped the discipline of their profession when they flagged the Hunter Biden laptop as Russian disinformation. Wood writes,

Why these titans of intelligence were willing to risk their hard-won credibility on the possibility that Hunter Biden might not be a slimeball is deeply mysterious.

Yes, it is, but that is a statement based on a false assumption  that the signatories were people of honor. The 51 titans of intelligence didnt risk their credibility; they revealed that they had none.

The most important question now isnt why (as Wood seems to ask); it is what. We know they did it to influence an election and were willing to jeopardize national security to do it (thats the why). The more important question is, what other damages have such ethically challenged people done to America?

Some professions require honesty (adherence to facts) and integrity (adherence to principles). When a professional is discovered to have ethical deficits, it is reasonable to question whether he was ever trustworthy.

If a police detective is caught tampering with evidence, it doesnt merely undermine his current case. It calls into question every case he has ever investigated. Were there statements made under oath that were false? Was the evidence presented collected, preserved, and accounted for as claimed? Is there any proof other than the word of a demonstrated liar?

The 51 all served in professions requiring honesty and integrity, at the highest levels of the I.C.  some as directors of the CIA, NSA, and Office of National Security. How much of the analysis and advice provided by their departments was honest intelligence, and how much was political prevarication? Given their signatures on the letter, why should we presume the former rather than the latter? If its the latter, how much damage was done to America during their decades of building their organizations and advising executive decision-makers?

Consider the recent conduct of the I.C.

They failed to recognize the growing danger of al-Qaeda  until too late.

They assured President Bush that Iraq had WMDs.

They didnt anticipate the fall of Libya or the rise of ISIS.

They were wildly over-optimistic with their nuclear assessments of Iran and North Korea.

They were convinced that the Taliban would be a trustworthy partner during our retreat from Afghanistan.

They havent said a word about the national security implications of an open border.

Have members of the I.C. just been bad at their jobs, or was something else going on? How many flawed executive decisions have been made based on political manipulation presented as rigorous intelligence analysis?

Given that the people who populate our I.C. agencies were hired, trained, and guided by the 51 liars, can they be trusted to provide sound advice as

China threatens Taiwan,

Russia intimidates its neighbors,

Iran expands its terror networks,

Venezuela devolves into chaos,

Mexico is commandeered by narco-terrorists, and

Cuba sits 80 miles off our coast praying for our demise?

President Trump must surely be questioning the credibility of the advice he receives from his intelligence services. I can just imagine the questions running through his head during his daily briefing. What have they missed, what are they hiding, and what are they lying about?

The 51 didnt just expose their own lack of credibility. They cast suspicion over the entire Intelligence Community.

John Green is a retired engineer and political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He is a contributor to The American Spectator and the American Free News Network. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.

Image via Pxhere.
Approximately two weeks ago, North Korean troops temporarily withdrew from the frontline in Russia's Kursk region, though they are expected to return soon.

A Ukrainian commander, identified by the callsign Pulse, confirmed that the North Koreans had retreated from the Kursk frontline during this period, Sky News reported, citing Ukrainian military sources.

"The Russians are present and operating across all sections of the front, but the Koreans are not. Either they are analyzing their mistakes, treating their wounds, or perhaps waiting for reinforcements. There are rumors that Kim Jong Un is sending more North Koreans here. That's the situation," he stated.

The commander further revealed that intercepted Russian communications suggest North Korean troops are expected to "return soon."

"They are still around, either training or awaiting reinforcements. Something is happening, and they'll be back soon," he stated.

The commander also claimed that North Korean soldiers refused to surrender, and instead chose to detonate grenades to end their own lives. According to Pulse, one soldier reportedly shouted, "For General Kim Jong Un," before killing himself.

However, HNGN cannot independently verify the claims.

On Jan. 2, Ukraine's military intelligence (GUR) reported that new North Korean troops were rotated into combat positions to compensate for battlefield losses.

The GUR estimates that North Korea has deployed approximately 11,000 soldiers to Russia's Kursk region, where Ukraine has launched a counter-invasion to divert Russian forces.
Wake up, New York! Did you pay attention to the Trump trials? Did you realize how your rights as a citizen have been abrogated by the New York legal system? Please read the post-trial Trump jury charge and watch the New York juror orientation video.

In past years, Chief Judge Judith Kayes orientation video depicted the 1735 John Peter Zenger case, which New York schoolkids learned about in pre-woke days. That video told jurors of our inalienable right to find a defendant not guilty if jurors thought the law in the case was immoral, wrong, wrongly applied, or just plain unjust. Jurors could nullify a judges jury instruction, which would otherwise give the jury no choice but to find the defendant guilty.

That Kaye video has been replaced by new videos and memos that discuss implicit bias. Why the change? Because jurors must follow orders and not think for themselves on pain of being called biased, a racist, or worse.

The Jury Nullification Rule and the Zenger case are summarized here:

Zenger was tried for seditious libel, and, under British law ... truth was no defense to the charge. ... Zengers lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, argued to the jury that Zenger should not be punished for true statements criticizing the government. In the end, the jury agreed with Hamilton  ignoring the existing rule under the English common law and refusing to convict Zenger. This was an early example of jury nullification, with the jurors refusing to convict a guilty defendant (in this case, Zenger) for violating laws that the jurors deemed unjust. The case ... came to stand for a core principle ... that true statements criticizing the government cannot be punished.

On November 5, 2024, the U.S. electorate acted like the Zenger jury and nullified President Trumps political lawfare persecutions. Was the implicit bias jury orientation video designed to deny jurors information about their Zenger nullification right? A January 23, 2025 N.Y. County Lawyers Association panel explored Causes for Publics Eroding Faith in NY Legal System. No surprise that some panelists weighed whether that lack of faith was elucidated by President Donald Trumps criticism of the Manhattan trial court justice who handled his criminal trial. Another panelist said prosecutors inexcusable lack of discretion in deciding to raid Trumps home was partly to blame for the perceptions. It seems that the panel ignored or was unaware of the N.Y. juror orientation video and the absence of the Zenger Nullification Rule.

The panelists also seemed to miss the November 5, 2024, verdict of the ultimate jury  the voters  who followed Zenger and nullified the get Trump lawfare spawned in N.Y. and D.C. The voters knew that if it could happen to President Trump, it could happen to them. The New York legal and judicial systems have been criticized, and many would say accurately.

Replacing the juror orientation video about the Zenger Jury Nullification Rule, which empowers the individual juror, with the implicit bias video illustrates how too many on the N.Y. County panel  and too many in the NYC legal community  view the NYC judicial system: as the embodiment of a Wilsonian woke left-wing DIE and social outcome philosophy that makes heroes out of criminals, illegal aliens, racists, and antisemites instead of unbiased common sense and competence- and merit-based constitutionally legal outcomes.

Those who have been summoned to jury duty know they are likely to be asked if they can or cannot follow the judges instructions. Those who paid attention to the Zenger video, and some lawyers called to jury duty, would know to raise their hand and to ask to approach the bench. Why? If a juror said out loud that the Zenger case allowed the juror to disregard the judges instructions, other jurors might repeat that in order to be excused. The juror faces a dilemma if the judge refuses to allow the juror to approach the bench to say this privately to the judge.

A 2023 Forbes article elaborated: Although you cannot be held legally responsible for following a jury nullification strategy, talking about it with your fellow jurors may be enough to get you removed from the jury. Sometimes, even knowing about jury nullification is enough to keep you from being picked as a juror in the first place. A University of MissouriKansas City 2001 article about the Zenger trial explains:

Jury nullification occurs when a jury returns a verdict of Not Guilty despite its belief that the defendant is guilty of the violation charged. The jury in effect nullifies a law that it believes is either immoral or wrongly applied to the defendant whose fate they are charged with deciding. ... Early in our history, judges often informed jurors of their nullification right. For example, our first Chief Justice, John Jay, told jurors: You have a right to take upon yourselves to judge [both the facts and law]. In 1805, one of the charges against Justice Samuel Chase in his impeachment trial was that he wrongly prevented an attorney from arguing to a jury that the law should not be followed.

Zenger appears to have been overturned by the 1895 Sparf v. United States 5-4 decision. The question in 1895 was who decides what the law is  the judge or the jury with input from the judge. The dissent in the 1895 Sparf case said, It is our deep and settled conviction ... that the jury, upon the general issue of guilty or not guilty in a criminal case, have the right, as well as the power, to decide, according to their own judgment and consciences, all questions, whether of law or of fact, involved in that issue (emphasis added).

As in Sparf, the Trump judges instruction had the direct tendency and the actual effect of inducing the jury to return a verdict of guilty of the higher crime. The Trump judge did not include anything in his charge about the jurors nullification right. N.Y. jurors are no longer shown the Zenger video, so, absent including Zenger in a jury charge, how would jurors know of their nullification right?

The Sparf dissent examined the historical roles of judges and juries and said that a 101-year-old 1794 Supreme Court case, Georgia v. Brailsford, established, the right of the jury ... to determine the law as well as the fact in controversy. Many may agree with the 1895 Sparf dissent that opinions expressed more than a generation after the adoption of the Constitution [as in Sparf] have far less weight than the almost unanimous voice of earlier and nearly contemporaneous judicial declarations and practical usage [as in the 1794 case].

The Sparf dissent added that a person accused of crime has a two-fold protection  in the court and the jury  against being unlawfully convicted. ... [T]he court can never order the jury to convict, for no one can be found guilty but by the judgment of his peers. ... [T]he court in this case went beyond this, and distinctly told the jury that if they found that a felonious homicide had been committed by the defendants, they could not properly convict them of manslaughter, which was equivalent to saying that if any crime was proved, it was murder. This instruction had the direct tendency and the actual effect of inducing the jury to return a verdict of guilty of the higher crime (emphasis added).

If New York wants to survive as  or some would say again become  the legal capital of the world, serious changes must be made. Why not start with the N.Y. juror orientation video to instruct jurors about their inalienable Zenger nullification right, as well as to remind jurors not to be prejudiced in advance of hearing all the evidence? Lawyers must also be allowed to refer to the jurors nullification right and to argue if the facts in the case support nullification of a judges instruction.

Voters woke up in November 2024 and understood this. NYC judges and lawyers need to come down from Mt. Elite and rejoin their peers.

Stephen I. Siller is a Manhattan-based international business lawyer, instrument-rated pilot, open-water scuba diver, and accomplished glass artist. His views are personal and not those of any firm or other organization with which he is affiliated.

Image via Picryl.
I fear that you will get more violence, said Sen. Lindsay Graham on Meet the Press this Sunday. Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently I think it was a mistake.

In so saying, Graham, like so many pundits on the Right, showed how little he knows about what transpired on January 6, 2021, and during the four years afterward. In truth, the one thing all J6ers have in common, including the allegedly violent ones, is that they had no more chance at securing justice in Joe Bidens D.C. than the Scottsboro Boys had in Jim Crow Alabama.

In 2020, 95 percent of the D.C. citizens voted against Donald Trump. If this jury pool were not poisoned enough, the media lied relentlessly to potential jurors about the insurrection, about white supremacist mobs, about cops being murdered -- pick a number of dead cops, 1 to 5.

A change of venue would seem to have been in order, but none was allowed, and the juries lived down to expectations. They acquitted not a single J6er. Knowing the odds against them, hundreds of defendants pleaded guilty to crimes they did not commit -- including felony assault.

The Scottsboro Boys at least had the major media and the ACLU on their side, The J6ers had neither. On the first anniversary of January 6, for instance, all 51 ACLU chapters signed on to a letter drafted by the D.C. ACLU about the white supremacists that invaded the U.S. Capitol. The date was the only thing the ACLU got right:

On January 6 of last year, the residents of D.C. were traumatized as an insurrectionist mob roamed our streets, harassed our neighbors, and violently broke into the Capitol Building, killing at least five people -- all in an attempt to overthrow the counting of American citizens votes.

What makes this letter doubly perverse is that the ACLU signees had a fresh memory of what an insurrectionist mob actually looked like. They saw elements of this mob in action over a three-week period that began on May 29, 2020.

On the night of May 29, rioters threw rocks, alcohol, and urine at the Secret Service agents guarding the White House, injuring more than 60 of them. On May 30, rioters defaced the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial. The next night they looted dozens of businesses and set St. Johns Episcopal Church on fire.

On June 6, insurrectionists painted Defund the Police on a city street. On June 19, they toppled the statue of Albert Pike and set it on fire. On June 23, they tried to do the same with the Andrew Jackson statue in front of the White House but settled on defacing it before being dispersed. Said the ACLU about these incidents. We will fight government violence against protestors across the country.

Among the most aggressive of those protestors was Antifa leader Jason Charter. His interaction with the law hews close to the norm for George Floyd rioters.

In July 2020, the Feds arrested Charter for heading up a very organized effort to destroy the two statues. Charter was on top of the [Jackson] statue and directing people, a law enforcement officer told Fox News. They had acid, chisels, straps and a human chain preventing police from getting to the statue.

Before the arrest, on June 26, Charter assaulted One America News Network reporter Jack Posobiec and was subsequently arrested. Despite the seriousness of these multiple charges, Charter was roaming free on October 3, 2020, when he and his comrades disrupted a Walk Away rally at the Washington Monument. Brandon Straka, the leader of the movement, had a permit for the rally at which he and others shared stories about leaving the Democratic Party before the attack.

When police tried to remove the Charter crew from the Walk Away rally, they became assaultive to U.S. Park Police officers. Charter himself was charged with Assault on a Police Officer and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Incredibly, despite his arrest for assaulting Posobiec, assaulting the police, and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage, prosecutors offered Charter a deal allowing him to plead guilty to the single misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct on restricted grounds.

In January 2022, Charter was sentenced to three years of probation, 60 days of home detention, and $2,600 fine. Knowing how George Floyd justice worked, Charter considered the sentence appalling. He told a Fox News2 reporter, I expected to walk out of there with probation, which seemed consistent with other people who were charged in this case. To clarify, he meant other of his people.

Charter remains unrepentant. On January 20 of this year, he posted on X a video titled Black Bloc Smashes Inauguration. The video shows his masked colleagues on January 20, 2017, defacing buildings, breaking windows, vandalizing police cars, and spraying gas from canisters. Says Charter, One of my favorite day of action in my life. Made a lot of memories and friends during Disrupt J20.

In November 2017, six of the Disrupt J20 people went on trial in D.C. Given the jury pool, all six were found not guilty on all counts. In January 2018, the DoJ dropped charges against 129 others. By July 2018, federal prosecutors had dropped all charges against all defendants, and this was before George Floyd mania seized the city.

For my book, Ashli: The Untold Story of the Women of January 6, I profiled 10 women, eight of whom survived the day. The police officers responsible for the arguably criminal deaths of Ashli Babbitt and Rosanne Boyland were both rewarded, one with a trip to the Super Bowl, the other with a bonus and promotion. They faced no discipline at all.

The men who tried to protect the J6 women paid a high price. Luke Coffee, who stood over the dying Rosanne Boyland with a crutch to protect her from the blows of policewoman Lila Morris, was found guilty of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon among other charges.

Victoria White endured what was arguably the most severe police beating of a female ever captured on video. Kyle Fitzsimmons tried to protect her and was sentenced to 87 months in prison for his efforts.

Of the eight surviving women that I profiled, seven went to prison, and all were punished more severely than Jason Charter. Reviewing their cases closely, I could see that none of them had a chance. If the juries werent problem enough, prosecutors routinely hid exculpatory evidence and exaggerated their offenses with impunity.

Only one of the eight women committed what a dispassionate observer would recognize as a crime. Rachel Powell, a very granola, very crunchy mother of eight with no criminal record, helped break a window. Powell was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release.

"Trump keeps his promises," Powell said upon her release last week. "My family can start rebuilding our life again, and we can move forward from Jan. 6 into the future and make America great again."

Those who say Trump should have proceeded on a case-by-case fail to understand that nothing was what it appeared on January 6, that almost every case was corrupted, that some of our best citizens were deemed our worst. Until they get their facts straight, our friends in D.C. are better off saying nothing at all.

Image: TaptheForwardAssist
Donald Trump spoke virtually to Klaus Schwab's World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on January 24, only four days after he was sworn in as the 47th president of the U.S. A panel of 'experts' gathered to hear his speech, then discuss what Trump had said. The panel concluded that the world should be aware that what he says represents a significant change in the global millennial economic order.

Trump said, "I terminated the ridiculous and incredibly wasteful Green New Deal -- I call it the Green New Scam; withdrew from the one-sided Paris climate accord; and ended the insane and costly electric vehicle mandate." To say his comments were not well received is an understatement, because the WEF favors green energy, the Paris climate accord, and EVs.

Trump told the WEF that DEI is 'absolute nonsense'. "My administration has taken action to abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense -- and these are policies that were absolute nonsense -- throughout the government and the private sector." This has to have upset the WEF because it actually believes DEI works.

Trump also said, "The United States has the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we're going to use it." That policy really goes against the WEF's stance on fossil fuels. The WEF maintains that the need to move away from fossil fuels is now embedded in global diplomacy, national and corporate targets, and public consciousness.

Trump referred several times to the U.S. as a 'sovereign' nation. His declaration flies in the face of the WEFs freedom of migration policy, which holds that freedom of migration is essential for global development and a prosperous future. It says the world is becoming more global, that the opening up of the world thanks to technology and other factors like simpler regulations means we don't need to stay within the borders of the country in which we were born

The WEF also maintains that a global financial system is what the world requires in order to avoid a worldwide economic collapse. It maintains that a well-integrated global financial system is a critical driver of economic growth. Yet history suggests otherwise. When the E.U. was created in 1993, its GDP was approximately the same as the U.S. Today, after implementing the WEF's global financial system (as well as other WEF policies) its GDP is little more than half of the U.S. GDP, and 60 percent of U.S. per-capita income.

Graham Allison, Douglas Dillon Professor of Government at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, suggested that Trump's policies will affect both national and international interests because they are complete shifts from the last four years. He said that Trumps electoral success illustrates how dissatisfied people are with the previous political class. According to Allison, "Something new and strange is happening. The fact that Trump has staged 'the greatest comeback in political history' means that the new U.S. president 'thinks he can do anything.'"

That phrase: 'thinks he can do anything,' scares the WEF. Why? Because Trump, from the WEF's perspective, can (and will) do anything.

For example, about tariffs Trump said, "Come make your product in America and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on earth. But if you don't make your product in America... you'll have to pay a tariff." (This article illustrates how tariffs will benefit the U.S. economy.)

Another example concerns the E.U. trade deficit. Trump said [the U.S. has] "hundreds of billions of dollars of deficits with the E.U. and nobody's happy with it. And we're going to do something about it. [The E.U. treats the U.S.] 'very unfairly, very badly' with the taxes they impose," and "they have a large tax and a VAT tax, and it's a very substantial one. They essentially don't take our farm products or our cars, yet they send cars to us by the millions. They put tariffs on things we want to do." Trump also said that these tariffs make it 'very difficult' to bring products into Europe and "yet they expect to sell, and do sell, their products [in the USA]."

Christine Lagarde, the European Central Bank's president, responded to Trump's accusation of unfair trade treatment by calling for negotiations and mutual respect rather than focusing purely on trans-Atlantic trade figures. "You have to look at the good exchanges, you have to look at the services exchanges, you have to look at the capital account. It cannot just be black and white. What is true is that there has to be negotiation." 'Negotiations' occur only under capitalism.

Further, Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, echoed Lagarde by saying that trade patterns show the benefits of open relationships, and countries that fare best are ones "that are friends with everybody." 'Friends with everybody' occurs only under capitalism.

In contrast, Schwab said in 2021 that the Biden-Harris administration was the 'final boost' for the world economy to stakeholder capitalism, the economic idea that a company's purpose is to benefit all its stakeholders, not just its shareholders. The 'stakeholder' concept occurs only under socialism.

The WEF, an annual summit of mostly self-appointed rather than elected international business and political leaders, knows its socialist policies don't work, that no one wants to listen to them, that countries that implement their policies have their borders not respected, that illegal immigration becomes rampant, that the immigrants won't assimilate, that their economies slow, that their citizens feel they have less freedom, prosperity, and security. Yet the WEF won't address these issues or ask why conservative politicians like Trump get elected worldwide.

WEF 'experts' refuse to learn from conservative policies. Instead, they say, "How dare you conservative politicians promote your policies," and "Those policies are wrong."

Bottom line: Trump made it quite clear to the WEF crowd that from now on every U.S. domestic action will be for U.S. benefit and every U.S. foreign policy action will include a calculation to evaluate how it benefits America.

Image: World Economic Forum
On January 21, the Israeli media reported that the countrys Defense Minister Israel Katz paid a visit to the military command post in Samaria overseeing an IDF operation called Iron Wall in progress inside the Jenin refugee camp (and never mind there is no camp and the people there are not refugees).

To the media, Minister Katz said there is a change in the IDFs security doctrine in Judea and Samaria. The next day, his office issued a statement calling the present effort a high-intensity operation to eliminate terrorists and the camps terror infrastructure without the resurgence of terror into the camp after the operation endsWe will not allow the arms of the Iranian octopus and radical Islam to endanger the lives of the Israeli residents and establish an eastern terrorist front against the State of Israel. We will strike hard at the arms of the octopus until they are severed.

The Iranians, indeed, are smuggling in all kinds of weapons, and there is certainly no shortage in Judea and Samaria of Muslim soul brothers, ideologically allied with the hundreds of Muslims in Gaza who, just last week, terrorized one last time the three young Israeli women hostages on their way to freedom. The Muslim males in what anti-Jews call the West Bank would also like to do what their brethren in Gaza did: That is, murder hundreds of Jews, kidnapping and raping Jewish females and using them as slaves. Israel must address this.

The problem is that Minister Katz, as a representative of the Israeli mind, conceives of two kinds of Muslims in Jenin: terrorists and innocent Palestinian civilians. He believes Israel can eliminate the terrorists, and Jenin will then become a better and different kind of place.

But the problem is actuarial. The IDF may be able, theoretically, to hunt down all the current, sadistic, would-be sex maniacs who want to duplicate October 7. However, that wont stop the next population cohort of out-of-control, cruel fiends.

As a journalist during the first intifada thirty years ago, I was embedded in an Israeli patrol of Border Guards in Jenins fake refugee area. That experience taught me that Israelis still dont understand that wars are not fought over eliminating enemy soldiers but over controlling territory. Wars commonly end with winners who enlarge their territory at the expense of the losers.

During the war in Vietnama proven impossible win for the USthis was evidenced by the invention of body counts by the US Army as a record of success that meant nothing.

Israelis these days are scratching their heads over the future governance of Gaza after Hamas has been eliminated. They fantasize that, post-Hamas, a new form of self-government will arise, staffed by non-political technocrats and/or a combination of so-called moderate Arab states with Israel in overall security control. They believe in behavior modification and are forever questing for the right policy to transform the Arabs into peaceful, friendly neighbors.

But the only fail-proof way to pacify the Gaza Strip is never floated. Israel must assert the truth that the Strip is legally Israeli real estate. According to the United Nations Charter of 1945, which incorporated the League of Nations Palestine Mandate of 1922, Gaza (the Strip never existed before 1948) belongs to the Jewish people. The Charter recognized all the land from the river to the sea, viz. Judea, Samaria, and Gaza as rightfully Jewish property.

Ergo, Israel, as the legitimate landlord, has the right to evict squatters, especially when they are a proven cult of homicidal, antisemitic rapists and mutilating murderers.

At Potsdam, two months after the end of WWII, President Truman, Prime Minister Churchill, and Comrade Stalin ordered ten million ethnic Germans living in various European countries to uproot themselves and become property-less refugees in the new, truncated post-war Germany. They were told to leave behind all their immovable propertyhomes, businesses, churches, and the graveyards of family members. They would not be compensated for all the wealth they were ordered to leave behind.

And why? Because during the war, when the German army invaded these countries, the resident ethnic Germans collaborated with them, which infuriated their fellow non-German, indigenous neighbors. In fact, many of the Germans who did move to Germany did so quickly to escape their enraged neighbors after the War who began murdering them in the thousands.

In 1947, independent, post-colonial India came into being, although two major chunks of territory in the northwest and northeast were ceded to the Muslims as the new state of Pakistan, forcing millions of both Hindus and Muslims to uproot themselves because the new borders left them as minorities within the other religion and they did like not that.

So, what would be so terrible if Israel cited international law recognizing Israeli ownership of the Gaza Strip and designed a humane program for relocating the 70% of the Arab Muslim UNRWA freeloaders to any one of the officially 21 Arab nations, especially those states that, in 1948, attacked Israel on the day it declared independence, launching the war that produced the original crop of Arab refugees? Unlike historys endless streams of refugees who flee wars into countries whose language they struggle to learn and whose religious life is different, these Arab Muslims resettled in the 21 Arab countries would be perfectly at home in terms of language and religion.

Anti-Israelites would surely protest, saying Israel has no right to expel the indigenous, ancient Palestinians who they insist have been living in Palestine for thousands of yearsand never mind not one of them knows anything of the language their mythical ancestors spoke in historic Palestine, the way Jews today speak the same language their ancestors spoke in this same country thousands of years ago. The ancient connection to the land is a myth.

Likewise, while the Israelis practice the same religion as their forefathers in this land, the so-called Palestinians religion is not native to the erstwhile Land of Canaan, which the Jews transformed into the Land of Israel and Imperial Rome then rebranded as Palaestina. They pray to Mecca, which is in the Arabian Peninsula, which is not in Palestine at all. A more accurate and honest label for these Palestinians would be Arabians.

It is a Sisyphean effort for the IDF to weed out the bad guys among the Muslims in Judea and Samaria, in the fallacious belief that all the others are potential good guys.

In 1967, Israel emerged victorious against Arab aggressors but never claimed the right to keep the spoils of war. Instead, at Oslo in 1993, Israel tried to sell back some of the land in the fantasy that the enemy would be happy with a state even smaller than Israel and become friendly neighbors.

In 1848, the United States concluded its two-year war with Mexico by keeping a third of that country; after WWII, Germanys neighbors took possession of thousands of square miles of territory that in 1939 had been German land.

In 2025, Israel launches Operation Iron Wall into Jenin, its umpteenth raid there in 57 years.

What Israel never does iswithout shame or guilttake land away from the enemy in response to his bloody atrocities. Indeed, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in his last statement on Israel, said Israel must not retain any territory belonging to the Gaza Strip before October 7. That statement proves that holding the territory is a good idea because Antony Blinken is against it, it must be a good one.

Islam is a form of antisemitism. and there is nothing Israel can do to change that truth except to defend itself with no hope of peace, at least until the advent of the Messiah, as Jews experience the concept.

Shai ben-Tekoas PHANTOM NATION: Inventing the Palestinians as the Obstacle to Peace is available at Amazon.com in hardcover or a Kindle ebook. His podcasts can be heard on www.phantom-nation.com.

Image: Map showing Jewish territory under the Palestine Mandate of 1922 by Bolter 21. CC BY-SA 4.0.
It was a story any reporter worth his salt should have salivated to report -- a president of a sovereign state went into a drunken meltdown on social media, screaming about President Trump after breaking his own agreement to accept repatriation flights of Colombian criminals, couldn't stop himself from unleashing a stream of continuous gibberish and within an hour mysteriously returned to the scene robotically stating he would do as he had agreed to do earlier, accepting all the terms of President Trump's requirements on migrant deportations. He even retweeted Trump's statement himself as if he had been ordered to.

Oh, mother of all backtracks! All of this played out on real time on X.

But to watch the NBC Evening News, all you would get was this bland pabulum of Democrat/NGO talking points from Hallie Jackson:

My transcription:

Tonight ... and the latest threat from President Trump, after one country refuses to take some migrants in ... [0:25 ]The president, threatening tariffs and more against the country of Colombia, after they rejected two U.S. flights carrying migrants. The new response tonight ... [1:25]This is NBC Nightly News, with Hallie Jackson. We are coming on the air with a new push on those immigration enforcement operations the president long promised, and new fallout not just here at home, but around the world. I want to show you some of the images coming in from across America: In Colorado, DEA agents (points to blow-up mural of a DEA bust of 50 illegals involved with dealing drugs, then another of "federal agents" arresting more illegals in Los Angeles) ... We're also getting new pictures like these of planes carrying migrants out of the country. Some of these flights sparking an international standoff, with President Trump tonight slapping tariffs on Colombia. That's after that country refused two U.S. deportation flights, the Colombian president suggesting migrants should not be treated as criminals [unintelligible] here or internationally. [cuts to field report on illegal alien criminals rounded up] ... [Gabe Gutierrez reports 2:15] Tom Homan is Trump's border czar. He's in Chicago tonight overseeing a major enforcement operation even as the deportations sparked international backlash, Colombia's president turning away two U.S. military aircraft with deportees, writing on social media "a migrant is not a criminal and should be treated with the dignity a human being deserves." President Trump is now threatening Colombia with urgent and decisive retaliatory measures, slapping a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods coming into the U.S. and revoking the U.S. visas of Colombian government officials.

Look at how much information was either slanted or left out from the report.

Nothing about the fact that the flights had been approved by Petro, only to be reneged upon when the repatriation flights were in mid-air. Nothing about the nature of the Colombians being repatriated, who were indeed criminals in handcuffs, and transported that way given who they were, finishing up their sentences. Nothing about the initial cave-in by Petro after tariffs were threatened, which would have been available news for the report, let alone his crazed meltdown which also would have been available for them to report. All of those things were highly relevant to the story, but they went with the 'mean Trump, noble migrants, compassionate Petro' narrative instead.

Just mean President Trump treating innocent migrants inhumanely and Colombia's president nobly protesting it, no mention of Petro's flaming hypocrisy in allowing Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro to shove Colombian migrants across a bridge with all their possessions on their backs not too long ago without a peep from him which was hardly the "dignity" he supposedly cares about. And the claim that problems are happening with deportations "around the world" is ridiculous, too -- it happened in one country. Most nations in fact are falling all over themselves to stay on Trump's good side, and as of now, to avoid becoming the next global laughingstock like Gustavo Petro.

The lousiness of the report was revealed in full by journalists who actually know how to do journalism -- in the Colombian press.

Take a look at the front page of El Tiempo, the leading newspaper of Colombia at the time that NBC was reporting its story:

Some rough translations of the headlines for those who don't read Spanish:

First story at the upper left is on Trump's visa restrictions announcement, affecting Petro and his family. Second is a picture of the new foreign minister saying no one should panic -- obviously, they were panicking. Third one at the upper right asks the question of why Petro would do something like this.

In the next row from the left, experts were saying Colombia could not win in this confrontation, second asks who exactly was on those repatriation flights, then the new foreign minister from above, then Petro saying Trump's "blockade" prompts him to introduce retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, then which Colombian products would be most affected by new tariffs from President Trump, with a picture of roses depicted.

In the third row of stories, there's an item about Petro preening about getting his visa yanked, saying, "First is the dignity of Colombia and Latin America." The rest are local stories, including a followup on Colombia's military defeat at the hands of drug dealers in Catatumbo.

In the fourth row of stories, there's an item about Colombian mayors preparing to travel together to visit President Trump and ask him to not hit them with tariffs, along with several local stories.

Serious journalism? Intelligent questions? Absolutely.

Here is the immediate morning after:

In the top row of stories, there's an item about how this 12-hour confrontation from Petro to Trump could have happened. Then there's a big photo of a fierce-looking Trump, obviously displeased at Colombia's clown president. The third item in the top spot compares and contrasts the flaming hypocrisy of Petro, hard on Trump, but soft on Maduro.

Further on down, there are items about the foreign minister announcing an agreement between the U.S. and Colombia, and China trying to take advantage of the situation, along with an array of local stories, many war-related.

Does that tells us all we need to know about what good journalism is, and what the idiocy we see at NBC is? The Colombians did serious reporting and put Petro on the hot seat, asking all kinds of questions about what was going on, as it was the kind of news that would affect them and their country. NBC by contrast did talking points.

I also looked at the headlines in Semana, another well-regarded major paper in Colombia and the coverage was similar -- pointed and pertinent coverage.

It all goes to show how poorly served we are by the mainstream media, which can't even get the facts all there in its televised reports, not because it's a bit more challenging to do so in television than print (reports have to be brief) but because they're promoting Democrat talking points. Instead of hearing about what a fool Petro was, and what Colombians of all stripes think of Petro, and how Petro lost big in his confrontation with Trump, they went with the Petro-is-compassionate-about-migrants narrative with every detail omitted and distorted from their priorities in their report. I don't even think those photos shown of migrant flights were relevant to the Colombia repatriation story or even the current events, and they didn't say where they came from.

Sounds like we are going to have to start learning Spanish to get real news. This Petro incident exposed just how incompetent the mainstream media is in the U.S. They had a very good story in front of them and they missed it. It's disgusting.

Image: Screen shots from El Tiempo front pages // fair use
Over the past few weeks, the city of Los Angeles has been devastated by wildfires.

To claim that the authorities were ill-prepared would be an understatement, because it would imply that they were prepared, but just not sufficiently enough for the scale of fires that occurred.

The fact is both California state officials and L.A. officials were not prepared at all for the fires.

Had the wildfires occurred unexpectedly, the authorities could have been forgiven. But in the case of California, hazardous wildfires have been occurring for the past 25 years.

We also learned that California governor Gavin Newsom cut $100 million, and L.A. mayor Bass cut $49 million, from the states and citys fire prevention budget, respectively.

Following the devastating wildfires in 2018, President Trump warned Newsom about the importance of forest management:

FLASHBACK: Trump stood next to Gavin Newsom and stressed the importance of proper forest management after wildfires swept through California in 2018 pic.twitter.com/tE7ds4mxij  johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) January 8, 2025

But those words fell on deaf ears. As expected the media called Trump's ideas bizarre. Alas for the suffering residents of Los Angeles, the fires werent the only evils they had to combat.

While facing unspeakable loss, they also had to face another nefarious force  bureaucratic red tape.

The very authorities whose blatant dereliction of duty allowed the fires to ravage their properties placed additional impediments to citizens attempts to begin the long journey of restoring their lives. President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump traveled to the locations of devastation to commiserate with suffering residents. President Trump also held a press conference alongside L.A. Mayor Bass and Pacific Palisades residents, during which some shocking revelations were made.

Palisades residents revealed that they had been told that clearing the debris from their properties would take 18 months due to the local permitting processes. It was also revealed that most of the affected residents had been prohibited from even visiting the remains of their devastated homes. This caused President Trump to confront Mayor Bass and demand that she use her emergency powers and allow residents to return to their homes to initiate the rebuilding process.

The exchange caused outrage on social media, many were shocked to see how mendacious, ill-prepared, and apathetic Bass appeared and sounded. Bass seemed to sport a smile during the exchange which also seemed exceedingly insensitive.

 BREAKING: LA Mayor Karen Bass and Trump with a very tense exchange now... Bass is losing her cool over insistence from community members and Trump who say that clearly, people aren't being allowed back on their property soon enough.



TRUMP: People are willing to clean up pic.twitter.com/k2w9KcB88l  Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 25, 2025

In response to the 18-month restriction claim, Bass claimed that if individuals wanted to clear access to their property, they could. When another Palisades resident confronted Bass and corroborated the 18-month restriction, Bass altered her stance claiming that residents would be able to return to their properties within a week.

A week is actually a long time, Trump reprimanded the mayor. Bass attempted to cite safety reasons for restricting residents from accessing their properties.

Trump displayed common sense, which seems to be uncommon among L.A. authorities:

Theyre [L.A. residents] not safe now A week is a long time I see hundreds of people not allowed to go on their lots. It wont burn anymore... its done. They want to clean up. They are just standing there, saying they need a permit. Everyone says 18 months.

Trump revealed that people were willing to participate in the clean-up rather than wait around for seven months until the city hires some demolition contractor thats gonna charge him $25,000 to do his lot.

President Trump also pledged to hasten rebuilding by waiving any federal permits and that he would pressure California officials to do the same: Were going to essentially waive all federal permits, Trump said. Im going to override the Coastal Commission, Im not going to let them get away with their antics.

Some sections of the media, as expected, called Trumps claims bizarre and devoid of facts. For citizens across the country, watching the exchange was like watching justice being delivered. The authorities, particularly Democrat leaders, seldom face the consequences for their incompetence and inactions. Trump received great support for confronting Bass to her face and demonstrating her inadequacies. But many rightly wondered if any change would occur on the ground after the exchange.

Breitbart News reported that the Palisades County authorities agreed to let residents access their properties from 27 January 2025. It seems outrageous that governmental authorities could prevent citizens from accessing their personal properties. This is how governments exploit emergencies such as the California wildfires to creep into citizens personal spaces. Once the government creeps in, it never leaves.

Thanks to President Trumps tough stand and common sense suggestions, the authorities stood down from their unreasonable stance.

It is said that during times of tyranny and deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act. President Trump proved to be that revolutionary for L.A. residents who stood up to the tyranny of Mayor Bass and her cohorts during their times of need. In just two days, Trump managed to reduce the restriction time of property access from 18 months to a week, then finally to immediate access.

 Trump just had a 1-on-1 exchange with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass regarding the wildfires.



This is so, so refreshing. Just watch.



TRUMP: Groups are saying they can't start [rebuilding] for 18 months.



MAYOR KAREN BASS: No. You can hold me to that.



TRUMP: 4 groups said pic.twitter.com/aSL4B56hmy  Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 25, 2025

Trump must also implement a suggestion from Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak and appoint a fire czar who will ensure that all the funds dispatched by the federal government in response to the wildfires will only be used to rebuild affected cities and prevent future fires from occurring.

Image from X.
President Donald Trump steps into his second term, he calls for a renaissance in America and proclaims the beginning of a Golden Age.

This bold vision marks a significant shift in the nations political and economic landscape, promising revitalization, prosperity, and renewed national pride.

In his inaugural speech, Trump outlined a vision for Americas future, emphasizing an optimistic return to greatness.

With the confident assertion that "Americas decline is over," Trump proclaimed that the country is ready for a resurgence that will make it the world's envy.

This sense of optimism is reflected in his sweeping agenda, which aims to reshape key elements of American society, from the economy to national security, all while highlighting the importance of traditional values.

A cornerstone of Trumps vision is revitalizing the American economy, focusing on restoring U.S. sovereignty and prosperity through bold economic policies.

One of the most ambitious initiatives he has proposed is a massive $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence (AI). This investment is expected to create over 100,000 new jobs and position the U.S. as a leader in AI infrastructure. According to tech executives, this push is a game-changer, driving technological innovation and manufacturing growth that will secure Americas place as a global powerhouse.

In addition to focusing on AI, Trumps administration is committed to making America energy independent. By declaring a national energy emergency, he intends to reverse policies restricting energy production, advocating for increased fossil fuel use, and expanding domestic drilling. Trump believes that energy independence is crucial for economic growth and lowering costs for American consumers. His policies aim to ensure that the U.S. will not rely on foreign energy sources, thereby strengthening the nations global competitiveness.

Trumps agenda also prioritizes national security, particularly addressing the challenges posed by illegal immigration. His administration has committed to reinstating policies like "Remain in Mexico" and ramping up border security to address what he describes as an "invasion" at the Southern border. These measures are part of Trumps broader approach to securing American borders. This sentiment resonates strongly with his base, which views immigration as a critical issue for both national security and economic prosperity.

In a broader context, Trumps "America First" policies aim to secure the nations interests at home and abroad. His focus on sovereignty and self-reliance positions America as a defender of its people and industries rather than as a participant in international agreements that he argues undermine U.S. workers and businesses.

Trumps rhetoric also emphasizes a return to traditional American values, which many of his supporters feel have been undermined by progressive movements. A key part of his platform is combating what he perceives as government overreach and social censorship. He vows to protect free speech and ensure accountability in federal agencies. This promise has struck a chord with conservatives who feel their voices have been stifled in the public discourse.

Culturally, Trump has positioned himself as a defender of traditional family structures, and his administration has frequently framed social issues through the lens of defending these values. His stance on gender identity, marriage, and social justice has been supported and criticized. Still, his vision for America includes restoring what he sees as the countrys foundational values.

Trumps message extends beyond policyit is a call to action, a rallying cry for those who believe in his vision of American greatness. By framing his presidency as a movement toward a brighter future, he seeks to unite Americans who feel alienated by recent political developments. His assertion that this is Americas moment of redemption appeals to his supporters to embrace the opportunity to reclaim the nations future and restore its former glory.

As President Trump embarks on this ambitious journey, his supporters and critics closely watch how these policies unfold. His administrations focus on deregulation, economic nationalism, and cultural conservatism marks a sharp departure from the approaches taken by previous presidents. While many Republicans see this as a chance to correct the nation's course after years of perceived neglect, others remain wary of the long-term implications of such a shift in policy.

Trump envisions a Golden Age marked by bold initiatives, a focus on American strength, and a renewed national pride. Whether or not this vision will materialize as he anticipates remains to be seen, but it has already reshaped the national conversation.

President Trumps second term represents a decisive moment in American politics. His vision for a Golden Age, underpinned by economic growth, national security, and cultural renewal, promises a dramatic transformation in the countrys trajectory. While there will undoubtedly be challenges ahead, Trumps call for a revitalized America speaks to those who believe in the promise of a brighter tomorrow and the enduring strength of the American spirit.

Trumps impressive victory was a reward for his tireless commitment to serving the American people. It was also the crowning achievement of an unprecedented campaign whose brilliance and high tone demonstrated the vitality of our Constitutional Republic to the entire world while keeping them spellbound.

Our responsibility as Americans to keep America great is to stand with President Trump, who selflessly sacrificed his comfortable life for the sake of America and the American people.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
One of the biggest battles in the last four years has been over parents rights. Basically, Democrats dont think they have any. Thats changing with the Trump Department of Education, which immediately put the kybosh on fallacious claims that removing pornographic LGBTQ+ books from schools is book banning.

Leftists agree with Lenin, whose precise words are debated, but who said something along the lines of Give me a child for six years, and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted. One-time MSNBC personality Melissa Harris-Perry was less poetic but made the same point:

We have never invested as much in public education as we should have because we've always had kind of a private notion of children. Your kid is yours and totally your responsibility. We haven't had a very collective notion of these are our children. So part of it is we have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents, or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities.

Or, as gamers might have said, All your children are belong to us.

Image by Grok.

This leftist philosophy has meant that, for the past four years, the government has gone to war against parents. The FBI classified them as terrorists, school boards had them arrested, and the Department of Education backed up any kind of leftist madness.

While parents of all races disliked Critical Race Theory instruction in schools, the real battle raged over sexual material in schools, especially in school libraries. Gone were the days of when a daddy plants a sperm in a mommys egg, that makes a baby. Now, schools across America are teaching children that the biological reality of their bodies is a lie.

However, if the Trump administration has anything to do with it, the leftist heyday is finally over. As hes shown with one Executive Order after another, Trump is totally dismantling the federal governments support for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the practical goals of which were racism and sexual perversion.

In a sign of just how quickly the Trump administration has taken control of every branch of the federal government (as is its right under the Constitution), one of the first things it did was have its Department of Education (DOE) dismiss spurious book banning complaints that leftists filed with the DOE when schools started withdrawing pornographic books. (And yes, they are graphically pornographic and would never have been allowed if they were about heterosexual sex.)

On Friday, the DOE issued a press release that goes to war in the caption: U.S. Department of Education Ends Bidens Book Ban Hoax.

The U.S. Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that it has dismissed 11 complaints related to so-called book bans. The complaints alleged that local school districts removal of age-inappropriate, sexually explicit, or obscene materials from their school libraries created a hostile environment for students  a meritless claim premised upon a dubious legal theory. Effective Jan. 24, 2025, OCR has rescinded all department guidance issued under the theory that a school districts removal of age-inappropriate books from its libraries may violate civil rights laws. OCR is also dismissing six additional pending allegations of book banning and will no longer employ a book ban coordinator to investigate local school districts and parents working to protect students from obscene content.

The entire press release is worth reading because it shows how aggressively the Biden administration sought to force the LFBTQ+ agenda onto Americas youth:

In June 2023, then-President Biden announced that he would appoint a book ban coordinator within OCR. The coordinators responsibilities included developing guidance and training to deter schools from limiting student access to sexually graphic or racially divisive books by claiming that these efforts may contribute to a hostile environment that may violate students civil rights.

Not only is the DOEs new stance wonderful (and Americans will support it), but it also shows the new administrations shock and awe efficiency. Axios, probably to a backdrop of weeping employees, acknowledged as much:

No modern president has done more  across more areas of American policy, culture and life  than Trump in the past six days. This new operating style and system enabled a strategy of flooding the nation with so many huge moves that it's hard for critics to attack specific ones.

In other words, leftists are now playing a losing game of whack-a-mole, and its a beautiful thing.
Over the last decades, the representatives of left liberal movement, whether they are high-ranking officials, opposition, social activists or even ordinary citizens, are used to spreading and guiding everyone with "the only proper course" that serves faithfully to their own views and interests.

Any deviation from the imposed mainstream agenda results at least in a public shaming expressed by the internet army of liberals or even in full cancellation.

At the same time, the key leverages they use can vary.

Thus, in 2022 the formerly popular BLM and LGBTQ faded into the background and were superseded by Ukraine.

For the following three years the country has become the spotlight among the Western political establishment and since that time it has been used by elites to achieve their own goals.

Anyone, who rejected the idea of helping Kyiv by any means, was labeled as killer, traitor and Putins friend.

This became a perfect instrument to fight unduly independent politicians.

National interests and domestic issues were put on the sidelines. There were only two variants possible: either you help Kyiv or you support the war.

Such high-ranking political figures, as Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico and President of the United States Donald Trump, faced it. Romania, which almost elected Calin Georgescu, who criticized NATO and supported the idea of halting military aid for Ukraine, as its president, was forced to annul the results of the elections. German opposition party AfD, that calls for cutting support for Kyiv and concentrating on the internal problems of state, is now castigated as fascist and risks isolation.

Ukraine itself also adds fuel to the flames and directly insults those who refuse to meet its requirements.

The price, too high for staying on the "right" side, was paid by many European countries like France, Germany, Austria and Great Britain, that faced a number of government resignations or significant economic difficulties.

The only hope is that this insanity will stop with coming to power of Trump who made bringing an end to the financially and politically exhausting war in Ukraine as one of his top priorities.

The idea of keeping unreasonable spendings going turns the U.S. president off.

Moreover, Trumps relations with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who directly accused him of working for Russia and literally campaigned for his rival, Kamala Harris, cant be described as entirely friendly.

Frankly speaking, Kyiv has played a victim for too long, being absolutely sure it can do whatever it wants. Ukraine went over the line in its statements, demands and actions long ago but whether Zelensky and his administration realize it still remains a big question.

Jonathan Schiff is a conservative, and engineer; his interests also include geopolitics and political analysis. He can be reached at jonathan.schiff@proton.me
The Mary Rose was a large warship in the Tudor Navy of King Henry VIII. She was the second most powerful ship in King Henry VIIIs fleet and a favourite of the king. For three decades she participated in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany, until her sinking in 1545 during the Battle of the Solent off the south coast of England. Almost all of the Mary Rose crew, up to 500 men, drowned.

Several attempts were made to salvage the sunken ship soon after it sank. However, the ship had settled deep into the soft muddy seabed of the Solent where it would remain for the next four hundred years. It was eventually raised in 1982 in one of the most ambitious and costly maritime salvage operations ever undertaken. The excavation and raising of the Mary Rose was a milestone in the field of maritime archaeology, comparable in complexity and cost to the raising of the 17th-century Swedish warship Vasa in 1961.

The Mary Rose by Geoff Hunt. Image credit: Mary Rose Trust

The Ship

The Mary Rose was constructed in Portsmouth between 1510 and 1511 before being towed to London to be outfitted with rigging, decking, and armaments. Although her exact dimensions remain uncertain, she was considered one of the largest ships in the English Navy at the time. Building a warship of this scale was a massive undertaking, requiring vast amounts of high-quality materials. It is estimated that approximately 600 large oak trees were felled to provide the timber necessary for her construction.

The Mary Rose was built during a period of significant transition in naval warfare. For centuries, sea battles resembled land combat, with soldiers wielding melee weapons and bows on wooden ships serving as floating battle platforms. The advent of firearms marked a turning point, as ships began to carry small cannons capable of targeting enemy crews. Over time, the use of larger cannons became more common, introducing the capability to sink opposing ships by blasting holes in their hulls, particularly near or below the waterline.

The Mary Rose as depicted in the Anthony Roll, circa 1540s. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

These heavier cannons could not be placed in the ships forecastles without destabilizing the vessel, so they were installed lower in the hull. This required the addition of small openings, known as gun ports, which could be opened or closed as needed. Positioned close to the waterline, these gun ports made ships vulnerable to floodinga hazard that ultimately led to the sinking of the Mary Rose. Similarly, the 17th-century Swedish warship Vasa sank due to flooding through its gun ports.

This vulnerability was not unique to the Mary Rose or the Vasa. During the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759, two French ships of the line, Thesee and Superbe, also foundered because of water entering through their gun ports. Likewise, the French ship Vengeur du Peuple likely sank during the American Revolutionary War for similar reasons, with seawater flooding through damaged gun port lids.

The Mary Roses broadside, equipped with a formidable battery of cannons, made her ideally suited for close-quarters combat. Her strategy involved maneuvering alongside enemy ships, unleashing devastating volleys to blast holes in their hulls, and preparing for boarding. Soldiers aboard the Mary Rose, supported by a barrage of arrows, darts, and quicklime, would then engage in hand-to-hand combat to capture the opposing vessel.

The Mary Rose first saw battle in 1512, in a joint naval operation with the Spanish against the French. With her superior armaments, the Mary Rose battered the French ships with heavy gunfire and forced them to retreat. The skirmish saw the loss of 27 French ships, in addition to the capture of five more by the English. However, a sudden storm in the North Atlantic forced the fleet back to Dartmouth in Devon.

From 1522 to 1545, the Mary Rose was placed in reserve and underwent extensive modifications that transformed her into a 700-ton prototype galleon. These upgrades significantly enhanced her firepower and durability, enabling her to deliver devastating blows to enemy ships from greater distances. Her towering castles were cut down to improve stability, her decks were reinforced, and she was outfitted with an impressive arsenal, including 15 large bronze cannons, 24 wrought-iron carriage guns, and 52 smaller anti-personnel weapons.

The Sinking

By 1545, England and France were once again at war. King Francis I of France assembled a massive fleet of approximately 200 vessels and sailed across the Channel with the intent of landing troops on English soil. The English, with a considerably smaller fleet of around 80 ships, including the flagship Mary Rose, were at a disadvantage. Lacking heavy galleys capable of matching the manoeuvrability of the French ships, the English fleet retreated into the safety of Portsmouth Harbour. However, the wind unexpectedly dropped, allowing four French galleys to row into position and catch the English fleet off guard.

To defend the English coast, two of the largest ships in the fleet, the Henry Grace a Dieu and the Mary Rose, were sent to confront the faster, more agile French galleys. According to eyewitness accounts, the Mary Rose fired a broadside at the enemy and began to turn to bring the guns on her opposite side into action. During this manoeuvre, a sudden gust of wind caused the ship to heel sharply. Water poured in through her open gun ports, and she rapidly capsized.

The Sinking of the Mary Rose by Geoff Hunt. Image credit: Mary Rose Trust

The Mary Rose sank with tragic speed, taking nearly her entire crewbetween 400 and 500 mento the seabed. Only about two dozen sailors managed to escape the sinking vessel.

Contemporary accounts attribute the sinking of the Mary Rose to excessive weight, which caused her to sit dangerously low in the water. With her gun ports open, the overladen ship heeled during a sharp turn, allowing water to flood the decks and causing her to sink. Modern historians largely agree, noting that the ship became increasingly unstable after her 1536 refit. The addition of heavy cannons significantly increased her draught, reducing the clearance between the waterline and the gun ports on the main deck to less than one metre, leaving her highly vulnerable to flooding.

English historian John Hooker supported this explanation but added that insubordination among the crew also contributed to the disaster. According to Hooker, Vice-Admiral George Carew, who commanded the Mary Rose, observed signs of instability as soon as her sails were raised. Historian Richard Barker further suggested that the crew may have recognized the ships precarious condition and refused to follow orders, possibly fearing the inevitable.

Also read:

The Sinking of Steamboat Arabia And its Discovery in a Cornfield

The Wreck of Swedish Warship Mars

Recovery

The first salvage attempt was made just days after the Mary Rose sank. At the time, the standard method for raising ships in shallow waters involved passing cables beneath the hull, which would then be pulled taut by two larger vessels during low tide. As the tide rose, the ships would lift the wreck, allowing it to be towed to shallower water. This process would be repeated until the entire vessel was raised. Charles Brandon, the king's brother-in-law and overseer of the salvage effort, was so confident of success that he reassured the king that the ship would be raised by Monday or Tuesday, at the furthest.

However, his optimism was misplaced. The Mary Rose had sunk deep into the clay of the seabed, making it nearly impossible to pass cables under her hull. The initial salvage effort failed, but hope lingered for some time. Attempts to retrieve the ship continued sporadically until 1546, when the effort was officially abandoned, and the Mary Rose was left to rest beneath the waves.

The wreck of Mary Rose, now at the Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth, England. Photo credit: Mary Rose Trust

In 1836, the wreck of the Mary Rose was rediscovered by fishermen whose nets became entangled with timbers on the seabed. Upon investigation, the remains were identified as those of the long-lost warship. Later that year, two professional divers, John Deane and William Edwards, descended to the wreck and recovered a number of artifacts. Unfortunately, Deane employed destructive techniques to access the ships interior, including the use of explosives to blast through the hull, causing further damage to the already fragile wreck.

The wreck of the Mary Rose was not raised until 1982, following more than a decade of meticulous planning and preparatory work. The operation was one of the most ambitious archaeological undertakings of its time and required far greater delicacy than the raising of the Swedish ship Vasa two decades earlier. Unlike the Vasa, whose hull was fully intact and rested upright on the seabed, the Mary Rose was deeply embedded in mud, with only about one-third of her hull surviving.

Numerous ideas for salvaging the wreck were considered and ultimately rejected. These included constructing a cofferdam around the site, filling the ship with buoyant materials, and even freezing the seabed by pumping in brine to lift the hull. In the end, the chosen method combined careful engineering with advanced technology.

The hull was first reinforced with steel braces and frames to prevent further damage during the operation. Cables were then carefully attached to the structure by drilling holes through the surviving timbers. Once secured, the ship was gently lifted from the seabed and placed on a steel cradle underwater. This cradle, supporting the fragile hull, was then raised to the surface in a controlled and painstaking process.

The wreck of the Mary Rose being raised out of water. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Today, the remains of the Mary Rose are preserved at the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, alongside over 26,000 artifacts that offer an extraordinary window into Tudor life. The ship's weaponryincluding cast iron and bronze cannons, longbows, gunpowder handguns, swords, daggers, and pikesprovides invaluable insights into 16th-century military technology and naval warfare. Equally captivating are the personal belongings of the crew, such as clothing, recreational items, spiritual artifacts, and musical instruments, which paint a vivid picture of daily life aboard a Tudor warship.

Among the most intriguing discoveries is the barber-surgeons chest, which contained more than 60 objects related to medical practice. These include razors, a copper syringe, and a carefully crafted feeding bottle, designed to nourish incapacitated patients.

The excavation also uncovered a wealth of skeletal remains, not only of the crew but also of the ship's resident animals. The skeletons of a rat, a frog, and the ship's dog, named Hatch, were recovered, offering further clues about life on the Mary Rose. Together, these artefacts and remains bring to life the stories of those who served aboard this iconic vessel.

Recommended reading:

# Julie Gardiner, Before the Mast: Life and Death Aboard the Mary Rose

# Peter Marsden, 1545: Who Sank the Mary Rose?
Joey Guerra is the music critic for the Houston Chronicle. He also covers various aspects of pop culture. He has reviewed hundreds of concerts and interviewed hundreds of celebrities, from Taylor Swift to Dolly Parton to Beyonce. Hes appeared as a regular correspondent on Fox26 and was head judge and director of the Pride Superstar singing competition for a decade. He has been named journalist of the year multiple times by both OutSmart Magazine and the FACE Awards. He also covers various aspects of pop culture, including the local drag scene and "RuPaul's Drag Race."
In the last few weeks, big names in the artificial intelligence segment have been warning the US about Chinas rapid growth in the AI segment. However, it seems that things are going even faster than previously thought. DeepSeek, a newly created AI-powered chatbot, has overtaken ChatGPT as the top-downloaded free app on Apples App Store in the US.

DeepSeek, an AI from a Chinese startup, outperforms ChatGPT on Apples App Store

DeepSeek is an AI-powered chatbot similar to ChatGPT, but powered by the DeepSeek-V3 model. US authorities are probably not very happy to know that it was developed by a startup based in Hangzhou, China. Hangzhou is known for being home to many key technological developments in the country, like Cupertino and Mountain View in the US.

The DeepSeek team just released the app a couple of weeks ago, but it didnt take long for it to become the most downloaded of the week in the US App Store, dethroning ChatGPT. Whats really impressive about the platform is that its performance surpasses multiple AI modelsincluding ChatGPT itselfon several parameters. Not only that, but it also offers features that you need to pay for on ChatGPT for free.

Fortunately, the DeepSeek-V3 model is open source. This should allay fears about potential unauthorized data extraction for Chinese espionage, as anyone can audit the code.

The fact that DeepSeeks developers say its training cost less than $6 million is another big worry for the US. This is many times less than the huge amounts of money other companies were spending on AI hardware. Plus, the model manages to outperform other popular ones using much less powerful training hardwareolder NVIDIA H800 chips. This has caused a huge shock in the industry, mainly reflected in NVIDIAs stock falling by more than 17% (at the time of writing this story).

The effectiveness of trade restrictions against China, in doubt

This new development raises many questions about the effectiveness of trade restrictions on China. The previous Biden administration implemented some measures to prevent China from accessing key AI hardware. However, Beijings industry has managed to walk on swampy ground and come out unscathed.

Its noteworthy that there are researchers who are dubious about the true capabilities of the model. Some believe that the developers might be a bit optimistic when promoting it. Anyway, US trade restrictions on China seem to be less effective than officials thought.

Currently, the United States and funds are financing the Stargate project. The initiative plans to build large data centers and power plants for the development of AI in the country. However, US officials may have to redouble their efforts if they want to avoid falling behind China in the segment. DeepSeek seems to have emerged out of nowhere, achieving great results, and there is nothing to say that more similar situations will not occur soon.
TikTok has been one of the hot topics in the US for quite some time. The short video platform, which went dark briefly in the country on January 19, bought itself a 75-day extension with the help of the US President Donald Trump. There have been reports about Chinas response to Trumps proposal to sell 50% of TikTok to the US. Now, it seems Oracle could take over TikToks global operations, with Microsoft being one of the investors.

Oracle is in talks to take over TikToks operations, while Microsoft is willing to invest

Yesterday, NPR exclusively reported that the White House is negotiating a deal with TikToks parent company ByteDance. The ongoing negotiation reportedly involves ByteDance retaining a minority stake in the company, with Oracle overseeing the apps algorithm, data collection, and software updates.

An anonymous source in direct connection with the ongoing talks said, The goal is for Oracle to effectively monitor and provide oversight with what is going on with TikTok. ByteDance wouldnt completely go away, but it would minimize Chinese ownership. Oracle is reportedly also willing to shell out the tens of billions to take over TikTok.

It seems Oracle isnt the only name that is engaged in the talks; Microsoft is also one of them. The tech giant is reportedly willing to invest in the company. Apart from that, details about its direct involvement in TikToks operations havent been disclosed in the report.

Trump surprisingly denies discussions with Oracles Larry Ellison, though

Oracles involvement in the ongoing deal is surprising given that Trump denied discussions with Larry Ellison about buying the app. Today, Reuters similarly reported on this matter, but with a few more details.

When asked if Trump was working on a deal with Oracle and other investors, he reportedly said, No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days. Congress has given 90 days. If we can save TikTok, I think it would be a good thing.

Previously, Trump hinted that he was open to Elon Musk and others buying TikTok. On the other hand, ByteDance board member still thinks that its possible to resolve the ban without selling off the company. Well, the drama around TikTok doesnt seem to stop. Itll be interesting to see who will take the drivers seat to run TikTok.
The New York States Department of Financial Services (DFS) has finally ordered PayPal to pay a $2 million settlement over a three-year-old data breach. On January 18, 2023, PayPal announced that it suffered a massive data breach that led cybercriminals to access customers sensitive personal information.

PayPal has to pay a $2 million settlement over a data breach from 2022

In the consent order dated January 23, 2025, there is mention of events related to that data breach. Per the document, a security analyst alerted PayPal about an online message PP EXPLOIT TO GET SSN on December 6, 2022. A URL attached to the message redirected users to PayPals website to check their Social Security Numbers (SSNs).

On the same day, PayPal noticed that the Form 1099-Ks available on PayPals website had unmasked customer information. This included details like names, date of birth, and full SSNs. The cybercriminals could access those details for about seven weeks, noted Adrienne A. Harris, Superintendent of Financial Services.

The following day, December 7, PayPals cybersecurity team noticed a surge in attempts to access their website using credential stuffing. The motive was to gain access to the NPI available in the unmasked Form 1099-Ks. The DFS concluded that PayPal failed to use qualified staff to handle key cybersecurity functions or properly train its staff.

The investigating body also found that PayPals previous practice didnt require multi-factor authentication (MFA) or CAPTCHA to prevent unauthorized access. Its worth noting that PayPal received a $2 million fine for violating the DFSs cybersecurity regulation implemented back in 2017.

PayPal will also have to ensure all the US customers use MFA for logins

The consent order further requires all PayPal users in the US to use multi-factor authentication (MFA) for account logins. As technology continues to get better each day, cybercriminals are evolving their tricks to breach systems. So, if you are looking to prevent unauthorized access to your online accounts, its best to set up multi-factor authentication.
If TikTok is hoping to keep itself operational following the 75-day extension that US President Donald Trump gave it, it will have to find itself a new owner. Some names have been tossed around as potential buyers, including Elon Musk. But now a new report suggests that Perplexity might have put in a new bid to buy TikTok.

Perplexitys previous bid

This is not the first time that Perplexity has expressed its interest in acquiring TikTok. Just a little over a week ago, Perplexity put in its first bid to buy TikTok. However, a new report from AP revealed that the company revised its bid following Trumps feedback.



Perplexity had proposed that it would create a new company following the acquisition in its previous bid. This new company will combine Perplexity, TikTok US, and other equity investors. After forming the new company, it plans to launch an initial public offering that gives the US government a 50% stake. It will also allow ByteDance to retain its ownership in TikTok.

This is a more diplomatic approach instead of buying TikToks operations outright. This could result in a smoother transaction, although we imagine that there are still quite a number of obstacles ahead.

Not so easy

Despite this more diplomatic approach, Perplexitys bid faces obstacles. For starters, the Chinese government has voiced its opposition to the sale of TikToks operations. Keep in mind that Chinas government enacted new export restrictions on what it deems to be core technologies. The countrys government believes that TikToks algorithm falls in that category, which could complicate the sale.

However, there are some who are optimistic that TikTok will make it through without having to sell itself. ByteDance board member William E. Ford was quoted as saying, Im optimistic about the dialog that is emerging between President Trump and President Xi. That might help create a much more constructive environment, a much higher level of engagement that could lead to a positive solution.

Trump had recently granted TikTok a 75-day extension to secure a deal that satisfies US national security requirements.

There are concerns that TikTok being owned by a Chinese company could send potentially sensitive user data back to China. While TikTok isnt the only foreign company to operate on US soil, the ongoing tensions between the US and China have resulted in the company turning into an unwitting pawn in these political games.
The year just started, and Google is already tangled up in a bit of a controversy. Just a couple of days ago, the company sent out an update that killed the Pixel 4as experience, leaving users furious. Well, if you received the terrible Pixel 4a update, youre stuck with it.

To catch you up, Google released an update for 2020s Pixel 4a, and it really destroyed the user experience. For some reason, the update had a huge impact on the phones battery life. Users were reporting having their phones die after very little usage. One user said that their phone would die after an hour of usage while another one mentioned that their phone would drop from full->2% with some very light use.

This was a surprise update that came out of left field. What made it more surprising was the fact that Google had already dropped support for the Pixel 4a. Google gave a vague description as to why it pushed the update. The company determined that certain Pixel 4a phones require a software update to improve the stability of their batterys performance, as per the changelog. That was it.

Youre stuck with the terrible Pixel 4a update

This is bad news, but it gets worse. If youre a tech-savvy person who knows how to downgrade to older versions of the software, youd likely be looking for the older firmware versions. Well, Google took them all down. This was also surprising, as holding onto the older firmware versions is something that Google typically does.

It would retain a few years worth of firmware builds for its Pixel phones, and this included the Pixel 4a. The company had the Android 10 version all the update to its final Android 13 update. However, a Reddit user found that Google had removed all of them.

Just like the update itself, Google didnt state why it had to get rid of the firmware versions. Despite the outrage across the community, the company is staying quiet about it.

One theory

This is only speculation, but one reason could be that the Pixel 4a launched with some sort of battery defect that Google didnt discover until just now. In order to prevent a repeat of the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, the company could be limiting the phones battery performance.

If this is so, then it could be why the company isnt telling the community. A company wouldnt want to tell its users, Youve been using a ticking time bomb for four years. Again, this is only speculation. In any case, hopefully, Google will give us a reason for this, as users are still enjoying their Pixel 4as.
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra has just surfaced in a hands-on image, which is the best look at the device that weve seen thus far. As a reminder, this phone is expected to launch next month, alongside the global variant of the Xiaomi 15.

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra appears in a hands-on image

If you check out the image below this paragraph, youll see what leaked. That camera island on the back is in focus yet again. Its huge, as it was on last years model, and it includes four cameras. Leica branding is also easily visible.

The main camera obviously sits on the left side. Ultrawide and telephoto cameras are located next to it, while the periscope telephoto camera is placed in the top-right corner.

That camera oreo protrudes on the back quite a bit, while youll also notice a red accent around the module itself. Youll also notice that Xiaomi is looking to bring the design of this phone in line with the Xiaomi 15 and Xiaomi 15 Pro.

What do I mean by that? Well, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will seemingly adopt the quad micro-curved design. In other words, its backplate will be slightly rounded on all sides, and chances are that the same will happen with the glass on the front. The display will be flat, though.

This phone is expected to arrive next month, likely during MWC 2025 in Barcelona

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is tipped to arrive during MWC 2025 in Barcelona next month. The company did confirm that its coming in February, but no exact time has been confirmed. The Xiaomi 15 already launched in China last year, but its global variant is expected to arrive alongside the Ultra model. Chances are that the Pro unit will stay exclusive to China.

This smartphone will almost certainly be fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, just like its siblings. Were expecting a large display on the front, with all the bells and whistles youd expect out of a flagship panel.

A 50-megapixel main camera with a 1-inch type sensor will likely sit on the back. A 50-megapixel telephoto unit was also mentioned, and the same goes for a 200-megapixel periscope telephoto camera. The last camera on the back will be a 50-megapixel ultrawide unit.
Crews are widening FM 1488 at Joseph Road in Waller County, shown Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, in Magnolia. A $202 million project would widen the last 20-mile segment of FM 1488 that is one lane in each direction from Montgomery County to Hempstead and convert it to a four-lane divided highway through Waller County. Yi-Chin Lee / Staff photographer

Montgomery County Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley is working with The Woodlands Township on what a loop around the community would look like but said the project could be more disruptive than helpful.

The idea of a Woodlands Loop is nothing new, but as the community wrestles with mobility and cut-through traffic, Board member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs said it is worth some consideration.

While the township has no authority over roads in the community, the project would need support and potential funding from the Texas Department of Transportation and numerous local elected officials, including Riley.

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TRAVEL TIME: New Houston charter bus route will take travelers to the suburbs and other Texas cities

Vehicles along Woodlands Parkway make their way to Interstate 45 without access to the flyover feeder, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in The Woodlands. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer

The background

In 2017, former Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack commissioned a study of traffic inside and just outside The Woodlands by Brown and Gay Engineering that concluded a loop around the community might be the best option to divert cut-through traffic and keep vehicles moving more smoothly.

That study indicated the loop would amount to an approximately 34-mile circumference using existing roads, including I-45, Texas 242, FM 1488, FM 2978, Hufsmith Kuykendahl Road and the Grand Parkway back to I-45 to form the route.

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The concept resurfaced again in July 2022 as the state prepared to widen Texas 242 from FM 1488 to Interstate 45. State Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands) said during a township meeting that more lanes through The Woodlands were not the answer to mobility but rather the loop.

The states $40 million project would have added a lane of traffic in each direction, including 12-foot travel lanes with 10-foot shoulders, open ditch drainage, three detention ponds, a pathway along the north side of the road and a potential sound wall for residents along the projects route.

However, in September 2022, the state modified the project to just widen turn lanes and not add additional travel lanes after pushback from residents.

The Texas 242 flyover is closed due to icy conditions as temperatures in the area remained below freezing on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024 in The Woodlands. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer

Impacts of the loop

Sekula-Gibbs, who led the charge to stop the widening of Texas 242, brought the loop issue back to the board last week and said while support from surrounding entities would be nice, it was not required to have TxDOT conduct a feasibility study.

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It would just be a beginning, Sekula-Gibbs.

During the townships Jan. 22 meeting, Riley said he wasnt sure what a loop would look like. He said he was concerned about how changes to the intersection of FM 1488 and FM 2978 would affect businesses and residents.

(The intersection) is my biggest headache, but it is also (the most) economical piece of property in my whole precinct, Riley said. I am afraid to do anything that might mess any of that up or displace anybody.

Despite his concerns, Riley said he was willing to visit with state officials and have an overlay of changes done to see how the project would impact the area.

We should be able to take (the FM 1488 and FM 2978) intersection and see what we may be up against, Riley said about how intersections in the area would need to be modified to accommodate a loop.

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Board Chairman Brad Bailey said an overlay to see how it would look would be helpful in determining what, if any, next steps would be needed.

Riley said once the overlay is complete, he and the township could revisit the issue.
Proposed copyright rules for AI models have left creators alarmed, a Labour MP who once played Glastonbury has warned.

James Frith, a former member of the band Finka, warned ministers that their plan to let artificial intelligence models mine text and data threatens to rip the rug from under artists.

According to a Government consultation pack, ministers could introduce an exception to copyright law for text data and mining, which would improve access to content by AI developers but also let creators reserve their rights.

Pete Wishart, SNP MP for Perth and Kinross-shire, apologised to culture minister Sir Chris Bryant when he said nobody believes the proposal would support both the AI and creative sectors.

Mr Frith said the Governments proposal had left artists confused, alarmed and deeply concerned.

James Frith (Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament/PA)

He warned: This threatens to rip the rug from under our prized sector with proposed, sweeping changes to copyright law.

Creators see it for what it is  an upheaval of the copyright protections they depend on, threatening lasting damage to the sector.

Copyright doesnt inspire hit songs, smash-hit movies or classical texts, but it is the lifeblood of our creative industries. Its what feeds investment, enables musicians, writers, actors, designers and businesses large and small to earn a living from their work.

The MP for Bury North later said: AI holds exciting potential to help consumers discover and engage with creative works, but to forfeit the humanity it takes, suggesting AI can replace what it takes, insults and will ultimately cost those who pour their lives into this craft, as well as those of us who love to soak it all up.

Conservative former culture secretary Sir John Whittingdale also criticised the proposal, which he said reverses what has long been the case that people can rely upon the protection of their rights unless they choose to give it up.

He added: They shouldnt have to come along and ask that their right should be protected, which is what an opting-out system entails.

Sir John also warned of a huge burden on small rights holders such as individual photographers.

After Sir John described alarm at the Governments proposed exception to copyright law, Sir Chris intervened in his speech and told the Commons: We are consulting. We have not decided, we are consulting. Its a consultation, not the second reading of a Bill.

Sir John Whittingdale (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Allison Gardner, Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, warned that the policy risks creating a future of fools gold data as our creative industry loses control of its ownership to their work and moves elsewhere or just simply gives up.

She urged MPs to imagine the UK had not data but vast reserves of gold and asked: What should we do?

Would we look at gold-hungry organisations and give it away to them for free in the hope they will invest in the UK? I should hope not.

Mr Wishart, who is a member of the cross-party band MP4 which also includes former MPs Ian Cawsey, Sir Greg Knight and Kevin Brennan, said: I know they think theyve got an idea and a solution which somehow supports both the AI sector and the creative industries sector, but theres nobody who actually believes that, sorry minister.

Theres no one who could go along with this idea that somehow we open up the nations creative work to be scraped and to be mined, that would ever get us to the situation where this could ever be possibly useful for the creative industries, and I dont think it would be useful for the AI sector either.

He continued: Theyre in an economic mess and theyre looking to grab at anything that will give them any sort of comfort and AI is obviously one of the areas that theyve identified that might bring this promised growth, and given them some sort of confidence and reassurance that what theyre trying to do with the economy might actually get to where theyre seeking to take it.

Replying for the Government, Sir Chris said he fully understands the level of concern before telling MPs: Intellectual property is absolutely central to the viability of the creative industries, both to individuals and to the industries themselves. What are they selling other than intellectual property?

He said good generative AI needs good-quality data, adding: And that means licensing, i.e. paying for, getting permission for good-quality data that is embodied in creative intellectual property.

We seek more licensing, in other words more remuneration. Secondly, greater control of rights. Thirdly, legal clarity for all. And its those three things combined that were seeking to achieve.

Sir Chris said doing nothing is not an option, adding: There isnt a version of rights reservation that works at the moment that is simple and easy. As an author I know if you want to register for PLR, public lending right, you have to go online and register each of your works.

Thats relatively simple and straightforward. Its relatively simple and straightforward for somebody who writes books because you only have two or three or four  for a photographer its a completely different business.

So weve got to come to a technical answer that works for everybody. If there isnt a technical answer then were going to have to think again  thats the sum total of where were at.
An alleged spy has told jurors she did not know a man she was tasked to follow across Europe was a good person who had uncovered Russian links to the Salisbury attack.

Bulgarians Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, were allegedly part of a group which carried out surveillance on opponents of the Russian state between August 30 2020 and February 8 2023.

Giving evidence in her defence, Ivanova claimed she was deceived by her partner Biser Dzhambazov, 43, and Orlin Roussev, who have pleaded guilty to spying for Russia.

Cross-examining on Monday, Alison Morgan KC suggested Ivanova was a good actress, capable of lying easily to others.

The prosecutor cast doubt on the defendants claim that she was kept in the dark about the operations by Dzhambazov and Roussev.

Ms Morgan said: This person youve been in a relationship with for 17 years and this other person who paid the deposit on your house who you considered to be a close friend, they used you for the best part of three years?

You were all deceived?

None of you knew this was all about Russia?

Katrin Ivanova, in Austria on September 12 2021 (Metropolitan Police/PA)

One of the targets was Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev who had been awarded for his work uncovering Russian involvement in the 2018 Novichok attack in Salisbury, the court heard.

Ms Morgan suggested that Mr Grozev would have been of particular interest to Russia and asked: What was it about Mr Grozev you didnt like?

Going to Vienna, Valencia, Montenegro, following this person around, why?

Ivanova told jurors she had been told fellow Bulgarian Mr Grozev was corrupt and wanted to expose him as a hypocrite.

She told jurors: I was being told by Mr Dzhambazovhe was a hypocrite.

The purpose of surveillance was to prove he was a hypocrite by following him.

Ms Morgan suggested that the defendant was an intelligent woman and would have known from initial research that Mr Grozev investigated Russian authorities.

One of the things he had investigated was the Salisbury attack in this country, you knew that didnt you? Its a disgraceful event, she said.

The defendant denied it, saying she only became aware of the Salisbury poison attack more closely after she was arrested.

She told jurors: I wasnt interested in politics, Russian agents, Novichok.

The prosecutor asserted: Mr Dzhambazov was not sending you as a lone female off to Vienna with no idea why she was there or what she was really doing there.

He wouldnt have done that to you.

Ms Morgan pointed out the deployment was costing hundreds of pounds a day, adding: You knew he was of interest to Russia.

He was exposing Russia left, right and centre, wasnt he?

Ivanova replied: I didnt know about all these things.

I purely believed what I was told and that was my mistake.

Ms Morgan suggested Mr Grozev was a good person doing a good thing and asked if the defendant had apologised to him for following him around Vienna.

She went on to suggest, as time went on, the money got bigger and bigger and bigger.

It came to the point when the team was offered 700,000 to land Russian dissident Kirill Kachur in Montenegro, Ms Morgan said.

Referring to messages about the operation, she said: If you could capture him you were told it didnt matter what happened to him in the process, you were told if you could get him as a team 700,000.

At no stage did you say what are we doing? The message says, it doesnt matter if he gets killed in the process?'

Ivanova said the message came only after they had finished looking for Mr Kachur.

All three defendants deny the charge of conspiracy to spy between August 30 2020 and February 8 2023.

Ivanova has pleaded not guilty to a second charge of possession of false identity documents with improper intention under section 4 of the Identity Documents Act 2010.

At the time of the alleged offences, Ivanova was living in Harrow, north-west London, Gaberova was living in Euston, north London and Ivanchev was living in Acton, west London.
Northern Irelands deputy First Minister has criticised Irish president Michael D Higgins for raising the ongoing conflict in Gaza during his speech to an annual Holocaust memorial event in Dublin.

Emma Little-Pengelly said the Republics president was absolutely wrong to raise the issues, accusing him of politicising the event.

Protesters were removed from the memorial event during an address by Mr Higgins on Sunday.

A number of people objected to the invitation to Mr Higgins to deliver the keynote address to the National Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration in Dublin.

Survivors of the Holocaust were among the audience who gathered at the Mansion House for the event which included readings, survivors recollections and a recitation of the Scroll of Names featuring relatives and ancestors of Irish residents who died in the Holocaust.

As Mr Higgins spoke about the events that unfolded on October 7 2023, when Hamas attacked in southern Israel leading to the conflict in Gaza, a small number of people stood up and and turned their backs to the stage and were removed by security.

Asked about Mr Higgins speech, Ms Little-Pengelly told reporters in Belfast: I believe that President Higgins was absolutely wrong to raise these issues at that event.

President Higgins has many opportunities to talk about these issues, and indeed, he has taken up those opportunities.

But Holocaust Memorial Day, which it is today, is a time for a sombre reflection upon the loss of six million Jewish people in the Holocaust.

I understand that the request was made of him not to politicise that event. No one should be politicising those events or causing any further hurt or discomfort.

So I believe that he was wrong to say what he said at that place. It was the wrong place and the wrong thing to say.

There were plenty of other opportunities that he had, and he ought not to have done that at that event.

Irish President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina with Holocaust survivors Suzi Diamond (left) and Tomi Reichenthal at the Mansion House in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

First Minister Michelle ONeill was among a number of politicians to defend Mr Higgins, saying he took the opportunity to express his views.

I think its regrettable that theres so much negativity. I think the president has used his office to raise his own personal view in terms of how strongly he feels about genocide across the world, Ms ONeill said.

I think particularly at this time, when we reflect on all the suffering of the Holocaust and all those people that lost lives through what was the genocide then, and we reflect on the current situation facing, particularly in the Middle East, right now, a genocide in Gaza.

I think that the president has taken the opportunity to express his views, and thats his business.

Earlier, the tanaiste defended Mr Higgins, saying that while people have a right to protest, the president has been very clear in calling out the horrors of the Holocaust.

Simon Harris said: I think it was important that the president of Ireland attended the event yesterday. I think its the seventh time he has attended the event, and this is always an event carried out with great solemnity and sensitivity.

I believe yesterdays event was a very moving occasion, obviously for survivors and their families, most particularly, and Minister (Paschal) Donohoe was there on behalf of the government.

I understand there were a small number of people who protested, and of course people have a right to protest, but I think the president was very clear, as is the government, as are the people of Ireland, in calling out the horrors of the Holocaust and making sure we remember that we record that, that we acknowledge that each year, and of course, people have a right to protest.

Asked whether he believed it was appropriate for the president to raise the issues in Gaza during his speech about the Holocaust, Mr Harris said: I think the president was very clear in relation to, obviously specific issues regarding the Holocaust and his absolute condemnation of the horror, the murder of the Jewish people, but also, I think, rightly mentioning the situation in the Middle East as well.

Fine Gael leader Simon Harris (Brian Lawless/PA)

Also calling very much for hostages to be released. I am conscious, though, that this is a very, very sensitive time, and I dont want to say anything to distract from that.

Today is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, today is International Holocaust Memorial Day. I think its really important that we keep the focus on that.

Tom ODowd, chairman of Holocaust Education Ireland, which organised the event, said some Jewish people were critical of this years invite, but others supported Mr Higgins seventh address to the annual commemoration.

The president emphasised the importance of education in his address to prevent another such atrocity from happening.

He also addressed the current conflict in the Middle East.
Englands prospects of causing an upset against Ireland have improved after Alex Mitchell was cleared to take part in the Guinness Six Nations opener in Dublin.

Mitchell became a doubt for Saturdays Aviva Stadium showdown after suffering a knee injury on European duty for Northampton against Munster on January 18.

But Englands first choice scrum-half has now been added to the 36-man squad that is in Girona preparing for the match, clearing the path for his return against the tournament favourites.

Alex Mitchell returns  Head coach Steve Borthwick has confirmed the following squad update ahead of our @sixnationsrugby opener this weekend.#IREvENG | #GuinnessM6N | @O2 | #WearTheRose pic.twitter.com/xmhjVbHUFh  England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) January 27, 2025

Mitchell replaces uncapped Saints team-mate Henry Pollock in the squad and is expected to be given the number nine jersey when head coach Steve Borthwick names his team on Thursday.

It will be his first appearance since facing New Zealand in Auckland in July after a neck injury ruled him out of the entire autumn series.

Mitchells importance to England was underlined throughout November when his threat around the fringes and smart decision making were sorely missed in defeats to the All Blacks, Australia and South Africa.

In his absence none of the alternatives in the position  Ben Spencer, Harry Randall and Jack van Poortvliet  were convincing and the hierarchy below him remains uncertain.

Spencer, Randall and Raffi Quirke are competing to provide scrum-half cover from the bench with Van Poortvliet ruled out against Ireland though injury.

Mitchell is expected to be paired alongside Marcus Smith at half-back with the Harlequins playmaker likely to continue where he left off in the autumn by pulling the strings at 10.

Marcus Smith is likely to continue at fly-half against Ireland (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Smith was Englands most inventive player throughout November but there were misgivings over his ability to release his backline  a skill that has been displayed by his chief rival for the jersey Fin Smith.

Fin Smith is likely to be picked on the bench with Freddie Steward present at full-back in the absence of George Furbank, who has a fractured arm.

The trip to Dublin will be the first time England have been led by Maro Itoje after the Saracens second row was chosen as captain for the Six Nations in place of Jamie George.
Six Belarusian officials and three companies have been hit with British sanctions in response to a cynical pretence of democracy in the countrys elections.

The UK and Canada have joined forces to impose the fresh wave of sanctions after sham presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, which saw Vladimir Putins ally Alexander Lukashenko win a seventh five-year term in power.

Among the six people facing sanctions are the chairman of Belarus election commission Igor Vasilyevich Karpenko.

Others facing a ban on travelling to the UK and spending money in the country are the leaders of security forces and prisons involved in a crackdown on the Belarusian regimes political opponents.

They include Viktor Alexandrovich Dubrovka, Pavel Ivanovich Kazakov, and Andrey Mikhailovich Tsedrik, who all manage prisons in the eastern European nation, as well as Andrei Valerievich Ananenko and Mikhail Petrovitch Bedunkevich, the head and deputy head of the security force Gubopik.

Three Belarusian defence companies have also been sanctioned because of the countrys support for Russias war effort in Ukraine.

They are radar manufacturer Alevkurp OJSC, ammunition maker Legmash Plant JSC, and drone builder KB Unmanned Helicopters (UavHeli).

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: The world has become well-accustomed to Lukashenkos cynical pretence of democracy in Belarus, while in reality he brutally represses civil society and opposition voices to strengthen his grip on power.

The UK, alongside our partners, will continue to stand by the people of Belarus and expose those who deny them their legitimate right to freedom and democracy.

Following the latest sham election in Belarus, the UK has placed new sanctions on those supporting Lukashenko's brutal regime. The UK stands with the people of Belarus and their right to freedom and democracy, without fear and oppression. https://t.co/Rh6urdQHcR  David Lammy (@DavidLammy) January 27, 2025

On Sunday, the UK joined its allies Australia, Canada, the EU and New Zealand in issuing a joint statement condemning the result of Belarus presidential election.

We are united in our condemnation of the sham presidential elections in Belarus on 26 January and the ongoing human rights violations perpetrated by the Belarusian regime.

Recently announced sanctions represent a co-ordinated, multilateral effort to hold the Lukashenko regime to account, the statement said.

The five Western allies urged the Lukashenko regime to release the more than 1,250 political prisoners who remain unjustly detained.
The Government is engaging with the families of the Southport attack victims ahead of a Prevent review into its dealings with Axel Rudakubana, Downing Street has said.

The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that the Prevent learning review will criticise counter-terrorism officers for failing to properly take into account Rudakubanas obsession with extreme violence when it is released, the Sunday Times has reported.

The 18-year-old was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 52 years last week  one of the highest minimum terms on record  for murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a dance class in Southport on July 29 last year.

He also attempted to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

Axel Rudakubana has been detained for life with a minimum term of 52 years (Merseyside Police/PA)

Asked whether the review will be published this week, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said on Monday: Youll recognise that the families of the victims of the terrible attack have a significant amount to absorb after such a traumatic week.

Were fully committed to publishing the findings from the Prevent learning review as soon as possible, but were taking time to engage with the families, to consider their views.

Three separate referrals were made to the Governments anti-terror programme, Prevent, about Rudakubanas behaviour in the years before the attack, as well as six separate calls to police.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle wrote to tech firms over the weekend to tell them they have a moral responsibility to act now on violent content.

In the letter, Elon Musks X, Mark Zuckerbergs Meta, TikTok, Google and YouTube were called on to urgently review material accessed by killer Rudakubana which is still available online.

Under the UKs Online Safety Act, from March, platforms will be required to remove illegal content, including violent material.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said there is no justification for tech companies waiting for new laws to kick before they remove violent material from their sites.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has written to social media giants about the issue (PA)

Asked whether the Prime Minister believes that the Online Safety Act goes far enough, the spokesman said: The Prime Minister has always said that keeping children, keeping communities safe, is always our number one priority.

He described the Online Safety Act as strong new powers to compel platforms to remove illegal content.

It will also bring in new rules to protect children from content that is legal but not appropriate for them to be viewing, including violent content. So there will be strong new laws coming in, but we always keep that under review.

Before leaving home, Rudakubana had searched online for Mar Mari Emmanuel stabbing  the knife attack on a bishop in Sydney, Australia, in April last year.

The graphic video was removed in Australia but is still available to view in the UK, Ms Cooper and Mr Kyle said.

Meanwhile, police have warned it could take years to uncover what was in the killers internet browsing history, which he deleted before he left the house to carry out the atrocity.

To obtain the information, detectives needed to go through US companies Microsoft, which owns the search engine Bing, and Google, which owns the web browser Chrome.

A Microsoft spokesperson said: This is a tragic case and our sympathies are with the victims, their families and all those affected. In a threat to life scenario, when we receive a request from law enforcement through our direct channels, we respond within 20 minutes and work together to share relevant information as quickly as possible.

According to Google, the police could have applied through the UK courts for an overseas production order which, if granted, would have meant the data was produced more quickly.

A spokesman said earlier this week the company was in touch with Merseyside Police to support their inquiries and that its deepest sympathies are with all of the families and individuals affected by this horrific attack.
A new ITV documentary will see victims of the spycops scandal, where undercover police officers initiated long-term, sexual relationships with activists they were spying on, speak for the first time on camera.

The Undercover Police Scandal: Love And Lies Exposed will air this year on ITV1 and ITVX, and see five women speak about the scandal, which saw officers steal the identities of deceased children to create new aliases and even father children with the women they spied on, before leaving them.

A statement from the women who feature in the series, read: Weve been working together to expose this policing scandal since we first met in 2011.

The Undercover Police Scandal: Love and Lies Exposed will air later this year (Ian West/PA)

Our lives were devastated by the actions of undercover police and this powerful documentary highlights how we fought back against dehumanising spycops intrusion and abuse, which was sanctioned by the state for decades to undermine progressive campaigns for change.

By shining a light on the role of these undemocratic, secret, political policing units, we hope the series is part of a dramatic shift away from the culture of misogyny that the police and security services have normalised and puts pressure on decision makers to reverse the current legislation that places undercover officers completely beyond the law.

In the programme, the women will speak about the similarities between their experiences, the way they were seduced into the relationships and the letters they received when they were abandoned by those they loved.

The scandal, which took place for more than 40 years from 1968 onwards and affected more than 60 women, was the subject of a decade-long, 88m public inquiry into police tactics.

The documentary will be produced by RAW, makers of Netflix hits The Tinder Swindler, The Puppet Master: Hunting The Ultimate Conman, and American Nightmare.

Jo Clinton-Davis, controller of factual ITV, said of the programme: When I first learned about this story, I was determined it needed to be made for a TV audience  and made for ITV.

That these five women finally agreed to give ITV and RAW up close and personal access is testament to their courage and resilience.

They have been up against a state-sponsored operation and with many of them turning detective, such a twist in the story could be the stuff of a thriller  except this is all too shockingly true. Its a British scandal of real significance.

The scandal has previously been the subject of BBC crime drama Sherwood.
The Princess of Wales hugged and held hands with Holocaust survivors as she attended official commemorations to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

Kate joined her husband the Prince of Wales, who described their attendance as a great honour, at Guildhall in central London on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

The annual event remembers the six million Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust, as well as the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution and those who died in subsequent genocides.

William, wearing a navy suit and blue tie, and Kate, wearing all black, were greeted on arrival by Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and its chairwoman of trustees Laura Marks.

Speaking to Ms Marks-Woldman, Kate described the commemorations as so important, adding: It is great to be here today with my husband.

The pair were then shown to the Old Library where they met with two tables of survivors and their families.

After having formal handshakes, Kate then gave one survivor, Yvonne Bernstein, 87, a warm hug before they clasped each others hands as they sat together and spoke.

Kate embraced her old friend, Yvonne Bernstein (Arthur Edwards/The Sun)

The princess said: (It is) such a treat for me (to see) an old friend.

On the second table, Kate also hugged and spoke at length with fellow survivor Steven Frank BEM, 89.

Mr Frank was photographed by the princess to mark the 75th anniversary commemorations in 2020.

Steven Frank, right, described Kate as a darling (Arthur Edwards/The Sun)

Asked about his interactions with Kate after the event, he told reporters: Shes such a darling.

She just immediately knew my name  such a lovely person. My grandchildren would be thrilled.

Asked about his continued efforts to share his experiences, Mr Frank added: Its become sort of a mission. Most people say You do it because it helps you mentally get it off your chest.

I do it because Ive had so much good fortune coming to this country and having lived, loved, played sport, had a nice family, and its time to give something back.

The roughly 50 Holocaust survivors in attendance were then gathered for a group photo, with the royals initially continuing to chat with their table as they assembled.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, (back row centre) flanked by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, pose for a photograph with attendees during a ceremony at Londons Guildhall (Arthur Edwards/The Sun)

William and Kate joined the photo alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner.

Once taken, Sir Keir could be heard saying to one survivor that the photo was fantastic.

All guests then moved to the Great Hall for a special ceremony.

The halls walls, ceiling and chandeliers were lit purple as the London Youth Chamber Choir performed with an orchestra on stage.

Several extracts from memoirs written by Jewish people during the Holocaust were read out, including by TV personality Robert Rinder, while the testimonies of survivors were also played on TV screens.

In a short speech, William said: I am honoured to join you today to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and to remember the millions murdered during the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides.

William spoke at the event (Arthur Edwards/The Sun)

We also remember those survivors who have lived with scars, both mental and physical.

Their bravery, in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of their lives, are extremely powerful and ensure that we never forget. I assure them we never will.

The prince then read an extract from the book Holocaust Heroes, which made reference to the efforts made by his great-grandmother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, to help a Jewish family in need.

Giving his own speech, Sir Keir said the Holocaust was a collective endeavour by ordinary people consumed by the hatred of difference.

The Prime Minister said: We start by remembering the six million Jewish victims and by defending the truth against anyone who would deny it. So we will have a National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to speak this truth for eternity.

But as we remember, we must also act. Because we say never again, but where was never again in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur, or the acts of genocide against Yazidi.

Today, we have to make those words mean more. So we will make Holocaust education a truly national endeavour.

Sir Keir said all schools would teach the Holocaust and give opportunities to hear a recorded survivor testimony so that we can develop that empathy for others and that appreciation of our common humanity, which is the ultimate way to defeat the hatred of difference.

Other political attendees at the event were Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey, as well as the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.

Kate lit a candle at the ceremony (Arthur Edwards/The Sun)

At the end of the ceremony William and Kate each appeared on stage to gather a flame and light their own candles.

Ms Marks-Woldman said: Your Royal Highnesses, your presence and contributions today send a powerful message at this time of increased Holocaust distortion and inversion, of the imperative of safeguarding the historical record, and for us all to take personal responsibility to uphold the truth of the past and work towards a better future.
The King has said the testimony of Holocaust survivors teaches us to never be a bystander in the face of violence and hate as he met those who lived through one of humanitys darkest hours.

Charles visited the heart of Krakows Jewish community as commemorations began marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

He told those gathered at the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) that remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task, and knowledge should be used to inspire people to build a kinder and more compassionate world.

Commemorations at the concentration camp began earlier when Polands president Andrzej Duda joined Auschwitz survivors in laying wreaths and candles at a symbolic site.

Their tributes were left at a reconstruction of the Death Wall, the site where several thousand people  mainly Polish political prisoners  were executed.

In a speech, Mr Duda said we Poles are the guardians of memory today and had a duty to maintain the life stories of the survivors.

Elsewhere, the Princess of Wales will join her husband to attend a service in London on Monday to mark the anniversary.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is also expected to attend and speak at the service, along with faith and civic leaders and survivors of the Holocaust and more recent genocides.

The King during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow (Victoria Jones/PA)

After meeting members of Krakows Jewish Community, the King gave a speech and told the guests to be in Poland to mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz was sombre and indeed a sacred moment.

He went on to say: It is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world.

And it is a moment when we recall the powerful testimonies of survivors such as Lily Ebert, who so sadly passed away in October, and who collectively taught us to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate.

He added those lessons could not be more important in a world that has seen the dangerous re-emergence of antisemitism and remains full of turmoil and strife.

The King said: As the number of Holocaust survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders, and on those of generations yet unborn.

Polish president Andrzej Duda kneels in front of the Death Wall (Oded Balilty/AP)

The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task and in so doing, we inform our present and shape our future.

The ceremony centred around the recollections and thoughts of the survivors who stood before their peers, presidents, prime ministers and foreign monarchs to tell their stories.

On screens was shown an image of a railway carriage described as a symbol of the suffering of all the victims of Auschwitz concentration camp.

Marian Turski, an Auschwitz survivor and a member of the International Auschwitz Council, was the first to speak.

The frail elderly man said: I believe our thoughts should now go towards this huge majority, those millions of victims who will never tell us what they experienced, what they felt just because they were consumed by the mass destruction.

He use the Shoah, the Hebrew word for Holocaust.
Asia Society Texas will celebrate the Lunar New Year Feb. 1 with a community festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pictured is the 2022 festival. Photo by Chris Dunn / Courtesy Asia Society Texas/Chris Dunn

The Lunar New Year begins Jan. 29, ushering in the Year of the Snake, which symbolizes wisdom, intuition and transformation in the new year.

As Houstonians celebrate Lunar New Year festivities across the city and suburbs, they may see the snake around the city as an unofficial mascot for this year.

Here is what the Year of the Snake represents and its connection to Lunar New Year.

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Asia Society Texas will celebrate the Lunar New Year Feb. 1 with a community festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pictured is the 2024 festival. Photo by Chris Dunn / Courtesy Asia Society Texas/Chris Dunn

The Chinese zodiac calendar

The snake is one of the 12 animals on the Chinese zodiac calendar. They include the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Each animal represents a year in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.

It was the Year of the Dragon in 2024.

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The date of Lunar New Year changes each year based on the Lunar Solar New Year, said Phuong Ha, senior manager of Education and Outreach for Asia Society Texas in Houston.

"Each year it shifts a little bit. There are certain years when it shifts into February. This year its a little earlier," she said.

She said the 12 zodiac animals originated from an important story passed down in Asian culture about a great race. The Jade Emperor, a major god in Chinese religion, organized the race to create a way to measure time. The order in which the animals crossed the finish line determined their place in the zodiac cycle.

A woman touches the snake figure on the stone wall ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Snake, following the Chinese zodiac, as people visiting the Baiyun Taoist Temple in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) Andy Wong/Associated Press

Year of the Snake

Ha said the snake is the sixth place in the cycle because he came in sixth in the race.

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"The snake is known to be intuitive and smart," she said. It is believed a person will take on the traits of the Chinese zodiac animal from the year of their birth.

She said some of the characteristics for those born during the year of the snake are wisdom, calmness and intelligence.

"People born in the year of the snake are effective and quick thinkers. We tell them that snakes have deep and complex minds, but they love with their whole heart," she said.

It may or may not be considered lucky to be born in the year of the snake. Those who were born in the year of the snake may feel like they need to be a little more mindful or careful because more attention is on them this year, Ha said.

There are also natural elements  wood, fire, earth, metal and water  associated with the year. In 2025, it is the year of the Wood Snake. There are five elements, wood, fire, earth, metal and water.

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This combination of wood snake comes up every 60 years, Ha said.

Asia Society Texas will celebrate the Lunar New Year Feb. 1 with a community festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Photo courtesy Asia Society Texas

Celebrating in Houston culture

Ha, who is Vietnamese American, has celebrated the Lunar New Year since she was a child in Houston.

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"When I was growing up, Lunar New Year wasn't as popular to talk about in school. Most of our celebrations took place at home," she said. "We celebrated as a family. In Vietnamese culture the Lunar New Year is called Tet. We celebrate our elders. We always started with my grandmother and we wish the elders good health and prosperity. We went down the line with our grandparents, parents, etc. wishing them prosperity."

Each day they'd visit a different part of her family. In the Bellaire area, businesses and restaurants would host lion dances and Chinese fireworks.

They would often have noodles during their celebrations as noodles and their length represent longevity, Ha said. Dumplings, oranges and mandarins are also popular as those represent shapes that someone would use to carry money in.

Just like the reset of the Western New Year, Ha said the Lunar New Year is a time to restart, and people may buy new clothes, get a haircut or clean their home and sweep out the remains of the previous year.

Her favorite part of Lunar New Year is gathering with her family and those who have taught her in life.

"Think about how you can share your gratitude with your community and family and how you can wish them prosperity, good luck and good health. That's not just limited to those who celebrate the Lunar New Year. Everyone can do that," she said.

The period of celebration for Lunar New Year lasts roughly two weeks after Jan. 29.

Lunar New Year 2023: Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit on Saturday, January 28, 2023, at Asia Society Texas. Chris Dunn

What's next at Asia Society Houston

Asia Society Texas welcomes the "Year of the Snake" with a celebration featuring lion dances on the festival lawn, Chinese music and dance performances by Huaxing Arts Group Houston, Lunar New Year-themed crafts and a Lucky Lunar Mission with a stop in the Space City: Art in the Age of Artemis exhibition.

The celebration will take Feb. 1 at 1370 Southmore in Houston.

The event is free and open to the public, with registration required for timed entry from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. Food and drinks will be available for purchase and tickets are required for music and dance performances. See the Asia Society Texas website for more.

The organization also hosts "The Big Swim!" Feb. 7, 8 and 9. It is a one-act opera that is a retelling of the Jade Emperor and the Great Race  a fable that sets the order of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac calendar.
The King visited the heart of Krakows Jewish community as commemorations began marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Heads of state and world leaders will gather at the site later to remember those who perished at the hands of the Nazi regime.

Ahead of the ceremony, Charles met Holocaust survivors at the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) Krakow he opened in 2008 and greeted dozens of well-wishers outside the building.

Some people held out their hands for the King to shake, while others held up their smartphones to capture his visit.

The King made a speech during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre Krakow (Aaron Chown/PA)

During a Buckingham Palace event earlier this month to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, held annually on the day Auschwitz  which was in German-occupied Poland  was liberated, the King said: I feel I must go for the 80th anniversary, (its) so important.

Commemorations at the former death camp began earlier when Polands president Andrzej Duda joined Auschwitz survivors laying wreaths and candles at the site.

Their tributes were left at a reconstruction of the Death Wall, the site where several thousand people, mainly Polish political prisoners, were executed.

In a speech, Mr Duda said we Poles are the guardians of memory today and had a duty to maintain the life stories of the survivors.

Charles met members of the community during his visit to the centre (Aaron Chown/PA)

More than a million people, mostly Jews but also Poles, Soviet prisoners of war and other nationalities, were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Second World War as part of the Holocaust in which six million Jewish men, women and children were killed.

The camp was liberated by soldiers of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front who opened the gates on January 27 1945.

The ceremony will be held in front of the gates of the former Nazi death camp which had the words Arbeit Macht Frei  work sets you free  above it.

Auschwitz survivors will address the invited guests who are expected to include Frances president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and Spains King Philip VI and Queen Letizia.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has also been confirmed as attending.
Energy boss Dale Vince has hit back at suggestions that the Governments recent decision to approve his solar farm in Lincolnshire was politically influenced.

Heckington Fen Solar Park, a development owned by Mr Vinces renewable energy company Ecotricity, was given the green light late last week by ministers.

Mr Vince, who donated 5 million to Labour in the run-up to the general election, told the PA news agency criticism by opponents of the project are cheap and cynical.

The project, a solar park combined with a battery storage site, will provide enough electricity to power as many as 200,000 homes when it is completed.

Colin Davie, a Conservative councillor at Lincolnshire County Council, questioned whether Energy Secretary Ed Miliband had declared the nature of his relationship with Mr Vince, in comments to the Telegraph newspaper.

Marc Williams, another Lincolnshire councillor, said the decision was disgraceful and pointed to Mr Vinces role as a Labour donor.

In response, Mr Vince said the project would create hundreds of jobs and that it is the right thing at the right time as the Government pushes to decarbonise the power system by 2030.

He added: Suggestions of influence are just cheap, cynical comments  Ive spent the last 30 years pushing for green energy in Britain  the economic and security benefits of that make it now unarguable and thats why we have a Government committed to it, having promised it in their manifesto.

The Heckington Fen Solar Park application has today been granted development consent by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. Read more:https://t.co/Ro68wJVMnT#solar #energy #netzero pic.twitter.com/EdwoT3ieeA  Planning Inspectorate (@PINSgov) January 24, 2025

A Government spokesperson said: Political donations have no influence over how planning applications are considered.

Theres a rigorous process in place to ensure that all planning decisions are taken in accordance with the necessary propriety rules and weigh up only material planning considerations in the decision.

They said Mr Miliband had recused himself from the decision, which was delegated to Lord Philip Hunt, an energy minister.

The spokesperson added: Solar power is crucial to delivering our clean energy mission and we make no apology for supporting the development of clean energy infrastructure to provide cheap energy and protect households bills.

It comes as newly filed accounts show Mr Vinces collection of green energy companies swung to a loss last year after global energy prices fell.

His holding company, Green Britain Group  which includes Ecotricity, posted a loss of 7 million for the year to April 2024, compared with a 50 million profit the year before.

The slump was mainly a result of falling revenues from selling electricity and gas, while the group also suffered a 12 million write down on a green gas project in Reading, which suffered engineering problems after opening in 2023.
A man whose XL bully dog escaped and killed his neighbour as he chased him for breaking his window has been jailed for three years.

Christopher Bell, 45, came out of his house barefoot to run after Ian Langley, 54, who had thrown a stone at his home in Shiney Row, near Sunderland, on October 3 2023.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Bell left the door of his house open, allowing his two XL bully dogs to get out and join in the chase.

The animals overtook their owner and the larger one, Titan, knocked Mr Langley to the ground and latched on to his neck, causing unsurvivable injuries, prosecutors said.

Christopher Bell has been jailed for three years (Northumbria Police/PA)

The court heard in the months leading up to the fatal incident, Titan had attacked two dogs and was known to local residents.

Bell pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog which caused injury leading to death while dangerously out of control in a public place.

Prosecutor Jolyon Perks said a witness described seeing Mr Langley pacing in front of Bells house in Maple Terrace before picking up two stones, throwing them at the window and running across the road into a passageway.

He had run for about 100 metres before he was brought to the floor by Titan who took hold of his neck between his jaws and resisted all Bells attempts to pull him away, the court heard.

Mr Perks said Bell was eventually able to pull the dog off Mr Langley and drag him back to his house before returning to the scene and calling emergency services.

Forensic officers in Maple Terrace, Shiney Row near Sunderland where Mr Langley was attacked (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Mr Langley was taken to hospital but had suffered catastrophic injuries to his neck and was pronounced dead less than two hours after the incident.

Titan was destroyed at the scene and Bells other dog, Sapphire, was taken away and euthanised, the court heard.

Mr Perks described two previous occasions where Titan had shown aggression to other dogs and attacked them, saying Bell had failed to act on prior knowledge of his dogs behaviour.

On July 26 2022 he ran into the street and attacked a Yorkshire Terrier. The court heard Bell came out of his house but was unable to stop the attack immediately.

He asked bystanders for a cigarette lighter to burn his dogs nose with the aim of getting him to release the terrier from his jaws, Mr Perks said.

In June 2023, both Bells dogs were off leads and away from his house when they attacked another dog in a savage incident lasting five to 10 minutes, that stopped only when the defendant appeared and threw water over them.

A victim impact statement from Mr Langleys son Jayke Langley, who works as a teacher in Taiwan, said: My father Ian Langley was not only loved by everyone in the community, he was also my role model and best influence in my life.

His kindness and generosity shaped me into who I am. He taught me to make time for others and give to those less fortunate.

Mr Langley said changes in the law following an alarming increase in fatal dog attacks in 2023 tragically came too late for my dad.

Forensic officers in Maple Terrace in Shiney Row (Owen Humphreys/PA)

In mitigation, the court heard Bell was profoundly sorry for what has happened and that it was a horrible accident.

A judge heard Bell had no quarrel with Mr Langley and what prompted him to smash the defendants window remains unknown.

Judge Carolyn Scott jailed Bell for three years and banned him from owning a dog indefinitely.

The judge said: It is apparent to me you failed to respond to concerns raised by others regarding the dogs behaviour. I accept there is no evidence of aggression to other people.

She told Bell his failure to stop Titan leaving his home before setting off after Mr Langley ultimately resulted in his death.

Detective Chief Inspector Jason Henry, of Northumbria Police, said: This case highlights the very tragic consequences of what can happen when people fail to control dogs within their care.

We would urge everyone to follow the legislation and guidance in place to help protect themselves and others from events like this happening in the future.

Since February last year it has been a criminal offence to own an XL Bully in England and Wales without an exemption certificate.

The dogs must also be kept on a lead and muzzled in public places, as well as neutered.
Infectious beat  Hi-Fi Rush. Photograph: Tango Gameworks

It was November 2020 when Microsoft launched its latest console duo into the rapidly evolving gaming marketplace. Over four years later, the Xbox Series X  together with its more budget-friendly counterpart, the Series S  has amassed an impressive and varied library of games, ranging from sprawling open-world blockbusters to intimate indie puzzlers. If youre just getting started with the console, here are 15 games that represent the variety on offer, each one interesting, enjoyable and rewarding in its own right.

Alan Wake 2

Thirteen years after the original game, cursed horror author Alan Wake returns, now trapped in an alternate dimension and determined to write his way out, while FBI agents close in on the mysterious town of Bright Falls.

Why we love it: a thoroughly entertaining blend of detective procedural and surrealist survival horror. Read the full review.

Baldurs Gate 3

One of the greatest role-playing fantasy games of the modern era, providing players with almost as much narrative and imaginative freedom as a table-top D&D adventure as they face off against the mighty mind-flayers.

Why we love it: Its a towering landmark of an RPG. Bustling with life, brimming with scope, and bursting with imagination. Read the full review.

Psychonauts 2

The long-awaited sequel to Double Fines cult 3D platformer sees the return of psychic acrobat secret agent Raz embarking on a mission to root out a dangerous new adversary.

Why we love it: Ive rarely played anything that is so unashamedly itself. Each hour is different, each character distinct and memorable, each new psychic playground full of surprises. Read the full review.

Death Stranding

Hideo Kojimas elegiac science-fiction adventure is like nothing else youll ever play, a post-apocalyptic quest to save humanity, following a parcel courier with an extremely valuable and unlikely parcel.

Why we love it: This uncompromising, unashamedly political work of artistic intent is 2019s most interesting blockbuster game by a distance. Read the full review.

Elden Ring

A grandiose fantasy opera from the makers of Dark Souls, filled with spectacular landscapes, bizarre characters and seemingly insurmountable bosses. Complete with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC its a challenging and engrossing open world like no other.

Why we love it: This is a massive world, astonishingly rendered (the sun and moon wheel in the sky, casting each scene anew) and seemingly limitless in its creative diversity. It is an unrivalled feat of design and inventiveness. Read the full review.

Forza Horizon 4

A beautiful open-world driving game providing hundreds of square miles of the British countryside to explore while racing other drivers, completing challenges and collecting stunningly modelled supercars.

Why we love it: As driving games go, its the best Ive ever played, not only because of its irresistible scenery, exhilarating driving and perfectly recreated cars, but because spending time with it puts me in a lasting good mood. Read the full review.

Hades

Fight your way out of hell while enjoying the horny shenanigans of ancient Greek gods. Has there ever been a more attractive premise for a Rogue-like action role-playing romp?

Why we love it: Interesting things happen all the time, and no matter how long I spend with Hades I feel like I am only just getting acquainted with it. Read the full review.

Hi-Fi Rush

Better known for its horror adventure series The Evil Within, Tokyo studio Tango Gameworks surprised us all with this stomping rhythm action brawler where enemies, action and hallucinogenic environments are all in sync with the infectious beat.

Why we love it: As brazenly colourful as a Jet Set Radio fever dream, its refreshing to play a game that is so unashamedly music-centred. Read the full review.

Minecraft

The ultimate crafting adventure, providing a vast procedurally generated world to explore and an almost limitless range of activities from building castles, to fighting zombies, to competing in mini games. Fifteen years old and showing no sign of running out of ideas.

Why we love it: By constructing the world from 1x1 blocks that can be arranged in every imaginable combination, Minecraft is perhaps the closest we have to a true god game. Read the full review.

Pentiment

In an Alpine Bavarian village during the 16th century a young artist sets out to solve a series of gruesome murders. With luscious visuals inspired by illuminated manuscripts of the era, this is an extraordinary detective adventure.

Why we love it: It provides a wonderfully evocative window into the past [] a gift to any player who longs for a historical setting thats more than a surface texture. Read the full review.

Persona 5 Royal

A group of Tokyo high-school students develop incredible powers and set out to battle evil and corruption  while also falling in and out of messy adolescent love. Part sprawling metaphysical role-playing game, part super cute dating sim.

Why we love it: With its stylish cuts and transitions, loose and unorthodox structure and real-world setting Persona 5 is unlike any other video game. Its depth and texture far outstrips even earlier games in the series. Read the full review.

Resident Evil 4 Remake

Arguably the greatest ever survival horror game, brought bang up to date while retaining its mix of bloody thrills, cunning puzzles and truly horrible monsters.

Why we love it: It is resplendent, delicious and decadent, like an incredibly rich banquet served amid the detritus of some horrible battle. Read the full review.

Sea of Thieves

Effectively a pirate fantasy simulator, player crews take to the high seas together, discovering buried treasure and battling with other buccaneers. A rollicking co-op adventure filled with memorable moments of shared excitement and hilarity.

Why we love it: Youll laugh, youll sail, youll drink grog until youre sick. What a luscious, singular sandbox experience. Read the full updated review.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Gruff monster hunter Geralt takes on his defining quest as he searches for his adopted daughter Ciri through a chaotic world of giant beasts and warring factions. Memorable characters and a rich seam of romantic tension bring depth to the destruction.

Why we love it: Geralt has a Swiss army knife of interactive tools, and his set of abilities offer a uniquely varied and diverse journey. Read the full review.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

This hilarious, shambolic and gripping refresh for the Yakuza series features low-level gangster Ichiban Kasuga attempting to get his life back in order on the mean streets of Yokohama. Come for the fights, stay for the karaoke.

Why we love it: Like a Dragon preserves the old-fashioned, somewhat unreconstructed vibe of the previous Yakuza games, while adding a new twist that diverts it into a different genre [] a very Japanese, gangster-themed, interactive comedy soap opera. Read the full review.
A survivor attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Death Wall during the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp in Oswiecim, Poland. Photograph: Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters

Kings and queens, presidents, prime ministers and dignitaries from 54 countries will assemble at Auschwitz on Monday to mark the 80th anniversary of the death camps liberation, but the worlds focus will be firmly on its few remaining survivors.

About 50 former inmates are expected to attend the ceremony at the complex in southern Poland where Nazi Germany murdered more than a million people, most of them Jews, but also Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war and gay people.

An audience including Britains King Charles III, King Felipe VI of Spain and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, as well as Frances president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, will hear their voices.

This year, we are focusing on the survivors and their message, said Pawe Sawick, the Auschwitz museum spokesperson. We all know that for the 90th anniversary, it will not be possible to have a large group. There will not be any speeches by politicians.

Besides the survivors, only Piotr Cywinski, the director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum and memorial, and Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, representing key donors, are due to speak during the 90-minute ceremony.

The commemoration has added significance not just because most survivors are in their 90s and will not be able to tell their stories for much longer, but because todays continuing wars, and increasingly polarised politics, make their testimony as vital as ever.

Related: King Charles honours extraordinary Holocaust survivor after death aged 100

Nazi German authorities established the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1940 in former barracks in the Polish town of Oswiecim, using it at first to hold Polish prisoners, including Catholic priests and members of the resistance.

They later established about 40 other camps in the area, including Birkenau, used for mass killings in gas chambers. Of the estimated 1.3 million people sent to the site from 1940 to 1945, about 1.1 million were murdered there, 1 million of them Jews.

Auschwitz-Birkenau has become an abiding symbol of Nazi Germanys genocide of 6 million European Jews, looming large in the worlds collective memory as the embodiment of where hatred, racism and antisemitism can lead.

On 17 January 1945, as Soviet troops advanced, the paramilitary SS forced 60,000 emaciated prisoners to walk west in what became known as the Death March, and over the following days the Birkenau gas chambers and crematoria were blown up.

On 27 January, Soviet troops arrived, finding 7,000 survivors. Boris Polevoy, a correspondent for the Soviet newspaper Pravda, said: I saw people so thin that they swayed like branches in the wind, people whose ages one could not possibly guess.

The UN has designated the day Auschwitz was liberated as Holocaust Memorial Day and the site is now a Polish state museum and memorial charged with preserving the memory of what happened there. In 2024, more than 1.83 million people visited it.

The Nazis left behind the Arbeit Macht Frei (work will set you free) gate as well as barracks, watchtowers, the remains of the gas chambers and the hair and personal belongings  shoes, suitcases, toothbrushes  of many of the people killed there.

If Auschwitz emerged as the leading symbol of the Holocaust, it was also because it was a forced labour camp and a relatively large number of its inmates lived to tell their stories. Eighty years on, however, only an estimated 1,000 survive.

Related: At 12, I was in Auschwitz. My parents and seven siblings were murdered. Here is how I built a life

While Germany, Austria, which was annexed by Germany in 1938, and Italy, whose dictator Benito Mussolini formed an alliance with Hitler, will all be represented at the ceremony, Russia, which had attended the annual event until 2022, will not.

Cywinski, a historian, said this month it was inconceivable that after Vladimir Putins full-scale invasion of Ukraine a country that does not understand the value of liberty has something to do at a ceremony dedicated to the liberation of Auschwitz.

The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza also sparked controversy over whether Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the subject of an international arrest warrant on suspicion of crimes against humanity and war crimes, might attend.

After a request from the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, the Polish government confirmed last month that it would not arrest Netanyahu if he were to come, but Israel is due to be represented at the event by its education minister, Yoav Kisch.

Cywinski has said present-day populist politics, and hate speech on social media, pose a huge threat to contemporary society and the museum is working on strategies for teaching about the Holocaust when the last survivors have gone.

A recent eight-country survey of the US, UK, France, Austria, Germany, Poland, Hungary and Romania found that majorities in all except Romania believed that something like the Holocaust could happen again.

Nevertheless, up to a fifth of respondents, especially young adults, believed the numbers of Jews killed had been exaggerated. Significant portions of 18- to 29-year-olds  46% in France  said they had not heard, or did not think they had heard, of the Holocaust.
Kemi Badenoch at the Covid inquiry. Photograph: Covid inquiry

Family WhatsApp groups were a greater concern for spreading fake news during the pandemic than social media platforms, Kemi Badenoch has told the Covid inquiry.

The Conservative party leader, who was minister for equalities during the crisis, said experts could easily challenge false information shared on platforms such as X because the posts were public.

Less visible falsehoods were more worrying and ministers had no insight into fake claims shared on private WhatsApp groups, she said. A lot of false information travels very quickly through those channels  And its everything from vaccines will kill you to the government is suppressing information.

Badenoch said comments from likely reputable sources such as the British Medical Association were used to support misinformation, telling the inquiry that BMA representatives genuinely believed ministers were suppressing information. When you see that on a public forum youll think: Oh well, if the doctors in the BMA think that, then it must be true.

The BMA said government delays in publishing information put peoples lives at risk.

Covid vaccination rates were, and still are, significantly lower in minority ethnic groups than among white people, with racial inequalities, poor access, mistrust and misinformation all contributing, the inquiry has heard.

Ministers came up with a range of measures to improve uptake, from vaccination centres in places of worship to working with the BBC Asian Network World Service, but it was unclear which were most effective. The feedback mechanisms for what actually works are very weak, Badenoch said. Its very hard to know what is working and what isnt.

The problem reflected a broader issue, with Badenoch saying data was the biggest challenge in the crisis. We constantly encountered issues in just finding out what was going on, she told the inquiry. I remember us trying to find out the ethnicity of people who had been dying, especially the frontline ethnic minority workers in the NHS, but we didnt have that.

The Covid inquiry is examining the UKs handling of the pandemic, the impact it had and lessons for the future. The first report, released last year by the chair, Lady Hallet, flagged fatal strategic flaws in pandemic planning and said citizens everywhere were failed as a result. The latest module focuses on vaccines and therapeutics, regarded by many as a rare highlight in the nations response to the crisis.

Families bereaved by Covid said in November they had felt insulted when Badenoch called the Partygate scandal overblown. She said the former prime minister Boris Johnson had fallen into a trap of breaking lockdown rules that should never have been put in place.

Prof Phil Banfield, chair of council at the BMA, said: We knew from early in the pandemic that people from ethnic minorities were disproportionately affected by Covid-19, including higher numbers of deaths and serious illness  and many were healthcare workers, risking their lives every day to keep the country safe.

Despite conducting a review into this  which the BMA was one of the first organisations to call for  the government initially failed to publish its recommendations and the actions it would take to address this issue, leading to unnecessary delays and putting more lives at risk. It was this, which we wrote to Ms Badenoch about on several occasions at the time, that we demanded urgent clarity on.

To suggest the BMA was spreading misinformation at the time is highly disingenuous. All we were doing was asking the government to be transparent about how and when it was planning to take action to save lives and address racial inequalities.
The Tiger PA, a 12-metre yacht sailing under an American flag, was spotted by helicopter on Saturday

A British sailor is missing at sea after his yacht was found in the Bay of Biscay, French authorities have said.

A French Air Force helicopter was sent to search for the 73-year-old man, who has not been named, after his distress beacon went off around 50 miles from Lacanau in Gascony on Saturday.

The Tiger PA, a 12-metre yacht sailing under an American flag, was spotted by helicopter but was later found to be empty, according to the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture, a government body.

A yacht with the same name was last located in Weymouth, Dorset, last week, according to the Vesselfinder website.

The French authorities said they had received an alert from Britains coastguard on Friday evening after the yacht failed to respond to radio messages.

The yacht was found in the Bay of Biscay, off the coast of south-west France, and a cargo ship managed to make radio contact after several attempts, the prefecture said.

It said: Alone on board, a 73-year-old man of British nationality indicated that he was safe and continuing on his way.

The empty yacht was found in the Bay of Biscay on Saturday

Helicopter crew then discovered the yacht eviscerated at 5.30pm on Saturday and launched the search for the missing man after two divers found it empty.

A Spanish hospital ship and a cargo ship joined the search, but officials said the search was suspended on 1.33am on Sunday.

It comes after gusts of up to 98mph were recorded off the west French coast on Sunday.

The north of Spain and western France have had heavy rain and wind during Storm Herminia, which was named by Spanish meteorologists because the country was expected to experience the worst of the conditions.

Meanwhile, six people got into trouble in kayaks off Saint-Nazaire, Brittany before being rescued by French lifeboats in 55mph winds.

In Britain, a tree hit a 19-year-olds blue Ford Focus at about 6.45 am on Friday in Mauchline, East Ayrshire, and he died the following day.

In Ireland, Kacper Dudek, 20, died after a tree fell on his car at Feddyglass, Raphoe in Co Donegal, early on Friday and Irish police are investigating the incident.

Divers who winched down to the yacht, called Tiger PA, found no sign of the 73-year-old man, the Prefecture Maritime de lAtlantique said on Monday.
Charles Kay in Amadeus as Count Orsini-Rosenberg, who delivers the line: Too many notes, Your Majesty - Alamy

Charles Kay, who has died aged 94, began his career as a dental surgeon before catching the acting bug; he went on to become one of the most stylish and elegant character actors in the postwar theatre, working with Laurence Olivier at the National, and with the RSC, and appearing in landmark productions ranging from Peter Halls War of the Roses and The Wesker Trilogy at the Royal Court to The Madness of George III and Amadeus.

Kay brought quality and huge commitment to numerous roles over more than 50 years. With his long, thin face, strong chin, silken manners and receding hairline, he excelled as fastidious, often supercilious, figures of authority such as clerics, judges, courtiers and princes, bringing precision of speech, sardonic humour and an incisive manner to all his work.

Although he took the occasional title role, notably as a subtle, knowing Tartuffe in Molieres comedy (Edinburgh Festival, 1974) and as a compelling Harpagon in Jeremy Samss translation of Molieres The Miser (National Theatre, 1991), he was mainly known for his supporting roles. In 1986, he won a Clarence Derwent Award as Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Tory MP Charles Cantelupe in John Bartons RSC production of Harley Granville-Barkers Waste.

His big screen roles included that of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Kenneth Branaghs Henry V (1989) and as the solicitor Gribsby, looking for Ernest Worthing in order to escort him to Holloway Prison because of a debt to the Savoy, in Oliver Parkers 2002 extended version of The Importance of Being Earnest.

He was particularly memorable, however, in Milos Formans Academy Award-winning Amadeus (1984) as Count Orsini-Rosenberg, the smugly fawning director of the State Opera at the court of Austrian Emperor Joseph II (a role Kay would also play in a 1998 production at the Old Vic), who attempts to sabotage Mozarts The Abduction from the Seraglio with the words: Too many notes, Your Majesty.

Charles Kay, top, as Clarence with Ian Holm, right, as Richard of Gloucester in Edward IV at Stratford, 1963 - Mirrorpix

On television he was a stalwart of mainstream and period dramas. He recreated his stage role as the Duke of Clarence for the mini-series The Wars of the Roses (1965), appeared as Prince of Aragon in The Merchant of Venice (1973), Tsar Nicholas II in Fall of Eagles (1974), the parliamentarian general Sir Thomas Fairfax in Churchills People (1974), the Roman senator Gaius Asinius Gallus in I, Claudius (1976), and the French king Louis VII in The Devils Crown (1978).

In 1985 he played the drolly sinister government agent Pendleton in the BBCs acclaimed thriller Edge of Darkness, set in the paranoid world of state security, and two years later, again for the BBC, he added screen presence to the lavish mini-series Fortunes of War in the role of the diplomat, Dobbie.

He was born Alfred Charles Piff in Coventry on August 31 1930, to Charles Piff, a wholesale tobacconist, and his wife Frances, nee Petty. The family moved to Warwick, where he was educated at Warwick School. He qualified as a dental surgeon at Birmingham University before National Service in the Royal Dental Corps in Vienna and Berlin, where he acquired a lifelong love of opera and cream cakes.

As a boy he had always loved trips to the theatre and, aged 26, he forsook dentistry for the stage, training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1958 he won the Bancroft Gold Medal alongside Sian Phillips, recalling that, after their triumph, they were both brought down to earth by being commissioned to make a recording to help teach parrots to talk: We just had to stay the same line over and over again. The idea was you played the record to the parrot and it learned to speak.

Kay, right, as Arthur Kipps opposite John Duttine in The Woman in Black, 1989 - Alamy

His first job after graduation was at the newly built Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. Adopting his sisters name, Kay, as his stage name, his first role was as Lord Fancourt Babberley, an Oxford undergraduate who, for complicated reasons, is persuaded to dress up in drag to impersonate a friends aunt, in the Brandon Thomas farce Charleys Aunt.

Then, in the original production of Roots (1959), the second part of Arnold Weskers kitchen-sink trilogy, he played Jimmy Beales, farm worker brother-in-law of Beatie Bryant (Joan Plowright), the working-class heroine struggling to transcend her origins. In 1960 he took part in the first British performance of a 16th-century Yugoslav comedy, Uncle Dundo, in celebration the anniversary of Belgrades liberation from the Germans.

Roots transferred to the Royal Court, London, where in the early years of the English Stage Company, Kay also appeared in Weskers The Kitchen and as Pope Leo X in John Osbornes Luther, starring Albert Finney (1961).

As a member of the RSC from 1963 and of Oliviers National Theatre Company at the Old Vic from 1967 to 1972, Kays key portrayals included Octavius in Julius Caesar, the Duke of Clarence in Richard III, Shylocks servant Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice and Pyotr Dobchinsky in The Government Inspector.

He played Osric and the Player Queen in Hamlet, Celia to Ronald Pickups Rosalind in Clifford Williamss all-male staging of As You Like It, a supremely sinister Gaveston to John Strides Edward the Second in Brechts version of Marlowes play, and Loach, one of the patients in the male general ward of a down-at-heel hospital, in Peter Nicholss black comedy The National Health  a role he reprised, in part, in 2013 as part of Nicholas Hytners one-off show to mark the National Theatres 50th anniversary.

As the Earl of Caversham in a 2010 production of The Ideal Husband - Nobby Clark/Popperfoto

In Jonathan Millers revival of Buchners Dantons Death (New Theatre, 1971) he played a murderously messianic Robespierre, with chilling restraint as a glacially smiling and myopic lawyer, according to one critic. Among other West End roles he and David Burke shared the role of Arthur Kipps, the main character and narrator, in the first London production of the Susan Hill thriller, The Woman in Black (1989). In 2010 he was a tetchy Earl of Caversham in a revival of Oscar Wildes An Ideal Husband at the Vaudeville.

Other notable roles included Chauvelin, the villainous French agent, in Nicholas Hytners Chichester production of The Scarlet Pimpernel, Beverley Crosss revision of Baroness Orczys yarn about the British hero of the French Revolution, one critic describing him as haunting English drawing rooms like a dyspeptic Mephistopheles.

Kay starred alongside Judi Dench, Donald Sinden and David Suchet in many productions and became a great friend of Penelope Keith, spending many Christmases with her and her family in Guildford.

He was unmarried, regarding his wide circle of friends as his family.

Charles Kay, born August 31 1930, died January 8 2025
Firefighter during a wildfire near Landiras, south-west France, in July 2022. Photograph: AP

Dangerous temperatures could kill 50% more people in Europe by the end of the century, a study has found, with the lives lost to stronger heat projected to outnumber those saved from milder cold.

The researchers estimated an extra 8,000 people would die each year as a result of suboptimal temperatures even under the most optimistic scenario for cutting planet-heating pollution. The hottest plausible scenario they considered showed a net increase of 80,000 temperature-related deaths a year.

The findings challenge an argument popular among those who say global heating is good for society because fewer people will die from cold weather.

We wanted to test this, said Pierre Masselot, a statistician at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and lead author of the study. And we show clearly that we will see a net increase in temperature-related deaths under climate change.

The study builds on previous research in which the scientists linked temperature to mortality rates for different age groups in 854 cities across Europe. They combined these with three climate scenarios that map possible changes in population structure and temperature over the century.

In all three scenarios, they found, uncomfortable temperatures would kill more people than they do today. The scientists cautioned that the uncertainties in the data are large.

The net death toll is forecast to rise the most in hot southern Europe, particularly around the Mediterranean, with a second hotspot in central Europe that covers Switzerland, Austria and parts of southern Germany and Poland. In cooler northern Europe, meanwhile, a small decrease in deaths is expected.

In Norway, for instance, we might see a very slight benefit, said Masselot. [But this] is completely overshadowed by this massive increase we see in southern countries.

Heat and cold are silent killers that hurt the body well before they reach extremes that cause hypothermia and heatstroke. Excess deaths soar during heatwaves, particularly among people who are old or sick, as hot weather forces their bodies into overdrive and stops them from resting. Cold spells raise blood pressure and contribute to a range of heart and lung problems.

Put bluntly, the increase in hot weather will kill more people than the decrease in cold weather will save, said Tim Osborn, a climate scientist at the University of East Anglia, who was not involved in the research. While this new study isnt the final say on the matter  it does break new ground by scrutinising peoples vulnerability to extreme temperatures by age and by city to a much better level of detail than previous work.

The analysis, which was limited to European cities, did not consider rural regions, which are less exposed to the urban heat island effect, or other parts of the planet, where heat is a more pressing problem. In total, they estimated the high heating scenario would lead to an extra 2.3 million people dying from dangerous temperatures in Europe between 2015 and 2099.

Madeleine Thomson, a climate and health expert at the research charity Wellcome, said the death toll was just one of the dangers of rising temperatures. Extreme heat kills but it also causes a wide range of serious health problems. It has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, miscarriages and poor mental health.

Climate science deniers have argued against cutting pollution on the grounds that global heating will save lives, because cold kills more people than heat. Scientists say the different response rates to changes in temperature mean that heat deaths will rise much faster than cold deaths will fall, particularly at higher temperatures.

There are also legitimate arguments that this net effect is only of limited relevance, said Erich Fischer, a climate scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ), who was not involved in the study. If a new drug with serious side-effects that lead to countless deaths were approved, I would hardly argue that the drug saves about as many lives, or that the net effect could even be slightly positive in the short term despite the many deaths.

The study explored how lives could be saved if people adapted to the changes in temperature and reduced their exposure to uncomfortable temperatures. In the hottest scenario, only implausibly strong levels of adaptation could halt the trend of rising net deaths, the study found. In scenarios that cut carbon pollution, a 50% drop in temperature exposure was enough for net deaths to drop.

The good news is that we can adapt, said Victor Resco de Dios, an environmental engineer at the University of Lleida, who was not involved in the study. Adaptation starts with relatively simple solutions  although they are not free  such as installing air conditioning or creating spaces that serve as climate shelters.

But we must also address more complex solutions  such as increasing green areas in cities to mitigate the urban heat island  and adapting health systems, he added.
living in australia with uk pension

Write to Pensions Doctor with your pension problem: pensionsdoctor@telegraph.co.uk. Columns are published weekly.

Dear Charlene,

My daughter left Britain in 2009 and now lives and works in Australia. She has both UK and Australian citizenship. While in the UK she had a personal pension plan with Abbey Life, now managed by Phoenix Life, with a current transfer value of approximately 33,000.

Now that she is 57 years old she would like to take the 25pc tax-free lump sum from the pension and leave the remainder invested so that she can take drawdowns (taxable, presumably) at a later date of her choosing.

The first problem is that Phoenix Life cannot offer this service, only being able to cash in the whole pension with a large resulting tax bill. They have agreed to transfer the pension to another UK provider with an exit fee capped at 1pc.

The second problem is that we cannot seem to find a UK pension provider that will accept a UK pension transfer from a UK citizen who is not resident in the UK.

Are you able to help please?

Yours sincerely,

 John

Dear John,

Im assuming that your daughter no longer has a UK bank account as she left the country over 15 years ago.

Unfortunately, most UK pension providers will not make payments to a non-UK bank account, at least on a regular basis. This is down to the extra checks to verify overseas bank accounts to meet anti-money laundering and financial crime regulations each time they make a payment.

This will make it difficult to find a provider that will accept the transfer and be willing to pay income in the future.

An existing provider will usually pay out the cash-in value of the pension pot in one go, though  subject to some extra checks. Youve mentioned this will result in a large tax bill for your daughter, but Id suggest double checking exactly what tax will be payable, and in which country, before discounting this option.

Double taxation agreements (DTAs) are designed to help people being taxed twice by different countries on the same income. They are negotiated by and specific to the countries involved, and there is a DTA in force between Australia and the UK  this is detailed on the government website.

Your daughter must double check this with the Australian tax authorities and a qualified tax specialist, but my understanding is that payments from a UK private pension scheme will not be subject to UK tax for Australian tax residents.

This isnt automatic, unless they are given an NT (no tax) tax code from HMRC. If tax is deducted you can claim it back under the DTA using an R43 form.

However, while the DTA (and NT tax codes) aim to prevent double taxation, Australian tax residents must declare their worldwide income. In terms of UK pensions, this would also potentially capture tax-free lump sums from UK pensions.

The rate of tax ultimately payable will depend on your daughters other income, and there are sometimes reliefs and allowances that can be set against the 25pc lump sum. The Australian tax office should be able to give your daughter guidance here.

If you can get a figure for the likely (Australian) tax bill for cashing in the UK pension, after any currency exchange and other costs of moving the money itself, you can compare it to the costs (including tax) of moving the UK pension to an overseas pension scheme instead, like an Australian super fund.

This is a question for a specialist tax adviser, and youll need to consider if a transfer would be suitable for a fund of 33,000.

I did briefly cover pension transfers from the UK to Australia in a previous Pensions Doctor article, which outlines some of the rules to help you get started.

Yours sincerely,

 Charlene

Charlene Young is a pensions and savings expert at online investment platform AJ Bell. Her columns should not be taken as advice or as a personal recommendation, but as a starting point for readers to undertake their own further research.
A small model of a Lunar Terrain Vehicle is seen in front of the IM-2 Mission Lunar Lander, named Athena, during a media day presented by Intuitive Machines on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Houston. The second lunar lander is scheduled to launch and land on the moon in the first quarter of 2025. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer

NASA awarded Houston-based Intuitive Machines a $2.5 million contract, which the company said it would use to help develop a "heavy-cargo-class" lunar lander, according to a recent news release.

The lander, which the company said is still in development, is being designed as part of a greater plan to help NASA explore the solar system. Dubbed the Moon-to-Mars Architecture, the plan's goal is to establish a framework for sustainable, human-led exploration of deep space, according to their website. NASA's four-step strategy is to first return to the moon, explore it, develop a sustainable human presence and finally set the first pair of boots down on the surface of Mars.

Intuitive Machines' lander is geared toward overcoming the logistical challenges associated with the moon's barren, low-gravity surface. Company CEO Steve Altemus said Intuitive Machine's experience with space exploration makes it the perfect choice to help NASA with its plan to put a human on Mars.

Advertisement Article continues below this ad

"Intuitive Machines has been methodically working on executing lunar delivery, data transmission, and infrastructure service missions, making us uniquely positioned to provide strategies and concepts that may shape lunar logistics and mobility solutions for the Artemis generation," Altemus said. "We look forward to bringing our proven expertise together to deliver innovative solutions that establish capabilities on the moon and place deeper exploration within reach."

The Artemis Campaign is the first step in NASA's Moon-to-Mars plan and is focused on developing a long-term human footprint on the moon. Intuitive Machines made history in February 2024 when the company landed the first privately owned vehicle, a Nova-C lander, on the lunar surface as part of the Artemis Campaign's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.

After a successful 2024 landing, the company is already gearing up for a second launch. NASA announced in a Friday news release that another Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander will be carried into space via SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sometime in late February or early March.

The company said in the release that it also hopes to use the contract to help improve its understanding of conditions impacting mobility on the moon's surface. In November, the company unveiled a lunar terrain vehicle that it said is capable of carrying nearly 900 pounds of material itself, and has another 900 pounds of towing capacity.
Oxford

I loved my course at university and have the good grades to prove it. I started my course in 1979, the days when those of us from poor and minority backgrounds should have considered ourselves the privileged. Given that only 2 per cent of us went to university, the country stuffed our pockets with fat grants, free tuition, and gave us a chance to escape our inner-city misery for beautiful countryside  and some tough exams.

I thought I was in heaven studying English, essentially getting paid to read my favourite poems and novels. I really felt sorry for the middle-class home students, whose parents were too rich for a grant and too hard-up to prevent their children from struggling. I remember playing the saint and giving one of my home-county friends a loan (with interest of course) so he didnt starve.

So, it does seem strange that Oxford and Cambridge are being allowed to drop traditional exams in a bid to boost the grades of minority students. The evidence for this is based on the data that white, richer students are allocated a disproportionate number of firsts and upper seconds compared to students who are black and poor.

There is no doubt that the data is showing a link between socio-economic background and the allocation of upper-seconds. But the explanation is more complicated than the reflexive recourse to racism. There was a reason that I achieved a top degree, irrespective of my background. First, I got on well with my lecturers, staying behind after class to discuss the subject. This went to the point where I would go to their homes for dinner, be invited to parties and meet with their peers for informal drinks and chat. I think I gained access to the informal curriculum. Often the content of exams would be based around rewarding this extra knowledge, which went beyond the bog-standard basics of the course.

The other great source of this informal curriculum is joining clubs and societies, particularly those that are related to your subject. At university I was treasurer of the Chinese Society: I had no knowledge of finance, I didnt speak Mandarin and I had no Chinese ancestry. But my participation allowed me to make friends and learn from students across campus.

If Oxford and Cambridge really wanted to make their institutions fairer, they could offer more social induction sessions  without patronising under-represented students in the process. They need to be told that you will get a better grade if you simply expose yourself to more knowledge.

Life is full of literal ups and downs. If you go back to my experience in the late seventies, being poor, black and going to a rubbish comprehensive ironically gave me the upper hand over my lower-middle-class peers. There is rarely a one-size-fits-all solution that wont leave some group or another somehow disadvantaged.

There are clearly activist groups and lecturers who feel that black and poor young people are unable to stay in the fast lane of Oxbridge. But this is the wrong reason to pursue changes. If academics feel the closed-book method is simply outdated, it is their prerogative to modify it. After-all, many universities already use a range of course work and exams. Rather than framing changes as inclusive, reforms should be embraced as a way to make exams both more challenging and more engaging: students will have to do more than just crib notes and memorise formulae. Unluckily for them, it will mean having to go down the pub and, like me, simply ordering a blackcurrant and lemonade.
Rwandan security officers and soldiers escorting DRC troops who surrendered in Goma, eastern DRC. Photograph: Jean Bizimana/Reuters

France is seeking western support for a UN security council resolution that names Rwanda as being behind the M23 rebel group attacks inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the surprise weekend seizure of parts of Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC.

UN officials said as many as 4,000 Rwandan troops were escorting the M23 rebels. The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, on Sunday called on the Rwandan defence forces to stop supporting the M23 and to withdraw from the territory of the DRC. It was his clearest statement of Rwandan responsibility for much of the violence.

But practical steps to isolate the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, are not yet being openly canvassed. Similar sanctions in the past, notably in 2012, forced Rwanda to pull back when aid was slashed.

The UN statement drawn up at the end of an emergency security council meeting on Sunday called for the withdrawal of external forces without explicitly naming Rwanda. However, it did reference a report by UN experts that highlighted the systematic presence of Rwandan forces in the DRC.

The French ambassador at the UN, Nicolas de Riviere, urged the UN security council to say Rwandas actions were a grave threat to regional peace and security. He said it was time to call a cat a cat, a reference to the way in which the international community for different reasons had skirted around the issue of Rwandas role in arming the M23. Britain and the US in their interventions at the UN on Sunday also named Rwanda and urged Kagame to pull back.

Britain, France and the US have all been reluctant to impose sanctions on Kagame.

The UK became dependent on Rwandan goodwill when it signed an agreement for Rwanda to accept asylum seekers, but the scheme collapsed in the face of legal and political objections. France has been grateful to Rwanda for policing the Central African Republic and Mali, both former French colonies. The EU in 2023 signed a mineral pact with Rwanda. The US has rarely seen Africa as a diplomatic priority, and one of the first steps of its new president, Donald Trump, was to freeze all aid to the continent.

Yet Rwanda would be vulnerable to a coordinated aid withdrawal, since a third of Rwandas budget is dependent on overseas aid.

William Ruto, the president of Kenya, is seeking to fill the diplomatic vacuum by calling an extraordinary summit of the East African Community, which he chairs, within 48 hours on Monday. He insisted that the DRC president, Felix Tshisekedi, and Kagame would attend, but there has been no confirmation of this.

Some nations, notably Russia and China, as well as the African nations holding rotating seats on the security council, are content to issue generalised calls for restraint. Russia says the dispute is rooted in colonialism, a comprehensive critique it provides to analyse most western actions in Africa.

In speaking to the security council, the DRC foreign minister, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, rejected any history lessons, instead favouring the UN imposing sweeping economic and political sanctions on Kagame, including on all Rwandan-labelled minerals. She accused Rwanda of a declaration of war, and no longer hiding behind diplomatic manoeuvres, adding that it was clear that this crisis is directly linked to the economic plunder of our country by Rwanda.

DRC diplomats are frustrated since successive UN expert reports have said that Rwanda is plundering DRC mineral wealth. Rwandan diplomats deny this, saying repeatedly that if it has a presence in the DRC, it is because it has a legitimate right to protect the Congolese Tutsi community against rebelforces.

The ambassadors of Uruguay and South Africa, whose peacekeepers were recently killed by M23 forces, appealed to the security council to protect UN troops.
Sunset - Peter Cade

Global warming will prevent 3.4 million deaths from the cold in Europe by the end of the century, but excess heat will claim millions of lives on the Continent, figures show.

A stark north-south divide has emerged, as data show northerly European countries  including Britain  would see an overall mortality benefit from rising temperatures, while central and southern areas will face devastating consequences.

Modelling of 854 cities by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) shows that unmitigated warming would prevent about 630,000 deaths in Britain cumulatively by 2099.

In contrast, heat would kill about 360,000  leaving a net benefit of some 270,000 lives saved.

Likewise, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia and Norway would have more lives saved by preventing cold weather deaths than they lose from rising temperatures.

However, countries including Italy, Spain and France would face hundreds of thousands of excess deaths, even after taking into account those people saved from the cold.

Overall, researchers calculated that there would be about 5.8 million deaths in Europe because of unmitigated warming by the end of the century, with 3.4 million cold-weather deaths avoided  equating to about 2.3 million excess deaths overall.

Commenting on the research, Prof Tim Osborn, director of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, said: Cold weather and hot weather kill tens of thousands of people across Europe every year.

A thermometer outside a pharmacy in Udine, northeastern Italy. Temperatures in Rome, the capital, can reach highs of more than 35C - Dragoncello

The harm from climate change impacts people very unevenly in this case, with far greater increases in temperature-related deaths predicted for southern Europe than for northern Europe, where milder winters may even reduce the number of deaths.

The same groups of people are generally at risk from both extreme cold and extreme heat, such as older adults and people with health conditions.

Modelling showed that most cities in Britain and Scandinavian countries would have a net decrease in deaths. For example, London would have about 27,000 fewer deaths, Edinburgh would save 2,400, Belfast 1,908 and Cardiff 2,021.

However, researchers said the lower death toll would be massively outweighed by the increases in the rest of Europe, particularly in populous Mediterranean cities.

Barcelona would be the worst hit with 246,082 more deaths, followed by Rome and Naples at about 147,000 and Madrid with nearly 130,000 excess deaths by 2099.

Pierre Masselot, lead author of the study from LSHTM, said: Our results stress the urgent need to aggressively pursue both climate change mitigation and adaptation to increased heat.

People enjoy the sunshine at Southend beach in Essex during the 2022 heatwave - Yui Mok/PA WIre

This is especially critical in the Mediterranean area where, if nothing is done, consequences could be dire.

The figures were based on temperature projections coupled with population data and death estimates as a result of extreme conditions.

Experts said that up to 70 per cent of the deaths could be prevented if rapid action was taken to adapt cities to changing temperatures, such as increasing green spaces, or implementing early warning systems.

Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, a lecturer at Imperial College London, added: Previous estimates based on historical data have suggested that for every heat-related death there are roughly 10 cold-related deaths.

This raises important questions about the net impact of temperature changes due to anthropogenic climate change.

This new study underscores a crucial point: without any adaptation to temperature, projections suggest that temperature-related deaths are likely to increase overall, with heat-related deaths surpassing cold-related ones.

Experts warned that the figures were likely to be higher because the cities studied accounted for about 40 per cent of people in each country.

The research was published in the journal Nature Medicine.
The Bunnik hoard is a mixed composition collection of coins. Photograph: RMO

A hoard of British coins bearing the inscription of King Cunobelin and found in a Dutch field have been identified as very likely to be the spoils of war of a Roman soldier from the conquest of Britain.

The 44 gold coins, known as staters, were discovered alongside 360 Roman coins, by two amateur archaeologists with metal detectors in a field in Bunnik, near Utrecht. The coins are believed to have been given as military pay.

Related: Archaeologists uncover Roman service station during roadworks in Gloucester

The staters bear the name of the British Celtic king also known as Cunobelinus, immortalised by Shakespeare as Cymbeline in the play of that name, who reigned between AD5 and AD40 in the south-east of Britain.

Analysis of what is the first mixed composition collection found on mainland Europe suggests the coins were deliberately buried in a shallow pit and stored in a cloth or leather pouch.

The coins, which were found less than 30cm below the surface of the soil, are said to amount to what would have been 11 years in wages for an ordinary Roman soldier.

Four of the British staters are regarded as posthumous issues, probably struck by Cunobelinuss successors as ruler of the Catuvellauni tribe, the brothers Togodumnus and Caratacus, at approximately AD43.

The wide chronological range of the coins suggests they were not selected based on quality, gold content or weight but removed from circulation in a single event, consistent with being spoils from the early Roman conquest of Britain under the general Aulus Plautius (AD43-47).

The coins may have been distributed to the army as a donativum, a monetary gift often given to soldiers in the Roman army as a reward after a successful campaign, according to the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, where they are on show.

Of the Roman coins, 72 are gold aurei, a high value currency, and 288 are silver denarii. They date from approximately 200BC to AD47. The most recent coins in the hoard, struck in AD46-47, bear the portrait of the emperor Claudius.

The identical marks of those coins suggest they were minted as part of a single batch. Among the silver pieces are Roman coins from the time of Julius Caesar and one features Juba, the king of Numidia in north-west Africa  present-day Algeria.

The find was made by Gert-Jan Messelaar and Reinier Koelink in October 2023. They discovered 381 coins and a second excavation by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands uncovered a further 23. We opened a bottle of champagne, recalled Messelaar of the original discovery. You never find this.

The area where the coins were discovered was a site from which the Romans had prepared for first crossing to Britain. It now appears it was also an area to which the conquering troops returned when back on the mainland.

The pit in which the coins were probably buried would have been dug in a soggy area and close to a water-bearing channel that would have been unsuitable for habitation and agriculture.

Anton Cruysheer, from the Utrecht Landscape and Heritage Foundation, said: This is the first time that physical evidence of the return of the troops has been found. Apparently they came back with all sorts of things. That is new information.

Britain consisted of several separate kingdoms before Claudius ordered Aulus Plautius to invade with a force of four legions reinforced by a further 20,000 auxiliary soldiers.

Caratacus and Togodumnus had been leading attacks on the Atrebates tribe, who had political and trading links with the Romans, extending the area of influence of the anti-Roman Catuvellauni further westwards from their homelands north of the River Thames.
Bird flu testing

A farm worker in England has tested positive for bird flu after catching the virus from an infected flock.

The person in the West Midlands case is understood to have symptoms, but is said to be well and being monitored at a specialist infectious disease hospital ward.

The farm worker is the seventh person to test positive for bird flu in the UK since 2021 and only the second symptomatic infection. All people caught the virus from being in close contact with birds.

Health officials said the risk to the wider public remained very low and the strain of avian influenza is the same as that which caused outbreaks across the UK before Christmas, including on turkey farms. They have said that there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission.

Contact tracing is ongoing for all people who have come into contact with the unnamed infected individual. Those at the highest risk of infection have been offered antivirals as a precaution.

The case was detected as part of a routine surveillance of farm workers on sites at which bird infections have occurred.

A very rare event

Christine Middlemiss, the UKs chief veterinary officer, said there was a growing number of avian influenza infections in birds across the UK, urging farmers to follow biosecurity measures.

She said: While avian influenza is highly contagious in birds, this is a very rare event and is very specific to the circumstances on this premises.

Prof Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, said: We have robust systems in place to detect cases early and take necessary action, as we know that spillover infections from birds to humans may occur. Currently there is no evidence of onward transmission from this case.

Bird flu has an almost 100 per cent fatality rate in birds and can infect humans in close contact with birds either dead or alive. However, the risk to health in people is significantly lower.

While vaccines against avian flu for birds exist, they are not permitted for use in poultry or birds that are kept as pets.

Monitoring this situation closely

The UK recently added five million doses of bird flu vaccines for people to its vaccination stockpile to be prepared in the event of a bird flu strain that is more infectious in humans.

Andrew Gwynne, the public health and prevention minister, said: The safety of the public is paramount, and we are monitoring this situation closely.

The risk of wider or onward transmission is very low. However, the UK remains prepared and ready to respond to any current and future health threats.

We recently added the H5 vaccine, which protects against avian influenza, to our stockpile as part of our preparedness plans.
Michael D Higgins, the Irish president, was accused of echoing Hamass anti-Semitic lies at a Holocaust memorial ceremony in Dublin - Brian Lawless/PA

Irelands president has been branded despicable and accused of spewing anti-Semitic lies after he used a Holocaust memorial speech to highlight the plight of Gazans.

Several members of the audience were forcibly removed after turning their backs on Michael D Higgins in protest at his speech at the event in Dublin on Sunday.

I believe that those in Israel who mourn their loved ones, those who have been waiting for the release of hostages, or the thousands searching for relatives in the rubble of Gaza, will welcome the long-overdue ceasefire, for which there has been such a heavy price paid, Mr Higgins said.

Gideon Saar, Israels foreign minister, called his words a cheap, despicable provocation as he accused Mr Higgins of echoing Hamass anti-Semitic lies and propaganda at a Holocaust memorial ceremony.

What a despicable person. What a distorted policy. Shame! he added on X, formerly Twitter.

Gideon Saar, Israels foreign minister, called Mr Higginss words a cheap, despicable provocation - Attila Kisbenedek/AFP

The president made the speech on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance day, which this year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

A number of senior representatives of the Jewish community as well as the outgoing Israeli ambassador to Ireland had called for Mr Higgins not to speak at the event over recent comments he has made about Israels military operations in Gaza.

Mr Higgins, who enjoys broad support in Ireland, has been an outspoken critic of the war, often accusing Israel of breaking international law in its bombing of the coastal enclave.

Amichai Chikli, Israels minister for diaspora affairs and combating anti-Semitism, said he was stunned by Mr Higgins decision to use the event as an opportunity to spit in the faces of Holocaust survivors.

Even on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Irish President Michael Higgins couldn't help himself and resorted to a cheap, despicable provocation.



The biggest murderous attack against Jews since the Holocaust was perpetrated from Jihadist Gaza. Nonetheless, he echoed  Gideon Sa'ar |   (@gidonsaar) January 26, 2025

Gerard Craughwell, an Irish senator who was at the event, condemned the removal of the protesters. I do not understand why they were manhandled out of the event. All they did was stand up and turn their back, he said.

Ireland, Spain and Norway are the only three European nations to have officially recognised Palestinian statehood.

Last month, relations between Ireland and Israel plummeted after Ireland approved a proposal to intervene in South Africas genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Ireland had asked the Hague-based court to broaden its definition of genocide to better accommodate accusations that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza.

In response, Israel shut its embassy in Ireland, with Mr Saar condemning what he called the countrys extreme anti-Israel policies.

Simon Harris, Irelands foreign minister  who has previously said his country would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, if he set foot in Ireland  called Israels move deeply regrettable and rejected its criticisms.
Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on 6 January 2021 in Washington, DC. Photograph: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

An Indiana man who was pardoned by Donald Trump for taking part in the January 6 insurrection was killed by police during a traffic stop on Sunday.

Matthew Huttle, 42, was shot by a sheriffs deputy after allegedly resisting arrest and getting into an altercation with an officer, local news outlets in Indiana report, based on the Indiana state polices account of the incident.

Huttle was one of the more than 1,500 people pardoned by Trump on the first day of his second term in office for their roles in the 2021 Capitol riot.

Related: Trump issues 1,500 unconditional pardons over January 6 Capitol attack

Huttle traveled to Washington with his uncle, Dale, and both men were charged for participating in the insurrection. He entered the US Capitol for about 10 minutes and agreed to a plea deal that gave him six months in prison. His uncle, Dale Huttle, was sentenced to 30 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge for assaulting an officer after he jabbed the police officer with a long flagpole.

The county sheriff in Jasper county, Indiana, said he requested the state police investigate the shooting. The officer was placed on administrative leave per department policy for police shootings, the sheriff said.

Our condolences go out to the family of the deceased as any loss of life is traumatic to those that were close to Mr Huttle, Sheriff Patrick Williamson said in a statement.

Another January 6 participant who was pardoned last week was rearrested on federal gun charges. Daniel Ball of Florida was detained for an illegal firearm possession charge, a case that predated but emerged from his involvement in the 2021 Capitol insurrection.

Police officers who were at the Capitol that day and political violence experts have warned that the pardons could lead to further acts of violence.
bridget Phillipson

Martin Twist, the headteacher of St Charles, a state sixth form college in Notting Hill, was looking forward to a Labour government. A free spirit recruited in the New Labour era with a penchant for Aztec bracelets and jackets stitched with brightly patterned lining, his philosophy on education is a mulch of liberal progressivism and market pragmatism.

His school is a centre-Leftists dream. With a tight budget, he has turned around a struggling sixth form. His school  which is now rated Good by Ofsted  exudes a spa-like calm, that is serene rather than regimented, during teaching hours. The pupils passion is learning, authentic to the point of offhanded, with pupils emerging from history class trilling about the American Revolution and funny TikToks they were browsing the night before in the same breath. The timetable is planned so teachers can work a four-day week.

And yet Twist is coming to dread five years of Left-wing rule. The educational sector is supportive of Labour ideology  not least its high value on public services. But at the minute we are just seeing strengthening of trade unions.

St Charles is not a particularly unionised college but Twist will spend this week scrambling to avoid class cancellations as several of his staff strike, amid Labours mysterious decision to leave sixth form colleges out of a national 5.5 per cent pay rise deal. This comes after they were hit with the VAT raid, despite being state funded.

While Labours barely concealed vendetta against academies has gained a lot of attention in recent weeks, the partys disdain towards maintained sixth forms  treating them as if they were an irrelevant anomaly  is also a manifestation of Labours bizarre approach.

Amid the chaos surrounding the partys flagship education Bill, a couple of things are becoming clear. First, Labour has no grip. A Government with a detailed grasp of the systems administrative quirks and bear traps could have avoided the coming strikes.

Second, although Labour appears reluctant to come out and clearly articulate its basic philosophy on education  which is why its education Bill is such an incoherent dogs dinner  it apparently fundamentally disagrees with the notion that freedom is a crucial driver of educational excellence. Instead, Bridget Phillipson seems happy to allow the blob to take back control. The DfE  the most notoriously control-hungry department in Whitehall  has relished clawing back powers from independent academy trusts, though as senior Tories point out, it lacks the manpower to match its ambitions to run the world.

Non-academy schools are also bristling at a rash of clumsy top-down Labour directives, from a frenzied push to purge BTec courses to a mandate for all primary schools to offer free breakfasts. While the latter makes for warm and fuzzy headlines, among teachers it has gone down like a bucket of cold porridge. Many schools already offer a morning meal and would prefer the cash to spend as they see fit. It all feels a bit like someone who has never seen the inside of a classroom had a bright idea after reading something in a policy paper, sighs Twist.

Its a tragedy, because Labour could have brought fresh vim to Englands education revolution. Though the Tories left office amid the fog of crumbling school roofs, they are good at spinning the yarn that theirs was a golden age for education. In reality, even academy trust heads privately admit that the Goveite turn lost momentum years ago.

With the teacher shortage beyond crisis point, Labours opening gambit ought to have been a thumpingly ambitious recruitment drive.

And had they been inclined, Labour might have even bettered the Tories by sounding the klaxon for freedom in education even louder. Instead of junking academy trusts, they could have improved them by slashing executive red tape. Some gripe that academies have actually eroded school autonomy in some ways, with heads not even free to choose the paint colour for their assembly halls. Some heads have plumped for forming unofficial mini-trusts that allow them to pool resources without having to deal with an overweening CEO. A sharper SoS would have brought those pioneering alternative models to the table.

Labour has also flunked an opportunity to try and raise standards by granting schools the kind of freedoms that might be counter-intuitive to many conservatives. Many heads are itching for more freedom to pump their budget into keeping their bottom 10 per cent in check, such as through after-school tuition. In rough schools, the single biggest thing holding back diligent pupils is the presence of classroom disruptors. Teachers are bewildered that the Left doesnt appear to get this.

In the AI age, Labour could also have made a powerful argument for a creative revolution in education. While Englands traditional approach has strong merits, it is failing to prepare the next generation in their battle for relevance against AI. As computers become capable of crafting passable copy, writing functional software and conducting standard experiments, it is clear that the mind workers that many assumed would evade the automation Armageddon will need to be outstanding, rather than merely OK, at what they do. This has cataclysmic implications for a system that is fixated with nurturing all-rounders.

According to senior Labour and Tory MPs, the reason for the lack of vision is dismayingly simple: Phillipson, above all else, desires to be leader. She intends to run the DfE like an old-school socialist in order to curry favour with the Party grassroots. That way, she hopes that she will be in a strong position should Sir Keir Starmer be given the boot over austerity. Apparently Englands children are mere pawns on a chessboard to Phillipson, who just might be the most diabolically ambitious politician in the land.

Education was one realm in which Labour could have been ground-breaking. Instead, the Governments attitude to school reform embodies the worst of the Left. On unrepentant display is its affection for command-and-controllism, its tendency to retreat into ancient centralising, socialising dogma for lack of original ideas  and a willingness to sacrifice the futures of millions for the sake of some vainglorious apparatchiks self-serving interpretation of the greater good. How utterly depressing.
Rachel Reeves said previous governments had been too quick to reject planning schemes because they were seen as controversial - Lucy North/Getty Images

The Government must end Nimbyism to boost economic growth, Rachel Reeves has told Labour MPs.

Speaking to the parliamentary Labour Party, the Chancellor said it was time to stop saying no to big housing and infrastructure projects.

She said previous governments had been too quick to reject planning schemes because they were seen as controversial  and pledged that Labour would say yes to large projects.

Ahead of a speech on growth on Wednesday, Ms Reeves said the Government still had not done enough to create the right conditions to boost the economy, saying she would go further and faster.

Will that growth come easy? No. There are no easy routes out, she said. There are always reasons for the Government to say no.

Over the past six months as Chancellor, my experience is that the government has become used to saying no. That must change. We must start saying yes. Yes to new jobs. Yes to higher living standards. Yes to investment. And yes to growth.

In her speech, Ms Reeves is also expected to pledge her support for a third runway at Heathrow, along with airport expansion elsewhere.

Ed Miliband officially opened the Lowestoft Eastern Energy Facility last week - Lauren Hurley/DESNZ

The Chancellor said kick-starting economic growth was this Labour Governments number one mission because I do not believe low growth is our destiny, adding: To deliver that growth requires us to deliver the change the British people voted for, and you have already seen that change in recent weeks.

Angela Rayner announcing plans to get Britain building again. Steve Reed streamlining the regulatory barriers. Ed Miliband unveiling the redevelopment in Lowestoft. Lisa Nandy and Peter Kyle announcing plans to boost the creative industries and AI industries. Jonathan Reynolds banging the drum for business in Davos.

But have we done enough? No. We must go further and faster, because the cost of living pressures are still very real for working people across Britain. And the only way we can turn this around is through economic growth. Economic growth built on the platform of stability, investment and reform. Thats what my speech on Wednesday will be about.

Ms Reeves said that, if the Government got it right, the prize on offer to us is immense, with wealth created, and wealth shared, in every part of Britain.

She added: Now is the chance for us to shout about that potential and the brighter future ahead, because no one else is going to do it.

Kemi Badenoch says she wants more homes, but she blocks planning reform. She says she wants more money for public services, but she blocks the plans to fund them. And she tells the shadow cabinet she wants Liz Truss to shut up, but she blocks any of them from saying it.

The British people want change  and we are getting on with the job of delivering that change for working people.
The Government will revise its defence budget in the spring - Alex Ceolin/Royal Navy

Labour has pledged to set a deadline for spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence this spring.

Luke Pollard, the defence minister, said both the Strategic Defence Review and a path setting out how the Government would increase defence spending from 2.3 per cent would be published in the coming months.

It comes after it was reported that Sir Keir Starmer would resist pressure from the military and Donald Trump to increase spending on defence to 2.5 per cent because of the poor state of the public finances.

Labour has refused to match Rishi Sunaks pledge to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence. The party has said it has an ambition to spend that amount but has so far only pledged to meet it when resources allow.

Senior figures in Government and the military have repeatedly warned that Britains Armed Forces are unready for war.

John Healey, the Defence Secretary, said the military had been hollowed out and underfunded under the last government to such an extent that it would not be able to deter the enemy if war broke out today.

When asked by Labour MP Dan Carden if Britain needed to spend more on defence to maintain a good relationship with the US, Mr Pollard told MPs: I agree that we have to spend more on defence. That is why this Labour government is spending more on defence, an extra 2.9bn as announced in the budget and a pathway to spending 2.5 per cent of our GDP, that will be announced later in the spring.

Mr Pollard also acknowledged that deterring a war is cheaper than fighting a war when put to him by Tan Dhesi, chairman of the Defence Select Committee.

Mr Pollard said: He is absolutely right, deterring a war is cheaper than fighting a war. That is why were continuing to support our allies in Ukraine and making sure we have a Nato-first defence policy to deter aggression facing the United Kingdom and our allies and if necessary to defeat it with formidable capabilities.

However, it was pointed out by the senior Conservative MP Dr Julian Lewis, that previous governments had spent more on defence at critical times, including 5.5 per cent before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.

Dr Lewis urged the Commons to stop obsessing about 2.5 per cent because we need a lot more.
The Niro, introduced in 2019, is a subcompact crossover that's available with gasoline-electric hybrid and all-electric power. Earlier this month, Kia announced a recall for some Kia Niro EV, hybrids and plug-in hybrids due to improper wiring that could impact airbag deployment. Kia Media / Contributed photo

Kia America, Inc. has announced a recall of more than 80,000 Kia vehicles due to improper floor wiring that may impact the vehicle's airbag deployment.

According to a Safety Recall Report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the impacted vehicles are the 2023-2025 Kia Niro EV, 2023-2025 Kia Niro Hybrid and 2023-2025 Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid.

This photo provided by Kia shows a 2019 Niro Plug-In Hybrid. The plug-in version of the Niro crossover provides an EPA-estimated range of 26 miles on all-electric power. Associated Press

FDA LABELS: Food and Drug Administration wants to put nutrition labels front and center on food products

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The recalled Kia Niro EV vehicles were built between Aug. 10, 2022 and Dec. 13, 2024. The pertinent Kia Niro Hybrid vehicles were produced between June 21, 2022 and Dec. 17, 2024.

The Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid vehicles were produced between July 11, 2022 and Dec. 16, 2024.

Damaged wiring can also cause an unintended side curtain airbag deployment, according to documents filed Jan. 17 with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and reported by the Associated Press Saturday.

All affected vehicle owners will be notified by first-class mail with instructions to take their vehicles to a Kia dealer.

According to the safety recall report, customers seeking information will be referred to Kias customer care center or their local dealer.

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Kia debuts the Niro during the media preview day at the Chicago Auto Show on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, at McCormick Place in Chicago. Anthony Souffle/TNS

"Kia dealers will inspect the floor wiring assembly under the manual front passenger seat and replace if necessary. In addition, dealers will reroute the floor wiring assembly and install additional protective coverings to prevent damage to the wiring," according to the report. "Kia will reimburse owners for repair expenses already incurred pursuant to Kias general reimbursement plan filed May 1, 2024."

The recall follows one in November when Hyundai and Kia recalled more than 208,000 electric vehicles to fix a transistor in a charging control unit that could be damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery, the Associated Press reported. That could cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.
The row over NCHIs and free speech flared after Allison Pearson was investigated by police over a tweet

Police should record more non-crime hate incidents, a leaked Home Office report has recommended, despite a row sparked by Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson.

The counter-extremism review recommends that Labour reverses the previous governments move to limit the recording of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) over concerns about their impact on free speech.

On Monday night, ministers backed the increased use of NCHIs for incidents of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, but they rejected proposals in the review for a wider definition of extremism. Instead, they said police and other authorities should continue to focus on Islamism and Right-wing extremism.

In an assessment that will lead to a backlash from Tory and Reform politicians, the report also says that claims of two-tier policing are a Right-wing extremist narrative and that grooming gangs are an alleged problem frequently exploit[ed] by the far-Right.

The row over NCHIs and free speech flared last year after Pearson was investigated by police for the crime of allegedly stirring up racial hatred in a tweet about two-tier policing. The case was subsequently dropped.

Pearson initially believed she was being investigated for an NCHI and the incident resulted in a public debate about their use.

In June 2023, Suella Braverman, the Conservative home secretary at the time, ordered police to stop recording NCHIs, which do not meet the criminal threshold but are logged by police regardless, just because someone was offended.

The new report says the Home Office should reverse the previous governments code of practice.

The review  called a rapid sprint  was ordered by Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, in August last year as part of work to develop a new counter-extremism strategy and was leaked to Policy Exchange, the think tank.

NCHIs were introduced after the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence to monitor situations that could escalate into more serious harm or show heightened community tensions. However, they have increasingly been used to record trivial incidents.

More than 13,000 incidents were logged by police forces in the past year, including against schoolchildren, vicars and doctors.

Although having an NCHI recorded against a person does not involve any sanction and is not a criminal record, it may show up on an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, potentially affecting employment prospects.

Ms Cooper has proposed expanding the recording of NCHIs in relation to anti-Semitism and Islamophobia because she believes they can warn of rising abuse against Jewish and Muslim communities.

The report suggests that any changes would encompass all five protected characteristics, which includes hate based on race, disability, sexual orientation or gender reassignment. Home Office sources said a wider expansion of NCHIs was not planned.

In its section on the extreme Right, the Home Office report says claims of two-tier policing, where two groups are allegedly treated differently after similar behaviour are an example of a Right-wing extremist narrative which is leaking into mainstream debates.

It also warns: Right-wing extremists frequently exploit cases of alleged group-based sexual abuse to promote anti-Muslim sentiment as well as anti-government and anti-political correctness narratives.

The Prime Minister faced accusations during the summer riots, including from Elon Musk, that police were treating far-Right protesters more harshly than minority groups.

However, Home Office sources rejected the two-tier claims, saying: The police carry out their duties without fear nor favour, and we support them in their vital work to keep the public safe.

Policy Exchange pointed out that NCHIs are intensely controversial, criticised as a waste of police time, an avenue for malicious complaints and chilling to free speech.

Paul Stott and Andrew Gilligan, authors of the Policy Exchange commentary, said the critique of two-tier policing risked tarring significant swathes of the public as far-Right.

The report sets out 31 recommendations and says the approach to extremism should no longer be based on ideologies of concern but instead focus on behaviours that cause harm including Islamism, the extreme Right, extreme misogyny, environmental extremism, fascination with violence and conspiracy theories.

It echoes Sir Keir Starmers warning last week, following the sentencing of the Southport murderer, that Britain needed to redefine terrorism because of a new threat from attackers radicalised by extreme violence without any fixed ideology.

Dan Jarvis, the security minister, said that ministers had rejected the reports on the wider range of extremism and expanding NCHIs beyond Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. As we have said repeatedly, Islamist extremism followed by far-Right extremism are the biggest threats we face.

The Home Secretary set out last week our plans to carry out an end-to-end review of Prevent thresholds on Islamist extremism because we are concerned that referrals are too low.

Ideology, particularly Islamist extremism followed by far-Right extremism, continues to be at the heart of our approach to countering extremism and counter-terror. But as the horrific Southport attack shows, alongside that we also need more action on those drawn towards mixed ideologies and violence-obsessed young people.

Threat to free speech

Mr Stott and Mr Gilligan warned the new approach was also in danger of de-prioritising Islamism, which was responsible for 94 per cent of all terrorist deaths in Britain since 1999 and comprised 80 per cent of police counter-terror work.

This new approach risks swamping already stretched counter-extremism interveners and counter-terror police with tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of new cases, making it more likely that dangerous people will be missed, they said.

Some of the definitions of extremism also threaten free speech, defining aspects of normal and legitimate political debate as extremist.

Among its recommendations, the report also said ministers should consider a new offence of making harmful communications likely to cause psychological harm.

The proposal  originally part of the Online Safety Bill  was rejected by the previous government for threatening free speech and its potential to criminalise speech on the basis that it caused someone offence.

Yvette Cooper was urged to sack the officials who drew up the report. The officials that produced this garbage are unfit to serve the public. They should be fired, said Robert Jenrick.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said any move away from the curbs on NCHIs introduced by the last government would threaten unreasonable police intrusion and freedom of speech, besides risking wasting police time.

He said he was appalled that the Government was once again smearing as far-Right those who raise concerns about young girls being gang raped.

He said the reports definition of extremism was so widely drawn that the Government risks losing focus on ideologically motivated terrorists who pose the most risk to life.
Elon Musk

Left-wing activists who want to shut down the social media platform X have been handed money by taxpayer-funded charities, The Telegraph can reveal.

The Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which aims to kill Musks Twitter, has received 300,000 from organisations partly funded by the taxpayer. The group was set up to curb online hate speech and disinformation.

Another group, Stop Funding Hate  which targets advertisers that do business with outlets including The Daily Mail, The Sun and GB News  has received 100,000 from a foundation that receives grants from the taxpayer.

A Conservative MP expressed dismay that Left-wing campaign groups are receiving taxpayers cash by proxy, saying public money is being used to fund political vendettas.

Although the money was paid out while the Conservatives were in power, they want the Government to stop paying grants to organisations that help fund Left-wing campaign groups, one of which was co-founded by Morgan McSweeney, now Sir Keir Starmers chief of staff.

Empowering communities to tackle media hate

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation, set up by the late founder of Hamlyn publishers, is among the charities that have given money to CCDH and Stop Funding Hate.

The foundation  which has more than 900 million of investments, according to its latest accounts  received 1.4 million from the Government and the Greater London Assembly between 2020 and 2023. It has also received 180,000 of National Lottery money.

In November 2020, it donated 100,000 to Stop Funding Hate with the aim of empowering communities to tackle media hate.

Stop Funding Hate, run by Richard Wilson, a Remainer and supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, aims to defund Right-leaning media outlets by running social media campaigns against companies that advertise with them.

While the pressure group claims to oppose all forms of hate, Rosey Ellum, its director, previously called Rishi Sunak an absolute f---er and in 2023 Amanda Morris, a former Stop Funding Hate community organiser, was exposed for sharing allegedly anti-Semitic content on social media. She denied the posts were anti-Semitic, saying she opposed all forms of racism.

In October 2021, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation donated 100,000 to CCDH, which was set up to curb online hate speech and disinformation.

Imran Ahmed, the CCDH chief executive, has worked as a political strategist for the Labour Party and is a former adviser to Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland Secretary. He has said Mr McSweeney  who was one of the founding directors when it was established in 2018 but resigned his directorship in 2020  is a dear friend.

Last year a whistleblower revealed that an internal CCDH document listed one of the groups aims as Kill Musks Twitter. Twitter is now known as X.

Non-partisan, people-powered campaign

CCDH not only has links to No 10 through Mr McSweeney, but also held a meeting last August with officials from the Home Office and the Department for Science Innovation and Technology to discuss the response to the riots triggered by the Southport murders.

It has also received 200,000 from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, which has 1.3 billion in assets and received over 300,000 of taxpayer cash from the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

Records show that CCDHs grant was to support a salary at the organisation and to disrupt the spread of online hate and misinformation.

Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative MP for Huntingdon, said: Its disgraceful that taxpayers hard-earned money is being wasted on Left-wing campaign groups, one set up by the Prime Ministers chief of staff, who are waging war on our free media and trying to shut down X.

The Government should urgently look into the recipients of these grants and make sure they are operating within standards the public would expect  not just fulfilling political vendettas.

Mr Wilson, Stop Funding Hates director, said: As an independent, non-partisan, people-powered campaign, Stop Funding Hate has never sought nor received any form of government funding.

CCDH, The Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation did not respond to requests for comment.
Earning ones stripes  Vera Hutchinson, Football Widow, County Durham, from the series In Soccer Wonderland by Julian Germain. Photograph:  Julian Germain. Courtesy of Martin Parr Foundation.

Theyve certainly picked a surprising venue for it. Lives Less Ordinary, an exhibition that critiques and claims to rectify the representation of British working-class life, occupies the wood-panelled, gothic-windowed mansion Two Temple Place, built in the 1890s as a London pad for millionaire William Waldorf Astor. Photos and paintings of common people are hung around a hall that looks like the grand staircase of the Titanic.

Its a curious sight and even curiouser exhibition. The British working class, says the press release, are seen in art through the reductive and distorting lens of the middle-class gaze. Working-class subjects have been  stereotyped or sensationalised. Working-class artists have been misinterpreted, pigeonholed, or overlooked altogether. Which artists are they accusing? Richard Billingham, I suspect, whose photobook Rays a Laugh portrays drunken squalor inside the council flat where he grew up, and Martin Parr, whose pictures of seaside life tend to be toe-curling. Yet both are lyrical, memorable artists of real British life. Just not with a sufficiently positive attitude.

Its soon clear this exhibition has set itself an impossible, quixotic goal: not only to correct how the working class are seen but actually to find that class as a single, stable body with an authentic identity across 80 or so years from the 1940s to now.

Working-class authenticity keeps spinning away as you look, even in the earliest art here. The Kitchen Sink school in postwar British painting gets a welcome airing. It was nicknamed by the art critic David Sylvester but his term kitchen sink got taken up by theatre reviewers and is nowadays mostly associated with the realist drama of John Osborne. Is realism the same as working-class ? Jack Smiths 1954 painting Interior with Child depicts a spacious room with a well-laid table and flower arrangement, and a little girl playing with a dog: it could as easily be a middle-class home in austerity Britain as a working-class one.

The catalogue says Smiths working-class upbringing in Sheffield shaped his eye for scenes of everyday life at home. Yet having an artistic interest in domestic reality is a trait he shares with Bonnard, Matisse and other very bourgeois artists. Another painting shown here as a forgotten working-class masterpiece, Ceri Richards 1950 canvas Yellow Interior, is clearly a homage to Matisse with its room saturated in a single colour, where a long-legged faceless woman sits elegantly among the plants and flamboyant wallpaper. No one would look at this as a painting about class at all, unless told to.

It is much easier to see why Chris Killip is included. This remarkable photographer shot working-class life in the north-east of England at a time when vast economic changes were shutting shipyards and collieries. His project Seacoal is a mind-bending delve into extraordinary lives. In 1983 Killip moved into a caravan at Lynemouth, Northumberland to live with and portray people who were literally scraping a living by finding coal on the beach, straining it through wire nets as if it were gold dust. Killip described the coal-gathering scenes on the beach as medieval. How much can anyone have earned that way? Yet the Seacoal community seem in his pictures to survive with dignity. Kiss, New Years Day, Seacoal Camp, Lynemouth, Northumberland portrays a father and his daughter, happy in their little caravan. But is even this truly working-class?

When this photograph was taken in 1984 the industrial, capital-letter Working Class was fighting its last stand in the miners strike. Clearly the Seacoal folk didnt belong to that organised class and the institutions it had created in the 19th and 20th centuries. Their way of making a living was both more ancient, and futuristic, looking forward to the fragmented nature of 21st-century society when McJobs, gigs and marginal existences make the idea of a single, organised working class naive.

Oh for another Killip to record and portray the ways people work and survive in Britain right now. Instead we get a lot of attitude. Soften Up Hard Lad, says an England flag by Corbin Shaw. Good advice. In Roman Manfredis photographs, butch lesbians pose in raw urban settings. We are told they are working-class but that seems a very essentialist way to describe personae that clearly embrace artifice and masquerade.

Yet when the exhibition drops its heavy load of idealism and actually allows in art that bravely depicts the reality of this unequal land, the show scores. George Shaws paintings and drawings of Tile Hill, the area on the outskirts of Coventry where he grew up, dont claim class as an identity or celebrate it as a badge of honour. He just did grow up in this place, with its bleak yet sometimes beautiful mix of city and country, and it is in him. In his works here, the flat empty walls and silent unpopulated streets express his childhood environments ghostly power over him as an adult, as if he is still working out some unnameable trauma. Rain enters your soul just looking at Shaws honest, excellent paintings.

Here is modern Britain, working-class or not, as true as it comes.
People displaced by the fighting between M23 rebels and DRC forces make their way to the centre of Goma. Photograph: Moses Sawasawa/AP

The Rwandan-backed armed group M23 on Friday seized the airport in Bukavu, the provincial capital of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just weeks after capturing Goma in neighbouring North Kivu.

There are fears that the conflict in eastern DRC, which has intensified a humanitarian crisis, could spark a broader war with Rwanda.

What is M23?

M23, or the March 23 Movement, is one of more than 100 armed groups fighting Congolese forces in the mineral-rich eastern DRC. It has been present in North Kivu province in areas bordering Rwanda and Uganda and has more than 8,000 fighters, according to the UN.

It is named after the date in 2009 of the signing of an accord between the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), a Tutsi-led rebel group, and the Congolese government to end a revolt led by the Tutsi people in eastern DRC.

Why is M23 fighting Congolese forces?

M23 was created in 2012 after former CNDP troops rebelled against the Congolese government, accusing it of failing to implement the 2009 agreement by integrating Tutsi fighters into the army, protecting minorities and distributing resources evenly.

It says its objective is to safeguard the interests of the Congolese Tutsi and other minorities, including protecting them against Hutu rebel groups who escaped to the DRC after taking part in the 1994 genocide that targeted Tutsis.

In 2012, the militia made significant territorial gains in eastern DRC, including briefly seizing Goma before withdrawing 10 days later after an agreement brokered by neighbouring nations.

In a resurgence starting in 2022, the group mounted an offensive in North Kivu against DRCs armed forces and the UN mission in the country. M23 took control of Rubaya, a key coltan mining town, last year. It makes $800,000 (644,800) monthly in taxes on production and trade of the mineral, according to the UN.

In January, the rebel group made further territorial gains, capturing the towns of Katale, Masisi, Minova and Sake, and now the city of Goma.

On Friday, the group captured Bukavus airport in South Kivu province, after a speedy advance south from Goma.

How is Rwanda involved in the eastern DRC conflict?

DRC, the US and other countries have all accused Rwanda of backing M23, which Rwanda denies.

UN experts say Rwandas army is in de facto control of the group and that as of last July, between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan government troops were operating with M23 in eastern DRC.

In early February, the Guardian reported that thousands of Rwandan soldiers had died during the conflict, contradicting claims from Kigali that its troops were not involved.

Who is helping Congolese forces in eastern DRC?

There are about 11,000 peacekeepers in DRC, mostly in the countrys east, as part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Monusco). The Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or SAMIDRC, also has troops in the country.

African leaders and the US have in the past brokered ceasefires.

What is the humanitarian impact of the conflict?

The violence in eastern DRC has compounded the problems of a country that, with more than 6 million people displaced, already has one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises.

South Kivu and North Kivu, both provinces in the east of the country, have more than 4.6 million internally displaced people. This year alone, the conflict in eastern DRC has displaced 400,000 people.

Numerous cases of executions, sexual violence and other atrocities have been reported in the course of the recent fighting. In February, Vivian van de Perre, the deputy head of Monusco, said hundreds of women had been raped and burned to death during a mass jailbreak reportedly perpetuated by M23.
Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, is becoming a frequent flyer - Parliament TV

Under Labour, the only thing growing is the green lobby. Ed Sillyband is advertising for a photographer whose chief job will be to keep him away from bacon, his public image having been ruined by an argument with a sandwich that the sandwich won (so this is why the eco-loons hate meat!).

Off-camera, Ed is in fact rather handsome; he has the profile and dignity of a Mughal prince. But cry action! and the teeth descend and the arms flap wildly, as if signalling for a straightjacket.

He told the environmental audit committee that the Government was on a clean energy superpower mission that had two limbs: create jobs and save the planet. It would take an intentional approach... speed up... step up, do the Hokey Cokey and turn around. Eds civil servants watched him carefully. Theyve done a course in pacifying the mad.

Hes sane enough to realise that things are going wrong, that the election of climate sceptic Donald Trump  solar panels make you gay, everybody knows it  and the decline of the British economy risks distracting Sir Keir Starmer from net zero. Hence, Ed reinforced that he and Sir Keir are of one, tiny mind; and it was so important that the PM had attended last years COP summit in Baku, though many other leaders did not.

Is it true, a committee member asked, that the UK delegation included fossil fuel lobbyists? Ed drew a blank and complimented his absolutely brilliant team of civil servants, of which we sent over a hundred to Baku.

Julia Buckley asked if MPs like her could attend the next COP summit  and Ed said: The passes are on their way to you now! Laughter all round. Its being held in Belem, Brazil  Gateway to the Amazon  so its good to know that one can fight climate change and have a fabbo holiday at the same time.

But how will all these MPs get there?! Ellie Chowns asked: Will the Government expand Heathrow? At this point Ed, who had hitherto extemporised, began reading his briefing notes very carefully.

This Government is committed to upholding the law; carbon targets are a legal obligation; a new terminal will only go ahead if it is consistent with carbon budgets.

In other words, said Ellie, Heathrow can only expand if some other sector retracts  so who will take the hit? That is a specific question, said Ed, and gave a generalised answer. No doubt he is at war with the Chancellor, who is apparently besieged and bewildered by angry Lefties over a litany of broken promises. Funny: youd think shed be good at handling complaints.

The audit committee is one of my favourites  they provide comfy seats for journalists and mineral water  but it desperately lacks a Reform MP to question the consensus and claim wind farms cause feline Aids. Minus dissent, it is a microcosm of an elite talking to itself. We couldve been attending a Soviet panel in 1932 on the collectivisation of agriculture; a chorus of ideological reinforcement, replacing achievement with a whirlwind of propaganda tours.

Im going to India next month, grinned Ed, and the Governments sudden interest in building a new terminal made sense. It will be for the exclusive use of environmental delegations.
The report was commissioned after last years riots. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

Hindu nationalism, misogyny and the manosphere have been identified as breeding grounds for extremism in a leaked report commissioned by Yvette Cooper after last summers riots.

The home secretarys rapid analytical sprint also dismissed claims of two-tier policing as a rightwing extremist narrative. It argued that the authorities should adopt a behaviour-based and ideologically agnostic approach to clamping down on extremism rather than focus resources primarily on ideologies of concern.

The report, which was leaked to the right-leaning thinktank Policy Exchange, comes amid deepening scrutiny of the governments approach to extremism. On Sunday, it emerged that counter-terrorism officers did not believe the Southport killer Axel Rudakubana was in danger of being radicalised.

Cooper commissioned the rapid review in August. For the first time, it identifies Hindu nationalist extremism, and Hindutva, as ideologies of concern after unrest in Leicester in 2022.

Hindu nationalist extremism is an extremist ideology that advocates for Hindu supremacy and seeks to transform India into an ethno-religious Hindu state.

Hindutva is a political movement distinct from Hinduism which advocates for the hegemony of Indian Hindus and the establishment of a monolithic Hindu Rastra or state in India, the report said.

Tensions between Hindu and Muslim communities in the UK are still evident and the events in Leicester show how disinformation can play a role in offline action, it said.

Under the heading extreme misogyny, the report said an online subculture called the manosphere contains a significant amount of content directly focused on misogyny, and sometimes absorbs extremist rightwing tropes.

The manosphere encompasses a wide array of communities that include mens rights activists; pickup artists; men going their own way; and involuntary celibates or incels.

There is an overlap between some manosphere narratives, in particular incel beliefs, and extreme rightwing [ERW] ideology including racist narratives. Globalisation and multiculturalism, which are at the centre of many ERW narratives, are often blamed as factors in incels celibacy.

The report also says that the activity of grooming gangs is frequently exploited by the far right, and that rightwing extremist ideologies and beliefs are leaking into the mainstream.

Rightwing extremist narratives (particularly around immigration and policing) are in some cases leaking into mainstream debates. Claims of two-tier policing  where two groups are allegedly treated differently after similar behaviour  is a recent example, the report said.

The governments approach to extremism should no longer be based on specific ideologies of concern, but on behaviours and activity, the report said.

Not basing his majestys governments approach on a definition or specific ideologies of concern but on behaviours and activity of concern helps to future-proof the approach. It will also reduce both the training burden for practitioners and continual identification burden on government, it said.

In a recommendation that will concern activists, the report calls for the creation of a dedicated national investigations capability to coordinate and take on protest and low-level extremism operations and investigations and a digital national centre of excellence for the monitoring and disruption of protest.

It recommends reversing a code of practice, brought in by the previous government, to limit the recording of non-crime hate incidents against individuals. Non-crime hate incidents have been criticised as a waste of police time and a threat to free speech.

The report follows claims made last week by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, in the wake of the Southport killings, where he equated extreme violence with extremism and likened terrorism to any act that terrorises.

Starmers comments were criticised by the former police counter-terror commander Neil Basu and by the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, for bringing too much into scope.

Paul Stott and Andrew Gilligan, the authors of the report, said: Many of these supposed other extremisms simply do not meet the test of harming national security or safety. Government should certainly be alarmed by, and should tackle, violence against women and other social harms  but they do not constitute extremism as defined up till now.

This new approach risks swamping already-stretched counter-extremism interveners and counter-terror police with tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of new cases, making it more likely that dangerous people will be missed.

A Home Office spokesperson said the findings were yet to signed off by ministers: The counter-extremism sprint sought to comprehensively assess the challenge facing our country and lay the foundations for a new approach to tackling extremism  so we can stop people being drawn towards hateful ideologies. This includes tackling Islamism and extreme rightwing ideologies, which are the most prominent today.
Steven Frank with Princess of Wales at the Holocaust Memorial Day service - Arthur Edwards

The Princess of Wales had an emotional reunion with two Holocaust survivors ahead of a London memorial service marking 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The Princess, who joined her husband Prince William for the event, warmly embraced Yvonne Bernstein, 87, and Steven Frank, 89, who she photographed at Kensington Palace in 2020.

The group were reunited at a reception for around 50 survivors of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides, with the Princess saying it was a treat to see them again.

Both the Prince and Princess discussed their desire to teach their children about the Holocaust, with William saying of their 11-year-old son: George is getting to the age where hes starting to understand things. So its getting interesting to talk to him about what happened.

The Prince later recalled the bravery of his great grandmother  Princess Alice of Battenberg  who sheltered persecuted Jews in Athens during the Second World War.

As he addressed attendees at the Holocaust Memorial Day service, he assured survivors that their stories and their bravery would never be forgotten.

It came as the King urged the world to remember the depths to which humanity can sink as he became the first British monarch to visit Auschwitz.

The Princess of Wales, then Duchess of Cambridge, took photographs of Ms Bernstein, then 82, and Mr Frank, then 84, in 2020 for an exhibition released to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, with each image depicting the connection between a survivor and subsequent generations of their family.

At the time, she said: Their stories will stay with me forever.

As the group was reunited on Monday, the Princess held Ms Bernsteins hand, while the 87-year-old stroked her arm and thanked her for coming.

It was such a treat for me to come and see an old friend, the Princess said. Its so nice to see you.

08:08 PM GMT

Thats all for today

Thank you for following The Telegraphs live blog.

08:07 PM GMT

Todays summary

Heres a wrap up of todays key moments:

Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, said there was reason to worry over how many young people know little about the Holocaust.

Elon Musk was criticised by world leaders for telling supporters of the anti-immigrant far-Right AfD to not feel guilty about the countrys Nazi past

Giorgia Meloni, whose party has its origins in Italys post-war fascist movement, issued a strong denunciation of Nazism, Fascism and anti-Semitism

The King visited the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow, where he met Holocaust survivors and heard from volunteers. He warned that the world has seen a dangerous re-emergence of anti-Semitisim and spoke of the sombre and sacred moment of commemoration

Volodymyr Zelensky said evil persisted in the world, as Russian representatives were banned from taking part in the commemoration

The Prince and Princess of Wales attended a ceremony at Londons Guildhall, hearing from Holocaust survivors and participating in a service

David Lammy said action must be taken against anti-Semitism so that history does not repeat itself

Survivors warn of huge rise in anti-Semitism since 7 Oct

Starmer vows to make Holocaust education a national endeavour

07:37 PM GMT

Never again is a promise we must uphold says Lammy

David Lammy speaking during an event at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Westminster on Jan 27 - JORDAN PETTITT/PA

The foreign secretary has said that action must be taken against anti-Semitism so that history does not repeat itself.

Speaking at a reception co-hosted by the Israeli embassy in the UK, David Lammy said: Never again is a solemn promise which we owe to the victims, but also which we must uphold for our own sake, and for the sake of future generations.

We need Holocaust remembrance. Holocaust education. Action against anti-Semitism - it is how we build a better future for us all together.

Mr Lammy said the world needed to find new ways to tell the story so that the next generation does not forget the horrors inflicted by the Nazis.

He added: We need them to understand what a catastrophic moral failure for humanity Auschwitz was, and how the seeds of such a catastrophe are still around us.

07:19 PM GMT

Pictured: King given tour of Auschwitz

King Charles passes the gate with the lettering Arbeit Macht Frei, meaning Work Will Set You Free - AARON CHOWN

King Charles looks at confiscated personal belongings during a tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau - AARON CHOWN

King Charles views floral tributes at Death Wall, where hundreds of thousands of Jews were murdered - AARON CHOWN

06:52 PM GMT

Princess is such a darling, says survivor

Inside the Guildhalls Great Hall, the royal couple watched solemnly as survivors shared their testimonies.

Speaking afterwards, Steven Frank, who was just nine and imprisoned at Theresienstadt when Auschwitz was liberated in 1945, said of his reunion with the Princess: Shes just such a darling, you know? Shes just such a lovely person Shes warm and kind and just a lovely person. [It was] lovely to see her.

And she looked well, I thought. I asked her how she was, and she said she was fine, and thats a good thing too.

Asked about his continued efforts to share his experiences, Mr Frank added: Its become sort of a mission. Most people say You do it because it helps you mentally get it off your chest.

I do it because Ive had so much good fortune coming to this country and having lived, loved, played sport, had a nice family, and its time to give something back.

As the Holocaust survivors in attendance gathered for a group photograph, with the royals and politicians, Sir Keir Starmer was heard telling one survivor that the picture was fantastic.

The Princess of Wales meets Holocaust survivors Steven Frank, Maurice Peltz and Sabit Jaupovic - ARTHUR EDWARDS

06:39 PM GMT

We will make Holocaust education a national endeavour, vows Starmer

As the ceremony began, the walls of the Great Hall, the ceiling and chandeliers were lit purple as the London Youth Chamber Choir performed with an orchestra on stage.

Several extracts from memoirs written by Jewish people during the Holocaust were read out, including by TV personality Robert Rinder, while the testimonies of survivors were also played on TV screens.

Sir Keir Starmer said the Holocaust was a collective endeavour by ordinary people consumed by the hatred of difference.

The Prime Minister said: We start by remembering the six million Jewish victims and by defending the truth against anyone who would deny it. So we will have a National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to speak this truth for eternity.

But as we remember, we must also act. Because we say never again, but where was never again in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur, or the acts of genocide against Yazidi.

Today, we have to make those words mean more. So we will make Holocaust education a truly national endeavour.

The Prince of Wales delivering an address at Guildhall in London - Dan Kitwood/Getty

Sir Keir said all schools would teach the Holocaust and give opportunities to hear a recorded survivor testimony so that we can develop that empathy for others and that appreciation of our common humanity, which is the ultimate way to defeat the hatred of difference.

At the end of the ceremony, the Prince and Princess each appeared on stage to gather a flame and light their own candles.

Ms Marks-Woldman said afterwards:  The Prince and Princess of Wales are providing real leadership at a time when communities are feeling so vulnerable and so isolated, but theyre not only providing leadership by joining us, they were actually joining in.

That is such an example to all of us. We can all show up and be here, and we can all take steps to do something about what weve learned as we come together on Holocaust Memorial Day.

Keir Starmer speaks during a ceremony to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau - ARTHUR EDWARDS

06:24 PM GMT

Prince and Princess of Wales hear from survivors

The Princess, who wore a black coat over black wide-leg trousers and a black jumper with a five-string pearl necklace, was only revealed to be attending the event just hours before it started.

Ahead of the service, the Princess shared a warm hug with Steven Frank, who thanked her for sending him a Christmas card as the two chatted about his family.

Prince William sat with Polish born Alfred Garwood, who survived Bergen-Belsen as a child and Bosnian genocide survivor Sabina Kadic-Mackenzie, who now lives in Liverpool.

Apologising that they could not spend longer chatting, he said: There is a lot of history at this table, we need to hear it all.

The Prince of Wales with Holocaust survivor Alfred Garwood - ARTHUR EDWARDS

The Princess asked Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines: Do you write a diary? Its so important that these stories are written down. They are still relevant stories.

Another survivor, Robert George Berkowitz, told her: William is the luckiest man in the world to have you! The Princess giggled and replied: I will tell him that!

On arrival, the couple were welcomed by Olivia Marks-Woldman, HMD chief executive and Laura Marks, the charitys chair of trustees.

I cant believe its been 80 years, the Prince said. Its staggering.

He added: We are glad we are here. Its important to be here.

Ms Marks-Woldman told the Princess she was glad she was feeling well, to which she replied: Thank you, its good to be able to be here.

The royal couple then joined 50 Holocaust survivors for a photograph, along with prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.

Other politicians meeting survivors and their families in the reception included home secretary Yvette Cooper, former home secretary Sajid Javid and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey.

The Prince and Princess of Wales pose for a photo with Keir Starmer, faith and civic leaders, and Holocaust survivors - ARTHUR EDWARDS

06:11 PM GMT

Pictured: Princess of Wales attends ceremony at Guildhall

The Princess of Wales meets Bergen-Belsen survivor Rachell Levy - ARTHUR EDWARDS

The Princess of Wales lights a candle at the ceremony in London - ARTHUR EDWARDS

The Princess of Wales meets Holocaust survivor Yvonne Bernstein at Guildhall - ARTHUR EDWARDS

06:02 PM GMT

Prince of Wales recalls great grandmother sheltering persecuted Jews

The Prince of Wales has recalled the bravery of his great grandmother, Princess Alice, who sheltered persecuted Jews in Athens, as he spoke at a Holocaust Memorial Day service in London.

Prince William, who was joined by his wife, the Princess of Wales, assured Holocaust survivors that their stories, and their bravery, would never be forgotten.

I am honoured to join you today to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and to remember the millions murdered during the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides, he said.

We also remember those survivors, who have lived with the scars both mental and physical.

Their bravery in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of their lives, are extremely powerful and ensure we never forget. I assure them, we never will.

The Prince of Wales delivering a speech during the ceremony - Getty/Dan Kitwood

The Prince said the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz also served as a reminder of those who risked death, torture and persecution to defy the aggressors and help others.

He read an extract from the book Heroes of the Holocaust, by Lyn Smith, which recounts the stories of ordinary Britons who risked their lives to make a difference.

Among them was his great-grandmother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, who lived in Athens during the Second World War and who played a crucial role in protecting Jewish people, including widow Rachel Cohen and two of her five children, Tilde and Michel, to save them from deportation to the death camps.

The extract read by the Prince at the service, says: This was an extremely risky undertaking in the close-packed streets of Athens where there was always the danger of spies and gossip.

On 15 October 1943, Rachel Cohen and Tilde moved into Alices home. The staff were told that Mrs Cohen was the former governess to her children Michel, the youngest of the four brothers, joined them about a month later. There were great risks, not least the position of the house  the front door faced the residence of the local Archbishop, which always had a German guard on duty outside.

She was sometimes interviewed by the Gestapo and used her deafness to an advantage, pretending not to understand their questions or what they were talking about. It worked and they soon gave up. Thanks to her, the entire Cohen family survived the war.

The Prince and Princess of Wales attend a ceremony to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day and.the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in London - ARTHUR EDWARDS

05:36 PM GMT

Pictured: World leaders pause to reflect

King Charles lays a candle on behalf of the UK - AARON CHOWN/PA

French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and the First Lady, Brigitte Macron - AARON CHOWN/PA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - AARON CHOWN/PA

05:25 PM GMT

Survivors lay candles

Survivors have lit candles at the wooden train car which sits on the tracks at Auschwitz, paying tribute to victims of the Holocaust.

The final act of the ceremony was heralded by the blowing of the shofar - a rams horn usually sounded to mark the start of Jewish New Year or end of Yom Kippur. In this case, a wake-up call.

Auschwitz survivors lay candles during commemorations at Auschwitz-Birkenau - AARON CHOWN/PA

Lighting of candles was followed by the Jewish mourners prayer, Kaddish, recited by Polands Chief Rabbi, Michael Joseph Schudrich - Sean Gallup/Getty

Candles were lit beside the Death Gate, where hundreds of thousands of people went to their deaths - AARON CHOWN/PA

05:16 PM GMT

Pictured: Dignitaries attend Auschwitz commemoration

Dutch King Willem-Alexander, Polands President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda, and Justin Trudeau - AP/Sean Kilpatrick

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (L) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - Sean Gallup/Getty

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan during the ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau - Jakub Porzycki/Anadolu via Getty

05:07 PM GMT

President of World Jewish Congress condemns pro-Palestine marches

Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, has condemned the pro-Palestine marches which have erupted around the world in response to conflict in the Middle East.

We dont want our past to be our childrens future, he said, paraphrasing Roman Kent, a Polish Holocaust survivor who spoke at the 70th commemoration of Auschwitz a decade ago and died in 2021.

If Roman Kent were here and saw what was happening to the Jewish people around the world in 2025, he would cry, Mr Lauder said, adding: It is hard for us to believe what we see today.

The sudden violence and hatred against Jews. The singling out of the one Jewish state with huge demonstrations shouting anti-Semitic slogans everywhere.

This is hard for us to watch but I cannot imagine what it must be like for the fifty survivors who are here today.

Mr Lauder said there was a common thread between the horrors of Auschwitz and the Hamas terror attack on 7 Oct 2023, warning that the Holocaust was caused by a step-by-step progression of anti-Semitism.

The Jews are the canary in the coal mine. That canary died 15 months ago on October 7, he said, warning that Adolf Hitlers scope widened after targeting Jews.

The hatred of Jews had willing supporters then and has them now, Ronald Lauder warned - Getty/Sean Gallup

04:53 PM GMT

It grieves me to see resurgence of Nazi ideology, says survivor

Leon Weintraub, 99, has spoken of his sadness at witnessing a resurgence of hate in Europe.

It grieves me deeply to see in many European countries, Nazi style uniforms and slogans openly paraded at marches, he said, adding: These people self proclaim as national champions but at the same time they proclaim the hateful ideology of German Nazis.

Mr Weintraub said the world must avoid the mistakes made in the 1930s.

Be sensitive to all expressions of intolerance or resentment of those who are different, with regards to their skin colour, religion or sexual orientation, he said, adding: We, the survivors, understand that the consequence of being considered different is active persecution.

Mr Weintraub was 13 when his family were sent to the Lodz Ghetto. He was later transported to Auschwitz.

We were stripped of all our humanity. First we were stripped naked and robbed of all our personal belongings. Then they brutally shaved all our hair, he recalled.

Mr Weintraubs mother and aunt were killed in the gas chamber, while he was sentenced to hard labour outside the camp.

Leon Weintraub speaks during the commemoration - Aleksandra Szmigiel/REUTERS

04:30 PM GMT

Our revenge was to build Israel and raise our families in peace, says survivor

On an icy windy day, I stood and watched helplessly as little girls from the nearby barrack were marched away crying and shivering to the gas chamber They too became ashes, Tova Friedman recalled of Auschwitz, adding: I thought it was normal that you had to die...if you were a Jewish child you had to die.

Ms Friedman has said that the world is again in crisis, as Israel fights for its right to exist.

Our revenge has been to build a strong Jewish country and raise our families in peace, she said, adding: Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, is fighting for its existence and its way of life.

The Holocaust survivor said rampant anti-Semitism spreading throughout the world was a cause for concern.

We must all reawaken our collective conscience to transform this violence, anger, hatred and malignancy that has so powerfully ripped our society into a humane and just world before these terrible negative forces will destroy us all, she said.

04:16 PM GMT

I will never let them know how much they are hurting me

Tova Friedman, 86, has recalled the horrors of being sent to Auschwitz at the age of five.

She told the audience: I remember as a five-and-a-half-year-old child watching from my little hiding place in the labour camp as all my little friends were rounded up and driven to their deaths, while the heartbreaking cries of their parents fell on deaf ears.

After all the children were gone and the courtyard was empty, I thought to myself - Am I the only Jewish child left in the world? Shortly thereafter, we were loaded into cattle cars this was the very first time I ever saw my father cry.

Her father was sent to Dachau, while she was sent to Auschwitz with her mother.

A gloomy Sunday. With a sky obscured by smoke and a terrible stink hung in the air, Ms Friedman said of her arrival at the camp.

There were rows and rows of naked women all around me. What are they looking for? I asked my mother as I too was naked and trying to avoid the gleam of the German Shepherds teeth and eyes. I was their height.

Ms Friedman said she was beaten mercilessly by a guard for fidgeting, for not being able to stand still.

I looked into my mothers eyes, she was standing next to me, silently, and she was pleading with me, dont cry, dont cry, hold on, and I didnt.

I recalled thinking I will never let them know how much they are hurting me. At five-and-a-half I had the rebellion in me. I would not show them, I would not let them know the pain they are inflicting on me.

Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Britains King Charles III, and King Frederik X of Denmark at the Auschwitz-Birkenau service - WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP

03:59 PM GMT

War can erupt anywhere, warns survivor

Janina Iwanska, who is now 94, told the audience of how the camp had started out by housing political prisoners but soon turned into a killing machine.

It was no longer a prisoner of war camp, when the killing machine started its operation, all they would do here was kill people, she recalled.

Ms Iwanska said her thoughts were with the younger generation, for war and chaos can erupt anywhere.

Former Auschwitz prisoner Janina Iwanska - AARON CHOWN/AFP

03:52 PM GMT

Pictured: Distinguished guests at Auschwitz service

King Charles, Belgiums Queen Mathilde, Denmarks King Frederik and Queen Mary - Kacper Pempel/REUTERS

French President Emmanuel Macron, Queen Letizia of Spain, King Felipe VI of Spain and other guests listen as Polish historian - WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP

03:43 PM GMT

Huge rise in anti-Semitism, warns Holocaust survivor

Marian Turski, a 98-year-old Holocaust survivor, has condemned a huge rise in anti-Semitism around the world.

Today and now we see a huge rise in anti-Semitism and that is the precise anti-Semitism which led to the Holocaust, he said.

He praised the American diplomat Deborah Lipstadt who called out the tsunami of anti-Semitism and fought against Holocaust denial, adding: Let us not fear demonstrating the same courage today when Hamas attempts at denial of the massacre of the 7 Oct.

Mr Turski called for dialogue, saying: Let us not be afraid to convince ourselves that we cannot solve problems between neighbours.

Marian Turski, Polish historian, journalist and Holocaust survivor - Aleksandra Szmigiel/REUTERS

03:30 PM GMT

Holocaust survivor welcomes audience

The ceremony started with a series of photos from Auschwitz set to music by German Jewish composer James Simon, who was killed at Auschwitz.

Marian Turski, 98, then welcomed the guests on behalf of all the survivors.

Mr Turski survived the Lodz Ghetto as a teenager and was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where his brother and father were murdered.

He read from a letter written by a Polish poet to her friend before she died: I am going somewhere, to a very distant place. A station that is unknown, for it is not in any map. There is the sky hanging over the station like a huge black lid.

The engine shrieks with the voice of a beaten man. The train drivers have the faces of paper. All I have with me is just one suitcase and one grief. I am so very composed.

He then invited the congregation to join him in a moments silence.

Polish historian and Holocaust survivor Marian Turski - AFP/SERGEI GAPON

03:06 PM GMT

The world has become toxic, says Holocaust survivor

Tova Friedman was six-years-old when she was amongst the 7,000 people liberated on Jan. 27, 1945.

The 86-year-old has returned to Auscwitz-Birkenau from her home in New Jersey to add her voice to those warning about rising hatred and anti-Semitism, believing this years to be the last gathering of survivors at Auschwitz.

The world has become toxic, she said a day before the observances in nearby Krakow. I realise that were in a crisis again, that there is so much hatred around, so much distrust, that if we dont stop, it may get worse and worse. There may be another terrible destruction.

Tova Friedman, 86, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz as a little girl - VANESSA GERA/AP

02:58 PM GMT

Auschwitz service to begin

The main commemoration is scheduled to begin at 4 pm (3pm GMT) in a tent built over the gate to the former Auschwitz-Birkenau camp.

Politicians have not been asked to speak this year. Instead, four survivors are expected to speak:

Marian Turski, 98, a journalist and historian who was sent to Auschwitz in 1944 and survived the westward death march to Buchenwald in 1945.

Tova Friedman, 86, an author and academic whose book The Daughter of Auschwitz describes her experiences. She was transported with her mother to the camp at just five-years-old.

Leon Weintraub, 99, a physician who lived in the Lodz ghetto and was separated from his family and sent to Auschwitz in 1944.

Janina Iwanska, a Polish Catholic retired pharmacist who was taken to Auschwitz in a freight train in 1944, after being expelled from her home during the Warsaw Uprising against the Nazis.

Marian Turski delivers a speech in front of the main gate of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp - AFP/SERGEI GAPON

02:55 PM GMT

Zelensky warns that evil persists

Volodymyr Zelenskyy placed a candle at the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial in Kyiv yesterday, where tens of thousands of Jews were executed during the Nazi occupation. He will attend the commemorations in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland.

The evil that seeks to destroy the lives of entire nations still remains in the world, the Ukrainian president warned on his Telegram page, adding: It is everyones mission to do everything possible to prevent evil from winning.

Russian representatives have previously been integral to the anniversary in recognition of the Soviet liberation of the camp on Jan 27, 1945. But they have not been welcome since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Volodymyr Zelensky at the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Reserve in Kyiv - UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP

02:41 PM GMT

Will they believe us when we are not here?

Julia Wallach, a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor, cannot talk about what happened without crying.

It is too difficult to talk about, too hard, she said.

Born in Paris in 1925, Ms Wallach was sent to Drancy detention camp aged 18 before being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. There, she escaped from a lorry destined for the gas chamber at the last minute.

As hard as it is to relive the horrors, she has insisted that she will continue to give witness. As long as I can do it, I will do it, she said.

Frankie, her granddaughter, added: Will they believe us when we talk about this when she is not there?

Julia Wallach and her granddaughter Frankie Wallach hold a photo showing Julias 17 children and grandchildren - ALAIN JOCARD/AFP

02:33 PM GMT

We are the guardians of memory, says Polish president

Polish President Andrzej Duda carried a candle and walked with Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum director Piotr Cywinski. At the wall, the two men bowed their heads, murmured prayers and crossed themselves.

We Poles, on whose land  occupied by Nazi Germans at that time  the Germans built this extermination industry and this concentration camp, are today the guardians of memory, Mr Duda said to reporters afterward.

He spoke of the unimaginable harm inflicted on so many people, especially the Jewish people.

The Germans murdered six million Jews, amounting to two-thirds of Europes Jews and one-third of all Jews worldwide.

Andrzej Duda speaks to the media in Auschwitz-Birkenau - EPA_EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK/JAREK PRASZKIEWICZ

02:04 PM GMT

Princess of Wales to join Prince William at Holocaust Memorial Day service

The Princess of Wales is to join her husband at a service to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, it has been confirmed.

The Princess, who is making a gradual return to public engagements following chemotherapy, will attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau alongside the Prince of Wales, hosted by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

The couple attended the 75th anniversary of Holocaust Memorial Day in 2020.

They visited the site of the Stutthof concentration camp in 2017, meeting survivors and describing the experience of seeing it as shattering.

In 2021, the Princess took part in a project to honour Holocaust survivors at the Imperial War Museum in London, with two of her photographs included in the Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors exhibition.

While I have been lucky enough to meet two of the now very few survivors, I recognise not everyone in the future will be able to hear these stories first hand, she said then.

It is vital that their memories are preserved and passed on to future generations.

In the same year, she met Auschwitz survivors in the Lake District, joining a boat trip with two of the Windermere Children: the 300 young Holocaust survivors brought to the countryside in 1945 to help them begin to overcome their trauma.

The Princess is making a return to public life, having confirmed that she is now in remission from cancer.

01:48 PM GMT

Pictured: The King is welcomed to Krakow

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis welcomes the King to the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in Krakow before he visits Auschwitz - AARON CHOWN/PA

Charles is gifted a painting by children at the centre - AARON CHOWN /PA

King Charles unveils a plaque during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in Krakow, Poland - VICTORIA JONES/AFP

01:38 PM GMT

King Charles: World has seen dangerous re-emergence of anti-Semitism

In his speech, the King spoke of the sombre and sacred moment of commemoration, remembering the six millions Jews, old and young, who were systematically murdered along with the so many others on which the Nazis inflicted their violence and hatred.

It is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink, when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world, he said.

It is the moment when we recall the powerful testimony of survivors.. who collectively taught us to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate.

In a world that remains full of turmoil and strife, and has witnessed the dangerous re-emergence of antisemitism, there can be no more important message.

As the number of holocaust survivors regrettably diminishes over the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders and of those of generations yet unborn.

The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task. And in so doing, we inform our present and shape our future.

01:06 PM GMT

King Charles meeting survivors

The Kings first event of the day is at the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) Krakow, where he is meeting Holocaust survivors and hearing from volunteers and members about the centres support for people of all ages and backgrounds as part of its mission to rebuild Jewish life in the city.

He formally opened the centre in 2008, and was instrumental in setting it up.

Arriving half an hour ahead of schedule, the King fitted in a walkabout around a calm, quiet crowd that had gathered to see him in Krakow.

He will now meet members of the centres Senior Club, which provides support and social connection for older members of Krakows Jewish community, including survivors of the Holocaust.

Among the Holocaust survivors present is Ryszard Orowski, whom The King met during a visit to Krakow in 2002 which inspired the centre.

Nowadays, the centre also organises donations of food and essential items to refugees, including the 380,000 displaced Ukrainians in Poland.

The King will give a speech, his only one of the day, where he will speak of how the testimony of survivors teaches us to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate.

He will emphasise that it is our collective duty, in a world filled with turmoil and strife to learn the lessons of history.

The King will say: The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task. In so doing, we inform our present and shape our future.

King Charles III is welcomed by British Ambassador to Poland, Anna Clunes, as he arrives at Krakow Airport to attend commemorations at Auschwitz-Birkenau - Aaron Chown

01:01 PM GMT

Prince William to meet with Sir Keir Starmer

The Prince of Wales will today hold a private meeting with the Prime Minister, Kensington Palace has said.

Prince William will meet with Sir Keir Starmer later this evening, following their joint attendance at a memorial service in London marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust.

According to convention, the prime minister meets with the heir to the throne once a year.

However, todays tete-a-tete will mark the Princes first such meeting since being named Prince of Wales on the death of his grandmother, Elizabeth II, in September 2022.

While he met former prime minister Rishi Sunak on various occasions, the pair did not sit down for an official audience in this capacity in 2023 or 2024, it is understood.

The agenda of the meeting will remain private but it is likely that the Prince and Sir Keir will touch upon todays events marking the liberation of Auschwitz.

Both men are due to attend a ceremony to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day on Monday afternoon in London.

The Prince will meet Holocaust survivors to hear their personal stories before giving a reading at the ceremony and lighting a candle alongside young representatives from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and other partner organisations.

He may also discuss with Sir Keir the most pressing political stories of the day, including Donald Trumps inauguration and any potential plans to harness the Royal familys unique brand of soft diplomacy to cement the so-called special relationship.

Mr Trump is expected to visit the UK soon after Sir Keir became the first European leader to speak to him since his inauguration, making him the first elected politician in modern history to be hosted for two state visits by the Royal family.

A Downing Street spokesman said that during the 45-minute call on Sunday night the two leaders agreed to meet soon and looked forward to further discussions then.

A senior Whitehall source said last month of Mr Trump: He loves the Royal Family. Look at the fact hes had his own photo album made of the last visit. Why wouldnt we want a repeat?

It has also been suggested that a royal visit to the US could take place next year, when America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence.

The Prince has met the prime minister many times, including when Sir Keir was leader of the opposition. The pair had a private audience in June 2023, according to the Court Circular.

When he becomes monarch, he will hold the traditional weekly audience with the Prime Minister of the day to discuss Government matters.

Though required to remain politically neutral on all matters, the monarch is able to advise and warn his ministers when necessary.

12:38 PM GMT

Pictured: Musk compared to Hitler

A striking and controversial piece of street art appeared in the northern Italy city of Padova on the eve of the commemoration of Auschwitzs liberation.

Entitled Elon Mask, it shows Musk peeling off part of his face, as if it is a mask, to reveal the face of Adolf Hitler beneath.

The words Elon Mask are written in blood red paint.

The art work was painted by an Italian street artist named EvyRein.

Artwork depicting Musk as Hitler

12:22 PM GMT

Watch: Polish President Andrzej Duda pays tribute

12:20 PM GMT

Musks comments all too familiar and ominous, critics say

Elon Musk has been criticised by world leaders for telling supporters of the anti-immigrant far-Right AfD to not feel guilty about the countrys Nazi past, Jorg Luyken writes.

The richest man in the world made a surprise video link appearance at the partys rally on Saturday, in which he spoke about preserving German culture and protecting the German people.

His comments come just a week after he caused uproar after performing a gesture which drew comparisons to a Nazi salute during President Donald Trumps inauguration.

I think there is frankly too much of a focus on past guilt and we need to move beyond that. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great grandparents, Musk said.

In response, Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said the comments sound all too familiar and ominous - specially only hours before the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the chancellor added it must depress us how many young people in Germany hardly know anything about the Holocaust.

Germanys ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, said of Musk: [He] doesnt seem to know our country well at all.

Nobody makes children feel guilty for Nazi crimes. We want them to grow up informed and responsible, applying the lessons of Germanys past.

11:58 AM GMT

Italian PM: Anti-Semitism is a plague that survived the Holocaust

Giorgia Meloni, whose party has its origins in Italys post-war fascist movement, has issued a strong denunciation of Nazism, Fascism and anti-Semitism.

The Italian prime minister said that anti-Semitism was not vanquished even when the horrors of Auschwitz and the other Nazi concentration camps were discovered.

Marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, she said that anti-Semitism is a plague that survived the Holocaust...and spreads through new tools and channels.

Although her Brothers of Italy party traces its origins to what remained of the Fascist movement in Italy after the Second World War, Ms Meloni has been at pains to distance herself from far-Right ideology since she was elected two years ago.

She said that Italys Fascist regime was complicit in the persecution of Jews during the war. Mussolini introduced laws which discriminated against Italian Jews and allowed the rounding up of Jewish people, many of whom died in concentration camps.

Fighting anti-Semitism is a priority for her coalition government, she added.

11:51 AM GMT

Watch: Survivors pay tribute

11:38 AM GMT

Defiant survivors arrive in clothes resembling the camps uniform

At 9am this morning, survivors - some of whom wore the distinctive blue and white stripes of their former uniform - gathered at the Wall of Death near Block 11 of the former Auschwitz I camp.

Shaky but determined, they stepped forward one by one to place a lit candle at the site of so much death.

Shuffling with walking sticks, some bent down as if in slow motion: the physical struggle to do so worth it to honour their former friends and families who died here.

Others were helped by younger relatives, as the click of camera shutters echoed.

Most laid a hand on the wall, where prisoners were executed under the Nazi regime.

The site is a reconstruction of the wall where Auschwitz inmates, mostly political prisoners, were shot by the SS.

The short, solemn ceremony is the first of the day. It will be followed by a service at 4pm local time, where four Holocaust survivors will tell their stories.

A survivor lays a wreath in what is the first ceremony of the day - Aleksandra Szmigiel

11:31 AM GMT

Never forget the victims, urges President Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron attended a service in Paris at the Shoah Memorial on Monday morning before setting off to Auschwitz.

In a statement posted on X afterwards, he said: Let us never forget the millions of victims of the Holocaust.

Let us fight tirelessly against anti-Semitism and hatred, in the name of all those who perished.

Let us be the memory of their memory.

President Macron laid a wreath this morning as he called for the remembrance of the millions who died in the Holocaust - THIBAULT CAMUS

11:03 AM GMT

Readers remember the Holocaust

10:56 AM GMT

Notebooks of Auschwitz prisoner finally published

The notebooks of a Jewish Nazi slave in Auschwitz have finally been published after 80 years, writes Henry Samuel.

Alter Fajnzylberg, who was made to work in the gas chambers as part of the Sonderkommandos, wrote how he saw a special hell here on Earth.

The young Pole from a Jewish family detailed his experiences in What I saw in Auschwitz - Alters notebooks, which were penned after the liberation in four notebooks between 1945-46.

However, his testimony remained locked in a shoebox for decades, as his only son didnt dare face it.

Roger Fajnzylberg told AFP he finally opened the notebooks in 2005 and had them translated into French.

The Sonderkommando were often branded collaborators by other prisoners, but were central eyewitnesses to the process of mass killing.

He recounted the ignoble and inhuman work, in a camp where several million people were burnt without being registered.

Who will remember them, if not me?, he added.

Born in 1911 in Poland and dying in 1987 in Paris, he fought in Spain in the International Brigades and was deported to Auschwitz in March 1942 in the first convoy from France.

10:37 AM GMT

Watch: Survivors tell their story

On this day in 1945, the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated.



80 years on, we remember the six million Jewish victims.



Today we make a pledge: to fight the poison of antisemitism and hatred in all its forms.



Holocaust survivors Renee, Vera and Arek share their stories. pic.twitter.com/JhNfiVOH7l  UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) January 27, 2025

10:28 AM GMT

Worry in Germany about youths lack of knowledge on the Holocaust

Several of Germanys top officials, including Olaf Scholz, the chancellor and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the president, are attending Auschwitz for the event.

Before setting off, Mr Scholz said: We should be worried about how many young people in Germany hardly know anything about the Holocaust.

He added that there was now a mission for all of us to change this.

As well as the commemoration ceremony at the death camp, there are various memorials going on across Germany too, writes Jorg Luyken.

10:10 AM GMT

King Charles: Vital to learn lessons of history

The King is due to make a short speech this afternoon, as he visits Jewish Community Centre ahead of the main ceremony, writes Hannah Furness.

He will speak of how the testimony of survivors teaches us to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate, it is understood.

He is expected to emphasise that it is our collective duty, in a world filled with turmoil and strife to learn the lessons of history.

The King will say: The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task. In so doing, we inform our present and shape our future.

Today will be the Kings first visit to Auschwitz, as he represents Britain at the ceremony with survivors and their families.

10:07 AM GMT

Welcome to our live coverage

Good morning and welcome to our coverage of the commemoration service at Auschwitz-Birkenau on what is the 80th anniversary of its liberation, on Holocaust Memorial Day.
Tony Blair and Gordon Brown

The vast public debt that is holding the country back could be reduced if Keir Starmer simply followed the policies of the last Labour Government. The cost of incapacity and disability benefits alone could be reduced by about 10 billion.

Blairs New Labour was well aware of benefit fraud and understood the need to double-check claims and require work obligations, but judging by his November white paper, Starmers Labour party does not accept that individuals bear any personal responsibility for their situation. All claimants are seen as victims of barriers beyond their control. As a result of this failure, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts an increase in the benefits bill.

Parties of the left  Labour in the UK and the Democrats in the US  have long defined themselves as the parties of the underdog that set out to transfer wealth from the rich to the poor. The Democrats were the first to recognise that welfare policy had been exploited and that it could undermine the spirit of independence and personal responsibility on which freedom relies. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, passed in 1996 while Clinton was President, introduced policies that significantly cut the welfare bill and allowed millions of Americans to rediscover the dignity of work. It took them a while, but Blairs Labour party came to see that welfare policy in the UK was in need of similar reform.

Lets focus on incapacity benefits, which now cost 24.9 billion per year. From 2005, New Labour began planning a major reform and Incapacity Benefit was replaced by Employment and Support Allowance from October 2008. The white paper of 2006 said that the aim was to assess capability for work rather than benefit entitlement and the result was the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). In 2008-09, 6.7 per cent of working-age people (aged 16-64) were claiming an incapacity benefit. By 2017-18 the proportion was 4.9 per cent, a reduction of 27 per cent. The Tories had been in office from 2010 but continued Labours policy until they started to phase in Universal Credit from 2016.

Since then, the caseload has increased substantially. It was 7 per cent of the working-age population by 2024 and was forecast by the OBR to reach 7.9 per cent by 2029.

Today, a 27 per cent reduction in the working-age population claiming incapacity benefits would reduce the bill by 6.8 billion. A reduction in claimants of incapacity benefits will also lead to a fall in disability benefits. Incapacity benefits are designed to replace income, while disability benefits (the Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance) are intended to cover the additional costs of disability. About two-thirds of incapacity benefit claimants also receive disability benefits, and so a reduction in the number of incapacity benefit claimants will also trigger a fall in disability benefits.

Disability benefits cost 19 billion in 2024, with about 12.5 billion going to recipients of incapacity benefits. A reduction of 27 per cent would save 3.4 billion. This could mean a combined saving of over 10 billion, which is reported to be the headroom allowed by the Treasury in the recent budget.

If we look back to the Labour Government before Blair, that of Jim Callaghan, incapacity benefits were being claimed by 3.6 per cent of the working age population in 1978-79, nearly half the current proportion. A 48 per cent reduction today would save around 14.2 billion.

But neither the philosophy of Old Labour nor that of New Labour are in keeping with Starmers Labour party. It inhabits a world of victims and their oppressors, whether the issue is welfare reform or identity politics. Personal responsibility is not in their vocabulary. But they dont need to abandon all commitment to the less fortunate. Less Corbyn and more Blair and Callaghan would do just as well.

David Green is former CEO of Civitas
Fighters from the Democratic Republic of the Congos Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group claim to have taken the eastern city of Goma after a lightning advance in recent weeks that has forced thousands from their homes and risked reigniting a broader regional war.

The M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said on X: We urge all residents of Goma to remain calm. The liberation of the city has been successfully carried out and the situation is under control.

It was not clear on Monday morning how much of Goma, the capital of North Kivu state in eastern DRC, was controlled by the rebels but witnesses in the city said rebel fighters could be seen in the centre. Residents said gunfire could be heard near the airport, the city centre and near the border with Rwanda.

Residents reaction to the arrival of the M23 rebels was mixed. Some stayed indoors while others came out to cheer.

Videos posted on social media showed people in some areas of Goma lining the streets to applaud and fist-bump heavily armed fighters wearing green fatigues and matching rubber boots. Welcome, welcome our friends, some people chanted.

Four people said the apparently warm welcome was born of self-preservation. We try to be kind because there is fear. Since they are criminals, we cant predict their behaviour, one said. The only thing we can do is show that we are happy.

Another said: We stay at home waiting to know the real situation because there is a lot of confusion for the moment.

The rebels had ordered government soldiers to surrender by 3am on Monday (0100 GMT) and 100 Congolese soldiers handed over their weapons to Uruguayan troops in the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, Monusco, Uruguays military said. Monusco staff and their families were evacuating across the border to Rwanda on Monday morning where 10 buses were waiting to pick them up.

The eastern borderlands of DRC are a tinderbox of rebel and militia fiefdoms stemming from two regional wars after Rwandas 1994 genocide, when Hutu extremists murdered close to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus. M23 is the latest in a long line of Tutsi-led rebel movements.

On Sunday the UN special representative Bintou Keita told the UN security council that despite peacekeepers support for the Congolese armed forces, M23 and Rwandan forces had entered the Munigi neighbourhood on Gomas outskirts, causing mass panic. Keita said M23 fighters were advancing and using residents as human shields as others fled for their lives.

DRCs foreign minister, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, told the security council that Rwanda was committing a frontal aggression, a declaration of war which no longer hides itself behind diplomatic manoeuvres.

Rwandas ambassador to the UN, Ernest Rwamucyo, did not confirm or deny DRCs claims. He blamed the countrys government, saying the crisis could have been averted if it had demonstrated a genuine commitment to peace.

Kenyas president, William Ruto, who chairs the East African Community, of which Rwanda and the DRC are part, called for a cessation of hostilities on Sunday. He also urged DRCs president, Felix Tshisekedi, and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to heed the call for peace from the people of our region and the international community. He said the EAC would convene an extraordinary summit in the next 48 hours.

M23 says it exists to protect the ethnic Tutsi population in DRC. The rebels briefly took over Goma in 2012, withdrawing after international donors cut aid to Rwanda over its support for the group. They resurfaced in late 2021, with increasing support from Rwanda.

M23s offensive risks worsening one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises. More than one-third of the population of North Kivu state are displaced, according to the UN.

Rose Tchwenko, Mercy Corps country director for DRC, said: Goma is more than a regional capital. Its the lifeline of humanitarian operations across eastern DRC, and the scale of this renewed crisis threatens to overwhelm its capacity. After years of bearing the brunt of relentless conflict, Goma is now perilously close to breaking.

In a briefing to reporters, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN under-secretary general for peace operations, said: The situation on the ground remains volatile and dangerous. There have been significant advances by M23 and to a large extent a shift in the balance of forces. There is no question [that] Rwandan forces are present on the ground.

He said the peacekeeping forces of Monusco needed to protect themselves and the many civilians seeking shelter in Monusco bases. We need all hands on deck to support the diplomatic effort, he said.

Lacroix denied that the recent withdrawal of Monusco forces from South Kibu had encouraged the M23 rebels.

Bruno Lemarquis, a deputy special representative in Monusco, said fighting in Goma was continuing and was very dangerous. Many of our colleagues in Monusco are in underground bunkers, he said, and some non-essential staff had been evacuated to the DRC capital, Kinshasa, or to a UN facility in Entebbe, Uganda.

Lemarquis said several shells had hit one of the major Goma hospitals, leaving the hospital overwhelmed. An additional 117 injured people had arrived at the hospital needing critical treatment.

He said water, electricity and internet access in Goma had been cut. There had been looting of a humanitarian facility, an attack on a UNHCR vehicle and a strike on a Save the Children facility.

Additional reporting by Patrick Wintour. The Associated Press and Reuters also contributed to this report
The Scottish farmed salmon sector produces approximately 200,000 tonnes of fish a year, with a farm-gate value of more than 1bn. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Producers of Scottish salmon can drop the word farmed from the front of their packaging after government lawyers argued it was unnecessary and pejorative.

The government amended the protected geographical indication (PGI) of Scottish farmed salmon to Scottish salmon last year, after lobbying from the industry.

PGI labels are used to communicate to consumers the authenticity of products known for the region in which they are made, such as Cornish pasties, Melton Mowbray pork pies and Stornoway black pudding.

The campaign groups Animal Equality UK and Wildfish filed an appeal over the change, warning that consumers were being misled about the true origin of the product.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) responded that the term Scottish salmon identified the true geographic origin of the product, Scotland, and consumers would not be misled in this regard.

Related: Campaigners call for action as jellyfish threaten Scottish salmon farms

The governments lawyers added at a tribunal hearing that there was no need for the PGI to include unnecessary pejorative words and that there was no evidence before this tribunal or secretary of state of a product which includes pejorative language.

The trade group Salmon Scotland justified the change on the basis that consumers already knew that Atlantic salmon sold in the UK was farmed, not wild.

Dismissing the campaigners appeal, Judge OConnor said the new label did not risk confusing consumers as to the breed of fish or where it was produced.

The geographical designation for Scottish salmon covers the coastal region of mainland Scotland, the Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland.

The fact that the salmon is farm raised will still have to be displayed on the back of packaging because of wider labelling rules.

The Scottish farmed salmon sector produces approximately 200,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon a year, with a farm-gate value of more than 1bn.

It is the UKs number one food export, sold to more than 50 countries, with a value of about 600m a year.

Environmental activists claim disease is rife among the farmed fish and it is harmful to wild salmon if the two types breed as a result of an escape.

There have been record levels of mortalities at Scottish salmon farms in recent years. In 2023, an unprecedented 17.4m salmon died on farms before harvesting, exceeding 2022s 17.2m.

The industry has blamed excessive deaths on factors outside its control, including unusually large numbers of micro-jellyfish, while campaigners cite overcrowding.

Related: Scottish government must do more to control salmon farming, inquiry finds

Abigail Penny, the executive director of Animal Equality UK, said: There is loud and growing discontent with the Scottish farmed salmon industry. Consumer trust has been severely dented by continued evidence of welfare abuses, lice and disease outbreaks, and government data revealing that millions of fish died on farms last year.

With the evidence piled up high, and the industrys reputation in tatters, its unsurprising that salmon execs proposed that the word farmed be removed from the PGI. Consumers deserve more information, not less. In a world of growing misinformation and confusion, we need even greater transparency than ever before.

We are disappointed that this decision has not been overturned; it is a clear indication that our work must continue to show the realities of this industry to consumers across the UK and around the world.

Tavish Scott, the chief executive of Salmon Scotland, said: Scottish salmon is the UKs top food export, enjoyed in more than 50 countries worldwide, so we are pleased judges have dismissed spurious legal attempts to overturn the governments decision to update the protected geographic indication to Scottish salmon.

Anti-salmon farming campaign groups WildFish and Animal Equality are shameless in their misguided campaign to ban salmon farming. They knew their appeal had no basis in law but dragged the UK government though the courts at taxpayers expense anyway.

This verdict confirms in no uncertain terms that Atlantic salmon farm-raised in Scotland is called Scottish salmon.

A Defra spokesperson said: We note the Judges decision in this case and are reassured that our processes are considered to be effective and robust.

While the Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) name has changed to better reflect the name consumers recognise, mandatory labelling requirements means all farmed salmon must also be clearly labelled as farmed.
Yaxue Road offers visitors natural and cultural charm in Heilongjiang

Xinhua) 08:20, January 27, 2025

People visit the Yabuli Ski Resort along the Yaxue Road in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 16, 2025. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

People have fun at the Yabuli Ski Resort along the Yaxue Road in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 15, 2025. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 25, 2025 shows visitors having fun at an ice and snow scenic spot along the Yaxue Road in Dunhua of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, northeast China's Jilin Province. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

A drone photo taken on Jan. 16, 2025 shows a view of the Yabuli Ski Resort along the Yaxue Road in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 25, 2025 shows a vehicle running on the Yaxue Road in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

A drone photo taken on Jan. 24, 2025 shows a night view at China's "Snow Town" scenic spot along the Yaxue Road in Mudanjiang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

This photo taken on Jan. 25, 2025 shows a view of China's "Snow Town" scenic spot along the Yaxue Road in Mudanjiang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

Visitors walk past installations themed on the 2025 Asian Winter Games at China's "Snow Town" scenic spot in Mudanjiang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 24, 2025. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Dancers perform a traditional lion dance blessing to ensure the prosperity of the restaurants at Post Houston, Sunday, Jan 26, 2025 in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer Banh bao dumplings are offered by a vendor during the Lunar New Year Celebration at Post Houston, Sunday, Jan 26, 2025 in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer Dancers perform a traditional lion dance blessing to ensure the prosperity of the restaurants at Post Houston, Sunday, Jan 26, 2025 in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer Ashley Ampai prepares traditional Thai grilled meats during the Lunar New Year Celebration at Post Houston, Sunday, Jan 26, 2025 in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer Coin operated vending machines offer a variety of trinkets and collectable figurines during the Lunar New Year Celebration at Post Houston, Sunday, Jan 26, 2025 in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer Dancers perform a traditional lion dance blessing to ensure the prosperity of the restaurants at Post Houston, Sunday, Jan 26, 2025 in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

As steady rainfall drizzled over a dreary downtown Houston Sunday afternoon, thousands took refuge inside POST Houston, dawning their red attire and snake jewelry to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Inside, the red-adorned crowd bustled around and took their picks from a buffet of food, sweets and drinks under the bright neon lights.

Sunday's third-annual Lunar New Year Celebration boasted a lively Asian pop-up market, cultural performances and traditional glittering lion dances at the 5-acre POST Houston food hall and park. Among the red-speckled crowd was "House of Ho" star Washington Ho and his family, who sponsored the event alongside luxury vehicle company, Lexus.

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Mini mochi donuts are offered by a vendor during the Lunar New Year Celebration at Post Houston, Sunday, Jan 26, 2025 in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

The celebration was just one of many in the Houston area in anticipation of Jan. 29, which marks the Lunar New Year 2025 and the official beginning of the Year of the Snake.

The snake represents wisdom and transformation in Chinese culture while bringing a likely chance of personal growth and change. Celebration goers often wear red and shoot off fireworks in honor of the Legend of Nian.

In addition to live performances and a multitude of food options, Sunday's event included an Asian pop-up market around the exterior of POST with vendors offering drinks, Chinese crafts and jewelry.

Brandon Seidel and son, Jackson, select a variety of mini mochi donuts during the Lunar New Year Celebration at Post Houston, Sunday, Jan 26, 2025 in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

Ella Ibasan from Austin said she arrived Sunday morning to begin setting up her jewelry booth Beyond the Above. On display was an array of jade necklaces, bracelets and rings, including handmade snake rings made specifically for the Year of the Snake.

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Jade, Ibasan said, is a popular purchase during the Lunar New Year.

"It brings in luck, prosperity and abundance," she said. "Everyone loves that during the new year, they ring it in."

Sunday's event seemed to reach a crescendo around 1 p.m. when Houston-based lion and dragon dance studio, Soaring Phoenix, took center stage.

Soaring Phoenix member and performer Ben Do said Lunar New Year is one of the busiest times of the year for the nonprofit. Kids of all ages participate in the flashy routines, with the goal of bringing joy and good fortune to their audience, Do said.

Dancers perform a traditional lion dance blessing to ensure the prosperity of the restaurants at Post Houston, Sunday, Jan 26, 2025 in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

The traditional Chinese dances are something Do said he and many of his fellow performers grew up watching, instilling a dream in them to one day participate in the practice as well.

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"The culture behind it is, these lions and dragons spread good luck and prosperity to everyone," he said.

The food hall was packed with spectators who cheered for the drum, cymbals and gongs that led the large lion costume through the crowd as confetti and lettuce, symbolizing wealth, covered the floor.
The King examines some of the belongings of Holocaust victims, including piles of childrens shoes, on display at the sites museum - Victoria Jones/via REUTERS

At the centre of the service was a single train carriage.

It was used, in those unspeakable days, to transport men, women and children to Auschwitz-Birkenau: the end of the line in all senses, as they were split into those going to immediate death, or a life of slave labour that would kill them soon enough.

For the few who survived, it is a symbol of all they endured, and all they are determined to ensure the world never forgets.

At the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, nothing is more important.

One survivor, who was five-and-a-half when she was herded onto a carriage just like it, described how hot, hungry, thirsty and very terrified, I held on tightly to my mothers hand in the dark cattle car for countless hours while the cries and the prayers of so many desperate women permeated my soul and haunt me to this day.

The King, listening intently as survivors relayed their most painful memories, wiped his eyes.

The first British monarch to visit the site of the camp, he placed a lit candle in memory of the 1.1 million people killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau and closed his eyelids in silent prayer.

The King appeared to wipe away a tear at one point - WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP

Earlier in the day, while visiting a Jewish community centre in Krakow, Poland, he urged the world to remember the depths to which humanity can sink and warned of a dangerous re-emergence of anti-Semitism in a world full of turmoil and strife.

It is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world, he said. And it is a moment when we recall the powerful testimonies of survivors ... who collectively taught us to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate.

He added: As the number of Holocaust survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders, and on those of generations yet unborn.

The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task and, in so doing, we inform our present and shape our future.

The Kings visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau was described as a deeply personal pilgrimage for him both as a man and monarch.

In London, the Prince and Princess of Wales attended a ceremony at the Guildhall, hugging survivors and paying their own tribute.

We remember those survivors, who have lived with the scars both mental and physical, said Prince William.

Their bravery in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of their lives, are extremely powerful and ensure we never forget. I assure them, we never will.

The Prince and Princess of Wales marked the anniversary by attending a service in London - Arthur Edwards/via REUTERS

At Auschwitz, after the service, the King walked underneath the gate reading Arbeit Macht Frei  that great lie of the Nazi regime  and saw the stacks of shoes and suitcases taken from prisoners as they arrived.

It was, he said as he saw the smallest baby shoes, just astonishing.

There was snow on the ground, the briefest glimpse of the conditions faced by prisoners 80 years ago.

On Monday, most of that bleak landscape was hidden from view during the service. Instead, a vast tent had been built over and around the infamous main gate through which trains arrived, keeping the elderly warm and dry for the service which stretched to nearly two hours.

The building was lit up at the end of a carpet designed to look like a single railway track running through the middle of the audience.

Some survivors stared at it lost in thought, while others seemed as though they could not bear to look.

A few blinked back tears from the moment the ceremony opened with music, clutching cardigans around them or holding photographs of loved ones.

Miriam Linial (left), a 103-year-old survivor of Auschwitz, is comforted at the ceremony - MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP

As younger generations mingled, the survivors seemed lost in thought, staring at their hands or flatly in front of them as they placed the blue and white striped caps of their old Auschwitz uniform over the headphones through which the service was translated.

One woman wore vivid jewelled earrings in a matching blue; another man a smart red bow tie.

All had lanyards with their numbers and childhood photographs around their necks.

There were prayers, a small orchestra playing over blurred black-and-white photographs of Auschwitz from the archive.

The King visited a Jewish community centre in Krakow, Poland, before attending the ceremony - Getty Images Europe

Heads of state and royal families from more than 50 countries watched on, including the Macrons, Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, and the Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses of Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

There was no Russian contingent. Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, was confirmed as a guest only hours before the service began, listening with a set jaw and occasional pained nod as he heard speeches about not giving into fear, and the need to solve problems between neighbours.

May the silent emptiness of this wagon be filled today with the memory of all those who perished at Auschwitz, the audience was told by way of introduction.

Following the service, the King went to look at the notorious Arbeit Macht Frei Auschwitz gate - AARON CHOWN/AFP

Four survivors told their stories.

Marian Turski, speaking slowly and gesticulating with gnarled, sometimes trembling hands, relayed the abject misery of inmates who faced the four riders of the apocalypse: war, pestilence, hunger and death and were left perplexed, paralysed with fear.

Janina Iwanska, reading from neatly handwritten notes, told of the evolution of the camp, from housing political prisoners to the chillingly efficient killing machine, the killing factory.

Tova Friedman, whose birthday it was, spoke as a representative of the children. At the age of five-and-a-half, she watched all my little friends rounded up and driven to their deaths as the heartbreaking cries of their parents fell on deaf ears.

Loaded into a cattle car with her mother, arriving at Auschwitz with a sky obscured by smoke and a terrible stink hanging in the air, she recalled rows of naked women and the gleam of the German shepherds teeth and their eyes: dogs the same height as her, that fear never forgotten.

Leon Weintraub, 99, told how his mother and aunt were murdered, the men around him stripped, shaved and reduced to mere disposable items with constant black smoke, reeking of burnt flesh, rising from the chimneys.

No politicians were allowed to speak at the ceremony, but there was politics nonetheless. October 7, the Israeli hostages, Hamas. Most of all, the visceral fear of rising anti-Semitism and history repeating itself.

Be attentive and be vigilant, said Mr Weintraub. We, the survivors, we understand that the consequence of being considered different is active persecution.

We have an obligation, said Mrs Friedman. Not only to remember, which is very very important. But also to warn and to teach that hatred only begets more hatred. Killing more killing.

The King presents a candle in memory of all those who died - PA/Aaron Chown

Ronald S. Lauder, speaking on behalf of museum donors, spoke of being haunted by the words: We dont want our past to be our childrens future.

Its hard for us to believe that we see today the sudden violence of hatred against Jews, the singling out of the one Jewish state with huge demonstrations shouting anti-Semitic slogans.

This is hard for us to watch, any of us. But I cant imagine what it must be like for the 50 survivors here with us today.

There was a keen sense, at Auschwitz, that this 80th anniversary would be the last major event to have a significant number of Holocaust survivors present.

Survivors and relatives joined royalty and world leaders at the memorial event - WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP

The memory of what happened cannot pass away with the living witnesses, said the service commentary.

Earlier that morning, at 9am, a handful of those nonagenarians gathered at the Wall of Death near Block 11 of the former Auschwitz I camp.

Shaky but determined, shuffling with walking sticks, they stepped forward one by one to place a lit candle at the site of so much human misery.

As night fell, the King laid a wreath at that same wall.

Biting his lip as he stood in silent tribute for more than a minute, he turned back twice to take it in as he walked away.

Remembering what took place here, and those who were so cruelly murdered is a duty; a sacred duty that must be protected, he wrote in the visitors book.

Being here today, hearing the stories of those who experienced its horrors, seeing the shoes of children whose lives were taken when theyd just begun, and walking the paths upon which such cruelty was inflicted, is something that I will never forget.
British soldiers in Afghanistan

A three-year delay into a special forces investigation over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan meant that crucial opportunities were missed, an inquiry has heard.

The Royal Military Police (RMP) inquiry which examined accusations that UK special forces had executed Afghan civilians and children between 2010 and 2013 was described at the Afghanistan Inquiry as sluggish and not properly resourced.

Operation Northmoor, a 10 million investigation, was set up in 2014 to examine allegations of executions by special forces, including those of children. It was shut down in 2019 with no charges.

However, Alan Pughsley, the former chief constable of Kent Police and an expert witness who wrote a report on Operation Northmoor, said the investigation took too long.

At the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday, he said that crucial opportunities to investigate the allegations, such as obtaining contemporaneous accounts, were not afforded to the RMP for some three years after they were first raised.

He suggested that the golden hour to investigate the allegations had been missed due to the delay.

Golden hour

The golden hour  something like this, if you could have, and I accept the operational environment, but if you can visit the scene, I think you can still ID witnesses and or suspects if there were any and any wider forensic opportunities, he said.

Asked byOliver Glasgow KC, counsel to the inquiry, about the impact of the delay into the RMP starting its investigations, Mr Pughsley said: I think its significant.

It absolutely directly had a negative impact on the starting position for the RMP investigation in 2014.

He added: They were denied the early op of contemporaneous witness accounts in 2011, which could have been crucial.

Speaking about the RMP officers who formed part of Operation Northmoor, Mr Pughsley said: I dont believe they had the skills to be able to fulfil this job completely.

One of the SIOs (senior investigating officers) appeared to have been on his course about a month before being asked to run this investigation.

Mr Pughsley added: I would not have closed the operation down with a large number of potential witnesses and forensic evidence still outstanding in the main.

He described the operation as a critical incident that was incredibly complex.

The inquiry continues.
Projectiles are fired from the Israeli Iron Dome to intercept missiles from southern Lebanon - ATEF SAFADI/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Donald Trump was expected to approve an Israel-style Iron Dome to protect America from hypersonic missile attacks.

An executive order, due to be signed by the US president on Monday, will begin the process of creating a next generation missile defence system.

Speaking at a Republican retreat in Miami on Monday, Mr Trump said he would immediately begin the construction of a state of the art Iron Dome missile defence shield which will be able to protect Americans.

He claimed that Ronald Reagan had made a similar plan in the 1980s but we didnt have the technology then, it was a concept.

Now we have phenomenal technology, you see that with Israel, Mr Trump continued. So I think the United States is entitled to that. And everything will be made right here in the USA, 100 per cent.

The order is intended to protect the US against the catastrophic threat of missile attacks.

The executive order directs implementation of a next generation missile defence shield for the United States against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next generation aerial attacks, it states.

An Iron Dome anti-missile battery site for the defence system, which is activated when the projectiles are heading to populated areas - Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg

Israels short-range defence system is made up of 10 missile batteries with about four missile launchers in each which provide cover for some 60 sq miles.

It has been used to defend Israel against barrages by Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, and according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) destroys 90 per cent of the rockets it targets.

US military figures are concerned about an attack by adversaries such as China, Russia or Iran with hypersonic missile capabilities, which travel at least five times the speed of sound and are extremely difficult to detect or intercept.

It came as General Robert Brieger, the European Unions top general, said the bloc should deploy troops to Greenland to send a strong signal to Mr Trump who has threatened to seize the territory from Denmark.

Denmark announced it would spend 14.6 billion kroner (1.64 billion) to bolster security in the strategic Arctic region near the United States.

We must face the fact that there are serious challenges regarding security and defence in the Arctic and North Atlantic, the countrys defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, said in a statement on Monday night.

Mr Trumps Iron Dome decree was among a flurry of orders due to be signed on Monday designed to reshape Americas military.

Mr Trump was expected to limit the use of transgender people in active service roles and to ditch diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the Armed Forces.

He is expected to sign another executive order allowing the 8,000 military members who were discharged for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine to return with full back pay.

Pete Hegseth, Mr Trumps new defence secretary, said they will also receive an apology.

The fact sheet accompanying the Iron Dome Order alludes to Israels short range defence system, which its military says is up to 90 per cent accurate at stopping incoming projectiles.

Pete Hegseth said 8,000 military members will receive an apology after they were fired because they did not have the Covid vaccine - Win McNamee/Getty

Mr Trump banned transgender people from serving in the military in 2017 during his first administration but the edict was rescinded by Joe Biden in 2021.

Shortly after being sworn in Mr Trump revoked Mr Bidens executive order but his new one goes further.

According to CNN, it will dictate new rules regarding gender pronouns and will state that transgender people cannot serve because they are not combat ready.

The fact sheet accompanying the order states: It can take a minimum of 12 months for an individual to complete treatments after transition surgery, which often involves the use of heavy narcotics.

During this period, they are not physically capable of meeting military readiness requirements and require ongoing medical care. This is not conducive for deployment or other readiness requirements.

The order on DEI in the military will prohibit any discriminatory practices and comes after all diversity officers in the federal government were placed on leave.
Flooding near Hambridge in south Somerset after the River Isle burst its banks. Photograph: PaulSilvers/BNPS

A major incident has been declared in Somerset after more than 100 people were evacuated from their homes because of flooding, while roads were blocked, trains delayed or cancelled and schools closed, as stormy weather once again battered parts of the UK.

Rest centres were set up for people forced to leave their homes in three Somerset towns  Chard, Ilminster and Somerton  with some residents reporting levels of flooding not seen for years. Highways teams dealt with almost 50 incidents.

Dozens of people were evacuated by boat from an estate for over-50s, Primrose Hill residential park near the village of Charlton Mackrell, by the fire service and other rescue teams. People were also evacuated from a care home, Burnworthy House, in South Petherton

Businesses were also flooded, including a Sainsburys store in Chard and a bridal shop in Ilminster, where wedding gowns were damaged by the flood water.

On Monday afternoon, there were more than 30 flood warnings and more than 150 flood alerts in place for England, and three Met Office yellow warnings in England and Wales for heavy rain and strong winds.

While not as powerful as Storm Eowyn, which caused severe damage in Scotland and Northern Ireland at the weekend, a low-pressure system was named Storm Herminia by meteorologists in Spain, which was expected to feel the strongest winds.

Ben Lukey, a flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: Impacts are probable across parts of the south of England during Monday and on Tuesday, with continuing impacts possible on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Met Office warned that heavy, blustery showers and possible thunderstorms could lead to some flooding in London, south-east England and south-west England. It said there could be interruption to power supplies and other services.

Strong winds were driving in a succession of showers, some heavy, through Monday and into Monday night and there was also a chance of lightning strikes and hail showers.

In Wales and parts of the West Midlands in England, the Met Office said heavy rain could lead to some flooding of roads and properties. There was a small chance some rural communities could be cut off by flooded roads. Up to 70mm of rain was expected over some high ground.

A warning was also in place for strong winds on Monday in Wales and across much of southern England that could cause delays to road, rail, air and ferry travel until 6am on Tuesday.

Related: RNLI rescues American students from Welsh island during Storm Eowyn

The warnings come as scientists have said that the climate emergency is making extreme weather events more common.

Somerset council and Avon and Somerset police jointly declared the major incident. A council spokesperson said: Following intense rainfall across the region at the weekend, several parts of Somerset were flooded, including roads and some homes in the centre of Chard and Ilminster.

With further heavy rainfall expected, a major incident was called and a decision was made to carry out precautionary evacuations for residents living in properties in the worst-affected areas.

Stormonts leaders have called on Northern Irelands energy network provider, NIE Networks, to offer goodwill payments to those who remained without power after Storm Eowyn.

About 60,000 homes and businesses remained without power in Northern Ireland, with some people told they might have to wait until 3 February to be reconnected. More than 50 schools in Northern Ireland remained closed on Monday.

The Northern Ireland secretary, Hilary Benn, said the UK government was working hard to meet requests from the Stormont executive for assistance.

Scotlands first minister, John Swinney, echoed the warnings about global heating affecting the strength of storms. He told an event in Edinburgh on Monday: Its a warning to us that climate change is with us and the ferocity [of it].

The UK cabinet minister Pat McFadden said Storm Eowyn had brought wind gusts exceeding 92mph in Northern Ireland. He told the Commons: Initial observations from the Met Office say it was probably the strongest storm to hit the UK in at least 10 years and the most severe storm for Northern Ireland since 1998.

At its peak, 285,000 properties in Northern Ireland  thats about a quarter of the population  and around 290,000 properties in Scotland lost power. In England and Wales, around 325,000 properties lost supply.
Cartel members open fire on the US Border Patrol

Credit: X/@LtChrisOlivarez

Cartel gunmen exchanged fire with US border patrol agents on Monday while attempting to smuggle illegal migrants across the US-Mexico border.

The migrants were seeking to enter the US via a river located near Fronton, southern Texas, with state officials later releasing drone footage that showed a group of men brandishing firearms as they walked along a river bank.

The clashes came after Donald Trump, the US president, returned to the White House last week and promptly signed a string of 21 Executive Orders designed to crack down on immigration.

Such orders included the declaration of a national emergency at the border, tasking the US military with aiding security, the sending of an additional 1,500 troops to the border, and the designation of cartels as foreign terror organisations.

On Monday, officials said border patrol agents were shot at by the suspected cartel gunmen. They returned fire and nobody in either party was hit, Fox News said.

Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), patrolling the area after the encounter, later told the news outlet that Mexican military vehicles could be seen on the other side of the border.

VIDEO: Earlier today, @TxDPS responded to assist the US Border Patrol after agents received gunfire from cartel members in Mexico while patrolling in Fronton, Starr County. DPS Drone Operators captured the gunmen fleeing Mexico due to military presence, & seeking refuge on an pic.twitter.com/oPf5l7wltO  Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) January 28, 2025

Although border agents have previously been attacked by people smugglers, they generally attempt to keep a low profile for fear of drawing a retaliatory response from the US.

But the cartels have started acting in unprecedented ways since Donald Trump was elected in November and have even issued orders to shoot at agents, Newsnation reported.

On January 27, 2025, at approximately 1.29pm, [border patrol agents] reported shots fired in Fronton, Texas. The scene remains active; no injuries have been reported, US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) said in a statement on Monday evening.

Chris Olivarez, a spokesman with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), said the suspected cartel members were fleeing Mexico when the gunfire broke out.

Mr Olivarez said DPS officers responded to assist the US Border Patrol after agents received gunfire from cartel members in Mexico.

DPS Drone Operators captured the gunmen fleeing Mexico due to military presence, and seeking refuge on an island between the US and Mexico, he said in a statement posted on X.

Mr Olivarez posted the drone footage online showing at least four men walking along a river and through nearby trees. At least two could be seen holding weapons in the footage.

Texas DPS have been approached for comment.

Troops deploy to guard southern border

Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, sent more than 400 soldiers from his state to assist with protecting the southern border on Monday.

The soldiers, from Fort Worth and Houston, were due to arrive as additional buoys were installed along the River Grande to deter migrants from crossing.

Mexico has received more than 4,000 migrants deported from the US including non-Mexicans, in the past week, Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexicos president, said.

Marines fix wire along the border wall with Mexico - Kyle Chan/AFP

She had previously denied agreeing to resume the Remain in Mexico programme that existed during the first Trump administration.

The scheme forced non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their often prolonged cases in the United States were resolved.

Ms Sheinbaum said on Monday that Mexico has received non-Mexican deportees from the United States over the past week, reversing her previous opposition to doing so.

Mexico had accepted over 4,000 deportees, of which a large majority were Mexican, she said, adding that her country was yet to see substantial increase in deportees received.

It came after Colombia blocked two military flights carrying deported migrants from the US on Sunday after earlier agreeing to accept them. Mr Trump responded by threatening punitive tariffs prompting the Colombian president to concede .

Mr Trumps illegal migrant crackdown resulted in 956 arrests on Sunday alone, according to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with raids taking place in Chicago, Denver and Miami among other cities.

According to CNN, immigration agents have been told to be camera ready in case they are filmed by the media during raids.

Agents conducting arrests have been told to wear their agency insignias clearly so that people viewing the footage knew they were from Homeland Security or ICE.

The move is part of a PR blitz by the Trump administration to show off its ramping up of enforcement action.

Phil McGraw, the TV doctor known as Dr Phil, revealed on social media he had embedded with an ICE team in Chicago as the raids in the city began there.

In footage posted online, he questions Sam Seda, a Thai national who had just been arrested.

Thomas Homan, the head of ICE, told McGraw that Mr Seda is an illegal alien convicted of crimes involving children.

McGraw asked Seda if he had been charged for the crimes. Mr Seda replied: Not really.

A stunned McGraw replied: Not really?! And never been deported?

To which Mr Seda replied: Nope.
Donald Trump Jr on a visit to Greenland on Jan 7

X / @justinbwells

Donald Trump wants the United States to buy Greenland for its strategically vital resources, to bolster US security and give China a bloody nose.

But he also wants to strike his largest ever real estate deal because Greenland is massive, he loves maps and because he is very, very stubborn.

Who owns Greenland?

Mr Trumps desire to swell the US with a territory roughly the size of Texas and Alaska combined is nothing new.

He tried to bounce Denmark into selling Greenland, which is geographically in North America, during his first presidency  but was rebuffed.

Mr Trump cancelled a 2019 state visit and branded Mette Frederiksen, Denmarks prime minister, nasty after she said the idea was absurd.

Like all hard-nosed negotiators, Mr Trump doesnt take no for an answer and took the chance of naming his ambassador to Denmark to revive the demand this weekend.

As his son Donald Trump Junior arrived for a visit to Greenland, Mr Trump declared: I am hearing that the people of Greenland are MAGA.

Credit: @OJoelsen/@DonaldJTrumpJr/X

He added: Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside world. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!.

Worlds largest island

Greenland is a very large, strategically important landmass.

You take a look at a map. Im a real estate developer, Mr Trump said in an interview for The Divider, a book by The New York Times Peter Baker and The New Yorkers Susan Glasser.

I love maps. And I always said: Look at the size of this. Its massive. That should be part of the United States, he added.

However, Greenland is actually much smaller than it appears on maps because of the Mercator projection, which makes it look a similar size to Africa.

The projection is used to create flat maps but makes landmasses larger the further away from the Equator they are.

To impress his billionaire allies

Mr Trump reportedly insists that the idea of making Americas largest land buy since the Alaska Purchase in 1867 is all his own.

But according to The Divider, Mr Trump got the idea from Ronald Lauder, a billionaire heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics fortune.

Mr Lauder, 80, a longtime friend of Mr Trump and a New York-born political activist, reportedly offered himself as a back channel negotiator with the Danish government.

Donald Trump Jr visited Nuuk, Greenland - Emil Stach

Some Left-leaning commentators have branded Mr Trumps coveting of Greenland as a neo-colonist urge to emulate nationalist autocrats like Vladimir Putin.

The United States has history when it comes to buying land. Its last land purchase was 1917s acquisition of the US Virgin Islands  from Denmark.

Before then it bought Alaska from the Russian Empire (which was widely seen as an expensive mistake until gold and oil were discovered there), Louisiana from France, as well as territory from Mexico and the Philippines, now independent, from Spain.

Space base and missile defence

The US offered Denmark $100 million (79 million) for Greenland after the Second World War.

Washington instead secured a defence treaty centred on a US military base on Greenland.

Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, has been strategically vital ever since the first years of the Cold War.

It is the US militarys most northerly outpost and is a vital location for missile defence and space surveillance, housing Americas solid state phased array radar system, known colloquially as the ballistic missile early warning system radar network.

Buying Greenland would ensure continued access to the base, although there is no suggestion that it is at risk.

Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, in northern Greenland, has been strategically vital ever since the first years of the Cold War - Ritzau Scanpix/Reuters

Mr Trump, nevertheless, is adamant he wants Greenland for national security reasons.

For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity, the president said on social media.

Aside from the base, Greenland is on strategic sea lanes like the Northwest Passage and the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap, and is beneath Arctic flight paths. It is on the shortest route from North America to Europe.

Russia and Chinas Arctic alliance

Moscow and Beijing have been working hand in glove to bolster their influence in the Arctic, which is a key region for transportation and resources.

Climate change could mean new waterways and new territories for settlement being opened, raising the likelihood of a race for the Arctic amid competing superpowers.

Chinese leaders see the region as a new crossroads of the world, a new source of raw materials and new avenues for manifesting its growing power, the US defence department has said.

In 2019, Republican politicians warned China was trying to build airports on Greenland and even buy an old American naval base there.

There is no guarantee that the almost 57,000 Greenlanders will be willing to become part of the United States - IDA MARIE ODGAARD/AFP

Beijings activities are being facilitated by Russia, which continues to invest heavily in both military and economic terms in the Arctic despite its illegal war in Ukraine.

US officials have also been concerned by joint Russian-Chinese military drills in the area, which seem aimed at Washington and its Nato allies.

Buying Greenland would be a show of strength from the US at a time when its rivals are encroaching into the region.

Treasure trove of rare minerals

Greenland is a potential treasure trove of natural resources, including rare earth minerals.

These minerals are vital for high-end military, green energy and industrial technologies but their production and supply is dominated by China.

Beijing last month imposed export controls on the minerals in response to US controls on advanced semiconductors.

Greenland is a potential treasure trove of natural resources, including rare earth minerals. - Arctic-Images/Digital Vision

Some 37 of the 50 minerals seen as critical by the US could be found in moderate or high quantities in Greenland, based on a 2023 survey.

Lessening US dependence on Chinese supplies would be a geopolitical boost but some experts point out that buying Greenland would mean subsidising an area with the lowest per capita disposable income of any Arctic region except Russia.

Greenlands ice-sheet boasts 7 per cent of the worlds fresh water and its undeveloped oil and gas resources are thought to be the third largest in the Arctic.

Can Trump even buy Greenland?

There is no guarantee that the almost 57,000 Greenlanders will be willing to become part of the US.

In 2009, the island assumed self-rule from Denmark under an agreement that gives it the right to one day declare independence.

By becoming part of the US, Greenland would gain independence from one country while coming under the control of another.

In 2009, the island assumed self-rule from Denmark under an agreement that gives it the right to one day declare independence - IDA MARIE ODGAARD/AFP

It would also be an expensive acquisition.

In 2019, the Washington Post estimated that Greenland could cost up to $1.7 trillion  on the assumption that the island was up for sale.

What is Greenlands response?

Mute Egede, Greenlands prime minister, has rebuffed all advances to date. We are not for sale and we will not be for sale, he said in response to Mr Trumps comments, adding: We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.
Wong Kim Ark in 1904. Photograph: Public Domain

In 1898, at the height of anti-Chinese hysteria, a young cook won a landmark supreme court case that guaranteed citizenship to anyone born on US soil, regardless of race or ancestry. Millions of children from immigrant households have since become United States citizens as a result of his legal battle.

The constitutional right that Wong Kim Ark helped cement has come under growing assault from conservatives. Mere hours after being sworn into office for a second presidential term last Monday, Donald Trump signed a slew of executive actions to fulfill his campaign promises, the chief among which was ending birthright citizenship. In a sweeping directive, Trump directed federal agencies to refuse citizenship to children born in the US if neither parent is a citizen or permanent resident.

Legal experts and community organizers say that, after nearly 130 years, Wongs story still raises important questions about identity and belonging, and exposes the xenophobic rhetoric often intertwined with immigration enforcement.

The Wong Kim Ark case affirmed that birthright citizenship is universal, that it applies to even the most disfavored immigrant groups, said Amanda Frost, a professor of immigration and citizenship law at the University of Virginia who is an expert on Wongs case.

Related: Trump citizenship order overreached by a mile  California attorney general

Wong was born in 1870 in the heart of San Franciscos Chinatown. As one of only 518 US-born Chinese babies that year, Frost said, he grew up in the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred most Chinese nationals from entering the US and becoming naturalized citizens. Anti-Chinese sentiment and mob violence swept across the country.

In 1896, upon his return from a trip to China, Wong was detained by customs officials who insisted that he was not an American citizen due to his parents Chinese nationality.

Its important to note, Frost said, that the supreme court was not sympathetic to Chinese immigrants. The justices had, just two years earlier, legalized racial segregation in public spaces in Plessy v Ferguson. They sided with Wong, Frost said, because denying birthright citizenship to children of immigrants meant that descendants of European immigrants would be affected too.

Ratified in 1868, the 14th amendment first established birthright citizenship to allow formerly enslaved Black Americans to become citizens. Three decades later, the supreme court ruled in a 6-2 decision that the 14th amendment includes the children born within the territory of the United States of all other persons, of whatever race or color, domiciled within the United States.

The real story behind Wong Kim Arks case is the collaborative action by the Chinese community, said David Lei, a San Francisco-based historian and board member of the Chinese Historical Society of America.

The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA), a historic institution also known as the Chinese Six Companies, raised money from Chinatown residents and business owners for Wongs legal defense. (Wongs case was among more than 20 lawsuits the CCBA sponsored as an effort to fight against the Chinese Exclusion Act and other discriminatory laws, Lei said.) The organization hired the most qualified lawyers, two former deputy attorneys general and a co-founder of the American Bar Association, to represent Wong in front of the supreme court.

For years, Trump has condemned birthright citizenship as the biggest magnet for illegal immigration and a crazy, lunatic policy. In 2012, he promoted the racist birther theory against then president Barack Obama, falsely alleging that he was born in Kenya and ineligible to be president. In 2020, he questioned the eligibility of Kamala Harriss vice-presidential bid by citing the immigration status of her parents.

His executive order, which denies citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants and some temporary visa holders, drew widespread condemnation and a spate of legal challenges. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying the executive order would create a permanent subclass of people. Democratic attorneys general from 22 states also sued the administration, and a federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the directive.

More than 150,000 newborn children would be denied citizenship each year if the executive order is allowed to stand, according to the Democratic-led states.

But challenges to birthright citizenship have never been successful largely because the Wong Kim Ark ruling has remained the law consistently, said Ming Chen, a professor at UC Law San Francisco and faculty director of the schools Center for Race, Immigration, Citizenship, and Equality.

The executive order is another attempt through political means to change a pretty sacrosanct legal precedent, Chen said, adding that a constitutional right cannot be repealed without changing the constitution.

The focus of Trumps missive has been on the children of undocumented immigrants, who he said were not subject to the jurisdiction of the US, and therefore fall within the exception to universal birthright citizenship. But the order also bars citizenship from children whose mothers are visiting on a student, work or tourist visa  unless the father is a citizen or permanent resident. In targeting people living legally in the US, Chen said, the rationale behind ending birthright citizenship has extended beyond merely restricting illegal immigration.

Its cutting off the possibility that a community can ever become American, she said. Thats a radical re-envisioning of what America looks like.

Wongs case is not entirely a story of legal triumph for a harshly maligned racial group. Even after the supreme court ruling, the government continued to deny his citizenship. In 1901, less than four years after the decision, an immigration official in El Paso arrested Wong, who had been in Mexico, and tried to deport him on grounds of violating the Chinese Exclusion Act, according to Frosts research. It took Wong four months to prove his citizenship and return home. In 1910, Wongs oldest son was detained, and soon deported, upon arriving in San Francisco because immigration officials refused to believe he was related to Wong. Decades later, Wong himself returned to China, though some of his descendants still live in California.

The enduring fight to preserve birthright citizenship is also a fight for core American values, Frost said.

For us as a nation, she said, birthright citizenship is so vital both as a way of erasing  or trying to erase  the vestiges of slavery and acknowledging were a nation of immigrants where every child is born under the same status.
The next generation must not be allowed to focus on online clickbait and ignore the grim lessons of the Holocaust, David Lammy said.

The Foreign Secretary said youngsters needed to understand how the seeds of such a catastrophe are still around us.

Speaking at a reception co-hosted by the Israeli embassy in the UK, Mr Lammy said: Never again is a solemn promise which we owe to the victims, but also which we must uphold for our own sake, and for the sake of future generations.

We need Holocaust remembrance. Holocaust education. Action against antisemitism  it is how we build a better future for us all together.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy with Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely at the Foreign Office Holocaust Memorial Day event (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

At the event in the Foreign Office he highlighted a digital exhibition featuring 80 objects from filmed testimonies of British Holocaust survivors and refugees, presented as 80 individual social media posts.

He said: Eighty years on from the defeat of Nazism, the number of survivors still with us is inevitably dwindling.

The world of the 1930s and 40s can feel ever more distant from our high-tech world of today. The next generation risks being distracted, clickbait making it all too easy not to grasp the full horror of the Holocaust.

We therefore need to find new ways to tell the story, to capture peoples imagination, young peoples most of all, and prompt real reflection.

We need them to understand what a catastrophic moral failure for humanity Auschwitz was, and how the seeds of such a catastrophe are still around us.

Tottenham MP Mr Lammy said: As a black man descended from the Windrush generation, as MP for the most diverse constituency in Britain  including, I am proud to say, a thriving Jewish community  and now, as Foreign Secretary, I see all too many signs of that lingering infection.

Auschwitz did not start in its gas chambers. Genocide does not start with genocide.

It starts with denial of rights. With attacks on the rule of law. With a festering resentment of the other.
Patients in Scotland are not getting the right care in the right place at the right time, John Swinney has said.

The First Minister laid out a plan to improve Scotlands ailing health service in a speech in Edinburgh on Monday, where he said waiting times for treatment were a canary in the coal mine.

Scotland has struggled with high waiting times in recent years, exacerbated by the pandemic, including in A&E, outpatient procedures and other hospital treatment  where hundreds of thousands are languishing on waiting lists.

Mr Swinney told an audience at the National Robotarium there were crises facing parts of the NHS, but refused to say later when asked by journalists if the whole service itself was in crisis.

Today, First Minister @JohnSwinney will set out his plans for NHS recovery and renewal. Watch live on X, Facebook, YouTube from 10am. pic.twitter.com/DmVYMHjQCk  Scottish Government (@scotgov) January 27, 2025

The First Minister announced plans to provide 150,000 more appointments and procedures, as well as a 10.5 million increase in funding for GPs as well as a pledge to give more funding to primary care in the future, and pledging the creation of frailty teams to be at every A&E in the country to help those who could bypass emergency departments and free up capacity.

In his speech, the First Minister said: The first and most important thing on many peoples minds is how long it can take to access services: delays in access with waiting times too long, and delays in discharge because appropriate at-home or in-community care is not available.

The two, of course, are fundamentally connected.

Last year, I referred to delayed discharge as the canary in the coal mine of our National Health Service  I think of waiting times in much the same way.

Both of these delays tell us that the flow of people through the health system is not happening as it should.

Put more simply  people are not getting the right care in the right place at the right time.

That is not acceptable to me, it is not acceptable to my Government.

He added: It is the very definition of a vicious circle and it has to come to an end.

The proposals he laid out on Monday, the First Minister said, were tangible improvements that we can and will deliver.

As part of the plans to reduce waiting lists, Mr Swinney suggested turning some facilities: including Stracathro Hospital in Brechin; Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow; and the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline; into centres of excellence in certain procedures such as cataracts or orthopaedics, providing transport support to patients to access the facilities, if necessary.

With the waiting list for procedures or tests sitting at more than 600,000 as of September 30, the First Minister told reporters after the speech he believed the backlog could be eliminated.

It will be cleared, he said.

We will get the health service into a state of sustainability.

In its budget announced in December, the Scottish Government pledged to reduce waiting times to less than 12 months for every Scot by 2026.

An app will also be created for the NHS in Scotland under the plans, which he described as the digital front door to the health service.

Over time, it will become an ever more central, ever more important access and managing point for care in Scotland, he said.

The service will be trialled in NHS Lanarkshire first before a full rollout.

The First Minister, who again called for MSPs to back his Governments budget despite it being all but assured to pass due to the abstention of Scottish Labour, told NHS staff that while they will be the ones delivering NHS reforms, it must also work for you as he cautioned that more laps of the track will be required.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie hit out at the First Minister after the speech, saying: John Swinney talks about the pressure on Scotlands NHS like hes just noticed it  but hes had nearly 18 years to improve conditions in our GP surgeries and hospitals.

Jackie Baillie criticised Mr Swinney (PA)

Indeed, this speech only shows how clearly the 2021 SNP Recovery Plan has failed.

While Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said the health service was in permanent crisis mode.

(The First Minister) has been at the heart of an SNP government for the last 18 years who have grossly mismanaged the health service, yet now he expects suffering patients and overwhelmed staff to believe he has all the answers to fix this crisis, he said.

That simply wont wash with them. The failures by John Swinney and successive health secretaries mean that patients lives are being put at risk every single day, hundreds of thousands of Scots are stuck on waiting lists and SNP promises in relation to the NHS have been broken time and time again.

BMA Scotland chairman Dr Iain Kennedy added there is still a lack of detail in the plan, adding: Previous pledges to increase capacity have not come to fruition, not least because such plans need the staff in place to deliver them.

Yet at the moment, doctors are struggling to cope with simply keeping up with demand.

It shows yet again that no plan for the NHS will work without a proper long-term workforce plan to ensure we have the staff needed to deliver it.

While trade union Unison accused the First Minister of delivering the same old promises.

The First Ministers renewal framework, launched today, doesnt begin to tackle the social care crisis, and staff will be angry after he said they need to do more laps of the track, said the unions co-lead for health Matt McLaughlin.

NHS staff are working flat out, and they want to know what the Government will do now to tackle short staffing, over capacity and workforce stress  so they can get on delivering for patients.
It is business as usual for Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham despite the clubs poor form.

The pressure increased on Postecoglou after a 2-1 home defeat to Leicester on Sunday, but the Australian is primed to face the media again on Wednesday afternoon before Spurs midweek Europa League tie with Elfsborg.

While Tottenham are 15th in the Premier League and only eight points above the relegation zone, Postecoglou was again without 10 first-team players last weekend, which has been a regular occurrence over a two-month period where they have played 17 fixtures.

Postecoglou has repeatedly called for his depleted squad to get more help, but Tottenham have only brought in goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky since the January transfer window opened.

However, with a week to go until the deadline, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy looks set to stick with under-fire Postecoglou and the club will ramp up efforts to sign at least one outfield player before February 3, the PA news agency understands.

Several questions were put to Postecoglou about his future after the loss to Leicester and despite six defeats in seven in the league, the 59-year-old believes Tottenham can still enjoy a strong second half of the campaign with the club one match from Wembley in the Carabao Cup.

It doesnt really come into my consciousness about trying to convince people. I have been around long enough to know that some will just judge on where we are at at the moment and rightly so in some respects. Its not good enough, Postecoglou explained.

If people want to put context to that, they can. If not, so be it. From my point of view, Im still very much stuck on the fact that the players are just giving everything they can.

They did on Thursday night (against Hoffenheim), they did today. There are probably at least two who shouldnt have been out there. They were just desperate to try to turn our fortunes around.

Hopefully over the next 10 days to two weeks we should get some significant players back which I think will help this group a lot. It will give them the boost they need.

We have still got some fantastic opportunities this year to make an impact in the second half of this year and Im sure that will happen.

Postecoglou lost James Maddison to muscle soreness on the morning of the Leicester match, which meant he had to turn to Pape Sarr, who had been a major doubt to feature.

Ange Postecoglous side have lost six of their last seven league matches (Mike Egerton/PA)

Sarr only lasted 54 minutes before he was forced off along with Richarlison, who has only recently returned from a long-term calf injury, but was also required due to Dominic Solankes knee issue and the Brazilian will need to be assessed before Thursdays visit of Elfsborg.

The players are going out there and giving everything they can because we cant call off games, Postecoglou admitted.

Weve got another game in three days time that these players have to front up for.

The injury situation will ease and Im confident they will sort of help us. Even one more player coming in, just in the short term, will give us an opportunity at least to navigate these last 10 days to two weeks of whats been a really hard slog for this group of players.
Post Malone performs during the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on Friday, June 14, 2024, in Manchester, Tenn. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP) Amy Harris/Amy Harris/Invision/AP Post Malone with the Limited Edition Post Malone OREO Cookies Hand-out/Mondelez International

Grammy-nominated artist and Dallas native Post Malone and Oreo are teaming up to bring a sweet new twist to the famous cookie brand  a Limited Edition Post Malone Oreo Cookie.

The Oreo cookie, expected to hit the shelves on Feb. 3, will feature a first-of-its-kind swirled creme combining salted caramel and shortbread flavors, sandwiched between the cookie brand's famous chocolate cookie and a signature golden cookie, according to an Oreo news release. In the release, Post Malone said he couldn't believe Oreo would let him make his own cookie.

JAMES BEARD: James Beard Award semifinalists include 13 Houston restaurants and chefs

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"It's the first time Oreo has ever twisted the creme of the cookie and they named it after me," Post Malone said in the written statement.

Each cookie will also feature unique designs inspired by Posty's World and handpicked by Post Malone, including cookies that show off his diverse discography, the release states.

"Flavor innovations and collaborations, inspired by fan behavior, have become a mainstay in our playbook as a way to maintain relevancy across our portfolio of snack brands," said Tanya Berman, Mondelez senior vice president biscuit at Mondelez International.

The Limited Edition Post Malone Oreo Cookie Packs will be available for presale starting on Jan. 27; however, people can sign up for early access at Oreo.com/UnwrapTheCollab.

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Staff at Scottish Water are set to vote on industrial action after pay talks collapsed.

Unite said the move comes after the company failed to make a fair and decent pay offer to its members, while at the same time awarding eye-watering packages to company bosses.

The union also said a botched job evaluation process carried out by the company had seen a number of staff downgraded.

Unite represents 500 workers at the company, including waste water operatives, water treatment and burst repair operatives, maintenance engineers, electricians and sewage tanker drivers.

It warned that industrial action by its members would directly impact Scottish Waters ability to respond to water leakages, flooding.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: Scottish Water has failed to make our members a fair and decent pay offer.

Contrast this management snub with the eye-watering packages its executive team members are dishing out to themselves.

Unite will fully support our members in the fight for better jobs, pay and conditions at Scottish Water.

The union said that in October Scottish Water made staff a basic pay offer of 3.4%, with a minimum increase of 1,200, which it said was overwhelmingly rejected by its membership.

It said the company then proposed an additional 200 but that this offer was also rejected outright by the union.

Sam Ritchie, Unite industrial officer, said: Scottish Waters executive team appear too preoccupied with awarding themselves bonus and pension top-ups to make our members a decent pay offer.

Unite has no option but to ballot our members on industrial action because Scottish Water is ignoring our members reasonable demands.

To add insult to injury, there is a botched job evaluation process ongoing which is leading to many of our members losing pay through being downgraded.

That is unacceptable and we will fight back against this culture of arrogance at Scottish Water.

The union said industrial action could involve strike action, working to rule or working only to contracted hours.

It added that Scottish Water relies heavily on workers doing overtime, and that without this it would need to make substantial payments to contractors to undertake outstanding remedial works.

A Scottish Water spokesperson said: Our proposal for an annual pay award for 2024/25 builds on the uplift and significant improvement to terms and conditions agreed last year with the trade unions.

We are disappointed that the unions have not put our increased offer to their members and believe that balloting for industrial action is premature.

We encourage the unions to engage with us.
Wet and windy weather is continuing to sweep over the UK as yellow warnings remain in place.

Central and southern England and Wales have seen flooding and more is likely to follow, the Met Office said.

Part of Devon had almost 34mm of rain on Sunday and 33.5mm fell in Stoke Climsland, Cornwall.

The week ahead looks likely to start unsettled There are signs of some drier weather later though Here are the details  pic.twitter.com/5somy4in46  Met Office (@metoffice) January 26, 2025

An 83mph gust was recorded in Berry Head, south Devon, and 81mph in Capelcurig, North Wales.

Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said: Things are going to stay unsettled in the next few days.

Storm Eowyn has moved off to the north east now, but weve got another deep area of low pressure dominating the weather for the next few days, gradually moving across the UK from the west.

A wet and windy spell arrived in the South West on Sunday morning and was moving across the north of the UK overnight.

It will not be as powerful as Storm Eowyn.

Spanish meteorologists have dubbed the low-pressure system Storm Herminia, as the European country will feel the strongest winds.

Another weather front is moving in from the South West and pushing north and eastwards over England and Wales during the night.

Flooding is likely in parts of England and Wales and weather warnings are in place until Tuesday.

Mr Petagna said: What were seeing in this particular system isnt that unusual (for this time of year), but its a combination of several events were getting which is adding to problems.

Were getting successive spells of wet and windy weather, which is obviously adding to impacts  obviously people are still recovering from Eowyn, and this wind and rain is hampering those efforts.

Several events now of heavy rain is increasing the risk of flooding as well.

We dont need much more rain now to cause further flooding problems with the ground being so saturated.

Brighter spells will appear occasionally on Monday but the day will largely bring showers that merge into longer spells of rain.

Winds will slowly become less of a feature, Mr Petagna added.

Persistent rain is forecast to return on Wednesday across the far south of the UK.

A yellow wind warning runs until 7am on Monday and covers large parts of southern England, the North West, the West Midlands and Yorkshire.

Monday morning will see showers or longer spells of rain feeding northwards across the UK, accompanied by blustery winds  pic.twitter.com/n2cM1fbp21  Met Office (@metoffice) January 26, 2025

Gusts of 55-65mph are possible overnight and there is a small chance they could reach 80mph, the Met Office said.

This could cause disruption to transport and damage to buildings such as tiles coming off roofs.

Another yellow warning for strong and gusty winds is in place from 6am on Monday to the same time on Tuesday in Wales and southern parts of England.

A yellow warning for periods of heavy rain that could cause some flooding of roads and properties had been issued for the West Midlands and most of Wales until 11.59pm on Monday.

The Met Office expects 20mm to 40mm to fall quite widely and 50mm to 70mm on higher ground.

Another warning for heavy rain, thundery showers and localised flooding was active for parts of Wales and central, southern and northern England until 6am on Monday.

Forecasters said 10mm to 20mm of rain will fall quite widely, nearing 30mm to 50mm at higher altitude.

Further heavy rain on Sunday evening could bring it up to 80mm in a few places.

Given recent heavy rain, this extra rainfall could lead to some local surface water and river flooding, the Met Office said.

Ben Lukey, a flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: Spells of heavy rain mean surface water and river flooding is possible across parts of England on Sunday, overnight into Monday.

Although not expected, impacts could include localised flooding from watercourses, drains, channels and flooding from overland flow.

He warned people not to drive through flood water as 30cm of flowing water is enough to float a car.
Authorities in Utah have arrested a suspect accused of stabbing a man to death 20 years ago, in a case that went unsolved before recent technological advancements allowed an investigation to move forward.

Jason Royter's girlfriend found him dead on Aug. 6, 2005, at his residence in the Salt Lake City area. He was 33. Royter had suffered multiple stab wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. Despite investigators' attempts over the course of about a decade to identify a perpetrator, no meaningful leads materialized.

At that point, the case was turned over to the Salt Lake County cold case unit, and detectives with the Sheriff's Office diligently investigated for another decade, the office said in a news release, noting that recent advancements in investigative techniques and processes finally led to a breakthrough.

Detectives with the sheriff's office apprehended Mark Munoz, 53, last Thursday for allegedly killing Royter, the office said. Munoz was taken into custody on murder charges.

Jason Royter's family speaks at a news conference organized by the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office on Friday, Jan. 24, 2024. / Credit: Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office

DNA evidence collected at the scene of Royter's murder matched a sample flagged in 2024 by the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services, CBS News affiliate KUTV reported, citing court documents filed after the suspect's arrest. The latter sample had been collected directly from Munoz.

Once forensic services informed the sheriff's office of the match, detectives set out to locate him. It was challenging because Munoz is unhoused, does not have a cell phone and does not regularly keep in touch with family or friends, a deputy's report said, according to KUTV.

"This arrest is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our detectives who never gave up on finding justice for Jason Royter," Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said in a statement. "To Mr. Royter's family, we hope this development brings a measure of peace, knowing we are closer to uncovering the truth of that tragic day."

Rivera said at a news conference Friday that their investigation is still active and detectives continue "looking for any additional evidence that will help the case."

"Jason died a very tragic death, and we want to make sure that justice is served," she said.

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This picture released on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, by Sea Punk shows some of the migrants who were saved at sea by the humanitarian ship Sea Punk I off the Italian island of Lampedusa over the weekend. (Sea Punk via AP, HO)

ROME (AP)  Three young African brothers drowned making the perilous central Mediterranean crossing with their parents, a German humanitarian group said Monday, after rescuing 17 people in a chaotic scene that saw survivors drifting away.

Two toddler brothers died when the smugglers' boat sank, while survivors reported that a third child had drowned earlier in their journey from Libya aboard an unseaworthy fiberglass-bottom boat, said Stephen Schrenzenmeier, head of operations aboard the Sea Punk 1.

The body of a 3-year-old was plucked from the sea during the rescue on Sunday, while a 2-year-old died on board the rescue vessel while medical personnel attempted life-saving measures, said the group's spokesman Gerson Reschke. Survivors reported that several more people, including the boys' brother, died during the voyage.

People were drifting in the water on both sides of the boat when the rescue vessel arrived in response to an emergency call. Survivors were screaming and drifting away from each other, while rescuers got into a small boat and picked people up one by one, Schrezenmeier told The Associated Press.

A family of three survived the ordeal, including a pregnant woman who was airlifted to Malta for treatment, while the husband and child have been taken to Italy, Schrezenmeier said. "We really hope they will be reunited very soon,'' he said.

Maltese authorities also airlifted a man who had difficulty breathing after swallowing seawater and had severe hypothermia.

All of the people on board were from sub-Saharan Africa, Schrezenmeier said.

The rescue happened in a part of the Malta search-and-rescue zone that is closer to Italys southernmost island of Lampedusa than the tiny EU island nation. Schrezenmeier praised both the Maltese and Italian authorities for a quick response to their calls for aid.

Sea Punks 1 transferred 15 survivors and the two bodies to an Italian coast guard vessel, which brought them to Lampedusa. Many showed signs of severe hypothermia, the group said.

Italy's coast guard also picked up some 38 people who were rescued by fishermen, Schrenzenmeier said.

The U.N. Missing Migrant Project puts the number of the dead and missing in the perilous Central Mediterranean at over 24,506 from 2014-2024, many of whom were lost at sea. The project says that number may be greater, as many deaths go unrecorded, with the sightings of so-called ghost ships with noone aboard and remains of people washing ashore in Libya not associated with any known shipwreck.

___

Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.

____

Follow APs coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
Artificial intelligence (AI) investing has been in the spotlight for the past two years, and nothing should change that in 2025. It's still the infancy of this megatrend, and plenty of stocks are ripe for growth.

Three stocks that I think could see massive returns in 2025 are Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM). These three are major players in the AI field, and their returns could stun investors this year.

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1. Nvidia

I know what you're thinking: "Nvidia again? It's already risen so much already." That's true, but there's still plenty of upside.

The company makes graphics processing units (GPUs), the computing muscle behind many of the AI innovations we've seen. Because it has a dominant grip on this field, it has been the primary beneficiary of all of the AI investments companies have made.

This is evidenced by its revenue growth, which has been tremendous over the past few years.

NVDA Revenue (TTM) Chart

NVDA revenue (TTM), data by YCharts; TTM = trailing 12 months.

While growth has technically started to slow, can you say a company whose revenue increased by 94% year over year is experiencing slow growth? I don't think so.

Plus, Nvidia is expected to have another strong year in 2025, as Wall Street analysts project its revenue will reach $196 billion by the end of fiscal 2026 (ending January 2026) -- a 52% rise from fiscal 2025.

That's another year of strong growth from one of the top AI investments over the past two years. Its returns probably won't be as great as they were in 2023 or 2024, but I still think investors will be stunned by how much Nvidia's stock rises again in 2025.

2. Alphabet

Alphabet is a huge player in AI, and its Google Gemini generative AI platform is evidence of that. Gemini has brought advancements for Alphabet's advertising business, which makes up 75% of its total revenue.

These improvements help Alphabet stay relevant in its industries, and they have the upside of Google Gemini being deployed by other companies for their own use.

Another huge segment is its cloud computing division, Google Cloud. This sector is riding a massive growth wave thanks to AI. Many companies can't afford to build a powerful server filled with Nvidia GPUs, so they rent computing power from providers like Google Cloud. This has translated into phenomenal growth for the segment, whose revenue rose 35% year over year in the third quarter.

However, what makes Alphabet's stock a real value is its low price tag. It trades for about 22 times forward earnings, far cheaper than many of its big tech peers. Compared to a company like Apple, which trades for 30 times forward earnings, Alphabet is actually putting up meaningful growth at a cheaper price tag.

Alphabet stock is incredibly cheap, and part of its returns that will stun investors will come when it is valued at a similar level to its big tech peers.

3. Taiwan Semiconductor

None of the AI technology today would be possible without Taiwan Semiconductor, also known as TSMC. There are other chip foundries in the marketplace, but none have TSMC's consistent track record of developing and producing cutting-edge chips. AI investments aren't slowing, which will benefit the company.

TSMC is a fairly neutral party in the AI competition since it makes chips for nearly every company vying for AI supremacy. Similar to Nvidia, an investment in Taiwan Semi doesn't require you to pick a winner in the AI trend; it just allows you to capitalize broadly on the AI wave.

AI has been a massive trend for TSMC, with related revenue tripling in 2024. And that's just the start. Management projects that AI-related revenue will double again in 2025 and have a mid-40% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the next five years. That's monster growth, and it's something investors should focus on.

However, AI is just one part of TSMC's business. Overall, management sees revenue growing near a 20% CAGR over the next five years, a level few companies can achieve. Because of this strong and steady growth powered by AI and other industries, Taiwan Semiconductor is a great buy.

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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ASHEVILLE, N.C.  If she had known the rivers would swallow whole towns and neighbors would be swept away, Lindsey Miller would have better prepared  or left her home altogether.

Her home near Boone, North Carolina, survived, but there was no power, cell service or water. Some neighbors filled buckets from a nearby river to flush toilets and washed children with bottled water.

Miller recalled hearing the ping of emergency phone warnings early on the morning of Sept. 27, just hours before the water rushed in. By then it was too late.

We knew there was a storm coming, but we didnt know it was going to be quite like that, she said. We really werent prepared at all.

As rescue teams combed rivers and towns for victims or survivors of the massive floods triggered by remnants of Hurricane Helene, communities grappled with the scope of devastation from the storm that caught many by surprise. The death toll across the Carolinas, Tennessee and Georgia as of Thursday afternoon was at 200 and expected to climb. In Buncombe County, North Carolina, the epicenter of the devastation that includes Asheville, authorities have counted at least 72 dead.

Damage from Tropical Storm Helene as seen from a North Carolina National Guard UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter near Green Mountain, N.C., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.

Interviews with residents, experts, meteorologists and local officials paint a picture of a storm rapidly intensifying, barreling farther inland than usual with stunning ferocity. Authorities are just beginning the process of scrutinizing the alert systems that warned some but not all residents of the incoming catastrophic floods, and how systems could improve.

The historic disaster presented unique challenges for emergency officials trying to evacuate and safeguard residents in a mountainous region assailed by multiple floods and tropical-storm winds. Residents from Tennessee to North Carolina complained they werent given enough warning  or any warning at all  of the floodwaters that overtook their homes and the dams nearing their breaking points.

There was no warning, said Sunday Greer, a high school counselor at Sullivan East High School in Bluff City, Tennessee. Basically, we did not receive anything officially.

The emergency planning and response to the floods, from forecasts to evacuations, will be studied in the weeks and months ahead, said Russ Strickland, Marylands emergency management director and president of the National Emergency Management Association.

This one came with greater strength than they anticipated, he said. Before its all over, there will be some very serious conversations with NOAA, the forecast office of NHC, state officials. Did they miss something? Was there an indication?

Hurricanes, tornadoes, snow and heat: Sign up for USA TODAY's Climate Point newsletter for exclusive weather analysis.

Dire early warnings

As Helene gathered strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Buncombe County officials began taking phone calls from meteorologists as they tracked the storm's path and intensity.

Helene was several days away from making landfall near Floridas Big Bend. But a cold front had recently swept through western North Carolina, unleashing storms and dumping more than 6 inches of rain in the mountainous region, swelling streams and saturating the ground. Helene was a large, strong, fast-moving storm  heading right at them and promising to dump more water.

Related: Maps track Hurricane Helene's 800-mile path of destruction across southeastern US

The threat looked so dire that by Wednesday, Sept. 26, Buncombe County officials declared a local state of emergency for low-lying areas, such as Asheville and Montreat, the countys director of communication, Lillian Govus, told USA TODAY.

Later that day, they stood up an Emergency Operations Center in the county emergency services building just north of Asheville. County manager Avril Pinder, Assistant Emergency Services Director Ryan Cole and law enforcement and fire officials, among others, gathered to digest the data and forecasts and decide what to do with all of it.

CATASTROPHIC FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE, warned a post on the Buncombe County Facebook site that day, repeating the warning in Spanish for its nearly 22,000 Latino residents.

No evacuations were ordered.

This is really about to get bad

Around the same time, Clay Chaney, a meteorologist at the National Weather Services Weather Forecast Office in Greer, South Carolina, settled into his workspace and began tracking Helenes activity in the Gulf. Responsible for upstate South Carolina, western North Carolina and parts of Georgia, Chaney sensed mountain flooding would be the biggest threat to his region.

He was all too aware of the thunderstorms raking the region. Known as predecessor events, the storm created dangerous conditions for Helenes path. A hydrologist in his office mulled over river gauge readings and other data to forecast flood threats.

By Tuesday, Sept. 24, Chaney and others began holding daily webinars, hourlong virtual chats with local and state emergency management officials in his region, including Buncombe County. At 3:30 p.m., more than 230 people dialed in, as Chaney talked through a series of slides showing Helenes path, wind speed and the potential of severe flooding as it reached the Appalachian range.

Low-lying areas needed to be ready for worst-case scenarios, he told those on the call. Chaney patiently answered questions as the webinar stretched to nearly an hour.

The next morning, Wednesday, Sept. 25, Chaney reached his office and his heart sank  the rainfall totals from the earlier thunderstorms were as high as feared, up to 9 inches in some places. Fresh rains could create historic floods, he and others predicted. That day, rain from Helenes outer bands began dropping in the region.

We were like, Oh crap, this is really about to get bad, he said.

Rivers rise to historic highs

At the Sept. 25 webinar with emergency officials, Chaney stepped up the rhetoric, comparing the upcoming floods to those of the Great Flood of 1916, a deluge that overran towns, killed at least 80 people in Buncombe County and destroyed homes, factories and railroads.

His office also released posts on social media sites with dire predictions.

*URGENT MESSAGE*, it began. This will be one of the most significant weather events to happen in the western portions of the area in the modern era. Record flooding is forecasted and has been compared to the floods of 1916 in the Asheville area.

A local resident helps free a car that became stranded in a stretch of flooding road as Tropical Storm Helene strikes, on the outskirts of Boone, N.C. on Sept. 27, 2024.

The post added: We cannot stress the significance of this event enough. Heed all evacuation orders from your local Emergency Managers 

Throughout the region, river gauges were heralding unprecedented rises and forecasting historic highs. The gauge at French Broad River at Asheville showed the river rise more than 2 feet an hour, from 2.31 feet at 3 p.m. Wednesday to 10.19 feet at 9 a.m. Thursday.

By Thursday, were pretty much forecasting the worst-case scenario, Chaney said, and letting our partners know about it.

Not everyone was tuned in to the impending storm. Denia Zuniga, 44, a native of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, living about 10 miles east of Asheville in Swannanoa, had worked back-to-back shifts cleaning homes and had not been following the news.

As she left work late Thursday, a co-worker told her a hurricane was coming but didn't say where. She didn't think much of it.

That night, it rained but otherwise nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She fed her kids, Estefany, 10, and Anthony, 18, and went to sleep with her husband, Pedro Rivera Hernandez, 43, also from Honduras.

Her smartphone never rang with alerts.

Take action now

In Buncombe County, officials were heeding forecasters' warnings.

At 4 p.m. Thursday, officials from Buncombe and Henderson counties, as well as the North Carolina Highway Patrol, held a virtual news conference over Zoom, broadcast over several official social media sites, to warn residents of the forecast of catastrophic and historic flooding and suggested, for the first time, that residents in flood-prone areas should evacuate.

Pinder, the county manager, warned that an estimated 15,000 homes in flood-prone areas could be hit by rising waters.

We cannot stress enough the seriousness of this situation, she said. If you live in a flood prone area  you should take action now  right now.

As Helenes outer bands strummed into western North Carolina late Thursday and early Friday, dumping rain over the region, rivers swelled, quickly overflowing in some areas. At about 4 a.m., lights started to flick off across the county as power outages swept the region.

Emergency personnel reported rivers in Buncombe County overtaking their banks and rushing down roads.

Niagara Falls for five hours straight

At 5:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 27, Chaney dispatched an urgent warning to Buncombe County: FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY FOR SWANNANOA RIVER VALLEY BELOW NORTH FORK RESERVOIR 

The message buzzed cellphones throughout the county as Wireless Emergency Alerts, the same alerts that warn residents of incoming tornadoes.

Forty-five minutes later, at 6:15 a.m., Buncombe County issued its own emergency warning: a mandatory evacuation order that beeped into phones via the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System, or IPAWS, FEMAs system for local emergencies. The county didnt need approval from the state to order the mandatory evacuation, Govus said.

But at that point, it was too late to get out, Chaney said.

By the time you get a flash flood emergency, its way too late to evacuate, he said. At that point, your only option is to go to higher ground.

Zuniga woke up early Friday as winds pounded the walls of her home. She peeked outside and saw a thin layer of water covering the yard and street outside. She shook her husband awake and checked her phone: no signal.

Pedro Rivera Hernandez, 43, and his partner Denia Zuniga, 44, talk about their home in Swannanoa, North Carolina, which Hurricane Helene flooded. Hernadez and Zuniga have stayed at the WNC Agricultural Center in Fletcher, North Carolina, with their son Anthony, 18, daughter Estefany, 10, and Zunigas parents since Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.

By the time she threw on clothes and stepped outside to warn a neighbor, the water had risen nearly to her knees, she said. Everywhere she looked, water rushed around her. It was time to go, she thought.

She grabbed her kids and their passports and Hernandez drove them off in his truck. Within a few hours, floodwaters had swallowed their home. The water rushed up so fast that many of her neighbors were trapped in their homes and had to be rescued, Zuniga said.

"We lost everything," she said later at a shelter where she and her family retreated to in nearby Fletcher. "Everything we owned was in that house."

She wished she'd had an earlier warning.

"We would've evacuated," Zuniga said. "Knowing what was coming, we would've left."

All that Friday, walls of muddied water rushed down roads and highways, tossing houses off foundations, mauling bridges and sweeping residents into the torrent.

By afternoon, the French Broad River at Asheville had crested at 24.67 feet, breaking its record from the 1916 flood by more than a foot, according to NOAA. Another French Broad River gauge at Fletcher, marked its crest at 30.31 feet  more than 10 feet higher than its record crest in 2004.

Govus said they relied on river readings to decide when to evacuate. But the sheer scope and destructive force of the floods took everyone by surprise.

It was like being hit by Niagara Falls for five hours straight, she said.

Nowhere to get out of the way

As other communities dug themselves out of the floods rubble, other residents and officials complained they werent given enough warning.

In East Tennessee, dams owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nations largest public power provider, provided a critical mechanism for slowing the flow of Helenes historic floodwaters as they tore down mountains across the state line.

Flooding upstream of the dams was devastating in some places, prompting a dramatic airlift evacuation of 62 people from a hospital rooftop in Unicoi County. The Nolichucky River, which turned the hospital into an island, flowed with nearly twice the volume of Niagara Falls over a small TVA dam downstream.

Flood waters from the Nolichucky River rage near Jackson Love Highway and Interstate 26 in Erwin, Tenn., on Friday Sept. 27, 2024. Unicoi County Hospital, back center, flooded and had to be evacuated on Friday.

Eleven flooding deaths were confirmed in Tennessee by Oct. 2, and officials expected the number to grow.

By the time the first flash flood emergency warnings buzzed into Kriston Hicks' phone at 9:20 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, the water already had muscled into her home in Hampton, Tennessee, which she shared with her 78-year-old grandfather and six dogs.

Deciding to evacuate, she waded through water to retrieve her grandfather and carry him to her van.

No one came to tell me," Hicks said. "There is no siren in Hampton."

Though her home was destroyed by the flood and torn down on Wednesday, Hicks was reunited with four dogs.

Other residents received the alerts  but didn't heed them. In Erwin, Tennessee, Zully Manzanares saw the warnings that began the night of Sept. 26, but didnt grasp the scope of the disaster headed her way.

We've gotten them before," she said.

But she never thought the warnings would lead to the devastation she saw.

Manzanares, a Head Start program coordinator and bilingual Spanish speaker, helps immigrants in Erwin's Hispanic neighborhoods. At least three members of the community who worked at the Impact Plastics on the Nolichucky River have been confirmed dead or missing.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has opened an investigation into the incident, including allegations that employees were told to stay at work during the floods. The company has denied the allegations.

The flooding continued beyond the dams, too. Some downstream residents, like Greer, the Bluff City high school counselor, said they were not warned of continued flooding as the utility released record amounts of water through spill gates.

They're  saying they've got to prepare for the next storm, Greer said. They didn't prepare for the first storm.

On Thursday, Sept. 26, the day before the floods, Watauga County, North Carolina, officially declared a state of emergency. County officials sent out wireless alert warnings via cellphones, but with cell service down, many of those alerts never reached phones, said William Holt, the countys emergency services director.

As Helene approached and conditions deteriorated, Holt said, emergency officials struggled with where residents could be safely evacuated  if there was such a route. An initial city shelter flooded and had to be moved, he said. Two people in the area died in landslides.

The last thing we would want to do is to move someone from one area to another just to put them in harm's way, he said, and added: There was nowhere to get out of the way in this type of event.

Jervis and Kenning reported from North Carolina, Dassow reported from Tennessee. Reach Jervis on X: @MrRJervis.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NC flooding: Inside the race to alert residents to Helene's wrath
Survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp, in Oswiecim, Poland, Monday, Jan. 27. 2025.(AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

OSWIECIM, Poland (AP)  Auschwitz survivors warned Monday of the rising antisemitism and hatred they are witnessing in the modern world as they gathered with world leaders and European royalty on the 80th anniversary of the death camp's liberation.

In all, 56 survivors gathered under a huge tent set up over a gate and railway tracks at the site of the former camp. Many participants expect it to be the last major observance with any notable number of survivors given how exhausting it is for a group whose youngest members are in their late 80s. The numbers have already dwindled considerably from the 200 survivors who attended the 75th anniversary event.

Nazi German forces murdered some 1.1 million people at the site in southern Poland, which was under German occupation during World War II. Most of the victims were Jews killed on an industrial scale in gas chambers, but also Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, gay people and others who were targeted for elimination in the Nazi racial ideology.

Marian Turski, a 98-year-old Polish Jewish survivor, called on those gathered to turn their thoughts to the victims of the Holocaust, recalling that the number of those murdered was always far greater than the smaller group of survivors.

We have always been a tiny minority, Turski said. And now only a handful remain.

In all, the Nazi regime murdered 6 million Jews from all over Europe, annihilating two-thirds of Europe's Jews and one-third of all Jews worldwide. In 2005, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Leon Weintraub, a 99-year-old survivor from Lodz, Poland, decried the rising hatred which he blames on increasingly vocal movements of the radical and anti-democratic right." He said he also sees that in Sweden, where he settled after fleeing postwar antisemitism in Poland.

This ideology, an attitude that preaches hostility and hatred towards others, defines racism, antisemitism and homophobia as virtues," Weintraub, a doctor, said.

Germany was represented by both Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the first time that the country's two highest leaders attended. It was a sign of Germany's continued commitment to take responsibility for the nation's crimes, even with a far-right party gaining increased support in recent years.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who leads a nation defending itself against Russia's brutal invasion, was among those in attendance, along with Poland's President Andrzej Duda, French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's King Charles III and other royalty.

Ukrainians, like Russians, made up the Red Army forces that liberated the camp.

The evil that seeks to destroy the lives of entire nations still remains in the world, Zelenskyy, himself of Jewish descent, wrote on his Telegram page a day earlier.

Russian representatives were honored guests at the past observances in recognition of the Red Army liberation of the camp on Jan. 27, 1945. But they have not been welcome since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Russian leadership expressed anger over its exclusion. We will always remember that it was the Soviet soldier who crushed this dreadful, total evil and won the victory, the greatness of which will forever remain in world history," President Vladimir Putin said in a message to participants.

Ronald Lauder, head of the World Jewish Congress, called on the leaders gathered to oppose antisemitism, saying it was the worlds silence that led to Auschwitz.

When the Red Army entered these gates, the world finally saw where the step-by-step progression of antisemitism leads. It leads right here. The gas chambers. The piles of bodies. All the horrors within these gates, Lauder said.

He also said that while Adolf Hitler's first targets were Jews, by the time World War II was over, more than 60 million human beings were dead and this continent lay in ruins.

Lauder, 80, recalled how he has been attending the anniversary observances for 50 years, but now he must be realistic.

"This may well be the last commemoration, and also that I will speak at. But I leave today with the understanding that I did my best, I did my utmost to be worthy of the memory of all those who were lost there. ... I hope I was worthy," he said to applause.

Another survivor who spoke was 86-year-old Tova Friedman, who was brought to the camp aged 5 with her mother and was 6 when she was among the 7,000 people liberated. She recalled arriving after a long ride in a dark cattle car. She said she was hot, hungry, thirsty and very terrified and still remembers the cries of desperate women around her. When she arrived at Auschwitz the sky was obscured by dark smoke and stench from the burning bodies.

After the war Friedman settled in the United States where she became a therapist and raised a family. She fears that rising antisemitism is also destroying the safe haven that the United States represented for Jews in the postwar era.

The world has become toxic, she told The Associated Press a day before the observances. I realize that were in a crisis again, that there is so much hatred around, so much distrust, that if we dont stop, it may get worse and worse. There may be another terrible destruction.

___

Associated Press writers Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, 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.
An undersea fiber optic cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday, likely as a result of external influence, Latvia said, triggering an investigation by local and NATO maritime forces in the Baltic Sea.

We have determined that there is most likely external damage and that it is significant, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina told reporters following an extraordinary government meeting.

Latvia is coordinating with NATO and the countries of the Baltic Sea region to clarify the circumstances, she said separately in a post on X.

Latvias navy earlier on Sunday said it had dispatched a patrol boat to inspect a ship and that two other vessels were also subject to investigation.

Up to several thousand commercial vessels make their way through the Baltic Sea at any given time, and a number of them passed the broken cable on Sunday, data from the MarinTraffic ship tracking service showed.

One such ship, the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Vezhen, was closely followed by a Swedish coast guard vessel on Sunday evening, MarineTraffic data showed, and the two were heading in toward the southern Swedish coastline.

It was not immediately clear if the Vezhen, which passed the fiber optic cable at 0045 GMT on Sunday, was subject to investigation.

A Swedish coastguard spokesperson declined to comment on the Vezhen or the position of coastguard ships.

We are in a stage where we cannot give any information, the spokesperson said. Exactly how we are involved we cannot say.

Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare, which listed the Vezhen among its fleet, did not immediately reply when called and emailed by Reuters outside of office hours.

NATO cooperation

Swedish navy spokesperson Jimmie Adamsson earlier told Reuters it was too soon to say what caused the damage to the cable or whether it was intentional or a technical fault.

NATO ships and aircrafts are working together with national resources from the Baltic Sea countries to investigate and, if necessary, take action, the alliance said in a statement on Sunday.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his country was cooperating closely with NATO and Latvia.

Sweden will contribute important capabilities to the ongoing effort to investigate the suspected incident, Kristersson said on X.

NATO said last week it would deploy frigates, patrol aircraft and naval drones in the Baltic Sea to help protect critical infrastructure and reserved the right to take action against ships suspected of posing a security threat.

The military alliance is taking the action, dubbed Baltic Sentry, following a string of incidents in which power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines have been damaged in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Finnish police last month seized a tanker carrying Russian oil and said they suspected the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed.

Finlands prime minister in a statement said the latest cable damage highlighted the need to increase protection for critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

The cable that broke on Sunday linked the Latvian town of Ventspils with Swedens Gotland island, and was damaged in Swedens exclusive economic zone, the Latvian navy said.

Communications providers were able to switch to alternative transmission routes, the cables operator, Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC), said in a statement, adding it was seeking to contract a vessel to begin repairs.

The exact nature of the damage can only be determined once cable repair work begins, LVRTC said.

A spokesperson for the operator said the cable, laid at depths of more than 50 metres (164 ft), was damaged on early Sunday but declined to give an exact time of the incident.

Unlike seabed gas pipelines and power cables, which can take many months to repair after damage, fiber optic cables that have suffered damage in the Baltic Sea have generally been restored within weeks.

A Swedish Post and Telecom Authority spokesperson said it was aware of the situation but had no further comment.

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A man attempted to steal a robot server from a restaurant in California.

Pho-ck that!

Employees at a California pho restaurant stopped a would-be thief from kidnapping their $18,000 robot coworker last Saturday as the man awkwardly struggled to load the mechanical server into his car.

The robot that was nearly stolen from Pho 21. Facebook / Pho 21

The man walked inside and asked to use the restroom early Saturday morning, but instead tried to make off with one of the robot servers. CCTV via KGO-TV

Security footage inside Pho 21 in South San Jose captured the moment the attempted thief entered the restaurant around 7:40 a.m., just 20 minutes before it was set to open.

The man asked to use the bathroom and disappeared around the corner, according to the clip.

He then double-backed from the bathroom and tried to pick up one of the restaurants three robot servers. He wrapped his arms around its middle as if he were attempting to suplex it before hauling it outside, practically waddling as he struggled under the pressure of the robot, the footage shows.

One of the onlooking employees tried to stop him as he awkwardly carried the bot out the door.

The man tried and failed to load the robot server into his car. CCTV via KGO-TV

Once outside, the man dragged the robot on the sidewalk and heaved it into the back of his car. He had the robot stashed in his trunk for all of 10 seconds before other employees emerged and wrestled the helpful robot away, according to the video.

They eventually made the man surrender the robot and called the police.

The robot server is valued at approximately $18,000 but would have been worthless to the would-be thief, Pho 21 owner Tony Ngo told ABC 7 News. The bot requires specialized programming  making it unusable outside of the restaurant.

Other employees inside the restaurant bolted outside and wrenched the robot away from the would-be thief. CCTV via KGO-TV

No humans or robots were reported injured, according to the local outlet.

The little robot that could is back to serving up pho to its hardwirings content.

Robots are rapidly advancing and seem to be cropping up across industries with no telling what they could be capable of just a few years down the line.

The robot at Pho 21 cost approximately $18,000, the owner said. Google maps

On one end, researchers are working towards making functioning AI robots that can emote and ultimately be used as a significant other.

Meanwhile, Chinas newest humanoid robot is pushing the boundaries in the mechanical service world as their new 55 bipedal machine provides a glimpse into what the future of warehouse and factory work might look like.
Leading up to National Tater Tot Day Feb. 2, Sonic Drive-In locations will be offering free tater tots. Photo courtesy Sonic Drive-In Leading up to National Tater Tot Day Feb. 2, Sonic Drive-In locations will be offering free tater tots. Photo courtesy Sonic Drive-In

Leading up to National Tater Tot Day Feb. 2, Sonic Drive-In locations will be offering free tater tots.

The chain is launching a week-long offer starting Monday where guests can satisfy their cravings with a free medium order of Sonic's crispy, golden-brown signature tots with an in-app purchase on the Sonic Drive-In app, according to a press release from the company.

There's tater tot merch too. Tot enthusiasts can show off their love of tots by visiting the Live Free Shop Sonic website to grab a Tot Farmer Hat and The Tot Bag.

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In celebration of the X Games Aspen 2025 taking place this weekend, Sonic is bringing back the fan-favorite Strawberry Shortcake Snowball Slush Float. It's on the menu for a limited time starting Monday. Photo courtesy Sonic Drive-In

Return of slush float

Additionally, in celebration of the X Games Aspen 2025 taking place this weekend, Sonic is bringing back the fan-favorite Strawberry Shortcake Snowball Slush Float. It's on the menu for a limited time starting Monday.

"Made with real strawberries, sweet shortcake flavored Sonic Slush and a snowball topping of creamy vanilla soft serve, this treat is an icy addition to Sonic's Flavorista Favorites drink lineup," as stated in the release.

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The Flavorista Favorites menu, available only on the Sonic app, is an exclusive selection of curated, premium Sonic drinks.

The Strawberry Shortcake Snowball Slush Float is the latest addition to the collection, bringing joy and comfort to the heart of winter cheer, according to information in the release.

Sonic Drive-In has announced a winter menu with new items designed to refresh, recharge and satisfy in the new year. Photo courtesy Sonic Drive-In

Winter menu items

Earlier this month, Sonic Drive-In announced a winter menu with new items available for a limited time.

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Customers can enjoy a twist on the iconic Sonic Smasher with the new Bacon Deluxe Double Sonic Smasher and Bacon Deluxe Triple Sonic Smasher, along with two new premium drinks, including the Strawberry Fusion Fizz and Sour Dragon Fruit Recharger with Red Bull.

At Sonic, we know the new year calls for fresh ways to refresh and recharge, said Mackenzie Gibson, Vice President of Culinary & Menu Innovation at Sonic earlier this month. Our late-winter menu is all about embracing fun and flavor in 2025."

About Sonic Drive-In

Sonic, founded in 1953, is the largest drive-in restaurant brand in the United States, with more than 3,500 restaurants in 47 states. Sonic is part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. Texas boasts nearly 1,000 of the drive-in restaurants.
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court declined Monday to decide whether a permanent voting ban on people convicted of felonies in Mississippi is cruel and unusual punishment.

The court, in 2023, had also rejected a different challenge to the states voting restriction that was based on the fact it was drafted in 1890 as part of a racist effort to disenfranchise Black voters.

Mississippi is one of eleven states that doesn't automatically restore voting rights after convicted felons finish their sentences.

Voting rights experts say Mississippis restrictions are among the harshest because the state bans voting by first-time offenders who commit non-violent felonies. And the process for restoring the right is onerous.

The criminal justice advocates who brought the challenge on behalf of Mississippians who have lost voting rights  including a man who bought a stolen appliance decades ago  said the ban is punishing tens of thousands of residents who have completed their sentences.

A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit last year dismissed the challenge, pointing to a 1974 Supreme Court decision that the Constitutions equal protection clause does not prevent states from banning felons from voting. The appeals court said that previous decision means those opposed to Mississippis ban must do the hard work of persuading your fellow citizens that the law should change.

The majority also said felon disenfranchisement is "not a punishment, much less cruel or unusual."

Early Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, voters cast their ballots at precinct 85 at Jackson Fire Station 26 on Flag Chapel Road in Jackson, Miss.

The appeals court judges who dissented said theres now a national consensus among a large majority of states that permanent disenfranchisement of those who have completed their sentences is an exceptionally severe punishment.

These individuals, despite having satisfied their debt to society, are precluded from ever fully participating in civic life, Judge James Dennis wrote. To be sure, they are excluded from the most essential feature and expression of citizenship in a democracy  voting.

Since 1974, twenty-six states have expanded voting rights for those with past felony convictions, according to filings.

A Mississippian can regain the right to vote through a pardon from the governor or if two-thirds of the state legislature approves the request, which rarely happens.

The voting restrictions were included in the states constitution after an 1890 convention in which delegates eliminated the right to vote for people convicted of felonies thought to be "Black crimes," a perception based largely on which crimes were prosecuted.

The issue in the previous challenge the Supreme Court declined to consider was whether the taint of a Jim Crow-era law could be cured by later amendments that removed burglary from the list of crimes and added murder and rape.

This time, the issue was whether the restrictions violate the Eighth Amendments ban on cruel and unusual punishments, and whether the Supreme Courts 1974 decision prevents a challenge.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court won't review Mississippi's voting ban for felons
The Eagles live show will look a little different this year.

After the legendary rock band took to the stage for their first show at the Las Vegas Sphere earlier this month, fans noticed the group's guitarist, Steuart Smith, was absent. In his place was singer-songwriter Chris Holt.

Smith, who has toured with the "Hotel California" hitmakers since 2001, is bowing out of the group for now amid a battle with Parkinson's disease. It is with profound regret that, due to performance issues associated with my recently diagnosed Parkinsonism, I find that I must bow out of my role with the Eagles while I can still do so gracefully," Smith said in a statement shared with USA TODAY Monday.

Guitarist Steuart Smith performs with the Eagles at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 27, 2019 in Las Vegas.

Parkinsonism in Parkinson's disease refers to an incurable, age-related degenerative brain condition, according to the Cleveland Clinic. As parts of a patient's brain deteriorate over time, the disease can begin to affect muscle control, balance and movement  particularly important areas for a touring musician.

"It's been a great quarter of a century, and I had hoped to be able to finish out this year with the band, but I must now do what's best for all concerned," the statement continued.

Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley and Steuart Smith of the Eagles perform during SiriusXM presents the Eagles in their first ever concert at the Grand Ole Opry House on Oct. 29, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Holt will serve as the new guitarist, his record company, Idol Records, said in a statement released Friday. In addition to Holt joining the Vegas residency, the statement teased his upcoming album entitled "Across The Milky Way," expected in early summer.

"Steuart Smith has retired from touring," Don Henley, a founding member of the rock collective and current drummer and vocalist, added in the statement. "The Eagles will be forever grateful for the extraordinary talents that he brought to both our recordings and live performances. Steuart will be greatly missed, but he will always be part of our musical family. We know our many fans join us in wishing him well."

In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, Holt acknowledged the important legacy he would be stepping into.

"I'm trying to fill the giant shoes of all three that came before me," Holt told the outlet. Before him, Eagles guitarists included not just Smith but also Don Felder and Bernie Leadon. "It's some of the most beautiful guitar work ever recorded, in my opinion. It's the highest honor for me to do it, and it's my duty to get it right."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eagles guitarist Steuart Smith steps aside amid Parkinsons diagnosis
The FDA has approved an esketamine nasal spray for the treatment of depression cases that do not respond to other therapeutic approaches. Image credit: Koldunov/Getty Images.

This article originally appeared on Medical News Today

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder globally.

The amount of people with MDD continues to increase every year.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the nasal spray Spravato for the treatment of MDD in those who have not responded to at least two oral antidepressants.

Hundreds of millions of people around the world live with major depressive disorder (MDD), making it the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder with numbers increasing annually.

Past studies show that only about 30% of people with MDD achieve full remission from their symptoms after using one antidepressant medication, and 50% have no response with just one drug.

Over the past 20 years, weve been losing the battle to depression with rates of depression nearly doubling in the [United States], Gregory Mattingly, MD, principal investigator in clinical trials of the Midwest Research Group, and founding partner of St. Charles Psychiatric Associates, told Medical News Today.

Major depression is one of the greatest health challenges in the U.S., as approximately 21 million adults have had at least one major depressive episode and approximately one-third are considered to have challenging-to-treat depression. This obviously has a dramatic impact not only on the individual but also their friends and loved ones. Major depression has one of the highest economic burdens of any psychiatric disorder, he pointed out.

Mattingly has been involved with recent research and clinical trials regarding Spravato (esketamine)  a prescription nasal spray made by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) used to treat depression that had been originally approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2019.

Now, the FDA has also approved Spravato for treating adults with MDD who have not responded to at least two oral antidepressants.

What is Spravato?

According to J&J, Spravato is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist that appears to work by acting on a pathway in the brain that affects glutamate  a neurotransmitter that helps sends signals between nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain that help regulate a persons mood.

NMDA receptors in the brain and other areas of the central nervous system are mainly responsible for cognitive skills learning and memory.

By influencing the NMDA receptors in the central nervous system, Spravato helps to improve depression symptoms.

How does Spravato treat major depression?

Spravators recent FDA approval is based on findings from a multicenter clinical trial where Spravato alone demonstrated quick and superior improvement in participants Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score versus placebo.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), the MADRS measures depression severity in adults 18 years and older via a 7-point scale.

During analysis, researchers found that Spravato showed numerical improvements across all 10 MADRS categories by day 28 of treatment.

Additionally, by the fourth week of the study, 22.5% of participants taking 84 milligram (mg) doses of Spravato achieved MDD remission with an MADRS total score of less than or equal to 12, and 18.3% of those on 56 mg does achieved remission, compared to 7.6% of participants taking the placebo.

When Johnson & Johnson started researching Spravato, there had been no new MOA in the mental health space for more than 30 years, Mattingly said.

This approval gives patients and healthcare professionals the freedom to further personalize treatment plans and options to determine the best way to incorporate Spravato into their care  either alone or in conjunction with an oral antidepressant. I have heard firsthand from patients about the transformational impact that Spravato has had on their lives, and I want that opportunity for all appropriate patients who may benefit from this important treatment option.  Gregory Mattingly, MD

Step in the right direction for treating depression

MNT spoke with Eric C. Alcera, MD, chief medical officer and vice president at Hackensack Meridian Health at Carrier Behavioral Health in New Jersey, about this recent FDA approval.

This is a step in the right direction in addressing those who suffer from major depression disorders, Alcera, who was not involved in the Spravato trials, commented. The FDA approval allows prescribers a new path in treating patients with a faster alternative than traditional treatments, which can often take weeks to provide relief for those suffering from depression.

This is a game changer for those patients who dont respond to traditional treatments, leaving them at risk for worsening of symptoms and quality of life and  worst  suicide, he told us.

Having new innovative therapies, like Spravato, offers hope to those who are suffering from treatment-resistant depression. The more innovative therapies researchers develop, the more hope can be given to those who need it the mos, said Alcera.

Like with any new medications, Alcera noted, longitudinal studies for safety are necessary to ensure efficacy and understanding the long-term impact these medications can have.

The longer we can keep patients from having severe symptoms from reoccurring improves their overall prognosis over the course of their life, he added. Id be interested to see if other forms of Spravato other than intranasal are being developed to better tailor the treatment for those who cannot tolerate an intranasal form of medication.

More evidence for esketamine use in depression treatment

MNT also spoke with David Merrill, MD, PhD, a board-certified geriatric psychiatrist at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, and Singleton Endowed Chair in Integrative Brain Health, about this study, who said this FDA approval was good news.

Basically, we need more treatment options for depression that have evidence behind them that the treatments work, Merrill said. Ketamine is a safe medication when used under appropriate professional supervision, so FDA approval will lead to a safer, more well-regulated control and use of this medication in clinical practice for patients with major depressive disorder.

Given the reality that antidepressant medications only work for a portion of patients with major depression, and theres a significant amount of treatment-resistant depression, where patients arent able to find any current treatment that works to treat their depression, he continued. The field, patients, and families are in need of more treatment options with different mechanisms of action.

Merrill said there has been debate within the scientific and medical communities about the difference between esketamine versus ketamine, and whether esketamine is as effective as regular ketamine.

Hopefully, this approval by the FDA shows that there is sufficient evidence for esketamine working that providers and patients and their families will be comfortable and more confident that in as little as 24 hours, patients will start getting relief from the esketamine treatment, and that relief can last to the duration study through 28 days of treatment thats been studied here, he added.

View the original article on Medical News Today
President Donald Trump hit send on a Truth Social post at 1:28 p.m. ET Sunday that seemed to be the start of 25% tariffs on Colombia.

But it was all apparently over about 10 hours later, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the South American nation "has agreed to all of President Trump's terms."

The abbreviated trade war holds several important lessons for how future conflicts might unfold ahead of a key Saturday deadline for tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.

Read more: What are tariffs, and how do they affect you?

It showed that Trump intends to use a strategy of threatening tariffs first and then asking policy questions later, with some of the core issues with Colombia apparently still to be hammered out.

It also confirmed that his administration aims to use a much-watched tariff authority from a 1977 law that grants the president the power to declare an economic emergency and act quickly to achieve its ends.

Lastly, the episode made clear that the president has free tariff rein.

Capitol Hill's "Republican conference, despite mostly still declaring themselves as 'free traders' will not stand in the way of Trump imposing tariffs via executive order, without input from Congress," said Henrietta Treyz of Veda Partners in a note about the standoff.

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One upon departure from Nevada on January 25. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) (MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images)

Trump said Monday he wants to impose universal tariffs "much bigger" than the 2.5% reportedly favored by incoming Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, but added he won't be setting it yet.

The takeaway for markets is perhaps that more uncertainty lies ahead.

"Until tariff policy is clarified, there is a downside risk in the near term," RSM economist Joseph Brusuelas added in his own Monday morning note.

How the conflict erupted (and then ended) so quickly

The issue underlying this weekend's conflict was immigration, specifically the Trump administration's efforts to begin deportations that include the loading of migrants onto military planes to send them out of the country.

Two such flights were headed to Colombia even after the country's president early Sunday morning said that he would deny the flights if they didn't include a protocol for dignified treatment.

He then followed through on that stand later that day, canceling the authorization for the flights and forcing the military planes to turn around.

Once Trump caught wind of the standoff, his response was immediate with an afternoon threat for "emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States."

President Donald Trump, alongside Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (R), speaks with the press on Air Force One on January 25. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) (MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images)

Throughout the afternoon, Trump's government and his allies then sprang into action to fulfill his threat. The State Department announced the suspension of visa issuances and the Department of Homeland Security got involved. There were also immediate threats of sanctions from Capitol Hill.

The Trump government also drafted a tariff plan that wasn't implemented but will now be held "unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement," according to Leavitt.

The Colombian Foreign Ministry confirmed that a deal had been reached but offered a slightly different version of events. It said transfers would resume under dignified conditions and that talks to hammer out additional details would commence in Washington in the coming days.

Lessons from the back-and-forth

In her statement announcing a deal, Trump's press secretary confirmed that the president's tariff plans would have been implemented using authority granted in a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

This maneuver is seen as the most muscular and rapid route to new tariffs as it grants the president the power to declare an economic emergency and act quickly. It is not the route Trump took for tariffs in his first term and is potentially open to legal challenges.

"Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve," Leavitt said in her statement Sunday night.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro at a United Nations' biodiversity conference in 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The back-and-forth comes as a self-imposed deadline of Saturday looms where Trump has promised tariff action against America's top three trading partners.

He has pledged 25% duties on goods from Canada and Mexico  strongly hinting on Monday he could target auto imports  and 10% tariffs against China, citing the drug trade and illegal immigration as his reasons for doing so.

This weekend's events appear to confirm the widespread expectation that IEEPA will likely be Trump's approach in those higher-stakes tariff fights.

It also further confirmed an emerging three-pronged approach to tariffs that Trump has signaled and Bessent outlined in his recent confirmation hearing.

One prong, Bessent said, would be to use tariffs to remedy unfair trade practices. Another would look toward "a more generalized tariff as a revenue raiser for the federal budget."

A third prong  where this weekend's back and forth with Colombia seems to fit in  was around using tariffs to solve pretty much any other geopolitical issue. Trump has long said tariffs can be used widely and during the campaign it seemed at times that his answer to pretty much any question was more tariffs.

The overall picture, noted Capitol Economics in a Monday morning note, is that Trump's first week in office "has poured some cold water on the idea, still lurking in some parts of the market, that the threat to impose tariffs was bluster."

Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

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A Florida elementary school principal who once earned teacher of the year honors was arrested Friday after a raucous house party where around 100 teens allegedly downed booze was held inside her home, according to authorities.

Roosevelt Elementary School principal Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan and another teacher, Karly Anderson, who works at the same school, were both charged days after the wild bash on Jan. 19 was reported to Cocoa Beach police.

At least some of the young partiers were drinking alcohol they got from coolers inside the home, and one youngster even suffered a medical emergency tied to the drinking, WJXT reported.

Principal Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan was charged days after the wild bash on Jan. 19 was reported to Cocoa Beach police. Brevard Public Schools

When EMS first reached the scene to treat the sickened teen, Hill-Brodigan, 47, allegedly turned all the outside lights off and scurried into her home, police reportedly said.

First responders were forced to use auxiliary lighting on their vehicles to help the kids.

Meanwhile, another teen was arrested for driving under the influence near the home, according to police.

Anderson, a 45-year-old third-grade teacher, approached authorities intoxicated and told officers she was a teacher and was at the party, WJXT reported, citing police.

Both educators were placed on administrative leave for now, Brevard Public Schools told the station.

The principal who once earned teacher of the year honors was arrested Friday after a raucous house party where around 100 teens allegedly downed booze was held inside her home. Brevard County Sheriff's Office

At least some of the young partiers were drinking alcohol they got from coolers inside the home, and one youngster even suffered a medical emergency tied to the drinking. News4Jax

We are extremely troubled by these accusations and are fully cooperating with the Cocoa Beach Police Department. Our commitment to student safety remains our top priority, the district said.

Hill-Brodigan and Anderson were charged with child neglect and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Florida Today reported. The principal was also charged with violating open house party liquor laws.

Both were released after posting bond, the newspaper reported.

Hill-Brodigan started as principal at Roosevelt Elementary School last May after working for the district for the last 23 years. She was previously a teacher, then had stints at a pair of elementary schools as an assistant principal, according to her bio.

Both educators were placed on administrative leave for now. Fox35Orlando

Shes also been awarded Teacher of the Year during her career.

Students, families, and staff are very close to my heart, I really enjoy what I do, the school leader wrote last year in a message to students and parents.
dawn momohara cold case comp image

A classmate of a teenage girl found sexually assaulted and strangled in her Hawaii high school has been arrested nearly 50 years later in a Utah nursing home, according to cops.

Sophomore Dawn Momohara, 16, was found on the second floor of Honolulus McKinley High School in March 1977 with an orange cloth tied around her neck, according to NBC News.

She was lying on her back, partially clothed. It appeared that she had been sexually assaulted and she was pronounced dead at the scene, homicide lieutenant Deena Thoemmes said.

Dawn Momohara, then 16, was discovered partially clothed and strangled with an orange cloth on March 21, 1977. Honolulu Police Department

The case ran cold for decades  until late Tuesday when one of her former classmates, Gideon Castro, now 66, was arrested in a nursing home in Utah, police said.

He was charged with second-degree murder, Thoemmes said, crediting the advancements in DNA.

A sketch of the suspect in the killing. Honolulu Police Department

Castro and his brother William were both interviewed days after Momoharas body was found  but a prime suspect was never publicly identified, even as police for years advertised a sketch of a suspect and a Pontiac Lemans seen near the Honolulu high school the night Momohara was murdered.

The case went cold until 2019, when detectives decided to test several items recovered from the murder scene  including underwear and a pair of blue shorts  for DNA.

Composite sketches of Momoharas alleged killer and his car reaped no success, until the arrest of Gideon Castro Tuesday. Honolulu Police Department

That enabled them to make a DNA profile of the suspect the following year  which was matched to Castro earlier this month, thanks to help from the FBI and Homeland Security, the police department said.

Castro was living in a Salt Lake City-area nursing home and is awaiting extradition to Honolulu, Thoemmes said.

Lieutenant Thoemmes said modern DNA testing allowed Castro to be arrested for the murder. AP

In announcing the arrest, Thoemmes praised everyone involved for their tireless pursuit of justice for Dawn and the Momohara family.
New York State Trooper Thomas Mascia gets a kiss from his father, Thomas, as he leaves Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y., on Nov. 1.

A former New York state trooper who claimed he had been shot on a Long Island highway by an unknown gunman, setting off a multistate manhunt, actually shot himself and took the gun to his home, a prosecutor said Monday.

Thomas Mascia and his parents surrendered Monday to state police on Long Island, according to an agency spokesperson.

Mascia, 27, was charged with tampering with evidence, false reporting of a crime and official misconduct. His parents, Dorothy Mascia, 55, and Thomas Mascia, 62, a former New York Police Department officer, were each charged with one count of criminal possession of a firearm because a semiautomatic rifle with illegal modifications was found in their bedroom, prosecutors said.

The gun is not the one Mascia is alleged to have used to shoot himself, according to prosecutors. As a convicted felon, his father is not legally allowed to own a gun, officials said.

All three pleaded not guilty and were released on their own recognizance. Their next court day is scheduled for Feb. 5.

A lawyer for the Mascia family, Jeffrey Lichtman, said Mascia has been suffering from untreated mental health issues for years.

There are many less severe and less dangerous ways to garner sympathy that dont include shooting oneself, he said. This case is a tragedy that was caused by unseen and untreated mental health issues. And now an entire family is suffering for it as they usually do in such situations.

An investigation by the state police and the district attorneys office found no evidence to substantiate Mascias claim that he had stopped in the median of the parkway to check on a disabled vehicle, the state police said Monday, adding that a subsequent search of the familys home recovered a firearm that was illegally possessed.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said at a news conference Monday that Mascia staged the Oct. 30 shooting hours before he reported being shot.

He dropped .22-caliber shell casings on the shoulder of the Southern State Parkway in West Hempstead and later drove to Hempstead Lake State Park, where he shot himself in the leg, officials said.

He then brought the gun to his home he shared with his parents and drove back to the parkway to report he had been shot, according to officials.

His claim set off a manhunt involving law enforcement from New York, New Jersey and Delaware, Donnelly said.

Prosecutors said in the criminal complaint against Mascia that his actions caused state police to temporarily shut down the Southern State Parkway in an effort to locate the nonexistent shooter, causing alarm and inconvenience to the public.

Mascia had claimed that he had approached what he believed to be a stranded motorist and that, as he did so, he was shot by a dark-skinned male in a black sedan, possibly a Dodge Charger, with a temporary New Jersey license plate.

Donnelly said state police conducted extensive video canvassing to try to find the vehicle Mascia claimed the alleged assailant was driving but could not locate it. Nine shell casings were found at the scene, but no projectiles were recovered, she said. Investigators were able to determine Mascia had shot himself at the park through GPS and other technology, Donnelly said.

The evidence uncovered and the absence of evidence told us everything we needed to know, the district attorney said. Even though Mascia tried to hide his tracks, it didnt take long for everyone to uncover that his harrowing story was nothing more than an elaborate work of fiction.

She added: He knew the fear that it would create. But he did it anyway. Whether for sympathy, attention, to ease a wounded ego, what he did is unconscionable.

Law enforcement held a ceremony for Thomas Mascia when he was released from the hospital last year.

He was treated for a gunshot wound to his right leg, and law enforcement held a ceremony for him when he was released from the hospital a day after the shooting.

Law enforcement throughout Long Island celebrated that he was safe and we vowed to find the dangerous individual who shot him, Donnelly said. But we never would. Because the shooter that we were all looking for only existed in Mascias head. In his imagination.

Mascia, who became a trooper in 2019, had been suspended without pay since early November, when state police announced that they had launched an investigation into the shooting and that no one was being sought.

State Police Superintendent Steven James said Mascia resigned Friday. He called Mascias conduct egregious and said it harmed the reputation of law enforcement in general.

What I will make clear is that the State Police, we do not tolerate such conduct, especially wrongdoing when a member breaks the law, James said at the news conference.
The woman who allegedly opened fire at U.S. border patrol agents in northern Vermont, leaving one agent dead, used a gun bought by someone who was a person of interest in a double murder in Pennsylvania, federal prosecutors said Monday.

The woman, Teresa Youngblut, was riding in a car with a German national, Felix Bauckholt, when border patrol agents pulled them over to conduct an immigration inspection on Jan. 20. At some point during the traffic stop, Youngblut fired at the agents, prompting at least one to shoot back, according to court documents.

One of the agents, David Chris Maland, 44, was killed in the exchange of gunfire. Bauckholt was fatally shot after he drew a gun, court documents say, and Youngblut was wounded. The court documents do not make clear whether Maland was struck by one of the bullets Youngblut allegedly fired or a shot from a fellow agent.

Teresa Youngblut at Newport City Inn and Suites in Vermont.

The shooting occurred on a highway in rural Orleans County, about 20 miles south of the Canadian border.

Youngblut is set to be arraigned Monday afternoon on two federal counts, including assaulting a border patrol agent with a deadly weapon.

In court papers filed earlier Monday, federal prosecutors in Vermont said Youngblut and Bauckholt both possessed firearms purchased by a resident of the state in February 2024. That person, who was not identified, is a person of interest in a double homicide in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, prosecutors said.

Bauckholt flew into the U.S. in the hours before the Pennsylvania murders. Prosecutors also said that Youngblut has been in "frequent contact" with an individual who was detained during the investigation into the double homicide.

That individual is also a person of interest in a murder investigation in Vallejo, California, federal prosecutors said. No other details were provided.

Prosecutors asked a judge to keep Youngblut in jail, alleging that she is a danger to the community and a flight risk. They noted that her primary residence has not been established, and her ties to Vermont are unclear.

U.S. Border Patrol agent David Maland.

"An originally peaceful interaction between the United States Border Patrol and the occupants of a vehicle became confrontational based on the defendants conduct, and she then unnecessarily and inexplicably escalated to deadly violence," they said in the court filing.

Prosecutors have said that Youngblut and Bauckholt were traveling with a large collection of weapons and tactical gear, including 48 rounds of .380-caliber jacketed hollow point ammunition, a ballistic helmet and night vision equipment.

The pair had been under surveillance by Homeland Security Investigations since Jan. 14, according to court documents.

An employee of a hotel in Lyndonville, Vermont, had contacted law enforcement to report concerns about a man and a woman who had checked into the hotel, the documents say. The woman, later identified as Youngblut, was allegedly seen carrying an apparent firearm in an exposed carry holster. Both Bauckholt and Youngblut were wearing all-black, tactical style clothing with protective equipment, according to court documents.

When the Toyota Prius they were in was pulled over, Bauckholt, the registered owner of the vehicle, appeared to have an expired visa in a Department of Homeland Security database, according to court documents. But the FBI has said that Bauckholt was actually on a current visa.
Authorities in Thailand have detained the British husband of a Thai woman whose body was found in remote English hill country more than 20 years ago.

The lifeless body of Lamduan Armitage -- nee Seekanya -- was found by hikers in the Yorkshire Dales in 2004.

But she remained unidentified, known only as the "Lady of the Hills," for 15 years until her family saw a BBC News report and came forward. In 2019, authorities carried out extensive inquiries and DNA testing with family members in Thailand in order to confirm her identity, the BBC reported.

Thai immigration police said a 62-year-old British man was detained at a house in the western province of Kanchanaburi on Friday for breaching visa conditions.

"Immigration officials decided to revoke his visa and he was detained, before Thailand proceeds with the next steps in international cooperation on criminal acts," immigration police said in a statement on Saturday.

Thai officials and North Yorkshire Police confirmed the man was David Armitage, Lamduan's husband.

Lamduan Armitage / Credit: North Yorkshire Police

North Yorkshire Police, which is leading the investigation into Lamduan's death, sent a team of detectives to Thailand last year to meet Lamduan's family after her identity was confirmed through DNA testing.

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson said North Yorkshire Police was aware of Armitage's detention in Thailand.

"Should Mr Armitage be deported, we understand that he will have a choice as to where he goes, which will include return to the UK," the spokesperson said.

"Should that occur, we will again make every effort to speak to him about the investigation."

The BBC reported that police are not certain how mother-of-three Lamduan died.

The BBC has not spoken with Armitage but he has previously said he was not involved in his wife's death, according to The Sun.

Vice President JD Vance's first interview | Face the Nation

Rebuilding Paradise

A tour of the Bronx
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) looks on as President Donald Trump addresses guests and supporters in an overflow room in Emancipation Hall after his inauguration at the U.S Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Pool/Getty Images

Gov. Greg Abbott is set to lay out his priorities for the legislative session  almost certain to include private school vouchers and bail system changes  in his State of the State address this weekend.

The Texas Republicans address will air on TV at 5 p.m. Sunday. Abbott is again bucking the longstanding tradition of addressing state lawmakers during a joint session at the Capitol, instead delivering his address to cameras from an oil company in Austin.

READ MORE: Gov. Greg Abbott said to be exploring deal to send Houston water to West Texas

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The address comes after Abbott spent the last year campaigning against fellow Republicans who opposed a voucher plan he pushed during the last session that would give families public dollars to spend on private education. He has made clear it will be his top priority again.

Abbott has also hinted investing in statewide water infrastructure will be a top issue, and Republican budget-writers in the legislature are pushing to add $6.5 billion to Abbotts border security crackdown, Operation Lone Star.
An Indiana man who was recently pardoned for his participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a sheriff's deputy Sunday.

Matthew Huttle, 42, was involved in a traffic stop at 4:15 p.m. by a Jasper County sheriffs deputy, authorities said in a news release. It alleged that Huttle resisted arrest and was found to have a firearm on him.

"An altercation took place between the suspect and the officer, which resulted in the officer firing his weapon and fatally wounding the suspect," the release said.

Sheriff Patrick Williamson requested an investigation by the Indiana State Police. The deputy was placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with department policy, Williamson said.

"Our condolences go out to the family of the deceased as any loss of life is traumatic to those that were close to Mr. Huttle," Williamson said in a statement. "I will release the officer's name once I have approval from the State Police Detectives."

No additional details were provided.

Huttle was identified by the Jasper County coroner, who completed an autopsy Monday morning.

Huttle was one of many people identified as having taken part in the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in which hundreds of President Donald Trump's supporters broke into the building in an attempt to stop the counting of electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election.

Court records show Huttle entered into an agreement with federal prosecutors in August 2023, pleading guilty to a charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. He was sentenced in November 2023 to six months in federal prison, followed by 12 months of supervised release.

That was rendered moot this month when Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 people who were involved in the Jan. 6 riot last week after he was inaugurated.

According to the complaint, Huttle was at the Capitol that day with his uncle, and investigators obtained videos uploaded to his own Google account of him there. He could be heard in one of his videos saying that a group of people were going to the Capitol and that he was "going to see if we can get inside."

He was identified on security video inside the building, including inside the Capitol's crypt, the complaint said.

Huttle's uncle also agreed to a plea deal, court records show, and was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The complaint says he was identified on video assaulting officers with a flagpole on the steps of the Capitol.

He was also pardoned.
Atlas Survival Shelters' headquarters in Sulphur Springs, Texas. The global bunker market is projected to grow to $36 billion by 2030. Zerb Mellish for BI

At the end of an unnamed private road in Red River County, on a brisk fall day in 2019, Texas fire marshals approached the site of an explosion. Chunks of concrete littered the ground, while smaller debris hung in the surrounding trees. An aluminum door, blown off its hinges, had come to rest 50 feet from the site of the blast: an underground bunker that had been dug deep into the East Texas soil.

Before descending a small ladder into what was left of the bunker, the team of investigators set up a ventilation hose to clear the air. Inside, they found signs of people preparing to live for months below ground  cans of propane, a supply of ready-to-eat meals, and a fully furnished bathroom and bunkroom. The steel kitchen cabinets were blasted open and covered in blood splatter. By the stairs, near the escape hatch, investigators found the bodies of three people  Michael Bower, the bunker's owner, along with his friends Perry Fetterolf and Misty Marple.

An investigator later asked Bower's wife, who had discovered the scene, what the purpose of the bunker had been. "Doomsday," she replied.

Hours after news of the explosion broke, Ron Hubbard, the founder and CEO of Atlas Survival Shelters, set up a camera in his cluttered office and recorded a video for YouTube. Wearing a camo T-shirt and a MAGA hat, Hubbard was fuming. The 62-year-old has amassed 594,000 subscribers for his videos, whether he's testing his Remington pistol or taking viewers on a tour of one of the luxury bunkers he has installed in the mansions of the rich and famous, from the Kardashians to the Tate brothers. But his most heated videos are the ones where he passionately bashes his chief rival, Rising S Bunkers. Both firms are based in Texas, about an hour apart, and both claim to be the largest bunker manufacturer in America, catering to well-heeled preppers eager to ride out the apocalypse in comfort.

Now, in the wake of the explosion, Hubbard blasted Rising S, which had built the Red River bunker. "They don't know what the hell they're doing," he said. "They're friggin' idiots." Investigators were unable to determine the cause of the catastrophe. But Hubbard was convinced, without evidence, that a propane tank was responsible for the explosion. "You can't put propane in a bunker or it's gonna kill you!" he raged. As the video went on, Hubbard grew more incensed, until he was shouting like a revival preacher.

"Today is our September 11," he said. "The government is going to step in, and they're probably going to regulate these bunkers." Then he added what sounded like a sales pitch for his own product. "Guys, if you're going to put in a bunker," he warned, "you better do it pretty damn quick."

The video marked an inflection point in one of the most bitter and bizarre feuds in the annals of American business. In the years since Hubbard's salvo, the war between Atlas and Rising S has grown ever more contentious, encompassing multiple court battles, accusations of arson and murder, and fantastical tales of FBI double agents. There's a lot at stake in the bunker wars: Estimates put the global market for underground bunkers at more than $23 billion, and it's projected to grow to $36 billion by the end of the decade. Some 20 million Americans consider themselves preppers, and four in 10 adults believe we're living in the end times. Whoever controls the market for bunkers stands to make a killing off of humanity's fear of being killed off.

Both Atlas and Rising S claim be the largest bunker manufacturer in America. The war between them has encompassed multiple court battles, accusations of arson and murder, and fantastical tales of FBI double agents. Zerb Mellish for BI

In the bunker business, paranoia is profit. But what happens when the paranoia inflicts the bunker builders? Representatives for Rising S, firing back at Hubbard, call him a "sociopath" who twists the truth to rile up his cultlike following of fans. As Rising S sees it, the conflict with Hubbard is less a feud than an unwarranted barrage from a delusional rival. But wherever the truth may lie, the dispute has wound up smearing both companies and dividing the prepper world into competing camps. As a former employee at Rising S puts it to me, "It's impossible to wrestle with a pig and not get muddy."

The feud, at least as Hubbard tells it, began in 2012, when Rising S purchased several domain names related to Atlas. Suddenly, if you searched for "atlasshelter.com," you were instead directed to Rising S's website. Rising S also published a series of articles on its website criticizing some methods Atlas used to construct its bunkers.

The moves pissed Hubbard off. At the time, he was working to establish himself as the face of the booming bunker movement. After graduating from college with a degree in welding and launching several metalworking businesses, he had caught the prepper bug and developed a bunker in the back of his shop. It turned out to be a savvy business move. Aided by his self-promotion on YouTube, bunker sales took off.

I meet Hubbard outside his sprawling factory in an industrial park in the town of Sulphur Springs, filled with dozens of bunkers in various stages of production. Some are shaped like ridged cylinders; others look like extra-large shipping containers with facades of black latticed steel. They have names like BombNado, FireNado, and GarNado (which is designed to be concealed under a garage). Most cost a couple of hundred thousand dollars, but custom builds can go for several million. Flying in front of the warehouse are the flags of some of the countries where Atlas does business, including South Korea, Australia, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.

Atlas CEO Ron Hubbard in his office. Fearing that Rising S will order a hit on him, he refuses to maintain a permanent home, changing hotel rooms every few days. Zerb Mellish for BI

Hubbard, a big man with intense blue eyes and a five-o'clock shadow, greets me gruffly. "You don't look like Business Insider," he says. "You look like Rising S." He suspects I've been sent by his enemies to spy on him, just as he fears that his office  which features a flag depicting the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, alongside the words "Fight, Fight, Fight"  has been bugged. "They're probably listening to us now," he tells me. A camo shotgun leans against his desk. Out of fear that Rising S will order a hit on him, he refuses to maintain a permanent home, changing hotel rooms every few days. But he does own a bunker  a cylindrical culvert-pipe model that he lived in for three days during the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012.

With the feud underway, Hubbard's archnemesis became Rising S CEO Clyde Scott, a Texas good ol' boy who raises guard dogs and drag races at a local track. Unlike Hubbard, Scott was born into a family of preppers. They lived off the land and "did everything except wear tinfoil hats," Scott once recalled on a podcast. After early brushes with the law, including a 2004 assault charge that was later dismissed, he started a company installing small storm shelters as a bulwark against Texas tornados. But over time, as his clients requested more and more elaborate designs, he wound up crafting doomsday bunkers under the name Rising S, in homage to Jesus, "the rising son." Scott enjoyed filling the bunkers with traps and hidden passages. "I watched 'Scooby-Doo' a lot as a kid," he told the podcaster. (Scott could not be located for comment.)

For a while, an uneasy detente existed between the two rivals. Hubbard maintained an open line of conversation with Scott's cousin and business partner Gary Lynch, and the two shared tips and discussed other competitors. "A Chinese TV crew might be calling you," Hubbard texted Lynch at one point. "Do not give interviews to any TV and news from China. They will just copy you and me."

"I do not give any interview to any communist country," Lynch texted back, "because they cannot even buy shelters."

But in 2019, six months before the explosion in Red River, Hubbard dropped a bombshell, releasing two videos aggressively attacking Rising S. The first, titled "Lady in Minnesota and Her Horrible Rising S Shelter," features a woman who says her bunker began leaking shortly after it was installed. "This wouldn't handle a moose so much as a nuclear blast," Hubbard says while touring the bunker. The second video tells the story of a Texas man named Steve Prewit who was arrested on federal gun charges shortly after Rising S installed a bunker for him. In the video, Prewit accuses Scott of being a government informant who ratted him out to avoid prison time for himself  a characterization that Hubbard accepts uncritically.

Rising S responded by filing a defamation suit against Hubbard. The company said it had nothing to do with Prewit's arrest, and accused the woman in Minnesota of causing her bunker leak. That October, the feud escalated further when Hubbard blamed Rising S for the three deaths caused by the bunker explosion. The families of the three people filed wrongful-death lawsuits against Rising S, which wound up being settled out of court, Rising S says.

Scott, who had avoided posting about the feud, issued a video response titled "The TRUTH About Rising S Company." Over oddly cheerful music, without getting into any specifics about the feud or the explosion, he said he would be taking the high road. "This is my first time even mentioning that I know what's going on with one of my competitors calling names and telling lies," he said. "We're not gonna engage in that."

Rising S founder Clyde Scott, in a 2019 YouTube video, "The TRUTH About Rising S Company," in which he publicly addressed the feud for the first time. Youtube

A few days after Scott released his video, an event occurred that Hubbard viewed as a possible new salvo in the bunker war. Jue Wang, Hubbard's video editor, was shot to death after leaving Hubbard's office, which at the time was in Los Angeles. His body was found in his car in a nearby residential neighborhood, with a gunshot wound to his torso.

The shooting is still under investigation, and there is no evidence that it was related in any way to Hubbard's dispute with Scott. But Hubbard quickly released an eerie video showing Wang at work on a computer in Hubbard's office, editing what he said was Wang's last video before he was killed. "I'm not accusing them of murder," Hubbard said of Rising S. "I'm just saying, he was killed in the midst of all these videos being produced. The guy might have followed him from my office and thought it was me and shot the wrong guy. I don't know."

A few months later, Hubbard released a video called "RON Gets His Concealed Carry after the murder of HIS Youtube Editor." In it, Hubbard visits a shooting range and fires off several rounds from his .45. "If I go down," he declares, "I'm gonna go down screaming and fighting like hell, and I'm not going to go down unarmed."

In late 2021, Hubbard announced on YouTube that a judge in the defamation case had ordered that he take down several of his most incendiary videos about Rising S. Later in the video he invited his army of subscribers to repost them so they would live on even after they were wiped from his YouTube channel. His die-hard fans were happy to oblige.

"Ron Hubbard probably has a little bit of Tony Stark in him," says William Cleveland, an Atlas enthusiast who reposted one of the videos. "Combine Elon Musk with Ron Hubbard, and you'd probably have Tony Stark." Cleveland doesn't think he could ever afford one of Hubbard's bunkers, but he says "it would be neat" to own one.

Fans of Rising S, or at least enemies of Ron, also joined the fray. In March 2020, a mysterious YouTube personality who goes by the nom de guerre Bringing the Truth began releasing anti-Atlas videos, speaking in a Southern accent artificially deepened by a voice modulator. Their second video accused Hubbard of a cardinal sin in the bunker community: inadvertently revealing the location of his customers' bunkers by posting photos of them that are trackable via metadata. Bringing the Truth also created a website called Atlas Bad Shelters, which accuses Hubbard of ratting out his own customers to the IRS and copying Rising S's bunker designs. ("That's them making fake news," Ron responds.)

On March 24, 2022, Hubbard drove up to his factory amid the sound of sirens and the smell of charred copper. His office was ablaze, flames shooting from the windows. He pulled out his phone and started filming. "Someone set my building on fire to shut me up," he muttered.

The fire took out most of the office, including what Hubbard describes as his most prized possession, his collection of bird bands, a hunting accessory. In a video that Hubbard recorded that night, one of the factory workers says he saw a man throwing something at the office just before the fire started, which Hubbard suspects may have been a Molotov cocktail.

"I think it was Brad Dancer who did this," Hubbard tells me, naming a Rising S employee. "Just my gut feeling." He shared his suspicion with a federal fire investigator, texting the agent a smiling photo of himself alongside this message: "I think I found your arson. Brad Dancer. He works at Rising S. I bet everything he did it."

The investigator did not respond to Hubbard's text. Dancer denies any involvement in the fire, and there is no evidence linking Rising S to the blaze. I later call the fire station in Sulphur Springs and ask about Hubbard's theory. "He has a lot of theories," the guy responds, laughing.

Midway through our interview, Hubbard's voice suddenly gets very low and serious.

"I hope you don't fuck me and stab me in the back. I'll sue the fuck out of your magazine. I've got more subscribers and followers than y'all got," he says. "I'll go on Joe Rogan and fucking tear your magazine up if you try to even fuck with me." Later, he tells me he is horrible at getting his lawyers to sue people.

Hubbard portrays his feud with Rising S as a cosmic struggle between good and evil. When we talk, he compares Rising S to the devil and Charles Manson. At one point he compares his popularity favorably to Jesus, at another, he describes himself as Batman. When I mention that I've already spoken with Rising S, he seems hurt. "But he's the bad guy, I'm the good guy," he says. "Why would you reach out to the bad guy first?"

Despite Hubbard's fervor, most of Atlas's employees seem comparatively uninvested in the feud. Zerb Mellish for BI

Despite Hubbard's fervor, the war doesn't appear to have had much of an impact on the shop floor. When I visit the following day, the factory is buzzing with dozens of workers. One recalls a time when Hubbard couldn't find his cellphone and became convinced it had been stolen and sold to Rising S. But most of the employees seem comparatively uninvested in the feud. Michael Ivie, a recent hire, is more interested in discussing chemtrails and the three city-states that run the world  London, the Vatican, and Washington, DC. "All three of them have obelisks," he observes.

Even with the ongoing court case, Hubbard kept posting. He has now published more than 15 videos about Rising S. They're among the first results to show up in Google searches for the company. They have recently accumulated several one-star Google reviews, either from disgruntled customers or Hubbard's fans.

Peter Stanton, who wanted to add a tornado shelter to his home in Arkansas, wound up being dissatisfied with both companies. He commissioned a shelter from Rising S, but felt the company overcharged him for the project, which he says soon began leaking. Once the money had changed hands, Stanton found it difficult to reach Rising S for assistance. When he came across Hubbard's videos blasting Rising S and contacted him for help, Hubbard tried to sell him on an expensive remodel. "I think it's a bunch of people who are trying to take advantage of people who are afraid of what's going on in the world," Stanton says. "They say, 'Don't worry, we're Christian and we're going to help you.' But they're just trying to milk people for money."

Most of Atlas's bunkers go for couple of hundred thousand dollars, but custom builds  like ones the company has made for the Kardashians and Mr. Beast  can go for several million. Zerb Mellish for BI

But Hubbard's videos seemed to have achieved the desired effect. When Rising S fired off a video in November 2023 that appeared to compare Hubbard to the cult leader Jim Jones, it got 600 views. Hubbard's shots at Rising S, in contrast, chart in the hundreds of thousands.

Early last year, Rising S finally withdrew from the field of battle. Scott, who one former employee says was worn out by the war with Hubbard, sold the company to Brad Dancer. The new owner says his first order of business was to bury the hatchet with Hubbard  "and not in his skull," he jokes, as we smoke cigarettes outside the Rising S factory in Murchison. Dancer forbade his employees from talking negatively about Atlas. "I've told my guys if I ever catch them bad-mouthing another company, I will fire them on the spot," he says. "It was a pissing match between two grown men, and I don't give a fuck about it."

Dancer, a slim man with a goatee and a mop of blond hair under a trucker cap, is wearing a shirt with several buttons undone, revealing a chain with a rooster hanging at the end. He says Rising S was less conciliatory under Scott and his cousin Gary Lynch. "Their bark and bite is pretty nasty," he tells me. "That's all it is  it's 'my dick's bigger than yours.' Mine's average, so I don't give a fuck."

Rising S owner Brad Dancer

Hoping to let bygones be bygones, Dancer says that he voluntarily dismissed the defamation lawsuit that Rising S had launched against Atlas, which had been inching its way through the courts. "I feel sorry for him," Dancer says of Hubbard. "If you have to go through life looking over your shoulder, being scared. I never felt like it was a war. I've always felt like, it's time to make motherfuckin' money." At the moment, the Rising S factory is much quieter than Atlas  there are only two bunkers under construction.

It's not clear, however, that Hubbard will agree to the cease-fire. After my visit to Rising S, he sends me a photograph of me sitting in his office that he took during the interview. "I am missing the check that was on my desk yesterday for $10,825,000," he texts. "Did you touch it?"

"No, definitely not," I reply.

Dropping the matter, Hubbard asks me how my interview with Dancer went. I tell him that Rising S has extended an olive branch.

"Bullshit," Hubbard texts back. Rising S, he points out, still owns his domain names. He believes they probably burned down his office and killed his editor. He wants to be awarded "everything they've got"  and even then, the war seems likely to continue.

"I just want to see justice done," he says. "I believe they need to be locked up."

Guthrie Scrimgeour is an investigative journalist based in Washington, DC, covering wealth and power.

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday the Pentagon will pursue an Iron Dome-style missile defense system for the United States, fulfilling a campaign promise by President Trump.

Walking into the five-sided building for the first time as leader of the American military, Hegseth told reporters they could expect a flurry of executive orders from Trump, 78  including one that would order the deployment of a system similar to that used by the Jewish state, which blasts ballistic missiles out of the sky with an accuracy rate of roughly 90%.

Today, there are more executive orders coming that we fully support, on removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of COVID mandates, Iron Dome for America, he said. This is happening quickly.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks with reporters outside the Pentagon Monday. AFP via Getty Images

The Israeli-made air defense system is heralded for its ability to target and shoot down incoming missiles, which has helped limit damage inside Israel from attacks by Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis throughout the 15-month-old Middle East war.

Pursuing an Iron Dome for America was part of the Republican campaign platform in 2024.

Republicans will ensure our Military is the most modern, lethal and powerful force in the world, the document said. We will invest in cutting-edge research and advanced technologies, including an Iron Dome Missile Defense Shield, support our troops with higher pay, and get woke leftwing Democrats fired as soon as possible.

However, Israel is a small nation  roughly the size of New Jersey  that is located close to its enemies, raising questions about whether the US can actually hope to duplicate Iron Domes effectiveness.

Israels system is designed to target short-range ballistic missiles, rather than the inter-continental ballistic missiles Americas foes like Russia and China would have to fire to reach US territory.

The cost to acquire a system that would cover the airspace of all 50 states is also a potential sticking point.

Raytheon has created a similar system, dubbed the SkyHunter, which it claims can be produced in the United States to expand availability and capacity for the US and its allies.

Iron Dome in action in the north of Israel this past November. ATEF SAFADI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Iron Dome maker Rafael  which is tied to the Israeli government  has told The Post that there are ways in which its system could be adapted to protect a nation the size of America.

A similar system for the US could use a new technology dubbed the Iron Beam, which uses directed energy to neutralize ballistic missiles rather than launching defense rockets, Haifa-based company Elbit Systems  which produces lasers for the Iron Beam  told The Post last month at one of its facilities.

From what weve seen in the past three decades, since the beginning of when we just thought of the Iron Dome, to today  and from what we see during the war and how our systems have even surprised some of us with what they have been doing and the limits we have reached with them, I can say that [creating an Iron Beam for US needs] is definitely something that I wouldnt think is impossible, an Israeli Defense Ministry official told The Post in Tel Aviv at the time,

Mike Huckabee, Trumps nominee for ambassador to Israel, also told The Post in a November interview he believed Iron Dome could be scalable to the size of what would be needed to protect the US.

With our resources and also knowing where our strategic targets are, we certainly have the capacity to do that, the former Arkansas governor said.
An Oklahoma senator introduced a series of bills Tuesday, including one that would ban pornography in the entire state and increase penalties for those who produce child sexual abuse material.

Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin called the bill, SB593, and seven others he introduced a slate of legislation to restore moral sanity in Oklahoma."

If the bill regarding pornography passes, those found guilty of producing, distributing or possessing pornography would face criminal penalties of up to 10 years in prison.

Pornography is both degenerate material and a highly addictive drug, Deevers said in a news release. It ruins marriages, ruins lives, destroys innocence, warps young peoples perception of the opposite sex, turns women into objects, turns men into objects, degrades human dignity, and corrodes the moral fabric of society. Any decent society will stand against this plague with the full weight of the law.

The bill would significantly heighten current zero-to-20-year penalties for the possession, distribution and production of child sexual assault material to 10-to-30 years, Deevers announced. Any additional offenses relating to child sexual assault material will lead to 15 to 50 years in prison.

There is perhaps no more psychopathic and antisocial behavior in existence than producing, distributing, or watching child sexual abuse material, Deevers said in the release. These people should not be back on our streets after brief stints behind bars. Rather, they should be locked away for decades at a minimum.

This photograph taken in Toulouse, southern France, shows screens displaying an age restriction warning sign and the logos of the pornographic sites Pornhub (R) and Xhamster (L), on May 24, 2022.

Deevers bill echoes Project 2025, a political initiative listing conservative ideals and legislative proposals.

According to the project and its authors, people who produce any porn are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women.

Their product is as addictive as any illicit drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime, the authors wrote. Pornography should be outlawed. The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders. And telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shuttered.

Current age verification laws

Deevers bill comes after many states, Oklahoma included, have passed laws that require age verification to access pornography. According to the Age Verification Providers Association, the following states have passed such laws.

Louisiana

Utah

Mississippi

Virginia

Arkansas

Texas

Montana

North Carolina

Idaho

Kansas

Kentucky

Nebraska

Indiana

Alabama

Florida

South Carolina

Tennessee

Georgia

Deevers other bills target abortion, marriage, divorce, drag shows and more

Deevers also introduced seven other bills Tuesday, including:

SB456  The Abolition of Abortion Act, which would close the self-managed abortion loophole and declares that life begins at conception and ensures that no person may lawfully terminate the life of a child in the womb, Deevers said.

SB550Ensures that Oklahoma kids cannot see adult cabaret performances, including Drag Queen Story Hour. Those who perform these shows around children would face a prison sentence of one to five years and organizers would face up to one year in prison.

SB228  The Covenant Marriage Act, which would allow couples in Oklahoma to opt into a covenant marriage, only to be dissolved in cases of abuse, adultery, or abandonment. Those who opt in would be eligible for a $2,500 tax credit.

SB829  The bill would end no-fault divorce in Oklahoma by removing incompatibility as a valid reason for divorce. If signed into law, divorces would only be allowed in cases of abandonment, gross neglect, extreme cruelty, habitual drunkenness, insanity for a period of five years, adultery, unknown pregnancy and fraudulent contract. The at-fault parent must pay restitution to the children involved by putting money into a trust fund the children can access when they turn 18.

SB281  The Make Adoption Affordable Again Act, which would provide tax credits to families seeking to adopt and those who donate to adoption-facilitating organizations. The bill would provide a tax credit of up to $10,000 for individuals and $50,000 for businesses.

SB328  The Promote Child Thriving Act, which would create a $500 tax credit per child for a mother and father filing jointly. The credit would be escalated to $1,000 if the child was born after the marriage of the parents.

SB736  This bill would grant health share ministries the same tax benefits as traditional insurance, making sure that those who opt into these plans are not discriminated against in the tax code.

Health care should honor our convictions, said Deevers. This bill ensures that families who choose Christ-centered health solutions are not penalized.

In his news release, Deevers condemned democrats and leftists, arguing that the political party has spearheaded a century-long assault on morality and decency.

Contrary to what the left would have us believe, it doesnt have to be this way, he said. We can protect the most vulnerable, restore a high view of marriage, and shield children from explicit material that can warp their innocent minds. We simply must have the courage to stand against the most radical and degenerate elements of the far-left.

Proposed bill is free speech issue, say critics

Mike Stabile, Director of Public Policy for the Free Speech Coalition, an organization that represents workers and businesses in the adult industry, said Monday morning that Deevers' bill is not shocking.

"Politicians on the right have been quite explicit about their desire to ban sexual content, even when it's privately viewed by adults in their own homes," he wrote in an email to USA TODAY.

He added that bills focusing on age verification are simply porn ban bills in disguise, especially in southern states. These calls for action against "pornographers," he said, apply to adult content creators writers, artists and educators.

"Porn is the canary in the coal mine of free speech, and the trial balloon used by governments to pass laws that can censor speech more broadly," he said. "No matter how people feel about adult content, we should all be concerned about the proposed government crackdown on speech."

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia  the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know about the Oklahoma bill that would ban porn
BISHKEK (Reuters) - Kyrgyz lender Keremet Bank on Thursday said it would challenge a decision by the U.S. Treasury to impose sanctions on it for allegedly creating a hub for trade payments and helping Russia to evade restrictions.

The United States on Wednesday imposed hundreds of sanctions targeting Russia, seeking to increase pressure on Moscow to halt its military action in Ukraine in the Biden administration's final days, including on firms such as Keremet in Kyrgyzstan and others in China it accused of helping Moscow evade sanctions.

"The bank will apply to OFAC (U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control) to appeal," Keremet Bank said in a statement. "Keremet Bank continues to operate in normal mode, fulfilling its obligations to clients and partners with an unwavering commitment to the principles of transparency, reliability and responsibility."

The U.S. Treasury accused Keremet Bank, a mid-sized Kyrgyzstan-based financial institution, of coordinating with Russian officials and sanctioned Russian defence sector lender Promsvyazbank.

"In 2024, the Kyrgyzstani Ministry of Finance sold a controlling stake in Keremet Bank to a firm strongly linked to a Russian oligarch with ties to the Russian government," the U.S. Treasury said. "The purchase of Keremet Bank was intended to create a sanctions evasion hub for Russia to pay for imports and receive payment for exports."

Kyrgyzstan's central bank said it was working to minimise the negative impact of sanctions on the country's banking system.

(Reporting by Aigerim Turgunbaeva; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Alison Williams)
After weeks of dry weather that contributed to the spread of historic and deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area, Southern California is finally getting some rain.

A slow-moving low-pressure system was expected to linger over the Southwest, bring showers through the early work week and help end Southern California's lingering wildfires and one of the driest stretches of weather in the region's recorded history.

Los Angeles has had only 0.03 inches of rain since Oct. 1  5 inches behind the average  making this the driest season to date. By morning, an additional 0.34 inches had been recorded at Los Angeles International Airport, with a flood watch in effect for much of the city through Monday afternoon.

The National Weather Service said burn scars from recent and past fires are areas of concern, as the rain could trigger flash flooding, debris flows, mud flows and mudslides. As much as 1.5 to 2 inches of rain was possible in Los Angeles-area fire zones, forecasters said.

A firefighter walks along a hillside burned by the Palisades Fire, in Los Angeles, on Jan. 10, 2025.

The Los Angeles Fire Department reported Sunday afternoon that a small debris flow in the coast-abutting Santa Ynez Canyon of the Palisades Fire burn area was moving toward the sea.

Deadly wildfires in Southern California, including the Palisades, Eaton, Hughes and Border 2 fires, were still technically active, with all but the Border 2 Fire showing nearly full containment Sunday, according to state fire officials.

As a fire precaution, officials closed Angeles National Forest, which occupies much of the land in the San Gabriel Mountains, through at least Saturday. Among the January fires that burned in Angeles National Forest parkland were the Eaton and Hughes fires, which state fire officials said were 98% and 95% contained, respectively, on Sunday.

Sundays rain in central and Southern California started with showers that got more intense through the afternoon.

Videos on social media showed cars driving through a downpour in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. Another video showed rain falling in La Mesa, in San Diego County, as the person shooting the video cheered.

The heaviest rain in the region is expected overnight and will gradually lighten until it stops Monday afternoon.

San Diego continued the driest start to a water year in its recorded history, with the storm producing only 0.02 inches of rain Sunday afternoon but with expectations for more overnight. Weather service meteorologist Chandler Price said the next-driest start to a water year, which begins Oct. 1, was in 1963.

The system could bring Las Vegas first measurable rainfall since July, with rain expected Monday, National Weather Service meteorologist John Adair said.

If the rain holds off until then, Las Vegas will have hit 197 days without measurable precipitation  short of the record of 240 consecutive days of dry rain gauges, recorded on Dec. 16, 2020, the weather service office in Las Vegas has said.

Phoenix on Sunday was still awaiting rain that could end a streak of dry weather that began in August.

The system will move into Arizona on Monday, bringing the bulk of snow and rain showers east. Scattered rain showers will persist across Nevada and Arizona through Tuesday.

Winter weather alerts in Southwest, Midwest and Great Lakes region

Winter weather alerts are in effect for parts of California, Arizona and Nevada.

Snow totals in Southern California mountains through Monday will generally range from 2 to 10 inches, with localized amounts of 18 inches and more possible. It will also be very windy, with gusts up to 50 mph creating hazardous travel conditions.

More than a half of a foot of snow fell on Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains on Sunday, according to weather service data. It straddles the border between Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

Two inches of snow amassed in Wrightwood, also in the San Gabriels, and 4 inches accumulated in Snow Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains, the weather service said. Big Bear Mountain Resort, also in the San Bernardinos, reported 4 inches of fresh powder.

A 24-hour National Weather Service winter storm warning Sunday afternoon covers Mount Baldy, Wrightwood and the Angeles Crest Highway in the eastern San Gabriels and warns of up to 14 inches of snow, gusts of 35 mph and a snow level expected to dive to 3,000 feet overnight.

In Arizona's Yavapai County Mountains, a winter weather advisory will be in effect from 5 a.m. Monday local time through midnight, with the weather service forecasting snow totals of 1 to 3 inches and up to 6 inches at elevations above 6,000 feet.

Elsewhere in the country, lake effect snow warnings remain through Monday for northern New York, where the most persistent bands will produce 9 to 18 inches of snow.

In the Great Lakes region, wind alerts will be in effect through Monday for Illinois through New York  including the cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Buffalo and Rochester  with gusts that may exceed 40 mph to 60 mph.
By Julia Payne and Lili Bayer

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union renewed its wide-ranging sanctions on Russia on Monday for another six months after Hungary stopped holding up the move in return for assurances about energy security.

"Europe delivers: EU Foreign Ministers just agreed to extend again the sanctions on Russia," Kaja Kallas, the bloc's foreign policy chief, posted on social media.

"This will continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war," she added. "Russia needs to pay for the damage they are causing."

Officials from other EU countries had warned that a failure to roll over the sanctions before a Jan. 31 deadline would have major consequences, such as the unfreezing of Russian assets in Europe used to help Kyiv.

The sanctions up for renewal include all sector-based bans on trade as well as the measures that immobilised Russia's central bank assets. Legally, EU countries must unanimously vote to renew these restrictions every six months.

Profits from the frozen assets are being used to finance a $50 billion loan to Ukraine backed by the G7.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had first called for consultations with the Trump administration before a renewal decision. But U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is ready to increase economic pressure on Russia to strike a peace deal.

Budapest then cited its complaints about Ukraine ending a deal that brought Russian gas to Hungary.

But Hungary - which maintains closer economic and political ties with Russia than other EU members - indicated on Monday it was ready to give the green light at the ministers' meeting if it received assurances of help from the European Commission.

At a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday morning, the Commission presented a statement declaring it was "ready to continue discussions with Ukraine on the supply to Europe through the gas pipeline system in Ukraine".

The statement, seen by Reuters, also said the Commission - the EU's executive body - was ready to involve Hungary and Slovakia in the process. Apart from these discussions, it was not clear what Hungary gained as there was no explicit mention of resuming Russian gas flows.

At the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Bloomberg he was willing to sign a contract to move Azeri gas through Ukraine to the EU. Baku tried to broker an agreement last year to continue Russian flows to the EU or swap in Azeri gas but these failed. Azerbaijan has limited spare gas production.

"The Commission will approach Ukraine to request assurances regarding the maintenance of oil pipeline transfers to the EU," the statement also said.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said he was satisfied with the Commission's assurances.

"The European Commission committed itself to the protection of the natural gas and oil pipelines leading to member states of the European Union," he said in a Facebook post.

(Additional reporting by Anita Komuves and Bart Meijer; Writing by Andrew Gray; Editing by Alison Williams and Sharon Singleton)
People look at a plane that brought Brazilians deported from the U.S. to Manaus on Jan. 25, 2025. (Michael Dantas / AFP via Getty Images)

Facing another early challenge to his immigration policies, President Trump on Sunday ordered a 25% tariff on exports from Colombia and a travel ban on Colombian officials and "their supporters" as punishment for the country's refusal to accept military deportation flights from the U.S.

"These measures are just the beginning," Trump declared on social media.

Colombia's action came as numerous countries in Latin America are attempting to figure out how to deal with the week-old Trump administration, pledging cooperation on some immigration issues but also seeking fair treatment and respect for their own national sovereignty.

Media reports in the U.S. quoted Pentagon officials as saying Mexico also denied landing permission to a deportation flight late last week. While Mexico did not explicitly confirm or deny the action, its Foreign Ministry emphasized its spirit of continued cooperation with the U.S. President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would address the matter Monday.

Read more:Stranded in Mexico City, these migrants hoping to reach the United States have no good options

Nevertheless, tensions are high in Mexico, the country that is the largest source of U.S.-bound migrants and where tens of thousands are becoming stranded as Trump ends amnesty and other legal-entry programs.

Both Colombia and Mexico in the past accepted some deportation flights but may be reacting now to Trump's threats to increase the number exponentially and include more third-country migrants. Some in the region are also unnerved by the switch from civilian aircraft to U.S. military planes in the deportations.

Trump said he would raise the tariffs on all Colombian goods coming to the U.S. to 50% after one week if flights are not allowed. While Colombia is not high on the list of the region's traders with the U.S., exporting only about $16 billion in goods, coffee is among its top commodities. It also exports roses and other fresh-cut flowers, used widely in the U.S. on holidays like Valentines Day.

He also said he was revoking U.S. visas from various members of the Colombian government, putting visa restrictions on tens of thousands of other Colombians, enhancing customs and border inspections on people and cargo from Colombia and imposing a raft of unspecified financial and banking sanctions.

Read more:What will Mexico do if Trump tries to mass deport non-Mexicans across the border?

Trump's wrath came in response to actions by Gustavo Petro, the left-leaning president of Colombia, who is dealing with his own immigration crisis: the arrival of massive numbers of people fleeing neighbor Venezuela.

"I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia," Trump wrote. "We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!"

The two military C-17 aircraft departed San Diego with about 80 migrants and headed for Colombia before being turned around, officials said.

With Trump's return to office, Petro made a brief attempt at avoiding confrontation, but that seems to have vanished.

Also writing on social media, Petro earlier Sunday did not rule out allowing the repatriation of Colombian nationals but said the process had to be "dignified."

"The U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants like criminals," Petro wrote. "I am denying the entry of United States airplanes with Colombian migrants to our territory. The U.S. must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them."

He later said he would offer his presidential plane to pick up Colombian deportees to avoid them being left stranded and stateless. He also said he would play a tit-for-tat with Trump, suggesting he would impose a 25% tariff on U.S. exports.

Read more:Mexico cracks down on drugs and migrants. Will it be enough to stop Trump tariffs?

The defiance from Latin America comes ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's trip later this week to the region, his first as Trump's top diplomat. Neither Colombia nor Mexico are on his itinerary, although immigration will be on his agenda, especially in Panama, Guatemala and El Salvador.

He is expected to press the countries to accept deportees. In Panama, the topic of Trump's desire to seize the Panama Canal will also dominate discussions. (The other countries he will visit are Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.)

Throughout the region, Rubio is also hoping to begin to counter China's growing economic and diplomatic influence.

Guatemala on Friday allowed three U.S. flights  two military and one charter  to land there carrying 265 expelled migrants. And Brazil allowed two flights last week but complained that returning migrants were shackled.

"President Trump has made it clear that under his administration, America will no longer be lied to nor taken advantage of," Rubio said in a terse statement reacting to Petro's position on the flights. He said it was the responsibility of nations to take back their citizens who are in the United States without legal authorization.

Read more:Less process than 'a traffic ticket': ACLU sues to stop Trump's fast-track deportation policy

But, he said, "Colombian President Petro had authorized flights and provided all needed authorizations and then canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air."

Rubio later said he had suspended the issuing of all visas to Colombians at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

Resistance to Trump's immigration crackdown in which he has threatened to expel several million people, including some who are in the United States legally but temporarily, is percolating slowly as advocates and the courts grasp the exact nature of the administration's plans.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sunday announced it had launched long-anticipated raids in Chicago aimed at preserving "public safety and national security" by rounding up immigrants and "keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities. ICE teamed up with the FBI, U.S. Marshals and several other federal agencies.

The first challenge to Trump's immigration plan came swiftly, when a federal judge blocked the administration's attempt to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to people born in the U.S. to noncitizens. Automatic, or birthright citizenship, is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The judge, a Reagan appointee based in Seattle, granted a stay in Trump officials' attempt to enact the change in law.

Read more:Pope Francis calls Trump's plans of mass deportation of immigrants 'a disgrace'

Trump has portrayed the illegal entry of migrants over the southern U.S. border as an invasion. Although illegal crossings did rise early in the Biden administration, they fell sharply over the last year, with current levels the lowest theyve been since Trump left office.

The White House made a big splash of the start of the deportation flights, although thousands of such deportations took place under Biden, albeit not with military participation.

Will Freeman, an expert on Colombia at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Petro will eventually be forced to back down but seems to want the fight for now.

"I cant think of many *worse* strategic blunders for the U.S., as it competes w/ China, than going nuclear against its oldest strategic ally & last big country in S. America where it enjoys a trade advantage," Freeman said on social media.

"Colombia becomes a testing ground for the threat-forward approach to Latin America," he added. "Colombians lose out, & so will the U.S. vis-a-vis China."

Times staff writer Patrick McDonnell in Mexico City contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
SEOUL, South Korea  Few people understand what may be going through the minds of North Korean soldiers fighting and dying for Russia in the war against Ukraine. But Lee Chul Eun is one of them.

Lee, 38, a North Korean defector and former soldier now living in South Korea, said it is devastating to see troops from the reclusive, communist-ruled North being sent abroad by leader Kim Jong Un, only to then give up their youth for a land that is not even theirs but the foreign land of Russia.

He is one of multiple defectors who spoke to NBC News about the training, conditions and mindset of North Korean soldiers, including their willingness to take their own lives if necessary.

Lee said his former colleagues are essentially just sent out to be cannon fodder on the front lines.

Lee Chul Eun, 38, a North Korean defector and former soldier.

For the first time since they arrived in Russia in the fall, North Korean soldiers have been captured alive by Ukrainian forces, with video and photos showing one man with bandages around his jawline and another with bandaged hands.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who announced the prisoners apprehension earlier this month, said they were living proof that North Korea had entered the war, in a major escalation of the yearslong conflict.

The U.S. and allies say there are more than 11,000 North Korean troops fighting in the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border incursion in August. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has confirmed the reports.

Honestly, it is not easy to capture a North Korean soldier, Ryu Sung Hyu said in an interview in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

All North Korean recruits are taught a song that includes a verse about saving their last bullet for themselves to avoid capture, said Ryu, who served in the North Korean military until 2019, when he escaped to freedom in South Korea.

According to South Koreas National Intelligence Service, there was at least one recent incident in which a North Korean soldier, faced with possible capture by Ukrainian forces, tried to detonate a grenade while shouting Kims name but was killed before he could succeed.

The South Korean military said last week that North Korea is preparing to send additional troops to Russia after about 300 of its soldiers were killed and 2,700 others were injured. The high casualty rate was due to the soldiers poor understanding of modern warfare, as well as the way they were being deployed by Russia, South Korean lawmakers said.

It is not easy to capture a North Korean soldier, said North Korean defector Ryu Sung Hyu.

Their willingness to fight and die for Russia could be a major factor in determining the course of the Ukraine war, as well as the level of American military aid to Ukraine under President Donald Trump, who has expressed skepticism over continued U.S. support.

Kim is thought to be providing Russian President Vladimir Putin with troops and weapons in hope of receiving technical assistance with his nuclear and ballistic missile programs. His flurry of weapons testing has continued with three launches already this year, including multiple short-range ballistic missiles, a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile and strategic cruise missiles.

Trump drew ire from South Korea on Tuesday after he described the reclusive regime as a nuclear power, a phrase that U.S. officials have long refrained from using, as it could signal recognition of North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.

A North Korean soldier imprisoned in Ukraine.

Kim is sending troops to Russia for two reasons, both of which are driven by desperation, said Ahn Chan Il, who served in the North Korean military for over a decade and defected to South Korea in 1979. The first is to earn foreign currency, which is in short supply in North Korea under United Nations sanctions imposed over its weapons programs.

The deployment also provides valuable experience for the North Korean military, which has not been deployed overseas since the Vietnam War.

Dorothy Camille Shea, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the Security Council this month that fighting alongside Russia makes North Korea more capable of waging war against its neighbors.

Lee, who spent five years in the North Korean military, said the troops had been sent to Russia as mercenaries rather than soldiers, noting that they werent wearing their uniforms. South Koreas National Intelligence Service has said they were given Russian military uniforms and Russian-made weapons, along with forged identification documents.

Even if they die there it does not matter, because North Korea sent them out without officially recognizing them, Lee said. They were sent there not to bring honor to the country, but to give up their lives and bring back lots of money.

'No longer a part of the society'

Military service is compulsory in North Korea, which has one of the worlds largest standing armies. Soldiers undergo three months of basic training before being assigned to a unit, said Lee, who came to South Korea in 2016 after swimming for six hours from the North.

As soldiers, Lee said, they are told they are individuals who are now no longer a part of the society and their families, and must follow the orders of the supreme leader, meaning Kim.

They have no trouble believing this, having been indoctrinated by North Korean propaganda from childhood, said Lee.

North Korean soldiers spend most of their time not actually being soldiers but working on farms and construction projects, Lee and others said.

A North Korean sits with bandaged hands after being captured by Ukrainian forces.

I think I only fired three bullets per year, said Lee Hyun-seung, who served in the North Korean military for more than three years. When he moved to a more elite unit, he said, we had more like 20 bullets.

Asked whether he thought the North Korean troops could help Russia win the war, Lee  whose family defected in 2014 and who now lives in the U.S.  was skeptical.

Honestly, Im not that sure, he said, because I know their training and I know they are not well trained.

For North Korean soldiers, who receive food and clothing but are otherwise essentially unpaid, the main enemy is hunger.

North Korea struggles with food shortages as Kim devotes the majority of resources to his weapons programs, meaning that, like most of the broader population, soldiers suffer from malnutrition and can even starve to death.

Meals are made up mainly of plain rice, corn or potatoes, sometimes mixed with grass or even tree bark, said Lee Chun Eul.

He said his feelings about North Korea changed gradually, largely due to his exposure to foreign media that finds its way into the country despite tight government controls  James Bond was a favorite of his growing up in the 1990s. More recently, the North Korean government has been alarmed by the popularity of South Korean TV dramas, sentencing two teenagers to 12 years of hard labor for watching them.

When I look at North Korean mercenaries sent to Russia, I wonder if they would still have joined if they had watched as much foreign media as I did in North Korea, Lee said. I also wonder if the North Korean regime and Kim Jong Uns dictatorship would still be in place.

The defectors say they hope the North Korean troops fighting in Russia will take the opportunity to leave like they did.

Documentation translated by NBC News reads Russian Federation Military Identity Card. It was recovered from an alleged North Korean soldier, according to Ukraines president.

When North Korean workers, who have lived their entire lives trapped in a restrictive system, experience life abroad, they come to see North Korea as nothing short of a prison, Ahn said. Once they realize what freedom could mean, its hard to imagine they wouldnt consider breaking free to live a freer life.

In addition to finding freedom, they could provide the U.S. and others with valuable intelligence regarding the North Korean militarys strategies and capabilities, which are often exaggerated by the North Korean government.

Ahn and other North Koreans who defected as soldiers have offered Ukraine their assistance against the North Korean troops.

However, rather than directly participating in the war, our focus is on psychological warfare to change the mindset of North Korean soldiers, he said. Through platforms like YouTube or leaflets, we aim to deliver messages to the North Korean troops, urging them not to die meaningless deaths and instead seek freedom.

In the meantime, they watch with heavy hearts as casualties mount among North Korean soldiers whose experiences they know only too well.

These young people did not go knowing they were going to die, Lee said, but died because they did not know.

Janis Mackey Frayer and Stella Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.
Samsung unveiled its highly anticipated Galaxy S25 Edge during the recent Galaxy Unpacked event, teasing a slimmer version of its flagship lineup. Although the company did not disclose an exact release date, the announcement generated significant excitement as it positions the S25 Edge as Samsung's "ultra-thin" smartphone offering.

The Galaxy S25 Edge is set to compete directly with Apple's rumored iPhone 17 Air, which is expected to be the thinnest iPhone yet. Both devices are shaping up to be pivotal releases in the race to deliver the sleekest smartphones on the market.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: An Ultra-Thin Innovation

During the Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung provided a glimpse of its upcoming Galaxy S25 Edge, emphasizing its slimmer design as a standout feature. The announcement came alongside the introduction of the Galaxy S25 series, highlighting the company's continued focus on innovation in its flagship lineup.

Although details remain scarce, Samsung's teaser revealed an assembly breakdown of the new "ultra-thin" device, hinting at the technological advancements behind its reduced form factor. The announcement garnered enthusiastic reactions from both event attendees and online viewers, further fueling anticipation for the device.

Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 17 Air

While Samsung refrained from revealing specific technical specifications, the Galaxy S25 Edge is already drawing comparisons to Apple's iPhone 17 Air. Rumors suggest that the latter will debut as Apple's thinnest iPhone, potentially arriving during the company's Fall event later this year.

Previously speculated to be called the "Galaxy S25 Slim," Samsung's Edge variant represents a significant step forward in the ongoing rivalry between the two tech giants. With both devices emphasizing ultra-thin designs, the competition underscores a shared commitment to pushing the boundaries of smartphone engineering.

The Push for Thinner Smartphones

The evolution of smartphones has consistently focused on delivering lighter and slimmer devices without compromising functionality. From the early days of "dumb phones" to today's feature-rich smartphones, manufacturers have prioritized sleek designs to enhance portability and user experience.

Samsung's track record of innovation in this area includes last year's Galaxy Z Fold 6 Special Edition, which offered a thinner and lighter alternative to its predecessors. This trend appears to have influenced the Galaxy S25 series, with the Edge variant solidifying the company's commitment to size reduction.

Meanwhile, Apple's rumored iPhone 17 Air is expected to adopt a similar approach, with reports pointing to a thinner design tailored for its "Air" branding. While Apple has yet to confirm these details, the device's potential debut later this year has added to the competitive landscape.

With the Galaxy S25 Edge, Samsung aims to stay ahead in the ultra-thin smartphone segment, offering consumers a sleek alternative in its flagship lineup. As the tech world awaits further details, the rivalry between Samsung and Apple continues to drive innovation in the quest for thinner, more advanced devices.
Brailen Harrington Duncan McLarty and Apsara Sakbun

A woman has gone viral for her reaction to her surprise proposal.

For American-Cambodian swimmer Apsara Sakbun, 2024 was full of rings. She spent her summer representing Cambodia at the 2024 Paris Olympics and ended winter as an engaged woman. Now, her ecstatic reaction to her surprise proposal on Dec. 26, 2024 at the Indianapolis Art Center in Indiana has 1 million views and counting on TikTok.

"POV (point of view): the camera man when we got engaged," Sakbun, 23, wrote in an onscreen caption of her viral proposal video. She added in the post's caption: "I have never in my life hit the dougieyall I was TOO hype to be embarrassed."

Brailen Harrington Apsara Sakbun and Duncan McLarty's surpise proposal

In the clips  which were taken just moments after Sakbun's now-fiance Duncan McLarty, 24, popped the question  the bride-to-be couldn't contain her excitement. She first began shouting "Oh, my God!" as she jumped up and down in her high-heeled boots. Then she began dancing and did the Dougie.

After embracing McLarty, she shouted, "I'm a witch! I'm a witch! I knew it!"

"I swear I am a witch because I just have the strongest intuition like I have dreams about things and they actually happen," Sakbun tells PEOPLE. "I don't even know how to describe it, but I've always said that  I have been dreaming of this and knew it was going to happen. It was more than an intuition thing."

"I didn't even know that it came out looking back at the videos," Sakbun adds. "I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe I said that.' "

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.

Sakbun and McLarty met in August 2019 and started dating in March 2020. The day of their engagement, McLarty told his unsuspecting girlfriend of almost five years that they were heading to a Christmas pop-up bar. In actuality, he was planning on getting down on one knee and proposing with an oval diamond on a gold band with silver prongs.

Brailen Harrington Apsara Sakbun

"He was rushing me and I was thinking there's no way if I'm getting proposed to he's gonna be rushing me," Sakbun says.

In the TikTok video, a "shocked" and "overjoyed" Sakbun struts around with her left hand stretched out as she admires her new rock. "Oh my God, we're gonna get married! I'm gonna be a wife!" she said, prompting giggles from McLarty.

"I was overjoyed. I knew that a proposal was in our future. But just the timing of it was a shock to me," the bride-to-be tells PEOPLE. "So I was just freaking out. I'm so excited."

When McLarty saw Sakbun's elated reaction, he was happy but relatively unfazed.

Related: Woman Goes Viral After Running Away from Proposal Not Realizing the Ring Is for Her See Her Priceless Reaction!

"He's used to me being insane," Sakbun says. "So he was just laughing it off."

Meanwhile, TikTokers in the comments section were cracking up over the "funny" dance and "I'm a witch!" assertion from Sakbun. Some called it the "best proposal reaction ever."

Read the original article on People
An aerial view shows the devastation left by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES (AP)  The first significant storm of the season brought snow and downpours to Southern California that doused wildfires and caused some ash and mud to flow across streets in the Los Angeles area on Monday.

More than an inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain fell in many areas, loosening Los Angeles hillsides burned bare by the recent blaze near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, where crews cleared inundated roadways including the famed Pacific Coast Highway.

In neighboring Malibu, four schools were closed Monday due to dangerous road conditions, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District said in a statement.

Clouds were clearing, but flood watches from lingering pockets of rain were still in effect for fire-scarred areas of the Palisades, Altadena and Castaic Lake.

All these fresh burns are very susceptible to rapid runoff, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist for the National Weather Services office for Los Angeles.

North of Los Angeles, snowy conditions late Sunday shut down the mountainous Tejon Pass section of Interstate 5, a key north-south artery for the state. It reopened Monday afternoon. The highway rises to more than 4,100 feet (1,250 meters) between LA and the San Joaquin Valley, making it susceptible to storm closures.

Mountains across San Bernardino and Riverside counties were under a winter storm warning Monday and were forecast to get about a foot (0.30 meters) of snow from the storm. Chains were required for some vehicles heading to ski resorts in the Big Bear Lake area northeast of Los Angeles because of icy roads.

Parts of San Diego County received more than an inch of rain, while other areas got less.

The rain began Saturday after months of dry and often gusty weather that created dangerous fire conditions.

Los Angeles County crews spent much of last week removing vegetation, shoring up slopes and reinforcing roads in areas devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires, which reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble and ash after breaking out during powerful winds Jan. 7.

The Palisades Fire, the largest of the blazes that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 12 people, reached 94% containment Monday. The Eaton Fire, which broke out near Altadena and has killed at least 17 people, was 98% contained.

The Hughes Fire, which ignited north of Los Angeles last week and caused evacuation orders or warnings for more than 50,000 people, was nearly contained.

Downpours in San Diego County, helped firefighters make significant progress against the smaller Border 2 Fire churning through a remote area of the Otay Mountain Wilderness near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Los Angeles city and county officials last week expedited cleanup efforts and other measures aimed at mitigating the environmental impacts of fire-related pollutants, and a White House statement on Friday said President Donald Trump has directed federal officials to help local authorities. Within five days of the order, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other departments shall develop and execute a plan to expedite the bulk removal of contaminated and general debris, the statement said.

Officials cautioned that ash in recent burn zones was a toxic mix of incinerated cars, electronics, batteries, building materials, paints, furniture and other household items. It contains pesticides, asbestos, plastics and lead. Residents were urged to wear protective gear while cleaning up.

Concerns about post-fire debris flows have been especially high since 2018, when the town of Montecito, up the coast from Los Angeles, was ravaged by mudslides after a downpour hit mountain slopes charred by a huge wildfire. Hundreds of homes were damaged and 23 people died.

The rain ended a near-record streak of dry weather for Southern California. Most of Southern California is currently in extreme drought or severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Scott Bessent Monday to serve as President Donald Trumps Treasury secretary, making the longtime hedge fund manager the point person for the new administration on a host of key economic issues.

Bessent was confirmed by a vote of 68 to 29.

The new Treasury head's nomination drew sharp opposition from progressive Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who both accused Bessent of flouting Treasury tax rules in floor speeches delivered in the minutes before the vote.

During his confirmation hearing, Bessent, 62, said extending the big tax cuts Trump pushed during his first administration would be his priority.

This is pass-fail, that if we do not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity, he said.

Bessent also defended Trumps push for tariffs after senators from both parties raised concerns. He opposed increasing the federal minimum wage and backed increased sanctions on Russia over the country's invasion of Ukraine.

And he said the Federal Reserve  which has drawn Trumps ire with high interest rates used to tame inflation  should be independent of the president, while noting Trump will "make his views known.

Scott Bessent looks on next to his husband John Freeman and son Cole, on the day he testifies during a Senate Committee on Finance confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 16, 2025.

Bessent founded Key Square Capital Management in 2015. He is a Yale graduate and the former chief investment officer for Soros Fund Management, the hedge fund founded by liberal billionaire George Soros.

The nomination marks a variation from Trump's anti-establishment rhetoric. In picking Bessent, Trump chose a less ideological, more conventional financier for the post who attracted little public opposition. The new Treasury secretary once hosted a fundraiser for Vice President Al Gore when the Democrat was running for president in 2000.

Bessent brought his husband and two children to his confirmation hearing. He spoke about long being interested in public service but facing obstacles in the past because of my sexual preference.

Bessent will be in the thick of some of the biggest policy moves Trump is pursuing. The new administration is working with Congress on legislation that extends the Trump tax cuts and includes new cuts, such as Trumps proposal for no taxes on tipped wages.

The tariff debate also is expected to be a major theme throughout Trumps presidency. He has talked about putting 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada starting Feb. 1 and new tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump threatened tariffs on Colombia over the weekend after the country raised concerns about deportation flights, but ultimately both sides backed off.

Contributing Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy and Davis Winkie

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: U.S. Senate confirms Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
Correction & clarification: This story has been updated to correct when the outbreak began. Its January 2024.

Health officials in Kansas have reported a tuberculosis outbreak in the northeastern part of the state, with 67 cases since 2024.

So far, officials have reported 60 active cases in Wyandotte County and 7 active cases in Johnson County, according to data from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Since 2024, there have been 2 latent cases in Johnson County and 77 cases in Wyandotte County, which sits at the Missouri border.

The numbers mark the largest tuberculosis outbreak in recorded history in the U.S., according to the Topeka Capital-Journal, part of the USA TODAY network.

The outbreak poses very low risk to the general public, including the surrounding counties, officials said in the announcement. Local health departments are working with patients to identify close contacts and conduct free testing, regardless of insurance status.

Tuberculosis, also known as TB, is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two TB-related conditions exist: inactive TB and active TB.

Kansas health officials said patients who test positive will be screened to see if they have active TB disease or latent TB infection. Doctors can then choose the best treatment for each patient, health officials said.

Health news: Trump administration withdraws FDA plan to ban menthol cigarettes in U.S.

How is tuberculosis transmitted?

People who have TB germs in their bodies but do not get sick have inactive TB, or latent TB infection. They have no symptoms and cannot spread TB to others. Without treatment, people with inactive TB can develop active TB disease and become sick, the CDC said.

TB is spread through the air from one person to another. TB germs are put into the air when a person with active TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks or sings, the CDC said.

The germs can stay in the air for several hours, depending on the environment. The germs are more likely to spread in indoor areas or places with poor air circulation (such as a closed vehicle).

People with active TB disease are most likely to spread TB germs to people they spend time with every day, the CDC reported.

TB usually affects the lungs, but it can also impact the brain, the kidneys or the spine, the CDC said.

What are the symptoms of tuberculosis?

For those who get sick, symptoms of TB can include:

A cough lasting three weeks or longer

Chest pain

Coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm from deep inside the lungs)

Weakness or fatigue

Weight loss

Loss of appetite

Chills

Fever

Night sweats

Who is at risk for tuberculosis?

Some people may be at a higher risk for TB if they:

Were born in or frequently travel to countries where TB is common, such as countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America

Live or used to live in large group settings where TB is more common, such as homeless shelters, prisons or jails

Recently spent time with someone who has active TB disease

Have a weaker immune system because of certain medications or health conditions such as diabetes, cancer and HIV

Work in places where TB is more likely to spread, such as hospitals, homeless shelters, correctional facilities and nursing homes

How is tuberculosis treated?

There is a Bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine for TB disease. It is not generally used in the United States, the CDC said, but healthcare providers in countries where the disease is more common often vaccinate infants and small children.

Tell your health care provider if you have received the TB vaccine, especially if you are getting tested for TB infection because it can cause a false positive TB skin test reaction, the CDC said. TB blood tests are the preferred tests for people who have received the BCG TB vaccine.

Treatment for inactive TB can take three, four, six or nine months depending on the treatment plan, the CDC said. Treatment may include combinations of medications such as Rifapentine, Isoniazid and Rifampin.

Treatment for active TB disease can take four, six or nine months and may include combinations of medications such as Ethambutol, Isoniazid, Moxifloxacin, Rifampin, Rifapentine or Pyrazinamide, according to the CDC.

Contributing: Jason Alatidd, Topeka Capital-Journal

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia  the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kansas TB outbreak: Largest outbreak in US history, officials say
President Donald Trump is briefed on the effects of Hurricane Helene in Fletcher, North Carolina on January 24, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Colombia has walked back from the brink of a damaging trade war with the United States, reaching an agreement on accepting deported migrants being returned on military planes, after a flurry of threats from President Donald Trump that included steep tariffs.

Colombia said Sunday evening it had agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of immigrants who entered the US illegally, after two US military planes carrying deportees were blocked from entering the country.

We will continue to receive Colombians and Colombian women who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights, Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said in a televised statement. He added that US deportation flights had resumed, and the Colombian presidential plane was being prepared to assist in repatriating citizens.

The White House also backed off its threat to impose tariffs unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement, adding other penalties, including visa sanctions and customs inspections of Colombian nationals and cargo ships, will stay in place until the first plane of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

Todays events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nations sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States, the White House said in a statement.

The announcement brings an end to a tumultuous weekend that threatened to raise coffee prices for American consumers and impact hundreds of thousands of Colombian workers. Its also the first time Trump took major action against another country over his immigration policy since he took office last week.

The feud began early Sunday over the US miliary flights carrying deportees to Colombia. Documents reviewed by CNN show Colombia had previously approved the flights, though Colombian President Gustavo Petro disputed he had authorized them  and US officials claim the authorization was revoked once the planes were en route.

Petro blocked the planes from landing, accusing the US of treating Colombian migrants like criminals  prompting Trump to order steep tariffs on all Colombian imports, a travel ban for Colombian citizens, the revoking of visas for Colombian officials in the US, and suspending visa processing for both immigrant and non-immigrant visas.

The visa restrictions are particularly extraordinary as they are usually reserved for adversaries or individuals who have committed human rights abuses  while Colombia is a major non-NATO ally of the US, and for decades has been its closest partner in South America.

In response, Petro threatened retaliatory tariffs on the US and attacked Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on social media, writing: You will never see me burning a US flag or carrying out a raid to return handcuffed illegal immigrants to the US.

By Sunday evening, the White House announced the two countries had reached their agreement.

The face-off also demonstrates the potential challenges facing other countries as they brace for Trumps immigration crackdown  with the new president already threatening tariffs on Canada and Mexico over border issues. And the perceived early victory over Colombia seems to have emboldened some in the White House.

You cant go out there and publicly defy us in that way, a Trump administration official told CNN. Were going to make sure the world knows they cant get away with being nonserious and deceptive.

Consequences of a trade war

Though a trade war may have been averted for now, the tit-for-tat threats highlighted the expensive fallout one could cause.

Colombia is not a major trading partner with the US, but its major exports include minerals, metals and coffee. Coffee prices have already shot higher over the past year, and tariffs could have made it even more expensive for American consumers.

And even if Trump walks back his threats against Colombia, he has promised across-the-board tariffs on other countries as soon as this week if they dont move manufacturing to the US. Those tariffs could dramatically boost prices for Americans, because importers pay the tariffs and often pass the increased costs on to consumers.

Meanwhile, economic and foreign policy analysts also urged Colombia to avoid a diplomatic feud with the US. The Colombian Council on International Relations (CORI), a think tank of former foreign ministers and analysts, warned that commercial retaliation would only harm Colombia, and warned the countrys government to preserve its relationship with Washington.

The head of the Colombo-American Chamber of Commerce, Maria Claudia Lacouture, echoed those sentiments in a post on X, warning that US tariffs on Colombian products would have an immediate and devastating impact.

In coffee alone, more than 500,000 families depend on this sector. In flower farming, thousands of single mothers would lose their livelihood. And we can continue adding sectors that will be affected, she said.

Brazil decries degrading aircraft conditions

The US began using military aircraft to return recent border crossers back to their countries of origin last week, with flights expected to continue daily  partly as a message to other nations, White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday.

The Defense Department has helped administrations before, but not at this level. So its a force multiplier, and its sending a strong signal to the world. Our borders closed, Homan told ABC News.

The US is also asking Mexico for help repatriating its nationals via land ports of entry along the US-Mexico border, though Mexico also appeared to turn around a military flight heading for the country last week.

Brazil joined Colombia on Sunday in condemning the Trump administrations handling of repatriated migrants on deportation flights, denouncing the treatment of Brazilian nationals who arrived in the country Friday as degrading.

Brazilian authorities said they found 88 handcuffed deportees on a US flight that mistakenly landed in a different city than its intended destination. Brazilian officials did not authorize the plane to continue on due to the use of handcuffs and chains, the poor condition of the aircraft, with a faulty air conditioning system, among other problems, and the migrants were transported to their final destination on a Brazilian Air Force flight.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

CNNs David Goldman, Omar Fajardo, Duarte Mendonca, Julia Vargas Jones, Jennifer Hansler and Gabriela Frias contributed to this report.

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By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump will soon sign executive orders removing diversity, equity and inclusion from the military, reinstating thousands of troops who were kicked out for refusing COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, and building an air defense system for the United States, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday.

Hegseth, who narrowly secured enough votes to become defense secretary, reverted to the names of Confederate generals that were once used for two key bases during his remarks to reporters as he entered the Pentagon on his first full day on the job.

Hegseth has promised to bring major changes to the Pentagon and he has made eliminating DEI from the military a top priority.

"There are more executive orders coming," Hegseth told reporters.

The Air Force said on Sunday that it will resume instruction of trainees using a video about the first Black airmen in the U.S. military, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, which has passed review to ensure compliance with Trump's ban on DEI initiatives.

Hegseth was warmly greeted on the steps of the Pentagon by the top U.S. military officer, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, whom Hegseth criticized in his latest book. Asked if he might fire Brown, Hegseth joked that he was standing right next to him.

"Im standing with him right now. I look forward to working with him," as he patted Brown on the back.

Reuters has previously reported about the possibility of mass firing among top brass, something Hegseth repeatedly refused to rule out during his confirmation process.

INTERNAL FOCUS

Hegseth referred to Fort Moore and Fort Liberty by their previous names, Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, while speaking with reporters.

They had been changed under former President Joe Biden as part of an effort to rechristen bases named for Confederate officers.

"I'm thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, Germany, Fort Benning and Fort Bragg," Hegseth said.

Much of Hegseth's focus at the Pentagon could be internal to the military, on everything from bringing back troops discharged for refusing COVID vaccines to once again banning transgender people from serving in the military.

"Our job is lethality and readiness and war fighting and we are going to hold people accountable," Hegseth said.

Thousands of service members were removed from the military after the Pentagon made the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory in 2021.

A U.S. official said another executive order signed on Monday would be related to transgender troops.

During his first term, Trump announced that he would ban transgender troops from serving in the military. He did not fully follow through with that ban - his administration froze their recruitment while allowing serving personnel to remain.

Biden overturned the decision when he took office in 2021.

Asked if there would be exceptions for currently serving transgender troops, Hegseth said there would be an executive order on that, but did not provide details.

About 1.3 million active personnel serve in the military, Department of Defense data shows. While transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands.

When Trump announced his first ban in 2017, he said the military needed to focus on "decisive and overwhelming victory" without being burdened by the "tremendous medical costs and disruption" of having transgender personnel.

A transgender woman serving in a federal prison has filed a lawsuit arguing that Trump's executive order directing the U.S. government to recognize only two, unchangeable sexes and requiring inmates like her to be housed in men's prisons, violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

MISSILE DEFENSE FOR U.S.

Hegseth said Trump would also sign an executive order to put in place the Iron Dome for the United States.

The short-range Iron Dome air defense system was built by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with U.S. backing, and was built to intercept rockets fired by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza towards Israel.

Each truck-towed unit fires radar-guided missiles to blow up short-range threats such as rockets, mortars and drones in midair.

The system determines whether a rocket is on course to hit a populated area. If not, the rocket is ignored and allowed to land harmlessly.

Any such effort would take years to implement in the United States.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter and Rod Nickel)
The Trump administration is threatening a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico as soon as Saturday  a move that would almost immediately impact car dealerships and factories in the United States.

The tariffs would add a minimum of thousands of dollars to the cost of cars, according to experts. And not just cars that are assembled in those two countries and shipped to the United States, but also cars built at American auto plants, all of which have Canadian and Mexican parts that can not easily be replaced.

President Donald Trump had argued on the campaign trail that tariffs are the only way to save the American auto industry, even though automakers are reporting record, or near-record, profits without them. But what is clear is that tariffs could upend the production of vehicles across the continent and put the price of cars, already near record highs, out of reach for many buyers.

Car factories could start slowing down  or even shutting down  in relatively short order, Michael Robinet, vice president of forecast strategy at S&P Global Mobility, told CNN last week. Thats because even if a car is assembled in the United States, every vehicle has parts imported from Mexico and Canada that would be subject to the tariffs, raising production costs. There simply is no such thing as an all-American car.

Automakers in the three countries have operated as a relatively unified market for years , due to NAFTA and subsequently the USMCA trade deals, as vehicles and parts moved freely across the border, sometimes multiple times before a car is completed.

A general view of the Ramos Arizpe plant of General Motors, which exports vehicles to the U.S. and Canada, in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. - Daniel Becerril/Reuters

Tariffs have a strong possibility of skewing and disrupting the car market in a way similar to during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Robinet. Limited supplies of new cars for sale following Covid sent new car prices, and even used car prices, soaring.

Robinet said automakers will do a cost calculation soon after the tariffs go into effect, and could decide that it is better to slow or even stop production at US plants rather than pay the tariffs imposed on their Canadian and Mexican parts. Theyll do so hoping that the trade dispute is worked out before the inventory of cars and trucks on their dealer lots is exhausted, he said.

Robinet believes slowdowns or shutdowns could come fairly quickly, especially at plants automakers operate in Mexico and Canada. Mexico built about 4 million vehicles last year, while Canada built 1.3 million, according to data from S&P. And roughly 3.7 million, or about 70% of those Canadian- and Mexican-assembled vehicles, were shipped to showrooms in the United States. By contrast, there were 10.2 million passenger vehicles built at US assembly plants in 2024.

And its not just Fords and Chevrolets being churned out of American auto plants. The Subaru Outback is built in Indiana, and thousands of BMW X5 SUVs roll out of a plant each week in South Carolina. Mercedes SUVs are built in Alabama, and the popular Kia Telluride is built in Georgia. Nearly half of the 10 million vehicles built at American auto plants are for those foreign brands.

But perhaps more importantly, those 10.2 million cars that are made in America are all built with Mexican and Canadian parts  from relatively cheap wire harnesses and fasteners to expensive engines and transmissions. The impact will thus be felt in short order, Robinet added.

And cars and their parts arent just flowing over the borders into the United States. Plenty of them leave the United States, too, as American factories ship a fair number of their own vehicles and parts to Canada and Mexico. Mexican and Canadian authorities have threatened to slap retaliatory tariffs on American goods if the Trump administration goes ahead with its tariff threat. So some of the cars and parts built at US plants wont be able to get to their buyers north and south of the border without thousands of dollars worth of tariffs, as well.

US ships cars, parts to Canada and Mexico too

The United States shipped $13.8 billion worth of cars to Canada during the first 11 months of 2024 and $26.5 billion worth of parts. It also shipped $4.2 billion worth of vehicles to Mexico in the same period and $33.7 billion worth of parts.

Others dont believe production at US plants will be affected immediately, but agree it wont continue for long if tariffs are imposed and arent quickly resolved. Some automakers have likely been stockpiling the parts they need from those two countries so they can keep tariff-free production going as long as possible.

Even if they have to pay some tariffs on parts in their American-built vehicles, the additional costs might not be crippling for some of the cheaper parts, Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, told CNN. But she also doesnt think the industry will stomach tariffs for an extended period of time.

Aerial view of an automobile body parts supplier in Apodaca, Nuevo Leon state in Mexico. - Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images

I dont see the industry tolerating it for very long, she said. Within maybe 30 to 45 days, I could see them moving onto Plan B and Plan C if this is not resolving itself.

She said plants in Mexico and Canada might continue to produce cars and just not ship them to the United States until the situation is resolved.

All the major automakers either had little comment about what they will do if tariffs go into effect or did not respond to CNNs request for comment.

We arent going to comment on speculation, said Mark Giles, spokesman for Volkswagen, which not only has a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but also the largest car factory in Mexico.

Increased prices at dealerships

And if production is scaled back, or if shipments from Canadian or Mexican plants are put on hold, dealers are not going to be eager to sell their current supply of vehicles at current market prices, in anticipation that a shortage could drive up prices in the weeks and months to come, said Robinet and Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds.

Right now, sales have been somewhat weak. But if production does stop, it will not take many days for the dealers to be much more firm on pricing, Drury told CNN.

The average days supply of vehicles now available at US dealerships range from 25 days for Toyota Motor, which includes Lexus, to 73 days supply for Ford Motor, which includes its Lincoln luxury brand.

It will be important for the dealers and the automakers to have this issue resolved by March or April, said Keating. Thats when tax refunds start to arrive and makes the spring a key sales period for automakers.

If we look out 45 days, were into prime tax refund season. I think youd hear tremendous amount from dealers if theres a shortage of vehicles then, said Keating.

But once the tariffs are in place, its going to be the car buyers  not the automakers, the dealers, or Mexico or Canada  who will be paying the thousands of dollars more for each vehicle, said Robinet.

American car buyers, Canadian car buyers, Mexican car buyers  thats whos paying the tariffs, he said. Automakers and parts suppliers are not charities. Theyre not going to absorb the cost.

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In the rapidly evolving landscape of modern warfare, robotic technologies are carving out new roles on the frontlines. In Ukraine, these advancements have manifested in the deployment of land drones in ways never seen before  a very recent and transformative development.

On the rugged terrains of Ukraine's battlefield, the innovative war machines are now performing some of the most hazardous tasks, including the clearing of anti-tank mines. These remotely operated units are pivotal to Ukraine's strategy against Russian forces. Unlike their aerial counterparts, these terrestrial devices are designed to carry out operations such as laying down explosives without putting human lives at immediate risk.

Recently, we witnessed a demonstration of these land drones, including one engineered to carry and deploy up to eight anti-tank mines. Once loaded, these mechanized soldiers traverse the battlefield under remote control to strategically position mines or engage enemy positions.

RELATED STORY | In the Shadows: Darwin's War

A significant milestone in unmanned ground warfare was marked last month by the Khartiia Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. This unit announced that it had employed these land drones during an assault on a Russian position in the Kharkiv region  a historic first for Ukraine. Leading the charge was a commander known by the callsign "Happy," who is credited with orchestrating this unprecedented battle.

"We were surprised that everything worked out for us, because, let's say, it was the first time for us and, perhaps, even Ukraine," Happy commented. "I think they were surprised. They even tried to repel them. They didn't succeed, fortunately."

Ukraine faces a dire manpower shortage when compared to Russia's extensive troop reserves. The ongoing and intense pressures along the front line from Russian forces have further exacerbated this challenge. To counter this imbalance, the Ukrainian military is accelerating the scale and deployment of these land drones.

The strategic goal is to replicate the effectiveness of aerial drones, which have been used extensively for reconnaissance and offensive operations. By harnessing these ground drones, Ukrainian forces aim to enhance their operational capabilities and maintain a forceful presence against the better-manned Russian forces.

This year we purchased several thousand ground platforms, and next year, I believe, we need tens of thousands," Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, told Reuters last month.

As conflicts continue to evolve, so too does the technology supporting military operations. The use of land drones signifies a critical shift towards more automated and potentially less human-risk-centric methods of warfare.

Robotic technologies like land drones are redefining the rules of engagement in Ukraine's struggle against Russian aggression. This innovative use of unmanned ground vehicles not only highlights Ukraine's technological ingenuity but also underscores the critical role of automation in modern warfare.

The Scripps News team will be taking an in-depth look at war robots in an upcoming episode of, "In the Shadows with Jason Bellini."


An Oregon sheriff's office took an "unclothed" California man into custody for a nationwide felony arrest warrant, according to the local agency.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office arrested Salvador Edward Juarez, a 50-year-old from Shasta County, after receiving information about his warrant on Jan. 18 from the Redding Police Department in California, the agency said in a Facebook post last week.

Juarez was wanted for assault with a deadly weapon and trespass, according to the sheriff's office. Once deputies learned that Juarez was staying at a private property east of Bend, they executed a search warrant to look for evidence of any crimes he allegedly committed in Oregon and California, the agency said.

According to Shasta County Court records, Juarez is also facing an attempted murder charge. Court records do not show a defense attorney listed for Juarez.

Salvador Edward Juarez taken into custody naked, without incident

The sheriff's office's SWAT Team and the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team were able to find Juarez on Jan. 19 after initiating a surveillance operation at the private property, according to the social media post. Once the agencies developed a plan to take the wanted man into custody, within minutes, multiple armored rescue vehicles swarmed a surrendering and naked Juarez, the sheriff's office said.

After Juarez was taken into custody without incident for the felony warrant, he was subsequently taken back to California on Jan. 21 where he remains in Shasta County Jail with a $1 million bond, inmate records show.

Juarez is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 5, according to Shasta Country Court records.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Naked California man wanted for felony warrant arrested in Oregon
Earlier today, a report surfaced alleging that President Donald J. Trump's administration is brokering a deal between ByteDance's TikTok and Oracle to resolve ongoing concerns about the platform's future in the United States. However, the President recently denied these claims, asserting that while discussions are ongoing, they are not exclusively with Oracle. Trump emphasized his commitment to ensuring TikTok's continued availability in the U.S., stating that he is engaged in talks with "many people" about a potential sale.

TikTok-Oracle Deal Rumors Dismissed

According to a report by Reuters (via Engadget), President Trump denied rumors that TikTok and Oracle are finalizing a deal to transfer ownership of the social media platform. The speculation, initially reported by NPR, suggested that the Trump administration was actively facilitating discussions between TikTok and Oracle as part of efforts to comply with the Foreign Adversaries Act.

This situation echoes earlier developments during Trump's first term, when TikTok's operations in North America, Oceania, and the U.K. were shifted to Oracle's backend infrastructure amidst heightened scrutiny over ByteDance's Chinese ownership. However, recent claims of a sale agreement with Oracle have been dismissed, with Trump clarifying that no concrete deal has been reached.

Trump: Talks Continue, But No Specifics

President Trump confirmed that he remains engaged in efforts to secure TikTok's future in the U.S. while avoiding another potential ban. The 75-day extension granted to ByteDance to find a buyer is nearing its end, and while Trump stated he is speaking with "many people," he did not specify who might be close to securing the deal. As of now, no formal agreements have been disclosed.

TikTok and the U.S. Ban: A Timeline

TikTok faced a temporary shutdown in the U.S. earlier this month, leaving millions of users without access to the platform for 14 hours. The shutdown was lifted following assurances from Trump, allowing TikTok to resume operations. Despite this reprieve, the platform's future hinges on finding an American buyer, with Trump requiring a 50 percent sale to ensure compliance with national security concerns.

Under these terms, ByteDance would retain partial ownership of TikTok, but an American company would co-own the platform. The goal is to address concerns about data security and the platform's ties to China.

Future Ownership Remains Unclear

Although TikTok is operational again, its status in app stores, including Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, remains uncertain. Reports of Oracle's involvement have fueled speculation, but the President's denial suggests that the search for a buyer is still ongoing. Trump's administration continues to explore options, but as of this writing, no definitive progress has been made.

For now, TikTok's millions of U.S. users can only wait as discussions proceed behind closed doors. Whether Oracle, another tech giant, or an unexpected player emerges as TikTok's next co-owner remains to be seen.
A late Vietnam veterans home was burglarized the same day that his family held his funeral (Click 2 Houston)

A late Vietnam War veterans home was burglarized the same day that he was laid to rest, according to a report.

Sgt. Patrick Rick Jacobus, who served as a flight navigator in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, died in early January in Houston after battling cancer.

His family held a funeral service on Thursday  the same day that a burglar broke into his home, Click2Houston reported.

The ski-mask-clad burglar stole items of sentimental value, his family said.

My heart sank, Anne Engelbrecht, Jacobus daughter, told the outlet. She was sucker-punched by the burglar.

It just hurt, she said. Its such a violation and its just something I wanted to remember him by, you know? And I dont have that.

A late Vietnam veterans home was burglarized the same day that his family held his funeral (Click 2 Houston)

She was especially hurt because the stranger took items that had little monetary value, but were invaluable to his family, including his military uniform, his bomber jacket and his vintage coin collection.

They also took the food that was in the fridge. They took the water and paper towels, like, just weird things, Engelbrecht added.

She didnt recognize the burglar, who was caught on neighbors security cameras.

He had apparently been checking on the front door multiple times across different nights, neighbors told the outlet.

He even covered up one neighbors Ring security camera before breaking into the late sergeants home.

I really didnt pay attention to them until he started covering up my door ring camera, the neighbor said, who noticed him spray-painting the camera in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

Engelbrecht understands she probably wont see those coins again, but she said she still hopes to see some of her fathers possessions one day.

She told the outlet: I just want my dads uniform back, and I want that bomber jacket back to get my son.

He passed away on January 8 at 80 years old, according to an online obituary: Ricks passing is a profound loss, but his spirit will forever remain a guiding light in our lives. We are grateful for the time we shared with him and the indelible mark he left on our hearts.
Elon Musks co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency Vivek Ramaswamy stepped down from his position after reportedly upsetting Trump with a post saying American culture venerated mediocrity over excellence.

Pharma billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy is out as co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency a month after posting that American culture prized mediocrity, reportedly upsetting President Donald Trump.

In a lengthy post on X in December, Ramaswamy waded into the political discussion on American versus foreign-born workers and railed against a culture that he said had misplaced priorities.

Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer) he wrote. A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.

Trump was reportedly privately unhappy with Ramaswamys post, the New York Times reported citing people close to the president, and was not thrilled with being dragged into a high-profile fight on the subject. Ramaswamys screed was also criticized by Trump allies including former White House chief strategist and right-wing media figure Steve Bannon.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fortunes request for comment. Ramaswamy is now reportedly planning to run for governor of Ohio.

The debate over H-1B visas, often employed by the tech industry to hire highly skilled workers, has split conservatives. While some hardliners like Bannon have come out against the visa program, Trump sided with first buddy Elon Musk when in December he said he "always liked" the program.

Apart from Trump, Ramaswamy also reportedly annoyed his co-head of DOGE, worlds richest man Musk, who made it known over the last few days that he wanted to get rid of Ramaswamy, Politico reported. Musk has been sharply critical of Ramaswamy behind the scenes, the New York Times reported.

Musk and Ramaswamy did not immediately reply to Fortune's request for comment.

After Trump reportedly told Ramaswamy he would be a good fit for the Senate seat being vacated by Vice President J.D. Vance, fellow Republican Mike DeWine instead appointed Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to the position.

It was my honor to help support the creation of DOGE. Im confident that Elon & team will succeed in streamlining government. Ill have more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio, Ramaswamy wrote on X Monday.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Wendy's; Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times via Getty Wendy's Chocolate Thin Mints Frosty

Girl Scout cookies dont only come in a box.

Wendys is joining forces with Girl Scouts of the USA to swirl together a limited-time treat: Thin Mints Frosty.

The cookie-inspired treat was announced on Monday, Jan. 27, but will be available starting on Friday, Feb. 21.

Wendy's Wendy's Vanilla Thin Mints Frosty

To transform the chocolate and mint-flavored patties into a frozen treat, the fast food chain is blending a minty-chocolatey swirl  described as having a crumbly, cookie butter-esque texture, per a press release  with either the vanilla or chocolate Frosty. So fans can choose which classic flavor gets a twist of Thin Mints flavor.

While it is not clear how long the Thin Mints Frosty will be around, a Wendys representative confirmed with PEOPLE that the chocolate and vanilla Frostys will continue to be available during the cookie-flavored treats run.

Related: Jonas Brothers Partner with Crumbl for All-New Robs Backstage Caramel Popcorn Cookie

Girl Scouts launched the 2025 cookie season in early January and announced that this will be the last season for two beloved cookies: Girl Scout Smores and Toast-Yay! will be discontinued after this year.

Smores combine graham sandwich cookies with a chocolate and marshmallow filling, while Toast-Yay! features French toast-flavored treats dipped in icing. There are no new cookie flavors for the 2025 cookie season.

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.

Dairy Queen is getting started with new desserts a little sooner than Wendys. The ice cream chain has two red velvet frozen treats returning to menus on Jan. 27  just in time for Valentines Day.

The fast food chain will add the Red Velvet Cake Blizzard Treat and the Red Velvet Blizzard Cupid Cake to menus nationwide. The former blends red velvet cake pieces and cream cheese icing with vanilla soft-serve ice cream. The latter, aptly shaped into a heart, layers vanilla soft-serve ice cream, red velvet cake pieces and cream cheese icing with a layer of the Red Velvet Cake Blizzard Treat on top.

Read the original article on People
If you thought winter might be about to loosen its grip on the U.S., think again.

A pair of Canadian clippers will bring gusty winds, snow squalls and even whiteout conditions in areas from West Virginia to Maine early this week, according to Accuweather.com, after a brief break in the frigid cold that enveloped much of the country this month.

Winds of up to 40 mph will gust across a wide swath from eastern Minnesota to the New England coast, making already-chilly temperatures feel even colder and blowing any snow that does fall, reducing visibility on the roads and creating icy hazards.

Regions around the Great Lakes, especially, could see cold winds and snow showers and squalls Monday night through Tuesday morning.

Snow is expected to blanket parts of the Northeast this week, and gusty winds and whiteout conditions are possible.

Where will the whiteouts happen?

Snow is forecast for New England, New York, most of Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and West Virginia.

The heaviest snow will fall around the Great Lakes' eastern shores. Several inches will likely accumulate farther inland, especially across parts of Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York. Interstates 80, 81 and 76, all of which run through the Keystone State, will potentially be impacted.

Rapidly falling snow in some areas, combined with gusty winds, could create whiteout conditions, so motorists are urged to exercise caution and check local weather forecasts. The Boston metro area and other parts of Massachusetts may also see squalls, winds and other dangerous conditions.

Snow here, snow there, snow everywhere: US gets snow in all 50 states

Winter storm warnings issued for mountains outside LA

The same storm system causing flooding in Southern California has brought several inches of snow to the region's mountains, prompting several advisories and warnings of dangerous travel conditions as roads become icy.

The system is set to move over the region through Tuesday before leaving a cold air mass in place over the coming days, which will keep overnight temperatures near freezing in some areas, according to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles.

The eastern San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County could see up to 2 feet of snow and 35-mph winds, according to a winter storm warning in effect through Monday afternoon. Similar weather advisories were issued for the mountains in Riverside County and San Bernardino County.

As snow piled up and ice formed over roads, officials announced closures of mountain roads. Interstate 5, which runs the length of California, was closed between Bakersfield and Santa Clarita because of snow. The state's Department of Public Transportation told motorists to use the 101 freeway.

Is it February yet?

January brought cold, snow and ice to regions not used to dealing with intense winter weather. Snow fell as far south as the Florida panhandle and in Gulf states such as Alabama.

The Mid-Atlantic states have felt prolonged cold snaps: Washington, D.C., has seen temperatures 6 degrees below average; Philadelphia 5 degrees below average and New York City around 4 degrees below average, according to Accuweather.

Forecasters say a more moderate pattern will bring somewhat milder temperatures across the Northeast as February begins.

Contributing: Christopher Cann

White across the red, white & blue: Snow here, snow there, snow everywhere! US gets snow in all 50 states.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Winds and whiteouts: January still is packing a punch
Volodymyr Zelensky has stated his belief that a deal to end Russias war in Ukraine could be made under Donald Trumps presidency but demanded Kyiv be included in any peace talks.

The Ukrainian president also said on Saturday that the terms of any deal that might arise under the new US president were still unclear  and might not even be clear to Trump himself  because Vladimir Putin had no interest in ending the war.

However, the Russian president has emphasised that he is open for talks with Trump on a broad range of issues including his countrys war in Ukraine, telling a state TV journalist on Friday: We believe the current presidents statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations.

Trump, who took office on Monday, has, in turn, expressed willingness to speak to Putin about ending the war, a contrast with the outgoing administration of Joe Biden, who shunned the Russian leader. Trump even promised during his election campaign to end the war within his first 24 hours in the White House  without saying how, and aides have since suggested that a deal could take months.

And Zelensky has now stressed that ending the war would not be possible unless Trump includes Ukraine itself in any negotiations.

Volodymyr Zelensky has stated his belief that a deal to end Russias war in Ukraine could be made under Donald Trumps presidency but demanded Kyiv be included in any peace talks (EPA)

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday alongside Moldovas president, Maia Sandu, a visiting ally, Zelensky said: Otherwise it will not work. Because Russia does not want to end the war, while Ukraine wants to end it.

In a separate interview broadcast later that day, Zelensky said he believed Trump truly wanted to see an end to the war, nearing the three-year mark next month, describing the US president as understanding all the challenges associated with the peace process and simply saying this has to end or it will get worse.

Speaking to Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was released this month after being detained for 21 days in Iran, Zelensky added: For now, we don't know how this will happen because we don't know the details. I believe President Trump himself does not know all the details. Because I would say so much depends on what sort of just peace we can achieve. And whether Putin wants, in principle, to stop the war. I believe he doesn't want to.

Ukrainian residents walk past a building damaged by Russian military strikes in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, on Saturday (REUTERS)

Kyiv, long worried about the prospect of its fate being decided by bigger powers without its participation, has said it is working to arrange a meeting between Zelensky and Trump.

Addressing journalists earlier alongside Sandu, Zelensky said he believed European allies should also be included in any future peace talks.

As for what the set-up of the talks will be: Ukraine, I really hope Ukraine will be there, America, Europe and the Russians, he said. Yes, I would really want that Europe would take part, because we will be members of the European Union. Ukraine and Moldova both submitted applications to join the EU days after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Zelensky spoke at a press conference on Saturday alongside Moldovas president, Maia Sandu, a visiting ally (AFP via Getty Images)

On Friday, Putin said he would like to meet Trump to talk about Ukraine but cited a 2022 decree from Zelensky barring talks with Putin as a barrier to negotiations.

Zelensky said on Saturday he had introduced this ban to stop Putin from forming channels of communication with other groups in Ukraine, which he said Russia had attempted, particularly those advocating separatist views.

I therefore took an absolutely fair decision, he said. I am the president of Ukraine and the leader of these or any other talks and I banned all the others.

The Russian President has emphasised that he is open for talks with Trump on a broad range of issues including his countrys war in Ukraine (Anton Vaganov/Pool Photo via AP, File)

On Sunday, Zelensky said Russia had used 1,250 aerial bombs, over 750 attack drones and more than 20 missiles to attack Ukraine over the past week, calling on his countrys partners to act in unity.

Ukraines military said its air defences downed 50 of 72 drones launched by Russia overnight, with no casualties or damage reported.

Meanwhile, Kyiv's general staff said its forces attacked one of Russias largest oil refineries in the city of Ryazan again overnight, with explosions and fire reported in the target area.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defence systems destroyed 15 Ukrainian drones over Russia and two sea drones in the Black Sea on Sunday.

Russian troops, meanwhile, have seized the town of Zelene and the village of Velyka Novosilka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing the defence ministry, in battlefield reports that could not be independently verified.
Cisco is urging channel partners to develop competencies in AI security, ethical AI implementation and regulatory compliance, to align with the vendors recent launch of Cisco AI Defence.

The product was designed to meet the advances of artificial intelligence and combines the ability to detect and protect against threats when developing and accessing AI applications without trade-offs.

Rodney Hamill, managing director partner and routes to market at Cisco Australia and New Zealand told ARN Cisco AI Defence was integrated into the fabric of the network, leveraging Ciscos extensive network visibility and control capabilities.

With this newly released product, Cisco partners can play a crucial role in helping customers build, operate and secure their AI environments.

Trust and security are significant concerns for the deployment of AI in enterprises, stemming from several key factors such as data vulnerability, lack of transparency, bias and discrimination, privacy concerns, operational risks, and regulatory compliance, said Hamill.

AI Defence also provides advanced threat intelligence by integrating with Cisco Talos, one of the largest commercial threat intelligence teams globally. This, coupled with machine learning models powered and algorithmic security validation, provides a unique offering in the market.
by p. Bahjat Karakach*

Fr. Karakach reaches out to AsiaNews, sharing that the country still has a long way to go to become a true rule of law, stable and democratic state. Among the positives are an open economy and conflict resolution with neighbours, concerns about political freedom and an Islamist matrix. Summary executions of at least 35 former Assad officials over the weekend.

Aleppo (AsiaNews) - It is still too early for the world to forget Syria, a nation that still has a long way to go before becoming a true rule of law, stable and democratic state,' writes Fr Bahjat Karakach, parish priest of the Church of St Francis of Assisi in Aleppo, to AsiaNews. The rise of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham militias, once affiliated with the al-Nusra front (formerly al-Qaeda), led by their leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, capable in a few weeks of overthrowing the regime of Bashar al-Assad, has brought some positive news: The openness of the new authorities, explains the parish priest, towards the international community; the promises not to be a country in conflict with its neighbours; the vision of a new open economy, are positive elements. However, there is no lack of concerns about the future and the form of government and political freedom of a government with a clear Islamist matrix, although he relies on a fundamental element: Our faith and our hope, he says, have not failed.

In the past three days, meanwhile, the new Syrian leaders have carried out at least 35 summary executions of former officials of the deposed Assad regime and numerous arrests in the Homs region. In addition, Hts leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (al-Jolani) met in Damascus with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo grandi to discuss the humanitarian situation and the return of those who have fled in the past, although there are no public statements on the content of the talks.

Below is the testimony of the parish priest of Aleppo:

Since the last message I sent you [about a month ago, for the Christmas celebrations], many things have happened that I could not summarise in a short message like this. However, I felt it was important to write to you today, both because many people are asking for an update, and to prevent the public from getting the impression that all is well. It is still too early for the world to forget about Syria: we have a long way to go before we reach a rule of law, stable and democratic state. In this journey, we need the contribution both of Syrians, inside and outside the country, and of our friends all over the world. Without this solidarity, we will not be able to face the immense challenges ahead of us.

To begin, I would like to share some positive facts before moving on to the emergencies that cause concern.

In fact, there are some areas where there is hope: the openness of the new authorities towards the international community; the promises not to be a country in conflict with its neighbours; the vision of a new open economy, are positive elements. Already the cost of some goods on the market has fallen, so much so that it is now possible to procure fuel, gas and bread without having to stand in long queues or suffer humiliation to obtain basic necessities. Added to this is a good level of freedom of expression, which we Syrians were not used to. During the decades of the regime, expressing a political opinion was a crime that could cost one's life. Today, on the other hand, we see various initiatives springing up spontaneously to discuss the Res publica.

On the other hand, however, there is no lack of concern among the people about the future of the country, the form of government that will be established. Will political freedom be maintained or will it be an Islamist government that excludes anyone who does not share a narrow view of religion?

The international delegations, including the Italian one, report a positive impression of the meetings they had in Damascus. They claim to have heard messages of openness and tolerance from the representatives of the new government: there will be no vendettas or bloodshed, and Syria will be a civilised country, in which all components will play an active role. This official discourse, which I dare call seductive, does not (yet?) fully reflect the reality on the ground. In fact, various armed groups - whose membership is unclear - continue to carry out acts of violence and discrimination, while there is no clear strategy to prosecute war criminals.

Many times, these vendettas take on a religious character, resulting in innocent victims. It is not uncommon to observe expressions of extremist-oriented Islamic thought: on public transport, women are separated from men, and some groups distribute the burqa, a black dress that covers the entire body, including the face, to women. The most dangerous phenomenon, however, is related to the new police and security officers: before being trained, they must take a course in sharia, the Islamic law. This fact implies de facto that not all Syrians will be able to access these positions, including moderate Muslims. The risk is the creation of second-class citizens on a large scale.

We do not know how long this emergency situation will last, as the authorities claim that it will not be possible to organise elections without a census. In our case, this is an extremely complex operation, given the presence of millions of Syrian refugees or homeless people. We talk about three or four years... but what is currently missing is a road map to guide us until then.

In parallel, economic emergencies must be addressed. In fact, it has emerged that hundreds of thousands of people are fictitiously employed by the government institutions of the old regime: all of them will be made redundant, leaving them without a livelihood. On the other hand, promises to increase salaries by 400% have not yet been fulfilled. On the contrary, pensioners have been excluded from the increase, and so far many civil servants have not received a salary at the end of December! This has paralysed the market: today people are not working, money is not circulating, and the needy are increasing.

We are aware that there is no magic wand to solve problems. However, the fact that our faith and hope have not failed is the real magic made in Syria!

* parish priest of the Church of St Francis of Assisi in Aleppo
The Pime missionary has been on a 24-hour sit-in in front of the government's central offices since yesterday to remember the at least one thousand young people who are still in prison due to the repression of pro-democracy movements. With an amnesty they could restore credibility to this city. The memory of Siu Ka Chun, one of the leaders of the 2014 umbrella movement and later an activist for prisoners' rights, who died in recent days of cancer.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - On hunger strike in front of the headquarters of the Hong Kong government offices, to remember the more than one thousand political prisoners still in prison following the repression of pro-democracy demonstrations. Especially the youngest, about whose fate no one but their families are concerned.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, Fr Franco Mella - a PIME missionary for many years in the front line of social struggles in Hong Kong - returned to the streets today with a 24-hour sit-it demonstration that began yesterday evening as a gesture against the silence on the fate of so many brothers and sisters who have worked hard for the poorest and with an amnesty could restore Hong Kong's credibility and also help its economic recovery much more than image initiatives, such as bringing pandas here as a tourist attraction.

In this initiative - which he repeats twice a year - Fr Mella was not alone this time: two other Hong Kong friends wanted to join his gesture. And an article about them also appeared this morning in Mingpao, a local newspaper. It is a symbolic gesture, says the missionary, We must at least say publicly that we hope these people will soon be able to return to their families.

The sentence that sentenced the organisers of the primary elections to up to 10 years in prison has been the talk of the world in recent months. The trial of Jimmy Lai is underway; in a few months, that of Lee Cheuk-yan and the other promoters of the June 4th commemoration, the anniversary of Tiananmen, will begin. But theirs are only the best known cases: these hundreds of young people are also behind them. And thousands of others who could still be brought to court for those events'.

Fr. Mella explains that his gesture is nothing more than letting himself be guided by the words of Jesus heard in the Gospel during yesterday's Mass: The Spirit of the Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners, to proclaim release to the blind, to restore freedom to the oppressed....

A commitment also in remembrance of Siu Ka Chun, a Baptist Christian who died a few days ago of cancer at the age of 55. Sentenced to eight months in prison for his role in the umbrella movement in 2014, he was serving this sentence when the 2019 protests took place, recalls Fr Mella. When he came out of prison he was already very thin. But he put all his strength into starting a business to enable those in prison to buy cheaply what they needed in detention. In 2021 he was forced to close that too, because it had become too risky. But caring for prisoners remained his battle and his example remains'.
WARNING: This article contains descriptions of suicide and self-harm that may be upsetting to some readers.

MBC weathercaster Oyoanna (or Oh Yo-anna) died on September 15, 2024, and details of her suicide note have been released, which reveal the workplace bullying she endured before her death.

The letter was discovered on her cell phone, which was left unlocked, and includes her battle with bullying from other weathercasters.

Even though Oh's family did not publicize the initial cause of death, they subsequently disclosed that she had taken her own life.

The suicide note allegedly exceeds 3000 characters in length and covers 17 pages, alleging bullying from two colleagues in particular.

An investigation by Maeil Shinmun found that Oh had been harassed since March 2022 after going freelance with MBC as a weathercaster in May of the prior year.

In her note, she detailed a case where a co-worker had alleged false claims against her and another where a different colleague scolded her for reading weather information that she felt was wrong.

However, the recovered text messages from Oh's KakaoTalk account showed that the actress had engaged in some disturbing conversations with her co-workers. Another freelancer supposedly kept her at the office late as a "lesson," while others bombarded her with messages blasting Oh's work.

Even though she tried to report the school bullying to MBC officials before her death, there was no investigation made after her passing.

READ MORE: Oh Yo Anna's Last Post Reveals Facial Injuries Before Untimely Passing Cause of Death Unspecified

When there are sufficient grounds, investigations are initiated, and an MBC spokesperson was quoted as saying, "An investigation can only be conducted if there is a reason to do so."

The immediate aftermath of Oh's untimely demise has also raised questions about how freelancers are treated in the broadcasting line of work.

A nameless weatherman commented that management practices at broadcasters made the scenario worse by creating a hierarchy, even among freelancers.

According to legal experts, freelancers can be considered victims of workplace bullying if they are intimidated or harassed to the point that it disrupts their work  a violation of the Workplace Bullying Prevention Act, which took effect in October 2020.

Last year, the Supreme Court made its landmark ruling on the status of freelance workers in the case of the KBS announcer, and thus, the Supreme Court ruling became a precedent regarding freelance workers' rights.

In her suicide note, Oh requested her funeral be "outdoor like a party... scatter my ashes in the ocean."

Calls for an investigation into the circumstances of her death have intensified, with advocates saying reforms are needed to prevent a repeat of abuses freelance workers face in South Korea.
Today's news: South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol indicted for insurrection; The president and a senior executive of Fuji Media, a Japanese company, resign over a sex abuse scandal; Chinese police, with Thai help, arrest a criminal suspected of online trafficking and fraud.

GAZA - PALESTINE

Tens of thousands of Palestinians started to move towards the north of Gaza along the main roads. Israel opened roadblocks today after Hamas agreed to hand over civilian Arbel Yehud and two other hostages, including a soldier. Television images showed large crowds moving in and witnesses said the first residents arrived in Gaza City in the early hours of the morning.

SOUTH KOREA

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was finally indicted for insurrection after attempting to declare martial law on 3 December 2024. The indictment comes after a Seoul court on Saturday rejected a request to extend Yoon's detention. In South Korea, insurrection is punishable by life imprisonment or death. The latter is unlikely, as the country has not carried out executions for decades.

CHINA

China has banned imports of sheep, goats, poultry and ungulates from African, Asian and European countries due to outbreaks of livestock diseases such as sheep pox, goat pox and foot and mouth disease. The ban by the world's largest meat importer affects Ghana, Somalia, Qatar, Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Tanzania, Egypt, Bulgaria, East Timor and Eritrea. China also stated that it has halted imports of sheep, goats and related products from Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh due to sheep and goat pox outbreaks.

JAPAN

Japan's Fuji Media said on Monday that its president Shuji Kanoh and the head of its television unit Koichi Minato will resign following an investigation into alleged sexual abuse at an event organised by one of its executives. Fuji has been embroiled in a scandal since December, when Japanese magazines accused Masahiro Nakai, TV presenter and leader of the former boy band SMAP, of sexual abuse.

CHINA - THAILAND - MYANMAR

Chinese police with the help of Thai law enforcement agencies arrested a major criminal suspect  who was allegedly involved in the case of a Chinese actor who travelled to Thailand for an alleged film job and then trafficked to Myanmar. After his abduction, he was taken to an online scam complex, forced to work for criminal networks running fraudulent telecommunications operations throughout the region.

KYRGYZSTAN

In Kyrgyzstan, security forces detained politician Ermek Ermatov of the Social Democratic Party, using violence on him and taking him to an unknown location, his wife, who has lost contact with him, said he was seen in hospital. The police said the arrest was due to refusal to cooperate with investigations and concealment of evidence for alleged electoral fraud.

RUSSIA

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, many pharmaceutical companies have restricted deliveries of medicines to Russia, which on the other hand is trying to import fewer and fewer foreign products. As Novaja Gazeta Evropa documents, this has created a black market for medicines, whereby Telegram chats are used to search for at least 1,280 preparations that cannot be found in Russian pharmacies, especially oncological ones.
by Steve Suwannarat

Low temperatures and fog have caused a pollution emergency in Thailand, especially in Bangkok. The situation is bad in 64 out of the countrys 76 provinces. In 2024, one million people sought medical attention due to air pollution, at a cost of US$ 90 million. People are urged not to burn replica money as a lucky charm for Lunar New Year.

Bangkok (AsiaNews)  High levels of particulates (PM2.5) in Bangkok and other large Thai cities due to low temperatures and fog have triggered a countrywide health alarm and pushed the authorities to take urgent and incisive measures.

The crisis caused by the convergence of weather factors, vehicle traffic and fossil fuel burning have reduced air quality in 64 out of 76 provinces, worse when compared to the high levels reported at the end of the last fiscal year (December 2024), when more than a million people sought medical attention for air pollution-related problems priced at three billion baht (almost US$ 90 million).

Recent measures are designed to reduce the public health impact of a problem that is getting worse every year, as well as limit costs, the Ministry of Health reported.

For this reason, the authorities are planning a campaign to raise awareness on digital platforms and through local volunteer networks, as well as set up particulates-free venues for the most vulnerable groups and encourage remote work wherever possible.

The measures include mobile clinics and emergency health teams operating in community centres, hospitals, schools with hostels and senior centres; in the worst cases, emergency centres will be set up by all levels of government.

The goal is to implement the anti-pollution guidelines previously developed by the ministry.

In Bangkok, the plan to contain PM2.5 entails free rides from 25 to 31 January on the citys metro rail services; over the last weekend (25-26 January), this resulted in a 45 per cent surge in ridership.

Although many observers doubt the effectiveness of the initiative, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is steadfastly behind it.

Other proposals have raised eyebrows. Deputy government spokesman Anukul Prueksanusak urged Sino-Thais (11 per cent of the countrys 69 million people) to refrain from burning paper replicas, joss paper and joss sticks for Chinese New Year (29 January); instead, they should use virtual, digital or electronic alternatives that have less impact on air quality.
We must also revisit the history of the Armenian genocide, Pashinian told a group of Swiss Armenians at the end of his visit to Switzerland late last week. We must understand what happened and why it happened, how we perceived it and through whom we perceived. How is it that in 1939 there was no Armenian genocide [recognition] agenda and how is it that in 1950 the Armenian genocide agenda emerged?

Suren Manukian, an Armenian scholar specializing in genocide studies, deplored the statement, saying that Pashinian lacks elementary knowledge of the World War One-era slaughter of an estimated 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians recognized as genocide by dozens of countries and most international historians.

Semi-literacy is one of the most dangerous things, Manukian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service. I think the prime minister just needs to read a little.

One thing Pashinian will learn, he said, is that the term genocide was coined by Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin after 1939, during the Jewish Holocaust. Lemkin also drew on the events of 1915.

In Manukians words, Pashinian hinted that Armenian started calling the 1915 mass massacres a genocide and campaigning for its international recognition at the behest of the Soviet Union. The scholar countered that Soviet Armenia was allowed to mark genocide anniversaries only in 1965, more than a decade after the death of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Armenian opposition leaders went farther, accusing Pashinian of openly denying the genocide on Turkeys orders.

Armenia is ruled by a collaborationist regime that serves only Turkey and Azerbaijan, said Gegham Manukian of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), a pan-Armenian party that has for decades been at the forefront of genocide recognition campaigns in the United States and Europe.

This is an insult to the memory of the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, one and a half million Armenian martyrs canonized by the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, read a statement released by Dashnaktsutyuns chapter in Armenia on Monday.

Tigran Abrahamian, an opposition lawmaker representing the Pativ Unem bloc, likewise said that Pashinians denial of the Armenian Genocide is part of Turkish-Azerbaijani efforts to wipe out the historical memory of the Armenian people.

Vartan Oskanian, another vocal critic of Pashinian who had served as foreign minister from 1998-2008, charged that he committed treason by parroting Ankaras continuing denial of the genocide.

By hinting that perhaps Armenians themselves are also responsible for what happened, Pashinian repeats one of the most dangerous theses of genocide denial which has been propagated by the Turkish state for more than a century, Oskanian said in a Facebook post.

Pashinian was accused by his detractors of casting doubt on the Armenian genocide even before his latest comments.

In his statement on the 109th anniversary of the genocide commemorated in April 2024, Pashinian no longer called for its wider international recognition. He also put the emphasis on the Armenian phrase Meds Yeghern (Great Crime), rather than the word genocide.

Earlier in April, a senior Armenian pro-government lawmaker, Andranik Kocharian, called for verifying the number of the genocide victims and ascertaining the circumstances of their deaths. He said Pashinian wants to make the entire list of compatriots subjected to genocide more objective. Faced with an uproar from opposition leaders, civil society figures and genocide scholars, Kocharian claimed the following day that he only expressed his personal opinion.
The outspoken lawmaker, Garnik Danielian, decried on Friday the disgraceful state of affairs inside Armenian prisons.

The lack of basic conditions and improper treatment push prisoners to resort to extreme measures: hunger strikes, self-harm, and suicide, Danielian wrote in a Facebook post. He claimed that neither Manasian nor the countrys current and former justice ministers have taken any steps to rectify the situation.

Manasian was quick rebut the accusation, saying that her office has regularly raised the problem with relevant law-enforcement authorities and released numerous statements and reports based on its representatives inspections of the prisons.

In a written statement, the former prosecutor also warned: Such behavior by this individual [Danielian] is not only unacceptable but may also contain, in the context of his other actions, elements of an offence as defined by the Criminal Code.

Contacted by RFE/RLs Armenian Service, Manasians office did not specify by Monday afternoon which part of Danielians post may warrant criminal charges. Meanwhile, the lawmaker denied committing such a crime.

Something astonishing is happening in the post-Soviet history of the Republic of Armenia: its human rights defender threatens a member of the National Assembly, he said.

Zaruhi Hovannisian, a member of a team of civic activists monitoring prison conditions, denounced Manasians thinly veiled threat as extremely dangerous and unacceptable. She said the ombudswoman should have moved to address the parliamentarians concerns instead.

It looked like a statement by an official defending the interests of a political faction, Hovannisian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service. The impartiality of the Office of the Human Rights Defender was thus called into question.

Manasian, 36, is reputedly a close friend of Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetian, having worked as one of her deputies before being installed as ombudswoman by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians Civil Contract party about two years ago. Opposition lawmakers rejected Manasians candidacy for the post at the time, saying that she cannot combat human rights abuses because of her background. Manasian has essentially refrained from criticizing the Armenian authorities human rights record and, in particular, their crackdowns on antigovernment protesters.
Lukashenko attacked Pashinian as he secured his seventh term in office in a weekend presidential election that EU leaders have denounced as a sham.

Armenias leadership is to blame for what happened, he told journalists, referring to Azerbaijans recapture of Karabakh in September 2023. They recognized Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert as part of Azerbaijan. We, I and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, were astonished.

Pashinian himself abandoned Karabakh, even though [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev was ready at that point to agree that its a territory where Armenians should have serious influence. But there was the gift [to Azerbaijan.] Who wouldnt take it?

The Belarusian strongman, in power since 1994, went on to slam Pashinian for flirting with the EU.

Its a dangerous game, he said. He will destroy Armenia. Calm him down.

Neither Pashinians office nor the Armenian Foreign Ministry reacted to the verbal attacks as of Monday evening.

Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonian, a key Pashinian ally, said Lukashenko is trying to justify his earlier admission that he supported and participated in the large-scale killing of Armenians in Karabakh. He did not exclude that Armenia will downgrade or even sever diplomatic relations with Belarus.

I think that can be discussed, Simonian told journalists. I dont want to express my opinion.

Yerevan already recalled its ambassador from Minsk last summer as tensions between the two nominal ex-Soviet allies rose after Lukashenko made fresh pro-Azerbaijani statements during a visit to Azerbaijan. He said there that he had approved Bakus plans to try to reconquer Karabakh by force during his meetings with Aliyev held before the 2020 war. Pashinian declared at the time that no Armenian official will visit Belarus as long as Lukashenko remains in power.

The two leaders publicly traded barbs last month during a Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) summit in Saint Petersburg which Pashinian attended via video link.

Lukashenko has a long history of supporting Azerbaijan in the conflict with Armenia. He had an uneasy relationship with Armenias former leadership as well.
27 January 2025 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

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27 January 2025 20:12 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

France is at a crossroads, grappling with a deep political and social crisis that has shaken the foundations of Emmanuel Macrons presidency. Public discontent, fueled by economic stagnation, diplomatic blunders, and growing inequality, has manifested in mass protests, strikes, and a sharp decline in trust in the government. The French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) recently revealed that a staggering 79% of citizens disapprove of Macrons performance as President of the Republic, a damning statistic that underscores the erosion of his mandate. Support among pensioners, a key demographic that played a pivotal role in his 2022 re-election, has particularly waned, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with his policies.

Despite these challenges, Macron remained defiant. Back in 2024, on December 3, in response to growing calls for his resignation, he dismissed the notion as "political fiction," stating, It doesnt make sense... its frankly not up to scratch to say these things. Speaking from Saudi Arabia, Macron emphasized his legitimacy as a two-time elected president and vowed to serve out his term until 2027. I am extremely proud of this and I will honour this trust with all the energy that is mine until the last second to be useful to the country, he added. Nevertheless, prominent opposition figures and even some voices within Macrons camp argue that resignation might be the only path to resolve the political impasse.

The instability in France has roots in Macrons controversial domestic policies. His ambitious reform agenda, including labour law changes and economic modernization, has faced fierce resistance. The "yellow vest" protests, which erupted in 2018, marked the beginning of years of unrest. These demonstrations, sparked by rising fuel taxes, soon evolved into a broader critique of Macrons presidency, highlighting growing inequality and scepticism toward his economic vision. Corruption scandals and questions about the governments transparency have only exacerbated public anger.

Today, Frances streets are alive with demonstrations led by labour collectives, pensioners, and young people, demanding justice, economic reforms, and even new elections. Rising unemployment, mounting public debt, and declining living standards have created a sense of hopelessness among citizens. Political experts warn that Macrons government appears increasingly disconnected from the realities on the ground, failing to present viable solutions to the countrys pressing issues.

Adding to Macrons woes are external challenges that have further tarnished Frances global standing. The recent diplomatic row with Azerbaijan has amplified criticism of his foreign policy. This influence has even had a strong impact on his retired staff. Former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attals harsh words against Azerbaijan reflect Frances growing frustration. Withdrawn from politics, Attal declared, accusing Baku of interference, destabilization, and inciting violence. He cited Azerbaijans support for independence movements in Frances overseas territories, including Guadeloupe, Martinique, and New Caledonia, as a direct challenge to Frances territorial integrity and values.

This diplomatic scandal has exposed Frances vulnerabilities. Azerbaijans backing of decolonization efforts in these regions has not only embarrassed Paris but also highlighted the fragility of its colonial legacy. French officials, already grappling with domestic instability, have struggled to respond effectively. Macrons administrations attempts to dismiss Azerbaijans actions as "interference in internal affairs" have been met with scepticism, both domestically and internationally. Critics argue that the presidents inability to navigate these challenges has further undermined Frances credibility on the world stage.

Macrons isolation is evident not only in foreign policy but also in his diminishing influence within the French parliament. The governments failure to secure support for key legislative initiatives has paralyzed decision-making. In 2024 alone, the French cabinet underwent four reshuffles, a clear indication of the instability within Macrons administration. These changes, far from addressing the countrys problems, have revealed a lack of strategic direction and leadership.

Meanwhile, opposition parties are capitalizing on Macrons declining popularity. Conservative forces, in particular, have intensified their criticism, accusing him of jeopardizing national interests through misguided domestic and foreign policies. Public sentiment continues to shift toward alternatives, with rallies and protests demanding new elections and a change in political course.

The crisis of confidence in Emmanuel Macron is a symptom of deeper structural issues facing France. Economic stagnation, social unrest, and diplomatic missteps have converged to create a perfect storm. As public dissatisfaction grows, the spectre of political chaos looms large. Macrons defiance, while a testament to his resilience, may not be enough to weather the storm. With his approval ratings plummeting and trust in his leadership eroding, France risks becoming engulfed in a prolonged period of instability. What remains clear is that France, under Macrons leadership, risks sliding further into political and social chaos, with consequences that could reverberate far beyond its borders.

Photo Source: Telegraph
27 January 2025 15:40 (UTC+04:00)

Nazrin Abdul Read more

Reconstruction work is progressing rapidly in the liberated cities and regions of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

As part of these efforts, internal communication works (including the construction of auxiliary facilities) are being launched in the village of Jahangirbeyli in the Zangilan region.

The Rehabilitation, Construction, and Management Service for the Jabrayil, Gubadli, and Zangilan regions has already completed preparatory work in this regard.

Internal communication works (including the construction of auxiliary facilities) in the village will be carried out as part of the settlement reconstruction project.

The project has been entrusted to "Az Technocon Group" Limited Liability Company (LLC), and a contract has been signed for its implementation.

Under the terms of the contract, 2 million manats were paid to the company.

It is also worth noting that gas, water, electricity, as well as road, sidewalk, and landscaping works were recently initiated in the village settlement.
27 January 2025 17:56 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

The 11th Congress of the Azerbaijan Composers' Union has been held at the Uzeyir Hajibayli Concert Hall, Azernews reports.

Azerbaijan Culture Minister Adil Karimli, members of the Azerbaijan Composers' Union Board, public and cultural figures attended the event.

Chairperson of the Azerbaijan Composers' Union, Corresponding Member of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Professor, People's Artist, Frangiz Alizade was heard at the congress.

In her speech, Frangiz Alizade highlighted the achievements of Azerbaijani composers in recent years, the projects implemented by the Azerbaijan Composers' Union, state care for young musicians, and noted that during the reporting period covering 2019-2024, composers and musicologists contributed to the development of the musical culture of Azerbaijan with their creativity.

The Culture Minister Adil Karimli, who also addressed the event, emphasized that Azerbaijani musical art has an ancient history and rich traditions.

He underlined that the National Leader of the Azerbaijani People Heydar Aliyev, who was the patron of our culture, closely followed the development of musical art in the country during both periods of his leadership, had friendly relations with a number of our composers. National Leader of the Azerbaijani People Heydar Aliyev took care of the composers, constantly supported the promotion of their work.

Speaking about the care of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva in the development of the national culture, Adil Karimli outlined that the country provides support to both individual artists and the Azerbaijan Composers' Union.

Thanks to this care, the works of the Azerbaijani classical and contemporary composers are heard on world-famous stages.

The Culture Minister noted that thanks to the wise leadership of President Ilham Aliyev and the heroism of the glorious Azerbaijani Army, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country were restored.

Azerbaijan's historical victory, like other creative directions, should be embodied in musical works, the unsurpassed heroism of the national heroes must be glorified in the language of music.

In conclusion of his speech, Adil Karimli wished Azerbaijan Composers' Union success in its activities.

After other speeches, elections to the governing bodies of Azerbaijan Composers' Union took place.

By open voting, People's Artist, Professor Frangiz Alizade was unanimously re-elected as the Chairman of the Azerbaijan Composers' Union.

The composition of the Board and the Control and Audit Commission at Azerbaijan Composers' Union was also determined at the congress.

Azerbaijan Composers' Union has played an important role in helping develop a strong national identity through music.

The Union was founded with the assistance of Uzeyir Hajibeyli on June 30, 1934, as a department of the USSR Composers Union.

The founding assembly was attended by 17 composers from the USSR countries, including three Azerbaijani composers - Afrasiyab Badalbayli, Zulfugar Hajibeyov, and Niyazi. The current chairman of the Union is Peoples Artist Frangiz Alizade.

In 2019, the Azerbaijan Composers' Union celebrated its 85th anniversary. As part of the festival, a series of marvelous concerts were solemnly held in the Philharmonic Hall, Azerbaijani Composers' Union, Baku Music Academy, the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, and the Rashid Behbudov State Song Theater. The festival's closing ceremony took place in Heydar Aliyev Palace.

Along with concert programs, a scientific conference titled "Achievements of Azerbaijani musical culture in recent years and prospects" was also held as part of the festival.

Azerbaijan Composers' Union serves as a space for both well-known and new composers, giving them chances to share their music, work together, and take part in different festivals both in Azerbaijan and around the world.
27 January 2025 14:10 (UTC+04:00)

One of TikTok's unique features is its ability to provide fascinating and useful content on any topic, including home design and renovation. It has become a digital hub where interior design enthusiasts, architects, and professional designers share their secrets. Whether you dream of a cosy minimalist apartment or a luxurious, modern home, TikTok can be your primary source of inspiration and can serve you as practical advice.

But why has TikTok become such a powerful home design and renovation platform? The answer is simple: creativity, authenticity, and accessibility. Users can witness real-life transformations, learn step-by-step techniques, and even ask questions in the comments for direct answers. From discovering trending colour palettes to learning the secrets of space optimization, TikTok provides detailed guidance for every aspect of design and renovation.

If you are ready to turn your dream home into reality, grab your phone, open TikTok, and dive into the world of design and renovation. Your next home makeover might just begin with a single swipe!

Rna Novruzlu, the founder of Renee Architecture & Design, is a renowned architect with 25 years of experience. Her TikTok account stands out with high-quality, engaging content. Each video not only offers visual pleasure but also provides valuable insights, which explains why her posts attract a large audience.

What makes her account unique is the diverse and professional approach to her content. Her videos on historical monuments highlight the unique architectural styles of Azerbaijan's rich cultural heritage. She also offers practical and innovative interior design solutions, helping homeowners simplify their lives with actionable tips. From trending styles and colour palettes to common design mistakes, Rna ensures her followers are well-informed to make better decisions. One of her most viewed posts discusses the growing trend of adding windows to bathrooms.

Specializing in Russian-language content, Archi. Baku delivers valuable and intriguing tips to its audience. Architect Lal Abdullayeva and her professional team create content on architecture, interior design, renovation, and construction. Alongside helpful information, the account features humorous trends, leaving a memorable impression on followers.

Renovation and construction topics take centre stage, with particular attention given to material selection. These videos provide detailed insights into practical uses, making the account a perfect resource for those seeking experience in the field.

Operating under the slogan Your concrete construction specialist!, this TikTok account captivates its audience with relevant and intriguing content. By addressing each topic concisely and directly, it helps viewers find answers to their questions with ease.

Beyond construction and renovation tips, the account also covers material and furniture selection and space planning. Each video provides practical approaches and useful information applicable to real-life scenarios. If you're looking for effective planning or material selection for your next project, this account is the one to follow.

This TikTok account, managed by Eldar Aghayev, combines construction, renovation, design, and furniture customization under one roof. One of its most engaging posts (with 2.8 million views) showcases a kitchen ladder integrated into cabinetry, offering a practical solution for accessing upper shelves. This clever design eliminates the need for a tall ladder, making it an optimal choice for convenience.

For creative and practical approaches to construction, renovation, and design, this account is an excellent resource.

Prviz Israfilovs TikTok account provides fascinating content on renovation, construction, and design. His videos feature before-and-after showcases of his projects, along with practical tips and useful insights.

Topics like baseboard height, underfloor heating versus radiators, and laminate versus parquet are discussed, capturing the interest of his audience. Another highlight is his video explaining how he transformed a 48-square-meter apartment into a functional three-room living space.

If you're looking for practical and inspiring advice on construction, renovation, and design, Prviz Israfilovs TikTok account is a must-follow.

TikTok accounts in architecture, renovation, and design not only provide expertise but also offer solutions to real-life problems. These platforms serve as invaluable resources for those eager to learn the practical aspects of the field. Whether you're redesigning your home or looking for renovation tips, TikTok can guide you in creating a more efficient and aesthetically pleasing space.

If you're seeking inspiration for your next design project, Rna Novruzlus TikTok account and others like it are your ultimate sources of ideas. Every video could open a new door on your design journey
27 January 2025 12:35 (UTC+04:00)

Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, made a phone call to Aleksandr Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus, on January 27, Azernews reports.

The head of state congratulated Aleksandr Lukashenko on his re-election as President of the Republic of Belarus and wished him success in his duties.

President Aleksandr Lukashenko expressed gratitude to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for the attention and congratulations.

During the telephone call, the two leaders reaffirmed their confidence in the continued development of friendship and partnership between Azerbaijan and Belarus and exchanged views on the prospects for bilateral cooperation.
27 January 2025 14:55 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

On January 26, 2024, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Yalchin Rafiyev, visited the State of Qatar, marking an important step in strengthening bilateral ties, Azernews reports.

The visit included the 5th meeting of political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and Qatar, where Rafiyev chaired the Azerbaijani delegation, while Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sultan bin Saad Al Mureykhi, led the Qatari side.

The discussions covered a wide range of topics, including political and economic cooperation, joint efforts within the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, and other international organizations. Both sides also discussed enhancing collaboration in trade, investment, agriculture, tourism, education, and other sectors.

A key highlight of the visit was Rafiyev's meeting with Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed, Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Trade, where the importance of convening the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Joint Commission between Azerbaijan and Qatar was emphasized. Both parties agreed on the need to organize mutual trade missions and business forums to boost economic ties.

Additionally, Deputy Minister Rafiyev visited the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS) in Doha, meeting with its Director, Ghassan Elkahlout, and experts to discuss Azerbaijans foreign policy, regional developments, and the situation in the South Caucasus and the Middle East.

Rafiyev also met with the leadership, faculty, and students at the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRC) at Georgetown University in Qatar. During the session, he provided insights into Azerbaijan's foreign policy priorities, the post-conflict period in the South Caucasus, the normalization process with Armenia, and ongoing reconstruction efforts in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. He also engaged with participants, answering their questions on these topics.

This visit underscores the growing diplomatic and economic relationship between Azerbaijan and Qatar, with both nations committed to further enhancing cooperation in various fields.
27 January 2025 14:36 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

On January 27, 2024, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day, honoring the millions of victims of one of the most horrific events in human history, Azernews reports.

In a message shared on X (formerly Twitter), the ministry expressed deep sorrow for the lives lost in the Holocaust, emphasizing the importance of remembrance.

On 27 January - International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember and mourn the victims of one of the most revolting atrocities in human history.



We stand united against religious and ethnic hatred, genocide, and crimes against humanity, and oppose all forms of anti-Semitism pic.twitter.com/5F1oiiBttw  MFA Azerbaijan  (@AzerbaijanMFA) January 27, 2025

International Holocaust Remembrance Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly, marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The day serves as a solemn occasion to honor the six million Jewish victims, along with the millions of others who suffered under Nazi persecution during World War II.

The Holocaust is remembered as the systematic, state-sponsored genocide of six million European Jews by the Nazi regime and its allies between 1933 and 1945. Azerbaijans recognition of this day underscores its commitment to opposing all forms of hatred and promoting tolerance.
27 January 2025 23:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

The British government plans to tighten inspection procedures at retail outlets to prevent knives from falling into the hands of children, Azernews reports.

This decision was made after a teenager who killed three children during a dance lesson in Southport pleaded guilty in court last week.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the knife attack carried out by Axel Rudakubana last July as one of the worst events in British history, prompting the launch of a public inquiry to investigate the failures that led to the tragedy. Consequently, attention is now focused on the rules for the sale of knives.

Under current legislation, retailers in the UK are required to have an age verification system to prevent people under the age of 18 from purchasing knives. However, some aspects of these systems remain unclear.

Interior Minister Yvette Cooper, speaking in Parliament last week, called it shameful that 17-year-old A. Rudakubana was able to buy a knife online. She emphasized the ease with which children can acquire dangerous weapons online, noting, "When shopping online, it's very easy to enter a false date of birth, and parcels are often left on doorsteps with little to no questions asked."

The British government is now under increased pressure to strengthen regulations regarding online sales and improve age verification processes to ensure that dangerous items, like knives, are not easily accessible to minors. Furthermore, there are discussions about increasing penalties for retailers who fail to comply with these laws.
27 January 2025 22:42 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

The Japanese government is considering joining a U.S.-led initiative to develop a space telescope aimed at searching for Earth-like planets and extraterrestrial life, Azernews reports.

According to the agency, as part of NASA's Observatory of Habitable Worlds project, plans are in place to launch a space telescope that will operate in the ultraviolet, optical, and infrared wavelengths in the early 2040s.

Tokyo intends to direct a specialized team within the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to assess potential technological contributions to the project.

The new space telescope, which will succeed the James Webb Space Telescope launched in 2021, will be positioned in orbit approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. It will employ infrared and ultraviolet radiation to detect exoplanets with conditions conducive to life, such as liquid water and an atmosphere capable of supporting life.

This collaboration between the U.S. and Japan would mark a significant step in the exploration of exoplanets, building upon the success of the James Webb Space Telescope and its groundbreaking discoveries. Japan's potential involvement also highlights the growing international cooperation in space exploration, particularly in the search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system. With advancements in technology and collaboration, scientists are increasingly optimistic about the prospects of finding extraterrestrial life within the next few decades.
Beaufort County School Board, Pomp and Ceremony

BY: HOOD RICHARDSON

All government meetings have statutes that determine how they are to be conducted. Most of these statutes came into being because of the abuse of government officials. In North Carolina these are generally referred to as the Open Meetings Laws. They are clearly stated in two or three pages. In general government deliberations, debates, reports and the decision-making process must be open to the public view and examination. Even with these laws a lot of government business is still conducted by elected officials behind closed doors. The weakness in North Carolina statutes is that there are no stinging penalties prescribed. The verdict in most lawsuits about open meetings laws is usually a slap on the wrist and a restraining order that says, Dont do that again. Doing it again could lead to some jail time. A judge can declare the secret meeting action to be null and void and he can require the government to pay the winning sides legal bills. Payments to plaintiffs and monetary fines are as rare as hens teeth.

Exceptions to the open meetings law that allow closed sessions are specifically defined by statute. These include: preventing confidential information as defined by federal and state laws from being made public, preventing special award disclosure, consulting with attorney on matters that are specifically shielded from public observation, deciding economic development incentives, negotiating to purchase property, considering personnel matters with respect to a specific individual, discussing allegations of criminal conduct, and certain matters relating to hospitals. Other than these things, all business must be conducted in open session with the public having the right to be present.

The law is very clear, both in statutes and case law: The presumption of openness is the standard and the government entity may be held accountable to show a legitimate need for keeping its action secret and then only until the need therefore has expired. The legal presumption is: Open unless a valid legal reason is present to shield the action from the public.

Most Beaufort County School Board meetings are held in the old P. S. Jones cafeteria on North Pierce Street. This room has poor acoustics. After many requests the meetings are now filmed and posted on the School Board web site. The school board attorney is rarely present. The superintendent sits beside the Board Chairman and among the nine school board members. This allows the Superintendent to whisper to the chairman during meetings, hand him papers and to anyone who did not know better he appears to be a member of the board.

There are several things that should be changed regarding these arrangements. Usually, the politically elected body sits separately from the hired help. The present arrangement separates and divides the elected body and allows the Superintendent to appear to control the meeting. The Superintendent is separated from his staff. The staff presentations appear to be scripted. There are usually 50 to 100 employees of the school system present during a meeting. Why? They sit in the front center of the room with members of the public squirreled away in a corner of the room. A more normal seating arrangement is needed that does not appear to intimidate the members of the School Board.

The layout of governmental bodies in meetings is important. A good example of this principle is how the public views the video of School Board meetings. There is usually only one camera, and it is static (i.e. does not move to show who is speaking). A better example is how Commissioner meetings are arranged. But even then, there is a need for a camera operator allowing the public to see who is speaking. Randy Walker did a good job of videography when he recorded meetings. Good videography usually dictates multiple cameras and operators. If the situation necessitates multiple cameras, that can be accomplished by an operator who can control multiple cameras and efficient editing software and hardware. The School Board should take note of that.

The audio speakers should be improved in the room so one does not have to strain to hear. There are comments about the poor quality of the videoed meeting on the school board web site. This should be moved to the public access channel on the cable website. The same site the commissioners meetings are on.

The school board lawyer lives in Durham County and is the Chairman of the Durham County Democrat Party. This is the same Democrat lawyer that the School Superintendent used when he tried to intimidate Republican Stacy Davis when she was a 2024 candidate for the board. The Superintendent claims of Stacy Daviss illegal use of a school logo had little if any merit. Would a School Board attorney living in Beaufort County allow the Superintendent to get involved in school board elections. Does the Big Cheeses behavior make any sense at all?

The loss of 762 students from our schools from 2017 to 2022 and the corresponding increase of 739 students in charter, private and home schools during the same time period tells me that Beaufort County Schools are not satisfying parents about our children getting a quality education. (This information came from the Numerix, LLC Beaufort County School 2022-23 membership report dated September 17, 2023).

It is time for the school board to take the bull by the horns and correct these glaring deficiencies.
Beaufort County Schools are building a new school on the same ground where Eastern Elementary already exists, at a cost of $10,500,000.00 to Beaufort County's Taxpayers. Is this a wise expense of taxpayer dollars at this time?

21.43% Yes, Beaufort County has been awarded a 42 million dollars of grant money from the state of North Carolina (FREE MONEY) to construct school at 3.00 per squ. ft.66.67% No, this is the wrong time, to build the wrong school, on the wrong placement - its lowest point - of Eastern Elementary's existing location, when community schools work best.11.9% Why should I care about the public's education?
Economy Minister Conor Murphy met SpiderRock executives in Chicago last year. He is joined by (from left) George Papa, SpiderRock CEO, Annabelle Baldwin, SpiderRock chief revenue officer, Andrea Haughian, Invest NIs head of Americas, and Julianne Cox, FDI business development director at Invest NI

An American fintech firm is investing over 2m here with the creation of 20 new jobs paying around 55k on average.

SpiderRock Technology Solutions is adding an engineering development team to its Belfast offices, located in Donegall Square East.

The company works with hedge funds, banks and other trading firms around the world, supplying them with high-performance, cloud-based trading systems and low-latency market data solutions.

The jobs will be hybrid, meaning that they are open to applicants based across Northern Ireland.

Economic development agency Invest NI and the Department for the Economy were involved in securing the investment, including during Economy Minister Conor Murphys trip to America in 2024.

Mr Murphy said: This investment by such a prestigious company is testament to the international stature of the Norths thriving fintech sector.

Invest NI and I met SpiderRocks leadership team in Chicago last year to discuss the benefits of investing in the north.

Im delighted the company has now decided to create 20 new positions offering average salaries of 55,000, almost double the private sector median.

The hybrid nature of the roles mean they will be accessible to people right across the region.

George Papa, CEO of SpiderRock, said: We have been incredibly impressed with the talent and expertise available in Northern Ireland, as well as the strong partnerships with universities and support from Invest NI.

Our Northern Ireland team will play a critical role in supporting our trading platform, extending operational coverage during non-US hours, and enabling our expansion into European markets.

Recruitment efforts are progressing rapidly, and were thrilled to have already filled almost half of the planned roles.

This investment marks a significant milestone for SpiderRock as we grow our presence in Europe, build our brand, and deliver innovative solutions to new markets.

Andrea Haughian, Invest NIs head of Americas, said: Securing this investment for Northern Ireland is a testament to the hard work of our local investment manager and the collaborative efforts of our in-market team in the US.

SpiderRocks decision to establish operations in Northern Ireland highlights the regions growing reputation as a fintech hub, offering a skilled workforce and a competitive business environment.

The new team will play a pivotal role in advancing SpiderRocks global strategy and we look forward to supporting SpiderRock as it grows its operations here.

The announcement is likely to be one of the last made by Mr Murphy in his current role, as he seeks election to Seanad Eireann.

He has been nominated for the industrial and commercial panel, and will go before the electorate of current and TDs, current members of the Seanad and members of city and county councils.

Economy Minister Conor Murphy met SpiderRock executives in Chicago last year. He is joined by (from left) George Papa, SpiderRock CEO, Annabelle Baldwin, SpiderRock chief revenue officer, Andrea Haughian, Invest NIs head of Americas, and Julianne Cox, FDI business development director at Invest NI

Donald Trump says Starmer has done a very good job thus far
The company is starting a 12m expansion, with investment in production facilities and new jobs

Pre-tax profits are up by more than a third at a major concrete manufacturing firm in the north west.

Tobermore Concrete Products posted a turnover of over 80m and a pre-tax profit of close to 15m in their most latest accounts on Companies House.

Tobermore was founded in 1942, and is based in Magherafelt, Co Londonderry. Their directors include David Henderson, Glenn Robinson and Daniel Anderson.

The companys 2024 accounts cover the 12 month period that ended on 30 April 2024, and they show that turnover grew slightly, up 2% from close to 77m to 80.4m.

All of this income was generated from product sales, with the company saying it sells its paving and walling and sells to customers in Ireland, the UK and the Isle of Man.

David Henderson, managing director, Tobermore Concrete

Tobermores current assets grew by almost 20% from 2023 to 2024, going up from 57m to 68m. Much of this was driven by a strong rise in cash at bank and in hand, from 1.8m to 9.8m.

The company employed three fewer staff on average, with 413 employees. Staff costs stayed essentially stable at just over 17m.

Once all the costs were added up, pre-tax profit rose 37% in 2024, rising to 14.9m from 10.9m.

The strategic report described the principal risks and uncertainties facing the firm as risk surrounding the emergence and growth of competitors and the wider economic environment, risks common across the industry.

The company is committed to taking a proactive approach to risk management with senior staff maintaining oversight.

The company continues to perform well despite risks in the sector.

In December, the company announced it was starting a 12m expansion in anticipation of a rise in building projects in the UK.

The plans include an 8m production facility outside of Tobermore town, alongside a 4m investment in new jobs that will see the company create a technical design team.

The strategic report references investment in its future outlook section: The strategic focus of the company is to create more opportunities with commercial customers in the mainland UK market, which is driven by current and anticipated growth in housebuilding and public realm projects across the UK.

The company plans to service this growth by investing in both production facilities and new jobs, including the creation of a dedicated technical design team to support its commercial customers.

Tobermores design team will be expanded to provide a complete design, project and technical support service for architects, engineers and ground workers as well as house builders and local authorities working within private and public sectors.

A number of new roles will also be created in specification and strategic sales teams to support its continually growing customer base in the UK.

Tobermore general manager, Glenn Robinson said: "The release of our annual accounts (up to April 2024) showcases impressive results that reflect the substantial changes and investments made in our business.

"These successes are driven by the quality of our products, the dedication of our people, and the support of all our stakeholders. With a further 12m investment planned, this is an exciting time for Tobermore as we build on our growth and continue to deliver excellence."
Croatian scholar says Spring Festival culture increasingly popular in Europe

Xinhua) 08:23, January 27, 2025

People watch dragon dance during an event in celebration of the upcoming Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, in Barcelona, Spain, Jan. 25, 2025. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua)

The Spring Festival culture, with a history of around 4,000 years, is a public holiday in almost 20 countries and celebrated in various ways by about one-fifth of humanity.

ZAGREB, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- More and more people in Croatia and other European countries are enjoying the Spring Festival culture, Kresimir Jurak, a Croatian scholar, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Spring Festival, marking the start of the Lunar New Year, was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2024.

The UNESCO addition showcased the vitality and significance of the traditional Chinese Spring Festival culture, Jurak, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Zagreb, said.

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, this year's Spring Festival falls on Jan. 29, marking the start of the Year of the Snake.

People watch a lion dance show at a temple fair in celebration of the upcoming Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, at the Cinquantenaire Park in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)

"I think the most important part is that it shows the Chinese Spring Festival is really this level of event that UNESCO would consider it to be cultural enough and historic enough and important enough to put it on this very important list," he said.

The Spring Festival culture, with a history of around 4,000 years, has made different civilizations and people in the world more connected, Jurak noted, pointing out that the festival is a public holiday in almost 20 countries and celebrated in various ways by about one-fifth of humanity.

Chinese and local volunteers pose for a group photo with calligraphy works of Chinese character "Fu," which means "good fortune," in celebration of the upcoming Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, in Turin, Italy, Jan. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Jing)

"I think it is interesting, it is colourful, it has a great tradition, it has a lot of people supporting it in this way," he said, noting that in many European countries, including Croatia, more and more people are enjoying this culture.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
New York, US (PANA) - Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on Sunday urged the Security Council to act now to protect civilian populations, humanitarian aid workers, and all United Nations personnel as the M23 rebels step up the war in the east of country, especially to capture the city of Goma
From left, Marie Ward of Solace NI, Pete Byrne, chair of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, Economy Minister Conor Murphy and Alan McKeown, Invest NI

All 11 Northern Irelands councils are to share a 45m regional balance fund allocated by the Department for the Economy (DfE).

The allocation of funds is part of the department's sub-regional economic plan, which will see each council area establish local economic partnerships (LEPs).

These partnerships bring together different local groups, including chambers of commerce, further education, and economic development agency Invest NI to try and identify each council area's specific needs and the interventions needed to aid their economic development.

Economy Minister Conor Murphy made the announcement at the first meeting of Newry Mourne and Downs LEP.

Mr Murphy said: I recently launched the sub-regional economic plan which sets out a new strategic approach to economic development; locally led and with a mission to deliver regional balance.

A key element of the plan is the establishment of local economic partnerships at council level.

Partnerships will identify the main barriers to economic development and the priority interventions that will build the regions value proposition.

My department will recalibrate its programmes and budget to help meet these priorities. Partnerships will also have additional dedicated funding to support local action.

This 45m regional balance fund will help fund the actions the partnerships bring forward to drive economic development in their area and help deliver a regionally balanced economy where everyone shares the benefits of prosperity.

I firmly believe local issues require local solutions and the department and Invest NI will champion and support councils in the delivery of this important work.

Alan McKeown, executive director of regional business at Invest NI, said: Invest NIs regional strategy, in support of the Ministers regional economic plan, outlines our commitment to supporting regional balance.

This includes a commitment to deliver 65% of our investments outside the Belfast Metropolitan area.

These local economic partnerships are crucial to delivering a locally focused approach to economic development and delivering on this commitment.

They will ensure all stakeholders are working together to unlock significant opportunities for businesses in their area.

We will work closely with councils and local stakeholders to develop impactful proposals that will drive sustainable economic growth and deliver lasting benefits for our communities.

Marie Ward, chair of Solace NI, a membership network for public sector and local government professionals, said: Local economic partnerships will have the tools to place regional balance at the centre of their ambitions, shaping economic priorities that will deliver capital investment against the departments ambitions of creating good jobs, delivering increased productivity, decarbonisation, and addressing sub regional disparities across Northern Ireland.

SDLP councillor Peter Byrne, chair of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, said: The Ministers visit, coincided with the inaugural meeting of the local economic partnership, established specifically for the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area.

The investment brought forward by DfE, will be an enabler for this local economic partnership to not only propose and develop local actions, but to take forward strategic investment opportunities for the district, addressing localised challenges, and delivering against DfEs vision for economic growth and achieving regional balance.
A deal to save Belfast shipbuilder Harland & Wolff has been officially completed, its new Spanish owners have confirmed.

Last month, the UK government confirmed a takeover by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia to buy Harland & Wolffs four shipyards, securing 1,000 jobs in total and the future of shipbuilding in Belfast and Scotland.

Navantia, situated in Cadiz, has been in talks with Harland & Wolff since October following the Belfast-based shipyards holding company collapsing into administration.

The deal has secured around 500 jobs in Belfast with employees transferring over to Navantia.

In a statement, Ricardo Dominguez, Chairman of Navantia, said: "The completion of this acquisition marks a significant milestone for Navantia UK and demonstrates our long-term commitment to UK industry.

"By combining Harland & Wolffs proud heritage and facilities with Navantia's global expertise in defence, maritime and renewable energy, we are creating an exceptional platform for growth.

Navantia UK extends its gratitude to His Majesty's Government for its support throughout this process, which has helped secure this strategic investment in UK industrial capability.

A statement further added that the transaction received all necessary regulatory approvals. All current employees have transferred to Navantia UK with their existing terms and conditions preserved.

"The transaction was supported by independent advisers Alantra, Clifford Chance, TLT and KPMG among others, who assisted Navantia with commercial negotiations and documentation.

The company also said under Navantia UK's management, all four facilities will benefit from extensive expertise in shipbuilding, fabrication and complex programme management, supporting both a highly skilled workforce and robust supply chain.

It was previously expected the deal to ratify the takeover would complete before Christmas, however this was delayed.

When first announced last month the deal was widely welcomed, including by the Business Secretary and the union GMB after the iconic shipbuilder long associated with the Titanic announced in September its parent company would go in administration.

In a new statement, GMBs National Officer Matt Roberts welcomed the news the deal was officially complete.

"Workers across all four yards will breathe a sigh of relief at finally being under stable ownership.

"But at GMB we will remain cautious. Without a steady drum beat of work, these yards will continue to struggle."

In a statement released in December, the Department for Business and Trade said the deal will secure the future of Harland & Wolffs shipyards in Northern Ireland (Belfast), Scotland (Arnish and Methil) and Devon (Appledore), and protect workers existing terms and conditions.

It added: It will also ensure the delivery of the Ministry of Defences contract with Navantia to build three Royal Navy ships which would transport munitions, spares and supplies to UK aircraft carriers  the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) Programme.

Navantia UK is the UK subsidiary of the Spanish company Navantia, which was created to work with UK industrial partners in shipbuilding, offshore wind energy, and hydrogen.

It has over 300 years linked to shipbuilding for the Navy and is a public technology company and strategic for the defense of Spain.

According to its profile, the companys areas of expertise range from shipbuilding (surface and submarine) to the design and integration of high-tech systems and lifecycle support and high value-added services.
Chinese startup DeepSeek has released a new open-sourced low cost artificial intelligence model R1, rivalling ChatGPT, earning both appreciations and concerns from tech experts in Silicon Valley.

The AI company, which seems to match OpenAIs newer 01 model in several benchmarks, claimed in a study that it spent less than $6 million to train its model compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars that American companies pour in to train theirs.

After comprehensive evaluations, DeepSeek said its AI model outperforms other open-source models and achieves performance comparable to leading closed-source models.

Despite its strong performance, it also maintains economical training costs, DeepSeek researchers wrote.

The AI startups achievement has come despite US sanctions denying China access to advanced semiconductors such as Nvidias H100 GPUs, and DeepSeek refining its algorithms by optimising less sophisticated H800 chips.

Hancheng Cao, an assistant professor in information systems at Emory University, hailed the AI model as a truly equalising breakthrough.

DeepSeeks model could be great for researchers and developers with limited resources, especially those from the Global South, Dr Cao told MIT Technology Review.

The R1 app has quickly climbed to the top spot among free apps in the Apple App Store, just ahead of ChatGPT, sparking a debate on whether the Chinese firm was posing a threat to its American competitors.

Alexandr Wang, chief of San Francisco-based software company Scale AI, called the new AI models quick success a wake-up call for America.

USA must out-innovate and race faster, as we have done in the entire history of AI and tighten export controls on chips so that we can maintain future leads, he said.

But some are hopeful that the AI models success could be shot in the arm for its American competitors, due to the Chinese companys approach of prioritising cost efficiency and open source research.

If training models get cheaper faster and easier, the demand for inference (the real world use of AI) will grow and accelerate even faster, which assures the supply of compute will be used, Y Combinator chief Garry Tan posted on X.

Metas chief AI scientist Yann LeCun said the models success reflects on the power of open research and open source.

People who see the performance of DeepSeek and think: China is surpassing the US in AI You are reading this wrong, the Meta scientist said.

The correct reading is: Open source models are surpassing proprietary ones, he wrote in a post on Threads.

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen called Deepseek R1 one of the most amazing and impressive breakthroughs.

DeepSeek R1 is AIs Sputnik moment, he said in a post on X.

Despite these observations, much about the Chinese startup behind the AI model remains obscure.

DeepSeek was founded in July 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, an alumnus of Zhejiang University, and incubated by High-Flyer, a hedge fund that he started in 2015.

The companys employees reportedly consist of fresh graduates from Chinese universities like Peking University and Tsinghua University.

The emergence of Chinas DeepSeek indicates that competition is intensifying, and although it may not pose a significant threat now, future competitors will evolve faster and challenge the established companies more quickly, Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets told Bloomberg News.
Low cost airline Ryanair has slashed its passenger forecast once again, blaming aircraft delivery delays from Boeing (PA)

Low-cost airline Ryanair has slashed its passenger forecast once again, blaming aircraft delivery delays from Boeing.

The Irish carrier said it now expects to carry 206 million passengers in its 2025-26 financial year, which would be growth of 3%, down from the 210 million previously forecast.
Resident doctors during strike action at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast last year (Pacemaker)

The health minister has welcomed resident doctors vote to accept a 4% pay increase, adding that financial pressures contributed to delays in pay negotiations.

On Monday the British Medical Association (BMA), the union representing doctors, said that in a referendum which closed this week, almost 95% of members voted to accept the pay offer.

Resident doctors, who were previously known as junior doctors, range from being newly qualified doctors earning less than 13 per-hour to experienced surgeons, oncologists and cardiologists earning 30 per-hour.

The union added that in addition to pay uplift for the 2023/2024 pay scale, the deal includes an agreement with the Department of Health to establish a timeline for contract reform.

It also includes the rollout of changes to enhance medical education for resident doctors.

The Minister said: I welcome the decision by resident doctors to accept this offer, which also includes agreement to establish a timetable for contract reform discussions.

We endeavour to work together and forge a relationship of mutual respect and collaboration as we progress with improvements on pay and non-pay which will, by extension, support the transformation of health and social care and help deliver better outcomes for the population of Northern Ireland.

Mr Nesbitt also confirmed that he has written to all Health and Social Care (HSC) Trade Unions to confirm that the Department can now backdate the 2024/25 pay awards to 1 May 2024.

This follows the outcome of January monitoring, during which health was allocated 7m to use against pay and waiting lists. Any further additional funding identified this year will be utilised to move the effective date of all pay awards towards 1 April 2024.

The Minister added: I remain committed to meeting, in full, the financial consequences of the recommendation of the pay review bodies for 2024/25.

I would have much preferred a quicker, cleaner resolution of this years pay position, but financial pressures made that impossible.

I have provided assurance to the Health Trade Unions that, all things being equal, I will approve the recommendations of the pay review bodies for 2025/26 pay awards when published.

The department said that the confirmed pay package will see pay parity restored with England for a large proportion of the overall health service workforce in NI.

The Minister added: In recent weeks, during visits to emergency departments and hospital wards right across Northern Ireland, I have been meeting staff working under tremendous pressure. They are the bedrock of the health service and I have heard and shared their frustration over the issue of pay.

Stabilisation is one of the key pillars of my Three Year Plan, published last month, and central to that will be ensuring that staff are properly recognised and rewarded for the great work they do.

In a statement, Dr Fiona Griffin, chair of BMAs Northern Ireland resident doctors committee said she was glad members had voted to accept the offer, but added that there was still a long way to go.

We are glad that members have accepted our recommendation to accept this pay offer, she said.

"Taking industrial action was a last resort, but resident doctors could not keep working as they were without financial recognition for the incredible job they are doing under extremely difficult circumstances. We have been undervalued for too long."

Resident doctors took strike action three times last year. The first was a 24-hour walk out in March, followed by two 48-hour periods of action in May and in June.

The walkouts saw resident doctors withdraw their labour from hospitals and GP surgeries across NI.

Dr Griffin added: This pay agreement is the first step towards full pay restoration. We still have a long way to go.

"Our members are committed to addressing years of pay erosion and making sure that the skills, knowledge and commitment of resident doctors in Northern Ireland is properly recognised.

We will now work with the Department to address the inadequacies in our current contract and continue to fight for better terms and conditions for resident doctors, alongside restoring our pay to 2008 levels.

"These issues need to be addressed urgently so we dont lose more doctors from our health service. Our fight continues.
NI Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said he had asked for an analysis of consultancy spend on the new hospital (Liam McBurney/PA)

Consultancy fees at Belfasts new childrens hospital have reached 25 million before construction has begun on the project, MLAs have been told.

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt described the total as surprisingly high and said he had asked for the costs to be analysed to see if they were justified.

The new childrens hospital on the Royal Victoria site was originally planned to open in July 2020 at a cost of 223 million.

DUP MLA Diane Dodds asked questions about consultancy fees on the new hospital site (Brian Lawless/PA)

However, an Audit Office report last year said enabling works at the site were only completed in January 2023 and it is now expected to be completed by February 2029, with estimated costs of 590 million.

The Assembly has previously been told that construction work is expected to begin in 2025.

During ministerial question time at the Assembly, DUP MLA Diane Dodds said she had received an answer to a written question which said consultancy fees for the project are in the region of 25 million so far.

She said: Could the minister explain what this amount of money was spent on and how we might prevent excessive amounts of money on this element of the build?

Mr Nesbitt responded: I am not going to endorse the thought of these fees being excessive, because I think to reach that conclusion we need to break them down and analyse them line by line.

That is something I have asked be done because, like her, I find the amount is surprising. Surprisingly high.

But these are major works which have gone on over a long period of time.

Mr Nesbitt said he had come to the conclusion that we are not top of the class or best in class when it comes to major infrastructure works.

He added: This is part of a bigger problem that needs to be analysed.

These figures, on the face of it, are surprisingly high.

The new maternity hospital at the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast (Mark Marlow/PA)

It is incumbent on me to see if it can be fully justified, or if there are areas where there are learnings, where we can say we shouldnt have run up such a big bill.

Mrs Dodds also asked the minister what assurances he had sought to ensure lessons from the maternity hospital project have been learnt for the childrens hospital.

The new maternity hospital is supposed to accompany the childrens hospital on the Royal site.

However, after the Belfast health trust took possession of the new maternity building last year, testing of its water systems showed high levels of the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PsA), leading the trust to say the project was facing a significant new delay.

Mr Nesbitt said he had instructed officials to identify the key lessons from the maternity hospital project and ensure these are applied ahead of signing any contract for the new childrens hospital at the Royal Victoria.

He added: The incorporation of learning from the maternity hospital and other learning from recent major schemes in the NHS and indeed in Dublin into the design and commissioning arrangements for the childrens project will be essential.
Police have issued a warning against using portable generators in the wake of Storm Eowyn.

It follows reports of a death in the Portrush area on Sunday morning.

The Belfast Telegraph understands that the death is being linked to possible fumes from a generator.

Emergency services were called to the scene of an incident in the Craigahullier area of Portrush on Sunday morning.

It comes as thousands of homes have been left without power following Storm Eowyn, forcing many to use portable generators to power their homes.

PSNI stock image (Aodhan Roberts/Belfast Telegraph)

Damages revealed as Storm Eowyn hits Northern Ireland

Approximately 60,000 homes remain without electricity across Northern Ireland with power now restored to 215,000 properties following the extensive damage to the electricity network caused by Storm Eowyn on Friday.

Health and Safety Executive for NI warned of the danger of using portable generators, Do not assume that you are safe. Carbon monoxide from generators is completely colourless and odourless, so you wont know if its there. It could kill your family and your pets.

However they confirmed they were not investigating the incident.

As it is an incident relating to a member of the public in domestic premises, HSENI is not involved in the incident. We have however produced some safety information on our website for people using portable generators.

Their advice issued for using generators was:

do not use a generator indoors or in partially enclosed spaces - including homes, garages, and crawl spaces - even those areas with partial ventilation

do not operate near open doors and windows. Using fans will not prevent carbon monoxide build-up in the home

install battery-powered carbon monoxide alarms inside your home to alert you of dangerous levels. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's recommended placement

Police have confirmed enquiries surrounding the death are continuing and it is not being treated as suspicious.

A spokesperson added: Police attended a report of the sudden death of a man in the Craigahullier area of Portrush on Sunday 26th January.

Enquiries are continuing but at this stage, the death is not being treated as suspicious.

The Health and Safety Executive NI have been informed.

PSNI stock image (Aodhan Roberts/Belfast Telegraph)

News Catch Up - Sunday 26 January
To be up there as a queer woman from a small village, it was saying to others like me... hell, yeah, you can do this too
The Police Ombudsman has made three recommendations in relation to the arrest of a victim of the Sean Graham bookmakers attack, saying the arresting officer involved did not act with sensitivity.

The arrest of Mark Sykes in February 2021 at a memorial event for the victims of the loyalist attack during Covid restrictions caused a political fallout that led to the resignation of then-Chief Constable Simon Byrne.

Mr Sykes was shot numerous times in the 1992 gun attack on the Ormeau Road in south Belfast. Five people, including a 15-year-old child, died in the gun attack.

He made a complaint to the Police Ombudsman following his arrest at the commemoration. He was handcuffed and placed in a police car for 90 minutes before being released.

The investigation centred on allegations concerning the sensitivity of police attending the area during the commemoration, his alleged wrongful arrest and the prolonged, unnecessary use of handcuffs.

Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson has made three recommendations in relation to the incident.

Given the restrictions on gatherings which were in place under the Covid Regulations at the time, I am satisfied that there was reasonable justification for PSNI to have attended the scene, she said.

However, after examination of all relevant evidence, including radio transmissions, body-worn video and other video footage of the incident, I was of the view that the arresting police officer had not responded to the unfolding events in line with an order to treat the gathering with sensitivity.

I also considered whether the mans arrest for disorderly behaviour and his handcuffing should be the subject of criminal and disciplinary proceedings.

A file was submitted to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for a decision on whether two officers should be prosecuted for assault. The PPS directed no prosecution in respect of these officers.

In December, the prosecution announced a decision to prosecute one officer after an investigation by the PSNIs Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU).

The ACU investigation concerned an allegation that an officer was involved in a false threat report intended to support an application for an anonymity order related to the original incident.

In total, the Ombudsman assessed the conduct of seven police officers, including those who were at the scene, in the control room, and the senior officers involved in the decision-making. Their actions were assessed against the standards set out in the PSNI Code of Ethics.

Mrs Anderson said the evidence had been sufficient to support her recommendations to the PSNIs Professional Standards Department (PSD) for disciplinary proceedings regarding one officers conduct in relation to the mans arrest and handcuffing.

The recommendations were accepted by the PSD and disciplinary proceedings were held. However, the officer subsequently appealed the decision of the disciplinary panel, and the appeal was upheld.

On the day of the commemoration, radio transmissions showed that police officers first thought it was a pop-up protest and were not aware of the significance of the gathering.

The officers, who were both probationary officers with less than 12 months service, were given orders to establish what was happening and were instructed by their supervising sergeant to put their body-worn video on and to back off if they met resistance.

Approximately 12 minutes after the initial radio exchange, the supervising sergeant advised the attending officers that the gathering was to commemorate the anniversary of the Sean Graham Bookmakers shootings.

The officers were told to still get footage, but treat with sensitivity.

Initial engagement, captured by the officers body-worn video cameras, involved a verbal exchange with Mr Sykes during which he commented about the way in which an incident had been policed at Pitt Park in east Belfast a number of days earlier on February 2, 2021.

Loyalists had held an alleged show of strength in the area with police officers watching on. Three people were later charged, with two remaining before the courts.

Radio transmissions heard by ombudsman investigators suggested that the officers were not aware of the significance of the commemoration.

Body-worn video subsequently showed that Mr Sykes became more unsettled with police and swore at them, prompting one police officer to ask for his personal details, which he did not provide. The officer attempted to detain the man, who walked away.

Mr Sykes was then handcuffed and informed that he was under arrest for disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest. He was placed in a police car where he remained with his hands cuffed behind him for almost 90 minutes, before being released at Musgrave PSNI station.

The evidence demonstrated that the attending police officers had no advance knowledge of the event or an in-depth understanding of the atrocity which was being commemorated, the Ombudsman said.

The report states: The actions of two senior police officers, a Chief Inspector and Assistant Chief Constable, were therefore also investigated by the Police Ombudsman.

The Assistant Chief Constable, having become aware of the incident and the arrest of the man, advised the Chief Inspector to assess police actions, review the necessity for the mans arrest and continued detention, and to consider whether it was appropriate to release him.

In giving his advice he was mindful of the requirement that all persons in custody must be dealt with expeditiously and released as soon as the need for their detention no longer applies.

The Chief Inspector made an assessment and subsequently decided to release the man.

The Police Ombudsman identified no evidence of a breach of the PSNI Code of Ethics by senior police officers. However, she did make three recommendations to PSNI.

She recommended that police develop a system to ensure that they are aware of Troubles-related anniversaries or commemorations.

Prior to making this policy recommendation, the PSNI had already taken steps to increase knowledge in local policing teams of possible commemorations for Troubles-related incidents.

However, this recommendation was accepted by PSNI. A section has now been incorporated into the PSNIs Strategic Community Impact Assessment which covers some of the key events during the Troubles and highlights these to District Command Teams.

The second recommendation related to the then resourcing of local policing teams, as at the time a large percentage of supervisors were in temporary positions.

This recommendation was partially accepted by the PSNI.

The final recommendation related to the need for improvements in public order training for new officers and, in particular, case law relevant to arrests.

This recommendation was also accepted by PSNI.

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: It is important to say that, first and foremost, I recognise the continuing distress being felt by all of the families of those killed and injured at Sean Graham Bookmakers on 5th February 1992 and want to acknowledge the pain and suffering that they all continue to feel.

The commemoration event in 2021 took place during Covid-19 when restrictions on gatherings were constantly changing. Following her investigation, the Ombudsman submitted a file to the Public Prosecution Service and they directed no prosecution on any of the officers involved. Our internal processes have also concluded with no action required for the officers.

As an organisation we are committed to learning from this case and have accepted the recommendations made by the Ombudsman. We have already commenced updating our training, policy and procedures to ensure that incidents of a similar nature do not occur again.
Seven people  including two teens  who had been arrested after overnight trouble in Belfast at the weekend have been released on bail, police confirmed.

Anti-social behaviour broke out in the Broadway area early on Sunday morning.

A senior PSNI officer said the disorder was completely unacceptable.

In an update on Monday, a PSNI spokesperson said all seven have all been released on bail to allow for further police enquiries to be conducted.

"The investigation is ongoing and officers would ask anyone who witnessed the incident or captured dash-cam footage from the area which could be of assistance to their investigation to contact them in Musgrave, quoting reference number 55 26/01/25, they added.

Police deal with disorder on Broadway Roundabout close to the Village area of South Belfast on July 16th 2024 (Photo by Kevin Scott)

On Sunday, west Belfast Chief Inspector Claire Hamilton said: Shortly after 12.30am, it was reported that a group of men were throwing flares and masonry.

Our officers promptly attended and arrested five men aged 31, 27, 23, 22, 21, and two males aged 17 on suspicion of riotous behaviour.

Chief Inspector Hamilton continued: This type of behaviour causes fear within our communities. Whilst we are thankful that no members of the public or police officers were injured during this incident, this kind of behaviour is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

We will continue to work alongside our partner agencies, local representatives and the community to take action and provide a visible policing presence in the area and I would encourage you to report incidents of anti-social behaviour."

Sinn Fein MP for the area Paul Maskey has branded the behaviour disgraceful and welcomed the arrests.

Thankfully, no one was injured during this disorder, although clearly this could have resulted in a much more serious incident, he said.

I welcome the swift response by police in arresting seven suspects who are continuing to assist with inquiries in custody.

This kind of behaviour is disgraceful and unwanted - local residents deserve to live in peace, free from trouble, threats and violence.

A PSNI officer at Broadway Roundabout in Belfast (Pic: Declan Roughan/ Press Eye)

News Catch Up - Sunday 26 January
A French woman was sentenced to jail time after causing the death of her teenage daughter, who allegedly suffered from abuse at the hands of her mother for years due to the woman's hatred for her father.

54-year-old Sandrine Pissarra has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years served after being convicted of charges relating to the death of her 13-year-old daughter, Amandine, reported France24.

Amandine, who died in 2020, weighed just 28 kilograms (62 pounds) at the time of her death. She was 1.55 metres (five feet and one inch) tall. According to the medical examiner's report, the girl suffered from extreme weight and muscle loss as well as septicaemia leading to her eventual passing.

Pissarra alleged that Amandine was not deprived of food, but instead had an eating disorder. She further alleged that on the day of Amandine's death, the teenager agreed to eat some sugar, a little bit of fruit puree and a high-protein drink before throwing up. No one was able to confirm Pissarra's claims.

Amandine had lost teeth and hair before she died. She further suffered from physical blows to her body, punches, kicks, hair pulling, repeated shouting, insults and jostling, according to prosecutor Jean-Marie Beney. Furthermore, she had allegedly been locked for weeks in a windowless room without food.

Prosecutors continued to describe Pissarra as a "domestic tyrant, dictator of the home, executioner of Amandine, there can only be one sentence -- a life term with a minimum of 20 years served in prison."

A psychiatric evaluation of Pissarra concluded that she harbored a deep hatred towards Amandine's father which she materialized through her abuse of Amandine. Amandine allegedly suffered at her mother's hands for years, experiencing abuse "the sole purpose of which was to drag her into shameful and humiliating agony."

Pissarra's ex, 49-year-old Jean-Michel Cros, was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for failing to provide Amandine with proper care.

Originally published by Latin Times.
The Communities Department has admitted that no pensioner has received the promised 100 winter fuel payment yet in Northern Ireland with an MLA saying the payment will come too little, too late for many.

It comes as Northern Ireland is experiencing a colder than average winter.

In January the mean temperature has been 3.9C, 0.6C below average, and for Winter so far, 1 Dec to 26 Jan, the mean temperature is 5.30C, 0.67C below the 30-year average.

Storm Eowyn has also now left tens of thousands of homes without electricity for a fourth day and freezing temperatures are expected this week.

Based on a response from Minister Gordon Lyons, pensioners could receive their Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) in Spring.

Last year the Labour government announced that it was ending universal WFP and that money would only go to those who already receive pension credit or other means-tested financial support.

The changes meant that more than 10m pensioners could not get the 2024 winter fuel payment.

In November, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons announced his plan for the allocation of 17m from the Executive to mitigate the impact of changes to the Winter Fuel Payment.

He said pensioners no longer eligible for WFP would get a one-off fuel support payment of 100.

Many of those people would have been receiving 200 or 300 previously.

An estimated 250,000 pensioners in approximately 170,000 households who were set to lose out after the UK governments decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment are to receive the automatic payment.

Eligibility criteria is the same as that previously used for WFPs.

The minister said there would be no application process, as the department would automatically identify eligible individuals through existing records.

"This approach will ensure a smooth and efficient distribution of payments, without the additional burden of application forms or red tape," he added.

However, SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan asked the minister to detail the number of pensioners who have received the WFP.

A response dated January 27 and signed by Mr Lyons states: Whilst the payment has not yet issued, my officials are working at pace to put in place arrangements for making this payment via existing payment channels before the end of March 2025.

Mr Durkan described it as utter madness.

He added: Not one penny of winter fuel support has been paid.

Before Christmas people were told the 100 payment for pensioners missing out on the fuel payment would be rolled out and paid 'by March.

Now the Minister tells me they aim to get the money out 'by the end of March.' Not good enough!

It really will be too little, too late for so many.

A DfC spokesperson said, Minister Lyons announced on 19th November 2024 that a one-off payment of 100 would be provided to pensioner households in Northern Ireland no longer eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment.

"The department is working at pace to put the necessary arrangements in place for making this payment before the end of March 2025.
A woman aged in her 30s has been taken to hospital after she was involved in a collision with a vehicle in Belfast.

The incident shortly before 3.30pm today (Monday) in the Castlereagh Road area,

Police officers attended, alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

The woman, who was a pedestrian, was taken to hospital for treatment to her injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening at this time.

A police spokesperson said: We are appealing to anyone who was travelling in the area, who may have dash-cam footage or witnessed the collision, to call police on 101 with any information, quoting reference number 1132 of 27/01/
From left, Lord Hay, Cllr Julie Middleton, Gregory Campbell MP, Alderman Niree McMorris and Gary Middleton MLA attend the wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in Londonderry to mark the murders of Sergeant Peter Gilgunn and Constable David Montgomery

Wreaths have been laid in memory of two young police officers shot dead by the IRA three days before Bloody Sunday.

Gregory Campbell MP and Gary Middleton MLA marked the murders of Sergeant Peter Gilgunn and Constable David Montgomery with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in Londonderry.

On January 27, 1972  a year in which more people died in the Troubles than any other  Sergeant Gilgunn, a 26-year old Catholic, and Constable Montgomery, a 20-year-old Protestant, lost their lives in an IRA ambush on Creggan Hill.

David Montgomery

The two  the first RUC officers murdered in the city, and the first of 20 RUC casualties that year  were shot in their car by the IRA using a Thompson sub-machine gun. Mr Gilgunn was married with an eight-month-old child, and was originally from Belcoo, Co Fermanagh.

Just over a week earlier, Mr Montgomery had been due to be transferred from Derry but requested to remain there until June.

He was single and was from the Cregagh area of east Belfast.

Peter Gilgunn

During the attack, another police officer was wounded and two other colleagues escaped injury.

The officers were travelling on the Creggan Road just before 8.30am towards the Rosemount RUC police station. One gunman fired from an alleyway and two other gunmen opened fire 40 yards away.

According to an RUC spokesman, the two officers did not have a chance to return fire. The killers were never brought to justice.

East Londonderry DUP MP Gregory Campbell lays a wreath in memory of Sergeant Peter Gilgunn and Constable David Montgomery

East Londonderry MP Mr Campbell said: Today, we remember two brave young men who were cruelly taken in the line of duty.

Whilst much focus is placed on events known as Bloody Sunday three days later in the same area of Londonderry, few remember that a Thompson sub-machine gun was used on both days.

Whilst it is the anniversary of these two murders it is also for all the innocents, whom we must always remember.

There are some who seek to rewrite history, but these murders stand as a stark reminder of the brutal reality of the Troubles and the dangers faced by members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary who served and sought to uphold law and order for all. They must not be forgotten

Gregory Campbell MP and Gary Middleton MLA marked the murders of Sergeant Peter Gilgunn and Constable David Montgomery with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in Londonderry.

Foyle DUP MLA Gary Middleton added: This is an important opportunity to honour their courage and dedication, ensuring their sacrifice is never overlooked while other events get books and headlines written.

It is so important to pause and reflect on this poignant anniversary, 53 years later, as we remember the cost of terrorism and the need for continued efforts to build a peaceful future.
Irish premier Micheal Martin is set to join world leaders for a commemoration at Auschwitz to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp.

It is expected to be the last annual commemoration at which survivors of the camp are likely to be able to attend on person.

Some six million Jewish people were murdered during the holocaust, which is regarded as the darkest period in Europes history.

The taoiseach said it is important to remember the horrors and say never again.

Mondays commemoration has been described as a recommitment to denouncing and combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance, racism, and xenophobia.

Mr Martin said: Today, we remember the unique horrors of the Holocaust, in particular the extermination of six million jews from across Europe in the Nazi death camps.

We remember also the Roma, the disabled, the political dissidents, the members of the LGBTQ community and all who were persecuted and murdered without mercy in the camps.

It is a particular honour to be here at what is probably the last significant anniversary at which survivors of the camps will be present in person.

A view of a guard tower at Auschwitz-Birkenau, a former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp, in Oswiecim in Poland (Aleksandra Szmigiel/PA)

Though they are now all advanced in years, their memories of what happened in the camps  the profound loss of their family members and the destruction of Europes vibrant Jewish communities  remain crystal clear and vivid.

We owe it to them to ensure that now, and for all generations to come, we remember and say never again.

Mr Martin went on: Today is also International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the event I am attending at Auschwitz will recommit us to denouncing and combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance, racism and xenophobia.

In recent years we have witnessed a shocking rise in antisemitism and Holocaust denial, both online and offline. I take this issue very seriously and the Government will continue to work at home and with international partners to tackle all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism.

In this spirit, we recently endorsed the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances working definition of antisemitism. We will also continue our close relationship with the Jewish community in Ireland and ensure that their concerns are heard.

In Auschwitz, people from across the world shall gather once again to ensure we never forget.
Nine young men have been found inside a freight container at Rosslare Europort in the Republic of Ireland.

They were discovered this morning and are believed to have been in the container for up to four days.

Emergency services were alerted to the discovery at the Wexford port this morning and paramedics initially treated the men at the scene.

They have since been transferred to Wexford General Hospital.

While they are not believed to be seriously injured, they are being medically assessed.

Initial indications are that the men gained access to the container in France on Thursday and spent four days inside prior to being discovered.

Its understood the men are originally from eastern Africa. Gardai are also carrying out inquiries into the incident.

A garda spokesperson said: An Garda Siochana at Wexford Garda Station have commenced an investigation following the discovery of nine people in a shipping container at Rosslare Europort at approximately 10:30am this morning Monday, 27th January 2025.

Gardai were alerted to the presence of a number of people inside a shipping container at Rosslare Europort.

Gardai and emergency services located the nine males and they have been assessed by medical personnel.

"Eight have been deemed to be in good health while one male is receiving further medical assessment at a hospital in the south east of the country for non-life threatening injuries.

Gardai attached to Wexford Garda Station, supported by the Garda National Immigration Bureau, are investigating all of the circumstances of this incident. Anyone with any information in relation to this discovery is asked to contact Wexford Garda Station 053-9165200, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 66 11 or any Garda Station.

Last October two men were found hiding in a van that had arrived at Rosslare Europort.

They were in good health and provided with state supports, while two other men were arrested as part of the people smuggling operation.

The previous March seven males were discovered inside a trailer at the same port.
Rising deaths from extreme heat will far exceed reductions in numbers dying from cold temperatures in Europe with climate change, researchers suggest.

A study modelling the change in deaths related to high and low temperatures found that there could be more than 2.3 million excess deaths across hundreds of European cities by the end of the century if urgent action is not taken to cut emissions.

While efforts to adapt cities to rising temperatures would not be enough to curb increased health risks due to exposure to heat, up to 70% of the excess deaths could be avoided if climate change was limited, the researchers said.

The study found that in some parts of the continent, such as the UK and Ireland, there would be a net reduction in deaths, as a fall in people dying in cold weather outstripped a rise in mortality due to extreme heat.

London would see 27,455 fewer deaths by the centurys end in the face of climate change, according to the analysis led by the Environment and Health Modelling (EHM) Lab at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

But the study warned that the lower death toll in some parts of Europe would be massively outweighed by the increase in the rest of the continent  with the Mediterranean, central Europe and the Balkans particularly vulnerable.

Barcelona, Rome , Naples and Madrid would be among the cities with the highest death tolls from rising temperatures by the end of the century, the modelling found, while many other smaller cities in Malta, Spain and Italy would also be badly affected.

The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, looked at how climate change could affect future heat-related and cold-related deaths in 854 European urban areas and their demographics, under different climate-warming scenarios.

In a scenario with low efforts to curb global warming and low adaptation efforts, deaths could increase by 50%, leading to a cumulative 2,345,410 deaths due to climate change between 2015 and 2099.

But there are regional differences across Europe, with a slight net decrease in deaths in Northern Europe alongside high vulnerability for Mediterranean and Eastern European countries.

Away from the Mediterranean, cities such as Paris would see smaller, but significant increase in temperature-related deaths overall.

The study said net mortality across Europe would increase even under the mildest climate change scenario but the health burden increases substantially under more extreme warming and it would require implausibly strong levels of adaptation in cities to reverse the trend.

The authors flagged the health benefits linked to implementing stringent measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as measures to help vulnerable countries and groups cope with rising temperatures.

Professor Antonio Gasparrini, senior author of the article and lead of the EHM-Lab, said: This study provides compelling evidence that the steep rise in heat-related deaths will far exceed any drop related to cold, resulting in a net increase in mortality across Europe.

These results debunk proposed theories of beneficial effects of climate change, often proposed in opposition to vital mitigation policies that should be implemented as soon as possible.

Responding to the study, Dr Raquel Nunes, assistant professor in health and environment at the University of Warwick Medical School, said it had serious implications for public health.

She added: As climate change leads to more extreme heat events, the number of heat-related deaths is expected to rise, putting additional pressure on healthcare systems.

Vulnerable groups, such as older adults, those with chronic illnesses, and low-income communities, will be at the highest risk.

Without strong adaptation measures, public health systems could struggle to cope with the increased demand for emergency services and hospital admissions.

Prof Tim Osborn, director of the Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (UEA), said: Put bluntly, the increase in hot weather will kill more people than the decrease in cold weather will save.

He also that while impacts of rising temperatures could be greatly reduced by making changes that increase peoples resilience to extreme weather, those efforts are far more successful if we also limit the amount of climate change that we are faced with by accelerating the move away from fossil fuels.
Sir Keir Starmer has had very good early engagement with Donald Trump, Downing Street said, after the leaders spoke for the first time since the US presidents inauguration (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Sir Keir Starmer has had very good early engagement with Donald Trump, Downing Street has said, after the leaders spoke for the first time since the US presidents inauguration.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman did not provide any updates on when Sir Keir might travel to Washington to meet the US president, or whether Mr Trump may come to the UK, but said Sir Keir is looking forward to building on the deep relationship.

There was a 45-minute call between the two men on Sunday, which No 10 said covered trade and the economy, as well as the Middle East.

A number of potentially contentious issues including the Chagos Islands deal and Mr Trumps stated desire for Nato allies to hit 5% GDP spending on defence were not discussed.

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It was a very warm call, and it was very constructive, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said on Monday.

Sir Keir has had very good early engagement with President Trump, both before the inauguration and since, the spokesman added.

Theres a wide range of areas that we look forward to working on with President Trump and his entire team to build on our already very strong and deep relationship, whether its on trade, investment, whether its on security and defence, and the Prime Minister looks forward to meeting him soon.

On Monday, former foreign secretary James Cleverly said there is diplomatic work to do on the relationship between the UK and the US.

He said it is good that Keir Starmer had an extended conversation with President Trump but suggested there are bridges that need to be rebuilt after criticism of the US president from Labour figures including Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

Mr Cleverly told Times Radio on Monday morning: There is definitely work to do, diplomatic work to do because, for a whole range of reasons, including defence and trade which are the headlines, we need to make sure our relationship with America and indeed President Trump works.

So this is probably an important first step. There is going to be an awful lot of work to be done by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCO) to rebuild what has been, I think, a foolish and unnecessary set of criticisms of the president of one of our closest allies in the world.

Allies of Mr Trump, including his pick as secretary of state, Marco Rubio, have voiced concerns about the Chagos deal and it this could allow Chinese influence in the region to increase.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman reiterated the Governments position that it was right that the new administration got time to consider the deal which is in the process of being finalised.

The UK plans to cede sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius, leasing back the strategically important Diego Garcia base used by the US for 99 years at a reported annual cost of around 90 million.

Mr Cleverly was in charge at the FCO when negotiations on the Chagos Islands first began in 2022. He claimed the Labour Government has put themselves in a very weak negotiating position over the deal.

The Conservative MP told Times Radio: Negotiating is one thing, but I always made sure that certain red lines were in place and if the negotiations crossed those red lines then I wouldnt have accepted a deal.

And, indeed, over a years worth of talks I did not get to a position that I was comfortable with, which is why I never signed off a deal.

He later added: Its clear that they have put themselves in a very weak negotiating position, which is why Mauritius keep coming back for more money and more concessions.
A 30-year-old man is set to appear in court charged with murdering his father after the highly respected 75-year-old was stabbed to death.

Scotland Yard said officers were called in the early hours of Friday to a property on Deodar Road, Putney, south-west London, following reports of a stabbing.

Rory Talbot, 30, of Wandsworth, has been remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court, accused of killing his father Mark Talbot.

Mark Talbots family said: We are grateful for the support provided by police, our neighbours and others.

We ask that our privacy is respected while we come to terms with the tragic loss of a highly respected member of the community.

The force said in a statement: Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service who treated Mr Talbot.

Despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mark Talbot who have been affected by this tragic incident, and who continue to receive support from specialist officers.
A reporting restrictions sign outside one of the Family Court courtrooms at the Royal Courts of Justice (Aaron Chown/PA)

A scheme allowing journalists increased access to family courts is being rolled out across the country in a bid to improve transparency.

The initiative permits accredited journalists and legal bloggers to report on cases as they unfold, as they would in criminal courts, provided the families and certain professionals involved remain anonymous.

A pilot scheme was launched in 2023 at family courts in Leeds, Cardiff and Carlisle and was extended to cover a further 13 courts in January last year, including Liverpool, Truro, Milton Keynes and east London.

From Monday, the new reporting provisions will apply to all family courts in England and Wales.

President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane said: The establishment of the open reporting provisions in all family courts in England and Wales is a watershed moment for family justice.

Improving public understanding and confidence in the family court is of fundamental importance.

Over the last two years, there has been a presumption that journalists and legal bloggers can report what they see and hear from pilot courts in England and Wales.

The reporting that we have seen has been significant, and includes coverage of issues affecting some of the most vulnerable people in our society, such as children subject to deprivation of liberty orders; the need to limit parental rights for convicted paedophiles and cases of child neglect or abandonment.

There have been no known breaches of anonymity of children, and the aims of the pilot, to increase public understanding and awareness of the Family Court, are being realised.

I am grateful to all in the court system who have supported the pilot, but I would particularly like to thank all of the journalists and legal bloggers who have engaged with the pilot over the last two years and would like to urge them and others to continue to report on these complex and vitally important issues.

The Presidents Court at the Royal Courts of Justice (Aaron Chown/PA)

Although reporters have had access to courts dealing with sensitive matters involving children for some time, despite them being closed to the public, reporting was previously highly restricted to only what a judge would allow.

Under the new rules, cases attended by journalists and bloggers will be covered by a transparency order, setting out what can be reported.

Reporters can also access some basic case documents and families can talk to journalists about their case, without risking punishment for contempt of court.

Judges may still decide some cases may not be reported on, or that reporting should be postponed in certain circumstances.

A judiciary spokesperson said there have been no known breaches of anonymity in reporting under the pilot.

The scheme will cover public law cases, for example, those involving local authorities, private law cases such as custody battles between separated parents, and financial remedy disputes.

Lucy Reed KC, chairwoman of the Transparency Project, a charity set up in 2015 to promote transparency in the family justice system, welcomed the rollout.

She said: The reporting pilot that has been gradually extended since 2023 has been a success, and has enabled more and better reporting of family justice without compromising the wellbeing and privacy of families.

Making that pilot into a permanent feature in all family courts in England and Wales is a huge step forward, which we welcome.

It means, we hope, that a clear signal will be sent that transparency is core to the work of the family court and that it is here to stay.

Finding ways to make the family court more transparent, accountable and understandable is not easy when much of the work that the courts deal with is so very sensitive, but it is critically important if the family court is to build and maintain public trust and confidence.

Permitting anonymised reporting by journalists and legal bloggers has enabled the court to find a better balance between the twin needs for transparency and privacy.

But Alexandra Hirst, senior associate in the family team at law firm Boodle Hatfield, said strict rules should be put in place around appropriate reporting as where there is uncertainty, there is stress.

She said: The intense pressure of family law proceedings is stressful enough without the added worry of deeply personal and sensitive information being reported on by the media.

These are not criminal proceedings, but these changes are likely to make individuals who may have never experienced litigation before feel as though they are on trial.

The comforting reassurance that their hearing will remain private and is highly unlikely to be reported on will be undermined by this change.
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Calum Carmichaels car was hit by a falling tree on Friday morning (Handout/PA)

A teenager who died after his car was struck by a falling tree during Storm Eowyn has been named.

Calum Carmichael was driving on the B743 near Mauchline, East Ayrshire, when a tree fell onto his blue Ford Focus at about 6.45am on Friday.

The 19-year-old, from New Cumnock, was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow for treatment but died on Saturday.

First Minister John Swinney was among those who paid tribute to the teenager.

He said: This is tragic and heartbreaking news. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends of the man who has died.

Sergeant Chris McColm, of Police Scotland, added: Our thoughts remain with Calums family and friends at this very difficult time.

A Met Office amber warning was in place at the time of the incident with a red warning coming into effect across the central belt from 10am on Friday.

The storm brought 100mph gusts to Scotland and thousands of homes remain without power.
The former home of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss has been transformed into a research centre devoted to fighting extremism, with the building officially opening to the public on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp.The house, which sits beside the former death camp, belonged to a local military family before the invasion of Poland by Nazi forces in 1939.

It has since been acquired by the Counter Extremism Project, a non-government organisation that combats extremist groups by pressuring financial support networks, countering the narrative of extremists and their online recruitment, and advocating for stronger laws, policies and regulations around the world.

A view of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum can be seen from the former house of the camp commandant (Czarek Sokolowski/AP)

Counter Extremism Project CEO Mark Wallace said the opening of the home to the public is his dream, and those of our colleagues, is that every visitor, every fellow, and every academic that visits the Auschwitz site will be inspired to take action to fight extremism wherever they come from.His group bought the house from a private family and is creating the Auschwitz Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalization in the house.

It opened its doors to reporters on the eve of the anniversary commemorations, showing them the rooms in the three-story house that still need to be renovated.

Naftali Furst and his fellow inmates inside a concentration camp in 1945. (US Army via AP)

The project is being launched in partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and under the patronage of Unesco with prominent architect Daniel Libeskind is also a collaborator.The house was featured in the Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest, which depicts the life of Hoss, his wife Hedwig and their five children in the house just next to the concentration camp.As commandant from 1940 to 1944, Hoss orchestrated the industrial-scale slaughter at the camp, where gas was used to murder Jews.

He was tried by a Polish court and was executed by hanging at the site of the concentration camp in 1947.The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum is holding observances on Monday for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp by Soviet forces.
The firm behind the ship denied any sabotage on the part of its crew (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

A Bulgarian shipping company has denied that one of its ships intentionally damaged an underwater fibre optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland.

Swedish prosecutors announced on Sunday night that they had launched a preliminary investigation on suspicion of sabotage after the ship was detained in the Baltic Sea.

Navibulgar chief executive Alexander Kalchev said it was possible that the Vezhen ship had caused a cable to break, but dismissed any possibility of sabotage or any other action on the part of the crew.

He cited information obtained from the crew that the ship was sailing late on Sunday in extremely bad weather.

Eventually, the crew discovered that the left anchor was apparently being dragged along the seabed.

Mr Kalchevs statement followed the announcement that Swedish prosecutors had launched a preliminary investigation on suspicion of sabotage, after the ship was detained in the Baltic Sea.

He added that the automatic ship identification system clearly showed that the Vezhen passed over the cable, and that it was not clear when exactly it was cut.

Mr Kalchev said: I hope that the investigators will quickly establish that this is not a matter of any intentional action, but a technical incident due to bad weather, and that the ship will be released.

The Maltese-flagged Vezhen was sailing to South America, loaded with fertiliser. The 32,000-tonne vessel was launched in 2022, Mr Kalchev added.

The Swedish public prosecutors office said it was now carrying out a number of specific investigative measures. Authorities including the National Police Operations Department, the Coast Guard and the Armed Forces are involved in the investigation, senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement.
Both sides were keen to avoid the border issue during the talks (Phoenix TV via APTN)

The top diplomats of China and India have called for their nations to provide further mutual support, but avoided publicly mentioning a long-standing border dispute in the Himalayas.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told top Indian foreign affairs official Vikram Misri after their meeting in Beijing that the sides should seize the opportunity, meet each other halfway, explore more substantive measures, and strive to understand, support and achieve each other, rather than be suspicious of, alienate and consume each other, Chinas official Xinhua News Agency reported.

It cited Mr Misri as saying the nuclear-armed Asian giants have properly managed and resolved differences, and promoted the restart of practical cooperation in various fields.

Ties have been stable since the leaders of the two countries met last year on the sidelines of a multi-national summit in Russia.

Days before that meeting, India announced the two sides had agreed to a pact on military patrols along their disputed border in the Himalayas after a spike in tensions that began with a deadly clash in 2020.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to his Indian counterpart Vikram Misri during a meeting in Beijing (Phoenix TV via APTN)

That turned into a long-running stand-off in the rugged mountainous area, where each side has stationed tens of thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi have since limited their joint public comments to pleasantries without openly discussing the border.

India said the 2024 agreement would lead to the disengagement of troops at the Line of Actual Control, the long shared border in the Himalayas, although it is unclear whether that meant the withdrawal of the tens of thousands of additional troops stationed along their disputed border in the Ladakh region.

The Line of Actual Control separates Chinese and Indian-held territories from Ladakh in the west to Indias eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety. India and China fought a deadly war over the border in 1962.

Both India and China have withdrawn troops from volatile sites on the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso, Gogra and Galwan Valley, but they maintain extra troops at Demchok and Depsang Plains.

The army stand-off damaged business ties between the two nations with halted investments from Chinese firms and major projects banned.

India also banned Chinese-owned apps, including TikTok, which is operated by Chinese internet firm Bytedance. It cited privacy concerns that it said threatened Indias sovereignty and security.

Chinese products are ubiquitous in India, from toys to smartphones to made-in-China Hindu idols.

According to Indian government data, two-way trade has grown by the tens of billions in the past two decades, with the balance strongly favouring China, while China has drawn many Indian specialists and students, particularly in the medical field.
Israel has allowed thousands of Palestinians to go back to northern Gaza for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas (AP)

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians streamed into Gazas most heavily destroyed area on Monday after Israel opened the north for the first time since the early weeks of the war with Hamas, a dramatic reversal of their exodus 15 months ago.

As the fragile ceasefire held into a second week, Israel was informed by Hamas that eight of the hostages to be freed during the deals first phase are dead.

Joyous crowds of Palestinians, some holding babies or pushing wheelchairs, walked along a seaside road all day and into the night, carrying bedrolls, bottles of water and other belongings. A few armed, masked Hamas fighters flashed a victory sign. The crowd was watched over by Israeli tanks on a nearby hill.

The United Nations said more than 200,000 people were observed moving north in Gaza on Monday morning alone.

Palestinians who have been sheltering in squalid tent camps and former schools are eager to return to their homes  even though they are likely damaged or destroyed. Many had feared that Israel would make their displacement permanent.

The ceasefire deal appears to be holding up as Palestinians return to northern Gaza (AP)

Yasmin Abu Amshah, a mother of three, said she walked six kilometres to reach her damaged but habitable Gaza City home. She saw her younger sister for the first time in more than a year.

It was a long trip, but a happy one, she said.

Many saw their return as an act of steadfastness after Israels military campaign, which was launched in response to Hamas attack on October 7 2023, and as a repudiation of US President Donald Trumps suggestion that large numbers of Palestinians be resettled in Egypt and Jordan.

Meanwhile, Israel said a Hamas list shows that eight of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire are dead.

Government spokesman David Mencer told journalists that Hamas said the other 25 are alive. Israel overnight said it had received a list of information on the status of the hostages from Hamas.

Thousands of Palestinians are returning home for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas (AP)

Israel has said the next release of hostages will take place on Thursday, followed by another on Saturday.

The opening of the corridor in northern Gaza was delayed over a dispute between Hamas and Israel, which said the militant group had changed the order of the hostages it released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Mediator Qatar announced an agreement had been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza overnight, easing the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Many will be retuning to completely destroyed homes (AP)

Qatars statement said Hamas will hand over the civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, along with two other hostages before Friday. And on Monday, Israeli authorities will allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement said the hostage release  which will also include soldier Agam Berger  will take place on Thursday, and confirmed that Palestinians can move north on Monday.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel on Saturday was to begin allowing Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza. But Israel put that on hold because of Ms Yehoud, who Israel said should have been released on Saturday. Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement.

Palestinians wait for the green light from the Israeli military to return to northern Gaza. (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)

The release of Ms Yehoud and two other hostages is in addition to the one already set for next Saturday when three hostages should be released.

In addition, Hamas in a statement said the militant group had handed over a list of required information about all hostages to be released in the ceasefires six-week first phase.

The Israeli Prime Ministers office confirmed it had received the list.

Many had feared that the exodus from northern Gaza at the start of the war would be permanent (AP)

Local health officials on Sunday said Israeli forces fired on the crowd of people waiting to move north through the Netzarim corridor bisecting the territory, killing two people and wounding nine.

US President Donald Trump meanwhile suggested that most of Gazas population be at least temporarily resettled elsewhere, including in Egypt and Jordan, to just clean out the war-ravaged enclave. Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians rejected that, amid fears that Israel might never allow refugees to return.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said Palestinians would never accept such a proposal, even if seemingly well-intentioned under the guise of reconstruction.

He said the Palestinians can rebuild Gaza even better than before if Israel lifts its blockade.
Mud flows have been reported in Topanga (KABC-TV via AP)

More rain has fallen on parts of Southern California after causing mudflows over the weekend  helping firefighters, but boosting the risk of toxic ash run-off in areas scorched by Los Angeles-area wildfires.

Flood watches are in effect for burn areas from recent fires that broke out around the Pacific Palisades area in Los Angeles, Altadena and Castaic Lake, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist for the US National Weather Service in Oxnard.

All these fresh burns are very susceptible to rapid run-off, Mr Sirard said, warning of even small amounts of rain in a few minutes time.

What that means is we have a fairly high danger of mud and debris flows once we get above those thresholds.

Los Angeles International Airport reported a little under an inch of rain in a 24-hour period ending at 3am local time on Monday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported.

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Surrounding areas reported lesser amounts.

Four schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District were closed on Monday due to dangerous road conditions and challenges with access to our schools, school officials posted online.

A portion of the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles County was closed as of Sunday afternoon due to mudflows in Topanga Canyon, the California Department of Transportation said. Snow fell in the mountains.

One benefit that could come from the rain is that it may help firefighters who are reining in multiple wildfires after weeks of windy and dry weather.

Los Angeles County crews spent much of last week removing vegetation, shoring up slopes and reinforcing roads in devastated areas of the Palisades and Eaton fires, which reduced entire neighbourhoods to rubble and ash after breaking out during powerful winds on January 7.

The Palisades Fire, the largest of the blazes that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 11 people, reached 90% containment on Sunday. The Eaton Fire, which broke out near Altadena and has killed at least 16 people, was 98% contained.

There are fears over mud flows in some areas previously devastated by fire (KABC-TV via AP)

The Hughes Fire, which ignited last week north of Los Angeles and caused evacuation orders or warnings for more than 50,000 people, was 95% contained as of Sunday evening.

In San Diego County, firefighters made progress to contain the smaller Border 2 Fire as it burned through a remote area of the Otay Mountain Wilderness near the US-Mexico border.

Most of the region was forecast to get about an inch of precipitation over several days, but the weather service warned of a risk of localised cloudbursts causing mud and debris to flow down hills.

So the problem would be if one of those showers happens to park itself over a burn area, weather service meteorologist Carol Smith said on social media. That could be enough to create debris flows.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order last week to expedite clean-up efforts and mitigate the environmental impacts of fire-related pollutants.

LA County supervisors also approved an emergency motion to install flood-control infrastructure and expedite and remove sediment in fire-impacted areas.

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Fire crews filled sandbags for communities, while county workers installed barriers and cleared drainage pipes and basins.

Officials cautioned that ash in recent burn zones was a toxic mix of incinerated cars, electronics, batteries, building materials, paints, furniture and other household items.

It contains pesticides, asbestos, plastics and lead. Residents were urged to wear protective gear while cleaning up.

Concerns about post-fire debris flows have been especially high since 2018, when the town of Montecito, up the coast from Los Angeles, was ravaged by mudslides after a downpour hit mountain slopes burned bare by a huge blaze. Hundreds of homes were damaged and 23 people died.

The rain snapped a near-record streak of dry weather for Southern California. Most of Southern California is currently in extreme drought or severe drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.
Congolese government troops deploy outside Goma as M23 rebels closed in on the city. (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured eastern Congos largest city, Goma, as the United Nations reported mass panic with the government dubbing the insurgency a declaration of war.

The citys capture came following a 48-hour deadline imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons.

The M23 rebel movement announced the coup detat in a statement.

The M23 rebels announced the citys capture in a statement minutes before a 48-hour deadline expired that had been imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons.

In the early hours of Monday morning, gunfire could be heard throughout the city, as per two aid workers on the ground who were not authorised to speak to the media.

In a statement, the rebels urged residents of Goma to remain calm and for members of the Congolese military to assemble at the central stadium.

In the statement, the rebels urged residents of Goma to remain calm. There was no immediate comment from the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

A UN armoured personnel carrier burns during clashes with M23 rebels outside of Goma, (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

Hours earlier, the UNs special representative for Congo told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that with the airport shut down and roads blocked in the vast regions humanitarian and security hub, we are trapped.

The M23 rebels offensive at the heart of the mineral-rich region threatens to dramatically worsen one of Africas longest wars and create further misery for what is already one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises, with millions of people displaced.

On Saturday, DR Congo broke off relations with Rwanda, which has denied backing the M23 despite evidence collected by UN experts and others.

The surge of violence has killed at least 13 peacekeepers over the past week, again placing the Congolese on the run once again.

The M23 has made significant territorial gains along Congos border with Rwanda in recent weeks, after months of regional attempts to make peace failed.

FILE  M23 rebels stand with their weapons in Kibumba, in eastern DR Congo in 2022. (Moses Sawasawa, File/AP)

On Sunday night, the rebels called on Congos army to surrender their arms and present themselves at a local stadium by 3am or they would take the city.The Uruguayan army, who are in Goma serving with the UN peacekeeping mission, said in a statement on X late Sunday that some Congolese soldiers have laid down their weapons.

More than a hundred Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) soldiers are sheltered in the facilities of the Siempre Presente base awaiting the (Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration) process, the statement said.

In photos shared with the statement, armed men are seen registering with the peacekeepers in a mix of military uniforms and civilian clothing.

UN special representative Bintou Keita told the Security Council that despite UN peacekeepers support for the Congolese armed forces, M23 and Rwandan forces entered the Munigi neighbourhood on Gomas outskirts, causing mass panic.

Munigi is five miles from the city.

Ms Keita said M23 fighters were advancing and using residents as human shields as others fled for their lives.

M23 has declared the airspace over Goma closed.

She added: In other words, we are trapped.

She said the UN was temporarily relocating nonessential personnel from the city.

Democratic Republic of the Congo Minister of Foreign Affairs Therese Kayikwamba Wagner speaks during a press conference at UN headquarters (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

Democratic Republic of the Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told the Security Council that Rwanda was committing a frontal aggression, a declaration of war which no longer hides itself behind diplomatic manoeuvres.

Rwandas ambassador to the UN Ernest Rwamucyo did not confirm or deny Congos claims.

He blamed Congos government, saying the crisis could have been averted if it had demonstrated a genuine commitment to peace.

The United States and France called for a ceasefire and appealed to Rwanda to withdraw its support to M23, with acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea warning that the US would consider all the tools at its disposal to hold accountable those responsible for sustaining the armed conflict.

In the past 48 hours, two UN peacekeepers from South Africa and one from Uruguay were killed and 11 others were injured and or rushed to hospital, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spokesman ahead of the Security Council meeting.

The UN chief reiterated his strongest condemnation of the M23 offensive with the support of the Rwanda Defence Forces, and called on the rebel group to immediately halt all hostile action and withdraw, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

A UN armoured personnel carrier burns on the outskirts of Goma (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich eastern DR of Congo, along the border with Rwanda, in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises.

More than seven million people have been displaced by the fighting.

M23 seized Goma in 2012 and controlled it for over a week.
The ship Vezhen is currently anchored outside Karlskrona, Sweden (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Swedish prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected aggravated sabotage of an underwater cable in the Baltic Sea.

Prosecutors also ordered the detention of a vessel suspected of damaging the fibre optic cable.

Several authorities, including the National Police Operations Department, the Coast Guard and the Armed Forces, are involved in the investigation, said Mats Ljungqvist, senior prosecutor at the National Security Unit, according to a press release.

The patrols come in the wake of suspected sabotage of undersea cables (Hendrik Osula/AP)

The Swedish Coast Guard confirmed to the newspaper Expressen that they were on site near the vessel, which the paper identified as the Malta-flagged Vezhen, at anchor near the port of Karlskrona.

We are directly on site with the seized ship and are taking measures as decided by the prosecutor, said Mattias Lindholm, spokesperson for the Coast Guard.

According to data from Vesselfinder, the vessel departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga several days earlier and was navigating between Gotland and Latvia at the time the damage was suspected of having occurred.

Latvias state-run radio and TV centre said on Sunday that it recorded disruptions in data transmission on the cable running from the town of Ventspils to the Swedish island of Gotland, and concluded there was a rupture.

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The media organisation said it was able to operate using other data transmission routes, while it was taking steps to have the cable repaired.

At the moment, there is reason to believe that the cable is significantly damaged and that the damage is caused by external influences, Vineta Sprugaine, head of corporate communications at LVRTC, was quoted as saying by the LSM state broadcaster.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina wrote on X that her government was working together with our Swedish Allies and Nato on investigating the incident, including to patrolling the area, as well as inspecting the vessels that were in the area.

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Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X that at least one cable belonging to a Latvian entity was believed to have been damaged and that he had been in close contact with MS Silina during the day on Sunday.

Sundays rupture follows a string of incidents that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the strategic region.

There have been previous incidents reported of ruptures of data cables running on the Baltic Sea bed, allegedly linked to Russias shadow fleet  hundreds of ageing tankers of uncertain ownership that are dodging sanctions and keeping oil revenue coming into the country.

Earlier this month, Nato began a new mission dubbed Baltic Sentry which included frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a fleet of naval drones to provide enhanced surveillance and deterrence in the Baltic Sea which the transatlantic alliance says is to protect undersea cables and pipelines.
Thief who stole 26k watch went to Belfast church to confess

He was able to run from police... Judge unimpressed by defences plea over clients mobility issues

David Vauls

John Toner Mon 27 Jan 2025 at 11:00

A guilt-ridden thief who stole and damaged a 26k Hublot watch before going to church to confess has been ordered to pay 250 in compensation.
EXCLUSIVE | Government officials red-faced as they scramble to rescind MBE given to UVF gunman

A right royal cock-up after ex-loyalist prisoner turned Born Again Christian awarded honour

David Martin

Ciaran Barnes Sun 26 Jan 2025 at 08:16

A former UVF prisoner awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours list is set to be stripped of the title after the Cabinet Office learned of his paramilitary past.
Belfast athlete aiming to defy bleak diagnosis: Youre about to see your first miracle, doctor'

Ballygomartin woman Sarahjane Cooke is determined to get more time with hubby and beloved children as they launch 50k fundraiser for specialist treatment

Sarahjane Cooke (Photo by Kevin Scott)

David O'Dornan Mon 27 Jan 2025 at 15:36







A Belfast athlete and mum-of-six is facing the race of her life after being rocked by a rare cancer condition.
Jimmy Cricket: I hope I can live to be as old as my jokes... it is the enthusiasm that keeps me going
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us

We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.
Backed up traffic at the US-Canada border in Stanstead, Quebec, after a shooting involving a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Coventry, Vt. on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. A Washington state woman was ordered held without bail Thursday in connection with the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in the case that has grown to encompass killings in multiple states.
On the back side of the stone theres an inscription for Wesley Ford, a 16-year-old who died at the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864. But theres no veterans marker, and Im wondering why," an inquirer wrote.
On Jan. 18, TikTok briefly shut down ahead of its ban. When TikTok returned the next day, users were greeted with a message indicating a deal with President Donald Trump: We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.

As of Sunday, the app was still functioning but not available to download on the app stores. Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban, but its unclear if he has the authority to do so.

Americans opinions on the government ban has evolved, as have mine. According to the Pew Research Center, support for a ban has nearly halved as of September, with the plurality of people (39 percent) unsure of how they felt about it.

For many, myself included, the ban did not feel like a serious threat, especially since in the days leading up to it former President Joe Biden and Trump expressed interest in finding ways to make the app available in the U.S. However, at the last minute, Biden passed the buck to Trump, allowing the ban to take effect briefly.

Ive been a regular user of TikTok since 2020 and have been making content there since 2022 for my blog, which is one of my hobbies. It was jarring to not be able to have access to something that Ive been using every day. It also provoked a few piercing questions: Did the government overreach here? Should the government be in the business of banning apps at all?

I understand the concerns that foreign adversaries could gain access to TikTok user data and possibly manipulate the app to further their interests, which ostensibly prompted the ban effort. But it also seemed to punish one app for what is a systemic issue: the lack of oversight for user data. That became blatantly clear when, ahead of the ban, TikTok users flooded Red Note, another short-form video app that has stronger ties to China.

Its also worth noting that there are similar concerns about user data and privacy for TikToks American competitors, X and Facebook. Its clear that America needs stronger protections from social media companies, as the law has not kept up with technology. As the myriad leaks associated with these platforms indicate, they have been poor stewards of sensitive data. Theyve also struggled to self-regulate.

To me, the ban seems like a poor replacement for much-need guardrails for social media companies.

TikTok, like any social media platform, has a complicated legacy. On one hand, it arguably makes echo chambers the best out of any app, thanks to its sophisticated algorithm. On the other, TikTok is one of the few remaining places where anyone can go viral, because it does not discriminate against users with small follower counts. Thats also why it was able to nurture niche communities that have struggled to thrive elsewhere.

To me, those last two points are precisely what makes TikTok special as well as addicting. You dont need celebrity status or a hefty following to reach thousands of people. You dont even need a professional recording setup; in fact, part of the charm of many TikTok creators is their perceived authenticity because they arent as polished and highly produced as those that have dominated other platforms like YouTube.

This is something Ive personally experienced; even with my modest following, my videos have received almost half a million views.

Cultural impact

America stands to lose a great deal culturally if TikTok goes away forever. Especially during the pandemic, it provided connection and community during times where world events wreaked havoc on both.

Whatever your interests are, TikTok likely has a deep library of videos made by everyday people willing to share their thoughts and experiences. While some of that includes misinformation, it also encompasses genuinely valuable content that is hard to find elsewhere.

I found it incredibly helpful in my own weight loss journey. In fact, if you search any medical or mental health condition on the app, youd likely find hundreds of first-person accounts from those dealing with them and offering their advice and words of encouragement  in a way, functioning as informal support groups.

TikTok has also taught me a lot about its short-form content, and I do believe it has countless lessons for journalism. Some of my fellow journalists across the country have already been using it to great effect, like New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie and The Washington Posts social media team. (The Eagle is also on TikTok.) As my professors at the Massachusetts of College of Liberal Arts taught me, the packaging of journalism might change, but the field will always evolve and endure.

After spending five years on TikTok, I cant see its ban as anything other than a mistake. A ban is a very limited solution to issues that go far beyond one app.
As revealed in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Economic Survey 2024- 25, for the first time in seven years, Indias female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) has seen a significant rise, jumping from 23.3 per cent in 2017-18 to 41.7 per cent in 2023-24. The Economic Survey underscores how womenled businesses thrive under government support. As of October 31, 2024, over 73,151 startups with at least one woman director have been recognised under the Startup India Initiative, nearly half of all registered startups in India.

Additionally, Union Budget 2025-26 has listed new initiatives to support women entrepreneurs across various sectors within the industry. While the number of women entrepreneurs in the country has been increasing over the years, there has not been much change at the women leadership level in both the public and private sectors. There are very few women leaders who have the opportunity to take charge of an entire academic institute or a government posting, thereby contributing to the growth of our country.

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Berkeley police are investigating the death of pedestrian struck by a vehicle Sunday. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle 2020

A 66-year-old pedestrian died Sunday in Berkeley after she was struck by a vehicle and trapped underneath, police said.

The woman was struck around 1 p.m. at the intersection of Ada and California streets, a few blocks from Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.

She was trapped underneath the vehicle until firefighters freed her. Paramedics then took her to a hospital, but she did not survive, police said.

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The coroner identified her as Berkeley resident Elise Lusk.

The driver was an 87-year-old woman, who was not arrested, police said.

The investigation is ongoing, police said, and no further information was available.
Petrol station chain Circle K has won an appeal relating to a pregnant woman who had been awarded damages after tripping and falling on the forecourt of one of their Dublin stations in 2016.

Last January, the High Court found in favour of Kristina Kandourova, who claimed that she tripped over a concrete kerb on the forecourt of the Circle K station on Strand Road, Sandymount, in Dublin, in August 2016, and awarded her damages.

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Circle K Energy Group Ltd denied liability and then appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal.

Ms Kandourova (44), who lives near the station, claimed she was driving to work and stopped for coffee at the station at around 7am. The plaintiff said she was five months pregnant at the time.

Ms Kandourova submitted that there were three marked parking bays in which she parked that were bookended by raised pavement, known as nib pavement.

In her evidence to the High Court, Ms Kandourova accepted that the fuel station was within walking distance of her home and that she must have been there on previous occasions.

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She also agreed that she must have seen the nib pavement as she parked her car. She said that she did not take a route along the footpath in front of the store because it was blocked with store goods.

The plaintiffs engineer described the nib pavement as an "unnecessary and introduced hazard". His evidence was that the kerb should have been dished down or its presence indicated by signs or bollards or yellow paint.

The defendants engineer described the kerb as a feature that is widely found, is common and ubiquitous.

The defendants case was that the nib pavement was a usual danger in respect of which the plaintiff was required to take reasonable care for her own safety.

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The High Court judge found that due to the path to the store being blocked with goods that the plaintiff had no option but to go round the back of her car and across the nib pavement, which amounted to an act of negligence and a breach of a duty of care on the part of Circle K that forced the plaintiff onto the forecourt.

In his judgment on Monday, Mr Justice Seamus Noonan said there had been no evidence before the High Court that the nib pavement was an unusual danger sufficient to attract liability.

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Mr Justice Noonan said the nib pavement was a commonplace feature to be found not only in garage forecourts but in street and car parks generally.

Mr Justice Noonan said he was satisfied that there was no true causal link between the footpath being obstructed and the accident.

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Anybody crossing the street encounters precisely the same danger or hazard. It seems to me that it cannot by any stretch of the imagination be described as 'unusual' as a matter of law, said Mr Justice Noonan.

One thing is clear and that is that the plaintiff cannot have been taking reasonable care for her own safety in failing to see the kerb over which she fell, said Mr Justice Noonan who then allowed the appeal by Circle K.
The recent formation of a new government and expected transfer of the immigration portfolio to a new department has delayed court orders over whether the State can house asylum-seekers at an accommodation centre in Co Westmeath.

In December, then-Minister for Integration Roderic OGorman conceded in a challenge to his order facilitating the expedited development of accommodation for 1,000 male asylum seekers on a site in Lissywollen, Athlone.

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Since then, the High Court has been waiting to hear how the State wants to approach the case following its concession.

However, on Monday, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys was told that the formulation of the States position on the case is not as advanced as previously hoped.

Aoife Carroll SC, for the Minister for Integration, noted that, with the recent formulation of the new government, the unit responsible for housing of asylum-seekers is expected to be transferred between government departments.

Ms Carroll said she was seeking an adjournment of the case to allow the new minister responsible to consider the issues and consider the next steps in the case.

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The challenge was brought by a local Independent councilor, Paul Hogan, who claimed that the ministerial process providing for the accommodation plan was unlawful, irrational and a breach of fair procedures.

Mr Horgan was supported in his challenge by four other Athlone-based representatives  now Independent TD Kevin Boxer Moran and councillors Frankie Keena and Aengus ORourke of Fianna Fail and John Dolan of Fine Gael.

The Governments plan is for asylum seekers to be housed in up to 150 tents on the site, which is to the rear of an existing direct provision centre. It is proposed that the tents would eventually be replaced with modular units.

Oisin Collins SC, for the applicant, expressed disappointment at the delay to proceedings.

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Ireland Teen sisters charged over city-centre theft from m... Read More

He asked the court that, if the adjournment was to be granted, that it be on the specific basis that there was no additional intensification in the use or development of the site.

Ms Carroll noted that there are currently 180 people residing on the site.

She said that the number of persons residing on site is not due to change at present, and that the State is maintaining the status quo as regards whos a resident, and the number of residents.

Adjourning the case until February 17th, Justice Humphreys granted Mr Collins request that there should be no intensification in the use of the site, and no material works carried out, barring necessary maintenance works.
The Irish Coast Guard has airlifted an alternative power supply and fuel to Inismaan in the Aran Islands as Uisce Eireann works to restore the water supply there.

The utility has been working to reconnect homes and businesses across Ireland including island communities following the destruction caused by Storm Eowyn last week.

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On Monday morning, the Sligo-based Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 118 undertook the humanitarian operation.

The crew first flew to Connemara Airport in Inverin, Galway, and airlifted an Uisce Eireann engineer to Inismaan.

Ireland Gardai investigate after nine people found in ship... Read More

Rescue 118 then travelled to Spanish Point/Miltown Malbay Airfield in Co Clare from where they operated two further flights to Inismaan.

The first Helicopter External Sling Load Operations (HESLO) flight airlifted a generator to the island and later a fuel to operate the power supply.

The equipment is being supplied by Thurles-based Cantwell Electrical Engineering who are working on behalf of Uisce Eireann.

The effort was supported on the ground by Irish Coast Guard staff; the Doolin unit of the volunteer service as well as personnel from Cantwell.
Gardai are appealing for witnesses following a serious-injury road traffic collision which occurred in Tydavnet, Co Monaghan, on Monday.

A male in his 20s was brought to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda with life-threatening injuries. He has since been transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin where he is in a critical condition.

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The single-vehicle collision occurred on the R186 on the northern side of Tydavnet village towards Clogher at some time between 12:50am and 3am.

Gardai are appealing for any witnesses to this collision to come forward.

Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) who were travelling in the area of the R186 north of Tydavnet village, between the hours of 12.50am and 3am, are asked to make this footage available to Gardai.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Monaghan Garda Station on 047 77240, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he and Sir Keir Starmer wanted to make 2025 a defining year for relations between their countries after their first call since he was elected Taoiseach.

The two leaders discussed the ongoing recovery efforts from Storm Eowyn when they spoke on Monday morning.

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They also spoke about the series of Ireland-UK annual summits, with Britain due to host the first in March.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Alberto Pizzoli/PA)

We are both committed to making 2025 an important and defining year for Irish-British relations as we initiate a series of annual summits to drive a programme of strategic co-operation between our two countries, Mr Martin said after the call.

We spoke about Northern Ireland and our shared vision as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement to furthering prosperity and reconciliation to the benefit of all.

Mr Martin welcomed the assistance provided by UK crews in the efforts to tackle the storms impact, and Sir Keir said the UK was standing by to offer further support as required.

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Downing Street said: The leaders agreed that the UKIreland relationship was going from strength to strength, and it was vital to continue that in such a volatile geopolitical context.

Discussing devastating Storm Eowyn at the weekend, the leaders paid tribute to the work of first responders and engineers to restore electricity to thousands of homes.

The Prime Minister said that he had also spoken to the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and that the UK stood by to offer further support, as required.

The Prime Minister also updated on his EU reset, and the leaders underscored the importance of a close and constructive relationship with the EU to boost prosperity and security.

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They also discussed Ukraine and the Middle East, and Mr Martin called for a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Both leaders are due to attend Holocaust Memorial Day events to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

We discussed the importance of remaining committed today to combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance and racism, Mr Martin said.

Tanaiste and foreign affairs minister Simon Harris also spoke to Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday.

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Mr Harris said he welcomed the renewed warmth in the relationship with the UK and that the call was an opportunity to welcome renewed positive engagement from the UK on relations with the EU.
A 14-year-old boy accused of repeatedly breaking bail and cannabis dealing in Dublin has avoided custody because the State's main juvenile detention centre had "no room" to hold him.

The teenager has been before the Dublin Children's Court recently on various charges and faced a fresh application to remand him in custody. This move followed 20 recorded breaches of bail conditions over a short period.

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The terms had included a 10pm6am curfew and a ban from going to specific parts of the north inner city such as the Ilac centre and Moore Street.

However, despite Garda concerns, a judge was forced on Monday to release him again because there was no space to hold him at the Oberstown Children Detention Campus.

In evidence, Garda Sergeant Chris Jones said that the boy faced an application to remand him in custody a fortnight ago and again last week; however, he remained on bail.

The sergeant alleged that after the last hearing, the teenager had been observed in one of the areas he was barred.

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He was stopped and allegedly caught with four bags of cannabis worth 115.

It was claimed that his mother was contacted, and told gardai that she would not collect her son until 45 was returned to her from the cash seized. Tusla had to be contacted.

He has not yet been charged over that alleged drug seizure, but the court heard there have been six bench warrants for missing court appearances.

Defence solicitor Brian Keenan acknowledged that it was far from satisfactory for someone so young to breach bail so consistently, and his client was in a difficult situation.

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However, he asked the judge to note new developments, such as the teen's admission to a youth diversion project and a separate supervision scheme that assists defendants in the Children's Court in sticking to bail conditions.

The solicitor submitted that would focus the boy's mind.

Judge Brendan Toale noted this was the third application this month to rescind the bail, and he was satisfied it had reached the point that bail should be revoked.

In tears, the boy's mother stormed out of the courtroom while a probation officer contacted the detention centre. However, it emerged that the facility had "no room" for the boy, and the judge could not proceed to remand him in custody.

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His mother returned and her son was released to appear again next month but was warned the bail conditions would still apply.

The boy, who has not yet entered pleas, to possessing cannabis for sale or supply on November 13th in the north inner city, criminal damage to and unlawfully interfering with a car while trespassing at a property in Dublin 9 on July 14th. He allegedly trespassed at a house nearby a day earlier.

He has a second set of charges for possessing cannabis and having it for sale or supply on another date.

Disclosure of evidence was ordered over the charges on which pleas remain outstanding.

The boy spoke once, nodded and said yes to confirm that he admitted to shoplifting an electric toothbrush, toothpaste and baby wipes last year.

He was also referred to the Probation Service for a pre-sentence report to be drafted.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday.

Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of the Irish-British relationship, and looked forward to the first in a series of annual Ireland-UK summits that will be hosted by Britain in March.

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The impact of storm Eowyn and ongoing recovery efforts were also raised, with the Taoiseach welcoming the assistance to ESB provided by UK crews as part of a mutual association agreement among electricity companies.

The leaders discussed Northern Ireland, legacy issues and a number of international issues, including the commemoration in Auschwitz.

The Taoiseach looked forward to meeting again with Starmer at an informal meeting of the European Council in Belgium on February 3rd.

Speaking after the call, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said:

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I was pleased to speak again with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer this morning, following my appointment as Taoiseach.

We are both committed to making 2025 an important and defining year for Irish-British relations as we initiate a series of annual summits to drive a programme of strategic cooperation between our two countries.

We spoke about Northern Ireland and our shared vision as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement to furthering prosperity and reconciliation to the benefit of all.

We discussed global issues, including Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, in particular the need for a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Later today I will be attending an event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

"We discussed the importance of remaining committed today to combatting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance and racism.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted an operation in San Jose, the citys mayor confirmed. Further details about the agencys presence in the city were not immediately available. Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press 2022

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials conducted an operation in San Jose on Sunday, according to the citys mayor.

Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement that the citys police department was notified that ICE would be carrying out an operation. The mayor said San Jose officials did not have additional details about the operation and said the police department does not assist in such operations.

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It was not clear whether anyone had been arrested by ICE.

I sincerely hope that ICE remains focused on enforcement actions related to violent and serious criminals harming our city, not neighbors who are contributing and law-abiding members of our community, Mahan said in a statement issued Sunday.

ICE spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

ICE agents were seen conducting operations Sunday around 12:30 p.m. in different areas of East San Jose, including near South White Road, Tully Road, and King and Story roads, according to social media posts from the Rapid Response Network in Santa Clara County and San Jose Council Member Peter Ortiz, whose district includes East San Jose.

These actions appeared to be targeted at specific individuals, the group said on the post.

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Detainees were reportedly transferred to vans behind a Target store at King and Story roads, the group said.

The operation on Sunday happened days after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who has promised to carry out mass deportations. Trumps plans appear to target people with criminal records and those with final orders of deportation. Reports of hundreds of arrests in other states have stoked fear in immigrant communities across the Bay Area. In San Francisco, school district officials on Friday debunked a rumor that an ICE agent confronted a middle school student on a Muni bus last week.

A local union that represents janitorial workers in downtown San Francisco buildings said federal agents showed up at multiple buildings in the Financial District on Friday. Apparently, ICE has shown up to some of our sites, said SEIU Local 87 President Olga Miranda in a Facebook video. Our members and their families are safe, Miranda said.

Miranda could not be reached Monday to discuss details of the enforcement action she described. A representative for the union said five buildings were targeted by federal agents, but no arrests were made.

In an email, an ICE spokesperson declined to comment on the purported actions in downtown San Francisco, but said the agency was receiving a large number of inquiries about specific immigration law enforcement actions, calling many of them inaccurate. ICEs enforcement resources are based on intelligence-driven leads and ICE officers do not target noncitizens indiscriminately, the spokesperson said.

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Citing the SEIU Local 87 information, state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, decried the alleged operations, saying they targeted hardworking people and were a waste of government resources. Our janitors keep our office buildings clean. Its hard work. They keep our city running, they keep our economy running, he told the Chronicle. He framed the raids as Trump trying to create fear among immigrant communities, and said that most people picked up in immigration raids were not criminals.

We have to send a clear message to people that they can interact with local law enforcement without getting deported, Wiener said. The minute people associate local law enforcement with ICE, theyll stop reporting crimes. That makes all of us less safe.

San Francisco ICE officers also said they arrested Juan Velasquez-Francisco in Sacramento on Thursday, who they said was in the country illegally. Velasquez-Francisco was convicted of driving under the influence and lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, the agency said in news release. Velasquez-Francisco, a Guatemalan citizen, will remain detained until he is deported from the country, officials said.

On Sunday, ICE shared on X that it made 956 arrests in a single day and issued 554 detainers. A detainer indicates there is probable cause to believe the individual can be deported under federal immigration law.

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Israeli forces in southern Lebanon have opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 22 people and injuring 124, Lebanese health officials reported.

Hours later, the White House said Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend the deadline for Israeli troops to depart southern Lebanon until February 18, after Israel requested more time to withdraw beyond the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November.

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Israel has said it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army has not deployed to all areas of southern Lebanon to ensure Hezbollah does not re-establish its presence in the area. The Lebanese army has said it cannot deploy until Israeli forces withdraw.



Lebanese women hold portraits of killed Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah (Bilal Hussein/AP)

The White House said in a statement that the arrangement between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the United States, will continue to be in effect until February 18 2025. It added that the respective governments will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7 2023.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government, but Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed the extension.

The announcement came hours after demonstrators, some of them carrying Hezbollah flags, attempted to enter several villages to protest over Israels failure to withdraw by the original Sunday deadline.

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The dead included six women and a Lebanese soldier, the Health Ministry said in a statement. People were reported wounded in nearly 20 villages in the border area.

The Israeli army blamed Hezbollah for stirring up Sundays protests.



Lebanese citizens check the destruction in the border village of Aita al-Shaab (Bilal Hussein/AP)

It said in a statement that its troops fired warning shots to remove threats in a number of areas where suspects were identified approaching. It added that a number of suspects in proximity to Israeli troops were apprehended and were being questioned.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement addressing the people of southern Lebanon on Sunday that Lebanons sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable, and I am following up on this issue at the highest levels to ensure your rights and dignity.

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He urged them to exercise self-restraint and trust in the Lebanese armed forces. The Lebanese army, in a separate statement, said it was escorting civilians into some towns in the border area and called on residents to follow military instructions to ensure their safety.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, whose Amal Movement party is allied with Hezbollah and who served as an interlocutor between the militant group and the US during ceasefire negotiations, said Sundays bloodshed is a clear and urgent call for the international community to act immediately and compel Israel to withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories.

An Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli military, Avichay Adraee, posted on X that Hezbollah had sent rioters and was trying to heat up the situation to cover up its situation and status in Lebanon and the Arab world.



The dead on Sunday included six women and a Lebanese soldier (Bilal Hussein/AP)

He called on Sunday morning for residents of the border area not to attempt to return to their villages.

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Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN special co-ordinator for Lebanon, and Lieutenant General Aroldo Lazaro, the head of mission of the UN peacekeeping force known as Unifil, called in a joint statement for Israel and Lebanon to comply with their obligations under the ceasefire agreement.

The fact is that the timelines envisaged in the November understanding have not been met, the statement said. As seen tragically this morning, conditions are not yet in place for the safe return of citizens to their villages along the Blue Line.

Unifil said further violence risks undermining the fragile security situation in the area and prospects for stability ushered in by the cessation of hostilities and the formation of a government in Lebanon.

It called for the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, the removal of unauthorised weapons and assets south of the Litani River, the redeployment of the Lebanese army in all of south Lebanon and ensuring the safe and dignified return of displaced civilians on both sides of the Blue Line.
The former home of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss has been transformed into a research centre devoted to fighting extremism, with the building officially opening to the public on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp.



The house, which sits beside the former death camp, belonged to a local military family before the invasion of Poland by Nazi forces in 1939.

It has since been acquired by the Counter Extremism Project, a non-government organisation that combats extremist groups by pressuring financial support networks, countering the narrative of extremists and their online recruitment, and advocating for stronger laws, policies and regulations around the world.

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A view of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum can be seen from the former house of the camp commandant (Czarek Sokolowski/AP)

Counter Extremism Project CEO Mark Wallace said the opening of the home to the public is his dream, and those of our colleagues, is that every visitor, every fellow, and every academic that visits the Auschwitz site will be inspired to take action to fight extremism wherever they come from.



His group bought the house from a private family and is creating the Auschwitz Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalization in the house.

It opened its doors to reporters on the eve of the anniversary commemorations, showing them the rooms in the three-story house that still need to be renovated.



Naftali Furst and his fellow inmates inside a concentration camp in 1945. (US Army via AP)

The project is being launched in partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and under the patronage of Unesco with prominent architect Daniel Libeskind is also a collaborator.



The house was featured in the Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest, which depicts the life of Hoss, his wife Hedwig and their five children in the house just next to the concentration camp.



As commandant from 1940 to 1944, Hoss orchestrated the industrial-scale slaughter at the camp, where gas was used to murder Jews.

He was tried by a Polish court and was executed by hanging at the site of the concentration camp in 1947.



The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum is holding observances on Monday for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp by Soviet forces.
Seven people convicted of being part of a Scottish child abuse ring which plunged to the depths of human depravity have been jailed for terms ranging from 20 years to eight years.

The two women and five men will all be monitored for life after being convicted of gang raping a child and abusing other children in a drugs den in Glasgow where heroin and crack cocaine were used.

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Iain Owens (46), Elaine Lannery (40), Lesley Williams (43), Paul Brannan (42), Scott Forbes (51), Barry Watson (48) and John Clark (48) were convicted in November 2023 following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

They were sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow (David Cheskin/PA)

Four of the group: Owens, Lannery, Brannan and Williams, were found guilty of attempting to murder a child by pushing her into a microwave and trapping her in other places.

Sentencing was delayed until December while risk assessments were carried out, which judge Lord Beckett had ordered due to the severity of the crimes.

The trial, which lasted for about eight weeks, heard evidence of systematic child sex abuse, described as harrowing by Lord Beckett who said it plunges to the depths of human depravity.

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He previously said he was considering whether to impose orders for lifelong restriction, which monitor high-risk offenders for the rest of their lives if they are deemed suitable for release from prison after serving a minimum punishment period.

The offences, involving three children, happened between 2012 and 2019.

Owens, Lannery, Brannan, Williams, Forbes, Watson and Clark were found guilty of taking part in the gang rape of a child.

Owens and Lannery were also convicted of multiple counts of assault, sexual assault, rape and causing a child to ingest drugs and alcohol.

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Owens and Lannery were jailed for 20 and 17 years respectively.

Brannan was convicted of attempted murder, sexual assault, rape and supplying class A drugs. He was jailed for 15 years.

Williams was convicted of attempted murder, assault, rape and supplying drugs. She was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.

Forbes was found guilty of rape, while Watson was found guilty of rape and sexual assault, and Clark was found guilty of rape and sexual assault.

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Clark was jailed for 10 years, Watson for nine years and six months and Forbes for eight years.

An allegation that the accused used a Ouija board to call on spirits and demons causing the child victims to believe that they could see, hear and communicate with spirits and demons and making them take part in witchcraft, was dropped by prosecutors during the trial.

Co-accused Marianne Gallagher (40) was found guilty of assaulting a child and was admonished when she appeared for sentencing on January 6th.

Gallagher was told she would be in pretty severe trouble if she committed further offences, when she was spared punishment by Lord Beckett.
The White House claimed victory over Colombia into accepting flights of deported migrants from the US on Sunday, hours after president Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay.

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Ms Leavitt said the tariff orders  which would have put in place 25 per cent tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, and then raised to 50 per cent in one week  will be held in reserve, and not signed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters (Alex Brandon/AP)

She said Mr Trump would maintain visa restrictions on Colombian officials and enhanced customs inspections of goods from the country until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who rejected two US military aircraft carrying migrants after accusing Mr Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation, reposted the White House statement on X.

We have overcome the impasse with the United States government, said Colombian foreign minister Luis Gilberto Murillo. We will continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights.

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He said the countrys presidential aircraft is available to facilitate the return of migrants.

Colombias decision comes hours after Mr Trump threatened to order upped tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures to be taken against Colombia after its government rejected two US military flights carrying migrants.

Mr Trump said the measures were necessary, because the decision of Mr Petro jeopardised national security in the US.

These measures are just the beginning, Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

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We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.

Colombias President Gustavo Petro (Fernando Vergara/AP)

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Petro said that his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with dignity.

Mr Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.

A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves, Mr Petro said.

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That is why I returned the US military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens.

After Mr Trumps announcement, Mr Petro announced in a post on X that he had ordered the foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the US by 25%.

Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the United States from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.

Last year, Colombia and other countries began accepting US-funded deportation flights from Panama.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Mr Petro cancelled his authorisation for the flights when the aircraft were in the air.

Colombians emerged in recent years as a major presence on the US border with Mexico, aided in part by a visa regime that allows them to easily fly to Mexico and avoid trekking though the treacherous Darien Gap.

They ranked fourth with 127,604 arrests for illegal crossings during a 12-month period through September, behind Mexicans, Guatemalans and Venezuelans.

Mexico has not imposed visa restrictions on Colombians, as they have on Venezuelans, Ecuadoreans and Peruvians.

The government of Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, in a statement later announced that the South American countrys presidential aircraft had been made available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the US military airplanes and guarantee them dignified conditions.

FILE  Migrants walk along the Huixtla highway toward the United States. (Edgar H. Clemente, File/AP)

As part of a flurry of actions to make good on US President Donald Trumps campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.

Two US Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants removed from the US touched down early on Friday in Guatemala. The same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people.

In announcing what he called urgent and decisive retaliatory measures, Mr Trump explained that he ordered 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States, which would be raised to 50% in one week.

He said he also ordered A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on Colombian government officials, allies and supporters.

World Pope calls Trumps plans of mass deportations a d... Read More

All Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government, Mr Trump wrote will be subject to Visa Sanctions.

He did not say to which party he was referring to or provide any additional details on the visa and travel restrictions.

Mr Trump added that all Colombians will face enhanced customs inspections.
Mediator Qatar has announced that an agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, easing the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Qatars statement said Hamas will hand over the civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, along with two other hostages before Friday. And on Monday, Israeli authorities will allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

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The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement said the hostage release  which will also include soldier Agam Berger  will take place on Thursday, and confirmed that Palestinians can move north on Monday.

Israels military said people can start crossing on foot at 7am.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel on Saturday was to begin allowing Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza. But Israel put that on hold because of Ms Yehoud, who Israel said should have been released on Saturday. Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement.



Under the ceasefire deal, Israel on Saturday was to begin allowing Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)

The release of Ms Yehoud and two other hostages is in addition to the one already set for next Saturday, when three hostages should be released.

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In addition, Hamas in a statement said the militant group had handed over a list of required information about all hostages to be released in the ceasefires six-week first phase. The Israeli prime ministers office confirmed it had received the list.

Thousands of Palestinians have gathered, waiting to move north through the Netzarim corridor bisecting the territory, while local health officials on Sunday said Israeli forces fired on the crowd, killing two people and wounding nine.

US President Donald Trump meanwhile suggested that most of Gazas population be at least temporarily resettled elsewhere, including in Egypt and Jordan, to just clean out the war-ravaged enclave. Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians rejected that, amid fears that Israel might never allow refugees to return.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said Palestinians would never accept such a proposal, even if seemingly well-intentioned under the guise of reconstruction. He said the Palestinians can rebuild Gaza even better than before if Israel lifts its blockade.
Two Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted a West End performance of The Tempest starring Sigourney Weaver.

Mother-of-three Hayley Walsh and mechanical engineer Richard Weir can be seen walking on stage where Alien star Weaver, 75, is performing, in a video shared to social media by the climate protest group.

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Carrying a sign that reads over 1.5 degrees is a global shipwreck, the pair launch a confetti cannon while a voice says well have to stop the show ladies and gentlemen, sorry.

 BREAKING: THE TEMPEST WEST END PERFORMANCE DISRUPTED



 2 Just Stop Oil supporters climbed onto the stage, stopping a performance starring legendary actor Sigourney Weaver.



 1.5 degrees is a global shipwreck. Sign up for action this April: https://t.co/guLYY5sk5C



Video pic.twitter.com/2BIxCVT4lO  Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) January 27, 2025

Weaver, who had been sitting on a chair, was escorted off stage at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, while the two protesters faced boos and a few cheers from the audience.

The sign was a reference to the recent announcement that 2024 had been the warmest on record globally and the first full year when the average temperature exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Ms Walsh, 42, a lecturer from Nottingham, said: I am scared for my children, I cant sleepwalk them into a future of food shortages, life-threatening storms and wars for resources.

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Years of writing to MPs, going on marches and teaching my students to be more sustainable hasnt seen the urgent change needed.

1.5 degrees is a global shipwreck we cant ignore. Wildfires in California, deadly floods in Valencia and hundreds of thousands without power in the UK this weekend.

Sigourney Weaver stars in The Tempest (Ian West/PA)

This isnt a distant, future problem. We need a global treaty to stop fossil fuel burning and a global emergency response.

Mr Weir, 60, from Tynemouth, North Tyneside, said: I started my career in the shipyards of Tyneside and I watched management inaction lead to the collapse of UK manufacturing.

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Now I see similar failures of leadership as politicians refuse to take action to protect us and our loved ones.

Were already seeing the damage this crisis is doing to crops, homes and entire neighbourhoods. Unless we come together and demand a move away from fossil fuels by 2030, we will go the same way as manufacturing in the UK.

The Metropolitan Police have been approached for comment.
The US Department of Justice said on Monday that it had fired more than a dozen employees who worked on the criminal investigations into President Donald Trump, moving rapidly to pursue retribution against lawyers involved in the investigations.

The abrupt action targeting career prosecutors who worked on special counsel Jack Smiths team is the latest sign of upheaval inside the Department of Justice (DoJ) and reflects the administrations determination to purge the government of workers it perceives as disloyal to the president.

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Special counsel Jack Smith resigned from the department before President Trumps inauguration (J Scott Applewhite/AP)

The move, which follows the reassignment of multiple senior career officials across divisions, was made even though rank-and-file prosecutors by tradition remain in their positions across presidential administrations and are not punished because of their involvement in sensitive investigations.

The firings were effective immediately.

A statement from a Justice Department official said: Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DoJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump.

In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the Presidents agenda. This action is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponisation of government.

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It was not immediately clear which prosecutors were affected by the order, or how many who worked on the investigations into Mr Trump remained with the department.

It was also not immediately known how many of the fired prosecutors intended to challenge the terminations by arguing that the department had ignored civil service protections afforded to federal employees.

Mr Smith himself resigned from the department earlier this month after submitting a two-volume report on the twin investigations into Mr Trumps efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election and his hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

At least one other key member of the team, Jay Bratt, also retired from the department this month after serving as a lead prosecutor in the classified documents case.
President Alexander Lukashenko has won a a seventh term in office in Belarus, according to the countrys Central Election Commission.

According to a statement by the Central Election Commission, the 70-year-old leader took nearly 87% per cent of the vote in Sundays election after a campaign in which four token challengers all praised his rule.

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Mr Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and has ruled the country of nine million people with an iron hand. He relies on subsidies and political support from Russia. He allowed Moscow to use the countrys territory to invade Ukraine in 2022 and later hosted some of Russias tactical nuclear weapons.

He still campaigned with the slogan, peace and security, arguing he has saved Belarus from being drawn into war

His opponents, many of whom are imprisoned or exiled abroad by his unrelenting crackdown on dissent and free speech, called the election a sham  much like the last one in 2020 that triggered months of protests.



Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to the media after voting in presidential elections in Minsk (Pavel Bednyakov/AP)

The crackdown saw more than 65,000 arrests, with thousands beaten, bringing condemnation and sanctions from the West.

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His iron-fisted rule since 1994 earned Mr Lukashenko the nickname of Europes last dictator, relying on subsidies and political support from close ally Russia.

Its better to have a dictatorship like in Belarus than a democracy like Ukraine, Mr Lukashenko said in his characteristic bluntness.

His reliance on support from Russian President Vladimir Putin helped him survive the 2020 protests.

Observers believe Mr Lukashenko feared a repeat of those mass demonstrations amid economic troubles and the fighting in Ukraine, and so scheduled the vote in January, when few would want to fill the streets again, rather than in August. He faces only token opposition.

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The trauma of the 2020 protests was so deep that Lukashenko this time decided not to take risks and opted for the most reliable option when balloting looks more like a special operation to retain power than an election, Belarusian political analyst Valery Karbalevich said.

Mr Lukashenko repeatedly declared that he was not clinging to power and would quietly and calmly hand it over to the new generation.

His 20-year-old son, Nikolai, travelled the country, giving interviews, signing autographs and playing piano at campaign events. His father has not mentioned his health, even though he was seen having difficulty walking and occasionally spoke in a hoarse voice.

Lukashenko campaigned actively despite the apparent health issues, and it means that he still has plenty of energy, Mr Karbalevich said. The successor issue only becomes relevant when a leader prepares to step down. But Lukashenko isnt going to leave.

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Leading opponents have fled abroad or were thrown in prison. The country holds nearly 1,300 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, founder of the Viasna Human Rights Centre.

Since July, Mr Lukashenko has pardoned more than 250 people described as political prisoners by activists. At the same time, however, authorities have sought to uproot dissent by arresting hundreds in raids targeting relatives and friends of political prisoners and anyone participating in online activities.

Authorities detained 188 people last month alone, Viasna said. Activists and those who donated money to opposition groups have been summoned by police and forced to sign papers saying they were warned against participating in unsanctioned demonstrations, rights advocates said.



A woman casts her ballot at a polling site (Pavel Bednyakov/AP)

Mr Lukashenkos four challengers on the ballot were all loyal to him, praising his rule.

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Im entering the race not against, but together with Lukashenko, and Im ready to serve as his vanguard, said Communist Party candidate Sergei Syrankov, who favours criminalising LGBT+ activities and rebuilding monuments to Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

Candidate Alexander Khizhnyak, head of the Republican Party of Labour and Justice, led a voting precinct in Minsk in 2020 and vowed to prevent a repeat of disturbances.

Oleg Gaidukevich, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, supported Mr Lukashenko in 2020 and urged fellow candidates to make Lukashenkos enemies nauseous.

The fourth challenger, Hanna Kanapatskaya, actually got 1.7% of the vote in 2020 and says she is the only democratic alternative to Lukashenko, promising to lobby for freeing political prisoners but warning supporters against excessive initiative.

Opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled Belarus under government pressure after challenging the president in 2020, told The Associated Press that Sundays election was a senseless farce, a Lukashenko ritual.

Voters should cross off everyone on the ballot, she said, and world leaders should not recognize the result from a country where all independent media and opposition parties have been destroyed and prisons are filled by political prisoners.

The repressions have become even more brutal as this vote without choice has approached, but Lukashenko acts as though hundreds of thousands of people are still standing outside his palace, she said.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured eastern Congos largest city, Goma, as the United Nations reported mass panic with the government dubbing the insurgency a declaration of war.

The citys capture came following a 48-hour deadline imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons.

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The M23 rebel movement announced the coup detat in a statement.

The M23 rebels announced the citys capture in a statement minutes before a 48-hour deadline expired that had been imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons.

In the early hours of Monday morning, gunfire could be heard throughout the city, as per two aid workers on the ground who were not authorised to speak to the media.

In a statement, the rebels urged residents of Goma to remain calm and for members of the Congolese military to assemble at the central stadium.

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In the statement, the rebels urged residents of Goma to remain calm. There was no immediate comment from the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.



A UN armoured personnel carrier burns during clashes with M23 rebels outside of Goma, (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

Hours earlier, the UNs special representative for Congo told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that with the airport shut down and roads blocked in the vast regions humanitarian and security hub, we are trapped.

The M23 rebels offensive at the heart of the mineral-rich region threatens to dramatically worsen one of Africas longest wars and create further misery for what is already one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises, with millions of people displaced.

On Saturday, DR Congo broke off relations with Rwanda, which has denied backing the M23 despite evidence collected by UN experts and others.

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The surge of violence has killed at least 13 peacekeepers over the past week, again placing the Congolese on the run once again.

The M23 has made significant territorial gains along Congos border with Rwanda in recent weeks, after months of regional attempts to make peace failed.



FILE  M23 rebels stand with their weapons in Kibumba, in eastern DR Congo in 2022. (Moses Sawasawa, File/AP)

On Sunday night, the rebels called on Congos army to surrender their arms and present themselves at a local stadium by 3am or they would take the city.

The Uruguayan army, who are in Goma serving with the UN peacekeeping mission, said in a statement on X late Sunday that some Congolese soldiers have laid down their weapons.

More than a hundred Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) soldiers are sheltered in the facilities of the Siempre Presente base awaiting the (Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration) process, the statement said.

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In photos shared with the statement, armed men are seen registering with the peacekeepers in a mix of military uniforms and civilian clothing.

UN special representative Bintou Keita told the Security Council that despite UN peacekeepers support for the Congolese armed forces, M23 and Rwandan forces entered the Munigi neighbourhood on Gomas outskirts, causing mass panic.

Munigi is five miles from the city.

Ms Keita said M23 fighters were advancing and using residents as human shields as others fled for their lives.

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M23 has declared the airspace over Goma closed.

She added: In other words, we are trapped.

She said the UN was temporarily relocating nonessential personnel from the city.



Democratic Republic of the Congo Minister of Foreign Affairs Therese Kayikwamba Wagner speaks during a press conference at UN headquarters (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

Democratic Republic of the Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told the Security Council that Rwanda was committing a frontal aggression, a declaration of war which no longer hides itself behind diplomatic manoeuvres.

Rwandas ambassador to the UN Ernest Rwamucyo did not confirm or deny Congos claims.

He blamed Congos government, saying the crisis could have been averted if it had demonstrated a genuine commitment to peace.

The United States and France called for a ceasefire and appealed to Rwanda to withdraw its support to M23, with acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea warning that the US would consider all the tools at its disposal to hold accountable those responsible for sustaining the armed conflict.

In the past 48 hours, two UN peacekeepers from South Africa and one from Uruguay were killed and 11 others were injured and or rushed to hospital, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spokesman ahead of the Security Council meeting.

The UN chief reiterated his strongest condemnation of the M23 offensive with the support of the Rwanda Defence Forces, and called on the rebel group to immediately halt all hostile action and withdraw, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.



A UN armoured personnel carrier burns on the outskirts of Goma (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich eastern DR of Congo, along the border with Rwanda, in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises.

More than seven million people have been displaced by the fighting.

M23 seized Goma in 2012 and controlled it for over a week.
Thousands fled the city of Goma on Monday as fighting raged between Congolese forces and rebels backed by neighbouring Rwanda, who claimed to have captured eastern Congos largest regional hub.

Pockets of chaos and gunfire had some people hunkering down as the rebels marched into the city with a population of about 2 million.

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Others hurried to safer areas of the province; some applauded and cheered on the rebels from the roadside, even shaking hands with them.



Smoke rises over Goma as M23 rebels make their way to the centre of the town (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

Many, however, tried to flee into Rwanda, marching in the heat and through the night along roads with heavy traffic, clinging to their babies, clothes and other belongings on their backs and heads.

Goma is a key location in the conflict-battered North Kivu province, whose minerals are critical to much of the worlds technology.

Rebel groups have long fought over control of eastern Congos mineral wealth, and the conflict has often pitted ethnic groups against one another, with civilians forced to flee their homes and seek protection from armed groups.

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It was unclear how much of Goma was occupied by the rebels, but the events are a huge escalation in the decades-long battle between the two countries.

There is shooting all over the city. We dont know who is shooting, whether its the M23 or our soldiers, said Patrice Naanga, a resident of Goma.



People displaced by the fighting with M23 rebels make their way to the centre of Goma (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

The Congolese government confirmed the presence of M23 rebels in Goma, 1,500 kilometres east of capital Kinshasa, but stopped short of saying they were in control of the city.

No centimetre will be given up!!! government spokesman Patrick Muyaya wrote on X as he called for support for the country.

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A fire at the citys Munzenze prison on Monday morning resulted in the escape of thousands of inmates.

All the prisoners who were detained came out, whether women, men or minors, everyone came out, said Mwamisyo Ndungo, one of the escapees, who estimated that more than 2,000 fled the facility.

The M23 group, which neighbouring Rwanda backs, is one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region as part of a decades-long conflict.



Democratic Republic of the Congos State Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner addressed the UN on the issue (AP)

The rebels temporarily took over Goma in 2012 and resurfaced in late 2021, with increasing support from Rwanda, according to Congos government and United Nations experts. Rwanda has denied providing such support.

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Analysts have warned the latest escalation of hostilities could further destabilize the region, which is already home to one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises with more than six million people displaced. More than a third of North Kivus population are among the displaced, according to a UN report.

In a statement late on Sunday, the UN Security Council called on the M23 to immediately reverse its advances.



It is not known who has control of Goma (AP)

The members of the Security Council condemned the ongoing flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC  and that the M23 put an end to the establishment of parallel administrations in the DRC territory, the statement added, referring to Congos other name.

The rebels announced on Monday that they had captured the city just as a deadline they gave to Congolese security forces to surrender their weapons was about to expire. The rebels asked the Congolese military to assemble at the central stadium and urged residents to remain calm.

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Congolese government officials have said the country is in a war situation and accused Rwanda of committing a frontal aggression (and) a declaration of war.



Crowds of people have been displaced by the fighting with M23 rebels in Goma (AP)

The country severed ties with Rwanda over the weekend. Recent attempts at diplomatic talks between the two countries failed.

The reported advance into Goma is the culmination of a prolonged battle between the rebels and the Congolese security forces during which several towns fell to the rebels.

On Sunday, hundreds of residents marched in the heat and through the night along roads with heavy traffic as they tried to flee Goma into Rwanda, carrying their babies, clothes and other belongings on their backs and heads.

The UNs special representative for Congo Bintou Keita told an emergency meeting of the Security Council late on Sunday that we are trapped, with the airport shut down and roads blocked.

At least 13 UN peacekeepers have been killed in the hostilities in the past week. The UN peacekeeping force, also known as Monusco, entered Congo more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.

The Uruguayan army, in Goma serving with the UN peacekeeping mission, said on X on Sunday that more than 100 Congolese soldiers were laying down their weapons.
Homes can be seen in a neighborhood in Atherton, Calif. on Sunday, May 14, 2023. The town contains some of PG&E's biggest energy users. Bronte Wittpenn/The Chronicle

The Silicon Valley town of Atherton contains not just the most expensive homes in California but also some of the states biggest electricity users.

The Chronicle analyzed monthly residential electricity usage data from PG&E and found that the 94027 ZIP code, which is almost entirely made up of the town of Atherton, had the second-highest electricity consumption per customer in 2024.

PG&E outage map: Bay Area shut-off details by address

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The towns approximately 2,400 residential PG&E customers consumed about 22,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity on average. Thats more than three times the annual average of around 6,400 kilowatt-hours for all residential PG&E customers.

The ZIP code with the highest average residential electricity use was 94562, which includes the town of Oakville, but there are only a little over 100 customers there. PG&E provides energy to about 4.7 million customers across more than 800 ZIP codes in the Bay Area and beyond.

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Although one of the Bay Areas richest ZIP codes shows up near the top of the energy use charts, income isnt usually the biggest driver of household electricity consumption. A 2024 study by Severin Borenstein, the faculty director of the Energy Institute at UC Berkeleys Haas school, found that the biggest determinant is the number of residents in the home. Other important factors include whether a home has solar panels installed, which offset how much electricity a house draws from the grid, and climate, which drives how much air conditioning and heating homes use.

In California, Borenstein told the Chronicle, these factors mean poorer households tend to consume more electricity. Low-income households often contain more people, dont have solar panels and are located in regions with higher average temperatures, like the Central Valley, that require more air conditioning.

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The Chronicles analysis also found a slight negative association between a ZIP codes median income and how much electricity residential customers use. But Borensteins research suggests lower-income households might use less electricity than higher-income households of the same size, in a similar climate and with the same amount of solar panels.

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Extremely-expensive Atherton is the most obvious exception to the association between lower incomes and higher electricity consumption. It ranks near the top in terms of both median income and residential electricity consumption.

Marin Countys Ross, a wealthy enclave encompassed by the 94957 ZIP code, also stood out for high energy consumption. The towns residential PG&E customers consumed about 13,800 kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2024, around twice the overall average.

Jesse Buchsbaum, a research fellow at Resources for the Future who studies energy economics, told the Chronicle that high-income homes may have more energy-heavy appliances, like electric vehicles and hot tubs. High-income homes may also consume more electricity because they are often large, requiring more energy to heat and cool.

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PG&E also provides gas usage data by ZIP code, and Atherton and Ross both have high average gas consumption as well. Residential PG&E customers in Atherton used about 2,400 therms of gas in 2024, six times the average of about 400 therms for all PG&E residential customers. Rosss average was about 800 therms, about twice the overall average.
Swedish prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected aggravated sabotage of an underwater cable in the Baltic Sea.

Prosecutors also ordered the detention of a vessel suspected of damaging the fibre optic cable.

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Several authorities, including the National Police Operations Department, the Coast Guard and the Armed Forces, are involved in the investigation, said Mats Ljungqvist, senior prosecutor at the National Security Unit, according to a press release.



The patrols come in the wake of suspected sabotage of undersea cables. (Hendrik Osula/AP)

The Swedish Coast Guard confirmed to the newspaper Expressen that they were on site near the vessel, which the paper identified as the Malta-flagged Vezhen, at anchor near the port of Karlskrona.

We are directly on site with the seized ship and are taking measures as decided by the prosecutor, said Mattias Lindholm, spokesperson for the Coast Guard.

According to data from Vesselfinder, the vessel departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga several days earlier and was navigating between Gotland and Latvia at the time the damage was suspected of having occurred.

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Latvias state-run radio and TV centre said on Sunday that it recorded disruptions in data transmission on the cable running from the town of Ventspils to the Swedish island of Gotland, and concluded there was a rupture.





Early morning today we received information that the data cable from Latvia to Sweden was damaged in the Baltic Sea, in the section that is located in the Exclusive economic zone of Sweden. We are working together with our Swedish Allies and NATO on investigating the incident,  Evika Silina  (@EvikaSilina) January 26, 2025

The media organisation said it was able to operate using other data transmission routes, while it was taking steps to have the cable repaired.

At the moment, there is reason to believe that the cable is significantly damaged and that the damage is caused by external influences, Vineta Sprugaine, head of corporate communications at LVRTC, was quoted as saying by the LSM state broadcaster.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina wrote on X that her government was working together with our Swedish Allies and Nato on investigating the incident, including to patrolling the area, as well as inspecting the vessels that were in the area.

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There is information suggesting that at least one data cable between Sweden and Latvia has been damaged in the Baltic Sea. The cable is owned by a Latvian entity. I have been in close contact with my Latvian counterpart, Prime Minister Evika Silina, during the day.



Sweden,  SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) January 26, 2025

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X that at least one cable belonging to a Latvian entity was believed to have been damaged and that he had been in close contact with MS Silina during the day on Sunday.

Sundays rupture follows a string of incidents that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the strategic region.

There have been previous incidents reported of ruptures of data cables running on the Baltic Sea bed, allegedly linked to Russias shadow fleet  hundreds of ageing tankers of uncertain ownership that are dodging sanctions and keeping oil revenue coming into the country.

Earlier this month, Nato began a new mission dubbed Baltic Sentry which included frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a fleet of naval drones to provide enhanced surveillance and deterrence in the Baltic Sea which the transatlantic alliance says is to protect undersea cables and pipelines.
US President Donald Trumps push to have Egypt and Jordan take in large numbers of Palestinian refugees from besieged Gaza fell flat with those countries governments and left a key congressional ally in Washington perplexed on Sunday.

Fighting that broke out in the territory after ruling Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 is paused due to a fragile ceasefire, but much of Gazas population has been left largely homeless by an Israeli military campaign.

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Mr Trump told reporters on Saturday aboard Air Force One that moving some 1.5 million people away from Gaza might mean that we just clean out that whole thing.

Mr Trump relayed what he told Jordans King Abdullah when the two held a call earlier on Saturday: I said to him, Id love for you to take on more because Im looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and its a mess.

He said he was making a similar appeal to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi during a conversation they were having while Mr Trump was at his Doral resort in Florida on Sunday.

Mr Trump said he would like Egypt to take people and Id like Jordan to take people.

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Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Egypt and Jordan, along with the Palestinians, worry that Israel would never allow them to return to Gaza once they have left.

Both Egypt and Jordan also have perpetually struggling economies and their governments, as well as those of other Arab states, fear massive destabilisation of their own countries and the region from any such influx of refugees.

Jordan already is home to more than two million Palestinian refugees.

Egypt has warned of the security implications of transferring large numbers of Palestinians to Egypts Sinai Peninsula, bordering Gaza.

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Mr Trump suggested that resettling most of Gazas population of 2.3 million could be temporary or long term.

Jordans foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said on Sunday that his countrys opposition to what Mr Trump floated was firm and unwavering.

Some Israel officials had raised the idea early in the war.

Egypts foreign minister issued a statement saying that the temporary or long-term transfer of Palestinians risks expanding the conflict in the region.

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Mr Trump does have leverage to wield over Jordan, which is a debt-strapped, but strategically important, US ally and is heavily dependent on foreign aid.

The US is historically the single-largest provider of that aid, including more than 1.6 billion dollars through the State Department in 2023.

Much of that comes as support for Jordans security forces and direct budget support.

Jordan in return has been a vital regional partner to the US in trying to help keep the region stable.

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Jordan hosts some 3,000 US troops. Yet, on Friday, new Secretary of State Marco Rubio exempted security assistance to Israel and Egypt but not to Jordan, when he laid out the details of a freeze on foreign assistance that Mr Trump ordered on his first day in office.

Meantime, in the United States, even Trump loyalists tried to make sense of his words.

I really dont know, said Senator Lindsey Graham, when asked on CNNs State Of The Union about what Mr Trump meant by the clean out remark.

Mr Graham, who is close to Mr Trump, said the suggestion was not feasible.

The idea that all the Palestinians are going to leave and go somewhere else, I dont see that to be overly practical, said Mr Graham.

He said Mr Trump should keep talking to Mideast leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and officials in the United Arab Emirates.

I dont know what hes talking about. But go talk to MBS, go talk to UAE, go talk to Egypt, Mr Graham said. What is their plan for the Palestinians? Do they want them all to leave?

Mr Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, also announced on Saturday that he had directed the US to release a supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.

Former president Joe Biden had imposed a hold due to concerns about their effects on Gazas civilian population.

Egypt and Jordan have made peace with Israel but support the creation of a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories that Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War.

They fear that the permanent displacement of Gazas population could make that impossible.

In making his case for such a massive population shift, Mr Trump said Gaza is literally a demolition site right now.

Id rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, he said of people displaced in Gaza. Where they can maybe live in peace for a change.
Firing by Israeli troops killed two people and wounded 17 on Monday in the second day of deadly protests in southern Lebanon, health officials said, as residents displaced by the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah attempted to return to villages where Israeli troops remain.

The shooting came a day after 24 people were killed and more than 130 wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on protesters who breached roadblocks set up along the border.

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Under a US-brokered ceasefire on November 27, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah was to move north of the Litani River by January 26.



Lebanese soldiers enter a neighbourhood in the southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

While the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers had already deployed in several villages before the deadline, Israel remained in more than a dozen villages.

The United States and Lebanon announced later on Sunday that the deadline to meet the ceasefire terms had been extended to February 18.

In a pre-recorded speech aired on Monday, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said his group would not accept the extension of the ceasefire deadline, without addressing the fact that the Lebanese government had already done so.

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Israel has to withdraw because the 60 days are over, Mr Kassem said. We wont accept any excuses to extend one second or one day.

Any delay in the withdrawal is the responsibility of the United Nations, the US, France and Israel, he added.

Mr Kassem also said his group has not violated the ceasefire terms and acknowledged that they considered retaliating against Israeli airstrikes but were advised by Lebanese authorities against it.

Protests resumed Monday, particularly in eastern border villages, where residents again attempted to return home.

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Israeli soldiers take a position to block a road in the southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun (Bilal Hussein/AP)

Israeli troops opened fire, killing one person in the town of Odaisseh and wounding seven others across four southern villages, the Health Ministry reported.

The Israeli military has blamed Hezbollah for pushing people to protest and has said soldiers fired warning shots when demonstrators approached.

In the village of Aitaroun, scores of unarmed residents, some waving Hezbollah flags, marched hand-in-hand or rode motorcycles, escorted by ambulances, bulldozers and Lebanese army tanks. They approached the edge of the town but stopped short of Israeli positions, unable to enter.

Lebanons national news agency reported that Israel dropped a bomb at the entrance of the southern village of Yaroun to deter residents from proceeding further.

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Israel blamed the Lebanese army for not deploying to the region fast enough, while the Lebanese military accused Israel of stalling its withdrawal, complicating its deployment efforts.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,000 people during the war, but Lebanese authorities do not distinguish between fighters and civilians in their death toll.

Since the ceasefire began, Israel has conducted near-daily operations such as house demolitions, shelling and airstrikes in southern Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of violating ceasefire terms by attempting to move weapons. Lebanon in turn has accused Israel of hundreds of ceasefire violations.
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 In Sisters, the writer Drusilla Modjeska remarks that female siblings may define each other against the definition made of herself in a complex dance of inclusion and exclusion. Our triad often meant one of us was excluded, and who more likely than me, the grizzling baby sister? There were six years between Dod and I, so she saw me as no competition. I dont believe we ever argued as kids, although maybe we should have, because over the years some things were not said that should have been. Growing up, I was intensely in awe of Dod: her talent, her remote big-sister status, the closed bedroom door behind which she created the stories I wasnt allowed to read. She was in charge of all my adventures as a small child, and I either went along with them or was left out. She was brave and creative while I was plodding, intensely competitive and conscientious. I was on edge, fearful, full of doubt about how to be someone who mattered  so I looked to Dod. Dorothy Porter in her captains hat in 1963. For both Mary and me, Dod was our champion. Like her own hero, Emily Bronte, who was nicknamed The Major by her family, Dod seemed brave and fearless, especially when protecting the people and animals she loved from being hurt. When she was 11, she wore a naval captains hat almost constantly, her two plaits hanging down her back, assuming a military air of authority and leadership: our very own Major. Many years later, when Dod would visit us in Sydney from her home in Melbourne, she would always spend a few days with each of us. I had begun training in psychotherapy, and had finally started to allow my curious, inquisitive self  as well as my professional life  some oxygen to breathe.  Take/the terrifying medicine/and vomit yourself/free (from The Stars in Other Worlds.)

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This new path generated a shift in my relationship with my big sister. In the evening over a glass of wine, Dod and I would analyse whatever was happening in the family. Dod could now watch us all from the safety of Melbourne, and she enjoyed giving commentary and advice. She also loved to talk at length about her friends love lives, luxuriating in the gossip and minutiae, and being sincerely interested in my conclusions. Then she wanted my assessment: What the f--- was going on with our father, Chester? From left, Dorothy Porter with her sisters Mary and Josie in a family photo from Gutsy Girls. How could I begin to answer that? At one lunch, when Chester was particularly rude and monosyllabic, Dod concluded that he was a profoundly deficient man when the charm is turned off, and she feared she was not much better. At a family barbecue, Chester bought champagne and invited us all to toast his legal success  he had managed to have his priest with the wandering hands acquitted. As Dod wrote in The Monkeys Mask, Family barbecues/hit the nerve/like a drunk dentist (Family barbecues). Dorothy Porter on her first day of school in 1959. On her many visits, my children grew to adore their Auntie Doddy. She was eccentrically entertaining, and we forgave her for her non-stop commentary through every television program. Dods lack of practical skill in household tasks became part of our family lore. She would ask for help with everything: locking the door, washing up, looking in the cupboard, turning on the computer. When Dod broke the coffee plunger and panicked, my daughter, Emily, who had just started school, cleaned up the glass. When Dod said to my son, Alex, that she couldnt find the ice cream anywhere, he answered somewhat bewildered, But Auntie Doddy, youre looking in the fridge, not the freezer.

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I rang Jean to complain. Mum. Do something. Shes driving me crazy. Jeans answer was always the same. I did my best, but there was only so much I could do, implying the raw material did not lend itself to moulding. From main: Dorothy Porter with her sisters, Mary and Josie, in the Blue Mountains in 1964; Josie has now written Gutsy Girls in tribute to her big sister. But there was good news: her detective novel in verse, The Monkeys Mask, had at last found a publisher who saw how original and groundbreaking it was. Her career would be launched in a spectacular way over the next two years: my big sister would become a public literary figure. Dod said many years later: The Monkeys Mask  the book for which I couldnt even find a publisher  suddenly becomes a film, a play, and the BBC has just done a radio dramatisation of it in London. I admit at times I have deliberately done things to make money. But The Monkeys Mask I wrote for the sheer hell of it and that is Gods truth  to create one great shitstorm and rock the literary scene to its core. Loading The novels formula is brilliant. A decomposing body turns up in the first few pages, with a tough, gritty, school-dropout private investigator on the case  who almost becomes fatally compromised before the grim mystery is solved. Dod described her anti-hero as an incompetent private detective and lesbian mug. Jills ongoing appeal is to audiences and readers who have also been arses-in-love. In other words, we can all relate.

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Associate Professor Ian Wright, a water expert at Western Sydney University, said Balmain was downstream from a lot of urban development, including the Parramatta CBD and highrise along the river, and the water would be affected by sewage overflow and stormwater run-off including dog poo. However, that was mitigated by the fact the heritage-listed harbour baths were close to the mouth of the harbour and cleansed by tides twice a day. Dawn Fraser is one of the most beautiful pools around and it does get good tidal exchange, Wright said. It is saltwater and its predictable that after a long period of dry weather and therefore very little runoff, plus that twice-a-day tidal exchange, its really good for swimming. The state governments Beachwatch program tests ocean, harbour and river swimming sites weekly in summer and issues a twice-daily prediction for the likelihood of pollution based on forecast rainfall.

The Herald collected samples for water testing on November 22 and January 6 and the lab analysis was done by PhD candidate Katherine Warwick. In line with advice not to swim in the harbour for three days after rain, the samples were taken after several days of good weather. Wright said sites further upstream in the Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers, the main tributaries of Sydney Harbour, would take longer to recover from faecal contamination without the benefit of the tides. Basically, you could do a dotted line from the Heads all the way up to Parramatta, and itll just get darker and darker, meaning it takes longer to recover and its more likely to have faecal contamination, Wright said. Wright warned that the new swimming site at Putney is always going to be a problem because its highly susceptible to fecal contamination, but then its going to take a while for that tidal exchange to dilute.

Wright said Lane Cove River was also dirty from urban run-off despite flowing through national park. Loading The national park is just within one to two kilometres of the water and right around Lane Cove  all of the ridges are developed, Wright said. Theres also a weir so once it gets contaminated, it basically goes brown and stays brown for a couple of weeks. I wouldnt swim in there for anything. Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said he would seek an explanation from the NSW government and consider ramping up the testing regime. If we need to do testing more frequently to give the public the confidence that it can always swim here safely, thats what should happen, Byrne said.

Margaret Gallagher, 71, recalls swimming as a teenager with her friends every summer at Woolwich Baths, or as they called it, Mooneys Mudhole. Margaret Gallagher, 71, said she picks up meticulously after her five-year-old shar pei dog, Shadow. Credit: Steven Siewert The 71-year-old inner west resident said people have always known that the harbour and rivers had varying water quality, especially after rain, when the Lane Cove River would turn brown. Gallagher lives close to Dawn Fraser Baths, where she swims about four times a week usually after consulting the Beachwatch website. It has never made her sick. Its got a decent reputation, Gallagher said. They have a lot of water polo here. When the tides out, theres a little beach there for the kids. You never feel crowded, its just open and spacious.
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Review Eating outRedfern Deep-flavoured sambals and satay: Our critics verdict on the tropical disco of Island Radio Does the first restaurant to open in Redferns new $500 million Wunderlich Lane precinct live up to the hype? David Matthews January 28, 2025 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

1 / 7 A mix of high, low and shared seating under a galaxy of moon-like orbs. Steven Siewert 2 / 7 The duck lumpia is a crisp, exploded version of the Filipino spring roll. Janie Barrett 3 / 7 Island Radios current version of babi guling. Janie Barrett 4 / 7 Yellow curry with flathead. Janie Barrett 5 / 7 Island Radios satay skewer share plate. Janie Barrett 6 / 7 Steven Siewert 7 / 7 Ube Colada cocktail. Janie Barrett Previous Slide Next Slide 14.5 / 20 How we score Modern Asian$$$$ Its Friday night, and the On Air sign at Island Radio has just blinked to life. A DJ steps into the booth, and the pulse in the main dining room  a mix of high, low and shared seating under a galaxy of moon-like orbs  quickens. At certain points in the evening, a wok in the rear kitchen will erupt in flame, a rush of heat throwing light on the glazed tiles and blushing shades of orange that surround you. This back corner of the noodle bar and restaurant, which opened in November, makes up the heritage part of Wunderlich Lane, a $500 million development on the border of Surry Hills and Redfern comprising apartments, a hotel, supermarket and at least one aspirational homewares store selling scalloped glassware and resin side tables. Island Radios satay skewer share plate. Janie Barrett

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Its January and the place is flushed with sun-kissed skin and linen. Two venues from Liquid and Larder (owners of CBD steakhouses Bistecca and The Gidley) are about to launch, Regina la Pizzeria is firing next door, and Olympus, a follow-up to The Apollo in Potts Point, is pumping. Then theres Island Radio. The sprawling venue is House Made Hospitalitys fifth opening in just a couple of months, after the group partnered with Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. And while the atmosphere and a menu that hops between Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines across 50 dishes could smack of too many committee meetings with executives who love beach clubs, Indonesian chef Andrianto Wirya does an exceptional job weaving the threads together. On face value, shatteringly crisp roti stuffed with sweet king prawns, fried chicken glazed with a soy-vinegar adobo reduction, and satay padang featuring remarkably giving LPs smoked ox tongue with sharp, savoury turmeric gravy, just dont track. But as the dishes pile up, flavours cross over and influences blur in a way that starts to bridge the oceans between the islands. The duck lumpia. Janie Barrett In Wiryas duck lumpia (a crisp, exploded version of the Filipino spring roll) you can spy the Chinese influence in the Philippines. In the noodles and curries  including a yellow curry of flathead that tastes of freshly pounded paste  theres centuries of trade, movement and invention.

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But the chef also takes liberties. A raw dish of yellowfin tuna is bright with lemongrass and tamarind, with charred grapefruit to squeeze over. Traditional? No. Delicious? Just ask the room, half of which is scooping the next bite onto cassava crackers. Fragrance and acidity are constants, keeping a table-load of dishes balanced when it could easily blow out. Arguably, no one in the kitchen has a tougher job than Thattacha Eddy Ariyachinkul, who oversees the wok section. Eddy is responsible for three of the rice dishes, including the exceptional sinangag, which adds the luxurious crunch of a brown butter crumb to Filipino garlic fried rice. Some of the noodles Ive eaten over a couple of visits could use less sauce, but its early days, and the command of flavour is really something. Eddy, along with sous-chef Ferianto Guow, is also responsible for blitzing together the sambals that add so much depth to the menu, including a sweet, kombu-rich coconut version that comes with juicy turmeric-brined chicken, and whose flavour resonates throughout a meal. Island Radios current version of babi guling, made with pork belly. Janie Barrett Balis raw sambal matah lands with what has been Island Radios signature: babi guling. Its a restaurant-style approximation of the famed whole-hog dish, but the result  half a spice-rubbed suckling pig roasted until crackling  has absolutely looked the part.

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I say looked, because its not easy to order: the first time, it was sold out; the second, supply issues had seen it switch to pork belly, which was too chewy under too-dark crackling. Lettuce and pickles arent enough to make the comparison with lalapan  Indonesias bountiful platter of raw vegetables  stick. Im told the suckling pig will return when the private rooms open, but for now, it feels like a missed opportunity. Half of the room is scooping yellowfin tuna with lemongrass and tamarind onto cassava crackers. Odds are theyll get there, though, because the rest is just so promising. Ease and accessibility are built in, theres a casual tone to the service thats charming when its on, and cocktails do the tropical-disco thing well. An all-Australian wine list keeps things in a refreshing zone without sacrificing interest. Add a noodle bar, a $44.50 banquet and a kiosk offering pumpkin rendang toasties, and its clear why House Made is at 14 venues and counting. And yes, theres a story about urban renewal, developer-run precincts and rapidly expanding hospitality groups here, but in Island Radio theres also something else: a talented chef putting his own spin on food from regions crying out for more airplay. Its time to tune in. The low-down Vibe: Swish tropical disco with punch and polish Go-to dishes: Malaysian king prawn roti ($16); satay share plate ($30); charred turmeric-brined chicken with coconut sambal ($42/$62) Drinks: Fresh fruit-driven cocktails with the odd mirror-ball garnish, $12 Bintangs, and an all-Australian wine list Cost: About $130 for two, excluding drinks
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Eating outJust open Former Comedor chef lands at Redferns exciting new Mexican rooftop restaurant Its Mexican food, but not as you know it, at this new open-air restaurant from the Bistecca and Gidley team. Bianca Hrovat January 28, 2025 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

1 / 6 Lottie head chef Alejandro Huerta. Rhett Wyman 2 / 6 The sweetcorn leche de tigre, rockmelon and watermelon brocheta and pork jowl at Lottie. Rhett Wyman 3 / 6 Lottie features a retractable roof, making it all-weather friendly. Rhett Wyman 4 / 6 Sweetcorn leche de tigre with charred corn, zucchini, morita chilli, and basil. Rhett Wyman 5 / 6 An artists impression of the adjoining rooftop deck and pool at The Eve Hotel. Supplied 6 / 6 Rhett Wyman Previous Slide Next Slide Its a short lift ride from the busy streets of Redfern to Lottie, an open-air rooftop oasis serving Los Angeles vibes, sunset views and contemporary Mexican cuisine from Tuesday, January 28. The latest restaurant from the Liquid and Larder hospitality group (known for steak-forward CBD venues Bistecca and The Gidley) sits atop new boutique hotel The Eve, encircled by palm trees and adjoining the guest-only pool. It will open alongside Bar Julius, a European-inspired lobby bar on the ground floor. The beef chop with recado negro, roasted onion and salsa picante. Rhett Wyman Mexican-born head chef Alejandro Huerta will be taking the traditional recipes he grew up with and using them as a springboard for creativity. Its the same approach which earned Huerta and his team critical acclaim (and a hat in The Sydney Morning Herald 2025 Good Food Guide) at Newtown restaurant Comedor, which temporarily closed in December following a staff walk-out and allegations of delayed wages.

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Huerta, along with several displaced Comedor employees, joined a month ahead of Lotties official launch, so the first menu was largely developed by executive chef Pip Pratt. Pratt says its a happy coincidence  Liquid and Larder took inspiration from the adventurous approach at Comedor, where fried chicken was served in tacos and locally made jersey milk cheese was served with fermented pineapple. The group also travelled to Los Angeles, dining at reputed Mexican restaurants such as Damian. Lottie is on the rooftop of The Eve hotel in Redfern. Rhett Wyman I think they really did their homework in terms of reading about and understanding Mexican food, Huerta says. And the thing that got me excited [about Lottie] is theyre trying to treat it in a way which is different.

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Lottie serves sweetcorn leche de tigre ($18) using charred and pickled corn kernels, prawn and caramelised carrot aquachile ($20) with shrimp salsa macha, and pork jowl with a cola mole sauce ($48). Huerta says he was sceptical about the latter dish: At first, I was like oh no, thats really disrespectful, but when [Pratt] explained the idea, it made total sense. Pork jowl carnitas in cola mole, with habanero pickled fennel. Rhett Wyman Mexican chefs including San Diego-based Claudette Zepeda (winner of Netflix series Iron Chef), have championed the use of Mexican Coca-Cola when making a similar dish, pork carnitas, for the meat-tenderising effect of its phosphoric acid and the sweetness of its natural cane sugar. The dish also nods to Pratts UK heritage, referencing the Coca-Cola ham recipe from Nigella Lawson he grew up eating each Christmas.

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Im really looking forward to  when Alejandro turns this venue into his own. The menu change in autumn will show what he can bring to the table, Pratt says. Rockmelon and watermelon brocheta with house-made Tajin, fresh juice sangrita and tequila. Rhett Wyman Lottie has a versatile offering, accommodating knock-off drinks with an extensive cocktail list, ranging from the familiar (margaritas), to the lesser-known (horchata milk punch). Mains are available in half-sizes for solo diners and a private dining room overlooking neighbouring rooftops. The kitchen will serve only tacos at the pool bar, says Pratt, who wanted diners to venture outside their comfort zone (Though anything can become a taco when you order tortillas, he adds). Open lunch and dinner daily 8 Baptist Street, Redfern, liquidandlarder.com.au/venues/lottie
Figures to be released on Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics are expected to show inflation over the past 12 months at about 2.5 per cent as prices for goods and services, particularly in the housing construction sector, ease.

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Underlying inflation, closely watched by the Reserve Bank, is also tipped to ease to 0.5 per cent in the December quarter. Many economists note at that level, the annualised rate of underlying inflation over the final six months of 2024 would be at its lowest rate since late 2021 and at the mid-point of the RBAs 2-3 per cent inflation target.

But the steep fall in both overall and underlying inflation may not be enough for the Reserve Bank to use its February 17-18 meeting to begin cutting interest rates for the first time since the depths of the COVID pandemic in late 2020.

But the steep fall in both overall and underlying inflation may not be enough for the Reserve Bank to use its February 17-18 meeting to begin cutting interest rates for the first time since the depths of the COVID pandemic in late 2020.

Barrenjoey chief economist Jo Masters said several factors could force the Reserve to hold fire.

She said subsidies, such as those reducing the prices of electricity and rents, were distorting the overall inflation rate. The recent fall in the Australian dollar was adding to inflationary pressures while growing uncertainty over the global economy, including President Donald Trumps plans for tariffs, made the outlook difficult to decipher.

Jo Masters, chief economist, Barrenjoey. Credit: Oscar Colman

Masters also said the make-up of the RBA board changing in coming weeks, with the banks new monetary policy board with incoming members Renee Fry-McKibbin and Marnie Baker due to start from February 28, would affect the decision.

Its a big change to the board membership. Do you start a new policy direction when youre going to have a new board? she said.

Read the full story here.
Furious residents are planning a protest at Tuesdays meeting of Northern Beaches Council after staff proposed an almost 40 per cent rate rise, despite the results of a community survey which showed most ratepayers favoured a smaller increase.

A contingent of residents on the Northern Beaches Peoples Voice Facebook group and at street-side rallies throughout the LGA have criticised perceived waste in the councils administration of community services, the salaries and headcount of council staff and a council reports assertion that residents could afford a 39.6 per cent rate rise.

Northern beaches residents could soon be hit with a 40 per cent rate rise. Credit: Nick Moir

After years of strain on the councils coffers, blamed on the pandemic, ageing infrastructure and natural disasters, a survey ordered by the council found that 51 per cent of residents supported a pegged rise of 10.7 per cent, while 49 per cent backed an extraordinary rate rise of between 31.1 per cent and 46 per cent over three years.

Following the survey, council staff recommended a rise of 39.6 per cent, an option voted for by 11 per cent of respondents, based on a need to maintain financial sustainability and continue delivering the services that almost all respondents supported. The report also said with the rise costing the average resident an extra $12.89 per week by the end of the three years, ratepayers could shoulder the cost.
Its a sad day at Perth Zoo as they lose another elephant following the death of matriarch Tricia in 2022.

But this time its for happier reasons as 37-year-old Permai is being relocated to a safari-like open habitat in South Australia where she will also gain some new friends.

The elephant, one of two left at Perth Zoo after the passing of 65-year-old Tricia, will begin the mammoth 2000km journey across the Nullarbor on Monday where she will be greeted on the other side by Burma, a fellow female elephant who moved there recently from New Zealand.

Her Perth roommate, Putra Mas, will also join them later in the year, as will two Asian elephants relocating there from Sydneys Taronga Zoo.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, seen here in January 2024, wants to make it easier for homeowners and insurers to sue major oil and gas companies over disasters that climate change has worsened, such as wildfires. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle

State Sen. Scott Wiener has introduced a bill that would create a pathway for Californians affected by fires, floods and other climate disasters to sue fossil fuel companies for damages. The bill would also let insurers do the same to recover costs.

Senate Bill 222, introduced Monday by the San Francisco Democrat and state Sen. Sasha Renee Perez, D-Pasadena, accuses gas and oil companies of deceiving the public about the impact of their products on climate change. Supporters argue it would provide relief from Californias home insurance crisis by explicitly allowing insurers to recoup costs from fossil fuel companies, rather than solely by raising their rates.

Californians are paying a devastating price for the climate crisis, as escalating disasters destroy entire communities and drive insurance costs through the roof, Wiener said in a statement. By forcing the fossil fuel companies driving the climate crisis to pay their fair share, we can help stabilize our insurance market and make the victims of climate disasters whole.

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While a number of state officials have filed lawsuits against oil companies in recent years, its much rarer for non-officials to attempt the same. Erik Mebust, a spokesperson for Wieners office, said that SB222 would provide a clear legal recourse for victims and insurers.

California Environmental Voters, an environmental nonprofit, worked on the bill with the Center for Climate Integrity and another group called Extreme Weather Survivors. But theres one group that wasnt directly consulted on the bill  insurance companies themselves.

Certainly, its a very important question to ask  if there is sort of a conflict of interest for insurance companies, Mebust said.

One potential complication is that U.S. insurers often invest in fossil fuel companies, a 2023 analysis published by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies showed. Such investments generally make up a fairly small percentage of insurers portfolios, but they still totaled more than half a trillion dollars nationally in 2019. Dave Jones, director of the Climate Risk Initiative at UC Berkeley, said in a recent New York Times column that since it is unlikely insurers would sue fossil fuel companies on their own, states should require them to do so as a condition of rate increases.

Insurance companies have reduced coverage in California in recent years, saying the states regulations  which have kept prices relatively low for consumers  make it too difficult to remain financially sustainable. That has left many homeowners and companies scrambling to find coverage, often at much higher costs, despite state officials launching a slate of reforms this month that allow companies to raise prices more easily.

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With the Los Angeles fires rattling Californias insurance industry and leaving some homeowners without enough money to rebuild, proponents say SB222 is a way to reduce costs on both insurers and residents while holding fossil fuel companies accountable. The bill would also open the door for the FAIR Plan, the state-created and privately run insurer of last resort, to sue companies on behalf of policyholders affected by large wildfires and other climate disasters.

It was not immediately clear whether the FAIR Plan would choose to do so.

A 2015 investigation by Columbia University and the Los Angeles Times found Exxon, one of the largest oil companies in the world, has for years downplayed the effects of climate change while simultaneously incorporating climate risk into its internal analyses. In the years following, dozens of cities and states, including California, have sued major oil companies for allegedly denying or minimizing their roles in causing climate change, though much of litigation is still in progress and has not produced big payouts.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has criticised former Australian of the Year Grace Tame for attending a function at The Lodge wearing a T-shirt with the words F--- Murdoch on the front, saying her protest took focus away from the event held to honour past Australians of the Year and this years finalists.

Pressed by ABC Radio Perth about his response to the abuse activists choice to wear an obscenity on her top to the Australia Day eve event, Albanese said: I held a function. It is something that, in my view, took away from the people who were there, and my focus was simply on that.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon with former Australian of the Year Grace Tame at The Lodge on Saturday. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Asked again at a press conference in Perth why he didnt respond to Tames shirt, Albanese said there were 60 people in the queue to be greeted.

People were just there, one by one, rolling through, being welcomed. And [Tames shirt] was clearly designed to get attention. I dont intend to add to that attention because I do think that it takes away from what the day should be about, which is the amazing people who were nominated as Australians of the Year.
NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman says he will approach a rare meeting with Premier Chris Minns about how to jointly tackle the states planning woes without demands or prerequisites but stressed that his commitment to bipartisanship would not give Labor free rein.

Speakman will meet Minns on Tuesday afternoon to plan how Labor and the Coalition could work together on overhauling the states planning system, which both leaders see as a major roadblock to meeting NSWs housing demand.

Despite criticising many of the governments attempts at housing reform, the opposition has proposed a new bipartisan approach, starting with a meeting with Minns ahead of a roundtable with industry in a bid to overhaul the states 45-year-old planning legislation.

NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman and NSW Premier Chris Minns Credit: James Brickwood, Edwina Pickles

Speaking to the Herald on Monday, Speakman said the meeting, which he requested, was a great chance to set in train a bipartisan process to reform our slow and complex planning system.
Victorian Treasurer Jaclyn Symes has questioned her governments use of treasurers advances after integrity experts described the use of the slush fund holding $12.1 billion as manifestly out of step with other Australian jurisdictions.

In her first public challenge to the budgetary approach and financial management of her long-serving predecessor, Tim Pallas, Symes revealed she had sought advice from the Department of Treasury and Finance on how the contentious advances were being used.

Victorian Treasurer Jaclyn Symes, pictured with Premier Jacinta Allan, has sought advice about her governments use of treasurers advances. Credit: Jason South

Symes took the step in response to national figures, compiled by the Centre for Public Integrity, showing that in the three years since the end of the COVID-19 crisis, the state government has put $39.9 billion  nearly 15 of every dollar appropriated by government  into treasurers advances.

This is more than twice the money the Commonwealth and all other state governments combined have put into similar contingencies. In the current financial year, the federal government set aside $1 billion for treasurers advances and NSW just $20 million. Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania do not use them.
Oswiwcim, Poland: Leon Weintraub was 13 when his family was sent to the Lodz Ghetto, established by the Nazi Germany for Jews and Roma following its invasion of Poland. He was later transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

His mother and aunt were murdered on the same day of their arrival in the gas chambers.

We were stripped of all our humanity. We were stripped naked and robbed of all our belongings, he said from a podium in front of Death Gate, where thousands of prisoners passed twice every day from 1940 to 1945. First time, early in the morning, when they were going to work and the second time, when coming back, often carried by friends because of extreme fatigue.

Holocaust survivor Stanislaw Zalewski. Credit: AP

Now 99, Weintraub lives in Sweden, but like the survivors who spoke before him at the 80th commemoration of the death camps liberation, his story is a reminder that despite the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, antisemitism has remained present in Poland  and further afield  ever since.
A map to more manageable living costs

Knowing where to find these pockets of affordability is crucial for renters aiming to navigate a challenging market. Whether opting for the tranquility of the outback or the convenience of a capital city, affordable housing options are available for those who know where to look.
Saving up a really decent deposit is not what most people want to hear, but it really is the best thing to do, they said.
Sri Lankan navy arrests over 50 Indian fishermen so far in 2025 for poaching

Xinhua) 08:29, January 27, 2025

COLOMBO, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan navy has arrested over 50 Indian fishermen so far this year for illegally fishing in Sri Lankan waters, according to the navy.

The most recent seizure occurred on Saturday and Sunday, when the navy seized three Indian fishing boats and apprehended 33 Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, the navy said in a statement on Sunday.

The boats and the fishermen were seized off the seas north of Talaimannar in northern Sri Lanka, the navy said.

The seized boats and fishermen were brought to the Iranativu Island and were handed over to the relevant authority for onward legal proceedings, the navy said.

The navy said they conduct regular patrols and operations in Sri Lankan waters to curb illegal fishing practices of foreign fishing boats, taking into account the impact of those practices on the livelihood of local fishermen.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Brian Wiggins, 40, and Dozsha Beckwith, 31, have been arrested in the killing of Wiggins 97-year-old grandmother, according to the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office. Sacramento County Sheriffs Office

A 97-year-old woman was killed by her adult grandson and his girlfriend in Sacramento County, the sheriffs office said.

Sheriffs deputies did a welfare check Friday at a home near Sacramento, the sheriffs office said on Facebook. Neighbors said they hadnt seen or heard from the woman, who lived alone, for days.

The womans grandson, 40-year-old Brian Wiggins, and his girlfriend, 31-year-old Dozsha Beckwith, answered the door and told the deputies that his grandmother just left in an Uber to visit his father at an assisted living facility, the sheriffs office said.

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But sheriffs officials said the condition of the house  a section of a carpet had been removed and several safes in the living room seemingly were broken into  indicated that the home was ransacked. Wiggins and Beckwith were arrested shortly afterward while deputies searched the home.

When deputies searched a parked vehicle inside the garage, they made the gruesome discovery of the victims body in the trunk, the sheriffs office said.

Investigators said Wiggins and Beckwith forced their way into the home after the victim declined to give them a place to stay. They said Wiggins beat his grandmother to death, and with Beckwiths help put her body in the trunk of his car.

Wiggins and Beckwith were booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail and were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. The identity of the victim was not immediately released.
In a statement issued on January 15th, 2025, Bureau Veritas and SGS communicated that they had engaged in discussions with regards to a potential business combination.

Today, Bureau Veritas announces that these discussions have stopped and did not result in an agreement despite a strong belief in the value of consolidation in the Testing, Inspection and Certification sector.

Bureau Veritas remains fully committed to its LEAP | 28 strategy to deliver a step change in growth and performance, targeting high single-digit total revenue growth1 (with mid-to-high single-digit organic), consistent adjusted operating margin improvement1, double-digit shareholder returns based on EPS CAGR1,2 and dividend yield, and strong cash conversion3 (above 90%).

***

About Bureau Veritas

Bureau Veritas is a world leader in inspection, certification, and laboratory testing services with a powerful purpose: to shape a world of trust by ensuring responsible progress. With a vision to be the preferred partner for customers excellence and sustainability, the company innovates to help them navigate change.

Created in 1828, Bureau Veritas 83,000 employees deliver services in 140 countries. The companys technical experts support customers to address challenges in quality, health and safety, environmental protection, and sustainability.

Bureau Veritas is listed on Euronext Paris and belongs to the CAC 40, CAC 40 ESG, SBF 120 indices and is part of the CAC SBT 1.5 index. Compartment A, ISIN code FR 0006174348, stock symbol: BVI.

For more information, visit www.bureauveritas.com, and follow us on LinkedIn.

Our information is certified with blockchain technology.

Check that this press release is genuine at www.wiztrust.com.

____________________________________ 1 At constant currency 2 CAGR : Compound Annual Growth Rate 3 (Net cash generated from operating activities  lease payments + corporate tax)/adjusted operating profit

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250126660475/en/
San Francisco Police Sgt. Kevin Cuadro talks with a man in a wheelchair on Sixth Street on Monday. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

San Francisco Police Sgt. Kevin Cuadro didnt get far into his daily patrol of Sixth Street on Monday morning before he was confronted with the chaos that has come to define the beleaguered South of Market strip.

Minutes after Cuadro stepped out of a pizza shop and started talking to people crowded along the sidewalk, a woman ran toward him in a hurry. You dont see the dude jumping on peoples cars? she shouted. Officers better go get him, the woman said, or she would beat the f out of him.

Cuadro pivoted and spotted a disheveled man darting through traffic, holding a tattered black-and-white umbrella in the air and jumping on the hood of at least one car as he made his way south. The sergeant, a 13-year veteran of the Police Department who began leading regular foot patrols of Sixth Street about a month ago, was quickly joined by other officers who swarmed to the area blaring their car sirens.

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After a brief pursuit, officers handcuffed the man on the ground in front of a convenience store. A San Francisco fire truck and ambulance soon arrived, and authorities restrained the man on a gurney, placing him under an involuntary psychiatric hold as he cursed and screamed.

Sgt. Kevin Cuadro, with blue gloves, apprehends Walter Quinn, center, after he was allegedly seen jumping on cars on Sixth Street in San Francisco on Monday. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

Its the kind of scene that city officials, with a big push from Mayor Daniel Lurie, are trying to make less common on Sixth Street, which has become defined by public displays of drug use, loitering and general disorder. Merchants in the area have grown increasingly vocal in their discontent, and Lurie has vowed to boost police presence along the street as he tries to carry out his plans to improve public safety just weeks after taking office.

Through a combination of new foot patrols, undercover operations and assistance from officers at other police stations, San Francisco police officers over the past month have made 218 arrests along the Sixth Street corridor. The department did not provide a historical comparison, so its not clear whether thats an increase.

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The escalated enforcement marks the latest push by the Drug Market Agency Coordination Center, which launched under then-Mayor London Breed in May 2023. The operation is a partnership across city departments designed to improve street conditions and crack down on crime in the Tenderloin and SoMa.

Before we started and in the beginning, Sixth Street has looked as bad as its ever looked in my lifetime, Cuadro said as he walked up the street on Monday. Theres been small wins, but obviously its far, far from perfection.  Its still pretty sad.

Since taking office on Jan. 8, Lurie has made Sixth Street a top priority, visiting the troubled corridor frequently to view conditions, while speaking to people on the street and merchants in the area.

Richard Detamore, an unhoused man from Oregon, rests on Sixth Street in San Francisco on Monday. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

Lurie also introduced a fentanyl ordinance that he hopes will help places like Sixth Street. The proposed law, which will be considered by a Board of Supervisors committee on Wednesday, would accelerate city contracting for services related to addiction, mental illness and homeless shelters. It would also allow Luries office to raise money from private donors for those efforts.

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We cannot continue to do things the same way theyve been done, because were going to get the same results, Lurie said in an interview with the Chronicle editorial board last week. People want change. They want it quickly, especially when it comes to this drug crisis.

Lurie warned that it could take years to make long-lasting changes to the citys drug treatment offerings and homeless services, but he is seeking to make visible improvements in the near term.

Short term, I want us to be able to walk our streets and feel safe with our kids  and also (feel) that  the people that are struggling are safe, too, he said.

Over the past 30 days, officers along the Sixth Street corridor have arrested 124 people for drug-related offences, 36 for outstanding warrants, 18 for assault and 40 for other crimes.

San Francisco Police Sgt. Kevin Cuadro chats with people on Sixth Street on Monday. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

Police Chief Bill Scott said in a statement officers are working hard to improve the unacceptable conditions along Sixth Street, but acknowledged that there is more work to do.

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Drug users and people living on the streets said theyve been forced to congregate on and around Sixth Street after officials increased enforcement in the Tenderloin and other parts of SoMa.

Willow Street, which used to be a longstanding hub for drug activity in the Tenderloin, is clear most days now that employees from Urban Alchemy are on hand to ensure people do not gather to use drugs or set up tents.

Business owners along Sixth Street said theyve noticed more officers patrolling the stretch lately, but they have yet to see substantial improvement.

Chi Vo has owned Miss Saigon on the corner of Mission and Sixth streets for nearly two decades. Vo said conditions outside his restaurant, including drug use, illegal vending and people sleeping and defecating on the sidewalk, have worsened since 2020.

Were really upset, Vo said. Clients still love our food, but when I talk to them, they say theyre scared to come to the area.

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The number of dine-in customers has plunged 70% from before the pandemic, Vo estimated. He relies on delivery services to survive.

Vo said hes particularly frustrated by a group of illegal vendors who lay out food and cigarettes on blankets directly outside his eatery. He recently watched police arrest a vendor, only to see the man return the next day.

I dont know what the solution is, but I can see it hasnt really improved yet, he said. Right now, theyre not scared by the police.

The six-block stretch of Sixth Street from Market to Howard streets has been a hot spot for homelessness and drug activity off and on for years.

People hang out on the corner of Jessie and Sixth streets in San Francisco on Monday. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

There are about a dozen permanent supportive housing buildings for formerly homeless people in the area, as well as a handful of low-cost private hotels and nonprofits offering social services to homeless people and drug users. The corridor is home to a shelter storage center, a food pantry, a community resource center and a harm reduction program where people can pick up syringes or the opioid antidote naloxone, or take part in outpatient treatment.

Between the housing and services are several late-night convenience stores, a couple of nightclubs and other small businesses.

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When Breed was mayor, she sought to institute a police-led crackdown on open-air drug scenes after fentanyl use and overdoses skyrocketed during the pandemic.

Breed ordered police to arrest people using drugs in public who were considered a danger to themselves or others. While hundreds of people were arrested as a result, officials did not track whether anyone made it through addiction treatment as a result.

Around 9:30 a.m. Monday, the sidewalks were already crowded with people, many openly using fentanyl. Some were hunched, clutching strips of drug-dusted tin foil in one hand and lighters in the other. Trash littered the ground.

Michael Castro, 41, was sifting through his belongings stuffed into a backpack and a tote bag at Minna and Sixth streets. A fentanyl and crystal meth user, he said hes been homeless since 2017 and has been frequenting the area for a few years.

Hes noticed the increased police presence lately  and doubts it will be effective.
Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading technology services and consulting company focused on building innovative solutions that address clients most complex digital transformation needs. Leveraging our holistic portfolio of capabilities in consulting, design, engineering, and operations, we help clients realize their boldest ambitions and build future-ready, sustainable businesses. With over 230,000 employees and business partners across 65 countries, we deliver on the promise of helping our customers, colleagues, and communities thrive in an ever-changing world. For additional information, visit us at www.wipro.com The forward-looking statements contained herein represent Wipros beliefs regarding future events, many of which are by their nature, inherently uncertain and outside Wipros control. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Wipros growth prospects, its future financial operating results, and its plans, expectations, and intentions. Wipro cautions readers that the forward-looking statements contained herein are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, complete proposed corporate actions, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry.Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, Annual Reports on Form 20-F. These filings are available at www.sec.gov We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.
Kinaxis (TSX:KXS), a global leader in end-to-end supply chain orchestration, today announced a partnership with the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) to co-innovate on technologies that power supply chain applications. The 5-year partnership will develop relevant and strategic innovation within AI/ML, optimization and the next generation of user interfaces. Kinaxis will collaborate on new and ongoing research by uOttawa researchers and students pursuing masters and doctoral degrees.

We are so lucky to be headquartered in Ottawa, which has such a world-class tech community as well as prestigious universities like uOttawa that are excited to collaborate with industry on such important projects, said Gelu Ticala, chief technology officer at Kinaxis. We are thrilled to partner with uOttawa, and are looking forward to all the learning, innovation and positive impacts that can come out of this, for the students, the university and for supply chains.

We are proud to partner with Kinaxis, a leader in supply chain innovation, as it marks another significant step in our commitment to advancing research and innovation alongside local industry, said Dr. Julie St-Pierre, vice-president, research and innovation at uOttawa. By working closely with Kinaxis, we are not only providing our students with invaluable hands-on industry experience but also contributing to the development of solutions that will have a lasting impact on global supply chains. Together, we are empowering the next generation of innovators to drive transformative change.

Kinaxis has been at the forefront of every major technological innovation within the supply chain industry for the past four decades, from building one of the first in-memory material requirements planning (MRP) engine in the 1980s which cut MRP run times from days to minutes, to adopting a SaaS model years before its peers.

This partnership marks the latest development in the companys academic program which has reached over 12,000 students since its inception in 2020. The Kinaxis academic program is designed to help ensure the next generation has the ideas and skills necessary to propel the modern supply chain forward.

To learn more about Kinaxis visit https://www.kinaxis.com/en/about-us/kinaxis-academic-program.

About the University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is among Canadas top research universities. As the largest bilingual (English and French) university in the world, uOttawa fosters collaboration and partnerships that drive innovation and create meaningful impact on a global scale. uOttawa researchers are world leaders in fields such as photonics, next-generation networks, vascular and cardiovascular health, brain and mental health, the Francophonie, public policy, and social justice. The University is home to 10 faculties, 24 research institutes, 17 research centres, and 26 core facilities spanning multiple disciplines. With a vibrant student population of approximately 50,000, research and innovation at uOttawa are founded on excellence, relevance, and impact, conducted in the spirit of equity, diversity, and inclusion. For more information, see: https://www.uottawa.ca/research-innovation/

About Kinaxis

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain orchestration, powering complex global supply chains and supporting the people who manage them, in service of humanity. Our powerful, AI-infused supply chain orchestration platform, Maestro , combines proprietary technologies and techniques that provide full transparency and agility across the entire supply chain  from multi-year strategic planning to last-mile delivery. We are trusted by renowned global brands to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate todays volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250127502991/en/
Frost advisories and freeze warnings are in effect until 9 a.m. Monday across parts of the Bay Area, with temperatures expected to fall to the 30s to upper 20s. Cold nights are expected to continue through at least Wednesday morning. Baron/Lynx

The final week of January is shaping up to mirror how the rest of the month unfolded across the Bay Area: dry.

No rain is in the forecast until at least Friday, which means January is almost guaranteed to finish as one of the driest on record in much of the Bay Area.

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Live storm map: See where rain is hitting California and Bay Area

Southern California is welcoming the precipitation, however, as a low-pressure system spins near Los Angeles and pushes rain and mountain snow toward coastal areas. A risk of debris flows near the fresh wildfire burn scars lingers through Monday as scattered thunderstorms are expected to continue.

The Bay Area remains on the wrong side of this storms circulation for precipitation. Dry air wrapping around the northern side of the storm will result in clear skies.

At night, the starry skies will allow for chilly temperatures, prompting a freeze warning in parts of the South Bay until 9 a.m. Monday. Cold overnight temperatures will continue until at least Wednesday morning, with lows in the upper 20s to mid-30s except in San Francisco, where temperatures will be closer to 40. Dry weather will prevail through at least Friday morning with near-normal high temperatures in the mid-50s to low 60s.

But Friday could mark the return of storms to Northern California.

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A stubborn area of high pressure that blocked storms from reaching the West Coast throughout January is expected to split into two to begin February. Weather models predict the dominant high-pressure system will shift toward the Gulf of Alaska. This pattern often opens the door for cooler, wetter weather along the West Coast.

But whats less certain is the strength of a secondary area of high pressure over Baja California.

The interaction of two areas of high pressure, one over the Gulf of Alaska and another near Baja California, will determine the trajectory of storms toward the West Coast this weekend. Baron/Lynx

If the high-pressure system over Baja remains large enough, rainmakers will be shunted toward the Pacific Northwest, and California will remain on the dry side. But if its weaker, storms could finally return to the Bay Area and also drop abundant snow across the Sierra Nevada.

Regardless of the intensity of storms, the weather pattern in the first week of February is shaping up to be Northern Californias best shot at widespread rain and snow in nearly an entire month. Stay tuned for forecast updates as the week progresses.

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Monday breakdown

San Francisco: Clear skies will prevail, with only light winds across the city. Temperatures will be seasonably cool, with highs in the mid- to upper 50s. The calm conditions and starry skies will allow temperatures to drop at night. Most of the city will be in the low 40s, but Cole Valley, Noe Valley, Glen Park and Golden Gate Park could drop to the mid- to upper 30s.

North Bay: A frost advisory is in effect for much of Sonoma and Napa counties and eastern Marin County until 9 a.m for temperatures in the 30s. Temperatures will climb to the mid-50s to near 60 in the afternoon under abundant sunshine. Only weak northerly breezes are expected. Overnight lows will again fall to the 30s, and parts of the Petaluma, Napa and Sonoma valleys may even touch freezing.

East Bay: Near-freezing temperatures are expected in the interior valleys Monday morning, but abundant sunshine will warm afternoon temperatures to the upper 50s to low 60s throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wind will be light and variable. Another chilly night is expected with lows in the 30s, even in Berkeley, Oakland, Hayward and Fremont.

Pacific Coast and Peninsula: Cloudless skies will prevail for a gorgeous January day. After a cool morning in the 30s, highs are expected to reach the mid- to upper 50s. Another cool night is expected, with lows falling to the 30s throughout San Mateo County.

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A federal appeals court has halted deliberations in a lawsuit over Klamath basin water rights while considering whether to refer it to the Oregon Supreme Court.

Last June, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held oral arguments that centered on federal Endangered Species Act enforcement and whether it can override the state governments administration of water rights.

Since then, the Klamath Irrigation District  one of many parties involved in the complex case  has asked the 9th Circuit to certify the central legal questions to the Oregon Supreme Court.

Though the lawsuit had already been formally submitted, the 9th Circuit has decided to vacate submission of this appeal while weighing whether to kick the matter to the states highest court.

The Klamath Irrigation District is urging the appellate court to do so, arguing that key issues are grounded in Oregon law involving water rights and property.

The 9th Circuit can interpret state law but those conclusions arent binding on state courts, so it should avoid issuing a ruling that could eventually be contradicted by the Oregon Supreme Court and create uncertainty for all parties, the irrigation district said.

Interpretations differ

This is no minor issue. Historically, federal and state interpretations of Oregon water law have diverged significantly, with state court rulings undermining the 9th Circuits understanding of water rights ownership, the district said.

In this instance, the lawsuit seeks to determine the extent of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamations authority to help threatened salmon species by releasing water from Upper Klamath Lake, in which irrigators have private water rights.

Oregons water rights and laws, which govern the use and control of water in UKL, were established long before the ESA was enacted and apply uniformly across the state, even in areas where no listed species are present, the district argues. Therefore, these state law questions should be addressed independently of Reclamations ESA obligations in this case.

In 2023, a federal judge decided the Endangered Species Act pre-empted an order issued by the Oregon Water Resources Department, which tried to stop the agency from releasing water from the lake on behalf of irrigators.

The Klamath Irrigation District and Klamath Water Users Association challenged that decision, which is how the issue ended up before the 9th Circuit.

The U.S. government is asking the 9th Circuit to deny the motion to certify the case to the Oregon Supreme Court, arguing the request couldve been made earlier and is now untimely.

KID had ample opportunity to seek certification of state law questions earlier in the case, the federal government said.

Such a referral is also unwarranted because any dispute over the agencys authority and discretion in this case is exclusively a question of federal law, as Reclamations contracts with irrigators are governed by federal statutes, the government said.

There is no basis for certifying these issues to the Oregon Supreme Court, according to the government.

The federal governments arguments against certification are echoed by the Oregon Water Resources Department, which also said the request was made too late and isnt legally appropriate.

Even if the irrigation districts interpretation of Oregon water law is correct, state law is not determinative in this case because federal law controls to the extent of a direct conflict with Oregon law, according to OWRD.
By Eimear Dodd

DNA profiles matching two men accused of the rape and sexual assault of a woman they met at a Dublin nightclub were found on items of clothing, a Central Criminal Court jury has heard.

The three men, aged between 34 and 42, with addresses in Dublin and Wicklow, have pleaded not guilty to a total of seven counts of rape, oral rape and sexual assault of the woman at an unknown location in a car and in a Dublin house on August 31st, 2019.

The men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, deny any wrongdoing.

A forensic examiner gave evidence on Monday that she analysed a sexual offences examination kit and clothing seized from the woman.

She said she analysed saliva samples found on the inside of the woman's bra. She said a mixed DNA profile was identified, including the first man's DNA and the third man's DNA, along with a third trace contribution, which could not be interpreted due to insufficient information.

The witness said an analysis on the woman's underwear found the first accused's DNA and third man's DNA along with a trace contributor.

She outlined that DNA was also found on a number of other samples, but insufficient male DNA was found to create a profile. Seminal fluid was also identified on some swabs.

The witness said the second man was excluded from all interpretable portions of DNA.

She agreed with Padraig Dwyer SC, defending the first man, that it is possible that saliva deposited on the chest could have transferred to the bra's fabric.

She further accepted his proposition that it is possible that the movement of a bra could cause the transfer of saliva from the skin, though she added my expectation would have been that it was not transferred due to the area of the bra sampled.

She agreed with Garrett Baker SC, defending the second man, that her analysis did not identify the second man's DNA profile.

The witness accepted a general suggestion by Seamus Clarke SC, defending the third man, that it is possible for a secondary transfer of DNA to occur if two men separately kiss a woman, then one of them performs oral sex on her. She added that other factors would affect the probability of this occurring.

Under re-examination, Karl Finnegan SC, prosecuting, noted that a white top belonging to the complainant was also sent for analysis and asked if she would expect to find DNA if the top was not removed.

She would have a lower expectation of finding saliva and DNA in these circumstances, if the clothing is never removed, thats unlikely.

The investigating garda said a phone belonging to the second man was seized following his garda interview in September 2020.

Whatsapp exchanges

He said this phone along with other phones seized from the three men following searches of their homes in December 2020 were analysed, but no further videos were identified.

The witness gave evidence that Whatsapp exchanges between the three men were found, which showed the men arranged to meet the day before their interviews on September 10th, 2020.

He agreed with Mr Baker that the accused men would have become aware of the investigation in December 2019 when searches were carried out at their homes.

The garda agreed he was contacted by a solicitor representing the three men shortly after the searches occurred, but rejected Mr Baker's suggestion that there would have been an expectation that garda interviews may have taken place earlier than they occurred in September 2020.

The court also heard evidence from a forensic toxicologist, who analysed blood and urine samples taken from the complainant, around 10 to 12 hours after the alleged incident.

She said her assessment of the most likely blood-alcohol levels were 290mg/100ml at 10 hours, 310mg/100ml at 11 hours and 330mg/100ml at 12 hours.

The toxicologist then outlined the likely blood-alcohol ranges as 200mg/100ml to 350mg/100ml at 10 hours, 210mg/100ml to 375mg/100ml at 11 hours and 220mg/100ml to 400mg/ml at 12 hours.

She outlined the possible general effects of these ranges of alcohol consumption, noting that this will vary from individual to individual.

The witness said the urine sample was analysed to check for 43 different drugs, including the most commonly abused drugs and those associated with alleged drug-facilitated sexual assault. Only cocaine was detected.

In cross-examination, she also told counsel for the three men that everyone is affected by alcohol differently and that factors such as whether a person has had a meal and their level of tiredness can impact on how alcohol may affect them.

She accepted Mr Dwyer's suggestion that a person could have a high level of alcohol in their system and still appear to be functioning normally and that the urine sample analysis can only determine the presence or absence of a drug such as cocaine.

The witness further accepted Mr Clarke's contention that her report states that other evidence, including CCTV, should also be reviewed when considering the effects of alcohol on an individual.

In response to a query from Mr Justice Paul Burns, the forensic toxicologist said it is much more complex to predict how drugs are metabolised by the body.

She said urine analysis is used as it is a longer detection window than blood analysis, but other drugs would have been expected to be detectable within that time range.

The first man, aged 39 with an address in Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to one count of raping the woman in his home address and not (NOT) guilty to one count of oral rape and one count of sexually assaulting her in a car.

The second man, aged 42, with an address in Wicklow, has pleaded not guilty to one count of raping the woman in the car and one count of raping her in the house.

The third man, aged 34 with an address in Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to orally raping the woman in the house and sexually assaulting her in the car.

The prosecution has now rested. The trial continues before Mr Justice Burns and a jury.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
Eva Osborne

Dublin City Centre is once again set to resound to the excitement and vibrancy of the Lunar New Year through the coordination of street performances as well as offerings of Asian cuisine and music from Asian musicians.

Commonly known as the Chinese New Year, the event is also marked across many Asian cultures, including Vietnam, Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, where it is celebrated as a time of renewal, joy, and community.

As part of Dublins Lunar New Year Festival, business group Dublin Town, in partnership with Dublin City Council City Coordination Office and local businesses including the Asia Market, is once again organising street events to bring people together, share traditions, and highlight the capitals rich cultural tapestry.

The celebrations will take place on Sunday, February 9th on Drury Street, Suffolk Street, and Capel Street between noon and 5.00pm.

They will mark the start of the Year of the Snake with an Asian cultural extravaganza of food, music, dance, and a 10-metre long Asian dragon and snake.

There will be street performances from talented Asian musicians and mouth-watering cuisine at every turn, with local businesses offering everything from dumplings to noodles.

And, as well as fun activities for children, there will be arts, crafts and cultural displays.

Dublin Town chief executive, Richard Guiney, said: The Asian community has brought so much to Dublin and are now a core element of our diverse and engaging city.

This diversity is what makes Dublin such an amazing place to live and visit.

It is wonderful to have the opportunity to share this time of celebration with our Asian friends and colleagues and enjoy the festivities on the streets of Dublin City Centre.

Dubliners will have the chance mark the beginning of the Year of the Snake while sampling the rich tapestry of Asian culture and cuisine.
Eva Osborne

Emergency Response Hubs have been set up in Cavan, Laois, and Westmeath as hundreds of thousands of homes still remain without power and water due to Storm Eowyn.

Local Coordination Groups are now in place in 16 counties  Cavan, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow.

Several more Emergency Response Hubs are in the process of being set up and local authorities are also linking in with existing community-led hubs to provide supports.

 The following libraries opened this morning, providing access to charging points, toilets, tea/coffee, along with warmth & comfort: Ballyjamesduff

Bailieborough

Cootehill

Cavan

Kingscourt

Virginia Libraries closed: Ballyconnell (leak)

Belturbet (no power)

Arva (no power) pic.twitter.com/S2e2xkX0Se  Cavan County Council (@cavancoco) January 27, 2025

Emergency Response Hubs are assisting people with basic needs such as water, hot food, phone charging, broadband access and shower facilities.

ESB Networks continues to mobilise all available resources to restore power connections as soon as possible alongside additional crews coming from the UK.

Power has been restored to 540,000 customers; however some 228,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without supply. Some could be waiting to be reconnected for another week.

The National Emergency Co-ordination Group said "unprecedented damage" has been done by Storm Eowyn.

Telecommunications and water supplies have also been significantly affected. In most cases, this is due to knock-on effects of power outages, with assessments continuing.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said: I want to assure all those impacted by the aftermath of Storm Eowyn that everything is being done to bring about the restoration of services as soon as possible in the days ahead. I want to acknowledge how difficult this current situation is for homes and businesses around the country.

We are seeing huge resilience in local communities in the face of the unprecedented damage caused by Storm Eowyn. Government will provide all the necessary supports to the households and businesses who have been impacted by this storm. Cabinet will also meet on Wednesday to decide on measures to further support people.

I want to recognise the ongoing efforts of all the state agencies and emergency services who have been working tirelessly to restore water, electricity and communications to hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

"In particular I want to thank the ESB for their continued work in restoring power supply and we acknowledge the support of the UK in assisting with these efforts."
By Helen Corbett, PA Political Correspondent

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he and Sir Keir Starmer wanted to make 2025 a defining year for relations between their countries after their first call since he was elected Taoiseach.

The two leaders discussed the ongoing recovery efforts from Storm Eowyn when they spoke on Monday morning.

They also spoke about the series of Ireland-UK annual summits, with Britain due to host the first in March.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Alberto Pizzoli/PA)

We are both committed to making 2025 an important and defining year for Irish-British relations as we initiate a series of annual summits to drive a programme of strategic co-operation between our two countries, Mr Martin said after the call.

We spoke about Northern Ireland and our shared vision as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement to furthering prosperity and reconciliation to the benefit of all.

Mr Martin welcomed the assistance provided by UK crews in the efforts to tackle the storms impact, and Sir Keir said the UK was standing by to offer further support as required.

Downing Street said: The leaders agreed that the UKIreland relationship was going from strength to strength, and it was vital to continue that in such a volatile geopolitical context.

Discussing devastating Storm Eowyn at the weekend, the leaders paid tribute to the work of first responders and engineers to restore electricity to thousands of homes.

The Prime Minister said that he had also spoken to the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and that the UK stood by to offer further support, as required.

The Prime Minister also updated on his EU reset, and the leaders underscored the importance of a close and constructive relationship with the EU to boost prosperity and security.

They also discussed Ukraine and the Middle East, and Mr Martin called for a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Both leaders are due to attend Holocaust Memorial Day events to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

We discussed the importance of remaining committed today to combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance and racism, Mr Martin said.

Tanaiste and foreign affairs minister Simon Harris also spoke to Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday.

Mr Harris said he welcomed the renewed warmth in the relationship with the UK and that the call was an opportunity to welcome renewed positive engagement from the UK on relations with the EU.
By Grainne Ni Aodha and Cate McCurry, PA

Ministers have insisted that every effort is being made to restore power supplies that were cut during Storm Eowyn, amid concerns some communities could be left in the dark until next week.

Homes and infrastructure across Ireland were damaged during the nationwide red-level weather event, which brought record-breaking wind speeds and cut power to more than a million customers on the island.

A young man was killed after a tree fell on his car in Co Donegal during the storm.

Power was cut to more than a million customers on the island of Ireland in the wake of Storm Eowyn. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA

Technicians from England and France were helping restore power to homes and businesses as around 278,000 remained cut off in the Republic and 65,000 in the North.

Around 109,000 were without water and 94,000 homes and businesses were without broadband as of Sunday.

Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris said everything that can be done is being done to restore supplies.

Im very conscious that there is many people in Ireland still without electricity supply and without water, and I want to assure people that everything that can be done is being done to restore people to supply as quickly as possible, he said at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

Tanaiste Simon Harris said he understood that the longer the situation continued the more hardship people were enduring. Photo: Niall Carson/PA

I really want to express my gratitude to the incredible crews, who are doing so much work right across the country. Weve gone from around over three-quarters-of-a-million people not having access to electricity to over 200,000 people now.

But I am conscious as this goes on, the longer it goes on, the more hardship that imposes on people, and thats why were carrying out a number of activities.

He said the Air Corps had been assisting the ESB and the Civil Defence had been carrying out a number of activities, particularly in the north and northwest of the country.

Minister for Social Protection and Rural Development Dara Calleary said he understood peoples frustration that their utility services were not yet restored, but he said authorities were working as hard as possible.

He said we will learn lessons from the damage done by the storm but that there was a complexity to some repairs.

Were going to reflect on this, reflect on the severity of both this storm and the previous storm, and make changes as is necessary, he told RTEs Morning Ireland.

But our immediate response since Friday and right through today and tomorrow, will be getting responses up, getting repairs done, getting the humanitarian hubs up.

He said emergency response hubs had opened in counties Cavan and Laois in order to improve communications with people left in the dark by outages, and further hubs would be opened.

He said that local authorities were being tasked with visiting vulnerable people and the elderly on Monday and that he would visit some of the worst-hit areas in Co Galway this week.

He said he was also working to get generators for the agricultural community.

The National Emergency Co-ordination Group is meeting daily in relation to Storm Eowyn and will meet at noon on Monday.
Kenneth Fox

Taoiseach Micheal Martin spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday.

Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of the Irish-British relationship, and looked forward to the first in a series of annual Ireland-UK summits that will be hosted by Britain in March.

The impact of storm Eowyn and ongoing recovery efforts were also raised, with the Taoiseach welcoming the assistance to ESB provided by UK crews as part of a mutual association agreement among electricity companies.

The leaders discussed Northern Ireland, legacy issues and a number of international issues, including the commemoration in Auschwitz.

The Taoiseach looked forward to meeting again with Starmer at an informal meeting of the European Council in Belgium on February 3rd.

Speaking after the call, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said:

I was pleased to speak again with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer this morning, following my appointment as Taoiseach.

We are both committed to making 2025 an important and defining year for Irish-British relations as we initiate a series of annual summits to drive a programme of strategic cooperation between our two countries.

We spoke about Northern Ireland and our shared vision as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement to furthering prosperity and reconciliation to the benefit of all.

We discussed global issues, including Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, in particular the need for a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Later today I will be attending an event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

"We discussed the importance of remaining committed today to combatting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance and racism.
By Rebecca Black, PA

Taoiseach Micheal Martin is set to join world leaders for a commemoration at Auschwitz to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp.

It is expected to be the last annual commemoration at which survivors of the camp are likely to be able to attend on person.

Some six million Jewish people were murdered during the holocaust, which is regarded as the darkest period in Europes history.

The Taoiseach said it is important to remember the horrors and say never again.

Mondays commemoration has been described as a recommitment to denouncing and combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance, racism, and xenophobia.

Mr Martin said: Today, we remember the unique horrors of the Holocaust, in particular the extermination of six million jews from across Europe in the Nazi death camps.

We remember also the Roma, the disabled, the political dissidents, the members of the LGBTQ community and all who were persecuted and murdered without mercy in the camps.

It is a particular honour to be here at what is probably the last significant anniversary at which survivors of the camps will be present in person.

A view of a guard tower at Auschwitz-Birkenau, a former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp, in Oswiecim in Poland (Aleksandra Szmigiel/PA)

Though they are now all advanced in years, their memories of what happened in the camps  the profound loss of their family members and the destruction of Europes vibrant Jewish communities  remain crystal clear and vivid.

We owe it to them to ensure that now, and for all generations to come, we remember and say never again.

Mr Martin went on: Today is also International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the event I am attending at Auschwitz will recommit us to denouncing and combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance, racism and xenophobia.

In recent years we have witnessed a shocking rise in antisemitism and Holocaust denial, both online and offline. I take this issue very seriously and the Government will continue to work at home and with international partners to tackle all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism.

In this spirit, we recently endorsed the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances working definition of antisemitism. We will also continue our close relationship with the Jewish community in Ireland and ensure that their concerns are heard.

In Auschwitz, people from across the world shall gather once again to ensure we never forget.
Rebecca Black, PA

A US-based fintech firm is to create 20 jobs with a new engineering development team in Belfast.

Stormont economy minister Conor Murphy has welcomed the move by SpiderRock, which is based in Chicago.

He said the office based at the Pearl Assurance Building in Belfast is its first investment in Northern Ireland, and described its work as delivering high-performance, cloud-based trading systems and low-latency market data solutions to clients globally, including hedge funds, bank trading desks, and proprietary trading firms.

This investment by such a prestigious company is testament to the international stature of the Norths thriving fintech sector, he said.

Invest NI and I met SpiderRocks leadership team in Chicago last year to discuss the benefits of investing in the North.

Im delighted the company has now decided to create 20 new positions offering average salaries of 55,000, almost double the private sector median.

The hybrid nature of the roles mean they will be accessible to people right across the region.

George Papa, chief executive of SpiderRock, said they have been impressed with the talent and expertise available in Ireland, as well as the strong partnerships with universities and support from Invest NI.

Our Northern Ireland team will play a critical role in supporting our trading platform, extending operational coverage during non-US hours, and enabling our expansion into European markets, he said.

Recruitment efforts are progressing rapidly, and were thrilled to have already filled almost half of the planned roles.

This investment marks a significant milestone for SpiderRock as we grow our presence in Europe, build our brand, and deliver innovative solutions to new markets.

Invest NI helped to secure the investment for Northern Ireland and has offered support towards the 20 roles.

Andrea Haughian, Invest NIs head of Americas, added: SpiderRocks decision to establish operations in Northern Ireland highlights the regions growing reputation as a fintech hub, offering a skilled workforce and a competitive business environment.
Shout! Studios has acquired North American distribution rights to Into The Wonderwoods (Angelo dans la foret mysterieuse).

The French-language animated fantasy is directed by Vincent Paronnaud, co-director of the Cannes jury prize winner and Oscar-nominated Persepolis (2007) set during the 1979 Iranian revolution, and Alexis Ducord, co-director of the Cesar-nominated Franco-Belgian monster comedy Zombillenium (2017).

Wonderwoods played at the 2024 Cannes and Annecy film festivals, and has thus far been released in France, Russia, Estonia, and Ukraine. The story, which is based on a graphic novel authored by Paronnaud under his pseudonym Winshluss, is about an imaginative 10-year-old on a visit to his grandmother who becomes separated from his parents, and then discovers an enchanted forest populated by giant ogres, living foliage, menacing robots, and a rebellious wood-sprite.

Watch the French-language trailer below:

Budgeted at under 10m (Usd$10.5 million), the film was produced by Je Suis Bien Content, Gao Shan Pictures in France, and Zeilt Productions in Luxembourg.

Shouts North American rights include theatrical, video-on-demand, broadcast, packaged media, and airlines in U.S. and Canada. Paris-based Urban Sales handled the sale to Shout.

Deadline first reported on the Shout! Studios acquisition, and quoted the studios executive vice president Melissa Boag:
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Qatar National Cement Co (QNCC) report a 13.8 per cent decline in sales revenue to QAR397m (US$109m) in 2024, compared to QAR460.7m in the previous year. The company's net profit for 2024 fell toby 22 per cent to QAR160m from QAR205m in 2023. The Board of Directors said that the company has achieved good results despite a noticeable decline in demand for its main products, such as cement, washed sand, and other materials, during 2024.

QNCC will continue to meet the markets needs for various types of cement, washed sand and other products. It has started establishing facilities to produce oil well cement, catering to customer demand, diversifying its product portfolio and increasing market share.

By optimising energy consumption, reducing other expenses as per the approved budget and ensuring operational excellence, QNCC aims to enhance profitability. In addition, the company is looking to explore investment opportunities within and outside Qatar to support the companys activities.




January 26, 2025: Haitians had hoped that, as time went on, their failed state situation would improve. Foreign aid continues to arrive as do more peacekeepers to protect the population, and the foreign aid. Large coalitions of criminal gangs see the foreign aid as theirs to steal and often get away with it despite protection provided by peacekeepers and a few local police. The reality is that the large criminal gang militias have become private armies that do what they want. Last year was a disaster with 12,000 gang members, operating in several large criminal organizations that have done what they pleased, taking what they want, fighting off the dwindling number of police and intimidating the UN Peacekeepers into submissive bystanders.

The gangs have displaced nearly a million people from their homes, which the gangs then pillage. The gangs smash or burn what they cannot carry away in their backs, in cars and a few stolen vehicles. Motorized transport doesnt last long because most of the fueling stations have been looted and the firms that deliver fuel to these retail outlets fear getting hijacked while driving into areas where gangs are active.

Currently efforts continue to organize a larger and more structured peacekeeping mission. The Americans will provide cash but no one wants to send in peacekeepers. Haiti is a chaotic situation and there is no peace to keep. The U.S. has tried. In the early 20th century Americans troops occupied Haiti for thirty peaceful and prosperous years. After the Americans left Haiti gradually fell apart.

For the last thirty years, Haiti has not had any armed forces. There have been proposals to revive the armed forces, something many Haitians oppose. The government believed that an army was needed to defend the country. That has not been the case for a long time, as no one in their right mind would invade poor, chaotic Haiti.

The military was disbanded in 1995 because, well, the army had not done Haiti much good. For two centuries, Haiti has seen one coup, and dictator, after another. A lack of an honest, and popularly elected, government has resulted in corruption, economic decline and what Haiti is today. The army has been responsible for over 30 coups and much grief over the last two centuries though in 1995 there was an elected president powerful enough to eliminate the army.

The 1995 armed forces had about 7,500 troops and over 90 percent belonged to the army. This force was more of a paramilitary operation, organized into 30 infantry companies and some support units. Even after they lost their jobs, the soldiers were a lethal nuisance. Many kept their weapons and hired out to warlords and criminal gangs.

In 2004, the government, backed by over 10,000 UN peacekeepers, made a deal to disarm the ex-soldiers. The ex-soldiers received compensation for being illegally dismissed in 1995 when deposed President Aristide was installed as president by American forces. The 6,000 former soldiers received about $4,800 each. Payments were spread over three months, and soldiers were expected to turn in their weapons as part of the deal. Not all of the ex-soldiers were willing to accept this deal. They wanted the army revived, but the government was unwilling to do that, until now.

It was proposed that the new army would have 3,400 personnel. Troops and officers were to be carefully selected and trained. The new army will still be more of a paramilitary force, because Haiti has never had enough police. The UN is helping to recruit and train more police, so that the force will have 10,000 police and civilians. But most police experts believe Haiti needs twice as many. The problem is, Haiti cannot afford to maintain a force that large. Currently there is only a pretend government, few police and plenty of chaos.

One thing Haiti does still have is a tradition of private militias, corruption and little respect for the law. It will take more than a larger police force, and a new army, to deal with that.
January 27, 2025: Like World War II, Ukraine is a war between a dictatorship and a democracy. Russian leader Vladimir Putin does not consider the struggle with Ukraine a war, but rather an uprising in the separatist Ukrainian region of Russia. This makes 13 other new nations nervous. Like Ukraine, these countries used to be part of the Soviet Union. Putin has openly said he intends to put the Soviet Union back together.

This empire restoration by forcing independent nations to rejoin the empire is illegal according to international law. Russia, or at last Putin, ignores international law. For example, he was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for atrocities committed in Ukraine. Putin has to be careful where he travels outside of Russia because many countries will act on an ICC arrest warrant. About a dozen men indicted by the ICC have served time in jail or are currently being sought because of ICC convictions.

While Russia has few allies, like North Korea, and Iran supporting the Russian war effort, Ukraine has dozens of nations supporting the struggle against Russia. Vladimir Zelensky has visited 42 foreign countries since he became president of Ukraine in 2019. This includes eight visits to the United States, the major supplier of military and economic aid to Ukraine. Zelensky does all this travelling to maintain support of the Ukrainian war effort.

The Russian situation is different. Vladimir Putin sees himself as a successor to the Russian Czars. To do that Putin would effectively end the brief period of presidential elections that occurred from 1991 to the present. The elections still take place, but the current president can manipulate the voting to ensure he remains in power as long as he wants.

When the Soviet Union existed from 2022 to 1991, the elections were fake. The dictatorial Communist Party alone decided who could run and voting was mandatory. Since there was only one candidate, the communist candidate was sure to win. That changed, for a while after 1991. The first elected president was Boris Yeltsin, who won in 1991 and 1996. There was a two term limit, so Yeltsin could not run again after that. Beginning in the 2000 election, Vladimir Putin won every time since then, save for brief period when a crony was allowed to be President. From the beginning Putin used his time in power to change the election laws to enable him to remain president for as long as he wanted.

There are still elections and Putin has won them all so far. But if he loses one he has the option to manipulate the vote and turn that loss into a victory. In 1991, for the first time in Russian history, attempts were made to elect leaders rather than wait for some to fight, bribe, or intimidate their way to the top. Some Russians now call Putin Czar Vladimir the Third. Putin is flattered by that because he certainly operates like a Czar. Unlike most other monarchies in the past two centuries, the Russian Czars had absolute power and Putin intends to continue that trend.

Ukraine has a functioning democracy. The current president, Vladimir Zelensky, was present when the Russians invaded in 2022 and would like to hold scheduled presidential elections again. Ukrainian laws prohibit this while Ukraine is at war. Ukraine has had seven presidential elections since 1991 and four different men have been elected president. That last was Zelensky, who is stuck in the job until the war ends or he dies. The Russians have made several attempts to assassinate him.

While Ukraine fights to maintain its independence and democracy, Russia fights to rebuild an empire few people consider worth reviving. The Soviet Union was inefficient and eventually fell apart because it was bankrupt financially and morally.
JHM Certified Accountants announces several new hires to the team to kick off 2025. They are extending a warm welcome to their newest partner Alan King; Dorothy Coop, senior tax manager; Abby Olson, audit senior; Adam Hattabaugh, tax senior; and Chris Knox, audit staff.

Dorothy Coop is a senior tax manager in JHM's tax department. Ms. Coop has over 20 years of tax and financial experience. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a finance degree, and began her career as a tax accountant in public accounting. Most recently, Ms. Coop ran her own firm but gained most of her experience at two Chicago firms. She lives in Illinois with her husband, three children and cat Tasha. In her free time she enjoys playing volleyball and traveling.

Alan King is a partner in JHM's tax department. Mr. King has 20 years of experience, with a focus on closely held businesses and their owners and families. His primary practice area is tax, but Mr. King frequently advises clients on succession and exit planning, as well as major areas of business operations. Mr. King has owned other businesses over the course of his career. This experience allows Mr. King to bring actionable insight when it comes to tax planning and advisory with his clients. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two school-aged children. They enjoy traveling and any active pursuit, whether it is hiking or bike riding.

Abby Olson is an audit senior in JHM's audit department graduated from Mississippi State University and was born and raised in Memphis. After spending some time in public accounting in Boston, she shifted to private accounting for the past three years. In her free time, she enjoys quiet afternoons at coffee shops and long walks at Reflection Riding with her husband and golden retriever pup, Scout.

Chris Knox in an audit staff in JHM's audit Department. He graduated from Dalton State College in 2024 in Trenton. In his free time, he enjoys taking evenings slow with music and a book or taking the day on with coffee and trying new experiences.

Adam Hattabaugh is a senior tax accountant in JHM's tax department. He graduated from UTC with a bachelors degree in accounting in May of 2015, then a masters degree in accounting from Western Governors University in June of 2022. Mr. Hattabaugh has spent majority of his life in the Cleveland/Chattanooga area. He also received his Eagle Scout award in 2008. He currently has eight years of public accounting experience, working on clients in a variety of industries, and entity types. He enjoys spending his free time skateboarding, snowboarding, traveling, and being active.




Nothing is more important for our national sovereignty than control of our borders. Thats why, in November, the American people gave President Trump an overwhelming mandate to finally secure our southern border after four years of Biden-Harris failures.

Thankfully, in just his first week in office, the President has already taken many steps to ensure that happens.

On Inauguration Day, for example, President Trump restored many of the successful policies from his first administration that former President Biden ended, including the Remain-in-Mexico policy, border wall construction, and enhanced vetting of aliens.

At the same time, he terminated Bidens disastrous open-border measures, including catch-and-release, the CBP One app that helped make illegal immigration legal, and migrant flights that brought more than 500,000 illegals to cities across the country.

In addition, he took new actions to strengthen our border and end illegal immigration, including executive orders to prohibit birth tourism, designate cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and send troops to the border. Perhaps most importantly, the President ordered mass deportations after Biden allowed more than 10 million illegal aliens to enter our country.

To no ones surprise, these strong executive actions are already getting results. In just its first days, the Trump administration has already conducted deportation flights, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 460 illegal aliens, including murder and rape suspects. At the same time, migrant encounters at the border have plummeted, according to recent reports.

For so many in Tennessee and across our country, this is welcome news. We can only have national security with border security, and for too long, Americans have suffered the consequences of Bidens open border: migrant crime, fentanyl overdoses, human trafficking, strained public resources, and more.

While President Trump will continue to lead the way in securing our border, Congress should play a crucial role in supporting his efforts and making certain that no President can surrender our national sovereignty ever again. Thats why, in the U.S. Senate, I introduced a slate of bills to ensure that happens.

My CONTAINER Act, for example, would empower border states to place temporary barriers on federal land to help stop the flow of traffickers, drugs, and criminals at the southern border. Over the last four years, the Biden administration repeatedly tried to prevent border states such as Texas from protecting their communities, and this legislation would stop such harmful, counterproductive efforts from future administrations.

My CLEAR Act, meanwhile, would reaffirm the authority of state and local governments to enforce federal immigration laws by apprehending, detaining, or transferring illegal aliens to federal custody. Crucially, this legislation provides local law enforcement the resources they need to support deportation efforts and border security.

While President Trump reinstated by executive order Remain in Mexico, which requires asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while awaiting their court date, I also introduced legislation that would make this crucial policy the law of the land, requiring future administrations to enforce it. In addition, I recently introduced the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, which allows the deportation of illegal aliens convicted of sexual offenses or domestic violence.

After this week, one thing should be clear: Together, President Trump and congressional Republicans are working to Make America Safe Again.
Walker County Chairwoman Angie Teems announced the addition of several key administrative staff members. Aleksandra Jagiella-Litts will serve as compliance officer, Lisa Richardson has been appointed county clerk, and Hugh Delacruz has accepted the role of human resources director.

These are three pivotal positions Walker County Government has been lacking for some time, said Ms. Teems. Recruiting experienced professionals who will help elevate our organization has been one of my top priorities. The additions of Ms. Jagiella-Litts, Ms. Richardson and Mr. Delacruz to our team will strengthen the countys ability to meet the needs of our citizens and employees.

Ms. Jagiella-Litts brings over 20-years of experience as a practicing attorney to Walker County Government. In addition to providing court services and grant administration for the Walker County Sheriffs Office, she has criminal litigation experience as a juvenile prosecutor at the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorneys office, as well as experience in business law, real estate, foreclosure, civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution.

As compliance officer, Ms. Jagiella-Litts will be responsible for handling code violations in Magistrate Court, protecting the county from liability, and collaborating with department heads to address policy related issues. She will also support county departments with researching and finalizing grant applications, and compliance with grant requirements and guidelines.

Ms. Richardson, who will receive training to become a certified county clerk, has decades of private sector experience in organization and structure. She most recently handled travel and events coordination for Volkswagen Group of America and worked in operations and ground control in the airline industry.

In her new role, Ms. Richardson will serve as the official custodian of records for all actions taken by the Walker County Board of Commissioners. Along with preparing minutes from board meetings and attestation on official documents, she will coordinate with departments on records requests and keep the countys online repository of resolutions and ordinances updated.

Mr. Delacruz joins Walker County Government after earning the rank of Sergeant in the detention division of the Walker County Sheriffs Office, where he managed human resources for 35 employees and over 200 inmates. Delacruz also established and directed employee recruitment efforts there, which led to better staffing and career growth opportunities. He retired from the U.S Army after 12 years of service.

As part of his duties as human resources director, Mr. Delacruz is tasked with building a recruitment and retention program for county employees and improving their quality of life through workload management, work/life balance and career growth. Mr. Delacruz says the Army taught him a lot about the importance of career advancement and retention, and how it ultimately leads to organizational improvement.




Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Mostafa Meraji

Three Christians who were rearrested for their faith in Iran were subjected to torture, as it has been revealed that prison sentences for Christians in the country increased sixfold in 2024, according to a recent report.

Article 18, a London-based religious freedom NGO, released its annual report this month detailing rights violations against Christians in Iran.

The report, titled The Tip of the Iceberg and produced in collaboration with Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and Middle East Concern, reveals that Christians in Iran received a combined total of 250 years in prison in 2024a significant rise compared to the previous year.

The report indicates that 96 Christians were sentenced to a total of 263 years in prison, along with 37 years of internal exile and nearly $800,000 in fines. At least 139 Christians were arrested in Iran in 2024 on account of their religious beliefs or activities; 80 were detained and 77 were charged.

It also notes that by the end of 2024, at least 18 Christians were still serving sentences related to their faith, with reports of some detained Christians being physically tortured.

The report highlights the prosecution of Jahangir Alikhani, Hamed Malamiri, and Gholam Eshaghi, who were arrested last year by agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) last year. The Ministry of Intelligence had previously apprehended them, along with 20 others, in December 2023.

After their rearrest, the three men were taken to a detention center in Sari, where they were denied access to legal counsel. They faced charges of propagating a religion contrary to Islam and collaborating with foreign governments, as outlined in a November 2024 report by Article 18.

The trio was released on November 17, 2024, after posting bail of 1 billion tomans, equivalent to approximately $15,000. During their detention, they endured both physical and psychological torture through prolonged interrogations, being forced to write letters renouncing their faith and apologizing for their actions.

According to the report, another member of the group, Javad Amini, was also rearrested and taken to the detention center in Sari. During Amini's detention, agents with the Ministry of Intelligence interrogated his wife, subjecting her to severe psychological pressure.

Amini and two other Christian converts were eventually released on November 27, 2024, also on bail of 1 billion tomans ($15,000).

Before their release, Amini, Alikhani, Malamiri, and Eshaghi, along with eight others, underwent trial at Branch 102 of the Criminal Court of Nowshahr, where Prosecutor Mohammad Reza Ebrahimi charged them with crimes for identifying as Christians and forming groups to educate others about Christianity.

Additionally, the report highlights the confiscation of Christian properties and the targeting of their finances as a growing trend. Iran's Revolutionary Courts define actions such as making financial donations, charitable offerings, or paying tithes as crimes.

Each arrest was carried out by IRGC intelligence agents, who sought to charge them under a provision within the amended Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code, which calls for the maximum punishment of up to 10 years' imprisonment in cases where the individual has received financial or organizational help from outside the country, the report notes.

The report warns that the Iranian government seems to have intensified its efforts to isolate and financially undermine the Christian community as part of a broader strategy to suppress its growth and influence.
Children in the Classroom. | Photo Credit: Pexels/ RODNAE Productions

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal regarding whether Oklahoma can approve the creation of the nations first religious charter school.

The decision was announced in an orders list released on Friday, where the Supreme Court accepted the combined cases of Oklahoma Charter School Board, et al. v. Drummond, Attorney General of Oklahoma, and St. Isidore of Seville School v. Drummond.

Jim Campbell, chief legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, expressed his hope for a favorable ruling for the Catholic charter school. The U.S. Constitution protects St. Isidores freedom to operate according to its faith and supports the boards decision to approve such learning options for Oklahoma families, Campbell stated.

He added, Were pleased the U.S. Supreme Court will hear this case, which is of the utmost importance to families and children in Oklahoma and throughout the country.

Meanwhile, A joint statement from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Education Law Center, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation urged the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court that went against the establishment of the school.

They argued, Oklahoma taxpayers, including our plaintiffs, should not be forced to fund a religious public school that plans to discriminate against students and staff and indoctrinate students into one religion.

In June 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve the charter application for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would be overseen by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa. However, the approval faced opposition from progressive groups and Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who filed a complaint against the board in October 2023.

Several liberal advocacy groups filed lawsuits against the board, individual members, the Oklahoma Department of Education, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, and St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School, Inc.

In June 2024, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled 7-1 against the charter school, with the majority opinion asserting that the schools approval violated the state constitution.

The framers' intent is clear: the state is prohibited from using public money for the use, benefit or support of a sect or system of religion, the majority opinion stated.

Justice Dana Kuehn dissented, arguing that the approved religious charter school would not become a state actor merely by contracting with the state to provide a choice in educational opportunities.

Kuehn further asserted that allowing St. Isidore to operate a virtual charter school would not establish, aid, or favor any particular religious organization, stating that excluding private entities from contracting for functions, based solely on religious affiliation, would violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Despite the charter school board unanimously voting to rescind the contract for St. Isidore after an August order from the state Supreme Court, they filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court in October 2024.
Home News Chris Pratt says his house was spared from wildfires: 'By the grace of God we have four walls and a roof'

Actor Chris Pratt expressed gratitude to God that his house was spared destruction from the fires that have engulfed several Los Angeles neighborhoods, including his own.

In a video posted on Instagram last Thursday, Pratt said he intends to check on his house for the first time since the Palisades fire forced widespread evacuations.

Miraculously, its still standing, he said, considering the preservation of his house as a silver lining amid the bad news. By the grace of God, we have four walls and a roof.

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Pratt outlined examples of how others were not as fortunate: So many peoples houses were burned around us. The communitys gone. My sons school is gone. My sons moms house burned down. Dozens of our friends lost their homes.

Were resilient and we trust in God, and consider it all a blessing, he added. God bless you. Thank you for your prayers. Talk to you soon.

Pratts Instagram video comes two weeks after he called for prayers and strength for everyone in Los Angeles affected by these tragic wildfires in a Jan. 7 post. He explained that Los Angeles is in a state of emergency, and over 30,000 have been ordered to evacuate.

Pratt praised the brave firefighters and first responders who are working tirelessly to protect lives, homes and wildlife as true heroes, adding, we are endlessly grateful for your sacrifice and courage.

Images in the post showed a firefighter completely surrounded by a blaze attempting to put out the fire with a hose, the Santa Monica Pier with smoke in the background and a helicopter attempting to extinguish a fire engulfing hilly terrain.

According to data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection last updated Monday morning, the Palisades fire is 94% contained. Since starting three weeks ago, the wildfire has burned 23,448 acres, destroyed nearly 7,000 structures and damaged over 1,000 buildings. Eleven civilians and fire personnel have lost their lives as a result of the wildfire, while four injuries have been reported.

The area impacted by the Palisades fire, which includes portions of coastal Los Angeles County between Malibu and Santa Monica and extends inland into the Santa Monica Mountains, has a population of 83,622. The Palisades fire is one of several wildfires impacting southern California.

The Eaton fire, which is 98% contained and impacted an area that is home to 102,821 residents, has burned 14,021 acres as of Monday morning in addition to destroying more than 9,400 structures and damaging over 1,000 buildings. The wildfire has caused 17 fatalities and nine injuries.

The Hughes fire, which is 95% contained and is located in an area where 5,360 people live, has burned 10,425 acres as of Monday morning. The Border 2 fire, located further south in San Diego County in an area where 50 people live, is 43% contained and has burned 6,625 acres as of Monday morning.

Leaders in the state of California and the city of Los Angeles have faced criticism over their handling of the wildfires. The most notable source of outrage stems from the fact that hydrants in the affected area were dry, leaving firefighters unable to obtain the water necessary to put out the fires. Another factor seen as exacerbating the fires is the $17.6 million in cuts to the Los Angeles Fire Department made by Mayor Karen Bass in the citys 2024-25 budget.
Home News Coral Ridge Presbyterian pastor says Budde's 'mean' sermon sowed division: 'Painful to listen' Bishop's sermon showed mainline decay, Pastor Rob Pacienza said

A Presbyterian pastor who attended the inaugural prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral last week claimed Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde's sermon sowed the division she was preaching against.

Rob Pacienza, who serves as senior pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, further suggested during a recent interview with The Christian Post that Budde's worldview is symptomatic of the decay within mainline Protestantism that is increasingly rendering its churches irrelevant.

"It wasnt really a sermon," he said of Buddes message. "It was a lecture that really came across as mean and divisive. And I think the irony was she attempted to preach on unity, but her rhetoric and her very unwelcoming spirit  from the beginning to the end of her message  actually created more division in the end."

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Budde, who has served as bishop of Washington since 2011, continues to draw media attention a week after her sermon at the Service of Prayer for the Nation at the cathedral, during which she called for "unity" while imploring President Donald Trump to "have mercy" on "scared" people such as "gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families."

Budde also said Trump should be merciful toward illegal immigrants, who she described as "the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat-packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals."

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde takes a swipe @realDonaldTrump at the @WNCathedral service, says trans kids and families now "fear for their lives." pic.twitter.com/yd9FRy8VSP  Melissa Barnhart (@MelBarnhart) January 21, 2025

Pacienza, who has pastored the church founded by the late D. James Kennedy since 2016, drew attention on X last week when he described Budde's sermon as "painful to listen live to" as she lectured to Trump while explicitly promoting "a secular worldview and woke agenda.

Pacienza, who had been invited to the service in the National Cathedral by Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece, Alveda King, told CP he knew something of Budde's antagonism toward Trump and his policies, and thought it was "an interesting choice" when he saw she was listed in the bulletin to deliver the sermon.

It was painful to listen live to the Episcopal Bishop of D.C. not only lecture the President but explicitly promote a secular worldview and woke agenda. True unity can only be achieved through a commitment to the whole counsel of God, not the cultural assimilation her sermon https://t.co/zN0B3rXpGa  Rob Pacienza (@RobPacienza) January 21, 2025

I could tell right off the bat, as soon as she started delivering the message, that this was going to be her way of putting the president and his administration in their place, he said.

Pacienza acknowledged that clergy are at times called to rebuke civil authorities, but noted "there's a time and place for it."

There are certainly examples in Scripture  Moses petitioning Pharaoh, Daniel petitioning Nebuchadnezzar  but it was always for the sake of unity, using biblical truth, using the faithful Word of God in order to bring about unity, to bring about correction.

Pacienza's own denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), agreed during its 50th General Assembly in 2023 to formally petition both federal and state authorities in the U.S. to "renounce the sin" of promoting transgender procedures for minors.

Budde's tactic, Pacienza argued, was not in that same spirit.

The problem was none of her arguments were rooted in biblical truth, he said. "They were all rooted in progressive politics and a secular worldview. She was advocating for transgenderism. She was advocating for open borders. She was advocating for lawlessness in America. She was advocating for an administration to embrace sexuality that is against God's design."

"So yes, there is a time and a place to petition our leaders. There's a time and place to speak truth to power. But the question is, how do you define that truth? [Budde's] certainly wasn't biblical truth. It wasn't grounded in God's Word. It was grounded in progressive politics and secular, woke ideologies."

Budde went on a left-wing media blitz in the wake of her sermon last week and was showered with praise on shows such as "The View" and "The Rachel Maddow Show."

Despite the fawning attention she has received from liberal media, Pacienza suggested that Budde's sermon was symptomatic of the progressive Christianity that is effectively destroying mainline Protestantism by replacing the biblical Gospel with "a social gospel."

"When you dig deep, its really not biblical truth at all," he said. "It's more of a social gospel. It's more an attempt to be culturally relevant. They replace biblical truth with culturally relevant progressive policies and ideologies like wokeism and Marxism."

The slide toward heresy began a century ago with the mainline's embrace of liberalism, the pastor noted, and its ultimate fruit has been the steady withering of those denominations that have preached it.

"These churches are dying: many of them are just a museum on Sunday mornings for people to tour and sight-see," he said, adding that churches that have stood fast against "worldly ideologies and progressive politics" are flourishing.

"When you look at the surveys and the statistics, the churches that are grounded in God's Word and preaching the whole counsel of God and applying it to all of life  regardless of what the culture says, and regardless of where the culture is going  those churches and denominations are growing, he said. "The mainline churches and denominations, as we saw at the National Cathedral, churches like these are dying."

"They're becoming irrelevant, and it's really not what people are hungry for. They're hungry for God's Word. They're hungry for the truth. Unfortunately, as you saw [last week], you're not going to get that at the National Cathedral," he added.
Home News John MacArthur undergoing physical therapy after being bedridden in hospital

Pastor John MacArthur remains in the hospital amid complications recovering from heart surgery and has begun physical therapy. Medical teams are closely monitoring his condition as he works to regain his strength.

MacArthur, 85, "is still in the hospital," Grace To You Executive Director Phil Johnson, an elder at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, California, shared in a Wednesday update.

MacArthur underwent multiple heart operations in the past year. He has not commented publicly about his progress since returning to the hospital.

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"The tests and treatments continue," Johnson said, shooting down reports he had been released as "false." "Please keep praying for his recovery."

A few days earlier, Johnson stated in an X post that MacArthur has "been bedridden long enough they are giving him physical therapy."

In November, he briefly appeared at Grace Community Church and said he had gone through "three heart surgeries and surgery on my lungs in those last few months." He noted at the time that the experience involved challenges but did not offer an in-depth timeline of events.

"I'm still here, and thankful to the Lord for that." He acknowledged "stress" during his health battles, adding, "I'm just thankful I see the good and gracious and kind and providential hand of God in every vicissitude in my life, every hard experience, every challenge  whatever that challenge may be."

In January 2023, MacArthur preached during the first service of the new year, only to be hospitalized soon after he experienced trouble breathing.

MacArthur became the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in 1969 after graduating from Biola University's Talbot Theological Seminary. Over the decades, he has delivered more than 3,000 sermons.

Discussions about MacArthur's condition have circulated on social media, prompting Johnson to address the topic more directly.

In one online exchange, Johnson responded to a claim by an "anonymous" individual who alleged that MacArthur was "dying in the hospital." Johnson dismissed the rumor, writing, "Anonymous, of course. And he's a chowderhead with a longstanding devilish agenda who always pretends to know more than he really does."

"John MacArthur is currently getting treatment for some symptoms that have plagued his recovery from heart-valve replacement. Those who need to know more details do know," Johnson stated.

"John IS currently hospitalized, and the persistence of these symptoms is a concern. But the suggestion that he has been handed over to palliative care is a sinister lie, concocted by this pernicious character who has been lying about JM and GCC for 5+ years. Ignore him."

Johnson stated that MacArthur generally does not want extensive public announcements about his condition.

On Facebook, Johnson wrote, "It's one of his quirks, and it is a years-old policy of his. The scarcity of public announcements about his health is not something unique to this current illness."

Johnson has been confronting his own health challenges.

He disclosed a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, a condition described as incurable but treatable.

"My cancer treatment so far has been somewhat eventful (a couple of trips to the USC Medical Center for extra stitches on a surgical incision), but it has not been as bad as I feared," he wrote on Jan. 18.
Home News FBI exposes troubling trend of Texas parents trafficking children for drugs

Parents in El Paso, Texas, have resorted to trafficking their children in exchange for drugs, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is working with nonprofits in the state to combat human trafficking.

FBI Special Agent Jeanette Harper said that the federal law enforcement agency has noticed a trend of parents trafficking their children in sexual acts to obtain drugs from off the street, local news outlet KFOX14 reports.

The FBI agent stressed that such a betrayal has mental and emotional consequences for the victims, describing the situation as heartbreaking.

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"It's just hard that the parents are more concerned about getting drugs and basically torturing their children for the rest of their lives," Harper said. "The person that you should trust the most is your mom and your dad, and they're giving you to people for sex."

The traffickers typically exploit their victims inside their own homes or at a cheap motel to avoid spending too much money and fund their drug habits, according to Harper.

Harper stressed the importance of reporting suspected illegal activity, noting that teachers, doctors or individuals in a caregiving position are legally required to do so.

"If they observe their child or they believe that they're a victim of sexual abuse, they are legally required to report that to somebody within 24 to 48 hours," the FBI special agent said.

The FBI is working alongside nonprofits like the Paso del Norte Center of Hope to combat human trafficking.

Nicole Schiff, the executive director of the Center of Hope, says 92% of victims her organization encountered within the last two years have been U.S. citizens. She appeared to push back claims the nation's border is the primary factor in human trafficking in the state of Texas.

"We've had a case where the dad was the trafficker," Schiff said to KFOX14. "We've had a case where mom sold her daughter to a trafficker for the money because she needed it for drugs."

The Center for Hope, which helps trafficking survivors by offering legal aid and other supportive resources, currently manages about 40 active cases, according to the outlet. At the time of reporting, the nonprofit had a waitlist for services.

"Unfortunately, Texas is ranked second in the nation for trafficking," Schiff added. "People in our region just aren't believing that it's here."

The FBI in El Paso did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.

A November 2022 study titled "Texas Human Trafficking" found Texas had the second-highest reported cases of human trafficking, citing the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

The authors of the study, which was affiliated with Touro University California and McGovern Medical School, speculated that the prevalence of human trafficking in Texas is likely a result of the state's size and its long international border.

According to the NHTH, which offers crisis-related services to victims and survivors, the hotline received more than 2,300 signals from Texas in 2023. Nearly 600 of those signals in 2023 came from victims or survivors of human trafficking.

The most common form of trafficking was sex trafficking, according to the hotline, while the second most common was labor trafficking.

The demographics of victims and survivors NHTH collected show that over 600 were adults and 246 were minors. However, the numbers provided are not cumulative, as one case could involve multiple victims and survivors, not just one.

Regarding gender, victims and survivors were more likely to be female (641) than male (168). As for citizenship, more reported cases involved foreign nationals (172) than U.S. lawful permanent residents (83), according to the hotline.
Home Opinion Israeli hostage deal: Why we should negotiate with death cult Hamas

For nearly 500 days, a shadow has hung over our nation. Israelis  infants, elders, entire families  were ripped from their homes, torn from their lives, and plunged into the abyss. They were kidnapped by Hamas, imprisoned in Gazas hellish tunnels, and subjected to cruelty beyond words. Their only crime? Being Israeli. Being Jewish.

Hamas is not merely an enemy. They are the embodiment of darkness. Last week, a chilling video emerged of Liri Albag, an 18-year-old girl held hostage since October 7, 2023. Her face was gaunt, her fear palpable. Around her neck was a dog collar. A young woman, dehumanized and degraded, treated as less than an animal. This is who Hamas is  a force devoid of humanity, a cult of death reveling in cruelty.

And now, a hostage deal. Is it fair? No. It is excruciatingly lopsided: a handful of our loved ones for thousands of their killers  many with innocent blood on their hands, many who will return to their murderous ways.

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So why would we make such a deal? Why negotiate with savages who mock the sanctity of life?

Because this is who we are. This is what it means to be Israel.

This is more than a battle for territory or security. This is a war of values. On one side stands Israel, a nation that sanctifies life above all else. On the other side are those who glorify death, who hide behind human shields, and who store weapons in hospitals and mosques. This is the eternal battle between light and darkness, between those who cherish life and those who revel in its destruction.

For Israel, every life is sacred. We have made the agonizing, illogical, and profoundly moral choice to do whatever it takes to bring our people home. We cannot rest knowing that our babies, our grandparents, and our loved ones are languishing in the cold, merciless depths of Gaza, enduring unspeakable torment.

This is not a decision born of weakness. It is a declaration of strength  a profound reflection of the enduring values of our people, shaped by the Torah and etched into our national soul. It is a statement to the world that we will sacrifice, endure, and persevere to honor the sanctity of life.

The United States has stood firmly by our side. The new administration has made it clear that Hamas will face severe consequences if the hostages are not released. Their declaration  there will be hell to pay reinforces a shared truth: Israels values are Americas values. Both nations cherish freedom, democracy, and the inalienable dignity of life. But freedom is not free. It requires vigilance, sacrifice, and an unyielding commitment to justice.

Hamas has been explicit about their goals. First, the Saturday people, they proclaim  the Jews. Then the Sunday people the Christians. First, Israel, the Little Satan. Then America, the Big Satan. This is a shared struggle, a fight for the soul of humanity.

This hostage deal is neither fair nor just. It is painful, and it feels wrong. Yet it is also a resounding declaration to the world: we choose life. We choose hope. We choose to uphold the values that make life worth living.

If Hamas honors this deal, some of our loved ones will return home. Many, tragically, will not. But we believe that our prayers  offered with tears, hope, and trembling over these many months  have been heard. We thank God for His mercy and compassion, and we pray for the hostages healing, for their strength to reclaim life, and for the resolve of our people to continue sanctifying life even amidst the darkest trials.

As we open the book of Exodus and recall our ancestors liberation from bondage, we are reminded that the story of Israel has always been one of hope triumphing over despair, of life prevailing over death. May we continue to stand firm in our mission: to bring light into the darkness, to sanctify the life God has gifted us, and to uphold the values that define us as a people.
Home Opinion Our astounding ability to disbelieve is unbelievable

Not too long ago, someone who denied the Holocaust was looked upon as a crazy person. Only extremists like leaders in the Iranian government would go public with charges that the Holocaust was a myth.

Not anymore.

In his Wall Street Journal article, Bojan Pancevski cites the fresh-off-the-presses findings of a massive new study that surveyed more than 58,000 adults from 103 countries and territories representing 94% of the worlds adult population and found nearly a quarter of the respondents think historians have exaggerated the accounts of the Holocaust or it never happened.

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I swear Im not making this up.

Not surprisingly, the acceptance of the Holocaust as a historical fact was less in regions where Islam reigns, with only 16% of the respondents in the Middle East and North Africa, and 23% in sub-Saharan Africa accepting that the Holocaust happened as described by mainstream historians.

Perhaps even more disturbing (if thats possible) is that one-fifth of the total respondents have never heard of the Holocaust.

This leads to the question of why, with all the irrefutable evidence of the Holocaust being available, people would not believe its truth or have been taught about it. We get the answer in the same study.

Pancevski writes: Around half of adults across the world hold antisemitic beliefs  46% of them  which when extrapolated to the global population would equal an estimated 2.2 billion people  display antisemitic attitudes  According to the survey, known as Global 100, the level of antisemitism in the global adult population has more than doubled since it was launched in 2014.

There you go.

It would be nice if all of us simply determined our beliefs based on evidence and truth, but the fact is many times it doesnt happen that way. Science says we struggle to believe what is true due to a combination of psychological factors like cognitive biases, confirmation bias, groupthink, cognitive dissonance, and others which can lead us to dismiss information that contradicts our existing beliefs and what we want to be true, even when presented with evidence to the contrary.

Im betting that in this case, a psychological influence called motivated reasoning is to blame. This happens when we have a strong emotional stake in a particular belief and actively interpret information in a way that supports our desired conclusion, even if it means distorting reality. Its fueled by the fact that we are pretty much hard-wired to have an emotional response to information quicker than our conscious thoughts.

It's probably the leading cause of why our historical culture moods have shifted from Modernism to Postmodernism to, now, Post-truth, where objective facts are less influential in shaping our public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

When it comes to a great example of that linking up to the new studys findings on antisemitism, you only need look to the Oct. 7th attack on Israel by Hamas and the response  which included celebrations  on college campuses to Hamass slaughter of Israeli civilians. It was also on wide display two months later in the congressional hearings on antisemitism that followed where, as WSJs Joshua Chaffin writes, a trio of university presidents from Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology seemed incapable of explaining how their scrupulous campus codes could guard against a host of microaggressions  but not open hostility toward Jews.

At the time, all the elite campus supporters antisemitic beliefs and justifications stood firm, but only in the way described by C. S. Lewis in his essay On Obstinacy in Belief: A belief that has stood firm  appears to mean a belief immune from all the assaults of reality.

The unbelieving heart

As you would expect, the Bible has a lot to say about why we believe things and our astounding ability to ignore truth. Two warnings in particular stand out to me.

Because, as Thomas Aquinas said, The contrary of a truth can never be demonstrated, Scripture says that people work hard at concealing truth and that such labor provokes Gods anger: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). When that buried truth is eventually uncovered, it elicits the angry post-truth responses seen today and we find ourselves in a similar situation as the apostle Paul who one time asked his readers: So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? (Gal. 4:16).

The second admonition the Bible sends our way is a simple one found in the book of Hebrews that says: Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God (vs. 3:12). The writer of Hebrews follows that counsel with another one later in his letter when he writes, See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven (vs.12:25).

Because we, as Christians, know this, out of love for others we engage in a right motivated reasoning to tell people the truth as Scripture says: Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men (2 Cor. 5:11). Blaise Pascal put it like this: Make religion attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is. Worthy of reverence because it really understands human nature. Attractive because it promises true good.

Even so, Scripture tells us that many will not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved (2. Thess. 2:10). Sadly, for them, its as philosopher and historian Richard Weaver says in his book Ideas Have Consequences: Nothing good can come if the will is wrong. And to give evidence to him who loves not the truth is to give him more plentiful material for misinterpretation.

While true, lastly, lets not forget the spiritual element involved with Holocaust denial and hatred for Israel. Revelation 12 tells us how Satan detests Israel because God used them to deliver His written and human Word to His creation. And that satanic spirit, Scripture tells us, Is now working in the sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2) carrying out their fathers work.

And since the devil has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4), the only hope for all of us is a move of the Holy Spirit that overpowers the enemy and restores our ability to believe what is true.

If youre looking for something to pray about today, that would be a good one.
Home Opinion Attacking antisemitism among the Reformed

Since October 7, 2023, the ancient serpent of antisemitism has returned to deceive and kill. After the most barbaric attack on Jews in a century, they are now being blamed for defending themselves. We Christians who follow a Jewish messiah ought to be the first and loudest defenders of the Chosen People when they are on the run again (which ought to remind us of the Churchs failures a century ago), so it is doubly tragic that we are starting to see antisemitism among our own.

Therefore, those of us who have been enlightened by the insights of Reformed theology welcomed Novembers Antioch Declaration against antisemitism. We were not surprised that this was written and signed by leading Reformed thinkers, for Calvinist theologians have resisted the Lutheran temptation to pit Gospel against law. Calvin and Edwards saw that Gods Law, first stewarded by the Jewish people, is a gift to the world and Church and is in fact a form of grace.

This Declaration seems to have been spearheaded by the formidable Doug Wilson, author of nearly one hundred books and creator of what might be called a conservative Reformed civilization centered in Moscow, Idaho, with its own college, seminary, denomination, publishing house, and classical Christian school network.

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Wilson regularly steps where angels fear to tread. In the last century, his witty jousts with the New Atheists often put them on the back foot, and in this century he dared to challenge the iconic Tim Keller for being political while claiming the opposite.

So, it is not surprising to see that a Wilson-led Declaration recognizes the carnal desire in fallen man to seek out a scapegoat for sin and social corruption, resulting in conspiracy theories that have often made Jews their easiest target. It argues that Jews are objects of wrath just like the rest of us, and as a people, they are an object of Gods providential care. The Puritans were right to realize that in Gods good time, multitudes of Jews will come to faith in Christ and be added to the true commonwealth of Israel.

Apparently, Wilson and his Reformed confreres are addressing new antisemitism within their own ranks coming from writers promoting Christian nationalism. The term has caused hysteria among many, but Wilson has rightly argued over the years that secularism has become Americas national religion and that efforts to restore Christian faith to the public square need not be coercive or theocratic.

But the ways that some Reformed writers are promoting Christian nationalism have been either troubling or nasty. Among the troubling has been Stephen Wolfe, whose The Case for Christian Nationalism has been the most impressive book on the subject. It was published by Wilsons press and promoted not only by Wilson but also by the founder of the National Conservatism movement, Jewish political philosopher Yoram Hazony.

Wolfe does not say anything that is overtly antisemitic in his book. But there are ambiguities that raise questions. No nation, he writes, is composed of two or more ethnicities, and an ethnicity emphasizes particular features that distinguish one people group from another. Wolfe insists he is not promoting white nationalism, but he also writes of blood relations and community in blood. He denies the notion that ethnic majorities today should work to rescind citizenship from ethnic minorities, but adds that perhaps in some cases amicable ethnic separation along political lines is mutually desired.

Perhaps then we should not be surprised that in a January response on X to The Babylon Bee's Jewish CEO who wondered why Christians dont share Pauls heart for Israel, Wolfe wrote, Believing that Israelis are of my own race is a mental disorder.

To be fair, Wolfe was responding to Seth Dillons use of an English translation of Romans 9:3 where Paul supposedly refers to my own race.

But one still wonders what Wolfe means. When race in todays culture usually denotes skin color, is Wolfe ignoring the fact that 45% of Israelis are Ashkenazi Jews with white skin? Or does he mean that because most Israelis are Jewish they cannot have any connection with Christians, even Jewish Christians like Dillon?

Two things must be said about Wolfes suggestion that Jews (Israelis) are a race completely disconnected from American Christians. First, Paul never refers to his Jewish people as a race. The passage in Roman 9:3 (   ) is better rendered as my kinsmen according to the flesh. And another Romans 9 phrase often wrongly translated with the word race is from Romans 9:5 (      ) which is actually from whom is the Christ according to the flesh. Paul was writing these words when ancient Israel  like todays Israel  was a mixed multitude composed of people with different skin colors which we mistakenly refer to as races. Neither the Bible nor science supports the existence of race as anything more than a sociological phenomenon.

Second, Paul said the Jews are Gods Chosen People. He referred to his fellow Jews who did not accept Jesus as still beloved [by God] because of the Fathers [the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob]. For the gifts and calling [, Gods calling the Jews as his Chosen] of God are irrevocable (Rom 11:28-29). Calling means invitation to join Gods family, as when Paul tells the Corinthian Christians they should consider their calling []  not many of you were wise by worldly standards (1 Cor 1:26).

For Paul, then, Jews of his day were still Gods Chosen, even after a majority had rejected Jesus. He wrote, To them belong [present tense] the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the worship, and the promises (Rom 9:4). He was not speaking of the eternal destiny of every Jew but of Gods continuing covenant with the descendants of the Patriarchs. Just as Jesus said those called to him could not presume their salvation unless they persevered in faithfulness to him (Matt 24:13), so too Jews were called into Gods family but were required to keep his covenant. They retained their calling as His Chosen even if many failed to persevere and thereby lost the rewards of the covenant.

If Wolfe is ambiguous, Thomas Achord and Andrew Torba have been downright malicious. Achord, a Calvinist who has been co-host of the Ars Politica podcast with Stephen Wolfe, has written under the alias Tulius Aadland that a random shooting of Antifa members hit 100% jews [sic] and 100% pedos, complained of the Yiddish roots of antifa, and hoped for no more Jew wars.

Torba, co-author of a book on Christian nationalism recommended by Wilson, wrote in November 2022 that the GOP needs to be destroyed before another Zionist bootlicker is voted into office. He complained that the Jews in positions of power worry that your freedom of speech will give you the freedom to reach a lot of people and criticize their power and oversized influence in our culture, government, and society. Torba reposted a charge that Jews are psychologically and spiritually castrating citizens.

The Antioch Declaration is to be congratulated for its forthright denunciation of antisemitic conspiracy theories and Holocaust deniers. But it too is a bit disturbing.

Why should we think of Jews as the easiest target of conspiracy theories? Why not radical Muslims, who are by all accounts the source of most terrorism today, and by their own admission are trying to take over the world? Readers can be forgiven for wondering if the Antioch authors suggest by easiest target that there are legitimate reasons for antisemitic conspiracy theories.

And why regard the Jewish people as simply an object of Gods providential care? That is true of Cambodian Buddhists and Indian Hindus. One cannot read the Bible and conclude that Jews are no different from Buddhists and Hindus in Gods providence. This ignores Pauls declaration that his Jewish brothers, even while denying Jesus as messiah, were still beloved of God and their calling to be Gods Chosen is irrevocable.

This odd language in the Declaration suggests what most supersessionists (those who think Gods new covenant with the Church supersedes and replaces his covenantal love for the Jewish people) have concluded, that God has given up on the Jews. But Paul specifically denied that. Has God rejected his people? By no means! The remnant that has seen its Messiah is proof that the whole lump of Israel is still holy (Rom 11:1, 16). Paul warns the Gentiles in Rome not to be arrogant toward the branches of Israel that have been broken off: Remember it is not you who support the root [Jewish Israel], but the root that supports you (v. 18). The Jews and Gentiles who have seen the Messiah are mysteriously connected to the root of Jewish Israel, even those parts of the root that have not seen Jesus yet.

The Antioch Declaration implies that the commonwealth of Israel is the Christian Church. But the phrase refers to Jewish Israel in Ephesians 2:12, from which the gentile Christians in Ephesus had been alienated before their conversions, but to which they were now connected because of their oneness with the Jewish Messiah.

Many of the Puritans recognized this. They rejected Calvins totalizing transfer of Gods Old Testament promises to the Gentile Church, for they discerned that many OT promises were specific to the Jewish people. Unfortunately, Calvin missed this. He wrote that because the Jews did not reciprocate as willing partners in Gods covenant, they deserve to be repudiated (Institutes 4.2.3). He therefore denied that the 1,000 repetitions of the land promise (Gods giving the land of Canaan to Abrahams descendants as in Gen. 12:7 and 17:8) still applied to the Jewish people. Or that Gods everlasting covenant with Abrahams seed throughout their generations (Gen 17:7) was still in effect.

But Henry Finch (c. 15581625) was a Puritan member of Parliament who rejected this hermeneutic. He and many other Puritans followed the Reformations plain sense hermeneutic, preferring the literal or plain sense to more spiritual and obscure senses.

Where Israel, Judah, Zion, Jerusalem, etc. are named in this argument, the Holy Ghost meaneth not the spiritual Israel, or church of God collected of the Gentiles, no nor of the Jews and Gentiles both (for each of these have their promises severally and apart), but Israel properly descended out of Jacobs loins.

Increase Mather was another Puritan who rejected Calvins ascription of all OT promises to the Gentile Church. In his The Mystery of Israels Salvation (1669) he asked, Why should we unnecessarily refuse literal interpretations? Like Finch, Mather insisted that promises about earthly inheritance should not be spiritualized away. He took seriously the Old Testaments land promise and predicted that the Jews would regain their ancient land before general renewal falls upon them. It would be only after the Israelites shall be returned to their own Land again that the Spirit would be poured out on them.

Jonathan Edwards was a Reformed thinker who believed that God had future plans for both the Jewish people and their land. In his Blank Bible, he wrote that just as the restoration of an individual at first involves only his soul but then later his body at the general resurrection, so too not only shall the spiritual state of the Jews be hereafter restored, but their external state as a nation in their own land ... shall be restored by [Christ].

The Puritans were Reformed Christians who rejected the supersessionism of their Calvinist brethren. They knew that they were connected spiritually to Jewish Israel, and that to renounce that connection was to ignore the Bible and risk injustice to the Jewish people.

Little did they know, however, how supersessionist assumptions would lead German and other European Christians in the twentieth century to look the other way or actually join the Nazi program to do away with Jews. After all, these Christians reasoned, if God is done with the Jews, we should be too.

Let me close with this: Supersessionism is problematic but not the same thing as antisemitism. There are many supersessionists who love the Jewish people and do not think through the logic of their replacement theology. And the Reformed are not alone: there is plenty of supersessionism (and antisemitism) in other Christian communions, Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox.

We need to heed Paul the Jews warning not to be arrogant toward the [broken off] branches (Rom 11:18), and to remind ourselves that the Jewish people are beloved for the sake of their fathers (Rom 11:28).
Home Opinion To GOP: Planned Parenthood is not your friend. Defund it now.

With a new Trump administration, comes a new breath of life into our national leadership and a clearer, more focused vision. Hopefully, the Republican Party can see whats so obvious. Taxpayer-funded Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is not their friend. It needs to be defunded and replaced. And if not for moral reasons (as in they killed 392,715 innocent human lives in their last reported year), do it for political ones.

In 2024, Planned Parenthood reported spending $69.5 million to elect Kamala Harris, far-leftist Democrats and advance radical pro-abortion state ballot initiatives. Why would the Party in power continue to finance the abortion arm of the Democratic Party? Every year, Planned Parenthoods presidents (like Alexis McGill Johnson and the recently deceased Cecile Richards) deliver absurd disinformation as they keynote at the annual DNC convention shilling for the Dems. In FY2023, taxpayers were forced to give $700 million to the activist group posing as a 501c3 healthcare organization despite it possessing $3 billion in assets. That same year, Planned Parenthood then funneled $16 million to one of its several 501c4 organizations  Planned Parenthood Action Fund  which is about half of that groups annual budget. And what do they do? They spend millions to elect pro-abortion Democrats. Its like an abused spouse financially enabling the lifestyle of the abuser.

Cut. It. Off. The money that is.

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Planned Parenthood, in FY2023, spent an obscene $263.5 million on lobbying, fundraising and advertising all thanks to American taxpayers. With this massive funding, PPFA promotes its mutilation of children in and out of the womb (via abortion and transgenderism), celebrates womens exploitation (while literally erasing the term women from their website), and flaunts its new back alley DIY chemical abortion mobile units (Democratic Convention or bust!). They create ads like Freedom to F*ck. And this gem about how virginity is a made-up construct made to control and shame people. Or this video where a woman feigning to be a transgender male claimed that her abortion was the greatest act of compassion I have ever committed. Her name is Lucky. Tragically, it should be Unlucky. Shes now getting gender care from Planned Parenthood, but will she be one of the many detransitioners who regret their irreversible damage and one of millions of women who regret their abortions?

Why does the federal government fund this propaganda machine? As it serves fewer and fewer people, it amasses more and more funding. Recently, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy indicated, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, that the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was looking at cutting off $300 million to progressive groups like Planned Parenthood. McGill-Johnson, predictably, falsely claimed: Musk and Ramaswamy are making clear how they intend to use their power: denying people care and wreaking havoc on our public health system.

Really, defunding Planned Parenthood would wreak havoc on our public health system? On an annual basis, Planned Parenthood serves only three percent of women of reproductive age (ages 15-44), and thats ONLY if we assume every single one of the 2.05 million patients are women (which theyre not). Its likely much closer to less than two percent of women nationwide.

McGill-Johnson, who receives nearly a $1 million a year salary, continued with the fear appeal: Care will disappear if they get their way.

Care didnt disappear in Texas when Planned Parenthood was defunded. It actually increased through the Health Texas Women program, expanding funding to far more medical resources. The program states: The program provides women's health and family planning services at no cost to eligible, low-income Texas women.

And care wont disappear across America. It would actually significantly increase. Planned Parenthood mismanages money to advance their political, rather than medical, goals. And theres zero government oversight. Community Health Centers, or federally qualified health centers, provide far more healthcare services in thousands more locations: 15,000 clinics versus Planned Parenthoods 600 abortion centers. In 2023, CHCs served 32.5 million patients which is 16 times more served than at PPFA.

During the first Trump administration, when threatened with defunding, Planned Parenthood proclaimed in a 2017 press release: No, community health centers cannot absorb Planned Parenthood patients. Really? That year, Community Health Centers served 27.1 million patients. In their last reported year (2023), they served 5.4 million more patients. They can handle more patients. They do every single year. The funding disparity, however, between Planned Parenthood and Community Health Centers is shocking. Despite CHCs outnumbering PPFA centers 25 to 1, the abortion giant receives a hugely disproportionate amount of funding  $700 million vs $4.4 billion for CHCs. This equates an alarming 4 to 1 ratio with $1,166,666 for each PPFA location versus only $293,333 per individual community health center. Also, every major medical service to women has been plummeting at Planned Parenthood by 54%-68%. This includes pap tests, manual breast exams and prenatal care.

Yes. Those seeking real healthcare can be served more effectively with a combination of more federally qualified health centers and pro-life pregnancy medical clinics like Stanton Healthcare and Obria Clinics. More health. Less hype.

Republicans, see whats right in front of you. Let DOGE do some housecleaning and take out the political trash. If you want to fund medical services for Americans, increase funding to Community Health Centers and life-affirming medical resources. If you want to prevent an activist wing of the DNC from grossly misinforming voters and filling the coffers of Democratic candidates, do yourself a favor: dont fund your enemy. Defund and replace Planned Parenthood.
Home News Archbishop Anastasios, who revived Orthodox Church in Albania, dies at 95

Archbishop Anastasios, an ecumenical movement leader credited with helping to revitalize the Orthodox Church in Muslim-majority Albania, has died at the age of 95.

Archbishop Anastasios died in Athens, Greece on Saturday, reported La Croix International, having been hospitalized in the city earlier this month due to what was described as a "seasonal virus."

"Albania today mourns the loss of his beatitude, the Archbishop of Tirana, Durres, and All Albania," said Albanian President Bajram Begaj, as reported by Reuters.

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"[His] dedication, and love for the people, contributed to its strengthening and paving a new path for the Albanian Orthodox faith, especially following a challenging period."

Born Anastasios Yannoulatos in 1929 in Piraeus, Greece, Anastasios became head of the Albanian Orthodox Church in 1992, shortly after it was relegalized after the fall of communism.

During his over 30 years in church office, Anastasios was credited with reopening around 400 parishes and expanding the church's involvement in charitable efforts, reported La Croix.

The archbishop has also been involved in ecumenical efforts, going at least as far back as the World Conference on Mission and Evangelism held in Mexico City, Mexico, in 1961.

World Council of Churches Acting General Secretary Ioan Sauca sent the archbishop a letter in 2022 congratulating him on marking 30 years as head of the Albanian Church.

"We join our Orthodox sisters and brothers in Albania and all around the word, and we give thanks for You, Beatitude, as you celebrate this year thirty years of both struggle and joy, despair and hope, tribulations and great achievements in leading the Church of Christ in Albania," wrote Sauca.

"We give thanks to God, Beatitude, for all your efforts during three decades to bring the Orthodox Church of Albania from darkness to the light of Christ; from death to resurrection in Christ; from total destruction to an exemplary growth in Christ."

Anastasios was hospitalized in Tirana, Albania, in December with a viral illness. He had previously been hospitalized in November 2020 for two weeks with COVID-19.

Earlier this month, the archbishop was transferred from Tirana to Evangelismos Hospital in Athens, where he received multiple prominent guests, among them Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and all Greece; Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Greece's minister of education and religious affairs; and Sokratis Famellos, leader of the Greek left-wing political party Syriza.

"The purpose of our visit was to receive updates on the Archbishop's health, express our love, and share our hope for his recovery. We also wanted to extend our support to the medical and healthcare staff," Famellos said, according to The Orthodox Times.
Home News Charlie Sheen, Denise Richards daughter gets baptized, says Jesus saved her from depression: 'He gave me light'

Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards' youngest daughter, Lola, recently got baptized and publicly declared Jesus as her Savior, revealing He saved her from battling severe anxiety and gave her a peace that makes no sense.

Earlier in January, the 19-year-old shared footage of her baptism on Instagram. In a follow-up post on Jan 22, she opened up about the reasons behind her decision, which she said "made my life worth living."

When I was in my deepest depression, there was a moment where I realized I hit rock bottom. I felt so lost and hopeless, and was just doing my best to make it to the next day. I just accepted my life was going to be like that forever, and thought I would never genuinely laugh again. Until, I met not only my Savior but my best friend, Jesus. I cant really explain it other than it was supernatural, but Jesus met me exactly where I was, and He forever became my sun. I began to trust Jesus with my life, when He chose me when no one else did, and loved me when I didnt feel worthy of love. He gave me a light, when I couldnt find my own, and rescued me from the darkness, she wrote.

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She added, I now find myself laughing again, in places I only had cried. Jesus fulfilled His promise of making me new, and completely renewed my mind. Jesus is the only reason why Im here today and made my life worth living. I chose to get baptized at the beginning of this year, because I made it through this year only by the strength of Jesus, and I am so happy to go into this next year, after publicly declaring Jesus as my Savior. I am forever saved by His Grace, through faith.

I thank you Jesus for everything, I love you, and I hope you are proud of me.

Lola and her older sister Sami, 20, an X-rated OnlyFans model, are the only two daughters of Sheen, 59, and Richards, 53, who were married from 2002 to 2006. The pairs relationship ended in a highly publicized divorce in 2006, with allegations of infidelity and substance abuse contributing to the split.

Charlie Sheens personal life has often been in the media spotlight, particularly for struggles with substance abuse, legal issues and relationships, while Richards has faced criticism for having a platform on OnlyFans videos and collaborating with her younger daughter in videos.

Numerous celebrities have been baptized in recent years, including Russell Brand, Kat Von D, Matt Rife and Denzel Washington.

Brand, a 48-year-old actor and comedian, was baptized in 2024 following a personal exploration of Christianity that lasted several years. He began baptizing others just five months after his own baptism.

Brands baptism was a turning point for the comedian and actor, who described it as a moment of surrender. Since then, hes used his platform to publish videos about his spiritual journey.

"I know a lot of people are sort of cynical about the increasing interest in Christianity and the return to God, but to me, it's obvious," he said in an April 2024 video. "As meaning deteriorates in the modern world, as our value systems and institutions crumble, all of us become increasingly aware that there is this eerily familiar awakening and beckoning figure that we've all known all of our lives, within us and around us. And for me, it's very exciting."

In December, Washington was baptized at The First Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ Eastern New York.

In one week, I turn 70. It took a while, but Im finally here, the 69-year-old Gladiator II actor said at the time, adding that when he was 20, he was sitting in his mom's beauty parlor when he encountered a woman named Ruth Green.

She said, Boy, you are going to travel the world and preach to millions of people, he recalled. She wouldnt even spell the word prophecy. My mother wrote the word prophecy. ... 50 years later, look at God. If He can do this for me, theres nothing He cant do for you. The sky literally is the limit and theres no limit to the sky.

Kat Von D, a celebrity tattoo artist, shared a video of herself being baptized in 2023, one year after renouncing the occult and witchcraft.

In late 2024, Rife, a comedian, revealed hed gotten baptized in a pool following the death of his grandfather.

"I've never been a super religious person, but when my grandpa passed away, something hit me that I was like, 'I'll never see this person again,'" he said. "So something has to exist. I skew Christian, so I started going to church a little bit more."

"I hate church; I find it excruciatingly boring," he said. "But I want to believe in God, and it's obviously a huge part of the process."
Home News Duck Dynasty and Robertson family returning to A&E Network for new season

The A&E Network is reviving Duck Dynasty and reuniting the Robertson family for a fresh run of the reality series. The network has announced that the Robertson family, who openly share their Christian faith on the show, will return this summer with the original cast.

The new iteration of the program will air under the name Duck Dynasty: The Revival, CBN reported.

A&E has ordered 20 hour-long episodes  covering two seasons  from Wheelhouses Spoke Studios and Tread Lively Productions. According to the network, the original show was the most-watched nonfiction series in cable history.

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The original run of the series ended in 2017, after 11 seasons of documenting the Robertson familys antics surrounding their Duck Commander business in Louisiana.

The shows return will follow Willie and Korie Robertson and their growing family of adult children and grandchildren, the next generation of Robertsons living on the family homestead in Louisiana, along with appearances by other relatives.

Willie and Korie Robertson were quoted as saying, Going back on A&E feels a little like going back home. Were thankful for all who have followed along as our family has grown and expanded and cant wait to get cameras rolling again on all our new adventures, or perhaps misadventures.

TV Insider noted that many fans had been wondering whether Si Robertson  known widely as Uncle Si and who served in the U.S. Army and fought in the Vietnam War  would also be on the show. Korie Robertson confirmed his participation on the "Whoa Thats Good" podcast hosted by her daughter, Sadie Robertson Huff.

Some viewers had been concerned about Uncle Sis health, as he was previously seen using oxygen in a video released on social media last year. However, after Kories reassurance, social media comments reflected relief and excitement among longtime supporters.

The Robertsons remained active in various media projects after the show concluded.

Willie Robertsons latest book, Gospeler: Turning Darkness into Light One Conversation at a Time, addresses a cultural climate that has more people seeking biblical truth.

In an interview with The Christian Post last year, Roberton spoke about disciple making. I think the call is for everyone. It's not just for smart people or the disciples and apostles and pastors, and everybody else is exempt from talking about that. I think real revival and impact will happen when the Church actually is sharing their faith, not necessarily just a pastor.

Meanwhile, the Robertson patriarch, Phil Robertson, has been facing health challenges.

Jase Robertson explained in the 1,000th episode of the familys podcast that Phil suffers from a blood disorder and the early stages of Alzheimers. If you put those things together, hes really not doing well. Hes struggling, Jase was quoted as saying.

The new series will also feature updates on Phils health, according to the Insider. But it will mostly be about the familys daily life.
Home News Fla. church opens doors to anyone in need of food, shelter: 'This is what the Lord wants us to do'

The founder of a Florida church comprised mostly of homeless people explained how the Lord provided her with the space to open the doors to those in need of food and shelter, the embodiment of Christ-like behavior.

100 Church, located inside a storefront in North Port, began offering free community dinners in October 2020, when many churches had stopped providing such services due to the government's COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. That same year, 100 Church provided shelter to anyone needing a place to stay.

We're just a small, local church, and we asked the Lord to show us how we could serve our community, Cheryl Reber, who founded 100 Church in 2019, told The Christian Post.

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We had just opened, and we were just like, This is what the Lord wants us to do, Reber said. And weve been doing it ever since, and He has provided ever since. We have served a lot of people, including during hurricanes when theres no water, no electricity.

Most people who shelter at the church have their own bedding, Reber added, as many are homeless and used to sleeping outside. The church still provides bedding and hygiene items to those who need them, even if it only shelters people during inclement weather conditions.

We are in a storefront, so our sanctuary is on one side, and our dining area and fellowship hall are on the other, and we just split it up if we have men and women, the church founder explained.

News of the churchs efforts has spread via word of mouth and through local media coverage, which has allowed it to expand its resources to those in the community who arent homeless but still need a place to shelter.

Reber told CP that the church holds the free community dinners for around an hour every day. Depending on the day of the week or the time of the month, the church serves between 15 to 35 people, and has around 35 cooks who regularly sign up to make the dinners.

And we have a couple right now who are volunteering for the cold weather shelter, she said. And then we have volunteers that come in the morning and serve a light breakfast, get everybody up, get them out of the building, and make sure that it's locked and stuff in the morning."

Reber, whose role is listed as shepherd on the churchs website, said that many in the congregation are homeless themselves, which means they cannot afford to help fund the churchs efforts.

A majority of the costs come from the churchs own budget, Reber said. In addition to the church budget, Reber has outside supporters who help fund her ministry, saying that what she does is a bit like missionary work.

The ministry leader told CP that she hopes her surrounding community and fellow Christians see that the church is abiding by what Jesus instructed His followers to do, which is to serve the least of these.

Reber commented on how some churches treat the homeless by basically telling them "that they can't come to church unless they leave their backpack outside.

Doing that, she stressed, makes the church an unwelcoming place for them," she said, adding that "yes, Bible studies and concerts are great, and worship in the park is great, but this is what He told us to do. And if were not doing that, then Im not sure that were doing what were supposed to do.
Home News Testimony of 4 Israeli soldiers freed from Hamas captivity: There were periods with no food

The four female Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, who worked as observers along the Israeli-Gaza border, returned to Israel from Hamas captivity on Saturday. They shared part of their experiences with Israeli media, detailing difficult circumstances during their 477 days in Gaza.

There were periods when there was no food, when the IDF attacked near, and it was frightening. We supported one another, and we strengthened one another, the girls shared.

The strength displayed by the four returning soldiers was evident from the moment that Hamas brought them out of the vehicles during the release ceremony on Saturday. From the elaborate preparations made by Hamas for the event, it was clear the terror group intended to make some kind of display of the groups strength and control of the situation.

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According to reports in Hebrew media, the girls told family members that they were determined to show strength and composure during the ceremony, knowing that Hamas intended the ceremony to humiliate them.

We showed them on the stage that we were not fazed, Kan TV news quoted one of them as telling family and friends. It had no impact on us. We are stronger than them.

However, the four girls, who were taken captive by armed terrorists after suffering physical abuse on Oct. 7, 2023, demonstrated strength, resilience and unity during the release ceremony  holding hands, smiling and waving to the crowds and cameras.

After the soldiers returned to Israel, it became clear that their show of strength was not a result of good treatment by their captors.

According to the brief statements released to the media, the girls had a difficult time during their 477 days of captivity.

They reported being forbidden to hold hands or to cry when held together. The girls were not given consistent food and were held in unsanitary conditions, even going months without showering.

The girls were apparently not all held together during the entire captivity. Some were even kept in civilian apartments for part of the time while spending the rest of their captivity in tunnels.

When the time for their release came, the girls were notified only shortly before and only then realized that Agam Berger would not be freed with them. Reportedly, one of the girls offered to stay behind with Berger but was refused by Hamas.

According to N12 news, the four girls told the family of Agam Berger that they will come to stay with her in the hospital when she is released on Saturday.

For the first few weeks after their captivity, the observers were held in civilian apartments in Gaza, where they were often forced to cook and clean for their captors, even when not given food for themselves. When being transferred from one place to another, the girls were disguised as Palestinian women to avoid notice by Israeli forces.

The girls reported having met very senior Hamas people during their captivity.

Their captors also used psychological torture against the girls, informing them of the killing of the three hostages mistakenly shot by the IDF, and telling them, "This is what will happen to those who try to escape.

However, despite their conditions, the girls heard radio broadcasts occasionally or saw Al Jazeera TV broadcasts which spoke of the hostage demonstrations in Israel. They knew their families were working for their release.

During their captivity, the girls even learned some Arabic. Public broadcaster Kan reported that when the girls were transferred to an IDF helicopter for the trip to the hospital, they joked with the soldiers, telling them to speak Arabic so they could understand.

A medical source involved in receiving the soldiers said, The girls exuded resilience on stage in front of the terrorists in Gaza. This is an inner strength, that even if it turns out that the terrorists gave them drugs, the resilience they showed cannot be explained in this way.

During previous hostage releases in November 2023, Hamas is reported to have given drugs to the hostages to make them appear happy and friendly during the handover. No reports of the hostages released in this agreement having received drugs have been released so far.

This article was originally published by All Israel News.
Home News Pro-life leaders at March for Life hopeful, but cautious in Trump's second term

WASHINGTON  Pro-life leaders shared their expectations for President Donald Trump's second term at the annual March for Life, proposing potential steps his administration could take to defund Planned Parenthood and protect preborn children.

On the eve of the annual March for Life, Trump signed a pardon for about two dozen pro-life activists who were imprisoned for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The activists faced federal charges under the Biden administration for obstructing the entrances to abortion facilities.

Students for Life of America (SFLA) President Kristan Hawkins told The Christian Post that she agreed with Trumps actions, adding that she had sent him a list of activists to pardon the day after the presidential election. While she is grateful that the Republican president pardoned the activists, the pro-life leader expressed concern that Trump might assume his job is now done.

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Throughout the campaign trail during the 2024 presidential election, Trump stated that the abortion issue should be left to the states, a position many pro-life leaders criticized.

The number one job right now should be defunding and devouring Planned Parenthood, Hawkins told CP while holding a pro-life sign that read, Defund Planned Parenthood. So we are going to have to convince President Trump to join us on that.

As the pro-life leader noted, Planned Parenthood commits over 300,000 abortions a year, making it the largest abortion provider in the nation.

The SFLA president explained that the Trump administration could debar Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funding, a process intended to protect the federal government from fraud, waste and abuse.

Hawkins cited various allegations and convictions against Planned Parenthood as grounds for debarment. The pro-life leader suggested that the process of debarment could start with ones like Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, which was ordered to pay $1.4 million for fraudulently overbilling the taxpayer-funded Medicaid program.

Defunding Planned Parenthood would save more lives, really, than a late-term gestational ban, Hawkins said.

At one point during a rally held before the annual march, Trump delivered a pre-recorded speech to rallygoers, calling Roe v. Wade an "unconstitutional decision" that kicked off "50 years of division and anger." The Republican leader vowed to "stop the radical Democrat push for a federal right to unlimited abortion-on-demand up to the moment of birth and even after birth.

This, combined with Vice President J.D. Vance speaking at the March for Life rally, makes Marjorie Dannenfelser hopeful about working with the Trump administration. The president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a pro-life political organization, told CP that there is evidence the Trump administration will continue to support the movement.

Dannenfelser pointed to Trumps statement of administration policy released last Thursday, which endorsed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a law that would require infants who survive an abortion attempt to receive medical care.

On Friday, Trump also issued executive orders that reinstated some of the pro-life policies from his first administration, including the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy, which requires foreign nongovernmental organizations to prove they dont use funding to assist with providing abortions abroad.

According to the SBA Pro-Life America president, the group has sent a statement to the Trump administration that outlines the pro-life policies it expects to see.

For the first time since 2017, we have a shot at defunding Planned Parenthood, Dannenfelser said. And what I'm hearing on both sides of the Capitol, Senate and House, especially among new leadership, is, Yes, its time to do that.

In addition to defunding Planned Parenthood, Hawkins wants to see federal action against chemical abortion drugs. The national pro-life organization has advocated for state and federal policies to address abortion drugs, such as the Clean Water for All Act, intended to combat water pollution by chemical abortion drugs.

Something no one wants to talk about is where all of the babies in chemical abortions go, the SFLA leader said.

[The Clean Water for All Act] doesnt ban abortion, it doesnt ban chemical abortions, she added. It simply says that, if you are going to do these abortions, women must collect the remains of their children. This would bring the abortion industry in line with the laws of our land.

Jeanne Mancini, former president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, and the organizations new President-elect, Jennie Bradley Lichter, emphasized the organizations non-political nature. Now that Trump is president, both pro-life leaders expressed an eagerness to see how he governs.

What I have seen up close from being on the president's policy team in the first administration is the way that he governed as a pro-life president, Lichter told CP. He put so many wins on the board for life in that first term. That's the president that America reelected, right?

So I'm excited about that president returning to office and seeing what hes going to do this time, Lichter added.
Home News Texas pastor rejoices with family of hostage released by Taliban: It was Gods timing

Pastor David Theobald rejoiced with Ryan Corbetts family in Texas as he returned home after being held captive by the Taliban for nearly 900 days. Theobald credited Gods timing for the safe release and joined the Corbetts in celebrating their long-awaited reunion.

Corbett, who was abducted in August 2022 while on a business trip and held by the Taliban for 894 days, reunited with his relatives in San Antonio, Texas, before planning to return to his hometown of Dansville in Livingston County, Spectrum News reported.

Corbett spent his first hours back on U.S. soil with close family members after his arrival early Wednesday morning. His family later issued a statement expressing their gratitude for his release and requesting privacy while he recovers from his prolonged detention.

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Theobald, who leads Grace Baptist Church in the same community where Corbetts father once served, described a lengthy period in which only a few individuals knew of Corbetts initial capture.

We had been walking with them through it for a year before they did that, he said, referring to the day Corbetts story became public. Theobald called the knowledge of Corbetts situation a huge responsibility, explaining how church members kept the familys struggle private until authorities made the case more widely known.

Theobald first met Corbetts family 15 years ago when he took over pastoral duties from Corbetts father.

The pastor said the church played an integral part in providing emotional support. For months, the family fought in silence, only finding peace in the Grace Baptist Church community, he told Spectrum News. He credited the family for staying involved in worship activities, noting that Corbetts children sing, play instruments and assist in the sound booth.

Corbetts wife, Anna, teaches violin and has also performed at church events.

Upon hearing about Corbetts release, Theobald received a phone call from Anna. He said he could sense her joy beaming through the phone.

The pastor added, I was just overwhelmed. I was trying to find words. I was trying not to ball like a baby.  I just rejoiced with her.

Corbetts release came as part of a swap in which an Afghan national convicted of drug smuggling and extremism in the U.S. was sent back to Afghanistan, according to Reuters.

The newswire cited a spokesman for the Taliban who said two Americans were released. The other American is William McKenty.

Corbett and McKenty were transferred through Qatar before returning home last week, CBS News reported.

Afghan Foreign Ministry officials said they had traded them for Khan Mohammed, who received two life sentences in a 2008 trial in the U.S., according to The Associated Press. Mohammed, 55, had been detained on the battlefield in Afghanistans Nangarhar province and later flown to California, where he was found guilty of securing heroin and opium bound for the U.S. and, in doing so, aiding terrorist activities.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on social media platform X that the Taliban might be holding more American hostages than publicly known. If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG bounty on their top leaders.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor has filed applications for arrest warrants targeting two Taliban leaders, including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada. The charges concern the alleged persecution of women and girls in Afghanistan following the Talibans takeover in 2021, which occurred soon after U.S. troops withdrew from the country, ending two decades of conflict.
Yad Vashem (Photo: Unsplash/YangJing)

The many stories of those who secretly worked to save Jewish lives and resist the Nazis in WWII are deeply fascinating and moving. They were often driven by a deep faith that God was protecting and helping them in their work.

Amid the deep darkness of World War II, there are many shining lights of courage, love and determination who opposed the Nazis and sought to protect and hide Jewish people from destruction. There were at least 28,000 lights in fact, who Yad Vashem would later award the title of "Righteous among the nations" due to evidence of their loving actions.

Many were Christian, a small number now famous, but most of these great heroes are little known today.

Here are some of these heroes and the faith that inspired them:

Corrie ten Boom

One of the best known of the Christian Holocaust rescuers, Corrie and her devout family lived in Haarlem in Holland, quietly doing good works. When the Nazis invaded, they were horrified. Corrie's father, Casper, had a clear theology about the horrific attacks on the Jewish people they began to witness with their own eyes: "I pity the poor Germans, Corrie. They have touched the apple of God's eye." The family's response was to welcome Jews into their home and create a "hiding place" in their attic in case of raids, which became the title of her famous book and a film about the events.

Sadly one day the Gestapo arrived, and the entire family was arrested. Most died in captivity though they would still encourage and share their faith with their fellow inmates. Corrie survived the war, writing and speaking movingly of her sister Betsie's death in the diabolical Ravensbruck camp where they were imprisoned. Corrie recorded her sister's famous quote, all the more poignant for the hellish place she was in: "There is no pit so deep, that God's love is not deeper still."

Monsignor Jules-Geraud Saliege

Monsignor Saliege, the Archbishop of Toulouse during wartime, was horrified by the actions of the Nazis he witnessed all around him. When non-French Jews began to be rounded up and sent away, he ordered a pastoral letter to be read in every pulpit on August 23, 1942, describing the "dreadful sight" of the deportations: "The Jews are men, the Jewesses are women. The foreigners are men and women. One cannot do anything one wishes to these men, to these women, to these fathers and mothers. They are part of the human race; they are our brothers like so many others. A Christian cannot forget this."

Though the Nazi-collaborating authorities tried to forbid the reading of the letter and demanded a retraction, the "Saliege bomb," as the letter became known, had a powerful reach. It would be published much wider than the diocese, and emboldened many other bishops, priests, religious and resistance fighters to work against the evil plans of the Nazis.

Ivan & Serafima Yatsyuk

David Prital (previously Prinzental) had been hiding in a Polish household but like many of his fellow Jews he was forced to find a new place of refuge. He was guided to the home of Ivan Yatsyuk, a peasant in a Baptist community that had a particular love for the Jewish people. On his arrival, the situation was understood immediately. Ivan said to his wife: "God brought an important guest to our house. We should thank God for this blessing," as told by historian Sir Martin Gilbert in his great book celebrating the rescuers: "The Righteous: the unsung heroes of the Holocaust".

Prital was astounded by his welcome: "They kneeled down and I heard a wonderful prayer coming out of their pure and simple hearts, not written in a single prayer book.... Was it a dream? Was it possible that such people still existed in this world?"

Before their first meal together, the couple read a chapter of the Bible. "This is the big secret," thought Prital. "It is this eternal book that raised their morality to such unbelievable heights. It is this very book that filled their hearts with love for the Jews." He would survive the war.

Saveliy & Oksana Mironiuk

Another Baptist couple, the Mironiuks (or Mironyuks), lived in the same region and were asked by the Yatsyuks to shelter Prital and other Jewish people at various different times. In late 1943, when a young Jew in hiding, Ignacy Shats, was in the Mironyuks' home, German soldiers and Ukrainian policemen began to conduct searches in the village. Realising there was no time to hide, the Mironiuks "fell on their knees and began to pray" according to the website of Yad Vashem, the international Holocaust Remembrance organisation. "The Germans, who conducted the search, overlooked their home and Shats was saved. The Mironyuks and all the other Baptists in their community saw this as a miracle and for many years afterwards members of the community told the story." Shats would survive the war.

Father Marie-Benoit and Fernande Leboucher

Father Marie-Benoit faithfully forged identity papers, issued baptismal certificates, and arranged hiding and escape for the many Jewish people who sought his aid  in all he saved 4,000 lives.

He told a distressed Mdme Leboucher whose Jewish husband was held in a camp to pray, as God loved the Jewish race. It was good advice, and the beginning of an astonishing adventure, as they worked together to help as many Jews as they could.

The woman's new faith was bolstered when undergoing a terrifying ordeal. While hiding six Jewish refugees in her home, the apartment block was subject to a random search by the Gestapo. Her guests urged her to turn them in, so she could avoid a fate worse than death for hiding them. Instead, she decided to pray: "Fr Benoit, I am calling you through heaven, as you told me to do. Help me now!" as recounted in her memoir of her experiences.

The terrified group waited quietly as they heard heavy boots tramping up and down the staircase outside, as the other apartments were searched. Inexplicably, their flat remained unmolested. This apparent miracle emboldened Mdme Leboucher in her mission: "Since that day, an almost supernatural strength was within me. The more dangerous the mission, the more exciting I found it ... I would hear an interior voice saying, 'Go. Don't be afraid.'" She would never doubt the existence of a good God from that point onwards.

Reverend Otto Morike

Rev Otto, like many other members of the Confessing Church in Germany, was outspoken in his opposition to the Nazis. For publicly criticising the government, he was beaten by a mob and deprived of ministerial positions. He spoke boldly of the judgement that would fall on Germany as a result of their actions: "Aggression against the church and the Christian faith as well as the abolishment of justice and morality are the beginning of a trend that will earn the condemnation by God and therefore the destruction of our country."

He earned the title of "Righteous among the Nations" for hiding a Jewish couple in his house, and finding them other places to stay.

Wilm Hosenfeld

Probably one of the most difficult awards of the 'Righteous among the Nations' title was that of this German soldier and member of the Nazi Party in 2008. But Hosenfeld's actions in helping a number of Jews  most famously, musician Wadysaw Szpilman as portrayed in the film The Pianist  grew out of his deep personal faith and his growing horror at the Nazi violence that he saw all around him.

He wrote on September 1, 1942: "Because humanity had to be shown where its godlessness was taking it ... This denial of God's commandments leads us to all the other immoral manifestations of greed: unjust self-enrichment, hatred, deceit and sexual license resulting in infertility and the downfall of the German people. God allows all this to happen ... to show mankind that without him we are only animals in conflict, who believe we have to destroy each other. We will not listen to the divine commandment: 'Love one another'... and must die, guilty and innocent alike."

He had observed atrocities against the Jewish people first-hand, and would write home: "With horrible mass murder of the Jews, we have lost this war. We have brought an eternal curse upon ourselves and will be forever covered with shame. We have no right for compassion or mercy; we all have a share in the guilt. I am ashamed to walk in the city."

This is just a small number of the faithful who worked to save innocents during WWII, inspired and strengthened by the love and power of God.

Heather Tomlinson is a freelance Christian writer. Find more of her work at https://heathertomlinson.substack.com/ or via X (twitter) @heathertomli
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that new immigration pilots for home care workers will open on March 31, 2025. These new pilots are referred to collectively by IRCC as Canadas Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots.

These pilot programs will replace the previous permanent residence (PR) pathways for caregivers, which have expired.

Home care workers who are eligible will be able to receive permanent residence upon arrival through these new pathways.

Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration

Who is eligible through these new pathways?

To be eligible for these new enhanced care worker pilots, foreign nationals must

Have official language ability equivalent to a level 4 based on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) scale;

Hold the equivalent of a Canadian high school diploma;

Have recent and relevant work experience*; and

Receive an offer of full-time employment for a home care job.

*As of June 16, 2024, candidates for previous home care worker immigration programs only required 6 months of eligible experience to qualify for permanent residence.

IRCC has yet to announce further details and eligibility requirements.

Background

IRCC first announced its intention to open new immigration pilots for home care workers on June 3, 2024. At the time, few details were given apart from the eligibility criteria.

Shortly afterward, on June 17, 2024, the immigration department closed the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot. The new Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots will replace the previous caregiver immigration pathways.

The closure of the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot also marked a temporary pause in specialized immigration pilots for caregivers. Previous immigration pathways for caregivers included

The Live-in Caregiver Program (closed in 2014);

The Caring for Children Pilot (closed 2019);

The Caring for People with High Medical Needs Pilot (closed 2019);

The Interim Pathway For Caregivers Program (closed 2019); and

The Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot (closed 2024).

In its 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan, IRCC has allocated a total of 10,920 new immigrant admissions spots through Federal Economic Pilots, under which the new Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots will fall. While the allocation for this pilot is not currently known, IRCC will have to divide these 10,920 new immigration admissions for 2025 between

The new caregiver pilots;

The Agri-Food Pilot;

Community Immigration Pilots; and

The Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot.

Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration
Acted is looking for a reliable and hardworking Cleaner to join our team. The ideal candidate will take pride in maintaining cleanliness and ensuring a safe and pleasant environment for all.



Salary: 11 000 lei

Location: Chisinau

Schedule: Full-time

Experience: It's an advantage

REQUIREMENTS:

RESPONSABILITIES:

TOP REASONS WHY OUR EMPLOYEES CHOOSE TO WORK WITH US?

The selection procedure consists of the following steps:

How to apply?

Mandatory to send your application to mda.hr@acted.org, ensure to include your English CV in PDF format, max 4 pages and recommendation letter. Also, share with us name and contact details of your line manager and HR manager during last job.



Before applying, note this is a full time position!

Ensure that you have read the requirements for the position and you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.



Acted - reserves the right to cancel or stop the selection process at any time.

*All of the information you provide during the application process will only be used for the purpose of progressing your application, or to fulfil legal or regulatory requirements if necessary. It will be held securely by us whether the information is in electronic or physical format.

DEADLINE: 10/02/2025

Alte articole de la acest autor:
Introduction.

These Terms of Reference (ToR) outline the responsibilities and expectations for a mentor to conduct individual mentorship sessions on "Mentorship and Advocacy for Entrepreneurship and Business." This activity is part of the Livelihoods Initiatives project implemented by Acted in collaboration with UNHCR, aimed at empowering vulnerable communities through entrepreneurship. The mentorship targets future entrepreneurs, including Ukrainian refugees, third-country nationals (TCNs), members of the local community and NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) youth in the Republic of Moldova.

Mentorship objectives

The key objectives for the mentorship sessions are to:

Mentorship format and approach

Duties/tasks and expected output.

The mentor shall undertake the following tasks:

Duration and time frame.

Mentorship sessions will be conducted both online (via Zoom, Skype, Teams calls etc.) and offline in Chisinau and other suitable locations. The assignment is expected to be implemented between May 2025 to August 2025. However, a detailed implementation plan is to be developed in consultation with the Acted project team upon acceptance of the bidding offer.

Submit the final assignment report within 5 days after the completion of the sessions.

Required qualifications.

Education & work experience

Work experience requirements

Languages

Mentorship will be conducted in Russian.

Fluency (oral and written) in Russian is required.

Knowledge of Romanian language will be an asset.

Desirable qualifications

Bid requirements.

Mentor who meets the above requirements should submit bids, which at minimum include the following:

The selection process of the mentor/facilitator will be based on the set of criteria developed by the Project Team to evaluate the proposals. The Project Team & Acted Logistic Department will evaluate the proposals using the combined scoring method. Technical proposals will be evaluated at 60%; whereas financial proposals will be evaluated at 40%. The short-listed bidding consultant or companies/CSO may be asked for a formal presentation/meeting prior to the final selection.

Final report and payments

This section outlines expectations in terms of final reporting and payments.

Implementation of the mentorship sessions will be during May till end of August and will be divided into 2 main lines:

Payment for the first part of service provision: after June 15th, 2025

Mentor to provide interim report and evidence on sessions/consultations provided for the first period (video, photo, recordings of sessions, screen shots, attendance sheets etc.)

Before processing the payment, a Completion Certificate will be issued and signed by both parties.

Payment for the second part of service after September 15th, 2025

The Final report will document the context in which the mentorship sessions took place.

The deadline for sending the report is up to 5 days after completion of second mentorship sessions.

Approval of the final report by the Acted Project Team (PM) will be the basis for issuing of the second payment for the second services provided.

Before processing the payment, a Completion Certificate will be issued and signed by both parties.

Deadline and submission of expression of interest by 27.02.2025 18:00 COB

Proposals should be submitted electronically to the designated Acted email addresses, as follows:

iryna.andrieieva@acted.org / sergiu.secrieru@acted.org / oxana.bulicanu@acted.org

Contact information:

vitalie.beriozov@acted.org / anastasia.terzinova@acted.org

Alte articole de la acest autor:
Call for trainers/CSOs for Entrepreneurship and Business Development trainings

Background.

Acted is an international NGO committed to immediate humanitarian relief to support those in urgent need and promote inclusive and sustainable growth. For the past 30 years, Acted has been going the last mile to save lives. It relies on an in-depth knowledge of local territories and contexts to develop relevant long-term actions, with a wide range of local and international partners, building together a 3ZERO" world: Zero Exclusion, Zero Carbon, Zero Poverty.

Acted endeavors to respond to humanitarian crises and build resilience; promote inclusive and sustainable growth; co-construct effective governance and support the building of civil society worldwide by investing in people and their potential.

In 2025, Moldova continues to grapple with the challenges of integrating Ukrainian refugees who have sought shelter and stability within its borders due to ongoing conflicts and instability in Ukraine. The situation for Ukrainian refugees in Moldova presents a complex mix of needs, opportunities, and challenges, particularly concerning livelihoods and entrepreneurship.

Moldova's evolving market landscape presents opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurship in various sectors, including agriculture, tourism, crafts, beauty sector and other services. Ukrainian refugees with entrepreneurial aspirations can explore these opportunities with appropriate support and guidance.

Despite the challenges they face, many of them demonstrate resilience, adaptability, and a strong desire to rebuild their lives and contribute positively to their host communities.

Addressing their needs, providing opportunities for livelihoods and entrepreneurship, and promoting their integration into Moldovan society are essential steps toward ensuring their well-being and fostering social cohesion in the country.

Purpose of the assignment.

Acted Moldova, with UNHCR support, will conduct "Entrepreneurship and Business Development Training" to boost business skills and encourage entrepreneurship among vulnerable people, including refugees from Ukraine in Moldova. This aims to help integrate refugees into Moldovan society long-term.

We invite trainers/CSOs to apply for the following six training topics:

Business registration in the Republic of Moldova (LOT nr.1)

Basics of accounting in the Republic of Moldova (LOT nr.2)

Fundamentals of the circular economy (LOT nr.3)

Artificial Intelligence in business (LOT nr.4)

Basics of marketing and SMM (LOT nr.5)

Business plan development (LOT nr.6)

Detailed Terms of Reference (ToR) for each LOT are available for download here:

ToR_Business Registration in RM_LOT1

ToR_Basics of accounting in RM_LOT2

ToR_Fundamentals of the circular economy_LOT3

ToR_Artificial Intelligence in business_LOT4

ToR_Basics of marketing and SMM_LOT5

ToR_Business plan development_LOT6

How to apply:

Interested candidates should submit their CV and a brief proposal outlining their training methodology to the following emails:

iryna.andrieieva@acted.org / sergiu.secrieru@acted.org / oxana.bulicanu@acted.org

Contact Information:

vitalie.beriozov@acted.org / anastasia.terzinova@acted.org

Application deadline: 27.02.2025, 18:00 COB.

IMPORTANT: Please mention the LOT number you are applying for in the email subject line.
Duration of Contract: 10 months

Contract starting date: 1 March 2025

Supervisor: Director of Programs, National Center for Child Abuse Prevention (NCCAP/Centrul National de Prevenire a Abuzului fata de Copii, CNPAC)

Workplace: CNPAC office (Chisinau, Tricolorului St., 37b), with occasional travel to districts and communities where project activities are being conducted

Type of Contract: Full-time (40h per week) Employment Agreement



Background

The National Center for Child Abuse Prevention (NCCAP/CNPAC) - a national non-governmental organization established in 1997 - is a leading organization in the Republic of Moldova dedicated to preventing child abuse, promoting childrens rights, and creating a safe and supportive environment for all children. For 27 years, CNPAC promotes children's right to protection against all forms of violence, focusing its activities on raising awareness, educating, and encouraging society to prevent and stop all cases of child abuse.

The National Center for Child Abuse Prevention (NCCAP/CNPAC) has been actively working to safeguard childrens rights and promote inclusive, safe, and non-violent environments in the Republic of Moldova. In light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and its significant impact on refugee children and their families, CNPAC has launched the project Together for Education: Empowering Refugee Families in Moldova.

The project focuses on improving access to education and psychosocial support for Ukrainian refugee children living in Cahul and Comrat. These children face barriers such as language differences, disrupted schooling, and social isolation, as many continue their education online through Ukrainian schools. By fostering community engagement and addressing these challenges, the project aims to promote the inclusion and well-being of refugee children and their families.



Role Summary

With the purpose of fulfilling the project objectives the CNPAC is looking for the Community mobilisation expert, a persons who will play a central role in ensuring the successful implementation of project activities by acting as the primary coordinator and driving force behind community engagement and project management. The specialist will oversee outreach, community mobilization, and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure that project goals are met efficiently and effectively.



Duties and Responsibilities

The Community Outreach Specialist will be responsible for a wide range of activities that ensure the successful coordination and execution of the project. The role involves managing operational aspects fo the project, but also engaging with the community and building capacity to achieve the projects.

Key responsibilities:

1. Project Coordination:

Follow the CNPAC policies and procedures in the implementation of all activities

Lead day-to-day planning, coordination, and implementation of project activities

Monitor project timelines and budget, and ensure all deliverables are achieved according to schedule

Organize all operating activities under the project

Coordinate project activities with the project partners

Monitor the activity of program consultants and provide guidance during the implementation of their activities

Review narrative reports submitted by consultants

Compile internal reports on implementation of the project and draft reports to the donors

Act as a liaison between CNPAC, local authorities, NGOs, and community organizations to ensure smooth collaboration.



2. Community Engagement:

Develop and implement community outreach strategies, in collaboration with Communication and outreach expert, targeting Ukrainian refugee families

Facilitate peer-to-peer support groups for refugee families and community members

Coordinate workshops and information sessions for parents, caregivers, and local stakeholders.



3. Capacity Building:

Support training programs for teachers, facilitators, and non-education personnel to foster inclusive and trauma-informed educational environments.

Collaborate with trainers and specialists to ensure high-quality delivery of psychosocial support and remedial classes.



4. Administrative Support:

Draft Terms of Reference for consultants, trainers, and service providers.

Elaborate terms of reference for project procurements

Oversee the organization of logistics for training sessions, workshops, and community events

Perform other duties that are essential for the quality implementation of activities



Skills and Qualifications

Essential:

Bachelors degree in Social Sciences, Education, Community Development, or a related field

At least 3 years of experience in project coordination, community outreach, or education-related roles

Proven ability to work with diverse and vulnerable populations, including children and refugees

Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines

Fluency in Ukrainian, English, and Russian (written and spoken); Romanian proficiency is an asset

Excellent organizational, planning, and resource management skills

Ability to work in a team and coordinate multidisciplinary activities

Knowledge of funding programs and experience in budget management

Strong writing skills and ability to adjust programmatic activities based on changing circumstances and in response to needs articulated by local partners and program stakeholder

Strong computer skills

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and collaboration among stakeholders and beneficiaries

Ability to manage multiple tasks and to meet set deadlines

Training in project management, M&E, and other relevant fields for this position, with certificates

Commitment to principles of equality, non-discrimination, and child safeguarding.



Application Procedure

Interested candidates are invited to submit the following documents:

- Motivation letter outlining their suitability for the position.

- Curriculum vitae (CV), including contact details for three professional references.

Applications must be submitted via email to concurs@cnpac.md with the subject line Community mobilisation expert by February 10, 2025. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Only individuals who have submitted the required documents and, according to the data in their CV, meet the specified conditions will be invited to participate in the selection process for the position.

Organization of the competition:

The competition will consist of a written test and an interview. The topics of the written test will assess professional knowledge. Candidates who pass the written test will be invited to an interview with the selection committee.

CNPAC encourages early applications and reserves the right to conduct interviews with potential candidates before the job posting deadline.



Equal Opportunity Statement

CNPAC is an equal-opportunity employer. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

Note: CNPAC processes personal data in accordance with the provisions of Law 133/2011 on the protection of personal data. By submitting your application, you agree that your personal data will be used in the recruitment process. Documents containing personal data will be kept only for the recruitment period.

The recruitment procedure of the National Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse (CNPAC) is based on our firm commitment to the protection against all forms of violence against children within our projects and activities, as well as outside the organization. CNPAC has a child protection policy; the selected candidate will sign a statement agreeing to adhere to this policy. Additionally, the selected candidate will commit to respecting all internal policies of the National Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse.
The former chief executive of Oxfam has said the country needs a charity sector that can deliver systemic change and fundamentally rewire our society.

In a speech last Friday, Danny Sriskandarajah, who joined the New Economics Foundation as CEO last year, said the sector needs to do more than simply tweak the system to make it a little bit better.

At the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Waless annual charity conference, Sriskandarajah discussed how civil society can deliver a more just and sustainable future.

He also said organisations and institutions that will thrive in this century are the ones that involve and engage people in equal, participatory ways.

We hold the keys

Sriskandarajah said the idea that charities are here to do good work alongside the state and the market is fundamentally problematic today, citing challenges such as low levels of trust in politicians, divided societies and fake news.

He argued that one should not assume that charities can simply tweak the system to make it a little bit better and that we can make some incremental changes and put a band-aid over here.

Instead, what we need is a voluntary sector that can and must deliver systemic change and fundamentally rewire our society, he said.

The reason I remain so hopeful, and why Im proud to be part of our sector, is because I think we hold the keys to doing that.

I trust us more than I trust our politicians or business leaders and certainly the techno feudalists that run the digital economy because I think within our hands lies the potential to rewire the way that public participation works in politics and rewire and re-imagine new forms of economic organising that put people and planet first.

More cooperatives, mutuals, citizens, assemblies and direct participation: those are the things that the charity sector can do in powerful, innovative ways.

Taking accountability at Oxfam

Reflecting on his experience as Oxfams CEO, Sriskandarajah said accountability at the charity wasnt enough.

It turned out, for a bunch of reasons, that we needed to think again about what accountability meant for us and in this era.

We set about doing a few things. One was an accountability to the people we served, particularly to prevent harm.

Many of you will be familiar with the very high-profile failures of Oxfam and other organisations in the development sector when it came to sexual misconduct. There were systemic safeguarding failures such that these organisations were allowing harm to happen.

In the rush to do good, save lives and respond to emergencies, they were allowing harm to be done.

A fundamental part of restoring trust at Oxfam, he said, was thinking about accountability, for example, in that way, trying to make sure that we minimise the risk of harm externally.

Changes included looking at the charitys governance and leadership structures and creating a global assembly to increase transparency, diversity and accountability.

Involving and engaging people

Sriskandarajah also said the organisations that will thrive in the rest of the 21st century are the ones that are going to be much better at involving and engaging people in more meaningful and hopefully more equal, participatory ways.

You dont treat people in a paternalistic, extractive way. You empower them and bring them into your organisation.

Some of the most interesting things I see in the wider society are new forms, sometimes old forms, of organising life and human activity that are much more cooperative and based on mutual.

He gave the example of his foundations work with credit unions, which have been around for hundreds of years in many parts of the world.

Credit unions are a fabulous example of thinking about financial inclusion, not through the charitable model of donating to or helping people out, but instead empowering people who might be financially vulnerable or insecure to become members and co-owners of the very financial institutions that will hopefully make them more financially secure.
Merck & Co. is facing its first jury trial over claims the company wrongfully marketed its lucrative Gardasil cancer vaccine as safe, the latest high-stakes litigation for the pharmaceutical giant.

Lawyers for a Los Angeles woman will argue Monday that the second-largest U.S. drugmaker by revenue misled consumers by overstating the benefits of the HPV vaccine and downplaying its risks. The shot is given to prevent human papillomavirus, which researchers have tied to cervical and other cancers.

Jurors will be asked to decide whether Merck withheld side-effect reports from US drug regulators weighing the vaccines safety and launched misleading marketing campaigns to turn the drug into a blockbuster product. Merck racked up more than $8 billion in Gardasil sales in 2023.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trumps nominee for health secretary and a longtime plaintiffs lawyer, stands to benefit financially if the litigation succeeds.

This case has monumental significance to public health and the ways we trust companies who produce vaccines, Mark Lanier, a lawyer for plaintiff Jennifer Robi, said in an emailed statement. Lanier has won multiple billion-dollar verdicts against other drugmakers.

Merck denies it mishandled Gardasils marketing and says it properly outlined the vaccines potential side effects on its safety label. An overwhelming body of scientific evidence continues to support the safety and efficacy of our HPV vaccines, Robert Josephson, a spokesman for Rahway, New Jersey-based Merck, said in an emailed statement. The plaintiffs allegations have no merit, and we remain committed to vigorously defending against these claims.

Kennedy has collected fees over the years for referring potential vaccine victims to a law firm that is spearheading the Gardasil litigation. As the founder of the nonprofit Childrens Health Defense, where he was a prominent skeptic of vaccines, Kennedy has criticized Gardasil as dangerous and defective.

Kennedy said in a federal ethics disclosure form that if confirmed as health secretary, he will still receive Gardasil referral fees. A press representative for Kennedy didnt respond to phone calls seeking comment.

Vaccine Program

As head of HHS, Kennedy would oversee the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, set up in 1988 to compensate people injured by childhood vaccines. Since its inception, the program has paid out almost $5.3 billion to victims, according to the government.

As part of the system, injured claimants  such as Robi  have to first bring their cases in a special non-jury vaccine court, where judges decide whether injuries warrant compensation. If plaintiffs dont recover or their case isnt resolved in a certain amount of time, they can take their claims before a jury in the regular court system.

Government statistics show that about 73% of the 664 HPV vaccine claims over a 16-year period starting in 2006 resulted in no compensation or were dismissed. Since HPV cases havent had much success in vaccine court, attorneys have pulled petitions from that venue after the required period and are pursuing conventional civil suits, said Renee Gentry, director of the Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Fast Heartbeat

In Robis case, a vaccine-court judge said in 2015 she couldnt prove Gardasil caused a heart ailment that left her confined to a wheelchair. Robis lawyers filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court the next year, alleging she developed Postural orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) from the shot. That ailment features a chronically fast heartbeat when a victim stands, which can lead to fainting and fatigue. Robi also contends she developed nerve damage from the Gardasil shot.

Her lawyers say Mercks Gardasil marketing campaign failed to warn consumers and their doctors the vaccine was only effective against certain types of cancers and only had a five-year shelf life.

In its court filings, Merck points to the vaccine courts finding that Robi failed to prove her injury was actually caused by a vaccination and argues that CDC officials havent detected any safety concerns related to POTS following HPV vaccination.

Merck faces a handful of Gardasil cases in state court in California while it deals with a consolidation of about 200 other cases in federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to court dockets.

In previous high-profile litigation, Merck agreed in 2007 to pay almost $5 billion to settle personal injury suits claiming that its recalled pain drug Vioxx caused heart attacks and strokes. Last year, Merck won an appeals court ruling upholding the dismissal of almost 1,200 suits alleging its shingles vaccine, Zostavax, caused patients to develop the viral disease.

The case is Robi v. Merck & Co., BC628589, California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
Fire investigators have asked Southern California Edison Co. to preserve its equipment near the site where the deadly Eaton fire began earlier this month.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department, the lead agency investigating the blaze, asked the utility to preserve in place its transmission facilities, Edison Internationals Southern California utility said in a letter to state regulators Monday.

Related: LA Wildfires by The Numbers: Insured Losses, Total Losses, Ratings, Rates

The Eaton fire is now 98% contained, and is responsible for destroying more than 9,400 structures and causing 17 deaths, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Its one of the major Los Angeles blazes that have forced thousands of people to evacuate and are considered one of the worst natural disasters in modern US history.

Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire, but they have identified a preliminary origin area thats near three Edison transmission towers, according to the letter.

Related: Fitch Says LA Fires Could Consume 30% of European Reinsurer Natural Disaster Budgets

The company is already facing a lawsuit over the death of a woman whose home was destroyed by the blaze, while another suit alleges the fire was ignited by a powerful electric arc created by the utilitys equipment.

Edison said its complying with investigators requests. The shares fell as much as 3.1% Monday in New York.

Top photo: Eaton Fire near Los Angeles, California in January 2025. Source: CalFire.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The U.S. Department of Justice will drop a lawsuit in the coming days against an anti-abortion group accused of intimidating patients at two Northeast Ohio clinics.

Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, an off-shoot organization and several of its members were accused on consecutive days in July 2023 of antagonizing the Northeast Ohio Womens Center in Cuyahoga Falls and the Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohios Bedford Heights Surgery Center.
MIAMI TOWNSHIP, Ohio  A man who was a police officer in southwest Ohio has resigned after he was arrested and accused of secretly recording a teenager in the bathroom of a home.

Eric Gregory, 45, of Milford, Ohio, is charged with two counts of voyeurism, a fifth-degree felony, and two counts of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, according to municipal court records in Clermont County. A judge on Friday ordered that he be held in jail on a $250,000 bond.

Gregory was an officer with the Harrison Police Department. WCPO Channel 9 reports Gregory first was placed on administrative leave when the department learned of the investigation and he resigned on Friday.

A news release from the Miami Township Police Department said they were notified about the accusations involving a juvenile victim at a private residence. The department didnt say if the victim was a boy or girl, and also does not specify who lived in the residence.

WLWT Channel 5 reports court documents show a hidden camera was found inside the home. Gregory is accused of removing the SD card from the camera, cutting it up, and flushing it down the toilet. He also is accused of smashing the camera.

WCPO reports Gregory previously worked as a park ranger for the Hamilton County Park District.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump made another pitch for the United States buying Greenland, saying its for protection of the free world.

The president also reiterated his belief that Canada would be better off if it became the 51st state.

Leaders of Denmark, which owns Greenland, and Canada have both said neither idea is going to happen.

In a short Q&A session this weekend with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump suggested he thinks a deal on Greenland is possible. The island has critical natural resources such as rare Earth minerals and uranium below its snow and ice.

I think Greenland will be worked out with us. I think were going to have it. And I think the people want to be with us, Trump told reporters.

I dont know really what claim Denmark has to it, Trump said. But it would be a very unfriendly act if they didnt allow that to happen because its for protection of the free world. Its not for us, its for the free world.

The kingdom of Denmark has controlled Greenland since separating from Norway in the early 19th century. Greenland now has home-rule authority and self government powers.

Trump has said the United States should take over the massive island that occupies a strategic part of the ocean as the ice caps melt and new shipping lanes open up, The New York Times said.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, in what was described as an icy-exchange in a telephone call with Trump shortly before his inauguration, made various suggestions for more cooperation on military and economic issues, but insisted that Greenland, which already hosts an important American base, was not for sale, The Times said.

But speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump expressed confidence that the United States will take control, eventually.

I think Greenland well get because it has to do with freedom of the world, Trump said. It has nothing to do with the United States other than that were the one that can provide the freedom. They cant.

As for Canada, Trump repeatedly has said the neighboring nation has been treating us very unfairly on trade and threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods, beginning Feb. 1.

I love Canada. I have so many friends up in Canada. And they like us. They like me. But Canada has been taking advantage of the United States for years, and were not going to let that happen, Trump told reporters.

Trump told reporters Canada relies more on U.S. trade than the United States relies on Canada and that it would struggle without the United States as its trading partner.

So, I dont want to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on supporting a country unless that country is a state, Trump told reporters. And if it is a state, the people of Canada would pay a much lower tax. Their taxes would be cut in half. They would have no military problems. Theyd be much more secure in every way. And I think its a great thing for Canada.

When the notion of Canada becoming the 51st state was raised previously, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it is not going to happen.
Tanzanians join Chinese in celebrating Spring Festival

Xinhua) 08:31, January 27, 2025

DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanians from all walks of life joined overseas Chinese on Friday night to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival at a reception hosted by the Chinese embassy in the East African country's port city of Dar es Salaam.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, falls on Jan. 29 this year. It is the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar and an occasion for family reunions.

The reception was decorated with colorful performances by students and teachers from the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam and an assortment of tasty Chinese food and recipes prepared by Chinese enterprises operating in the country.

"The celebrations we are holding today will uplift the already strong relationship between Tanzania and China," said Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Mahmoud Thabit Kombo.

Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian noted that 2025 is the Year of the Snake in traditional Chinese culture, also referred to as the Double Spring Year. "This designation signifies that there are two Beginning of Spring solar terms within the year, symbolizing the arrival of good things in pairs and fostering hope for vitality."

She said the Spring Festival is the oldest and most significant traditional festival in China, serving as an important occasion for bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new, as well as for family reunions.

"The festival embodies shared values of reunion and patriotism among Chinese people, both at home and abroad, while also promoting ideals of peace and harmony for all humanity," said Chen.

The Chinese envoy said the Spring Festival had been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, demonstrating China's commitment to promoting global civilization initiative, cultural exchange, and mutual learning.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
People walk towards their homes through the destroyed streets of Gaza City on January 19, 2025. T Abood Abusalama | Afp | Getty Images

Mediator Qatar announced early Monday that an agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, easing the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Qatar's statement said Hamas will hand over the civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, along with two other hostages before Friday. And on Monday, Israeli authorities will allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement said the hostage release will take place on Thursday and confirmed that Palestinians can move north on Monday. Under the ceasefire deal, Israel on Saturday was to begin allowing Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza. But Israel put that on hold because of Yehoud, who Israel said should have been released on Saturday. Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement. The release of Yehoud and two other hostages is in addition to the one already set for next Saturday, when three hostages should be released.

People hold posters of hostages Arbel Yehoud and Avinatan Or during a rally to mark the first anniversary of the October 7th terror attacks on Israel on October 06, 2024 in New York City. Noam Galai | Getty Images

In addition, Hamas in a statement said the militant group had handed over a list of required information about all hostages to be released in the ceasefire's six-week first phase. The Israeli prime minister's office confirmed it had received the list. Thousands of Palestinians have gathered, waiting to move north through the Netzarim corridor bisecting the territory, while local health officials on Sunday said Israeli forces fired on the crowd, killing two people and wounding nine. U.S. President Donald Trump meanwhile suggested that most of Gaza's population be at least temporarily resettled elsewhere, including in Egypt and Jordan, to "just clean out" the war-ravaged enclave. Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians rejected that, amid fears that Israel might never allow refugees to return. Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said Palestinians would never accept such a proposal, "even if seemingly well-intentioned under the guise of reconstruction." He said the Palestinians can rebuild Gaza "even better than before" if Israel lifts its blockade.

Dispute and shootings test fragile ceasefire

Israeli forces fired on the crowds on three occasions overnight and into Sunday, killing two people and wounding nine, including a child, according to Al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. Israel's military in a statement said it fired warning shots at "several gatherings of dozens of suspects who were advancing toward the troops and posed a threat to them." Israel has pulled back from several areas of Gaza under the ceasefire, which came into effect last Sunday. The military has warned people to stay away from its forces, which still operate in a buffer zone inside Gaza along the border and in the Netzarim corridor. Hamas freed four female Israeli soldiers on Saturday, and Israel released some 200 Palestinian prisoners, most of whom were serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks. But Israel said Yehoud should have been released ahead of the soldiers.

Four Israeli female soldiers, Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev, are released by Hamas militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, January 25, 2025. Hamas Military Wing | Via Reuters

Israel also accused Hamas of failing to provide details on the conditions of hostages set to be freed in the remaining five weeks of the ceasefire's first phase. Hamas said it had told mediators  the United States, Egypt and Qatar  that Yehoud was alive and provided guarantees that she would be released. Frustration grew among the Palestinians waiting to go north as some warmed around bonfires against the winter cold. "We have been in agony for a year and a half," said Nadia Qasem. Fadi al-Sinwar, also displaced from Gaza City, said "the fate of more than a million people is linked to one person," referring to Yehoud. "See how valuable we are? We are worthless," he said.

Ending the war will be difficult

The ceasefire is aimed at ending the 15-month war triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack and freeing hostages still held in Gaza in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Around 90 hostages are still in Gaza, and Israeli authorities believe at least a third, and up to half, have died. Itzik Horn, the father of hostages Iair and Eitan Horn, called any resumption of fighting "a death sentence for the hostages" and criticized government ministers who want the war to go on. The ceasefire's first phase runs until early March and includes the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The second  and far more difficult  phase, has yet to be negotiated. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages without an end to the war, while Israel has threatened to resume its offensive until Hamas is destroyed.

Freed Palestinian prisoners are greeted by people after being released by Israel as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 25, 2025. Mohammed Salem | Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as reporters ask questions aboard Air Force One during a flight from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Miami, Florida, U.S., January 25, 2025.

U.S. President Donald Trump's late-night firing of inspectors general at multiple government agencies was criticized as illegal on Saturday by Democrats and others and drew concern from at least one fellow Republican.

In what critics called a late-night purge, Trump fired 17 independent watchdogs on Friday, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, a move that clears the way to replace independent watchdogs with loyalists.

U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, a longtime Democratic antagonist of Trump, said the action was a clear violation of the law.

"Trump wants no accountability for malfeasance in office," Schiff said in a post on platform X. "He is refilling the swamp."

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump defended the move saying "it's a very common thing to do." He did not say who would be installed in the vacant posts.

The inspectors general at agencies including the departments of State, Defense and Transportation were notified by emails from the White House personnel director that they had been terminated immediately, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The dismissals, handed out less than a week after Trump took office for his second term, appeared to violate federal law, the independent Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency said in a letter to the White House on Friday.

The law requires a president to give Congress "substantive rationale, including detailed and case specific reasons" for the dismissals 30 days in advance, the council said in the letter to Sergio Gor, White House personnel director.

Gor's Friday email to the fired inspectors cited "changing priorities" as a reason for the firings, according to the letter, reported by Politico.

"At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed Inspectors General," said Council Chair Hannibal Ware, suggesting Gor consult with the White House counsel.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general, said the firings were "plainly illegal."

An inspector general is an independent position that conducts audits and investigations into allegations of waste, fraud and abuse of power.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, a longtime supporter of inspectors general, said he wanted to know why Trump fired the watchdogs.

"There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so. I'd like further explanation from President Trump," Grassley said in a statement, adding that a detailed 30-day notice of removal was not provided to Congress.

Fellow Republican Senator John Barrasso said he believes Trump will make wise decisions on the inspectors general. "Some of them deserve to be fired," he told Fox News.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the firings "a chilling purge" and a preview of a "lawless approach" by the Trump administration.

Agencies are pressing ahead with orders from Trump, who returned to the presidency on Jan. 20, to reshape the federal bureaucracy by scrapping diversity programs, rescinding job offers and sidelining more than 150 national security and foreign policy officials.

Friday's dismissals spared the Department of Justice inspector general, Michael Horowitz, according to the New York Times. The Washington Post, which was first to report the dismissals, said most were appointees from Trump's 2017-2021 first term.

A source familiar with the issue who spoke on condition of anonymity said among the inspectors general whom Trump has fired is John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction. He was terminated on Friday evening even though his operation is due to close in September, said the source.

Many politically appointed leaders of agencies and departments come and go with each administration, but an inspector general can serve under multiple presidents.

During his first term, Trump fired five inspectors general in a two-month period in 2020. This included the State Department inspector general, who had played a role in the president's impeachment proceedings.

Last year, Trump's predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, fired the inspector general of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, after an investigation found the official had created a hostile work environment.

In 2022, Congress strengthened protections for inspectors general, making it harder to replace them with hand-picked officials and requiring additional explanations from a president for their removal.
The World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6, 2023. Aly Song | Reuters

BEIJING  A slew of releases last week demonstrate how Chinese companies such as DeepSeek and ByteDance have moved quickly with artificial intelligence models that compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT. Now, many companies in China are increasingly building on that foundation to develop products that look to go beyond a chatbot. Baidu , best known for its search engine and Ernie chatbot, said Tuesday its generative AI-integrated Wenku platform for quickly creating powerpoints and other documents had reached 40 million paying users, with revenue up 60% from a year ago as of the end of last year. Updated features, such as using AI to generate a presentation based on a company's financial filing, started being rolled out to users in the last week. On the corporate side, Gartner data and analytics director analyst Ben Yan estimates more than 10% of businesses in China are using generative AI, up from 8% about six months ago. That would be a pickup in pace  the last 2 percentage point increase in adoption took more than a year, he said Wednesday. "With our clients, we hear more and more success stories," he said in Mandarin translated by CNBC. Yan noted that so-called AI agents will help speed up corporate implementation of the new tech.

watch now

AI models focus on specific functions such as search and generating summaries, whereas AI agents are more advanced  they can automate entire processes from searching to booking. One example is OpenAI's new "Operator" function that claims to be able to make restaurant reservations on behalf of a ChatGPT user. AI agents are also on the verge of coming to the Chinese market at scale. Tencent plans to soon integrate AI agents with its messaging and social media app WeChat, CEO Pony Ma told staff in a Jan. 13 speech, according to a copy of the annual address seen by CNBC. "We believe that China's AI sector is advancing at a pace comparable to that of the United States," Jo Huang, head of private equity at Raffles Family Office, said in an email. She said the firm is considering investing in a leading China AI deep tech fund in order to capture the local opportunity. The development of Chinese AI applications creates features that are being integrated with domestic smartphones. Apple 's AI intelligence functions have yet to come to iPhone users in China. "There is also a shift towards a growing user preference for local brands that can offer advanced AI features tailored to regional consumer preferences," Wei Sun, principal artificial intelligence analyst at Counterpoint Research, said in an email Thursday. She pointed out that Chinese smartphone companies such as Honor, Xiaomi and Vivo have been able to improve user experience of AI features, thanks to efforts to improve the efficiency of AI models that can run on the device without relying heavily on an internet-connected cloud service.

Compliance hurdles

The latest developments also reflect a difference in regulatory scrutiny with the U.S., and with the kind of technology being created. Baidu's ChatGPT-like Ernie bot didn't get Beijing's green light for a public rollout until August 2023, nearly one year after ChatGPT took the world by storm. While AI models must get official certification for use in China, using them in applications is much easier, said Alex Lu, founder of Shanghai-based LSY consulting. On the side, he is working with a small team on an AI-powered tool for giving companies targeted daily insights on industry trends and global regulations, similar to the work of a human consultant. Half a year after development began in June 2023, Lu said the team began testing a product for free with potential customers, including a manufacturer of car batteries. That has provided the feedback for a product the team hopes to charge 70,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan ($9,660 to $13,790) in annual license fees, Lu said. But a bigger challenge can be getting companies to give AI access to proprietary data, or using AI-generated content commercially. "I think [multinational corporations are] much more cautious than Chinese brands because of copyrights and legal issues," Chris Reitermann, CEO of Ogilvy Asia-Pacific and Greater China, told CNBC late last year. He is also president of WPP China. He said clients attempted to use AI for campaigns, only to run into compliance issues that prevented the projects from being launched. "Local brands, they may be a little less worried about these issues, more trial and error," Reitermann said.

AI for global users
Wall Street woke up Monday to an artificial intelligence stock rout driven by the emergence of Chinese startup DeepSeek, which gained buzz over the last week for possibly building a competitive model for a fraction of the money that big U.S. companies such as Meta Platforms and Microsoft are currently spending. Early takes from the Street show analysts and strategists are concerned that capital expenditures could come down initially if the DeepSeek story is even partly true, but that overall it will prove a buying opportunity for the stocks. But for now, a major sell-off was playing out. Nvidia shares were among the hardest hit as the need for the AI leader's fastest chips was called into question. "The AI investment cycle may be over-hyped and a more efficient future is possible," wrote JPMorgan analyst Sandeep Deshpande, in a note. Here's a wrap of what major analysts are saying: JPMorgan analyst Sandeep Deshpande: "Investors are concerned that rather than impede China's progress in AI, the US restrictions have engendered innovation that has enabled the development of a model that prioritises efficiency. ... The news over the past few months has been about the huge capex announcements of Microsoft, which is spending $80bn in '25, while Meta recently announced investments between $6bn and $65bn. Open AI also announced that the Stargate project intends to invest $500m over the next four years building new AI infrastructure in the US. Thus, with these considerable sums flowing into AI investments in the US, that Deepseek's highly efficient and lower resource-intensive AI model has shown such significant innovation and success is posing thoughts to investors that the AI investment cycle may be over-hyped and a more efficient future is possible." Roth analyst Rohit Kulkarni: "Are U.S. companies (incl. Stargate) spending a bit too much on AI data centers? Yes, we are afraid so. We believe 'necessity is the mother of invention', and U.S. companies have likely fallen into the fallacy of access to unlimited capital. ... As 2025 progresses, we believe investors will begin to ask U.S. Big Tech hard questions on ways they are exploring to optimize AI capital intensity." Jefferies analyst Edison Lee: "Re-evaluating computing power needs could cause 2026 AI capex to fall (or not grow). ... We believe DS's success could drive two possible industry strategies: 1) still pursue more computing power to drive even faster model improvements, and 2) refocus on efficiency and ROI, meaning lower demand for computing power as of 2026." Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon: "Is DeepSeek doomsday for AI buildouts? We don't think so ... we believe that 1) DeepSeek DID NOT "build OpenAI for $5M"; 2) the models look fantastic but we don't think they are miracles; and 3) the resulting Twitterverse panic over the weekend seems overblown." Though Rasgon acknowledged DeepSeek's models are good. The analyst kept his outperform ratings on Nvidia and Broadcom, advising clients not to buy into the doomsday scenarios. Citi analyst Atif Malik: "While the dominance of the US companies on the most advanced AI models could be potentially challenged, that said, we estimate that in an inevitably more restrictive environment, US' access to more advanced chips is an advantage. Thus, we don't expect leading AI companies would move away from more advanced GPUs." Malik maintained a buy rating on Nvidia . Raymond James' semiconductor analyst Srini Pajjuri: "If DeepSeek's innovations are adopted broadly, an argument can be made that model training costs could come down significantly even at U.S. hyperscalers, potentially raising questions about the need for 1-million XPU/GPU clusters as projected by some...: A more logical implication is that DeepSeek will drive even more urgency among U.S. hyperscalers to leverage their key advantage (access to GPUs) to distance themselves from cheaper alternatives." Pajjuri reiterated buy ratings on Nvidia and ASML. Cantor analyst C.J. Muse: "Following release of DeepSeek's V3 LLM, there has been great angst as to the impact for compute demand, and therefore, fears of peak spending on GPUs. We think this view is farthest from the truth and that the announcement is actually very bullish with AGI seemingly closer to reality and Jevons Paradox almost certainly leading to the AI industry wanting more compute, not less." Muse said buy Nvidia on any weakness.
James McHenry testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill July 31, 2018 in Washington, DC.

The Department of Justice on Monday fired officials involved in the now-terminated federal criminal prosecutions of President Donald Trump by former special counsel Jack Smith.

The firings come a week after Trump was sworn in for a second, non-consecutive term in the White House.

"Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump," a DOJ official told NBC News.

"In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President's agenda," that official said. "This action is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government."

The number and names of the fired officials were not disclosed by the department.

But NBC reported that an official familiar with the matter said career prosecutors Molly Gaston, J.P. Cooney, Anne McNamara and Mary Dohrmann were among those terminated.

"Firing prosecutors because of cases they were assigned to work on is just unacceptable," former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance told NBC News.

"It's anti-rule of law, it's anti-democracy," said Vance, who is an NBC News legal contributor.

Fox News reported earlier Monday that McHenry had fired more than a dozen officials who worked on Smith's prosecutions of Trump.

Smith, who resigned from the DOJ on Jan. 10, had filed criminal charges against Trump in two separate cases: one in federal district court in Washington, D.C., the second federal district court in South Florida.

In the D.C. case, Trump was accused of crimes related to his attempt to reverse his loss to former President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

The election interference case was dismissed by the DOJ after Trump was elected president in November due to a department policy that bars federal prosecutions of sitting presidents.

Trump was charged in the Florida case with crimes connected to his retention of classified government documents after he left the White House in January 2021, and his efforts to prevent government officials from recovering those records from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach.

The classified documents case was dismissed in July by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon after she ruled that Smith's appointment as special counsel violated the U.S. Constitution.

The DOJ appealed Cannon's dismissal but dropped that effort after Trump was elected in November because of the department's policy against prosecuting presidents.

Correction: President Donald Trump won the 2024 election. An earlier version misstated the year.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang holds a Blackwell GeForce RTX 50 Series GPU (L) and a RTX 5000 laptop as he delivers a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 6, 2025.

Nvidia lost close to $600 billion in market cap on Monday, the biggest drop for any company on a single day in U.S. history.

The chipmaker's stock price plummeted 17% to close at $118.58. It was Nvidia's worst day on the market since March 16, 2020, which was early in the Covid pandemic. After Nvidia surpassed Apple last week to become the most valuable publicly traded company, the stock's drop Monday led a 3.1% slide in the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

The sell-off was sparked by concerns that Chinese artificial intelligence lab DeepSeek is presenting increased competition in the global AI battle. In late December, DeepSeek unveiled a free, open-source large language model that it said took only two months and less than $6 million to build, using reduced-capability chips from Nvidia called H800s.

Nvidia's graphics processing units, or GPUs, dominate the market for AI data center chips in the U.S., with tech giants such as Alphabet , Meta and Amazon spending billions of dollars on the processors to train and run their AI models.

Analysts at Cantor wrote in a report Monday that the release of DeepSeek's latest technology has caused "great angst as to the impact for compute demand, and therefore, fears of peak spending on GPUs."
Passengers wait to board an aircraft of low cost Irish airline Ryanair at the Berlin-Brandenburg airport in Schoenefeld near Berlin, Germany, on March 13, 2024.

Budget airline Ryanair on Monday reported stronger-than-expected after-tax profit for the December quarter, but once more cut its passenger traffic goal for the fiscal year to the end of March 2026 amid Boeing delivery delays.

Europe's largest low-cost carrier posted after-tax profit of 149 million euros ($155.8 million) for the fiscal third quarter to the end of December, coming in comfortably above expectations. A company poll of analysts had anticipated 60 million euros profit for the three-month period, Reuters reported.

Ryanair cited marginally higher fares due to stronger Christmas and New Year bookings, noting traffic grew 9% to 45 million passengers despite "prolonged" Boeing delays.

The low-cost airline said that, while Boeing's 737 production is recovering from a strike at the firm in late 2024, Ryanair no longer expected the troubled U.S. planemaker to deliver sufficient aircraft to facilitate full-year traffic growth to 210 million passengers across the twelve months to the end of March 2026. It downgraded this figure to 206 million.

An earlier growth target of 215 million passengers over the same period was trimmed in November.
As Nvidia and tech shares were hit hard by the emergence of a possibly cheaper and more efficient artificial intelligence model out of China, technical analysts were scanning the price charts to find both key levels where the stocks may find support as well as where a breakdown would signal more selling. For AI darling Nvidia , the dominant maker of processors to power AI, the downside floor could be reset to roughly between $115 and $120 from the $130 level seen over the past three months, according to Wolfe Research macro strategist Rob Ginsberg. For a broader reading on the technology sector, Ginsberg is watching the price of the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ), where he expects buying to kick in between the stock's recent low of $224 and about $230. NVDA 1D mountain Nvidia shares on Monday. "Something clearly spooked the Tech sector on Friday, as XLK's outside reversal after trying to breakout will likely see some healthy follow through today on DeepSeek concerns," Ginsberg wrote in a Monday note to Wolfe Research clients. "We will see if this development has lasting implications for the sector, but for now it certainly looks as though any positive momentum that was being built is reversing." Ginsberg's outlook came as tech stocks were battered Monday in a sell-off tied to China-based AI laboratory DeepSeek. Shares of Nvidia sank nearly 13%, Broadcom slumped 14%, and Micron Technology and Arm Holdings pulled back 9% each. XLK 1D mountain Technology stocks led the sell-off on Monday. DeepSeek's open-source large language model recently notched benchmarks that clocked in ahead of OpenAI's ChatGPT, which DeepSeek said cost less than $6 million. By comparison, Western companies, including Meta Platforms , Microsoft and Alphabet's Google have spent billions buying chips and building data centers to construct similar models. The sell-off also held deeper implications for the AI race between China and the U.S. and raised worries that the technology gap is closing between the world's two largest economies.
Employees say Bain & Company is the No. 1 best company to work for, according to Glassdoor's latest report of the top 100 best places to work in the U.S.

The annual report, now in its 17th year, is based on anonymous employee reviews where workers rate aspects about their job, the work environment and their employer over the past year.

Bain & Company was recognized as the top large U.S. employer for the second year in a row, and sixth time overall in the report's history. The business consulting firm is one of just two companies that have ranked among the best places to work for all 17 years, with the other being Google, ranked at No. 28 this year.

While tech companies dominate the list, other sectors make a strong showing: The No. 2 best place to work is Crew Carwash based in Indiana, and beloved burger joint In-N-Out rounds out the top three.

Here are the top 10 best companies to work for, according to Glassdoor:
Broadcom may still be positioned for gains in 2025 despite its latest pullback, according to money manager Nancy Tengler of Laffer Tengler Investments. The firm's CEO and chief investment officer joined CNBC's " Power Lunch " on Monday to offer her take on the chipmaker, as well as a pair of other market movers. Here is what Tengler, a professional investor since the late 1980s, said during the segment's "Three-Stock Lunch." Broadcom Broadcom shares slumped 17% Monday on the heels of Chinese startup DeepSeek raising concern over U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence . But Tengler is sticking with Broadcom in 2025, saying the company has "had a very powerful capital allocation plan." Notably, she also cited CEO Hock Tan's recent remarks that the total market opportunity for Broadcom's AI chips and parts for AI networking could bring in $60 billion to $90 billion a year by 2027. "I don't think DeepSeek changes that," Tengler said. "I think you're getting an opportunity to buy in at much lower levels and then get paid to wait." On top of that, Broadcom raised its quarterly dividend 11% to 59 cents per share last month. "You're just going to continue to get paid to wait as the company continues to evolve," Tengler added. Goldman Sachs Fewer regulations of business under President Donald Trump's administration could benefit Goldman Sachs , Tengler said. "Even if the Trump administration 2.0 doesn't get to 15% corporate tax rates, at 18% it adds 4% to S & P earnings," she continued. In the absence of an aggressive Federal Trade Commission challenging deals, Goldman will benefit from a rise in merger and acquisition activity, Tengler said. Tengler also believes Goldman is in its "early innings," given that it is incorporating the use of AI in areas of investment banking. Last week, the bank officially rolled out its generative AI assistant to bankers, traders and asset managers. While Goldman shares moved about 1% lower Monday, they have risen more than 10% this month, putting the stock on pace for its third monthly advance in the past four. Spotify Spotify , which Tengler called a "recession-proof name," pared early losses to move marginally higher Monday. That led the stock to extend its latest advance to five consecutive days. "[CEO] Daniel Ek said 2024 was the year of monetization  they did just that, generated earnings, and now we've got 58% earnings growth off of albeit low numbers this year," Tengler said. Spotify is on pace to rise more than 14% in January.
Fears around the future of the artificial intelligence trade pushed Nvidia shares down by nearly 17% on Monday and weighed on the stock market  but investors seem to be overreacting, according to Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors. Chinese AI startup DeepSeek spurred a sell-off Monday. The company in late December debuted a free, open-source large language model that it claims took less than $6 million to build. The development ignited fears that competitive AI models could be built on the cheap and with less-powerful chips . The tech sector sold off in earnest, sliding more than 5% on Monday as shares of Nvidia and Broadcom suffered. "To me, it's an overreaction," Lee told CNBC's "Closing Bell " on Monday. "Nvidia's decline is the worst since March 2020, and we know that ended up being a huge opportunity for investors. It's not a fun day, but I'd be looking at this as an opportunity." NVDA 1D mountain Nvidia stock. Monday's market moves also reflected a broader sense of worry that the AI race between China and the U.S. is entering a new phase with Beijing possibly pulling ahead. Lee said he would be "personally surprised if Nvidia became Betamax in the past week"  referring to the now-obsolete video cassette recording format that lost to its rival VHS  and that that would be the only situation that would justify selling the chip giant's shares to the degree seen Monday. To be sure, Lee also said time will tell if the sell-off will bear fruit and turn out to be a longer-term trend for the chipmaker. For now, he said, he stands by his view that Nvidia's slide is a buying opportunity. "We don't know if its overblown," he cautioned. Outside tech, Lee said he likes financials moving forward, adding that the sector is his No. 1 S & P 500 sector idea. "I think financials to me represent a pretty good fundamental case of change this year because we have a new administration, a Fed that is dovish, yields that aren't painful for banks  and a time when it could lead to upside for capital markets activity, and multiples are low," Lee said. Correction: Tom Lee said he thinks Monday's market sell-off was an overreaction, and he noted that Nvidia's decline was its worst since 2020. A previous headline on this article mischaracterized his statement.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs documents as he issues executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House on Inauguration Day in Washington, U.S., Jan. 20, 2025.

President Donald Trump on Monday signed executive orders aimed at reversing Biden-era military policies on Covid-19 vaccination, transgender service members and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Trump also ordered that the U.S. build its own version of Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defense system, directing the secretary of Defense to send him plans within 60 days.

The orders are the latest in a flurry of executive actions by Trump, who has pushed major changes across the federal government in his first week back in the White House.

Monday's actions include an order to reinstate people who were discharged from the military during the Covid-19 pandemic for refusing to be vaccinated against the deadly virus.

Discharged service members who seek reinstatement also will receive full back pay and benefits, the order says.

Another order seeks to "ensure the readiness and effectiveness of our Armed Forces" by undoing Biden-era gender inclusivity efforts.

That order revokes former President Joe Biden's prohibition on military discharges based on gender identity and aims to bar "invented and identification-based pronoun usage" in the Defense Department.

Trump's order also prohibits males from using or sharing "sleeping, changing, or bathing facilities designated for females."

The order drew fierce condemnation from transgender rights advocates.

"The Trump administration's unconscionable attack on trans servicemembers is an insult to the dignity, honor, and integrity of thousands of patriotic Americans who have committed to serving this country simply because of who they are," said Olivia Hunt, director of federal policy at Advocates for Trans Equality, in a statement.

"The new policies it directs the Department of Defense to adopt are discriminatory, undermine core military values, and disrespect the sacrifices made by trans servicemembers and their families," Hunt said.
Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo speaks during a press conference at the Colombian Foreign Ministry on the day U.S. President Donald Trump announced the imposition of tariffs and sanctions after Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to allow flights with deported Colombians to enter the country, in Bogota, Colombia, January 26, 2025.

The U.S. and Colombia pulled back from the brink of a trade war on Sunday after the White House said the South American nation had agreed to accept military aircraft carrying deported migrants.

U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions on Colombia to punish it for earlier refusing to accept military flights carrying deportees as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

But in a statement late on Sunday, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept the migrants after all and Washington would not impose its threatened penalties.

"The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump's terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay," it said.

Draft orders imposing tariffs and sanctions on Colombia would be "held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement", it added.

"Today's events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump ... expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States," the White House statement said.

In a statement late on Sunday, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said: "We have overcome the impasse with the U.S. government".

"The government of Colombia ... has the presidential plane ready to facilitate the return of Colombians who were going to arrive in the country this morning on deportation flights."

The statement did not specifically say that the agreement included military flights, but it did not contradict the White House announcement.

Murillo and Colombia's ambassador to the United States will travel to Washington in coming days to follow up on agreements that led to the exchange of diplomatic notes between the two governments, the Colombian statement added.

Washington's draft measures, now on hold, include imposing 25% tariffs on all Colombian goods coming into the U.S., which would go up to 50% in one week; a travel ban and visa revocations on Colombian government officials; and emergency treasury, banking and financial sanctions.

Trump also threatened to direct enhanced border inspections of Colombian nationals and cargo. Ahead of the announcement of an agreement on the flights, a State Department spokesperson said the United States had suspended visa processing at the U.S. embassy in Bogota.

Colombia is the third-largest U.S. trading partner in Latin America.

The U.S. is Colombia's largest trading partner, largely due to a 2006 free trade agreement that generated $33.8 billion in two-way trade in 2023 and a $1.6 billion U.S. trade surplus, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Alejo Czerwonko, chief investment officer for emerging markets Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, said Colombia relied on access to the U.S. market for about a third of its exports, or about 4% of its GDP.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro earlier condemned the military deportation flights and said he would never carry out a raid to return handcuffed Americans to the U.S.


Embassy of India rescues 67 Indian youth from cyber-scam centres in Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), Lao PDR. Press Release below. pic.twitter.com/zzaeKej5vm

 India in Laos (@IndianEmbLaos) January 27, 2025

At least 67 Indian nationals were rescued from cyber-scam centres in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Bokeo Province of Lao PDR, the Embassy of India in Laos said on Monday.In an X post, the embassy said that the rescued Indian youths were duped and trafficked into cyber-scam centres. These individuals were forced to work under intimidation and abuse by criminal syndicates, it added.The embassy officials responded promptly to the youth's requests for help, providing necessary assistance and facilitating their transport from Bokeo to Vientiane. Additionally, they also made arrangements for their housing and food.A team of Embassy officials travelled to GTSEZ at once and worked closely with concerned Lao authorities to achieve required procedures and paperwork to enable them to leave GTSEZ and travel to the Embassy in Vientiane, the statement read.Ambassador Prashant Agrawal met the rescued Indians , assuring them of their safety and the embassy's full support for their safe return to India. The Ambassador of India to Lao PDR also advised them on the further course of action, including filing complaints against the agents who duped them.It also noted that the officials were currently working closely with concerned Lao authorities to complete their exit formalities, after which all of them will return to India shortly.We thank Lao authorities for their cooperation. We have also requested action at their end against unscrupulous elements and the matter has been raised at the highest levels, the statement read.This rescue brings the total number of Indians rescued in Laos to 924, with 857 already returned to India. The embassy further warned Indian youth about job offers in Laos that may lead to cyber-scam activities. Indian youth who may have been promised a job in Thailand, but upon arrival there, are asked to travel by road to Chiang Rai close to the Thai-Lao border, are cautioned that this is a sure indication that they are being trafficked to GTSEZ in Lao PDR. Once they arrive in GTSEZ, their passports may be taken away by criminal syndicates and they are made to sign a so-called 'work contract' in a foreign language, which endangers them to exploitation, the advisory said.To avoid being duped, the embassy advises checking their website and contacting embassy officials, in case of any doubt.
EZULWINI  ERS Commissioner General Brightwell Nkambule has sounded the alarm on the rising trend of goods being smuggling goods through informal crossings instead of declring them at official border points. During the International Customs Day commemoration, the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) commissioner general noted that this practice undermines Eswatinis economic stability and disrupts regional trade agreements under the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). Smuggling deprives the country of critical revenue, Nkambule stated, highlighting that such practices are driven by individuals and businesses seeking to avoid declaring goods purchased from other countries. The smuggled items range from furniture and vehicles to other high-value goods, creating significant gaps in Eswatinis customs revenue. The loss of customs revenue has far-reaching implications for Eswatinis economy. Customs duties contribute significantly to the national budget, funding essential services such as healthcare, education and infrastructure development. Smuggling erodes this revenue base, placing additional strain on government resources and hindering economic growth.



Influx



Furthermore, the influx of undeclared goods disrupts local industries. For example, smuggled furniture competes unfairly with products made by local manufacturers, jeopardising jobs and reducing the competitiveness of Eswatinis economy. As a member of SACU, Eswatini relies on the customs revenue-sharing formula, which distributes income collected from imports and exports among member states.



Channels



When goods are smuggled, they bypass official channels, leading to lower recorded trade volumes and diminished revenue for the SACU pool. Nkambule warned that this issue not only affects Eswatini, but also undermines the integrity of SACUs regional trade framework. The unions financial sustainability depends on accurate declarations and efficient customs systems. Smuggling distorts trade data, reducing the collective revenue shared among SACU members, including Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.

The ERS has pledged to strengthen border security and implement advanced customs systems to curb smuggling.



Customs



Nkambule also urged citizens to comply with customs regulations, emphasising that doing so contributes to national development. As Eswatini grapples with the challenge of smuggling, collaboration between SACU member states, increased public awareness and stronger enforcement measures will be key to safeguarding the regions economic future.

Nkambule expressed appreciation to the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) that support in curbing the smuggling of goods via the informal crossings.






Art is your ticket to immortality. Write a book, and it will live on long after your physical body has been eaten by dung beetles. Even a sufficiently witty YouTube comment might last forever.

Sometimes, however, art vanishes. A song can be copied and stored in so many places that its undeletable, but it might also consist of one single recording, which is mislaid. Maybe well one day find that recording. More likely, we never will, and we can only mourn for what is lost.

5 The Original Trolololo Don't Miss Every generation has its musical anthem. The Silent Generation had Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The Boomers had (I Cant Get No) Satisfaction. Millennials had the Trololo Song. We didnt know who that Russian man was, and we didnt understand what he was saying. But we intuited that through his ecstatic singing, he was trolling the world  and we were right. His name was Eduard Khil, and that performance dated to 1976, decades before it resurfaced through the internet. The song was titled I Am Very Glad, As I Am Finally Returning Back Home. As you know, Khil didnt sing any lyrics, simply singing, Tra-la-la la-lo. But the composition, by Arkady Ostrovsky, did have lyrics, about an American cowboy coming home on his horse. Khil was singing to the Soviet public about the joy of being American, and no one at the TV station knew it. Now is when wed love to embed for you a version of the song with lyrics, including the full cowboy story. We cant. No copy of it appears to exist, anywhere. Ostrovsky died in 1967, and though Khil lived long enough to see that one clip of his become a worldwide sensation, he died in 2012. But the cowboy spirit lives on, and the time will one day come again when Russians and Americans can laugh together over something few understand. Advertisement

4 A Song Done on The Tonight Show Once In 1963, Sam Cooke stopped for the night at a motel in Shreveport, Louisiana. They didnt let him check in, because the place was whites-only. He protested, and his wife cautioned him that this might get him killed. While it did not, it did result in police arresting him for blowing their car horn loudly and interrupting other guests. This incident inspired him to write A Change Is Gonna Come. Advertisement As you can see, we do have a recording of the song today. What we dont have is a single recording of the man performing it publicly. He performed it just once, on The Tonight Show on February 7, 1964. The network was supposed to save the tape of the performance, much like Ed Sullivan would save The Beatles singing I Want to Hold Your Hand two days later. But they messed up, and the tape was lost. Advertisement He never performed the song again that year, saying it was too complicated. We assume he would have performed it eventually, after the single was released that December. But two weeks before the single came out, he was gunned down  in another motel. Though, this time, he wasnt attacked for protesting segregation. He was drunk and naked, chasing a fleeing woman and now trying to break into the managers office. Advertisement

3 The Mysterious Song Weve Been Taken to the Cleaners Advertisement We like telling you the stories behind songs, but thatll be hard with this next one. Sleuths have been unable to find the truth about it. In 1976, Jimmy Buffett released an album called Havana Daydreamin. It went through multiple versions, and one track list included a song called, Weve Been Taken to the Cleaners (And I Already Had my Shirts Done). No one has ever uncovered a copy of it, no matter how dedicated the fanbase is at cataloging every demo Buffett ever recorded. One theory is that the song was merely a substitute title for a different song, and the staff who wrote out the list preferred not to use the actual title where possible. This actual title was, Please Take Your Drunken 15-Year-Old Girlfriend Home. This song is also absent from the final album, but sleuths did manage to find a copy of it: Please take your girlfriend home

She's only 15, she shouldn't be back here alone

I'm horny and my mind begins to roam

So please take your drunken 15-year-old girlfriend home Advertisement Advertisement Yes, all of popular music was about sex crimes, for at least several decades and probably longer.

2 A Whole Skrillex Album Was Robbed From His Room Music is hard to lose once its released and many copies exist in the wild. But when you make music all on your own, and the musics all in one place, it could vanish at any time. Thats what happened to Skrillex in 2011. He was staying in a hotel in Milan, and his latest album of work consisted entirely of digital files stored on his own laptops and hard drives. Robbers broke into his room and grabbed those laptops and drives. Given that the stolen tracks never turned up online, we have to assume that the robbers grabbed this stuff solely because it looked like easily resalable electronics, not for the files contained on them. It's like someone stealing a laptop full with bitcoins and then formatting it to hawk at a pawn shop. Because, like bitcoins, were tempted to joke about Skrillex tracks being completely worthless, but the people who matter here value them very highly. Advertisement
Contrary to the complaints of conservative moms everywhere, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker arent only writing out of their asses when theyre coming up with the shows countless fart jokes  just ask the host of stars who smelt what the duo dealt during their earliest days in Hollywood.

In a newly rediscovered interview from 1998, the adult animation titans got candid about their pre-fame hobbies  in particular, divulging to talk-show host Dennis Miller their passion for crop-dusting Hollywoods rich and famous. When we came to L.A., we were such losers that our favorite thing to do was to go to bars and try to find someone famous and fart on them and get a picture of it, Parker told the former SNL Weekend Update anchor.

They cited Richard Dreyfus as a particularly good sport during his sulfur-infused photo-op. (I) took this picture figuring it would just be a blue bur of his shirt, Heres Trey farting on Richard Dreyfus, but it turned out pretty good, Stone recalled of the actors Close Encounter of the Turd Kind.

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Meanwhile, the superlative for stiffest upper nostril went to none other than Its Always Sunny in Philadelphias resident trash man, Danny DeVito.

The best was Danny DeVito, Parker explained, noting how the comedians famed 4-foot-10 stature made him a prime target for their olfactory antics. I mean, hes just right there, my ass.

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The sweet smell of success has never been so foul.
Paul Reubens believed that children liked Pee-wees Playhouse because it was fast-paced, colorful and never talked down to them, he told Time. Maybe thats why he believed the kiddos could handle a little sexual innuendo from time to time. While never too far over-the-top, the Playhouse was home to plenty of winking humor. Here are 8 times in particular when Pee-wee and the gang got unapologetically naughty.

1 Ride Em, Cowboy When Miss Yvonne eyes a mechanical horse in the Playhouse  Do you think hell let me ride him?  Pee-wee boosts her on top for a go. As the vibrating stallion picks up steam, Miss Yvonnes amused shouts of Whoa! become excited gasps of pleasure. When shes finished, out of breath and with a serious case of bedhead, the lovedrunk lady pats the horse on the head. Thank you, big fella! she exclaims.

2 These Boots Are Made for Walking Pee-wee gives up his wish so Cowboy Curtis can get a new pair of boots. Jambi is happy to oblige, but first, he needs to know Cowboy Curtis boot size. Size 12, double E, reveals the cowpoke. The genie smirks, impressed. Boy, big feet! says Pee-wee. Well, you know what they say, replies Cowboy Curtis. Big feet, big boots.

3 I Dont Remember By the way, Cowboy Curtis, wonders Pee-wee, whatever did happen on that date with Miss Yvonne? Not prepared to answer, Cowboy Curtin manages an ahem and a deer-in-the-headlights stare. I guess I don't remember, he manages, setting off screams because remember was the days Secret Word. Advertisement But does anyone truly forget a night with Miss Yvonne? After playing coy, Cowboy Curtis stops at the playhouse door to look straight into the camera and give the kids at home a big wink.

4 Im Donating My Dickey The gang is collecting items for a clothing drive, and Globey pitches in. Im donating my dickey! Ricardo cant believe his ears. What? Advertisement Pee-wee explains: Its a fake turtleneck. Ricardo nods but he cant stop giggling at Globeys dickey. Advertisement

5 Dr. Pee-wee Is a Sex Pest Pee-wee is giving Reba the Mail Lady a check-up, poking a thermometer in her mouth to check her temperature. In between small talk, Dr. Pee-wee remembers that hes forgotten his mirrored doctors headband. Whoops  Dr. Pee-wee drops it, allowing him to use the mirror to peek up Rebas skirt and examine her post-office panties.

6 Where Theres Smoke Fireman Frank visits the Playhouse to discuss the importance of fire safety, including smoke alarms that alert people when things get too hot. Miss Yvonne gets it. I have a smoke detector in my bedroom, she tells Fireman Frank in a throaty whisper. Over my bed. Advertisement Advertisement

7 The Invisible Man Pee-wee has turned invisible, much to the frustration of Miss Yvonne. I cant talk to someone I cant see! she exclaims. Turns out Pee-wee is right behind her, lifting her dress to get a better look at whats underneath. I see London, I see France! he cackles. Judging by Globeys leering heh heh heh, it sounds like he got a peek as well.
By chance, a man finds a plant that was previously only the stuff of legends. He discovers that it has nearly supernatural powers to heal most ailments and injuries  even to revive the dead. Is his first instinct to share his findings with recognized scientific bodies? Definitely not: hes pretty sure his once-in-a-lifetime find will mark him for assassination by Big Pharma, health insurance companies or the government  and probably all three conspiring together against cures that threaten their dominance. Can you even imagine living in such a world?

Adult Swims new animated series Common Side Effects has sci-fi elements, but otherwise seems to take place in a perfectly recognizable America, where pharmaceutical companies prioritize profits over social responsibility or care for its patients, and intractable student debt keeps desperate employees trapped in jobs for immoral employers. Basically, its come along just in time for the Free Luigi moment.

Common Side Effects, which premieres its first two episodes on Adult Swim late Sunday night, is about Marshall (voice of Dave King). An expert in quassinoid extraction, Marshall figured out how to read lottery scratch-off tickets barcodes to find winners. The $11 million he won is presumably what permitted him to take a mushroom foraging trip to Peru, where he happens to find a blue mushroom with an eerie glow. Soon, Marshall is being attacked by commandos, with an unexpected benefit: When they fatally shoot his pilot, causing a plane crash, Marshall is on the verge of dying himself when he takes a dose of the mysterious mushroom and resurrects himself, entirely unharmed.

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Terrifying though this experience is, it doesnt deter Marshall from pursuing his research on the blue angel mushroom. He even goes to a meeting for Reutical Pharmaceutical shareholders to confront CEO Rick Kruger (Mike Judge) about runoff from its facilities threatening nearby fungal communities. As Marshall is being hauled off by security guards, a woman in the wings recognizes him. She turns out to be Frances (Emily Pendergast)  now Ricks personal assistant, formerly a high school friend of Marshalls. When they reconnect  Frances quickly lying about her employment with the company that just threw him out of a hotel ballroom  he relies on their former friendship to tell her about the mushroom, and what hes been dealing with since he found it, presumably aware that hes still being surveilled by off-the-books agents working for shady figures protecting governmental and business interests, though the goons are soon joined by on-the-books DEA agents Copano (Joseph Lee Anderson) and Harrington (Martha Kelly).

Can Marshall trust Frances? How many factions will separately join the hunt for Marshall and the mushrooms? And could Marshalls discovery help Frances mother Sonia (Lin Shaye), living with catatonic dementia? The show was co-created by Joe Bennett (Scavengers Reign) and Steve Hely (30 Rock, Veep), with Greg Daniels and Mike Judge (King of the Hill among its executive producers.

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Around this time last year, I reviewed In The Know, another animated show Judge EPed and in which he voiced a character. (It has since been canceled after just one season; I imagine my review was just one of many reasons Peacock had not to make more.) Immediately, Common Side Effects asserts a stark contrast to its cousin In The Know. Its animation style is delicate and inviting, and its visual format is intrinsic to its storytelling. When a character takes a dose of blue angel mushroom, for example, we see a kaleidoscopic representation of how it acts on the body, and also how it connects that body and consciousness to everything in the universe, seen and unseen.

Okay, thats an extremely florid way of describing a process that takes just a few seconds of screen time, but thats part of my point: Even a viewer unfamiliar with hallucinogenic mushroom trips  the square writing this review, say  can appreciate the sensation as its animated. The human characters are, generally, less graceful than the ones in Bennetts Scavengers Reign  somewhere between the grotesques of Judges Beavis and Butt-Head and the figural style of Fernando Botero, with big heads and tiny hands and feet  perhaps because the character designers spent so much care on Mr. Socrates, the tortoise Marshall brought home from the contaminated site in Peru and low-key the shows most soulful character.

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In short, the show is animated because its doing things that would be less artful if it were live-action.

A show about the sick system we all live in, and about the ways for-profit health-care companies and the corrupt government benefit from a sick, frightened citizenry, could be too earnest or too depressing to engage with. But Common Side Effects is a well-built action comedy that doesnt skimp on either component. Though Marshall presents as a socially awkward neckbeard who never buttons his shirt, hes also extraordinarily intelligent and resourceful when it comes to evading the highly trained agents and henchmen pursuing him.

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But even in the middle of telling Frances the harrowing story of the raids hes survived, he can pause to marvel that another coffee shop patrons name really is Geggory; the first episode closes on him calling Frances, from the alley where hes hiding, to say some guys are after him, And I brought my tortoise. Copano and Harrington do bits running the car radio through their earpieces, Harrington grooving on the street to inaudible music while a baffled hot dog vendor looks on. Back at their office, she asks Copano, Is celery carrots cousin or sibling? When Marshall heads far south of New York, the local realtor he finds happens to be married to the sheriff, who suspiciously comments that Marshall has a New York thing going on. Hes just asking if youre Jewish, the realtor tells him  an attempt at reassurance that doesnt quite land.

Frances tech bro-y boyfriend Nick (Ben Feldman) has his moments too. Distracted by his VR headset, hes unconcerned when she heads out long after dark to meet Marshall at Tompkins Square Park, vaguely asking her to get cheese: The good kind? Has a cow on it. But hands-down the most darkly funny character is Rick, the checked-out Reutical CEO who makes Frances do all the work that makes up his supposed job. The design of Ricks character perfectly captures the exact head tilt of an old Gen Xer with a debilitating phone addiction. One of his few happy moments in the first four episodes provided to critics comes when he enhances the goat avatar in his favorite mobile game by getting it a pair of rollerblades.

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Rick mostly just bitches to Frances about the company being doomed (primarily by lawsuits from the families of patients injured by Reutical drugs), oblivious that nothing can happen to affect his material reality, while Frances struggles both to service her student loan debt and to keep her mother in a decent care facility. When Frances has to cut short a work trip to Switzerland to see Sonia, Rick sneers, Wow, you must really LOVE your MOM. Also in the mix is a shadowy puppetmaster named Jonas the Wolf (Danny Huston), who has no compunction about ordering the murder of an informant and dumping his body from a moving car, and yet Rick is by far the more hilariously detestable villain.

Amid the rest of the voice talent, King  mostly a writer on shows including The Good Place, Parks and Recreation and Shrill  sometimes feels a little subdued as Marshall. Then again, this is a character whos used to spending a lot of time alone and was probably befuddled by human interaction even before he was on the run from a conspiracy against a drug so effective it could destabilize world economies and soft-authoritarian governments. Regardless of Kings performance choices, Marshall  whos standing, mostly alone, against the double-dealing criminals of the health-care industrial complex  is extremely easy to root for. So is the show.
Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photo: Zillow

Banning the mega megamansion was one thing. There were, of course, some murmurs of disagreement when the East Hampton Town Board voted in December to amend the local zoning code and halve the 20,000-square-foot size limit of new builds to a mere 10,000  or around the size of the Lenox Hill Whole Foods. After all, it was only a handful of really, really rich people with large enough lots on, say, Further Lane who could have gone that big anyway.

But things grew considerably more testy when the town board started talking about shrinking the maximum home size for new construction for the vast majority of the lots in the town, which includes Wainscott, Springs, Amagansett, and Montauk. That kind of change would mean that everyone from speculators razing tiny cottages and replacing them with resort-style party houses to the Montauk lifers who bought one of the few remaining starter homes in the area would be at the mercy of the new code.

All of East Hampton had something to say about it. One resident pleaded with the board to consider younger generations who have taken years to save and plan for renovations that may, come this year, be off the table. A local builder sounded downright existential in an email he fired off to every brokerage in town after catching wind of the effort: The consequences of this decision will not stop at property values, he warned.

The monster mansion replacing a 100-year-old beach shack in the estate sections isnt a new phenomenon in the Hamptons. (The trend is bigger, bigger, bigger, an East Hampton broker told the New York Times back in 1999. Weve had magnificent houses to show, and people wont even look at them because the square footage isnt enough.) But the pace of that development has accelerated in recent years. Suddenly, it seems like every private road and tiny street  including the ultraquaint and seemingly sacred surfers paradise Ditch Plains Beach and the Dunes in Amagansett  became fair game for developers. Spec houses dot the landscape, and home prices raced ever upward, as available homes priced under a million dollars dropped from nearly 70 percent of the East Hampton market to 10 percent of it over the last 20 years. Environmental concerns began to percolate over the dunes, traffic, and trash.

Whats that going to look like when the dominos fall on every street in every neighborhood? Jaine Mehring, a local advocate for preservation and smaller square footage who has been crunching these numbers, tells me.

It didnt help that many of the new houses popping up were, well, kind of ugly  glass and steel and knot-less cedar monuments went up next to the hydrangea-fronted landscapes of the East End. We are all at the mercy of those with more money than taste, says a homeowner from Springs. Or as another resident of the same once-sleepy, mostly saltbox-and-bungalowed hamlet put it: When the houses start to look like hotels or airport terminals, theres something wrong.

So while the volume and particular tastes of new construction will remain untouched by any zoning changes  theres consistently between 100 to 120 permits each year (not counting the 1,000-plus permits for smaller add-ons and patios)  the town board started discussing whether the new builds will have to shrink. So how much house is too much house in East Hampton?

About 90 percent of the lots in East Hampton are smaller than two acres. The current formula holds that people can build up to 10 percent of their lot size, plus 1,600 square feet. The build formula that emerged in early meetings took those numbers down to 7 percent plus 1,300 square feet. That means the person with the smallest lot in East Hampton  just over a tenth of an acre  could build a 2,000-square-foot house plus a 600-square-foot attached-garage lot, plus a finished basement  which, at least according to rising national averages, is still a lot of house. (Not that anyone could agree on that: I once did a 2,000-square-foot house and it was really tight, a real estate agent from Sagaponack complained during a working session.)

As the working sessions dragged on, support for that formula started to fade. The conversations became circular. Even the board members seemed fatigued at the math. We split the baby and go to the 1,500, one councilmember said during the most recent meeting in January. I would just like to get to the public hearing.

And so it will go to a public hearing in March, where the town will surely fight it out some more. And why not? The resulting questions are heady. Is a 2,700-square-foot home small or just Hamptons small? Do people need a 3,500-square-foot home, or is everyone just trying to keep up with the Paltrows? Is preserving the character of a town worth a larger mudroom or extra closet? Its just a flex, said one resident who feels exhausted by living in a permanent construction zone. Everyones bored and wants to show off and spend money nonstop. Or as another told me: Selfishness has become a style of architecture.
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Where were you that historic night five years ago?

At 11pm on January 31, 2020, Big Bens bongs played forth and a packed Parliament Square cheered as Britain officially left the European Union.

We are no longer EU citizens, intoned a BBC presenter with clipped coldness.

Remainers had done their damnedest to block Brexit but eventually the divorce was complete. Union flags were lowered at EU institutions in Brussels and we were again captains of our democratic destiny. Nigel Farage, apparently completing his lifes ambition, said this is the greatest moment in the modern history of our great nation.

If Mr Farage was right, why does it not now feel more like it today? Why has he had to return to the political fray as an MP?

Why, after five years, are we not prouder of the hard-retrieved independence that has allowed us to strike our own trade deals, decide our defence policy and set our own VAT rates on everything from solar panels to tampons?

Are such things, and the sovereignty principle that underpins them, not precious?

Instead, a gutlessness infests the Westminster byways. Appeasement and drift are in the air.

Patriots in Warrington celebrate our exit on January 31, 2020 when, at 11pm, Big Bens bongs played forth and a packed Parliament Square cheered as Britain officially left the European Union. We are no longer EU citizens, intoned a BBC presenter with clipped coldness

We now have a Prime Minister who, on February 3, will attend a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels.

Did Brexit not enable our PMs to swerve those absurd cordon bleu waffle-fests? Yet off Sir Keir will toddle to Belgium and his attendance will be paraded by the European Commission as a clinching defeat of the scurvy Brexiteers.

See how the British have had to come crawling back to our mighty empire and its foie gras dinners! EU imperialists will crow.

Sir Keir Starmer, who tried to stop Britain leaving the EU, will eagerly collaborate with their morale-sapping ploys. He does love a foreign jaunt, after all.

Brace yourselves for the family photograph as Sir Keir is swallowed back into the Club Mediterranee maw of toupeed, polyglot non-entities who lead the EUs member states.

What a sickening spectacle it will be. Yet Sir Keir will consider it time well spent, demoralising further a British public who so impertinently voted Leave in 2016.

Quentin Letts says that for all the elitist brainwashing, the facts show that Brexit has been beneficial. It has saved us billions of pounds and been vital in geopolitics, he argues

Morale is important and opponents of Leave have thrown a vast, damp blanket over perceptions of Brexit. Our economy may not be doing brilliantly, particularly after Rachel Reevess Budget, but there are numerous EU treasuries in a worse state. Likewise, our society is more harmonious than many in Europe.

Dont expect to hear that from our governing class. They have successfully, disingenuously, prevented British independence becoming an obvious liberation and economic boon.

And now they are being highly evasive about rumours that they will climb back into bed with Brussels, with apparent plans to join a Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention on customs agreements. Even more worryingly, EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic is talking of regulatory dynamic alignment between Europe and Britain. Thats another way of saying wed be throwing away our independence again.

So cocky have the Rejoiners become, so sure they can sew us back into the Single Market straitjacket, that the supposedly impartial Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord McFall, recently talked about how we are out of Europe at the moment. At the moment! The words until we rejoin the great federalist project went unspoken but they were surely intended.

The fates were not kind to Boris Johnson. Soon after that night of celebration five years ago the world was hit by the pandemic.

How enthusiastically the Left supported lockdown. I sometimes wonder if Sir Keirs enthusiasm for extending furloughs and mask mandates and other horrors of that illiberal time had more to do with a desire to ensure that our Brexit-era economy was banjaxed. That way he could argue that leaving the EU had not brought us any benefits.

Having won last Julys general election, Sir Keir and his Europhiles rule the London roost. The recent appointment of Sir Olly Robbins as permanent secretary of the Foreign Office acts as further evidence of Remainers regained dominance.

As Theresa Mays chief Brexit negotiator from 2017-19, Sir Olly was widely considered a Europhile dud. Now hes our top foreign-policy mandarin.

His appointment is of a piece with the downbeat mood among bien pensants. The Lib Dems keep moaning about Brexit and calling for it to be overturned. In Whitehall a 100-strong squad of civil servants (nicknamed the Surrender Squad) is working to re-set our relationship with Europe.

When Brexit is mentioned in the Commons, Labour MPs point childishly at Tories as if to say its all your fault.

Quite apart from scorning the 2016 referendum result and being out of kilter with Trumpian Americas bracing self-confidence, this defeatism is a rotten negotiating position before the long-scheduled review of post-Brexit agreements with the EU.

Remainers had done their damnedest to block Brexit but eventually the divorce was complete

But with the Remainers propaganda effort having been so persistent there seems little appetite in our elite for national confidence. Well-to-do types still adorn their social-media feeds with photos of the 12 EU stars and the hashtag FBPE, for follow back, pro-European Union.

Theres an Establishment push for a sell-out.

Alas, the Civil Service, think-tanks, judiciary and the bishops (who campaigned so nakedly against Brexit) regard any sense of national pride in a Brexit Britain as vulgar; and the BBC certainly wont hear of it.

For all the elitist brainwashing, the facts show that Brexit has been beneficial and been vital in geopolitics.

Had we still been in the EU when Russia invaded Ukraine, it is likely that EU sincere cooperation rules would have prevented Boris Johnson from riding to Kyivs defence. Germany, being so dependent on Moscow, would have said nein!

Thanks to Brexit we have joined the Pacifics CPTPP trade alliance which, unless Sir Keir ignores it, could be a route to riches.

We have been spared paying billions in EU membership fees and we now keep all our customs income (billions more).

We have dodged being milked by the EU Covid recovery fund and new EU levies such as the plastic packaging charge. By running our own emissions trading scheme instead of being part of the EU one, we have multiplied takings by about five.

Brexit Britain can set its own contactless payments limit of 100 instead of having to accept the EUs 50 limit. We have been able to scrap taxes on 47 per cent of imports.

We have saved the City of London from commodity position limits, pay constraints and trading caps. There is plenty more of that sort of thing and that is before one considers the damage Donald Trump could do to the EU in trade tariffs  and the different sort of deals we could strike with him.

The Mails front page on January 31, 2020

Distracted by Covid and internal squabbles, the Johnson and Sunak governments forgot to highlight these benefits and failed to grab other opportunities. They lost their nerve on scrapping hundreds of regulations. The Treasury lacked the radical imagination to see how lower taxes and public spending could turn Brexit Britain into a Singapore-on-Thames.

Former Tory MP Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg admits that his party made mistakes but argues that slowly, but surely, Brexit is happening and every day were out it becomes more unlikely we could ever rejoin.

He cites furthermore the EUs Luddite opposition to artificial intelligence, which is likely to push investors towards a more pro-AI Britain. The EU is denying itself the next technological change, says Sir Jacob.

He hopes new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch will promise to repeal any damaging new agreements Sir Keir makes with Brussels. The EU doesnt like to do deals that wont last.

Oddly enough, there is one other policy made possible by Brexit: the hike in VAT on private school fees.

Its going to cost me a fortune, coughs Sir Jacob, but it would not have been possible under EU rules. However, it was in the Labour manifesto and thanks to Brexit we are now governed by the politicians that the voters elect.

Yes, the rapacious taxation of Eton parents was made possible only by Brexit.

Even Sir Keir Starmer and his class war-waging education secretary Scary Bridget Phillipson could surely get behind that!
Donald Trump was careful to note the political differences between him and Sir Keir Starmer as he delivered his initial pronouncement on the PM.

Hes liberal, which is a bit different from me, said the President, with uncharacteristic understatement.

He went on to cautiously commend Sir Keir for doing a very good job thus far.

The PM would be wise to remember the mercurial Mr Trumps verdict on Theresa May when she was in Downing Street.

The relationship between the two leaders was initially warm. However, within 18 months the President blasted her very unfortunate handling of Brexit negotiations and observed that Boris Johnson, who had just resigned from her Cabinet, would make a great Prime Minister.

Sir Keir has escaped, for now, the type of uncomfortable tongue-lashing delivered to the prime minister of Denmark by Mr Trump over his Greenland aspirations.

But real dangers to the special relationship exist, for example, in Labours ridiculous proposals to hand control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, an ally of China.

Donald Trump was careful to note the political differences between him and Sir Keir Starmer as he delivered his initial pronouncement on the PM. Hes liberal, which is a bit different from me, said the President, with uncharacteristic understatement

Trump went on to cautiously commend Sir Keir for doing a very good job thus far

Donald Trump and then-PM Theresa May in 2017. The PM would be wise to remember the mercurial Mr Trumps verdict on Theresa May when she was in Downing Street

Senior Republicans have now warned the same deal could also benefit Iran.

Sir Keir must ditch that plan, and his Governments obsession with the European Union. Only then will he be able to capitalise on Mr Trumps arrival in the White House as an enormous opportunity for Britain.

Council tax trauma

More than four million council tax payers are likely to suffer a very nasty shock when their bills plop on to the mat in a few weeks.

As we reveal today, a broad range of councils are looking at exploiting a loophole in the law which allows them to increase the tax by huge sums.

It will bring still deeper economic despair to many more households.

Labour has already stripped the cold weather payment from millions of pensioners, and taxed parents who choose private education for their children.

As shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith writes in the Mail, steps should be taken now to mitigate an economic implosion, including scrapping the highly damaging workplace reforms dictated by Labours trade union barons

Despite Chancellor Rachel Reevess claims that growth is the Governments number one priority, her policies simply fail to match up with that goal

Workers will begin to feel the impact of an ill-judged increase in employers National Insurance contributions from April.

As shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith writes in the Mail, steps should be taken now to mitigate an economic implosion, including scrapping the highly damaging workplace reforms dictated by Labours trade union barons.

Despite Chancellor Rachel Reevess claims that growth is the Governments number one priority, her policies simply fail to match up with that goal.

She must act quickly to ensure they do.

Copyright and wrong

High-quality publishing and other creative work are time-consuming and often costly endeavours, so it is right that they should be fully protected by copyright law.

In her amendments to proposed legislation going through Parliament, crossbench peer Baroness Kidron is seeking to ensure big tech firms pay proper heed to UK law in this area.

In her amendments to proposed legislation going through Parliament, crossbench peer Baroness Kidron (pictured) is seeking to ensure big tech firms pay proper heed to UK law in this area

As artificial intelligence develops, copyrighted work should be treated fairly.

To do otherwise reduces the likelihood of art, music, film and publishing being able to flourish in the future.

Baroness Kidrons amendments offer sensible protections and are welcomed by a broad coalition of creative industries and publishers, including this newspaper.

The baronesss amendments should be whole-heartedly supported by the House of Lords when it considers them this week.
MBABANE - The night was electric during the Rhythm and Groove Fridays at 23:28 lounge that was headlined by South African spinner Zulu Mafia.

Slotta kicked off the festivities with a sizzling set that had the audience buzzing. Following him, King heart seamlessly picked up the tempo, leaving an undeniable mark on the crowd. By 8 pm, the venue was filling up rapidly with music lovers, all eager to dive into the vibrant world of House music for the show. As the clock struck 9pm, DJ Wicked took over the decks, delivering a thrilling mix of House and RnB jams. The crowd sang along enthusiastically, their voices blending harmoniously with the pulsating beats that filled the air. Wickeds set was a perfect bridge to the main event, energising the audience for what was to come. Following him, DJ Cup closed the local acts with a dynamic performance that perfectly set the stage for the headline act.



When Zulu Mafia finally took the stage, the atmosphere shifted to one of sheer exhilaration. His ability to interact with the audience was remarkable as he understood their vibe and tailored his set accordingly. In a candid interview after his performance, Zulu Mafia expressed his excitement about his first visit to Eswatini. I had a really great time with the audience, they are such an open crowd, he said clearly delighted by the warm reception.



Significance



The DJ further elaborated on the significance of maintaining relationships within the music industry. It is very essential that as artists we look out for each other and keep on giving each other shows in different countries. I also think that your local DJs are very skilled and I am open to collaborations all we need to do is keep communication, he said.

As the night progressed, Zulu Mafias beats continued to mesmerise and the crowd remained entranced, dancing as if there were no tomorrow. The synergy between the DJ and the audience created an unforgettable experience, one that will undoubtedly be talked about for weeks to come. Rhythm and Groove Fridays once again proved to be a platform for incredible talent, showcasing local acts alongside international stars. With Zulu Mafias electrifying performance, the event not only entertained, but also fostered a sense of community among music lovers. As the night drew to a close, attendees left with memories of a spectacular evening, eagerly anticipating the next instalment of Rhythm and Groove Fridays. The blend of local and international talent continues to elevate Eswatinis music scene.
Last week in M&S, I was accosted by a fifty-something reader called Gill. Look at my complexion, she demanded, pinning me against a wall of bras.

Is it dry or dehydrated? And whats the difference? It hurts, Betts. Help!

The issue raised struck me as such a little-addressed inquiry, I should tackle it here. Besides, I owe it to Gill.

First off, whats the difference? Put simply: dryness is a lack of oil, dehydration a lack of moisture. Dermatologist and nutritionist Dr Thivi Maruthappu (clevelandcliniclondon.uk) is a dual-qualified authority. Dry skin is a type, she explains, dehydration something short-lived that can happen to any of us.

Dry and dehydrated skin can look very similar, Dr Maruthappu elaborates, but, dry skin describes a complexion that doesnt produce enough sebum, a protective layer of oil required to shield against moisture loss. Dehydrated skin is temporary and something that can take place with any skin type when there is inadequate moisture in the upper layers.

Whats the difference between dry and dehydrated skin which you'll often see in the winter? Put simply: dryness is a lack of oil, dehydration a lack of moisture

This can be caused by the weather, inappropriate skincare or scalding baths and showers.Once dehydrated skin has moisture restored, it can return to its normal baseline. However, dry skin types will always need to use rich and moisturising products to retain hydration levels.

Gills skin was  and had always been  dry. Mine has enough sebum, but was suffering weather-based dehydration. That said, age can cause crossover. Dr Maruthappu added: During midlife and beyond, oestrogen levels decline and this can impair the skin barrier causing it to become drier.

Meanwhile, Gills dry skin had also become dehydrated via Januarys Arctic winds. So whats to be done? Both situations will benefit from an improved skin barrier. Eat healthy oils to support it inside-out: nuts, avocados, seeds and oily fish. I consume Linwoods Milled Flaxseed with Bio Cultures & Vitamin D (15.92 for 2, amazon.co.uk), full of Omega 3, plus the vitamin D were all lacking in winter.

Race you to it! Bobbi Browns gel liner for her first brand was notoriously brilliant. Her Jones Road Gel Liner and Precision Eyeliner Brush (24 & 22, libertylondon.com) are even better. Think lavish pigment in a creamy, water-resistant gel formula that glides into place via a foolproof tool  then lasts. The ultimate definition for the older eye. Advertisement

Cleansing is the beginning of care. I adore Votary Rose Geranium & Apricot Cleansing Oil (55, votary.co.uk) to manage dryness and dehydration. Gentle exfoliation with a flannel will remove dead cells, solving flakiness in dry skins and dullness in dehydrated ones. Just apply moisture afterwards. But avoid actives such as retinol, AHAs, or BHAs on parched faces, as these can aggravate sensitivity. Women with a lifetime of dryness will know their favourite skin saviours, whether CeraVe or Sisley.

My dry-skinned tester is obsessed with The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + PhytoCeramides (20, Boots.com), saying: Its the perfect, plumping fusion between budget and high tech. I recommend an oil layered under moisturiser for both parties. The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil (9.70, Boots.com) combats dryness and dullness alike.

Theres a trend for using injectable moisturisers to solve dry skin, with Profhilo the name to conjure with. Here a gel largely made up of hyaluronic acid (a substance that retains moisture found naturally within the body) is injected across several areas to hydrate from within.

This will be absorbed by your system within two to three weeks. However, its collagen and elastin-stimulating effect may be visible for six months.

The latest fashionable component to be added into this mix is polynucleotides: DNA building blocks extracted from purified salmon or trout sperm.

I admit, I dont much fancy it and my go-to Dr Michael Prager observes: The hydration factor of Profhilos hyaluronic acid is tremendous  if short-lived. But, polynucleotides should not be injected. The popularity of these more gimmicky treatments is that theyre easy for inexperienced practitioners to use and make money out of.

Gill, take note.

Cosmetic craving

My boyfriend has become irresistible  not merely to me, but to everyone. The cause? Bamford Woodland Moss Eau de Parfum (from 26 for 10ml, spacenk.com).

Launched in 2021, this subtle sensation was created by perfumer Lyn Harris, inspired by the native woodlands around the Bamford Wootton Estate.

Bamford Woodland Moss Eau de Parfum (from 26 for 10ml, spacenk.com)

Its top notes are aromatic bergamot and earthy angelica. At its heart sits an elegant rose, offset by clarifying green sage. While its base is a beguiling blend of sandalwood and patchouli.

Greater than the sum of its parts, it sounds appealing on paper, but not the sexy-as-hell neck nuzzler it is. For, to smell it, is to succumb. One simply longs to bury ones face into it.

Hair rescue

Hairdresser Adam Reeds fast and fabulous conditioner seriously knocks years off locks, 6, arkiveheadcare.com

Virtue Exfoliating Scalp Treatment (46, cultbeauty.co.uk) Scented scalp stimulation plus face-cream-like repair with this alpha-keratin formula.

Scented scalp stimulation plus face-cream-like repair with this alpha-keratin formula. Arkive The Future Youth Hair Mask (from 6, arkivehead care.com) Hairdresser Adam Reeds fast and fabulous conditioner seriously knocks years off locks.

Hairdresser Adam Reeds fast and fabulous conditioner seriously knocks years off locks. Aveda Scalp Solutions Hydrating Scalp & Hair Masque (now 38.40, johmlewis.com) New from its award-winning Scalp Solutions range, Avedas skin care-quality mask.

New from its award-winning Scalp Solutions range, Avedas skin care-quality mask. Living Proof Scalp Care Density Serum (now 45.90, johnlewis.com) Used religiously, this really does seem to stimulate (shiny! not grey!) hair thickness.

Used religiously, this really does seem to stimulate (shiny! not grey!) hair thickness. Aussie SOS Supercharged Moisture Hair Mask (7.50, waitrose.com) A brilliant budget mask  detangles, adds shine, fights frizz. One tub lasts an age.
Your eyes snap open and go straight to the clock for your daily morning 'sleep maths'. How much rest have I had?

The internal calculator whirls: you've been asleep five and a half hours, maybe six. All you know is it isn't enough.

So you plod through the day with a fuzzy head and sore eyes, fuelling yourself with coffee and sugary carbs grabbed on the go  before staying up past midnight and going through the cycle again. Welcome to Insufficient Sleep Syndrome, or ISS.

As a nation, we are not sleeping well. According to research published in 2023 by Nuffield Health, just 35 per cent of British adults get a 'good' sleep at night. Of the 8,000 surveyed, 11 per cent were only getting between two and four hours a night.

One in ten of us suffer from chronic insomnia, defined as poor sleep for at least three nights a week for more than three months. But ISS has slightly different characteristics to insomnia.

Heather Darwall-Smith is a UKCP-accredited psychotherapist, sleep specialist and author of How To Be Awake, out next month.

'Unlike insomnia, where you struggle to fall or stay asleep despite your best efforts, ISS is more about sleep being consistently sacrificed,' she says.

ISS is a peculiarly modern beast. Since the pandemic, the boundary between our work lives and personal time has largely evaporated.

Miranda Levy (pictured) is the author of Insomnia Diaries: How I Learned To Sleep Again

It's common now to be looking at emails just before bed  and the anxiety caused by a tricky message hardly helps with dropping off. Then there's late-night streaming, endless scrolling on social media or online shopping.

Experts agree that fewer than six hours of sleep risks health problems. Dr Sophie Bostock, sleep scientist and behavioural psychologist, says: 'Without enough sleep, in the longer term, we struggle to focus, to learn and remember, to empathise and make logical, sensible decisions.'

Ms Darwall-Smith agrees: 'Sleepiness behind the wheel is one of the most dangerous consequences. Lack of sleep slows reaction times and impairs judgement, making driving as risky as doing it under the influence'.

Insufficient sleep whatever the cause also makes us more vulnerable to illnesses such as infections, heart disease and even Alzheimer's.

It also makes us more likely to gain weight. Various studies have shown poor sleep disrupts production of the hormones ghrelin and leptin  the hormones that control hunger. This in turn can lead to weight-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes.

So, how much sleep does a person need for it to be 'sufficient'? The current National Sleep Foundation guidelines recommend most adults sleep for seven to nine hours a night.

Ms Darwall Smith said: 'Instead of focusing rigidly on guidelines, I recommend reflecting on how sleep makes you feel and function. Experiment with different sleep patterns.

'If you're consistently tired or struggling, you still might need more sleep. But if you constantly get under six hours a night, you probably do need to address it.'

The current National Sleep Foundation guidelines recommend most adults sleep for seven to nine hours a night

TURNING INSUFFICIENT SLEEP INTO 'ENOUGH'

BE CONSISTENT: 'If you're not getting enough sleep, don't feel pressured to make drastic changes overnight,' says Ms Darwall-Smith. She suggests waking at the same time, even at weekends.

This helps regulate your circadian rhythm, the internal body clock that governs your sleep cycle.

WATCH YOUR 'SLEEP HYGIENE': Keep your room dark, quiet, and cool, maximum 18 degrees. Limit caffeine, nicotine and don't eat a heavy meal too close to bedtime. Try to get light into your eyes first thing in the morning to reboot your circadian rhythm.

BE MINDFUL ABOUT SCREEN TIME: 'The discussion around blue light and melatonin suppression is nuanced,' says Ms Darwall-Smith. 'While social media often simplifies the message 'blue light wrecks sleep' the story is a little more complicated. Ask yourself: is the stimulation caused by devices sucking my attention?'

Guided meditation might help, social media might not.

ADDRESS EXTERNAL BARRIERS: If your work schedule or family responsibilities make sleep difficult, consider delegating tasks or negotiating boundaries  to carve out more rest time.

'ANCHOR' A PERIOD OF SLEEP: This involves identifying and fiercely protecting a set period of sleep that becomes the non-negotiable 'anchor' of your sleep routine. It aligns with your circadian rhythms to stabilise sleep-wake patterns and boost sleep quality, even if the total amount of sleep is fragmented.
Sue Radford has been slammed as 'distasteful' after Channel 5 aired an episode of 22 Kids and counting which teased she had early onset dementia.

The mother-of-22 from Morecambe, Lancashire, was seen behaving unusually secretively after she learned that one of her close friends had been diagnosed with the illness.

The first part of the show showed Sue, 49, and her husband, Noel, 54, becoming more and more distant as the typically outgoing Sue became more withdrawn. Noel, meanwhile, was seen growing increasingly worried about his wife.

After Noel discovered a leaflet for dementia in the family he feared the worst - but the latter part of the episode then revealed it wasn't Sue who had been diagnosed.

Viewers slammed the episode as 'distasteful' episode of the show that 'set up' viewers to believe Sue Radford had a life-changing illness.

During the episode, Noel said: 'I'm a bit worried about Sue, she's been really quiet today which isn't like her. She's always like chatty, bubbly. Doesn't seem the usual Sue. So I'm a little bit like 'What's going on?'

Desperate to find out the source of her concern, Noel arranged to go for a coffee date with his wife but she failed to make an appearance - which only exacerbated the father-of-22's mounting worry.

Noel then enlisted the help of the couple's daughter, Sophie, 31, who took Sue out for a trip to a beauty clinic in the hopes of cheering her up.

Viewers of 22 Kids and Counting have blasted a 'distasteful' episode of the show that 'set up' viewers to believe Sue Radford (pictured) had a life-changing illness

The first part of the show showed the couple becoming more and more distant as the typically outgoing Sue became more withdrawn. Noel, meanwhile, was seen growing increasingly worried about his wife (Sue and Noel Radford pictured)

Meanwhile, the pie master discovered a worrying leaflet about dementia in the family's van.

Desperate to discover the source of his wife's anguish, Noel asked her point blank: 'What's been going on?'

Sue then finally revealed that had been bothering her and exhaustively apologised to Noel.

'I am sorry, it's been awful. But now she's told her family, I can tell you, so... she's got early onset dementia,' she confessed.

She then revealed the news that one of long-term friends had recently been diagnosed with early onset dementia.

The condition which causes people to lose their memory and cognitive function, is currently the leading cause of death in the UK.

More than 70,800 people in the country are thought to have early onset dementia.

While gutted to discover the news, Noel was relieved that it it wasn't Sue who had been diagnosed - after worrying the leaflet had been for her.

Sue then finally revealed that had been bothering her and exhaustedly apologised to Noel

She then revealed the news that one of long-term friends had recently been diagnosed with early onset dementia

'I knew there was something. I had all sorts of things going through my mind, thinking 'Is it Sue? Something's seriously wrong,' he said.

Sue was heartbroken by the news and pointed out that her friend was only her age.

'It's really upset me, especially when she's got youngish children as well. You don't expect that, do you,' she said.

'You kind of think, don't you, that it's something you get when you're maybe 70, 80 - it's not something you think of in your late 40s, is it?

'It's knocked me for six. I feel like 'Wow, that could happen to anybody, couldn't it?'

Noel said the news was a reminder of 'how fragile life is'.

After paying a visit to her friend, she said: 'She's very bubbly, a big personality and she's not the sort of person who will let things get to her.

'But you can tell that she's worried about it.

While gutted to discover the news, Noel was relieved that it it wasn't Sue who had been diagnosed - after worrying the leaflet had been for her

What is early onset dementia? Is when a person develops dementia before the age of 65, this is known as 'young-onset dementia'. Over 70,800 people in the UK are living with young-onset dementia. Like all people with dementia, younger people may experience a wide range of symptoms, especially in the early stages of dementia. Symptoms can include: - memory loss - difficulty concentrating - finding it hard to carry out familiar daily tasks, such as getting confused over the correct change when shopping - struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word - being confused about time and place - mood changes Source: Alzheimer's Society/ NHS Advertisement

'If you couldn't remember, you know, like Heidi, Bonnie, Archie, whoever's names, it'd just be heartbreaking.'

The grandmother-of-13 said the news was a 'reality check' that 'you don't know what's round the corner.'

But viewers were quick to criticise the episode, branding it 'staged' and 'distasteful'.

One wrote: 'What a load of scripted nonsense, how can Sue just walk out and leave the children and Noel doesnt seem to be at work.'

A second said: 'Distasteful .wanting to make people think Sue had dementia. Scripts need looking into.'

'Wow the show is really setting this up as though Sue has dementia. She doesnt. A family friend has early onset dementia,' a third lamented.

Another wrote: 'If its not all scripted then I think shes out of order not just telling him shes fine and its someone else. Poor guy mustve been so worried! Have gone off her!'

But not everyone was so perturbed by the show. One wrote: 'Stop with the negative comments you dont like the programme dont watch it simple.'

It comes after a recent episode of 22 Kids and Counting documented the birth of Katie Radford's first child, Ronnie Hudson Carter, with her long term boyfriend, Connor Carter.

During last week's episode, Sue Radford was left devastated after she ended up missing the birth of her 13th grandchild because her husband Noel had taken her on a surprise holiday just three weeks before their daughter's due date.

But viewers were quick to criticise the episode, branding it 'staged' and 'distasteful'

Katie Radford, 22, from Morecambe, Lancashire - the eighth eldest of Britain's largest family - gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Ronnie Hudson Carter, in October of last year.

Despite the mother-to-be wanting her parents to be there for the birth, a booking blunder from Noel meant that the parents-of-22 ended up missing the arrival of their 13th grandchild - much to Sue's disappointment.

Around the time of Katie's pregnancy, Noel had decided to book a trip to Dubai with wife, Sue, to celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary.

But when Noel shared the exciting plans with Sue, the two quickly realised the holiday would fall just three weeks before the birth of Katie's son - a decision which resulted in the parents-of-22 missing the birth of their 13th grandchild.

Ronnie Hudson Carter was born on October 8, 2024, weighing 7lbs 11oz.

In a sweet Instagram announcement after the birth, Katie wrote: 'Tuesday 8th October born at 5:03PM weighing 7:11 the day you changed our lives forever little man mummy and daddy love you so much RONNIE HUDSON CARTER.'

The young family were pictured looking exhausted but delighted, as they shared several adorable family pictures.

In one picture, Katie and Connor beamed as they shared a cuddle with their new son. Katie looked radiant as she smiled sweetly for the picture, her cheeks flushed and glowing after having given birth to Ronnie.
Imani Cupe from San Diego has been with her husband for nearly a decade

A woman who married a man who is 43 years older than her has slammed people who say she's 'just after his money'.

Imani Cupe, 34, from San Diego, has been with now-husband Larry Scott, a 77-year-old accountant, for nearly a decade after meeting online.

But due to the huge difference in their ages, Imani has often been subjected to assumptions that she has ulterior motives.

While she admitted that her lover 'spoils' her, she insists that it is true love that keeps them together.

The San Diego-based couple seemed to have put the rumours to rest once and for all after tying the knot at the end of the year  revealing they both signed a prenuptial agreement.

'People assume I'm only with Larry for his money,' Imani, a part-time student and actor, said.

'Some of the negative comments I've received online were along the lines of ''I'm only using him for his money'' or ''She's really a lesbian and she's just using him for his money''.

The 34-year-old added: 'Some people try to insinuate that our relationship isn't genuine. But it doesn't phase me at all.

Imani Cupe (pictured), 34, from San Diego, has announced her marriage to Larry Scott, a 77-year-old accountant

Imani continued: 'I find it humorous and I can understand why people would assume that  after all, he is much wealthier than I am.

'It's just funny to me that people think that I would spend 10 years with someone and only be looking at the money.

'Larry has a wonderful heart and near perfect character, and that's why I'm with him.

'If he was a billionaire and didn't have the qualities he possesses, I would not be with him.

'However, it's actually funny when people leave comments on my TikTok saying ''Girl, I know your bills are paid'' because that is true  I never have to worry about the bills not being paid!'

Despite viewers claiming that Imani is only with her partner for money, the pair signed a prenup prior to their 28 December nuptials.

Imani, a part time student and actor, admitted that her 77-year-old husband (pictured left) 'spoils' her

The pair, who have a 43-year age gap, tied the know at the end of last year and signed a prenuptial agreement

Imani said she receives a lot of negative comments online about her relationship, with people claiming she's just with her husband for money

A prenup is a legal contract signed prior to marriage, which outlines how their assets will be divided in the event of a divorce  and are often used to protect your own finances.

Imani said: 'As far as the prenup goes, it was both of our ideas to have one without question.

'The main purpose is to protect both of our individual assets during the marriage and to ensure that if we ever decide to divorce, for whatever reason, we will both be protected.

'Larry wanted to make sure I had my own lawyer too so that there were no discrepancies.

'Although divorce isn't the plan, we still want to be smart and protected because you never know how life goes.'

The pair rang the new year in as newlyweds, having shared a low-key wedding day with their closest loved ones a few days prior.

Imani said of their big day: 'We had a small ceremony at our house and his daughter got ordained online and married us.'

She added: 'Everything was very last minute, but it was everything I could've asked for and more.

The 34-year-old said she's with Larry because of his 'wonderful heart' and 'near perfect character'

The couple are currently holidaying in Hong Kong and Thailand, and have a honeymoon in Santorini planned

The actress said that they signed a prenup to protect both of their assets should they divorce in the future

Imani explained that within the first two months of being with Larry, he had already planned their trip to Hawaii

'It was just Larry's daughter and her husband and kids with us.

'One of his grandkids read a beautiful poem she found about marriage, after we read our vows.

'Afterwards we toasted with a glass of champagne and had cupcakes, then we played a family game for a while and a little while later they went home.

'The next day we had a really nice dinner at an upscale steakhouse.

'We're planning a big wedding reception to happen within the next six months so everyone can celebrate with us.'

The newlyweds are currently holidaying in Hong Kong and Thailand, and have a honeymoon in Santorini planned.

Imani and Larry have been together for nine years, after meeting on eHarmony dating site.

After spending years together, the pair got engaged in 2023.

Imani and Larry have been romantically involved for nine years after meeting on dating website, eHarmony

The San Diego-based couple signed a prenup prior to their wedding, which took place on 28 December

The couple had a small ceremony at their house and Larry's daughter got ordained online and wed them

Imani said that the trolling doesn't phase her at all and that she finds the negative comments 'humorous'

Imani said: 'At the start of our relationship, we bonded heavily over travelling.

'I had just gotten my passport before I met him and he loves to travel and had quite a few things planned already.

'Within the first two months of us being together, he already planned our first trip to Hawaii and since then we've been to 20 different countries.'

Ahead of their wedding, Imani had said: 'I'm really excited about marrying Larry.

'This feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity with the most special person I've ever known and will ever know.

'This is one the biggest commitments I've ever made and I know I'm making a good decision.

'I don't feel like being married will put an end to the haters and trolls.

'They're going to hate and troll whether we're married or not.'
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway was all smiles as she made a visit to the OsloMet University this afternoon - after reports that her son, who is facing a string of charges including rape, has returned to the country after attending a rehab centre in the UK with his 'new girlfriend'.

The future Queen of the Scandinavian nation, 51, was effortlessly elegant in high-waisted plaid trousers, and a white blouse tucked in at the waist.

She topped her ensemble off with a black blazer, and carried a deep orange clutch, accessorising with tan suede shoes.

The mother-of-three styled her platinum tresses in a sleek, straight style, and grinned while chatting to staff at the college's Department of Art, Design and Drama.

Mette-Marit looked deeply engrossed in the textiles she was shown, and closely examined the fabrics and thread material on display.

Her appearance comes after the royal's 28-year-old son, Marius Borg Hiby, reportedly stepped off the plane in Oslo 'with a new girlfriend in tow'.

The unnamed woman has 'lived in London for a long time' according to Norwegian paper Se og Hor.

Marius was first arrested in the summer, and has since faced a string of charges including assault and two rapes and as well as other sexual assault charges.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway was all smiles as she made a visit to the OsloMet University this afternoon - after reports that her son, who is facing a string of charges including rape, has returned to the country after attending a rehab centre in the UK with his 'new girlfriend'

Mette-Marit looked deeply engrossed in the textiles she was shown, and closely examined the fabrics and thread material on display

The future Queen of the Scandinavian nation was effortlessly elegant in high-waisted plaid trousers, and a white blouse tucked in at the waist

The investigation into the future king's stepson is ongoing, with Borg Hiby also facing charges for breaching restraining orders against various women and tampering with evidence.

After admitting to causing bodily harm to his girlfriend while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, Borg Hiby attended a rehab centre in London.

It is while he was in the British capital he is believed to have struck up romance with the unnamed woman.

His first arrest was on August 4 for an assault, he was then arrested again on September 13 for a different alleged assault and a third time in November on rape charges.

In a statement issued via his lawyer after the first charge, Borg Hiby said he suffers from 'several mental disorders' and has 'struggled with substance abuse for a long time'.

He then flew to London with his step-father Crown Prince Haakon to attend the rehabilitation centre.

The mother-of-three styled her platinum tresses in a sleek, straight style, and grinned while chatting to staff at the college's Department of Aesthetic Studies

Mette-Marit and Oslo Mayor Anne Lindboe pictured during their visit to the university this afternoon

The Crown Princess appeared to be in high spirits as she chatted to staff at the university during the visit

Her appearance comes as the royal's 28-year-old son, Marius Borg Hiby, reportedly stepped off the plane in Oslo 'with a new girlfriend in tow'

Mette-Marit was the image of elegance as she examined the fabrics before her during the visit today

The 28-year-old son of the future Queen of Norway who is facing a string of charges including rape, reportedly stepped off the plane in Oslo 'with a new girlfriend in tow'. Pictured with his mother Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Oslo in June 2022

Borg Hiby is also under investigation for another offence believed to have occurred 'a few hundred metres away' from the Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit's Skaugum Estate.

In November, he was released from custody after he was arrested on suspicion of rape.

The 28-year-old - who has since been accused of a second rape - was banned from having visitors and letters during his stay in custody due to the risk of tampering with evidence

Police said Borg Hiby was released because they believed there was no longer any danger of evidence being lost or destroyed.

Since his arrest, a shocking video of Borg Hiby has been shared with the Norwegian publication Se og Hr, which allegedly shows the former mechanic illustrating how he ended the relationship with an ex.

In the clip, Borg Hiby is reportedly asked: 'How did you break up with your last girlfriend?'. Shrugging his shoulders, he then leans forward towards the camera as he makes a slapping gesture with his hands.

It is not known when the video was recorded - but it was allegedly published in a group in Borg Hiby's own network, which consists of around 50 people.

Borg Hiby's lawyer, Bratlien, said his client was innocent and was opposed to being held in preventive detention.

Borg Hiby is the stepson of the heir to the Norwegian throne, Crown Prince Haakon, and the son of Mette-Marit from a previous relationship

The Norwegian royal family was rocked by Hiby's first arrest at the beginning of August. Pictured with his mother in 2016

Bratlien said he would appeal the detention ruling, but welcomed the fact that judges had not granted the police request for a two-week detention. 'We consider that promising,' he said in a written statement to NRK.

The rape charge comes after he was accused of bodily harm following a late-night row on August 4 at the Oslo apartment of a woman he was having a relationship with, police said.

Norwegian media reported that police found a knife stuck in one of the woman's bedroom walls at the time.

Borg Hiby in a later statement to the media admitted to causing her bodily harm while he was under the influence of cocaine and alcohol and of damaging her apartment. He said he regretted his acts.

Borg Hiby was arrested again in September for breaching a restraining order.

When he was detained, he was in a car with the alleged victim of the August incident, according to police.

Borg Hiby was raised by the royal couple alongside his step-siblings Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 21, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18. Unlike them however he has no official public role.

The Norwegian royal family was rocked by Borg Hiby's first arrest at the beginning of August, after a woman - Rebecca Helberg Arntsen - was left in hospital with her injuries following an attack.

Prince Sverre Magnus, Crown Prince Haakon, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Marius Borg Hiby pictured in 2019 in Oslo

A week after his arrest, Borg Hiby admitted to the assault on Rebecca, whom he referred to as his 'girlfriend' (her lawyers have refuted this claim).

In a statement issued via his own lawyer, Borg Hiby said he suffers from 'several mental disorders' and has 'struggled with substance abuse for a long time', which he said he is resuming treatment for.

The statement read: 'Last weekend something happened that should never have happened. I committed bodily harm and destroyed objects in an apartment in the intoxication of alcohol and cocaine after an argument.

'I have several mental disorders which mean that throughout my upbringing and adult life, I have had, and still have, challenges. I have struggled with substance abuse for a long time, something I have been in treatment for in the past.

'The drug use and my diagnoses do not excuse what happened in the apartment at Frogner on the night of Sunday last weekend. I want to be responsible for what I have done, and will explain myself truthfully to the police.

'For me, the most important thing is to say sorry to my girlfriend. She deserved neither what happened that night, nor the extreme pressure from both the Norwegian and foreign press afterwards.'

Mette-Marit's eldest son also apologised to his family for his actions that have 'greatly affected you'.
The Slovenian model married Donald, who is now President, in January 2005

Melania was just 26 when she was interviewed by ABC News back in 1999

Old footage has resurfaced of Melania Trump denying that she is in a relationship with Donald Trump simply for money.

The ABC News interview, which was conducted in 1999 when Melania was just 26 years old, sees correspondent Don Dahler grill the then model about her romance with the businessman, who was 53 at the time.

The Slovenian star, who went by the name Melania Knauss at the time, refused to answer whether or not she would say 'yes' to a marriage proposal from Donald, and was asked if she felt 'hurt' by suggestions that she was only with him for his money.

'You know, the people, they don't know me,' Melania, now 54, replied, before adding: 'People who talk like this, they don't know me.'

Don then pointed out: 'Well, you don't see many 26-year-old supermodels on the arm of a 53-year-old car mechanics...'

Melania fired back: 'You know what, you can't sleep or to hug or to talk with beautiful things, with beautiful apartment, beautiful plane, beautiful cars, beautiful houses, you can't do that. You could feel very empty.

'And if somebody said, "you're with the man because he's rich and famous," they don't know me,' she added.

Earlier on in the interview, Don asked Melania if she would consider signing a pre nuptial agreement if they were to get engaged and married.

Melania Trump pictured at the age of 26 during a 1999 interview with ABC News, in which she discussed her romance with Donald Trump

Melania, pictured here with President Donald Trump in 1999, denied that she was with him just for his money

With a grin on her face, Melania answered 'Everybody has different opinions, so let's see what happens.'

'Different opinions about?' Don probed further, as Melania elaborated: 'About the pre nuptial agreement, about sign it or not to sign it, everybody decided what is inside of them.'

'So you're not ruling out anything?' he then asked as she replied: 'No.'

When he questioned Melania about whether or not she could picture herself as the First Lady of the United States, Melania revealed: 'Yes, I would be very traditional like Jackie Kennedy. I will support him, I will do a lot of social obligations.'

Don then pointed out: 'If you did become First Lady, it probably wouldn't be ethical for you to give commercial endorsements to products, so your modelling career might be over at that moment. What would you think about that?'

'I would stand by [my] man,' she replied, as Don said: 'You'd be willing to give up your modelling career?' to which Melania simply responded 'yes.'

Of course, Melania did become First Lady in January 2017 when Donald became the 45th President of the United States.

And, last week, she resumed the role once again after he won the US election in November 2024 and is now serving as the 47th President of the United States.

The couple, pictured here on January 20 at the inaugural ball, have been married since 2005

Melania was first introduced to Trump back in September 1998 and they moved in together at Trump Tower in 2002.

Donald proposed to Melania on April 26, 2004, and she signed his pre nuptial agreement without any issue.

The couple married on January 22, 2005, at the Bethesda-by-the-Sea church in Palm Beach, Florida, and welcomed their son Barron in March 2006.

Melania is also stepmother to Donald's four children: Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump from his first marriage to Ivana Zelnickova, and Tiffany Trump from his second marriage to Marla Maples.
The popular burger chain Almost Famous has announced the immediate closure of its locations across Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds.

First opened in Manchester's trendy Northern Quarter in 2012, Almost Famous became the go-to spot for foodies to get their fix of burgers dripping with sauce.

But now the much-loved burger joint will close its doors - with the co-founder citing the current economic climate and 'lingering debt' as the catalyst.

In an emotional statement, owner Beau Myers said: 'It is with broken hearts that today, 27th January 2025, we announce the closure of all Almost Famous venues across Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds.

'The current economic climate has proven too challenging for us to overcome, with lingering debt from Covid and rising costs across every aspect of the business.

'Despite our best efforts, we are no longer able to continue.'

The co-founder ended his statement with an appeal for help from those in the hospitality industry to find jobs for his staff.

He continued: 'For over 13 years, weve had the privilege of working alongside some of the most talented and passionate people in hospitality. We will do everything we can to support you during this transition.'

First opened in Manchester's trendy Northern Quarter in 2012, Almost Famous became the go-to spot for foodies to get their fix of burgers dripping with sauce

Myers said that staff had 'been like family to us' and he was 'deeply sorry we couldn't weather the storm for you'.

'Helping our team find new roles is our top priority right now,' he said.

'To everyone who's been part of our story  thank you from the bottom of our hearts.'

The brand's shock closure comes just a few months after they opened late-night burger spot Super Awesome Deluxe in the Northern Quarter.

Famed for their inventive creations, Almost Famous said it has served up more than one million burgers in the 13 years it has been operating in the north.

Prices at Almost Famous ranged from around 8 to 10.50.

Customers could chow down on a 'Triple Nom' for 9 with cheese, pulled pork, coleslaw and BBQ sauce.

Tastebuds were also tantalised by the Down & Out burger consisting of American cheddar cheese, Wonderdust hotdog melt, trailer trash onions, mustard and 'Million Island' sauce.

In a teary-eyed statement, owner Beau Myers said: 'It is with broken hearts that today, 27th January 2025, we announce the closure of all Almost Famous venues across Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds'

Famed for their inventive creations, Almost Famous said it has served up more than one million burgers in the 13 years it has been operating in the north

Prices at Almost Famous ranged from around 8 to 10.50

The co-founder ended his statement with an appeal for help from those in the hospitality industry to find jobs for his staff

More unique burger options included the Good Morning America, featuring cheese, sausage patty, streaky bacon, maple cheerios, poached egg, bacon mayonnaise, ketchup and strawberry pop tart.

If customers were still hungry, they could order a side of chicken wings tossed in Marmite butter with bacon mayonnaise dip.

For the full American diner experience, milkshakes were available for 4 with flavours including blueberry muffin, strawberry pop tart and 'Achocalypse Wow' which featured chocolate fudge, toasted marshmallow, ice cream and brownie.

Avid foodies flooded social media with supportive messages for the brand, with one saying that Almost Famous was his 'go-to place' for food before 'matches and gigs in Manchester'.

'Truly the end of an era,' one man wrote on X.

'I know in the grand scheme of things it was "just a burger joint" but Almost Famous served some of the most remarkable burgers I've ever eaten.

'I've made so many happy memories within those walls: birthday celebrations, work parties, and the occasional date.

'My heart goes out to all those impacted by this closure.'

Almost Famous had stores in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds

Avid foodies flooded social media with supportive messages for the brand, with one saying that Almost Famous was his 'go-to place' for food before 'matches and gigs in Manchester'

Agreeing, a second user said: ' Almost Famous shutting down proper shattered my lil heart.'

A third commented: 'Almost Famous closing has ruined my week.'

Another user said: 'Almost Famous burgers has passed away. RIP you will live on forever.'

But there is still some 'hope' for devastated fans as co-founder Myers said Almost Famous 'may return one day in some form'.
Netflix has been accused of 'monetizing' Gabby Petito's murder after teasing a new documentary about her death.

American Murder: Gabby Petito will land on the streaming service on February 17 and explores the events leading up to her murder at the hands of fiance Brian Laundrie in August 2021.

An official teaser trailer for the three-part documentary series was posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday alongside a caption which read: 'In 2021, Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie went on a four-month road trip across the United States documenting their van life on social media. Only one of them returned.'

The clip begins with footage recorded by the couple as they sat in the back of their Ford Transit Connect and welcomed viewers to their new vlog.

A female voiceover states: 'Gabby and Brian seemed like a loving couple, but behind the scenes they would get into arguments.

'Brian thought the vlog was stupid. The happiest people on social media usually have the darkest skeletons in their closet,' the woman adds.

The trailer then cuts to a 911 call from a man who wanted to 'report a domestic dispute' after witnessing a man 'slapping' a girl.

Bodycam footage shows Gabby sitting in the back of a police car crying, as well as CCTV of Brian and Gabby walking across a parking lot.

Gabby Petito pictured with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, who murdered her in August 2021

American Murder: Gabby Petito is a three-part documentary-series that will be available to stream on February 17

The 100-second clip takes a sinister turn as more bodycam footage shows officers visiting Brian's family home after Gabby had not been heard from for weeks.

Viewers also see a short snippet of Gabby's mother Nichole Schmidt speaking on camera as she tears up and admits: 'I knew something bad had happened.'

After watching the trailer, people were quick to slam Netflix for making a docu-series off the back of the 2021 tragedy - which saw human remains matching the description of Gabby found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping area in Wyoming in September 2021.

'Hope the family is receiving some compensation for Netflix monetizing this tragedy,' one person commented.

A second wrote: 'Man, these tragedies are so quickly turned into a cash grab. Kinda sad, but I'm sure the family agreed and hopefully got some money out of it.'

A third person claimed: 'Netflix LOVES when you die on a road trip. They root for it,' and a fourth added: 'This is gross.'

Someone else predicted: 'A heartbreaking case. The documentary will likely stir up a lot of emotions.'

And another X user questioned: 'So many movies already made about them, why do another?'

One X user accused Netflix of 'monetizing' off of the tragedy of Gabby's death

Someone else claimed the tragedy was 'so quickly turned into a cash grab'

Another person questioned why another documentary was even being made

The documentary includes bodycam footage of when police were called following a report of a domestic dispute

Brian took his own life using a shotgun after murdering his girlfriend Gabby during their road trip

A different person claimed: 'The documentary should shed more light on what happened,' and someone else wrote: 'This is freaky!!'

DailyMail.com has reached out to Netflix for comment.

Gabby was strangled and was left in a forest by Brian, her high school friend-turned-boyfriend, who she began dating in March 2019.

Brian would eventually die by suicide from a single gunshot to the head, after admitting to killing Gabby in a notebook - finally bringing her friends and family the closure they needed.

Gabby and Laundrie were making a road trip across America in a renovated van in what was to be a four-month adventure.

Gabby documented the whole trip on her YouTube channel and social media, hoping she would become a social media star through her videos about #vanlife.

Following Gabby's murder, her family sued Brian's estate for wrongful death and also accused his parents, Christopher and Roberta, of knowing that their son killed Gabby and withheld that information.

Brian's parents reached a confidential settlement with Gabby's parents in February 2024 to avoid further legal expenses.
A mom has shared the terrifying moment she found out her five-year-old son had leukemia after thinking he had been bitten by a bug.

Ollie, now eight, had been on a camping trip three years ago with his family when his health suddenly declined.

His parents - Anna and Andrew - initially thought he may have been bitten by a bug on their trip, with the young boy developing a fever after getting an infected toe the week prior to the trip.

According to The Starlight Foundation, Ollie, who lives in Sydney, Australia, suffered from 'consistent high temperatures, nose bleeds, bruising and extreme fatigue,' for 10 days after his toe got infected, but appeared to be on the mend when the family went camping.

However, on the trip, Anna noticed her son still wasn't well - saying she had a 'gut feeling' something was very wrong.

'I looked over at Ollie and noticed he was extremely pale, and his lips were the same color as his face,' his mom Anna, explained to the Starlight Foundation.

'I then noticed little red spots on his legs and face. We thought maybe he'd been bitten by something in the bush, but my gut told me otherwise,' she recalled.

The family headed home the next morning to take Ollie to the doctor and he was immediately sent to the Children's Hospital.

Ollie, now eight, had been on a camping trip three years ago with his family when his health suddenly declined

'I remember the GP telling me she was sending Ollie to Emergency Department for precautionary testing to rule out "one thing,"' Anna admitted.

'I thought I was just being paranoid when I asked, "could it be Leukemia?"' she explained.

Devastatingly, only a few days after Ollie's fifth birthday, he was indeed diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

He spent a 123 days in hospital in the first year of his treatment as his parents admitted the tot struggled with not being able to move around.

'Suddenly, he found himself confined to a hospital bed, undergoing constant observations every four hours, endless blood tests, chemotherapy, and anesthesia, frightened that mommy or daddy might not be there to hold him,' she pointed out.

The devastated mom added it was 'heartbreaking' to see Ollie not being able to take part in the things he loved.

'He couldn't understand why he had to be separated from his beloved siblings, why he was the "cancer kid" and why he wasn't starting big school like his friends,' the concerned mom told the website.

She noted it was also extremely difficult for Ollie's siblings Isabella, 17, Matilda, 14 and Elliott, nine, to see their young brother so sick.

His parents - Anna and Andrew - initially thought he may have been bitten by a bug on their trip, with the young boy developing a fever after getting an infected toe the week prior to the trip

The family headed home the next morning to take Ollie to the doctor and he was immediately sent to the Children's Hospital

The family recently posted a montage video to the group, writing that Ollie 'celebrated his birthday doing what he loves most camping, riding his bike and being in water'

The family started a Facebook group called Orange for Ollie to keep his friends and family updated on his condition.

And they had some positive news to share after recently celebrating his eighth birthday.

The family posted a montage video to the group, writing that Ollie 'celebrated his birthday doing what he loves most camping, riding his bike and being in water.'

In February 2024, Ollie was able to 'ring the bell,' to signify the end of his treatment.

'The moment you hear the words "your child has cancer," a huge part of you dies inside,' Anna wrote in an update to the Facebook page in 2024.

'You're immediately filled with an overwhelming feeling of pain like you've never felt before, like someone has literally ripped your heart out of your chest and taken every ounce of oxygen from inside your lungs,' she continued.

'For us as parents, it'll never be over, but we truly hope that Oliver's story inspires hope in the hearts of those facing their own battles,' she wrote.
Melania Trump surprised her devoted Instagram followers with her new official White House portrait, which was unveiled on Monday.

The black and white image was a big departure from former First Ladies, who have traditionally chosen much more colorful images.

Instead, Melania, whose stylist Herve Pierre has revealed in the past that it's difficult to dress her because many American designers refuse, showed off a black Dolce & Gabbana pantsuit with a white shirt.

The Washington Monument was visible in the background.

The photo was taken on January 21, the day after the inauguration, in the Yellow Oval Room of the residence by Belgian photographer Regine Mahaux.

Melania, 54, shared the photo on the official FLOTUS Instagram account, which has four million followers.

Unfortunately, many of the followers were left over from when they followed Jill Biden's account and were shocked to realize they were suddenly following Melania.

But Melania's followers adored the intense snap - and some even thought it looked like a Vogue cover - although some social media critics thought it appeared to be heavily Photoshopped.

Melania Trump shocked her devoted fans with her new official portrait, which was unveiled on Monday

The previous official portrait of the first lady was released on April 3, 2017 and was in color

'Meta needs to cool it with the force follows,' one popular comment read.

'Oh dear I forgot to unfollow, see you in four years,' another person said.

However, some of Melania's fans were quick to jump to her defense.

'Most elegant First Lady in office!!!' one MAGA supporter rejoiced.

'You are a diva and a great boss,' another complimented, calling her a 'wonderful wife and mother.'

Some thought the picture looked strange, with one person saying, 'That's not an official photo. That's a heavily Photoshopped official photo.'

On X (previously Twitter), some people accused her of heavily editing the image.

'Looks like she's made of plastic. It's so over-processed, heavy softening and blurring filtering. There's nothing warm or real about this image,' a commenter wrote disparagingly.

'You are a diva and a great boss,' one person complimented the portrait, calling Melania, seen above at the inauguration, a 'wonderful wife and mother'

Some of Melania's fans were up in arms over the fact that she wasn't given the same respect in the fashion community that previous first ladies received

'Photoshop deluxe,' another critic agreed.

Some of Melania's fans were recently left up in arms over the fact that she wasn't given the same respect in the fashion community that previous first ladies received despite the glamorous portrait.

'Jill Biden was given three Vogue covers. Zero for Melania. What a joke,' Link Lauren, the former senior advisor to RFK Jr., tweeted.

However, some thought the new portrait was enough even though the former model has been snubbed by Vogue EIC Anna Wintour repeatedly.

One Melania super fan tweeted, 'Who needs a Vogue cover and Annie Leibowitz photo spread when you have this?'
Sir,

I am writing to address a pervasive issue that continues to plague our society: Gender-based violence (GBV). This scourge affects individuals across all demographics, but disproportionately impacts women and marginalised communities. It is a violation of human rights and a significant barrier to achieving gender equality. As we work towards a safer and more equitable world, it is crucial to take decisive action to end gender-based violence. First and foremost, education plays a fundamental role in combating GBV. We must instil values of respect, consent and equality in our children from a young age. Comprehensive education programmes that address gender stereotypes, healthy relationships and the importance of consent should be integrated into school curricula.



Respect



By fostering a culture of respect and understanding, we can empower future generations to challenge harmful behaviours and attitudes that perpetuate violence. Additionally, community awareness campaigns are essential in shedding light on the realities of GBV. These initiatives can help destigmatise the issue and encourage open dialogues within communities. By sharing stories and experiences, we can humanise the issue and emphasise that GBV is not just a private matter, but a societal concern that requires collective action. Engaging local leaders, organisations and influencers can amplify these messages and encourage community members to take a stand against violence. Support systems for survivors must also be strengthened. Access to resources, such as helplines, shelters and counselling services, is vital for individuals seeking help.



Funded



Governments and organisations should work to ensure that these services are adequately funded and accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status. Furthermore, training first responders, law enforcement and healthcare professionals to handle cases of GBV with sensitivity and understanding is crucial. Survivors should feel safe and supported when seeking help, not discouraged or re-traumatised by the system. Legislative reform is another critical component in the fight against GBV. Governments must take a firm stance by enacting and enforcing laws that protect individuals from gender-based violence. This includes stricter penalties for perpetrators as well as comprehensive policies that address prevention, protection and prosecution. Additionally, it is essential to involve survivors in the policy-making process to ensure that their voices are heard and their needs are prioritised. Lastly, engaging men and boys in the conversation is vital for creating lasting change.



Gender-based violence is not solely a womens issue; it is a societal issue that requires the participation of all individuals. Initiatives that encourage men to reflect on their behaviours, challenge toxic masculinity and advocate for gender equality can help shift cultural norms. Ending gender-based violence demands a multifaceted approach that encompasses education, community engagement, support systems, legislative reform and the involvement of men and boys. It is a collective responsibility that requires commitment from individuals, organisations and governments alike. By working together, we can create a world where everyone feels safe, respected and valued, free from the threat of gender-based violence.



Peace Lover
One man is taking the New Year 'fresh start' spirit literally.

Pasquale Guiducci from Los Angeles has given up his apartment and sold almost all of his belongings to travel the world and teach naked yoga.

The 34-year-old overhauled his entire life by getting rid of material possessions that were 'tethering' him down and is now living out of a suitcase with plans to traverse the globe.

Mr Guiducci said: 'I've sold all of my stuff and just have a suitcase. At first, I just planned to move out of my apartment but this quickly turned into me selling or giving away everything I own.

'I don't need these material possessions anymore. If you have no tethers and make the space, then you invite more things in... I want to see the world and offer my gifts wherever I go.'

Mr Guiducci, who previously worked in the theater industry, recently arrived in Mexico and will be making his way to Brazil and Australia later this year.

To pay for his 2025 adventure, Mr Guiducci, who also offers services in breathwork, astrology and sound baths, is turning to yoga. A long-time yogi, he has been teaching multiple styles of the practice for years, and recently he's transitioned to a more alternative style - nude yoga.

When Mr Guiducci first discovered True Naked Yoga, a yoga streaming platform that offers nude yoga classes for people to take at home, he said he never felt more free.

Pasquale Guiducci now makes money teaching naked yoga classes online

Mr Guiducci left his apartment and sold or gave away most of his belongings to live a more 'nomadic' life

Signing up as a teacher, he will be filming classes every couple of months and using the extra cash to fund his travels.

Mr Guiducci said: 'A friend reached out to me about joining True Naked Yoga last year and I was excited to do it.

'Being naked is so taboo in society and some people can't fathom how it is enjoyable.

'It can be a really big hurdle in life and fitness.'

He said yoga in the nude has improved his physical and mental health, as well as helped him tackle his own body image issues.

Mr Guiducci said: 'I have a little body dysmorphia. I used to feel like I wasn't in any "body type" category.

'While I knew that I was considered handsome, I didn't know where I fit in and that felt daunting.

'But I've realized that maybe I'm not meant to fit in  maybe I'm meant to stand out.

'It's a breath of fresh air to look at yourself doing yoga in the nude. I just love how I look and the way I move.'

The 34-year-old had been practicing yoga for 16 years before becoming a naked yoga instructor

Mr Guiducci said naked yoga helped him overcome insecurities

Mr Guiducci is grateful to not only be able to make money from his passion and have the freedom to work online  but is also excited about helping people become comfortable in their own skin.

He said: 'I feel privileged to be able to help others and it's incredible that I can do it while traveling.

'When you're in a group class, it has to feel really safe and you have to feel comfortable being naked.

'It's not a sexualized space but the line is very delicate. The audience is very diverse with people of all ages, from ages 20 to 60.

Mr Guiducci continued: 'At first, I worried that being naked would change my reputation but I know my integrity and if people are going to change their opinion of me for a new endeavor, then they haven't evolved yet.

'Thankfully, everyone in the yoga space has been really supportive, telling me that my videos are beautiful and I look fantastic.'

True Naked Yoga is a subscription web-based service that features recorded videos of yoga instructors leading yoga classes while naked, also called nagna yoga.

The service offers memberships for $19 per month.

It states: 'Though it might seem counterintuitive, removing the physical barriers of clothing also helps many people remove the mental barriers they often face during their yoga practice, by allowing them to be completely open and vulnerable.'

The company says benefits of naked yoga, which it describes as a spiritual practice in India since ancient times, include a stronger mind-body connection, improved 'sense of self-love' and body acceptance, increased self-awareness and sensitivity to the environment and fewer distractions.

Mr Guiducci said: 'When you get more comfortable in your skin, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks.

'You don't need validation from other people because you're fine being in your own skin.'

While he is excited for what his future holds, he said his parents were shocked when he first announced his plans but added he ultimately has to follow his own path.

Mr Guiducci teaches naked yoga on a streaming platform called True Naked Yoga

Mr Guiducci said naked yoga is not 'sexualized' and people who take his classes are diverse and range from 20 to 60 years old

Mr Guiducci said: 'My parents think security is happiness. They wanted me to become a doctor or a lawyer  my brother is an accountant.

'It's taken a lot of convincing to show them that my lifestyle brings me joy, but I'm an adult and have to make my own choices. Me being happy is all that matters.

'It's so great to make money doing what I love. My belief system is freedom in my body and having a supportive community  so in those terms, I'm rich.'

Mr Guiducci hopes one day he'll be able to host his own in-person naked yoga retreat.

But for now, he's happy to travel the world while sharing his skills online.

Mr Guiducci added: 'For anyone looking to follow in my footsteps, my advice is to just do it.

'By selling my things and traveling, my perspective on what matters has shifted and it's helped me realize how I want to experience life.

'I can't wait to see where my nomadic journey takes me.'
6.38am

My workplace is not a hospital any more. It's a battlefield. And when I turn up for my ten-hour shift, 20 minutes early, it feels like going over the top of the trenches into an onslaught.

More than 35 people are already crowded into A&E, with several sitting on the floor because all the seats are taken. Most of them are plainly exhausted as well as ill.

I can tell that many have been here all night. There will be more in the corridors too, on trolleys.

Before I can even greet my colleagues, two patients approach me demanding to know when they will be treated. I tell them we'll get to them as soon as we can.

'Do you know how many times I've heard that since I arrived at ten o'clock last night?' snaps one woman.

6.40am

The situation in the corridors is worse than I feared. Waves of flu and chest infections are sweeping through Britain this January, causing more cases of pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses than I have ever seen.

Our wards have been at maximum capacity for months and every day the crisis gets worse.

As the doctor stars her ten-hour shift, 35 people are already crowded into A&E, with several sitting on the floor because all the seats are taken

At least four elderly patients on trolleys have signs of chest infections impacting their breathing.

They ought to be in resus [the resuscitation area, where the most seriously ill patients are dealt with], or at least in a high dependency unit, but instead they are in a corridor overseen by a physician assistant.

Many patients might imagine these are qualified doctors, but they are not. It's madness: apart from anything else, the corridors are unheated and draughty, the worst place for flu patients.

6.50am

As I'm getting to grips with the triage reports that determine which overnight patients will be our highest priority, there's a commotion at the door. One of the security guys has his arm around a woman, hustling her towards me.

His face is open-mouthed with shock. Hers is frozen in fear, and she's carrying something that I mistake at first for a bundle of clothes.

It's a child. I reach automatically under the coat, searching for the side of the neck, but as soon as my fingers touch cold skin, I know I will not find a pulse.

When I lift the child's body from the mother's arms, it is stiff. Rigor mortis is setting in. Death must have occurred during the night, but the woman either doesn't understand or she's in denial.

Even though there's no hope, protocol insists we must make an attempt at resuscitation before declaring the child dead. She's a girl, about four years old, and her mottled face is pitted with dark red spots.

I know these signs: chickenpox, followed by overwhelming sepsis and death from blood poisoning.

As the body is taken to a resus room, I try to learn from the mother what has happened. She's East European and her English is not good, but she manages to explain in numb words and gestures that she has two other children, and that her husband is away working.

All her children have been off school with chickenpox, but last night the little girl became listless and floppy. The mother took her to an A&E ward on the other side of the city but was told to report to another clinic.

Seriously ill patients are left in a corridor overseen by a physician assistant. Many patients might imagine these are qualified doctors, but they are not. It's madness: apart from anything else, the corridors are unheated and draughty

Unable to understand where she was meant to go, they went home instead. She tried to watch over the girl but, exhausted, must have fallen asleep. When she woke, her daughter wasn't breathing. It's utterly tragic, and so unnecessary. If A&E departments are so unable to cope that they're sending mothers with very sick children away, Britain no longer has a functioning health service.

7.30am

I want to sit down and cry. The doctors and nurses around me look anguished and shocked. After events like this, we're supposed to 'huddle'  lean on each other for support and talk.

No chance. I barely have time during the average shift to go to the toilet.

8.15am

A man with a head wound is causing disruption in the waiting area. He is pressing a bandage to his scalp and there's no sign of bleeding. He also smells strongly of drink.

He's complaining loudly about waiting  he says he's been here since midnight, but I can't ascertain the truth and suspect he's trying to jump the queue. Of course he needs to be seen, but he's far from the only one.

When I try to explain this, he leaps up and barges me out of the way, swearing furiously. Then, shouting the odds to everyone about Britain's 'third world healthcare', he storms out of the main doors.

A few people applaud, glad to see him go. But our job is to treat everyone, not drive away the impatient ones.

Violence from members of the public, though rare, is a constant worry. We're all very aware that a nurse was stabbed at a Lancashire hospital earlier this month, and that a man has been charged with attempted murder.

9.40am

Not everyone is impatient. Some, especially the elderly, are too patient for their own good.

A frail gentleman whose face is as white as his hair emerges from one of the side rooms and stands forlornly by the vending machine. As I'm passing, I ask if he's OK  he looks as though he might faint at any moment. 'Do we get anything for breakfast?' he asks me apologetically.

I tell him a trolley might be round later but that there's no canteen. 'Did you not get a chance to eat before you arrived?' I ask.

It transpires that he has bone cancer, and was booked in for a scan two days ago. The ambulance that was due to bring him was delayed by 22 hours, since 999 demand was high and scans are categorised as a low priority.

That's true, but it meant he missed his appointment slot by a whole day and since then he has been sitting in an armchair, waiting to be seen for 14 hours.

During that time, he's had a cheese sandwich and a tuna sandwich, he tells me. He's 87.

No wonder there are ambulance delays. Half the fleet appears to be parked outside, queued like taxis on a rank. All of them have patients inside

10.15am

No wonder there are ambulance delays. Half the fleet appears to be parked outside, queued like taxis on a rank. All of them have patients inside.

It might seem like lunacy to use a 150,000 state-of-the-art ambulance as a waiting cubicle, but if the hospital has no capacity to treat new admissions, then it isn't safe for paramedics to offload their patients.

Call handlers will try to divert ambulances to other hospitals, but an A&E department can't simply close its doors without being subject to a heavy fine.

Meanwhile, many of the overnight patients are still a long way from being seen. A report last year by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine  the body responsible for setting standards of training in emergency medicine  suggested more than 250 patients a week were dying as a consequence, direct or indirect, of very long waits in A&E.

According to those figures, in February last year 44 per cent of A&E patients spent longer than four hours in the department (compared to 5.2 per cent in 2011). It's going to be even worse this year.

11.30am

A woman in her 20s asks if she can speak with me in private. There's something in her eyes that makes me break off and take her to an examination room.

She tells me she's not sure if she should even be here but she thinks she's been raped.

Four nights ago, she went for a drink after work with friends. She rarely has more than two glasses of wine, but this time she woke up the next day, fully clothed on her sofa, with only patchy memories of what had happened.

Since then she has been suffering flashbacks about going to a club and ending up in a stranger's apartment. She has no idea who or where this was. All she knows for certain is that she's bruised and sore, and wants me to tell her whether she's been sexually assaulted.

I explain that whatever happened that night, the sexual health team has to see her immediately. Until we know for certain that she has not contracted HIV, she will need preventative medication. The side effects of that, I warn her, are not pleasant.

Immediately, the police have to be informed. As she is not on the Pill, she also has to have a pregnancy test and probably a morning-after pill. As I write up her notes, she becomes really distressed. All the emotions she has bottled up for days burst out.

A 39-year-old man is admitted with serious chest pains  he is having a heart attack. He tells me he is a cocaine user. Because of the explosion in coke use since lockdown, we're seeing much more coronary disease in patients much younger than in typical heart attack victims

12.45pm

A 39-year-old man is admitted with serious chest pains. My first thought is that he may have suffered a heart attack  and I am right.

He tells me frankly that he is a regular cocaine user. This isn't a confession, just a statement of fact, the way he might explain what his job is.

He would be more embarrassed to tell me he smoked cigarettes than snorted blow. Cocaine can cause symptoms of ischaemia in the heart, narrowing of the arteries that supply blood.

Because of the explosion in coke use since lockdown, we're seeing much more coronary disease, in patients much younger than the typical heart attack victims of 30 years ago.

Cardiac conditions have also become more common because of Covid itself, and because of a side-effect of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine. It's comparatively rare, but that's no comfort to the people we see with internal bleeding and low platelet counts (these stop heavy bleeding by causing the blood to clot).

2.10pm

The other major consequence of the pandemic is a spike in anxiety among teenagers who missed months of schooling. Tens of thousands of children have come out of lockdown with mental health problems. They are preparing to take GCSEs and A-levels and many are not coping well.

A 17-year-old girl is brought in by her mother, with both wrists bandaged. When I ask her what she's done, she refuses to talk. Her mum tries to pretend it was an accident  'she was carrying two bottles, one in each hand, and she tripped'.

The woman seems more concerned that I shouldn't inform social services than with her daughter's injuries, which fortunately are superficial.

4.20pm

Throughout my shift, I've had management pressuring me to move patients around to make it look as though we're meeting targets for waiting times.

The bureaucrats don't care if it's appropriate for people to be shunted from one department to another, or whether we have bed space  their only concern is missing deadlines, or 'breaching' in management speak.

Too many 'breaches' and they'll get fined. Their prime concern is money. The phone rings, and once again it's a manager.

I want to tell them that I don't care about the fines, I only care about what's best for my patients. Actually, what I really want to say is: 'Why don't we sack the armies of managers and spend their salaries on more nurses, more doctors and more beds?'

We don't need to spend billions of pounds on pen-pushers and paper-shufflers with no medical training, who think they can run our departments for us. This isn't Sainsbury's or some other corporate giant. It's the National Health Service and it was founded on principles, not for privatisation and profit. But I don't have time to waste on useless arguments. I just get off the phone as quickly as I can.

I started at 6.40 this morning and it's now 5.35pm. I should have gone home half an hour ago

5.35pm

I have not had a proper break since I came on shift. A standard medic joke is that we should all be on a drip, because we never have time to grab a drink. But if I don't have a cup of coffee now I think I'll fall down.

Before I've taken two sips, a woman marches up to me, her face red with indignation. 'Excuse me,' she hisses. 'Can't you see how many people are waiting? And you're on a break? We pay your wages, you know!'

I should have gone home half an hour ago.

6.25pm

A man is brought through the doors on a stretcher. He is unconscious, with a head wound, and he looks familiar. When the paramedic tells me the patient was here earlier today, I recognise him  it's the guy who barged me aside and swaggered off swearing.

He's gone home and suffered a seizure. Probably his bad behaviour was influenced by a brain injury, as much as by drink. So much could have been avoided if we'd been able to treat him more promptly. I'm running on empty.

I recognise an elderly; she attends A&E several times a week, sometimes returning hours after being seen. The underlying problem is dementia and so she complains of everything from kidney pain to migraines to asthma. But this time she has a real infection in her chest

7.20pm

For the third or fourth time today, I go to check the corridors. The thought that people could be dying on the other side of the swing doors haunts me.

One elderly woman is sitting up in her gown. I recognise her as one of our regulars  she attends A&E several times a week, sometimes returning hours after being seen.

The underlying problem is dementia: she knows something is terribly wrong with her but she isn't sure what, so she complains of everything from kidney pain to migraines to asthma.

I listen to her chest. This time, she has a real infection. Once I've seen her, she thinks it's time to go, but she really needs to be kept in. I ask her to wait on the trolley until a bed is available, and once again I can't believe I'm having to say those words.

If she gets a place on a ward she'll be part of the bed-blocking problem: until social services find her a place in a care home, she won't be discharged.

9.20pm

That's it, I need to clock off. This hasn't been my longest shift, by several hours, but it has left me mentally and physically exhausted. I know I won't sleep well  I'll be thinking about that poor dead child.

As I'm walking out, a woman comes running after me, calling, 'Doctor! Doctor?'

I want to ignore her, but I can't. So I turn around and, before I can explain that I'm off-duty now, she says: 'I just wanted to say thank you. I've been here all day with my dad, waiting to be seen, and we couldn't believe what long hours you work. Lots of us really do appreciate the work you do.'

How unexpected. How lovely. I go home smiling but still wanting to cry.

The writer is an A&E doctor in the South of England.
The stresses and strains of normal life are being mislabelled as mental health issues, GPs have warned.

A survey of more than 1,000 family doctors found 84 per cent believe everyday pressures are being over-medicalised.

It forms part of a report warning how the soaring numbers being labelled with a mental health disorder could leave those in genuine need struggling to get help.

Antidepressants are also being prescribed too easily, according to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank, despite known difficulties coming off the drugs.Misunderstood mental ill-health is the leaky bucket draining the nation.

It is a leading driver of economic inactivity, Sophia Worringer, deputy policy director at the CSJ, told the Sunday Times.

No amount of government initiatives to tackle the symptoms of a stagnating economy, flatlining productivity or the anxious generation will fix the problem unless the leaks are plugged.

It comes after analysis last week revealed under-18s admitted to hospital wards for mental health concerns has increased by two-thirds (65 per cent) in a decade.

Published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal, it showed mental health admissions for under-18s increased from 24,198 to 39,925 between 2012 and 2022.

A survey of more than 1,000 family doctors found 84 per cent believe everyday pressures are being over-medicalised (stock image)

The stresses and strains of normal life are being mislabelled as mental health issues, GPs have warned (stock image)

Antidepressants are also being prescribed too easily, according to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank, despite known difficulties coming off the drugs.Misunderstood mental ill-health is the leaky bucket draining the nation (stock image)

Critics are concerned social media is fuelling a rise in people self-diagnosing mental health and anxiety disorders, leading to growing demand for drugs and other treatments.

British psychologist Lucy Foulkes says efforts to increase public awareness about mental health problems to help reduce or prevent symptoms across the population has had a paradoxical effect.

She suggests it could be leading some people to diagnose themselves inaccurately when they are experiencing relatively mild or transient problems.

But Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said the threshold would vary from patient to patient.

She said thousands of callers - around 60 per cent -contact the charity, reporting self-harm and suicidal thoughts, which is a complete change from what we were receiving maybe ten or 20 years ago.

She added:There are always going to be some people, especially now with the influence of social media and all the awareness campaigns, who are self-diagnosing and medicalising mental wellbeing.

But it must be balanced by taking them seriously and recognising it could be the signs of the early need for help.
You may never have heard of gleeking  a bizarre and unpleasant bodily function that apparently anyone can do.

Gleeking is the ability to spray saliva out of the mouth from the glands that sit underneath the tongue in a move that's been compared to a cobra spitting venom.

Medics estimate that about a third (35 per cent) of the population may 'gleek' accidentally.

In fact, to their horror, many of those who can gleek do so while yawning, leading to an embarrassing spraying of people and objects near them.

However, experts add anyone can learn how to do it, if for some reason they wanted to.

Gleeking has taken social media by storm, with horrifying TikTok videos of people showing off their ability  often in slow motion  racking up millions of views.

People can gleek by pressuing the tongue to the roof of the mouth, with the mouth open  this applies pressure to the saliva-filled sublingual glands under the tongue.

This pressure causes the sublingual glands to squirt out their saliva reserve in a fine jet.

Gleeking tutorials seen by over two million people have a few tips for those who want to try to gleek intentionally.

Gleeking has taken social media by storm, with TikTok videos of people either showing off their ability, or trying to teach others how to do it, racking up over 11million views

The first step is to agitate the sublingual glands, prompting them to produce more saliva, by moving your tongue around.

Then stick up your tongue to the roof of your mouth as far back as you can go.

The final step is to push your tongue up while squeezing down and, if successful, causing a geyser of watery saliva to erupt from the floor of the mouth.

Some people also recommend consuming sour food or drink like sour sweets or lemon juice beforehand as this encourages the body to produce more saliva.

Dr Mark Wolff, dean of School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, previously told Health.com that 'everyone' can gleek, though it can take some practice.

'If you tense the muscles in the tongue right, it squeezes the duct, and saliva squirts right out,' he said.

Saliva is a natural bodily fluid produced to help us digest food and keep out digestive system lubricated for swallowing.

There are no known hazards to gleeking, besides potentially offending someone in the splash zone, but no benefits either.

Many social media users commenting on gleeking videos either admitted to trying and failing to gleek entirely or commiserated with others on the awkwardness of accidently spraying people.

'I can't do it on command it only happens when I don't want it to,' one wrote.

'Not me spraining my tongue trying to do this,' another wrote.

One user even detailed how their sibling often using their ability to gleek to torment them.

'My brother does it always when I'm in a serious situation,' they said.
Those who take longer to fall into a deep sleep could be exhibiting an early sign of Alzheimer's, research today suggested.

Studies have long warned that both the quality of amount of sleep can affect the risk of developing the memory-robbing condition.

But now scientists in China say people struggling to enter the rapid eye movement  or REM  stage of the sleep cycle may be showing a symptom of the disease.

This phase  the deepest of four we all go through every night  is vital for memory, learning and creativity.

They also found those who struggled to fall into a deep sleep quickly were more likely to have a build-up of two toxic proteins, amyloid and tau, in the brain  found in people with the condition.

Experts today said the findings suggested medication that can boost sleep, such as melatonin, could help delay disease progression  but warned further research was first necessary.

Dr Yue Leng, an associate professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, said: 'The delay in REM sleep disrupts the brain's ability to consolidate memories by interfering with the process that contributes to learning and memory.

'If it is insufficient or delayed, it may increase the stress hormone cortisol.

Studies have long warned that both the quality of amount of sleep can affect the risk of developing the memory-robbing condition

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause anxiety, confusion and short-term memory loss

'This can impair the brain's hippocampus, a critical structure for memory consolidation.'

REM follows three phases of non-REM sleep, each deeper than the last.

The four phases take 90 minutes or more to complete, depending on age, and a person may cycle through them four or five times in a typical night.

Older people take longer to reach REM.

In the fresh study, scientists at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing tracked the sleeping patterns of 128 volunteers, with an average age of 70.

Half had Alzheimer's, and about one-third had mild cognitive impairment, a frequent precursor to Alzheimer's. The rest had normal cognition.

Researchers tracked their brainwave activity, eye movement, heartrate and breathing during a night spent in the clinic.

They then divided the participants into early and delayed REM sleep.

Sleep deprivation can lead to obesity, memory loss, diabetes, heart disease, heightened and unstable emotions, impaired ability to learn and a reduced immune response, leaving you vulnerable to disease

In the fresh study, scientists at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing tracked the sleeping patterns of 128 volunteers, with an average age of 70

The early group typically reached REM less than 98 minutes after falling asleep, while the late group took more than 193 minutes.

Those with Alzheimers were more likely to have delayed REM sleep, 16 per cent more amyloid and 29 per cent more tau than those with early REM sleep.

They also had 39 per cent less of a healthy protein called brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which drops in Alzheimers, according to the findings published in the Alzheimers and Dementia journal.

Previous research on mice has suggested melatonin can boost REM sleep and decreases tau and amyloid accumulation.

Other drugs that treat insomnia by blocking a chemical that suppresses REM sleep have also been shown to decrease tau and amyloid.

The scientists suggested that people who are concerned about their Alzheimer's risk should 'practice healthy sleep habits' that help shift from light to REM sleep.

Dr Dantao Peng, an expert in neurology at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital and study senior author, added: 'This includes treating conditions like sleep apnea and avoiding heavy drinking, since both can interfere with a healthy sleep cycle.

'Patients taking certain antidepressants and sedatives that reduce REM sleep should discuss their concerns with their doctor, if they are worried about Alzheimer's.'

Around 900,000 Brits are currently thought to have the memory-robbing disorder. But University College London scientists estimate this will rise to 1.7million within two decades as people live longer. It marks a 40 per cent uptick on the previous forecast in 2017

Recent analysis by the Alzheimer's Society estimates the overall annual cost of the dementia to the UK is 42billion a year, with families bearing the brunt.

An ageing population means these costs  which include lost earnings of unpaid carers  are set to soar to 90billion in the next 15 years.

Around 944,000 in the UK are thought to be living with dementia, while the figure is thought to be around 7million in the US.

Alzheimer's affects around six in 10 people with dementia.

Memory problems, thinking and reasoning difficulties and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition, which then worsen over time.

Dementia are expected to sky-rocket in the coming years, making a cheap screening tool vital to get to grips with the challenge.

Alzheimer's Research UK analysis found 74,261 people died from dementia in 2022 compared with 69,178 a year earlier, making it the country's biggest killer.
A former White House doctor has warned that Donald Trump's 'blackout' at the CDC could allow one of the world's deadliest diseases to enter the US.

One of Trump's first acts as president was to put 90-day pause on travel, foreign assistance and some external communications at the CDC, FDA and NIH while the new administration prepares to overhaul the agencies.

The CDC has also been told to stop working with the World Health Organization 'immediately'.

Dr Stephanie Psaki  who is also the sister of Joe Biden's former press secretary Jen Psaki  said these moves could lay the ground for dangerous pathogens to come to America, such as Marburg virus, an Ebola-like illness that kills up to 88 percent of people it infects.

There is currently an outbreak of Marburg in Tanzania, where eight of the nine known Marburg patients have died and more cases may emerge.

There is no vaccine or treatment for the virus, which causes bleeding from orifices like the eyes, ears and mouth, and the only hope of protecting Americans 'is to stop it at its source,' said Dr Pskai.

Writing in an editorial today, the former health and 'gender equity' advisor to Biden said there should be CDC experts on the ground to fight the virus and working with public health partners to coordinate resources available to protect Americans.

She said Trump's pause leaves the US less prepared to tackle 'unknown pathogens'  much like how the Covid pandemic began.

Dr Stephanie Psaki raised the alarm over an outbreak of Marburg virus in Tanzania

Dr Psaki continued: 'As Ive watched the Trump administration announce a series of actions that undermine our ability to detect and respond to biological threats... I wonder: Who is protecting the American people from Marburg right now?'

Marburg virus is one of the deadliest diseases known, with patients starting with a headache, fever, and vomiting, before experiencing bleeding from orifices  such as the eyes, nose and ears.

The disease can spread between people via contact with bodily fluids such as blood and feces. Health workers trying to help patients are often infected.

Outbreaks of the disease and Ebola are often linked to exposure to infected bats.

But while there were 11 cases of and two deaths from Ebola in the US in 2014, officials say their protocol for responding to and handling viral outbreaks is a major reason why Marburg virus has never been detected in the US.

Writing for STAT News, Dr Psaki  the former US coordinator for global health security of the National Security Council  urged the Trump administration to follow the 'playbook' she and her team left behind for handling these types of outbreaks.

Dr Psaki said: 'The Marburg outbreak has continued to evolve since the transition last week, but we have little visibility into what is happening.

'Scientific experts across the US government have lost access to many of the tools they would normally use to protect Americans.'

The WHO warned her team of the Marburg outbreak in Tanzania on January 11, citing 'reliable reports from in-country sources' and said six people had been sickened, five of which had died.

By the morning after, her team had conducted a risk assessment  which found the risk was significant.

Marburg has a mortality rate of up to 88 percent. There are currently no vaccines or treatments approved to treat the virus

Pictured above is a medical worker assisting with a Marburg virus outbreak in 2014 in Kenya

And by Tuesday, the CDC had a response team ready while the State Department had issued guidance to Americans traveling to Tanzania warning over the outbreak and telling them to be aware of symptoms of Marburg.

The WHO had also conducted a risk assessment of the situation, and found the risk of transmission internationally was 'low'.

Dr Psaki added: 'Now is not the time to demolish our well-oiled machine [for preventing outbreaks].

'Instead, the United States should do what it does best  drive an effective and efficient response to stop outbreaks at their source. Because thats the best way to save lives around the world, and to protect our homeland too.'

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In a slew of executive orders on January 20, Trump announced he would withdraw from the WHO, replace the US Global Health Security Strategy for 2024 and place a 90-day pause on foreign assistance.

He has also paused the CDC and FDA from making public announcements, and blocked the National Institutes of Health from funding new research.

Dr Psaki warned these moves are severing ties with critical organizations that help to limit disease outbreaks and stop them before they hit the US.

She also warned it was leaving the US 'locked out' of warning systems, such as the WHO's 'Event Information Site'  which alerts of new outbreaks.

Additionally, she said it left the US less prepared to tackle 'unknown pathogens'  like Covid  after they emerge because it will likely have much less luck obtaining information from the country recording the outbreak than the WHO.

The previous administration followed a strategy of monitoring and responding to biological threats posed to the US abroad in order to stop them reaching the country.

Dr Psaki said: 'That was our plan to keep Americans safe. It worked for the last four years, and its our best bet to keep Americans safe for the next four.'
Britain is facing an avalanche of asbestos-related deaths. For decades, the official policy of successive governments has been to leave asbestos where it is, provided it is sealed in, painted over or not degraded so that it's shedding fibres.

However, many hospitals, schools and other public buildings are now so old and crumbling that campaigners argue this policy should be abandoned.

The danger is mesothelioma, a cancer that develops in the mesothelium, the membrane that covers the lungs, abdomen and heart.

The cancer is caused by inhaling tiny fibres of asbestos. There is no cure, and treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy can only slow down its growth. Once diagnosed, most patients die within 18 months.

Asbestos was widely used in the UK in public and domestic buildings as a form of insulation and a fire retardant for decades  found in everything from ceiling tiles to toasters, corrugated roofing and ironing boards, before finally being banned in 1999.

As a result of its widespread use, the UK now has the highest mesothelioma mortality rate in the world. And the tide of people being diagnosed with the disease is growing.

It can take 20 to 60 years between exposure and developing symptoms  such as abdominal and chest pains, coughing and breathlessness  and the fear is that many people are living with a ticking time bomb inside them.

The Mail has now joined campaigners in demanding government action to ensure that public buildings  including more than 21,000 schools  have all remaining asbestos removed, and to set up a national online database listing every non-domestic building in the country that contains it.

Asbestos was widely used in the UK in public and domestic buildings as a form of insulation and a fire retardant for decades before finally being banned in 1999

People continue to be diagnosed with mesothelioma. While some have worked with asbestos, many of those affected have not, and had no reason to suspect they might have inhaled the deadly fibres. The impact of this disease is reflected here in the stories of these ten brave people...

From bunsen burner mats at school?

Mark Smith, 36, a transport manager, lives in Bradford with partner, Hayley, 34, who works in accounts, and their children, aged nine and seven. He says:

With two young children, I should be in the prime of life. But I'm so weak and breathless that, when we went on a pre-Christmas outing to our local stately home I had to hire a mobility scooter.

Just months prior I was playing rugby and taking part in charity cycle rides.

Last August I started losing my appetite. I then developed a stabbing pain in my stomach. I thought it was a hernia.

Mark Smith, 36, has started a two-year course of immunotherapy which he hopes will delay his cancer growing

My GP sent me to A&E where doctors drained nine litres of fluid from my stomach. They told me they suspected I had cancer  after doing a biopsy they diagnosed peritoneal mesothelioma  mesothelioma in the abdominal lining.

To make things worse, the doctor mistakenly said it was treatable and I could expect to live a long life. A few days later, a second doctor revealed the devastating truth: I have, at best, 18 months to live. We are still reeling.

I've started a two-year course of immunotherapy which, I hope, will delay the cancer growing.

I am still producing up to two litres of fluid every day as an effect of the cancer, but have been fitted with a permanent drain.

Despite all this I still manage to work as my job isn't too physically taxing. When I tell people I have cancer caused by asbestos, they're shocked. I'm so young and have never worked with asbestos.

Solicitors are tracing my education and work history: one theory is that asbestos was in the ceiling tiles in my school or in the mats we used with bunsen burners in science lessons.

Hayley and I are trying to protect the children from all this: all they know is I'm poorly and that doctors give me medicine to reduce the fluid in my stomach.

Contracted it as a 16-year-old receptionist

Michelle Spencer, 63, a retired teacher, lives in Rochdale with her husband, Nigel, 58, who works in logistics. She has two children and six grandchildren. She says:

I'm dying because of where I worked and it makes me so angry.

I believe I came into contact with asbestos in 1976, when I was 16 and worked as a receptionist at a local carpet mill. I had to take messages to a room where maintenance staff were working on the asbestos insulation on pipework.

I was only at the company for 18 months, but it seems to have signed my death warrant.

Michelle Spencer, 63, believes she came into contact with asbestos in 1976, when she was 16 and worked as a receptionist at a local carpet mill

When I developed a dry cough in 2021, my GP suspected long Covid  but after a CT scan a week later (which showed a shadow on my left lung) and a biopsy, I was told it was mesothelioma.

Initially I felt relieved because it sounded better than lung cancer. But then the doctor gently pointed out that it was incurable.

Nigel and I went to pieces. I loved my job as a catering teacher at Buckley Hall Prison but by then I felt too weak to continue. Leaving broke my heart.

The prisoners even paid for me and Nigel to go on a spa break. I still get cards from them.

I've had chemotherapy and immunotherapy which have kept the cancer at bay. But I'm running out of options and time.

Through my solicitors, Irwin Mitchell, I received compensation from the insurers of the company that owns the mill. It's allowed us to make memories. In September Nigel and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in Sri Lanka. We hope to take the entire family to Disneyland Paris this year.

I try to feel positive that I can do these things before I go.

Accountant in tower block with asbestos

Alan Smith, 80, former managing director of Anglian Water, lives in Melton Mowbray with wife, Deb, 65, a retired retail trainer. He has two children and three grandchildren. He says:

I've never worked with asbestos or knowingly been anywhere near it. Though I probably came in contact with it in around 1972 when I spent two years as an accountant in a 16-storey tower block in Ipswich. The building was demolished in 2008 because it was riddled with asbestos.

Alan Smith, 80, says so far his cancer is stable and he is fit enough to walk up to five miles a day

Or it could have happened when I attended meetings in the offices of Wisbech and District Water Board where asbestos has also been found  I remember loud building work going on behind a partition.

One lungful of asbestos dust is enough to give you cancer, but I didn't realise how vulnerable I was. When I started suffering breathlessness in July 2023, as an ex-smoker I assumed it was lung cancer. I was shocked when I was diagnosed with mesothelioma.

As my cancer is slow-growing, doctors don't recommend treatment. So far the cancer is stable and I'm fit enough to walk up to five miles a day. I have had a good life and am determined to stay as active and positive as I can.

Once lived in a very old building

Karen Cansanay, 44, a full-time mother, lives in Cheltenham with husband, Alvin, 47, a business consultant. They have four children aged from five to 22. She says:

I woke up from an operation to remove a suspected gallstone to learn that the lump in my stomach was actually cancer  peritoneal mesothelioma.

That was last July and I have, at best, two years to live. I'm still in shock  it seems like a nightmare.

Karen Cansanay, 44, can't pinpoint how she came in contact with asbestos although she says she did once live in a very old building

My little boy, Elijah, is five. He only knows that his mummy has a pain in her stomach. My older children (aged 22, 18 and 17) know the truth and are heartbroken.

It's all happened so fast. I started feeling breathless last January. My hands also felt numb. When I began to feel bloated, my GP ordered a full MRI scan which revealed a lump in my stomach. After the diagnosis I started a course of immunotherapy, which I hope will prolong my life.

I can't pinpoint how I came in contact with asbestos although I did once live in a very old building and I've since learnt it's in so many old buildings. All I can do is try to enjoy every day and build as many memories for my children as I possibly can.

As student had job cleaning in schools

Susanna Illingworth, 38, a compliance officer, lives in Oxford. She says:

When I started suffering from a bloated stomach and other gut symptoms, and pain under my rib cage, my GP suggested a number of possibilities including muscle strain, endometriosis or a gluten intolerance. It was only when I started fertility treatment in August 2023 that I discovered I have mesothelioma.

I've always wanted children and, as I don't have a partner, in August 2023 I decided to go to a private fertility clinic.

The consultant started by scanning me. When he saw fluid around my ovaries, he urged me to have an MRI scan on the NHS before fertility treatment. I felt so fit, I never suspected cancer.

Two months later I had the scan. That's when the nightmare began, as it showed nodules on my ovaries. Doctors thought it was ovarian cancer. I was petrified when the surgeon told me they feared it was stage 4 and incurable. Thank heavens my sister (I'm one of four girls) was there with me.

Susanna Illingworth, 38, is working with solicitors who are trying to trace where she came in contact with asbestos

Reeling, I was transferred to the Royal Marsden Hospital a few days later. It was only last January that a battery of further tests showed I had peritoneal mesothelioma. My grandfather, an admiral, died of mesothelioma aged 69, soon after I was born, so I knew what it meant.

In August  after six sessions of chemotherapy  I had a 12-hour operation at the Hampshire Clinic in Basingstoke to remove my ovaries, fallopian tubes, womb, spleen, appendix and the lining of my stomach. The surgeon then filled the cavity with heated chemotherapy drugs to kill any remaining cancer cells.

I feel immensely lucky that I seem to have responded well to treatment but I feel immeasurably sad I can never be a mother.

I've had terrific support from HASAG, an asbestos disease support group based in Southampton, and from Mesothelioma UK, which funds a peritoneal mesothelioma cancer nurse specialist.

I'm also working with solicitors who are trying to trace where I came in contact with asbestos. Theories include my primary school  and as a teenager I also worked as a cleaner at various schools which may well also have contained asbestos.

As apprentice, saw it glistening in sun

Steve Elford, 73, a retired electrical engineer, lives in Wisbech, Cambs, with his wife, Lori, 64, a retired nurse. They have five daughters, 13 grandchildren and three great- grandchildren. He says:

When I was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May, the bottom fell out of my world.

Lori [his second wife] and I only got married in 2013 and we still had so many plans. We'd recently bought a home in Cyprus and intended to spend half the year in the sunshine. Until my diagnosis  after I developed a persistent cough early last year  I was fit as a fiddle and felt invincible.

Steve Elford, 73, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May and first worked with asbestos in a foundry which he joined as a 16-year-old apprentice

I first worked with asbestos in a foundry which I joined as a 16-year-old apprentice. I remember seeing asbestos fibres glistening in the sunshine and thinking it was innocuous. So I was blindsided when I was told that I had mesothelioma in my right lung and it was incurable. The irony is that I have always been virulently opposed to smoking because I know the dangers of lung cancer.

I was offered immunotherapy and promised it could buy me up to three years. Sadly, in October, scans showed the treatment wasn't working. The cancer is too far spread. I am now receiving palliative care only.

We've been blase about the dangers of asbestos for far too long. As I know to my cost, it is a killer.

How did middle-aged mum get it?

Lisa Black, 54, an admin assistant, lives in Sevenoaks, Kent with husband, Russell, 59, an IT developer. They have a daughter, 25, and a son, 23. She says:

I was diagnosed with mesothelioma last May. I'm still in shock and very angry. I've always looked after myself  eaten well and taken plenty of exercise and never been ill apart from the odd cold.

But this evil substance somehow got inside me  I still don't know how  and it's killing me. The irony is I expected to live a long, healthy life; my nan died at 102.

Last February I started struggling to breathe and was so ill I was admitted to hospital - the doctors thought it was pneumonia and even when a second X-ray showed fluid on my lungs, no one suspected the truth.

Lisa Black, 54, says being told she was terminally ill was shattering and she has never felt more alone or terrified

Mesothelioma is so misunderstood, doctors weren't looking for it in a healthy, middle-aged mum.

It took several CT scans and a biopsy before they realised. Then they kept asking me: 'Have you ever worked with asbestos? Have you ever renovated an old property?' The answer is no.

Being told I was terminally ill was shattering. I have never felt more alone or more terrified.

We have tried to sugarcoat the diagnosis for our children but I know they're frightened. When I asked the doctor whether I would be here this time next year, he shrugged and said: 'We hope so but it depends on how you react to treatment.'

After two cycles of chemotherapy my lungs seem clearer, but the side-effects are horrendous.

We all need to be more aware of the dangers of asbestos. Although it is banned, it's rife in our schools, hospitals and public buildings.

Visited factories that may have contained it

Phil Seddon, 55, a technical manager at a food factory, lives near Wigan with his wife, Paula, 54, a sales administrator and their daughter, 17. He says:

I went from feeling fighting fit to discovering I had a terminal illness in just one month.

Now  a year on  it still seems unreal. I may not look unwell but my insides are rotting.

In October 2023 I developed a bad cough and got breathless walking up stairs. As a chap who regularly did the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge  a 25-mile walk over three mountains  I knew something was wrong.

Phil Seddon, 55, went from feeling fighting fit to discovering he had a terminal illness in just one month

My GP immediately arranged for me to go to hospital, where doctors drained over eight litres of fluid. After a bronchoscopy  where a camera was passed into my lungs  I was told I had mesothelioma and it was terminal.

I'd never even heard of it. Doctors kept asking if I'd worked with asbestos. I haven't, although my job was servicing machines in factories. Now solicitors at Leigh Day are helping me trace all the buildings I visited for work over the past 30 years where asbestos would have been in the structure.

I'm receiving immunotherapy and while well enough to work, I wheeze and even walking 150 yards is difficult.

I stopped asking for a prognosis after it plummeted from 2 years to 16 months within a few weeks. I'd rather not know.

Signs in pregnancy baffled doctors

Emily Jane Carter, 41, worked in logistics and lives in Tamworth with her husband, Ryan, 38, a production manager, and their three children aged ten and under. She says:

I was five weeks' pregnant with my son, Thomas, when I noticed a sharp, paralysing pain in my right lower ribcage area in May 2022. I would also get pain in my right shoulder blade that would radiate through my chest and down my right arm. I now know this is because the cancer is in the lining of my right lung.

Emily Jane Carter, 41, says she lives from scan to scan and never plans beyond three months but tries to make life as normal as possible for her three children

I was in such agony, I was admitted to hospital four times during my pregnancy but doctors couldn't find the cause.

Finally in October 2023  17 months after the pain started  Ryan persuaded me to go to the GP as it was no better.

I was sent to hospital, where a CT scan showed I had pleural mesothelioma.

I was alone when the nurse specialist told me it was terminal. I went to pieces. But with three young children, I have to get up every morning and stay positive. I've been receiving immunotherapy for 12 months. So far the cancer is stable.

I live from scan to scan and never plan beyond three months but I try to make life as normal as possible for our children. They know I have a poorly lung and need treatment, but they are too young to understand that I'm dying.

Most days I feel well. So much so that in May I hiked 26 miles with six others. We raised over 10,000 for Mesothelioma UK.

My career meant I worked in offices next to warehouses. My solicitors are going right back to my school days to see where I came in contact with the asbestos which is killing me.

Worked in fireproof room in 1970s

Ian Terry, 75, a retired computer programmer, lives in Worcester. Widowed, he has two children and three grandchildren. He says:

The past 12 months have been very tough. My lovely wife, Vanessa, died of bowel cancer in March and I've been battling mesothelioma with no idea how long I have left.

My first job after university was as a computer operator between 1970-1972 and I was working in an air-conditioned, fireproof room containing asbestos-based ceiling tiles.

Ian Terry, 75, says back in the 1970s no one knew the dangers of asbestos like they do now, so he doesn't feel bitter

The vigorous air conditioning  necessary to cool the computers  meant invisible asbestos particles from the tiles were constantly blown around.

Back in the 1970s no one knew the dangers like they do now, so I don't feel bitter.

With the support of the excellent ASCE charity (Asbestos Support Central England) earlier this year I received 150,000 compensation from the company's insurers  plus unlimited funds for treatment. Thanks to this, I've started chemotherapy privately.

I was diagnosed in September 2022 after feeling breathless. It was a body blow as in the very same month Vanessa was diagnosed with inoperable bowel cancer. She lasted just 18 months.

I had surgery to remove the pleura  the thin layer covering the lungs and lining the chest cavity. This kept the cancer at bay until this summer. I haven't asked for a prognosis. I live one day at a time and make the most of the time I have left with my family.

Pharmacy move disturbed asbestos boards

Sue Farrall, 58, who worked in community pharmacies, lives in Tamworth, with husband Simon, 58, a train driver. She has a son, 30. She says:

I was exposed to asbestos around 22 years ago in a pharmacy  the dispensary was relocated within the store and, during the process, I believe asbestos boards were disturbed. I never gave it a second thought when I began feeling extremely unwell with chest pains in March 2022  some 20 years later.

Neither did the doctors, who thought it was a post-Covid chest infection.

It took six months and several courses of antibiotics (for this supposed infection), scans and X-rays, before a thoracic consultant noticed thickening on the lining of my lungs.

I was diagnosed with mesothelioma on my husbands 56th birthday. We were told it was terminal but given no counselling or support, not even a leaflet. I felt so alone and was so anxious my GP prescribed antidepressants.

However Ive been fortunate in that, because I was so fit  Ive run the London Marathon twice and thought nothing of a ten-mile morning run  I was deemed a good candidate for surgery. In February 2023, I had a nine-hour operation to remove the pleura, which covers my lungs and lines my chest wall.

However, its not a cure. The surgeon likened it to removing weeds but leaving the roots behind. Im getting used to the new me. I can no longer run marathons but I did manage to walk 22 miles to raise money for Mesothelioma UK, the wonderful charity which has supported me.

My diagnosis has crystallised my priorities. Simon and I got married last year and my wonderful son, Jack, is making me a Grandma this June. I have so much to live for.

No idea where she was exposed

Sylvia Bellicoso, 68, worked in catering and retail and lives in Derbyshire with her husband Tony, 67, a gas engineer. She has three daughters and two grandsons. She says:

Im grabbing life with both hands. Since being diagnosed with mesothelioma in April 2024, I dont know how long I have. What hurts most is that Tony and I had so many plans for our retirement. Instead Ive been handed a life sentence through no fault of my own.

I spent my career working in shops and cafes  I have no idea where I came in contact with asbestos.

It was a massive shock when doctors told me my shortness of breath was down to a cancer caused by asbestos. When they said my prognosis was two years, I was so devastated, I stopped eating and went into a depression. But with my familys support, I got my second wind. We have just returned from a Mediterranean cruise and are planning more holidays.

Ive started immunotherapy and my latest scan in November showed it is keeping the cancer at bay. I feel sick when I remember how asbestos was hailed as a miracle product. Its a killer.

Inhaled deadly fibres on a building site?

Ralph Woodward, 77, a retired carpenter, lives outside Cambridge with partner Gini Jackson. He has two sons and five grandchildren. He says:

I was diagnosed with mesothelioma in September 2023, which I believe I contracted when I was working on building sites at the beginning of my career in the 1960s.

Asbestos was widely used  you could hardly avoid contact with it and I spent hours cutting up asbestos boards, breathing in the minute fibres.

When asbestos was banned in the 1990s, I was a little concerned but decided there was no point dwelling on my past. Besides I was super fit, until early 2023 when I developed a cough I couldnt shake off.

My GP sent me for tests  I had fluid on my lungs and it had to be drained. The doctors also did a series of biopsies. When they asked me that day whether I had worked with asbestos, alarm bells started ringing.

Im now on a two-year course of immunotherapy and am being monitored. I dread to think how many young people are walking around with this timebomb inside them.

- For further information on the disease, go to: mesothelioma.uk.com
An urgent recall has been issued for a popular organic milk brand beloved by Gwyneth Paltrow for its potential to cause serious harm or even death.

Horizon Organic, which is headquartered in Colorado, has recalled 19,688 cartons of its whole milk for its potential to spoil before the best before date.

The compromised cartons of milk - 8oz in size - were distributed in Arizona, California, and Nevada.

Drinking spoiled milk can cause abdominal cramping, vomiting, and diarrhea, and it also has the potential to cause food poisoning.

In severe cases, experts warn this could lead to death, especially for people with weakened immune systems, such as children, and older adults.

The Missouri Poison Center advises people who have drank spoiled milk to 'wipe or rinse out the mouth' and to have a 'serving size of water to drink'.

It highlights that in most cases, symptoms caused by drinking spoiled milk resolve within 12 to 24 hours but if they worsen, a medical provider should be contacted immediately.

The FDA has categorized the recall as a Class II, describing it as 'a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.'

A recall has been issued for a popular organic milk brand Horizon

A carton can be seen in Gwyneth Paltrow's fridge

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In terms of what to look for, the cartons have the following universal product codes (UPC); 3663207113 and 366320712.

They also have the expiration dates of March 3, 4, 6, and 7, 2025.

The 8oz cartons are designed for drinking on-the-go with a peel off foil opening.

In terms of nutritional values, each serving contains 150 calories and 8g of protein.

To date, there have been no reports of any customers getting sick.

Horizon Organic milk is available online via retailers including FreshDirect and Instacart and it is available in a spread of convenience stores, with CVS being one of the main carriers.

The company, which prides itself on being the first organic milk brand sold across the US, launched in 1991 and it quickly grew into a multi-million dollar enterprise with a cult following.

In 2023, when Gwyneth Paltrow opened up her Montecito guest house on AirBnB, she revealed the contents of her refrigerator.

Footage shared on social media show the star's refrigerator stocked with a mix of Horizon Organic products, including whole milk and half and half.

Last January, Danone, the former owner of Horizon Organic, sold the brand to private equity firm Platinum Equity for an undisclosed amount.
Another case of the new deadly mpox strain has been detected in the UK, health officials confirmed today.

The clade 1b mutation, which experts have called 'the most dangerous one so far' kills one in ten of those infected and is believed to be behind a wave of miscarriages.

It takes the total number of confirmed cases in Britain now to seven. The UK, however, has not recorded any deaths.

Officials don't yet know how they became infected with the strain.

But they had 'recently' travelled back to the UK from Uganda, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.

Health chiefs say they still consider the threat clade 1b poses to the public as 'low'.

Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said: 'The risk to the UK population remains low.

'Close contacts have been identified and offered appropriate advice in order to reduce the chance of further spread.'

Officials don't yet know how they became infected with the strain. But they had 'recently' travelled back to the UK from Uganda, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said

The UK's first mpox case was detected after the unidentified patient developed flu-like symptoms, followed by a rash and attended A&E on October 27 where they were tested.

They were then transferred to a high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in North London  the same facility where imported cases of Ebola were treated in 2015.

In November, officials confirmed a further four patients were being treated at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with the strain.

Earlier this month, a sixth case  which had no previous links to the other cases  was also detected in East Sussex.

They had also recently returned from Uganda and officials said they were now under specialist care at Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust.

A global outbreak of mpox, previously known as monkeypox, began in Africa in May 2022.

But the latest Clade 1b strain is considered far deadlier.

It has swept through central Africa killing at least 1,000 people, since the outbreak began.

Cases of Clade 1b in the UK are a far cry from the 2022 outbreak where thousands of cases were recorded, mostly in London

Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo have been hit especially hard with cases also spotted in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya.

However, experts say fatality rates of clade 1b from central Africa are unlikely to be replicated in developed nations like the UK due to better access to higher quality healthcare.

Britain's cases means it joins countries including the US, Sweden, Thailand, India and Germany in having cases outside of Africa.

In July, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an ongoing mpox outbreak across several central African nations as a 'public health emergency of international concern'.

This is the same designation the WHO gave Covid in late January 2020, just a few weeks before the virus ripped across the world.

Mpox causes characteristic lumpy lesions, as well as a fever, aches and pains and fatigue.

However, in a small number of cases, it can enter the blood and lungs, as well as other parts of the body, when it becomes life-threatening.

Current mpox vaccines, which are designed to work on smallpox a close relative of the mpox virus, were used during the 2022 outbreak against the milder strain.

But they have yet to be widely tested against the more potent clade 1b strain.

The WHO and the NHS 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.

There are no direct treatments available with medics focused instead on supporting a patient to help their body fight off the virus.
If you're regularly waking up mid-dream it could be an early warning sign of dementia, a study suggests.

Researchers found people who go into REM sleep (the part of the sleep cycle responsible for dreams) later in the night are more prone to or more likely to have dementia.

The researchers believe this could be because REM sleep is essential for producing melatonin, which helps clear out toxic proteins linked to brain damage.

One sign that you're entering REM (rapid eye movement) sleep late or not getting enough is waking up in the morning in the middle of a dream, scientists say.

This is why people report the phenomena after a night of drinking alcohol, which suppresses REM sleep and pushes it further back in the cycle.

Dr Yue Leng, from UCSF and lead author behind the new study, said: 'The delay in REM sleep disrupts the brain's ability to consolidate memories by interfering with the process that contributes to learning and memory.

'If it is insufficient or delayed, it may increase the stress hormone cortisol. This can impair the brain's hippocampus, a critical structure for memory consolidation.'

The study comes as dementia kills more than 288,000 Americans every year and affects about 7million.

Researchers at the University of California - San Francisco (UCSF) found people who took longer to reach REM sleep were more at risk for dementia (stock image)

Your browser does not support iframes.

REM follows three phases of non-REM sleep, each deeper than the last.

The four phases take 90 minutes or more to complete, depending on age, and a person may cycle through them four or five times in a typical night.

Older people take longer to reach REM.

In the new study, scientists at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing tracked the sleeping patterns of 128 volunteers, with an average age of 70.

Half had Alzheimer's, and about one-third had mild cognitive impairment, a frequent precursor to Alzheimer's. The rest had normal cognition.

Researchers tracked their brainwave activity, eye movement, heartrate and breathing during a night spent in the clinic.

They then divided the participants into early and delayed REM sleep.

The early group typically reached REM less than 98 minutes after falling asleep, while the late group took more than 193 minutes.

The above graph shows rates of Alzheimer's per 100,000 people, both age-standardized and all ages. Age-standardization is a method used to adjust for differences in age distribution between populations or over time, while non-age-standardized is the raw rate calculated across all age groups in the population without any adjustment

Those with Alzheimers were more likely to have delayed REM sleep, 16 percent more amyloid and 29 percent more tau than those with early REM sleep.

These are toxic proteins that clump together in the brain to form plaques in nerve cells, disrupting normal communication and killing them off.

Previous research on mice has suggested melatonin can boost REM sleep and decreases tau and amyloid accumulation.

Other drugs that treat insomnia by blocking a chemical that suppresses REM sleep have also been shown to decrease tau and amyloid.

The scientists suggested that people who are concerned about their Alzheimer's risk should 'practice healthy sleep habits' that help shift from light to REM sleep.

Dr Dantao Peng, an expert in neurology at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital and study senior author, added: 'This includes treating conditions like sleep apnea and avoiding heavy drinking, since both can interfere with a healthy sleep cycle.

'Patients taking certain antidepressants and sedatives that reduce REM sleep should discuss their concerns with their doctor, if they are worried about Alzheimer's.'
Sir,

Australia has banned children under the age of 16 from using social media. The move has been met with some criticism, particularly from companies like Meta  which owns Facebook and Instagram  and TikTok, which will face fines of up to US$32 million if they fail to keep young people off their platforms.

But Australias new policy represents a critical step towards protecting children in the 21st century. All societies  and the States that serve them  have a responsibility to protect their children from harmful addictions. And addiction is exactly what social media companies are trying to cultivate. As Facebooks founding President, Sean Parker, revealed in 2017, the process of building the platform was guided by a simple question: How do we consume as much of (users) time and conscious attention as possible? The answer these firms reached lay in exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology: The desire for social validation.



Designed



Essentially, Parker explained, social media platforms were designed to deliver hits of dopamine  a neurotransmitter that plays a role in addiction  through socially validating likes, comments, views and shares. The more people engage with the platform, the more dopamine hits they receive. The result is a social-validation feedback loop that keeps users hooked. God only knows what its doing to our childrens brains, a regretful Parker lamented. Chamath Palihapitiya  another former Facebook executive whose tremendous guilt spurred him to speak out against social media  has an idea. You do not realise it, he told an audience at Stanford in 2017, but you are being programmed. Deciding how (and how much) to use social media is tantamount to deciding how much intellectual independence one is willing to give up. But many users  particularly children  are not equipped to make informed or healthy choices about social media, not least owing to those addictive feedback loops.



Addiction



According to the World Health Organisations (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, problematic social media use  characterised by addiction-like symptoms, such as an inability to control usage and feelings of withdrawal when not using  has risen sharply among adolescents, from 7 per cent of users in 2018 to 11 per cent in 2022. In the United States (US), the average teenager spends 4.8 hours a day on social media. These figures imply serious risks. Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media are twice as likely as their peers to experience anxiety and depression. Social media use is also associated with low self-esteem, bullying and poor academic performance.



Evidence



Evidence suggests social media has been a key contributor to the uptick in suicide rates among US teens over the last decade. The WHO has called for immediate and sustained action to help adolescents turn the tide on potentially damaging social-media use. Even young people themselves are sounding the alarm. In early November, the youth Parliament of the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland, petitioned the Cantonal Council of Lucerne to strengthen protections of social media users  not least addiction prevention  through targeted awareness-raising among parents and the public. Have children ever before petitioned adults to protect them from addictive habits? The fact that social media is sparking such requests shows just how acute the harm is. The consequences of social media extend beyond children. According to Palihapitiya, the short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops these companies have created are destroying how society works by propagating misinformation and mistruth. As Parker put it, social media literally changes your relationship with society, with each other.



Speculation



This is not mere speculation: Social media has proven to be a polarisation engine and a powerful tool for inciting violence. Parker knew he was working to cultivate addiction, and so did Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram Co-Founder Kevin Systrom and others like them. According to Palihapitiya, while he and his colleagues told themselves nothing bad would happen, they knew in the back of [their] minds that it would. But the rewards were apparently too great to give up: The more addicted people were to their platforms, the more user data their firms could collect and the more money they would make selling highly targeted and personalised ads. We need to get serious. The idea that social media companies would police themselves was always wishful thinking: These firms business models are built on violating basic rights. That is why all countries that are serious about fulfilling their responsibility to protect their people  and the international community at large  must work together to build and enforce a new regulatory framework for these platforms. The first step is to follow Australias lead and raise age limits on their use.



Peter Kirchschlager
The mainstream media spent an average of 46 minutes covering Donald Trump's January 6 pardons but just three minutes covering Biden's pardoning of his own family, new analysis has found.

Between January 20 and January 22, ABC, NBC and CBS devoted 15 times as much airtime to Trump's pardons than they did Biden's, the analysis by The Media Research Center found.

The anchors who led the coverage included ABC's George Stephanopoulos and CBS's Norah O'Donnell.

Biden issued a series of preemptive pardons for family members James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden in the final hours of his administration.

He also pardoned younger brother James' wife, Sara; his sister, Valerie; her husband, John; and his younger brother, Francis Biden, for 'nonviolent' actions dating back 10 years. In December, Biden pardoned son Hunter, despite vowing not to.

But newscasters barely covered it. Instead, they obsessed over the controversy surrounding Trump, the MRC found.

The study comes days as CNN and NBC recover from sweeping layoffs.

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The statistic, calculated by The Media Research Center (MRC), pertains to broadcasts from ABC, NBC, and CBS that aired beginning on Inauguration Day through the morning of January 22. Pictured, a still from ABC World News Tonight with David Muir this past Tuesday

'Tonight, President Donald Trump's first full day in office, and the growing fallout after he pardoned the January 6th rioters,' NBC's Lester Holt told viewers as they tuned into Tuesday's version of the Nightly News, after touching on Biden's pardons the day before

Over on CBS, an outgoing Norah O'Donnell devoted an entire segment to interview U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger

On Tuesday January 21st, Lester Holt kicked off NBC's coverage with the following segment.

'Tonight, President Donald Trump's first full day in office, and the growing fallout after he pardoned the January 6th rioters.

'The president... faces backlash for pardoning more than a thousand January 6 defendants, including many found guilty of assaulting police officers,' he continued, as the MRC found NBC's 'Today' and 'Nightly News' spent 14 minutes and 30 seconds on Trump - and just two minutes on Biden.

The anchor went on to highlight the prospect of leaders of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers - among nearly 200, he said - 'walking free' after their crimes.

Over on ABC, World News Tonight's David Muir said much of the same, after the network's Good Morning America and his show collectively spent 15 minutes and 30 seconds on the subject of Trump pardons - compared to just 34 seconds on Biden's.

'Tonight, President Trump, just moments ago, on why he pardoned more than 1,500 defendants in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, including those who assaulted officers.

He went on to advertise awaiting interviews with officers 'who came under attack,' sparking accusations of bias in the process.

'David Muir mentions Trumps pardons but there is no mention of Bidens pardons of 30 convicted killers plus pardons for Bidens family and Fauci for crimes not even arrested for yet. Hey sponsors - you like this?' one X user wrote moments later.

'ABC just won't quit with bashing President Trump,' another user added. 'David Muir is making more of an issue of the J6 pardons than @JoeBiden pardoning his son, family, and the entire J6 committee.'

CBS anchor Gayle King (right) also offered substantial commentary on the Jan 6 pardons on January 21st - as did Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos

Over on CBS, O'Donnell devoted an entire segment to interview U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger. Overall, 'CBS Mornings' and 'CBS Evening News' used 16 minutes and 32 seconds of air time to talk about Trump's pardons - as opposed to 64 for Biden's.

A day later, amid waning ratings that's seen her lose ground to both Holt and Muir and reportedly subject to a more than $4million pay curt, she signed off her Evening News desk for good.

Manger, meanwhile, argued that Trump's sweeping pardons on January 6 defendants had upset a lot of officers, and 'had an impact on our communities nationwide.'

Earlier in the day, O'Donnell's longtime colleague Gayle King also offered substantial commentary on the then-unfolding situation - as did Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos.

Both clashed with newly named Secretary of State Marco Rubio, over past comments that saw him brand January 6, 2021, as a 'national embarrassment'.

'I dont anticipate a single one of our partners will ask about it, obviously, Rubio said in response, as a video he shared on the social platform X that day circulated.

'My job is to focus on the foreign policy of the United States. I have a different job this morning and a different focus.  I wont be opining on domestic matters at this point.'

Stephanopoulos went on to ask whether Rubio no longer felt the events of January 6 impacted the US' standing in the world - to which he said, 'Im focused singularly on foreign policy and how I interact with our allies.'

A back-and-forth was also seen between King and Rubio in a similar interview the same on CBS, where King pressed the head of state for his former comments about the insurrection.

'Many people believe - including the American people -[they] were not in favor of these blanket pardons,' King began

'In February, 2021, even you issued a statement... you said, the images of the attacks stirred up anger of you... [that] the nation was embarrassed in the eyes of the world by our own citizens.

'How do you personally reconcile those feelings with the pardons that he did yesterday?'

Again, Rubio offered a similar response - before being grilled on the very same subject by NBC's new co-host, Craig Melvin, on the set of Today.

Meanwhile, on January 6, 2021, a total of five people died - one from an overdose, one shot by Capitol police, and three from natural causes. The latter included a cop who died a day after being assaulted - his death deemed an unrelated occurrence

Over the course of his presidency, Biden issued 8,064 pardons during his tenure, including preemptive ones for every member of his family except Jill and daughter Ashley

'I recall that you said, shortly after the attack on the Capitol, where you were that day, that it was one of the saddest days in American history,' Melvin said, after the show touched on Biden's pardons the day before with one single segment.

He went on to show Rubio's comments offered to reports on January 6, 2021, where he likened the US, at the time, to Putin's Russia.

'What message does this pardoning, nearly all of them, send to the rest of the world?' Melvin, a journalist with NBC News for the past decade-and-a-half, asked.

After some hesitance from Rubio, Melvin pressed more - consistent with the other station's particular style of journalism surrounding the January 6 pardons.

The desire to pick and prod at politicians' stance at the subject saw the reporting involving Biden emerging the day before pale in comparison, as it continued into the subsequent day.

More segments and monologues awaited, as the stories surrounding Biden's executive actions faded into relative obscurity.

Biden also issued pre-emptive pardons for General Mike Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Rep. Liz Cheney, and other lawmakers who investigated the January 6 riot.

Over the course of his presidency, the 82-year-old issued 8,064 pardons during his tenure, including ones for every member of his family - except wife Jill and daughter Ashley.

The statistics surrounding the coverage comes as NBC News conducted a round of layoffs on Thursday, after CNN laid off 200 it staffer as part of a long-talked shift toward a more digital-centered outfit.

Oliver Darcy, CNN Media Analyst Brian Stelter's long-billed successor but now the founder of Status, reported both rounds of firings last week in his newsletter

The Status report, published about eight hours before the CNN layoffs an as networks engaged in their pardon reporting, stated that 'ABC News is anticipating "long-rumored layoffs" too,' also amid flailing ratings.
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman shamed the women of The View into silence on Monday by refusing to join in their anti-Trump vitriol.

Fresh off his inauguration appearance and a much-talked-about trip to Mar-a-Lago earlier in the month, Fetterman left the women lost for words with his sensible response to Trump's busy first week in office.

'Hes been doing essentially what he actually campaigned on.

'There's things I'm going to agree with, and things I'm going to disagree with.

'But I'm in the business of finding wins for Pennsylvania and for the nation and engaging the president,' the Pennsylvania Senator said.

The only applause he received from the panel was from Alyssa Farah Griffin, the most conservative voice on the show, who offered: 'Well said.'

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Fresh off his inauguration appearance and a much-talked-about trip to Mar-a-Lago earlier in the month, Fetterman first set out on explaining why he hasnt been surprised by Trumps acts since taking office

Fetterman was taken to task by almost all of the hosts on separate issues. Sunny Hostin accused him of turning his back on Democrats

Sen. @JohnFetterman to #TheView: "[Trump] has been doing essentially what he actually campaigned on."



"There's things I'm going to agree with, I'm going to disagree with, but I'm in the business of finding wins for Pennsylvania and for the nation and engaging the president." pic.twitter.com/96VIQ6N3is  The View (@TheView) January 27, 2025

Fetterman didn't stop there.

He shocked Sunny Hostin by calling the prosecution of Trump in New York 'unjust', and left the whole panel visibly irritated with his defense of going to Mar-a-Lago.

'The trial in this city, in New York, was politically motivated.

'That wouldnt otherwise have been prosecuted if it was someone else.'

Hostin, an attorney who for years worked for CNN as a legal analyst, quickly honed in on what Fetterman had just said about Trumps trial.

'Just for clarification: Did you mean that the 34-count case in which Donald Trump was found guilty of various financial crimes was politically motivated here in New York?' she snarked.

Fetterman, two years removed from his victory over Republican TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz, stayed strong, again calling the case that began when a Manhattan grand jury elected to charge Trump criminally in 2023 'inappropriate'.

'Whether thats a Democrat going after a Republican or a Republican going after a Democrat...I like to think I call it strikes and balls because the judicial system has to remain impartial. Thats really the cornerstone of our society.

'The judicial system [cannot be] weaponized [and target] political enemies for political gain.'

Whoopi Goldberg was shocked by Fetterman's claims that Trump's New York trial was unjust

The hosts were shocked by Fetterman's placidity towards Trump

Hostin, an attorney who for years worked for CNN as a legal analyst, was briefly left at a loss when Fetterman told her the prosecution of Trump in New York had been 'unjust'

At this point, Goldberg weighed in to indicate her disapproval, condescendingly comparing Fetterman's comments with reality.

'Wouldnt that be great if thats actually the way that things worked?' she asked.

He didn't take her bait, instead continuing to discuss his meeting with Trump.

'I think overall, it was a positive experience. I mean, he was cordial.

'It wasnt in any kind of theater. It wasnt trying to get your picture taken to kind of put something out on social media. It was just really a conversation.

'I actually spoke [with him] for over an hour,' he said, revealing talks between the two that surrounding immigration and agriculture.

'Overall, it was just a straight-up conversation. I just have a rule: Im going to engage and have a conversation thats anyone playing it straight, and thats thats be doing my job.'
Drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles will not face daily charges to enter a ULEZ-style emission zone in one of the country's biggest cities, it has been confirmed.

Plans for a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in Greater Manchester have been ruled out after ministers promised an 86million investment to reduce the region's air pollution.

The Government has committed to invest 51.1million to introduce low and zero-emission buses in Manchester, provide 8million towards a grant scheme to help taxi firms and drivers switch to electrified vehicles and 5million to adopt a raft of traffic measures to slash vehicle emissions.

A further 21.9million has been made available for administration, delivery, monitoring and other associated costs.

However, the latter could include incredibly low speed limits of just 10mph in some parts of the bustling city centre, it had previously been revealed.

The announcement puts an end to proposals to charge some motorists up to 60 a day following a huge public backlash.

The plans for a CAZ has already seen more than 1,000 signs and 400 enforcement cameras installed in Greater Manchester using millions of pounds of taxpayers' funds.

It also opens the door for reviews of other zones across the country, which are already charging motorists to drive in them on a daily basis when other measures could be implemented to achieve binding air pollution targets.

Plans for a Clean Air Zone in Greater Manchester have been ruled out after ministers promised an 86million investment to cut the region's air pollution levels

The Greater Manchester's Clean Air Zone was set to come into effect in May 2022 - almost 12 months after Birmingham became the first to introduce a similar scheme outside the capital.

Not only was it due to cover Manchester but also impact parts of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

The Government's investment, announced on Thursday, largely accepts proposals put forward by mayor Andy Burnham in 2023 as he sought to avoid introducing a clean air charging zone similar to London's ULEZ.

Welcoming the announcement, Mr Burnham said it was a 'vote of confidence in our investment-led approach to cleaning up our air.

'This is the right decision for Greater Manchester and it gives people here the certainty they have long needed.'

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said plans to invest over 50m in his region's buses were a 'vote of confidence' in his approach to cutting air pollution without introducing daily charges for drivers

Mr Burnham paused his own plans for a charging zone in 2022 having seen a wave of local opposition. In December 2023 he abandoned the plans entirely, arguing he could meet his obligations to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels with an investment package

A joint CAZ C for Greater Manchester would have covered all or parts of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan and the cities of Manchester and Salford to cut air pollution in those areas

Several local authorities in England, including those in Bath, Bradford, Bristol, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Oxford, Portsmouth and Sheffield have introduced charges for drivers as a way of cutting pollution and improving air quality in recent years, but the policy has proved controversial.

The Scottish Low Emission Zone in four cities - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee - have also been restricting drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles since summer 2023.

Local authorities are obliged to develop plans to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels, and the UK has a target of reaching an annual average concentration of no more than 40 micrograms per cubic metre.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Department for Transport said they had rigorously assessed the investment-led plan for Manchester to meet these air pollution obligations.

'While local authorities in other areas have found that a Clean Air Zone is the best route to cutting nitrogen dioxide pollution, Greater Manchester provided evidence they can achieve compliance with legal limits faster without charging,' it said in an official statement.

Mr Burnham paused his own plans for a charging zone in 2022 having seen a wave of local opposition.

In December 2023 he abandoned the plans entirely, arguing he could meet his obligations to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels with an investment package.

Among the proposals to reduce air pollution without enforcing a CAZ includes introducing a snail-paced 10mph speed limit in Quay Street from its junction with Peter Street and Deansgate down to Gartside street.

Councillors were presented with the proposal at the environment, climate change and neighbourhoods scrutiny committee meeting on Thursday 11 January.

The suggestion sparked criticism from some in attendance who questioned how bringing traffic to an almost standstill would help to improve the city's pollution.

Among the proposals to reduce air pollution without enforcing a CAZ includes introducing a 10mph speed limit on a stretch of Quay Street in Manchester's city centre

The 400 ANPR cameras installed to enforce the zone will also no longer be needed. However, they are likely to be retained to help police gather evidence in cases

Commenting on the Government's 86m investment in Manchester, air quality minister Emma Hardy said: 'To improve our health, wellbeing and the environment, we must improve our air quality.

'Local authorities know their communities well and so they need to develop plans that are most effective for their local area, and I am pleased that Greater Manchester has found a clear way to reduce emissions without the need to charge motorists.'

Minister for the future of roads, Lilian Greenwood, added: 'Manchester will be able to reduce pollution from transport without having to charge motorists, and new, cleaner buses will help Mancunians get around easily while still bringing down emissions across the city.

'We will continue to work with local leaders to create better connected communities, meet our climate targets and make Britain a clean energy superpower as part of our Plan for Change.'

Clean Air Zone signs on Greater Manchester roads - of which there are over 1,000 - currently say 'under review' after the plans were scrapped in late 2023.

Signage will now be removed but is expected to 'take some time,' authorities have said.

The 400 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras installed to enforce the zone will also no longer be required. However, they are likely to be retained.

'Greater Manchester Police can currently make formal requests for ANPR data to help them gather evidence for criminal investigations,' Clean Air Greater Manchester says.

'If the government supports Greater Manchester using the ANPR cameras to be used for law enforcement activity, there will be a public consultation on any such measures.'
Wall Street carpetbagger Boaz Weinstein has suffered an early setback in his assault on seven UK investment trusts through his hedge fund Saba Capital.

His bid to oust directors of the 1.3billion Herald Investment Trust was stymied by independent investors, 99 per cent of whom voted against him on an impressively high turnout.

Weinstein may have been disabused of any idea he could achieve his ends easily by exploiting investor apathy.

But his campaign remains a wake-up call for trusts. If Weinstein succeeds  and the fight is far from over  they face an existential threat.

It is far too soon to write him off, as was demonstrated last week when he won a partial victory in a separate campaign over trusts run by US giant BlackRock.

Two more UK trusts, Keystone Positive Change and Baillie Gifford US Growth face showdowns with Weinstein on February 3. It is imperative investors cast their votes. This is not being made any easier by some investment platforms including three run by Lloyds  Scottish Widows, Entrust and Stock Trade  that are not allowing investors to vote.

Setback: Boaz Weinstein may have been disabused of any idea he could achieve his ends easily by exploiting investor apathy

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which has made a mealy-mouthed move to ask platforms what they are doing to inform investors about the trust votes, needs to step in at the bank.

One lesson of this affair is that shareholder democracy is fragile.

Investment trusts have for more than a century been an excellent way for small savers to gain exposure to stock markets around the world and to more speculative unlisted ventures.

Charges are low and they are easy to trade. One downside is that many trusts have been dogged by big discounts.

These occur when the value of a trust's shares is less than that of the assets it holds  and it is the existence of these discounts that has opened the door to the likes of Weinstein. He has spied an opportunity to acquire assets on the cheap, arguing his interests are aligned with those of other shareholders.

It is a dubious assertion. Saba's behaviour implies a degree of contempt for its fellow investors. The candidates it put forward for the board at Herald did not even bother to turn up at the meeting last week.

Weinstein has said he wants to facilitate a cash exit at near to net asset value for investors. He has also suggested merging some trusts and targeting others that are on a big discount. Saba may also seek to take over the management of trusts. There is a lack of detail about how any of this would be achieved, the costs involved, or the implications for governance. Changing a trust's management, for instance, normally involves a beauty parade, rather than an outfit such as Saba bulldozing in.

Whether Weinstein has responsible long-term proposals for the trusts is not clear. He has dismissed legitimate criticisms as 'jingoistic' but investors are entitled to be sceptical. Investment trusts, like mutual building societies and insurance companies, may look like sitting ducks but when small savers are mobilised they can see off the marauders.

Insurer LV  where members foiled a greed-fuelled effort to sell off the mutual to US private equity following a campaign in this newspaper  is a case in point.

It is heartening that Weinstein has lost his first battle, but he has stakes in another 17 trusts and does not look like a man who gives up easily.

Investors must vote at the other trusts to send him packing.
My new financial adviser is extremely helpful. She teaches me how to allocate my savings, build a house deposit and analyses if I have enough in my emergency fund.

But instead of discussing my money options in an office, my financial adviser is on a computer screen. In fact, shes not real.

Im talking to a chatbot driven by artificial intelligence. I decided to test it out for the month of January to see if it could jumpstart my New Years resolutions to rein in my spending  and start investing.

Of course, the gold standard of financial advice is finding a real, qualified, chartered financial adviser. However, this option is costly and inaccessible to many households.

And as interest in AI continues to soar, swathes of us will soon be asking it for help with our finances. Some 18million Britons have used AI for financial advice  or would consider doing so  says comparison website Finder.

However, as the information that AI generates is sometimes flawed and riddled with mistakes, Im concerned about what financial information it might offer.

ChatGPT is one of the most popular generative AI tools. This means it uses algorithms to create content such as text or pictures.

Users can open the ChatGPT website  which you can either do on a smartphone or a computer  and type in a question, ask it to summarise information or ask it to write something, like a shopping list, for example.

Lucy Evans told the chatbot she wanted to revamp her finances this January

The chatbot uses information from books, news articles, journals and internet sources to write an original answer back in a conversational tone.

Before asking AI for help, I sat down with Tom Francis, head of digital advice at Octopus Money, to understand what good financial advice looks like.

He says: You need someone to pick apart what the next 30 to 40 years might look like for you. That is easier with a human.

It might look like having the right amount in cash savings as an emergency fund or thinking about investing any spare savings in pensions and Isas. It needs to consider your future plans and if your finances are in a position to make investments.

BOOSTING MY BUDGET

I start by telling the chatbot I want to revamp my finances this January. I enter my take home pay and expenses, plus how much I funnel into my saving pots each month.

The chatbot uses the 50-30-20 rule to tell me my fixed expenses are above what they should be (50 per cent of my take home pay), my wants are correct (30 per cent), but Im not saving as much as I should (20 per cent).

It tells me I should aim to boost my savings by just 50 a month if I can, which should be easy with the tips it gives me.

Meal prepping was high on the list  it even gave me suggestions of cheaper lunch ideas that range from 1 to 2.50 per portion.

For example, it suggests stir-fried rice, using leftover rice from dinner and any leftover veggies in the fridge, doused in soya sauce.

I estimate I saved around 45 this month by meal prepping for work lunches alone.

Another tip was to cancel any unused subscriptions. Britons spend an average of 117 a year on unused streaming subscriptions, says savings provider Raisin UK.

I check my direct debits and see I was paying for an Apple TV subscription which rolled over from a free trial. I cancel it, saving 8.99 each month from now on.

I also slash spending on takeaway coffees on the chatbots advice. While I cave a couple of times each week, I save 15 to 20 by not getting one every day.

In a bid to bolster my savings I also turn to the one part of my fixed expenses I can cut  transport.

I spend around 200 a month on fares for the London Underground alone. Aside from paying rent on my property in south-west London, its my biggest fixed monthly expense.

AI says I should spend less on commuting and suggests working from home, carpooling, a bus pass or season tickets, none of which are suitable or available to me.

But it also suggests using an Oyster card instead of contactless payments. It tells me theres a one-third discount on all Tube fares if I link my Railcard to my Oyster. I have a Railcard, bought for 30 for one year, that gives a third off rail travel for 16-25 year olds like me. I linked the two sometime last year so I dig it out from my purse at and top it up.

It says using my Oyster will save me some 11.20 a week on the commute from my home in zone three to our Kensington office in zone one.

The chatbot, however, does make a mistake  the one-third discount from linking the two cards only applies to off-peak fares. The chatbot wrongly tells me all pay-as-you-go fares will receive the one-third discount, no matter what time I travel.

You can link your Railcard to an Oyster at any Underground station  ask a clerk for help.

The chatbot also gives me cheaper restaurant options for supper with a group of friends. We settle on Franco Manca from a long list of options. I estimate my share of the bill was around 10 lower than what Id typically pay for a meal out.

While the suggestions from AI were simple, it was refreshing to see how small cuts build up across several weeks. I easily saved 85 by meal prepping, buying fewer takeaway coffees, opting for a cheaper restaurant and cancelling a subscription.

Across 2025, thats 1,020 which becomes 1,101 if left in a savings account paying 5 per cent for one year.

SAVVY SAVINGS ADVICE?

The AI adviser suggests using an Oyster card instead of contactless payments for travel

I must confess the rates on my savings accounts are not the top deals so ask the chatbot for help to boost my returns. I have an easy-access account which pays 3.1 per cent, a one-year fixed-rate bond at 3.9 per cent and a monthly saver paying 5.25 per cent.

The chatbot asks me a range of questions to find the right account for me, including if I am able to lock the money away, if I prefer traditional or online banks and if I need a branch account.

It eventually lands on a HSBC fixed-term savings account as one of the options, which pays 4.05 per cent fixed for one year.

I prefer traditional high street banks with branch and online accounts, but once I adjust my preference to include online banks, too, it recommends Marcus by Goldman Sachs. This online account pays 4.3 per cent.

While both options pay more than my current savings accounts, it disappoints me as I find neither option is top of the best buy tables.

I tell the chatbot my age and ask it how I should allocate my savings going forward and it tells me that 40 per cent of my savings should go towards retirement and just 20 per cent should go towards a house deposit, despite telling it this is my main financial goal. One recommendation is to funnel as much as 15 per cent of my salary into a pension.

While AI is right that boosting pension savings at a young age is vital to benefit from compound interest, I wont hike my pension contributions to 15 per cent just yet.

Workers should typically halve their age to find out how much they should out aside between themselves and employer contributions. At age 23 my 6 per cent salary sacrifice, matched by my employer, is enough.

Mr Francis says to think about how this jump would impact my day-to-day spending and my tax band.

What if 6 per cent gets you to a retirement pot you are comfortable with? Financial planning is equally about saying how much more you can indulge, and spend on, as much as saying how much more to save.

INVESTMENT ADVICE I WONT TAKE

I also ask AI to talk me through my investment options and it tells me I may want a mix of growth and safety in my portfolio.

It initially suggests I hold half of my portfolio in passive funds that are constructed using algorithms rather than by a fund manager  such as the Vanguard LifeStrategy 60 per cent Equity Fund.

It says on top of that, I should invest 30 per cent of my portfolio in bonds for steadier returns and the final 20 per cent should be invested in a mix of stocks if I am willing to take higher risk.

Mr Francis asks: What has gone into this recommendation? What factors have fed into this? Has it considered cost, size, liquidity, performance or management style?

I tell AI I have a low-risk appetite, favouring reliable and moderate growth, and it suggests a robo-adviser for a hands-off, diversified investment with lower risk.

Robo-advisers are automated platforms which manage investments with little to no human input.

It pushes the Nutmeg Conservative Portfolio, which it says invests 60 per cent of assets in bonds, which are typically more stable than stocks.

While this sounds impressive, I prefer to have more human interaction to help me get started.

Plus generative AI  which creates images and texts  creates content based on data it was trained with. This can be incorrect or biased.

Any money invested is at risk so its not a decision you want to get wrong.

I cant trust that the chatbot properly considers my risk appetite, if my finances are in a position to invest or if this investment properly suits my goals. I decide to stick to my savings account and put all my efforts into reaching my goals for a house deposit.

Have you used AI for financial advice? Email L.evans@dailymail.co.uk
As 'black swan' events go it takes some beating.

Barely a week ago few people had heard of a Chinese technology start-up called DeepSeek.

Fewer still knew anything about its reclusive, low-profile founder Liang Wenfeng.

All that changed today.

Shares in US chip giant Nvidia crashed nearly 18 per cent - wiping 500billion off its stock market valuation - on news that DeepSeek's artificial intelligence tool had become the most downloaded iPhone free app, overtaking OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot.

It was the biggest one-day destruction of value in stock market history.

Nivida, whose stock had soared on the back of booming demand for its most advanced semiconductors that power AI and underpin all digital computing, was also toppled from its perch as the world's biggest quoted company.

Shares in other American tech titans fell in sympathy as fears grew that the fortunes they have spent on cutting-edge AI models that recognise patterns and make decisions without human intervention may have been wasted.

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng (right) speaks at a Chinese government symposium last Monday

DeepSeek said it had built an AI training model using Nvidia's cheaper chips for under $6 million (4.8million) - a fraction of the cost of what US firms were spending.

Its successful use of these cheaper chips in its AI app calls into question other tech firms huge outlay on Nvidias more advanced - and expensive - semiconductors that are also deployed to train language models.

DeepSeeks app has been lauded for being smarter and more efficient than rivals such as ChatGPT.

Like ChatGPT, it is also free-to-use but is proving more popular with users in the US and elsewhere because it breaks down AIs thought processes more clearly than its rival, making things like fact-checking much easier.

'Big tech firms like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Facebook-owner Meta have deployed hundreds of billions to purchase GPUs (graphic processing units, or microchips) from Nvidia and ensure chip supply to satisfy the insatiable demand for AI,' said Javier Correonero, equity analyst at Morningstar.

'DeepSeek is challenging that hypothesis.'

High-flying Nvidia wasn't meant to fall to earth like this.

Experts always feared the chip designer's remarkable rise was most at risk from China.

They pointed to Beijing's long-held claim to Taiwan, the neighbouring island which makes more than 60 per cent of the world's microchips - silicon discs with billions of transistors carved into them.

Crucially, Taiwan also makes over 90 per cent of the most advanced chips used in satellites, stealth jets and, increasingly, AI.

The US government vowed to defend Taiwan with force in the event of an invasion  which it reckons could come as soon as in the next three years

But it turned out Nvidia and other US tech giants were laid low without a shot being fired.

Instead, they were hit by a much more imminent threat that came out of left-field - from a billionaire hedge fund manager who started a tiny AI lab in eastern China as a hobby just a few years ago.

DeepSeek's Liang made his fortune betting on financial markets.

The son of a primary school teacher, Liang, 39, is an engineering graduate from Zhejiang University who founded a successful hedge fund called High-Flyer.

It gained a reputation for its innovative use of AI trading strategies which use computer algorithms to predict market trends and make data-driven investment decisions.

In 2021, Liang started buying thousands of Nvidia's graphic processing units (GPUs) for what was at the time an AI sideline to his day job as hedge fund manager.

'When we first met him, he was this very nerdy guy with a terrible hairstyle talking about building a 10,000-chip cluster to train his own models,' one of Liang's business partners told the Financial Times.

'We didn't take him seriously,' the person added. 'He couldn't articulate his vision other than saying: 'I want to build this, and it will be a game change'.'

In 2023, Liang launched DeepSeek, with a plan to develop human-level AI by focusing on research and engineering, rather than commercial return - the company is not listed on any stock market so you can't invest in it.

In a rare interview, Liang said he was fascinated by the potential of artificial general intelligence - a type of AI that gives a machine the power to understand or learn any intellectual task that a real person can by mimicking the cognitive abilities of the human brain.

Companies such as Google, run by Sundar Pichai, will now have to face down a brand new competitor

'The essence of human intelligence might be language,' he said.

'Human thought could be a linguistic process. You think you're thinking, but you might actually be weaving language in your mind. This implies that human-like artificial intelligence could emerge from large language models.'

Another motive of Liang's is to challenge US hegemony in AI.

American companies like Nivida have led the way in AI chip design, while OpenAI and Google's DeepMind have pioneered developments in reasoning models that try to make machines match - or even surpass - human cognitive capabilities.

'Nvidia's leadership isn't just the result of one company's efforts.' Liang said. 'It's the collective achievement of the entire Western tech community and industry. They can see the next generation of technological trends and have a roadmap.'

Liang believes China must build its own AI ecosystem in response.

'We often say there's a one- or two-year gap between China and the US but the real gap is between originality and imitation. If this doesn't change, China will always be a follower,' he said. 'That's why China must have people at the forefront of technology.'

When Washington recently banned Nvidia from exporting its most powerful chips to China, Liang's team were ready to pounce.

DeepSeek had already worked out how to find innovative ways to maximise the computing power of the Nvidia chips China already had - even though they were not state-of-the-art.

The company released its R1 model last week, explaining in detail how it built a large language model on a shoestring that can automatically learn and improve itself without human supervision.

R1 is an open-source language model that can outperform the best Silicon Valley has to offer despite using Nvidias cheaper, less-powerful chips called H800s. The R1 model took just two months and $6million to build.

It was the news that sent shockwaves across the tech world - and led to one of the biggest sell-offs in stock market history.

It's also made Liang a national folk-hero at home.

He was the only AI leader picked to attend a meeting of entrepreneurs with the country's second-most powerful leader, Li Qiang.

They were told to 'concentrate efforts to break through key core technologies'.

Liang has certainly done that - as investors around the world are learning to their cost.

The rout in technology stocks will certainly be painful for many British investors.

The so-called Magnificent Seven - Apple, Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook owner Meta, Microsoft, Tesla and Nvidia - have proved hugely popular investments on this side of the Atlantic in recent years.

And they have been highly lucrative, with Nvidia up almost ten-fold since the start of 2023 before yesterday's record sell-off.

Many savers who do not own these technology stocks outright are exposed through their pensions or other investments such as London-listed trusts.

For example, the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, a member of the FTSE 100, counts Amazon, Meta and Nvidia among its top five holdings. Its shares fell four per cent.

So what does it mean for investors?

Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said the rush to invest in AI 'drove stocks like Nvidia to astronomical valuation levels'.

But he added: 'Now a harsh reality is setting in. Never before has a company in the S&P 500 lost so much value in a single day.

'The US can no longer assume that it will retain its dominance in the AI market. China's low-cost AI could undermine the margins of highly valued AI companies.

'Is this the beginning of the bursting of a massive speculative bubble?'

Ben Barringer, a technology analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said that while the sell-off may be 'a knee-jerk reaction', it also 'provides a wake-up call' to the industry in terms of how much it really needs to spend to achieve results.

'While current leaders like Nvidia have a strong foothold, it is a reminder that AI dominance cannot be taken for granted,' added Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets.

'The emergence of China's DeepSeek indicates that competition is intensifying, and although it may not pose a significant threat now, future competitors will evolve faster and challenge the established companies more quickly.'

Other experts were more sanguine.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. DeepSeek's artificial intelligence tool had become the most downloaded iPhone free app, overtaking OpenAI's ChatGPT

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'While DeepSeek has clearly ruffled feathers, its spike in popularity isn't likely to drastically damage chipmakers like Nvidia alone.

'Big corporates are still likely to pay top dollar to access the best chips on the market, but when it comes to widespread adoption globally, it's not going to be an open goal and the big players will still have to keep on their toes to stay dominant.'

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the danger with technology stocks was that another next generation of companies will emerge 'to make the latest new order look like the next old order, and disrupt the disruptors'.

'Obsolescence risk has always been technology stocks' biggest threat, and it always will be,' he added. 'The AI super-race is seeing new challengers emerge and not everyone is going to win.'

Analysts said investors should spread the risk, particularly if they are heavily exposed to US technology stocks.

Kenneth Lamont, principal at Morningstar, said: 'While DeepSeek itself isn't publicly investable, one way to guard against such risks may be diversifying away from the so-called Magnificent Seven tech giants.

'This serves as a fresh reminder for thematic investors: mega-trends rarely unfold as expected, and today's dominant players might not be tomorrow's winners.'

Nigel Green, chief executive of global financial advisory firm deVere Group, described the launch of the DeepSeek chatbot as 'a historic pivot in the balance of technological power'.

He added: 'US Big Tech, long considered untouchable, is facing credible and intensifying competition from China. For investors, this is both a warning and an opportunity - it's time to rethink traditional tech allocations and seek out new areas of growth.

'Traditional tech giants are no longer the guaranteed winners. The focus must now shift to sectors and regions that are driving the next wave of innovation. This includes not only AI but also the critical infrastructure needed to support and secure it.'
Irish air carrier Ryanair has reduced its passenger forecast due to delays in Boeing delivering new aircraft.

Europe's largest low-cost airline anticipates attracting 206million customers in the 2026 financial year, equivalent to 3 per cent annual growth.

It warned it no longer believes Boeing will provide 'sufficient aircraft' ahead of the coming summer season to help boost passenger volumes to its previous target of 210million.

Boeing, whose biggest European customer is Ryanair, suffered a major production slowdown last year following a seven-week strike by machinists in Washington State over pay and retirement plans.

The industrial action compounded problems for an airplane manufacturer already facing huge controversy over its safety record.

All its 737 Max 9 aircraft were grounded for about three weeks early last year after an Alaska Airlines flight in January was forced to make an emergency landing due to a doorplug blowout.

Outlook: Irish air carrier Ryanair has reduced its passenger forecast again due to delays in Boeing delivering new aircraft

Ryanair said it was 'hopeful' of receiving the remaining 29 aircraft of its 210 MAX order before March 2026 and the MAX-10 being certified later this year in time for the first 15 MAX-10 deliveries in Spring 2027.

As a result, the Dublin-based company plans to allocate 'scarce capacity growth' to airports and countries reducing or abolishing their aviation taxes to incentivise traffic expansion, such as Poland, Sweden and Italy.

This will not include the UK, where Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced hikes to air passenger duty in last October's Budget.

Ryanair's outspoken chief executive, Michael O'Leary, warned the airline would cut flights to and from UK airports by 10 per cent following the announcement, which he described as 'idiotic.'

O'Leary also warned on Monday that Ryanair anticipates European short-haul capacity will 'remain constrained' this year.

He partly blamed this on engine repairs grounding Airbus aircraft and consolidation in the airline sector, such as Lufthansa's takeover of Italian state-owned airline ITA, and the sale of Portuguese flag carrier TAP.

For the year ending March, the firm forecasts passenger numbers increasing by 9 per cent to nearly 200million, dependent on 'no further adverse news' regarding delayed Boeing aircraft deliveries.

Given this, and the risk of conflicts across Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as staff shortfalls at European air traffic control centres, Ryanair is 'cautiously guiding' for annual profits of between 1.55billion and 1.61billion.

In the nine months to December, the group reported profits declined by 12 per cent to 1.94billion despite third-quarter profits shooting up almost tenfold to 149million.

Traffic over the final three months of the period rose by 9 per cent to 44.9million thanks to a bump in last-minute Christmas and New Year bookings, which bolstered turnover by 10 per cent to 2.96billion.

'Although appetite for low-cost holidays shows little sign of abating, Ryanair's wings have been clipped, and it can't fly significantly higher on the upstream of demand,' said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Tensions in Seattle have reached a violent breaking point after locals have complained about dog owners letting their pets run off-leash in parks where it is forbidden.

A Seattle Times survey of more than 1,200 readers revealed that two-thirds are upset about the growing number of unleashed dogs in their parks, with many reporting they feel completely unable to use their neighborhood's green spaces.

The crisis has been brewing since the pandemic, when enforcement of leash laws plummeted from 200 annual citations to just 40.

Park patrol staff were restricted to essential functions during Covid-19, creating what many residents describe as a free-for-all atmosphere that has never recovered.

'The turning point was probably COVID,' Zack Musgrave, a Phinney Ridge resident. told the Times. 'All parks in Seattle are now de facto off-leash dog parks.'

The situation has led to dangerous confrontations.

In April last year, a fight broke out at Cal Anderson Park when an unleashed dog attempted to steal food from a park visitor, Fox13 reported.

The fight, which began when a husky allegedly tried to steal food, quickly escalated into punching, kicking, and shouting, all captured in a video that quickly went viral.

The footage, described by witnesses as wild, showed a chaotic scene with the distressed dog howling in the background.

Seattle has been torn apart by rising tensions over entitled dog owners who let their pets run off-leash in parks where it is forbidden - as complaints reach record highs and confrontations turn violent

In April, a fight broke out at Cal Anderson Park when an unleashed dog attempted to steal food from a park visitor

A Seattle Times survey of more than 1,200 readers revealed that two-thirds are upset about the growing number of unleashed dogs in their parks, with many reporting they feel completely unable to use their neighborhood green spaces (People sit in Cal Anderson Park)

Other incidents at the same park have resulted in dogs being kicked and pepper-sprayed.

At the heart of the crisis are Seattle's demographics.

The city leads major US metropolitan areas in adults under 50 who are married with pets but no children.

These young professionals - many of whom live in the nation's smallest new apartments, averaging just 661 square feet - view public parks as essential spaces for their dogs.

But the impact on other park users has been severe.

The Community Day Center for Children had to stop taking children to nearby parks around 2021 due to safety concerns with unleashed dogs and waste.

Director Lois Martin said it has fundamentally changed how children can explore their neighborhood.

'It changes the way they're able to explore the neighborhood,' Martin told the outlet. 'What we need are dog owners to be responsible and think about other folk in their neighborhood.'

Other Central District residents, including Jill Friedberg, said unleashed dogs have approached her and her leashed pit bull forcing them to avoid parks altogether.

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The fight, which began when a husky allegedly tried to steal food, quickly escalated into punching, kicking, and shouting, all captured in a video that quickly went viral

The footage, described by witnesses as wild, shows a chaotic scene with the distressed dog howling in the background

The disagreement over an off-leash dog at Seattle's Cal Anderson Park spiraled into a violent brawl that was captured on video footage

'Letting your dog off-leash in a park is deeply entitled, telling the rest of the neighborhood that you don't care how your off-leash dog limits the ability of your neighbors to also enjoy the park,' Friedberg told the outlet.

Seattle's response has been to expand its park ranger force from two to 28 staff members.

They also promising increased enforcement in coming months.

But dog owners argue the city's 14 official off-leash areas - some smaller than half an acre - are insufficient and inaccessible, with half of Seattle's residents living more than a mile from any legal off-leash area.

The city is developing five new dog parks, but their completion is still years away.

Meanwhile, neighborhoods with the most complaints, like large parts of Ballard and Capitol Hill, will still lack accessible off-leash areas.

But dog advocates say this approach is insufficient.

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'The turning point was probably COVID,' Zack Musgrave, a Phinney Ridge resident, told the Seattle Times. 'All parks in Seattle are now de facto off-leash dog parks'

Other Central District residents, including Jill Friedberg, said unleashed dogs have approached her and her leashed pit bull forcing them to avoid parks altogether

The Community Day Center for Children Director Lois Martin said the crisis has fundamentally changed how children can explore their neighborhood

The city-wide issue has been brewing since the pandemic, when enforcement of leash laws plummeted from 200 annual citations to merely 40 (Pictured: West Queen Anne Playfield)

Alec Rodenhauser, chair of Citizens for Off-Leash Areas in Seattle, said ticketing dog owners is not the way to go.

'They don't have anywhere else to go,' he told the outlet.

'It's a slap in the face that they call them dog parks,' Rodenhauser said regarding the 14 official off-leash areas.

Some dog owners are pushing for regulated off-leash hours, similar to New York City's model allowing dogs off-leash between 9pm and 9am.

However, critics like Friedberg argue that changing rules won't help when current ones are already being ignored.

'I don't think changing the rules would impact a population that has already decided the rules don't apply to them,' Friedberg said.
From ordering an iPhone and receiving a lump of clay to buying a laptop and getting three mouldy pies, Britain is seeing an explosion of delivery scams.

MailOnline has been inundated with reports of readers receiving low to zero-value goods in the post after ordering high-value items from major retailers such as computers or smartphones.

They include the woman who opened the box of her 700 laptop after delivery to find three pies, to the customer who received a bottle of aftershave instead of a phone and a man who box of sugar instead of a dashcam.

At least one popular consumer group has launched an investigation into the recent explosion in delivery issues.

And now crime experts have revealed the four scams they believe are behind the majority of these thefts and how they work.

While corruption among employees at retailers' warehouses may seem the first place to look, experts believe many shoppers are falling victim to a combination of the 'tracked refund' scam and lacklustre checks by online retailers.

The 'tracked refund' scam begins when a fraudster orders a high-value item, such as a laptop, receives it in the post then applies for a refund.

But instead of returning the real item, the scammer bulks out the original box with low-value goods of the same weight and sends it back to the retailer to get a refund.

When the item is received by the retailer, the weight should match that of the original item  and if the box is never opened by the merchant to check, it could then be sent out to another person ordering the original item, who ends up with worthless goods.

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Other possible scams can involve a criminally-minded courier, who steals an item while out for delivery and switches it with another in the same box  before the wrong item is then delivered to the customer.

When the customer complains to the retailer, they may point to how the item was definitely correct when it left the warehouse  and therefore obtaining a refund can become complicated unless a crime can be proven.

A high-value item could also be stolen when being processed through a warehouse, when a worker may try to take and hide the item somewhere.

They could then switch it with another of the same weight, meaning it passes a weight check before it leaves the warehouse  but is then put out for delivery instead of the original item.

MailOnline understands experts at one popular consumer group is currently undertaking an investigation into the recent rise in delivery issues, exploring a number of possibilities beyond tracked refund scams.

Lisa Webb, a consumer law expert at another organisation, Which?, said: 'It's the responsibility of the online retailer - rather than the courier - to ensure your goods are safely delivered to you.

'This means if your parcel arrives tampered with, damaged, missing, or you receive the wrong product, you should get in touch with the retailer who should refund you or resend the correct items.

'If you receive a high-value item in the post - like a phone or a laptop - or it looks like a parcel might have been tampered with or the weight feels off, it's worth recording yourself opening it as evidence to send to the retailer if something is wrong.'

Guidance from the National Business Crime Centre states: 'Tracked returns are where a fraudster buys an item online and subsequently asks for a refund. Instead of returning the item, they send something of no value at the same weight as the item purchased.

'For example, the fraudster could buy a watch valued at 400. The fraudster then requests a return. All the fraudster has to do is provide a tracking number for the return, which is easily obtained by mailing it back to the merchant.

'That is often proof enough that the item has been returned, and the fraudster receives a refund, whether what is returned is the actual item, or something of no value.'

There are many other tricks criminals are trying as they become cleverer at avoiding detection.

One of these is the 'fake postman' scam where a criminal orders a high-value item on someone's stolen credit card and posts it to another law-abiding person's address.

That person then receives an item without ordering anything  and might open the box to find a high-value good inside, which they would realise is not meant for them.

Susan Newton, 50, from Prudhoe, Northumberland, was looking forward to receiving a Nextbase Ultra HD Dash Cam with in-built Amazon Alexa, priced at 269, from Currys - but received a bag of sugar instead

The couple were stunned to find the dashcam had been swapped for a 500g bag of Tate & Lyle demerara sugar, which retails for around 1.50

A photograph was provided by DPD as evidence that the dashcam had been delivered

Six months on after they first made the purchase, Mr Newton is still having to pay 13 a month for the dashcam he never received. Pictured: A device similar to the one ordered

How online shoppers are ending up with worthless items Tracked refund scam Criminal orders high-value item Upon receipt, they switch it with worthless item Apply for a refund, then send it back to warehouse Warehouse doesn't check the item, then processes refund Another law-abiding person orders high-value item but is sent worthless item instead Courier scam Courier steals item while out for delivery Switches it with another in the same box Wrong item is then delivered to customer Warehouse scam Worker steals and hides item in warehouse Switches it with another of the same weight Wrong item is then put out for delivery Fake postman scam Criminal orders high-value item on someone's stolen credit card Another law-abiding person receives this item without ordering anything Fraudster dressing up as a postman arrives the next day to take parcel Advertisement

Then a fraudster dressed up as a postman arrives the next day to say the parcel was wrongly delivered and they need to collect it, meaning the criminal then has possession of the item, which cannot be traced to them.

The problem of delivery fraud is also a major issue in the US, where a recent report found 13 per cent of total retail sales were sent back after purchase last year, totalling $685billion (556billion).

The study by Appriss Retail and Deloitte also found 15 per cent of products returned are done so fraudulently, resulting in a total $103billion (84billion) loss for retailers in 2024.

Another type of postal scam in the UK is known as 'brushing' in which unsolicited items are sent to households, often leaving consumers confused or fearful.

Third-party sellers on sites like Amazon and eBay recruit people to write glowing reviews of their products - but in order to do so, the 'brushers' must trick the site into thinking an authentic sale occurred.

The scammers use fake accounts to make an order and then send them to random people across the country whose details they find online.

However, crucially, they do not mail them the goods for which they want to post a review, but instead a cheap item with minimal shipping costs.

That generates a tracking number and then when the package is delivered, the scammers are able to write their review.

Consumers receiving the goods usually aren't charged anything for the items, which can be everything from a lollipop to a tea-strainer - but naturally receiving unsolicited gifts leaves many people fearing their online accounts or their bank cards have been hacked.

However, even if there is no hacking at play, brushing still impacts the consumer in terms of the volume of fake reviews clogging up online retailers and misleading them into buying a poor product.

Ms Webb from Which? said: 'Brushing is primarily designed to game online marketplaces' highly competitive search ranking systems, which often favour products with high sales volumes.

'Brushing scams involve an unscrupulous seller, or an agent acting on behalf of the seller, sending cheap-to-ship items to unsuspecting people and then falsely logging it as a genuine sale in order to artificially inflate sales volumes.

'Fraudsters may gather addresses from website data breaches as well as publicly available information.

'It's always good practice to use strong passwords and two-factor authentication on any online accounts that you do use, for added protection against any possible breaches. If you fall victim to a brushing scam, you can report this to Action Fraud or the police in Scotland.

'Not every report to Action Fraud results in an investigation, but any information you give will help build a clearer picture of how scams work, and who is behind them.'

Among the cases MailOnline has featured in recent weeks are a woman who was left speechless after her husband bought a new dashcam from Currys - only to open the box and discover it had been switched for a worthless bag of sugar.

Jo Davis, from North Derbyshire, purchased an iPhone 16 Pro from John Lewis, priced at 1,000, but was stunned to find a black bottle of men's aftershave instead

The aftershave - called Me Time and which was used - has a retail value of around 2 online

Mrs Davis said she noticed the package was 'slightly squished', but it was 'an appropriate size' for the device and did not think there could be anything other than a phone inside

Mrs Davis said: 'I trusted them to deliver me a high value item, and I was let down and left worrying whether I would get this 1,000 back.' Pictured: Apple's iPhone 16 range (file pic)

Susan Newton, 50, from Prudhoe, Northumberland, was looking forward to receiving a Nextbase Ultra HD Dash Cam with in-built Amazon Alexa, priced at 269.

Her husband, Kevin, 43, purchased it for his wife as a gesture to replace the broken dashcam she previously had in her car.

But instead of receiving the gadget he had ordered, the couple were stunned to find the dashcam had been swapped for a 500g bag of Tate & Lyle demerara sugar, which retails for around 1.50.

Mysteriously, Mrs Newton said the tamper sticker was still in place on the box when she made the shocking discovery last July.

Having contacted Currys straight away, an investigation was launched but Mrs Newton said she was left feeling 'upset and victimised' when their claim was rejected weeks later.

To make matters worse, Mr Newton, a part-time warehouse cleaner, signed up to a 36-month finance plan through Currys to pay for his wife's present.

Now six months on after they first made the purchase, he is still having to pay 13 a month for the device they never received - a situation Mrs Newton says 'beggars belief'.

How you can get your money back if a delivery goes wrong Companies must offer a full refund under consumer law if an item is faulty, not as described or does not do what it is supposed to. However, shoppers do not have the right to a refund if they knew an item was faulty when they bought it; damaged an item by trying to repair it themselves or getting someone else to do it; or no longer want an item unless they bought it without seeing it. Online, mail and telephone order customers are allowed to cancel their order for a limited time even if the goods are not faulty under distance selling laws. This means retailers must offer a refund if the customer has told them within 14 days of receiving the goods that they want to cancel. They then have another 14 days to return the goods once theyve told the retailer. The retailer must refund the customer withing 14 days of receiving the goods back  and the customer does not need to give a reason. If an incorrect item arrives, you have the right to a replacement given that the Consumer Rights Act states that items must be as described. The responsibility to provide the correct item lies with the retailer or seller given the contract is within them  rather than a courier. However, this responsibility only extends until the goods are delivered - and limitations can apply if you request delivery to a safe place or neighbour. Consumers who do face a delivery problem are always advised to go to the retailer first rather than the courier. The retailer may then ask the consumer to return the items to them to resolve the problem, and they should not have to pay delivery costs. Parcels that appear to have been tampered with, such as ripped seals on boxes or boxes open on delivery can be refused at the point of delivery. However, if you accept the items despite signs of damage, you still have rights if you sign as received but not inspected when receiving goods. Anyone who has already accepted the item and opened it is advised to take photos of the damage, and then contact the retailer in writing to complain. The retailer could claim the consumer made the damage after receiving the delivery, but the burden of proof lies with the firm for the first six months after you took delivery of the goods  and they must prove that the damage was your fault. Goods that are damaged in transit mean that a faulty goods claim can be made with the retailer  and you should then get a repair, replacement or refund. Advertisement

Anya Carroll, 31, from Bradley Stoke, Bristol was left dumbfounded after she ordered a brand new mobile phone from Sky - only to receive a package containing a large lump of clay instead

Ms Carroll took advantage of Black Friday deals in November to upgrade her phone to an iPhone 16 - worth around 900 - by signing up to a 36-month contract with Sky Mobile

After a brief investigation, she was told there was 'insufficient evidence' her package had been tampered with before delivery and there was nothing further Sky could do

The couple have been advised they can appeal the retailer's decision through Consumer Arbitration, although this process can take months.

In an email seen by MailOnline, Currys said that after an internal investigation it was 'content that this parcel was dispatched and delivered with no evidence of tampering' and it could not help the couple any further.

MailOnline has contacted Currys for comment.

Earlier this week, MailOnline spoke to Jo Davis, from North Derbyshire, who was stunned to find her iPhone 16 Pro in black from John Lewis, priced at 1,000, had been switched for a black bottle of men's aftershave with a retail value of around 2.

Nearly three months on, Mrs Davis was left feeling 'frustrated' and still 1,000 out of pocket.

But after MailOnline contacted John Lewis, the department store agreed to a refund and presented her with a gift voucher.

Last week, MailOnline highlighted the plight of Anya Carroll, who ordered a brand new 800 Apple iPhone 16 from Sky - only to receive a package containing a large lump of clay.

Gemma Worley, 39, from Cornwall, thought she was receiving a new Lenovo Yoga laptop - only to discover her parcel contained three mouldy pies instead

A trio of baked goodies from Yorkshire Handmade Pies were crammed into the space where her new computer should have been

Currys has since apologised and offered Mrs Worley a refund or replacement laptop

After a brief investigation, she was told there was 'insufficient evidence' her package had been tampered with before delivery and there was nothing further Sky could do.

To compound her distress, Miss Carroll was advised to keep making payments for the phone she never received - because she would be the one in breach of contract if the money stopped.

After being contacted by MailOnline, Sky agreed to cancel her contract and refund the money she had paid to date.

MailOnline also spoke to Gemma Worley, 39, from Cornwall, who purchased a 700 Lenovo Yoga laptop from Currys only to receive three mouldy pies instead.

The trio of Yorkshire Handmade Pies had been crammed into the space in the box where her new computer should have been.

Currys has since apologised and offered Mrs Worley a refund or replacement laptop.

Think you're being targeted in a postal scam? Call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, or visit https://www.actionfraud.police.uk
His former restaurant adviser breaks silence over child's paternity

EXCLUSIVE

A French woman at the centre of the split between celebrity chef Opel Khan and his estranged wife has broken her silence over the father of her newborn baby.

Khan's wife Julie admitted to Daily Mail Australia that her marriage was over after she was tipped off her restaurateur husband had allegedly been having an affair.

She revealed this week that she was told Khan's lover was a mystery woman called Celia.

Last Tuesday, Celia Huppe-Fournier, a retail assistant turned restaurant adviser to Khan, revealed she had welcomed her baby daughter into the world on December 19.

And the young first-time mum admitted she 'wasn't sure' if Khan was the father.

The French native claimed she does not know for certain who is her child's father.

'I'm not sure about that,' she said when asked if Khan was the father. 'I have no idea.'

Ms Huppe-Fournier described her current relationship with Bangladeshi-born Khan as 'amicable' and said they were 'close friends'.

Restaurant advisor Celia Huppe-Fournier does not know the identity of her child's father

Ms Huppe-Fournier, pictured with Khan, advised on his plans for a French-themed restaurant

Opel Khan and his now-estranged wife Julie (pictured) have been married for 28 years

'I am friends with him, but [we] only talk sometimes,' she said.

'My mum is here to help me [with the baby], so he [Opel] took us for dinner when she landed. We went for like Indian food, no, Bangladeshi food.'

The young mum insisted she is relying on herself to navigate parenthood as a single mum.

'With Opel I don't want to get too involved,' she said.

'I don't want to ask him for anything, I'm very independent since I've been in Australia. I don't rely on other people.'

Ms Huppe-Fournier explained that the pair met through luxury watchmaker Panerai where she once worked as a retail assistant and Khan was a brand ambassador.

'I resigned and he wanted me to help open another bistro, a French restaurant,' she said.

The pair's close-friendship comes after Mr Khan backtracked on his previous claims he and his wife were still 'very much together' during an interview with Daily Mail Australia.

'I never said we were together or living together,' Mr Khan said.

Last week, Mr Khan vehemently denied the couple had separated 'some time ago' and arranged for a joint interview alongside his wife to counter the 'gossip'.

He claimed a mystery woman had got in touch with his wife claiming to be his secret lover.

Celia Huppe-Fournier (centre) is pictured alongside Opel Khan (in pinstripe suit) and friends

Ms Huppe-Fournier's mother is helping her care for her newborn, she told Daily Mail Australia

Ms Huppe-Fournier's daughter arrived just days before Christmas

'A woman contacted my wife claiming to be my mistress,' he told Daily Mail Australia as he strenuously denied the allegations.

'I was at a dinner with five or six females and a photo was sent to my wife insinuating things.'

However, his wife Jules also dramatically u-turned on that interview on Monday and admitted: 'We are not together and are divorcing.'

Their split follows Khan's closure of French-themed Metisse and pasta diner Acqua E Farina in Potts Point, as well his Bistronomie diner in Surry Hills.

He confirmed the closures last year, insisting rising wages and soaring food costs meant 'you just can't make money' any longer in Sydney's hospitality industry.

Daily Mail Australia revealed a string of debt collectors have been trying to track him down at previous addresses listed on company files.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has also launched legal action against Mr Khan and his company over allegations of wage theft affecting some of his restaurant staff.

The cook was also allegedly not paid personal leave entitlements, and didn't get payment-in-lieu-of-notice and annual leave entitlements when his job was axed.

Julie Khan confirmed the end of her marriage to Opel Khan earlier this week

Chef, author and television personality Opel Khan (pictured) closed his Sydney restaurant empire, claiming rising food costs made it impossible to make a profit

Julie and Opel Khan (pictured) have now confirmed their marriage is over

A beverages supervisor also missed out on his paid annual leave entitlements, the ombudsman alleged, and the company failed to calculate and backpay the workers.

Mr Khan strongly denied the claims and said he paid back both workers and provided receipts for bank transfers. The matter is currently still before the court.

Daily Mail Australia can now reveal he is also being pursued over other alleged outstanding debts.

A current tenant at a former residential rental property where Khan and family once lived at has revealed how alleged unpaid bills have filled his mailbox since moving in.

He said debt collectors have continually turned up on his doorstep looking for Khan over the last 10 months after he moved into the Beecroft home in Sydney's north.

'Lots of different people and companies have come here looking for him - about half a dozen since February,' the tenant said.

'A lot of different people from different companies want to know where he is.'
Tanzania's Confucius Institute celebrates Spring Festival with pomp, grandeur

Xinhua) 08:33, January 27, 2025

DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam on Saturday celebrated the upcoming Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of the traditional new year, with pomp and grandeur.

The event, organized by the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam and the China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) Tanzania Branch, featured songs, dances, and Chinese martial arts performances by students and staff of the Confucius Institute.

The guests also sampled delicious Chinese cuisine at a food carnival hosted by the CCCC.

Bonaventure Rutinwa, vice chancellor for the University of Dar es Salaam, said he hoped the Spring Festival would have a great impact on both Tanzania and China. "I believe this will encourage our students and guests to learn the Chinese language and acquire knowledge of its culture and traditions."

He said the Confucius Institute is instrumental in offering cultural exchange and Chinese language learning, promoting mutual understanding of friendly cooperation between Tanzania and China.

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Spring Festival falls on Jan. 29 this year, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. In traditional Chinese culture, the snake symbolizes agility, wisdom, and vitality.

Che Zhaoguang, cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania, said the Confucius Institute stands as a pillar of cooperation between China and Tanzania through education and cultural exchange through the teaching of the Chinese language.

Che said Kiswahili (Swahili language), widely spoken in the East African region, has also become an international language spoken across the world, adding that six universities in China are teaching Kiswahili.

Zhang Xiaozhen, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam, said the Spring Festival is the oldest and most important traditional festival in China, and it is a festive day for all families to reunite, bid farewell to the old and welcome the new spring.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
TWO years ago, I had occasion to join the throngs who took their time to pay their last respects to the slain Human Rights Lawyer Thulani Rudolf Maseko at the memorial service and see the unforgiving ground swallow his remains on top of a hill at KaLuhleko. Both events were, very surreal and moving at the same time. I was reminded of my favourite childhood quote by Etienne de Grellet who said: I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. Masekos life of selfless service to the people was, to me an embodiment of the words of this author. What we are called to do on earth is to be of service to humanity in whatever stations of life we occupy.



Grief



Albert Pine, another author, once poignantly said: What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal. Observing the outpouring of grief from locals and virtually all parts of the world, and listening to all the eulogies from ordinary people spoke to the man that Maseko was and the massive impact he had on lives of ordinary people. I have not seen international media report so widely about an ordinary liSwati. The sheer numbers of people from all walks of life who attended the memorial and funeral physically and virtually must be reminder of the cause for which Maseko lived and died. The media reported about vigils of solidarity from as far as Kenya.

Two years on, the international community has not forgotten about Maseko and his legacy, contrary to what his assassins thought. From the grave he continues to fight for a better Eswatini.



The life and death of Maseko has a lot of lessons for us, at many levels. As ordinary peace-loving people, it reminds us that the overwhelming majority of world citizens abhors brutality and persecution of those who stand for justice and speak truth to power. Those who are labouring in the sometimes thankless field of justice and human rights must be reminded that they are not alone.



Reminder



The world sees them and they appeal to people where it matters the most; in their hearts. Our leaders have had a grim reminder that no matter how small we think this kingdom is, what we do, and dont do, what we say, and dont say, draws the attention of the world. We are not an island and we will not escape international scrutiny when there is an attack on those who are brave enough to speak for and stand with the oppressed. To human rights defenders (HRDs) and those in the mass democratic movement, this is a reminder of how dangerous the terrain they are working in is. Enemies of the truth, often well resourced, are brutal and can be lethal. They have a lot to lose when the will of the people finally has pride of place in the politics of the land. Chief among those is unfettered access to State resources.

Masekos death, naturally instilled fear. HRDs, for some time, have been hiding under their shells. Many fled to other countries to seek political asylum in fear of their lives. Human rights defenders must, however, be emboldened to continue with the work of holding leaders accountable and ushering in a just Eswatini. The government and entire leadership of this country need to take a hard long look at themselves. That in the court of public opinion, the government remains a chief suspect in the death of Thulani and it must be a significant point of reflection for it.



Actions



What posture, words and actions has it exhibited to be viewed in this light, not only by locals, but by the international community at large as well. This is a point to reflect on whether the investment in arms and military expertise is really what the country needs to set it on a path to peace. The millions we have committed to this controversial deal can be better spent on social issues. Two years after the death of Maseko, his killers still remain unknown. The police continue to feed us the rhetoric that the matter is still under investigation. Personally, I have serious doubts that the truth will ever come out under this regime. This is the same government that has failed to hold accountable the forces that killed over 50 emaSwati during the 2021 unrest. Instead, it chose to pin some of those deaths to incarcerated former Members of Parliament Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube who issued no order for people to be killed. As the search for the truth continues, may lawyers, human rights defender, the mass democratic movement and all peace-living emaSwati not let Masekos death be in vain. May his legacy of peace, dialogue and democratic values live on.
A grieving Pennsylvania widow has been left devastated after being told she owed hundreds for burial services she paid for 20 years ago.

Marlyn Harris, 84, and her late-husband Herbert Harris preplanned for their deaths back in 2001 by paying Wertheimer Monuments in full for headstones and burial spots.

But when 95-year-old Herbert passed away in January 2024, the mourning widow was asked to pay for the same services again, Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Wertheimer has requested two additional checks totaling more than $900.

Larry Moskowitz, the company's owner, was asking for a $65 payment for an artists' rendering of Herbert's monument inscription along with an $850 payment to King David Cemetery in Bensalem for the foundation that would attach his monument to the burial site.

'I want him to be resting in peace,' Marlyn said. 'And I feel I'm not honoring him.'

Marlyn's bill from Wertheimer 24 years ago was clearly marked with a stamp that read 'PAID IN FULL' right beside her payment of $1,635.

Lower down on that same sheet, it read: 'Includes Foundation, Lettering and Complete Installation on the Cemetery'.

A grieving widow from Philadelphia was devastated upon finding out she owed hundreds to Wertheimer Monuments for burial services she believed to have paid in full two decades prior

Marlyn Harris, 84, and her late-husband, Herbert Harris (pictured), planned for the inevitable back in 2001 and paid the package in full for their headstones and burial spots

Moskowitz, who purchased the Wertheimer in 2018, noted how it wasn't feasible to pay for the foundation cost out of pocket, which is why he was asking Marlyn to make the check out to King David.

Still confused about what she was paying for, Moskowitz suggested that the mix-up fell on the company's previous ownership - claiming they never put the money away to deliver it in the future.

The previous owner acknowledged the possible liabilities in failing to put the money away, but he believed they would be spread out over decades.

Instead, they came 'all at once', he said, contributing to massive problems and complaints within the company, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

By the time Moskowitz took ownership of Wertheimer seven years ago, the couple's arrangement was just one of nearly 125 outstanding prepaid burial orders.

When Herbert's yahrzeit began to quickly approach - a death anniversary in the Jewish tradition where Marlyn was set to unveil her husband's monument - his grave was still unmarked.

'I light my candles every Friday night for the Sabbath and would always say, "Thank you God for letting me have a husband like I have,"' Marlyn told the outlet.

'Now I say, "God, please let him be resting in peace."'

But Marlyn isn't the only one who has had problems with Wertheimer Monuments.

Although she was ordered to pay for burial services twice, others have complained about intolerable wait times in receiving their loved ones' headstones with poor communication throughout the process.

Complaints against the company have been on the upswing since 2018 when the Pennsylvania's Attorney General's Office said it logged 48 complaints that year alone, an additional 79 in 2019 and 59 by August 2020, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The son of Robert Davis, a 94-year-old man who died from congestive heart and respiratory failure in 2019, was waiting for his father's monument months after his yahrzeit passed.

'We feel like we let our father down,' Ted David, Robert's son, told the outlet.

'He was an amazing father who, to his last dying breath, was always looking out for his children, and he's there next to my mother without a stone,' he added. 'It's disrespectful.'

Ted was desperate for answers after paying more than $2,000 to Wertheimer Liberty Monuments for a gravestone honoring his father - but instead was met with utter silence after demanding a refund.

Suzanne Townsend, who oversees King David Cemetery, said that Marlyn's complaint wasn't uncommon, but that the cemetery never received the foundation money that Moskowitz was requesting Marlyn pay again despite having paid it back in 2001

Larry Moskowitz, the company's owner, suggested that the mix-up fell on the company's previous ownership - claiming they never put the money away to deliver it in the future

Moskowitz blamed that delay and lack of communication on the pandemic as well as switching last summer from a Philadelphia sandblasting company to one in Georgia.

But court records show that Ted and his wife filed for bankruptcy in early 2020 - all of the debts being to creditors ranging from banks and credit cards to the IRS and a familiar granite company in Georgia.

Dozens of more complaints led to investigations surrounding the company's failure to deliver the paid-for monuments to grieving customers.

Suzanne Townsend, who oversees King David Cemetery, said that Marlyn's complaint wasn't uncommon - two other families had experienced similar pre-paid funding issues with Wertheimer while others experienced lengthy delays.

Townsend said that the cemetery never received the foundation money that Moskowitz was requesting Marlyn pay again despite having paid it back in 2001.

With so many complaints coming through, Townsend felt as though she had to take a stance and ultimately banned Moskowitz from working with any other further clients at the cemetery.

'He still has families with outstanding monuments that he's never delivered for years,' she said. 'I can't have him doing that to any more families here.'

The office of Attorney General Michelle A. Henry also accused Wertheimer Monuments of failing to provide headstones to dozens of its customers and issue the appropriate refunds.

The accusation led prosecutors to act last summer, which ended in an August settlement between the DA's office and Wertheimer.

Moskowitz was ordered to rectify the issues as well as deliver future monuments within eight months of purchase.

Additionally, he was ordered six months to fulfil all of the 105 outstanding orders.

'I'm gonna deliver all of these monuments, that's my goal,' Moskowitz said of the backlog.

But he still attributed the delays with his outdoor sandblasting company he contracts with, despite not operating during the winter season.

Moskowitz has until February 17 to fulfill his orders, but the settlement states that if he should fail, he could be asked to pay a penalty of $25,000 along with the $2,000 he has already incurred.

'I don't do what I do every day to see a bunch of unmarked graves and to see people waiting for what they bought,' Moskowitz said.
The chances of surviving a plane crash may be higher for those sitting in the rear seats of an aircraft, experts have revealed.

Over the past eight decades there have only been 18 fatal commercial flights carrying at least 80 passengers that left behind survivors in their wrecks.

But how did those scarce survivors live through the seemingly impossible?

'There are a lot of reasons someone may survive in what appears to be a totally unsurvivable situation,' Barbara Dunn, the president of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators, told the Wall Street Journal.

'Depending on how the aircraft lands and where a passenger is seated has an impact,' she continued. 'If you have your seatbelt tightened, it limits the amount of flailing the body goes through. It also depends on whether the passenger is able to assume a brace position.'

The aviation industry faced seven alarming accidents across several countries in the final days of December 2024, AA.com reported.

On December 29, the world watched a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash-land at Muan International Airport in South Korea - making it the country's deadliest aviation disaster since 1997.

Flight 2216, which was carrying 181 passengers, crash-landed, skidded into an embankment beyond the runway and burst into flames - killing every person on board, except two.

Experts revealed that one of the factors that may help the chance of surviving a plane wreck is sitting in the less-than-desirable rear seats of the aircraft

On December 29 2024, the world watched a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash-land at Muan International Airport in South Korea - making it the country's deadliest aviation disaster since 1997

Two flight attendants, a 33-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, were the only passengers that miraculously made it out of the wreck alive.

Both were sitting in the very back of the plane - the only recognizable part of the aircraft left intact following the disaster. They were just a few steps from where the jet's tail tore apart.

The man suffered bone fractures centered around the left side of his body along with spinal injuries that are being treated with a brace to assist in limiting any neck movement.

The woman fractured her right ankle and other possible injuries on the right side of her body.

Despite their painful injuries, both are conscious and communicative - and thankfully alive - as they remain hospitalized in Seoul.

Just four days before, an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile near Aktau in Kazakhstan while en route to Chechnya's capital.

Over the past eight decades of commercial travel, there have only been 18 fatal flights carrying at least 80 passengers that left behind a sole survivor or two in its wreck

In December of 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 carrying 67 passengers and crew members was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile near Aktau in Kazakhstan while en route to Chechnya's capital

Flight 8243, which was carrying 67 passengers and crew members, killed 38 people and left behind 29 survivors.

All 29 of the surviving travelers were seated in the rear of the plane.

But where you sit on a plane isn't the only factor that comes into play for potential survival.

Although the back of the aircraft may be relatively safer, where the plane touches down is one of the biggest factors that tie in - passengers in the front of a nose-first crash bear the brunt of the force.

'A lot of people think it's safer in the back than in the front,' Dunn added. 'Not necessarily.'

'How quick the fire takes over and how quick you can get to an exit, all those things matter as well.'

Investigators who have assessed the chances of making it out of a plane disaster alive focus on five main factors: integrity of the aircraft, effectiveness of safety restraints, G-forces experienced by passengers and crew, the environment inside the aircraft and post-crash factors such as fire or smoke, WSJ reported.

In January 2024, 367 passengers on a Japan Airlines flight spent 18 agonizing minutes in terror as a fire spread in the back of the plane and smoke saturated the cabin following a collision with another jet upon landing, WSJ reported.

While at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, the travelers panicked as the plane's door failed to open, the PA system failed to work and most of the evacuation chutes weren't available.

Although the blaze was centralized to the rear of the plane, the fire thankfully didn't spread into the rest of the aircraft's interior until minutes later.

Those mere few minutes proved to be lifesaving, as the airline successfully evacuated everyone on board to safety before the frame of the Airbus A350 collapsed in flames.

'When you here survivable, you'd think people survived, and when you hear non-survivable, you'd think everybody dies,' Anthony T. Brickhouse, an expert in aerospace safety, told WSJ.

'We've had people survive what we would call nonsurvivable crashes and we've also had people die in what we would call survivable crashes.'

A crash is deemed 'survivable' by the National Transportation Safety Board or NTSB if the forces transmitted to passengers don't exceed the limits of human tolerance.

Additionally, if the structure of the plane surrounding those passengers remains intact following an accident, the crash is labeled as 'survivable'.

Plane crashes are deemed 'unsurvivable' when the G-forces - the gravitational forces that keep humans grounded to Earth - are so powerful, the human body can't withstand it.

A television grab from an Algerian station captured the remains of the Air Algeria passenger plane that crashed shortly after taking off from a town in the Sahara desert in March of 2003 - killing 102 people and leaving one sole survivor

Human beings are subjected to 1 G in their daily life, but factors such as a roller coaster or a rapidly accelerating vehicle can create a force two to three more times powerful.

Generally, a person will lose consciousness at 4 G's or 5 G's - although there have been some to have survived even greater forces, Lonnie G. Petersen, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics, told WSJ.

But overall, the effect depends solely on the number of G's and the direction and fullness of the force.

If a plane reaches no more than 9 G's in a forward motion, passengers have a reasonable chance at escaping with serious injury.

'The occupants will most likely survive with bumps and bruises,' Thomas Zeidlik, a aerospace physiology researcher, told WSJ.

'Crumple zones, much like cars, are built into modern airplanes to help with this, as well as air bags, seat belts and other devices.'

The global aviation industry experienced a terrifyingly significant rise in fatal aircraft accidents in 2024 - a stark contrast from 2023 which recorded zero fatalities in major passenger plane crashes and was labeled as 'the safest year ever in aviation', TRT World reported.

The accidents officially made 2024 the deadliest year for commercial aviation since 2018, which experienced more than 500 fatalities - 189 of them being from the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air aircraft in Indonesia.

A policeman is seen waking past the wreckage of the 2005 Sosoliso airlines passenger jet that crash-landed and killed 108 people and left behind two sole survivors

A TV grab from Euronews showed rescuers on the site where Sosoliso Airlines passenger jet burst into flames and killed more than 100 people - 65 of them being children

But Ed Galea, professor of fire safety engineering who has conducted landmark studies on plane crash evacuations, told CNN that 'the vast majority of aircraft accidents are survivable and the majority of people in accidents survive'.

He noted that how in modern times, the seats inside the aircraft must be built to withstand an impact of up to 16 G, meaning that in most incidents, 'it's possible to survive the impact of a crash'.

According to a 2015 study by TIME Magazine, 35 years of collected data from the Federal Aviation Administration found that the rear seats in the aircraft had a fatality rate of 32 percent.

In comparison, the middle seats had a 29 percent fatality rate while seats in the front had a 38 percent fatality rate.

But Galea warned that 'there is no magic safest seat'.

'It depends on the nature of the accident you're in,' he said. 'Sometimes it's better at the front, sometimes at the back.

However, he noted how there's a difference between the seat that has the best chance at surviving initial impact and the seat that allows you to get off the plane quickly.

In his opinion, passengers should be choosing the latter.

A three-year-old boy was the only survivor of the 2003 Sudan Airways plane crash that was destroyed in a ball of fire while attempting to land, ultimately killing 116 people in total

Instead of the difference between life and death being where you sit, Galea said that the real difference in most modern accidents is how fast passengers can evacuate - adding that the proximity to an exit row is more important than the area of the plane.

'The key thing to understand is that in an aviation accident, every second counts - every second can make a difference between life and death,' he said.

But to better understand survivability rates among passengers in serious accidents - which are defined as having a fire, at least one serious injury or fatality or a destroyed aircraft - the NTSB examined commercial flights from 1983 through 2017, WSJ reported.

Thirty-five crashes met that criteria.

Slightly more than half of the 3,823 passengers in the studied accidents survived with minor or no injuries with 6.3 percent of them having experienced serious injuries.

Twenty-seven percent of those travelers were killed on impact, 4.1 percent of them were killed from fire or smoke and around 10 percent of them died from other unknown causes.

One of the serious accidents that was examined was a McDonnel Douglas DC-9 aircraft that was carrying 155 passengers and crashed shortly after taking off in Detroit back in 1987.

The Northwest Airlines Flight 255 left more than a 3,000-foot crash path following the disaster.

The Afriqiyah Airways passenger plane exploded upon landing in May of 2010 - the only sole survivor being a nine-year-old Dutch boy

A four-year-old girl who was traveling with her parents and brother was the sole survivor of the wreck.

All of the traveler's seats were detached and scattered across two highway overpasses, but the young girl was ultimately found in the wreckage beneath one of them.

The four-year-old child was assigned to seat 8F - a seat usually placed in the middle or the forward of the plane.

In the Northwest 255 accident report, the NTSB said the passengers and crew were killed due to blunt-force trauma, the plane's disintegration during its final impact and the destruction of the cabin, WSJ reported.

But the report still concluded that it was nonsurvivable - except for a combination of fortunate, yet unclear factors that happened to spare the life of one preschooler.

'Sometimes bad things happen, and it's hard to explain,' Brickhouse added.

'I hate to use the term, but sometimes luck does come into play.'

Mexico Business News reported that as 2025 now progresses forward, experts are urging the aviation industry to continue adapting and improving its safety protocols.
Skeletal remains stuffed inside a closet in Hawaii have finally been identified, breaking open a decades-long mystery.

Mary Sue Fink - who was said to be between two and three years of age at the time of her death - was the little girl identified as the bones found wrapped in a newspaper in a steel can in a Honolulu apartment building in 2014.

Advanced DNA testing finally allowed Fink, who has been the center of a decades-long murder cold case, to take her own name back this month.

'That one piece of the puzzle that was sent in is responsible in part for the resolution and identification of this Jane Doe baby,' Dr. Robert Mann, a professor of anatomy & pathology at the University of Hawaii Medical School, told KHON Honolulu.

'What could not be done 50 years ago was being done 30 years ago, and what wasn't being done 30 years ago is being done now,' Mann said.

'And so this really... shows us that a cold case does not have to remain cold forever.'

In June 2014, more than 50 years after Fink's death, cleaning crews inside an apartment complex in the neighborhood of Waikiki found a puzzling 7 to 10 gallon galvanized steel can inside a closet, Hawaii News Now reported.

When they opened the metal box, they were met with a gruesome discovery - skeletal remains wrapped in old newspaper that dated back all the way to the 1960s.

Skeletal remains of a toddler discovered wrapped in newspaper and stuffed inside a steel can in Hawaii were finally identified to belong to Mary Sue Fink, who has been the center of a decades-long murder cold case

Fink was said to be between two and three years of age at the time of her death and believed to be murdered as a young girl between 1961 and 1963

A now-archived page on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System site said that the remains were discovered on the premises of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, SF Gate reported.

The Honolulu Police Department and the Department of the Medical Examiner both responded to the scene, but it seemed as though the case would remain a mystery.

Due to the size of the remains, all they knew was that the victim was a young female who was roughly 33 to 35 inches tall and between two and six years old.

Fink's remains were first classified as a miscellaneous public case, but as investigators began to dig deeper into the grim reality, they learned that she may have had three siblings who were in their 50s at the time.

That same year, investigators also learned that the siblings' biological mother was dead and their biological father lived in another state.

Family members recalled having a two-to-three-year-old sibling who had been given to an 'Aunty' years earlier but has been missing since.

In 2019, one of the three suspected siblings provided a buccal swab sample to the Honolulu Police Department's Scientific Investigative Section DNA Laboratory, Hawaii News Now reported.

The next year, the sample was extracted and shared with the Department of the Medical Examiner and an Unidentified Persons System to obtain DNA from the skeletal remains.

In June of 2014, more than 60 years after Fink's death, cleaning crews inside an apartment complex in the neighborhood of Waikiki found a puzzling 7 to 10 gallon galvanized steel can inside a closet

Inside of the metal box, which was discovered in a closet on the premises of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, skeletal remains wrapped in old newspaper that dated back all the way to the 1960s were found

But despite years of testing through DNA analysis and the use of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, ten years went by with no identification.

In August of 2024, the remains were sent for comparison to Othram in Texas - a lab that specializes in DNA processing for cold cases.

From there, investigators were able to finally build a DNA profile with the use of 'forensic grade genome sequencing' where they found a potential relative.

The relative agreed to testing and the DNA profile of the two were compared further - ultimately leading to the positive and long-awaited identification of Fink, who was born on April 29, 1959.

Today, she would be 65 years old.

Homicide detectives believe that she was murdered as a young girl between 1961 and 1963.

The cause of death was initially unclear, but was eventually found to be due to blunt force trauma with fractures indicating the fatal injuries occurred shortly before she was killed, KHON 2 reported.

Further investigations also revealed that Fink suffered from past abuse as earlier injuries in various stages of healing were discovered.

In August of 2024, the remains were sent for comparison to Othram in Texas - a lab that specializes in DNA processing for cold cases - and using advanced technology and a relative's DNA, the remains were confirmed to be linked to Fink

The Honolulu Police Department reclassified the case to second-degree murder, though no arrests have been made since.

It remains unclear how she met her end, but detectives are hoping that the new breakthrough will help bring them closer to solving the mystery in the bizarre case, which is said to still be open and active.

Fink's case was solved through Othram's Project 525 - which was launched this year as a way to identify 525 missing juvenile cases.

This is the second case in Hawaii using Othram's technology to publicly identify unknown remains.

According to Othram, nearly a quarter of the 24,400 active missing person cases found in the national system's database are minors.

As the investigation into Fink's death continues, anyone with any information is encouraged to call 911 or Honolulu Crimestoppers at (808)-955-8300.
New bodycam footage shows a suspect in the disappearance of an Idaho boy allegedly telling investigators where to find his body.

From a police interrogation room, Stacey Wondra is heard guiding detectives via FaceTime to where on his property he said he saw his wife Sarah bury five-year-old Michael Vaughan.

Michael, known to his family by his nickname 'Monkey', was last seen alive in the small town of Fruitland on July 27, 2021.

'Keep going out a little further right under the mound, right to the right of the trees,' Stacey said to detectives in the video dated November 12, 2022. 'He should be wrapped in a garbage bag, white or black, we only have two colors.'

'I don't know how far she dug, to be honest with you,' he also said. 'She was using a pointed shovel.'

Michael's mom, Brandi Neal, told KTVB she and a family friend leaked the horrifying bodycam on YouTube this month after unexpectedly acquiring it through a public records request.

Neal said she shared the video because she is angry and frustrated that there have been no results in the investigation.

Despite Stacey's very precise instructions, detectives did not find young Michael's body.

Stacey Wondra, pictured in a police bodycam video, told detectives where they could allegedly find the body of Michael 'Monkey' Vaughan

Michael disappeared from the small town of Fruitland, Idaho, on July 27, 2021

Michael is pictured with his mother Brandi Neal. Neal posted the police interrogation video to YouTube

Cadaver dogs did detect evidence of human remains once being in the Wondras' backyard, leading Fruitland Police Chief J.D. Huff to believe that the body was later moved somewhere else.

The police department also put out a statement clarifying that they did not release the video, nor did the Payette County Prosecutor's Office.

'In 2023, we submitted our case, including a probable cause affidavit, to the Payette County Prosecutor. Please note that the Fruitland Police Department does not control the pace of prosecution,' police said.

'We are in communication with a suspect in this case, and our hope is to gather more details that will lead us to Michael's remains.'

It is not clear who that suspect is. Even with all his knowledge of the supposed burial, Stacey said he wasn't involved and wanted the boy to be found.

'I am distraught,' Stacey said in the video. 'I want this to be done and over with. This family has suffered way too long.'

In an interview with KTVB from last year, Stacey maintained that he didn't know about Michael's abduction or where he is today.

A police excavator is seen in the backyard of the Wondras' home searching for the boy's body

Sarah Wondra is the one who buried Michael, according to what Stacey told police in 2022

Michael's body has never been found. In an interview last year Stacey had claimed he didn't know about Michael's abduction

Stacey is currently in federal custody for violating the conditions of his supervised release. He had pleaded guilty to an unrelated gun crime.

Stacey's wife Sarah will be in prison until at least 2026 on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, according to records from the Idaho Department of Corrections.

These charges are again unrelated to Michael's disappearance.

Police Chief Huff told KTVB he knows where Lucienne and Shurtliff are but declined to elaborate any further, citing the fact that the investigation is ongoing.

Huff also said a suspect reached out to the police Wednesday morning. He said he hopes the person provides investigators key information to finally close the case after over three years of uncertainty.
A Capitol rioter is building a tiny village for her fellow January 6 convicts to flock to after lockup now that President Donald Trump kept his promise to pardon them.

Jenny Cudd, 40, was sentenced to two months of probation and $5,500 in fines and restitution in 2022 after she illegally entered the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, ahead of Congress swearing in President Joe Biden's win.

Now, after facing the severity of the US justice system, she is building a small community similar to a halfway house on her 11-acre property in Fredericksburg, Texas, roughly 65 miles outside of San Antonio, as part of her J6 Road Home Project.

'We are interested in criminal reform because we have experienced it,' Cudd told DailyMail.com. 'It's one of the blessings of January 6. I'm passionate about it now...I've been through the process.'

The purpose behind her project is 'fostering healing, wellness, and wholeness in body, soul, and spirit' for those who may potentially be released from prison come Monday, her website said.

She expects the rioters who join her on her property will stay for three-month periods, or potentially longer, and will have access to accountants and doctors and employment help to aide in their transition back to normal life.

'I don't [expect them to transition easily],' she told DailyMail.com. 'A lot have lost their ability to make an income, [but] I think everyone deserves a second chance.

'Life shouldn't be dictated by one day.'

Jenny Cudd, 40, (pictured in a white hat and Trump flag) was sentenced to two months of probation and $5,500 in fines and restitution in 2022 after she illegally entered the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, ahead of Congress swearing in President Joe Biden's win

Now, after facing the severity of the US justice system, she is building a small community on her 11-acre property in Fredericksburg, Texas, roughly 65 miles outside of San Antonio, as part of her J6 Road Home Project

More than 1,500 Americans, including Cudd - who does not regret illegally entering the Capitol - faced criminal charges for the insurrection, and Trump, 78, pardoned all the rioters on his first day in office on Monday.

He also commutated 14 sentences, including former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley.

Cudd is ready to welcome her fellow rioters with open arms by providing them a home after prison to safely reenter society and already has two men lined up to join her.

When Cudd spoke to DailyMail.com prior to the inauguration, one of the men was currently in prison, while the other was staying in a halfway house. She expects a lot more to stop by on their way home and more to come in the next few months.

'We think we'll be full soon,' she told DailyMail.com. 'I plan on cooking for all of them, I'm an excellent cook.'

She has a max capacity of five single insurrectionists to live on her property once all five tiny homes are completed. Currently, one is completed and a second is in the works.

The homes are roughly 300-square-feet and will have a kitchenette available, as well as furniture. They currently cannot house families, Cudd said.

Cudd, herself, evaded jailtime by taking a plea deal in October 2021, where she pleaded guilty to two counts of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.

She expects the rioters who join her on her property will stay for three-month periods, or potentially longer, and will have access to accountants and doctors and employment help to aide in their transition back to normal life

The purpose behind her project is 'fostering healing, wellness, and wholeness in body, soul, and spirit' for those who may potentially be released from prison come Monday

'I don't [expect them to transition easily],' she told DailyMail.com. 'A lot have lost their ability to make an income, [but] I think everyone deserves a second chance. Life shouldn't be dictated by one day'

She has a max capacity of five single rioters to live on her property once all five tiny homes are completed. Currently, one is completed and a second is in the works

Trump pardoned all the rioters on his first day in office on Monday. He is pictured above making good on his word that 'now the work begins' as he immediately started signing executive orders when took the stage at his inaugural parade in Washington

Photos of her inside the Capitol, where she remained for 19 minutes, showed her smiling as she wore a Trump flag around her neck and live-streamed her fellow rioters on her Facebook.

Cudd was working in her flower shop a week after the insurrection when she was arrested by the Midland Police Department, who showed up in tactical gear. She was the 68th person arrested.

'I don't [regret it],' she told DailyMail.com. She also said her federal misdemeanor did not harm her professionally, like it has others, as she has been self-employed for the last decade.

'A presidential pardon won't have a big effect on my life, but it's a big thing [for others],' she told DailyMail.com.

Despite it not not having a huge effect on her, Cudd said the hardest part after the riots was the psychological distress, as she, her family, and her employees were given death threats and harassed.

Now, she believes it's divine intervention for her to have such a large amount of property to be able to house rioters and she has her community behind her.

She started really working on the project roughly a year and a half ago when she and her husband, Doug McComb, whom she married after the riot, moved onto their 11-acre property.

She got the idea after she saw so many people talking about how to help the rioters in prison, but 'no one was working on what to do when they're out'.

Cudd, herself, evaded jailtime by taking a plea deal in October 2021, where she pleaded guilty to two counts of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds

Cudd (pictured leaving court in 2021) was working in her flower show a week after the insurrection when she was arrested by the Midland Police Department, who showed up in tactical gear

And she's had help from big-named Republicans, such as MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell - who is currently in the midst of a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for his claims it tried to steal the 2020 election - and former Texas House Representative Kyle Biedermann, who also participated in the riot but didn't enter the Capitol.

Local companies, like Patriot Services Electric and Enchanted Rock Granite, are also helping her build her small village.

She and her husband own a bar called 1776, which is also raising funds through a tip jar at the establishment. She's also raised more than $30,000 on GiveSendGo.

Outside of Cudd, no one involved has any connection January 6 riots, but they all believe in giving second chances, including contractor Edwin Brooks, who spent two years in jail on drug charges.

The first two men who arrive on her property will already have jobs through Brooks and another contractor.

As more get released from prison, Cudd is ready to help them take the steps to success one day at a time.
Dramatic video shows a Florida man violently robbing an 83-year-old woman just moments after she collected lottery winnings.

The suspect Diego Tavarez Fleury, 24, was taken into custody after the incident outside Buddy's Food and Lotto in Orlando.

Surveillance footage captured Tavarez Fleury approaching Ruth Monroe as she was getting in the car and showed him attempting to snatch her winnings before being confronted by the store manager.

Monroe told local NBC affiliate WESH: 'I'm 83, I've never gotten punched. But that look on his face - he was about ready to, you know - and that's when he pulled it out of my hand and went that way.'

Although the suspect initially appeared to step back, he lunged at Monroe again, resulting in a struggle that dragged him to the ground and left her with an injured hand.

The store manager and an employee attempted to intervene. Despite their efforts, Fleury escaped, stealing approximately $200 from Monroe.

Orange County deputies said they had received a tip that Fleury was hiding in his mom's home and planning to fly back to the Dominican Republic.

When law enforcement found him, Fleury tried attempted to flee but was detained.

A Florida man has been arrested for allegedly robbing an 83-year-old woman of her lottery winnings

Diego Tavarez Fleury, 24, was taken into custody after the incident

Fleury is charged with robbery and battery. He is also being tried for possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. The incident happened on January 15.

When Monroe returned to the gas station the next morning, a customer who overheard her situation, gifted her a $250 check along with some lottery tickets.

He also gifted a Powerball ticket to the manager who wrestled the thief to the ground the day before.

Ae Sun Lee, a store employee, praised the manager's bravery, saying: 'He always helps people. Not only this person. Always.'

Monroe sustained injuries to her hand, but is in stable condition

A customer who overheard Monroe's situation gifted her a $250 check along with some lottery tickets when the day after the incident

Sun Lee noted that Monroe is a regular customer who enjoys playing the lottery.

Lee also recognized the suspect, describing him as a troublemaker who often loitered outside but was not a regular customer.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Buddy's Food and Lotto for comment.
A councilman in New Jersey is under fire after an embarrassing video of him cursing at a cop during a traffic stop has been released.

Council member Theodore Holloway was captured on police body camera footage having a meltdown after he was pulled over for allegedly failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign.

The cop approached Holloway as he sat in the driver's seat wearing a beanie and a camo jacket.

Before the cop even arrives at Holloway's window, the councilman can be heard screaming, 'You can't be serious!'. Later in the stop he asks 'you know who I am?'

Holloway and the officer appeared to have a friendly rapport at first and seemed to know each other. The councilman was quick to press the officer on why he was being pulled over.

When the officer told him he didn't stop at the stop sign, Holloway looked visibly taken aback as he cocked his head at the cop.

'I did stop! As much as I can stop!' Holloway fired back. The cop responded that Holloway 'rolled through' the stop sign.

The officer asked for Holloway's license and registration. He complied but told the officer that he would 'talk to Gary about this.' Gary Kille is the police chief of the Paulsboro Police Department. Holloway serves on the Paulsboro governing body.

Holloway pointed at the officer's body camera footage while he yelled at him for pulling him over

Theodore Holloway serves as a council member in Paulsboro, New Jersey

Holloway then began to raise his voice and curse at the officer. 'I'm the one that brought you on!' he yelled before asking the officer if he was 'crazy.'

'I put you on!' Holloway began screaming as he pointed into the officer's body camera. He then used a string of profanities while he searched for his license and registration.

'Why are you acting like that?!' the officer asked. Holloway responded in exhaustion saying that he 'just wanted to go home.'

'You're pulling over an elected official. You're not pulling over a random. You're pulling over your boss. I am literally your boss,' the council member quipped.

Police officers report to the police chief, and the police department is under the mayor's jurisdiction. Council members have the power to appoint subordinate officers of the city.

Paulsboro Mayor John Giovannitti clarified to a local New Jersey radio station that the council is 'by no means' the boss of any government departments including the police.

Giovannitti added that the behavior was 'uncharacteristic' of Holloway and described the councilman as a 'dedicated member of the community'.

Holloway and the officer continued to go back and forth as the council member pushed back, 'I f***ing stopped, you saw my tail lights!'

Holloway demanded that the officer let him go after he was pulled over for allegedly 'rolling through' a stop sign

The officer told Holloway he wouldn't cite him for the traffic stop, but did cite him for an expired registration

Holloway pictured campaigning for his spot on the Borough of Paulsboro Governing Body

The officer maintained that Holloway didn't come to a complete stop and just 'rolled through.' He then went back to the police vehicle to check his license and registration.

In the meantime, a second officer arrived at the scene and approached Holloway's vehicle. Holloway was quick to ask the officer if he knew who he was.

While the officers waited outside the vehicle, Holloway appeared to call the police chief. 'Why are you treating me like I'm some motherf***er?' Holloway said on the phone.

Holloway then told the officers that they were 'wasting taxpayer money' and wasting their own money that 'he pays' them.

The officer decided not to give Holloway a citation for the traffic stop but did cite him for driving with an expired registration.

The body camera footage was initially obtained by NJ Advance Media and has since gone viral on social media.

The internet was shocked to see the footage and users weren't shy about their reactions in the comments.

'Registration expired last year. Doesnt look good for an elected official,' one comment read.

Constituents slammed Holloway for his aggressive behavior at a traffic stop

Holloway has yet to comment on the incident

The video of Holloway's aggressive traffic stop has gone viral on TikTok

'He needs to step down from his political position yesterday!' another added.

'Corruption at every level these days,' a third wrote. 'A politician expects and even demands to be held above the law? What a shocker,' a fourth chimed in.

Constituents have even taken their grievances to Holloway's personal Facebook account with a flurry of negative comments about the interaction.

'Councilman You're not about the law , you're the reason why the average person hates politicians,' one comment under his recent post read.

'Theodore, have you resigned yet after your conduct on a recent traffic stop? People like you who think theyre entitled and deserve special treatment should not be a public servant. Remember thats what you areA PUBLIC SERVANT! Resign immediately!' another added.

Councilman Holloway has yet to publicly respond to the incident. Dailymail.com reached out to Holloway, Mayor Giovannitti, and the Paulsboro Police Department for comment but didn't immediately hear back.
A mysterious Florida ghost town - where residents abandoned their homes 62 years ago - has suddenly attracted visitors once again.

The lost town of Yukon - which was once full of paved streets, a bustling downtown, and its own streetcar line - met an unusual fate in 1963 when the vibrant community fled and most of the town was erased into oblivion.

The town's history began in 1787 when Spanish authorities granted a piece of land to English settler Timothy Hollingsworth, who established the prosperous Mulberry Grove Plantation between the St. Johns and Ortega rivers.

After the Civil War, the plantation's final owner, Arthur M. Reed, sold part of the property to formerly enslaved individuals, establishing what became known as the Blackpoint Settlement.

This would later evolve into Yukon during World War I.

At its peak, Yukon was a thriving community complete with a 300-unit subdivision named Dewey Park and convenient streetcar connections to nearby Ortega, Avondale, and Riverside.

But everything changed in 1939 when the US government began constructing Naval Air Station Jacksonville on neighboring land.

Not too long after in 1963, the US Navy made a shocking announcement, telling the entire community that the beloved town was now a flight and safety hazard - due to its proximity to a Naval Air Station.

The lost town of Yukon - which was once full of paved streets, a bustling downtown, and its own streetcar line - met an unusual fate in 1963 when the vibrant community fled

At its peak, Yukon was a thriving community complete with a 300-unit subdivision named Dewey Park and convenient streetcar connections to nearby Ortega, Avondale, and Riverside

Their concerns frighteningly came to life over the years.

In the following decades, the area witnessed several terrifying incidents.

First in 1983, a Navy transport plane plunged into nearby waters.

Then a Navy jet crashed near the former town during a 2005 rainstorm.

And in 2019, a commercial jetliner carrying 143 people slid right into the St. Johns River.

But nonetheless in 1989, with the support of Councilwoman Tillie Fowler, the area started to transform into a public park.

Today, people are flocking to the old town of Yukon, now known as Tillie K. Fowler Regional Park.

Everything changed in 1939 when the US government began constructing Naval Air Station Jacksonville on neighboring land

In 1963, the US Navy made a shocking announcement, telling the entire community that the beloved town was now a flight and safety hazard - due to its proximity to a Naval Air Station

And in 2019, a commercial jetliner carrying 143 people slid right into the St. Johns River

In the following decades, the area witnessed several terrifying incidents

It's a popular spot among hikers who can enjoy improved and expanded trails and off-road bike areas as well as added a dog park and kayak launch.

In addition to six miles of hiking and biking trails, the park also offers picnic shelters, grills.

But visiting the park is not all sunshine and rainbows.

Eerie traces of the town's sidewalks still peek through the undergrowth, including a historic brick road that still stands from before 1917.

Most spine-chilling is the preserved Mulberry Grove Plantation cemetery, where the graves of enslaved people and others remain.

The former post office and Yukon Baptist Church shockingly still stand as well.

Two modern businesses - J.L. Trent's Seafood and Grill and Murray's Tavern - have sprung up nearby to serve the history buffs and curious tourists drawn to the ghost town's mysterious past, as reported by TheTravel.com.

Today, people still visit the old town of Yukon, now known as Tillie K. Fowler Regional Park

The former post office and Yukon Baptist Church (pictured) shockingly still stand as well

Two modern businesses - J.L. Trent's Seafood and Grill and Murray's Tavern - have sprung up nearby to serve the history buffs and curious tourists drawn to the ghost town

Eerie traces of the town's sidewalks still peek through the undergrowth, including a historic brick road that still stands from before 1917

It's a popular spot among hikers who can enjoy improved and expanded trails and off-road bike areas as well as added a dog park and kayak launch

In addition to six miles of hiking and biking trails, the park also offers picnic shelters, grills. But visiting the park is not all sunshine and rainbows. Most spine-chilling is the preserved Mulberry Grove Plantation cemetery, where the graves of enslaved people

The park also boasts a nature center and classroom and observation tower.

In addition to the Naval Air Station Jackson, the park is surrounded by the Ortega River and Ringhaver Regional park.

Visitors can witness the modern amenities built atop an old skeleton of a once-vibrant community that vanished simply because it stood in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Fresh light is being shone on a horrific murder from over 40 years ago that shook a close-knit town in Texas.

Karen Lynn Douglas, 22, was found dead in her home in Harris County on January 6, 1981, after being stabbed more than 25 times. The young mother had 'fought like hell' protecting her three-month-old baby, investigators said.

The case was potentially linked to other break-ins in the area at the time and left the community living in fear.

Now the Texas Department of Public Safety is issuing an increased reward of $6,000 for any information on the cold case.

Karen's husband, Randy Douglas, was at work at the time fatal stabbing. She was home alone with her daughter after experiencing a break-in only weeks beforehand. When an intruder came to her home for the second time, and she was stabbed to death.

'They had just moved into this new home, and she stuck her [daughter] underneath their master bedroom sink in her little car seat,' her nephew, Kenton Ford, told DailyMail.com this week. '[Karen] knew that he was in the home, and she hid her.'

'I left for work that morning and then by noon, I didn't have a wife,' Randy, who was 23 at the time, told Khou 11.

'To see to see your wife, your wifes dead body. It's scary.'

Karen Douglas was just 22 years old when she was killed in her home while protecting her three-month-old daughter on January 6, 1981, in Harris County, Texas

The young mother had 'fought like hell' protecting her three-month-old baby daughter, Chrissy, investigators said

The Douglas's home had been broken into just weeks before Karen's murder. She was also home alone with her daughter and described the intruder as a 'punk-ass kid'. A sketch of the potential intruder was created

Ford recently paid tribute to his aunt on January 4, which would have been Karen's 66th birthday.

'I've been thinking about her since she passed,' Ford said. 'It's been tough on the family...It's very frustrating and my uncle has to live and relive this every time,' Ford said, reminiscing on the long investigation that remains unsolved.

Ford recalled Karen arriving with her daughter after the first break in, just a couple of weeks before her murder.

'I remember being at my grandmother's house when she got there, carrying her daughter in a car seat, crying and no one knew what was going on. It was very apparent there was something really, really bad that just occurred.'

Karen had described the intruder as a 'punk-ass kid,' and Ford recalled that she was then taught to shoot a gun and defend herself. A sketch of the possible intruder was released by police at the time.

She had been truly spooked by the first break-in and stayed away from her home for a couple of weeks. Tragically, not long after returning home she was murdered.

Karen had been seen alive only two hours beforehand and was found by her mother who had come to take her to a doctor's appointment.

'That was the first day she had stayed home by herself. She'd moved down the road or stayed with her mother, my grandmother, for two or three weeks and she was ready to go back home. It was the first day that she had gone back home,' Ford said.

'My gut feeling is that he knew her, and he certainly had eyes on her,' he theorized, and recalled the local burger joint they ran.

'They had employees that they hired and fired and stuff like that, and then she was a beautiful woman, so I don't know if there was some type of attraction there, or she turned him down or I don't know.'

'I have watched this affect my family and I watched it affect a man that truly loved her. You also think of your mother. You also think of your daughter. You think of your wife and your grandbabies. And I can't imagine this happening to someone,' said Karen's nephew Kenton Ford

Ford had entered into law enforcement, and believes he decided on the career path because of his aunt's tragic death

A series of break-ins had been happening in the area around the time of her murder, but Ford said that investigators couldn't find a connection between them.

Tensions throughout the area heightened following the numerous break-ins, as well as other murders that happened around the same time.

'I remember everyone being concerned. I remember people speaking about it. Everyone was in fear that this guy is still lurking around and watching women that are unprotected at the time. It certainly put shockwaves to the parkway and the Eastside for sure.

'Everyone was keeping an eye on the wives and the younger women for sure, there was no major plan, but I know everyone was on alert.'

Over the years, Ford has watched how his aunt's death has haunted his family and namely his uncle and Karen's husband.

'That man loves that woman, and he hurts every day and every time somebody brings it up or brings up some clues that they may have a suspect, you know, he goes through these ups and downs, rollercoaster feelings every time,' Ford said, discussing the enormous impact her death had on his uncle.

'I have watched this affect my family and I watched it affect a man that truly loved her. You also think of your mother. You also think of your daughter. You think of your wife and your grandbabies. And I can't imagine this happening to someone.'

Ford himself went into law enforcement and believes his aunt's death helped him pursue the career.

Chrissy said: 'It is difficult sometimes, because I didn't know her. I mean, I've heard stories about her and that I'm just like her'

'I left for work that morning and then by noon, I didn't have a wife,' Randy, who was 23 at the time, said. 'To see to see your wife, your wifes dead body. It's scary'

'It's been tough on the family...It's very frustrating and my uncle has to live and relive this every time,' Ford said, reminiscing on the long investigation that remains unsolved. Ford asked anyone with information to come forward 'out of the goodness of your heart'

'It's been hard, but one of the hardest things is that we get news that they may have a lead or something, with new technology and DNA processing, that we may have this or that. And it never, it never comes out.'

Ford added that, although she was young at the time, Karen's daughter, Chrissy, struggled to grow up without her.

'She was an infant, she doesn't recall anything, but I know throughout her life she has battled with it.'

Chrissy told Khou 11: 'It is difficult sometimes, because I didn't know her. I mean, I've heard stories about her and that I'm just like her.'

Ford remembered his aunt as someone who was a kind soul, and though he was only five or six years old, he said: 'I remember her treating me with the utmost kindness and she was so nice to me and that's all I ever saw of her.'

'No one deserves what she got. She has never caused anyone harm. She was such a beautiful angel here on earth and it's hard to imagine who would want to harm her.'

Ford pleaded with anyone that may have any information and asked them to come forward 'out of the goodness of your heart.'

'Someone knows, someone has spoken to the person, because it's very difficult to keep inside. And if they know, just out of the goodness of your heart, please come forward and let us know any type of clues or anyone that you may think that was acting weird at that moment in time.

'It would truly give us closure.'

Anyone with information is urged to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477) or the Crime Stoppers of Houston hotline at 713-222-TIPS (8477).
A high-speed bullet train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas has taken the next step to becoming reality with the project announcing it is raising $2.5billion from private investors and it hopes full construction will begin this year.

Brightline West, billionaire investor Wes Edens' 218-mile rail project, is raising the money from private investors with a tax-exempt bond offering.

'Full-scale construction should get underway this year,' the company's Senior Vice President for corporate affairs, Ben Porritt, told Forbes.

At full operations, Edens and Brightline projects that they will sell 12million one-way tickets each year and, by 2031, expect at least $1.4 billion in revenue and 8.6 million passengers.

In 2023, Edens, who also runs Manhattan-based Fortress Investments, said the demand is there and it's about time the U.S caught up with other first-world countries.

'Vegas to LA is probably the best system in the world that hasn't been built yet,' he told Forbes, pointing to the US's current lack of a bullet train.

The funding push, backed by infrastructure bonds provided by California and Nevada, comes in addition to the $3billion grant from the Biden Administration last year, the outlet reported.

'We appreciate the confidence placed in us by DOT and are ready to get to work,' said Brightline founder and chairman Edens.

Brightline West, billionaire investor Wes Eden's 218-mile rail project, is raising $2.5billion from private investors with a tax-exempt bond offering with hopes that full-scale construction will begin this year

At full operations, Edens (pictured) and Brightline projects that they will sell 12million one-way tickets each year and, by 2031, expect at least $1.4 billion in revenue and 8.6 million passengers

The hope is that with fewer drivers, 'the 15 Freeway will be less congested, which means less emissions and safer roads,' Brightline West spokesperson Antonio Castelan said

Overall, an estimated $12.4 billion is needed to complete the project which will run from Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga, which is a city about 40 miles east of Los Angeles.

Brightline originally hoped to have the rail line up and running for the 2028 Olympics but now expects completion by December 2028.

The company expects a trip between the Las Vegas station and Southern California to take about two hours, or half as long as an ideal car journey.

It will make stops in Las Vegas, Victory Valley, Hesperia, and Ranch Cucamonga California where it will connect to the City of Angels' Metrolink commuter rail.

Planners and politicians say the project has all the required right-of-way and environmental approvals, along with labor agreements, and should help alleviate weekend and end-of-holiday travel.

The hope is that with fewer drivers, 'the 15 Freeway will be less congested, which means less emissions and safer roads,' Brightline West spokesperson Antonio Castelan told the Daily Bulletin.

Nevada U.S Senator Jacky Rosen, a Democrat who has backed the project in Congress, said she expects the long-sought rail link will boost Nevada's tourism economy and create thousands of jobs while reducing traffic and pollution.

The project is also expected to come with impressive environmental benefits by 'reducing traffic congestion on Interstate 15, removing three million cars from roadways, and eliminating more than 400,000 tons of emissions annually.'

Overall, an estimated $12.4 billion is needed to complete the project which will run from Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga, which is a city about 40 miles east of Los Angeles

Brightline West's high-speed train line's 'luxurious vibe' was unveiled in a release of the artist's renderings of the project. 'It's the perfect space to kick back, pop some champagne, and enjoy the ride from Vegas to California in style,' Brightline West wrote on X

The company expects a trip between the Las Vegas station and Southern California to take about two hours, or half as long as an ideal car journey. It will make stops in Las Vegas, Victory Valley, Hesperia, and Ranch Cucamonga California where it will connect to the City of Angels' Metrolink commuter rail

The company, in a news release, claimed that 'Brightline West's zero-emission, fully electric trains will be the greenest form of transportation in America.'

Brightline West's high-speed train line's 'luxurious vibe' was unveiled in a release of the artist's renderings of the project.

'It's the perfect space to kick back, pop some champagne, and enjoy the ride from Vegas to California in style,' Brightline West wrote on X, debuting the lines 'party car' complete with a bar and lounge seating.

Details on who can get a seat in the party car and how, as well as additional details about it are still being determined, Castelan said.

Passengers will be able to choose between two seating options: Smart, the standard option with reclining leather seats, and Premium, which Brightline West called 'similar to a first-class experience'.

Premium seats will have more legroom and extra amenities, but both sections will be equipped with power and USB outlets at each seat, and food and drink can be bought from attendants onboard.

Each seven-car train will carry about 450 passengers, depending on the final layout, a news release states.

'This is a historic commitment that will jumpstart the high-speed rail industry in America, creating thousands of jobs all across the country,' said Michael Reininger, CEO of Brightline.

Premium seats will have more legroom and extra amenities, but both sections will be equipped with power and USB outlets at each seat, and food and drink can be bought from attendants onboard

Passengers will be able to choose between two seating options: Smart, the standard option with reclining leather seats, and Premium, which Brightline West called 'similar to a first-class experience'

'Brightline West will be American made and American built and will serve as the blueprint for connecting city pairs that are too close to fly but too far to drive.'

With more than 35,000 jobs created from the project, Brightline West has been called a 'game-changer' by Congressman Steven Horsford.

'The Brightline West high-speed rail project is a game-changer for Nevadas economy and workforce. With over 35,000 jobs being created, including over 10,000 union construction jobs, this project exemplifies the power of infrastructure investments to uplift working families and boost local economies,' Horsford said.

'It will reduce travel time and emissions and demonstrate the strength of union labor in building the future of transportation. I am proud to support this monumental investment in Nevadas future and applaud the signing of this $3billion grant agreement.'

The rail line, once completed, will also be one of the first major steps in the future of public transportation in America.

'When you look at the systems in Japan, at the systems in China, nine major cities in Japan are connected with true high-speed rail,' Edens said. 'China has 26,000 miles of high-speed train routes. We have zero.'

The billionaire businessman went on to cite the struggles currently being felt by state officials in California, who for years have tried - unsuccessfully - to finish work on a separate bullet train that would connect LA to San Francisco.

That project has remained marred by setbacks for more 15 years and has already cost taxpayers an eyewatering $108billion.
MBABANE - As beef prices soar to unprecedented levels, squeezing household budgets across the country, the finger of blame has been pointed at the Director of Veterinary and Livestock Services, Dr Xolani Dlamini. Accused of serious misconduct, Dr. Dlamini is facing potential suspension following allegations of unilaterally halting cattle imports from South Africa.Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Agriculture Sydney Simelane has called for Dlaminis suspension, citing a series of alleged offences, including allegedly unilaterally banning cattle imports from South Africa, which has contributed to a sharp increase in beef prices.



Your actions have caused the depletion of the herd of cattle in the country and resulted in the skyrocketing of the price of beef to unaffordable levels for the ordinary citizen, said the PS. The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has since issued a show-cause letter to Dr Dlamini, requesting an explanation as to why he should not be suspended from his duties.

The PS alleges that Dr Dlamini repeatedly disregarded directives from his superiors, including the PS himself and the minister for Agriculture. This included the alleged unilateral ban on cattle imports from South Africa, purportedly implemented without consultation, which is believed to have significantly depleted the countrys cattle herd and driven up beef prices. Furthermore, the PS accuses Dr Dlamini of unilaterally banning the importation of milk and milk products, despite the authority for such permits residing with the Dairy Board. This action is alleged to have negatively impacted the business community and the countrys economy.



Claims



These allegations are contained in a letter which now forms part of the evidence in court. The PS also claims that Dr Dlamini defied instructions to resolve an impasse between his department and butchery owners, leading to unnecessary closures. Simelane further alleges that Dr Dlamini has fostered a negative and insubordinate work environment within his department, including condoning staffs defiance of directives from the PS. Dr Dlamini is also accused of issuing a letter to South African counterparts suspending cattle imports due to Foot and Mouth Disease without proper authorisation. This action contradicted a media statement from the South African Ministry of Agriculture that allowed imports from FMD-free provinces.



The PS contends that Dr Dlaminis actions constitute serious misconduct and a breach of Civil Service regulations. The show-cause letter demands an explanation from Dr Dlamini as to why he should not face disciplinary action and suspension, pending the outcome of the investigation. In response, Dr Dlamini wrote to the PS and the minister, where he vehemently denied allegations of gross misconduct levelled against him. In a strongly worded response to the PS, Dr Dlamini refuted claims of negligence in his duties, defiance of ministerial instructions and negative influence on veterinary staff.

The dispute stems from the ongoing Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in South Africa, which has significantly impacted beef prices in Eswatini. Dr Dlamini emphasised the adherence to international protocols and the importance of suspending imports from infected regions to safeguard the countrys livestock. He further countered accusations of unilaterally banning imports from South Africa, stating that such decisions are guided by international standards and national legislation.The director also challenged the ps to substantiate allegations of interfering with veterinary staff and obstructing the issuance of necessary import permits. He highlighted the importance of maintaining open communication channels with international trading partners and the need for a conducive working environment for veterinary professionals.



Impact



Dr Dlamini concluded his response by expressing concerns about the potential impact of these unsubstantiated accusations on his professional reputation and the morale of his staff. He called for a fair and impartial investigation into the matter.
The devastating wildfires in Los Angeles have served as a wake-up call for one state - as experts issue a grim prediction about its looming threats.

Experts are sounding the alarm for Louisiana residents and warning the Bayou State - traditionally known for its lush wetlands  could be next.

A bombshell study from Louisiana State University has predicted the state's wildfire monetary losses could more than double to $11million by 2050 compared to $5.6million in 2010 values, with lightning strikes identified as the primary threat that could spark disaster.

'To me the takeaway from the Los Angeles fires is just how unpredictable and how rapidly the fires can spread,' Jay Grymes, Louisiana's state climatologist, told Nola.com of the LA fires.

The South already experiences more wildfires annually than any other region across the country.

And alarming statistics show a dramatic escalation in Louisiana in recent years.

Louisiana previously had an average of 700-1,000 wildfires per year. But Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said 'over the years, we have seen the number of wildfires increase'.

In 2020, there were 328 fires. The next year, the number increased to 441 fires.

The devastating wildfires in Los Angeles have sparked a wake-up call for other states, specifically Louisiana. Experts are sounding the alarm and warning the Bayou State - traditionally known for its lush wetlands  could be next (Pictured: Louisiana's Tiger Island Fire)

The mammoth Tiger Island Fire alone devastated more than 31,000 acres, leaving millions in damages across the state's rural western region

By 2022 there was 1,211 fires and by 2023 there were over 1,300 fires.

The 2023 surge came after the state's extreme summer drought.

The mammoth Tiger Island Fire alone devastated more than 31,000 acres across the state's rural western region.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles's current Palisades Fires, though smaller at 24,000 acres, also threatens to inflict a staggering $50billion in damage, according to AccuWeather Inc, Bloomberg reported.

'Even here, where water is normally in a fair amount of abundance, it doesn't take long for drought to take hold,' Grymes added.

LSU environmental sciences professor Supratik Mukhopadhyay explained the reasoning behind it.

Los Angeles's current Palisades Fires, though smaller at 24,000 acres, also threatens to inflict a staggering $50billion in damage

A large plume of smoke from the Tiger Island fire rises from forestland near Merryville in Beauregard Parish on August 23, 2023

'Unseasonal drought means you have this brush accumulation happening in the forest that should not have happened,' he told 'the outlet.

'Now, we have no shortage of lightning strikes in Louisiana. So once the conditions are created, then one lightning strike can light up the fire.'

While 2024 has seen a temporary respite with 587 fires burning 5,798 acres, experts warn this could be the calm before the storm.

The western region faces the highest risk, though the Florida parishes on the Northshore remain dangerously susceptible.

Adding to the threat, Chelsea Ealum, communications director for the Southern Group of State Foresters, revealed a horrifying cycle - warming ocean temperatures are fueling larger hurricanes, leaving behind flammable debris that increases wildfire risk.

'The downed trees from the hurricanes and storms and tornadoes, we're prone to all sorts of fun stuff here in the South,' Ealum said. 'So we've got a lot of burnable debris that's continuing to dry out on the ground.'

'To me the takeaway from the Los Angeles fires is just how unpredictable and how rapidly the fires can spread,' Jay Grymes, Louisiana's state climatologist, told Nola.com

Louisiana is actively attempting to prepare for possible threats.

There are 150 active wildland firefighters stationed statewide.

The state also awarded a record-breaking 87 grants to volunteer fire departments in 2024.

Additionally, they've doubled down on prosecuting arsonists, with 17 arrests last year.

'We are very aggressive in investigating and making those arrests and thoroughly prosecuting,' Strain said.

To combat the fires, experts revealed that controlled burns might be the key to preventing catastrophe.

Louisiana has an average of 700-1000k wildfires per year. But Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain highlighted that this number is increasing yearly (Tiger Island fire August 2023)

'If the human species was not around, fires would come through every now and again, very low to the ground and burn off that excess vegetation,' Ealum explained to the outlet.

With 86 percent of Southern forested land in private hands - compared to just 39 percent on the Pacific Coast and 22 percent in the Rocky Mountains - authorities face unique challenges in protecting the expanding 'wildland urban interface' where civilization meets wilderness.
After three months on the run across six states and three countries, an Ohio woman and her two missing daughters were captured thousands of miles away in Iceland.

Police records obtained by DailyMail.com revealed Samantha Hogan, 34, and her young daughters, aged eight and nine years old, went on a bizarre trip around the country and parts of Europe spanning approximately 11,000 miles after they disappeared in October.

Despite multiple run-ins with law enforcement across the US, it was only until Hogan requested passports for her missing children, fled the country, and made a perilous journey to Reykjavik, that she was finally apprehended.

Samantha's mother, Angela, reported the trio missing to the Canton Police Department on October 25, claiming her daughter is a paranoid schizophrenic and had stopped taking her medication.

Angela told police she last saw her daughter on September 3 in Columbus, Ohio, but that she returned to Canton.

She grew concerned about their welfare after learning that the last time anyone saw Samantha in Canton was October 10. Records show that Hogan rented a car on October 8 - to begin her chase across the East Coast.

However, the worried grandmother was contacted by police in Concord, New Hampshire, on October 21, claiming the girls were fine and in good health.

The situation took a grim turn when Angela received an alarming phone call from her daughter on October 23, that led her to file the missing person's report.

Samantha Hogan, 34, and her young daughters, aged eight and nine years old, went on a bizarre trip around the country and parts of Europe after they disappeared in October

'Samantha called Angela and made suicidal comments stating she does not want to be here anymore, the cartel is after her, and something about spiritual warfare,' the police report said.

'Samantha's phone last pinged in Syracuse, New York on [October 23], but no one has been able to contact her.'

Angela told police even when her daughter was paranoid, she would not harm her children - but warned cops that Samantha could be armed with a gun.

On October 29, Samantha was caught by police in Vermont, while attempting to cross the border into Canada with her two daughters.

Police learned Samantha purchased passports for her two children and herself the day before - and then attempted to cross the international border.

The Canada Customs Officers that stopped Samantha found a firearm, a magazine, and a taser in her vehicle and turned her over to U.S. customs.

While in U.S. custody, authorities learned she was a missing person and decided to have a crisis officer talk with her after she became upset that she was being detained.

'[Samantha] appeared to be normal, although she was irritated that she was being held,' the police report said.

'When asked about her travel plans into Canada, [officers] stated that she was not making much sense, saying that she was attempting to go to Calgary and then back to Ohio.'

After three months on the run across six states, three countries and multiple run-ins with the law, they were found in Reykjavik, Iceland (pictured)

Samantha Hogan and her daughters were reported missing on October 25 after the last time anyone saw them in Canton, Ohio (pictured) was October 10

Canton police said they communicated with customs agents and Vermont State Police, who told them a mental health professional would speak with Samantha and that they would follow up about how that went.

However, Canton police said they never heard back and Samantha and her children were released - despite the missing persons report being active at the time.

It's believed that between November and December of 2024, the mom traveled across multiple state lines from the Northeast to the Pacific Northwest.

During the month of November, Hogan took to social media and expressed how she was fearing for her life, and how she believed she was being 'stalked' after her information was stolen in a 'cyber attack.'

In a post on November 23, she expressed how she thought people were putting deadly chemicals in her and her daughters' food to try and kill them.

On December 29, Angela reported the trio missing again after she had last heard from Samantha via text message on December 19.

Angela told police she had contacted the children's father, who confirmed that he had also not heard from Samantha or the girls since December 19.

She also reached out to Samantha's father, who told her the last place Samantha used her bank card was in Oregon - a mere 2,890 miles from where she was last seen at the Vermont-Canada border.

The Canton Police Department enlisted the help of the U.S. Marshals Service, when they discovered Samantha's car at the Denver, Colorado, airport on January 1 - another 1,086 miles from Oregon.

From there, investigators learned the three boarded a flight and traveled to London, England, and then to Jersey, which is a small island in the English Channel.

The missing daughters and their mother then traveled to a remote fishing village in Iceland, before finally being located by Icelandic Police at a hotel in Reykjavik on January 10.

'Icelandic officials were kind of keeping track of them and their location until we could get the proper court orders for them to be able to take the children into custody,' Canton Police Captain John Bosley told News5Cleveland.

The USMS said the children were placed in the care of Iceland social services until a trusted family member could get them.

Samantha was placed in a hospital, where she will remain until she is well enough to travel back to the U.S.

'The collaboration of effort in this case can't be overstated. The ability to respond and recover these children abroad is an extremely difficult task,' U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said.

'Our investigators did an outstanding job. We are lucky to have such strong and dedicated law enforcement partners, and credit should be given to them for helping bring these children home.'

Canton City School District, where the two children were enrolled at school, could not confirm if the kids were taken out of school before the family went missing.

DailyMail.com has made several attempts to contact Samantha Hogan.
Donald Trump's decision to pardon one of the dark web's most notorious kingpins on day two of his presidency stemmed from a secret meeting at Mar-a-Lago with Libertarian leader Angela McArdle.

And DailyMail.com has gone behind the scenes to reveal that Trump's decision was a year-long campaign to win the party's support to secure his presidential victory.

The mastermind behind the online drug den known as the Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, was pardoned from his life sentence by President Trump on Tuesday.

This came after Trump met with Libertarian Party leader McArdle 13 months ago. The two worked out a deal where he would speak at the Libertarian Party's national convention in Washington on May 25, 2024.

It was always going to be difficult to win over the Libertarians and Trump was met with boos when he took the stage. But when he mentioned his vow to free Ulbricht, the crowd erupted in applause.

For Trump, his discussions with McArdle at his political stronghold, Mar-a-Lago, shined a light on the parallels between Ulbricht's case and his own treatment by the Justice Department (DOJ) - which the President believed was 'terrorizing' him.

Trump, who had warmed up to the idea, told McArdle: 'I'll free him, I love freeing people!'

For McArdle, she told DailyMail.com that Tuesday's pardon was the fruit of a 'year's worth of negotiating'.

President Donald Trump's pardoning of Silk Road's mastermind Ross Ulbricht was part of a year-long campaign to win over the Libertarian Party

Trump met with Libertarian Party leader Angela McArdle at his political stronghold Mar-a-Lago in December 2023 where the two worked out a deal to have him appear at a party conference in exchange for pardoning Ulbricht

Ulbricht was pardoned from his life sentence by President Trump on Tuesday, day two of his presidency

Ulbricht, 40, was slated to serve a life sentence for his role in Silk Road, which was described as an Amazon-like website for illegal drugs.

Prosecutors claimed at least six people died as a result of taking drugs they bought on the site - which made Ulbricht $200million and used Bitcoin as its currency.

But for Libertarians who hailed his bit-coin entrepreneurship and free market ideas, freeing Ulbricht was a priority for the party.

In 2023, Richard Grenell, the President's 'envoy for special projects', introduced McArdle to Trump. They arranged a meeting in December of that year at Mar-a-Lago.

Ulbricht, 40, was slated to serve a life sentence for his role in Silk Road, which was described as an Amazon-like website for illegal drugs

McArdle said: 'President Trump was interested in how to get Libertarian support

'I told him that we were running a competing party to the Republicans but I can tell you what we need to do to gain the small libertarian vote.

'We kept an open dialogue. Rick Grenell told me that the President is not a normal politician, you have to ask for something, and try to make a deal.

'The thing that would be easiest politically and most profound to us would be to free Ross Ulbricht, so that's what I asked for.'

President Trump told McArdle he was interested in getting Libertarian support in their December 2023 meeting. She invited him to the Libertarian Party's national convention in May

McArdle said Trump's confidant Rick Grenell arranged the meeting and told her he wasn't a 'normal politician' and she would have to make a deal - so she decided on proposing Ulbricht's release as it would be the most meaningful to the Libertarian Party

Trump was met with boos when he took the stage at the convention. But when he mentioned his vow to free Ulbricht, the crowd erupted in applause

She even thought about proposing a pardon for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, but he had already been released from a British prison after the US decided not to extradite him.

She said: 'The President was interested in Ross. He said "I'll free him, I love freeing people".

'He was warm and receptive to it and receptive to how corrupt the case was.'

But despite the party's feelings on the case, not everyone was happy with the President's decision. DailyMail.com spoke with the father of a 16-year-old who fell to his death after taking drugs bought on the illicit back-door site.

Rodney Bridge said that his son Preston would still be alive if Silk Road hadn't existed and called Trump's decision to pardon Ulbricht a 'kick in the guts'.

Despite this, McArdle and Trump agreed to a deal to secure the kingpin's release: he would come to the Libertarian party convention to 'make his pitch'.

Drawing on the President's own experience of dealing with the DOJ, McArdle recounted: 'He said a few times, it seemed unfair. He said he thought Ross had served enough time.'

A second meeting between McArdle and Trump happened in May last year.

McArdle (middle) said Trump exclaimed 'I love freeing people' and related to Ulbricht's treatment by the DOJ as he also felt they wronged him

Both Trump and McArdle felt like Ulbricht had served enough time for his dark web crimes

McArdle said she wasn't surprised by the pardon's pushback and referenced the arrest of a DEA agent on the case, Carl Force, who was jailed for extortion, money laundering and obstruction of justice while undercover

And then Trump made his pardon of Ulbricht a 'Day One' pledge and would fulfill his promise on day two of his administration.

McArdle has brushed aside criticism that Ulbricht deserved a longer sentence.

But critics have pointed out that he was found guilty of a slew of crimes including distributing narcotics, computer hacking, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents and conspiring to commit money laundering.

Prosecutors said he solicited six murders-for-hire in connection to operating the site, although he wasn't put on trial for them and there is no evidence the murders were carried out.

Ulbricht denied any involvement in the plots.

McArdle said that she was 'not surprised there was pushback' towards the pardon and said that one of the FBI agents who worked on the case ended up going to prison.

She appeared to be referring to former DEA agent Carl Force who was jailed for six-and-a-half years in 2015 for extortion, money laundering and obstruction of justice which he committed while working undercover on the Silk Road investigation.

In his post online announcing the pardon, Trump said: 'The scum that worked to convict him (Ulbricht) were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of the government against me.'

Rodney Bridge (left) told DailyMail.com he was appalled by the President's decision to pardon Ulbricht after his 16-year-old son died after taking synthetic LSD purchased off Silk Road

Bridge's son Preston, 16, died in February 2013 after falling from a balcony at a hotel in Scarborough after celebrating a school ball and taking two LSD tablets

Bridge, who lives in Perth, Australia, said Trump's decision was a 'kick in the gut' and his son would still be alive if Silk Road hadn't existed

After the election, Ulbricht posted a message on X expressing his 'immense gratitude to everyone who voted for President Trump on my behalf'.

'I can finally see the light of freedom at the end of the tunnel,' the post said.

In Perth, Australia, such comments left Rodney Bridge appalled.

Bridge's son Preston died in February 2013 after falling from a balcony at a hotel in Scarborough after celebrating a school ball.

A court hearing into his death revealed he had taken two tablets of what is thought to have been synthetic LSD bought by a friend from the Silk Road.

Speaking over the phone, Bridge told DailyMail.com: 'I couldn't believe it when I heard the news about the pardon. It was an absolute kick in the guts.

'When you read it in the sentencing, it wasn't just drug dealing, he was involved in all sorts of things, like money laundering.

'He should never have been released. I feel sad for the Americans. I can't believe that decision should be left to one person.

Bridge said that if he could speak to Trump personally, he would say 'how disappointed I am with him' as he previously was 'strong' against drug dealers

Bridge (right) has set up a nonprofit to help people deal with addiction issues and speaks in schools about the dangers of drugs in memory of his son

'I don't get it. I'm a bit in shock, to be honest. It's a kick in the guts to the FBI, to the DEA, everybody.'

Bridge, who has set up a nonprofit to help people deal with addiction issues and speaks in schools about the dangers of drugs, said that the time Ulbricht spent in jail was 'absolutely not' enough.

He said: 'Here in Australia you get caught with killer meth you get life and life here is 17 years. To give him 10 years is a slap in the face.

'One of the biggest things I really struggle with Ross Ulbricht is he decided he wanted to create this site, which allowed people to be able to trade without being identified but the reality is it's not like you who had somebody buying or selling 10 ecstasy tablets.

'It's like they got 10 calcium tablets and put a spot of cyanide in them and sent them to a teenager on the other side of the world. It would be a terrorist's dream to be involved in this.'

Bridge said if he could speak to Trump personally, he would say 'how disappointed I am with him'.

'I'd like to think his attitude would be different if he lost one of his own sons,' he said.

'When Trump was President the first time he was so strong about drug dealers. He said they should all get the death sentence and all of a sudden he's releasing one of the biggest drug dealers on the planet.

Ulbricht warmly thanked the President for the pardon in a statement on X on Thursday

'If you read the judge's comments during sentencing, she said Ulbricht is no different to a drug dealer and terrorist, and she's right.'

Ulbricht's lawyer did not return requests for comment.

But in a statement posted on X on Thursday, Ulbricht warmly thanked the President for the pardon.

He said: 'I was locked up for more than 11 years but he let me out, I'm a free man now so let it be known that Donald Trump is a man of his word.'

Putting his hand on his chest, he said: 'Thank you President Trump for giving me this amazing blessing. I'm so, so grateful to have my life back, to my future back, to have this second chance.'
EXCLUSIVE

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is headed for a high-stakes legal showdown with an Indigenous leader from Alice Springs who she says in court documents is unfit for his job.

Lesley Turner, CEO of the Central Land Council, claims the Opposition spokeswoman for Indigenous Australians defamed him in a press release she sent to media outlets six months ago.

The NT News has accepted two stories it published based on similar material were wrong and apologised to Mr Turner - but Senator Price has refused to back down.

She is now set to face off against Mr Turner in the Federal Court where he has launched a defamation action alleging Senator Price badly damaged his reputation.

Mr Turner has engaged the services of Sue Chyrsanthou SC, who charges $8,000 a day to appear in trials and is considered one of Australia's top defamation barristers.

Ms Chrysanthou successfully represented TV presenter represented Lisa Wilkinson when she was sued by rapist Bruce Lehrmann, who was found by a Federal Court judge to be a rapist.

She also famously won $2.9million for actor Geoffrey Rush in a defamation case against the Daily Telegraph.

Legal sources estimated that if Mr Turner's action was successful he could be awarded compensation in the vicinity of $300,000.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (above) is headed for a high-stakes legal showdown with an Indigenous leader from Alice Springs who the federal politician says is unfit for his office

Mr Turner is an Arrernte man who has been CEO of the Central Land Council - which covers 777,000 sq km of the continent including most of the Northern Territory - since April 2021.

Senator Price, who has Warlpiri and Anglo-Celtic heritage, has spent most of her adult life living in Alice Springs and was a prominent opponent of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

According to Mr Turner's statement of claim, on July 21 last year Senator Price sent a press release headed 'Central Land Council takes matters into their own hands' to 1591 email addresses on her media distribution list.

The press release did not name Mr Turner but claimed a motion had been moved the previous week to remove him as CEO of the Central Land Council.

'Through last week's vote, a majority of Central Land Council members showed their support for the dismissal of the CEO due to unprofessional conduct,' the press release stated.

Senator Price said the motion to dismiss Mr Turner had been unsuccessful but was backed by the council's chair, Matt Palmer.

She quoted Mr Palmer as having said, 'the voices of people in community have been ignored for too long and many in this community are being kept in poverty'.

'Voices are ignored, people are left behind and the vision of the Central Land Council has been lost,' Mr Palmer was further quoted in the document.

Lesley Turner, CEO of the Central Land Council, claims Senator Price defamed him in a press release she sent to media outlets six months ago. Mr Turner is pictured

'There is majority support for change of direction and leadership in the Central Land Council, and it is time to get things done that matter for the people in the heartland and homelands of the Council.'

According to Mr Turner's statement of claim, Senator Price's release defamed him by suggesting as CEO of the land council he 'had behaved so unprofessionally that it warranted his dismissal'.

Mr Turner also says the press release would be taken to mean he 'no longer had the support of the majority of Central Land Council members because of his unprofessional behaviour in that role'.

He further alleges Senator Price implied he 'was unfit to continue to occupy the role of CEO of the Central Land Council'.

Mr Turner seeks to prove he has been 'seriously injured in his character and in his personal and professional reputation and has suffered and will continue to suffer hurt and embarrassment and loss and damage'.

He claims that hurt has been aggravated by Senator Price not attempting to check whether the allegations in the press release were correct or to give him an opportunity to respond.

'[Senator Price] intended that the [press release] be republished in the mass media in order to hurt [Mr Turner] and damage his reputation,' Mr Turner's statement of claim alleges.

'[Senator Price] has not retracted, or apologised, despite being told unequivocally on 22 July 2024 by the CLC that her claims were false.'

Mr Turner has engaged barrister Sue Chyrsanthou SC (left) who successfully TV presenter represented Lisa Wilkinson (right) when she was sued by Bruce Lehrmann, who was found by a Federal Court judge to be a rapist

The contents of Senator Price's press release were published in an NT News article on July 22 under the headline 'No confidence motion against Lesley Turner defeated'.

On August 29, the newspaper apologised for that article as well as another published on July 21 which was based on a press release produced by Mr Palmer, purportedly on behalf of the council.

'Mr Palmer's press release stated that the CLC's board had moved a motion to dismiss chief executive Lesley Turner,' the apology stated.

'Mr Turner subsequently contacted the NT News and informed us that the press release was incorrect and no motion was moved.

'The NT News apologises to Mr Turner for any hurt or embarrassment caused by the publication of the articles.'

Mr Turner's statement of claim against Senator Price says: 'Despite the apology and retraction from NT News, [Senator Price] has still failed to retract her allegations about [Mr Turner].'

Senator Price denies the press release carried the alleged defamatory imputations or that she set out to hurt Mr Turner and damage his reputation by publishing the material.

She asserts in her defence that any imputations found to be defamatory are substantially true, as well as relying on defences of qualified privilege and honest opinion.

Senator Price, who has Warlpiri and Anglo-Celtic heritage, has spent most of her adult life living in Alice Springs and was a prominent opponent of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. She is pictured above with husband Colin Lillie

Senator Price alleges in her defence that Mr Turner 'conducted himself in an unprofessional way' by failing to consult properly with Indigenous constituents living in the area covered by the land council.

She alleges Mr Palmer moved and spoke in favour of a motion during a men-only land council meeting on July 18 to dismiss Mr Turner as CEO for 'insubordination and unprofessional conduct'.

Senator Price says all 48 male council members at that meeting supported Mr Turner's dismissal, as did most female delegates, but the motion was not put to a vote.

'There was majority support of the CLC member delegates that the applicant be removed from his role as CEO of the CLC for unprofessional conduct,' she states in her tendered defence.

Senator Price admits she has not retracted or apologised for the media release, other than having removed in from her website in September last year.

She does not accept the NT News retracted its articles, insisting it published only an apology and clarification.

In October, Judge Michael Wheelahan ordered Senator Price pay $1,500 in costs after her legal team failed to file a defence within the required time.

Senator Price will be represented by Peter Gray SC with Barry Dean as his junior. Ms Chrysanthou will be assisted by barrister Nicholas Olson.

The case returns to court in March.
Strolling down a cobbled street on a crisp January afternoon, kindergarten head teacher Zuzanna Korzeniowska is in a chirpy mood.

'It's perfectly nice and normal here,' she says, describing her quaint and picturesque hometown.

'A bit small, but it is pretty. We are normal, friendly people who try to be happy.'

She then adds: 'Despite what happened.'

Across the road, Piotr Kozowski and his wife Agnieszka are finishing their shopping at a local market.

Holding bags of bananas, tomatoes and stewed cabbage, Piotr tells MailOnline: 'It's impossible to keep thinking about the fact that such terrible things happened here.'

'Obviously we know about it, but we try not to let it affect our normal everyday life.'

'We run our own company and we get on with our lives. This is our home,' his wife adds.

 Slide me  Cafe Bergson was the former home of Oswiecim's last Jewish resident, Szymon Kluger

 Slide me  During the war the Nazis established an admin office adorned with swastikas which is now a bank

 Slide me  A WWII photo of German soldiers crossing the Piastowski bridge, and a street with a swastika hanging out of a window in front of the town's main church, next to an image of the bridge today

 Slide me  WWII photo Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Marin in Oswiecim compared to what it looks lie today

This 'home' is the small town of Oswiecim, nestled alongside the River Sola in southern Poland.

With a history dating back to the 12th century, today the local council's website describes it as 'a city of peace'.

But for the rest of the world, the town is synonymous with one thing - the Nazi death camp Auschwitz.

Following Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939 and the outbreak of WWII, the Nazis immediately Germanised the name of the town to Auschwitz.

The concentration camp was established a year later.

PiastowskiInitially intended for criminals and political prisoners, it soon became central to the Nazi's diabolical Holocaust plan for mass extermination.

By the time the camp was liberated on Jan 27, 1945, over 1 million people, mainly Jews, had been murdered in gas chambers, brutal medical experiments, executions, torture chambers, or through starvation.

With Monday seeing the 80th anniversary of the camp's liberation, the town's authorities are now gearing up for the arrival of politicians, dignitaries, statesmen and women, and even King Charles III.

Stepping into a patch of sunlight, market shopper Piotr says: 'We live close to the camp so, unfortunately, we feel the impact of history every day, but mainly because of the tourists visiting the museum, who park their cars anywhere and everywhere without paying attention to the fact that people also live here.

'During ceremonies and commemorations, like on Monday, we also have difficulties because the streets are closed and the army, police and secret services are everywhere.'

 Slide me  Historic photo of the Grand Hotel which has now been transformed into a printing house

 Slide me  A then-and-now image of an Auschwitz train station

The small town of Oswiecim, nestled alongside the River Sola in southern Poland is synonymous with one thing - the Nazi death camp Auschwitz. Pictured: Market square with Nazis in 1939

On the town's market square, a temporary exhibition named 'Faces of Help' has been set up in memory of locals who risks their lives to help Auschwitz inmates

Kindergarten head Zuzanna also isn't happy. 'Although I don't constantly think about the fact that there was a concentration camp here, its impact is present in our everyday life,' she says.

'For example by having to pay to park our cars like tourists.'

A few hundred meters away from the market stall sits Cafe Bergson, where barista Kamil Gut is serving up cappuccinos and flat whites.

'It's important these people come,' he tells MailOnline.

'I would like people's memory of what the Germans did here never to be lost, to know about it and to make sure that such a great tragedy never happens again.'

Currently preparing to take an exam to become a guide at the Auschwitz Museum, the 30-year-old continues: 'The camp and its history had a great impact on my life.

'When I was young, my grandmother, who was a child at the time, used to tell me about what happened in Auschwitz during the occupation.

'I visited the camp for the first time when I was in secondary school with a group of friends who were interested in history.

'It changed my life, I started to explore its history and all the terrible things the Germans did to people there.

'During my studies at university, where I studied English, I did an internship at the museum.

'It was a very profound experience because we also worked with the exhibits that are on display.

'When, for example, I was handling the shoes of the victims for conservation, the feeling of touching the belongings of people whose lives were so terribly destroyed had a profound effect on my whole life.'

'That's why I'm working here,' he says.

Kamil's Cafe Bergson was the former home of Oswiecim's last Jewish resident, Szymon Kluger.

Piotr Kozowski and his wife Agnieszka told the MailOnline: 'It's impossible to keep thinking about the fact that such terrible things happened here'

Kamil Guts Cafe Bergson was the former home of Oswiecim's last Jewish resident, Szymon Kluger

High school student Marcelina Kowalska and her friend Julia

Just 14-years-old when the war broke out, Kluger saw the Nazis burn the town's Great Synagogue to the ground and witnessed the gradual liquidation of the then 8,000-strong Jewish population.

Captured by the Nazis in 1941 along with his eight brothers and sisters, he was first sent to an Auschwitz sub camp before being herded off to the concentration camps of Buchenwald in Germany and later Gross Rosen, in what is now the Polish village of Rogoznica.

Managing to survive the Holocaust, in 1962 Kluger decided to return to the family home in Oswiecim.

'He stayed there until his death in May 2000, when his surviving brother and sister decided to donate the house to the Auschwitz Jewish Center,' says Kamil.

'This is an important cafe.'

On the town's market square, a temporary exhibition named 'Faces of Help' has been set up in memory of locals who risks their lives to help Auschwitz inmates.

Wanting to underline that the town's population wasn't indifferent to the mass annihilation and atrocities talking place, the exhibition highlights how locals smuggled food, medicine and secret messages to the prisoners.

'It is good that the history of all these people is known not only in Oswiecim or Poland, but also abroad.

'Foreigners often ask what we were doing here in the face of the tragedy of Auschwitz,' says local woman Zofia Piwowarczyk.

Meanwhile, in a nearby cafe a man supping tea and reading the local newspaper tells his girlfriend: 'Police have arrested a doctor in A&E for being drunk on duty.

'He should be shot for putting people's lives in danger like that.'

'We're getting five more electric buses though.'

Across the road, high school student Marcelina Kowalska is going to meet some friends next to a bank where during the war the Nazis established an admin office adorned with swastikas.

Getting out of her car the 18-year-old says: 'On a day-to-day basis the history doesn't really affect my life or the lives of my friends.

The Muzea Malopolski's cafe in Poland

'We try not to think about it, we try to have an ordinary normal life, meet with friends, party, enjoy life.

'You can't keep thinking about what happened here during the war because we'd all go crazy.'

Looking at a WWII photo of German soldiers crossing the nearby Piastowski bridge, and a street with a swastika hanging out of a window in front of the town's main church, her friend Julia says: 'I often cross that bridge to see friends.

'The bus takes me past the camp and, yeah, sometimes something changes in me, sadness and thoughtfulness come over me.

'And of course I've been to that church. It's normal.

'But we don't really think about what happened in the past on a daily basis.

'We have our own joys and sorrows, our own issues that we deal with.'

'Oswiecim isn't some black hole at the end of the world,' says Tomasz Kuncewicz, the director of the Auschwitz Jewish Center.

'Before the Nazis came, this was a normal, small town in the middle of Europe, so it's important to visit the actual town to understand this and see that genocide can happen anywhere'.

Jakub, a 23-year-old waiter at the hotel Hampton by Hilton in Oswiecim has worked there three years.

'When you are born in the city of Oswiecim, the camp is here. I was born and it was here. So it doesn't affect you as much as the people abroad.

When you pass the thing over and over, when you go to school or to a different city, it starts to lower the impact of what was done.

You are so close to it that you [don't appreciate it].

It might be different for people from older generations.

I know that my city is only known because of the camp. There is nothing else. We have one of the largest companies in Poland based here, but still it is only defined by the camp.

Everyone knows Auschwitz, but very few people know it is actually Oswiecim. People from Poland, of course. But very few people from abroad.

For us, the city is like a dead city. This is just the Auschwitz camp, there is nothing else.
When Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Witold Pilecki did the only logical thing for a someone as patriotic as him: he signed up to fight.

But after Hitler's forces quickly overran his nation's defences, the cavalry officer could have turned to despair.

Instead, he made a choice that few of us can comprehend - he chose to become a prisoner at Auschwitz, to try to substantiate reports of extreme violence being carried out in the camp, which was then a prison for political inmates.

Pilecki was there for three years from September 1940, long enough to see it transform under monstrous commandant Rudolf Hoss into the Nazis' chief instrument of the Holocaust.

By the time it was liberated 80 years ago today by Russian forces, more than 1.1million Jews - as well as Poles, Romani and Soviet prisoners of war - had been murdered there.

But Pilecki's smuggled reports about Auschwitz's horrors fell on deaf ears, and so he escaped in 1943 - only to be imprisoned by Poland's Communist regime after the war and then executed.

Now, Pilecki's great-grandson, who admits to a passing resemblance to his hero relative, has spoken of the pride and admiration he has for him.

Speaking in a podcast released to mark the anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation, Krzysztof Kosior tells bestselling novelist Charlie Higson: 'He had to choose between love to his country, to his nation and his family.

When Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Witold Pilecki did the only logical thing for a someone as patriotic as him: he signed up to fight

Pilecki chose to become a prisoner at Auschwitz. He went on to document its transformation into a death camp Above: Pilecki during his time as an inmate at the camp

'But I am really sure he loved very much his wife and his children. You can see it in their eyes when you talk to them [his grandmother and great-grandmother] about him.

'They are like yes, he was our hero, from the beginning.'

Pilecki was a member of Poland's main resistance organisation, the AK.

He became the head of 'special services' and was responsible for recruiting agents as well as setting up a network of secret caches of documents and weapons.

It was not until the Gestapo arrested two senior resistance members and sent them to Auschwitz that the rebel forces were alerted to what was happening at the camp.

Pilecki, who was known for his bravery, became the obvious choice to infiltrate Auschwitz and try to organise a mass escape.

In making his terrible choice to enter Auschwitz, Pilecki had to leave behind his wife Maria - Mr Kosior's great-grandmother - and their two children, Andrzej and Zofia (his grandmother), who were aged just eight and six.

Pilecki took on the name of Tomasz Serafinski, a man who he assumed was dead because he had found his identity documents in a bombed-out building in Warsaw.

Now, Pilecki's great-grandson, Krzysztof Kosior, who admits to a passing resemblance to his hero relative, has spoken of the pride and admiration he has for him

Pilecki joined the new resistance movement after Poland was overwhelmed by the Nazis

Prisoners of Auschwitz are seen through the camp's barbed wire fence. More than 1.1million people were murdered at the camp network

Incredibly, Pilecki would later encounter the real Serafinski - a fellow resistance fighter - after escaping from Auschwitz.

Mr Kosior tells the The Spy Who Infiltrated Auschwitz podcast, which was released today: 'They introduced themselves, the real Thomas Serafinsky gave his hand.

'And Witold replied, "Thomas Serafinski", born on that and that day... in that and that city.

'And he [Serafinski] was like, "that is my info yeah". And he said, "yes, that is your info, but I have lived with that info quite an interesting three years.'

To get into Auschwitz, Pilecki deliberately walked into a round-up of local men in Warsaw being carried out by members of the Nazi SS.

Pilecki arrived at Auschwitz two days later and was given the prisoner number 4859.

He later wrote: 'Blinded by the spotlights, shoved, hit, kicked, savaged by dogs, we found ourselves in conditions unlike anything we had ever experienced.

'The weaker ones were dazed to such an extent that they literally formed a mindless mass.'

Pilecki standing between the two men he escaped from Auschwitz with, Jan Redzej and Edward Ciesielski (right)

Pilecki testifying during his trial after the war. He was found guilty of espionage by his country's communist rulers after the war

Pilecki had been a cavalry officer in the Polish army before joining the resistance

After describing how SS guards then machine-gunned a group of 11 men to death, Pilecki added: 'We were approaching a wire fence with a sign above it that read Arbeit macht frei ['work sets you free'].

'It was not until later that we learned the meaning of that inscription.'

Pilecki quickly set about organising an underground movement called the Zwiazek Organizacji Wojskowej (ZOW).

Its main purposes were to lift inmates' spirits by circulating news from the outside; to provide inmates with more food and clothing; to pass on information about conditions to the outside and, as Pilecki wrote, 'most importantly to prepare the ZOW's troops to seize control of the camp at an opportune moment, following an airdrop of weapons or troops landing in the area.'

ZOW's first report was sent in November 1940. Pilecki wrote: 'Within a few days I felt dizzy, as if thrown on to another planet (...) it gave me the impression that we were locked in a mental institution.

'[The Germans] by beating [people] on the head, kicking the kidneys and other sensitive places of those already on the ground, jumping on their chests and stomachs with their boots, inflicted death with some incredible enthusiasm.'

He added: 'We were dying in thousands... tens of thousands... and then hundreds of thousands'

'The Kapos had so much work with finishing off over a dozen hundred 'damned Polish dogs' that they either forgot about us, or did not want to make the effort of walking up to us through a muddy field.

Pilecki's report of what he witnessed inside Auschwitz. He told how Jewish prisoners were 'driven like a herd of animals to slaughter'

Pilecki is seen with his wife and children. He smuggled himself into Auschwitz just months after it had been set up in 1940

'Each day they were more and more surprised that they [the prisoners] are still alive, walking, when we had been pushed far beyond the threshold of what the strongest human can endure.

'Some of the bodies, still warm, would swing their heads, smashed open with shovels, to the march of the column.

'From time to time a Kapo or Krankenmann, the block leader, would smash their clubs on to someone's head with philosophical detachment, hitting this or that prisoner with such force that they either killed them on the spot or left them unconscious to be flattened by an agricultural roller.

'Every day a large number of corpses was pulled out by their legs from that little carcass factory to be laid in rows and counted during the roll-call.

'In the evening Krankenmann, walking about the square with his hands behind his back, would look with a smile of satisfaction at the former prisoners, finally lying in peace.

'The sight of a man falling, kicking his legs, or moaning enraged Krankemann.

'Then he jumped on his chest, kicked in the kidneys, in the genitals, finished him off as soon as possible.'

One of the camp's most vicious killers was Ernst Krankenmann, a convicted murderer who the SS took on to carry out killings inside the camp.

Inmates at Auschwitz are seen after the camp's liberation by the Russian army in January 1945

Although still officially a prisoner, Krankenmann was given privileges that allowed him to murder other inmates. He was later executed by other inmates.

His report continued: 'The bestiality of the German torturers manifested in various forms, torturers had fun by smashing testicles  mostly Jews  with a wooden hammer.

'It was the land of the SS man Gerhard Palitzsch. A handsome man who didn't beat anyone in the camp because it wasn't his style - but inside the closed courtyard he was the main instigator of macabre scenes.

'The inmates stood naked in a row at the "Wailing Wall", he put a small-caliber carbine under the skull at the back of their heads one by one and ended their lives.

'Sometimes he used an ordinary cattle bolt for this purpose. The spring-loaded pin cut into the brain, under the skull, and ended life.

'Sometimes a group of civilians was brought in and given to Palitzsch to play with.

'Palitzsch told the girls to undress and run around the closed yard. Standing in the middle, he took a long time, then aimed, shot, killed all of them in turn. No one knew who would die next.'

Women prisoners in their bunks at Auschwitz, which stands today as a monument to the horrors of the Holocaust

Pilecki also described horror scenes that charted Auschwitz's transformation into a death camp.

He wrote: 'Some of the prisoners were brought to the camp, and they were registered here, given numbers that already reached over 40,000, but the vast majority of transports went straight to Brzezinka, where people without registration were quickly turned into smoke and ashes.

'On average, about a thousand bodies were burned at that time.'

Brzezinka was the Polish name for the village where Auschwitz II, named Birkenau by the Germans, was set up as the camp's main extermination centre.

On June 20, 1942, four Poles carrying a report by Pilecki escaped from Auschwitz dressed as SS officers.

The report was forwarded to the Polish government in exile in London and on to the British and the Allies.

Pilecki's words were the first comprehensive record obtained by the Allies of a Holocaust death camp.

In April 1943, fearing that his resistance movement might be discovered, Pilecki made his escape with two other inmates.

Established in May 1940 when it first took in German 'career criminals as functionaries', by the time the war ended Auschwitz (pictured in January 1945) had become the biggest killing machine in history

While working at a large bakery about two kilometres outside the camp, Pilecki and the other two men fled in civilian clothes they had prepared.

Pilecki wrote: 'I left at night - just as I arrived - so I was in this hell 947 days and as many nights.

'When I left, I had a few less teeth than when I came, as well as a broken sternum. So I paid very cheaply for such a period of time.'

Once back in Warsaw, Pilecki presented a plan for attacking Auschwitz to the AK, but it was rejected.

He also wrote another report on what he had witnessed, including details about the gas chambers and crematoria.

But the Allies considered his reports 'exaggerated'.

After the war, Pilecki was targeted by the new Communist regime in Poland. He was captured in 1947 after being accused of spying for the exiled previous government and plotting the assassination of communist officials.

He was tortured and subjected to a show trial, where he was found guilty.

Pilecki's wife and sister-in-law used to bring him food parcels, until one day in 1948, when they arrived where he was being held and were told 'he's not here, he has left', Mr Kosior says.

He added: 'He left? What does it mean? He went somewhere? Is he alive? No one knows. This situation went on for many, many years.'

Propaganda reported in newspapers and on the radio branded Pilecki an imperialist spy and his wife found it difficult to get enough work to support her children.

It was not until after the fall of the Communist regime in Poland in 1990 that the family found out Pilecki had been killed in 1948.

His wife had spent decades 'waiting' for her husband to return, Mr Kosior says.

Once the terrible truth emerged, his daughter dedicated herself to 'fighting for his memory'.

Mr Kosior adds: 'Wherever we come from we can learn from his life, what he did. His legacy, as a general thing, I think it is if you really want something to happen you have to work hard to do it.

'And in most cases it is possible. The second thing, his legacy would be truthful. It was very important for Witold for the truth to be told.'

The Spy Who Infiltrated Auschwitz is available on Wondery+ and everywhere you get your podcasts from today, with episodes publishing weekly.
Bestselling biographer Jerry Oppenheimer is the author of Anna Wintour: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor-in-Chief.

She was famously iced out by 'Nuclear Wintour' during her initial stint as First Lady eight years ago.

And now that President Donald Trump is back in office, fashion insiders feared that long-reigning Vogue editor Anna Wintour, 70, infamous for her frosty demeanor and anti-Trump politics, will once again exclude glamorous Melania, 54, from the cover of the fashion bible for another four years.

As a well-connected Vogue source told DailyMail.com: 'If past is prelude, Anna's going to put her Manolo Blahnik foot down and likely blacklist Melania like she did during the first Trump presidency.'

But there seems to be a major shift this time around.

With corporate America abandoning the woke and progressive politics of the failed Biden administration for the new world of MAGA, staunch Democrat, left-leaning Anna  whom sources say has long suffered from Trump Derangement Syndrome  is getting serious pushback from her magazine's corporate parent, Conde Nast, when the topic of Vogue's cover and the Republican first lady come up.

Anna, famed for ruling her fashion domain with an iron fist in a velvet glove, serves as the editor-in-chief and global editorial director of Vogue with 25 domestic and foreign editions of the magazine under her Gucci belt.

However, she still must report to Conde Nast global media company CEO Roger Lynch, 62, appointed in 2019, and the former president and CEO of the music streaming service Pandora, as well as the founding CEO of Sling TV.

Melania Trump was infamously snubbed by Vogue's legendary editor Anna Wintour during her first term as first lady

But there's a chance Melania could appear on the cover of the magazine during the Trumps' second term now that executives want to be 'on the good side of the commander-in-chief this time around,' a well-connected source told Dailymail.com

And like other chief executives and corporate leaders - the likes of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google Honcho Sundar Pichel, Apple kingpin Tim Cook, and others who have bent the knee to Trump since the election,  'Conde Nast executives, too, want to be on the good side of the commander-in-chief this time around,' a well-connected source told Dailymail.com.

'It's clear that they would want Anna to play nice with Melania, treat her with the respect that as first lady she rightfully deserves,' the source said.

And that would entail 'Anna breaking bread with Melania' and inviting the chic and gorgeous 5' 11'' former model first lady to pose for the cover, ending a long-simmering feud between the two powerful fashionistas.

'The thing is, independent-minded Melania may just tell Anna to take her cover and stuff it,' the source speculated.

The tide already seems to be turning when it comes to the long-standing anti-Trump sentiment among corporate America and Silicon Valley, with several tech leaders - and their fashionable wives and girlfriends - agreeing to attend the Inauguration last week.

Vogue magazine itself even published a round-up of the most stylish looks on Inauguration Day on social media, featuring Melania's custom navy silk wool coat dress and designer boater hat in its coverage.

Melania once made it clear that there are more important things in her regal life than being on Vogue's cover.

After leaving the White House following Biden's slim win in 2020, Melania went public, charging in an interview with Fox News Channel's Pete Hegseth that Vogue was 'biased' for not placing her on the cover during her tenure, but putting First Lady Jill Biden center stage.

Vogue itself even published a round-up of the most stylish looks on Inauguration Day on social media, featuring Melania's custom navy silk wool coat dress and designer boater hat in its coverage

Shortly before Biden, 82, turned over the White House to Trump and Melania, he presented Wintour with the U.S.'s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Meanwhile, former first ladies Michelle Obama and Jill Biden have been featured on the cover of Vogue multiple times

'They are biased, and they have likes and dislikes, and it's so obvious,' Melania said at the time.

'And I think American people and everyone see it - and I have much more important things to dothan being on the cover of Vogue.'

In 2005, however, she made the cover after her marriage to Trump and was featured in her wedding dress.

Wintour, in a CNN interview, was once asked how her magazine chooses for the cover.

'You have to stand up for what you believe in,' she said.

'You have to take a point of view. Our readers and audience respect usI don't think you can try to please everybody all the time.'

Melania, however, is said to be furious that she was ignored by Wintour while other democratic first ladies, and even failed presidential hopeful Kamala Harris got the brass ring.

Just before Trump, 78, won an historic reelection and mandate last November, the Democratic candidate Harris, 60 - Joe Biden's mostly do-nothing vice president who replaced him because of his age and mental state - was featured on Vogue's cover as if she had already won the election; the cover line read, 'The Candidate For Our Times.'

The tide already seems to be turning when it comes to the long-standing anti-Trump sentiment among corporate America and Silicon Valley, with several tech leaders - and their fashionable wives and girlfriends - agreeing to attend the Inauguration last week

Despite being snubbed by the fashion bible, Melania has often been praised for her sense of style. In 2017, Ralph Lauren came to her rescue on Inauguration Day where she donned her now iconic powder-blue double-face cashmere dress and coat

Melania is a former industry insider; she once graced the cover of US Vogue swathed in a $100,000 Christian Dior haute couture gown.

Inside, the story noted that Harris's outfit on the last night of the Democratic National Convention made her look presidential.

'The look was military, judicial, stabilizing, powerful: an advance vision of the commander in chief.'

And shortly before Biden, 82, turned over the White House to Trump and Melania, he presented Wintour with the U.S.'s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which some say was 'pay back' for her years of staunch support, and for placing mostly Democrat first ladies on the cover.

Former first lady Michelle Obama graced the cover of Vogue at least three times because, according to Wintour, she made 'the White house a place for everyone.'

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton was the first of the first ladies to be featured on Vogue's cover in the wake of Bill Clinton's sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky in the 1990s.

Most recently, Jill Biden was given the full Wintour royal Vogue treatment, with expectations that her husband Joe would win re-election for a second term.

The magazine's coverline read, 'Dr. Jill Biden, A First Lady For All Of Us,' shot by the famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibowitz.

A divorcee who is said to have a net worth of $50million, Wintour took over U.S. Vogue in 1988, after a stint at running British Vogue where she earned the snarky 'Nuclear Wintour' sobriquet from the press and her staff for her tough management style, and her 'mean girl' treatment of female staffers.

Failed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris was even featured on Vogue's cover in October 2024 as if she had already won the election

As one editor told me for my 2004 book on Anna's life, Front Row: 'It was pure harassment and bullyingshe treated everyone, except her own little coterie, like trash.

'You could tell she got off on itand for what? Power. Power's Anna's aphrodisiac. I mean, Vogue's just a fashion magazine, a catalog to sell clothes, for God's sake.

'And people had to be tormented so she could get a pat on the bumand get Grace Mirabella's job,' the editor added, referring to Anna's predecessor at American Vogue.

Despite her controversial reign at British Vogue, Wintour was honored in 2008 as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), by Queen Elizabeth's at Buckingham Palace for her 'distinguished career.'

Meanwhile, as a close source notes: 'If Melania, a seasoned model with elegance and class was married to a Democrat, she'd probably be featured on Vogues' cover more than once, and be Anna's BFF.'
Neighbours of a mother jailed over the death of her four young sons who died in a house fire remain 'traumatised' from the deadly inferno more than three years on.

Deveca Rose, 30, was jailed for 10 years after she left her two sets of twins to die alone in a horror house fire while she went shopping with a friend.

The single mother left her children surrounded by rubbish and human faeces in a locked home in Sutton, south London, as she popped out to buy 'non essential' items at the supermarket.

Kyson and Bryson, aged four, and Leyton and Logan, aged three died in hospital after the blaze broke out in December 2021.

Onlookers saw all four boys being rescued from the house unconscious and given CPR dressed in their pyjamas. The house, which went up in flames, believed to be sparked by a discarded cigarette or upturned tea light was renovated and a family, the first since the tragedy, have been living there since June 2023.

The current occupants told MailOnline: 'I really sympathise with her as a mother. She was in such a vulnerable state, and clearly desperately needed support.'

They said the house is 'completely new' but groups of teenagers cruelly knock on the door on Halloween referencing the deaths of the boys. They added: 'There's nothing scary it's just devastatingly sad. It's a constant reminder, it's part of the history all we can do is respect and honour it.'

Ian Rooke, 70, a retired distribution manager told MailOnline: 'The street was in shock. It was ominously quiet. The only noises were the screaming of the ambulance and the fire brigade.

Kyson and Bryson, aged four, and Leyton and Logan, aged three, all perished in the fire

Emergency workers carried out CPR on the four boys on the street outside the burning building (pictured) but they were all declared dead in hospital shortly after

Deveca left her two sets of twins in the locked terraced house on the evening of December 16 2021

The house (pictured) went up in flames while Deveca was at the shops. It is believed to have be sparked by a discarded cigarette or upturned tea light

'The fire engine was at the end of the street, so they were here within minutes. They couldn't get into the house because the front of the property was on fire.

'They entered through the back of the building up the stairs and found the children unconscious or dead. More than likely unconscious due to the smoke.

'They broke the children out. Everyone on the street could see them. The ambulance crew were doing CPR on the children on the street. It was something you see in a movie. It's not something you see in your own street. It took a couple of days before it actually sunk in that the boys had died.'

Rose sobbed in the dock, wearing a hood over her head, as she heard the victim impact statements before she was jailed for 10 years on Friday on four counts of manslaughter.

As she was sent to prison for a decade, the youngsters' step-grandmother said justice had been done.

Neighbour Ryan told MailOnline she should have been jailed for ten years per child.

Willem Blekkenhorst, 51, a funeral director who lived just doors down from Ms Rose, told MailOnline: 'I absolutely feel for the woman you lose your kids, four of them in one go and people think the worst of you, but nobody knows what happened, I obviously feel bad for her.

'She used to walk past with the kids they were funny, cheeky they were so young they were always together the four of them when the boys were out, they were with their mum.

'They would ask to see my cat, they waited at the door and I brought him out. They were gentle with him. The kids always looked well-dressed they always had good haircuts they looked like really happy boys.'

A mural and bench remembering the tragic loss of the boys sits inside the Collingwood Recreational Ground, just 200 metres away from the house

The boys were rushed to two separate hospitals, but attempts to save them failed and they died from inhalation of fumes later that night

Mr Rooke added: 'I saw the kids going up and down the street, they were nice kids, genuinely nice kids. As far as I knew she was a good mother.

'They were clean and well prepared. They were always smartly dressed going to school, didn't have any silly haircuts.'

Another neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous said: 'It's a difficult one because we don't know what the cause was it's tragic because she's lost all four kids.

'It was horrific and indescribable. It was all cornered off so everyone was trying to do what they could, traumatic is the word.'

Multiple neighbours, three years on, said the fire was still too traumatic to talk about.

A mural and bench remembering the tragic loss of the boys sits inside the Collingwood Recreational Ground, just 200 metres away from the house.

The family had been living in squalor when tragedy struck. The home was so full of rubbish it made the fire spread quicker and human excrement was found smeared on the walls.

'The kids they were funny, cheeky they were so young they were always together the four of them,' a neighbour said

The children had also not attended school for three weeks before the fire broke out.

On December 16, Rose went to Sainsbury's leaving the young children at the rented home alone.

She later arrived back while firefighters were still tackling the blaze and was taken in by a neighbour.

The boys were rushed to two separate hospitals, but attempts to save them failed and they died from inhalation of fumes later that night.

Rose claimed she had left the children with a friend called Jade, which prompted firefighters to go back into the house to search for her.

Police carried out extensive inquiries to find Jade and concluded she either did not exist or had not been at the house that day.
If there is something strangely familiar about the hand-drawn characters featuring in an animated film about a child survivor of the Holocaust, it's not without good reason.

That's because the artist behind the project spent nearly a year painstakingly going through hundreds of photographs taken during the Second World War to depict the real faces of those who endured unimaginable horror at the hands of the Nazis.

Animator Zoom Rockman also ensured all locations, events and even conversations were based on the true-life experiences of Ivor Perl, who was just a boy of 12 when he arrived at Auschwitz in 1944.

It was there the youngster, born Yitzchak Perlmutter from Mako, Hungary, would be known as number 112021 for his duration at 'literally hell on earth' until Allied troops arrived a year later.

He cheated death many times, including narrowly escaping the clutches of Dr Josef Mengele  notorious for his chilling human experiments  as well as evading selection for the gas chambers, contracting deadly typhus and surviving a 500-mile death march to Kaufering and Dachau.

Perl, who lives in a retirement home in north London and turns 93 next month, will no doubt feel the enormity of this year's Holocaust Memorial Day, which marks 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

It was here at this Nazi death camp in Poland that 1.1million people perished, including one million Jews from across central and eastern Europe. Overall, six million Jews were murdered at the hands of the Nazis.

Tragically, among them were Perl's parents and seven of his siblings. Only he and his brother, Alec, were still alive by the end of the war, when they were granted asylum by the British government to build new lives for themselves.

Animator Zoom Rockman has turned Ivor Perl's story of survival into a feature-length film

Survivor is based on the true-life experiences of Ivor Perl, who was just a boy of 12 when he arrived at Auschwitz in 1944

At the age of 18, Perl met his future wife, Rhoda. After he set up his own business manufacturing clothes in 1953, the couple finally married and had four children.

For decades, the now great-grandfather of six seldom spoke about the traumatic events he witnessed as a child survivor of the Holocaust, but years later he finally revealed what he had seen.

In 2023, he published his memoir, Chicken Soup Under The Tree, which inspired Rockman to turn Perl's personal story of survival into a feature-length animation.

Survivor is now set to be screened at the JW3 community centre in London on Tuesday, as well as on ABC TV in Australia.

The film's beautifully haunting soundtrack has been composed by Erran Baron Cohen, the older brother of actor Sacha Baron Cohen, while Rockman's author mother Kate Lennard penned the screenplay.

Rockman, 24, has long been earning a name for himself as an artist and cartoonist. At the age of 12 he became the youngest artist in Beano's history after his comic strip, Skanky Pigeon, was commissioned by the magazine.

He went on to become a satirical cartoonist with Private Eye for six years, until 2023.

Now in his latest venture, Rockman has used his own unique style of live action animation using hand-drawn puppets moved by clever mechanisms to bring Perl's heartrending story to life.

It was important to both artist and subject that this new way of presenting the Holocaust would be 'engaging' for Gen Z and younger  a goal that has become all the more imperative as numbers of first-hand witnesses dwindle.

Perl meets the puppet version of himself as used in Zoom Rockman's animation film Survivor

A photograph of Ivor Perl aged 14, which was taken just after his liberation from Auschwitz

Rockman spent nearly a year painstakingly going through hundreds of photographs to depict the real faces of those who endured the Holocaust

Equally important was that everything depicted in the film is true  from the faces of the puppets to the historical events that took place.

Speaking to MailOnline, Rockman was adamant the film would be a work of Holocaust fact, not fiction.

He explained: 'At school, we were always told that we were the last generation who were going to meet Holocaust survivors.

'I was equally aware of the attitudes, the Holocaust denial that is out there, especially on the internet. It feels like the trend is towards more denialism and misrepresentation as we go on.

'At the same time we have a growing amount of Holocaust fiction, where the characters and events have been imagined - but if you do the research, it's all there, the absolute horror of it. I didn't see a need to make anything up.'

Rockman used Perl's memoir as his core reference, supplementing it with the well-known testimonies of Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi to ensure he depicted conditions at Auschwitz as authentically as possible.

He also visited the notorious Nazi death camp and Munich in Germany, where Perl was moved for a short while after liberation.

And when it came to drawing his puppets, not one had a face penned from his own imagination.

Animator Zoom Rockman ensured all locations, events and even conversations were based on the true-life experiences of Ivor Perl

The youngster from Mako, Hungary, was known as number 112021 during his time in the camp

Rockman has tried to authentically recreate the surroundings at the notorious Nazi death camp

Survivor is now set to be screened at the JW3 community centre in London on Tuesday, as well as on ABC TV in Australia

Rockman admits he barely slept for a year while researching, drawing and filming his feature

Rockman has used his own unique style of live action animation using hand-drawn puppets moved by clever mechanisms to bring Perl's heartrending story to life

It was here at Auschwitz in Poland that 1.1 million people perished, including one million Jews from across central and eastern Europe

'Everyone in the film is based on the actual photo reference of a real person,' he said, adding that some of the faces were drawn from images taken by famed war photographer Lee Miller after liberation.

He has even included a special nod to his own great uncle, Lazar Rozenwajn, who was also deported to Auschwitz.

A puppet with the face of Lazar appears in a scene with the young Perl who innocently asks why there is so much smoke coming out of a tall chimney at the edge of the death camp.

'It's a bakery', Lazar says to protect him from revealing the horrifying truth about the camp's crematorium.

Rockman has also incorporated the face of Holocaust artist David Olere, whose explicit drawings and paintings detail life as a Jewish Sonderkommando - prisoners who were forced to carry and dispose of bodies from the gas chambers.

He drew inspiration from Olere's works, as well as the detailed camp depictions found in Sketchbook From Auschwitz, a collection of 22 drawings composed by an anonymous prisoner which were found hidden under one of the barracks.

As for the overall look of the film, Rockman chose black and white ink drawings with hints of blue in each scene.

Rockman thought of blue to denote the stains on the plastered walls left by Zyklon B as it reacted within the gas chambers - but also for another significant reason.

After watching the film for the first time, Perl passed a poignant note to Rockman saying: 'Dear Zoom, now I know why I survived'

Perl, pictured with King Charles, then Prince of Wales in 2017, seldom spoke about what he had experienced until his latter years

'There's a part in Ivor's testimony in which he said not to believe all the nonsense about the birds never singing in Auschwitz, for when he arrived it was a warm, sunny day, the sky was blue, birds were singing, and butterflies were fluttering.

'He wanted to say that the Holocaust did not happen In dark corners hidden away - the Holocaust happened in broad daylight, right while the world was watching.'

After finishing his labour of love - one that Rockman admits meant he barely slept for the duration of a year while researching, drawing and filming - the artist proudly showed the final version to Perl.

He sat and watched the film, before scrawling a few but poignantly-laden words on a private note which he passed to Rockman.

It simply said: 'Dear Zoom, now I know why I survived,' the artist revealed.

From Perl's perspective, he has high hopes the film will educate more people about the brutality of the Holocaust long after the last survivors have passed away.

'I hope Im right that his film will be a tremendous help to humanity,' Perl told MailOnline. 'Not only to me, or Jews, but to humanity in general.

'Hopefully what Zoom has done will help future generations to realise that things that happen to Jews or any other group of people might start there, but it doesnt finish there.'
The King will today make what one aide calls a poignant, personal and profound visit to Poland to join world leaders and survivors of the Holocaust at the most notorious concentration camp of them all.

Eighty years on from the day Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz, the King will join four fellow monarchs and 19 presidents (including those of Israel, Germany and France) to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

More than a million people, most of them Jewish, were murdered here. Its liberation is now recognised by the United Nations as the fixed date for the global commemoration of all victims of the Holocaust.

Although the King visited Poland several times as Prince of Wales, it will be his first trip to Auschwitz and the first time a British monarch has been here.

Everyone is mindful this anniversary is likely to be the last major occasion where those who bore witness can share their stories in person, says a senior Palace official.

The lighting of the flames of remembrance will therefore carry an even greater symbolism than ever  a visible vow in front of the few who survive that their experiences will never be forgotten. That is a duty the King feels most deeply, both as man and monarch.

For Mala Tribich, 94, the one British Holocaust survivor attending today, this has been a place of painful pilgrimage for many years.

I come in the same way you go to a cemetery  to pay your respects to your loved ones, she tells me, casting her mind back to all her relatives killed here and elsewhere by the Nazis.

King Charles (pictured at Sandringham on Sunday) has visited Poland several times as Prince of Wales but it will be his first trip to Auschwitz and the first time a British monarch has been here

Mala Tribich MBE outside Auschwitz

World leaders will gather today to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz (pictured)

More than a million people, most of them Jewish, were murdered at Auschwitz (pictured)

Meeting on the eve of todays ceremony, beneath the hateful Arbeit Macht Frei sign over the gate into Auschwitz, I find Mala poised and resolutely upbeat in her capacity as an ambassador for the Holocaust Educational Trust, for whom she regularly gives talks.

As ever, in the midst of a Polish winter, it seems incredible that anyone could endure this in pyjamas and clogs.

Winters were even worse then. Winter was death itself, Mala recalls, though inner strength would seem to run in the family.

Her late brother, Sir Ben Helfgott, also survived the Holocaust, was a British weightlifting Olympian at two Games (he carried the Union flag at Rome in 1960), devoted much of his life to charity and was knighted in 2018.

Born in 1930 in the Polish town of Piotrkow, Mala was 11 when the Nazis marched the towns 25,000-strong Jewish population into a ghetto and thence to the death camps.

Malas father, however, had managed to disperse the family around the countryside and she went into hiding with a Christian family, jumping inside a wardrobe when visitors came calling.

Once the deportations were over, the family risked a return to Piotrkow, only to be rounded up once again in 1942.

Her mother and eight-year-old sister were incarcerated in the local synagogue, before being led out into the forest one freezing morning, stripped and executed. (Mala can discuss most things but still finds it impossible to talk about this).

Sent to work as a 12-year-old slave labourer, Mala was also a surrogate mother to a five-year-old cousin, Ann, whose parents had been taken without her.

Robert Hardman at Auschwitz for the 80th anniversary of the camp's liberation

The camp was set up by Nazi German occupiers in southern Poland in 1940 and liberated by Soviet troops on January 27, 1945

A giant tent covering the 'Death Gate' of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz. It forms part of the preparations for the 80th anniversary of the camp's liberation

In 1944, with the Russians advancing from the East, Mala and Ann were deported to Germany and the womens concentration camp at Ravensbruck.

She remembers flashes of humanity amid the cruelty, like the aunt who smuggled a carrot back from the fields for them. Shed have been shot if she was caught, Mala points out.

By 1945, the girls were on the move again, this time to the hell of Bergen-Belsen. There were these skeletons just shuffling around and piles of dead bodies.

Mala managed to find them both a space in the makeshift childrens wing. That saved our lives as we would not have survived in the main camp, says Mala, who soon contracted typhus, the disease which killed tens of thousands at Belsen, including the teenage diarist, Anne Frank.

Mala remembers lying in her sickbed and seeing the bizarre sight of a shoeless little boy running past excitedly. They had just been liberated by the British.

They were wonderful, real heroes  and some caught typhus themselves, says Mala, still smiling at one memory. Later on, they had this wonderful picnic for us in a forest with a band and dancing and food. It was just magical.

She had been recuperating in Sweden for two years when word reached her that her brother was alive and in Britain.

So Mala followed Ben, going on to make a life, a home and a great family in what she calls the best country in the world, one which has gone on to recognise her with an MBE.

Who better, along with the King, to represent us on the world stage today?
Australia is in for a scorcher on Monday - with multiple heatwave and bushfire warnings in place - as temperatures soar on the public holiday.

Every capital city is headed for maximum temperatures above 30C, with the mercury forecast to hit an astonishing 42 in Melbourne, before a late cool change brings some relief.

Sydney is due for 31C, Brisbane 30, Adelaide 35, Perth 32 and Hobart 32C.

Hot, dry and windy weather will cause extreme fire dangers for western and central Victoria and much of eastern South Australia.

A total fire ban has been declared on Monday for the Wimmera, Mallee, south-west, central and north-central regions of Victoria as temperatures are forecast to reach the high 30s to mid-40s, with gusty winds of 70 to 80km/h.

Country Fire Authority chief officer Jason Heffernan said the conditions would make it difficult for firefighters to suppress any blazes that started.

'We're asking people to follow the strict conditions associated with the total fire ban declaration,' he said.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of low to severe heatwave conditions for much of the country, including Western Australia, the Northern Territory, western Queensland and NSW.

Australia is in for a scorcher on Monday - with multiple heatwave and bushfire warnings in place - as temperatures soar on the public holiday. Stock image

'We're going to see temperatures for many of our inland areas get in the high 30s to low 40s, and that heat will get down to the Sydney area on Tuesday with temperatures in the mid-30s,' senior meteorologist Dean Narramore told ABC.

'We could see temperatures get into the high 30s for Adelaide before a cool change, but much of Victoria is likely to see low 40s - including Melbourne at 42 - and could even see mid-40s along the Murray.'

A gusty cool change is expected to hit Victoria on Monday afternoon, with thunderstorms forecast for NSW on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, authorities have issued a total fire ban for southern Tasmania, amid hot, dry and windy conditions.

Every capital city is headed for maximum temperatures above 30C, with the mercury forecast to hit an astonishing 42 in Melbourne

Elsewhere, the state cities will all see temperatures into the 30s with both Brisbane and Sydney topping out at around 31. A dry day is expected in Brisbane but with the small chance of a thunderstorm for Sydney.

A hot day for Canberra with temperatures into the low or mid 30s and the chance of a thunderstorm.

Adelaide and Perth will be sunny with the thermometer reaching 35 and 32 respectively.

Darwin will see a humid 34 with the chance of heavy showers or thunderstorms during the afternoon.

Hobart will reach 32 with the chance of a thunderstorm later in the afternoon.

Perth

Monday - Mostly sunny, 35.

Tuesday - Shower or two. Minimum 27, maximum 34.

Wednesday - Shower or two. Minimum 27, maximum 35.

Adelaide

Monday - Sunny, 35.

Tuesday - Cloud clearing. Minimum 16, maximum 27.

Wednesday - Sunny. Minimum 14, maximum 26.

Melbourne

Monday - Late cool change, 41.

Tuesday - Cloudy. Minimum 17, maximum 22.

Wednesday - Partly cloudy. Minimum 15, maximum 21.

Hobart

Monday - Shower or two, 32.

Tuesday - Partly cloudy. Minimum 15, maximum 20.

Wednesday - Cloudy. Minimum 11, maximum 21.

Canberra

Monday - Possible shower or storm, 35.

Tuesday - Possible storm, cool change. Minimum 19, maximum 36.

Wednesday - Cloudy. Minimum 13, maximum 27.

Sydney

Monday - Partly cloudy, 31.

Tuesday - Afternoon cool change. Minimum 24, maximum 35.

Wednesday - Shower or two. Minimum 20, maximum 25.

Brisbane

Monday - Partly cloudy, 30.

Tuesday - Mostly sunny. Minimum 21, maximum 32.

Wednesday - Partly cloudy. Minimum 22, maximum 31.

Darwin

Monday - Shower or two, possible storm, 34.

Tuesday - Showers, possible storm. Minimum 25, maximum 33.

Wednesday - Showers, possible storm. Minimum 25, maximum 33.
Tech giants including Apple and Google are enabling a phone theft epidemic with weak device security measures, Britains most senior police officer has said.

Gangsters have turned reselling stolen devices into a global criminal business with London the phone snatching capital of Europe, Scotland Yard commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said.

The trade in stolen phones is worth an estimated 20million a year, with more than 200 snatch thefts happening in England and Wales every day.

In the capital, more than 64,000 phones were reported stolen to the Metropolitan Police in 2023 - a figure that had doubled in just two years.

And the forces commissioner said the situation was worsened by the fact that there is nothing stopping a stolen phone being sold by a criminal to be used again.

They are making a fortune out of this, Sir Mark told the Sunday Times.The organised crime business model is enabled by the reusability and resaleability of stolen phones.

With second-hand iPhones fetching up to 400, Sir Mark said that thieves could receive between 100 and 200 for every stolen handset they pass on to a handler.

He called for manufacturers to install a type of kill switch that would render a stolen phone completely unusable to the thieves who snatched it.

Gangsters have turned reselling stolen devices into a global criminal business with London the phone snatching capital of Europe, Scotland Yard commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said

The trade in stolen phones is worth an estimated 20million a year, with more than 200 snatch thefts happening in England and Wales every day (file image)

In the capital, more than 64,000 phones were reported stolen to the Metropolitan Police in 2023 - a figure that had doubled in just two years

I would have thought it would be to your competitive advantage as a business to say to your customers: the security on our device makes it less attractive to steal, he said.

The [current] inadequate security is enabling the theft.

Ive heard them [manufacturers] say its so difficult to reopen a stolen phone that very few are reused. Our data and analysis shows thats definitely not true.

'Frankly if that was true there wouldnt be the resale market...so their judgments are overconfident.

Most phones stolen in Britain are then resold overseas, with a high proportion being shipped to north Africa, Sir Mark said.

A Met Police sample of 3,500 handsets show just over a fifth remained in Britain, with 22 per cent showing up in Algeria and 16 per cent sent to China.

Algerian Zakaria Senadjki, 31, was jailed in November after police who raided his west London home found 170 stolen phones wrapped in aluminium foil in an effort to prevent them from being tracked, along with handwritten ledgers about each theft.

Such is the demand for stolen phones abroad that gangs have been smuggling them out of the UK in bulk on cargo planes, concealing them in Faraday boxes which block any signal that might allow them to be tracked.

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The Met has asked Border Force officials to watch out for stolen phones in the same way they might seek hidden drugs or weapons.

The force has also asked the National Crime Agency (NCA) to gather intelligence about how gangs distribute and sell phones stolen on British streets.And a Home Office-sponsored conference in February will tackle phone theft.

Sir Mark suggested the Government could force tech giants to improve security through new legislation if they continued to fail to act.

Apple, Google and Samsung said they were working with the authorities to combat phone theft and had introduced advanced safety measures to protect customers.
The Camping World CEO has refused demands from the city to take down a giant American flag waving in front of the company's Greenville, North Carolina facility.

The country's largest RV parts supplier and dealer has been hit with costly fines because of the 3,200-square-foot flag posted on a 120-foot pole that was placed on the company's property.

The flag is 15 times the allowed size on non-residential property and the pole is only supposed to be 70-feet tall.

'The flag is not coming down,' Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis wrote on X.

'You can fine me all you want City of Greenville North Carolina.'

After weeks of resisting against the city, Lemonis' efforts have proven successful, with officials set to draft a new ordinance to allow the flag to remain.

Greenville city officials first told Camping World that the flag violated a city regulation October, 2024.

To oppose the city's wishes to tear down the patriotic symbol, Camping World filed an application to amend the rule earlier this month, WITN reported.

Camping World has been hit with costly fines because of the 3,200-square-foot flag posted on a 120-foot pole that was placed on the company's property

Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis has refused demands from the city to take down a giant American flag waving in front of the company's Greenville, North Carolina facility

But the Greenville City Council unanimously voted down the request that would make the flag's size legal on January 9.

On January 15, the city started ramping up its efforts against the company by issues multiple citations and fines.

There have been at least six citations issued, totaling to $1,150 in fines, according to WLBT.

According to a petition created by Camping World called 'Let Camping World Fly The American Flag!', the city has been imposing a $500 per day fine.

The document reads: 'Many cities like Greenville have requested that Camping World take down their American Flags. WE WON'T DO IT! Stand with us.

'This is about more than just the flag. This is about our Veterans, Military, and the men and women that have sacrificed for this great country. They are the reason we fly the flag and they are the reason we will NOT take it down!'

On Saturday, Councilman Les Robinson issued a motion to 'initiate a text amendment to allow a 3,200-square-foot flag to be flown with one flag and a maximum flag pole height of 130 feet with other various restrictions,' according to The Daily Reflector.

The amendment is set to be reviewed by the Greenville Planning and Zoning Commision in February. In March, the document will be sent to city council for its final approval.

Lemonis posted citations on X, writing that the 'flag is not coming down'

Greenville Mayor Mayor P.J. Connelly released a statement, supporting the flag and efforts to allow it to stay

In a Saturday Facebook statement, Greenville Mayor P.J. Connelly wrote: 'Today at our planning session the city council voted unanimously to direct staff to develop an ordinance to allow the flag at Camping World to fly.

'It should never have come to this but thankfully our beautiful American flag will continue to fly.'

Local officials have accused Camping World of fibbing on their original application to place the flag on their property in August, 2024.

A contractor for the RV retailer submitted a permit request for a 70-foot flagpole and a 216-square-foot flag, but instead used a much larger one without telling the city, The Daily Reflector reported.

'They essentially lied on their application because they knew full and well what the ordinance stated and what they were allowed to build but they built it anyway and then sent us a text amendment that was essentially impossible to pass,' Councilman Matt Scully told the outlet.

'The whole thing in my opinion was a sham and publicity stunt and it's unfortunate that it has divided our community in some ways and had made the city look unpatriotic in the eyes of some of the public and it's been a huge waste of time of our staff in my opinion.

'I think our hope is to get it resolved as soon as possible and continue on with the people's work of making our community better.'

Scully, who seconded the motion, said he is worried that agreeing to comply with Camping World's flag requests has set a problematic precedent.

Connelly announced the decision to develop a new flag ordinance, but other officials expressed concern about the precedent this may set

He told The Daily Reflector: 'We've allowed a very wealthy person and company to come in and essentially do what they want and are essentially getting away with it. At the end of the day, we just want to get this resolved quickly.

'It is a beautiful flag, I'm a patriotic person. We really just want to get back to making our community better and do the people's business and doing the real business of safety and homelessness and affordable housing. The list goes on and on.'

On Sunday, Lemonis took to X to thank the city of Greenville for their decision to modify the ordinance.

'Thank you @GreenvilleNC for your reconsideration. We are all grateful #BestFlagEver,' he wrote.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Lemonis and the city of Greenville for comment.
An 'All-American family' of four, including two young children, were killed inside their Pennsylvania home in what police have referred to as an 'unfathomable' act.

Pennsylvania State Police announced that they responded to a home in rural Ruffs Dale on Friday and found Paul Swarner, 35, his wife, Karen Swarner, 32, and their two young children five-year-old Evelyn and one-year-old Connor dead inside the same room, WTAE reports.

They had each died of a gunshot wound from a Ruger .22 that was recovered from the scene, and police now believe Paul shot and killed his wife and two children before he turned the gun on himself, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The couple had been married for nearly 10 years, and state police said they have no record of domestic violence incidents occurring at the Swarner's home.

'They seem like they had very successful jobs,' Trooper Steve Limani said at a news conference. 'Their home was the all-American home. There were toys for the children.

'It looked like a very loving household with pictures and all the things that you would ever think that you would walk into a home and see,' he continued, before calling the crime 'unthinkable' and 'unfathomable.'

'To be honest with you, I don't have the words to describe how awful it is,' Limani said.

An entire family of four, including mother Karen Swarner, 32, and her two young children, Connor, one, and Evelyn, five, were found dead inside their home Friday

Police believe the husband, Paul Swarner, 35, shot and killed his wife and children before taking his own life

'You're talking about your wife, but then a five year old and a one-year-old. It's just devastating.'

'It's hard for a police officer to walk in [on something] like that, so I can only imagine what their family is going through.'

A motive for the murder-suicide remains unclear, and Limani said family members first started worrying when they could not get in contact with them.

He explained that the last person who spoke with any of the family members talked with Karen on Wednesday afternoon.

'From all intents and purposes, there was no - what you would consider strife or any type of concern or fear of endangerment or anything like that,' Limani said. 'It was a normal conversation.'

But when Paul's father tried to call the family the next day, and could not get through to them it raised some red flags.

'They're a type of family that stays in communication with each other,' the trooper explained.

It was ultimately Karen's father that called police to the scene at around 11.30pm.

Karen and Paul Swarner had been married for nearly 10 years, and a motive for the shooting is unclear

Police said they were first called to the scene at 11.30pm Thursday night

State police have served a search warrant on the family's home and are 'going through all of their electronic information' in an effort to determine a motive

Following the grizzly discovery, state police served a search warrant on the family's home and are 'going through all of their electronic information' in an effort to determine a motive.

But the shooting left friends and community members shocked, with one friend of Paul's telling Trib Live that Karen 'was always jovial' and they both seemed like 'loving parents.'

He explained that Paul traveled frequently for work in the oil and gas industry, while Karen worked as a physician assistant and took care of the children while he was gone.

Dick Shawley, who lives in the neighborhood, also told WTAE that he didn't know the family well, but was there if they ever needed help.

He recalled giving the children Christmas gifts last month.

'They were always jumping around and happy,' Shawley said.

'I played Santa over there and I'll never get it out of my mind,' he said of the news of the family's death.

'Such devastation. Such precious life.'

Any friends, family or community members who can now help determine a motive for the shooting is asked to call Pennsylvania State Police.

'Our condolences go out to the families - and it's just tough on law enforcement,' Limani said. 'Were doing everything we can to try and give them the "why."'
Former AFL player and TV personality Sam Newman is unapologetic about turning to leave an official event during a Welcome to Country but claims his actions were out of 'respect'.

The former Footy Show host and AFL great was among the guests at an Australia Day function at Victoria's Government House on Wednesday.

Daily Mail Australia revealed that when Victorian Governor Margaret Gardner began an Acknowledgment of Country, Newman could be seen turning his back and heading for the exit.

Appearing on Sky News on Sunday, Newman said he didn't want to be present during any Welcome to Country or Acknowledgement of Country.

'I think it's wrong and it's nonsense and it's complete, it's a sham. So I started to walk out of respect,' Newman said.

'Let's not be a hypocrite. If you don't like it, move out.'

However, Newman denied the accusation that he turned his back on Dr Gardner's speech, saying he was using his camera to film himself with her in the background despite it appearing he was filming his companion, Sue Stanley.

'I was there to celebrate Australia Day, one of the few incidentally,' he told Sky News interviewers Danica De Giorgio and James Macpherson.

Former AFL great and TV star Sam Newman is unapologetic about turning to leave an official event during the 'sham' of Welcome to Country

'It was threadbare the auditorium, or Government House. It seems to be dropping off in popularity, so I was just giving it a bit of coverage.'

Prodded by the interviewers Newman was forthcoming in his opinion of Acknowledgment and Welcome to Country rituals, which he claimed were a recent invention 'foisted on us'.

'It's a fraud, it's an absolute nonsense,' he said.

'Who is welcoming us to what?'

'We are all Australians, we don't want to be divided by this racial lens that people look at our country through.'

'People welcoming who haven't been on the planet half the time I have, it's just a way to exploit people making money out of lighting fires and dancing and it is just nonsense.'

Newman, who urged the crowd to boo the Welcome to Country at last year's AFL Grand Final, pointed to the 2023 rejection of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament to claim Australians do not want people 'pushing this division'.

When Margaret Gardner began an Acknowledgment of Country, Newman could be seen turning his back and heading for the exit, but he returned when the address was finished

'The people who keep saying we are a racist country are the people who keep pushing this because it divides them and gives them something to complain about it,' Newman said.

'We are not a racist country, of course there are pockets of it, there are pockets all over the world.'

'If someone hadn't turned up all those years ago there would be nothing here.

There's a hell of a lot of indigenous leaders that have this opinion they all just want to be one people.'

He took particular aim at the AFL, saying he didn't want to go to a sporting event and 'have someone come out dressed in a bear skin and welcome us to country.

'Activists, vocal minority and the social elites take over, and no one is game to push back because they will get cancelled,' Newman said.

For the rest of Ms Gardner's speech, Newman had his back to the stage, and appeared to be taking photos of companion Sue Stanley

Newman also took a shot at those not embracing the Australian flag.

'What about the treacherous leader of the Greens not speaking in front of the Australian flag?' he said.

'To add insult to injury the lady who won the title has to stand in front of three different flags.

'We are one nation, we are one country.'

Newman also recently slammed a dedicated Telstra call centre phoneline for Indigenous people.

The Darwin-based call centre hotline came under scathing attack from the AFL veteran during an episode of Newman's podcast, You Cannot Be Serious, in January.

Newman's co-host shared a story about a non-Indigenous woman from Kununurra in Western Australia who was able to skip the line after she lied about her heritage.

'Why doesn't everyone do it?' said Newman in response. 'Indigenous people - why do they get through while the rest of us wait in line?

'This will get to - you'll go to a film, and there'll be a queue for Caucasian people. And over here, there'll be a queue for anyone whose skin color is not white.'

Telstra denied the call centre allowed Indigenous callers to skip the queue faced by the rest of the community.

'Telstras First Nations Connect Hotline is supported by a small dedicated team to service our most remote customers,' a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.
A daycare worker from Indiana accused of assaulting a two-year-old child has defended her actions with the jaw-dropping explanation that she didn't hit the boy that hard.

Joyce Nicole Perkins, 31, faces charges of battery on a person less than 14 years old in the shocking and deeply disturbing incident that has sent ripples through the local community.

The alleged incident occurred on November 4, 2024, at Kiddie Academy of Greenwood, a daycare center nestled in the suburbs of Indianapolis.

It all began with an ordinary day at Kiddie Academy. But what unfolded next, captured on video, is anything but ordinary.

According to court documents, a two-year-old boy spat on Perkins while she was tending to another child.

The footage, which has since been reviewed by law enforcement with the Johnson County Prosecutors Office, shows Perkins reacting with immediate violence.

In a move described as 'instant' in the probable cause affidavit, she allegedly slapped the toddler's face with such force that he spun around and collided with a nearby cabinet.

'I had to smack him because he spit all in my face,' Perkins can reportedly be heard saying on the video. The audio also captures her expressing outrage, saying: 'hell no' and 'ya, he spit in my face, I don't do that.'

Joyce Nicole Perkins, 31, faces a charge of battery on a person less than 14 years old after she allegedly hit a two-year-old child, the act of which was caught on video

The alleged incident occurred on November 4, 2024, at Kiddie Academy of Greenwood, a daycare center nestled in the suburbs of Indianapolis

If the slap wasn't horrifying enough, the video allegedly shows Perkins then grabbing the boy by his shirt and dragging him out of the room.

The daycare's director acted swiftly, firing Perkins the very same day.

He also submitted the incriminating video footage to local authorities, setting the wheels of justice in motion.

The daycare center addressed the incident in a statement: 'Recently, an isolated incident occurred involving a staff member who failed to meet our professional and ethical standards. We acted immediately, terminating her employment and reporting the matter to the Department of Child Services (DCS).'

The incident has been reported to two state agencies, and a thorough investigation by the state licensing authority has confirmed the daycare's actions were appropriate.

The shocking details of this case have left many parents questioning the safety of their children in such facilities.

In a subsequent interview with law enforcement, Perkins attempted to explain her actions.

Speaking to a detective who spoke to her earlier this week, she allegedly described her reaction to being spat on as a 'reflection, a reflex.'

'Speaking generally, video evidence is very strong evidence, and it's good to have it,' Johnson County prosecutor Lance Hamner, pictured, told WRTV

The shocking and deeply disturbing incident has sent ripples through the local community

Video evidence taken at the daycare has only served to bolster the case against Perkins

Astonishingly, she downplayed the incident, claiming, 'I didn't hit him bad, you know, I just gave him a little small tap. He didn't cry or nothing.'

Perkins allegedly went on to say that the boy had been 'acting up' that day, throwing toys and refusing to help clean up when asked.

She reportedly justified her behavior by adding, 'He was the one spitting on me, and that's battery too.'

The detective's response was cutting: 'The boy is only two years old.'

But Perkins remained undeterred still seemingly justifying her actions, allegedly repeating, 'It was my mother's instinct to react. He didn't cry or nothing.'

The video evidence has not only appalled the local community but also bolstered the case against Perkins.

'Speaking generally, video evidence is very strong evidence, and it's good to have it,' Johnson County prosecutor Lance Hamner told WRTV.

'As a prosecutor, our job is to protect. It's not to just enforce the law. The job requires we use the law to protect people.'

Perkins has not been detained, according to jail records but the investigation remains active.
This video is no longer available

This video is no longer available

A tourist who managed to get his 4x4 hire car bogged on a beach - attracting the attention of the local police - didn't let the embarrassment dent his self-belief.

Mohammed travelled from NSW, but then found himself in strife when he drove the white $89,000 Nissan Patrol onto Melbourne's Elwood Beach on Monday morning.

He and the rented car were both soon seen surrounded by police officers, but Mohammed stayed remarkably calm under very trying circumstances.

'I believe in myself. I'm confident,' he told Today show reporter Christine Ahern, who happened to be there to do a weather report when she saw Mohammed trying to drive the car out.

'You know, people go to moon, you know, all those things get done. I'm not going to be able to get a car out of the water,' he said, owning the problem he'd created.

'Come on, man, I'm a human. You know? I've got a power.'

Ahern told the 9News viewers that the interstate traveller had 'not only got the police to worry about, he's also got the council turning up'.

'Mohammed's in all sorts of trouble at the moment because a tow truck did turn up, had a look, and went "nothing I can do", u-turned and drove away,' she said.

Mohammed (left) travelled from NSW, but then found himself in strife when he drove an $89,000 Nissan Patrol onto Melbourne's Elwood Beach on Monday morning

His misfortune soon attracted the attention of the local police (pictured talking to him)

Today show reporter Christine Ahern (pictured) happened to be there to do a weather report when she saw Mohammed trying to drive the car out

A tractor later showed up to try to drag the hire vehicle from the water.

Anyone hoping to escape the 42 degree scorcher expected in Melbourne today by going to Elwood Beach will be hoping the Nissan is long gone by then.

They could also take the morning's events as a warning - don't drive your car onto the beach, even if you are 'confident' it's OK to do so.
Costco shoppers warned that Al Sharpton's involvement in a 'buy in' celebrating their DEI policies could be a 'kiss of death' for the retail giant.

The show of support from Sharpton's organization came after Costco and its shareholders defied President Donald Trump and conservative activists by voting to stick to their diversity, equity and inclusion policies last week.

The controversial civil right activist led 100 members of his National Action Network through the Harlem Costco to spend their money in a show of gratitude for the decision.

'Leading a buy-in with 100+ @NationalAction members at the @Costco location in Harlem, NYC to show support for the company's strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI),' Rev. Sharpton said in a post on X.

Sharpton revealed in a speech outside the store that he'd bought 100 $25 gift vouchers for each buy in participant to spend inside.

'Were going shopping at Costco because theyve stood with us. People that stand with us, we will stand with them,' he said.

But the move has been sharply criticized online due to Sharpton's divisive reputation. Some critics called his involvement as the 'kiss of death' for Costco.

'Al Sharpton? Kiss of death for Costco,' one said.

Costco has been warned that Al Sharpton's involvement in a 'buy in' celebrating the grocer's diversity, equity and inclusion policies could be the 'kiss of death'

'As a life long customer when Rev Al Sharpton is using you as Liberal Party tool I am done with you. Sharpton is the kiss of death,' another added

Controversial Reverand Sharpton led 100 members of his National Action Network through the Harlem Costco to spend their money in a show of gratitude for the decision

'As a life long customer when Rev Al Sharpton is using you as Liberal Party tool I am done with you. Sharpton is the kiss of death,' another added.

Others said they would now boycott the retailer - such as the infamous boycott of Bud Light after their partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney - due to their disappointment in Costco aligning itself with Sharpton.

It is unclear if Costco had any knowledge of Sharpton's plans.

'I wonder how much they love Al Sharpton now that theyre getting bud lighted. Im cancelling my memberships auto renewal this week and wont be shopping there again,' one critic said.

'If Al Sharpton shows up, youre most definitely on the wrong side of history,' another said, while a third described him as a 'chaos agent.'

Sharpton was slammed for accepting a $500,000 payment from Kamala Harris' team during the presidential election campaign just weeks before a gushing interview with her which aired on MSNBC.

Harris' campaign allegedly gave two $250,000 payments to Sharpton's National Action Network on September 5 and October 1.

And on October 20, Sharpton's went on to praise Harris' 'extraordinary historic campaign' in a gushing interview, and branded Donald Trump 'hostile and erratic.'

The move has been sharply criticized online due to Sharpton's divisive reputation. Some critics called his involvement as the 'kiss of death' for Costco

'Leading a buy-in with 100+ @NationalAction members at the @Costco location in Harlem, NYC to show support for the company's strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI),' Rev. Sharpton said in a post on X

Some 100 members of the National Action Network shopped at Harlem Costco on Sunday to show appreciation for the retail giant's DEI stance

Others said they would now boycott the retailer due to their disappointment in Costco aligning itself with Sharpton

MSNBC has stayed silent over the payment, despite suspending Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough in 2010 for making $4,000 in campaign donations.

At the company's annual meeting last week, they voted against a proposal from a conservative activist group that challenged diversity, equity and inclusion policies at Costco.

The vote was seen as an early test of investor views about the value of corporate DEI programs, which many companies added or beefed up starting in 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter movement.

More than 98 percent of the shareholders voted against examining DEI policies on Thursday.

Ahead of the vote, retail expert Neil Saunders told DailyMail.com that Costco takes the view that its various programs have helped it to build a strong business.

'Given the positive results over recent years it is impossible to argue that Costco management doesn't know what it's doing,' Saunders, of Global Data, said.

'There is an element of them saying leave us to get on with the job. While some customers might dislike the policy, I doubt many will defect as it is not something that is visible or that directly impacts shoppers.'

It comes after major companies such as Walmart, Ford, John Deere, and Tractor Supply bowed to pressure and rowed back on their DEI commitments.

At the company's annual meeting last week, they voted against a proposal from a conservative activist group that challenged diversity, equity and inclusion policies at Costco

In July, John Deere made a huge U-turn on its DEI practices in the face of opposition and a damaging boycott from farmers and conservatives.

The company said in a statement it would drop 'socially motivated messaging' and 'diversity quotas and pronoun identification' and distance itself from 'cultural awareness parades.'

The $61 billion-a-year firm had come under fire over sponsoring a Pride event for children as young as three and other DEI efforts, even as it shuttered plants and sacked American workers.
A heartbroken mother who was forced to hold her newborn twin daughters while her boyfriend shot them dead is now ready to become a mom once again.

Maniac boyfriend Gawain Wilson, 28, took out an AR-15 and fired several shots on November 13, 2015 when Megan Hiatt, then 22, decided to end their abusive relationship.

Wilson killed both of their five-month-old daughters Hayden Rose and Kayden Reese, as well as Hiatt's father, Travis Hiatt, 49, and left Megan with seven gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen before he took his own life.

But in the nine years and 50 surgeries since the tragedy, Hiatt has moved from Florida to Texas, where she married the love of her life, Joseph Johnson, in 2021, the New York Post reports.

They are both now trying to become parents, and will soon learn from doctors whether she could conceive naturally or if they would have to turn to in-vitro fertilization.

Natural conception may present a problem due to the extent of the injuries she sustained from the fatal shooting, but in-vitro fertilization can cost between $12,00 to $15,000, excluding medications, which could add an additional $4,000 to $6,000 per cycle, according to an online fundraiser the couple set up.

They are also considering adoption and serving as foster parents, it notes.

'Joe and I would like to adopt a few children who lost their main caregiver to domestic violence,' Hiatt explained to the Post.

Megan Hiatt, then 22, was forced to hold her twin daughters, Hayden Rose and Kayden Reese, as her boyfriend shot them to death on November 13, 2015

She has since moved to Texas and married Joseph Johnson, in 2021

'There's that level of understanding that they wouldn't otherwise get.'

Wilson had a habit of breaking items around the house when he became angry, and pleaded guilty to strangulation in 2013 - after which he went into a domestic violence program.

On the night of November 13, 2015, Hiatt said she had already packed her belongings and was ready to leave Wilson, while her father stood outside the Jacksonville home to provide emotional support.

Hiatt was discussing co-parenting with her then-boyfriend, when she said he 'started shaking physically' and became 'visibly distraught.'

'We were on the couch,' she recounted. 'He had Reese, I had Rose and we were feeding them bottles.

'My things were packed into a truck outside, and he flew into a rage.

'He asked, "Are we over?"

'"Yes,'" Hiatt remembers responding.

Her then boyfriend, Gawain Wilson, 28, had a habit of breaking items around the house when he became angry, and pleaded guilty to strangulation in 2013 - after which he went into a domestic violence program

'"Are you sure we're over?"' Wilson pressed.

'We're not meant to be in a relationship together,' Hiatt said she responded.

At that point, she said, Wilson stood up, 'threw Reese on the couch' and went to the closet where he kept his firearms.

'He told me, "I am going to murder your dad and you're going to watch, b****,' Hiatt said.

When her father then heard her scream, he came barreling through the front door, at which point Wilson opened fire.

Travis kept getting shot, but tried to push himself back up, she recounted.

Meanwhile, Wilson, who was an engine mechanic for the Navy, turned the AR-15 toward Hiatt and his daughters.

'At this point, I know we're going to die,' Hiatt recounted. 'What am I going to do, battling an AR-15?

'I was hysterical and I was ready to die with my daughters in my arms, protecting them the best way I could.'

Once the babies were fatally shot and Hiatt was critically injured, Wilson shot himself in the head.

Wilson also shot and killed Hiatt's father, Travis Hiatt, 49

The twins are now buried alongside their grandfather

'At the end, when everything had happened, I could hear my dad dying, and I was crying,' Hiatt said.

'I told him, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know he was going to do this,"' she said.

Then, when she asked her father why he didn't just stay down, he 'said he wanted to take every bullet he could so there wouldn't be any more bullets for me and the girls.'

But Hiatt was left with her left leg and knee shattered, lost her left eye and was unable to walk.

Years later, the 31-year-old is now able to get around without a walker or a wheelchair. She is also now well enough to attend first birthday parties and baby showers.

Hiatt has also become a staunch domestic violence advocate, and is a project manager for the nonprofit eGrab Foundation, which aims to provide housing for domestic violence and human trafficking victims.

She credits her recovery to her faith, telling the Post: 'Everyone needs to find hope in something, and my hope is that I will one day get to hug my daughters again - to see my father again.'
A car enthusiast and his young son have died in a horrific crash on Australia Day, as police investigate whether speed was a factor in the crash.

A limited edition Holden Commodore sedan and red Mitsubishi Lancer collided at an intersection in the Brisbane suburb of Ransome shortly before 9am on Sunday.

The Holden driver, Chris Vrbesic, 37, a father-of-three from Manly West, died at the scene.

His four-year-old son was rushed to Queensland Children's Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

The driver and sole occupant of the red Mitsubishi, a 29-year-old Birkdale man, has taken to hospital with minor injuries.

The Forensic Crash Unit has launched an investigation, which will include whether speed was a contributing factor.

A shattered friend of Mr Vrbesic struggled to comprehend the tragedy when he visited the scene on Sunday afternoon.

'The guy was a family man, he helped so many people, he had such a big f**king heart,' he told the Courier Mail.

Chris Vrbesic and his four-year-old son died in a two car crash at a Ransome intersection on Sunday

A limited edition Holden Commodore sedan and red Mitsubishi Lancer collided at an intersection in the Brisbane suburb of Ransome

'I think you're going to find this will be one of those tragedies ... thousands of people it is going to affect.'

'I just can't understand how something like this has happened. It just doesn't make sense.'

An automotive enthusiast, Vrbesic was a project manager for Innate Developments, which specialises in residential and commercial construction.

Vrbesic was a regular patron of car and motorcycle enthusiasts gathering spot Joe's Diner, which responded to the much-loved regular's death with a statement.

'Our condolences go out to all involved. Absolutely tragic,' Joe's Diner said.

'Chris was a top guy and now a father and son are gone way too soon. Thoughts are with the family.'

Tributes have flowed online with a particularly eloquent one being penned by Robert Dolley on Facebook.

'My deepest condolences to the family and friends,' Mr Dolley wrote.

Mr Vrbesic's limited edition Holden Commodore sedan ended up in a ditch on its side

Mr Vrbesic has been remembered as a family man with 'a big heart' who helped many people

'I don't think there's a single person in the car community who isn't feeling something about what happened today at that intersection. A dad out for a good day with his son going to a car show no doubt and now won't go home.

'Somewhere that poor family tonight won't be tucking in their little boy and that rips the heart out of your chest thinking that poor dad just wanted to have a good day out with his boy.

'It's small, but the only thing you can take from it was they were together. RIP up there guys.'

Photos from the scene showed the blue Holden completely destroyed and flipped on its side in a ditch.

The red Mitsubishi suffered substantial damage to its front while the road was covered in debris.

It's understood the cars T-boned at the intersection.

Witnesses recalled seeing emergency responders frantically performing CPR on Mr Vrbesic as his son was pulled from the wreckage.

Another said it was the first fatal crash she'd seen at the intersection in more than 30 years.

Police have urged witnesses or anyone with relevant CCTV or dashcam to come forward.
MBABANE - A devastating accident at the Oshoek Border Gate yesterday morning has raised concerns of safety among travellers and those in the freight industry.

The concerns were raised on this publications Facebook page, where it was posted that a coal-laden truck lost control, ramming into 16 stationary vehicles and injuring three individuals who were rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. This is the second time such an accident occurs at the same border post within a two-month period, sparking widespread outrage over the safety of emaSwati and other travellers. Among those who raised concerns over the safety of travellers using the Ngwenya  Oshoek Border Gate were eyewitnesses, whose accounts of the accident described the scene as nothing short of chaotic. It was like a bomb was exploding. I had never seen a truck speeding like that one after the driver lost control of it, recounted one driver. While investigations into the cause of the accident were still ongoing last night, many have already pointed to potential contributing factors.



Concern



Some commentators cast aspersions and claimed the root cause of the accidents may lie with the road infrastructure itself. Many Facebook users expressed concern over the safety of the Oshoek Border Gate and called for improved safety measures, including the expansion of adjacent ports of entry, such as the Bulembu and Sandlane Border posts. This is not just about investing in more roads, its about creating alternative routes that can alleviate congestion and minimise the risk of accidents. Its high time the two governments take action to ensure our safety, argued one user. Others raised questions about the structural integrity of the road and the safety measures in place. This accident is a sign of a major challenge with the stretch leading to the border gate. Something needs to be done before we suffer the worst, noted one concerned citizen. The accident sparked calls for urgent action to prevent a repeat of such incidents as the port of entry into Eswatini and South Africa is said to facilitate the travel of over 300 trucks per day.



It is worth noting that the port of entry operates 24 hours and is said to be the busiest in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) ports of entry, according to the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The port of entry links South Africa and Eswatini and is known for long queues of trucks. This port of entry, according to the World Customs Organisation (WCO), is said to facilitate the transportation of goods, among the two countries with over 300 trucks per day. It is worth noting that the Ngwenya/Oshoek Border is the leading trading port, according to statistics released by SARS, as on average it facilitates trade in excess of E3 billion per month in both imports and exports between the two countries. The WCO in its June 25, 2024, reported that the flow of traffic through Oshoek transports mainly processed coal and minerals (30 per cent), manufactured goods (15 per cent) and sugar (12 per cent), while approximately 300 trucks per day flow into Ngwenya, primarily carrying coal and minerals (50 per cent), and household and retail goods (25 per cent).

Meanwhile, one of the Facebook commenters said: These trucks will kill us all as we avoid them daily, warned one user. Clearly, this place is no longer safe. The next thing that will happen is that everything there will be gutted down by fire following an accident, and well lose many lives and property. Regarding the accident and safety concerns, Ministry of Home Affairs Communications Officer Mlandvo Dlamini said, for now, assessments are ongoing, following the accident. Dlamini said the ministry could only advise where appropriate after the assessment. His comments were subsequent to the safety concerns raised by some locals on social media. Also, some truck drivers believe that the accident would have not occurred had it not been for the lack of a trucks cooling station just before the border gate.



The drivers said their experience had taught them that the state of the road leading to the border gate deserved truck cooling just like in Eswatini. Worth noting is that the Eswatini Government initiated a truck cooling station at Mangwaneni to ensure that the engines were cooled before the trucks drive down Malagwane Hill. This came after truck mostly those driven by foreigners caused accidents at the steep part of the Mbabane- Manzini Highway Road.




A Florida attorney allegedly sparked a huge brawl over prime rib after two young girls cut him in line at a wedding buffet.

Mark Roher, 52, has been accused of smashing a plate over a man's head after two children skipped him in line at a prime rib carving station on January 18 at Boca Lago Country Club, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office police report.

The victim, who was the father of one of the children, 'ignored the man yelling at him and did not respond' when Roher confronted him, police said in the report, according to Dayton24/7 Now.

'Without provocation, the large, bald man [Roher] struck the slimmer man on the head with a dinner plate. From thereon, a melee began between a large number of the wedding guests.'

A waiter at the venue told police the plate broke when Roher allegedly struck the other man. More dishes were reportedly shattered as other guests got involved in the chaos.

The victim said in the police report that he was trying to 'remove himself from the situation' and turned away from Roher once he started getting agitated, according to BocaNewsNow.

Mark Roher, 52, has been accused of smashing a plate over a man's head after two children skipped him in line at a prime rib carving station

Roher allegedly confronted a father after two young girls skipped him in the buffet's carving station line (stock image)

He then recalled being hit with a plate and shoved by Roher before grabbing him by his collar. A witness confirmed this story with police.

Upon arrest, Roher refused to talk to authorities and asked to contact his lawyer. He later spoke with police, admitting he initiated the conflict.

He reportedly told police that he did push the father, but denied breaking a plate over his head. Roher also said that he was injured when the other guests tried to pull him away.

'I find probable cause that Mark Stuart Roher is in violation of Florida Statute as he did actually and intentionally touch and strike the victim and in doing so used a plate as a weapon,' the arresting deputy wrote, according to BocaNewsNow.

Roher was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and was bailed out of Palm Beach County Jail after his $1,000 bond was met.

According to the Florida Bar organization, Roher specializes in bankruptcy and commercial litigation and has his own law firm.

The incident occurred on January 18 at the Boca Lago Country Club (pictured)

According to the Florida Bar organization, Roher specializes in bankruptcy and commercial litigation and has his own law firm.

His website reads: 'Attorney Mark S. Roher has over 20 years experience in private practice representing both individual and corporate clients in business and consumer bankruptcy proceedings, various commercial litigation matters, business disputes, collections and creditors' rights matters.'

Roher used to practice law in Boca Raton and now works out of an office in Broward County, BocaNewsNow reported.

He studied law at the University of Miami and graduated in 1999. He has no blemishes on his legal disciplinary record in the past 10 years, the bar reported.
President Donald Trump on Sunday issued an executive order establishing a review council to evaluate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), although stopping short of instant action to shut down the country's lead disaster response agency.

The order calls for the establishment of council made up of relevant federal leaders and 'distinguished individuals' selected by Trump from outside government.

Trump called on the council to hold its first public meeting within 90 days and submit a report to him within 180 days of the first meeting.

The president raised the idea of shuttering FEMA during a cross-country trip on Friday to disaster areas in North Carolina and California, vowing to sign an executive order to overhaul or eliminate the agency.

'FEMA has turned out to be a disaster,' he said during a tour of a North Carolina neighborhood destroyed by September's Hurricane Helene.

'I think we recommend that FEMA go away.'

The Republican president accused FEMA of bungling emergency relief efforts there and said he preferred that states be given federal money to handle disasters themselves.

Trump said in his executive order that there were 'serious concerns' of political bias at FEMA and that agency funds had been used for programs related to incoming migrants.

FEMA brings in emergency personnel, supplies and equipment to help areas begin to recover from natural disasters.

President Donald Trump speaks while visiting a neighborhood affected by Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Friday

Swannanoa resident Lucy Bickers, who received assistance from FEMA after Hurricane Helene damaged her property, holds a sign in support of the government agency as she waits on Trump's motorcade in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Friday

Later on Friday Trump spoke with residents as he toured a fire-affected area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California

Funding for the agency has soared in recent years as extreme weather events have increased the demand for its services.

Cam Hamilton, the acting FEMA head, wrote to staff on Friday reassuring them that the agency's continued existence was vital to the country's disaster response efforts.

'FEMA is a critical agency which performs an essential mission in support of our national security,' he wrote.

Hamilton is a former Navy SEAL Trump appointed to temporarily lead the agency after the Republican president took office last week.

The agency in the past year has battled misinformation, including about disaster responses in Florida and North Carolina.

Its reputation was battered by its poor handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the agency has struggled to recover. Trump criticized FEMA on the campaign trail and since taking office on Monday.

FEMA has a workforce of 20,000 people that can swell to more than 50,000 active members during major disasters, according to its website. It has 10 regional offices and the capacity to coordinate resources from across the federal government.

Officially created in 1979, it became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2004.

Trump is pictured with local leaders during a tour of Hurricane Helene devastation in Swannanoa, North Carolina, during an earlier trip in October 2024

A Trump 2024 campaign sign lies among debris where homes were destroyed after Hurricane Helene passed through the Florida panhandle last September

Marine One, carrying US President Donald Trump, flies above devastation caused by wildfires around Los Angeles, California

While responding to real-life disasters, FEMA has also battled a slew of false rumors about how its funds have been used.

Before his re-election, Trump and his Republican allies accused former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, of using federal emergency money to help people who were in the country illegally.

U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene went as far as to say government officials control the weather.

FEMA has been the target of so many falsehoods it has set up a rumor response page on its website to tamp them down.

One entry addresses the accusation that FEMA diverted funs to the border.

'This is false. No money is being diverted from disaster-response needs. FEMAs disaster-response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts.'

New Orleans was entirely submerged following Hurricane Katrina hitting the city in 2005

Flood waters from Hurricane Katrina cover streets 30 August, 2005 in New Orleans, Louisiana

The agency has been criticized for emergency responses to hurricanes that fell short, including Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017.

Residents accused then-President Trump of being slow to dispatch aid after Maria and clumsy in his public remarks once it was clear the U.S. territory had been devastated.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina battered New Orleans and flooded parts of the city as residents crowded into ill-prepared shelters.

Katrina devastated the Gulf of Mexico coast and caused more than 1,800 deaths. It also shattered the reputation of FEMA, which was sharply criticized for its response.
An Indiana mother refused to pick up her teenage daughter from hospital delivering a callous reply in response when hospital social workers called for her to come by.

Amanda Osmon, a mother-of-three girls, was telephoned by staff at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis summoning her to collect her 13-year-old girl, but she instead dismissed the request coldly declaring, 'I'm not dealing with this s*** tonight!'

The coldhearted remark came just hours after the teen had been admitted to following a mental health crisis after a heated fight with her mother.

The disturbing incident unfolded over several hours late on Saturday night and ran into the early hours of Sunday morning at St. Vincent.

The chain of events had begun earlier in the evening when the teenager was admitted to hospital for a mental health evaluation following the argument with Osmon.

According to law enforcement, hospital staff and social workers later made repeated attempts to contact the girl's parents, Osmon, 36, and her stepfather 41-year-old Jeffery Scheda, to collect her once she was deemed ready to be discharged.

But upon being asked to do so, Osmon allegedly refused to take any responsibility for coming by collect her daughter.

The situation only grew more troubling as both parents are also alleged to have sounded drunk during their phone conversations with hospital staff.

Amanda Osmon, 36, was telephoned by staff at at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis summoning her to collect her 13-year-old girl but instead she dismissed the request coldly declaring, 'I'm not dealing with this s*** tonight.'

41-year-old Jeffery Scheda, the teenager's stepfather, was found passed out by police at home while their daughter remained alone at the hospital

The situation only grew more troubling as both parents are alleged to have sounded drunk during their conversations with hospital staff

Following a shocking series of refusals and verbal abuse, both Osmon and Scheda were then arrested by police.

During one call, a social worker attempted to reach Scheda, but according to a police report he hung up after being told to have Osmon contact the hospital, reports 14News.

One hour later Osmon finally called back, but instead of cooperating, hospital staff were met with hostility, describing her demeanor as 'agitated'.

By the early hours of Sunday morning, law enforcement became involved.

Police arrived at the parents' home and discovered that both Osmon and Scheda had been drinking heavily and had passed out while their daughter remained alone at the hospital.

Osmon, right, and Scheda, left, now face charges of neglect, meanwhile social workers from the hospital have confirmed that the teen is now in a safe environment and receiving appropriate care

The chain of events all began when the teenager was admitted to hospital for a mental health evaluation following the argument with her mom, Amanda Osmon, 36, pictured

The parents were asked to come and collect the teenager from St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis but allegedly refused

Officers noted how the parents were uncooperative and even lied about their earlier interactions with social workers.

According to police, the parents dismissed the urgency of picking up their child, wrongly assuming she would instead be admitted overnight for a mental health evaluation as she had been in the past.

But it was their cavalier attitude and unwillingness to take action which ultimately led to their arrest.

Osmon and Scheda now face charges of neglect. The pair were both booked in the Vanderburgh County Jail and have since been released.
Former congressman Matt Gaetz found himself in the hot seat as he addressed controversies surrounding his alleged conduct with prostitutes.

In a rollercoaster interview on Bill Maher's podcast Club Random, Gaetz attempted to fend off his scandal accusations with a mix of denial, deflection, and a somewhat 'awkward explanation' that left both Maher and listeners puzzled.

From the hour long podcast, the segment that drew most attention involved a text message that reportedly referred to Gaetz and his 'wingman' during what was described as a 'customer appreciation week.'

The text, allegedly from a woman associated with Gaetz, claimed that 'the guys are a little short this week' and implied some sort of payment was expected.

Maher, never one to shy away from uncomfortable questions, pressed Gaetz for an explanation.

'Were there coupons involved?' Maher quipped.

Gaetz's response was a firm denial of being directly involved, claiming, 'This is a text message I neither sent nor received. Another person is sending this message, presumably about me, to tell other women that they shouldn't ask for money.'

Gaetz went on to argue that the text was taken out of context and framed to make him look guilty.

Former congressman Matt Gaetz found himself in the hot seat as he addressed controversies surrounding his alleged conduct with women

In a rollercoaster interview on Bill Maher's podcast Club Random, Gaetz, who is no stranger to scandal, attempted to fend off accusations with a mix of denial, deflection, and a somewhat 'awkward explanation'

'The person who sent that message really wanted to be the great recipient of any generosity and didn't want her friends to also be the recipient of that generosity,' he said, adding, 'You're telling me that makes me some sort of criminal?'

But the controversy didn't end there with Maher bringing up allegations that Gaetz met women on platforms like Seeking Arrangements, a site known for facilitating 'sugar dating.'

Gaetz dismissed the claims outright, citing a statement from Seeking Arrangements itself, which he claimed confirmed he never had a profile on the site.

'The media was reporting that I was meeting women on Seeking Arrangements,' Gaetz said, adding that the platform publicly denied his involvement.

'If Seeking Arrangements themselves are saying this is false, I have to combat these things in the media that are not true.'

Maher, however, pushed back on Gaetz's complaints about media coverage, noting that 'cherry-picking' and 'lying by omission' are common issues on both sides of the political spectrum.

The most eyebrow-raising moment of the discussion came when Maher and Gaetz delved into the broader definition of prostitution.

Maher, drawing comparisons, said, 'The Beverly Hills housewife who really hates her husband but sticks around and f**** him a few times a year because she doesn't want to give up the big house to me, that's much more prostitution.'

Maher, known for his blunt style, seemed unconvinced by the end of their exchange but touted the podcast episode as being a rare opportunity for some open and honest dialogue

Gaetz was once embroiled in a sex trafficking investigation by the Justice Department and had been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over allegations including sexual misconduct

Gaetz agreed with the sentiment, calling such arrangements 'textbook doing something you hate for money.'

But he bristled at attempts to label his relationships as 'transactional,' pointing out that a Washington Post report referenced two women, aged 25 and 27, who said that they did not view their relationships with him as transactional.

'Sounded scandalous, me dating a 25-year-old woman and a 27-year-old woman and having a non-transactional relationship,' he quipped.

Gaetz was once embroiled in a sex trafficking investigation by the Justice Department and had been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over allegations including sexual misconduct.

That probe effectively ended in November when he resigned from Congress after Donald Trump picked him for attorney general - a move that backfired leading to Gaetz withdrawing his nomination.

Gaetz has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing, and said in 2023 that the Justice Department's investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him.

Gaetz has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing, and said in 2023 that the Justice Department's investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him

In November, Matt Gaetz, left, alongside the then Vice President-elect JD Vance had been Donald Trump's nominee to be Attorney General

Adding fuel to the fire, Maher highlighted the fact that findings from the House Ethics Committee were made public despite Gaetz's resignation from Congress - a move that broke with tradition.

Gaetz seemed unfazed and dismissed the significance of the release, framing it as part of a political vendetta.

'I have a lot of enemies on the Republican side, more so than most Republican members,' he said, accusing former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of orchestrating the leaks through allies on the committee.

'I wasn't exactly being judged by some non-biased arbiter. These were people with an ax to grind against me.'

Maher, known for his blunt style, seemed unconvinced by the end of their exchange but touted the podcast episode as being a rare opportunity for some open and honest dialogue.

Despite their clashes, the conversation ended on an amicable note, with Gaetz inviting Maher to appear on his upcoming podcast.

The federal sex trafficking investigation into Gaetz began under Attorney General Bill Barr during Trump's first term and focused on allegations that he and onetime political ally Joel Greenberg paid underage girls and escorts or offered them gifts in exchange for sex.

Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as the tax collector in Florida's Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men.

The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in prison.

Gaetz seemed unfazed and dismissed the significance of the report by the House Ethics Committee despite him having resigned from Congress, framing it as part of a political vendetta

Gaetz had categorically denied all the allegations put before the House Ethics Committee

Federal investigators scrutinized a trip that Gaetz took to the Bahamas with a group of women and a doctor who donated to his campaign, and whether the women were paid or received gifts to have sex with the men, according to people familiar with the matter who were not allowed to publicly discuss the investigation.

Prosecutors also investigated whether Gaetz and his associates tried to secure government jobs for some of the women, and scrutinized Gaetz's connections to the medical marijuana sector, including whether his associates sought to influence legislation Gaetz sponsored, the people have said.

All the while, Gaetz had remained under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that he was part of a scheme that led to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl.

The committee began its review of Gaetz in April 2021, deferred its work in response to a Justice Department request, and renewed its work shortly after Gaetz announced that the Justice Department had ended a sex trafficking investigation.

Last summer, the committee provided an unusual public update into its long-running investigation, saying its review also included whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.

Gaetz had categorically denied all the allegations put before the committee.

In other portions of the hour-long podcast, Maher pressed Gaetz on topics including Trump's post-election behavior, saying, 'Your side flirted with authoritarianism'

In other portions of the hour-long podcast, Maher pressed Gaetz on topics including Trump's post-election behavior, saying, 'Your side flirted with authoritarianism.'

Gaetz rebutted by alleging that Democrats weaponized the system in their own ways, though he conceded that such cycles of partisan retaliation were damaging.

The pair also detoured into lighter but no less provocative topics, including OnlyFans and the so-called 'loneliness economy.'

Gaetz shared a story about an OnlyFans creator who used AI chatbots to engage subscribers, highlighting what he described as an epidemic of isolation.

On the lighter side, Maher and Gaetz sparred over generational differences in romance and social media habits.

Maher reminisced about his own struggles as a late bloomer in the dating scene, contrasting them with the virtual relationships of today's youth.

Despite their ideological clashes, the conversation ended on an amicable note, with Gaetz inviting Maher to appear on his upcoming podcast, 'Over the Line with Matt Gaetz.' Maher, ever the provocateur, teased that the pair's open and unfiltered exchange was a rarity in modern media.

Their exchange underscored a broader point about the value of honest, unscripted conversations in a polarized era. Whether debating policy or swapping anecdotes, Maher and Gaetz demonstrated that even those on opposing sides can find moments of mutual respect and humorif not agreement.
Haitian migrants have turned to religion amid the looming threat of deportation under the presidency of Donald Trump - who accused them of eating their neighbors' pets on the campaign trail.

The First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Ohio was jam-packed with parishioners on the first Sunday service since President Trump's inauguration as immigration raids take place across the country.

'I asked God to protect my people,' Reverend Reginald Silencieux said after the service.

'I prayed especially for the Haitian community, and I prayed for U.S.A. too, because Trump is our president. As a church, we have an obligation to pray for him because he's our political leader right now.'

The town was thrust into the national spotlight during the presidential campaign when Trump accused Haitians in Springfield of eating their neighbor's cats and dogs.

Now, migrants in the community are concerned that they will be targeted and sent packing, as Trump authorizes ICE raids across the nation.

Many had come to receive a blessing and hear guidance on how to deal with federal agents in case of raids stemming from President Trump's crackdown on immigration.

Other congregants stayed home out of fear and growing uncertainty.

The First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Ohio was jam-packed with parishioners on the first Sunday service since President Trump's inauguration

Haitian migrants have turned to religion amid the increasing threat of deportation under Donald Trump 's presidency

Community leaders say many of Springfield's estimated 15,000 Haitians are overwhelmed by fears Trump will end or let expire the Temporary Protected Status program that allows them to remain in the U.S. legally.

'The community is panicking.' Viles Dorsainvil, leader of Springfield's Haitian Community Help and Support Center, told AP.

'They see the arrests on TV in other parts of the country and they don't know what's going to happen.

'The majority of immigrants in the U.S.A. are not criminals, and they're hard-working people.'

Haitian community leader Jacob Payne has been guiding locals with immigration forms, employment authorization cards and questions on their TPS applications.

'Before, we had a different type of fear - it was a fear of retaliation, whether it was the far right, the Proud Boys,' Payne said.

'Now, there's a fear of deportation. That keeps a lot of people from going out and has caused a lot of people to have left,' he said.

But anti-immigrant sentiment has been on the rise in Springfield after false rumors spread that cats and dogs were being stolen - and eaten - by Haitian migrant communities.

Rev. Reginald Silencieux kneels to pray, surrounded by the choir and worship team

Congregants worship together at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield

Some of Springfield's estimated 15,000 Haitians are seeking solace and divine intervention in their churches

The rumors spread like wildfire following a social media post in September 2024 that a local cat had been mutilated and exacerbated fears in the mostly white, blue-collar city of about 59,000.

Trump repeated the rumor, and additionally claimed dogs were also being eaten, at his debate with Kamala Harris and in the weeks that followed, schools, government buildings and the homes of elected officials were targeted with dozens of bomb threats.

One Haitian community member, 50-year-old Brutus Joseph, said in Creole through an interpreter that he and his wife are no longer sleeping because they're so fearful.

'My wife and I can't even sleep because we're so worried,' he said.

'We're law-abiding citizens  all we did is to be Haitian. We didn't think we'd be treated like this by the (Trump) administration. I'm praying to God that the president changes his mind.'

Joseph especially worries about the future for his five children, including one who is a senior in high school in Springfield and plans to attend college this year.

'If I leave here, there's no future for my children. My children can get raped and killed if I go back, so I have everything to lose,' he said, making an appeal to Trump as a fellow family man who is married to an immigrant.

Trump's 2024 campaign focused heavily on illegal immigration, often referring in his speeches to crimes committed by migrants.

Trump's 2024 campaign focused heavily on illegal immigration, often referring in his speeches to crimes committed by migrants

Between selling religious candles and spiritual ointments, Payne guided customers with immigration forms, employment authorization cards and questions on their TPS applications

The town was thrust under national spotlight during the presidential campaign when Trump accused Haitians in Springfield of eating their neighbor's cats and dogs

Thousands of temporary Haitian migrants legally arrived in Springfield in recent years under the TPS program, as longstanding unrest in their home country has given way to violent gangs ruling the streets.

'Everything changed because Trump is president. People are scared right now. Most are staying in their homes  they don't want to go outside,' said Romane Pierre, 41, who settled in Springfield in 2020 under the TPS program after fleeing violence in his native Haiti.

'I love my country, but you can't live there; it's terrible right now,' said Pierre, who works at the Rose Gaute, a popular Haitian restaurant in Springfield. 'So where do you go back to?'

The TPS, which allows him and thousands of others to remain legally in Springfield, expires on February 2026. He still hopes Trump will keep in mind the violence in Haiti and renew it.

'Think about Haitians because Haiti is not a place to return to right now,' he said. 'God, talk to Mr. Trump and do something for Haitians.'
At least 41 illegal immigrants have been arrested during a raid on a Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang party in Colorado.

Drug Enforcement Administration officials found 49 people inside a makeshift nightclub in Adams County on Sunday morning - 41 of which were undocumented migrants.

Federal officials said some of those detained were associated with the violent Tren de Aragua which has been terrorizing the neighborhood.

The early morning raid was conducted alongside officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

'Drugs, weapons, and cash were seized in Adams County,' officials said on X.

'Nearly 50 illegal aliens were taken into custody.' The party was 'invite only', officials said.

Video shows the moment a bus arrived to take the illegal immigrants away from the scene and into a detention facility.

Known as TdA to law enforcement, the gang originated in a Venezuelan prison.

At least 41 illegal immigrants have been arrested during a raid on a Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang party in Colorado

The early morning raid was conducted alongside officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

Drug Enforcement Administration officials found 49 people inside a makeshift nightclub in Adams County on Sunday morning - 41 of which were undocumented migrants

Members of the South American mafia have since crept into the US via the southern border, hidden among the one million Venezuelan migrants who have entered the country under the Biden administration.

It is understood suspected TdA gang members had shared invitations to the party on Saturday night to social media, and had been meeting inside the vacant warehouse for months.

It emerged in December that Tren de Aragua, which has been dubbed the 'epitome of evil' and 'MS-13 on steroids', is already operating in 18 states.

This includes some of the most remote corners of the America in Colorado, North Dakota, Montana, Nevada and Wyoming. The bloodthirsty criminals also maintain strongholds in major cities across Texas as well as New York and Chicago.

They can often be identified by telltale tattoos, including a train ('tren' is Spanish for train), a crown, a clock and an AK-47.

After slipping across the southern border posing as asylum-seekers, gang members infiltrated at least three apartment complexes in the area.

TdA thugs took over vacant apartment units to use a drug and prostitution dens-- pimping out migrant women and even children.

Other migrants who lived in those properties were forced to pay the gangsters 'rent' or face violence.

Known as TdA to law enforcement, the gang originated in a Venezuelan prison

Federal officials said some of those detained were associated with the violent Tren de Aragua which has been terrorizing the neighborhood

Video shows the moment a bus arrived to take the illegal immigrants away from the scene

It emerged in December that Tren de Aragua, which has been dubbed the 'epitome of evil' and 'MS-13 on steroids' , is already operating in 18 states

In August, a video of armed gang members storming a unit at the Edge of Lowry surfaced and made national headlines.

President Donald Trump campaigned on a tough-on-immigration border policy and immediately set to work deporting illegal immigrants after his inauguration.

Federal agents began to round up migrants in Denver on Monday, while the military is headed to the border to help with the surge in crossings.

Hours after being sworn in on Monday, Trump declared a national emergency at the border with Mexico, saying 'America's sovereignty is under attack' - and he now appears to be making good on his repeated campaign promises to tackle migration.

In one of his first acts in office the president has ordered the deployment of more than 1,500 troops to the southern border, adding to the 2,000 already there, who will help install physical barriers.

In the 2024 fiscal year, more than 100,000 refugees resettled in the US, the most in three decades.
A Florida father is accused of running over and killing his eight-month-old child, whom he placed in the middle of a busy intersection.

Justin Golden, 20, was driving in the intersection of Lenox and McDuff avenues in Jacksonville at around 11am on Saturday, when he allegedly got into an argument with the passenger - who is believed to be the child's mother, News 4 Jax reports.

'The driver stopped the vehicle at the intersection, opened the door and placed the child on the ground,' the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office claimed.

'The driver then began to leave the area and the vehicle struck the child.'

Golden continued to flee the scene, but officers were able to quickly locate him and take him into custody.

Meanwhile, paramedics rushed the baby to the hospital, where doctors pronounced the infant dead.

Markin Barnes, a father of twins, witnessed the tragedy.

He said he was working at his nearby barbershop when he heard a woman screaming, and ran outside.

Justin Golden, 20, is facing charges of aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide and failing to render aid

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said he placed the infant on the ground and struck the child

'The kid was bleeding, so we immediately asked did she need help,' he recounted, noting that by the time he got outside the driver had already fled the scene.

Barnes said he will never forget the image of the woman holding the bleeding baby.

'Now that I'm finding out the details, it's even worse,' he told First Coast News. 'Just the screaming, the people consoling her, you could tell it really was tragic.

'Especially with a kid being that young,' he said. 'It hits home - anything dealing with the kids and you we take very seriously.'

Jacksonville police are continuing to investigate the incident, and have not yet clarified whether Golden ran over the child on purpose.

'We, with our partners at the State Attorneys' Office will stop at nothing to get justice for the baby,' the sheriff's office said.

Golden is now facing charges of aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide and failing to render aid, and is being held at Duval County Jail without bond.
A mother-of-four flew the 1,300 mile roundtrip from Crewe to Malaga to pick up her new car because it was cheaper than catching the train.

Kristina Coulson, 43, from Cornwall, needed to collect her replacement vehicle - a Skoda Yeti - near Crewe in Cheshire after she was hit by a drunk driver.

But after looking into train tickets, the journey was going to cost her up to 200 per person just for the one-way journey.

After some research the support worker found it was cheaper to fly from Newquay in her native Cornwall to Malaga in Spain and then back to Manchester - with flights costing only 54.

On Sunday January 19, grandmother Kristina and her husband Dan Coulson, 50, packed their bags and caught their flight to the south of Spain.

They spent the day there then flew back and spent the night in a hotel near the car then drove home.

They spent 54 each on flights and 45 for a hotel - a total cost of 153.

Kristina, 43, from Lansallos, Cornwall, said: 'A bit of good came from something bad - the car accident and having to sort out a car - as it sent me in the direction of sunshine on my way to pick up a new car.

Kristina Coulson, 43, and husband Dan, 50, in Malaga. The couple, from Cornwall, decided to fly to Crewe via the Spanish city as it was cheaper than catching the train

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Kristina and Dan tuck into some beach snacks as they pose for a picture by the waterfront

Kristina Coulson needed to collect a Skoda Yeti near Crewe in Cheshire after she was hit by a drunk driver

'Everything was on time - it was just lovely and easy. On a flight you are guaranteed a seat - you don't have to stand up for hours on the train and it is quicker.'

Kristina was hit by a drunk driver on December 12 in Devon. Although she didn't suffer any injuries from the crash, she explained said it has 'made things difficult'.

Kristina said: 'It caused a lot of aggravation that didn't need to be caused. Luckily I was checked over and nothing was broken and I went home several hours later.

'Having been hit by a drunk driver I'm not in a position to buy what I wanted but for now the car I'm getting is enough. So I got a Skoda Yeti in Crewe.'

She added: 'On Facebook everyone is getting return flights for 30 pounds so it seemed like a no-brainer to do it that way. The cheapest place to go to and from was Malaga.'

Her flight arrived into Malaga just after 12pm - costing 19, while the flight back to Manchester was set for 10pm and arrived just after midnight - costing 35.

Kristina and her husband slept in the airport hotel for 45 and on the next day they picked up their new vehicle.

'It is a bit of an out there idea - I haven't heard anyone doing it just to pick up a car,' she said.

A shot of the picturesque Malaga cityscape with the beautiful Cathedral of the Incarnation (right of shot) at sunset

An aerial view of Malaga, an Andalusian city on the shores of the Mediterranean - birthplace of artist Pablo Picasso

The couple got their car and a few days away for less than the cost of a train ticket for two

'I once stood up for nearly seven hours although I paid for a seat I couldn't actually sit down on.

'You are guaranteed a seat in the airplane - kill two birds with one stone and at least you can sit down and relax when you're travelling.'

While waiting to pick up her car Kristina made the most out of her trip to Malaga - enjoying the sun, food and drinks.

Kristina said: 'Rather than sitting in a train you are travelling to Malaga I spent eight hours in the sun.

'It was quite a little adventure. Positive fun which has come from a few weeks of nightmares and phone calls.

'We had a couple of beers, food and we just enjoyed being on the sun for a bit - it was 18 degrees and we did 11 miles of walking. We did a lot of exploring while we were there.'

After eight hours in the sun the couple then arrived to Manchester Airport just after midnight. And on the following day picked up the car in Crewe.

While waiting to pick up her car, Kristina and husband Dan made the most out of their trip to Malaga - enjoying the sun, food and drinks

She said: 'It was smaller than what I was used to but it was nice to have a car again.'

Asking if it would be an experience she would repeat to get a car, Kristina said: 'Definitely. It was easy - the flights were quicker.

'I had an amazing time this trip - we would love to go back for a couple of nights or so just to have a bit more free time to explore a little bit more.'
Scotland is being run by hundreds of costly talking shops that achieve nothing, it has been claimed.

SNP ministers have been accused of hiding behind almost 300 different advisory groups instead of taking action to solve the countrys problems.

The dizzying range of issues on which the groups provide advice includes bee health, aviation lighting and dangerous dogs.

Only a week ago, two new advisory groups were announced, on social care and protecting children from online harm.

But critics say that while time and money is squandered on talking shops, ministers fail to take any decisive action.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said SNP ministers addiction to setting up talking shops and taskforces seems to be showing no sign of stopping.

She said: The public are sick and tired of the Nationalists doing the easy thing on so many issues rather than finally taking action. Taxpayers money is being squandered all the time on SNP talking shops which achieve nothing, while at the same time Scots are paying the highest taxes in the UK and public services are worsening.

A list on the Scottish Governments website shows there are currently 284 active groups advising ministers.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney. SNP ministers have been accused of hiding behind almost 300 different advisory groups instead of taking action to solve the countrys problems

The dizzying range of issues on which the groups provide advice includes bee health, aviation lighting and dangerous dogs

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton (pictured) said SNP ministers addiction to setting up talking shops and taskforces seems to be showing no sign of stopping

They often bring together government officials, quangos, charities, industry groups and public sector organisations, and cover most of the main ministerial remits, including the economy, health, transport, justice and social justice.

The Bee Health Improvement Partnership aims to achieve a healthy and sustainable population of honey bees in Scotland and is made up of animal health officials, beekeepers and Scotlands Rural College.

The Aviation Lighting Guidance Working Group was established in August 2021 to provide advice on lighting for onshore wind turbine operators.

Other groups to meet regularly include a New Deal for Business Group. It was set up to improve working relations, including with a wide range of private sector trade bodies although many of them have been heavily critical of elements of the SNP Budget.

The Dangerous Dogs Act: short life working group was established following the 2021 programme for government to inform policy on tackling irresponsible dog ownership.

Ministers also established a Minimum Income Guarantee Steering Group. Documents previously revealed government officials believe it would cost 12.3billion a year if a citizens basic income was set at 11,500 for pensioners, 9,000 for adults and 4,600 for children.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville recently told MSPs the proposals could very well come with significant price tags.

Last Thursday, ministers announced they were dropping plans for a national care service, first announced in the SNPs manifesto for the 2021 Holyrood elections.

But Social Care Minister Maree Todd said a national care service advisory board will be established, with the first meeting in March.

Childrens Minister Natalie Don-Innes (pictured) was also mocked last week after she announced the setting up of a new advisory taskforce to identify what more can be done within the limits of devolution to protect children and young people from online harms

The Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. Scotland is being run by hundreds of costly talking shops that achieve nothing, it has been claimed

Childrens Minister Natalie Don-Innes was also mocked last week when she responded to a Scottish Conservative debate calling for urgent action on school safety.

She announced the setting up of a new advisory taskforce to identify what more can be done within the limits of devolution to protect children and young people from online harms.

A government spokesman said: Advisory groups provide expertise, understanding of peoples lived experience and independent analysis on a wide range of issues that support Scottish Government priorities.
More than half of Gen Z believe Britain should be ruled by a dictator and one in three want the army in charge, a new poll has revealed.

The findings for Channel 4 also suggest the emergence of a stark gender divide among young people and a generation that is simultaneously liberal and authoritarian.

It comes as 52 per cent of Gen Z - people aged between 13 and 27 - said they thought 'the UK would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections'.

A total of 33 per cent suggested the UK would be better off 'if the army was in charge' while 47 per cent agreed 'the entire way our society is organised must be radically changed through revolution'.

This compared with 33 per cent of 45 to 65-year-olds. The figures, based on a sample of 3,000 adults of all ages, come from polling company Craft and will be published at a Royal Television Society event on Thursday.

They also reveal 45 per cent of male respondents aged 13 to 27 believe 'we have gone so far in promoting women's equality that we are discriminating against men'. A similar proportion agreed that 'when it comes to giving women equal rights, things have gone far enough'.

Perhaps a reflection of the influence of platforms like TikTok, 58 per cent of Gen Z respondents said they considered social media posts from friends to be as - and sometimes more - trusted than established journalism.

While 20th century dictators like Benito Mussolini of Fascist Italy were not directly cited, top influences listed by 42 per cent of male respondents did include Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson.

Top influences cited by 42 per cent of male respondents included Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson (pictured)

Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)

Alex Mahon, chief executive of Channel 4, said the results 'should concern us all'.

She added of Gen Z: 'They are media savvy, switched on and smart, but have been exposed to the full force of the polarising, confusing and sometimes willfully since they were born.

'Gen Z curate their own understanding of the truth. For many, this is exacerbating societal tensions and undermining the value of democracy.'

Alluding to the gender divide, an 18-year-old male from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, said: 'The people we watch, they propagate this idea that the West is a falling civilisation, and you need to start looking at other places.'

The new findings follow a separate poll published in the FGS Global Radar report earlier this month that found both Millennials - people aged 29 - 44 - and Gen Z were more in favour than older generations of a country run by someone who 'doesn't have to bother with elections'.

The stronger phrasing, which deemed the system 'the best' compared to the more recent poll's phrasing of 'better', was still met with a total of 21 per cent of Gen Z and 20 per cent of Millennials who agreed with the premise which compared to just 8 per cent of Baby Boomers - born between 1946 and 1964.

There was a divide in support for the so-called nanny state. Almost half of under 35s supported the use of tax and regulation to encourage healthier eating, but older voters disagreed.

More research at the start of the new year from SEGA Europe Limited suggested 60 per cent of Gen Z thought Adele is fit to be Queen.

And in October last year a Daily Mail poll revealed a fifth of Gen Z Americans believed Hitler had 'some good ideas'.
A nine-year-old boy allegedly killed by a 24-year-old woman in a suburban home suffered a 'significant' head injury, a senior police officer revealed.

The boy was found dead at home in Kirwan, Townsville about 7pm on Saturday and the woman has been charged with his murder.

Queensland Police's Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Miles said the two had a 'loose' family connection and the boy was in her care at the time.

He said the child suffered a 'significant head injury' and described the scene as 'confronting'.

'The injury is consistent with what I would say at this stage appears to be blunt force trauma,' he told reporters on Monday.

'We will await the outcome of the autopsy before we make an absolute determination what weapon may have been used.'

The detective said police had focused their investigation on a certain period of time on Saturday.

'We believe the child may have sustained the injury within eight hours, as to what point the child was deceased will be a matter for the autopsy,' he said.

A woman has been charged with murdering a boy who police say she was caring for at the time

Det Sen Sgt Miles revealed other children were at home at the time but no other adults.

'Anything involving a traumatic injury and the death of a child, which in circumstances like this occurs, is quite abhorrent,' he said.

'No child should be subjected to anything that obviously leads to this sort of outcome for them.'

The 24-year-old's case was briefly mentioned in Townsville Magistrates Court on Monday.
A frustrated Kroger customer shared his outrageous self-checkout experience as others agreed the store and other retail chains should keep their cashiers.

Thomas Cherryhomes took to X to air out his grievances with the grocery chain and said the kiosk flagged him for shoplifting because he used two hands to scan his items.

'This Week on Dystopian Nightmares: Don't use more than one hand via the self-check-out, or you will be flagged for shoplifting by the internal camera, and the self-checkout babysitter will need to check your cart,' he wrote on Tuesday.

'P.S: @kroger. YOU SUCK.'

Cherryhomes' message seemed to resonate with fellow shoppers who are also fed-up with camera-dependent checkouts.

'Some things really should be human. We seem to have forgotten that,' X user Greg Gauthier commented.

'The store clerk's presence isn't *just because* there isn't a sufficient technological substitute for tallying goods in a basket.'

'I am a SELF CHECKOUT ABOLITIONIST,' JFK's grandson Jack Schlossberg wrote on X in December, 2024.

Thomas Cherryhomes took to X to air out his grievances with Kroger's self-checkout

'Get rid of it. GET RID OF IT. get rid of self checkout NOW !!'

A Kroger shopper wrote on Saturday: 'The machine at the Kroger near us LOVES yelling about stupid nonexistent problems.

'I was a cashier for a few years in high school, I know how to operate these things. There is no problem! I scanned everything and placed them in bags, no Im not stealing anything. F**k self check!'

'Hey @Kroger ! If you are going to treat us like thieves for using your self checkout, at least make your AI algorithm smart enough to not flag the advertisement bolted to the cart,' another user shared on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Coppell, Texas Kroger shopper Erik Falcoon posted: 'The @kroger in Coppell, TX has half the self check outs closed, no checkers on duty and a line a mile long. Awful!'

The grocery chain actually responded to Falcoon's complaint, apologizing for the experience and asking for more details so the store can handle the situation.

Kroger, which has more than 2,720 locations across the US, has not publicly responded to Cherryhomes' message.

Kroger has tried out an all self-checkout concept - but after customers complained about long waits to buy their groceries, the model has been scaled back.

Kroger has more than 2,720 store locations across the country

A Kroger in Dallas, Texas went completely self-checkout in 2021. But after three years, the chain announced they would be returning to its old ways.

'We listened closely to customer feedback and made the decision to convert back to hosting staffed checkout lanes at this store,' Kroger spokesperson John Votava told the Dallas Morning News last year.

The Dallas store was the first location to try out the cashier-less experience. The grocer chain said they never planned to convert all of their locations to self-checkout only.

In 2023, a Franklin, Tennessee Kroger did away with all of their cashiers and left it completely up to customers to scan their products.

A spokesperson for the store told WKRN that they made this decision because most people at that location were already choosing to check out on their own.

The store said in 2023 that no employees were fired when they did away with cashiers.

Last year, police issued an urgent warning after discovering a worrying scam at Kroger self-checkouts in Atlanta, Georgia.

In June, 2024, Crooks had placed a card-skimming device - disguised as a pin pad - in the self-service aisle of a Kroger grocery store.

Card skimmers, often hidden by fraudsters on cash and card machines, steal information such as card numbers and pins from credit and debit cards.

With that information, they can make fake cards or use the information for online purchases without the owner's permission.

Self-checkouts in general have proven to be a controversial topic, with some retailers opting to do away with them.

Supermarket chain Hy-Vee, with around 300 stores primarily in the Midwest and South, has fully replaced self-checkouts with staffed lanes in some locations. Others have created express lanes, imposing a 12-item limit on the kiosks.

Bosses said they 'want to provide a better customer experience in several of our stores by bringing back the face-to-face interaction with our employees.'

In reality, the retailer - like its rivals - is ditching self-checkout kiosks because they are especially vulnerable to theft.

'Most of the rollback of self-checkouts is due to retailer concerns over theft,' retail expert Neil Saunders of Global Data told DailyMail.com.

Self-checkouts can also be problematic for stores, with a significant portion of thefts taking place while customers ring up their own items.

In 2021, Kroger tried to implement a fully self-checkout model in a Dallas store, but ultimately decided to bring cashiers back

More than 20 million Americans have stolen from a self-checkout kiosk, according to 2024 data from Capital One Shopping.

The report revealed that the likelihood of thefts increased by up to 65 percent at self-checkout when compared to regular registers.

Despite online critics being fiercely vocal this data also revealed that 73 percent of American consumers preferred checking out without a cashier.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Kroger for comment.
The number of drug users facing court for cocaine possession has plummeted since the NSW Labor government allowed police more discretion on the issue.

The early Drug Diversion Initiative allowed police to issue on the spot Criminal Infringement Notices, which are $400 fines, to adults for personal drug use and small quantity drug possession offences.

New data from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has revealed that between March and September last year  the first available period since the EDDI scheme started  521 people faced court for cocaine possession.

This was a 23 per cent drop on the 984 who had to face magistrate in the previous seven months period.

In the month before the EDDI was brought in, 99 per cent of those found in possession of cocaine were sent to court.

'The Early Drug Diversion Initiative gives police another way to address low-level drug possession,' NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley told Daily Mail Australia in a statement.

'I want to make clear it that application of the scheme is at the discretion of police. A number of factors are taken into account when deciding whether to issue an infringement or lay charges.'

Ms Catley said that if a person is issued with an infringement notice, they 'can elect to pay a fine or complete a tailored health intervention session.

The number of drug users facing court for cocaine possession has plummeted since the NSW Labor government allowed police more discretion on the issue. Pictured: A woman arrested as part of a dial-a-dealer sting.

'This helps reduce the likelihood of reoffending, takes pressure off the courts and allows police to focus more resources on targeting crime.'

But, she added, 'Make no mistake - drugs are illegal and cause widespread harm in our community ...

'Police continue to work hard every day to address drug related crime and get illicit substances off our streets.'

The EDDI scheme also allows NSW NSW Police have the power to issue CINs for possession of MDMA (ecstasy), heroin and methamphetamine (ice).

In order to allow police to use this discretion, the drug user has to meet strict criteria.

This includes having only one type of drug in their possession, the police being convinced the drugs are for personal use, and the quantity of drugs not exceeding a specific amount.

The early Drug Diversion Initiative allows police to issue Criminal Infringement Notices, which are $400 fines, to adults for personal drug use and small quantity drug possession offences

If the offender gets a $400 fine, they can either pay it or speak with a doctor or health professional about their drug use, in which case the fine will be wiped.

The system does not work over and over for an individual, though. One person can get CINs for drug possession twice only.

Getting caught in possession of drugs a third offence would mean they have to appear in court.

Though the NSW Police have issued hundreds of fines for cocaine possession, those caught with other drugs such as heroin are still ending up in court.

At the time the EDDI was brought in, NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said: 'Drug use and dependence are very much health issues and ones that are far better addressed through health support outside the courts and criminal justice systems.

'This is an evidence-based approach in line with community expectations.'

Attorney General Michael Daley added that 'Formal contact with the criminal justice system only increases the likelihood of reoffending.

'And this has knock-on effects on people's employment, their housing and their relationships.

'We want to see people receive the health supports they need rather than see them caught up in the criminal justice system.'
An illegal immigrant who has been convicted of child sex crimes shocked Dr. Phil when he told him he was 'not really' a sex offender as he was taken into custody by immigration enforcement officers.

The TV host, 74, was embedded with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and Donald Trump's Border Czar Tom Homan as they rounded up undocumented migrants in Chicago on Sunday.

Since Trump took office, he quickly moved to ramp up deportations and increase the number of immigration enforcement raids across the nation. ICE made 956 arrests on Sunday, the largest single-day number since Trump's inauguration.

Dr. Phil, whose real name is Phil McGraw, grilled the detainee as he stood handcuffed in the street, video of the man's arrest revealed.

The television psychologist asked the man - who has since been identified as Sam Seda from Thailand - where he was born and if he had ever been deported from the US before. Sam confirmed he was not an American citizen, but claimed his mother is.

Homan then revealed that Sam was an 'illegal alien convicted of sex crimes involving children', claiming he was just one of many illegal criminals walking the streets of sanctuary cities as local authorities prevent federal agents from doing their jobs.

Dr. Phil addressed Sam again, asking: 'You've been charged with sex crimes with children?'

Sam simply replied: 'Not really.'

'Not really?!' a stunned Dr. Phil stated. 'And never been deported?'

'Nope,' Sam doubled down, leaving Dr. Phil apparently shocked.

Homan then told his agents: 'Let's take him in, process him, and lock him up.'

Trump's immigration crackdown has been met with pushback from other countries, including Colombia which refused to accept military flights carrying deportees.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused Trump of being a 'white slaveholder' who is on track to 'wipe out the human species' after being humiliated by the US president in the dispute over migrants.

The first migrant arrested in ICE raids across Chicago on Sunday was Seda Sam, from Thailand

Dr. Phil revealed that Sam was a 'convicted sex offender and internet predator'

Dr. Phil, a clinical psychologist best known for hosting the popular daytime TV talk show Dr. Phil, accompanied Homan and ICE in defending Trump's deportation effort as the crackdown neared the end of its first week.

McGraw, who spoke at a Trump campaign event in October, said in a post on X on Sunday that ICE aimed to pick 270 'high-value targets', indicating it was a targeted operation, and defended the approach.

'They're not sweeping neighborhoods like people are trying to imply,' he said.

Homan, who revealed Sam's criminal record to the TV psychologist, used the migrant's case to highlight the dangers of sanctuary cities, or areas that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

'Again, the downfall, the problem with a sanctuary city is that people like this are walking the street rather than law enforcement working with federal agents,' Homan told Dr. Phil. 'This is what we're dealing with.'

In a separate clip, Dr. Phil could be seen speaking with Homan about the arrest.

'He shouldn't even be here, but he's doing this,' Homan added, noting that nobody in the community alerted authorities to say, 'Hey there's somebody who doesn't even have the right to be here that's preying on our children.'

Homan then noted that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson 'want to vilify the men of ICE.'

'ICE saved children today and it makes me angry,' Homan said, mentioning that the governor claimed federal officials were at a school on Friday, though that was later proven to be false.

Raids were also conducted in Denver, Colorado; Austin, Texas; San Jose, California; Los Angeles, California; San Antonio, Texas; Miami, Florida; Detroit, Michigan, Omaha, Nebraska; Phoenix, Arizona; Atlanta, Georgia and New Jersey, according to NewsNation.

In total, there were 956 migrants apprehended on Sunday alone, following the arrest of nearly 1,300 people on Thursday.

Welcome to MAGALAND: Insider Trump's Second 100 Days - The podcast bringing you the latest news and gossip from the White House. Listen here.

Border Czar Tom Homan joined ICE agents and officers with the Drug Enforcement Agency to conduct raids in the Windy City

Homan said there were 300 targets the federal government identified in Chicago and its surrounding areas

Among those arrested were sex offenders, convicted murderers and at least five Tren de Aragua members

Homan said Gov Pritzker was 'scaring children' by releasing misinformation about ICE targeting schools in Chicago.

'He's scaring the neighborhood, putting fear in the community,' he said.

'We're doing the exact opposite, we're saving children.'

The migrant in the video was reportedly one of 300 targets the federal government identified in Chicago and its surrounding areas, including 150 that had previously been in police custody, Homan told Dr. Phil.

The so-called border czar told NewsNation's Ali Bradley that multiple 'public safety threats' were arrested, including sex offenders, convicted murderers and at least five Tren de Aragua members.

It was the first raid of the new Trump administration in the nation's third-largest city, where local and state officials have vowed not to work with immigration officials.

As the raids were ongoing Sunday, Chicago Mayor Johnson even assured the public on social media that the local police department were not involved.

Gov. Pritzker also appeared on CNN's State of the Union and reiterated that local police 'will not coordinate with federal officials on the arrest of people without a warrant.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents knock on the door of a residence during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago on Sunday

Homan insisted that the ICE raid was targeted, with agents going after specific targets

'Our local officials are not just going to say, "Well that person seems like they're undocumented, so we're going to hand them over to you and you can figure it out,"' he said.

But, he said he agreed that violent criminals who are undocumented should be deported.

'Now what they're also doing, though, and it's quite disturbing is they're going after people who are law-abiding who are holding down jobs, who have families here, who may have been here for a decade or two decades and they're often our neighbors and our friends,' the governor said.

'And why are we going after them? These are not people who are causing problems in our country?' he claimed.

But Homan insisted in the video with Dr. Phil that the ICE raid was a targeted raid.

'We spend a lot of time investigating these people, we know exactly who we're looking for - so it's a target enforcement operation, it's the right thing to do,' he said, noting that ICE agents are still prohibited from going into people's houses without a criminal arrest warrant.

The Trump administration has reportedly directed ICE to increase the number of daily arrests

Still, the number of arrests in the first three days of Trump's presidency represents about 1.1 percent of the total arrests ICE made in fiscal year 2024, when the department was making an average of about 310 arrests each day.

Authorities are now making an average of about 433 arrests each day, but ICE officials have been directed by the Trump administration to increase the number of daily arrests to 1,200 to 1,500, according to the Washington Post.

The newspaper reported that Trump was disappointed with the deportation campaign so far, citing four people with knowledge of the briefings.

He also wanted ICE field offices to make 75 arrests each day, with managers held accountable for missing their quota targets.

Meanwhile, the US and Colombia pulled back from the brink of a trade war on Sunday after the White House said the South American nation had agreed to accept military aircraft carrying deported migrants.

Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions on Colombia to punish it for earlier refusing to accept military flights carrying deportees as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro immediately backed down on migrant flights, and even offered to use his own plane to fly deported migrants from the US to Colombia.

After the climbdown, Petro said: 'You don't like our freedom, okay. I don't shake hands with white slavers.'

'Overthrow me, President, and the Americas and humanity will respond... You can try to carry out a coup with your economic strength and your arrogance.'

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused Donald Trump of being a 'white slaveholder' who is on track to 'wipe out the human species' in a blistering takedown

President Trump had earlier imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on Colombian imports and an immediate visa revocation for government officials after the nation refused two planeloads of citizens who had been deported from the United States

Not even two hours after Trump announced his retaliatory efforts against Colombia, Petro offered his presidential plane to 'facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were to arrive in the country this morning from deportation flights'

Trump had earlier imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on Colombian imports and an immediate visa revocation for government officials after the nation refused two planeloads of citizens who had been deported from the United States.

That tariff will be raised to 50 per cent in one week, the president warned.

But not even two hours after Trump announced his retaliatory efforts against Colombia, Petro offered his presidential plane to 'facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were to arrive in the country this morning from deportation flights.'

However, now he's launched a savage scorched earth attack on President Trump, further disintegrating the relationship between the two nations.

Petro warned Trump that his 'greed' could be the downfall of mankind in the brutal attack.

In a statement late on Sunday, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept the migrants after all and Washington would not impose its threatened penalties.

For the latest White House gossip and news, listen to new politics podcast, Welcome to MAGAland: Insider Trump's Second 100 Day's. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
A Colorado father has been killed during a freak accident at a high school track and field meet in Colorado.

The incident occurred during an indoor hammer throwing event at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS), leaving all those present whether trackside or in the stands in disbelief over the unimaginable turn of events.

What began as a day of competition and camaraderie turned into a nightmare at around 9:30am at the Mountain Lion Fieldhouse campus at an indoor facility.

A hammer thrower who was taking part in the Colorado United Track Club meet, released the 25-pound hammer during their turn.

Despite the presence of certified safety barriers, the hammer unexpectedly soared into the stands, fatally striking a spectator, who was later revealed to be the dad of one of the athletes also competing.

Witnesses at the scene described a chaotic and surreal moment as the hammer cleared all protective barriers and struck the man.

Colorado Springs Police later confirmed to KRDO13 that the victim, in an act of selflessness, had been attempting to shield his wife and son from the oncoming hammer when he was hit.

Emergency crews from the Colorado Springs Fire Department were dispatched immediately, but tragically, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident occurred around 9:30am at an indoor facility at the Mountain Lion Fieldhouse campus at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

The incident occurred during a hammer throw event at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS), leaving all those present in disbelief over the unimaginable turn of events

The victim was identified as the father of a Vista Ridge High School athlete who was part of the Colorado United Track Club.

In a heartfelt statement, UCCS Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet expressed deep sorrow over the incident: 'We are heartbroken at this horrible accident and are focused on supporting all involved.'

The hammer throw, a staple of track and field events, involves swinging a heavy metal ball attached to a wire in a circular motion before hurling it down the field.

While precautions, including certified safety barriers, are in place to protect spectators, Sunday's tragedy underscores the inherent risks of high-velocity sports.

No charges have been filed against the athlete involved in the throw, and their identity has not been released.

A Colorado father has been killed during a freak accident at a high school track and field meet in Colorado when e 25-pound hammer cleared safety barriers and struck a spectator

In the Student Union at Cheyanne Mountain High School the track club, in conjunction with D12, will offer a space for support and connection for those affected

Investigations are ongoing to determine if any additional safety lapses may have contributed to the accident.

On Monday at 4:30pm, the track club will host a support session at Cheyenne Mountain High School's Student Union where social workers from District 12 will be present to help athletes, families, and spectators process the tragedy.

'The entire track and field community is mourning this unimaginable loss,' said a spokesperson for the track club.

'We're committed to ensuring the affected families and athletes receive all the care and support they need.'
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused Donald Trump of being a 'white slaveholder' who is on track to 'wipe out the human species' after being humiliated by the US president in a dsipute over migrants.

It is the latest salvo in a bitter dispute that began when Petro blocked two US migrant deportation flights entering his country. But within hours, Trump threatened to hit Colombia with huge import traiffs and stop visa processing.

Petro immediately backed down on migrant flights, and even offered to use his own plane to fly deported migrants from the US to Colombia.

After the climbdown, Petro said: 'You don't like our freedom, okay. I don't shake hands with white slavers.'

'Overthrow me, President, and the Americas and humanity will respond... You can try to carry out a coup with your economic strength and your arrogance.'

President Trump had earlier imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on Colombian imports and an immediate visa revocation for government officials after the nation refused two planeloads of citizens who had been deported from the United States.

That tariff will be raised to 50 per cent in one week, the president warned.

But not even two hours after Trump announced his retaliatory efforts against Colombia, Petro offered his presidential plane to 'facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were to arrive in the country this morning from deportation flights.'

However, now he's launched a savage scorched earth attack on President Trump, further disintegrating the relationship between the two nations.

Petro warned Trump that his 'greed' could be the downfall of mankind in the brutal attack.

'I don't like your oil, Trump,' he said, adding: 'You're going to wipe out the human species because of greed.'

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused Donald Trump of being a 'white slaveholder' who is on track to 'wipe out the human species' in a blistering takedown

President Trump had earlier imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on Colombian imports and an immediate visa revocation for government officials after the nation refused two planeloads of citizens who had been deported from the United States

Not even two hours after Trump announced his retaliatory efforts against Colombia, Petro offered his presidential plane to 'facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were to arrive in the country this morning from deportation flights'

Petro went on to tell Trump, publicly via X, that the 'blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, besides being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world.'

In response to the tariff 'on the fruits of our human labor', Petro has imposed a tariff of 25 per cent - which will rise to 50 per cent - on US goods entering Colombia.

The tit-for-tat descended into nasty jabs at President Trump and, more broadly, the United States.

'Trump, I don't really like travelling to the US, it's a bit boring... I confess that there are some commendable things.

'I like going to the black neighbourhoods of Washington, where I saw an entire fight in the US capital between blacks and Latinos with barricades, which seemed like nonsense to me, because they should join.'

And Petro made it clear he would not back down, despite the White House insisting he did just that on the flight saga after he volunteered his own plane to pick up migrants.

'You will never rule us,' he said. 'The warrior who rode our lands, shouting freedom, who is called Bolivar, opposes us. I will die in my law, I resisted torture and I resist you.

'I don't want slavers next to Colombia, we already had many and we freed ourselves. What I want next to Colombia are lovers of freedom.'

Trump ordered a 25 percent tariff and visa revocation of Colombian government officials after the president refused to let migrant deportation flights land on Sunday

Mexico and Colombia refused to let the military aircraft land with migrants. Pictured: Migrants deplane a U.S. military aircraft after it landed in Guatemala on January 24, 2025

Former militant who became countrys first left-wing president in recent history Colombian leader Gustavo Petro is ideologically opposed to US president Donald Trump and right-wing populist leaders across Latin America. His inauguration as Colombia's president in 2022 saw him become the country's first left-wing leader in recent history. Petro's political roots lie in the M-19 guerilla movement, which he joined aged 17. He went on to be arrested and tortured by the army for his links to the nationalist revolutionary group. M-19 demobilized in the 1980s and transitioned to electoral politics. After serving as a councilman, Petro was elected to the country's Chamber of Representatives in 1991. He served in the Senate and as mayor of Bogota, and ran for the presidency multiple times. Following disagreements with his party he founded his own, the Humane Colombia movement. After several electoral runs, he eventually won the presidency in June 2022. Advertisement

Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, described the situation as a 'bold and daring escalation on both sides' to the New York Times.

'For Trump to threaten Colombia this way is pretty bold itself. Colombia remains historically the longest standing, the deepest, strategic ally in the region.'

Petro prevented two U.S. military aircraft full of his citizens from landing in the country on Sunday amid a mass deportation effort of those who entered illegally.

He took issue with the use of military flights, demanding his people be returned with 'dignity and respect.'

'If that country sends them back, it should be with dignity and respect for them and for our country,' he said.

Petro did offer to hash out his differences with President Trump 'one day, over a glass of whiskey,' but said doing so would be difficult because he does not think the U.S. leader respects him or his people.

'It's difficult because you consider me an inferior race and I'm not, nor is any Colombian. So if you know someone who is stubborn, that's me,' he said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Colombia's eventual cooperation 'makes clear to the world that America is respected again.'

'President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation's sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States,' she said.

Trump announced the tariffs, as well as his imposition of 'A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters' on social media.

All 'party members, family members, and supporters of the Colombian government' also will face visa sanctions, according to Trump's social media announcement.

Some countries claim their residents have not been treated well while in U.S. custody and complain that they are being returned in handcuffs

Trump announced on Truth Social on Sunday that he instructed his administration to impose sanctions and tariffs on Colombia and its government officials after the President refused to allow two separate military flights of migrants land back in their country

'These measures are just the beginning,' the president warned. 'We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!'

Trump signed approximately 10 executive orders related to illegal immigration and the migrant border crisis on his first week back in the Oval Office.

In his first moments back as president, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border.

But a plane packed with migrants did not take off from the U.S. after Mexico said it would not permit it to land on their soil.

The flight was one of three that were set to take off on Thursday.

The other two were bound for Guatemala carrying over 150 people  and successfully completed their missions when the government allowed the aircraft to land with deported migrants.

Defense Department officials confirmed last week that their forces plan to fly 5,400 migrants who are currently in detention out of the U.S. on deportation missions.
Ernst Willheim well enough remembers the horrors of the Holocaust to know they cannot be forgotten lest the ordeal of them ever being repeated.

The federal government has pledged $4.4 million to build a national Holocaust education centre in Canberra on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp.

There's a further $2 million to upgrade the Holocaust Education Centre in Western Australia.

Mr Willheim was born in Sweden during World War II and came to Australia with his family in 1948.

His father spent time as a prisoner at two of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps, Dachau and Buchenwald, for being both a Jew and a socialist.

'Like most people, he wouldn't talk much but I know the treatment there was quite horrific and many people actually died,' he said on International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday.

When he was able to leave the camp, a friend arranged a visa to Norway.

Mr Willheim's parents moved around Europe as Nazi Germany expanded and his grandmother, aunt and uncle in Austria were murdered.

Ernst Willheim recalled how his father survived two concentration camps but his aunt was murdered. (Dominic Giannini/AAP PHOTOS)

'To give you some illustration, the aunt who was murdered was in her fourth year of medicine in Vienna University,' he said.

'She was taken to one of the many sites where she was paraded in front of a trench and machine-gunned, along with all the other Jews, that's the way people were treated.'

The national centre will mean people can remember what happened and ensure it never happens again.

'We live in a time where there is, unfortunately, a lot of racism against Jewish people,' Me Willheim said.

'I can understand that there is a diversity of views about what is happening in Palestine, I think the ACT Jewish community, like any community, would have a range of views.

'But what is so sad is that some people are turning their hostility about what is happening in Palestine towards Australian Jewish people and that is pure racism and totally unacceptable.'

The Canberra memorial would be a key stop for thousands of visiting students each year, former Labor MP Mike Kelly said.

A national Holocaust education centre will help ensure it never happens again, Ernst Willheim said

The Holocaust arose from '1000 cuts of small pieces of legislation, of propaganda, of distorting people's minds over a period of time', he said.

'There is a massive opportunity to make this ... a part of that itinerary, and that is essential because that there's less and less of our wonderful survivors with us to tell their stories.

'There is more and more misinformation appearing in social media of Holocaust denial and less understanding of what that was all about.

'If we don't have that understanding, we don't have the opportunity to avoid these things happening again.'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used the anniversary to declare anti-Semitism needed to be stamped out.

A giant tent covering the so-called 'Death Gate' of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz 2-Birkenau, today part of the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau, is pictured in Oswiecim, Poland

'It's important we have full knowledge of what occurred, where hate leads,' he told reporters in WA.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton attended an anniversary service at the Holocaust Institute of WA on Monday.

The coalition has pledged $2 million for the institute to support education about the Holocaust and October 7 attack.

'We want to put more money into the Holocaust museums, we want to make sure school children can really get an appreciation of what it meant during that period of history for six million people to be gassed,' Mr Dutton said.

Six million Jewish people were systematically murdered in the Holocaust by the Nazi regime, about 1.1 million of them at Auschwitz.
Astonishing dash cam has emerged of a couple copping a furious spray from an aggressive driver and his female passenger dubbed 'Mr and Mrs Karen' by the internet.

The pair were on their way to dinner at a ritzy winery in Victoria's Yarra Valley on Australia Day when the grey Landcruiser ute in front of them turned into a dirt driveway.

The other vehicle appeared to slow down as it passed the ute and continued down the road to Pietro Gallus Estate, where the couple parked.

Moments later the ute reappeared and boxed the vehicle in.

A woman in the passenger seat stormed out of the ute and began berating the visitors for driving too fast down a street filled with 'kangaroos'.

'If you drive down a residential street that has 60 kangaroos on that road ever again, like you just did, I'm going to come and f**king kill you,' the woman said.

'I will scratch your car to motherf**kery.'

No kangaroos were visible in the dashcam footage.

A man and woman in a Landcruiser (pictured) were dubbed 'Mr and Mrs Karen' after they abused a couple visiting Victoria's Yarra Valley on Sunday night

The ute occupants claimed the couple were driving too quickly and endangering '60 kangaroos on that road'

A man inside the other car warned the woman he would call police for help if she didn't leave him and his partner alone.

After the dashcam owners wound up their window, the woman yelled she had 'CCTV' of the couple driving dangerously.

As the woman got back inside the Landcruiser, the man behind the wheel got out and began pulling at the couple's door handle in an attempt to get inside their car.

All the while, the woman continued to yell at the couple from the passenger front seat of ute while making wild gestures.

Shocked bystanders in the car park can be seen watching on, along with a dog in the backseat of the Landcruiser.

A frightened woman inside the under-attack vehicle yelled to the Landcruiser driver: 'You can't go opening people's doors like that.'

Expletive rants continued from the ute until the angry pair finally drove away, leaving the dashcam owners confused but grateful they'd locked the doors.

The couple later shared the footage with the Dash Cam Owners of Australia Facebook page, where hundreds of were shocked by the behaviour of the Landcruiser occupants

A woman in the Landcruiser threatened to kill the couple and scratch their car over the incident

The woman is heard in the dash cam threatening to kill the couple and scratch their car before storming back to the Landcruiser

'They werent far behind you so obviously they sped down that residential street endangering the 60 kangaroos as well,' one wrote.

Another added: 'Id go to the cops. She threatened to kill you and damage your property. Needs to learn her lesson, cant talk to people like that.'

A third wrote: 'They look like city people that bought a property and now think they police the sticks.'

A fourth commented: 'You were doing about the same speed as they were, you werent right up their a***, you kept back, they turned off with no indicator and you still werent up their a***. Then they chase after you?'

Other commenters branded the Landcruiser occupants 'Mr and Mrs Karen'.

It's unclear if the incident was reported to Victoria Police.

The Yarra Valley and nearby Dandenong Ranges are known for being home to a large number of kangaroos with Wildlife Victoria recording thousands of deaths due to vehicle collisions.

In the year to June 30, 2024, it found 15,206 wildlife incidents were caused by road users.
A young boy and his alleged killer have been identified.

Thai-li Ned, nine, was found dead inside a home in the Townsville suburb of Kirwan, about 7.10pm on Saturday after suffering a 'significant head injury'.

A 24-year-old woman, Schynada Karkadoo, was charged over the boy's alleged murder and had a 'loose' family connection with him, according to police.

Thai-Li was living with Karkadoo and her three children in the months prior to his death as his mother, Tiarne Ned, is in custody.

It's understood investigators suspect a wooden plank was allegedly used to kill Thai-li up to eight hours before his body was discovered.

Queensland Police Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Miles described the crime scene as 'confronting'.

'The injury is consistent with what I would say at this stage appears to be blunt force trauma,' he told reporters on Monday.

'We will await the outcome of the autopsy before we make an absolute determination what weapon may have been used.'

Nine-year-old Thai-li Ned (pictured) was found dead in a Townsville home on Saturday night

Schynada Karkadoo (pictured) has been charged over the boy's death

'We believe the child may have sustained the injury within eight hours, as to what point the child was deceased will be a matter for the autopsy.'

'We do have information as to what may have transpired, but we will await a definite outcome from the autopsy before we will commit as to exactly what that was.'

Detective Miles alleged other children were at home at the time.

'Anything involving a traumatic injury and the death of a child, which in circumstances like this occurs, is quite abhorrent,' he said.

'No child should be subjected to anything that obviously leads to this sort of outcome for them.'

Police attended the Kirwan home on Saturday night following a welfare check request.

Officers alleged that a relative in Doomadgee, in Queensland's north-west went to their local police station after receiving a concerning phone call from Karkadoo.

'The call came from another relative, whom the 24-year-old had had a conversation with, who alerted police,' Detective Miles said.

Police allege Thai-li (pictured right with his mother, Tiarne Ned) was killed with a wooden plank but are awaiting further details from his autopsy

The Kirwan home (pictured) is expected to remain an active crime scene until Thai-li's autopsy is complete

Karkadoo's case was briefly mentioned in Townsville Magistrates Court on Monday.

A brief of evidence was ordered.

The Kirwan home is expected to remain a crime scene until an autopsy is complete later this week.

Police had previously visited the home several times for unrelated matters.

Officers also had minor interactions with nine-year-old Thai-li.

'We had had very brief interactions with this young person, but obviously being nine years of age, (he) hadn't come to our attention for any offending behaviour or anything like that,' Detective Miles said.

Several stuffed animals and notes (pictured) have been left outside the crime scene in tribute to the 'polite and humble' nine-year-old

Stuffed animals and sentimental notes have been left at the crime scene in memory of the young boy.

'You (were) so polite and humble,' one online tribute read.

Another said: 'Fly high. You will be sadly missed by us all here in Mount Isa.'

Karkadoo was remanded in custody and her case was adjourned until April 23.
A British sailor is missing after his yacht was found 'eviscerated' during a storm in the Bay of Biscay.

Divers found no sight of the 73-year-old man after his distress beacon was set off around 50 miles from Lacanau in Gascony at 3pm on Saturday.

A French Air Force helicopter spotted the Tiger PA, a 12-metre yacht sailing under an American flag, but it was later found to be empty.

According to the Vesselfinder website, a yacht with the same name was last located in Weymouth, Dorset, last week.

French government body Atlantic Maritime Prefecture said they had received an alert from their British counterparts on Friday evening because the yacht was not responding to radio messages.

They then located the watercraft in the Bay of Biscay, off the coast of south-west France, and a Portuguese cargo ship 'managed to make radio contact after several attempts'.

The man 'of British nationality' was alone on board and had indicated he was 'safe and continuing on his way', the prefecture said.

But on Saturday evening, divers were winched down to the yacht and found no sign of him.

A French Air Force helicopter spotted the Tiger PA, a 12-metre yacht sailing under an American flag, but it was later found to be empty (file image)

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A separate Portuguese cargo ship, a Spanish hospital ship that treats fishermen at sea and a French navy maritime surveillance aircraft joined in on the search, which was called off on Sunday,

On the same day, gusts of up to 98mph were recorded off the west French coast during Storm Herminia, which battered France in the wake of Storm Eowyn.

These difficult conditions caused a French sailing boat to capsize close to the coast off the Atlantic resort of Les Sables-d'Olonne and the sailor was rescued by a surfer.

Meanwhile, six people got into trouble in kayaks off Saint-Nazaire, Brittany before being rescued by French lifeboats in 55mph winds.

The maritime prefecture issued a warning about the dangers of the sea 'in the winter period with many depressions'.

Organisers of the Vendee Globe, the solo round-the-world yacht race, were forced to move the finishing line four nautical miles out to sea because of the storms.

The race usually finishes in Les Sables-d'Olonne, but conditions were so dangerous that competitors were told to head for calmer waters off La Rochelle before completing the race on Monday.
Bogota, Jan 27 (UNI) Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday said he will not authorize the entry of U.S. military flights carrying deported Colombian migrants, which is part of a new immigration policy put into effect by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Noting that the United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals, Petro said in a post on X that Washington must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants.

"I cannot make migrants stay in a country that does not want them. But if that country returns them, it must be with dignity and respect for them and for our country. We will receive our compatriots in civilian planes, without treating them like criminals. Colombia must be respected," he said.

On his inauguration day on Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order that declared a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border, called for mass deportations of undocumented migrants, deployed military forces to the border and denied U.S. citizenship to those born to illegal immigrants.

UNI XINHUA ARN
Police have released an e-fit of a man they are urgently trying to identify after a woman was pushed into a stranger's car and raped.

The woman was walking along Bradiston Road, Kilburn, at 9pm on an evening in March 2022 when the 'horrifying ordeal' took place.

A car, believed to be a dark-coloured Audi A3, stopped at the junction ahead of her before an unknown man pushed her into the vehicle from behind.

He then sped off with the woman inside before raping her and throwing her back out not far from where she'd been picked up.

Detectives have released a computer-generated picture of the man they wish to trace.

He was described as speaking with a Jamaican accent and believed to be in his late 30s, tall with short dreadlocks, and a significant facial scar.

The alleged assault was reported on June 14, 2022.

Police have released an e-fit of a man they are urgently trying to identify after a woman was pushed into a stranger's car and raped

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The woman was walking alone along Bradiston Road, Kilburn (pictured), at 9pm one evening in March 2022 when the 'horrifying ordeal' took place

Detective Constable, Leon Riley, from the policing team covering Westminster, said: 'If you recognise the man in the image please contact us without delay.

'We have been carrying out extensive enquiries since the incident and we continue to support the victim who, as far as possible, has been trying to live her life as normal since it happened.

'It was a horrifying ordeal for her and we thank her for supporting the investigation to trace the man responsible for assaulting her, and now helping us build an e-fit of the suspect.

'Women should be able to walk alone without fear and we are dedicated to protecting women and girls from predatory offenders such as this.

'Anyone who recognises the man, or has information, please contact police on 101 quoting 6533840/22.

'Or, to remain completely anonymous call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.'
The parents of a little boy who died of sepsis after doctors told them to 'give him Calpol' have won compensation.

Daniel Klosi, four, was repeatedly sent away from hospital despite his family desperately pleading for blood tests as they were concerned he was seriously ill.

He was taken by parents Lindita Alushi, 44, and Kastriot Klosi, 51, to The Royal Free Hospital in Camden, north London, four times during the week before his death.

On two of those occasions they were sent home with instructions to give him Calpol and Ibuprofen.

Only after visiting hospital twice in one day on April 1, 2023, was he admitted to a children's emergency department - after the family waited for four hours in A&E.

By that time though he was visibly deteriorating - and died only a few hours later in the early hours of the following morning.

Stricken by grief, his devastated parents, who live in Kentish Town in London, instructed medical negligence lawyers Irwin Mitchell to look into the tragedy.

Investigators found that during Daniel's third hospital visit, staff did not read his medical records or obtain a full history from his parents.

Daniel Klosi, pictured with his mother Linda Alushi left and father Kastriot Klosi right, was 'probably' already septic when he was seen in hospital hours before he died

Daniel died after being taken to the Royal Free Hospital in north London four times in a week

An inquest also heard that medics did not order blood tests or administer life-saving intravenous antibiotics.

Coroner Mary Hassell said Daniel, who had autism, attended hospital with 'atypical' features of sepsis.

She criticised medical staff, saying they needed to 'pay even more attention than usual' to parents and their concerns regarding their child's health.

While Daniel had shown some signs of sepsis in children - such as a high temperature and vomiting - he did not appear to be lethargic.

If intravenous antibiotics had been given to Daniel during his third visit, he would have survived, the coroner added.

Sepsis is an infection of the blood system that affects approximately 245,000 people in the UK every year.

If treated promptly, most people can be expected to make a full recovery.

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust has now agreed to pay the family an undisclosed out-of-court settlement and issued an apology.

Peter Landstrom, group chief executive, said he was 'very sorry that it was necessary' that Daniel's family had to raise concerns about his care during a 'distressing time'.

In the letter to Daniel's parents on January 2 this year, he wrote: 'I am aware that there has been an inquest and the Trust takes the coroner's conclusions very seriously.

'The Trust is truly sorry that the events in the lead up to Daniel's death occurred and on behalf of the Trust, and all the staff involved, I would like to apologise unreservedly for the devastating outcome.'

Daniel's parents took him to A&E on March 26, 2023, but he was sent home a couple of hours later.

On March 30 they returned to hospital concerned for his breathing but doctors discharged him and told his parents to give him Calpol and Ibuprofen.

During the second and third visits, Kastriot Klosi (pictured) and Lindita Alushi say doctors advised them to give their son Calpol and Ibuprofen

Only after visiting hospital twice in one day on April 1 was he admitted to a children's emergency department - after the family waited for four hours in A&E.

By that time though he was visibly deteriorating - and died only a few hours later in the early hours of the following morning.

Lindita, a pharmacy assistant and qualified doctor in her native Albania, said: 'Each time we took Daniel to hospital it was because we thought his condition was getting worse.

'We asked for tests such as blood tests and X-rays but it felt like our concerns weren't fully listened to.

'We were getting more concerned about Daniel as it looked to us like his condition was deteriorating.

'When he was admitted to hospital everything seemed to move so quickly and in just a few hours Daniel had died.

'I'll never be able to find the words to describe the anger, hurt and pain we continue to wake with each day following Daniel's death.

'What happened to Daniel, and especially the care issues he faced, will live with us forever.'

Paying tribute to her son, Lindita added: 'Daniel was such a sweet and adorable little boy.

'We felt so blessed that he was our son. He brought so much happiness and sunshine to our lives.

'He didn't deserve to die like he did because the hospital staff wouldn't listen to our concerns.

'That he could have been saved is the most difficult thing to come to terms with.

'Medical staff should never make assumptions about a child's condition such as I believe they did in Daniel's case.

'That he was taken to hospital four times in a week indicated something was seriously wrong and we were right to be extremely concerned about his condition.

'All parents know their children the best, and that's especially the case with parents of children with conditions such as autism.

'We take some comfort from finally having an apology from the Trust but remain hurt at the length of time it has taken.

Lindita Alushi (left) said of her son Daniel (right): 'Daniel was the most adorable little boy and we were so blessed that he was our son'

The life-threatening condition can occur when the body's immune system  which usually helps to fight infection  overreacts to an infection and causes damage to organs

'If by continuing to speak out we can save others, maybe Daniel's death won't have been totally in vain.'

Lawyer Lucy Macklin, who represented the family, said: 'Lindita and Kastriot remain devastated by his death, and in particular that an inquest ruled it could have been avoided if Daniel had received the care he deserved.

'Not only is Daniel's death a stark reminder of the dangers of sepsis and how early detection, and treatment are key to beating it, it also vividly highlights how neurodivergent children may present with different symptoms and the importance of health professionals fully listening to parents and acting on their concerns.'

A Royal Free London spokesperson said: 'We are deeply sorry that Daniel died while under our care and would like to share our heartfelt condolences with his family and loved ones.

'Following a thorough investigation, we identified a number of areas for improvement, and measures were taken to immediately address these.

'This included improving training and awareness for all of our staff, particularly in relation to children who repeatedly visit our emergency departments; how we care for children with learning disabilities; and the importance of listening to parents and carers when they raise concerns.

'We will continue to do all we can to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of sepsis among all of our staff.'
Hundreds of areas of Britain are on flood watch today as Storm Hermania swept in with up to 70mph gusts and three inches of rain expected to hit.

A 24-hour Met Office yellow wind warning for southern England and Wales is active until 6am tomorrow, while a rain alert for Wales will run until midnight tonight.

A further new rain warning for South West England and part of the south coast along to Sussex was issued this morning and remains in place until 10am tomorrow.

A major incident has been declared in Somerset following heavy rain, with main roads blocked and a care home in the village of South Petherton evacuated after it flooded.

The Environment Agency has issued 173 flood alerts and 51 warnings across England, while Natural Resources Wales has 15 alerts and there are two alerts in Scotland.

Air travel has also been affected again, with 20 arrivals and 19 departures cancelled at London Heathrow today after strong winds reduced the air traffic control flow rate.

Rail commuters also continue to face travel disruption with ScotRail and Transport for Wales running buses instead of trains on some routes following Storm Eowyn.

Severe weather is also impacting services between Guildford and Ash in Surrey; East Croydon and Uckfield in Sussex; Reading and Taunton; and in the Hastings area.

A person using an umbrella in the rain while walking in Shoreditch, East London, today

Large waves hit the harbour wall as Storm Herminia arrives at Newhaven in East Sussex today

A miserable day for punting on the River Cam in Cambridge today during heavy rain

A ferry arrives at the Port of Dover in Kent during rough seas this morning

The Environment Agency has issued 173 flood alerts (in amber) and 51 warnings (in red) today

The forecast path and wind strength of Storm Herminia at 3pm this afternoon is shown

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said about 65,000 customers remained without power today, with ten schools shut due to storm damage and 80 with no power.

Some 16,000 properties in Scotland were still without electricity last night, while Northern Powergrid confirmed around 3,000 people in the County Durham, Northumberland and Tyne & Wear areas had no power overnight.

Met Office weather warnings for today Yellow - Wind 6am today to 6am tomorrow

East of England, London & South East England, South West England, Wales Yellow - Rain 8am today to 10am tomorrow

London & South East England, South West England Yellow - Rain 12pm yesterday to 11.59pm today

Wales, West Midlands Advertisement

The wind warning said strong and gusty winds could bring disruption, with coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities set to be hit by spray and large waves.

Forecasters said disruption to road, rail, air and ferry transport was likely within the warning area - plus delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges.

The south-westerly winds are likely to affect southern parts of England and Wales through today and overnight tonight, with gusts of 60 to 70 mph possible near the coast, with 50mph inland before winds will gradually ease from the west tomorrow.

The rain warning for Wales said torrential downpours could flood roads and properties in Wales today, with 20mm (0.8in) to 40mm (1.6in) set to accumulate 'fairly widely', with 'isolated totals' of 50mm (2in) to 70mm (2.8in) over high ground.

The Met Office added: 'There is a small chance that some parts of the region could receive more than this, depending on what happens with an area of heavy rainfall overnight Sunday into Monday.'

The rain warning for the South West does not have a total rainfall estimate, but said: 'The strong winds will drive in a succession of showers, some of them heavy, through Monday and Monday night, before slowly easing during Tuesday morning.

'With the ground so wet, these are likely to produce or sustain some flooding impacts, primarily affecting road travel. Additional hazards could include further lightning strikes, and hail making road conditions dangerous.'

A rain warning is active until midnight tonight, while the wind warning expires at 6am tomorrow

Okehampton in Devon had 35.8mm (1.4in) of rain yesterday, while an 83mph gust was recorded at Berry Head in Devon and 81mph in Capelcurig, North Wales.

Flooding saw stretches of the A36 and A303 closed in Devon and Wiltshire overnight.

Most of the 40 flood warnings in England, where flooding is expected cover the South West and south coast.

Ben Lukey, a flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: 'Although not expected, impacts could include localised flooding from watercourses, drains, channels and flooding from overland flow.

A wet and windy spell arrived in the South West yesterday morning and moved across the north of the UK overnight into this morning.

Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said: 'Things are going to stay unsettled in the next few days. We're getting successive spells of wet and windy weather, which is obviously adding to impacts

While not as powerful as Storm Eowyn, a low-pressure system was named Storm Herminia by meteorologists in Spain which was due to feel the strongest winds.

Motorists drive through flooding on the A3 at New Malden in South West London this morning

Electricity engineers inspect damage from fallen trees near Hillsborough in County Down today

Vehicles make their way through a flooded country lane in Dunsden, Oxfordshire, this morning

A person using an umbrella in the rain while walking in Shoreditch, East London, today

Waves crash over the harbour wall in Folkestone, Kent, today as stormy weather continues

A miserable day for punting on the River Cam in Cambridge today during heavy rain

Fallen trees blocking Eglantine Road near Hillsborough in County Down this morning

People shelter from the rain as they walk across London Bridge in a downpour this morning

The Met Office said today is expected to see showers, turning heavy in the south alongside strong, gale-force winds, with snow on the hills in the north.

Gales are expected to ease slowly in the South West overnight but pick up in the far north.

Tomorrow is forecast to see further heavy showers in the south with a risk of thunder. Longer spells of rain in the North West as expected to ease later.

The wet and windy weather will remain in the south on Wednesday more settled conditions will be present later in the week.

Last Friday, Eowyn brought record-breaking winds to the UK and Ireland with the Met Office saying it was 'probably the strongest storm' to hit in at least ten years.

Nearly a million properties lost power across the British Isles, while two people were killed and wind speeds hit 100mph in the UK and 114mph in Ireland.

Scotland could face a clean-up bill of around 600million following the devastating gusts that flipped vehicles, tore roofs from houses and downed power cables.

Although the full extent of the damage will not be known for weeks, experts warn the cost could exceed the record 560million bill racked up by Storm Babet in 2023.

Large waves hit the harbour wall as Storm Herminia arrives at Newhaven in East Sussex today

Electricity engineers inspect damage from fallen trees near Hillsborough in County Down today

People shelter from the rain as they walk across London Bridge in a downpour this morning

Fallen trees blocking Eglantine Road near Hillsborough in County Down this morning

Waves crash over the harbour wall in Folkestone, Kent, today as stormy weather continues

Large waves hit the harbour wall as Storm Herminia arrives at Newhaven in East Sussex today

A road closed sign as fallen trees block Eglantine Road at Hillsborough in County Down today

Large waves hit the harbour wall as Storm Herminia arrives at Newhaven in East Sussex today

The sun rises behind South Shields lighthouse on the North East coast of England this morning

The high winds caused significant damage to infrastructure on the rail network and Network Rail is working on repairs, with lines opening when safe to do so.

ScotRail communications director David Ross said today that it had been a 'very challenging' weekend but the 'vast majority' of routes are back up and running.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: 'A lot of work has been carried out over the course of the weekend by colleagues at Network Rail.

'They've had reports of around 500 individual incidents and more than 120 trees fallen down on to the lines, so that's been a massive repair job.

'So, as I say, the vast majority of routes are up and running, but there is still ongoing disruption in some parts of the country, for example, in Ayrshire and Inverclyde we're still seeing some impacts - damaged overhead wires, for example.

'We're still also seeing trees fallen on to the lines and on to the railway in some parts of the country, some areas of Lanarkshire. So the impact of the storm is still being felt.'

Mr Ross said that in some parts of the country there will not be a 'quick fix' and the impact may be felt for several days.

'There's a lot of work involved in areas particularly where the wires have come down entirely - that is not a quick fix,' he said.

'So there are some parts of the country, for example down at Balloch, that will take a few days, it's not going to be sorted quickly.'

He advised people to check the ScotRail website and app before travelling.

A number of public spaces and parks have also experienced extensive damage.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh said the storm caused 'severe damage' across its gardens.

In a post on social media, it said: 'At Edinburgh, 15 trees have been lost - either uprooted or damaged beyond recovery.

'This includes the garden's tallest tree, the 29-metre Cedrus deodara, planted in 1859.'
A prison officer was horrifically slashed across the face by a notoriously violent prisoner serving life for murder with an improvised weapon made from a disposable razor.

The experienced officer, in his 40s, faces being scarred for life after he was viciously cut twice across the face by an inmate at Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire as this disturbing image shows.

The bleeding officer, who MailOnline is not naming, had to be rushed to Pinderfields Hospital in the town where he required more than 30 stitches to the two injuries which stretched from side of his right eye to the corner of his mouth and from his cheek to his lip.

MailOnline understands that his alleged assailant Martin Bates, 35, a con serving life for murder who has a history of violence inside prison.

Bates was moved to Wakefield - which has been dubbed 'Monster Mansion' because of the large number of dangerous prisoners it holds - only six months ago after previously assaulting a prison guard at HMP Manchester.

Yet within two days of moving to Wakefield, Bates slashed and tried to strangle notorious baby killer Stephen Boden and was moved to 'Rule 45' to be segregated from other prisoners in solitary confinement.

It is believed the attacker may have used the blade from a disposable safety razor to make a covert weapon.

Safety razors are in the process of being replaced by electric razors at 31 of the most violent prisons in England, including Wakefield, following a campaign by the Prisoner Officers' Association.

A prison officer was horrifically slashed across the face by a notoriously violent prisoner serving life for murder with an improvised weapon made from a disposable razor

The experienced officer, in his 40s, faces being scarred for life after he was viciously cut twice across the face by an inmate at Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire as this image shows

This horrific photograph graphically illustrates the need for this move - as Britain's prison officers struggle to keep order as our overcrowded jails reach breaking point.

A fellow prison officer told MailOnline: 'The officer's wife also works in the prison as well, in admin, and her heart must have skipped a beat when she heard the emergency shout of 'care team to F-wing'.

'Once she'd heard what his name was, she immediately went to him and joined him in the ambulance.'

Shocking photos of the severe facial injuries, his white shirt covered in blood, have been circulated on WhatsApp groups by fellow prison officers who are angry about the violence they are facing every day in Britain's prisons, which even Prime Minister Keir Starmer admits is 'broken'.

In November it was revealed that assaults on prison officers reached a new high with official figures from the MoJ showing a record 10,281 assaults on jail staff, in the year to June 2024, up 30 per cent on the previous 12 months.

Some 974 of these were serious assaults, a 24 per cent jump.

And last year, the Ministry of Justice announced that wet razors are to be banned at all men's prisons with inmates issued with their own electric shaver instead at taxpayers' expense, but it is understood that at Wakefield the changeover won't be complete until the end of March 2025.

The switch to electric followed a campaign by the Prison Officers' Association which featured graphic photographs of injuries inflicted on staff by prisoners using razor blades.

A two-year trial began in 2022, in which razors were withdrawn at seven English jails  six male, one female  with different alternatives made available.

Then in May, former Tory Prisons Minister Edward Argar said that razors would be banned initially at 31 closed men's prisons with the highest levels of violence, which include Wakefield.

Argar told MPs last year: 'Safety in prisons continues to be of paramount importance and we remain committed to tackling violence against both staff and prisoners.

'When the Government launched the Prisons Strategy White Paper in 2021, we pledged to look at alternatives to the use of wet-shave razors in prisons, which can be used to self-harm and to carry out assaults.

'Recent serious assaults on prison staff illustrate the potential danger posed by wet-shave razors in prisons.'

Pictured: The B-wing at Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire

HMP Wakefield (pictured) earned its grim nickname because of the high number sex offenders, murders and other violent prisoners among its 600 population

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: 'We take violence against our hard-working staff incredibly seriously and anyone found guilty of wrongdoing will be punished.

'It would be inappropriate to comment further while the police investigate.'

West Yorkshire Police confirmed that they are investigating the incident at Wakefield on January 17.

HMP Wakefield earned its grim nickname because of the high number sex offenders, murders and other violent prisoners among its 600 population.

Current notorious inmates believed to be housed there include 97-year-old child molester and serial killer Sidney Cooke, who raped and murdered Mark Tildesley, Jason Swift and Barry Lewis. Nicknamed 'Hissing Sid', he was the leader of a paedophile ring suspected of up to twenty child murders of young boys in the 1970s and 1980s.

Also believed to be in Wakefield is paedophile Roy Whiting, who kidnapped and murdered Sarah Payne in 2000, as well as 'House of Horror' killer Jeremy Bamber, convicted of the murder of his adoptive mother, father, sister and his sister's two sons in 1985.

Bates, who has now been moved to HMP Full Sutton, near York, was jailed for life in 2021 for bludgeoning to death a friend while he slept, following a drunken row.

John Littlewood, 36, was found dead with serious head injuries at an address in Third Street in the village of Blackhall Colliery, County Durham, in July 2019.

Within two days of moving to Wakefield, Bates slashed and tried to strangle notorious baby killer Stephen Boden and was moved to 'Rule 45' to be segregated from other prisoners. Pictured: Boden holding Finley, six weeks before the child's death on Christmas Day 2020

Bates initially denied murder but changed his plea to guilty during his trial at Teesside Crown Court.

He was given a minimum tariff of 24 years.

The Northern Echo reported that Mr Littlewood and Bates had spent the day drinking before a row erupted.

Durham Police said Mr Littlewood suffered catastrophic head injuries after being repeatedly beaten with a blunt instrument in the early hours of 26 July 2019.

His body was found four days later, sparking a 'long and complex' investigation.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Littlewood's mother, Pamela Hall, paid tribute to her son, who was also known as John D.

She said: 'The fact he was murdered was bad enough [but] this person could have taken responsibility from the day he was arrested, which would have prevented us having to listen to the final moments of John D's life at the trial.

'This has been unbearable at times and no words can explain the pain and torture that I have gone through.

'There are no words to describe the pain, which we all feel, but we hope that the justice served will hopefully give us some comfort knowing the person responsible for the murder of my son can't harm anyone else.'
Illegal miners trapped in the depths of a South African gold mine resorted to cannibalism to survive after authorities cut off their food supply to force them out, it has been revealed.

Some 324 people were pulled out of the old Buffelsfontein Gold Mine around 150 kilometres from Johannesburg last week, ending a months-long standoff between the illegal miners and the police.

But 78 of them were already dead, having expired after spending months sealed almost a mile underground without food and very little water.

Two emaciated survivors, currently out on bail but facing charges of illegal mining and possession of gold, told The Telegraph the lengths to which their colleagues stooped to cling to life.

'They cut parts of legs, arms, and ribs for sustenance. They decided it was their only remaining option for survival.'

Meanwhile, one man who took part in the rescue operation told the BBC how he could no longer eat meat after descending into the mine and discovering the rotting corpses of those who had perished.

'Those bodies really smelled bad... they told me some of them had to eat other [people] inside the mine because there was no way they could find food. And they were also eating cockroaches.'

The shocking revelation has only served to deepen divisions in South Africa over the saga, with some commentators praising the police for their zero-tolerance crackdown on criminal gangs.

But others, including leading trade unions, accused the state of one of the 'most horrific displays of wilful negligence in recent history'.

South African police continue their rescue operation at the Stilfontein mine at North West province of South Africa on January 16, 2025

An emaciated miner is pulled out of the mine on a stretcher

Some miners were able to walk but many more were carried out on stretchers

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South Africa is replete with mineral wealth and mining has long been one of the largest industries driving the nation's economy.

But the sector has also given way to a dark trade in which organised gangs - as well as desperate undocumented migrants - attempt to gain access to disused shafts to pilfer the minerals left behind.

This problem is particularly prevalent in old gold mines such as Buffelsfontein, where a large party descended into the old shaft hoping to find large gold deposits still left almost a mile deep early last year.

But South Africa's police quickly identified the operation and in August surrounded the shaft entrance.

Almost 2,000 miners gave themselves up and exited the shafts, but hundreds more refused. The police began reducing their supply of food and water, with media reports suggesting they were cut off completely in November.

Police said it was necessary to 'smoke them out', rather than risk the lives of cops in battles with armed gang members underground.

The dire situation was exacerbated by brutal gang leaders who reportedly hoarded the little sustenance that was available, leaving many to starve or die of dehydration.

Volunteers engaging in rescue efforts last week described horrific scenes as hundreds of illegal miners were brought to the surface, many on the verge of death.

Images taken from the scene showed many of the miners - several of whom resembled concentration camp survivors - were pulled out on stretchers because they were simply incapable of walking.

An emancipated miner is brought to a waiting ambulance after being rescued from underground during the official rescue operation at a disused gold mine shaft in Stilfontein, around 150 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa

Illegal miners rescued from an abandoned gold mine sit on the floor as rescuers and South African Police Service (SAPS) officers record their details and provide assistance in Stilfontein on January 14, 2025

South African Police Service (SAPS) officers record the details of illegal miners rescued from an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein on January 14, 2025

A man who gave his name to the BBC as Mkwayi said they were able to fit 13 men in cages designed to hold seven adults, such was the extent of the deprivation they had suffered.

'They were very dehydrated and had lost weight so we managed to fit more into the cage, because they wouldn't have survived another two days down in the hole.

'They would be dead if we didn't get them out as soon as possible.'

Mkwayi also dispelled statements given by the police suggesting that the miners were refusing to come out of their own volition.

'It's a lie that people didn't want to come out. Those people were desperate for help, they were dying,' he said, arguing that in many cases they had been starved and dehydrated to the point of immobility.

'I have to tell you, I am traumatised. I will never forget the sight of these people for the rest of my life.'

The police crackdown at the Buffelsfontein mine came as part of a countrywide operation called 'Vala Umgodi', which translates as 'close the hole'.

This was launched by South African authorities in December 2023 after it was established that organised crime networks had taken over large numbers of old mines.

Many of these gangs reportedly leveraged desperate 'zama zamas' - undocumented migrants scrabbling to make a living - to dig out gold and other minerals, often taking the profits for themselves.

Operation Vala Umgodi was largely successful at other locations, and in August last year almost 2,000 people exited the Buffelsfontein mine.

But hundreds more remained in the shaft, prompting police to enact their siege.

Community members hold a picket at the mine shaft where rescue operations are ongoing as attempts are made to rescue illegal miners who have been underground for months in Stilfontein, South Africa, January 14, 2025

Local community and family members of the trapped miners gather during the official rescue attempts near the entrance to a disused gold mine shaft in Stilfontein

Families of miners and activist protest as South Africa's Police minister Senzo Mchunu visit an abandoned gold mine, where miners are rescued from below ground in an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025

As reports of dying miners circulated in South Africa, civilians from the community around Buffelsfontein and family members of miners began staging protests.

They had even tried to launch their own rescue operation earlier this month, casting a rope down the shaft in a futile attempt to pull miners up.

Police were eventually compelled to act early last week after courts ruled they had to provide humanitarian aid and work with a mining company to launch a rescue effort.

And outrage at the authorities has intensified after it was revealed that one alleged gang leader had been brought out of the shaft in December and smuggled away by corrupt officers.

South African MP Ian Cameron said: 'If the police did deny them exiting the shaft and they then starved to death, then there's a need for a serious investigation - not only investigation, but consequences that need to be upheld from the police officers involved.'

He also railed against the police for allowing a notorious gang leader to escape the shaft.

'The fact that he got away, and the police admitted to it, clearly showed that the police were complicit in something and that raises a lot of eyebrows in a broader context.'
Thousands of Palestinians have returned to the war-torn north of the Gaza Strip for the first time since Israel's 15-month war with Hamas began, in accordance with a fragile ceasefire deal.

Palestinians who have been sheltering in squalid tent camps and schools-turned-shelters for over a year are eager to return to their homes - even knowing that they have likely been damaged or destroyed.

Many had feared Israel would make their exodus permanent, and expressed similar concerns about an idea floated by President Donald Trump to resettle large numbers of Palestinians in Egypt and Jordan.

'I would like Egypt to take people,' Trump said on Sunday. 'You're talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say: "You know, it's over".'

The US president said he had praised Jordan for accepting Palestinian refugees and told the country's king: 'I would love for you to take on more, 'cause I am looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it's a mess. It's a real mess.'

Jordan's foreign minister hit back on Sunday saying that his government's 'position is that the two-state solution is the way to achieve peace,' and stressing that Jordan's 'rejection of displacement is fixed and unchangeable'.

It comes as Israel this morning announced that a new deal had been reached to release six more hostages this week, including civilian Arbel Yehud, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Huge queues of displaced Palestinians have formed over recent days at the Netzarim Crossing, a military zone bisecting the territory south of Gaza City that Israel carved out early in the war, as its opening was delayed for two days over the dispute between Hamas and Israel.

Internally displaced Palestinians walk on Al Rashid road in central Gaza as they return from the south to northern Gaza Strip

Hamas said the return was 'a victory for our people, and a declaration of failure and defeat for the (Israeli) occupation and transfer plans'

Northern Gaza residents were allowed to return to the enclave's northern sector on foot from 7am local time (05.00 GMT) and in vehicles from 9am (07.00 GMT)

A drone view shows Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, making their way back to their homes in northern Gaza

Israeli bombardment and ground operations have displaced around 90 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people, often multiple times, and flattened entire neighborhoods

The Israeli government claimed that Hamas had changed the order of the hostages it released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, with the dispute eventually resolved by mediators overnight.

The ceasefire is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas and securing the release of dozens of hostages captured in the militants' October 7, 2023, attack, which triggered the fighting.

Northern Gaza residents were allowed to return to the enclave's northern sector on foot from 7am local time (05.00 GMT) and in vehicles from 9am (07.00 GMT).

The Israeli army said it would be inspecting all vehicles and that any 'transfer of militants or weapons via these routes to the northern Gaza Strip will be considered a breach of the agreement'.

Israa Shaheen, a journalism graduate, set off for the north from the central city of Deir al-Balah, where she was displaced, this morning.

'So far everything is good,' she told the BBC. 'There are no problems. There are a lot of people on the streets and we hope it continues this way, God willing.'

Ismail Abu Matter, a father of four who had waited for three days before crossing with his family, described scenes of jubilation on the other side, with people singing, praying and crying as they were reunited with relatives.

'It's the joy of return,' said Abu Matter, whose family was among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. 'We had thought we wouldn't return, like our ancestors.'

Hamas said the return was 'a victory for our people, and a declaration of failure and defeat for the (Israeli) occupation and transfer plans.'

Israel ordered the wholescale evacuation of the north in the opening days of the war and sealed it off shortly after ground troops moved in.

Around a million people fled to the south in October 2023, while hundreds of thousands remained in the north, which had some of the heaviest fighting and the worst destruction of the war.

Palestinians wait to be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza after they were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war

Palestinians celebrate as they return to their homes in the northern part of the Gaza Strip

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would continue to enforce the ceasefire, and that anyone violating it or threatening Israeli forces 'will bear the full cost.'

'We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7,' he wrote on the platform X.

Israel had delayed the opening of the crossing, which was supposed to happen over the weekend, saying it would not allow Palestinians north until a female civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, was released.

It also accused Hamas of failing to provide information on whether the remaining hostages set to be freed in the first phase are alive or dead.

Hamas in turn accused Israel of violating the agreement by not opening the crossing.

The Gulf nation of Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, announced early Monday that an agreement had been reached to release Yehoud along with two other hostages before Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the hostage release - which will include female soldier Agam Berger - will take place on Thursday.

That release will be in addition to the one already set for next Saturday, when three hostages should be released.

Hamas also handed over a list of required information about the hostages to be released in the ceasefire's six-week first phase.

Israel had delayed the opening of the crossing, which was supposed to happen over the weekend, saying it would not allow Palestinians north until a female civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud (right), was released

Daniella Gilboa, 20, pictured here hugging family members, was released by Hamas on Saturday, January 25, 2025

Relatives of Israeli hostages and their supporters demonstrate demanding that the Israeli government adhere to the ceasefire, end the war and release all Palestinian prisoners

Under the first phase of the ceasefire, which runs until early March, Hamas is to free a total of 33 hostages in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The terror group have released seven hostages, including four female soldiers, in the current ceasefire, in exchange for more than 300 prisoners, including many serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis.

The second - and far more difficult - phase of the agreement has not yet been negotiated.

Hamas says it will not release the remaining 60 or so hostages unless Israel ends the war, while Netanyahu says he is still committed to destroying the militant group and ending its nearly 18-year rule over Gaza.

Hamas started the war when thousands of its fighters stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 90 hostages are still inside Gaza, and Israel believes around a third are dead.

Israel's air and ground war has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Israeli bombardment and ground operations have displaced around 90 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people, often multiple times, and flattened entire neighborhoods.
A daughter who was cut out of her pirate radio legend father's will after he branded her 'a lazy, useless, lying druggy' has been awarded a 125,000 payout - which includes cash to cover the cost of cosmetic surgery.

Beautician Jenna Howe, 37, was dramatically disinherited by her body-shaming father, Roger Howe, three years before he plunged to his death from a second-floor window aged 55 in March 2020.

Mr Howe left behind a staggering 1.4million fortune, part of which was tied up in his thriving radio engineering company BW Broadcast FM, to his mother, Rosina Howe, his sister Tina Tucker, and his two nephews, Ross and Jamie Tucker.

But a bitter inheritance row broke out after the former rigger, who made a fortune exporting radio equipment, vowed Jenna, his only child, should never see a penny of his estate when he changed his will for the final time in 2017.

A court heard that Mr Howe, a key player in the urban pirate and independent radio scene, had a 'toxic' relationship with Jenna, consistently 'belittling' her when she was growing up, 'calling her names' and taunting her in a 'nasty' way about her weight.

Jenna, who went on to develop bulimia and body dysmorphia, became estranged from her father in adulthood and Mr Howe was 'adamant' that she should not inherit any of his fortune upon his death.

When drafting the will, he claimed that he had decided to cut his daughter off because 'she is lazy, grabbing and bad to my parents'. He told a friend he felt 'jubilation...making sure that (she) never gets a penny of mine'.

Currently 'destitute' and recovering from periods of drug addiction, Jenna launched a claim for 'reasonable provision' out of her father's estate, insisting that her life had been ruined by his callous neglect and cruelty during her childhood.

Jenna Howe, left, with her mother outside court, has won a 125,000 payout after claiming a share of her father's 1.4million will

Roger Howe (pictured) had branded his daughter a 'lazy useless, lying druggy' and vowed she would never see a penny of his money when he changed his will in 2017, a court heard

After two days at Central London County Court, Judge Mark Raeside ruled the estate should pay Jenna 125,000 to help her turn her life around.

Her claim for around 450,000 was rejected on the grounds that she is not entitled to have a property bought out of her late father's fortune.

The lump sum payout includes a 75 weekly 'maintenance' payment for the next ten years, plus help with other needs, such as clearing debts and replacement breast implants.

'Throughout her life, she has been self-conscious about her body and I am quite satisfied that this should be paid for by the estate,' said the judge, adding: 'She has had a body problem ever since she was a young child'.

Another legacy of her traumatic childhood was troubling body dysmorphia, disclosed her barrister, James McKean, during the trial of the case, urging the judge to award her cash to cover the costs of cosmetic surgery to replace her breast implants.

'Where Jenna suffers from body dysmorphia, a payment to replace her breast implants is an investment in her physical and mental health and wellbeing,' he argued.

During her childhood and teens, Mr Howe consistently 'belittled' his only child, said Judge Raeside, also taunting her about her weight.

'He was really nasty about my weight and talked about me calling me names, and was horrible to me,' Jenna had said in her written evidence.

Mr Howe's sister Tina Tucker (pictured) was among those who was included in the will - and was defending the claim

Mr Howe was a child prodigy who built his first transistor radio at eight and was creating complex AM and FM transmitters by the time he was 15

He divorced Jenna's mother when she was two and 'wasn't involved that much in her life'

She claimed on one occasion, Mr Howe even decided to weigh his daughter in front of his lodger.

Jenna developed an eating disorder while a teenager and, when bullied at school for being overweight, her 'disciplinarian' father showed no sympathy, continuing to 'pick on her and make her feel bad about herself,' said the judge.

Giving his ruling and awarding Ms Howe a payout, the judge said: 'The view I have come to is that, in the exercise of my discretion, a lump sum award should be made in her favour from the estate to meet Jenna's present and future financial needs in light of her mental condition, which has driven most of those needs.'

He described Jenna's finances as 'precarious,' saying she is still hemmed in by heavy debts left over from a previous court clash with her relatives.

And since the effects of her mental conditions have made work almost impossible, the judge said she now deserves a weekly income of 75 to keep her head above water.

'She is only just getting by and has a right to maintenance,' he said. 'This is a case where she wishes to improve herself and this will no doubt help.'

Mr Howe, a technical genius in the field of radio transmitting equipment, was only eight years old when he built his own transistor radio.

In court, Jenna (pictured) said her life 'spiraled out of control' after she began taking drugs, and that her father did little to help

By 15, he was building complex AM and FM transmitters, which he continued to develop throughout his time in school and into the beginning of his career, where he developed state of the art technology for both commercial and military applications.

At just 16 years old, he was making rigs for London pirate radio stations, including JFM, a specialist jazz funk station.

In his later years, he used his expertise to build a successful business which exported equipment all over the world and made him a millionaire by the time of his death.

But his relationship with Jenna was fraught and 'volatile', the court heard.

'Roger's conduct weighs heavily in this case,' her barrister told the judge.

'His treatment of Jenna as a child and young adult has shaped the rest of her life, and a direct link can be drawn between that and her need for financial provision.'

While a young and vulnerable teenager, Jenna was the target of savage barbs from her father, explained Mr McKean, including being 'teased about her weight'.

'She now recalls several occasions on which he would belittle her, including one where he weighed her in front of a lodger,' said the barrister.

At the time, Jenna was suffering from bulimia and depression, but her father - who had divorced her father when she was aged two, after which she lived with her mother - was 'not sympathetic to her needs' and she ended up drifting away from him.

Jenna had claimed a 443,000 share of the estate as a 'reasonable provision', insisting that her life has been overshadowed by her father's callous neglect and cruelty during her childhood

One witness - a friend of her father - claimed Mr Howe had ended up viewing Jenna with 'unambiguous hatred' despite her attempts to reconcile, and branded her 'grasping' and a 'lazy useless, lying druggy'.

And the solicitor who helped Mr Howe draw up his will said he was 'adamant' that his daughter must inherit nothing.

Although church-going Jenna has now battled to overcome her drug problems and rebuild her life, training as a beautician, she was 'truly traumatised by the way her father treated her,' said her barrister.

With her financial situation labelled 'desperate,' she went to court asking Judge Raeside to award her 'reasonable financial provision' out of her father's fortune in line with the 1975 Inheritance Act.

She applied for an award to be held on trust for her of around 450,000 to cover needs such as paying off over 66,000 in debts, 315,000 for a new home, 8,000 to launch her beautician career and 20,000 for a new car.

Disputing her claim were Mr Howe's 86-year-old mother, his sister and two nephews, who scooped the fortune when he died and were hauled to court by Jenna.

As well as being beneficiaries under the will, Rosina and Tina were sued as executrices of the estate.

In court, Jenna said her life 'spiralled out of control' after she began taking drugs and that her father did little to help her get back on her feet.

And although at one point he offered her work at his radio engineering company, she claimed the work involved intricate soldering, for which she had no experience.

'He criticised me all the time until I had to leave,' she told the court.

Jenna added that she had done her best to reconcile with her father over the years as she 'longed for a relationship' and was badly rocked by his death.

Her barrister added that she had 'saved for weeks' to buy lavish flowers for his funeral, adding that she had read a poem during the service, after which he was buried with a picture of her.

But giving evidence, her aunt Tina said Mr Howe had told him his daughter did nothing but paint her nails while at work, also pointing out that there was no contact between the father and daughter for nine years before his death.

'He told me that when she was working she said 'I don't need to bother because one day all this will be mine' - which I think made him think about his will,' she said.

'He came home furious and said she was just painting her nails.'

Mr Howe had branded his daughter 'lazy, grabbing and bad to my parents' when explaining his decision to cut her out of his will partly because he viewed her as idle, and partly because he felt she neglected her grandparents, Tina told the court.

'He tried with her to get her to work, but she didn't want to and he said to me that every time he just felt she was only there because she wanted his money.'

Asked about Mr Howe's impact on his daughter's life, she responded: 'She blames everyone for everything, she has never taken responsibility'.

And quizzed on whether her brother would have wanted his daughter to 'end up unhappy,' she said: 'I think that he tried with her and then gave up on her, I don't know.'

She described father and daughter's relationship as 'quite toxic' and when Jenna's barrister suggested that he 'made fun of his daughter's weight on occasions,' she replied: 'He did that with me and my mother as well, but he used to get cross when Jenna would do nothing about it.'

Her brother's hostility towards Jenna reached a point where 'you couldn't even mention her name in the house', said Tina, also commenting: 'He didn't like her, Roger wasn't involved that much in her life and had chosen to walk away.'

Tina also disclosed that she has already spent 150,000 in lawyers' fees fighting her niece, including a previous court dispute sparked by a challenge brought by Jenna over the terms of Mr Howe's will which ultimately ended in settlement.

The judge made the 125,000 award to Ms Howe at the end of the case rather than the 450,000 she asked for after ruling that, whilst she needs help, she is not entitled to have a property bought out of her late father's money.
From declaring a border emergency to backing fossil fuel production, British voters have supported a raft of Donald Trump's policies in a blind polling test.

Some 2,000 voters were asked for their thoughts about the US President's views on migration, the environment and diversity - without being told they were his policies.

Those being surveyed by polling firm Opinium were questioned on excerpts from Mr Trump's inauguration speech in Washington DC last Monday, adapted for the UK.

The poll looked at the difference between cultural and political attitudes in Britain and the US, once the link between a policy and Mr Trump has been removed.

Some 58 per cent supported 'declaring a national emergency in the Channel', after Mr Trump announced a national emergency at the US border with Mexico.

And 55 per cent backed 'filling up our gas reserves and exporting British energy all over the world', after the President declared similar pro-fossil fuel actions.

Meanwhile 'forging a merit-based, colour-blind society' was supported by 53 per cent after Mr Trump used the phrase in his speech to announce the pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) schemes.

US President Donald Trump gives his inaugural address in Washington DC last Monday

Advisory firm Nepean, which commissioned the survey, revealed that Conservative and Reform voters overwhelmingly backed the policies.

However, there was also majority support from Labour voters across the aforementioned policies as well as 'overhauling our trade system to protect UK workers', one of Mr Trump's key programmes in the US.

Declaring 'a national emergency in the Channel and [beginning] the process of returning thousands and thousands of criminal migrants back to the places they came from' had majority support from Labour (50 per cent), Conservative and Reform (both 76 per cent) voters. It also had net support in every age group and region.

However, 'Ending Net Zero', 'there are only two genders' and 'removing support for electric vehicles' had the lowest support.

Meanwhile Mr Trump's criticism of the current state of affairs found majority support in the UK for criticism of the healthcare system, failure to protect citizens and trust in government.

The statement 'Our country can no longer deliver basic serviceswe have a healthcare system that does not deliver yet costs more than any other in the world' was over 60 per cent supported by nearly every voter type. Only Labour voters came in below, with 57 per cent.

Mr Trump's broader values and optimistic pitch for the future of the country, had strong support with UK voters, notably with statements on prosperity for all regardless of background (63 per cent), hope for future generations (61 per cent) and a 'revolution of common sense' (58 per cent).

In addition, all voter types - other than Green voters at 48 per cent - overwhelmingly support the statement we should 'once again be a growing nation', at over 65 per cent.

Gavin Davis, managing Partner at Nepean, which commissioned the survey, said: 'Whether you like Trump or not, this research shows the danger of simply dismissing many of his policies out of hand.

'Politicians and businesses need to dig deeper into what is actually going on during this moment of change. We might be closer to the US than we think or would like to believe.'

James Crouch, head of policy and public affairs research at Opinium, said 'While Trump's policies are rightly scrutinised, it's his mastery of narrative and storytelling that stands out.

'The polling suggests British politicians could benefit from taking a page from his playbook when advancing their own policy agenda.'

Opinium conducted a nationally representative survey amongst 2,050 adults in the UK between Wednesday and Friday of last week.

US President Donald Trump gives his inaugural address in Washington DC last Monday

Mr Trump was sworn in for his second term as President of the US last Monday after winning the election in November 2024.

He marked his first day in office by signing a flurry of executive orders, making sweeping changes to the economy, immigration and climate change policies.

Mr Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer could meet within weeks after what was described as a 'warm' first phone call last night in which the pair committed to 'close' ties.

The positive tone of the 45-minute conversation, which was the first since Mr Trump resumed control of the White House, will be a relief for Sir Keir as he desperately tries to get off to a good start with the new president - who was previously branded a 'neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath' by Cabinet ministers.

It came hours after the Republican praised the Prime Minister doing 'a very good job thus far', and suggested his first foreign visit might be to the UK.
More than 1,400 locals have called for a road crossing with colourful markings to be scrapped amid fears it is 'an accident waiting to happen'.

Last year, the California Cross in Finchampstead, Berkshire, underwent a 5.5million makeover which saw it painted with an oak leaf design rather than traditional white stripes in a bid to make it more 'pedestrian-friendly'.

But locals in the sleepy village were less than impressed with its artistic transformation, with workers being threatened with violence as they begun to carry out improvements.

Residents raised concerns with Wokingham Borough Council amid fears it could be 'deadly' for children who think it's a 'playground'.

Up to 1,462 people have signed a petition calling for the intersections zebra crossing and roundabout to be re-painted in order to reduce the risk of a 'serious accident.

Conservative councillor Peter Harper, who submitted the critical petition to the council on Thursday, told the BBC that many residents had contacted him with personal complaints about the junctions risk.

Mr Harper added: Standard road markings for a roundabout have not been applied meaning motorists are unsure how to negotiate the junction they do not consistently give pedestrians priority to cross the road.

The changes, part of a council improvement scheme, replaced a double mini-roundabout junction with a shared space that has no pedestrian barriers and low-level speed bumps.

The artistic markings at California Cross junction, Finchampstead (pictured), were introduced by the council in September last year in an effort to make the junction more pedestrian-friendly

More than 1,400 residents have signed a petition calling for the intersections zebra crossing and roundabout to be re-painted to reduce the risk of a serious accident

Amidst local safety concerns, Mr Harpers petition has called on the council to re-paint the junctions roundabouts and zebra crossing while also raising the speed bumps.

It said the project doesnt use standard road markings detailed in the highway code and was also causing confusion amongst drivers and pedestrians about how to use the junction.

The petition also added: The inclusion of raised platforms was to slow traffic on the approach to the junction but these are too low to be effective, allowing cars to negotiate the junction at high speed.

Changes to the current junction will, they believe, reduce the risk of a serious accident.

In September, local driving instructor Andrew Rock told BBC Radio Berkshire that he believed the crossing was potentially dangerous and that he would be encouraging his students to approach with caution.

Pictured in August 2021: The junction between Finchampstead Road and Nine Mile Road was closed between February and September 2024 for a 5.5million makeover



One supporter of the petition claimed they had witnessed 'a number of near missses because cars/pedestrians do not understand how the junction is supposed to work'.

Another resident, who described the layout as synonymous with 'a child's playground', added: 'Such a waste of money. An accident waiting to happen and we should all hold whoever gave planning permission for this to account if anyone does get hurt.'

However, Mark Ashwell, Wokingham Councils executive member for business and economic improvement, insisted to the BBC that there was an extremely strong community in support of the traffic works and criticised the negative 'narrative' surrounding the change.

Martin Alder, the councils executive member for Active Transport, Travel and Highways, also assured that the design was an innovative solution that the area should be proud of.
A child rapist, murderer and a suspected ISIS terrorist are among the violent criminals being dragged from their homes and loaded onto deportation flights as Donald Trump ramps up his crackdown on illegal immigration.

Immigration officials arrested nearly 1,000 illegal migrants on Sunday alone - capping off a week of nationwide raids that removed thousands of criminals from city streets.

The White House, hailing the federal agents who are 'working tirelessly to protect our communities', highlighted what it described as 'some of the worst' migrants to be rounded up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the weekend.

A Honduran national found with cocaine, fentanyl, and a firearm was arrested following a sting in Washington state, while a Jordanian national with suspected ties to the Islamic State was detained in Buffalo, New York.

ICE arrested a Mexican national with an active INTERPOL Red Notice who was wanted for murder in Los Angeles, as well as a gangster from El Salvador who was wanted for aggravated homicide.

At least two convicted child rapists were taken into custody over the weekend. Federal agents also detained dozens of members of the violent Venezuelan crime gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).

The Trump Administration has quickly moved to ramp up deportations and arrest illegal migrants who pose 'public safety threats ', specifically targeting sanctuary cities such as Chicago, San Francisco and San Jose - which bar cooperation between city police and immigration agents.

Trump has been unhappy with the number of arrests so far and has directed federal immigration officials to meet higher detention quotas. He has ordered ICE to raise the arrest numbers from a few hundred a day to at least 1,200 to 1,500, the Washington Post reported Sunday.

ICE reported making a total of 593 arrests on Friday and 286 arrests on Saturday. In the 2024 federal fiscal year, it averaged around 310 per day, according to agency data.

ICE agents arrested Edgar De La Cruz-Manzo, a convicted child rapist, (left) in Seattle, Washington on Saturday. A Jordanian national with suspected ties to ISIS (right) was arrested by ICE Buffalo on Friday

ICE Los Angeles arrested two migrants with active INTERPOL Red Notices on Friday, including an MS-13 gang member from El Salvador wanted for aggravated homicide (left) and a Mexican national wanted for murder

Kevin Adith Torres-Velasquez, a Honduran national found with cocaine, fentanyl, and a firearm (left) was arrested by ICE in Seattle, Washington on Friday. Convicted sex offender and Ethiopian national Yared Geremew Mekonnen (right) was arrested in New Orleans on Friday

Top Trump administration officials, including border czar Tom Homan and the acting deputy attorney general, made 956 arrests on Sunday alone in a series of nationwide raids aimed at capturing 'potentially dangerous criminal aliens'.

ICE detained nearly 50 people in Colorado in an operation that targeted TdA drug trafficking. Agents seized drugs including cocaine, multiple handguns and cash.

Authorities from six federal agencies raided churches and schools in Chicago, a sanctuary city that Homan views as the 'ground zero' of the deportation push.

Agents detained several known TdA gang members, including Edgar Rivas-Rodriguez, who was walking the streets of Chicago despite having past convictions for possession of methamphetamine and leaving the scene of an accident-causing injury.

The ICE field office in Miami revealed confirmed that three illegal migrants were arrested in Florida and two in Puerto Rico on various charges including domestic violence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of oxycodone, and more.

Among the worst to be picked up by ICE over the weekend included Cesar Augusto Polanco, 59, a Dominican Republican national who was living free in Boston despite a criminal conviction for second-degree murder.

An illegal immigrant who has been convicted of child sex crimes was arrested in Chicago by ICE agents and Homan, who were accompanied by TV psychologist Dr Phil.

Dr. Phil, best known for his daytime talk show, was shocked when the migrant - who has since been identified as Sam Seda from Thailand - told him he was 'not really' a sex offender, despite having child sex crimes convictions.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security offices noted additional weekend operations in at least Arizona, California, Georgia, Nebraska, New Jersey and Texas.

Austin Alvarran-Martinez, a twice-removed criminal alien from Mexico, was arrested in Marlin Falls County, Texas, on January 22. Alvarran has prior criminal convictions for cocaine trafficking and DWI. He is currently wanted for 10 counts of soliciting an unlawful purchase of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon

The first migrant arrested in ICE raids across Chicago on Sunday was Seda Sam, from Thailand. It was revealed that Sam was a 'convicted sex offender and internet predator'

Dr. Phil revealed that Sam was a 'convicted sex offender and internet predator'

Among the worst of the worst to be picked up by ICE on Friday included Cesar Augusto Polanco, 59, a Dominican Republican national with a conviction for second-degree murder. He was taken into custody upon his release date from the Department of Correction on Friday

The DEA Houston Division carries out a raid at home on Sunday as part of their immigration enforcement efforts

Officials carried out 'enhanced targeted operations' in Chicago 'to enforce US immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities'.

The DEA's Chicago office posted pictures on X showing Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove and Homan with agents from ATF and Customs and Border Protection.

Few details of the operation were immediately made public, including the number of arrests but sources involved told NewsNation that at least five of the detainees were TdA members.

ICE spokesman Jeff Carter said the agency 'began conducting enhanced targeted operations' Sunday in Chicago but declined other details. Spokesmen for the FBI, ATF and the DEA confirmed their involvement but didn't give other information.

But the sheer number of federal agencies involved showed Trump's willingness to use federal law enforcement beyond the Department of Homeland Security to carry out his long-promised mass deportations.

Chicago residents, especially in immigrant circles, have already been on edge for months in anticipation of large-scale arrests touted by the Trump administration.

The atmosphere has been especially tense the past week as top Trump officials vowed to start immigration enforcement operations in Chicago the day after Trump's inauguration before walking back those statements.

Last week, Bove issued a memo ordering federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who they believe are interfering with the Trump administrations crackdown on immigration, in an apparent warning to the dozens of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions across America.

Juan Misael Canales-Garcia, was one of several El Salvador citizens arrested, as he was found with previous convictions of robbery and kidnapping

In San Antonio, Texas, Venezuelan national Nestor Jose Mendoza-Garcia was picked up after being identified as an active member of the Tren de Aragua gang, and was found with a handgun related to an unsolved murder from November 2024

Authorities detained several known Tren de Aragua gang members, including Edgar Rivas-Rodriguez, who was walking the streets of Chicago despite past convictions for possession of methamphetamine and leaving the scene of an accident-causing injury

Chicago has some of the strongest sanctuary protections, which bar cooperation between city police and immigration agents.

Immigrant rights groups have tried to prepare for the aggressive crackdown with campaigns for immigrants to know their rights in case of an arrest. City officials have done the same, publishing similar information at public bus and train stations.

On Friday, Chicago Public Schools officials mistakenly believed ICE agents had come to a city elementary school and put out statements to that effect before learning the agents were from the Secret Service. Word of immigration agents at a school - which have long been off limits to immigration agents until Trump ended the policy last week - drew swift criticism from community groups and Gov. JB Pritzker.

The Democratic governor, a frequent Trump critic, questioned the aggressive approach of the operations and the chilling effect for others, particularly for law-abiding immigrants who have been in the country for years.

'We need to get rid of the violent criminals. But we also need to protect people, at least the residents of Illinois and all across the nation, who are just doing what we hope that immigrants will do,' Pritzker said Sunday on CNNs 'State of the Union.'

On Saturday, several Chicago-based immigrant rights groups filed a lawsuit against ICE, seeking an injunction prohibiting certain types of immigration raids in Chicago.

'Immigrant communities who have called Chicago their home for decades are scared,' said Antonio Gutierrez from Organized Communities Against Deportation, one of the plaintiffs. 'We refuse to live in fear and will fight any attempts to roll back the work we've done to keep families together.'

Homeland Security and ICE agents arrested 'criminal aliens that threaten our communities' in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday

Homeland Security, Enforcement and Removal Operations agents and the Justice Department arrested at least illegal aliens in Florida on Sunday, according to officials in Miami

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan's office confirmed that ICE conducted a raid in the California city on Sunday, although he did not disclose details about the operation.

'I sincerely hope that ICE remains focused on enforcement actions related to violent and serious criminals harming our city,' Mahan told KRON-TV. 'Not neighbors who are contributing and law-abiding members of our community.'

The Los Angeles Division of the DEA confirmed that it 'participated in an operation' on Sunday, aiding other federal agencies in their 'immigration enforcement efforts'.

ICE agents in Newark, New Jersey raided a seafood store and detained three people, including a US military veteran on Thursday, the mayor confirmed.

Mayor Andre Sayegh, of nearby Patterson, NJ, said agents were also carrying out raids in his city - although he was not as supportive of the efforts of other leaders whose cities were raided over the weekend.

'We are genuinely concerned,' Mayor Sayegh told PIX11. 'We are a welcoming city. Quite frankly, there has to be an appropriate procedure. If they have a warrant, we understand. If they don't, people have to know their rights.'

At least 50 illegal immigrants have been arrested during a raid on a Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang party in Colorado on Sunday

The early morning raid was conducted alongside officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

Drug Enforcement Administration officials found at least 49 people inside a makeshift nightclub in Adams County on Sunday morning - 41 of which were undocumented migrants

Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration has ramped up with federal agents arresting nearly 1,000 illegal migrants in one day

The DEA also posted pictures Sunday on social media of an operation at a location in the Denver area, where roughly 50 people were taken into custody.

Jonathan Pullen, special agent in charge for the DEA Rocky Mountain field division, said the Colorado operation targeted drug trafficking by the TdA.

He said about 100 agents and officers, including from the DEA, ICE, ATF and Homeland Security Investigations, carried out a federal search warrant for drug trafficking around 5am Sunday at a location where TdA members were having a party.

ICE detained nearly 50 people and transported them on a bus to one of its processing centers in nearby Aurora, Pullen said. As of Sunday afternoon, about 40 people remained in ICE custody, he said.

'They ran all of the information while they were on scene and they determined, ICE determined, that they were here illegally or they had some other violation in the immigration system, and they detained and arrested them,' Pullen said.

A 'handful' of US citizens were also at the site, Pullen added.

Agents seized drugs including cocaine, multiple handguns and cash, Pullen said, adding that the investigation started under the Biden administration and is continuing under the Trump administration.

The DEA and ICE have been cooperating for decades and there was nothing new about the two agencies coordinating, he said.

A Trump executive order paves the way for criminal organizations such as TdA to be named 'foreign terrorist organizations.'

Armed members of the Venezuelan gang were caught on video entering an Aurora apartment complex unit last summer in footage that drew Trump's attention during the presidential campaign.

Homeland Security and ICE agents conducted enhanced targeted operations throughout the state of New Jersey on Sunday to 'enforce immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities'

A DEA officer is seen carrying out an immigration enforcement raid in the Houston, Texas area on Sunday. The DEA was accompanied by the DOJ and other federal law enforcement partners

ICE said it made 956 arrests nationwide on Sunday and 286 on Saturday. While some of the operations may not have been unusual, ICE averaged 311 daily arrests in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

Bove said he observed immigration agents from the DHS along with agents from the FBI, DEA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

He didn't offer details on the operation, which came days after DHS expanded immigration authority to agencies in the Department of Justice, including the DEA and ATF.

'We will support everyone at the federal, state, and local levels who joins this critical mission to take back our communities,' Bove said in a statement.

'We will use all available tools to address obstruction and other unlawful impediments to our efforts to protect the homeland. Most importantly, we will not rest until the work is done.'

Trump - who during his campaign said that immigrants were 'poisoning the blood' of the United States - took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport undocumented people.

While some countries including Guatemala have accepted military deportation flights, Trump had faced resistance from Colombia President Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla elected in 2022 as Colombia's first left-wing leader.

A plane carrying 88 migrants deported from the US landed in Brazil on Saturday. Brazil 's government expressed outrage on Saturday over the 'degrading' treatment of the deportees, alleging the US has displayed a 'flagrant disregard' for their rights

Footage captured at Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil on Saturday shows how the migrants were handcuffed and tied at the feet, with some even having been hooded

Migrants were sent by US military transport back to Guatemala as part of deportations ordered by Donald Trump

Trump's deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of America's estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.

Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday.

The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump's return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called 'flagrant disregard' for their basic rights.

While previous US administrations also routinely carried out deportations, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.
Egypt sends large aid convoy to Gaza amid ceasefire

Cairo, Jan 27 (UNI) Egypt sent a convoy of 305 trucks of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip on Sunday.

The Egyptian Cabinet said in a statement that Egypt's Tahya Misr Fund provided the convoy which includes 4,200 tonnes of food and humanitarian aid, along with 11 equipped ambulances.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who attended the launch of the convoy, said that it is the fifth of its kind organised by the fund and civil society institutions to provide aid and relief to the Palestinian people in Gaza, according to the statement.
A hungry man who begged restaurant staff for hot water so he could eat his Pot Noodle swiped the head chefs phone and went on a spending spree with her credit cards after she tried to help.

Head chef Benjawan Torrance had just opened The Thai Bar & Restaurant in Glasgow at around 2.30pm on Saturday, January 4, when the man came in off the street and up to the counter.

She and a colleague at the restaurant in the southside area of Shawlands felt sorry for him and said yes because he told them he was 'very hungry', Ms Torrance's husband said.

But the man repaid their kindness by swiping the phone and spending more than 300 at Morrisons with the two credit cards he found inside its case.

Police are hunting the man and Ms Torrance's husband is warning other businesses that the man may strike again.

'This wasn't an opportunist. This was pre-meditated,' he told Glasgow Live.

'It really hurt my wife because she was just trying to be nice. You can't see people standing there hungry.'

Staff at The Thai Bar & Restaurant in Glasgow had just agreed to give a man hot water for his Pot Noodle after he said he was 'very hungry' - before he swiped the head chef's phone

The man pocketed the phone while staff (including head chef Ms Torrance) were busy in the kitchen area, his movements hidden by an open brown paper food bag on the counter

Ms Torrance said the thief 'obviously he knew what he was doing' and cannot believe he took advantage of their kindness.

'This guy only came in for hot water for his Pot Noodle. We wouldn't think of turning him away on a cold day like that,' she told MailOnline.

'We'd think, "It's just a good thing". We wouldn't even think about anything else apart from helping.

'It's just nice to be able to help with little things, that's all we thought. We didn't think about people coming to the shop, stealing things.

'A thing like that has never happened to us before.

'We've heard of a lot of things down in London, those kinds of things happened, but we'd never dream of it for a local shop like this, to come across these people.'

She felt sad about no longer having her phone: 'There's lots of data on that phone as well, including work and photographs and everything in there. But it is what it is.'

In CCTV footage, the man can be seen approaching the counter of the kitchen area - in the corner of the empty restaurant and visible from the main seating area - to make his request.

After handing the Pot Noodle to Ms Torrance and her colleague, the man spots the phone on the counter and reaches out as if to grab it

The man left the restaurant after stealing the phone, holding his Pot Noodle and some cutlery given to him by another staff member

After handing over the Pot Noodle to Ms Torrance and her colleague, he spots the phone on the counter and reaches out as if to grab it.

The phone - and the man's arm movement - are hidden from their immediate view by an open brown paper food bag on the counter.

Pulling his hand back and waiting a few more moments, the man then takes the phone and puts it in his pocket while the staff are busy with other tasks in the kitchen.

Another staff member enters the main restaurant area from behind the man as he continues to stand at the counter.

They hand him some cutlery before the staff in the kitchen area give him back his Pot Noodle.

Ms Torrance's husband said she was not aware her phone had been stolen at first because of the bag on the counter in the way of her spotting the theft.

The couple only realised around 15 minutes later when Mr Torrance came to collect her and they could not find her phone.

They also checked a watch linked to her phone which revealed her mobile was not in the shop.

The phone had two credit cards in the case too and though the couple immediately phoned their banks to cancel them, they realised the thief had already spent more than 300 at Morrisons.

Ms Torrance's husband told Glasgow Live: 'We are still waiting to see what the final numbers are because even after we cancelled the cards charges were still trickling in. They just kept pumping them until they got stopped.

'It is horrible because as my wife said it is not in your nature to turn someone away who is hungry. It was during that period where it was really cold.'

He is now warning other business owners in the area to be vigilant following the theft.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'We received a report of the theft of a phone at a premises on Kilmarnock Road, Glasgow, around 2.30pm on Saturday, 4 January, 2025.

'Enquiries are ongoing.'

The Thai Bar & Restaurant opened in summer 2022 offering 'modern and environmentally-friendly' Thai dishes, which are 'authentic' and of 'the highest quality'.

It won best Thai restaurant in Scotland in the Scottish Restaurant Awards 2024.
Fears are mounting that Labour will delay the push to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence as the economy falters.

The Treasury is said to be insisting on slower progress than the 2030 deadline that the previous government set.

Instead the timetable could be two years later amid warnings that deep spending cuts would be needed in other departments.

However, the looser schedule would risk derailing Keir Starmer's hopes of forging close ties with Donald Trump - who has demanded Nato countries move towards a 5 per cent threshold.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a huge tax and borrowing package in the Budget, but it has since been blamed for crushing growth.

Meanwhile, the costs of servicing the UK's debt mountain have risen, putting huge pressure on the government's spending plans.

The looser schedule would risk derailing Keir Starmer 's hopes of forging close ties with Donald Trump - who has demanded Nato countries move towards a 5 per cent threshold

The current Nato commitment is for members to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence - with the UK among a small group that has consistently hit the level

Mr Trump has suggested spending should rise to 5 per cent  far beyond the current US figure of around 3.4 per cent

A senior government source told The Times: 'If we try to hit the target by 2030 it will mean deeper cuts to public services in the run-up to the election.

'It feels like a non-starter.' The next general election would be due by mid-2029.

Downing Street insisted the timetable would not be set until after the Strategic Defence Review is complete in the summer.

Labour's pledge on the 2.5 per cent level did not have a specific date attached to it, but there has been increasing alarm about the UK's capacity to respond to threats from Russia and other hostile states.

The current Nato commitment is for members to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence.

Mr Trump has suggested that should rise to 5 per cent  far beyond the current US figure of around 3.4 per cent.

Sir Keir and the US president committed to 'close' ties in a 45-minute conversation last night.

The positive tone will be a relief for Sir Keir as he desperately tries to get off to a good start with Mr Trump - who was previously branded a 'neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath' by Cabinet ministers.

It came hours after the Republican praised the PM doing 'a very good job thus far', and suggested his first foreign visit might be to the UK.

However, the leaders seem to have been at pains to skirt potential flashpoints during their chat, such as sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, US threats of tariffs on imports, and defence spending.

Sir Keir is hoping to go to Washington DC within weeks, although dates have yet to be finalised.
A leading German politician has unveiled a plan to crack down on migration, promising to table controversial motions that would immediately bring about a blanket ban on all illegal migrants entering the country.

Friedrich Merz, the leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), this weekend announced the shocking move which will bring about a parliamentary vote to 'end illegal immigration'.

The motion, if passed, would trigger an immediate declaration of a national emergency and enact a lockdown across all of Germany's land borders, with guards instructed to repel 'all attempts at illegal entry, without exception', even from neighbouring 'safe' countries.

Another of his proposed motions would grant Germany's federal police service greater powers to arrest and accelerate the deportation of illegal immigrants, according to the country's media.

Merz's power play has been widely criticised by other politicians and political commentators who warn the move could be strongly challenged by the EU - of which Germany is a leading member.

But 66 per cent of Germans support Merz's plan to reject illegal migrants and asylum seekers at the border, according to a poll conducted by leading pollster INSA that was commissioned by German outlet BILD.

Merz's move also prompted accusations that his alliance could be cosying up to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, despite pledges by almost all of the nation's political groups to create a 'firewall' against the hard-right group.

The AfD, currently sitting second in the polls behind Merz's conservative alliance, has been backed by US tech billionaire Elon Musk who sent supporters into raptures this weekend, addressing a party rally in Halle from a huge video screen.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks on-screen during a central election campaign event of the AfD in Halle (Saale), Germany, January 25, 2025

Federal Chairman of the CDU and candidate for Chancellor of the Union, Friedrich Merz speaks at a campaign event for the 2025 Bundestag election campaign, at the Neuhof community center, in Neuhof, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025

Participants stand with placards during a rally against the far right at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, 25 January 2025

Participants gather for a demonstration against a political shift to the right to stand together during a 'Sea of Lights for Democracy' in front of the landmark Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on January 25, 2025

AfD is polling at around 20 per cent ahead of Germany's February 23 elections, a record for a party that has already shattered a decades-old taboo in post-war Germany against supporting the far right.

It has experienced a boost in the polls following high-profile violent attacks carried out by migrants in recent weeks and from the support of Musk, who this weekend told thousands of party supporters gathered in the eastern city of Halle that their party was 'the best hope for the future of Germany'.

The mainstream conservative CDU/CSU alliance led by Merz still leads on about 30 per cent, and Merz has said insisted his bold new motions to crack down on illegal immigration did not mean he had agreed to work with the AfD.

'Next week, we will introduce motions in the German Bundestag that are exclusively in line with our convictions,' Merz said. 'And we will introduce them regardless of who agrees with them.'

But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz scoffed last week: 'Until now, I had the impression that we could rely on the opposition leader's statement that he would not work with the AfD even after the election.

'Now that the CDU wants to push through its proposals in the Bundestag with votes from the AfD, I'm really worried,' he added. 'The firewall to the AfD must not crumble.'

Scholz also dismissed Merz' plans as going beyond the rules of the EU's treaties and laws on migration to which all members are expected to adhere - including the basic right to asylum.

'No one in Germany should be responsible for asking officials not to comply with the law,' Scholz said.

It is unclear whether the CDU's motions would be voted on before next month's federal elections. Merz didnt specify exactly what would be in the proposals.

Motions and bills usually have three readings before lawmakers vote on them, a process that typically stretches over weeks and can only be shortened with a vote by a two-thirds majority.

Activists take part in a demonstration entitled 'We stand together! Sea of Lights Against a Shift to the Right' against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, January 25, 2025

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of The Social Democratic party SPD speaks during his election campaign rally in Wiesbaden, Germany, January 25, 2025

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025

Meanwhile, the rising popularity of the AfD has concerned hundreds of thousands of German citizens who turned out in widespread protests this weekend.

The largest gatherings took place in Berlin and Cologne, with police revising their turnout figures upwards to 35,000 and 40,000 respectively. Organisers in Berlin claimed that 100,000 people attended the protests in the capital.

The protesters there used their mobile phones to form 'a sea of light for democracy' in front of the Brandenburg Gate, brandishing letters forming the word 'Resistance'.

Other anti-AfD rallies took place in some 60 towns following calls from a variety of organisations, attracting more people than the police had initially expected.

Demonstrators were seen brandishing banners saying 'Nazis out' or 'AfD is not an alternative', a reference to the far right party's full name 'Alternative for Germany'.

The outpouring of criticism against the AfD has not deterred Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Musk - a close associate of US President Donald Trump - from openly throwing his support behind the far-right outfit.

Speaking via videolink, he told the AfD rally on Saturday: 'I think this election coming up in Germany is incredibly important.

'I think it could decide the entire fate of Europe, maybe the fate of the world.'

A person holds a placard depicting Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD), and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, during a demonstration called for by 'Koeln stellt sich quer' (Cologne is standing up) against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Cologne, Germany, January 25, 2025

Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD)

Musk has rattled European politicians in recent weeks with comments on his social platform X supporting AfD and far-right politicians in other countries, including Britain.

He also drew attention this week for making a public gesture some observers interpreted as a straight-armed Nazi salute, a claim he himself dismissed as a smear.

Like Trump, the AfD opposes immigration, denies climate change, rails against gender politics and has declared war on a political establishment and mainstream media it claims limit free speech.

Halle police said they had opened criminal investigations for offences including assault, insults and disrupting traffic at the AfD rally this weekend. They said they would also be taking action against 21 people who tried to force a barrier.

Musk told the AfD rally that 'the German people are really an ancient nation which goes back thousands of years'.

'I even read Julius Caesar was very impressed by the German tribes,' he said, urging the supporters to 'fight, fight, fight' for their country's future.

He said the AfD wanted 'more self-determination for Germany and for the countries in Europe and less from Brussels', a reference to what he sees as heavy-handedness from European Union regulators.

Meanwhile, AfD party leader Alice Weidel told her rally that migrants in Germany had to be sent home.

'We need re-migration to live safely in Germany,' she said.
Donald Trump was greeted by cheering crowds and chants of 'USA' as he dropped by a Las Vegas casino on Saturday.

The President was caught on video at the Circa Casino as he strolled around with his security detail and chatted with excited patrons and staff.

He walked up to a craps table where a game was in progress, telling a player to 'throw a dice'.

Trump was keen to get involved, blowing on a dice for good luck and playfully slapping one after a disappointing roll.

When journalists shouted questions at the President, a craps player scolded them, saying: 'I'm rolling here!'

Trump told a gambler that he was 'doing a good job', thanked workers for holding water trays and signed a fan's cap, before leaving.

Just before his surprise visit, Trump had delivered a speech to thousands of supporters, promoting his policy of 'no tax on tips' for the hospitality industry.

Donald Trump got involved at the craps table in Circa Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada

The President was caught on camera as he signed a cap for an excited fan on Saturday

Trump was greeted by screaming crowds and chants of 'USA' on the casino floor

He told an enthralled audience: 'Any worker who relies on tips [as] income, your tips will be 100% yours.

'Nationwide, over four million workers depend on tip income, including an estimated 700,000 single momshere in Nevadathink of it, a quarter of the typical restaurant workers' pay comes from tips. I didn't know that.'

Meanwhile, the Republican revealed his plan to 'clean out' Gaza as the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel enters its second week.

He told reporters on Air Force One on Saturday that he would like neighbouring Arab nations to take in more Palestinians.

Trump said: 'You're talking about a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.

'Almost everything is demolished and people are dying there.'

He added: 'I'd like Egypt to take people. And I'd like Jordan to take people.'

The President also shared details of a phone call he had had that day with King Abdullah of Jordan.

Trump's surprise visit came after he gave a speech promoting his 'no tax on tips' policy

The President vowed: 'Any worker who relies on tips [as] income, your tips will be 100% yours'

The President had a busy weekend, also telling reporters of his plan to 'clean out' Gaza and getting embroiled in a row with the Colombian President

It has now been a week since Trump's inauguration as the 47th President

He said: 'You know over the centuries it's had many, many conflicts. And I don't know, something has to happen.

'It's literally a demolition site, almost everything is demolished and people are dying there.

'So, I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change.'

It was a busy weekend for the President, who also moved to slap tariffs of 25 per cent on Colombian imports, as well as an immediate visa revocation for government officials, after the nation refused two planeloads of citizens being deported from the US.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro immediately backed down and even offered to use his presidential plane to 'facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were to arrive in the country this morning from deportation flights.'

However, he hit back at Trump in an angry tirade, branding him a 'white slaveholder' on track to 'wipe out the human species'.

Petro said: 'You don't like our freedom, okay. I don't shake hands with white slavers.'

'Overthrow me, President, and the Americas and humanity will respond... You can try to carry out a coup with your economic strength and your arrogance.'
The Royal Navy has been accused of renaming new attack submarine HMS Agincourt to avoid upsetting the French - sparking claims of 'craven and contemptible surrender'.

The seventh Astute Class boat was due to become the sixth vessel to be named after the 1415 battle, where Henry V routed the forces of France with the help of his legendary longbowmen.

But late on Sunday night the Royal Navy revealed the King had approved its name being changed to HMS Achilles - itself an illustrious name in British military service.

The Senior Service said the name was 'appropriate in light of the 80th anniversaries this year of VE and VJ Day'.

But it raised claims that service chiefs wanted to avoid upsetting their allies on the other side of the Channel.

Rear Admiral Chris Parry, a former NATO commander, hit out at 'craven political correctness and ideology gone mad'.

'This is just craven and contemptible surrender to, I'm afraid, the ideology being pushed by our Government,' he told Times Radio.

'It seeks to erase our history and anything we need to be proud of. I don't see the French renaming the Gare d'Austerlitz to avoid upsetting the Germans.

'And I'm now concerned that we might lose Waterloo and Trafalgar Square.'

The seventh Astute Class boat was due to become the sixth vessel to be named after the 1415 battle, where Henry V (played by Kenneth Branagh, below, in a 1989 film) routed the forces of France with the help of his legendary longbowmen.

But late on Sunday night the Royal Navy revealed the King had approved its name being changed to HMS Achilles - itself an illustrious name in British military service.

The retired Royal Navy officer added: 'This is just craven political correctness and ideology gone mad.

'And I've got no doubt that the admirals will be seething about this. You don't rename ships once they start getting built.

'It's probably payback for the AUKUS deal, where, if you remember, the French were excluded from the submarine deal between Australia, America, and the UK.'

But Downing Street said naming the sub HMS Achilles was a 'fitting tribute' to the Second World War cruiser of the same name.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman insisted Sir Keir Starmer was proud of England's victory over the French at Agincourt.

A previous attempt to rename HMS Agincourt was blocked by then defence secretary Grant Shapps.

Mr Shapps said: 'Renaming the HMS Agincourt is nothing short of sacrilege.

'This submarine carries a name that honours a defining moment in British history. Under Labour, woke nonsense is being put ahead of tradition and our Armed Forces' proud heritage.'

But a Labour source suggested the process of changing the name had started under the Conservatives.

In a statement on X, the Navy said: 'The 7th Astute-class submarine is to be named HMS Achilles, as approved by The King.

'The name is appropriate in light of the 80th anniversaries this year of VE and VJ Day. Six ships have previously borne the name, earning six battle honours, including the River Plate and Okinawa.'

A previous HMS Achilles, a Leander Class cruiser, was part of a Royal Navy squadron which fought the German pocket battleship Graf Spee at the battle of the River Plate off South America in December 1939.

The German ship was badly damaged in the fight and was later scuttled by her commander, in one of Britain's first military victories of the war.

The Astute Class submarine was originally designated Ajax but later had its name changed to Agincourt.

It is due to enter service next year.

Rear Admiral Chris Parry, a former NATO commander, hit out at 'craven political correctness and ideology gone mad'.

A previous HMS Achilles, a Leander Class cruiser, was part of a Royal Navy squadron which fought the German pocket battleship Graf Spee at the battle of the River Plate off South America in December 1939. The German ship was badly damaged in the fight and was later scuttled (above) by her commander, in one of Britain's first military victories of the war.

The Royal Navy has a growing fleet of Astute Class submarines.

Five are in active service include HMS Astute, Artful, Ambush, Audacious and Anson, with two others, Achilles and Agamemnon, under construction.

The vessel has advanced nuclear technology meaning it will never need to be refuelled.

It can manufacture its own oxygen and fresh water from the ocean and is able to circumnavigate the globe without surfacing.

Astute Class submarines are also equipped with world-leading sensors and carries both Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles (TLAM) and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes.
Supermarkets across the UK are urgently recalling bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale amid fears consumers could be drinking glass.

Heineken UK issued the 'do not consume' warning to retailers after realising the glass in the 550ml bottles smashed when opened.

At least three consumers had complained about the glass fracturing when removing the bottle's steel crown, leading the company to investigate and find the fault in a certain batch of ale bottles.

This meant the product, which retails at 1.75, was quickly removed from the shelves of all Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Waitrose and Aldi supermarkets.

Bottles with the batch numbers L4321, L4322, L4323, L4324, L4325, L4326 and a best before date of November 30, 2025, were the ones affected.

Pubs, bars and restaurants which sell Newcastle Brown Ale have also been asked by Heineken to check their stock for any faulty bottles.

The beer manufacturer says the move is a 'precautionary measure' and advised customers to return any purchased bottles to stores for a full refund.

Heineken UK said: 'Safety is our top priority, and on the basis that a small number of bottles are impacted by this potential safety issue, we are recalling this run of glass bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale as a precaution.

Heineken UK issued the 'do not consume' warning to retailers after realising the glass in the 550ml bottles smashed when opened.

'We urge those consumers in possession of the product not to drink it, but to return the unopened bottles to where they purchased them for a refund.

'We ask any customers to immediately halt the sale of any stock they hold with these batch numbers.

'We are providing customers guidance on how to register and return affected stock and ask them to contact our Customer Care team with any additional queries.

'We apologise for any inconvenience caused and are working with the regulatory authorities after alerting them of the matter.'

In its notice, Tesco said: 'If you've bought an affected product, please don't consume it. Instead, return it to a Tesco store where a full refund will be given. No receipt is required.'

While Sainsbury's said in their statement: 'Sainsbury's have been made aware that Heineken is recalling the above product from Sainsbury's stores due to the potential presence of glass fragments. Please do not consume this product and return the unopened product to your local store for a full refund.'

It comes as Marks and Spencer issued an urgent recall of multiple chicken products over salmonella fears on Sunday.

A 'do not eat' warning was seen on the supermarket's crispy southern fried chicken burgers and chicken Kyivs.

The Marks and Spencer Crispy Southern Fried Chicken Burgers and Chicken Kyivs have been linked to salmonella fears, with the FSA publishing a 'do not eat' notice

Those with the use by dates of January 26, January 30, January 31 and February 1, 2025 are affected.

M&S has placed notices at points of sale to alert shoppers, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) confirmed.

These notices explain to customers why the products are being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought them.

The FSA told The Sun: 'These batches of Marks and Spencer Crispy Southern Fried Chicken Burger and two Chicken Kyivs are being recalled due to the possible presence of Salmonella.

'People infected with Salmonella typically develop symptoms between 12 and 36 hours after infection, but this can range between six and 72 hours.

'The most common symptom is diarrhoea, which can sometimes be bloody. Other symptoms may include fever, headache and abdominal cramps.

'The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days. Diarrhoea can occasionally be severe enough to require hospital admission.'
Supporters of baby serial killer Lucy Letby gathered to celebrate her birthday at a pub with a sick party that included glasses of prosecco, homemade banners and a giant 'Lucy' cake.

The former nurse spent her 35th birthday behind bars on January 4 after being found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven others on a neonatal unit.

The meet-up at The Windmill pub on Clapham Common, London, featured six people, who met via Facebook group 'Lucy Letby Discussions'.

In the group, people discuss their beliefs Letby is innocent and a victim herself - and should be freed.

Pictures of the event posted on the closed Facebook page show four attendees holding up a homemade banner reading 'happy birthday Lucy' and 'a blatant miscarriage of justice'.

They enjoyed prosecco and made the booking under the name 'Lucy' which could be seen on a reserved card on the table.

A friend of a parent whose premature baby daughter was killed by Letby, who saw the posts, said: 'There are families who will never get to celebrate their children's birthdays.

'What's next, do we have celebrations for Myra Hindley and Ian Brady?'

Supporters of baby serial killer Lucy Letby gathered to celebrate her 35th birthday at a pub earlier this month

The six people met online in a discussion group where they talked about theories as to Letby's innocence

The meet-up at The Windmill pub on Clapham Common featured a cake and six people, understood to have met via Facebook group 'Lucy Letby Discussions', a source said

One of the organisers of the party posted online before the gathering claiming the serial killer is innocent

One of the attendees, who uses the pseudonym Lulu Tee, 45, a carer from south London, denied it was a birthday party.

She said: 'It was just a meetup of people from the groups.

'We wanted to get together to toast her birthday and speak about the case. The organiser sorted a cake and a few banners to outline that it was a miscarriage of justice.

'There was a plan to sing happy birthday and record a message for her saying we're thinking of her and feel its unfair she isn't able to celebrate the things she should be celebrating, if she's innocent.

'Meanwhile, the people who are at fault are not in prison.'

One of the organisers posted on X ahead of the event.

She said: 'Today is Lucy Letby's birthday. Sadly she is in prison for crimes she didn't commit.

'She won't be able to celebrate her birthday and will be without her family and friends.

The group held up a banner which read: 'A blatant miscarriage of justice'

Families of Letby's victims were horrified by the party, which took place on January 4

'Myself and a group of friends will be meeting up to toast her birthday and send her and her family comforting thoughts.

'Hopefully this will be the last birthday she spends in prison.'

One user responded: 'Do you show the same compassion to the families of the babies she murdered?'

The woman replied: 'I have an enormous amount of sympathy for them, I just dont think their babies were murdered. The families have been lied to and need to know the truth so that they can find peace.'

They shared photos of the meet up in the 'Lucy Letby Discussions' Facebook page.

The accompanying post said: 'A lovely afternoon and evening spent thinking of Lucy on her birthday.'

Other group members commented words of support such as 'Aww, that is so nice' and 'how lovely.'

A spokesperson for The Windmill pub declined to comment.

The meet-up at The Windmill pub on Clapham Common featured six people, understood to have met via Facebook group 'Lucy Letby Discussions'

Pictures of the event posted on a closed Facebook page show four attendees holding up a homemade banner reading 'happy birthday Lucy' and 'a blatant miscarriage of justice'

The organiser added: 'I was closely following the trial and I read the discussions on X, as I have twins who were born two months premature, and I felt very emotionally involved.

'I originally took for granted that everything said about Lucy was true.

'But I saw the people that thought she was innocent had much stronger arguments than the guilty side did. I even spoke to a professor and legal experts and her barrister about it, and I came to my own conclusion that she was innocent.

'The state of the unit she was on is horrendous and there's deadly bacteria on the unit, and it was understaffed.

'I believe Lucy was made a scapegoat.'

'It's been portrayed through the press that we're a bunch of conspiracy theorists, stay-at-home mums and men who only have interests in Lucy's appearance, but its a huge group of professional people who feel this way.'

In a statement Youngs, the company who owns The Windmill, said: 'We are not aligned to this group of individuals in any way.

'A small birthday gathering was booked in to dine at the Windmill on January 4th. We were not aware of the details of the occasion other than it being a "birthday".

'The guests did not make the team aware of the reason for their visit and the banner supporting their cause was not on display whilst any of our team or other customers were in attendance.'
Harrowing photographs taken during the liberation of Auschwitz 80 years ago today reveal the depths of human suffering left behind by the fleeing Nazis.

One image shows a group of emaciated men, women, and children, draped in filthy blankets and huddling together behind a barbed wire fence.

Another captures a skeletal woman and child standing among piles of corpses outside a barracks.

A third shows dead bodies strewn across the snow covered ground.

Other images show the mountains of shoes, glasses and even human hair that the Nazis forced their victims to give up before murdering them at the death camp that has become the most potent symbol of the horrors of the Holocaust.

These were the horrific scenes that met the Soviet 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front as they opened the gates of Auschwitz in what had been Nazi-occupied Poland.

They discovered around 7,000 survivors on the brink of death and the corpses of 600 prisoners who had either been shot by the fleeing Nazis or had died from exhaustion.

The regiment, led by Anatoly Shapiro, had endured brutal combat. Having lost losing nearly half its men each soldier knew the horrors of war.

Harrowing photographs taken during the liberation of Auschwitz 80 years ago today reveal the depths of human suffering left behind by the fleeing Nazis

Two skeletal survivors stand surrounded by corpses at Auschwitz after the arrival of Soviet troops, January 1945

Yet they were not prepared for what they found in the camp.

Shapiro, himself a Jew who would later defect to the west, recalled: 'When we opened the gate, we saw human remains, literally just bones covered with skin.

'Some stood there barefoot, even though it was bitterly cold. They tried to touch us, perhaps to convince themselves that it was true.

'The camp was a whole city of hundreds of long barracks and two-story blocks. In this death factory we saw mountains of hair bags, corpses, barely alive prisoners-skeletons, the ruins of four blown up crematoriums and gas chambers, mountains of ash.

'There was a stench of corpses in the camps, mountains of garbage.'

Former Auschwitz inmate Eva Schloss, the step-sister of diarist Anne Frank, recalled her shock at the sight of the Soviet soldiers: 'At the gate we saw this huge creature with icicles and wrapped in fur.

'He was the first Russian soldier who had come into the camp. I led him to the barracks and this towering man, who must have already witnessed many terrible things, had tears running down his cheeks.'

Another prisoner, Wanda Draminska, later said: 'At some point in the distance we noticed the silhouettes of white-clad men who were walking towards the camp.

Dozens of corpses lie in the snow at Auschwitz after its liberation by Soviet forces, January 1945

A Red Cross nurse tends to a skeletal female survivor after Auschwitz's liberation

Ruins of crematoria and gas chamber II at Birkenau. They were blown up in January 1945

The remains of a gas chamber that the Nazis blew up to try to cover up their crimes

'We were not sure who these men were, and we even feared that it might be the Germans who wanted to kill us.

'Immediately there were shouts of "zdravstvuytye tovarishchi" (hello comrades).

'The Soviet soldiers told us not to be afraid, because "germantsov net" (Germans are gone).

Alexander Vorontsov, a military cameraman from Moscow who filmed the liberation, described the overwhelming scene: 'A ghastly sight arose before our eyes: barracks filled with people, skeletons clad in skin, lying in bunks with vacant stares.

'Starved, sick, and exhausted, the women wept. The men wept too.

'Even our commanders couldn't grasp the scale of the atrocity unfolding before them.'

He added: 'The memory has stayed with me my whole life. All of this was the most moving and most terrible thing that I saw and filmed during the war.'

'Time has no sway over these recollections. It has not squeezed all the horrible things I saw and filmed out of my mind.'

Mountains of shoes stolen from prisoners at Auschwitz. The possessions were found by Soviet troops when the camp was liberated 80 years ago

Mounds of thousands of pairs of glasses that were stolen from Auschwitz arrivals

A mountain of clothes that were taken from Auschwitz arrivals before they were either murdered or condemned to slave labour

By the time of its liberation, Auschwitz had become an industrialised death machine, a symbol of the Nazis' 'Final Solution.'

Established just one year after Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, the camp had grown into a sprawling complex where an estimated 1.3 million people were sent.

Of those, 1.1 million died, including 960,000 Jews, 74,000 non-Jewish Poles, 21,000 Roma, 15,000 Soviet POWs, and around 15,000 other Europeans.

Most were sent straight to the gas chambers, but those who survived the selection process faced death by starvation, exhaustion, disease, medical experiments, or brutal executions.

The Auschwitz complex itself was made up of three main camps: Auschwitz I, the original concentration camp built in an old Polish military base; Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a vast extermination camp designed to speed up the killing process; and Auschwitz III-Monowitz, a forced labor camp.

There were also 45 satellite camps spread across the region.

As Soviet forces advanced across Poland, in late 1944 the Nazis launched a frantic effort to destroy all evidence of their atrocities.

In Auschwitz this began with the systematic dismantling of the crematoria and gas chambers.

Orphaned children stand in rows at Auschwitz as it is liberated, January 1945

Notes found after the war, buried on the grounds of Crematorium III, revealed the chillingly calculated steps taken to erase the traces of mass murder.

Written in 1944 by former prisoner Zamen Gradowski, the notes said: 'Recently, they've started clearing away all the evidence.

'Wherever there were piles of ashes, they ordered them to be ground to dust, taken to the river, and released into the current.

'We've dug up many graves, but there are still two open graves at the second and third crematoria. Several others remain full of ash.

'A vast amount of ash from hundreds of thousands of Jews, Russians, and Poles has been scattered, plowed into the grounds of the crematoria.'

On October 7, Gradowski organised an uprising against the Nazis but was either killed during the fighting or shot by the SS after its suppression.

Henryk Mandelbaum, another former inmate who was forced to remove corpses from the gas chambers and burn the bodies of those killed in the crematoria, testified in March 1947: 'They began by dismantling the crematoria.

'First, they ordered us to strip the shingles and rafters, then we had to take apart the furnaces.

'By December 1944, we had bored holes in the walls, and in these holes, they planted dynamite charges. Once they sent us back to the camp, they blew the whole place sky-high.'

Anatoly Shapiro led the Soviet regiment that liberated Auschwitz. The Jewish soldier, who would later defect to the west, recalled: 'When we opened the gate, we saw human remains, literally just bones covered with skin'

With the gas chambers and crematoriums being destroyed, the Nazis then began the brutal and systematic evacuation of the camp.

Between January 17 and 21, 1945, around 56,000 prisoners were marched out of Auschwitz and its sub-camps, guarded by heavily armed SS troops.

The grim exodus, later known as the 'Death March', proved to be a death sentence for many.

According to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum: 'Along every route, SS guards shot not only those who tried to escape, but also those who were too weak or exhausted to keep up.

'The corpses of thousands of prisoners who had been shot, or who died of exhaustion or exposure, lined the routes of both marching and rail evacuation.

'It is estimated that a total of not fewer than 9,000 and probably as many as 15,000 Auschwitz prisoners died in the course of the evacuation.'

One of those who survived the Death March was Zofia Stepien-Bator who later recalled: 'Women kept falling into ditches, never to rise again. Ahead of me, a tiny, exhausted girl collapsed.

'I helped her up. She was alone, like me, her pack heavy on her back.

Former Auschwitz inmate Eva Schloss, the step-sister of diarist Anne Frank, recalled her shock at the sight of the Soviet soldiers: 'At the gate we saw this huge creature with icicles and wrapped in fur. 'He was the first Russian soldier who had come into the camp'

'As we walked, I learned she had no one left. Her parents were dead, and she had nowhere to return. I told her to hold on, to wait for the dawn, that it would get easier.

'She walked a bit more, but soon fell again. I dragged her along, exhausted myself, as prisoners passed us by.

'When she collapsed for the final time, I called for help, but before anyone could reach me a shot rang out.

'My poor little ward, the one I had promised not to leave, she was gone. The echo of that shot still haunts me.'

For those prisoners left behind in the camp, two field hospitals were quickly set up and Red Cross volunteers and medical staff began trying to nurse the thousands of sick, weak and emaciated back to health.

Orphans were also taken out of Auschwitz and sent to foster families and children's homes.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Musem said: 'Soviet army medics and orderlies gave the first organised help to liberated Auschwitz prisoners.

'Two Soviet field hospitals, commanded by doctors with the rank of colonel, soon arrived and began caring for the ex-prisoners.

Auschwitz prisoner Wanda Draminska recalled the moment the Russian soldiers arrived. Above: Her before the war

'Numerous Polish volunteers from Oswiecim and the vicinity, as well as other parts of the country, also arrived to help. Most of them belonged to the Polish Red Cross.

Hundreds of bedridden patients, covered in filth and excrement, were moved to clean wards and slowly reintroduced to normal eating.

At first, they were given small portions, such as a tablespoon of mashed potato soup three times a day, which gradually increased.

Even weeks after liberation, nurses found bread hidden under mattresses, as some prisoners couldn't believe they would be fed again the next day.

But prisoners in relatively good physical condition left Auschwitz immediately after the Soviet arrival, and most hospital patients followed within three to four months.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Musem said: 'The paradox is that soldiers who were the formal representatives of Stalinist totalitarianism were bringing freedom to the prisoners of Nazi totalitarianism.

'Over 230 Soviet soldiers died fighting to liberate Monowitz, the Main Camp, Birkenau, and Oswiecim', the town renamed Auschwitz by the Germans.

But the horrors of the concentration camp were far from over.

Zamen Gradowski with his wife Sonia. He was killed whilst leading an uprising against the Nazis after being forced to destroy Nazi atrocities

Within weeks of liberating the Nazis' prisoners, Stalin's dreaded secret police, the NKVD, began operating part of the camp as its own prison for Germans as well as Poles they considered to be a threat.

Stalin's initial alliance with Hitler in the early days of World War II had seen the Soviet Union complicit in the invasion and partition of Poland.

But after Hitler betrayed Stalin in 1941, the Soviet Union switched sides, joining the Allies in the fight against Nazi Germany.

As the Red Army advanced through Eastern Europe, the Soviet occupation of Poland began under the guise of 'liberation.'

In reality, though, Stalin's forces imposed a harsh and brutal regime, and the NKVD followed closely behind rounding up Poles who resisted the Soviet occupation.

In February 1945, the NKVD set up a sub-camp on the grounds of Auschwitz I to hold German POWs.

They were held in overcrowded conditions before being transported to the Soviet Union for forced labour.

Another sub-camp was established in Birkenau under the control of the Communist controlled Ministry of Public Security, the secret police, to hold 'enemies of the people'.

These included Polish civilians, underground resistance who had fought against the Nazis and then the Soviets, and suspected Nazi collaborators.

According to estimations, between May and the end of September 1945 alone, 19,500 prisoners of war and 3,750 civilians were deported from the camp to the Soviet Union.

Polish teenager Marta Nycz, who was 17 when rounded up and thrown inside the camp, recalled: 'I didn't know why I was there.

'It was hell! Nothing to eat. 'They gave us cabbage leaves and bran.

'We got one slice of bread in the afternoon after work, so thin you could see through it if you held it up to the light.

'Whoever ate it then had nothing for breakfast. Everyone was starving.

'The secret police didn't need to torture or shoot to kill, they let hunger, typhus, and exhaustion do the work.

'People dropped like flies. The secret police were the masters of life and death in the camp, just like the Germans had been for the past five years.'
A US fried chicken chain that's 'more popular than KFC' has announced plans to open another 20 branches in the UK this year.

Wingstop currently has 57 sites across Britain and has revealed the locations of the first six it plans to open - with the others still being kept under wraps.

These will include dine-in restaurants in Swansea, Newcastle, Lakeside shopping centre in Essex, Streatham in south London and Cardigan Fields in Leeds.

The fast food chain will also open a kitchen in Brighton that will be used for takeaway deliveries.

Wingstop first came to the UK in 2018 after British entrepreneurs Tom Grogan, Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin opened their first store in central London.

They recently sold their business to California-based private equity firm Sixth Street for 400 million in one of the biggest take-overs deals for a restaurant brand in Britain.

The company currently employs 2,500 staff and is the fastest-growing restaurant brand in the UK.

The fast food outlet, known for its buffalo chicken wings and cheesy fries, even counts Stormzy as a fan.

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Wingstop first came to the UK in 2018 after British entrepreneurs Tom Grogan, Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin opened their first store in central London

In a TripAdvisor review, one customer said: 'Wingstop is so much better than most ordinary KFC because it's more than a meal, it's a flavour experience'

The company currently employs 2,500 staff and is the fastest-growing restaurant brand in the UK. The Cardiff branch is pictured

The US chain of restaurants was founded in Texas in 1994 with restaurants decorated with an aviation theme.

Recent figures released by Deliveroo revealed that Wingstop has become one of the UK's most popular fast food providers - with its option of eight boneless wings the nation's bestselling dish and ranked second worldwide.

In a TripAdvisor review, one customer said: 'Wingstop is so much better than most ordinary KFC, because it's more than a meal, it's a flavour experience.'

As well as chicken wings, the chain's menu also includes chicken tenders, boneless chicken, burgers, churros, loaded fries, combos and platters.

And for each chicken option, there's a choice of flavours  Ranch, Blue Cheese, Lemon Pepper, Mango Habanero, Louisiana Rub, Atomic, Brazilian Citrus Pepper, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Hawaiian, Garlic Parmesean, Spicy Korean Q, or Honey-Mustard.

The chicken wars have been simmering for years and flared up in 2019 after Popeyes launched a fried chicken sandwich.

Its popularity grew after Chick-fil-A claimed the sandwich was originally its idea.

By 2020, fast food chains like Fatburger and Wendy's joined the war with their own chicken sandwiches.

As well as chicken wings, the chain's menu also includes chicken tenders, boneless chicken, burgers, churros, loaded fries, combos and platters

The boom in Wingstop UK has coincided with the popularity of YouTube shows, such as Hot Ones where celebrities eat spicy wings while being interviewed

Wingstop currently has 57 sites across the UK and has revealed the location of six of the 20 branches to open this year. Bradford Wingstop is pictured

Other chains to add chicken sandwiches to their menus included Shake Shack, McDonald's and Burger King.

This comes as British high streets have seen an influx of American fast food restaurants opening.

The Sun first reported that US chain Chick-fil-A will launch in Leeds, Liverpool and London this year.

The boom in Wingstop UK has coincided with the popularity of YouTube shows, such as Hot Ones where celebrities eat spicy wings while being interviewed.

The rapid expansion of the chain is set to continue and Sixth Street aim to have 200 sites by 2029 and will acquire a majority stake in Lemon Pepper Holdings, which operates Wingstop in the UK and Ireland.
A daughter has spoken of her anger after a hospital dialled 999 for an ambulance to transfer her elderly father a matter of metres - from one ward to the A&E department.

Sally Sippitts, 59, was left astonished after her father Brian Dunne was picked up by an ambulance on blue lights to transfer him between wards at the same hospital.

Retired postman Mr Dunne, 83, suffers from Alzheimer's and has been at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, since December 18 last year.

But when he needed his catheter replacing, rather than calling for someone to come up to the ward to help, medical staff decided to dial for an ambulance.

Incredibly, the call was even categorised as a C2 call - the second most serious category of call - even though Mr Dunne was already in hospital.

It meant paramedics had to travel six miles from Perry Barr in Birmingham to transport Mr Dunne a mere 400 metres to A&E just for the simple procedure.

To makes matters worse, the great-grandfather-of-five was then forced to queue in a line of ambulances waiting to be seen following his brief two minute journey last Wednesday.

His family believe the bizarre incident is another example of Britain's broken NHS which had left paramedics themselves 'livid'.

Brian Dunne has been at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, since December 18 last year

The great-grandfather-of-five was forced to queue in a line of ambulances waiting to be seen following his brief journey. Pictured: Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

Paramedics had to travel six miles from Perry Barr, Birmingham, to transport Mr Dunne a mere 400 metres from the Sheldon Unit (TOP) to A&E (BOTTOM) last Wednesday

Mum-of-three Sally, a GP receptionist, said: 'When I had a call to say dad had been moved to A&E I thought the worst.

'They then explained they had dialled 999 for an ambulance to take him there and I was a bit confused to say the least.

'So they called him an ambulance to take him to hospital - when he was already at that very hospital.

'The ward is only around the corner - it's literally seconds, I couldn't quite believe it.

'The ambulance crew were in Perry Barr which is hardly nearby, it's about five miles away, the paramedics couldn't believe they were there either.

'They've been called to take a patient already in hospital to the same hospital just for a catheter replacement and apparently this isn't the first time either.

'They were very frustrated and completely agreed it was not a good use of their time and resources when there could be someone in desperate need of emergency assistance.

'I got up to the hospital to find my dad in the back of an ambulance in a queue waiting to get into A&E.

'He had already waited four-and-a-half hours in the back of an ambulance when he was first admitted.

'I just couldn't get my head around it - he was already in hospital when I left him and he actually seemed quite well when I got there.

Sally Sippitts (pictured) was left astonished after her father Brian Dunne was picked up by an ambulance on blue lights

The call was even categorised as a C2 call - the second most serious category of call - even though Mr Dunne was already in hospital. Pictured: Brian Dunne, with grandchild in 2022

Mr Dunne's family believe the bizarre incident is another example of Britain's broken NHS which had left paramedics themselves 'livid'

'Once he was finally in A&E, they drained his catheter and replaced it. Why couldn't they just get somebody to come up to ward to do that?

'There are nurses on the ward who you'd imagine would have been able to sort it, or at least called somebody up to sort.

'Instead they transported an 83-year-old man with Alzheimer's back out of hospital and in again.

'I don't even know how they got him back to his original bed as they did that in the night. I was never given an explanation as to why they moved him by ambulance.

'I could sort of understand if it was one of those community ambulances they have on site to transport patients.

'But to dial 999 to call for an ambulance to sent to pick up from a hospital is just crazy.

'The paramedics were fantastic, it's not their fault. They couldn't understand it either and said they had been called there before to do exactly the same thing.

'It is a complete waste of vital resources and taxpayer's money.'

Sally, who has been looking after her father with her sister Rachel Nicholls, 54, says the incident was among a string of negative experiences they've had with their father's care.

When he was first admitted to hospital, he was forced to wait four-and-a-half hours in the back of an ambulance as they queued outside A&E.

And on another occasion, they claim to have discovered him fully-dressed in 'grubby' outdoor clothes which nurses said they had dug out of a charity bin when he complained of being cold.

Sally, of Sutton Coldfield, added: 'It has been one thing after another.

Sally, who has been looking after her father said the incident was among a string of negative experiences they've had with her father's care

Mr Dunnes family also claim to have found him in hospital dressed in grubby clothes found in a charity bin

'He has been in Good Hope since December 18 after I called 999 when he was throwing up black stuff.

'The paramedics were fantastic but we had to wait on that occasion for four-and-a-half hours outside A&E.

'A couple of days later he was moved up to a ward and on the December 28 he had a catheter fitted as he was retaining water, which was something he never had before

'On New Year's Eve they wanted to send him home but I said no because they had not put a proper care package in place and it was going to fall on myself and my sister to sort the catheter and we're not medically trained.

'Then on January 10 two district nurses came to his house even though he was still in hospital, so that was another waste of time and resources.

'On January 11, while he was on another ward, I got there and he was dressed in outdoor clothes.

'When I asked where he'd got them from they said from a charity bin upstairs.

'I couldn't believe it, he looked homeless, the clothes were grubby and there explanation was that 'well he was cold.'

'They could have just called me or my sister and we could have brought him some warm clothes up, I was mortified.

'They talk about spreading germs and they just dressed him in these stranger's clothes rather than calling us to bring something in.'

His granddaughter Lucy Brown, 37, a mum-of-two from Sutton Coldfield, added: 'My grandad deserves better than this.

'We can't believe they reported him to be so seriously ill when it was just his catheter.

Brian Dunne, with daughter Rachel Nicholls who has been looking after her father along with her sister Sally

Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have invited Mr Dunnes family to discuss his care in a private meeting

'The paramedics were livid they had been called out to move a patient from a ward to A&E.

'When they were moving him between wards on another occasion a porter came up and said he couldn't lift him on to a trolley as it wasn't in his job description.

'He was asking my mum and auntie to lift up my seriously ill dad. It's just another example of what it's been like, it's just not right.'

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'We received an emergency 999 call to complete an inter-hospital transfer at Good Hope Hospital at 7.15pm on 15th January.

'The call was triaged as a C2 call, the second most serious category of call.

'One ambulance attended the scene and transferred one male patient from the Sheldon Unit to the A&E department.'

A spokesperson for Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said: 'We are very sorry to hear that Mr Dunne's family have concerns about his treatment in our GP-led community ward based at Good Hope Hospital.

'The safety of our patients is always our number one priority and, in line with the agreed protocol, the ward team took the correct steps to make sure Mr Dunne was able to receive the care he required, as safely as possible.

'We are inviting Mr Dunne and his family to discuss any aspect of his care with us in confidence.'

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, who manage Ward 7 at Good Hope Hospital, said: 'We apologise that the environment on Ward 7 was cold, and that Mr Dunne needed some extra clothes to remain comfortable.

'Our estates team were called immediately to address the issue.'
Palestinian death toll from Israeli military operation in Jenin rises to 16

Ramallah, Jan 27 (UNI) The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli military operation in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp in the northern West Bank has risen to 16, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry.

The ministry confirmed in a brief statement that 26-year-old Abdul Jawad al-Ghoul died from critical injuries sustained in Israeli gunfire on Tuesday.

His death follows the killing of two Palestinians on Friday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a vehicle in Qabatiya, south of Jenin.
Police have urged asylum seekers to adhere to 'cultural expectations' following claims on social media that migrants were loitering outside a village primary school.

Northamptonshire Police pledged to work with a hotel housing asylum seekers near Deanshanger Primary School, in Milton Keynes, following complaints of men 'hanging around', with some even claiming pupils were being filmed.

Migrants have been staying at the hotel - separated from the school grounds by a large field - for around three years and are among thousands living in temporary accommodation across the UK.

The claims first surfaced at the beginning of December, when the primary school sent a letter to parents to address the reports.

In the letter, seen by local news outlet MKFM, the school said: 'Dear Parents/Carers, I am writing to inform you that we have been made aware of some men hanging around outside the school during drop-off and pick-up times.

'I understand that this may be concerning, and want to reassure you that we are taking this matter seriously.

'We contacted the police about this last week and again today to report the situation. We are currently awaiting an update from them and will share any relevant information as soon as we receive it.

'In the meantime, I advise all parents and carers to be extra vigilant during these times. Please be rest assured that your children are safe whilst in school, where they are well supervised at all times.

Northamptonshire Police pledged to work with a hotel housing asylum seekers near Deanshanger Primary School (pictured), in Milton Keynes, following complaints of men 'hanging around'

'As an added precaution, we will be keeping children away from the back of the field for the time being.

'If you notice any suspicious behaviour, please contact the police directly and inform the school afterwards as a precaution.

'Finally, while we remain alert, it is important that the children continue to feel safe and secure. Lets work together to manage this sensitively without causing unnecessary worry for them.

'Thank you very much for your cooperation and support.'

Following concerns, some parents claimed they had decided to pull their children out of the school until the issues were resolved.

One parent told MKFM: 'I took them out as they cannot be trusted you don't know what anyone is capable of from there, my children's safety was more important and felt it was the right thing to do, the school didn't seem that bothered by it.

'We wasn't reassured until people went to take their children out of school why wasn't this done when it was first brought to their attention.'

Other parents told The Telegraph that they had also temporarily pulled their children out of school amid fears the men may come onto the school's playing fields.

They claimed that men had been stood filming every day since September and that police had regularly been seen outside the school since the reports started coming in.

Police investigating the reports have said they have not identified a risk to anyone, but that they will deliver work around 'appropriate behaviours and different cultural expectations' at the hotel. (File image)

Northamptonshire Police then issued a statement to say there had been 'community rumours' in relation to pupils being filmed, but it had not been confirmed.

A spokesman for the force said last month: 'We are aware of the concerns reported by people about alleged suspicious activity in Deanshanger in recent days.

'Having followed all reasonable lines of enquiry for every report, we can confirm that we have not identified any offences, increased risk or safeguarding issues at the present time.

'No-one has been identified to or by the Force as having committed any offences, and so no one has been questioned. We have had no evidence of any crimes submitted to us, or any verified first-person reports.

'All reports received at present have been assessed to be third party reports, primarily based on social media posts and not by people who live in the village.

'We have had an enhanced patrol pattern in the Deanshanger area for the last three months in accordance with a number of locally identified policing priorities.'

The force said it had been in contact with the school and officers would be outside the school until the end of term at key times, but this was 'not as a response to any identified risk'.

Police investigating the reports have now said that although they have not identified a risk to anyone, they will deliver work around 'appropriate behaviours and different cultural expectations' at the hotel.

Sergeant Lorna Clark, from the neighbourhood policing team, told residents the force had received 'several calls' from people 'concerned about males hanging around the primary school at drop-off and pick-up'.

She said that there had been multiple posts on social media and WhatsApp and that she had spoken to those with concerns and the school.

Sgt Clarke said after investigating and having her officers 'attend the hotel', they had not identified a risk to anyone and 'there is no evidence to support that any offences had taken place', The Telegraph reports.

She added: 'While I fully appreciate the community's concerns, I ask that people don't take this matter into their own hands, but continue to speak to the police about any incidents they witness or any concerns they have.

'We are well linked in with the hotel and can deliver some work there around appropriate behaviours and different cultural expectations.'

A spokesman for Deanshanger Primary School said: 'When we became aware of a concern raised by a small number of parents about the proximity of local asylum accommodation to Deanshanger School we raised this with the police.

'We worked closely with them to understand any additional steps we may need to take.

'Despite being assured that no member of our Deanshanger community is at any greater risk, we have taken a number of small measures to help reassure parents, these include ensuring extra staff are available at drop off and pick up.

'We would encourage any parents with specific concerns to continue speaking to our teaching teams and we will of course update all parents if any guidance from the police changes.'
Large cruise ships will be banned from docking in Nice this summer in a bid to block 'low-cost clientele' from holidaying in the glamorous French Riviera town.

The city's mayor Christian Estrosi, a vocal critic of the cruise industry, said that 'floating buildings' will not be permitted to dock in the port or in neighbouring Villefranche-sur-Mer from July 1.

The order prohibits cruise ships carrying more than 900 passengers from putting them ashore for sight-seeing excursions of the Mediterranean port city.

Smaller ships, which generally offer much more luxurious cruises, will still be welcome. 'Pleasure boating, yes, floating buildings, no,' said Estrosi.

'Cruise ships that pollute and unload low-cost tourists who consume little but leave their waste behind, have no place here,' he said.

The ban means Nice will join popular destinations including Venice, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Santorini which have either scaled back or banned cruise stopovers.

The bans are aimed at tackling overtourism and pollution, as well as promoting biodiversity in coastal areas.

But the industry's largest trade body, Cruise Lines International Association, said in a statement that it was 'astonished' at the decision and that such measures 'unfairly stigmatise' the industry.

The order prohibits cruise ships carrying more than 900 passengers from putting them ashore for sight-seeing excursions (file image shows cruise ship docked off Villefranche-sur-Mer)

'In the interest of local economic players as well as travellers who wish to discover this region, we urge the authorities to reconsider this decision,' it said in a statement.

The local Green Party is among those who have hailed the decision as a 'victory', calling it a 'decisive turning point for the quality of life, public health and the protection of our marine ecosystems.'

'For years, we have been calling for an end to these cruise ships that pollute our air, our water, destroy our unique biodiversity and increase overtourism. All this for derisory economic benefits,' party leader Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux said.

Estrosi said the city faced demand to put cruise ship tourists ashore swelling to 300,000 people by 2026, from 160,000 last year.

He said the ban would result in a 70 per cent drop in the number of passengers arriving by cruises.

'At the moment, we have [ships] that are real floating towns with more than 5,000 passengers,' he wrote on X.

'These [ships] do not correspond in any way to the tourist model that we want to develop.'

The port already expects some 124 calls by cruise ships carrying between 32 and 700 passengers for 2025.

French media reports that some 40 cruise liners that were due to dock in local waters in the summer will be affected.

Meanwhile work is currently underway to upgrade the port's facilities for smaller cruise ships, in particular electricity connections that allow for them to shut down their engines while docked.
King Charles III will pay an emotional visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau today, where he will say how the testimony of Holocaust survivors teaches us 'to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate'.

The monarch will become the first British head of state to visit the former Nazi concentration camp during a tour to mark the 80th anniversary of its liberation.

Charles will travel to Poland on Holocaust Memorial Day to commemorate the milestone with foreign monarchs, presidents, prime ministers and Holocaust survivors invited to a service at the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum and memorial.

Prince William meanwhile will attend official commemorations in London to mark the anniversary, at which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is also expected to speak.

The two are then set to hold a private meeting following the event. According to convention, the heir to the throne meets with the British Prime Minister annually  but as it is a private meeting, there will be no public read-out of their discussions.

More than a million people, mostly Jews but also Poles, Soviet prisoners of war and other nationalities, were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Second World War as part of the Holocaust in which six million Jews were killed.

Before the official ceremony at Auschwitz, the King - who is a campaigner on inter-faith and community harmony - will also make a speech at a Jewish charity event.

The trip has been described by royal sources as a 'deeply personal pilgrimage' for the King, and a 'particularly poignant' visit.

Buckingham Palace said the theme of his address will be about how the testimony of survivors teaches us 'to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate'.

King Charles III after a church service at St Mary the Virgin in Flitcham, Norfolk, yesterday

Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning

Polish President Andrzej Duda walks next to barbed wire fences at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

Charles will also say that it is our collective duty, in a world filled with 'turmoil and strife' to learn the lessons of history.

The King will add: 'The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task. In so doing, we inform our present and shape our future.'

Auschwitz was liberated by soldiers of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front who opened the gates on January 27, 1945.

The ceremony will be held in front of the infamous gates of the former Nazi concentration camp which had the words Arbeit Macht Frei - 'work sets you free' - above it.

Auschwitz survivors will address the invited guests who are expected to include France's President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and Spain's King Philip VI and Queen Letizia.

Charles is also expected to meet Polish President Andrzej Duda during his brief visit.

Survivors will place a light in front of a freight train carriage - a symbol of the event - and the King with other heads of state and Government will lay lights in memory of those who died during the Holocaust.

Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning

A Holocaust survivor attends a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning

After the ceremony Charles will walk through the gates to view personal items confiscated from victims when they entered the camp and lay a wreath at a reconstruction of the Death Wall, the site where several thousand people, mainly Polish political prisoners, were executed.

During a recent Buckingham Palace reception ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day - held annually on January 27, the day Auschwitz was liberated - the King said: 'I feel I must go for the 80th anniversary, (it's) so important.'

It comes as Sir Keir spoke of the 'collective endeavour' to defeat the 'hatred of difference'.

He warned a similar atrocity could happen in the future unless society upholds its duty to 'make 'never again' finally mean what it says'.

In a statement, Sir Keir paid tribute to the six million Jewish people murdered by the Nazi regime and renewed his commitment to ensure all schools across the country teach students about the genocide.

'The Holocaust was a collective endeavour by thousands of ordinary people utterly consumed by the hatred of difference,' Sir Keir said.

'That is the hatred we stand against today and it is a collective endeavour for all of us to defeat it.

'We must start by remembering the six million Jewish victims and by defending the truth against anyone who would deny it.'

Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning

A woman walks at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration camp today

The Prime Minister said 'as we remember, we must also act,' pointing to other atrocities in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur which followed the Holocaust.

'Today, we have to make those words mean more. We will make Holocaust education a truly national endeavour,' he said.

'We will ensure all schools teach it and seek to give every young person the opportunity to hear a recorded survivor testimony, because by learning from survivors we can develop that empathy for others and that appreciation of our common humanity, which is the ultimate way to defeat the hatred of difference.

'It happened, it can happen again: that is the warning of the Holocaust to us all. And it's why it is a duty for all of us to make 'never again' finally mean what it says: never again.'

The Prime Minister also visited Auschwitz earlier this month, where he vowed to fight the 'poison of antisemitism'.

Last Wednesday, he welcomed a group of survivors and their families to Downing Street, describing the meeting as 'an incredible privilege' and praising their 'sheer and remarkable courage'.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch spoke of the importance of confronting 'the resurgence of antisemitism today' while reflecting on the Holocaust as a 'unique evil in human history.'

People walk at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration camp today

Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning

'This year, we solemnly commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. We must continue to honour the memory of the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were brutally murdered in the Holocaust,' she said.

'As the Holocaust recedes from living memory, it is imperative that we listen to the testimonies of the remaining survivors and ensure their stories are passed on to future generations.

'While we reflect on the unimaginable horrors that antisemitism has wrought in the past, we must also confront the resurgence of antisemitism today.

'Globally, we have witnessed the abduction of Jews, violent riots, and attacks on synagogues.

'Alarmingly, antisemitism is on the rise here in the UK as well. The Jewish community has significantly enriched our nation, and their traditions, history, and resilience are integral to Britain's diverse and vibrant identity.

'Yet, we see weekly marches spewing modern-day hatred of Jews. Antisemitism, often disguised as 'anti-Zionism,' is prevalent on our streets and in our universities.

'The Holocaust stands as a unique evil in human history. It is crucial that we learn its lessons and continue to combat antisemitism, ensuring that 'never again' truly means never again.'

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged vigilance in defending 'peace, human rights and compassion' and guarding against 'antisemitism, hatred, discrimination and oppression'.

Museum guards carry wreaths ahead of a ceremony at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp today

Men clean up this morning ahead of the anniversary ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau

'80 years ago, seven thousand people were finally liberated from Auschwitz. Free at last, after years of unimaginable misery,' he said in a statement.

'In the years before, 1.1 million people had been murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz alone - mostly Jews.

'As we commemorate 80 years since Britain and her allies defeated the Nazis and ended the Holocaust, we must never forget those appalling atrocities.

'We must never forget how six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis; how so much inhumanity was inflicted on humans by humans.'

He paid tribute to Lily Ebert, a Holocaust survivor and memoirist who died last October.

'Lily wrote about a banknote, given to her by an American soldier after the liberation. He'd written on it: 'A start to a new life. Good luck and happiness,'' Sir Ed said.

'She wrote: 'This was something I knew I'd keep forever, a reminder, after all the cruelty we'd endured, that people could be compassionate. There was some hope and humanity left in the world'.

'We must remember that too, and live up to the positive vision Lily could see, even after so much darkness.'
Criminals could be sentenced to work at Iceland Foods instead of going to prison in a bid to tackle Britain's overcrowded jails crisis.

Senior executives at the supermarket said they could be handing out jobs to low-risk offenders facing short prison terms as part of a suspended sentence.

The idea, which is in its very early stages, would mean prisoners would be working for the retailer before ever having to spend time behind bars.

Chief executive Richard Walker and Iceland's first director of rehabilitation Paul Cowley wrote a letter to prisons minister Lord Timpson to discuss the proposal.

Mr Walker believed Iceland Foods had a 'really powerful solution' to the prison crisis - which has led Labour to controversially release thousands of inmates early to free up space in overcrowded wings across the country.

Two former attorney-generals have told the pair the plan was legally possible and could act like a suspended sentence.

Cowley told The Times: 'If it all goes well, then that's your sentence. You don't go to prison. You don't lose your home, kids don't go into care. And if it doesn't, and it all goes pear shaped, then it's a suspended sentence which kicks in.

'But it's an opportunity to get rid of a custodial sentence. And I believe, and the company believes, that that would have some impact on reducing reoffending and our prison population.'

Senior executives at Iceland Foods said they could be handing out jobs to low-risk offenders facing short prison terms as part of a suspended sentence

Chief executive Richard Walker (centre) and Iceland's first director of rehabilitation Paul Cowley (right) wrote a letter to prisons minister Lord Timpson (left) to discuss the proposal

'We have a prisons crisis, and we have a solution that we think could be really powerful. And look, if people mess up and they don't turn up for work, then they do go inside.'

As of August last year, Iceland Foods employed 350 ex-offenders across a variety of posts on shop floors, in restaurants and as home delivery drivers.

And since Mr Cowley joined as director of rehabilitation in 2022, a further 300 currently hold job offers from the company and employment has been offered to more than 680 ex-offenders.

Mr Cowley said Iceland will 'probably work with women first' - as female offenders are often sentenced to custody for non-violent, low level but persistent offences.

'Prison employment leads', who will be given eligibility criteria by Iceland Foods, will find and present candidates to Mr Cowley.

Those who are successful will be offered a job after an interview with Mr Cowley about their background and rehabilitation.

The company already has strict protocols on which types of offenders can work at Iceland Foods.

No one from the sex offenders register will be considered, Mr Cowley said, and those with an arson conviction will also be blacklisted because of 'insurance issues'.

Mr Walker admits that candidates would have to undergo 'serious vetting' under the plan and claimed they will 'know much more about their backgrounds' than their non-offender staff members.

Mr Walker believed Iceland Foods had a 'really powerful solution' to the prison crisis

Those who are employed will get to choose which store they work in and if there is no local availability, the company will sponsor a role in that store for 12 to 15 weeks.

Mr Cowley said about 80 per cent of job offers sent to previous offenders were accepted  higher than the standard recruitment rate.

Now, Iceland Foods wants to expand its initiative and create an independent not-for-profit to hire ex-offenders on behalf of other retailers - with eight of the big ten supermarkets showing an initial interest in the rehabilitation not-for-profit.

Prisons Minister James Timpson admitted last month that some offenders were harder to employ than others.

Mr Walker believed it was 'very logical and obvious' that some crimes 'aren't redeemable' and wanted Iceland to 'focus on the third or half of the prison population that 'probably shouldnt be in there'.

Lord Timpson has a long track record in advocating for reforms to the UK prison system.

The son of the British cobbler's founder has previously advocated for shorter prison sentences and has been applauded for his schemes in rehabilitating offenders.

In an interview with Channel 4's Krishnan Guru Murphy in early 2024, the Timpsons boss claimed the country was addicted to 'punishment' and argued that 'a lot' of inmates 'shouldn't be in prison'.

Mr Timpson (pictured), was made the new minister for Prisons, Parole and Probation only yesterday and has a long track record in advocating for reforms to the UK prison system

He also suggested that two-thirds of prisoners did not need to be there, instead backing community sentences which would see more offenders spared jail time.

In December, the National Audit Office revealed delays in building new prisons mean there will be a shortage of more than 12,000 jail places  and possibly as high as 21,200  within three years.

This means Labour's controversial scheme to release inmates early is likely to continue for years.

Other proposals being considered include replacing shorter jail sentences of under a year or six months with community punishments and allowing criminals to serve their sentences on electronic tags at home under house arrest.

The prisons overcrowding crisis is down to the failure by the previous Conservative government to make sure policy changes bringing in longer jail sentences and boosting police numbers matched the space available in prisons to hold criminals, the report said.
Southport killer Axel Rudakubana launched his horror knife rampage out of an 'incel' hatred of women, classmates have claimed, while his father refused to introduce him to a family friend.

Rudakubana, 18, was last week sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 52 years for the murders of three young girls and the attempted murder of ten other people at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29.

The teenager, who was 17 at the time of the attack, murdered Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, in the incident which was described in court as 'pure evil.'

Now his former classmates have described him as an 'incel' who refused to speak to girls at school and who targeted the dance class in order to kill as many as possible.

Incels - or involuntary celibates - are typically single men who blame women for the problems in their lives.

One pupil who attended the same school as Rudakubana told the Sunday Times: 'He didn't have any friends [...] because he didn't really fit in.

'He never spoke to girls. When my mates saw the attack they guessed it was because he was [...] like an incel.'

Teacher Leanne Lucas, who was gravely injured in the attack, told court how she believes Rudakubana targeted the class because those in attendance were female and therefore 'vulnerable'.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, was last week sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 52 years for the murders of three young girls and the attempted murder of ten other people

Alphonse Rudakubana (pictured) is said to have refused to introduce his son to a family friend

She said in a victim impact statement: 'He targeted us because we were women and girls, vulnerable and easy prey. To discover that he had always set out to hurt the vulnerable is beyond comprehensible.'

Meanwhile the killer's father, Alphonse Rudakubana, was reluctant to let family and friends meet his children, telling them of 'challenges with the kids'.

He and Rudakubana's mother were said to only return to their native Rwanda occasionally and usually separately, without ever taking their two children.

Rudakubana's grandmother is said to have never met the grandson who would go on to carry out the dance class killings.

One family friend said Alphonse had kept him at a distance and seemed to be against introducing him to the rest of the family.

He told the Times the karate enthusiast kept details about his sons 'vague' but the understood Rudakubana had mental health issues.

The friend said: 'After some small talk he told me how much my efforts meant to his family  He didn't go into detail but he mentioned his wife and two children who deeply missed their home country.

'When I asked if they ever visited Rwanda, he hesitated. Brushing off the question with a wave of his hand and saying, 'We'll think about it when there are fewer challenges with the kids'.'

Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was one of the three little girls killed in the attack in Southport

Bebe King, 6, was also murdered during the attack by teenager Rudakubana

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, escaped the scene but died in hospital hours later

Two Apollo Cerbera knives with 20cm blades, one still in its sheath, were recovered days after Rudakubana bought them on Amazon

Axel Rudakubana's lunchbox of Ricin which had the potential to kill as many as 12,500 people

A lethal bow was found in the bag where Rudakubana kept his newest knives

A grisly array of hunting arrows was also recovered from the teenager's armoury

With a history of troubling behaviour, including carrying a knife to school and attacking a fellow pupil, Rudakubana was repeatedly referred to the Prevent programme between 2019 and 2021, but each time officers concluded he posed no threat.

The Prevent programme, which is run locally by police and authorities, first received concerns about Rudakubana's behaviour in 2019.

Teachers at The Range High School in Formby reported that he had shown an unusual interest in school shootings and mass violence, including disturbing news articles about attacks in the US.

But counterterrorism officers dismissed the warning, believing it was merely an odd interest in current affairs rather than an indicator of radicalisation.

Questions are now being asked about why Rudakubana's case was repeatedly closed and how he could go on to carry out such a monstrous attack.

When officers stormed his parents' home, they found a collection of weapons including knives, a bow and arrows and a container of the deadly poison ricin.

Cardiff-born Rudakubana's parents Laetitia and Alphonse fled Rwanda for the UK and claimed asylum in the 1990s.

His taxi driver father is thought to have been an officer in the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), an armed force that fought the genocidal Hutu-dominated regime.

It has since emerged that days before the Southport attack Axel's father stopped his son getting into a taxi to his old school to attack pupils in a confrontation caught on a Ring doorbell. There is no suggestion Rudakubana's father knew what his son was planning.

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Axel Rudakubana's home life appeared chaotic. He was said to have been sleeping in the living room of the three-bedroom terraced house he shared with his mother and father. It was stacked with Amazon boxes.

He also had the raw materials to kill almost 13,000 people hidden under his bunkbed in a room nicknamed the 'Ricin lab'.

The Rudakubana family moved to the Merseyside seaside resort of Southport in 2013.

They moved to the address where they were living at the time of the murders, a 170,000 three bedroom terraced house, in 2018.

The family are said to be regular church-goers and his mother Laetitia appears to be a practising Christian with a white dove and various entries for evangelical ministers on a Facebook page in her name. His father is a keen exponent of karate.

The family has since been rehoused and are in hiding.
This is the shocking moment a dead man appeared to open his eyes while lying in a coffin in front of stunned mourners at his funeral.

The deceased man's loved ones were gathered at his funeral in the Dominican Republic when they noticed his eyelids seemed to be flickering.

Images of the man show him draped in white inside a coffin with a glass window above his face.

His eyes appear to be closed in one image as he lay peacefully inside the case, but in the next moment they seem to have opened as a mourner grabbed a snap.

The eerie incident left the funeral guests startled, with one family member saying: 'Who knows if he's fighting for his life?'

Some concerned relatives reportedly suggested calling an ambulance to take him to hospital in case he was miraculously still alive.

But other locals suggested the corpse's alleged eye movement could have been caused by the mobile phone flashlights.

One said: 'Post-mortem muscle memory, it presents itself in some corpses'.

The deceased man was seen during his own funeral in the Dominican Republic appearing to open his eyes as he lay in his casket

Mourners were left startled as the man seemed to flick open his eyes

Another added: 'It's the reflection of the mobile phone torches, look again.'

A third joked: 'He opened them when he remembered he left his mobile phone behind and didn't lock it.'

'He is checking to see who came to his funeral,' another added.

One more said: 'He died of conjunctivitis, I think they were about to try giving him some eye drops.

It comes after a 'dead' woman woke up on the way to her own funeral in Thailand in 2023.

Chataporn Sriphonla, 49, had seemingly died in transit as she was being transported from a hospital to her home in Udon Thani province on June 29.

While on the way to the Ban Dung district inside a van, paramedics believed that Chataporn had stopped breathing and appeared to have passed away.

The van carrying Chataporn's body was diverted from their home to the Wat Sri Phadung Pattana temple, where the corpse was going to be stored overnight.

Much to the passengers' surprise, the 'dead' woman suddenly gasped awake and opened her eyes.

A woman's funeral in Peru was interrupted when the woman herself started banging on the lid of the coffin to say she was still alive.

In a shocking twist to a tragic day, stunned relatives carrying the coffin of Rosa Isabel Cespede Callaca, 36, opened it and found their relative with her eyes open looking at them in 2022.

Rosa and the coffin were rushed to nearby Referential Hospital Ferrenafe on the back of a pickup truck where she was quickly hooked up to a life support machine.

Sheepish medics confirmed that she did have vital signs - albeit very low ones - and her condition improved slightly once on life support, giving hope that a miracle was in progress.

But Rosa's condition then rapidly deteriorated and she passed away a few hours later.

And in 2020, a 20-year-old Michigan woman with special needs was about to be embalmed when mortuary staff saw that her eyes were open.

'They were about to embalm her which is most frightening had she not had her eyes open. They would have begun draining her blood, to be very, very frank about it,' Attorney Geoffrey Fieger told WXYZ at the time.
An asylum seeker attacked a police officer shortly after he was let off community service for assaulting another cop due to health and safety regulations.

Jordanian national Mustafa Al Mbaidin pushed and spat at Dorset PC Ian Leslie just two weeks after he appeared in court for attacking another officer.

On that occasion the 28-year-old shoved at PC Selina Swan and hit her on the head with his jacket as he was being arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour.

When he appeared in court on July 16 last year, his defence lawyer argued Al Mbaidin couldn't be given a community service sentence because he can't speak English.

This would have raised 'issues with the health and safety at work laws.' He was let off with a 12 month conditional discharge.

But just 14 days later he got drunk again and caused a confrontation on Bournemouth beach.

As PC Leslie put him in handcuffs he pushed the officer and spat at him, but it did not connect.

Al Mbaidin was charged and released on bail but then failed to appear at Poole Magistrates' Court on November 26.

He was back in court last Friday with an Arabic interpreter when he pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker by beating and failing to surrender to court bail at the appointed time.

Jordanian national Mustafa Al Mbaidin pushed and spat at Dorset PC Ian Leslie just two weeks after he appeared in court for attacking another officer. Pictured: Mustafa Al Mbaidin leaving Poole Magistrates Court in July last year

On that occasion the 28-year-old shoved at PC Selina Swan and hit her on the head with his jacket as he was being arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour. He appeared in court on July 16 when his defence lawyer argued Al Mbaidin couldn't be given a community service sentence because he can't speak English

Al Mbaidin is from Jordan but came to Britain via Turkey.

He now lives in Portsmouth, Hampshire, but was staying at a hotel in Bournemouth when he committed the offences.

Nicola Rees, prosecuting, said: 'The (second) incident puts him in breach of his conditional discharge imposed earlier the same month.

'That discharge was given for the offences of being drunk and disorderly and assaulting a PC Swan.

'After being arrested for being drunk and disorderly he pushed PC Swan in the chest before running away back to his hotel where he was arrested.'

At his first hearing the court was told Al Mbaidin does not usually drink and it was out of character for him.

Guy Gosheron, defending, said his client had been 'drowning his sorrows' over the status of his asylum application before he assaulted PC Leslie.

He said his client reacted the way he did because he had recently hurt his wrist and the handcuffs being placed on him caused him pain.

Mr Gosheron said: 'We have a pushing offence on the one hand and a spitting at, but not connecting with, an officer on the other.

'Neither of these I can justify but both of which are at the lower end of the spectrum.

'Mr Al Mbaidin was clearly struggling to settle into his new existence in the UK. He wasn't at all satisfied that he would be able to stay in the country for a long time.

'He started to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

'On the day there were people taking their time to clear rubbish from the beach and he took it upon himself to join them.

'This brought him into closer contact with one of the beach users who took offence to various items that were picked up by the defendant.

'It was a rather unfortunate set of circumstances that ended up with the police being called and the defendant being arrested and handcuffed.

'He was still suffering from a broken wrist.

'The handcuffs were too tight for comfort but he was not able to explain himself in English and he wasn't able to persuade the police officer to loosen them.

'As he was unable to explain his predicament he spat at the police officer.'

For the breach of bail Mr Gosheron said his client simply 'got the day wrong' for his court case.

He added: 'He would like to offer and apology to the police officer and will comply with any order of unpaid work.'

Despite the previous concerns, lead magistrate Colin Stupack sentenced Al Mbaidin to 250 hours community service and ordered him to pay PC Leslie 50 compensation.

Nothing was said about Al Mbaidin's right to remain in the UK.

A Home Office spokesperson said they do not comment on individual cases but that foreign nationals who commit crime can expect to be deported at the earliest opportunity if it is appropriate.
An 18-year-old man beat his mother to death with a claw hammer - as her horrified husband watched via the family's ring doorbell.

Frederico Canuzo, from Warrington, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today and admitted causing the death of his mother, 48-year-old Chintzia McIntyre.

Ms McIntyre's husband, who is not Canuzo's biological father, was working away in a different part of the country when he received a Ring bell notification.

To his horror, when he opened it he witnessed his son, then 17, attacking Ms McIntyre before fleeing from the scene.

Cheshire Police were called to the house in Great Sankey at around 9.40am on August 29, 2023.

Emergency services rushed to the scene but despite their best efforts, sadly Ms McIntyre was pronounced dead.

It was determined she had suffered at least 29 blows to the head with a claw hammer.

Canuzo today entered a guilty plea to the manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Chintzia McIntyre, 48, was attacked outside her home with a claw hammer by her son in 2023

Ms McIntyre's husband was the one to alert police to the attack, as he received a Ring doorbell notification while he was working in a different part of the country

Emergency services rushed to the scene but sadly Ms Mcintyre was pronounced dead

Forensics officers work at the scene of the fatal attack in Warrington after Ms McIntyre's death

Ms McIntyre's husband witnessed his wife being attacked at their home by the couple's son on their Ring doorbell (stock image)

Officers investigating in the aftermath of the attack found that Canuzo had boarded a train heading to London Euston.

British Transport Police and the Metropolitan Police were informed and arrested him as he arrived on the platform in London.

Canuzo was charged with murder on August 30, and today pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which has been accepted by the prosecution based on medical evidence.

Prosecutor Gordon Cole said: 'The Crown has now had the benefit of a report from a doctor, and on Friday, a formal defence report.

'The position is: we are minded to accept the new plea of guilty to the partial defence of diminished responsibility.'

He has been remanded in custody and is set to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday 18 March.

Detective Inspector Eli Atkinson, who led the investigation, said: 'This was an exceptionally traumatic incident for all those involved, especially Chintzia's family and neighbours and emergency services who tried to help her.

'While nothing can ever be done to bring Chintzia back, I do hope that the conclusion of this case will bring her family some closure.

'Our thoughts remain with Chintzia's friends and family at this time, and we would like to thank them for their assistance throughout our investigation.'
Holocaust survivors, their families and world leaders have gathered at Auschwitz to mark the 80th anniversary of the Nazi death camp's liberation.

Today's ceremony, which is expected to be attended by 50 survivors, is expected to be the last major observance that any notable number of survivors will be able to attend.

The Nazis murdered some 1.1 million people at the notorious site in southern Poland, which was under German occupation during World War II before being liberated by Soviet troops.

Most of the victims were Jews killed on an industrial scale in gas chambers, but also Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, gay people and others who were targeted for elimination due to the Nazi's depraved racial and social ideology.

Elderly camp survivors, some wearing blue-and-white striped scarves and hats that recall their prison uniforms, walked together to the Death Wall, where prisoners were executed.

According to organisers, four former inmates - Marian Turski, Janina Iwanska, Tova Friedman, and Leon Weintraub - will speak at the main event.

'When I arrived in Auschwitz and got off the train, I saw the pits where human corpses were burned because the crematoria could not keep up,' Iwanska, a 94-year-old Warsaw-born survivor, said this month as she reflected on the horrors she witnessed at the camp.

Among those murdered were huge numbers of Poles who resisted the occupation of their country, and today Polish President Andrzej Duda joined those present to remember the six million citizens his country lost during the war.

Soldiers arrive with wreaths at the so-called 'Death Wall' at the Auschwitz I former concentration camp site on the 80th anniversary of its liberation

Some elderly camp survivors wore blue-and-white striped scarves and hats that recalled their prison uniforms

View of the gate that reads, 'Work Sets You Free', in German, on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration

Former prisoners and their guests attend a wreath-laying ceremony in front of the Death Wall

Elderly camp survivors walked together to the Death Wall, where prisoners were executed

Survivors of the Auschwitz concentration camp and their families arrive to lay candles at the Death Wall

Today's ceremony at Auschwitz is expected to be attended by 50 survivors

olish President Andrzej Duda speaks at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp

View of a tree between former camp buildings on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp

He carried a candle and walked with Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum director Piotr Cywinski. At the wall, the two men bowed their heads, murmured prayers and crossed themselves.

'We Poles, on whose land - occupied by Nazi Germans at that time - the Germans built this extermination industry and this concentration camp, are today the guardians of memory,' Duda said to reporters afterwards.

He spoke of the 'unimaginable harm' inflicted on so many people, especially the Jewish people. 'May the memory of all the dead live on, may they rest in peace,' he said.

In all, the Germans murdered six million Jews from all over Europe, annihilating two-thirds of Europe's Jews and one-third of all Jews worldwide.

In 2005, the United Nations designated January 27, the anniversary of Auschwitz-Birkenau's liberation, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Across Europe, officials and others are pausing to remember at memorials and are meeting with survivors, the majority of whom are in their 90s or older.

Twenty years ago, around 1,000 survivors attended commemoration ceremonies at the site.

'As the last survivors fade, it is our duty as Europeans to remember the unspeakable crimes and to honor the memories of the victims,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is German, said on X.

Commemorations will culminate later Monday when world leaders and royalty will join with elderly camp survivors, the youngest of whom are in their 80s, at Birkenau, the part of Auschwitz where the mass murder of Jews took place.

Politicians, however, have not been asked to speak this year. Due to the advanced age of the survivors, about 50 of whom are expected, organizers are choosing to make them the center of the observances. Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, will also speak.

Among the leaders expected to attend are Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

It is reported to be the first time in history that Germany has sent both of its highest state representatives to the observances.

It is a sign of Germany's continued commitment to take responsibility for the nation's crimes, even amid a growing far-right movement that would like to forget.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend, while Britain's King Charles III will also be there, along with kings and queens from Spain, Denmark and Norway.

The weather in Oswiecim, a short drive from Krakow, is cold and bright for today's ceremony

Survivor Janina Iwanska attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Death Wall during the 80th anniversary commemorations

Polish police patrols along the fences of Auschwitz concentration camp site

A woman looks through a window of the former house of Rudolf Hoess, commandant of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp now being turned into the Auschwitz Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalisation

Leon Placek, a survivor of former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp of Bergen-Belsen attends ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, talks with filmmaker Eric Toledano, second left, Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp survivor Esther Senot and Leon Placek, right, a survivor of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp

Holocaust survivor Naki Bega, 97, stands in front of the Holocaust memorial after laying a wreath in Athens, Greece

The monarch will become the first British head of state to visit the former Nazi concentration camp, with the trip described by royal sources as a 'deeply personal pilgrimage' for the King.

Russian representatives were in the past central guests at the anniversary observances in recognition of the Soviet liberation of the camp on January 27, 1945, and the huge losses suffered by Soviet forces in the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany.

But they have not been welcome since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose leads a nation defending itself against Russia's brutal invasion, placed a candle at the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial in Kyiv, where tens of thousands of Jews were executed during the Nazi occupation.

Writing on Telegram, Zelensky said: 'The evil that seeks to destroy the lives of entire nations still remains in the world.'

Four Auschwitz survivors are expected to speak at the ceremony today

Polish President Andrzej Duda walks among barbed wire fences following a ceremony at the Death Wall at the Auschwitz I former concentration camp

The former house of Rudolf Hoess, commandant of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, now being turned into the Auschwitz Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalisation

He is set to travel to Poland today, where he will meet with other world leaders.

Auschwitz was created in 1940 using barracks in Oswiecim, southern Poland. Its name was Germanised into Auschwitz by the Nazis.

The first 728 Polish political prisoners arrived on June 14 of that year.

On January 17, 1945, as Soviet troops advanced, the SS forced 60,000 emaciated prisoners to walk west in what became known as the "Death March".

From January 21-26, the Germans blew up the Birkenau gas chambers and crematoria and withdrew as Soviet troops approached.

On January 27, Soviet troops arrived, finding 7,000 survivors.
A shop manager was sacked for leaving his store unattended and open to theft while he wandered off for unauthorized lunchbreaks in a nearby Five Guys, a tribunal has ruled.

Simbarashe Homwe had threatened to take Bristol-based fashion retailers Rerun 'to the cleaners', believing they had sacked him because he complained about his unpaid wages.

But the tribunal heard that his wages had been withheld during an internal investigation which concluded that he was falsifying the opening hours of the Milton Keynes store, and had been seen walking off with boxes of stock.

He had only been employed at the store for six weeks when area manager Lorraine Abbott walked in to hand him his dismissal in November 2021.

Days earlier he had demanded to know where his missing wages were, and claimed that was why Ms Abbott had come to sack him.

But she said she was forced to call security when the furious manager angrily refused to hand over the keys and warned her he would take the company 'to the cleaners'.

An employment tribunal hearing in Cambridge threw out his claim and determined that the retailer was within its rights to sack him.

'The reason for dismissal was not that the claimant had asserted his statutory rights as to payment of wages,' Judge Geraldine Elliot wrote in her conclusion.

Simbarashe Homwe was eating lunch at Five Guys in Milton Keynes' Midsummer Shopping Centre leaving his nearby clothes shop 'unsecured and (at) risk of theft' the tribunal heard

Area manager Lorraine Abbott said she had to call security when Homwe angrily refused to hand over the store keys after she arrived to sack him

'I make no finding as to whether the claimant actually committed gross misconduct. My finding is that this was Ms Abbott's reason for dismissing the claimant.'

Ms Abbott first visited the shop at the start of November 2021 after being tipped off by the manager of the Midsummer Shopping Centre that the store 'was opening later and closing earlier than its advertised opening hours in breach of the lease'.

'She spoke to the Centre Manager and security guards who said they had been watching the claimant on their security cameras and they regularly saw him leaving the store unattended and open to theft,' Judge Elliot wrote.

'They said this was when he went to 'Five Guys' for his lunch or to go to other units in the centre.

'The claimant agreed he went out to get his lunch if he was working alone or if he wanted to use the toilet so he had to close the store.

'Ms Abbott's evidence was that there is a procedure for closing the store if it was to be left unattended.

'The security staff also said they saw the claimant leaving the store with large boxes which they believed to be stock from the store.'

Mr Homwe told the tribunal he 'could not recall' taking any boxes out of the store, and Ms Abbott said shopping centre managers had refused to share CCTV.

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As a result of the investigation Ms Abbott asked HR to put a hold on the managers wages and started advertising for a new store manager.

On November 12, a week after the investigation, Ms Abbott went back to the shop and told him he was being dismissed.

At the tribunal Mr Homwe said that he had issues with his wages not being paid and claimed he had been fired for raising these concerns.

However Judge Elliott ruled the decision to dismiss him was solely based on the falsified timesheets and possible theft of stock.
Helsinki, Jan 27 (UNI) The Swedish Prosecution Authority has confiscated a ship suspected of damaging un underwater fiber optic cable linking Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland, it said in a press release issued late Sunday.

A criminal investigation into suspected serious sabotage has been launched, the authority said, though it did not disclose the ship's name nor nationality.

According to Swedish newspaper Expressen, the vessel is the oil tanker Vezhen, registered in Malta and sailing from Russia. The ship is currently anchored off Karlskrona in southeastern Sweden, maritime analytics provider Marine Traffic confirmed.

The cable's owner, SJSC Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC), said they detected disruptions in data transmission early Sunday and suggested that the cable was likely seriously damaged by external force. The affected section lies within the Swedish economic zone, Swedish National Radio reported.

Promising to provide internet service via other data transmission routes, LVRTC said since the cable runs on the seabed at a depth of more than 50 meters, the character of the damage would be established once repairs are started.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina convened an extraordinary meeting of ministers and emergency services on Sunday, announcing later that Latvia is working with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Baltic Sea countries to investigate the incident.

The Latvian naval forces have sent a patrol boat to inspect the site and contacted NATO allies about the incident.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that he had been in contact with Silina on this issue, promising Sweden would provide "important resources for the investigation."

This incident adds to a series of recent disruptions to undersea internet and energy cables in the Baltic Sea.

UNI XINHUA ARN
More than 50 relatives of asylum seekers are being given permission to come to Britain every day.

The number of family members of refugees granted visas to settle here has more than trebled in a year, the most recent figures show.

Home Office data has revealed that 19,154 relatives of asylum seekers, many of whom will have first crossed the Channel to Britain in a small boat, followed them to the UK in the year to September 2024.

Around 10,000 of these will have been children with the rest adults, most of whom will have been spouses.

This is more than three times more family reunion visas than the same period to September 2023, when 5,805 visas were granted.

Applicants do not have to speak any basic English or prove they can support themselves financially - and can have free access to the NHS.

Most of these refugees were from from Syria, Sudan, Eritrea, Iran and Afghanistan.

A family reunion visa allows partners and children of individuals previously granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to reunite with them here. These families have to have been formed before the asylum seeker left their home country for Britain.

Reform MP Rupert Lowe has said that the Government must deport anyone arriving in the UK illegally.

Migrants crowd a smuggler's inflatable dinghy in an attempt to cross the English Channel, after leaving Ecault beach in Saint-Etienne-au-Mont last year. Around 50 relatives of asylum seekers are joining them in Britain every day, figures show

Two dinghies carrying 190 illegal immigrants were spotted by Border Force vessels last Tuesday

He tweeted today: 'If you come illegally - you can't stay, your family can't come. Year ending September 2024 - 19,154 people were granted family reunion visas. Same period the year before? 5,805 visas.

'They and their family are NOT welcome. No apologies'.

Critics have said the figures are worrying.

Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, told The Sun: 'There are huge cost implications at play here, all paid for by the public, who are seldom kept in the picture. And it doesn't end there.

'Those granted asylum and joined by family members, will be housed if they have children under 18 who live with them.

'Add to this access to benefits, schooling, medical and dental care, and we can begin to grasp the frustration and anger felt by people waiting for social housing and in long NHS queues?'

The Home Office said in a statement: 'We have a long history of providing protection through various safe and legal routes for those in need.'

As many as one in 12 people in London is an illegal immigrant, a shock report claimed last week.

The previously confidential study commissioned by Thames Water found that the 'irregular' population of the capital could be more than half a million.

It aimed to quantify the 'hidden' users of the utility firm's services to better meet demand.

Researchers at Edge Analytics used academic estimates of illegal migrants nationally as well as National Insurance registrations for non-EU foreign nationals over a nine-year period to estimate the numbers in each London borough.

The study produced a range of figures from 390,355 at the lowest to 585,533 at the highest with a median figure of 487,944.

It suggested most illegal migrants arrived in the UK on work, study or visitor visas then overstayed.

The report obtained by The Telegraph claimed there is estimated to be more than one million illegal migrants in the UK, with 60 per cent of them in England's capital.

Many illegal migrants arrive in the UK on work, study or visitor visas and then overstay the limit.

It has only taken 21 days this year for crossings to reach 1,000 - the quickest time on record

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The Home Office doesn't publish any comprehensive data estimating the number of illegal migrants in the UK.

It has only published figures on the number of illegal Channel migrants reaching the UK since 2018.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'It is totally unacceptable to have these numbers of illegal immigrants in the UK.

'The law needs to be looked at so that spurious human rights, modern slavery and asylum claims cannot be used to delay or prevent removals of illegal immigrants.'
A second grader has died in a freak accident after her coat got stuck in a door as she was getting out.

Serenity Campos from Borger, Texas lost her life after the tragic incident at school drop-off around 8am on Friday.

School officials at Gateway Elementary began attempting life-saving measures on the young girl, as officers and medical personnel were called to the scene, police said.

EMS transported Serenity to Golden Plains Community Hospital, where she sadly died.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family in their loss, which has already raised more than $75,000.

A Borger Police Department spokesperson said: 'Despite the presence of a senior school administrator who immediately attempted to intervene, the incident happened so quickly that it could not be stopped.'

They added: 'Our hearts go out to all those affected by this horrible accident as they navigate this devastating loss.

'The entire community grieves alongside them.'

Second-grader Serenity Campos (pictured) has died in a freak accident after her coat got caught in a car door as she was getting out

The tragic incident took place at school drop-off at Gateway Elementary (pictured) at around 8am on Friday

The police spokesperson continued: 'At this time, we ask for understanding, patience, and compassion for all those affected.

'Please join us in keeping the family in your thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time.'

The GoFundmMe set up for the family reads: 'It is with deep sadness that we share the tragic loss of Serenity Campos, a beautiful little girl who passed away unexpectedly this morning.

'Daniela and Daniel Campos, her loving parents, are now faced with the unimaginable grief of losing their daughter while also caring for their three other children.

'As they navigate this heartbreaking time, the family is also faced with the financial burden of funeral expenses and daily needs.

'We are asking for your support to help ease some of these burdens, allowing them to focus on grieving and healing together as a family.'

Assistant city manager and public information officer Brandon Strope told PEOPLE in a statement that local authorities are considering the incident a 'tragic accident'.

He added that police 'do not have any reason to believe that criminal charges will be filed.'

In a statement shared to the Borger Independent School District Facebook page, the district said that the parents of the student had been notified.

They added that school was let out at 10am the day of the accident.

In an additional post, the school district wrote that counselors would be available to 'any community member in need of support or guidance' at the nearby Crockett Elementary.

Additional counselors would be available at Gateway Elementary on Monday, the district added.

Community members from across the area have since come together to honor the student's life, setting up a memorial full of flowers, balloons and stuffed animals outside the entrance of the elementary school.

According to local outlet KFDA, the area's local Walmart is donating stuffed animals for the memorial.

During a press conference held by the city, assistant city manager Strope called on the local residents to support each other in the wake of the tragedy.

He reportedly said: 'Being in a small town and seeing the community come together is what makes being here in a time like this bearable.

'You know, we have seen a great outpouring of support on social media of those saying, "Hey, we're there for you. We feel for you. We can't imagine what you're going through."'

Police said they would not release the child's name, but she was named on a public GoFundMe page for the family.

Borger is located in the Texas panhandle, about 50 miles northeast of Amarillo.
Have YOU fallen onto the Tube tracks? Send your story to sophia.stanford@mailonline.co.uk

Commuters on the Tube have been left with life-changing injuries after London Underground admitted that there has been a huge rise in people falling in the tracks.

Former Home Secretary Lord Blunkett was one of around 600 people in the last three years to have experienced the horrifying ordeal of falling between the train and the platform.

The blind Labour peer slipped while getting on to a District Line train with his guide dog at Westminster tube station in November.

The 77-year-old was taken to hospital for treatment for his injuries.

He said that the big gaps between a platform and the train form 'death traps' and he was to meet with Transport for London (TfL) bosses to discuss the issue.

Lord Blunkett said 'it is clear urgent action is needed' after these incidents have risen by 33 per cent.

In more than 200 of the cases, people were hurt, with five of the incidents leaving people with serious injuries.

Official figures from TfL show there were 247 cases last year where people fell into the gap, compared with 223 in the previous year and 186 in the 12 months before that.

Former Home Secretary Lord Blunkett said 'the gap between the walkway and train is huge and they are unsafe for everyone, but particularly for blind people' after falling down the tube gap

Lord Blunkett with his guide dog 'Barley', a German Shepherd Retriever Cross, in 2018

The stations where the most of these incidents have been reported were Baker Street (186), Bank, Victoria, Waterloo (all 27), Stratford (22), Farringdon (20), Embankment (17) and Westminster (14).

Lord Blunkett detailed his ordeal to The Sun on Sunday: 'As I took a step to get on the train, I felt my feet disappearing down the gap.

'In an instant my body had been propelled forward into the carriage and I was face- down on the floor.

'My legs had somehow been scraped out of the gap and into the carriage.

'I didn't fully know what had happened. I felt enormous pain in both my legs; they were bruised and grazed.'

'Whenever you step into a tube station in London you hear the tannoy warn people to "mind the gap".

'But too often there are no staff members to actually help you if, like me, you cannot see.

'The gap between the walkway and train is huge and they are unsafe for everyone, but particularly for blind people.'

TfL said 'the safety of our customers and staff is at the forefront of everything we do'

In the majority of incidents, people are not severely harmed but for others the consequences can be devastating.

PR executive Sarah de Lagarde lost her right arm and leg after being hit by two Tube trains when she slipped in the gap at High Barnet station in 2022.

The fall broke her nose and her teeth leaving her face so badly injured the face ID didn't work and it was too wet from the rain for the touchscreen to function.

The 46-year-old who is now taking legal action against TfL, said: 'There were no staff on that platform and no one was watching CCTV.

'No one had responded to my screams for help.

'Twenty-two tonnes of steel crushed my limbs, and, if that wasn't bad enough, I remained on the tracks undetected until the second train came into the station, crushing me for a second time.'

PR executive Sarah de Lagarde faced life-changing injuries after falling between the tube gap at High Barnet and no one came to help her

Ms de Lagarde lost her right arm and leg after being crushed by the tube

The 46-year-old launched a legal claim against TfL

She added that she 'will never step foot on the Tube again'.

She said: 'If it wasn't safe when I had four limbs, it definitely won't be safe when I have two. Nothing has changed.

'It seems like TfL are above the law.

'There are lots of messages from TfL like "every journey matters" but there's no tangible proof of them improving things. They're good at PR but not at change.

'TfL are public servants... It's not acceptable.'

TfL said they were aware of Ms de Lagarde's claim but were not able to publicly comment further.

They did add: 'However, our thoughts continue to be with Sarah and her family following the devastating incident at High Barnet station and we have offered her direct support through the Sarah Hope Line.

Ms de Lagarde spoke outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London last year, directing her message to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the bosses of TfL, prior to launching legal action at the court

'Safety is our top priority and we continue to take every possible measure to learn from any incident and put in place appropriate improvements.'

Problems with people falling into the gap were exacerbated by making the newer S-stock trains level with the platform to improve wheelchair access.

This widens the gap at stations with curved platforms, such as the Metropolitan line platforms at Baker Street where blue warning lights have been introduced to alert passengers to the bigger gap between train and platform.

Last year a TikTok video showing the size of the gap at Bank station, on the Central Line, went viral after it was filmed by a shocked Tube passenger.

Viewers branded the gap a 'death trap' and complained about similar issues at Farringdon station and at Baker Street.

Officials attempt to warn people about the dangers of the space between the train and the platform through the use of the famous 'Mind The Gap' tannoy messages.

Thomas Jervis, partner at law firm Leigh Day, who represents Sarah de Lagarde said: 'One of TfL's stock phrases is that "safety is their number one priority".

'If that is right, it begs the question whether they think these alarming statistics are acceptable.

'If not, what are they going to do about it?'

Nick Dent, London Underground's Director of Customer Operations: 'We were extremely sorry that Lord Blunkett was injured on our network.

'We have met with him to discuss how we could have managed the incident better and to ensure that lessons are learned.

'The safety of our customers and staff is at the forefront of everything we do, and while injuries like the one experienced by Lord Blunkett are rare, we are undertaking a huge range of work aimed eradicating such incidents and making travelling even safer for everyone.'
This is the first photo of a man charged with stabbing his 'highly respected' architect father to death in the family's riverside London townhouse.

Rory Talbot, 30, appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court this morning to face a single charge of murder.

Mark Talbot, 75, was pronounced dead in his 3.5million home in Putney, south-west London, in the early hours of Friday morning.

Bearded Rory Talbot appeared via videolink from a custody suite in Kingston wearing a grey t-shirt, and spoke only to confirm his identity.

He made no indication of plea and will next appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.

During the two-minute hearing, magistrate Helen Jones told Talbot: 'You will next appear at the Old Bailey.

'That is where they will deal with all matters, including whether a plea hearing will take place. Your defence team will be in touch.'

She then remanded Talbot in custody ahead of Wednesday's hearing.

Rory Talbot (pictured) appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court this morning to face a single charge of murder

Mark Talbot, 75, (pictured) was allegedly killed by his 30-year-old son, Rory Talbot

Forensic investigators at the scene in Putney, London, following a fatal stabbing

In a statement released by Scotland Yard on Sunday, the Talbot family said: 'We are grateful for the support provided by police, our neighbours and others.

'We ask that our privacy is respected while we come to terms with the tragic loss of a highly respected member of the community.'

A Met Police spokesman said the force had been called to the home at about 3.36am on Friday to reports of a stabbing.

'Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service who treated Mr Talbot,' they added.

'Despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mark Talbot who have been affected by this tragic incident, and who continue to receive support from specialist officers.'

Mr Talbot ran architectural firm Stoutheart Ltd for more than 30 years.

In 1987 he purchased the Racton Monument, an 80ft Grade II-listed folly in Chichester, West Sussex, which overlooks the Isle of Wight and the English Channel.

Police were called to an address in SW15 following reports of a stabbing on Friday

Mark Talbot was tragically pronounced dead at the scene of the incident

The tower was designed by architect Theodosius Keene for Lord Halifax, and was built in the 1760s to host banquets on the ground floor and provide views of the Solent from the tower.

The crumbling folly is said to be haunted, with locals reporting seeing flying bricks and faces appearing in its windows.

Mr Talbot once applied for planning permission to turn the Georgian Gothic edifice into a dwelling but this was refused in 2020 by the South Downs National Park Authority.

The monument had become plagued with flytippers and illegal raves, as well as 'undesirable and sometimes illegal gatherings', Mr Talbot had said in his application.
Labour faces being forced to hike taxes again to avoid austerity, a respected think-tank warned today.

The IFS insisted dismal growth would make further increases to the burden 'difficult to avoid' for Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

The grim assessment came in a report highlighting that taxes are already heading for a record high after the huge Budget raid.

Government revenues as a proportion of national income are also set to overtake the average for rival economies.

However, the IFS pointed out that other states had been increasing taxes, and Britain's revenues had been 'catching up' since the mid-1990s after being cut under Margaret Thatcher.

The IFS highlighted in a report that taxes are already heading for a record high after the huge Budget raid. The IMF figures do not yet cover those increases

The IFS insisted dismal growth would make further increases to the burden 'difficult to avoid' for Chancellor Rachel Reeves

Revenue from taxes are heading for new post-war record highs. However, overall revenues are slightly below record levels as non-tax incomes from elements such as interest, dividends and profits from state-owned enterprises have not recovered

The analysis said the tax rises in the October fiscal package, on top of increases during the last Parliament, will take revenues to record highs.

'Government revenues have been on the rise in many advanced economies recently, with many countries approaching  or being at  their record-high levels,' the report said.

'Revenues in the UK fell well below the average of its peers over the 1980s but have been catching up since then.

'With the latest tax rises announced in the October 2024 Budget, total revenues in the UK are forecast by the OBR to exceed the average of other advanced countries and reach near-record levels seen just after the Second World War.'

The IFS said that part of the issue was the UK government income from non-tax elements - such as interest, dividends and profits from state-owned enterprises - had not recovered in the last 40 years.

The think-tank said: 'For a Chancellor committed to keeping debt from rising and avoiding a 'return to austerity' in the form of cuts to spending on public services then, absent stronger growth, further tax rises may prove difficult to avoid.'

Martin Miklos, a research economist who co-authored the report, said: 'UK Government revenues are approaching a record high.

The IFS said many countries were seeing government revenues above the long-term average

'But the UK is not alone in this: many other advanced economies have pushed their tax take to near-record levels in recent years.

'Having fallen during the 1980s UK revenues have been rising since the mid-1990s. On the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility revenues in the UK will soon rise slightly above the average of our peers.

'Given that our appetite for public spending appears to have already matched that of other countries, we should not be surprised if we need to tax as much too.'
One of the January 6 rioters pardoned by President Donald Trump is now facing charges of soliciting a minor.

Andrew Taake, 36, was released from federal prison just last week after Trump pardoned over 1,500 people over their role at the Capitol riot in 2021. He was convicted of assaulting police officers with a metal whip and bear spray.

But the Texas resident is now wanted in connection to a 2016 solicitation of a minor charge, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.

He was accused of soliciting a person that he 'believed to be younger than seventeen years of age' with the expectation of sexual contact, according to court documents.

The case was pending when Taake stormed the capitol to disrupt Congress' certification of Joe Biden's 2020 electoral win.

Taake was arrested for his role at the Capitol riot after a Bumble match turned him in to police and claimed he had bragged about his participation on the dating app.

He never met up with his Bumble match in person, and just days later, on January 9, the match came forward to the FBI, providing incriminating screenshots to investigators.

The screenshots of Taake's conversation with the Bumble match included a selfie that Taake sent, which he said had been taken 'about 30 minutes' after being pepper sprayed, according to the complaint.

Pardoned January 6 rioter Andrew Taake, 36, now faces charges of soliciting a minor

Taake was convicted of assaulting police officers with a metal whip and bear spray

The FBI confirmed that Taake took a Spirit Airlines flight from Houston to Baltimore/Washington International Airport on January 5, 2021

Investigators then found a number of public videos and Capitol surveillance that showed Taake taking part in the riot and entering the Capitol.

One image included in the criminal complaint showed Taake spraying Capitol cops in the face with pepper spray.

In other footage, Taake can be seen wielding a whip-like weapon and using it to attack Capitol cops before retreating back into the crowd, according to the complaint.

Surveillance footage of the Capitol shows Taake wandering the halls of the building carrying the whip, according to the FBI.

The FBI was also able to confirm that Taake took a Spirit Airlines flight from Houston to Baltimore/Washington International Airport on January 5, before returning to Texas on January 8, according to the complaint.

Cell phone tower records also placed him in the area of the Capitol during the riot, the FBI said.

FBI agents interviewed Taake at his Houston home and say that they were able to positively identify him as the man seen in the incriminating footage from the Capitol.

Trump granted Taake and other January 6 rioters 'a full, complete and unconditional pardon.'

Taake was arrested for his role at the Capitol riot after a Bumble match turned him in to police

Taake's Bumble match claimed he had bragged about his participation on the dating app

The Capitol riot left more than 100 police officers injured as the angry mob of Trump supporters  some armed with poles, bats and bear spray  overwhelmed law enforcement, shattered windows and sent lawmakers and aides running into hiding.

While pardons were expected, the speed and the scope of the clemency amounted to a stunning dismantling of the Justice Departments effort to hold participants accountable over what has been described as one of the darkest days in the countrys history.

Casting the rioters as 'patriots' and 'hostages,' Trump has claimed they were unfairly treated by the Justice Department, which also charged him with federal crimes in two cases he contends were politically motivated.

Trump said the pardons will end 'a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years' and begin 'a process of national reconciliation.'
President Donald Trump is expected to reinstate thousands of troops thrown out of the military for refusing the COVID vaccine, DailyMail.com can confirm.

Trump plans to sign an executive order this week to return roughly 8,000 service members to their original rank with back pay and benefits after they were discharged under President Joe Biden's administration.

Service members who refused to comply with Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate lost their jobs in the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, and many were given general or other-than-honorable discharges, which impacted veterans benefits.

Now, Trump plans to 'correct an injustice' and restore them to their prior rank  making good on another campaign promise within just one week of taking back the White House.

'The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Defense to reinstate all members of the military (active and reserve) who were discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine and who request to be reinstated,' according to a White House fact sheet on the order reviewed by DailyMail.com.

Trump also plans to sign two other executive orders addressing the 'wokeness' that seeped into the Pentagon  one that will ban DEI practices in the military and another that will prohibit transgender people from serving.

Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order that will reinstate the thousands of troops who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate under President Joe Biden's administration

During his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said troops who were fired over the 'experimental vaccine' will be welcomed back.

'In President Trump's Defense Department, they will be apologized to, they will be reinstituted (sic) with pay and rank,' said Hegseth, who was confirmed by the Senate days after his testimony.

Hegseth is now starting his first day on the job as Defense Secretary.

He spoke with reporters outside the Pentagon Monday morning, saying there will be a major 'shift' in how the DoD operates from here forward.

The White House sheet reads: 'From 2021 to 2023, the Biden Administration and former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discharged over 8,000 troops solely due to their COVID-19 vaccination status.'

As of October 2023, eight months after the vaccine mandate was officially repealed, only 43 of the more than 8,000 troops who were discharged sought to rejoin the military under the Biden administration, according to data from the branches of service.

Trump's order is a directive to the DoD, meaning it will not be enacted right away and will require action and direction from the Pentagon before reinstatements begin.

The implementation of compulsory COVID-19 vaccines for all federal employees was put in place by the early days of Biden's White House once it was developed and approved under emergency order.

Those who refused and did not have reasonable medical or religious accommodations, were faced with losing their jobs  this included those in the armed services.

Many faced general or other-than-honorable discharges, which impacted their veterans benefits.

Republicans were especially outraged that troops and other federal employees were faced with the decision to take an experimental drug that was not even fully FDA approved or lose their job.

Pete Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon on Monday, January 27, 2025 for his first day on the job and Donald Trump's Defense Secretary

Trump's expected incoming executive order to reinstate the troops was first reported by Fox News.

The newly inaugurated president pledged last week to allow troops to come back to the military and receive back pay and reinstated rank.

'This week I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate, with full back pay,' Trump said in his inauguration day remarks on January 20.

Monday afternoon will mark the end of Trump's first full week back in office, which included a flurry of hundreds of executive orders and actions that got his second term off to a running start.
In a bizarre incident, a farting whale is believed to have triggered fears of Russian drones targeting UK nuclear submarines, causing a security scare off the coast of Scotland.

The unusual underwater noises were detected twice by Navy sensors, raising suspicions of enemy activity near the Isle of Raasay and Applecross in the north-west of the country.

Initially, it was feared that the sounds could be linked to one of Vladimir Putin's drone submarines planting a listening device on the seabed to track British naval activity.

The concerns were serious enough to prompt an urgent investigation.

A Naval official told The Sun: 'We have been analysing the sounds and now believe it was a marine mammal. A whale.'

But despite this assessment, not everyone is convinced.

Another military source added: 'We are taking it very seriously. We have to assume the worst until we can be absolutely certain.'

The mysterious noises were first picked up traveling north from the submarine testing range towards the open sea.

Unusual underwater noises were detected twice by Navy sensors, raising suspicions of enemy activity near the Isle of Raasay and Applecross in North West Scotland. Pictured: Royal Navy submarine with the Isle of Raasay Scotland in the background

It was feared that the sounds could be linked to one of Vladimir Putin's drone submarines planting a listening device on the seabed to track British naval activity

A farting whale is thought to have sparked fears that Russian drones were targeting UK nuclear submarines

A few days later, the sounds reappeared, this time moving south towards the Skye Bridge before turning around and vanishing.

Analysts initially described the noises as man-made, emphasising that nothing like them had ever been recorded in the range's 55-year history.

This fueled speculation that Russia's deep-sea research unit, known as GUGI, could be deploying sophisticated technology to capture acoustic signatures of UK submarines.

Such intelligence would make British subs easier to track, posing a significant threat to national security.

Adding to the tension, two civilian ships equipped with undersea robots were spotted operating in the 1,000-foot-deep channel around the same time as the alert.

Their presence raised further concerns about potential Russian espionage.

However, seasoned naval experts were quick to point out that underwater animal sounds, including whale flatulence, have previously been mistaken for enemy submarines.

Pictured: HMS Astute near the Isle of Skye in Scotland

While this theory has been supported by initial sound analyses, the Navy remains cautious, given the stakes involved.

The incident comes amid growing fears of Russian interference in UK waters.

This week, Defence Secretary John Healey issued a stern warning to Moscow, stating that Russian ships suspected of damaging British underwater cables would face being boarded and seized by Royal Marines.

In a related event last November, a Royal Navy submarine surfaced near a Russian spy ship loitering over critical undersea infrastructure in the English Channel, demonstrating the Navy's vigilance in safeguarding Britain's maritime interests.

A Navy spokesman emphasised the importance of constant monitoring, stating: 'We continuously patrol our territorial waters to protect the UK.'

While the mystery of the underwater noises may turn out to be nothing more than a flatulent whale, the Navy is leaving nothing to chance as tensions with Russia remain high.
A man charged with murdering a beautiful university lecturer has appeared in court.

Paul Butler, 53, was arrested following a manhunt last week and charged with murder and possession of a bladed article before a judge in Plymouth this morning.

It came after Claire Chick, 48, was found seriously injured on West Hoe Road last Wednesday night. She later died in hospital.

Butler - dressed in a grey tracksuit was escorted into the dock flanked by two security guards briefly glanced at the public gallery where several of Ms Chicks family wept and held each other throughout the short hearing.

He was asked twice by the judge at Plymouth Magistrates Court to confirm his name before whispering the answer and giving an address on Stangray Avenue, Plymouth.

With family members close by, District Judge Stuart Smith directed prosecutors not to read a summary of the offences and no bail application was made.

A plea and case management hearing was scheduled at Plymouth Crown Court on March 3, with a bail application hearing on Tuesday (January 28) at the same court.

Addressing the family who were sitting at the back of the courtroom, Judge Smith said: To the family and friends who have attended today, I just want to express my sincere condolences to you all.

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Paul Butler (left) appearing at Plymouth Magistrates' Court charged with the murder of Claire Chick

Claire Chick, 48, a lecturer in adult nursing at Plymouth University, was killed in the West Hoe area last Wednesday

Claire pictured with 53-year-old Paul Butler, who has been charged with murder

The pain, anguish and loss you must be feeling is unimaginable.

Ms Chick, previously known as Claire Butler, had five grandchildren who call her favourite grandma, according to her family who released a heartbreaking tribute this week.

Butler sparked a widespread manhunt after he was named as a suspect following the murder. He was found by officers 20 miles away in Launceston on Friday and was charged with the offences on Sunday.

In a statement, issued via Devon and Cornwall Police, the family said: We are absolutely devastated and broken at the loss of our beautiful caring mother Claire Chick.

She was the most beautiful lively soul and was there for everyone. Everyone who knew our mum had so much positive words to say about her.

She was the life and soul of any place where she was.

She loved to dance and sing even though she was pretty bad at it she had no shame in doing it in front of any audience.

We will never get over this as a family, she was our glue and our go-to. We wont ever get the justice our mum deserves for this because no amount of justice will bring her back.

Police erected a police cordon between Great Western Road and West Hoe Road after Ms Chick was found 'seriously injured' in the street

Forensics officers used torches to search the street as they worked late into the night

We want to thank everyone for their kind words, and we invite anyone who knew her to share their memories of her.

We also would like to remind the public she leaves behind five beautiful grandchildren who all refer to her as a favourite grandma.

We ask you respect their privacy, and everyone remains respectful to them.

She may be gone but her spirit will always remain alive. We love you mum, and we promise to make you proud.

Vice-chancellor of Plymouth University - where Claire worked - Professor Richard Davies said: We have been shocked and saddened by the death of a much loved member of our university community.

Having spoken with Claires colleagues, I know that her contribution to Plymouth was significant and deeply felt - she was a respected nurse, lecturer, and personal tutor, ensuring students were supported academically and pastorally.

As associate head of school for international in our school of nursing and midwifery, she was closely involved in developing nursing programmes, students and academics in Europe, Africa and Asia.

As a colleague, Claires humour and warmth will be dearly missed by academic and support staff.

Claire (pictured), was a lecturer in adult nursing at Plymouth University

Pastoral support is in place for staff and students who knew Claire and have been affected by this tragic news, and further events are being organised to remember her.

In the meantime, our thoughts are with Claires family and friends at this impossibly difficult time.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Rob Smith said: We have specialist officers in place to continue to provide support to Claires family.

Our investigation is ongoing, and I would like to thank the local community for their support whilst we have carried out our enquiries over the past few days.
King Charles III told Holocaust survivors it was 'sombre and sacred' to be in Poland today as he became the first British head of state to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The monarch appeared to shed a tear while he listened to the stories of those who survived the former Nazi concentration camp as he sat with other world leaders to mark 80 years since its liberation.

Survivors were applauded as the entered the ceremony before addressing invited guests including France's President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Spain's King Philip VI and Queen Letizia, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky and King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.

Among the survivors speaking today was Marian Turski, 98, who condemned a 'huge rise' in antisemitism, calling for 'courage' against Holocaust deniers.

Earlier, the King was welcomed by dignitaries as he landed on a Royal Air Force plane at Krakow Airport before visiting the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in the city.

There, he met Holocaust survivors and heard from volunteers and members about the JCC's support for people as part of its mission to rebuild Jewish life in the city.

Meanwhile back in London, the Princess of Wales will join her husband Prince William to attend official Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations in the UK.

The King said today at the JCC that the 'evil' of the Holocaust should ensure the world will never again 'be a bystander in the face of violence and hate'.

Describing his visit to Poland as a 'sombre and sacred moment', Charles remembered the six million victims of the 'hatred and violence' of Hitler's Nazi regime, pointing out that the anniversary was a timely reminder.

King Charles III wipes his eye during a commemoration event at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

King Charles III looks at suitcases during a tour at the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau

King Philip VI and Queen Letizia of Spain attend the ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

(From left) King Philippe of Belgium, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, British King Charles III, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and King Frederik X of Denmark and Queen Mary of Denmark attend the ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Buedenbender greet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prior to commemorations at Auschwitz-Birkenau this afternoon

He said: 'It is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world.

'In a world that remains full of turmoil and strife, and has witnessed the dangerous re-emergence of antisemitism, there can be no more important message  especially as the United Kingdom holds the Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

'As the number of Holocaust survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders, and on those of generations yet unborn.

'The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task and in so doing, we inform our present and shape our future.'

Highlighting inspirational Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert who died last October, but inspired much of his work, he said she 'collectively taught us to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate.'

The King described the vibrant centre in which he was standing as a symbol of the Jewish community's rebirth 'from the ashes of the Holocaust'.

It came about after a visit by the King to Krakow in 2002 with the help of World Jewish Relief, of which he is patron, and now works not just with the city's flourishing Jewish community but also to foster interfaith harmony and has been instrumental in assisting many of its Ukrainian refugees.

King Charles III lays a candle during commemorations at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland to mark 80 years since the liberation of the concentration camp

The monarch lays a candle during the ceremony in Oswiecim, Poland today

The wreath that was laid by King Charles III at the 'Death Wall' - a reconstruction of the site where several thousand people, mainly Polish political prisoners, were executed

The monarch's handwritten message read: 'In special remembrance'

King Charles III (centre), King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (left) and his wife Queen Maxima (right) of the Netherlands arrive at Auschwitz-Birkenau for today's commemorations

King Charles III during a tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, following the commemorations

King Charles III looks at suitcases that belonged to people deported to Auschwitz during a tour at the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau

King Charles III is seen during a tour at the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau

People attend an event to mark the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz-Birkenau this afternoon

King Charles and Denmark's King Frederik speak during the commemoration event

King Charles III (left) and King Frederik X of Denmark (right) at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

Polish historian and Holocaust survivor Marian Turski arrives at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

King Charles III views floral tributes at 'The Death Wall' during a tour at the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau

Heads and representatives of state and other guests listen as Polish historian and Holocaust survivor Marian Turski delivers a speech at Auschwitz-Birkenau this afternoon

King Charles III wipes his nose after he taking his seat at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

King Charles III passes by Polish President Andrzej Duda and the Polish President's wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda as he arrives for commemorations at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

King Charles III (C) and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (L) at Auschwitz-Birkenau

King Charles III and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attending the commemorations

French holocaust survivor and President of the Auschwitz Deportees' Union Arlette Testyler (L) and France's Prime Minister Francois Bayrou take part in the Rekindling the Flame ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknow Soldier

Canadian Holocaust survivor Miriam Ziegler, centre right, receives assistance as she places a candle

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends commemorations at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress

Pole Wladyslaw Osik, a concentration camp survivor, arrives at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

A Holocaust survivor at a commemoration event at Auschwitz-Birkenau this afternoon

Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman speaks during commemorations at Auschwitz-Birkenau

King Charles III looks at belongings of people once deported to Auschwitz during a tour at the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau

Moved by the stories of the survivors he met, the King sought to find a way for them to meet together to share their experiences and encourage the younger Jewish community, adding a significant personal donation of his own.

'A sombre and indeed a sacred moment': King's speech at Jewish Community Centre in Krakow today The full speech by King Charles III at the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow today to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz: Ladies and Gentlemen, To be in Poland on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, as we commemorate 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, is both a sombre and indeed a sacred moment. It is a moment when we recall the six million Jews, old and young, who were systematically murdered, together with Sinti, Roma, disabled people, members of the LGBT community, political prisoners, and so many others upon whom the Nazis inflicted their violence and hatred. It is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world. And it is a moment when we recall the powerful testimonies of Survivors such as Lily Ebert, who so sadly passed away in October, and who collectively taught us to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate. In a world that remains full of turmoil and strife, and has witnessed the dangerous re-emergence of antisemitism, there can be no more important message  especially as the United Kingdom holds the Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. As the number of Holocaust survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders, and on those of generations yet unborn. The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task and in so doing, we inform our present and shape our future. Here in Krakow, from the ashes of the Holocaust, the Jewish community has been reborn. And there is no greater symbol of this rebirth than the Jewish Community Centre, in which we are gathered here today. Standing on the steps of this wonderfully vibrant centre some seventeen years ago, having encouraged its construction and taken immense pride in opening it, I was filled with a sense of hope and optimism at the life and energy that coursed through the building. So, returning today, along with World Jewish Relief, of which I am extremely proud to be patron, that sense of hope and optimism has only grown. With their support, together with other generous benefactors, this centre has blossomed from the bud of an idea into an essential hub for the community. Ladies and gentlemen, in a post-Holocaust world, projects such as this centre are how we recover our faith in humanity. They also show us there is much work still to be done if we are not just to remember the past, but to use it to inspire us to build a kinder and more compassionate world for future generations; a world of which we can be truly proud. And this remains the sacred task of us all. Advertisement

He returned in 2008 to officially open the centre and has kept in touch with it regularly since, adding another donation to its funds to mark today's visit. It now has 1,000 members and has helped more than a million people.

Today he was reunited with one of the men he first met in 2002, whose story so moved him.

Ryszard Orowski, 84, lost his entire family after they were deported to the ghetto in Skawina from Krakow.

He was only saved after his mother found a way to get him out before its liquidation in 1942 and she was taken to the Belzec extermination camp.

He was taken in by a Polish family who raised him as their own, hiding him in their attic and cellar until after the war, going on to become an engineer, marrying and having two daughters.

Standing to shake hands with Mr Orowski, Charles said: 'It's such a pleasure. '

He then patted him on the back, joking: 'Poor man has to put up with me each time. '

He was also introduced to Bernard Offen, the centre's oldest survivor at 95, as well as Zofia Radzikowska, 89, some of the 58 Holocaust survivors in Krakow who use the centre.

'You Majesty, do you remember me?' Mrs Radzikowska asked.

'Of course I do,' the King said.

'God save the King!' she declared, loudly.

'Oh no, no, no,' Charles replied, smiling.

'You are wonderful to be here today. It's a great joy for me to come back to Krakow and have this chance to see you because I am thrilled that this centre is doing so well and is expanding its reach. More and more people come here,' he said, smiling.

'We are so grateful and happy,' Mrs Radzikowska said.

'I am so thrilled and happy about that,' the King replied.

'You are keeping reasonable well? Good. '

Told that they were among the centre's most active residents, the King asked Mr Offen: 'Are you singing in the choir? '

He was told that his voice wasn't 'good for it'.

'I know that feeling, it gets worse,' chuckled the King.

'You can see each others and make lots of old friends here? Still amazing and energetic by the looks of it. You had such a dreadful time, didn't you, in the war. The camps you ended up in. You survived, thank God.'

Talking to Mr Ryszard, the King said: 'It was a long time ago that we met. I hope this is an improvement for you after all these years.'

'Yes, thanks to Your Majesty we have a place to be together,' an interpreter said.

The King discussed Shabbat and other traditions at the centre and heard that it has became so successful they needed more space.

'So we need to have another effort? he said.

'There are a lot of people here from Ukraine, I hear. The wonderful thing here is that you can providing housing, food and support,' he said.

Charles was then shown the 'free shop', a food bank that is staffed by volunteers for many of the Ukrainian refugees that have arrived in the city. The JCC still helps around 1,000 people a week, mainly women and children, 98 per cent of which are not Jewish.

He was introduced to Anastazja Lasna and her mother, Victoria, who now live in the city with her young daughter, Lisa, who was at school today.

Both women fought back tears as they spoke to the King and appeared genuinely moved by his presence.

Anastazja said: 'You Majesty, my family were forced to leave our home but we found a safe place here in Krakow with this Jewish community which have provided us with emotional support, housing and essential needs.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky lays a candle during the ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau

A Holocaust survivor is embraced after breaking down in tears during the ceremony

King Charles III views floral tributes at 'The Death Wall' during a tour at the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrives at Auschwitz-Birkenau this afternoon

Holocaust survivor Niusia (Bronislawa) Horowitz-Karakulska at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

First Lady of France Brigitte Macron and President of France Emmanuel Macron lay candles

People applaud as a Holocaust survivor arrives at Auschwitz-Birkenau to attend today's event

Marian Turski, an Auschwitz survivor and member of the International Auschwitz Council, speaks during commemorations at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

Leon Weintraub, a concentration camp survivor, arrives at Auschwitz-Birkenau this afternoon

Auschwitz survivor Janina Iwanska speaks during commemorations at Auschwitz-Birkenau

People attend an event to mark the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz-Birkenau this afternoon

A Holocaust survivor at a commemoration event at Auschwitz-Birkenau this afternoon

Survivor Marion Tursky attends the ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this afternoon

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan attends the commemoration at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde stand in front of candles during the commemoration event

People applaud as a Holocaust survivor arrives at Auschwitz-Birkenau to attend today's event

A Holocaust survivor at a commemoration event at Auschwitz-Birkenau this afternoon

People applaud as a Holocaust survivor arrives at Auschwitz-Birkenau to attend today's event

'Here we have found a sense of belonging and I feel we can start a life here again. On behalf of every community member I want to express my deepest gratitude to you and your family. Thank you. '

Next generation must learn of 'catastrophic moral failure' of Holocaust, says David Lammy The next generation must not be allowed to focus on online 'clickbait' and ignore the grim lessons of the Holocaust, David Lammy said. The Foreign Secretary said youngsters needed to understand 'how the seeds of such a catastrophe are still around us'. Foreign Secretary David Lammy speaking at the Foreign Office in London today Speaking at a reception co-hosted by the Israeli embassy in the UK, Mr Lammy said: ''Never again' is a solemn promise which we owe to the victims, but also which we must uphold for our own sake, and for the sake of future generations. 'We need Holocaust remembrance. Holocaust education. Action against antisemitism - it is how we build a better future for us all together.' At the event in the Foreign Office he highlighted a digital exhibition featuring 80 objects from filmed testimonies of British Holocaust survivors and refugees, presented as 80 individual social media posts. He said: 'Eighty years on from the defeat of Nazism, the number of survivors still with us is inevitably dwindling. 'The world of the 1930s and '40s can feel ever more distant from our high-tech world of today. The next generation risks being distracted, clickbait making it all too easy not to grasp the full horror of the Holocaust. 'We therefore need to find new ways to tell the story, to capture people's imagination, young people's most of all, and prompt real reflection. 'We need them to understand what a catastrophic moral failure for humanity Auschwitz was, and how the seeds of such a catastrophe are still around us.' Tottenham MP Mr Lammy said: 'As a black man descended from the Windrush generation, as MP for the most diverse constituency in Britain - including, I am proud to say, a thriving Jewish community - and now, as Foreign Secretary, I see all too many signs of that lingering infection. 'Auschwitz did not start in its gas chambers. Genocide does not start with genocide. 'It starts with denial of rights. With attacks on the rule of law. With a festering resentment of the other.' Advertisement

Victoria added: 'Thank you so much. It's such an honour for me to meet you in person.'

'As long as it isn't too much of a terrible experience for you,' Charles smiled kindly.

Official welcoming the king to 'your centre', its executive director, Jonathan Ornstein, told the King it was particularly important that the Jewish community, who had once been victims, could now be 'caregivers' in helping the Ukrainian people.

As the King had arrived early there was enough time to pop into the premises of the Jewish preschool below - the first to open since the Holocaust - where he was presented with a sweet painting that had been made by the children of himself, thanking him for helping to set the centre up.

It was given to him by Ayala Ornstein Leonardi and Michael Aderet. 'Thank you!' they chorused.

'Oh look! I say! Thank you so much indeed, very nice isn't it? So who has done it? All of you? Thank you,' the King said.

The monarch then left straight for the formal commemorations at the concentration camp.

Speaking about the visit, centre director Mr Ornstein said: 'Without question this building exists because the then Prince of Wales met with survivors and asked how he could help them and had the vision to understand that this community could be about so much more than Holocaust survivors.

'We send regular briefings to him, he tells me how proud he is of our work here, particularly with Ukraine. Unlike a lot of people who visit here kept his promise and we are incredibly grateful always that the King gave this Jewish community a future.

'The message here is that no community, no matter what it goes through, is beyond help. This community has gone through genocide eighty years to go on to help others.'

Before he left Mr Ornstein told the King he also had to thank him for meeting his wife at the centre.

'Fortunately I don't charge commission,' the sovereign joked.

Born in 1935, Mrs Radzikowska, 89, spent the war in hiding with her mother in Krakow pretending to be Polish Christians. Her father was murdered in Auschwitz

She said afterwards: 'People told my mother after the war that my father had been murdered. Auschwitz is an evil place. The King will find it difficult.

'What happens today in the world, happening not far way from us, it is very important that Great Britain keep helping Ukraine. Eighty years later and again we don't feel safe. Humanity has not learned its lesson.

'Today I am very happy to meet King Charles. He is a man of class, he has done so much for this place, for us. He is a man ready to speak to everyone. He is a gentleman. It's how I image a real English gentleman. We have to remember the past and shape the future. It's important the whole world remembers what happened and that it could happen again. Everywhere there is war. God help us.

'Now I am not strong enough to come here [the Jewish Centre] every day but I come here for Shabbat or if something is happening. A big part of my life is connected with this place. '

Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Orowski said: 'It's a wonderful thing to have the king here. It was my request of him to help us. He asked what could he do for the Jewish community in Krakow. My proposal was to have a building for the community where all the Jewish organisations could meet.

King Charles speaks with Holocaust survivors during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre

Charles is presented with a painting by children at Krakow's Jewish Community Centre today

The King speaks to members of the public before visiting the Jewish Community Centre today

Charles speaks with Holocaust survivors while visiting the Jewish Community Centre today

King Charles speaks with Holocaust survivors during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre

King Charles speaks with a Holocaust survivor during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre

'Back then the prince said 'yes I will do my best to make this happen'. And he did. My message to the world is not to have conflict between nations. Even minor conflicts lead to catastrophic war. There should be no differences between people. We should be tolerant towards each other. We should remember what happened during the war the holocaust and do everything possible to make sure it doesn't happen again.'

Later, Charles left a wreath at the Death Wall, a reconstruction of the site where several thousand people, mainly Polish political prisoners, were executed and he also paused under the infamous iron gates that have come to symbolise the terror of the Nazi regime, bearing the motto Arbeit macht frei - Work Sets You Free.

The King saw exhibits of hundreds of everyday items taken from those murdered - adult shoes, children's shoes and suitcases.

In the visitors' book in what was previously the laundry room at the camp Charles wrote: 'Remembering what took place here, and those who were so cruelly murdered is a duty; a sacred duty that must be protected.

'Being here today, hearing the stories of those who experienced its horrors, seeing the shoes of children whose lives were taken when they'd just begun, and walking the paths upon which such cruelty was inflicted, is something that I will never forget.'

The King has travelled to Poland to commemorate the milestone with foreign monarchs, presidents, prime ministers and Holocaust survivors invited to a service at the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum and memorial.

During a Buckingham Palace event earlier this month to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, held annually on the day Auschwitz - which was in German-occupied Poland - was liberated, the King said: 'I feel I must go for the 80th anniversary, (it's) so important.'.'

Commemorations at the former death camp began earlier when Poland's president Andrzej Duda joined Auschwitz survivors laying wreaths and candles at the site.

Their tributes were left at a reconstruction of the Death Wall, the site where several thousand people, mainly Polish political prisoners, were executed.

The King meets food bank volunteers during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre today

King Charles speaks with Holocaust survivors during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre

Charles is presented with a painting by children at Krakow's Jewish Community Centre today

King Charles III meets members of the community at the Jewish Community Centre today

Charles is presented with a painting by children at Krakow's Jewish Community Centre today

King Charles III is welcomed by the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis during his visit to the JCC

King Charles III gives a speech during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow

In a speech, Mr Duda said 'we Poles are the guardians of memory today' and had a duty to maintain the life stories of the survivors.

More than a million people, mostly Jews but also Poles, Soviet prisoners of war and other nationalities, were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Second World War as part of the Holocaust in which six million Jewish men, women and children were killed.

The camp was liberated by soldiers of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front who opened the gates on January 27, 1945.

The ceremony will be held in front of the infamous gates of the former Nazi concentration camp which had the words Arbeit Macht Frei - 'work sets you free' - above it.

Survivors will place a light in front of a freight train carriage - a symbol of the event - and the King with other heads of state and Government will lay lights in memory of those who died during the Holocaust.

King Charles III unveils a plaque during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre today

King Charles III gives a speech during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre this afternoon

The King speaks to members of the public before visiting the Jewish Community Centre today

Charles is presented with a painting by children at Krakow's Jewish Community Centre today

The King meets food bank volunteers during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre today

King Charles III during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow this afternoon

Charles is presented with a painting by children at Krakow's Jewish Community Centre today

King Charles III meets Ukrainian refugees at the food bank during his visit to the JCC today

Charles is presented with a painting by children at Krakow's Jewish Community Centre today

After the ceremony Charles will walk through the gates to view personal items confiscated from victims when they entered the camp and lay a wreath at a reconstruction of the Death Wall, the site where several thousand people, mainly Polish political prisoners, were executed.

It comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned a similar atrocity could happen in the future unless society upholds its duty to 'make 'never again' finally mean what it says'.

In a statement, he paid tribute to the six million Jewish people murdered by the Nazi regime and renewed his commitment to ensure all schools across the country teach students about the genocide.

'The Holocaust was a collective endeavour by thousands of ordinary people utterly consumed by the hatred of difference,' Sir Keir said. 'That is the hatred we stand against today and it is a collective endeavour for all of us to defeat it.

'We must start by remembering the six million Jewish victims and by defending the truth against anyone who would deny it.'

The King meets food bank volunteers during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre today

The King speaks to members of the public before visiting the Jewish Community Centre today

King Charles III gives a speech during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre this afternoon

King Charles III during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow this afternoon

King Charles III is welcomed by Krakow Mayor Aleksander Miszalski as he arrives at to the Jewish Community Centre in the city this afternoon

King Charles III gives a speech during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre this afternoon

The King speaks to members of the public before visiting the Jewish Community Centre today

King Charles III during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow this afternoon

The King speaks to members of the public before visiting the Jewish Community Centre today

King Charles III during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow this afternoon

The King speaks to members of the public before visiting the Jewish Community Centre today

The Prime Minister said 'as we remember, we must also act,' pointing to other atrocities in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur which followed the Holocaust.

'Today, we have to make those words mean more. We will make Holocaust education a truly national endeavour,' he said.

'We will ensure all schools teach it and seek to give every young person the opportunity to hear a recorded survivor testimony, because by learning from survivors we can develop that empathy for others and that appreciation of our common humanity, which is the ultimate way to defeat the hatred of difference.

'It happened, it can happen again: that is the warning of the Holocaust to us all. And it's why it is a duty for all of us to make 'never again' finally mean what it says: never again.'

The Prime Minister also visited Auschwitz earlier this month, where he vowed to fight the 'poison of antisemitism'.

The King is welcomed by British Ambassador to Poland Anna Clunes at Krakow Airport today

King Charles III arrives at Krakow Airport today to attend Holocaust Memorial Day events

King Charles III is welcomed by Colonel Byliniax as he arrives at Krakow Airport this afternoon

King Charles III arrives at Krakow Airport today to attend Holocaust Memorial Day events

The King is welcomed by British Ambassador to Poland Anna Clunes at Krakow Airport today

King Charles III is welcomed by Colonel Byliniax as he arrives at Krakow Airport this afternoon

The King is welcomed by British Ambassador to Poland Anna Clunes at Krakow Airport today

Last Wednesday, he welcomed a group of survivors and their families to Downing Street, describing the meeting as 'an incredible privilege' and praising their 'sheer and remarkable courage'.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch spoke of the importance of confronting 'the resurgence of antisemitism today' while reflecting on the Holocaust as a 'unique evil in human history.'

'This year, we solemnly commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. We must continue to honour the memory of the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were brutally murdered in the Holocaust,' she said.

'As the Holocaust recedes from living memory, it is imperative that we listen to the testimonies of the remaining survivors and ensure their stories are passed on to future generations.

'While we reflect on the unimaginable horrors that antisemitism has wrought in the past, we must also confront the resurgence of antisemitism today.

Commemorations at the former death camp began earlier when Poland's president Andrzej Duda (pictured) joined Auschwitz survivors laying wreaths and candles at the site

Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning

Polish President Andrzej Duda walks next to barbed wire fences at Auschwitz-Birkenau today

Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning

A Holocaust survivor attends a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning

Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning

A woman walks at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration camp today

'Globally, we have witnessed the abduction of Jews, violent riots, and attacks on synagogues.

'Alarmingly, antisemitism is on the rise here in the UK as well. The Jewish community has significantly enriched our nation, and their traditions, history, and resilience are integral to Britain's diverse and vibrant identity.

'Yet, we see weekly marches spewing modern-day hatred of Jews. Antisemitism, often disguised as 'anti-Zionism,' is prevalent on our streets and in our universities.

'The Holocaust stands as a unique evil in human history. It is crucial that we learn its lessons and continue to combat antisemitism, ensuring that 'never again' truly means never again.'

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged vigilance in defending 'peace, human rights and compassion' and guarding against 'antisemitism, hatred, discrimination and oppression'.

People walk at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration camp today

Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning

Museum guards carry wreaths ahead of a ceremony at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp today

Men clean up this morning ahead of the anniversary ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Amalia of the Netherlands are welcomed at Katowice Airport in Poland today as they visit the country for Holocaust Memorial Day

'80 years ago, seven thousand people were finally liberated from Auschwitz. Free at last, after years of unimaginable misery,' he said in a statement.

'In the years before, 1.1 million people had been murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz alone - mostly Jews.

'As we commemorate 80 years since Britain and her allies defeated the Nazis and ended the Holocaust, we must never forget those appalling atrocities.

'We must never forget how six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis; how so much inhumanity was inflicted on humans by humans.'

He paid tribute to Lily Ebert, a Holocaust survivor and memoirist who died last October.

'Lily wrote about a banknote, given to her by an American soldier after the liberation. He'd written on it: 'A start to a new life. Good luck and happiness,'' Sir Ed said.

'She wrote: 'This was something I knew I'd keep forever, a reminder, after all the cruelty we'd endured, that people could be compassionate. There was some hope and humanity left in the world'.

'We must remember that too, and live up to the positive vision Lily could see, even after so much darkness.'
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A man has been arrested for the alleged rape of an 11-year-old boy on a flight from Miami to Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian media reports.

The unnamed suspect, said to be a 30-year-old businessman, was arrested upon arrival at the Tom Jobim International Airport in Galeao following the flight from the United States on January 23.

The boy told his mother that during the trip the man had approached him and struck up a conversation about games before sexually assaulting him, according to local reports.

After landing, the child's mother went straight to the police and the businessman, who has not been named, was arrested.

The Brazilian Federal Police said in a statement: 'According to the minor's account to his mother  when he was already away from the aggressor and safely in the arrivals area  the perpetrator, during the flight, had approached the victim and talked about common interests (games), creating trust and a degree of possible embarrassment.'

Upon landing in Rio de Janeiro, federal police officers carried out investigations at the airport and managed to detain the man.

After landing, the child's mother went straight to the police and the businessman, who has not been named, was arrested (stock image)

The suspect, said to be a 30-year-old businessman, was arrested upon arrival at the Tom Jobim International Airport in Galeao (seen in file image)

The child's testimony, conducted at the Child and Adolescent Victim Police Station and with the support of specialised professionals, confirmed the version reported by the victim's mother, which resulted in the suspect's arrest.

The police did not say whether the mother and son travelled separately.

The man has been charged with rape of a vulnerable person and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

He was reportedly detained in state prison in Benfica, northern Rio, with police expected to question him as investigations continue.
The European Union's top general has said that the bloc should deploy troops to Greenland to send a 'strong signal' - amid suggestions from Donald Trump that the United States could seize the territory.

General Robert Brieger, the chairman of the European Union Military Committee, said it would make sense to station troops from EU countries in Greenland, according to an interview with Germany's Welt am Sonntag.

'In my view, it would make perfect sense not only to station US forces in Greenland, as has been the case to date, but also to consider stationing EU soldiers there in the future,' the Austrian official said.

'That would send a strong signal and could contribute to stability in the region,' he added.

Washington already has 200 troops stationed at the Pituffick Space Base - part of a missile early warning system and satellite surveillance hub on the north of the island.

The EU military committee is the highest military office of the European Council, but it serves solely as a consultative body and has no dedicated army of its own to conduct missions.

Ultimately, such a step would require a political decision, he said, as deploying troops would require sign-off from national governments. US-led NATO is the bloc's main military alliance.

Although Greenland is not part of the EU as an overseas territory of Denmark, Europe, as well as the US, both have interests in it, the general added, citing its raw materials and strategic location.

General Robert Brieger, the chairman of the European Union Military Committee, said it would make sense to station troops from EU countries in Greenland

Trump has expressed an interest in making Greenland part of the US. He has not ruled out using military or economic power to persuade Denmark to hand it over

Copenhagen has declared that it will increase security around the territory following Trump's claims. General view shows Nuuk City

'However, with increasing ice melt as a result of climate change, this also creates a certain potential for tension with Russia and possibly China,' he said.

The disappearing ice caps are creating some of the world's shortest shipping routes between the Pacific and Atlantic, adding to the region's strategic and economic importance.

The island also has a large supply of valuable rare earth minerals, including uranium.

Trump has expressed an interest in making Greenland part of the US. He has not ruled out using military or economic power to persuade Denmark to hand it over.

Copenhagen has declared that it will increase security around the territory following Trump's claims.

Speaking on Air Force One over the weekend, the president told reporters: 'I don't really know what claim Denmark has to it, but it would be a very unfriendly act if they didn't allow that to happen because it's for the protection of the free world. It's not for us, it's for the free world.

'Right now, you have Russian ships, you have Chinese ships, you have ships from various countries. It's not a good situation.'

Donald Trump Jr. visits Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Republican lawmakers are largely in lockstep with Trump's Greenland plans

He added: 'I think Greenland will be worked out with us. I think we're going to have it. I think the people want to be with us.'

Greenland's strategic location along the shortest route from Europe to North America, vital for the US ballistic missile warning system, has also made it a priority for Trump.

Brieger said he hoped that the US as a member of the United Nations would respect the inviolability of borders as stipulated in the UN Charter.

While geographically it is part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically linked with Europe - in particular Norway and Denmark - since the 9th Century. It has been inhabited by the Inuit people for around 800 years.

It was colonised in 1721 with the permission of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway and remained a colony of Denmark until 1953. It is now an autonomous territory of Denmark.

The Danish government has control of Greenland's foreign and economic policy, but the territory left the EU in 1985 following a referendum.
This is the shocking moment two beach huts valued at 40,000 each were washed out to sea by huge waves whipped up by Storm Herminia.

The huts at Hordle Cliff in Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire, were part of a group of 16 wooden cabins that took a pounding from the ferocious seas on Sunday.

The destruction came after the latest storm swept in with up to 70mph gusts and three inches of rain on Sunday night, following the chaos caused by Storm Eowyn.

It first battered southwest England and Wales before moving into Northern Ireland and northern England and had reached Scotland by Sunday evening.

Dramatic photos and video show the waves breaching the sea wall that stands between the huts, worth a combined 640,000, and The Solent.

The surge of water obliterated one hut, with debris from it including a child's dinghy, being swept away. Another was upended and seen tossed around in the surf.

The waves have knocked the others off their feet, leaving them dangerously close to being washed away.

A member of the public, possibly a beach hut owner, tried to approach the cabins but had to take shelter from the waves.

The huts at Hordle Cliff in Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire, were part of a group of 16 wooden cabins that took a pounding from the ferocious seas on Sunday.

The destruction came after Storm Hermania swept in with up to 70mph gusts and three inches of rain on Sunday night, following the chaos caused by Storm Eowyn.

Dramatic photos and video show the waves breaching the sea wall that stands between the huts, worth a combined 640,000, and The Solent

The stretch of coastline has controversially been 'abandoned' by the local council and left to the elements.

New Forest District Council has adopted a 'do nothing' policy to coastal erosion in that area rather than pay to boost sea defences.

Last year 17 huts nearby were written off after the fragile bank they stood on was washed away by winter storms.

And today the helpless owners of 16 more huts will have no option but to let nature take its course.

New Forest District Council has been approached for comment.

But a council spokesperson has previously stated: 'The council has no statutory duty to undertake and deliver flood and coastal erosion risk management measures at any coastal site.

'However, we do have every sympathy with beach hut owners who have experienced impacts at this very challenging coastal area.

'Our advice to anyone owning or buying a beach hut on, or close to, the coast is that they should consider the risk and undertake their own due diligence before investing in any purchase.

New Forest District Council has adopted a 'do nothing' policy to coastal erosion in that area rather than pay to boost sea defences

A member of the public, possibly a beach hut owner, tried to approach the cabins but had to take shelter from the waves

The stretch of coastline has controversially been 'abandoned' by the local council and left to the elements

'As there are no defences at this location, the council has not undertaken any flood and coastal erosion risk management activities there.

'Over the last 10 years, storm impacts, high rainfall levels and natural coastal processes have resulted in an increase of beach erosion, the loss of some beach huts, and increased risk to others.

'The Shoreline Management Policy for this frontage is set as 'managed realignment', setting an expectation that there will continue to be change within this undefended section.'

Meanwhile two men died in separate incidents where a falling tree struck their cars during Storm Eowyn.

A tree hit a 19-year-old's blue Ford Focus at about 6.45am on Friday in Mauchline, East Ayrshire, and he died the following day, Police Scotland said.

The teenager, named online as Calum Carmichael, was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow but died from his injuries on Saturday.

Paying tribute on social media, his sister Emilie said: 'Calum you truly were one in a million.'

An amber weather warning was in place in that area at the time.

The Environment Agency has issued 173 flood alerts (in amber) and 51 warnings (in red) today

The forecast path and wind strength of Storm Herminia at 3pm this afternoon is shown

A car sits in Tryst Road in Larbert surrounded by fallen trees after Storm Eowyn

A worker inspects damage to a partially collapsed building that was undergoing repairs before being damaged by high winds in Hale during Storm Eowyn

Hundreds of trees can be seen fallen following Storm Eowyn at Tardree Forest, Northern Ireland

Aerial views as workers clear up debris blown from the roof of the Helensburgh Leisure Centre

Pictured is a car that was crushed by a fallen tree in Ayrshire

Scottish First Minister John Swinney offered his condolences to the man's family and friends.

He said in a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter: 'This is tragic and heartbreaking news. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends of the man who has died.'

Kacper Dudek, 20, died after a tree fell on his car at Feddyglass, Raphoe in Co Donegal, early on Friday and Irish police are investigating the incident.

A massive 600million clear-up and repair operation is underway across Scotland after the 'storm of the century' caused widespread havoc and devastation.

And now A 24-hour Met Office yellow wind warning for southern England and Wales is active until 6am tomorrow, while a rain alert for Wales will run until midnight tonight.

A further new rain warning for South West England and part of the south coast along to Sussex was issued this morning and remains in place until 10am tomorrow.

The Environment Agency has issued 173 flood alerts and 51 warnings across England, while Natural Resources Wales has 15 alerts and there are two alerts in Scotland.

Air travel has also been affected again, with 20 arrivals and 19 departures cancelled at London Heathrow today after strong winds reduced the air traffic control flow rate.

Rail commuters also continue to face travel disruption with ScotRail and Transport for Wales running buses instead of trains on some routes following Storm Eowyn.

Severe weather is also impacting services between Guildford and Ash in Surrey; East Croydon and Uckfield in Sussex; Reading and Taunton; and in the Hastings area.
President Donald Trump issued new orders as part of his plan to ramp up massive deportations of illegal migrants - a daily quota of arrests for border officials.

In a Saturday phone call with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, Trump staff said the president was unhappy with the number of arrests so far.

He wants it ramped up from a few hundred a day to 1,200 to 1,500 per day, the Washington Post reported.

ICE officials were told that each field office should make 75 arrests per day and managers would be held accountable when that number isn't reached.

White House communications director Steven Cheung called the quota story 'fake news' but didn't elaborate.

The news of the quota requirement has sparked criticism from those concerned officials will partake in more indiscriminate arrests, or face charges of civil rights violations as they try to meet their numbers.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents knock on the door of a residence during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago

Trump campaigned on strengthening the U.S. border and cracking down on illegal immigration.

He has already started - a nationwide crackdown on Sunday resulted in the arrest of 956 people.

'We're getting the bad, hard criminals out,' the president told DailyMail.com on Friday.

'These are murderers. These are people that have been as bad as you get. As bad as anybody you've seen. We're taking them out first.'

And his administration is just getting started.

Already Trump has sent troops to the border and signed multiple executive orders empowering his administration to crack down on migrants.

The president also got into a temporary tariff war on Sunday with Colombia after that country's president, Gustavo Petro, prevented two U.S. military aircraft full of their citizens from landing amid the U.S.' mass deportation effort.

Trump threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on Colombian imports, which he rescinded once Colombia backed down and allowed the planes to land.

Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, said on Sunday the number of arrests will increase.

'You're going to see the numbers steadily increase, the number of arrests nationwide,' he told ABC's This Week.

'Right now, it's concentrating on public safety threats, national security threats. That's a smaller population. So we're going to do this on priority base, that's President Trump's promise. But as that aperture opens, there'll be more arrests nationwide.'

And he told NBC News the goal is to 'get as many criminals as possible.'

'I don't have a quota,' he said. 'My instructions to them: Arrest as many as you can.'

Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, said 'you're going to see the numbers steadily increase, the number of arrests nationwide'

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents load detained migrants onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III for a removal flight at the Tucson International Airport

Chicago was one of the city's where officials made mass arrests over the weekend.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat who is seen as a possible 2028 presidential contender, raised concerns.

He told CNN on Sunday that he found it 'disturbing' that officials indicated they would be targeting 'law-abiding' residents as well, those 'who are holding down jobs, who have families here, who may have been here for a decade or two decades, and they're often our neighbors and our friends'.

'Why are we going after them?' he said. 'These are not people who are causing problems in our country, and what we need is a path to citizenship for them.'

'We need to secure our border. We need to get rid of the violent criminals, but we also need to protect people, at least the residents of Illinois and all across the nation who are just doing what we hope that immigrants will do,' he said.

Pritzkler said he was given no advance notice of the raids and that local Chicago PD were not involved.

The Trump administration enlisted various law enforcement agencies within the Justice Department  the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals  to assist operations in Chicago and other cities.
An assistant manager who started a fire at his own hotel has been jailed for two years.

Nearly 50 people, including three children, were evacuated in the middle of the night as the blaze took hold at the Killin Hotel, by Loch Tay, Perthshire.

Vimal Verma, 43, was a live-in assistant operations manager at the hotel, and had only recently been hired on a trial basis.

Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that Verma was seen 'acting weirdly' after being asked to leave a birthday gathering being held after work in the staff accommodation at the hotel.

Prosecutor James Moncrieff said the member of staff whose birthday it was had cleaned and closed the bar at 11.30pm on April 21, 2023, and had invited fellow staff members, including Verma, up to her room for a few drinks.

Mr Moncrieff said that as the party continued, Verma's behaviour 'began to make the others feel uncomfortable'.

He said: 'It was clear he was quite drunk and he was asked to leave.'

At 2.56am Verma was seen on CCTV leaving his room, entering the front of the hotel and walking straight across to a cycle storage area in the vestibule where bikes and equipment were located.

Vimal Verma, 43, (pictured) was a live-in assistant operations manager at the Killin Hotel and had only recently been hired on a trial basis

Nearly 50 people, including three children, were evacuated in the middle of the night as the blaze took hold at the hotel. The image shows fire damage to the bike storage area

Verma was recorded on CCTV 'calmly' watching what was happening, with the bike storage area soon afterwards 'well ablaze'. The above image shows fire damage to the bike storage area

Mr Moncrieff said: 'Shortly afterwards a bright flickering light appeared while he was still in the bike storage area.

'An item was seen being placed on top of the bicycles and a shadow could be seen moving around as the light intensified.'

Verma was recorded on CCTV 'calmly' watching what was happening, with the bike storage area soon afterwards 'well ablaze'.

Meanwhile the staff member who had been giving the party checked the hotel CCTV on an app, and saw smoke coming from the reception area.

Other members of staff rushed to the scene and found Verma 'looking at the fire while swinging his arms back and forth'.

Mr Moncrieff said: 'The accused appeared startled by the arrival of the other members of staff. They asked him what he was doing and he replied, "nothing".'

The hotel fire alarms activated and the fire cut the hotel's electrical supply.

Guests, who had been asleep, were evacuated, emergency services were called and staff began to fight the blaze with fire extinguishers.

Guests, who had been asleep, were evacuated, the emergency services were called and staff began to fight the blaze with fire extinguishers. The Killin Hotel is pictured

Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that Verma was seen 'acting weirdly' after being asked to leave a birthday gathering being held after work in the staff accommodation at the hotel

Verma was described as 'still acting weird, and asking the guests what had happened', and he was arrested when the police arrived.

Firemen said wicker chairs stacked against the wall of the storage area had been deliberately set alight.

Mr Moncrieff said: 'The total value of the property destroyed was 2,600 but the fire had the potential to endanger the lives of the hotel occupants if it had spread unchecked.'

Sheriff Maryam Labaki said she had read victim impact statements detailing the emotional and psychological damage his actions had caused.

She said: 'It must have been terrifying for those escaping. This was a grave offence. I am satisfied there is no alternative to a custodial sentence.'

Verma, a father-of-one, is said to be planning to return to India when he completes his sentence.

He pleaded guilty to wilful fire raising, setting fire to a quantity of wicker chairs, damaging the chairs and two bikes, together with luggage attached to the bikes, and causing flames and smoke to fill a conservatory and the reception area at the hotel and the hotel to be evacuated, all putting people in danger.

A social enquiry report said he posed a high risk of harm.

Solicitor Ken Dalling, defending, said Verma had been 'isolated in Killin' and had felt he didn't fit in.

Mr Dalling said: 'He bitterly regrets his poor decision-making.'
A CVS security guard was tragically shot dead while confronting shoplifters at a store in downtown Dallas, Texas.

Anthony Egeonu, 39, was fatally shot three times on Friday evening by a group of armed juveniles who raided the store in the 1400 block of Main Street.

His wife of eight years, Octavia Egeonu, knew something was wrong after he failed to come home after midnight on Saturday.

She soon received a call from her husband's supervisor telling her the dreadful news. By the time she arrived at the hospital, the father-of-three was pronounced dead.

'He didn't have any time to react, he confronted them because they were shoplifting. And they just shot him. He was doing his job, like he always did,' his mourning wife told NBC 5.

Octavia told the outlet that her husband always dreamed of one day becoming a police officer, but in the meantime he worked as a private security guard for a third-party company.

Anthony, 'known for his kindness, generosity, and unwavering commitment to his loved ones,' was also the sole provider for his family, according to a GoFundMe page.

Two suspects have been taken into custody but their identities will not be released 'due to their age,' the Dallas Police Department said. The investigation is ongoing.

Anthony Egeonu, 39, a security guard at a CVS in Downtown Dallas, Texas was shot dead on Friday evening by a group of juvenile shoplifters he confronted

The father of three failed to return home the following morning and died in the hospital just as his wife, Octavia Egeonu, arrived. (Pictured: Anthony with his wife and two daughters)

Octavia said Anthony chose to stick with the job because he was expecting a promotion soon, CBS News reported.

'He stayed because he was getting ready to be promoted to where he wouldn't even be in that store. He would have been supervising at a different location,' she said.

His heartbroken daughters, Amari and Jayda, described their grief after losing their beloved father.

'I feel terrible. I feel frustrated. I will always be bruised from this situation. Because my dad is no longer here,' Amari told the outlet as she held back tears.

'He's not coming home,' Jayda added. Anthony also leaves behind his young son Jace.

Anthony's mother, Gwendolyn Phillips, said she is struggling to come to terms with her son's sudden death.

'To go to work, do what you're supposed to be doing... another person that doesn't value life to take another life, I can't wrap my mind around it,' Gwendolyn said.

'They made the choice to leave us hurting, grieving, and in pain, never ever to lay eyes on a person we love very much.'

Two suspects have been taken into custody but their identities have not been released. (Pictured: The CVS store on Main Street where the shooting occurred)

Octavia told the outlet that her husband always dreamed of one day becoming a police officer, but in the meantime he worked as a private security guard. (Pictured: Anthony, Octavia and their daughters, Amari and Jayda)

His mother is all too familiar with losing a child as Anthony is the second son she lost to violence.

'It tells me in the word of God that when I say I'm weak, I can say that I'm strong because God carries me when I can't carry myself,' Gwendolyn continued.

'And right now, I'm not carrying myself. I know God is carrying me,' she said, adding: 'I will see justice.'

Anthony's wife echoed his mother's faith during this challenging time and even said that she has chosen to forgive those responsible for his senseless death.

'The reason why I can forgive them is because they made a bad decision, I dont think they knew the magnitude of what this was going to do,' Octavia told NBC 5.

Not only has she been left without her husband, but Octavia, who was recently laid off, now has to raise her children on her own.

'He was our support, you know, right now it's a little tough for me to think about because it's just me now,' she added.

His mother is all too familiar with losing a child as Anthony (pictured) is the second son she lost to violence

Jermain Pipkins, who said he was Anthony's cousin, shared a heartbreaking post to Facebook following his death.

'This one hurts yall. My cousin/brother, Anthony. Didnt want to wake up in the middle of the night to this news,' Jermain wrote alongside a picture of him with Anthony.

'He was just at work doing his job! Definitely didnt deserve this! Growing up you didnt see him without seeing me and vice versa. The laughs, the confidentiality, the connection, and the bond. Man, Im bothered ...'

Jermain created a donation page to help support Anthony's children and wife during this hard time.

'Anthony was a beloved figure in our community, known for his kindness, generosity, and unwavering commitment to his loved ones. He leaves behind his grieving wife and children, who are now facing an unimaginable loss,' the page said.

Anthony, 'known for his kindness, generosity, and unwavering commitment to his loved ones,' was also the sole provider for his family

As of Monday morning, more than $5,800 was raised to help the family.

Many locals have voiced their concerns over the safety of the area where Anthony lost his life.

Michael Storbeck, a local resident and the manager of a Scarlet Pumpernickel Tavern, located just across the street from the CVS, said he feels like the area has been 'going downhill.'

'I could feel safer, you know,' he said, adding that he feels like 'a lot of people are scared.'

Storbeck has urged the city to take a closer look at the ongoing crime problem. 'I think they need to step up or bring some sort of, you know, new group down here to try and enforce something.'
Donald Trump's border czar has defended raiding churches and schools as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration - while federal agents rounded up nearly 1,000 migrants in a single day.

Trump began his second term with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling immigration, and quickly moved to ramp up deportations and arrest illegal migrants who pose 'public safety threats.'

Border czar Tom Homan has spearheaded the changes - and justified relaxing rules governing enforcement actions at 'sensitive' locations such as schools, churches and workplaces, saying it sends a clear message to illegal immigrants.

'There are consequences of entering the country illegally. If we don't show there are consequences, you're never going to fix the border problem,' Homan, who was on the ground in Chicago this weekend to oversee the bolstered ICE plans, told ABC News.

The new initiatives are specifically targeting sanctuary cities - which historically bar cooperation between city police and immigration agents.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it made 956 arrests nationwide on Sunday and 286 on Saturday.

But the president has reportedly been unhappy with the low number, and directed officials to meet higher detention quotas.

He ordered ICE to raise the arrest numbers from a few hundred a day to at least 1,200 to 1,500, according to The Washington Post.

Border czar Tom Homan justified Trump's decision to raid 'sensitive' locations, saying it sends a clear message to illegal immigrants

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it made 956 arrests nationwide on Sunday and 286 on Saturday

Trump ordered each of ICE's field offices to make 75 arrests per day and managers would be held accountable for missing those targets.

ICE insiders told the Washington Post they are concerned that the quotas make it more likely that agents will 'engage in more indiscriminate enforcement tactics or face accusations of civil rights violations.'

However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reportedly told the outlet, 'your story is false,' but did not elaborate.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News Digital, 'Goals is the correct phrasing.'

'The bottom line is DHS enforcement, whether they be at the border or the interior, needs to keep and get criminal aliens out of the country.'

Homan was not the only one to defend the new migrant arrest quota - with acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman saying in a statement: 'Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest.'

Vice President JD Vance echoed the sentiment in a fiery interview with CBS News on the weekend, where he lamented that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops should not stand in the way of ICE officials making arrests inside churches.

Vance said: 'We empowered law enforcement to enforce the law everywhere.

'I think the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has, frankly, not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement that the American people voted for, and I hope, again, as a devout Catholic, that they'll do better.

'Of course, if you have a person who is convicted of a violent crime, whether they're an illegal immigrant or a non-illegal immigrant, you have to go and get that person to protect the public safety,' Vance insisted of their plans for mass deportation.

Illegal migrants awaiting takeoff for a removal flight at the Tucson International Airport, Arizona, on January 23

'That's not unique to immigration,' the vice president added.

This comes as ICE detained nearly 50 people in Colorado on Sunday in an operation that targeted crime gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) drug trafficking. Agents seized drugs, including cocaine, multiple handguns and cash.

Other ICE raids were conducted across the country, including in Austin, Texas, New Jersey, San Jose, California and Los Angeles, reported NewsNation.

Top officials, including Homan and the acting deputy attorney general, visited Chicago on Sunday to witness the start of ramped-up immigration enforcement as federal agencies touted arrests around the country.

Homan told NewsNation's Ali Bradley that 'multiple public safety threats' were arrested in Chicago, including convicted murderers, TdA members and sex offenders.

ICE announced Sunday on X that it had joined five other federal agencies in 'enhanced targeted operations' in Chicago 'to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities'.

Joining ICE were the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs and Border Protection and the US Marshals Service.

The border czar added: 'It's not OK to violate the laws of this country. We have millions of people standing in line, taking the test, doing their background investigation, paying the fees that want to come in the right way.

'So if you're in the country illegally, you got a problem.'

TV host Dr. Phil also joined officials in Chicago and was stunned after an illegal migrant made a shocking admission while being detained.

Dr. Phil, whose real name is Phil McGraw, grilled the detainee as he stood handcuffed in the street, video of the man's arrest revealed.

Homan said 'multiple public safety threats' were arrested in Chicago on Sunday, including convicted murderers, Tren de Aragua gang members and sex offenders

ICE agents arrest an illegal migrant from Guatemala convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child in San Francisco on Thursday

Trump has reportedly been unhappy with the number of arrests so far and has directed federal immigration officials to meet higher detention quotas

The television psychologist asked the man - who has since been identified as Sam Seda from Thailand - where he was born and if he had ever been deported from the US before. Sam confirmed he was not an American citizen but claimed his mother was.

Homan then revealed that Sam was an 'illegal alien convicted of sex crimes involving children', claiming he was just one of many illegal criminals walking the streets of sanctuary cities as local authorities prevent federal agents from doing their jobs.

Dr. Phil addressed Sam again, asking: 'You've been charged with sex crimes with children?'

Sam simply replied: 'Not really.'

'Not really?!' a stunned Dr. Phil stated. 'And never been deported?'

'Nope,' Sam doubled down, leaving Dr. Phil apparently shocked.

Homan then told his agents: 'Let's take him in, process him, and lock him up.'
A 14-year-old has appeared in court charged with stabbing 12-year-old Leo Ross to death as he walked home from school in Birmingham.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is alleged to have attacked the schoolboy shortly before 3.40pm in the Hall Green area of the city.

Leo was found by a member of the public with a stab wound to the stomach on the banks of the River Cole, close to Scrivers Lane. He died in hospital at 7.30pm that evening.

The boy accused of murdering him is also charged with possession of a bladed article and six separate assaults, including one on the same day of the fatal attack.

Two of the attacks amounted to grievous bodily harm, prosecutors allege.

He is alleged to have committed grievous bodily harm against two separate women on January 19 and January 20.

The teenager is further charged with assaulting a woman on January 21, assaulting two police officers on November 26 last year and assaulting another woman on October 22 last year.

During a brief hearing at Birmingham Magistrates' Court, the defendant, who entered the dock wearing a black hoodie with the hood up, spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address.

A 14-year-old has appeared in court charged with stabbing 12-year-old Leo Ross (pictured) to death as he walked home from school in Birmingham

Leo was walking home from school when he was stabbed in the stomach, police said

Dozens of bouquets of flowers were left at the scene of the attack in the Hall Green area of London

Neither of the defendant's parents were present at the hearing. The court was told that the boy's father 'had concerns about attending'.

Defence barrister Mr Khan said: 'The father didn't wish to attend and there is not much of a family.'

The defendant was instead accompanied by a social worker.

District Judge David Wain remanded the defendant in custody to next appear at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday.

He told the teenager: 'In relation to murder and other allegations you are remanded in custody to appear tomorrow morning in front of Birmingham Crown Court.'

The assaults on the police officers will be dealt with as a separate matter, the court heard.

Leo's family paid tribute to him in a statement released over the weekend.

It said: 'We want everyone to know what an amazing, kind, loving boy Leo was. Not only has Leo's life been taken, all of our lives have as well.

'Leo will be truly missed by all of us. He was loved so much by everyone. The family want to thank the school, the police and everyone involved in the investigation and supporting us all through this horrific time.'
Illegal migrants fearing deportation are said to be in hiding, turning usually crowded factories, warehouses and grocery stores into ghost towns.

President Donald Trump has order federal agents to at least 1,200 to 1,500 illegal aliens each day as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

Scared undocumented migrants began hunkering down after Trump took office for the second time last week, with dozens failing to turn up to work.

Only 10 out of the usually 40 to 50 migrants workers attended their shifts at a factory in Joliet, Illinois last week, The Chicago Tribune reported, as six federal agencies swept the Greater Chicago area for 'potentially dangerous criminal aliens'.

Locals claim a Home Depot parking lot that is normally packed with day laborers seeking work was 'eerily quiet' with just a men standing around.

Sunday mass at Chicago's St. Agnes of Bohemia Catholic Church was also unusually empty, parishioners claim, likely because the Trump Administration relaxed rules governing enforcement actions at 'sensitive' locations such as schools, churches and workplaces.

Social media is flooding with reports of empty factory parking lots, doctor's office waiting rooms, grocers and big box stores, such as Walmart, in wake of Trump's mass deportation efforts.

Immigration officials arrested nearly 1,000 illegal migrants on Sunday alone as the White House praised the federal agents who are 'working tirelessly to protect our communities'.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported making a total of 593 arrests on Friday and 286 arrests on Saturday. In the 2024 federal fiscal year, it averaged around 310 per day, according to agency data.

Scared undocumented migrants began hunkering down after Trump took office for the second time last week, with dozens failing to turn up to work. A Home Depot in Chicago, Illinois was empty amid the immigration crackdown

Fiesta Mart, a popular Mexican grocery chain in the south, was 'empty' last week, according to X users who claim that 'absolutely no one' was in the store during standard opening hours

Others have described similar scenes at Walmart stores, with one sharing footage of barren aisleways at the big box retailer's Kern County, California location

Undocumented migrants are taking 'precautions' and trying to 'stay home' as long as possible an the risk of deportation increases.

'People are hiding,' Dolores Castaneda, a community leader in the Little Village, one of Chicago's largest Mexican immigrant communities, told the newspaper.

'I don't think anyone knows what to do.'

The manger of a popular bar in the city's popular North Side claims that several of his employees were concerned about the raids and at least one requested time off.

He claimed to 'understand their fear' but warned that his business, along with others in the area, 'will not be able to operate' without their staff.

Similarly, business groups predict that if migrants continue to hide long-term it will cause 'an effect similar to the pandemic'.

Fiesta Mart, a popular Mexican grocery chain in the south, was 'empty' last week, according to social media users who claim that 'absolutely no one' was in the store during standard opening hours.

Others have described similar scenes at Walmart stores, with one sharing footage of barren aisleways at the big box retailer's Kern County, California location.

Another X user shared footage captured at an apparent factory where everything was 'dead quiet, except for the wind'. The facility was located in an undisclosed snowy location.

'ICE has run all the migrant workers,' the poster wrote.

One X user shared footage captured at an apparent factory where everything was 'dead quiet, except for the wind'. The facility was located in an undisclosed snowy location. 'ICE has run all the migrant workers,' the poster wrote

ICE agents raided the Japanese Topre factory in Springfield, Ohio - a rural area that made headlines over its Haitian migrant population in the run-up to the 2024 election - on Friday, according to social media reports. Staff turn out has reportedly been low since the raid

Sunday mass at Chicago's St. Agnes of Bohemia Catholic Church was also unusually empty, parishioners claim, likely because the Trump Administration relaxed rules governing enforcement actions at 'sensitive' locations such as schools, churches and workplaces

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it made 956 arrests nationwide on Sunday and 286 on Saturday

ICE agents raided a factory in Springfield, Ohio - a rural area that made headlines over its Haitian migrant population in the run-up to the 2024 election - on Friday, according to social media reports.

One X user claims that following the raid at the Japanese Topre last week, staffing turn out has been low.

'Supposedly they had no 1st shift that day,' the user wrote. 'Topre normally operates 3 shifts, 24/7. I've NEVER seen the parking lot this empty, even on a Sunday.'

Some of Springfield's estimated 15,000 Haitians are seeking solace and divine intervention in their churches or at shops that sell spiritual products - a stark contrast to those in Chicago who failed to attend mass on Sunday.

Springfield community leaders say many are overwhelmed by fears Trump will end or let expire the Temporary Protected Status program that allows them to remain in the US legally.

'The community is panicking.' said Viles Dorsainvil, the leader of Springfield's Haitian Community Help and Support Center. 'They see the arrests on TV in other parts of the country and they don't know whats going to happen.'

Border czar Tom Homan said 'multiple public safety threats' were arrested in Chicago on Sunday, including convicted murderers, Tren de Aragua gang members and sex offenders

ICE agents arrest an illegal migrant from Guatemala convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child in San Francisco on Thursday

Meanwhile, some of Springfield, Ohio's estimated 15,000 Haitians are seeking solace and divine intervention in their churches or at shops that sell spiritual products - a stark contrast to those in Chicago who failed to attend mass on Sunday

Rev. Reginald Silencieux greets congregants during a service at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio

Last year, Trump falsely accused Haitians in Springfield of eating their neighbor's cats and dogs. The false rumors exacerbated fears about division and anti-immigrant sentiment in the mostly white, blue-collar city of about 59,000.

In the weeks after his comments, schools, government buildings and the homes of elected officials were targeted with dozens of bomb threats.

'Before, we had a different type of fear - it was a fear of retaliation, whether it was the far right, the Proud Boys,' said Jacob Payen, a Haitian community leader and owner of Milokan Botanica, a religious shop that sells Haitian spiritual and natural healing products.

'Now, there's a fear of deportation. That keeps a lot of people from going out and has caused a lot of people to have left,' he said, pointing to the usually busy commercial plaza where his business is located and that was now more quiet than usual.

The migration concerns of clergy and other community members in Springfield are shared by many faith leaders nationwide. In several cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon, interfaith groups are discussing how to provide security and support to migrants in their communities, including those who are undocumented.

Homeland Security and ICE agents arrested 'criminal aliens that threaten our communities' in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday

At least 50 illegal immigrants have been arrested during a raid on a Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang party in Colorado on Sunday

Homeland Security, Enforcement and Removal Operations agents and the Justice Department arrested at least illegal aliens in Florida on Sunday, according to officials in Miami

Trump's border czar on Sunday defended raiding churches and schools as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration.

Asked about the rule change, Tom Homan, who was tapped to oversee Trump's hard-line immigration agenda, said Sunday it sends a clear message.

'There's consequences of entering the country illegally. If we don't show there's consequences, you're never going to fix the border problem,' Homan, who is also the former head of ICE, said.

On Thursday, leaders of three Catholic organizations blasted the rule change that allows raids on churches and schools, saying in a joint statement that 'turning places of care, healing and solace into places of fear and uncertainty... will not make our communities safer.'

When pressed on the Catholic opposition, Homan stood firm. 'We're enforcing laws Congress enacted and the president signed. If they don't like it, change the law.'

Vice President JD Vance, who was also asked about the Catholic pushback in an interview broadcast Sunday, accused one group of being worried about losing funds in the immigration crackdown.

'I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?' he told CBS's 'Face the Nation.'

Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration has ramped up with federal agents arresting nearly 1,000 illegal migrants in one day

All eyes during Trump's first week in office have been on immigration enforcement and deportations, though it was unclear to what extent actions have increased from predecessor Joe Biden.

Homan called on Congress to pass additional funding for dealing with those arrested.

'We're gonna need more ICE beds, a minimum of 100,000,' he told ABC News. 'We're going to try to be efficient. But with more money we have, the more we can accomplish.'

Trump has been unhappy with the number of arrests so far and has directed federal immigration officials to meet higher detention quotas, the Washington Post reported Sunday.

It said he was ordering ICE to raise the arrest numbers from a few hundred a day to at least 1,200 to 1,500, citing people with knowledge of internal briefings.
Prisoners handed 'life' sentences are being freed after serving as little as 11 years behind bars.

The number of 'lifers' let out has also soared to a 15-year high, according to the Parole Board for Scotland (PBS).

It means murderers are being let out at a rate of one every nine days to walk the streets again.

The figures come as the SNP government prepares for the early release of hundreds of criminals to free up space in crowded jails, sparking fears over the risk to public safety.

Last night the disclosure sparked outrage among opposition politicians and victims' campaigners.

Tory MSP Sharon Dowey said: 'This makes a mockery of life sentences being handed down.

'The public will be appalled that those who have committed crimes serious enough to warrant life sentences are getting let out after just 11 years.

'That is a total insult to victims who will again be at risk at the hands of dangerous offenders. It is common sense that life should mean life - and it is time the SNP's justice system delivered that.'

John Wilson was jailed for life in 2009 with a minimum of only 12 years for the murder of Michelle Stewart, in Ayrshire.

Michelle Stewart was just 17 when she was murdered by Wilson

The PBS figures have fuelled demands for the introduction of whole-life tariffs, which mean the worst offenders are never released.

But the soft-touch SNP government has so far ruled out tougher sentences - despite life tariffs being used south of the Border.

Figures published by the Parole Board for Scotland (PBS) show 40 lifers were freed in 2022-23, with two released after 11-12 years.

This is up from 33 in 2021-22 and is the highest number of lifers freed since 2007-08 when the figure was 44. In 2022-23, one lifer was freed after 12-13 years, three were freed after 13-14 years, and 34 had been in prison for 'over 14' years.

Since 2020-21, six lifers have been released after just 11-12 years in prison. In one shocking case, John Wilson, 35, was jailed for life in 2009 with a minimum of only 12 years for the murder of Michelle Stewart, 17, in Drongan, Ayrshire.

The schoolgirl was stabbed to death by Wilson, her former partner, near her home. The Parole Board this month ruled that Wilson should be freed with restrictions on his movements.

Ms Stewart's father Kenny has for years campaigned for 'Michelle's Law' to keep Wilson behind bars and ensure victims' voices are heard in the parole process. Mr Stewart told the Mail: 'The SNP seems determined to empty prisons of dangerous criminals, regardless of the consequences.

'To jail someone for "life" - and some of them are out after 11 years - is beyond belief. They should throw away the key when it comes to killers like Wilson.'

In 2001, European laws led to changes in the system which compelled judges to set a punishment part for lifers - the period before they becoming eligible for parole.

If parole chiefs rule a prisoner can be released on licence after the punishment element is complete, the convict can be freed.

Although the PBS is independent, its members are appointed by ministers. Prisoners are eligible for parole if they can satisfy the PBS that they do not pose a danger to the public.

Kate Wallace, chief executive of Victim Support Scotland, said: 'When a perpetrator is given a life sentence, many people would expect them to serve the full time in custody. However, Scotland does not have whole life sentences unlike other jurisdictions.'

A PBS spokesman said: 'The board is required to consider life sentence prisoners for release at the expiry of the punishment part of their sentence and at a maximum of every two years after that.'

A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'When setting a punishment part of a sentence, the law is clear that this can extend beyond the rest of an offender's life and in effect be a whole-life sentence.'
Kiribati president extends Spring Festival greetings to Chinese people

Xinhua) 08:34, January 27, 2025

SYDNEY, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Kiribati President Taneti Maamau recently extended warmest holiday greetings and best wishes to the Chinese people ahead of the Spring Festival.

In a pre-recorded video greeting, Maamau said the Spring Festival is an important traditional festival for the Chinese people, symbolizing reunion, harmony and new hope.

Looking back over 2024, Maamau highlighted the successful convening of the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee and China's significant progress in further deepening reform comprehensively. He also praised China's high-level opening-up as "a distinctive beacon" that has brought new development opportunities for the world, including Kiribati.

In 2024, Kiribati and China celebrated the fifth anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic ties. The president noted that the two countries achieved remarkable cooperation in education, healthcare, trade and investment, agriculture and fishery, infrastructure development and people-to-people exchanges.

These results demonstrate "the deep and robust friendship" between the Kiribati and Chinese people and underscore China's steadfast determination to build a community with a shared future for mankind, he said.

Maamau said the coming new year is the Year of the Snake in the Chinese lunar calendar, which symbolizes wisdom and dynamism. He expressed his hope that the robust relationship will continue and that China will lead the world toward inclusive modernization, making new and greater contributions to peace and positive transformation for humanity.

The Kiribati president said the two countries will continue to deepen mutual trust and friendly relations, promote further alignment between the Kiribati 20-year Vision and the Belt and Road Initiative, and create a better and more prosperous future for the people of both countries.

In concluding the video, Maamau once again wished China peace and prosperity and the Chinese people happiness and success. He also hoped that the bond between Kiribati and China would continue to flourish.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
It was a truly powerful sight: the Polish pope who had grown up under Nazi occupation kneeling in prayer at Auschwitz's Death Wall.

There, in June 1979, John Paul II asked God for peace during his visit to what had been the centre of the Nazis' horrifying killing machine.

Today, on the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz' liberation, survivors and relatives of victims also prayed and left floral tributes at the Death Wall, as it has become known.

Although what stands today is a reconstruction - the original was dismantled by the Nazis in 1944 - the wall is a poignant symbol of the crimes that took place at the camp in occupied Poland.

Between 1941 and 1944, thousands of people - mostly Polish political prisoners but also Jews and Soviet prisoners of war - who had been condemned to die were lined up in front of the wall and shot.

Nearby was Block 10, where twisted doctors - including the notorious Josef Mengele - performed horrifying experiments on selected men, women and children.

John Paul II's visit was followed by both of his immediate successors. Pope Benedict came in 2006, whilst Pope Francis made the trip in 2016.

Both men also paid their respects at the Death Wall, which was re-built after the Second World War when the Auschwitz was transformed into the museum that it remains today.

It was a truly powerful sight: the Polish pope who had grown up under Nazi occupation kneeling in prayer at Auschwitz's Death Wall. There, in June 1979, John Paul II asked God for peace during his visit to what had been the centre of the Nazis' horrifying killing machine

Today, on the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz' liberation, survivors and relatives of victims also prayed at the Death Wall, as it has become known

Others who were executed at the Death Wall included hostages captured after operations carried out by the Polish resistance movement.

Inmates were also flogged in front of the wall and subjected to an extremely painful punishment known as the 'post'.

The victim's hands would be tied behind their back and they would be hanged from a post so their feet could not touch the ground.

They would remain there for hours, long enough for victims' tendons to be ruptured - meaning that those who could no longer work would be liable to be sent to the gas chambers.

Today, Poland's president Andrzej Duda joined Auschwitz survivors - some of whom were blue and white scarves reminiscent of their prison uniforms - in laying wreaths and candles at the Death Wall.

Mr Duda carried a candle and walked with Aschwitz-Birkenau State Museum director Piotr Cywinski.

At the wall, the two men bowed their heads, murmured prayers and crossed themselves.

Mr Duda said: 'We Poles, on whose land - occupied by Nazi Germans at that time - the Germans built this extermination industry and this concentration camp, are today the guardians of memory.'

John Paul II's visit (above) was followed by both of his immediate successors. Pope Benedict came in 2006, whilst Pope Francis made the trip in 2016

Museum security staff handle wreaths as survivors and relatives stand at the Death Wall at Auschwitz

He spoke of the 'unimaginable harm' inflicted on so many people, especially the Jewish people.

Later, King Charles - the first British head of state to visit the former Nazi concentration camp - will lay his own wreath wreath.

He said earlier in Krakow that the testimony of Holocaust survivors teaches us to 'never be a bystander in the face of violence and hate' as he met those who lived through one of humanity's darkest hours.

Charles visited the heart of Krakow's Jewish community as commemorations began marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

He told those gathered at the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) that remembering the 'evils of the past remains a vital task', and knowledge should be used to inspire people to 'build a kinder and more compassionate world'.

Today, Poland's president Andrzej Duda joined Auschwitz survivors - some of whom were blue and white scarves reminiscent of their prison uniforms - in laying wreaths and candles at the Death Wall

The reconstruction of the Death Wall at Auschwitz. Thousands of prisoners were shot in front of it

Survivors stand at the Death Wall at Auschwitz today on the 80th anniversary of the camp's liberation

The King went on: 'It is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world.

'And it is a moment when we recall the powerful testimonies of survivors such as Lily Ebert, who so sadly passed away in October, and who collectively taught us to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate.'

He added those lessons could not be more important in a world that has seen the 'dangerous re-emergence of antisemitism' and remains 'full of turmoil and strife'.

The King said: 'As the number of Holocaust survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders, and on those of generations yet unborn.

'The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task and in so doing, we inform our present and shape our future.'
Pete Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon for his first day serving as President Donald Trump's Secretary of the Department of Defense.

Speaking with reporters outside the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia on Monday, the newly sworn-in secretary revealed there will be a 'shift' at the DoD from the previous four years.

He also detailed how taking control of operations at the southern border will be a priority for the Trump administration.

Hegseth said of his leadership and priorities as Defense Secretary: 'This is a shift. This is not the way business has been done in the past.'

'The Defense Department will support the defense of the territorial integrity of the United States of America at the southern border,' he assured.

The 44-year-old former Fox News host faced an uphill battle to get to the new post.

He barely squeaked by after Republicans Senators Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted against his confirmation  leaving the full vote at a 50-50 tie.

Vice President J.D. Vance, who had just vacated his seat in the Senate to take up an office in the Executive Office Building, returned to Capitol Hill last week to cast the tie-breaking vote that ultimately sent the nomination through.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon on Monday for his first day on the job

Democrats launched a smear campaign against Hegseth, claiming not only that he was too young and unqualified for the position, but that he also did not morally deserve the job.

Multiple media reports came out with sexual assault allegations against Hegseth, as well as claims he drank too much while helping run veterans organizations following his military service.

Immediately upon taking his oath-of-office, Hegseth is faced with some steep tasks as the new Pentagon chief.

Trump signed several executive orders last week, including giving the DoD full operational control at the southern border in order to enhance national security, ramp up deportations and shut down the flow of illegal immigration.

'Whatever is needed at the border will be provided, whether that is through state active duty, title 32 or title 10. Because we are reorienting,' Hegseth told reporters on Monday.

He said that reservists, National Guard and active duty troops would all be tapped to the effort.

Hegseth told reporters that there is now a 'shift' in how the Defense Department will operate. 'This is not the way business has been done in the past,' he added

Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon was controversial among lawmakers and the liberal public

The 44-year-old former Fox host squeaked through his nomination with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance (pictured) at the Capitol last week after three Republican senators voted against his confirmation

Approximately 1,500 troops already deployed to the southern border last week  and Trump plans to have 10,000 service members in place to help immigration officials enforce U.S. sovereignty and national security.

Four military aircraft were also positioned in El Paso, Texas and San Diego, California to conduct deportation missions.

While some have been successful, Colombia prevented two flights full of their deported citizens from landing back on their soil  sparking a heated and public back-and-forth between Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

Trump's team is working on a deal with El Salvador to accept deported migrants from third-party nations.

Trump's deportation flights began as dozens of illegal immigrants loaded in military aircraft last week and were flown back to their countries of origin

There were already roughly 2,500 active duty troops at the southern border assisting with immigration operations  1,500 more joined them last week and thousands more will come amid Donald Trump's crackdown on the migrant crisis

Beyond that, Hegseth has a few other big jobs ahead of him.

A White House source confirmed to DailyMail.com that Trump is preparing to sign at least three executive orders this week related to directives at the Defense Department.

One is telling Hegseth to direct the branches to reinstate all 8,000 troops who were discharged when they refused to comply with Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Another puts an end to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the military and the final one prohibits transgender people from serving in the armed forces.

The latest orders are directives for the Pentagon to take action, meaning Hegseth will need to instruct the branches to enact and enforce these new policies.
Two young college students were killed by a drunk undocumented migrant who drove into them then fled the scene, police say.

Ohio University junior Katie Braham, 20, and her friend Chloe Polzin, 21, died after the Honda Civic they were traveling in was struck behind by another vehicle at full force from behind in Urbana, Illinois.

Police say 29-year-old Julio Cucul Bol, from Guatemala, had consumed alcohol before the crash and fled the scene on foot after fatally striking Braham and Polzin on January 19.

Three other women survived the crash.

'They were at a stoplight and there was someone who was driving drunk who hit them from behind at full force. And following the accident, he fled on foot," said Katie's father Joe Abraham told Fox 32.

Cucul Bol was arrested on a bus in Texas as he headed towards the US-Mexico border just days after the crash, US Marshals said.

Braham's parents say they are speaking out because they believe the US needs to better monitor who enters the country.

President Donald Trump has begun raids to round up criminal migrants in the US illegally so they can be deported.

'I don't want to get too political because that's not going to bring Katie back, but certainly, I would like to see more vetting,' her father Joe said.

The family of Katie Braham, 20, is asking for justice after she was allegedly killed by an undocumented migrant in a hit-and-run crash in Illinois

Her friend Chloe Polzin, 21, also died after the Honda Civic they were traveling in was struck by another vehicle at full force

Police say 29-year-old Julio Cucul Bol, from Guatemala, had consumed alcohol before the crash and fled the scene on foot

'He was drinking. He was driving, but is that who we want when we're thinking about immigration?'

Polzin was a student at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where she was playing water polo.

She and Braham became best friends in high school.

They were using a break from college to visit friends at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Over the weekend President Trump issued new orders as part of his plan to ramp up massive deportations of illegal migrants - a daily quota of arrests for border officials.

In a Saturday phone call with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, Trump staff said the president was unhappy with the number of arrests so far.

He wants it ramped up from a few hundred a day to 1,200 to 1,500 per day, the Washington Post reported.

ICE officials were told that each field office should make 75 arrests per day and managers would be held accountable when that number isn't reached.

'I don't want to get too political because that's not going to bring Katie back, but certainly, I would like to see more vetting,' Braham's father Joe said.

White House communications director Steven Cheung called the quota story 'fake news' but didn't elaborate.

The news of the quota requirement has sparked criticism from those concerned officials will partake in more indiscriminate arrests, or face charges of civil rights violations as they try to meet their numbers.

Trump campaigned on strengthening the U.S. border and cracking down on illegal immigration.

He has already started - a nationwide crackdown on Sunday resulted in the arrest of 956 people.

'We're getting the bad, hard criminals out,' the president told DailyMail.com on Friday.

'These are murderers. These are people that have been as bad as you get. As bad as anybody you've seen. We're taking them out first.'
Two dogs have tragically perished in Decatur, Illinois, succumbing to the brutal winter weather gripping the Midwest.

Sergeant Joseph Sawyer of the Decatur Police Department informed the Herald & Review that two dogs of an unidentified breed were found on the premises.

He confirmed the animals were found in a shed in the yard, covered with a blanket.

'There was food and water in a bowl, and I imagine in the time frame the deaths happened, that the dogs probably froze to death,' he said.

In the state of Illinois, aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony. A first conviction may lead to imprisonment for one to three years, whereas subsequent convictions are punishable by two to five years of incarceration.

'These cases get immediately assigned to detectives who will be following up with it and investigating,' said Sawyer.

The investigation is still ongoing.

Illinois, along with much of the Midwest, recently endured an unprecedentedly intense cold snap, underscoring the critical need for extreme weather preparedness.

Two dogs have tragically perished in Decatur, Illinois, succumbing to the brutal winter weather gripping the Midwest

The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast also will have highs in the teens and 20s, lows in the single digits and -0F and wind chills below zero

Last week, record-breaking low temperatures swept across the region, posing a significant risk of hypothermia, according to AccuWeather.

In neighboring Chicago, located approximately 180 miles from Decatur, residents faced dangerously volatile weather conditions.

The National Weather Service issued a cold weather advisory, warning that frostbite could occur within 20 to 30 minutes of exposure.

In another tragic incident, a woman in Ohio tragically died of hypothermia after taking her dog outside, as temperatures reached dangerous levels amid winter storms across the US.

Eugenia Michele Wadman, 43, was found dead at 11am on Sunday 19 after Huron County Sheriff's responded to a 911 call reporting an unresponsive person.

Wadman was found at 1832 Hanville Corners Road in Willard after she had taken her dog outside during the night 'wearing only light pajamas.'

The sheriff's office said Wadman 'appeared to have fallen and sustained injuries consistent with struggling and crawling on the snow- and ice-covered yard,' Fox 8 reported.

'Hypothermia likely set in quickly due to the mid to low 20-degree temperatures,' the sheriff's office said in a press release.

Eugenia Michele Wadman, 43, was found dead at 11am on Sunday 19 'wearing only light pajamas.' The sheriff's office said Wadman 'appeared to have fallen and sustained injuries consistent with struggling and crawling on the snow- and ice-covered yard'

Her death is still under investigation by the Huron County Sheriff's Office and the Lucas County Medical Examiner. Wadman's dog's condition remains unclear.

The midwest was not the only part of the country that was inundated with snow.

According to Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland, a staggering 70 million Americans were under some form of winter storm warning.

While the frigid air mass was expected to moderate as it moved southward and eastward, temperatures in the teens and twenties were still anticipated across the Central and Eastern US on Monday and Tuesday.

This deep freeze extended to Philadelphia on Sunday night, where the Philadelphia Eagles players playfully celebrated their victory by making snow angels in the end zone.

Across the nation, including New York City, residents were urged to limit outdoor exposure and dress warmly for the unusual cold.

Mayor Eric Adams advised New Yorkers to utilize public transportation if necessary and encouraged those experiencing heating or plumbing issues to contact 311 for assistance.
Hamas has revealed that only 25 of the 33 hostages it planned to release are still alive as hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians return to their homes in Gaza.

Eight of the hostages due for release in the first phase of a truce deal between Israel and Hamas are dead, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said Monday, after receiving a list from the Palestinian militant group.

'The families have been informed of the situation of their relatives,' Mencer told reporters.

This means that of the 26 hostages yet to be freed under the first phase of the agreement, only 18 are still alive. Seven living hostages have been freed since the deal began on January 19.

Israel has said the next release, of three hostages - including Arbel Yehoud and Agam Berger - will take place on Thursday, followed by another three hostages to be released on Saturday.

The 33 names on the list are women, the Bibas family children, men aged over 50, and unwell and injured men.

Whether hostages were alive or dead inside Gaza has been a heartbreaking question for waiting families who have pushed Israel's government to reach a deal to free them, fearing that time was running out.

Around 90 hostages are still being held, and Israeli authorities believe between a third and a half of them were killed in the initial attack or died in captivity.

Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israel's decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, January 27, 2025

Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, make their way back to their homes in northern Gaza

Israeli hostages released on Saturday from left to right: Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev after 477 days in captivity

It comes after an Israeli general revealed Monday that some of the hostages released from Gaza so far during the ceasefire had been held in Hamas tunnels for up to eight months straight, deprived of daylight and with little to no human contact.

Three Israeli civilians and four soldiers - all women - have been released so far in the ceasefire, and in return, Israel has released 290 Palestinian convicts and detainees.

'Some of them told us that they've been in the past few months, that they've been through the entire time, in tunnels, underground,' deputy chief of the Israeli military's medical corps, Colonel Dr. Avi Banov, told journalists online.

'Some of them were alone through the entire time they were there,' he said.

'Those who said they were together were in better shape.'

The hostages said their treatment improved in the days leading up to their release, Banov said, when they were allowed to shower, change their clothes and received better food.

They appeared to be in good condition and smiling in videos on the days of their release.

Citing the hostages' privacy, Banov would not say whether any of the seven bore signs of torture or abuse.

Some had not received proper treatment for wounds sustained when they were captured during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and some showed signs of 'mild starvation', Banov said.

The ceasefire reached earlier this month after more than a year of negotiations is aimed at ending the 15-month war, which was triggered by the initial 2023 Hamas attack, as well as freeing hostages still held in Gaza in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The first phase of the ceasefire runs until early March, but the second and far more difficult phase has yet to be negotiated.

Talks on phase two are set to begin next Monday.

Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages without an end to the war, while Israel has threatened to resume its offensive until Hamas is destroyed.

Briton Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were handed over to Red Cross after 471 days in captivity. They are pictured in a Hamas propaganda video

Doron Steinbrecher (in pink), Romi Gonen (in black), Emily Damari (in green)

The hostage releases comes as some 200,000 Palestinians streamed into Gaza's most heavily destroyed area on Monday under the fragile ceasefire after Israel opened the north for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas.

Massive crowds of Palestinians, some holding babies or pushing wheelchairs, walked with their belongings along a seaside road in a dramatic reversal of the mass exodus from the north that many had feared Israel would make permanent.

Footage also showed people still moving northward eight hours after the crossing opened. They were watched over by Israeli tanks on a nearby hill.

Palestinians who have been sheltering in squalid tent camps and schools-turned-shelters are eager to return to their homes - even though they are likely damaged or destroyed.

Yasmin Abu Amshah, a mother of three, said she walked 6 kilometers to reach her home in Gaza City, where she found it damaged but habitable. She also saw her younger sister for the first time in over a year.

'It was a long trip, but a happy one,' she said.

Ismail Abu Matter, a father of four who waited for three days near the crossing point before moving into northern Gaza, described scenes of jubilation on the other side, with people singing, praying and crying as they were reunited with relatives.

'It's the joy of return,' said Abu Matter, whose relatives were among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation.

'We had thought we wouldn't return, like our ancestors.'

The opening was delayed for two days over a dispute between Hamas and Israel, which said the militant group changed the order of the hostages it released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Local medical officials said Israeli forces opened fire at the waiting crowd and killed several Palestinians over the weekend. Israel's military said it fired warning shots at approaching groups it deemed a threat.

Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, make their way back to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, January 27, 2025

People walk along Gaza's coastal al-Rashid Street to cross the Netzarim corridor from the southern Gaza Strip into the north on January 27, 2025

Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to northern Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas

Palestinians faced great destruction in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp and Al Mughraqa regions in the central part of the Gaza Strip

Masses of displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip

Footage showed people still moving northward eight hours after the crossing opened

Hamas said the return was 'a victory for our people, and a declaration of failure and defeat for the (Israeli) occupation and transfer plans.'

In the opening days of the war, Israel ordered the evacuation of the north and sealed it off shortly after ground troops moved in.

Around a million people fled to the south in October 2023, while hundreds of thousands remained in the north, which had some of the heaviest fighting and the worst destruction of the war.

In all, around 90 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced.

Palestinians were crossing on foot without inspection through part of the Netzarim corridor, a military zone bisecting the territory just south of Gaza City that Israel carved out early in the war.

A checkpoint for vehicles opened later on Gaza's main north-south highway, where traffic was backed up for around 3 kilometers.

Under the ceasefire agreement, vehicles are to be inspected for weapons before entering the north, but the mechanism for that was not immediately clear.

Israel had delayed the opening of the crossing, which was supposed to happen over the weekend, saying it would not allow Palestinians north until a female civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, was released.

Israel said she should have been released before four young female soldiers who were freed on Saturday.

Israel also accused Hamas of failing to provide information on hostages to be freed.

Hamas in turn accused Israel of violating the agreement by not opening the crossing.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said anyone violating the ceasefire or threatening Israeli forces 'will bear the full cost.'

Israel's military has warned Palestinians not to approach its forces, which have withdrawn to buffer zones inside Gaza.
Labour today raised fears of a delay to defence spending increases needed to rebuild Britain's military, as the economy falters.

No10 and defence ministers refused to repeat the party's election manifesto pledge that funding would increase to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2029, amid reports the Treasury wants to push it back until 2032.

Bean-counters have reportedly warned that meeting the pledge would mean taking money from other department as the Chancellor struggled to lift the economic fog stifling the nation.

A senior Government source told The Times that meeting the target in five years would mean 'deeper cuts in the run-up to the election' and 'feels like a non-starter'.

The Prime Minister's spokesman today told reporters that a strategic defence review would set a 'pathway' to spending 2.5 per cent in the spring.

Defence Minister Luke Pollard also later said the same thing to MPs in the Commons. But neither would confirm that the pre-election timeline was still being followed.

The looser schedule would also risk derailing Keir Starmer's hopes of forging close ties with Donald Trump - who has demanded Nato countries move towards a 5 per cent threshold.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge highlighted the threats from Russia to the UK as a reason to 'urgently' increase defence spending, telling MPs: 'The rest of us were listening but the Chancellor of the Exchequer was not.

The looser schedule would risk derailing Keir Starmer 's hopes of forging close ties with Donald Trump - who has demanded Nato countries move towards a 5 per cent threshold

The Prime Minister's spokesman today told reporters that a strategic defence review would set a 'pathway' to spending 2.5 per cent in the spring. Defence Minister Luke Pollard also later said the same thing to MPs in the Commons.

Mr Trump has suggested spending should rise to 5 per cent  far beyond the current US figure of around 3.4 per cent

'Despite all of the evidence before our eyes of the growing threat, we learned this weekend from multiple sources that spending 2.5 per cent will be delayed beyond 2030. Can the minister first disown such talk, but specifically confirm we will hit 2.5 per cent this Parliament?'

Mr Pollard, responding, told the Commons: 'The Government's plan for change says, 'We will set out a path to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence in the spring'.'

He said he would reiterate the words of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Defence Secretary John Healey as he stated: 'This Government has a cast-iron commitment to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence and this Government is already delivering for defence by increasing defence spending.

'At our first budget we announced an extra 3 billion on spending on defence in the next financial year.'

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a huge tax and borrowing package in the Budget, but it has since been blamed for crushing growth.

Meanwhile, the costs of servicing the UK's debt mountain have risen, putting huge pressure on the government's spending plans.

A senior Government source told The Times that meeting the target in five years would mean 'deeper cuts in the run-up to the election' and 'feels like a non-starter'.

A senior government source told The Times: 'If we try to hit the target by 2030 it will mean deeper cuts to public services in the run-up to the election.

'It feels like a non-starter.' The next general election would be due by mid-2029.

Downing Street insisted the timetable would not be set until after the Strategic Defence Review is complete in the summer.

Labour's pledge on the 2.5 per cent level did not have a specific date attached to it, but there has been increasing alarm about the UK's capacity to respond to threats from Russia and other hostile states.

The current Nato commitment is for members to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence.

Mr Trump has suggested that should rise to 5 per cent  far beyond the current US figure of around 3.4 per cent.

Sir Keir and the US president committed to 'close' ties in a 45-minute conversation last night.

The positive tone will be a relief for Sir Keir as he desperately tries to get off to a good start with Mr Trump - who was previously branded a 'neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath' by Cabinet ministers.

It came hours after the Republican praised the PM doing 'a very good job thus far', and suggested his first foreign visit might be to the UK.

However, the leaders seem to have been at pains to skirt potential flashpoints during their chat, such as sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, US threats of tariffs on imports, and defence spending.

Sir Keir is hoping to go to Washington DC within weeks, although dates have yet to be finalised.

The current Nato commitment is for members to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence - with the UK among a small group that has consistently hit the level
New Zealand has drastically relaxed its visa requirements in a bid to lure digital nomads to the country as it attempts to revitalise its tourism sector.

Under the new rules, visitors can carry out remote work for up to 90 days without breaching visa conditions.

However, those staying longer could face potential tax implications.

The policy is designed to attract 'digital nomads' - individuals who combine work and travel, according to Immigration Minister Erica Stanford.

'The change will enable many visitors to extend their stays, which will lead to more money being spent in the country,' Stanford said, highlighting the economic benefits of the move.

The relaxed rules apply to all visitor visas, including those for tourists and individuals visiting family, partners, or guardians on longer-term visas.

However, only remote work for overseas employers is permitted.

Visitors whose jobs require them to physically work in New Zealand must still apply for the appropriate work visa.

Under new visa rules in New Zealand visitors can carry out remote work for up to 90 days without breaching visa conditions

The policy is designed to attract 'digital nomads' - individuals who combine work and travel. Pictured: Lake Pukaki on sunny day at Peters lookout, New Zealand

By encouraging remote workers to spend longer periods in the country, officials believe the influx of visitors will provide a significant boost to local businesses and communities. Pictured: Auckland downtown skyline at waterfront in Auckland, New Zealand

The government hopes the changes will bolster a tourism industry that generates nearly 5.6billion annually.

By encouraging remote workers to spend longer periods in the country, officials believe the influx of visitors will provide a significant boost to local businesses and communities.

'The change is part of the government's plan to unlock New Zealand's potential by shifting the country onto a faster growth track,' economic growth minister Nicola Willis said in a press release.

'Tourism is New Zealand's second-largest export earner generating revenue of almost NZD 11 billion and creating nearly 200,000 jobs.'

Willis added, 'Making the country more attractive to 'digital nomads'  people who work remotely while travelling  will boost New Zealand's attractiveness as a destination.'

'Many countries offer digital nomad visas and the list is growing, so we need to keep pace to ensure New Zealand is an attractive destination for people who want to 'workcation' abroad,' tourism minister Louise Upston said.

'Compared to other kinds of visitors, international remote workers have the potential to spend more time and money in New Zealand, including during the shoulder season (a travel period between peak and off-peak seasons).'

New Zealand joins a growing list of countries adapting to the rise of remote work.

Destinations like Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Spain, and Portugal have introduced specific 'digital nomad visas' in recent years, capitalising on the popularity of combining work with travel.

The trend, which gained momentum in the 2010s, surged during the Covid-19 pandemic, as lockdowns and evolving attitudes toward remote work spurred professionals to seek more flexible lifestyles.

While digital nomads are often praised for injecting money into local economies, their presence has sparked controversy in some destinations.

Critics in cities like Cape Town, South Africa, argue that remote workers drive up living costs for locals, exacerbating inequalities.

In Europe, the influx of long-term visitors to popular spots like Spain and Greece has intensified debates around overtourism, with residents protesting the strain on resources and infrastructure.

Despite these concerns, New Zealand's government sees its new policy as a win for tourism, offering remote workers a chance to enjoy the country's stunning landscapes and unique culture while contributing to the economy.
A Washington State teacher ranting about Donald Trump's rollbacks on transgender and DEI programs during a local committee hearing sounded so much like a parody of the woke point she was struggling to make that even the Democratic chairperson of the panel had to warn her to stay on topic.

Tracy Castro-Gill, 49, the former leader of the Seattle Public School District's Ethnic Studies program, took the podium at a state House of Representatives Committee on Education public hearing on Thursday to complain about Trump's measures.

'My name is Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill, my pronouns are they/them. I am a disabled queer Chicanx educator and scholar in Washington state with my expertise on curriculum and instruction,' Castro-Gill said in her long-winded tirade.

Chicanx - which is among phrases banned by the Trump administration - has been used in some circles to refer to people of Mexican descent.

Castro-Gill said getting rid of it, and the other terms that apply, denies their 'very presence and humanity.'

'I want to remind us that George Orwell, in his novel 1984, warned us about limiting how we are allowed to define ourselves and our experiences and how that allows fascism to take root.'

On his first day back in office, Trump signed executive orders repealing protections for transgender people and terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government.

The president made the issue of gender part of his campaign, arguing that it fell into the realm of common sense.

Tracy Castro-Gill, 49, the former leader of the Seattle Public School District's Ethnic Studies program, took the podium at a House Committee on Education public hearing on Thursday

Castro-Gill said they are non-binary, disabled, queer and identify as Chicanx - which was 'made illegal' by the Trump administration

'As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female,' Trump said during his inaugural address last week.

The chairwoman, Democratic Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, interrupted Castro-Gill's rant to remind the teacher to stay on topic with the hearing of HB 1296.

The bill aims to promote a safe and supportive school system by addressing student rights, parental/guardian rights, employee protections, and requirements for state and local school districts,' according to The Center Square.

Castro-Gill said they would support the bill if amended with additional teacher protections.

'The fact that teachers have stood in the gap and are the primary targets are why I am testifying pro because of the protections for educators,' the teacher said.

'Educators, as we've heard from students, are often the people who foster student identity and development and are currently being targeted and pushed out of their positions because of this fact.'

Castro-Gill called out Republican Rep. Joel McEntire during their rant for questioning if the bill was in line with Trump's orders.

'I also teach at the University of Washington and hear the curriculum violence and harm and how they're being erased in their K-12 programs, much the way that I and other gender expansive people were erased by Representative McEntire in this very room today,' the teacher said.

Santos reprimanded Castro-Gill again, saying, 'Excuse me, ma'am, we don't impugn members. Please proceed carefully.'

Castro-Gill was removed from the district in 2020 for the program's failure and repeated incidents in the school, and the position was dissolved

Daily Wire reporter Luke Rosiak wrote a piece on Castro-Gill in 2022 that exposed they were married to a convicted child molester

Castro-Gill wrapped up the rant by demanding stronger protections for educators and including language in the cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion standards from the state professional educators standards board and ethnic studies framework from the superintendent's office.

Castro-Gill once led the Seattle Public School District's Ethnic Studies program from 2019 to 2020 and was paid $93,000 a year.

However, Castro-Gill was removed from the district in 2020 for the program's failure and repeated incidents in the school, and the position was dissolved.

They accused colleagues of being racist and introduced an Ethic Math Studies program that claimed math could be used as a tool for racism.

Welcome to MAGALAND: Insider Trump's Second 100 Days - The podcast bringing you the latest news and gossip from the White House. Listen here.

Their father, Rick Castro, who is half Hispanic, said his child lied about being homeless as a child and compared them to race faker Rachel Dolezal.

Castro-Gill has denied the allegations and called their father an 'ultra-conservative conspiracy theorist' who has been out of their life for years.

Daily Wire reporter Luke Rosiak wrote a piece on Castro-Gill in 2022 that exposed they were married to a convicted child molester.

According to Rosiak, Castro-Gill left their husband, Ron Hammond, and two children in California to move to Washington and marry Brian Gill, a convicted child molester who had abused his eight-year-old cousin.

The two had met online on the SecondLife virtual chat website, where strangers could talk to one another using online avatars. Brian had died of a heart attack in 2018.

For the latest White House news, listen to the Daily Mail's new politics podcast, Welcome to MAGAland. Available wherever you get your podcasts now.
Thames Water has confirmed prices for its customers will be hiked by 19 a month from April.

The firm claims the increase is to allow for investment in the infrastructure over the next five years.

Thames Water oversaw a 40 per cent rise in sewage pollution to more than 350 incidents in the first half of 2024.

It was one of three water companies in the UK which was facing huge fines from Ofwat for its failure to manage sewage spills.

Thames Water is England's biggest water company and supplies around 16 million customers.

Last month, it was reported that the utility spent millions of environmental clean-up money on other costs including bonuses and dividends.

It was also reported managers held talks to assess the risk of a backlash if it emerged cash for work such as cutting river pollution was spent elsewhere.

The allegations suggest there were fears the spending could be a breach of licence and leave the firm open to accusations of law breaking.

Thames Water is England's biggest water company supplying around 16 million customers. Picture: Stock image

Thames Water has announced prices will rise for its 16 million customers. Pictured: An overflow pipe releases water into the River Thames

Thames Water discharged sewage from a treatment works into the River Thames at Datchet

Thames Water released information about the price increases to its customers today.

On its website, the firm wrote: 'Our water industry regulator, Ofwat, has finished their industry-wide price review. This is the basis for our charges over the next year.

'For us to continue to deliver billions of litres of clean water and take wastewater away from millions of homes, its vital that we invest in our network and infrastructure over the next five years.

'Despite our efforts to avoid price increases, extra funding is now essential to make improvements to our services.

'Well use the extra funding to invest in our network and maintain safe, high-quality drinking water.

'Well fix leaky pipes and the ageing mains network so we can reduce wasted water. And well invest in upgrading our sewage works to improve river health.'

Thames Water said the money will be used to 'reduce pollution incidents and storm overflows' and 'safeguard a clean drinking water supply for generations to come'.

Last month it was reported that bosses at Thames Water shared 770,000 in bonuses despite a huge debt mountain.

Chris Weston, the groups chief executive, last month refused to rule out accepting a bonus for the year despite a 40 per cent spike in pollution incidents

Thames Water claims the price increases are to allow the firm to invest in its infrastructure

Chris Weston became chief executive in January 2024 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 17billion of debt and is trying to secure another 3billion to keep it running beyond mid-next year.

In his defence of the bonuses in December, Mr Weston said: 'We need to attract talent to this company.

'If we don't offer competitive packages, people will not come and work at Thames.'

'I completely understand that there are customers out there who struggle with their bills,' he added, as he pointed to bills support offered to about 377,000 customers in the last year.

Thames Water said that without emergency cash, expected to be in place by the end of this month, it would run out of money in March, which is sooner than a previous estimate of late May.

The Government is planning to bring in legislation this year that would allow the regulator Ofwat to ban performance-related bonuses if companies fall short of expectations.

Thames Water is seeking a 3billion loan from its creditors which would allow the company to continue operating until May 2026, by which time it expects to have completed a separate search for a new owner. However, that plan is opposed by a group of smaller lenders.

Thames Water has been contacted for comment.
Colombians showing up at the U.S. Embassy for visa appointments had their hopes dashed on Monday after President Trump threatened retaliation over the weekend as the U.S. ramps up the deportation of migrants.

Images captured people visibly emotional when they showed up outside the embassy in Bogota only to be turned away.

It comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday ordered the immediate suspension of visas being issued at the embassy after Colombian President Gustavo Petro rejected two flight carrying migrants deported from the U.S.

While the White House and Colombia appeared to reach an agreement with Petro backing down on repatriation flights late Sunday, the suspension of visa issuances remained Monday morning.

Men and woman who arrived at the embassy were handed a slip of paper with a message telling them that the appointments had been cancelled.

'Your January 27th visa interview or Applicant Service Center appointment has been canceled due to the Colombian government's refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian nationals from the United States, which President Gustavo Petro had previously authorized,' the notes read.

Images showed distraught people standing in line, making calls and looking confused on Monday as they held the distributed notices.

A woman holding a notification that her visa appointment had been canceled in Bogota, Colombia on January 27, 2024

Tensions between the U.S. and Colombia rapidly escalated Sunday after the country rejected two military planes carrying migrants who had been deported from the U.S.

Colombia had accepted planes of deported migrants in the past including 124 planes last year.

But Petro took issue with the treatment of the migrants being flown back from the U.S. and barred the military planes from landing.

In response, Trump fired off a social media post calling for retaliatory measures including emergency 25 percent tariffs on all products coming from Colombia that would increase to 50 percent in one week.

He also announced a travel ban and visa revocation on all Colombian government officials, allies and supporters as well as sanctions.

In its statement announcing a pause on visa issuances, the State Department said Rubio was authorizing travel sanctions 'on individuals and their families, who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations.'

'Measures will continue until Colombia meets its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens,' it stated.

Two women hold up the notices given to them that visa issuances had been suspended

The notice that visa appointments at the U.S. embassy in Bogota had been canceled

A couple looking disappointed after finding out their visa appointment was cancelled

A U.S. consular official explains to people who had scheduled appointments that they had been cancelled. Secretary of State Rubio ordered the suspension of visas being issued after Colombia rejected two repatriation flights on Sunday

After Trump vowed to impose stiff tariffs and sanctions, Petro also threatened 25 percent retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods tipping the two countries closer to a trade war.

But late Sunday night, the White House said Colombia's president had caved to all of Trump's demands, so it would hold off on tariffs and sanctions.

In its own announcement, the Colombian government also signaled it would resume accepting flights with the guarantee that migrants would be treated decently.

But the despite the agreement, the visa appointments appeared to remain on hold.

DailyMail.com reached out to the State Department and U.S. Embassy in Bogota to determine when appointments would resume.
After 50 years of silence, a freelance photographer from Vietnam has claimed he took the iconic 'Napalm Girl' image showing a naked child fleeing from a bomb in 1972.

Nguyen Thanh Nghe has said the monochrome photograph, which has long been credited to Associated Press (AP) staff photographer Nick Ut, was actually shot by him.

His explosive claim came in a new documentary about the war, called The Stringer, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Saturday night.

AP bosses have hit back - saying there is 'no reason to conclude that anyone other than the long-credited photographer, Ut, made the picture'.

The global news agency said it was 'surprised and disappointed' that filmmakers portrayed it as having reviewed the film's materials and being dismissive.

Titled The Terror of War, it became one of the most haunting images of the 20th century.

A billion people are estimated to have seen the photo within 24 hours of its publication, with billions more viewing it since.

Ut, now 73, was 21 when he took the photo, which won a Pulitzer Prize.

It was so influential in hammering home the horrors of the Vietnam War that President Richard Nixon even questioned if it had been doctored.

Nghe joined the filmmakers for the post-screening Q&A at the Sundance festival where he said, through a translator, 'I took the photo.'

After 50 years of silence, a freelance photographer from Vietnam has claimed he took the iconic 'Napalm Girl' image (above) showing a naked child fleeing from a bomb in 1972

Nguyen Thanh Nghe (pictured at the premiere) has said the photograph, which has long been credited to Associated Press staff photographer Nick Ut, was actually taken by him

AP bosses have said there is 'no reason to conclude that anyone other than the long-credited photographer, Ut, made the picture'. (Pictured: Ut (center) flanked by the girl pictured, Kim Phuc, on his left) The global news agency said it was 'surprised and disappointed' by the film

Spectators cheered enthusiastically, and Nghe did not explain why he waited more than half a century to stake his claim to the June 8, 1972 photograph.

The harrowing image shows Vietnamese girl Kim Phuc Phan Ti, who is now in her early 60s, screaming as she ran naked down the street with her arms outstretched after she was severely burned in the napalm attack.

It was taken seconds after a chemical attack was dropped on civilians in the southeast Vietnamese town of Trang Bang, causing the group of children to flee.

Nghe said he was present as a driver for an NBC News crew.

He said he sold the image to the AP for $20, and the agency gave him a print of the photograph which his wife later destroyed.

Investigations into the claim by teams for The Stringer were led by husband-and-wife team Gary Knight and founder of the VII Foundation, and producer Fiona Turner.

It was directed by Vietnamese-American filmmaker Bao Nguyen.

'I'm not a journalist by any stretch of the imagination,' Nguyen said. 'I had a healthy skepticism, as I think anyone would, going against a 53-year-old truth.

'But as a storyteller and a filmmaker, I thought it was my both or my responsibility and my privilege to be able to uplift the story of individuals like Nghe.'

The AP said it was calling on the filmmakers to release their contributors from non-disclosure agreements for the film, including Nghe.

Titled The Terror of War, it became one of the most haunting images of the 20th century. Ut (pictured above), now 73, was 21 when he took the photo, which won a Pulitzer Prize

Pictured: Vietnam war survivor and 'Napalm Girl' Kim Phuc holds a poster showing the image during a presentation at the Liberty Baptist Church in Newport Beach, CA, in 2007

It also called on the filmmakers to share a visual analysis they commissioned  and the film itself.

'We cannot state more clearly that The Associated Press is only interested in the facts and a truthful history of this iconic photo,' the agency said.

A primary source in the film is Carl Robinson, a former AP photo editor in Saigon, who was overruled in his judgment not to use the picture by Horst Faas, AP's Saigon chief of photos.

Robinson says in the film that Faas instructed him to 'make it staff' and credit Ut for the photo.

Both Faas and Yuichi 'Jackson' Ishizaki, who developed the film, are dead. Robinson, 81, was dismissed by the AP in 1978.

On Saturday, a Sundance Institute moderator asked why he wanted to come forward with the allegations now.

'I didn't want to die before this story came out,' Robinson told the audience after the screening. 'I wanted to find (Nghe) and say sorry.'

The Stringer gives several theories about why Nghe did not get credit for what was allegedly his photograph.

Nguyen Thanh Nghe has said the monochrome photograph, which has long been credited to Associated Press staff photographer Nick Ut, was actually taken by him. (Pictured: Bao Nguyen and Nguyen Than Nghe attend the "The Stringer" Premiere during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Ray Theatre on January 25, 2025 in Park City, Utah)

Pictured: Phan Thi Kim Phuc, left, is visited by AP photographer Nick Ut in 1973

Pictured: Vietnam war survivor Kim Phuc, left, and Pulitzer Prize winning Associated Press photographer Nick Ut, greet each other before her talk at the Liberty Baptist Church in Newport Beach, Calif., Sunday, July 15, 2007

One is that it was common practice at the time to credit staff over local stringers. Another is that Fass felt loyalty to Ut, whose brother, also a photographer, died in service.

Faas also wrote a memo hinting that it was commonplace not to credit the local Vietnamese stringers because of their 'weird' names.

Representatives for the AP, who saw the film for the first time Saturday at the premiere, are also contesting the films implication that the company reviewed their findings and dismissed them.

'As recently as December, we reiterated our request to see the filmmakers' full materials and they did not respond, nor did they include AP's full response in the film,' Lauren Easton, an AP spokesperson, said Sunday.

'We were surprised and disappointed that the film portrayed AP as having reviewed the film's materials and being dismissive of the allegations, which is completely false.

'AP stands ready to review any and all evidence and new information about this photo.'

Before the film was published, the AP conducted its own investigation for six months, and concluded it had 'no reason to believe anyone other than Ut took the photo.'

Knight and Turner met with AP in London last June about the allegations.

According to the AP, filmmakers requested the news organization sign a non-disclosure agreement before they provided their evidence. AP would not.

The film suggests that evidence was presented to the AP, which the AP says is not true.

Pictured: Phan Thi Kim Phuc stands with photographer Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut, at the opening of "The Girl In The Picture" exhibit at the George Eastman House in Rochester, N.Y, 2001

Pictured: an undated photograph of AP photographer Nick Ut in South Vietnam

A variety of witnesses interviewed by AP, including renowned correspondents such as Fox Butterfield and Peter Arnett and the photo's subject herself, Phuc, say they are certain Ut, now 73, took the photo.

Robinson was one such person the AP attempted to speak to during their investigation but 'were told we could only do so under conditions' that they said would have prevented them from 'taking swift action if necessary.'

The film's investigation took over two years. The journalists enlisted a French forensics team, INDEX, to help determine the likelihood of whether Ut had been in a position to take the photo.

The forensics team concluded that it was highly unlikely that Ut could have done it.

Ut's attorney, James Hornstein, had this to say Sunday after the premiere: 'In due course, we will proceed to right this wrong in a courtroom where Nick Ut's reputation will be vindicated.'

Knight referenced AP's investigation Saturday, telling the audience that the company's statement is available online.

'They said they're open always to examining the truth. And I think it was a very reasonable thing to say,' Knight said. 'Our story is here and it's here for you all to see.'

He added: 'Things happen in the field in the heat of the moment. ... We're all stronger if we examine ourselves, ask tough questions, and we're open and honest about what goes on in our profession. Now more than ever, I would argue.'

The Stringer does not yet have distribution plans.
A thug who killed a man by driving 4x4 over his head in an 'act of revenge' was jailed for life this week.

Self-proclaimed 'bad boy' Kyle Dumble, 27, will spend at least 17 years in prison after deliberating crushing Jack Field, 24, under the wheels of his black Mitsubishi Shogun to 'teach him a lesson'.

Mr Field was walking home from birthday celebrations in Hailsham, East Sussex on November 18 2023 when the attack took place.

Mr Dumble said he was on his way to buy cocaine with his friend Jimmy Stonestreet when the confrontation with Jack Field and his group of friends started.

Mr Field and his friends fought with Mr Stonestreet after he shouted 'What are you looking at?' towards them.

Dumble reversed the Mitsubishi Shogun into Mr Field knocking him to the ground.

He then leaned out of the driver side window to check behind him before reversing over Mr Field.

Witnesses described hearing a popping sound as the car drove backwards over Mr Field's head, killing him instantly.

Jack Field, 24, from Halisham died after his skull was crushed when he was intentionally run over by a 4x4

The driver, Kyle Dumble, 27, used his car to knock Mr Field over before reversing over his head

Dumble, a self-proclaimed 'bad boy', refused to give evidence at his trial and was jailed for life

Speaking at Hove Crown Court, Judge Jeremy Gold said Dumble's actions were 'an act of revenge' and an attempt to 'sort him out'.

Dumble, who refused to give evidence at his trial, told a female friend: 'Man thought he was a bad boy, I showed him I'm a bad boy.'

The jury in Hove were told they would not be asked to look at the horrific injuries caused by the 4x4.

Tana Adkin KC for the Crown said Mr Field was murdered in an act of pure anger, retaliation and revenge.

Experts rejected Dumble's claim a faulty automatic gearbox caused the Shogun to slip into reverse.

They returned a majority verdict by 10 to two that Mr Dumble was guilty of murder after almost 16 hours.

Mr Dumble was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to another member of the group.

Judge Gold said Dumble's actions could 'not be described as premeditated' but were, in his judgement, 'an act of revenge against the group for what had just occurred'.

Mr Dumble arrives at Lewes Crown Court where he was charged with murder, attempted GBH with intent, disqualified driving and driving without insurance

He said: 'All he had to do to avoid the risk of further confrontation was drive away, but he decided instead to use the car as a weapon and drive it towards Jack's group.

'I am satisfied that he did that at least once before embarking on the reversing manoeuvre that caused Jack's death.'

He added: 'He was driving at them to teach them a lesson, to sort them out and show them he was a bad boy,' Ms Adkin said.

In a statement, the family said: 'Jack was a loving son, brother and friend. He was the most selfless, respectful gentleman who would do anything for anyone and always putting others before himself.

'He was everyone's best friend, role model and hero. He will never be able to be replaced and has left a gaping hole which will never be filled but we will hold him in our hearts forever.

'Darling Jack, we love you so much, goodbye for now baby boy. Although nothing can bring Jack back, we are pleased [Mr Dumble] has got the justice he deserves.'

Detective Chief Inspector Alex Campbell of Sussex Police said: 'This was a senseless, seemingly unprovoked act of violence that has robbed a young man of his life.

'My thoughts remain with Jack's family and loved ones, as they have throughout this investigation.

The trial heard how Mr Dumble told a female friend: 'Man thought he was a bad boy, I showed him I'm a bad boy'

'Kyle Dumble turned his car into a deadly weapon that night in November, and fled the area with no regard for the tragic scene he left behind.'

Alan Kent KC for Kyle Dumble said he was suffering from depression at the time and has been diagnosed with ADHD and learning disabilities.

He added Dumble has anger management issues and showed 'genuine remorse' at his actions.

'He has two young children,' said Mr Kent. 'They will grow up without their father. Life in prison will be difficult for Kyle Dumble and his family. Of course that is a consequence of his actions on that night.'

Dumble was sentenced to life in prison and must serve a minimum of 17 years for the murder of Mr Field, less the 431 days he had already spent in custody.

He was also given a concurrent six years in prison for attempted grievous bodily harm and a concurrent six months for driving while disqualified. He will be disqualified from driving for ten years.

For the charge of driving without insurance he was ordered to pay 500 or one day's imprisonment.

Kyle Dumble's brother Reece Dumble was found not guilty of intimidating witnesses following the murder.
A 'whale-watcher' who was found alive after 67 days adrift at sea is facing jail over the deaths of his nephew and brother on the voyage.

Mikhail Pichugin, 45, spent over two months in an inflatable dinghy with the dead bodies of his relatives before he was rescued in October last year.

He had been drifting for hundreds of miles in the inhospitable Sea of Okhotsk - in the far north-east of Russia - after his engine broke while on an adventure trip to watch whales in their natural habitat.

When he was found alive, the haggard and gaunt Mr Pichugin was hailed as a hero in Russia for surviving for so long in such harsh conditions.

However, Mr Pichugin now faces up to seven years in jail for causing the deaths of his brother, Sergei Pichugin, and his nephew, Ilya.

The family members were returning from a whale-watching trip near the remote Shantar Islands when their motor stopped working 37 miles from shore.

According to Mr Pichugin, 16-year-old Ilya was the first to die reportedly from starvation having 'hardly eating.

In his account to rescuers, Mr Pichugin said: 'After that his father went crazy - Sergei was crying, screaming and jumping into the water.

Mikhail Pichugin pictured), 45, spent over two months in an inflatable dinghy with the dead bodies of his relatives before he was rescued in October last year.

The moment Mr Pichugin was found alive. The haggard and gaunt Mr Pichugin was hailed as a hero in Russia for surviving for so long in such harsh conditions

Mr Pichugin now faces up to seven years jail for causing the deaths of his brother, Sergei Pichugin, and his nephew, Ilya

'Mikhail pulled him out of the water, warmed him up, tried to feed him, but he refused to do so, and after 10 days he also died.'

The relatives were on a return journey from the remote Shantar Islands, the waters of which are a feeding ground for whales, to Okha, on Russia's largest island Sakhalin, when disaster struck.

They had on board warm clothes, life jackets, flares, a small supply of food and 20 litres of drinking water, expecting their journey to take several days.

But after the Baykat 470 M catamaran-type inflatable lost use of its Honda engine, the vessel drifted at least 625 miles over the course of more than two months.

Russian rescuers had looked for the trio to no avail and after a month evidently decided they were unlikely to survive in a sea known for its storms.

But Mikhail was ultimately found some 14 miles off the village of Ust-Khairyuzovo, on the Kamchatka peninsula by the Angel fishing vessel.

Prosecutors have gone after Mr Pichugin, accusing him of violating the rules of sea transport, so causing the death of his brother and nephew.

Mikhail's brother Sergei and nephew Ilya died on the boat

Mikhail Pichugin, 45, with his family including ex-wife Ekaterina, 38.

Instead of being a witness in a criminal case, he has been made the suspect due to his alleged failure to comply with rules.

'As a result of my violations of navigation, my brother Sergei and his son Ilya died,' he said in a confession.

His inflatable boat should not have gone more than three kilometres - less than two miles - from the coast.

When the engine broke he was 37 miles from the shore, say reports.

Mr Pichugin only survived the lack of food on board because he was overweight, said reports at the time.

He said: 'I lost my relatives, it's hard for me.

'They also want to put me in jail.

'I understand that I violated the law.

Prosecutors have gone after Mr Pichugin, accusing him of violating the rules of sea transport, so causing the death of his brother and nephew

Mr Pichugin only survived the lack of food on board because he was overweight, said reports at the time

'I sailed too far from the shore.'

However, he said: 'My relatives died not because I went too far out to sea but due to a combination of circumstances.'

When he was rescued, the authorities said Mr Pichugin had lost 50 kilograms in body weight, was seen wrapped in blankets and a lifejacket aboard the minuscule vessel to which he had tied another orange floatation vest in a desperate bid to attract attention.

Local experts are astonished at his survival for some 67 days after going missing.

Dmitry Lisitsyn, head of Sakhalin Environment Watch, said: 'There are two real miracles here.

'The first is that such a small, uncontrolled boat was not capsized in the stormy autumn Sea of Okhotsk after more than two months of drifting.

'I can't wrap my head around how this is possible.

'The boat certainly went through several strong storms and remained afloat  this is something incredible.

'The second is that someone on this boat survived. The fact that two people died - a father and son - is very sad, but not surprising.

'But how the third person - their uncle and brother - could survive in the icy, stormy sea for more than two months is simply beyond comprehension. It truly is a miracle.'

He said: 'For over 20 years, I have been travelling the Sea of Okhotsk on an inflatable motorboat, and I fully understand what this man went through.

'But I cannot understand how he managed to survive.'
A belligerently drunk father was dragged off a plane after his pre-takeoff outburst where he called an air hostess a 'd***head' for asking him to fasten his seatbelt.

Foul-mouthed Lewis Howarth, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, can be seen being carried by armed officers after he hurled abuse at a member of the cabin crew.

The Jet2 flight, from Manchester to Turkey, was forced to turn around on the runway and had already been delayed for 90 minutes before Howarth's outburst began.

As two officers boarded the plane the father-of-two shouted: 'F*** off you pr***' and had to be tackled to the floor amid fears he would headbutt one of them.

When armed police then tried to carry him off the aircraft, the 36-year-old was heard yelling 'I will bite you, you c***' before attempting to sink his teeth into an officer.

He was then carried off the aircraft to cheers from fellow passengers as he tried to lunge at them with his head.

Footage of the businessman shows him sitting on the floor, resisting police kicking his legs into the air as they sat him tries to seat him in the wheelchair.

As many as four police officers could be seen dragging Howarth, with one having to hold his head back as he tried to bite the emergency responders.

Foul-mouthed Lewis Howarth, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, was hurled off a plane after verbally abusing staff who asked him to fasten his seat-belt

When armed police then tried to carry him off the aircraft, the 36-year-old was heard yelling 'I will bite you, you c***' before attempting to sink his teeth into an officer.

At one point an officer turned to the father, telling him he was 'bang out of order' as many children were on the flight, to which Howarth said: 'Nah, f**k off you little rat.'

He subsequently boarded another flight with a different airline to Turkey the following day where he joined his partner and children.

He even posted a series of flippant Facebook messages about his arrest saying: 'Right, let's try this again. Just a coke this time,' accompanied by a laughing emoji.

Howarth appeared to enjoy his sunny getaway and could be seen riding a jet-ski, taking selfies with camels and driving a beach buggy in social media snaps.

The incident occurred on August 29 last year when Howarth boarded Flight LS921 at Manchester Airport after drinking heavily in the departure lounge.

He has since been sentenced to 14 weeks behind bars at Manchester Crown Court last Thursday.

He pleaded guilty to entering an aircraft when drunk, assault on an emergency worker and common assault of an emergency worker.

Gareth Hughes, prosecuting, previously told the court in December: 'The fight was due to take off at 4.15pm but was delayed until about 5.45pm.

An officer also told the father he was 'bang out of order' to which Howarth replied: 'Nah, f**k off you little rat.'

The Jet2 flight, from Manchester to for Dalaman, Turkey, had already been delayed for 90 minutes before Howarth's outbust began (pictured: Howarth in Turkey)

Lewis Howarth staggered around the aisles before hurling verbal abuse at an stewardess who he called a 'd***head (pictured: Howarth on a day after his outburst)

'A stewardess became aware of the defendant as he appeared to be extremely intoxicated.

'She approached the male and asked him to take a seat and put his seat belt on. He tried to but struggled due to his intoxicated nature.

'He was slurring his words and swearing, he had dilated pupils and his coordination was very poor and he was unable to put a seat belt on.

'She made the pilot aware of the situation and over the next 10 minutes she continued to speak to the defendant. But he appeared to continue to be disruptive.

'He got out of his seat and called her a 'd***head' and was asked to sit down and told he could be removed.

'But he stood up and got in her face and she believed he was trying to intimidate her. By this time they were already making their way to the runway from the gate but as the pilot heard news of the situation he wanted the male to be removed from the flight.

'They then taxi-ed back to the gate to wait for the police to arrive. Police met the plane and and the cabin crew explained the defendant was not listening to the safety briefing and swearing at the passengers.

'The officers were met by applause indicating the poor behaviour of the defendant prior to their arrival.

'The defendant was at the back of the aircraft. He stood up but immediately stumbled on his feet having to hold on to a seat. His eyes were red, his face was red. He was clearly extremely drunk.

'One of the officers tried to walk him down the aisle but when a PC Ecob said, 'Do you need a hand?' the defendant said, 'F*** off you pr***.'

'The officer asked if he was directing that to him or to a passenger and he simply says "Yeah."

Howarth (pictured) posted a series of photos from his holiday including a selfie with a camel in Turkey. He has handed 14 weeks behind bars at Manchester Crown Court last Thursday

'As he was aggressive and not going to be walked the officer took him by the scruff of the neck while the other officer held the defendant's arms from behind. But he lunges his head forwards to passengers still sitting in their seats.

'The officer was concerned that he was going to head butt him so he took his legs from underneath him and they carried him out of the aircraft and laid him out on the air bridge in handcuffs.

'The officers found a nearby wheelchair to take him to a lift to the airfield where there was a police van waiting.

'He was heard to say 'I will bite you, you c***' and attempted to bite PC Ben Morton on the hand.

'The other officers took control of his head to stop him from continuing to try to bite him. He was also lashing out with his legs and kicked PC Ecob in the mouth with his feet.

'He did not receive an injury or serious injury as the defendant was not wearing any shoes, he had only socks on his feet - although it did cause temporary pain to the mouth and teeth. The officer then struck him to the stomach to prevent further assault.'

In a statement PC Morton said: 'The defendant was irresponsible and gave no thought to the safety of other passengers or the police officers he was resisting in a confined space.

'I will never understand why people think behaviour like this is appropriate. It never can be justified. '

Howarth has been previously convicted for assault on police and drug driving. His lawyer Jon Mail said: 'There is a certain amount of inevitability of the matter going to the Crown Court.'

A spokesperson for Jet 2 previously said: 'On 29th August this year, our highly trained crew onboard flight LS921 from Manchester to Dalaman elected to return the aircraft to stand before take-off, so that police could offload Mr Howarth, due to his appalling behaviour.

'As a family friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behaviour, and we can confirm that Mr Howarth has been banned from flying with us for life.'
During a visit to Auschwitz, a 17-year-old from the Bronx, New York, unexpectedly uncovered an 80-year-old family mystery, bringing long-sought closure to his family by revealing a missing piece of their painful past.

While touring an exhibition of haunting children's drawings depicting guards, guns, and trains at the infamous death camp, the teen, named Yuval, made a life-altering discovery: the name of his grandfather's brother, 13-year-old Freddy Popper, among the artwork.

Freddys fate had remained a mystery, lost to history after the brothers were separated from their home in Slovakia.

'Until now, Freddy's fate was just rumors,' Yuval told the New York Post. 'This trip gave my family proof and closure we never imagined possible.'

The Holocaust had irrevocably altered the course of Michael Poppers life, leaving a void where his older brother Freddy once stood.

At just 10 years old, Michael was sheltered in the mountains, hidden in a Christian familys barn, while Freddy was sent to live with relatives in Budapest.

Tragically, Freddys aunt and uncle, both pharmacists, poisoned themselves before the Nazi invasion, hoping their deaths might improve Freddys survival chances if he were discovered.

While Michael survived, the mystery of his brothers fate haunted him until his death in 2020.

During a visit to Auschwitz, a teenager unexpectedly unlocked an 80-year-old family mystery, finally providing the family with closure by revealing a missing piece of their painful past

While visiting Auschwitz, Yuval made a life-altering discovery: the name of his grandfather's brother, 13-year-old Freddy Popper

For Yuval, the trip, part of the Friends of Israel Scouts group (Tzofim North America), was deeply personal.

'I thought of thousands of scenarios about what would happen on the trip,' he said 'And I couldn't have imagined it would be [solving] this family mystery.'

Yuvals mother, Michal Poran, the New York chapter leader who accompanied the delegation, described the moment as earth-shattering.

'I saw the name and my heart stopped. I couldn't catch my breath. It healed something that's been broken for generations,' said Poran, 46, who immediately sent a photo of her uncles name to her own mother.

The emotional discovery came in the summer of 2024, just months after the October 7 massacre in Israel, which claimed thousands of lives and ignited the Israel-Hamas war.

'Past and present tragedies intertwined, amplifying the importance of connecting our youth to their heritage,' Yaniv Biran, CEO of Tzofim North America, told The Post.

For Yuval, the transformative experience became the foundation of his college essay.

He described standing at the cemetery, overwhelmed by a sense of connection to his ancestors

At just 10 years old, Michael was hidden in a Christian familys barn, while Freddy (pictured) was sent to live with relatives in Budapest, but Freddy's fate remained a mystery

Freddy's pharmacist aunt and uncle tragically poisoned themselves before the Nazi invasion, hoping to improve his chances of survival. While Michael survived, his brother's fate remained a mystery until Michael's death in 2020.

'I felt as if my entire family  generations and generations of my family  were standing with me, behind me, holding onto me,' the teen said of the life-changing moment.

'I really wish my saba [grandpa] could have seen this and we could have talked about it,' said Yuval.

Reflecting on the tragedy of his great-uncles death at such a young age, Yuval said, 'It would have been sad, but I think he would have been proud of me for going on this trip and finding this piece of family history.'
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order today to create an 'Iron Dome' style defense system in the United States, DailyMail.com has learned.

It would be an American version of the famed Israeli missile defense system.

Incoming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hinted the order was coming when he walked into the Pentagon on Monday, his first day on the new job.

'Today, there are more executive orders coming that we fully support, on removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of COVID mandates, Iron Dome for America,' he told reporters. 'This is happening quickly.'

Trump had vowed to build such a system upon his return to the White House.

'We will replenish our military and build an Iron Dome missile defense system to ensure that no enemy can strike our homeland,' he said this summer at the Republican National Convention.

'Israel has an Iron Dome. They have a missile defense system,' he noted. 'Why should other countries have this, and we don't?'

Israel's Iron Dome system at work during an attack in October

Israel's Iron Dome system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of two to 43 miles away.

The system was '90 percent effective' in October when Iran fired 200 ballistic missiles at Israel.

But defense experts warn what makes the system work for Israel won't apply to the United States.

Each Iron Dome system can defend an area of roughly 150 square miles. Israel is 8,600 square miles.

But the United States is 3.8 million square miles, meaning America would need to deploy more than 24,700 Iron Dome batteries to defend the continental U.S.

At $100 million per battery, that would be approximately $2,470,000,000,000 - or $2.5 trillion.

Also the system is designed to protect Israel from its nearby neighbors.

It is not designed to handle the long-range missiles from adversaries across an ocean - say Russia or China.

An analysis from Defense One found that the Iron Dome system couldn't even protect Mar-a-Lago from missiles fired from the Bahamas, some 80 miles away.

The U.S. has invested heavily in the Israeli system, giving nearly $2 billion. It's unclear if there is support in Congress to invest in something similar for the U.S.

Donald Trump vowed to build an Iron Dome system if he returned to the White House

This picture shows projectiles being intercepted by Israel near the northern city of Baqa al-Gharbiya on October 1

What is the Iron Dome?

The Iron Dome is an all-weather mobile system in Israel that is made up of at least 10 missile-defence batteries strategically distributed around the country.

The device is made up of three main sections: a radar detection system, a computer to calculate the incoming rocket's trajectory, and a launcher that fires interceptors if the rocket is deemed likely to hit a built-up or strategic area.

It uses a sophisticated radar to detect incoming airborne objects such as a drones, rockets, and missiles, it sends the information back to a command-and-control center.

Here, the threat is tracked to assess whether it is a false alarm and the potential destination of the flying object.

Each truck-towed unit then fires radar-guided missiles to blow up short-range threats like rockets, mortars and drones in mid-air.

The system fires the interceptors - just 6 inches wide and 10 feet long- at the incoming threats that seem most likely to hit an inhabited area.

Each Iron Dome battery consists of three to four launchers that can each carry up to 20 Tamir interceptor missiles.

The batteries can neutralise threats launched from up to 43 miles away, while at the same time ignoring projectiles that are projected to strike unpopulated areas.

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Israel's Iron Dome uses a sophisticated radar to detect incoming airborne objects such as a drones, rockets, and missiles

In late 2012 Israel said that it hoped to increase the range of Iron Dome's interceptions, from a maximum of 43 to 155 miles away and make it more versatile so that it could intercept rockets coming from two directions simultaneously.

The 10 Iron Domes placed throughout the country are able to defend up to nearly 60 square miles of land - protecting countless civilians and critical infrastructure.

The system was developed by state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries and was upgraded in 2012, but the details of the changes were not made public.

The United States backed the initial project with a $200,000 grant in 2006.

The David's Sling and Arrow Defences

The Iron Dome is just one of Israel's three-tiered missile defence system along with the The Arrow, and David's Sling.

Israel's Iron Dome system garners the most attention of the country's air defences as it's used most frequently to bring down unguided, short-range rockets often fired by Hezbollah and Hamas.

However, the country's air defences are made of three critical 'overlapping' systems that can blast threats out of the skies at different ranges.

The targeting of guided ballistic missiles that travel at higher altitudes, longer ranges and faster speeds requires a different system from the Iron Dome to take them down.

For this, Israel uses both 'David's Sling 'and the 'Arrow 2 and 3' home-grown air defence systems which are built to destroy medium-range and long-range ballistic missiles.

Iranian state TV broadcasted the moment it launched nearly 200 missiles towards Israel

Israel's David's Sling system operates for interception as rockets are fired from Lebanon, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, September 25, 2024

The Arrow system developed with the US is designed to intercept long-range missiles, including the types of ballistic missiles Iran launched at Israel.

Both the Arrow 2 and 3 systems are capable of handling much longer-range missiles like Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM's) that will likely travel at altitudes beyond the Earth's atmosphere, a capability similar to the US military's THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) air defense system.

The Arrow 3 system is believed to have a range of 1,500 miles and can reach an altitude of 100 miles.

The Arrow 2 is designed to explode near a missile to bring down an incoming missile, but the Arrow 3 is a hit-to-kill missile.

The systems are designed to engage threats both in and outside the atmosphere, and they operate at an altitude that allows for the safe dispersal of any non-conventional warheads.

State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries is the project's main contractor, while Boeing Co. is involved in producing the interceptors.

David's Sling, also developed with the US, is meant to intercept medium-range missiles, such as those possessed by Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The two-stage missile has no warhead, it destroys incoming ballistic missiles with the sheer force of impact, making it what is known as a 'hit- to- kill' which has been characterized as hitting a bullet with a bullet given the high velocities involved.

How effective is the Iron Dome?

Iron Dome's effectiveness has improved since it first successfully took out a hostile projective in April 2011, and has gone on to achieve a reported success rate of around 90 per cent, according to Rafael Advanced Defence Systems.

In a large Iranian attack in October 2024, most of the roughly 180 missiles were intercepted by the defensive weapon before reaching Israeli territory, while others were shot down by the United States and other allies.

It has also been proven to be highly effective in recent years, with its abilities especially highlighted in 2021 after militant groups in Gaza fired at least 4,000 rockets during the 11-day May war.

In the first 24 hours of the conflict 470 rockets were fired with Iron Dome system intercepting about 90% of the rockets heading to populated areas within Israel.

In the US, Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering wrote in Defence News: 'Iron Dome has stopped over 2,000 rockets fired at Israeli population centres with a remarkable success rate, an achievement that also shifted US thinking about homeland missile defence.

'Iron Dome is the most proven and affordable option against very short-range fire.'

He hailed it as a 'gamechanger'.

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip in January 2024

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in central Israel, in November 2023

On the battlefield during Operation Pillar of Defence in November 2012, and when used in Operation Protective Edge in 2014, the system had 84 per cent and 91 per cent rates of success, respectively.

But things become more complicated if the drones are flying so low that the radar can't detect them.

Israel has hundreds of interceptor missiles at its disposal, but the Iron Dome has come under immense pressures as seen on October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel with a barrage of thousands of missiles.

Hamas said it launched 5,000 rockets in the initial attack and Israel's military countered by saying just 2,500 rockets were fired.

'That quantity was simply too much for Iron Dome to manage,' said the Modern War Institute report.

This suggests the Iron Dome has a limit to the number of rockets it is able to intercept, and if that number is exceeded, the rest of the rockets will permeate the system, according to a Forbes report from 2021.

Just two days after the October 7 massacre, the Israeli government asked the US to provide more precision-guided munitions for its combat aircraft and more interceptors for its Iron Dome missile defense system, according to a US official.
Colombian president Gustavo Petro's eldest daughter has got involved in his row with Donald Trump by appearing to urge her dad to deport Americans caught sexually abusing under-age children.

Pretty Andrea Petro, 33, waded into the simmering diplomatic war hours after her father caved in to the US leader's tariff threat following his country's refusal to accept flights with deported migrants.

She posted a meme showing two dolphins leaping out of the water under a rainbow on X and wrote in Spanish: 'For each deported Colombian we will return a gringo from El Poblado.

Andrea offered no further explanation of her bizarre message, but Colombian press were quick to point out that while El Poblado is one of the most popular parts of the city of Medellin for foreigners, it has also become the epicentre of sex tourism and exploitation of minors.

A 36-year-old US national was made a wanted man in Colombia in April after allegedly being discovered with two girls aged 12 and 13 in a hotel El Poblado and leaving the South American country before he could be formally arrested.

An Interpol Blue Notice was subsequently issued for him and Gustavo Petro took to X to say his government would ask the US government to 'extradite the Medellin hotel paedophile.'

Medellin's mayor Federico Gutierrez announced a temporary ban on prostitution in two city neighbourhoods in April including El Poblado.

Colombian media outlet Semana said on its website this afternoon: 'It's worth remembering that El Poblado is one of the 16 neighbourhoods of Medellin where foreign nationals, some from the US, have been caught abusing minors and using different types of drugs.'

Andrea Petro (pictured), 33, waded into the simmering diplomatic war hours after her father caved in to the US leader's tariff threat following his country's refusal to accept flights with deported migrants

Colombian president Gustavo Petro's (pictured) eldest daughter has got involved in his row with Donald Trump by appearing to urge her dad to deport Americans caught sexually abusing under-age children

President Donald Trump on Air Force One on January 25

Andrea posted a meme showing two dolphins leaping out of the water under a rainbow on X and wrote in Spanish: 'For each deported Colombian we will return a gringo from El Poblado.

Businesswoman Andrea published her apparent attack on Trump after Colombia's Foreign Minister said the 'impasse' with the US government had been resolved.

In a first official response since the White House confirmed late yesterday Trump wouldn't be imposing tariffs after the Colombian government had agreed to accept all of his terms including receiving its deported nationals, Luis Gilberto Murillo said: 'The Government of Colombia informs that we have overcome the impasse with the Government of the United States.

'In this context, I and Ambassador Daniel Garcia-Pena will travel to the city of Washington in the coming days to hold high-level meetings to follow up on the agreements, the result of joint work that led to the exchange of diplomatic notes between the two governments.

'We will continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them dignified conditions as citizens entitled to rights.

'The Government of Colombia, under the directive of President Gustavo Petro, has arranged the presidential plane to facilitate the return of nationals who were scheduled to arrive in the country this morning on deportation flights.

'Colombia reaffirms that diplomatic channels of communication will be maintained to guarantee the rights, national interest, and dignity of our citizens.'

Before backing down after blocking two US migrant deportation flights entering Colombia when Trump threatened to hit the country with huge import tariffs and stop visa processing, Gustavo Petro had accused the US president of being a 'white slaveholder' on track to 'wipe out the human species.

In a belligerent post on X before Colombia's surrender Gustavo Petro had said: 'I don't like your oil, Trump, you are going to end the human species with greed. Maybe one day, along with a drink of whisky - which I accept despite my gastritis - we can talk frankly about this, but it's difficult because you consider me an inferior race, and I am not, nor is any Colombian.

'So if you are looking for a stubborn person, that's me, period. You can try to stage a coup with your economic power and arrogance, like you did with Allende.

Donald Trump takes the oath of office during his Presidential inauguration

A deportation of illegal migrants from the USA last week

'But I will die by my law, I withstood torture, and I resist you. I don't want slave owners on Colombia's side, we already had many and we freed ourselves. Who I want to be on Colombia's side are lovers of freedom. If you can't join me, I will go elsewhere.

'Colombia is the heart of the world, and you didn't understand it. This is the land of the yellow butterflies, the beauty of Remedios, but also of Colonel Aureliano Buendia, one of whom I am, perhaps the last.

'You will kill me, but I will survive in my town, which came before yours, in the Americas. We are peoples of the winds, the mountains, the Caribbean Sea, and freedom.

'You don't like our freedom, fine. I do not shake hands with white slave owners. I shake the hands of libertarian whites, heirs of Lincoln, and of the Black and white rural boys from the U.S., in front of whose graves I cried and prayed on a battlefield, which I reached after walking through the mountains of Tuscany and after saving myself from COVID.

'They are the US, and before them, I kneel, before no one else.

'Overthrow me president, and the Americas and humanity will respond.'

Andrea republished her father's attack on her own social media.

Gustavo Petro had accused the US president of being a 'white slaveholder' on track to 'wipe out the human species

Colombian critic Jairo Neira responded to her El Poblado meme by saying: 'Stop spreading hate Andrea. Your father already made a mockery of himself on the world stage.'

Another added: 'There aren't enough gringos in Colombia to do that.

'With Biden, they deported more than 17,000 Colombians.

'I understand maths is not the Petro family's strength, but make an effort not to look ridiculous.'
Ed Miliband tonight warned any expansion of Heathrow Airport would be blocked if it doesn't fit with Britain's climate commitments.

The Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary told MPs that building a third runway at Europe's busiest airport 'must be justified within carbon budgets'.

It comes ahead of a major speech by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Wednesday.

She is set to endorse plans for a third runway and expansion at Gatwick and Luton airports in her scramble for economic growth, despite a rift within Labour's ranks.

Eight of those who attend Cabinet - including PM Sir Keir Starmer, Environment Secretary Steve Reed and Mr Miliband - have previously opposed Heathrows expansion.

Appearing before the House of Commons' Environmental Audit Committee today, Mr Miliband was quizzed about the Government's position by Green MP Ellie Chowns.

'I just want to sort of provide this element of reassurance to you, which is 100 per cent any aviation expansion must be justified within carbon budgets,' he said.

'And if it can't be justified, it won't go ahead.'

Ed Miliband warned any expansion of Heathrow Airport would be blocked if it doesn't fit with Britain's climate commitments.

The Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary told MPs that building a third runway at Europe's busiest airport 'must be justified within carbon budgets'

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to endorse plans for a third runway and expansion at Gatwick and Luton airports in her scramble for economic growth, despite a rift within Labour's ranks

A carbon budget places a restriction on the total amount of greenhouse gases the UK can emit over a five-year period.

The Climate Change Committee is due to soon advise on the seventh version of the UK's carbon budget, which will set a legal limit for 2038 to 2042.

Mr Miliband stressed any decision on airport expansion in Britain had to fit 'within that framework.'

'The way I've always thought about this is our goal is neither, on the one hand, to stop people going on holiday, stop the economy getting what it needs,' he added.

'Nor is it business as usual, as if climate change is not a problem. I think that is a sensible middle ground of this debate.

'And to make that a reality, we have a system in this country of carbon budgets. So it's really important to say this, any decisions about airport expansion take place within that framework.

'That is a legally-binding framework passed by the 2008 Climate Change Act, and this Government is committed upholding the rule of law.

'So any decisions on aviation expansion must be made within that framework, and any aviation expansion will only be able to go ahead if it is consistent with our carbon budgets.'

Mr Miliband last week said he will not resign if the Government backs a third runway at Heathrow - despite being a long-time opponent of it.

In his evidence to the committee, he also sought to play down claims of tensions between himself and Ms Reeves.

The Chancellor recently suggested that economic growth 'trumps other things', including Mr Miliband's drive to decarbonise the national grid by 2030.

But, asked about Ms Reeves' remarks, the Energy Secretary told the group of MPs: 'I saw the way the Chancellor was quoted on that and she has since made it clear that she believes the two are absolutely consistent.

'I'll be frank with you, she's been one of the biggest supporters of the clean energy mission and Net Zero.

'She has put it at the centre of her philosophy about how our economy grows.

'You're not supposed to talk about these things but we've had a joint meeting of the growth and the clean energy mission board precisely because of the way in which we see the two as going together.

'Honestly, we see the two as absolutely consistent.'
A Democratic Party official from Florida was arrested on federal child pornography charges.

Matthew Inman, 39, was charged with transportation of child sex abuse material on January 17, according to the US Attorneys Office, Middle District of Florida.

Inman served as treasurer for the Orange County Democratic Party and as president of the LGBTQ activist group Rainbow Democrats.

Investigators said Inman had videos on his phone of children being sexually abused and shared them while trying to procure sex from a young boy.

'Between August and October of 2024, Inman received and saved several videos of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to his phone. These videos depicted adults sexually assaulting young children,' the US Attorney's Office said.

Inman allegedly shared the videos of adults raping young boys with an undercover law enforcement officer he met online while he was visiting Las Vegas in October 2024.

'During this conversation, Inman expressed interest in meeting and sexually assaulting the purported child. He also sent CSAM videos to the undercover officer,' said the US Attorney's Office.

Officials connected the account to Inman and claimed he tried to wipe the videos from his devices while they searched his home.

Matthew Inman, 39, was charged with transportation of child sex abuse material on January 17

Inman served as treasurer for the Orange County Democratic Party and as president of the LGBTQ activist group Rainbow Democrats

'The FBI obtained a search warrant for Inmans electronic devices and residence. During the execution of the search warrant, Inman attempted to delete the evidence from his phone and hide in the attic of his house,' the US Attorney's Office said.

Court filings state Inman admitted to police that he distributed the videos and claimed he had been viewing child pornography for at least two years.

Posts from Inman's social media pages show he was in Las Vegas on October 27 to celebrate his grandmother's 90th birthday - the same time as the visit he allegedly tried to arrange to have sex with a 9-year-old boy.

The Rainbow Democrats said they were 'shocked' to learn of the charges and that Inman was removed from their group.

'We offer our condolences to any victims of child sexual abuse and hope justice will be served to the fullest extent of the law,' the group said.

'We have suspended Mr. Inman from the Caucus. He has no acting role in any capacity with the organization as of now. He will be officially removed at our next general meeting.

'The Rainbow Democrats are working to move beyond this horrible incident to continue our service to the community.'

The Orange County Democrats issued a similar statement condemning their former treasurer.

Inman posted he was in Las Vegas on October 27 to celebrate his grandmother's 90th birthday - the same time as the visit he allegedly tried to arrange to have sex with a 9-year-old boy

Inman allegedly shared the videos of adults raping young boys with an undercover law enforcement officer he met online while he was visiting Las Vegas

Court filings state Inman admitted to police that he distributed the videos and claimed he had been viewing child pornography for at least two years

Inman was booked into the Seminole County Jail and is being held without bail

'We are deeply appalled and horrified by the news that Matthew Inman has been arrested on charges of sexual abuse involving a minor,' the organization said.

'We unequivocally condemn child sexual abuse in the strongest possible terms and hope that any victims involved receive the support and resources they need moving forward.

'After learning of the allegations against Mr. Inman, the Orange County Democratic Party acted swiftly to suspend him from all voluntary roles and responsibilities.'

Inman was booked into the Seminole County Jail and is being held without bail. If convicted, Inman faces a minimum penalty of five years, up to 20 years, in federal prison.
This video is no longer available

This video is no longer available

A former catholic university educator stirred up a lot of controversy after he nearly stripped naked at a street party Sunday ahead of carnival season in the Porto Alegre, a city in southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.

The lecturer, whose name has not been released, was wearing a fake crown of thorns around his head to mimic Jesus on the cross while he stood on a tree.

The professor danced as he began to remove his shirt and leaned forward to shout at the crowd, who approved loudly as they waved flags.

He later tossed his shirt to the ground and removed his belt and yanked his pant off and threw it into the pack of revelers as the sang, 'Let's take Jesus down, let's take him down, let's take down from the cross.'

The professor's obliged to the crowd's request and stepped down from the tree and went crowd surfing.

His actions clearly ruffled the feathers of residents, who condemned the behavior and called for his dismissal from Unisinos, a private Jesuit university with campuses in Porto Alegre and Leopoldo.

'Fire him now,' one person wrote on the school's social media network.

A former catholic university professor attended a pre-carnival event Sunday in Porto Alegre, Brazil and sparked outrage after he wore a fake crown of thorns around his head to mimic Jesus on the cross and stripped his clothes off

A former professor at Unisinos, a private Jesuit university with campuses in the southern Brazil state of Rio Grande do Sul, stripped at a pre-carnival street party in Porto Alegre on Sunday

'We demand a retraction from the teacher at this institute who disrespected Christianity,' another said.

One person claimed that their nephew would be withdrawing from the university.

'Absurd (behavior towards Jesus Christ,' they claimed. 'My nephew will leave college because our family does not condone disrespectful attitudes.'

Another person felt the professor's actions were worthy of cancelling the Porto Alegre's carnival on February 7.

The professor unbutton his shirt before he tossed it to the ground and then removed his pants as the pre-carnival street party crowd roared in approval

The professor, who appeared to mimic Jesus Christ, was seen crowd surfing after he stripped to a thong

A band performs at Porto Alegre carnival event in February 2024

'Carnival has to be cancelled, as far as I'm concerned it wouldn't even happen!' they said.

Unisinos, which has been operating for over 50 years, said in a statement Monday that the professor had resigned from the university over a year ago.

'As a Jesuit, Unisinos has as one of its purposes social assistance to the dissemination of the Christian faith and ethics advocated by the guidelines of the Society of Jesus,' the school said.

'The University is against any form of exposure that constitutes religious intolerance and reaffirms its dedication to the principles that guide its mission: faith, justice and service to society.'
A chaotic brawl between two groups of young men at a Gold Coast food hall on Australia Day was captured on camera by shocked onlookers.

Chairs were thrown during the fight at the Australia Fair Shopping Centre on the Gold Coast about 4.15pm.

A group of young men, one of whom was shirtless, faced off against another group next to grocery trolley piled with supplies and a Nike backpack.

One man in a white t-shirt attempted to kick a rival in the head but the blow was swatted away before he then picked up a wooden chair and smashed it on the ground.

'I'll do the same f***ing thing c***,' the target of the assault replied before he picked up a chair of his own and smashed it on the ground next to the opposing group.

'What are you going to do you f***ing dog,' he challenged, 'What? I'm getting food.'

'Get the f*** out of here then,' the first man replied.

A chaotic brawl broke out between young men in a food court on Australia Day

Australia Fair Shopping Centre is one of the largest malls on the Gold Coast

Another member of the group then intervened and broke up the fight before anyone was injured.

Queensland Police confirmed officers attended the incident and a local 20-year-old Mudgeeraba man was arrested.

He was charged with wilful damage and will front Southport Magistrates Court on February 11.
Outraged Chicago locals have slammed CNN for selective reporting of migrant raids in the city.

The liberal broadcaster has largely focused on the human tragedy of the raids, despite violent criminals and a pedophile being among those also seized.

In one news item, CNN showed an Illinois woman breaking down in tears saying her grandfather had been deported after 30 years in North America.

'They opened the door because they thought maybe one of us were in trouble or something happened to us,' said the interviewee, Yelitza Marquina of Waukegan.

'I'm already heartbroken myself and I can't imagine little kids whose families are broken apart because of this.'

Local citizen journalist Chicago Contrarian was among those accusing CNN of bias, saying they failed to give the other side of the story about the deportations under new Border Czar Tom Homan.

'Since Tom Homan arrived in Chicago, ICE agents have arrested SIX sex offenders, THREE Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members, and TWO illegals convicted of murder,' the Chicago local wrote.

'Yet CNN tells the story of a "grandfather" now facing deportation after living here illegally for 30 years. CNN sucks.'

Outraged Chicago locals have slammed CNN for selective reporting of migrant raids in the city. In one news item, CNN showed an Illinois woman breaking down in tears saying her grandfather had been deported after 30 years in North America (shown above)

Local citizen journalist Chicago Contrarian was among those accusing CNN of reporting the migrant raids in a biased manner

The staggering numbers come as Trump aggressively forged ahead with his pledge to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in US history in his first week back in power

Others posted screenshots of stories about deportations targeting notorious MS-13 gang members and other dangerous criminals.

'CNN will conveniently leave out gangs, drug dealers, and violent offenders and branding illegal immigrants as "migrants",' one man said on X.

'There is a clear difference between legal and illegal immigration. All illegals need to be deported.'

It comes as a Dr Phil embedded himself among Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and Homan as they rounded up undocumented migrants in Chicago on Sunday, including a pedophile.

Dr. Phil, 74, whose real name is Phil McGraw, was shown grilling one detainee as he stood handcuffed in the street, video of the man's arrest revealed.

The television psychologist asked the man - who has since been identified as Sam Seda from Thailand - where he was born and if he had ever been deported from the US before. Sam confirmed he was not an American citizen, but claimed his mother is.

Homan then revealed that Sam was an 'illegal alien convicted of sex crimes involving children', claiming he was just one of many illegal criminals walking the streets of sanctuary cities as local authorities prevent federal agents from doing their jobs.

Dr. Phil addressed Sam again, asking: 'You've been charged with sex crimes with children?'

Sam simply replied: 'Not really.'

The first migrant arrested in ICE raids across Chicago on Sunday was Seda Sam, from Thailand

Dr. Phil revealed that Sam was a 'convicted sex offender and internet predator'

Welcome to MAGALAND: Insider Trump's Second 100 Days - The podcast bringing you the latest news and gossip from the White House. Listen here.

'Not really?!' a stunned Dr. Phil stated. 'And never been deported?'

'Nope,' Sam doubled down, leaving Dr. Phil apparently shocked.

Homan then told his agents: 'Let's take him in, process him, and lock him up.'

President Trump has aggressively forged ahead with his pledge to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in US history in his first week back in power, arresting more than 2,000 people so far.

On Friday alone, ICE authorities detained 445 illegal migrants with criminal records, with a further 148 migrants without rap sheets also taken into custody ready for deportation.

CNN has been blasted for focusing on the stories of families who have been torn apart by the policy, rather than the crackdown on criminals.

Trump's immigration crackdown has been met with pushback from other countries, including Colombia which refused to accept military flights carrying deportees.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused Trump of being a 'white slaveholder' who is on track to 'wipe out the human species' after being humiliated by the US president in the dispute over migrants.

Dr. Phil, a clinical psychologist best known for hosting the popular daytime TV talk show Dr. Phil, accompanied Homan and ICE in defending Trump's deportation effort as the crackdown neared the end of its first week.

McGraw, who spoke at a Trump campaign event in October, said in a post on X on Sunday that ICE aimed to pick 270 'high-value targets', indicating it was a targeted operation, and defended the approach.

'They're not sweeping neighborhoods like people are trying to imply,' he said.

Border Czar Tom Homan joined ICE agents and officers with the Drug Enforcement Agency to conduct raids in the Windy City

Homan, who revealed Sam's criminal record to the TV psychologist, used the migrant's case to highlight the dangers of sanctuary cities, or areas that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

'Again, the downfall, the problem with a sanctuary city is that people like this are walking the street rather than law enforcement working with federal agents,' Homan told Dr. Phil. 'This is what we're dealing with.'

In a separate clip, Dr. Phil could be seen speaking with Homan about the arrest.

'He shouldn't even be here, but he's doing this,' Homan added, noting that nobody in the community alerted authorities to say, 'Hey there's somebody who doesn't even have the right to be here that's preying on our children.'

Homan then noted that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson 'want to vilify the men of ICE.'

'ICE saved children today and it makes me angry,' Homan said, mentioning that the governor claimed federal officials were at a school on Friday, though that was later proven to be false.

Raids were also conducted in Denver, Colorado; Austin, Texas; San Jose, California; Los Angeles, California; San Antonio, Texas; Miami, Florida; Detroit, Michigan, Omaha, Nebraska; Phoenix, Arizona; Atlanta, Georgia and New Jersey, according to NewsNation.

In total, there were 956 migrants apprehended on Sunday alone, following the arrest of nearly 1,300 people on Thursday.
The European Union is seeking to beef up its military presence in Greenland just one week after President Donald Trump took office and threatened to seize the vast land mass.

It came after Denmark said on Monday it plans to spend $2.05 billion to boost its military presence in the Arctic.

While the Scandinavian country is responsible for Greenland's security and defense, Copenhagen has limited military capabilities on its island territory.

After his November election win, Trump reupped his offer to purchase Greenland, which Denmark has repeatedly denied any interest in accepting.

During a press conference in Mar-a-Lago weeks before his second term, Trump did not rule out the possibility of using force to take the island territory.

Now, Gen. Robert Brieger of Austria, the top EU military official, has said the group should deploy troops to Greenland.

European Union nations are thinking of bulking up a military presence in Greenland and Denmark is increasing its defense spending in its island territory. Pictured: New York Air National Guardsmen conduct a mission with Danish Military in Greenland on November 9, 2021

President Donald Trump's as offered to purchase Greenland and did not rule out earlier this month using force to seize the Danish territory

Greenland holds military significance for Washington, D.C. There are currently 200 American troops stationed at the Pituffik Space Base, which is part of a missile early warning system.

The base also serves as a space and satellite surveillance command hub.

Brieger, current Chairman of the European Union Military Committee (CEUMC), wants the bloc to send in troops to beef up presence amid concerns that Trump will take swift action to gain control of the autonomous Danish region.

The general, however, said the move is meant to send a 'strong signal' and serve as a deterrent against Russian and Chinese activity in the strategic location.

Trump said this month that Greenland is vital to U.S. security and has demanded Denmark give up control of the Arctic island.

Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland earlier this month with three of his father's close allies

A Trump-branded airplane carrying the president's eldest son landed in Nuuk, Greenland on Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Amid the threats, Denmark has now decided to up its defense spending in Greenland.

It's a drastic reversal after for more than a decade Denmark has cut defense spending it sends to Greenland.

Last year Denmark allocated $26 billion  when converted to USD  for its military spending. And now it wants to use more than $2 billion of that to be allocated to the Arctic.

Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said at a press conference that the latest deal includes funding for doubling the number of long-range surveillance drones to four total and three new Arctic Navy vessels.
Desperate prisons are recruiting guards from abroad despite them having little or no English, unions have warned.

Employing overseas workers could create communication problems in some prisons, and could cause division, they said.

It came after reports that prison officers hired from overseas have been camping outside jails or living in their cars because they have no accommodation.

Since 2023, jails have been forced to recruit overseas officers to make up places, with the majority coming from Nigeria.

The sector has long been under pressure, with ministers freeing prisoners early as part of an emergency measure to ease overcrowding in jails.

To cope with staffing shortages, jails have been forced to recruit prison officers from overseas, sponsoring skilled worker visas.

Now it has emerged that some of those being recruited are unable to speak English, The House magazine has revealed.

Mark Fairhurst, chairman of the Prison Officers Association (POA), the trade union representing prison officers, told the publication that foreign recruits were struggling with the language.

Prisons are employing guards with little or no English in a bid to fill places amid staffing shortages, unions have warned (file photo)

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) said it sponsored foreign nationals but would not say how many of its 23,273 prison officers were from overseas (file photo)

We have reports, and this is confirmed by prison governors, that some overseas recruits struggle to, or simply cannot, speak English, he said.

Jail governors do not interview their prison officers, a process that is carried out through a centralised system without in-person, face-to-face interviews, often using Zoom or Microsoft Teams and online assessments, he revealed.

He said this practice was simply not fit for purpose and warned that it could mean others sit tests for candidates to get them the job.

His words were echoed by the Prison Governors Associations (PGA) Tom Wheatley, who said: The scale of the levels of people from African, particularly Nigerian, origin, who are applying for jobs in the prison service, at the moment they are in the majority by a significant margin.

The recruitment of overseas staff had created communication problems in some prisons and could cause division where there are disproportionate numbers of foreign prison staff in remote rural areas, he told the magazine.

It meant, he added, that you create some other issues that are about changing the environment around the prison, and you also potentially create issues in your workforce.

Warning of competence issues, he added: Some people are getting through the assessment, it appears, and then struggling significantly once they get into the operational role and they cant do what we think the assessment tested that they could.

It came after the POA warned that wardens recruited from countries such as Nigeria have turned up for work on their first day expecting to be handed living quarters with their job.

Since 2023 jails have turned to recruit overseas officers to make up places, with the majority coming from Nigeria (file photo)

Earlier this month, Mr Fairhurst told the Lords justice and home affairs committee: I am hearing some horror stories... about recruits from overseas turning up at the gate with suitcases and family in tow asking, Wheres my accommodation?

We have had examples of overseas recruits sleeping in their cars. Apparently, a bunch of overseas recruits - because they have no accommodation - have set up camp in a wooded area opposite the prison where they are working.

Mr Fairhurst also said another officer who was recruited remotely was later found to have cerebral palsy - meaning they could not lock or unlock cell doors, restrain prisoners or conduct rub-down searches.

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) said it sponsored foreign nationals but would not say how many of its 23,273 prison officers were from overseas.

It is believed 250 foreign nationals have been sponsored to work in jails following digital interviews - and up to two-thirds of applicants have been from Africa.

The jobs, which include coveted skilled worker visas, have been promoted online by the Nigerian expat community.

A spokesman told The House: In October 2023, changes were made to the skilled worker visa scheme which has allowed the prison service to sponsor visa applications for foreign nationals.

All staff - regardless of nationality - undergo robust assessments and training before they work in prisons. Our strengthened vetting process roots out those who fall below our high standards.
Labour's long-awaited review of Britains defences will call for an urgent increase in military spending, despite Treasury warnings it cannot be afforded.

Whitehall sources told the Mail that the Strategic Defence Review due this spring will state that spending 2.5 per cent of Britains GDP on defence is the minimum needed to keep the country safe.

The whole review is predicated on spending 2.5 per cent, a source said. The timetable for reaching that point is ultimately a question for Downing Street and the Treasury.

'But the review will set out what is needed to meet the growing challenges we face. And it will be clear that we cannot rebuild our armed forces to meet these threats without spending that money.

It is then over to the politicians to decide how quickly they want to meet the changing threats that the country faces.

The Mail revealed this month that Rachel Reeves is pushing to delay hitting the 2.5 per cent target until the 2030s because of tight public finances.

Downing Street yesterday faced a cross-party backlash after it refused to deny reports that Labour may not commit to meeting the target until 2032, despite the rising threat posed by hostile states like Russia, Iran and China.

In the Commons, former Labour frontbencher Dan Carden warned that the delay would risk souring relations with Donald Trump, who called last week for Nato countries to spend five per cent of GDP on defence.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured) is pushing to delay hitting the 2.5 per cent of GDP defence spending target until the 2030s because of tight public finances

The review comes amid warnings that delays to increasing spending risk souring relations with Donald Trump (pictured), who has called on NATO states to spend five per cent of GDP on defence

'We are living through a change of era where the assumptions of globalisation and multilateralism are being refuted by reality, he said.

The simple reality is in order to build strong alliances we must maintain and build out autonomy. One key fact is that to maintain a good relationship with the United States we are going to have to spend more on defence.

Defence Secretary John Healey is said to have privately warned Sir Keir Starmer that Mr Trumps return to the White House will make it difficult to avoid a major increase in defence spending and is pushing for a commitment to hit the target this decade.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said last weeks revelation that a British submarine had to warn off a Russian spy ship in the English Channel was a further demonstration of the need to urgently increase defence spending.

But there is one big problem - the Chancellor of the Exchequer is not listening, he said. Despite all the evidence before our eyes of the growing threat, we learn that spending 2.5 per cent will be delayed until the 2030s.

Defence minister Luke Pollard insisted that Labour remains committed to hitting the 2.5 per cent target, but repeatedly refused to say it would be met before the next election.

The SNPs Dave Doogan warned that Ms Reeves could not be left as the final arbiter of Britains defence needs. This is a Chancellor who scarcely understands the fundamentals of economics, much less the fundamentals of defence and the threat environment that these islands face, he said.

Mr Pollard defended the governments position, saying: This Government has a cast-iron commitment to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence and this Government is already delivering for defence by increasing defence spending.

At our first budget, we announced an extra 3 billion on spending on defence in the next financial year.

The current Nato commitment is for members to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence - with the UK among a small group that has consistently hit the level

Chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured with Defence Secretary John Healey, right)

Lib Dem defence spokesman Helen Maguire called for a firm date, saying: Promises without a clear path are hollow.

Mr Pollard would only say that a timetable will be set out in the spring.

The pledge to raise defence spending from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.5 is by far the biggest unfunded spending commitment being considered by Ms Reeves in this years comprehensive spending review.

Experts have forecast it could cost up to 20 billion extra by the end of the decade. The Treasury has warned privately that it would involve making deep cuts elsewhere in the run up to an election expected in 2029. One government source described it as a non-starter in the current financial climate.

President Trump last week questioned publicly whether the US should be spending anything on Nato, saying: Were protecting them. Theyre not protecting us.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos he said he would be demanding that all Nato nations increase defence spending to five per cent of GDP, which is what it should have been years ago.
One of the inspectors general fired late Friday by President Donald Trump shared the brutal way he learned he was out of a job.

Mark Greenblatt was one of more than a dozen inspectors general who were axed by the president heading into the weekend.

The move set off alarms for Trump critics who warned it eliminates independent oversight of multiple government agencies as the president moves to install loyalists across the board for his second term.

Greenblatt was the inspector general of the Interior Department, having served since he was appointed by Trump during his first term in 2019.

He revealed on Monday that he learned he was fired when he received an email.

'So Friday night I got an email on my work phone, and I checked it, and there was a said White House notification, and I knew that can't be good,' Greenblatt said in an interview on Monday with CNN.

Mark Greenblatt was one of more than a dozen inspectors general who were fired by President Trump on Friday. He told CNN he learned he was being fired from an email sent at 7:30pm. He called the move 'troubling' as Trump critics sound the alarm on the president purging independent oversight less than a week into his second term

Greenblatt said the email came in at 7:30pm and contained just two sentences from the director of presidential personnel.

It stated that in light of changing priorities he was terminated from the position effective immediately.

Greenblatt noted he knew it was not good news before he even opened the email because during the first Trump term, the president removed two inspectors general also on Friday nights.

He said that he didn't even know how he would get his things from the office as his email was also cut off.

Greenblatt said he did not know why he was on the list of inspectors general fired and the only reason he was given was the 'changing priorities' indicated in the email.

'As far as I know all of us got essentially the same email that said changing priorities,' Greenblatt said of the 18 fired.

'We do fair, objective, independent oversight,' Greenblatt said. 'I've been doing that for five and a half years, and I'm very proud of the work that my team has done during my tenure as inspector general.'

Greenblatt warned that the removal of inspectors general is 'troubling.'

'These removals should be sending of alarm bells for a number of different reasons, but the primary one in my view is the independence of these positions,' he told CNN.

'The whole construct of inspectors general, it's based on us being independent, that we're not beholden to a political party of any stripe,' Greenblatt said.

President Trump did not give Congress the required 30-day notice before he fired at least 18 inspectors general on Friday night

Inspectors general are officials who serve as independent government watchdogs tasked with investigating numerous agencies for waste, fraud and abuse of power.

Greenblatt described his role as the 'taxpayers' representative inside the Department of Interior.'

He raised questions over whether the president would nominate watchdogs or 'lapdogs.'

Trump defended the firings on Saturday, telling reporters 'it's a very common thing to do' and suggested that some of them were 'unfair.'

He did not say how he would fill the positions going forward or with whom.

Welcome to MAGALAND: Insider Trump's Second 100 Days - The podcast bringing you the latest news and gossip from the White House. Listen here.

Other inspectors general fired included those who have conducted oversight of the departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Energy, Commerce and Agriculture as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration, and Social Security Administration.

'It is a brazen attempt to rig these offices to look the other way when violations of law take place,' warned Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) in a statement after the purge.

Democratic lawmakers over the weekend also slammed the 78-year-old for breaking the law which requires the president to give Congress 30-days notice before removing an inspector general.

But Republicans signaled they were ok with him violating the law requiring notice.

'I'm not overly worried about that,' Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Meet the Press.

'It's not the first time people have come in and put their team in,' he claimed.

For the latest White House gossip and news, listen to the Daily Mail's new politics podcast, Welcome to MAGAland. Available wherever you get your podcasts now.
Ed Miliband's fingers! Net Zero secretary Ed was at a select committee, fighting sinuously to squash Rachel Reeves's let's-expand-Heathrow noises.

Mr Miliband, always a jumble of weird grimaces, affected nonchalance as he pooh-poohed Ms Reeves's ecological heresy.

We were to see him, please, as Monsieur Sangfroid, the veteran of Whitehall arm wrestles. 'Young Reeves? I taught her everything she knows, m'dears. I shouldn't have much trouble with her.'

The words themselves may not have been uttered but that was the tone.

He leaned an elbow on the desk and held his forearm high, swivelling the wrist so that his fingers pointed at the Leftist lunks of the environmental audit committee. He maintained the position a long time.

It was the pose of sari-clad Indian dancers, fingers held apart like an old-fashioned toasting fork.

You could have popped marshmallows on each of those long, bony digits and brought them to blistering perfection over a campfire.

Then he started wagging them. Aieeeee, strike up the sitar, let the dance begin. Would Heathrow's expansion be approved?

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband answering questions at Environmental Audit Committee on the Government's approach to net zero

Mr Miliband, always a jumble of weird grimaces, affected nonchalance as he pooh-poohed Ms Reeves's ecological heresy

Mr Miliband was basically saying 'if you really respect the law, Starmer, you have to side with me and tell our ludicrous Chancellor to cease her nonsense'. The Government's position was 'very, very clear'. Indeed: Red Ed is at war with the Treasury

'If it can't be justified it won't go ahead,' drawled Ed.

'I'm not gonna get ahead of any announcements that might or might not be made.'

A shrug. A doubtful recoil of the tweezered hairline. The sole sign of deadly Cabinet rivalry came when he turned to a prepared page in his notes and said 'let me answer this carefully' after the question was raised.

He noted precisely that governments are legally obliged to respect carbon budgets. He added that 'this Government is committed to upholding the rule of law'.

Here was a secretary of state taking our lawyer PM captive. Mr Miliband was basically saying 'if you really respect the law, Starmer, you have to side with me and tell our ludicrous Chancellor to cease her nonsense'. The Government's position was 'very, very clear'. Indeed: Red Ed is at war with the Treasury.

When Mr Miliband came wind-milling up to the committee room beforehand, his big feet splayed, I asked him where his official photographer was.

Today's Mail reported he is taking on a c.50,000-a-year 'vanity' snapper to catch him in all his glory.

Mr Miliband claimed to be baffled by the story. It was not something important enough to trouble a man of his importance.

He repeated this 'not something I know about' gambit when Toby Perkins (Lab, Chesterfield), the committee's chairman, asked about the number of fossil fuel lobbyists who were part of Britain's 470-strong official delegation to the recent Cop climate summit in Azerbaijan.

A plane flying over homes close to Heathrow. Net Zero secretary Ed was at a select committee, fighting sinuously to squash Rachel Reeves 's let's-expand-Heathrow noises

Sir Keir and Ed Miliband in Baku for COP29. Mr Miliband grandly announced that in Azerbaijan he had extensive talks with the EU's climate commissioner

'I dunno about that,' said Miliband languidly, wafting his wrist. Burly Perkins persisted. Mr Miliband: 'I'd be surprised if we were doing that. I can write to the committee about that.'

It was a magnificent feigning of ignorance. A civil servant next to Mr Miliband muttered something about how fossil fuel lobbyists were merely 'supporting the pavilion'.

Yes, we had a British pavilion at Cop. These things are 21st -century durbars.

Mr Miliband grandly announced that in Azerbaijan he had extensive talks with the EU's climate commissioner, Vodka Hoxtrot. Only later did we learn he was called Wopke Hoekstra.

No wonder Ed is cross-eyed when he has to talk to chaps with such names.

Julia Buckley (Lab, Shrewsbury) hoped MPs would be included in the delegation to the next Cop, in Brazil. Imagine the Air Miles. And the bikinis. Is Shropshire not Eden enough for Ms Buckley?

Barry Gardiner (Lab, Brent N) droned on for ages. An uninterested Miliband said Barry's question contained 'a real level of detail, as I'd expect'. In Westminster-speak that means 'you always do bore the pants off us'.

In the Commons earlier we had questions to Scary Bridget Phillipson, Education Secretary.

Barry Gardiner (pictured) (Lab, Brent N) droned on for ages. An uninterested Miliband said Barry's question contained 'a real level of detail, as I'd expect'

In the Commons earlier we had questions to Scary Bridget Phillipson (pictured), Education Secretary

Crumbs, she's a misery, lips curled in distaste, eyes furious.

Every answer was turned into a party-political attack on the Tories.

You wouldn't want to be her official photographer, not even for 50,000.

'Smile please, minister.' Instant frost and cracked lens every time.
Rachel Reeves has told the Blob to stop saying no to proposals that could boost growth.

The Chancellor said the Government had become used to rejecting ideas, but must change and start saying yes.

Ahead of a major speech tomorrow, Ms Reeves told MPs last night that the only way to relieve working people of cost of living pressures is through economic growth.

But shortly before she spoke to MPs, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told a separate group that airport expansion projects should only get the green light if they fell within carbon budgets.

It comes after the Chancellor has made clear that she believes that her growth agenda should trump Mr Milibands green mission.

Speaking at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party last night, she said: Will that growth come easy? No. There are no easy routes out, she told. There are always reasons for Government to say no.

Over the past six months as Chancellor, my experience is that Government has become used to saying no. That must change. We must start saying yes.

Yes to new jobs. Yes to higher living standards. Yes to investment. And yes to growth. And if we get this right - and I know we will - the prize on offer to us is immense.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured yesterday in Westminster) told MPs on Monday that the only way to relieve working people of cost of living pressures is through economic growth

Ms Reeves' comments come after she took aim at Britain's planning laws on her drive for growth. Pictured: The developing skyline in Nine Elms, south London

Cranes in the sky. High streets revitalised. The next generation with more opportunities than the past.

'The sounds and the sights of the future arriving. Wealth created, and wealth shared, in every part of Britain.

Her comments come after she took aim at Britains planning laws - in particular the protections for bats and great-crested newts - on her drive for growth.

Ms Reeves also fired the head of the competition regulator, the CMA, saying he was not on board with Labours mission to boost economic growth.

The Chancellor is expected to use her speech on Wednesday to endorse proposals for a third runway at Heathrow airport, as well as expansion at Gatwick and Luton airports.

Appearing before MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee, Mr Miliband last night was asked whether airport expansion was compatible with the UKs climate change aims.

He said: On aviation, the way Ive always thought about this is, our goal is neither on the one hand to stop people going on holiday [or] stop the economy getting what it needs, nor is it business-as-usual as if climate change is not a problem.

'And I think thats a sensible middle ground of this debate.

But he added: I want to be absolutely clear about this - that any aviation expansion must be accounted for as part of carbon budgets... any aviation expansion must be justified within the framework of carbon budgets, and I can absolutely assure you that thats the position of the government.

The Chancellor is expected to endorse proposals for a third runway at Heathrow airport, as well as expansion at Gatwick (pictured) and Luton airports

So any decisions must be made within that framework and only be able to go ahead if consistent with our carbon budgets.

Today, the Chancellor will sit down with CEOs to explain how restrictions will be lifted on some pension funds that are performing well so they can invest their surplus funds.

She and the Prime Minister will tell business chiefs that Britain is open for business at a roundtable meeting in the City of London today.

More than 1.1trillion is held by pension funds in the UK, the Government said, and defined contribution pension schemes are set to manage 800 billion worth of assets by the end of the decade.

Ministers want to encourage these pension funds to deliver investment and drive economic growth.

Sir Keir Starmer said: The number one mission of my government is to secure growth, drive higher living standards for everyone, and get more money into peoples pockets.

To achieve the change our country needs requires nothing short of rewiring the economy. It needs creative reform, the removal of hurdles, and unrelenting focus.

Whether its how public services are run, regulation or pension rules, my government will not accept the status quo. Todays changes will unlock billions of investment, pushing forward in delivering my Plan for Change.

Ms Reeves added: I know this government and businesses are united on growth being the top priority for our economy, which is why I am fighting every day to tear down the biggest barriers to growth, taking on regulators, planning processes and opposition to this urgent mission.
Not since the Cold War have we faced such a mire of threats. Russias aggressive ambitions continue to menace the West. Tensions between China and the US grow fraught over Taiwan. The crisis in the Middle East has become never-ending.

In the face of these perils, love him or loathe him, Donald Trump is absolutely right  Europe is in grave danger and it is crucial that Britain hikes defence spending without delay.

Yet deep within her bunker in No 11, Rachel from Accounts Reeves has made it clear that Labours vow to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP is off the agenda. Some reports suggest the proposed increase could even be pushed back to 2032.

We cant afford 2.5 per cent, the Chancellor might exclaim.

However, the point of governing is to choose and set the right priorities. What priority is more pressing than fending off the nations enemies?

No doubt this question would have been posed by Lord Robertson and John Healey, former and current defence secretaries, in a recent meeting with Sir Keir Starmer.

Ahead of the Strategic Defence Review into our Armed Forces, the Chancellors refusal to raise spending is farcical. The defence duo no doubt said as much  with a dark portrayal of what otherwise lay at stake.

What a stark contrast to Starmers phone call with President Trump on Sunday, which was described as warm and personal. But that glowing review is unlikely to last if Labour axes its pledge on defence.

Love him or loathe him, Donald Trump is absolutely right  Europe is in grave danger and it is crucial that Britain hikes defence spending without delay

Rachel from Accounts Reeves has made it clear that Labours vow to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP is off the agenda

Trump has called for Nato allies to raise defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP a number which has not been plucked at random for effect.

This was the same level the UK spent during the mid-1980s, paying for nuclear and conventional deterrents that stopped the Cold War from turning hot.

Any less would have spelled disaster.

Just look at the situation in 1935 when Britain was spending less than 3 per cent of GDP on defence  while the new German Fuhrer was threatening bloody vengeance on Europe.

Once war broke out in 1939, when Neville Chamberlain was prime minister, that surged to 19 per cent.

That shot up again to 46 per cent a year later, when Winston Churchill was in power and we were fighting for our very survival.

That is the disastrous, gargantuan cost of fighting a war. So why not spend what is needed to deter one?

In her bunker, the Chancellor may feel protected from reality.

But a glance at Chamberlains track record must surely show her that history cannot repeat itself.

No one likes to make sacrifices, but we will like the iron boot of Russian domination even less. Pictured: Russian president Vladimir Putin

Ukrainian rescuers pictured on Friday working next to a burning residential building following a missile attack in Kyiv

So who does the Labour Government fear most? Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump? The threat from Putin is staring us in the face, but it looks as if Trump will beat us with the threat of trade tariffs if we do not increase defence spending significantly.

No more warm and personal phone calls with the Prime Minister  and the Chancellors stuttering drive for growth would likely turn into recession.

Can Starmer find the statesman within himself and square up this dire threat to our security?

No one likes to make sacrifices  but we will like the iron boot of Russian domination even less.

It is a principle of international diplomacy that the best formula is to speak softly and carry a big stick.

Neville Chamberlain merely carried an umbrella during the Munich Crisis of 1938, which paved the way for Britains near defeat to the Nazis.

Is Starmer a Chamberlain or a Churchill? This is his opportunity to show us.

General Lord Dannatt is a former Chief of the General Staff and co-author of Victory To Defeat  The British Army 1918 to 1940, and Churchills D-Day.
Donald Trump's border czar has responded to Selena Gomez's sobbing video over deportations, saying the administration has 'no apologies' and that anyone who doesn't like it should take it up with Congress.

The sweeping raids across the country have seen violent criminals rounded up and sent packing on government flights at break-neck speed.

Liberals and celebrities are in shock, despite Trump promising for months that they would happen on his first day back in office.

Among them is Gomez, who posted - then deleted - a tearful video to her followers.

Spearheading the immigration overhaul is border czar Tom Homan, who issued a scathing response to Gomez's video meltdown.

'If they don't like it, then go to Congress and change the law. We're going to do this operation without apology,' Homan told Fox News.

'We're gonna make our community safer... It is all for the good of this nation. And we're gonna keep going. No apologies. We're moving forward.'

In her recording, the actress, 32, sobbed as she reacted to Trump's threat of mass deportations of all undocumented immigrants, which has ignited fears of family separations.

A week into Trump's second presidency and his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have carried out thousands of arrests.

ICE's daily arrests - which averaged 311 in the year ending Sept. 30 - stayed fairly steady in the first days after Trump took office, then spiked dramatically Sunday to 956 and Monday to 1,179.

Trump has been unhappy with the number of arrests so far and has directed federal immigration officials to meet higher detention quotas. He has ordered ICE to raise the arrest numbers from a few hundred a day to at least 1,200 to 1,500.

Border czar Tom Homan has spearheaded the changes - and issued a scathing response to a teary-eyed Gomez, who was upset over the deportation of Mexican people

Selena Gomez sobbed as she reacted to Trump's threat of mass deportations of all undocumented immigrants, which has ignited fears of family separations

JUST IN: Border Czar Tom Homan reacts to Selena Gomezs viral breakdown, says he has no apologies and he is going to keep moving forward.



The reaction weve all been waiting for.



If they don't like it, then go to Congress and change the law.



We're going to do this pic.twitter.com/OQv9Vdhj4V  Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 27, 2025

'All my people are getting attacked, the children. I don't understand. I'm so sorry, I wish I could do something but I can't. I don't know what to do. I'll try everything, I promise,' Gomez said in the since-deleted recording on Monday.

The Wizards of Waverly Place alum captioned the post: 'I'm sorry [Mexican flag emoji].'

Homan denied that children are being targeted and doubled down that the administration is working to deport illegal migrants with criminal records.

'I don't think we've arrested any families. We've arrested public safety threats and national security threats, bottom-line,' he said.

'President Trump won the election on this one issue - securing our border and saving lives. What happened on our southern border in the last four years is the biggest national security threat our county has seen, at least in my lifetime.'

Gomez has since deleted the video after it did not sit well with social media users, who were quick to slam her for not using her reported net worth of $1.3 billion to take action herself.

Megyn Kelly also slammed the Emilia Perez actress for putting on a display of crocodile tears, claiming she wanted to push an agenda that her fans disagreed with.

'She deleted it after her fans taught her that the majority of the country stands behind these policies, but I'm sure she was shocked to get any blowback whatsoever,' Kelly said.

'She's unwell. Obviously, this is an unwell person And by the way, anybody who takes their phone works up in tears and posts a video of themselves crying into their phone is sick. That's a sick person.

'Tears happen. They tend to happen privately. If they happen publicly. I think you should quickly move on and recover, but I don't understand the person who works it and tries to squeeze out more tears to make themselves look extra sad. 'I'm really sad. I know I have hundreds of millions [followers], but I hate this country.''

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it made 956 arrests nationwide on Sunday and 286 on Saturday

Marines installed wire along the southern border with Mexico on Saturday

It comes as an illegal immigrant who has been convicted of child sex crimes shocked Dr. Phil on Sunday when he told him he was 'not really' a sex offender as he was taken into custody by immigration enforcement officers.

The TV host, 74, was embedded with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and Homan as they rounded up undocumented migrants in Chicago.

Dr. Phil, whose real name is Phil McGraw, grilled the detainee as he stood handcuffed in the street, video of the man's arrest revealed.

The television psychologist asked the man - who has since been identified as Sam Seda from Thailand - where he was born and if he had ever been deported from the US before. Sam confirmed he was not an American citizen, but claimed his mother is.

Homan then revealed that Sam was an 'illegal alien convicted of sex crimes involving children', claiming he was just one of many illegal criminals walking the streets of sanctuary cities as local authorities prevent federal agents from doing their jobs.

Dr. Phil addressed Sam again, asking: 'You've been charged with sex crimes with children?'

Sam simply replied: 'Not really.'

'Not really?!' a stunned Dr. Phil stated. 'And never been deported?'

'Nope,' Sam doubled down, leaving Dr. Phil apparently shocked.

Homan then told his agents: 'Let's take him in, process him, and lock him up.'

The first migrant arrested in ICE raids across Chicago on Sunday was Seda Sam, from Thailand

Dr. Phil revealed that Sam was a 'convicted sex offender and internet predator'

Immigration officials arrested nearly 1,000 illegal migrants on Sunday alone - capping off a week of nationwide raids that removed thousands of criminals from city streets.

The White House, hailing the federal agents who are 'working tirelessly to protect our communities', highlighted what it described as 'some of the worst' migrants to be rounded up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the weekend.

A Honduran national found with cocaine, fentanyl, and a firearm was arrested following a sting in Washington state, while a Jordanian national with suspected ties to the Islamic State was detained in Buffalo, New York.

ICE arrested a Mexican national with an active INTERPOL Red Notice who was wanted for murder in Los Angeles, as well as a gangster from El Salvador who was wanted for aggravated homicide.

At least two convicted child rapists were taken into custody over the weekend. Federal agents also detained dozens of members of the violent Venezuelan crime gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).

The Trump Administration has quickly moved to ramp up deportations and arrest illegal migrants who pose 'public safety threats ', specifically targeting sanctuary cities such as Chicago, San Francisco and San Jose - which bar cooperation between city police and immigration agents.

However, the president has reportedly been unhappy with the low number and has directed officials to meet higher detention quotas.

He ordered ICE to raise the arrest numbers from a few hundred a day to at least 1,200 to 1,500, according to The Washington Post.

Trump ordered each of ICE's field offices to make 75 arrests per day, and managers would be held accountable for missing those targets.

ICE agents arrested Edgar De La Cruz-Manzo, a convicted child rapist, (left) in Seattle, Washington on Saturday. A Jordanian national with suspected ties to ISIS (right) was arrested by ICE Buffalo on Friday

ICE Los Angeles arrested two migrants with active INTERPOL Red Notices on Friday, including an MS-13 gang member from El Salvador wanted for aggravated homicide (left) and a Mexican national wanted for murder

Kevin Adith Torres-Velasquez, a Honduran national found with cocaine, fentanyl, and a firearm (left) was arrested by ICE in Seattle, Washington on Friday. Convicted sex offender and Ethiopian national Yared Geremew Mekonnen (right) was arrested in New Orleans on Friday

Federal officers are operating with a new sense of mission - 'the worst go first' but 'nobody gets a free pass anymore.'

People considered public safety and national security threats are still the top priority, said Matt Elliston, director of ICE's Baltimore field office.

Trump has ruled that officers can now arrest people without legal status if they run across them while looking for migrants targeted for removal. Under Joe Biden's Administration, such 'collateral arrests' were banned.

'We're looking for those public safety, national security cases. The big difference being, nobody has a free pass anymore,' Elliston added.

The number of collateral arrests has fluctuated, he said. By the end of Monday across Maryland, ICE had arrested 13 people. Of those, nine were targets and the other four were people ICE came across during the course of the morning.

Of those 'collaterals,' one had an aggravated theft conviction. Another had already been deported once, and two others had final orders of removal.

Trump also has lifted longtime guidelines that restricted ICE from operating at 'sensitive locations' such as schools, churches or hospitals.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers use a chain to more comfortably restrain a detained person using handcuffs positioned in front, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Maryland

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detain a person, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers gather for a briefing before an enforcement operation, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md

That decision has worried many migrants and advocates who fear children will be traumatized by seeing their parents arrested in the drop-off line at school or that migrants needing medical care won't go to the hospital for fear of arrest.

Elliston pushed back on those fears, saying it's been exceedingly rare for ICE to enter one of those locations. In his 17 years on the job, he said he's gone into a school only once and that was to help stop an active shooter.

He said the removal of other guidelines that had restricted ICE operations at courthouses makes a bigger difference in the agency's work. But getting rid of the sensitive locations policy does affect ICE in more subtle ways.

What has not changed, Elliston said, is that these are targeted operations. ICE has a list of people they're going after as opposed to indiscriminately going to a workplace or apartment building looking for people in the country illegally.
This video is no longer available

This video is no longer available

MSNBC correspondent Priya Sridhar was corrected on-air by network anchor Alex Witt on Sunday for using the term 'illegal aliens,' which is considered by many to be offensive and inaccurate.

Sridhar was reporting a live broadcast on active-duty troops being deployed to El Paso, Texas to assist in border security operations, including efforts to deter and apprehend individuals crossing the border without authorization.

She then transitioned to a report about the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) taking nearly 50 individuals into custody in Colorado. Many of those detained were suspected of immigration violations.

'I want you guys to take a look at this video that we saw just this morning from the DEA, ATF, and Homeland Security investigators out of the Rocky Mountain Field Division in Colorado,' Sridhar said.

'There you can see a raid that was conducted this morning. They say that they were targeting a Venezuelan gang, and they were able to see cash, seize cash, weapons and actually made an arrest of '50 illegal aliens' right there, Alex.'

'Yes, we call them undocumented immigrants,' Witt said, highlighting the preferred term. 'But that, again, was in the release from the DEA. Okay. Thank you very much, Priya, for that from El Paso.'

Similarly, back in June, MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend corrected her co-host Michael Steele on-air after he used the term 'illegal immigrants.'

MSNBC correspondent Priya Sridhar was corrected on-air by network anchor Alex Witt on Sunday for using the term 'illegal aliens ,' which is considered by many to be offensive and inaccurate

Sridhar reported on active-duty troops being deployed to El Paso, Texas to assist in border security operations, including efforts to deter and apprehend individuals crossing the border without authorization

'I want to be clear,' Sanders-Townsend told Steele. 'We don't use the term 'illegal.' Undocumented individuals.'

During the first day of the Trump administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted more than 460 arrests of undocumented immigrants, including individuals with criminal histories involving sexual assault, domestic violence, and drug- and weapons-related offenses.

In contrast, during the final three days of the Biden administration, there were 3,908 encounters in total, compared to 2,523 encounters in the first three days of the Trump administration.

These enforcement actions followed President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the border, which triggered a large-scale deportation operation across various cities and states.

Separately, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow compared Donald Trump to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro during a discussion about January 6 pardons.

Maddow criticized Trump's rumored plans to host convicted insurrectionists at the White House and described his rallies as 'Castro-esque, three-and-a-half-hour-long rambly speeches,' quipping that most attendees left before they ended.
Residents in the path of an out-of-control bushfire in western Victoria have been told they are in immediate danger and it's too late to leave, while those under threat from a second blaze are being urged to flee while there's still time.

An emergency warning to take shelter has been issued for Dimboola and Wail in Victoria's north-west, with a fire at Little Desert National Park not yet under control and heading toward those towns.

'You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately. It is too late to leave,' the VicEmergency website states.

A second out-of-control fire is burning at the Grampians National Park - an area popular with holidaymakers - with those in the Strachans, Victoria Point and Victoria Valley areas advised to leave as of 7am on Monday.

'Leaving immediately is the safest option before conditions become too dangerous,' the emergency authority said.

'Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay'.

Little Desert Nature Lodge, an accommodation and wedding venue, has reportedly been destroyed.

The Dimboola fire was sparked by dry lightning at Little Desert National Park about lunch time on Monday and has already grown to 63,000 hectares, State Control Centre spokesman Luke Heagerty said.

Aussies in Dimboola (pictured) have been told to take shelter as fires continue to rage

These pictures just show how serious the situation is in Dimboola in Victoria's north-west

'The fire grew to such a size and was carrying such energy with it yesterday that it made it quite difficult for any containment to occur,' he said.

Mr Heagerty said it appears the fire had spread from public land to private property near the Wimmera River, close to the Dimboola Golf Course.

Most residents are thought to have evacuated to Horsham while it was still safe and it's not yet known if any homes were lost.

'Assessments for property impacts will start today once there's some better light in the area and it's safe for our crews to do so, because they still need to make sure that it's safe even for our crews to get in there and have a look at the impacts of the fire,' Mr Heagerty said.

An additional 25 fire trucks were deployed to the scene, with embers sparking small blazes ahead of the main blaze.

Those in the path of fires have been told to take medications and pets, while drivers in the area are urged to turn on their headlights to help navigate through smoke.

Mr Heagerty said it's expected crews would be battling the fires for several weeks and authorities are concerned there may be other fires they do not yet know about.

'We can also have scenarios where dry lightning starts a fire in a tree stump, for example, it might not show up for another week or two,' he said.

Pictured is an aerial view of the fire at the Little Desert National Park

'We're probably expecting that we're going to be fairly busy out of what we saw moved through the state yesterday.'

The blaze flared over the Australia Day long weekend as temperatures reached the 40s, followed by a cool change and gusty winds.

A watch and act warning has been issued for Cooack, Duchembegarra, Gerang Gerung, Goroke, Grass Flat, Kiata, Kinimakatka, Lawloit, Little Desert, Nurcoung, Peronne, Pimpinio, Winiam and Winiam East.

Several roads are closed due to the blaze including the Western Highway between Dimboola and Horsham and Dimboola and Nhill and the Borung Highway between Dimboola and Cannum.

A relief centre has been set up at the Horsham Senior Citizens Centre, with local MP Emma Kealey saying the community had stepped up to help its own.

'Most people have got accommodation from friends and family. There's a lot of support going around,' she told 7News.

CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said 'lightning strikes' had 'ignited a number of fires' as temperatures soared on Monday.

Residents in the path of the Dimboola blaze have been told it's now too late to leave

'Two fires are of particular interest, one is the Little Desert fire which has reached 63,000 hectares and moved 40km in an afternoon, growing to 50,000 hectares in size. That fire grew in sufficient size due to unstable air mass and actually created its own thunderstorm, then we saw even more lightning strikes,' he said.

The SES website said that 'firefighters have been able to slow the spread of fire for now, but the situation can change at any time'.

A Watch and Act warning has been issued for Brimpaen, Laharum, Wartook, and Zumsteins, 9km north of Halls Gap.

Residents fleeing the area have been warned about trees, which can be 'extremely dangerous during a bushfire or high winds'.

'Do not stand, park or travel in areas of fire-affected trees,' VicEmergency said.

High fire danger ratings have been issued for all of Victoria apart from South Gippsland, West Gippsland and East Gippsland, which has a moderate rating.
Donald Trump's Justice Department is firing more than a dozen officials who worked on former Special Counsel Jack Smith's cases against him.

Smith charged Trump in two separate prosecutions with trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat and mishandling of classified documents.

The officials, who were on Smith's team, were fired after Acting Attorney General James McHenry said they could not now be trusted to pursue the president's policies in good faith, Fox News reported.

A Justice Department official told the network: 'Today, McHenry terminated the employment of a number of officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump.

'In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President's agenda.'

Smith, who resigned before Trump took office, concluded in a report released earlier this month that the president engaged in an 'unprecedented criminal effort' to hold on to power after losing the 2020 election.

Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to members of the media at the US Department of Justice building in Washington, DC, on August 1, 2023

He was ultimately thwarted in bringing the cases to trial due to Trump's election victory.

Trump's lawyers have called Smith's actions politically motivated.

The president denies any wrongdoing in the cases, which Smith dropped shortly after Trump was elected.

In a separate development, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that a Trump-appointed prosecutor had opened an internal review of the Justice Department's decision to charge hundreds of January 6 defendants with felony obstruction offenses in connection with the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump called Smith 'deranged' and 'lamebrained'

An aerial view of President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago which was raided by the FBI looking for classified documents on August 15, 2022

Trump has repeatedly raged against Smith, calling him 'deranged' and 'lamebrained'.

Earlier this month, Smith stood by his decision to bring charges against Trump.

He claimed Trump would have been convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States had he not won the election for president.

In a statement issued along with his report, Smith wrote: 'The through line of all of Mr. Trump's criminal efforts was deceit - knowingly false claims of election fraud - and the evidence shows that Mr. Trump used these lies as a weapon to defeat a federal government function foundational to the United States' democratic process.'

The report was released just days before Trump was set to return to the White House on January 20.

In a Truth Social post at nearly 2am Trump lambasted 'Deranged Jack Smith' and accused him of 'weaponizing' the law to pursue the political opponent of his 'boss' Joe Biden.

Donald Trump has slammed the 'weaponization' of the justice system

At least a dozen of Jack Smith's team were fired

Smith's report described prosecutors' charging decisions in the case that resulted in Trump being indicted for taking a trove of national security documents to Mar-a-Lago.

It also included details of the decision to charge Trump with heading a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.

The document included, for the first time, a detailed assessment from Smith about his investigation, as well as a defense against criticism by Trump and his allies that the investigation was politicized.

The U.S. Justice Department in Washington D.C.

Welcome to MAGALAND: Insider Trump's Second 100 Days - The podcast bringing you the latest news and gossip from the White House. Listen here.

Smith sought to salvage the indictments but they were dismissed because of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution.

'While we were not able to bring the cases we charged to trial, I believe the fact that our team stood up for the rule of law matters,' Smith said.

'I believe the example our team set for others to fight for justice without regard for the personal costs matters.'

For the latest White House gossip and news, listen to the Daily Mail's new politics podcast, Welcome to MAGAland. Available wherever you get your podcasts now.
A California man accused of raping a college student and sending her a message saying, 'So I raped you,' has waived his right to a pretrial hearing in Pennsylvania.

Ian Cleary, 32, will remain in custody until the formal arraignment in Gettysburg, which is set for March 18.

He had been detained in April in Metz, France, after a three-year search and extradited to the United States last week.

Cleary is accused of stalking Gettysburg student Shannon Keeler, who was 18 at the time, before sneaking into her dorm and sexually assaulting her in 2013.

He left school after the alleged encounter and finished college and graduate school near his home in Saratoga, California, before moving to Europe.

Keeler had pursued charges from the start, renewing her efforts after receiving a haunting Facebook message years later that said, 'So I raped you.'

Cleary was ordered held without bail on January 17 during a court hearing in Pennsylvania.

District Judge Tony J. Little cited a request by the Adams County District Attorney's Office, arguing that Cleary had no ties to the area and had been in France without work or permanent address.

Ian Cleary (pictured), 32, will remain in custody until a formal arraignment in Gettysburg set for March 18

Cleary is accused of stalking Shannon Keeler (pictured) at Gettysburg College, sneaking into her dorm and sexually assaulting her in 2013

Cleary was the subject of an international search after authorities in Pennsylvania issued an arrest warrant in the case in 2021, weeks after an Associated Press story detailed the reluctance of local prosecutors to pursue campus sex crimes.

The arrest warrant accused Cleary of stalking the 18-year-old Keeler at a campus party in 2013, sneaking into her dorm and sexually assaulting her while she texted friends for help.

At the time, he was a 20-year-old Gettysburg student but didn't return to campus.

Keeler had a rape exam done the same day. She gathered witnesses and evidence and spent years urging officials to file charges.

She went to authorities again in 2021 after discovering the Facebook messages that came from Clearys account.

'So I raped you,' the sender wrote in a string of messages.

'Ill never do it to anyone ever again. I need to hear your voice. Ill pray for you.'

According to the June 2021 warrant, police verified that the Facebook account used to send the messages belonged to Cleary.

Cleary had been detained in April in Metz, France, after a three-year search and extradited back to the United States last week

Pictured: messages Cleary sent to Keeler in the aftermath of the alleged assault

The court prosecutors office in Metz, in northeastern France, said Cleary was handed over to U.S. authorities at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.

Keeler, who has been seeking justice for over a decade, said Cleary's extradition gave her 'renewed faith' in the justice system.

'This arrest and extradition give me renewed faith that, after many years of waiting, the justice system can work, when survivors persist with the help and support of family, friends, advocates, and attorneys,' Keeler said in a press release issued through her attorney.

After leaving Gettysburg, Cleary earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Santa Clara University, near his family home in California.

According to his website, he also worked for Tesla and then moved to France for several years, which describes his self-published medieval fiction.

Keeler, originally from Moorestown, New Jersey, stayed on to graduate from Gettysburg and help lead the women's lacrosse team to a national title.
Republicans angry with Catholic Charities on Monday urged President Donald Trump to defund the organization after they published a video offering advice to illegal immigrants in danger of getting deported by law enforcement.

The video features attorney Barb Graham of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee offering advice to undocumented immigrants if their workplace is raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials

Do not panic, and do not run away. If you are frightened and feel like you need to leave, you can calmly walk toward the exit, Graham advises, as the video features ICE officials questioning immigrants.

If their workplace is raided, the Catholic Charities video advises them to remain calm and if stopped by officials to refuse to answer questions about their immigration status and demand a lawyer.

The video was first published on January 20th, but went viral on social media early Monday morning.

The video angered Trump supporters who immediately demanded the federal government defund the organization.

We need to defund Catholic Charities, wrote Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett on social media on Monday, flagging the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Catholic Charities is one of many non-government organizations that receives millions of dollars every year to help relocate and settle illegal immigrants into the Untied States.

A Catholic Charities center in Texas

In this file photo taken on June 12, 2019 Central American migrant families arrive at a Catholic Charities respite center after being released from federal detention in McAllen, Texas.

It's not the first time Catholic Charities has come under fire for their work in bringing migrants into local communities.

Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany condemned the charity's efforts in November.

'Shady NGOs facilitating illegal immigration into the U.S. should not receive taxpayer dollars,' he wrote. 'I will work with @DOGE to DEFUND organizations like the IOM and Catholic Charities.'

Lance Gooden, a Representative from Texas, singled out Catholic Charities and ten other organizations in a letter to House colleagues in May 2023 which accused the groups of playing a 'disturbing role in the inflow and spread of illegal immigrants throughout the country'.

'These NGOs abuse their tax-exempt status and the trust of the very taxpayers that fund them by encouraging migrants to travel to the southern border illegally with resources from federal funds,' Gooden wrote.

About two thirds of Catholic Charities annual spending comes from government sources according to Philanthropy Roundtable.

A statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops criticized the Trump administration in a statement for allowing immigration enforcement to take place in places of worship, social service agencies, or healthcare facilities, describing it as 'contrary to the common good.'

A Catholic Charities facility offering aid to migrants

JD Vance criticizes Catholic bishops on CBS's Face the Nation

Welcome to MAGALAND: Insider Trump's Second 100 Days - The podcast bringing you the latest news and gossip from the White House. Listen here.

On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance, a recent convert to Catholicism, said he was 'heartbroken' by the statement from the USCCB, during an interview.

'I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?' he said during an interview with CBS Face the Nation.

The Catholic Church teaches that more prosperous nations should welcome the foreigner looking for refuge, however the Church also recognizes that political authorities have the right to make and enforce immigration laws, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants duties toward their country of adoption, the catechism reads.

For the latest White House gossip and news, listen to the Daily Mail's new politics podcast, Welcome to MAGAland. Available wherever you get your podcasts now.
Much like their daughter Kate and Prince William, Michael and Carole Middleton were fortunate to experience a love story that blossomed from a chance meeting.

The couple crossed paths while working at British Airways in Heathrow when Michael held the role of flight dispatcher and Carole was an air stewardess.

As Katie Nicholl reveals in her book, Kate: The Future Queen, Michael had 'one of the best paid and most important jobs at the airport', which was 'the same rank as captain'.

His responsibilities included coordinating arrivals, departures and managing flight schedules.

For the role, Michael wore a navy uniform and red cap, and was 'always immaculately turned out' and 'considered quite a catch among the coterie of air hostesses', according to Ms Nicholl.

However, he only had eyes for his co-worker, Carole.

After mustering the courage to ask her out, the two quickly became serious.

'Carole, who had never had a long-term boyfriend before, found Michael charming, thoughtful, and fun,' Ms Nicholl writes.

The couple first met while working at British Airways in Heathrow , as bestselling author Katie Nicholl reveals in her book, Kate: The Future Queen (pictured visiting their daughter Kate at The Lindo Wing in July 2013)

They rented an apartment in Slough, conveniently close to Heathrow, which served as an ideal base, particularly given Carole's frequent overseas trips for work.

Martin Fiddler, a friend who runs the Bladebone Butchery in Chapel Row, Berkshire, recalled: 'She was always smiling and happy and there was just something lovely and fresh about her; she used to leave a scent of perfume in the shop. She was always chatty, bubbly, and lots of fun.

'She was delighted to be engaged, and I remember one day she brought Mike in and introduced him.

'She was a stunning lady and they were a great couple, a really good mixture.'

The couple married on June 21, 1980, at St James the Less in Dorney, Buckinghamshire.

While Carole's parents, Ron and Dorothy, contributed to the wedding, Nicholl notes that it was 'only a fraction of the total cost because the Middletons were in a different league'.

Michael came from a comfortably middle-class background, significantly different from Carole's.

His family enjoyed 'the security that money can afford', and he, like his father and grandfather, attended private school, benefiting from a strong education and 'the attendant privileges of boarding school'.

Carole Middleton sunbathing during her time as an air stewardess

Carole and Michael pictured at their home in November 2010, following the announcement of Kate and William's engagement

Carole beams at her husband during day two of Royal Ascot 2024

The proud parents are pictured at the wedding of their daughter Kate to Prince William at Westminster Abbey in April 2011

His father, Peter, was an RAF fighter pilot during the Second World War and served as co-pilot to Prince Philip during a flying tour of South America in 1962.

His mother, Valerie, worked as a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurse and code-breaker during the war before becoming a stay-at-home mother.

In contrast, Carole's parents Ron and Dorothy began with humble means. Dorothy, who always had an eye for nice things, walked baby Carole in a Silver Cross baby carriage - the same brand used by the Royal Family - which they had saved for since her pregnancy.

Through hard work and determination, Ron eventually left his job at a haulage firm to become a builder, supported by Dorothy, who believed in his vision.

Ms Nicholl believes their shared work ethic was passed on to Carole, who was determined to succeed.

'Dorothy supported his career change; she believed he had the vision and ability to make a success of going it alone,' the author writes.

'It was a vision that his children had also inherited. Carole was a hard worker, and like both of her parents, she was determined to do well in life.'

Michael and Carole's meeting seemed destined, echoing the love stories in Carole's family.

Ms Nicholl explains: 'Jean Harrison [a cousin of Dorothy] recalled that it was love at first sight, just as it had been for Ron and Dorothy: "Perhaps it is something in the Harrison bloodline. Dorothy's mother, Elizabeth, who we called Auntie Lily, had a long marriage and lots of children, Dorothy fell in love and married her sweetheart, and so did Carole".'
A sprawling upstate New York mansion once home to one of Saturday Night Live's original stars has gone the market for nearly $3.7 million.

Chevy Chase, the first SNL performer to anchor the popular Weekend Update segment, lived in the eight bedroom, five-and-a-half bath home when he was a kid, according to the current owner.

The home is in West Hurley, a small town right near Woodstock and about a two-hour car ride from New York City.

Richard Vizzini and Emily Wagner, the listing agents with Hudson Valley firm Corcoran Country Living, described the property as 'rich in history set atop a hill with awe-inspiring views of the Ashokan Reservoir and Catskill Mountains.'

Built in 1918, the residence was designed by legendary civil engineer J. Waldo Smith, who is known for heading up the creation of the massive nearby reservoir that provides about 40 percent of New York City's drinking water.

Two separate homes sit on the nearly 12.5 acres of land. The 3,500-square-foot main house, complete with five beds and three baths, boasts a columned entrance with a large porch. In the fall, the porch is lined with towering red shrubbery.

A short walk away is the carriage house, which has 3 beds and 2.5 baths. Combined, the two homes have nearly 6,000 square feet of livable space.

According to Corocoran's listing, the neo-classic stone architecture of both homes have been 'lovingly maintained' throughout their century-long existence.

Pictured: Chevy Chase's childhood home in West Hurley, New York. The mansion has hit the market for nearly $3.7 million

Pictured: The home's massive front porch, held up with Roman-style columns

The 12.5 acre property has a secondary residence called the carriage house

The interior of the main home is full of charms such as high ceilings and large rooms that still have their original red oak moldings and hardwood floors.

The living room has a fireplace with a mantle made of red brick and is surrounded with windows to let in tons of natural light.

The kitchen, another room with plenty of windows, has 'a farmhouse sink, stainless steel appliances, large island and ample cabinetry,' according to the listing.

Although there is a small eating nook in the kitchen, the space is adjacent to the formal dining room, which has the home's characteristic hardwood floors and an elegant china cabinet.

The upstairs is where the bedrooms are found. The master has an ensuite bathroom, complete with three windows and a beautiful clawfoot tub.

The views of the mountainous, tree-topped landscape can be enjoyed on the home's patio, which has a inground saltwater pool, or from the third floor cupola.

The carriage house offers the eventual owner a rental opportunity or the perfect place to house guests.

It comes with a cozy living room, also with a red brick fireplace. Nearby is the dining room, which leads out to a wooden deck via french doors.

The bedrooms are on the main floor, while the upstairs is home to the great room, which is big enough to be used as a yoga or art studio.

Pictured: The main home's living room, complete with a sitting area and a red brick fireplace

The kitchen, though maintaining much of its original charm, has modern appliances

Pictured: The living area of the carriage house, complemented by a light green wraparound couch

An aerial view of the main home, along with the inground saltwater pool

The property overlooks the Catskill Mountains and the the Ashokan Reservoir

It's not entirely clear when Chase, 81, lived in this home, though by the time he was high school age, he was attending Stockbridge School in Massachusetts. The now-closed boarding school was nearly 73 miles away from the home.

In 2019, Chase did post a picture back from 1950 of himself with his father, Ned Chase, in Woodstock. The 'National Lampoon' star would have been six years old in the photo.

Chase first gained notoriety in 1975 when he was selected to be a cast member on NBC's Saturday Night Live, a show that persists to this day.

Chase coined the term the cast uses to this day to introduce the show: 'Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!'

Known for his physical comedy, one of his most famous sketches was when he mocked President Gerald Ford for tripping while getting off Air Force One in Salzburg, Austria.

Chase later got to meet Ford and the two patched things up despite him routinely getting portrayed as a lovable klutz. A year after Ford died in 2006, Chase called him 'a terrific guy.'

Despite being one of the original cast members on SNL, Chase didn't last long on the show, reportedly because of his personal issues with his colleagues. Bill Murray replaced him in 1976 midway through the second season.

He is rumored to be banned from the show after he was abusive to other cast members when he hosted it in 1997.

Chase's hot-headed reputation followed him throughout his career and many actors have publicly said how difficult it is to work with him.

Chevy Chase, then about six years old, poses with his dad in Woodstock, New York, in 1950

Chase got his first big break as the anchor of Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update'

Chase is pictured with President Gerald Ford and White House Press Secretary Ron Nessen on March 25, 1976, at the Radio/TV Correspondents' Dinner in Washington D.C.

Not too dissimilar from his abrupt end on SNL, Chase was fired from critically acclaimed NBC sitcom 'Community' in 2013 after using the N-word in front of his black co-stars Yvette Nicole Brown and Donald Glover.

Ten years later, Chase decided to trash his time on the show portraying politically-incorrect millionaire Pierce Hawthorne.

'I just didn't want to be surrounded by that table, every day, with those people. It was too much,' he told a podcast in 2023.

Co-star Joel McHale, who played a slick, illegitimate lawyer on the show, struck right back at Chase, telling him 'the feeling's mutual, bud.'

'I was like, "Hey, no one was keeping you there." I mean, we weren't sentenced to that show. It was like, "All right, you could have left if you really wanted that." But yeah, you know Chevy. That's Chevy being Chevy,' McHale told People.

Pete Davidson, who left SNL in 2022 after an eight-year stint, famously called Chase 'a bad person' on The Howard Stern Show in 2018.

'F*** Chevy Chase,' Davidson said at the time. 'He's just a genuinely bad, racist person and I don't like him.'

Chase responded four years later by saying he didn't care.

'I am who I am,' he said. 'And I like... who I am. I don't care. And it's part of me that I don't care. And I've thought about that a lot. And I don't know what to tell you, man. I just don't care.'

Chase, 80, revealed he's going to be a grandfather last March with the announcement that his daughter Emily, 36, and her partner Alex Baglieri were expecting their first child together

Chase also reunited with Christie Brinkley last summer. Brinkley starred alongside him National Lampoon's 'Vacation' in 1983

More recently, Chase has stayed out of the drama and has been focusing on his family.

In March of last year, he announced on Instagram that he was going to be a grandfather.

'I can't wait to be a Grandad!' he wrote, including a photo of himself with the soon-to-be parents, his daughter Emily Chase and her husband Alex Baglieri.

Emily is one of three daughters he shares with his third and current wife Jayni Luke, who he married back in 1982.

Last summer, Chase also reunited with Christie Brinkley, the 70-year-old model who starred alongside him National Lampoon's 'Vacation' in 1983.

'Vacation is always over too soon! @chevychase,' Brinkley captioned the Instagram photos and video of them sitting in the back of a car.

Brinkley played the hot girl who drove a red Ferrari and nearly drove Chase's character, Clark Griswold, off the road when she winked at him.
Wall Street billionaire Joe Ricketts has revealed plans for his newly-acquired 33 acres of Granite Ranch in Wyoming that has drawn the wrath of locals.

The Ameritrade founder and Chicago Cubs owner is all set to redevelop the existing ranch into a 22,000 square feet resort named 'The Hawken' - a name derived from a muzzle-loading rifle that was widely used on prairies and in the Rocky Mountains during the Rendezvous era.

'This property offers a unique opportunity to showcase the unparalleled beauty and wonder of the Yellowstone Ecosystem.

'We aspire for this resort to be a place where conservation and education spark curiosity and inspiration, motivating visitors to cherish and safeguard nature, both here and in their own backyards,' Ricketts' team told Jackson Hole & News.

Talking about the new name, Ricketts spokeswoman Jessica Jaubert told Cowboy State Daily: 'The name carries special resonance for those familiar with shooting sports.

'Additionally, the "hawk" element subtly ties to our conservation initiatives, creating a bridge between historical preservation and environmental stewardship.

'In everything we do in Wyoming, our focus is on conservation and providing opportunities to recreate, learn and grow in the Yellowstone ecosystem.'

While official plans remain unclear, a large water feature that looks like a lake called a 'habitat pond' is one of the prominent of new features that is expected to be built.

A brand new main lodge, 10 new private cabins, spa facility and a naturalist center could also be constructed on the land.

Wall Street billionaire Joe Ricketts is all set to redevelop the existing ranch into a 22,000 square feet resort named 'The Hawken'

The Ameritrade founder and Chicago Cubs owner's net worth is estimated at $3.4billion

According to CSD, a few existing structures will also be repurposed as workforce housing - with one historical cabin being turned into a warming hut for people to heat up during winter activities.

A fine dining restaurant is also expected to be erected which will focus on 'locally sourced ingredients, a stylish bar and a cozy gathering space'.

The 10 private new cabins will be divided into clusters titled Meadow, Creek and Forest.

Each of these clusters will have its own central gathering area and offer a secluded as well as intimate lodging experience.

When asked how much the billionaire is spending on building the glitzy resort, Jaubert did not specify and instead said: 'I can't share the exact numbers. However, weve allocated sufficient resources to ensure the projects success.'

However, the plans for this new resort seem to be dwarf in comparison to the ones Ricketts drew up for a 230,000-square-foot luxury resort in Bondurant, Wyoming - which left locals worried about their quieter lifestyle.

Residents say his 'tone deaf' plans will 'erode' their culture, destroy wildlife and drive up the cost of living.

He has also been accused of behaving 'like a little boy who wants all his toys'.

While official plans remain unclear, a large water feature that looks like a lake called a 'habitat pond' is one of the prominent of new features that is expected to be built. A brand new main lodge, 10 new private cabins, spa facility and a naturalist center could also be constructed on the land.

A few existing structures will also be repurposed as workforce housing - with one historical cabin being turned into a warming hut for people to heat up during winter activities

When asked how much the billionaire is spending on building the glitzy resort, Jaubert did not specify and instead said: 'I can't share the exact numbers. However, weve allocated sufficient resources to ensure the projects success'

Officials in Teton County have also warned Ricketts to be constrained in his expansions.

Mark Newcomb, the ski guide-turned-environmental consultant who now chairs the Teton County Board of Commissioners said: 'If he wants to make it whatever kind of resort he wants to make it, thats fine. I certainly believe in that right.

'But at a high level I'm opposed to the expansion of that particular resort.'

Commissioner Luther Propst added: 'Teton Countys economic prosperity is based on conservation.

Officials in Teton County have also warned Ricketts to be constrained in his expansions

Residents say his 'tone deaf' plans will 'erode' their culture, destroy wildlife and drive up the cost of living

But despite backlash, Ricketts could be spared intense scrutiny this time as his plan is to be reviewed by the Teton County Planning and Building Department instead of the Teton County commissioners

'Its based on protecting our water quality, our fisheries, our wildlife and a new use of a property that is so isolated certainly warrants public scrutiny.'

At first, Commissioner Newcomb said he was not alarmed by the proposal.

He did not expect the expansion to be imminent. But with the release of plans, he now wonders how the redevelopment and new development will mesh with county policy.

'If they're proposing 22,000 new, that's perhaps a little bit interesting,' Newcomb said.

But despite backlash, Ricketts could be spared intense scrutiny this time as his plan is to be reviewed by the Teton County Planning and Building Department instead of the Teton County commissioners.
Clues hiding in the details of a 400-year-old map could solve the mystery of the lost colony of Roanoke that scholars have spent hundreds of years searching for.

In 1587, a group of colonists arrived at an island between North Carolina and the Outer Banks to establish the first permanent English settlement.

But three years later, the more than 100 colonists and all traces of their settlement vanished.

The map, titled 'La Virginea Pars,' was drawn by John White, a cartographer who was part of the Roanoke colony. It depicts parts of the North Carolina shoreline running from the north-eastern community of Currituck down to the midpoint of the coast.

A close inspection of the map revealed a blank spot. It appeared that someone had covered up a small section, but never drew a correction over it.

That blank spot corresponds to a location near current-day Bertie County, on the western end of Albemarle Sound. This is less than 100 miles from where English witnesses last saw the colonists of Roanoke.

It also happens to match the location of a site called 31BR246, where archaeologist Nicholas Luccketti of the James River Institute for Archaeology discovered pieces of English ceramic artifacts in 2007.

This raised an interesting question: Could this be the location that the Roanoke settlers fled to from their island colony?

A close inspection of John White's map, 'La Virginea Pars,' revealed two faint outlines that appeared to be repairs: small pieces of paper had been used to cover an error. One of the repairs was left totally blank, with no correction drawn over the amendment

British Museum experts analyzed the map's blank repair using a light box, revealing the symbol for a fort underneath. Experts now believe the Roanoke colonists moved to this site from their original location on the island

More than 400 years ago, Queen Elizabeth I and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh had hoped the 1580s expedition to America would create a new capital for England, but something went terribly wrong.

The ship, carrying 115 explorers, was the first to bring women and children to the Americas.

The group included Governor John White's pregnant daughter Eleanor White Dare.

Several weeks after they landed in Roanoke, Eleanor gave birth to the first English baby born in the New World and named her Virginia Dare.

Governor White soon returned to England to ask for more supplies but was held up in England for three years while the English warred with Spain.

When he was finally able to make it back in 1590 on his granddaughter's third birthday, the colony was deserted.

'La Virginea Pars,' was drawn by John White, a cartographer who was part of the group of colonists that sailed to Roanoke Island in 1585 to establish the first permanent English settlement there. Today, this island is part of North Carolina

In 1587, a group of colonists arrived on Roanoke Island to establish the first permanent English settlement there. But three years later, the more than 100 colonists and all traces of their settlement vanished  leaving only the word 'CROATOAN' carved in a wooden post

Archaeologists have uncovered artifacts belonging to the people of the lost colony

The only trace of the settlers he found was the word 'CROATOAN' carved into a wooden post, which was the name of another island just south of Roanoke and a Native American tribe that lived there.

Numerous theories have surfaced about what happened to the 115 English settlers.

Some suggest they died from disease, were massacred by either Native Americans or Spanish settlers or assimilated into a nearby Native American tribe, either as friends or slaves.

In 2012, British Museum curator Kim Sloan and her colleague, paper conservator Alice Rugheimer, placed Governor White's map on a light box to reveal what was behind the blank cover-up.

They found something they never expected to see: the symbol for a fort.

'I said to Alice, 'I think we just discovered the intended site for the 'Cittie of Raleigh,' the colony that John White was sent to Virginia to found,' Sloan told Popular Mechanics. 'And then I think I swore.'

Several years earlier, the archaeologist Luccketti found ceramic fragments at a site called 31BR246, which matched the fort location on the map.

He determined that these fragments were Border ware, a specific type of English pottery that had been 'limited to the earliest settlement sites in Virginia, possibly dating back to the sixteenth century, he told Popular Mechanics.

Another clue was discovered in 1937, the Dare Stone that was believed to be written by Eleanor White Dare, Roanoke Governor John White's daughter, and possibly tells the story of what happened to the settlers when they left their colony on Roanoke

Written from Eleanor's perspective, it describes how the colonists left Roanoke and endured two years of 'Misarie'

The find suggested the archaeologists had stumbled upon a previously unknown English settlement.

When its marked location was uncovered from White's map years later, experts began to think the Roanoke settlers left the island and traveled about 100 miles to 31BR246, which is now known as Site X.

North Carolina's First Colony Foundation (FCF) conducted a more thorough investigation of the site using multiple types of satellite-based remote sensing technology, but the researchers found 'no topographic features resembling a settlement like Jamestown or Plymouth,' according to the study.

What's more, excavations did not reveal the fort that had been marked and then concealed on White's map.

But it did unearth more English artifacts, including additional pieces of Border ware, an early type of aglet (the metal tip of a shoelace), a tenter hook (a nail used to secure cloth over a wooden frame) and more.

While this suggested the area was unlikely to have been a relocation site for the entire Roanoke colony, it could have still been a refuge for a few of them.

Based on the discovery of these artifacts, the FCF concluded that there was an English presence at Site X that could only have come from the Roanoke colonists.

The experts speculated that these people could have been a small colonial family seeking the help from a Native American village called Mettaquem.

The FCF plans to continue investigating Site X in search of more evidence of the English presence there, and any clues that could offer more information about what happened to the residents of the Lost Colony in 1587.

Another clue, known as the Dare Stone, was discovered in 1937.

It featured writing believed to have been left by Eleanor White Dare, the daughter of John White, and possibly tells the story of what happened to the settlers after they left their colony on Roanoke.

On one side of the stone, beneath a cross (the emergency symbol), the message reads: 'Ananias Dare & / Virginia Went Hence / Unto Heaven 1591 / Anye Englishman Shew / John White Govr Via.'

The other side of the stone provides more detail about what supposedly happened to the colonists after Governor White returned to England in 1587. Written from Eleanor's perspective, it describes how the colonists left Roanoke and endured two years of 'Misarie.'

According to experts, the stone indicates that more than half of the settlers died. It also mentions that news eventually came of a ship arriving off the coast.
Scientists have detected a mysterious signal known as fast radio bursts coming from an ancient galaxy billions of light years away.

Some experts have suggested that these fast radio bursts (FRBs), an intense burst of radio waves from deep space, could be extraterrestrials attempting to contact Earth, while others suspect black holes or collapsed stars are the source.

Researchers from Northwestern University detected an FRB that produced 21 pulses, lasting a few milliseconds, from February through July 2023. What made the new discovery unique is that it was traced back to a 'dead' galaxy no longer producing stars.

This is an unprecedented home for a phenomenon previously associated with much younger galaxies, suggesting that the origins of these mysterious cosmic events might be more diverse than previously thought.

Before this revelation, scientists theorized that FRBs only came from much younger galaxies that are still producing stars.

The team pinpointed the source to an 11.3-billion-year-old neighboring galaxy located two billion light-years from Earth. One light year is equal to six trillion miles.

They honed in on the galaxy, finding it to be 'extremely luminous and incredibly massive  100 billion times the mass of our sun.'

Radio Astronomer Tarraneh Eftekhari said: 'It seems to be the most massive FRB host galaxy to date. It's among some of the most massive galaxies out there.'

Astronomers detected a fast radio burst using a ground based telescope in Canada (pictured). It produced 21 pulses, lasting a few milliseconds, from February through July 2023

Flaring up and disappearing within milliseconds, FRBs are brief, powerful radio blasts that generate more energy in one quick burst than our sun emits in an entire year.

It is not currently known what produces fast radio bursts, but they are generally thought to be emanated by dying stars in distant galaxies, also known as magnetar stars.

Magnetar stars have a powerful magnetic field, which scientists speculate is shooting out radio waves through space.

Some bursts seem to be one-off events- less than five percent of the hundreds spotted have been seen to repeat, occasionally on a regular pattern.

But the latest discovery produced more than a dozen pules, six of which researchers detected using a ground based radio telescope in Canada.

'The prevailing theory is that FRBs come from magnetars formed through core-collapse supernovae,' said Eftekhari.

'That doesn't appear to be the case here. While young, massive stars end their lives as core-collapse supernovae, we don't see any evidence of young stars in this galaxy.

'Thanks to this new discovery, a picture is emerging that shows not all FRBs come from young stars. Maybe there is a subpopulation of FRBs that are associated with older systems.'

They traced it back to a dead galaxy (yellow oval) that is no longer producing stars. However, the exact origin is outside of the galaxy's center (dotted oval)

The team found that instead of finding a young galaxy, they observed the FRB coming from one without stars.

Galaxies are considered dead when they stop creating stars, which can take hundreds of millions of years.

This can happen when a galaxy runs out of gas or when it merges with another galaxy. And the former appeared to be the case during the observations.

Vishwangi Shah, a doctoral student at McGill University Canada and co-author of the study, said: 'This is not only the first FRB to be found outside a dead galaxy, but compared to all other FRBs, it's also the farthest from the galaxy it's associated with.

'The FRB's location is surprising and raises questions about how such energetic events can occur in regions where no new stars are forming.'

Astronomers have detected thousands of FRBs since 2007, but only around 100 have been traced to a specific source - all near actively forming stars.

'This particular FRB is really an outlier, and it challenges our theories about what is producing FRBs,' Shah said.
by Michael Liss

Senator Warren Harding had a big appetite: for food, for whisky, for cigars and cards and hanging around with his cronies. For spittoons and smoke-filed rooms. For another mans wife when he had one of his ownCarrie Fulton Phillips, with whom he carried on (sorry) for about 15 years. Their passion ended badly when, in late 1919, he felt an urge for higher office, and she felt an urge for a little monetary compensation.

The best evidence we have is that both urges were satisfied. Carrie was consoled by a bit of largess. Harding stopped writing coded-but-torrid letters and focused more on a stay at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This was as it had to be. It was an era in which the prurient was taboobut it was also an era where few spoke on the record about it. Harding wouldnt be the only aspiring candidate with a spotty record on fidelity. In general, boys will be boys, so long as what they do in private is kept private.

Urges aside, Harding looked like a Presidenthandsome, good chin. He spoke like a President: mostly vacuously but with a roll that imparted a sense of some deeper wisdom. He was from Ohio, then, as now, a key state. He had influential friends, like Harry Micajah Daugherty, a powerbroker in the Ohio GOP, who saw him as the perfect compromise candidatethe man others would turn to after a bit of Convention turmoil. So, why not Harding for President?

That was Daughertys plan, and he executed it perfectly. In 1920, Republicans had a great many men who saw themselves as papabile. They even had several who had the standing for the job, but when the GOP assembled in hot, steamy Chicago in June, none of those men, qualified or not, could get enough traction to get a majority of the 984 Delegates. Harding was fifth after the first round, didnt break 100 until the seventh ballot, and only made it to 135 on the eighth. Then, reputedly, the wired-in wise men of the Partythe Daugherty-typeswent into a room and, after the prodigious consumption of tobacco products and alcohol, coupled with lively and creative horse-trading, made a decision. Harding went from distant third to clear first on the ninth ballot and closed it out on the tenth. Popular Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge was quickly selected as Veep.

The smart money in the house knew that they had likely just selected a President. A few weeks later, the Democrats assembled in San Francisco, where it took them twice the number of ballots to select sacrificial victims Ohio Governor James Cox and the 38-year-old Assistant Secretary of the Navy, pre-polio Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The Cox-FDR ticket had no real chance. The Democratic Party was deeply unpopular for any number of reasons: WW-1 and its sour end, a divisive argument over the post-war order, the League of Nations, growing concerns about radicalism at home, Sacco and Vanzetti, strikes (including a police strike in Boston that left the city open to vandalism and looting), and a stroke-diminished, angry Woodrow Wilson who had lost whatever political skill he once possessed.

Harding campaigned on a simple but effective slogan: a Return to Normalcythe good old days before all that, before Wilson and War and all the upheaval of TRs experimentation and Progressivism. That kind of America was a place where a man could make his mark with hard work and grit and do so without the government coming in and messing it up. Time to clean the stables.

The imagery and the moment had a potent impact. In November, the Harding-Coolidge ticket won decisively. Their success echoed down-ballot: The GOP took 303 House seats to 131 for the Democrats and won a 59-37 margin in the Senate.

Harding had the prize. He had a lock on Congress, and he had what might be thought of as a genuine mandate. What would he do with it? At the outset, he also had a considerable amount of luck. Europe was devastated, with wholesale destruction of people and property. There was a vacuum to be filled. America could be an economic powerhouse, so the thinking went, provided that government stuck to its knitting, dealing with things like social order, and got out of the way of business.

This was exactly the change voters were looking for, and Harding was the embodiment of it. He was definitely not a Wilson-style intellectual who analyzed from a higher-than-mere-mortal level. It turned out that his common touch was evidence of a common mind, but, with a honeymoon period, he could settle in, pick (or have picked for him) a Cabinet, and find others who knew more than he to make the engine run.

He made three exceptional choices. State went to the former and future Supreme Court Justice Charles Evan Hughes. Treasury Secretary would be the industrialist and banker (and one of the wealthiest men in America) Andrew Mellon. Commerce would go to Herbert Hoover, who had done remarkable work in Europe during and after the war and was thought of as a future President.

So far, so good, although these were not guys you could have a beer with. Heres where Harding began to fail. What to do when you have a whole White House to play with, but are not exactly sure you like the work? Bring in some playmatesin Hardings case, the hard-drinking, cigar-chomping, poker-playing group known as the Ohio Gang.

The Ohio Gang consisted of pols and connected/rich buddies from Hardings less exalted days. In the mix were the absurdly rich oil men Edward Doheny and Harry F. Sinclair, the soon-to-be Attorney General (and former Harding Convention Whisperer) Harry M. Daugherty, New Mexico Senator Albert B. Fall (Secretary of the Interior), and former Congressman Edwin Denby (Secretary of the Navy).

Harding may have been a little fuzzy about what to do with his Presidency. These men were not. Access, connections, and actual power coupled with absent consciences and zero Harding oversight gave their new roles a special appeal. So much to take, so few in positions of power to tell them no.

Take they did, in ways small and big, most notoriously in the Teapot Dome Scandal. If you are keeping score at home, its one of Americas finest efforts at sheer greed and mendacity. Whole books have been written about it, but heres a small taste:

First, a quick primer: Whats a Teapot Dome? In order to ensure that the Navy would always have enough oil in time of war, then-President Taft had set aside federal lands that held huge petroleum reserves. Three of the sites, Teapot Dome Oil Field in Wyoming, and the Elk Hills and Buena Vista Oil Fields in California, were especially appealing to the conspirators. There was only one problemTaft had vested control over the fields in the Navy Secretary, which made perfect sense, since the oil was a Naval strategic reserve. Hardings new Secretary of the Navy, Denby, was an Ohio Gang member, but a bit tentative. Far more focused was Fall, the new Interior Secretary. He lobbied insistently for control to be passed to him. Fall was not a guy who had ever taken no for an answer, and he had urgent personal needs (large debts among them) that required satisfaction. Why not with public assets?

Fall made the case to Harding that Interior should mean what it said, and since the Naval Reserves were physically interior, control over them should be in his Department. In late 1921, likely to get Fall off his back, Harding issued an Executive Order to shift control of the sites from the Navy Secretary to the Interior Secretary. Theres some evidence that Denby resisted, but, by 1922, Fall had convinced Denby to yield. Fall now controlled the oil, and, putting on his best patriotic cap, decided that leasing those lands at below market rates to connected oil companies (including both Dohenys and Sinclairs) would be not only the strategically correct call, but would help the Fall family fortunes, which at that moment needed the help.

What followed were cross-country train trips with private cars, where people met to discuss things, non-descript bags with bag men to deliver them, and altogether a great deal of cloak and dagger. Albert Fall had a reputation for being a hard-nosed bargainer, but, when it came to selling things that didnt belong to him, sweetheart was a better description.

Uber-favorable non-competitive bidding licenses for Elk Hills and Buena Vista went to Doheny. Sinclair got Teapot Dome. Cash, Liberty Bonds, no-interest loans, and other sweeteners headed to Falls enormous ranch in New Mexico. The return on equity for the oil barons could be described as considerable. Hundreds of millions of barrels of publicly owned oil were transferred for a relative handful of beans.

In the end, it was too big a story to hide, and The Wall Street Journal broke it in an April 1922 article. Fall denounced the accusations and the oil men professed to have negotiated in good faith and relied on Falls apparent authority. The licenses were validand even signed by Navy Secretary Denby.

The problem, in truth, was the immensity of the give-awayand the number of people who wanted in. One was Colonel James G. Darden, who claimed he already owned some of the Teapot field. By mid-summer 1922, he had already begun drilling operations. Darden was no crank. How he got the rights is unclear, but, among his other bona fides, he was also a financial backer of Warren Harding.

In any rational world, people would have gone into yet another smoke-filled room to work things out, but Fall had a hair-trigger temper and, its suggested, a memory of the good old days on the frontier, where hed employ a little muscle to take care of a situation. Fall went to Harding and literally asked him to send in the Marines.

By this point, Harding was beyond exhaustion. He might have been President, but Fall was a scary guy, and he needed to buy some time, so he asked Darden to come to the White House for a chat. Couldnt Darden just close up shop and forget all about Teapot Dome? To be polite, Darden wasnt enthusiastic about yielding, and said he was ready to go to court. No deal, Mr. President.

Fall was unrelenting, and so Harding eventually relented (or not, its not entirely clear). In what had to be one of silliest uses of the Marines ever, on August 1, 1922, a very small contingent of Marines (five, not a typo), escorted by some men from the Department of the Interior and a reporter for The Denver Post, confronted a very small number of Dardens roughnecks at one drill-hole at Teapot Dome. The Marines took no quarter and thoroughly rousted Dardens teamin a very polite way. No blood was shed, and theres no record of combat medals being awarded. The Marines, the foreman, and supervisor apparently sat down together for lunch.

Falls victory celebration was short-lived. The Denver Post man was to be the skunk at the picnic. Almost 30 years earlier, The Post had been purchased by a couple of men peculiarly suited for the moment at hand. Harry Heye Tammen and Frederick Gilmer Bonfils had been monetizing news (usually of the embarrassing variety) ever since. They were masters of the racy article, the hyperbolic editorial, the strategic catch and kill. Teapot Dome was an incredible opportunity. Bonfils struck a deal with a John Leo Stack, who had approached him with the complaint that Fall and Sinclair had cheated Stack out of a claim that he, too, had in Teapot Dome. The men agreed to work together to do a little extracting from Harry Sinclair.

The pitch to Sinclair was simple. Bonfils would cease negative reporting and editorializing, and Sinclair would compensate them. The final price was $250,000 cash and the rights to 320 acres in Teapot Dome with a guaranteed value of $750,000. Sinclair was as shrewd and tough a man as any, but theres at least a suggestion that Harding himself played a role in convincing him to pay for silence.

Eventually, there was just too much out there for people not to notice, and for Congress not to do at least a little something for the cameras. Hearings began in January 1924. The conspirators were actually quite good at keeping secrets, but it was revealed that Fall had received a $100,000 interest-free loan from oil man Doheny, and the loan was delivered by Dohenys son Ned in stacks of $20sin an actual bag. For comfort, Ned was accompanied by his friend Hugh Plunkett. There was more. Sinclair had sent a large herd of livestock to Falls ranch (merely as a friendly gesture, of course). His company had then delivered nearly $300,000 in cash and Liberty bonds to Falls son in law.

Where was Warren Harding during the hearings? He was dead. Returning from a long-planned trip to Alaska and the West Coast, he reported to his physician pain in his upper abdomen. Upon reaching San Francisco, it was clear he was ill, and he was confined to his hotel room. At first, he seemed to rally a bit, but, on August 2, 1923, while being read a flattering article about himself by his wife, he collapsed, convulsed, and died a few minutes later. He was just 57.

What did Harding know and when did he know it? While on a short cruise with Herbert Hoover in June 1923, he had asked what Hoover would do if he were President and became aware of a scandal. Hoovers response was to disclose it. Harding didnt. To the editor William Allen White, he apparently said, I have no trouble with my enemies. I can take care of my enemies all right. But my damn friends, my god-damned friends, White, theyre the ones who keep me walking the floor nights!

In a way, Hardings death did what he wouldnt do in life. Fall had already left, stepping down from Interior in January 1923 to enjoy his enhanced ranch. It would take until 1929 for him to be fined and sentenced to a year in jail. The rest of the Ohio Gang thinned out. Coolidge wasnt a carouser and sent most of them packing. Oil man Doheny was charged with bribery, but eventually acquitted because both he and Fall testified that the $100,000 was a loan. Much later, however, he suffered a larger personal loss. His son Ned was shot dead in 1929 in a murder suicide; the shooter was Hugh Plunkett, who had apparently been consumed with anxiety over the chances his role in delivering the bribe would come to light. Harry Sinclair was tough to the end. He refused to answer some of the Senate investigators questions, saying their jurisdiction did not extend to private citizens. The Supreme Court eventually disagreed, and Sinclair later served 6 months for contempt of Congress and jury tampering. Upon his release from prison, he resumed his role as President of Sinclair Oil and Gas. Harry Daugherty, the political string-puller whom Harding picked for Attorney General, ran interference for Fall and the other conspirators as long as he could, even going so far as to send federal agents to Montana to investigate Senator Thomas Walsh, who had led the hearings. After Hardings death, for some inexplicable reason, Coolidge kept Daugherty on as AG. Finally, Hoover and Hughes prevailed upon Coolidge to demand his resignation, which was received on March 28, 1924, nearly eight months after Hardings death.

Theres an interesting coda to this story, even a surprising one. Republicans paid a political price in the 1922 Midterms, but it was a short-term one. They painted the investigations as partisan, and it clearly worked. The 1924 hearings didnt make a dent in Coolidges popularityhe won decisively. Four years later, Hoover, riding on his own personal popularity and Coolidges record, crushed Al Smith.

Why didnt voters care about the corruption? In some respects, because the Normalcy agenda began to take hold. Ron Chernow, in The House of Morgan, notes that [d]uring the Republican dominated 1920s, bankers probably attained the peak of their influence in American history. Id be inclined to amplify that to add that businesses in general had virtually unbridled leave to do as they pleased.

They were aided immeasurably in this by the efforts of Treasury Secretary Mellon and Commerce Secretary Hoover. Hoover built Commerce into an organization single-mindedly dedicated to advancing business. Mellon, along with carrying out a very conservative agenda, was also given the extraordinary authority to refund taxes previously paid. He did so, returning over $3 billion dollars to the worthy (and occasionally connected).

It worked. Throughout the Harding and then Coolidge years, the monied interests, given preferential treatment, acting without meaningful regulatory restraints, stepped up, invested, and people generally prospered. The gains were not shared by everyone, and certainly not proportionately, but they benefited more people than just those at the very top. Electricity became more generally available, and newfangled equipment like radios, toasters, washing and sewing machines, and refrigerators improved quality of life. The Roaring Twenties were real for many. Things were better. Republicans were popular at the ballot box because they delivered.

All dreams must come to an end, and the idea of limitless growth without consequence met its sell-by date in declining economic numbers through the summer of 1929 and then the Crash. People could see there was a price to unfettered laissez-fairethe lack of meaningful guardrails. Speculation increased, risk increased, and prudent business practices like solid capitalization were on the wane. Finally, the structure sank under its own weight.

Hoover was an extraordinarily talented man, but his reaction was anything but empathetic. He had reached the stage in life where he was convinced that everyone could attain success, and a little privation might spur a man to it. Mellon was even more astringent. He wanted to purge the rottenness out of the system, and that was best accomplished by the government doing nothing at all. The markets would do the purgingbusinesses may fail, people may suffer deprivation, but, in the end [p]eople will work harder, live a more moral life.

Hoover, and his Party, paid, just as Democrats had paid 12 years earlier. The promise of Hardings Normalcy had curdled, to be replaced by the bread line.

Lets jump nearly a century forward. President Trump has been returned to office, and hes selected over a dozen billionaires to take positions of authority in his Administration. Whats more, hes managed to co-opt without formal position a few others for whom a billion is what they find in the sofa cushions. At his Inauguration were not only his First Pal Elon Musk, but also Amazons Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google Chief Sundar Pichai, and Metas Mark Zuckerberg (representing a combined $10 trillion in market capitalization). Add to those four OpenAIs Sam Altman and TikToks Shou Chew (perhaps a combined $300 billion in private market values), and you have quite a group of supportive supplicants.

What will Trumps economic policies look like? Certainly pro-business. What about the people he empowers? Are they Falls? Mellons? Daughertys or Sinclairs? We cant even begin to predict. Will they work for you or for themselves? We will have to see, but to expect anything but an agenda that includes substantial cuts to programs from which many common folks benefit, and which many wealthy people disdain, is Pollyannaish. Better times will have to come from economic growth that trickles down. Two years from now, and again in 2028, the public will judge whether that New Normalcy has worked.

I cant fret over economic policies, no matter how much they could potentially impact my life. I have to trust democracy to self-correct. Heres the people I do worry about: Bezos, Cook, Zuckerberg, Pichai. Altman, and Chew. These people, and Musk, and others, have a dominant say in what we read, what we see, what groups we sort ourselves into, and what truths are presented to us. These people, and Musk, collect data on us, and, by extension, on our friends and family. These people, and Musk, commoditize us and monetize us. They sell us to others. What I do not want them to do is to sell us to our government.
Tomorrow, humanity will find out if we're closer to total self-destruction when the Doomsday Clock is updated.

The symbolic clock, which edges closer to midnight to reflect human-made global catastrophes, will be revealed during a livestream on Tuesday (January 28).

Since 2023, it has been set at 90 seconds to midnight, but this year scientists say it could move forward to reflect the troubling global outlook.

The Russia-Ukraine war, Israel's ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, and the threat of nuclear war and climate change all mean the clock could tick forwards for the first time in two years.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which decides where the hands are set, will unveil the updated clock in a livestream at 10am EST (3pm GMT).

It says on its website: 'For 2025, the Bulletin's Science and Security Board will consider multiple global threats in the clock setting.

'[These include] the proliferation of nuclear weapons, disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Hamas war, Israel-Hezbollah conflict, bio-threats and the continued climate crisis.'

MailOnline will also be covering the announcement tomorrow, but until then here's everything you need to know about the Doomsday Clock.

Since 2023, the Doomsday Clock has been set at 90 seconds to midnight. Although symbolic and not an actual clock, the organization does unveil a physical 'quarter clock' model at an event when revealing if and how the hands have moved (pictured)

Is humanity doomed? We will finally find out, as the Doomsday Clock - a symbolic clock, which edges closer to midnight to reflect human-made global catastrophes - is updated for 2024

What is the Doomsday Clock?

The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic timepiece showing how close the world is to a human-made global catastrophe, as deemed by experts.

Every year, the clock is updated based on how close we are to the total annihilation of humanity ('midnight').

If the clock goes forward and gets closer to midnight (compared with where it was set the previous year), it suggests humanity has got closer to self destruction.

But if it moves back, further away from midnight, it suggests humanity has reduced the risks of global catastrophe in the past 12 months.

On some years, such as 2024, the hands of the clock haven't moved at all  which suggests the global situation has not changed.

The clock is set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago that publishes an academic journal.

Although symbolic and not an actual clock, the organization does unveil a physical 'quarter clock' model at an event when revealing if and how the hands have moved.

In 2024, the hands did not move to reflect an unchanging global situation, but some experts say it will move tomorrow (January 28)

Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine is why humankind is the 'closest it has ever been to annihilation' - 90 seconds to midnight

The the Russia-Ukraine war rages on after nearly three years. Pictured, a ballistic missile is launched during a test from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Northern Arkhangelsk region, Russia last year

After the unveiling, the model can be found located at the Bulletin offices in the Keller Center, home to the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

When will the Doomsday Clock be updated?

Every January, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists reveals its annual update to the Doomsday Clock  even if the hands are not moved.

This year, the organisation will reveal the clock hands at 10am EST (3pm GMT) on Tuesday (January 28) during a livestreamed event.

Speakers at the event will include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Juan Manuel Santos and Daniel Holz, board member and physicist at the University of Chicago.

It will be livestreamed on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists YouTube channel and website and MailOnline will also be covering the announcement.

Will the Doomsday Clock tick move in 2025?

Alicia Sanders-Zakre, policy and research coordinator at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, thinks the clock will be put forward tomorrow.

Experts at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists remove a cloth covering the Doomsday Clock in Washington on January 24, 2023

Residents and bomb squad members stand in front of a house destroyed by yesterday's Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chernihiv, Ukraine January 4, 2025

When will the Doomsday Clock be updated? The clock is currently the closest it has ever been, at 90 seconds to midnight. But at 10am EST (3pm GMT) on January 28 it could be set even closer to midnight. This means the threat of human-made global catastrophe is closer than ever since 1947, when the clock was devised. Advertisement

She points to the growing threat of nuclear war, as well as the intertwined growing threats of climate change and AI.

'Threat of nuclear war has grown due to the wars in Middle East and Ukraine where nuclear-armed states have made implicit and explicit threats to use nuclear weapons,' Sanders-Zakre told MailOnline.

Daniel Post, professor of strategy and policy at the US Naval War College, said the clock should move slightly closer to midnight, adding: 'There is absolutely no reason to move it any further away from midnight'.

'I'd be shocked if that is the direction they went,' he told MailOnline.

'Most of the issues and risks driving the decision to place the clock where it is are still existent or getting worse.'

Professor Post said the risk of nuclear war, though still very low, has 'probably shifted very, very slightly higher' in the past 12 months.

'The primary driving factor is the desperate and horrific situation in Ukraine and anticipated changes to US policy with the incoming [Trump] administration,' he said.

Meanwhile, SJ Beard, researcher at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, thinks the clock will stay the same in 2025.

If the clock ever reached midnight, it would suggest humans have finally reached a catastrophic level of existential threat, involving widespread destruction and death

'I'm not convinced that there has been anything outside of the bounds of what we would have expected last year,' Beard told MailOnline.

'I think we remain at 90 seconds to midnight but with increasingly dark clouds on the horizon.'

Meanwhile, Dimitris Drikakis, professor of engineering and applied physics at University of Nicosia, Cyprus, claims the clock should move backwards.

'I believe there will be substantial efforts to mitigate threats due to diplomatic agreements and technological breakthroughs that are occurring,' he told MailOnline.

When was the Doomsday Clock created?

The Doomsday Clock goes back to June 1947, when US artist Martyl Langsdorf was hired to design a new cover for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists journal.

With a striking image on the cover, the organisation hoped to 'frighten men into rationality', according to Eugene Rabinowitch, the first editor of the journal.

It came amid a backdrop of public fear surrounding atomic warfare and weaponry, just two years after the Second World War ended.

The Doomsday Clock goes back to June 1947, when US artist Martyl Langsdorf was hired to design a new cover for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists journal

Dr Leonard Rieser, Chairman of the Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, moves the hand of the Doomsday Clock back to 17 minutes before midnight at offices near the University of Chicago on November 26, 1991

Most recent changes to the Doomsday Clock 2023 : 90 seconds to midnight

: 90 seconds to midnight 2020 : 100 seconds to midnight

: 100 seconds to midnight 2018 : 2 minutes to midnight

: 2 minutes to midnight 2017 : 2.5 minutes to midnight

: 2.5 minutes to midnight 2015 : 3 minutes to midnight Advertisement

Langsdorf initially considered drawing the symbol for uranium before sketching a clock to convey a sense of urgency.

She set it at seven minutes to midnight because 'it looked good to my eye', Langsdorf later said.

On the cover of later issues in subsequent years, the hands of the clock were adjusted based on how close we are to catastrophe.

After the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb in 1949, Rabinowitch reset the clock from seven minutes to midnight to three minutes to midnight.

Since then, it has continued to move forwards and backwards.

In 2009, the Bulletin ceased its print edition, but the clock is still updated once a year on its website and is now a much-anticipated highlight of the scientific calendar.

Who decides what time to set the Doomsday Clock at?

Shortly after it was first created, Bulletin Editor Eugene Rabinowitch decided whether or not the hands should be moved.

Harrowing fires in California this month were related to climate change, according to scientists. Pictured, a home is engulfed in flames, Los Angeles, January 8, 2025

An Israeli attack on al-Hudari family house reduces the building into rubble in Gaza City, Gaza on January 05, 2025

Rabinowitch was a scientist, fluent in Russian, and a leader in the conversations about nuclear disarmament, meaning he was in frequent discussions with scientists and experts all over the world.

After considering the discussions, he would decide whether the clock should be moved forward or backward, at least in the first few decades of the clock's existence.

When he died in 1973, the Bulletin's Science and Security Board took over, made up of experts on nuclear technology and climate science, and has included 13 Nobel Laureates over the years.

The panel meets twice a year to discuss ongoing world events, such as the war in Ukraine, and whether a clock change is necessary.

When were the hands set closest to midnight?

In 2023, the hands were set at the closest they've ever been to midnight  90 seconds  as humanity entered a 'time of unprecedented danger'.

The change was largely due to the war in Ukraine and Russia's threat of using nuclear weapons against Ukraine's allies.

Prior to 2023, the hands were set the closest they'd ever been to midnight in 2020 (100 seconds to midnight). It was because governments around the world were faced with 'two simultaneous existential dangers'  nuclear war and climate change.

In 2023, the Science and Security Board set the time to 90 seconds to midnight, largely (though not exclusively) because of the dangers of the war in Ukraine. Before 2023, the closest the hand was set to midnight was 100 seconds to midnight in 2020

When were the hands furthest away from midnight?

In 1991, following the end of the Cold War, the Bulletin set the clock hands to 17 minutes to midnight.

The end of the war saw the US and the Soviet Union sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

This meant the countries would cut down their nuclear weapons arsenal, reducing the threat of nuclear war.

Unfortunately, the hands have not been as far away from midnight since then  and they do not look like moving back to this position any time soon.
The idea of entire cities being plunged underwater might sound like the plot of the latest science-fiction blockbuster.

But it could become a reality in just 75 years, according to a terrifying study.

Researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, have predicted that global sea levels could rise by a staggering 6.2ft (1.9 metres) by 2100 if carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions continue to increase.

'The high-end projection of 1.9 metres underscores the need for decision-makers to plan for critical infrastructure accordingly,' said Dr Benjamin Grandey, lead author of the study.

'More importantly, these results emphasise the importance of climate mitigation through reducing greenhouse gas emissions.'

If global sea levels were to rise by 6.2ft (1.9 metres), towns and cities around the world could be plunged underwater - including Hull, London, and Cardiff.

So, is your home town at risk?

Your browser does not support iframes.

If global sea levels were to rise by 6.2ft (1.9 metres), cities around the world could be plunged underwater - including several in the UK

Huge swathes of London would be affected, with several areas on the River Thames gleaming red on the map, including Bermondsey, Greenwich, Battersea and Chelsea. Pictured: artist's impression of London underwater

Current sea level projections rely on a range of methods to model climate processes.

For example, some projections include well-understood phenomena like glacier melting.

But others incorporate more uncertain events, such as abrupt ice shelf collapse.

As a result, these models produce varying projections, making it difficult to estimate reliable sea-level rise.

In its IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, released in 2023, the UN estimated that under high-emission scenarios, global sea levels would rise by between 0.6 metres and one metre (1.9ft and 3.2ft).

However, the researchers from NTU took a 'fusion' approach to their estimates by integrating statistical methods with expert judgments.

They claim that this offers a clearer, more reliable picture of future sea level rises.

'Our new approach tackles a key issue in sea-level science: different methods of projecting sea-level rise often produce widely varying results,' Dr Grandey said.

Climate Central's Coastal Risk Screening Tool shows the areas around the globe that would be worst hit

To use the tool, simply set the water level at 6.2ft and the areas that would be plunged underwater will appear in red on the map

UK towns and cities that will be underwater Hull

Skegness

Grimsby

Peterborough

Lincoln

London

Weston-super-Mare

Newport

Cardiff

Southport

Blackpool Advertisement

'By combining these different approaches into a single fusion projection, we can estimate the uncertainty associated with future sea-level rise and quantify the very likely range of sea-level rise.'

The fusion model predicts that under a low-emissions scenario, global sea levels are very likely to rise between 0.3 and 1.0 metres (0.9ft and 3.2ft) by 2100.

But under a high-emissions scenario, the fusion model predicts that global sea levels are very likely to rise between 0.5 and 1.9 metres (1.6 and 6.2ft).

If the scientists' most extreme predictions are right and global sea levels do rise by 6.2ft, hundreds of coastal towns and cities could be plunged underwater.

Climate Central's Coastal Risk Screening Tool shows the areas around the globe that would be worst hit.

To use the tool, simply set the water level at 6.2ft and the areas that would be plunged underwater will appear in red on the map.

Here in the UK, people living on the east coast of England would be worst hit.

Coastal hubs including Hull, Skegness and Grimsby would be plunged underwater, while places as far inland as Peterborough and Lincoln would also become waterlogged.

Climate Central predicts that the entire coast stretching from Calais to south Denmark would be underwater, along with Venice

Over in the US, several towns and cities in the Southern states would probably be affected. These include New Orleans in Louisiana, Galveston in Texas and the Everglades in Florida

Further south, swathes of London would be affected.

Several areas on the River Thames gleam red on the map, including Bermondsey, Greenwich, Battersea, and Chelsea.

While the east coast of England would be most affected, several towns and cities on the west coast are also in the firing line, according to Climate Central.

Neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Weston-super-Mare, Newport and Cardiff would all be plunged underwater, alongside parts of Southport and Blackpool.

Residents in Northern Ireland and Scotland can mostly rest easy though, with few areas set to be affected.

Elsewhere in Europe, Climate Central predicts that the entire coast stretching from Calais to south Denmark would be underwater, along with Venice.

Over in the US, several towns and cities in the Southern states would probably be affected.

These include New Orleans in Louisiana, Galveston in Texas and the Everglades in Florida.

The researchers hope the findings will emphasise the urgent need to limit CO2 emissions. Pictured: artist's impression of the Statue of Liberty underwater

The researchers hope the findings will emphasise the urgent need to limit CO2 emissions and curb global warming.

Professor Benjamin Horton, Director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore at NTU, said: 'This NTU research represents a significant breakthrough in sea-level science.

'By estimating the probability of the most extreme outcomes, it underscores the severe impacts of sea-level rise on coastal communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems, emphasising the urgent need to address the climate crisis.'
Officials have begun a large-scale nuclear incident exercise in New York amid fears of WWIII.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said the exercise includes military aircraft, personnel who will carry out scenario threats to be ready 'to respond in the event of a nuclear incident in the United States or overseas.'

The drills began Sunday, but the agency said the public may now see personnel practising out in the opening. The exercise ends on January 31.

'The training exercise will not pose risks to area residents. Please do not be alarmed by the activity,' the FBI shared in a statement.

The agency emphasized that such training exercises have been conducted twice a year across the nation since 2012.

The exercise is meant to simulate a radiological attack, enabling response personnel to practice protecting public health and safety, providing emergency relief to affected populations, and restoring essential services.

While the FBI emphasized that the exercise poses no threat to the public. It comes a month after Vladimir Putin warned that WWIII could erupt if the West continues 'escalating the situation' in his latest existential threat over the war in Ukraine.

The FBI is holding a nuclear incident training exercise in New York, warning residents not to be alarmed. Pictured is a previous event in 2022

Putin also accused the West of pushing Russia to its 'red lines' and threatened to lift all voluntary restrictions on the deployment of his short and medium-range missiles if the US went ahead and deployed similar weapons.

Nikolai Sokov, a former Soviet and Russian diplomat, said at the time the 'red line' was intended as a 'very clear message': 'Don't make a mistake - all these kind of things may mean nuclear war.'

However, FBI Albany Public Affairs Officer Sarah Ruane said: 'I believe planning for this one began back in the spring.'

She added that these drills are not due to any recent or ongoing world events.

The exercise will primarily occur at and around the Stratton Air National Guard Base, Albany International Airport, and portions of northern Saratoga County.

'This is an exercise of the National Technical Nuclear Forensics Ground Collection Task Force, which would support the investigation of a nuclear incident,' said Ruane.

'The Task Force mission is to collect nuclear debris samples for analysis at the national laboratories.'

While details about the exercises are unknown, previous events saw simulated scenarios to which personnel had to respond.

In March 2024, the New Jersey, Delaware and Idaho National Guard participated in interagency chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives training with the FBI and state and local law enforcement.

In one training scenario, the FBI received intelligence that a domestic terrorist group had planted bombs  including one with cesium-137, a radioactive isotope  as more than 10,000 people are about to converge on the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton to listen to the vice president.

While the FBI emphasized that the exercise poses no threat to the public. It comes a month after Vladimir Putin warned that WWIII could erupt if the West continues 'escalating the situation' in his latest existential threat over the war in Ukraine

A similar exercise was also held in North Dakota in October 2024, (pictured) called Global Thunder 25 (GT25). The purpose of GT25 was to enhance nuclear readiness and ensure a safe, secure, and effective strategic deterrent force

The exercise called for the entire structure to be searched, from the catwalks crisscrossing above the floor to the rooms and suites, the concession stands and the service areas.

A similar exercise was also held in North Dakota in October 2024, called Global Thunder 25 (GT25).

The purpose of GT25 was to enhance nuclear readiness and ensure a safe, secure, and effective strategic deterrent force.

The US military was joined by NATO partners, including personnel from the United Kingdom.

President Donald Trump attended the the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week where he called for nuclear talks with China and Russia.

On Thursday, he expressed a desire to work towards cutting nuclear arms.

'We'd like to see denuclearization ... and I will tell you President Putin really liked the idea of cutting way back on nuclear,' he said in a speech by videolink from the White House.

Trump has called on Russia and China to hold talks about nuclear weapon stockpiles. That comes just one month after Putin threatened that the West could cause WWIII

'And I think the rest of the world, we would have gotten them to follow, and China would have come along too.'

Trump triggered fears of a new arms race by pulling the US out of the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 2019.

The US and NATO accused Russia of violating the pact by deploying a new type of cruise missile, which Moscow denied.

The president also said the treaty was meaningless as it did not cover China's nuclear arsenal.

'China has a much smaller, right now, nuclear armament than us or field than us, but they're going to be catching it at some point over the next four or five years,' is how he put it Thursday.

He offered no further details on how nuclear talks might work, other than setting out his enthusiasm.

'Tremendous amounts of money are being spent on nuclear ... and the destructive capability is something that we don't even want to talk about today, because you don't want to hear it's too depressing,' he said.

'So we want to see if we can denuclearize, and I think that's very possible.'

Former-President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the greenlight to use of US-supplied long-range missiles last November while still in office.

The Kremlin quickly responded to the move, accusing the White House of 'fueling the fire'  with Putin allies even claiming it could lead to World War III.

Trump, however, said in December that it was stupid for Biden to let Ukraine use US weapons to strike deeper into Russia.

Last week, Putin congratulated Trump on Monday following the inauguration.

The Russian dictator spoke during a video call with members of Russia's Security Council just before the event, saying: 'We hear the statements from Trump and members of his team about their desire to restore direct contacts with Russia, which were halted through no fault of ours by the outgoing administration.'

'We also hear his statements about the need to do everything to prevent World War III. We certainly welcome such an approach and congratulate the US president-elect on taking office,' Putin stated.
NASA is tracking the path of an asteroid that is set to shoot past Earth going 35,000 miles per hour, 10 times faster than a speeding bullet, on Tuesday.

Asteroid 2025 BS4 is predicted to come within 511,000 miles of our planet, which is still twice as far as the average 238,900-mile distance between Earth and the moon.

But due to its relative proximity to our planet, 2025 BS4 is still classified as a Near Earth Object (NEO).

NEOs are asteroids or comets that orbit the sun like the planets, but their orbits can bring them within 30 million miles of Earth's orbit, according to NASA JPL.

The asteroid is roughly 23 feet wide, slightly smaller than the average American school bus which ranges from 35 to 40 feet long.

And weighs as much as a blue whale -more than 970,000 pounds.

If this careening space rock were to hit Earth, the force of its impact would be equivalent to 19,000 tons of TNT  powerful enough to do catastrophic damage if it landed on a large city.

Asteroid 2025 BS4 is just one of more than 37,000 NEOs that NASA has discovered.

NASA is tracking an asteroid the size of a bus that will shoot past Earth going 35,000 miles per hour on Tuesday. That's more than 10 times faster than a speeding bullet

The US agency and space organizations worldwide keep a close eye on these objects as they move through Earth's gravitational neighborhood, making sure that none of them pose an imminent threat to our planet.

'Asteroids can come at any moment towards Earth. Having eyes on the sky everywhere in the world allows us to track them,' asteroid hunter Franck Marchis previously told DailyMail.com.

Marchis is a senior astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute and founder of the UNISTELLAR citizen astronomer network.

He and many other astronomers across the globe keep a particularly watchful eye on Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs), which are Near Earth Asteroids that are at least 460 feet in diameter and could come within 4.65 million miles of our planet.

If an asteroid that size were to impact Earth, it would cause widespread damage, countless injuries and even deaths, especially if it landed in a densely populated area.

But just because an asteroid is classified as a PHA does not mean that it will hit Earth. In fact, none of the PHAs in NASA's database are a worrisome threat over the next hundred years, according to the agency.

Continuing to observe and track them, however, allows scientists to refine their orbits and make precise predictions about their future close approaches and impact probabilities.

The DART spacecraft launched from California in November 2021 and completed its 10-month journey when it intentionally collided the asteroid Dimorphos in September 2022 (STOCK)

NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CENOS) leads this initiative. CENOS scientists use JPL's 'Sentry' Earth impact monitoring system to continually analyze the most current asteroid data for possibilities of an impact within the next 100 years.

In the event that CENOS identified an asteroid on a collision course toward Earth, NASA's Planetary Defense Coordinate Office is developing strategies to save the planet.

'The good news is that... we made an experiment showing that we can deflect an asteroid if we know well in advance that such an impact will happen,' Marchis said.

'And that's changing a lot about how we think about this problem.'

That experiment was NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, also known as the DART mission.

The DART spacecraft launched from California in November 2021 and completed its 10-month journey when it intentionally collided the asteroid Dimorphos in September 2022.

Dimorphos, around 560 feet in diameter, orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos, both of which are around 6.8 million miles away from our planet.

DART hit the space rock at more than 14,000 miles per hour and was destroyed upon impact, but the mission was a success.

Dimorphos received a small nudge that altered its trajectory by a fraction, achieving the mission objective.

The mission demonstrated that the kinetic impactor technique - which involves deliberately ramming a spacecraft into an asteroid - is an effective way to alter an asteroid's trajectory.

In the event that a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) were headed towards Earth, NASA could one day use this technique to save us.

Although the initial results were highly promising, full confirmation of the mission's success will come in 2026 when the European Space Agency's Hera mission returns to Dimorphos to conduct a post-impact survey of the asteroid.

In the meantime though, plenty more NEOs will fly by Earth at perfectly safe distances, including a few more this week.

That includes another bus-sized asteroid called 2025 BF5 that will also make a close approach to Earth tomorrow, January 28, coming within 797,000 miles of our planet.

And on Wednesday, yet another bus-sized asteroid and a house sized asteroid will zip by Earth, coming within 1,630,000 miles and 2,330,000 of the planet, respectively.
Disturbing messages written on the ground in Los Angeles have taken the internet by storm, and now locals have shed new light on their meaning.

Google Earth users spotted multiple instances of the world 'HELP' spelled out using various materials on a plot of storage or waste facility in California city, located next to a shipping yard and near the Union Pacific Railroad.

This area is about one mile east of Los Angeles City Hall, situated between the Los Angeles River, North Mission Road and E Cesar E Chavez Avenue. Its coordinates are 3403'18'N 11813'30'W.

The Spanish words 'TRAFFICO' (traffic) and 'TERRORISMO,' (terrorism) also appear, as well as 'LAPD,' 'FEDERAL,' and 'FBI.'

The images went viral on social media over the weekend, sparking fears that someone may be trying to alert the public or law enforcement to a human trafficking operation in the area.

One Reddit user wrote: 'This sounds like someone or a group are being trafficked and used materials available to them to spell out an SOS. I hope if a random person noticed, authorities noticed as well.'

'We have all known for a long time that shipping containers are being used for human trafficking,' one X user posted, referencing the location's close proximity to the shipping yard.

Concerned viewers also pointed out what appears to be holes or tunnel entrances nearby, speculating that nefarious activity may be taking place inside.

While Google Earth images are not real-time, locals claimed the disturbing calls for help were still there when they investigated the scene.

Disturbing messages written on the ground in Los Angeles have taken the internet by storm, and now locals have shed new light on their meaning

One such person, who goes by 'LAguy' on X, spoke with a woman experiencing homelessness who lives near the lot.

She told him the words were written by a man named Jose who has been writing them 'for years.'

'[Jose's] the one who puts [help] all the time,' she said. 'He writes it everywhere [...] it's been years,' she added, though she made clear she didn't know the reason why he has been writing the messages.

Others claiming to live nearby offered similar explanations.

'Live in the area, it's a homeless dude who isn't all there. Been doing it for a few years now. Paints it on roads and sidewalks, uses rocks and other materials and lays them out next to freeways to spell out 'HELP,' one X user posted.

Others have suggested that the messages could be a prank by kids in the area.

But some remain alarmed, arguing that a more sinister explanation for the messages can not be ruled out yet. They have urged locals to investigate the situation further.

'We need to find Jose and make sure it not human trafficking,' one X user who claims to be a longtime LA resident posted.

'Bro, interview Jose about his thoughts on human trafficking. I wouldn't go anywhere that's out of most folks line of sight without being armed,' another replied to LAguy's video.

Ok so apparently Jose is writing all the HELP signs and the dog is named SUSa boy named SUS pic.twitter.com/ffkzkkLGwM  LAguy (@LAguy310) January 26, 2025

3403'18.0"N 11813'30.0"W Go to google maps pic.twitter.com/5wEINtAzQj  Tremley Point (@TremleyNJ) January 26, 2025

There's a deep subterranean system under the surface that the access points are covered by containers they use cranes to remove



There's a lot more going on than what's visible on the surface pic.twitter.com/VvDFDMDFZY  Cyrus S (@CyrusShares) January 26, 2025

Officials have not commented on the numerous images and videos from this bizarre plot that have accumulated online, and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.

At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that human trafficking or any other form of criminal activity is taking place at this location, but many concerned members of the public are still pushing for more answers.

This bizarre story comes during one of the most difficult moments in Los Angeles history.

The city has begun a massive cleanup and rebuilding effort following devastating wildfires that ravaged the area for three weeks, causing an estimated $250billion in damages.

This week, LA is finally getting some much-needed rain, but now officials are warning residents of the risk of mudslides around the county's fire zones.

Burn areas have 10 percent to 20 percent chance of significant flash flooding and debris flows capable of damaging roads and homes in and around areas destroyed by wildfires, the Los Angeles Times reported.

'This is the worst-case scenario to prepare for,' Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, told the paper.

With tensions already high as LA residents brace for another potential natural disaster, many are hoping for happy ending to the mysterious 'HELP' messages discovered in their community.

'The 'HELP' signs in LA are concerning, especially with the trafficking speculation. It's unsettling. I hope the situation is clarified soon. Looking forward to further investigation,' one X user posted.
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From a jaguar's 'kiss' in Brazil and 'majestic giraffes' in Kenya to an 'alarming' photograph of flooding in Indonesia, these winning and commended images in the 2024 international Travel Photographer of the Year awards (TPOTY) showcase the full spectrum of life around the globe.

Amateur and professional photographers from more than 150 countries submitted more than 20,000 images in this year's competition.

The judges described this year's entries as an 'incredible visual journey around the world, capturing its breathtaking moods and colours'.

This year's overall winner is Piper Mackay, a U.S photographer who 'takes the unusual approach of shooting in infrared' and the second female victor in a row.

Mackay, who is based in Kenya, says: 'My philosophy has always been "never let the photo dictate your experience, always let the experience dictate the photo". This award completes my life's passion and work across Africa for more than two decades. There is no higher honour!'

Scroll down to see MailOnline Travel's pick of the entries, with a selection of Mackay's winning images at the bottom. Which is your favourite?

This spellbinding image of Brasvellbreen, a glacier in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, was taken by Israeli photographer Roie Galitz. A Greenpeace ambassador, Galitz explains: 'As these waters flow into the ocean, they accelerate coastal threats worldwide, emphasising the urgency of addressing climate change to protect vulnerable ecosystems and human populations alike.' Galitz wins the 'Planet Earth - Landscape, Climate and Water award'

This mysterious photo of a shepherd's cottage in Italy's Dolomites mountain range was taken by Slovenian photographer Ales Krivec, who reveals: 'Old shepherd cottages were once used for practical means, but now they are mostly used for tourism.' The photographer wins the 'Travel in Monochrome' award

A runner-up in the 15-18 years category of the Young Travel Photographer of the Year award, 18-year-old Romanian photographer Vlad Paulet took this enchanting image at Cuejdel lake in Romania. Paulet says: 'Cuejdel lake is one of the most unique and beautiful places in my country, especially during this time of the year. The wide colour palette of the trees reflected in the lake create a beautiful view'

Japanese photographer Takahiro Gamou snapped this powerful image in Ibiraki in Japan. Gamou says 'the rain, wind, and lightning were intense, making it a very dangerous situation', adding that the 'arc' of 'lightning' demonstrates how 'nature is unpredictable'. The photographer is highly commended in the 'Planet Earth - Landscape, Climate and Water' category

LEFT: Khaichuin Sim, from Malaysia, picks up a win in the 'Rising Talent' category for this incredible image of a freediver with a plane wreck in Lang Tengah Island in Malaysia. He explains: 'The freediver's presence adds a human element to the scene, emphasising the spirit of exploration and discovery that drives us to unearth the beauty of the underwater world.' RIGHT: This incredible image of sea stacks in the Faroe Islands was snapped by German photographer Sabine Weise and earns a special mention in the 'Planet Earth - Landscape, Water and Climate' category. Weise reveals: 'The two sea stacks - called Drangarnir - are probably the most famous and unique sights in the Faroe Islands. The waves that evening were quite calm and gentle but crashed with enough power into this crevice to form a dramatic foreground'

Spanish photographer Javier Herranz Casellas earns a special mention in the 'Faces, People and Cultures' category for this captivating image of a woman and son 'enveloped in a ghostly atmosphere' in The Sahel region of Chad. The photographer explains: 'One of the most inhospitable regions of Africa, it is nevertheless inhabited by a multitude of ethnic groups and nomadic tribes that have adapted to these extreme conditions, preserving their culture almost intact'

A winner in the 'Rising Talent' category, Portuguese photographer Gilberto Costa snapped this image at New York's Grand Central Station. Costa says he wanted to 'capture the movement' in the hall and used a stair wall for a tripod. He adds: 'This image stood out from the others because right in the middle of the terminal, a stranger remained static, looking at his cell phone, while the other passersby walked around and left their blurred trail in the shot'

This impressive image of the Brasvellbreen glacier in Norway's Svalbard archipelago earns French photographer Guillaume Petermann a special mention in the 'Planet Earth - Landscape, Climate and Water' category. Petermann explains: 'Svalbard is a place where the effects of global warming are absolutely obvious. The climate is warming faster here than anywhere else on Earth'

This shocking image of a jaguar killing a caiman in Brazil's Pantanal wetland region earns German photographer Dmytro Geshengorin a win in the 'Rising Talent' category. He watched the animals have a 'short and intense fight' and reveals: 'To me, this moment looks like the jaguar is embracing and kissing its prey - an act of imaginary tenderness that will cost the big reptile its life'

British photographer Jenny Stock took this mesmerising image of a crocodile in Cuba's Jardines de la Reina archipelago. Stock explains that she had to 'get up-close and personal' with the crocodile using a macro lens. She reveals: 'Being up close to such a powerful animal will make your heart race. They move incredibly fast and you cant take your eyes off them. Because, for sure, they are watching you.' The image wins the 'Wildlife, Nature and Underwater' category

Jamie Smart, a nine-year-old photographer from the UK, takes a 'Runner Up' award in the '14 Years and Under' category with this captivating image of a gannet 'looking down the lens' at Yorkshire's Bempton Cliffs

The winner of the 'One Shot: Escape' category, this wintery image of a church in the village of Sveti Tomaz in Slovenia was taken by Ngar Shun Victor Wong from Hong Kong. Wong says: 'The tranquil atmosphere, illuminated by a gentle glow, invites introspection'

This powerful photo was snapped in Indonesia by Belgian photographer Alain Schroeder and depicts a four-year-old child playing in flooded streets. Schroeder explains: 'The sea level in Indonesia has risen by an alarming 4mm annually since 1992, a tangible consequence of climate change.' The photo is the winner of the best single image in the 'Planet Earth - Landscape, Climate and Water' category

Snapped in the Dolomites region of Italy by Slovenian photographer Ales Krivec, this enchanting image of shepherd cottages is a winner in the 'Travel in Monochrome' category

This striking image of an 'Iris oratoria' praying mantis 'backlit during sunrise' in Sikinos, Greece, was taken by Greek photographer Panagiotis Dalagiorgos. The photographer says: 'The sun's reflection on the Aegean Sea is visible in the background, while the mantis in the foreground gives an unusual perspective of what we're used to seeing in Greek island photos.' The image is commended in the 'Wildlife, Nature and Underwater' category

Travel Photographer of the Year winner Piper Mackay has been exploring Africa's wilds since 2004. In this enchanting image by the U.S photographer, Masai giraffes are seen crossing 'the stormy plains of the Mara' in Kenya. Mackay says: 'The streak of light seems almost divine, highlighting the creatures graceful movements and emphasising their majestic presence'

Mackay took this infrared photo of two Masai giraffes in Amboseli National Park in Kenya as a 'storm approaches'. Mackay explains: 'The air is tense, and the storms approach adds a sense of urgency to their slow, deliberate steps. Despite the ominous skies, their calm, majestic demeanour evokes a sense of resilience, a living testament to survival in the unforgiving wilderness of East Africa'
The most welcoming places on Earth for 2025 have been revealed - and its Sigiriya in Sri Lanka thats No.1 overall, with Chester topping the ranking for the UK and coming 10th globally.

The rankings have been drawn up by Booking.com, with entries identified based on the number of Traveller Review Awards each has.

Sigiriya is a 180m (590ft) high ancient rock fortress in Sri Lanka's Matale District that's surrounded by around two-dozen hotels that are on Booking.com.

Following the Unesco World Heritage Site on the worldwide list are Cazorla, Spain (second); Urubici, Brazil (third); and Taupo, New Zealand (fourth), which Booking.com says has serene landscapes and a warm and welcoming nature, with cosy cafes, and a vibrant local arts scene.

Coming fifth is St. Augustine, Florida - which is the oldest city in America, having been founded in 1565.

The most welcoming places on Earth for 2025 have been revealed - and its Sigiriya (above) in Sri Lanka thats No.1 overall. Sigiriya is a 180m- (590ft) high ancient rock fortress in Sri Lanka's Matale District that's surrounded by around two-dozen hotels that are bookable on Booking.com

Chester tops the ranking for the UK and comes 10th globally, with Booking.com describing it as 'a captivating blend of Roman, medieval, and Tudor architecture'

Newry, County Down, in Northern Ireland, has been voted the second-most welcoming place in the UK

The rest of the global list comprises Orvieto, Italy (sixth); Manizales, Colombia (seventh); Quedlinburg, Germany (eighth); and Ko Lanta in Thailand (ninth).

Speaking about northern city Chesters win, Booking.com said: The historic gem offers a captivating blend of Roman, medieval, and Tudor architecture, all nestled within well-preserved city walls.

Known for its friendly locals and vibrant community spirit, Chester exudes a warm, inviting charm that leaves visitors feeling truly at home.

Completing the rest of the eight-strong UK ranking are Newry, County Down (second); Enniskillen, County Fermanagh (third); Portstewart, County Londonderry (fourth); Woolacombe, Devon (fifth); Haworth, West Yorkshire (sixth); Newcastle, County Down (seventh); and Cheddar, Somerset (eighth).

MOST WELCOMING PLACES IN THE WORLD AND UK 2025, FROM AMERICA'S OLDEST CITY TO A HISTORIC GEM IN CHESHIRE MOST WELCOMING IN THE WORLD 1. Sigiriya, Sri Lanka 2. Cazorla, Spain 3. Urubici, Brazil 4. Taupo, New Zealand 5. St. Augustine, United States 6. Orvieto, Italy 7. Manizales, Colombia 8. Quedlinburg, Germany 9. Ko Lanta, Thailand 10. Chester, United Kingdom MOST WELCOMING IN THE UK 1. Chester, Cheshire 2. Newry, County Down 3. Enniskillen, County Fermanagh 4. Portstewart, County Londonderry 5. Woolacombe, Devon 6. Haworth, West Yorkshire 7. Newcastle, County Down 8. Cheddar, Somerset Source: Booking.com Advertisement

Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, in Northern Ireland, takes the bronze medal for the UK ranking

Cazorla, Spain, is Europe's highest entry - it's rated the second-most welcoming place in the world

Urubici, Brazil, is the third-most welcoming place in the world, according to Booking.com

Booking.com based its awards on more than 360million verified customer reviews, evaluating the hospitality, service and standards of travel accommodations, activities and transport purveyors.

Only customers that have stayed at an accommodation, rented a car or rode in a taxi can leave a review of their experience on Booking.com.

Booking.com said: This years Most Welcoming Places on Earth list highlights a diverse array of destinations from around the globe.

Whether its coffee farms and pristine beaches or medieval hideaways and jungle towns, these destinations showcase the worlds diverse charm and hospitality, inspiring unforgettable adventures in the year ahead.

Taupo, New Zealand, comes fourth overall, with Booking.com praising its serene landscapes and warm and welcoming nature'
'Uncle Si' Robertson landed in the emergency room three days after falling on his portable oxygen tank during a duck hunt in Arkansas over the weekend of January 17-19.

Duck Call Room co-host John-David Owen shared a grisly snap of the 76-year-old Duck Family Treasure star in his hospital bed during last Thursday's episode of the podcast.

Uncle Si (born Silas) was apparently 'in a big dang hurry to get out of the boat' and fell on the steep graveled bank, according to Duck Call Room co-host Justin Martin.

But Justin said Robertson 'bounced right back up' because he was 'embarrassed' and didn't want anyone to 'see that he fell' and insisted he was 'fine' despite his hunting buddies' concerns.

Duck Call Room co-host Phillip McMillan - who was not at the lakeside property - later received a call from the caretaker of the Duck Commander reedmaker's wife of 54 years, Christine, about his oxygen levels dipping.

'Uncle Si' Robertson landed in the emergency room three days after falling on his portable oxygen tank during a duck hunt in Arkansas over the weekend of January 17-19 (pictured January 2)

'My heart just dropped,' Phillip recalled of his hospital visit.

'I said, "What is going on?" And I figured [Uncle Si] would start laughing and talking. But no, he said, "Man, I'm in a lot of pain." He said, "I fell duck-hunting and I think I broke some ribs"...He said, "Phillip, I've got to make some changes."'

Doctors thoroughly X-rayed Robertson's chest considering he had previously undergone lung surgery in 2022, but 'all the tests came back good' and he only bruised his ribs.

'We're expecting a full recovery,' McMillan smiled.

'[Uncle Si] said, "I've been too much of a hurry" and he said "I need to slow down." This is the only time I've seen him self-aware in years! He actually said, "You know, I really forget how old I am."'

Audiences first got to know the Vietnam War veteran in the A&E reality show Duck Dynasty, which aired for 11 seasons spanning 2012-2017, as well as his very own spin-off Going Si-Ral (2016-2017).

Fans can expect Uncle Si to make an appearance in Willie and Korie Robertson's spin-off Duck Dynasty: The Revival, which premieres this summer on A&E.

However, the Louisiana-born grandfather-of-eight's big brother Phil Robertson has officially retired from the spotlight last month following his diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease.

Duck Call Room co-host John-David Owen shared a grisly snap of the 76-year-old Duck Family Treasure star in his hospital bed during last Thursday's episode of the podcast

Uncle Si (R, pictured November 20) was apparently 'in a big dang hurry to get out of the boat' and fell on the steep graveled bank, according to Duck Call Room co-host Justin Martin (L)

But Justin (pictured) said Robertson 'bounced right back up' because he was 'embarrassed' and didn't want anyone to 'see that he fell' and insisted he was 'fine' despite his hunting buddies' concerns

Duck Call Room co-host Phillip McMillan (pictured) - who was not at the lakeside property - later received a call from the caretaker of the Duck Commander reedmaker's wife of 54 years, Christine, about his oxygen levels dipping

Phillip recalled of his hospital visit: 'I said, "What is going on?" And I figured [Uncle Si] would start laughing and talking. But no, he said, "Man, I'm in a lot of pain"'

Doctors thoroughly X-rayed Robertson's chest considering he had previously undergone lung surgery in 2022, but 'all the tests came back good' and he only bruised his ribs (pictured January 17)

McMillan added: 'We're expecting a full recovery...[Uncle Si] said, "I've been too much of a hurry" and he said "I need to slow down." This is the only time I've seen him self-aware in years! He actually said, "You know, I really forget how old I am"' (pictured January 2)

Audiences first got to know the Vietnam War veteran in the A&E reality show Duck Dynasty, which aired for 11 seasons spanning 2012-2017, as well as his very own spin-off Going Si-Ral (2016-2017)
Netflix has been slammed for its 'dangerously misleading' new series about the 'revered' Mormon prophet Brigham Young.

The Western drama American Primeval follows a mother on the run during the horrific Utah War of 1857, along with a group of Latter-Day Saints, all trying to survive the American frontier.

The six-part series revisits the Mountain Meadows Massacre, where Latter-Day Saint militiamen and American Indian allies slaughtered around 120 emigrants.

At the time, Brigham was serving as the president of the church, but his direct involvement in the horrendous massacre remains unclear.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) issued a statement on Friday about the depiction of the historical event, and although they did not specifically mention the series, the institution said a new show 'presents a fictionalized interpretation of events in mid-19th century Utah.'

'While historical fiction can be illuminating, this drama is dangerously misleading. Brigham Young, a revered prophet and courageous pioneer, is, by any historical standard, egregiously mischaracterized as a villainous, violent fanatic,' LDS said.

'Other individuals and groups are also depicted in ways that reinforce stereotypes that are both inaccurate and harmful.'

The church also said that it has long acknowledged the tragedy of the event, but has made 'significant steps to uncover and share the full truth of what happened to promote healing.'

The new Netflix series American Primeval has been slammed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for being 'dangerously misleading', specifically with its depiction of Mormon prophet Brigham Young. (Pictured: Kim Coated as Brigham Young (L) in the show)

The Salt Lake City, Utah church (pictured) released a statement on Friday about the depiction of the historical event, and although they did not specifically mention the series, LDS said 'a recently released streaming series presents a fictionalized interpretation of event s in mid-19th century Utah'

'As to the Mountain Meadow Massacre, which the series inaccurately portrays as reflective of a whole faith group, the Church has long acknowledged and condemned this horrific tragedy. It has also taken significant steps to uncover and share the full truth of what happened and promote healing,' LDS added.

The church went on to quote President Russell M. Nelson, who said 'The Saviors message is clear: His disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspireno matter how difficult the situation. True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers.  Peacemaking is a choice.  I urge you to be a peacemaker, now and always.'

Nelson was a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for almost 34 years before becoming president.

The Salt Lake City native also served as the quorum president from 2015 to 2018.

The church also went on to acknowledge that they are aware of the 'fascination' some people in the media have with LDS, 'but regret that portrayals often rely on sensationalism and inaccuracies that do not fairly and fully reflect the lives of our Church members or the sacred beliefs that they hold dear.'

Just days before the church reacted to the new show, Berg told The Hollywood Reporter that his depiction of the Mountain Meadows Massacre is not 'literal.'

'It's not a literal depiction of the Meadows Massacre because those massacres took place over three days and ours takes place very quickly,' Berg said.

'Ive heard some of the pushback, but I havent heard anyone from the Mormon side deny that the Meadows Massacre happened and that Mormons did it.'

LDS President Russell M. Nelson (pictured) was a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for almost 34 years before taking his role

Just days before the church reacted to the new show, director Peter Berg (middle) told The Hollywood Reporter that his depiction of the Mountain Meadows Massacre is not 'literal.'

Berg went on to give an example of the dramatized parts of his new series, including the mention of some Mormon women being taken by Native Americans.

'We have a sequence where some Mormon women are abducted by Native Americans and that did not happen around the Meadows Massacre, but it did happen,' the director told the outlet.

'There are many documented accounts of Natives taking people. We never said were making a documentary and that its all based 100 percent on fact.'

Despite the backlash the show has faced, many Netflix subscribers have raved about the series.

The premise itself promised violence, with the whole drama set around a grim 10-month conflict, as the war proved inconclusive.

It starred GLOW breakout star Betty Gilpin as mother-on-the-run Sara and True Detective actor Taylor Kitsch as lone wolf Isaac.

Bad Blood actor Kim Coates plays Young in the series and previously told Netflix's Tudum that the role 'was the offer of a lifetime.'

'Id long wanted to work with Pete Berg. I knew how difficult it was going to be, inhabiting this true historical figure,' Coates said.

The six-part series revisits the Mountain Meadows Massacre, where Latter-day Saint militiamen and American Indian allies slaughtered around 120 emigrants

Despite the backlash the show has faced, many Netflix subscribers have raved about the show, full of shoot-outs, axe fights and gruesome battles around every corner

'We actors like to throw around the phrase "Ive never played someone like this before," but I genuinely have never played a character like Brigham Young before, someone who people are immediately aware of just by their name.'

There were shoot-outs, axe fights and gruesome battles around every corner and viewers have taken to social media to express their shock at the levels of violence.

One X user said: 'A raw and unflinching portrayal of the brutal realities of frontier life, American Primeval is not for the faint-hearted but delivers a compelling, if grim, narrative.'

Another added: 'AMERICAN PRIMEVAL hits Netflix today and while I thought the performances are good  Shea Whigham in particular  the mini-series feels mucky to watch due to the sheer amount of seemingly needless violence and sludge brown color it's graded with. Real mixed bag.'

A third posted: 'American Primeval is a brutal ride from start to finish.'

One viewer said: 'A visceral journey into America's brutal past, American Primeval captures the raw essence of survival and conflict with a relentless intensity.'

Another joked: 'American Primeval makes me appreciate living in the 21st century lol.'
The toxic infighting that plagued Boyzone has been revealed in a new docuseries detailing the Nineties' boyband rise and fall.

Boyzone: No Matter What features never-before-seen footage of manager Louis Walsh and members, Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and the late Stephen Gately, as well as interviews with those closest to the group.

During the Sky show, which will air on February 2, Ronan - who pursued a solo career during the band's hiatus - opened up about feuds within the band, as well as hitting out at manager Louis.

In 1999, while still a member of Boyzone, Ronan recorded a version of When You Say Nothing at All for the movie Notting Hill which peaked at number one in the UK charts and sparked his decision to pursue a solo career, meaning the band went on hiatus.

During this time, Ronan decided to keep Louis on as his manager but was left frustrated at the direction he was keeping his career on - with Ronan wanting to change the style of his music and write his own songs.

Ronan Keating lashedout at 'vicious' Louis Walsh and detailed Boyzone's 'toxic' infighting as he reflected on the band's bitter final days before splitting in Boyzone: No Matter What

Louis managed Ronan when he started a solo career but was fired. He said: 'There was a divorce, I called him talentless and things and there in the press...'

Boyzone: No Matter What charts the rise and fall of the Irish band (L-R Ronan , Mickey Graham, Stephen Gately, Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy in 1994)

Lashing out at the music mogul, Ronan said: 'He just got it wrong. He made the wrong choices. He didn't know where the f**k I was!'

Hinting that Louis was more concerned with appearing on shows such as Pop Idol and The X Factor than managing him, he continued 'Louis became a TV personality - he was given that chance because he was the manager of Boyzone.

'Things started falling into place and you realise, Louis is not a great manager. I gave him multiple opportunities to fix things.

'I have one shot at my career and he didn't give a f**k, it fell on deaf ears.'

Hitting back, Louis insisted: 'Ronan was a big middle of the road artist, he appealed to older women, that was his market, that was his line.

'He said he didn't want to be a karaoke artist and wanted to record and write his own songs and be a proper artist - that shocked me.'

Discussing the moment Ronan fired him as manager, Louis shared: 'I always told him the truth, you're a lucky f***er.

'There was a divorce, I called him talentless and things and there in the press... do I regret it? Yeah, a little bit.'

Fuming, Ronan continued: 'He knew how to hurt me, vicious, f***ing bitchy horrible things. He tried to ruin me and my career.'

Louis insisted: 'Ronan was a big middle of the road artist, he appealed to older women, that was his market, that was his line'

As well as his feud with Louis, Ronan was also in the midst of a fallout with the other Boyzone members, who wanted the group to reform, while he wanted to continue his solo career.

Tensions had already been rising between the bandmates before they went on hiatus, with the group struggling to cope with their demanding workload and also feeling resentment at Louis appearing to favour Ronan.

Louis explained: 'As it got bigger it became harder to keep them happy because they wanted more and they wanted more time off.'

Shane explained: 'At its peak was a gruelling time, there was no mercy whatsoever... we were tired, we were broken.'

Mikey added: 'We were all physically and mentally and emotionally exhausted', as Ronan revealed the group hadn't had more than three weeks off in six years.

'We had spent too much time together and with that comes relationship difficulties between us,' Ronan explained. 'Maybe that was the start of cracks.'

Offering his take on the tension, Louis said: 'They all had egos and they all wanted to be more famous than they were.

'Ronan was the one I could depend on, if I needed something done, or if there was a gig somewhere they didn't want to do, I knew he'd talk them into doing it.

'He was managing the group with me, he was making a lot of decisions, I was talking to him almost daily about everything.'

As well as his feud with Louis, Ronan was also in the midst of a fallout with the other Boyzone members, who wanted the group to reform, while he wanted to continue his solo career

At this time Louis also formed Westlife and brought Ronan in to be a joint manager of the group while Boyzone were still together.

'People were asking me to do things and some of the others weren't getting asked and it definitely fueled a bit of animosity,' Ronan explained.

After releasing When You Say Nothing at All, Ronan then told the group they should take a break, but while his solo career flourished, the other members struggled to make their mark on the charts.

'It was a case of once the band was over, so were you,' Mikey explained. 'I stopped socialising, hid myself away.'

Shane added: 'We went from going to three countries in one day to going nowhere. I was a free man but felt more jailed than ever', while Keith confessed: 'I felt like I was left in the desert to die of thirst.'

For Stephen, the lack of direction impacted his personal life, with his ex Eloy de Jong appearing on the docuseries to discuss their relationship.

'He thought his childhood dream was over,' Eloy mused. 'It was difficult for Stephen and you saw his mood change.

'The angel wasn't happy anymore and it was just too difficult to be together. I was heartbroken, he was heartbroken as well.

'It wasn't that there was no love anymore, I still love him now, but sometimes it's just not possible to be together anymore.'

While Ronan had a successful solo career the other members struggled. 'It was a case of once the band was over, so were you,' Mikey explained. 'I stopped socialising, hid myself away'

Shane added: 'We went from going to three countries in one day to going nowhere. I was a free man but felt more jailed than ever'

Keith confessed 'I felt like I was left in the desert to die of thirst' when the group went on hiatus

Yet despite the pleas of his bandmates, Ronan kept going with his solo career.

'I had more coming through Louis, the band want to come back together and me being sheepish and childish about it and scared, I just back away,' Ronan confessed.

'Back away from the lads and the commitment in the band and I'm chicken s**t, I ignore the guys.'

Yet despite initially finding success as a solo artist, work started to dry up and after a public smear campaign from both Louis and the remaining Boyzone members he decided to come back to the group.

They tentatively agreed to meet to discuss a reunion, yet no one was sure if the group would be able to cooperate.

Ronan recalled: 'I was worried about the boys' reaction, I hadn't seen them for years. There was resentment, bitterness, I was s****ing myself.'

Shane confessed: 'I was angry at Ro[nan] for years and I found myself in this dark world, it didn't take a lot to upset me and it would come out.

'The rage I had for Ronan, in my mind I was going to destroy him. I was fuming but when I saw his face I could do nothing but hug the fella!'

While the group were able to reunite amicably and went on to tour, tragedy came the following year with the heartbreaking death of Stephen.

Yet while the group were able to reunite amicably and went on to tour, tragedy came the following year with the heartbreaking death of Stephen.

In October 2009, Stephen died suddenly at his home in Port d'Andratx, Mallorca.

His death was later determined to have been caused by a pulmonary oedema resulting from an undiagnosed heart condition.

In one heartbreaking scene, the group recalled sleeping next to Stephen's coffin in church the night before his funeral.

Mikey explained: 'We didn't like the idea of him being alone in the church overnight', with Ronan adding: 'He didn't like the cold'.

Discussing the evening, Mikey shared: 'When everybody else left and it was just the five of us there was a great sense of peace, of unity.

'I don't want to say sadness because believe it or not we actually had quite a comedic night. The usual joking that used to go on in the early days when everything was naive and innocent... but the morning came around real fast.'

Ronan was the first to learn of Stephen's death, being told by the band's solicitor and rang the other members and Louis to notify them.

'It just wouldn't go in,' Keith said. 'Not our Stephen.'

Mikey added: 'My world just fell apart.'

Boyzone continued to tour as a four-piece until things came to a head on their final tour in 2019 and tensions again began to flare up within the group

The following year the group headed out on the Brother tour in honour of Stephen, with Mikey explaining: 'it felt good to be in each other's company.'

Boyzone continued to tour as a four-piece until things came to a head on their final tour in 2019.

Tensions again began to flare up within the group, with Ronan and Mikey irritated by the party lifestyle of Shane and Keith, who they didn't believe were taking the shows seriously.

Ronan revealed: 'They had been out all day, drinking all day and it was messy', as Keith confessed: 'We'd certainly partied a little harder than we usually did - it was the end of the road.'

The group found themselves embroiled in several arguments, the worst of which took place between Keith and Mikey in their dressing room.

Keith refused to touch on the details, simply saying: 'There were things that had happened that were cruel and I'm not going to express any more than that.'

Mikey added: 'I just wanted to get out and get away from that toxic environment'.

While the group finished the tour - for the first time in separate dressing rooms, things haven't been the same since.

'I haven't seen anybody since that night [last show]', Mikey revealed. 'I wish them all the best, no grudges, no animosity, nothing, however I don't want to go back to how I felt for many years.

'To see them, if it were for too long, would remind me of that and my future is far too important for me to waste it looking back at my past.'

Boyzone: No Matter What airs Sunday 2 February on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW.
Ronan Keating broke down in tears as he discussed the death of his beloved bandmate Stephen Gately in a Sky docuseries.

Boyzone: No Matter What features never-before-seen footage of the group's manager Louis Walsh and members, Ronan, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and the late Stephen, as well as interviews with those closest to the group.

In one heartbreaking scene, the group recalled sleeping next to Stephen's coffin in church the night before his funeral.

Stephen died suddenly in October 2009 at his home in Port d'Andratx, Mallorca. His death was later determined to have been caused by a pulmonary oedema resulting from an undiagnosed heart condition.

Mikey explained: 'We didn't like the idea of him being alone in the church overnight', with Ronan adding: 'He didn't like the cold.'

Ronan Keating broke down in tears as he discussed the death of his beloved bandmate Stephen Gately (right) in a new Sky docuseries Boyzone: No Matter What

In one heartbreaking scene, the group recalled sleeping next to Stephen's coffin in church the night before his funeral (pictured during the funeral)

Discussing the evening, Mikey shared: 'When everybody else left and it was just the five of us there was a great sense of peace, of unity.

'I don't want to say sadness because believe it or not we actually had quite a comedic night. The usual joking that used to go on in the early days when everything was naive and innocent... but the morning came around real fast.'

Ronan was the first to learn of Stephen's death, being told by the band's solicitor and rang the other members and Louis to notify them.

'It just wouldn't go in,' Keith said. 'Not our Stephen.'

Mikey added: 'My world just fell apart.'

The following year the group headed out on the Brother tour in honour of Stephen, with Mikey explaining: 'It felt good to be in each other's company.'

Elsewhere in the docuseries, talk turned to the toxic infighting that plagued Boyzone.

In 1999, while still a member of the band, Ronan recorded a version of When You Say Nothing at All for the movie Notting Hill which peaked at number one in the UK charts and sparked his decision to pursue a solo career, meaning the band went on hiatus.

During this time, Ronan decided to keep Louis on as his manager but was left frustrated at the direction he was keeping his career on - with Ronan wanting to change the style of his music and write his own songs.

Boyzone: No Matter What charts the rise and fall of the Irish band (L-R Ronan, Mickey Graham, Stephen, Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy in 1994)

Elsewhere in the series, Ronan lashed out at 'vicious' Louis Walsh and detailed Boyzone's 'toxic' infighting as he reflected on the band's bitter final days before splitting

Louis managed Ronan when he started a solo career but was fired. He said: 'There was a divorce, I called him talentless and things and there in the press...'

Lashing out at the music mogul, Ronan said: 'He just got it wrong. He made the wrong choices. He didn't know where the f**k I was!'

Hinting that Louis was more concerned with appearing on shows such as Pop Idol and The X Factor than managing him, he continued 'Louis became a TV personality - he was given that chance because he was the manager of Boyzone.

'Things started falling into place and you realise, Louis is not a great manager. I gave him multiple opportunities to fix things.

'I have one shot at my career and he didn't give a f**k, it fell on deaf ears.'

Hitting back, Louis insisted: 'Ronan was a big middle of the road artist, he appealed to older women, that was his market, that was his line.

'He said he didn't want to be a karaoke artist and wanted to record and write his own songs and be a proper artist - that shocked me.'

Discussing the moment Ronan fired him as manager, Louis shared: 'I always told him the truth, you're a lucky f***er.

'There was a divorce, I called him talentless and things and there in the press... do I regret it? Yeah, a little bit.'

Fuming, Ronan continued: 'He knew how to hurt me, vicious, f***ing bitchy horrible things. He tried to ruin me and my career.'

Louis insisted: 'Ronan was a big middle of the road artist, he appealed to older women, that was his market, that was his line'

As well as his feud with Louis, Ronan was also in the midst of a fallout with the other Boyzone members, who wanted the group to reform, while he wanted to continue his solo career.

Tensions had already been rising between the bandmates before they went on hiatus, with the group struggling to cope with their demanding workload and also feeling resentment at Louis appearing to favour Ronan.

Louis explained: 'As it got bigger it became harder to keep them happy because they wanted more and they wanted more time off.'

Shane explained: 'At its peak was a gruelling time, there was no mercy whatsoever... we were tired, we were broken.'

Mikey added: 'We were all physically and mentally and emotionally exhausted', as Ronan revealed the group hadn't had more than three weeks off in six years.

'We had spent too much time together and with that comes relationship difficulties between us,' Ronan explained. 'Maybe that was the start of cracks.'

Offering his take on the tension, Louis said: 'They all had egos and they all wanted to be more famous than they were.

'Ronan was the one I could depend on, if I needed something done, or if there was a gig somewhere they didn't want to do, I knew he'd talk them into doing it.

'He was managing the group with me, he was making a lot of decisions, I was talking to him almost daily about everything.'

As well as his feud with Louis, Ronan was also in the midst of a fallout with the other Boyzone members, who wanted the group to reform, while he wanted to continue his solo career

At this time Louis also formed Westlife and brought Ronan in to be a joint manager of the group while Boyzone were still together.

'People were asking me to do things and some of the others weren't getting asked and it definitely fueled a bit of animosity,' Ronan explained.

After releasing When You Say Nothing at All, Ronan then told the group they should take a break, but while his solo career flourished, the other members struggled to make their mark on the charts.

'It was a case of once the band was over, so were you,' Mikey explained. 'I stopped socialising, hid myself away.'

Shane added: 'We went from going to three countries in one day to going nowhere. I was a free man but felt more jailed than ever', while Keith confessed: 'I felt like I was left in the desert to die of thirst.'

For Stephen, the lack of direction impacted his personal life, with his ex Eloy de Jong appearing on the docuseries to discuss their relationship.

'He thought his childhood dream was over,' Eloy mused. 'It was difficult for Stephen and you saw his mood change.

'The angel wasn't happy anymore and it was just too difficult to be together. I was heartbroken, he was heartbroken as well.

'It wasn't that there was no love anymore, I still love him now, but sometimes it's just not possible to be together anymore.'

While Ronan had a successful solo career the other members struggled. 'It was a case of once the band was over, so were you,' Mikey explained. 'I stopped socialising, hid myself away'

Shane added: 'We went from going to three countries in one day to going nowhere. I was a free man but felt more jailed than ever'

Keith confessed 'I felt like I was left in the desert to die of thirst' when the group went on hiatus

Yet despite the pleas of his bandmates, Ronan kept going with his solo career.

'I had more coming through Louis, the band want to come back together and me being sheepish and childish about it and scared, I just back away,' Ronan confessed.

'Back away from the lads and the commitment in the band and I'm chicken s**t, I ignore the guys.'

Yet despite initially finding success as a solo artist, work started to dry up and after a public smear campaign from both Louis and the remaining Boyzone members he decided to come back to the group.

They tentatively agreed to meet to discuss a reunion, yet no one was sure if the group would be able to cooperate.

Ronan recalled: 'I was worried about the boys' reaction, I hadn't seen them for years. There was resentment, bitterness, I was s****ing myself.'

Shane confessed: 'I was angry at Ro[nan] for years and I found myself in this dark world, it didn't take a lot to upset me and it would come out.

'The rage I had for Ronan, in my mind I was going to destroy him. I was fuming but when I saw his face I could do nothing but hug the fella!'

Yet while the group were able to reunite amicably and went on to tour, tragedy came the following year with the heartbreaking death of Stephen.

Boyzone continued to tour as a four-piece until things came to a head on their final tour in 2019 and tensions again began to flare up within the group

Boyzone continued to tour as a four-piece until things came to a head on their final tour in 2019.

Tensions again began to flare up within the group, with Ronan and Mikey irritated by the party lifestyle of Shane and Keith, who they didn't believe were taking the shows seriously.

Ronan revealed: 'They had been out all day, drinking all day and it was messy', as Keith confessed: 'We'd certainly partied a little harder than we usually did - it was the end of the road.'

The group found themselves embroiled in several arguments, the worst of which took place between Keith and Mikey in their dressing room.

Keith refused to touch on the details, simply saying: 'There were things that had happened that were cruel and I'm not going to express any more than that.'

Mikey added: 'I just wanted to get out and get away from that toxic environment'.

While the group finished the tour - for the first time in separate dressing rooms, things haven't been the same since.

'I haven't seen anybody since that night [last show]', Mikey revealed. 'I wish them all the best, no grudges, no animosity, nothing, however I don't want to go back to how I felt for many years.

'To see them, if it were for too long, would remind me of that and my future is far too important for me to waste it looking back at my past.'

Boyzone: No Matter What airs Sunday 2 February on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW.
Married At First Sight's relationship expert Mel Schilling has captivated audiences worldwide with her wisdom, empathy, and sharp insights.

But behind the cameras, the beloved expert, 53, has faced her own personal battles, including a life-changing cancer diagnosis that gave her a whole new outlook on life.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Australia, Mel has opened up about her health journey and shared how she's thriving in her new home, and teases what's to come in the highly anticipated season of the Channel Nine dating show.

Mel, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2023 during a busy period of travel between London and Sydney, described how the diagnosis completely shifted her perspective on life.

'I wasn't listening to my body,' she admitted. 'I thought the symptomsfeeling bloated, not sleeping well, and having no appetitewere just jet lag. To find out it was a tumour was such a surprise.'

Married At First Sight's relationship expert Mel Schilling (pictured) has captivated audiences worldwide with her wisdom, empathy, and sharp insights

But behind the cameras, the beloved expert, 53, has faced her own personal battles, including a life-changing cancer diagnosis that gave her a whole new outlook on life. Pictured in December 2023

Fortunately, Mel's health has stabilised, and she shared the good news that she's feeling better than ever and in remission.

'I feel really strong. I've got my energy back, my spunk backthe spring in my step. There's no stopping me now!'

Mel also revealed the pivotal role her daughter Maddie, 10, played in her recovery.

'She became my little cheerleader. When I couldn't get out of bed, she'd put on shows for me, singing and dancing. That was her way of coping, and it lifted me up so much.'

Since going public with her diagnosis, Mel has made it her mission to raise awareness about bowel cancer, particularly for younger people.

'Bowel cancer was always considered an old person's disease, but it's really not anymore. I want people to pay attention to their bodies and ask for a poo test,' she urged.

Having relocated to the UK, Mel confirmed she now calls London home, with her husband Gareth Brisbane, and daughter Maddie settling into school and thriving.

'This is very much home now,' she said. 'Maddie's going into her final year of primary school, and I've got so many exciting projects lined up here.'

In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Australia, Mel has opened up about her health journey and shared how she's thriving in her new home, and teases what's to come in the highly anticipated season of the Channel Nine dating show

Fortunately, Mel's health has stabilised, and she shared the good news that she's feeling better than ever and in remission. 'I feel really strong. I've got my energy back, my spunk backthe spring in my step. There's no stopping me now!'

Mel also revealed the pivotal role her daughter Maddie, 10, played in her recovery. 'She became my little cheerleader. When I couldn't get out of bed, she'd put on shows for me, singing and dancing. That was her way of coping, and it lifted me up so much.' Pictured with husband Gareth Brisbane and daughter Maddie

From developing her own TV format to teasing a future appearance on Strictly Come Dancing, Mel is embracing every opportunity that comes her way.

'There's an incredible amount of opportunity here, and I'm just going for it. I absolutely love Strictly Come Dancing, and I will do it at some point in my life. You watch!'

Despite being busy with the UK version of MAFS, Mel remains deeply connected to the Australian series.

'It's like birthing a babyall that hard work is finally about to go out into the world,' she said of the upcoming Aussie season.

Balancing the two shows has become second nature for Mel, who has filmed 15 seasons across both countries.

'It's a job, and I've learned how to switch off when I'm not working. Family and health are my top priorities now.'

As MAFS fans gear up for the latest season, Mel promised a bold and unfiltered approach from the experts.

'You're going to see us a lot firmer this year,' she revealed. 'I'm always very tuned in to misogyny and disrespectful behaviour, whether it's from men or women. This year, I'll be calling it out whenever I see it.'

Mel also touched on the evolution of the participants, saying they're savvier than ever before.

'Our audience has been watching the show for over a decade, and the participants have become very wise to it' she said.

'They know what dinner parties are about, and they come in ready to open up and dive into their relationships.'

A new element of the showdubbed the 'grass is greener' experimentwill test couples in ways never seen before.

'We wanted to emulate real-life temptation. It's been fascinating to watchsome couples stay loyal, while others fall apart. It's really about testing how strong their relationships are.'

Married At First Sight continues Tuesday 7.30pm on Channel Nine
This year's Married At First Sight promises to be its sexiest season yet.

And new brides - Jamie Marinos, Awhina Rutene, Rhi Disljenkovic and Lauren Hall - will certainly live up to season 12's raunchy tagline.

Meanwhile, grooms Dave Thomas, Billy Belcher, Paul Antoine and Ryan Donnelly certainly have no problem showing off their chiselled abs on socials.

From beachside glamour to gym selfies, these brides and grooms aren't shy about flaunting their lives  and their physiques  on social media.

Here's a closer look at the standout stars of the 2025 season.

This year's Married At First Sight promises to be its sexiest season yet. And new brides will certainly live up to season 12's raunchy tagline. Pictured: Jamie Marinos

Jamie Marinos

A self-described 'confident and loyal pocket rocket,' Jamie, 28, is no stranger to getting glam.

Her Instagram is full of glitzy moments, but one New Year's Eve post captioned '2024 bby' caught everyone's attention  including her sister, who gushed, 'Best you've ever looked!'

Family is everything to Jamie, who admits her Greek father has been praying for her to settle down with a 'good Greek boy.'

But Jamie has her own vision: she's on the hunt for someone bold, tattooed, and kind, with a calming presence to match her fiery personality.

At just 157 cm, Jamie proves that big personalities come in small packages.

Fans will love her unfiltered honesty  though her strong opinions might stir the pot in the experiment.

Jamie Marinos: A self-described 'confident and loyal pocket rocket,' Jamie, 28, is no stranger to getting glam

Rhi Disljenkovic

Fitness blogger and IT account manager Rhi, 34, knows how to balance her career and her thriving online presence.

From gym selfies captioned 'Forever striving for balance, not perfection,' to serene beach snaps, she's all about embracing the journey.

Single after a seven-year relationship, Rhi admits she's never truly been in love.

As a 'routine person' who thrives on early mornings, meal prep, and consistency, she's looking for someone warm, kind, and driven to share her life with.

Rhi Disljenkovic: Fitness blogger and IT account manager Rhi, 34, knows how to balance her career and her thriving online presence

Jeff Gobbels

At 39, Jeff is a caring and down-to-earth tradie with a big heart.

Raised by a hard-working single mum he calls his hero, Jeff is ready to start a family of his own.

His Instagram highlights two loves: ' [beer emoji]+ [horses],' but Jeff hopes to add a wife to that list after the experiment.

A self-proclaimed 'softie,' he's putting his trust in the experts to help him find a partner who shares his values and warmth.

Jeff Gobbels: At 39, Jeff is a caring and down-to-earth tradie with a big heart

Paul Antoine

Originally from Nice on the French Riviera, suave and charming Paul, 30, is bringing European flair to the experiment.

Now based in Perth, Paul's Instagram is full of poolside selfies and mysterious captions like 'Whatever,' exuding a Riviera vibe that's hard to ignore.

A hopeless romantic, Paul dreams of a love like his parents' 40-year marriage.

After exhausting Perth's small dating scene, he's ready to find someone who matches his passion, humour, and sparkle.

Paul Antoine: Originally from Nice on the French Riviera, suave and charming Paul, 30, is bringing European flair to the experiment

Carina Mirabile

From the golden sands of Dubai's desert to the turquoise waters of Rottnest Island, Carina, 31, knows how to strike a pose.

Her chic swimwear snaps, like one in @skims, have fans flooding her comments with fire emojis.

Carina is unapologetically confident, and she's ready to find someone who complements her bold personality.

Carina Mirabile: From the golden sands of Dubai's desert to the turquoise waters of Rottnest Island, Carina, 31, knows how to strike a pose

Dave Thomas

Towering at 6'7', Dave is the definition of a gentle giant with a rugged, tattooed look that screams masculinity.

His Instagram showcases his goofy side, often featuring his adorable puppy, but his gym-honed abs are hard to miss.

Recovering from a broken engagement, Dave has worked on himself and is ready to find lasting love through the experiment.

Dave Thomas: Towering at 6'7', Dave is the definition of a gentle giant with a rugged, tattooed look that screams masculinity

His Instagram showcases his goofy side, often featuring his adorable puppy, but his gym-honed abs are hard to miss

Awhina Rutene

At 30, Awhina is the life of the party with a love for bright colours and bold statements  her orange dress poolside is a testament to that.

But behind the glamour is a dedicated mum to her six-year-old son and a proud twin with close family ties.

Awhina is searching for someone who understands her 'package deal' and values her outspoken nature and New Zealand heritage.

Awhina Rutene: At 30, Awhina is the life of the party with a love for bright colours and bold statements  her orange dress poolside is a testament to that

Morena Farina

At 57, Morena is the oldest bride this season, proving age is just a number.

A DJ who started her career at 53, Morena embraces life with infectious energy, dazzling crowds weekly with her music and glamour.

Grateful for her two children, Morena is looking for a partner who values her zest for life and shares her adventurous spirit.

Morena Farina: At 57, Morena is the oldest bride this season, proving age is just a number

Adrian Araouzou

A confident and driven leisurewear designer and dessert influencer, Adrian, 36, radiates charisma.

Whether lounging in the Mykonos sun or posing with his adorable puppy Casper, Adrian's Instagram is the epitome of Greek elegance.

Adrian's complex past and fiery personality are sure to make him one to watch this season.

Adrian Araouzou' A confident and driven leisurewear designer and dessert influencer, Adrian, 36, radiates charisma

Billy Belcher

Billy, 31, is a loud, confident Englishman who wears his heart  and his tattoos  on his sleeve.

His Bali snaps have earned him the nickname 'Bali Belcher,' and he's always ready for a laugh.

A hopeless romantic, Billy loves spoiling his partner and hopes the experiment leads him to the love he's been searching for.

Billy Belcher: Billy, 31, is a loud, confident Englishman who wears his heart  and his tattoos  on his sleeve

Jacqueline Burfoot

Kiwi-born Jacqui, 29, has worn many hats  lawyer, model, yoga teacher, and even poet.

Now based in Sydney's Northern Beaches, she brings a mix of elegance and introspection to the experiment.

Her Instagram features stunning photos paired with her poetic musings, revealing a thoughtful and creative soul ready for love.

Jacqueline Burfoot: Kiwi-born Jacqui, 29, has worn many hats  lawyer, model, yoga teacher, and even poet

Her Instagram features stunning photos paired with her poetic musings, revealing a thoughtful and creative soul ready for love

Lauren Hall

Lauren is a stunning 37-year-old corporate gifting business owner.

With a flair for fashion and a passion for creating memorable moments, Lauren's Instagram is a mix of glamorous poolside snaps, chic outfits, and glimpses of her professional success.

From celebrating life's milestones to showcasing her travels and social gatherings, Lauren radiates confidence, elegance, and a zest for life.

She's the ultimate blend of beauty, brains, and ambition, making her one to watch this season.

Lauren Hall: Lauren is a stunning 37-year-old corporate gifting business owner

Eliot Donovan

Eliot, 35, is a well-travelled entrepreneur dividing his time between businesses in Australia and Sri Lanka.

Confident and blunt, Eliot keeps a low profile on social media but admits he has very high standards, with authenticity as his top priority.

Will the experiment match him with someone who meets his expectations?

Eliot Donovan: Eliot, 35, is a well-travelled entrepreneur dividing his time between businesses in Australia and Sri Lanka

Ryan Donnelly

Sydney-based Ryan is a self-proclaimed warrior who thrives on adventure, and his Instagram is filled with photos showing off his impressive physique.

From shirtless beach shots to action-packed gym workouts, Ryans dedication to fitness is as clear as his love for living life to the fullest.

Confident and protective, Ryan is searching for a partner who matches his drive, intelligence, and passion for life.
Lottie Moss has admitted the real challenge on Celebrity Bear Hunt was her mental health.

The model, 27, has joined a star-studded lineup including Boris Becker, Shirley Ballas and Una Healy on the new Netflix series, which sees stars dropped into the jungle in Costa Rica as prey for one of the world's most fearsome predators  Bear Grylls.

As part of the show, stars learn crucial survival skills while camping in the Costa Rican jungle, desperate to avoid being caught by Bear.

And Lottie has said she found tackling her mental health the most challenging part and hopes the series with 'boost her self-esteem'.

Speaking ahead of the first episode, which hits screens on February 5, Lottie admitted: 'Ive struggled a lot mentally so thats probably the biggest challenge of my life really.

'I think this is more physical though and its quite exciting. I really want to challenge myself actually.

Lottie Moss, 27, has admitted the real challenge on Celebrity Bear Hunt was her mental health

Lottie said she found tackling her mental health the most challenging part and hopes the series with 'boost her self-esteem'

'Ive been through a lot in the past few years and I just want to do something that I can be proud of and maybe think to myself wow, you took this on and you actually did it.

'Im very self-critical and doubtful but if I can prove to myself I can do these sorts of things it will boost my self-esteem.'

The show is a significant step in her evolving career, especially as she takes a hiatus from OnlyFans.

It follows a period of personal challenges, including addressing mental health issues, signalling a new chapter in her journey of personal and professional growth.

She previously broke down in tears as she candidly spoke to her fans about her anxiety struggles in a TikTok video.

Lottie, who started modelling at age 16 for Teen Vogue, discussed how being a model in her teens made her succumb to drugs and alcohol because of the industry she worked in.

Lottie admitted that the reason she got a face tattoo and started an OnlyFans page was to 'rebel so hard away from an industry that made her sad all the time'.

But now she shared she is facing increasing anxiety trying to figure out 'who she really is'.

The model has joined a star-studded lineup including Boris Becker, Shirley Ballas and Una Healy on the new Netflix series, which sees stars dropped into the jungle in Costa Rica as prey for one of the world's most fearsome predators  Bear Grylls

As part of the show, stars learn crucial survival skills while camping in the Costa Rican jungle, desperate to avoid being caught by Bear

The show is a significant step in her evolving career, especially as she takes a hiatus from OnlyFans

It follows a period of personal challenges, including addressing mental health issues, signalling a new chapter in her journey of personal and professional growth

She previously broke down in tears as she candidly spoke to her fans about her anxiety struggles in a TikTok video

She said: 'Oh, I don't even know where to start. I think it's just really important to talk about things and like I'm not very active on social media, because I've been so bad in the past about it and I get some horrible comments about things.

'But I really want to be more open and talk about things on TikTok because I think it's important to show people that life isn't as shiny and bright as it is on social media.

'I have struggled so much since I was young with depression , anxiety and problems with addiction and becoming a model and being in that industry made it very difficult for me not to feel that way and just succumb to drugs and alcohol whenever I felt sad.

'I've been in a habit of doing that for the rest of my life up until now. And I've just got to a point where now I don't even know who I am and it's just like navigating your 20s f****** suck.'

She added: 'I think sometimes you become this person who you don't like, know or even recognise. I think I've gone to that place today where I just don't know who I am. Since I got my face tattoo and started OnlyFans, I was like, "Is this even what I want to be doing?"

'I think I rebelled so hard away from an industry that made me sad at the time and I just rebelled so hard away from being that person because I was so miserable being that person. But then I don't even like me now, so I'm like "Who the f*** am I?"'

She added: 'I just need to know that other people are feeling this way and that I'm not going crazy. I feel like I isolated myself from so many people that do and did care and now I feel so alone.

'I feel like I should be grateful as I have so many good things in my life but I just don't feel happy in myself.'

Celebrity Bear Hunt will be released on Netflix on Wednesday, February 5.
Alison Brie and husband Dave Franco snuggled up in snowy Park City, Utah on Sunday ahead of the debut of their new project.

Brie, 42 and Franco, 39, whose resemblance to accused gunman Luigi Mangione, 26, has been noted in the Hollywood casting community, are working together again in Together.

The fright flick about a couple dealing with the after-effects of supernatural incident at their new home in the country was scheduled to debut Sunday evening.

On their visit to the IMDB Portrait Studio at the Acura House of Energy, the couple cuddled up together ahead of their big night.

Brie looked gorgeous in a black and white pinstripe mini dress with a matching jacket and a black turtleneck.

She showcased her toned legs with sheer black stockings and knee high black boots.

Alison Brie, 42 and Dave Franco, 39, cuddled up as they promoted their new fright flick at Sundance in Park City, UT on Sunday

Her long chestnut locks were styled long with a half-ponytail and bangs.

The GLOW star's makeup looked natural with a neutral red lip.

Franco looked warm in a burgundy sweater with a floral print and faded gray jeans with black high top sneakers.

His dark curly hair was cut short and he sported the beginnings of a scruffy beard.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about their latest fright flick, Brie explained, 'Both of us have done intimate scenes with other actors, of course, but without giving too much away, a lot of this film requires close proximity from its two leads to a greater extent than anything Ive done before,' she said.

'I think we pretty much finished every day of shooting and said to one another, "I dont know how you could make this movie without a real-life couple because of some of the situations we found ourselves in."'

'The movie explores codependency and its something that we dont necessarily think is a good or bad thing; there are levels to it,' Franco explained.

The couple were introduced by mutual friends at Mardi Gras in 2011 and they married in 2017.

Brie looked gorgeous in a black and white pinstripe mini dress with a matching jacket and a black turtleneck. She showcased her toned legs with sheer black stockings and knee high black boots

Franco, looked warm in a burgundy sweater with a floral print and faded gray jeans

The pair star in a fright flick about a couple dealing with the after-effects of supernatural incident at their new home in the country. The film was scheduled to debut Sunday evening

The couple, who met in 2011 and married in 2017

Many have remarked on what they see as Franco's striking similarity to accused gunman Luigi Mangione, 26. Franco told THR, 'I have never received more texts in my life about anything. Anyone who has my phone number has reached out about it'

'Because we are married, and we work together constantly, I think we definitely could be defined as codependent. But we try to maintain a healthy relationship.'

'Also, because of the fact that certain jobs take us away from each other for long periods of time, we are forced to also be more independent.'

Regarding his similar appearance of the man accused of gunning down the CEO of United Healthcare in December 2024, Franco revealed, 'I have never received more texts in my life about anything.'

'Anyone who has my phone number has reached out about it,' the Emmy nominee explained.
She's been in the industry for more than three decades  but swimsuit-clad Helena Christensen proved shes still making waves as she took to Instagram on Saturday.

The 56-year-old showed off her age-defying figure in a strapless pink bikini as she posed on a sunny beach.

It was a far cry from the Danish models dip into a frozen pond, which she shared with her Instagram followers last month.

During her jaunt to the beach she cemented her supermodel status by making a makeshift seaweed hat, that she playfully teamed with her swimwear, to look fashionable.

The former Victorias Secret Angel, who did not disclose which exotic location she was at, shared a string of snaps of herself, including one in which shes seen smiling with her hands on her waist looking into the camera with the seaweed crown.

She captured it in images: Seaweed I did there?

She's been in the industry for more than three decades  but swimsuit-clad Helena Christensen proved shes still making waves as she took to Instagram on Saturday

It was a far cry from the Danish models dip into a frozen pond, which she shared with her Instagram followers last month

Fans complimented the beautiful and forever young models snaps along with her famous pals, including actress Kate Bosworth, 42, who wrote in the comment section: Magical girl in the most magical place. Christensen replied: Our secret spot.

Helena was accompanied by son Mingus Lucien, 25, her only child with actor Norman Reedus - as they unwound close to the shoreline.

The Danish star welcomed Mingus, who works in the music industry, during a five year relationship with The Walking Dead star Reedus in 1999.

The model and mother of one routinely shares images of her bikini body on her Instagram page to the delight of her followers.

She recently shared her beauty secrets and said: Whether I have five minutes or an hour, Ill devote time to a mini - or less mini - ritual, where I put oils on my body and massage them in, almost turning it into a little exercise moment where I stretch at the same time.

'I like to slap my arms and legs and the sides of my calves for circulation.

Helena's latest holiday follows a tribute she posted to her 'beautiful friend' Lisbeth McCoy earlier this year after she sadly passed away.

The supermodel took to Instagram to share a poignant tribute to her decades-long friendship with the sculpture artist.

Helena was accompanied by son Mingus, her only child, during her latest overseas trip

The 56-year-old showed off her age-defying figure in a strapless pink bikini as she posed on a sunny beach

Helena and Mingus - her son with actor Norman Reedus - unwound close to the shoreline

New York based Lisbeth passed away after a battle with skin cancer. She is survived by her husband Jason and son Charlie.

Helena shared a carousel of their friendship over the years, including one black and white photo from when she was at the beginning of her modelling career.

The model wrote: 'Lisbeth, my beautiful friend. You have flown to heaven way too soon and you are now in the arms of your sweet parents, but you will be in my heart and thoughts every day for the rest of my life.'

'There was no one like you, you were an illuminated unicorn here on earth, the sweetest, most loving mother to your beautiful son Charlie, the kindest, most thoughtful and loyal friend to me, always checking in, always thinking of everyone around you.'

Helena's latest holiday follows a tribute she posted to her 'beautiful friend' Lisbeth McCoy earlier this year after she sadly passed away
Alan Carr has opened up about a frightening health ordeal that has left him fearing for his sight, revealing that his eyeballs needed draining due to excessive pressure.

The much-loved comedian, 48, shared details of the scare on his Life's A Beach podcast, including a surreal hospital procedure involving a spike being inserted into his anesthetised eye.

Speaking to Grace Campbell, on an episode of his Life's A Beach podcast, Alan explained: 'I've got astigmatism - I kept telling people I had stigmata, like the wounds of Christ. Get over yourself, Alan.

'I had a bit of a health scare. I went to Moorfields [eye hospital]. I've got something wrong with my eyes - quite a bit of pressure.

The Chatty Man host described his shock when doctors told him to relax while a spike was brought closer to his cornea.

'They said, 'Just relax, Alan, concentrate on the spike going into your eye.' I thought, 'Excuse me? What?!' It was surreal.'

Alan Carr has opened up about a frightening health ordeal that has left him fearing for his sight, revealing that his eyeballs needed draining due to excessive pressure

The Chatty Man host described his shock when doctors told him to relax while a spike was brought closer to his cornea and admitted losing his sight is his worse fear

'I hate the glaucoma thing, when they squirt the air in your eyes.

'I had something wrong with my eyes in the cornea. I was so worried.'

Alan added: 'He had to basically choke me because this air going into my eye was too much.

'At Moorfields they anaesthetised my eyeball, and then the spike came in on to the lens to see if it worked.

Alan admitted the experience left him shaken, as losing his sight is his worst fear.

'They said: 'Just relax Alan, and just concentrate on the spike going into your eye.' I'm like excuse me? What? Oh good, the spike is coming closer. Relax!

'It was so surreal. Losing my sight is my worst thing, and I can feel it getting worse.

'My eyeballs need draining - they've got too much pressure.'

Meanwhile, fans of Carr's sitcom Changing Ends have reason to celebrate, as ITV has commissioned not one but two additional series of the show based on his life growing up in 1980s Northampton

It's not the only thing fans are rejoicing about, as he and Amanda Holden are back with their new renovation series, Amanda and Alan's Spanish Job

In the first look Alan left Amanda wheezing with a VERY rude joke about her bedroom antics which left the pair in fits of laughter

Meanwhile, fans of Carr's sitcom Changing Ends have reason to celebrate, as ITV has commissioned not one but two additional series of the show based on his life growing up in 1980s Northampton.

It's not the only thing fans are rejoicing about, as he and Amanda Holden are back with their new renovation series, Amanda and Alan's Spanish Job.

The celebrity pair have been busy filming the second season of their BBC renovations show over the last couple of months.

After a successful Italian series, the best friends have reunited this time in the sun-kissed hills of Andalusia and embark on their first ever Spanish renovation job.

In the teaser trailer, Amanda and Alan are stood enjoying a drink on a castle as they overlook a stunning landscape during sunset.

Reflecting on their time together, Alan explained that when his dad 'made a bit of money' they came to Spain to places like Alicante and Benidorm, but this was the first time he had been inland.

Amanda then asked Alan if he had ever gone camping, before joking about one of her favourite moments from her childhood holidays.

She explained: 'We had a tent and we had to wait for my mum and dad to pitch.

'My favourite noise in the world is hearing a zip go up.'

'I bet it is,' Alan quipped before they both ended up in fits of laughter.

'I thought it be going down knowing you,' he swiped, taking the joke in a more X-rated direction.

After a successful Italian series, the best friends have reunited this time in the sun-kissed hills of Andalusia and embark on their first ever Spanish renovation job

In the new series, viewers will watch Amanda as she takes a gamble on a run-down three-storey townhouse and convinces Alan to join her in a lifelong dream of transforming it into a boutique B&B.

But with over 2,000 square feet to deal with, a roof that needs some repair, and a crumbling outbuilding on its last legs, it soon dawns on them that the task may be too big to handle.

Away from the DIY, Amanda and Alan will of course throw themselves into the Spanish traditions.

Theyll travel the breadth of Andalusia to discover the rich, varied landscape of the Sierra Nevada mountains, whitewashed coastal villages and historic Moorish towns.

Watch Amanda & Alan's Spanish Job at 8pm on BBC One.
Emily Ratajkoski is modeling multiple stringy bikinis during her trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The 34-year-old My Body author tantalized her nearly 30 million Instagram followers on Sunday as she shared a carousel of swimsuit-clad images.

The busty beauty nearly spilled out of a beige-toned triangle top in two dreamy snapshots showing a sunset behind her.

She flashed her famous pout while rocking a pair of narrow, thin-framed, burgundy eyeglasses.

Other photos showed Emily in a barely-there white two-piece covered in a cherry pattern.

Her tiny waist and washboard abs were displayed in each of the scanty pieces.

Emily Ratajkoski is modeling multiple stringy bikinis during her trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The busty beauty nearly spilled out of a beige-toned triangle top in two dreamy snapshots

Another photo showed Emily in a barely-there, white, two-piece covered in a cherry pattern

The brunette bombshell accessorized with a statement necklace, glasses, and hoop earrings while soaking up the sun

And in two of the online snapshots the mother-of-one flaunted her cheeky backside in a multicolor bikini top and bottoms.

She was joined on the getaway by her son Sly, who turns four in March, and whom she shares with ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard.

The new posts weren't all bikinis and beaches, however.

Ratajkowski made a statement by sharing a closeup shot of a drink menu that included a cocktail called Morte de Elon Musk, which translates to 'death of Elon Musk.'

The tech mogul, who is closely tied to President Donald Trump, was famously at odds with the South American country late last year.

His social platform X was suspended in Brazil for just over a month between late August and early October after 'Musk defied requests by Brazils court to ban some user accounts or remove content that the supreme court said violated federal laws,' per CNBC.

The trip follows another tropical escape the influencer recently enjoyed and shared online.

Just a few days ago she was active on Instagram, showing outtakes from a Mexican vacation.

Emily got cheeky as she flashed her pert derriere in a colorful bikini top and matching bottoms

The star posed alongside her longtime friend

In addition to modeling, Emily also designs her swimwear brand iNAMORATA.

Her book of essays, My Body, became a New York Times bestseller in 2021.

And she hosted the podcast High/Low with Emrata from November 2022-November 2023.

Although she has not had a long-term relationship since divorcing her ex Sebastian in the latter half of 2022, she has been linked to a host of A-list men including Harry Styles, Pete Davidson, and Shaboozey.

Earlier this month celebrity blogger Deuxmoi revealed an anonymous tip claiming that Ratajkowski could be romancing Kaia Gerber's recent ex, Austin Butler, 33.

The runway regular sported a pair of red and white Pumas with her bikini

Ratajkowski was joined on the trip by her son Sly, who will turn four in March

The SoCal native shared a POV snapshot featuring a can of beer

Ratajkowski made a statement by sharing a closeup shot of a drink menu that included a cocktail called Morte de Elon Musk, which translates to 'death of Elon Musk'

Last spring, Ratajkowski appeared on an episode of the New York Times podcast Modern Love.

She opened up about her dating life, emphasizing that she's not focused on finding a partner right now.

The star, whose nickname is Emrata, stated on the May 1 episode: 'I take care of so much in my life.

'I take care of my son, I take care of my home, I take care of my schedule, his schedule, my career. The burden of the finances is on me and I don't have a family supporting me financially or any of that.'

She admitted on the podcast episode, 'I often think about how much I want to be taken care of and I experience that with my female friendships in different ways. I have wonderful, wonderful friends who do know when to take care of me and how to take care of me.'

Emily then added, 'It feels really hard to imagine somebody who's more capable than me or who could understand my needs in that way.'
Lawyers for Sean 'Diddy' Combs condemned the forthcoming Investigation Discovery docuseries titled The Fall of Diddy ahead of its airing Monday and Tuesday.

'These documentaries are rushing to cash in on the media circus surrounding Mr. Combs,' attorneys for Combs told Dailymail.com in a statement via email.

Combs' legal team was critical of the tactics ID producers took to gather information for the multi-night broadcast: 'The producers failed to provide sufficient time or details for his representatives to address unsubstantiated claims, many from unidentified participants whose allegations lack context.'

They continued: 'By withholding this information, they made it impossible for Mr. Combs to present facts to counter these fabricated accusations.

'This production is clearly intended to present a one-sided and prejudicial narrative. As we've said before, Mr. Combs cannot respond to every publicity stunt or facially ridiculous claim. He has full confidence in the facts and the judicial process, where the truth will prevail: the accusations against him are pure fiction.'

An ID Spokesperson told Dailymail.com in response, 'The Fall of Diddy uses first-hand accounts, in-depth interviews, and publicly available content to tell this timely story.'

Lawyers for Sean 'Diddy' Combs (pictured 2018 in NYC) condemned the forthcoming Investigation Discovery docuseries titled The Fall of Diddy ahead of its airing this week

The Fall of Diddy is set to debut over two nights, January 27 and January 28 on Investigation Discovery and Max

Combs' lawyers spoke out after a preview was released featuring a journalist who said Combs made death threats toward her - over approval of photos for a magazine spread.

Danyel Smith, the one-time editor-in-chief of Vibe magazine, said Combs vowed he would see her 'dead in a trunk' if she didn't show him, in advance, images of him for a story in the publication.

'After the shoot, Mr. Combs wanted to see the covers before they were published,' Smith said in an excerpt from the forthcoming docuseries. 'It was policy for us not to show the covers to anyone before they were published.'

Smith said in the broadcast that Combs telephoned her to complain, at which time he made the death threats: 'I told him that I wouldn't be making an exception and he said that he would see me dead in a trunk if I did not show it to him.'

Combs has past denied Smith's allegations, and has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges after his September arrest. He has remained incarcerated awaiting a May 5 trial, after he was refused bail on multiple occasions.

Smith said she told Diddy he needed 'to take that back,' to which he said 'he wasn't taking s*** back,' at which point she enlisted her lawyer.

'My attorney called him to say that if he didn't immediately fax over an apology, my attorney was going to reach out to law enforcement,' Smith said. 'It took about 90 minutes to two hours and I received that faxed apology.'

Smith said that after the fact, she had learned that Diddy dispatched people to intimidate her over the issue.

Danyel Smith, a journalist who says Sean 'Diddy' Combs made death threats toward her - over approval of photos for a magazine spread - speaks in extended detail over the alleged exchange in a forthcoming docuseries titled The Fall of Diddy

Smith said in the broadcast that Combs telephoned her to complain, at which time he made the death threats: 'I told him that I wouldn't be making an exception and he said that he would see me dead in a trunk if I did not show it to him'

'I've only recently come to realize - through the members of the staff at that time - that he had actually, in the days before, come up to the Vibe offices with two tough guys looking for me,' she said.

Smith spoke about the issue with The New York Times Magazine last summer, noting that the information filed regarding the Combs story had disappeared at the time.

The story titled The Good, the Bad, and the Puffy, was published in December 1997/January 1998.

The claims made by Smith mirror those of prosecutors in Combs' federal case, who say the music mogul used blackmail and violence in his efforts to silence victims.

Among the claims is that he persuaded women to participate against their will in group sexual exhibitions referred to as 'Freak Offs.'

The Can't Nobody Hold Me Down performer remains in federal custody more than four months after his arrest in connection with sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

Combs, who is also charged with transportation to engage in prostitution, has made a trio of attempts in vain to be granted bail, amid concerns from the court he would attempt to flee or tamper with his case.

Prior to his arrest he was in the headlines for much of 2024 year after raids on multiple properties in March; video of him assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie surfacing on CNN in May; and his September 16 arrest in Manhattan.

ID said in a synopsis that Combs demonstrated 'a pattern of abuse and violence that left an unprecedented amount of pain and suffering in his wake'

Prior to his arrest, Diddy was in the headlines for much of 2024 year after video of him assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie surfaced on CNN in May

Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, as his trial date of May 5 looms.

A synopsis of the documentary released by Investigation Discovery details what viewers can expect to see in the forthcoming docuseries.

'From those who saw his alleged violence and temper during his college days at Howard University and the onset of his career with Bad Boy Records, to those who knew him at the height of his influence and power in recent years,' the network said, 'The Fall of Diddy covers decades of mounting allegations.

'Through these interviews combined with a vast collection of archival footage, The Fall of Diddy paints a holistic picture of a mogul who is alleged to have wielded his extensive power and influence to obscure, for decades, a pattern of abuse and violence that left an unprecedented amount of pain and suffering in his wake.'

The Fall of Diddy is set to debut over two nights, January 27 and January 28 on Investigation Discovery and Max.
Ryan Reynolds showed some love for his wife Blake Lively by praising her baking skills, all while the couples ongoing legal drama with Justin Baldoni continues to heat up.

The Deadpool star, 48, took to Instagram Stories on Sunday to share an adorable snap of dog-themed cupcakes that appeared to be homemade by his talented wife.

Ryan tagged Blake in the photo, showcasing the cupcakes decorated with frosting that cleverly resembled cute dog faces.

He also added a playful touch by including Rosemary Clooneys classic How Much Is That Doggie in the Window as the soundtrack to the post.

The sweet gesture came just days after Ryan made a surprise appearance at his best friend Hugh Jackmans concert in New York City, continuing their iconic bromance.

The timing of the post also comes after Reynolds and Lively doubled down on their request for a gag order in legal battle with Lively's It Ends With Us co-star Baldoni.

The latest display of Reynolds and Jackman's bromance came just after Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively doubled down on their request for a gag order in their ongoing legal battle with Lively's It Ends With Us co-star Baldoni; seen in August 2024

The Deadpool star, 48, took to Instagram Stories on Sunday to share an adorable snap of dog-themed cupcakes that appeared to be homemade by his talented wife

In a letter sent to Judge Lewis J. Liman on Friday evening, the couple's lawyer reiterated the need for the protective order to prevent 'extrajudicial statements' by Baldoni's legal team, according to Deadline.

'Requiring counsel to heed the ethical rules that bind them is not a gag order; it is a mechanism that would ensure the proceedings in this Court are not prejudiced by counsel's conduct outside of the courtroom,' attorney Esra Hudson wrote on behalf of the couple, per the outlet.

'The Wayfarer Parties are attempting to draw a dangerous false equivalence that may have profound consequences not just for this case, but for other women who are sexually harassed in the workplace given the high profile of this matter,' the four-page letter continued.

Hudson also suggested that Baldoni's alleged smear campaign against Lively may still be ongoing.

'Even more troubling, however, is that the retaliation campaign that Ms. Lively alleged in her Complaint, with substantial supporting documentation, includes highly destructive behind-the-scenes elements, including the regular engagement of [Baldoni's crisis PR chief] Melissa Nathan with her vast tabloid media sources to influence a steady stream of negative media regarding Ms. Lively, as well as a sophisticated and 'untraceable' digital social media manipulation campaign designed to impact social media algorithms against Ms. Lively,' the actress' attorney stated.

'The Lively-Reynolds Parties are informed and believe that these efforts have continued unabated since the CRD Complaint was filed, and may have even been accelerated. The administration of justice in this case will be severely compromised if this behavior continues.'

Earlier this week, Lively and Reynolds' legal team had requested the gag order to curb what they called 'improper conduct' by Baldoni's attorneys, citing an alleged 'harassing and retaliatory media campaign' against the couple.

The timing of the post also comes after Reynolds and Lively doubled down on their request for a gag order in legal battle with Lively's It Ends With Us co-star Baldoni

In a letter sent to Judge Lewis J. Liman on Friday evening, the couple's lawyer reiterated the need for the protective order to prevent 'extrajudicial statements' by Baldoni's legal team

In response, Baldoni's attorney, Kevin Fritz, rejected the couple's request for a gag order in a letter to Judge Liman shortly after Tuesday's filing.

The initial gag order request came after Baldoni's lawyer released a bombshell video showing Lively and Baldoni on the Ends With Us set.

The explosive video, exclusively released by DailyMail.com, showed all three takes of a dance scene between Lively, 37, and Baldoni, 40 - revealing the pair were on apparent great terms before the actress accused him of sexual harassment.

Lively in turn hit back at the clip's release, saying it proved that she was uncomfortable during the scene.

'Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that this latest stunt will get ahead of the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning,' her legal team shared in a statement with DailyMail.com.

Her team claims the video 'shows Mr. Baldoni repeatedly leaning in toward Ms. Lively, attempting to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, flicking her lip with his thumb, caressing her, telling her how good she smells, and talking with her out of character.'

'Every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint.'

Lively's lawyer also added that none of the intimacy shown in the video from the film  which Baldoni directed and starred in alongside Lively  was choreographed.

This comes after Lively broke her silence on the unedited It Ends With Us footage; Lively seen in 2024

'Every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy coordinator present.'

'Mr. Baldoni was not only Ms. Lively's co-star, but the director, the head of studio and Ms. Lively's boss.'

Lively's legal team claims that her 'leaning away' from Baldoni during the scene was not acting, and that the clips shows her 'repeatedly asking for the characters to just talk.'

'Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively's discomfort.'

'They will recognize her attempts at levity to try to deflect the unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent.'

Her team claims that releasing the video to the media 'is another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public' and 'a continuation of their harassment and retaliatory campaign.'

'We are continuing our efforts to require Mr. Baldoni and his associates to answer in court, under oath, rather than through manufactured media stunts,' her lawyer stated.

It was one of the biggest bombshells in a lawsuit packed full of them  that Baldoni sexually harassed Lively while filming a dance scene by dragging his lips down her neck and telling her 'it smells so good'.

In her civil rights complaint filed last month, the actress insisted nobody overheard the comment because the romantic montage was silent and the microphones were switched off.

But DailyMail.com has exclusively obtained an explosive video where Baldoni's sound equipment was switched on, showing all three takes.

The tapes show how friendly the two stars were before it all went so wrong. They laugh and joke around  even joshing about the size of Baldoni's nose and talk about how they spend their time with their spouses.

'Every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy coordinator present'; Lively seen in 2024

They include a complete record of the conversation in question at around the seven-minute mark that makes clear the comment about her smelling so good was in response to Lively talking about her spray tan as they film a romantic dance.

Baldoni tells Lively he's probably getting his beard on her and she responds by saying she's probably getting spray tan on him. Then he quips back 'it smells good' before both laugh and she tells him the scent actually comes from her body makeup.

And while the montage does indeed show Baldoni nuzzling Lively's neck as part of the scene in which they play lovers, the conversation between them is all business with the pair spending most of it talking about lighting and their other halves.

The clip, which is raw footage shot while filming It Ends With Us, comes complete with audio and was passed to DailyMail.com by the actor's production company Wayfarer and his lawyer Bryan Freedman who has previously said Baldoni has 'nothing to hide'.

DailyMail.com's exclusive footage is the latest revelation in a lengthy saga that began with rumors of rancor behind the scenes of It Ends With Us when it was released last August.

It then exploded into a legal fight just before Christmas when the glamorous blonde sued Baldoni for sexual harassment.

At the same time, the New York Times released a story based on Lively's legal filing that accused him of orchestrating a negative publicity campaign against her and put the smell claim front and center.

In turn, Baldoni sued the Times for defamation and, last week, launched a $400m lawsuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds that accused her of using her celebrity power to hijack his film and attempt to torpedo his career.

Lively's legal team claims that her 'leaning away' from Baldoni during the scene was not acting; they are seen in 2024 on set

The new clip, which Lively had previously insisted has no audio, begins with the pair discussing the scene with the actress telling Baldoni 'I'm off my mark'.

Ironically, at one point the pair are heard debating whether it is better to talk or kiss during the montage, with Lively arguing that chatting is 'more romantic' which Baldoni acquiesces to and then, when she wonders whether anyone will discover what they're really talking about, quips 'They're never going to find out'.

Conversation then turns to their other halves, with Lively saying she and Reynolds talk 'all the time' while Baldoni says he and wife Emily stare at each other 'for 10, literally like we've done it for five minutes'.

Lively then bursts into laughter as he tells her 'I think you would find it terrifying'. When Lively continues to tell him about how she can't stop talking to Reynolds, Baldoni compliments: 'Oh, I think that's cute. You guys are really cute.'

Awkwardly, she replies 'I think it's more than cute' which he hastily agrees with, adding 'I think you guys are amazing.'

Baldoni, who directed as well as acted in It Ends With Us, then says he wants them to be filmed almost kissing, at which Lively then continues to talk  insisting its more romantic to chat and not give the audience the smooch she says they want.

She continues to talk before saying 'heads together', prompting both to lean their foreheads against each other.

At that point, Lively begins talking about noses, telling Baldoni: 'I feel so nosey. It's just noses'.

Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment just before Christmas

In turn, Baldoni sued The New York Times for defamation and launched a $400m lawsuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds; Baldoni pictured in 2023

Baldoni then tells her 'my nose is so big' to which she bursts into laughter, exclaiming: 'Yes. I was hoping we could address this. Just got to shut down, gotta call an insurance month and just deal with that. Just kidding.'

The clip then continues into the second take, with Baldoni heard giving instructions to the crew and discussing the scene with Lively.

Then, just over seven minutes in, comes the critical conversation that appears to be the source of Lively's accusation which begins when Baldoni asks 'if I'm getting beard on you'.

She laughs and says 'I'm probably getting spray tan on you' to which he replies 'it smells good' and they both laugh.

Lively then tells him: 'Well it's not that, it's my body makeup.'

As the extras erupt in cheers, Baldoni shouts 'cut!' and tells her they have enough for a 17-minute reel.

The final take, which focuses on their feet, includes audio of Baldoni telling Lively that 'I'm going to let you direct this' with the actress then insisting her heels aren't cropped out 'because of the sparkle'.

DailyMail.com's explosive new clip comes less than five days since Baldoni's lawsuit was filed and two weeks after the actress was accused of serving the actor and his team papers as they evacuated during the Los Angeles wildfires.

Baldoni accused Lively of using her celebrity power to hijack his film and attempt to torpedo his career; Lively and Reynolds seen in 2024

In Baldoni's suit, Lively is accused of failing to read the novel on which the book is based until long after filming had begun and orchestrating a negative publicity campaign of her own with the connivance of her own publicist Leslie Sloane and the New York Times.

During one incident, according to the legal filing, Lively attempted to intimidate Baldoni by pointing to her famous husband and close friend Taylor Swift then comparing herself to Game of Thrones character Khaleesi and telling him 'I have a lot of dragons'.

The actress and her team are also accused of doctoring text conversations between Baldoni's publicists to make them look damning and as if they're plotting a smear campaign against her  which led to both being subjected to social media abuse when the edited texts were published.

Baldoni's cross-complaint also revealed that he and his family had been forced to spend the premiere of It Ends With Us sitting in a basement because Lively refused to allow him to be in the same room as her.
Mikaela Testa has seemingly taken a swipe at TikTok rival Anna Paul and levelled very wild and unfounded accusations at the influencer in a brutal Instagram post.

The adult content creator, 24, who used to date Anna's brother Atis, appeared to take aim at the social media star, 25, on Monday after Anna hosted a cash giveaway to get people to purchase her exclusive online adult content.

While Mikaela didn't mention her fellow online sex worker by name, the brunette beauty did specifically call out a person who hosted a 'gross' online giveaway for fans and accused her of 'taking advantage of children'.

'If you have to incentivise people to buy your exclusive website by running cash giveaways on there and then posting screenshots to your IG [Instagram] so your underage followers spend $10 to hopefully win $1,000, you're basically running an illegal lottery and taking advantage of children. It's gross,' Mikaela wrote on her Instagram Stories.

Anna was not named in the post. However, the TikTok star, who boasts 7.2 million followers on the app to rival Mikaela's 2.4 million, hosted a very similar cash giveaway on Instagram less than 24 hours before Mikaela lashed out online.

The adult content creator, who makes millions selling nude photos and videos on an exclusive subscription based website online, took to her Instagram Stories to host the giveaway on Sunday.

Mikaela Testa, 24, has seemingly taken a swipe at TikTok rival Anna Paul, 25, and levelled very wild and unfounded accusations at the influencer in a brutal Instagram post

She began by sharing a suggestive photo of herself in a black bikini as she flaunted her figure poolside, captioning the snap with, 'Doing a surprise on there later tonight,' as she linked her raunchy content which sits behind a paywall.

Just hours later, Anna began sharing screenshots of private messages she had received from followers who signed up to her paid subscription site.

Each message contained censored bank details which Anna paid various amounts of cash into.

The first image saw Anna write, 'I've started [the giveaway],' as she paid a fan $200 in thanks for signing up to her website.

Her second photo saw one message from a woman named Natasha read: 'Hey Anna, I'm a girl. I support you all the way girl. I love you.'

Anna showed her gratitude to Natasha by giving her $500.

The final screenshot Anna shared to her Instagram was another text exchange as she messaged a fan: 'I accidentally sent you $1,000 instead.'

Her follower was left stunned, replying: 'No way... I'm speechless, my heart is beating fast. I wasn't even expecting that much thank you so much.

The adult content creator who used to date Anna's brother Atis (right), appeared to take aim at the social media star on Monday after Anna hosted a cash giveaway to get people to purchase her exclusive online adult content

While Mikaela didn't mention her fellow online sex worker by name, the brunette beauty did specifically call out a person who hosted a 'gross' online giveaway for fans and accused her of 'taking advantage of children'

'My birthday is literally this Saturday. I'm so grateful.'

While the cash giveaway was clearly intended to entice Instagram followers to sign up to her adult subscription service, there is no evidence to suggest anyone signing up to Anna's website is 'underage', as Mikaela has claimed.

The website Anna posts her raunchy content to requires followers to prove they are over the age of 18 by showing ID before they can sign up to the page.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Anna has ever sold content to minors.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Anna and Mikaela's representatives for further comment.

Mikaela has long been believed to be embroiled in a feud with Anna since she split from the TikTok star's brother, 24-year-old Atis Paul, in 2022.

However, Mikaela put the rumours to bed in June 2023 when she told the White Fox After Hours podcast that the women were still in contact with each other and had plans to catch-up in Europe that summer.

'There's no reason for us not to be friends,' Mikaela said, before taking a jab at her ex by saying she's 'not a huge fan of him'.

Anna was not named in the post. However, the TikTok star, who boasts 7.2 million followers on the app to rival Mikaela's 2.4 million, hosted a very similar cash giveaway on Instagram less than 24 hours before Mikaela lashed out online

Just hours after Anna shared a link to her adult website and spruiked her cash giveaway, she began sharing screenshots of private messages she had received from followers who received a cash gift for joining her site

One fan received $500 for signing up, while another was gifted $1,000 by Anna

She went on to call Anna a 'lovely human being' and she will 'love her forever'.

'I obviously wish them well,' Mikaela continued.

'Anna and I were friends before Atis and I started dating. Anna is a lovely human being and obviously love her forever,' she added.

'We're still friends. We still text each other and stuff. She's texted me saying she wants to hang out in Europe and I've texted her advice.'

Mikaela went on to say Anna has said she will always be 'be there' for her even after the break-up with Atis.

Mikaela and Atis broke up in May 2022 after several years of dating, with Atis first breaking the news in June that year after much fan speculation.

In an Instagram Q&A with fans, she said the pair will never stop loving each other.

'Will always be in love with each other, we never stopped,' she said.

Mikaela has long been believed to be embroiled in a feud with Anna since she split from the TikTok star's brother, Atis Paul, in 2022. Pictured together in happier times

It's not the first feud Mikaela has attempted to ignite this year, as she launched a searing attack at Skye Wheatley just over two weeks ago.

Mikaela slammed the I'm A Celebrity Australia winner, 30, for recommending dangerous sun tanning and promoting the use of sun beds recently.

The online star revealed how she tragically lost her father to melanoma in a fiery rant posted to TikTok earlier this month.

'Skye Wheatley, I am calling you out directly,' she said.

'Why the f*** am I seeing young, female Australian influencers posting to their Stories using canola oil, not SPF, to bake in the sun to get that "perfect tan"? And then on top of that, using solariums,' Mikaela fumed.

'These devices are illegal for a reason. Are we forgetting that our UV outside on a normal summer day on the coast is between 11 and 14?'

Skye and Mikaela's feud first began 12 months ago when Mikaela called the blonde a 'laughing stock' for posting a video shaming women who earn a living by making and selling adult content online.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are finding support in their circle of friends as they navigate their ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni.

The superstar couple cozied up to Italian actor Michele Morrone in a sweet snap he shared to Instagram on Sunday, just weeks after he publicly expressed his solidarity with Blake following her sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni.

In the photo, the trio beams with wide smiles, sitting close together, with Morrone's arm wrapped around Blake in a show of support.

He tagged Blake and Ryan in the post, writing, 'Missed you guys!! Love you!!!'

Michele became acquainted with Blake last year while filming the sequel to A Simple Plan.

Morrone referenced the film when he shared a powerful video in December, where he defended Blake after she accused her This Ends With Us costar Baldoni of launching a smear campaign against her.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are finding support in their circle of friends as they navigate their ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni .

The superstar couple cozied up to Italian actor Michele Morrone in a sweet snap he shared to Instagram on Sunday, just weeks after he publicly expressed his solidarity with Blake following her sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni; (Morrono in 2024)

He explained in the clip, 'So its usually not my thing to make these types of videos, but I think its time to stand up for a person I really love, and this person is Blake Lively.'

He recalled meeting Blake while filming A Simple Favor 2, saying, 'I personally met Blake during A Simple Favor 2, we shot this incredible film together, and I felt something was wrong, and I felt the pain. And then we had the opportunity to talk, me and her.'

'Blake was in pain. And Im really tired to see those kind of cruel and bad comments about her without knowing the situation,' Morrone continued.

Morrones post also follows Blake and Ryans legal team requesting a gag order, citing 'improper conduct' by Baldonis attorneys in the ongoing case.

In a letter sent to Judge Lewis J. Liman on Friday evening, the couple's lawyer reiterated the need for the protective order to prevent 'extrajudicial statements' by Baldoni's legal team, according to Deadline.

'Requiring counsel to heed the ethical rules that bind them is not a gag order; it is a mechanism that would ensure the proceedings in this Court are not prejudiced by counsel's conduct outside of the courtroom,' attorney Esra Hudson wrote on behalf of the couple, per the outlet.

'The Wayfarer Parties are attempting to draw a dangerous false equivalence that may have profound consequences not just for this case, but for other women who are sexually harassed in the workplace given the high profile of this matter,' the four-page letter continued.

Michele Morrone recalled seeing Blake Lively in 'pain' after she wrapped filming It Ends With Us. They star together in A Simple Favor 2; Michele seen left in December and Blake seen right in August

The timing of the post also comes after Reynolds and Lively doubled down on their request for a gag order in legal battle with Lively's It Ends With Us co-star Baldoni

Hudson also suggested that Baldoni's alleged smear campaign against Lively may still be ongoing.

'Even more troubling, however, is that the retaliation campaign that Ms. Lively alleged in her Complaint, with substantial supporting documentation, includes highly destructive behind-the-scenes elements, including the regular engagement of [Baldoni's crisis PR chief] Melissa Nathan with her vast tabloid media sources to influence a steady stream of negative media regarding Ms. Lively, as well as a sophisticated and 'untraceable' digital social media manipulation campaign designed to impact social media algorithms against Ms. Lively,' the actress' attorney stated.

'The Lively-Reynolds Parties are informed and believe that these efforts have continued unabated since the CRD Complaint was filed, and may have even been accelerated. The administration of justice in this case will be severely compromised if this behavior continues.'

Earlier this week, Lively and Reynolds' legal team had requested the gag order to curb what they called 'improper conduct' by Baldoni's attorneys, citing an alleged 'harassing and retaliatory media campaign' against the couple.

In response, Baldoni's attorney, Kevin Fritz, rejected the couple's request for a gag order in a letter to Judge Liman shortly after Tuesday's filing.

The initial gag order request came after Baldoni's lawyer released a bombshell video showing Lively and Baldoni on the Ends With Us set.

The explosive video, exclusively released by DailyMail.com, showed all three takes of a dance scene between Lively, 37, and Baldoni, 40 - revealing the pair were on apparent great terms before the actress accused him of sexual harassment.

Lively in turn hit back at the clip's release, saying it proved that she was uncomfortable during the scene.

'Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that this latest stunt will get ahead of the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning,' her legal team shared in a statement with DailyMail.com.

Her team claims the video 'shows Mr. Baldoni repeatedly leaning in toward Ms. Lively, attempting to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, flicking her lip with his thumb, caressing her, telling her how good she smells, and talking with her out of character.'

'Every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint.'

Lively's lawyer also added that none of the intimacy shown in the video from the film  which Baldoni directed and starred in alongside Lively  was choreographed.

In a letter sent to Judge Lewis J. Liman on Friday evening, the couple's lawyer reiterated the need for the protective order to prevent 'extrajudicial statements' by Baldoni's legal team

This comes after Lively broke her silence on the unedited It Ends With Us footage; Lively seen in 2024

'Every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy coordinator present.'

'Mr. Baldoni was not only Ms. Lively's co-star, but the director, the head of studio and Ms. Lively's boss.'

Lively's legal team claims that her 'leaning away' from Baldoni during the scene was not acting, and that the clips shows her 'repeatedly asking for the characters to just talk.'

'Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively's discomfort.'

'They will recognize her attempts at levity to try to deflect the unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent.'

Her team claims that releasing the video to the media 'is another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public' and 'a continuation of their harassment and retaliatory campaign.'

'We are continuing our efforts to require Mr. Baldoni and his associates to answer in court, under oath, rather than through manufactured media stunts,' her lawyer stated.

It was one of the biggest bombshells in a lawsuit packed full of them  that Baldoni sexually harassed Lively while filming a dance scene by dragging his lips down her neck and telling her 'it smells so good'.

In her civil rights complaint filed last month, the actress insisted nobody overheard the comment because the romantic montage was silent and the microphones were switched off.

But DailyMail.com has exclusively obtained an explosive video where Baldoni's sound equipment was switched on, showing all three takes.

The tapes show how friendly the two stars were before it all went so wrong. They laugh and joke around  even joshing about the size of Baldoni's nose and talk about how they spend their time with their spouses.

'Every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy coordinator present'; Lively seen in 2024

They include a complete record of the conversation in question at around the seven-minute mark that makes clear the comment about her smelling so good was in response to Lively talking about her spray tan as they film a romantic dance.

Baldoni tells Lively he's probably getting his beard on her and she responds by saying she's probably getting spray tan on him. Then he quips back 'it smells good' before both laugh and she tells him the scent actually comes from her body makeup.

And while the montage does indeed show Baldoni nuzzling Lively's neck as part of the scene in which they play lovers, the conversation between them is all business with the pair spending most of it talking about lighting and their other halves.

The clip, which is raw footage shot while filming It Ends With Us, comes complete with audio and was passed to DailyMail.com by the actor's production company Wayfarer and his lawyer Bryan Freedman who has previously said Baldoni has 'nothing to hide'.

DailyMail.com's exclusive footage is the latest revelation in a lengthy saga that began with rumors of rancor behind the scenes of It Ends With Us when it was released last August.

It then exploded into a legal fight just before Christmas when the glamorous blonde sued Baldoni for sexual harassment.

At the same time, the New York Times released a story based on Lively's legal filing that accused him of orchestrating a negative publicity campaign against her and put the smell claim front and center.

In turn, Baldoni sued the Times for defamation and, last week, launched a $400m lawsuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds that accused her of using her celebrity power to hijack his film and attempt to torpedo his career.

Lively's legal team claims that her 'leaning away' from Baldoni during the scene was not acting; they are seen in 2024 on set

The new clip, which Lively had previously insisted has no audio, begins with the pair discussing the scene with the actress telling Baldoni 'I'm off my mark'.

Ironically, at one point the pair are heard debating whether it is better to talk or kiss during the montage, with Lively arguing that chatting is 'more romantic' which Baldoni acquiesces to and then, when she wonders whether anyone will discover what they're really talking about, quips 'They're never going to find out'.

Conversation then turns to their other halves, with Lively saying she and Reynolds talk 'all the time' while Baldoni says he and wife Emily stare at each other 'for 10, literally like we've done it for five minutes'.

Lively then bursts into laughter as he tells her 'I think you would find it terrifying'. When Lively continues to tell him about how she can't stop talking to Reynolds, Baldoni compliments: 'Oh, I think that's cute. You guys are really cute.'

Awkwardly, she replies 'I think it's more than cute' which he hastily agrees with, adding 'I think you guys are amazing.'

Baldoni, who directed as well as acted in It Ends With Us, then says he wants them to be filmed almost kissing, at which Lively then continues to talk  insisting its more romantic to chat and not give the audience the smooch she says they want.

She continues to talk before saying 'heads together', prompting both to lean their foreheads against each other.

At that point, Lively begins talking about noses, telling Baldoni: 'I feel so nosey. It's just noses'.

Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment just before Christmas

In turn, Baldoni sued The New York Times for defamation and launched a $400m lawsuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds; Baldoni pictured in 2023

Baldoni then tells her 'my nose is so big' to which she bursts into laughter, exclaiming: 'Yes. I was hoping we could address this. Just got to shut down, gotta call an insurance month and just deal with that. Just kidding.'

The clip then continues into the second take, with Baldoni heard giving instructions to the crew and discussing the scene with Lively.

Then, just over seven minutes in, comes the critical conversation that appears to be the source of Lively's accusation which begins when Baldoni asks 'if I'm getting beard on you'.

She laughs and says 'I'm probably getting spray tan on you' to which he replies 'it smells good' and they both laugh.

Lively then tells him: 'Well it's not that, it's my body makeup.'

As the extras erupt in cheers, Baldoni shouts 'cut!' and tells her they have enough for a 17-minute reel.

The final take, which focuses on their feet, includes audio of Baldoni telling Lively that 'I'm going to let you direct this' with the actress then insisting her heels aren't cropped out 'because of the sparkle'.

DailyMail.com's explosive new clip comes less than five days since Baldoni's lawsuit was filed and two weeks after the actress was accused of serving the actor and his team papers as they evacuated during the Los Angeles wildfires.

Baldoni accused Lively of using her celebrity power to hijack his film and attempt to torpedo his career; Lively and Reynolds seen in 2024

In Baldoni's suit, Lively is accused of failing to read the novel on which the book is based until long after filming had begun and orchestrating a negative publicity campaign of her own with the connivance of her own publicist Leslie Sloane and the New York Times.

During one incident, according to the legal filing, Lively attempted to intimidate Baldoni by pointing to her famous husband and close friend Taylor Swift then comparing herself to Game of Thrones character Khaleesi and telling him 'I have a lot of dragons'.

The actress and her team are also accused of doctoring text conversations between Baldoni's publicists to make them look damning and as if they're plotting a smear campaign against her  which led to both being subjected to social media abuse when the edited texts were published.

Baldoni's cross-complaint also revealed that he and his family had been forced to spend the premiere of It Ends With Us sitting in a basement because Lively refused to allow him to be in the same room as her.
Nicola Coughlan looked positively radiant as she was seen leaving her hotel during Paris Fashion Week on Sunday night.

The Bridgeton actress, 38, couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she put on a busty display in an off the shoulder black dress.

The star let her blonde locks fall naturally over her shoulders before completing the look with a pair of simple gold hoop earrings.

Meanwhile Elizabeth Debicki was also seen out in the French capital as she put on a stylish display in an oversized black suit.

The Australian actress, 34, completed the look with a casual pair of white Converse as she was seen climbing into her taxi.

Elsewhere Eva Herzigova wowed in an all black ensemble, opting for a velvet dress, black shawl and kitten heels.

Nicola Coughlan looked positively radiant as she was seen leaving her hotel during Paris Fashion Week on Sunday night

Elizabeth Debicki was also seen out in the French capital as she put on a stylish display in an oversized black suit

Eva Herzigova wowed in an all black ensemble, opting for a velvet dress, black shawl and kitten heels

The actress, 51, completed the look with a bold red lip as she linked arms with her pal while walking through the streets.

It comes after it was revealed Nicola will follow in the footsteps of Nicole Kidman and Jenna Ortega after landing a six-figure beauty deal with a popular skincare brand.

The Irish star will front a new campaign for Neutrogena following a series of high-profile TV roles - notably Derry Girls and riotous Netflix period drama Bridgerton.

The brand has previously enlisted Hollywood stars Kidman and Ortega to promote their extensive range of skincare products.

And Nicola - who has already shot her first Neutrogena advertising campaign - will step in having previously joined the growing army of celebrity ambassadors for Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand, SKIMS.

A source told The Sun: 'Nicola has filmed her campaign for Neutrogena and is thrilled to be on board with them.

'The deal is worth six figures, which is a great pay day for Nic to kick off 2025. Away from Bridgerton, Nicola has become a huge star in her own right.

'Getting signed up by Kim for SKIMS was massive for Nicola in building her CV and when Neutrogena came knocking she jumped at the chance.'

The Bridgeton actress, 38, couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she put on a busty display in an off the shoulder black dress

It comes after it was revealed Nicola will follow in the footsteps of Nicole Kidman and Jenna Ortega after landing a six-figure beauty deal with a popular skincare brand

The Australian actress, 34, completed the look with a casual pair of white Converse

She kept her makeup to a minimum as she climbed into a taxi

The actress, 51, completed the look with a bold red lip as she linked arms with her pal while walking through the streets

The Irish star was unveiled as a celebrity SKIMS model last June after starring in a tasteful promotional shoot for the Kim Kardashian owned brand.

The last seven years have been a whirlwind for Nicola after she was cast as Claire Devlin in the BBC sleeper hit Derry Girls. which skyrocketed her to national fame in the UK and Ireland.

From there, she was cast as Lady Penelope Featherington in smash hit Bridgerton, a role that put her on the international stage.

During a special screening Q&A in Dublin last June, a female journalist commented that she was 'very brave' to take the role, which some fans branded a 'backhanded comment'.

She quipped: 'You know, it is hard because I think women with my body type  women with perfect breasts  we don't get to see ourselves onscreen enough.

'And I'm very proud as a member of the perfect breasts community. I hope you enjoy seeing them.'
Montana Brown has opened up about the challenges of having a home birth when her baby daughter Miley was breech.

The former Love island star, 29, welcomed her second child with her fiance Mark O'Connor earlier this month.

Montana said she was advised by her NHS midwives to give birth in hospital but she insisted she wanted to follow her head and heart and stay at home.

The reality star enlisted the help of a private doula for her home birth, who assured her both she and her daughter were safe.

Montana took to Instagram on Sunday to share that her home birth was 'magical' but she had felt really when her waters broke due to Miley being breech, with one of the baby's legs popping out first.

However she thanked her 'rock' Mark, doula Emiliana and midwife Heather for relaxing her before Miley 'flew out' two pushes later.

Montana Brown opened up about the challenges of having a home birth when her baby daughter Miley was breech on Instagram on Sunday

The former Love island star, 29, welcomed her second child with her fiance Mark O'Connor earlier this month

Sharing snaps from her birth, Montana could be seen cradling her newborn with Mark kissing her forehead, while in another picture the couple gave their 17-month-old son Jude a cuddle.

As Montana prepared to give birth at home, pictures showed her receiving comfort from Mark throughout, from sorting hot water bottles to helping her stretch.

Montana captioned the snaps: 'My birth in pictures  I had such a magical experience at home giving birth to our girl. Felt so lucky and blessed to have the best support around me.

'I have filmed a video for YT to share details of how it all went. I had the worst anxiety when my waters broke as she had been breech the whole time so really struggled to get the support for a home birth so it took a lot mentally to get back into the right mindset on the day.

'Thank goodness for Mark being my rock throughout, my amazing doula reading me a birth meditation when I felt uneasy and my lovely midwife Heather telling me I'm safe and baby was happy and moving south and on her way! It all happened so much quicker than expected and was so special.

'No complications and the little miss ended up popping her leg out first but two pushes later out she flew! Still soaking it all in but so proud of myself for going with my instincts .'

Celebrity pals were quick to share their admiration for Montana and wish her congratulations, including movie star Rebel Wilson, who wrote: Congratulations Mon and family .'

Made In Chelsea's Tiffany Watson said: 'Amazing and so brave ,' while her sister Lucy added: 'You are a literal warrior.'

Montana said she was advised by her NHS midwives to give birth in hospital but she insisted she wanted to follow her head and heart and stay at home

The reality star enlisted the help of a private doula for her home birth, who assured her both she and her daughter were safe

Montana took to Instagram on Sunday to share that her home birth was 'magical' but she had felt really when her waters broke due to Miley being breech, with one of the baby's legs popping out first

She thanked her 'rock' Mark, doula Emiliana and midwife Heather for relaxing her before Miley 'flew out' two pushes later

Montana captioned the snaps: 'My birth in pictures  I had such a magical experience at home giving birth to our girl'

Earlier this month Montana had told her fans she planned to give birth to her breech baby at home, despite being advised to have a C-section

The star was exploring giving birth privately after criticising her 'inexperienced' NHS midwives, who she claims 'lacks training'

Just so so proud of you ,' TALA founder Grace Beverely said, and author Giovanna Fletcher wrote: 'Just beautiful!!! Huge congratulations! Xxxxx.'

Montana's fellow Love Islanders flocked to the comments also, including Samira Mighty who said: 'Congratulations my girl xxxx proud of you!!!!'

'Congratulations  this is beautiful,' commented Anna Vakili, while India Reynolds said: 'Beautiful pics! Congratulations .'

Montana took to Instagram on Wednesday to share the first proper photo of her daughter as she revealed they had decided to name her Miley.

The heartwarming shot saw the tot curled up and dressed in a sweet white baby-grow as she gazed around curiously.

In the accompanying caption, Montana explained how the birth had been a slight challenge as Miley had been breeched and arrived earlier than expected.

She wrote: 'Miley OConnor - no surprises you came storming into the world unapologetically and making an entrance.

'I am going to do a birth vlog to share how she arrived into the world. Miley was breeched my whole pregnancy and she did not turn which meant I had a bit of a task on my hands to try and have my home birth as it was quite difficult to get the support to have a physiological v. birth with her being flexed.'

She concluded: 'Most importantly shes here safe and sound and we couldnt be happier'.

The reality star announced Miley's arrival on Saturday by sharing a photo of her and Mark cradling their bundle of joy right after her birth.

Celebrity pals were quick to share their admiration for Montana and wish her congratulations, including movie star Rebel Wilson , who wrote: Congratulations Mon and family '

Montana took to Instagram on Wednesday to share the first proper photo of her daughter as she revealed they had decided to name her Miley

In the accompanying caption, Montana explained how the birth had been a slight challenge as Miley had been breeched and arrived earlier than expected (Pictured with their son Jude)

She wrote: 'Look who decided to show up early. Bigger than expected and a bit of a rollercoaster.

'We're over the moon and taking it all in but just glad she's healthy and happy.'

Earlier this month Montana had told her fans she planned to give birth to her breech baby at home, despite being advised to have a C-section.

The star was exploring giving birth privately after criticising her 'inexperienced' NHS midwives, who she claims 'lacks training'.

Montana said she was advised by her NHS midwives to give birth in hospital but she has insisted she wants to follow her head and heart and stay at home.

She claimed the reason her midwives aren't advising a home birth is because they haven't been trained to give birth to breech babies - and said that her private midwife is confident she will be able to give birth naturally, despite being breech.

Montana announced she was pregnant with her second child in July and took to her Instagram to share the happy news with her 1.1 million followers.

Confirming that she is expecting again with her rugby player fiance Mark, Montana wrote: 'Two under two let's go!'

Montana and Mark welcomed their first child Jude in June last year and announced they were expecting again just 13 months later.

The couple travelled to Santorini after they enjoyed a week-long holiday with their son in Montenegro and shared updates from their sun-soaked trip.
Georgia May Jagger took her new baby boy with her on a fun-filled holiday to Cuba and posted their adventures together on Instagram on Sunday.

The model, 33, and her skateboarder boyfriend Cambryan Sedlick, 25, welcomed their first child Dean Lee Jagger Sedlick on September 30.

At the time, the daughter of Jerry Hall and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger beamed as she cradled her little one, who was wrapped up in a blanket, while her partner also had a go at holding the boy.

And they looked every inch the doting parents in the most recent update from the Caribbean which saw the couple taking their child to see the world aged just four months, with Georgia captioning the post: 'You and me always and forever.'

In one snap, Georgia held little Dean Lee while wearing a white polka dot midi dress and sporting hot pink and purple Adidas trainers.

She also toted a black clutch bag with a silver chain and wore her blonde curls loose as she grinned for a photo in front of a wall filled with Cuba-related murals.

Georgia May Jagger took her new baby boy with her on a fun-filled holiday to Cuba and posted their adventures together, with her boyfriend Cambryan Sedlick, on Instagram on Sunday

In one snap, Georgia posed alone with her boy in a pair of black jeans and a black vest top

The model, 33, and her skateboarder boyfriend Cambryan, 25, welcomed their first child Dean Lee Jagger Sedlick on September 30

Her boyfriend Cambryan meanwhile looked laid back in a white T-shirt and black denim shorts, adding a pair of black and white Converse and a white cap with a blue logo.

In another, Georgia posed alone with her boy in a pair of black jeans and a black vest top.

Mick and Jerry's daughter donned a sheer black dress midi dress with white polka dots over a white bikini in a further snap, holding Dean Lee and looking as loved up as ever with Cambryan.

In two photos, her boyfriend can be seen cradling the baby himself, with the child sporting a stylish white sun hat in one picture.

Updating her Instagram followers on their baby's arrival, Georgia shared: 'Our Son Dean Lee Jagger Sedlick was born September 30th. We are so in Love and happy and can't stop staring at him.

'Thanks @cambryans for being so incredible through everything and taking such good care of us.'

Georgia's mother Jerry, who made a sweet appearance in one of the polaroid snaps, originally shared the announcement to Instagram, revealing her grandson's name.

She wrote: 'Georgia May and my grandson Dean Lee Jagger Sedlick'

In further photos, her boyfriend can be seen cradling the baby himself, with the child sporting a stylish white sun hat in one picture

Updating her Instagram followers on their baby's arrival in October, Georgia shared: 'Our Son Dean Lee Jagger Sedlick was born September 30th'

The model and her skateboarder boyfriend looked every inch the doting parents in their first pictures with the newborn

Georgia's mother Jerry, who made a sweet appearance in one of the polaroid snaps (right, in bottom right photo), originally shared the announcement to Instagram herself

Her famous parents Mick Jagger and Jerry have welcomed another grandchild following their daughter's incredible news (pictured: the trio together in 2014)

The model announced her pregnancy with a loved-up post on Instagram in June, writing: 'Patiently waiting for our new best friend @cambryans.'

Georgia looked incredible as she lifted up her blue vest top to reveal her tummy which she gently cradled.

Wearing jeans, a second image showed her playfully leaning against skateboarder Cambryan who was swinging from his garage door as she smiled while barefoot.

Georgia and Cambryan, who is from Texas, were first linked in July 2021 and have been more than loved-up since.

She was previously in a relationship with restauranteur Louis Levy, 32, but the pair 'quietly split'.

A friend said at the time: 'They loved living together in New York, but when Georgia decided to split her time between there and LA, it put a strain on the relationship that turned out to be too much.

'Louis owns two restaurants in New York, so he has to be there. It's his home.'

Georgia quit Britain to move in with her then-boyfriend Louis in the States in 2019, swapping London for New York.
Lottie Moss commanded attention in a sexy pink satin minidress as she posed for sizzling Instagram snaps on Monday.

The model, 27, who is the half sister of Kate Moss, showed off her incredible figure in the number which boasted lace detailing on the bust and dazzling strappy sleeves.

Lottie put on a leggy display in a pair of towering nude heels and kept her accessorises to a minimum as she posed for the mirror selfie.

Styling her long blonde tresses in a neat high ponytail, the reality star wore a glamorous palette of makeup to accentuate her beauty.

The new snap comes ahead of Lottie taking part in new Netflix series Celebrity Bear Hunt, which is set to hit screens on February 5.

It comes after Lottie recently admitted she was 'bored' for most of her time while filming Celebrity Bear Hunt because she had nobody to talk to during the day.

Lottie Moss commanded attention in a sexy pink satin minidress as she posed for sizzling Instagram snaps on Monday

The new snap comes ahead of the model, 27, taking part in new Netflix series Celebrity Bear Hunt, which is set to hit screens on February 5

While she said the show was 'life-changing' after being removed from reality and cut off from her phone, Lottie said she struggled with keeping herself busy.

The model revealed that aside from competing in challenges and 'confessions' segments there wasn't much to do.

Speaking on her Dream On podcast, she said: 'I was so bored. In the day people would just sleep and one time, I had no one to chat to, no phone, no TV.

Explaining the lengths she went to, Lottie added: 'I went on the beach and was picking up tiny shells and trying to find things from a shipwreck.'

Holly Willoughby, 43, will be swapping her glamorous red carpet ensembles for a pair of camouflage hot pants and hiking boots as she prepares to host the action-packed show in Costa Rica alongside adventurer Bear Grylls, 50.

As Bear puts them through their paces, those who fail to impress will face the dreaded 'Bear Hunt'  a brutal game of cat and mouse where they'll be hunted down by Bear himself and, if captured, face elimination from the show.

According to Netflix, the competition show, which is set to launch on the streaming service on February 5, sees a group of unlikely celebrities get dropped into the Central American jungle as prey for one of the world's most fearsome predators  Bear.

Now show bosses have pulled out all the stops with their latest line-up which features Spice Girl Mel B, Strictly judge Shirley Ballas, model Lottie and more.

It comes after Lottie, who is the half sister of Kate Moss, admitted she was 'bored' for most of her time while filming Celebrity Bear Hunt because she had nobody to talk to during the day

While she said the show was 'life-changing' after being removed from reality and cut off from her phone, Lottie said she struggled with keeping herself busy

Show bosses have pulled out all the stops with their latest line-up as Holly Willoughby and Bear Grylls host while the likes of Spice Girl Mel B, Strictly judge Shirley Ballas and Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas take part

Also joining the A-list line-up is Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Steph McGovern, Una Healy, Kila Bokinni, Leomie Anerson and Danny Cipriani.

It comes after Lottie looked glamorous as she celebrated her 27th birthday with a night out in London earlier this month.

The influencer and her pals started the night at Mexican restaurant Ixchel in Chelsea, before heading to celebrity hotspot Chiltern Firehouse.

Lottie showed off her incredible figure in a pale pink satin dress and elevated her height in platform heels.

The sister of Kate Moss bundled up in a brown faux fur coat as she arrived at the venue amid the freezing weather.

Lottie accessorised with a dazzling diamond necklace and wore a pink 'birthday girl' headband and sash.

In fun social media snaps, Lottie cheekily licked her 3-tier birthday cake after blowing out the candles.

Days earlier Lottie opened up about her love life, comparing her rollercoaster relationships to Britney Spears' struggles.

The OnlyFans star said she is only 'one more situationship away from a Britney moment' as she reveals she struggles to 'keep a man'.

It comes after Lottie looked glamorous as she celebrated her 27th birthday with a night out in London earlier this month

Britney famously shaved her head during her 2007 downward spiral which eventually led to her being placed under conservatorship for 13 years.

Opening up about being on celebrity dating app RAYA, Lottie said on her own podcast Dream On: 'I'm one more situationship away from a Britney (Spears) moment.

'I don't struggle with getting men. It's keeping them for me, once you meet someone it's all like 'I love you, you're so nice, you're so funny,' Because you just see the surface value.

'But then once you date someone for long enough you realise what they are as a person.'

A situationship is a romantic relationship that lacks commitment or clear boundaries. It can involve physical intimacy, affection, and spending time together, but without the intention of a committed relationship.

Lottie also revealed that she finds going to luxury restaurants 'awkward' on a date and would much rather something low-key.

She continued: 'I don't understand why people have to take me to a really fancy restaurant. I'm like why are we here, I feel awkward.'
She emerged victorious following the tense final of The Traitors, after she and fellow Faithful Jake Brown were the last two remaining and scooped the prize fund.

But having left her role in the British Army, where she had been positioned for 12 years, Leanne Quigley has big plans for her future.

Leanne clinched the prize on the BBC game show after the last remaining Traitor, Charlotte Berman, was banished at the final round table.

Just four competitors remained, all faithfuls, and as paranoia mounted they continued to banish, with Alexander Dragonetti and Francesca Rowen-Plowden the unlucky victims - leaving just Leanne and Jake to split the 94,600.

Leanne has since revealed her plans to use her share of the money, 47,300, to pay for a lavish wedding to her fiance Sophie Jones and further rounds of IVF.

But which career direction she plans to head in is still a mystery, after the former squaddie revealed in October she was leaving the army after joining at the age of 16.

Leanne Quigley emerged victorious following the tense final of The Traitors, after her and fellow faithful Jake Brown were the last two remaining and scooped the prize fund

But having left her role in the British Army, where she had been positioned for 12 years, Leanne Quigley has big plans for her future

Revealing she was stepping away from her army career, Leanne shared a collection of snaps of herself on the job.

'Today is my official last ever day in the British Army!' she said. 'A career of over 12 years come to an end and I'm so proud to of served for our country. I'm ready for my next chapter.'

Leanne's army career took her across the world, from Nairobi in Kenya to The Hague in the Netherlands - and saw her embark on huge challenges such as jumping out of plane.

She deviously kept her career in the Armed Forces a secret from her fellow contestants on the show as part of her strategy to win. Instead, Leanne successfully duped everyone into thinking she works as a nail technician to throw them off the scent.

In real life, Leanne left her family home in Holywell, Wales, as a 16-year-old to serve for her country.

Her physical fitness was seen on a number of challenges in the show, including the episode before the final when she sprinted to fetch coins, as well as lugging stone heads up a hill.

After managing to score a huge number of coins, she quipped: 'All those physical training instructors in the Army will be like, if only shed worked that hard for us!'

But as she prepares for life after the army, Leanne, who shares twin sons with Sophie, conceived through IVF, revealed her focus is on family.

Leanne has since revealed her plans to use her share of the money, 47,300, to pay for a lavish wedding to her fiance Sophie Jones and further rounds of IVF

Just four competitors remained, all faithfuls, and as paranoia mounted they continued to banish and Alexander Dragonetti and Francesca Rowen-Plowden - leaving just Leanne and Jake to split the 94,600

But in which career direction she plans to head is still a mystery, after the former squaddie revealed in October she was leaving the army after joining at the age of 16

Revealing she was stepping away from her army career, Leanne shared a collection of snaps of herself on the job

Leanne's army career took her across the world, from Nairobi in Kenya to The Hague in the Netherlands - and saw her embark on huge challenges such as jumping out of plane

Her physical fitness was seen on a number of challenges in the show, including the episode before the final when she sprinted to fetch coins, as well as lugging stone heads up a hill

Speaking to MailOnline after winning The Traitors, Leanne admitted she has been eyeing up Ardross Castle in the Highlands, the one used for the show, as her wedding venue.

'We have got wedding planning to do,' she told MailOnline. 'We have just started. We haven't set a date yet but yeah we can get a wedding going.

'I actually looked at the castle because I didn't realise you could get married there. That would be so iconic. I would actually love that.'

Couples looking for the perfect wedding venue are actually able to hire the Great Hall at Ardross Castle, which can cater for up to 130 guests.

Leanne added that she would 'absolutely' be inviting the cast of the BBC show to her big day, when it rolls around.

She quipped: 'I mean, the most incredible people I've ever met in my life, and the genuine love that we all have for each other.

'We've all had a few meet ups since leaving the castle and every time we see each other, it's just all love. It's so lovely.'

She also revealed plans to use some of the money to expand her family, as she said: 'I will absolutely be trying to have another baby, not straight away, maybe in a couple of years, I think.

But as she prepares for life after the army, Leanne, who shares twin sons with Sophie, conceived through IVF, revealed her focus is on family

Speaking to MailOnline after winning The Traitors, Leanne admitted she has been eyeing up Ardross Castle in the Highlands, the one used for the show, as her wedding venue

Sophie proposed to Leanne during a romantic boat trip last summer

Leanne added that she would 'absolutely' be inviting the cast of the BBC show to her big day, when it rolls around

'My family need a little bit of a rest at the minute. But I think we'll go through and freeze our eggs, hopefully get some embryos and get them in the freezer for the future.'

When quizzed on whether she'd spent the money yet, the veteran admitted: 'No, not quite yet, we absolutely haven't had it yet.

'So, when that time comes, I think we'll go on a nice family holiday holiday.'

Leanne's win comes after a very difficult six months following her fiance Sophie's secret battle with cancer - which was diagnosed just weeks after she returned from filming.

Speaking to Metro, Leanne said of the ordeal: 'I would never, ever have gone away to film if Soph had cancer. We found out weeks after I got home.

'Actually, she found a lump maybe a month after, and it all happened very quickly from there. Ringing the bell now, radiotherapy to get through

'I only left the army actually in October, so I'm still very freshly out of the army. And with lots going on, first of all, with the twins, and then with my partner, we're going to take some time now to really enjoy family time.'

Leanne revealed earlier this month, after the show began airing, that Sophie had received the all-clear.

Leanne's win comes after a very difficult six months following her fiance Sophie's secret battle with cancer - which was diagnosed just weeks after she returned from filming

Speaking to Metro, Leanne said of the ordeal: 'I would never, ever have gone away to film if Soph had cancer'

She said: 'This is the only news we needed and wanted. On the 31st July 2024 my partner, and the mother of my children was diagnosed with grade 3 breast cancer.

'Watching the person you love fight through chemotherapy is up there with the worst things on earth. We quickly learnt to never take anything for granted ever again, and sadly had to learn that tomorrow is never promised and fear of the unknown literally killed us inside.

'Yesterday, Wednesday 8th January 2025, the strongest woman on planet earth was told she is cancer free. She did it. I cannot express or put in to words how proud I am, and how in awe I am of her strength every single day.

'Today we begin to truly celebrate us, our boys, and the excitement of the rest of our lives. I could never thank the NHS enough for quite literally saving my whole family. And the biggest thank you to our support system, we're so lucky to be surrounded by the most incredible family and friends.

'For anybody fighting, or for anybody watching their loved ones fight this horrible disease. I see you and I feel you. Please don't give up.'
Pauline Chalamet put on a leggy display in a denim co-ord while attending the Patou runway show during Paris Fashion Week on Monday.

The actress and sister of Hollywood heartthrob Timothee looked stunning in the mini skirt with matching jacket as she stopped for a series of striking shots.

The American-French star - who is also a film producer - beamed from ear to ear on her arrival - adding a white polo top underneath the two-piece.

Pauline, 33, finished off the stylish ensemble with white crow socks and strappy black heels, and added a final glamorous touch with a baby pink bag.

The Sex Lives of College Girls favourite looked glowing ahead of the star-studded fashion show, beaming graciously before making her way in.

Pauline Chalamet, 33, put on a leggy display in a denim co-ord while attending the Patou runway show during Paris Fashion Week on Monday

The actress and sister of Hollywood heartthrob Timothee looked stunning in the mini skirt with matching jacket as she stopped for a series of striking shots

Recently, Pauline appeared to lash out at her brother's girlfriend Kylie Jenner with posts about billionaires and CEOs who own private jets.

The Between The Temples actress made her feelings clear when she reposted a telling message by nonprofit organization Move On, originally tweeted by Democratic politician Melanie D'Arrigo.

Per The Sun, the tweet read: 'If your job requires a college degree, you should be able to write off your student loan payments as a business expense the way CEOs write off their private jets and yachts for their jobs which require neither.'

Makeup mogul Kylie, 27, famously owns a private jet called Kylie Air, and is the CEO of Kylie Cosmetics, which she founded with mom Kris Jenner in 2014.

It is unknown if Kylie 'writes off' her private jet as a business expense, but she has continuously come under fire for her CO2 emissions.

Many fans were quick to suggest that Pauline was seemingly throwing daggers at her brother's girlfriend of over a year.

More recently, Pauline appeared to make another dig when reshared Bernie Sanders' scathing tweet on 'billionaires' on Instagram.

'When the three wealthiest men in America sit behind Trump at his inauguration, everyone understands that the billionaire class now controls our government,' the outspoken politician.

The American-French star - who is also a film producer - beamed from ear to ear on her arrival - adding a white polo top underneath the two-piece

She added a final glamorous touch with a baby pink bag

The Sex Lives of College Girls favourite looked glowing ahead of the star-studded fashion show, beaming graciously before making her way in

Pauline expanded on the post with a caption that read: 'Our system is so flawed that it allows billionaires to exist and accrue so much money and BARELY pay (and sometimes NOT PAY) ANY ANY ANY TAXES.

'This should not be possible. Billionaires do not need to exist. Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg SITTING IN FRONT OF cabinet is NOT DEMOCRATIC. NOT. DEMOCRATIC.'

The now-deleted post has raised eyebrows due to the fact her younger brother's girlfriend is one of the most famous billionaires on the planet, as confirmed by Forbes in 2019.

However, the pair had seemed to be on friendly terms when they were sharing a warm hug at the Coperni afterparty in Paris last October.

Timothee and Kylie were last seen together in Paris on January 16 while the actor was on the promotional campaign for his new film, A Complete Unknown.

The actor, who plays folk pioneer Bob Dylan in the new biopic, wined and dined the beauty mogul at upscale Bar Des Pres.

Two weeks before that, they both attended the Golden Globes in Los Angeles.

It was the second year in a row that Timothee invited the Keeping Up With The Kardashian's star as his plus one, as the influencer and TV personality joined him at the same event in 2024.

Pauline appeared to have previously lashed out at her brother's famous girlfriend Kylie Jenner in posts about billionaires and CEOs who own private jets (Timothee and Pauline in 2018)

The now-deleted post has raised eyebrows due to the fact her younger brother's girlfriend is one of the most famous billionaires on the planet, as confirmed by Forbes in 2019

The pair are said to have met at the Jean-Paul Gaultier fashion show on January 25, 2023.

After news of their romance broke, Kylie's Range Rover was seen in the driveway of Timothee's Beverly Hills home.

The following day, Timothee jumped into Kylie's SUV after he attended an art show in Santa Monica, with her security guard getting into his car and driving it, according to TMZ.

They arrived at Tito's Tacos in LA and her security team went and picked up food for them and brought it to the car.

Their first public sighting came on Monday, September 4, 2023, at Beyonce's last LA concert - which took place at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

One week later, they shared several passionate kisses while attending the US Open together.

They were also spotted at the annual Kardashian-Jenner Christmas Eve party later that year.

Kylie shares daughter Stormi and son Aire with her ex-boyfriend Travis Scott.

The Sex Lives of College Girls actress also made her feelings clear when she reshared Bernie Sanders ' scathing tweet on 'billionaires' on Instagram

However, Pauline and Kylie had seemed to be on friendly terms when they were seen sharing a warm hug at the Coperni afterparty in Paris last October

Timothee and Kylie were last seen together in Paris on January 15

It was previously reported that Timothee spent time with Kylie and her children over the festive period.

'They had a really nice dinner together with Kylie's family, and they drove around to look at Christmas lights,' a source shared with Page Six.

'The kids had a really magical time, and Kylie and Timothee made some very special memories together.

'Timothee not only got Kylie gifts, but also got some for the kids, which Kylie thought was so sweet and thoughtful.'
They soared to number one in the charts 15 years ago with a humorous rendition of the song Islands In The Stream while dressed as their Gavin and Stacey characters.

But it turns out Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones's double-act had been decades in the making, with the pair taking to their school's stage together as early as 1984.

An incredible throwback snap of the much-loved TV duo has now emerged, showing the Welsh actors playing the lead roles in Porthcawl Comprehensive School's peformance of Carousel - and there are some rather questionable hairdo and clothing choices on show.

Ruth, who played Nessa Jenkins in Gavin and Stacey, donned a light pink frilly dress for the production, adding a bright pink bonnet and a white ribbon in her hair.

The Bridgend-born actress, then 18, wore her brown locks in a typical 1980s perm style and put on a pained expression as she was held by Rob.

Her compatriot, who turned in a star performance as Uncle Bryn West in the BBC comedy, sported a blue waistocat over a white shirt and added light blue jeans, while also boasting a flowing head of hair.

An incredible throwback snap of Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones has emerged showing the Welsh actors playing the lead roles in Porthcawl Comprehensive School's peformance of Carousel

Comedian and actor Rob, now 59, teamed up with Ruth for the 2009 Comic Relief charity single, (Barry) Islands In The Stream, a cheeky parody of the Bee Gees-written hit

They soared to number one in the charts 15 years ago with a humorous rendition of the song while dressed as their Gavin and Stacey characters

Rob and Ruth's friendship dates back more than four decades, with the pair first becoming friends aged 14 when at school in Wales.

Speaking about how they first met, Rob told ITV's Lorraine: 'I first got into musical theatre at school in the late '70s, early '80s, which is where I met Ruth Jones.

'So, I've known her since I was a teenager, and we were in the school musicals together.'

Referring to a throwback photo, the comedian added: 'That's Carousel, and I'm wearing my uncle's stack-heeled boots to give me some kind of height advantage.

'That's Ruth there on the left, we also did Guys & Dolls.'

It was a friendship that no doubt helped Rob land his role in Gavin & Stacey, with Ruth previously telling British Comedy Guide that he quickly came to mind once she started writing Bryn's role.

The minute he read the first two episodes, he rang Ruth and said: 'I really, really want to do it. I know exactly who he is; I know exactly what he wears; how he walks; how he speaks.'

Earlier this year, Rob once again discussed his closeness to Ruth, telling the Guardian: 'I love Ruth, you know.

'She's still my closest female friend and the closest thing I have to a sister. Shooting the final special with her was such an emotional thing.'

Rob and Ruth's friendship dates back more than four decades, with the pair first becoming friends aged 14 when at school in Wales

Earlier this year, Rob once again discussed his closeness to Ruth, telling the Guardian: 'I love Ruth, you know'

Comedian and actor Rob, now 59, teamed up with Ruth for the 2009 Comic Relief charity single, (Barry) Islands In The Stream, a cheeky parody of the Bee Gees-written hit which Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton took to number one in 1983.

The name of the song was a nod to Gavin and Stacey's setting, Barry in South Wales.

The cult sitcom, written by Ruth and James Corden, returned for a wildly successful Christmas special in 2024 which brought in a whopping 12.3million viewers, clinching the festive ratings top spot.

And in the weeks that followed it gained a huge boost to its audience, reaching 20.9million viewers after 28 days - breaking its own record from the 2019 Christmas special of 18.5million viewers in the same time period.

He added: 'She's still my closest female friend and the closest thing I have to a sister' (pictured: the pair in the 2019 Christmas special)

The series, which debuted back in 2007, concluded with on/off lovers Neil 'Smithy' Smith and Nessa finally declaring their love for one another and tying the knot

The sitcom brought in a whopping 12.3million viewers on Christmas Day, clinching the festive ratings top spot

Ruth and James added: 'What a testament to the BBC to have achieved such impressive viewing figures on Christmas Day.

'We are so proud to have been a part of it.'

Gavin and Stacey finally came to an end on Christmas Day with a feature-length festive finale, with fans quick to laud the 'perfect' conclusion, 17 years after the iconic BBC comedy first hit screens.

The series, which debuted back in 2007, concluded with on/off lovers Neil 'Smithy' Smith and Nessa finally declaring their love for one another and tying the knot, but not without a few hiccups along the way.

While fans tuned into the episode to see whether Smithy had accepted Nessa's proposal from the 2019 Christmas Special, a five-year time jump revealed that he was indeed set to tie the knot, but all was not as it seemed.

It was revealed that Smithy had instead got engaged to his girlfriend Sonia, who failed to impress the Shipman/West clan when she met them in the last festive episode, with actress Laura Aikman's return to the show kept a closely-guarded secret.

Fans were also treated to the surprise return of Sheridan Smith as Smithy's sister Rudi, and Pam Ferris as his mum Cath.
Ferne McCann broke down in tears backstage after she became the second star to be eliminated from Dancing On Ice on Sunday.

The former TOWIE said, 34, was said to be crushed about the voters' decision and couldn't hide her emotion as she completed her 'lap of honour' on the rink.

Ferne, who was dressed as a troll for her performance during movie week, apparently cut short her lap after becoming overwhelmed with emotion.

An insider told us that Ferne burst into tears backstage when she saw her daughter Sunday, seven, and her mother Gilly, 65, after coming off the ice.

They said: 'Back stage Ferne burst in to tears when her mum brought a tearful Sunday in to see her.

'Ferne quickly pulled herself together, cheered up Sunday and was in really good spirits when she went out to meet all her friends and family.

Ferne McCann is said to have broke down in tears backstage after she became the second star to be eliminated from Dancing On Ice on Sunday

The former TOWIE said, 34, was said to be crushed about the voters' decision and couldn't hide her emotion as she completed her 'lap of honour' on the rink

'Shes loved doing the show and has had a great time.

Ferne landed in the bottom two with EastEnders star Charlie Brooks after receiving the fewest votes in last night's show.

Charlie received the least votes in the first show last week, while Ferne received the least this week, meaning that they landed in the bottom two.

She was immediately thrown out of the competition without the opportunity to fight for a place in the skate-off.

After the decision was announced, she said to hosts Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern: 'I'm so gutted, so gutted, but... it is what it is. We were having so much fun, I'm really sad...'

Holly sympathetically said: 'Oh Ferne I can see you're upset. Listen, you've got everything to feel proud of. You've made your family proud and we've loved having you. Please go and do a lap of honour now for the final time.'

Ferne waved to the crowd while completing her lap, before covering her face to hide her tears.

Even presenter Stephen remarked: 'Wow, she's gutted'.

Ferne, who was dressed as a troll for her performance during movie week, apparently cut short her lap after becoming overwhelmed with emotion

An insider told us that Ferne burst into tears backstage when she saw her daughter Sunday, seven, and her mother Gilly, 65, after coming off the ice

Ferne received the full support of her fiance Lorri Haines, who took to Instagram to share a sweet message following her exit this weekend

After a moment of emotion, Ferne gathered herself to celebrate her appearance on the show backstage with her family, friends and production.

Ferne received the full support of her fiance Lorri Haines, who took to Instagram to share a sweet message following her exit this weekend.

He said: 'I love this beautiful, inspirational powerhouse of a woman and i want to say, I am not only grateful that you are my partner in all walks of life, but I am very proud of you for everything you have accomplished in life to date, our amazing kids, your career and importantly your growth.

'For anyone to learn a new skill (in such a short time) is super hard, and not forgetting also being a full time mum, a business owner and then doing something like dancing on ice in-front of thousands of people is something many would not dream of doing!

'I think you smashed the performance, it was so fun to watch, and now you have a skill for life, Ill be the one holding the penguin round the rink and your be doing loops, jumps and swirls. Well done babe! On to the next. Lets gooooooooo.'

She and her skating partner Brendyn Hatfield's journey came to an end during fun-filled movie week.

The pair danced to September by Earth, Wind and Fire as they dressed as DreamWorks' Trolls and was given a score of 28 from the judges.

Despite Josh Jones withdrawing from the skating competition due to sustaining an injury during rehearsals on Sunday, host Holly confirmed a celebrity would still be axed but with no skate-off.

Ferne landed in the bottom two with EastEnders star Charlie Brooks after receiving the fewest votes in last night's show

Charlie channelled Demi Moore in Ghost for this week's routine

Holly said: 'Tonight, there are no second chances, the lowest placed couple will go straight out the competition with no skate-off to save them!'

Comedian Josh and his partner Tippy Packard were meant to perform a number from The Mask to Jim Carrey's Cuban Pete track.

However the pair had to withdraw at the last minute just hours before the live show on Sunday after Josh sustained an injury in rehearsals.

Ahead of the show, her family showed support ahead of movie week as they arrived to the rink dressed as trolls.

To celebrate the blockbuster themed episode, Ferne received a surprise visit from her fiance Lorri Haines and her two daughters Sunday, seven, and Finty, 18 months.

The family arrived sporting wigs from DreamWorks' Trolls ahead of Ferne's performance to the movie's track September by Earth, Wind and Fire.

Meanwhile Charlie, 48, recreated the iconic pottery scene from Ghosts with her skating partner Eric Radford in celebration of the performance to Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers.

In first looks snaps, Charlie was beaming as she took to the pottery wheel to craft a bowl sporting a clay-splattered apron with Eric sat behind her.

Other snaps showed Steve Redgrave dressed as The Godfather ahead of their skate to the film's Love Theme by City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Coronation Street star Sam Aston meanwhile posed with his son is matching pyjamas while Dan Edgar headed to Essex with partner Vanessa James to chat to pal Diags.

Ahead of the show, her family showed support ahead of movie week as they arrived to the rink dressed as trolls

To celebrate the blockbuster themed episode , Ferne received a surprise visit from her fiance Lorri Haines and her two daughters Sunday, seven, and Finty, 18 months

Sam will perform a The Jungle Book skate to Robbie Williams & Olly Murs's rendition of I Wanna Be Like You and TOWIE star Dan's James Bond number will be set to the film's theme's track by City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Michaela Strachan becomes Maria von Trapp for The Sound of Music, with Connie Fisher's version played.

In snaps ahead of her performance, Michaela and her skating partner Mark Hanretty joined fellow Winterwatch presenters Chris Packham and Iolo Jones.

Elsewhere Anton Ferdinand will perform a Deadpool vs Wolverine routine to Madonna's Like A Prayer, while The Traitors star Mollie Pearce's Beauty and the Beast skate is set to London Music Works.

Comedian Josh Jones and his partner Tippy Packard were meant to perform a number from The Mask to Jim Carrey's Cuban Pete track.

However the pair had to withdraw at the last minute just hours before the live show on Sunday after Josh sustained an injury in rehearsals.

The news was shared by Dancing On Ice's social media accounts, in a statement which read: 'Josh Jones sustained an injury during rehearsals and has had to withdraw from Dancing On Ice.

EastEnders star Charlie, 48, recreated the iconic pottery scene from Ghosts with her skating partner Eric Radford in celebration of the performance to Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers

In first looks snaps, Charlie was beaming as she took to the pottery wheel to craft a bowl sporting a clay-splattered apron with Eric sat behind her

Other snaps showed Steve Redgrave dressed as The Godfather ahead of their skate to the film's Love Theme by City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Coronation Street star Sam Aston meanwhile posed with his son is matching pyjamas

Dan Edgar headed to Essex with partner Vanessa James to chat to pal Diags

In snaps ahead of her performance, Michaela and her skating partner Mark Hanretty joined fellow Winterwatch presenters Chris Packham and Iolo Jones

'Josh and Tippy's partnership will be greatly missed. We will be helping to support Josh and wish him well in his recovery.'

Josh's exit came after he narrowly survived the first elimination during last week's live show, with Hollyoaks' Chelsee Healey becoming the first star to be sent home.

Josh was first revealed to be taking part in Dancing On Ice in October, and admitted on Gaydio that he had 'no skating experience' at all.

He said: 'I did it once for a date years ago and I wasn't very good.

'I was holding onto the railings the entire time and we aren't together now.

'My dancing isn't great either, for a gay man I have no rhythm, I struggle to clap along to a beat so this will be fun.'

Comedian Josh Jones and his partner Tippy Packard were meant to perform a number from The Mask to Jim Carrey's Cuban Pete track

However the pair had to withdraw at the last minute just hours before the live show on Sunday after Josh sustained an injury in rehearsals
Patrick Schwarzenegger made his White Lotus debut in the new trailer for season three, which dropped on Monday morning.

The 31-year-old actor, who is the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, plays the character Saxon Ratliff in the upcoming season, which takes place in Thailand.

The role marks Patrick's latest big series he's been cast in - after the young actor appeared in the Chris Pratt led series The Terminal List and Colin Firth-led series The Staircase.

His character Saxon is the son of the wealthy Timothy Ratliff - played by Jason Isaacs - and Victoria Ratliff - played by Parker Posey.

Timothy appears to have lost his money and dabbled in illegal activities, as he exclaims in the trailer: 'What am I supposed to tell my family? "We're poor now and Daddy's going to prison!"'

The HBO series, created and written by Mike White, is set to debut its newest season on February 16, 2025.

Patrick Schwarzenegger made his White Lotus debut in the new trailer for season three, which dropped on Monday morning.

The trailer opens with Patrick walking alongside his on-screen parents Timothy and Victoria, as well as his on-screen siblings Lochlan Ratliff - played by actor Sam Nivola - and Piper Ratliff - played by Sarah Catherine Hook.

'At the end of the week, you will be an entirely different person,' an employee is heard saying in the opening moments of the trailer.

'What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand,' one of the characters says, showing a montage of guns, screaming and a moment of passion.

'Our hotel is the best in the world,' an employee says.

'I'm so happy, all my babies, all together,' Victoria says, referring to her three kids being on holiday with her and Timothy.

The camera pans to the kids - including Patrick - with the trio looking not too impressed or happy to be there.

An employee tells her, 'Enjoy Thailand,' to which Victoria says 'We usually go to the Caribbean.'

'Everyone who comes to Thailand is either hiding from someone or they're looking for someone,' someone is heard saying in the trailer.

Timothy gets a text message during breakfast with his family, causing him to instantly tense up, which son Lochlan notices, which leads him to ask his father if everything is ok.

The 31-year-old actor, who is the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver , plays the character Saxon in the upcoming season, which takes place in Thailand

His character Saxon is the son of the wealthy Timothy Ratliff - played by Jason Isaacs- and Victoria Ratliff - played by Parker Posey

Saxon and Piper also look worried, as Timothy answers: 'It's just work stuff.'

'What I am supposed to tell my family? We're poor now and Daddy's going to prison!' Timothy tells someone on the phone.

Victoria and Piper are pictured shopping at what appears to be an expensive handbag boutique.

A masked gun man is then seen robbing a guest at the hotel, with employees speaking out about calling the police due to the uptick in crime.

Victoria wakes up in the middle of the night to see Timothy pacing on the balcony, with a look of concern on her face.

'Everyone tells me what a great man you are,' Victoria is heard saying.

A stressed out Timothy walks alone in the dark, with his voice heard answering her back: 'What if we lost everything?'

'Honestly I don't know if I'd want to live. I just don't have it in me,' Victoria tells him, which appears to shock Timothy.

Timothy later wields a gun, as Lochlan asks Saxon: 'What if this life is just a test to see if we can become better people?'

Saxon answers, 'No,' looking disgusted at the question, adding: 'What?'

'What I am supposed to tell my family? We're poor now and Daddy's going to prison!' Timothy tells someone on the phone

'Honestly I don't know if I'd want to live. I just don't have it in me,' Victoria tells him, which appears to shock Timothy

Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins also appears in the new season, which is set to debut February 16 at 9 pm on HBO

Saxon is seen shirtless and holding a women in his arms in the next moment.'

The next moments show the guest partying, and laughing before a body bag is pictured, and a close up of a cocked gun.

Season three stars a new cast - with the exception of Natasha Rothwell, who has appeared in season one.

Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins also appears in the new season, which is set to debut February 16 at 9 pm on HBO.
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Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looked effortlessly chic in a black silky dress as she arrived at the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2025 during Paris Fashion Week on Monday evening.

The actress, 37, stunned as she showcased her model stature in an a-symmetrical garment which featured a high arch up one side.

Showcasing her tone physique, Rosie stepped out in a pair of shiny black sling-back heels.

To accessorise, the beauty toted her belongings around in a black satin clutch bag.

Her outing comes after she looked effortlessly chic in a black trench coat when she arrived at Gare du Nord earlier in the day.

She looked classic in a knee-length coat and black flared trousers during Paris Fashion Week.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, 37, looked effortlessly chic in a black silky dress as she arrived at the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2025 during Paris Fashion Week on Monday evening

The actress stunned as she showcased her model stature in an a-symmetrical garment which featured a high arch up one side

Adding inches to her statuesque frame, Rosie slipped into towering black stilettos.

To accessorise, the star shielded her eyes behind a pair of large mirrored sunglasses and carried a grey Hermes Birkin bag.

Her latest outing comes after the Victoria Secret model revealed she and husband Jason Statham, 57, have moved back to London for the safety of their children.

After living with Jason in California for eleven years, the couple invested 15million in three luxury homes in London.

Speaking to the Telegraph in October, she said the experience had been 'grounding'.

She said: 'Living back in the UK has been a really grounding experience for us. The fact that we can walk out of our front door and go and get a coffee and a loaf of bread [without paparazzi intrusion].

'We'd leave our home in LA and there'd be five cars following us down the block to the gym. Both Jason and I felt like it was really important for our children to not be impacted by our line of work.

'We wanted our kids to have a childhood away from cameras as much as we could. Because I've seen that.

Showcasing her tone physique, Rosie stepped out in a pair of shiny black sling-back heels

To accessorise, the beauty toted her belongings around in a black satin clutch bag.

Rosie wore an array of silver and diamond jewellery for the outing as she wore a chunky bracelet and earrings

She appeared in happy spirits as she departed from her transport

Her outing comes after she looked effortlessly chic in a black trench coat when she arrived at Gare du Nord earlier in the da

The actress looked classic as she layered her knee-length coat over a pair of black flared trousers

'I've seen children of celebrities whose parents didn't give them that choice.

'It's Jack's choice and it's Bella's choice, whether they live in the public eye.

'If they want to, that won't be a problem. But I just always feared my son turning round to me one day and saying, 'You and Daddy didn't protect me, I don't want this'.'

In recent weeks the supermodel has been posting regularly on Instagram partnering with huge brands such as Tiffany, Belvedere Vodka and Alo.

Rosie has carved out an impressive career in modelling, starring in numerous campaigns and runway shows, as well as becoming a Victoria's Secret Angel.

Just last week Rosie and Jason were pictured out shopping and having lunch together.

Adding inches to her statuesque frame, Rosie slipped into a pair of towering black pointed stiletto

To accessorise, the star shielded her eyes behind a pair of large mirrored sunglasses as she toted her belongings around in a grey Hermes Birkin bag

Her latest outing comes as the Victoria Secret model revealed she and husband Jason Statham have moved back to London for the safety of their children (pictured with daughter)

Rosie has carved out an impressive career in modelling, starring in numerous campaigns and runway shows, as well as becoming a Victoria's Secret Angel (pictured in 2010)

The low-key British couple first began dating in 2009 after meeting at a party in London and experiencing what Rosie called 'instant chemistry'

The low-key British couple first began dating in 2009 after meeting at a party in London and experiencing what Rosie called 'instant chemistry'.

They made their red carpet debut in February 2011 at the Vanity Fair Oscars after party, and later that year attended the Met Gala together as well.

They became engaged in 2016, and have a son Jack, seven, and daughter, Isabella, two.

Speaking about their plans to marry after Jack was born, Rosie said: 'I think the time will come. It's also not a huge priority for us.'

She has also addressed the couple's 20-year age gap, saying: 'His knowledge and strength are really inspiring and attractive, and that can come with a man who's had a bit of time.'
Tori Spelling was spotted stepping out in New York City while flashing her flat stomach in a striking look on Monday.

The 51-year-old 90210 star wore a cropped striped knit, paired with low-cut baggy denim, highlighting her slim midsection.

Tori stayed warm in a furry collared jacket, adding a beanie and boots.

The TV star made a bold statement with her yellow tinted glasses and dark red lipstick to round out her eclectic afternoon look.

Her Big Apple sighting comes after the star feared her LA home was looted - amid the devastating fires.

The star revealed on her podcast episode MisSPELLING that she had to evacuate her home - along with her five kids - and when she was allowed back home, she thought she was hit with looters.

Tori Spelling was spotted stepping out in New York City while flashing her flat stomach in a striking look on Monday

Tori was seen shopping in Soho in her belly-baring look.

The mom of five enjoyed her solo shopping day just days after sharing her story to her podcast, which dropped Friday, January 24, episode of her podcast.

The star explained on her podcast that she returned back to her home after she was allowed back into her neighborhood - and thought she was looted due to her home being in disarray.

'I walk through our front door. You guys, Im not an alarmist,' Tori said.

'I walked in and I gasped. I thought while we were gone, out of town, evacuated, someone has broken into our home and has burglarized our home,' she said.

Adding: 'There have been looters here. Look at the state of the house.

'There was s*** everywhere. I mean, it looked like people had come in and just trashed our house. Then upon closer inspection, I realized, oh s***, no, this is just the way I live.'

Tori and her five kids: Liam, 17, Stella, 16, Hattie, 13, Finn, 12, and Beau, seven, evacuated to Camarillo, where they stayed in an airbnb.

The 51-year-old 90210 star wore a cropped striped knit, paired with low-cut baggy denim, highlighting her slim midsection

Tori and her five kids: Liam, 17, Stella, 16, Hattie, 13, Finn, 12, and Beau, seven, evacuated to Camarillo, where they stayed in an airbnb

In the podcast prior, Tori revealed she only had 30 minutes to evacuate her and her five kids, plus their three animals

She said it was then that she realized she needed to declutter and downsize.

'Thats when it really dawned on me that when all of this settles down, I know its just stuff. Ive seen the devastation, the loss, friends, families, people displaced, people that have lost everything,' Tori said.

'When youre lucky enough that you still have your home and you still have your things, it really put it into perspective that its like, God, I have so much stuff.'

The star said that she is 'happy' and 'excited' to donate some of her belongings to those who need it in the wake of the fires.

'Im really ready to do that  especially this all on the heels of me doing my hoarding episode  I really just havent had the time, but Im ready to let go of stuff,' she said.

'Everybody around us in L.A., losing their stuff and needing stuff. Especially being back in town now, we can help donate all our stuff that we can get out and give it to the people who have lost stuff.'

In the podcast prior, Tori revealed she only had 30 minutes to evacuate her and her five kids, plus their three animals.
Ronan Keating looked handsome in a brown waistcoat as he was supported by his glamorous wife Storm for the Boyzone documentary launch night.

The boyband member, 47, looked dapper as he layered his waist coat over a grey ripped vest top for his outing at London's Roundhouse to mark the release of Boyzone: No Matter What.

Dressed for the glitzy evening, he piled on the layers with a black knee-length trench coat.

He finished his look with a pair of black shiny lace-up boots which featured a gold bird head detailing on the laces.

To accessorise, Ronan wore a myriad of gold necklaces and a black hoop earring which featured a small cross.

Meanwhile his wife Storm looked chic as she graced the red carpet in a woolen Chanel jumper.

Ronan Keating looked handsome in a brown waistcoat as he was supported by his glamorous wife Storm for the Boyzone documentary launch night

The boyband member, 47, looked dapper as he layered his waist coat over a grey ripped vest top for his outing at London's Roundhouse to mark the release of Boyzone: No Matter What

She paired the pricey jumper with a figure-fitting floor-length black skirt, which she tied together with a thin black Chanel belt.

To accessorise, Storm added extra glam as she gripped a black leather crossbody Chanel bag.

She finished her glitzy ensemble with a pair of large gold hoop earrings and an array of gold bracelets.

Elsewhere, fellow band-member Keith Duffy commanded attention at the glitzy evening, wearing a red leopard print shirt layered under a black two-piece suit.

Shane Lynch opted for a more classic choice and graced the red carpet wearing an all-black ensemble

Boyzone: No Matter What features never-before-seen footage of the group's manager Louis Walsh and members, Ronan, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and the late Stephen, as well as interviews with those closest to the group.

In one heartbreaking scene, the group recalled sleeping next to Stephen's coffin in church the night before his funeral.

Stephen died suddenly in October 2009 at his home in Port d'Andratx, Mallorca. His death was later determined to have been caused by a pulmonary oedema resulting from an undiagnosed heart condition.

Dressed for the glitzy evening, he piled on the layers with a black knee-length trench coat

He finished his look with a pair of black shiny lace-up boots which featured a gold bird head detailing on the lace

To accessorise, Ronan wore a myriad of gold necklaces and a black hoop earring which featured a small cross

Meanwhile his wife Storm looked chic as she graced the red carpet in a woolen Chanel jumpe

She paired the pricey jumper with a figure-fitting floor-length black skirt, which she tied together with a thin black Chanel belt

Elsewhere, fellow bandmember Keith Duffy commanded attention at the glitzy evening, wearing a red leopard print shirt layered under a black two-piece suit

Shane Lynch opted for a more classic choice and graced the red carpet wearing an all-black ensemble

Lioness Jill Scott cut a casual figure for the evening as she posed with Ronan wearing a pale blue coord

Brian McFadden stepped out in a bright red satin bomber jackers and Air Jordan trainers

White Jodie McCallum stunned in a brown leather off-the-shoulder dress which she paired with white stilettos

Interiors expert Kelly Hoppen also walked the red carpet on the night

Bo yzone : No Matter What features never-before-seen footage of the group's manager Louis Walsh and members, Ronan, Keith Duffy , Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and the late Stephen, as well as interviews with those closest to the group

Ronan broke down in tears as he discussed the death of his beloved bandmate Stephen Gately (right) in a new Sky docuseries Boyzone: No Matter What

In one heartbreaking scene, the group recalled sleeping next to Stephen's coffin in church the night before his funeral (pictured during the funeral)

Mikey explained: 'We didn't like the idea of him being alone in the church overnight', with Ronan adding: 'He didn't like the cold.'

Discussing the evening, Mikey shared: 'When everybody else left and it was just the five of us there was a great sense of peace, of unity.

'I don't want to say sadness because believe it or not we actually had quite a comedic night. The usual joking that used to go on in the early days when everything was naive and innocent... but the morning came around real fast.'

Ronan was the first to learn of Stephen's death, being told by the band's solicitor and rang the other members and Louis to notify them.

'It just wouldn't go in,' Keith said. 'Not our Stephen.'

Mikey added: 'My world just fell apart.'

The following year the group headed out on the Brother tour in honour of Stephen, with Mikey explaining: 'It felt good to be in each other's company.'

Elsewhere in the docuseries, talk turned to the toxic infighting that plagued Boyzone.

In 1999, while still a member of the band, Ronan recorded a version of When You Say Nothing at All for the movie Notting Hill which peaked at number one in the UK charts and sparked his decision to pursue a solo career, meaning the band went on hiatus.

During this time, Ronan decided to keep Louis on as his manager but was left frustrated at the direction he was keeping his career on - with Ronan wanting to change the style of his music and write his own songs.

Boyzone: No Matter What charts the rise and fall of the Irish band (L-R Ronan, Mickey Graham, Stephen, Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy in 1994)

Elsewhere in the series, Ronan lashed out at 'vicious' Louis Walsh and detailed Boyzone's 'toxic' infighting as he reflected on the band's bitter final days before splitting

Louis managed Ronan when he started a solo career but was fired. He said: 'There was a divorce, I called him talentless and things and there in the press...'

Lashing out at the music mogul, Ronan said: 'He just got it wrong. He made the wrong choices. He didn't know where the f**k I was!'

Hinting that Louis was more concerned with appearing on shows such as Pop Idol and The X Factor than managing him, he continued 'Louis became a TV personality - he was given that chance because he was the manager of Boyzone.

'Things started falling into place and you realise, Louis is not a great manager. I gave him multiple opportunities to fix things.

'I have one shot at my career and he didn't give a f**k, it fell on deaf ears.'

Hitting back, Louis insisted: 'Ronan was a big middle of the road artist, he appealed to older women, that was his market, that was his line.

'He said he didn't want to be a karaoke artist and wanted to record and write his own songs and be a proper artist - that shocked me.'

Discussing the moment Ronan fired him as manager, Louis shared: 'I always told him the truth, you're a lucky f***er.

'There was a divorce, I called him talentless and things and there in the press... do I regret it? Yeah, a little bit.'

Fuming, Ronan continued: 'He knew how to hurt me, vicious, f***ing bitchy horrible things. He tried to ruin me and my career.'

Louis insisted: 'Ronan was a big middle of the road artist, he appealed to older women, that was his market, that was his line'

As well as his feud with Louis, Ronan was also in the midst of a fallout with the other Boyzone members, who wanted the group to reform, while he wanted to continue his solo career.

Tensions had already been rising between the bandmates before they went on hiatus, with the group struggling to cope with their demanding workload and also feeling resentment at Louis appearing to favour Ronan.

Louis explained: 'As it got bigger it became harder to keep them happy because they wanted more and they wanted more time off.'

Shane explained: 'At its peak was a gruelling time, there was no mercy whatsoever... we were tired, we were broken.'

Mikey added: 'We were all physically and mentally and emotionally exhausted', as Ronan revealed the group hadn't had more than three weeks off in six years.

'We had spent too much time together and with that comes relationship difficulties between us,' Ronan explained. 'Maybe that was the start of cracks.'

Offering his take on the tension, Louis said: 'They all had egos and they all wanted to be more famous than they were.

'Ronan was the one I could depend on, if I needed something done, or if there was a gig somewhere they didn't want to do, I knew he'd talk them into doing it.

'He was managing the group with me, he was making a lot of decisions, I was talking to him almost daily about everything.'
Cherry Healey has revealed that a man tried to force his way into her car in the middle of the day, as she admitted she is scared that threats to women's safety are 'getting worse'.

The TV presenter, 44, took to her Instagram to share details of the terrifying ordeal and ask her followers if they also felt there had been a rise in cat-calling and 'aggressive approaches'.

Filming a video from her car after the incident, she explained she had been hesitant to share her story as she didn't want to be 'seen as a fear monger'.

However, Cherry explained she felt it was important to show others who had been victims of similar attacks that they are not alone or to blame.

The Inside The Factory host began: 'I questioned whether or not to share this, but I often don't, for rightly or wrongly.

'But I think sometimes it's important to share things like this so that if it happens to someone else, they don't think they're alone.'

Cherry Healey has revealed that a man tried to force his way into her car in the middle of the day, as she admitted she is scared that threats to women's safety are 'getting worse'

The TV presenter, 44, took to her Instagram to share details of the terrifying ordeal and ask her followers if they also felt there had been a rise in cat-calling and 'aggressive approaches'

Filming a video from her car after the incident, she explained she had been hesitant to share her story but felt it was important to show others who had been victims of similar attacks that they are not alone or to blame

Detailing the scary incident, she recalled: 'I just dropped my friend off at the tube station, I could see she'd gone out. She'd got to the side of the road. It was all fine.

'A guy approached my car door, and luckily I'd just central locked the car really quickly, and he started to try and get into the car. I was like, "No go away!"'

Cherry continued: 'I'm sharing this particularly because it's in the middle of the day, broad daylight. No I'm not wearing a provocative outfit, no I didn't do anything to provoke the situation.

'Sometimes you hear people saying, you know, what was she wearing? You know, was she out and about, had she had a few drinks? Was she walking through the park late at night?

'If someone attacks you, it is not your fault. It's nothing to do with you. I was in my car, middle of the day.'

Addressing her followers, she asked: 'In fact, can I ask you, do you feel like it's getting worse at the moment? If so, do you have any hypothesis as to why this is happening?

'I feel like there's more shouting, more cat calls, more attempts to kind of approach in an aggressive way.'

Cherry confessed she had become too scared to even go running at night, saying: 'I would not go for a run after the sun went down for all of the money in the world right now.'

She was flooded with supportive messages from her fans and friends, with fellow TV presenter Kate Lawler commenting: 'This is awful Im so sorry lovely'

Cherry's post comes after her Inside The Factory co-host Paddy McGuinness squashed the rumours that he and and Cherry had struck up a romance together (pictured)

She was flooded with supportive messages from her fans and friends, with fellow TV presenter Kate Lawler commenting: 'This is awful Im so sorry lovely'.

While many voiced their agreement with Cherry's thoughts about feeling more unsafe than before, revealing their own terrifying experiences.

Cherry's post comes after her Inside The Factory co-host Paddy McGuinness squashed the rumours that he and and Cherry had struck up a romance together.

The comedian, 51, sent his Instagram followers into a frenzy after he shared an album of snaps with Cherry on the BBC show and dubbed her a 'diamond'.

Among the photos, Paddy, whose divorce with wife Christine was finalised in October last year, shared an insight of the two them enjoying a meal out and visiting a book shop.

While in the caption he gushed: 'The whole crew on Inside The Factory have been a joy to work with. A small but perfectly formed team.

'Also I'd never met @cherryhealey before but we hit it off straight away. Absolutely love working with her, she's an absolute diamond!'

This sparked speculation from fans that the co-stars were dating, with many commenting that the pair 'looked very comfortable together'.

The comedian, 51, sent his Instagram followers into a frenzy after he shared an album of snaps with Cherry on the BBC show and dubbed her a 'diamond'

Among the photos, Paddy, whose divorce with wife Christine was finalised in October last year, shared an insight of the two them enjoying a meal out and visiting a book shop

Paddy made his Inside The Factory debut alongside Cherry last month during the Christmas special, (pictured) after Gregg Wallace stepped down from the show last year

Followers flocked to the comments to ask if they were an item, writing: 'Is this a soft launch of the new Mrs?'; 'Is this your new love? If so all the very best (you look very comfortable together)'; 'I suspect your soulmate.'

But despite excitement from their fans, Paddy broke his silence to deny the rumours, replying: 'Not at all. She's just a great person.'

Paddy made his Inside The Factory debut alongside Cherry last month during the Christmas special, after Gregg Wallace stepped down from the show last year due to the allegations in regard to female factory workers at Nestle, where he was filming at the time.

Previously, Paddy gushed about working with co-host Cherry in an interview with The Sun.

Admitted he had been nervous at the start, he said: 'That's always the tricky bit, you hope you get on.

'But I'm telling you now, me and Cherry do so much laughing. As soon as I met her, we had the biggest talk and we just got on like that.

'This is testament to her - when I did my Children in Need challenge, she turned up in Kendal to surprise me - she even brought me up a lasagne she'd made!'
A Sydney man who bogged his rented Nissan Patrol on a Melbourne beach on Monday morning has admitted he made up his initial claims he drove onto the sand in a desperate mission to save someone.

Mohammed went viral for an interview he did with Today reporter Christine Ahern after getting his car stuck on Elwood Beach in Melbourne's southeast, where vehicles are banned.

As he waited for police to arrive, Mohammed claimed he drove onto the beach to 'save someone'.

A day later, speaking to The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday, he came clean.

'I wasn't saving anyone. The real story is I'm just in Melbourne for a few days, I'm going to head back to Sydney actually,' he told hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson.

'I was waiting for the hot day so I can get a bit of sun and tan. I wanted to make the most of it.

'So Ill just go around with mates to have a camp and enjoy the day.'

Sydney man Mohammed (left), who got his $89,000 Nissan patrol bogged on Elwood Beach early on Monday morning, has revealed the real reason he was driving in the sand

Temperatures in Melbourne on Monday hit a sweltering high of 41 degrees Celsius.

When Kyle, 53, explained to Mohammed that he was not allowed to drive on the beach, he replied: 'I thought I could. I mean, why not?'

Stunned by Mohammed's explanation, Jackie pushed: 'Were you just hoping to camp there? Is that what you were doing? You were going to park the car there and just sleep in the car?'

'Sleep in the car, you know. Just do a bit of sand drive training because I want to get into off-roading a bit more,' he claimed.

The Melbourne visitor became the source of unexpected attention when several police attended to reports of a car being bogged axle-deep at the waterline on the beach.

As he was talking to officers, he came under the notice of Today reporter Christine Ahern who was there to do a 6am weather report, and she interviewed him.

'I was just trying to save someone, and he left,' Mohamed said.

Despite claiming to Today he was 'trying to save someone', Mohammed told The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday he was just trying to 'camp' on the beach

When the reporter said it appeared difficult to remove the car, Mohamed was so confident it would be done that he offered the blonde reporter a bet that she would go to dinner with him if he did so.

'It's not impossible, I'll get it out, I'm confident,' Mohamed said.

'People go to moon, all those things get done - what, I'm not going to be able to get a car out of the water? Come on.

'I'm a human. You know? I've got a power.'

Christine told Nine viewers the interstate traveller had 'not only got the police to worry about, he's also got the council turning up'.

'Mohammed's in all sorts of trouble at the moment because a tow truck did turn up, had a look, and went "nothing I can do", u-turned and drove away,' she said.

However Mohamed's confidence was well placed, as the car was pulled out on a tow-line from a front-end loader shortly after the interview.

Mohamed was behind the wheel and drove away from the scene, with his next challenge being explaining his actions to the hire-car company.

It seems the vehicle may have sustained some water damage as Mohammed told The Kyle and Jackie O Show he was in the midst of getting it repaired.

And while Mohammed was not charged by police for driving on the beach, he had received a $400 fine from the council.
Ruby Rose has adopted a brand new look.

The Meg star, 38, shared a video to Instagram on Monday which saw her rocking a completely shaved head as she spruiked the car brand Jeep.

Donning a loose grey T-shirt and ripped jean shorts, the Australian actress embraced a grungy look.

In the clip, Ruby explained she'd spent the last three weeks in Melbourne where she had been planning her father's funeral and thanked her friends and family for their support following his death.

'I cannot thank everyone enough for the last 3 weeks in Melbourne,' she began in the caption of her video.

'From funeral planners like Ian from Botanicals. The incredible Teri Apartments, who moved mountains to extend my stay during their busiest time (Australian Open).'

Ruby Rose has adopted a brand new look

Ruby went on to give a shout out to equine sanctuary Horse Shepherd before spruiking Jeep in the paid sponsorship video.

The Hollywood star's fresh look comes after she opened up about her late father and the devastating years of abuse he suffered at numerous orphanages and boys' homes while growing up.

The Australian actress' heartfelt comments followed the death of her dad Peter, who died just days out from Christmas.

'RIP Dad. You leave me. Alone. With so many complex emotions,' she wrote in a caption shared to her Instagram Stories last month.

Ruby shared pictures of her late father with her followers on Christmas while detailing the difficult relationship they had shared over the year.

'R.I.P and Merry Christmas Dad,' Ruby wrote.

'I am glad we reconnected a few years ago, not because you had changed all that much, not because it brought me all that much joy, it's actually been very hard. You know that.

'You were very hard. I cut you off twice in that time lol. Once for a year. But our last emails were right before you died. Mine was a kind email and I'm glad.'

The Meg star, 38, shared a video to Instagram on Monday which saw her rocking a completely shaved head as she spruiked the car brand Jeep

She also revealed her father had endured a tumultuous childhood and suffered abuse while at St Augustine's Boys' Orphanage and other boys' homes across Melbourne.

She also slammed former Christian Brother William Houston, who is currently behind bars after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting two boys at St Augustine's.

'I found it very hard to hear about what happened to you as a child,' she wrote.

'What happened to all of your siblings at the hands of St Augustine's and other orphanages and boys homes in Melbourne. Brother Houston I hope you rot in jail.'

Ruby did not reveal her father's cause of death but did hint at their difficult relationship.

She explained knowing about her father's abuse helped her understand him better but did not excuse the suffering she endured at his hands.

'None of this undoes the abuse I incurred down the line, but it helped me understand you,' she wrote.

'To try to understand you was to love you. R.I.P dad I'm very sorry no one protected you. I'm very sorry life was not so much more.

The Hollywood star's fresh shaved look comes after she opened up about her late father (left) and the devastating years of abuse he suffered at numerous orphanages and boys' homes while growing up

'I'm devastated really. You're probably blown away by how sad I am. If you can see me.'

Ruby ended her post by declaring that she had forgiven her father despite him never apologising for the abuse she faced.

'I don't think you ever really said sorry. Not really. You didn't know where to begin, but I forgave you. And I still do,' she wrote.

The former video jockey grew up in country Victoria on a farm with her mother Katia and dad Peter, who was a racehorse breeder.

Her parents split when Ruby was just one year old and she grew up as a 'gypsy kid' and 'moved around a lot' between Churchill, Gippsland, Surfers Paradise and Melbourne.
A bright-yellow shop in California has achieved more sales than they ever could have imagined, despite only selling one niche item - toy ducks.

Kwak, a whimsical spot at Pier 39 in San Francisco that is considered 'the largest rubber duck store West of the Mississippi', quickly turned profitable after the owners, Joanne Calabrese and John Walton, opened its doors in June 2023.

But what started on a 'bit of a whim' morphed into a thriving business - partly due to the unusual fanatic duck-swapping traditions of Jeep owners and cruisegoers, The San Francisco Standard reported.

'Within a month, I was like "this is crazy,"' Calabrese told the outlet. 'I didn't know we could do this much business.'

Kwak offers nearly 600 variations of rubber ducks, including holiday, Taylor Swift and Willie Nelson inspired toys.

Additionally, the shop is filled with career-inspired ducks, sassy 'duck you' ducks, political ducks, large ducks, tiny ducks and of course, classic bathtub ducks.

'We really hit you in the face with ducks when you walk in and make you laugh immediately,' Calabrese told the outlet.

Their success was unexpected and left 'folks agog', as Walton phrased it.

Kwak offers nearly 600 variations of rubber ducks. The store in San Francisco is seen above

The shelves in the store are filled with a variety of ducks

'I mean, we can't believe it either,' he added.

One ecstatic man from Singapore walked out of the shop with 48 ducks - ultimately breaking the record for the largest shopping spree ever preformed at Kwak.

Just last year, Kwak sold a whopping 50,000 rubber ducks - more then they could've ever imagined from their impulsive idea that turned into reality.

But it wasn't just duck-lovers and tourists that led to the booming business - it was a peculiar tradition that happens to revolve around the use of a rubber duck.

Jeep owners 'duck' strangers' cars, mysteriously leaving the toy on the vehicle's windshield or side mirrors.

The same tradition goes for vacationers on cruises, who hide rubber ducks for each other around the ship - making it a goal to locate them before returning back home from sea.

The tradition, which has taken off on Facebook in recent years, garnered widespread attention for being a silly and innocently mischievous game.

Calabrese and Walton's distinctive idea for the small business emerged after they had talked about using their decades of retail experience to open their own shop in the sunny streets of San Fran.

The success of the store is partly due to the unusual fanatic duck-swapping traditions of Jeep owners

The duo behind the business turned their pop-up shop into a full-time venture

The business-savvy duo had formally worked alongside each other at Gap.

Although the pair spoke about the possibility for years, the concept only began to snowball into something more when Calabrese cold-emailed the leasing executive of Pier 39 - asking if the area had any available short-term rental spaces.

And of course, she pitched their wacky idea.

Its silly concept chosen out of impulse meant nothing to the owners before launching their shop - they had no special feelings or passion for the child's bath toy.

Nevertheless, they began stocking up on ducks before they even signed the lease.

The pair were granted a six-month pop-up shop, but the overwhelming interest made them realize that their store had potential - and staying power.

Within the first 12-months of operation, the pair began achieving profitability - indicating a six-figure revenue.

Now 18 months in, they're working with their landlord to secure a two-year extension on the colorful space as they have become successful enough to hire and pay several employees to help out.

Kwak brings in new styles every six to eight weeks - regularly phasing out their ducks that don't receive as much attention, including their 'princess fairy' duck, and replacing them with another kind to try.

Most of the shop's ducks cost anywhere from $10 to $12, but 'higher-end' ducks are $20 and larger pop-culture items by CelebriDucks - a California brand - go for $24.

Recently, Kwak has expanded to selling accessories for the adorable yellow bird, including beanies, bucket hates and umbrellas.

But the traditional ducks remain the store's bestseller by a long shot, including spa ducks, clown ducks and ghost-face ducks - all of which being some of the shoppers favorites.

Within the first 12 months of operation the duo have begun achieving profitability

The duo's fast-track success has recently led to collaborating with an organization in regards to what the process of franchising the shop would look like.

While there are a handful of other duck-dedicated shops across the United States, Walton still believes that the concept is an 'underserved market'.

'Our next step is looking for ways to expand it,' he said. 'Part of that is obviously the bottom line, but it's also just fun.'

'Both Joanne and I have had very serious retail jobs that were tough, and the thing about this is that it's just joyous.'

And as one does in modern times, Kwak's duck inventory is available online. But that takes away the overall in-store experience that drives business up the wall.

Customers are always coming in with groups and family - taking turns picking which duck best represents each person.

'It's about how you feel when you walk in,' Calabrese said. 'It's completely silly, but we're having the most fun ever.'
Millions of student loan borrowers are anxious to know what might happen to their repayment plans, or the possibility of forgiveness, under the new presidential administration.

Experts have warned that some student loan forgiveness plans could be 'on the chopping block' now that Donald Trump has taken office.

While Trump did not speak much about plans for student debt relief on his campaign trail, he has made it very clear that he was at odds with Joe Biden's ambitious forgiveness initiatives.

Over his four years in office, Biden forgave $188.8 billion in debt for 5.3 million borrowers through a series of programs - some of which have been met with fierce criticism.

His Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, in particular, has faced legal action brought by Republican state attorneys.

On his campaign trail, Trump instead spoke about the possible creation of a free higher education academy, and the elimination of the US Department of Education.

'That suggests that this administration's efforts will be geared toward reducing the cost of higher education from the outset, rather than on forgiving debt,' said Denny Ceizyk, consumer lending analyst at Bankrate.

Since taking office, Trump has yet to make any announcements about potential changes.

But whether borrowers are enrolled in a forgiveness program or not, experts have urged that there are steps they can take to prepare.

While Trump did not speak much about any plans for student debt relief on his campaign trail, he made it clear that he disagreed with Joe Biden's ambitious forgiveness initiatives

'At this point, it's important to note that everything is speculation, because we have no specifics,' Kate Wood, lending expert at NerdWallet, told DailyMail.com.

Trump has put forward Linda McMahon to be the next Education Secretary, but there have yet to be any confirmation hearings, she said.

'But the Trump administration has proposed that they could try to put through significant changes to student loan programs with the idea that they would be simplifying repayment by having fewer plans,' she said.

'The catch for borrowers is that simplifying repayment by having fewer plans could mean ending up with more limited forgiveness.'

Plans that would be 'on the chopping block' in that scenario, she said, are the Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF, plan, and the SAVE plan.

The SAVE plan has been in the courts for a while, and a Trump administration is most likely not going to defend that plan, Wood said.

However, she added, these programs are not necessarily the easiest to simply get rid of with the stroke of a pen.

Over the course of his time in office, Biden forgave $188.8 billion in debt for 5.3 million borrowers through a series of programs

'Trump could face some of the same court challenges repealing student debt relief that Biden did trying to put them in place,' Ceizyk, from Bankrate, told DailyMail.com.

'There is also the question of whether or not eliminating forgiveness provisions in the repayment plan would require some sort of Congressional approval.'

That said, experts expect that it may take some time before loan forgiveness is addressed by the incoming administration.

'If you look at the administration's priorities, the education stuff isn't showing up there,' said Wood.

A key talking point for Trump on the campaign trail was the dismantling of the Department of Education.

Although the details of this proposal are relatively unknown, it would transfer the administration of student loans to each individual state, rather than through one centralized federal department.

Despite the uncertainty, experts say there are proactive steps that borrowers in repayment can take in order to quell any anxiety.

'It's important to find what repayment, grace period and deferment options you have sooner than later,' said Ceizyk.

Make sure you have updated contact information for your current servicer and contact them about your situation, he added.

If you currently have a $0 payment, take a look at your budget to see how much extra cash you have each month that could be allocated towards a student loan payment.

'Borrowers facing any type of financial hardship should also discuss forbearance options with their loan servicers as soon as possible.'

Trump has put forward Linda McMahon to be the next Education Secretary, but there have yet to be any confirmation hearings

Protesters after the Supreme Court blocked President Biden's first plan to cancel billions in student loan debt on June 30, 2023

For those enrolled in the SAVE plan, Wood suggested that some borrowers may want to look at what other options may be available to them.

'The future of the SAVE plan is not promising, so borrowers may want to switch to PAYE or ICR, which began taking new applicants in December,' said Wood.

She recommends logging on to studentaid.gov and using the student loan simulator to see how your payments would change if you went on to one of those plans.

Those currently in school or applying for fall 2025 should submit the FAFSA as soon as possible, she added, in case the change in administration causes any processing delays.

'It's been a really rough year for student loan borrowers. There was a lot of news, and most of the news was not positive,' Wood told DailyMail.com.

Some Americans may be waiting to see what happens before making any potential changes - and there is no need to panic if that is the case for you, she said.

'If you're on a repayment plan that works for you, if you're making regular payments and chipping away at that, that's fantastic and you're doing what you need to do.'
Major US banks closed a total of 1,043 branches over the course of last year, leaving communities with dwindling local services.

The bloodbath of closures is also set to accelerate in 2025, resulting in a further 4.11 percent decrease by the end of the year, a new study from Self Financial revealed.

Bank of America closed the most locations of any bank in 2024, filing notice to close 168 of its branches.

It was followed closely by US Bank, which also filed paperwork to shut 156 of its own locations.

The other major institutions that made up the top five for closures were Wells Fargo which closed 126 in the same period; Chase, which shut 103 and PNC, 76.

The closures are registered with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and represent planned closures. This means they are likely to close but is not a final confirmation.

The worst hit state last year was California which saw 127 local branches from different banks wiped out.

The Golden State was followed by New York which lost 74 branches in the same twelve months, next to Texas, which lost 68.

Loss of local branches is a struggle for some older clients who do not use mobile banking

'Retail bank closures in the US aren't slowing, and in fact our research shows that the last time this many people relied on a local bank branch was in 1995,' Darren Kingman from Root Digital who worked on the Self Financial study told DailyMail.com.

'There's no doubt we're moving towards a cashless society but this increase in people per bank branch and the fact over 200 million Americans still make cash deposits will only mean longer wait times in banks and a potentially a lower overall customer experience,' Kingman explained.

The closures come despite the fact that 45 percent of Americans still prefer to carry out their banking needs in person, a new survey carried out by GoBankingRates found.

'The shift towards online banking is growing more intense in 2025,' GoBankingRates lead data content researcher Andrew Murray told DailyMail.com.

'Despite the trend towards online banking, our survey data shows more than half of Americans are concerned about the rising number of physical branches that have shut down in the past few years,' Murray explained.

'Meanwhile, a whopping 76 percent says that the current banking system needs small or major changes.'

Further to this more than half of respondents said they were concerned about the rising number of physical bank branch closures over the last few years.

Meanwhile, new research recently revealed that the last physical bank branch could close in the US in 2041.

Major US banks closed a total of 1,043 branches over the course of last year, leaving communities with dwindling local services

Chase closed 103 in 2024, placing it in the top 5 of banks that closed the most branches

Experts from Self Financial reached the number by studying the rate of net closures across the country, which has averaged 1,646 each year since 2018.

Despite the majority of Americans now opting to do the majority of their banking online, customers still prefer to use physical branches for particular services.

It is also a struggle for some older clients to operate services such as mobile banking.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans still use a physical branch to make cash deposits, while over half use them to speak to an in-person adviser, the report found.

'Client's banking preferences and behaviors are changing, including a rapid migration toward digital and mobile banking platforms, and a desire for greater simplicity,' a spokesperson for US Bank told DailyMail.com.

'As we evolve along with our clients, we are reevaluating our physical footprint, and in some instances, consolidating branch locations in select markets.

'Although we are closing some branches, we continue to open and enhance others, as well as rapidly enhancing our digital capabilities.'

Wells Fargo echoed similar sentiments in a statement to DailyMail.com.

'Branches continue to play an important role in the way we serve our customers in combination with our mobile app, online website, and ATMs,' a spokesperson for the bank said.

'As we optimize our branch network, we are focused on evolving our branch presence based on customer usage and the changing traffic patterns and retail landscape to best meet the banking needs of each community we serve.'

Chase reiterated that as well as its closures the bank opened 152 new branches last year, more than any other bank.

The openings 'highlight our commitment to expanding our presence and accessibility,' a spokesperson for Chase said in a statement.

'Some locations were strategically consolidated to better serve our communities.

'We continue to focus on growth, with plans to build 500 new branches by 2027, ensuring service in all 48 contiguous states and tailoring our offerings to meet community needs.'
Americans can triple their paid time off in 2025 - just by planning ahead and being very selective when they use days.

Most workers get 10 to 15 vacation days per year, thought it varies between jobs.

By incorporating weekends and federal holidays it is possible to turn just ten days of PTO into 45 days of holiday in 2025.

Of course, this only works if you already get weekends and public holidays off from work.

Travel experts at Rightway Parking have also laid out a plan to use this time to travel nine countries, six states and sixteen cities. Scroll down to see the full suggested itinerary.

The plans takes vacationers from Martin Luther King Day through to Christmas.

'We wanted this hack to work for everyone and since most entry-level positions offer 10 days of allotted vacation days, we've managed to squeeze in eleven potential trips using just these days,' Matt Pfleiderer, CEO of Rightway Parking said of the itinerary.

'For others with more time off, we have given Americans the opportunity to explore the world without sacrificing their entire years' worth of PO days.

Travel experts recommend travelling to San Juan in Puerto Rico around Juneteenth

'These trips hope to be culturally rich and exciting, all while maximizing workers' limited vacation days.

Highlights of these adventures include a romantic getaway to Paris, a scenic cruise to Mexico, and an eight-day European tour, along with five opportunities for three-day weekends to enjoy shorter domestic breaks.

The suggested itinerary is expected to cost US travelers an estimated $5,670 over the course of the year.

The cost is estimated on flights from the six busiest airports in the US plus any internal train fares needed at the destination.

More than half of Americans don't use their full holiday allowance, according to a recent survey by Expedia.

Maximising long weekends around federal holidays may be a good fit for those less inclined to take weeks away from the office.

'Federal holidays and long weekends are your best friend here,' Jesse Neugarten, CEO and Founder of Dollar Flight Club told Forbes.

'If you time it right, you can turn just 15 PTO days into over 50 days off in a year.'

Your browser does not support iframes.

Visit Charleston in South Carolina for three days between July 4 - 6

Niagara Falls in upstate New York and Canada is one of North America's favorite attractions

A romantic getaway to Paris is just one of the international trips recommended for 2025

For example, taking Thursday, July 3 off this year will give you a four-day weekend because July 4 falls on a Friday.

Holidays like Memorial Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving are also great opportunities to take an uninterrupted break.

Christmas and New Year are also popular ways to extend usual holidays in to a longer vacation.

One of the downsides of this strategy is travel and hotels can often be significantly more expensive as demand soars around key dates.

Other experts cautioned against using up all possible PTO days to leave room for flexibility.

'Life is unpredictable, and holding back a few PTO days for spontaneous needswhether it's a personal matter or an exciting last-minute opportunitycan help you feel in control,' leadership expert Edel Holliday-Quinn told the publication.

Another hack recommended by HR expert Laurie Cure recommends adding vacation days or a long weekend to the end of business trips for those who travel for work.

'This saves both money and time,' Cure told Forbes.
A successful founder has one key question she always asks potential employees during their job interviews.

Elizabeth Gore, who has hired hundreds of people throughout her business career, says the answers interviewees give always reveal their eligibility for the job.

Gore co-founded the entrepreneur app Hello Alice seven years ago and has conducted countless job interviews since.

At those interviews Gore asks: 'What do you think we're doing wrong at our company?'

Gore told CNBC the question helps her gauge which candidates have done their research and are considering how to push the company's success forward in the future.

'How are you going to push our company goals? What innovation are they bringing to the table?' are questions Gore wants to look for in a candidate, she told the publication.

'Asking what Hello Alice is doing "wrong" is a way to see if a candidate has actively thought about problem solving and how to move the company forward,' she explained.

For Gore, certain attributes in employees are particularly important when hiring for a startup company.

Elizabeth Gore co-founded the entrepreneur app Hello Alice seven years ago

Asking where a company goes wrong shows they 'can think on their feet.'

However, when answering the question candidates must show that they can be tactful and respectful, according to Gore.

'How you deliver that answer is as important as what you deliver,' she told CNBC.

Gore says candidates who simply say 'well, you suck at these five things,' come across as mean and condescending which would not contribute to a positive work environment.

Instead Gore advises job seekers to answer by saying 'here's a growth area that I would recommend.'

Many successful business leaders have a preferred question they like to ask candidates at job interviews.

Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Technology Association, recently revealed that he asks all those he interviews how soon they could start their new role.

If they say they can start in less than two weeks 'they don't get the job, because they'll treat us the way they treat that former employer,' the 68-year-old explained.

Gore said her question helps gauge which candidates have done their research

Businesses across the country are grappling with hikes to minimum wages

Shapiro emphasizes that how people leave their previous jobs is a 'really important' factor in his hiring decisions.

'I want an [employee] with a level of commitment to their organization, even if they don't love their job, where they won't leave their employer hanging,' the longtime CEO told CNBC.

Employment has been a key concern in recent months as the Fed watches payroll figures as one gauge on how their rate-cutting cycle is faring.

Businesses across the country are also grappling with hikes to minimum wages implemented at the start of the year.

In some cities such as Burien in Washington these are now more than $20 an hour.

Meanwhile, one recruiter recently warned of the biggest red flags that instantly turn off employers during a job interview.

Recruiter Emily Levine said seeming 'overeager to get promoted instead of focusing on the job they applied for' hiring companies.

In addition, Levine recommended candidates do as much research as possible about the company they're applying to.

She said interviewers can always tell when someone is 'winging it,' and can be put off by that.
Starbucks is training staff how to de-escalate conflict after taking away a popular customer perk, and even installing 'panic buttons' in some shops.

Earlier this month, the coffee chain announced that customers will have to make a purchase to enjoy its spaces, including restrooms.

The shift marked the end of a seven-year experiment in open-door inclusivity, which allowed Americans to visit locations without buying anything.

In preparation for any anger or conflict that could arise from this, Starbucks is conducting three-hour training sessions for employees.

A set of documents from the barista training tells workers that they should 'leverage de-escalation tactics' if regular customers refuse to comply with the new rules, Business Insider reported.

And some coffee shops even have a 'panic button' to help workers ahead of a potential increase in altercations with customers.

One Starbucks employee in Center City, Philadelphia, said there is an emergency button which locks the store's doors to new customers while still allowing those in the store to exit.

As a result of the new rules, he anticipates workers will be subject to more harassment and 'verbal abuse' from customers, Fortune reported.

Starbucks is training staff how to de-escalate conflict after taking away a popular customer perk

'We know that these situations are going to happen more frequently in our store,' the anonymous employee told the outlet.

'And we will not be able to take the measures that we need to make ourselves safe.'

He said the panic button also alerts an internal security team, but he has not been briefed on when it is appropriate to use the button.

Starbucks said it has only implemented the button in around five locations nationwide as part of a test to optimize in-store security, and will not be expanding the measure to all other stores at this time.

The employee said long lines due to a build up of mobile orders and complicated menu items can lead to a higher number of frustrated customers.

According to Business Insider, the training included specific scenarios including what to do if a regular customer sits in-store for a 'prolonged' amount of time without buying anything, or asks to fill up a water bottle without making a purchase.

The open-door policy will be reversed beginning on January 27, and is part of a wider set of changes new CEO Brian Niccol is bringing in at Starbucks.

The chain is making sweeping changes in a bid to win back customers after three consecutive quarters of declining sales.

The policy is part of a slew of changes brought in by new CEO Brian Niccol

Starbucks' new code of conduct, which takes effect on January 27, mandates that cafes, patios, and restrooms are reserved only for paying customers, their guests, and employees

The new rule mandates that cafes, patios, and restrooms are reserved only for paying customers, their guests, and employees.

The rules explicitly ban harassment, smoking, outside alcohol, drug use, and panhandling. Violators will be asked to leave, and law enforcement may be involved if necessary.

Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson emphasized the intent behind the new rules: 'We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in our stores. By setting clear expectations for behavior and use of our spaces, we can create a better environment for everyone.'

The previous open-door policy was put in place in 2018, after two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks where they had gone for a business meeting.

The arrest, which was caught on video, was a major embarrassment for the company.

It sparked national outrage leading to a temporary closure of all US stores for racial sensitivity training.

At the time, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz said he didn't want people to feel 'less than' if they were refused access.

'We don't want to become a public bathroom, but we're going to make the right decision 100 percent of the time and give people the key,' Howard Schultz said at the time.

A Starbucks worker in Philadelphia said long lines due to a build up of mobile orders and complicated menu items can lead to a higher number of frustrated customers

In 2018, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, both 23, were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks when a manager called to complain about them loitering

But this decision has not been without its issues, with many baristas reporting dealing with loitering, inappropriate behavior, and even dangerous situations.

In 2022, Starbucks closed 16 stores, including locations in Los Angeles and Seattle, citing safety issues such as drug use and disruptive conduct.

Starbucks North America President Sara Trilling said at the time: 'There is a need to reset expectations for how our spaces should be used, and who uses them.'

CEO Niccol has vowed to restore Starbucks' reputation as a community hub by reintroducing cozy furniture, ceramic mugs, and condiment bars - features that had been removed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trade ministers of India and Oman on Monday reviewed progress of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries and focused on advancing the negotiations for the pact.

The agreement was discussed between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Oman's Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef in Muscat.

"Our talks focused on advancing negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), strengthening trade and investment ties, and exploring avenues to further deepen our bilateral partnership," Goyal said on X. Goyal is in Muscat for the Joint Commission Meeting, which will be held on January 28.

On January 14, India and Oman held the fifth round of talks for the agreement, aiming to boost bilateral economic ties.

The negotiations for the agreement, officially dubbed CEPA, formally began in November 2023. In such agreements, two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on a maximum number of goods traded between them. They also ease norms to promote trade in services and attract investments. Oman is the third largest export destination among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries for India.

India already has a similar agreement with another GCC member UAE which came into effect in May 2022. The bilateral trade has declined to USD 8.94 billion (exports USD 4.42 billion and imports USD 4.5 billion) in 2023-24 from USD 12.39 billion (exports USD 4.47 billion and imports USD 7.91 billion) in 2022-23. India's key imports are petroleum products and urea.
With a focus on reducing costs, increasing speed and expanding logistics, Indian Railways drives Indias progress and unity

Every journey by train across India tells a story of the destinations reached and the people brought together to bridge gaps that geography and society once created. Indian Railways has a rich legacy that has been around for more than 170 years, with its recognition as the fourth-largest railway network in the world.

Of late, two large projects have captured the countrys attention, reflecting the transformative vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modis leadership. He inaugurated the Jammu Division, which addresses a long-standing demand and precedes the first direct train service to Kashmir in six decades. This will be the 70th railway division of the Indian Railways and the 6th under Northern Railways, all set to energise this regions economy and fulfil a cherished dream of seamless connectivity.

Equally important was the foundation stone he laid for the headquarters of the newly created South Coast Railway Zone. This 18th zone would unleash a new trade, agriculture and tourism era, breathing fresh life into the local economy. Together, these achievements underscore Indian Railways role as a mode of transportation and a driver of growth and national unity.

The recent decisions align with the 2015 Railway Reforms report by economist Bibek Debroy, which recommended empowering field officers, General Managers, and Divisional Railway Managers. The government has implemented most of these suggestions, including creating a new division and zone to enhance the railways competitiveness. Additionally, initiatives like Vande Bharat trains and the KAVACH safety system focus on integrating technology. The establishment of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya and the creation of the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) on April 1, 2017, address safety concerns, with a funding commitment of Rs 1 lakh crore for five years, recently extended with an additional Rs 45,000 crores for 2022-23. Indian Railways is progressing rapidly, but even powerful engines encounter challenges that require careful navigation.

While celebrating current achievements, its essential to identify potential obstacles ahead to maintain and accelerate momentum. Potential obstacles to growing at a faster rate require working simultaneously on increasing Share, Speed and reducing Service charges. Primarily 3 S Strategy. The first and foremost thing that Indian Railways should do is to reduce Service charges (Logistics Costs). According to the Economic Survey 2022-23, the current logistics costs in India are in the range of 14-18 per cent of GDP against a global benchmark of 8 per cent. While India has jumped up the rankings on the World Banks Logistics Performance Index from 54 in 2014 to 44 in 2018 and up to 38 in 2023, there remains a competitive gap of almost $300 billion (Rs 26 lakh crore). This is a significant improvement, as India has moved up six places from 44th in 2018 and 16 places from 54th in 2014. Indian Railways has taken commendable strides in this direction through track electrification, improvement in digital logistics systems, and enhancement of freight handling.

Building on these, there is a need for a time-bound plan to reduce logistics costs further. The key measures include increasing the share of rail in transporting bulk commodities, expanding terminal capacities, and ensuring last-mile connectivity efficiently. A policy to protect freight customers from cross-subsidisation and improve operational cost efficiency will also be pivotal in achieving global standards. The average speed of trains, both passenger and freight, is an area where Indian Railways has seen some success and has the potential for huge further improvement. The average speed of superfast trains in India is 55 km/hr, significantly lower than global benchmarks.

With a greater focus on terminal infrastructure and capacity, this speed could immediately increase by 7 to 10 km/hr. On the other hand, the average speed of goods trains is officially recorded at 25 km/hr; however, customers often experience a much lower speed of 13-15 km/hr due to delays and inefficiencies.

To improve the efficiency of operations, customer satisfaction, and competitiveness, efforts should be made to enhance asset reliability, reduce detentions at terminals by increasing their capacity, and invest strategically in specific sections to increase speed.

Finally, to increase the share of railways in the countrys logistics, which currently stands at around 27 per cent, it is essential to pursue a strategic imperative relentlessly. While Indian Railways has done a commendable job modernising freight terminals and expanding its freight network, there is still room for improvement to make rail transport the preferred choice for logistics.

Pricing must be competitive; rail freight charges should consistently remain cost-effective compared to road transport. Continuous investment in terminal improvements, enhancing customer experiences, and implementing customer-friendly policies will enable Indian Railways to further contribute to national logistics.

These initiatives position rail transport as the cornerstone of Indias logistics ecosystem, fostering sustainable economic growth. Modernising infrastructure and safety systems and introducing advanced trains have transformed the railways into a key driver of connectivity and logistics in India. As it embraces change, Indian Railways must focus on increasing its Share in the countrys logistics movement, that too with higher Speed and lower Service cost (3 S Strategy). Doing so can continue connecting dreams and people like never before.

(The writer professor of finance -XLRI Xavier School of Management and BJP leader; views are personal)
Since the Talibans resurgence in 2021, South Asia has faced profound geopolitical shifts, revealing Taliban fractures and amplifying extremist threats

Since the Talibans resurgence in Afghanistan in 2021, South Asia has experienced profound shifts in its regional dynamics. What initially appeared to be a strategic victory for Pakistan has instead revealed deep fractures within the Taliban, the emergence of internal resistance movements, and a growing threat from extremist factions. These developments have forced Pakistans intelligence services, particularly the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to recalibrate their strategy.

Historically, the ISI concentrated its support on the Southern Wing of the Taliban (SWIN), a Pashtun-led faction. However, recent changes indicate a pivot toward engaging the Afghan-Wing Intelligence Network (AWIN), which collaborates with non-Pashtun factions, most notably the National Resistance Front (NRF). This faction, led by Ahmad Massoud, has gained significant traction in northern Afghanistan, challenging the Talibans hold.This strategic shift by the ISI has implications far beyond Afghanistans borders, influencing neighbouring countries such as India, Tajikistan, and Bangladesh. Pakistans growing support for the NRF, coupled with the recent visit of the ISI chief to Bangladesh, highlights a broader regional strategy aimed at reshaping South Asias security dynamics and diplomatic alignments.

ISIs Strategic Shift: From SWIN to AWIN

For decades, Pakistans policy in Afghanistan has revolved around supporting the Southern Wing of the Taliban (SWIN), a predominantly Pashtun-centric faction. This alignment was rooted in Pakistans desire to maintain influence in Afghanistan while countering Indias regional presence. Leaders like Mullah Omar and Hibatullah Akhundzada embodied the Talibans Pashtun-dominated leadership, aligning closely with Pakistans ideological and strategic objectives. However, the Talibans return to power in 2021 has not unfolded as Pakistan had hoped. Instead of consolidating power and stabilising Afghanistan, the Taliban has struggled to govern effectively. Its failure to establish an inclusive government and address the growing threat posed by ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and other extremist groups has led to widespread instability. Furthermore, resistance movements like the NRF, composed of Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazaras, have challenged Taliban rule in northern Afghanistan, particularly in the provinces of Panjshir, Badakhshan, and Takhar.

In response to these developments, Pakistan has shifted its focus from SWIN to AWIN, which prioritises engagement with non-Pashtun factions such as the NRF. By supporting AWIN, Pakistan is acknowledging that a fragmented Afghanistan, divided along ethnic lines, could better serve its strategic interests than a centralised Taliban-led government. This approach also enables Pakistan to counter Indias influence in Afghanistan, as India has historically allied with non-Pashtun factions, providing them with military, economic, and diplomatic support.

The NRF and Non-Pashtun Resistance: Pakistans New Allies The National Resistance Front (NRF), led by Ahmad Massoud, has emerged as the primary opposition to the Taliban. Ahmad Massoud, the son of the legendary Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, has rallied Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazaras under the NRF banner. These ethnic groups have long been marginalised under the Talibans Pashtun-dominated rule. The NRFs guerrilla warfare tactics have posed a significant challenge to the Taliban, particularly in northern Afghanistan.

Pakistans engagement with the NRF through AWIN presents several advantages. First, it weakens the Talibans hold on power, which serves Pakistans goal of maintaining leverage in Afghanistan. Second, it ensures that Afghanistan remains politically fragmented, preventing any single faction from dominating the region. This fragmentation allows Pakistan to exert influence over multiple stakeholders, including the NRF, which could align with Pakistans interests more closely than the Taliban has. However, this strategy is fraught with risks. The NRF has historically been aligned with India, which has supported non-Pashtun groups in Afghanistan as a counterbalance to Pakistans influence. If India perceives Pakistans engagement with the NRF as a threat to its interests, it could escalate tensions in the region.

Bangladesh: The ISI Chiefs Visit and Its Implications: Another significant development in this evolving regional strategy is the recent visit of the ISI chief to Bangladesh. This visit underscores Pakistans intent to strengthen ties with Bangladesh at a time when South Asias geopolitical landscape is in flux. While Bangladesh has traditionally maintained a policy of non-interference in Afghanistans internal affairs, the growing instability in the region has implications for its own security. Pakistans outreach to Bangladesh serves multiple purposes.

First, it seeks to counterbalance Indias influence in the region. Bangladesh, with its strategic location in South Asia and its growing economic importance, is a key player in regional geopolitics. Strengthening ties with Dhaka could provide Pakistan with a valuable ally in its broader regional strategy.

Second, Pakistan is likely seeking cooperation with Bangladesh on counterterrorism efforts. The rise of extremist groups like ISIS-K and the TTP in Afghanistan poses a threat not only to Pakistan but also to neighboring countries, including Bangladesh. The ISIs interest in intelligence-sharing and counterterrorism collaboration reflects a recognition of these shared security concerns.

Finally, the visit signals Pakistans broader strategic aims in South Asia. By engaging with Bangladesh, Pakistan may be seeking to secure a favorable diplomatic position in anticipation of further instability in Afghanistan. Bangladeshs strategic location near the Bay of Bengal and its potential role in regional security frameworks make it an important partner for Pakistans evolving strategy.

Indias Strategic Calculus: India, as a dominant power in South Asia, has a vested interest in Afghanistans stability. Historically, India has supported non-Pashtun groups like the Northern Alliance and the NRF, providing them with military and economic aid. Indias objectives in Afghanistan are twofold: countering Pakistans influence and preventing the region from becoming a haven for terrorism. The ISIs shift toward supporting the NRF complicates Indias strategic calculations. On the one hand, this development aligns with Indias historical support for non-Pashtun factions.

On the other hand, Pakistans involvement in the NRF could undermine Indias influence over the group and create new challenges for its regional strategy. To navigate this complex landscape, India will need to carefully balance its engagement with Afghan resistance movements while avoiding actions that could escalate tensions with Pakistan.

Tajikistans involvement in Afghanistans evolving dynamics is significant due to its strong ethnic, cultural, and linguistic ties with Afghanistans Tajik population. Tajikistan has consistently opposed Taliban rule, citing concerns over the marginalisation of Tajiks and the destabilising effects of Taliban policies on its borders. As a result, Tajikistan has become a key supporter of the NRF, providing it with logistical and political backing.

Pakistans engagement with the NRF through AWIN creates an opportunity for cooperation with Tajikistan. Both countries share an interest in countering the Taliban and preventing Afghanistan from becoming a breeding ground for extremist groups. However, Tajikistan must balance this cooperation with its relationships with other regional powers, including Russia and China, which have their own stakes in Afghanistans stability.

The evolving situation in Afghanistan is reshaping the strategic landscape of South Asia. Pakistans shift from supporting SWIN to engaging with AWIN and the NRF reflects a broader recalibration of its regional strategy. This approach aims to weaken the Taliban, counter Indias influence, and maintain Pakistans leverage in Afghanistans fractured political environment. For countries like India, Tajikistan, and Bangladesh, these changes present both opportunities and challenges. Each nation must navigate the complexities of Afghanistans internal politics, the shifting allegiances of various factions, and the broader geopolitical competition between Pakistan and India.

(The writer is a leading authority on geopolitics and counter terrorism, views are personal)
Admitting that his government could not fulfil three guarantees that he had promised in 2020, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday released the partys manifesto. This is the first time that a political party, contesting the elections in the country, admitted that they could not fulfill their promises. Featuring a road map for the next five year if voted to power in Delhi, the manifesto has a list of 15 assurances, titled Kejriwal ki guarantees - a spin on the BJPs Modi ki guarantees.

AAP chief accepted that his government was unable to fulfill three things that they had promised during 2020 Assembly polls, including cleaning of Yamuna, fixing roads and drinking water supply, and further reasoned that it was due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the alleged fake cases against his senior party leaders and ministers, due to which they had to spend time behind bars and all the work was hindered.

When we returned to power in 2020, I promised you three things: every household will have 247 water supply, Yamuna will be cleaned, and Delhi streets will be of European standards. However, we failed. The COVID-19 Pandemic hit India in March and continued for 2.5 years. After that they [BJP] started jailing my team by implicating us in fake cases. Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh... all were jailed. My team was scattered, Kejriwal said. He alleged that it was the BJP-led Centre that had jailed him and his top leaders, to disrupt the governments works, so that the Delhi can be made to look bad in the eyes of people. Kejriwal further assured that now he and his party leaders are out of jail, and will fix everything as soon as the party is re-elected.

Announcing his guarantees to the people of Delhi, Kejriwal said, Today, we are going to release Kejriwals guarantee for the upcoming Delhi Assembly pollsKejriwals guarantee means pakki baat. They (BJP) release manifestos and sankalp patras and make promises under many other namesbut they dont fulfil them. Unke liye ye sab chunavi jumle hote hain. The BJP promised to give Rs 15,000. But people never received the money in their accounts. When Amit Shah was asked about this, he said ye sab promises chunavi jumle hain.

The AAPs 15 guarantees included jobs to unemployed in next five years, Rs 2,100 monthly allowances to women under Mahila Samman Yojana, free treatment for elderly in private hospitals under Sanjeevani Yojana, Waiver of inflated water bills, 24x7 water supply to all households, Yamuna cleaning, redeveloping roads of Delhi as per European standard, scholarships for Dalit students, free bus rides for male students, Rs 18,000 monthly allowance to Hindu and Sikh priests, extension of free water and electricity to tenants, overhauling of existing sewer lines, ration cards to the needy and funds to resident welfare associations (RWAs) to hire private security.

However, this is Kejriwals Guarantee, not Modis. This is a firm guarantee, not a hollow one like theirs. Today, we are announcing 15 Kejriwal Ki Guarantees, which will be fulfilled in the next five years, he said. He also blamed the BJP for doing something with regard to the water bills, claiming that after he was jailed, behind his back the bills witnessed a sudden spike, and asked people not pay faulty bills, because as soon as his party is re-elected, they will be waived off.

Claiming to be the pioneer in using the guarantee concept in politics, Kejriwal also said, the AAP has coined the term guarantee first in the country. After us, the BJP stole it, but the difference is, we fulfil our guarantees, and they do not, he said.

Promising that the Mahila Samman Yojana will be implemented in the first Cabinet meeting of the new AAP government, Kejriwal said that Jhaadu is symbolic of goddess of wealth, Laxmi. If you press Jhaadu button in the EVM and you have around two women in your family you will get additional Rs 4,000 every month, in addition to the saving of Rs 25,000 every month, Kejriwal said.
The electoral battle on the Babarpur Assembly constituency is being seen as a battle of prestige for the ruling AAP with its state convener Gopal Rai fighting from the seat, who would be vying to secure a third term from there.

The BJP has fielded Naresh Gaur and the Congress has named Anveeksha Jain as its candidates from this seat.

On the counting day, which will be held on February 8, this seat will be closely watched for the ruling party after the New Delhi seat from where AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is contesting and Jangpura seat which is being contested by former Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia.

Babarpur is geographically surrounded by Yamuna Vihar to the north, Maujpur to the west, Seelampur to the south, and Chajjupur to the east. Located in the northern Shahdara region of Delhi, it is well-connected by the main 100-feet road in Ashok Nagar. Additionally, the constituency lies close to the Ghaziabad-Loni border.

The constituency, which falls under the North-east parliamentary constituency, is a home to rural and urban sections, including Balbir Nagar, Chhajjupur, Ghonda Extn, Harijan Basti, Indira Niketan, Janta Mazdoor Colony, Kabir Nagar, Kardam Puri, Maujpur, New Jafrabad, North Ghonda and Yamuna Vihar.

It was once a stronghold of BJP with the party winning the seat four of the five times between 1993 and 2013. However, with the AAP entering electoral politics, things took a turn.

Even though Rai could not win in 2013, when the party bagged 28 seats and formed a government for 49 days with help from the Congress, he was elected the MLA from the seat in 2015 and 2020. Rai, who came third in 2013 with just 22.37 percent votes, became the MLA from the seat when he bagged 59.14 per cent votes in 2015. Gaur had won from the seat in the 2013 and 2008 polls.

In 2015, the seat had a total 1,92,358 electors out of which the total number of valid votes was 1,28,822. AAP candidate Gopal Rai won, securing a total of 76,179 votes while BJPs Naresh Gaur stood second with a total 40,908 votes. He lost by 35,271 votes.

In 2020, Rai won again from the seat which had total 2,17,243 electors out of which total number of valid votes was 1,42,736. Rai again defeated BJPs Gaur by a margin of 33,062 votes. While Rai secured a total of 84,776 votes, Gaur stood second with a total 51,714 votes.

In 2025 too, AAPs Rai is again in a direct contest with Gaur. According to the Election Commission, the seat has a total 2,16,473 voters comprising 1,14,617 males, 1,01,841 females and 15 third genders.

The seat sees a considerable presence of Muslims and Pandits which compromise 35 per cent and 19 per cent of the area respectively. Moreover, the seat also has 17 per cent Other Backward Castes (OBC), 8 per cent Vaishyas, 7 per cent Gujjars, 6 per cent Scheduled Castes (SC), 5 per cent Rajputs and 3 per cent Jats.

Babarpur is home to several manufacturing units, including some operating illegally in its industrial areas. The locality faces significant sanitation challenges, with open drains filled with stagnant garbage being a recurring problem for residents.

To address this, the government recently initiated a sewage management project in the area.

Additionally, last year saw the launch of two mohalla clinics and the installation of CCTV cameras for improved public health and security. In June of the same year, a Delhi court charged 12 individuals with rioting, unlawful assembly, murder, destruction of evidence, mischief, dacoity, and conspiracy in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Babarpur, where seven people lost their lives.
Samajwadi Party leader Mata Prasad Pandey who is leader of opposition in Uttar Pradesh assembly, has alleged that pilgrims visiting the Devi Patan Dham in Balrampur district will soon have to cough up a fee and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of profiteering in the name of religion.

The Devi Patan Dham in Balrampur is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths.

Pandey, who was in Balrampur on Sunday, said, Under the guise of religion, the BJP is preparing to snatch peoples rights and harass them. Soon, visitors to the Devi Patan temple will be required to purchase tickets for darshan. A law for this has already been passed, he claimed.

Ayodhya is being sold off. Land is being taken away from the poor and handed over to large industrialists. Big hotels are being built there, and extortion is taking place in the name of development. In South India, where the BJP has little presence, it is bringing people from there to temples for political and economic gains, he said.

The son of Ram Mandir Construction Committee chairman Nripendra Mishra was given a BJP ticket from Shravasti, but the people of Shravasti and Ayodhya rejected the BJP. Today, the BJP is running around in distress, both in Uttar Pradesh and across the country, he said.

Responding to BJPs jibes at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadavs participation in the Kumbh Mela, Pandey said, Regardless of what the BJP says, Akhilesh Yadav has always been genuinely concerned about the welfare of the poor, backward classes, Dalits, minorities and the oppressed. His commitment to their uplift remains unwavering.

On the Milkipur assembly bypoll on February 5, Pandey accused the BJP of relying on administrative machinery instead of genuine public support.

The BJP is not contesting the Milkipur election; it is being fought by officials on their behalf. Had the BJP contested it fairly, their position would have been clear. Like the previous bypoll, they are attempting to win using bureaucratic influence. However, this time, the people of Milkipur are firmly standing against them, and BJP is set to face a humiliating defeat.

Reiterating his partys support for the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi assembly elections, Pandey emphasised that the INDIA bloc is standing against the BJP with strength.

The Samajwadi Party is supporting the AAP in Delhi because it is the AAP that can defeat the BJP there. The INDIA bloc stands strong against BJP across the country, he said.
With just eight days left for the highly anticipated Delhi assembly elections, the BJP is holding multiple rallies, public meetings and roadshows amping up its attack on the ruling AAP with the Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal addressing two public meetings on Monday in Krishna Nagar and Dwarka.

Addressing a public meeting in support of candidate Dr. Anil Goyal in Krishna Nagar, Sharma said that the way children, old and young people have died by drowning in water in Delhi last monsoon, it is hard to believe that Delhi is the country's capital. He also claimed, Every city in our Rajasthan has a better drainage system than this Delhi.

Moreover, as part of the BJP's intensive campaign for the Delhi Assembly elections, 26 public meetings were organized today, which were addressed by senior BJP leaders including Hardeep Singh Puri, Dr. Sukanto Majumdar, Manoj Tiwari, Ravi Kishan, Sanjeev Balyan, and Prem Chand Bairwa among others and appealed for a change in power for a developed Delhi.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri addressed public meetings in support of Harish Khurana in Moti Nagar and Umang Bajaj in Rajendra Nagar. He said, Today under Arvind Kejriwal's misrule, whether poor or rich, everyone is facing drinking water crisis, they are forced to buy water to drink but the sewerage system is not working in these two assembly constituencies, last monsoon there was such waterlogging that four administrative service candidates died untimely. Kejriwal should apologize to the people of Delhi for such chaos.

Union Minister of State Dr. Sukanto Majumdar addressed a public meeting in support of Dushyant Gautam in Karol Bagh and said that the migrants who have settled in Delhi from other states are ashamed today that the roads and general facilities of their BJP-ruled home states are better than the country's capital.

Northeast Delhi BJP MP Manoj Tiwari addressed public meetings in Badarpur, Tughlakabad, Sangam Vihar and Chhatarpur. Targeting the AAP over mistreatment of Purvanchalis, he said, The Purvanchal community of Delhi is now fed up with Kejriwal's misrule and the Purvanchal community settled in Delhi is now standing with the BJP for the better future of Delhi.

Lok Sabha BJP MP Ravi Kishan campaigned extensively in Delhi for the third consecutive day and said in the Purvanchal Samaj Samvad programs in Wazirpur, Patparganj, Malviya Nagar and Model Town that Kejriwal always insults our Purvanchal pride by saying that people of Purvanchal come with a ticket of Rs 500 and run away after getting free treatment worth Rs 5 lakh. Now the Purvanchal society settled in Delhi will not forgive Arvind Kejriwal for insulting them and will send Kejriwal off on 8th February, he claimed.

Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan Premchand Bairwa also did intensive door to door campaigning along with a huge public meeting in support of BJP candidate Anil Gaur in Seelampur.

MP Kiran Chaudhary, former MP Locket Chatterjee, National Spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, and former Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan also addressed many public meetings and created an environment to ensure BJP's victory.
On the occasion of the 76th Republic Day, the Director-in-Charge of Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL), B.K. Tiwari, hoisted the national flag at Mohan Kumar Mangalam Stadium. Sharing the dais with him was DIG (CISF) Digvijay Kumar Singh. The event was attended by a large number of people, including BSL's executive directors, chief general managers, officials, employees, CISF officers, and township residents, reflecting a strong sense of unity and patriotism.

During his address, the Director-in-Charge extended heartfelt greetings to everyone and highlighted the pivotal role of Maharatna SAIL in the nations progress. He praised the achievements of BSL, Jharkhand Group of Mines, Collieries Division, and the SRU Group over the past year, showcasing their significant contributions to industrial growth and the development of the region.

B.K. Tiwari also laid out BSLs ambitious future plans, emphasizing the plants brownfield expansion to increase production capacity and modernize operations. He announced initiatives to enhance healthcare facilities at Bokaro General Hospital (BGH), including the introduction of advanced super-specialty services. Improvements in township amenities for better living standards and the execution of a robust decarbonization strategy to align with sustainable industrial practices were also key highlights of his vision.

The ceremony not only celebrated Indias rich democratic heritage but also reaffirmed BSL's commitment to contributing to national development, environmental sustainability, and the well-being of its employees and residents.
Amidst the celebrations of Indias 76th Republic Day, an occasion honouring the adoption of the Constitution authored by Dr BR Ambedkar, a shocking incident in Amritsar cast a shadow over the days significance. A man on Sunday vandalized a life-size statue of Dr Ambedkar, the chief architect of Indias Constitution, at a park near the Town Hall on Heritage Street. The act of desecration not only marred the celebratory spirit but also ignited widespread outrage across Punjab, triggering massive protests and political turmoil.

Eyewitnesses recounted the shocking moment when the accused, identified as Akash Singh, climbed a ladder positioned near the statue and struck it repeatedly with a hammer. His actions caused visible damage to the statue and a replica of the Constitution placed at its base, symbolically assaulting the values of equality and justice that Dr Ambedkar championed. The act, captured on video and widely circulated on social media, sparked immediate protests and drew sharp condemnation from political leaders and civil society alike.

Police swiftly arrested Akash Singh, who reportedly belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community. He has been charged under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code for damaging public property and promoting enmity between communities. Akashs family, however, distanced themselves from his actions, with his mother publicly condemning the act.

Statewide Protests and Bandh Calls

The incident sparked massive protests across Punjab, particularly in Dalit-dominated areas. In cities like Jalandhar and Ludhiana, Dalit organizations and local leaders called for state-wide bandhs, demanding immediate action against the accused and stricter measures to protect symbols of Dalit pride. Protesters blocked highways, raised slogans against the administration, and organized rallies to express their anguish. Markets and schools were shut in parts of these cities, as tensions escalated. In Amritsar, the statue was ceremonially cleaned with milk and water by Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla and former Minister Raj Kumar Verka, who criticized the AAP-led State Government for its failure to prevent such incidents.

Political Blame Game

The vandalism has led to a fierce political slugfest, with opposition parties accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government of negligence. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann condemned the act, terming it an attempt to disturb communal harmony. This shameful act will not go unpunished. No one will be allowed to disrupt the peace and unity of Punjab, Mann said.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal described the incident as a heinous act that has hurt the sentiments of millions, and demanded a high-level inquiry to unearth any conspiracy behind the vandalism. SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia also called for a high-level probe into what he described as a premeditated conspiracy to incite divisions and disrupt peace in Punjab. Majithia questioned the Amritsar Police Commissionerate's failure, particularly under Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, to prevent the incident despite heightened security on such a significant day. He demanded accountability and stern action against those responsible for the security lapse.

BJP leaders, including former Union Minister Vijay Sampla, blamed the AAP Government for failing to protect public monuments, with some leaders alleging a larger political motive behind the incident.

However, Samplas remarks linking the incident to the vicinity of the Golden Temple drew sharp criticism from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). The SGPC clarified that the statues location was unrelated to the Golden Temple and accused Sampla of unnecessarily dragging religious institutions into the controversy. Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan also condemned Samplas statement calling it very unfortunate, and a clever ploy to create division between the Sikh and SC community; but the people of Punjab will not allow the BJP's plan of polarization to succeed.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also criticized both the Congress and BJP, accusing them of exploiting Dr Ambedkars legacy for political gains. BSP supremo Mayawati called the incident a grave insult to Babasaheb and demanded strict punishment for the accused.

Dr Ambedkars statue holds immense significance for the Dalit community, symbolizing their struggle for social justice and equality. The desecration of such a monument has deepened caste-based tensions in the state. Protests saw a surge in demands for greater representation and respect for Dalit icons in Punjabs political discourse.

The incident has also reignited discussions about the states socio-political fabric, as Punjab has historically been a melting pot of caste and religious identities. Political observers believed that the vandalism and subsequent turmoil could influence electoral narratives, especially with the growing prominence of Dalit-led movements in the state.

Govt Response

Punjab Government has deployed additional police forces in sensitive areas to maintain law and order. Investigations into the incident are ongoing, with authorities exploring whether the act was a deliberate attempt to incite communal discord. Chief Minister Mann has assured the public that the guilty will face exemplary punishment. Political leaders across party lines have called for calm, urging the citizens not to fall prey to divisive agendas. Punjabs peace is non-negotiable, Mann emphasized in a public address.

Mann said that exemplary punishment will be ensured to a person who had tried to cause damage to the statue of Bharat Ratna Baba Sahib Dr BR Ambedkar. It has bruised the psyche of everyone who respect Baba Sahib AmbedkarThe state government is fully vigilant and committed to crush the nefarious designs of anti-social and anti-national elements who try to create unrest in Punjab. Exemplary action will be taken against any person who tries to disturb the law and order situation in the State through such acts, he said.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, strongly condemning the incident, said that the Punjab Government and Punjab Police are committed to bringing the culprits to justice and ensuring they face the law of the land to pay for their most dastardly act. A thorough investigation is underway to identify and arrest the real conspirators behind this heinous crime. The accused has been arrested, and the Punjab government will ensure strict action against him. We will not rest until all the conspirators are brought to justice, he added.

Punjab Speaker Sandhwan and Punjab Power and Public Works Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO also condemned the desecration of Dr Ambedkars statue.
The Republic Day flag hoisting ceremony at Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Limited (APNRL) took place today at their premises in Padampur Kandra, marking a moment of pride and unity for the company and the community. The Chief Guest, during his speech, highlighted India's global leadership, citing the strong foundation laid by the Constitution of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, which plays a crucial role in the country's progress.

The Managing Director of APNRL, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, spoke about the companys 540 MW modern power plant, calling it a symbol of unity and the commitment of the landowners who made this achievement possible. He specifically thanked landowners Krishna Baske, Gautam Mahato, and others for their support. Agarwal emphasized the need to diversify power generation methods, urging the company to make full use of solar energy in addition to coal.

Remembering the martyrs who fought for India's independence, Agarwal expressed gratitude for their sacrifices, which allow the country to flourish freely today. He also acknowledged the contributions of colleagues who helped set up the power plant.

Company officials including CEO Arun Mishra, Senior Vice President Finance Rajesh Kumar Sharma, and Human Resources Head Anil Soni also shared their thoughts during the ceremony. The event was further enlivened by the school childrens band party, which played patriotic tunes to welcome the gathering.

Present at the ceremony were Baljeet Sansoa, Ravi Singh, Vikas Kumar, Sonu Kumar, along with hundreds of officers, employees, local public representatives, and villagers, all coming together to celebrate this significant occasion.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday said that the BJP Government has given a clean, transparent and corruption-free government in the State during its 100 days in power. Saini addressed a press conference on the completion of 100 days of the third term of Haryana Government and also presented a roadmap for the all-round development of the State.



Saini said that in the past 100 days, the current government has worked non-stop and completed 18 of the 240 sankalps outlined in the Sankalp Patra. Apart from this, work is underway at the site for 6 of the goals. The process to obtain both administrative and financial sanction to complete an additional 50 decisions is currently underway.



Talking to Journalists, the Chief Minister announced that the state government will develop 10 ultra-modern industrial towns across Haryana, modeled after IMT Kharkhoda, to further strengthen the state's industrial infrastructure. 25,000 MW of electricity will be generated through renewable energy sources, which will be used to power industrial centers across Haryana and the NCR. To address environmental concerns, particularly the discharge of chemical and industrial waste, the government will construct state-of-the-art sewerage treatment plants in Panipat, Faridabad, and Gurugram.



In addition, the government will expedite the construction of the Integrated Multi-Modal Logistics Hub in Narnaul/Mahendragarh to improve connectivity. In collaboration with the central governments PM Mega Integrated Textile Area and Apparel (PM MITRA) scheme, Haryana will establish an integrated textile market in Ambala, the state's largest textile hub.



He also highlighted the government's focus on the pharmaceutical sector, with plans to fast-track the establishment of a Pharma Park in Karnal, aimed at capitalizing on the growing pharmaceutical industry through the Product Linked Incentive Scheme and the Haryana Pharmaceutical Policy 2015. A Defence and Aerospace Hub will be set up in Mahendragarh under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, which is expected to boost the state's presence in the defence sector. To further support industrial growth, the state will develop a new 10,000-acre land bank through the e-Bhoomi portal. Furthermore, a new policy will be introduced, requiring government institutions to pay an 8% interest on any delayed payments.



Inaugurates 324 creches across State



Saini inaugurated 324 creches across the state, taking an initiative towards women and child welfare in the state. The aim of these centers is to provide assistance to working women in their field of work and to provide a nurturing and safe environment for their children.



So far, 4,533 plots allotted in 61 Gram Panchayats and one Mahagram



The Chief Minister said, The government's aim is to ensure that even the poorest person in the state has a house. While working swiftly in this direction, our government has made a commitment to provide plots to 1 lakh poor families, measuring 100 square yard plots in villages and 50 square yard plots in Mahagrams. Fulfilling this commitment, so far, 4,533 plots have been given in 61 Gram Panchayats and one Mahagram. Additionally, in the last 100 days of the present state government, financial assistance of Rs 11.53 crore has been provided under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban and Rural) to help 885 families build permanent homes.



Digitally releases Rs 368 crores directly into their bank accounts



Saini also digitally transferred Rs 368 crore directly into the bank accounts of the farmers. He said that farmers' interests have always remained the utmost priority of the state government. Earlier, the government had provided a bonus of Rs. 2,000 per acre for agricultural and horticultural crops affected by adverse weather conditions during the Kharif-2024 season. A total amount of Rs. 1,345 crores has been provided to farmers so far, he added. The Chief Minister said that for the proper management of crop residue, Rs. 122 crore was released as a subsidy for 10,393 crop residue management machines. A compensation policy has been framed for high-tension power lines passing through farmers' fields. Under this policy, farmers will receive compensation at 200 percent of the market rate for land in the tower area. Additionally, 30 percent of the market rate will be provided as compensation for the land under the power lines, shared Saini.



CET exam will be held soon, target of 2 lakh government jobs will be fulfilled



In response to another question, the Chief Minister said that the people of the state have elected the current government for a five-year term, and in the coming years, the government will provide 2 lakh government jobs to the youth based on merit, without any kharchi-parchi. He added that preparations are underway to conduct the CET exam through the Haryana Staff Selection Commission. The exams for students were ongoing, and now, the CET exam will be held soon. The Chief Minister also highlighted that over the past 10 years, apart from offering 1,75,000 government jobs, the state government has successfully secured employment of 1,20,000 youth. Looking ahead, he reaffirmed that the target of 2 lakh government jobs will be achieved as well.



Payment of any hospital related to Ayushman Bharat Card will not be stopped



In response to another question, the Chief Minister said that under the Ayushman Bharat Card, about Rs 760 crore has been released to the concerned hospitals on January 26, 2025 and the remaining amount of about Rs 200 crore will also be released soon. Payment of any hospital related to Ayushman Bharat Card will not be stopped, he added. In response to a question regarding the implementation of Uniform Civil Code in Haryana state, the Chief Minister said that the whole country is serious about the matter of Uniform Civil Code. There is a debate going on about it in the country. The intellectuals of the society also want it to be implemented in the country. As time comes, we will move forward in this direction.



Decision on UCC rollout will be taken at the right time



Saini said that people wanted the Universal Civil Code (UCC) to be implemented across the country and a decision on its rollout in the state will be taken at the right time. Responding to the UCC implementation in the neighbouring and BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, becoming the first state to implement it, BJP leader and second-time Chief Minister said, The whole country is serious about UCC. People want it to be implemented across the country, adding, The decision will be taken on the UCC at the right time. He said, We are supplying water to Delhi from Sonipat. You can get it checked; anyone can come and verify the quality of water we are providing. He was responding to AAP leader and former Chief Minister's claims that the BJP government in Haryana has been sending toxic water through the Yamuna to Delhi.
Hry Cabinet meeting on Feb 4



Chandigarh: Haryana Cabinet meeting will be held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on February 4 in the Main committee room, Fourth Floor, Haryana Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh, a Government statement said on Monday.



Governor unfurls national flag at State-level ceremony in Faridabad



Chandigarh: On the occasion of the 76th Republic Day, a state-level ceremony was organized in Faridabad in which Governor Bandaru Dattatraya unfurled the national flag. He also inspected the march-past, and took the salute of the parade. On this occasion, the Governor paid tribute to the martyrs by offering floral tributes at the Shaheed Smarak at Town Park. Chief Secretary, Dr. Vivek Joshi and DGP Sh. Shatrujeet Kapur welcomed the Governor upon his arrival at the state-level ceremony.



HSNCBs poetic call to action: Rise above, go beyond



Chandigarh: In its ongoing efforts to tackle the pressing issue of drug abuse and delinquency among adolescents, the Haryana State Narcotics Control Bureau (HSNCB) has unveiled a powerful new toolpoetry. The bureau has released Rise Above, Go Beyond, a poem that serves as a poetic rendition of its innovative initiative Chakravyuh, an educational escape room at DAV Police Public School, Ambala. This poem, with its rhythmic and relatable language, encourages young minds to reject drugs and gangs, focus on mastering life skills, and channel their energy into personal growth and productivity.



World's largest jungle safari to be set up in 10,000 acres in Aravalli: Hry Minister



Chandigarh: Haryana Forest and Wildlife Minister Rao Narbir Singh on Monday said that in the next six months, the foundation stone of a jungle safari in about 10,000 acres in the Aravalli region of Haryana will be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Setting up a jungle safari in the NCR region is the Prime Minister's dream project. The Forest and Wildlife Minister was interacting with the press at the lion cub naming ceremony in Rohtak Zoo. Earlier, he toured the zoo riding an electric cart and observed the animals and birds kept in the zoo. He instructed the zoo officials to bring a white parrot which he had seen in the valley of Mauritius.



Surajkund Mela to be held from February 7 to 23: Tourism Minister



Chandigarh: Haryana Heritage and Tourism Minister Arvind Sharma on Monday said the 38th International Surajkund Crafts Mela will be celebrated in Faridabad from February 7 to 23. This year, the fair will be celebrated as Shilp Mahakumbh on the lines of the Mahakumbh, in which craftsmen from all over the world will showcase their creative work. Sharma said this while reviewing the preparations of the fair with the officials.



UT Administrator inspects Bharat Vikas Parishad Charitable Medical Diagnostic Center



Chandigarh: The Governor of Punjab and Administrator UT Chandigarh Gulab Chand Kataria on Monday visited the Bharat Vikas Parishad Charitable Medical Diagnostic Center at Indira Holiday Home, Sector 24. During his visit, the Governor closely observed the extensive range of affordable healthcare services provided by the center and interacted with the staff, doctors, and beneficiaries. Expressing his admiration for the remarkable efforts of the Bharat Vikas Parishad, Kataria remarked, It is commendable to see such impactful healthcare services being provided in a compact space at such affordable rates. This initiative is a shining example of selfless service, and other organizations should take inspiration from this model.



Hooda accuses BJP of breaking its promise with skill workers



Rohtak: Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday accused BJP of breaking its promise with skill workers. He said before the elections, BJP had announced to make 1.25 lakh temporary workers permanent, and has started removing them from posts. BJP took votes in the elections by lying to the workers of Kaushal Rojgar Nigam and cheated them after the elections. As soon as it won the elections, BJP started removing them from the job, Hooda said after a delegation of skill workers working in the irrigation department handed over a memorandum to Hooda, demanding to raise their issue in the assembly. Hooda assured to raise their demands on every platform including the assembly.



Chandigarh celebrates 76th Republic Day with full patriotic fervour



Chandigarh: The Chandigarh Administration celebrated the 76th Republic Day with full patriotic fervor at Parade Ground, Sector-17, Chandigarh. Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma hoisted the National Flag which was followed by the inspection of the Guard of Honour. The March Past by various contingents of Police and NCC Cadets instilled the spirit of patriotism among those present at the venue. The Republic day parade also saw a colourful display of tableaux from different departments including Education department, Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee, Science and Technology, Department of Industries, Chandigarh Police, Traffic Police and Municipal Corporation, emphasizing on social messages and development. The cultural performances by students from different schools, colleges and GRIID of Chandigarh was another highlight of the celebrations.

Mayoral Election: Jolt to Cong as its Councillor Gurbax Rawat joins BJP

Manoj Kumar Chandigarh



The Congress party on Monday suffered a setback ahead of the Chandigarh Mayoral election as the party's Municipal Councillor Gurbax Rawat joined the BJP in the presence of Chandigarh BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra and senior party leader Sanjay Tandon in Chandigarh.



The Congress, which had seven councillors, is now left with six while the number of BJP councillors has increased to 16 and the AAP-Congress alliances tally has dropped to 20.



Talking to Reporters, Gurbaksh Rawat said that she had already decided to join the BJP, being influenced by the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party's working style. She further said that during the past year under the tenure of the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) mayor, the development of the city had come to a halt, and apart from false promises, nothing had been delivered. She accused them of ruining the city, causing significant harm to Chandigarh.



Senior Chandigarh Congress leaders have termed the defection of Rawat to the BJP just 3 days before the Mayoral election as a betrayal of people, who elected her thrice on the strength of policies and programs of the Congress party. Dozens of Congress workers led by HS Lucky, president of Chandigarh Congress, along with Youth Congress workers burnt the effigy of the dfector Rawat in Sector 40 to protest against her betrayal of the party. Condemning the undemocratic attempts of the BJP to win the Mayoral elections at any cost, Lucky told Reporters that the saffron party has once tried to murder democracy in the city.



Prem Lata to take on BJP's Harpreet Kaur Babla for Mayor



AAP named its Councillor Prem Lata as the party candidate for the post of Chandigarh mayor on Saturday, days before the January 30 mayoral polls. Lata will take on BJP's Harpreet Kaur Babla. Polls for posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will also be held next week. The AAP has joined hands with the Congress for the mayoral polls. While the AAP has fielded its candidate for the post of mayor, the Congress has put up its candidates--Jasbir Singh Bunty and Taruna Mehta -- for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The BJP has fielded Bimla Dubey for the post of senior deputy mayor and Lakhbir Singh Billu for deputy mayor. All the six candidates of the three parties filed their nominations here on Saturday.

AAP moves its councilors to Punjab hotels



Ahead of the vote, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) moved its councillors to a hotel in Punjabs Ropar fearing attempts to influence them. Sources in AAP said, Party Councillors have been moved to hotels in Ropar as the BJP is trying to approach each one of them and get them on its side. The leaders were also asked to surrender their mobile phones. Sources further said that three AAP councillors have, however, refused to go to the hotel over differences within the party. These three councillors were unhappy over the candidature of AAPs Prem Lata for mayor and were in talks with the BJP, they added.



Justice Jaishree Thakur, retired Punjab & Haryana HC judge appointed as Independent Observer



The Supreme Court on Monday appointed Justice Jaishree Thakur  a former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court as an independent observer to physically supervise the Chandigarh mayoral election on January 30. The election proceedings shall be conducted in the physical presence of the learned observer. The election proceedings will be duly videographed, a Bench led by Justice Surya Kant ordered. The Returning Officer has been directed to contact the independent observer and coordinate with the former Judge well before the scheduled date of election, said the Bench. The order came on a petition filed by Chandigarh Mayor Kuldeep Kumar seeking a direction to the UT Administration to hold the Chandigarh mayoral election by show of hands instead of secret ballot to ensure fairness in the process.
Terming AAP convener Arvind Kejriwals statement as factually incorrect without any basis and misleading about ammonia levels in water supply from Haryana side to the national capital, Delhi Jal Board (DJB)s Chief Executive Officer Shilpa Shinde has written to Chief Secretary Dharmendra and said the matter is being brought to your attention, given the fact that such false statements lead to fear mongering amongst city residents and also adversely impact relations with the upper riparian state of Haryana.

Given that this matter is likely to affect inter-state relations, these facts may be brought to the attention of Lieutenant Governor in terms of the Transaction of Business Rules, Shinde said in her noting. DJB chief said Arvind Kejriwals allegations are factually incorrect, without any basis and misleading and asked the Chief Secretary to bring the matter to Lieutenant Governors attention. The chief secretary has sent DJB CEOs note to Lieutenant Governor. DJB chief said the fact of the matter is that DJB regularly monitors incoming water quality and regulates supplies depending on the various parameters.

Earlier, Kejriwal accused the BJP-led Haryana government of "poisoning" the Yamuna river water, which supplies drinking water to the national capital. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is now said to have sought a factual report from the Nayab Singh Saini-led government in Haryana on the matter.

The controversy erupted after Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann moved the EC on Monday, alleging high ammonia levels in the water supplied from Haryana to Delhi, impacting the water supply during the ongoing assembly election process. Sources said the ECI has directed the Haryana government to submit a factual report by noon on Tuesday.

Terming it as water terrorism, Atishi claimed 30% of the Delhi residents are at risk of water shortage because of the high ammonia content in Yamuna water.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in "dirty politics", Kejriwal said those associated with the party are sending "poison-mixed" water to Delhi to trigger a "chaos" and blame the AAP for the deaths of people. Such actions, like use of biological weapons and mixing poison in rivers, have been heard in case of countries involved in a war, he added.

Hitting back at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said it is their old habit of blaming others and then running away."I asked them (the AAP government in Delhi) to send their chief secretary and said I will ask my chief secretary to check the quality of the water.... They are talking about ammonia, but there is no shortage of water," Saini said.

"Haryana supplies water to Delhi from Sonipat, which can be inspected by anyone to see what kind of water we are supplying to Delhi," he said. "He (Kejriwal) talked of giving free water... However, despite (AAP) being in power for the last 10 years, Kejriwal has failed to improve Delhi's water distribution system. People of the national capital are forced to consume unclean water because Kejriwal failed to develop a system," he said.

Kejriwal alleged that the BJP is trying to keep the people of Delhi thirsty as it indulges in "dirty politics". "BJP people in Haryana are mixing poison in the water and sending it to Delhi. If people in Delhi drink this water, many will die. Can anything be more disgusting than this? The poison that is being mixed in the water cannot even be cleaned in water treatment plants. For the safety of the people of Delhi, the water supply has to be stopped in many areas," he said in a post in Hindi on X.

In her note, DJB chief stated that in every Winter season, ammonia in river Yamuna increases during October to February. DJB Water Treatment Plants are designed to treat the anmmonia upto 1 ppm. Ammonia upto 2 to 2.5 ppm is also being treated at Water Treatment Plants by dilution of the high ammonia water with the water received from Carrier Line Channel/ Delhi Sub Branch (CLC/DSB). The ammonia increases in river Yamuna due to mixing of some untreated sewage or industrial waste at the upstream of Wazirabad Barrage.

During winters, after monsoon season, the flow in river Yamuna decreases and untreated sewage released in river Yamuna does not get diluted adequately, resulting into increase in ammonia concentration in Yamuna river. This year also, the ammonia started increasing from October month. Haryana officials have taken up a work to lay the pipeline at DD-6 in compliance to Hon ble NGT orders so that the untreated sewage of DD-6 should not mixed up with DD-8.

Presently, the ammonia is around 6.5 ppm in river Yamuna at Wazirabad pond. Despite, dilution with CLC and DSB water, DJB Water Treatment Plants at Wazirabad and Chandrawal could not be operated on full capacity. Presently, the production is curtailed around 15 to 20% at Wazirabad and Chandrawal WTP. The samples were checked at upstream of Wazirabad pond and a downward trend seen in the ammonia at upstream.

It is expected that the ammonia level wil1 be reduced at Wazirabad pond in next few days. Once the ammonia level reduced, the production shall be normalized in due course of time. Such curtailments of supplies at various plants have been routinely undertaken in the past for long, reads the DJB note.
Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh on Monday ordered an immediate power and fire safety audit at all government healthcare facilities, including Medical Colleges, Civil Hospitals, Sub-Divisional Hospitals, and Block-level Hospitals across the State.

The decision came after a power supply failure during a surgical procedure at Patialas Rajindra Hospital, a critical incident that raised concerns about the infrastructure at Punjabs healthcare facilities. Addressing a high-level meeting with senior officials from the Health and Medical Education Departments, Dr Balbir Singh laid out stringent measures to prevent such lapses in the future.

Dr Balbir directed that all critical care units  including operation theatres, labour rooms, emergency wards, Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs), and Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs)  must have Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems capable of providing at least 30 minutes of backup during outages. Additionally, all facilities are required to maintain fully functional generator sets with adequate diesel reserves to ensure uninterrupted power supply during extended outages.

The Health Minister also announced the formation of committees at the district, sub-divisional, and block levels to oversee power and safety systems. These committees, comprising representatives from the Health Department, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), and the Public Works Department (PWD-Electrical), will conduct regular inspections and report on the functionality of UPS systems and generators.

To ensure real-time communication, Dr Balbir directed the creation of WhatsApp groups for these committees to expedite responses during emergencies. These groups will facilitate immediate coordination, ensuring that power backup systems are activated without delay, he stated.

In addition to addressing power failures, Dr Balbir emphasized the urgent need for a fire safety audit. All healthcare facilities have been instructed to ensure the availability of fire extinguishers and compliance with fire safety norms, particularly in critical care units.
Punjab Polices Counter Intelligence unit in Amritsar arrested six members of the Kaushal Chaudhary Gang, effectively averting a potential target killing. Among the arrested are two notorious shooters, Puneet Lakhanpal and Narinder Kumar alias Lalli, involved in the high-profile murders of Kabaddi player Sandeep Singh Nangal Ambian and Sukhmeet Singh alias Deputy, said Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav on Monday.

The other arrested members include Harpreet Singh alias Happal, Gurbhinder Singh, Sandeep Singh, and Maninderjit Singh alias Shinda. Six foreign-made .30 bore pistols along with 40 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the suspects, marking a significant seizure in the ongoing crackdown against organized crime.

DGP Yadav revealed that the gang was also involved in a daring attack on Highway King Hotel in Rajasthan in September 2024, where they fired indiscriminately to demand Rs five crore in extortion. The arrested individuals have long criminal records and had been evading arrest for the past three years.

Preliminary investigations suggest the gang operates as part of a larger criminal network led by Kaushal Chaudhary, with activities spanning Haryana, Rajasthan, and Punjab. The gang members were executing crimes under the instructions of foreign-based handlers, highlighting the transnational dimensions of their network.

Acting on credible intelligence, the Counter Intelligence team learned of plans orchestrated by the gang's foreign handlers, including individuals like Amarjit Singh alias Amar, Jagjit Singh alias Gandhi, and Balwinder Singh alias Doni. Local operatives were reportedly preparing for a target killing in Punjab.

Police intercepted the suspects near Haveli Restaurant in Jandiala, Amritsar, setting up a checkpoint that led to their swift arrest and the recovery of weapons.
As the Delhi Assembly elections approach, with voting set for February 5 and counting on February 8, there is one area of the city that continues to be overlooked: Garstin Bastion (GB) Road, home to hundreds of sex workers who struggle daily with basic necessities like electricity, clean drinking water, and proper sanitation.

Savitri (name changed), a sex worker for over 30 years, expressed her frustration with the lack of attention from political leaders. "We cast our votes like everyone else, but we are the least considered," she said. "We live in cramped rooms where four or five women share a single space, and theres only one washroom for 10 to 15 women on each floor."

Reshma (name changed), a 30-year-old sex worker, echoed the same sentiment. She described their constant battle with unhygienic living conditions. We face electricity cuts for three to four hours every morning and night. In winter, it's tolerable, but in summer, its unbearable, she explained. The rooms are stifling, lacking proper windows for air or sunlight, making their lives even more challenging.

Walking through GB Road, one finds small, dimly lit rooms with barely enough space to accommodate a bed. The narrow drains from the shared washrooms run just outside the doors, contributing to the unsanitary conditions these women endure.

Despite the daily struggles, political campaigns rarely, if ever, address the plight of sex workers. "Every election, they come with promises, but nothing changes," said Rani (name changed), a sex worker who has lived on GB Road for over a decade. While politicians engage in rallies and campaign speeches, the voices of one of the city's most marginalized communities are still ignored.

Neha (name changed), another sex worker, pointed out the persistent issues with infrastructure. "The water pipeline has been broken for months. The water we get is dirty, but we have no choice but to use it," she said, adding, "Were treated like we dont matter. When we complain, no one listens, and nothing is done."

Anita (name changed), an elderly sex worker around 70 years old, spoke of the challenges they face in accessing basic welfare services. We dont even have ration cards. Many NGOs come, listen to us, but no one helps us improve our living conditions, she said. "Governments come and go, but our situation stays the same."

A local hardware shopkeeper, whose business has operated on GB Road since 1949, traced the area's origins to colonial times when it served as a hub for hardware and machinery trading. Over time, due to its proximity to transport centers like Old Delhi Railway Station, the area gained a reputation for sex work.
Pandas debut at Washington zoo after 14-month hiatus

08:35, January 27, 2025 By Zhao Huanxin ( Chinadaily.com.cn

Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng (second from right) greets a giant panda mascot as the Crush Funk Brass Band performs during the opening ceremony to celebrate the public debut of giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Friday morning. Xie was joined by Brandie Smith (right), director of the zoo; Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser. (Zhao Huanxin/China Daily)

They are "as iconic as the Washington Monument", the coolest creatures that tell the story of conservation success and bonds between countries, and the only animals in the United States capital evoking so much love that the Smithsonian's National Zoo &Conservation Biology Institute is now called the "District of Panda".

After a hiatus of 14 months, giant pandas captivated a passionate crowd of patrons and officials at the zoo as they made their public debut on Friday morning.

"Bao Li and Qing Bao (names of the new panda pair) have won our hearts, and we're excited to welcome panda fans back to the zoo  and celebrate the newest chapter of our giant panda breeding and conservation program," said Brandie Smith, director of the zoo, while addressing a ceremonial opening of the Asia Trail exhibit.

The 3-year-old pandas officially started their 10-year stay in mid-October after the zoo's last panda couple returned to China in November 2023.

Smith declared the zoo the "District of Panda" to emphasize the integral role these animals play in Washington's culture.

The zoo will host a series of special events through Feb 9, including a Chinese New Year program, Kung Fu Panda film screenings and cultural activities with the Chinese embassy.

According to Smith, people love giant pandas because they are rare, cute and a success story.

"Giant pandas truly represent how great conservation outcomes can be achieved through great partnerships and public support," she said, noting that the global giant panda population has almost tripled  from less than 1,000 to nearly 3,000  since the China-US conservation program began decades ago.

Addressing the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng jokingly said that Washington, DC, is no longer "unbearable" thanks to the arrival of the beloved bears. "I believe all of you can 'bearly' wait to see them," he added.

The "national treasures of China" are also a shining example of the country's ecological conservation efforts, as China has set up 67 panda reserves, with a national park for the species spanning three provinces, Xie said.

"American friends told me that they are simply biologically programmed to like giant pandas. Our shared love for pandas has deepened my conviction that China and the United States have much more in common than what divides us," he said.

"Whenever I think about what we have achieved through panda cooperation, I feel more confident that as long as we work together, we can make big, great things happen for the benefit of both our countries and the world," he added.

Also addressing the ceremony, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie G. Bunch III said the pandas are the coolest creatures and he never wanted to be known as "the secretary who lost the pandas". They are making today a "wonderful day" for the institution, the city and the nation, he said.

"The Smithsonian's giant pandas have been a presence in Washington for more than 50 years. In some ways, they are as iconic as the Washington Monument or the Lincoln Memorial," Bunch said, highlighting that people love pandas because they "make us smile and bring us together".

It is important to note that the Smithsonian's zoo has worked with China to help ensure panda conservation and that their joint work to understand the habitat, the biology and the behavior of these "amazing" animals has led to breakthroughs in saving the species, he added.

Visitors watch giant panda Bao Li in his habitat Friday morning after the opening ceremony for the public debut of Bao Li and Qing Bao at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. (Zhao Huanxin/China Daily)

'Jubilant day'

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the debut of the two new pandas made it a "jubilant day" for Washington.

"Like many Washingtonians, I've always known (it as) a city of pandas, and we want to keep it that way," she said, adding that the panda pair will be "rooting for the home team" when it comes to boosting tourism in the US capital.

Helen Gonzalez, who has been a fan of several generations of giant pandas at the zoo, said she traveled to China twice to see the pandas.

"It really is a way to connect people with a whole new culture and history," she said. "I think people come here and they make this connection with an animal, with a culture they otherwise wouldn't see."

On Friday morning, the zoo relaunched its Giant Panda Cam, a network of 40 cameras operated centrally by a corps of specially trained volunteers.

The webcams operate live from 7 am to 7 pm eastern time. After 7 pm, the day's recording is replayed for virtual visitors from around the world who wish to watch the antics of the playful pandas.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing)
Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy, and Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Steel, Bhupatiraju Srinivasa Varma, visited the Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) for the first time on January 27. They were accompanied by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) Chairman, Amarendu Prakash. The ministers were warmly welcomed at the Bokaro airport by BSLs Director-in-Charge, B.K. Tiwari, along with other Executive Directors.

The ministers began their visit with an overview of the plants layout at the Model Room in Ispat Bhawan. This was followed by a tour of key facilities, including the Coke Ovens & Coke Chemicals, Sinter Plant-2 project site, Blast Furnace No. 2, and the Hot Strip Mill, where they gained detailed insights into the production processes. During the visit, H.D. Kumaraswamy inaugurated a new Air Separation Unit with a daily capacity of 2,150 tons, constructed by M/s INOX. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Bhupatiraju Srinivasa Varma, SAIL Chairman Amarendu Prakash, INOX Managing Director Siddharth Jain, and BSL Director-in-Charge B.K. Tiwari, along with other senior officials.

Later in the day, a presentation was held at Bokaro Niwas, where the ministers were briefed about the plants production performance, ongoing projects, medical services, township, and various other activities. The presentation was attended by SAIL Chairman Amarendu Prakash, Director-in-Charge B.K. Tiwari, Executive Directors, CGMs, and other senior officials.

During their visit, the ministers also interacted with representatives of various trade unions, members of the Bokaro Steel Officers Association, and other stakeholders. The tour highlighted the commitment of BSL and SAIL toward enhancing production capabilities and contributing to the nations industrial growth.

The visit of the ministers will conclude on January 28 in the afternoon.
Vedanta ESL Limited, an integrated steel producer and part of the Vedanta Group, celebrated Indias 76th Republic Day with enthusiasm and a strong sense of patriotism. The event, held at the companys Siyaljori plant in Bokaro, showcased the organizations dedication to community well-being and national development.

The celebrations commenced with a parade inspection by ESL Steel Limiteds security personnel, followed by the ceremonial unfurling of the national flag by Ashish Gupta, CEO & WTD of Vedanta ESL Limited. The event also included a felicitation ceremony recognizing employees for their outstanding contributions to the company, as well as an inspiring address by Mr. Gupta.

More than 100 individuals, including management members, employees, their families, and workers from the shop floor, attended the event. The parade, performed by over 500 security personnel, was met with applause for its precision and dedication, reflecting the discipline and commitment of the team. Approximately 10 employees were honored for their exceptional efforts in areas such as housekeeping, safety initiatives, and in-house construction projects.

In his address, Ashish Gupta highlighted the synergy between community growth and business progress. He emphasized Vedanta ESLs commitment to creating employment opportunities for local communities and enhancing socio-economic conditions in the region. The companys CSR initiatives have transformed lives, making 450 acres of land cultivable, providing potable water to 1,400 homes, supporting the education of over 12,000 students, and offering healthcare services to nearly 1.7 lakh villagers.

The Republic Day celebrations reinforced Vedanta ESLs pledge to contribute to the social and economic development of Bokaro, Jharkhand, and the nation. The company remains steadfast in its efforts to drive sustainable growth while uplifting the communities it serves.
BJP leader and Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya on Monday asked the state government why it is wasting the taxpayers' money with regard to the Tunnel Road project.

Calling it "unscientific", he alleged that the project is bad in design and will not achieve the objective of resolving Bengaluru's traffic crisis.

A couple of days ago, it was reported in the media that the Karnataka government had invited bids for the preparation of a Detailed Project Report for the proposed second Tunnel Road project between KR Puram and Nayandahalli, a 28-km stretch.

Surya, in a post on 'X', in which he had tagged Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, pointed out the criticism the government had already received for the "shoddy DPR and feasibility report" of the Hebbal-Silk Board stretch of the Tunnel Road.

According to him, the first DPR had blown out costs, had fundamental errors in data, contextual inaccuracies and even blatant copy-pasting.

"This is an exercise which is yet another waste of the taxpayers' money. The Tunnel Road Project is bad in design, poorly thought out and will not achieve the objective of resolving Bengaluru's traffic crisis," the BJP leader said in the post.

Surya said the DPR had even disregarded Bengaluru's Master Plan 2031, which places more importance on public transportation, like expanding the BMTC fleet to 15,000 buses.

"It also failed to align the Tunnel Road with critical projects like Metro Phases 2B and 3A. The proposed 61-month construction timeline does not consider the city's ongoing and planned infrastructure projects, risking significant disruptions in an already cramped city due to the dug roads," he said.

According to him, the BBMP's Rs 15,000 crore estimate for 1 corridor of the Tunnel Road would primarily serve only 25 per cent of vehicles - four-wheelers that can pay tolls.

"We've seen how the inclusion of shopping malls in intermodal hubs in the project plan suggested that real estate development interests, rather than traffic management needs, were driving key design decisions," he added.

He alleged that the state government was rushing through the project.

"An analysis by Prof Ashish Verma of the IISc (Indian Institute of Science) has shown that while Metro development reduces traffic congestion, tunnel roads risk increasing vehicle movement and does not mitigate congestion in the long run," said the Lok Sabha member.

Surya suggested that the government should stop this "unscientific" pursuit of Tunnel Road for Bengaluru. "...Instead, prioritise initiatives that genuinely serve Bengaluru's residents," he said.
To further strengthen bilateral ties, Bangladesh's High Commissioner to Pakistan announced plans to begin direct air services between Bangladesh and Pakistan.

According to The Express Tribune, Mohammad Iqbal Hussain was speaking at a press conference in Peshawar on Saturday.

Hussain emphasised the deep and historic relationship between the two countries and expressed the intention to initiate direct flights to facilitate travel and connectivity. He noted that such a move would enhance cooperation in various sectors, including tourism, education, and trade.

However, no timeline for the direct flights was announced.

The High Commissioner also highlighted the growing trade and diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan, stating that these ties would continue to grow stronger.

He underscored Bangladesh's commitment to freedom of expression, noting how social media has empowered the younger generation to voice their rights, contributing to a robust culture of free speech in the country.

Additionally, Hussain pointed out the vast investment opportunities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly in the healthcare and industrial sectors, encouraging businesses to explore these avenues.

He also mentioned the demand for Bangladeshi products in Pakistan, with trade ongoing between the two nations via shipping routes linking Chittagong and Karachi, although the volume remains modest.

The High Commissioner also touched on the upcoming elections in Bangladesh and reiterated his country's focus on economic development as a key priority.

He concluded by commending Pakistan's Air Force for its exceptional capabilities in the defence sector.

Ties between the two nations have shown marked improvement since the downfall of Sheikh Hasina Wajid's government.
An enthusiastic Indian diaspora dressed in vibrant traditional dresses on Sunday celebrated India's 76th Republic Day at the country's missions abroad where the national tri-colour was unfurled with global leaders from Nepal, Australia, Singapore, extending their greetings, highlighting their strong friendship with India.

In Beijing, officials and diaspora members attended the flag unfurling ceremony on the premises of the Indian Embassy.

India's Ambassador to China Pradeep Rawat read out the important parts of the President's speech.

"Ambassador unfurled tri-colour at @EOIBeijing marking the #76thRepublicDay. He also read the Hon'ble President's Republic Day message to Embassy officials and members of the Indian community who attended the ceremony in large numbers. The event also included vibrant cultural performances," the Indian Embassy in China said in a post on X along with some pictures.

In Sri Lanka, the island nations' Navy band performed Indian patriotic tunes in a demonstration of the cultural closeness between the two countries.

"Celebrating #RepublicDay2025. Acting HC @DrSatyanjal unfurled the #Tiranga at India House this morning. Members of the Indian diaspora in Sri Lanka joined the festivities with their patriotic fervour and resolve to realise #ViksitBharat," the High Commission of India in Colombo said in a post on X.

"#SriLankaNavy band performed Indian patriotic tunes in a demonstration of our cultural closeness. India's rich diversity was brought to life by music and dance performances by young students of the Indian Cultural Association and @iccr_colombo," it said.

Also, Acting High Commissioner Satyanjal Pandey and other officials paid tributes at the IPKF Memorial, honouring Indian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice for peace and unity in Sri Lanka.

In Singapore, High Commissioner Shilpak Ambule was joined by an estimated 2,500 Indians living in Singapore to celebrate the 76th Republic Day at the chancery.

Ambule read the President's message to the country, which updated the Indian diaspora on the country's progress.

Students from Indian schools in the city-state sang patriotic songs and performed traditional dances. An exhibition showcased products by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd and the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the constitution of India as well as the State Bank of India.

In Israel, Charge de Affaires, Rajiv Bodwade, unfurled the Indian flag in presence of about two hundred Indians who gathered from across the country to celebrate the Republic Day.

He read out the President's address to the nation, and then touched upon regional and bilateral issues in his address to the gathering.

"We welcome the long awaited hostage and ceasefire deal that brings respite to the hostages and their families. This we believe is the harbinger of a year full of hope and peace," Bodwade said.

"We do hope of a sustained flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza", he said emphasising "early and peaceful resolution of the conflict, including release of all hostages, through dialogue and diplomacy".

The Indian mission has worked consistently to "actualise the common vision of our leaders and strengthening relations between two vibrant democracies", he noted.

Maintaining the vigour of our bilateral relationships, the Prime Ministers and other leaders kept in constant touch, he noted.

The Charge de Affaires also mentioned the arrival of more than 13,000 Indians to Israel to join the construction sector, around half of whom came through India-Israel Framework signed in November 2023.

He also appreciated the role of the Indian diaspora and the Indian Jewish community in strengthening bilateral ties, calling them a "powerful link".

In Japan, Ambassador Sibi George unfurled the Indian national flag at the ceremony.

"The Indian mission also felicitated the winners of Bharat ko Janiye quiz that witnessed enthusiastic participation. Glimpses of 76th Republic Day of India celebrations at @IndianEmbTokyo. Ambassador @AmbSibiGeorge unfurled the tricolor and read the address by Hon'ble Rashtrapati ji to the Nation."

In the Philippines, Ambassador Harsh K Jain unfurled the national flag at the India House and read out the address given by President Droupadi Murmu.

Then there were cultural programmes and the awarding of certificates to the top performers in the Philippines in the Bharat Ko Janiye (BKJ) Quiz. Around 300 people from the Indian diaspora and friends of India attended the function.

In Indonesia, Republic Day was celebrated with patriotic fervour by the Indian community & friends of India.

"Cd'A @kgl123 unfurled the Tricolour, followed by the National Anthem, reading of Hon'ble President's Address to the Nation. Vibrant cultural performances added to the patriotic fervour of the day," the Indian Embassy in Jakarta said in a post on X.

Also, Deputy Chief of Mission Indonesia Bijay Selvaraj paid homage to Indian martyrs of World War II at the Commonwealth War Memorial, Menteng Pulo Jakarta.

Meanwhile, many world leaders, including Penny Wong, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Foreign Minister Arzu Rna Deuba, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

"Wishing my friend @DrSJaishankar, the people of India, and all who celebrate around the world a happy Republic Day. Australia will continue to work with India to pursue a peaceful and stable region, where sovereignty is respected," Penny Wong posted on X.

"On the occasion of 76th #RepublicDay of India, I extend my warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi and the people of India. May the ideals of democracy and national unity flourish evermore, fostering deeper ties of friendship between our two nations," Oli posted on X.

"Warmest congratulations, Your Excellency @DrSJaishankar, on the 76th Republic Day of India! On this joyous occasion, I extend my best wishes to the people and Government of India for continued progress, prosperity, and advancement," Deuba posted on X.

"As close neighbours, we value the strong bond of friendship and close relations nurtured through centuries of shared history, mutual respect, and collaboration across various fields. We will continue to further reinforce these relations in the years to come," the post read.

In their respective letters to the Indian leaders, Tharman and Lawrence Wong hailed the close relationship that Singapore and India shared, with both looking forward to deepening the partnership between the two countries.

"On behalf of the people of Singapore, I extend my warmest congratulations to Your Excellency and the people of the Republic of India on the joyous occasion of India's 76th Republic Day," wrote Tharman in his letter.

Earlier in the day, the US extended its greetings to India, emphasising the importance of the India-US relationship.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said,"On behalf of the United States of America, I congratulate the people of India as they celebrate their nation's Republic Day. As they commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India, we join them in recognising its enduring significance as the foundation of the world's largest democracy."

He said the partnership between the United States and India continues to reach new heights and will be a defining relationship of the 21st century.

"The enduring friendship between our two peoples is the bedrock of our cooperation and propels us forward as we realise the tremendous potential of our economic relationship," Rubio said.

"We look forward to deepening our cooperation in the year ahead, including by advancing our joint efforts in space research and coordination within the Quad to promote a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region," he added.
Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:MRG.UN  Get Free Report) insider Sime Armoyan bought 100 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$111.07 per share, with a total value of C$11,107.00.

Sime Armoyan also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Monday, January 20th, Sime Armoyan bought 3,500 shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock. The stock was bought at an average price of C$111.98 per share, for a total transaction of C$391,926.85.

On Thursday, January 16th, Sime Armoyan purchased 3,000 shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$111.75 per share, with a total value of C$335,235.00.

On Monday, January 13th, Sime Armoyan bought 3,200 shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock. The stock was bought at an average price of C$111.00 per share, for a total transaction of C$355,200.00.

Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust Stock Performance

MRG.UN traded up C$0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting C$16.92. The companys stock had a trading volume of 36,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,550. Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust has a fifty-two week low of C$14.45 and a fifty-two week high of C$19.53. The firm has a market capitalization of C$628.58 million, a PE ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$17.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$17.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 95.54.

About Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust

The REIT is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust established under and governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario. The Units of the REIT trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MRG.UN. With a strategic focus on the acquisition of high-quality multi-suite residential properties in Canada and the United States, the REIT maximizes long-term Unit value through active asset and property management.

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Polaris (NYSE:PII  Get Free Report) is projected to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, January 28th. Analysts expect Polaris to post earnings of $0.89 per share and revenue of $1,682,143.90 billion for the quarter. Parties that are interested in participating in the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Polaris Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PII opened at $53.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.53. Polaris has a 52 week low of $52.62 and a 52 week high of $100.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PII. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Polaris from $76.00 to $60.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Polaris from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp downgraded Polaris from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Polaris from $76.00 to $57.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Polaris from $73.00 to $57.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $73.45.

About Polaris

(Get Free Report)

Polaris Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats.

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Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS  Get Free Report) is anticipated to announce its earnings results after the market closes on Tuesday, January 28th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.50 per share and revenue of $210,602.75 billion for the quarter. Parties that wish to register for the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The firm had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Provident Financial Services to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.3 %

PFS opened at $18.91 on Monday. Provident Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firms fifty day moving average price is $19.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.98.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Provident Financial Servicess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.31%.

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.29% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Hovde Group began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an outperform rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Read Our Latest Analysis on PFS

About Provident Financial Services

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Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.

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Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided EPS guidance of 9.230-9.430 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 9.470. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities cut their price objective on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a market outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $125.00 to $114.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Alexandria Real Estate Equities from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $121.90.

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Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Performance

ARE traded up $0.40 on Monday, hitting $102.03. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,658,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,339,028. The firm has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.16. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $102.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.23. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has a 12 month low of $94.35 and a 12 month high of $130.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $1.48. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 1.31%. Analysts forecast that Alexandria Real Estate Equities will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.18%. This is an increase from Alexandria Real Estate Equitiess previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Alexandria Real Estate Equitiess payout ratio is presently 321.95%.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities

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Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.

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Brinker International (NYSE:EAT  Get Free Report) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operators stock. Stifel Nicolaus target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.59% from the companys current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on EAT. Morgan Stanley upgraded Brinker International from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Brinker International from $143.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Brinker International from $62.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $110.24.

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Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $149.66. 330,961 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 965,832. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.52. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $39.39 and a fifty-two week high of $155.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.85.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Brinker International will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.72% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 123.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000.

Brinker International Company Profile

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Brinker International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership, development, operation, and franchising of casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It operates and franchises Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant brands.

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On January 27, 2025, Hilltop Opportunity Partners, the merchant bank subsidiary of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTH), revealed significant news regarding its portfolio company, Moser Holdings, LLC. This subsidiary has entered into a definitive agreement to offload all the capital stock of Moser Acquisition Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Moser Holdings, LLC, to Atlas Energy Solutions Inc.

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The transaction, as disclosed in the press release dated January 27, 2025, includes an approximate deal value of $220 million. This amount comprises $180 million in cash and around 1.7 million common shares of Atlas common stock, presently valued at roughly $41 million as per the closing trading price on January 24, 2025. Atlas retains the option to elect a cash payment instead of issuing shares as part of the consideration. Additionally, the final mix of consideration will be determined at the close, subject to customary post-closing adjustments.

Mark Plunkett, Managing Partner of Hilltop Opportunity Partners, expressed his sentiments regarding the transaction, highlighting the growth potential initially identified in Moser. Plunkett stated, We have worked hard to be good caretakers of that legacy as we have grown the business, and we view Atlas Energy as the perfect company to further build upon that legacy.

John Turner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas, also shared his thoughts on this development, affirming that the acquisition brings diversification opportunities into high-growth markets. Turner mentioned, This acquisition diversifies the Company into attractive high-growth end markets in both production and distributed power while strengthening Atlass current market position.

The transaction, greenlit by the boards of both Atlas Energy Solutions and Moser Holdings, LLC, is anticipated to conclude in the first quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.

Leading advisory roles in this deal include TPH&Co., the energy business of Perella Weinberg Partners, acting as the exclusive financial advisor to Moser Holdings, LLC, and Katten Muchin Rosemann LLP providing legal counsel.

Hilltop Opportunity Partners focuses on deploying flexible lower-middle-market investments utilizing Hilltop Holdings excess capital in non-control-based strategies within non-financial service industries. Additional information about Hilltop Opportunity Partners can be found on its website.

Hilltop Holdings, a Dallas-based financial holding company, primarily offers business and consumer banking services through PlainsCapital Bank and residential mortgage lending via PrimeLending. The companys stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HTH. Further details about Hilltop Holdings and its subsidiaries can be accessed on their respective websites.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. It emphasizes that results, performance, or achievements may deviate from anticipated outcomes due to various factors. Forward-looking statements are as of the date of release and are not guarantees of future performance.

**Source**: Hilltop Holdings Inc.

This article was generated by an automated content engine and was reviewed by a human editor prior to publication. For additional information, read Hilltops 8K filing here.

About Hilltop

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Hilltop Holdings Inc provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance.

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Kellanova (NYSE:K  Get Free Report)s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $82.00 and last traded at $81.70, with a volume of 161370 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

K has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus lowered shares of Kellanova from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas cut Kellanova from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Kellanova in a research report on Thursday. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $76.35.

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Kellanova Trading Down 0.2 %

The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $81.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Kellanova (NYSE:K  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Kellanova had a return on equity of 37.05% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firms revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kellanova

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total value of $9,305,285.43. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,222,442 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,997,354,514.82. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 916,664 shares of company stock worth $74,339,159. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kellanova

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of K. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 529.3% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 365 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 61.9% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 523 shares of the companys stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Kellanova by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 540 shares of the companys stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Kellanova by 71.3% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 615 shares of the companys stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.87% of the companys stock.

Kellanova Company Profile

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Kellanova, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets snacks and convenience foods in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Australia, and Africa. Its principal products include crackers, crisps, savory snacks, toaster pastries, cereal bars, granola bars and bites, ready-to-eat cereals, frozen waffles, veggie foods, and noodles.

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Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL  Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $1,819.60 and last traded at $1,813.34, with a volume of 2967 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $1,811.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Markel Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Markel Group from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Markel Group from $1,700.00 to $1,675.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $1,626.83.

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Markel Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $23.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.78. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $1,740.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,633.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $21.97 by ($4.63). Markel Group had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 10.86%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Markel Group Inc. will post 86.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Markel Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,173,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of Markel Group by 3,729.3% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 14,896 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $23,366,000 after acquiring an additional 14,507 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Markel Group by 167.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,411 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $38,687,000 after buying an additional 14,022 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Markel Group by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 329,209 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $516,391,000 after purchasing an additional 13,372 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 156,757.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,980 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $17,223,000 after purchasing an additional 10,973 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.12% of the companys stock.

About Markel Group

(Get Free Report)

Markel Group Inc, a diverse holding company, engages in marketing and underwriting specialty insurance products in the United States, Bermuda, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The company offers general and professional liability, personal lines, marine and energy, specialty programs, and workers' compensation insurance products; and property coverages that include fire, allied lines, and other specialized property coverages, including catastrophe-exposed property risks, such as earthquake and wind.

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Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL  Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 59,392 shares of the transportation companys stock, valued at approximately $3,593,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 62.4% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 30,928 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $1,467,000 after buying an additional 11,881 shares during the period. AXA S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,737,000. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $965,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth about $273,000. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter worth approximately $564,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total transaction of $470,276.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,897 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,688,130.14. This trade represents a 11.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 149,429 shares of company stock worth $9,924,819. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DAL shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $78.22.

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Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $67.10 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.35. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37. The companys 50 day moving average price is $63.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.27.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.43%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. Delta Air Liness revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Profile

(Free Report)

Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo.

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Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,915 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLCs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an outperform rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.5 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $125.12 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $125.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The stocks fifty day moving average is $115.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11,029,400 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratoriess previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Menieres disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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Smith Douglas Homes (NYSE:SDHC  Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report released on Monday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $22.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $33.00. Bank of Americas price target suggests a potential downside of 9.43% from the stocks previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on SDHC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Smith Douglas Homes from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Smith Douglas Homes from $33.00 to $24.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wedbush restated a neutral rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Smith Douglas Homes in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $25.40.

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Smith Douglas Homes Price Performance

Insider Buying and Selling at Smith Douglas Homes

Shares of NYSE:SDHC opened at $24.29 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.05. Smith Douglas Homes has a 12-month low of $20.55 and a 12-month high of $39.50.

In other Smith Douglas Homes news, Director Jeffrey T. Jackson bought 8,605 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.77 per share, with a total value of $256,170.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 15,748 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $468,817.96. The trade was a 120.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smith Douglas Homes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Smith Douglas Homes in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Smith Douglas Homes by 287.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,692 shares of the companys stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Smith Douglas Homes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Smith Douglas Homes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $246,000. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smith Douglas Homes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $283,000.

About Smith Douglas Homes

(Get Free Report)

Smith Douglas Homes Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, construction, and sale of single-family homes in the southeastern United States. It also provides closing, escrow, and title insurance services. The company sells its products to entry-level and empty-nest homebuyers. Smith Douglas Homes Corp.

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Hunter Biden let off a huge sigh of relief today as he smoked another crack rock from his trusty pipe whilst driving his Porsche at 172 MPH down a residential street. Apparently the Colombians are not going to put the price of crack up after that Trump hooha.

Ordering up some more Russian ladies and weighing up a new shipment of rocks, its just another day for Hunter, theres nothing to see here folks, everything is okay.

They keep talking about ICE on the news. It scared the shit out of me. I thought they were talkin about crack, and then we got this Trump idiot messing with the Colombians, but then realised theyre talking about the immigration and customs enforcement dudes. I got some Russian broads comin over later, and my dealer with another load of crack. Scuse me!

Its a good thing that Trump cannot mess with Hunter Biden any more, especially as his dad fixed it for him to be above the law and immune from any form of prosecution.
Sometimes you gotta pull the leash a little and rein in the lil doggy. If youre the big boss like Trump thats exactly what you do, and shit, you can do it all in real-time on Twitter X and Truthsocial while the world watches. International political wheeler dealing right there on your screen, its fascinating to watch and thoroughly entertaining. Fuck around and find out (FAFO) is what happens when you mess with the big boss, thats exactly what happened to Colombias President Petro.

Petros now singing castrato, as he immediately capitulated to the Trump tariff threats for not allowing Colombian illegal alien repatriation flights to land.

Colombia has agreed to unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay, a White House statement said.

Todays events make clear to the world that America is respected again, it added.

President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nations sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States.

Next stop  Mexico, for refusing repatriation flights as well

This a vibe though. ICE ICE, BABY (Deportation Remix)

(Beat drops you know the vibe) [Intro]

Yo, ICE ICE, baby

ICE ICE, baby [Verse 1]

Alright, stoppack up, it's over

ICE in the van, rolling up like a chauffeur

Green card check, no luck? You go back

Papers pic.twitter.com/o5zyfKQ535  DAWG COIN (@Dawgcoin_erc20) January 30, 2025



The DS presented in 2023 the idea that illegal economic Channel migrants arriving in the UK should be towed back to France by the British Navy, but it was never implemented because not only is the UK ruled by the ECHR, despite a supposed Brexit, but the people who run the country dont have any fucking balls to do anything, not like the Teflon Don does anyway. Oorah!
Commissar Angela Rayner, Officer for Housing, Communities and Local Government for the Big State, has given the green light for the delightful council tax rises for every household in the Peoples Republic of Soviet Britain.

COUNCIL TAX = POLL TAX

Good news for all citizens. Because of the large salaries, gold-plated pension plans and expense accounts of esteemed Big State civil servants working from home in councils for three days a week for your benefit, we will increase your poll tax by over 5 times the legal limit using a little loophole I have okayed called a Section 114 notice.

You may think your council tax is already high, but when we increase it to 6,987 per annum, you will have to pay it, or we will send the bailiffs around or jail you filthy prole scum. You thought the Poll Tax was bad, wait until you get this council tax increase. You deserve everything you get, you foul-smelling cockroaches, and thank you for voting Labour! Snivelling fucking wankers!

INGSOC NOTICE 344022-299188181818181818223-3223-223-2-32-2-1-19

AMANDA BLETCHNICK, 23, FROM ABERSWIMPY, WALES WAS AWARDED SIX BOXES OF USED TOILET PAPER AND A RISE OF 3.5 GRAMS OF CHOCOLATE RATIONS FOR REPORTING HER HUSBAND, MOTHER, LOCAL PRIEST, FOURTEEN NUNS, AND A 12-YEAR-OLD SCHOOLBOY FOR UTTERING SWEAR WORDS AT COMMISSAR ANGELA RAYNER AND CALLING HER A GINGER GROWLER TOUTING FUCKING COMMON AS SHITE COMMIE BITCH AFTER SHE ANNOUNCED HUGE COUNCIL TAX RISES FOR EVERYONE. THE CRIMINALS WERE TAKEN AWAY IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING AND TRANSPORTED TO UNDISCLOSED GULAG LOCATIONS FOR THE REST OF THEIR MISERABLE LIVES. HAVE A NICE DAY.
Comrades, commissars, Labour Party hierarchy, Bolsheviks, apparatchiks, Big State civil servants, train drivers, Marxist union bosses, NHS managers, and the rest of the scum proletariat. Commissar Rach From Accounts in the Peoples Republic of Soviet Britain has some doubleplus good recession news for Proles. It involves eating the bark from trees.

URGENT COMMUNIQUE FROM COMMISSAR REEVES

Comrades, I have urgent good news for all the wonderful soviet citizens of soviet Britain. Due to my immense work doing the peoples accounts, we are now in permanent recession, and the economy is shrinking at rapid rates never witnessed before.

Thanks to my accounting Soviet Britain is losing money, capitalist millionaire swine, capitalist swine businesses, employment and all aspiration are all fleeing like slippery fat rats.

Additionally, because of the Soviet Labour Partys purge against the vile landed gentry Kulak farmer classes, there is now no food in Soviet Britain.

Its all good news, comrades, I have dreamt up a lovely plan for all you scum who voted Labour. Yes, you cannot say I, Commissar Reeves, do not look out for you. I have provided Big State guidance on how to strip the bark from trees, and to boil the bark to eat. If you boil the bark for long enough, it will eventually be edible. Also, the leather from your shoes can be boiled for sustenance and vitamins for your health.

Last week, I outlined how your pet cat or dog could provide vital nourishment for a family of four for at least two weeks. Now that there are no cats and dogs left, and all the trees will soon be gone, I will soon provide details on how dead relatives can provide essential food for your pantry for up to one month of nutrition. These guidelines will be released next week.

INGSOC NOTICE 123100-439472-3999383011283839291119283838292920-A

JOE BELDRANGLE OF 32 GRIMFUK STREET IN WITCHESTER HAS BEEN AWARDED THREE STRIPS OF FRESHLY BOILED BARK RATIONS AND AN ENTIRE FRESH ARM FROM A MORGUE. HE REPORTED HIS WHOLE FAMILY AND TOWN FOR DISPARAGING, NASTY COMMENTS ABOUT MY ABILITY AS SOVIET CHANCELLOR OF THE PEOPLES SOVIET BANK TO RUN THE ECONOMY. ALL THE CRIMINALS WERE TAKEN TO THE LOCAL SLAUGHTER HOUSE AND PROCESSED FOR VITAL RATIONS FOR HIGH PARTY OFFICIALS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE TO THE BIG STATE. NOW ENJOY EATING THE BARK FROM TREES, THE REST OF YOU FUCKING PROLE SCUM.
Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI  Free Report) (TSE:TRI) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,819 shares of the business services providers stock after buying an additional 252 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.s holdings in Thomson Reuters were worth $292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TRI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 183,605 shares of the business services providers stock worth $30,954,000 after acquiring an additional 9,571 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters in the second quarter worth about $303,000. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thomson Reuters in the second quarter worth $236,000. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 366.1% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 28,397 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $4,465,000 after purchasing an additional 22,304 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Thomson Reuters by 179.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 243,524 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $41,033,000 after buying an additional 156,410 shares during the period. 17.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thomson Reuters Price Performance

TRI stock opened at $163.28 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $73.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $162.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Thomson Reuters Co. has a 1 year low of $148.16 and a 1 year high of $176.03.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

Thomson Reuters ( NYSE:TRI Get Free Report ) (TSE:TRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 14.85% and a net margin of 32.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Thomson Reuterss previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Thomson Reuterss payout ratio is 42.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Thomson Reuters from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Thomson Reuters in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Thomson Reuters from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $176.10.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters Company Profile

(Free Report)

Thomson Reuters Corporation engages in the provision of business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments.

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Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR  Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,796,976,000 after buying an additional 321,002 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $694,441,000 after buying an additional 132,638 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $576,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,840 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 806.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $317,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the companys stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $68.33 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $57.33 and a 52-week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. Equity Residentials dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 110.66%.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EQR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $78.36.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on EQR

Equity Residential Profile

(Free Report)

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.

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Award-winning writer/performer Joyce Greenaway is delighted to bring her blistering double five-star Edinburgh Fringe solo show to the Steinbeck Festival, Limavady, and the Playhouse Derry.

Dry Northern Irish humour, raw emotion, a dysfunctional familyand whiskey! Whats not to love?

Especially as this script was placed in the top 10% of 4000+ scripts in the BBC Writersroom Open Call 2023!

June 2021, Joyce Greenaway took a risk to try out a solo show at The Edinburgh Fringe for the first time ever.

Three days sat on a London rooftop, and Tam Tully's story wrote itself.

Tam Tully fights tragedy and treachery to save her Ulster distillery from ruin by crafting the Holy Grail of whiskey, that perfect single malt.

What if the mighty Tam Tully not only has to fight tragedy and treachery to save her eight-generation Irish family distillery in Newcastle, County Down, by crafting the perfect single malt but also battle the men who abandoned her, the duty thats trapped her, and the lies shes spent a lifetime concealing?

Lace it with ascerbic throwaways, cask it in feral emotion, flavour it with politics, sex, religion, and misogyny, injustice and wait for Tam to explode.

Six weeks later, Greenaway ran up to Edinburgh and performed five in-person shows to over 170 people and was blown away by the response: audiences of all ages laughed, wept, hugged her afterwards, and asked if the story was true.

This still happens.

Its since toured to Dublin, Brighton, and the Edinburgh Fringe (2021-2023); a sellout run at The Lyric, Belfast, sponsored by Titanic Distillers; and various London venues, as well as representing NI at Bozar, Brussels, and four NI Festivals in 2024.

After being the first #whiskeytheatre show to perform at the first vertical distillery in Scotland, the new Port of Leith Distillery, and Titanic Distillers, Belfast, a standing ovation at both to boot, its coming to Limavady before heading to the Playhouse Derry for one night in each venue, and its a simple setup: a chair, a glass, and a bottle of whiskey. And a richly comic dysfunctional family saga.

An award-winning creative, Joyce Greenaway was one of the seven major NI artists supported at the Edinburgh Fringe 2023 by Theatre and Dance NI, Arts Council NI, British Council NI, and Belfast International Arts Festival. In 2024, she was chosen to perform at Bozar, the prestigious cultural centre in Brussels, by the NI Executive Office, Brussels, in collaboration with ACNI and the Brussels Platform.

The show will be at the Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre, Limavady, during the Steinbeck Festival on Valentine's Day, with tickets available here.

In Derry, the following two days, February 15 and 16, it will be on in the Playhouse with tickets available here.
Two police officers murdered by the IRA 53 years ago have been remembered by a commemoration in Derry.

East Derry MP Gregory Campbell, Foyle MLA Gary Middleton, Lord William Hay and local councillors marked the murders of Sergeant Peter Gilgunn and Constable David Montgomery with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in the Diamond.

Sergeant Gilgunn, a 26-year old catholic, and Constable Montgomery, a 20-year-old protestant, lost their lives in an IRA ambush on Creggan Hill on January 27, 1972. They were murdered by the IRA using a Thompson sub machine gun.

Mr Campbell said: Today, we remember two brave young men who were cruelly taken in the line of duty. Whilst much focus is placed on events known as 'Bloody Sunday' three days later in the same area of Londonderry, few remember that a Thompson Sub-machine gun was used on both days.

"Whilst it is the anniversary of these two murders it is also for all the innocents, whom we must always remember.

"There are some who seek to rewrite history, but these murders stand as a stark reminder of the brutal reality of the Troubles and the dangers faced by members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary who served and sought to uphold law and order for all. They must not be forgotten

Mr Middleton added: This is an important opportunity to honour their courage and dedication, ensuring their sacrifice is never overlooked while other events get books and headlines written.
North West Regional College (NWRC) is hosting a series of showcases to provide information about apprenticeship courses starting in September 2025.

The showcases, part of Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Week, will be held at Springtown campus on February 4, and Greystone campus on February 6, from 3-8pm. Both events are open to applicants aged 16 and over.

Visitors will have the opportunity to tour industry standard workshops at NWRC, sample various trades, talk to lecturers and apply for courses.

NWRC offers apprenticeships in trade areas including: welding, plumbing, electric installation, brickwork, painting and decorating, light vehicle body repair, woodwork, and tiling. Apprenticeships are also available in fields such as dental nursing, housing, and health and social care.

For those with A-levels, Leaving Certificate, or Level 3 students NWRC offers Higher Level Apprenticeships (HLAs), where successful candidates will be employed in a company relevant to their chosen profession to gain valuable experience. Students can study courses such as: Software Development, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Business and Enterprise, Financial Technologies, Engineering and much more.

For applicants unable to secure an Apprenticeship, NWRC offers a wide range of FT Traineeship programmes which allows students to build the skills to progress on to Apprenticeship or further Level 3 study.

Dr. Catherine OMullan, Director of Curriculum and Academic Standards at NWRC said: NWRC is delighted to be part of this series of events across Northern Ireland bringing together partners and stakeholders committed to the development and delivery of apprenticeships.

Our courses include a wide range of employment opportunities. Apprenticeship training combines employed status, earning while you learn with obtaining knowledge and skills in state of the art facilities at the college and gaining further training and experience in employment.

All apprenticeships are open to applicants aged 16, subject to entry criteria, I encourage anyone interested in starting or returning to education to attend our showcases and learn more about the opportunities available.

The events will feature campus tours, workshop demonstrations, information sessions, and hands-on activities. Hair and beauty staff will also host barbering and nail art demos, along with mini treatments for visitors.

The college will also hold a Higher-Level Apprenticeship Employer coffee morning on Wednesday, February 5 from 9.30am  11.30am in Strand Road Campus in the Dial centre.

To register for the NWRC apprenticeship showcases visit: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/north-west-regional-college
The John and Pat Hume Foundation, Royal Irish Academy and Graham Spencer are hosting a book launch of The SDLP, Politics and Peace - The Mark Durkan Interviews by Graham Spencer Emeritus Professor of Social and Political Conflict, University of Portsmouth in Derry on Wednesday.

Professor Graham Spencer said: "This new volume of interviews with former SDLP leader Mark Durkan provides a compelling and informative account of how the peace process in Northern Ireland developed, how the Good Friday Agreement was reached and the many problems that beset power-sharing thereafter.

"Addressing issues such as informal, back channel contacts, the role and value of the Hume-Adams and SDLP-Sinn Fein dialogues, decommissioning, unionism, the dynamic of talks and negotiations and what the future of Ireland North and South will need to confront if the full benefits of stability and peace are to be made available to all, this testimony is a must-read for those seeking to understand the challenges of peace from someone involved at the heart of that search."

Mark Durkan said: "In a series of interviews, Graham Spencer asked me for recollections, perceptions or explanations of given developments in the course of the peace process. Addressing these, I tried to answer the question "..what were we thinking?" or "what was the thinking..?". Not least - but not only - in respect of offering insights into John Hume's resilient pathfinding role in grounding the layers of understanding.

"Graham's compilation of those answers helps to colour in the importance of different phases, faces and factors in our process beyond the narrower treatments of a lot of commentary or accounts.

"Rooted in academic interview, the result is not "my book" giving either my own overall narrative or more personal memoir.

"It shares actual knowledge of some things I was "in the room" for and other things that I was "behind a pillar" on.

"As edited, it points to the working relevance between different facets and retraces the working sequence between different episodes. I hope that it reads as some acknowledgement, from one involvee, of diverse contributions to achieving what was meant to be a shared and inclusive outcome."

The book launch takes place at 4.30pm on Wednesday, January 29 in the Guildhall's Whitaker Suite with Mark Durkan, Graham Spencer and chaired by Dr Shelley Deane, Researcher in the Dept of Law and Government at DCU.
PICTURED ABOVE: Mrs. Munira Subasic, president of the Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves, lights a candle at Oakgrove Intgrated College last week. Included are Amil Khan, Remembering Srebrenica and Peter Osborne, chair, Remembering Srebrenica NI. (Photos: Jim McCafferty Photography)

Oakgrove Integrated College paused lessons as they were joined by fellow students from Thornhill and Foyle College to mark Holocaust Memorial Week.

Together they heard the daunting story of genocide survivor and keynote speaker Munira Subasic who spoke of losing her husband, 17 years old son and 20 members of her family in the Srebenica genocide of July 1995.

The Holocaust Week event is held annually at the college to remember the victims of that and other genocide since then.

On 27th January each year, the UN urges all member states to honour the millions of victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of war throughout the world and to develop educational programmes to help prevent future genocides.

The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, was the July 1995 genocidal killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebenica during the Bosnia War.

It was mainly perpetrated by units of the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska under Ratko Mladic though the Serb paramilitary unit Scorpions also participated. The massacre was the first legally recognised genocide in Europe since the end of World War II.

What happened in the former Yugoslavia served as a start reminder of the devastating consequences of ethnic and religious hatred. In Oakgrove Integrated College there continues to be a strong commitment to embracing diversity, celebrating differences and fostering equality. Remembering genocide asks us to recognise that achieving true equality and respect remains an ongoing journey for us all.

At the Special Assembly, Mrs. Munira Subasic, president of the Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves, one of the main organisations representing victims of the Srebrenica genocide, spoke to a packed hall. One observer said You could have heard a pin drop as she conveyed her daunting story through her interpreter.

Taking her position at the schools podium, Mrs. Munira Subasic said: "I am very humbled to be invited and to speak to so many young people about what happened at Srebrenica but also to be an advocate for reconciliation. We know in Bosnia about political and ethnic divisions and that further prejudice, hatred and separation are not answers.

"They just lead to more misery. We dont want to visit the problems of the past on our next generations and neither should Northern Ireland.

READ NEXT: IN PICTURES: Derry schools mark Holocaust Day 2025

Peter Osborne, chair of the Northern Ireland Board of charity Remembering Srebrenica, who accompanied Mrs. Subasic to Oakgrove, said: "The event at the Oakgrove was outstanding and we want to thank all the pupils and schools that participated, and the teachers for their support and commitment. Young people are our future, and if these students are anything to go by, we should be very optimistic about that future, together."

Staff and students from Thornhill and Foyle Colleges, their teachers, together with the Principal of Lisneal College, joined the annual event.

Speaking after the event, Oakgrove Principal, John Harkin thanked the other schools for their presence. He said he was honoured to host Munira and hoped that all those in attendance learned something from hearing her telling her story, especially her gladness that the next generation live their lives free from hatred.

The Mayor, Lilian Seenoi-Barr, Mr. John Harkin, Principal, Oakgrove Integated college pictured with Mrs. Munira Subasic, president of the Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves during last week's Holocaust event at the school. Included are event organisers and representatives from other schools who took part.

He asked the audience, in their lives, to honour the memory of all who died in genocide by making choices each day to build up humanity and respect. Quoting Eleanor Roosevelts words on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights he asked,"Where, after all, do human rights begin, in the little places close to home, so small and insignificant that they do not appear on any map of the world. If human rights have no meaning there, then they have no meaning anywhere.

Oakgrove has marked Holocaust Memorial every day since its inception. In addition to the school events, Oakgroves Head Boy and Girl Bobby Skeggs and Brooke Deery participated in the official NI Holocaust Memorial event in Belfast City Hall on Thursday evening.

Mr. Harkin concluded: We mark this day because we should honour those lives destroyed, recommit to holding the world to its promise Never Again and make sure that in our life choices we humanise, not categorise those around us.
The Bloody Sunday March committee has announced its programme of events ahead of this weekend's 53rd anniversary.

Speaking ahead of the commemoration events, veteran campaigner Eamonn McCann said: "Its 53 years since the death storm erupted at the bottom of Rossville St. It has blighted the Bogside down through the decades since.

"Bloody Sunday marches and anniversary activities of one sort and another now include children and even the grandchildren of those who fell under the fusillade of bullets from the parachute regiment. Its been a long time.

"Every year we are asked  Why drag the agony out? Isnt it time to forgive and forget? Some who are generous of heart may find it within themselves to forgive. But none of us should ever forget.

"As for the question of why we keep marching, the answer is simple. We havent reached our destination yet. So well keep right on to the end of the road. What shining prize will we find there? Nothing material  but the greatest gift any of us can pass on to our children, and our grandchildren. The glittering truth, and the joy of justice, and the hard lessons we have learned. We cannot hug our grief to ourselves and in the meantime cast a cold eye on the agonies inflicted on much of the world around us.

"It was said from the Bloody Sunday platform a year ago that, Palestine is the front line of the world. And so it was and still is. Back in the 1950s, an Irish journalist working for the BBC, Erskine Childers, son of the Irish president of the same name, reported from Palestine, If you go among them today, on the hills above Judea, they will point through the barbed wire and tell you, 'Look over there, that house beside those olive trees, that is my home'.

And so it was, and still is. And it is a shame in the face of the world all these years later that the Palestinian people must feel as far from home as ever. Childers was writing in the aftermath of what Palestinians call the Nakba, the disaster, when Zionist thugs, made from the same cloth as the Parachute Regiment, drove three quarters of a million Palestinian farmers and their families off their land and into limbo.

"Lets be clear: the oppression endured here cannot be likened to the suffering of the Palestinian people.

"It is right and necessary that we should assemble every year to renew our pledge not to stop until the full truth about Bloody Sunday and the identities of those who procured it is brought into the open, to be presented to future generations. But we must never forget that in Palestine theres a Bloody Sunday every day of the week. As we shout for truth and freedom, we must shout out also free free Palestine

"It is for these reasons that the banner of the Bloody Sunday March Committee is raised at every show of solidarity with Palestine. Its for the same reason that the issue of Palestine will again be front-and-centre at the annual Bloody Sunday march on February 2nd."

Events Summary



Patches for Palestine

Monday 27th January - Sunday 2nd February,

Pilots Row.

Belfast-Palestine Solidarity Quilt. A work of art by the Irish community to show their support in amplifying the voices of Palestinians.



From Raytheon to Filton, Ending the Arms Trade

Wednesday 29th January 7.20pm-9.30pm Hive Studio Rathmor

The role of direct action and police responses

A panel discussion with Jackie McKenna & Goretti Horgan, two of the Raytheon activists whose occupation of the company in 2009 led to Raytheons withdrawal from the city. They will be joined by a parent of one of the Filton 18, Palestine Action protestors who are currently imprisoned after occupations of Elbit Systems. The event will be chaired by Amie Gallagher, community worker and activist



BSMC Fundraiser Gig 30th January 7pm Sandinos

TRAMP headline the gig featuring some of the best local talent, raising funds for the Bloody Sunday March Committee. 7 on the door



Who Fears To Speak

Launching Friday 31st January, Pilots Row, 6pm.

A photography exhibition, by Clodagh O'Leary, focusing on the experience of the young people from the Bogside and Creggan, exploring how Republicanism has shaped their lives and identity.





Panel Discussion: Zionist Free Derry

Sat 1st February 12.30pm Pilots Row

How can we continue to assist the people of Palestine and the international Boycott campaign at this time in creating a Zionist Free Derry?

A panel discussion with Lebanese Writer, trade unionist and activist Jade Sabb. Based in Edinburgh, who is involved in the campaign for a Zionist Free Leith, Derry social justice activist, Catherine Hutton from Derry IPSC and Strabane community activist Tommy Barr, who is involved in the Strabane BDS movement.

This event will be chaired by Farrah Koutteineh who is a Palestinian writer, journalist and founder of @key48return.



Radical Question Time

Sat 1st February 3pm Pilots Row

Following on from the success of last years event, Radical Question Time returns for 2025 in Pilots Row.

Topical debate, where activists will join the panel, answering questions from the public on issues which affect them.

The event, chaired by a local journalist, will include panellists, Donegal councillor Frank McBreaty, Bloody Sunday family member and campaigner Liam Wray, lifelong political activist Eamonn McCann and leading Hillsborough justice campaigner Sheila Coleman.



Annual Bloody Sunday March for Justice

Sunday 2nd February 2.30pm Creggan Shops to Free Derry Corner

Key speakers:

Farrah Kouteinneh a Palestinian writer, journalist and founder of Key48Return
A Derry SDLP councillor has stepped away from the party after providing a court reference for an Irish soldier who was convicted of rape.

Last week Cllr Brian Tierney apologised for the reference after it emerged that he had provided a reference for a Derry man who was subsequently sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for raping a woman who was a fellow member of the Irish Defence Forces.

Cllr Tierney described giving the reference for Kielan Mooney as a "grave error of judgement".

In a fresh statement, Cllr Tierney said he had "made the very difficult decision to step aside as an SDLP councillor".

He added that he "deeply regretted" any harm caused to the victim and anyone else "affected".

It is understood that Cllr Tierney will continue to sit on Derry and Strabane District as an independent.

Cllr Tierney said: After reflecting on the situation over the past few days I have made the very difficult decision to step aside as an SDLP councillor.

"Although the situation was misrepresented to me, I deeply regret the harm caused to the victim and everyone else affected in my giving of a character reference.

The SDLP has played a huge role in my life from a very young age and the vision and values of the party remain core to me.

"I will be doing everything possible to make up for the damage caused and to demonstrate genuine remorse for my actions.

The SDLP has confirmed that Cllr Tierney's membership of the party has been suspended pending an internal review of the wider provision around references.

An SDLP spokesperson said: We welcome Brians decision and his genuine desire to address the issues raised by the issuing of this character reference and his actions to reach out to those affected by this. We are conducting a review around the provision of references.

"Tackling violence against women and girls remains a key priority for the SDLP and our thoughts are with the victim at the centre of this case.
The Ulster Farmers Union have vowed to keep up pressure on the UK Government over changes to inheritance tax.

It comes after lines of tractors took to streets across Northern Ireland as part of a UK-wide protest by farmers against the announced cap on Agricultural Property Relief (APR).

From April 2026, the first 1 million of combined business and agricultural assets will continue to attract no inheritance tax.

But for assets over 1 million, inheritance tax will apply with 50% relief, at an effective rate of 20%.

It has been estimated that almost 50% of farms in Northern Ireland will be impacted.

Farmers have argued the bills will put their farm out of business and prevent their children being able to continue the business.

In Northern Ireland there were seven tractor runs on Saturday covering all six counties, and two in Co Down, organised by the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) many bearing posters which read Save Our Family Farms and UFU flags.

On Sunday, William Irvine, president of the UFU, said the rallies put the issue back on the political agenda for 2025.

Our approach to the issue is to keep steady pressure on, and as each week goes by, there is building evidence, every report that comes out, and every new analysis tends to be support our position on this, he told the BBCs Sunday Politics programme.

Our own Department of Agriculture, their take is that it will impact significantly, 50% of the farms.

Not only will that have severe implications for the family farms and the rural economy of Northern Ireland, it is a major threat to UK food security.

We tend to have a smaller size farm, high value land and we tend to be owner occupiers, and even though some of our farms may be run as partnerships, the collateral tends to be in one name and thats what makes us so vulnerable to this tax.

READ NEXT: IN PICTURES: Derry farmers tractor protest over inheritance tax changes

We are so vulnerable because of the high value we have, as high a value for land as there is in the United Kingdom and the Government are very keen to point out there are ways around this.

All those mitigations that they say are there, all those mitigations come with a risk and come with a cost and this is what puts our makes our folks so nervous and puts their agricultural industry at risk.

He said Northern Ireland politicians are united on the issue in agreement with the UFU.

We are struggling to get into the Chancellors office, and were going to maintain the pressure here, he said.

This doesnt come into until spring 2026 so its continuous and increasing pressure as we go forward  we have to get through that door.
A US-based fintech firm is to create 20 jobs with a new engineering development team in Belfast.

Stormont Economy Minister Conor Murphy has welcomed the move by SpiderRock, which is based in Chicago.

He said the office based at the Pearl Assurance Building in Belfast is its first investment in Northern Ireland, and described its work as delivering high-performance, cloud-based trading systems and low-latency market data solutions to clients globally, including hedge funds, bank trading desks, and proprietary trading firms.

This investment by such a prestigious company is testament to the international stature of the Norths thriving fintech sector, he said.

Invest NI and I met SpiderRocks leadership team in Chicago last year to discuss the benefits of investing in the North.

Im delighted the company has now decided to create 20 new positions offering average salaries of 55,000, almost double the private sector median.

The hybrid nature of the roles mean they will be accessible to people right across the region.

George Papa, chief executive of SpiderRock, said they have been impressed with the talent and expertise available in Northern Ireland, as well as the strong partnerships with universities and support from Invest NI.

Our Northern Ireland team will play a critical role in supporting our trading platform, extending operational coverage during non-US hours, and enabling our expansion into European markets, he said.

Recruitment efforts are progressing rapidly, and were thrilled to have already filled almost half of the planned roles.

This investment marks a significant milestone for SpiderRock as we grow our presence in Europe, build our brand, and deliver innovative solutions to new markets.

Invest NI helped to secure the investment for Northern Ireland and has offered support towards the 20 roles.

Andrea Haughian, Invest NIs head of Americas, added: SpiderRocks decision to establish operations in Northern Ireland highlights the regions growing reputation as a fintech hub, offering a skilled workforce and a competitive business environment.
Stormonts leaders have called on Northern Irelands energy network provider, NIE Networks, to offer goodwill payments to those who remain without power following Storm Eowyn.

First Minister Michelle ONeill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly highlighted that compensation payments were available in Scotland for affected customers.

Some 60,000 homes and businesses remain without power in Northern Ireland, with some people told they could be waiting until February 3 to be reconnected.

NIE Networks said on Monday that supply had been restored to more than 215,000 customers so far.

More than 50 schools in Northern Ireland remained closed on Monday.

Ten of those were forced to close due to damage sustained to buildings, while the remainder did not have electricity supply.

Around 150 schools were damaged in the storm.

Ms ONeill and Ms Little-Pengelly pressed NIE officials on the compensation issue during a meeting at Stormont on Monday morning.

Updating reporters afterwards inside Parliament Buildings in Belfast, Ms ONeill said: Weve asked NIE to look at the issue of compensation, because we think that it is important that people are supported through these difficult days.

She added: These companies make significant profits every year. They should make sure they give that goodwill payment now at a time of need.

Ms Little-Pengelly said: We understand that that is what is happening with Scottish companies, energy companies in Scotland in relation to the same storm.

We see no reason why this shouldnt happen here.

So we are urging NIE to go away, consider that and come back to us very quickly with an indication of what they want to do, because we know that those people who are without electricity and water are suffering real hardship.

She added: I think it is the right thing to do for NIE to step up and to do a goodwill payment and not wait for those further discussions in due course with the Utility Regulator or elsewhere.

They can do a goodwill payment, is our understanding. So thats what were urging them to do.

NIE Networks has been approached for comment.
A police officer did not act with sensitivity when he intervened at a Troubles memorial event during Covid restrictions, Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson has said.

However, Mrs Anderson added that she believed there had been reasonable justification for police to have attended the scene outside Sean Grahams bookmakers on the Ormeau Road in Belfast in February 2021.

A number of people had gathered to mark the 29th anniversary of the murders of five people in a loyalist gun attack.

The ombudsman investigated a complaint from Mark Sykes, a survivor of the attack, who was arrested and put into handcuffs before being released after almost 90 minutes.

The investigation centred on allegations concerning the insensitivity of police attending the area during the commemoration, Mr Sykes alleged wrongful arrest and the prolonged use of handcuffs.

The ombudsman said: Given the restrictions on gatherings which were in place under the Covid regulations at the time, I am satisfied that there was reasonable justification for PSNI to have attended the scene.

However, after examination of all relevant evidence, including radio transmissions, body worn video and other video footage of the incident, I was of the view that the arresting police officer had not responded to the unfolding events in line with an order to treat the gathering with sensitivity.

Mrs Anderson said she had submitted a file to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for a decision on whether two officers who attended the scene should be prosecuted for assault.

The PPS directed no prosecution.

The ombudsman also assessed the conduct of seven police officers, including those who were at the scene, in the control room and the senior officers involved in the decision making.

Mrs Anderson said the evidence had been sufficient to support her recommendations to the PSNIs Professional Standards Department (PSD) for disciplinary proceedings regarding one officers conduct in relation to the mans arrest and handcuffing.

The recommendations were accepted by the PSD and disciplinary proceedings were held.

However, the officer subsequently appealed against the decision of the disciplinary panel, and the appeal was upheld.

Mrs Anderson said radio transmissions showed that when police officers first encountered the commemoration they thought it was a pop-up protest and were not aware of the significance of the gathering.

The officers, who were both probationary officers with less than 12 months service, were given orders to establish what was happening and were instructed by their supervising sergeant to put their body worn video on and to back off if they met resistance.

Twelve minutes later the attending officers were advised that the gathering was to commemorate the anniversary of the Sean Graham bookmakers shootings.

They were told to still get footage, but treat with sensitivity.

Following a verbal altercation, Mr Sykes was arrested for disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest.

He was placed in a police car where he remained with his hands cuffed behind him for almost 90 minutes.

The ombudsman said: The evidence demonstrated that the attending police officers had no advance knowledge of the event or an in-depth understanding of the atrocity which was being commemorated.

Mrs Anderson said she had identified no evidence of a breach of the PSNI code of ethics by senior police officers.

She has made three recommendations to the PSNI to improve aspects of operational policing.

PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the force accepted the recommendations.

He said: We have already commenced updating our training, policy and procedures to ensure that incidents of a similar nature do not occur again.

The ombudsman pointed out that her investigation was distinct from a decision by the PSNI to suspend one police officer and re-position another.

These decisions were subsequently judged to have been unlawful following a judicial review and sparked a crisis within the police force which led to the resignation of former chief constable Simon Byrne.
The UK Government is working hard to meet requests for assistance from the devolved Stormont Executive in the wake of Storm Eowyn, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has said.

It came as the managing director of Northern Irelands energy network provider, NIE Networks, said the company is trying to work out how to set up a compensatory scheme for those affected by power cuts.

Approximately 50,000 customers remain without electricity across Northern Ireland, with power restored to 235,000 properties after the damage caused to the network by Fridays storm.

Specialist engineers have arrived from England to help repair the network, but some customers have been told it may be February 3 before their supply is restored.

More than 50 schools in Northern Ireland remained closed on Monday.

Ten of those were forced to close because of damage sustained to buildings, while the remainder did not have electricity supply.

Around 150 schools were damaged in the storm.

Mr Benn visited NIE Network headquarters in Belfast on Monday where he was updated on efforts to restore power to households.

He said: We have got a way to go yet but we have been working very hard as the UK Government to meet the requests for support from the Northern Ireland Executive.

In these circumstances my job is to make sure that we meet those needs.

The engineers that have come over through the mutual support arrangements, the helicopters that are now here, and as other requests come in we will do our darndest to meet them.

This is showing the strength of the United Kingdom working together to look after each other in the wake of this once-in-a-generation storm.

He added: The system has worked. We have responded to requests for help and it shows the mutual aid which is the foundation of our country.

Mr Benn said he had raised the issue of goodwill payments with NIE Networks.

He said: They said they were going to consider that and come back with an answer.

I recognise people are facing a lot of costs.

The NI Secretary said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had told Northern Irelands First and deputy First Ministers Michelle ONeill and Emma Little Pengelly that the Government would give Northern Ireland all the support it needed.

He added: This is a practical crisis and what people need is engineers, helicopters, bottled water, generators, these are the things that make a difference to people on the ground while they are waiting for their lives to get back together.

Speaking earlier in the day, Ms ONeill and Ms Little-Pengelly said they had pressed NIE officials on the payment issue during a meeting at Stormont.

Updating reporters afterwards inside Parliament Buildings in Belfast, Ms ONeill said: Weve asked NIE to look at the issue of compensation, because we think that it is important that people are supported through these difficult days.

She added: These companies make significant profits every year. They should make sure they give that goodwill payment now at a time of need.

Ms Little-Pengelly said: We understand that that is what is happening with Scottish companies, energy companies in Scotland in relation to the same storm.

We see no reason why this shouldnt happen here.

So we are urging NIE to go away, consider that and come back to us very quickly with an indication of what they want to do, because we know that those people who are without electricity and water are suffering real hardship.

She added: I think it is the right thing to do for NIE to step up and to do a goodwill payment and not wait for those further discussions in due course with the Utility Regulator or elsewhere.

They can do a goodwill payment, is our understanding. So thats what were urging them to do.

Derek Hynes, managing director of NIE Networks, said Northern Ireland was in a different regulatory regime than other parts of the UK.

But he told the BBC: We completely understand the Governments perspective on this.

Over the course of today, me and my team have been talking to the Utility Regulator, to the Department for the Economy.

We are trying to figure out how it is in Northern Ireland we can establish a similar sort of compensatory scheme to reflect the hardship that people are suffering and going through.

Like all things, it is not exactly straightforward.

I think in principle we are all agreed we will go on a process so we can figure out how to do it.

And ultimately put something in place over the next period of time.

Mr Hynes said the company is using every resource available to us to try to restore power to households and businesses as quickly as we possibly can.

He added: Additional engineers are already working on the network with more arriving today and over the course of the week.

We have also secured additional helicopters to speed up our assessment process and additional generators to support the most vulnerable in the community.
HIGHLIGHTS OpenAI, the company behind the popular ChatGPT chatbot, is facing legal trouble in India. Indian book publishers, alongside their international counterparts, have filed a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI in the Delhi High Court. This lawsuit aims to prevent OpenAI from accessing proprietary content without proper licensing or agreements.

OpenAI, the company behind the popular ChatGPT chatbot, is facing legal trouble in India. Indian book publishers, alongside their international counterparts, have filed a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI in the Delhi High Court. This lawsuit aims to prevent OpenAI from accessing proprietary content without proper licensing or agreements.

The Federation of Indian Publishers, representing members like Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, Cambridge University Press, Pan Macmillan, Rupa Publications, and S. Chand and Co., has expressed concerns about how ChatGPT generates summaries of copyrighted books, reports Reuters.

Also read: Accident or cover-up? OpenAI allegedly deletes potential evidence in copyright case

Our ask from the court is that they should stop (OpenAI from) accessing our copyright content, Pranav Gupta, the federations general secretary, was quoted as saying in the report. In case they dont want to do licensing with us, they should delete datasets used in AI training and explain how we will be compensated. This impacts creativity, he added.

This legal challenge is one of many worldwide against OpenAI and similar companies. Authors, news agencies, and musicians globally are filing cases, alleging that their copyrighted works were used to train AI models without permission.

OpenAI has denied these allegations in the past. The company claims it relies on publicly available data and adheres to fair-use principles. However, the Indian publishers argue that OpenAIs activities in India must comply with Indian laws.

Also read: ANI sues OpenAI over using its content for training ChatGPT models

This lawsuit follows a similar case filed by Indian news agency ANI against OpenAI. The federation hopes to join this high-profile case. OpenAI, in response to the ANI case, stated that deleting its training data would violate its U.S. legal obligations. The company also argued that Indian judges do not have the authority to hear a copyright case against the company because its servers are located overseas.

Legal experts see this case as a potential game-changer. These cases represent a pivotal moment and can potentially shape the future legal framework on AI in India. The judgment passed here will test the balance between protecting IP and promoting tech advancement, said Siddharth Chandrashekhar, a lawyer based in Mumbai.
Micheal Martin, has announced developments regarding the tragic death of Private Sean Rooney killed in December 2022 when his convoy came under attack in Lebanon.

Speaking on the matter, on foot of a question from Louth TD Ruairi O Murchu, he confirmed the commencement of a Post-Incident Internal Inquiry on 1 November 2024.

"This inquiry, which is being independently led by Mr. Michael Delaney S.C., will examine, among other matters, the training and briefing of Defence Forces personnel, the planning of the convoy, and the Standard Operating Procedures, Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures surrounding the incident," he explained.

Micheal Martin further clarified that the inquiry's aim is to identify areas for learning and recommend changes where required.

However, he stressed that "this inquiry will not investigate the criminal matters leading to Private Rooneys death and the injuries sustained by other personnel, as these fall under the remit of the Lebanese criminal investigation." The inquiry is expected to conclude within nine months.

On the ongoing diplomatic efforts, Mr. Martin stated, "The Irish Government has continued to maintain close diplomatic contact with the Lebanese authorities regarding the progress of the Lebanese criminal investigation, through the Embassy in Cairo and the Consulate in Beirut." He assured: "The Government has repeatedly stressed the need for justice to be served in this case. I have personally raised the issue with my Lebanese Defence and Foreign Affairs counterparts on several occasions."

Micheal Martin also highlighted the scheduled proceedings in Lebanon, noting, "The next hearing is scheduled to take place on 12 February, and the Department of Defence will be represented in court at the hearing by its Beirut-based lawyer."

In addition to the Lebanese case, he addressed the Dublin Coroner's Court inquest into Private Rooney's death. "On 6 August last, the Coroner wrote to the UN (via the Departments of Defence and Foreign Affairs) requesting access to two reports on investigations carried out by the UN into the incident leading to Private Rooney's death," he said.

The Coroner also invited the UN to become an "interested party" for the inquest, though "to date, no response has been received from the UN regarding either request."

He further assured the public and Private Rooneys family that all developments are being closely monitored. "Private Rooneys family is being kept informed of all developments," he said, adding that it would not be appropriate to comment further as the matter is before the Lebanese judicial system.

Speaking after raising the matter with Micheal Martin, Louth Sinn Fein TD Ruairi O Murchu welcomed progress on certain aspects of the investigation but expressed frustration at delays and a lack of cooperation from the United Nations.

O Murchu welcomed the Post-Incident Internal Inquiry initiated by the Department of Defence, which will examine operational protocols, planning, and training related to the tragic incident.

Read Next: New Dundalk housing development officially hits the market

Were very glad this is happening, he said. We want to make sure that there are whatever learnings can happen... and any changes that are required.

The Dundalk TD expressed serious dissatisfaction with the UNs failure to respond to requests for information from the Dublin Coroners Court and the Irish government, saying: Its not good enough that they are not providing this information to the Coroner, O Murchu said.

Sean Rooney was not only there as a member of the Defence Forces, he was there as a member of UNIFIL. The United Nations has a duty of care.

He also acknowledged the complexities of the situation but stressed the importance of timely progress.

We need due diligence shown... but we need to make sure that this is done as swiftly as possible, he said. We need to ensure the engagement with Lebanese authorities... and that the UN also do the same to ensure that we strive for justice in relation to the criminal case and the judicial process there.
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Planning a trip to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia?

Youve come to the right place! Heres my step-by-step guide on places you can visit and things you can do when you are there! I can say Im an authority already because I did my trip there alone using maps and travel guides to Kuala Lumpur from the tourism office! This post is dedicated to everyone to everyone who would like to enjoy a cheap trip to Malaysia and Singapore. As the saying goes a penny save is a penny earned. (Click here for more tips on how to have an inexpensive out-of-the-country trip)

How much do you need to spend for your Malaysian trip?

Would you believe if I tell you that I spent a little over Php16,100 roughly around USD366 for my 4 days/ 4 nights trip to Malaysia. That amount already included the expenses I had during my short trip n Singapore . The amount covers the following expense:



Round trip airfare Manila to Malaysia and Malaysia to Manila via Cebu Pacific

Round trip bus fare Malaysia to Singapore and Singapore to Malaysia via Bus Online Ticket

Hotel accommodation for 4days/3 nights in a Malaysian Hotel via Agoda

Food and Drinks

Leisure and Tours

Souvenir items (Pashmina, Indian Anklet, Card Holder)

Taxes and miscellaneous expenses (travel tax, terminal fee, baggage check in)

I paid for my hotel accommodation and bus fare using my Paypal account . Doing so keeps me safe from revealing my credit card information and other important information to prevent identity theft and hackers.

How to get to Malaysia?

TIP 1: Subscribe to airline sale alert and book your flight early! The fastest way is to travel by air. I saved a lot on my airfare because I subscribed the an airline sale alert . I paid Php2,650.00 only for my roundtrip airfare to Malaysia.

TIP 2: Plan your trip ahead . Being a frequent traveler I am aware that air fares are much cheaper if they are purchased months before the actual trip date. I am subscribed to a couple of airlines sales alert so I can get updated immediately when they have low airfare promotions, and if I like the destination on sale I wont hesitate but see if I can book me a flight. I got my ticket from Cebu Pacific for Php2,200 + Php100 web admin fee+ go lite fee Php100 + insurance fee Php250. You can go away without the travel insurance but if you are traveling alone get it just in case. The web admin fee is a standard at the Cebu Pacific Website. I purchased my ticket during their 10/10/10 promo last October 10, 2010 so that gave me 3 months to plan ahead. Ive been traveling via Cebu Pacific for awhile now and I havent experienced any major issues that will make me not want to book a flight with them compared to the other economy airlines Ive tried in the past like traveling via Air Philippines (during the family trip to Cebu) and traveling via Sea Air (during one of the family trip trip to Boracay).

I save on my airfare to Singapore by taking a bus instead! I paid a total of SGD57.75 (Php1,905.75 @ Php33) for my round trip bus fare from Malaysia to Singapore and back!

Instead of traveling by air I decided to visit Singapore by bus, thanks to Dani for the information about the Bus Online Ticket an online bus ticketing website where you can book your trips in and around some Asian destination. I saved thousands of pesos doing this. The bus company is StarMart and the travel from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore (vice versa) takes about 5-6 hours with two stops in the immigration of Malaysia and Singapore, so you will still get your passport stamped if theres no problem involving your travel documents you can pass the immigration and wont be halted and be left by the bus.

You have a choice of riding a normal air conditioned bus or a double decker. But of course the double decker is highly recommended so you get a nice view of the road and whatever there is to see along the way. Or you can just sleep, the bus is very comfy and huge and cold!

The bus that will take you to Singapore from Malaysia will board and unload in front of Berjaya Times Square just below the Imbi Monorail Station. The bus that will bring you back to Malaysia from Singapore will board and unload in front of the Golden Mile Complex Beach Road Singapore (bus #100 pass through it).

Where to stay in Malaysia? Hotel Accommodations

Tip 3: I saved on my hotel accommodation by using Agoda. com an online hotel booking website that offer very cheap hotel accommodation at beautiful hotels everywhere around the world! For this trip my hotel expenses for a 4days/3 nights accommodation = US$87.92 (Php3,868.48 @ Php44)

I would have got a 4 star hotel in Malaysia if my mom and daughter joined me on the trip, but since I went alone I decided to go for a less expensive one and I found Presscott Inn Kuala Lumpur Hotel via Agoda.com the charges include taxes. I was upgraded to a superior room that can occupy two to four persons because of the two double beds in it.

Presscott Inn Kuala Lumpur is very near Medan Tuanku Monorail Station, the area is what they called the Golden Triangle and very near malls , restaurants, clubs and tourist spots, although my room was off the nice view of the KL Tower and Petronas, my hotel room window gave me a nice slice of the city view. My room was very decent, clean and spacious with two double beds complimentary 2 bottled waters, 2 sets of coffee, cream, tea and 4 sugar everyday. The toilet is small but enough to take a shower, brush your teeth and do number 1 or 2. Towels can be changed everyday just put the towel you want changed on the sink. The bed and room is cleaned everyday. The room has double lock, hair dryer, coffee maker, flat iron and ironing board and a spacious closet with a lot of closet hangers.

The hotel staff are very friendly and accommodating. I got there around 5am. Check-in time is usually 2pm. I requested to check in earlier and Thank God there were guests who checked out early so I got in a room at 6am without having to pay any extra for early check-in. Nice noh? FYI: The problem with early check-in is the room isnt clean when you get in yet because the house cleaner comes in at 9am. But thats not the hotels fault anyway since I got there earlier than I should . You can request for an extra bed covers to lay down on the bed you want to rest on and wait until the cleaning lady arrives to have the room made.

I love that whatever was displayed in their promotion and at the Agoda website was the same as what you will see in person. If you are traveling on a budget this hotel is one of the good choices.

Where to go in Malaysia? Top tourist destinations in Malaysia

Tip 4: Take the guided Malaysian Tour. Kuala Lumpur Tour via hop-on hop-off city tour bus. Before leaving your hotel, make sure to familiarize yourself with the area by getting those travel guides and maps that are free at the airport. For your first day in Kuala Lumpur, it is best to take the commissioned city tour . I highly recommended the KL Hop-On Hop-Off City Tour for RM38 the tour is good for 24 hours . This is one of Malaysias guided tours via bus . I highly recommend the KL Hop-On Hop-Off City Tour as it will take you to 42 major sights and attractions in Kuala Lumpur . Riding the Hop-on Ho-Off City Tour bus you can alight the bus anytime you want and stay there and ride another hop-on hop-off bus if you are done exploring . You have a choice to get the 24 hour or 48 hour tour in the bus. But the 48 hour tour for RM70 is the best choice if you are not in a hurry or in some kind of schedule like I have.

I personally got the the 24 hour ticket which allowed me to hop-off the Petronas Twin Towers stayed there and explore. I took a lot of pictures and went malling at the Suria KLCC Mall had lunch there and went for a stroll . I waited for another bus and hop-off at the KL Communication Tower around 4PM . I stayed there until sunset around 8PM.

There were a lot of stop-over at the hop-on hop-off bus. We had a stop over for a photo ops for 5 minutes at the National Palace, 5 minute stop to the Palace of Culture, KL Convention Center, National Museum, Little India, Central Market, China Town, Islamic Museum and many other major attractions. There are 22 bus stop overs and you can hop-on any bus at any bus station. You pay directly on the bus you will ride for the tour so dont worry where you have to pay. They also sell tickets for a tour in the KL Communication Tower for RM35 only, it will cost RM38 if you buy on site.

My DIY Kuala Lumpur Tour

Petronas Twin Towers

This is one of the top tourist must-see destination in Kuala Lumpur. Personally, I think the tour in the Petronas Twin Tower was very much hyped its not the best tour ever but its still worth it to step inside one of the worlds most popular and pictured destination. To get in the Petronas Twin Tower you need to queue at the ticket booth as early as 7AM and viewing starts at 9:30AM depending on the time on your ticket. The tower is not open for viewing on Sundays and Mondays. A ticket for a 15 minute tour on the bridge is RM10 while a tour including the observation deck is RM34 for adults, if you want to have a dinner date up there its RM200.

KL Communication Tower/ 5th Tallest Communication Tower In The World

I recommend the tour inside the KL Communication Tower, its one of the best tour in Kuala Lumpur you can have. For RM35 you get a audio guided tour in the observation deck which will give you an awesome view of Kuala Lumpur city and the Petronas Twin Towers. You can stay as long as you want. We waited until the sun sets and the city was lighted, what an amazing view! I love it.

Batu Caves/ Worlds Tallest Murugan Statue

I was also disappointed with my trip to the Batu Caves or maybe because I expected too much of it. Dont get me wrong the place is still a good place to visit in KL but I was very much disappointed to be welcomed by a filthy and stinky place. For a place of worship this one was very much not taken care of. I also feel sad for the cave, they killed mother nature/ the cave buy making cemented pavements, stairs and platforms and putting in electrical wirings, idols, and metal railing and lightings.

I hope I went to the Batu Cave at the wrong time or just right after a feast or sort the night before. The place needs to be maintained and cleaned. I guess they need to have an entrance fee or sort, I think tourist like me wont mind. The climb to get inside the cave was a work out, imagine climbing more than 260 steps!

The Worlds Tallest Murugan Statue, a Hindu god idol in front of the cave was breathtaking. Theres also a giant Monkey King Statue on the other side and some Hindu temples around. The cave was adorned with a number of Hindu idles and temples around, the view was nice except for the filth around.

Hot tip for an awesome cave adventure?

If you want to see a fresh live cave our caves here in the Philippines is still the best. Try the Puerto Princesa Underground River its amazingly alive and well preserved and only a boat ride can take you inside with only a lamp you will be carrying as lighting. Or you can check out Bathala Cave in Mindoro where you will walk on foot so better wear sturdy walking or mountain climbing shoes . Both are the freshest and livest cave Ive ever been in my life. Dont look up with your mouth opened for so long or God knows what you might catch with your mouth!

KL Convention Center

Is a venue for big events in Kuala Lumpur it is located in a 40 hectare of land where the Aquaria and the KLCC park can be found with a nice view of the Petronas Twin Towers. KL Convention Center is at the back of the Petronas Twin Towers passing through Suria Mall.

TOUR FOR KIDS

Cosmos Theme Park

Located at the Berjaya Times Square and is the largest indoor theme park in Malaysia they have this super huge super roller coaster in there the Super Sonic Odyssey. If you are traveling with a child dont forget to stop over here they will definitely enjoy. But adults will enjoy as well because there are so many rides I dont think Id let my daughter ride because they are way too scary. Entrance is RM38 for adult and RM28 for child. Its open from 12 noon to 10PM Monday- Friday and 11am to 10pm on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.

Aquaria

For RM30 get acquainted with the sea creatures. Theres a nice free exhibit outside, a doctor fish / spa room, and fish / shark/ turtle feeding depending on the time and day of your visit.

NIGHT LIFE

I had a peek of how Malaysians party when I arrived on a Sunday 4AM. The Malaysian party people were just on the way home from a fun Saturday night party. They also dress very well, too bad I wasnt able to take a picture. The Golden Triangle is the place to be for clubbing.

I didnt go clubbing though, since I was alone. I dont want to open myself to anything unsafe. Better be safe than sorry right?

How to get to Batu Caves/going around Kuala Lumpur

Take a KTM Komuter Train (electric train) from KL Sentral RM1 only

The trains KTM Komuter Train and the KL Monorail are an efficient and inexpensive way of traveling around Kuala Lumpur.

Airport transportation to and from your hotel

If you havent arranged for a pick-up as soon as you arrive in the airport (KLIA or LCCT) Dont talk to the men in white polo-shirt, they are taxi (teksi) drivers and will charge you RM100-RM150 to take you to your hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Its a lot cheaper to get on a shuttle bus to KL Sentral, Sea Air has one for RM9 only! Then you can either take a cab from KL Sentral to your hotel not more than RM20 anywhere in KL or take the Monorail or the KLM Train RM1  RM2.50 if your hotel is located near one like mine. You can do the same thing on your departure (taxi then bus).

Shopping in Kuala Lumpure, Malaysia

Personally, I dont go out-of-the-country to do shopping because I can do that anytime from here, so it wasnt really on my to-do list, besides its so expensive in Malaysia! But if you insist you can go to Suria Mall for high-end signature items and Berjaya Times Square for super chic, fashionable, hip items (there are lots of Korean inspired clothing in there!) .

Where to Eat in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Food Tripping!

Secret Recipe is one of the popular Malaysian restaurant in Kuala Lumpur and you can find it everywhere you go. But if you want to try authentic I can recommend the hawker food stalls along the Mara Building in the Jamal Ismail street or if you feel safe in foods inside the mall you can go to Berjaya Times Square there is an Asian Food Court in there where you can have a feast of Asian food. I also ate in one of the oldest restaurants in the Golden Triangle just beside our hotel, most of the food are spicy! Malaysian food are generally spicy so ask them first if your picking a spicy dish or not (which often is spicy and very spicy :P) . If you cant eat Malay food and feel much safer with fast food they have a lot of KFC and Burger King in there.

Souvernir Items Shopping

I got a Pashmina (Indian veil) from the Little India (RM10), a card holder with the KL Communication Tower, Petronas Twin Towers, Sultan Abdul Samad Building as a design (RM10) and an authentic Idian anklet from the Batu Caves (RM10).

My opinion as a tourist in KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

If you love to see architecture wonders then Kuala Lumpur is the place to be in Asia. Theres so many fascinating buildings and establishments there and each of the building has its own unique character. Its such a feast of awesome architectural works Petronas Twin Towers is just one of the many buildings to admire in there.

Theres so many fascinating buildings and establishments there and each of the building has its own unique character. Its such a feast of awesome architectural works Petronas Twin Towers is just one of the many buildings to admire in there. Kuala Lumpur has a very diverse community where Malays, Chinese and Indians forming the majority of the ethnicity of the 2million population.

I love how disciplined they are when it comes to transportation. You can alight and ride a bus or a teksi (taxi) at the designated areas only. Walking is very normal in there.

You can alight and ride a bus or a teksi (taxi) at the designated areas only. Walking is very normal in there. The city is very clean.

Most can speak English but probably because of our similarity with them they try to speak Malay with me.

Generally friendly people but some of the Indian men in the Indian community are crude.

I hope I didnt forget anything in this post, in case I did dont be shy and ask at the comment section. I hope this post helps.

How about you have you been to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia? Which Malaysian hotel did you stay in? What airline did you take? Which tourist destinations did you visited? Do tell!

Stay gorgeous everyone!
I have heard a lot about Puerto Galera, it is very popular to beach party goers because of its close proximity to Metro Manila that you dont have to travel by air. But believe it or not, this June 19,2015 was my first time there. I was hesitant to travel to that island because of the not so good things I have heard happening in there and the reasons why it is popular/notorious. For my first visit there I am glad I was with good a company and enjoyed other things to do and places to visit aside from the widely popular and somehow turned notorious White Beach.

Puerto Nirvana was our gracious host for our 3 days 2 nights visit in Puerto Galera.

How to get there?

To get to Puerto Nirvana take a bus from Cubao or Taft. Take a JAM Liner Bus going to the Port of Batangas. Bus fare is only Php175.00 one way. From the Batangas Port buy boat tickets at the boat terminal going to Muelle Bay. Fare is from Php280.00 one way or if you get a roundtrip ticket you will save Php60.00 Php500.00 for roundtrip. (But if you let Puerto Nirvana book your tickets youll save Php100.00!) Upon arriving at Muelle Bay, the tourism people or local authorities will ask you to pay Php50.00 for environmental fee. From there you take a tricycle going to Puerto Nirvana one person is Php10.00 only! Dont let them fool you into paying Php50.00 to Php100.00!

What does Puerto Nirvana look like?

Here is how the room I stayed in look like. Its the Mindanao Room 203. It has a nice window overlooking a nice view of the beach. It is spacious enough to occupy 3 people to sleep on the extra bed/sofa bed mattress. This room rate is Php3,900.00 off season and Php4,400.00 peak season and Php5,000.00 during Malasimbo . Other room rate starts from Php1,500.00 (single regular rooms) to Php6,000.00 (family rooms).

Take a look at this video clip:

What do I think of Puerto Nirvana

While they are not a five star hotel or have that breathtaking facilities, what I like best about Puerto Nirvana is their location. They are far away from the loud noises and pollution and population of the White Beach. I sound snotty saying this but when I go to the beach I want to enjoy the sand, sea, sun and what the best of nature has to offer. I dont go to the beach to party like theres no tomorrow. If I want to party Id go to the clubs here in Manila. Plus the White Beach has been a notorious place for pick pockets and uhmmmm nasty things. If you want a nice beach area, there are more places to visit in Puerto Galera aside from the White Beach, I assure you and that is what Puerto Nirvana can show you if you book your trip there.

So, where to go in Puerto Galera aside from the White Beach?

Halige Beach!

This is the best place to snorkel as underwater the corals are rich and there are plenty of fishes underneath!, If you are gonna do it on your own. You will have to pay for a boat that will take you to Halige Beach from Muelle Bay (Php700.00) and from the beach area, you will have to take a smaller boat that will take you to the snorkeling area (Php200.00 per boat that can occupy 2 to 3 people, fee includes snorkeling gear).

Bulabod Beach

This beach boast of nice creamy coral sands. Sand is still coarse as you can see corals are just starting to break. Very peaceful and serene with nice clear waters that connects to a river. A lot of Mangroves around as well. There are cottages available that you can rent for Php300 a cottage, entrance to the beach is Php50.00 each

See Bulabod Beach in this video clip:

Tamaraw Falls

One of the most photographed falls of Galera that is accessible via the zigzag highway. I will update this with photos as it was raining when we got there and the only camera we had was the Gopro of MJ. He has not shared pics from the falls yet so yeah no pic here. How Ironic!

The Mangyan Village

Less than 70 families live in this Mangyan Village we visited at Puerto Galera. Houses are made of bamboo and coconut leaves. Their livelihood is making crafts that they sell to tourist/visitors.

Take a look at the Mangyan Village here:

The Century Old Tree

You can pass this by when you go to Tamaraw falls you cant miss it because it is the most beautiful giant tree you will see along the zigzag road!

Other places to visit in Puerto Galera include the following:

TaliPanan Beach

Hanging Bridge

Ponderosa

Tukuran Falls

Maniknik Place

The Sandbar

We were not able to visit the following Places though as we have very little time to explore everything, 3 days and 2 nights is not enough, we only experience 1/4 of the best of the island. With that said I will come back again to see what I missed.

Things to do in Galera?

If you dont want to DIY then you can just ask Puerto Nirvana to do everything for you. They are expert and experienced at holding group tours and even company team building activities. So aside from visiting the best places you can also do activities with your office mates or friends (minimum of 20 pax) I have seen the activities they do and it was fun and engaging. Team members will have to use not just their body but their brains as well to complete the task. If you book a team building activity (min of 20) it is inclusive of the rooms and food and all transfers to each destination. To know more about the team building packages of Puerto Nirvana visit : http://www.puertonirvana.com/package-tours/all-in-tipid-puerto-galera-package-a/

The White Beach

But then again, just to see what the fuss is all about we pass by the White Beach, and true enough to what I have heard, the place is crowded with a lot of establishments by the beach area, the sand creamy white, was also mixed with cigarette butts (and garbage). Definitely a party place, a bigger version of Station 3 of Boracay to be exact. The beach front looks beautiful I just hope the tourism administrator and the establishments in the area starts to care about the garbage and cigarette buts around the area. It is bad for the environment.

Take a look at the White Beach

Personally what I enjoyed best during my trip to Puerto Galera was our fun rides on the speedboat from Bulabod Beach to Puerto Nirvana

Watch our speedboat ride:

Our ride at the Back of a pickup along the Zigzag Road Of Puerto Galera island!

Take a look at our ride!

And the great company I was with during the entire trip!

For booking inquiries and other information about Puerto Nirvana Resort, they are located at Puerto Galera Sitio Hondura Brgy. Poblacion, Puerto Galera Philippines Telefax No: (+6343) 287-34-08 Globe (+63) 917-624-86-07 Sun (+63) 922-817-2736 Office Hours: Monday-Sunday 9am-6pm Email: puertonirvana@yahoo.com, info@puertonirvana.com or visit www.puertonirvana.com

How about you have you been to the places I mentioned above? Have you been to Puerto Nirvana Resort? Have you been to Puerto Galera? If not the time is now!

Oh! if you want to splurge there is this amazing resort 5 star resort in Puerto Galera with cottage houses rate of Php32,000.00 a night! Heres a sneak preview!

Stay gorgeous everyone!
The Mercy Hospital in Cork has played a significant role in the lives of members of Grace OCallaghans family.

The doctors and nurses there have cared for both her late brother David and her son Luke.

The staff at the Mercy Hospital are only brilliant, says Grace, a mother of four.

All of the people attached to the hospital are wonderful, including Martina the tea lady. Shed say to Luke when he was in the Mercy for treatment, I can get you anything you want.

Grace, who lives in Dungarvan, became very familiar with the Cork hospital when Luke was cared for there when he was very ill with a rare aggressive cancer.

Meanwhile, Graces brother David, despite receiving the best medical care at the Mercy, sadly lost his battle for life on July 1, 2024.

It was too late for him, says Grace.

But thankfully not too late for Luke.

When Luke was going through treatment in the Mercy for his cancer, I went to the hospital every day, says Grace.

I never missed a day.

Grace, having forged such strong ties with the Mercy, is so thankful to its staff for all they did, and are doing, caring for her son and for her brother.

And she is not missing out on the opportunity to give back to its fundraising arm.

She and her family are undertaking a major initiative to raise money for it.

In April, explains Grace, myself, my husband Dermot, our sons Luke and James, and two of Lukes best friends from college, Gavin Grant and Gillian Horgan, are embarking on the final 100km of the Camino de Santiago, while raising funds for the Mercy Cancer Care Centre, which will help support a range of support services to patients.

Grace is already gearing up for the trek along the famous pilgrimage network in north-western Spain,

Walking the 100km route with my family and our friends will make the Camino a great experience, she says.

Cancer is a disease that affects families everywhere, and Grace is sadly no stranger to it.

While David and Luke were both seriously ill, Dermot was diagnosed with prostate cancer, she says. Like her son, Luke, Dermot faced unexpected life-changing challenges with dignity and bravery.

Life has thrown an incredible series of challenges at our family, says Grace.

The OCallaghans saw a welcome chink of light amid the dark days they lived through, in the shape of the Mercy Hospital.

Our connection to the Mercy has been a beacon of hope and healing, says Grace.

When did the OCallaghan family first forge close ties with the hospital?

It all began in August, 2022, when our eldest son, Luke, a vibrant and strong 22-year-old, was diagnosed with cancer after a scan revealed a mass in his pelvic area, says Grace.

He had been living his life; the one he wanted to live.

A dedicated hurler, Luke was gearing up for senior hurling training just a week before his life unexpectedly changed courses, says Grace.

What does a mother do, how does she react when she finds out that her first-borns life is hanging in the balance, and is depending on the amazing people who are our doctors and nurses?

You are shocked to the core, says Grace, who was on a family holiday abroad when she found out Luke was sick.

Our son James had joined his brother Luke at the Budapest Grand Prix, says Grace, recalling the worst days of her life.

The OCallaghans look out for each other.

When James joined us later in Portugal, he mentioned that Luke was not well and that he wasnt able to drive, says Grace.

I had been aware Luke had experienced problems going to the bathroom. As soon as we returned from abroad, I coaxed Luke to go the GP who gave him medicine to help him pass water without pain.

Why did Grace have to coax Luke to go to the doctor?

Luke was to play an important GAA match on that Sunday, says Grace. But he was in no position to play the match.

He couldnt get out of bed because of the pain in his pelvic area.

Grace, always looking out for her son, persuaded him to attend the VHI Clinic.

Luke is a typical young man.

He said, ya, ya, says Grace.

But he eventually went to the clinic.

He was referred to Whitfield in Waterford for a scan.

There was normally a wait of 10 to 12 weeks, but they got an earlier appointment when Grace explained to them what was wrong.

And things were very wrong.

Following another scan, two massive tumours were discovered, says Grace. It was a massive shock.

Dr Derek Power subsequently told us that Luke was the sickest patient in the Mercy when he was admitted.

The dedicated nurses working at the Mercy recognised this.

They answered the call.

The nurses were brought into the hospital at the weekend to administer three days of chemotherapy in a row, so that there was no interruption in the treatment, says Grace,

There was no time lost in the best efforts to rid Luke, a vibrant and lively young man, of the deadly disease that threatened his life.

The Mercy swiftly came to our side, initiating Lukes chemotherapy just a week after his admission, says Grace.

Luke was a hero on the playing field, and he was a hero in enduring gruelling treatment to try and banish his cancer.

He endured seven rounds of chemotherapy, an intensive cycle of radiotherapy at St Lukes in Dublin, and further months of chemotherapy, says Grace, who seldom left her sons side in his time of need.

The combined best efforts of the medical staff at the Mercy paid off.

Thankfully, the treatment worked its wonders, says Grace.

Even though Lukes urethras were damaged, resulting in a nephrostomy, he stands resilient and is back to work.

A nephrostomy is a tube that lets urine drain from the kidney through an opening in the skin on the back.

Lukes treatment is ongoing, and he gets scans every three months, his spirit is undeterred, says Grace.

The OCallaghans journey with cancer didnt end there.

While Lukes treatment was ongoing, my brother David was diagnosed, says Grace.

The two men were in the same boat.

They were often in the Mercy together at the same time, says Grace.

And I would split my time between them on each ward.

David tackled his disease courageously too.

He bravely fought his battle with the full support of the comforting walls of the Mercy, says Grace.

But David sadly passed away last summer.

Another storm arrived during this tumultuous time.

While Luke was being treated, Dermot was diagnosed with prostate cancer, says Grace.

His treatment in Dublin has shown positive outcomes, and over a year later, he continues to recover with grace and strength.

Grace, a lady with plenty of courage and spirit, is positive that walking 100km on the Camino for the Mercy Cancer Care Centre, with her loved ones, will light the path to recovery for others.

Each contribution will provide critical support services for patients and families navigating their own battles, she says. Easing their journey with the same compassionate care we received at the Mercy Hospital in Cork.

How did Grace stay so strong during that time when cancer tainted the lives of her family?

You just keep strong, she says. I dont know any other way.

She does know something important.

Life is for living. Seeing Luke sick every day in hospital, I realised waiting to do things is not the way to go.

Grace knows exactly the way to go.

Im getting back to walking distances ahead of our Camino trip. I know we will all have a great time doing the walk while helping those who helped us.

You can support the OCallaghan Camino Challenge on idonate.ie

See http:/www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/GraceOCallaghan3
Former Finance Minister and long-serving TD for the Cork-South Central constituency, Michael McGrath, now serves citizens across Europe as European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law.

Since commencing his new role, Commissioner McGrath is now working in the Berlaymont, the EU Commissions headquarters in Brussels. What exactly does his role entail and what are his future responsibilities for the next five years?

What is the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law?

Democracy, Justice and Rule of Law is an extensive, high-profile, and increasingly important portfolio.

This role was previously held by the Belgian Commissioner, Didier Reynders. It is a portfolio that is integral to the European project  protecting and defending democracy for 450 million citizens. The commissioner is tasked with defending human rights, punishing corruption, and ensuring the enforcement of contracts. In the Mission Letter sent to Michael McGrath by President von der Leyen, several key policy areas were outlined:

Upholding the rule of law across the EU, including the application of Article 7 (TEU) and the General Conditionality Mechanism, a tool which was used for the first time in 2022 when EU funds were suspended in Hungary as a result of rule of law breaches.

Consolidating the annual Rule of Law Report, coordinating work in reporting across Member States on the areas of judicial independence, anti-corruption, media freedoms, civic space and other institutional checks and balances. For the next mandate, President von der Leyen has suggested including a Single market dimension to Rule of Law reports to provide more clarity for companies, especially SMEs, who enter cross-border contracts as to how to address rule of law issues, that may arise.

Working with EU membership candidate countries, including Ukraine, to ensure national laws align to EU rule of law standards.

Leading on the new initiative which President von der Leyen unveiled in May 2024, titled the European Democracy Shield, which is aimed at tackling the rise of disinformation and foreign interference in Europe. President von der Leyen has said that the Shield will focus on the detection, treatment and response regarding information manipulation, with a stronger approach to deepfakes.

Monitoring application of the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights, as well as taking forward and concluding the EUs accession to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Strengthening the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) by stepping up the cooperation between Europol and Eurojust, as well as further bolstering the European Public Prosecutors Office (EPPO).

Implementing the European Media Freedom Act, safeguarding media independence, and media pluralism, and building on the work for the protection of journalist against abusive lawsuits (SLAPPs).

Representing and protecting the rights of consumers across the EU by presenting a new policy frameworks such as a Consumer Agenda 2025-2030 and a new Action Plan on consumers in the Single Market.

Ensuring the full enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as promoting secure and private data flows.

Monitoring ethical implications and use of Artificial Intelligence.

This ambitious portfolio underscores the EUs commitment to safeguarding democracy and protecting the rule of law in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

Whats next?

Commissioner McGraths work is just beginning, and his first steps are being closely watched. He will collaborate with the Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration, Piotr Serafin (Poland), as well as with the Commissioner and Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henne Virkkunen (Finland). Commissioner McGrath will be at the forefront of some of the EUs most politically sensitive issues, including judicial independence, media freedom and digital rights, as well as the rights of minorities and asylum seekers. His portfolio comes with much complexity and criticality, when asked what he would do first in his new job, he answered: I will start as I intend to go on  to listen and engage with MEPs, with member states but most importantly with the people of Europe.

European Movement Ireland (EMI) is a non-profit, non-partisan, organisation. Founded in 1954, its mission is to develop Irelands connection with Europe, and greater public understanding of the EU.
Calls for better security for medical staff to protect them from being injured by patients have been made, as a Cork union representative said that overcrowded hospitals mean patients are more likely to lash out at nursing staff.

According to data provided to The Echo by the HSE through the Freedom of Information Act, some 510 hospital staff were injured by patients in Cork hospitals between 2020 and summer 2024.

The HSE explained:

All injuries are not caused by direct physical assaults, and a proportion of staff injuries are a result of unintentional aggressive behaviour, which is linked to a patients condition.

Liam Conway, Cork-based industrial relations officer with the INMO told The Echo: Theres safety training to some degree for nurses and midwives as part of an undergrad or postgrad degree, but the reality is that, nationally, at least 11 nurses and midwives are assaulted at work every day.

Lots of these go unreported, and were concerned by what we see as a real lack of progress in reducing these assaults.

The conditions our members work in, overcrowded and understaffed hospitals, can create a pressure cooker atmosphere which is very apparent in emergency departments, Mr Conway said.

Nurses and midwives interact most frequently with the public, so they can often bear the brunt of patients frustrations  but it is a systemic issue.

Hospitals are not just places of care, they are also workplaces  that needs to be not forgotten by employers, they need to make sure their employees feel safe.

Theres a growing concern among INMO membership that there are so many instances of assault, people know colleagues that have been assaulted, and we need to know what measures are being put in place to protect a largely female workforce.

Mr Conway added: Employers have a duty of care to create a safe, working environment, but weve seen again and again people working in overcrowded hospitals with a de facto recruitment ban [the Pay and Numbers Strategy] in place.

Weve seen many examples of this.

An injury in the workplace has the potential to be life altering, it may lead to someone not returning to the workplace or returning to a different environment, with modified duties.

If you create conditions where there is persistent overcrowding, that leads to frustration among patients and also staff, creating a very pressurised environment.

To add further insult to injury, the de facto recruitment ban makes it almost impossible to recruit when vacancies arise, [and] its taking a significant period of time to fill those posts.

Sinn Fein TD for Cork South Central, Donnchadh O Laoghaire, told The Echo: Weve long known that nurses, midwives, doctors, porters, and other frontline staff are working under massive pressure.

But I think this is a very worrying insight into exactly the pressures they are under.

No one should have to work under danger of assault or injury, and those who care for us when unwell shouldnt face this.

The situation is definitely not helped by overcrowded hospitals and overworked staff, and the highly pressurised atmosphere, he added.

He called for hospitals to have adequate security measures, to ensure medical staff have adequate access to leave in the event of an injury, and that cover is ensured when this happens.

He added: The effective ban on recruitment is holding this back and Government needs to revisit this urgently.

Medical staff should be safe, and any assault on them is totally unacceptable  the scale of assault found is totally wrong.
Preschool owners say they are crying out for help, as new figures show that 26 early years services in Cork have closed since January 2023.

Figures provided to The Echo by Tusla show that nine Cork preschools closed in 2024, among 95 to close across Ireland.

This is on top of data which showed 17 closures in Cork and 115 nationally in 2023, meaning 210 Irish preschools have shut in just two years.

Rowena Fisher, who owns Phylls Preschool in Bealnamorrive, told The Echo: Its so sad. We warned this was going to happen, and its the children losing out.

Weve been asking for an immediate increase in capitation, its the only way were going to be viable  if it isnt raised from 69 to 90 a week, this will get worse.

Settings that participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme receive a set amount from the State through capitation.

The standard rate is 69 per week per child.

Its impossible to make ends meet, we have highly qualified staff who deserve so much more, but we cant afford to pay them more, Ms Fisher said.

The auto-enrollment pensions are coming in now, and I dont know where the money is going to come from.

She continued: I really do feel at this stage that the Government seem to want the small and medium services gone, I cant see why else they wouldnt be offering support when we are crying out for help.

Theres still a need for my service, I am turning away three to five families a week, and Im the first in the parish to know whos pregnant because people are desperate to get a place.

But it seems the Government dont want us, so theyre pushing us out  it seems like they want big places opened 10 or 12 hours a day, but the quality in bigger services is not the same.

Ms Fisher explained that she has had to expand her service, opening every morning at 7am for breakfast club, transporting children to local schools then collecting them after school.

Ive also had to get a second job a few days a month. Those hours are funding my preschool  but I didnt train to do homework with 10-year-olds.

Its not why we have level 8 honours degrees in early years education, this model of education suits people, and they dont just send their children to me for childcare.

She added that there are crazy amounts of paperwork, which she spends hours on in the evenings as she cannot afford an administrative staff member.

Paperwork isnt why I got into this career, and theres a constant fear of doing something wrong in one of the forms.

We now need new chartered accounts which Im going to have to pay an accountant for, even though the department know the money we get because theyre the ones who give it to us.

Ms Fisher concluded: Its very, very hard  its my business, but I have no control over it. Its impossible to make ends meet, and there are small services closing down all over rural Ireland, much-needed services in the community.

We welcome fee reductions for parents and pay increases for staff, but provider stability has to be in line with that  at the moment, were just praying for change.
A 32-year-old man gritted his teeth at a member of the gardai and told him: I will come for you, a court has heard.

Lukasz Wrobel, of Cork Simon Community, pleaded guilty to charges of engaging in threatening behaviour and being so intoxicated that he was a source of danger to himself or others at the time.

Sergeant John Kelleher said the incident occurred on November 25, 2024, at Cornmarket St.

Garda Shane Lucey was on beat patrol and encountered the accused shouting and causing a disturbance.

While speaking with him, there was a strong smell of cannabis and alcohol. He became extremely abusive and aggressive.

Mr Wrobel was gritting his teeth and shouting: Give me back my weed, you stupid c***. And he shouted: I will come for you.

He did not calm down and desist and he began shouting at members of the public.

In an earlier incident, on August 1, 2024, Garda Shane Hayes found a knife in the defendants trousers pocket and a small amount of cannabis for his own use.

Judge Mary Dorgan said she would remand the accused in custody until February 6 for a probation report.

Solicitor Eddie Burke said the Polish man remained residing in Cork after his mother went back to Poland.

He added: He is clean of drugs now for the first time in about 10 years.
A female politician in Cork has described the lack of female representation among the new Government ministers as a missed opportunity, while another has said it is disappointing but not surprising.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin announced his Cabinet in recent days. Only three of the 15 ministers are women, those being Education Minister Helen McEntee, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, and Children and Disabilities Minister Norma Foley.

Speaking to The Echo, Labour Party councillor Laura Harmon said the lack of female ministers was a missed opportunity by Government to get more women into senior political positions.

Missed opportunity

It wasnt just a missed opportunity not to appoint more women to senior Cabinet positions, she said.

It was a deliberate overlooking of the importance of balance at the Cabinet table.

In politics and in business, evidence shows that more diversity means better decision-making.

We need more leadership from men when it comes to supporting and promoting women in politics. This Government is more regressive than the last one, in my view.

All of the leaders of the biggest opposition parties are women. I think if they work closely together, there is a real chance of a truly transformative, progressive Government in a few years. And its only a matter of time before the biggest political glass ceiling gets broken in Ireland where we will see our first female taoiseach.

Social Democrats councillor Niamh OConnor told The Echo that the lack of female representation is also reflected at local council level.

She said: I went to Cork City Council for the first time to see Padraig [Rice] do his final speech. And when I went in there, I was really struck by how many women were on the council.

My addition to the council makes it six women out of 31 members. So its not surprising to see that reflected in the Dail.

Proud

Ms OConnor said she is proud to be part of a party in the Social Democrats which strongly values women and it has a very capable politician as leader in Holly Cairns.

She added: Im happy to be part of a party that takes gender parity seriously. We do like to champion women, try to select women.

I think some parties take that very seriously and thats great. Other parties dont take it as seriously, and I think Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are two of those parties who dont seem to take it as seriously as the rest.

Cork South Central Fine Gael TD Jerry Buttimer told The Echo that it is important for the Government to reflect society and how Ireland, as a country, is moving. He said: Obviously we need to see a more diverse group in Cabinet. In time, I hope we have a Government that will better reflect that.

At the moment, I think its a good Government from a Fine Gael perspective. For me, the key thing is delivery.

I would hope that, in the fullness of time, people will look on it as being a Government that will deliver.

I think Jennifer Carroll MacNeill in the Department of Health, she brings a wealth of experience, and I think she will be a good minister.

Equally, I think Helen McEntee in education will bring a new perspective that we need to see in a variety of ways around the broadening of the education sphere.
Italian restaurant Sonflour, located in the heart of Cork city, has been granted permission for an extension by Cork City Council.

The application, which was submitted by Ortley Way Limited, proposed the expansion of Sonflour on Castle St into an adjacent premises.

The popular restaurant has now been granted permission from the local authority for the amalgamation of the ground floor of No 9 and No 9A Castle St.

It requires a change of use from retail at 9A, The Gold Reserve, to restaurant use to facilitate the expansion.

The plans involve the demolition of some internal elements.

A planning statement submitted with the application said the plans would see the expansion of a thriving restaurant in Corks historic centre.

It stated: Key considerations pertaining to the sites location within the North Main Street Architectural Conservation Area and its location within, and in the curtilage of, a protected structure have been significant considerations of the proposed development.

A spokesperson for Sonflour gave their reaction to The Echo following news that the application had been approved:

This is a big step forward for our community, paving the way for growth and deeper integration into the heart and soul of Cork.

On a practical level, it means well be able to offer longer booking times for our customers, finally accommodate walk-ins, and most importantly, create more space for the cultural events that have been at the core of who we are for the past three years like concerts, exhibitions, and charity events.

Wed also like to take this opportunity to thank the city council and Ortley Way Limited for giving us the chance to grow.

From day one, weve strongly believed that our project and the citys growth go hand in hand, and that Sonflour perfectly aligns with the values [of] our beloved Cork.
A Cork man has been announced as the winner of the annual St Vincent DePaul (SVP) Car Draw, which generated more than a quarter of a million euro for the charity.

The prize draw took place last week at the Cork city Ford showroom on Forge Hill, with the Lord Mayor of Cork, councillor Dan Boyle, drawing the first prize ticket.

Following the draw, Carrigaline man Sean Kennedy Jr was announced as the winner of a new Ford Focus.

This edition of the SVP Car Draw generated 251,181 for the charity, with the funds earmarked to assist those in need throughout the coming year.

There were six other lucky winners of cash prizes, including Ballyvourney woman, Marian Creedon, who secured a cash prize of 750.

Laois man Ger Conroy won the Bishops Prize of 1,500. This prize is supported by the Bishop of Cork and Ross, the Bishop of Kerry and the Bishop of Cloyne.

I am most grateful for the generosity of the Cork and Kerry public for their support of the annual car draw, which is now in its 24th year, Mary Frances Behan, south west regional SVP president said after the draw was made. .

We have raised a staggering 251,181 this year, [and] the funds [will] help to offer a lifeline to struggling families and individuals in the region.

A special word of sincere thanks to our car draw ambassador, Francis Brennan, and to our suppliers and sponsors throughout 2024.

As we wish the lucky winner safe driving and close off our 2024 car draw, do watch out for our 2025 annual car draw later in the year, where another beautiful car awaits another lucky winner with many cash prizes.

Other winners include: Maria McGeever from Dublin, Gemma Robins from Kerry, Breid McCole from Donegal and Alan Mc Cormack from Roscommon.

For further information on this years draw, or to stay up-to-date on announcements from SVP, visit: www.svp.ie.
Vacuum packed cash totalling over 33,000 was found hidden behind a washing machine and 160,000 worth of cannabis was uncovered in the attic and a bedroom of a rented house in Carrigaline on Sunday.

This was the allegation made on Monday by Detective Garda Dermot Crowley at Cork District Court following the arrest of Gytis Pyplys who was charged with having the eight kilos of cannabis for sale or supply at his home, and money-laundering in respect of 33,600.

There was an objection to bail, partly based on the seriousness of the case.

Judge Joanne Carroll denied him bail and remanded him in custody until January 29 on the application of Inspector Brendan McKenna.

The 36-year-old defendant was arrested when driving on Ballinrea Road, Carrigaline, on January 26. The detective gave evidence that the accused gave them a driving licence in a false name and also provided an incorrect address.

Det Garda Crowley said: We told him we had a warrant for his real address at Dunlieve House, Carrigaline. He didnt acknowledge initially that this was his address. On arrival he acknowledged it was his home.

We searched this address and found eight kilogrammes of cannabis with an approximate street value of 160,000.

This was recovered from his bedroom and the attic directly accessed from his bedroom.

We found 33,600 in cash which was vacuum packed and hidden behind a washing machine in the kitchen.

Also in the house there was a vacuum packing machine and bags and a diary containing information in relation to tick-lists and corresponding cash amounts. There was a separate section in the corner of the tick-list corresponding to the 33,600.

He said he had placed cannabis in the attic and recovered one kilo and stored this in his bedroom. He said he hid the money behind the washing machine and acknowledged providing gardai with a false name and address with the intention of disguising his activities.

Elaine Audley defence barrister said there was nothing sinister about the false driving licence and that the accused man acquired it when he had difficulties related to a licence.

Det Garda Crowley said that on the defendants own evidence the name on the licence was one that Mr Pyplys picked from space.

Ms Audley also said that it was the position of the accused that he had a drug addiction and was holding the seized items for a third party.

The defendant gave evidence in his application for bail saying that he started taking drugs in Ireland one year ago and became addicted. He said he wanted to get bail so that he could get treatment for this.

Refusing bail, Judge Carroll took into consideration the quantity of drugs and cash allegedly seized together with the paraphernalia described by Det Garda Crowley.
Im a little confused, which isnt all that strange. I dont have an engineering degree either, which probably accounts for some of it. Maybe Im missing the bigger picture, but I need to get this off my chest so prepare yourself for a rant.

I drove my wife to the Mater Hospital in Mahon recently for an 8.30am appointment. We left Cobh at 7.30am because my wife was anxious about being late, despite my reassurances that we had loads of time.

The new Dunkettle Interchange was fully operational so we should easily make it. My confidence was misplaced though.

When we reached Cobh Cross, I noticed traffic was slowing on the N25 heading west. Its been a while since I was on the road at that hour of the morning so Im no longer familiar with the normal traffic volume at rush hour. I was surprised though to find myself crawling along at a snails pace before I even hit the N25.

I suspected there was an accident up ahead, but thankfully the traffic soon began to move again, and we were on our way.

Both lanes were full heading towards the city, and we were making decent progress until we hit the slip road for the tunnel. At that point, the two lanes came to a halt and we began a stop-start movement.

Further along the road, we were joined from the left by the traffic coming from Little Island, which meant we now had three lanes merging into two. At the same time, the traffic in the lane to my right was being forced into my lane, so now we had three lanes merging into one and were all heading for the tunnel.

At the entrance to the tunnel, we were joined by the traffic coming from the Dublin direction, so we were back to two lanes again. But there are only two lanes going west in the Jack Lynch Tunnel, so the N8 traffic uses the right-hand lane and the traffic heading west on the N25 use the left lane.

So, basically, all the traffic coming from the east that wants to head west is making its way towards a bottleneck and a single lane in the tunnel.

And this surprised me because I was expecting something better.

To my non-engineering brain, it seems badly designed, and as far as I can see, its only going to get worse. Where you have a huge volume of traffic being forced to merge into a bottleneck, it is never going to flow smoothly.

I heard someone commenting that the new interchange design layout works well during normal traffic, but it can be slow when the volume is high. I thought the whole purpose of a freeway was to make sure that heavy traffic could flow freely all the time.

Every system will work fine when traffic is light!

A freeway, as the name suggests, is designed to keep the traffic moving freely without obstructions such as traffic lights and roundabouts, but the current Dunkettle Interchange is not achieving that.

It never will either unless a third bore is added to the tunnel, which, I suspect, is out of the question, or a flyover is added to the mix, which is probably unlikely too.

So, is this interchange the great feat of engineering it was proclaimed to be at the official opening?

Irish Building Magazine said at the time that the Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade Scheme marked a significant milestone in enhancing transportation infrastructure and connectivity in Cork.

The 215m project promised to alleviate congestion, improve safety, and streamline traffic flow for the regions residents and businesses.

Traffic volumes through the Dunkettle Interchange were approaching 120,000 vehicles on the busier days of the week.

Despite this, Irish Building Magazine reported that journey times during peak hours had reduced by almost 50% on average as a result of this upgrade project.

The then Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Kieran McCarthy said: The new Interchange stands as an important additional piece in the strategic transport infrastructure in metropolitan Cork.

The new interchange is also an engineering feat and adds to the adjacent tunnels story and narratives, he said.

In our time, the removal of critical bottle-necks creates better traffic flows but also greater connectivity between communities on either side of the River Lees estuary.

The enhanced connectivity facilitated by this project will undoubtedly fuel progress.

At the official launch of the project, then Taoiseach Micheal Martin said of the upgrade: Its a very significant project, an important one in terms of the modern infrastructure around Cork in terms of facilitating traffic, but also releasing the potential for significant housebuilding as well, so we can get more homes for people in communities and for couples who are looking for them.

On completion of the construction, Mr Martin, then Tanaiste, described the upgrade as an extraordinary engineering achievement. This will make a huge difference when it comes to business, tourism, public transport, and road safety in Cork.

Im not so sure about it being such a feat of engineering because its already struggling to cope with the current volume of traffic, and its only going to get more congested.

Plans are afoot to deal with two other bottlenecks on the N25, in Killeagh and in Castlemartyr both of which have been holding up traffic for years.

Once theyre freed up, traffic flowing from east to west on the N25 will make better headway and should get to the slip road for the Jack Lynch Tunnel more quickly, only to join the queue which is already forming at the new bottleneck.

It took ten years and 215m to deliver this project and I was hoping for something better.

Maybe I should learn to manage my expectations.
The impact of Storm Eowyn can still be seen across the front pages of Monday's newspapers.

The Irish Times, Irish Daily Mail and Irish Independent lead with the aftermath of Storm Eowyn, as 100,000 homes will be without power until February.

Protesters were removed from a Holocaust memorial event during an address by President Michael D Higgins, the Irish Examiner reports.

The Irish Daily Mirror and Irish Daily Star report that a man has been charged with murder after a woman was found dead in Waterford.

The Belfast Telegraph says 74,000 remain without power in the North after Storm Eowyn.

US president Donald Trump features on the front of the British newspapers after his conversation with the UK prime minister and comments about Gaza.

The Times concentrates on what it calls a warm first call between the two leaders, saying Keir Starmer is expected to resist pressure from the president to increase defence spending.

Starmer became the first European leader to speak to Mr Trump since he took office, according to The Daily Telegraph which reports the men agreed to meet soon with the prospect of a state visit to the UK.

Mr Trumps comment that Palestinians leave Gaza to clean out the territory has sparked accusations of ethnic cleansing, says The Guardian.

The Financial Times also carries Mr Trumps comments and says his drive for deregulation is increasing pressure on the EU to cut sustainability plans.

The 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz occupies the front of the Daily Express with a message from 94-year-old Holocaust survivor Susan Pollack to never forget.

The Daily Mirror also focuses on the anniversary, with Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich, also 94, returning to the camp because she does not want her family to be forgotten.

Health matters occupy the front of The i Paper, which reports more A&E patients will be seen at home and local treatment hubs under plans for reforms of the NHS.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves is facing pressure over her economic policies, with a report suggesting businesses are prepared to cut staff and raise prices, according to The Independent.

The Daily Mail concentrates on council tax, saying more that four million people are facing punishing rises.

The Metro reports more than 8,000 social media accounts have been shut down as part of efforts to stop Channel boat crossings.

Bad weather fills the front of the Daily Star which says four storms will hit Britain in the next week.
By David Young, PA

Stormonts leaders have called on the Norths energy network provider, NIE Networks, to offer goodwill payments to those who remain without power following Storm Eowyn.

First Minister Michelle ONeill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly highlighted that compensation payments were available in Scotland for affected customers.

Some 65,000 homes and businesses remain without power in the North, with some people told they could be waiting until February 3rd to be reconnected.

Michelle ONeill (left) and Emma Little-Pengelly address reporters in Parliament Buildings. Photo: David Young/PA

NIE Networks said on Monday that supply had been restored to 220,000 customers so far.

Ten schools in the North remained closed on Monday due to storm damage, with around 80 schools still unconnected to the power grid.

Around 150 schools sustained damage in the storm.

Ms ONeill and Ms Little-Pengelly pressed NIE officials on the compensation issue during a meeting at Stormont on Monday morning.

Updating reporters afterwards inside Parliament Buildings in Belfast, Ms ONeill said: Weve asked NIE to look at the issue of compensation, because we think that it is important that people are supported through these difficult days.

She added: These companies make significant profits every year. They should make sure they give that goodwill payment now at a time of need.

Ms Little-Pengelly said: We understand that that is what is happening with Scottish companies, energy companies in Scotland in relation to the same storm.

We see no reason why this shouldnt happen here.

So we are urging NIE to go away, consider that and come back to us very quickly with an indication of what they want to do, because we know that those people who are without electricity and water are suffering real hardship.

She added: I think it is the right thing to do for NIE to step up and to do a goodwill payment and not wait for those further discussions in due course with the Utility Regulator or elsewhere.

They can do a goodwill payment, is our understanding. So thats what were urging them to do.

NIE Networks has been approached for comment.
Alison O'Riordan

One of seven men who was due to go on trial after a raid on a Panamanian cargo ship off the southeast coast resulted in the largest cocaine seizure in Irish history has pleaded guilty to a drugs offence.

Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa (62), with an address at Rudenka, Repina Str in Berdyansk appeared before the non-jury court on Monday, where he was arraigned on one of the two charges against him.

Lapa pleaded guilty that on dates between September 21st and 25th, 2023, both dates inclusive, at a location within the State, that he attempted to have in his possession a controlled drug, namely cocaine, for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying the drug to another.

This is in contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 to 2023, made under section 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 and at the time when the controlled drug was in his possession, the market value of the controlled drug amounted to 13,000 or more, an indictable offence.

The 2.25 tonnes of cocaine that was seized from the MV Matthew, a Panamanian-registered bulk carrier, has an estimated value of more than 157 million.

The ship was boarded in a dramatic operation by the Army Rangers, a specialist wing of the Irish Defence Forces, in September 2023.

Lapa was also facing a charge that between July 15th and September 23rd, 2023, both dates inclusive, within the State, with knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation, that he participated in, or contributed to, activity intending to, or being reckless as to whether such participation or contribution could facilitate the commission of a serious offence by that criminal organisation or any of its members.

Sean Guerin SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), told the three-judge court on Monday that the defendant's guilty plea was acceptable on a full facts basis and "that the other count would be dealt with in the usual way".

Caroline Latham BL, representing Lapa, asked the non-jury court for a probation report. She said her client was a non-national and from Ukraine. "He has no ties to this jurisdiction and a probation report would greatly assist the court," added counsel.

Presiding judge Ms Justice Melanie Greally said it would be premature to order a probation report at this stage and that she wouldn't initiate the process now but "was not ruling it out as a possibility in the future".

Ms Justice Greally, presiding, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Grainne Malone remanded Lapa in custody until February 24th, when his case is listed for mention.

Regarding the probation report, the judge said she would have a "better idea at that point in time".

The other six men, who are charged with offences arising from the seizure of the cocaine, applied to the Special Criminal Court on January 13th to have the charges against them dismissed. The hearings before the three-judge court began two weeks ago and the non-jury court will deliver its ruling on Thursday of this week.

The reasons for the application and the substance of the submissions cannot be reported by law.

Lapa was the only one of the accused men who did not make an application under the Criminal Procedure Act to have his case dismissed.

The six men who made the applications are Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk, aged 32 and Vitaliy Vlasoi, aged 32; Iranians Soheil Jelveh, aged 51, and Saeid Hassani, aged 39; Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, aged 49, and Filipino Harold Estoesta, aged 31.

The men are charged with drug trafficking offences at sea contrary to the Criminal Justice Act 1994.

UK national Jamie Harbron has previously pleaded guilty to an offence arising from the seizure. He will appear before the court later this year for a sentencing hearing.

Harbron (31) of South Avenue, Billingham in the UK pleaded guilty that on a date between September 21st and September 25th, 2023, both dates inclusive, he attempted to have cocaine in his possession for the purpose of sale or supply, an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Kenneth Fox

With housing the most important issue for the new Government, it seems the issue dominates the lives of 25-year-olds in Ireland. The Central Statistics Office released a major new survey called Growing Up in Ireland on Monday, which asked adults born in 1998 about which issues mattered most to them.

While almost all 25-year-olds surveyed say they are concerned about the housing situation, there are number of other interesting statistics looking at the living situations of this cohort.

So what does the survey have to say about this generation?

Living at home

At age 25, almost 70 per cent of this specific cohort werobserved throughout the country.

This ranged from 63.5 per cent of respondents in the Midlands (Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath) still living at home, to 82.4 per cent of respondents in the Mid-East region (Kildare, Louth, Meath,Wicklow).

Of those who said they were employed, just over two-thirds (68.5 per cent) lived in the parental home.

The survey found that of those in Cohort '98 still living in the parental home, more than six in ten (62.4 per cent) were doing so for mostly financial reasons.

Some 7.5 per cent of respondents at age 25 years were living outside both the parental home and outside the region they had lived in when they were aged nine years old.

more than two-thirds of this group lived with their parents and two out of five indicated very high levels of concern about access to housing in Ireland.

Meanwhile, 12.7 per cent of the respondents contacted to take part had emigrated.

Life situation

Just over one-third (34.2 per cent) of Cohort '98 said they had difficulties making ends meet.

A majority (58.5 per cent) of respondents were in a romantic relationship.

Nearly one-third (31.5 per cent) of women in this group had been diagnosed with either depression or anxiety at some point in their lives.

A majority (51.2 per cent) of men in the group with a degree level education engaged in drinking alcohol to a level that the World Health Organisation (WHO) categorise as hazardous or dangerous.

Of those with another principal economic status (unemployed, a student, or not in employment, education, or training), 76.2 per cent lived in the parental home.

Almost one in five (19.9 per cent) respondents said they had no interest in politics.

A Growing Up in Ireland infograph.

Financial concerns

Respondents were asked to choose the main reason for staying in the parental home  whether it was for mostly financial reasons, only slightly for financial reasons, or had nothing to do with finance.

More than six in ten (62.4 per cent) of those living in the parental home cited mostly financial reasons for staying, which was slightly higher for females (64.6 per cent) than for males (60.2 per cent).

Only 12.4 per cent of respondents said that living in the family home had nothing to do with finances, which differed little between men and women.

Around one in seven (12.7 per cent) respondents who had been living in the parental home when they were aged 20 were living outside the parental home at the age of 25.

A similar proportion (13.4 per cent) of respondents had moved back home at age 25 after a period of living away from the parental home.

Those who had moved out of the parental home have shown a large degree of consistency in choosing their next location.

Of the respondents who had moved out of their parents home at age 25, 71.7 per cent lived in the same region they did when they were aged nine.

Only 7.5 per cent of respondents at age 25 were living outside both the parental home and outside the region they had lived in when they were aged nine.

Living independently

The survey said of those who were living independently 58.0 per cent rented on the commercial market, with smaller numbers renting from a family member (8.0 per cent) or living rent free (11.1 per cent).

Less than one-eighth (12 per cent) of those living independently were homeowners. Out of the entire cohort who took part in the survey, only 3.8 per cent owned their own home at the age of 25.

Of those who were not homeowners, eight in ten (80.5 per cent) expected to buy a home in the future.

There was little difference between men and women in terms of their expectations with 79.5 per cent of men expecting to become homeowners compared with 81.5 per cent of women

Of those who said their principal economic status was employed, 83.5 per cent expected to become homeowners.

Of those who said their principal economic status was something other than employed  whether unemployed, a student, or not in education, employment, or training  66.7 per cent expected to become homeowners.
(Photo: Wikipedia. https://www.auschwitz.org/en/)The gate to Auschwitz in Nazi-occupied Poland. The train track, in operation from May to October 1944, led toward the gas chambers.

Each year on Jan. 27, the world commemorates the Holocaust implemented by German dictator Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party, who came to power through the electoral process.

Their persecution killed millions of Jews, or they were locked up, and abused during that period around World War II.

Nazi death camp survivor Ivan Lefkovits shared harrowing testimony of his experiences on Jan. 27 in Geneva, Switzerland, to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day with a timeless message for present and future generations:

"Don't be neutral, especially not towards human suffering. Remember that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis," he said at the UN in Geneva.

The 88-year-old Lefkovits recalled the murder of his father and brother, both victims of Hitler's efforts to wipe out Jews, and noted that many European countries subscribed to his views and supported them materially.

He said Slovakia had paid the Nazi authorities to take away Jewish citizens from his home country to concentration camps, speaking to assembled representatives from UN Member States at the ceremony.

Europe "was already a landscape of atrocities" in the 1920s, he continued. "Antisemitism was not just in Germany; it was in many, many places in Europe, in many places of the countries who are represented here."

And on Holocaust Memorial Day, Anglican pastor and professor Simon Ponsonby exposed the 'Christian' roots of the worst massacre in modern history in an article in Premier Christianity Magazine.

"Knowing that I was a priest, a Jewish graduate scholar at Oxford once told me she grew up believing that if she were to look at a crucifix, she would die," he wrote.

"Where on earth would she get an idea like that? I wondered if it came from a long-forgotten memory programmed in her psyche, passed from generation to generation, reinforced by trauma, that churches are dangerous places for Jews."

He said, "The idea is not as unreasonable as one might first think. For centuries the Church forgot it was birthed in the synagogue. Those who lived under the cross often neglected their roots, passing over the fact that their scriptures, apostolic saints and even their own savior was Jewish.

Ponsonby noted, "For hundreds of years, the Church imposed separations, restrictions, extortions, expulsions, and persecutions on Jews. So-called pogroms often occurred on Christian Holy-days, and such atrocities culminated in the Holocaust."

He said that while the Holocaust was by no means Christian, the shocking truth is it could never have happened without the centuries of Church persecution of the Jews that came before it and theology that demonized Jews.

Going to the origins of the word 'Holocaust' derived from two Greek words meaning 'burnt whole,' he said the term is used (along with the Hebrew Shoah meaning 'catastrophe') to describe the Nazi's murder of 6 million Jews  nearly two-thirds of Europe's total of 9.5 million.

While the Jews were not alone in their suffering, Ponsonby noted that the Nazis also murdered 2,000 Jehovah's Witnesses, 15,000 gay people; 100,000 physically and mentally disabled, plus 200,000 Gypsies and innumerable Poles.

"Nazism was discriminatively evil, but always the particular object of their hatred, the motivating factor for industrializing death, was the despised Jews. Before the death camps were conceived, more than 1 million Jews were murdered by bullets in the Ukraine: in forests away from sight, and in the Ghetto streets in full view," he writes.

- Demonic influence

"How can we comprehend such evil? It seems to defy analysis. But analysis is necessary and reveals a complex matrix of interconnecting factors in early 20th-century Germany that created the perfect storm to host a malevolent spirit. The first three were political and cultural, but the fourth was theological."

Ponsonby says there was "a rising fetish with German identity," displayed in an idealized mythology of Aryan Volkism and a disdain for any element tainting the purity and prowess of the true German "Blut und Boden" (Blood and Soil).

Losing the First World War, the proud martial nation of Germany was humiliated and the Jews were early scapegoats.

Secondly, German anxiety was triggered by the rise in the East of Bolshevism behind the Russian Revolution in 1917, which was perceived as a real political threat and, importantly, also as a Jewish movement.

Thirdly, there was crippling German poverty following the war, which saw the hungry dying in the city streets. Resentment grew at the perceived wealth of the Jews.

Nazism also tapped into the previous 1,800 years of Church theology in order to bolster its antisemitic doctrines.

Ponsonby wrote that every one of the Nuremberg discriminatory laws against the Jews had precedence in earlier church council rulings and actions.

"Of course, none of this really explains why the Nazis undertook systematic murder of European Jews," said Ponsonby.

"Most of these Jews were the antithesis of the rich and powerful industrialist or banker caricatured in Nazi propaganda."

"I believe the real motivating factor in the Holocaust was the demonic. An antisemitic, antichrist spirit took root  stealing, killing, destroying. The targeted object was the people carrying the promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who remain the apple of God's eye," said Ponsonby.

- Luther's antisemitism

After years of studying this history, one Church figure stands out as preparing the ground and sowing the seed for Germany's antisemitism: the reformer Martin Luther, says Ponsonby.

He wrote several treaties against the Jews; the worst, but least known, is Vom Schem Hamphoras (1543), or The Ineffable Name, a blasphemous work that mocked the Jewish reverence for Yahweh's sacred name.

In it, Luther claimed that the Jews found the name for God up the backside of a sow  a familiar medieval motif called Judensau, a plaque of which still remains on the wall of his former church in. SS soldiers enjoyed photographing themselves proudly beneath it.

Luther's most infamous and influential work was On the Jews and Their Lies (1543). This is a substantial work of 65,000 words of sustained invective against the Jewish people.

He describes them as: "A defiled bride...an incorrigible whore and an evil slut;" "blood thirsty bloodhounds and murderers of all Christendom;" "stiff-necked, disobedient, prophet-murderers, arrogant, usurers, and filled with every vice."

William Temple, in 1941, as Archbishop of York, stated: "It is easy to see how Luther prepared the way for Hitler." It may not be that simple, but unquestionably the dark anti-Jewish animus in Luther, building on centuries of Church antisemitism, laid a foundation for the Holocaust.

Ponson by says that the distinguished Prof. Diarmaid MacCulloch claimed that On the Jews and Their Lies was the blueprint for Kristallnacht, which occurred on the fateful day of Nov.10, 1938.

The timing was carefully choreographed, as this day was Luther's Public Birthday  a German holiday celebrating German identity.

It turned into a pogrom, named 'crystal night' due to the smashed glass of the 815 Jewish shops that littered the streets.

Jewish-authored literature was burned on bonfires publicly; 181 synagogues were razed to the ground; Jews were attacked and humiliated in the streets, and 30,000 Jewish men were rounded up and sent to concentration camps. And the bill for the clean-up of the operation was demanded from the Jewish community.

The Holocaust decimated the Jews of Europe, and part of that was a satanic attempt to stop the prophetic clock ticking towards Jesus' return and reign, and rout of evil.

Immediately following Kristallnacht, the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia,

"Martin Sasse swooned that Luther couldn't have wished for a more beautiful birthday gift," says Ponsonby.

Two weeks later, he printed 100,000 copies of a collection of Luther's antisemitic quotes, celebrating Luther as "the greatest antisemite of his time, the warner of his people against the Jews."

Luther, the great reformer, the most significant figure in German history, unquestionably put fuel on the Holocaust fires  and many within and without the Church looked to him for moral justification.

- Where was the Church?

"Certainly, some Christians bravely protested or preached against the Nazis  too few, too little, too late. Most were intimidated into silence. Those who spoke up or who helped hide, protect, or get to safety, a few Jewish people were arrested and sent to Dachau and Sachsenhausen concentration camps.

"And tragically, many German Christians supported what was going on  if not wholeheartedly, then by their passivity. Even if, as some claim, they were only vaguely aware of whispers of horror coming from Poland or Belorussia and later names like Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Belsen, they all knew how the Jews in Germany and Austria had been treated for a decade before, in front of their very own eyes."

And then there is this: "Even if they were punished in the most gruesome manner that the streets ran with their blood, that their dead would be counted, not in the hundred thousands, but in the millions...they are the devil's children, damned to Hell..."

Ponsonby says, "The Jewish people have long-scarred memories. They rightly do not pass lightly over centuries of persecution at the hands of Christians. The Church must repent of the atrocities committed by her, in Jesus' name, and of walking on the other side of the road when the Jewish people needed help."
(Photo: LWF / M. Renau)A Syrian family living in an unfinished building in Al Mafraq. Many refugees have to trade their food vouchers to pay the rent in early 2016.

Pope Francis offered his greetings to participants at the 2017 March for Life in Washington, D.C., assuring them of his prayers and blessing at an event at which U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was speaking.

But the Catholic Church was keeping its powder dry on the migrant and refugee issue that followed later that day.

In a papal telegram from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope thanked the marchers for their witness to life and it was hardly surprising due to the Catholic stance on the sanctity of life from the moment of conception.

Pence spoke at the March for Life this year on Jan. 27, marking the first time that a current vice president has attended the event.

Hardly sounding like the right hand man to President Donald J. Trump, Pence told the crowds that the pro-life movement is winning, urging them to fight for life with compassion and love.

Pence urged pro-lifers to win over hearts with gentleness and compassion at the 2017 March for Life an event supported by many Catholics and evangelical Christians.

"So I urge you to press on," Pence told the audience gathered on the National Mall for the rally, imploring them "as it is written, let your gentleness be evident to all."

"Let this movement be known for love, not anger," he said according to Catholic News Agency, "let it be known for compassion, not confrontation."

"Society can be judged by how we care for the most vulnerable," he said, pointing to the aged, infirm, disabled, and unborn as examples. "We've come to a historic moment in the cause of life," he added, and "we must meet this moment with respect and compassion for every American."

"Life is winning in America," he said, "and today is a celebration of that progress, the progress that we've made in that cause."

The pro-life movement can win the hearts and minds of young people "if our hearts first break for young mothers and their unborn children, and if we each of us do all we can to meet them where they are with generosity, not judgment," said Pence.

Other speakers at this year's rally and march, included, Kellyanne Conway, senior counselor to Trump; Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York; Baltimore Ravens tight end Benjamin Watson; and former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson.

The Catholic support for the Trump camp on the issue of the right to life did not, however, guarantee support in every policy of the new U.S. president.

Already in 2016, while the U.S. presidential campaign was in full swing Pope Francis had said, "It's hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of my help.

"If I say I am Christian, but do these things, I'm a hypocrite."

The message read to the Washington rally, however, quoted a passage from Francis' apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia: "So great is the value of a human life, and so inalienable the right to life of an innocent child growing in the mother's womb, that no alleged right...can justify a decision to terminate that life."

"His Holiness is profoundly grateful for this impressive testimony to the sacredness of every human life," said the Pope's message.

Pope Francis, "trusts that this event, in which so many American citizens speak out on behalf of the most defenseless of our brothers and sisters, will contribute to a mobilization of consciences in defense of the right to life and effective measures to ensure its adequate legal protection," said the message.

But two days later Catholic leaders in the United States reacted with anger to President Trump's newly signed executive order that bars Syrian refugees from entering the country and halts resettlement programs for up to four months and are urging him to reconsider the policy.

"This weekend proved to be a dark moment in U.S. history," Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said in a Jan. 29 statement said America Magazine. "The executive order to turn away refugees and to close our nation to those, particularly Muslims, fleeing violence, oppression and persecution is contrary to both Catholic and American values."

INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBERANCE DAY

Signed by Trump on the afternoon of Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the executive order stops all refugee resettlement for four months. It bars refugees from Syria from entering the United States indefinitely. Further, residents of seven predominantly Muslim nations cannot enter the United States for 90 days.

By the following night, several federal judges temporarily blocked parts of the order so that travelers being detained in U.S. airports by border patrol agents could enter the country.

On the morning of Jan. 30, the Trump administration suggested that the order was being amended so that greencard holders (permanent residents) would be allowed to reenter the United States.

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) that aired this weekend, Trump suggested that Christian refugees would be given priority over people of other faiths, including Muslims.

Of course, he was soon tweeting that sentiment from his personal account on Jan. 29.

But many Christian leaders, including Catholics, rejected the notion that Christians undergoing persecution should be given priority over others being persecuted for their faith, such as Muslims suffering from violence at the hands of other Muslims.

"We are told this is not the 'Muslim ban' that had been proposed during the presidential campaign, but these actions focus on Muslim-majority countries."

Cupich said. "They make an exception for Christians and non-Muslim minorities, but not for Muslims refugees fleeing for their lives."

He noted, "The world is watching as we abandon our commitments to American values."

The New York-based World Evangelical Alliance, many of whose members hold similar views to Catholics opposing abortion and supporting the sanctity to life, reacted to Trump's decree by issuing a statement titled: "Call to Welcome Refugees."

"We wholeheartedly affirm the clear teaching of the Holy Bible that the people of God are called by God to 'love' and 'welcome' the foreigner and stranger (Leviticus 19:33,34 and Matthew 25:34-36)," said the WEA statement. "We therefore call upon the worldwide body of Christ to reflect the heart of God and to actively love and welcome refugees.

"We call upon Christian leaders and pastors to deepen their biblical understanding of forced displacement and to intentionally minister in ways intended to create space in the hearts and minds of others for refugees.

"We call upon Christians everywhere to pursue a biblically informed perspective of forced displacement and to actively seek the welfare of refugees.

"Recognizing that the global refugee crisis is putting great pressure on governments, we call upon Christians to pray for wisdom for government leaders involved in refugee-related policy-making," said WEA.
(Photo: REUTERS / Kacper Pempel)A visitor walks between electric barbed-wired fences at the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and former concentration camp November 18, 2013.

Aging survivors gathered at the former Auschwitz death camp in Poland and political leaders warned that the Nazi genocide must continue to serve as a warning as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27, signs in Europe and beyond show that ultra-nationalism and extreme right-wing groups are on the rise, The Associated Press reported.

Even Poland, which was occupied and terrorized by Hitler's regime  was convulsed this week by revelations of a fringe neo-Nazi group that honors Hitler.

Other ultranationalist parties that espouse anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim views seem increasingly emboldened as well.

Israel called on Poland on Jan. 27 to amend a bill approved this week by Polish lawmakers that would make it illegal to suggest Poland bore any responsibility for crimes against humanity committed by Nazi Germany on its soil, Reuters reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed his ambassador to meet Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to express opposition to the bill, which would make using phrases like "Polish death camps" punishable by up to three years in prison.

"The law is baseless, I strongly oppose it. One cannot change history and the Holocaust cannot be denied," Netanyahu said, in comments mirrored by other senior Israeli officials.

Poland's Deputy Justice Minister Patryk Jaki, who authored the bill, said on Twitter the law is not directed against Israel.

"Important Israeli politicians and media are attacking us for the bill ... On top of that they claim that Poles are 'co-responsible' for the Holocaust," he said, adding that "this is proof how necessary this bill is."

AUSCHWITZ CONCENTRATION CAMP

It has been more than 70 years since the Nazi-occupied Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated.

Auschwitz was the most notorious of all the concentration camps  where it is believed that more than a million people were systematically exterminated via State systems of execution and torture, The Conversation notes.

Concentration camps were central to the Nazi ideology and victims were mostly Jews, Gypsies, black people, gay people and people with intellectual disabilities.

But while most people have heard of the major concentration camps  Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dachau, and Treblinka  these were not the only places Jews and other prisoners were held.

Each of the 23 main camps had sub-camps  there were nearly 900 of them in total.

The horrors of Auschwitz and World War II led Western scholars and governments to become increasingly sensitive to the need to educate society about the dangers of exclusionary institutional structures and genocidal social policies.

Which is why schools throughout Europe and beyond teach students about the Holocaust  and the associated moral and ethical issues.

The importance of Holocaust commemoration has also helped to create symbolic places and memorials  such as the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

This museum has an educational training center with facilities to enrich the studies on the Holocaust. Other sites include the Jewish Museum in Prague and the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.

Young people today are growing up at a time when support for right-wing politics is on the rise across Europe.

With unemployment rife and the prospects of owning a home diminishing, right-wing groups offer an alternative way for disengaged young people to see the world.

This is evidenced by a surge of numbers and support for far-right parties groups across Europe  including France, Sweden, The Netherlands and Austria, said The Conversationalist, with referring to the "alt-right" ideas in the United States.

"It is therefore timely and important that young people continue to develop an understanding of the consequences of these ideologies and develop a moral compass.

"One way this can be done is by taking students to these historical sites and memorials to gain a full insight as to what it was like live through horrific events such as the Holocaust," said The Conversationalist.
It requires far less computing power than rivals like OpenAI, according to the developer.

Chinese AI assistant DeepSeek has become the top rated free app on Apple's App Store in the US and elsewhere, beating out ChatGPT and other rivals. It's powered by the open-source DeepSeek V3 model, which reportedly requires far less computing power than competitors and was developed for under $6 million, according to (disputed) claims by the company. At the same time, it offers performance that's on par with Claude-3.5, GPT-4o and other rivals, DeepSeek said last week.

The news that DeepSeek topped the App Store charts caused a sharp drop in tech stocks like NVIDIA and ASML this morning. Google parent company Alphabet and Microsoft were also down this morning. As the New York Times notes, the overall Nasdaq and S&P 500 dropped as well, and markets in Europe and Japan also took a bit of a hit.

Available on web, app and API, DeepSeek is similar to AI Assistant like ChatGPT with features like coding content creation and research. Its first DeepSeek-R1 release is available under an MIT license, so it can be used commercially and without restrictions.

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The company is headquartered in Hangzhou, China and was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who also launched the hedge fund backing DeepSeek. To develop the tech, he reportedly stockpiled NVIDIA A100 chips prior to the US export ban and paired those with less powerful chips that can still be imported, according to MIT Technology Review.

However, DeepSeek was still at a significant hardware disadvantage next to rival models from OpenAI, Google and others. That forced the company to be more efficient with its AI models, and it has supposedly been able to build and train them at a far lower cost than previously thought possible.

Analysts from Citi and elsewhere have questioned those claims, though, and pointed out that China is a "more restrictive environment" for AI development than the US. Still, the rise of DeepSeek has raised concerns about the potential profits of rivals like OpenAI that have already invested billions in AI infrastructure.

All the attention today around DeepSeek appears to have attracted some bad actors, though. According to CNBC, DeepSeek says it is temporarily limiting registrations for the service in light of "large-scale malicious attacks." Existing users should be able to log in as usual, however. But if all the buzz around the tool made you want to check it out, you might have to be patient.

Update, January 27 2025, 11:47AM ET: This story has been updated with details on the cyber-attack on DeepSeek that has limited registrations for the service.

Update, January 27 2025, 11:27AM ET: This story and its headline were updated with more details on the stock price drops that appear to have hit this morning in conjunction with the news around DeepSeek.

If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
Saturday Night Live (SNL) opened with a spoof on the signing of the Declaration of Independence featuring Donald Trump (played by James Austin Johnson) where he referenced his new signed orders and dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

In the skit, Alexander Hamilton, played by Lin-Manuel Miranda, raps about John Hancock signing the document when Trump's character enters the scene, causing it to freeze.

The 4:32 clip, which was published on X by SNL, received 1 million views, over 1,900 shares and 16,000 likes.

President Trump interrupts Lin-Manuel Miranda to address the nation pic.twitter.com/d7PhbxLeII  Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) January 26, 2025

"But just like the Founding Fathers, I am creating a new country as well," Johnson said.

"And just like them, we're doing it very wisely," he said. "DEI is over. It's dead."

Target, Walmart and McDonald's have rolled back DEI programs since the start of the year.

The scene poked fun at the attendees of the president's second inauguration, including Melania Trump, who Johnson referred to as a "surprise guest."

Johnson dubbed Trump's newly formed crew of tech billionaires that includes Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, Elon Musk of Tesla, and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta as his "nerd herd."

Johnson also addressed Musk's bizarre hand gesture at the president's inauguration, which many speculated was the Nazi salute, although the SpaceX CEO denied it.

"He simply was creating a new greeting," Johnson said as Trump. "A cross between Hi and Hello. We're calling it a Heil."

The skit ended with Trump expounding about his presidency.

"In conclusion, it's been a great week. I basically hit all my campaign promises, except for the one people cared about: the price of eggs. All time high," he said. "Who would have thought it'd be easier to get a ceasefire in Gaza then bring down the price of eggs?"

The skit received over 200 comments on X.

"Whoever came up with this is a genius," Emre Yurttas said. His comment received over 190 likes.

Whoever came up wit this is a genius!  Emre Yurttas (@emrey35) January 26, 2025

"Lin Manuel wanted to laugh so badly," user ginobilisaurus wrote.

Lin Manuel wanted to laugh so badly.   ginobilisaurus (@ginobilisaurus) January 26, 2025

"The amount of material you're going to have," JD said with a laughing emoji.

The amount of material you're going to have   JD (@JDMCishere) January 26, 2025

"This Trump is even better than Alec Baldwin's," wrote a user named Esama.

This Trump is even better than Alec Baldwin's  Esama of Belfast   (@OBO_master) January 26, 2025

Last week, comedian Dave Chapelle advised Trump to have "empathy" for Palestinians his monologue while hosting SNL.

In December 2024, comedian Chris Rock hosted SNL where he mocked the killing of Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO saying, "Sometimes drug dealers get shot."

Originally published on Latin Times
Jennifer Aniston reportedly chose to confront the speculations surrounding an alleged romance with ex-President Barack Obama due to her previous encounters with unfounded rumors of infidelity during her relationship with Brad Pitt.

Those familiar with the situation have revealed that Aniston, typically reserved about such gossip, believed that staying silent on this occasion would only intensify the spreading of rumors.

Amid murmurs of discord within the Obama household, speculations linking Aniston and Obama began to circulate.

The absence of Michelle Obama from major events attended by the former President, such as Jimmy Carter's funeral and Donald Trump's inauguration, have fueled the rumors further. Some even went as far as to insinuate that the marriage between the power couple was facing challenges.

But the "Friends" actress felt compelled to address the rumors that had the potential to disturb Michelle.

An individual with insider knowledge disclosed to the Daily Mail, "Jen was going to have her people either not respond or give a 'no comment,' but she thought that would add fuel to the fire."

"She decided to shut it down before it could get even more out of hand," the insider explained.

According to sources close to Aniston, she was confused over the circulating rumors.

"She barely knows Obama, let alone is dating him," the source explained. "After all these years of being in the spotlight, this has to be the most bizarre piece of gossip she has ever heard about herself."

Furthermore, the blonde beauty allegedly expressed her worry about the harm that the accusations would do to Michelle after having personally been harmed by false reports about her own life.

"Jen's upset for Michelle because she's seen stories about the Obamas' marriage being on the rocks, and she knows firsthand what it is like to be at the center of stories like that," the insider said.

Speculation surrounding a potential romance between Aniston and Obama began to spread since summer, prompting some to insinuate a deep bond between the two.

Despite these allegations, Aniston's publicist, Stephen Huvane, quickly brushed the reports off as untrue and made it clear that Aniston and Obama had no relationship.

Huvane clarified that although Aniston respects the former president, they do not have a deep personal bond and only sometimes communicate.

In a previous interview on "Jimmy Kimmel Live", Aniston also took the opportunity to dismiss the ongoing gossip with a chuckle. "I have met him once. I know Michelle more than him," she shared.
T.J. Miller, Ryan Reynolds' former "Deadpool" co-star, has made it clear that he has no intention of collaborating with Reynolds ever again.

In a 2022 podcast interview on the "Adam Corolla Show," the comedian shared a bad experience with his former co-star on the popular 2016 film and its 2018 sequel.

Specifically, he described Reynolds as someone who is "horrifically mean" while the superhero movie sequel was being filmed.

"Would I work with him again? No, I would not work with him again," he said during that time.

Miller, who played Deadpool's pal Weasel, revealed that the success of the initial movie had a transformative effect on his former colleague.

"I got along with him a lot better on the first 'Deadpool' because he wasn't a huge, huge movie star," he said.

Miller also shared his thoughts on Reynolds, describing him as someone who may have insecurities and harbors negative feelings towards him. He recalled a specific incident during filming that showed the strained relationship between the two actors.

The actor shared, "We had a really weird moment on 'Deadpool' where he said, 'Let's do one more take.' And then, as the character, he was horrifically mean to me as if I'm Weasel."

"So he was like, 'You know what's great about you, Weasel? You're not the star, but you do just enough exposition so that it's funny, and then we can leave and get back to the real movie.'"

Miller also hinted at the idea that Reynolds may have some insecurities, although he couldn't quite pinpoint the exact reasons behind them.

"That's exactly why he said that. Because I'm not funnier than he is at all, right? And I haven't been in more movies than him," he added.

The resurfaced interview comes at the same time as a dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who is accused of acting inappropriately toward the "Gossip Girl" actress and creating a toxic work environment while co-producing "It Ends with Us."

The dispute, which also involves Reynolds, has now become very public, with all parties pursuing legal action.

It also comes amid reports Reynolds is working diligently to uphold his reputation while his wife remains entangled in a contentious legal dispute with Baldoni.

Recently, Lively and Reynolds requested for a gag order against attorney Bryan Freedman, who represents Baldoni. The couple claims Freedman initiated a "harassing and retaliatory media campaign" targeting them.

According to an insider who spoke to the Daily Mail, "Ryan was a driving force in requesting a gag order for Justin's attorney."

"Ryan's production company, Maximum Effort Productions, has several projects in the works, and he'd be devastated if this legal drama disrupted his colleagues or employees," the insider explained.

In addition to his own professional trajectory, Reynolds also expressed worries about broader issues, as per the insider.

Following a brief break to focus on raising her four children, Lively aimed for a triumphant return to the spotlight by taking on the role of Lily Bloom in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's popular book.

"Ryan isn't solely focused on his own career. He is also deeply concerned for Blake's well-being," the insider claimed. "This entire ordeal has taken a toll on both of them, and the uncertainty surrounding the case is unsettling."

Critics have not held back in expressing their opposition to the gag order request. According to a different insider who spoke to Daily Mail, the request was deemed as "absurd" and impossible to be granted.

"It's laughable to think Baldoni or Freedman would be silenced from discussing a case they are directly involved in," the insider pointed out. "Everyone has a right to defend themselves."
Katt Williams recently addressed longstanding rumors about Martin Lawrence's health during his comedy show in Los Angeles.

The comedian, known for his unfiltered humor, made light of speculation that Lawrence suffered a stroke, leaving the audience in fits of laughter on January 17.

"Martin Lawrence keeps saying he ain't had no stroke," Williams quipped in a clip going viral on TikTok. "But every time he do an interview, he look like he had a stroke! Now why won't somebody say something?"

The crowd erupted in laughter as Williams continued, "Ain't nothing wrong with having a stroke and getting better. The f**k is he hiding it for?"

Williams, 53, went on to impersonate Lawrence and how he  according to him  walks in interviews with a stutter step.

Rumors of Lawrence's health issues gained traction last year after his appearance at a Los Angeles movie premiere alongside Will Smith. Despite the speculation, Lawrence has consistently denied he has any health issues.

In a June interview with Hot 97's Ebro in the Morning, Lawrence addressed the rumors directly. The actor, best known for his roles in the Bad Boys franchise and the fan-favorite sitcom Martin, expressed gratitude for his health and downplayed any concerns.

"I'm fine. I'm in God's hands. I'm blessed, you know? I'm glad to be waking up every day. I'm all good," the 59-year-old added. "No need for people to be concerned."

He assured fans, "I'm healthy as hell. Stop the rumors!"

In other Lawrence news, the actor is gearing up for a major milestone in his family's life: paying for his daughter Jasmin's wedding to Eric Murphy, the son of fellow comedy legend Eddie Murphy.

Lawrence revealed his plans to bankroll the event during an appearance on Big Boy's radio show, Big Boy's Neighborhood, back in December.

Jasmin and Eric announced their engagement on Instagram in November after three years together. The couple became "Instagram official" in June 2021.

Their engagement, which took place just before Thanksgiving, sparked excitement among fans and marked the union of two Hollywood dynasties.

Lawrence shared on the radio show that Murphy jokingly told him it was his responsibility to foot the bill. According to Lawrence, Murphy reminded him that he has already financed six weddings for his children and that it's now Lawrence's turn to "open his wallet." Murphy has 10 children, while Lawrence has three daughters.

"Well, Eddie said I gotta pay for it," Lawrence explained. "He said I gotta pay for it, 'cause he paid for his last daughter's wedding, like, the last six weddings."

He added, "He said it's my turn now, so I don't mind."
Jeremy Allen White is set to star in and executive produce a Netflix limited series adaptation of Andre Aciman's novel "Enigma Variations."

The project is being developed at Netflix with Amanda Kate Shuman as writer and showrunner and Oliver Hermanus directing.

White will play Paul, a man whose romantic and personal relationships span from his adolescence through adulthood. The story follows Paul's various attachments and desires across different settings, from southern Italy to New England, exploring themes of love, sexuality, and self-discovery.

This marks the second adaptation of an Aciman novel, following Call Me by Your Name, which won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Aciman will serve as an executive producer alongside White.

White's acting credits include his Emmy and Golden Globe-winning role in The Bear (currently preparing its fourth season), his long-running role in Shameless, and upcoming films including a Bruce Springsteen biopic and The Mandalorian & Grogu, set in the "Star Wars" universe.

Media Res will produce the series, which is currently in development at Netflix. There's no set release date yet.
Sam Parker, a former Republican Senate candidate, has sparked controversy after publicly calling for pop star and actress Selena Gomez to be deported.

Parker, who ran unsuccessfully for Senate in Utah in 2018, posted on X (formerly Twitter), "Deport Selena Gomez," stirring up backlash online.

The remark came after Gomez, known for her music and acting career, shared a tearful video on Instagram expressing heartbreak over mass deportations under the Trump administration.

In the clip, Gomez said, "I just want to say that I am so sorry. All my people are getting attacked. The children, I don't understand. I wish I could do something."

The post, later deleted, led to mixed reactions, with some supporting her and others criticizing her stance.

Parker doubled down on his statement by linking his main X account, @SamParkerSenate, to another post from a separate account, @BasedSamParker. In that post, he accused Gomez of siding with undocumented immigrants over the U.S.

"Selena Gomez picked illegals over America b/c she's the 3rd gen descendent of Mexican illegals who received citizenship in the '87 Amnesty," he said.

"She has an entitlement attitude toward America, like her illegal [grand]parents," Parker added. "Maybe Selena should be deported, too?"

Gomez, whose father is of Mexican descent, has been vocal about her support for immigrant families. In 2019, she produced the Netflix documentary Living Undocumented, spotlighting the lives of undocumented families in the U.S.

She also penned an essay for Time about her family's immigrant roots, voicing concern about the treatment of undocumented individuals.

"I understand it's flawed and that we need rules and regulations, but we also have to remember that our country was formed by people who came here from other countries," she wrote in that piece.

"It's time to listen to the people whose lives are being directly affected by immigration policies," Gomez added. "It's time to get to know the individuals whose complex stories have been reduced to basic headlines.

The recent deportation measures under Trump's administration have reignited debates over immigration policy. NBC reported last week that a U.S. plane carrying deportees was denied access to land in Mexico, further escalating tensions.

Gomez's emotional response to these events resonated with many but drew criticism from others who viewed her comments as divisive.

Selena Gomez shares new Instagram story crying amid the deportation of Mexicans:



Im so sorry. All my people are getting attacked. The children, I dont understand. I wish I could do something. pic.twitter.com/9H7ojMhpCN  Pop Base (@PopBase) January 27, 2025

Parker's posts about her, seen as inflammatory by critics, have raised questions about his intentions in attacking Gomez. While some supporters echoed his stance, many online users slammed his remarks as xenophobic and unnecessary.

Gomez has not publicly addressed Parker's comments, focusing on her advocacy for immigrant families. She did respond to the backlash after deleting her video, writing in a separate post, "Apparently it's not ok to show empathy for people."

--Originally appeared on 'Music Times.'
Jennifer Lopez's latest movie, Kiss of the Spider Woman, dazzled audiences at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, earning rave reviews and a standing ovation that brought Lopez to tears of joy.

The film, directed by Bill Condon, blends Old Hollywood musical magic with a bold exploration of gender identity and cultural representation, leaving viewers buzzing about its impact.

The movie, adapted from Manuel Puig's 1976 novel, tells the story of two cellmates in an Argentine prison.

Lopez plays a glamorous, old-Hollywood screen siren in a "movie-within-the-movie," captivating the audience with showstopping song and dance numbers.

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN puts so many movie musicals to shame. It's audacious & filled with mesmerizing Old Hollywood musical numbers that POP with technicolor magic. J-Lo is serving non-stop, & Tonatiuh delivers a star-making performance.



The pro-trans Latin musical we deserve. pic.twitter.com/hoJUNxeUgB  Andrew J. Salazar @ Sundance (@AndrewJ626) January 27, 2025

Critics were quick to praise Lopez's performance, with DiscussingFilm editor Andrew J. Salazar calling the film "audacious" and filled with "technicolor magic." Salazar added on social media that it's the "pro-trans Latin musical we deserve."

Tonatiuh, who plays Luis Molina, the film's second lead, has been celebrated for a star-making turn, as reported by the Associated Press.

Molina, a queer character who doesn't conform to traditional gender labels, uses their love of musicals to escape the bleak realities of prison life.

Audiences erupted into applause during Lopez's scenes and offered a standing ovation as the film concluded at Sundance's Eccles Theater.

Tearful Jennifer Lopez Reacts to Crowd

Lopez, wearing a dazzling spiderweb-themed gown, told the crowd, "I've been waiting for this moment my whole life," fighting back tears of joy.

On inspiring queer youth with the role, Lopez told Variety in a video interview, "Understanding what you mean to your fans when you sing music, when you do movies  you mean something to them, and you have a relationship with them where they save you, and you save them."

She added, "They get you through things that are so difficult. But they are always telling me, 'You got me through this, you got me through that.'"

Condon, known for directing Dreamgirls, delivered a film that mixes escapist spectacle with poignant themes.

Read more: Whoopi Goldberg Shows Off Stunning Weight Loss at Paris Fashion Week After Previously Weighing 300 Pounds

"One of the things the movie is about is the attempt to bridge the incredible differences that separate us," he said before the screening.

For Tonatiuh, the role was deeply personal. "I understood someone who felt like a loser in their own life and learns how to be the hero of their own story," the actor shared, reflecting on their journey as a "femme queer Latin kid" breaking stereotypes in Hollywood.

Lopez credited her lifelong love of musicals, especially West Side Story, for inspiring her career. "Bill made my dreams come true," she said.

Kiss of the Spider Woman is still seeking a distributor, but its Sundance debut has set the stage for what could be a landmark moment in cinema.
Fijians participate in Chinese New Year celebrations

Xinhua) 08:42, January 27, 2025

A girl presents a first-day cover with the stamps of the Year of the Snake in Nausori, Fiji, Jan. 25, 2025. Post Fiji and the China Cultural Center in Fiji on Saturday jointly issued special stamps to mark the upcoming Chinese zodiac Year of the Snake. (Photo by Gao Xin/Xinhua)

SUVA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese community in Fiji and residents of Nausori, the fourth most populous municipality in the country, gathered in numbers at the Nausori Plaza for a folklife festival to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Saturday.

While addressing the event held by the China Cultural Centre in Fiji, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Biman Prasad said the Chinese New Year is more than just a cultural tradition. It is an occasion to reflect on timeless values that transcend borders and resonate deeply with all.

He said the Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is a global celebration bringing together people from diverse backgrounds.

"Events like this allow us to learn from each other, embrace our differences, and build stronger bonds of friendship and mutual respect," he said.

Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Zhou Jian shared insights into the symbolism of this year, the Year of the Snake, which represents agility, wisdom and vitality in Chinese culture.

Zhou said the celebration in Nausori signified the importance of cultural exchange, community unity and the shared contributions that have enriched Fiji's history and society.

At the festival, Post Fiji and the China Cultural Centre also jointly issued special stamps to mark the upcoming Chinese zodiac Year of the Snake.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Key Takeaways

Smartwatch heart data can be useful to doctors

Nearly two-thirds of Americans regularly use a device to check their heart health

But only 1 in 4 are passing that data on to a doctor

MONDAY, Jan. 27, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Sue VanWassenhoves adult children got her a smartwatch to track her health after she fell a couple times.

Fiddling with the device, VanWassenhove found out that she had a pattern of her heart rate dropping, and immediately lined up an appointment with a heart doctor.

Having a smartwatch is very empowering because Im not being passive with my healthcare, VanWassenhove, 78, of Upper Arlington, Ohio, said in a news release.

I have some heart issues that need monitored, and its important for me to talk to my cardiologist or primary care doctor about any health issues that show up on my watch, she added.

More people should follow VanWassenhoves lead, experts say.

Its increasingly easier for people to self-monitor their heart health, using devices like smartwatches, finger heart monitors and automatic blood pressure cuffs.

But few people are passing on that useful data to their doctor, according to a nationwide survey commissioned by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans are using a device on a regular basis to monitor their heart health, the survey found.

The most popular options include smartwatches (32%), portable blood pressure machines (31%), fitness apps (19%) and wearable fitness/movement trackers (13%).

Unfortunately, only 1 in 4 people using that data to prompt a conversation about their heart health with a doctor, the survey found.

These self-monitoring devices are really helpful to patients and their healthcare providers because they can potentially catch things early, VanWassenhoves doctor, Dr. Laxmi Mehta, said in a news release.

For example, if patients are monitoring their blood pressure at home and notice its been going up over time, they may want to discuss it with their doctor sooner rather than waiting for their annual visit. Or they may capture some irregular heart rhythms on their devices, like atrial fibrillation, much sooner than would be diagnosed at the doctors office, added Mehta, director of preventative cardiology and womens cardiovascular health at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.

VanWassenhove has sleep apnea, which affects her heart rate and breathing. That prompted her to keep a close eye on her watchs heart data.

During an appointment with Mehta, VanWassenhove learned her smartwatch could perform an EKG reading, tracking the electrical signals in her heart.

Whats more, she could send the results to Mehta through her electronic medical chart.

A normal heart rate is between 60 to 100 beats per minute without exercise, Mehta said. Heart rates can vary due to heart conditions or a variety of non-heart related reasons such as infection, dehydration, anxiety or thyroid disorders. When someones heart rate or rhythm seems different than usual, its best for them to speak with their doctor.

The survey involved 1,008 people polled by telephone and on the web from Dec. 16-18. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

More information

The AARP has more on using smartwatches to track heart health.

SOURCE: Ohio State University, news release, Jan. 22, 2024

What This Means For You

People who use their smartwatch to track their heart health should be sure to pass on any unusual readings to their doctor.
HELENA  A property tax relief measure touted by Gov. Greg Gianforte as his signature response to widespread public angst over rising residential tax bills would lower taxes on primary residences by raising them on second homes and Airbnb-style short-term vacation rentals.

Heard before the House Taxation Committee Wednesday, the proposal drew praise from members of Gianfortes tax task force but opposition from large businesses worried it would raise their taxes and progressive groups that want lawmakers to adopt tax measures that provide more relief to lower-income taxpayers by leaning harder on wealthier residents.

House Bill 231, sponsored by Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, would also offer tax savings to landlords with long-term tenants and to smaller businesses that own commercial properties.

Specifically, the bill would divide the states existing residential property category into a bifurcated system, lowering rates used to calculate taxes for owner-occupied homes and long-term rentals while raising them for other residential properties.

The measure would also split the states commercial property category into two rate brackets, offering a lower rate to approximately the first $2 million of business value.

The Montana Department of Revenue would be responsible for tracking which residential properties qualify for the lower rates, starting with the list of properties that were granted one-off homeowner property tax rebates the past two years and shifting to an application program over time.

Jones argued Wednesday that the proposal represents a reasonable effort to provide tax relief without shifting an undue amount of tax burden onto non-residential properties. He also said hes deliberately trying to raise property tax bills for part-time residents who use public services while living in Montana but file their income taxes elsewhere.

Without a sales tax, its fairly difficult to have those folks participate in this economy, he said.

Part of the challenge facing the states tax system, Jones said, is that Montanas gradual transformation from a natural resource-heavy economy to one increasingly driven by destination tourism has eroded much of the property tax base that once paid much of the bill for local services like law enforcement and education.

Jones presented the tax committee with data indicating that the fraction of the Montana property value contained in residential properties has grown dramatically in recent decades, up to 76% in 2023 versus 29% in 1985. In contrast, the share of the tax base represented by major industrial properties has declined dramatically, down to 5% in 2023 from 23% in 1985.

By raising taxes on second homes such as Yellowstone Club mansions, the bill would in effect try to use them as a replacement for the states historic industrial tax base. Jones also said Wednesday that he believes offering preferential tax treatment to long-term rentals over Airbnb-style short term rentals could encourage property owners to make more housing available to permanent residents.

Jones said he estimates his bill would reduce property taxes for about 230,000 primary residences by an estimated 17%. He also estimates that 130,000 rental properties and 32,000 small businesses would see similar reductions. MTFP estimated previously that the median residential property tax bill increased by 21% between 2022 and 2023.

The proposal drew support at Wednesdays hearing from Gianfortes budget office, as well as public education advocates, the National Federation of Independent Business, AARP Montana and the Montana Farm Bureau Federation.

Ultimately its a solution that keeps property taxes inside the property tax system. It doesnt require a personal income tax bailout into the property tax system, said Ryan Evans, the assistant director of the governors budget office.

The bill was opposed by the Montana Chamber of Commerce and other business advocates, who worried that lower taxes on residences and small businesses would end up forcing larger businesses to pick up the tab.

Bob Story, the executive director of the Montana Taxpayers Association, testified that the bill would mean a property tax increase of at least $1,000 for more than 900 Montana companies, with several facing increases of more than $100,000.

Theyre large companies, sure, but that doesnt mean they have all kinds of money to pay additional taxes, Story said.

Some advocates for a more progressive tax system also spoke in opposition.

Rose Bender, a researcher with the Montana Budget and Policy Center, said she believes the bill is too generous to higher-value homes and not generous enough to less valuable ones.

This bill needs to better target relief to low- and moderate-value homes, Bender said.

Like other property tax relief bills heard by legislative committees this week  among them a bill that would divert bed tax dollars from tourism promotion to property tax relief and another that would offset property taxes with a state income tax credit  Jones bill faces a committee vote and potential amendments as the first of several hurdles it must clear en route to the governors desk.

Gianforte said during his Jan. 13 State of the State address that he wants to be able to sign the measure into law by mid-February so the state Department of Revenue can implement its provisions this year, a timeframe that would require it to advance rapidly through the Montana House and Senate.
SALEM, Ohio  The Federal Trade Commission has sued Deere & Company, the maker of large tractors and combines, alleging a decades-long effort by the corporation to increase its profits by prohibiting farmers from making their own timely equipment repairs and forcing them to forgo service at independent, less costly repair providers.

In a press release labeling Deeres practices anticompetitive conduct, the federal agency argued that as Deeres equipment has become more computerized over time, farmers have been forced to rely on its network of authorized dealers who have sole access to an interactive diagnostic software tool needed to complete repairs.

Illegal repair restrictions can be devastating for farmers, who rely on affordable and timely repairs to harvest their crops and earn their income, said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. The FTCs action today seeks to ensure that farmers across America are free to repair their own equipment or use repair shops of their choice  lowering costs, preventing ruinous delays and promoting fair competition for independent repair shops.

Deere does offer a more open-source software program called Customer Service ADVISOR for performing some basic repairs on its equipment, but the FTC said its capabilities fall far short of the program authorized dealers have access to, used exclusively in workshops where they can charge customers more.

The lawsuit follows a 2022 complaint filed by farmers unions and right to repair advocacy organizations challenging the companys policy of withholding software and other equipment maintenance information from its customers.

Todays lawsuits mark a key victory in this fight for family farmers and ranchers, recognizing that monopolies should not stop farmers from being able to repair their own equipment, said National Farmers Union President Rob Larew.

By withholding software information to diagnose and repair equipment, manufacturers are forcing farmers to often face long wait times and sometimes drive hundreds of miles to find an authorized dealer  jeopardizing hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential yields, said Joe Maxwell, chief strategy officer of advocacy organization Farm Action.

The FTC added that Deere has failed to provide developers with the information they would need to produce a fully functioning software repair tool, as equipment manufacturers in other industries have, such as the automotive and trucking industries. But that progress hasnt come easy. The lawsuit follows increasing public pressure to give consumers the right to repair their own products and equipment. In December, U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-OR, Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and Joshua Hawley, R-MO, sent letters to the heads of major American automakers over their opposition to nationwide efforts to secure car owners right to repair the vehicles they own in the way they choose.
Farmers across the UK will rally on the streets of London on 10 February as campaigners continue to call on the government to ditch its inheritance tax proposals.

The rally will commence in Whitehall at 1pm on Monday 10 February, the same day that MPs are set to debate the 145,000-strong petition urging a u-turn on the IHT plans.

The protest is also taking place against the backdrop of wider financial pressures, including high costs and low returns, and uncertainty over future policy.

However, it is the Labour government's reform of agricultural property relief (APR) that is the final straw for many, as farms worth more than 1m will incur a 20% inheritance tax charge from April 2026.

Since that announcement, and subsequent doubling down by the government, the industry has warned that family farms will see a 'catastrophic' impact to their businesses and livelihoods.

Farmers have protested in London twice since the autumn budget proposals, as well numerous times in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast.

The new rally comes as the viral petition Don't change inheritance tax relief for working farms passed the 100,000 signatory threshold on parliament's own website, meaning it must be debated by MPs.

Organisers of the protest, campaign groups Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers of Kent, are urging farmers to attend the capital again and make their voices heard as MPs debate the issue.

Donations are being accepted to enable the protest to include a large mobile screen and sound system to display showreels and broadcast the debate.

Funds will also enable organisers to provide signs and placards to farmers, as well as banners and bale effigies of ministers.

Save British Farming said: "We will be returning to London, asking Starmer to 'change his tune' as MPs debate the 145,000-strong petition to overturn the family farm tax.

"Farmers are invited to come together and ensure we are heard and seen in Westminster to ensure parliament sees and hears us as they debate this important petition."

The central focus of this rally will be large Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves effigies on a bale trailer, according to protest organisers.

There will also be music, speeches and then a live broadcast of the debate as it happens in parliament.

Save British Farming added: "As always we are working with the Metropolitan Police who continue to work hard to ensure we can exercise our rights to campaign on this issue.

"Low loaders can be parked on Millbank and Tractors can access Whitehall via Trafalgar Square side to ensure they're all facing towards Parliament Square."

The news comes as a UK-wide day of action took place on Saturday (25 January), organised by the UK's four farming unions.

It saw farmers participate in events to demonstrate visual support for the unions' ongoing #StopTheFamilyFarmTax campaign.
Welsh television channel S4C has announced an expansion of its weather service specifically for the agricultural industry.

The bulletin will be broadcast following S4Cs weekly countryside and farming programme Ffermio (Farming), from today (27 January).

In addition to providing a detailed forecast for the coming week, it will give special attention to weather conditions that could impact farming activities and rural life.

The new extended bulletin will run as a two-month pilot following discussions between the broadcaster's weather production team.

Individuals from the agriculture industry were also consulted on regarding useful additional content, S4C said.

Sharen Griffith, head of news, said the weather was vitally important to farmers and rural communities in Wales.

"We hope the extended bulletin will provide a valuable forecast for our viewers," she added.

The bulletin will also be shared on S4C Weather's social media platforms on Facebook and X, as well as on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer for 24 hours after the bulletin.
Tan France will make his acting debut in 'Deli Boys'.

Tan France is to make his acting debut in Deli Boys

The 'Queer Eye' star will have a guest role in Hulu's upcoming comedy series and the 41-year-old stylist can't wait for people to see him in action.

He announced on his Instagram Story: Its @hulu official. I joined @deliboyshulu for my first acting role ever. I cannot wait for you to see this INCREDIBLE show!(sic)"

According to Variety, the 'Next in Fashion' host will play Zubair, a British Pakistani South London gang leader who is described as smart, intimidating and dressed to kill.

'Deli Boys' - which will premiere on 6 March - stars Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh and Poorna Jaganathan and sees a pair of "pampered" brothers lose everything when their convenience store-magnate father dies suddenly, leading them to uncover his secret life of crime and make an attempt to take on his position in the underworld.

Tan previously hailed his 'Next in Fashion' co-host Gigi his "angel" because of the support she showed when he and husband Rob France had their children.

The designer - who has Ismail, three, and 20-month-old Isaac with his spouse - told E! News: "I called her a lot the first few months of having a kid.

"She was the first person other than my literal family - my biological family, and I consider Gigi a sister.

"My biological family I told first, and then Gigi was the first friend I called. And then the next day, there was a care package at my house with all the essentials that I will need to get me through the first few months. Yeah, she's my angel. I love her."

Tan is happy to place his trust in Gigi - who has four-year-old daughter Khai with former partner Zayn Malik - and they've developed a close bond over recent years.

He said: "We're close-close. We're not just colleagues who do a show together. I trust her more than I do most people."

READ MORE: FIFA announces Womens World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis as new chief football officer
King Charles has marked International Holocaust Memorial Day by warning of the dangers of "evil" being "allowed to flourish".

King Charles has attended the event in Poland

The 76-year-old monarch attended a service at the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow, Poland, on Monday (27.01.25) , and Charles warned that evil cannot be allowed to be "ignored for too long".

In his speech, Charles said: "To be in Poland on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, as we commemorate eighty years since the liberation of Auschwitz, is both a sombre and indeed a sacred moment.

"It is a moment when we recall the six million Jews, old and young, who were systematically murdered, together with Sinti, Roma, disabled people, members of the LGBT community, political prisoners, and so many others upon whom the Nazis inflicted their violence and hatred.

"It is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world. And it is a moment when we recall the powerful testimonies of survivors such as Lily Ebert, who so sadly passed away in October, and who collectively taught us to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate."

Charles has also laid a wreath at the memorial site in Auschwitz, the former Nazi concentration camp where more than one million people were killed during World War Two.

Elsewhere, the Prince and Princess of Wales have met with Holocaust survivors at an event in central London.

In a speech, William said: "Their bravery, in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of their lives, are extremely powerful and ensure that we never forget. I assure them we never will."
Vietnams export of footwear and leather products reached $27.04 billion in value last yeara year-on-year (YoY) increase of 11.45 per cent, according to the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO).

Export of footwear increased by 13.16 per cent YoY to $23.24 billion, while export of suitcases and bags stood at $3.8 billionup by 9.7 per cent YoY.

Vietnam's footwear and leather products export reached $27.04 billion in value in 2024a YoY rise of 11.45 per cent, the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association said. Export of footwear increased by 13.16 per cent YoY to $23.24 billion, while export of suitcases and bags stood at $3.8 billionup by 9.7 per cent YoY. The US was the biggest importer of Vietnamese footwear products.

The United States was the biggest importer of Vietnamese footwear products, with a 36.5-per cent market share in the first 11 months of 2024, followed by the European Union (EU), China, Japan and South Korea.

However, value addition by domestic producers was limited, as they primarily engaged in contract manufacturing and relied heavily on raw materials imported from China, South Korea and countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc, a domestic news outlet reported.

The sector targets to raise export value to around $29 billion this yearup by 10 per cent YoY.

Local enterprises have approached e-commerce platforms like Alibaba and Amazon to open up more consumption channels.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
At the World Economic Forum's annual summit in Davos recently, Bangladeshs chief adviser Muhammad Yunus invited global investors to invest more in his country, which has an improved business and investment climate now.

"We have always been saying Bangladesh is ready for an enhanced investment," the chief adviser's press secretary Shafiqul Alam told reporters.

At the World Economic Forum's annual summit in Davos recently, Bangladesh's chief adviser Muhammad Yunus invited global investors to invest more in his country. DP World and A.P. Moller-Maersk expressed keen interest in investing in a big way in Bangladesh's shipping industries to help the country build new ports and turn a major global export hub. Yunus met the chairmen of both the firms there.

Bangladesh has eased condition on investment and improved capacity of the Chittagong port, Alam said.

Yunus met Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of DP World Group, a Dubai-based multinational logistics company; Nick Clegg, president, global affairs, Meta Platforms Inc.; and Robert Maersk Uggla, chairman of A.P. Moller-Maersk, at Davos, a domestic news agency reported.

DP World and A.P. Moller-Maersk expressed keen interest in investing in a big way in Bangladesh's shipping industries to help the country build new ports and turn a major global export hub.

The DP World CEO said his company wants to invest in the New Mooring Container Terminal to reduce congestion in the Chittagong Port and reduce emission to raise efficiency. He also said his company wants to introduce a digital online customs procedure in Chittagong Port, which would help reduce corruption drastically, and invest in inland container depots in Bangladesh.

Uggla said his company wants to invest in the Laldia container terminal near Chittagong Port, and transform it into a green port.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
During discussions on trade and economic ties in Damascus recently, Syria and Turkiye agreed to reassess customs tariffs on certain products to facilitate smoother bilateral trade.

Both sides also agreed to start talks to re-enact the free trade agreement (FTA) suspended in 2011, when the civil war started in Syria, the Turkish trade ministry said in a statement.

During discussions on trade and economic ties in Damascus recently, Syria and Turkiye agreed to reassess customs tariffs on certain products. Both sides also agreed to start talks to revive the FTA suspended in 2011, when the civil war started in Syria. Since the opposition forces ousted dictator Bashar Assad last month, Turkiye has pledged to help Syria's reconstruction and economic revival.

Though media reported recently that customs tariffs on Turkish imports had been raised by 300-500 per cent, the ministry clarified that the newly implemented tariff system, effective as of January 11, was not exclusive to Turkish goods but applied equally across all borders and customs administrations.

Turkiye has been the primary backer of the opposition forces that ousted dictator Bashar Assad last month and has since pledged to help Syria's reconstruction and economic revival.

Syria-Turkiye volume stood at $2.3 billion in 2010, before the civil war broke out, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. In 2012, the trade volume plummeted to $565 million. It increased over the years but never achieved pre-2011 levels. Turkiye exported goods worth over $1.95 billion to Syria last year.

The discussions also identified key areas for cooperation, including trade in industrial and agricultural products, transit and bilateral transportation and contracting and construction services to revive the Syrian economy, media outlets in Turkiye reported citing the statement.

Turkish firms, which had so far provided services only to certain regions of Syria, will now have opportunities to operate throughout the country and evaluate investment potential in coordination with the Syrian administration, the statement said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
WESTON (dpa-AFX) - Eisai Co., Ltd. (ESALF.PK) and Biogen Inc. (BIIB) announced Sunday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the Supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for lecanemab-irmb, marketed as LEQEMBI in the U.S., to be administered once every four weeks.LEQEMBI is prescribed for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or in the early dementia stage of the disease, collectively known as early AD, in the U.S. After an initial treatment phase lasting 18 months, during which the drug is administered once every two weeks, patients may transition to a maintenance dosing regimen of 10 mg/kg every four weeks, or they may continue with the biweekly dosing regimen.LEQEMBI is approved in the U.S., Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Israel, UAE, Great Britain, Mexico and Macau. In November 2024, the treatment received a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommending approval. Eisai has submitted applications for approval of lecanemab in 17 countries and regions. Additionally, the FDA accepted Eisai's Supplemental Biologics License (BLA) for the LEQEMBI subcutaneous autoinjector for weekly maintenance dosing in January 2025 and set a PDUFA action date for August 31, 2025.Eisai serves as the lead for lecanemab's development and regulatory submissions globally with both Eisai and Biogen co-commercializing and co-promoting the product and Eisai having final decision-making authority.For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com.BIIB closed Friday's regular trading at $146.20 up $2.53 or 1.76%.Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedCopyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


EQS Newswire / 27/01/2025 / 10:05 MSK



Solidcore Resources plc ("Solidcore" or the "Company") announces that Abdulmonem Mohammed Al-Murshidi has been appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director effective 24 January 2025, bringing the Board to eight members, including six independent directors.

"We are very pleased to welcome Mr Al-Murshidi to the Board. With over 12 years of proven leadership experience in mining and other industries in Oman, he brings a wealth of relevant expertise, strengthening the Board's skill profile and its contribution to the Company's ambitious growth strategy", said Omar Bahram, Chair of the Company's Board of Directors.

Abdulmonem Mohammed Al-Murshidi

Mr Al-Murshidi has over 30 years' experience in mining, oil & gas, manufacturing, and construction. He has served as the CEO of Oman Chromite Company, a publicly listed chrome mining company based in the Sultanate of Oman, since July 2022. As the CEO, he successfully restructured the company and increased production to five times its historical average, turning around the company's financials.

For seven years prior to this, he was the Deputy CEO of Vale Oman Pelletizing Plant, part of a joint venture between Brazilian mining corporation Vale (70%) and Oman Oil (30%), serving as a hub for raw iron ore storage and distribution across the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. As the Deputy CEO, he directly managed activities across business development, corporate affairs, and health and safety.

Before joining Vale Oman Pelletizing Plant in 2013, he held the position of General Manager at the Gulfstone Company, a manufacturer of agglomerated engineered stone, listed on the Muscat Security Market. Mr Al-Murshidi started his career in 1995 as a petroleum engineer. Abdulmonem holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.

Current directorships: Chairman of Gulf Alloys Company (2023-present), a manufacturer of low carbon ferrochrome located in Sohar Free Zone.

Past directorships: Deputy Chairman of Gulf Stone Company (2022-2023), and Board Member at Sohar University Board of Trustees (2015-2020).

There is no further information required to be disclosed under Rule MDR, appendix 1, section 6.2.5 - 6.2.6 of the AIX Market Disclosure Rules.

About Solidcore

Solidcore Resources is a leading gold producer registered in AIFC, Kazakhstan, and listed on Astana International Exchange. Solidcore operates two producing gold mines and a major growth project in Kazakhstan.

Enquiries

Investor Relations Media Kirill Kuznetsov Alina Assanova +7 7172 47 66 55 (Kazakhstan) ir@solidcore-resources.com Yerkin Uderbay +7 7172 47 66 55 (Kazakhstan) media@solidcore-resources.kz

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this release. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words "targets", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may", "anticipates", "would", "could" or "should" or similar expressions or, in each case their negative or other variations or by discussion of strategies, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward-looking statements all include matters that are not historical facts. By their nature, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the company's control that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the company's present and future business strategies and the environment in which the company will operate in the future. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. There are many factors that could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. The company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

27/01/2025 Dissemination of a Marketing Press Release, transmitted by EQS News.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



Media archive at www.todayir.com


Dr Heather Preston, seasoned healthcare investor with over 30 years' experience as a scientist, physician, management consultant, and Board adviser, joins as Chair

Funding recognises Harness' significant progress in unexplored targets for CNS disease and accelerates selection of clinical candidate for lead programme (FAN1) in Huntington's Disease

Harness' unique approach builds on recent research published in Nature Medicine and Cell





Cambridge, UK, 27 January 2025: Harness Therapeutics ('Harness'), a biotechnology company unlocking previously undruggable targets to transform the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, today announces it has appointed Dr Heather Preston as new Non-Executive Chair, and has secured further funding to progress its lead programme in Huntington's Disease. This brings on board pharmaceutical investor Ono Ventures Investment, joined by existing investors, Takeda Ventures, SV Health Investors' Dementia Discovery Fund and Epidarex Capital.

Heather brings over 30 years of experience in healthcare as a scientist, physician and management consultant and she has been an investor in life sciences and biotechnology for more than 20 years. She is a Non-Executive Director at Oxford Biomedica and also sits on the Board of Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Aligos Therapeutics. In addition, she is a Senior Adviser to TPG Biotech. Dr Preston holds a degree in Medicine from the University of Oxford. Her appointment further enhances the Company's leadership team, following the recent Board appointment of Dr Paulo Fontoura, former head of Neuroscience Development at Roche.

Harness' technology represents a new treatment paradigm for neurodegenerative diseases enabling a controlled increase of target protein levels (upregulation), allowing drugging of targets in complex pathways, which can address disease pathology at the source. This approach is unlocking the potential of well understood targets, which have previously been undruggable and could transform the course of these diseases.

The Company's lead programme, in Huntington's Disease (HD), targets FAN1 nuclease, a protective protein with compelling genetics linking higher levels of FAN1 to delays in disease onset. Harness aims to create a more effective treatment for HD by targeting the DNA-expansion process itself, rather than focusing on individual toxic products as previous approaches have done. This strategy slows the mechanism that drives multiple toxicities associated with HD with the aim of delaying disease onset and subsequent progression. Recently published research in leading peer-reviewed journals Nature Medicine1 and Cell2 have demonstrated this link between somatic DNA-repeat expansion and disease progression.

In preclinical studies using patient-derived neuronal models, Harness has achieved FAN1 upregulation through its translational modulators, based on novel antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). Preparations are now underway for CTA/IND enabling studies to commence in 2025, with Phase I/II trial initiation planned for 2026.

Harness continues to deliver strong scientific progress across its proprietary CNS upregulation platform and has initiated development of its second programme targeting nuclear import receptors for ALS and Alzheimer's Disease. The Company plans to initiate a third programme on an undisclosed target for Parkinson's Disease (PD) in the first half of 2025.

Dr Jan Thirkettle, CEO of Harness Therapeutics said: "We are delighted to welcome Heather as our new Chair. She has a wealth of experience as an investor and in building successful biotechnology companies and her appointment, alongside the recent funds raised, will play an important role as we prepare to initiate clinical development next year. I would like to extend my gratitude to Meenu Chhabra Karson, the previous Chair, for her contribution to the Company in its formative stages. We have made substantial headway to date and have a strong growth trajectory as we enter the next chapter. The team remains focussed on progressing our HD programme to candidate selection and the clinic, and developing our pipeline."

Dr Heather Preston, Chair of Harness Therapeutics said: "There is building momentum in the neurodegenerative field, driven by breakthroughs in the understanding of disease biology, particularly in Huntington's Disease, and I am excited to join Harness during this critical time. Harness' unique approach is ideally positioned to capitalise on this research and transform the treatment paradigm for this disease. I look forward to working with the talented team and bringing my experience in building and growing healthcare companies to the table at this pivotal moment in the Company's evolution."

Dr Shunichiro Matsumoto, President & CEO of Ono Ventures Investment said: "There is a clear and urgent need for effective new therapy options for neurodegenerative disorders, and for technologies which can enable targets involved in complex biology to be modulated with control. We are excited by the prospect of Harness' unique platform and first-mover advantage with its targets. Its approach in modulating targets that address the underlying cause of the disease opens many new opportunities."

-ENDS-

About Harness Therapeutics



Harness Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on unlocking previously undruggable targets to transform the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Its technology drives controlled and precise upregulation of target protein levels by modulating the mechanisms controlling protein synthesis. Using its deep understanding of post-transcriptional regulation and sophisticated neuron-based models, Harness' approach allows drugging of potentially disease-modifying targets, which would not be addressable using gene therapy or other modalities.

Its lead programme, in Huntington's Disease, targets FAN1 nuclease, a key protective protein in slowing disease progression. Its pipeline also includes programmes targeting nuclear import receptors for ALS and Alzheimer's Disease, and the Company has plans to initiate a third programme for Parkinson's Disease.

Harness has assembled a world-class team, supported by an SAB of leading experts in HD and RNA biology, and is based in Cambridge, UK. Its leading life science investors include the foundational investors Takeda Ventures and SV Health Investors' Dementia Discovery Fund, alongside Epidarex Capital and Ono Ventures Investment.

For more information, please visit https://www.harnesstx.com/and follow us on LinkedIn.

For further information, please contact:

ICR Healthcare

Amber Fennell, Stephanie Cuthbert, Alex Harrison

Tel: +44 20 3709 5700

Email: harnesstx@icrinc.com

1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03424-6

2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.038
All amounts expressed in US dollars

LUMWANA, Zambia, Jan. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD)(TSX:ABX) has reaffirmed its commitment to Zambia's economic growth, contributing over $3.7 billion since 2019. In 2024 alone, Lumwana's operations contributed $887 million to the economy through royalties, taxes, salaries and procurement of goods and services, solidifying its position as one of the nation's top five taxpayers. Copper production for 2024 was within guidance, supported by investments in operator training and an upgraded ultra-class fleet.

Lumwana remains a leader in advancing local content, with 72% of the $906 million spent on goods and services in 2024 going to Zambian suppliers and contractors. This brings the total spend on local goods and services to $2.5 billion since 2019. The company's Business Accelerator Programme is further building capacity, targeting 150 SMEs to support the upcoming Superpit expansion.

The Lumwana expansion will double its current copper production to a life-of-mine average of 240kt a year with an additional 2,500 construction workers to be employed over the construction period through to 2028.1 In addition to this, the expansion is set to create a further 550 permanent roles. To meet these demands, Lumwana is extending its Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA) accredited training centre to equip local workers with critical skills. Currently, 99% of Lumwana's employees are Zambian nationals, a testament to Barrick's focus on sustainable workforce development.

"We are transforming the surrounding Kalumbila District into a mining-powered economic hub that will endure beyond Lumwana's expanded life of mine," said Barrick president and CEO Mark Bristow, speaking from Lumwana. Plans include new employee housing in the Manyama town, an industrial supplier park and an airport which is expected to be operational by the end of 2025. The master plan, developed in collaboration with local authorities, aligns with Zambia's integrated development strategy.

Barrick is actively supporting Zambia's ambition to increase copper output to 3Mt by 2031 through its Lumwana expansion and securing further exploration licenses in the Northern Province. Additionally, the company is supporting Zambia's power challenges in collaboration with ZESCO. Since September 2024, Lumwana's co-generation initiatives have reduced its reliance on the grid, helping to alleviate the supply-demand gap. A joint working group, led by Barrick, is now focused on upgrading the northwestern power corridor, benefiting mines, local communities and domestic consumers alike.

Barrick's vision for Lumwana extends beyond mining ensuring the benefits of its investments endure well into the future.

Barrick Enquiries

Group investor and media relations

Kathy du Plessis

+44 20 7557 7738

barrick@dpapr.com

Website: www.barrick.com

Zambia Country Manager

Anthony Malenga

+260 977 730 513

Endnote 1

Life of Mine planned tonnes and other production metrics in this press release represent forward-looking information and depend on inputs that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those presented. Barrick does not currently identify Lumwana as a material property. Barrick is in the process of re-evaluating Lumwana's status as a potential material property following the completion of the feasibility of Expansion Project and the preparation of updated mineral reserves and resources estimates for Lumwana as of December 31, 2024. A Technical Report will be prepared in accordance with Form 43-101F1 and filed on SEDAR+ within 45 days of the disclosure of the results of the feasibility study if Lumwana is classified as a material property.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

Certain information contained or incorporated by reference in this press release, including any information as to our strategy, projects, plans or future financial or operating performance, constitutes "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The words "expect", "strategy", "estimates", "target", "plan", "guidance", "project", "additional", "growth", "potential", "future", "focus", "will", and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements including, without limitation, with respect to: Barrick's forward-looking production guidance; Barrick's Lumwana Super Pit expansion project and its ability to extend Lumwana's life of mine; global projected copper production and demand profiles; estimated copper production from the Lumwana Super Pit expansion, including projected mining rates; the financial performance of the Lumwana Super Pit expansion; the estimated capital budget for the Lumwana Super Pit expansion; anticipated timelines for delivery of the feasibility study, project construction, first production, and key execution timeframes for the Lumwana Super Pit expansion; our ability to convert resources into reserves and replace reserves net of depletion from production; estimates of future costs, mine life and production rates; Barrick's strategy, plans, targets and goals in respect of environmental and social governance issues, including local community development and, climate change initiatives, health and safety and biodiversity initiatives; electrical grid upgrades and stability; and expectations regarding future price assumptions, financial performance and other outlook or guidance.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions including material estimates and assumptions related to the factors set forth below that, while considered reasonable by the Company as at the date of this press release in light of management's experience and perception of current conditions and expected developments, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements and information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold, copper or certain other commodities (such as silver, diesel fuel, natural gas and electricity); risks associated with projects in the early stages of evaluation and for which additional engineering and other analysis is required; risks related to the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, that quantities or grades of reserves will be diminished, and that resources may not be converted to reserves; risks associated with the fact that certain of the initiatives described in this press release are still in the early stages and may not materialize; changes in mineral production performance, exploitation and exploration successes; risks that exploration data may be incomplete and considerable additional work may be required to complete further evaluation, including but not limited to drilling, engineering and socioeconomic studies and investment; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; lack of certainty with respect to foreign legal systems, corruption and other factors that are inconsistent with the rule of law; disruption of supply routes which may cause delays in construction and mining activities, including disruptions in the supply of key mining inputs due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and conflicts in the Middle East; risk of loss due to acts of war, terrorism, sabotage and civil disturbances; risks associated with artisanal and illegal mining; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and/or changes in the administration of laws, policies and practices; expropriation or nationalization of property and political or economic developments in Zambia or other countries in which Barrick does or may carry on business in the future; risks relating to political instability in certain of the jurisdictions in which Barrick operates; timing of receipt of, or failure to comply with, necessary permits and approvals; non-renewal of or failure to obtain key licenses by governmental authorities; failure to comply with environmental and health and safety laws and regulations; increased costs and physical and transition risks related to climate change, including extreme weather events, resource shortages, emerging policies and increased regulations relating to greenhouse gas emission levels, energy efficiency and reporting of risks; Barrick's ability to achieve its sustainability goals, including its climate-related goals and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties, or over access to water, power and other required infrastructure; the liability associated with risks and hazards in the mining industry, and the ability to maintain insurance to cover such losses; damage to the Company's reputation due to the actual or perceived occurrence of any number of events, including negative publicity with respect to the Company's handling of environmental matters or dealings with community groups, whether true or not; risks related to operations near communities that may regard Barrick's operations as being detrimental to them; litigation and legal and administrative proceedings; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities, including geotechnical challenges, tailings dam and storage facilities failures, and disruptions in the maintenance or provision of required infrastructure and information technology systems; increased costs, delays, suspensions and technical challenges associated with the construction of capital projects; risks associated with working with partners in jointly controlled assets; risks related to disruption of supply routes which may cause delays in construction and mining activities; risks associated with Barrick's infrastructure, information technology systems and the implementation of Barrick's technological initiatives, including risks related to cybersecurity incidents, including those caused by computer viruses, malware, ransomware and other cyberattacks, or similar information technology system failures, delays and/or disruptions; the potential to convert all or part of the mineral resource for the Super Pit expansion into a mineral reserve following the completion of the feasibility study; risks related to competition in the mining industry; employee relations including loss of key employees; availability and increased costs associated with mining inputs and labor; and risks associated with diseases, epidemics and pandemics. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and gold bullion, copper cathode or gold or copper concentrate losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks).

Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, us. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Specific reference is made to the most recent Form 40-F/Annual Information Form on file with the SEC and Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities for a more detailed discussion of some of the factors underlying forward-looking statements and the risks that may affect Barrick's ability to achieve the expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Barrick disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
Hytera Communications (SZSE: 002583), a leading global provider of professional communications technologies and solutions, is thrilled to announce its participation in the Mobile World Congress 2025 (MWC25), taking place from March 3rd to 6th, 2025, at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain. Hytera will bring its mission-critical portfolio across multiple protocols such as 4G/5G, Mission Critical Services (MCX), and Push-to-talk over Cellular (PoC or PTToC), as well as Body-worn Camera (BWC) and Digital Evidence Management (DEM).

As one of the most influential events in the mobile and telecommunications industry, MWC25 will bring together the world's top innovators, technology companies, and industry leaders, offering immense value by facilitating collaboration and fostering innovation across the global mobile ecosystem. At Booth 6G44, Hytera will not only showcase the latest advancement in its broadband communication solutions MCX communication solution, PoC solution, and Body Camera DEM Solution, but also debut its 5G mission-critical ruggedized smart device PNC660, which is designed to meet the high demands of public safety and industrial users. Compliant with 3GPP standards, PNC660 supports MCPTT, MCVideo, and MCData, offering seamless voice, video, and data communication.

Under the theme "Converge. Connect. Create.", MWC25 will explore groundbreaking advancements in mobile technology, 5G, IoT, AI, and other emerging technologies. The event provides a dynamic platform for companies to showcase their latest innovations, discuss industry trends, and demonstrate how new technologies are shaping the future of industries and societies.

Hytera aims to engage with industry leaders and professionals to discuss how communication technologies are driving transformation in sectors such as public safety, public protection and disaster relief (PPDR), utilities, transportation, and industries.

Stay tuned for more details, and visit Hytera's official website for updates and further information on the event: https://www.hytera.com/en/media-center/event/mwc2025.html

Click here to register for the new product launch webinar: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7420364727085559640

About Hytera

Hytera Communications Corporation Limited (SZSE: 002583) is a leading global provider of professional communications technologies and solutions. With voice, video, and data capabilities, we provide faster, safer, and more versatile connectivity for business and mission-critical users. We make the world more efficient and safer by enabling our customers to achieve more in both daily operations and emergency response.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250126793857/en/

Contacts:

lele.yao@hytera.com
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2025) - =Core Nickel Corp. (CSE: CNCO) ("Core Nickel" or the "Company") is pleased to share its 2024 Year-End Review, highlighting transformative growth in exploration, corporate development, and sustainability initiatives. The Company also provides insight into its strategic objectives for 2025, building upon its position as a leader in responsibly sourced Canadian nickel. Highlights of the Company's 2024 achievements are provided below, but the full Shareholder Letter can be found on our website here. We encourage shareholders, stakeholders, and interested parties to review the letter for a comprehensive overview of our progress and future plans. Stay up-to-date on the latest news and developments by subscribing to the Company's newsletter here.

HIGHLIGHTS

Strong Capital Structure

Raised approximately $3.7 million in 2024, including $207,000 in non-dilutive critical minerals grants from the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund (MMDF)

Management and Directors participated in recent financings and have been actively buying in the market; now collectively own approximately 28% of the Company's shares (~42% fully diluted)

Advancements at Mel Deposit

The Mel deposit has a historical mineral resource consisting of indicated resource of 4.28 million tons grading 0.875% nickel (Ni), and inferred resource of 1.01 million tons grading 0.839% Ni, at a cut-off of 0.5% Ni

The Mel deposit has the potential to be one of the highest-grade undeveloped nickel deposits in North America and is located only 25 km from Vale's operating Thompson mill complex

Planned helicopter-borne VTEM survey in January of 2025 will assist with identifying new targets for potential resource expansion and additional high priority targets on the Mel project

Core Nickel has engaged Understood Mineral Resources Ltd. to assist in the development of the Mel deposit for the purposes of creating an updated, current Mineral Resource for the project in the near to medium term

A resampling and reanalysis program will be implemented to verify and validate the historical results from the Mel deposit

Successful Halfway Lake Program

Inaugural drill program intersected 91 metres grading 0.37% nickel from a vertical depth of ~120 metres

2024 VTEM survey identified 14 high-priority targets, showcasing the property's strong discovery potential

The Company will be conducting a 4,000-5,000 metre drill program commencing in January 2025 to test these high-priority targets

AI & Machine Learning Integration

Partnership with OracleAI Corp to analyze multi-layered exploration data using advanced AI; refining existing targets and defining new ones

Strengthened Leadership Team

Appointment of Paul Reid and Marc Pais to the Board of Directors, adding significant expertise in exploration, project development, and corporate strategy

Marketing & Listing Plans for 2025

Partnerships with Junior Mining Network LLC (JMN) and Chinese Investment Club Inc. (CICI) to enhance global visibility

Attended the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) in January 2025; plans to attend PDAC and CCMEC as well as targeted roadshows to meet investors

Advancing an uplisting to the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) and concurrent OTCQB listing to broaden market access

Misty Urbatsch, CEO, President, and Director of Core Nickel, commented, "Our first full year as an independent company has been truly monumental. We have taken bold steps forward-advancing high-grade nickel projects, strengthening our team, and committing to sustainable mineral development. With strong insider ownership and a well-funded capital structure, we're exceptionally positioned to expand our resource base. We thank our shareholders for their unwavering support and look forward to the exciting milestones ahead in 2025."

Core Nickel will be attending the PDAC and CCMEC conferences in 2025. Stop by our booth or email us at info@corenickel.com to schedule a meeting - we would love the opportunity to share our vision and hear your thoughts in person.

About Core Nickel

Core Nickel Corp. is a junior nickel exploration company that controls 100% of five projects in the prolific nickel district, the Thompson Nickel Belt (TNB) in Northern Manitoba, Canada. The five projects consist of approximately 27,000 hectares of land that is proximal to existing infrastructure, including highways, railways, major hydroelectric transmission lines, and operating mills.





Map: Core Nickel's Thompson Nickel Belt Properties

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10145/238495_176739cb94d50b92_001full.jpg

Core Nickel has a large contiguous land package in the northern part of the TNB, situated approximately 15-20 km from the City of Thompson. Core Nickel's northern TNB land package consists of three projects: Mel, Hunter, and Odei River. The Mel project encompasses the Mel deposit, which is characterized by a historical mineral resource consisting of an indicated resource of 4,279,000 tons grading 0.875% Ni, plus an inferred resource of 1,010,000 tons grading 0.839% Ni, at a cut-off of 0.5% Ni.1 The target stratigraphy (Pipe Formation) that hosts the Mel deposit, and other deposits in the Thompson Nickel Belt, extend onto the Hunter and Odei River projects and drillhole intersections into the target stratigraphy on the Hunter project have successfully intersected anomalous nickel.

The Company also holds two projects in the central TNB near Wabowden: Halfway Lake and Resting Lake. Both projects host the target Pipe Formation associated with known elevated nickel mineralization and are proximal to existing nickel deposits, mills, and other infrastructure.

The Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for this news release is Caitlin Glew, P. Geo., Vice-President Exploration for Core Nickel Corp., who has reviewed and approved its contents.

References

1 "Technical Report on the Mel Deposit, Northern Manitoba" prepared for Victory Nickel Inc, Shane Naccashian (P. Geo.) of Wardrop Engineering Inc., March 9, 2007

Mel Historical Mineral Resource

Core Nickel Corporation is treating the 2007 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) prepared for Victory Nickel Inc. by Shane Naccashian (P. Geo.) of Wardrop Engineering Inc. as a "historical mineral resource" under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and the reader is cautioned not to treat it, or any part of it, as a current mineral resource. Core Nickel has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource.

The historical MRE summarized above has been included simply to demonstrate the mineral potential of the Mel deposit and the Mel project. Core Nickel considers the 2007 MRE to be relevant to the further development of the project; however, is not treating the historical estimate as a current mineral resource. The historical MRE was calculated in accordance with NI 43-101 and CIM standards at the time of publication and predates the current CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (May 2014) and CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources & Mineral Reserves Best Practices Guidelines (November, 2019).

To upgrade or verify the 2007 historical estimate as current, Core Nickel will need to complete a thorough review of all the 2007 historical MRE information and drill data, along with the incorporation of subsequent exploration work and results, which includes some drilling around the edges of the historical MRE subsequent to the publication of the resource. Additionally, a full review of the economic parameters utilized to determine current Reasonable Prospectus for Eventual Economic Extraction (RPEEE) would be required in order to produce a current MRE for the Property. Any future mineral resource will need to evaluate the open pit and/or underground potential taking into consideration the current cost and pricing conditions or constraints, along with continuity of the resource blocks.

Technical Disclosure

The historical results contained within this news release have been captured from Manitoba Integrated Mining and Quarrying System ("iMaQs") as available and may be incomplete or subject to minor location inaccuracies. Management cautions that historical results were collected and reported by past operators and have not been verified nor confirmed by a Qualified Person but form a basis for ongoing work on the subject projects.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Misty Urbatsch"

Misty Urbatsch

CEO, President and Director

Core Nickel Corp.

Contacts:

Also find us online:

Website: www.corenickel.com

X: https://x.com/CoreNickel

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulations services accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking information

All statements included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions made by the Company based on its experience, perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. In addition, these statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will prove inaccurate, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to revise or update these forward-looking statements after the date hereof or revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/238495

SOURCE: Core Nickel Corp.
Establish seven Digital Learning Centers and create high-quality content for teachers and children, available through Infosys Springboard

BENGALURU, India, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced a critical milestone in its three-year collaboration with Street Child, an international children's charity, with the establishment of seven Digital Learning Centers (DLCs) to address the educational challenges faced by children in crisis-affected areas of Ukraine.

This collaboration addresses the profound disruption to Ukraine's education system caused by the ongoing conflict, which has affected over 3,700 educational institutions and destroying 365 schools, as reported by Save the Children. The conflict has forced roughly 1.9 million children - nearly half of Ukraine's school-aged population - to rely on partial or fully remote learning solutions. Recognizing this critical need, Infosys joined hands with Street Child in 2024 to launch two impactful initiatives: creating DLCs-secured physical spaces equipped for online learning and a Digital Transformation program, leveraging Infosys Springboard, Infosys' flagship digital learning platform, to provide tailored courses for students and teachers.

Initially focused on creating and renovating five DLCs in Dnipropetrovsk, an Oblast in Eastern Ukraine receiving less international aid due to its proximity to the front line, the collaboration remarkably delivered seven within 12 months into the engagement. Notably, one center was renovated by an all-female team of contractors, as conscription limited the availability of male workers.

Launched in September 2024, these centers have already served over 1,000 children in their first three months of operations. Each center is equipped with laptops, high-speed internet, multimedia projectors, educational materials, security systems, and accessibility features such as wheelchair ramps and modified bathrooms. Additionally, designated spaces for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) provide critical support to young learners.

The Digital Transformation program focuses on preserving Ukraine's cultural identity by offering courses in Ukrainian Language and Geography for Grades 5 and 6. For teachers, topics such as Cybersecurity and Anti-Corruption are addressed through specially developed courses, aligning seamlessly with Ukraine's national educational platform, All Ukrainian Online. Together, these initiatives are helping build a robust and resilient educational foundation for both students and teachers.

Tom Dannatt, CEO & Co-Founder, Street Child, said, "At Street Child, we're working to create a world where every child is safe, in school and learning. Unfortunately, the reality for Ukrainian children is that a significant number of them cannot attend a physical classroom, and so we're focusing efforts on where we can make the biggest difference. In this case, that means making the most of digital education. Although we're still in the early stages, we're proud to have worked with Infosys to support more than 1,000 children amid this terrible conflict. The early success of this scheme demonstrates the transformative potential to deliver quality education in many crisis-affected regions worldwide."

Thirumala Arohi, Executive Vice President, Head - Education, Training and Assessment, Infosys, said, "The collaboration between Infosys and Street Child is crucial as it directly addresses the devastating impact of the conflict on Ukraine's education system. With hundreds of schools destroyed and millions of children displaced or relying on remote learning, access to quality education has become a critical need. Infosys brings to this collaboration not only its technological expertise but also a deep commitment to social impact. Together with Street Child, we are providing tangible solutions through the establishment of seven Digital Learning Centers that offer secure physical spaces equipped with the necessary technology and are leveraging Infosys Springboard to enable a digital transformation program to offer tailored courses for effective online learning. This holistic approach empowers students to continue their education, supports teachers in adapting to new learning environments, and ultimately contributes to building a more resilient educational foundation for the future of Ukraine."

About Street Child

Street Child is one of the world's fastest-growing international children's charities, established in 2008. Street Child works to ensure children are safe, in school and learning even, and especially, in low resource environments and emergencies. The charity works with an expanding network of local organisations and a focus on the power and purpose of inspirational local level organisations sits at the heart of all they do - and has done so since the first partnership in Sierra Leone in 2008. Today Street Child works in over 25 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. We enable clients in more than 56 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by cloud and AI. We enable them with an AI-first core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, or our future financial or operating performance, are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the execution of our business strategy, increased competition for talent, our ability to attract and retain personnel, increase in wages, investments to reskill our employees, our ability to effectively implement a hybrid work model, economic uncertainties and geo-political situations, technological disruptions and innovations such as Generative AI, the complex and evolving regulatory landscape including immigration regulation changes, our ESG vision, our capital allocation policy and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity, capital resources, our corporate actions including acquisitions, and cybersecurity matters. Important factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our US Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/infosys-and-street-child-unite-to-enable-access-to-quality-education-in-ukraine-with-digital-innovation-302360661.html
OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - Newmont Corporation (NEM, NGT.TO) said it has agreed to sell its Porcupine operation in Ontario, Canada to Discovery Silver Corp. for up to $425 million in total consideration. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025. Newmont expects to receive gross proceeds of up to $425 million, which includes: cash consideration of $200 million, due upon closing; equity consideration of $75 million in the form of Discovery shares, to be issued upon closing; and deferred cash consideration of $150 million.Newmont said, upon closing the sale of the Porcupine operation and the previously announced transactions, it will deliver up to $4.3 billion in total proceeds from non-core asset divestitures and investments.Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedCopyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Green Leaf Innovations, Inc. (OTC PINK:GRLF), a leader in the premium cigar industry, welcomes the recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to uphold the vacatur of the FDA's "deeming rule" for premium cigars. This landmark ruling prevents the FDA from imposing overreaching regulations on premium cigars, a development that will significantly benefit the industry and cigar enthusiasts nationwide.

The court's decision recognizes the unique characteristics of premium cigars and their distinction from other tobacco products, ensuring a more tailored approach to regulation. This outcome is a major victory for the premium cigar industry and affirms the dedication of industry leaders and advocates who have worked tirelessly to protect premium cigars from unnecessary restrictions.

"We applaud the court's decision, which safeguards the artisanal craft and cultural heritage of premium cigars," said Roberto Mederos, CEO of Green Leaf Innovations, Inc. "This ruling is not just a win for the industry but for the millions of cigar aficionados who appreciate the artistry, craftsmanship, and tradition of premium cigars. Green Leaf Innovations remains committed to delivering exceptional quality products and supporting the preservation of this rich heritage."

The ruling has the potential to reduce regulatory burdens, streamline operations, and foster innovation within the premium cigar industry. Green Leaf Innovations is confident that this decision will pave the way for growth and strengthen its position as a leader in the market.

Learn More About the Ruling.

For a detailed legal update on the court's decision and its implications for the premium cigar industry. Additional information about this case can be found by searching for "U.S. Court of Appeals FDA premium cigars ruling."

CIGAR ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA v. UNITED STATES FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (2025) | FindLaw

Additional information can be found on our websites http://www.greenleafinnovation.com or follow us on Green Leaf Innovations, Inc. $GRLF (@otcgrlf) / X.

For more information, press only:

Phone number: (800) 303-6268

Email: info@greenleafinnovation.com

About Green Leaf Innovations, Inc.

Green Leaf Innovations, Inc. is a premier distributor of handmade premium cigars, including renowned brands such as MEDEROS, MAL.CRI.AO, COCOA (MGE Antalya) CUBANACAN and TABACALERA SERRANO and others. With a commitment to excellence, Green Leaf Innovations is dedicated to delivering the finest products to cigar enthusiasts across the United States. The company is proud to support legislative efforts that protect the integrity of the premium cigar industry.

For press inquiries, please contact:

Media Contact:

Green Leaf Innovations, Inc.

Phone: (800) 303-6268

Email: info@greenleafinnovation.com

Safe Harbor Statement:

The information posted in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by use of the words "may," "will," "should," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "project," "intend," and similar expressions. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in press releases and other written materials, and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company cautions that these forward-looking statements are further qualified by other factors including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, effects of continued geopolitical unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, delays in completing various engineering and manufacturing programs, changes in customer order patterns, changes in product mix, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, shortages in components, production delays due to performance quality issues with outsourced components, and various other factors beyond the Company's control. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2025) - Sharp Therapeutics Corp. (TSXV: SHRX) ("Sharp" or the "Company"), a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company specializing in small molecule drugs to treat genetic diseases, is pleased to announce the successful completion of its previously announced consolidation of its common shares (the "Common Shares") on the basis of one (1) post-consolidation Common Share for every ten (10) pre-consolidation Common Shares, with any resulting fractional shares rounded up to the nearest whole number (the "Consolidation"). The Consolidation is now in effect and trading of the post-consolidation Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") commences effective January 27, 2025.

Letters of transmittal were mailed to registered shareholders of the Company with instructions on how to exchange their existing certificates or DRS statements for certificates or DRS statements representing post-Consolidation Common Shares. Beneficial shareholders who hold their Common Shares through an intermediary, such as a brokerage firm, bank, dealer or similar organization, should contact their intermediary for assistance with depositing their Common Shares.

The Consolidation was previously approved by shareholders at the Company's annual general and special meeting held on December 6, 2024. There was no name change in conjunction with the Consolidation, and the Company's trading symbol on the TSXV will remain the same. Additional documentation with respect to the Consolidation is posted under the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

About Sharp Therapeutics Corp.

Sharp is a pre-clinical stage company developing small-molecule therapeutics for genetic diseases. The Company's discovery platform combines novel high throughput screening technologies, with compound libraries computational optimized based on the physics and biology of cellular trafficking defects and allosteric activation of proteins. The platform produces small molecule compounds that restore activity in mutated proteins giving the potential to treat genetic disorders with conventional pill-based medicines.

For additional information on Sharp, please visit: www.sharptx.com.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. The words "may", "would", "could", "should", "potential", "will", "seek", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Such statements reflect Sharp's current views and intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to Sharp, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking information to vary from those described herein should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize. Should any factor affect Sharp in an unexpected manner, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, the actual results or events may differ materially from the results or events predicted. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, Sharp does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and Sharp undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/238525

SOURCE: Sharp Therapeutics Corp.
The European Commission is inviting the public to comment on how non-price criteria are specified in future renewable energy auctions. The call for feedback is open until Feb. 21, 2025. The European Commission has opened a public call requesting feedback on how non-price criteria are specified in future renewable energy auctions. The four-week long consultation, which opened last week, will gather feedback on the commission's draft implementing regulation that covers the assessment of and compliance with the pre-qualification and award criteria outlined for forthcoming auctions. It is part of ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Reinforces PureHealth's global presence through a strategic partnership with existing backer CVC Capital Partners ("CVC")

Hellenic Healthcare Group ("HHG") has grown strongly in recent years and is today a leading provider in European healthcare with 10 hospitals and 16 diagnostic centres across Greece and Cyprus

The acquisition once complete, will integrate HHG infrastructure and services into PureHealth's network, extending services to approximately 1.4 million patients annually

ABU DHABI, UAE, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- PureHealth Holding PJSC ("PureHealth" or "the Group") (ADX Symbol: PUREHEALTH), the largest healthcare group in the Middle East, has agreed to acquire a 60% stake in Hellenic Healthcare Group (HHG), the largest private healthcare provider in Greece and Cyprus, in a transaction that values HHG at USD 2.3 billion. HHG is currently owned 90% by CVC Capital Partners VI and 10% by the founder of HHG. PureHealth will acquire a 60% stake in HHG, with CVC Capital Partners retaining 35% ownership, while the remaining 5% stake in the company is held by the founder.

HHG has rapidly positioned itself as a leading provider in European healthcare in Greece and Cyprus, delivering advanced medical services across a network of 10 hospitals and 16 diagnostic centres across Greece and Cyprus. With a capacity of over 1,600 beds, the group serves approximately 1.4 million patients annually through a team of more than 6,700 healthcare professionals. HHG offers a full spectrum of medical specialties with expertise in complex fields such as oncology, cardiology, and neurosurgery, along with services including IVF treatments performing over 6,000 cycles annually and comprehensive homecare services.

PureHealth partnering with CVC in healthcare investments shows strength in PureHealth's international expansion plan. CVC is a leading global private markets manager with approximately USD 201 billion of assets under management. Funds managed or advised by CVC's private equity strategy are invested in approximately 130 companies worldwide, which have combined annual sales of over USD 166 billion and employ over 610,000 people. PureHealth and CVC will collaborate closely, combining their expertise to expand HHG into a larger organisation.

The Greek and Cypriot healthcare markets present a highly attractive, untapped opportunity, characterised by favourable growth prospects. A significant proportion of healthcare spending in Greece is out-of-pocket, indicating unmet demand and opportunities for private healthcare providers to fill critical gaps in accessibility and quality. The market dynamics are supported by a growing demand for advanced medical services, a rising focus on private healthcare solutions, and increasing investment in healthcare infrastructure.

The acquisition aligns with PureHealth's broader expansion strategy, leveraging its scale and capabilities to consolidate HHG's position in Greece. With a focus on driving innovation, operational excellence, and patient outcomes, PureHealth aims to set new benchmarks for healthcare delivery across its global network.

Hamad Al Hammadi, Chairman of PureHealth, said: "Our collaboration with international leaders like CVC highlights PureHealth's ability in driving growth at scale. The expansion into Europe through Hellenic Healthcare Group strengthens our position as a global healthcare leader and our commitment to delivering transformative care and setting new standards of excellence globally."

Shaista Asif, Group Chief Executive Officer at PureHealth, commented: "This acquisition represents a significant milestone in PureHealth's strategic expansion, reinforcing our presence in Europe and further solidifying our position as a leader in healthcare. Integrating HHG into our portfolio not only reinforces our position in Europe but also creates significant value for our group by contributing to revenue diversification, driving operational synergies, and strengthening our financial performance. This move aligns with our vision of becoming a global leader in healthcare, with more than 50% of our revenues originating outside the GCC."

Following completion of the transaction, CVC Capital Partners VI and HHG Management will retain a 40% stake in HHG, continuing as a strategic partners to support the Company's growth and transformation. This partnership ensures that HHG will benefit from the combined expertise, resources, and global networks of both PureHealth and CVC, driving operational excellence and unlocking further opportunities in the healthcare sector.

Alex Fotakidis, Partner and Head of Greece at CVC, added: "HHG's transformation under CVC reflects our unwavering commitment to creating value and fostering growth in our portfolio companies. We have a very strong management team who have built a quality organisation and we, together with our partners are looking forward to expanding the HHG platform to deliver better value to our patients. Partnering with PureHealth brings us closer to achieving our growth ambitions and making a meaningful impact on the communities we serve."

The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Further details will be announced upon completion.

PureHealth has consistently expanded its portfolio, establishing itself as a global healthcare leader. Last year, the group completed the acquisition Circle Health Group, the UK's largest independent operator of hospitals, for approximately USD 1.2bn. Additionally, PureHealth acquired a 26.05% stake in Ardent Health Services for USD 500mn in 2022 and supported its successful IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in July last year.

These strategic moves underscore PureHealth's ambition to diversify its revenue streams, enhance operational efficiencies, and deliver world-class healthcare solutions globally. Furthermore, it highlights PureHealth's international acquisition and value creation capabilities, demonstrating that all the assets acquired internationally by PureHealth have been from financial institutions and established counterparts. Ardent Health was acquired from Equity Group Investments, a US-based investment company founded by the late Sam Zell; Circle Health was purchased from Centene, a US-listed healthcare company; and now HHG has been acquired from CVC Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm in Europe.

About CVC

CVC is a leading global private markets manager with a network of 30 office locations throughout EMEA, the Americas, and Asia, with approximately 191 billion of assets under management. CVC has seven complementary strategies across private equity, secondaries, credit and infrastructure, for which CVC funds have secured commitments of approximately 240 billion from some of the world's leading pension funds and other institutional investors. Funds managed or advised by CVC's private equity strategy are invested in approximately 130 companies worldwide, which have combined annual sales of over 158 billion and employ over 610,000 people. For further information about CVC please visit: https://www.cvc.com/. Follow us on LinkedIn.

About PureHealth

By advancing the Science of Longevity, PureHealth is introducing the healthcare of the future from the United Arab Emirates to the rest of the world. PureHealth is the largest healthcare group in the Middle East with an ecosystem that challenges lifespans and reimagines health spans. With 100+ hospitals, 300+ clinics, multiple diagnostic centres, health insurance solutions, pharmacies, health tech, procurement, investments and more, its groundbreaking innovations are at the forefront of healthcare as the company is on a mission to unlock time for humankind.

PureHealth's network comprises:

SEHA - One of the largest healthcare networks of hospitals and clinics in the UAE

- One of the largest healthcare networks of hospitals and clinics in the UAE Ambulatory Healthcare Services (AHS) - Delivering comprehensive community-based healthcare services

- Delivering comprehensive community-based healthcare services Daman (The National Health Insurance Company) - The UAE's leading health insurer

- The UAE's leading health insurer The Medical Office - Overseeing Sheikh Khalifa Hospitals and healthcare facilities established under the initiatives of H.H. The President of the UAE

- Overseeing Sheikh Khalifa Hospitals and healthcare facilities established under the initiatives of H.H. The President of the UAE Rafed - The UAE's largest healthcare Group Purchasing Organisation

- The UAE's largest healthcare Group Purchasing Organisation PureLab - Managing and operating the largest network of laboratories in the region

- Managing and operating the largest network of laboratories in the region One Health - A network that provides end-to-end medical solutions to a base of over 300 healthcare service providers

provides end-to-end medical solutions to a base of over 300 healthcare service providers The Life Corner - Abu Dhabi's first holistic pharmacy, serving the health and wellness establishment

- Abu Dhabi's first holistic pharmacy, serving the health and wellness establishment Ardent Health Services - The fourth largest privately held acute care hospital operator in the US

- The fourth largest privately held acute care hospital operator in the US Circle Health Group - The largest independent operators of hospitals in the UK

- The largest independent operators of hospitals in the UK PureCS - A leading cloud and technology services provider, specialising in IT management and consulting solutions, cybersecurity, cloud services and AI information systems

- A leading cloud and technology services provider, specialising in IT management and consulting solutions, cybersecurity, cloud services and AI information systems Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC) - The UAE's largest healthcare complex, delivering integrated complex care

To learn more, please visit www.purehealth.ae

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2606707/PureHealth.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/purehealth-acquires-majority-stake-in-hellenic-healthcare-group-in-usd-2-3-billion-transaction-302360808.html
Co-located with the first ever Sustainable Manufacturing Expo, WestPack features the new FuturePack Forum, exploring state regulatory mandates, sustainable packaging case studies and advancements in sustainable packaging design.

WestPack, the premier event celebrating over 50 years of innovation and excellence in packaging solutions, will this year co-locate with the inaugural Sustainable Manufacturing Expo (SM Expo), North America's first and only event dedicated to advancing sustainable manufacturing technologies and thought leadership. Both events will take place in the North Hall of the Anaheim Convention Center, creating a platform for industry professionals to explore packaging innovations, cost efficiencies and sustainable manufacturing practices that drive business growth.

At the heart of WestPack is the introduction of the FuturePack Forum, a new interactive conference fostering dialogue and collaboration on sustainable packaging. Keynote speaker Rachel Wagoner, Executive Director of the Circular Action Alliance and former CalRecycle Director, will offer deep insights into California's regulatory landscape and actionable strategies for compliance. Panel discussions will address current packaging policies, obstacles to meeting regulatory requirements and practical solutions for transitioning to sustainable packaging. The forum will also feature roundtable discussions on waste reduction, corporate social responsibility and real-world examples of sustainable packaging innovations from leading brands like AlterEco, Bar-U-Eat, TruEarth, Bee's Wrap, TerraCycle and Boxed Water, demonstrating how innovative packaging practices are driving growth in the consumer packaged goods market.

In addition to the FuturePack Forum, The Pack Place Theater, located on the expo floor, will host live demonstrations and educational sessions covering topics such as smart packaging innovation, regulatory compliance and advances in safety and sterilization processes. Attendees will gain actionable insights into lightweight packaging solutions, recyclability and lifecycle efficiency, providing tools to optimize supply chain operations and boost business growth.

"WestPack is known for showcasing the transformative power of packaging advancement over decades of expertise and innovation. This year, by aligning with Sustainable Manufacturing Expo, there are opportunities to better support businesses as they navigate regulatory issues and operational efficiency that impacts the supply chain from production to package," said Melissa Magestro, Vice President of Informa Markets Engineering and Founder of Sustainable Manufacturing Expo. "Bringing the two events together fosters an ecosystem of cross-industry innovation and collaboration as packaging and sustainability leaders will explore cutting-edge products to drive long-term impact."

Sustainability is essential to grow the bottom line for businesses, as 96% of the world's top 250 companies now report on sustainability efforts to meet growing consumer demand with resource efficiency as reliability and flexible packaging waste were noted in research as a significant indicator in consumption patterns.Optimizing packaging to reduce material waste and increase recyclability not only lowers costs but also addresses the 82.2 million tons of landfill waste packaging contributes annually, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), underscoring the vast environmental impact.

According to Lisa McTigue Pierce, Executive Editor of Packaging Digest, "Despite the uncertainty many environmentalists feel, sustainability remains a key focus for brand owners. Two reasons brands work so hard to improve their eco-footprint still resonate with consumers: reducing waste and mitigating climate change. Those issues are not going away anytime soon. And packaging departments need to continue to find better solutions to help make a positive difference."

As cost and spend increasingly remain the focus for improving returns, WestPack provides the comprehensive approach to streamline operations and reduce waste. Starting at the executive level and extending through manufacturing, the event offers opportunities for attendees to connect with each other and explore innovations across food and beverage packaging, medical device packaging, automation and printing. This year's expanded agenda ensures a broader audience, reflecting the importance of alignment across all levels of decision-making to implement change in achieving sustainable and profitable outcomes.

To register and obtain a pass to WestPack visit: sustainablemanufacturingexpo.com/westpack

About Informa Markets Engineering

Informa Markets Engineering is the leading B2B event producer, publisher, and digital media business for the world's $3-trillion advanced, technology-based manufacturing industry. Our print and electronic products deliver trusted information to the engineering market and leverage our proprietary 1.3-million-name database to connect suppliers with buyers and purchase influencers. We produce more than 50 events and conferences in a dozen countries, connecting manufacturing professionals from around the globe. The Engineering portfolio is organized by Informa Markets, a subsidiary of Informa plc (LON:INF), the world's leading exhibitions organizer that brings a diverse range of specialist markets to life, unlocking opportunities and helping them to thrive 365 days of the year. For more information, please visit www.informamarkets.com.

Media Contact

Informa Markets Engineering PR

EngineeringPR@informa.com

SOURCE: INFORMA MARKETS - ENGINEERING

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
Higher education opens up a world of new opportunities, but the high cost of tuition is no secret. Even after getting financial aid, prospective college students of all ages (and their parents or guardians) often take on thousands of dollars in debt to go to school. Some parents may delay or cut out some expenses altogether, like a life insurance policy or retirement account, to make room in the budget for tuition. However, these decisions could put their financial security at risk. Fortunately, with careful planning and research, there are ways to help reduce high tuition costs and make higher education a little more affordable. ?

Choose the right school

The college or university a person chooses to attend impacts the cost of their education. In 2024, the average annual tuition for a four-year in-state public school was $9,750, compared to $28,386 for a public out-of-state school and $38,421 for a private school.1

Of course, cost shouldn't be the only factor that guides a person's college enrollment decisions. Looking at an in-state public school or even attending a community college for a couple of years could save a person tens of thousands of dollars throughout their education.

Develop a grant and scholarship strategy

Grants and scholarships can significantly lower tuition costs. However, applying for aid takes time and dedication, so a thoughtful plan can improve an applicant's odds of success.

A prospective student can start by identifying the right grants (usually need-based) and scholarships (usually merit-based) for their situation. While national and state programs can provide a lot of support, it's important to consider local and specialized aid, too. After all, a small scholarship for piano players from a local church might be the perfect fit for the right person.

Some applications require essays and writing samples, so having a few well-crafted templates that can be customized for each application can save time. A strict schedule for submitting applications and tracking progress helps applicants maintain momentum and meet deadlines.

Research tax breaks

Depending on their situation, some people may qualify for tax breaks that can offset the cost of tuition. The American Opportunity tax credit allows first-time students to receive up to a $2,500 tax credit each of their first four years of college. People who do not qualify for the American Opportunity Tax Credit might consider the Lifetime Learning tax credit instead.2 These tax breaks have limitations and restrictions, so it's best to work with a tax professional to understand the tax credits someone may qualify for.?

Ask an employer about tuition assistance

Many employers offer benefits packages that include health insurance and term life insurance , but some offer additional benefits like tuition reimbursement. However, some workplaces require employees to reach a certain tenure before qualifying for assistance. Others may require employees to work a minimum number of hours each week or consistently show high performance to maintain the benefit.

While a company may offer tuition assistance for any type of degree or certificate, many employers only provide the perk for programs related to the job. For example, a bank teller may receive assistance for a degree in economics or business but not English or biology. The human resources manager at a workplace should be able to provide information about tuition assistance programs, including any requirements or limitations.

While college tuition is expensive, opportunities abound to make the expense more manageable. Prospective students who start the process early and stay focused on their goals may save thousands on the education of their dreams.

1 https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college

2 https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/education-credits-questions-and-answers

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM) and its subsidiaries in Milwaukee, WI.

Contact: Don Klein, 1-800-323-7033

SOURCE: Northwestern Mutual

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- By utilising associated gas produced at oilfields rather than flaring it, Saneg is bolstering Uzbekistan's energy supply while tackling emissions.

Uzbekistan faces the dual challenge of making its energy supply more secure and more sustainable. A prominent natural gas producer in the Soviet era, the country now grapples with declining production, forcing it to rely increasingly on imports to fuel its growing economy. At the same time, it is under rising international pressure to address emissions from its oil and gas sector.

Driving progress on both of these fronts is an initiative led by Uzbekistan's largest independent oil and gas producer, Saneg.

In March last year, the company launched a 14mn project in partnership with Switzerland's Vema, Norway's ICA-Finance and Uzbekistan's Geo Research & Development Co. (GRDC), to reduce flaring of associated gas produced at its key oilfields, by processing and feeding this gas into the national transmission grid. Saneg has since completed and commissioned 70 km of gas pipelines and 21 modular compressor units across the Northern Urtabulak, Sardob, Shurtepa, Eastern Tashly, Northern Shurtan, Yangi Karatepa and Turtsari fields, with the capacity to handle 70mn cubic metres of methane each year, CEO Tulkin Yusupov said in a recent interview.

By capturing and using this gas instead of flaring it, Saneg has already extinguished six flares, cutting its annual carbon footprint by nearly 140,000 tonnes of CO2. The recovered gas is now used to generate energy, as well as extra revenue for the company.

"We strive to introduce the best available technologies that ensure the efficient and careful use of resources and reduce the anthropogenic load, for the transition to a green economy," Yusupov said.

Vema's director, Mikhail Partikevich, hailed the project as testament to Saneg's commitment to environmental responsibility. "This successful implementation strengthens the position of Uzbekistan internationally as a state that implements advanced solutions in the energy sector," he said.

The newly installed compressors provide gas compression at pressures between 5 and 40 atmospheres, while ultrasonic gas flow meters and specialised equipment ensure precise measurement.

The project was initiated and financed by Vema and ICA-Finance, which also conducted pre-project studies and oversaw implementation. GRDC developed technical documentation, while Saneg handled construction. Building on this success, Saneg is now planning a similar project at the Shirkent field, working with Vema to assess flared gas volumes and develop a technical solution.

Saneg also partnered with Vema and ICA-Finance on a leak detection and repair (LDAR) campaign at its assets last year, using modern analytical systems and drones to prevent over 83,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent methane emissions annually - a reduction comparable to removing 20,000 cars from the road. Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 but has a shorter atmospheric lifetime, meaning that action taken today on emissions can help combat global warming faster.

Thanks to that work, Saneg became the first company in Central Asia to register a programme to cut methane emissions at its production assets, with Germany's Emissions Trading Authority. The initiative was developed according to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodology, created by the European Fuel Quality Directive (FQD).

Saneg established itself as a key oil and gas player in Uzbekistan after securing rights to 103 previously state-owned oilfields in 2019. It has since boosted oil flow from the fields' mostly mature reservoirs, and acquired an oil refinery. Though primarily focused on oil, Saneg managed to more than double the fields' natural gas output by 2023, to almost 1.3bn cubic metres, even as national production declined. It aims to raise this to 3bn m3 in the future, partly by exploiting tight reservoirs underneath conventional formations.

About Saneg

Sanoat Energetika Guruhi (Saneg) (Jizzakh Petroleum until November 2021) is Uzbekistan's largest private oil and gas company, owning the subsoil rights to 103 deposits for geological exploration and extraction, which account for about 80% of oil production in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The company employs over 5,000 people and has production facilities in Karshi, Mubarek, Fergana and Andijan.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/uzbekistans-saneg-turns-flared-gas-into-fuel-302360960.html
EQS-News: Multitude AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous

Changes in Multitude Group's Leadership and Structure



27.01.2025 / 19:00 CET/CEST

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Changes in Multitude Group's Leadership and Structure Zug, 27 January 2025 - Multitude AG, a listed European FinTech company providing digital lending and online banking services to consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and other FinTechs (WKN: A40VJN, ISIN: CH1398992755) ("Multitude," "Company," or "Group"), announces significant updates to its Leadership Team and organisational structure. Leadership Changes New CEO Appointment - Effective 1 January 2025, Mr. Antti Kumpulainen has assumed the role of CEO of Multitude Group, in addition to his existing position as CEO of Multitude Bank p.l.c. Transition of Former CEO - As previously announced, Mr. Jorma Jokela stepped down as CEO and Leadership Team member at the end of 2024. Moving forward, he will focus on strategic initiatives, partnerships, acquisitions, and talent development in a full-time capacity. Mr. Jokela will also continue to serve on the Board of Directors of both Multitude AG and Multitude Bank p.l.c. Chief Risk Officer Transition - Mr. Clemens Krause, Chief Risk Officer, will retire as of 31 March 2025, after serving the company since 2012. The Group thanks him for his exceptional contributions and wishes him a fulfilling retirement. Mr. Adam Jezierski will join the Leadership Team as Chief Credit Risk Officer on 3 February 2025 and succeed Mr. Krause. With extensive expertise in credit risk management, Mr. Jezierski is expected to strengthen the Group's risk oversight capabilities. Leadership Departures - Mr. Lasse Makela, Chief Strategy and IR Officer, is stepping down from the Leadership Team. Current Leadership Team of Multitude Group The Leadership Team of Multitude Group now comprises: Mr. Antti Kumpulainen - CEO

Mr. Bernd Egger - Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Kristjan Kajakas - Tribe CEO, Ferratum

Mr. Mantvydas Stareika - Tribe CEO, CapitalBox

Mr. Alain Nydegger - Tribe CEO, Wholesale Banking

Mr. Adam Jezierski - Chief Credit Risk Officer

Mr. Kornel Kabele - Chief Technology Officer

Ms. Lea Liigus - Chief Legal & Compliance Officer

Mr. Adam Tonning - Chief Financial Planning Officer

Mr. Shaun Vella - Chief HR Officer Board of Directors Updates Mr. Goutam Challagalla will step down on 1 February 2025. Mrs. Kristiina Leppanen will step down at the end of the 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM). Both individuals will be proposed for election to the Board of Directors of Multitude Bank p.l.c., pending regulatory approval. Updated Composition of the Board of Directors of Multitude AG (as of 1 February 2025): Mr. Ari Tiukkanen - Chairman (Independent)

Mrs. Marion Khuny - Independent Member

Mrs. Kristiina Leppanen - Independent Member

Mr. Jorma Jokela - Non-Independent Member

Mrs. Lea Liigus - Executive Director, Non-Independent Organisational Restructuring Furthermore, as part of a restructuring exercise that is subject to the approval of the Malta Financial Services Authority, the Group is working to transfer lending-related and other selected entities under Multitude Bank p.l.c. and simplify the subsidiary structure of Multitude AG. In addition, following the relocation, the Group plans to optimise its structure by reducing the number of entities that are not essential to its future. Contact: Lasse Makela

Chief Strategy and IR Officer

Phone: +41 79 371 34 17

E-Mail: Lasse.makela@multitude.com

About Multitude AG: Multitude is a listed European FinTech company, offering digital lending and online banking services to consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and other FinTechs overlooked by traditional banks. The services are provided through three independent business units, which are served by our internal Growth Platform. Multitude's business units are Consumer Banking (Ferratum), SME Banking (CapitalBox), and Wholesale Banking (Multitude Bank). Multitude Group employs over 800 people in 25 countries and offers services in 17 countries, achieving a combined turnover of 230 million euros in 2023. Multitude was founded in Finland in 2005, is registered in Switzerland and is listed on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 'MULT'. www.multitude.com



27.01.2025 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.eqs-news.com


"Innovative and Sustainable: The Plastics Additives Market Expands with High-Performance Solutions for Key Industries"

BOSTON, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest study from BCC Research, "Global Markets for Plastics Additives" is expected to grow from $61.5 billion in 2024 to $80.7 billion by 2029, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6% from 2024 through 2029.

The market's growth is propelled by the ability to enhance the properties of plastic products, such as durability, flexibility and thermal stability. This report segments the market by product type, application, and end user. It also covers market dynamics, key manufacturers, ESG trends and the regulatory landscape. The market is analyzed by region into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World, with market estimates provided in millions of dollars.

The demand for plastics is increasing as environmental concerns push for additives that make plastics more recyclable and eco-friendlier. There is also a need for antimicrobial and hygienic plastic products. New regulations on plastic use are driving the development of better additives. The move towards a circular economy encourages using recycled plastics in valuable applications, meeting environmental and market needs.

The factors driving the market include:

Industrial Demand: Packaging, automotive, and construction industries need enhanced plastic properties. Additives improve plastics' durability, stability, and appearance, driving demand as these industries grow.

Emerging Economies: Rapid industrialization in emerging economies, especially Asia-Pacific, boosts plastic consumption. Increased purchasing power and urbanization increase demand for plastic products and packaging.

Request a sample copy of the global market for plastics additives report.

Report Synopsis

Report Metric Details Base year considered 2023 Forecast period considered 2024-2029 Base year market size $58.9 billion Market size forecast $80.7 billion Growth rate CAGR of 5.6% from 2024 to 2029 Segments covered Product Type, Application, End User, and Region Regions covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW) Market drivers  Growing demand for plastic additives from industries.  Increasing plastic consumption in emerging economies.

Interesting facts:

Special plastic additives can make them anti-microbial, and UV, and heat-resistant, which encourages this use in healthcare and consumer products.

Plastic additives are gaining attention in 3D printing. Adding these additives during the compounding process can create new and unique parts and components.

The report addresses the following questions:

1.What is the projected size and growth rate of the market?

The estimated size of the plastics additives market is projected be $80.7 billion by the end of 2029, with a CAGR of 5.6%.

2.What market segments are covered in the report?

The market is segmented by product type, application, industry, and region. Product types include plasticizers, fillers and reinforcements, flame retardants, impact modifiers, antioxidants, heat stabilizers, colorants, lubricants, light stabilizers, biocides, antistatic agents, and others. Applications include packaging, wire and cable, films and sheets, floor/wall/roof covering, and extrusion. Industries include construction, transportation, electronics and electrical, consumer goods, medical and healthcare. Regional estimates and forecasts are made for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW).

3.Which end-user segment will dominate the market in 2029?

The construction segment will continue to dominate the market through 2029.

4.Which region has the largest share of the market?

Asia-Pacific holds the largest market share due to the extensive production of plastics and the high demand for automotive and electronics applications in this region.

Market leaders include:

ADEKA CORP.

ALBEMARLE CORP.

ARGUS ADDITIVE PLASTICS

AMPACET CORP.

AVIENT CORP.

BAERLOCHER

BASF

BYK-CHEMIE GMBH (ALTANA)

CLARIANT

DOW

EVONIK INDUSTRIES AG

LANXESS

MILLIKEN

SAKAI CHEMICAL INDUSTRY CO. LTD.

SONGWON

Purchase a copy of the report direct from BCC Research.

For further information or any of these reports or to make a purchase, please contact info@bccresearch.com.

About BCC Research

BCC Research market research reports provide objective, unbiased measurement, and assessment of market opportunities. Our experienced industry analysts' goal is to help you make informed business decisions free of noise and hype.

Contact Us

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Email: info@bccresearch.com,

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Any data and analysis extracted from this press release must be accompanied by a statement identifying BCC Research LLC as the source and publisher.

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LONDON, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The much-anticipated Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub Awards have officially announced their winners today, with The Unruly Pig, Suffolk, being awarded the highly coveted top spot in the UK. Sponsored by Estrella Damm for the tenth consecutive year, the awards celebrate the very best of the UK's gastropub scene, highlighting the outstanding culinary innovation, exceptional service, and warm, welcoming atmosphere that the exceptional venues bring to the local dining scene.

The Unruly Pig, with Chef Patron Dave Wall at the helm, has been crowned this year's winner of the Top 50 Gastropubs title, marking a significant achievement for the restaurant, as they win the highly acclaimed prize. The event also celebrated numerous regional and special category winners, all of whom were recognised for their outstanding contributions to the gastropub industry. Second prize was awarded to The Devonshire, London and third went to The Star Inn, North Yorkshire.

The Top 50 Gastropubs Awards, now in their 12th year, are widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and influential recognitions of excellence within the UK hospitality scene. The rankings are determined by a comprehensive judging process that includes input from a panel of esteemed chefs, food critics, and industry professionals, with key factors such as food quality, service, atmosphere, and drink selection all playing a pivotal role.

The awards ceremony, held today at the beautiful Plaisterers' Hall, in London, gathered industry leaders, including top chefs and influential publicans for an afternoon of celebration and recognition of the talent that defines the UK's gastropub sector. As well as crowning the overall winner, the event highlighted regional winners and special category awards, showcasing the diverse and innovative talent across the UK. The awards also included the 'One to Watch' award, given to The White Hart, Fyfield, the Estrella Damm Sustainable Pub of theYear award, given to The Abbey Inn, North Yorkshire and the Highest New Entry, given to The Devonshire, London, who entered the ranks at number two.

Estrella Damm, one of Barcelona's most well-loved beer brands, has long been a champion of culinary excellence, and its partnership with the Top 50 Gastropubs highlights the brand's deep-rooted commitment to celebrating gastronomy. With a shared dedication to quality, innovation, and craftsmanship, Estrella Damm's sponsorship has become a cornerstone of the awards across the past decade, helping to elevate the gastropub sector and encourage continued growth and creativity.

THEBEEROFBARCELONA @EstrellaDamm_UK

HIGH RES IMAGERY - HERE

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About Estrella Damm:

The beer of Barcelona, Estrella Damm, made with Mediterranean ingredients since 1876. Estrella Damm is an award-winning premium pale lager. Passion for excellence has resulted in Estrella Damm 1876 recipe, brewed with only the best 100% natural ingredients including pearl rice, a very Mediterranean ingredient that characterises Estrella Damm's flavour. Estrella Damm is the perfect accompaniment to any dish; light and refreshingly drinkable, with a perfect balance between fresh grainy malt and subtle fruit, rounded off with a peppery bitterness and a clean finish. Discover more at: https://www.estrelladamm.com/

About Top 50

The Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list is compiled using hundreds of votes from food critics and writers, gastropub chefs and other food influencers. www.top50gastropubs.com is brought to you by pub trade magazine The Morning Advertiser with headline partner Estrella Damm.

The brand is sister to Top 50 Cocktail Bars and Top 50 Boutique Hotels. For more information visit

Top 50 Cocktail Bars, Top 50 Boutique Hotels and Top 50 Gastropubs are consumer-facing brands owned and produced by William Reed title The Morning Advertiser.

About The Morning Advertiser:

The Morning Advertiser (MA) was launched in 1794 and is one of the longest running publications in the world. Now firmly in the 21st century, MA continues to be the definitive voice for the pub trade - offering the latest pub news and unique advice-driven content for publicans, delivering powerful insights and robust information to help their businesses succeed.

Our team of award-winning journalists deliver daily news, analysis, online and face-to-face events, podcasts and video coverage of the issues and stories impacting decision makers in the licensed trade. Attracting online readership from across the licensed trade, we're the go-to hub for access to the latest news, analysis and insights from the UK pub sector, providing pub operators with invaluable advice to grow their business.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2605616/Estrella_Damm_Pub_Style.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2605615/Estrella_Damm_Top_50_Gastropubs_Logo.jpg

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/the-2025-estrella-damm-top-50-gastropubs-announces-the-unruly-pig-as-the-best-gastropub-in-the-uk-302359751.html
Amidst marketers' need for a new vision and ecosystem, Bogin brings creative production experience to consolidate--and innovate--the content supply chain

LONDON, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Monks , the global, purely digital, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc., is excited to announce the appointment of Tanya Bogin as its Global Head of Studio. Bogin will focus on solving marketers' most pressing challenges around speed, scale, and spend, while ensuring the seamless delivery of high-quality, impactful content. Reporting into Dave Carey, Global EVP Studio and Embedded at Monks, Bogin will advance the orchestration of tech and talent to provide brands, like Amazon and General Motors, with connected consumer experiences.

Bogin's appointment underscores Monks' commitment to transform the economics of marketing and help clients compress the content supply chain. By combining its end-to-end solutions, AI-powered workflow suite, and open model to orchestrate top talent, Monks empowers brands to navigate complexity with greater efficiency and achieve flow across creative, media and technology.

Tanya Bogin says: "It's exhilarating to join Monks, a global agent of change, designed for disruption and deeply rooted in driving innovation. At Monks, there are no barriers to collaboration in the creation funnel, unlocking boundless opportunities to make beautiful and culturally relevant work better and faster than traditional models. I'm looking forward to building on the strong foundations of our Studio with Dave, further amplifying Monks as a truly end-to-end Orchestration Partner. Together, we'll harness the full power of our capabilities to deliver both efficiency and creative excellence for our clients."

Bogin brings extensive leadership in production innovation, strategy, digital transformation, localisation and technology from her impressive career at both WPP and IPG. Most recently, she served as Managing Director of Craft in London (McCann Worldgroup) and Global Managing Director of Craft's internationalisation practice, where she oversaw global scaled client solutions. During her 10+ years at Craft, she drove integrated production and content transformation programs for global brands including L'Oreal, Microsoft, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Reckitt Benckiser and Mastercard.

Bruno Lambertini, CEO Marketing Solutions at Monks, adds: "Tanya's leadership reinforces our promise to the market: to address the pressing speed, scale, and efficiency challenges our clients face today while continuing to deliver high-quality creative, and measurable outcomes. We are confident she is uniquely equipped to build upon the incredible foundation Dave Carey has established for our teams and go-to-markets."

Dave Carey, Global EVP Studio and Embedded at Monks, adds: "At Studio, we work to integrate innovation and technology into our offering. With Tanya's exceptional expertise in driving transformation and managing global teams, we can continue to deliver true end-to-end content solutions, positioning us as the partner our clients need in today's fast-evolving, client-focused landscape."

Contact:

Henriette Gathier

henriette.gathier@mediamonks.com

+31(0)629725468

About Monks

Monks is the global, purely digital, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc. With a legacy of innovation and specialized expertise, Monks combines an extraordinary range of global marketing and technology services to accelerate business possibilities and redefine how brands and businesses interact with the world. Its integration of systems and workflows delivers unfettered content production, scaled experiences, enterprise-grade technology and data science fueled by AI-managed by the industry's best and most diverse digital talent-to help the world's trailblazing companies outmaneuver and outpace their competition.

Monks was named a Contender in The Forrester Wave: Global Marketing Services. It has remained a constant presence on Adweek's Fastest Growing lists (2019-23), ranks among Cannes Lions' Top 10 Creative Companies (2022-23) and is the only partner to have been placed in AdExchanger's Programmatic Power Players list every year (2020-24). In addition to being named Adweek's first AI Agency of the Year (2023), Monks has been recognized by Business Intelligence in its 2024 Excellence in Artificial Intelligence Awards program in three categories: the Individual category, Organizational Winner in AI Strategic Planning and AI Product for its service Monks.Flow. Monks has also garnered the title of Webby Production Company of the Year (2021-24), won a record number of FWAs and has earned a spot on Newsweek's Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces 2023.

About S4Capital

S4Capital plc (SFOR.L) is the tech-led, new age/new era digital advertising, marketing and technology services company, established by Sir Martin Sorrell in May 2018.

Our strategy is to build a purely digital advertising and marketing services business for global, multinational, regional, and local clients, and millennial-driven influencer brands. This will be achieved by integrating leading businesses in two synchronised practices: Marketing services and Technology services, along with an emphasis on 'faster, better, cheaper, more' execution in an always-on consumer-led environment, with a unitary structure.

The Company now has approximately 7,300 people in 33 countries with approximately 80% of net revenue across the Americas, 15% across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 5% across Asia-Pacific. The longer-term objective is a geographic split of 60%:20%:20%. At the Group's last full year results, Content accounted for approximately 60% of net revenue, Data&Digital Media 24% and Technology Services 16%. The long-term objective for the practices is a split of 50%:25%:25%.

Sir Martin was CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a 1 million 'shell' company in 1985 into the world's largest advertising and marketing services company, with a market capitalisation of over 16 billion on the day he left. Prior to that Sir Martin was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Company Plc for nine years.

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With the January 31, 2025, deadline for 1099 filing approaching, TaxBandits, an authorized IRS e-file provider, is partnering with Sage Intacct to deliver an automated and efficient e-filing solution for the 2024 tax year.

For the third consecutive year, TaxBandits is helping Sage Intacct users simplify compliance with federal and state filing requirements. This partnership allows businesses to e-file 1099 forms and distribute recipient copies seamlessly, reducing the burden of year-end tax filing.

How the TaxBandits and Sage Partnership Simplifies 1099 Filing

The Sage Intacct 1099 e-filing solution powered by TaxBandits provides a comprehensive and automated process for managing 1099 filings. This partnership not only enhances efficiency but also ensures compliance with the IRS and state agencies. Businesses of all sizes can focus on higher-priority tasks while trusting the platform to streamline their tax compliance needs.

The solution caters to small, mid-sized, and large businesses with its user-friendly interface, robust security features, and scalability. Whether users manage a single company or multiple entities, this partnership simplifies the process of managing and e-filing 1099 forms .

Key Benefits of the TaxBandits and Sage Intacct Partnership

Sage Intacct customers can experience a range of benefits by leveraging TaxBandits' automated e-filing platform:

Effortless Data Transfer: Users can transfer 1099 data securely and accurately from Sage Intacct into their TaxBandits account with just one click. The seamless connection ensures that information is handled securely, reducing the risk of errors.

Quick and Simple E-Filing: The platform eliminates the need for spreadsheets or manual data formatting. Forms can be e-filed within minutes, saving valuable time during the busy tax season.

Error-Free Filings: Built-in validation tools check for common errors, helping businesses comply with IRS requirements and avoid penalties. This proactive approach reduces the likelihood of rejections and ensures smooth processing of forms.

Stress-Free Distribution: TaxBandits minimizes administrative tasks by handling recipient distribution. Users can choose to have 1099 forms printed, mailed, and delivered securely to recipients.

Lifetime Access for Recipients: Businesses can provide their 1099 recipients with secure online access to their forms through a dedicated portal, ensuring they can retrieve their tax documents at any time. In addition, they can customize this secure portal to reflect their branding.

Watch this video for an overview of the Sage Intacct and TaxBandits partnership: https://youtu.be/OS4HN44Lq-c

PRO Features for Efficient Filing

TaxBandits' PRO features enhance and streamline the filing process for tax professionals.

Client Portal

Offer clients a secure, branded portal where they can review forms before filing, communicate through secure messaging, and share or manage important documents seamlessly. Tax professionals can also customize email communications to maintain a polished and professional experience, enhancing collaboration and security.

Team Management

Invite unlimited team members, assign roles (preparer, approver, transmitter), and delegate tasks efficiently. Centralized tracking ensures clear accountability and timely filing completion.

Reports

Access detailed reports on filing activity, client data, and team performance. Use insights to monitor compliance, analyze trends, and optimize filing processes.

A Partnership Designed for Success

The ongoing collaboration between TaxBandits and Sage Intacct continues to demonstrate its value to businesses. Speaking about the partnership, Naga Palanisamy, President and Co-founder of SPAN Enterprises, stated:

"We're thrilled to partner with Sage Intacct for another successful tax season. This partnership allows us to provide automated e-filing services to even more customers, and we're eager to deepen our partnership. Together, we aim to simplify tax compliance and help businesses meet their filing obligations with ease."

By integrating with Sage Intacct, TaxBandits ensures that businesses not only meet critical deadlines but also avoid the stress and inefficiencies often associated with tax filing

To discover TaxBandit's efficient e-filing solutions, visit www.taxbandits.com.

About TaxBandits

TaxBandits is a SOC 2 Certified, IRS-authorized e-file provider specializing in various tax forms, such as Form 1099, W-2, 941, 940, 1095-C, 1095-B, and W-9. Serving businesses, service providers, and tax professionals of every shape and size, TaxBandits offers a complete solution that fulfills all filing needs.

TaxBandits provides another advantage for high-volume filers and software providers. TaxBandits API enables seamless preparation and e-filing of 1099, W-2, 941, 940, and ACA 1095 forms and BOI reporting. Leverage the 1099 API for developers to automatically request W-9 forms and streamline the filing process with complete security.

About SPAN Enterprises

SPAN Enterprises, based in Rock Hill, South Carolina, has been developing industry-leading software solutions for IRS e-filing and business management tools for over a decade.

The SPAN Enterprises portfolio of products includes TaxBandits, Tax 990, ACAwise, ExpressExtension, 123PayStubs, and TruckLogics.

Please direct all media inquiries to Charles Hardy, VP of Operations at charles@spanenterprises.com .

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SOURCE: TaxBandits

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
San Antonio, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2025) - JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing, a leading boutique agency, announced the launch of its advanced website design and local SEO services tailored specifically for businesses in San Antonio. Since 2008, the agency has been revolutionizing the online presence of local enterprises by leveraging innovative strategies to potentially boost visibility, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth.

JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing

Recognizing that the digital landscape is ever-changing, JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing is devoted to utilizing the most current trends and techniques in digital marketing, ensuring that its clients maintain a competitive edge. Their emphasis on local SEO in San Antonio particularly distinguishes them, as they customize their strategies to address the specific requirements and characteristics of businesses within the region. Whether working with a fledgling startup or a well- established corporation, JCE understands that a robust online presence is crucial for attracting and retaining customers.

A key objective for JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing is to deliver tailored solutions that cater to each individual client. This client-first philosophy guarantees that businesses receive the focused attention and expertise they require. Each initiative starts with an in-depth consultation to grasp the unique challenges and aspirations of the client. Following this, the agency crafts a customized plan that incorporates effective website design alongside local SEO strategies specifically designed for the San Antonio market.

The website design services provided by JCE cover multiple facets of digital marketing, ensuring that every site is not only visually attractive but also user-friendly and optimized for search engines. JCE prioritizes the necessity for responsive designs that function smoothly across multiple devices, given the increasing number of consumers searching for products and services via their smartphones and tablets.

JCE's local SEO services in San Antonio further amplify the impact of their website design offerings. With a growing number of consumers depending on search engines to find local enterprises, establishing a strong presence in search results becomes essential. The agency implements targeted local SEO strategies, including keyword optimization, the creation of localized content, and directory submissions, all aimed at enhancing search engine rankings.

At the heart of JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing's philosophy lies exceptional customer service. The agency's team is committed to exceeding client expectations, ensuring they are not only satisfied but also equipped to navigate the digital marketing landscape effectively. Regular performance reports and open lines of communication are integral to the agency's offerings, enabling clients to monitor their progress.

In today's digital environment, having a strong online presence is indispensable for businesses aiming to flourish. JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing acknowledges this reality and offers San Antonio businesses the necessary tools and expertise to achieve success. The agency is committed to staying updated with the latest trends in digital marketing.

JCE recognizes the uniqueness of each business, rejecting a one-size-fits-all approach to website design and local SEO. By conducting a thorough assessment of each client's particular requirements, the agency formulates a digital marketing strategy that aligns with individual goals, target demographics, and industry specifications.

Moreover, the experienced team members at JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing bring a depth of knowledge and expertise to their projects. They are skilled in recognizing and capitalizing on trends that can make or break a digital marketing initiative. Their commitment to ongoing education and professional development ensures clients benefit from both established strategies and innovative approaches that distinguish them from competitors.

The increasing importance of online reputation management is another area in which JCE excels. Business success today is closely linked to effective management of a company's online image. JCE assists businesses in monitoring their online presence, responding to reviews, and managing customer feedback, aiming to contribute to the establishment of a strong and favorable online reputation.

JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing is devoted to assisting businesses in San Antonio in enhancing their digital footprint with expert website design and local SEO strategies. As an increasing number of local businesses recognize the significance of a strong online presence, JCE is poised to transform their digital marketing strategies. With a proven history of success and a commitment to innovation, JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing continues to be a vital partner for businesses striving to excel in today's competitive landscape.

Learn more on https://www.jceseo.com/

San Antonio SEO





About JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing

JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing, based in San Antonio, Texas, specializes in delivering comprehensive digital marketing solutions. The agency provides expertise in SEO, local SEO, social media marketing, and high-quality web design, tailored to enhance online visibility and drive business growth. With a focus on customized strategies, JCE empowers businesses to achieve success in the competitive digital landscape by optimizing their digital presence and connecting with target audiences effectively.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/238550

SOURCE: JCE SEO Web Design & Digital Marketing
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2025) - Omai Gold Mines Corp. (TSXV: OMG) ("Omai" or the "Company") has entered into an agreement with Paradigm Capital Inc., as co-lead Underwriter and sole bookrunner, on behalf of Haywood Securities Inc., as co-lead Underwriter, and a syndicate of underwriters to be formed (the "Underwriters"), in connection with a "bought deal" private placement offering (the "Offering") of 50,000,000 common shares (each, a "Share") of the Company to be issued at $0.30 per Share (the "Issue Price") for gross proceeds of $15,000,000.

In addition, the Underwriters have been granted an option to purchase up to 7,500,000 additional Shares for additional gross proceeds of up to $2,250,000.

The net proceeds from the Offering will be used for exploration and development, and general working capital purposes.

The Offering is expected to close on or about February 13, 2025, and is subject to certain closing conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the conditional listing approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and the applicable securities regulatory authorities. The Offering is being made by way of private placement in Canada, in the United States pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and in such other jurisdictions as may be mutually agreed upon by the Underwriters and the Company. The securities issued under the Offering will be subject to a hold period in Canada expiring four months and one day from the closing date of the offering.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Shares have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "1933 Act") and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, "U.S. persons" (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act), except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act.

About OMAI GOLD MINES CORP.

Omai Gold Mines Corp. holds a 100% interest in the Omai Prospecting License that includes the past producing Omai Gold Mine in Guyana, and a 100% interest in the adjoining Eastern Flats Mining Permits. The Company announced a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") on its Wenot deposit at Omai on April 4, 2024, supporting an open pit operation to produce 1.84 million ounces of gold over a 13-year period, with an NPV5% of US$556 million at a US$1950/oz gold price1. An updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") announced February 8, 2024 includes 2.0 million ounces of gold (Indicated) and 2.3 million ounces (Inferred)1. Once South America's largest producing gold mine, Omai produced over 3.7 million ounces of gold between 1993 and 2005. Mining ceased at a time when the average gold price was less than US$400 per ounce. As a brownfields project, Omai benefits from good road access and a wealth of historical data that provides knowledge of the geology and gold mineralization on the Property, as well as metallurgy, historical process recoveries and many other relevant mining parameters.

1 The NI43-101 Technical Report dated May 21, 2024, titled "UPDATED MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE AND PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE OMAI GOLD PROPERTY, POTARO MINING DISTRICT NO. 2, GUYANA", prepared under the supervision of Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET, President of P&E Mining Consultants Inc., who is a Qualified Person (QP) and is independent of Omai Gold for the purposes of NI 43-101. The report is available on SEDAR+ and on the Company's website at https://omaigoldmines.com/site/assets/files/5486/omg_wenot_pea_final_may_21_2024.pdf.

Elaine Ellingham P.Geo. is a Qualified Person (QP) under NI 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects" and has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release. Ms. Ellingham is not considered to be independent for the purposes of NI 43-101.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements or information (collectively, "FLI") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.

Generally, FLI can be identified by the use of statements that include words such as "seeks", "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "continues", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "expects", "forecasts", "intends", "projects", "predicts", "proposes", "potential", "targets" and variations of such words and phrases, or by statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "will" "could", "would", "should" or "might", "be taken", "occur" or "be achieved." FLI herein includes, but is not limited to, the terms and conditions of the Offering, anticipated regulatory approvals in connection with the Offering, timing of closing of the Offering, stated use of proceeds of the Offering, statements regarding the results of the Omai PEA, including the production, operating cost, capital cost and cash cost estimates, the projected valuation metrics and rates of return, and the cash flow projections, as well as mineral resource estimates for the Omai Gold Mine.

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are FLI that involve various risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties. For additional information with respect to these and risks, assumptions, and other factors that may affect the FLI made in this press release concerning the Company, please refer to the sections entitled "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors" in the most recent management discussion and analysis of the Company, which is available electronically on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under the Company's issuer profile. FLI is not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The FLI contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof or as at the date of the applicable document only and, accordingly, are subject to change after such dates. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any FLI or the foregoing list of risks, assumptions or other factors, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/238624

SOURCE: Omai Gold Mines Corp.
Theralase Technologies Inc. ("Theralase" or the "Company") (TSXV:TLT)(OTCQB:TLTFF), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to the research and development of light, radiation, sound and/or drug-activated small molecules and their formulations, intended for the safe and effective destruction of various cancers, bacteria and viruses is proud to announce that its interim clinical data has been selected for presentation at the American Urological Association ("AUA") Annual Meeting.

The Program Committee of the AUA has accepted the Theralase's abstract titled: "Interim Analysis of Light-Activated TLD-1433 in a Phase II Clinical Study of BCG-Unresponsive Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer Carcinoma In-Situ" for presentation in a Podium Session at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 26th to 29th.

The clinical data from Theralase's international, multicenter Phase II ("BCG")-Unresponsive Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer ("NMIBC") Carcinoma In-Situ ("CIS") study will be presented by principal investigator Dr. Girish Kulkarni in an oral presentation.

Pending regulatory approval, this innovative technology represents an opportunity for a significant advancement in bladder cancer treatment, by providing a safe and effective therapy for patients who have exhausted their standard of care therapeutic options and are now facing radical cystectomy (bladder removal).

The interim clinical data supports the high safety and efficacy of the treatment with a number of patients demonstrating a duration of response of 3 years or greater with a single treatment.

These findings support the use of light-activated Ruvidar by the urology community to safely and effectively treat patients inflicted with BCG-Unresponsive NMIBC, helping to revolutionize the treatment landscape for bladder cancer.

Girish Kulkarni, MD, PhD, FRCSC, a urologic surgeon in the Department of Surgical Oncology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, Department of Surgery stated, "We are excited that our clinical study has been accepted for podium presentation at the American Urological Association. The early data is supportive of light-activated RuvidarTM, as a treatment modality for BCG-Unresponsive CIS of the bladder, thus enabling patients to preserve their bladders and maintain their quality of life."

Arkady Mandel, MD, PhD, DSc, Chief Scientific Officer, Theralase stated, "In the interim clinical data, we have observed a strong safety and efficacy response in bladder cancer patients treated at numerous clinical study sites across Canada and the US. The data supports the use of light-activated Ruvidar in the treatment of patients with high-grade, high-risk NMIBC. In addition, the latest results demonstrate a long-lasting duration of complete response induced by this innovative technology, which is able to be completed within a few hours and is suitable for patients with CIS of the urinary bladder, who have not responded to previous therapies and who are currently facing a life-altering option, such as a radical cystectomy."

Roger DuMoulin-White, BSc, P.Eng, Pro.Dir, Chief Executive Officer, Theralase stated, "The acceptance of the Theralase abstract for podium presentation at the AUA Annual Meeting is a testament to the importance and significant impact that this clinical research could have on the lives of bladder cancer patients. We look forward to the presentation and the continued development of Ruvidar for patients in need. Patient enrollment is scheduled to be completed in 2025, with clinical data submission to Health Canada and the FDA in 2026. Pending successful regulatory approval, Theralase plans to make this technology commercially available to the entire urological community in 2027."

About the Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association

The AUA Annual Meeting is one of the world's largest gatherings of urological professionals, bringing together leading researchers, clinicians and industry experts to share the latest advancements in urological care and research. The 2025 event in Las Vegas promises to highlight cutting-edge developments in the field, offering a platform for collaboration and innovation.

About Study II:

Study II utilizes the therapeutic dose of the patented Study II Drug ("RuvidarTM" or "TLD-1433") (0.70 mg/cm2) activated by the proprietary Study II Device (TLC-3200 Medical Laser System or "TLC-3200"). Study II is focused on enrolling and treating approximately 75 to 100 BCG-Unresponsive NMIBC CIS patients in up to 15 Clinical Study Sites ("CSS") located in Canada and the United States.

About Ruvidar

Ruvidar is a small molecule, able to be activated by light, radiation, sound and/or other drugs, designed to selectively target and destroy cancer cells, while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. It represents a novel approach in the treatment of BCG-Unresponsive NMIBC CIS. It is planned to be evaluated in various other cancers in 2025; including: brain, lung, pancreatic and muscle invasive bladder cancer.

About Theralase Technologies Inc.:

Theralase is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to the research and development of light, radiation, sound and/or drug-activated small molecules and their formulations, intended for the safe and effective destruction of various cancers, bacteria and viruses.

Additional information is available at www.theralase.com and www.sedarplus.ca

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements:

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Such statements include; but, are not limited to statements regarding the Company's proposed development plans with respect to Photo Dynamic Compounds and their drug formulations. Forward looking statements may be identified by the use of the words "may, "should", "will", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "expects", "estimate", "potential for" and similar expressions; including, statements related to the current expectations of Company's management for future research, development and commercialization of the Company's Photo Dynamic Compounds and their drug formulations, preclinical research, clinical studies and regulatory approvals.

These statements involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions; including, the ability of the Company to: adequately fund and secure the requisite regulatory approvals to commercially market a treatment for bladder cancer in a timely fashion and implement its commercialization strategy. Other risks include: the ability of the Company to successfully complete its Phase II BCG-Unresponsive NMIBC CIS clinical study , access to sufficient capital to fund the Company's operations may not be available or may not be available on terms that are commercially favorable to the Company, the Company's drug formulations may not be effective against the diseases tested in its clinical studies, the Company's fails to comply with the term of license agreements with third parties and as a result loses the right to use key intellectual property in its business, the Company's ability to protect its intellectual property, the timing and success of submission, acceptance and approval of regulatory filings. Many of these factors that will determine actual results are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict.

Readers should not unduly rely on these forward- looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future performance. There can be no assurance that forward looking statements will prove to be accurate as such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results or future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in the press release are based upon what management currently believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure prospective investors that actual results, performance or achievements will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.

All forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and are subject to change. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update such statements.

For investor information on the Company, please feel to reach out Investor Inquiries - Theralase Technologies.

For More Information:

1.866.THE.LASE (843-5273)

416.699.LASE (5273)

www.theralase.com

Kristina Hachey, CPA x224

Chief Financial Officer

khachey@theralase.com

SOURCE: Theralase Technologies, Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
Galway Metals Inc. (TSX-V:GWM)(OTCQB:GAYMF) (the "Company" or "Galway") is pleased to report an updated Mineral Resource Estimate prepared by SLR Consulting Ltd. and updated metallurgical testing performed at Base Metal Laboratories under the design and direction of Principal Metallurgist Mr. Ken Roberts on the Estrades property located in the northern Abitibi of Western Quebec, Canada. The 100% owned Estrades project, is a high-grade gold and zinc deposit. Historically, Breakwater Resources Ltd, spent CAD$20 million developing the precious metal rich VMS deposit which was previously mined via a 200-metre-deep ramp with production in 1990-91 totalling 174,946 tonnes grading 12.9% Zn, 6.4 g/t Au, 1.1% Cu, and 173.3 g/t Ag.

"We are extremely excited about 31% increase in gold recovery and its significant impact on the potential economics of the project. We had previously undertaken 2 internal Scoping Studies that indicated to us that absent a new discovery at the Estrades project, the next biggest improvement we could make at Estrades was increasing the gold recovery. Which is exactly what Galway accomplished as can be seen below, we also achieved improvements in copper, silver and lead recoveries." States Rob Hinchcliffe, President and CEO of Galway. Adding, "A positive Scoping Study would facilitate our quest to move the project forward by establishing a more relevant value in the marketplace. There are several operating mills in the area it is worth mentioning. The Clarence Stream gold project, located in southwest New Brunswick, remains our flagship project where the vast majority of the company's resources and attention is focused. We are currently drilling at Clarence Stream, and we remain quite bullish about the company's prospects as we look forward to 2025."

Metallurgical and Mineral Resource Estimate Highlights

Gold recoveries have improved by 31% and now stand at 86.6% with further room for additional improvement. Moreover, for Ag we find that recoveries stand at 45%, improving by just under 9%.

With strong precious metal prices gold now accounts for 48% of the total NSR (net smelter return) of Indicated Mineral Resources and 41% for the total NSR of Inferred Mineral Resources .

Open circuit testing produced marketable concentrates for copper that assayed 28% Cu with low lead and zinc content with 95% copper recovery vs previous results of 22% assayed copper and 44% recovered.

Strong Exploration Potential: With 31 kilometres of strike length on the Casa Berardi Fault for lode gold exploration and 17 km of the highly prospective Newiska Horizon for gold and polymetallic VMS exploration, we believe the upside potential for making new discoveries at Estrades is very high.

We see a modest increase in tonnage with the new mineral resource estimate with a 17% increase in Indicated Resource and a 22% increase in Inferred Resource compared to 2018 Estrade Resource Estimate conducted by SLR Consulting Inc. (at a $150/t NSR cutoff compared to $140/t used in 2018).

Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Estrades Deposit by SLR Consulting Inc., December 6, 2024

Category Tonnes Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Indicated 1,750,000 0.97 0.48 5.76 2.86 94.4 Inferred 2,680,000 0.86 0.28 4.75 1.81 77.4

Notes:

CIM (2014 definitions were followed for Mineral Resources. Mineral Resources are estimated at long-term metal prices (U$) as follows: Zn $1.30/lb, Cu $4.50/lb, Pb $1.00/lb, Au $2,000/oz, and Ag $25.00/oz. Mineral Resources are estimated using an average long-term foreign exchange rate of C$1: US$0.73. Mineral Resources are estimated at a Net Smelter Return (NSR) cut-off value of C$150/tonne. NSR values were calculated based on metal prices, metallurgical recoveries, and typical off-site charges applicable to concentrates. The cut-off value corresponds to the projected operating costs for a conceptual operating scenario. There are no Mineral Reserves estimated at the Estrades Project. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Numbers may not sum due to rounding.

Details of the Estrades Mineral Resource Update

The Mineral Resource update was done to reflect current metal prices, with the gold price having increased 38%, and to include in-fill drilling conducted since 2018. SLR's Mineral Resource update also includes a sensitivity analysis at the same $140/t NSR cutoff as used in 2018.

That apples-to-apples comparison at the same 2018 $140/t NSR cutoff shows that infill drilling and current metal prices resulted in the tonnage increase of 19% for Indicted and 25% for Inferred, with a decrease in average grade of 11 to 15% for all metals, resulting in a minimal net change in total metal content.

Metallurgical Improvements from Previous Work

Further metallurgical testing has been completed at Base Metallurgical laboratories (Base Met Labs, now Intertek) on the Estrades Project to determine if improvements could be made in both metal recoveries and upgrading of the concentrates. The previous work had been completed in 2007 and 2008. Highlights for the program are as follows.

The following are excerpts from the report "Metallurgical Update Study for the Estrades Project, by Base Met Labs, August 2, 2024:

"Testing compared Full Sequential vs. Bulk Cu/Pb Sequential Zn, the Bulk option was initially thought to produce higher copper and precious metal recoveries."

"Locked cycle testing on the Bulk flowsheet option generated recoveries to separate concentrates of 58% Cu, 44% Pb and 85% Zn. Precious metal recovery to Cu and Pb concentrates was demonstrated to be 86.6% Au and 45% Ag."

"Open circuit testing produced marketable concentrates for copper that assayed 28% Cu with low Pb and Zn content with 95% Copper recovery, the zinc concentrate assayed 54.6% Zn with 82% recovery."

"Precious metals recovered to the copper and lead concentrate (with additional recovered from solution) were 86% Au and 45% Ag".

Additional testing was recommended.

Locked Cycle Test Results (Base Met Labs, 2024)::

Ore Sorting Discussion

Ore sorting results suggested XRT based sensors were successful in rejecting dilution/waste for all material types except Central East which did not demonstrate an amenability to sorting. QEMSCAN analysis indicated that the ore is classified as ultra-fine textured massive sulphide polymetallic. The current program tested grind sizes down to a k80 of 13 m. It is likely regrind sizes in the sub 5 m range may be required to produce more favorable separations of the base metals, particularly the zinc. The (locked cycle copper concentrate contained too much zinc and). Future studies should evaluate finer regrind sizes in the sub k80 of 10 or even 5 m size ranges to reduce the amount of zinc in the copper concentrate.

Qualified Persons

The Mineral Resource Estimate and other scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared and approved by independent qualified persons for purpose of NI 43-101: Reno Pressaco M.Sc.(A)., P.Geo., of SLR Consulting Inc., Principal Metallurgist Kenny Roberts of KJRoberts Metallurgical Services Inc., and from Principal Metallurgist Jake Lang B.E.Cs., of Base Metallurgical Laboratories Ltd.

About Galway Metals Inc.

Galway Metals is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing its 100%-owned, high-grade, open-pitable flagship Clarence Stream gold project in southwest New Brunswick. Clarence Stream is an emerging gold district with an exploration strike length of approximately 65 kilometres and the existing resource is open in virtually all directions. Galway Metals also has 100%-ownership in the Estrades project, a former producing high-grade, gold-rich polymetallic VMS mine in the northern Abitibi of western Quebec. Led by a management team with a proven track-record of creating shareholder value having sold Galway Resources for US$340 million, Galway Metals is focused on creating value for all its stakeholders.

For additional Information on Galway Metals Inc., Please contact:

Robert Hinchcliffe President & Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: 1-800-771-0680

Email: info@galwaymetalsinc.com

Website: www.galwaymetalsinc.com

Look us up on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn

Cautionary Statement

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, information with respect to the OTCQB listing, DTC eligibility, and broadening U.S. institutional and retail investors. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to changes in economic conditions or financial markets, political and competitive developments, operation or exploration difficulties, changes in equity markets, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices capital, operating and reclamation costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restrictions on labour and international travel and supply chains, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

SOURCE: Galway Metals Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2025) - Legend Power Systems Inc. (TSXV: LPS) (OTCQB: LPSIF) ("Legend Power" or the "Company") announces it has closed the second and final tranche (the "Second Tranche") of its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.18 per Unit. Under the Second Tranche, the Company distributed 4,728,443 Units for gross proceeds of $851,120, bringing the total Offering raise to $1,613,090. Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant issued under the Second Tranche entitles the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at an exercise price of $0.30 until January 24, 2027.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for general working capital purposes, fixed operating expenses and to advance its sales pipeline.

All securities issued under the Second Tranche, including securities issuable on exercise thereof, will be subject to a hold period expiring May 25, 2025, in accordance with the rules and policies of the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities laws.

Completion of the Offering is subject to certain conditions including but not limited to the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the final approval of the TSXV.

An Insider of the Company participated in the Second Tranche for $36,000. The issuance of Units to insiders is considered a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation requirements of MI 61-101 pursuant to section 5.5(a) and the minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 pursuant to section 5.7(1)(a) in respect of such insider participation as the fair market value of the transaction, insofar as it involves interested parties, does not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

This news release does not constitute an offer for sale, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, in the United States or to any "U.S Person" (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act")) of any equity or other securities of the Company. The securities of the Company have not been, and will not be, registered under the 1933 Act or under any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to a U.S. Person absent registration under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws or an applicable exemption therefrom.

About Legend Power Systems Inc.

Legend Power Systems Inc. (www.legendpower.com) provides an intelligent energy management platform that analyzes and improves building energy challenges, significantly impacting asset management and corporate performance. Legend's proven solutions support proactive executive decision-making in a complex and volatile business and energy environment.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information," including statements regarding use of proceeds of the Offering, regulatory and corporate approvals, closing of the Offering, the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Company's quarterly and annual Management's Discussion & Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated, or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements other than as may be required by applicable law.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF U.S. SECURITIES LAWS.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/238615

SOURCE: Legend Power Systems Inc.
A case study on how a mid-sized pharmaceutical company collaborated with DelveInsight to expand its asset portfolio in the Atrial Fibrillation space. DelveInsight conducted comprehensive asset prioritization, identifying the most promising Phase II therapeutic candidates for licensing opportunities. This evidence-based approach helped the client strategically align the clinical trial pipeline with growth objectives, ensuring a competitive edge in the market.

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- DelveInsight, a leader in pharma consulting services, conducted an Asset Prioritization Analysis for a pharmaceutical client entering the Atrial Fibrillation space. The client sought evidence-based insights to prioritize assets and products suitable for Phase II development, focusing on potential licensing collaborations. Additionally, the client wanted to strategically align their research efforts by identifying an optimal asset to enhance and complement their existing research portfolio, ensuring a targeted and impactful approach to advancing their pipeline. DelveInsight provided insights through a comprehensive evaluation of innovation, market potential, and clinical feasibility, enabling the client to make strategic, impactful decisions for pipeline advancement.

The client's indication of interest was Atrial Fibrillation, a common arrhythmia characterized by rapid and irregular beating of the heart's atrial chambers. DelveInsight's Atrial Fibrillation Epidem-based Market Forecast Report assesses that 2.7 to 6.1 million people are affected with Atrial Fibrillation in theUnited States, with its prevalence strongly age-dependent. The estimates suggest that approximately 25% of people aged 40 and above are likely to develop AF during their lifetime. This prevalence is expected to increase significantly by 2034, highlighting high patient burden and large unmet needs.

Download the Sample Report of Atrial Fibrillation Market

The Atrial Fibrillation market features significant activity from key companies like Abbott Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson, Atricure Inc., Microport Scientific Corporation, Boston Scientific Corporation, St. Jude Medical, Medtronic Plc, Koninklijke, Philips N.V., Siemens AG, and many others. Emerging therapeutic candidates include Botulinum toxin A (Merz Pharma), MAA868 (Anthos Therapeutics), and HBI-3000 (HUYABIO International).

Asset Prioritization involves a comprehensive evaluation of therapeutic candidates to identify and rank the most promising options for licensing and development. For a client seeking entry into the Atrial Fibrillation market, DelveInsight employed a structured methodology to evaluate potential assets, addressing unmet medical needs, future treatment regimens, and market dynamics to support growth objectives. This strategic approach enabled the client to identify high-value assets for in-licensing, fostering pipeline enhancement and alignment with their development strategy.

DelveInsight's Asset Prioritization process provided the client with a multidimensional assessment encompassing technological, clinical, commercial, and company evaluations. Key focus areas included innovation potential, clinical feasibility, market dynamics, and strategic alignment with the client's business goals. Through tailored tools like matrix analysis and primary research, DelveInsight synthesized actionable insights, enabling the client to identify and prioritize the most suitable asset confidently. This comprehensive strategy ensured the selected candidate met clinical and commercial viability while aligning with the client's overarching goals in the Atrial Fibrillation domain.

DelveInsight's Matrix Analysis played a pivotal role in identifying the most promising candidates for the client's Atrial Fibrillation portfolio. By analyzing 20 companies, the Matrix helped narrow the focus to the top 7 that were strategically aligned with the client's goals.

Key Outcomes of Delveinsight's Asset Prioritization Analysis Include:

Strategic Fit: The Matrix positioned companies in the TARGET quadrant , highlighting those most likely to meet the client's strategic needs.

The Matrix positioned companies in the , highlighting those most likely to meet the client's strategic needs. Market Insights: Provided an understanding of market trends, helping the client track the Atrial Fibrillation company's progress and potential of various development candidates.

Provided an understanding of market trends, helping the client track the Atrial Fibrillation company's progress and potential of various development candidates. Prioritization: Allowed the client to prioritize assets with the highest potential for growth and alignment with their long-term objectives.

Allowed the client to prioritize assets with the highest potential for growth and alignment with their long-term objectives. Competitive Landscape of Atrial Fibrillatio n : Delivered a comprehensive view of the competitive environment, ensuring that the client was well-equipped to make informed decisions.

n Delivered a comprehensive view of the competitive environment, ensuring that the client was well-equipped to make informed decisions. In-Licensing Negotiations: DelveInsight supported the client in leveraging insights to engage in negotiations for in-licensing, ensuring the selected asset would be a strategic addition to their pipeline.

This combination of targeted analysis and actionable insights gave the client a clear roadmap for expanding their Atrial Fibrillation portfolio, enhancing their development strategies and partnership opportunities.

Why Choose DelveInsight?

DelveInsight is a recognized expert in Asset Prioritization, offering a comprehensive methodology that helps guide the R&D journey of pharmaceutical companies. By collaborating closely with the client's team, DelveInsight's analysts develop intelligent criteria and create assessment scenarios based on reliable parameters, ensuring that all potential outcomes-both successes and failures-are thoroughly considered. The approach includes market modeling to understand future dynamics, market share uptake, address unmet medical needs, and identify treatment regimens that will be pivotal in shaping the future of the therapy landscape. With this robust framework, DelveInsight empowers companies to make informed decisions, ensuring a strategic, data-driven path for research and development that aligns with both short-term goals and long-term growth objectives.

Connect with us today to explore how we can support your specific needs and discuss opportunities for strategic engagement. Request a Proposal Now!

Market Assessment Services in the Cardiology Segment, DelveInsight, provide a 360-degree view of the market landscape. Our expertise includes epidemiology-based market forecasts up to 2034, offering precise insights into current and future market share uptake of emerging therapies. These forecasts, combined with detailed analyses of emerging trends, competitive dynamics of the pipeline therapies, and unmet needs, enable stakeholders to strategize effectively and identify growth opportunities. Whether it's the pipeline analysis, pricing strategies, or competitive benchmarking, DelveInsight delivers actionable intelligence tailored to your goals.

Competitive Intelligence Services Tailored to Cardiology Domain: DelveInsight's competitive intelligence services provide real-time, accurate insights across the different therapeutic domains and cardiology therapeutic area being one of our fortes, providing detailed insights into advancements across widely spread indications and even in the rare and inherited conditions such as AL amyloidosis, ATTR, Kawasaki disease etc to name a few. Our services analyze competitors' pipelines, clinical trial progress" and market entry strategies, as well as regulatory updates and patent landscapes specific to cardiac indications. This intelligence enables stakeholders to identify emerging threats, uncover growth opportunities, and develop targeted strategies to remain competitive in this evolving therapeutic area.

Contact us today to discuss how our services can drive success in your endeavors within the cardiology market.

About DelveInsight

DelveInsight is a leading Business Consultant and Market Research firm focused exclusively on life sciences. It supports pharma companies by providing comprehensive end-to-end solutions to improve their performance. Get hassle-free access to all the healthcare and pharma market research reports through our subscription-based platform, PharmDelve.

Contact Us

Shruti Thakur

info@delveinsight.com

+14699457679

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082265/3528414/DelveInsight_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/asset-prioritization-in-pharma-domain-how-in-licensing-led-to-the-selection-of-a-high-value-game-changing-asset-for-a-pharma-client-302360514.html
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Japan will on Tuesday see December data for producer prices, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. Producer prices are expected to rise 2.1 percent on year, up from 3.0 percent in the previous month.Australia will see December results for the surveys of business confidence and business conditions from National Australia Bank; in November, their scores were -3 and +2, respectively.Singapore will release preliminary Q4 data for unemployment; in the previous three months, the jobless rate was 1.9 percent.Finally, the markets in South Korea, Taiwan, China and Indonesia are closed on Tuesday for the Lunar New Year.Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedCopyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2025) - Silver Elephant Mining Corp. (TSX: ELEF) (OTCQB: SILEF) (FSE: 1P2) ("Silver Elephant" or the "Company") announces that, further to its news release dated January 16, 2025, it has increased the size of the private placement (the "Private Placement") to 2,800,000 units (the "Units") for aggregate gross proceeds of $420,000 at a price of $0.15 per Unit. Each unit consists of one common share of the Company ("Share") and one share purchase warrant with each warrant (the "Warrant") entitling the holder to purchase one additional Share at a price of $0.30 per Share for a period of three years from issuance.

The Company further announces that it has closed the first tranche of the Private Placement raising gross proceeds of $330,000 through the sale of 2,200,000 Units.

The securities issued as part of the Private Placement will be subject to a regulatory hold period of four months plus one day from the date of issue.

Proceeds of the Private Placement are expected to be used for general corporate purposes.

The Company paid a finder's fee to Canaccord Genuity Corp. in connection with the first tranche of the Private Placement by way of issuance of 119,000 Units.

About Silver Elephant Mining Corp.

Silver Elephant is a mineral exploration company with the Paca silver project and Triunfo gold project in Bolivia.

Further information on Silver Elephant can be found at www.silverelef.com.

SILVER ELEPHANT MINING CORP.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"John Lee"

CEO and Executive Chairman

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts, are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect management's expectations regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information in this news release includes the expected gross proceeds of the Private Placement, use of proceeds raised from the Private Placement.

Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, and should not be read as guarantees of future performance, events or results, and may not be indicative of whether such events or results will actually be achieved. A number of risks and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: market conditions; ability to complete the financing; changes in business plans; ability to secure sufficient financing to advance the Company's mining projects; and general economic conditions. Additional risk factors about the Company are set out in its latest annual and interim management's discussion and analysis and annual information form available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca.

Forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions by management as of the date of this news release, and there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with any forward-looking statements included herein. Readers are cautioned that all forward looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this news release to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date of this news release, except as required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/238648

SOURCE: Silver Elephant Mining Corp.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2025) - Telescope Innovations Corp. (CSE: TELI) (OTCQB: TELIF) ("Telescope" or the "Company"), a developer of advanced technologies and services for the global pharmaceutical and chemical industries, reports financial results for the fiscal quarter ended November 30, 2024 (Q1). The Company generated revenues of $1.2 million during this period, driven by strong sales performance and market adoption of its flagship product, DirectInject-LC, and an adjusted EBITA loss of $103K. Revenues have been strategically reinvested to drive operational growth, and financial results are consistent with management's budget expectations and FY 2025 targets.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FISCAL QUARTER ENDED NOVEMBER 30, 2024

All values are represented in CAD.

Revenues of $1,204,197 (versus $1,504,852 for the comparable period in FY 2024)

Expenses of $1,547,734 (versus$1,289,852 for the comparable period in FY 2024)

Adjusted EBITA loss of $103,177 (versus $505,171 earnings for the comparable period in FY 2024)

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

FLAGSHIP PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION AND EXPANSION OF CUSTOMER BASE . Telescope successfully delivered all product orders under its multi-year global distribution agreement with Mettler Toledo for DirectInject-LC. Product demonstrations in the US, Japan, Belgium, and Slovenia expanded market presence, while the Japan launch created immediate opportunities. Mettler Toledo also initiated a marketing campaign in November to further drive product adoption.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH WITH PFIZER ON SELF-DRIVING LABS . Under its multi-year agreement with Pfizer, Telescope advanced research activities to develop Self-Driving Laboratories (SDLs). Powered by artificial intelligence, advanced process analytical technology, and robotics, SDLs can accelerate pharmaceutical research and development by up to 100 times compared to traditional methods. Telescope also achieved Certified Systems Integrator (CSI) status for Universal Robots systems, enhancing its ability to deploy SDLs effectively, train clients on their use, and ensure seamless adoption of this transformative technology.

VALUE DEMONSTRATION OF IP FOR PRODUCING BATTERY RAW MATERIALS. The Company demonstrated production of over 99.5% pure lithium carbonate from Altillion brines using its proprietary ReCRFT technology, significantly reducing the costs and complexity of lithium refining. Telescope is now building a pilot plant in Vancouver to conduct scale-up engineering studies and demonstrate continuous operation to potential ReCRFT licensing customers. Telescope also published peer-reviewed research in Digital Discovery, showcasing how AI-driven optimization couples with ReCRFT, achieving lithium carbonate yields exceeding 83% and improving the sustainability of lithium processing.

"Our Q1 results position Telescope firmly on track to achieve our technical, strategic, and financial targets for the year," commented Henry Dubina, Telescope CEO. "The combination of strong product sales, groundbreaking collaborations such as our work with Pfizer on Self-Driving Labs, and the advancement of proprietary technologies such as ReCRFT highlights our ability to deliver value across multiple industries. As we continue to scale operations and reinvest in growth, we remain confident in our capacity to drive innovation and sustain our momentum throughout 2025."

Readers are encouraged to review the full financial statements and accompanying management discussion and analysis for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2024, both of which are available under the profile for the Company on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).

About Telescope

Telescope is a chemical technology company developing scalable manufacturing processes and tools for the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. The Company builds and deploys new enabling technologies including flexible robotic platforms and artificial intelligence software that improves experimental throughput, efficiency, and data quality. Our aim is to bring modern chemical technology solutions to meet the most serious challenges in health and sustainability.

On behalf of the Board,

Telescope Innovations Corp.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/238649

SOURCE: Telescope Innovations Corp.
Venture capital firm 33EAST raised 26m to launch its first fund which will back Cyprus-based startups.

Initial capital included:

19m from the Cyprus Equity Fund, a program under the Cypriot governments National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and

7m from private investors, with 2m contributed by the Bank of Cyprus.

Read more on VCWire.tech, our new website dedicated to the tech venture capital industry.

FinSMEs

27/01/2025
Queensway, Gibraltar, January 27th, 2025, Chainwire

DeFi is packed with opportunities, but navigating it has always been a challenge. Between endless noise, complex tools, and volatile markets, even seasoned investors often struggle to make informed decisions.

Dyor, the platform simplifying decentralized investing, is taking a significant step forward with its latest AI-powered app update. Combining artificial intelligence with community-driven investing, Dyor aims to make DeFi more accessible, data-driven, and collaborative for all users.

AI Meets Social Investing

At the heart of this update is AI-powered social investing, a feature that combines advanced technology with community engagement. By using AI to analyze market data, Dyor identifies emerging trends and patterns, providing users with curated token collections tailored to market narratives like AI tokens or SportsFi.

Users are notified of new token collections, which they can explore with an intuitive swipe interface:

Swipe left to skip.

Swipe right to invest.

Swipe up to add tokens to their watchlist.

The app also integrates in-app trading challenges and social features, encouraging collaboration among users. This combination of AI-driven insights and community engagement creates a space where investors can learn, strategize, and make better-informed decisions together.

Redefining the Future of Decentralized Investing

With a focus on security and self-custody, Dyor empowers users to retain full control of their assets and private keys, with no third parties involved. Gamified features, like streak rewards for completing collections, add a layer of enjoyment, making the experience both productive and engaging.

This update isnt just about technology, its about empowering people to explore the opportunities of DeFi with ease, says Markuss, CEO of Dyor. Were redefining how decentralized investing works, making it accessible for everyone, from newcomers to seasoned traders.

By combining AI, user-friendly tools, and a collaborative environment, Dyors latest update paves the way for a new era of decentralized investing. Designed to support both newcomers to Web3 and seasoned DeFi participants, Dyor simplifies the investment process while empowering users to unlock new opportunities.

About Dyor

Dyor is a user-friendly platform designed to simplify Web3 and DeFi investing. By offering AI-curated token collections, collaborative investing features, and secure, self-custodial tools, Dyor empowers users to make informed decisions with confidence. For those exploring decentralized finance, Dyor offers a streamlined approach to navigating the space. Additional details can be found on the Dyor app or by following the platform on X.

For more information, users can visit the Dyor App or follow them on X.

App Store | Play Store

Contact

Markuss Jonans

[email protected]
Manifest Global, a global education investment firm headquartered in Singapore, has launched.

Led by Rohan Pasari, CEO, Manifest Global specializes in building companies that connect the world towards growth, prosperity, and innovation. With a portfolio of brands including Cialfo, Explore, and Kaaiser, Manifest Global is dedicated to enhancing global student mobility and fostering an interconnected education ecosystem. It is backed by prominent global funds including Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, Square Peg Capital, Tiger Global, SEEK Growth, DLF Ventures, Cercano Management, January Capital, and more.

The firm announced its establishment as the parent company of global education industry brands Cialfo, Explore, and Kaaiser.

Cialfo is a Singapore-based edtech company that provides an AI-powered platform for high school college counseling, streamlining the career exploration, college search, and application sending process. It equips counselors with a comprehensive workflow solution and provides students with a centralized hub for profile building, career exploration, and university discovery. The company, which has undergone a corporate restructuring to form the foundational building block of Manifest Global, is now operating as distinct entities under Manifest Global.

Established in 1997, Kaaiser is a premier education consultancy based in New Delhi, India, facilitating international student mobility.

Manifest Global has also announced a strategic investment in Kaaiser, a New Delhi-based education company renowned for its expertise in international student counseling.

FinSMEs

27/01/2025
Fenix24, a Chattanooga, a TN-based cyber disaster recovery firm, acquired vArmour, a San Mateo, CA-based provider of Application Relationship Management software.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

This strategic acquisition will enhance the capabilities of Fenix24s newest battalion, Argos99, which helps improve cyber resilience and incident recovery by providing companies with expert insights into their own assets and infrastructure both in peacetime and wartime.

vArmour enabled businesses worldwide to enhance their resilience through effective understanding of the relationships between their applications, IT infrastructure and service behavior. Used by some of the worlds largest financial institutions and telecom providers, vArmour has raised more than $300 million in funding and holds 40-plus patents that have defined the visualization and segmentation industries. These patents are now part of Argos99s patent portfolio. Additionally, Fenix24 will now work with former vArmour customers to re-engage them with the enriched Argos99 platform and improve infrastructure visibility.

Led by CEO Mark Grazman, Fenix24 is a civilian cybersecurity force with three time-tested battalions:

 Athena7 / IT security assessments, strategy and planning

 Grypho5 / Ongoing, security-based management

 Argos99 / Expert insights into data, assets and infrastructure

FinSMEs

27/01/2025
Sightline, a London, UK-based provider of a market intelligence platform for the transition economy, raised $5.5M in Seed funding.

Backers included Molten Ventures which participated as a co-lead investor.

Led by CEO Kim Zou, Sightline provides an AI-powered platform that delivers actionable intelligence to over 70 international clients, including major corporates, financial institutions, and governments. The platform is used by clients such as HSBC, Southern Company, BHP, Galvanize Climate Solutions, and the US Department of Energy to navigate the complex dynamics of the transition economy across energy, transport, and industrial sectors.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its research capabilities, broaden sector coverage, and accelerate platform development. This includes advancing AI-powered tools to deliver data-driven predictive insights and models that inform strategic decision-making and enable smarter allocation of billions in available capital to real-world solutions that drive a competitive and efficient transition.

FinSMEs

27/01/2025
Tapline, a Berlin, Germany-based company providing SaaS financing solutions, raised 20M in Series A funding.

The round was led by Karim Beshara, with participation from Antler, and strategic business angels. Tapline also raised a debt facility from WinYield to finance its debt portfolio in non-dilutive capital to SaaS and subscription businesses.

The company intends to sue the funds to scale its operations, expand its innovative platform, and support the growth of SaaS companies across Europe.

Led by CEO Dean Hastie, Tapline provides non-dilutive financing to B2B SaaS and subscription companies by pre-financing future receivables. Empowered by AI-driven credit technology, it offers flexible funding solutions, allowing businesses to scale efficiently.

It actively supports clients in Germany, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Poland, with further expansion plans to be announced soon.

FinSMEs

27/01/2025
There is optimism that the Union Budget 2025 will focus on tax reforms to boost economic growth, reduce business costs and encourage investment read more

As India steps into 2025, all eyes are on the Union Budget, a pivotal policy instrument that shapes the nations economic landscape. Beyond being an annual fiscal exercise, the budget is a strategic blueprint that reflects the governments priorities for growth, fiscal management and investment stimulation. Taxation policies, particularly, are expected to take centre stage, given their critical role in driving economic momentum. Below are the potential tax reforms and their implications for individuals and businesses:

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Direct Taxes: Relief or Redistribution?

Increase in the basic exemption limit for personal income tax from 5 lakh to 3 lakh or 3.5 lakh. Potential impact: Increasing the exemption limit could result in an additional 10,000-20,000 disposable income annually for taxpayers in lower brackets, potentially injecting 30,000-50,000 crore into consumer markets.

Possible tweaks to tax slabs or reduction in the highest tax rate of 30 per cent currently to 25 per cent Potential Impact: A reduction in the highest tax rate could save high-income earners 50,000-1,00,000 annually, incentivizing investment and consumption among affluent households.

Expansion of incentives for new manufacturing units to other sectors like services or MSMEs (Margin Money subsidy ranges from 15 per cent to 35 per cent of project cost for projects up to Rs50 lakh in manufacturing sector and Rs20 lakh in the service sector) Potential impact: Incentives could lead to a 10-15 per cent growth in MSME output, translating to an increase in employment by 5-8 million jobs over 3-5 years.



Indirect taxes: GST reforms ahead

Simplification of GST slabs could reduce compliance costs for businesses by 15-20 per cent while boosting annual GST collections by Rs20,000-30,000 crore. The current GST structure comprises four slabs: 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. The government is considering consolidating these into three slabspossibly 8 per cent or 10%, 18%, and 28%. This simplification aims to streamline compliance processes, reduce classification disputes, and improve business efficiency. Additionally, merging the lower slabs could enhance tax revenues while reducing costs for businesses in sectors such as retail, FMCG and logistics. Potential impact: Streamlined rates could reduce compliance costs for businesses by 15-20 per cent and improve Centres GST collections by Rs20,000-30,000 crore annually.

Benefits from lower corporate tax rates and sector-specific incentives, enabling reinvestment and competitiveness. Potential impact: Lower rates could free up Rs30,000-40,000 crore annually for reinvestment, potentially driving GDP growth by 0.5-1 per cent.



Capital gains tax: A paradigm shift?

As of now, the government is not considering any structural changes to the capital gains tax regime in the upcoming 2025 Union Budget. Reports indicate that the existing tax rates for both long-term and short-term capital gains are expected to remain unchanged.

In the previous budget, the government had increased the tax rates on capital gains. Specifically, the tax rate on short-term capital gains was raised from 15% to 20%, and the rate on long-term capital gains was increased from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent. Given these recent adjustments, it is anticipated that the government will maintain the current capital gains tax structure in the 2025 budget.

Potential impact: The governments decision to maintain the current capital gains tax rates reflects an effort to provide stability to the financial markets. Stability in tax rates could also encourage long-term investments, as investors gain confidence in a predictable taxation regime.

The author is Founder and MD, Equentis Wealth Advisory Services. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
Kanojia said in a statement, I told the police that I had nothing to do with the attack on Saif Ali Khan and offered to make them speak with my relatives. read more

A new twist has come in in the case of Saif Ali Khan. Mumbai resident Akash Kailash Kanojia was wrongfully implicated in the burglary and attacking case in the actors house.

Kanojia said in a statement to Hindustan Times, The RPF personnel not only apprehended me, they also issued a press release with my photograph, which was shown widely by television channels and media outlets. As a result, the brides family cancelled the meeting with me and my employer terminated my services.

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He added, I told the police that I had nothing to do with the attack on Saif Ali Khan and offered to make them speak with my relatives. I also told them that they could check footage from CCTVs installed near my house to clarify their doubts. But they did not pay any heed  instead, they took my photos and circulated them in the media, claiming I was the attacker.

Saif Ali Khan returned to his home in Mumbai earlier this week from a hospital, less than a week after an intruder stabbed him multiple times. After being discharged from Lilavati Hospital in the city on Tuesday (January 21) afternoon, he was captured smiling at cameras and waving from his bandaged hand.

The 54-year-old actor was stabbed six times during a burglary attempt at his home after midnight last Thursday. As per the doctors, he sustained stab wounds to his spine, neck and hands and underwent two surgeries at Mumbais Lilavati Hospital. The Mumbai Police have arrested a man named Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, who is suspected to be a citizen of Bangladesh, in connection with the case.

Khans video after his discharge from hospital on Tuesday has sparked a political controversy, with some politicians even raising doubts about the attack on him.
Alexander Lukashenko has extended his 31-year rule by winning a controversial seventh term in Belarus. Amid accusations of election rigging, political repression, and growing reliance on Russia, the autocratic leaders grip on power remains firm. Whats next for Europes last dictator? read more

Belarusian President and presidential candidate Alexander Lukashenko attends a press conference after casting his vote in the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, January 26, 2025. File Image/Reuters

Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to as Europes last dictator, has ruled Belarus for over three decades. The Belarusian leader recently secured his seventh term in office, extending his 31-year reign following an election widely criticised by Western nations as a sham.

Official results announced by Belaruss Central Election Commission claimed Lukashenko won 86.8 per cent of the vote, in an election marked by the absence of genuine competition.

Turnout was reported at 85.7 per cent, with over 6.9 million eligible voters. However, opposition figures and international observers dismissed the election as neither free nor fair, citing a lack of independent media and the systematic repression of dissent.

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Why Lukashenko is called Europes last dictator

Lukashenkos political journey began in 1994 when he was elected as Belaruss first president after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Initially campaigning as an anti-corruption crusader, he promised to bring stability to a country grappling with economic chaos.

Upon taking office, he quickly consolidated power through constitutional changes, including granting himself authority to dissolve parliament and reshaping Belaruss political system to ensure his dominance. Over the years, these constitutional tweaks cemented his hold on the presidency, effectively eliminating any real political competition.

Belarusian President and presidential candidate Alexander Lukashenko visits a polling station during the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, January 26, 2025. File Image/Reuters

Elections under Lukashenkos rule have been repeatedly marred by allegations of fraud, with observers and rights groups declaring them neither free nor fair.

Opposition figures, including exiled leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, accused Lukashenko of perpetuating a ritual for dictators," reported Reuters.

Western governments have condemned the electoral process, with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock calling it a bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy.

Human rights organisations reported that political prisoners, estimated at 1,250, remain behind bars, while leading opposition figures, such as exiled leader Tsikhanouskaya, continue to speak out against Lukashenkos rule from abroad.

Lukashenko has demonstrated little tolerance for dissent. Following the 2020 elections, his regime violently suppressed mass protests, arresting tens of thousands and driving many opposition figures into exile.

These measures have left Belarus in a near-permanent state of tension, with public discontent simmering beneath the surface.

Lukashenkos close alliance with Russia

Geopolitical proximity to Russia has fundamentally shaped Lukashenkos political strategy. From the outset of his presidency, he sought to foster close ties with Moscow, leveraging Belaruss location as a strategic buffer state between Russia and NATO member countries.

This relationship deepened significantly in the aftermath of the 2020 protests and amid growing Western sanctions.

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A staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko allowed Belarusian territory to be used as a staging ground for Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Speaking on this decision, he told AFP, I do not regret anything, calling Putin an older brother.

Russias President Vladimir Putin and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko shake hands. File Image/Reuters

The alliance has also seen Belarus hosting Russian tactical nuclear weapons, marking an escalation in regional security tensions. Lukashenko has even threatened to use these weapons without hesitation if Belarus is attacked, underscoring his role as a key partner in Putins strategic ambitions.

Although Lukashenko previously attempted to position himself as a mediator between the West and Russia, analysts believe his growing reliance on Putin has isolated Belarus internationally.

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Western sanctions have further strained the Belarusian economy, sparking speculation about whether Lukashenko may eventually seek rapprochement with Western powers to alleviate domestic pressures.

Human rights violations under Lukashenko

Lukashenkos administration has faced widespread criticism for its abysmal human rights record. Security forces under his command have been accused of torturing protesters, suppressing independent media, and silencing dissent.

Belarus remains the only country in Europe to retain the death penalty, with executions carried out by gunshot to the back of the head. Such policies have further entrenched the regimes reputation as one of the most repressive in Europe.

Beyond systemic oppression, Lukashenkos public statements often reveal his deeply ingrained misogynistic attitudes. During the 2020 election, he openly mocked opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, asserting that Belarus could never be led by a woman because she would collapse, poor thing.

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Lukashenko has shown no signs of stepping down, famously stating that he is not going to die.

A Belarusian court handed an eight-year prison sentence in May 2023 to Raman Pratasevich, a dissident journalist who was detained after his commercial flight was forcibly diverted to Belarus. Pratasevich was arrested in May 2021 in an incident many leaders likened the planes redirection to state-sponsored hijacking.

The Ryanair flight, en route from Greece to Lithuania, was instructed by Belarusian air traffic controllers to land in Minsk under the pretext of a bomb threat. However, no explosives were discovered once the aircraft was searched. Pratasevich, a Belarusian citizen living in exile at the time, was taken into custody upon landing.

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His Russian partner, Sofia Sapega, was also detained during the operation.

Also Watch:

Despite his strong grip on power, cracks in Lukashenkos regime are becoming increasingly apparent. While some analysts speculate that Lukashenko may be grooming his son Nikolai as a potential successor, the leader has publicly denied these claims, dismissing them as rumours.

For now, Lukashenko remains unapologetic about his authoritarian rule. At a recent press conference, he declared, I dont give a damn about the West, highlighting his focus on maintaining control at home and further aligning Belaruss future with Russia.

With inputs from agencies
Dozens of deported immigrants from the United States arrived in Brazil wearing handcuffs and ankle shackles. Passengers on the flight alleged they were denied access to washrooms and not provided with water. The incident has triggered outrage amid Latin Americas continued struggle with US President Donald Trumps strict anti-immigration policies read more

A Brazilian immigrant, deported from the US, is welcomed by a relative at the Confins airport in Brazil. Reuters

Dozens of deported immigrants arrived in Brazil from the United States by plane.

However, they were in handcuffs, with their hands and feet tied.

ALSO READ | How Donald Trump is shaking up America

On landing, some passengers alleged they had faced mistreatment during the journey.

Brazils Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to demand clarification from the US government regarding the incident.

This incident has sparked controversy amid Latin Americas ongoing struggle with US President Donald Trumps strict anti-immigration policies.

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Heres all that happened:

Immigrants are treated as criminals

The plane, carrying 88 Brazilian passengers, 16 US security agents, and eight crew members, was initially scheduled to land in Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais, a southeastern state. However, due to technical problems, it made an unplanned stop in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, according to Brazils Justice Ministry.

Upon its arrival in Manaus, a city in the north, Brazilian authorities instructed US officials to immediately remove the handcuffs, the justice ministry stated.

Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski informed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens.

Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician, was among the passengers on the flight after spending seven months in detention in the United States.

ALSO READ | Will the Laken Riley Act reshape immigration in the US and lead to visa bans for India?

Brazilian migrants arrive at the Confins airport in Belo Horizonte. Reuters

On the plane, they didnt give us water. We were tied hands and feet, and they wouldnt even let us go to the bathroom, he told AFP.

It was very hot, and some people fainted.

Luis Antonio Rodrigues Santos, a 21-year-old freelancer, described the nightmare experienced by those with respiratory problems during four hours without air conditioning caused by the technical issues.

Things have already changed (with Trump); immigrants are treated as criminals, he said.

Brazil slams US, condemns handcuffing of deportees

The use of handcuffs and other restraints on deportation flights from the US to Brazil has sparked criticism in the South American country.

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Conservative ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of Trump, also called for the practice to be stopped.

On Saturday, Brazils government expressed outrage, labelling the incident a flagrant disregard for the deportees rights.

Brazilian citizens land in Brazil  on a deportation flight from the USA 



They were sent home with their feet bound and their hands handcuffed.



The Brazilian gvmt demanded that hands and foot chains be removed once they reached Brazilian territory.

pic.twitter.com/IwfSiZVMED  BowTiedMara (@BowTiedMara) January 26, 2025

The foreign ministry announced plans to seek clarification from Washington over the degrading treatment of passengers on the flight, AFP reported.

Brazil will request explanations from the US government about the degrading treatment of passengers, the ministry said in a statement on X.

ALSO READ | Donald Trump signs executive order to end birthright citizenship. How will it affect Indians?

A government source told AFP that the deportation flight was not linked to any immigration orders issued by Trump since taking office on Monday. Instead, it was a result of a 2017 bilateral agreement.

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Brazils Minister of Human Rights, Macae Evaristo, revealed that children with autism  who went through very serious experiences were also on board.

Footage aired on Brazilian television showed some passengers leaving the civilian aircraft, restrained with handcuffs and ankle shackles.

Upon learning of the situation, President Lula ordered a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) aircraft be mobilised to transport the Brazilians to their final destination, in order to ensure that they could complete their journey with dignity and safety, the justice ministry said.

Lucas Gabriel, a Brazilian migrant deported from the US is welcomed by his relative at the Confins airport. Reuters

Trump, during his campaign, vowed to crack down on illegal immigration and began his second term with several executive orders aimed at tightening entry to the United States.

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While deportation flights have continued to draw attention this week, such actions were also common under previous US presidents.

The Trump administration, however, has introduced military aircraft for repatriation flights, with one such plane landing in Guatemala earlier this week. AFP confirmed that the aircraft landing in Manaus was not military.

A Brazilian government source told the agency that the deportees carried their documents, indicating they had consented to return to Brazil.

The US Department of Homeland Security estimates that there are around 11 million undocumented migrants in the country. On Friday, 265 migrants were also expelled to Guatemala.

Donald Trumps immigration crackdown

The Trump administration has launched a sweeping crackdown on immigration, with the Republican president assuring to use mass deportations to remove undocumented migrants from the United States.

Trump has also terminated refugee resettlement and indicated plans to prosecute local law enforcement officials who refuse to enforce his immigration policies. The policy appeared as the new administration geared up to intensify efforts against illegal immigration in cities with notable migrant populations.

This sets the stage for potential conflicts with officials in cities like New York and Chicago, which limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

On his first day in office, Trump signed orders declaring a national emergency at the southern border and announced the deployment of additional troops to the area, while promising to deport criminal aliens.

The administration has implemented a broad asylum ban and introduced measures to restrict citizenship for children born in the United States. A US official told Reuters last week that 1,000 additional active-duty troops would be deployed to the Mexico-US border on Trumps orders.

Trump has laid out the largest domestic logistical undertaking of our lifetimes - that being the deportation of the vast majority of illegal aliens present in the United States, Ken Cuccinelli, who led US Citizenship and Immigration Services during Trumps first presidency, recently told a Senate panel.

With inputs from agencies
In a fresh analysis, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said it believes that the Covid-19 virus more likely leaked from a Chinese lab than transmitted by animals. The US intelligence agency has released the low confidence assessment under Trump-appointed CIA director John Ratcliffe, who took office last week. But what made the spy agency change its official stance? read more

In a fresh assessment released last week, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), believes that the virus responsible for the coronavirus pandemic was "more likely" leaked from a Chinese lab in Wuhan than transmitted by animals. Image for Representation. Reuters

The origins of Covid-19 have remained one of the most debated topics of the 21st century.

Now, in a fresh assessment released last week, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), believes that the virus responsible for the coronavirus pandemic was more likely leaked from a Chinese lab in Wuhan than transmitted by animals.

The decision to release this new report marks one of the first made by Trump-appointed new CIA director John Ratcliffe, who took over the spy agency last week.

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So, why is the lab-leak theory resurfacing with renewed attention? What does the CIAs latest assessment reveal? And how has China responded to these claims? Heres a closer look.

But first, a brief look at the swirling theories

One of the key suspicions is that the coronavirus may have accidentally, or perhaps intentionally, escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus was first detected.

Proponents of this lab-leak theory point to the presence of a major biological research facility in the city. The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) has been studying coronaviruses in bats for over a decade.

Those who entertain the theory argue that the virus could have leaked from the lab and spread to the nearby Huanan wet market, where the first cluster of infections emerged.

This controversial idea gained traction early in the pandemic, notably championed by President Donald Trump during his first term. Some even speculated that the virus might have been engineered as a biological weapon, although these claims remained unsubstantiated.

One of the key suspicions is that the coronavirus may have accidentally, or perhaps intentionally, escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus was first detected. Image for Representation, AFP

In contrast, the natural origin theory argues the virus spreads naturally from animals, without the involvement of any scientists or laboratories. Supporters of the hypothesis say Covid-19 emerged in bats and then jumped to humans, most likely through another animal, or intermediary host.

The lab leak theory faced significant scepticism and was dismissed by many in politics and the media as a conspiracy theory at the time. Many scientists even pointed out there is no evidence to back it up, but the idea has persisted within intelligence agencies, continuing to fuel debates over the pandemics origins.

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In 2023, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Fox News it was his bureaus assessment that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident.

Why is the CIA backing the lab leak theory?

The CIA has thrown its weight behind the lab leak theory as the most plausible origin of Covid-19 in its latest assessment.

According to a spokesperson, a research-related origin of the virus is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting, as reported by the BBC. The agency also stated that it will continue to evaluate any credible new intelligence that emerges.

In an interview with Breitbart News, CIA Director John Ratcliffe emphasised his intention to shift the agencys stance on the viruss origins.

One of the things that Ive talked about a lot is addressing the threat from China on a number of fronts, and that goes back to why a million Americans died and why the Central Intelligence Agency has been sitting on the sidelines for five years in not making an assessment about the origins of Covid, he said. Thats a day-one thing for me.

The agencys findings, however, are not based on new intelligence. Instead, the assessment relies on a reevaluation of the same evidence it has been analysing for months. This includes a closer examination of the conditions in Wuhans high-security laboratories before the outbreak, sources familiar with the agencys work said.

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The CIA has thrown its weight behind the lab leak theory as the most plausible origin of Covid-19 in its latest assessment. Image for Representation. AP

However, the intelligence agency noted that it holds low confidence in its conclusion, meaning the intelligence supporting it is deficient, inconclusive or contradictory.

Also read: Made in Wuhan, shipped by Beijing: A story of how Communist Party of China gave world Covid-19 pandemic

Biden did not want to face China head-on

The lab-leak theory has faced consistent scepticism due to the absence of direct evidence and its potential to exacerbate geopolitical tensions.

Former CIA Director John Ratcliffe argued in a 2023 essay for Fox News that the agency had previously refrained from endorsing the lab-leak theory to avoid diplomatic fallout for the Biden administration.

He wrote, The real problem is, the only assessment the agency could make  which is that a virus that killed over a million Americans originated in a CCP-controlled lab whose research included work for the Chinese military  has enormous geopolitical implications that the Biden administration does not want to face head-on.

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Former CIA Director John Ratcliffe argued that the agency had previously refrained from endorsing the lab-leak theory to avoid diplomatic fallout for the Biden administration. AP

In the final weeks of the Biden administration, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan ordered a classified review into the pandemics origins, according to The New York Times. As part of this review, then-CIA Director William J Burns urged analysts to take a definitive position on the origins of COVID-19, though he remained neutral on which theory they should support.

Under Ratcliffe, the CIA decided to declassify and release the analysis favouring the lab-leak theory. He said in a Fox News report, that the release of the assessment was meant to restore Americans trust in our own institutions.

The purpose of the CIA is to protect Americans  keep us safe from foreign threats and foreign adversaries, Ratcliffe said. But we also need to be truthful with Americans.

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Ratcliffe, who served as Director of National Intelligence during Donald Trumps presidency, has long maintained that COVID-19 most likely originated from a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Security personnel keep watch outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. File image/Reuters

The theory has also gained support from political figures like Republican Senator Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, The Guardian reported.

Speaking on Saturday, Cotton said he was pleased the CIA concluded in the final days of the Biden administration that the lab leak theory is the most plausible explanation. He further stated, Now, the most important thing is to make China pay for unleashing a plague on the world.

What is China saying?

Chinese authorities have consistently dismissed speculation about Covid-19s origins, labelling it unhelpful and politically motivated.

On Saturday, a spokesperson for Chinas US embassy criticised the CIAs latest report, questioning its credibility.

We firmly oppose the politicisation and stigmatisation of the source of the virus, and once again call on everyone to respect science and stay away from conspiracy theories, embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu stated in an email to the AP.

The origins of Covid-19 remain a mystery, with debates between natural transmission and the lab-leak theory still ongoing. As the CIA and other agencies weigh in, the quest for a definitive answer continues to spark global interest and controversy.

With input from agencies
It has been a week since Donald Trump returned to the White House. On his first day back, he signed a flurry of executive orders  the most in history on day one of a presidency. Now he continues to fulfil the many controversial promises he made during campaigning. The roundup of immigrants under Trumps promised largest deportation programme in history has begun and Trumps Cabinet is beginning to take shape read more

President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, on Tuesday. AP

President Donald Trump has had a busy first week in office.

The first day saw Trump sign a flurry of executive orders  the most in history on the first day of a presidency.

Meanwhile, the roundup of immigrants under Trumps promised largest deportation programme in history has begun.

Also, Trump issued a number of pardons including to the January 6 insurrections.

And his cabinet is taking shape with Kristi Noem in charge of Homeland Security, and Pete Hegseth heading up the Department of Defense.

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Lets take a closer look at Trumps first week back in the White House shaped up.

Executive orders

Trumps first day back in the White House began with a veritable flood of executive orders.

There were reports that Trump signed as many as 100 executive orders.

These ranged from ranging from cracking down on immigration, delaying the ban on TikTok, doing away with birthright citizenship, proclaiming that America recognised only two genders, creating the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), ending Work from Home (WFH) for government employees, ordering the US to withdraw from the World Health Organisation and the Paris Climate Accords.

Some of the orders  including on birthright citizenship, deportations and Doge are already being challenged in the courts by civil rights groups.

As per USA Today, Trump has ordered health agencies to stop communicating to the public.

US President Donald Trump signs documents as he issues executive orders at the White House in Washington. Reuters

Lawrence Gostin, a professor of public health law at Georgetown University, told The Guardian that Trumps moves on the WHO and health agencies could be sowing the seeds for the next pandemic.

Trump also moved to rid the US federal government of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI).

His government has put all US federal employees on DEI on paid leave. The White House has also announced that all DEI programmes will be ended in two months.

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Trade war and tariffs

The United States and Colombia have traditionally been partners. But Sunday saw Trump and his counterpart Gustavo Petro clashing over the deportation of migrants. They imposed tariffs on each others goods in a show of what countries could face if they intervened in the Trump administrations crackdown on illegal immigration. But it was short-lived.

For now, a full-blown trade war has been avoided. On Sunday night, The White House said that Colombia has agreed to the unrestricted acceptance of immigrants who entered the US illegally from its country and that President Donald Trump will not levy a 25 per cent tariff unless Colombia fails to honour this agreement.

The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in the statement. Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honour this agreement.

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Earlier, the US president had ordered visa restrictions, 25 per cent tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, which he said would be raised to 50 per cent in one week, and other retaliatory measures sparked by Petros decision to reject two Colombia-bound US military aircraft carrying migrants. After increasing pressure from the US, Colombia gave in.

Colombia is not alone. Trump has also threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico on February 1, risking more trade wars.

According to economists, if tariffs are imposed it would send Canadian and Mexican economies into recession. In the US, prices of gases, gasoline and other imported items could rise.

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In what came as a surprise, Trump seems to have spared China for now. In a television interview last week, he said he would rather not impose tariffs on the Asian giant.

We have one very big power over China, and thats tariffs, and they dont want them, Trump told Fox News in an interview that aired Thursday in the US. And Id rather not have to use it. But its a tremendous power over China.

Border crackdown, roundup of immigrants

As per The Guardian, Trump has also announced a national emergency on migration.

US troops are currently being sent to the southern border with Mexico.

As per USA Today, the Department of Homeland Security has begun deputising thousands of additional federal law enforcement officers to begin arresting immigrants.

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These include including US Marshals and DEA agents.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday announced that deportation flights have begun.

Leavitt shared pictures on X of people being loaded into a military plane.

Donald Trump has also announced a national emergency on migration. Reuters

However, problems have already begun.

NBC reported that Mexico has refused to let a military plane with immigrants land on Thursday.

A US official and a Mexican official later confirmed the decision.

Mexicos foreign ministry, in a statement late on Friday, said the country had a very great relationship with the US and cooperated on issues such as immigration.

When it comes to repatriations, we will always accept the arrival of Mexicans to our territory with open arms, the ministry said.

Pardons

Hours after his inauguration at the US Capitol, Trump signed a pardon of 1,500 rioters who had stormed the same building four years earlier to try to overturn his election loss to Joe Biden.

A piece in Fox News noted that among those Trump pardoned were those who violently assaulted police officers.

The Guardian put the number of people convicted of assault on January 6 as over 250.

Donald Trump signs pardons for January 6 defendants in the Oval Office at the White House. Reuters

As a piece in NPR noted, Trump did so despite a recent poll showing 6 in 10 people were against such a move.

However, Trump made the move despite the poor optics because of the loyalty his supporters showed him.

Cabinet taking shape

Meanwhile, Trumps cabinet is beginning to take shape.

This after former Fox News host and combat veteran Pete Hegseth was confirmed as the US defence secretary late Friday in a dramatic tie-breaking vote.

Hegseth, who has faced allegations of heavy drinking and aggressive behaviour toward women, has vowed to restore a warrior culture in the US army.

Pete Hegseth was confirmed as US defence secretary. AP

Vice President JD Vance arrived to break the 50-50 tie, highly unusual for Cabinet nominees and particularly defense secretaries, who typically win wider bipartisan support.

The US Senate on Saturday confirmed South Dakota governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a key agency in Trumps push to clamp down on illegal immigration.

What do experts say?

Instead of chaos and fights, the first days of Trump 2.0 have been marked by what appears to be careful planning, steely discipline and intense messaging.

In the past administration, there would be logjams and bottlenecks because there were people who didnt agree with him, a senior White House source told Fox News.

Now we have a whole infrastructure and staff thats built around him, in support of him. When he says something, its getting done. Its a testament to him and the team that he built.

Internationally, Trump appeared at the Davos forum on a huge screen, towering over the gathered global elite.

Trump has told other countries to either make products in America or face tariffs.

All week, he repeated his territorial threats against Greenland and Panama, calling their sovereignty into question even as he asserted Americas.

Trump is saying: Im in control, said Peter Loge, the director of George Washington Universitys School of Media and Public Affairs.

Even Trumps foes say the last five days represent a stunning contrast to his first term when infighting and poor preparation scuttled many of his most ambitious policy initiatives.

In terms of just the scope of all this and the speed, his team has shown the results of extraordinary preparation, said Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian and former director of the Nixon presidential library.

They say that Trump, at the moment, is probably at the zenith of his power.

Which means theres only one place to go from here.

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginias Center for Politics, said Trump would love to restore the so-called imperial presidency" that existed from Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s until Richard Nixons fall in 1974, said Sabato.

However, Sabato added that the era was long gone and Trump lacks the strong public support necessary to sustain the tough image hes projecting.

While Democrats and the anti-Trump resistance that opposed his 2016 victory have largely fallen silent for now, there is already legal action against key parts of his agenda.

We all know Trump. He cant change and wont change, so over time much of the public will tire of his antics, just as they did in his first term, said Sabato.

Trump may face a challenge maintaining the Republicans narrow congressional majority in the House of Representatives in two years. The party of the incumbent president often loses seats in midterms. If that happens, it would result in the already narrow legislative path closing for Trump altogether.

Trump has a decisive mandate from the American voters to bring dramatic reforms to Washington, said Mike Davis, a close Trump adviser on judicial matters.

That political mandate will fade if he doesnt deliver - and deliver fast.

Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo agreed Trump has acted quickly.

The pace of this shouldnt be surprising to anyone. Trump made it abundantly clear he was going to act quickly, he was going to act boldly, and he was going to do exactly what he told voters he would do, Caiazzo told Fox News.

But he said the things he is doing is going to directly negatively impact working families from coast to coast. Its also a signal he has no respect for the rule of law.

.What Americans voted for was cheaper groceries. What Donald Trump is going to give us is a litany of policies that work to deteriorate our institutions, that work to enrich the wealthy and solidify his standing among the oligarchy in this country," Caiazzo concluded.

With inputs from agencies
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is in China to discuss the next steps in ties between the two nations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains. The Calcutta High Court will hear a critical plea by the CBI seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, the main accused in the high-profile RG Kar rape-and-murder case read more

Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri is in China to discuss the next steps in ties between the two nations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains. PTI

Its Monday (January 27) and a lot is lined up for today.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is in China to discuss the next steps in ties between the two nations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains.

On Monday, the Congress will organise a Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhaan rally in Mhow over Home Minister Amit Shahs remarks on Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar.

The Calcutta High Court will hear a critical plea by the CBI seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, the main accused in the high-profile RG Kar rape-and-murder case.

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Heres a quick look at big headlines for today.

Indias Foreign secretary in China

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is in China to discuss the next steps in ties between the two nations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains.

His meeting with the Vice Minister will also focus on visa policies, direct flight routes, and further economic cooperation.

Calcutta HC to hear CBIs plea for death penalty for Sanjay Roy

The Calcutta High Court will hear a critical plea by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, the main accused in the high-profile RG Kar rape-and-murder case.

This comes after the CBI challenged a special courts decision to sentence Roy to life imprisonment on January 20.

Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhaan rally over Amit Shahs remarks on Ambedkar

On Monday, the Congress will organise a Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhaan rally in Mhow over Home Minister Amit Shahs remarks on Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other leaders will participate in the rally.

AAP leaders Atishi and Sanjay Singh to appear before Delhi court

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and AAP MP Sanjay Singh are likely to appear before Delhi court on Monday in a related criminal defamation case filed by Senior Delhi Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit.

The lawsuits stem from accusations made by the two AAP leaders during a press conference on December 26 last year, where they alleged that Dikshit had accepted crores of rupees from the BJP and conspired with the party to sabotage AAPs chances in the upcoming elections.

Amit Shah to visit Maha Kumbh Mela

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to attend the mela on Monday.

He will participate in the Maha Kumbh and take a holy dip at the Sangam, perform Ganga Puja and hold meetings with officials.

Kishan Reddy to visit Tamil Nadu

Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy is slated to embark on a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu on January 27, with the primary objective of overseeing the election of the state president of the BJP.

He will also travel to Madurai to attend a ceremony commemorating the cancellation of the auction of the tungsten mineral block of Arittapatti, organised by Tamil Nadu BJP.

RBI governors first meeting with bank chiefs

The new Reserve Bank of India governor Sanjay Malhotra is likely to have his first interaction with the chief executives of Indias public and private sector banks on Monday.

The interaction is more of a meet-and-greet occasion, according to media reports.

Draft constitution of Sanatan Board to be announced

The upcoming Dharma Sabha scheduled for Monday in Sector 17 will be commemorated as Dharma Ki Swatantrata Ka Diwas and the constitution draft of the Sanatan Board will be presented today.

The draft will be officially announced in the presence of all religious leaders.

Burmans Religare open offer to acquire additional 26% stake to start today

Burmans Religare Enterprises open offer to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake from the open market would commence on January 27 following the regulatory approvals.

Last month, the Reserve Bank approved the open offer of the Burman family  the promoters of FMCG major Dabur  to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake in NBFC firm Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL).

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A day to remember

International Holocaust Memorial Day

Birth anniversary of Japanese Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine Tasuku Honjo

Birth anniversary of gymnast Boris Shakhlin

Birth anniversary of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Bodoland Territorial Region Accord signed in 2020

British only realized Netajis disappearance nine days later, on January 27, 1941

The National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, US, in 1888

The inmates of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, built by the Nazis, were liberated by the Red Army in 1945

The Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973 to stop the Vietnam War. It temporarily did bring peace, but only for a short period

Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft in 1967

Six American diplomats secretly escaped from Iran with help from Canada in the culmination of the Canadian Caper, now popularised in the film Argo.
Indian-American former journalist Kush Desai has been named US President Donald Trumps new Deputy Press Secretary. He brings a wealth of experience, having previously worked as Deputy Communications Director for the 2024 Republican National Convention and the Republican Party of Iowa read more

Kush Desai is a former journalist who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Dartmouth College, an Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, the United States. Image Courtesy: @k_sdesai/X

The White House announced on Friday that Indian-American former journalist Kush Desai has been named US President Donald Trumps new Deputy Press Secretary.

Desai will report to the White House Office of Communications in his new role, which will be supervised by Cabinet Secretary and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich.

Heres all we know about him.

About Kush Desai

According to his LinkedIn page, Desai is a former journalist who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Dartmouth College, an Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, the United States.

According to Indian Express, he received the esteemed James O. Freedman Presidential Research Scholarship while he was a student at Dartmouth. This award enables students to engage with Dartmouth faculty members to obtain research experience.

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He started his career as a reporter for The Daily Caller, a local news outlet in Washington, DC, where he worked for 10 months from July 2017 to March 2018.

Desai began working as a research analyst for the Republican National Committee (RNC) in April 2018 and remained there until February 2019.

He proceeded to advance within the RNC, rising to the position of Director of Vetting in March 2019.

He was eventually elevated to the position of Iowa Communications Director after serving in that capacity for two and a half years. He held the position through January 2024.

Desai served as the 2024 Republican National Conventions Deputy Communications Director in the months preceding his nomination as the Deputy Press Secretary.

His LinkedIn page states that he was appointed Deputy Battleground States and Pennsylvania Communications Director in July 2024 and remains in that role to this day. In this capacity, he was essential in developing narratives and messaging in pivotal battleground states, such as Pennsylvania, where Trump won the 2024 election.

Desai is fluent in English and Gujarati, his native language, making him a suitable candidate to provide cultural perspective and communication skills to advance in his new position.

Also read: Maximising pressure, fostering ties: How Trump 2.0 will influence West Asian diplomacy

Other Indian-Americans joining Trump team

Along with Desai, Donald Trump has brought on board two other Indian Americans for key roles in his second term.

International relations expert Ricky Gill has rejoined the National Security Council (NSC), where he was Director for European Energy Security and Russia during Trumps first term.

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He was a Senior Advisor in the State Departments Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations in addition to his duties at the NSC.

Following his departure from the administration, Gill served as the principal and general counsel of Gill Capital Group and as an advisor to TC Energy, the firm that developed the Keystone XL Pipeline, on European and Asian energy.

Joe Biden put a stop to this project, which Trump had largely approved.

Gill was born in Lodi, New Jersey, and graduated with a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelors degree from Princeton Universitys Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

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Saurabh Sharma, who was born in Bengaluru, is to join the Presidential personnel office. He is the president and co-founder of American Moment, a conservative group based in Washington, DC.

He was the youngest state chairman of Young Conservatives of Texas when he received his Biochemistry degree from the University of Texas in Austin in 2019.

In the same year that President Trump signed an executive order addressing free speech on college campuses, Sharma was one of 10 student activists invited to the White House during his first term.

Several other Indian-Americans in Trumps 2.0 administration include Kash Patel as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Sriram Krishnan as Senior White House policy advisor on artificial intelligence (AI), Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice, and Jay Bhattacharya as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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A busy week back in office

Trumps first day back in the White House began with a veritable flood of executive orders.

There were reports that Trump signed as many as 100 executive orders, such as cracking down on immigration, delaying the ban on TikTok, doing away with birthright citizenship, ending Work from Home (WFH) for government employees, ordering the US to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Climate Accords, and more.

He also announced a national emergency on migration, with the troops being deployed to the southern border with Mexico.

Under his instructions, as per USA Today, the Department of Homeland Security has begun deputising thousands of additional federal law enforcement officers to begin arresting immigrants.

And his cabinet is taking shape with Kristi Noem in charge of Homeland Security, and Pete Hegseth heading up the Department of Defense.

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With inputs from agencies
Among a sea of devotees and seers converging at Maha Kumbh, the story of another IITian is making headlines. An IIT-BHU engineering graduate, Acharya Jaishankar Narayanan had a thriving career in the United States. But his life took an extraordinary turn when he embraced the profound teachings of Vedanta and left his high-paying job behind read more

An IIT graduate, Acharya Jaishankar Narayanan had a thriving career in the United States, but his life took an extraordinary turn when he embraced the profound teachings of Vedanta. Image courtesy: X/ Jaishankar Narayanan

At the grand Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, where countless devotees converge in search of spiritual awakening, stories of profound transformation are making waves. One such inspiring tale is that of Acharya Jaishankar Narayanan.

An IIT graduate, Narayanan had a thriving career in the United States, but his life took an extraordinary turn when he embraced the profound teachings of Vedanta and left his high-paying job behind.

Heres a closer look at his extraordinary journey.

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IIT felt like a big achievement, but

Narayanans remarkable journey began at the esteemed IIT-BHU, where he earned his engineering degree in 1992. He soon embarked on a professional career, starting with Tata Steel.

In 1993, however, his life took an unexpected turn when he moved to the United States. It was during this time that he encountered the transformative teachings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. This pivotal meeting introduced him to Vedanta, the profound Indian philosophy centred on self-realisation and eternal happiness.

I met Guru Ji for the first time, and after listening to his pravachan I became interested in Vedanta, Narayanan told ANI.

By 1995, Narayanan returned to India with a renewed sense of purpose. He immersed himself in a residential course at the Gurukulam, dedicating years to the rigorous study of Vedanta and Sanskrit. His dedication bore fruit, as he became a respected teacher of these ancient disciplines.

Over the past 20 years, he has continued to teach at the Gurukul, sharing the wisdom he gained through his spiritual journey.

Reflecting on his experiences, Narayanan admitted that while academic achievements like gaining admission to IIT initially felt monumental, their significance faded over time.

All achievements feel big only for the time being, but after some time it feels normal and you start working for your next target, he explained to ANI. When I joined IIT, it felt like a great achievement, but there were so many others like me who cracked the entrance exam to get there. It didnt feel like a big deal after that.

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#WATCH | Delhi: On his journey from IITian to Vedantacharya, Acharya Jaishankar Narayanan says, " I am a disciple of Swami Dayanand Saraswati... I lived in the Gurukulam for three years. Before that, I studied engineering at IIT-BHU for 4 years. I passed out in 1992 and worked at pic.twitter.com/cBmfv3WoXr  ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2025

Embracing spirituality

In a conversation with IANS, Acharya Narayanan explained his spiritual journey through Vedanta.

Reflecting on the universal search for happiness, he shared, Despite all material achievements, I found that people, whether in India or the US, were unhappy. True happiness is not found in the material world but in self-knowledge and realization, as taught in Vedanta.

He explained that salvation and eternal happiness, central to Indian culture, are attained through self-awareness, not reliant on the afterlife.

Only happiness mixed with sorrow can be obtained. After that, it will go away. Sorrow remains because you cannot stop what you have from leaving. Union and separation will keep occurring. In such circumstances, we must consider what is eternal in life. Only that which transcends space and time is eternal. The scriptures show our true nature. This is the subject of Vedanta, he said.



He also commented on the case of Abhey Singh, an IITian-baba who rose to popularity this Maha Kumbh. He urged people to focus on a persons present path rather than their past.

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Like rivers that become pure despite their origins, a saints current actions should be valued more than their history. The stories of sages like Valmiki remind us of the transformative power of Dharma, he told the news agency.

The story of Kumbhs famous IIT Baba

Among the most discussed figures at Prayagrajs Maha Kumbh 2025 is Abhey Singh, famously known as the IIT Baba. A graduate of IIT Bombay, Singhs transition from aerospace engineering to a life dedicated to spirituality has drawn widespread attention.

Hailing from Sasarouli village in Haryana, Singh followed a traditional academic route, excelling in his studies at IIT Bombay and later securing a high-paying job in Canada, earning an annual salary of Rs 36 lakh.

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However, despite his success, Singh struggled with depression while living abroad, which led him to question the purpose of life and the workings of the human mind. Seeking answers, he quit his job and returned to India to explore spirituality.

The Juna Akhara has expelled IIT Baba, accusing him of breaching its strict code of discipline and using abusive language towards his guru, Mahant Someshwar Puri. The seer, however, denies any wrongdoing. Image courtesy: Instagram/@Abhey Singh

Recently, Singhs spiritual journey took a contentious turn when he was expelled from the Juna Akhara. He faced allegations of misconduct, including using abusive language towards his guru, Mahant Someshwar Puri, and accusations of drug use made by fellow ascetics.

In an interview with India Today, Singh denied the accusations, claiming they were baseless and motivated by jealousy over his rising popularity.

They think Ive become famous and might expose something about them, so theyre spreading nonsense, claiming Ive gone for secret meditation, he said, asserting that he remains actively involved in the religious gathering.

Singh also criticised Mahant Someshwar Puri, who had earlier referred to Singh as his disciple. Refuting this claim, Singh stated, I had already clarified there is no guru-disciple relationship between us. Now that Ive gained recognition, hes positioning himself as my guru, as quoted in a report by Aaj Tak.

With input from agencies
People from both domestic and other countries are flocking to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradeshs Prayagraj. However, as the holy event progresses, travellers are witnessing a dramatic surge in airfare prices. The tickets from cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata range from anywhere between Rs 22,000 and Rs 50,000 read more

Devotees gather to take a holy dip at the Sangam during Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, Monday, January 27, 2025. PTI

Crores of people are taking a dip at the Maha Kumbh Melas sangam in Uttar Pradeshs Prayagraj.

From an increase in footfall to handling night flights for the first time in 106 years and receiving international flights for the first time in 93 years, the typically quiet airport in the holy city is breaking records.

The cost of flights to Prayagraj is rising dramatically as Maha Kumbh 2025 progresses.

The development comes ahead of the Mauni Amavasya snan (royal bath) on January 29.

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Heres all we know about it.

Prayagraj airfares surge

Travel websites show return tickets from Chennai to Prayagraj on January 28 and 30 can cost up to Rs 53,000, as per The Times of India.

On these dates, a round-trip ticket from nearby Kolkata costs more than Rs 35,000.

The cost of tickets from Mumbai to Prayagraj ranges from Rs 22,000 to Rs 60,000.

For a straight one-way ticket, pilgrims going from Bengaluru would need to pay anything from Rs 26,000 to Rs. 48,000.

This abrupt increase in airfare contrasts with the around Rs 5,000 that would normally be paid for a one-way ticket to these destinations.

A similar surge is seen around the three remaining snan dates  February 3 (Basant Panchmi); February 12 (Maghi Purnima), and February 26 (Maha Shivratri and concluding day of the Maha Kumbh).

Sadhus perform rituals at the Sangam area during Maha Kumbh Mela 2025. PTI

The Second Shahi Snan commemorates the event when one of the first sages, Rishabh Dev, broke his protracted vow of silence and immersed himself in the waters of the Sangam, draws the largest congregation of pilgrims to the Kumbh Mela.

According to Skyscanner, the number of bookings on January 28 increased by 675 per cent in comparison to a normal day.

The report suggests the number of bookings has increased by 1,776 per cent from the same time last year, when Prayagraj hosted no events.

For flyers in India, the excessive fare spike during the holiday season has always been an issue.

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A parliamentary group suggested in February of last year that the government create regulations to curb unexpected increases in airfare.

Also read: Maha Kumbh Mela 2025: Why Hindu akharas that lead Amrit Snan are significant

Online search increases

Skyscanner reports that travel interest in the auspicious holiday has significantly increased.

Searches for domestic travel in February increased during the week of January 20. A rise in searches for adjacent airports, like Varanasi, suggests that people are becoming more interested in taking detours.

The weekly increases in searches for the Hyderabad-Prayagraj, Pune-Prayagraj, and Prayagraj-Mumbai routes were 2,815 per cent, 1,345 per cent, and 870 per cent, respectively.

Important holy dip dates (January 13, January 14, January 29, February 3, February 12, February 26) have generated interest in international routes.

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The top five foreign cities with the highest search interest for Maha Kumbh 2025 travel to Prayagraj are Dubai, London, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and Doha.

Processing platform Atlys has observed a spike in visa applications mainly attributed to visitors from the USA and the UK.

Sadhus of Shri Panch Digambar Ani Akhara, Shri Panch Nirmohi Ani Akhara, and Shri Panch Nirvani Ani Akhara take part in the Chavni Pravesh, the royal entry procession for Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, towards Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, January 8, 2025. PTI

Also read: Explained: Maha Kumbh and the multi-crore mela economy

Government intervenes

In response to the dramatic increase in prices during this years Maha Kumbh, Union Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam asked for an urgent meeting with airlines on Monday, according to The Times of India.

The government will probably ask airlines to explain the number of tickets sold at all of the price points.

Before this, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu had promised to examine the pattern of steadily rising airfare costs.

I really want to delve into this issue (and) how to make them a little more accessible, available for the people of this country, Naidu had said.

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In January, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation approved 81 additional flights in order to raise Prayagraj connectivity to 132 flights from across India.

But the demand exceeded the supply by a significant margin.

We are seeing tremendous enthusiasm from not just India but among the diaspora and foreigners too for the Maha Kumbh. Airfares have gone up as demand is far greater than supply. Accommodation is also hard to get, Anil Kalsi, vice president of the Travel Agents Federation of India, was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.

Also read: Meet the women Naga Sadhus at Maha Kumbh

Crores of pilgrims at Maha Kumbh

People from both domestic and other countries are flocking to the Maha Kumbh.

Authorities are keeping a careful eye on the situation to guarantee accessibility for all pilgrims due to the increase in travel interest and rising expenses.

Since its opening on January 13, the Mahakumbh has welcomed almost 12 crore visitors.

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1.17 crore individuals bathed in the Sangam on Sunday until the late afternoon, according to the most recent official statistics released by the Uttar Pradesh government.

With inputs from agencies
The New York Citys council is set to consider legislation that would allow New Yorkers to take paid sick leave to care for their pets and service animals. Introduced by Council member Shaun Abreu, the legislation could potentially impact millions of pet owner employees across the Big Apple. Heres how this pawternity leave will work read more

The New York City's council is set to consider legislation that would allow New Yorkers to take paid sick leave to care for their pets and service animals. Image for Representation. Pixabay

A paid day off for your furry friend? Sounds implausible, doesnt it? But in a city that never sleeps, even pets deserve a little extra care.

The New York Citys council is set to consider legislation that would allow New Yorkers to take paid sick leave to care for their pets and service animals. Some are calling it  a pawternity leave".

Introduced by Council member Shaun Abreu, the legislation could potentially impact millions of employees across the Big Apple. Unsurprisingly, it has sparked a wider debate about pet benefits and how far workplace leave policies should stretch. Heres what we know so far.

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A pawfect opportunity

Councilman Shaun Abreu, a Manhattan Democrat, said that proposed legislation would amend the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act so that paid sick leave, which employees can take care of themselves or family members, can also be used for both household pets and service animals.

For New Yorkers like Annika Cha, policies supporting pet care have already made a difference. Cha, who works at the New York-based legal marketing firm 9Sail, was offered two days of leavesoon to be raised to threeto help new pets settle in at home.

Speaking to The Washington Post, she said this benefit encouraged her to adopt a mini poodle, Ollie.

I was like, that is so cool, Cha shared, adding that the days off were instrumental in quickly potty-training her dog.

Abreu believes this legislation could prevent pet surrenders, and increase pet adoptions while addressing mental health challenges in the city.

Councilman Shaun Abreu says that proposed legislation would amend the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act so that paid sick leave, which employees can take care of themselves or family members, can also be used for both household pets and service animals. Image for Representation. Reuters

When you take care of your animals, youre taking care of yourself, too, he said, citing long dog walks, socialising with other pet owners, and mental health benefits. Keeping our pets healthy keeps us healthy," he told The New York Times.

He pointed to research that shows that owning a pet can reduce cortisol, a stress-related hormone. Having a dog, for example, can also force people to engage in physical activity, which can in turn have positive effects on depression and social isolation, he said.

Studies cited by the US Department of Health and Human Services have also shown that having animals around you can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support, and boost ones mood.

Data from the American Pet Products Association reveals that roughly two-thirds of American homes report having at least one pet. In 2023, these households collectively spent $147 billion on their pets, covering expenses such as veterinary care and over-the-counter medications.

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Also read: How gazing at your dog can help connect your brain with theirs

How will this work?

Councilman Shaun Abreu clarified that the proposed bill would not require additional paid leave for pet owners but would instead extend the citys existing sick leave policies to include pet care.

Under current laws, companies with more than 100 employees are required to provide up to 56 hours of paid sick leave annually for workers to care for themselves or a sick family member. For businesses with fewer than 100 staff, the requirement is up to 40 hours.

Were not giving any additional days, Abreu explained. Were just saying, lets give individuals the flexibility to use that time as they wish.

Councilman Shaun Abreu clarified that the proposed bill would not require additional paid leave for pet owners but would instead extend the citys existing sick leave policies to include pet care. Representational image/Reuters

The idea has already gained support from some pet owners. I think its honestly a great idea, said Andrew OShanick, a dog owner from Harlem, speaking to Reuters. I think pets are super important parts of peoples families. And if something, you know, unfortunately, were to happen to a pet that would require extra care or attention or something, I think its important to be able to be there for them.

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However, not everyone is on board. For some employers, the notion of granting paid sick leave for employees furry companions might be a step too far.

A little too odd

Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a prominent business group, raised concerns about the financial implications of expanding paid sick leave to include pet care.

These benefits cost money, and its one thing if the employee is sick and cant come to work; its another thing if its a discretionary activity, she told The New York Times. The concern is that ultimately it creates a pattern of raising the cost of living and doing business in New York because costs are passed along to consumers.

Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a prominent business group, raised concerns about the financial implications of expanding paid sick leave to include pet care. Image for Representation.

While Wylde described herself as a pet-friendly person with many pets, she emphasised the need to recognise the limitations of what the government can or should mandate.

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Even some pet owners questioned the proposal. Dog owner Mieke Vandersall suggested that the city should prioritise addressing broader issues like mental health and housing for shelter animals.

If were really concerned about the stress that were under I think we need to take care of those problems, not just add an animal that actually takes a lot of time and energy, Vandersall said. I think its a little odd.

With input from agencies
The escort businesses in Switzerlands Davos reported a rise in demand for sex parties, orgies, and non-disclosure agreements for prostitutes and transwomen during the recently concluded World Economic Forum (WEF). Attending the meet were 3,000 business and industry leaders and some of them reportedly spent anywhere between Rs 2.9 crore to Rs 9.68 crore for a typical four-hour company read more

People gather outside the congress hall, at the 55th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 23, 2025. Reuters

World leaders gathered in Switzerlands Davos for an annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) last week.

The conference brought together over 3,000 business and industry leaders from over 130 countries to discuss pressing topics, like global security, the fourth industrial revolution, and climate change.

A DailyMail report, however, claims that the Swiss Alps town was also at the heart of the worlds elites unlimited sexual activity.

The high-profile meeting reportedly drove escort businesses to report a rise in demand for sex parties and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for prostitutes and transgender women, according to the news report.

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Lets take a closer look.

Rise in sex parties at WEF in Davos

Prostitution has been legal in Switzerland since the 1940s.

The WEF meeting attracts people from all walks of life, including celebrities, journalists, and other significant people from across the world. It is said to have an impact on corporate and public sector decision-making.

However, the DailyMails bombshell report reveals a darker side of the event in the Swiss Alps town,

Orgies were reportedly a popular activity of many of the worlds elite when they were at Davos. The most in-demand languages continue to be English, German, and French, and the models are usually bilingual.

A company that arranges dates you pay for said that multiple attendees booked many women at once and had orgies, according to the report.

Andreas Berger, Titt4tat Spokesman, told MailOnline, Since the start of the WEF, we have seen around 300 women and trans women being booked in Davos and the surrounding area This is compared to around 170 women in 2024. In terms of the number of bookings for commercial intimacy, it was another record year for us (at the WEF).

A view of a logo during the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, January 19, 2024. Reuters

Since roughly 90 customers hired 300 escorts, compared to 140 last year, he said that there were significantly more sex parties than previous years.

Berger told MailOnline, What has changed is that a lot of women in and around Davos now have to sign NDAs. These agreements are often in English. We suspect that this is the consequence of recent news about sex parties in Hollywood.

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Also read: From fanboy Milei to sceptical Chinh, Davos economic forum shows Trump is resetting the world order

The most popular requests, BDSM and more

The most common sex act that the WEFs affluent clients requested was anal sex.

Anal sex is actually one of the most frequently requested things, DailyMail quoted Susann, from the Swiss Escort Avantgarde agency, as saying.

These types of people consider themselves untouchable, which they often realistically are. I think physical attacks on escort ladies, for example to live out a certain BDSM fetish, are absolutely conceivable. In my experience, the higher a mans professional/social rank, the lower his inhibition threshold for violence against women is.

However, escort and author Salome Balthus reported that certain groups of Davos attendees demanded these services more than others.

Its not the super powerful that do something like this (hiring an escort)  they are happy when they get a bit of time for their families  no, its the more the subaltern workers who are excited, maybe even there for the first time. The passion of erotica and the passion of power often mix, but the latter dominates so much that it can erase the former, she told DailyMail.

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Premium prices for company

Some women can easily demand 6,000 (Rs 6.45 lakh) for each booking, according to the report, and some even pay for the womens company for a few hours.

Berger went on to say that the typical four-hour booking time at the WEF, the average hourly cost, and the 300 reservations made on Titt4Tat in the first three days of the WEF alone would total about CHF300,000 (Rs 2.9 crore).

But there are other providers and agencies. My estimate would be around 1 million CHF (Rs 9.68 crore) in total, he added.

Also read: The key question is if they want to build a Dubai or rebuild Gaza the way it was: Israel in Davos

Enjoying themselves

Balthus told the news outlet that many super-rich people use their enormous money to indulge before it is too late since they think the climate crisis is inevitable.

The elephant in the room is climate change. Everyone knows it cant be prevented anymore, Salome said, adding, The one group thinks it only affects the poor, the not-white race, while the others fear that it could get worse but believe theres no point in trying to stop it. They just enjoy themselves.

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Salome added, The one half is in despair, and the other, dumber, half is celebrating future mass deaths. Its not just like that in Davos, but its concentrated there (during the WEF).

Jan and Lia from Lia Models, an exclusive agency, told DailyMail, The main difference lies less in the event itself, but rather in the type of agency and the respective price segment they serve  which often correlates with the customers income. Our models are usually bilingual, as we address a more sophisticated and high-quality clientele.

In Davos, people like to show off in the evenings alongside a particularly eye-catching and attractive woman who is introduced as a companion or friend. It is advantageous if the companion is not only visually convincing but also intelligent and quick-witted. Elegance, style and the ability to comfortably manoeuvre at a high school level take centre stage. A confident appearance is essential in order to meet customer expectations in this exclusive environment, they said.

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With inputs from agencies
President Yoon Suk Yeol has become South Koreas first leader to be indicted. Yoon, who briefly imposed martial law last month, is now facing dire consequences  the death penalty or life in prison read more

South Korea's impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested on January 15, 2025 over his failed martial law bid. File image/AFP

History has been made in South Korea  and not in a good way.

President Yoon Suk Yeol has become South Koreas first leader to be indicted.

Yoon, who briefly imposed martial law last month, is now facing dire consequences  the death penalty or life in prison.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court is set to hear Yoons case.

But what next for Yoon? Can he still be reinstated as president?

What next for Yoon?

Jail  for now.

Yoon will be taken from a detention facility to a Seoul court for hearings in the rebellion trial.

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The entire case will likely take six months.

Prosecutors accuse Yoon of orchestrating a rebellion with his martial law imposition.

Though presidential immunity protects Yoon from most criminal prosecutions, it does not on charges of rebellion or treason.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials in Gwacheon, South Korea. AP

Yoons defense minister, police chief and several other military commanders have already been arrested and indicted on alleged rebellion, abuse of power and other charges related to the martial law decree.

Meanwhile, rival protests look likely to continue in downtown Seoul.

After a local court on January 19 approved a formal arrest warrant to extend Yoons detention, dozens of his supporters stormed the court building, destroying windows, doors and other property.

They also attacked police officers with bricks, steel pipes and other objects. The violence left 17 police officers injured, and police detained 46 protesters.

What about the Constitutional Court?

Also hanging over Yoons head is the hearing in the Constitutional Court.

The court has to decide whether to uphold Yoons impeachment by the National Assembly or reject it.

Observers say a ruling will occur before the deadline.

In the cases of two past impeached 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.

If the Constitutional Court removes Yoon from office, an election to choose his successor must be held within two months.

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Recent public surveys show that governing and opposition party candidates are running neck-and-neck in a possible presidential by-election race.

What about the political parties in South Korea?

Both say this is just the beginning.

Shin Dong-wook, a spokesperson for the governing conservative People Power Party, is warning that prosecutors will face unspecified legal and political consequences for their wrong indictment of Yoon.

Yoons defense team says the prosecutors who indicted the president are trying to curry favour with political forces who want Yoon gone. They called the indictment a shame in the history of South Korean prosecutors.

The main opposition liberal Democratic Party, which led Yoons December 14 impeachment, called his indictment and arrest the beginning of the punishment of the ringleader of a rebellion.

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Party spokesperson Han Min-soo warned Yoon to stop what he called his attempt to incite far-right supporters based on groundless delusion.

Yoon has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and says his declaration of martial law was a legitimate act of governance meant to raise public awareness of the danger of the liberal-controlled National Assembly, which obstructed his agenda.

After declaring martial law on December 3, Yoon sent troops and police officers to the assembly, but enough lawmakers still managed to enter an assembly chamber to unanimously vote down Yoons decree, forcing his Cabinet to lift it.

The martial law imposition, the first of its kind in South Korea in more than four decades, lasted only six hours.

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But it evoked painful memories of the military-backed rulers who used martial law and emergency decrees to suppress opponents in the 1960s through the 1980s.
There are reports that the United States government is looking to bring in software firm Oracle and US investors to take over TikToks operations in America. Oracle would take over the apps algorithm, data collection and software updates, but ByteDance would retain a minority stake in the firm. Lets take a closer look read more

The development comes after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban on TikTok for 75 days. AP

Is a new TikTok coming?

There are reports that Oracle and some US investors are looking to take control of the apps operations and that ByteDance will retain a minority stake in the app.

However, another report says Perplexity AI may merge with TikTok and that the US government will end up owning half of the popular video platform.

There are reports that Oracle and some US investors including Microsoft are looking to take control of the apps operations in America and that ByteDance will retain a minority stake in the app. This, as Artificial Intelligence search engine startup Perplexity AI has sent a merger proposal to ByteDance which calls for the US government to own up to 50 per cent of the platform upon the execution of an IPO. Meanwhile, the resale prices for iPhones with TikTok installed are soaring

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Meanwhile, the resale prices for iPhones with TikTok installed have soared.

The development comes after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban on TikTok for 75 days.

Lets take a closer look

Oracle, US investors interested?

NPR reported that the United States is looking to bring in software firm Oracle and US investors to take over TikTok.

It quoted two people in the know as saying that ByteDance would keep a minority stake in the firm.

However, the apps algorithm, data collection and software updates would be taken over by Oracle.

This would be probably be a smooth transition as Oracle provides the basis for Web infrastructure.

The outlet noted that though such a deal would mean that US investors would become majority owners of TikTok, negotiations are still on and that things could change.

The goal is for Oracle to effectively monitor and provide oversight with what is going on with TikTok, a person in the know told NPR. ByteDance wouldnt completely go away, but it would minimise Chinese ownership.

Officials from Oracle and the White House met on Friday regarding the deal.

A source said another meeting is slated for next week with Oracle conceivably poised to invest tens of billions" in TikTok.

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Under the terms of the deal, Oracle would be responsible for addressing national security issues. TikTok initially struck a deal with Oracle in 2022 to store US users information to alleviate Washingtons worries about Chinese government interference.

TikToks management would remain in place, to operate the short video app, according to one of the sources.

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on AI infrastructure, next to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the Roosevelt room at White House in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. File Image/Reuters

Interestingly, Oracle was pushed as the lead buyer for TikTok during Trumps last term when he demanded that ByteDance rid itself of the app.

Oracle at the time teamed up with Microsoft and Walmart.

However, that deal later fell through with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates famously calling it a poisoned chalice.

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NPR reported that Microsoft is among the other investors being considered this time.

The deal being negotiated anticipates participation from some of ByteDances current US investors, according to the sources. Jeff Yasss Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Sequoia Capital are among ByteDances US backers.

According to CNBC, Walmart is not participating in the push to buy TikTok this time out of concerns over the apps sky high valuation.

The White House quoted ByteDance negotiators as saying that the app could fetch a minimum of $200 billion.

Trump denies speaking to Oracle chief

Trump on Saturday he was in talks with multiple people over buying TikTok and would likely have a decision on the popular apps future in the next 30 days.

I have spoken to many people about TikTok and there is great interest in TikTok, Trump told reporters on Air Force One during a flight to Florida.

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Trump, however, denied having spoken to Oracles Larry Ellison about buying the app.

Larry is a friend of mine, Trump was quoted as saying by NPR. I never spoke to Larry about TikTok. Ive spoken to many people about TikTok. Theres great interest in TikTok, he said.

Asked if he was putting together a deal with Oracle and other investors to save TikTok, Trump said: No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days. Congress has given 90 days. If we can save TikTok, I think it would be a good thing.

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However, according to Mashable, Trump previously said he would like Larry to buy TikTok.

Others vying to acquire TikTok, including the investor group led by billionaire Frank McCourt and another involving Jimmy Donaldson, better known as the YouTube star Mr Beast, are not part of the Oracle negotiation, one of the sources said.

NPR cited another source as saying that appeasing Congress is seen as a key hurdle by the White House.

Experts say it will be difficult to assuage US fears on China.

The question that has always been difficult to answer is how do you prove a negative? How do you prove the absence of Chinese control of data and the algorithm? Sarah Kreps of the Brookings Institution told NPR. You can audit millions of lines of code, but its really hard to show one way or the other.

According to Bloomberg, it remains unclear whether ByteDance will actually sell TikTok.

I think were quite optimistic well find a solution, ByteDance board member and General Atlantic Chief Executive Officer Bill Ford recently told Bloomberg Television.

Perplexity AI in mix?

Meanwhile, CNBC on Sunday reported that Perplexity AI  the Artificial Intelligence search engine startup  has proposed merging with TikTok.

The firm has sent a revised proposal to TikTok parent company ByteDance.

The merger would let the US government acquire up to half the new company named NewCo upon the execution of a future IPO valued at $300 billion.

The merger proposes that ByteDance offer up TikTok in the US without its core recommendation algorithm.

In return, the firm would receive equity in NewCo.

Perplexity AI  the Artificial Intelligence search engine startup  has proposed merging with TikTok. Reuters

Meanwhile, with TikTok unavailable to download in the United States on Google Play and in the Apple store, resale prices for iPhones with TikTok installed have soared in America.

Some people were selling iPhones for as high as $50,000 (Rs 43 lakh) on eBay.

Fortune quoted Eden Miller as having listed an iPhone 15 with TikTok on Facebook Market at $9,000 (Rs 7.77 lakh).

Apple charges $799 (Rs 69,000) for a new iPhone 16.

I heard theres a high value market on them, Miller told Fortune. Hopefully its worth my asking price.

New York native Nicholas Matthews put up his iPhone 14 Plus with TikTok for $10,000 (Rs 8.6 lakh).

However, the highest bid he got was around $4,500 (Rs 3.88 lakh).

TikTok, which is used by 170 million Americans, was taken offline temporarily for users shortly before a law that said it must be sold by ByteDance on national security grounds, or be banned, took effect on January 19.

Trump, after taking office a day later, signed an executive order seeking to delay by 75 days the enforcement of the law that was put in place after US officials warned that under ByteDance, there was a risk of Americans data being misused.

Free speech advocates have opposed TikToks ban under a law passed by the US Congress and signed by former President Joe Biden.

The company has said US officials have misstated its ties to China, arguing its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the United States on cloud servers operated by Oracle while content moderation decisions that affect American users are also made in the US.

With inputs from agencies
US President Donald Trumps suggestion that Egypt and Jordan take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip has been firmly rejected by leaders of both countries. The proposal was also strongly denounced by both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. But what did Trump say? And why have Egypt and Jordan refused out of hand? read more

US President Donald Trumps proposal that Egypt and Jordan take in Palestinians from the war-torn Gaza Strip was firmly rejected by leaders of both nations.

The Palestinians also rebuffed such an idea out of fear that such a move would result in Israel permanently barring their return.

Trump on Saturday called on the leaders of Egypt and Jordan to take in those that have been displaced from Gaza.

He suggested that the 2.3 million Palestinians could be temporarily or permanently resettled in Egypt and Jordan.

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Its literally a demolition site right now, Trump, referring to the vast destruction in Gaza caused by Israels 15-month war with Hamas, said.

Hamas and Israel have signed a fragile ceasefire.

Id rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change, Trump said.

Trumps proposal was also strongly denounced by both Hamas and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Jordans Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi called his countrys rejection of Trumps suggestion firm and unwavering.

The temporary or long-term transfer of Palestinians risks expanding the conflict in the region and undermines prospects of peace and coexistence among its people, Egypts foreign ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, there was no immediate comment from Israel.

On the other hand, the idea was backed by Benjamin Netanyahus far-right governing partners who have time and again called for what they describe as voluntary emigration of large numbers of Palestinians and the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is now a crucial member of Netanyahus governing coalition, called Trumps proposal a great idea.

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Human rights groups have already accused Israel of ethnic cleansing, which United Nations experts have defined as a policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove the civilian population of another group from certain areas by violent and terror-inspiring means.

Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, said Trumps proposal, if implemented, would amount to an alarming escalation in the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and exponentially increase their suffering.

Multitudes displaced

Close to 700,000 Palestinians fled or were either driven away from their native land (present-day Israel) during the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel.

Fearing a Palestinian majority in the newly found country, Israel refused to allow them to return after the Nakba or what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba (catastrophe).

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The refugees and their descendants now number around six million, with large communities in Gaza, where they make up the majority of the population, as well as the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Aerial picture of displaces Palestinians returning to Rafah, a day after ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into effect. AP

In the 1967 Mideast war, when Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 300,000 more Palestinians fled, mostly into Jordan.

The decades-old refugee crisis has been central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was one of the thorniest issues in peace talks that last broke down in 2009. The Palestinians claim a right of return, while Israel says they should be absorbed by surrounding Arab countries.

Many Palestinians view the latest war in Gaza, in which entire neighbourhoods have been shelled to oblivion and 90 per cent of the population have been forced from their homes, as a new Nakba. They fear that if large numbers of Palestinians leave Gaza, then they too may never return.

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Steadfastly remaining on ones land is central to Palestinian culture, and was on vivid display in Gaza on Sunday, when thousands of people tried to return to the most heavily destroyed part of the territory.

A firm boundary

The idea of accepting Gaza refugees early in the war, which had been floated earlier by some Israeli officials, has been fiercely rejected by Egypt and Jordan.

Although both countries have made peace with the Jewish state, they support the creation of a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. They fear that the permanent displacement of Gazas population could make that impossible.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has also warned of the security implications of transferring large numbers of Palestinians to Egypts Sinai Peninsula, bordering Gaza.

Hamas and other militant groups are deeply rooted in Palestinian society and are likely to move with the refugees, which would mean that future wars would be fought on Egyptian soil. That could unravel the historic Camp David peace treaty, a cornerstone of regional stability.

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The peace which we have achieved would vanish from our hands, el-Sissi said in October 2023, after Hamas attack on southern Israel triggered the war. All for the sake of the idea of eliminating the Palestinian cause.

Palestinians perform Friday prayers near the ruins of a mosque destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip. AP

Thats what happened in Lebanon in the 1970s, when Yasser Arafats Palestine Liberation Organization, the leading militant group of its time, transformed the countrys south into a launchpad for attacks on Israel. The refugee crisis and the PLOs actions helped push Lebanon into a 15-year civil war in 1975. Israel invaded twice and occupied southern Lebanon from 1982 until 2000.

Jordan, which clashed with the PLO and expelled it under similar circumstances in 1970, already hosts more than 2 million Palestinian refugees, the majority of whom have been granted citizenship.

Israeli ultranationalists have long suggested that Jordan be considered a Palestinian state so that Israel can keep the West Bank, which they view as the biblical heartland of the Jewish people. Jordans monarchy has vehemently rejected that scenario.

Can Trump force Egypt and Jordan to accept refugees?

That depends on how serious Trump is about the idea and how far he is prepared to go.

US tariffs  one of Trumps favourite economic tools  or outright sanctions could be devastating for Jordan and Egypt. The two countries receive billions of dollars in American aid each year and Egypt is already mired in an economic crisis.

But allowing an influx of refugees could also be destabilising.

Egypt says it is currently hosting some 9 million migrants, including refugees from Sudans civil war. Jordan, with a population of less than 12 million, is hosting over 700,000 refugees, mainly from Syria.

US pressure would also risk alienating key allies in the region with whom Trump has had good relations  not only el-Sissi and Jordans King Abdullah II, but the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, all of whom support the Palestinian cause.

That would potentially complicate efforts to broker a historic agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalise relations, something Trump tried to do during his previous term and expects to complete in his current one.

With inputs from AP
US-based woman, Towana Looney, passed a major milestone on Saturday by becoming the longest-living recipient of a pig organ transplant. She is healthy and full of energy with her new kidney for 61 days and counting. The 53-year-old had donated a kidney to her mother and later developed complications due to pregnancy read more

Towana Looney, who received a pig kidney transplant in November 2024, goes over notes about her recovery with Dr Jeffrey Stern at NYU Langone Health in New York, Friday, January 24, 2025. AP

An Alabama woman passed a major milestone on Saturday by becoming the longest-living recipient of a pig organ transplant.

Towana Looney, 53, is healthy and full of energy with her new kidney for 61 days and counting.

Heres all we know about her.

Towana Looney and her journey of getting a pig organ transplant

Towana Looney donated her mother a kidney in 1999.

Her other kidney ultimately failed due to high blood pressure brought on by pregnancy-related difficulties, which is extremely rare among living donors.

After eight years on dialysis, doctors determined that she was unlikely to receive a donated organ because she had generated extremely high levels of antibodies that were abnormally poised to attack another human kidney.

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Looney therefore sought the pig experiment.

There was no information on how it may impact someone who was extremely sensitive to those overactive antibodies.

She underwent the surgery on November 25.

The 53-year-old left the hospital just 11 days after her operation and is staying in New York for another month to be observed by doctors before heading home to Gadsden, Alabama.

Through blood tests and other data, her team has kept a careful eye on her recuperation.

Three weeks following the transplant, they noticed faint indications of rejection, which they had learnt to identify from a 2023 experiment in which a pig kidney functioned for 61 days inside the body of a deceased man whose body was given for study.

Dr Robert Montgomery from NYU Langone Health, who led Looneys transplant, said they successfully treated Looney, and theres been no sign of rejection since  and a few weeks ago she met the family behind that deceased body research.

Also read: 80% Organ Donors Are Women, 80% Recipients Are Men. Why?

A superwoman

Now Looney said she feels like a superwoman after the successful transplant, laughing about outpacing family members on long walks around New York City.

Its a new take on life, she told the Associated Press.

Dr Montgomery said, If you saw her on the street, you would have no idea that shes the only person in the world walking around with a pig organ inside them thats functioning.

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Dr Montgomery called Looneys kidney function absolutely normal.

Its a blessing, said Looney. I feel like Ive been given another chance at life. I cannot wait to be able to travel again and spend more quality time with my family and grandchildren.

She is now trying to help others, serving as what Montgomery calls an ambassador for people whove been reaching out to her through social media, sharing their distress at the long wait for transplants and wondering about pig kidneys.

One, she said, was being considered for a xenotransplant at another hospital but was scared, wondering whether to proceed.

I didnt want to persuade him whether to do or not to do it, Looney said. Instead, she asked if he was religious and urged him to pray, and go off your faith, what your heart tells you.

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I love talking to people; I love helping people, she added. I want to be, like, some educational piece for scientists to help others.

Also read: Surgical Milestone: Worlds first transplant of genetically-edited pig kidney to a live patient

A beacon of hope

Although Looneys new kidneys lifespan cannot be predicted, she may need dialysis once more if it fails.

The truth is we dont really know what the next hurdles are because this is the first time weve gotten this far, Dr Montgomery said.

Well have to continue to really keep a close eye on her.

Only four other Americans  two hearts and two kidneys  have had extremely risky gene-edited pig organ transplants, and none of them survived for longer than two months.

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Towana represents the culmination of the progress we have made in xenotransplantation since we performed the first surgery in 2021, said Dr Montgomery.

She serves as a beacon of hope to those struggling with kidney failure.

The company that provided Looneys kidney, United Therapeutics, recently requested approval from the Food and Drug Administration to start a trial.

Dr Tatsuo Kawai of Massachusetts General Hospital, who oversaw the first pig kidney transplant in history last year and collaborates with eGenesis, another pig developer, described Looneys condition as a very precious experience.

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Kawai pointed out that Looneys progress will assist guide future efforts because she was much healthier than the previous patients.

He stated, We must all learn from one another.

Also read: How air ambulances are a boon to organ transplant

More about pig transplants

A serious lack of transplantable human organs is prompting scientists to genetically alter pigs to produce more human-like organs.

Over 100,000 patients, the majority of whom require kidney transplants, are on the waiting list in the United States.

In India, over two lakh patients suffering from end-stage kidney disease are awaiting organ donation; however, only 15,000 donors are available.

Up until now, pig organ transplants have only been permitted as compassionate use research, which the FDA only permits when individuals have no other choice.

Additionally, in anticipation of the worlds first official xenotransplantation trials, which are anticipated to start this year, the few hospitals that have tried them are exchanging information about what worked and what didnt.

With inputs from The Associated Press
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, at a dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu, spoke about his Indian connection and having Indian DNA. He emphasised the deep civilisational connection between the two nations, including the Sanskrit origins of Indonesian languages and names. read more

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (L) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gesture during a joint press briefing at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on January 25, 2025. AFP

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, during his state visit to India, spoke about his Indian connections and said that he has Indian DNA at a dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday.

His joke elicited laughter from dignitaries, including Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Murmu.

A few weeks ago, I had my genetic sequencing test, and they told me that I have Indian DNA. Everybody knows that when I hear Indian music, I start dancing, he said, leaving everyone in laughter.

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#WATCH | Delhi | "...A few weeks ago I had my genetic sequencing test and my DNA test and they told me that I have Indian DNA. Everybody knows when I hear Indian music, I start dancing...", says Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto at the banquet hosted by President Droupadi pic.twitter.com/N7f0EpLamZ  ANI (@ANI) January 26, 2025

Many names in Indonesia are actually Sanskrit-derived: Prez Subianto

The Indonesian President emphasised the strong civilisational ties between India and Indonesia, which share a long, ancient history. Even now, a significant part of our language comes from Sanskrit. Many names in Indonesia are actually Sanskrit-derived, and in our daily lives, the influence of ancient Indian civilisation remains very strong. I think its also part of our genetics, he stated.

President Subianto praises PM Modi

President Subianto praised PM Modi for his leadership and commitment for making the lives of ordinary Indians better.

I am very proud to be here [in India]. I am not a professional politician or a skilled diplomat; I speak from my heart. I came here for a few days but learned a great deal from Prime Minister Modis leadership and dedication. His commitment to alleviating poverty, helping the marginalised, and supporting the weakest sections of society is an inspiration for us, he said.

Subiantos visit as chief guest of Republic Day celebrations

President Subianto visited India as the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations on 26th January.

The Indonesian President and PM Modi signed agreements to strengthen ties in health, defence, digital technology, and maritime affairs. They also discussed Indonesias interest in purchasing the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, jointly developed by India and Russia.

For the first time, a contingent from the Indonesian National Armed Forces participated in the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.
Maharashtra reported its first suspected death linked to GBS in Solapur, while the number of cases of the immunological nerve disorder in Pune has crossed 100, health officials said on Monday. read more

The Union Health Ministry has deployed a high-level multi-disciplinary team to Pune to assist state authorities in containing the rise in suspected and confirmed cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) in the city.

The central team, consisting of seven experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Delhi, NIMHANS Bengaluru, the Regional Office of Health & Family Welfare, and the National Institute for Virology (NIV) Pune, has been sent to Maharashtra. Three experts from NIV, Pune, were already supporting local authorities.

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The team will work closely with the state health departments and take stock of on-ground situation and recommend necessary public health interventions. The central team has been tasked with monitoring the situation and coordinating with the state.

In Guillain-Barre syndrome, the immune system attacks parts of the peripheral nervous system, affecting nerves responsible for muscle movement as well as those transmitting pain, temperature, and touch sensations, according to WHO. This can lead to muscle weakness, loss of sensation in the limbs, and difficulties with swallowing or breathing.

Though rare, the condition is more common in adults and males, but it can affect people of all ages.

Maharashtra reported its first suspected death linked to GBS in Solapur, while the number of cases of the immunological nerve disorder in Pune has crossed 100, health officials said on Monday.

The man had come to Pune, where he is suspected to have contracted the disease, and died in Solapur, an official said without giving more details.

The total number of GBS cases in Pune on Sunday increased to 101, comprising 68 males and 33 females. Of these, 16 patients are on ventilator support. One suspected death has been reported in Solapur, the state health department official said.

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Meanwhile, the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and the Pune Municipal Corporations health department continued surveillance in the affected Sinhgad Road area in Pune.

A seven-member high-level team of experts has been deployed in Maharashtra to assist the state in the monitoring and management of the increasing cases of GBS, an official source said.

GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness, with symptoms including severe weakness in the limbs and loose motions. Bacterial and viral infections generally lead to GBS as they weaken the immunity of patients, according to doctors.

While GBS is prevalent in both paediatric and young-age groups, it will not lead to an epidemic or pandemic, they said, adding that most patients recover fully with treatment.

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The state health department has set up the RRT to investigate the sudden rise in this infection after 24 suspected cases were found initially.

With inputs from agencies
With eyes on the resumption direct flights between India and China, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong on Monday read more

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri arrived in Chinas Beijing on Sunday for bilateral talks with senior Chinese officials.

The talks are understood to be aimed to advancing the India-China relations following the understanding that the two countries reached regarding the stand-off in Ladakh last year. He met Liu Jianchao, the head of the Communist Party of Chinas (CPC) Central Committees international affairs department on Sunday and is scheduled to meet Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong on Monday.

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In a brief statement last week, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said that Misri would visit China on January 26-27 and hold meetings under the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister framework. It further said that the discussions would be part to reach the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains.

In the meeting with Misri, the two sides exchanged views on jointly implementing the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthening exchanges and dialogues, and promoting the improvement and healthy and stable development of China-India relations, as well as international and regional issues of common concern, reported Chinas state-run Global Times newspaper.

The Indian Express has reported that one of the key objectives of the meeting is to reach an understanding to resume direct flights between the two countries.

As part of the improvement of the bilateral times, China has sought the easing of visa curbs on Chinese nationals, including diplomats and scholars; the lifting of the ban on Chinese apps; permission of Chinese journalists to work in India; and allowing more Indian films to release in China, according to The Express.

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Direct flights between India and China were suspended in 2020 following Chinese incursions and attacks in Ladakh that triggered a military standoff that has still not been completely resolved. The Chinese actions, including the attacks at Galwan Valley in June 2020 that killed 20 Indian soldiers, plunged the India-China relationship to its lowest since 1962 when the two countries fought a war. India responded to the Chinese aggression at the border with economic disengagement and crackdown on Chinese firms, apps, and investments in India.

Following the India-China understanding reached last year, this is the third round of senior-level talks between the two sides.

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Earlier on November 18, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil. Then, on November 20, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun met in Laos on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus. In that meeting, Rajath had said we need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict and emphasised and looked forward to greater trust and confidence building between the two sides through de-escalation.

Even though India and China have reached an understanding on some aspects of the Ladakh stand-off, complete disengagement and withdrawal of troops is yet to take place.

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As per the agreement, Indian patrolling was reinstated in Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh and Chinas patrolling was reinstated in India-controlled Yangtse in Arunachal Pradeshs Tawang. However, patrolling remains halted in regions that witnessed disengagement in 2022: Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Patrolling Points 15 and 17A in Gogra Hot Springs area. The buffer zones created in these areas continue to remain in place. Moreover, as many as 50-60,000 troops along with war-waging equipment continue to be deployed in the region and no withdrawal has yet taken place.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his ongoing visit to China.

Misri arrived in Beijing on Sunday and met Liu Jianchao, the head of the Communist Party of Chinas (CPC) Central Committees international affairs department. He was scheduled to meet Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong on Monday.

Misris visit and meeting with Wang comes at a time when India and China are working to rebuild the relationship after reaching an understanding regarding the border standoff in Ladakh last year. In recent months, in addition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the foreign ministers and defence ministers of both the sides have also held meetings.

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In a statement regarding the meeting, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said that India and China should seize the opportunity, work together in the same direction, explore more substantive measures, and strive for mutual understanding, mutual support, and mutual achievement, instead of mutual suspicion, mutual alienation, and mutual consumption.

India and China have completely different perceptions of the bilateral relationship. While India maintains that peace and tranquility at the border is the basis of the broader bilateral relationship, China maintains that the question of the border is separate from the broader bilateral relationship and crises at the border should not affect the broader bilateral relationship.

The MoFA further said, The improvement and development of China-India relations is fully in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples, is conducive to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of countries in the Global South, and is conducive to making contributions to peace, stability, development and prosperity in Asia and the world.

On his part, the MoFA quoted Misri as saying that in line with the understanding outlined by Modi and Xi in their meeting in Russia on the sidelines of the Brics Summit last year, India and China have carried out a series of useful dialogues and communication, properly managed and resolved differences, and promoted the resumption of practical cooperation in various fields.

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The MoFA further quoted Misri as saying that India is ready to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with China and will fully support Chinas work as the chair of the SCO.

In October 2024, India and China reached an understanding regarding the stand-off in eastern Ladakh. Even as the stand-off in the region is yet to be fully resolved, the understanding led to a meeting between Modi and Xi and was seen as a thaw in the frozen India-China ties.

In 2020, Chinese aggression in Ladakh triggered the yearslong, ongoing standoff that plunged India-China ties to its lowest since 1962 when the two countries fought a war. In October, the two sides agreed to Indias resumption of patrolling in Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh and the resumption of Chinas patrolling in India-controlled Yangtse in Arunachal Pradeshs Tawang.

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However, the agreement did not address the question of Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Patrolling Points 15 and 17A in Gogra Hot Springs area where patrolling remains halted after disengagement was reached in 2022: The buffer zones created in these areas continue to remain in place. Moreover, as many as 50-60,000 troops along with war-waging equipment continue to be deployed in the region and no withdrawal has yet taken place.
Shourie, who in the past retained his Hindutva identity despite holding several contrarian views, is now well and truly into the Left-liberal camp that he once fought so vigorously read more

Arun Shourie is today seen by many as a Hindutva ideologue gone rogue. Shourie, to his credit, always wore the badge of anti-establishment with a sense of pride, but post-2014, he has taken this to an altogether different level. In the process, he is often seen to be dismantling the very edifice, intellectual as well as ideological, that he had built so arduously over the decades since the 1980s. As his new book on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar hits the bookstores, the limelight is as much on Savarkar as on Shourie.

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Reading The New Icon: Savarkar and the Facts, its obvious that the author isnt quite charitable towards the Hindutva icon. First, Shourie brings out the contradictions between the fundamental Hindutva belief system and Savarkars worldview. So, Savarkar would want gau palan and not gau pujan, going to the extent of saying that venerating the cow has become the cause of rashtra ki buddhi-hatya kaa paap (the sin of killing the intelligence of the rashtra). He believed that eating beef or pork was a matter not of religion but of your stomach. He said, The cow and bullock of our country, being useful to us, should ordinarily not be eaten, but there is no harm in eating their meat like the meat of any other animal in England or America.

The New Icon: Savarkar and the Facts | 30 January 2025 | Author: Arun Shourie

Howsoever inconvenient these statements may sound to those on the right side of the ideological divide, the fact is they indeed were Savarkars utterances. So was the following statement, which Shourie writes in his own provocatively engaging style:

And look at the harm such beliefs inflict, Savarkar reminded readers. Confronted with a Hindu army, the Mussalmaan invaders would put a ring of cows in front. The Hindu soldiers and army would refuse to fight lest a cow be killed, he said. No one taught them that to stop the ingress of enemies of the nation and dharma was a great punya. They let the rashtra die so that the cow-mother may live And once the Mussalmaan had conquered all, the cows too were butchered If you resist, we will break the Surya temple in Multan, the Mussalmaans warned and the Hindu forces withdrew If you take a step towards taking Kashi back, we will reduce the temple there to rubble, the Mussalmaans proclaimed. The nawab had but to threaten them in this way that the Hindus sat down in dharna to keep the Peshwa from attacking Kashi. The entire kingdom of devtas was sunk to save one temple As if in the reign of Aurangzeb and Allauddin Khilji cows were not being butchered, as if temples were not being destroyed. They took gau-rakshand (cow protection) to be dharma and made gau-bhakshand (devouring cows) widespread. Intelligence goes first, and then

Shourie acknowledges Savarkars constructive role, especially in his hometown Ratnagiri, in fighting the malaise of the caste system, calling it jaatibhed kaa raakshas, the demon of caste differentiation. His admiration for Savarkar, however, ends there. The book, thereafter, becomes a litany of lies, hyperboles, and hypocrisies that Shourie believed Savarkar had allegedly indulged in throughout his life.

On his attempted escape from the SS Morea, for instance, Shourie elaborates on how Savarkar, through his own book, Life of Barrister Savarkar, written under the pen name of Chitragupta, distorted the incident by turning the two Englishmen and two Indian sepoys who had been deputed to keep guard over him into ten picked and armed officers and men and hundreds of European passengers guarding him. He also wrote how he had to swim for his life, now diving, now riding the waves, followed by a chase on the land not less than a mile long. The fact is, as Vikram Sampath, too, writes in his Savarkar biography, Echoes from a Forgotten Past, he swam for about ten to twelve feet to get to the quay, followed by a run for about 200 yards.

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The author questions Savarkar on the clemency issue and also picks holes in his claims that he had advised Subhas Chandra Bose to go abroad to seek military support for Indias independence. He also believes Savarkar had a hand in Gandhis assassination.

Except for Shouries claims on Subhas Bose, his other assessments seem to be more the case of his preconceived bias rather than the reality. On the clemency issue, for instance, there is no denying that this was being used as a tool by revolutionaries of the era, including by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Schindra Nath Sanyal. There is no reason to disbelieve Savarkar when he says that sacrifice was adorable only when it was, directly or remotely, but reasonably, felt to be indispensable for success. Also, British records suggest that the colonial government continued to keep a close watch on Savarkar even a decade after his release from the jail.

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Similarly, the attempts to link him with Gandhis assassination seemed far-fetched and overtly political in nature, with the then Law Minister, BR Ambedkar, conceding that there were powerful forces in the Nehru government that desperately wanted Savarkar framed.

Shouries obsessive bias gets even more pronounced when he wears the hat of a historian. His assessment of the Marathas, especially Shivaji, is shallow; he quotes selectively, highlighting only the negatives. It appears that the authors political standing in the last 10 years has blurred his historical vision. His call to save Hinduism from Hindutva, seems straight out of the toolkit of the eminent historians and intellectuals whom he had so gallantly fought in the past. Shourie, in that way, seems to be dismantling his own legacy as a writer and an intellectual.

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Savarkar, no doubt, was a man of contradictions. He might not have always been consistent with the truth, but then who is ever consistent? And who is free from contradictions? Shouries hero, Mahatma Gandhi, was often the epitome of inconsistency, if not contradictions. His inspiration to become a Mahatma largely came from non-Indic sources. It was this tendency to pick up things from foreign sources that made Sri Aurobindo call Gandhi a European in an Indian body. He would recite the Bhagavad Gita and yet dogmatically pursue the cause of ahimsa even at the sight of grave injustice. He would invoke Rama in his daily discourse, but the latter remained a mythical figure for him!

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Vivekananda, another Hindutva icon, if his biographer Sankar is to be believed, captured the hearts of men and women all over the world, but his own people in Bengal took time to accept him. Sankar, in his book The Monk As Man: The Unknown Life of Swami Vivekananda, writes how two high court judges were asked to preside over the condolence meeting after Swamis death. They not only refused but treated the offer with withering scorn. One of them went so far as to say that if Bengal had a Hindu king, Swami Vivekananda would have been hanged before then, Sankar writes. Sankar also asks why it was so difficult for the math to raise funds to erect a small temple over the site where Swami Vivekananda was cremated. The work was not begun until January 1907 and was completed many years later, on 2 January 1924.

Shourie, too, has often displayed contradictions. Even at a time when he was a Hindutva mascot, he idolised Gandhi. Even when he exposed the notion of Muslim separatism, especially highlighting the Congress Khilafat self-goal, Gandhi would retain a position of absolute veneration in Shouries scheme of things. He would reconcile the thoughts of Sita Ram Goel, where Gandhism would be unsparingly criticised, with those of the Mahatma.

This is the beauty of civilisational India: It often assimilates what may appear as contradictions. Where Vedic philosophy thrived alongside the Charvaka or even Buddhist worldviews. Where Adi Shankara propounded Advaita while writing in praise of the Shakti. This explains why Vivekananda, Gandhi, and even Savarkar came to be accepted as Hindutva icons, even when they werent on the same page on several important issues and held many contrasting, contradictory views. What matteredand that is the heart of the issuewas that even in their criticism, all they wanted was the well-being of the Indic civilisation. Their intent was invariably focused on furthering the interest of Hinduism.

Shourie, who in the past retained his Hindutva identity despite holding several contrarian views, is now well and truly into the Left-liberal camp that he once fought so vigorously. The New Icon is immensely readable, and it will further bolster interest in Savarkar. Where Shourieunlike Savarkar, Gandhi, Vivekananda, and othersgets it all wrong is his intent. And thats the real tragedy of his otherwise glorious life journey.

Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
As per sources, Pakistans spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence was engaged in the spadework to convince the Rohingya armed groups in Bangladesh to collaborate for effective coordination in their campaign to recover their homeland in Myanmar read more

Among the many consequences of Bangladeshs growing bonhomie with Pakistan seems to be the emergence of a united front of Rohingya armed groups that could have a far-reaching impact on the region, including India.

On 25 December, representatives from four outfitsArakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), Islami Mahaz, Arakan National Defence Force (ANDF), and the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA)shared the dais at a refugee camp in Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar following a new alliance called the Four Brothers Alliance or The Rohingya Army among these groups.

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Thousands of refugees had gathered to witness the event at Kutupalong in Coxs Bazar. The coalition was hammered out after a series of brainstorming sessions among the functionaries of these outfits reportedly for the past several weeks.

Sources in Coxs Bazar disclosed that Pakistans spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was engaged in the spadework to convince the armed groups to collaborate for effective coordination in their campaign to recover their homeland in Myanmar. Assisting the ISI was a section of Bangladesh government officials who had the approval of the new regime in Dhaka.

The development comes amid reports of Pakistans renewed presence in Bangladesh after the fall of the Awami League-led government in August. An agreement firmed up between the two countries will also allow the Pakistan military to train its Bangladeshi counterpart from next month.

Rationale of the United Front

The stated objective of the Rohingya outfits is to regain the territory in Myanmar from where they had been evicted in batches beginning from the late seventies. Thousands of Rohingya were again compelled to leave their homes two months ago when the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group in Myanmar, launched a full-scale campaign against the military to liberate the border zones of Maungdaw bordering Bangladesh. The district is now completely under the control of the Arakan Army.

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The Rohingya community in Myanmar is currently estimated to be about a million, spread over different townships in Rakhine State and a few families at Paletwa in southern Chin State that I observed during my recent travel to the region. They comprise about 70 per cent of the population, and a majority only in Maungdaw. The Rohingya outfits are active mostly in Maungdaw and without any support base in other parts of Rakhine State.

The Rohingya armed groups suffer from an acute shortage of weapons, if not cadres. Months before the Arakan Army occupied Maungdaw, the military had convinced three groupsARSA, RSO, and ARAto collaborate in resisting the Arakan Army. The military had forcibly conscripted hundreds of Rohingya youths and provided pistols and G-3 rifles to the outfits, but they were no match against the sophisticated weaponry of the Arakan Army.

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A source in Coxs Bazar privy to the recent developments in the refugee camps claimed that the Rohingya groups have been assured of weapons and explosives for their campaign in Myanmar. A precondition laid down by the masterminds of the project was that all the groups must fight together on a common platform. It was an offer that they could not refuse, said the source. Some posts on social media alleged that weapons and explosives are being distributed to ARSA inside the refugee camps.

An Indian government official was of the opinion that linkages with ISI offered the Rohingya groups better chances of gaining access to a wider network for procuring the ingredients necessary to wage war in Myanmar than what would have been possible with Bangladeshs spy agency Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI).

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RSO was propped up by DGFI against ARSA

The Bangladesh government could be confronted with a more complex situation in the refugee camps following the new alliance among the Rohingya groups. Two years ago, the government had launched an investigation into ARSAs role in the killing of DGFI officer Rizwan Rushdee and injuring of a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) member during an anti-smuggling operation in Bandarban.

Security forces in Bangladesh had apprehended several ARSA leaders, the latest as recent as September last year, when Nurul Islam was arrested from a refugee camp with a G-3 rifle and many rounds of ammunition. Last year, Samiuddin was nabbed during a raid from a camp in Kutupalong. He was wanted for the murder of Mohibullah, the chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, in 2021 and the killing of Rizwan Rushdee.

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The DGFI had also decided to support the RSO as a countermeasure against the ARSA. RSO had been dormant for almost the past two decades and weakened after a split years ago. Last year in January, the RSO launched an operation to evict ARSA from the areas along the countrys border with Myanmar with support from DGFI and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). In Myanmar, however, both RSO and ARSA had joined hands with the military against the Arakan Army and were engaged in battles before Maungdaw was liberated in November.

Whether these outfits can engage in a campaign jointly against the Arakan Army remains to be seen given the rivalry and differences among them. But the operations against ARSA by the Bangladesh security forces will certainly draw to a close after the alliance since it has the blessings of the government. On 8 January, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Mizanur Rahman encouraged refugees to engage in armed conflict in Myanmar. Also, as sources claimed, ARSA has assured DGFI and the security forces that it will abstain from criminal activities and any conduct harmful to the interests of Bangladesh.

Rohingya outfits past linkages with Pakistan

The linkages of Rohingya outfits with radical Islamist organisations had been known over the past many years. In 2016, a report by the International Crisis Group mentions that functionaries of RSO and the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front (ARIF) had attended a guerrilla war course in Libya and Afghanistan. The report adds that the RSO was also assisted with training by the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Such reports have surfaced in the media at regular intervals, underscoring the relationship of the Rohingya groups with jihadi organisations. A report in 2021 refers to the support provided by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to these groups at Coxs Bazar and Bandarban in Bangladesh. Further, it mentions another Rohingya group, Aqa Mul Mujahideen (AMM), as having close ties with LeT and the Taliban (in Pakistan) that included training in weapons.

The ISI could not have remained unaware of these developments given its proximity with radical Islamist terror groups across South Asia and Afghanistan. The Indian governments view that Rohingya outfits have active linkages with ISI was shared by the previous regime in Bangladesh, which also might have been a factor for the latters decision to crack the whip against ARSA.

Saleem Samad, an award-winning journalist in Bangladesh, wrote last year that Myanmar blames Pakistans dreaded spy agency ISI for its share in mentoring the jihadist outfit. Their theory that ARSA has been raised, funded, provides logistics, and indoctrination was masterminded by ISI and is also believed by both Bangladesh and India.

Sources were of the view that another recent development at the refugee camps in Coxs Bazar has been the entry of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), which identifies itself as an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). That AQIS is a front of the ISI having intimate ties with the LeT was revealed in a chargesheet in 2016 by Delhi Police. A key operative of the organisation is Farhatullah Ghori, who is also a senior member of the LeT and responsible for the Gujarat Akshardham attack.

Implications of the new alliance

A pertinent question is whether the alliance of the Rohingya outfits can recover their homeland in Myanmar, which could be a possibility only if the Arakan Army is militarily compelled to relinquish Maungdaw. The Arakan Armys strength is estimated to be between 40,000 and 50,000 cadres, including 10,000 reserves. Besides Rakhine State and southern Chin State, it has deployed troops in other regions of Myanmar, including Sagaing Region, Magway Region, and in the states of Shan, Kachin, and Kayin for assisting other resistance groups fighting the junta.

So the possibility of the Arakan Army suffering major reverses in Rakhine State appears to be a dim possibility. A likely scenario could be the typical hit-and-run guerrilla tactics by the Rohingya outfits along the border zone of Maungdaw, where they still command support among the community. In the end, the civilian populace could be caught in the crossfire, compelling more to relocate from their homes in Rakhine State.

The UN has decided to convene a high-level conference for a time-bound plan to resolve the Rohingya crisis following Bangladeshs persistent lobbying at the international fora. But the success of such conclaves would be doubtful if unrest flares up along the border of the twin countries. Continuing operations by the terror groups might compel the Arakan Army to harden its stance on repatriation.

Incidentally, the DGFI had engaged the Arakan Army in several rounds of negotiations months ago to explore the feasibility of repatriation of the refugees to Myanmar. It remains to be seen if the talks are continued in the backdrop of the new alliance of the Rohingya outfits in which the DGFI had an active role.

A section of Indian government officials is of the firm opinion that ISIs primary intent is not so much to support the Rohingya cause in Myanmar as its objective to trigger disturbances in India. Transforming the refugee camps into hotbeds of terror and making them accessible to radical Islamist outfits will help Pakistan to step up operations in India. They (Rohingya) are extremely vulnerable and cannon fodder for the ISI and its affiliates such as AQIS, an official said.

That some radicals among the Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals have infiltrated into India and sleeper cells created are not in doubt. According to the Indian government, the influx is organised and facilitated by agents and touts. Three years ago, a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) unravelled a five-layered trafficking network of the Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh into India.

Terror modules of Islamist outfits have also been unearthed at regular intervals in India where Bangladeshi nationals were found to have been actively engaged. Eight persons were arrested last month, including a Bangladeshi citizen belonging to the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).

The infiltrators advantage stems from multiple factors, including gaps along the India-Bangladesh border, the existence of criminal syndicates, and their linkages with illegal immigrants in different states of the country. The government has failed to implement stringent preventive measures and long- and short-term policies to identify them.

Coxs Bazar is bursting at the seams with appalling conditions in the refugee camps. Only a handful among them will have funds to procure passports for emigrating to other countries or undertake the perilous boat journeys to Southeast Asia. The easier option for the majority of them would be crossing over to India, even if there is a possibility of getting apprehended and pushed back to Bangladesh or incarcerated in detention centres.

The writer is a senior journalist in Assam. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
The US can either seek exceptionalism or it can demand equality or complete reciprocity, but it cannot expect both at the same time read more

Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar was on the money when, shortly after the re-election of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the US, he said that a lot of countries are nervous about the USwe [India] are not one of them. The absence of trepidation in India about dealing with Trump 2.0 doesnt mean that India is living under some grand illusion of how benign and beneficent the incoming US administration will be towards India. But there is a sense of quiet confidence that India will not just manage but also strengthen the bilateral relationship.

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This is notwithstanding the expected kerfuffle over trade, tariffs, visas, immigration, and of course Trumps proclivity for provocative remarks. If indeed these are the priority issues for the Trump administration, then dealing with the US will be a bit of a breeze. All we will need is some thick skin and some common sense in policy making.

Some of Trumps asks might actually be good for India, provided we can flip his demands to our benefit by nurturing and retaining Indian talent and making Indias economy more efficient and competitive through much-needed reform and deregulation. The problem for India isnt so much that Trump is transactionalall international relations are inherently transactional; the problem really is Trumps mercantilist or protectionist approach, which can translate into an isolationist approach where MAGA isnt Make America Great Again but Making America Go Alone. If so, then the US cannot expect to lead the world, nor can it expect other countries not to look for alternatives to hedge their bets and protect their interests.

Unlike some US allies that have been mooching for decades, India has been pretty self-sufficient and not dependent on US economic or military assistance. Despite running a surplus, Indias trade with the US is not as imbalanced as US trade with China. But Trumps insistence on balancing every bilateral trade relationship is a silly and even impractical demand.

Even so, India can easily accommodate some of the tariff demands and address some of the trade barrier issues without unnecessarily escalating the issue. If Trump wants to drill baby drill, India can always source more oil and gas from the US, and that too at lower prices because of the increase in oil supply in the international market. All the talk of a 100 per cent tariff on BRICS countries is so much hot air. There is no replacing the US Dollar for the foreseeable future. India especially has no incentive to see the USD replaced by the Chinese Yuan.

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On immigration, India doesnt hold any brief for illegal immigrants and has made it clear it will take back any Indian citizen, albeit after due verification of their antecedents. In fact, this might actually be good for India because it means diminishing incentives for illegal migrants who allege persecution to claim asylum, tarnishing Indias image. The H1B visa is again something which India can take in her stride. Trump and some of his close aides have been open to reform on H1B visas but arent inclined to altogether scrap this visa category. While these are issues that have been agitated in the media discourse, these are unlikely to cause any rupture in Indias relationship with the US. Some friction, yes, but certainly nothing beyond.

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On the strategic and political front, there are some positives to look forward to. The Trump administration will be less intervening, hectoring, and sermonising than its predecessor. India also is on a reasonably good wicket not just with Trump but also with many of the top officials in the incoming administration who consider India a crucial partner. The pressure on India over Russia could ease, more so if the US itself looks for some kind of detente. But there could be greater pressure on India over Iran. The carve-outs for India on Chabahar and connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia through Iran could be reversed.

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While trade between Iran and India is under $2 billion, even this could end if the US tightens the secondary sanctions regime. There is also a real danger of hostilities breaking out over Irans nuclear programme which could prove seriously disruptive in the Middle East and impact India adversely. Any serious regime change operation in Iran could end up severely destabilising the region, making Indias strategic environment fraught. On Afghanistan, the new administration has people who loathe the Taliban regime and could take steps that might jeopardise Indias carefully calibrated moves to engage with the Islamic Emirate.

China is of course the mother of all strategic challenges, not just for the US but also for India. The trouble is Trumps China policy remains inchoate. He and his team want to counter China but havent quite thrashed out how exactly they propose to go about itwill it be limited to trade ties with tariffs and market access being the sum and substance of the China policy? Will it be about forming alliances and partnerships to shift manufacturing and supply chains out of China? How will that fit into Trumps plans to shift manufacturing back Stateside and weaponise trade, tariffs, and finance to Make America Great Again?

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Will it mean drawing smaller countries out of Chinas vice-like embrace (debt-trap diplomacy, etc.) and incentivising them by giving them an economic and security stake in their relationship with the US? How will that happen if the US is constantly harping on reciprocity even with countries whose economies are a tiny fraction of that of the US? Will it involve building military and economic sinews of countries around China so they can stand up to Chinese bullying, individually and collectively? Or is the entire focus going to be US-centricif America gets to cut a good deal with China, it will throw everyone else under the bus? These are issues that all countries, including India, will be watching very closely.

For India, the fact that many in the new US administration see her as an important, even critical, partner in the Indo-Pacific strategy is a bit of a mixed bag. At one level it opens many doors for India and creates space to forge a closer partnership with the US and its allies to build capacity, capability, and economic strength. But at the same time, there will be an expectation from India to shed some of her strategic ambivalence, or if you will, strategic autonomy.

India would of course like to keep China at bay, but India isnt quite ready to become a Ukraine. Conflict with China doesnt suit India; contestation and, to the extent possible, containment do. But there is no clarity on what exactly the Trumpian game plan is, how much of it India will be willing to sign on to, where India will balk and beg off, and how that will play in the US.

In other words, does the US have a grand strategic plan, or is it merely a grand consensus on countering China and making a plan as things move along? Against the erstwhile Soviet Union, the US had clarity on how to confront without provoking a conflict. That grand strategy had ideological, political, diplomatic, military, and economic dimensions. None of that is visible today, even less so given Trumps knack for publicly rubbing existing and potential allies the wrong way and losing goodwill in the pursuit of demands that, in the grand scheme of things, appear rather petty.

The thing is that if the US wants to remain the paramount power and lead the world, then it needs to behave like a leader. The US can either seek exceptionalism or it can demand equality or complete reciprocity. But it cannot expect both at the same time.

The writer is Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
Americas most successful immigrant community seeks political power to go with its material success, but it wont be easy read more

Vivek tried to adopt the white persona and issue sermons as whites do, oblivious of the fact that he was demolishing established permission structures and overstepping boundaries. Image: REUTERS

The return of Donald Trump to the White House is an epochal moment, the true import of which may not lend itself to contemporaneous assessment. Trump is historys reset button, challenging our priors, reshuffling our rules, orders, moral sensibilities and rewriting our edicts. When he demits office, nothing will be the same.

In this piece I shall explore a topic specific to Trumps second coming. The MAGA movement, a reactionary force against what Mary Harrington calls the rule by a headless, faceless and monolithically ideologically aligned swarm, is characterised as much by nativism as a populist revolt against immigration, globalization and multiculturalism. It is in one respect a working-class insurgency against its perceived economic disenfranchisement by the elites, and in another a revanchist rebellion laced with anxiety over white Americas racial identity.

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This concurrence of motivations places the MAGA movement at odds with Indian-Americans, a 5.2 million-strong community, the second-largest immigrant group in the US that account for 20% of the nations Asian American population, and is the most educated and affluent ethnic group in the United States.

Assessing the tension between a dominant and xenophobic political group that has just helped put its totem back into the worlds most powerful office, and the most successful immigrant community in a country that has a history of bigotry and hostility against immigrants of colour, specifically those of Asian origin, is necessary because Indian Americans are increasingly becoming more politically aware and ambitious.

Among the members of US Congress, right now five are of Indian descent. Around 40 Indian Americans have entered state legislatures. New York Times points out, quoting AAPI Data  an organization that collects information about Asian Americans  that it is the highest number of any Asian origin group in the US. More and more Indian Americans are eager to join the political mainstream.

This assessment of the intra-group tension, and consequently the future of the Indian Americans in America, could be messy, complicated and resistant to neat binaries.

For instance, though Indian Americans have in the past leant heavily Democratic, the Democratic Party of late has been bleeding support. Most of the defectors are identifying as independents, while some have gravitated towards Trumps Republican Party owing to the GoPs focus on social issues such as education, family values and immigration.

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The 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey (IAAS) by Carnegie, ahead of the November presidential polls, found that 47% respondents identify as Democrats among this community, down from 56% in 2020  and a modest gain in favour of Trump. And yet, while the Indian Americans are showing greater engagement as political actors and are even willing to give the party that has been historically perceived as anti-immigrant and intolerant of faiths other than Christianity a try, the core MAGA base has not warmed up to Indian Americans.

This perceived shift in the communitys attitude and trajectory has not found reciprocation. In fact, a series of developments since Trumps return to the White House indicate that that the success of Indian Americans as an immigrant community, its certain cultural attributes and growing political ambition is sparking a nativist backlash from Trumps white Christian base.

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The Indian Americans may be more willing to embrace a conservative zeitgeist, and indeed Trumps resounding victory wouldnt have been possible without a sizeable Latino and Asian defection in his favour, but to the MAGA base, the immigrant communitys paganism and brown skin evoke suspicion and derision, while its success breeds a deep resentment.

All Indian immigrants assimilation efforts break down at bigotrys door as the rightists aim for an ethnical purification of a country that has been built by immigrants. The unfolding of this friction has been fascinating to watch, not least the Indian American communitys determination not to play the victim despite being at the receiving end of vicious racism from MAGA activists and far-right trolls.

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This racism is based primarily on the glorification of the white races.

Consider the fact America has a First Lady who emigrated to the US from Slovenia (then a part of Yugoslavia) in 1996 and made a career in fashion modelling. Ahead of the first Trump term, tabloids across the world splashed nude images of a young Melania Knauss wearing little else than sporting a pair of handcuffs or a chrome pistol. The reproduction of the racy images drew general condemnation and never became an issue for Trumps twin marches to the White House.

Consider also the fact that Usha Vance, born in a suburb of San Diego County, California, to Indian immigrant parents, became the first Asian American and Hindu American to become Second Lady of the US when JD Vance took oath as the vice-president.

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Where both of these very American success stories depart is the uneven treatment both ladies have been subjected to. While Melania, the Slavic goddess is an embodiment of grace and beauty typical of the white master race, Usha, the America-born high-achiever and an accomplished lawyer, has been at the centre of vile attacks steeped in racism and bigotry.

Leave alone right-wing anonymous accounts that wonder about whether there will be a cow in the White House when the stinky Indian steps in, widely followed right-wing accounts, white nationalist groypers blasted Vance for marrying a non-Christian, non-white woman. What kind of man marries somebody that isnt a Christian? What kind of man marries somebody named Usha? Clearly, he doesnt value his racial identity, his heritage. Clearly, he doesnt value his religion. He doesnt marry a woman that professes Jesus Christ? What does that say about him?"

"What kind of man marries somebody that isnt a Christian? What kind of man marries somebody named Usha? Clearly, he doesnt value his racial identity, his heritage. Clearly, he doesnt value his religion. He doesnt marry a woman that professes Jesus Christ? What does that say https://t.co/uffwhFcu58  Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) July 17, 2024

This is not a fringe backlash. The MAGA movements activism against illegal immigration has morphed into a fierce opposition to even high-skilled legal immigration  where Indians have overwhelmingly been at the receiving end. Once again, we find that racial anxiety has been window-dressed as economic concern, and a version of great displacement theory has been put forward centred around a perceived notion that Indians are out to steal American jobs.

A manifestation of this right-wing pushback against Indian immigration is found in the ongoing debates around H1B visa, Trumps attempted denial of birthright citizenship  an executive order that shakes the very foundation of Americas Constitution  and the heat faced by the likes of Sriram Krishnan and Vivek Ramaswamy. Krishnan, the Indian American entrepreneur appointed by Trump as senior policy advisor on AI, has been taken to the cleaners by major right-wing accounts for championing skilled immigration, especially through the H1B programme.

Before we move on to the case of Vivek, that exemplifies the challenges faces by the Indian American community in achieving its political ambitions, it is worth testing the veracity of the claim that the temporary, non-immigrant H1B visa programme, through which companies hire highly skilled foreign workers for specific roles, are displacing Americans at lower wages owing to their obedience, lack of agency, and willingness to work more for less.

In his blog, Noah Smith shares data and findings from various scholarly papers to show that when national H-1b numbers were restricted, employment for similar native-born workers didnt rise; that companies who won the H-1b lottery didnt hire fewer H-1b-like native-born workers and were scaling up without generating large amounts of substitution; that greater employment of skilled immigrant workers also leads to employment expansion for young natives and increases in STEM workers are associated with significant wage gains for college-educated natives.

It has also been established that instead of foreign workers acting as deep-discounted labourers for American firms, controlling for their human capital attributes, foreign IT professionals (those without U.S. citizenship and those with H-1B or other work visas) earn a salary premium when compared with IT professionals with U.S. citizenship, according to a paper by Sunil Mithas and Henry C. Lucas, Jr.

An article in Indian Express published by researchers Ritam Chaurey of Johns Hopkins University, Kanika Mahajan of Ashoka University and Shekhar Tomar of Indian School of Business points out that job postings for US-based positions dropped by 15 per cent almost immediately after Trumps primary win".

Simultaneously, it led to a significant rise in India-based job postings by firms most affected by the uncertainty. We find that firms with a 10-percentage point higher reliance on H-1B workers increased India-based postings by 11 per cent. For an average firm posting ads for US-based positions, this translated to 16 additional India-based positions and four fewer US-based ones. This highlights how immigration policy uncertainty can quickly reshape global hiring patterns.

In other words, the controversy around H1B and other temporary work visas for highly skilled workers in the US is proving to be beneficial for countries such as India because US-based firms are relocating positions originally based in the US. So, the MAGA movements crusade is not based on economic merit.

An understanding of this dynamic is important because it clearly shows that MAGA activists hatred against high-skilled immigrants  most of whom are Indians  and the political campaign to deny immigrants the chance to have a child who is an American citizen (once again that may adversely impact legal immigration) is an exhibition of racial prejudice against Indians, instead of an activism to reverse the economic disenfranchisement.

Faced with a civil war at home, Trump, who understands the importance of allowing highly skilled workers into the US, has been equivocating on the topic, reluctant to anger any of the two key constituents of the recent MAGA coalition who are split down the middle over the issue. This gives the US president the space to placate his right-wing base, while also not angering Silicon Valley tech leaders such as Elon Musk  a key figure in Trump 2.0 administration  for whom H1B is an invaluable route to get the worlds top talent.

The case of Vivek is most interesting, and by some measure, most unfortunate. His sidelining from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)  ironically his brainchild and borne out of Viveks determined crusade for a small government  has been attributed to a number of factors, including his fallout with co-leader and tech tycoon Musk, Trumps right-hand man.

While that is in the realm of speculation, media reports indicate that Viveks fallout was a consequence of an ill-fated post on X (formerly Twitter) on December 26 at the height of the raging controversy over H1B visas where he claimed that the reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over native Americans isnt because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if were really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH:

Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesnt start in college, it starts YOUNG.

A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers

I have reproduced only part of the post that has gone viral.

The post, that took aim at the lapse in American culture from excellence to a celebration of mediocrity, created a maelstrom of white racist anger against Vivek in particular, that metastasized to hatred against Indians in general. Interestingly, while the MAGA base has been very angry because they claim Vivek called them lazy, unambitious and pedestrian, many Indian Americans as well as some voices in India have called the post an act of stupidity since it angers the core base of a populist movement.

I posit that it is a thorough misinterpretation of Viveks message. I hold no brief for one of the most successful Indian Americans who needs no defending and may well resurrect his political career as the governor of Ohio, but it is instructive how his call for a version of America that Vivek believes the current generation should aim to emulate, has been turned on its head as a hate speech.

Viveks language may have been a little harsh, but the substance of his message  that the current generation of white Americans are embracing mediocrity and anti-intellectualism, and that nerds are to be valued, not made into subjects of ridicule and scorn is nothing new. It has been made by white authors in the past without a fraction of racist backlash that Vivek has been subjected to.

His appeal, that othering or talking down Asian immigrants and their academic achievements is self-defeating may have been the result of some traumatic experiences from his childhood but that in no way takes away from the veracity of the argument. If anything, on the limited point about the need to import best talent into America, his words were a lot less harsh than Musks.

Vivek has not denigrated Americans or their culture. He stresses on striving for excellence minus the distractions to put Americans on top. Thats patriotism. Going by the fact that the Indian community in the US is the most educated and wealthiest, he clearly has a point. To exhort fellow countrymen to follow the example of the leading pack becomes denigration only if you put the colour of the skin of the person or the group ahead of the argument and decide that Vivek has grown larger than his brown boots.

In a 2023 interview, Vivek had said that he does not identify as an Indian American. Being Hindu and Indian is part of my cultural identity, for sure, and Im proud of that and very comfortable with that, he said after a campaign stop in Marshalltown, Iowa. But Im an American first.

And therein lies the problem. Vivek tried to adopt the white persona and issue sermons as whites do, oblivious of the fact that he was demolishing established permission structures and overstepping boundaries. This power structure has been internalized to such an extent that its reversal is objectionable even to Indians sitting in India.

It did not matter that Vivek was one of the most sparkling protagonists of the MAGA movement, decimating rivals during the first Republican primary debate, taking to cleaners the most vicious narrative peddlers from the Left and legacy media while defending Trump, providing intellectual ballast to the movement, or sleekly defending some of the white nativism.

Throwing his lot in a party of white Christian evangelists and nationalists, Vivek even tried to retrofit Hinduism as some sort of an equivalent to Judeo-Christianity to make it more palatable to Trumps base who see it as paganism or demon worshipping. It didnt matter. The brown skin talking down to MAGA generates a different kind of animus. The racist filth that came his way has an overarching theme  that Vivek is a charlatan who has been finally found out.

I cant stand Vivek. Right after the primary I put his account on mute and his name on my muted terms list on this app so that I dont hear about him ever again. I cant stand his voice, his diction, his demeanor, his mannerisms, the substance of his word salads, his face you pic.twitter.com/SLApOTvk4v  Marina Medvin  (@MarinaMedvin) January 21, 2025

Data shows that Indian Americans, majority of whom are Hindus, have been at the receiving end of discrimination in America, including violence and prejudice.

An online survey conducted by YouGov in September 2020, involving 1200 adult, resident Indian Americans, the result of which was published in Washington Post, reveals that 31% of Indian Americans believe that discrimination against people of Indian origin is a major problem in the US while 53% think its a minor problem. Measuring respondents lived experiences with discrimination reveals that 1 in 2 Indian Americans reports being subjected to some form of discrimination over the previous 12 months.

The survey also finds that while Indian Americans enjoy a higher level of professional and financial success relative to many other immigrant communities in the country. But these successes have not inoculated them from the forces of discrimination.

Viveks fate is in some ways a cautionary tale for Indian Americans, some of whom have had to adopt Christian identities to get ahead in politics, such as Bobby Jindal or Nikki Haley. Vivek didnt abandon his Hindu identity, and in the vortex of the raging cultural battle over identity, became an overnight snake oil peddler in MAGA eyes.

It is a tough situation for the community that is deemed to be white adjacent by the Hinduphobic Left that uses tools such as caste discrimination to discriminate against Hindu Americans. And they evoke suspicion, resentment and hatred in the brave, new America ruled by MAGA.

Trump, who has incorporated a number of Indian Americans in key roles in his administration, is a pragmatist but if faced with a dilemma, wont be defying his core base for the immigrant community. We already see shades of this challenge. Viveks fate, the racist attacks on Usha, Trumps move on birthright citizenship explicitly target the most successful immigrant community in the US, one that stays away from crime, contributes to American nation-building, leads Silicon Valley and future skills and is increasingly looking for political agency top go with their material success.

America, being the land of opportunities, offers this skillful, hardworking community the chance for economic success but when it comes to political power, they must keep on the narrow lane or suffer consequences.

The writer is Deputy Executive Editor, Firstpost. He tweets as @sreemoytalukdar. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
DeepSeeks real achievement lies in its ability to develop a cutting-edge AI model while spending a fraction of what its US counterparts have. OpenAIs development of GPT-4 cost upwards of $100 million, yet DeepSeek claims it spent just $5.6 million to bring DeepSeek-V3 to life read more

While US companies like OpenAI and Meta have opted for proprietary models, keeping their cutting-edge AI behind paywalls, DeepSeek has made its technology available to the world for free. This approach opens the doors for developers everywhere. Image Credit: Reuters

Up until now, the US has been the undisputed leader in artificial intelligence, with tech giants like OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Microsoft at the helm of driving innovations in the sector. Starging from making people familiar with GenAI to conversations around AGI or Artificial General Intelligence, it has been US-based tech companies that have been the core of all conversations. Their massive investments, cutting-edge hardware, and top-tier talent have kept them ahead of the pack.

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But 2025 is proving to be a turning point. A new player from China, DeepSeek, is making headlines with its release of DeepSeek-V3, a powerful AI model that has already begun to rival the best models from US companieswithout the hefty price tag typically associated with such breakthroughs.

DeepSeeks surprising success has upended long-held assumptions in the AI world. While the US has maintained its AI dominance through billions of dollars in funding and top-of-the-line resources, DeepSeek has shown that ingenuity and smarter use of resources can achieve equally impressive results. The question now is whether Chinas AI prowess could shift the global balance of power in tech.

DeepSeeks low-cost, high-impact model

DeepSeeks real achievement lies in its ability to develop a cutting-edge AI model while spending a fraction of what its US counterparts have. OpenAIs development of GPT-4 reportedly cost upwards of $100 million, yet DeepSeek claims it spent just $5.6 million to bring DeepSeek-V3 to life.

How? By using older, less advanced hardware that the US would typically disregardsuch as GPUs that are already considered outdated by Western standards. DeepSeeks ability to get top-tier performance from these resources is a testament to the teams technical prowess. Despite the lower budget and older hardware, DeepSeek-V3 has surpassed US models like GPT-4 in key benchmarks, such as coding, solving complex mathematical problems, and identifying bugs in software.

This breakthrough has shocked the tech world. For years, it was believed that only massive investments in the latest hardware could produce AI models of this calibre. But DeepSeek has proved that with the right mix of creativity, resourcefulness, and clever design, significant breakthroughs are still possibleeven when working with less.

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The open-source advantage

Whats also catching the attention of the global AI community is DeepSeeks commitment to open-source technology. While US companies like OpenAI and Meta have opted for proprietary models, keeping their cutting-edge AI behind paywalls, DeepSeek has made its technology available to the world for free. This approach opens the doors for developers everywhere to build on, tweak, and improve DeepSeeks models. Its a bold move that could reshape the future of AI development, promoting collaboration over competition. The open-source nature of DeepSeek-V3 not only democratises access to this technology but also allows for faster iteration and innovation globally.

The decision to go open-source also highlights a stark contrast to the increasingly closed and commercialised nature of AI development in the West. This move could be pivotal in how AI progresses, particularly since DeepSeeks models are now in the hands of developers worldwide, empowering them to create, adapt, and refine at a speed thats difficult for larger, more resource-heavy companies to match.

The potential pitfalls

While DeepSeeks rise has garnered widespread praise, its not without its controversies. Concerns are swirling around the potential influence of the Chinese government on the labs AI systems. Critics fear that DeepSeeks AI models could reflect Chinas political views and restrictions, especially around sensitive topics such as Taiwan or the Tiananmen Square protests. There is also the larger question of whether AI developed by countries with more authoritarian regimes could uphold democratic values or be used as a tool for control and censorship.

These concerns are compounded by the fact that DeepSeek, despite its open-source approach, may still be subject to government regulations that influence its design and outputs. While the labs open-source model has been praised for promoting collaboration, it raises important questions about the kind of values that will be embedded into the AI that is shaping our future.

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US response: A rushed countermeasure

In light of DeepSeeks breakthrough, the US has moved quickly to shore up its position in the AI race. The newly announced Stargate Project is a massive $500 billion initiative aimed at creating cutting-edge AI infrastructure in the US. With key players like OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank involved, the projects goal is to ensure the US remains the global leader in AI development. The urgency behind this project signals that the US is not taking the challenge from China lightly.

DeepSeeks success has forced the US to reconsider its position in the AI race. Until recently, the belief was that only companies with deep pockets and access to the latest hardware could succeed in AI development. But DeepSeek has shown that success in AI is about more than just resourcesits about innovation, creativity, and making the most of what you have. As the global AI race heats up, its clear that the traditional power dynamics are shifting. Whether the US can adapt quickly enough to reclaim its leadership is yet to be seen.
One major hurdle in using blockchain for government operations is governance. Public blockchains, such as those used by Bitcoin and Solana, are decentralised and operate without a central authority. This could create difficulties for governments that need control over their data read more

Elon Musk is spearheading discussions to implement blockchain technology in the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created under President Trumps executive order. The department aims to modernise federal systems and improve productivity, with Musk proposing blockchain as a tool to streamline government functions. The technology could help track federal spending, secure sensitive data, manage government buildings, and facilitate payments, addressing the need to cut costs and reduce waste. This proposal highlights the growing interest in digital assets and blockchain for enhancing government operations.

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Musks involvement in DOGE is significant given his connection to Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology. The discussions are still in early stages, but they focus on using blockchain for large-scale government projects, aligning with the Trump administrations broader push to support digital assets. As part of this initiative, Trump recently signed an executive order creating a working group dedicated to digital assets, signalling a commitment to fostering innovation in the sector.

Blockchains potential to streamline government operations

Blockchain offers the US government the potential to enhance transparency, security, and efficiency. Originally developed for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, blockchain provides a decentralised ledger system that records transactions without a central authority, ensuring data integrity. Proponents of blockchain believe it could transform government operations by tracking federal spending, securing data, and managing contracts. These capabilities would align with Trumps goals of reducing fraud and waste, promoting more effective governance, and increasing accountability.

However, some experts question whether blockchain is necessary for these functions. Sam Hammond, chief economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, pointed out that traditional databases could provide similar security and transparency without the added complexity and costs of blockchain. While blockchain could offer more robust features, its implementation might not be the most efficient or cost-effective option compared to existing solutions.

Governance and control challenges with public blockchains

One major hurdle in using blockchain for government operations is governance. Public blockchains, such as those used by Bitcoin and Solana, are decentralised and operate without a central authority. This could create difficulties for governments that need control over their data. Duke University finance professor Campbell Harvey warned that a lack of control over data entries could be problematic for government operations, particularly when dealing with sensitive or classified information.

Despite these concerns, blockchain has already been used for smaller-scale projects. The California Department of Motor Vehicles, for example, has digitised car titles using blockchain, and BlackRock has issued a money-market fund through the technology. While these efforts show promise, applying blockchain on a government-wide scale is largely untested and may face challenges in proving its superiority over existing systems.

The future of blockchain in government

If DOGE proceeds with implementing blockchain, it could set a significant precedent for government technology. However, its success will depend on overcoming governance issues, ensuring compatibility with current systems, and proving that blockchain provides tangible benefits over traditional methods.

The potential for blockchain to enhance security, transparency, and efficiency in government operations is clear, but its practical application remains uncertain. If successful, this initiative could shape the future of digital asset usage in the public sector and transform the way the government manages data and resources.
Donald Trumps Stargate Project has ignited debates among AI leaders, dividing opinions on artificial intelligence safety and governance. Learn how this initiative impacts AI ethics and regulations read more

Donald Trump, announcing Project Stargate. SoftBank and OpenAI have each committed over $15 billion, but theyll need to raise more money through debt and equity. Image Credit: Reuters

Donald Trumps $500 billion project Stargate is causing quite a stir among some of the biggest names in AI who attend the World Economic Forum at Davos. Backed by Trump, OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle Stargate aims to create the infrastructure needed to push AI to new heights. But while the tech world is buzzing about its potential, many are worried about the risks it could pose, especially as concerns about AIs future intensify.

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Top AI leaders like Sir Demis Hassabis from Google DeepMind, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, and AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, according to a report by The Financial Times, took the opportunity to raise alarms about the dangers AI could bring. Hassabis, in particular, warned that artificial general intelligence (AGI)machines surpassing human intelligencecould threaten humanity if left unchecked.

His concerns focused on open-source AI, which could easily fall into the wrong hands and be used for malicious purposes. But Yann LeCun, Metas chief AI scientist, hit back, accusing Hassabis and Amodei of hypocrisy. He argued that by building and selling these AI models, they were part of the problem, contributing to the centralisation of power in the hands of a few companies.

AIs risk-reward debate

While AI experts were sounding the alarm, many business leaders couldnt have been more excited about AIs future. Ervin Tu, president of Prosus, called AI a transformational technology that will disrupt every industry. In the business world, AI is viewed as a game-changer, one that could fuel incredible growth and innovation across all sectors.

This enthusiasm was further fuelled by the announcement of the Stargate project. The initiative, which aims to build a massive AI infrastructure, is expected to cost $500 billion. Its goal is to develop the computing power needed to create even more advanced AI models. Trump met with the executives behind the project and later signed executive orders to remove regulatory barriers in the hopes of keeping the US ahead in the global AI race. OpenAIs CFO, Sarah Friar, explained that Stargate is all about more compute, which is key to developing models capable of solving more complex problems.

OpenAI cancels agreement with Microsoft

However, despite the big talk, Stargate is facing some serious challenges. The project has yet to secure the full funding it needs, and its not getting any help from the government. SoftBank and OpenAI have each committed over $15 billion, but theyll need to raise more money through debt and equity.

The announcement of Stargate also highlighted growing tensions between OpenAI and Microsoft. Microsoft has invested nearly $14 billion into OpenAI, but after the launch of Stargate, their exclusive cloud computing agreement was suddenly cancelled.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was quick to question the huge investment in Stargate, pointing to Microsofts own $80 billion capital expenditure plans for AI. This is just the latest sign of competition heating up in the AI sector. Companies like OpenAI, Musks xAI, and Meta are all racing to build the infrastructure needed to support AIs rapid growth.

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The global race for AI infrastructure

The stakes are higher than ever as the AI race intensifies. With massive investments pouring into data centres and AI infrastructure, the question now is whether the technologys growth can be kept in check. While some are pushing for more regulation, the commercial rush to harness AIs potential shows no sign of slowing down.

As the industry continues to grow, well need to carefully balance AIs incredible potential with the risks it poses to society. How we manage this powerful technology will shape its futureand ours.
The Trump administration is reportedly working on a plan that involves Oracle, and a group of investors taking control of TikToks operations. ByteDance would retain a stake, but Oracle would oversee key elements like data collection and software updates read more

Trumps proposed involvement of the US government in TikToks operations, particularly his desire for the US govt to hold a 50% stake in a joint venture, has raised concerns in Congress. Image Credit: Reuters

US President Donald Trump has announced that he is in discussions with multiple parties over the future of TikTok, with a decision expected in the next 30 days. Speaking on Saturday during a flight to Florida, Trump indicated that the talks revolve around potential buyers for the popular video-sharing app, which has come under scrutiny due to national security concerns. The timeline follows the US Congress granting 90 days to resolve the matter, and Trump has said that if a deal can be struck, saving TikTok would be a positive move.

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The administration is reportedly working on a plan that involves Oracle, the US software giant, and a group of investors taking control of TikToks operations. ByteDance, TikToks China-based parent company, would retain a stake, but Oracle would oversee key elements like data collection and software updates. However, the deals specifics are still fluid, with some sources noting that the terms could evolve, potentially involving TikToks US operations and other global markets as well.

Oracles role in the potential deal

Central to the discussions is Oracle, which has already been involved with TikTok in a limited capacity since 2022. The software company is expected to play a major role in addressing national security issues related to the app. By overseeing data storage and updates, Oracle would ensure that US users information is protected from any potential Chinese government interference. The company had previously entered into a deal with TikTok to store US data on its cloud servers, helping to alleviate Washingtons concerns about data privacy.

Although Trump has said he has not spoken directly to Oracles Larry Ellison about buying TikTok, sources suggest that Oracle could seek a stake worth tens of billions of dollars. The deal would also likely involve some of ByteDances US investors, including firms like Sequoia Capital, KKR, and General Atlantic. Despite Oracles central role, other parties, including investor groups led by billionaire Frank McCourt and YouTube star Mr. Beast, are not part of the ongoing talks with Oracle.

Legal and political obstacles

While negotiations are underway, the deal faces significant legal and political challenges. Trumps proposed involvement of the US government in TikToks operations, particularly his desire for the US govt to hold a 50% stake in a joint venture, has raised concerns in Congress. Some lawmakers and free speech advocates argue against banning TikTok or forcing its sale, citing potential infringements on free expression and concerns over government overreach. The debate has already sparked discussions on whether TikToks US operations should be sold at all or banned outright.

Additionally, TikToks management is expected to remain in place, with the company continuing to operate the app while Oracle handles security matters. However, the 75-day delay signed by Trump gives more time for negotiators to reach an agreement, as the deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok looms. With so much at stake, any decision on the apps future will have significant political, legal, and business consequences.

Whats next for TikTok?

As Trump moves towards a decision on TikToks future, the stakes remain high. The outcome will not only shape the apps continued operation in the US but also influence broader conversations about data privacy and national security in the digital age. TikToks future hangs in the balance, and whether the negotiations lead to a deal or a ban will likely set a precedent for similar tech disputes between the US and China in the years to come.
At least 22 soldiers have been killed and several wounded in Nigerias northeast after insurgents deployed improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers to ward off attacks by the military, the army spokesperson Edward Buba said read more

At least 22 soldiers have been killed and several wounded in Nigerias northeast after insurgents deployed improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers to ward off attacks by the military, the army spokesperson Edward Buba said.

The Nigerian military said late on Sunday that it had launched an assault 10 days ago against insurgents in the northeast and killed over 70 militants including three commanders.

Government forces also shot down drones used by the insurgents, Buba said.

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Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province militants have mainly operated in Borno state, targeting security forces and civilians in an insurgency that has killed and displaced tens of thousands of people.

On Friday, suspected Islamist insurgents killed at least 20 Nigerian soldiers, including a commanding officer, in an attack on an army base in a remote Borno town, according to security sources and local residents.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Monday for Fridays attack, according to a post by the group on Telegram.

An Islamist insurgency has plagued the northeast of Africas most populous country for 16 years, while kidnapping and banditry are rampant in the northwest and gang and separatist violence is common in the southeast.
Firefighters pictured during the fire extinguishing operation at the Industrial Estate in Multan on January 27, 2024, in this still taken from a video. X

At least five people were killed and 31 were injured after a gas-filled tank exploded at an Industrial estate in Multan, Pakistan. According to Geo News, the deceased included a minor girl and two women. As per the report, the explosion of the tanker triggered a massive fire, with debris from shattered vehicles reaching a nearby residential area.

Rescue officials told the Pakistani news outlet that the fire was extinguished following hours of efforts. At least 10 firefighting vehicles and foam-based fire suppression were deployed at the site to take control of the blaze.

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Meanwhile, Multans City Police Officer (CPO) Sadiq Ali told Geo News that several houses were destroyed and livestock perished due to the fast-spreading fire. He noted that the gas had been leaking from one of the valves of the tanker truck which was parked inside the industrial estate.

The authorities clarified that some of the people who were present in the area had already been evacuated after smelling the gas before the explosion occurred. The CPO further confirmed that out of the 35 injured in the incident, 13 are reported to be in critical condition.

Soon after the blast, the District Emergency Officer confirmed that an emergency had been declared at Nishtar Hospital, where the injured were taken and are currently receiving treatment. According to the Geo News, the authorities are currently conducting search operations in the adjacent localities to ensure the safety of those who are nearby.

Electricity and gas supply in the area has been temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure. Locals have been advised to stay away from the site of the blast since the gas from the exploded tanker is still in the air. As the rescue and recovery operation progresses, why the leak happened is currently under investigation.
While speaking onboard the Air Force One on Saturday Trump claimed that Arctic Islands 57,000 residents want to be with" the US read more

US President Donald Trump once again pushed the idea of taking over Greenland, insisting that the residents of the island region want to be part of the US. The remarks from the president came following reports that he held a horrendous phone call with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. During the call, Trump said that he would use Economic threats to force Denmark to withdraw its claim over Greenland.

While speaking onboard the Air Force One on Saturday Trump said: I think were going to have it." He went on to claim that the Arctic Islands 57,000 residents want to be with us. I do believe Greenland, well get because it really has to do with freedom of the world, he said. It has nothing to do with the United States, other than were the one that can provide the freedom," the American leader furthered.

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In the provocative call with the Danish leader, Trump was reportedly aggressive and confrontational. Five current and former senior European officials told the Financial Times that the call went horribly. It was horrendous, said one of the sources. It was a cold shower, another told the paper. Before, it was hard to take seriously, but I do think it is serious and potentially very dangerous.

Denmark remains adamant

Trump reportedly threatened Denmark, a NATO ally nation, with targeted tariffs, essentially taxes on Danish exports to the US. While the report of the call stirred a storm, the Danish Prime Ministers office issued a statement stating that it did not recognise the interpretation of the conversation given by anonymous sources.

Meanwhile, Greenlands Prime Minister Mute Egede, who called for independence from Denmark, made it clear that Greenland is not for sale. However, he maintained that the island region is open for closer ties with the US, in areas such as mining. Several Danish lawmakers also condemned Trumps growing assertiveness.

Danish parliaments defence committee, Conservative MP Rasmus Jarlov, said Denmark would never hand over 57,000 of its citizens to become Americans against their will. We understand that the US is a powerful country. We are not. It is up to the US how far they will go. But come what may. We are still going to say no," he remarked.

Why Greenland became crucial all of a sudden

Since Greenlands ice sheets are melting rapidly due to climate change, the region has become a crucial geopolitical battleground. The island is strategically located between the US and Europe and comprises several natural resources.

Many countries are now interested in conducting oil drilling projects on the island, although, Greenland stopped granting exploration licences in 2021. Meanwhile, mining for essential minerals including copper, lithium, cobalt and nickel is also seen as another incentive. The melting of the ice sheet has also opened new shipping routes, providing the world with an alternative to the Suez Canal, while the Panama Canal is seeing less traffic as a result of severe drought.

It is pertinent to note that since the Cold War, Greenland has been home to a US military plane and its ballistic missile early warning system. Back in 1917, then-US President Woodrow Wilson gave Copenhagen assurances that the territory will forever be Danish.

Meanwhile, Tom Hyem, Denmarks representative to Greenland between 1982 and 1987, also said that if Denmark wanted to sell Greenland it would rather give it to the United Kingdom. While boarding Air Force One, Trump also reiterated his view that Canada should become a US state. I view it as, honestly, a country that should be a state, he told reporters. Then, theyll get much better treatment, much better care and much lower taxes and theyll be much more secure.

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The order came after Colombia blocked the deportation flights that were arriving in the country from the United States read more

Amid the tensions between the United States and Colombia, US Senator Marco Rubio ordered the American embassy in the Latin American nation to suspend visa issuance. The order came after Colombia blocked the deportation flights that were arriving in the country from the United States. On Sunday, the State Department issued a statement on the matter.

The State Department will continue to enforce and prioritize an America First agenda. Following President Petros refusal to accept two repatriation flights he previously authorized, Secretary Rubio immediately ordered a suspension of visa issuance at the US Embassy Bogota consular section, the State Department said in the statement.

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Apart from this, Rubio also authorised travel sanctions on those individuals and their families who were responsible for the interference of US repatriation flight operations. The State Department made it clear that these measures will continue until Colombia meets its obligation.

Rubio slammed the South American nation for refusing to admit its own citizens within the country. America will not back down when it comes to defending its national security interests, the State Department statement reads. Washington was left completely shocked after Colombian President Gustavo Petro denied entry to US military deportation flights.

The tariff war that ensued between the US and Colombia

Petros decision to take a U-turn over the matter garnered condemnation and anger from US President Donald Trump. After Petros refusal, Trump said that he would impose 25 per cent tariffs and sanctions on Colombia.

The POTUS noted that the tariffs will be imposed on all goods coming into the US from Colombia. He noted that his order would be put in place immediately, and in one week the 25 per cent tariffs would be raised to 50 per cent. Petro responded to Trumps latest order by saying he would impose retaliatory tariffs of 25 per cent on the US.

The Colombian leader emphasised that one of the major reasons why he was refusing the take in the refuge was because they were seeing on a military aircraft. He emphasised that the country would receive our fellow citizens on civilian planes, without treating them like criminals and migrants must be returned with dignity and respect."

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It is pertinent to note that two American military planes from San Diego were due to land in Colombia on Sunday with migrant deportees. However, those two planes were scrapped due to complications.

In response to this, Trump said that there would be visa sanctions on supporters of the Colombian government, and enhanced Customs and Border Protection inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo on national security grounds. It remains unclear, exactly how long the tussle between the two nations will continue.

With inputs from agencies.
Despite US President Donald Trumps pledge to curb illegal immigration, more than thousand persons are travelling in a caravan through Mexico to enter the United States illegally read more

Migrants walk through Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, in an attempt to reach the US border, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, the inauguration day of US President Donald Trump. (Photo: AP)

Even as US President Donald Trump is pursuing a crackdown on illegal immigrants, a caravan of more than 1,000 migrants is making its way through Mexico towards the US-Mexico border to enter the United States illegally.

In one of the first decisions after Inauguration, Trump declared an emergency at the southern border with Mexico and deployed around 1,500 soldiers to tackle the flow of migrants through the border. There are reports that Trump is considering deploying as many as 10,000 soldiers to the border.

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Thousands of people illegally enter the United States from Mexico after travelling for hundreds or even thousands of kilometres across Mexico and central America in large caravans. Trump has made crackdowns on such illegal entry into the United States central to his second terms agenda.

Anibal Jose Arvelo, a 37-year-old Venezuelan man part of the caravan, told AFP that people still hope to be able to enter the United States despite Trumps crackdown.

We have decided to go to the border and get an answer. We still hope to be able to enter the United States, said Arvelo.

Its a tough situation here. Theres no work in Tapachula (a city near the Guatemalan border), said Omar Avila, a 25-year-old Venezuelan man, to the agency.

Avila said that his former wife and son have already entered the United States. He said his daughter died during the journey across the Darien jungle along the Columbia-Panama border.

As Mexico faces the heat from Trump over illegal immigration from its soil, President Claudia Sheinbaum has raised the possibility of regularising foreign migrants who are barred from entering the United States or repatriating those who are willing to return to their homeland, according to the agency.

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At least seven people have been arrested since January for their provocative online posts. They were accused of inciting violence against individuals and, in some cases, calling for terrorist attacks against France read more

Ultranationalist social media influencers from Algeria are spreading hate across France, its erstwhile colonisers. According to Politico, the trends have now triggered nervousness in Paris which is already suffering from political turbulence. In light of this, France has made several high-profile arrests over the past few weeks.

The arrests include a handful of online influencers who have built a large audience in a few months by inciting violence and terrorist activity, and, in some cases, they have also been accused of targeting French-based opponents of the Algerian regime. The influencers are profiteering from a context of heightened tensions between France and Algeria, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told the weekly newspaper LExpress.

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It is pertinent to note that the relationship between France and Algeria has been fraught and poisoned for decades due to the resentment that came with the 132-year bloody rule. The former colonies have often condemned France due to the violence committed during Algerias war of independence that ended in 1962 Both nations are also struggling with a deadlock on migration issues.

France struggles to curb Algerian influence

According to Politico, at least seven people have been arrested since January for their provocative online posts. They were accused of inciting violence against individuals and, in some cases, calling for terrorist attacks against France. In one of the most high-profile cases, an Algerian influencer living in the Western city of Brest was accused of accused of glorifying terrorism after he posted several inflammatory video clips on TikTok.

The man who goes by the name Zazouyoucef, had around 400,000 followers. At least one of the clips shared by him mentioned the name of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as he was seen seemingly threatening his opponents.

Among these influencers, there are lone wolves, crazy people who have no link [with the Algerian regime] but who acted against the backdrop of preexisting rhetoric, said Chawki Benzehra, a France-based online Algerian activist and opponent to the regime who has played an active role in flagging violent posts on his social media accounts.

However, it is important to note that none of these posts have resulted in an actual act of violence. There have been no documented links between these TikToks or any sort of threats Paris faced in the past months.

France remains hesitant in approaching Algeria

It is pertinent to note that several Algerian nationalist influencers have been pushing pro-regime content in the past couple of years. However, anti-French content started to circulate online at the end of last year. It was like an orchestrated wave  Toward the end of last year, people started to flag video clips that were way over the line," Benzehra said.

As of now, the French government has refrained from accusing the Algerian government of pulling the strings. At this stage, we have no evidence that this is a coordinated campaign, Retailleau told the French news outlet. We havent seen artificial amplification or coordination, a French security official who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said. Generally speaking, the Algerian ecosystem isnt really structured or experienced [when it comes to online influence], he added.

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However, the very high number of followers of these accounts is making both French officials and academics nervous. I have been surprised by the number of followers, said Benjamin Stora, a prominent historian who was commissioned in 2020 by Macron to work on the issue of French colonization, told Politico. [Their message] is not very elaborate  But here is one idea, which is nationalism, he added. The nationalist craze in [part of] the Algerian diaspora is new.

With inputs from agencies.
Thousands of Australians took to the streets on Australia Day in protest, highlighting it as a day of mourning for Indigenous people rather than a celebration. Protesters raised issues such as land rights, Aboriginal deaths in custody, and the rejection of a constitutional voice in parliament. read more

Thousands of Aussies across the country joined protests during the Australia Day celebrations on Sunday in support of the countrys native people, who view the day as not something to be celebrated, but as an event marking the start of the killing of millions, Reuters reported.

Two historical statues were damaged by protesters in Melbourne. A statue of colonist John Batman was cut in half and a World War One memorial for Australian soldiers was covered in red paint.

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John Batman is a founder of the countrys second-largest city, Sydney, and was involved in the killing of Indigenous people.

A statue of King George V was also defaced in the capital, Canberra, on Sunday. Graffiti in red paint on the statue read, The colony is falling.

Australias national day on January 26 is a day of mourning for many Indigenous Australians. It marks the day Captain James Cook landed in Sydney Cove and the start of British colonisation.

Australia Day is commemorated to celebrate when a British fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour to start a penal colony in the late 18th century. However, critics prefer to call it Invasion Day or Survival Day because of the atrocities and killings carried out by European invaders to colonise the island.

The day is a national holiday in the country.

Invasion Day. Its just about the survival of our people. Were still here. We aint going anywhere. Like, you know, you can try to assimilate all you want, but were still here, Indigenous Australian Amanda Hill said.

Police estimated that 15,000 people joined protests and music events in Sydney throughout the day. In Melbournes central business district, around 25,000 people took to the streets.

Speakers at the protests discussed key issues for Aboriginal Australians. They highlighted the high number of Aboriginal deaths in police custody, missing and murdered Aboriginal women, land rights, and the call for a treaty to support Indigenous people.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attempted in 2023 to create a constitutional voice for Aboriginal people in parliament through a referendum. However, the referendum was rejected.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said in a post on social media that Australians shouldnt be afraid of celebrating their country on Australia Day. Dutton has stated that the country must unite under one flag and that he will remove Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags from government press conferences if he becomes prime minister in an election that must take place by mid-May.
Relations between China and India had been strained following a military clash on their border in 2020. Ties have improved over the past four months with several high-level meetings, including talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia in October read more

China and India should work in the same direction, explore more substantive measures and commit to mutual understanding, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in Beijing on Monday.

Their meeting was the latest between the two Asian powers following an agreement in October seeking to ease tension on their disputed frontier.

China and India should commit to mutual support and mutual achievement rather than suspicion and alienation, Wang said during the two officials meeting, according to the Chinese foreign ministrys readout.

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Relations between China and India had been strained following a military clash on their border in 2020.

Ties have improved over the past four months with several high-level meetings, including talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia in October.

In December, Wang and Indias national security adviser, Ajit Doval, agreed to seek ways to manage their border issue and step up efforts to build trust, at their second meeting in less than five months.

Paving the way for those talks was an agreement in October to disengage troops at two key face-off points on the countries largely undemarcated western Himalayan frontier in Ladakh - a turning point in their dispute that included scheduled patrols of the disputed area.
The M23 armed group and Rwandan soldiers entered the centre of Goma on Sunday night after weeks of advancing on the main city in the Democratic Republic of Congos North Kivu province. read more

This handout picture released on January 26, 2025, by the Uruguayan Army shows soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo reportedly handing over their weapons to Uruguayan soldiers of the UN Organization Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Goma. Image- AFP

Heavy artillery fire rocked the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Monday as France warned the capital of the mineral-rich region was on the brink of falling to militia fighters and Rwandan troops.

Gunshots rang out across Goma overnight before dozens of rebels in military uniform early Monday morning marched into the capital of North Kivu province, which sits on the border with Rwanda in the volatile region rich in minerals critical to much of the worlds technology.

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The Congolese government confirmed the presence of M23 rebels in Goma, 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) east of capital Kinshasa, but stopped short of saying they were in control of the city. In a statement on X, government spokesman Patrick Muyaya asked Goma residents to stay at home and also urged Congolese nationals around the world to mobilize in support of the country. No centimeter will be given up!!! Muyaya wrote.

As the rebels entered Goma, a fire at the citys Munzenze prison on Monday morning resulted in the escape of thousands of inmates. All the prisoners who were detained came out, whether women, men or minors, everyone came out, said Mwamisyo Ndungo, one of the escapees who estimated that more than 2,000 fled the facility.

The M23 rebels are one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region in the decades-long conflict, one of Africas largest. The rebels temporarily took over Goma in 2012, before they were forced to pull out under international pressure, and resurfaced in late 2021, with increasing support from Rwanda, according to Congos government and United Nations experts. Rwanda has denied such support.

The latest fighting has intensified a humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 400,000 people since the start of the year, according to the UN.

Amid mounting international concern, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the Rwanda-backed offensive must stop, expressing his countrys solidarity with the DRC as Goma prepares to fall.

The DRC government said it continues to work to avoid carnage and the loss of human life in Goma, spokesman Patrick Muyaya said on X in the first Congolese statement since fighters entered the city.

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In a statement on Sunday night, the M23 claimed it was a glorious day marking the liberation for the city of Goma, issuing an ultimatum to Congolese soldiers to hand over their weapons.

Repeated explosions from heavy artillery and intense bursts of gunfire echoed across central Goma on Monday, AFP correspondents at the scene said.

The streets were almost deserted, with the exception of groups of retreating pro-DRC militia fighters.

As gunfire rang out, a resident on a motorbike told others to turn back.

The DRC and Rwanda have had fraught relations for decades, further strained in the wake of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

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Kinshasa has accused Kigali of wanting to get hold of the regions mineral wealth, including gold  an accusation that Kigali denies.

We are afraid

M23 fighters and more than 3,500 Rwandan soldiers entered Goma overnight after laying siege to the city for several days, according to the United Nations and security sources.

We are in our beds because we are afraid, Goma resident Lucie told AFP by telephone.

We can hear the shooting outside our homes, we cannot leave.

In the north of the city near the airport, there was a mass jailbreak from a torched prison which resulted in deaths on Monday, a security source told AFP, without giving further details.

In some parts of the city, the M23 fighters were reportedly welcomed by celebrating locals, AFP correspondents said.

Some Congolese units had begun to surrender by handing over their weapons to peacekeepers in Goma, according to Uruguays army, which provides soldiers to the UNs force MONUSCO in the DRC.

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The border between Rwanda and the DRC near Goma was also closed on Monday, a European consulate source told AFP.

Rwandan state media had earlier said that buses were ready to evacuate UN staff and their families from Goma over the border.

With pressure mounting for an end to the battle for Goma, Kenya announced that Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame had agreed to attend a summit in the next two days.

Declaration of war

At an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Sunday in response to the crisis, the DRC called for the United Nations to impose sanctions on its neighbour for helping the M23.

This is a frontal assault, a declaration of war that no longer hides behind diplomatic artifice, said Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner.

The UN Security Council called for the withdrawal of aggressive external forces, but stopped short of explicitly naming them.

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Between 500 and 1,000 Rwandan soldiers arrived on Sunday to reinforce the M23 near Goma, UN sources told AFP.

Thirteen foreign peacekeepers have been killed in the escalating clashes, and UN chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday called on Rwanda to pull its armed forces out of the country.

Rwanda has rejected calls to withdraw.

This fighting close to the Rwandan border continues to present a serious threat to Rwandas security and territorial integrity, and necessitates Rwandas sustained defensive posture, Rwandas foreign ministry said.

Diplomats withdrawn

Both the DRC and Rwanda have withdrawn their diplomats from each others capitals in a breakdown of relations.

A UN experts report said Rwanda was using the M23 to secure access to the DRCs mineral wealth, exporting it abroad for its own gain.

Kinshasas Kayikwamba called on the UN Security Council to impose a total embargo on the export of all minerals labelled as Rwandan, in particular gold.

Rwanda has rejected DRCs accusations.

The mostly Tutsi M23, or March 23 Movement, briefly occupied Goma at the end of 2012.

It was militarily defeated by DR Congo forces and the UN in 2013. After eight years of dormancy, the group took up arms in late 2021 and started seizing large swathes of North Kivu.

Half a dozen ceasefires and truces have already been declared and broken in the region. The last ceasefire was signed at the end of July.

The United States, France, the UK and Germany have called on their citizens to leave Goma.
New Zealands economy sank into a technical recession in the third quarter of 2024 and the government is looking for ways to boost growth read more

New Zealand will introduce looser visa rules to allow holiday makers to work remotely while visiting the country, to boost its tourism sector and economy, it said on Monday.

Erica Stanford, Immigration Minister said in a statement that the visitor visa would change from Jan. 27 to allow people to work while travelling in the country.

This is a brand-new market of tourist New Zealand can tap into. We want people to see our country as the ideal place to visit and work while they do it, she said.

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She added in a press conference following the announcement that she was unsure how many people would take up the opportunity, but digital nomad visas had been extraordinarily popular overseas and that New Zealand was targeting people who would like the opportunity to work and travel here.

I expect in their time here that they will spend longer than they normally would, they will spend more because theyre here for longer, and the thing that were really hoping, is that they fall in love with the place, she said.

New Zealands economy sank into a technical recession in the third quarter of 2024 and the government is looking for ways to boost growth. The tourism sector has not fully bounced back from the closure of borders during the COVID-19 pandemic with international visitors at around 86% of 2019 levels.

The governments ambition is that new visa rules will put New Zealand boldly on the map as a welcoming haven for the worlds talent, said Nicola Willis, Minister of Economic Growth.

We hope that in some cases, it will encourage those people and the firms they represent to consider doing more business with New Zealand in the future, Willis added.
Lieutenant General Mohammad Faizur Rahman, the quartermaster general of the Bangladesh army and known for his pro-Islamist views, may be planning to seize control of the army, according to a report read more

Amid ongoing conflict between Islamists and progressives in Bangladesh, there is widespread speculation about a potential coup in the neighboring country.

According to The Economic Times report, Lieutenant General Mohammad Faizur Rahman, the quartermaster general of the Bangladesh army and known for his pro-Islamist views, may be planning to seize control of the army.

Last week, he met with the chief of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence and his delegation during their visit to Dhaka.

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According to the report, citing sources familiar with the dynamics of Bangladesh Army, Rahman may try to garner support from DGFI, the intelligence wing of Bangladesh army.

Current army chief General Aqar-uz-Zaman, who holds a centrist ideology, is positively inclined toward India and is working to prevent a complete Islamist takeover in the country by positioning the army as a key institution for Bangladeshs stability, reported The Economic Times.

He facilitated a safe passage for then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India when an Islamist-led mob threatened to storm her residence on August 5 last year.

According to the report, another significant power center within the Bangladesh Army is led by Lt Gen Mohammad Shaheenul Haque, the commandant of the National Defence College in Mirpur Cantonment, Dhaka.

He is supported by Major Gen Muhammad Moin Khan of the ninth division, which is often regarded as the most powerful division and is pro-Awami League.

Lt Gen Haque previously served as the commander of the Victory Day Parade in 2022 and was the chief of general staff at army headquarters.

Commissioned into the infantry corps in July 1989, he received the prestigious Sword of Honour for his outstanding performance during his commissioning.

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Moreover, he has held the position of director of the weapons, equipment, and statistics directorate within the army headquarters general staff branch, added the report.

With inputs from agencies
Fighting has intensified in recent weeks in eastern Congo, where rebels have captured key towns and are advancing towards Goma, the governments last stronghold in the region near Rwanda. read more

Guatemalan soldiers of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) secure the evacuation of their non essential civil personnel in Goma on January 25, 2025. Image- AFP

Clashes between M23 fighters backed by Rwandan forces and the Congolese army in DR Congos eastern city, Goma, have killed at least 17 people and wounded 367, according to tolls by several hospitals obtained by AFP.

Our surgical teams are now working around the clock to cope with the massive influx of wounded, as the fighting continues, affecting mostly civilians, said Myriam Favier, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in North Kivu province which supports several hospitals in the city.

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Heavy artillery fire rocked the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Monday as France warned the capital of the mineral-rich region was on the brink of falling to militia fighters and Rwandan troops.

Rwanda-backed rebels claimed they captured eastern Congos largest city, Goma, early Monday, as the United Nations described a mass panic among its 2 million people and Congos government said the rebel advance was a declaration of war."

The M23 rebels announced the citys capture in a statement minutes before a 48-hour deadline expired that had been imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons. Early Monday morning, gunfire was heard throughout the city, according to two aid workers sheltering there who were not authorized to speak to the media.

In a statement, the rebels urged residents of Goma to remain calm and for members of the Congolese military to assemble at the central stadium.

The M23 rebels offensive in the heart of the mineral-rich region threatens to dramatically worsen one of Africas longest wars and further displace civilians. According to a United Nations report, over a third of the population of North Kivu province where Goma is located are currently displaced and the capture of Goma will likely exacerbate the situation.

Who are the rebels and what do they want?

The M23 rebels  or The March 23 Movement  is one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region in a decades-long conflict in eastern Congo. In recent weeks, the rebels have made significant territorial gains, seizing towns and villages and encircling Goma.

The group was created in 2012 after the failed integration of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army. It claims to defend Tutsi from discrimination but critics say its a pretext for Rwanda to obtain economic and political influence over eastern Congo.

Studies have long highlighted the smuggling of resources" from Congo into Rwanda, said Ladd Serwat, senior Africa analyst with U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. Congolese officials increasingly accuse Rwanda of pursuing control over the regions resources and aiming to annex parts of Congo.

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In territories under its control, M23 implements its own tax system, runs a local government and controls natural resources.

Whats the role of neighboring Rwanda?

Congo, the United States and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, which had only hundreds of members in 2021. Now, according to the United Nations, the group has around 6,500 fighters.

While Rwanda denies that claim, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security. U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.

Serwat, the Africa analyst, says that Rwandas engagement has brought it into direct conflict with Congolese forces, escalating political tensions between the neighbors.

A declaration of war" by Congo against Rwanda would risk turning into a regional conflict in East Africa, said Darren Davids, an analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit.

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Why is Goma important for the rebels?

The city is a regional hub for trade, security and humanitarian efforts, and its airport is key for transporting supplies.

Back in 2012, the rebels seized Goma and controlled it for about a week but after mounting international pressure on Rwanda  including suspension of aid from the United States and Britain  the M23 surrendered the city.

Since 2021, Congos government and allied forces, including Burundian troops and U.N. troops, have been keeping the rebels away from Goma.

The capture of such a large city will certainly be a huge boost for the rebels and a major defeat of the government forces, said Davids, the economist.

Its fall would also have a catastrophic impact on hundreds of thousands of civilians, putting them at risk of heightened exposure to human rights violations and abuses, said Ravina Shamdasani of the U.N. human rights office.

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Francois Moreillon, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross for Congo, said hes worried also that ICRC staff running the main hospital in Goma would have to evacuate. If the hospital and the staff were no longer safe, who would treat the patients, he asked.

This situation is simply unacceptable, Moreillon said.

With inputs from agencies
The war for Goma was the most recent episode of combat in eastern DRC, a volatile region plagued by regional rivalries, ethnic tensions, and armed group battles for more than three decades read more

This handout picture released on January 26, 2025, by the Uruguayan Army shows soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) reportedly handing over their weapons to Uruguayan soldiers of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Goma, Republic Democratic of Congo. AFP

Gunfire erupted in the middle of the besieged Congolese city Goma on Sunday night, as the Democratic Republic of the Congo accused neighbouring Rwanda of deploying additional troops over the border to assist pro-Kigali militants in seizing the province capital.

With international pressure growing for an end to the war for Goma, Kenya reported on Sunday that President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda had agreed to meet in the coming two days.

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Large explosions were heard around the mineral-rich North Kivu provinces capital after dusk on Sunday, according to AFP journalists. M23 fighters, supported by Rwandan forces, have been fighting the Congolese army and UN peacekeepers on the outskirts of Goma for many days.

By midnight, Goma had become silent, although it was unclear if the M23 had penetrated far into the city.

The war for Goma was the most recent episode of combat in eastern DRC, a volatile region plagued by regional rivalries, ethnic tensions, and armed group battles for more than three decades.

The DRC accused Rwanda of making a declaration of war by moving additional troops across the border, and urged the United Nations to impose sanctions on its neighbour for aiding the M23.

The M23, which is already backed by many thousand Rwandan soldiers, has moved fast in recent days against Congolese troops holding the capital.

Around a dozen foreign peacekeepers have been killed in the escalating clashes, and UN chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday called on Kigali to pull its armed forces out of the country  a call rejected by Rwanda.

In a statement Sunday, Rwandas foreign ministry said it had to have a sustained defensive posture because of the fighting near its border with DR Congo.

But Kenyan President William Ruto later on Sunday announced a summit of the East African Community regional bloc with the leaders of Rwanda and the DR Congo for talks over the crisis.

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The talks would deliberate on this crisis and chart a way forward, Ruto said in a statement.

A frontal assault

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council earlier on Sunday in response to the crisis, Kinshasas top diplomat warned more Rwandan troops were crossing the border in an open and deliberate violation of sovereignty.

This is a frontal assault, a declaration of war that no longer hides behind diplomatic artifice, said Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner.

Between 500 and 1,000 Rwandan soldiers arrived on Sunday to reinforce the M23 near Goma, UN sources told AFP.

Kayikwamba Wagner urged the UN Security Council  the only UN institution with the power to impose binding resolutions on members  to seek targeted sanctions on Rwandan officials.

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Rwanda rejected those calls for a withdrawal.

This fighting close to the Rwandan border continues to present a serious threat to Rwandas security and territorial integrity, and necessitates Rwandas sustained defensive posture, said the statement.

Diplomats withdrawn

Both the DRC and Rwanda have withdrawn their diplomats from each others capitals in a breakdown of relations.

After peace talks between Kagame and Tshisekedi were cancelled in mid-December, the M23 quickly advanced towards Goma, home to more than a million residents and nearly as many displaced people.

Ahead of the emergency meeting Guterres urged Rwanda to cease support to the M23 and withdraw from DRC territory, according to a statement by the UN chiefs spokesman.

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Until now the UN Security Council as a whole has never named Rwanda as a party in the conflict.

But a UN experts report said Kigali was using the M23 to secure access to the DRCs mineral wealth, exporting it abroad for its own gain. It said around 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan troops were backing the M23.

Rwandas ambassador to the UN, Ernest Rwamucyo, rejected DRCs accusations, blaming Kinshasa for the deteriorating situation.

Goma was briefly occupied at the end of 2012 by the M23, or March 23 Movement, but the group withdrew after a deal.

It was militarily defeated by DRC forces and the UN in 2013 but regrouped several years later.

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Half a dozen ceasefires and truces have already been declared and broken in the region. The last ceasefire was signed at the end of July.

On Saturday, three countries announced the deaths of a total of 13 soldiers serving as peacekeepers in the conflict zone. The dead included members of the UN force, known as MONUSCO, as well as a southern African regional peacekeeping mission.

Nine of the victims were from South Africa, another three were Malawian and the last one was from Uruguay.
A delegation from Palestinian group Hamas arrived in Cairo on Monday to discuss the implementation of ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, the group said in a statement read more

An Israeli tank stands inside Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel's border with Gaza in southern Israel, on Monday. Reuters

A delegation from Palestinian group Hamas arrived in Cairo on Monday to discuss the implementation of ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza.

According to a Times of Israel report, Hamas said in a statement that its delegation includes senior leader Mohammed Darwish along with other prominent members of its leadership council and negotiating team.

The group indicated that discussions with Egyptian officials will center on advancing the implementation of the ceasefire and addressing any challenges related to the ongoing exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

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The Hamas delegation also plans to meet with Palestinian prisoners who were released during the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, which began just over a week ago.

Egypt is a key mediator in ceasefire talks and part of the joint committee implementing the deal.

With inputs from agencies
The Biden administration had terminated a bilateral tax deal with Hungary and stiffened entrance requirements for Hungarians as part of efforts to persuade Prime Minister Viktor Orban to lessen connections with Russia and China and reverse rule of law erosion at home read more

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that following discussions with his US counterpart, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has promised to examine the penalties the Biden administration placed on Hungary.

In a Facebook post, on Sunday, Szijjarto said My new foreign minister colleague assured me that we will rebuild Hungarian-American political relations and for him this includes a review by the new administration of the earlier steps taken out of revenge.

The Biden administration had terminated a bilateral tax deal with Hungary and stiffened entrance requirements for Hungarians as part of efforts to persuade Prime Minister Viktor Orban to lessen connections with Russia and China and reverse rule of law erosion at home. Earlier this month, the United States put penalties on Orbans most influential minister for potential wrongdoing.

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Szijjarto stated this week that Hungary will speak with the Trump administration before determining whether to maintain European Union sanctions against Russia, which were imposed in response to Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

The Hungarian senior diplomat made no mention of Russian sanctions in his statement. EU foreign ministers will gather Monday to determine whether to prolong current sanctions against Russia, which requires the unanimous approval of the blocs 27 member states.

As late as Friday, Orban vowed to withdraw his backing unless Ukraine agreed to restore gas transit to Europe and Hungary was assured that the oil and gas pipeline running through its eastern neighbour would not be targeted.
The move to resume air services came nearly five years after the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent political tensions halted them. read more

India and China have agreed to resume direct air services between the two countries, New Delhi said in a statement on Monday after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing.

The announcement followed a visit to Beijing by Indias top diplomat, signalling the latest signs of easing tensions between the worlds two most populous nations.

Indian Foreign Ministry Secretary Vikram Misris trip to the Chinese capital was among the highest-level official visits since the 2020 deadly Himalayan border clash that severely strained bilateral relations.

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A statement from Indias foreign ministry said a visit by a top envoy to Beijing had yielded agreement in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries.

The relevant technical authorities on the two sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date, it said.

Indias statement also said both sides had agreed to work harder on diplomacy to restore mutual trust and confidence and to resolve outstanding trade and economic issues.

With inputs from agencies
In a post on X, Embassy of India in Laos said that the victims were duped, trafficked into cyber-scam centres and forced to work under intimidation and abuse by criminal syndicates read more

Embassy officials quickly responded to the youth's requests for assistance, offering the necessary help and arranging their transport from Bokeo to Vientiane. Image Courtesy: @IndianEmbLaos

Embassy of India in Laos on Monday said that it rescued as many as 67 Indian nationals from cyber-scam centres in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Bokeo Province of Lao PDR.

Embassy of India rescues 67 Indian youth from cyber-scam centres in Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), Lao PDR. Press Release below. pic.twitter.com/zzaeKej5vm  India in Laos (@IndianEmbLaos) January 27, 2025

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Taking to X, the embassy said that the victims were duped, trafficked into cyber-scam centres and forced to work under intimidation and abuse by criminal syndicates.

Embassy officials quickly responded to the youths requests for assistance, offering the necessary help and arranging their transport from Bokeo to Vientiane.

A team of Embassy officials travelled to GTSEZ at once and worked closely with concerned Lao authorities to achieve required procedures and paperwork to enable them to leave GTSEZ and travel to the Embassy in Vientiane, Embassy of India in Laos said in a statement.

Ambassador Prashant Agrawal met with the rescued Indians, reassuring them of their safety and the embassys full support for their return to India. The ambassador also guided them on the next steps, including filing complaints against the agents who deceived them.

The embassy said that officials are currently collaborating closely with the relevant Lao authorities to finalise their exit formalities, after which they will return to India shortly.

We thank Lao authorities for their cooperation. We have also requested action at their end against unscrupulous elements and the matter has been raised at the highest levels, the statement added.

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This rescue brings the total number of Indians saved in Laos to 924, with 857 having already returned to India.

The embassy also cautioned Indian youth about job offers in Laos that could involve cyber-scam activities.

Indian youth who may have been promised a job in Thailand, but upon arrival there, are asked to travel by road to Chiang Rai close to the Thai-Lao border, are cautioned that this is a sure indication that they are being trafficked to GTSEZ in Lao PDR. Once they arrive in GTSEZ, their passports may be taken away by criminal syndicates and they are made to sign a so-called work contract in a foreign language, which endangers them to exploitation, the embassy said in the advisory.

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With inputs from agencies
Ethnic costumes in high demand in SW China's Yunnan

People's Daily Online) 09:23, January 27, 2025

At an embroidery workshop covering nearly 3,000 square meters, over 100 embroidery machines are neatly lined up, producing exquisite embroidered fabrics with vibrant colors and elegant styles depicting flowers, birds, fish, and insects.

The workshop belongs to Wenshan Yufurong Ethnic Embroidery Co., Ltd., the largest computerized embroidery enterprise in southwest China's Yunnan Province. Workers and machines are busy fulfilling orders for the upcoming Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year.

Photo shows the embroidery workshop of Wenshan Yufurong Ethnic Embroidery Co., Ltd., the largest computerized embroidery enterprise in southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo/Li Sha)

Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province is home to 11 ethnic groups, each with a rich ethnic culture and unique traditional costumes. The demand for ethnic clothing peaks before the Spring Festival, leading to a significant increase in sales.

Villagers adorned in ethnic costumes sing and dance to welcome the upcoming Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, in a village of the Yi ethnic group in Weimo township, Yanshan county, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo/Xiong Pingxiang)

Wenshan Yufurong Ethnic Embroidery Co., Ltd. specializes in producing embroidery pieces and handiworks of the Zhuang, Miao, Yi, and other ethnic groups, and has introduced over 10 series and a wide range of embroidery products to the market. These products have been exported to countries like Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and the United States.

Workers work at the production workshop of Wenshan Yufurong Ethnic Embroidery Co., Ltd. in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo/Xiong Pingxiang)

According to Li Mingyao, general manager of the company, the company is ramping up production of over 10 styles of clothing, including wedding dresses and suits that combine ethnic and trendy elements.

"As the Spring Festival draws near, ethnic costumes are in high demand, and our workshop is operating at full throttle. We're even planning a fashion show featuring ethnic clothing to unveil our latest embroidery creations and showcase rich ethnic culture," said Li.

A woman tries on a costume at a shop in the ethnic clothing industry innovation park in Maguan county, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo/Cheng Pan)

The ethnic clothing industry innovation park in Maguan county of Wenshan is a hub of shops offering a diverse range of vibrant and uniquely styled ethnic clothing. Here, ethnic costumes are sold online and exported to regions such as Guizhou, Hunan, and Sichuan provinces, as well as countries like Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

Currently, there are over 400 self-employed businesses and companies engaged in producing and selling ethnic clothing in Maguan county, generating an output value exceeding 100 million yuan (about $13.8 million) in 2024.

Embroidered shoes with an ethnic flair are highly sought after in Babao town, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo/Luo Rui)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
The 135-page case filing, which is not public argues OpenAIs conduct constitutes a clear and present danger to the valuable copyrights of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) members and other outlets. read more

Digital news units of Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, and other outlets including the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times, are joining proceedings against

OpenAI for improperly using copyright content, legal papers show. Courts globally are hearing claims by authors, news organisations and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their copyrighted work to train AI services without permission or payment.

India has more than 690 million smartphone users thanks to cheap mobile data plans and OpenAI has said the country is a critical market.

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The Indian media outlets, including Adanis NDTV and Ambanis Network18 have told a New Delhi court they want to join an ongoing lawsuit against the ChatGPT creator as they are worried their news websites are being scraped to store and reproduce their work for users of the powerful AI tool.

Reuters was first to report the case filing by the news publishers, which escalates an ongoing legal battle against ChatGPT in India. In the most high-profile battle, local news agency ANI was first to file a lawsuit against OpenAI last year. Global and Indian book publishers have also joined the lawsuit.

The 135-page case filing, which is not public but was reviewed by Reuters, argues OpenAIs conduct constitutes a clear and present danger to the valuable copyrights of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) members and other outlets.

It refers to OpenAIs wilful scraping  and adaptation of content, adding that the disproportionate power of tech companies in prioritising content and extracting advertising revenue has raised concerns among publishers.

The filing was made by the Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Adanis NDTV and the DNPA, which represents roughly 20 companies including Mukesh Ambani Network18 and players like Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, Zee News, India Today Group and the Hindu. Many of these outlets have a flourishing newspaper and television news business too.

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The Times of India is not part of the legal challenge despite being member of the DNPA, the filing said, without elaborating on the reasons.

Asked for comment, OpenAI reiterated an earlier statement that it was engaged in constructive partnerships with many news organisations, including in India, and was using publicly available data in a manner protected by fair use principles to build its AI models.

None of the Indian media companies involved immediately responded to Reuters request for comment.

The global AI market is expected to grow to $320 billion to $380 billion by 2027, expanding 25% to 35% each year, with the India market likely to follow that trend, according to Boston Consulting Group

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and Indias tech lobby group NASSCOM.

LANDMARK INDIA CASE

In the United States, the New York Times sued OpenAI and its largest financial backer Microsoft in December 2023, accusing them of using millions of its articles without permission to train chatbots to provide information to users.

The new Indian intervention will add firepower to ANIs lawsuit against OpenAI in Indias most high-profile legal proceedings on the issue.

A hearing in ANIs lawsuit against OpenAI is scheduled for Tuesday.

Responding to the ANI case, OpenAI said in a court filing reported by Reuters last week that any order to delete training data would result in a violation of its U.S. legal obligations, and Indian judges have no jurisdiction to hear a copyright case against the company as its servers are located abroad.

Reuters, which holds a 26% interest in ANI, has said in a statement it is not involved in ANIs business practices or operations. In recent months, OpenAI has signed deals with Time magazine, the Financial Times, Business Insider-owner Axel Springer, Frances Le Monde and Spains Prisa Media to display content.

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The Indian publishers in their new filing argue OpenAI has entered into partnership agreements with media outlets abroad, but has not entered into similar deals in India, hurting the media companies.

Such conduct by OpenAI in India betrays an inexplicable defiance of the law, the Indian media outlets filing said.

The publishers also said OpenAI was set to become a profit-driven business benefiting from the creative works of the media industry. This would result in a weakened press and would not be in the best interests of a vibrant democracy, their filing said.

OpenAI made its first India hire last year when it tapped a former WhatsApp executive, Pragya Misra, to handle public policy and partnerships in the country of 1.4 billion people.

India is really important because its the youngest demographic in the world  weve seen massive uptake of ChatGPT, its almost our second largest country in terms of users outside of the US, Misra said in a recent interview with AIM TV.

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OpenAI kicked off an investment, consumer and corporate frenzy in generative AI after the Nov. 2022 launch of ChatGPT. It wants to be ahead in the AI race after raising $6.6 billion last year.
As Palestinians return to their homes in northern Gaza Strip, Egyptian and US private security contractors are posted at the Netzarim Corridor for security checks instead of Israeli soldiers read more

The photograph shows Palestinians in vehicles awaiting security checks at the Netzarim Corridor to travel to northern parts of the Gaza Strip. (Photo: AFP)

As hundreds of thousands of Palestinians return to their homes in northern Gaza, Israel has a minimal role in the provisional governance of the Gaza Strip.

Most of the responsibilities related to the screening of Palestinians travelling northward have been taken up by US and Egyptian private security contractors. Even though Israel had pledged to remove Hamas from power in Gaza, the Hamas-run Gazan police are also involved in the process along with Red Cross.

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At the Netzarim Corridor, a strip of land carved by Israel that divides Gaza into two northern and southern halves, Palestinians travelling northward are screened to ensure they have no weapons. This is done in line with Israels demand that no terrorist of Hamas or any other group goes to northern Gaza by hiding in the midst of Palestinian civilians.

The Israel-Hamas War had displaced the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza  nearly 1.9 million out of pre-war population of 2.1 million. Throughout the war, they sheltered in southern Gaza as much of the fighting raged in the north.

Following the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas earlier this week, they have now started returning to their homes in the north. Hundreds of thousands are travelling on foot as well as in whatever vehicles they could find  cars, carts, makeshift trolleys or strollers. Visuals show miles-long lines of Palestinians marching to their homes or waiting for their vehicles turns to be screened.

The photograph shows Palestinians displaced from the war between Israel and Gaza returning to their homes in northern Gaza amid a ceasefire. (Photo: Reuters)

The AFP reported an official as saying that around 200,000 Palestinians had already returned to northern Gaza on Monday.

How Palestinians return to northern Gaza is managed

It is relatively smooth for Palestinians travelling on foot as their screening is simpler. The process for those in cars is a bit complicated.

The BBC News has reported that Palestinians going northward have to first contact a Hamas-run Palestinian police checkpoint located approximately 300 metres from the inspection area.

At that Hamas-run checkpoint, permission is granted to 20 vehicles at one point to proceed to a designated area to be screened, according to the report.

The screening is done via x-ray machines that check whether the vehicle has any weapons.

The inspection is undertaken by US and Egyptian contractors and Red Cross personnel are also stationed at the site, as per the report.

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As the line of vehicles is several miles long and it takes at least two minutes to screen one car, and only 20 cars at screened in one batch, it is expected that the process to screen and clear all vehicles could take many days.

The BBC has reported that Israeli army monitors the process from a short distance and is not involved.

However, once a vehicle has been cleared, the vehicle is granted a permit by the Israeli military to go further into Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.

Displaced Palestinians returning to the war-devastated Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip. AFP

Hamas is not involved in the screening at Netzarim Corridor, but it has also taken up medical and civic services.

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The Hamas-run Gazan government has employed more than 5,500 people to facilitate the return of displaced people to Gaza City and the north, according to AFP. Separately, The New York Times reported that the Hamas-run Gazan health ministry as saying that it had set up 19 emergency medical points to go to their homes in northern Gaza. The ministry said these medical points were set up to provide urgent health care to citizens returning to their areas.
Domestic security agency Shin Bet ordered the suspension of flights to the airport, which caters mostly to charter traffic on Cyprus western coast, late Sunday night, according to Israeli media read more

Israel has suspended Israeli commercial flights to Paphos, Cyprus, for unexplained security concerns, Cypriot officials announced on Monday.

Domestic security agency Shin Bet ordered the suspension of flights to the airport, which caters mostly to charter traffic on Cyprus western coast, late Sunday night, according to Israeli media.

The Republic of Cyprus is aware of the change in scheduling, for security reasons, of Israeli companies from and to Paphos airport. This happened some days ago, a Cypriot official told Reuters.

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Flights (from Israel) are continuing normally to Larnaca, the official added, referring to Cypruss largest international airport.

Paphos is the smallest of Cyprus two airports and is next to a military facility that the United States plans to improve. According to the online winter flight schedule, there are up to ten flights per week from Tel Aviv and seven flights per week from Haifa.
After the Palestinian armed group Hamas agreed to release six Israeli hostages, an agreement was reached allowing Palestinians to return to northern Gaza starting Monday. This deal followed the anticipated release of civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud by Hamas. read more

Israel to allow Gazans to return to north as Hamas agrees to free 6 hostages, confirms Netanyahu. AFP

After the Palestinian armed group Hamas agreed to release six Israeli hostages, an agreement was reached to allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza from Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the hostage release would take place on Thursday, and confirmed that Palestinians would be allowed to return north on Monday.

Mediator Qatar said that Hamas would hand over the civilian hostages before Friday, and on Monday, Israeli authorities would permit Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

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This significant step comes amid fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. This will pave the way to allow Palestinians to return to their homes and address a prolonged humanitarian crisis.

Civilian Arbel Yehoud at the centre of dispite

Arbel Yehoud is among the released hostages. She is a civilian at the centre of a dispute that led Israel to delay the return of Gazans to north.

On Saturday, Hamas released four female soldiers. However, Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement, which stipulated that Israeli civilians were to be freed first in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was expected to allow Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza on Saturday. However, the process was delayed as Israel accused Hamas of breaching the agreement by not releasing the civilians.

7 Israeli hostages, 200 Palestinians released after ceasefire

Since the ceasefire came into effect, seven hostages and more than 200 prisoners have been released.

Hamas stated that it had provided all the necessary information about the hostages to be released during the six-week first phase of the ceasefire. The Israeli Prime Ministers Office confirmed receiving this list.

Fragile ceasefire after October 7 attack

Israel and Hamas agreed to the ceasefire after mediation by the US, Qatar, and Egypt. This followed the deadly October 7 attack, during which Hamas fighters entered southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. The ceasefire includes the release of hostages and prisoners, as well as measures to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Smotrich stopped short of resigning but said if Israel agreed to a full end to the war before achieving its aims in Gaza  which include the complete destruction of Hamas  he and his party, Religious Zionism, would also leave the coalition. read more

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has withdrawn his earlier threat to leave the government if Israel does not resume fighting in Gaza, according to multiple Israeli news reports on Monday.

Smotrich had opposed a recent ceasefire deal to secure the release of nearly 100 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody, arguing that it jeopardized Israeli security and hindered the country from fulfilling its war objectives.

Hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and two other ministers from his nationalist-religious party resigned from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus cabinet in protest of the ceasefire agreement.

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While Smotrich did not resign, he warned that if Israel agreed to a complete cessation of the war without achieving its objectives in Gazaspecifically the total destruction of Hamashis party, Religious Zionism, would withdraw from the coalition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Smotrich to stay in the coalition to keep the right wing government intact and the finance minister agreed, Israels Yediot reported on Monday.

Under the multi-phase ceasefire deal, 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza will be released before negotiations begin to agree the release of the remaining 65 and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Israel is due to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the ceasefire deal.

Some of the families believe the second stage will not be implemented and that their relatives risk being abandoned. They have staged a series of protests against the current deal.

With inputs from agencies
The deadly violence recorded by health officials Sunday came as residents tried to return home as Israel was scheduled to pull its troops from southern Lebanon read more

The Lebanese people are frustrated with Hezbollah, often perceived as dragging Lebanon into unwinnable conflicts, further undermining the groups position. Image: REUTERS

Lebanon said Monday it would extend a ceasefire deal with Israel until mid-February, even though the Israeli military failed to meet a deadline to withdraw its troops and killed 22 people in the south of the country.

The deadly violence recorded by health officials Sunday came as residents tried to return home as Israel was scheduled to pull its troops from southern Lebanon.

The withdrawal deadline is part of a ceasefire agreement reached two months ago that ended Israels war with Iran-backed Hezbollah, which had left the Lebanese militant group weakened.

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The deal that took effect on November 27 said the Lebanese military was to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that ends on Sunday.

The parties have traded blame for the delay in implementing the agreement, and on Friday Israel said it would keep troops across the border in south Lebanon beyond the pullout date.

Lebanons health ministry said on Sunday that Israeli forces opened fire on citizens who were trying to return to their villages that are still under (Israeli) occupation.

It said 22 people including six women and a soldier were killed and 124 more wounded. The Lebanese army also announced the soldiers death and said another had been wounded.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its troops operating in southern Lebanon fired warning shots to remove threats where suspects were identified approaching the troops.

It added that a number of suspects that posed an imminent threat to the troops were apprehended.

AFP journalists said convoys of vehicles carrying hundreds of people, some flying yellow Hezbollah flags, were trying to get to several border villages.

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We will return to our villages and the Israeli enemy will leave, even if it costs lives, said Ali Harb, a 27-year-old trying to go to Kfar Kila.

A joint statement from the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the head of the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission acknowledged that conditions are not yet in place for the safe return of citizens to their villages.

Glorious day

An AFP correspondent saw hundreds of people gather for a collective prayer on a main road in the border town of Bint Jbeil, followed by a march to some nearby villages.

Residents could also be seen heading on foot and by motorbike towards the devastated border town of Mays al-Jabal, where Israeli troops are still stationed.

Some held up portraits of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, slain in an Israeli attack in late September, while women dressed in black carried photos of family members killed in the war.

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Hezbollah hailed a glorious day and praised residents deep attachment to their land in a statement on Sunday.

The group also called on the backers of the ceasefire agreement  which includes the United States and France  to assume their responsibilities in the face of these violations and crimes of the Israeli enemy.

After talks with the US, Lebanons caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Monday the government would continue implementing the ceasefire agreement until February 18, 2025.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee had issued a message earlier on Sunday to residents of more than 60 villages in southern Lebanon telling them not to return.

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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, the former army chief who took office earlier this month, called on residents to keep a cool head and trust the Lebanese army which sought their safe return home.

The Lebanese army said earlier it would continue to accompany residents returning to the south and protect them from Israeli attacks.

Truce holding

Israeli forces have left coastal areas of southern Lebanon but are still present in areas further east.

The ceasefire deal stipulates that Hezbollah pull back its forces north of the Litani River  about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border  and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said on Friday that the agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, so the militarys withdrawal would continue beyond the Sunday deadline.

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French President Emmanuel Macron told Netanyahu in a telephone call Sunday to withdraw his forces still present in Lebanon and stressed the importance of restoring Lebanese state authority nationwide, his office said.

The truce has generally held since November, despite repeated accusations of violations.

It ended two months of full-scale war that had followed nearly a year of low-intensity exchanges.

Hezbollah began trading cross-border fire with the Israeli military the day after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by its Palestinian ally Hamas, which triggered the war in Gaza.
The war monitor argued that the groups carried out reprisals and settled old scores with members of the Alawite minority to which Bashar al-Assad belongs, taking advantage of the state of chaos, the proliferation of arms and their ties to the new authorities read more

A month after taking over Syria, fighters affiliated with the countrys new leadership have carried out 35 executions in the last three days, raising concerns about human rights in the country. Most of these executions were of officers who were closer to now-deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to Syrian news outlet Sana, the authorities on Friday accused the members of a criminal group of taking advantage of the security sweep and committing atrocities against residents.

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The authorities alleged that those who were arrested were trying to pose as members of security services to commit their crimes. On Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said that these arrests follow grave violations and summary executions that had cost the lives of 35 people over the past 72 hours.

The war monitor also pointed out that the members of the religious minorities had also suffered humiliation at the hands of the rebel groups that are currently operating in the country. Dozens of members of local armed groups under the control of the new Sunni Islamist coalition in power who participated in the security operations in the Homs area have been arrested," the British-based war monitor explained, citing an insider source.

New Syrian leaders settle old scores

The war monitor argued that the groups carried out reprisals and settled old scores with members of the Alawite minority to which Bashar al-Assad belongs, taking advantage of the state of chaos, the proliferation of arms and their ties to the new authorities.

The observatory noted that there have been mass arbitrary arrests, atrocious abuse, attacks against religious symbols, mutilations of corpses, summary and brutal executions targeting civilians, accusing the fighters of showing an unprecedented level of cruelty and violence.

While commenting on the matter, the Civil Peace Group mentioned that there have been civilians who have fallen victim to the multiple security sweeps in villages in Homs. The peace group went on to condemned the unjustified violations including the killing of unarmed men.

Soon after assuming power, the rebel group assured that they would protect the rights of the religious and ethnic minorities. However, Members of Assads Alawite minority have expressed fear of retaliation over abuses during his clans decades in power.

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With inputs from AFP.
Iran and the United States have not exchanged any messages since the return of Donald Trump to the White House, a senior Iranian diplomat said Monday. read more

Iran and the United States have not exchanged any messages since the return of Donald Trump to the White House, a senior Iranian diplomat said Monday.

It has only been a few days since the new American administration took office and no messages have been exchanged, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the local ISNA news agency.

During his first term, Trump pursued a policy of maximum pressure, withdrawing the United States from a landmark nuclear deal which imposed curbs on Irans nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

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Tehran adhered to the deal - known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - until Washingtons withdrawal, but then began rolling back its commitments. Efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear pact have since faltered.

We have to plan calmly and patiently. When the policies of the other side (Trump) are announced, we act accordingly, said Takht-Ravanchi.

On Thursday, Trump said he hoped to avoid military strikes on Irans nuclear facilities, hoping for an agreement.

Iran has repeatedly expressed willingness to revive the deal, and President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in July, has called for an end his countrys isolation.

Earlier this month, before Trump officially returned to the White House, Iranian officials held nuclear talks with counterparts from Britain, France and Germany.

Both sides described the talks as frank and constructive.

Takht-Ravanchi said that it was the third round of talks after two earlier rounds one in Geneva and another in New York last year.

He expected another round of talks to be held within a month but said the date has not been confirmed yet.

Takht-Ravanchi said Iran and European countries agreed on the framework of the JCPOA which entails curbing Irans nuclear activities in return for lifting sanctions.

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We will not include non-nuclear issues in the negotiations, as was done in the JCPOA negotiations, he added.
Starmer is keen to promote Britain to Trump and big U.S. companies as his government seeks new sources of investment to try to breath life into a stagnant British economy read more

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to meet soon on a call on Sunday when they also spoke about the royal family and of their two countries warm ties, according to a statement from Downing Street.

The two leaders stressed the importance of the close and warm ties between the UK and the U.S., and the president spoke of his respect and affection for the royal family, the statement from Starmers Downing Street office said.

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They agreed to meet soon and looked forward to further discussions then.

Starmer is keen to promote Britain to Trump and big U.S. companies as his government seeks new sources of investment to try to breath life into a stagnant British economy.

Trump also said on board Air Force One on Sunday that his first international trip could be to either Saudi Arabia or Britain, prompting speculation in some British newspapers that a state visit to London was being lined up.

The late Queen Elizabeth II hosted Trump during his first presidency in 2019. He later called her a great woman who never made mistakes.

The Downing Street statement did not mention defence spending, a potential point of contention between the pair, after Trump called on NATO countries like Britain to up its military budget.

It was also silent on the Chagos Islands, a matter where Britain is waiting for the U.S. to review Londons deal with Mauritius over the future of a U.S.-British military base.

Starmer and Trump discussed recent developments in the Middle East and the British leader praised Trumps role in securing a ceasefire in Gaza.

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They also discussed trade and the economy, with the prime minister setting out how we are deregulating to boost growth, the statement said.
Nearly 200,000 Palestinians have arrived in northern Gaza but many of them are finding destroyed homes and ruined neighbourhoods from the yearlong war read more

The photograph shows Palestinians displaced from the war between Israel and Gaza returning to their homes in northern Gaza amid a ceasefire. (Photo: Reuters)

After nearly 14 months of war, displaced Palestinians have started arriving in northern Gaza from where they had fled earlier in the war.

Even as they have started returning to their homes, many Palestinians are finding houses flattened from Israeli bombardment and fighting on the ground between Israeli forces and Hamas. The United Nations (UN) has said that the vast majority of houses in Gaza have been damaged in the war.

Initially, the return of Palestinians to north appeared uncertain as Israel said that Hamas had reneged on the pledge to release a woman civilian hostage, Arbel Yehud, in the first two batches of hostages released over the past two weeks. After tense negotiations over the weekend, Hamas committed to released Yehud later this week along with other hostages and Israel permitted Palestinians to go northward.

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Out of the pre-war population of around 2.1 million, nearly 1.9 million Palestinians were forced to shelter in the southern parts of the enclave as fighting raged in the north. They have now started returning to their homes as per the terms of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Visuals from Gaza show several thousands of people returning both in vehicles and on foot. Many are travelling with carts and makeshift trolleys or strollers to carry their belongings or children.

The AFP reported an official as saying that around 200,000 Palestinians had already returned to northern Gaza.

Palestinians return to north Gaza after breakthrough in hostage diplomacy.



The breakthrough preserves a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, which has devastated the Gaza Strip and displaced nearly all its residentshttps://t.co/p3z8uqX9ao pic.twitter.com/nNFj7yQBLM  AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 27, 2025

To enter northern Gaza, Palestinians have to cross the Netzarim Corridor, an enclave that Israel has carved out in central Gaza that cuts Gaza into two northern and southern halves.

At the Netzarim Corridor, Egyptian and US private contractors are screening Palestinians for weapons at the Netzarim Corridor and Israeli soldiers are observing the checks from distant with no direct role, according to BBC News.

The Philadelphi Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border and Netzarim Corridor inside Gaza Strip that Israel reportedly plans to control. (Photo: Reuters)

The security checks are being conducted to address Israels security concerns that terrorists or weapons dont enter Gaza in the midst of civilians.

Palestinians return to ruins in northern Gaza

Palestinians arriving in their neighbourhoods in northern Gaza told BBC that some areas resemble places hit powerful earthquakes.

Mohammed Imad Al-Din, a barber, said he found his house completely burned down and his beauty salon looted and damaged in an airstrike on a nearby building. Another person, Lubna Nassar, who along with her three children had been separated from her husband in northern Gaza, discovered her husband was living in a tent after their home was destroyed in the war.

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The warmth of reunion was overshadowed by the bitter reality. We no longer have a home so we moved from a tent in the south to a tent in the north, said Nassar.

Khaled Raba, 55, said that her relatives told her to not return at all as there was nothing to get back to.

We were planning to move but my relatives who are still in Jabalia called me and said they dont advise me to come back. My brother called and said not to come. The houses are demolished to the ground. People are sleeping on the streets and nobody is helping them, said Raba.

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Displaced Palestinians returning to the war-devastated Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip. AFP

The UN has said that 92 per cent of houses in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged.

Out of total 436,000 housing units affected by the war, 160,000 have been completely destroyed and 276,000 have been damaged partially, according to UN.

Hamas is back

Even as Israel vowed to remove Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that has controlled Gaza since 2007, from power in the strip, it appears to have returned to the role it had been deprived of during the war.

The Hamas-run police checkpoints are part of the screening of Palestinians and the terrorist groups government has started taking up the management of medical and civil services in the strip.

The AFP reported the Hamas-run government has employed more than 5,500 people to facilitate the return of displaced people to Gaza City and the north.

The government has estimated that people in Gaza City and the north need 135,000 tents and caravans as they return to destroyed homes, according to the news agency.

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Separately, The New York Times reported the Hamas-run Gazan health ministry as saying that it had set up 19 emergency medical points along the route that Palestinians were taking to go to their homes in northern Gaza. The ministry said these medical points were set up to provide urgent health care to citizens returning to their areas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Donald Trump, a week after his second inauguration as the US President read more

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with US President Donald Trump over the phone on Monday, their first conversation since Trump assumed office in the White House.

During the conversation, both leaders discussed bilateral ties between the two biggest democracies and emphasised their shared commitment to working together for global peace and stability.

Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. Congratulated him on his historic second term. We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, and security, PM Modi write in a post on X.

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Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. Congratulated him on his historic second term. We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity,  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 27, 2025

In a statement, the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) said the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment for a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership.

They discussed various facets of the wide-ranging bilateral Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and measures to advance it, including in the areas of technology, trade, investment, energy and defence, it said.

The two leaders exchanged views on global issues, including the situation in West Asia and Ukraine, and reiterated their commitment to work together for promoting global peace, prosperity and security, the PMO said.

The leaders agreed to remain in touch and meet soon at an early mutually convenient date, it added.

It is not immediately known whether the issues of immigration and tariff figured in the talks.

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Like in many countries, there have been some concerns in India as well over the Trump administrations approach on immigration and tariff.

President Trump has already talked about slapping 100 per cent tariffs on the BRICS grouping, a bloc that includes India too.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last week that India is looking for bolder, bigger and a more ambitious relationship with the US and indicated its readiness to work with the Trump administration to address issues like illegal immigration and trade.

The phone conversation between Modi and Trump came six days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held separate meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in Washington.

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Jaishankar also attended the Quad foreign ministers meeting in the American capital. The meeting was the Trump administrations first foreign policy engagement.

At a media briefing in Washington on January 22, Jaishankar said his meetings signalled that the Trump administration prioritising the bilateral relationship with India.

The external affairs minister also said that there was agreement between the two sides about the need to be bolder, bigger, and more ambitious about the bilateral relationship.

Asked about the Trump administrations policy on tariff and immigration, Jaiswal said on Friday that India is looking at addressing issues in a constructive manner.

Our approach has always been to address issues in a constructive manner which is in keeping with the interests of both countries, he had said at his weekly media briefing.

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We remain in close communication with the US administration and would like to continue to work towards strengthening our economic partnership further, he said.

Diplomats from India and the US are working to set up a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump in February this year.

India, a strategic partner of the United States in countering Chinas influence, is eager to strengthen trade relations with the US. This is expected to be on the agenda when the two leaders meet.
Several members of the powerful Rajapaksa family and close associates have been charged with an array of offences over the years, including corruption and even murder  all of which are still pending in the courts. read more

Police escort Yoshitha Rajapaksa (C), former junior naval officer and son of Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, to a court in Colombo on January 27, 2025. Image- AFP

Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the son of Sri Lankas former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was placed under a travel ban on Monday following his arrest on the money laundering charges.

The case, which has been ongoing for years gained new momentum after President Anura Kumara Dissanayakes landslide election victory as he has pledged to combat widespread corruption.

Over the years, several members of the influential Rajapaksa family and their associates have faced charges, including corruption and murder, with many cases still pending in court.

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Yoshitha Rajapaksa, 36, a former junior naval officer was barred from leaving the country after police stated he could not account for the funds used to purchase a property during his fathers presidency from 2005 to 2015.

He was arrested and spent two days in detention before being released Monday by a magistrate in Colombo on a bond of 100 million rupees ($344,000).

Yoshitha had told investigators that he raised money to buy the property by selling a small bag of gems his grand-aunt had given him.

She was unable to recall how she acquired the precious stones when asked.

He was arrested in 2016 on a separate money laundering charge related to his purchase of a television network. Both cases have sat dormant for years.

His older brother Namal, a lawmaker in Sri Lankas parliament, also faces separate money laundering charges which have not yet gone to trial.

Dissanayake came to power in September 2024 after pledging to expedite the pending criminal cases and bring back stolen assets allegedly stashed abroad.

Cabinet spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa told reporters in Colombo over the weekend that the new government was providing more resources to the criminal investigations department to speed up prosecution.

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This is not a political witch hunt, but people voted us in to ensure that these dragging cases are concluded, Jayatissa said.

Mahinda Rajapaksas younger brother Gotabaya became president in 2019 but was forced out of office in 2022 after a popular revolt, sparked by a ruinous economic crisis.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa also faces corruption charges over military procurements when he was a top defence official during Mahindas presidency at the tail end of Sri Lankas civil war.

With inputs from agencies
The lawsuit seems to be the first of its kind filed nationwide to challenge an order that directs the federal government to recognise only two biologically distinct sexes, male and female. The order also mandates housing transgender women in mens prisons and halts funding for any gender-affirming medical care for inmates. read more

A transgender woman serving in a federal prison has filed a lawsuit arguing that President Donald Trumps executive order directing the U.S. government to recognise only two, unchangeable sexes and requiring inmates like her to be housed in mens prisons violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

In a lawsuit filed on Sunday in Boston federal court, the inmate, who is being represented by lawyers at rights groups including GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, took aim at an order Trump signed on his first day back in office on Jan. 20 targeting what he called gender ideology extremism.

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The lawsuit appeared to be the first to be filed nationally challenging the order, which directs the federal government to only recognize two, biologically distinct sexes, male and female; house transgender women in mens prisons; and cease funding any gender-affirming medical care for inmates.

Trumps executive order discriminated based on sex in violation of the plaintiffs due process rights under the U.S. Constitutions Fifth Amendment by requiring prison officials to treat incarcerated people differently depending on their sex, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs impending transfer to a mens prison also would violate the U.S. Constitutions Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, and depriving the plaintiff of medically necessary healthcare would violate a federal law known as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was accessed by Reuters on Sunday but was later sealed for unclear reasons.

An attorney for the inmate declined to comment.

The U.S. Justice Department, which oversees the federal Bureau of Prisons, declined to comment.

Identified by the pseudonym Maria Moe, the plaintiff said that a day after the Republican president signed the order, officials with the federal Bureau of Prisons informed her she was being transferred from a womens prison to a mens facility.

The lawsuit also said the Bureau of Prisons switched how it publicly identified her from female to male and was poised to cut off the inmates access to hormones that she has taken since she was a teenager to treat her gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is the clinical diagnosis for significant distress that can result from an incongruence between a persons gender identity and the sex assigned at birth.

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The inmates lawyers argued that if she were transferred to a mens facility, she would be at an extremely high risk of harassment, abuse, violence, and sexual assault.

The lawsuit seeks to maintain Moes preexisting housing and medical treatment and asks a judge to declare that Trumps executive order violates her constitutional rights.

The lawsuit did not specify the crime for which the plaintiff was convicted.
Ahead of his expected visit to Israel, Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, has said that he would also visit the Gaza Strip to oversee the implementation of the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal read more

Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, will visit Israel this week to push for the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and progress in the efforts to normalise the relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to reports.

The reports come at a time when there are doubts whether Israel would advance the ceasefire in Gaza to the second phase or break the deal after phase one and resume the war.

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Israeli media outlet Ynet has reported that Witkoff will visit Saudi Arabia and Israel this week.

First, Witkoff is set to travel to Saudi Arabia and hold talks with Saudi leaders and then he would arrive in Israel on Wednesday to hold talks about the normalisation deal with Saudis and ceasefire in Gaza, according to Ynet.

In Israel, the outlet reported that Witkoff would meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

The Trump administration believes that the Israel-Saudi normalisation would make it easier for Netanyahu to convince far-right allies in his government to agree to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, according to the outlet.

Witkoff has also said that he would visit Gaza to oversee the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire. In an interview with Fox News last week, he said that he would soon visit the Philadelphi and Netzarim Corridors in Gaza. The Netzarim Corridor essentially cuts Gaza into northern and southern halves and needs to be crossed by displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in the northern Gaza from southern Gaza where they had been sheltering so far.

Witkoff told Fox, Im actually going to be going over to Israel. Im going to be a part of an inspection team at the Netzarim corridor and also in the Philadelphi corridor. Thats where you have outside overseers making sure that people are safe and people who are entering are not armed and no one has bad motivations, but we have to make sure that the implementation goes well.

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Witkoff further said that he has been directed by President Donald Trump to ensure the implementation of all phases of the Israel-Hamas deal.

Witkoff said that the second phase of the deal depends on the implementation of the first phase.

If it goes well, well get into phase two, and were going to get a lot more live bodies out, and I think thats what the presidents directive to me and everybody else working in the American government on this [is], and thats what were going to do, said Witkoff.

In the second phase of the Israel-Hamas deal, Israel would withdraw from Gaza and all hostages would be released.

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There have been reports that Netanyahu has reached a deal with far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich to break the deal after the first phase and resume the war. Smotrich has threatened to leave the government if Israel implements second phase of the deal.
Following a brief tariff standoff, Colombia has decided that it will be accepting American flights carrying deported immigrants read more

This combination of pictures shows US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025 and Colombian President Gustavo Petro in Mexico City on September 30, 2024. AFP

Shortly after the United States and Colombia imposed retaliatory tariffs, the White House on Sunday confirmed that the Latin American nation has agreed to US President Donald Trumps terms. Following a brief tariff standoff, Colombia has decided that it will be accepting American flights carrying deported immigrants.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement confirming the news. The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay, Leavitt said in a statement.

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She mentioned that the draft actions on tariffs and sanctions will now be held in reserves and will not be signed. However, she warned that both of the measures will be taken if Colombia fails to honour the agreement. Colombias acceptance came after both nations increased tariffs on each others goods by 25 per cent.

The diplomatic row between Washington and Bogota erupted after Colombian President Gustavo Petro denied entry to US military deportation flights which were carrying its own nationals. He insisted that the country would receive our fellow citizens on civilian planes, without treating them like criminals and migrants must be returned with dignity and respect.

Trump responded to the proclamation by imposing 25 per cent tariffs on US imports of Colombian goods. Shortly after this, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa sanctions and ordered the US embassy in Colombia to stop issuing visas. Following these measures, Petro announced retaliatory sanctions of 25 per cent ensuing a war between the two nations.

Colombia caves to American pressure

In the Sunday statement, Leavitt made it clear that visa sanctions and Customs and Border Protections enhanced inspections will remain in effect until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

Meanwhile, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo issued a separate statement in which they noted that the country will continue to receive Colombians deported, guaranteeing them dignified conditions as citizens subject to rights.

The government, under the leadership of Gustavo Petro, has at its disposal the presidential plane to receive the Colombians that would have been deported today, he continued on the brief livestream. Colombia reiterates that the diplomatic channels for interlocution will be open to maintain the rights, the national interest and the dignity of our citizens, the foreign minister furthered.

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Amid reports that the White House is negotiating a deal for TikToks sale to Oracle, President Donald Trump has said that he would decide the future of the app in 30 days read more

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on AI infrastructure, next to SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at the Roosevelt room at White House in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. File Image/Reuters

US President Donald Trump has said that he is holding talks regarding the sale of TikTok and will decide the future of the app in 30 days.

Amid reports that the Trump administration is negotiating a deal between ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, and Oracle, Trump over the weekend said that he is in talks with many people without taking any names.

I have spoken to many people about TikTok and there is great interest in TikTok, said Trump.

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Trump has vowed to save TikTok, an app popular in the United States that is used by the Chinese regime to peddle pro-China, anti-West content to indoctrinate users into being supporters of China. The US Congress last year passed a bill that previous President Joe Biden signed into law that said the app would be banned if its US operations would not be sold to an appropriate non-Chinese entity by January 19, 2025. However, Trump, who received support on TikTok in his election campaign, has rewarded the app by killing the ban.

When asked if Trump meant Oracle when he said he was in talks about the sale of TikTok, he said: No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days. Congress has given 90 days. If we can save TikTok, I think it would be a good thing.

Shortly before assuming office, Trump had said that he will not to let TikTok stay dark. He said that he would pass an executive order after Inauguration (which he did) and would like to see a US company shave 50 per cent ownership of the platform in a joint venture.

Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations. I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands, and allow it to say up, said Trump.

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Who are TikToks probable buyers?

While TikTok has not disclosed anything, there have been reports about TikTok probable buyers.

Reports have said that TikTok could be sold to Oracle, Elon Musk, and a group led by billionaire Frank McCourt and YouTube star Mr Beast.

Reuters has reported that the Trump administration is negotiating a deal between ByteDance and Oracle.

Under the deal, ByteDance would hold a minority stake and Oracle would hold the majority stake and also control data collection and software updates, according to Reuters.

Oracle appears to be a natural player for such a deal. Since 2022, TikTok has had a deal with the company to store US users information in the United States to address the security concerns.

Under the reported deal in the making, TikTok would retain its staff.

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Within hours of Donald Trump being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman in a directive rescinded the Biden administrations guidelines for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection enforcement actions that thwart law enforcement in or near so-called sensitive areas read more

Law enforcement officials from the US Department of Homeland Security have started visiting gurdwaras in New York and New Jersey to check for the presence of illegal immigrants, drawing a sharp reaction from some Sikh organisations which see such actions as a threat to the sanctity of their faith.

Some of the gurdwaras in New York and New Jersey are believed to be used as a hub by Sikh separatists along with illegal and undocumented immigrants.

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Within hours of Donald Trump being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman in a directive rescinded the Biden administrations guidelines for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement actions that thwart law enforcement in or near so-called sensitive areas.

These sensitive areas included places of worship like gurdwaras and churches.

This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliensincluding murders and rapistswho have illegally come into our country, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said.

Criminals will no longer be able to hide in Americas schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense, the spokesperson said.

In a statement, the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDF) expressed grave concern over the directive rescinding the guidelines that designated sensitive areas, such as houses of worship, where immigration enforcement actions were previously restricted.

This troubling shift in policy comes in tandem with community reports of DHS agents visiting gurdwaras in the New York and New Jersey areas just days after the directive was issued, SALDF said.

We are deeply alarmed by the Department of Homeland Securitys decision to eliminate protections for sensitive areas and then target places of worship like gurdwaras, said Kiran Kaur Gill, executive director of SALDEF.

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Gill said gurdwaras are not just places of worship; they are vital community centres that provide support, nourishment, and spiritual solace to Sikhs and the broader community.

Targeting these spaces for enforcement actions threatens the sanctity of our faith and sends a chilling message to immigrant communities nationwide, Gill said.

Sikh Coalition said the Trump administrations decision to rescind the DHS policy on protected areas (which also included hospitals, schools, social service providers, and more) opens the door to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducting surveillance, investigations, arrests, and raids at gurdwaras. The idea that our gurdwaras could be subject to government surveillance and raids by armed law enforcement with or without warrants is unacceptable to the Sikh faith tradition. It will burden religious exercise by limiting the ability of Sikhs to gather and associate with one another in accordance with our faith, Sikh Coalition said.

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It also harkens to dark periods in our collective memory when governments interfered in the ability of Sikhs to practice our faith freelywith deadly consequences, it said.

If Sikhswhether documented or undocumentedare concerned with gurdwara raids and surveillance, gurdwaras may well be impacted by decreased attendance, and thus an inability to carry out essential religious practices in a meaningful manner, said Sikh Coalition.
After 15 months of war, Trump said Gaza had become a demolition site, adding he had spoken to Jordans King Abdullah II about moving Palestinians out of the territory read more

Displaced Palestinians returning to the war-devastated Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip. AFP

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and the armed organisation Hamas pledged on Sunday to reject ideas for forceful evacuation of Gazans, after US President Donald Trump proposed a plan to clean out the war-torn enclave.

Meanwhile, Palestinian sources say a dispute over hostage exchanges under the Israel-Hamas peace accord is nearing a resolution, potentially allowing large crowds of Palestinians to return to northern Gaza via a coastal road.

The latest transfer saw four Israeli women hostages, all soldiers, and 200 inmates, virtually all Palestinians, freed on Saturday  the second such exchange since the shaky truce entered its second week.

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After 15 months of war, Trump said Gaza had become a demolition site, adding he had spoken to Jordans King Abdullah II about moving Palestinians out of the territory.

Id like Egypt to take people. And Id like Jordan to take people, Trump told reporters.

Abbas, who is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, expressed strong rejection and condemnation of any projects aimed at displacing Palestinians from Gaza, his office said.

The Palestinian people will not abandon their land and holy sites, it added.

Bassem Naim, a member of Hamass political bureau, told AFP that Palestinians would foil such projects, as they have done to similar plans for displacement and alternative homelands over the decades.

Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, called Trumps idea deplorable.

For Palestinians, any attempt to move them from Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the Nakba, or catastrophe  the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israels creation in 1948.

We say to Trump and the whole world: we will not leave Palestine or Gaza, no matter what happens, said displaced Gaza resident Rashad al-Naji.

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Firm rejection

Youre talking about probably a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing, Trump told reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One.

Moving Gazas roughly 2.4 million inhabitants could be done temporarily or could be long term, he said.

Israels far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich  who opposed the truce deal and has voiced support for re-establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza  called Trumps suggestion of a great idea.

The Arab League rejected the idea, warning against attempts to uproot the Palestinian people from their land.

The forced displacement and eviction of people from their land can only be called ethnic cleansing, the league said in a statement.

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Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said our rejection of the displacement of Palestinians is firm and will not change. Jordan is for Jordanians and Palestine is for Palestinians.

Egypts foreign ministry said it rejected any infringement of Palestinians inalienable rights.

Almost all Gazans have been displaced by the war that began after Hamass attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

In Gaza, cars and carts loaded with belongings jammed a road near the Netzarim Corridor that Israel has blocked, preventing the expected return of hundreds of thousands of people to northern Gaza.

Israel said it would prevent Palestinians passage until the release of Arbel Yehud, a civilian woman hostage.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said that by not releasing her and not providing a detailed list of all hostages statuses, Hamas had committed truce violations.

Hamas said that blocking returns to the north also amounted to a truce violation, adding it had provided all the necessary guarantees for Yehuds release.

Two Palestinian sources later told AFP that Yehud would be handed over within days.

The crisis has been resolved, said one Palestinian source familiar with the issue.

Israel has yet to comment.

Dire humanitarian situation

During the first phase of the Gaza truce, 33 hostages should be freed in staggered releases over six weeks in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

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Dani Miran, whose hostage son Omri is not slated for release during the first phase, demonstrated outside Netanyahus office in Jerusalem on Sunday.

We want the agreement to continue and for them to bring our children back as quickly as possible  and all at once, he said.

The truce has brought a surge of food, fuel, medicines and other aid into rubble-strewn Gaza, but the UN says the humanitarian situation remains dire.

Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamass October 7, 2023 attack, 87 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israels retaliatory offensive has killed at least 47,306 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territorys health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

Israel has also reached a ceasefire with Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. Although it stipulated that Israeli forces must withdraw by Sunday that has not happened.

Lebanons health ministry said Israeli troops had killed nearly two dozen people as residents tried to return to their homes near the border.

The Israeli army said soldiers fired warning shots against suspects.
Britains foreign office on Monday said it had sanctioned six Belarus individuals and three defence sector firms, a day after a sham election in which autocrat Alexander Lukashenko won a seventh term read more

Britains foreign office on Monday said it had sanctioned six Belarus individuals and three defence sector firms, a day after a sham election in which autocrat Alexander Lukashenko won a seventh term.

Following Lukashenkos brutal crackdown in which critical voices within Belarus have been silenced, yesterdays sham election failed to meet international standards and has been condemned by international partners, it said, adding that the sanctions were being imposed in coordination with Canada.

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Official results showed the 70-year-old autocrat winning more than 86 per cent of the vote, drawing condemnation in the West, after having imprisoned or exiled all his major opponents during his three-decade rule.

Sanctioned individuals included the head of the Belarusian Central Election Commission and two prison chiefs.

The sanctions targeted the leaders of institutions responsible for serious human rights violations and companies in the Belarusian defence sector supporting Russias war in Ukraine, the foreign office said.

The world has become well-accustomed to Lukashenkos cynical pretence of democracy in Belarus, while in reality he brutally represses civil society and opposition voices to strengthen his grip on power, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.

The UK, alongside our partners, will continue to stand by the people of Belarus and expose those who deny them their legitimate right to freedom and democracy, he added.

According to the exiled Belarusian non-governmental organisation the Viasna Human Rights Centre, over 1,250 political prisoners are incarcerated in Belarus, the statement said.

The defence sector firms to be excluded from the UK economy are involved in developing and manufacturing radar and weapon control systems ammunition and unmanned aerial vehicles.
UN chief Antonio Guterres on Monday expressed concern after the United States, the worlds biggest foreign aid donor, froze virtually all assistance under President Donald Trumps new administration read more

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Monday expressed concern after the United States, the worlds biggest foreign aid donor, froze virtually all assistance under President Donald Trumps new administration.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent an internal memo on Friday announcing the stoppage and making exceptions only for emergency food supplies, and military funding for Israel and Egypt.

Trump took office last week after winning the election with a vow to put America first and to tightly restrict aid overseas.

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Guterres notes with concern the announcement of a pause in US foreign assistance, his spokesman said in a statement.

The Secretary-General calls for additional exemptions to be considered to ensure the continued delivery of critical development and humanitarian activities.

Guterres said help was essential for the most vulnerable communities around the world, whose lives and livelihoods depend on this support.

But he sought to strike a positive note on US relations, adding he looks forward to engaging with the new United States administration on the issue.

The sweeping US order appeared to affect everything from development assistance to military aid  including to Ukraine, which received billions of dollars in weapons under Trumps predecessor Joe Biden as it tries to repel a Russian invasion.

The directive also means a pause of US funding for PEPFAR, the anti-HIV/AIDS initiative that buys anti-retroviral drugs to treat the disease in developing countries, largely in Africa.

Washington has long leveraged aid as a tool of foreign policy, saying it cares about development and drawing a contrast with China, which is primarily concerned about seeking natural resources.

The US memo made exceptions for military assistance to Israel  whose longstanding major arms packages from the United States have expanded further since the Gaza war  and to Egypt.

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Rubio also made an exception for emergency food assistance for crises around the world including in Sudan and Syria.
The executive orders would include banning transgender service members from serving in the US armed forces, eliminating the militarys Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programmes, and reinstating service members with backpay who were discharged for refusing to get vaccinated from Covid-19, according to a report read more

President Donald Trump on Monday is likely to sign three executive orders aimed at overhauling the military.

According to a CNN report, citing two White House officials, the orders would include banning transgender service members from serving in the US armed forces, eliminating the militarys Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programmes, and reinstating service members with backpay who were discharged for refusing to get vaccinated from Covid-19.

The orders, first reported by the New York Post, were issued shortly after Trumps nominee for secretary of defence Pete Hegseth was sworn in on Saturday.

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Hegseth has consistently expressed his intention to implement significant cultural changes within the military, including ending DEI practices and removing woke service members.

In 2017, during his first tenure, Trump banned transgender Americans from serving in the military but then-President Joe Biden reversed that ban in 2021.

Just hours after being sworn in for his second term last week, Trump signed an order undoing Bidens 2021 decision that permitted transgenders to serve.

However, the order Trump is expected to sign on Monday takes things further, according to the CNN report, citing one official, by establishing new military standards concerning gender pronouns and asserting that mental and physical readiness necessitates the exclusion of transgender service members from the military.

It can take a minimum of 12 months for an individual to complete treatments after transition surgery, which often involves the use of heavy narcotics. During this period, they are not physically capable of meeting military readiness requirements and require ongoing medical care. This is not conducive for deployment or other readiness requirements, CNN quoted one of the officials as saying, citing a fact sheet.

The implementation (of the ban) is on the DoD regarding specifics, the official said.

In 2018, the Palm Center, an independent research institute focused on sexual minorities in the military, estimated that there were around 14,000 transgender service members in the US military.

A Pentagon memo from Trumps first term suggested making exceptions for transgender individuals already serving who had enlisted under prior policies before the ban was implemented. It recommended allowances for those who do not require a gender change and those who had been stable for 36 consecutive months in their biological sex prior to accession, reported CNN.

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It remains unclear whether the administrations new ban will include similar exceptions.

According to the report, the second executive order bans any discriminatory policies related to DEI in the military. The order follows the Trump administrations directive to place employees in federal diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility offices on paid administrative leave effective immediately.

All DEI practices within the US armed forces will also undergo an internal review led by Hegseth, added the report.

The third executive order instructs Hegseth to reinstate all active and reserve service members who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. They will be reinstated at their previous rank and receive back pay and benefits, according to the CNN report_,_ citing one official.

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However, the Pentagon had already lifted the militarys COVID-19 vaccination mandate, allowing these service members to return after Biden signed the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act requiring this change.

CNN reported in October 2023 that only 43 of the over 8,000 US service members discharged for refusing vaccination sought to rejoin the military eight months after the mandate was officially repealed.

With inputs from agencies
Trump, who has been in office for less than a week, pledged to slap 25% tariffs on Colombian exports, the source of one-fifth of coffee in the United States, and to raise them to 50% within a week read more

This combination of pictures shows US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025 and Colombian President Gustavo Petro in Mexico City on September 30, 2024. AFP

US President Donald Trump issued broad tariffs and sanctions on Colombia on Sunday in punishment for the countrys reluctance to accept military deportation flights, attempting to punish one of his most vehement detractors in Latin America.

Colombias left-leaning President Gustavo Petro refused to back down, proposing his own sanctions on US items while vowing to treat returned migrants with respect.

Trump, who has been in office for less than a week, pledged to slap 25% tariffs on Colombian exports, the source of one-fifth of coffee in the United States, and to raise them to 50% within a week.

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It was unclear how soon the duties would be implemented, given Colombia, historically one of Washingtons closest allies in Latin America, has a free-trade deal with the US.

These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States! Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Not to be outdone, Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, said he had instructed his minister for external trade to raise tariffs on imports from the US to 25%.

In a long broadside on X addressed to Trump he declared: You will never dominate us.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is about to go on a tour to Latin America to further Trumps agenda, said that the US embassy in Bogota will cease all visa issuing.

He also stated that he was placing visa restrictions on Colombian officials and their immediate family members, with Trump promising to subject Colombians to increased scrutiny at US airports.

I forbid entry

Trump  who during his campaign said that immigrants were poisoning the blood of the United States  took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport undocumented people.

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While some countries including Guatemala have accepted military deportation flights, Trump has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin Americas fourth-largest economy.

The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants, Petro wrote earlier on X.

Petro said he had turned back US military planes. Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.

The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport the migrants with dignity.

Petro said he was also ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those aboard were not treated like criminals.

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He additionally urged what he said were the more than 15,600 undocumented Americans living in his country to regularize their situation, while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.

Petros Colombian critics reacted furiously to what they saw as his reckless rumble with Trump.

Former right-wing president Ivan Duque accused Petro of an act of tremendous irresponsibility for refusing what he called Colombias moral duty to take back illegal migrants and warned US sanctions would take an enormous toll.

Tied hands and feet

Trumps deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the United States estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.

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Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday.

The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trumps return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called flagrant disregard for their basic rights.

Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: On the plane they didnt give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldnt even let us go to the bathroom.

It was very hot, some people fainted.

The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, called for an urgent meeting of leaders from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to take place Thursday in Tegucigalpa to discuss migration following the latest US moves.

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While previous US administrations also routinely carried out deportations, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.
A harshly worded email delivered on Saturday to more than 10,000 USAID employees provided more direction to Fridays stop-work decision, which essentially halted U.S. foreign aid globally read more

Ukrainian rescuers appear next to new equipment, which was provide by United States Agency for International Development before a press conference of the USAID Administrator Samantha Power during her visit to Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine. File image/ Reuters

The Trump administration invited employees of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to join the effort to reform how Washington distributes aid throughout the world in accordance with Trumps America First strategy. It warned disciplinary action if any employees disobeyed the administrations demands.

A harshly worded email delivered on Saturday to more than 10,000 USAID employees provided more direction to Fridays stop-work decision, which essentially halted U.S. foreign aid globally. The letter, acquired by Reuters, outlined expectations for the staff on how to meet Trumps objectives.

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We have a responsibility to support the President in achieving his vision, Ken Jackson, assistant to the administrator for management and resources wrote in the internal memo, titled Message and Expectation to the Workforce.

The President has given us a tremendous opportunity to transform the way we approach foreign assistance for decades to come, the memo said. Reuters confirmed the authenticity of the memo with several sources.

Since assuming office last week, Trump has taken measures to implement his promise to reform a federal bureaucracy that he feels was opposed to him during his 2017-2021 administration. He has transferred or dismissed hundreds of government employees in a series of coordinated actions against several departments.

Hours after taking office, Trump ordered a 90-day suspension in foreign aid to see if it was in line with his foreign policy aims. On Friday, the State Department issued a global stop-work order, including for current and appropriated assistance, casting into doubt billions of dollars in life-saving relief.

The United States is the largest single donor of aid globally. In fiscal year 2023, it disbursed $72 billion in assistance. It provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.

USAID and the White House National Security Council (NSC) did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

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Fridays memo shocked the humanitarian groups and communities conducting development aid across the globe. While the scope of the directive appears far-reaching, uncertainties linger over how it will be carried out.

The memo on Saturday offered only partial clarity.

The pause on foreign aid spending means a complete halt, it said. The only exceptions are for emergency humanitarian food assistance and for government officials returning to their duty stations. Waivers allowing delivery of emergency food during the review period will require detailed information and justification.

The memo said further waivers would require two layers of approval  one from USAID leadership and another by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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Any waiver must be thoroughly justified to demonstrate that the specific assistance for which the waiver is sought is necessary for lifesaving purposes, cannot be performed by current U.S. direct hire staff, or would otherwise pose significant risks to national security, the memo said.

All foreign assistance programs will undergo comprehensive review during the pause in spending, the memo says. It is important to emphasize that it is no longer business as usual. Every program will be thoroughly scrutinized.

Saturdays directive also banned any communications outside the agency, including between USAID and the State Department, unless they are approved by the formers front office.

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Failure to abide by this directive, or any of the directives sent out earlier this week and in the coming weeks, will result in disciplinary action, it said.

USAID began sending a notice to contractors ordering them to immediately issue stop-work orders and to amend, or suspend existing awards.

Vulnerable populations

Humanitarian organizations and other donors are scrambling to understand how the directive will impact life-saving operations in countries across the globe. It is too soon to tell whether or what specific services will have to be paused, they said.

Among the places the U.S. plays a crucial life-saving role is famine-stricken Sudan, where at least 24.6 million people urgently need food assistance, according to a December report from the Integrated Food Phase Classification (IPC), a global food security watchdog. The U.S. provided 45% percent of humanitarian aid recorded by the U.N. for Sudan in 2024.

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Any reduction in funding would inevitably affect the most vulnerable people relying on humanitarian operations in Sudan, said a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Even if the policy does allow emergency food assistance to continue, it does not mention other life-saving services required to treat people suffering the effects of acute malnutrition and starvation.

Hunger doesnt just leave people with an empty stomach. It weakens the bodys ability to fight off infections and diseases, making them so much more vulnerable to illness, which can lead to serious health problems or even death, said Deepmala Mahla, chief humanitarian officer for the relief organization CARE.

This is not just about funding, she said. It is about the very survival of the most vulnerable in conflict zones.
Maduro was sworn in for a highly contested third term on January 10 after claiming victory in the July vote, which the opposition says its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won. read more

Venezuela announced on Monday that it will hold parliamentary and regional elections on April 27. However, the opposition has vowed to boycott the elections following last years vote, in which President Nicolas Maduro is widely accused of electoral fraud.

Maduro was sworn in for a contested third term earlier this month after claiming victory in the July 28 election, which the opposition insists was won by its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

Elvis Amoroso, head of the National Electoral Council (CNE) said that all parties and candidates must sign a document committing to respect the electoral process, including the results announced.

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Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who is currently in hiding, reiterated her call for a boycott of the upcoming elections last week.

The elections were on July 28. That day the people chose, she said in a video posted on social media.

Maduro has been in power in 2013 since the death of his firebrand mentor, the late Hugo Chavez.

His first re-election in 2018 was also marred by fraud allegations but he has resisted international pressure and crippling US sanctions aimed at forcing him to step aside.

The ENC again proclaimed him victorious in July, without without providing a detailed breakdown of the vote.

The opposition published results from polling stations which it said showed a hands-down win for Gonzalez Urrutia, an elderly former diplomat, who has since been granted asylum in Spain.

The United States, its partners in the Group of Seven leading economies and several Latin American countries have all backed the oppositions victory claim.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2024.
Statement on escalation of violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Global Affairs Canada

Statement

January 25, 2025 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, today issued the following statement regarding the current situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):

"Canada is profoundly concerned over the escalation of violence in the eastern DRC, intensified by the advance of the March 23 Movement (M23) near Goma, and calls for the urgent protection of civilians. We deplore the devastating consequences of the violations of the ceasefire, displacing nearly 400,000 civilians and worsening already difficult humanitarian conditions.

"Canada urgently calls for de-escalation, and for all parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Humanitarian personnel and their facilities must be respected and protected. All parties must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need.

"In line with the findings and recommendations of the latest report by the United Nations Group of Experts, Canada calls for the immediate cessation of all support of the armed groups, including the foreign troops on Congolese territory, as well as the continued backing of the M23. Respect for the DRC's territorial integrity is an imperative for regional stability.

"Canada reaffirms its support for the efforts of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) to protect civilians and stabilize the region. We extend our deepest condolences following the death of members of MONUSCO while serving their mandate, a mission to which Canada contributes personnel.

"In 2024, Canada provided over $28 million in funding for humanitarian assistance for the Democratic Republic of Congo. The funding has been helping provide vital assistance such as food, treatment for acute malnutrition, drinking water, hygiene products, sanitation systems, health and protection services (including medical and psychosocial support to survivors of sexual violence) for vulnerable populations.

"Together with the international community, Canada urges all parties to immediately end hostilities, withdraw from occupied areas and fully commit to a peaceful resolution of the conflict through the Luanda process.

"Canadians in the DRC should consult our Travel Advice and Advisories for the Democratic Republic of Congo regularly and sign up now with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service to receive important information from the Government of Canada. Those already registered should update their information and ensure it is accurate.

"Canadians who need emergency consular assistance should contact the Embassy of Canada in Kinshasa by phone at 243 996 021 500 or Global Affairs Canada's 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa by:

telephone: +1 613-996-8885 (collect calls are accepted where available) email: sos@international.gc.ca SMS: +1 613-686-3658 WhatsApp: +1 613-909-8881 Signal: +1 613-909-8087"

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Remarks by President Trump Before Air Force One Departure

January 25, 2025

Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles, California

(January 24, 2025)

6:41 P.M. PST

THE PRESIDENT: So, thank you very much. We just heard that we have a great Secretary of Defense. We're very happy about that, and we appreciate everybody's vote.

And very importantly, I think we had two fantastic meetings in North Carolina and also in Los Angeles, and we made a lot of progress. It's - they're tragic events, really tragic.

And we appreciate your being here, and we're going home.

Q What did you promise the  the governor, Mr. President? Did he ask for federal dollars? Did he ask for your help?

THE PRESIDENT: No, no, we just had a good talk. We're on the same team. We want to get it fixed. So, we had a very good talk. With the governor, I had a very, very good talk.

Q What do you think of Mitch McConnell voting against Hegseth's nomination?

THE PRESIDENT: I didn't know that. I just know we won. I didn't know that.

Q Do you think the mayor got the message that she's got to cut red tape and get (inaudible)?

THE PRESIDENT: I hope the mayor got the message. Yeah. I don't know. (Laughs.) I'm not sure, but I hope so. Now, look, I think she means well, but these people want to get about building their house. They're not going to wait around 18 months, and they're not going to wait around a long time.

Q Mr. President, are you 

THE PRESIDENT: So, we're going to give an immediate permit.

Q Are you concerned about any other nominations for confirmation in the Senate?

THE PRESIDENT: No. No, I'm honored to have Pete. I think Pete is going to be a great Secretary of Defense  Pete Hegseth  and we're honored to have him.

Q I apologize. I couldn't hear you. Did you say you were speaking to him on the phone?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I did speak to Pete  yeah  in the plane, in the helicopter. I think Pete is going to be a great Secretary of Defense.

Q Are you disappointed that McConnell voted no?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I didn't even know that. No, I don't know that. I just heard that we won. Winning is what matters, right?

So, thank you very much everybody. Are you going on the plane?

Q Yes.

THE PRESIDENT: Good. Maybe I'll see you on the plane.

Q That would be great.

THE PRESIDENT: We'll see you on the plane.

Q Come back.

Q Come back and say hello, okay?

THE PRESIDENT: I will.



END 6:43 P.M. PST

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Jordan firmly opposed to displacement of Palestinians from Gaza: FM

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 26, 2025

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi says his country is opposed to any displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

Tehran, IRNA -- Jordan has reiterated its opposition to any displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, in an apparent rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that Arab countries should take in more people from the war-ravaged enclave.

Jordan's stance against any displacement of Palestinians from Gaza remains "firm and unwavering", Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters on Sunday, according to Reuters.

The top Jordanian diplomat also shared a post on X, reaffirming his country's support for the Gaza ceasefire deal, stressing the need for its full implementation and the delivery of humanitarian aid to all parts of the Strip.

"The well-established fact is that Jordan protects its interests, principles and citizens," he further said in his post.

On Saturday, President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries should take in more Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to "just clean out" the territory.

Trump said he had a call with Jordan's King Abdullah II earlier that day and would speak with Egyptian President Abdel Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Sunday.

Palestinian groups have opposed Trump's plan, saying any attempts at forced displacement of Palestinians would be foiled.

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Return of Afghan refugees from Iran 'a priority' for Kabul: Acting FM

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 26, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi has expressed gratitude for the generous hospitality that the Iranian government and people have shown to Afghan refugees over the past decades, and said the return of Afghan migrants is a priority for the "Islamic Emirate."

Muttaqi met with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Kabul on Sunday to discuss improving relations between the two countries.

"The return of Afghan migrants is a priority, and we will work harder on this issue as security and economic conditions improve," he said.

He hailed the close ties between the two neighboring Muslim countries, saying, "Iran and Afghanistan always share each other's sorrows and joys."

In response, Araghchi highlighted that the economic, commercial, and political relations between Iran and Afghanistan are currently strong. He said he hoped this visit would further improve relations for the benefit of both nations.

"I hope that more economic ties will be established, and our cultural and fraternal relations will grow stronger every day," he added.

Araghchi arrived in Kabul on Sunday morning for talks with Afghan officials. This marks his first visit to Afghanistan since becoming Iran's foreign minister.

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Palestinian groups condemn Trump's 'displacement' plan for Gaza

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 26, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Hamas and Islamic Jihad have reacted with fury to a plan floated by US President Donald Trump to "clean out" Gaza, saying that any attempts at forced displacement of Palestinians would be foiled.

The proposal by the US president comes as a fragile truce between Israel and Hamas, aimed at permanently ending the war, enters its second week.

After 15 months of war, Trump called Gaza a "demolition site" and said that he had spoken to Jordan's King Abdullah II about moving Palestinians out of the territory. "I'd like Egypt to take people. And I'd like Jordan to take people," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

For Palestinians, any attempt to move them from Gaza would evoke dark historical memories of what the Arab world calls the "Nakba" or catastrophe  the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's illegal creation 75 years ago.

Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said that Palestinians would "foil such projects" as they have done with similar plans "for displacement and alternative homelands over the decades."

Gazans, he said, "will not accept any offers or solutions, even if their apparent intentions are good under the banner of reconstruction, as proposed by US President Trump."

Islamic Jihad, which fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, called Trump's idea "deplorable" and said that it encourages "war crimes and crimes against humanity by forcing our people to leave their land."

Egypt has previously warned against any "forced displacement" of Palestinians from Gaza into the Sinai desert, which President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said could jeopardize the peace treaty Egypt signed with Israel in 1979.

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Lebanon's sovereignty 'non-negotiable', President Aoun says after Israel kills 22

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 26, 2025

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says his country's sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable.

Tehran, IRNA -- Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has said "Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable" after Israeli forces opened fire on displaced residents of southern Lebanon who were returning to their towns as a deadline for their withdrawal expired.

"Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable, and I will pursue this issue at the highest levels to guarantee the rights of the Lebanese people," Aoun said on Sunday.

At least 22 people were killed and 124 others wounded when Israeli forces opened fire on those returning to their towns and villages along the border upon the expiration of the 60-day ceasefire implementation period.

"I celebrate the victory of what is right alongside the people of southern Lebanon. I urge the community to remain calm and to place their trust in the armed forces," the president said. "The Lebanese army is always by your side, and it remains committed to protecting your security."

Also reacting to the Israeli violations, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the international community and the countries monitoring the ceasefire agreement must compel the Israeli regime to withdraw from Lebanese territory immediately.

In a joint statement on Sunday, the top UN official in Lebanon and the chief of the UN peacekeepers in the south said conditions were "not yet in place" for Lebanese citizens to safely return to their homes near the border.

"The fact is that the timelines envisaged" in the ceasefire deal "have not been met," they said.

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'Israel violating Gaza ceasefire deal by blocking return of Palestinians to north'

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 26, 2025

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says the Israeli regime is violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement by obstructing the return of displaced Palestinians to the northern part of the besieged area.

Tehran, IRNA -- A spokesperson for the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, has said that the Zionist regime is preventing displaced Palestinians from returning to the northern Gaza Strip, which constitutes a blatant violation of a ceasefire deal that took effect last week.

Hazem Qassem made the remark in an interview with Al Araby TV network on Sunday.

He said that the regime was delaying the return of the displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza despite the fact that Hamas had informed mediators that female Israeli prisoner Arbel Yehud was alive.

The spokesperson urged the mediators of the ceasefire - namely the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar - to exert pressure on the regime to facilitate the return of the internally displaced people to their homes.

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that Tel Aviv would not allow Gaza residents to return to the northern areas until Yehud was released.

A source close to Hamas leadership informed Qatar's Al Jazeera TV network that the movement had communicated to the mediators that Yehud would be released next Saturday.

Israel claims that Arbel Yehud is a civilian. But a source in Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement has said she is a trooper trained in the Israeli army's space program, and is held by the movement's military wing Al-Quds Brigades.

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In proprietary tone, U.S. president speaks of emptying Gaza of Palestinians

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 26, 2025

Donald Trump says he seeks to ask that Jordan and Egypt accept more Palestinian refugees from Gaza.

Tehran, IRNA -- U.S. President Donald Trump says he seeks to "just clean out" the Gaza Strip by asking that Egypt and Jordan take in the Palestinian inhabitants of the Palestinian territory.

In remarks made to reporters on board the U.S. presidential plane on Saturday, Trump said he had earlier in the day called King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday.

"I'd like Egypt to take people," Trump told the reporters. "You're talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, 'You know, it's over.'"

He said he had complimented Jordan for having accepted Palestinian refugees and that he had told the Jordanian king, "I'd love for you to take on more, cause I'm looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it's a mess. It's a real mess."

There was no immediate reaction from Palestinians.

Trump has implied that he seeks to get involved in construction both in Egypt and Jordan and in the entire Gaza Strip.

After being inaugurated on January 20, he said, "Gaza is interesting. It's a phenomenal location, on the sea. The best weather, you know, everything is good. It's like, some beautiful things could be done with it, but it's very interesting."

The Israeli regime launched a war on Gaza in October 2023. A ceasefire agreement took effect between the Palestinian group of Hamas  which runs Gaza  and the Israeli regime on January 19, 2025.

Over 47,000 Palestinians were killed in the war. The remaining population of the coastal strip either remain displaced or are blocked by the Israeli military from returning home. Many would find their neighborhoods entirely flattened to earth even if they return.

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Hamas slams Israel for violating Palestinian prisoners' rights

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 26, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas has condemned the violation of the rights of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Hamas issued a statement on Saturday evening, condemning Israel for violating the rights of the prisoners who are on an exchange list between the two sides.

The movement said that the violations are part of a planned Israeli policy against Palestinian prisoners, and are due to the regime's anger over resistance fighters' courageous battles during the Al Aqsa Storm Operation as well as Palestinians' achievements from the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The Gaza ceasefire deal, which includes prisoner swaps between Israel and Hamas, came into force last Sunday, pausing the regime's 15-month-old genocidal war on the besieged territory.

On Saturday, the Israeli regime released a total of 200 Palestinian prisoners, including senior members of Hamas, hours after the resistance movement freed four female Israeli soldiers held in Gaza since October 7, 2023 when the war broke out.

That was the second prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel since the ceasefire mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. took effect.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem hailed the Saturday release of Israeli prisoners, saying that it showed "our religious and moral values."

Realities on the ground show that the Resistance is still powerful and active, he said.

The Hamas official also noted that the Israeli regime continues to delay the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire deal, and added that the movement had informed mediators that female Israeli prisoner Arbel Yehud is alive.

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Lebanese army: Israel withdrawal 'procrastination' putting off deployment to south

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 26, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- The Lebanese army has announced its readiness to completely deploy in south of the country, accusing Israel of "procrastination" in withdrawing from the area under a ceasefire agreement.

The Lebanese army made the announcement on Saturday, a day before a 60-day deadline expires for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon as part of the ceasefire that took effect on November 27 and ended fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah Resistance Movement.

Also within that 60-day period, Hezbollah weapons and fighters must be removed from areas south of the Litani River, where the Lebanese military deploys.

Lebanon's army said in a statement on Saturday that it had continued to implement the plan, but delays have happened at a number of stages due to what it called procrastination in Israeli withdrawal.

The army also said it was ready to complete its deployment "as soon as the Israeli enemy withdraws." In the meantime, the army urged the Lebanese people to be cautious in returning to their homes in the south due to the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance left behind by the Israeli forces.

On Friday, the office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli forces would remain in south Lebanon beyond the 60-day deadline, claiming that the terms of the ceasefire deal have not been fully implemented.

Israel has not said how long it would remain, and ordered displaced Lebanese not to return to their homes in the south until further notice.

Hezbollah warning

Ali Fayyad, a Lebanese lawmaker from Hezbollah, on Saturday warned against a dangerous development as a result of Israel's refusal to complete its withdrawal on time.

Fayyad, a member of The Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, which is the political wing of Hezbollah in the Lebanese parliament, rejected Israel's claim that the terms of the ceasefire deal had not been completed.

He said that what the regime is doing in southern Lebanon has nothing to do with destroying Hezbollah's weapons, rather it is destroying the residential, social and economic structures in Lebanon's border areas.

The Hezbollah lawmaker also said that the Israeli regime is taking all those measures with the approval of the US, which he said in another indication of Washington-Tel Aviv partnership in all human and material losses imposed on Lebanon.

Israel's failure to withdraw on time marks a dangerous development, Fayyad said, calling on the Lebanese government to reassess the position and find the most effective ways to get Israel to withdraw. He also called on the Beirut government to reassure the Lebanese, especially the southern community that is "experiencing a state of extreme anger and turmoil," according to Reuters.

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Chinese illegal activities compel PH to defend itself - DND chief

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno

January 26, 2025, 12:00 pm Updated on January 26, 2025, 12:27 pm

MANILA -- China's illegal activities on the country's waters are forcing the Philippines to defend itself and assert its rights, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said.

"What is being done to the Philippines is forcible stealing of its rights, sovereign rights, in the exclusive economic zone which the Philippines has the sole right to explore, exploit resources in, by China. And doing this through not only words but through muscle," he said during a recent interview with Hoover Institution's "Battlegrounds".

The DND chief was referring to China's illegal activities in the West Philippine Sea where Chinese maritime forces continue to swarm.

This was the offshoot of the Chinese enactment of a maritime law that claimed almost all of the South China Sea (SCS) waters as internal waters of China.

"So what I'm trying to say right now is for the Philippines, what China is doing makes the Philippines, compels the Philippines to defend itself, assert its rights against China," Teodoro said.

"So they have themselves to blame. If we are choosing the side of the right, the correct, not the physical right, but the correct side, the correct path, to use their words, take the right path and correct route," he added.

Teodoro said China is also trying to crowd out the country by "trying to change narratives, trying to subvert our domestic economy, trying to influence others not to side with the Philippines."

He added it includes telling the world that the 2016 Arbitral Award is just "a scrap of paper."

The 2016 Arbitral Ruling is where the Permanent Court of Arbitration declared that the nine-dash-line of China has no legal basis. (PNA)

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Israeli captive Arbel Yehud will be released before next scheduled swap: Islamic Jihad

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 7:29 PM

The Islamic Jihad resistance movement has confirmed that Israeli captive Arbel Yehud will be released before the next scheduled prisoner swap.

Israeli authorities have used her continued detention as an excuse to prevent hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza in violation of a ceasefire agreement.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Islamic Jihad spokesman Mohammed Al-Hajj Musa announced that a deal had been reached regarding Yehud.

She will be released before February 1.

Yehud, who is a soldier in the Israeli military, was taken captive on October 7, 2023, from "Nir Oz" by a joint unit of Saraya al-Quds and al-Nasser Salah Al-Din Brigades fighters.

The Hamas resistance movement and Israel agreed to her release, along with other Israeli female soldiers, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire agreement signed on January 15.

However, Yehud was not among those freed in the first phase of the prisoner exchange.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated that Israel would not allow Gaza residents to return to northern areas until arrangements were made for her release.

Conversely, Hamas in an official statement said it has informed mediators that Yehud is alive "and gave all the necessary guarantees for her release."

"The occupation (Israel) is stalling under the pretext of captive Arbel Yehud, even though the movement informed mediators that she is alive and gave all the necessary guarantees for her release," the Palestinian resistance group said.

Thousands of displaced Palestinians attempting to reach northern Gaza have gathered at an Israeli military barrier which is blocking their progress.

Images showed massive crowds waiting to pass the Netzarim Corridor, a road that separates north and south Gaza and is controlled by Israeli troops.

Israel was scheduled to withdraw its forces from the area this weekend.

On Saturday, Hamas freed four Israeli female soldiers it had held since October 7, 2023, in return for 200 Palestinian prisoners. Ms Yehud, a non-military hostage, was scheduled to be freed first.

The families of the captives have been protesting every week since the beginning of the war and demanding her release.

Netanyahu's regime is under extreme pressure domestically and the Netzarim Corridor is the one piece of leverage he's had.

It's unclear whether in exchange for the release they will open the Netzarim Corridor and allow the people of northern Gaza to return home or release more Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has released a list of more than 700 Palestinian prisoners, who are to be released under the deal. More than 230 prisoners are serving life sentences and will be permanently sent to exile upon their release.

Hamas said in a recent statement that Israel was forced to "open the doors of his cells to our heroic prisoners," after more than 14 months of "unprecedented brutal aggression that targeted every inch of Gaza in its barbarity."

Hamas and Islamic Jihad on Sunday condemned a plan floated by US President Donald Trump to "clean out" the Gaza Strip.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump suggested cleaning out the Palestinian land and relocating the war-stricken people there to neighboring Arab countries, namely Egypt and Jordan.

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Yemenis to resume operations if Israel violates Gaza ceasefire: Houthi

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 6:29 PM

The leader of Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement has warned that if Israel violates the Gaza ceasefire agreement and restarts its brutal war in the besieged enclave, Yemeni fighters will resume their operations against Israeli targets.

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi made the warning in a televised speech broadcast from the Yemeni capital Sana'a on Sunday, amid the Israeli regime's violations of the Gaza ceasefire and its large-scale military offensive in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

"We are monitoring and following up on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the developments in Jenin and the West Bank," Houthi said.

"If the Zionist regime restarts the war, we will also resume our operations," he added.

Houthi went on to say that the United States and Israel are a danger to the nations of the world, urging "awareness, responsibility, and action" in the face of enemy projects.

He further noted that the Zionist project is "dangerous and destructive" for the Muslim world, calling for unity to foil the plots designed by the Israeli regime and the United States.

"We will stand against American evil and the Zionist Jewish project. America is the cause of evil, war, and enslaving nations." Houthi said, stressing that "The Arabs and Muslims should know that following America and the Zionist regime will only make them remain their slaves."

Houthi's remarks came hours after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas criticized Israel for delaying the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire deal after the regime's forces killed and injured Palestinians trying to return to the north.

The ceasefire on January 19 marks a pivotal moment for Gaza, ending 15 months of devastation that has left the territory in ruins.

The Ansarullah movement has described the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas as the fruit of resilience in the face of the genocidal war and brutalities by the Israeli military.

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Hamas condemns Trump's plan to 'clean out' Palestinians from Gaza

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 5:23 PM

Palestinian resistance groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have condemned a plan floated by US President Donald Trump to "clean out" the Gaza Strip.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump suggested cleaning out the Palestinian land and relocating the war-stricken people there to neighboring Arab countries, namely Egypt and Jordan.

"You're talking about probably a million and half people ... I'd like Egypt to take people. And I'd like Jordan to take people," he said. "[W]e just clean out that whole thing," he said.

Trump added that he expected to talk to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday.

In the meantime, the Palestinian leaders and people in Gaza condemned any attempt to relocate them, saying such a move is reminiscent of a dark page in Palestine's modern history known as the "Nakba" or catastrophe - when millions of Palestinians were forcibly displaced to create room for Israel's illegal creation.

Member of Hamas's political bureau, Bassem Naim, said that Palestinians would "foil such projects" as they have done to similar plans "for displacement and alternative homelands over the decades."

"We will not accept any offers or solutions, even if their apparent intentions are good under the banner of reconstruction, as proposed by US President Trump," Naim clarified.

The Palestinian people, who have stood steadfast in the face of the most heinous acts of genocide in modern historyperpetrated by the occupation armyand have steadfastly resisted the crimes of forced displacement, particularly in northern Gaza, categorically reject any plans to displace or expel them from their land.

The Hamas official called on the US administration to abandon such proposals that align with the Israeli regime's expansionist schemes.

He said such plans conflict with the rights and free will of the Palestinian people.

"Instead, we urge it to support the Palestinian people's right to freedom, the establishment of their independent state with Al-Quds as its capital, and to pressure the criminal occupation to expedite the reconstruction of what it destroyed during its brutal war on Gaza, restoring life to normal in the Strip," he said.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other resistance groups including the Mujahideen Movement, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Resistance Committees all issued similar statements, slamming Trump's plan to relocate the Gazans.

Islamic Jihad called Trump's plan to relocate the Gazans "deplorable". It said that such plans encourage the Israelis to commit "war crimes and crimes against humanity by forcing our people to leave their land."

Sisi, for his part, has already sounded the alarm about any "forced displacement" of the Palestinians from war-torn Gaza to Egypt.

He said that forcing the Palestinians out of Gaza could even jeopardize the 1979 so-called peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

The Israelis launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance groups carried out a retaliatory operation north of Gaza in response to decades of killing, damage, and loss inflicted on the Palestinians.

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Conditions 'not yet in place' for safe return of Lebanese: UN officials

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 3:48 PM

Lebanese people displaced by Israel's invasion of the country cannot yet safely return to their homes in southern villages as the regime has not met a deadline for its withdrawal set under a 60-day ceasefire deal, which expired Sunday, UN officials warn.

On Sunday, Israeli forces opened fire on Lebanese people returning to their villages, killing at least 15 people and wounding more than 80 others, according to an updated toll by the country's health ministry.

In the wake of the attack on civilians, United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaertand UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lazaro said in a joint statement that "conditions are not yet in place for the safe return of citizens to their villages along the Blue Line."

"Displaced communities, already facing a long road to recovery and reconstruction, are therefore once again being called on to exercise caution."

"The fact is that the timelines envisaged in the November Understanding have not been met," the UN officials said.

A truce deal reached between Israel and Hezbollah in November stipulated that Israeli forces must leave Lebanon before January 26.

The deal, brokered by the United States and France, ended over nearly 70 days of Israel's offensive on the country and gave Israel 60 days to pull out its forces from the occupied towns and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.

Despite the ceasefire, the regime's forces invaded dozens of new areas across southern Lebanon in the first 40 days of the deal, according to a recent Washington Post review of previously unreported satellite data and open-source imagery.

Israel's military forces, it said, launched near-daily strikes on areas in southern Lebanon during that period.

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International community must compel Israel to withdraw from Lebanon: Parliament speaker

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 3:00 PM

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called on the international community and the countries monitoring the ceasefire agreement in the Arab country to compel the Israeli regime to withdraw from Lebanese territory immediately.

Berri made the appeal in a statement on Sunday, after Israeli forces opened fire at the Lebanese people returning to their homes in the country's southern towns along the border upon the expiration of the 60-day ceasefire implementation period, killing at least 15 civilians and wounding 83 others.

"The bloodshed witnessed today, with more martyrs and casualties, serves as undeniable evidence of Israel's ongoing violations of Lebanon's sovereignty," he said, calling on the international community to take urgent action and "compel Israel to immediately withdraw from Lebanese territory."

Berri further hailed the resilience of the people in southern Lebanon as they defied threats and returned to their border villages, saying, "Your actions today stand as a testament to the embodiment of true patriotism, to your unwavering loyalty to Lebanon, its message, and the pursuit of freedom."

"Your courage and resilience have proven that a homeland fortified by determination as resolute as yours, with a strength burning like embers, cannot be subdued. This is a homeland destined to triumph, no matter the challenges it faces," he noted.

Earlier in the day, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed that Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity are "non-negotiable," adding that he is following up on this issue at the highest levels to ensure the Lebanese people's "rights and dignity."

In a statement addressing Lebanon from southern towns, Aoun said, "I share with our people in the south the joy of the victory of truth, and I call on them to exercise self-control and trust in the [Lebanese] armed forces."

"The Lebanese Army stands with you, wherever you are, and remains dedicated to safeguarding your security. Together, we will remain stronger and united under the banner of Lebanon," he added.

At least 15 people were killed and 83 others wounded on Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on those trying to return to their villages still under occupation, as the 60-day deadline for the complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from southern Lebanon ended.

The pullout was stipulated in a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Hezbollah resistance movement.

The regime forces, however, did not leave the occupied areas in a blatant violation of the truce agreement and an infringement on Lebanon's sovereignty.

Over the weekend, the Israeli military warned Lebanese people not to return to their hometowns in the country's south and put up barricades in the area.

Israel was forced to accept the ceasefire with Hezbollah on November 27, 2024, after suffering heavy losses on the battleground and failing to achieve its goals despite killing over 4,000 people in Lebanon.

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Araghchi calls for expansion of Iran-Afghanistan economic ties in Kabul trip

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 11:26 AM

Iran's foreign minister has lauded neighborly relations between Tehran and Kabul, calling for the expansion of economic ties to secure the national interests of the two Muslim countries.

Abbas Araghchi made the statement in a meeting with his acting counterpart in the Taliban-ruled government in Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in the capital Kabul on Sunday.

Describing Iran and Afghanistan as brothers and friends, Araghchi said the two neighbors enjoy strong cultural and historical bonds and have maintained close relations throughout history.

"Although there have been ups and downs, our relations with our brothers in Afghanistan have, by and large, been very good and brotherly," he said.

the top Iranian diplomat expressed satisfaction with the current state of economic, trade, and political relations between the two nations and expressed hope for further expansion of ties during their visit.

"I hope that during this trip we will be able to further expand the relations, which is in the national interests of both sides, in the interests of the people, and foster greater security and peace in our neighborly relations," the top Iranian diplomat added.

"I hope that more economic relations will be established between Iran and Afghanistan and that these good cultural relations and brotherly ties will become stronger day by day and benefit the two nations," he noted.

Muttaqi, for his part, warmly welcomed the Iranian delegation and expressed optimism that the planned meetings would be productive and broaden the relations between the two Muslim neighbors.

"Iran and Afghanistan are two neighboring Muslim countries and always share each other's joys and sorrows, and we hope your trip will be fruitful," he said.

Araghchi also met with Mohammad Hasan Akhund, the acting prime minister of Afghanistan, and discussed a host of bilateral and regional issues.

Heading a high-ranking delegation on Sunday, Araghchi arrived in Kabul on a one-day trip to the eastern neighbor  the first visit by an Iranian foreign minister to Afghanistan after the Taliban took power in 2021.

Afghanistan is still reeling from a decades-long US occupation and its hasty withdrawal which resulted in the country's lightning takeover by the Taliban.

The two neighboring countries of Iran and Afghanistan have over the past years engaged in sporadic rows over transboundary security and water rights issues but managed to iron out their differences through diplomatic negotiations.

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Trump calls for moving Palestinians to Egypt, Jordan to 'clean out' Gaza

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 9:46 AM

US President Donald Trump has proposed relocating Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab nations to "just clean out" the war-torn area, in what analysts see as a push for the expulsion of Palestinians from their homelands.

Trump indicated Saturday that he had spoken with King Abdullah II of Jordon about potentially building housing and moving more than 1 million Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries.

"I said to him that I'd love you to take on more because I'm looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it's a mess, it's a real mess," he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Trump said he has plans to do the same with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt.

"I'd like Egypt to take people ... You're talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing. You know, over the century, it's had many, many conflicts. And I don't know, something has to happen."

The president said that the potential housing "could be temporary" or "could be long-term."

He claimed the move can "bring peace" to West Asia if Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab nations accept enough Palestinian refugees.

This is not the first time Trump and his team have proposed the relocation of Palestinian people, especially the people of Gaza to another country.

During the run-up to his inauguration, Trump's West Asia envoy Steve Witkoff, said Trump is considering relocating the Gaza residents to Indonesia for the duration of the reconstruction period.

However, Indonesia slammed the idea saying, "Indonesia remains steadfast in its position that any attempt to relocate Gaza residents is unacceptable."

In addition to Indonesia, the majority of the international community, especially the Arab nations have rejected the plan in favor of Palestinian sovereignty.

The idea of a so-called "voluntary migration" of the people of Gaza was first promoted during the Biden administration by far-right Israeli ministers.

Analysts say any plans for relocating refugees will give the Israeli regime the excuse it needs to forcibly expel Palestinians from Gaza, and repopulate the territory with Israeli settlers.

During the 15 months of the Israeli regime's genocidal war against the people of Palestine, more than 46,707 were killed, and 109,660 injured, most of them children and women.

Gaza's 2.3 million population has been displaced multiple times and much of the besieged territory is in ruins.

On January 15, the Israeli regime, failing to achieve any of its war objectives including the "elimination" of Hamas or the release of captives, was forced to agree to a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

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US threatens Taliban leaders with 'big bounty' over detained Americans

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 7:42 AM

In a drastic shift from the old administration, the United States' new administration has taken a tough stance against Afghanistan's leadership, threatening the ruling Taliban leaders with placing a "big bounty" on their heads.

Last week, media reports said the Biden administration and the Taliban had successfully accomplished a deal to exchange prisoners.

However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a harsh warning via social media to Taliban leaders on Sunday.

In the early morning post, the new top US diplomat claimed that the Taliban was holding "more American hostages" than reports said.

"Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported," Rubio wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Rubio warned that the bounty placed on their heads might be even bigger than the one offered for Osama bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda leader killed in Pakistan by US forces in 2011.

"If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on bin Laden," he said.

The US had placed a $25 million bounty on the head of bin Laden.

Rubio's harsh warning to the Taliban leaders comes just days after American prisoners held in Afghanistan were exchanged for an Afghan imprisoned in the US.

Two Americans, Ryan Corbett, and William Wallace McKenty, were swapped with Khan Mohammad, an Afghan inmate serving a life sentence in a federal prison in California.

The Taliban foreign ministry described the Afghan inmate, who was held in the US on alleged drug trafficking and terrorism charges, as a "fighter."

"An Afghan fighter Khan Mohammed imprisoned in America has been released in exchange for American citizens and returned to the country," it said in a statement.

The prisoner exchange took place on Monday just before Biden handed over power to Donald Trump.

Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry had called the prisoner exchange with the Biden administration "a good example of resolving issues through dialogue."

Two other Americans remain in detention in Afghanistan, former airline mechanic George Glezmann and naturalized American Mahmood Habibi, who is reportedly a businessman.

The Biden administration had previously considered releasing Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani, a Guantanamo Bay prisoner who is said to have been close to bin Laden.

Al-Afghani, who has been interrogated and tortured by the CIA, is being held in extrajudicial detention and has not been charged.

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Dozens killed, injured as Israeli forces shoot at civilians in south Lebanon

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 7:29 AM

Israeli forces have opened fire at the Lebanese people returning to their homes in the country's southern towns, killing at least 22 people and wounding 124 others.

Lebanon's Public Health Ministry released the updated figures on Sunday evening.

The number includes nine children and a paramedic, the ministry said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television channel reported that Israeli forces had abducted two Lebanese from the border town of Houla.

Other reports said an Israeli drone had targeted residents in the village of Bani Hayyan, causing multiple injuries.

Additionally, an Israeli drone dropped sound bombs on a gathering of Lebanese citizens at the Houla-Majdal Silm-Shaqra triangle in southern Lebanon.

Earlier on Sunday, the 60-day deadline for the complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from southern Lebanon ended. The pullout was stipulated in a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Hezbollah resistance movement.

The regime forces, however, did not leave the occupied areas in a blatant violation of the truce agreement and an infringement on Lebanon's sovereignty.

Over the weekend, the Israeli military warned Lebanese people not to return to their hometowns in the country's south and put up barricades in the area.

Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after Israel unleashed a genocidal war on the besieged territory on October 7, 2023, launching numerous retaliatory attacks against targets in the occupied lands.

Israel was forced to accept the ceasefire with Hezbollah on November 27, 2024, after suffering heavy losses on the battleground and failing to achieve its goals despite killing over 4,000 people in Lebanon.

Lebanese army urges southerners to show 'self-restraint'

Also on Sunday, the Lebanese army said it is "accompanying/monitoring" the entry of citizens into several southern areas.

"We renew our call to citizens to exercise self-restraint and follow the instructions of the military units to preserve their safety," it added.

President Aoun hails victory, says Lebanon's sovereignty 'non-negotiable'

President Joseph Aoun stressed that Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity are "non-negotiable."

In a statement addressing Lebanon from southern towns, he said, "I share with our people in the south the joy of the victory of truth, and I call on them to exercise self-control and trust in the [Lebanese] armed forces."

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Hamas: Israel delaying implementation of Gaza ceasefire deal, prisoner exchange

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 6:18 AM

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has criticized Israel for delaying the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire deal after Israeli forces killed and injured Palestinians trying to return to the north.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem in a statement on Saturday held the Zionist entity responsible for any disruption in the enforcement of the ceasefire deal and its repercussions on other related matters.

"The occupying regime is still delaying the implementation of the terms of the truce deal and prisoner exchange agreement by continuing to block off Rashid Street and preventing the return of displaced Palestinians from the south to the north," he said.

Qassem also emphasized that Hamas has informed mediators that 29-year-old female Israeli captive Arbel Yehud is alive and expected to be released next Saturday.

"What was done today (Saturday) concerning the Israeli captives reflects our religious and ethical values. The latest developments clearly show that the Resistance is still powerful and dynamic," the Hamas official stated.

He further stated that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was under the delusion of winning a victory ever since the regime's military unleashed its bloody onslaught against Gaza on October 7, 2023, and he was constantly speaking of imaginary achievements.

"We involved people in the release of four Israeli soldiers in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners, as this triumph belongs to the entire Palestinian society," Qassem pointed out.

The Gaza ceasefire deal went into effect last weekend with the release of three Israeli captives and 90 Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli authorities on Saturday released 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of the second phase of a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

Abdullah Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group, said the prisoners were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Some prisoners were released into the West Bank from Ofer Prison, while others bound for Gaza or deportation abroad were released from Negev Prison in the southern flank of Israeli-occupied lands.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Affairs Authority, the 200 prisoners included 121 who had been serving life sentences and 79 others with long sentences.

Israel has released a list of more than 700 Palestinian prisoners, who are to be released under the deal. More than 230 prisoners are serving life sentences and will be permanently sent to exile upon their release.

Hamas said in a statement on Saturday that Israel was forced to "open the doors of his cells to our heroic prisoners," after more than 15 months of "unprecedented brutal aggression that targeted every inch of Gaza in its barbarity."

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Hamas believes West Bank to be 'next' theater of war between Israel, resistance

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 1:34 AM

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas believes the Israeli-occupied West Bank to be the "next" area of main confrontation between the Israeli regime and the Palestinian resistance.

Basem Naim, a member of Hamas' Political Bureau and a former Palestinian minister, who has served several portfolios, made the remarks to the Middle East Eye news and analysis website on Saturday.

"We believe that the main confrontation will be in the West Bank not in Gaza Strip because again the Israeli regime is considering the West Bank, including [the holy occupied city of] al-Quds, to be strategically the next goal of its annexation," he said.

The regime occupied the West Bank, including al-Quds, the eastern part of which Palestinians seek as the capital of their future state, during a heavily-Western-backed war in 1967.

Afterwards, it proceeded to set up several hundreds of illegal settlements in the territory, and create insufferable impediments to the Palestinian freedom of movement there amid continued Western backing, including by the United States, the regime's biggest ally.

Naim's remarks came around a week after the regime was forced to approve of a ceasefire deal with Hamas that is expected to end Tel Aviv's 15-month-long war of genocide against Gaza that has claimed the lives of at least 47,000 Palestinians.

Now, the movement warns that Tel Aviv, which had ramped up its deadly aggression across the West Bank during the war too, could be turning the occupied territory into its next central battlefield against the Palestinian nation.

Naim, meanwhile, asserted that the Palestinian resistance would not settler for the option of living under occupation amid the regime's deadly attacks.

"We cannot fight to improve the conditions of a prison. We are looking to get rid of the prison itself," he said.

"If the Palestinians cannot reach their goal of an independent state, including Gaza Strip and the West Bank and al-Quds, no one can enjoy security or stability or prosperity in the region," Naim warned.

'Israel failed to achieve any of its wartime goals'

The official also hailed the Palestinian resistance's causing the Israeli regime to stop short of achieving all of the goals it had sought to achieve throughout the war on Gaza.

"We can say this is a declaration of victory because [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, from day one, and his regime has raised and declared three goals for his aggression against the people in Gaza," he said.

He identified the goals as "crushing the resistance and ending the government or the governance of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, plus transferring most of the Palestinian population there, if not all of them, outside the Gaza Strip to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, and lastly to retrieve the soldiers forcefully," Naim said, referring to the Israeli forces, who have been captured by Hamas.

"I think it was clear last Sunday," he said, referring to the day of implementation of the ceasefire deal, "that he (Netanyahu) has failed in all the three goals," the Hamas' official hailed.

"The resistance is still there in dozens, in their uniform, with their new cars," he said, reminding that "the resistance was able to [remain steadfast until] the last moment" of the war, striking Israeli targets at will.

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Saudi Arabia Condemns Attack on Saudi Hospital in El-Fasher, Sudan

Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, January 26, 2025, SPA -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement today expressing Saudi Arabia's strong condemnation and denunciation of the attack on the Saudi hospital in El-Fasher, Sudan. This attack resulted in the death and injury of several people, violating international and humanitarian laws.

The Kingdom reiterated its rejection of these violations and emphasized the critical need to protect health and humanitarian workers. It urged self-restraint and the avoidance of targeting civilians, calling for adherence to the commitments made in the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, issued on May 11, 2023. Saudi Arabia also extended its deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to the families of the victims, wishing the injured speedy recovery.

-- SPA

11:35 Local Time 08:35 GMT

0008

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DRC Breaks Off Relations With Rwanda As Rebels Besiege Major Northern City

Sputnik News

20250126

Ilya Tsukanov

Observers fear the flareup could lead to an escalation akin to bloodshed facing Africa's Great Lakes region in the mid-90s to early 2000s, which led to casualties numbering in the millions.

The M23 rebel movement has advanced on Goma, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo province of North-Kivu.

The head of the local UN peacekeeping mission said Sunday that the airport into the city was no longer available for humanitarian operations and evacuations, with M23 declaring airspace over Goma closed.

Hundreds of thousands of residents of the city of one million are thought to have fled or been displaced.

Two South African UN peacekeepers and seven more from the SADC's DRC contingent were reported killed in fighting with rebels.

The DRC has broken off relations with Rwanda amid the escalation following long-running suspicions by Kinshasa, the UN, the US and its allies that the neighboring nation has helped fuel the conflict, and is now directly involved in fighting.

The M23 (March 23 Movement), also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, is a Tutsi-led militia hailing from the DRC's northeast. They've long accused the government of failing to integrate Congolese Tutsis into administrative and military roles.

M23 is now in control of a major mining operation extracting coltan, a key element used in smartphones, laptops and other electronics.

The DRC is home to an estimated $24-$35 trillion in untapped mineral and energy wealth, but is also one of the five poorest countries in the world, in part thanks to decades of colonialism, imperialism and meddling by foreign powers.

 Sputnik

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The UK is deeply concerned by the scale and pace of recent M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces advances in eastern DRC: UK statement at the UN Security Council

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on the Democratic Republic of Congo.

26 January 2025

President, MONUSCO peacekeepers and personnel work bravely to deliver this Council's mandate in the most difficult of circumstances.

The United Kingdom reiterates clearly today that attacks on UN peacekeepers are absolutely unacceptable, and may constitute war crimes.

We also recall that planning, directing, sponsoring or conducting attacks against MONUSCO peacekeepers may constitute a basis for UN sanctions designations.

The UK extends its sympathies to the families of the Blue Helmets from South Africa and Uruguay who have lost their lives serving in MONUSCO, and we extend our best wishes for a full recovery to those peacekeepers who have been injured.

The UK also extends its condolences to the families of all troops from the Southern African Development Community Mission in DRC who have lost their lives in support of DRC's stability and security.

As we do so, we fully acknowledge that the numbers of those lost and injured is changing by the hour. It is a critical moment for DRC and for the region.

President, I would now like to make three points.

First, the United Kingdom once again condemns the violent actions of all armed groups, including FDLR and M23.

We are deeply concerned by the scale and pace of recent M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces advances in eastern DRC.

In December this Council renewed MONUSCO's mandate. And in the four weeks since, M23's unacceptable offensive, and that of the Rwanda Defence Forces, through North and South Kivu, has resulted in the capture of several towns and villages.

As we've heard, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced, and violence has intensified as a result.

We are also deeply alarmed by M23's declaration that they intend to take Goma, a city where the humanitarian situation is already catastrophic.

The rising number of displaced people resulting from M23's territorial expansion has placed further pressure on crowded IDP camps and exacerbates the challenges faced by humanitarian actors.

This morning, the UK Foreign Secretary spoke with President Kagame and called for urgent de-escalation, outlining the need for Rwanda and the DRC to urgently return to the negotiating table.

Now, more than ever, it is critical that MONUSCO is able to deliver its mandate. M23 attacks on peacekeepers, with support from the RDF, must stop immediately.

These attacks prevent the force from being able to discharge its Security Council-mandated mission to protect civilians.

Rwandan spoofing and jamming of GPS signals, which obstruct UN and humanitarian operations, must also stop.

We urge all parties to remember their obligations under international humanitarian law.

Finally, President, the United Kingdom once again extends its thanks to Angola for its leadership on mediation efforts.

We encourage DRC and Rwanda to return to the negotiating table and to focus on making tangible progress on delivering on their commitments under the concept of operations.

There can be no military solution. Fighting must stop. Civilians must be protected. And the parties should engage in good faith in the political process.

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UN officials call for ceasefire compliance after 15 people killed in Lebanon

26 January 2025 - Top UN officials in Lebanon are calling for compliance with the ongoing ceasefire after reports that Israeli forces killed 15 people, including a Lebanese soldier, along the buffer zone with Israel, which Israel was due to withdraw from on Sunday under the agreement.

The timelines envisaged in the November ceasefire agreement "have not been met", according to a joint statement by UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and head of the UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, and force commander Aroldo Lazaro.

The agreement between Israel and armed group Hezbollah had been reached after more than a year of fighting, stemming from the Israeli war in Gaza.

"As seen tragically this morning, conditions are not yet in place for the safe return of citizens to their villages along the Blue Line," they said, referring to the buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon.

Israel warned Lebanese civilians not to return to their homes in the south this weekend, stating it would not withdraw due to alleged violations of ceasefire terms.

Violations of resolution 1701 recorded daily

"Displaced communities, already facing a long road to recovery and reconstruction, are therefore once again being called on to exercise caution. Also, violations of UN Security Council resolution 1701 continue to be recorded daily."

That landmark resolution, adopted in 2006, called for the creation of a buffer zone between the countries and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

By the terms of the November ceasefire agreement, Israel was meant to have fully withdrawn its forces from the area by Sunday.

'So much at stake'

The Special Coordinator and UNIFIL chief said "compliance by both parties with their obligations under the November agreement and the full implementation of resolution 1701 constitute the only way to bring closure to the recent, dark chapter of conflict and open a new one, heralding security, stability and prosperity on both sides of the Blue Line."

At the same time, the UN will continue to engage all actors towards this end and remains ready to support any action consistent with resolution 1701 and the efforts of the Implementation Mechanism to achieve the objectives of the November Understanding.

"With so much at stake for both Lebanon and Israel, recommitment is urgently needed from all sides," they said in the statement.

Much has changed since ceasefire

The UN officials said much has changed in Lebanon since the Cessation of Hostilities Understanding came into force on 27 November 2024.

Violence has dramatically decreased, and in many areas of southern Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of people have been able to return to their towns and villages.

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have shown resolve in deploying to positions from which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are withdrawing, the UN officials said.

Supported by UNIFIL, the Lebanese forces are helping to restore services and facilitating humanitarian access to communities most affected by conflict, they said.

The ongoing government formation process, following the election of a president and the designation of a prime minister, is a critical step in building trust between Lebanese citizens and the State, they explained. These developments also augur well for prospective support to the full extension of state authority over all Lebanese territory and for the country's recovery, reconstruction and growth.

UNIFIL troops stand ready

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) remains very concerned about reports of Lebanese civilians returning to villages where Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are still present and of casualties due to Israeli fire, according to a statement by the mission on Sunday.

At Lebanese Armed Forces request, UNIFIL peacekeepers are deploying to areas indicated by the Lebanese forces across the mission's area of operations to monitor the situation and help prevent any further escalation.

"However, the management of crowds remains outside our mandate," according to UNFIL, which is tasked with supporting the implementation of resolution 1701.

'IDF must stop firing on civilians in Lebanon'

"It is imperative to avoid further deterioration of the situation," the UN peacekeeping mission said, calling on the Lebanese population to adhere to the directives of the LAF, which aim to protect lives and prevent an escalation of violence in southern Lebanon.

"The IDF must avoid firing at civilians within Lebanese territory. Further violence risks undermining the fragile security situation in the area and prospects for stability ushered in by the cessation of hostilities and the formation of a Government in Lebanon," UNIFIL said.

The UN mission emphasised the critical importance of fully implementing resolution 1701 and the cessation of hostilities arrangements through established mechanisms, which includes the complete withdrawal of the IDF from Lebanon, the removal of any unauthorised weapons and assets south of the Litani river, the redeployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in all of south Lebanon and ensuring the safe and dignified return of displaced civilians on both sides of the Blue Line.

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Attack on hospital in Al Fasher a shocking violation and affront to humanity - Statement by the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

(Port Sudan, 26 January 2025) I am appalled by an attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in Al Fasher, North Darfur State, in Sudan on 24 January, which reportedly claimed the lives of at least 70 patients receiving critical care and their relatives, and wounded dozens.

I send condolences to all the affected families and express the solidarity of the humanitarian community in Sudan with them and all the people affected by the ongoing conflict.

The attack, reportedly carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the only functional hospital in Al Fasher, is a shocking violation of international humanitarian law. I condemn it in the strongest terms.

The alarming disregard for human life is unacceptable. Hospitals and medical facilities should never be targeted. These institutions are sanctuaries of life, healing and hope, and their destruction is an affront to our shared humanity.

The deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure needs to cease immediately and those responsible must be held accountable. Civilians are not combatants and must always be protected.

I urge all sides to this conflict to adhere strictly to international humanitarian and human rights laws. I remind them that the protection of civilians, innocent children, women and men caught up in the conflict is a fundamental obligation.

I also renew the call for an immediate cease-fire and a peaceful resolution to this crisis.

***

For more information, please contact: Dan Teng'o, dan.tengo@un.org; +249 91 253 2791

26 January 2025

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Humanitarian Coordinator expresses deep concern over the impact of intensified fighting around Goma on civilians and humanitarian operations

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Kinshasa, 26 January 2025 -- The Humanitarian Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr. Bruno Lemarquis, expresses his profound concern regarding the intensification of ongoing fighting around the city of Goma and its growing impact on civilians.

Since the renewed M23 offensives near Goma on 23 January 2025, hundreds of thousands of people have once again been forced to flee multiple active conflict zones, with reception and assistance capacities already overstretched. Several displacement sites on the outskirts of Goma, hosting more than 300,000 people, have been completely emptied within hours.

Humanitarian actors, including essential personnel who remain operational in Goma, are doing everything possible to address the needs of the most vulnerable civilians despite an alarming deterioration of security in displacement sites and certain neighborhoods of the city.

The proximity of fighting to densely populated areas and the use of heavy artillery impose intolerable risks on civilians. The emergency capacities of Goma's hospitals are overwhelmed, despite support from humanitarian actors, including the ICRC and MSF.

As of 24 January 2025, Goma's Ndosho General Hospital was treating over 256 injured individuals, including 90 civilians, most suffering from severe injuries caused by gunfire and artillery strikes. This far exceeds the hospital's 146-bed capacity, even after reinforcements provided by humanitarian partners

On behalf of the humanitarian community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I call on all parties to the conflict to immediately halt the military escalation. This violence exacerbates the suffering of populations in eastern DRC and worsens the already precarious conditions of civilians. As the United Nations Secretary-General emphasized on 23 January 2025, urgent de-escalation is essential.

The humanitarian community urges the international community to intensify efforts to address the rapidly worsening humanitarian and security crisis. While awaiting the cessation of hostilities, it calls for temporary humanitarian pauses in the most affected and at-risk areas to facilitate the evacuation of the wounded and civilians from active combat zones.

On behalf of the humanitarian community, I remind all parties to the armed conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law: civilians and essential civilian infrastructure must never be targeted.

All parties to the conflict are obligated to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to those in need and to guarantee the safe passage of civilians fleeing active combat zones. Civilians must be able to access humanitarian assistance safely and with dignity. This requires humanitarian actors to remain as close as possible to affected populations in conditions that allow them to deliver the life-saving assistance required.

It is also imperative to enable the restoration of basic services in the city of Goma, including access to water, electricity, and healthcare, to meet the essential needs of populations affected by the conflict.

*******

For more information, please contact

Carla Martinez, Head of Office, OCHA-RDC, martinez14@un.org, +243817061223

Jean Jonas Tossa, Public Information Officer, tossa4@un.org, +243817061220

Subscribe your our mailing list | unocha.org | Join our WhatsApp feed, send 'OCHA' to +243817080169 All our information products are available on https://reliefweb.int/country/cod



26 January 2025

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The Government of Israel orders UNRWA to vacate its premises in occupied East Jerusalem

UNRWA

26 Jan 2025

AMMAN, 26 January 2025 -- The State of Israel ordered UNRWA to vacate all premises in occupied East Jerusalem and cease its operations in them by 30 January 2025.

This order is in contradiction to international law obligations of UN member states including the State of Israel, which is bound by the General Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

United Nations premises are inviolable and enjoy privileges and immunities under the United Nations Charter.

The State of Israel is a signatory -without reservations- to the General Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and enacted its provisions in its domestic law. These provisions oblige the State of Israel to respect United Nations privileges and immunities, including respect for United Nations premises.

UNRWA property and assets including in East Jerusalem are immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation, and any other form of interference.

Claims from the Israeli authorities that UNRWA has no right to occupy the premises are without foundation. They promote anti-UNRWA rhetoric, placing the Agency's facilities and personnel at risk. The Government of Israel has stated publicly that the aim to vacate UNRWA premises in Sheikh Jarrah is to expand Israeli illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

The State of Israel must take all appropriate measures consistent with international law obligations to ensure that UNRWA's property and installations are respected and protected.

ENDs-

Notes to Editors:

The order referred to in the statement above was transmitted via a letter from the Israel UN Permanent Representative.

The letter was sent to the Secretary General of the UN on 24 January 2025. It was widely circulated to the media and is available in the public domain.

Across occupied East Jerusalem, UNRWA has been operating since the 1950's. The Agency provides 70,000 patients with primary health care and 1,150 students with education in UNRWA schools and clinics.

The UNRWA Headquarters in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem, where the Agency has had an established presence for more than 70 years, is the centre of operations of the Agency's work in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem.

The Kalandia compound is a vocational training centre for 350 students (aged 15-19), on a land made available to UNRWA by the Government of Jordan.

Over the years, there have been repeated attempts to force UNRWA to vacate the premises in Sheikh Jarrah including through arson attacks, protests by extremists and eviction letters. UNRWA staff have been subjected to violence and arrests.

UNRWA has repeatedly protested against these attempts to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel.

Background Information:

UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.

UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.

UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.

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Briefing Security Council on Worsening Situation in Democratic Republic of Congo, Senior Official Says Actions Endangering Civilians, UN 'Will Not be Tolerated'

Meetings Coverage

Security Council

9849th Mtg (AM)

SC/15980

26 January 2025

Holding an emergency meeting following advances by the 23 March Movement, or M23, towards the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and concurrent attacks on United Nations peacekeepers there, the Security Council heard today that urgent action is needed to address a rapidly deteriorating situation while time remains to do so.

"The United Nations is profoundly concerned by the resumption of hostilities," said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations. On 23-24 January, M23 fired on positions of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). He reported that, as a result, several blue helmets were "killed in carrying out the tasks entrusted to them by this Council". He also noted that M23 has significantly extended its territorial gains over the past few weeks and has opened a new front in South Kivu, from which MONUSCO recently withdrew.

"At this critical juncture, with the lives of countless vulnerable civilians, peacekeepers and respect for this Council's mandate at stake, MONUSCO remains committed to the robust defence of its mandate," he stated. He stressed that, for its part, the Council "must honour the sacrifices made by the peacekeepers who laid down their lives in pursuit of this noble goal by sending a clear and unequivocal message to M23 and its backers that actions endangering the lives of civilians and UN peacekeepers will not be tolerated."

Also reporting on the situation was Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of MONUSCO. Noting that M23 and Rwandan forces have penetrated the outskirts of Goma  "causing mass panic and flight amongst the population"  she said that roads are blocked and that M23 has declared Goma's airspace closed. "In other words, we are trapped," she said, calling on the Council to "act now" to secure the civilian population, humanitarian-aid workers and all UN personnel.

Calling on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda to continue political negotiations in the context of the Luanda Process, she urged: "More than ever, we must find a political solution." She also called on Rwanda to withdraw its forces from Congolese territory and end support for M23, and on the Democratic Republic of the Congo to "make significant efforts" to neutralize the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda, or FDLR.

Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, then stressed that if hostilities spread into Goma, "the impact on civilians could be devastating". In North and South Kivu, hundreds of civilians have been killed and injured over the last few weeks. Further, hundreds of thousands have fled their homes, humanitarian access remains constrained and hospitals are overwhelmed. Against that backdrop, she urged all parties to "protect civilians and the critical infrastructure they rely on".

She also urged them to avoid using wide-area explosives and heavy weapons in populated areas. "This will be particularly important should the hostilities spread into Goma, given the risks of conflict in urban areas," she observed. And, to address the escalating humanitarian crisis "before the situation worsens further", she called on the Council to end the hostilities, ensure respect for international law and provide adequate funding for humanitarian action.

"The resolution of the conflict in eastern DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] must be political, not military," stated the representative of Sierra Leone, also speaking for Algeria, Guyana and Somalia. The Luanda and Nairobi Processes "remain viable paths to peace", he said, while underscoring that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo must be respected "by all States and non-State actors alike". France's representative, stating that the presence of foreign military forces threatens civilian protection and contributes to displacement, concurred: "Force is not an option."

Along those lines, China's representative said: "All external forces should refrain from providing support to M23 and other armed groups to prevent further deterioration." He also joined other Council members in pointing out that "attacks on peacekeepers may constitute war crimes". The representative of Greece echoed that, also noting that attacks against MONUSCO peacekeepers constitute a basis for sanctions designations. Also making these points was the representative of the United Kingdom, who observed that "the numbers of those lost and injured is changing by the hour".

These attacks, stressed Slovenia's representative, constitute "an attack on peace itself". Recalling the Council's recent, unanimous decision to renew MONUSCO's mandate, she underlined the organ's responsibility to "stand unequivocally behind [its personnel] in these perilous times and ensure they return safely to their loved ones". She added: "The international community, and this Council, cannot afford to remain passive in the face of this crisis." Panama's representative similarly stated: "History will not judge us on our intentions but, rather, our actions."

The United Nations must take immediate measures to ensure the safety and security of both civilians and peacekeepers, underscored the representative of Pakistan. Expressing particular concern over a "highly exposed" Pakistani artillery battery near Sake, he stressed that this unit should be quickly redeployed for the safety of its personnel and heavy, expensive equipment. Stating that peacekeepers cannot be expected to implement the "challenging mandate assigned to them by the Council" without adequate support, he also urged the organ to address the root cause of the conflict  the illegal exploitation of natural resources.

On that, Denmark's representative observed: "The illegal exploitation of natural resources in eastern DRC is a key driver to instability in the Great Lakes region  this must end." The representative of the United States also expressed concern over the illicit exploitation of mining areas in territories controlled by M23, as did the representative of the Russian Federation: "The struggle to gain access towards strategically important Congolese minerals is one of the reasons for the continuation of the crisis."

The representative of the Republic of Korea detailed that crisis: "In the past week alone, as [M23] has expanded its territory by 11 per cent, the number of [internally displaced persons] has doubled to 400,000." He joined other Council members in calling on Rwanda to cease its support for the group and urged both Kinshasa and Kigali to return to dialogue and fully implement their commitments under the Luanda Process. He added: "We recognize the differing interests of the DRC and Rwanda, but further escalation of tensions is simply unacceptable  many lives are at stake."

Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Francophonie of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, meanwhile, took the floor to stress that the situation in her country is "not a conflict like others". Rather, it is "a declaration of war that no longer hides itself behind diplomatic manoeuvres", she said, stressing that "Rwanda is preparing to orchestrate a carnage in broad daylight". She also said that it is "clear that this crisis is directly linked to the economic plunder of our country by Rwanda".

On that, she said that over 150 tons of coltan are illegally extracted and transported to Rwanda each month, where they are fraudulently labelled for export. Yet, while this illicit commerce finances the military activities of armed groups, it is "only one aspect of the aggression carried out by Rwanda", she stressed. Others include the systematic targeting of peacekeeping forces, the 24 January assassination of the military governor of North Kivu and the sabotage of the Luanda Process.

Underscoring that the Council "cannot content itself with declarations of concern or simply 'remaining seized of the matter'", she said that the organ's duty is to "defend human life without distinction". It must therefore order an immediate end to Rwanda's hostilities, impose targeted sanctions against those responsible for the aggression, impose an embargo on the export of all minerals labelled as Rwandan  particularly coltan and gold  and revoke Rwanda's status as a troop-contributing country. "History will remember your decision today," she said.

Meanwhile, Rwanda's representative stressed: "The current crisis could have been averted had the DRC Government demonstrated a genuine commitment to peace." While the Luanda Process achieved "significant milestones"  including a ceasefire that came into force on 4 August 2024  the Government and Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo decided to increase militarization in the country's east in October 2024. This included the deployment of heavy weaponry and additional troops  10,000 from Burundi  along the border.

"By prioritizing militarization of the conflict instead of embracing the regional mechanisms that have been put in place to foster a sustainable solution born out of dialogue, the conflict has continued to escalate  leading to the prevailing situation today," he said. He added that the FDLR has "even moved from being a suppletive force to a strategic ally of the Kinshasa Government". Further, he said that the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has publicly vowed to instigate regime change in Rwanda for two years now.

While stating that "no one should harm peacekeepers", he expressed concern that MONUSCO is "at the risk of being sucked into a conflict in which it would be a belligerent force". MONUSCO should therefore focus on protecting civilians instead of fighting alongside Kinshasa's military coalition. Noting that the situation today mirrors that which occurred 12 years ago, he stressed that "the DRC must play a helpful role  after all, this is a Congolese problem, for which the DRC is looking to outsource its solution."

"It is with profound regret that this meeting is taking place at a time when a number of peacekeepers have lost their lives in the line of duty," observed South Africa's representative. Urging the Council to "send a clear message that peacekeepers' lives matter", she underlined the need to "value and safeguard the contribution of those entrusted to carry out the mandates adopted in this chamber". Extending condolences to all victims' families, the representative of Uruguay reiterated his country's "steadfast commitment to peace".

Angola's representative pointed to "remarkable progress in the implementation of the Luanda Process". "We need speedy and unconditional de-escalation of the conflict and genuine, renewed engagement of the parties to explore the ways of overcoming the pending issues," he added. On that, Burundi's representative said that the Luanda and Nairobi Processes "set out a clear road map to reach a lasting ceasefire". Calling on the Council to demand an end to foreign interference and act decisively to guarantee that the Democratic Republic of the Congo can fully exercise its sovereignty and restore peace, he stressed: "Security and stability in Central Africa and beyond are at stake."

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Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General - on the Democratic Republic of the Congo

United Nations Secretary-General

New York

26 January 2025

Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and reiterates his strongest condemnation of the M23 armed group's ongoing offensive and advances towards Goma in North Kivu with the support of the Rwanda Defence Forces.

In the last 48 hours, two MONUSCO peacekeepers from South Africa and one peacekeeper from Uruguay were killed while implementing the mandate entrusted upon them by the Security Council. Eleven peacekeepers sustained injuries and are being treated in the UN hospital in Goma.

The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the fallen peacekeepers as well as to their Governments and the people of South Africa and Uruguay, and wishes a swift recovery to the injured. He pays tribute to the bravery of all the United Nations peacekeepers while implementing their mandate to protect civilians and defend them against armed group violence, in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC).

The Secretary-General reminds all parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law. He recalls that attacks against United Nations personnel may constitute a war crime. He calls on the appropriate authorities to investigate this incident and swiftly bring those responsible to justice.

The Secretary-General reiterates his call to respect the ceasefire agreement. He calls on the M23 to immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas. He further calls on the Rwanda Defence Forces to cease support to the M23 and withdraw from DRC territory. He reaffirms the United Nations' support to the Luanda process and calls for an immediate resumption of negotiations in this framework.

*****

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Lebanon, Gaza ceasefires with Israel teeter on shaky ground

By VOA News January 26, 2025

Israeli ceasefires with Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza appeared to be on fragile ground Sunday as Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians in both regions, killing at least 23 people and injuring dozens.

In Lebanon, the Health Ministry said at least 22 were killed and 124 others injured as Israel confirmed it would not meet the 60-day deadline to withdraw its troops as part of the ceasefire it reached with Hezbollah in November.

On Sunday, the White House released a statement that the arrangement between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the United States, would continue to be in effect until Feb. 18.

"The Government of Lebanon, the Government of Israel, and the Government of the United States will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after Oct. 7, 2023," the statement said.

Israel blamed the militants and the Lebanese army for failing to meet their own commitments under the truce. The Israeli military said that it fired "warning shots" toward "suspects" and that it had detained an unspecified number of people.

Under terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah was required to retreat to the north away from the Israeli border and Israel was to pull out of Lebanon.

In a statement, the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, warned that it was "imperative to avoid further deterioration of the situation."

It urged the Israeli military to avoid firing at civilians, and for Lebanese people to adhere to the directives of the Lebanese military. "Further violence risks undermining the fragile security situation," the statement said.

In Gaza, the long-awaited return of Palestinians from the central and southern regions of the territory to the northern sector was delayed in a dispute over the release of a female hostage held by Hamas. Israel said it would not retreat from the heavily fortified Netzarim Corridor, which divides the enclave, until another female hostage, Arbel Yehoud, an Israeli civilian, is freed. She was supposed to have been released Saturday.

Early Monday local time, Qatar, a mediator in the ceasefire, announced that an agreement had been reached, easing the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas will release Yehoud along with two other hostages before Friday, Qatar's statement said. And on Monday, Israeli authorities will allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed the agreement. Israel's military said people can start crossing on foot at 7 a.m. local time.

Israeli forces fired at Palestinians along a coastal road near the checkpoint, killing at least one person and injuring 18 others, according to a spokesperson for al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in central Gaza.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it "identified several gatherings of dozens of suspects that posed a threat."

The violence exhibited the tenuous nature of the two ceasefires, both of which were brokered in part by the United States in contentious negotiations during the final months of the administration of President Joe Biden.

Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy, participated in the talks to reach the Gaza ceasefire.

Trump on Saturday called on Egypt and Jordan to take in more Palestinians from Gaza to "clean out" the enclave after much of it has been leveled by 15 months of Israeli-Hamas fighting.

The war in Gaza started with the shock Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of 250 hostages. Israel's counteroffensive in Gaza has killed nearly 47,000 people, most of them women and children, according to health officials, although the Israeli military says the death toll includes 17,000 militants.

Hamas is believed to be holding about 100 hostages, with the ceasefire requiring them to release 33 during a six-week truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians jailed by Israel. Seven Israeli hostages and nearly 300 Palestinian prisoners have been freed thus far.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.

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Russo-Ukraine War - 26 January 2025 - Day 1068

Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that since the beginning of the day, there have been 153 combat encounters.

The Russian enemy carried out 31 air strikes using 41 CABs, almost seven hundred kamikaze drones strikes, and carried out almost 4,000 shells of positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements using different types of weapons.

In the Kharkiv direction, there were four clashes with Russian zagarbnikami in the Vovchansk district, three attacks were successfully repelled by Ukrainian soldiers, one fight is ongoing.

In the Kupyans komu direction, the Russian enemy tried 11 times to push Ukrainian units out of occupied positions near Stepova Novoselivka, Kolisnikivka, Glushkivka and Zagrizovoye, all attacks repelled. Russian aviation struck kabama on kupians ku, kucherivci and petropavlivci.

Fifteen times Russian forces attacked in the Lyman direction, trying to advance in the areas of settlements Grekivka, Novoyegorivka, Nadia, Green Grove, Makiyivka, Yampolivka and Torske, one battle is ongoing.

Zagarbniks attacked the positions of Ukrainian units 21 times in the settlements of Chasiv Yar, Stupochka and Bila Gora in the Kramatorsky direction, one confrontation is still ongoing.

Russian forces tried to infiltrate Ukrainian defense eight times in the Toretsky direction. The Russian occupiers acted in the area of Toretsk, all attacks were repelled. Konstantinivka, Katerynivka and Kleban-Bull were under the hits of the enemy KABs.

Intensely attacks the Russian opponent of Ukrainian defenders in the Pokrovsky direction. Here, during the day, Russian forces carried out 70 assault and offensive actions. The greatest activity of the Russian occupiers is kept in the regions of Vodynogo Second, Mirolubivka, Elizabethtivka, Beam, Zelenogo, Udachnogo, Kotlinogo, Nadiivka, Uspenivka, Andriyivka, Shevchenko, Dachnogo and Amber. Six clashes are ongoing so far.

In the Novopavlivs komu direction there are three battles. For today, Russians in total 11 times tried to advance in the settlements of Konstantinopil, Rozliv, Rozdolne, Novosilka and Velika Novosilka.

In the Orikhiv direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled one Russian attempt to advance in the direction of Novoandriivka.

In the Pridniprovsk direction, Ukrainian soldiers repelled one attack of Russian zagarbnikiv on the position of the Ukrainian army. The Russian opponent of success did not succeed.

Defense Forces of Ukraine continue the operation in the Kursk region. Currently known of 21 aviation strikes with the use of 29 KAB and 395 artillery shelling, Ukrainian defenders repelled seven offensive actions of the Russian aggressor.

In other directions, there have been no significant changes in the environment.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in Kharkov direciton, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on formartions of one motorised infantry brigade and one air assault brigade of the AFU near Volchansk (Kharkov region).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 40 troops, two motor vehicles, one field artillery gun, and three electronic warfare stations. One ammunition depot was wiped out.

The Zapad Group of Forces' units improved the tactical situation. Strikes were delivered at manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, one air assault brigade of the AFU, two territorial defence brigades, and one national guard brigade close to Peschanoye, Zagoruikovka, Kutkovka, Putnikovo, Kurilovka (Kharkov region), and Yampol (Donetsk People's Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to more than 390 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, seven motor vehicles, five field artillery guns, three of which are NATO-made ones. One ammunition depot was wiped out.

The Yug Group of Forces' units took more advantageous lines and positions. Strikes were delivered at formartions of three mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade of the AFU, one territorial defence brigade close to Seversk, Dronovka, Verkhnekamenskoye, Ivano-Daryevka, and Chasov Yar (Donetsk People's Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 200 troops, one U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier, three motor vehicles, and two NATO-made field artillery guns. Two ammunition depots were wiped out.

As a result of active operations, the Tsentr Group of Forces liberated Zelyonoye (Donetsk People's Republic).

Strikes were delivered at manpower and hardware of four mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade, one airmobile brigade of the AFU near Sribnoye, Dzerzhinsk, Novopavlovka, Shcherbinovka, Andreyevka, and Novoyelizavetovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 650 troops, four armoured fighting vehicles, eight motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns.

The Vostok Group of Forces' units continued advancing into the depths of the enemy's defence. Strikes were delivered at formations of two mechanised brigades, one tank brigade of the AFU, one marine brigade, and one national guard brigade close to Velikaya Novosyolka, Burlatskoye, Razliv, and Volnoye Pole (Donetsk People's Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 150 troops, one tank, one armoured fighting vehicle, and three motor vehicles. Four field artillery guns were neutralised, to include NATO-made one.

The Dnepr Group of Forces' units have engaged manpower and hardware of one mechanised brigade of the AFU and one territorial defence brigade close to Malaya Tokmachka (Zaporozhye region) and Berislav (Kherson region).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 40 troops and seven motor vehicles.

Operational-Tactical Aviation, strike unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged power facilities providing for actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the defence industry complex, infrastructure of military airfields, production workshops, depots for the storage of UAVs, places where they are stored and prepared for launch as well as clusters of enemy manpower and hardware in 153 areas.

Air defence systems shot down three U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles and 68 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.

In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 652 aircraft and 283 helicopters, 41,507 unmanned aerial vehicles, 590 anti-aircraft missile systems, 20,852 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,510 MLRS combat vehicles, 20,945 field artillery guns and mortars, and 30,806 units of special military vehicles have been neutralised.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation also reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to defeat AFU formations in Kursk region.

In the course of offensive operations, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on formations of one tank brigade, one heavy mechanised brigade, four mechanised brigades, two air assault brigades, one marine brigade, and three territorial defence brigades of the AFU close to Viktorovka, Gogolevka, Goncharovka, Gornal, Guyevo, Zaoleshenka, Kazachya Loknya, Pervy Knyazhy, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Malaya Loknya, Makhnovka, Mirny, Nikolayevka, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Nikolsky, Novaya Sorochina, Sverdlikovo, Sudzha, and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Viktorovka, Guyevo, Zazulevka, Kazachya Loknya, Pervy Knyazhy, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Loknya, Malaya Loknya, Makhnovka, Melovoy, Mirny, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Nikolsky, Novaya Sorochina, Sverdlikovo, Staraya Sorochina, Sudzha, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, Yuzhy as well as Basovka, Belovody, Veselovka, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, and Miropolye (Sumy region).

During the day, the enemy losses amounted to more than 180 troops, one U.S.-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, four armoured fighting vehicles, 10 motor vehicles, one self-propelled artillery system, two towed howitzers, one mortar, three electronic warfare stations as well as two UAV command and control centres, and one ammunition depot.

Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses amounted to more than 55,000 troops, 319 tanks, 238 infantry fighting vehicles, 183 armoured personnel carriers, 1,626 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,639 motor vehicles, 392 artillery guns, 44 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 16 anti-aircraft missile launchers, eight transport-loading vehicles, 103 EW stations, 14 counter-battery warfare radars, four air defence radars, 32 units of engineering and other materiel, including 13 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, nine armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.

The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.





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Colombia rejects US deportation flights amid outrage over migrant treatment

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 26, 2025

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says the United States should treat deported migrants with respect and dignity.

Tehran, IRNA -- Colombian President Gustavo Petro has rejected two American military aircraft carrying migrants deported from the United States, amid rising anger in Latin American countries over the treatment of deportees under the Trump administration's harsh immigration policies.

Colombia turned away the planes on Sunday, with President Petro saying that he ordered their return because migrants should be treated with dignity and respect.

"A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that every human being deserves...That is why I ordered the return of US military planes carrying Colombian migrants," Petro said on X social media platform, according to The Guardian.

He said that Colombian deportees would be welcome home, but they should be carried on civilian aircraft.

On Friday, Mexico also denied permission to a U.S. military aircraft carrying deported migrants to land in the Latin American country, citing disrespect for the deportees, according to Reuters.

And Brazil, which signed an agreement with the first Trump administration in 2017 for deportation flights that have continued until now announced on Sunday that it would file a formal "request for clarification" with the US government over what it described as the degrading treatment of the deportees.

The announcement came after a flight carrying dozens of deported Brazilians landed in Brazil, but caused fury as the deportees were shackled at their wrists and ankles.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office for a second term a week ago, has signed a series of executive orders to crack down on undocumented migrants in America.

4194**4353

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Premier combat unit ordered to prep for border amid Trump's anti-immigrant push

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:05, January 26, 2025

NEW YORK, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- One of the Pentagon's premier units has been ordered to prepare to be deployed to the southern border, part of U.S. President Donald Trump's increasing militarization of immigration, reported USA Today on Friday.

The 10th Mountain Division has received a warning order to deploy troops to the southern border and has sent planners to U.S. Northern Command for the mission, the report cited Army source.

The 10th Mountain Division is designed to send combat-ready forces on short notice to hotspots around the world.

"It is not clear how many soldiers from the division, a light-infantry formation, will be sent to the border," it noted.

The move follows an initial order by the Pentagon of about 1,500 active-duty forces to the border earlier this week, it added.

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Trump orders sanctions on Colombia after Petro blocks deportation flights

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 11:22 PM

US President Donald Trump has said he will impose 25 percent tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after the Latin American country refused to let two United States military aircraft carrying deported migrants land on its territory.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said on Sunday he turned the flights back because the migrants were not treated with "dignity."

In response, Trump ordered tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures to be taken against Colombia.

He said the US would impose a travel ban and "immediate visa revocations" on Colombian government officials, as well as its allies and supporters.

He added the tariffs "on all goods" coming into the US from Colombia would be imposed "immediately," and in one week the 25 percent tariffs would be raised to 50 percent.

Trump claimed he imposed the measures because Petro's decision "jeopardized" national security in the US.

Trump also said there would be enhanced Customs and Border Protection inspections "of all Colombian nationals and cargo on national security grounds."

"These measures are just the beginning," Trump added.

He went on to say that his administration would not allow the Colombian government "to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States."

"These measures are just the beginning," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. "We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations concerning the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States."

Petro responded by saying he would impose 50 percent tariffs on the US.

Petro said that his government wouldn't accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with "dignity and respect."

Petro published a post on X which included a news video of migrants deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.

"A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves," Petro said. "That is why I returned the US military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants."

One of Trump's main campaign promises during the 2024 presidential election was curbing undocumented immigration into America.

According to a US House report, during the four years of the Biden administration, more than 8 million undocumented migrants have entered the United States, with 6.7 million entering through the southern border.

Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the United States from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.

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US, Colombia reach migrant deportation deal after tariff threats

By Ken Bredemeier January 26, 2025

The White House announced late Sunday the United States was backing off a series of retaliatory measures levied against Colombia, saying the two countries had reached an agreement on U.S. flights sending Colombian migrants back home.

A White House statement said the two countries agreed Colombia would accept its migrants without restriction, including having them sent back on U.S. military aircraft.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro had earlier rejected two U.S. military planes and said he would only accept migrants when the U.S. treated them with dignity, including using civilian planes for deportations.

The White House also said it would hold new tariffs and sanctions against Colombia "in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement."

State Department visa sanctions against several Colombian officials, as well as enhanced customs inspections would remain in place until the first planeload of Colombian migrants lands in Colombia, the White House said.

Colombia's Foreign Ministry said late Sunday it had overcome the impasse with the United States, and that Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo and Colombian Ambassador to the U.S. Dnaiel Garcia-Pena were traveling to Washington for high-level meetings to follow up on the agreement.

Colombia said it would welcome its people home and would guarantee them decent conditions as citizens with rights.

The statements reversed a fast-evolving series of escalatory statements from the leaders of the two countries, which featured U.S. President Donald Trump announcing an immediate 25% tariff on Colombian goods, which would rise to 50% in a week, and the suspension of visa processing at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

Petro announced a 25% tariff on U.S. goods in return, saying the United States "will never rule us."

"A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves," Petro said. "That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants. ... In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens."

Colombia is America's third-largest trading partner in Latin America.

The row came about after U.S. authorities began arresting hundreds of undocumented migrants per day and sending them back to their home countries, carrying out Trump's 2024 campaign pledge to deport masses of migrants who have illegally entered the United States.

"We're going to enforce immigration laws," Vice President JD Vance told CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

More than 1,000 migrants were arrested with hundreds repatriated to other countries, including Guatemala last week, during the first days of the new Trump administration, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and the White House.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it made 956 arrest nationwide Sunday.

It did not specify how many were part of an operation focused in the Chicago area that was witnessed by several top Trump administration officials, including "border czar" Tom Homan.

ICE said in a statement it worked with other federal agencies to conduct "enhanced targeted operations today in Chicago to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities."

Homan told ABC's "This Week" show Sunday, "There will be more arrests nationwide."

Trump authorized sending 1,500 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, and Homan said, "You'll see the numbers increase. They're down there to create a secure border."

He said the U.S. is deporting "as many as we can" arrest, with the focus first on those convicted of U.S. crimes and then moving on to detain and deport those whose asylum requests have been rejected by U.S. officials.

"We're in the beginning stages," Homan said.

About 11 million undocumented migrants are believed to be living in the U.S., a staggering number that most officials believe will be impossible to deport.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, urged his Republican colleagues in Congress to authorize more spending for the deportation effort.

"We haven't given the Trump team the resources," Graham said on NBC's "Meet the Press" show. He said Homan "needs to substantially hire more [immigration] agents. He needs to finish the [border] wall [with Mexico] and technology. He needs to go from 41,000 detention beds to 150,000 detention beds to make this work."

"So, to my Republican colleagues, particularly in the House [of Representatives], as we fiddle, our immigration plans are hitting walls. We're not building walls, we're hitting walls. We need to give Tom Homan the money now to execute the plan that he's come up with. And without congressional funding this is going to hit a wall," Graham declared.

The Trump administration has stopped taking appointments for migrants waiting in Mexico to request asylum through a mobile app, but Trump's anti-immigration edicts are facing legal challenges. One judge has already temporarily blocked Trump from declaring that he no longer recognizes constitutionally guaranteed citizenship for children of undocumented migrants born in the United States.

Some material for this article came from The Associated Press and Reuters.

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On the situation in Belarus and the so-called elections

Republic of Latvia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

26.01.2025

On 26 January 2025, the so-called presidential elections were held in Belarus.

In an atmosphere of repression and fear, amid a total crackdown on the opposition and independent media, without any legitimate political competition or a generally recognised international observation, these "elections" lack democratic legitimacy.

Since 2020, Alexander Lukashenko's regime in Belarus has systematically taken reprisals against Belarusian opposition, civil society and representatives of the independent media, torturing, arresting and expelling thousands of Belarusians. The regime's crackdown on Belarusian people has been utterly condemned by the international community.

Latvia demands an immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners.

Latvia will continue to support the Belarusian democratic forces and their leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, as well as their aspirations of an independent and democratic Belarus in the European family of nations.

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MFA statement on presidential elections in Belarus

Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Republic of Poland

26.01.2025

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland expresses its disappointment at the presidential elections in Belarus, which were held today in violation of basic democratic procedures.

Actions of the authorities prevented independent candidates from taking part in the elections. The campaign was accompanied by repression against political opponents and intimidation of representatives of Belarusian civil society. Under widespread censorship and state propaganda, a significant number of Belarusians did not have access to independent and reliable information. As a result, Belarusian society was effectively deprived of its right to vote.

These factors do not allow us to consider the outcome of today's elections as credible and reflecting the will of the Belarusian people, who have demonstrated their maturity and understanding of democratic processes more than once in recent history.

Only openness to dialogue, willingness to cooperate, and compliance with UN and OSCE standards and the fundamental rights of every human being will ensure development and prosperity for Belarus. Poland continues to call upon the authorities of the Republic of Belarus to initiate a process that will result in a truly free and democratic Belarus without political prisoners and persecution, and a source of pride for all its citizens.

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Lukashenko Wins 7th Term In Belarus Election Condemned As 'Sham' By EU

By RFE/RL's Belarus Service January 26, 2025

Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenko has secured his seventh term in office in a presidential election that European Union leaders have denounced as a "sham."

With all votes counted, the Central Election Commission of Belarus announced that according to preliminary results, Lukashenko received 86.8 percent of the vote in the January 26 election. His closest competitor, Sergei Syrankov, received 3.2 percent.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs said there were no gross violations at polling stations. Employees of ministry and its military personnel "implemented measures to ensure public safety during the election," the ministry said on Telegram.

Lukashenko, a Russian ally who has been in power for three decades, told the media after casting his vote earlier on January 26 that Belarus has "a tough democracy."

But the opposition, rights groups, and the West disagree.

The Washington-based Freedom House advocacy group in its latest report has described Belarus as "an authoritarian state in which elections are openly rigged and civil liberties are severely restricted."

Lithuania-based opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya on January 26 wrote on X that rallies against the election were taking place in cities across Europe, adding: "Belarus demands freedom."

Ahead of the election, senior EU officials questioned the legitimacy of the vote and Lukashenko's expected victory.

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola called the election a "sham" and wrote on X, "My message to the people of Belarus is: keep strong, we have your back, the time of dictatorship will be over."

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas criticized Lukashenko for having "clung to power for 30 years" and said he would "reappoint himself in yet another sham election."

"This is a blatant affront to democracy," she posted on X.

However, Lukashenko dismissed the criticism and shrugged off remarks from Western leaders.

"Recognize these elections or not: It's a matter of taste. I don't care about it. The main thing for me is that Belarusians recognize these elections," he told reporters during a press conference in Minsk on January 26.

The election commission claimed that turnout had exceeded 66 percent by 2 p.m. local time.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-election-eu-sham- lukashenko/33289273.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Belarus Releases Detained U.S. Citizen Anastasia Nuhfer, Says Washington

By RFE/RL's Belarus Service January 26, 2025

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on January 26 that American citizen Anastasia Nuhfer was released from a Belarusian prison.

Without offering details, Rubio wrote on X that Nuhfer had been detained during the presidency of Joe Biden and had been "unilaterally released" by Belarus.

Details surrounding Nuhfer's detention remain unclear, with her name previously absent from public discourse. Minsk never disclosed her name, and Washington does not release the names of detained Americans abroad without the consent of their families.

Lithuania-based Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya welcomed Nuhfer's release and highlighted the plight of political prisoners in Belarus under authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenko.

"Thank you to our [American] friends for your advocacy on [Nuhfer's] behalf and for all political prisoners in Belarus," she wrote on X. "Every one of them must be freed. We will continue to fight for the release of all unjustly detained."

Nuhfer's release was announced on the same day that Belarus is holding a presidential election in which Lukashenko is set to secure a seventh term in office in a vote described as a "sham" by Western leaders.

Belarus has faced international criticism for its treatment of political prisoners and suppression of dissent.

Ahead of the January 26 election, state media aired propaganda films featuring detained RFE/RL journalists Andrey Kuznechyk and Ihar Losik, as well as Ihar Karney, who previously wrote for RFE/RL.

Another prominent figure imprisoned in Belarus is U.S. citizen Yuras Zyankovich, a Belarusian-American lawyer and opposition politician.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-citizen-belarus-prison- release-rubio/33289470.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Hungary Blocks Joint EU Statement On Presidential Elections In Belarus -- Sources

By RFE/RL's Belarus Service January 27, 2025

Hungarian representatives have blocked a joint statement by European Union countries to reject the presidential election in Belarus, according to information from RFE/RL sources in Brussels.

Lacking the signatures of representatives from all 27 EU countries, EU foreign policy chief Kaia Kallas issued her own statement, saying that the January 26 vote was not free and fair and calling on the Belarusian authorities to release all political prisoners.

The regime's decision to invite independent election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) just 10 days before the elections prevented them from gaining access to key stages of the electoral process, Kallas said.

"This is further evidence of the complete lack of trust in these elections," she said.

Kallas added that for these reasons and in light of the Belarusian regime's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine and its hybrid attacks on its neighbors, "the EU will continue to impose restrictions and sanctions against the regime and provide financial support to civil society, Belarusian democratic forces in exile, and Belarusian culture."

The European Union stands ready to support the country in stabilizing its economy and reforming its institutions once Belarus begins its democratic transition, Kallas said.

Hungary last week refused to sign a draft statement referring to the "undemocratic presidential elections" in Belarus on behalf of the 27 EU countries. But it was not alone in its opposition to the draft. Slovakia also refused to sign it.

The text, a copy of which was obtained by RFE/RL, said the "relentless and unprecedented level of repression" combined with human rights violations and restrictions on the opposition and access to independent media in Belarus "have deprived the electoral process of any legitimacy."

Representatives of Slovakia later agreed to sign the statement, but Hungarian authorities continued to refuse to sign it.

Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has repeatedly opposed the expansion of sanctions against Russia and increased European aid to Ukraine.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-hungary- kallas-european-union-presidential-election/33289953.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Chinese, Russian heads of state continue guiding bilateral relations toward new height

People's Daily Online

By He Yin (People's Daily) 13:38, January 26, 2025

Chinese President Xi Jinping had a video meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on January 21, 2025, ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

During the virtual meeting, the two heads of state reviewed the significant progress made in China-Russia relations in 2024, and looked ahead to key moments in the development of bilateral ties in 2025.

They engaged in in-depth discussions on international and regional issues of common concern, and agreed to maintain strategic communication in the new year.

Continuing to guide China-Russia relations toward a new height, the two leaders sent a positive signal of the two countries' determination to cope with uncertainties of the external environment with the stability and resilience of their bilateral ties during the video meeting.

This stable, resilient China-Russia relationship is expected to help promote the development and revitalization of the two countries, and uphold international fairness and justice.

The leadership of the heads of state of both countries represents the greatest political advantage and fundamental guarantee for the robust development of China-Russia relations.

In 2024, the two heads of state of China and Russia met three times, which led to a range of important common understandings.

Both countries held grand celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the China-Russia diplomatic relations. Featuring permanent good-neighborly friendship, comprehensive strategic coordination and mutually beneficial cooperation, the relations have become increasingly dynamic.

Over the past year, the two heads of state held candid, in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations, international and regional situations, and global governance, among other major issues of common concern, and achieved a series of important consensuses, jointly guiding the development of bilateral relations and the reform of the global governance system.

Pragmatic cooperation is the most important endogenous driving force for the continuous development of China-Russia relations.

The two countries have made steady progress while maintaining stability in their pragmatic cooperation, with bilateral trade continuing to grow.

In recent years, China and Russia have strengthened the alignment of their development strategies, and achieved rich fruits in bilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

A good number of large-scale projects have driven economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, benefiting their peoples with tangible results.

Automobiles and smartphones produced by Chinese brands are increasingly popular among Russian consumers, while high-quality Russian agricultural products and foods are finding their way into millions of Chinese households.

China is ready to work with Russia to accelerate the implementation of important consensuses reached by the two heads of state, further strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, and ensure that the outcomes of their cooperation better benefit both countries and their peoples.

Through a long and challenging journey, China and Russia have found the right way for neighboring major countries to get along with each other, which features non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting any third party.

In the face of rapidly evolving global changes unseen in a century and an increasingly volatile international landscape, both countries have remained at the forefront of the times.

Staying true to their original aspirations of establishing diplomatic ties, the two countries have strengthened strategic coordination, advanced pragmatic cooperation, and jointly pioneered a new path of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, setting an example for a new type of international relations and relations between neighboring major countries.

The two countries' unswerving commitment to everlasting friendship, fulfillment of their responsibilities as major countries, and mutually beneficial cooperation has not only benefited the development of their bilateral relations and the well-being of their peoples, but also contributed to global peace and stability.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victories of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN).

China and Russia will take this as an opportunity to jointly defend the UN-centered international system and the outcomes of victory in World War II, promote all countries' adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, uphold the universally recognized basic norms governing international relations, and practice true multilateralism.

Given that China and Russia are both permanent members of the UN Security Council and major countries in the world, and China serves as the rotating chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the close coordination between the two countries on multilateral platforms such as the UN, the SCO, and BRICS is bound to provide more positive energy for the reform and development of the global governance system.

As the Chinese people are about to bid farewell to the old lunar year and usher in the new, a new journey will soon begin.

Under the leadership of the heads of state of both countries, China and Russia will continue deepening strategic coordination, firming up mutual support, and safeguarding the legitimate interests of the two countries.

By continuously deepening and expanding their comprehensive strategic coordination and pragmatic cooperation in various fields, the two countries will bring more benefits to their peoples and make greater contributions to human progress.

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Press Statement Issued by Chief of Foreign News Section of DPRK Foreign Ministry

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, January 26 (KCNA) -- The chief of the Foreign News Section of the Department of Press and Information of the DPRK Foreign Ministry on Sunday issued a press statement titled "The U.S. and the ROK will never evade the responsibility for the aggravation of regional situation to be entailed by the enhanced regular visibility of military provocations", which said:

Recently, the U.S. and the ROK are staging serious military provocations aiming at the DPRK one after another, adding a danger variable to the unstable security environment on the Korean peninsula and in the region.

The U.S. and the ROK staged "Ssangmae" joint air drill in the Wonju air base on January 21-24 under the pretext of increasing the capability for cooperation between the two sides in air operations.

Earlier, the hostile forces staged a joint great firing drill aimed at "early eradication" of the long-range artillery fire system of the DPRK on January 14-16 and the U.S. Department of Defense made public a decision on mass sale of weapons to the ROK on January 22.

After beginning this year with the start of the U.S.-Japan-ROK three-party joint air drill by mobilizing strategic bombers, the U.S. and the ROK are staging various war drills targeting the DPRK every day. This is a grave challenge to ensuring peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region.

The DPRK Foreign Ministry is closely watching the military provocations of the U.S. and the ROK escalating the tension on the Korean peninsula and seriously warns them that such moves will entail a reflective counteraction.

The security environment on the Korean peninsula and in the region is becoming ever more critical because the U.S. seeks the advantage of strength through the ceaseless expansion of the military alliance system and the enforcement of joint military drills of various kinds.

The reality stresses that the DPRK should counter the U.S. with the toughest counteraction from A to Z as long as it refuses the sovereignty and security interests of the DPRK and this is the best option for dealing with the U.S.

The DPRK will not permit the imbalance of strength imposed by the military nexus between the U.S. and the ROK and take the toughest counteraction to defend the sovereign right and security interests of the state and thoroughly ensure peace and stability in the region.

The U.S. and the ROK will never evade the responsibility for the aggravation of the regional situation to be entailed by the enhanced regular visibility of their military nexus and provocations. -0-

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North Korea successfully test-fires sea-launched cruise missiles

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 9:07 AM

North Korea has successfully launched strategic sea-to-surface cruise missiles, according to state media KCNA.

KCNA reported on Sunday that the sea-to-surface guided cruise missiles "precisely" hit their targets.

The launched missiles hit their marks after traveling along the 1,500-kilometer elliptical and figure-eight orbits, the report said.

There was "no negative impact on the security of neighboring countries," it added.

Where the launch had taken place was not specified in the report.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who oversaw Saturday's test, said the nation's armed forces were "being perfected more thoroughly" by developing more advanced weaponry as a deterrence against our adversaries, KCNA reported.

This was North Korea's first missile launch since US President Donald Trump resumed office on Monday.

During his first term in office, Trump met with Kim three times.

Trump, who recently told reporters that he aims to resume peace talks with Kim, has described his relationship with Kim as "very, very good."

However, his newly-appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has in the past described Kim as a "dictator."

Trump's administration is said to be weighing the possibility of reopening "direct talks" with Kim.

During his presidency, Trump made history as the first US president to visit North Korea in decades.

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Indian foreign secretary kicks off China visit, continuing exchanges momentum

Global Times

By Wang Qi Published: Jan 26, 2025 10:10 PM

China-India relations in early 2025 continued the momentum of exchanges and stabilization seen in late 2024, as India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri kicked off his trip to Beijing on Sunday, in another indication that China and India are restoring a mechanism to enhance dialogue and work on specific issues.

Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Misri on Sunday, and the two sides exchanged views on jointly implementing the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthening exchanges and dialogues, and promoting the improvement and healthy and stable development of China-India relations, as well as international and regional issues of common concern.

According to a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs of India, Misri's scheduled Beijing visit lasts from January 26 to 27, during which he is expected to attend a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism between India and China.

New Delhi also claims that the resumption of this bilateral mechanism flows from the agreement at the leadership level to discuss the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains.

Indian media outlet The Hindu said that Misri, who previously served as India's Ambassador to Beijing, will meet Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong in Beijing. Sun served as Chinese Ambassador to India from 2019 to 2022.

Specifically, issues to be discussed include the resumption of direct flights between India and China, issuance of visas, particularly for businesspersons and journalists, and ironing out trade issues, according to The Hindu.

At a press briefing on January 24, Chinese spokesperson Mao Ning said that "We welcome Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri's trip to China for the meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism between China and India."

She stressed that last October, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached important common understandings on improving and growing bilateral relations when they met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan.

"Both sides agreed to improve and strengthen interactions, resume institutional dialogues as well as exchanges and cooperation in various fields and work to bring China-India relations back on the track of sound and steady growth at an early date," Mao said.

In the eyes of some observers, China-India relations have shown signs of thawing and stabilizing despite a border standoff and a complex geopolitical context.

Before Misri's China visit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in Beijing in December 2024. The two senior diplomats, also as the special representatives, reached a six-point consensus on border questions, less than two months after the two countries announced they had reached resolutions on border issues on October 21.

On October 23, 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, urging China and India to strengthen communication and cooperation, enhance strategic mutual trust, and facilitate each other's pursuit of development aspirations.

During a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in December, Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi stressed that China and India should strive to make practical progress as soon as possible in areas such as resuming direct flights, exchanging journalists, and facilitating visa issuance processes.

Hu Zhiyong, a professor from the Zhejiang International Studies University and also a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the recent tendency of stabilization in China-India ties comes as the Indian government seeks to deal with the uncertainty brought about by the new US administration, and at the same time, New Delhi also recognizes the closeness and interdependence of the two's economies and trade, despite restrictions imposed on Chinese companies in India.

According to data from the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), China overtook US as India's top trading partner in the fiscal year 2024, with bilateral trade reaching $118.4 billion. Imports from China increased by 3.24 percent to $101.7 billion, while exports to China surged by 8.7 percent to $16.67 billion.

Hu said that he is cautiously optimistic about future China-India ties, as "it's beneficial for the two sides to sit down and talk to each other, while we should also be aware of the complexity in the ties, especially the duplicity of the Indian side."

Hu mentioned the latest Quad foreign ministers' meeting and the talks between Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which were held in Washington one day after Donald Trump's inauguration. Despite not naming China directly in their public release, diplomats said they oppose actions that "seek to change the status quo by force or coercion," which was believed to be alluding to China.

"China's attitude toward further stabilizing and developing China-India relations is sincere and pragmatic. However, the Indian side needs to make efforts to respond with more goodwill," Hu said.

The expert stressed that interactions and cooperation between countries should be based on equality and mutual benefit, which requires India to treat its neighbor with a pragmatic, positive and responsible attitude, instead of an opportunistic diplomatic approach of "talking to China when needed, while suppressing China on other occasions."

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IRGC unveils heavy-duty 'Gaza' drone with 1000 km range

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 26, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- The Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has unveiled a heavy-duty drone, named Gaza, during a "hybrid operation" on the sidelines of a massive military exercise in southern Iran.

The unmanned aircraft, which has a range of 1,000 kilometers and can carry a payload of at least 500 kilograms, successfully took out eight mock enemy targets during the maneuver on Sunday, according to a press release by the IRGC.

With a wingspan of 22 meters and a takeoff weight of 3,100 kilograms, the drone boasts an impressive flight endurance of 35 hours and a cruising speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

The operational radius of the Gaza drone is estimated to be approximately 4,000 kilometers, and it can carry up to 13 missiles in a single flight.

4194**4353

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Geneva talks with E3 aim at removal of sanctions, Iranian diplomats say

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 26, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian diplomats have emphasized that the aim of the Geneva talks with the three European countriesBritain, France, and Germany, commonly referred to as the E3is to secure the removal of Western sanctions on Tehran, according to a senior member of Parliament.

Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament, made the remarks to reporters following a Sunday session of the committee, during which Foreign Ministry officials briefed lawmakers on the progress made in the latest round of Geneva talks.

Citing comments from Iranian diplomats, Rezaei said that any attacks against Iranian facilities would be met with appropriate retaliation.

Diplomats also warned that if other parties to the Iran nuclear deal trigger the snapback mechanism against Iran, the country will invoke Article X of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and withdraw from the treaty, he said.

Foreign Ministry officials also assured lawmakers that Tehran will not accept any preconditions in the Geneva talks.

Diplomats from Iran and E3 met in Geneva early this month for a second round of talks since November.

In his first term in office, President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear deal and re-imposed harsh economic sanctions on Iran. The move scuttled the accord especially as the Europeans subsequently failed to fulfill their promise of mitigating the impacts of Washington's unilateral exit.

9341**4353

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Iran FM urges settlement of shared water, refugee disputes with Afghanistan

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 3:49 PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the disputes with Afghanistan over shared water resources and refugees should be solved.

Araghchi made the remark in a meeting with the prime minister of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, in Kabul on Sunday.

He said Iran has never sought to interfere in Afghanistan and calls for the full implementation of the Hirmand River agreement signed between the two neighboring countries to resolve the water issue.

He added that the two issues of the Afghan refugees in Iran and the water dispute "should turn into factors for expanding cooperation."

Araghchi reiterated Iran's commitment to managing the repatriation of illegal Afghan refugees respectfully.

Following more than a century of rifts over the Helmand River in Afghanistan (also known as Hirmand) water supply, Iran and Afghanistan signed the 1973 treaty, which established a means of regulating each country's use of the river.

Iran should receive an annual share of 820 million cubic meters from Hirmand under the accord, which Afghanistan has grossly violated in letter and spirit, endangering the lives of many Iranians who rely on Hamoun wetlands for drinking water, agriculture, and fishing.

Afghanistan has also built dams on the Hirmand which have constricted the water flow into Iran.

Pointing to the historical, religious, and economic relations between Tehran and Kabul, Araghchi said, "Iran's security and stability are dependent on the security and stability of Afghanistan."

The top Iranian diplomat stressed the importance of bolstering cooperation with the "Islamic Emirate" given the recent developments.

He hailed the establishment of comprehensive security in Afghanistan after four decades and noted that Tehran and Kabul enjoy consolidated ties.

Akhund, for his part, called for an increase in the exchange of visits among the two countries' officials to expand diplomatic, political, and economic relations between the two Muslim and brotherly countries.

In a meeting with his acting counterpart in the Taliban-ruled government in Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, earlier in the day, the Iranian foreign minister lauded neighborly relations between Tehran and Kabul, calling for the expansion of economic ties to secure the national interests of the two Muslim countries.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Araghchi arrived in Kabul on Sunday on a one-day trip to the eastern neighbor  the first visit by an Iranian foreign minister to Afghanistan after the Taliban took power in 2021.

Afghanistan is still reeling from a decades-long US occupation and its hasty withdrawal which resulted in the country's lightning takeover by the Taliban.

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Iranian drones fire AI-powered missiles in major Persian Gulf drill

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 11:21 AM

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy says sophisticated homegrown drones operated by his elite force have launched missiles featuring artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities during a major naval drill underway in the Persian Gulf.

Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri told reporters in Iran's southern port city of Bushehr on Sunday that IRGC Navy units fired a wide range of surface (coast)-to-sea as well as surface-to-surface missiles with different ranges were fired on the second day of large-scale Payambar-e-A'azam (The Great Prophet) military exercise.

He noted that IRGC technicians have furnished multirole Mohajer-6 ISTAR unmanned aerial vehicles and Ababil-5 combat drones with a new version of Qaem and Almas precision-guided missiles that incorporate artificial intelligence features to strike designated targets.

The commander stated that the IRGC Navy launched for the first time Navvab missiles to provide aerial protection for the indigenous Shahid (Martyr) Soleimani patrol combat vessel.

Tangsiri highlighted that IRGC naval forces also fired cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as the upgraded version of Qadr missiles, whose range and precision have been improved to counter electronic warfare.

According to the commander, Payambar-e-A'azam naval exercises were aimed at promoting the preparedness of the IRGC naval forces in the face of any adventurism by the enemies and sent a message of peace and friendship to neighboring countries.

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QA-1, 25 January 2025, Statement of the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oncu Keceli, in Response to a Question Regarding the Killing of Two Iraqi Soldiers by the PKK Terrorist Organization

Republic of Turkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs

We are deeply saddened by the killing of two border guards of the Iraqi Border Forces Command as a result of an attack carried out by the PKK terrorist organization in Dohuk yesterday (24 January).

We extend our condolences to the Iraqi people and wish Allah's mercy upon the martyred soldiers and a speedy recovery to the soldier wounded in the attack.

It is clear that the PKK terrorist organization poses a common threat to the national security of both Turkiye and Iraq, and that it violates Iraq's sovereignty. This latest attack has once again revealed the true face of the terrorist organization.

Together with Iraq, we will continue to fight against terrorism.

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January 26, 2025

Release

Readout of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's Call With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

A Senior Defense Official provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an introductory call today to discuss the unbreakable bond that exists between the United States and Israel. Both leaders discussed the importance of advancing mutual security interests and priorities, especially in the face of persistent threats. The Secretary stressed that the United States is fully committed, under President Trump's leadership, to ensure that Israel has the capabilities it needs to defend itself. Both leaders agreed to remain in close contact.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4041153/

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Stories of High-Quality Development | Long Guoqiang: Properly handling three relationships to advance high-standard opening-up

People's Daily Online) 09:44, January 27, 2025

Opening-up is a distinct feature of Chinese modernization. A resolution of the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China emphasized "improving the systems and mechanisms for high-standard opening up" and outlined strategic plans, providing the direction for China to expand its opening up to the outside world and promote the building of an open world economy.

Long Guoqiang, vice president of the Development Research Centre of the State Council, highlighted three key relationships that China needs to handle in order to advance high-standard opening-up during his appearance hosting "Stories of High-Quality Development", a People's Daily's video series.

In Long's view, first of all, China should properly handle the relationship between China and the world while advancing high-standard opening-up, fostering mutual benefit and win-win results.

China's development cannot be achieved isolated from the world and global prosperity cannot be realized without China. As the world faces accelerating changes unseen in a century and has entered a new phase of turbulence and transformation, the "question of the times" is "What kind of a world should we build?". It's a question that must be answered scientifically from the perspective of promoting lasting world peace and the sustainable development of mankind.

China actively participates in global economic governance, contributing to the improvement of the global governance system. It is actively engaged in the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), firmly supporting and improving the multilateral trading system centered around the WTO, and enhancing its effectiveness. China also plays an active role in making rules in emerging areas of international trade and economy, such as digitalization and green initiatives, while also incorporating Chinese wisdom into these endeavors, he said.

Secondly, China should effectively manage the relationship between different regions in promoting high-standard opening-up, constantly improving the opening-up paradigm.

Over the past 40 plus years, China's opening-up has progressed from coastal areas to areas along rivers, border areas and inland regions, forming a model of all-round, multi-level, and wide-ranging opening-up. Different regions have been able to play diverse roles in opening-up by making contributions in accordance with their unique local conditions.

Long believes that the eastern coastal areas must uphold their leading role in opening-up, while inland regions have the potential to emerge as new centers of opening-up. It is crucial to strengthen the opening-up of the central and western regions, as well as the northeast, and to facilitate coordination in the opening up of coastal and inland areas, as well as in eastward and westward opening-up. The pilot free trade zones and the free trade ports should fully leverage their role as opening-up platforms, align with high-level international economic and trade rules, and boldly carry out stress tests.

Third, it is imperative to properly handle the relationship between Chinese enterprises and foreign-invested ones, fostering equal competition and win-win cooperation between them. China presents foreign investors with a highly favorable environment, as it possesses a comprehensive industrial system, efficient infrastructure, a vast domestic market, a well-educated labor force, and the application of new technologies. As China opens its doors wider to the world, whether through infrastructure development or institutional optimization, its stability has become a linchpin in the constantly evolving global development landscape.

"In conclusion, advancing high-standard opening-up is an inherent requirement to promote high-quality development and achieve Chinese modernization. It is a path towards economic prosperity that must be taken. At the same time, Chinese modernization will bring new opportunities to the world, and is conducive to promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and achieving win-win cooperation between China and countries worldwide," Long said.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
PM Netanyahu Speaks with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

Media Statements

The 37th Government

26.01.2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening, spoke with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and congratulated him on his appointment.

Secretary Hegseth noted his many years of support for the State of Israel and his friendship with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and promised that the US would stand shoulder to shoulder alongside Israel and was fully committed to its security.

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Readout of President Donald J. Trump's Call with Prime Minister Starmer of the United Kingdom

January 26, 2025

Today, President Donald J. Trump held a call with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom. President Trump offered his condolences for the recent loss of the Prime Minister's brother and expressed his well wishes for the British Royal Family. The two leaders also discussed the recent release of Israeli-British national Emily Damari from Hamas captivity and how both countries can promote a fair bilateral economic relationship.

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West 'prevented' Ukraine from signing 2022 peace deal with Russia: Slovak PM

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 26 January 2025 9:03 AM

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has revealed that the West sabotaged the signing of an agreement by Ukraine that would terminate the war in the former Soviet Republic as early as 2022.

"The war could have ended as far back as April 2022, when a peace settlement was on the agenda," Fico said on the state-run STVR TV channel on Saturday.

"However, the West prevented Ukraine from signing the agreement," he added.

According to the Slovak premier Ukraine was headed for a potentially catastrophic future.

"[Ukraine] will never be in NATO and will have immense problems with joining the EU," he said.

Fico added that Ukraine would lose a third of its territory as a result of the conflict and would be forced to agree to the presence of foreign troops.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has on several occasions expressed Moscow's readiness for talks with Kiev to end the protracted conflict in the country.

In a recent statement, Putin asserted that Russia has always been prepared for peace talks and even drafted a mutually acceptable agreement at the onset of the conflict.

However, he said that "external disruptions" deterred Ukraine from engaging in these negotiations.

Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Istanbul on March 29, 2022, with the talks lasting for at least three hours.

The principles of their preliminary agreement included Ukraine's commitment to a neutral and unaligned status, and its promise not to deploy foreign-made weapons, including nuclear ones, on its territory.

Russia was obligated to withdraw its forces from the Kiev and Chernigov regions but the settlement talks were frozen on the part of the Kiev government.

The Ukrainian side claimed that the decision was made on the advice of Boris Johnson, who was Britain's prime minister at the time.

US President Donald Trump, who has for long boasted of his political clout to put an end to the Ukraine war, threatened Russia with tariff hikes and more sanctions on Wednesday if Moscow did not agree to a ceasefire deal with Kiev.

Trump also claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had told him he wanted a peace agreement to end the war.

Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022 partly to prevent NATO's eastward expansion after warning that the US-led military alliance was following an "aggressive line" against Moscow.

Washington and its Western allies have flooded Ukraine with a vast volume of Western arms and ammunition since then despite Moscow's calls that the move would only prolong the conflict.

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Today, I Ordered a Strengthening of the Command Structure of Our Forces in the Donetsk Region - Address by the President

President of Ukraine

26 January 2025 - 21:30

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

Today, there were numerous military briefings with commanders, as well as a conversation with Ukraine's Minister of Defense, focused on the situation at the front, our key directions in the Donetsk region, and the areas of the Kursk operation. Soon, it will be six months of our active operations in the Kursk region aimed at protecting Ukrainian land. We are maintaining a buffer zone on Russian territory to safeguard our Sumy and Kharkiv from Russian offensives. I thank all our warriors who defend Ukrainian positions and destroy the occupiers. Today, I would especially like to commend the warriors of the 95th Separate Brigade for their actions in the Kursk region, as well as the warriors of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade and the 68th Separate Jaeger Brigade for their effectiveness in the Pokrovsk direction. Additionally, I recognize the 24th and 100th Separate Mechanized Brigades for their heroism in battles for Chasiv Yar and Toretsk. Thank you, warriors!

Today, I ordered a strengthening of the command structure of our forces in the Donetsk region. Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi has been assigned to lead the operational-strategic group of troops "Khortytsia." These are the most intense areas of combat. At the same time, Drapatyi will retain his authority as Commander of the Land Forces - the largest component of our Armed Forces - which will help combine the army's combat operations with the proper training of brigades. The specific needs of the front must determine the standards for equipping and training brigades. Major General Andriy Hnatov has been assigned to the General Staff as Deputy Chief of the General Staff. His task is to establish a new level of operational headquarters preparation and to improve the quality of coordination between headquarters and the front. These and several other changes were discussed today with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi - tasks have been set at all levels.

And one more thing.

I want to thank all Ukrainian developers and manufacturers of long-range drones and our missiles. Everyone can see their effectiveness - how our weapons are bringing the war back to Russia and reducing Russia's war potential. Unrest in Russia, decreased Russian capacity to sell and refine oil, and lower global oil prices are all necessary for peace. This year must be decisive, and our actions must shape our destiny. That is exactly what we are doing. And, of course, I extend my gratitude to all the warriors of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Special Operations Forces, all branches of our Armed Forces, the Foreign Intelligence Service, and the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine - every individual who adds their strength and precision to Ukraine's capabilities.

Glory to Ukraine!

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NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE) resulting from allegations that Celanese may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Celanese securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=33409 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On November 4, 2024, after market hours, Celanese reported its third quarter earnings, which included net sales which were down slightly from the previous quarter[.] Commenting on these results, the announcement quoted the Companys now-former CEO as saying that in the the third quarter, we faced a severely constrained demand environment that, in some cases like auto, degraded swiftly. I want to thank our teams for executing our value enhancing initiatives that are delivering improvements today while also laying the foundation for future growth[.] Still, these actions have been increasingly offset in the current environment and the earnings generated fell short of our expectations. In response we are taking additional measures to navigate current challenges while positioning Celanese for long-term success. We are confident these actions will accelerate our growth and enhance long-term value.

On this news, Celaneses stock fell $32.50 per share, or 26.3%, to close at $91.00 per share on November 5, 2024.

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
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SAGA Metals Corp. ("SAGA" or the "Company") (TSXV: SAGA) (OTCQB: SAGMF) (FSE: 20H), a North American exploration company focused on critical mineral discovery, is pleased to announce the final in-province preparations for the Companys maiden drill programs at the Double Mer Uranium and Radar Ti-V projects in Labrador, Canada.

Final Preparations at Double Mer Uranium Project in Labrador, Canada:

On January 19, SAGAs exploration team including Michael Garagan, CGO & Director of SAGA, landed in Labrador. After retrieving equipment from SAGAs storage facility, the team was able to complete orientations and briefed Air Tunilik, Newfoundland Helicopters and other supportive members on the project plans and objectives.

On January 22, the first winter flight into the Double Mer camp was completed to confirm thickness of the lake ice to ensure Air Tunilik can land its twin otter float plane retrofitted with skis. After confirming the average thickness is 22, well above the required 19, the team cleared and organized the camp, preparing for the arrival of equipment and supplies.

The approved landing then allowed SAGAs crew and Air Tunilik to complete the first Twin Otter flight into the Double Mer camp, offloading supplies and grooming the lake via snowmobile and groomer for future supply runs.

In the early part of the week ahead, SAGA will fly in the remaining camp materials including lumber, piping, generators, stoves, and other required gear. Geominex has been engaged to complete the remainder of the camp refurbishment in preparations for the maiden uranium drill program.

Final Preparations at Radar Titanium-Vanadium Project in Labrador, Canada:

In Cartwright, experienced local heavy equipment operators cleared and prepared the drillers lay down near the targeted Hawkeye zone. As fuel arrived in Goose Bay, a portion was offloaded and stored for transport into the Double Mer camp and the rest was shipped into Cartwright and stored in the Companys permitted fuel cache.

Heading into Friday, January 24 and over the weekend, SAGAs team commenced clearing and preparing the drill pads, conducting trail maintenance and reconnaissance over the Hawkeye zone as well as setting up the core shack.

In addition, Gladiator Drilling is due to arrive in Cartwright and will begin the maiden drill program at the Radar Ti-V project.

Michael Garagan, CGO & Director of SAGA Metals Corp. discusses drilling strategy: As the final touches are added to the Double Mer camp and Radars drill site, its clear the only thing more exciting than the maiden drill programs is the teams sprit. We are fortunate to have an exceptional team and supportive service providers with SAGA this winter. The journey of hard work has led us to this momentour maiden drill programs! We are all looking forward to getting our hands on the core and seeing the potential of what lies beneath the surface.

Figure 1: Simeon Alexander and Air Tunilik make first landing on the lake at Double Mer Camp in Labrador

Key Maiden Drill Program Highlights:

Maiden Drill Program: Drilling will commence in Q1 2025 on both projects in Labrador with the Radar Ti-V program starting this week. Both projects are set to drill a minimum 1,500m in their respective zones.

Drilling will commence in on both projects in Labrador with the Radar Ti-V program starting this week. Both projects are set to drill a minimum in their respective zones. Double Mer Uranium Drilling Location: This drill program will systematically grid and evaluate the anomalies of the Luivik zone, providing comprehensive data on its uranium potential.

This drill program will systematically grid and evaluate the anomalies of the Luivik zone, providing comprehensive data on its uranium potential. Double Mers Luivik Zone Potential: The westernmost area of the 18km radiometric trend showcases potential for secondary fluid enrichment that can be conducive to uranium mineralization with 300m width and potentially a 1km strike containing samples up to 0.3692% U3O8 .

The westernmost area of the showcases potential for secondary fluid enrichment that can be conducive to uranium mineralization with 300m width and potentially a 1km strike containing samples up to . Double Mers petrographic and petrologic analysis: Indications from the recent study suggest pegmatites in the Luivik zone are genetically related to the pegmatites through the entire 18km trend.

Indications from the recent study suggest pegmatites in the Luivik zone are genetically related to the pegmatites through the entire 18km trend. Radar Ti-V Drilling Location: The Hawkeye zone is the most advanced zone with both surface samples and detailed geophysics creating clear drill targets .

The Hawkeye zone is the most advanced zone with both surface samples and detailed geophysics creating . Radars Hawkeye Zone Potential: Assays have returned consistent values between 2.5 - 11.1% TiO2 and 0.2 - 0.66% V2O5 , confirming the presence of high-grade titanium and vanadium across a potential 1km wide and 4km long trend.

Assays have returned consistent values between , confirming the presence of high-grade titanium and vanadium across a potential 1km wide and 4km long trend. Mineralized System Defined: Advanced geophysics and magnetic inversion interpretation clearly outlines the phases of a layered mafic intrusion and mineralization potential over 600m at depth, creating drill-ready targets.



Double Mer Uranium Project  Labrador, Canada

The Double Mer Uranium Project is SAGA Metals' flagship project, covering 1,024 claims across 25,600 hectares in eastern-central Labrador. Leveraging significant historical exploration, SAGAs exploration team validated key data and built upon the Companys understanding of the projects uranium potential. More recently, SAGA confirmed the presence of uraninite and the genetic leakage between pegmatites along the 18km trend. The Double Mer project boasts surface samples showing uranium oxide (U3O8) concentrations as high as 0.428% U 3 O 8 and scintillometer readings up to 27,000 cps.





Figure 2: Map of the Double Mer Uranium Project highlight the 18km trend verified through surface sample and uranium count radiometrics

Radar Ti-V Project  Labrador, Canada

The Radar Ti-V Property is located 10km south of Cartwright in Labrador, Canada. The project spans 17,250 hectares and benefits from road access, supporting efficient exploration and development. Radars Hawkeye zone is the most prospective target on the property with detailed geophysics and surface samples completed to date. Results include 2.5 - 11.1% TiO2 and 0.2 - 0.66% V2O5 and are suggestive of a complex and multi-phased layered mafic intrusion that may be upwards of 1km wide, 4km long and potentially over 600m deep. Recent geophysics completed on the property show very detailed correlation to the rock samples and observed phase changes in the system.





Figure 3: Magnetic inversion of the Hawkeye zone looking east at profile cross section with > 0.02 susceptibility cut off.

About SAGA Metals Corp.

SAGA Metals Corp. is a North American mining company focused on the exploration and discovery of critical minerals that support the global transition to green energy. The company's flagship asset, the Double Mer Uranium Project, is located in Labrador, Canada, covering 25,600 hectares. This project features uranium radiometrics that highlight an 18-kilometer east-west trend, with a confirmed 14-kilometer section producing samples as high as 4,281ppm U 3 O 8 and spectrometer readings of 22,000cps.

In addition to its uranium focus, SAGA owns the Legacy Lithium Property in Quebec's Eeyou Istchee James Bay region. This project, developed in partnership with Rio Tinto, has been expanded through the acquisition of the Amirault Lithium Project. Together, these properties cover 65,849 hectares and share significant geological continuity with other major players in the area, including Rio Tinto, Winsome Resources, Azimut Exploration, and Loyal Lithium.

SAGA also holds secondary exploration assets in Labrador, where the company is focused on the discovery of titanium, vanadium, and iron ore. With a portfolio that spans key minerals crucial to the green energy transition, SAGA is strategically positioned to play an essential role in the clean energy future.

For more information, contact:

SAGA Metals Corp.

Investor Relations

Tel: +1 (778) 930-1321

Email: info@sagametals.com

www.sagametals.com

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Qualified Person

Peter Webster P.Geo. CEO of Mercator Geological Services Limited is an Independent Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information related to the Double Mer Uranium and Radar Ti-V Projects disclosed in this news release.

Cautionary Disclaimer

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as will, may, should, anticipates, expects, believes, and similar expressions or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the Companys plans and objectives in respect of the planned drill program. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companys expectations include, but are not limited to, changes in the state of equity and debt markets, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in obtaining required regulatory or governmental approvals, environmental risks, limitations on insurance coverage, risks and uncertainties involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and the risks detailed in the Companys final prospectus in Manitoba and amended and restated final prospectus for British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario dated August 30, 2024, filed under its SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca, and in the continuous disclosure filings made by the Company with securities regulations from time to time. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements only as expressly required by applicable law.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/af4fff7c-fbd2-428d-8626-93864446dd75

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/df705bd2-130f-4f0c-baaa-f859e4a86a80

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the close of 2024, OKpay proudly announced the launch of a groundbreaking poverty alleviation project under its charity initiative, with a total budget ranging from 500,000 to 1,000,000 RMB. This ambitious endeavor has already reached childrens welfare institutions, impoverished villages, and towns across three provinces in China, extending vital support to over 200 individuals in need.

The initiative has provided assistance to diverse groups, including people with disabilities, left-behind children, low-income and extremely impoverished families, as well as elderly individuals living alone. By delivering cash, essential supplies, and educational materials, OKpay charity team has made a tangible difference in the lives of many.

One notable example of their impactful work took place in Qiandongnan, Guizhou Province, where the OKpay charity team extended critical support to a struggling family. The team provided life necessities, educational resources, and financial aid to a mother with mild intellectual disabilities and hearing loss, along with her five underage children. The family, facing significant financial strain due to the mothers inability to work, received immediate assistance and heartfelt care. Thanks to OKpays intervention, this family was not only uplifted materially but also emotionally, as they felt the warmth and solidarity of a supportive society.





Our charity initiative is about more than just providing material support, said a spokesperson for OKpay. Its about restoring hope, building resilience, and reminding those in need that they are not alone. We are deeply committed to continuing this journey of kindness and extending our reach to support even more families.

OKpay charitable actions have gone beyond meeting immediate needs; they have ignited a sense of hope and strength among struggling communities. By connecting directly with families and addressing their unique challenges, OKpay has reinforced its mission to create a positive and lasting impact.

Looking ahead, the OKpay charity team remains resolute in its commitment to spreading hope and warmth to families in need, firmly walking the path of kindness and community support.





About OKpay Wallet

OKpay Wallet is a highly secure, Telegram-based cryptocurrency wallet offering an all-in-one solution for managing digital assets. Supporting a wide range of cryptocurrencies such as USDT, TON, TRX, and CNY, the wallet enables users to store, trade, and manage their crypto assets seamlessly. Additional features include cross-border transfers, crypto-to-fiat conversions, and everyday services like bill payments and travel bookings, all backed by robust security measures such as two-factor authentication.

With a global user base and over 50,000 active users monthly, OKpay Wallet delivers both flexibility and security, making it the go-to platform for cryptocurrency enthusiasts worldwide.

Contact Details:

Sara, F

Branding manager

Support@okpay.pro

Disclaimer: This content is provided by OKpay. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

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https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5253e245-2009-4bfb-8e49-32bfd9341c2f

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VICTORIA, Seychelles, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MEXC, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, has provided over $414 million through its Insurance Fund Account to cover deficits that occur when users' losses during liquidation exceed their available margin as of January 23, 2025. This impressive figure underscores MEXC's commitment to asset security and risk mitigation. Combined with Proof of Reserve , MEXC offers traders robust protection against extreme market fluctuations.





How MEXC's Insurance Fund Account Mitigates Risk for Traders

The MEXC Insurance Fund Account, launched in November 2024, is specifically designed to protect traders from extreme market fluctuations, such as those experienced during a bull run, where rapid price swings can lead to a user's account value to dip below the required margin level, triggering a liquidation. Should the liquidation price be worse than expected, resulting in losses that exceed than the available margin (a scenario known as bankruptcy), the Insurance Fund steps in to cover these excess losses, thus facilitating a smoother liquidation process.

The fund is continually replenished by surpluses generated from liquidation orders executed at better-than-expected prices, ensuring its stability and ongoing protection during periods of high volatility.

In line with its commitment to transparency, MEXC provides users with direct access to both current and historical insurance fund amounts for various cryptocurrencies on the platform.

In addition, MEXC provides Proof of Reserve to ensure asset safety and maintain transparency for its users. This allows users to trade with confidence, free from concerns about withdrawal runs. The reserve rates are updated every two months. As of Dec 1, 2024, the latest reserve rates for various cryptocurrencies are as follows:

USDT : 104.52%

: 104.52% USDC : 116.52%

: 116.52% BTC : 105.88%

: 105.88% ETH: 105.65%





By offering high leverage alongside an Insurance Fund Account and Reserve Rate exceeding 100%, MEXC ensures multiple layers of protection to safeguard traders' positions and ensure asset security.

The Go-To Platform for Seamless Crypto Trading

In addition to implementing robust safety measures to ensure a secure trading environment, the platform offers a variety of features and services designed to enhance the user experience. These features help traders minimize costs and maximize returns. MEXC is committed to empowering traders by enabling investments across the widest range of assets, ensuring safe and seamless transactions regardless of market conditions.

M - Most Trending Tokens: MEXC is known for its rapid token listings and diverse selection of popular tokens, helping users capitalize on emerging opportunities. To date, over 3,000 tokens have been listed on the platform.

MEXC is known for its rapid token listings and diverse selection of popular tokens, helping users capitalize on emerging opportunities. To date, have been listed on the platform. E - Everyday Airdrops: MEXC makes it easy for users to engage in daily airdrop events and receive substantial rewards without complex procedures. In 2024, the platform completed 2,293 airdrop events , distributing over $136 million in rewards.

MEXC makes it easy for users to engage in daily airdrop events and receive substantial rewards without complex procedures. In 2024, the platform completed , distributing in rewards. X - Xtremely Low Fees: MEXC offers highly competitive trading fees, helping users reduce costs and maximize their growth potential.

MEXC offers highly competitive trading fees, helping users reduce costs and maximize their growth potential. C - Comprehensive Liquidity: Backed by strong liquidity and market depth, MEXC ensures the efficient and seamless execution of every transaction, minimizing slippage even during volatile conditions.

These features have helped MEXC attract over 30 million users across over 170 countries, establishing it as the platform of choice for an increasing number of traders around the world.

Learn more about the MEXC Insurance Fund Account .

About MEXC

Founded in 2018, MEXC is committed to being "Your Easiest Way to Crypto". Serving over 30 million users across 170+ countries, MEXC is known for its broad selection of trending tokens, frequent airdrop opportunities, and low trading fees. Our user-friendly platform is designed to support both new traders and experienced investors, offering secure and efficient access to digital assets. MEXC prioritizes simplicity and innovation, making crypto trading more accessible and rewarding.

MEXC Official Website  X  Telegram  How to Sign Up on MEXC

Risk Disclaimer:

The information provided in this article about cryptocurrencies does not represent MEXC's official stance or investment advice. Given the highly volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market, investors are encouraged to carefully evaluate market fluctuations, project fundamentals, and potential financial risks before making any trading decisions.
ROUYN-NORANDA, Quebec, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GLOBEX MINING ENTERPRISES INC. (GMX  Toronto Stock Exchange, G1MN  Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin, Munich, Tradegate, Lang & Schwarz, LS Exchange, TTMzero, Dusseldorf and Quotrix Dusseldorf Stock Exchanges and GLBXF  OTCQX International in the US) is pleased to inform shareholders that Brunswick Exploration Inc. (BRW-TSXV, BRWXF-OTCQB, 1XQ-FRA) has started a 5,000-metre drill program on Globexs Lac Escale (Mirage) royalty property in the Eeyou-Istchee-James Bay region of Quebec. Globex retains a 3% Gross Metal Royalty on the Lac Escale claims and within a 1-kilometer area of influence around the claims external boundaries as well as a $100,000 per year advance royalty starting at the fifth year of the agreement.

Drilling will focus on several untested targets east and west of the Central Zone corridor. In a second phase, Brunswick will target the extensions of the MR-3, MR-6 discoveries (see air photo below) and the stacked dyke system along their lateral extensions and at depth. In addition, an entirely new mineralized dyke system located 4.5 km to the northeast will be targeted.

Shareholders may gain further insight by accessing Brunswicks press release here.

Globex External 1km GMR Boundary





Lac Escale (Mirage) Target Locations  Brunswick Exploration Inc.





This press release was written by Jack Stoch, P. Geo., President and CEO of Globex in his capacity as a Qualified Person (Q.P.) under NI 43-101.

We Seek Safe Harbour. Foreign Private Issuer 12g3  2(b) CUSIP Number 379900 50 9

LEI 529900XYUKGG3LF9PY95 For further information, contact: Jack Stoch, P.Geo., Acc.Dir.

President & CEO

Globex Mining Enterprises Inc.

86, 14th Street

Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec Canada J9X 2J1

Tel.: 819.797.5242

Fax: 819.797.1470

info@globexmining.com

www.globexmining.com



Forward-Looking Statements: Except for historical information, this news release may contain certain forward-looking statements. These statements may involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity and performance to be materially different from the expectations and projections of Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. (Globex). No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits Globex will derive therefrom. A more detailed discussion of the risks is available in the Annual Information Form filed by Globex on SEDARplus.ca.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4c1e13ce-a40b-47ae-973b-b6046f0aff54

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/be533a3a-ec19-46e2-ad99-93eaa02b261f
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UsAgainstAlzheimers (UsA2), the Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative (DAC) and the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) teamed up to identify the most high-impact areas of opportunity that employers can invest in to promote employee brain health and enhance organizational outcomes.

Amidst an aging demographic, retaining experienced workers in the workforce longer and increasing the productivity of younger workers has become critical to business success, said George Vradenburg, founding chairman of the Davos Alzheimers Collaborative and the co-founder and chairman of UsAgainstAlzheimers. An organizations brain capital is now a strategic business imperative that demands a proactive and forward-thinking approach."

According to MHI, fostering brain capital has the potential to unlock $26 trillion in global economic opportunities by enhancing workforce performance, igniting innovation and reclaiming millions of years of quality life.

In a market full of fragmented solutions, UsA2, DAC and MHI partnered together to narrow down the essential factors that can help employers effectively invest in brain health for their companies. Leveraging insights from MHI research and peer-reviewed literature, UsA2, DAC and MHI worked to identify and illustrate the shared risk and resilience factors for employee brain health and their common outcomes across three domains  mental health, neurological health and workplace performance.

The analysis revealed nine factors that overlapped across all three domains and represent high-impact levers with the greatest potential to achieve value.

The cross-cutting factors identified are:

1. Stress

2. Sleep

3. Community Engagement

4. Health Risk Factors

5. Social Support

6. Physical Activity

7. Cognitive Engagement

8. Access to Health Care

9. Mindsets and Beliefs

By mapping the most impactful areas where employers can drive change, this unified model identifies strategic investments that can not only benefit employees, but also benefit the bottom line, said Vradenburg. From lowering healthcare costs to boosting employee innovation and retention, the advantages for companies to invest in brain health are clearer than ever.

The U.S. labor market is shifting to jobs that increasingly require greater analytical firepower, creativity and reasoning to manage the complexities of modern work. Staying ahead of this transition requires businesses to take a systemic approach that places a premium on improving brain health at multiple points.

Investing in employee brain health is emerging as a competitive advantage for businesses, with the potential to generate nearly $12 trillion in global economic value , said Kana Enomoto, Director of Brain Health at the McKinsey Health Institute. As technology and AI reshape the workplace, the need for advanced brain skills  such as creativity, resilience and curiosity  is more important than ever. Employers who see the value of brain health and brain skills are better positioned for economic growth and resilience.

Businesses interested in gauging where they stand on brain health can complete the Brain Health Best Practice Score , a new feature of the HERO Health and Well-being Best Practices Scorecard in Collaboration with Mercer. This free self-assessment helps organizations assess their health and well-being initiatives for promoting brain health. The new Brain Health Best Practice Score was launched by Business Collaborative for Brain Health and the Health Enhancement Research Organization in September 2024.

About UsAgainstAlzheimers

UsAgainstAlzheimers is engaged in a relentless pursuit to end Alzheimers, the sixth leading killer in America. Our work centers on prevention, early detection and diagnosis, and equal access to treatments regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity. To achieve our mission, we give voice to patients and caregivers while partnering with government, scientists, the private sector, and allied organizations -- the people who put the Us in UsAgainstAlzheimers.

About Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative

The Davos Alzheimers Collaborative (DAC) is a pioneering worldwide initiative to prevent Alzheimers disease and improve brain health, seeking to mirror the success of global efforts against infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Covid, and Malaria. DAC is extending global research beyond its current focus on traditional Western European ethnic populations into the highly diversified populations of the Global South, where the vast majority of those with Alzheimers live. By introducing lower-cost screening and diagnostic tools as well as new treatment and prevention modalities in primary care and community health settings, DAC is driving implementation of health system solutions that are appropriate for worldwide application. DAC also promotes the vital importance of brain health throughout the lifespan by addressing cardiometabolic and lifestyle factors, especially in early and mid-life. Absent effective action at scale around the world, by 2050, more than 150 million families and half a billion people will be personally impacted by dementia, creating a social, financial, economic, and global security disaster of historic proportions. DAC was launched in Davos in 2021 by the World Economic Forum and the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease. For more information, please visit: davosalzheimerscollaborative.org .

About McKinsey Health Institute

The McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) is an enduring, non-profit-generating institute within the firm. MHI believes, over the next decade, humanity could add as much as 45 billion extra years of higher-quality life, which is roughly six years per person on average  and substantially more in some countries and populations. MHIs mission is to catalyze the actions needed across continents, sectors, and communities to realize this possibility.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4997fc3e-eadc-42c9-9bd3-a29a79b202d2
RANAGHAT, India, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EBC Financial Group (EBC), a leading global financial brokerage, proudly announces its latest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative through a strategic partnership with the Shakti Empowerment Education Foundation, part of the Shakti Regeneration Institute (SRI). This collaboration will support the Ramakrishna Vedanta Vidyapith school in West Bengal, India, providing 50 low-income students with access to essential educational materials, uniforms, vocational sewing classes, and extracurricular activities.





Image copyright: Shakti Regeneration Institute

This partnership forms part of EBCs broader CSR strategy, which complements its role as a global financial brokerage, enabling access to global markets while promoting equitable education and sustainable development in communities where economic opportunities are limited.

EBC Financial Group has supported the University of Oxfords What Economists Really Do (WERD) public education series through the sponsorship of two episodes: The Economics of Tax Evasion in 2023 and Macroeconomics and Climate in November 2024. These episodes explore how economics can address significant societal issues and reflect EBCs broader mission of empowering informed decision-makinga principle that also drives its global brokerage services, enabling individuals and institutions to confidently navigate financial markets. The WERD series is independently produced by the Department of Economics, showcasing its dedication to bridging academic research and real-world challenges.

Together, these initiatives demonstrate EBCs dedication to advancing educational access, promoting critical discourse, and addressing the interconnected challenges of socio-economic development and sustainability. Shifting focus to India, EBCs partnership with SRI reinforces its mission to drive long-term societal change at the local level, equipping individuals with the tools to thrive and contribute to the development of their communities while promoting sustainable development at the grassroots level.

In addition to this critical sponsorship, EBCs leadership in global advocacy is reflected in its contributions to the upcoming documentary #TheRegenerationGeneration, an initiative of SRI directed by its founder, Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri. The film, which addresses the urgent need for regenerative finance and education, highlights the efforts of Nobel Prize-winners, innovators, business leaders, educators, and Indigenous leaders working together to protect vulnerable ecosystems and communities from the increasing threats of climate change. It also features interviews with David Barrett, CEO of EBC Financial Group (UK) Ltd., and Professor Teytelboym from the Department of Economics, Oxford University. EBCs involvement across both social projects underscores its commitment to not only supporting local communities but also driving global awareness and action toward sustainable and equitable futures.





Barrett expressed the strategic importance of this partnership: At EBC, we recognise that the true power of education creates the foundation for transforming societies and creating pathways to lasting change. Our partnership with Shakti Regeneration Institute is more than a sponsorshipit reflects our dedication to uplifting the next generation, as we support the Ramakrishna Vedanta Vidyapith school in equipping marginalised children with the tools they need to thrive. Through our involvement in the #TheRegenerationGeneration 2025 documentary, we are amplifying the voices of Indigenous communities and supporting the preservation of their cultural and environmental heritage. Similarly, our collaboration with the University of Oxfords Department of Economics on their WERD program underscores our dedication to enhancing global understanding of critical economic and societal issues. By investing in education at every level, we aim to create opportunities, promote equity, and address the challenges of our time. These efforts align seamlessly with our core values of integrity, responsibility, and sustainability.

Ajay Pal-Chaudhuri, Chairman and Founder of Shakti Regeneration Institute, remarked, We are thrilled to announce our partnership with EBC Financial Group, a collaboration that embodies the convergence of corporate responsibility and global impact. Together, we embark on a transformative journey, combining our strengths in education and ecological advocacy to empower communities worldwide. With EBCs support, we are not only empowering marginalised children through education but also raising global awareness about the critical challenges facing Indigenous communities and the plight of vulnerable ecosystems.

Foundational Values at the Heart of EBCs Mission

EBCs commitment to making a meaningful difference aligns with its core values of dedication, responsibility, and integrity. By ensuring that financial resources are directed toward impactful projects, EBC exemplifies how corporate responsibility can foster real-world change, contributing to the welfare of communities and the preservation of ecosystems that sustain vulnerable populations. Operating under top-tier regulation, EBC combines its mission to equip investors with access to global markets such as currencies, indices, and commodities with impactful social investments that contribute to community welfare and sustainability.





The Ramakrishna Vedanta Vidyapith school, which will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its founding in January 2025, has been a vital institution in the betterment of local communities in West Bengal. Through its educational programs, the school empowers children and women from marginalised backgrounds, helping them to break the cycle of poverty and contribute positively to their communities. EBCs support enhances the schools mission, helping to ensure that these children receive not only basic education but also vocational training and community-building opportunities that will prepare them for long-term success. More information about SRI and its mission can be found at www.shaktiregeneration.org.

For more information about EBCs causes and initiatives, please visit https://www.ebc.com/ESG.

About EBC Financial Group

Founded in the esteemed financial district of London, EBC Financial Group (EBC) is renowned for its services in financial brokerage and asset management. With offices strategically located in prominent financial centres such as London, Sydney, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, the Cayman Islands, Bangkok, Limassol, and more, EBC enables retail, professional, and institutional investors to access a wide range of global markets and trading opportunities, including currencies, commodities, shares, and indices.

Recognised by multiple awards, EBC prides itself on adhering to leading levels of ethical standards and international regulation. EBC Financial Group's subsidiaries are regulated and licensed in their local jurisdictions. EBC Financial Group (UK) Limited is regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), EBC Financial Group (Cayman) Limited is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), EBC Financial Group (Australia) Pty Ltd, and EBC Asset Management Pty Ltd are regulated by Australia's Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

At the core of EBC Group are seasoned professionals with over 30 years of profound experience in major financial institutions, having adeptly navigated through significant economic cycles from the Plaza Accord to the 2015 Swiss franc crisis. EBC champions a culture where integrity, respect, and client asset security are paramount, ensuring that every investor engagement is treated with the utmost seriousness it deserves.

EBC is the Official Foreign Exchange Partner of FC Barcelona, offering specialised services in regions such as Asia, LATAM, the Middle East, Africa, and Oceania. EBC is also a partner of United to Beat Malaria, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, aiming to improve global health outcomes. Starting February 2024, EBC supports the 'What Economists Really Do' public engagement series by Oxford University's Department of Economics, demystifying economics, and its application to major societal challenges to enhance public understanding and dialogue.

https://www.ebc.com/

Media Contact:

Savitha Ravindran

Global Public Relations Manager (EMEA, LATAM)

savitha.ravindran@ebc.com

Chyna Elvina

Global Public Relations Manager (APAC, LATAM)

chyna.elvina@ebc.com

Douglas Chew

Global Public Relations Lead

douglas.chew@ebc.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/94dc67e3-5efc-46bb-9e48-0cb8ff3bce80

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7947de34-6137-46a2-b7e8-8183ecc273c4

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a45a3118-2bc7-4f3b-af6b-c721195b1fef
HOUSTON, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Radix, a global technology solutions company at the forefront of industrial digital transformation, and Celanese, a global chemical and specialty material company, are proud to collaborate with Cognite, the global leader in data and AI for industry, on the development of JO.AI, a groundbreaking generative AI-powered solution designed to revolutionize operations in asset-intensive industries.

Born from the successful development and implementation at Celanese by Radix through their engineering intelligence expertise  and powered by Cognite Data Fusion, the market-leading DataOps and AI platform for enterprise-scale, complex industrial data management projects  JO.AI is poised to redefine how industrial manufacturers leverage data for enhanced productivity and operational excellence at scale.

JO.AI will be showcased at the upcoming ARC Industry Leadership Forum 2025 taking place in Orlando, Florida, from February 10-13 under the theme "On the Ground: Accelerate. Optimize. Scale." Radix will showcase and discuss how the powerful industrial solution is optimizing the future of smart digital manufacturing, directly addressing the challenges faced across industries such as Energy, Chemical, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Power Generation & Distribution, Pulp & Paper, and Metals, Mining & Minerals. Industrial manufacturers often struggle to unlock the full potential of their data, even with the presence of data aggregators.

JO.AI solves this problem by acting as an advanced Industrial Copilot, enabling intuitive, natural language interaction with the Industrial Knowledge Graph provided by Cognite Data Fusion to make complex data easier to access and action into intelligence tailored specifically for the process industry. JO.AI leverages Cognite Data Fusions unmatched data management and comprehensive AI infrastructure to enable the Gen AI application to carry out more complex operations with greater accuracy.

With Cognite Data Fusion as its backbone, JO.AI combines operational insights with pre-trained AI agents focused on specific process use cases. "AI has proven to be a valuable business catalyst in todays dynamic manufacturing landscape, offering unparalleled opportunities for optimization and innovation," said Sameer Purao, Senior Vice President and CIO at Celanese. "We developed JO.AI  in collaboration with Radix, on top of the robust data foundation provided by Cognite Data Fusion  to harness the power of AI to improve efficiency, reduce costs and elevate overall productivity.

Additionally, AI enables smart production through real-time data analysis, facilitating data-driven decisions, process optimization and swift response to market demand. Incorporating AI into our manufacturing operations is not just a technological advancement, but also a competitive advantage."

"Digital transformation, especially with AI-powered solutions, is only as strong as the data foundation its built upon," said Bill Hendricks, President of Cognite Americas. "Cognite accelerates time-to-value by enabling seamless integration and management of complex industrial data, providing the essential infrastructure for innovative applications like JO.AI. Working alongside a forward-thinking partner like Radix, who shares our commitment to pushing the boundaries of industrial innovation, we empower organizations to unlock unprecedented value from their data and drive real operational impact."

JO.AI empowers operators and engineers in four key areas:

1. Optimized Operator Rounds: JO.AI provides insights that ensure operations teams are focusing their rounds on the right checklists.

2. Data-Driven Checklist Management: It recommends the optimal frequency of checklist items, identifies areas with high-volume issues, and highlights deviations.

3. Balanced Workload: JO.AI helps ensure that the checklist workload is appropriate for each shift.

4. Streamlined Maintenance: The solution facilitates maintenance and work notification opportunities, recommending resource plans and even assisting operators in writing work orders.

"JO.AI represents a significant leap forward in the application of AI for industrial settings and asset intensive industries," said Alex Clausbruch, CEO of Radix North America. "By combining Radix's expertise in AI and software development with Celanese's deep industry knowledge, we've created a solution that not only addresses the current challenges of data utilization but also unlocks new levels of efficiency and optimization. We believe JO.AI will be a game-changer for asset-intensive industries."

"The development of JO.AI is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation," added Justin Conroy, Vice President, Digital Product Portfolio at Radix. "We've worked closely with Celanese to ensure that JO.AI meets the specific needs of industrial operators worldwide. This solution is not just about technology; it's about empowering people and teams with the insights they need to make better decisions and drive real business value."

Radix will be participating as a Gold Sponsor at the ARC Leadership Forum 2025 in Orlando next month with several opportunities to engage with industry leaders, customers, partners and learn more about JO.AI and its capabilities.

About Radix

Founded in 2010, Radix is a privately held global technology solutions company providing consulting, engineering, operations technology, and data and software technology solutions. Radix combines key capabilities and practices to empower customers to thrive along their digital transformation journey. Radix provides technology-based, data-driven solutions to industrial and non-industrial companies worldwide. Radix has experience leading projects in more than 30 countries and has more than 1,700+ employees around the globe, with North American headquarters in Houston, Texas, main headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, additional offices in Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte, and a presence in Singapore and Amsterdam. To learn more, visit www.radixeng.com.

About Celanese

Celanese is a global leader in chemistry, producing specialty material solutions used across most major industries and consumer applications. Our businesses use our chemistry, technology and commercial expertise to create value for our customers, employees and shareholders. We are committed to sustainability by responsibly managing the materials we create for their entire lifecycle and are growing our portfolio of sustainable products to meet increasing customer and societal demand. We strive to make a positive impact in our communities and to foster inclusivity across our teams. Celanese is a Fortune 500 company that employs approximately 12,400 employees worldwide with 2023 net sales of $10.9 billion.

About Cognite

Cognite makes Generative AI work for industry. Leading energy, manufacturing, and power & renewables enterprises choose Cognite to deliver secure, trustworthy, and real-time data to transform their asset-heavy operations to be safer, more sustainable, and more profitable. Cognite provides a user-friendly, secure, and scalable platform that makes it easy for all decision-makers, from the field to remote operations centers, to access and understand complex industrial data, collaborate in real time, and build a better tomorrow. Visit us at www.cognite.ai and follow us on LinkedIn and X.

For more information:

Citalouise Geiggar, Ph.D.

citalouise.geiggar@radixeng.com

Radix

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/05e54c82-5dbb-4054-b519-e0f42ecc5bf1
Arlington, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arlington, Virginia -

Marymount University, a national leader in comprehensive education, will train future Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) with its new Online Master of Social WorkTraditional Track. Beginning in Spring 2025, the program will prepare aspiring practitioners for Master's level Social Work licensure and LCSW licensure without campus residencies or travel requirements to the Marymount campus. Online MSW students will benefit from clinical placements close to their homes and innovative online courses taught by experienced faculty.

"Marymount University has prepared students for impactful careers since we opened in 1950. Our Online MSW continues that tradition by training social work professionals for clinical roles." said Dr. Henry Poduthase, Director of Marymount's Online MSW Program. "It is a program focused on preparing compassionate practitioners for communities in need."

The Online MSW program builds skills for today's needs and anticipates long-term trends. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a 7% growth in employment opportunities for social workers by 2033, which is above average compared to other occupations. Demand for social workers specializing in mental health and substance abuse treatment is even higher, with a 12% projected growth rate.

Graduates of the Online MSW program will help address America's mental health crisis through individual and group counseling. A 2022 survey conducted by KFF/CNN found that 51% of respondents experienced or witnessed family members experiencing severe mental health crises. Stress created by personal finances, social inequities, and lack of health care access contribute to widespread anxiety. MSW-trained professionals can help clients with these challenges thanks to their knowledge of therapeutic techniques, including counseling and community resources.

Marymount's Online MSW will be an excellent option for students who want to balance their studies with personal and professional obligations. The program's 100% online format and part-time structure make it more accommodating for those who cannot commit to full-time studies. Sixty credits of coursework and 900 hours of clinical placements can be completed in three years of study.

Another reason for students to choose the Online MSW at Marymount is the program's free practicum placement services. MSW candidates work with their student advisors and faculty on identifying placement sites close to home. The placement process identifies supervised experiences that match student interests. Practicum hours are completed at the same time as coursework, thus putting course lessons into action.

The Online MSW curriculum builds clinical skills in students by dividing courses into foundational and advanced years. Foundational courses acclimate students with bachelor's degrees in disciplines other than social work to the profession. Faculty members with experience in social work lead courses like Human Behavior and the Social Environment and Social Work in a Multicultural Society.

Coursework in the program's advanced year focuses on clinical and administrative skills needed in the social work profession. MSW candidates learn best practices for social work interventions with families, organizations and communities. They also explore the intricacies of social work policy and administration. The program also offers clinical electives for students interested in different areas of specialization.

Graduates of the Online MSW program will benefit from the University's strong national reputation. U.S. News & World Report placed Marymount University in its Best National University rankings for the 2024-2025 school year. The University also ranked highly in the Top Performers on Social Mobility based on high graduation rates for Pell Grant recipients.

Learn more about Marymount's Online MSW Program by visiting the Marymount University website or contacting Dr. Henry Poduthase, Associate Professor and Program Director, at hpodutha@marymount.edu.

About Marymount University

Marymount University is a private, comprehensive university founded in 1950 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, with its main campus in Arlington, VA. Students, faculty and staff bring foundational values like intellectual curiosity and service to others to life. Marymount offers students a unique mix of STEM programs and liberal arts fields in a curriculum that provides specialized educational opportunities at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels. Marymount enrolls about 4,000 students, representing approximately 49 states and 75 countries. The University has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as having one of the most internationally diverse student bodies in the nation.

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For more information about Marymount University, contact the company here:



Marymount University

Dr. Henry Poduthase, Associate Professor and MSW Program Director

+1 703-522-5600

hpodutha@marymount.edu

2807 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22207. USA
HENDERSON, Nev., Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of Sunshine Minting, Inc.s (SMI) ongoing strategic growth plan, SMI announces the following significant changes to its organization.





Jason Trubey has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer of Sunshine Minting, Inc. In his new role, Jason will assume the oversight of all of SMIs operations from a day-to-day perspective, monitoring and analyzing the overall business performance to meet the strategic goals of the company, and the implementation of the vision and strategy of the CEO and Board of Directors. Jason will also be directly responsible for leading the Directors and Managers of the company and their performance.





Annie Yang will assume the role of Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. As the CCO, Annie will be responsible for the development, implementation, and execution of SMIs Commercial and Sales strategies globally, setting annual sales targets and monitoring progress, managing key commercial contracts, and identifying and developing new business opportunities and products. Annie will also continue in her role as General Manager of SMI(SH), SMIs operation located in Shanghai, China.

Dan Simpson has been promoted to Director of Operations. Dan will be responsible for the Nevada and Idaho operations while providing support and guidance to Annex Plating and Liberty Refining to ensure operational continuity. In the newly expanded role, Dan will be leading the production teams in all operations by utilizing SMIs capabilities and driving operational growth to meet customers needs and the companys growth strategy.

Recently, SMI added Jesper Olsen as Senior Director of Finance and Accounting. In this new role, Jesper will be responsible for the Accounting, Purchasing, and Material Controls Departments at SMI.

Tom Power will continue in his role as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. These changes will allow him to continue to focus on determining the companys future goals and strategies and continue the development of SMI.





Tom Power, CEO of Sunshine Minting, Inc., had the following comment, I am thrilled to announce these key organizational changes. Both Jason and Annie have demonstrated their leadership abilities over the last 10 years with their contributions to the success of SMI. The recent addition of Jesper Olsen and the promotion of Dan Simpson completes our team of Directors, who will work closely with Jason and Annie on the daily execution of our growth strategy. These changes also provide the stakeholders of SMI a clear long-term avenue for succession planning and sustainability. I am looking forward to mentoring this team utilizing my 35 years of experience in the minting and manufacturing world to guide the companys strategic evolution and its continued success alongside the entire Executive team. These key changes provide us a roadmap to achieve those goals.

About Sunshine Minting, Inc.

Sunshine Minting Inc. (SMI) is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada and is one of the worlds largest suppliers of precious metal products for the minting and bullion industry globally. SMI has been supplying quality products and services to the Mint industry (Blanks, Bullion, and Custom Minting) for over 30 years; and has a proven track record for quality and innovation that has helped to re-define the standard around the globe. An ISO 9001:2015 Certified Company (certified by DNV), SMI manufactures and supplies fine silver and fine gold products, as well as platinum products to government and private mints and to prominent, well-known financial institutions and marketing companies worldwide.

SMI operates five manufacturing facilities on two continents; Henderson, Nevada; Coeur dAlene, Idaho, Hayden, Idaho; Providence, Rhode Island; and Shanghai, China.

SMI produces products in accordance with the stringent specifications demanded by our government mint customers. Our proficient, up-to-date laboratory facility ensures that all products fulfill the specified requirements of our customers. Our customers are worldwide in North America, South America, Asia, and Europe.

Our gold and silver bullion products are sold by most of the major bullion dealers, financial institutions, and distributors around the world. We have an established reputation for quality, consistency, and capacity as well as for embracing innovative concepts and technology in the precious metal industry. SMIs brand is on most widely recognized private minting brand lists. SMI silver bars and rounds range in weight from 1 gram to 100 ounces. Gold bars and rounds range from 1 gram to 1 kilogram and most of our gold product is packaged in customized Tamper Evident Packaging (TEP). All of SMI Branded Bullion products contain our innovative MintMark SI Anti-Counterfeit technology.

Sunshine Minting Inc. is a brand that symbolizes precious metal fineness, exceptional quality, and service. We are the leading manufacturer of products for the minting and bullion industry, and we are committed to meeting customer requirements by providing quality products with cost-effective processes, innovative technology, and timely delivery.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b6e8af38-869a-47d6-a56e-a934baa4feb9

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e5545fbe-41ec-49e8-bd8e-ee3123c314a0

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/25fbc8d6-1753-437c-ae40-a1ce88eabe06

SMI Strategic Consultant Contact:

Rudy R. Miller, Chairman, President & CEO

The Miller Group

(602) 225-0505

rrmiller@themillergroup.net

www.themillergroup.net
BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DDB Miner, a global pioneer in cryptocurrency mining, proudly announces its revolutionary platform that empowers individuals to achieve financial freedom through cutting-edge cloud mining solutions. Since its establishment in 2017, DDB Miner, headquartered in Birmingham, UK, has grown to serve over 9 million members worldwide and now contributes approximately 3.8% of the global cryptocurrency mining computing power.

Cloud mining is reshaping the future of cryptocurrency income generation by eliminating the complexities and high costs traditionally associated with mining. With DDB Miners advanced technology and environmentally sustainable operations powered by renewable energy, users can enjoy consistent profits without the need for hardware or maintenance.

What Makes Cloud Mining a Game-Changer?

Cloud mining allows users to participate in cryptocurrency mining remotely by leveraging the computing power of platforms like DDB Miner. This innovative approach removes barriers such as expensive equipment and technical expertise, enabling anyone to earn cryptocurrency with ease.

Why DDB Miner Stands Out

DDB Miner delivers unparalleled advantages that set it apart in the cloud mining industry:

State-of-the-Art Equipment : Utilizes hardware from top manufacturers like Bitmain and Antminer for optimal efficiency and reliability.

: Utilizes hardware from top manufacturers like Bitmain and Antminer for optimal efficiency and reliability. Legitimacy and Global Reach : Registered in the UK and regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority, with a user base spanning over 9 million globally.

: Registered in the UK and regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority, with a user base spanning over 9 million globally. User-Friendly Platform : Designed for both beginners and experienced miners.

: Designed for both beginners and experienced miners. Wide Cryptocurrency Support : Mines popular cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, DOGE, USDC, USDT, BCH, LTC, and SOL.

: Mines popular cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, DOGE, USDC, USDT, BCH, LTC, and SOL. Reliable Returns : Offers daily earnings on contracts, with automatic principal reimbursement at contract expiration.

: Offers daily earnings on contracts, with automatic principal reimbursement at contract expiration. Round-the-Clock Support : Backed by a professional IT team and 24/7 customer service.

: Backed by a professional IT team and 24/7 customer service. Lucrative Referral Program: Earn bonuses of up to $22,000 by inviting friends to join.



Choose a Contract Tailored to Your Goals

DDB Miner offers diverse investment options to match your financial strategy:

Experience Contract: Invest $100, gross income $106.

Classic Contract: Invest $1,000, gross income $1,130.

Premium Contract: Invest $10,000, gross income $18,750.

Super Contract: Invest $30,000, gross income $57,750.

Getting Started with DDB Miner

Register: Sign up and receive a $12 bonus, plus $0.50 daily for sign-ins. Select Your Contract: Choose a mining plan that suits your budget and goals. Earn Seamlessly: Activate your contract and let DDB Miner handle the rest. Monitor and withdraw earnings directly from the platform.



Why Join Now?

With operations powered by renewable energy sources like solar and wind, DDB Miner ensures reduced costs and increased profitability. Whether you are a beginner seeking a stable income or an investor looking to diversify your portfolio, DDB Miner offers a reliable and eco-friendly solution.

Join the Financial Revolution Today

For more information, visit the official DDB Miner platform at https://ddbminer.com . Download the mobile app from Google Play or the Apple Store to manage your mining activities on the go.

Media Contact: Katerina Audrey

DDB Miner Media Relations

Email: info@ddbminer.com

Website: https://ddbminer.com

Disclaimer: This press release is provided by DDB Miner. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the sponsor and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in cloud mining and related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Do your own research before doing any investments.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6af0449c-9e72-489d-b473-d1617025a7cf




PANAMA CITY, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xpanse, a groundbreaking decentralized perpetual exchange created by Horizon Protocol, is thrilled to announce the launch of its AI-powered perpetual futures platform on the MODE Mainnet. This marks a significant leap forward in trading innovation, expanding into a unified liquidity system, pioneering AI-driven trading, and evolving into a multi-chain ecosystem.

What is Xpanse?

Xpanse is an AI-powered, multi-layered liquidity perpetual exchange designed to empower traders of all levels.

AI-Enabled Trading Signals and Indicators

As part of the Phase One launch, Xpanse introduces three cutting-edge AI-enabled trading signals and indicators: ViperAI, WaveML, and Minima/Maxima. These tools provide traders with actionable insights to enhance their strategies across various markets:

ViperAI: The flagship full trading strategy designed to maximize profits by accurately predicting directional momentum. It delivers long/short market-neutral signals, real-time entry and exit notifications, and built-in stop-loss features, ensuring comprehensive trade management.

The flagship full trading strategy designed to maximize profits by accurately predicting directional momentum. It delivers long/short market-neutral signals, real-time entry and exit notifications, and built-in stop-loss features, ensuring comprehensive trade management. WaveML: An indicator that identifies market inefficiencies by spotting opportunities when prices deviate from fully efficient conditions. WaveML highlights these "waves" in the market, enabling traders to capitalize on temporary price movements.

An indicator that identifies market inefficiencies by spotting opportunities when prices deviate from fully efficient conditions. WaveML highlights these "waves" in the market, enabling traders to capitalize on temporary price movements. Minima/Maxima: A scalping tool that identifies peaks (resistance) and valleys (support) in real-time, helping traders make informed decisions on temporary tops or bottoms in the market.



These AI-driven tools, available directly within Xpanses Perpetual Futures platform, empower traders to execute sophisticated strategies with precision and confidence.

Multi-Layered Liquidity Models

Xpanse integrates three distinct liquidity models to cater to diverse trading strategies and requirements:

Intent-based Liquidity: Live now, offering seamless execution with gasless trading, instant open/close functionality, and exclusive AI-powered indicators.

Live now, offering seamless execution with gasless trading, instant open/close functionality, and exclusive AI-powered indicators. Oracle-based Liquidity: Enhancing pricing accuracy and execution precision.

Enhancing pricing accuracy and execution precision. Order Book Liquidity: Coming soon to provide traditional order book trading dynamics.

This unique structure ensures traders have access to flexibility, precision, and advanced AI tools that maximize capital efficiency and optimize returns.

Xpanse on MODE Mainnet

The launch of Xpanse on MODE Mainnet begins with Intent-based liquidity, supported by SYMMIOs cutting-edge infrastructure and Orbs liquidity solutions. Key features of this initial release include:

Over 340 tradable markets.

Up to 60x leverage with cross-margin capabilities.

Ultra-competitive fees ranging from 3 to 4 basis points.

Exclusive indicators like AI signals and the Fear & Greed indicator.

This first-of-its-kind integration on MODE leverages the platforms AI-powered financial ecosystem, bringing advanced AI-driven trading to Layer 2 networks. The second phase of the integration will introduce enhanced AI signals and additional proprietary trading indicators.

Redefining Trading for the Next Generation

By combining AI technology with multi-layered liquidity models, Xpanse is setting a new standard for decentralized trading. Traders can look forward to an elevated experience that prioritizes speed, precision, and innovation while maintaining competitive costs.

Whats Next?

To celebrate this milestone, Xpanse will soon launch trading competitions and exciting campaigns. Stay tuned for updates and opportunities to explore the future of AI-powered, multi-liquidity perpetual trading.

For more information, visit https://xpanse.trade/ .

Contact:

Wen Zhang

marketing@Horizonprotocol.com

Disclaimer: This content is provided by Xpanse. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.
Washington, D.C., Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The New Civil Liberties Alliance has filed an amicus curiae brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to comply with the mandatory statute governing the en banc process. The Federal Circuit must either permit the unlawfully suspended Judge Pauline Newman to participate in consideration of EcoFactor v. Google, or else vacate the order granting en banc rehearing in this case. The Judicial Council of the Federal Circuit has illegally barred Judge Newman from hearing new cases since March 2023, effectively removing her from office in violation of the Constitution. NCLA insists that the Federal Circuit cannot legally act in an en banc case without Judge Newmans full involvement.

The federal statute allowing courts to hear cases en banc unmistakably requires an en banc court to include all judges in regular active service who are not recused. The history and the purpose of the legislative process further confirm that an en banc court must comprise all judges. The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Federal Circuits own internal rules point to the same outcome. Despite the Judicial Councils orders suspending Judge Newman from cases, she remains in regular active service. The Supreme Court has defined an active judge as one who has not retired from regular active service, and Judge Newman has certainly not retirednor has she recused herself from EcoFactor v. Google.

Hence, as Ecofactor has argued in its own briefing to the Court, the Federal Circuit must allow Judge Newman to sit on the bench as part of any en banc rehearing. The Courts only other lawful option is to reinstate the panel decision previously issued in this case. Any other approach would violate the governing statute and lead to a judgment by an unlawfully constituted tribunal. Although NCLA represents Judge Newman in the ongoing Newman v. Moore lawsuit against her suspension, NCLA filed this amicus brief in its own capacity and not on Judge Newmans behalf.

NCLA released the following statements:

Throughout their proceedings against Judge Newman, her fellow Federal Circuit judges have acted unlawfully. Excluding Judge Newman from the en banc Court is another example of such behavior. An en banc Court without Judge Newman is an improperly constituted court and as such, should not act.

 Greg Dolin, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA

The Federal Circuit has already improperly heard a prior case en banc without Judge Newmans participation, and it appears poised to do so again. The difference this time is that one of the parties has appropriately raised an objection to proceeding in this unlawful fashion. According to federal law, the Federal Circuit must allow Judge Newman to sit as part of the en banc court or cancel the rehearing. It may not legally proceed without her.

 Mark Chenoweth, President, NCLA

For more information visit the amicus page here.

ABOUT NCLA

NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLAs public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans fundamental rights.

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NICOSIA, July 5, 2019 - Atalaya Mining plc (AIM: ATYM; TSX: AYM), the European mining and development company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Peel Hunt LLP as joint broker to the Company, alongside Atalaya's existing brokers, with immediate effect.

Contacts:

Newgate Communications Elisabeth Cowell / Adam Lloyd / Tom Carnegie + 44 20 3757 6880 4C Communications Carina Corbett +44 20 3170 7973 Canaccord Genuity (NOMAD and Joint Broker) Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / James Asensio +44 20 7523 8000 BMO Capital Markets (Joint Broker) Jeffrey Couch / Tom Rider / Michael Rechsteiner +44 20 7236 1010 Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Broker) Ross Allister / David McKeown +44 20 7418 8900

About Atalaya Mining Plc

Atalaya is an AIM and TSX-listed mining and development group which produces copper concentrates and silver by-product at its wholly owned Proyecto Riotinto site in southwest Spain. In addition, the Group has a phased, earn-in agreement for up to 80% ownership of Proyecto Touro, a brownfield copper project in the northwest of Spain which is currently in the permitting stage. For further information, visit www.atalayamining.com

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visitwww.rns.com.

SOURCE: Atalaya Mining Plc

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/550885/Atalaya-Mining-PLC-Announces-Appointment-of-Broker
Burnaby, January 27, 2025 - Great Eagle Gold Corp. (CSE: GEGC) (OTC Pink: GEGCF) (FSE: GI8) ("Great Eagle" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with New Path Resources Inc. (the "Vendor") to acquire a 100% interest in a mining claims package that includes 3 patented claims containing NI 43-101 certified inferred gold resources (the "Tokenization Qualifying Titles"). The Tokenization Qualifying Titles meet the perpetual ownership and zero ongoing carrying cost requirements necessary for tokenization into NatGold Tokens under NatGold Digital Ltd.'s ("NatGold") patent-pending digital gold mining model.

The Tokenization Qualifying Titles contain a total of 240,100 ounces of NI 43-101 certified inferred gold resources. Under the NatGold digital mining model, one ounce of inferred gold resources converts into 0.20 (or 20%) of a NatGold Token. Upon tokenization by NatGold, this deposit would yield 48,020 NatGold Tokens. Of that total, Great Eagle would receive 40,817 NatGold Tokens-85% of the minted tokens-after accounting for NatGold's 10% tokenization fee and a 5% allocation to the NatGold Contingency Fund.

Andrew Fletcher, CEO of Great Eagle, commented: "Having recently secured a supply partnership agreement with NatGold Digital that guarantees Great Eagle the right to exclusively provide sufficient NI 43-101 certified gold resources to generate the first 2.5 million NatGold Tokens, this LOI represents a significant milestone. It positions us as a key player in preparing for the imminent launch of NatGold's revolutionary, patent-pending digital gold mining ecosystem."

Fletcher added: "Our data analytics team at Great Eagle has done an exceptional job identifying hundreds of Tokenization Qualifying Titles worldwide, with a strong focus on the United States and Canada. By signing this initial acquisition, we've taken the first step toward building a low-cost portfolio of optioned, tokenization-ready certified gold resources. We continue to evaluate additional acquisitions and are excited about quickly meeting-and ideally exceeding-our goal of supplying NatGold with sufficient resources to generate at least 2.5 million tokens."

Mineral Rights Location

All 240,100 ounces of NI 43-101 certified inferred gold resources are situated on 3 patented mineral rights claims that make up the Tokenization Qualifying Titles are part of a larger claims package collectively known as the "Northshore Gold Property."

Located within Priske Township, approximately 4 km south of the town of Schreiber, Ontario, on the northern shore of Lake Superior, the Northshore Gold Property includes 3 patented claims and 38 unpatented claims covering a total area of approximately 940 hectares.

A copy of the NI 43-101 technical report will be filed on SEDAR+ and available on Great Eagle's website upon execution of the Definitive Agreement.

Acquisition & Financial Terms

Great Eagle has agreed to acquire the Tokenization Qualifying Titles for a total cost of CDN$1,000,000 (the "Purchase Price"). As part of the agreement, Great Eagle will pay a total option payment (the "Option Amount") of CDN$100,000, which represents 10% of the total Purchase Price.

After the Option Amount is paid, Great Eagle has the right to complete the acquisition at any time within one year from the signing date of the Definitive Agreement by paying the remaining balance of the Purchase price (CDN$900,000).

It is important to note that the final Purchase Price may be adjusted based on fluctuations in the price of gold. If the price of gold increases from the time the Definitive Agreement is signed to the time Great Eagle exercises its option, the total Purchase Price will rise by the same percentage. For example, if the price of gold increases by 20% during that period, the final Purchase Price will also increase by 20% to CDN$1,200,000.

The payment terms are as follows:

Great Eagle paying to the Vendor a CDN$10,000 deposit of the Option Amount within two business days of the execution of the Letter of Intent. Great Eagle is pleased to announce that this payment was subsequently made.

Great Eagle paying to the Vendor the balance of the Option Amount (CDN$90,000) subject to the completion of satisfactory due diligence and the mutual execution of a Definitive Agreement on or before January 31, 2025. Great Eagle is pleased to announce it has successfully completed its due diligence site visit-a process that was conducted by Larry Segerstrom, a member of Great Eagle's Board of Directors and a Qualified Person authorized to prepare and certify NI 43-101 gold resource reports-and that Great Eagle's legal team is now diligently working to complete the Definitive Agreement by the scheduled date, at which time Great Eagle fully intends to make the remaining Option Amount (CDN$90,000).

It is important to note that completion of the transaction is subject to a number of closing conditions customary to transactions of the nature of the transaction and subject to CSE approval. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

About Great Eagle Gold

Great Eagle Gold Corp. (CSE: GEGC) (OTC Pink: GEGCF) (FSE: GI8) is a publicly traded Canadian company, also listed in the United States and Germany, leading a groundbreaking evolution in digital mining. This new approach reshapes how the global gold mining industry realizes gold's intrinsic value. Partnering with New York-based NatGold Digital Ltd., Great Eagle leverages a blockchain-powered, ESG-friendly digital mining process. This method provides a regulatory-compliant way to invest in gold while eliminating the considerable environmental, social, and financial costs of traditional gold mining.

Great Eagle's unique strategy focuses on the supply side of the NatGold ecosystem. By acquiring NI 43-101 certified gold resources and seamlessly integrating them through a title swap process that meets NatGold Digital Ltd.'s exacting token integrity standards, Great Eagle establishes itself as a pivotal contributor. Together, Great Eagle and NatGold Digital operate at the convergence of three compelling global investment themes: gold, ESG investing, and the tokenization of real-world assets.

For more information, visit www.greateaglegold.com.

On behalf of the board,

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to statements with respect to Great Eagle's proposed Financing, operations, the LOI with New Path Resources, and the acquisition of NI 43-101 certified gold resources, the ability to digitally mine NatGold coins, the viability of the NatGold tokenization and monetization ecosystem, and development plans, expansion plans, estimates, expectations, forecasts, objectives, predictions and projections of the future. Specifically, this news release contains forward looking statements with respect to Great Eagle's proposed operations, acquiring and developing certified gold resources and their tokenization, and the receipt of required approvals. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the forward- looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "projects", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or "variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "can", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Great Eagle to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to the exploration and development and operation of Great Eagle's projects, the actual results of current exploration, development activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future precious metals prices, as well as those factors discussed in the sections relating to risk factors of our business filed in Great Eagle's required securities filings on SEDAR+. Although Great Eagle has attempted to identify important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those contained in forward- looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities law. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made, by third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/238402
Boise, January 27, 2025 - Thunder Mountain Gold Inc. (OTCQB: THMG) (TSXV: THM) ("THMG" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the progress of its flagship South Mountain Mine located in Owyhee County, Idaho. The Company has restarted technical work on its Project, with a primary focus on updating the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and advancing toward a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).

The restarted technical work will focus on updating the MRE to reflect recent exploration results, further defining the high-grade polymetallic mineralization of zinc, silver, gold, lead, and copper. Following the MRE update, Thunder Mountain Gold plans to initiate a PEA, evaluating the economic potential and development pathways for South Mountain.

Key Developments:

Mineral Resource Estimate Update: The updated MRE will incorporate recent exploration results, enhancing the understanding of the deposit's scale and grade distribution.

Preliminary Economic Assessment: Upon completing the MRE, THMG will focus on delivering a PEA to outline the economic feasibility of advancing South Mountain towards production readiness.

Technical Studies: The Company is also conducting technical studies, including metallurgical testing and site optimization, to support the restarted development efforts.

Additional Exploration: In cooperation with its geophysical consultant - Durango Geophysical Operations, the Company plans expansive geophysical and geochemical work on surrounding prospective ground, following up on copper porphyry targets previously identified.

A strategic partnership with Swiss-based MFD Investment Holdings SA ("MFD") has provided additional funding, contributing $1,000,000 in project-related expenditures as well as providing technical support for project development. This partnership adds additional financial strength in advancing South Mountain's technical and economic studies.

Eric T. Jones, President and CEO of Thunder Mountain Gold, commented, "We remain committed to advancing South Mountain as a high-grade polymetallic project with significant resource expansion potential. The ongoing MRE update and subsequent PEA will provide a strong foundation for the project's future development. Our partnership with MFD has further enhanced our ability to execute key technical work."

About South Mountain Mine

The South Mountain Mine is a historic Anaconda Mining development located approximately 70 miles southwest of Boise, Idaho. The property comprises patented and unpatented mining claims, leased land, and private millsite acreage totaling over 1,400 acres. The project hosts high-grade polymetallic mineralization with significant resource expansion potential.

About Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc.

Thunder Mountain Gold Inc., a junior exploration company founded in 1935, owns interests in base and precious metals projects in the western U.S. The Company's principal asset is The South Mountain Mine, a historic former Anaconda Mining development of zinc, silver, gold, lead, and copper, located on private land in Owyhee County Idaho. Thunder Mountain Gold also owns 100% of the Trout Creek Project - a gold exploration project located along the western flank of the Shoshone Mountain Range in the Reese River Valley, adjacent to and surrounded by Nevada Gold Mines, a Barrick and Newmont Gold, Inc. joint venture. For more information on Thunder Mountain Gold, please visit the Company's website at www.Thundermountaingold.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. The forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions which could change materially in the future. By their nature, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Investors should refer to THMG's Form 10-K, Form 10-Q reports, for a more detailed discussion of risks that may impact future results. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

Cautionary Note to Investors

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/238494
VANCOUVER, January 27, 2025 - Fitzroy Minerals Inc. (TSXV: FTZ, OTCQB: FTZFF) ("Fitzroy Minerals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that new geophysical results, paired with previously reported soil and rock results, and geologic mapping, have enhanced the understanding of the epithermal mineral system at the Polimet Gold-Copper-Silver Project, Chile ("Polimet" or the "Project").

An Induced Polarisation ("IP") geophysical survey showed a very good relationship between conductive zones and known historical workings, hydrothermal alteration, and elevated Au-Cu-Ag grades. In addition, a detailed ground magnetic survey confirmed the presence of a structural corridor at least 5 km long by 1.6 km that incorporates known mineralized zones, mapped veins, geochemical anomalies, and historical workings. This geophysical data has been integrated into the Phase 1 drilling program which will test the best targets based on a combination of structural setting, gold and copper assay results, hydrothermal alteration, and IP conductors. A 2,500 metre, minimum seven-hole diamond drilling program is due to start in February 2025.

Highlights:

Newly identified 1,600 m-long conductor, connecting the historical workings of Santo Domingo and La Garcia that returned grades of 10.6 g/t Au and 6.5 % Cu (Santo Domingo) and 23.3 g/t Au and 3.4 % Cu (La Garcia) from channel samples in the adits.

Newly identified 680 m-long conductor around the historical San Pedro workings that returned grades of 43 g/t Au and 7.3 % Cu from channel samples in adits.

A total geophysical conductor length of 4,700 m identified within the survey zone, with several anomalies open toward the north.

Merlin Marr-Johnson, CEO and President comments, "There is no doubt that based on what we have seen to date, the Polimet Project hosts a significant epithermal gold system that has the potential to contain a high-grade gold-copper-silver deposit. We are very pleased with the geophysical results which correlate with previous mapping and sampling work. In particular, the four main vertical conductors have helped confirm several high priority drill targets that we look forward to testing in the coming weeks. As soon as the drilling at Caballos finishes we will move the rig and start the Phase 1 drill program at Polimet."

Polimet Gold-Copper-Silver Project, Chile

Induced Polarisation "IP" Survey

IP surveys were completed on 9 lines totalling 21.2 line-km. A pole-dipole array was used with a 50 m dipole spacing expanded through 8 separations (n=1 to 8), which is an arrangement that gives good penetration up to a depth of about 300 metres. The 9 lines were spaced 300 m apart, and covered an area of about 540 ha, which is just under 25% of the total concession area. The IP survey was centered on the best geochemical, geological, and structural zones identified to date. The survey outlined four main conductors (Figure 1).

The survey data highlighted a relationship between conductive zones and zones of hydrothermal alteration or geochemical anomalies of copper and/or gold.

Figure 1. IP Resistivity slice at 100 m depth showing four main conductors at Polimet

Click Image To View Full Size

Typically the conductive zones appear as a strip at least 100 m wide in the footwall of the known epithermal vein zones and they extend to the limit of the survey at a depth of about 300 metres. The survey also identified several horizontal conductors that are interpreted to relate to lithology and are therefore a lower priority target.

The main vertical conductor trends exhibited sectors with very high conductivity (<250 Ohm-m) transitioning to medium to low conductivity ranges (250 to 350 Ohm-m). Four main trends of vertical conductors were identified.

The most extensive vertical conductor is #1 (1 in Figure 1), in the central part of the structural corridor and is 1,600 m long, trending NNE-SSW. It connects the Santo Domingo workings to the western part of the La Garcia workings and extends to a set of mapped veins in the northern part of the structural corridor. Channel samples within the historic adits returned 10.6 g/t Au and 6.5 % Cu from Santo Domingo and 23.3 g/t Au and 3.4 % Cu from La Garcia (Fitzroy Minerals news release dated February 6, 2024). To the south the conductor becomes weaker although it continues for an additional 600 m, forming a total anomaly of 2,100 m, and still open to the north.

Vertical Conductor 2 (2 in Figure 1) is a highly prospective anomaly as it coincides with the San Pedro vein set, where the largest high-grade ore shoot found to date on the property has been exploited. Channel samples within the historic adits returned 43 g/t Au and 7.3 % Cu (Fitzroy Minerals news release dated February 6, 2024). This conductor is at least 680 m long and correlates with a mapped vein zone extending from the San Pedro workings to the N-NW.

Figure 2. Resistivity Section 22350 (see also Figure 1) showing proposed drill hole, structure, vein, and conductor

Click Image To View Full Size

The third Vertical Conductor of interest is in the eastern part of the survey area (3 in Figure 1). Part of this conductor trends NW-SE and correlates well with several veins and silicified zones mapped with occurrences of Cu and Au. The conductor then appears to swing northwards and continue for another 700 m for a total of 1,400 metres. Finally, in the NW part of the survey coverage, a good vertical conductor has been identified which extends 600 m in a N-S direction (4 in Figure 1). This conductor is open to the north and coincides with several small workings, adits and galleries developed by artisanal miners.

In total, these four vertical conductors comprise more than 4,700 m of strike length. Several of the conductors are open to the north. In addition to the conductivity anomalies, the IP survey also identified chargeability anomalies. Broadly chargeable zones are evident on either side of the main conductive trends. One interpretation of these anomalies infers a pyrite-rich halo around the mineralized veins.

Figure 3. Polimet Magnetic Survey, Structural Interpretation, and location of the IP survey

Click Image To View Full Size

Target Generation and Phase 1 Drilling

Fitzroy Minerals has generated several drill targets that will be tested in the Phase 1 diamond drilling program due to start in February 2025. Areas with strong vertical conductivity anomalies that correlate well to known or inferred vein trends and/or geochemical anomalies were prioritized in drillhole scheduling. The proposed drillhole shown in Figure 2 (Resistivity Section 22350) illustrates the compound nature of the anomalies. The proposed drillhole crosses a known mineralized structure and a strong conductivity anomaly. At least seven drillholes are planned to test these targets, and there will be additional scope to test horizontal conductivity anomalies.

Magnetometry Survey

Ground magnetic surveys were conducted along lines spaced 50 m apart and oriented east-west. A total of 329 line-km of continuous data was acquired, covering approximately 70% of the total concession area (Figure 3). The data highlights a structural corridor of 5.0 km x 1.6 km with a general NNW-SSE trend.

Qualified Person

Dr. Scott Jobin-Bevans (P.Geo., Ph.D.), a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and independent geological consultant to the Company, has reviewed and verified the technical information provided in this news release.

About Fitzroy Minerals

Fitzroy Minerals is focused on exploring and developing mineral assets with substantial upside potential in the Americas. The Company's current property portfolio includes the Caballos Copper and Polimet Gold-Copper-Silver projects located in Valparaiso, Chile, and the Taquetren Gold project located in Rio Negro, Argentina, as well as the Cariboo project in British Columbia, Canada. Fitzroy Minerals' shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol FTZ and on the OTCQB under the symbol FTZFF.

On behalf of Fitzroy Minerals Inc.

Merlin Marr-Johnson

President and CEO

For further information, please contact:

Merlin Marr-Johnson

mmj@fitzroyminerals.com

+1 604-505-4554

For more information on Fitzroy Minerals, please visit the Company's website: www.fitzroyminerals.com

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to or for the account or benefit of a U.S. person (as defined in Regulation S under the United States Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Neither Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release includes certain statements and information that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information specifically include, but are not limited to, statements that relate to the completion of the Offering and the timing and pricing in respect thereof, the use of proceeds of the Offering, and timely receipt of all necessary approvals, including any requisite approval of the Exchange.

Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainty affecting the business of the Company. Such statements can generally, but not always, be identified by words such as "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "forecasts", "schedules", "prepares", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. All statements that describe the Company's plans relating to operations and potential strategic opportunities are forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. These statements address future events and conditions and are reliant on assumptions made by the Company's management, and so involve inherent risks and uncertainties, as disclosed in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, and the assumptions underlying the forward-looking information, actual results could materially differ from those currently projected, and there is no representation by the Company that the actual results realized in the future will be the same in whole or in part as those presented herein. the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update forward-looking statements or information except as required by law. Readers are referred to the additional information regarding the Company's business contained in the Company's reports filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that could cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. For more information on the Company and the risks and challenges of its business, investors should review the Company's filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

The Company provides no assurance that forward-looking statements and information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company does not undertake to update any for-ward looking statements, other than as required by law.

Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
Hamilton at Ferrari for marketing reasons says Ickx

F1 legend and former Ferrari driver Jackie Ickx thinks the Italian team leapt at the chance to sign Lewis Hamilton "probably for marketing reasons".

Lewis Hamilton, Fiorano

 Ferrari

It has emerged that the first photo of Hamilton at Maranello, standing in front of Enzo Ferrari's house with a F40 supercar, broke the record for the most 'liked' Formula 1-related image on Instagram in history.

The photo has 5.6 million 'likes' and counting.

Emotions aside, how much is the seven time world champion worth to Ferrari? wondered La Repubblica newspaper. Judging from his first photo published last Monday, a lot.

The newspaper also published a summary of the estimated and lucrative value per sponsor of Hamilton's first photo in Ferrari gear.

It's certainly worth it for Ferrari already, respected British commentator Martin Brundle is quoted by Sky Deutschland, even though he also wondered out loud if the 40-year-old is now past his prime .

8-time grand prix winner Ickx, 80, acknowledged that Hamilton's incredible marketing value will have weighed into the decision to sign the famous Briton.

Carlos Sainz did very well at Ferrari, he told El Mundo Deportivo. "But Ferrari were tempted to sign Hamilton probably for marketing reasons. And probably also because he wanted a new experience and to include Ferrari in his history.

We'll see, Ickx, from Belgium, added. "But there's nothing to criticise Carlos for. He was successful, he won grands prix - but that's in the past now.

"We have to remember that there are many important aspects to F1, and not just politics. There are also economics, marketing, but in the end it's all about winning. It's sad to see that Sainz is leaving Ferrari, but you have to move on and you can't constantly think about what could have been and why it didn't happen.

No, said Ickx. You have to be focused on what you have and do the best with that.

Hamilton and Leclerc will be back on the track this week in Barcelona in the 2023 car, before Hamilton gets his first taste of the 2024 Ferrari another week later for a Pirelli test.

(GMM)
Bar Kabawa 8 Extra Pl., at E. 1st St Chef Paul Carmichael at Kabawa, the new restaurant hell open with Momofuku in February. Photo: Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet

At the peak of its sprawl, Momofukus empire comprised 13 restaurants across six cities on two continents. There were fast-casual satellites (Milk Bar, Fuku, Bang Bar) and a companion magazine. Tying it all together was David Changs bro-chef sensibility, a talent for blending East Asian techniques and American comfort food that has now been distilled into a grocery line of instant ramen and condiments, Changs Ringer podcast, and his Netflix cooking show. At the same time, the number of full-service Momofuku restaurants dwindled to four. But the most recent to close, Ko, is turning into the companys first entirely new restaurant since 2019: Kabawa is a reimagining of what a Momofuku restaurant can be  I didnt see one peach illustration as I walked through recently  with chef Paul Carmichael stepping in to lead.

Carmichael has actually spent more than a decade in the Momo orbit. He was the executive chef at Ma Peche in midtown and ran Seiobo, the companys restaurant in Sydney, Australia, where his 14-course tasting menus included dishes such as charred breadfruit with butter and cassava gnocchi with mud crab. I cant help but think how much America might benefit from this profoundly pleasurable expression of African and Caribbean foodways, Aussie critic Besha Rodell fawned in a 2018 Times review.

Still, Carmichael, who was born in Barbados, arrives back in New York with a relatively low profile among the citys diners and a plan to focus Kabawa on the cooking of the Caribbean. He was inspired by words and phrases from the indigenous Kalinago language for the restaurants name.

Clockwise from top-left: Short rib patty with conch and bone marrow, a patty with duck and foie gras, and pig-head souse with cucumber. Photo: Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet

The restaurant will be split into two parts: the main dining room will offer a three-course prix fixe menu could feature renditions of rasta pasta, curry goat, or jerk duck, and  opening first  Bar Kabawa, a daiquiri and wine room with raw-bar picks and a full patty program. As much as this is a business, and nobody understands that better than me, its also an outlet to share, says Carmichael. His patty dough is a hybrid of flaky Jamaican and laminated Haitian styles, and hell offer them baked or fried with fillings that include short rib with conch and bone marrow, duck with foie gras, and eggplant-tomato. To round out the bar menu, Carmichael is working on a dish with the Haitian slaw known as pikliz and pigs-head souse, a play on the staple, which is more often made with long-simmered, vinegar-spiked pigs feet. That ones real Bajan, says Carmichael.

We want this to be a platform for Paul, says Momofuku CEO Marguerite Zabar Mariscal. I dont just mean in Extra Place  if in ten years theres Pauls Patties, too, its like, great.

Still, the chef has no interest in competing with the citys numerous cuchifritos and roti shops; this is just his chance to show his vision for a style of cooking that has only recently started to gain traction within the world of fine dining  and that he wasnt able to fully explore the last time he cooked in this country. In Australia, I let loose and just kept honing it, he says. Now, were going to forge our own way of thinking and making people feel. We want our own sort of identity here.

Shaved ice for a cocktail. The bar will put an emphasis on daiquiris. Photo: Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet
Okkodo High School and Notre Dame High School have been named winners of the 2024 Toys for Tots High School Challenge for collecting and donating the most toys in their respective divisions between Oct. 1 and Dec. 6, 2024, the Guam Chamber of Commerce said.

Its a program in support of the annual Toys for Tots Campaign spearheaded by Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.

A total of 13 schools participated.

The Guam Chamber of Commerces Armed Forces Committee offered schools with a population of more than 500 students a $1,000 prize.

A $700 prize was offered to schools with less than 500 students.

Okkodo High School was the large school winner with a total of 1,341 toys donated.

Notre Dame High School was the small school winner with a total of 181 toys donated.

The challenge allowed students to make a difference during the holiday season by contributing new, unwrapped toys for their youth counterparts.

The primary goal of the Toys for Tots program is to help bring the joy of Christmas and to send a message of hope to our regions less fortunate children, the Guam Chamber of Commerce said.

Through the high school challenge, a total of 2,915 toys were collected and, together with community contributions, directly benefit children in need through the outreach services of The Salvation Army, Catholic Social Service, Manelu, Harvest House, Guam Memorial Hospital, and more, the Guam Chamber of Commerce said.

The program thanked all participating high schools for their generosity in supporting Toys for Tots in 2024:

Academy of Our Lady of Guam

Father Duenas Memorial School

George Washington High School

Guahan Academy Charter School

Guam High School

Harvest Christian Academy

John F. Kennedy High School

Majesty Christian Academy

Notre Dame High School

Okkodo High School

Saint Johns School

Southern High School

Tiyan High School

The Guam Chamber of Commerce also recognized Santa Barbara Catholic School, which, although not a high school, collected toys for the program this year.

The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is a not-for-profit charity with a 77-year history.

Last year, the Marine Toys for Tots Program fulfilled the holiday hopes and dreams of 13 million less fortunate children in over 800 communities nationwide by distributing 30 million toys.

Since 1947, over 301 million children have been assisted and 677 million toys distributed. For more information, visit www.toysfortots.org.
Guams dog and cat population will be surveyed from Feb. 13 through 21, several years after local entities provided estimates of between 25,000 and 60,000 stray animals alone.

Volunteers are being sought to help with this comprehensive survey, which will cover both pet and stray dogs and cats.

The Guam Department of Agricultures Animal Health Division, in partnership with Guam Animals in Need, GAIN, issued a call out for volunteers.

A visiting expert team from Humane Society International will lead the critical initiative, Agriculture said, to gather essential data to improve animal welfare and address the stray animal population on Guam.

This survey is a critical step in understanding the dynamics of Guams dog and cat populations, Guam Agriculture Director Chelsea Muna said in a statement. With the help of our dedicated volunteers and partners, we can gather the data needed to implement targeted programs that improve animal welfare, protect public health, and enhance the quality of life for both animals and residents across the island.

Who could volunteer?

Agriculture said it is seeking dedicated volunteers to assist in this vital survey effort. Volunteers must meet the following requirements:

 Must be 18 years or older.

 Attend mandatory training sessions on Feb. 11 and 12.

 Be available during survey days from Feb. 13 to 21 (hours are weather dependent); volunteers need not attend every day.

 Access to an Android phone and reliable transportation (optional but preferred).

Registration needed, expectations

Volunteers can sign up at https://tinyurl.com/GUdogsurvey25.

Agriculture said volunteers will be doing:

1. Household questionnaires. Collect data on dog ownership practices, including sterilization and vaccination, to understand community attitudes and behaviors contributing to stray animal populations.

2. Free-roaming animal counts. Conduct manual counts of visible stray dogs and cats to estimate population density and distribution. This data will help determine trends in the stray population and identify high-priority areas for intervention programs.

Surveys importance

Agriculture said this survey is a cornerstone of future animal welfare projects, including spay and neuter initiatives and community outreach programs.

Volunteers will play an integral role in shaping solutions to Guams stray animal challenges while working alongside passionate animal advocates and international experts, it said.

For further information regarding this project, contact the Department of Agricultures Animal Health Division at (671) 300-7963/64/66 or animalcontrol@doag.guam.gov.




Haiti - Constitutional revision : National consultations progress





The Steering Committee of the National Conference informs that the constitutional review process, initiated by the Government, is continuing dynamically across the country. In 5 departments and 64 municipalities, the departmental meetings are mobilizing the vital forces of the Nation, with significant participation of women, young people and committed citizens.



These consultations reflect a common desire to ensure a transparent and inclusive transition, up to the expectations of the Haitian people. This process, based on dialogue and citizen engagement, aims to build a new Constitution that embodies the values of social justice, solidarity and progress.



These departmental meetings, organized throughout the country, must result in significant amendments to the Constitution. These reforms aim to correct the shortcomings that have often led to poorly structured and problematic electoral processes.



In the North-East department, the constitutional review process is moving forward with determination and great enthusiasm, thanks to the active commitment of different sectors of society. An important milestone was reached on the first day of the departmental session of the National Conference, held in Fort Liberte.



According to the Observatory of the Office of the Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister, responsible for electoral and constitutional matters, the majority of participants on the first day were women. This participation demonstrates the commitment of Haitian women to play a central role in this historic process. Young people also participated actively, contributing with great passion to the discussions.



In the Artibonite department, the Steering Committee of the National Conference organized the first day of workshops in the city of Gonaives. These workshops, which bring together members from various sectors from the 17 communes of the department, are part of a participatory approach around the necessary constitutional reforms.



During this day, participants took part in thematic workshops on the legal bases and essential orientations for an ambitious and inclusive constitutional reform.



The participation of women, young people and community leaders was remarkable. These actors actively contributed to the debates with reflections and proposals on several crucial themes.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43746-haiti-politic-constitutional-revision-process-underway.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43053-haiti-politic-installation-of-the-members-of-the-steering-committee-of-the-national-conference.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-42809-haiti-politic-the-cpt-published-a-decree-concerning-the-establishment-of-the-national-conference.html



SL/ HaitiLibre


















The new US government has dismissed all members of various advisory bodies not appointed by the government, bringing an investigation into the devastating cyberattack on US providers to an abrupt halt. This was reported by the news agency Reuters. According to people in the know, the investigation into the attack by the Cyber Safety Review Board has been killed, quotes journalist Eric Geller. Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat) speaks of a massive gift to the Chinese spies who also targeted Donald Trump and JD Vance.

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Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Inhalt geladen. Externen Inhalt jetzt laden DHS has terminated the memberships of everyone on its advisory committees. This includes several cyber committees, like CISA's advisory panel and the Cyber Safety Review Board, which was investigating Salt Typhoon. That review is "dead," person familiar says. www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...



[image or embed]  Eric Geller (@ericjgeller.com) 21. Januar 2025 um 21:43

Help from the private sector

The Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) has been existing since 2022 and is staffed by the cybersecurity agency CISA. Government institutions such as the NSA intelligence agency and the Ministry of Justice were actually represented on the board, as well as private sector players such as Google and cybersecurity companies. The assembled expertise is intended to investigate particularly serious cybersecurity incidents. There were reports on the Log4Shell vulnerability and the attack on Microsoft Exchange in the summer of 2023, for example. Most recently, the committee dealt with the attack on US providers that was allegedly carried out from China.

At the beginning of October, it became known that attackers suspected of being in the service of the Chinese government had succeeded in compromising the networks of AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and other providers. The group called Salt Typhoon, GhostEmperor or FamousSparrow was apparently involved in gathering information. It was the largest telecommunications hack in US history  by far, the chairman of the Senate committee responsible for intelligence services said back in November. According to Geller, the CSRB's analysis was less than half finished. The dismissal was justified on the grounds of misuse of resources.

As Reuters explains, the CSRB is just one of several advisory bodies assigned to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They provide support in areas such as civil protection, AI, and technology. With the dismissal of all delegates who are not from a government agency, the CSRB and the others do not necessarily have to cease their work. But their ability to function is significantly restricted. According to the DHS, those dismissed can reapply, but that may be too late for the ongoing work. The CSRB's investigation into the Salt Typhoon cyberattack is effectively over, Reuters writes.

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Read also After serious cyberattack on US provider: FBI promotes encryption

(mho)
At the end of 2024, nearly 369,000 individuals had at least one payment default, an increase of approximately 18,500 compared to the end of 2023.

Nearly 1.95 million new payment defaults were recorded in Finland in 2024, marking the highest number of the decade. Despite the rise in default entries, the number of individuals with payment defaults grew at a slower pace, suggesting worsening financial difficulties among those already struggling.

Over 301,000 people received new payment defaults during the year, up from 280,000 in 2023.

The increase in payment defaults was seen across all Finnish regions except South Ostrobothnia, where the proportion of adults with payment defaults decreased by 0.01%. However, North Karelia experienced the largest relative rise, with the share of adults with payment defaults growing from 6.28% to 6.85%. Uusimaa saw the largest numerical increase, with nearly 1,000 new individuals recorded as having payment defaults in the last three months of the year.

Mikko Karemo, Deputy CEO of Asiakastieto, called the rising number of defaults a concerning trend, noting that individuals with existing financial difficulties were accruing more entries. He explained that turning the tide on over-indebtedness is challenging once the situation has begun to spiral.

The most significant growth in payment defaults occurred in the second quarter of 2024, with nearly 628,000 new entries recorded. Many were attributed to insolvency declarations during enforcement procedures.

The overall increase in defaults has been further complicated by fluctuations caused by changes to Finlands credit information law. Since late 2022, credit histories can be cleared once debts tied to payment defaults are repaid. This change initially removed over 18,000 individuals from credit default registries but has not stemmed the broader trend of rising over-indebtedness.

The year ended with a slight slowdown in the rate at which new individuals were recorded with payment defaults. Despite this, the total number of people with defaults remains at its highest since the 2022 credit law reforms. Karemo expressed cautious optimism but warned that unemployment growth and other economic pressures make a quick reversal unlikely.

Debt collection and default patterns illustrate broader economic challenges, including rising unemployment and tighter household budgets. Although new laws and data improvements aim to address financial issues, the overall debt landscape remains strained.

Payment defaults grew in all regions except South Ostrobothnia, where a modest decline was recorded. In North Karelia, the proportion of adults with payment defaults rose the most significantly, reflecting a persistent regional economic divide.

While Uusimaa saw the highest number of new cases, Paijat-Hame had the largest share of its adult population with payment defaults, increasing slightly from 8.63% to 8.7%.

HT
The visit, which included meetings with Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre and Minister of Internal Security Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail , focused on strengthening bilateral relations in security and readmission arrangements.

Finnish Minister of the Interior Meri Rantanen visited Somalia on 21 January to discuss cooperation on deporting Somali asylum seekers from Finland, a move critics allege is tied to the Finns Party's political agenda ahead of the April municipal and county elections.

According to Rantanen, Finland's top priority is to establish effective return mechanisms for Somali nationals denied residency in Finland.

Finland appreciates the long-standing cooperation with Somalia. Establishing return arrangements is essential to the partnership, Rantanen stated. She also emphasised Somalias critical role in counter-terrorism efforts, recognising the work of Somali security authorities in stabilising the region.

Finland has temporarily halted bilateral development aid to Somalia, a program previously vital to supporting Somalias recovery. The Finnish government has linked future funding decisions to progress on deportation agreements. Critics argue this conditionality politicises humanitarian aid, leveraging it to secure deportation commitments.

The visit also involved discussions with international representatives, including UN Special Representative James Swan and EU officials in Somalia, highlighting Finlands efforts to align its deportation policies with broader European frameworks.

The Finns Party, of which Rantanen is a member, has long advocated stricter immigration policies. Finance Minister Riikka Purra, the partys chairperson, praised the trip as a step toward resolving issues of undocumented migrants. She highlighted the stagnation in deportations and stated that re-establishing development aid should depend on Somalias cooperation.

However, critics, including human rights advocates, have accused the Finns Party of exploiting the Somali community for electoral purposes. Analysts note that the number of undocumented Somali nationals in Finland is relatively smallestimated between 100 and 200raising questions about whether the initiative is more about political signalling than practical necessity.

A Somali asylum seeker in Finland, Ali Hassan, shared his concerns about potential deportation. After eight years in Finland and several rejected asylum applications, Hassan said the uncertainty has been overwhelming. Ive built a life here with my family. I fear returning to Somalia, where threats from groups like Al-Shabab could put us in danger, he said.

Somali authorities have yet to issue an official statement on the visit but have acknowledged their limited resources for reintegrating deportees. Somalia relies heavily on remittances from its diaspora, which contribute an estimated $1.3 billion annually to the economy.

While Somalia understands the need for deportation agreements, officials have cautioned that returning individuals to unstable conditions could exacerbate challenges for deportees and their communities.

The visit comes amid rising scrutiny of deportation policies across Europe, particularly in the context of hybrid threats and strained relations with countries like Russia. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen recently highlighted the importance of international cooperation to counter such challenges while maintaining adherence to the rule of law.

HT
We should find a spirit that allows us to make agreements quickly rather than slowly and not cause any damage to employment and economic growth, he said during his regular interview on YLE Radio Suomi.

PRIME MINISTER Petteri Orpo (NCP) stated to YLE on Sunday that he hopes that labour market organisations could discuss terms and conditions of employment without setting off strikes given their negative effects on budding economic growth in Finland.

The Finnish Industrial Union on Monday launched the first in a series of planned strikes in the chemicals and technology industries in an attempt to make headway in its collective bargaining negotiations with the Chemical Industry Federation and Technology Industry Employers. More than 13,000 employees at almost 100 workplaces are expected to take place in the six-day strike, with seven other trade unions supporting the struggle with solidarity actions.

Orpo told YLE he is concerned about the strike.

Im very worried about this, he said. These [strikes] can have an outsized impact in these particular circumstances.

The Industrial Union is prepared to launch another six-day strike on 3 February, targeting over 60 different chemicals and technology companies. It has also announced a strike targeting forest industry companies UPM Kymmene and UPM Plywood.

Some 13,500 employees are expected to participate in the strike on 38 February.

Yet another strike is scheduled to take place on 1014 February, with roughly 8,000 employees at 126 workplaces expected to take part.

Trade Union Pro, a union representing expert and managerial staff, has stated that its members at nearly 20 technology industry companies will go on strike from 27 January to 1 February. In the second wave, on 38 February, the strike will expand to also cover companies in the chemicals industry.

The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), the members of which include the Industrial Union, has set its sights on securing pay rises of 10 per cent for its members in the ongoing round of collective bargaining.

The Finnish Airline Pilots Association (SLL) has reportedly demanded even greater pay rises and rejected the compromise suggested by the national conciliator to tie the rise to the outcome of talks between the Industrial Union, Chemical Industry Federation and Technology Industry Employers.

SLL and Service Sector Employers (Palta) have been embroiled in collective bargaining negotiations already for months, the previous agreement having expired in September 2024. Palta has estimated that the overtime and standby bans implemented by the pilots are causing roughly a dozen flight cancellations every day.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
Swedish authorities have boarded the Maltese-flagged cargo ship Vezhen , suspected of damaging an undersea fibre optic cable between Latvia and Sweden. The incident, which occurred early Sunday in Swedens exclusive economic zone, has prompted a sabotage investigation and heightened regional security measures.

We can confirm that persons from Swedish authorities have been on board the vessel to carry out investigative measures, spokesperson Johan Wikstrom stated, declining to comment further.

The Vezhen, owned by Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare, was escorted by the Swedish Coast Guard to waters near Karlskrona, where it remains anchored. Images from Swedish TV4 show a damaged anchor on the vessel, which experts believe could have contributed to the cable breach.

Bulgarian authorities denied any sabotage, suggesting the damage could have occurred unintentionally. The anchor may have dropped due to strong winds and rough seas, said Alexander Kalchev, CEO of Navigation Maritime Bulgare. He added, The vessel could have caused the damage but was not involved in sabotage.

The incident is the latest in a series of underwater infrastructure breaches in the Baltic Sea, including the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and multiple telecom cables last year. NATO has since increased its presence in the region, deploying frigates, patrol aircraft, and naval drones as part of the Baltic Sentry mission to protect critical infrastructure.

Captain Marko Laaksonen of the Finnish Navy emphasised the importance of NATOs operation in deterring potential threats. The enhanced presence safeguards sea connections and infrastructure that are vital for all of us, he told Radio Suomi.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said Finland and the EU are working closely to counter hybrid threats and illegal maritime practices linked to shadow fleets, often associated with Russia. These poorly insured, aging vessels have been accused of sanctions evasion and deceptive tactics.

We are in a situation where Russia is waging an aggressive war in Europe in violation of international law. It must be addressed, Valtonen said.

The investigation into the Vezhen is ongoing. Swedish authorities have yet to confirm whether the vessel caused the cable damage intentionally or by accident. Meanwhile, Latvia has also launched a separate inquiry into the incident.

HT
Inbound tourism booms in January 2025

People's Daily Online) 10:10, January 27, 2025

In January 2025, inbound tourism continues to heat up across China, as "China travel" has become increasingly popular among foreign tourists.

Italian tourists pose for a group photo on the city wall of Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Photo courtesy of Chengdu Greatway Tour Co., Ltd.)

Since China implemented the 240-hour visa-free transit policy on Dec. 17 last year, the country has seen a rising number of inbound tourists.

For instance, more and more tourists hailing from South Korea and Japan have traveled to east China's Shandong Province by air after work on Friday to indulge in delectable cuisine, stunning landscapes, and shopping sprees. Cities like Qingdao, Yantai, and Weihai in the province have become popular destinations for South Korean tourists.

South Korean tourists drink beer at the Tsingtao Beer Museum in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. (Photo courtesy of the Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism)

Since the beginning of this year, Qingdao has received nearly 1,000 South Korean tourist visits per day on average, a 17.6 percent surge compared to that before China implemented a unilateral visa-free policy for South Korea.

Since China's visa-free entry policy for South Korea on a trial basis, the volume of travel bookings from South Korean tourists to China has surged, with Shanghai emerging as the top choice for many South Korean visitors.

On New Year's Day, 130 tourists from 10 countries and Hong Kong SAR arrived in Beijing. They gathered at the foot of the Great Wall, immersing themselves in traditional Chinese culture through intangible cultural heritages like paper-cutting and lion dance.

Today, many foreign tourists are exploring China in unique ways, seeking to delve into its rich history and vibrant modern culture. South Korean tourists share their travel experiences in Shanghai on social media, exploring the city's trendy cafes, bars, and night markets. A tourism company has continued to roll out inbound tourism products in Shanghai, adding new city walk routes, museum visits and intangible cultural heritage experiences, etc.

China's inbound tourism is expected to achieve positive growth this year and surpass the 2019 level, thanks to continuously improved visa, payment, and accommodation policies, facilities and service quality, plus active overseas promotion of inbound tourism, according to Liu Xiangyan, who is in charge of inbound tourism research at the China Tourism Academy.

Tourists pose for a group photo in front of the Temple of Heaven, a well-known attraction in Beijing. (Photo courtesy of CYTS International Travel. Co., Ltd.)

Data from Shanghai's Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism shows that the city received over 6 million inbound tourist visits in 2024. Shanghai aims to position itself as the top destination for inbound tourism, with internationally friendly tourism products and convenient services, according to the city's government work report this year.

Qingdao welcomed 442,200 inbound tourist visits in 2024, a whopping 97.3 percent increase year on year. In 2025, Qingdao will ramp up its tourism promotion efforts in South Korea, Japan, and emerging markets including Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Online travel agency Ctrip predicts that the number of travel bookings by foreign tourists for the Spring Festival period this year will surge by 203 percent year on year.

China welcomes foreign tourists to join China's celebration of the Spring Festival and experience the joy of the Chinese New Year, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said recently.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
China's 2024 overseas newly signed contracts hit record with green projects surging 12.7%

10:20, January 27, 2025 By Ma Tong ( Global Times

This photo taken on Sept. 26, 2024 shows the Karuma dam at the Karuma Hydropower Station in Kiryandongo, Uganda. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has commissioned the Chinese-built 600-megawatt Karuma Hydropower Station and the Karuma Interconnection Project in the midwestern Ugandan district of Kiryandongo. (Photo/Xinhua)

China achieved stable growth in outbound investment in 2024, with a notable increase in international green infrastructure collaboration. Newly signed contracts included eco-protection and clean energy initiatives rose by 12.7 percent last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Sunday.

China's overseas contracted projects hit a record high in the past year, as newly signed contracts totalled $267.3 billion, marking a 1.1 percent year-on-year growth, MOFCOM data showed.

Green infrastructure cooperation stood out as a key highlight, with new contracts for energy-saving, environmental protection, and clean energy projects rising 12.7 percent to $49.26 billion.

Last year, investment in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) also recorded stable growth. In 2024, Chinese enterprises channeled $33.69 billion in non-financial direct investment into these countries, reflecting a 5.4 percent year-on-year growth.

"The ongoing deepening of practical collaboration with countries participating in the BRI has played a key role in advancing the high-quality development of the initiative," a MOFCOM official said in a statement issued on the ministry's website.

In recent years, the Chinese government has ramped up efforts to encourage domestic companies to invest in green projects abroad, supporting these initiatives with concrete measures to ensure their success, Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"This push has led to a surge in environmentally focused outbound investments, particularly in developing countries," Bai said.

China has collaborated with over 100 countries and regions on green energy projects and launched a number of key projects and some "small yet smart" projects that effectively address the accessibility and affordability of power supply in those areas, and provide them with clean, safe and reliable energy supply solutions, said a white paper issued in August 2024 by China's State Council Information Office, per a Xinhua report.

"This collaboration fosters a win-win situation, addressing the urgent need for green transitions in developing nations. For Chinese firms, it unlocks new opportunities in green technologies, environmental industries, and the digital economy," Bai added, predicting that Chinese foreign investments will increasingly prioritize high-tech resources and green industries, especially in Belt and Road partner countries in the future.

Overall, China's non-financial outbound direct investment rose by 10.5 percent year-on-year to $143.85 billion in the past year, according to the MOFCOM.

Investment in ASEAN countries grew particularly fast, increasing by 12.6 percent compared to 2023, with significant inflows into Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand and other regional economies.

By sector, the majority of investments flowed into leasing and business services, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade, official data revealed.

China's overseas labor services experienced a strong recovery last year, with 409,000 workers dispatched abroad, representing a 17.9 percent increase from the previous year. Most of these workers were employed across construction, transportation, warehousing, and postal services, playing a crucial role in securing employment and promoting all-around rural revitalization.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing)
A German aerospace engineer celebrated setting a world record Friday for the longest time living underwater without depressurization -- 120 days in a submerged capsule off the coast of Panama.

Rudiger Koch, 59, emerged from his 30-square-meter (320-square-foot) home under the sea in the presence of Guinness World Records adjudicator Susana Reyes.

She confirmed that Koch had beaten the record previously held by American Joseph Dituri, who spent 100 days living in an underwater lodge in a Florida lagoon.

"It was a great adventure and now it's over there's almost a sense of regret actually. I enjoyed my time here very much," Koch told AFP after leaving the capsule 11 meters (36 feet) under the sea.

"It is beautiful when things calm down and it gets dark and the sea is glowing," he said of the view through the portholes.

"It is impossible to describe, you have to experience that yourself," he added.

To celebrate, Koch toasted with champagne and smoked a cigar before leaping into the Caribbean Sea, where a boat picked him up and took him to dry land for a celebratory party.

Koch's capsule had most of the trappings of modern life: a bed, toilet, TV, computer and internet -- even an exercise bike.

Located some 15 minutes by boat from the coast of northern Panama, it was attached to another chamber perched above the waves by a tube containing a narrow spiral staircase, providing a way down for food and visitors, including a doctor.

Solar panels on the surface provided electricity. There was a backup generator, but no shower.

Koch had told an AFP journalist who visited him halfway through his endeavor that he hoped it would change the way we think about human life -- and where we can settle, even permanently.

"What we are trying to do here is prove that the seas are actually a viable environment for human expansion," he said.

Four cameras filmed his moves in the capsule -- capturing his daily life, monitoring his mental health and providing proof that he never came up to the surface.

"We needed witnesses who were monitoring and verifying 24/7 for more than 120 days," Reyes told AFP.

The record "is undoubtedly one of the most extravagant" and required "a lot of work," she added.

An admirer of Captain Nemo in Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," Koch kept a copy of the 19th century sci-fi classic on his bedside table beneath the waves.
Lunar New Year is widely celebrated as the most important event of the year in China and among Chinese communities worldwide. The festivities begin on January 29, 2025, marking the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ushering in the Year of the Snake with the 15-day Spring Festival. While traditions vary across countries and regions, certain practices remain universal.

The Chinese zodiac calendar, a 12-year cycle represented by 12 animalsRat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pigadds a unique layer of meaning to the celebrations. Each individual's zodiac sign is tied to their birth year, and 2025 will welcome a new generation of Snakes. Children born in 2026, after the Lunar New Year, will belong to the Year of the Horse.

Astrological beliefs play a significant role in the holiday, with luck for each zodiac sign believed to be influenced by the positions of the Tai Suistellar deities thought to move opposite Jupiter. Geomancy experts analyze these positions to predict fortunes for the year, offering insights for each zodiac sign.

Many followers take advantage of this auspicious time to visit temples, seeking blessings and guidance for the year ahead based on their zodiac sign and the stars' alignments.

Chinese New Year traditions hold deep cultural significance, aiming to welcome good fortune, banish bad luck, and foster harmony for the year ahead. Spanning 15 days, the celebrations are rich with activities and customs that reflect renewal and prosperity.

Preparations and Cleaning

Festivities begin with thorough house cleaning, symbolizing the sweeping away of bad luck from the previous year to make room for positive energy. Once cleaned, homes avoid sweeping or trash removal on New Year's Day to protect the incoming good fortune.

Decorations: Red, Gold, and the Year of the Snake

Red and gold dominate the decor, symbolizing happiness, vitality, and protection from evil. Homes and businesses are adorned with red lanterns, paper cuttings, couplets, and Fu symbols, often displayed upside-down to represent arriving fortune. In 2025, snake-themed decorations will honor the zodiac animal, representing intelligence, strength, and resilience.

Red Envelopes and Fireworks

Red envelopes (hongbao) filled with money are given by elders to younger family members as tokens of good luck and prosperity. Fireworks and firecrackers are set off to ward off evil spirits and welcome the new year with a bang.

Dragon and Lion Dances

Traditional Dragon and Lion Dances grace streets and cities worldwide, bringing good fortune and dispelling negative energy. The Dragon Dance symbolizes strength and auspiciousness, while the Lion Dance is believed to scare away evil spirits with its energetic movements.

The Lantern Festival: A Radiant Finale

The celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day, marked by dazzling nighttime displays of lanterns in various shapes and sizes. Families and couples enjoy solving riddles on the lanterns, while the festival provides a joyous and romantic conclusion to the new year festivities.
King Charles is set to make history as the first British head of state to visit Auschwitz, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the concentration camp's liberation.

During his visit to Poland, the King will join survivors and dignitaries for a special service, concluding with the lighting of a remembrance candle to honor the victims.

Sources close to the King describe the visit as deeply significant, with one aide calling it a "profoundly personal pilgrimage."

Meanwhile, in the UK, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has reaffirmed his commitment to Holocaust education in schools, emphasizing the need to ensure that "never again" becomes a meaningful reality.

Sir Keir Starmer will join the Prince of Wales and Holocaust survivors at official commemorations in London for Holocaust Memorial Day. Held annually on January 27, the day honors the six million Jews killed during World War II, as well as the millions of non-Jews who were victims of Nazi persecution and those affected by more recent genocides.

Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp, was central to the Nazis' systematic campaign to exterminate Europe's Jewish population.

The King has long expressed a desire to be present at Auschwitz for the liberation ceremony, not only to honor the significance of the anniversary but also to witness the testimony of survivors in the place where so much suffering took place.

During a speech at a Jewish charity event, the King is expected to emphasize the importance of survivors' stories, highlighting their lessons "to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate."
Lighthouse Wins HotelTechAwards for Fifth Consecutive Year, Accelerating Momentum After Recent Strategic Investment - Image Credit Lighthouse



Commercial platform maintains leadership across key categories following $370M investment by KKR

Lighthouse, the leading commercial platform for the travel & hospitality industry, today announces its fifth consecutive year of category leadership in the HotelTechAwards, winning top honors in the following categories:

Best Rate Shopping & Market Intelligence: Rate Insight

Best Hotel Rate Parity: Parity Insight

Best Business Intelligence: Lighthouse BI

Overall - Top 10 Hotelier's Choice (#3)

The recognition follows Lighthouse's recent $370 million strategic investment from KKR, underlining the company's position as a category-defining leader in hospitality technology. Today, over 70,000 hotels across 185 countries trust Lighthouse to transform data complexity into revenue growth.

"Five consecutive years of category leadership validates our commitment and mission to reimagine commercial strategy for travel and hospitality," said Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of Lighthouse. "We're humbled by these awards and really thankful for the trust our customers place in us. With our recent investment from KKR, we're accelerating our investments in AI and data to deliver even more innovation to our industry. The success of our customers and partners is what drives our amazing team to deliver solutions that transform complex data into clear and confident commercial decisions."

The HotelTechAwards determine winners based on customer feedback and key data signals such as integration compatibility, organizational health, market share, and customer support quality. Each year over 2.5 million hotel industry professionals use HotelTechReport.com to make informed technology purchasing decisions.

"Lighthouse has achieved something unprecedented in hospitality tech," said Jordan Hollander, CEO of Hotel Tech Report. "They've maintained product excellence and customer focus while scaling from independent properties to global chains. Their recent strategic investment signals an exciting evolution in hospitality commercial intelligence."

This combination of category leadership and strategic investment positions Lighthouse to accelerate its platform capabilities. Recent innovations in AI-powered pricing intelligence, market insights, and total revenue optimization demonstrate the companys dedication to serving the travel and hospitality industry with new capabilities that drive commercial success for hoteliers.

Experience Lighthouse today: www.mylighthouse.com

About Lighthouse

Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight) is the leading commercial platform for the travel & hospitality industry. We transform complexity into confidence by providing actionable market insights, business intelligence, and pricing tools that maximize revenue growth. We continually innovate to deliver the best platform for hospitality professionals to price more effectively, measure performance more efficiently, and understand the market in new ways.

Trusted by over 65,000 hotels in 185 countries, Lighthouse is the only solution that provides real-time hotel and short-term rental data in a single platform. We strive to deliver the best possible experience with unmatched customer service. We consider our clients as true partners - their success is our success.
New York City maintained the highest occupancy level among the top 25 markets, with a 1.4% increase to 87.9%.

The U.S. hotel industry reports a slight increase in occupancy and revenue per available room (RevPAR) in December 2024.

The top 25 markets, led by New York City, show higher occupancy and average daily rates (ADR) than other markets.

According to data from CoStar, a leading property market analytics provider, the U.S. hotel industry demonstrated mixed performance results in December 2024.

The occupancy rate across the country increased modestly by 1.1% from the previous year, settling at 53.2%. The average daily rate (ADR) for hotel rooms also increased by 3.3%, reaching US$156.67. The revenue per available room (RevPAR), an important metric in the hotel industry, rose by 4.4% to US$83.30.

New York City maintained the highest occupancy level among the top 25 markets, with a 1.4% increase to 87.9%.

However, markets such as Minneapolis and Detroit reported the lowest monthly occupancy rates, at 46.1% and 47.5%, respectively. Overall, the top 25 markets outperformed all other markets in terms of occupancy and ADR in December 2024.
8 Travel Trends Shaping Chinese New Year 2025 - Image Credit Unsplash+

ForwardKeys data reveals a significant post-pandemic rebound in Chinese outbound travel for the upcoming Chinese New Year (CNY) vacation.

The eight-day holiday from the 28th of January to the 4th of February has prompted a surge in departures, with peaks recorded on the 18th and 25th of January as many travellers make their journeys in advance of the festivities.

The longer holiday period for CNY 2025, part of a government initiative to stimulate tourism and cultural exchange, is clearly having a positive impact on travel patterns, comments Nancy Dai, Market Analyst (China) at ForwardKeys. We're seeing a clear trend of travellers departing earlier than the official holiday starts to avoid the rush, with another peak expected on 30th January, most likely driven by those seeking short-haul getaways after spending the first days of the holiday at home or with family.

As Chinese travellers take to the skies to enjoy an extended break, weve looked at some of the trends that are emerging from the Chinese New Year period in 2025, and how the data compares to last years holiday, and to pre-pandemic travel patterns.

01 Regional travel is close to recovery for CNY 2025

From 13th January to 16th February, we see a +48% year-on-year increase in outbound travel from China to other Asian destinations, closing the gap with 2019 levels to just 8%.

02 Visa-free Destinations exceed pre-pandemic numbers

ForwardKeys analysis highlights Malaysia, Singapore, and the UAE as standout performers, with growth of +41%, +26%, and +14% respectively  compared to their performance in 2019.

03 Chinese travellers to Japan double compared to last year

The depreciation of the Yen has made Japan an incredibly attractive option for Chinese travellers, resulting in a 104% increase compared to 2024  20% higher than 2019.

04 Russia shows the largest recovery outside Asia

Chinese travel to Russia is up +30% from 2024 and +39% above pre-pandemic levels, driven by the rising popularity of winter destinations, eased visa restrictions, and increased flight capacity.

05 Europe welcomes more Chinese travellers in 2025

As Chinese travellers embrace more long-haul options, Europe sees substantial growth over 2024 for France (+35%), the UK (+32%), Spain (+32%), Italy (+24% ) and Germany (+20%).

06 Seat capacity gains drive Chinese travel recovery to North America

Increased seat capacity from China to Canada (+165%) and the USA (+42%) compared to 2024 has made North America more accessible to Chinese travellers this year, resulting in an uplift in visitors.

07 More Chinese travellers go solo than pre-pandemic

We're seeing an increase in solo travellers (+8% over 2019) and couples (+6%) for regional travel, reflecting a growing preference among Chinese travellers for more independent travel experiences.

08 Traditional group travel is in sharp decline this CNY

Larger group travel (six or more) is significantly down on 2019 (-44% for regional travel, -52% for long-haul) suggesting that organised tours are less relevant to todays Chinese travellers.
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Veteran Spotlight: Army Sgt. Frank Scalise

Men of the 17th Regiment, 7th Division, Scalise's unit, assemble on the beach at Iwon, Korea, while their vehicles and equipment are unloaded from an LST.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Frank Scalise served his country in the Army in the Korean War as a sergeant from 1950 to 1952.

At 99 years of age, he has a fantastic memory, is quick-witted, humorous and possesses a powerful handshake.

The North Adams native said he was initially drafted for World War II but was classified 4-F, unfit for service, because of two hernias. He was inducted in late 1950 at age 25, among the first group of draftees from the Berkshires, and sent to basic training at Fort Devens.

"We had to wait two to three weeks as we couldn't do anything right away," he said. "They made me a fireman and I trained with the Tennessee National Guard. One night in the barracks, a bunch of southern guys were getting a bit rowdy and were saying, 'we got a Yankee in here and we're going to take care of him.'

"I told them, I got along with everyone and didn't want any trouble. They left me alone and we all got along after that."

Scalise's first assignment would be at Fort Ord in California.

"Didn't do any training there. From there I was sent to Pusan in [South] Korea and my job was 60

millimeter mortars," he said. "We first trained with a sergeant from Tampa, Fla. I set up my mortar equipment in about 20 seconds  the sergeant gave me a cigar as a reward."

He arrived in Korea as part of the 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Division, during heavy fighting as allied troops fought to push back the Korean People's Army from the peninnsula's southern tip. One report in the North Adams Transcript described how he and his regiment advanced over mountainous terrain in three days to capture a city and more than 200 prisoners.

"We were assigned to a heavy combat area, they called it 'Old Baldy,'" Scalise said. "There was vicious fighting over the course of 10 months ... we took it from the Chinese and got a lot of prisoners.

"We were in such heavy, continuous combat  I never saw a car or heard a woman's voice."

Was he ever afraid? "Oh yeah. We had an enemy artillery shell come in and buried me and a couple of other guys up to our waist with dirt. Thankfully, we were able to dig ourselves out," he said. "They would rotate us from heavy combat to the back of the line. Gave us clean clothes, a shower and whiskey."

I asked him how the whisky tasted: "By God! Two of the men in my squad helped me finish it," he laughed.

How were the holidays? "We had no holidays. We were either fighting or on missions."

Sgt. Scalise shared this story. "We got shipped back to Fort Ord from Korea. We had two other guys with me. A taxi driver stopped and asked us if we wanted to go to San Francisco, said he'd take us for $12 and would wait for us at each stop and have us back to the fort by 5 a.m. We went and had a heck of a time," he said. "The taxi driver kept his word and had us back by 5 a.m. I was happy to be out of Korea."

His feeling on coming back home? "Had some bad memories, guys that got killed, Jimmy Salazar, always laughing. He was always on point on missions and patrols and killed by an enemy hand grenade," he remembered. "Coming home was wonderful though. I got on a ship in San Fran with over 3,000 other guys. It took 15 days for us to return home. The last leg we took a train."

Thoughts on service? "Never thought too much in the beginning but realize how much of an absolute honor it was."

His extreme courage and bravery are reflected in his three bronze stars, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman's Badge and several others. He was twice promoted on the battlefield.

Sgt. Frank Scalise, thank you for your service to our great country.
Indiana Man Is 2025 Auto Dealer of the Year

NEW ORLEANS  Raymond Farabaugh, president of D-Patrick Inc. in Evansville, Ind., was named as the 2025 Time Dealer of the Year at the 108th National Automobile Dealers Association Show.

George Haddad of Haddad Toyota in Pittsfield, Mass., had also been one of the five finalists in addition to Farabaugh, Sean P. Baxter of Kayser Ford Inc. in Madison, Wis.; Con Paulos of Con Paulos Chevrolet in Jerome, Idaho; and Cathy Stender of Woody Anderson Ford, Huntsville, Ala.

Sponsor Ally Financial will give $10,000 to the charity of Farabaugh's choice and $5,000 to a nonprofit organization selected by each of the finalists, including Haddad. In recognition of their achievements, Ally also will give $1,000 to a charity selected by each of the 49 nominees.

Farabaugh was selected for his achievements in the auto industry and his commitment to making a positive impact in his community. He is a strong supporter of the Automobile Dealers Association of Indiana, where he has served as president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and currently on the board of directors.

Additionally, Farabaugh's auto group has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in direct contributions and sponsorships, supporting an array of organizations such as the Ark Crisis Children's Center, Boone County Cancer Society, Boys & Girls Club of Evansville, Tri-State Food Bank, and many more.

Time CEO Jessica Sibley and Doug Timmerman, Ally's president of dealer financial services, announced Farabaugh as the winner at a ceremony in New Orleans that honored all 49 nominees.

The Time Dealer of the Year winner and finalists are chosen by a panel from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan. The panel selects finalists from each of the four NADA regions, and, ultimately, a national winner from those finalists.

Haddad was chosen to represent the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition  one of only 49 auto dealers nominated for the 56th annual award from more than 20,000 nationwide.
Monday 27 January 2025, 12:06 - Last updated: 28 January, 00:44

 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

This article is automatically translated

International drug trafficking and involvement in a criminal organization that imported cocaine from Latin America to Europe through the port of Antwerp and distributed it in Belgium. This is the crime Radja Nainggolan, the 36-year-old Belgian footballer and former Roma star, is accused of, detained early in the morning in Brussels following a major operation by the Federal Police. His lawyer stated that his client is not involved in the matter, that "he is a footballer and not a criminal," yet the charges against him are very serious. The former midfielder of Cagliari, Inter, and the Belgian national team has been caught in the investigators' net, who this morning conducted about thirty searches between Antwerp, his hometown, and the outskirts of Brussels. The raid also led to the arrest of 15 other people and the discovery of cocaine and weapons. Specifically, the agents seized 2.7 kilos of cocaine, two bulletproof vests, and multiple weapons. Also found were over 370,000 euros in cash, along with luxury jewelry and watches, two of which have an estimated value of 360,000 euros each. Also seized were about a hundred gold coins with a total value of 116,000 euros, various luxury items, and 14 vehicles. His lawyer, Omar Souidi, at the end of the long interrogation he underwent at the headquarters of the Judicial Police of the capital, denied any involvement of his client. "I expect him to return to the field at Lokeren as soon as possible. He is mentioned in the file. But let's be clear: he has not yet been accused. Just because my client has to answer certain questions does not mean he has anything to do with this matter." Regarding the interrogation, Omar Souidi added: "It took a long time, as you can see. Now the decision of the investigating judge is awaited. She will decide whether she wants to see him again or not. The police interrogated my client very adequately. He cooperated and answered the questions." According to Belgian law, the investigators have 24 hours to see their detention turned into an arrest and an indictment by the magistrate. Developments in this case will be understood by Tuesday. Meanwhile, the news has strongly affected all the fans of the 'Red Devils', the nickname for the Belgian national team players. The sensational detention leaked first to the press and was then confirmed by the Prosecutor's Office. The champion, very popular in Belgium as in Italy, had long left top-level football. Just last week, after a long period of inactivity, he signed a contract with Lokeren-Temse Lokeren, a Belgian second division team from a municipality halfway between the cities of Ghent and Antwerp. And on Sunday, in his debut, he even scored a spectacular goal directly from a corner kick. His new teammates reacted with shock to the news. The club issued a statement reiterating that they learned of the arrest from the press. "Since investigations are still ongoing, the police are not willing and cannot make further comments and respect the principle of presumption of innocence. As a club, we share this point of view. We can only confirm that the player was absent from training this morning. Today the club wants to focus solely on the important rescheduled match tomorrow night against KAS Eupen. For this match, Radja Nainggolan cannot play."
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Dark Horse Comics has confirmed that it has cut ties with Neil Gaiman and cancelled any planned collaborations after the author was accused of sexual assault.

The 64-year-old has denied engaging in non-consensual sexual activity after accusations of assault by multiple women.

The American Gods author was the subject of a lengthy New York magazine article earlier this month, in which eight women accused him of sexual assault, including a long-term babysitter from New Zealand and a caretaker on his property in Woodstock, New York.

Gaiman, whose major titles in the comic book world include The Sandman, Coraline and Norse Mythology, has now seen his series Anansi Boys cancelled by Dark Horse.

In a statement, the publication said: Dark Horse takes seriously the allegations against Neil Gaiman and we are no longer publishing his works. Confirming that the Anansi Boys comic series and collected volume have been cancelled.

Gaiman responded to the allegations in a blog post titled: Breaking the silence.

As I read through this latest collection of accounts, there are moments I half-recognise and moments I dont, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen. Im far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever, wrote Gaiman.

The author went on to say that he has reviewed correspondence with his accusers, writing: I went back to read the messages I exchanged with the women around and following the occasions that have subsequently been reported as being abusive. These messages read now as they did when I received them  of two people enjoying entirely consensual sexual relationships and wanting to see one another again. At the time I was in those relationships, they seemed positive and happy on both sides.

However, he did acknowledge personal failings, adding: And I also realise, looking through them, years later, that I could have and should have done so much better. I was emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused and not as thoughtful as I could or should have been. I was obviously careless with peoples hearts and feelings, and thats something that I really, deeply regret. It was selfish of me. I was caught up in my own story and I ignored other peoples.

Gaiman concluded his statement: Some of the horrible stories now being told simply never happened, while others have been so distorted from what actually took place that they bear no relationship to reality. I am prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made. Im not willing to turn my back on the truth, and I cant accept being described as someone I am not, and cannot and will not admit to doing things I didnt do.

open image in gallery Author Neil Gaiman has denied allegations of sexual assault (Ian West/PA) ( PA Archive )

It was announced last year that he is no longer a producer on Good Omens, the Prime Video series that will conclude with a single episode instead of a planned third series.

The second season of The Sandman is still expected to arrive on Netflix later this year, as is the Prime Video series Anansi Boys.
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Idris Elba has opened up about spending a night in prison to prepare for his role as Nelson Mandela in the 2013 film, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

During a recent interview with The Sunday Times, the 52-year-old actor detailed the extremes he went to while working on the biopic, which documents Mandelas 27 years in prison in South Africa.

Elba said that before filming started, he spent the night in a prison cell on Robben Island, which is the same prison Mandela was in from 1964 to 1982.

Id been given the incredible honour to portray this great man and up until that night, I hadnt quite grasped the significance of having over 20 years of life stolen from him, he told the publication. I had to persuade the authorities to let me stay there, and they finally agreed.

He went on to acknowledge that the prison holds a lot of bad memories and claimed that its definitely haunted.

I heard strange noises throughout the night but I was the only person there. I had a bucket, a thin mattress and a blanket; they kept the lights on because thats what they used to do and I didnt sleep much, Elba continued.

Idris Elba says he heard strange noises during his night in a South African prison to prepare for his Nelson Mandela role ( Getty Images for Paramount Pictu )

However, he still took value from his night in the prison, adding: It was a scary experience, but it definitely gave me a stronger connection to Mandela.

Mandela first went to Robben Island Prison in May 1963, after being sentenced the previous October to five years for sabotage, as he led a campaign against the apartheid government in South Africa. After another trial in Pretoria, this time for treason, he returned to the island in June 1964 and remained there until March 1982, when he was moved to the mainland.

He was released from prison in 1990, four years before he served as the first Black president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Mandela died in 2013 at the age of 95.

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Ebla has also recounted the experience of spending a night in the infamous prison to Oprah Winfrey shortly after the movie was released in 2013. He said his first trip to Robben Island was as a tourist. But when he returned for a second time, his experience was awful.

When I started to understand the history of the island, the fact that it was a leprosy colony, he added.

He noted that when he asked the prison if he could spend a night in Mandelas cell, he was initially told no. After asking again several times, he was permitted to stay in the prison for a night, just not Mandelas cell. He said he was offered a cell in the C Wing, which was a punishment cell.

I said, I want it exactly as Madiba had it. Whatever facilities he had that night, on his first night, he recalled to Winfrey, referring to Mandelas famous nickname.

I just heard this series of locks, he continued, reflecting on going into the prison cell. And I had the most amazing sense of loss. I was like, Wow. And it just put it into perspective about what Madiba had gone through. Just perspective and context. I could never say I had gone through what hed gone through.

He also claimed that in the cell, he was definitely visited by spirits, which he knew through the energy and temperature changes he felt.
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Justin Baldonis mother posted a lengthy social media message to mark her sons birthday, urging the actor-director to keep your integrity amid the battle with Blake Lively.

Baldoni, who turned 41 on Friday is currently embroiled in a series of lawsuits against his It Ends With Us co-star Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.

The directors mom, Sharon Baldoni, posted a series of photos on Instagram with her son taken after filming wrapped on the satirical telenovela Jane the Virgin, which Baldoni starred in from 2014 to 2019.

Happy Birthday Justin - remembering a wonderful moment after the final ending of Jane The Virgin - a moment where joy and love permeated the set, where friendships and family were born and kindness and integrity permeated the hearts of all the actors and crew, where sadness only entered because it was the final scene of a wonderful journey~ and the beginning of the rest of our lives, his mother wrote.

She continued: A happy loving and generous memory with hearts exploding with possibilities. Life has its moments and also its surprises - as you keep your integrity through it all, Justice and truth will shine today and into eternity. 

She ended: I love you more than you will ever know! Happy Birthday my beautiful boy! May God continue to bless you in truth.

Justin Baldoni, Sharon Baldoni, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds ( Getty )

Baldonis wife, Emily, also shared an Instagram post wishing her husband a happy birthday, writing: Happy birthday my love. Celebrating the man, husband, and father that you are. Id choose you again and again.

The bitter legal battle began when Lively filed a complaint detailing alleged sexual harassment by Baldoni during production, and retaliatory efforts to smear Livelys reputation afterward via artificial social media activity and planted stories.

Livelys complaint, and a subsequent New York Times report quoting numerous texts between Baldoni and his team, were met with strong denials from Baldoni and his producing partner, Jamey Heath.

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Baldonis legal team on Tuesday released a seven-minute video showing Lively and Baldonis interaction while shooting a dance scene in the film, which was also directed by Baldoni.

Wnile Baldoni apparently believed the clip supported his version of their interaction, Lively called the footage damning evidence supporting her allegations.

A Hollywood intimacy coordinator who viewed the video also took a negative view of the scene. I was sort of surprised that this is the clip that his team leaked, the intimacy coordinator told The Hollywood Reporter, claiming the clip does the opposite of vindicating Baldoni because it appears his kiss [in the scene] was not discussed ahead of time.

Read a full timeline of Justin and Livelys feud here.

The film, It Ends with Us, is based on the 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover, and stars Lively as a florist, Lily Bloom, whose troubled relationship with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) is made worse when her ex-boyfriend Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar) re-enters her life.

During promotion of the film, which has themes of domestic violence, Lively was criticized for what some characterized as a tone-deaf approach to the movie, saying she failed to treat its heavy subject matter with the appropriate solemnity.

Her lawsuit alleges that fan backlash was part of a carefully orchestrated effort by Baldonis PR team, whose lawyers have counter-alleged that Livelys lawsuit is likewise an attempt to fix her negative reputation.
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Saturday Night Live has taken a swift aim at Elon Musk, following the Tesla CEOs controversial salute towards Donald Trump on inauguration day that many have deemed fascist.

Musk, 53, was heavily criticised, including pushback from his own family, after he touched his chest and raised his right arm towards the sky as a gesture of thanks to Trump. He then repeated the salute just seconds later.

During the 26 January episode of SNL, Weekend Update host Michael Che mocked Musk for the salute, once again drawing comparisons to the Nazis and Musks own Tesla brand.

Elon Musk was criticised for his speech at a rally after the inauguration in which he appears to give the Nazi salute. But come on, Elon Musk is not a Nazi, Che said of the man behind the much maligned Cybertruck. The Nazis made nice cars, quipped Che, referencing the origins of Volkswagen.

Musk previously responded to the widespread criticism, and rather than denying it was a Nazi salute, he instead said his critics needed better dirty tricks because comparing their political opponents to Adolf Hitler is sooo tired.

open image in gallery Elon Musk ( AFP via Getty Images )

Musks Tesla company has become a target for his critics following the salute scandal.

The owner of a Cybertruck that was vandalised with the word Nazi says she believes the offensive graffiti was targeted at Musk.

Amanda Lopez-Lara, from the Bay Area, California, said that following the recent controversy surrounding the tech billionaire, the incident was unlikely to be a coincidence.

Meanwhile, the British activist group, Led By Donkeys, projected an image of Musks salute onto Teslas Berlin Gigafactory, accompanied by the phrase Heil Tesla. The group, along with Germanys Centre for Political Beauty, accuse Musk of using his wealth to degrade democracy.

open image in gallery Led by Donkeys teamed up with German activist group Center for Political Beauty to project the image of Elon Musk on a Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin, Germany (Led By Donkeys)

It comes after SNLs Chloe Fineman admitted that she had no regrets for calling out Musk after he allegedly made her cry when he hosted the show in 2021.

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Remember when I got in trouble for calling out Mr Nazi Salute? the comedian shared in a Tuesday (21 January) Instagram Story. Ya no regrets.

Last November, Fineman, 36, alleged that the Tesla billionaire, who hosted the show in May 2021, brought her to tears after telling her that her script wasnt funny.
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Director Steven Spielberg has revealed he battled to prevent a sequel to ET the Extra-Terrestrial being made, calling it a real hard-fought victory.

The beloved family sci-fi film became the highest-grossing movie of all time when it was released in 1982. It held the record until the 1990s when it was overtaken by Spielbergs own Jurassic Park, which has spawned a whole franchise worth of sequels and reboots.

However, the 78-year-old Oscar-winning filmmaker said during an appearance at the TCM Classic Film Festival in New York that he only briefly considered making a follow-up to ET.

I just did not want to make a sequel, he said, per The Hollywood Reporter. I flirted with it for a little bit  just a little bit to see if I [could] think of a story  and the only thing I could think about was a book that was written by somebody that wrote the book for it called The Green Planet, which was all going to take place at ETs home. We were all going to be able to go to ETs home and see how ET lived. But it was better as a novel than I think it would have been as a film.

Steven Spielberg at the TCM Classic Film Festival in New York on January 25. He is now talking about the battle to stop an ET sequel ( Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TCM )

He explained that he had to fight the studio not to make a sequel, as he didnt hold all the rights to the film.

That was a real hard-fought victory because I didnt have any rights, he said. Before ET, I had some rights, but I didnt have a lot of rights. I kind of didnt have what we call the freeze, where you can stop the studio from making a sequel because you control the freeze on sequels, remakes and other ancillary uses of the IP. I didnt have that. I got it after ET because of its success.

Spielbergs appearance at the festival saw him in conversation with Drew Barrymore, who appeared in ET as a child star. She recalled the director explaining to her at the time that he had no intention of making a follow-up film.

I remember you saying, We are not making a sequel to ET I think I was eight, said Barrymore. I remember being like, OK, thats a bummer, but I totally get it. I thought it was a smart choice. I very much understand it. Where do we go from here? Theyre just going to compare it to the first and leave something thats perfect alone in isolation open to scrutiny. It made so much sense.

Spielberg has previously revealed that ET was inspired by his own parents divorce.
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A West End actor has been blinded in his right eye after an armed attacker violently smashed through his van window with a metal object in what was thought to be an attempted robbery.

On 18 December, Mike Holoway, 63, was sitting at a set of traffic lights in Beckton, East London, when an attacker broke through the drivers side window, with Holoways head and face taking the force of the blow.

The actor, who starred in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat for four years, has revealed that he needed stitches in his eyeball and will undergo three operations over nine months to save his eyesight.

Speaking toThe Sun, he said: It was 15 seconds of hell. If it wasnt for the witness I dont know if I would still be here. I was stationary and I heard banging on my door and pulling of the handle. He began screaming and shouting at me.

The actor said he believed the attacker was holding a metal, weighted object that could have been a knuckle duster.

He said: This man smashed his fist through the drivers side window. Straight into my face, it knocked me across to the passenger seat.

I had to have metallic fragments pulled out of my face.

You think you know how you can react in these situations. But I saw stars. I didnt know what the hell was going on.

By the time I picked myself up and got my momentum, I reached for my phone to take a picture of the reg plate, but hed gone. He smashed straight through the window into my face.

Mike Holoway pictured with his wife Emma in 2018 ( Dave Benett/Getty Images )

Holoway recounted that he was guided to safety by a witness named Bobby, who made sure he got to a hospital.

The actor was taken to A&E in Essex before he was moved to Moorfields Eye Hospital in central London for surgery after examinations showed extensive damage to his eye.

Speaking about his recovery, he said: Ive got to have a lens replacement. Ive got to get a cornea donor. Ive got to have a cornea replacement.

My eye at the moment is being held together by six stitches. Im on painkillers all day, every day for the first five weeks of it happening. Its a bit of a blur. My wife Emma has been incredible.

I have to say Moorfields, the team there, the specialists there, the nurses have been unbelievable, absolutely staggering. So theyve saved my eye.

The actors wife, Emma, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with his recovery, which has raised more than 5,000.

On the page, Emma wrote: Whilst sitting in traffic on his way to work, a transit van which had been spotted driving erratically minutes before, pulled alongside Mikes van. The attacker got out and attempted to open Mikes driver door, screaming and shouting, but it was locked. He then proceeded to smash through the window with a metal object, throwing Mike across to the passenger seat, his head and face taking the full force of the blow.

The following day Mike had surgery to save his eye which thankfully was successful. He now has six [stitches] holding the eye together, keeping it stable. There will be a further three operations and physio over the next nine months and it is only after this that we will find out how much sight he will regain.

She continued: We are both self employed and with Mike unable to work, drum, perform, drive - he has had to cancel gigs, turndown future bookings and castings which means we are facing a very uncertain year ahead financially.

The Metropolitan Police has reportedly made no arrests.
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Margaret Thatcher rarely flinched in the face of scrutiny. But one interview, aired on 29 October 1989, proved to be a turning point in her premiership. Conducted by Brian Walden, the former MP turned feared political interviewer, the grilling exposed the Iron Ladys vulnerabilities and is now widely seen as a moment that hastened her downfall.

That fateful encounter is the focus of Brian and Maggie, a new Channel 4 docudrama starring Harriet Walter (Succession) as Thatcher and Steve Coogan as Walden. Written by Olivier Award-winning playwright James Graham (Sherwood, Quiz, Brexit: The Uncivil War) and directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena), the drama revisits the intensity of the interview that saw a rarely flustered Thatcher visibly agitated.

The docudrama draws from a chapter in Rob Burleys 2023 book Why is This Lying Bastard Lying To Me? and delves into both the professional dynamic and the unexpected personal connection between Thatcher and Walden.

Brian Waldens rise to prominence was unusual. Born in West Bromwich in 1932, he served as the Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood from 1964 until 1977, when he resigned to pursue a career in journalism. By the 1980s, he was a household name in political journalism, hosting Weekend World and later launching his own programme, The Walden Interview.

open image in gallery Harriet Walter as Margaret Thatcher ( Channel 4 )

Despite their differing political allegiances, Thatcher and Walden had a mutual respect that developed into a surprising friendship. Walden once likened Thatcher to his mother and described her as the master spirit of our age. During her 1983 general election campaign, he even penned a speech for her, coining the term Victorian values  a phrase she famously adopted.

By 1989, Thatcher was under pressure. Her chancellor, Nigel Lawson, had resigned just three days before the interview, citing her refusal to sack her economics adviser, Sir Alan Walters. Although the interview had been scheduled months earlier, it became dominated by Lawsons resignation and the chaos within her government.

Broadcast to an audience of three million, the interview was a relentless cross-examination of Thatchers authority and decision-making. Walden pressed her repeatedly on Lawsons departure, asking: Do you deny that Nigel would have stayed if you had sacked Professor Alan Walters? A visibly uncomfortable Thatcher could only reply, I dont know.

After admitting, I did everything possible to stop him [from resigning], Walden called her response a terrible admission. Increasingly flustered, Thatcher snapped, Im not going on with this.

open image in gallery Steve Coogan and Harriet Walter have a face-off in Brian and Margaret' ( Channel 4 )

The exchange led political biographer John Campbell to call it the killer question in his 2003 book on Thatcher. Later, when Walden asked whether she was seen as authoritarian or domineering, Thatcher accused him of being exactly that, describing his questioning style as domineering.

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Matthew Parris, who succeeded Walden as the host of Weekend World, reflected on the interview in The Times: How had she missed his ability to sting? He had, after all, coaxed her into attaching herself to the phrase Victorian values. Thatcher was no Victorian. She was a modern woman of the 1950s, a science graduate who had married a divorcee and sacrificed her kids to her career.

The interview, which became Thatchers final televised appearance, marked a shift in public and political opinion of her leadership. Just over a year later, amid mounting challenges to her authority, Thatcher resigned as prime minister. She stepped down on 22 November 1990, delivering a defiant final speech to the House of Commons in which she quipped, Im enjoying this.

Her premiership lasted 11 years and six months, making her the UKs longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century. She was succeeded by John Major.

open image in gallery Brian Walden interviews Margaret Thatcher in 1983 ( LWT/ITV )

Thatcher and Walden never spoke again after the interview.

Walden, who passed away in 2019 at his home in Guernsey, remains a revered figure in British political journalism. During his career, he redefined the political interview style alongside contemporaries like Robin Day. Paying tribute to him, Andrew Neil wrote: Always wise and witty. A wonderful interrogator of politicians, especially on Weekend World. With Robin Day, he invented the British political interview style. Emulated but not matched to this day.

Brian and Maggie not only revisits the drama of the interview itself but also explores the dynamics between two formidable figures who, for a time, walked the fine line between professional respect and personal rapport. Harriet Walter and Steve Coogan lead the cast with performances that promise to capture both the gravity and the humanity of the moment.

The docudrama is also a study in the fragility of power. Thatcher was at the peak of her dominance, yet it was here that cracks began to show, Graham said of the project. Its a story about how even the strongest leaders can be undone.

Brian and Maggie airs on Channel 4 on Wednesday and Thursday at 9pm
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Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane has highlighted the key differences between the forthcoming series and its Netflix predecessor.

The new Disney+ show, which is due to start on 4 March, will see Charlie Cox return as the Marvel superhero, seven years after he played the character for three seasons between 2015 and 2018 (He did a cameo in the role in 2021s Spider-Man: No Way Home).

Despite the switch from Netflix to Disney, Daredevil: Born Again will continue the story of Matt Murdock and will also see Vincent DOnofrio return as Kingpin and Jon Bernthal as The Punisher.

Speaking to SFX Magazine, via Games Radar, Scardapane praised the Netflix show but was keen to emphasise the differences with the new version.

The earlier show, at its best, was fantastic, says the 58-year-old. At its worst, it was two characters in a room talking about what a hero is. I felt that had been done. Im not taking swipes. I just didnt want to hear characters grousing about their lot in life. I wanted to see them doing things.

Scardapane, who also worked on Netflixs The Punisher, talked up Born Agains influences, specifically those that revolve around crime stories set in New York City.

I really feel that Netflixs Daredevil, which I know in my blood, was much more noir, and this show is more New York crime story, he says.

It has elements of The Sopranos and King Of New York. Theres a feeling for those classic 1990s crime tales. It has a pace and a scope that, for a lot of reasons, Netflix wasnt able to do. They were very dark, cinematically, not necessarily story-wise, although there were some dark elements. Were much darker.

Charlie Cox as Daredevil ( Getty / Marvel )

This comes after eagle-eyed viewers also spotted a brief glimpse of Michael Gandolfini, the son of Sopranos star James Gandolfini, in an unspecified role in the shows trailer.

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The 25-year-old, who played a younger version of his fathers iconic role in 2021s The Many Saints of Newark, is seen in just one shot in the entire trailer but fans are already keen to learn more about the character.

Although it has been confirmed for some time that Gandolfini would be in the show, he has remained tight-lipped about what his role will be.

Speaking to Collider in March 2023, he said: I believe all I can say about my character is that my character is from Staten Island, and thats about it.
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Duck Dynasty star Silas Si Robertson, known to fans as Uncle Si, recently landed in the emergency room after taking a scary tumble down a muddy hill during a hunting trip.

His fellow co-stars Justin Martin and Phillip McMillan discussed the accident on the latest episode of their Duck Call Room podcast.

Martin explained that they had just returned to their boathouse after a dangerous hunting expedition in Arkansas when Robertson, 76, exited the vessel in a hurry and slipped on the muddy terrain landing on his oxygen tank.

Typical Silas Robertson, hes in a dang hurry to get out of the boat and up the steep hill, Martin shared. He fell trying to get out of the boat. He fell on his oxygen machine but he bounced right back up. He didnt want anybody to see that he fell. But he was covered in mud.

Adding that Roberston tried to brush off the fall, Martin said he grew concerned when he noticed Robertson was real quiet. Another red flag no stories, he said.

McMillan chimed in to note that he received a call from Elizabeth, Christine [Robertsons] caretaker, saying: Sis oxygen levels really low. Take him now to the ER. My heart just dropped.

Uncle Si Robertson was taken to the hospital after he fell down a hill on a recent hunting trip ( Getty Images )

I said, What is going on? And I figured he would start laughing and talking. But no, he said, Man, Im in a lot of pain.

After Robertson was rushed to the hospital, doctors conducted X-rays and were able to rule out broken ribs. However, it was suspected that he suffered some bruising. While Robertsons low oxygen levels initially caused alarm, medical staff concluded that it was likely due to a panic attack.

Reflecting on the whole ordeal, Martin said: Things can go sideways pretty fast out there.

Robertson rose to fame on A&Es reality series Duck Dynasty, which aired from 2012 to 2017 and followed the lives of the Robertsons, a prominent duck-hunting family in Louisiana.

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It was recently announced that a reboot of the series, titled Duck Dynasty: The Revival, had been ordered. The new show, which is expected to premiere this summer, will catch up with the new generations of the Robertson family.

However, Phil Robertson, the Robertson family patriarch and older brother of Si, will not be returning.

Last December, Phils two sons, Jase and Al, announced their father was diagnosed with Alzheimers, stating that it came alongside a long-standing blood disease that had worsened in recent years.

Jase explained that Phils Alzheimers is in its early stages, but it has begun to affect his daily life.
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Director M. Night Shyamalan has been cleared of all charges after he was accused of plagiarising from an independent film for his Apple TV + series Servant.

A federal judge ruled unanimously in favor of the Sixth Sense filmmaker after a seven-day trial in Riverside, California.

Italian-born director Francesca Gregorini had been seeking up to $81 million in damages after alleging that Shyamalan and his collaborators had lifted narrative elements from her 2013 film The Truth About Emanuel.

The film told the story of a woman who treats a baby doll as if it were her child, and a nanny who goes along with the delusion.

Variety reports that Shyamalan testified that he and Servants other creators had never seen or heard of Gregorinis film prior to the litigation, calling the situation clearly, 100%, a misunderstanding.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Shyamalan is known for classics including The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. His films are said to have cumulatively grossed over $3.3bn (2.7bn).

M. Night Shyamalan speaking at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in July 2024. He scored a big win in a copyright lawsuit ( Bonnie Cash/Getty Images )

This accusation is the exact opposite of everything I do and everything I try to represent, said Shyamalan in court. I would have never allowed it. None of the people that I work with would ever do anything like that.

Gregorini claimed that scenes in Servant where a nanny treats a doll as a real child, and faints, had been lifted from her film.

Shyamalan argued that a scene of a character fainting was not original enough to be copywritten. Weve all seen it hundreds and hundreds of times, he said. Hitchcock has done it in Rebecca, Notorious, maybe Saboteur. Its just a thing no one owns.

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Shyamalans lawyers also pointed out the many differences between the projects, noting that Servant is a supernatural thriller while The Truth About Emanuel is a coming-of-age drama. The jury was shown the first three episodes of the show as well as the film at the start of the trial.

Starring Jessica Biel and Kaya Scodelario, The Truth About Emanuel, played at the Sundance Film Festival when it was first released. It did not have much success, grossing just $226 in Los Angeles and $9 from one viewer in Philadelphia.

Ms. Gregorini is seeking a windfall here, Shyamalans attorney Brittany Amadi told the court when the trial began.

Shes seeking $81 million for work she didnt do. The truth is the creators of Servant do not owe anything to Ms Gregorini.
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For 80 years, the haunting melodies of Auschwitz lay buried in silence, hidden among the archives of one of historys darkest chapters.

Now, for the first time, this lost music  composed by prisoners  will be heard again, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of British composer Leo Geyer.

The Lost Music of Auschwitz follows the journey of the composer and conductor, as he embarks on a ten-year mission to piece together fragments of musical manuscripts found in the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum.

The film, commissioned by Sky Arts, commemorates the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp from the Nazis. Over one million people were killed at Auschwitz as the horrors of the Holocaust unfolded.

Inmates were forced to compose and perform for SS officers as victims marched to their deaths, with survival often depending on the strength of their musical talent.

Featuring interviews with some of the last remaining survivors of the genocide and the Auschwitz orchestra, Geyer reveals how musicians rebelled with secret melodies and forbidden notes hidden within the music.

Geyer, 33, first came across the lost archive when he was commissioned to write a composition in memory of Sir Martin Gilbert, a Holocaust historian. I went on a research trip to Auschwitz, he told The Independent.

open image in gallery Music from the inmates at the Nazi camp will be played for the first time ( Sky Arts )

I wasnt expecting to discover anything other than a greater understanding of the Holocaust, particularly as Im not Jewish, Polish, Romani, or indeed descended from any other group or person who perished in Auschwitz. But I did know something about the orchestras of Auschwitz, as most classical musicians do.

A chance conversation with an archivist led to the discovery of the treasure trove.

He said in a very offhand way, Oh yeah, well, I think theres some music in the depth of the archive, but yeah, you wont be interested. And I said, I think I will.

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Geyer returned a month later to examine the manuscripts and said, It transpired that actually there was a lot. He was moved to take up the project when he saw handwriting on an unfinished manuscript that was similar to his own. In the documentary, he searches for the identity of the hand that wrote it.

Suddenly, it made it clear in my mind that while Im not immediately connected to this history, I am human and therefore I am connected to this history, he said.

Some of the pieces were damaged beyond recognition or too faint to read, but through painstaking work, Geyer and his team were able to piece together and complete the works. His orchestra will finally play the music exactly as it would have sounded 80 years ago in The Lost Music of Auschwitz.

open image in gallery Conductor and composer Leo Geyer came across the lost during a trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum ( Sky Arts )

Most people are incredibly surprised that there were orchestras in Auschwitz in the first place, and once people have reconciled with that, people hope that any music that was performed was sorrowful and sad, in some way engaged with that history, Geyer explained.

But the reality is the total opposite. Most of the music that was performed, bearing in mind of course that this was mostly for the SS, is incredibly jolly and very happy.

Some of the hardest music to perform, which we did for the documentary, was one of the foxtrots, which was for the SS parties. For Nazis gorging on food and downing beer. The juxtaposition of that image and the music is utterly horrific.

open image in gallery The 33-year-old composer has spent ten years putting the work together ( Sky Arts )

However, he added: This is why I was so moved by one of the pieces because it was what I was looking for, which was something which was racked with grief and sorrow.

He reports that Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, now the sole survivor of the orchestras of Auschwitz, expressed bittersweet frustration at the recovery of the lost music.It was frustration that it had taken 80 years for this music to come to light, Geyer said. She was very frustrated that she did not have the opportunity to share this music with any of her colleagues.

The Lost Music of Auschwitz is available to stream on NOW.
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Police detained a man suspected of involvement in the case of a Chinese actor who was duped into travelling to Thailand for a film job and then trafficked to Myanmar, Chinas Public Security Ministry said.

The joint efforts of the ministrys task force and the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, helped by Thai law enforcement, led to the arrest of a major criminal suspect on Saturday, the ministry said in a notice late on Sunday.

The ministry added that the suspect was surnamed Yan and returned to China on Saturday, but did not elaborate.

Wang Xing, a 31-year-old Chinese actor, travelled to Thailand early this month after receiving an unsolicited offer to join a film that was shooting in Thailand.

When Wang got to Bangkok, he was kidnapped and taken to an online scam compound, one of hundreds of thousands of people the UN says have been trapped into working for criminal networks running fraudulent telecommunications operations across the region.

Wangs case drew national interest after his girlfriend began a social media campaign about his plight, and he was later freed by Thai police who found him in Myanmar.

Chinese actor Wang Xing, right, talks with Thai police officers in Mae Sot district, in Thai-Myanmar border ( AP )

The ministry said the police would step up their efforts to crack down on the scam centres, deepen international law enforcement cooperation, and coordinate with countries involved to detain the criminals and rescue Chinese citizens.

The scam compounds that have proliferated in Southeast Asia since the Covid-19 pandemic defraud people across the globe and generate billions of dollars every year for organised crime groups, many of Chinese origin.

Last week, officials from China, Myanmar, and Thailand reached a consensus on eradicating the centres in Myanmar.

China and Thailand also agreed to set up a coordination centre in Bangkok to investigate and combat the scam complexes that have mushroomed along the Thai border with Myanmar and Cambodia. The initiative is expected to start operations next month.
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Good Energy has agreed to a sweetened 99.4 million takeover by a company with links to the United Arab Emirates royals.

Dubai-based Esyasoft will pay 490p a share for Good Energy after upping its bid, which comes after the deadline for a firm offer was extended three times.

Esyasoft first told bosses at Good Energy that it was weighing up a 412p-a-share offer in late October.

Good Energy  which is based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, and supplies electricity to UK homes and businesses  described the approach at the time as an unsolicited advance which did not reflect the future growth opportunities of the firm.

But on announcing the agreed takeover it said it is a good deal which will ramp up the companys renewable purpose.

Today we have an opportunity with a partner that shares our sustainable energy vision and has the resources to accelerate our purpose substantially Good Energy chief executive Nigel Pocklington

Chief executive Nigel Pocklington said: Today we have an opportunity with a partner that shares our sustainable energy vision and has the resources to accelerate our purpose substantially.

Whilst the board remains confident in Good Energys strategic delivery as a publicly listed company, Esyasofts financial resources, in addition to its presence in new markets, present a significant increase in our potential.

Juliet Davenport, founder and former chief executive of Good Energy, said: I founded Good Energy 25 years ago to be a pioneer in the provision of clean power to all customers in the UK.

The energy industry back then was very different, founded around fossil fuels and designed to be a centralised system.

This new investor for Good Energy offers an opportunity to scale the Good Energy propositions leading the decentralised and flexible clean power offering for the prosumers of the future to make a real difference to climate change.

The deal still has to be approved by shareholders but, if given the green light, it is set to complete in the first half of 2025.

Esyasoft describes itself as a leader in smart grid technology.

It says it uses artificial intelligence and other data-based technology to modernise the power grid.

Previous stock exchange filings indicate it is controlled by the Abu Dhabi International Holding Company (IHC).

The Abu Dhabi IHCs chairman is Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of the UAEs founder and part of the Abu Dhabi ruling dynasty.

We have a strong track record of supporting businesses involved in critical energy infrastructure and climate technologies, and therefore our portfolio of services is highly complementary to Good Energy's Bipin Chandra, Esyasoft Holding Ltd

Good Energy was founded in 1999 and now has about 275,000 customers across the UK.

It is not one of the so-called Big Six major power suppliers, but directors were included in industry-wide talks with Labours energy consumers minister, Miatta Fahnbulleh, at the end of August about how firms can support bill-payers.

Its shares jumped 22% on Monday morning on news of the deal, having already surged by nearly 65% over the past six months, driven by Esyasofts bid interest.

Bipin Chandra, chief executive and founder of Esyasoft, said: We have a strong track record of supporting businesses involved in critical energy infrastructure and climate technologies, and therefore our portfolio of services is highly complementary to Good Energys.

We believe that, through our strategic partnership, we can support Good Energy in accelerating delivery of its purpose and growth ambitions by realising the extensive opportunities that exist for this business both in the UK and internationally.
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Former Disney Channel star Skai Jackson is officially a mom.

The 22-year-old actor took to Instagram on Sunday (January 26) to reveal that she and her boyfriend  who hasnt been publicly identified  welcomed their first child. The photo showed Jackson holding her newborns hands, as they were wearing matching green and black PJ pants.

However, the Jessie alum did not include her or her babys face in the picture. In the caption, she seemingly revealed her childs name, writing: Kasai.

Jackson did not share what her babys sex was or when her child was born.

In the comments section of the post, many fans went on to congratulate the first-time parent.

Ahhhh congrats, I knew it was around that time, one person wrote, while another added: Congratulations mama, Im so proud of u, youre going to be an amazing mother Queen.

Skaili Mama!! OMG I can not wait, a third wrote. Congratulations. Welcome to motherhood, youre going to love it here!

Jackson first confirmed her pregnancy in November, in a statement to People.

Im thrilled to begin this new chapter in my life  embracing motherhood and diving into new acting projects. My heart is so full! she told the outlet at the time.

The news of her pregnancy came just a few months after her arrest in August 2024 for suspicion of domestic battery. At the time, Jackson was with her boyfriend at Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, California. Security had detained her for allegedly pushing her boyfriend, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.

However, there were no weapons involved or noticeable injuries, and Jackson was released from the West Hollywood Sheriffs Station a few hours after being taken there with no charges.

Skai Jackson first confirmed she was expecting in November 2024 ( Getty Images )

Skai is relieved that the investigation revealed that this was nothing more than a misunderstanding. We appreciate that the DA determined very quickly that there should be no charges of any kind and Skai looks forward to putting this behind her, a representative for the actor told People at the time.

On TikTok, shes shared multiple videos about her pregnancy journey. In one clip on Saturday (January 25), she can be seen packing her bag for the hospital. Some of her necessities included a bag of toiletries, pajamas, a blanket, her camera, and some baby clothes.

Jackson first rose to stardom when she played Zuri on the hit Disney Channel show Jessie. She reprised her role in the shows spinoff, Bunkd, which she starred in from 2015 to 2018. Shes since worked on various acting projects, with her most recent role in the 2023 thriller, The Man in the White Van.
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Three young African brothers drowned making the perilous central Mediterranean crossing with their parents, a German humanitarian group said Monday, after rescuing 17 people in a chaotic scene that saw survivors drifting away.

Two toddler brothers died when the smugglers' boat sank, while survivors reported that a third child had drowned earlier in their journey from Libya aboard an unseaworthy fiberglass-bottom boat, said Stephen Schrenzenmeier, head of operations aboard the Sea Punk 1.

The body of a 3-year-old was plucked from the sea during the rescue on Sunday, while a 2-year-old died on board the rescue vessel while medical personnel attempted life-saving measures, said the group's spokesman Gerson Reschke. Survivors reported that several more people, including the boys' brother, died during the voyage.

People were drifting in the water on both sides of the boat when the rescue vessel arrived in response to an emergency call. Survivors were screaming and drifting away from each other, while rescuers got into a small boat and picked people up one by one, Schrezenmeier told The Associated Press.

A family of three survived the ordeal, including a pregnant woman who was airlifted to Malta for treatment, while the husband and child have been taken to Italy, Schrezenmeier said. "We really hope they will be reunited very soon,'' he said.

Maltese authorities also airlifted a man who had difficulty breathing after swallowing seawater and had severe hypothermia.

All of the people on board were from sub-Saharan Africa, Schrezenmeier said.

The rescue happened in a part of the Malta search-and-rescue zone that is closer to Italys southernmost island of Lampedusa than the tiny EU island nation. Schrezenmeier praised both the Maltese and Italian authorities for a quick response to their calls for aid.

Sea Punks 1 transferred 15 survivors and the two bodies to an Italian coast guard vessel, which brought them to Lampedusa. Many showed signs of severe hypothermia, the group said.

Italy's coast guard also picked up some 38 people who were rescued by fishermen, Schrenzenmeier said.

The U.N. Missing Migrant Project puts the number of the dead and missing in the perilous Central Mediterranean at over 24,506 from 2014-2024, many of whom were lost at sea. The project says that number may be greater, as many deaths go unrecorded, with the sightings of so-called ghost ships with noone aboard and remains of people washing ashore in Libya not associated with any known shipwreck.

___

Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.

____

Follow APs coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
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The first confirmed case of the rare H5N9 bird flu has been reported in the U.S.

The virus was confirmed in a commercial duck farm in Merced County, California, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in conjunction with State Animal Health and Wildlife Officials, are conducting comprehensive epidemiological investigations and enhanced surveillance in response to the HPAI related events, the Department of Agriculture wrote in a report to the organization.

open image in gallery Day-old duck hatchlings crawl around inside an incubator at Crescent Duck Farm, in Aquebogue, New York, last October. The first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu was reported in poultry on a duck farm in California ( AP )

Authorities also detected the more common H5N1 strain on the same farm. Nearly 119,000 birds there had been killed by December.

The report comes after news that 100,000 ducks would be killed on a New York farm that was quarantined for an outbreak.

On Monday, the Department of Agriculture reported that more dairy herds had been stricken with bird flu, bringing the total there to 726 infected herds. Of those, 162 have fully recovered and were released from quarantine. The national total is up to 943 in 16 states.

Bird flu has spread across the U.S. in recent months, killing a person in Louisiana, sickening nearly 70 others, and resulting in the deaths of hundreds of millions of poultry.

Officials have maintained that risk to the general public remains low, while concerns continue to flare, parks close, and zoos take precautionary measures.

open image in gallery This colorized electron microscope image released by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases last March shows avian influenza A H5N1 virus particles. Bird flu has spread across the U.S. in recent months ( AP )

Human-to-human transmission has not yet been reported, but researchers are voicing their concerns regarding the nations response to recent outbreaks and passing milestones that are troubling.

While a pandemic is not inevitable, scientists told The New York Times on Monday, developments indicate that the possibility is not remote.

For the general public, H5N1 is a low risk, relative to the other risks they face today, Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the publication. But 100 percent, that could change, he said. This is a dangerous virus.
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One of Neil Gaiman's publishers has dropped him as the British author faces multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment. And his name is not on the website of the agency which has for years handled his speaking appearances.

Dark Horse Comics announced on X last weekend that it would no longer release its illustrated series based on Gaiman's novel, Anansi Boys. The seventh of eight planned editions came out earlier this month.

Dark Horse takes seriously the allegations against Neil Gaiman and we are no longer publishing his works, reads the statement from Dark Horse, which still includes Gaiman's books on its website.

Allegations against Gaiman, known for such bestsellers as Coraline and The Sandman series, first emerged last summer on a Tortoise Media podcast. After a lengthy New York Magazine article in January included allegations from eight women of assault, abuse and coercion, Gaiman responded with a blog post, denying any wrongdoing.

Like most of us, Im learning, and Im trying to do the work needed, and I know that thats not an overnight process, he wrote. At the same time, as I reflect on my past  and as I re-review everything that actually happened as opposed to what is being alleged  I dont accept there was any abuse.

Gaimans office and his literary agent did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Gaiman has worked with numerous publishers over the years. Two of them, HarperCollins and W.W. Norton, have said they have no plans to release his books in the future. Others, including Bloomsbury, have so far declined comment.

Gaiman still lists the Stephen Barclay Agency on his website as a contact for personal appearances, but his name doesn't appear on the agency's client list. Barclay did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Disney has paused a planned adaptation of Gaiman's The Graveyard Book," while Netflix is still scheduled to release a second season based on The Sandman.
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Six Belarusian officials and three companies have been hit with British sanctions in response to a cynical pretence of democracy in the countrys elections.

The UK and Canada have joined forces to impose the fresh wave of sanctions after sham presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, which saw Vladimir Putins ally Alexander Lukashenko win a seventh five-year term in power.

The world has become well-accustomed to Lukashenkos cynical pretence of democracy in Belarus David Lammy

Among the six people facing sanctions are the chairman of Belarus election commission Igor Vasilyevich Karpenko.

Others facing a ban on travelling to the UK and spending money in the country are the leaders of security forces and prisons involved in a crackdown on the Belarusian regimes political opponents.

They include Viktor Alexandrovich Dubrovka, Pavel Ivanovich Kazakov, and Andrey Mikhailovich Tsedrik, who all manage prisons in the eastern European nation, as well as Andrei Valerievich Ananenko and Mikhail Petrovitch Bedunkevich, the head and deputy head of the security force Gubopik.

Three Belarusian defence companies have also been sanctioned because of the countrys support for Russias war effort in Ukraine.

They are radar manufacturer Alevkurp OJSC, ammunition maker Legmash Plant JSC, and drone builder KB Unmanned Helicopters (UavHeli).

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: The world has become well-accustomed to Lukashenkos cynical pretence of democracy in Belarus, while in reality he brutally represses civil society and opposition voices to strengthen his grip on power.

The UK, alongside our partners, will continue to stand by the people of Belarus and expose those who deny them their legitimate right to freedom and democracy.

On Sunday, the UK joined its allies Australia, Canada, the EU and New Zealand in issuing a joint statement condemning the result of Belarus presidential election.

We are united in our condemnation of the sham presidential elections in Belarus on 26 January and the ongoing human rights violations perpetrated by the Belarusian regime.

Recently announced sanctions represent a co-ordinated, multilateral effort to hold the Lukashenko regime to account, the statement said.

The five Western allies urged the Lukashenko regime to release the more than 1,250 political prisoners who remain unjustly detained.
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A 13-year-old girl shouted Im going to f****** kill you as she stabbed two teachers and another teenager at a Welsh secondary school, a court heard.

The girl, who was a pupil at the school, later said I stabbed her, oopsies and thats one way to be a celebrity in comments to police after her arrest.

Jurors at Swansea Crown Court were shown CCTV of the attack on two teachers at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, also known as Amman Valley School, in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, on 24 April last year.

School staff could be seen trying to talk her down after she stabbed assistant head Fiona Elias multiple times with a fishing multitool, before turning on Liz Hopkin when she tried to intervene  stabbing her in her in the back, neck, legs and arms.

When she pulled the blade from her pocket she shouted I am going to kill you, I am going to f****** kill you, the court heard.

The girl managed to injured another teenager before she was disarmed and police arrived, prosecutor William Hughes KC told the jury.

open image in gallery Vehicles from the emergency services at Amman Valley school in April last year ( PA Wire )

The defendant, who is now aged 14 and cannot be named for legal reasons, has admitted to three counts of wounding with intent, but denies attempting to murder the three victims.

Opening the trial on Monday, Mr Hughes told the jury the teenager had taken the multitool knife from her fathers fishing equipment intending to use it on staff.

She did so, the prosecution say, with the intent to kill, he told the court.

Jurors were told victim Ms Elias had previously found a vegetable knife inside the defendants bag at the start of school year, resulting in her temporary exclusion.

Afterwards, her father would search her bag every day and the school had permission to carry out daily checks, but on the day of the stabbing she had left home before he could carry out his usual search, the jury heard.

Although she remained silent in police interview, the teenager made several unsolicited comments to police after her arrest, Mr Hughes added.

She said I stabbed her... oopsies and asked are they dead while in the back of a Dyfed Powys police vehicle, later adding: Im pretty sure this is going to be on the news so more eyes will be looking at me. Thats one way to be a celebrity.

Searches of the teenagers home uncovered a notebook depicting one of the victims, annotated with phrases including burning a person, they could die and cut their mouths and eyes, the court heard.

Paramedics from the Welsh Ambulance Service treated the victims at the scene, although Ms Hopkin had to be flown by air ambulance to hospital with four stab wounds.

Mr Hughes told the jury the defendant does not deny taking her fathers multitool to the school and using it to attack the victims.

She does dispute she did so with intending to kill one, two or all three of them, he added.

The trial continues.
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Four members of a Scottish child abuse ring tried to murder a victim by trapping her in a microwave.

The four, and three others, convicted of being part of a Glasgow child abuse ring which plunged to the depths of human depravity have been jailed for terms ranging from eight to 20 years.

The two women and five men will all be monitored for life after being convicted of gang-raping a child and abusing other children in a drugs den in Glasgow where heroin and crack cocaine were used.

Iain Owens, 46; Elaine Lannery, 40; Lesley Williams, 43; Paul Brannan, 42; Scott Forbes, 51; Barry Watson, 48; and John Clark, 48, were convicted in November 2023 following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Four of the group: Owens, Lannery, Brannan and Williams, were found guilty of attempting to murder a child by trapping her in a microwave and other enclosed spaces.

During the trial, two children said another child was put in enclosed spaces while drugs were consumed, advocate depute Cath Harper told the jury.

She said: They saw her being put into various places including cupboards and a microwave.

Sentencing was delayed until December while risk assessments were carried out, which judge Lord Beckett had ordered due to the severity of the crimes.

The trial, which lasted for about eight weeks, heard evidence of systematic child sex abuse, described as harrowing by Lord Beckett who said it plunges to the depths of human depravity.

He previously said he was considering whether to impose orders for lifelong restriction, which monitor high-risk offenders for the rest of their lives if they are deemed suitable for release from prison after serving a minimum punishment period.

The offences, involving three children, happened between 2012 and 2019.

Owens, Lannery, Brannan, Williams, Forbes, Watson and Clark were found guilty of taking part in the gang rape of a child.

Owens and Lannery were also convicted of multiple counts of assault, sexual assault, rape and causing a child to ingest drugs and alcohol.

Owens and Lannery were jailed for 20 and 17 years respectively.

open image in gallery They were sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow (David Cheskin/PA) ( PA Archive )

Brannan was convicted of attempted murder, sexual assault, rape and supplying class-A drugs. He was jailed for 15 years.

Williams was convicted of attempted murder, assault, rape and supplying drugs. She was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.

Forbes was found guilty of rape, while Watson was found guilty of rape and sexual assault, and Clark was found guilty of rape and sexual assault.

Clark was jailed for 10 years, Watson for nine years and six months and Forbes for eight years.

An allegation that the accused used an Ouija board to call on spirits and demons causing the child victims to believe that they could see, hear and communicate with spirits and demons and making them take part in witchcraft, was dropped by prosecutors during the trial.

Co-accused Marianne Gallagher, 40, was found guilty of assaulting a child and was admonished when she appeared for sentencing on 6 January.

Gallagher was told she would be in pretty severe trouble if she committed further offences when she was spared punishment by Lord Beckett.
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Police in London have released an e-fit picture of a man they want to identify after a woman walking alone in west London was pushed into a car and raped.

The woman was walking along Bradiston Road, Maida Vale, one evening in March 2022 when a car stopped at the junction ahead of her and an unknown man pushed her from behind into what is believed to have been a dark-coloured Audi A3, the Metropolitan Police said.

The man drove away with the woman inside before later raping her, according to the force.

Afterwards, the woman was pushed back out of the vehicle not far from where she had initially been bundled into the car.

The incident happened at around 9pm, police said.

Detectives have released an e-fit image of the man, who was described as speaking with a Jamaican accent and believed to be in his late 30s, tall, with a significant scar on his face and short dreadlocks.

open image in gallery Detectives have released an e-fit image of the man with a significant scar on his face and short dreadlocks ( Met Police )

Detective Constable, Leon Riley, from the policing team covering Westminster, said:

If you recognise the man in the image please contact us without delay.

We have been carrying out extensive enquiries since the incident and we continue to support the victim who, as far as possible, has been trying to live her life as normal since it happened.

It was a horrifying ordeal for her and we thank her for supporting the investigation to trace the man responsible for assaulting her, and now helping us build an e-fit of the suspect.

Women should be able to walk alone without fear and we are dedicated to protecting women and girls from predatory offenders such as this.

Anyone who recognises the man, or has information, please contact police on 101 quoting 6533840/22. Or, to remain completely anonymous call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.
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A man whose XL bully dog named Titan escaped, ran down and savagely killed his neighbour after latching onto the mans neck has been jailed for three years.

Christopher Bell, 45, came out of his house barefoot to run after Ian Langley, 54, who had thrown a stone at his home in Shiney Row, near Sunderland, on 3 October 2023.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Bell left the door of his house open, allowing his two XL bully dogs to get out and join in the chase.

The animals overtook their owner and the larger one, Titan, knocked Mr Langley to the ground and latched on to his neck, causing unsurvivable injuries, prosecutors said.

open image in gallery Christopher Bells dogs were let loose when he came out of the house after Mr Langley had thrown a stone at his home ( Owen Humphreys/PA )

The court heard in the months leading up to the fatal incident, Titan had attacked two dogs and was known to local residents.

Prosecutor Jolyon Perks said a witness described seeing Mr Langley pacing in front of Bells house in Maple Terrace before picking up two stones, throwing them at the window and running across the road into a passageway.

He had run for about 100 metres before he was brought to the floor by Titan who took hold of his neck between his jaws and resisted all Bells attempts to pull him away, the court heard.

Mr Perks said Bell was eventually able to pull the dog off Mr Langley and drag him back to his house before returning to the scene and calling emergency services.

open image in gallery Ian Langley, 54, suffered fatal neck injuries when he was attacked ( Sunderland Global Media )

Mr Langley was taken to hospital but had suffered catastrophic injuries to his neck and was pronounced dead less than two hours after the incident.

Titan was destroyed at the scene and Bells other dog, Sapphire, was taken away and euthanised, the court heard.

A victim impact statement from Mr Langleys son Jayke Langley, who works as a teacher in Taiwan, said: My father Ian Langley was not only loved by everyone in the community, he was also my role model and best influence in my life.

His kindness and generosity shaped me into who I am. He taught me to make time for others and give to those less fortunate.

Mr Langley said changes in the law following an alarming increase in fatal dog attacks in 2023 tragically came too late for my dad.

In mitigation, the court heard Bell was profoundly sorry for what has happened and that it was a horrible accident.

open image in gallery Christopher Bell, 45, has been sentanced to three years in jail ( Northumbria Police )

A judge heard Bell had no quarrel with Mr Langley and what prompted him to smash the defendants window remains unknown.

Judge Carolyn Scott jailed Bell for three years and banned him from owning a dog indefinitely.

The judge said: It is apparent to me you failed to respond to concerns raised by others regarding the dogs behaviour. I accept there is no evidence of aggression to other people.

She told Bell his failure to stop Titan from leaving his home before setting off after Mr Langley ultimately resulted in his death.

Changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in February last year meant it became illegal to own an XL bully without a certificate of exemption.

Anyone who owns one of the dogs must have had the animal neutered, have it microchipped and keep it muzzled and on a lead in public, among other restrictions.
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Detectives looking for two missing sisters have ended the search of a river and harbour in Aberdeen three weeks after the pair mysteriously vanished.

Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32 and part of a set of triplets, were reported missing by their landlady after telling her they planned to end their tenancy.

Police said extensive searches of the River Dee and the Harbour area, using local and national specialist police resources, including the dive and marine unit, police dogs and air support have now ended.

open image in gallery Sisters Henrietta and Eliza Huszti have been missing for more than a week ( Family handout )

open image in gallery Police have searched the river, harbour and surrounding area ( Andrew Milligan/PA Wire )

The pair  who are originally from Hungary  are described as white women of slim build with long brown hair and were last seen on a bridge over the River Dee on 7 January.

Investigations into the sisters disappearance have now confirmed both women, who were wearing rucksacks, were seen at the same bridge at around 2.50pm on Monday 6 January.

open image in gallery Police continue their search for the sisters ( Andrew Milligan/PA Wire )

open image in gallery The sisters visited the same bridge they were last seen on a day before vanishing ( Police Scotland )

It emerged a text message was sent from Henriettas mobile phone to the sisters landlady at 2.12am on 7 January, from the area of Victoria Bridge, indicating they would not be returning to the flat.

The phone was then disconnected from the network and has not been active since, police said.

The following day, the sisters personal belongings were found inside the flat and the landlady reported her concerns to police.

open image in gallery No criminality is suspected in hunt for the missing sisters ( Family handout )

Superintendent David Howieson said on Monday: The investigation continues to trace Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, who were last seen on Market Street at the Victoria Bridge over the River Dee around 2.12am on Tuesday 7 January, 2025.

Our thoughts are very much with their family at what is a very difficult time.

Extensive and detailed searches have been carried out of the River Dee and the Harbour area, using local and national specialist police resources, including the dive and marine unit, police dogs and air support, and those of partner agencies.

These searches have now concluded at this time but enquiries will be ongoing to trace Eliza and Henrietta.

Coastal areas, both north and south of Aberdeen city, will continue to be searched and any further information received by police will be acted upon.

I would again stress there is nothing to suggest any suspicious circumstances or criminality.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0735 of Tuesday 7 January, 2025.
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Households across the UK could receive appliances, utility bill help and even cash payments worth up to 300 as a part of an ongoing government scheme.

Available to those struggling with their finances, the Household Support Fund (HSF) is offered by local councils alongside the regular benefits and grants.

Some councils are offering appliances like air fryers and microwaves, while others are even replacing the winter fuel payment for pensioners who were ruled ineligible for it due to Labour changes last year.

The nationwide scheme was first introduced by the Conservative government in 2021 to support vulnerable households through the cost of living crisis and Covid-19 pandemic.

open image in gallery The UK has experienced severe weather in January, driving up the cost of energy bills ( REUTERS )

But with costs and bills remaining high long past the peak of the pandemic, the temporary measure has now been extended five times, most recently by Labour in August.

The latest round of funding has provided local authorities with a share of the 421 million pot to spend how they feel will best support households in their areas. Some may provide cash grants, for instance, while others are offering supermarket vouchers or heating support.

In most cases, there will be strict criteria for a household to be eligible for support through the local HSF. This will include factors such as income, vulnerability of the resident, number of dependents and cost of bills. Most schemes will also require households to apply, and not be awarded automatically.

Heres your guide to what support is available in local areas across the country this winter:

London

Tower Hamlets

Access to the HSF in Tower Hamlets is available through the authoritys Resident Support Scheme. This is designed to help with short term living costs including food, gas/electric meters, and in some cases white goods and furniture.

The authority has also used part of its HSF allocation to provide financial support to low-income pensioners who do not qualify for the winter fuel payment.

Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, said: Making the Winter Fuel payment means-tested will have a detrimental effect on pensioners who are already facing the rising costs of energy bills.

This creates a risk that pensioners will not turn their heating on for fear of not being able to pay the bills, which is wrong.

This is why we are stepping in and providing a 175 safety net for those who will be missing out.

For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Tower Hamlets council website.

Lambeth

Lambeth council says its HSF will be used for the following:

Support for families in receipt of free school meals during the holidays. Families will receive this support directly from their child's school

Extra funding to enhance the council's cash payouts for low-income residents most in need. Eligible residents will have received a letter with details on how to collect their payment

Funding for food banks and surplus food distribution sites

Specialist energy saving support and advice

Additional funding for the Emergency Support Scheme for residents in an emergency or crisis, such as residents struggling to pay bills or afford food

For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Lambeth council website.

Enfield

Through Enfields HSF, assistance may be available for:

Food (this may be through a food bank and pantry referrals)

Energy bills and water bills/top-ups

Support with housing costs, but not mortgage payments

Wider essentials, such as broadband, phone bills, clothing or essential transport related costs

White goods, such as a fridge/freezer, washing machine or cooker. White goods will be sourced from a suitable provider. The council will not be able to provide a cash payment

A cash award (limited to 250)

For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Enfield council website

Croydon

Croydons HSF fund will go towards helping residents with household costs. These could include:

Top-ups for pre-paid energy and water meters

Assistance with energy and water bills debts

Food vouchers

Housing support (in exceptional circumstances, excluding mortgage payment)

The fund can also go towards essential household appliances and essential transport costs.

For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Croydon council website.

Kingston

Kingston council says it will use its HSF allocation to support households in need afford the essentials. Vouchers will be made available to support with costs such as food, utility bills and other pressures.

For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Kingston council website.

Rest of England:

North Lincolnshire

In North Lincolnshire, over 6,000 pensioners will receive free airfryers, with over 1,000 delivered so far. The council says the the initiative is designed to help reduce energy bills and cool more healthy meals.

Cllr Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: Many pensioners are struggling to pay their energy bills and relied on the winter fuel payment at this time of the year when energy bills soar, particularly as the temperatures have plummeted and at North Lincolnshire Council we want to do our bit to help.

The council is also sending out over 1,300 slow cookers and nearly 400 one-cup kettles. In December, the household support fund was also used to send 200 low-income pensioners in the area to replace the funds loss from the removal of the winter fuel payment.

Newcastle

In Newcastle, the HSF will be used for:

Free school meal vouchers for children over the school holidays

Hardship payments for residents in financial difficulty (applications not yet open)

The council will also be contacting local pensioners receiving council tax support and/or housing benefit who no longer qualify for the winter fuel payment following Labour changes to the benefit.

Advise from the authority reads: We will support 3,700 households in receipt of Council Tax Support and or Housing Benefit who will not qualify for the Governments Winter Fuel Allowance.

Worcestershire

In Worcestershire, the HSF will provide eligible households with:

Financial support toward current energy and water costs

Financial support toward energy and water debts only

Help to repair, service and replace broken boilers and heating systems

Support with food costs or direct provision of food

Support with wider essentials

For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Worcestershire council website.

Surrey

Surrey council will be using the HSF to fund several strands of support for struggling households, these include:

Provision of free school meals vouchers to eligible children over the school holidays.

Continued support for food banks, community fridges and food clubs

Funding for the Surrey Crisis Fund

The council has also set aside 750,000 for residents via District and Borough councils.

For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Surrey council website.

Hertfordshire

In Hertfordshire, residents eligible for the HSF can benefit from:

Supermarket vouchers during the holidays for families receiving free school meals

Money for food and energy

Assistance with housing costs

Additional support for people on pension credit

For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Hertfordshire council website.

Staffordshire

Staffordshire County Council has laid out how it intends to use the HSF, with schemes including:

Emergency payments for vulnerable households to help with essentials

Supermarket eVoucher scheme with eligible households receiving 65 per household and 20 per additional dependant.

Utility support worth 300

Education support fund  households with children receiving free school meals given supermarket vouchers over the holidays.

For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Staffordshire council website.

Coventry

In Coventry, vulnerable households can benefit from:

Essential utility support worth 120 or 160 for households with children. Can be applied for a maximum of three times.

Food support with three emergency food parcels per household

Household appliances, furniture, clothing, bedding and toiletries all considered in exceptional cases

For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Coventry council website.

York

In York, there is currently one scheme running through the HSF:

Payment to bank account of 115, to help towards household bills for households receiving council tax support

Discretionary payments for households in need and not receiving council tax support

For eligibility and how to apply, visit the York council website.

There are over 300 local authorities in the UK. For more information about whats available in every area, the End Furniture Poverty charity offers a helpful assistance finder tool.
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Labour has been warned against any planned changes to the disability benefits system that would make them harder to access, as a new report arguing the economic value of disability benefits for those in need far outweighs the public cost.

The government has not yet announced its plans for health-related benefits, but has made clear that spending cuts are likely. Prime minister Keir Starmer has said that Labour would be ruthless in cutting benefits if needed to balance government spending, with more details set to come in the spring.

But stripping back the welfare system to cut costs misses the bigger picture, the report from Pro Bono Economics and anti-poverty Z2K has found. Their analysis finds that the economic value of disability benefits is not understood by ministers, urging them to reconsider any planned cuts.

Changes to the work capability assessment are understood to be central to government plans, with the Treasury committing to match a 1.3bn saving plan made by the previous Conservative government, which adds up to 3bn overall.

Under those plans, an estimated 450,000 fewer people would have qualifed for health-related benefits, although Labour has said it will re-consult on the changes.

Ministers have said changes to the current welfare system are necessary, pointing out the spiralling number of people claiming health-related benefits. There are now 3.7 million people of working age receiving them  1.2 million more than in February 2020.

open image in gallery Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will spearhead any benefit changes made by Labour ( PA Wire )

A consultation launched by the Conservatives in June put forward proposals such as changing the eligibility criteria for work capability assessments, redesigning the PIP assessment, and replacing certain cash payments with vouchers. Labour has said it will put forward its own proposals, but has not ruled out any of these measures.

However, the new report argues that any of these measures would be detrimental, finding that the economic value of ensuring disability benefits for those who need them far outweighs the cost to the government of providing them. This is because there is a monetary value attached to improving wellbeing, as set out in Treasury guidance, worth around 12,300 annually per person.

With around 3.5 million claimants currently receiving health-related support, this translates to a potential 42 billion in annual economic benefits. This would far exceed the 28 billion cost to the exchequer in delivering these benefits, the report finds.

Matt Whittaker, CEO at Pro Bono Economics, said: Disability benefits provide crucial financial support for millions of people, helping to offset the extra living costs that many disabled people face in their day-to-day lives. But we now know that they do so much more: boosting the mental wellbeing and life satisfaction of recipients to a level well beyond the cash cost of delivery.

Reforms to simplify the claims process would make this support even more effective, by improving the experience for existing claimants and removing barriers for many more who could benefit.

open image in gallery Prime minister Keir Starmer told reporters in Ukraine: We will be ruthless with cuts if thats whats necessary. ( Getty Images )

The authors have urged the government to reconsider any planned changes to disability benefits which look to make short-term savings. Their report argues that the benefits system already has too many barriers preventing claimants from getting the support they need. Any changes should make benefits more accessible, they add, rather than less.

Ayla Ozmen, Director of Policy and Campaigns at Z2K, said: These findings show that the narrow focus on the rising cost of disability benefitsmisses the bigger picture. The report reveals that disability benefits actually provide a boost to the economy: spending on disability benefits should be seen not as a drain on public finances but as an investment in economic growth.

Instead of focusing on how to make short-term savings by reducing financial support for disabled people, the government needs to recognise the wider economic gains of disability benefits and instead concentrate on ensuring support is available to everyone who needs it.

He adds: Removing or reducing hundreds of pounds of vital financial support for disabled people would have a devastating effect. Already over 88% of low-income households on disability benefits cant afford the basics, including food, energy costs, prescriptions and transport to medical appointments. Further cuts will inevitably push people deeper into poverty and leave people in worse health.

A DWP spokesperson said: We have been clear that the current benefits system needs reform so it is fairer on the taxpayer and people get the support they need to move into work.

Building on our Get Britain Working White Paper, we will bring forward proposals for reforming the health and disability benefits system in the Spring. This will be part of a proper plan to help disabled people who can work to secure employment while ensuring support is provided for those who need it, with a commitment to put the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of any policy changes that directly affect them.
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Michael Heseltine says Brexiteers sold Britain a pack of lies and called for the UK to rejoin the European Union.

The former deputy prime minister said the UK should be at the heart of Europe and that returning to the bloc would be in the best interests of a generation of young British people.

Speaking ahead of Fridays fifth anniversary of Britains official departure from the EU, Lord Heseltine told the BBC: The creation of the single market was Margaret Thatchers greatest achievement. It was a culmination of the determination that war should be eliminated from the landmass of Europe.

He added: I was rather keen on these ideas. And I am appalled by Brexit, I dont believe for an instant that we should accept the verdict of a pack of lies that was paraded by various people in order to persuade people we had to sever our relationship with Europe.

His intervention came as Downing Street confirmed Sir Keir Starmer will snub the fifth anniversary of Brexit, with the prime minister instead focusing on his ongoing reset of relations with the EU.

The prime minister has no plans to celebrate or mark the key milestone, his official spokesman confirmed, adding that he was focused on making Brexit work for the British people.

We are looking forward, not backwards that is why we are resetting our relationship with Europe, to strengthen ties and deliver growth and security for the UK, the spokesman added.

Downing Street said the reset includes taking advantage of the UKs position on AI and financial services, as well as highlighting a new security pact with the EU.

Sir Keir has been pursuing a closer relationship with the EU, including considering joining a tariff-free trading scheme with Europe after the EU, since entering Downing Street in July.

On Monday, Lord Heseltine was pressed on how far he would advocate the prime minister going in rebuilding Britains ties with the bloc.

He said: Straight down the line, I would go back into Europe, to the heart of Europe.

And do you know why? Because I believe it is in the best interests of a generation of young British people.

Lord Heseltine also dismissed critics of a second referendum on the EU, asking What is democracy about?.

This question of, we voted in 2016, the deal is done, what is democracy about? he said. He added: I have lived through generation after generation where Conservatives have opposed Labour nationalisation programmes, we undid them. We said we would undo them, despite the fact they had a mandate.

Why cant you have another referendum, put it to the British people?

Rachel Reeves said ministers will consider joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention trading scheme ( BBC/AFP/Getty )

On Sunday, Rachel Reeves said the UK was absolutely happy to look at joining a tariff-free trading scheme with Europe after the EU opened the door to British membership.

The chancellor indicated ministers will consider signing up to the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM), as it would with any constructive ideas consistent with its red lines about not returning to the EU.

Labour has ruled out rejoining the customs union and single market, or returning to freedom of movement, but committed to seeking closer ties with Brussels as part of a reset in UK-EU relations.

EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic last week suggested Britain could join the PEM, which allows for tariff-free trade of goods across Europe, as well as some North African and Levantine nations.

Speaking to broadcasters over the weekend, Ms Reeves said she was happy to look at the prospect of the UK joining the scheme with Europe.

The Chancellor told Sky News Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: It was really interesting to see Maros Sefcovic this week suggest the UK might be welcome in that pan-European and Mediterranean customs framework.

We are absolutely happy to look at these different proposals because we know that the deal that the previous government secured is not working well enough.

Its not working well enough for small businesses trying to export, its not working well enough for larger businesses either.

Were grown-ups who admit that, whereas the previous government said there were no problems at all.

And where there are constructive ideas we are happy to look at those, as long as theyre consistent with the red lines we set out in our manifesto.
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A minister responsible for road safety has abandoned her support for a law targeting dangerous young drivers after joining government, The Independent has learned.

Lilian Greenwood backed a private members bill tabled last May calling for Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL), which places restrictions on newly qualified drivers and has been adopted in many countries.

But after Sir Keir Starmer appointed her minister for the future of roads following the general election, Ms Greenwood said she was not considering introducing the scheme  without explaining why she had dropped a policy she recognised as potentially life-saving a few months earlier.

Campaigners expressed frustration over the shelving of measures they hoped would resemble those in the US, Australia and New Zealand by imposing night-time curfews on new drivers and restricting the numbers of young passengers they can carry.

Supporters of GDL in Britain point to the 4,959 people who were killed or seriously injured in collisions involving young drivers in 2023 (the latest year for which data is available)  around a fifth of the national total. Young drivers (aged 17 to 24) are disproportionately involved in serious collisions at night and when carrying passengers and two-thirds of those involved are men.

The statistics were compounded by a tragic collision near Wakefield on Friday night in which an 18-year-old driver and two of his teenage passengers were killed. Two other men in the car were rushed to hospital, one of whom remained in hospital with life-threatening injuries on Monday.

open image in gallery Floral tributes were left on Bramley Lane near Wakefield, West Yorkshire after Fridays fatal crash ( PA )

Several road safety campaign groups have promoted GDL in Britain for years. They have been joined in the past few months by The AA and the National Fire Chiefs Council.

Edmund King, director of The AA Charitable Trust, said: There are far too many weekends when we hear about carnage on our roads often involving three or four teenagers in a car.

There is solid evidence from other countries that measures such as restricting the number of peer-age passengers in the cars of new drivers under 21 years of age would save between 20 to 40 per cent casualties of young drivers and passengers. In the UK we believe this could save up to 58 lives per year.

The collision involving three teenagers killed in a crash in Wakefield on Friday night just brings home the urgency of why action is required.

Dr Ian Greenwood, who began campaigning for road safety after his 12-year-old daughter Alice was killed in 2008 in a collision involving a young driver, said: Too many people are killed from young driver crashes, and whilst I am disappointed the government have said they are not currently considering GDL, we will continue to fight for action to help young drivers to avoid injury crashes.

Last year, Dr Greenwood was personally thanked by Ms Greenwood, who is no relation, for his campaigning after she joined Kim Leadbeater and a handful of other Labour MPs in presenting the GDL bill to the Commons in a 10-minute rule debate.

No one has done more to push this onto the UK political agenda than [Dr Greenwood], Ms Greenwood, then an opposition backbencher, tweeted.

open image in gallery Lilian Greenwood is minister for the future of roads ( PA )

On 9 May, two days after the bills first reading in the Commons, she tweeted: Proud to be a supporter of [Ms Leadbeaters] Bill. There is good evidence that GDL could save lives and it deserves proper consideration by government.

But on 28 November, when asked by Labour backbencher Dr Scott Arthur if she would assess the merits of GDL, Ms Greenwood, by then a minister since July, said: We are not considering Graduated Driving Licences.

The GDL bills passage through the Commons was halted when parliament dissolved for the general election called by Rishi Sunak on 22 May. No attempts to introduce a similar bill have been made since.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is working on a road safety strategy and Ms Greenwood said ministers are considering other measures to improve young driver safety.

Campaigner Sharron Huddlestons 18-year-old daughter Caitlin died as a passenger in a car with three young women travelling for an evening meal on a wet rural road. Ms Huddleston has campaigned for safer roads ever since and founded the Forget Me Not Families  a group of 198 bereaved family members who are pushing for GDL in Britain.

She said: We must have action from government as soon as possible to stop these needless preventable road deaths. This is a public health issue.

Ms Huddleston and other members of the Forget Me Not Families will take part in a Westminster Hall debate on road safety for young drivers on Tuesday.

A DfT spokesperson said: Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way.

We absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers.

The roads minister recently met with the family of a young person killed on our roads, and continues to engage with those affected to help better inform our efforts to tackle this problem and protect young drivers.
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David Lammy is under mounting pressure over the governments Chagos deal after he was sent a legal letter accusing him of misleading the House of Commons and his predecessor James Cleverly doubled down on criticism.

The letter, seen by The Independent, was sent to the foreign secretary by campaign group Chagossian Voices the day after Labour MP Peter Lamb claimed there is certainly evidence that statements made in the Commons by Mr Lammy do not appear to be true. Both Mr Lamb and the legal letter were referring to his claim that the government kept the Chagossians informed all along the way.

It comes as the former Conservative foreign secretary claimed Labour ministers had put themselves in a very weak negotiating position during talks.

open image in gallery David Lammy has been urged to correct the record ( REUTERS )

Mr Cleverly, who was in charge at the FCDO when negotiations first opened in 2022, told Times Radio on Monday he always made sure that certain red lines were in place during talks.

Negotiating is one thing, but I always made sure that certain red lines were in place and if the negotiations crossed those red lines then I wouldnt have accepted a deal.

And, indeed, over a years worth of talks I did not get to a position that I was comfortable with, which is why I never signed off a deal, he said.

He later said he did not know numbers and details of what Labour has put forward but its clear that they have changed the UK position dramatically, and they havent told us what.

Its clear that they have put themselves in a very weak negotiating position, which is why Mauritius keep coming back for more money and more concessions.

But a Downing Street spokesperson the governments priority throughout this process has always been to protect UK and US strategic interests. Thats what the deal on Diego Garcia does.

The legal letter demands Mr Lammy correct the record after making statements the group, which represents indigenous people originating from the islands, claimed were demonstrably incorrect.

open image in gallery Former home secretary James Cleverly has criticised the Chagos deal ( PA Wire )

It also urges the government to conduct actual engagement with the Chagossian peoples, rather than simply taking decisions that are thought to be politically expedient.

FCDO sources said the letter has been recieved and a response will be sent in due course.

The latest development comes just days after The Independent revealed that Chagossian Voices has instructed lawyers to challenge the controversial Chagos deal.

The group argues they have not met with Mr Lammy and that Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty, who has met with them twice since the deal was agreed, refused to discuss the negotiations.

While the government insists it has been engaged with Chagossians at both official and ministerial level throughout the talks, the letter says there was a lack of focus, agenda or indeed information offered to those individuals directly affected by decisions taken by the British government, and decisions taken without proper consultation.

The simple reality of the matter is that a not insignificant number of people have been entirely ignored, the letter reads.

It also claims that the government has failed to respond to two letters sent on October 18 and November 8, which also demanded more engagement with indigenous people.

open image in gallery Diego Garcia airbase on the Chagos Islands grew in strategic importance after 9/11 ( PA )

The foreign secretary has previously argued that it is hard to get one view from the Chagossians as there are Chagossians in the Seychelles, in Mauritius and in the United Kingdom, saying the government will continue to do all we can to support them.

The governments agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands  including the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia  to Mauritius has been plagued by issues since it was announced in October, with concerns Donald Trump could veto the deal and the new Mauritian government demanding further concessions from Britain.

Critics of the deal are concerned about the future of the airbase on Diego Garcia, and also the potential for China to gain access to the islands.

Last week, shadow armed forces minister, Mark Francois, said the agreement staggers from one disaster to another, adding: If David Lammy had any sense he would stop digging and abandon the whole bonkers plan, sooner rather than later.

However, Mr Lammy has insisted that it is a good deal which secures the long-term future of the airbase. He has also pointed out that the International Court of Justice ruled that the islands belong to Mauritius.

Last week, a government spokesperson told The Independent: The negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius with our priority being to secure the full operation of the base on Diego Garcia.

We recognise the importance of the islands to Chagossians and have worked to ensure this agreement reflects their interests. The UK government, under both the previous and current administration, has been engaged with Chagossians at both official and ministerial level during negotiations which first started in November 2022.

As part of the agreement, we will finance a new trust fund for Mauritius to use in support of the Chagossian community. We will work with Mauritius to start a new programme of visits for Chagossians to the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia. And Mauritius will be free to develop a programme of resettlement on the islands, other than Diego Garcia.

The FCDO has been contacted for comment.
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Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly preparing to resist demands to increase UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030 as a result of concerns about the state of public finances, despite growing pressure from Donald Trump and the British military.

While ministers have pledged to boost UK defence spending from its current point  at just above 2 per cent  to 2.5 per cent, it is not yet clear when or how this target will be achieved.

Mr Trump has demanded that Nato allies commit 5 per cent of GDP to defence spending far beyond the current US figure of around 3.4 per cent.

But with the state of Britains finances worsening and further spending cuts expected, there is said to be a growing sense that hitting even the 2.5 per cent target before the next election would mean even more spending cuts are required.

After entering office, the prime minister commissioned a strategic defence review to evaluate the state of Britains armed forces. After the review concludes, expected to happen in the spring, the government will set a deadline for the 2.5 per cent target.

Trump has demanded Nato allies boost defence spending ( AP )

A senior government source told the Times: If we try to hit the target by 2030 it will mean deeper cuts to public services in the run-up to the election. It feels like a non-starter. The next general election will take place by mid-2029.

A military source added: The Treasury is putting its fingers in its ears again, saying it has to be 2.3 per cent, maybe it can be 2.5 per cent in the distant future. But that is going to lead to some very bad headlines about cuts to the military at a time of war in Europe.

But, asked about the claims, a Ministry of Defence source told The Independent that it is pure speculation and anonymous chatter.

The timeline for 2.5 will be set out in the spring and nothing is confirmed yet either way, so none of those anonymous quotes actually know whats going to happen, they added.

It comes amid warnings about the deteriorating state of Britains armed forces, with Lord West of Spithead - a retired admiral of the Royal Navy, and former security adviser to Gordon Brown - last month telling The Independent that the armed forces are grotesquely underfunded and hollowed out.

His comments echoed those of former head of the army Richard Dannatt, who warned that Britains army is not big enough to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine - an idea floated by Sir Keir Starmer earlier this year.

I dont think the size of our army is large enough to do that, with everything else that its doing currently. I think we would struggle, he told the The i Paper.

While Mr Trump and Sir Keir avoided the subject of defence spending during a warm-worded phone call on Sunday evening, the president has been clear that he wants Nato members to spend more, threatening to pull out of the alliance if other allies do not pull their weight.

A government spokesperson said: This is pure speculation. As set out in the governments plan for change, we will set the path to 2.5 per cent in the Spring.

In the meantime, the Strategic Defence Review is working at pace, looking hard at the threats we face and the capabilities we need to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

In our first budget, our government increased defence spending by almost 3bn.
High-level Sino-US talks continue

11:36, January 27, 2025 By Zhang Yunbi ( China Daily

China and the United States have displayed their willingness to efficiently manage bilateral relations and work on differences, observers said after Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone conversation on Friday.

This first phone call between Wang and Rubio took place four days after Donald Trump was sworn in as US president on Jan 20, and it touched upon key, sensitive topics such as the Taiwan question, according to a news release by the Foreign Ministry.

They also discussed other "issues of bilateral, regional and global importance", said US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.

Since an earlier phone conversation between President Xi Jinping and then president-elect Trump on Jan 17, the frequency of the two nations advancing high-level contacts has caught media attention.

Such high-level communication includes a series of meetings held during Vice-President Han Zheng's trip to the US last week as Xi's special representative to attend Trump's inauguration ceremony.

On Friday, Wang told Rubio the "two heads of state have pointed out the direction and set the tone for China-US relations".

The working teams on both sides need to "implement their important common understandings and maintain communication, manage differences and expand cooperation", in line with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, Wang said.

They should also work on promoting the steady, sound, and sustainable development of China-US relations and finding the right way for China and the US to get along with each other in the new era, he added.

Rubio said the US hopes to have candid communication with China, resolve differences, and manage the bilateral relationship in a mature and prudent manner. Washington also hopes to work together with Beijing to address global challenges and maintain peace and stability in the world, he added.

Speaking on the Taiwan question, Wang urged the US side to handle the matter prudently, and emphasized that "we will never allow Taiwan to be split from China".

As Washington has made solemn commitments to abide by the one-China policy in the three landmark China-US joint communiques, Wang told Rubio that "it should not renege on them".

Rubio said the US does not support "Taiwan independence" and hopes that the Taiwan question can be resolved peacefully in a manner acceptable to both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Wang said that big countries should act in a manner befitting their status, shoulder their due international responsibilities, maintain world peace, and help countries realize common development.

"I hope you will act accordingly and play a constructive role for the future of the people of China and the US, as well as for the peace and stability of the world," he told Rubio.

Su Xiaohui, deputy director of the Department of American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said: "Over the past years, we have seen the US suppressing, coercing China and taking China as its most important strategic rival. And yet Washington worked with Beijing over the past election year to ensure their relations do not go out of control."

She added, "Veering into a major confrontation with China should not be a choice for the US during Trump's second tenure as president, so Rubio should listen to China's voice when representing the US' interests and tackling bilateral ties."

Jin Canrong, a professor at Renmin University's School of International Studies in Beijing and a leading expert on US studies, said, "As Rubio is now a major diplomat in the Trump administration, his actions should match his current post."

During his phone talks with Wang on Friday, Rubio said the US and China are two major countries and the US-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the 21st century  one that will determine the future of the world.

Wang said the development of China-US relations has come to an important new juncture, adding that China has "no intention of surpassing or replacing anyone", but it must defend its "legitimate right to development".

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing)
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Donald Trump said he has a very good relationship with Sir Keir Starmer, adding the prime minister has done a very good job thus far.

It comes despite the pairs turbulent relationship since Sir Keir took office, amid rows with Mr Trumps ally Elon Musk, who has publicly criticised the UK PM, and anger over Labour helping Kamala Harris in the US election.

But speaking to the BBC on board Air Force One, Mr Trump said the pair would have a phone call over the next 24 hours.

I get along with him well. I like him a lot, Mr Trump said.

Hes liberal, which is a bit different from me, but I think hes a very good person and I think hes done a very good job thus far.

Hes represented his country in terms of philosophy. I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him.

open image in gallery President Donald Trump has expressed support for Sir Keir Starmer ( Mark Schiefelbein/AP )

The president added the UK was being considered the destination for the first international trip of his second term.

He said: It could be Saudi Arabia, it could be UK. Traditionally it could be UK.

Sir Keir most recently met with Mr Trump at Trump Tower in New York during the presidential campaign.

The pair also spoke on the phone following Mr Trumps election victory, with Downing Street saying both men agreed the relationship between the UK and the US was incredibly strong and would continue to thrive.

Following Mr Trumps inauguration last week, foreign secretary David Lammy indicated Sir Keir would visit Washington within weeks.

open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmer has been handed a boost as Mr Trump backed him in an interview with the BBC ( PA Wire )

Mr Trumps warm words about the prime minister come despite a row after Labour sent 100 volunteers to help his Democrat rival Ms Harris ahead of the US election.

The UK prime minister also failed to secure an invite to Mr Trumps inauguration, with the attendance of political rivals including Nigel Farage and Priti Patel compounding the issue.

Meanwhile, Mr Musk has been heavily critical of the Labour government in recent weeks as the billionaire owner of Tesla and SpaceX piled pressure on the prime minister to order an inquiry into grooming gangs.

There were also reports that the tech billionaire discussed removing Sir Keir from Downing Street.

Mr Trumps comments will come as a welcome boost to Sir Keir, as a number of diplomatic challenges loom for the government, including the Republicans threats of tariffs and suggestions he could pull out of Nato or pressure Ukraine into a peace deal with Russia.

There have also been suggestions that Mr Trump could veto the UKs proposed deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius over fears the deal could open up a joint US-UK military base to Chinese interference.
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Ed Miliband has said any expansion of Heathrow airport or other aviation projects must fall within the UKs carbon budget as he leads the push for net zero.

The energy secretary, who has refused to resign over the plans to expand Heathrow with a third runway, looked visibly uncomfortable as he was grilled on the controversy by newly elected Green MP Ellie Chowns.

During the session of the environmental audit committee, Ms Chowns rounded on Mr Miliband over the apparent incompatibility between his plans to reduce carbon emissions and chancellor Rachel Reevess push for economic growth.

Ms Reeves had already caused Mr Miliband difficulties by suggesting that economic growth should trump net zero considerations.

open image in gallery Ed Miliband at Mondays environmental audit committee ( Parliament TV )

The chancellor said: When we say growth is the number one issue for this government, we mean it and that means it trumps other things.

Mr Milibands grilling over Heathrow came as Ms Reeves faced dissent at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) from Brentford and Isleworth MP Ruth Cadbury, who has been a longstanding opponent of a third runway in west London.

A spokesperson for Ms Reeves confirmed Ms Cadbury, whose constituency would be affected, was the only MP to speak out and there was otherwise overwhelming support.

There has been speculation that the Heathrow expansion could be confirmed by Ms Reeves this week when she makes a major speech on economic growth.

Under questioning from Ms Chowns, Mr Miliband refused to say whether an announcement on the airport would come before next months report by the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which will set the UKs carbon budget and emission limits.

Ms Chowns asked: Would you agree that major infrastructure investment decisions or permission decisions such as, for example, airport expansion should not be taken before we get the forthcoming advice this month from the [CCC] and that such policies such as airport expansion are, as the [CCC] previously said, incompatible with meeting the targets we already have?

open image in gallery There has been speculation that a third runway at Heathrow airport could be confirmed by Ms Reeves this week ( PA Archive )

Mr Miliband responded: Our goal is neither, on the one hand, to stop people going on holiday or the economy getting what it needs, nor is it business as usual, as if climate change is not a problem. I think that is a sensible middle ground of this debate.

But when pressed further, he added: Any aviation expansion must be justified within the framework of carbon budgets. I can absolutely assure you that is the position of the government, and that is the basis, without anticipating anything that might be announced or might not be announced. That is absolutely the basis on which the government stands.

Ms Chowns hit back: In that case, secretary of state, given the aviation expansion will increase emissions from the aviation sector, which sectors are you suggesting should contract their emissions even further in order to accommodate any proposed airport expansion?

Mr Miliband was unwilling to give any specifics.

He said: Well, look, that is a specific question about the pathway of aviation emissions, and that depends on a whole range of factors, as you will know, including the use of sustainable aviation fuel, airport efficiency and what other decisions are done. I just wanted to provide this reassurance because youve made a really important point.
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Pressure is piling on chancellor Rachel Reeves to U-turn on key economic policies after a damning new report suggested businesses are preparing to cut staff and raise prices.

In yet another sign the Treasurys woes arent going anywhere, a fresh report from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) indicated private sector firms expect to face another significant fall in activity over the next three months, having already dropped over the previous three-month period.

Activity has been flat or falling since the middle of 2022, reflecting a prolonged period of stagnation. But the upcoming increase in national insurance contributions has prompted firms to assess their budgets urgently, the CBI said.

The survey sparked renewed calls for the chancellor to handbrake turn on the policies announced in her autumn Budget, with the Liberal Democrats saying the chancellor must accept that [it] has not worked.

open image in gallery Rachel Reeves is under growing pressure to U-turn on her policies ( PA Media )

The warnings come as Ms Reeves prepares to make a major announcement on planning reform.

Ahead of a speech later this week, the chancellor promised to take an axe to red tape that slows down approval of infrastructure projects, betting her economic credentials on a commuter town boom in a hope it will spark growth in the UK.

She is expected to use her speech to support a proposed third runway at Heathrow airport and to endorse expansion at Gatwick and Luton.

Asked about the plans on the BBC on Sunday, the chancellor refused to be drawn on what she said was speculation but said decisions would be subject to full collective ministerial responsibility.

A lot [has] changed in terms of aviation, she said. Theres huge investment going on in electric planes, and also a third runway will mean that instead of circling London, flights can land at Heathrow.

open image in gallery Ms Reeves is preparing to make a major announcement on planning reform ( Getty Images )

Asked whether an announcement about the expansion of the airport was imminent, Ms Reeves said: Well youll see the plans when we set them out. But already this government has signed off expansion at London City airport and Stansted airport. Both of those decisions, again, were decisions that the previous government had stalled.

The CBIs survey suggested sentiment among businesses dipped in the aftermath of the governments autumn Budget, with some respondents highlighting that the tax rises had resulted in them taking steps to mitigate higher costs  including raising prices, trimming investment plans and cutting staff.

Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dems Treasury spokesperson, called on the chancellor to heed these warnings and do a handbrake turn to reverse the misguided jobs tax, properly reform the broken business rates system and create growth through a bespoke UK-EU customs union.

After years of Conservative economic vandalism, millions have been hammered by a cost of living crisis, but the Labour chancellor must accept that her Budget has not worked in turning that around, she added.

open image in gallery Liberal Democrats Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper called on Ms Reeves to accept her Budget had not worked ( PA Wire )

Meanwhile, Tory MP Harriett Baldwin, who sits on the Treasury select committee, told The Independent there is still time to backtrack from the damage [the chancellor] has done to pensioners, farmers and the private sector.

This is another shockingly bad outlook from the private sector which the UK economy relies on to give us growth, she said.

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith added: Day after day the number of businesses shouting out in fear for the future grows stronger but the chancellor continues to ignore their pleas.

Businesses are clear that the real blocker to growth is Rachel Reeves and the mistakes being made by this government.

But defending Ms Reevess Budget, Labour MP Jeevun Sandher  another member of the Treasury committee  said the party took office during the worst domestic crisis in 70 years.

open image in gallery Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said businesses are shouting out in fear for the future ( PA Wire )

The decisions weve taken to fix this country, such as investing to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, take time to fully be felt, he told The Independent.

Its also worth waiting to see what actually happens in the months ahead. The IMF, for example, believes well be the fastest growing major European economy in the coming years.

The International Monetary Fund forecast last week that the UK economy would grow by 1.6 per cent in 2025 after a weaker than expected 2024.

While the government has consistently defended its Budget, saying the measures will help it to plug a black hole in the countrys finances, recent rises in borrowing costs threaten Ms Reevess economic plans, while business leaders continue to voice concerns over upcoming tax rises.

Last week, the boss of Next said the hike in national insurance rates for employers in April will make it more difficult for people entering the workforce. And on Thursday, Sainsburys announced it was cutting 3,000 jobs two months after it said Ms Reevess Budget would cost it 140m.

There has also been growing criticism in the farming industry, where family farm owners are concerned over changes to rules on inheritance tax from April next year.

Alpesh Paleja, interim deputy chief economist for the CBI, warned there is an urgent need to get momentum back into the economy.

After a grim lead-up to Christmas, the new year hasnt brought any sense of renewal, with businesses still expecting a significant fall in activity, he said.

Alongside plans to cut staff and raise prices further, this risks an increasingly awkward trade-off for policymakers. Anecdotes suggest that companies are being hit by lacklustre demand and caution among consumers, while also continuing to adjust to measures announced in the Budget.

The CBI, a membership organisation which represents large chains through to small businesses, surveyed 990 firms between December and January.

A Treasury spokesperson said: We delivered a once-in-a-parliament budget to wipe the slate clean and deliver the stability businesses so desperately need while not increasing taxes in peoples payslips.

By bringing back political and financial stability, we are creating the conditions for economic growth.

Business investment in the third quarter of this year is estimated to have increased by 4.5 per cent compared to this time last year and PwC research earlier this week confirmed that the UK is the second most important destination for investment after the US. This is the first time the UK has secured this spot in the 28-year history of the survey.
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Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump avoided all the awkward issues they need to resolve when the US president made his first call to the prime minister on Sunday, it is understood.

In particular, the thorny issue of whether Mr Trump will accept Lord Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the US was not broached as the two men discussed trade, the royal family and the peace deal in the Middle East.

It is understood that Lord Mandelson was in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for meetings on Monday, with President Trump expected to make a decision on whether to accept his credentials as ambassador this week.

But Trump team sources have said he is minded to reject the credentials because of Lord Mandelsons support for an open relationship with China, his previous role as an EU commissioner and his close ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

open image in gallery Keir Starmer has had very good early engagement with Donald Trump, Downing Street said (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) ( AP )

Also not mentioned was the row over Sir Keirs attempts to hand the Chagos Islands  where the joint UK/ US airbase on Diego Garcia is located  to Mauritius. Mr Trump has been taking advice from Brexiteers in the UK and is considering blocking the deal.

The threat of tariffs from the US was also not discussed and neither were Mr Trumps plans for Ukraine, in spite of fears he is about to pull military and financial aid for the war against Russia. Defence as a subject did not come up nor did Mr Trumps attempts to force Nato ally Denmark to hand over Greenland.

Pressed on the conversation, a Downing Street spokesperson said: The prime ministers had very, very good early engagement with President Trump, both before the inauguration, with the dinner in New York, the phone call we had a few weeks ago and the call that he had over the weekend.

Theres a wide range of areas that we look forward to working with President Trump and an entire team to build on an already very strong and deep relationship, whether its on trade investment, whether its on security, defence  and the prime minister looks forward to meeting him soon.

open image in gallery A decision will be made on Peter Mandelsons credentials as ambassador this week (Jonathan Brady/PA) ( PA Wire )

While UK prime ministers are usually among the first world leaders incoming US presidents call after their inauguration, it took six days before Sir Keir received the call from President Trump.

And while, publicly, Mr Trump has said that he likes Sir Keir a lot and respects what he is doing, many of his inner circle have been briefing heavily against the UK Labour government suggesting that the relationship going forward could be tense.

Anger still lingers over comments made by senior Labour figures including foreign secretary David Lammy about Mr Trump during his first presidency but more about Labour sending 100 activists to help Kamala Harris in the recent US election.

However, insiders have pointed out that the prime minister has been clever by getting Prince William to front up in diplomatic relations with the president, meeting him recently in Paris for the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral.

The US president made a point of repeating his love for the British royal family in his call with Sir Keir on Sunday. It is understood that the prime minister and president will meet soon with a trip to Britain one of the first foreign visits planned by Mr Trump.
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Family WhatsApp groups spread more more false claims about the pandemic than social media sites, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has told the Covid-19 Inquiry.

Mrs Badenoch was questioned about her role as an equalities minister as the inquiry examined the vaccine uptake among ethnic minorities.

She said she had been less worried about Facebook and X  formerly Twitter  and their influence on the spread of fake news than private channels of communication.

The things that really concern me are the pieces of information that are less visible, she said. The last time I was here, I talked about WhatsApp groups, for example, family WhatsApp groups, things that government has no insight into.

Its everything from vaccines will kill you to the government is suppressing information, she said.

The Tory leader said likely reputable sources, including representatives of the British Medical Association (BMA), had been used to support false claims and misinformation.

open image in gallery Mrs Badenoch arrives at the Covid-19 inquiry

While she said she was not sure how to combat misinformation in private groups, she added: The thing that government can do best is provide as much information as possible and show that we are all in it together.

Ms Badenoch took part in vaccine trials to show that if the minister herself was taking part in trials which are more risky than a fully tested vaccine that might help with public trust.

She continued: Im also not attacking the people who were propagating this. So as annoyed as I was by representatives of the British Medical Association saying this, what I didnt do was go after that, because that can actually fuel the misinformation or the conspiracy.

The Conservative leader elsewhere said a drive to boost the number of people from ethnic minority backgrounds receiving the vaccine had helped to make a difference.

The odds of people from ethnic minority groups getting a Covid jab was lower than among people from white backgrounds.

Ministers took steps including using places of worship as vaccine centres, and a communications drive on the BBC Asian Network, to increase uptake.

Asked if this had improved the number of people getting the jab, Mrs Badenoch replied: I think it made a difference. It certainly created improvements.

The biggest benefit, I think, was the awareness raising, which meant that other people started doing these things and that we werent relying just on government.
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Residents in eastern Congos largest city, Goma, woke up on Monday morning afraid and uncertain about who was in control of the area after Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured the city, as their fight with Congolese security forces escalated in recent days in one of Africas longest wars.

Gunshots rang out across Goma overnight before dozens of men in military uniform were seen early Monday morning marching with their guns into the city, which is the capital of North Kivu province. It was unclear if the men were part of the M23 rebel group. The Congolese government has not confirmed the reported takeover.

The M23 group, which is backed by Rwanda, is one of about 100 armed factions vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region. The rebels temporarily took over Goma in 2012 and resurfaced in late 2021, with increasing support from Rwanda, according to Congos government and United Nations experts. Rwanda has denied such support.

Analysts have warned the latest escalation of hostilities could further destabilise the region, which is already experiencing one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises with more than six million people displaced. More than a third of North Kivus population are among the group, according to a UN report.

In a statement late Sunday, the UN Security Council called on M23 to immediately reverse its advances.

open image in gallery Humanitarian staff fleeing from Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, following an escalation in fighting ( Reuters )

The members of the Security Council condemned the ongoing flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC  and that the M23 put an end to the establishment of parallel administrations in the DRC territory, the statement added, referring to Congos other name.

The rebels announced early Monday they had captured the city just as a deadline they gave to Congolese security forces to surrender their weapons was about to expire. The rebels asked the Congolese military to assemble at the central stadium and urged residents to remain calm.

open image in gallery Congolese children watching the deployment of troops outside Goma on Friday ( AP )

Congolese government officials have said the country is in a war situation and accused Rwanda of committing a frontal aggression [and] a declaration of war. The country severed ties with Rwanda over the weekend after recent attempts at diplomatic talks between the two nations failed.

The reported advance into Goma is the culmination of a prolonged battle between the rebels and the Congolese security forces during which several towns fell to the rebels.

On Sunday, hundreds of residents marched in the heat and through the night along roads with heavy traffic as they tried to flee Goma into Rwanda, carrying their babies and belongings on their backs and heads.

Factbox Who are the M23 rebels in east Congo? Fighting between the M23 rebels and government forces has intensified in eastern Congo, near the city of Goma.

The M23, a Tutsi-led rebel group, re-emerged in 2022, accusing the Congolese government of violating a 2009 peace agreement.

Rwanda is accused of supporting the M23, deploying troops and weapons into Congo, a claim Rwanda denies.

The conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, exacerbating a pre-existing humanitarian crisis in the mineral-rich region.

UN peacekeepers and a Southern African Development Community military mission are present in eastern Congo, but the security situation remains volatile.

Read more

We are fleeing because we saw soldiers on the border with Rwanda throwing bombs and shooting, said Safi Shangwe, who was among those on the move.

The UNs special representative for Congo Bintou Keita told attendees at an emergency Security Council meeting that we are trapped, with the airport shut down and roads blocked.

At least 13 UN peacekeepers have been killed in the hostilities in the past week. The group, also known as MONUSCO, entered Congo more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.

The Uruguayan army, who are in Goma serving with the UN peacekeeping mission, said in a statement on the social platform X late Sunday that more than 100 Congolese soldiers were laying down their weapons.
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Congo has severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda as fighting between Rwanda-backed rebels, the M23 group, and Government forces rage around the key eastern city of Goma,

In recent weeks, the rebel group has made significant territorial gains along the border with Rwanda, encircling Goma, the provincial capital of around two million people and a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.

Congo, the US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which is mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army more than a decade ago.

It's one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region, where a long-running conflict has created one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises. The region already suffered two devastating wars between 1996 and 2003.

Here is some background on the conflict:

open image in gallery Humanitarian staff flee from Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, following fighting between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( REUTERS )

Who are M23?

M23, which refers to the March 23, 2009, accord that ended a previous Tutsi-led revolt in eastern Congo, is the latest group of ethnic Tutsi-led insurgents to take up arms against Congolese forces. It launched the current rebellion in 2022.

The group has accused the Government of Congo of not living up to the peace deal and fully integrating Congolese Tutsis into the army and administration. It also vows to defend Tutsi interests, particularly against ethnic Hutu militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), founded by Hutus who fled Rwanda after participating in the 1994 genocide of close to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Since the start of 2025, the rebels have seized new territory and reached Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, prompting hundreds of thousands more people to flee their homes.

For more than a year, M23 has controlled Congo's coltan-mining region of Rubaya, generating an estimated $800,000 per month through a production tax, according to the U.N. Coltan is used in the production of smartphones and other equipment.

The group's spread into new territories in recent weeks gives it scope to acquire more mining revenue, analysts say.

Why is Rwanda involved?

The government of Congo, U.N. officials and Western powers including the United States have accused Congo's neighbour Rwanda of fuelling the conflict by deploying thousands of its own troops and heavy weapons on Congolese soil in support of M23.

The accusations are based on a 2022 report by a U.N. Group of Experts that said it had "solid evidence" that Rwandan troops had been fighting alongside the M23 rebels.

Rwanda, which denies backing the rebels, says it has taken what it calls defensive measures and accuses Congo of fighting alongside the FDLR, which has attacked Tutsis in both countries.

Rwanda has a long history of military intervention inside Congo. It and Uganda invaded in 1996 and 1998, claiming they were defending themselves against local militia groups.

U.N. peacekeepers are supporting the Congolese army's efforts to curb the M23 as part of the MONUSCO mission's years-long mandate to counter the many rebel groups active in eastern Congo.

An agreed withdrawal of the mission from Congo has been paused due to the deteriorating security situation. As of December, there were nearly 11,000 peacekeepers on the ground, mostly in the east.

The 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) also extended its military mission in Congo late last year.

Both forces have suffered losses since the start of 2025.
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The United States and Colombia, long close partners in anti-narcotics efforts, clashed Sunday over the deportation of migrants and imposed tariffs on each others goods in a show of what countries could face if they intervene in the Trump administrations crackdown on illegal immigration.

Presidents Donald Trump and Gustavo Petro, in a series of social media posts, defended their views on migration, with the latter accusing Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation and announcing a retaliatory 25% increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods.

Earlier, the U.S. president had ordered visa restrictions, 25% tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, which would be raised to 50% in one week, and other retaliatory measures sparked by Petro's decision to reject two Colombia-bound U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants.

Trump said the measures were necessary because Petro's decision jeopardized national security in the U.S.

These measures are just the beginning, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.

Earlier Sunday, Petro said his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the U.S. until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with dignity. Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.

A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves, Petro said. That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants... In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens."

After Trump's announcement, Petro said in a post on X that he had ordered the foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the U.S. by 25%.

Colombia has traditionally been the U.S.s top ally in Latin America. But their relationship has strained since Petro, a former guerrilla, became Colombias first leftist president in 2022 and sought distance from the U.S.

Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the U.S. from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.

Colombia is also among the countries that last year began accepting U.S.-funded deportation flights from Panama.

The U.S. government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding aircraft and protocols used in deportations to Colombia.

This is a clear message we are sending that countries have an obligation to accept repatriation flights," a senior administration official told AP. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss issue publicly.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement said Petro canceled his authorization for the flights when the aircraft were in the air.

No official order had been issued as of Sunday afternoon that would allow for the implementation of the measures Trump announced.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed to AP the agency suspended processing visas at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia's capital, Bogota, in direct response to President Petros decision to not accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens.

Colombians emerged in recent years as a major presence on the U.S. border with Mexico, aided in part by a visa regime that allows them to easily fly to Mexico and avoid trekking though the treacherous Darien Gap. They ranked fourth with 127,604 arrests for illegal crossings during a 12-month period through September, behind Mexicans, Guatemalans and Venezuelans.

Mexico hasn't imposed visa restrictions on Colombians, as they have on Venezuelans, Ecuadoreans and Peruvians.

Petro's government in a statement later announced that the South American country's presidential aircraft had been made available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the U.S. military airplanes and guarantee them dignified conditions."

As part of a flurry of actions to make good on Trump's campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.

Two U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants removed from the U.S. touched down early Friday in Guatemala. That same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people.

In announcing what he called urgent and decisive retaliatory measures, Trump explained that he ordered the tariffs and A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on Colombian government officials, allies and supporters.

All Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government, Trump wrote will be subject to Visa Sanctions. He did not say to which party he was referring to or provide any additional details on the visa and travel restrictions.

Trump added that all Colombians will face enhanced customs inspections.

Trumps actions would seem to undercut his goal to reduce his country's trade deficit. Unlike Mexico or China, Colombia is one of the few countries with a trade deficit with the U.S., of around $1.4 billion, according to U.S. trade data.

Colombia is the U.S.s second biggest buyer of corn and corn feed, according to the U.S. grains council, helping boost U.S. commodity exports from farm belt states like Iowa, Indiana and Nebraska to more than $733 million last year.

The U.S. export boom has been driven by a two-decade-old free trade agreement between the two countries, which have for long been close partners in the war on drugs. It is unclear if Trumps tariffs are allowed under the agreement, which contains a dispute mechanism to resolve trade fights.

Colombia is the U.S.s fourth-largest overseas supplier of crude oil, shipping about 209,000 barrels of oil per day last year, although booming domestic production has reduced the U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The South American country is also the U.S.s largest supplier of fresh cut flowers.

___

Regina Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela. Jill Colvin in New York, Joshua Goodman in Miami, and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
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Atlanta is set to pause the clearing of homeless encampments after a man in his 40s was killed by a city truck when his camp was removed.

Mayor Andre Dickens is speaking out following the death of Cornelius Taylor on January 16, when he was killed after an Atlanta City Public Works truck rolled over his tent, witnesses say, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. Taylor was killed on Old Wheat Street near Ebenezer Baptist Church and the King Center. Witnesses said he was asleep when city officials said they were going to clear the encampment.

Dickens took to Instagram on Friday night, sharing a video to promise that changes would be made, including a review of city policies.

"Every life in this city matters to me, Dickens says in the video. While we are still gathering all the facts, this terrible accident expresses the need to reevaluate and reassess our citys policies concerning homeless encampments and how we can better our unhoused population.

"We are working closely with the Atlanta City Council, he added. I have asked District 1 Councilmember Jason Winston to introduce new legislation to review our policies and procedures for encampment closures, rehousing, and how we care for the unsheltered.

"This legislation also includes a temporary moratorium on encampment closures to allow us time to examine our policies and expand our outreach efforts, ensuring that this work can be done safely and that a tragedy like this one never happens again," said Dickens.

open image in gallery Cornelius Taylor was killed during the clearing of a homeless encampment in Atlanta ( 11Alive )

The mayor argued in his social media message that the clearings are needed to rehouse people and divert those experiencing homelessness from places he said are incredibly unsafe.

While the mayor argued that clearings are necessary as the camps are a threat to public safety, the city is taking measures to avoid anything like this happening again.

"The loss of Cornelius Taylor was a terrible accident. And we will meet this tragic moment with compassion, with urgency, and with love," said Dickens.

The city council has introduced two pieces of legislation to establish a review of homelessness policies and to put in place a moratorium on clearings, according to 11Alive.

open image in gallery On January 16, Taylor was killed after an Atlanta City Public Works truck rolled over his tent. Now, the city is looking to pause its removal of homeless encampments ( EPA )

"Make no mistake, we must do everything in our power to safely and humanely close these encampments and provide housing and stability to our neighbors who have found themselves out in the cold," said Dickens.

Winston introduced legislation that would examine "the citys current policies and procedures utilized to address issues surrounding persons experiencing homelessness to determine whether these policies and procedures adequately address the current needs of persons experiencing homelessness and the public safety concerns of residents and visitors to the City of Atlanta."

The legislation would also enact a 30-day moratorium on clearings.

Separately, Councilmembers Liliana Bakhtiari and Antonio Lewis introduced legislation that emphasizes a moratorium on clearings on a less distinct timeline, pausing the clearings until two things are completed: The CEO of Partners for HOME, the citys partner organization for homelessness services, puts together a report within 30 days on the proposed procedures, precautions, and contingencies necessary to prevent similar incidents in the future and until such a time that the council approves said proposed procedures, precautions, and contingencies through the adoption of a resolution.

open image in gallery Taylors family announced they hired a lawyer to conduct an investigation into his death ( EPA )

Taylors family spoke with local media after his death and announced they hired a lawyer to conduct an investigation into the incident.

He was a father and uncle, a nephew, a cousin. He was somebody, said Taylors sister, Darlene Chaney, according to Atlanta News First.

Those who knew Taylor said he had just gotten a job and had aspirations for his future.

I will shout to the rooftops to create change because justice is due to not only my family but all the other families that we dont talk about. I couldnt save him but we can all save the next one, Chaney said.
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California firefighters got a break over the weekend from the critical fire weather that fanned the flames of multiple wildfires that tore through Ventura, San Diego, and Los Angeles counties this month.

After battling multiple fires cropping up amid dry and windy weather, a round of weekend rain brought both much-needed relief to the area and a new threat: debris flows and flash flooding in burn scar areas.

Heavy rain is currently affecting our region, and we urge everyone  especially those in recently burned areas  to stay vigilant. The recent fires have left the soil unstable, increasing the risk of mudslides, flash floods, and debris flows, the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department warned.

open image in gallery Firefighters and aircraft battle the Hughes Fire near Santa Clarita ( REUTERS )

That risk is forecast to continue through Monday afternoon around Southern California after debris and mud blocked roads on Sunday.

Of course, there are other health concerns related to the fires for residents returning home, including toxic ash.

Ash is not just ash. Go back to the garage or whats in your home. What is your furniture made out of? What are your appliances made out of? What is your house made out of? Scott McLean, a former deputy chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protections communications bureau, told The Associated Press.

A lot of its petroleum product and different composites that are extreme hazards due to fire when they combust, he warned.

While the majority of the largest and most destructive fires had been more than 90 percent contained by Monday, last weeks more than 6,600-acre Border 2 fire is 43 percent contained.

Wildfires have torn across Southern California since January 7, engulfing more than 57,000 acres.

The Palisades and Eaton fires resulted in the deaths of 28 people and destroyed thousands of homes in just over two weeks.

Where are the fires currently burning?

San Diego Countys Border 2 fire has burned 6,625 acres and is 43 percent contained.

It started last Thursday, forcing evacuation orders around the Otay Mountain area.

But, significant rain showers have led to reduction of fire activity, with nearly a half an inch falling over the area.

Since then, the majority of orders have been lifted, according to KUSI.

The blaze prompted some school closures due to air quality concerns.

open image in gallery The Border 2 fire is seen in this map of the San Diego County area. The fire is more than 40 percent contained ( Cal Fire )

Firefighters have made great progress slowing the spread of the fire, Cal Fire officials wrote on social media.

The agency said more than 2,500 firefighters and other personnel were assigned to the incident.

In Los Angeles County, the Palisades, Eaton, and Hughes fires are all more than 90 percent contained. The Hughes and Eaton fires burned more than 10,000 and 14,000 acres, respectively. The massive Palisades fire spread over 23,448 acres.

What have the impacts been?

open image in gallery The Border 2 fire exploded near the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday afternoon ( Cal Fire/San Diego County Fire )

No fatalities have been reported from the latest fires, but lives have already been upended.

These fires have forced evacution orders and warnings for hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom now have no homes to return to.

While state and local officials have assured impacted Californians that theyre doing all they are able to at this time, emotions in the Pacific Palisades community are running high. Although evacuation orders have been lifted there for select safe zones, a flood watch was in effect.

open image in gallery Topanga Canyon Boulevard is closed for safety after debris covered the road when Topanga Creek overflowed. The area was evacuated ( CalTrans District 7/X )

Palisades residents are grieving a loss that is bigger than property  its the weight of the loss of home and community, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass wrote in a Sunday social media post.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other lawmakers have pushed against the idea of conditions for California to receive aid from the government.

President Donald Trump said he wanted the state to bend on water policy and voter ID laws.
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A British pensioner is in custody in Florida accused of illegally voting six times in elections over three years, authorities in the Sunshine State allege.

James Ross Wightman, 65, a resident of glamorous Miami Beach, voted in both local and national elections in 2022, 2023, and 2024 before being arrested in Miami Beach Friday, according to a release from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement . Its not clear who the elderly man voted for.

Wightman, who authorities said was an illegal alien from the UK, was caught just as President Donald Trump signed an executive order that suspends [the] physical entry of aliens [illegal immigrants] engaged in an invasion of the United States through the southern border, as per The White House .

The Brit has a colorful track record, as authorities shared he was voluntarily deported from the U.S. in 1989 for a drug offense arrest in Hawaii and was found to have overstayed on his visitor visa.

open image in gallery James Ross Wightman, 65, was charged with six counts of illegal voting and classed as an illegal alien from the United Kingdom under new Trump deportation laws ( Florida Department of Law Enforcement )

Authorities offered the man voluntary deportation that year instead of a formal deportation proceeding, said the release.

But FDLE investigators allege that Wightman returned to the U.S.

When he did, he falsely affirmed being a U.S. citizen on a voter registration application he submitted in November 2000 and registered as a no-party voter, just as Al Gore and George W. Bush squared off in one of the closest presidential elections of all time, in which Florida played a key role reported Local10.

Thirteen years later, Wightman presented a fictitious Ohio birth certificate to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles when he went to renew his Florida Drivers License.

According to The Ohio Department of Health, there was no trace of a birth certificate for Wightman under the biographical information he provided on the certificate at the time.

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd said: Florida leads the nation in election security, and we continue to aggressively enforce our laws to stop non-citizens from voting.

Under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, The Florida Department of State Office of Election Crimes and Security swiftly reviews allegations of fraud working with FDLE and law enforcement to ensure Florida laws are followed.

Wightman was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and is scheduled to be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, 11th Judicial Circuit, according to the FDLE.

Supervisor of Elections for Broward County, Florida, Joe Scott, states that a person guilty of voter fraud can be convicted of a third-degree felony offense and fined up to $5,000, as well as being imprisoned for up to 5 years.
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A five-year-old boy in Michigan was placed in the custody of Child Protective Services after holding a loaded handgun while answering the door to police officers.

The officers arrived at the childs home in Battle Creek, about 121 east of Detroit, on Saturday to serve a subpoena. When the child first answered the door, he had a large knife in his hand, according to a news release from the Battle Creek Police Department.

A cadet then told the child to ask a parent to come to the door. The child disappeared for a few moments and returned with the firearm. The cadet then disarmed the child, the release states.

Patrol officers later responded to the address and found two adult males and one adult female inside. They were detained and taken to the police department for questioning.

Five children ranging in age from six months to eight years were turned over to Child Protective Services as a result of the handgun incident and conditions inside the home. One child was transported to a hospital in Kalamazoo because of health concerns.

The home where the family lived has been condemned by code compliance. According to the statement, the Calhoun County Prosecutors Office is pursuing weapon charges and neglect charges against the adults in the home.

News 8, a local media outlet, reported a man was arrested at the same residence for alleged domestic violence-related crimes earlier this month.

The woman who was arrested was allegedly living with the father of one of her children and his friend at the home, the womans father told the outlet. Her father said shed allegedly been beaten at the home and notified police.

She was a single mother with five kids trying to do the best that she can after what happened with her babys daddy throwing all of the kids stuff out and everything and having to scrape through the snow to find them, the womans father told News 8. It wasnt immediately clear what the man was referring to.

I love my daughter, I love my grandkids, I want to see everyone back together as a family, thats all.
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A Hollywood producer accused in the 2021 overdose deaths of a model and an architect claimed the women were still breathing when he dropped their bodies off at area hospitals, and insisted he is not a f**king monster as disturbing evidence continues to play out in court.

Pearce, 43, who has pleaded not guilty to killing Christy Giles, 24, and her friend Hilda Cabrales-Arzola, 26, two women he partied with on November 13, 2021, appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Friday for day 13 of his double murder trial.

A jury heard a recording of a police interview in which Pearce told detectives at the time that he was only trying to help.

I didnt think they were dead, Pearce told the LAPD detective. I thought they were breathing, thats why I brought them to the hospital. Im not some f**king monster.

Prosecutors say Pearce and his actor friend Brandt Osborn, partied with the women and gave them a fatal cocktail of drugs  which included cocaine, fentanyl, ketamine, heroin, MDMA, and the date rape drug GBH  before dumping their bodies outside two separate LA hospitals.

open image in gallery Marcela Hilda Cabrales-Arzola, 26, poses with David Pearce, then 37, at an after-hours warehouse party in downtown LA on November 13. Hes on trial for giving two women a fatal cocktail of drugs ( Instagram )

Giles was pronounced dead at the scene. Cabrales-Arzola was put on life support and suffered from multiple organ failure. She was taken off life support the day before her 27th birthday.

The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner determined their deaths to be drug-induced homicides.

In the police interview played for the court, Pearce denied giving drugs to the two women he had met hours earlier at a party before bringing them back to his apartment.

The two women had visited an art exhibit at Soho House in West Hollywood before going to a warehouse party in East Los Angeles where they met Pearce and his friends.

Pearce claimed that he didnt even have any drugs at his apartment and that he wasnt into buying drugs and doing drugs, adding I come from a good family. My parents raised me well.

I feel horrible that two girls died, he went on to say in the interview. They were active drug users and I didnt give them any drugs. I knew they were at a rave. I was told that there was a very bad batch of fentanyl going around in the USC area. I dont do that stuff. Its scary. Its f**king scary.

Detective Jonathan Vander Lee told the court on Friday that at the time of the recorded interview, it had not been disclosed that fentanyl was a factor in the womens deaths. He added that police were not even aware that fentanyl was a factor in their deaths until the following April.

open image in gallery Christy Giles was left outside a Los Angeles hospital after suffering a drug overdose ( Instagram/Christy Giles )

Lee testified that when Pearces Prius was searched, detectives found his passport and a bag with $30,250 in cash. He said they also found trophies belonging to Pearce from Granite Cock Films, a porn company, and a face mask similar to one prosecutors say was worn by Pearce when he dumped the bodies, Daily Mail reported.

The detectives testimony comes after the court saw security camera footage of Pearce carrying the womens bodies out of his apartment on the night of November 14, 2021.

Pearce first dumped Giles at Southern California Hospital in Culver City and when he returned to his apartment, he saw that Cabrales-Arzola was progressively getting worse but that she was breathing and making noise so she wasnt dead.

He then drove her limp body to Kaiser Permanente hospital in West LA and told the detective, Hilda was alive at the hospital. The detective informed him she was in fact dead, but that doctors revived her and she remained in ICU until she died weeks later.

Pearce was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and then charged in July 2022 with two counts of murder and two counts in the sale, transport and furnishing of a controlled substance.

open image in gallery Cabrales-Arzola was taken off life support the day before her 27th birthday ( GoFundMe )

Brandt Osborn, who was also captured on surveillance camera footage leaving the warehouse rave with both women, was also arrested in the case. He was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact.

Another friend, Michael Ansbach, 50, alleges Pearce gave him and the two women alcoholic drinks and cocaine laced with fentanyl, according to prosecutors. He was initially accused of being an accessory to manslaughter but was not charged in the case.

Prosecutor Catherine Ann Mariano said that while the women had consumed alcohol and drugs before going to Pearces apartment, she alleged that the drugs Pearce gave them were what ultimately killed them.

Pearce, who continues to claim he is innocent of any wrongdoing, is also facing seven rape charges for sexual assaults in unrelated cases that allegedly happened between 2005 and 2021.

He is accused of two counts of forcible rape and one count each of rape of an unconscious or asleep person and sexual penetration by a foreign object, according to the Los Angeles County district attorneys office.
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An Indiana man who received a pardon from Donald Trump for his participation in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was fatally shot by a sherifffs deputy during a traffic stop on Sunday, according to law enformcement authorities.

Matthew Huttle was killed by a Jasper County deputy when an altercation took place between the suspect and the officer, which resulted in the officer firing his weapon and fatally wounding the suspect, the Indiana State Police told The Associated Press.

The stop took place around 4:15 p.m. near the Pulaski County line in Indiana on State Road 14. It was not immediately clear why Huttle was pulled over.

Police said Huttle was found with a gun.

State police are investigating the shooting.

The officer involved has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Matthew Huttle as killed by a Jasper County deputy when an altercation took place between the suspect and the officer, which resulted in the officer firing his weapon and fatally wounding the suspect ( FBI/Porter County Sheriffs Office )

Our condolences go out to the family of the deceased as any loss of life is traumatic to those that were close to Mr. Huttle, Jasper County Sheriff Patrick Williamson said in a statement to ABC7 Chicago. I will release the officers name once I have approval from the State Police Detectives.

Huttle, 42, of Hobart, was sentenced to six months in federal prison and a year of supervised released for entering the Capitol for about 10 minutes during the riot, then remaining on Capitol grounds for several hours, Fox 59 reports.

He was released from prison in July 2024, according to federal records.

Huttle, 42, traveled to the Capitol with his uncle Dale Huttle, who later pleaded guilty to January 6-related offenses, after being accused of attacking a police officer with a flagpole bearing an upside-down American flag.

We ought to bum rush the Capitol building! he reportedly told his nephew. Arrest them all. Weve got enough people to do that.

January 6 rioters react to Trump pardon after prison release

Matthew Huttles defense attorney claimed his client was not an ideologue, but rather a bystander swept up in the violent events of January 6.

He is not a true believer in any political cause, attorney Andrew Hemmer wrote in a court filing about the January 6 case obtained by ABC7. He instead went to the rally because he thought it would be a historic moment and he had nothing better to do after getting out of jail for an unrelated offense.

Daniel Charles Ball, of Florida, who was freed from pretrial detention after Trump pardoned him for alleged offenses on January 6, was arrested last week on a federal gun charge.

As The Independent has reported, Trumps mass pardon of 1,500 January 6 participants, including the leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys and several who assaulted police officers, has reinvigorated a weakened U.S. militia movement and empowered white supremacists, experts have warned.
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An all-American couple and their two young children were found dead inside their Pennsylvania home in what investigators described as an unthinkable and unfathomable murder-suicide.

Pennsylvania State Police say Paul Swarner, 35, shot his wife, Karen Swarner, 32, and their two young children, Evelyn, 5, and Connor, 1, before turning the gun on himself, according to WTAE.

Its unthinkable, unfathomable, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani said at a news conference.

To be honest with you, I dont have the words to describe how awful it is. I mean, youre talking about your wife, but then a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old? Its just devastating.

Limani said the horrific discovery was made last week when their relatives couldnt get in touch with them.

open image in gallery Police said a relative found the family dead on January 24 ( Facebook )

A family member spoke to Karen Swarner on Wednesday and for all intents and purposes, it appeared to be a normal conversation, Limani said, adding that there was not what you would consider strife or any type of concern or fear of endangerment or anything like that.

But when relatives were unable to reach the couple on Thursday, Karen Swarners father went to their house in Westmoreland County and found the family dead in one of the rooms.

Police responded to the scene and have been searching the house for answers. A Ruger .22 handgun, the weapon investigators believe was used in the shooting, was recovered.

Limani said investigators are trying to figure out what led up to the tragic murder-suicide of who he described as an all-American family.

open image in gallery Police responded to the scene and have been searching the house for answers ( Pennsylvania State Police/WTAE )

Were going to do everything we can to get answers to the family but Im sure right now that answers arent going to be sufficient for what theyre going through.

The couple had been married for 10 years and there had been no previous domestic violence calls that involved state police, Limani added.

I hope were able to find some answers. Its extremely, extremely sad. I dont know. I dont know whats worse.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
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A pardoned January 6 rioter was celebrated as a hero by members of his hometown church in California this past weekend.

Derek Kinnison, 43, of Lake Elsinore, California was sentenced to 33 months in prison in April 2024 following his role in the violent and horrific January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot. During his appearance at the church, Kinnison even screamed to the congregation to Let my people go.

Since receiving pardons from President Donald Trump, Kinnison, and his fellow militia members have returned home. Kinnisons triumphant appearance occurred at the 412 Church Temecula Valley Sunday, according to Pasadena Star News .

In one of the first acts of his second administration, Trump pardoned nearly all of the January 6 criminals and new details revealed the spur-of-the-moment decision to release 1,500 people who were charged.

Pastor Tim Thompson welcomed Kinnison, his wife Amie, and 16-year-old daughter Faye, with a standing ovation at the Sunday service while calling out to the congregation: The Bible says that we weep with those who weep.

open image in gallery Derek Kinnison, 43, was embraced and applauded by the congregation of 412 Church Temecula Valley Sunday ( Google Maps )

Certainly nine months ago when he was going into prison, we all wept with this family as they wept. But today, we rejoice with them as they rejoice, he announced.

Kinnison, a member of the Three Percenter militia, a far-right anti-government group, in Southern California, along with Erik Scott Warner, Felipe Antonio Martinez, and Ronald Mele, headed to the center of US democracy on January 6 and declared: This is the storm of the Capitol. The battle cry of their group.

The four armed men pushed against police officers, inciting violence to those around them, and rallied them to push forward to the Upper West Terrace  a brutal attack that left almost 150 police officers wounded  four who responded that day have since taken their own lives, according to ABC News .

All four were convicted of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and obstruction of an official proceeding after a jury trial revealed they had coordinated and conspired to travel from California to Washington, D.C., collecting weapons along the way, with plans to obstruct Congress certification of the electoral college.

In the weeks that followed the catastrophic day, Kinnison and his counterpart Warner deleted the The California Patriots  DC Brigade Telegram chat  where they had organized and discussed their violent intentions  from their cell phones in a bid to cover up their involvement from investigators, said the Department of Justice at the time of their sentencing.

Speaking on stage at the church, Kinnison discussed how he had held daily prayer services while incarcerated and spoke on the joy of receiving the news he had been pardoned.

It was a verse from Exodus and its let my people go, Kinnison said, receiving supportive applause from the crowd.

The 43-year-old rioter, who claimed to have been training to become a deacon has received several donations to his legal fees fundraiser page in the last few days since his praised return.

One user wrote: Welcome home patriot! God bless you!

open image in gallery A collection of weapons (pictured) was obtained from Three Percenter militia member Ronald Mele following the January 6 attacks ( U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia )

Former police officer, Michael Fanone, who defended the Capitol building that dreadful day and suffered unconsciousness and a heart attack despaired to CNN about the pardoning last week.

Fanone told the outlet: I have been betrayed by my country. Rest assured, I have been betrayed by my country and I have been betrayed by those who supported Donald Trump.

Whether you voted for him because he promised these pardons or for some other reason  you knew that this was coming and here we are. Tonight, six individuals who assaulted me as I did my job on January 6 as did hundreds of other law enforcement officers will now walk free.

The former officer went on to add that he and his family had received death threats since the attack.

Kinnisons attorney Nicolai Cocis confirmed to the Pasadena Star that the men had arrived at the Capitol with ballistic vests, bear spray, gas masks, handguns and shotguns for defense against Antifa [an anti-fascist left-wing group].

The Independent contacted Attorney Nicolai Cocis for comment.
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A Texas teacher sparked backlash after calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to raid their school  claiming many teen pupils dont even speak English.

The Fort Worth Independent School District is investigating the substitute teacher who was working at North Side High School after they allegedly posted a raft of inflammatory comments to X in the wake of Donald Trumps immigration crackdown.

The suspect responded to an ICE enforcement update on X on Friday, reporting 538 arrests and an additional 373 illegal migrants in custody, under the account @HookEm232, which has since been made private. The educators identity has not yet been revealed.

Yall should come to Fort Worth, TX to Northside High School. I have many students who dont even speak English and they are in 10th-11th grade, the post read.

They have to communicate through their iPhone translator with me. The [U.S. Department of Education] should totally overhaul our school system in Texas too.

open image in gallery The suspect responded to an ICE enforcement update on X on Friday ( X )

Trump signed a deluge of executive orders related to immigration due to an unconscionable risk to public safety and national security, a White House official said last Monday.

Some of Trumps orders were signed with the aim of expanding ICEs ability to arrest and detain unlawful migrants in the U.S., including one which rescinded restrictions surrounding immigration raids in areas deemed sensitive  including schools.

In a separate post, @HookEm232 condemned a North Carolina teacher vowing to continue pushing diversity, equity, and inclusion and critical race theory initiatives after Trump signed an executive order promising to dismantle DEI programs last week.

I teach with these f**king libt***s every day and thats what I talk to no one at work except the kids, the account tweeted.

open image in gallery The substitute teacher from North Side High School in Fort Worth, Texas, has not be identified to the public ( Google Street View )

Fort Worth ISD said it was aware of the social media posts and is conducting an investigation into the educator in question.

We are aware of a recent social media post referencing North Side High School which was allegedly made by a substitute teacher and has caused concern among our Fort Worth ISD community, FWISD wrote in a statement in both English and Spanish late on Saturday.

We take this matter very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation to understand the circumstances and ensure appropriate actions are taken.

The Trump catch-up The latest from The Independents live blog as of 6pm EST 27/01/2025 President Trump has fired several Justice Department officials who worked on criminal investigations into him, citing a lack of trust.

A Trump-appointed prosecutor has launched a review of the DOJs handling of January 6 prosecutions. Trump pardoned over 1,500 January 6 defendants upon retaking office.

Trump is expected to sign executive orders impacting the military, including a potential ban on transgender service members, cuts to diversity programs, and reinstatement of personnel discharged for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine.

Colombia agreed to accept deported migrants from the US after Trump threatened tariffs. Colombian President Petro highlighted the presence of over 15,000 Americans living illegally in Colombia.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is reportedly scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House next week, potentially marking the first foreign leader to visit since Trumps return to office.

Follow the latest updates.

The employee has been removed from campus while the investigation is underway, the school district said.

An hour after the statement, parents received a message of support from Fort Worth ISDs Interim Superintendent Karen Molinar amid Trumps immigration actions.

There are approximately 111,000 undocumented K-12 school students, according to a 2021 report commissioned by immigration advocacy group FWD.us.

open image in gallery Trump signed a deluge of executive orders related to immigration within his first week in office ( AP )

As the presidents first week in office drew to a close on Sunday, a protest broke out in Fort Worth calling for protection of children in the region.

Just on Friday, three of my parents said they were not sending their kids to school anymore because theyre afraid, third grade teacher Jeanette Martinez told Fox 4.

They dont know, they dont know all this is evil, theyre just trying to get an education, children should not be afraid, they should not.

The Independent has contacted senior staff from both Fort Worth ISD and North Side High School for more information.
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A tech executive with 25 years of experience was thrilled to have finally landed his dream job, getting a lucrative offer from an AI firm that was abruptly rescinded when the mans vengeful ex allegedly sent his new employer at least one sexually explicit photo he had shared with her before their relationship went off the rails.

The unnamed exec, who is identified as John Doe in civil court filings obtained by The Independent, says hes since been unable to find comparable work and is wary of continuing to look for a suitable position for fear that his ex-girlfriend, Texas resident Victoria Serpa, may torpedo his next job prospect by sending another nude photo.

The invasion of his privacy continues to haunt him, as he lives in constant apprehension that [Serpa] may take further steps to undermine his personal and professional life, the complaint contends, calling Serpas actions a form of revenge porn.

Serpa, a 62-year-old Dallas boutique owner and former Southwest Airlines flight attendant, was served with Does lawsuit last week. A separate affidavit filed in court by Doe says he feared Serpa would further disseminate the nude photo upon learning he was suing her.

Attorney Kenton Hutcherson, who specializes in revenge porn cases and is representing Doe in court, told The Independent that this type of thing is happening a lot more often these days.

Thats kind of the world we live in right now, he said on Monday.

Serpa did not respond to The Independents requests for comment.

open image in gallery John Doe moved into Victoria Serpas Dallas home at her request, he claims in court papers ( Getty Images )

Doe and Serpa began dating in May 2023, the complaint states. That same month, Doe says in the complaint, Serpa convinced him to quit his job and move in with her. The filing describes Serpa, who lives in a $2 million spread and drives a Bentley, as financially wealthy, and claims she promised she would take care of Doe.

Shortly after they started seeing each other, Serpa discovered the nude photo on Does phone, and asked him to send it to her, according to the complaint, which says Doe agreed to the request. But, Doe soon became disenchanted that their relationship was not progressing as much as he had hoped, and in July 2023, Serpa demanded he move out, the complaint continues.

Although they were no longer living together, the couple continued their relationship, the complaint goes on. Doe, who specializes in sales and marketing, began looking for a job but worried about his prospects given his older age.

Does lucky break came in November 2023, when he was contacted by the co-founder of a European artificial intelligence company that wanted to hire Doe in early May 2024, the complaint states. Several months of discussions and negotiation followed, and the company told Doe it would get him a written offer and issue a press release to announce his hiring when the time was right, according to the complaint. Until then, Doe was given a company email address, and made travel arrangements for him to be on hand for the upcoming expo as an employee of the company, the complaint says.

open image in gallery John Doe expected to finalize his job at a AI firm following a software expo, but was shocked to find the offer rescinded ( AFP via Getty Images )

The position provided Doe an opportunity to fill a leadership role with a company that provided a breakthrough technology, a very attractive and lucrative compensation package, and equity in the company that would likely increase in value significantly over time, according to the complaint.

This would mark a bright new beginning for Doe, who, the complaint says, had broken up with Serpa a few months earlier. At the same time, Serpa had grown increasingly disgruntled about the situation, and decided to extract [sic] her revenge, the complaint states.

This works both ways, Serpa messaged Doe, screenshots of which were filed in court as exhibits alongside Does complaint. Im now going to intrude into your life. Youll be sorry! I can promise.

So, Serpa went on Facebook and tracked down one of the two co-founders of the AI company set to hire Doe, according to the complaint. It says she sent him several disparaging statements about Doe, but failed to get a response. She then sent a series of disparaging messages to the companys other co-founder, who is also the CEO, via private message on LinkedIn, with a goal to get John Doe fired from his new dream job, the complaint states. This time, Serpa got a reply, according to the complaint.

open image in gallery Victoria Serpa went scorched earth on her ex, sending an explicit photo to a potential employer and getting his job offer rescinded, according to court filings ( US District Court for the Northern District of Texas )

Yet, while the CEO took [Serpas] concerns seriously, the complaint maintains, it did not take any adverse action against Doe because Serpa did not provide any evidence to support her allegations.

It says Serpa then changed tactics and sent the CEO the sexually explicit image of John Doe. For his part, Doe remained unaware of this, according to Does affidavit.

The higher-ups at the AI company allowed him to participate in the trade show, as planned, according to the complaint. However, the firm ultimately rescinded Does job offer, but he had no idea why, a separate affidavit by Doe alleges.

Only later was he informed by his would-be bosses that the nude photo was the reason, Doe says in the affidavit.

In a subsequent Facebook message to Doe, screenshots of which are included in the affidavit, Serpa told him, You are not a smart man. I gave you a pass to walk away when I dropped the charges. (No further details about any alleged criminal activity are provided in court filings.)

open image in gallery Victoria Serpa sent the explicit material to John Does new boss via LinkedIn, he claims ( Getty Images )

The message continued, I warned you if you didnt stop, I would be introducing [sic] in your life. Thats what I did Your boss has the penis pictures now. You meed [sic] to grow up and act like a grown man. Stop blaming anybody but yourself.

Doe, for his part, did not consent to [Serpas] disclosure of his sexually explicit image to anyone, let alone his potential new employer, his complaint states.

Prior to [Serpas] unlawful conduct, John Doe was on track to his dream job in an exciting new industry, it says. [Serpa] took all of that away in one fell swoop.

The complaint describes the emotional toll the situation has taken on Doe as profound. He claims he has suffered severe anxiety, humiliation, and depression, and says he also faces ongoing reputational damage, which has compounded his distress and left him fearful of pursuing new career opportunities.

Doe is demanding exemplary damages and actual damages for, among other things, past and future pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical and psychological expenses, and loss of past and future earning capacity.

He is also asking a judge to bar Serpa from further distributing any explicit photos or videos he previously shared with her, plus $150,000 for each one she has already exposed.
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An eight-year-old elementary school student died in Texas after getting their coat stuck in a car door as they got out to start the school day, said officials.

Serenity Campos was fatally wounded after being struck by the vehicle as she was being dropped off at the Gateway Elementary School in Borger in Hutchinson County at around 8 a.m. Friday, the Borger Police Department said.

According to multiple witness accounts, Serenity exited a vehicle in the designated student drop-off area of the Gateway Elementary parking lot. Her coat became caught in the vehicles door without the drivers knowledge. As the vehicle began to pull away, the motion caused Serenity to fall and be struck by the vehicle, police said in a Monday statement.

Police said a senior school teacher attempted to intervene and rescue the child but it was too late as the incident happened so quickly.

open image in gallery Serenity Campos, 8, died in an accident at a drop off zone outside Gateway Elementary school in Borger, Texas ( Google Maps )

School officials and first responders tried to save the childs life at the scene before they were taken to Golden Plains Community Hospital to receive urgent medical treatment where she died from her injuries.

Two hours after the tragic incident, the Borger Independent School District advised parents to pick up their children at the Crockett side of the school and said staff would stay with them until they were collected.

Later that evening, the school advised that counseling services would be available to all affected by the incident.

Borger Police said in a statement: Our hearts go out to all those affected by this horrible accident as they navigate this devastating loss.

open image in gallery Police shared that Walmart donated 40 stuffed animals to be laid down at the memorial in front of the Gateway School ( Borger Police Department )

The entire community grieves alongside them. At this time, we ask for understanding, patience, and compassion for all those affected. Please join us in keeping the family in your thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time.

A GoFundMe account for the youngsters family has raised more than $76,000 as of Monday evening.

It is with deep sadness that we share the tragic loss of Serenity Campos, a beautiful little girl who passed away unexpectedly this morning. Daniela and Daniel Campos, her loving parents, are now faced with the unimaginable grief of losing their daughter while also caring for their three other children, it read.

Police shared that Walmart had donated 40 stuffed animals to be laid down at the memorial in front of the Gateway School.

The Independent contacted the Borger Police Department for further information.
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Diane Francis didnt move to Canada to cause controversy. She crossed the border from her native U.S. with something entirely different in mind: I immigrated with a draft dodger during the Vietnam War.

Long after the war was over, she stayed, she gained Canadian citizenship, she raised her children in her adopted country. And then she wrote the book that had her blacklisted from some media circles and frozen out from others.

A lot of Canadians hated the book, she says, in a video interview from her luxury condominium in Toronto. They hated the idea that someone would even write the book. Though it sold well in a number of countries, it was barely reviewed inside Canada: people didnt want to talk about the elephant in the room, she believes. Franciss Canadian kids did not like it, either.

Then, 12 years later, Donald Trump said Canada should become Americas 51st state. And people started to whisper about whether Francis might have been right all along.

The book in question was The Merger of the Century: Why Canada and America Should Become One Country. Published in 2013, it wasnt entirely received as Francis intended.

open image in gallery Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau once enjoyed a more cordial relationship ( AP )

It was really a warning, she tells me. Okay, get yourself organized, guys. Youve got a great country  weve got a great country here, and you know, frankly, we dont want their gun laws and we dont want their lousy healthcare system, their crime rates, blah, blah. So lets do something about it. Or  and I said this very clearly  theyre gonna make a takeover bid, and theyre gonna gobble us up.

Francis understands why Canadians would bristle at the suggestion (indeed, a recent study found 94 percent of Canadians are opposed to becoming part of the U.S.). She herself found Trumps comment about Canada becoming Americas 51st state offensive. But it was clearly just trash talk, she says. It was insulting. But I dont criticize Trump for that, because frankly  and Im saying this as an American citizen, and I love the place  theyre very ignorant about other countries.

Nevertheless, theres something legitimate there to open a negotiation, she adds. If I were the prime minister of Canada tomorrow, Id go down and say: Look, President Trump, totally understand your M.O., I get it. Youre right. I wrote a book about it. We havent been pulling our weight. Heres what we propose. We will double the amount we spend on the military. We will procure everything from pencils to tanks from U.S. suppliers  that will help with the trade deficit. And thats my pledge. For him, thats a big win.

Id just say, you know, we cant take a tariff, she adds, of Trumps recent threats to impose sweeping 25 percent tariffs on goods from Canada. Thatll cause trouble for you guys too. And so, would you please rethink the tariff if we do those things? And what else would you like us to do? Well consider.

open image in gallery Diane Francis wrote her prescient book 12 years before a U.S.-Canada merger became a mainstream political discussion ( Diane Francis )

Francis has been saying for a while that the merging of Canada and the U.S. is inevitable, and that the best way Canadians can respond to that inevitability is by working seriously on the deal. In one of the thought experiments she put forward in the past, she suggested that promising free healthcare for life would soften the blow for Canadians wary of a fully merged Canada-U.S.

These days, however, she thinks that if Canada and the U.S. did become one country, their political systems would have to remain separated. Although she points out that many northern American states  such as Vermont, Washington, New York, Oregon, or Maine  tend to have laws very similar, or even more progressive, than Canada itself, she accepts that other states have moved further apart from their Canadian neighbors on issues like abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment and gun control since she wrote the book. That would mean a less easy, though still workable, union, where politics are devolved.

Considering that its already very easy for Americans and Canadians to live and work in each others countries, a fully open border wouldnt be seen as a positive these days, either  by Americans or Canadians. Canada  whose health care system is far superior, Francis points out  could become deluged with health care refugees. Either the U.S. changes its approach to health care (which she thinks is coming, especially after the outpouring of anger following the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York) or the border should have some controls retained around it. Thats likely what Americans want right now, as well, considering the anti-immigration bent of Trumps second term.

open image in gallery Canadian author Don Tapscott has agreed there could be distinct economic advantages for the U.S. and Canada if they were to become one big, happy country ( AP )

By working to merge in an intelligent and nuanced way, however, the countries could still work together to take advantage of Canadas vast natural resources, she says. That doesnt mean the U.S. simply trying to seize Canadas assets for its own (I dont think the Americans realize how much it would cost them. The calculation I made was 17 trillion [dollars]. Thats half a million per person in Canada. Thats a lot of money. And why do it unless you have to? They dont have to.).

But it does mean that Canada could say: Yeah, you know, youre right about the Arctic, but we have a small population. Well build military bases up there to help and you can partner in resource development, but we dont have any infrastructure up there. So, well do some of that. Thats how it could be structured. Indeed, Francis is a true pragmatist, who isnt interested in being dragged into the war of words she sees escalating between American and Canadian politicians right now: The grandstanding is amusing to me.

In a recent op-ed for Fortune, Canadian author Don Tapscott laid out his own vision for a United States of Canamerica. In it, he agreed there could be distinct economic advantages for the U.S. and Canada if they were to become one big, happy country  but added that there would be some stipulations Canadians would be unwilling to rethink. Like Francis, he was particularly concerned by the health care issue: Canadians also live six years longer than their American counterparts and perform better on virtually every other health measure, from infant mortality to obesity and mental health, he wrote. Nationalized healthcare would make sense both from a quality-of-life perspective and a financial perspective, considering Canada spends just 11 percent of its GDP on health care (compared to the U.S.s 19 percent) and manages to cover every citizen.

Climate change, too, would have to get back on the agenda, Tapscott added. True, weve historically benefited from fossil fuels, but we play our role in the green economy through government investments, entrepreneurship, and yes, carbon taxation, he said.

Allowing in more refugees, standardizing K-12 education, and bringing in strict political campaign financing laws also made Tapscotts list. Needless to say, those are all fairly unlikely to make Republican hearts sing south of the Canadian border.

Francis said 10 years ago that she embraced the controversy her suggestions had caused. She stands by that now

However, Rupa Supramanya, an Ottawa-based journalist for American online news outlet The Free Press, found a warm reception for the idea of a CanAmerica merger in her city  especially among people in their 20s and 30s.

Over email, Supramanya told me she wasnt surprised. Put simply, they see better opportunities if Canada is attached to a more dynamic economy, she told me.

It isnt just the economy that Canadians envy. Its also, Supramanya believes, the fact that Americans have a stronger sense of their own identity. Americans have a positive sense of who they are centered around their culture and history, she says, with a pop culture output that dominates the world. On the other side of the border, many Canadians, especially on the left, identify themselves as non-American. In other words, Canadian identity is were not American, which is a negative and fragile sense of who they are.

Supramanya believes there could be an EU-style agreement between the U.S. and Canada on the horizon, especially if the Canadian economy continues to underperform the US. But with a lame duck prime minister, a prorogued parliament and an ongoing liberal party leadership contest that will not be resolved until March, Justin Trudeau has an extremely weak hand to play against Trump, she adds.

Diane Francis agrees: Canada needs someone better than Trudeau to negotiate terms, she said in a recent YouTube video, because Trump is eating him alive already. During our interview, I suggest that maybe Mar-a-Lago will come calling for her instead, considering her long history of taking a merger seriously.

She smiles. The team has my book  I know this. Ive gotten calls.
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An unprecedented wave of tuberculosis infections has struck the state of Kansas as nearly 70 cases have been recorded, say officials.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced 67 active outbreak cases and 79 latent infections in Kansas City, Kansas, as of Friday since 2024. The majority of cases were declared to have broken out in Wyandotte County and Johnson County, just west and southwest of the metro area.

KDHE Deputy Secretary Ashley Goss told the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee Tuesday: Currently, Kansas has the largest outbreak that theyve ever had in history.

But despite this, officials stated that the outbreak had a very low risk to the general public and surrounding counties.

In September 2023, a CDC report revealed that an outbreak of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB had driven up cases from 20192021 when recorded cases were between 37 43  a number that increased to 52 in 2022. Thirteen people in four low-income households in Kansas were said to have contracted the anti-biotic resistant disease.

TB is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium that typically strikes the lungs but can also hinder other parts of the body. It is spread through the area, when a person with an active infection coughs, speaks, or sings.

Two strains of the infection exist, namely an active infection which can cause nausea and is contagious, and a latent infection which is the opposite of the former: non-contagious and does not cause sickness.

Public health officials announced 67 active outbreak cases and 79 latent infections in Kansas City, Kansas, as of Friday since 2024 ( Getty/iStock )

People cannot catch the disease through kissing, shaking hands, sharing food, drink, or toothbrushes, or through sharing bedding or the same toilet in a household.

If a person catches TB, it can be treated with antibiotics and shortly after starting treatment, the active infection will no longer be infectious to others.

What are the symptoms of Tuberculosis?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an active TB case can present in the lungs through symptoms such as:

A bad cough that persists for 3 weeks or longer

Chest pain

Coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm) from deep inside the lungs

Other associated symptoms of active TB disease are:

Weakness or fatigue

Weight loss

No appetite

Chills

Fever

Sweating at night

Symptoms of active TB disease in other parts of the body depend on the area affected:

If in the lymph nodes, it may cause a firm red or purple swelling under the skin

If the kidney, may cause blood in the urine.

TB meningitis (the brain) can cause headaches or confusion

Of the spine, may cause back pain

Of the larynx, may cause hoarseness

KDHE advised that local health departments were working with each TB patient to identify possible close contacts who may also have contracted the disease.

They are conducting TB testing at no cost.

Any patients who test positive will receive further screening to determine whether their case is active or latent.

Uninsured people as well as those whose health insurance does not cover it, will receive free treatment, said KDHE.

Medical officials will continue to monitor patients to help them stay on course, said the department.
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Bill Gates has hit out at fellow billionaire Elon Musk and denounced his political activities as insane s***.

The Microsoft CEO and philanthropist, who went to Mar-a-Lago last month for a three-hour dinner with President Donald Trump, accused Musk of populist stirring.

Its really insane that he can destabilize the political situations in countries, Gates said in an interview with the Times of London. I think in the U.S. foreigners arent allowed to give money; other countries maybe should adopt safeguards to make sure super-rich foreigners arent distorting their elections.

Gates expressed bewilderment over Musks meddling in British politics, including how the SpaceX CEO has become engrossed with child grooming in the U.K.

open image in gallery Bill Gates hit out at fellow billionaire Elon Musks insane political meddling ( AFP/Getty )

Its difficult to understand why someone who has a car factory in both China and in Germany, whose rocket business is ultra-dependent on relationships with sovereign nations and who is busy cutting $2 trillion in U.S. government expenses and running five companies, is obsessing about this grooming story in the U.K. Im like, what? Gates told the newspaper.

Musk has also trashed Nigel Farage, leader of Britains Reform party and an ally of Trumps. You want to promote the right wing but say Nigel Farage is not right wing enough I mean, this is insane s***, Gates said. You are for the AfD [in Germany].

Gates, who was speaking to promote his new memoir Source Code, suggested that it was possible for those in their field to overreach, and Musk should think about how he can help out instead of populist stirring.

He also revealed what happened when he had dinner with Trump on December 27 at Mar-a-Lago. It was quite an engaging conversation where he listened to me talk about HIV and the need to stay generous and to innovate to get a cure.

open image in gallery Gates said that his conversation with Trump at Mar-a-Lago was engaging and the president listened to what he had to say ( REUTERS )

I talked a lot about polio and energy and nuclear, and he wasnt dismissive, Gates told the newspaper, observing that the president is feeling more comfortable and vindicated than at any time in his life.

In another interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gates said that he backed the idea of reducing costs but cautioned against getting rid of entire groups, as Musks DOGE has pledged.

I think the idea that looking at government expenditures on a sort of zero-based budgeting approach could be a valuable thing, he said. Im amongst the people who think the deficit needs to be brought down because otherwise, it will create a financial problem for us.

I do worry a little bit that if you say, Hey, lets completely get rid of things, some of the things that have long-term benefits, he added. I obviously believe in HIV medicines, where the U.S. is keeping tens of millions of people alive. And if you cut those off, not only would they die when we have a cure on its way, but youd have negative feelings  in parts of Africa.
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A top Department of Justice official  and former criminal defense attorney for Donald Trump  joined federal law enforcement agents and administration officials on the ground in Chicago this weekend to carry out a series of immigration arrests after weeks of heightened tensions among immigrant communities bracing for threats.

Trumps border czar Tom Homan was joined by acting deputy U.S. Attorney General Emil Bove, along with officials from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies after the Department of Homeland Security broadly expanded immigration enforcement authorities across federal law enforcement.

The groups were also joined by Phil McGraw, aka television personality Dr. Phil, who joined agents for ride-alongs and used the raids and arrests as content for his newly launched Merit TV platform.

open image in gallery Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney General Emil Bove speaks with federal law enforcement agents and Donald Trumps border czar Tom Homan during an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago on January 26 ( Drug Enforcement Administration )

We will support everyone at the federal, state and local levels who joins this critical mission to take back our communities, said Bove, who was selected for the third-highest role at the Justice Department after representing Trump during his so-called hush money trial.

We will use all available tools to address obstruction and other unlawful impediments to our efforts to protect the homeland, he added. Most importantly, we will not rest until the work is done.

A statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement labeled the actions enhanced targeted operations designed to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities.

The agency reported the arrests of 286 people on Saturday and 956 people on Sunday in operations across the country.

Communities are frightened and confused

Chicago-area residents started to see ICE agents and unmarked black trucks appear in their neighborhoods early on Sunday morning.

Melissas parents hid in their attic after they saw ICE agents arrive outside their home on Sunday morning. They took our neighbors dad, she told the Chicago Tribune. My parents were crying. We are terrified.

She told the newspaper that her family had been in the country for more than two decades. She said her parents do not have a criminal record.

Another woman, a volunteer with a nonprofit group that runs a food pantry, told the newspaper she had received a threatening phone call days before the raids telling her if there were a lot of migrants at the pantry, you better hope ICE doesnt show up.

She hung up the phone immediately.

The community is very frightened, Nubia Willman, chief programs officer with Chicagos Latinos Progresando, told The Independent.

Families are pulling children out of school, even in families with lawful status, over a climate of heightened anxiety and fear, she said

open image in gallery Tom Homan, center, joined federal law enforcement agencies during an immigration enforcement action in Chicago on January 27 after promising that the city would be ground zero for Trumps mass deportation agenda ( Drug Enforcement Administration )

Following Trumps election, Homan gloated to Chicago Republicans that the Windy City would be ground zero for the presidents large-scale deportation operation. Immigrant advocacy and civil rights groups told The Independent they have been working with communities to provide legal aid and know your rights training to prepare for any potential law enforcement interactions.

A blitz of executive actions and shifting policies within Trumps first week in office has created a dizzying amount of confusion and disinformation within immigrant communities, Willman said.

Communities are also on high alert after Chicago school officials initially reported that ICE agents were blocked from entering an elementary school.

On Friday, Chicago Public Schools officials held a press conference alleging ICE agents had tried to enter a majority-Latino elementary school in the south side of Chicago, days after the Trump administration rescinded policy that prevented enforcement actions in places like schools, churches and other sensitive areas.

But the agents turned out to be with the Secret Service  which also operates under Homeland Security  responding to an unrelated threat.

open image in gallery School officials initially claimed staff at Chicagos majority-Latino Hamline Elementary School had stopped ICE agents from entering the school on January 24, but they were Secret Service agents responding to an unreleated investigation ( REUTERS )

Chicagos Welcoming City Ordinance limits local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities in most cases. The ordinance does not stop federal authorities from doing work within their jurisdiction, but these types of laws create a barrier to ensure constitutional rights are protected, Willman said.

Dr. Phils made-for-TV stunt

On his Merit TV, McGraw can be seen with Homan approaching a man in handcuffs early Sunday morning

What have you been charged with? McGraw asked him.

Charged with? the main replied.

Before, McGraw responded.

Im not going to say nothing, the man said. I want to talk to my lawyer.

McGraw continued to question him, including asking whether or his family members are citizens.

His apparent attempt to extract an admission from a suspect was roundly condemned by civil rights groups.

If they think that kind of thing is going to lend credibility  that will be a mistake, according to Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at the ACLU of Illinois.

The spectacle of large-scale arrests was more of a made-for-TV stunt than any kind of meaningful type of immigration enforcement, he told The Independent.

The arrests were largely targeted arrests with a judicial warrant that were following protocols that had been in place for a long time, and didnt involve the mass dragnet that had been predicted, he said.

It was done in a way that creates more fear and confusion, he said. It not only appears to be a show of force but a show of force for purposes of making a political statement.

Homan told McGraw that federal authorities were targeting 300 people in Chicago, including 150 people who had previously been held in police custody.

Lawsuit blasts brazen threats to immigrants

One day before federal agents descended on the city, a coalition of immigrant advocacy groups and community organizations sued the Trump administration for its brazen attempt to stomp out the sanctuary city movement and run roughshod over the First Amendment.

The lawsuit from Organized Communities Against Deportation, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and Raise the Floor Alliance argues that the administration is illegally targeting Chicago for its status as as sanctuary city, and that threats to revoke federal funding and deport immigrants are likely violations of the First and Fourth amendments.

Threats are already forcing communities to cancel Spanish-language church services and other gatherings out of fear that they will become targets.

Plaintiffs  each on its own behalf and on behalf of its membership, wish to continue engaging in their First Amendment-protected activities to the fullest extent possible, but, as a result of defendants past, present, and likely future conduct, are deterred from doing so, according to the lawsuit.
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Dr. Phil joined ICE agents and Donald Trumps border czar Tom Homan on raids across Chicago, leading to one bizarre incident in which the TV shrink quizzed an accused undocumented immigrant about alleged sex crimes.

The doctor, whose real name is Phil McGraw, said in a post on X on Sunday that ICE aimed to pick 270 high-value targets, indicating it was a targeted operation, and defended the approach. Theyre not sweeping neighborhoods like people are trying to imply, he said.

This comes amid a report that Trump has demanded that ICE agents arrest between 1,200 and 1,500 suspects per day.

These are known criminals and terrorists. Were talking about murderers, child traffickers, child rapists. Were talking about bad actors, both in the countries theyve come from, and since theyve been here in the United States, Dr. Phil said in a post on X.

At one point, the celebrity doctor is afforded the opportunity to ask a suspect about his alleged crimes. He asks a man named Sam, a native of Thailand, Youve been charged with sex crimes against children? Sam responds: Not really.

When the man adds that he has never been deported, Homan interrupted to tell agents: Lets take him in, process him, and lock him up.

Border czar Tom Homan shown with the DEA agents who teamed up with their ICE counterparts to conduct raids in Chicago on Sunday ( @DEACHICAGODiv/X )

The Trump administration last week deputized law enforcement agents with several Justice Department agencies to conduct immigration enforcement to supplement ICE efforts.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and U.S. Marshals Service were granted the authority, the Trump administration said last week.In addition to Dr. Phil, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove publicized his trip to watch DOJ agents support immigration enforcement.

This morning, I had the privilege of observing brave men and women of the department deploying in lockstep with DHS to address a national emergency arising from four years of failed immigration policy, Bove said in a statement, adding that the deputized agencies, the FBI, and federal prosecutors would all be working on the effort.

Senior Justice Department officials are not typically present to observe law enforcement operations in real-time, current and former department officials say.A Justice Department official said that the first arrest in Chicago that Bove observed involved an immigrant living illegally in the U.S. who had killed a 19-year-old woman while driving under the influence.

ICE said it partnered with the DOJ for enhanced targeted operations in Chicago on Sunday aimed at preserving public safety but did not provide further details.ICE also made arrests outside a Home Depot in Tucson, Arizona, and in neighborhoods with Dominican immigrants in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the support of its investigative arm, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The two Democratic U.S. senators from Illinois, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, issued a joint statement saying Trumps mass deportation effort would go far beyond deporting criminals and sweep in veterans, essential workers and other non-criminals.

We should focus on deporting those who pose a danger to our country, they said. And we should give the rest a chance to earn legal status.ICE made 956 arrests nationwide on Sunday, the agency said on X, three times the daily average for arrests in fiscal year 2024.
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After just one week under Donald Trumps leadership, some federal workers say they are already done with his second presidency.

In his first week back in the White House, the president signed a wide range of executive orders, including some that directly impact federal workers.

He imposed a federal hiring freeze, required employees to return to work in person, and ended diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, which he described as demonstrating public waste and shameful discrimination.

The swift changes have some federal workers considering quitting, according to Politico. A Washington-based employment lawyer who represents federal workers told the outlet that his firm had received a surge of calls in the wake of Trumps stack of executive orders.

An Environmental Protection Agency staffer told the outlet: Trump version 1.0 was bad. Im already done with version 2.0.

The Office of Personnel Management sent out a memo this week warning federal employees against trying to disguise [DEI] programs by using coded or imprecise language. The memo stated that failing to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.

Others in need of a paycheck say they are terrified about leaving their current jobs.

open image in gallery Donald Trump signed a deluge of executive orders in his first week back in office, including some that directly impact federal workers. Now, some federal workers are contemplating quitting ( AP )

I would love to leave, but I dont know where Id go, and I am terrified of not being able to pay rent and not having healthcare, one State Department staffer told the outlet.

Others still are waiting to see how the orders shape up before making any career changes.

Most of us are watching cautiously and letting the dust settle, an employee at the U.S. Agency for International Development told the outlet. We know that there is a range of possible outcomes, and some people are panicking, but most are taking a wait-and-see approach.

The clock is ticking.

To add insult to injury, a memo from the Office of Personnel Management Monday required all agencies to identify recent hires and promptly determine whether those employees should be retained at the agency. Employees who have been in their posts for less than a year can be terminated without triggering appeals from the Merit Systems Protection Board, which protects federal employees.

open image in gallery In his first week in office, Trump signed orders requiring federal employees to return to work in person, ending DEI programs, imposing a federal hiring freeze ( AP )

Some employees are exploring the option of joining the American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents over 800,000 workers. Membership already skyrocketed in the weeks before Trump was sworn in, according to the outlet.

A spokesperson told the outlet it will be tracking how agencies implement the orders and will be prepared to file grievances if our contracts are violated.

Perhaps a barrage of resignations is part of the new administrations plan. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, as anticipated co-heads of the Department of Government Efficiency, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that an in-person work mandate would result in resignations. Now only Musk leads DOGE.

Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees dont want to show up, American taxpayers shouldnt pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home, the pair wrote.

Maryland Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey predicted where Trumps orders targeting federal workers were heading. He told the New York Times this week: I think we know where it looks like hes trying to go, which is to force people to quit. Theyre going to try and force a lot of federal employees out of work, and then replace them with political loyalists.
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Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman was grilled on The View Monday about his rightward shift after many have criticized him for cozying up to President Donald Trump and his administration.

View host Sunny Hostin noted that critics on the left have called out the senator for undergoing a rightward shift. She went on to ask Fetterman about his response to those questioning your commitment to the Democratic party.

Ive been on record ... saying I am not going to become a Republican, you know, although maybe some people might be happy on one side, Fetterman responded. But I would make a pretty terrible Republican, because, you know, [Im] pro-choice, pro really strong immigration, pro-LGBTQ  I dont think Id be a good fit.

So Im not going to change my party, Fetterman emphasized.

open image in gallery Fetterman told The View he has no plans to change his party affiliation ( Getty Images )

His comments followed a similar answer to Semafor, calling speculation that hes switching parties amateur hour ****.

Its not gonna happen, he said. Even if I wanted to do that, that is a rocket sled to Palookaville to try to switch.

Fetterman, 55, has been accused of leaning away from his party in recent weeks, particularly after he visited Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to work with Republicans on the Laken Riley Act, a bill that requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain non-U.S. nationals who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting.

He has also come under scrutiny for his staunch support of the Israeli government amid their it war in Gaza. Last year, the senator criticized South Africa for bringing a case of genocide against Israel through the International Court of Justice, calling it an appalling move.

Fetterman was also the last senator to join a Democratic coalition condemning Trumps pardons of the violent January 6 rioters.

The resolution, authored by Senator Patty Murray, states: The Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.

Forty-four Democrats and two Independents signed the statement.

Fettermans delay in signing followed his comment to ABC News earlier this month that he believes in second chances.

Some people are very deserving of a second chance and get a pardon, Fetterman said. Theres some that I dont  agree with. I dont agree with them.  What Im saying, though [is] that [some] pardons I can agree with, some that I dont. And I think thats really what it comes down to.

Fetterman addressed the pardons again on The View, noting his empathy for Officer Michael Fanone, who was viciously assaulted by rioters on January 6 and subsequently suffered a heart attack and brain injury.

I am so sorry for what happened to that officer, Fetterman said. I mean, hes had a heart attack  He almost, almost died. I mean, Ive had a stroke, same thing. I have absolute empathy and just appalled for what I witnessed, what happened on on January 6.

And I absolutely would reject pardoning people that were involved on that, he added.
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First Lady Melania Trumps second White House portrait has been released - and the internet has had plenty to say about it.

The 54-year-olds second portrait as First Lady features her in grayscale, wearing a fitted black suit as she stands with her hands on a tabletop. The Washington Monument is visible in the background through a window.

Social media users were quick to react to the new portrait.

This looks like a Suits promo photo, one user posted on X, drawing a comparison to the legal drama that once starred Meghan Markle.

I didnt know House of Cards was still running, another wrote, referencing the Netflix political drama.

open image in gallery Melania Trumps second official portrait as First Lady was released Monday ( The White House )

Many of the First Ladys supporters were enthused by the new portrait, however. Some hailed the portrait as absolutely stunning, while others noted her stern demenour, adding: She looks like shes got the grin of Somebody is going to pay.

The portrait, released Monday afternoon, was taken in the White Houses Yellow Oval Room by Regine Mahaux. The 58-year-old has regularly photographed members of the Trump family for nearly 20 years  and took Melanias first portrait as First Lady in 2017.

This years portrait is quite different from her last.

Melanias 2017 portrait features her in full color with a small smile on her face, standing with her arms crossed against a blue background in the White House.

open image in gallery Melania Trumps first portrait as First Lady, taken in 2017, was drastically different to her most recent one. ( The White House )

Melania has reportedly been preparing intensively for her return to the White House, including by studying foreign affairs, CNN reported earlier this month. She also plans to split her time between Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, Florida, she told Fox Newss Fox & Friends.

Shell also be spending time in New York City where her son, 18-year-old Barron Trump, attends school at New York University.

The First Lady told Fox & Friends her second round in the White House will be much different from her first.

The difference is I know where I will be going, I know the rooms where we will be living. I know the process, she said. The first time was challenging, we didnt have much of the information.

I will be in the White House, she continued. And, you know, when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach. But my first priority is, you know, to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife. And once we are in on January 20, you serve the country.
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Bills challenging vaccine mandates have popped up in more than 15 states, with sceptic lawmakers emboldened by President Donald Trumps return to the White House and RFK Jr.s nomination as health secretary.

Lawmakers aim to potentially resurrect or create new religious exemptions from immunization mandates, establish state-level vaccine injury databases or dictate what providers must tell patients about the shots.

RFK Jr., a known vaccine-sceptic, faces his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Senators have already spoken to him, highlighting the importance of vaccination, and, shortly after the election, he promised not to take away anybodys vaccines, according to NBC.

However, experts worry he could have a significant impact on childhoold immunization policies, at a time when the vaccination rates against dangerous childhood infections like measles and polio continue to fall nationwide. The number of parents claiming non-medical exemptions so their kids don't get required shots is rising.

In 2024, whooping cough cases reached a decade-high and 16 measles outbreaks, the largest among them in Chicago and Minnesota, put health officials on edge. Most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners  the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks.

open image in gallery RFK Jr has promised senators he wont take away vaccines - but new bills challenging existing vaccine mandates are appearing across the country. ( REUTERS )

About half of Americans are "very" or "extremely" concerned that those declining childhood vaccination rates will lead to more outbreaks, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Yet only about 4 in 10 Americans oppose reconsidering the government's recommendations for widely used vaccines, while roughly 3 in 10 are in favor. The rest  about 3 in 10  are neutral.

Scott Burris, director of Temple University's Center for Public Health Law Research, has tracked public health legislation for years, and watched backlash against COVID-19 vaccines grow to include more routine vaccines as anti-vaccine activists take hold of powerful political pulpits.

"I think COVID and the politics gave standard vaccine denialists a lot of wind in their sails," he said.

It's hard to predict what will pass into law in the states, Burris said, considering the vast majority of proposed bills in any state go nowhere. But the proposed legislation offers a glimpse into lawmakers' thoughts, and what else might follow.

Religious exemptions lead the pack

Religious exemptions for school vaccine requirements are among the most popular proposals so far. Lawmakers in New York, Virginia, Connecticut and Mississippi have introduced bills that would allow more people to waive routine shots. Indiana lawmakers will weigh religious exemptions for medical students.

Earlier this month, West Virginia Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order on his first day in office that enabled families to receive religious exemptions from required school vaccinations.

"That's a huge step," said Brian Festa, co-founder of the law firm We The Patriots USA, which works on vaccination-related cases throughout the country. "That's a state that never had a religious exemption."

open image in gallery Some believe that Trumps nomination of RFK Jr was opened the door for more religious challenges. ( AFP via Getty Images )

Now, only four states allow just a medical exemption from childcare and K-12 immunization requirements: Connecticut, California, New York and Maine.

Festa credited West Virginia's new religious exemption to Trump's nomination of Kennedy, as well as a 2023 federal court ruling that required Mississippi to allow residents to cite religious beliefs when seeking exemptions from state-mandated vaccinations for children.

"I think the writing's on the wall and they did feel the pressure," Festa said of West Virginia.

In Connecticut, at least four Republican bills will try to revive the state's religious exemption for schools, colleges and daycares  something a contentious 2021 state law eliminated for students without an existing exemption.

Connecticut health experts said at the time there was a slow but steady increase in the number of religious exemptions and declining vaccination rates in some schools. The state has historically maintained some of the highest childhood vaccination rates in the county, and in the 2023-2024 school year, more than 97% of kindergarteners protected against chickenpox, measles, tetanus, diphtheria, polio and more.

Given that the U.S. Supreme Court last year rejected a challenge to the Connecticut law and the statehouse is controlled by Democrats, GOP state Sen. Eric Berthel said he's not optimistic legislative leaders will allow debate on his exemption bill, but does believe the broader cultural shift means "maybe there is a bit of an appetite to look at things like this again."

"I think that we're not being fair to families who have a true faith-based reason to not vaccinate their child," he said.

There's one outlier so far among statehouse trends on exemptions. Hawaii, where legislators are looking to move in the opposite direction with a bill to eliminate all non-medical waivers after struggling for years with high exemption rates.

Vaccine injuries and consent laws

Other vaccine-related bills touch on some of the opposition that's been growing since the pandemic.

Oklahoma and Alabama have proposals that would require parental consent for any vaccine given to minors. Bills in Wyoming, Oregon and Oklahoma would prohibit "discrimination" against people who aren't vaccinated against COVID-19 or other diseases.

New York and Oklahoma have bills that would require providers to give people getting shots a full ingredient list, and Florida legislation would ban edible vaccines, though none are approved for use in the U.S. and research is still in early stages.

Vaccine injury is also a popular topic, and bills in Indiana and North Dakota propose creating state versions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System  a federal database that drew the attention of vaccine skeptics during the pandemic. Anyone can file a report about a potential issue after a vaccine, though the CDC's website notes a report doesn't prove the shot caused a health issue.

open image in gallery Most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners  the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks. ( Alamy/AP )

North Dakota Republican state Sen. Dick Anderson said he's not against people getting vaccines  he got one COVID-19 shot himself  but proposed the bill because many people don't trust the CDC.

"We have to do something to restore trust in the system," Anderson said.

But experts note state databases are unnecessarily duplicative.

"A lot of these proposals, they're trying to fix something that's not broken and really working to counter the goal of preventing the spread of communicable disease," said Andy Baker-White, senior director of state health policy for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

Policy should be focused on getting rid of barriers to vaccination, not adding to them, said Dr. Susan Kressly, a pediatrician and president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Many families miss vaccinations not because of ideology, she said, but because of lack of transportation or not having primary care doctors or clinics nearby, among other things.

But because most Americans are vaccinated, they haven't seen the effects of dangerous infections like bacterial meningitis that Kressly fielded calls about from fearful parents early in her career.

"Vaccines are really an American success story," she said.
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Four months ago, then-presidential nominee Donald Trump repeatedly told his supporters a baseless lie that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating residents pets.

Now hes President, and members of Springfields Haitian immigrant community are afraid he will make an example out of them as he promises to carry out mass deportations across the country, Politico reports.

The Trump administration has already begun carrying out Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the country, including in Chicago, Newark, Miami and Colorado. He has also taken several other steps to implement his hardline immigration agenda, including attempting to end birthright citizenship.

open image in gallery Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio were the target of a baseless conspiracy theory spread by Donald Trump and his allies last year ( Getty Images )

Marjorie Koveleski, a Haitian-American Springfield resident for decades who helps usher in the new arrivals, told Politico many are afraid mass deportations will start with them.

They think theyre going to make Springfield the example, she told Politico.

Brandon Sipes, a humanitarian crisis adviser for the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries in Springfield, told Politico 20-30 Haitian residents used to attend his church. Now, that number just bottomed out, he said.

The few families that would come to church, they were very afraid, he told Politico.

Trumps rhetoric has taken its toll on the families that call Springfield home.

This was very hard mentally, because at some points in time, people were afraid to come out or to go for groceries, to go shopping or anything, Viles Dorsainvil, leader of Springfields Haitian Community Help & Support Center, told Politico. That rhetoric was so negative that some folks in town left because they could not put up with all that pressure.

open image in gallery Trump elevated the rumours about Haitian immigrants eating pets to the national stage during the presidential debate with Kamala Harris. ( AP )

Some 15,000 Haitian migrants have settled in the town under a program that grants temporary protected immigration status to individuals from countries the U.S. considers especially dangerous, including Haiti.

Last year, Trump, J.D. Vance and their MAGA allies repeatedly claimed immigrants were eating dogs and cats in the mid-sized town of some 58,000 people.

The theory  which city officials maintained there is no evidence for  was even discussed on the debate stage as Trump faced off against Kamala Harris. Debate moderator David Muir pointed out the claim was unfounded, but Trump doubled down.

The baseless claim appears to have originated from a post describing a fourth-hand account on a Springfield Facebook group. There is no evidence to support the theory and city officials have rejected the claim.

Trumps rhetoric already disturbed the community last year, as schools and government buildings were targeted by dozens of bomb threats in the weeks after he promoted the baseless conspiracy. GOP governor of Ohio Mike DeWine, a Trump supporter, even penned an op-ed for the New York Times in which he defended the Haitian population.

They are there legally, he wrote. They are there to work. He also claimed the population has contributed to a resurgence in manufacturing and job creation in the town.

The Independent has contacted the Trump administration for comment.
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A company interested in aquiring TikTok has submitted a second proposal after feedback from the Trump administration.

The proposal, by Perplexity AI, would allow the U.S. government to own up to 50 percent of the new entity that merges Perplexity with TikToks U.S. business, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The proposal, submitted last week, is a revision of a prior plan the artificial intelligence startup had presented to TikTok's parent ByteDance on Jan. 18, a day before the law that bans TikTok went into effect.

The first proposal, which ByteDance hasn't responded to, sought to create a new structure that would merge San Francisco-based Perplexity with TikTok's U.S. business and include investments from other investors.

The new proposal would allow the U.S. government to own up to half of that new structure once it makes an initial public offering of at least $300 billion, said the person, who was not authorized to speak about the proposal. The person said Perplexity's proposal was revised based off of feedback from the Trump administration.

If the plan is successful, the shares owned by the government would not have voting power, the person said. The government also would not get a seat on the new company's board.

ByteDance and TikTok did not immediately responded to a request for comment.

open image in gallery Trump has become personally involved with the ongoing quest to save TikTok, and has even signed an executive order about the app. ( AP )

Under the plan, ByteDance would not have to completely cut ties with TikTok, a favorable outcome for its investors. But it would have to allow a "full U.S. board control," the person said.

Under the proposal, the China-based tech company would contribute TikTok's U.S. business without the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app, according to a document seen by the Associated Press.

The proposal seems to mirror a strategy Steven Mnuchin, treasury secretary during Trump's first term, discussed Sunday on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures  that a new investor in TikTok could simply "dilute down" the Chinese ownership and satisfy the law. Mnuchin has previously expressed interest in investing in the company.

"But the technology needs to be disconnected from China," he added. "It needs to be disconnected from ByteDance. There's absolutely no way that China would ever let us have something like that in China."

The Perplexity proposal comes as several investors are expressing interest in TikTok. President Donald Trump said late Saturday that he expects a deal will be made in as soon as 30 days.

On a flight from Las Vegas to Miami on Air Force One, Trump also said he hadn't discussed a deal with Larry Ellison, CEO of software maker Oracle, despite a report that Oracle, along with outside investors, was considering taking over TikTok's global operation.

"Numerous people are talking to me. Very substantial people," Trump said. "We have a lot of interest in it, and the United States will be a big beneficiary...I'd only do it if the United States benefits."

Under a bipartisan law passed last year, TikTok was to be banned in the United States by Jan. 19 if it did not cut ties with ByteDance. The Supreme Court upheld the law, but Trump then issued an executive order to halt enforcement of the law for 75 days.

open image in gallery TikTok went dark for a couple of hours in the U.S last week - before thanking Trump for helping it return. ( AP )

Trump, on Air Force One, noted that Ellison lives "right down the road" from his Mar-a-Lago estate, but added, "I never spoke to Larry about TikTok. I've spoken to many people about TikTok and there's great interest in TikTok."

TikTok briefly shut down in the U.S. a week ago, but went back online after Trump said he would postpone the ban. TikTok CEO Shou Chew attended Trump's inauguration Jan. 20, along with some other tech leaders who've been forging friendlier ties with the new administration.

Congress voted to ban TikTok in the U.S. out of concern that TikTok's ownership structure represented a security risk. The Biden administration argued in court for months that it was too much of a risk to allow a Chinese company to control the algorithm that fuels what people see on the app. Officials also raised concerns about user data collected on the platform.

However, to date, the U.S. hasn't provided public evidence of TikTok handing user data to Chinese authorities or allowing them to tinker with its algorithm.
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Ater TikTok was handed a lifeline by President Donald Trump, lawmakers worried about Chinese influencer over U.S. tech have found a new target: a popular home-internet router.

The TP-Link routers have been targetted by lawmakers who are concerned the routers could be exploited and used to steal sensitive information, CNBC reports. Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and John Moolenaar penned a bipartisan letter to the Department of Commerce last year asking the agency to investigate the unusual degree of vulnerabilities the routers reportedly present, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Now, investigators at the Commerce, Defense and Justice departments have all opened up probes into the company, according to the Journal, and officials could move to ban the routers within the next year.

A TP-Link Systems spokesperson told The Independent they have received requests for information from the Department of Commerce and are complying.

open image in gallery Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat, is calling for the federal government to take action and ban the routers ( Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

As a U.S.-based headquartered company, TP-Link Systems has, and continues to welcome all opportunities to engage directly with federal agencies to demonstrate that its security practices are fully in line with industry security standards and to address any potential U.S. national security risks, the company said in a statement.

TP-Link was established in China, the Journal reports. A TP-Link Systems spokesperson told The Independent they are not affiliated with the Chinese government, and that the American company TP-Link Systems has an entirely separate ownership and management structure from the China-based TP-LINK Technologies. TP-Link Systems is headquartered in California and their routers are made in Vietnam, the spokesperson said.

TP-Links are among the top-selling routers on Amazon, and up to 65 percent of the U.S. router market belongs to the company, according to the Journal. However, TP-Link Systems disputes this, claiming instead to have 37 percent of the market in 2024.

Krishnamoorthi told CNBC he is still not aware of any plans to ban the routers.

I am not aware of any plans to get them out, Krishanoorthi told the outlet.

The Illinois lawmaker hopes the federal government will take similar actions to 2020, when officials mandated that companies get rid of all network equipment from the Chinese company Huawei after it was determined to pose a national security threat, according to CNBC.

I am wondering whether something similar needs to be done, at least in regards to national security agencies, Department of Defense, and Intelligence, he told the outlet. It just doesnt make sense for the U.S government to be buying the routers.

Other lawmakers agree. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, led by Moolenaar, said in a statement to CNBC the routers pose an espionage risk to Americans.

Because of this, we hope to see TP-link routers banned in the coming year, coupled with programs to replace existing Chinese routers with safe American alternatives, the committees statement read.

open image in gallery The TP-link router has come under fire as a possible threat to national security from U.S. officials ( Amazon UK )

In response to the statement, the TP-Link Systems spokesperson saidtheir routers have security outcomes on par with, or in some cases ahead of, other major industry players.

While vulnerability severity is important, we consistently address issues promptly, the spokesperson told The Independent.

This push comes as the U.S. contends with a potential TikTok ban. Congress passed a law last year telling TikToks Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance they had until January 19 to either sell to a U.S. buyer or be banned from U.S. app stores.

The Supreme Court even ruled in favor of the law, citing threats to national security.

However, former president Joe Biden said he would not enforce the ban  which took effect on the last full day of his presidency  and Trump granted the company a 75-day extension via executive order on January 20, his first day in office.

Now, the company Perplexity AI is interested in buying the app, the Associated Press reports. Perplexity AI would merge with TikToks U.S. business  and afterward, the U.S. government could own up to 50 percent of that new entity, according to their proposal reported by the AP.

The Independent has contacted the Department of Commerce for comment.

This article was updated on January 27 to include comment from the TP-Link Systems spokesperson.
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President Donald Trump said he would like to see Gaza just cleaned out, allowing a clean slate for the war-torn region on the back of the ceasefire deal.

Trump called for Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations to increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting. His hope is they take enough to allow the area to start anew.

Trump has built his political career around being unapologetically pro-Israel. On his larger vision for Gaza, Trump told reporters on Air Force One he had a call earlier in the day with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak Sunday with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt.

Id like Egypt to take people, Trump said in a Saturday meeting with reporters. Youre talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, You know, its over.

Trump also said he has ended his predecessors hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. That lifts a pressure point meant to reduce civilian casualties during Israels war with Hamas in Gaza, which is now halted by a tenuous ceasefire.

We released them today, Trump said of the bombs. Theyve been waiting for them for a long time. Asked why he lifted the ban on those bombs, Trump responded, Because they bought them.

open image in gallery President Donald Trump (pictured with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2020) called for Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations to increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting after the Hamas-Israel war. Trump said he wants enough take so we can just clean out Gaza ( REUTERS )

Trump said he complimented Jordan for having successfully accepted Palestinian refugees and that he told the king, Id love for you to take on more, cause Im looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and its a mess. Its a real mess.

Such a drastic displacement of people would openly contradict Palestinian identity and deep connection to Gaza. Still, Trump said the part of the world that encompasses Gaza, has had many, many conflicts over centuries. He said resettling could be temporary or long term.

Something has to happen, Trump said. But its literally a demolition site right now. Almost everythings demolished, and people are dying there. He added: So, Id rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement Sunday, thanked Trump for keeping your promise to give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself. He did not mention Trumps suggestion on Palestinian refugees.

Trump has offered nontraditional views on the future of Gaza in the past. He suggested after he was inaugurated on Monday that Gaza has really got to be rebuilt in a different way.

The new president added then, Gaza is interesting. Its a phenomenal location, on the sea. The best weather, you know, everything is good. Its like, some beautiful things could be done with it, but its very interesting.

open image in gallery Trump spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One Saturday and talked about the ceasefire and his plans for the Middle East ( AP )

Resuming delivery of large bombs, meanwhile, is a break with then-President Joe Biden, who halted their delivery in May as part of an effort to keep Israel from launching an all-out assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. A month later, Israel did take control of the city, but after the vast majority of the 1 million civilians that had been living or sheltering in Rafah had fled.

Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers, Biden told CNN in May when he held up the weapons. I made it clear that if they go into Rafah ... Im not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem.

The Biden pause had also held up 1,700 500-pound bombs that had been packaged in the same shipment to Israel, but weeks later those bombs were delivered.

Trumps action comes as he has celebrated the first phase of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that has paused the fighting and seen the release of some hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Negotiations have yet to begin in earnest on the more difficult second phase of the deal that would eventually see the release of all hostages held by Hamas and an enduring halt to the fighting.

If the remaining hostages are not released, the Israeli government has threatened to resume its war against Hamas, which launched a massive assault against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
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More than a dozen Justice Department officials who worked on the federal criminal investigations into President Donald Trump were fired by the acting attorney general on Monday.

Keeping good on his promise to seek retribution on those who investigated and prosecuted him, several officials who worked with former special counsel Jack Smith were terminated because they can no longer be trusted.

You played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump, a letter from acting Attorney General James McHenry, obtained by CNN, said.

open image in gallery Trump repeatedly promised to go after his political enemies while on the campaign trail ( POOL/AFP via Getty Images )

The proper functioning of government critically depends on the trust superior officials place in their subordinates. Given your significant role in prosecuting the President, I do not believe that the leadership of the Department can trust you to assist in implementing the Presidents agenda faithfully, the letter said.

Citing Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which gives the president the power to appoint officers of the U.S., McHenry terminated the employees effective immediately.

The Independent has asked the Department of Justice for comment.

The announcement arrives as the new administration is also launching a special project to investigate charges brought against individuals who were prosecuted for their participation in the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Smith, who resigned from the DoJ before Trump was inaugurated, brought two federal criminal indictments against Trump.

One, for his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in part by spreading lies about mass voter fraud which incited the attack on the Capitol. Another, for allegedly harboring a trove of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home after leaving office in 2021.

Trump pleaded not guilty in both cases and accused the Justice Department of pursuing the investigations and indictments for political reasons. Over the course of two years, Trump and his lawyers managed to successfully delay each case before they could make it to trial.

The DoJ dropped both cases after Trump was re-elected in November.

Now, Trumps administration is pursuing retribution against those who assisted in the criminal investigations.

open image in gallery Jack Smith, the U.S. Attorney appointed special counsel over the Trump investigations, left the Justice Department in early January ( REUTERS )

In addition to the firings, interim U.S. Attorney for Washington D.C. Ed Martin has launched an investigation into the federal prosecutors who brought obstruction of justice charges against hundreds of January 6 rioters.

Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the obstruction of justice charge was brought too broadly against rioters. The charge, which carried a maximum sentence of 20 years, was dropped from roughly 330 cases.

In an email to staff on Monday, Martin requested all files, documents, notes, emails and other information related to cases involving the obstruction of justice charge so it could be investigated.

Obviously, the use was a great failure of our office  and we need to get to the bottom of it, Martin wrote in the email viewed by The Washington Post.

Fox News host jokes that Trump prosecutors should face death penalty

Trump has long promised to de-weaponize the government with a particular emphasis on the Justice Department.

Part of that plan includes implementing loyalists to the top positions  such as attorney general nominee Pam Bondi  and re-assigning career officials to make room for other appointees.
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A single-line bill backed by every Democratic senator condemns Donald Trumps decision to pardonJanuary 6 rioters who were convicted for assaulting law enforcement officers.

The resolution offered up by Senator Patty Murray simply states that the Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.

It shouldnt be too much to ask for senators to oppose unconditional pardons for people found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers, Murray said in a statement.

open image in gallery Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of every convicted rioter who was charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol ( Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

In total, 44 Senate Democrats and the two independents who caucus with Democrats joined the resolution.

Pennsylvanias John Fetterman was not on the initial list of senators supporting the measure. He office confirmed he joined on Monday morning.

The Independent has requested comment from Fettermans office.

As one of his first actions inside the Oval Office in the hours after his inauguration last week, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of every convicted rioter who was charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, fuelled by Trumps ongoing bogus claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged or stolen from him.

Trump also ordered the dismissal of hundreds of pending cases.

He commuted the sentence of 14 people convicted on treason-related charges of seditious conspiracy and other crimes, including members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who conspired to break into the halls of Congress.

open image in gallery Democratic Senator John Fetterman did not join other Democratic senators to formally condemn Donald Trumps pardons for violent January 6 rioters ( Getty Images )

Nearly 1,600 people were federally charged with crimes connected to the attack, including more than 600 people who were charged with assaulting or resisting an officer. Nearly 200 people were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.

Several police unions that endorsed the president issued statements criticizing his pardons for defendants convicted for assaulting officers. Several Republican officials  including Vice President J.D. Vance and Trumps nominee for attorney general Pam Bondi  also suggested that Trump should not pardon violent rioters before he did.

Fetterman told ABC News last week that he believes in second chances.

Some people are very deserving of a second chance and get a pardon, he added. And theres some that I dont  agree with. I dont agree with them.  What Im saying, though, that, that, pardons I can agree with, some that I dont. And I think thats really what it comes down to.
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth marked his first day on the job by hinting that military bases renamed under the Biden administration because they referenced Confederate officers would revert to their original names.

Every moment that Im here, Im thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, in Germany, in Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, on missile defense sites and aircraft carriers, Hegseth told reporters as he arrived at the Pentagon on Monday morning. Our job is lethality and readiness and warfighting.

During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump pledged that he would revert nine southern Army posts that were initially named after officers who fought for the South in the Civil War back to their original monikers. While the switch happened in 2023, under former President Joe Bidens watch, the effort to rid the bases of their Confederate-linked names began during Trumps first term in office amid a nationwide racial reckoning following George Floyds 2020 murder.

Heres what we do: We get elected  Im doing it, Trump told supporters last October in a town hall event near Fort Liberty. Im doing it we did win two world wars from Fort Bragg, right? So, this is not a time to be changing names, and were going to do that. Were going to do everything we can, and were going to get it back.

Until it was changed to Fort Liberty, the North Carolina military base  which is the Armys largest post  had been named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. Fort Moore, which is now the only U.S. base named after a married couple, had originally been christened after Confederate General Henry L. Benning.

Pete Hegseth arrives at the Pentagon for the first time as defense secretary. ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

Hegseth, a former Fox News host who was barely confirmed on Friday night amid allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual assault, has also long been critical of the name changes and called the effort a sham while urging government officials to change it back. Meanwhile, Trumps promise to bring back the Confederate-linked names of these bases has been met with pushback.

Critics of Trumps campaign promise to return Confederate-linked names to those bases said it would revert the military to honoring treasonous Confederate soldiers who killed American troops and undo a Congress-mandated process that cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, Stars and Stripes reported this month. It would also strip honors from the Army leaders and war heroes for whom the installations  except for Fort Liberty  were renamed, said retired Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, who served more than three decades as an armor officer and later as a professor and leader of the history department at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

Conservative media celebrated Hegseths Monday morning comments about the bases. Outkick, a Fox-affiliated right-wing sports site, boasted that the ex-Fox & Friends Weekend host had owned the libs with his remarks.

Will some people freak out at Hegseths comments? Im sure some people will, writer David Hookstead noted. Let them scream into the void. Its not going to stop Hegseth and others from pushing forward, and it absolutely shouldnt. Its a new day in America, and the era of woke nonsense is in its last stages of dying.

The new defense secretarys reference to the old Confederate names of military posts comes as Trump has been on something of a renaming spree in his first few days in office, which he claimed in an executive order was to restore names that honor American greatness. This has resulted in the president reverting Mt. Denali in Alaska to its original Mt. McKinley name while declaring the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, a name other countries refuse to acknowledge.

Now that he is officially in charge of the Pentagon, Hegseth has vowed to enact a slew of changes that coincide with the administrations so-called War on Woke. Besides honoring the losing side in the Civil War, Hegseth wants to rid the military of transgender troops, roll back diversity, equity and inclusion programs, reinstate soldiers who were discharged for refusing the Covid vaccine, and use the military to enforce the administrations border and immigration policies.

Just as Hegseth was beginning his new role, the Air Force said it had removed training material referring to the famed Tuskegee Airmen and female World War II pilots after a delay to meet Trumps rollback of DEI initiatives, only for Hegseth to quickly say the move was immediately reversed amid blowback.
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People living in Western France have been hit by severe flooding, forcing residents to evacuate their homes by boat after a succession of storms, including Storm Herminia, battered the region.

The storms, which also impacted Spain and the UK, followed closely on the heels of Storm Eowyn, compounding the already saturated ground in Normandy and Brittany.

Storm Herminia brought further disruption, causing road closures and triggering flood warnings from the national weather service.

Around Rennes, the worst affected area, approximately 400 people were evacuated. The citys mayor described the situation as the most severe flooding in over four decades, with waters not expected to recede until Wednesday.

Rescue workers walk in a flooded street after storm Herminia has unleashed downpours on the region, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025 in in the village of Guipry Messac, western France. (AP Photo/Str) ( Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

The earlier Storm Eowyn had already left a trail of destruction across Ireland and Britain, claiming two lives due to fallen trees and leaving over a million people without power.

Yellow weather warnings for wind and rain are in place across England and Wales.

Blustery showers and gusts of wind have brought disruption across the country, as the Met Office issued warnings for wind and rain which are affecting parts of the south of England, Wales, and the West Midlands.

Warnings across Wales and the West Midlands are expected to remain in place til 9pm on Tuesday, while the south of England can expect warnings to be lifted in the morning. These weather warnings come as 37 flood warnings and 164 flood alerts remain in place across the country.

Storm Herminia updates Latest updates as of 18:00 on Mondy 01/27/2025 Storm Herminia has caused significant disruption across the UK, prompting a major incident declaration in Somerset due to flooding and evacuations.

Wind gusts reached up to 83 mph, and yellow weather warnings for wind and rain are in place across southern England and Wales, extending into Tuesday for some regions.

British Airways canceled 26 flights at Heathrow, affecting thousands of passengers.

Over 30 flood warnings and 159 flood alerts are in effect across England and Wales, with Somerset experiencing road closures and evacuations.

60,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland remain without power following Storm Eowyn, prompting calls for compensation.

Follow the latest updates.

A 73-year-old British sailor was reported missing off the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux over the weekend, according to the regional maritime authority.

A British sailor was lost at sea after his yacht was found wrecked off the southwest French coast amid heavy storms over the weekend, French maritime authorities said.

The search came as Storm Herminia battered western France. Frances national weather agency on Monday placed the Ile-et-Vilaine department, in western France, on red alert due to the risks of major floods.

The distress beacon of the yacht was detected around 80 km (50 miles) west of Lacanau on Saturday afternoon, and a helicopter dispatched to the scene found the sailboat, the Prefet Maritime de lAtlantique said in a statement late on Sunday.

The helicopter winched its two divers on board, who discovered an empty life raft.

A cargo vessel and the Spanish hospital ship Esperanza del Mar were also mobilised to search for the man.

After several hours of searching and due to a lack of any new information, the search was suspended in the early hours of Sunday.

France's weather service issued further flood and wind warnings for Tuesday for all regions on the western coast, from Brittany down to the Spanish border.
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A 73-year-old British sailor is missing at sea after his eviscerated yacht was found by a French air force helicopter.

Divers who winched down to the yacht, called Tiger PA, in the Bay of Biscay found no sign of the man and an empty life raft, according to the Prefecture Maritiime de lAtlantique.

The sailor set off a distress beacon on Saturday around 50 miles west of Lacanau, having previously told a cargo ship he was safe after not responding to any radio messages.

The air force helicopter found the damaged yacht at around 5.30pm and launched the search for the missing man.

Two divers were then winched down to the wreckage, where they discovered an empty raft, officials added.

A Portuguese cargo ship and a Spanish hospital vessel were both diverted to the area and to help with the search, alongside the French navy.

After several hours of searching, it was called off in the early hours of Sunday morning "due to a lack of information".

The north of Spain and western France have had heavy rain and wind during Storm Herminia, which was named by Spanish meteorologists because the country was expected to experience the worst of the conditions.

Met Office weather warnings are in place for most of England and Wales as Storm Herminia brought wind gusts up to 83mph in the southeast.

The Environment Agency has issued more than 50 flood warnings, mostly for the countrys south-west, while 172 flood alerts have been issued for much of England - including south-east and further north - as forecasters warn of up to 80mm of rain in some areas.

Warnings for wind and rain have now been extended into Tuesday for some regions, particularly the southwest, where the strongest wind gusts were recorded on Sunday. The Met Office said heavy rain would bring a chance of power cuts, delays to travel services and a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life.

Storm Herminia is battering the country just two days after the more powerful Storm Eowyn brought record-breaking wind speeds of up to 100mph.
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Volodymyr Zelensky has stated his belief that a deal to end Russias war in Ukraine could be made under Donald Trumps presidency but demanded Kyiv be included in any peace talks.

The Ukrainian president also said on Saturday that the terms of any deal that might arise under the new US president were still unclear  and might not even be clear to Trump himself  because Vladimir Putin had no interest in ending the war.

However, the Russian president has emphasised that he is open for talks with Trump on a broad range of issues including his countrys war in Ukraine, telling a state TV journalist on Friday: We believe the current presidents statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations.

Trump, who took office on Monday, has, in turn, expressed willingness to speak to Putin about ending the war, a contrast with the outgoing administration of Joe Biden, who shunned the Russian leader. Trump even promised during his election campaign to end the war within his first 24 hours in the White House  without saying how, and aides have since suggested that a deal could take months.

And Zelensky has now stressed that ending the war would not be possible unless Trump includes Ukraine itself in any negotiations.

open image in gallery Volodymyr Zelensky has stated his belief that a deal to end Russias war in Ukraine could be made under Donald Trumps presidency but demanded Kyiv be included in any peace talks ( EPA )

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday alongside Moldovas president, Maia Sandu, a visiting ally, Zelensky said: Otherwise it will not work. Because Russia does not want to end the war, while Ukraine wants to end it.

In a separate interview broadcast later that day, Zelensky said he believed Trump truly wanted to see an end to the war, nearing the three-year mark next month, describing the US president as understanding all the challenges associated with the peace process and simply saying this has to end or it will get worse.

Speaking to Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was released this month after being detained for 21 days in Iran, Zelensky added: For now, we don't know how this will happen because we don't know the details. I believe President Trump himself does not know all the details. Because I would say so much depends on what sort of just peace we can achieve. And whether Putin wants, in principle, to stop the war. I believe he doesn't want to.

open image in gallery Ukrainian residents walk past a building damaged by Russian military strikes in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, on Saturday ( REUTERS )

Kyiv, long worried about the prospect of its fate being decided by bigger powers without its participation, has said it is working to arrange a meeting between Zelensky and Trump.

Addressing journalists earlier alongside Sandu, Zelensky said he believed European allies should also be included in any future peace talks.

As for what the set-up of the talks will be: Ukraine, I really hope Ukraine will be there, America, Europe and the Russians, he said. Yes, I would really want that Europe would take part, because we will be members of the European Union. Ukraine and Moldova both submitted applications to join the EU days after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

open image in gallery Zelensky spoke at a press conference on Saturday alongside Moldovas president, Maia Sandu, a visiting ally ( AFP via Getty Images )

On Friday, Putin said he would like to meet Trump to talk about Ukraine but cited a 2022 decree from Zelensky barring talks with Putin as a barrier to negotiations.

Zelensky said on Saturday he had introduced this ban to stop Putin from forming channels of communication with other groups in Ukraine, which he said Russia had attempted, particularly those advocating separatist views.

I therefore took an absolutely fair decision, he said. I am the president of Ukraine and the leader of these or any other talks and I banned all the others.

open image in gallery The Russian President has emphasised that he is open for talks with Trump on a broad range of issues including his countrys war in Ukraine ( Anton Vaganov/Pool Photo via AP, File )

On Sunday, Zelensky said Russia had used 1,250 aerial bombs, over 750 attack drones and more than 20 missiles to attack Ukraine over the past week, calling on his countrys partners to act in unity.

Ukraines military said its air defences downed 50 of 72 drones launched by Russia overnight, with no casualties or damage reported.

Meanwhile, Kyiv's general staff said its forces attacked one of Russias largest oil refineries in the city of Ryazan again overnight, with explosions and fire reported in the target area.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defence systems destroyed 15 Ukrainian drones over Russia and two sea drones in the Black Sea on Sunday.

Russian troops, meanwhile, have seized the town of Zelene and the village of Velyka Novosilka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing the defence ministry, in battlefield reports that could not be independently verified.
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US president Donald Trumps pre-election promises to end the war in Ukraine in less than 24 hours  and before his inauguration  have proved empty.

Keith Kellogg, Mr Trumps special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, says the administrations new goal is to stop the fighting in 100 days.

But details on how this will be achieved remain scant. Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed this is because speaking openly about his plans would undermine his negotiating position. His detractors, however, say this is a cover for a lack of plan.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, have both expressed a willingness to speak with Mr Trump, though both have their own demands if peace is to be achieved.

Below, The Independent looks at the factors at play and why a peace deal could prove elusive.

Sanctions

Two days after Mr Trumps inauguration, the US president gave the first brief insight into his plans.

If a deal is not reached, I will have no other choice but to put high levels of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States and other participating countries," he posted on his social media platform Truth Social.

We can do it the easy way or the hard way, he said, adding: The easy way is always better.

A week previously, Bloomberg reported that the incoming administration had begun forming its sanctions strategy on Russia, one that included offering targeted relief to Russian oil producers to incentivise negotiations or expanding sanctions to ramp up pressure.

It is no surprise that a notoriously transactional Mr Trump, who has spoken at length about tariffs, appears focused on leveraging the financial might of the US to end the war.

Whether it will succeed, however, is unclear.

Russias economy appears to have soaked up the brunt of Western sanctions over the course of the war, though the long-term implications of putting an economy on a war footing could prove dangerous.

But additional pressure from Mr Trump, off the back of a particularly aggressive sanctions package in Joe Bidens final days in office, could force Putin to think more carefully.

Territorial concessions

Russia controls a little under 19 per cent of Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula and parts of the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Ukraine controls a sliver of the Russian border region of Kursk.

During his last annual end-of-year conference, Putin called on Ukraine to withdraw from those four Ukrainian regions and for the West to lift all sanctions.

European leaders have consistently dismissed this possibility as rewarding the Russian leader for his land grab but Mr Trump appears more open to the idea.

His vice-president, JD Vance, has spoken about a demilitarised zone patrolled by Western-backed forces. Mr Trump says no US troops will be involved.

The stumbling blocks here are numerous.

The Kremlin has said it does not want Nato forces near Russian troops in occupied Ukraine. Indeed, Putin claimed his invasion of Ukraine was because Nato was trying to get too close to Russia.

Mr Zelensky, meanwhile, may be willing to accept the loss of some territory but it is unlikely he will give up land currently not under Russian control, which includes much of the four regions Putin is claiming. Likewise, Putin will not want Ukrainian troops in Kursk.

In the meantime, Russian forces are creeping forward in eastern Ukraine. Some will question why Putin would stand his troops down when they are advancing, though losses are high.

Security guarantees

Donald Trump has ruled out the possibility of Ukraine joining Nato while he is in the White House ( AP )

This is likely to be the most contentious issue. Previous agreements to end the fighting in 2014 and 2015, after Russias initial invasion of Ukraine, have failed, as have many more attempts.

There is widespread belief that Putin cannot be trusted to abide by a ceasefire. It is possible he will simply use the pause in fighting to rest his forces before invading again.

Ukraine believes accession to Nato would deter another invasion since Article 5 necessitates the defence of an attacked member. But Mr Trump has ruled that out.

Putin not only opposes any Nato membership for Ukraine but says the country must become a neutral state and drastically reduce its military forces. That would effectively strip Ukraine of its sovereign right to choose with whom it allies itself. It would also make Ukraine an easier target for future Russian invasions.

Ukraine says the US must offer security guarantees and that European assurances alone are not enough.

Mr Zelensky has called on Mr Trump to give Ukraine more weapons but in the form of loans. Others have suggested Mr Trump backs the transfer of roughly $300bn (240bn) in frozen Russian assets so Ukraine can arm itself.

Russias alliance with China, Iran and North Korea

The most significant difference between Mr Trumps first and second terms, with regards to constructing a foreign policy, is the interconnectedness of nations hostile to the US.

China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are more aligned than ever. They have helped one another evade sanctions; they have backed each others wars; they have sought to pull other countries away from the purview of the US-led West.

Mr Trump could look to disrupt these alliances to slow support for Russias war, or he could put pressure on these allies to stop funding Putin.
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Eight of the 33 hostages due to be released over the coming weeks as part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas are dead, Israel has said.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said that Hamas had communicated that 26 of the 33 agreed hostages are alive. Seven of the hostages have already been released, leaving 18 to be freed.

The ceasefire is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas and securing the release of dozens of hostages captured in the Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October 2023 that triggered the conflict. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in that attack, with another 250 taken hostage. Israel responded with an air and ground war that has killed more 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza health officials.

Before Monday's announcement, Israel believed that at least 35 of the about 90 hostages still held in Gaza are dead.

Hamas provided Israel overnight with a list of information on the status of the hostages. The families have been informed of the situation of their relatives, Mr Mencer said, without giving further details on the identity of the eight.

The plan has been for hostages to be released in small groups at least once a week for the 42 days that make up the first phase of the ceasefire. Some 1,900 Palestinian prisoners are also expected to be freed. Three Israeli hostages were released on the first day of the ceasefire, arriving to tearful reunions with families.

They included 28-year-old British-Israeli national Emily Damari, 24-year-old Romi Gonen and 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher.

Showing the delicacy of the agreement, Israel delayed the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza after they claimed that Hamas had broken the peace deal by failing to release civilian female hostage Arbel Yehud last weekend as part of the second swap.

Hamas released four Israeli female soldiers, Karina Ariev, 20, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Albag, 19 on 25 January instead.

Israel retaliated by delaying the opening of the Netzarim corridor that separates northern Gaza from the rest of the enclave, which was due under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Late on Sunday, mediator Qatar said Hamas agreed to hand over three Israeli hostages before Friday and Israel started to withdraw its forces from the corridor.

Israeli prime ,inister Benjamin Netanyahu said the hostage release  which will include female soldier Agam Berger  will take place on Thursday. Another three hostages should be released on Saturday as previously planned.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said anyone violating the ceasefire or threatening Israeli forces "will bear the full cost." Israel's military has warned Palestinians not to approach its forces, which have withdrawn to buffer zones inside Gaza.

Dramatic footage on Monday morning showed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians heading towards northern Gaza following Netzarims reopening.
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Israels deputy foreign minister has claimed she fears for the safety of Jews in Ireland after a row over the Dublins position on the Middle East conflict escalated over the weekend.

Sharren Haskel, who is being tipped as a possible next Israeli ambassador to the UK, spoke to The Independent in the wake of a row which erupted over Irish president Michael Higgins speech at a Holocaust memorial event on Sunday.

Ms Haskel, a Knesset member for the New Hope Party in Bejamin Netanyahus coalition, accused the political leadership in Ireland of being antisemitic and warned that the controversy over Irelands treatment of Israel represented a wider problem in Europe.

open image in gallery Israel MP Sharren Haskel unfurls an Israeli flag at a demonstration by students of Oxford University in the city centre on a recent visit to the UK ( New Hope )

It followed a Jewish protester being physically dragged out of a venue during President Higgins speech on Sunday when she attempted to stand up and turn her back to him in protest over the language he was using. Another 19 Jews walked out in protest after she was removed and the 20 were then refused access back into the event.

President Higgins, who has been a critic of Israels conduct in the war since the 7 October attack by Hamas terrorists in 2023, had made a point in his Holocaust memorial speech of equating antisemitism and the mass murder of 6 million Jews with issues in the present day including homophobia and Islamophobia.

He said: I believe that those in Israel who mourn their loved ones, those who have been waiting for the release of hostages, or the thousands searching for relatives in the rubble and Gaza, will welcome the long-overdue ceasefire, for which there has been such a heavy price paid.

The Irish President had also met with survivors of the Holocaust.

But Ms Haskel told The Independent that the removal of Jews from a Holocaust memorial event, as the world prepared to mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, was heartbreaking.

She said: It was absolutely awful to see it. The first thing is the Jewish community that was there for the ceremony was dragged out, not because they were disturbing, just because they were standing up and turning in their back to him, because the the awful things that he actually said.

open image in gallery Irish President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina with Holocaust survivors Suzi Diamond (left) and Tomi Reichenthal at the Mansion House in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) ( PA Wire )

She pointedly noted that during the Second World War Ireland had remained neutral and not fought the Nazis.

She went on: To use the stage to criticise Israel and to try and compare Israel to the Nazis is ridiculous.

We are the only Jewish state. My grandfather, who survived Auschwitz, he built this country as a shelter for Jews. I made him a promise to defend this shelter that he built for our community and our people in our homeland.

What we've experienced on 7 October was the worst massacre since the Holocaust, and this was an attempt of annihilation to murder as many Jews as possible. Thats why [Higgins] rhetoric is absolutely awful and is disrespectful of the event of the Jewish community.

Ms Haskel accused Higgins and other senior Irish politicians of spreading the blood libel against Israel and the Jews be trying to tell stories about Israel to inflate more hatred towards us and towards our people.

She added: Yes, I fear forthe safety of Jews in Ireland.

The row is the latest chapter in a deteriorating relationship between the Irish and Israeli governments. The perception of Ireland being anti-Israel is also having an impact on the countrys relationship with the new Donald Trump administration in the US which is much more hostile compared to Joe Bidens White House.

One of the issues is that Ireland has indicated its support for South Africa's legal action against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), saying it would ask the court "to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a state".

Ms Haskel said: Ireland knows Israel is not guiltyof genocide but it now wants to change the definition of genocide to apply it to Israel. It is ridiculous.

Before she was withdrawn from Ireland last year, the Israeli Ambassador in Dublin Dana Erlich claimed the nation was stuck in an echo chamber. And before Christmas the Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar was reported to have described Ireland as antisemitic.

Last month Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris hit back at claims of antisemitism against his countrys support for Palestinians in Gaza.

He said: "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.

The Independent has contacted the office of the President of Ireland for comment.
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Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are streaming into devastated northern Gaza  many for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war  allowing them to reunite with loved ones and see what has become of their homes.

A column of people, some holding infants in their arms or carrying bundles of belongings on their shoulders, headed north on foot, along a road running by the shores of the eastern Mediterranean. More than 200,000 displaced people returned to north Gaza on foot in the two hours after the crossing opened, according to a Gaza security official speaking to the AFP news agency.

Many will return home to find their homes flattened by intense Israeli bombardment, but that did not extinguish the sense of joy at finally being allowed to return.

Its like I was born again, said Palestinian mother Umm Mohammed Ali, part of the miles-long crowd that moved slowly along the coastal road.

My heart is beating, I thought I would never come back, Osama, 50, a public servant and father of five said as he arrived in Gaza City, the largest city in the north. Whether the ceasefire succeeds or not, we will never leave Gaza City and the north again, even if Israel would send a tank for each one of us, no more displacement.

The opening of the Netzarim corridor that separates northern Gaza from the rest of the enclave, which was due under the terms of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, was delayed for two days after Israel said that Hamas had broken the deal by failing to release civilian female hostage Arbel Yehud. Late on Sunday, mediator Qatar said Hamas agreed to hand over three Israeli hostages before Friday and Israel started to withdraw its forces from the corridor. Having been repeatedly displaced over 15 months of the war, cheers erupted at shelters and tent encampments when families heard the news that the crossings would be opened.

The ceasefire is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas and securing the release of dozens of hostages captured in the Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October 2023 that triggered the conflict. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in that attack, with another 250 taken hostage. Israel responded with an air and ground war that has killed more 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza health officials.

open image in gallery Footage showed a huge stream of civilians heading up the Gazan coast on Monday morning ( Reuters )

open image in gallery Around a million Palestinians were forced by Israel to flee northern Gaza in late 2023 ( Reuters )

Under the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is to free a total of 33 hostages in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. So far under the truce, Hamas has released seven hostages in exchange for more than 300 prisoners, including many serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis. On Monday afternoon, Israel said a Hamas list showed that eight of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire are dead.

Government spokesperson David Mencer said that Hamas said the other 25 are alive. Israel overnight said it had received a list of information on the status of the hostages from Hamas. Israel has said the next release of hostages will take place on Thursday, followed by another on Saturday.

The second  and far more difficult  phase of the ceasefire agreement has not yet been negotiated. Hamas says it will not release the remaining 60 or so hostages  many of whom are believed to be dead  unless Israel ends the war, while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is still committed to destroying the militant group.

Back in Gaza, Yasmin Abu Amshah, a mother of three, said she walked around four miles (6km) to reach her home in Gaza City, where she found it damaged but still habitable. She also saw her younger sister for the first time in over a year.

It was a long trip, but a happy one, she said. The most important thing is that we returned.

open image in gallery Displaced Gazan women hug each other as they cross the Netzarim corridor from the southern Gaza Strip into Gaza City ( AFP/Getty )

open image in gallery Civilians were seen heading for their homes in northern Gaza on Monday morning ( AFP/Getty )

In the opening days of the war, Israel ordered the wholesale evacuation of the north and sealed it off shortly after ground troops moved in.

Around a million people fled to the south in October 2023, while hundreds of thousands remained in the north, which had some of the heaviest fighting and the worst destruction of the war. In all, around 90 per cent of Gazas 2.3 million people have been displaced.

Starting at 7am local time, Palestinians were allowed to cross on foot. A checkpoint for vehicles opened a few hours later. Under the ceasefire agreement, vehicles are to be inspected for weapons before entering the north, meaning it could take days to clear the queue of thousands of cars that has formed.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said Israel would continue to enforce the ceasefire, and that anyone violating it or threatening Israeli forces will bear the full cost.

We will not allow a return to the reality of 7 October, he wrote on the social media platform X.

Ismail Abu Matter, a father of four who had waited for three days before crossing with his family, described scenes of jubilation on the other side, with people singing, praying and crying as they were reunited with relatives.

open image in gallery Palestinians gather as they wait to be allowed to move into northern Gaza ( Reuters )

open image in gallery Hamas said the return was a victory for our people ( Reuters )

Its the joy of return, said Abu Matter, whose family was among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. We had thought we wouldnt return, like our ancestors.

Hamas said the return was a victory for our people and a declaration of failure and defeat for the [Israeli] occupation and transfer plans.

The opening of the corridor to allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza followed remarks by US president Donald Trump that he would like to clean out Gaza and move the Palestinians into neighbouring Egypt or Jordan, which is already home to around two million Palestinian refugees.

Id like Egypt to take people, Mr Trump said in a Saturday meeting with reporters. Youre talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, You know, its over.

The comments drew wide criticism from Arab nations, including both Egypt and Jordan, who said they would reject any proposals to relocate Palestinian civilians.

Others saw it as a departure from the two-state Israel and Palestine solution traditionally backed by the US.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
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An agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow displaced Palestinians to return home to northern Gaza, mediator Qatar has said.

The agreement brings an end to one of the first major crises in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, after Israel prevented thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza as it accused Hamas of changing the order of its hostage release.

Hamas will hand over Arbel Yehoud, a civilian, along with two other hostages before Friday, Qatars statement said. Israeli authorities will allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza on Monday, the office of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

open image in gallery Four Israeli hostages waved on a stage before Hamas handed them over to Israel ( AFP via Getty Images )

The initial ceasefire agreement stipulated that Israel would permit Palestinians to return to northern Gaza on Saturday - a move which was put on hold after Israel said Ms Yehoud should have been released that day.

Both sides accused the other of violating the terms of the ceasefire.

Thousands of Palestinians have gathered as they wait to move north to their homes in Gaza. Israeli forces killed two people and wounded nine when they fired on the crowd of Palestinians, according to local health officials.

Palestinians returning to northern Gaza face a long road ahead to rebuild their homes, many of which were destroyed in Israels 15-month offensive on the small enclave.

"We have been in agony for a year and a half," said Nadia Qasem, one of the Palestinians carrying their belongings on a road leading to a closed Israeli checkpoint.

open image in gallery Displaced Palestinians gather with their belongings near a roadblock on the al Rashid Street ( Copyright 2025, The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

Fadi al-Sinwar lamented that the fate of more than a million people is linked to one person, referring to Ms Yehoud. "See how valuable we are? We are worthless," he said.

Israeli forces killed more than 47,000 Palestinians including 13,000 children in its invasion, according to the Gaza health ministry and UN agencies, which came after the Hamas attacks on October 7 killed around 1,200 Israelis and saw 251 hostages taken - 87 of whom remain in captivity.

Meanwhile in Lebanon, local health officials said 22 people were killed by Israeli forces after they opened fire on a crowd of protesters demanding their withdrawal by Sundays deadline under a separate ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah militant group. More than 120 were wounded, officials added.

open image in gallery Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble with the majority of the population displaced ( REUTERS )

Israel says it hasnt withdrawn because Lebanese forces are not deploying quickly enough - but Lebanon says its forces cannot move into areas until Israeli troops leave.

It comes after US president Donald Trump suggested that the Gaza population should be resettled to Egypt and Jordan to just clean out the enclave. Egypt Jordan and the Palestinians rejected this proposal. The temporary or long-term transfer of Palestinians "risks expanding the conflict in the region," Egypts foreign ministry said in a statement.

Bassem Naim, a senior official for Hamas, said Palestinians would never accept the proposal "even if seemingly well-intentioned under the guise of reconstruction. Palestinians can rebuild Gaza "even better than before" if Israel lifts its blockade, he added.
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Residents in Gaza have warned that Donald Trumps proposals to clean out the war-ravaged Strip are a dangerous and frightening trick which amounts to bringing an end to Palestine.

Masri Falah, a 36-year-old from northern Gaza who has been displaced to Khan Younis in the south, told The Independent the focus should be on rebuilding Gaza, not forcibly displacing its people.

Having already endured 15 months of unprecedented bombardment, Mr Falah warned that any such move to send Gazas population to Jordan and Egypt would not merely be temporary, but would see the Palestinians permanently shut out of their homeland.

open image in gallery Thousands of Palestinians make their way back to their homes in northern Gaza ( REUTERS )

If this proposal happens, to temporarily evacuate the Gaza Strip, the people of Gaza will not be returned to the Strip again, he said.

I hope that they will set up camps to live in within the Gaza Strip until the rubble is quickly removed. And to bring in appropriate equipment to remove the rubble and rebuild.

Human rights advocates warned that Mr Trumps comments are an alarming escalation in the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, telling The Independent that if carried out would make him complicit in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ibrahim Abu Serial, 46, who was displaced in Deir al-Balah, said Mr Trumps words were part of attempts to destroy the idea of Palestinian citizenship, and the right for Palestinian refugees to return.

He pointed to orders by the Israeli government to shut down the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA), which is now banned in Israel and has been accused of supporting terror groups.

We love this land as trees love water. We have no intention of leaving, he said.

They have been trying for a long time to stop UNRWA, the right of return, and the rights of refugees. If I went abroad, there would be no life. Look at the lives of refugees in the Palestinian camps.

open image in gallery Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One as he travels from Las Vegas to Miami ( AP )

Mr Trump raised the idea of mass movement while speaking to journalists on Air Force One, saying he had already spoken to Jordans King Abdullah and intended to ask Egypts president Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi about the plan.

When asked if this was a temporary or long-term solution for Gaza, where Israels military assault has killed tens of thousands of people and laid waste to the territory, Trump said: Could be either.

Youre talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing, he said about the tiny enclave, where 90 percent of its 2 million-strong population are internally displaced.

Its literally a demolition site, almost everything is demolished and people are dying there, so Id rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change.

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, which has extensively investigated human rights abuses in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, said Mr Trumps proposal suggests forcibly displacing Palestinians from Gaza on an even larger scale than weve seen to date.

If this were to happen, it would amount to an alarming escalation in the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and exponentially increase their suffering, he told The Independent. The Trump administration should abandon this plan and avoid complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

open image in gallery Palestinians who were displaced to the south at Israels order during the war, make their way back to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ( REUTERS/Ramadan Abed )

In a post on X, Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, said: Ethnic cleansing is anything but an out-of-the-box thinking, no matter how one packages it. It is illegal, immoral, and irresponsible.

Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority condemned the proposal. Jordan, which is already home to more than two million Palestinian refugees, rejected the idea, as did Egypt, which has warned of the security implications of transferring large numbers of Palestinians to Egypts Sinai Peninsula, bordering Gaza.

Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment on Mr Trumps proposal.

open image in gallery Civilians were seen heading for their homes in northern Gaza on Monday morning ( Omar AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images )

The comments were, however, welcomed by extreme right-wing members of Israels government. Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has repeatedly called for the return of Jewish settlers to Gaza, called it an excellent plan and said he would work to develop a plan to implement it.

Before and during the 1948 war surrounding Israels creation, some 700,000 Palestinians  a majority of the pre-war population  fled or were forced to flee from their homes in what became Israel, an event the Palestinians commemorate as the Nakba  Arabic for catastrophe.

The refugees and their descendants now number around 6 million, with large communities in Gaza, as well as the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Israel has refused to allow them to return.

Egypt and Jordan have made peace with Israel since the 1967 Middle East war, which saw Israel capture the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, but support the creation of a Palestinian state in those areas. They fear that the permanent displacement of Gazas population could make that impossible.

Jordans foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said his countrys rejection of the proposed transfer of Palestinians was firm and unwavering.

The temporary or long-term transfer of Palestinians risks expanding the conflict in the region and undermines prospects of peace and coexistence among its people, Egypts foreign ministry said in a statement.

open image in gallery Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is yet to comment on Donald Trumps proposals ( REUTERS )

In Gaza, civilians told The Independent they feared that comments from Mr Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, would only speed up a long campaign in Israel to destroy the notion of Palestinian citizenship and statehood.

They were particularly concerned as the comments came after US president removed sanctions imposed by his predecessor on some Israeli settlers accused of involvement in violent attacks against Palestinians, and after he directed the US to release a supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. Former president Joe Biden had imposed a hold due to concerns about their effects on Gazas civilian population.

Others, however, desperate after losing several members of their families and their homes to Israels bombardment, said they could no longer survive living in decimated Gaza, and so had no other choice than to try to leave.

Ghadeer Alhabash, 28, from Gaza City, said she had nothing left after 15 months of Israels bombardment and so said she was forced to support Mr Trumps proposal.

open image in gallery Displaced Palestinians warm themselves by a fire near a roadblock, as they wait to return to their homes ( Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo )

My brother is a prisoner, my brothers children were martyred, my husband was martyred, many relatives were killed, there is no one in Gaza who did not lose someone from their family, our homes are gone, if we return to our home, there is nothing to return to, she sadi.

The truce is meaningless, after what happened to us, and we do not want anything else than a better life abroad, better than the life we live here, our life is not life.

Duaa Abed Rabbo, 35, from the north displaced to the south, said she is desperate to move to Jordan as she has lost countless members of her family, her home has been destroyed, and she has no way of getting the care needed for her daughter who has Downs Syndrome and suffers from rickets.

We have had enough suffering and humiliation. Our lives will remain in a state of war until the Day of Judgment, just let us live a few years in security and peace, she said.
JD Vance has criticised the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' condemnation of Donald Trump's immigration plans, suggesting the church might be more worried about "their bottom line" than humanitarian concerns.

Trump's administration has revoked a policy that stopped arrests by immigration officials at or near schools, places of worship and other "sensitive locations."

Mark J Seitz, migration committee chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, told CBS News: "Many of these policies we see going against the basic tenets of our faith."

The vice president said he was "heartbroken" by the statement as a practising Catholic.

"When they receive over $100m to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?"
A new angle from onboard SpaceXs Super Heavy mega rocket shows how its rocket booster safely returned to the ground when caught by chopsticks on the landing platform on January 16.

In the same flight, the upper stage of the spacecraft broke up as it was reaching space, with falling debris from the destroyed Starship delaying airline traffic out of Miami airport, federal officials said.

Despite this, the rocket booster was still able to make it back down to earth and pull off a safe landing.

This was the rockets seventh test flight, taking off from a launchpad in South Texas and reaching a peak altitude of around 90 kilometres (55 miles).

Booster guidance system precisely maneuvered the vehicle through the highest wind speeds yet for a Super Heavy landing, SpaceX wrote in a post on Twitter.
Watch the moment thieves in the Netherlands used explosives to blow open a museum door and steal four priceless gold artefacts on loan from the National History Museum in Bucharest.

Among the ancient stolen items from Drents Museum in Assen were a rare gold Cotofenesti helmet and three Dacian royal bracelets.

The heist unfolded around 3:45 am on Saturday 25 January, when police were alerted to an explosion. Investigations are still underway, though no arrests have been made so far.
Half of Gen Z  those aged between 13 and 27  want Britain to be ruled by a dictator. This is just one of the deeply worrying conclusions from a study that has revealed that our young people have startlingly different attitudes to what most people assumed they had.

The findings come from the polling company Craft, and will be published at a Royal Television Society event on Thursday. They found that a third thought Britain would be better if the army was in charge, while almost half agreed that the entire way our society is organised must be radically changed through revolution.

Before we panic and reach for the gin and tonic, it should be pointed out that apparently one-third of 45- to 65-year-olds think the same. I say apparently because I think, as with all surveys, we should treat the findings with respect, but also a degree of caution. And by the way, the survey shows Gen Z are abandoning booze in their droves, unimpressed by observing their alcohol-drinking elders.

Most worrying in the survey to me as a lifetime schoolteacher of history and politics, and a headmaster for over 20 years, is the finding that the UK would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections.

I toiled for 40 years to bring politics and current affairs into the classroom and, as a head, to bring in politicians and activists from across the spectrum to stimulate my students. I never minded what political views they had, as long as it wasnt extreme, but cared deeply that they formed views on the biggest issues of the day.

Does this huge switch-off from democracy matter? You bet it does  and heres why.

Democratic regimes are in retreat the world over, making way for autocratic leaders. Democracy is fragile always, and unless its values are promulgated and experienced, it will wilt.

Autocracy may be fine as long as it is working for you: but all should know its dark underbelly, repression of free speech, arbitrary imprisonment, trampling of minorities. Throughout history, countless millions have died in the name of democracy: barely any have died wanting to supplant democracy with dictatorship.

The reason for Gen Zs views has been eloquently explained by Eliza Filby, author of the bestseller Generation Shift. She told me that Gen Z hasnt been brought up in the turmoils of the 20th century and the resulting democratic consensus ingrained in any generation born in the second half of the 20th century. Not for them the long shadow of Hitler and the Second World War, nor even of Soviet Russia and the Cold War. The evils of dictatorship have not been evident on their watch.

More than that: Theyve grown up with hyper-individualism, instant interactions, instant communication, instant results, frictionless debt and algorithmic transaction, and a public sphere which gives amplification to extremism and the individual. Why would they believe in the slowness of consensual democracy?

Theyve also seen wages stall  and opportunities for the young become increasingly challenging.

Filby concludes: Is it any wonder they are questioning the effectiveness of democracy?

I would add this generation came to political awareness post-global financial crisis of 2007-08. Since then, economic growth has stalled, and prime minister after prime minister has been unable to offer realistic hope and improvement to the public realm. To disappointing performances, add the erosion of trust in politicians and in their ability to deliver on their promises. The one prime minister to be able to communicate effectively with the population at large since Tony Blair (who none of Gen Z remember in power) was Boris Johnson, who did more than any single politician to damage trust and to breed cynicism.

Add further into the mix the decline of the one public information source that for 100 years tried to offer balanced, objective and verifiable information  the BBC  and the reluctance of schools to find time for citizenship and political education in a curriculum heavy with exam pressure, and the survey result is not surprising.

Finding our way back will not be easy. But graft is unavoidable if democracy is to flourish.

Let me start with a three-point plan: far tougher treatment of politicians who dont tell the truth and who dont deliver on their promises; a properly funded and properly impartial BBC as a counter to online disinformation and downright lies, which can never be fully controlled; and the teaching of citizenship and democracy to all our school pupils, with due reverence for the culture and history of Britain, which has given so much that is good, including parliamentary democracy, to the rest of the world.

Anthony Seldon is founding director of Wellington College Education
Today, I am going to be at Auschwitz-Birkenau, 80 years after its gates were opened and the world learnt what was happening to us, the Jews of Europe.

I will stand at that place where a million people were murdered. People like me, like my family.

I will be standing with other survivors  many of whom were imprisoned in that ghastly place.

It is a day of mixed emotions. When I was liberated from Bergen-Belsen  a few months after Auschwitz was liberated  I could never have imagined a day like today. During the Holocaust, we barely dared to dream that we would survive another day, let alone imagine that one day we would live in freedom.

Although I was not imprisoned in Auschwitz, it is the place that most people think of when they think of the Holocaust. And being in the camp today, standing by the barbed-wire fences underneath the watchtowers, reminds me of what happened to my family.

Some days I still find it hard to believe that all of it happened to us.

My family and I were taken to the first ghetto the Nazis created, in my hometown of Piotrkow Trybunalski in central Poland. My family knew how dangerous it was in the ghetto, and I was sent into hiding on the outside of the ghetto walls. I was with my little cousin Idzia. Eventually, I was sent back to the ghetto  but Idzia never returned. She was never seen again.

The ghetto was awful. We never had enough food and it was cramped and dirty.

In 1942 my mother and my little sister Lucia were taken from the ghetto to the Rakow Forest, along with many others from my hometown, and they were shot.

I will reflect on all of those in whose name I share my testimony week in and week out ( Handout/Holocaust Educational Trust )

It was just me, my father, and my brother Ben left. In November 1944 the ghetto was liquidated, and my father and Ben were sent to Buchenwald. I was sent with my younger cousin Ann to Ravensbruck concentration camp. I was only 14 years old myself and the only person to look after Ann.

Ten weeks later, we were transported by cattle trucks to Bergen-Belsen. A place impossible to describe. I have never and will never find the right words to convey this place, full of death and disease.

When the British army liberated us in April 1945, I was so weak with typhus that I barely even knew that I was free.

Eighty years later, marking Holocaust Memorial Day at Auschwitz and standing shoulder to shoulder with survivors of Nazi camps and ghettos from across Europe during those unimaginable years is something that I could never have imagined.

On this milestone anniversary, the world will remember the million Jewish people murdered at Auschwitz, the six million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust. I will reflect on all of those in whose name I share my testimony week in and week out.

But as always on days like today, I remember my sister Lucia, my mother Sara, and my father Moishe. I remember them as they lived, and I remember what happened to them.

I think of my brother Ben. He was the strongest person I knew  emotionally and physically. After the war, he went on to be a champion weightlifter, representing the UK in the Olympics. He was so many things to so many people  an athlete, a leader, a survivor. But to me, he was just my big brother. Ben passed away in 2023 and he is missed more than ever on days like today.

I am proud to be at the International Commemoration, representing British Holocaust survivors. I am proud to represent the survivors who are not physically able to be here. I am proud to represent the survivors, like my beloved brother Ben, who are no longer with us. And I am honoured to represent my mother, my father, my sister, and the six million Jewish people whose voices were silenced but whose memory lives on in moments like todays.

Mala Tribich works with the Holocaust Educational Trust to share her testimony
Bank shares are valued at around 670m

Newly re-installed Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has announced his intention to sell a further 5pc stake in AIB, a move that will cut the taxpayers share of the bank to 12.5pc.

The government has been gradually reducing its ownership in the bank in recent years, helping claw back some of the billions pumped in to rescue the lender more than a decade ago.

Government was forced to nationalise AIB in 2011 at a cost of 21bn due to huge losses resulting from bad loans during the Celtic Tiger.

The latest sale is the first for the new coalition but the Governments stake in the bank has dropped from around 71pc at the start of 2022 to 17.5pc, although the cash raised is still short of the money that went in to the bank.

Budget 2025 earmarked 3bn or so raised from selling down AIB shares last year for use to build out infrastructure including water and to support housing. Cash recouped from a further sale this year is likely to be made available for similar schemes.

The Department of Finance announced after markets closed today that the ministers intention is to sell more of the Irish States shareholding by way of a placing to institutional investors, meaning the deal will be done in a single move.

Depending on the market, taxpayers could potentially sell the remaining shares in the bank over the course of this year.

The price will be determined by a sales technique known as an accelerated book-building process. The books opened with immediate effect following this announcement.

The placing is expected to comprise approximately 116 million AIB shares, or 5pc of the issued ordinary capital of the bank.

As is typical with these disposals, the minister has also undertaken not to sell further shares for 90 days following the completion of the placing.

Rothschild is financial adviser to the department on the sale with William Fry and Allen Overy Shearman Sterling acting as legal counsel.

Further gradual disposals through an ongoing AIB share trading plan has also been extended for a further six-month term. Proceeds from the latest phase of this plan amount to approximately 628.2m and approximately 2.1bn has been raised from the AIB trading plan since January 2022.
Fis Eireann/Screen Ireland announced its slate of 2025 productions during the week, amid a series of great achievements for the Irish screen industry  six Bafta nominations for Irish language film Kneecap and two Academy Award nominations for Irish co-production The Apprentice.

Since 2021, Irish screen talent have earned over 790 international award nominations and 300 wins. And the good news is, the green wave shows no sign of abating. Irish actors and screen industry professionals continue to break records at an international level  commercially and critically. Our reputation as a global hub of screen talent and activity is secured, and I believe its something that brings great pride to Irish people.

But whats less understood, is how significant and valuable the cultural and economic impact of the Irish creative screen industry is. Fis Eireann/Screen Ireland has just launched a new Independent economic and skills analysis of the audiovisual sector in the Republic of Ireland. Alma Economics conducted the research on our behalf, looking at the years 2021-2023.

Our sector now creates over 15,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs annually. The gross valued added (GVA) of the audiovisual industry in Ireland is over 1bn. The sector generates 890m in labour compensation, with 594.8m in direct labour compensation, demonstrating its contribution to local wages and economic activity.

The screen industry has been going from strength to strength

It has never been stronger, and that is despite unprecedented challenges in the last number of years, including the writers strike of 2023 and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The screen industry has been going from strength to strength and continues to do so. Ive been a screen composer myself for over two decades and I have witnessed the utter transformation the industry has gone through in that time.

Continued support from successive governments has been critical. Ours is a truly global industry, and in a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive marketplace, public funding for Irish film and television is now more essential than ever. The ongoing recognition of this by successive governments in respect of Section 481 and wider support for the industry ensures that we continue to attract and generate a substantial level of production activity in the country, both by indigenous companies and those coming here from overseas.

The live action sector emerged as the largest contributor in the new research  generating 405.5m in total labour compensation and supporting 7,373 FTEs. With 65pc of live action production spend eligible for Section 481, the return on investment for the recently enhanced tax incentive scheme is clear.

The live action sector emerged as the largest contributor in the new research

Fis Eireann/Screen Ireland has a broad remit, working with industry professionals across film, TV drama, animation, documentaries, VFX, post-production and digital games industry. While the new research confirms Irelands audiovisual sector has a well-qualified, rapidly growing workforce  and effective training initiatives  it points to the need for continued targeted training initiatives to address identified skills gaps, to keep pace with emerging technologies and standards, and to foster a culture of continued professional growth  with a view to remaining competitive, sustainable and inclusive.

The research also shows that skills in digital production  including animation, visual effects (VFX) and digital games  are growing at a rapid rate. We know that demand across these areas continue to grow  and indeed across the audiovisual sector. And thats why investing in talent development for Irish storymakers and artists is one of the key priorities in our new Strategic Plan Fis Athnuaithe  a Renewed Vision.

Generating a greater distribution of the benefits of the industry across the country, outside of the established regional hubs of Dublin and Wicklow, is also something we are strongly committed to. Screen Ireland now has six academies and hubs in our National Talent Academy  in the east, west and south of the country  and this is just one way in which we are proactively seeking to grow the industry nationwide.

Development regionally is particularly important when considering the indirect benefits from the industry  just one of which is attracting international tourism.

Anyone living in Sligo or on Achill Island will have had first-hand experience of the impact screen tourism has following hits like Normal People and The Banshees of Inisherin. Tourism Irelands sentiment tracking research from 2024 showed that films, television and travel shows were a source of travel inspiration for 26pc of respondents. Film and television were on par with other sources like travel websites and booking platforms, and higher than social media and travel blogs.

This time last year, Kneecap was part of Screen Irelands production slate of films, and we have watched in awe at the remarkable journey the film has taken. Together with An Cailin Ciuin, which was the first Irish language film to receive an Academy Award nomination in 2023, they are representative of a new era in Irish language film. Screen Ireland will be ringfencing funding for Irish language storytelling across all genres and formats to ensure that this area of the industry is appropriately supported and nurtured. Irish film, TV, animation and documentary has been making its voice known around the world. Were looking forward to seeing whats next.

Ray Harman is chair of Fis Eireann/Screen Ireland and an award-winning songwriter and composer for film, TV, animation and theatre
Ryanair reported a surge in profits for its third quarter, which ended on December 31st, but cut its passenger growth target for a second time in three months blaming delays in delivery of new Boeing jets.

The Irish airline reported a third quarter profit after tax of 149m, compared to the 15m a year earlier. Traffic was up 9pc, to 45m passengers and fares were higher due to strong demand over the Christmas/New Year bookings in particular.

While the fares were only marginally higher theyd been expected to fall.

The results were also helped by comparison with a a period when the business had been hit by a dispute with online travel agents.

However, cumulative nine month profits of 1.94bn were down 12pc on the same period a year earlier, as a result of lower fares.

Ryanair has now cut its passenger growth target for a second time in three months, blaming delays in deliveries from Boeing after a strike by workers there last year compounded a now long running crisis at the plane makers.

Traffic growth in Ryanairs 2026 fiscal year, which starts in April, will reach 206 million passengers, the airline said. Thats down from a target of 210 million previously guided in November and from 215 million before that.

Ryanair chief financial officer Neil Sorohan said the revised numbers are down to expected delays in delivery of new planes.

Ryanair only flies Boeing's 737 model and is the US manufacturer's biggest European customer including a massive 210 orderbook for the B737-8200 Gamechangers. Ryanair has 172 of those now in its fleet but the remaining planes are subject to ongoing delays.

Sorohan said Ryanair would need nine more jets before the busy summer to hit its original target and that wont now happen, but insisted he has a high level of confidence the aircraft maker is starting to catch up.

"Michael and I have been in Seattle (at Boeing) three times in the last 12 months and and have seen a notable improvements, he said.

He expects Ryanair to have all of the outstanding 29 aircraft in the order by the summer of next year and to then be in a position to hit its 215 million passenger target, albeit a year later than planned.

Full-year traffic will reach almost 200 million, Ryanair said, provided there are no additional jet delays. The company said it's "hopeful" a remaining 29 Boeing jets on order will arrive before March 2026.

Ryanair only flies Boeing's 737 model and is the US manufacturer's biggest European customer including a massive 210 orderbook for the B737-8200 Gamechangers. Ryanair has 172 of those now in its fleet but the remaining planes are subject to ongoing delays.

Ryanair expects full year profit after tax for the financial year ending in March will fall to a range of 1.55bn to 1.61bn, down from 1.92bn last year.

Summer of this year falls into Ryanairs 2026 financial year. Early bookings indicate strong demand for Easter and summer, Sorohan said, with no evidence that recent hot summers are changing consumers preferences or holiday plans.

He warned that in Dublin, a temporary reprieve on the controversial passenger cap, linked to a Ryanair legal challenge, is only in place until the end of the summer.

We have no clarity beyond this summer. Hopefully they wont let it get that far but tackling this arbitrary passenger cap at Dublin Airport needs to be a priority for the new Government, he said.
Ryanair should be Irelands calling card in trade talks with Trump, says Michael OLeary

Ryanair has bought hundreds of aircraft from US planemaker Boeing and has billions of dollars of orders with the company

Ryanair group chief executive Michael O'Leary. Photo: Steve Humphreys

John Mulligan Mon 27 Jan 2025 at 13:26

Ryanair should be a calling card for the Irish government in trade negotiations with US president Donald Trumps new administration, according to group chief executive Michael OLeary.
A Melania Trump memecoin has no inherent value and can not be traded or sold. Illustration: Getty

Donald Trump is leading the most pro-crypto government the US has had  but how will this brave new world of lighter regulation play out in Ireland, where the head of the Central Bank previously described crypto as a ponzi scheme?
A young boy who died in a drowning incident at a swimming pool in a hotel in Offaly three years ago had removed his armbands shortly after getting into the water, an inquest has heard.

A verdict of death by misadventure was returned into how Oliver Forde, sustained fatal injuries after getting into difficulty in the pool at the Tullamore Court Hotel in Tullamore, Co Offaly on May 29, 2022.

Oliver (6), a pupil at Harolds Cross National School from Innismore, Crumlin, Dublin died on May 31, 2022 at Childrens Health Ireland at Crumlin where he had been transferred two days earlier from the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore.

At a hearing in Dublin District Coroners Court on Monday, the deceaseds mother, Nina Mahon, wept at evidence that her son had provided life to four other patients as a result of the decision to donate his heart, liver and kidneys.

The inquest was also told that no hotel staff or anyone in the pool had seen the boy get into difficulty.

In a written statement, Olivers father, Denis Forde, described how he had seen his son take off his armbands in the pool when he and his three children had gone swimming in the hotel after returning from a day out.

Oliver Forde (6).

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 27th

Mr Forde, who did not attend the inquest, said he walked around the pool and into the changing areas after he had looked around at one stage and could not see his son.

I only took my eyes off Oliver for a second, he recalled.

When he returned to the pool area, Mr Forde said he immediately jumped into the water when he saw his son at the bottom of the pool.

He recalled that his older son, Jack , who was eight at the time, thought his younger brother was only joking.

The boy also told his father that he believed Oliver was trying to copy him by taking off his armbands.

Mr Forde said he regularly took his sons away for weekends after he had separated from their mother in June 2020 and they had stayed at the Tullamore Court Hotel on a number of occasions.

He recalled that they visited the hotels swimming pool after breakfast on May 29, 2022, before going into Athlone for the day.

Mr Forde said his sons wanted to go swimming again after they returned to the hotel that evening.

He recalled that both Oliver and his younger son, Lucas, who was aged three at the time, were both wearing armbands when they got into the pool, which had a standard depth of 1.3 metres with no shallow or deep end.

A lifeguard on duty at the time, Adrian Carroll, gave evidence that he was near the reception area of the hotels leisure centre when he became aware of the incident about 6.40pm.

Mr Carroll said he helped Mr Forde get the boy out of the pool and began to provide CPR to the victim before paramedics arrived on the scene.

He told the coroner, Clare Keane, that it was the hotels policy that two people, including one lifeguard, were on duty at all times at the leisure centre.

Mr Carroll explained that, during non-busy periods, the person in reception took over responsibility for monitoring the pool if he was performing another task away from the pool area or on a break.

The inquest heard that a person in the reception area had a view of the entire swimming pool through a glass window.

Another employee who was working on reception at the leisure centre, Mandy Kelly, said she had seen Mr Fordes children jumping into the pool, which she felt was dangerous.

However, Ms Kelly said she had spoken to Mr Forde and he had got his sons to stop.

The witness said she was in the reception area and conducting a test on the pool water when she noticed Mr Forde looking for something and asked Mr Carroll to check what was going on.

She then heard a shout and dialled 999 after realising what was happening.

In reply to questions from Dr Keane, Ms Kelly confirmed she was not a qualified lifeguard at the time.

She acknowledged she had responsibility for monitoring the pool at the time of the incident when Mr Carroll was away from the pool area.

Ms Kelly said it was acceptable for staff members to be doing two things at the same time.

She recalled seeing two boys, including one with armbands, standing at the far end of the pool and assumed their father was in the water.

Ms Kelly said she had also seen Oliver swimming up and down from one end to the other, before she went back to reception.

Cross-examined by David ODowd, a solicitor for Ms Mahon, Ms Kelly accepted she would not be observing the pool area if she was checking someone in at reception.

A consultant in emergency medicine, Sean ORourke, who was alerted to the incident said he found the boy in cardiac arrest at the side of the pool.

Dr ORourke said there was no evidence of any heart activity and the boys heartbeat was restored only at 7.25pm while he was in hospital in Tullamore.

The hotels general manager, Philip OBrien, gave evidence that the hotel had a policy that a minimum of one lifeguard was on duty at all times that the pool was open.

Mr OBrien told the inquest that several changes had been made following Olivers tragic death including more stringent rules relating to children accompanied by adults.

He explained that previously a maximum of two children under eight were allowed with each adult but the current rule was a maximum of two children of any age.

Cross-examined by Mr ODowd, the hotel manager said it had no specific policy about a staff member monitoring the pool also performing other tasks at the same time while a lifeguard was away from the pool area.

An inspector with the Health and Safety Authority, Aidan Kelly, said the DPP had directed that no criminal prosecution should arise out of the case.

Mr Kelly said the HSA had conducted an inquiry because legislation also placed a duty on employers to persons other than their employees as well as a duty to carry out risk assessments.

Counsel for the hotel, Ronan Kennedy SC, who had offered condolences to Olivers family at the start of the inquest, pointed out that there is no legislation requiring the operators of swimming pools to have a lifeguard on duty.

The inquest heard most operated guidelines issued jointly by Water Safety Ireland, Swim Ireland and Ireland Active.

The results of a postmortem showed that Oliver died from injuries caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain that were consistent with prolonged immersion in water.

Ms Mahon, who has previously expressed dismay about delays in finding out how her son had died, told the hearing that she had never known before the inquest what had happened to Oliver or received an apology..

Fighting back tears, she remarked: I will never ever get over the loss of my son but will have to try for my other boys. This day has really helped.

Recording a verdict of death by misadventure, the coroner noted that there was a risk factor in the deceased not wearing armbands.

Dr Keane said the case highlighted how such tragedies could occur in the blink of an eye in water.
Violent and callous crime  man gets life in prison for murder of 'Monk's' nephew Gareth Hutch in Dublin ambush

Standing here in front of you today with my life torn apart, our world changed forever  victim impact statement from Gareth Hutchs mother, Vera

GUILTY: Thomas McConnell was part of the hit team that killed Gareth Hutch

Alison ORiordan Mon 27 Jan 2025 at 13:27







The mother of Gareth Hutch has told the Special Criminal Court that her son's murder in an ambush outside his home over eight years ago was "a violent and callous crime with no value or thought given for a life".
Deputy First Minister criticises President Higgins over Gaza comments at Holocaust event

Northern Irelands deputy First Minister has criticised president Michael D Higgins for raising the ongoing conflict in Gaza during his speech to an annual Holocaust memorial event in Dublin.

Emma Little-Pengelly said President Higgins was absolutely wrong to raise the issues, accusing him of politicising the event.

Protesters were removed from the memorial event during an address by Mr Higgins on Sunday.
The men are believed to be in their 20s and 30s

They were discovered this morning and are believed to have been in the container for up to four days. It is understood the container was transported on a ferry from Cherbourg in France.

Emergency services were alerted to the discovery at the Wexford port this morning and paramedics initially treated the men at the scene. They are believed to be in their 20s and 30s and have told gardai they are originally from Somalia.

Eight have been deemed to be in good health, while one man is receiving further medical assessment at a hospital in the south-east of the country for non-life threatening injuries.

Initial indications are that the men gained access to the container in France on Thursday and spent four days inside prior to being discovered.

Rosslare Europort in Co Wexford Photo: Niall Carson/PA

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 27th

Gardai are carrying out inquiries into the incident.

A garda spokesperson said: An Garda Siochana at Wexford Garda Station have commenced an investigation following the discovery of nine people in a shipping container at Rosslare Europort at approximately 10:30am this morning Monday, 27th January 2025.

Gardai were alerted to the presence of a number of people inside a shipping container at Rosslare Europort. Gardai and emergency services located the nine males and they have been assessed by medical personnel.

Gardai attached to Wexford Garda Station, supported by the Garda National Immigration Bureau, are investigating all of the circumstances of this incident. Anyone with any information in relation to this discovery is asked to contact Wexford Garda Station 053-9165200, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

Last October, two men were found hiding in a van that had arrived at Rosslare Europort. They were in good health and provided with state supports, while two other men were arrested as part of the people smuggling operation.

The previous March, seven males were discovered inside a trailer at the same port.
One of the victims was transferred to a Dublin hospital for specialist burns treatment

Locals have told of their shock after a suspected gas explosion at a takeaway restaurant in Co Mayo last night left two people injured.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the blast at Imperial Blue Indian on Lower Charles Street in Castlebar about 7.30pm yesterday. It is a Presbyterian Church building built 160 years ago that still maintains its cut-stone facade.

Follow Independent Mayo on Facebook

Gardai responded to report of a fire at a business premises in Castlebar, Co Mayo yesterday at approximately 8.30pm, a garda spokesperson said.

Local fire services extinguished the fire. Two men were taken to hospital for treatment.

No customers were in the popular restaurant at the time and those injured were working there, according to local media reports.

Surrounding properties do not appear to have been affected by the explosion.

Gardai have sealed off the area for a technical examination and investigations are ongoing.

One man who suffered burns in the explosion is understood to have been seriously injured.

A neighbouring shopkeeper has described how one of the two workers was heavily bandaged by the emergency services before being taken to hospital.

It is understood he has since been transferred to a Dublin hospital for specialist burns care.

The second man was less seriously injured and treated at the scene.

Our shop was closed and we had just sat down when we heard loud bangs, and the furniture shook. We didnt know what it was, said the shopkeeper, who did not wish to be named.

We ran out the back and we could see the damage. Theres a lot of structural damage done to the premises next door operating as an Indian takeaway. The roof was lifted off it and dropped back down, theres cracks in the walls, and the front and back doors blew out.

There are ESB workers on the other side of the road working 24/7 in the office trying to coordinate reconnecting everyone to the grid after the storm on Friday, and the office staff ran out to help him.

God love the poor lads. One man had a lot of burns. His hands, head, face, and the back of his neck.

There were no customers in the takeaway at the time of the explosion.

Were waiting for engineers to come and assess the building but theres no damage to the shop, added the shopkeeper.

We live upstairs over our premises, and our back door is only about six feet away from the takeaway. We were sitting in the room right beside it. The furniture shook after the loud bang. There were small bangs first and then a massive bang. Id say it was the roof lifting and dropping back down again.

We didnt know what had happened. The first thing that went through my head was had the storm loosened something we didnt know about. When you get a shock like that, you dont know what to think.
About 100,000, mostly rural, customers could be without power for another week, but the ESB said the vast majority of households are expected to have electricity restored by Friday

Caheragh, West Cork during Storm Herminia yesterday. Trees were down and fields flooded as Met Eireann issued yellow weather warnings for wind and rain. Picture: Andy Gibson

Some schools in the areas worst hit by Storm Eowyn may have to resort to remote learning because of disruption to power and water supplies as well as structural damage to buildings.

Principals were assessing schools yesterday with support from the Department of Education to determine if classwork can resume today in locations where thousands of homes are still without power and water.

Around a dozen schools in the north-west and border counties suffered varying degrees of storm damage last Friday, the majority in rural areas.

It comes as the multi-million-euro clean-up operation following Storm Eowyn continued yesterday.

ESB Networks has restored power to 588,000 homes, farms and businesses. There are approximately 180,000 customers across the country without power, down from a peak of 768,000 customers.

Support from Great Britain has been deployed to worst impacted areas, and further support is set to arrive from electricity network operators in Austria, Finland, Netherlands and France.

Uisce Eireann have said that 84,000 are still without water, 100,000 more are at risk of losing it, and 265,000 are currently being supplied by generators.

ESB said the vast bulk of customers will have power restored by this Friday, but some 100,000 households face another week without electricity.

Telecommunications and water supplies have also been significantly affected. In most cases, this is due to knock-on effects of power outages.

The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) said yesterday that Emergency Response Hubs would be set up in the worst-affected areas to help people with basic needs such as water, hot food, phone-charging, broadband access, shower and clothes-washing facilities.

Schools closed on Friday due to Storm Eowyn should open on Monday as long as it is safe to do so and power has been restored

More than 100,000 rural homes and farms may be without power until early February as the repair campaign by ESB crews was hampered by miserable working conditions caused by Storm Herminia.

All schools were shut last Friday as the whole country came under a Status Red warning.

Dun Laoghaire pier, Co Dublin, during Storm Herminia. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

Damage caused by Storm Eowyn in County Galway

The Department of Education stressed that schools can reopen once power has been restored and full safety assessments have been completed.

Decisions as to school openings or temporary closures rest with boards of management given local conditions.

Schools closed on Friday due to Storm Eowyn should open on Monday as long as it is safe to do so and power has been restored, a spokesperson told the Irish Independent.

Caheragh, West Cork during Storm Herminia yesterday. Trees were down and fields flooded as Met Eireann issued yellow weather warnings for wind and rain. Picture: Andy Gibson

Schools should carry out safety checks on buildings and facilities, check for fallen wires and any other damage near the school before reopening.

If a school has any issues caused by the storm, the board of management can make the decision to remain closed until it is safe to reopen.

No figure is available, as yet, for the number of schools that may postpone reopening or revert to remote learning pending emergency repairs.

The department said all schools should carefully liaise with ESB Networks and local councils in respect of storm damage.

In carrying out any safety checks of buildings and facilities, school authorities should take into account the current and expected weather conditions, any damage that might have been caused to school buildings due to the storm, the restoration of power and the safety of the school community.

Dun Laoghaire pier, Co Dublin, during Storm Herminia. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 27th

School authorities should contact their insurance provider for advice and guidance in relation to any damage to school buildings due to the storm.

More than 100 schools in Northern Ireland suffered damage ranging from loss of power and water supplies to structural issues due to storm debris.

Mercy College at Chapel Hill in Sligo was one of the worst-hit schools nationwide, with extensive damage done to its roof and several classrooms by the raging winds.

By Friday the vast majority of those impacted by Storm Eowyn will have had supply restored

Classes will now have to be moved to other parts of the school and grounds pending repair work.

Mercy College hopes to reopen today and use parts of its gym as temporary classrooms to replace the three rooms damaged by Storm Eowyn.

The worst damage was inflicted to the newest wing of the 78-year-old school.

Teachers worked at the school throughout the weekend to salvage class work.

Electrical engineers from the UK have arrived in Ireland to assist with repairs to the unprecedented damage caused to the electricity grid.

Further repair crews from European countries may be deployed this week in a desperate bid to fast track repairs.

ESB repair crews endured gusting winds, freezing temperatures and torrential rainfall to restore Irelands power network. 

Storm Eowyn felled over 1,000 trees last Friday.

In some areas, several kilometres of power lines were left destroyed as winds reached a peak of 183kmh off Galway  the highest recorded gusts in history.

ESB Networks said they hope to have electricity supplies restored to 670,000 homes by this Friday as crews worked through atrocious weather conditions.

ESB crews managed to reconnect 366,000 homes within 48 hours of Storm Eowyn.

A tree is uprooted in Leeson Park, Dublin during Storm Herminia yesterday

As of 8.30pm (yesterday), ESB Networks has restored supply to 522,000 homes, farms and businesses  246,000 customers remain without supply, a spokesperson confirmed.

By Friday the vast majority of those impacted by Storm Eowyn will have had supply restored.

After this, we expect that the remaining, approximately 100,000, customers will progressively have their supply restored over the course of the following week.

The overwhelming majority of those likely to be without power supplies until early February are located in rural areas in Galway, Mayo, Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Cork, Cavan, Roscommon, Offaly and Donegal.

The final areas expected to be reconnected are those located in isolated areas where network damage is most difficult for repair crews to access.

Storm Eowyns impact is underlined by the fact that twice as many customers lost power supplies than during Storm Ophelia in 2017.

Uisce Eireann said its crews were working non-stop across the country to restore water supplies.

Results also indicate that the paths of extreme storms will extend further south, bringing an increase in extreme storm activity over Ireland

Of Irelands 698 water-supply schemes, 657 were in service last night while 41 had no water available in all or part of the scheme.

Areas with water supply issues were being supported by water tankers and alternative sources.

Lough Mask Water Treatment Plant was successfully repaired overnight returning water to 48,000 Mayo customers.

The record gust of 183kmh at Mace Head in Galway exceeded the previous most powerful gust detected in 1945.

Charities and rural rights groups have urged people to check on the elderly and vulnerable given some areas may be without power supplies for up to 10 days.

Met Eireann issued a Status Yellow wind alert over Storm Herminia which was classified as a storm for the Bay of Biscay, but only inflicted blustery winds and heavy rainfall on Ireland.

The Status Yellow wind alert for Cork and Kerry expires at 9am this morning  with Met Eireann indicating that Ireland will see calmer weather this week, albeit with ongoing spells of heavy rain.

It came as the agency said the profile of Irish storms is altering due to climate change  with the prospect there will be more stingjet events such as Storm Eowyn.

Stingjet events such as Storm Eowyn produce a concentrated area of very intense winds, surging to over 160kmh, with the jet stream effectively amplifying the impact of the storm.

The overall number of north Atlantic cyclones is projected to decrease by approximately 10pc, one Met Eireann study said.

Results also indicate that the paths of extreme storms will extend further south, bringing an increase in extreme storm activity over Ireland, although the number of individual storms is projected to be quite small.
President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina arriving at a Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Mansion House in Dublin. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

The Tanaiste has defended the decision by Michael D Higgins to raise the ongoing conflict in Gaza during his speech to an annual Holocaust memorial event in Dublin.

Protesters were removed from the memorial event during an address by Mr Higgins on Sunday.

A number of people objected to the invitation to Mr Higgins to deliver the keynote address to the National Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration in Dublin.

Survivors of the Holocaust were among the audience who gathered at the Mansion House for the event which included readings, survivors recollections and a recitation of the Scroll of Names featuring relatives and ancestors of Irish residents who died in the Holocaust.

As Mr Higgins spoke about the events that unfolded on October 7 2023, when Hamas attacked in southern Israel leading to the conflict in Gaza, a small number of people stood up and and turned their backs to the stage and were removed by security.

Simon Harris said that while people have a right to protest, the president has been very clear in calling out the horrors of the Holocaust.

I think it was important that the president of Ireland attended the event yesterday. I think its the seventh time he has attended the event, and this is always an event carried out with great solemnity and sensitivity, Mr Harris said on Monday.

I believe yesterdays event was a very moving occasion, obviously for survivors and their families, most particularly, and Minister (Paschal) Donohoe was there on behalf of the government.

I understand there were a small number of people who protested, and of course people have a right to protest, but I think the president was very clear, as is the government, as are the people of Ireland, in calling out the horrors of the Holocaust and making sure we remember that we record that, that we acknowledge that each year, and of course, people have a right to protest.

Asked whether he believed it was appropriate for the president to raise the issues in Gaza during his speech about the Holocaust, Mr Harris said: I think the president was very clear in relation to, obviously specific issues regarding the Holocaust and his absolute condemnation of the horror, the murder of the Jewish people, but also, I think, rightly mentioning the situation in the Middle East as well.

Fine Gael leader Simon Harris (Brian Lawless/PA)

Also calling very much for hostages to be released. I am conscious, though, that this is a very, very sensitive time, and I dont want to say anything to distract from that.

Today is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, today is International Holocaust Memorial Day. I think its really important that we keep the focus on that.

Tom ODowd, chairman of Holocaust Education Ireland, which organised the event, said some Jewish people were critical of this years invite, but others supported Mr Higgins seventh address to the annual commemoration.

The president emphasised the importance of education in his address to prevent another such atrocity from happening.

He also addressed the current conflict in the Middle East.
The rise of true-crime tourism  how themed tours are taking American travel to a macabre new level

A writer and host of a true-crime podcast explores the rise of true-crime tourism in the US, and asks if you can be sensitive to victims while charging money for a tour

Detective-turned-tour-guide Dennis O'Leary at John's of 12th Street in New York. Photo: Bryan Anselm

Anne Roderique-Jones Washington Post Mon 27 Jan 2025 at 03:30

The mafia walking tour starts at Johns of 12th Street, one of Manhattans oldest red-sauce joints. Just outside, our guide informs us, is where Lucky Luciano shot Umberto Valenti.
In his final day as taoiseach, Simon Harris gazed into the soul of the nation one last time and declared the people of Ireland could see the protests in the Dail were just stunt politics on speed, as he blamed Mary Lou McDonald for the chaos.
He says hes the one wholl make America great

Hell drill, baby, drill  put cheap food on your plate

Hell call up the army, theyll go along for the ride

He dodged that bullet cause Gods on his side

Two sexes he says, theres no room between

No diversity is the New American Dream

And all the tech bros cheer him, they swim with the tide

Theyre banking on payback cause Gods on his side

The Paris Accord, he tore it in shreds

Climate change, he says, dont worry your heads

But itll be no consolation when youre crispy fried

That the man with the fryer has God on his side

He says hell bring peace by cutting a deal

And his plans for Panama and Greenland are real

The boss in the boardroom who tells you Youre fired!

Can do what he wants cause Gods on his side

Dont worry about pandemics or viral attacks

Hell make you immune without any vacs

If snake oil dont work, then after youve died

Hes got passes for heaven cause Gods on his side

Now come all you people who know right from wrong

I dont have to tell you in my simple song

Stand up for democracy and shout out HE LIED

When he tried to fool you bout God on his side

Chris Fitzpatrick, Terenure Road East, Dublin 6

Sir  Your editorial last week asked a question: Will this raggle-taggle coalition stay the course? We certainly got a knowing clue on Wednesday in the Dail when all our TDs gathered to elect An Taoiseach.

If arrogance is anything to go by, they will stay the course for the next five years. The Governments stubbornness in seeking to push through an oxymoron of a so-called precedent policy to allow a handful of government TDs to sit cheekily on the opposition benches was mind-blowing.

I wish the new Coalition well in implementing its Programme for Government, but hopefully they will do so in a spirit of respect to the opposition, who also represent the people of Ireland.

Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 18

Speakers need more quality, not quantity

Sir  The first day of the new Dail was pure Ballymagash, Father Ted, DUnbelievables, Scrap Saturday, Killinaskully and Callans Kicks.

Even at its worst in Westminster, when the speaker stood and spoke, that chamber went silent. What we witnessed was a lack of behavioural control on the part of certain deputies, which, if repeated outside the gates of Leinster House, would constitute a disturbance of the peace.

And all over speaking rights. Good God, its not as if the standard of debate in that chamber is anything to write home about.

Most speakers perform to an almost empty chamber and go on far too long. They should be less concerned with the quantity of time and more concerned with the quality of content.

Then again, most backbenchers really only want to get on the Dail record so their constituents know they spoke.

John Leech, Kill, Co Kildare

Rural areas ignored in cabinet formation

Sir  All political parties were talking up the importance of issues that affect people in rural Ireland during the election campaign. Fast-forward to the announcement of the new government ministers and the border region has no senior ministerial positions. Indeed, only one of the ministers is from the Connacht/Ulster region.

Surely the allocation of ministerial posts should be representative of the country both in terms of population and geography. This is, after all, a cornerstone of a democratic society.

Eamonn OHara, Manorcunningham, Co Donegal

Peaceful transition was too much to ask

Sir  I was looking forward to a peaceful transition of power in the Dail. In hindsight, I was not surprised at the extreme level of violence in speech and body language exploding from the opposition.

Imagine what Sinn Fein could do if it had the majority in parliament.

Alan ODwyer, Tullow Road, Co Carlow

Further viewpoints on the Dail debacle

Sir  Theres an old saying in sporting circles: fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

Last Wednesday in Dail Eireann, it was very obvious that quite a number of high-profile people had come into the chamber very ill-prepared. One had to feel sorry for rookie Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy.

Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co Sligo

Sir  The vote for Taoiseach was like an episode with Pat Shortt in Killinaskully. Who was right and who was wrong was immaterial. There was no discretion, dignity or manners.

Terry Healy Riordan, Kill, Co Kildare

Sir  To what extent is the presence of RTE television in the Dail chamber a contributory factor to the unruly behaviour on the part of a certain cohort of TDs in attendance there?

Mick OBrien, Springmount, Kilkenny

Sir  Is the rumour true that Michael Lowry insisted that Micheal Martin and Simon Harris took holidays at the same time and at the same place for the two weeks so he could keep both on a leash? This is known as the tail wagging the dog.

Gerry Dunne, Balbriggan, Co Dublin

Sir  The outrageous behaviour by Sinn Fein was nothing more than thuggery. Shame on RTE not to give full coverage. We dont pay our licence fee to get a distorted version of whats really going on.

Una Heaton, Limerick

Paddy Cole a giant of music and a gent

Sir  One of my favourite places in Dublin is Herbert Park in Ballsbridge. On his daily walk there, the late Paddy Cole (below) would talk to a complete stranger like myself.

I was sitting on a bench on a lovely summers day last year, taking my lunch out of my pocket  a nice salad sandwich in tinfoil, made by my wife.

You must be a Cavan man, eating your lunch out of your pocket, he told me. Rest in peace, Paddy.

Kevin Carolan, Bailieboro, Co Cavan

Sir  On his 80th birthday, I wrote a letter in praise of Paddy Coles wonderful musical talents. He wrote to me, said he had read my letters often and was delighted to see one about this old codger. May this lovely man rest in peace.

Brian McDevitt, Glenties, Co Donegal

Female president is on the cards for GAA

Sir  It is 50 years this week since I was elected the first female GAA county board officer in the country, county registrar (1975-1983) and subsequently leas cathaoirleach (1981-1983). Regretfully, it took another 33 years before I was knocked off my pedestal, so to speak, when Roisin Jordan was elected cathaoirleach of Tyrone GAA in 2014.

Thankfully, it is normal now to see women on every GAA club and county committee in the country. Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, we will see a woman being elected to the position of president of the GAA. And why not?

Mary (Flood) Weld, Club Rathcobhthaigh, Co Chill Dara

Price rise came as a big surprise

Sir  Last week, the Sunday Independent increased in price by 20 cent following a similar rise last year. Perhaps this is necessary, but as far as I could see it was not flagged in advance or mentioned in last weeks edition. As a newspaper, you espouse openness and transparency. Perhaps take a leaf out of your own paper in future.

Bertie Swanton, Caherconlish, Co Limerick

The editor writes: The price increase came into effect for the December 29 edition and was highlighted in my letter to readers on January 5.

McEntee a strange pick for education

Sir  I am really concerned at the appointment of Helen McEntee as Education Minister. Her primary focus as Justice Minister was to create new crimes through hate speech legislation, as if we dont already have enough crime to be dealing with in this country and serious problems with retaining gardai.

As Education Minister, will Ms McEntee be focused on solving the actual problems with our education system, one of which is retaining teachers, or on creating activists out of our children?

E Bolger, Dublin 9

President Higgins was hung out to dry

Sir  I have always admired the Sunday Independent  until last Sunday.

The Israeli propaganda on the front page was a thundering disgrace. The attempt to discredit our President, Michael D Higgins, was shocking.

President Higgins has consistently called out antisemitism throughout his career. Criticising the Israeli government for its policies on Gaza should never equate to antisemitism.

Responsible journalism next time, please.

Patrick OShea, Killurin, Co Wexford

Sir  I am writing to register my disappointment in your paper for not only providing a platform, but the front page, to the Israeli ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich last week.

I would expect the Sunday Independent to exercise better judgment over who it gives a platform to.

James Walsh, Galway

Genocide accusation is wide of the mark

Sir  Naoise Dolan wrote that she was in Berlin when what she describes as the genocide in Palestine began (Opinion, January 19).

The war in Gaza began because Hamas committed the highest number of murders of Jews in one day since the Holocaust. Furthermore, Hamas hides behind the civilian population of Gaza and is, therefore, responsible for the deaths of civilians there in this war.

If the Israeli military operation in Gaza was genocide, then the Allied bombing of Germany in World War II would have been genocide.

Ciaran Masterson, Cavan, Co Cavan

Sir  I am not a habitual reader of Declan Lynchs analysis, but his insistence that Donald Trump will attempt to become just the second president in US history to win a third term in office (Just four more years of Donald Trump? I wouldnt count on it, January 19) caught my eye.

Trump has given nobody any reason to believe he will break with US presidential convention by contesting for more than two terms in office, notwithstanding the precedent set by Democrat Franklin Roosevelt who obtained a third term in 1940 and a fourth in 1944.

On the contrary, and in spite of the insinuations of the vast majority of the Irish commentariat, Trump showed in 2021 that when all legal avenues are expended and it is time for him to go, he goes.

What will not go, much to the chagrin of the Democrats and their many international surrogates, is the MAGA Republican movement, which new vice-president JD Vance is in poll position to lead from 2028, and which will no doubt inspire many half-baked column inches to come.

Killian Foley-Walsh, Kilkenny

Drill, baby, drill! worse than wars

Sir  At my window this morning (Friday) I watched the trees lean at extraordinary angles in the ferocious winds of Storm Eowyn.

On the radio Im hearing of a record number of electrical outages in homes and businesses across the country. Im also listening to reports of a record-breaking wind of 183kmh having been recorded early in the morning on the west coast in Galway. The street outside is derelict of traffic or wayfarers of any designation, ominously reminiscent of the recent Covid lockdown.

This, on a week when the newly inaugurated leader of the western world will Drill, baby, drill! for the liquid gold that will ensure the trees in my eyeline lean to breaking point, bringing destruction to the neighbourhood.

Among other menaces to humanity, he insists on appointing one of his nations most prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists, a frequent spreader of false conspiracy theories about the safety and efficacy of vaccines, to be his next health secretary.

As utterly reprehensible as the human destruction we are witnessing in Gaza and Ukraine may be, what is currently being launched in the US is a war with much greater potential for human annihilation.

Michael Gannon, St Thomas Square, Kilkenny

US tax changes can ruin our prosperity

Sir  Rome burned and Nero fiddled. The Dail was too busy squabbling to notice last week as Americas president-elect effectively killed the OECD-brokered global tax deal.

Corporate tax is a pillar of Irelands economy, bringing in over 29bn last year. Keeping more of that loot home is a long-held goal of the economic nationalists now in charge of Washington DC.

This St Patricks Day, lets at least bring a bigger bowl of shamrock to the White House.

Aidan Harte, Naas, Co Kildare

Sir  For those in doubt about the monetary tsunami heading Irelands way, Donald Trump laid out his objective in his inaugural address. Not only has he pulled America out of the 15pc minimum tax regime, he has ordered the US Treasury to investigate and prepare protective measures.

Andy Hales, Kenmare, Co Kerry

Trump may have to kiss orders goodbye

Sir  It must have been embarrassing for President Trump when he tried but failed to kiss his wife during the inauguration. Perhaps the same failure may prevail when Mr Trump endeavours to implement the various executive orders.

Pat Killalea, Ballinteer Road, Dublin 16

Bishop would bring me back to church

Sir  If I could nominate my Person of the Year, it would be Bishop Mariann Budde, who stood up to Trump from the pulpit. I said to my wife later that night: If they were all like her, I would be going back to church in the morning.

Mike Burke, Sixmilebridge, Co Clare

Dylan the bard of our changin times

Sir  Congratulations Paul Whittington on a truly wonderful article about Bob Dylan in last weeks People & Culture. It summarised Dylan beautifully and accurately. I believe Dylans contribution to world culture is similar to Shakespeares.

Tony Dunne, Glasson, Co Westmeath

Consultation first, flag change second

Sir  Your letter writer Bernard Naughton last week proposed a new Irish flag.

He described the new flag as the existing tricolour with the red hand of Ulster on the white. This was Thomas Francis Meaghers original tricolour, not the plain white that we how have and honour.

Personally, I would approve the original tricolour, but perhaps we had better consult before any alteration, so as to ensure inclusion.

Paddy Murray, Castlepollard, Co Westmeath
Its 20 years since Ray Burke swapped the corridors of power for Arbour Hill prison. So how did the former justice minister end up on the wrong side of the law? We explore one of the biggest political scandals in the history of the state.

Ray Burke a former Fianna Fail Minister leaving the Mahon Tribunal in Dublin Castle after giving evdience. (Photo by Julien Behal - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

Its been 20 years since Ray Burke swapped the corridors of power for Arbour Hill prison after his prosecution and sentencing became one of the biggest political scandals in the history of the state.

In the 90s and 00s the Celtic Tiger was picking up speed, Irish people were embracing a more modern European outlook, and a reckoning was taking place in Irish politics.

As the country lurched from tribunal to tribunal, numerous political careers ended up in tatters, with Fianna Fail's Burke among them.

The well-renowned bruiser had long enjoyed the swagger and status of public life, but that all came to an abrupt end when his role in a series of scandals came to light.

Fionnan Sheahan is joined by Irish Independent political correspondent John Downing to discuss the former justice minister who ended up on the wrong side of the law.
Dr Jim OBrien recalls what life looked like for the relatives who raised him in a big house near Millstreet in 1940s Ireland

1906, Famiy at Willowbrook. Front:- Left to right Aunt Hanna Pomeroy (Nicholas the US civil war veterans wife - they were childless), Nick (later my uncle), Nicholas (US Civil War vet), Mary (my mother), Richard Pomeroy (my grandfather with Scottie on his knee), Jerome (later my Uncle Jer), William (Uncle Bill the second youngest), Julia (my grandmother, nee Hegarty) with Angela (Aunt Van) on her knee. Back row:- Standing left to right Eileen (Aunt Eilish), Margaret (Aunt Margaret) Missing from the photo:- (1) Bernard the eldest, b. 1888. He would have been 18 by then and may have been away at boarding school. (2) Thomas b. 1900, who died I gather when about 20 of tuberculosis. Was he already sick by then and unable to be included? Image: 'Willowbrook: A Flawed Eden'

Location of Willowbrook House: Ordnance Survey Map 48 (1841 and 1903), 2kms south of Millstreet on a minor road heading south from the main road to Macroom. Image: 'Willowbrook: A Flawed Eden'

Standing in strong contrast to the lives led by the majority, what exactly the days of Irelands remaining upper-classes looked like was still a source of intrigue in the years after independence.

With the gentry, regardless of religion, often opting to stick to themselves, only the members of their families could really claim to know what went on in the large properties they occupied throughout the countryside.

Fortunately, for those interested in a first-hand account of the lives of leading families, a book by a man who spent much of his younger years living with landed Catholic relatives in a big house near Millstreet pulls back the curtain on the experiences and attitudes of the elite.

Willowbrook - a flawed Eden: A memoir of growing up in Millstreet was written by Dr Jim OBrien, who was evacuated from London as a three-year-old during the years of World War II and sent with his brothers to live with their relatives the Pomeroys, who lived at a property known as Willowbrook in Cloghboolabeg.

Dr OBrien, who now lives in Nova Scotia, gives a warts and all account of life with his aunts Margaret and Van, described as the most immediate figures in his life in Millstreet, and the wider Pomeroy family.

The book, and the many anecdotes contained within, also offers a vivid portrayal of late-1930s and 1940s rural Ireland.

It describes farming and social activities, what would now be regarded as poor hygiene practices that still seemed to result in little illness, and also serves as a study on relationships between family members, men and women, adults and children, neighbours and people deemed to be of different classes at the time.

London-based Millstreet native Jack Lane, who was involved in publishing the book through Aubane Historical Society in 2013 and wrote its foreword, recently told The Corkman that the authors descriptive writing in the work portrays the positives and negatives of the Pomeroys life.

He said the young Dr OBrien was clearly very observant in his youth, as he was able to transfer so many memories from his time in Cloghboolabeg to the pages of his book, which he wrote years later as a retiree.

As an implant, the author was able to pick up on various aspects of life at Willowbrook and the Millstreet area that locals may have accepted as societal norms.

He had an outsiders view of the place. He was able to see things others probably didnt see or appreciate, Jack said.

He really did enjoy it. At the same time he wasnt blind to the restrictions people faced at the time.

A lot of the locals recognise themselves in it. Its a really true to life story of Ireland in those years. It shows the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The book does something that very few do by airing the inside story of an Irish upper-class family.

First-hand accounts are always really fantastic. Its not somebody writing about the family, but its a member of the family, Jack said.

Its rare enough that you get a good inside story on any family. No one likes washing their dirty linen in public but he doesnt do that in any begrudging way.

He really likes family, appreciates it and wants to let world know about it but he is not blind to its faults.

Their history is part of the history of the area. It is rare that you get an intimate account of their lives and the problems they had to face.

They were detached from the locality. The children werent sent to school and kids from the town were not exactly welcome in the country houses.

These type of families, they were distant to people and its great to see them warts and all. And that they are like the rest of us really, even though they kept themselves a class apart.

The author appears to be especially sympathetic to the challenging position of his unmarried aunts in the strictly monogamous, contraceptive free, deeply puritanical, Catholic Ireland of the time, where they may have longed for companionship.

He is very sympathetic to the terrible position the women were in, Jack said.

Dr OBrien departed Willowbrook in late 1945 and went on to study at prestigious boarding schools in England and later qualified as a doctor from Trinity College Dublin. But he did not forget his time in Millstreet, which was a hugely influential part of his life.

He never lost touch, he kept being drawn back to Millstreet where he was brought up. Those years made him what he was and he appreciated that, Jack said.
A Carrigaline man has won a new Ford Focus car in SVPs Annual Car Draw which has generated 251,181. Photo: Brian Lougheed

A young man from Carrigaline has won a brand-new Ford Focus in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) Annual Car Draw.

The draw, which raised an impressive 251,181, will support individuals and families in need throughout the winter months.

Having taken place on January 15, 2025, at the Cork City Ford showrooms in Forge Hill, the winner, Sean Kennedy Jr from Carrigaline, was announced by Lord Mayor Cllr Dan Boyle.

In addition to the grand prize, six other participants won cash prizes. The prestigious Bishops' Prize of 1,500, which is generously supported by the Bishop of Cork & Ross, the Bishop of Kerry, and the Bishop of Cloyne, was awarded to Ger Conroy from Laois.

The other lucky cash prize winners included Maria McGeever, Marian Creedon, Gemma Robins, Breid McCole, and Alan McCormack.

Speaking at the handover of the car, Mary Frances Behan, South West Regional President, said she is most grateful for the generosity of the Cork and Kerry public for their support of the Annual Car Draw which is now in its 24th year.

The funds [will] help offer a lifeline to struggling families and individuals in the region, she added.
Pictured attending the 70th IFA National AGM in Dublin last week were; Gay Cagney, North Cork IFA County Secretary, IFA President Francie Gorman and Pat OKeeffe, North Cork IFA County Chair

North Cork delegates attended the 70th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) last Wednesday where IFA President Francie Gorman said that 2025 will prove a key year to change farm policy in Ireland and across Europe.

Mr Gorman said that the incoming Government is taking a new approach to farming and food production.

He said the policy programme for the new Government taking over today signals that farming and food production will travel on a different path for the next five years.

It will be our job over the next five years to ensure that the new Government delivers for farmers. We will be engaging with them, he said.

The new Government has to find a better way to work with farmers. Whatever the issue, the approach has to be practical, flexible and grounded in common sense. Too often, unnecessary obstacles are being out in front of farmers, he added.

He called for simpler, more practical farm policies and criticised the unnecessary challenges farmers face. Mr Gorman also highlighted three key issues for the Government, including: Nitrates derogation; the blocking of the Mercosur deal; and the shape of the next common agricultural policy (CAP).

The IFA President said he hoped the engagement with Commissioner Christophe Hansen would kickstart a new relationship that gives recognition to the role of farmers on the ground.

To be frank, the last EU Commission became detached from farmers and in many ways detached from reality. It wasnt prepared to listen to farmers, and it ignored our input.

The CAP has to get back to its roots, back to farming and be properly funded to do so. At national and EU level, separate funding has to be found for climate action. The days of raiding our CAP funding are over, he stated.
The Pyg Group is offering up to a 15pc discount to all key workers in Dublin

A Dublin bar and restaurant is offering discounts to key workers suffering because of the cost of living crisis in the capital.

Following a report last week that Dubliners strongly support the idea of rent subsidies for key workers, the Pyg Group has announced it will offer up to a 15pc discount to all key workers at its Pygmalion and Little Pyg restaurants in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre.

To avail of the discount key workers simply must produce a valid work related ID card upon request of their bill.

Paul McGlade, owner of the Pyg Group, said: Its not fair that a garda, teacher or nurse living in Dublin earns the same as their counterpart in rural Ireland when living costs are so far apart.

This should be highlighted to the government as much as possible in my opinion, and we hope fellow businesses follow suit.

There are growing concerns about the impact of Dublins housing crisis on essential workers such as gardai, teachers, nurses, medical professionals and the fire service.

According to a nationwide survey of 1,209 participants, conducted by Red C, 79pc of those living in Dublin agreed that key workers in the city should receive rent subsidies.

A further 89pc of Dubliners believe high rental costs are the biggest obstacle to attracting and retaining key workers in the city.

The news comes as Minister for Education Norma Foley confirmed teachers would be among those prioritised for cost-rental accommodation.

Schools across the capital have consistently cited the high cost of rental accommodation as a major barrier to attracting young teachers.

Dublin-based businessman Paschal Taggart, who commissioned the survey, believes that housing affordability for key workers in Dublin should be a government priority.

The governments commitment to earmark cost-rental accommodation for key workers, starting with teachers, is a welcome sign, Mr Taggart said.

However, this is just the first step. Dublins high rents are placing an unsustainable burden on our citys key workers, threatening not only their ability to live and work in the capital, but also the stability of essential services.
Ecofil will install 18 bottle-filling stations for Fingal County Council in the coming weeks

The number of outdoor water bottle filling stations across Dublin is set to increase, thanks to a new four-year deal.

Ecofil, which specialises in designing and manufacturing cutting-edge water solutions, has signed the deal with the four local authorities in Dublin.

Since its launch last year, Ecofil machines have been installed by 18 local authorities in Ireland and several installations have been completed in Northern Ireland.

The smart machine can track the volume of water dispensed and the number of plastic bottles saved from landfill as a result of using the sustainable water dispenser.

Starting off, around 18 installations are set to be completed by Fingal County Council in the coming weeks.

This initiative supports the council's mission to cut down on plastic waste and champion sustainable living, a statement from Ecofil said.

Residents and visitors can enjoy free, clean drinking water at these stations, making it easier than ever to refill reusable bottles and ditch single-use plastics.

The refill stations will be placed in parks, town centres, and other high-traffic areas enhancing public spaces while promoting environmental awareness. Lets work together for a cleaner, greener future.

Ecofil machines installed at Dublin City University

Mr Peter Wynne, Managing Director of Ecofil, said: Securing this framework agreement is a vote of confidence for the Iconic-V machine.

The Ecofil team is excited about the increasing contribution it is making to the cause of sustainability and environmental protection.

Dublin City Council  and the county councils of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, Fingal, and South Dublin  are each making a further positive step in their own very progressive sustainable programmes.

As previous winners of the National Green Awards, we are delighted that Ecofil, and the Iconic-V, have been once again shortlisted as finalists in three categories for the 2025 National awards.

We hope the positive role we play in protecting our environment will be recognised at this years awards ceremony to be held next month, although to have been shortlisted is in itself a major achievement for our company.

Ecofil plays a key role in reducing plastic waste and supporting communities in their environmental efforts. The group is headquartered in Fingal with 32 employees.
Residents in Shankill will lose a direct bus link to the Luas in Cherrywood. Pic: Stock image

The removal of the 84 and 84A buses, which provide vital links to the business park and Luas in Cherrywood, has been described as nonsensical.

Residents of Shankill and Bray will no longer have a viable bus connection to Cherrywood Business Park and the Luas after the NTA decided to proceed with the removal of the routes.

According to Shankill resident Damian Staveley, this decision hugely impacts the local communities and is nonsensical.

Cherrywood Business Park is the biggest development in the EU for housing and retail in the last number of years, he said.

The 84 and 84A routes are heavily relied upon and vital for working commuters, school kids, students, people needing access to medical needs at Laya, VHI, St Vincents, Blackrock Clinic.

Children and families also need access to facilities in Cherrywood such as the parks and playing fields, not to mention the new plans for retail parks, more creches, schools, etc.

The government wants people out of cars to reduce traffic and pollution as per EU directive, therefore this decision contravenes this consensus and is going to put more people back into cars.

Bus drivers who work the route say the decision is ridiculous. There are many school children that need the bus to get to the Luas and parents who bring their children on the bus to creche and schools in Cherrywood/Loughlinstown.

There are many, including the elderly, who use it to get on the Luas, but also need it to be able to use the Laya Clinic, VHI medical centre, Blackrock Clinic and St Vincents Hospital.

Mr Staveley also believes the poor infrastructure of Shankill cannot support the population and number of cars coming through the village from Bray, and thats before all these developments are finished.

Cherrywood is the biggest development within the EU in the last number of years, Shanganagh is the biggest residential development in Ireland in years, but there will be no viable link to the Luas, he said.

Social Democrats councillor Dr Caroline Winstanley says we should be actively encouraging people to use public transport for their commute.

Removing a viable connection to Cherrywood Business Park and Cherrywood Luas is going to force people to drive and increase traffic congestion in already problematic areas, she said.

I dont think we should take routes away, but should always be adding, to give people more options and make using public transport a more attractive option.

Green Party councillor Erika Doyle added: A regular peak hours bus route from Bray Railway Station to Luas Cherrywood would provide huge benefit for Bray commuters.

I am disappointed this has not been included in this phase of Bus Connects, even after extensive consultation with the public. Its a relatively easy fix and the matter has been raised with the NTA.

Whilst the new 24hr service to Bray and the L14 local round the town service are very welcome, I will continue to pursue a bus service to Luas Cherrywood. Providing regular, reliable and flexible public transportation is essential for our economy, communities and environment.

The NTA has been contacted for comment.
Inis Oirrs Health Clinic was left in the dark, without power for night-time emergencies and medications that require refrigeration

Inis Oirr is calling for more power generators after the Aran Islands were cut off from the rest of the country for the second time in two months due to the bad weather.

Storm Eowyn hit Ireland in the early hours of Friday morning, January 24, and resulted in thousands of people across the country being left with no power and no water, with damage reported at several homes and businesses.

Inis Oirrs co-op manager Chloe Ni Mhaille recalled the storms violent arrival: I woke up at 3am and it was so loud, I was literally just saying prayers that everyone would be okay and we would all get through the storm because it was really bad.

In Inis Oirr, which is the smallest of the three islands, many houses got damaged, with tiles and slates blown off roofs, the polytunnel at the local school, Colaiste Ghobnait, completely destroyed, and widespread damage reported to fences and the islands iconic stone walls.

Ms Ni Mhaille said: Thankfully as far as Im aware nobody was hurt or injured, everybody stayed inside and it was okay.

The co-operative where we work, there is significant roof damage, were missing many slates and tiles and that will have to be fixed. A holiday home has a giant hole in the roof.

There are many fences knocked down and stone walls, and there was lots of rubbish being moved around.

Storm Eowyn left the island without phone coverage for about 36 hours and without power until Sunday evening, January 26.

I had no phone signal for about 36 hours, so I couldnt contact anyone on the mainland to let them know I was okay or to see how they were.

We lost power on Friday morning during the storm at about 2am in the Aran Islands and the estimated restoration time was January 29.

Its really stressful and difficult to try and maintain hope when we dont know exactly when we will be connected again.

Ms Ni Mhaille explained that while their situation was similar to many other residents on the mainland, living on an island made everything more difficult.

Obviously nationally were aware were not unique, everyone is looking for power, is looking for resources. But when youre on an island its much more difficult because when youre on the mainland you can drive to the next town that has power, you can charge your phone, you can get food, you can get supplies. But when youre on an island youre cut off.

She said some residents have generators, but these are not enough for everyone. This has resulted in big quantities of food supplies being wasted, while a major concern was the health clinic, which was also left in the dark.

We have a few generators but they are limited. We dont have one at the health centre, so the doctors cannot keep medication that needs to be cold, cold, they cannot work once its dark, and the doctor doesnt have heating in the accommodation where he lives.

That has been raised with the HSE over the last few years and they are looking to try and provide a solution but its quite difficult.

Ourselves in the co-operative we sell home heating oil and diesel and fuel, so we have to manually dispense it using a car battery and a pump to try and put them into old water drums, to sell to people who have generators.

When you live on an island you have a deep chest freezer, you would have more meat and food in your house than you would have in the mainland because you dont do a shop every week, you might do it every two weeks from the cargo boat from the mainland or when you go to the mainland you would go to a few shops to stack up. So the amount of food that will be wasted now, and the cost of that to families.

In addition, as Inis Oirr was left with no power and no phone coverage, the bad weather stopped the ferry and the flight services, leaving islanders even more isolated.

Theres no plane, theres no boat, you cannot get off the island or go somewhere else, its very tricky.

As the power is restored and the clean-up begins, Ms Ni Mhaille is calling for more generators to be sent to the island as she worries for future storms.

This is the second time in about eight weeks the islands have been left without power for days. Back in November, Storm Bert cut the islands off for three days.

We have raised this before, we lost power for about three days in November last year. Years ago there used to be two generators on the island and they were taken away because with modernisation things have improved, but if we had that we could actually function as an island and every house would have power.

Were sharing power banks and were trying to be resourceful but its stressful not knowing when power will resume, when we can get back to normal and having no sign of supplies.

The local authority has been notified of the issue and Galway County Council is assessing the situation of the three islands after the storm. However, Ms Ni Mhaille hopes the local authority will act quickly as she added islands in this country are often overlooked.

There are fewer than 3,000 islanders in the whole country of Ireland and the population is at a really difficult tipping point. If we want our islands to grow and to prosper, because they are so rich in culture, in tradition and heritage, they need investment and support.
Marius Vaduva and Andrea Budeanu were both barred from entering Longford and Leixlip as part of their bail conditions.

Andrea Budeanu said: "Yes, I'm sorry" after caution when gardai charged her with stealing close to 2,700 of perfume from a Longford based pharmacy.

Marius Vaduva told gardai he intended returning to Romania after carrying out the Longford shoplifting raid, a court has heard.

A man and woman have been banned from a midlands town after walking into a pharmacy last week to steal over 2,500 worth of perfume.

Marius Vaduva (38) and Andrea Budeanu (36), both of 189 Emmet Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8, were brought before a sitting of Mullingar District Court following a shoplifting incident at Wards Pharmacy, Ballymahon Street, Longford on January 14.

The pair were both charged with stealing 17 bottles of perfume, totalling 2,688 and of targeting a second outlet at Griffins Pharmacy, Oaklawn, Leixlip, Kildare on November 27 last year.

Marius Vaduva told gardai he intended returning to Romania after carrying out the Longford shoplifting raid, a court has heard.

On that occasion, Vaduva was accused of stealing two bottles of Jean Paul Gautier fragrance valued at 202 with his co-accused charged with making off with a 72 bottle of La Vie Est Belle.

The pair did not enter a plea in relation to the latter alleged incident, but did admit to carrying out the Longford raid.

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Garda Glenn Horan gave evidence of having arrested the pair and later charging them both at Longford Garda Station during the early hours of this morning.

He said when the latter charge was put to Budeanu, the 36-year-old replied: Yes, Im sorry, after caution, but made no reply to the Leixlip charge.

Andrea Budeanu said: "Yes, I'm sorry" after caution when gardai charged her with stealing close to 2,700 of perfume from a Longford based pharmacy.

Vaduva, meanwhile, made no reply after caution to both charges with the duo being handed a true copy of both charge sheets.

When the Longford charges were put to the pair, Vaduva replied: Guilty and I apologise through a Romanian interpreter with Budeanu replying through an interpreter: Guilty.

Garda Horan said there was no State objection to bail on the proviso a series of conditions were complied with.

Marius Vaduva (38) and Andrea Budeanu (36) outside Mullingar Courthouse.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 27th

They included orders for both Vaduva and Budeanu to reside at their home address, to sign on each Wednesday at Kilmainham Garda Station, to provide a mobile number and remain contactable at all times and to stay out of both Longford and Leixlip.

Garda Horan also requested the pair tender 500 each as a cash lodgement for the Longford incident, revealing that the pair had come to court with 2,500 in cash.

He also applied for the duo to surrender their Romanian travel documentation, a submission he said was based on Vaduva revealing to gardai of his plans to fly back to Romania.

Marius Vaduva and Andrea Budeanu were both barred from entering Longford and Leixlip as part of their bail conditions.

Having accepted jurisdiction on the charges, Judge Owens was told by defence counsel Andrea Callan said there was no issue with either of her clients complying with their respective 500 cash lodgements, adding those monies could be offered up to the state in compensation.

Ms Callan went on to explain both Vaduva and Budeanu were also willing to hand in 1,000 by way of further compensation with the remaining 688 that remained outstanding to be paid when the Longford matter next returns before the courts.

Vaduva and Budeanu were remanded on bail to appear back before a sitting of Longford District Court on February 4 with a date of February 5 being made for when the duo are expected to appear before Blanchardstown District Court for DPP directions.
Ruth Young of Lisburn Chamber presents a hamper of goods produced in the Lisburn area to Naomi Tully of Drogheda Chamber.

Business and community links between Drogheda and Lisburn are set to strengthen over the coming year, following a significant meeting between the chambers of commerce at the civic offices in Drogheda recently.

The meeting, which marked the first of its kind by the Boyneside, was held as part of the Friendship and Solidarity Agreement signed in Lisburn late last year. Attendees included chamber presidents Naomi Tully and Ruth Young, along with mayors Cllr Paddy McQuillan and Cllr Kurtis Dickson.

Naomi Tully, President of Drogheda Chamber, hailed the cross-border relationship as a catalyst for a great bond between both districts. She thanked Louth County Council for their cooperation in hosting the event and stressed the significance of the collaboration for the future of both regions.

Droghedas Mayor Paddy McQuillan highlighted the importance of the partnership, noting the potential benefits for local communities. He mentioned the ambition of Drogheda to gain city status, saying the new offices were fit for a city, following Lisburns lead and commended the chambers proactive approach. Initiatives like this need commitment, drive and ambition. Cross-border trade is vital and we look forward to building friendships in 2025, he said.

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council Mayor Kurtis Dickson echoed these sentiments, emphasising the potential for business and cultural growth, and building the project through shared learning. Working together is the only way to achieve positive outcomes, he said.

Ruth Young, President of Lisburn Chamber of Commerce, said they were delighted to be part of the idea from the beginning and wanted to build upon the bond instantly.

Drogheda Chamber CEO, Hubert Murphy, revealed plans for additional collaborative projects, including possible partnerships with England. He noted that he was keen to see collaboration between all parties in the future.

The meeting concluded with a tour of Drogheda, including stops at the tourist office and Highlanes Gallery, where they were welcomed and introduced to local culture.

The initiative is an important step forward for both Drogheda and Lisburn as they look to foster ties under a shared vision
Meitheal leaders from all over County Wexford were presented with their Certificates of Achievement at a ceremony in the Riverside Park Hotel in Enniscorthy last week.

Meitheal is a leadership and mentoring programme with a big anti-bullying focus which has been in Co Wexford post-primary schools for 25 years now. Leaders provide invaluable support for first years during the difficult transition phase from primary to post-primary school.

Meitheal Coordinator Tina Kelly said that these student representatives play a crucial role in getting new students acclimated into the school.

"It can be a scary time for many and the leaders ensure the first years face the challenges with positivity, knowing they support from the entire team, she said.

She is also thrilled with how the programme has grown over the last 25 years, as there are 21 schools participating in the programme in Wexford with almost 300 senior students in the role of leaders.

"Leaders meet with their first years on a regular basis throughout the academic year and are a trusted source of practical help and advice during that first year in secondary school. Getting to grips with timetables, lockers, iPads and finding your way around the new school are all part of the first year experience, not to mention trying to make new friends, getting on the right bus and balancing the new school bag, which could be an Olympic sport in itself! she added.

To prepare leaders for their roles, they attend a training programme during their summer break delivered by Ms Tina Kelly along with staff members from the Education & Lifelong Learning Team and the Community Development Team at Wexford Local Development.

Topics covered in this training include; communication skills and active listening, conflict resolution, cultural awareness training, positive mental health and stress management, as well as bespoke team-building activities provided by Surf Shack Ireland.

The HSE Health Promotion Project Officers provide an informative workshop on Making Healthy Decisions. This encourages the leaders to be pro-active and mindful of their own decisions and to encourage their first years to so the same.

Every school also has an in-school coordinator; a teacher who oversees the day to day running of the programme and guide the Meitheal team. These teachers are invaluable to the leaders and a vital part of the programme.

Although taking a pro-active stance regarding bullying the Meitheal leaders face numerous challenges throughout the year. Often students will confide in their leader with quite serious issues, the leaders have received training on what to do if such disclosures are made and in the past have acted promptly and with a maturity beyond their years, she said.
An incredible total of 42,650 was divided between two charities following a 100km Cycle For Life fundraiser which was spearheaded by a man from north Wexford who survived cancer.

The 100km cycle, which took place in December, was Liam Mulligans way of giving back to two charities that are close to his heart.

All of the funds raised went directly to the charities Blood Bikes South East and Bone Marrow Leukaemia Trust.

Liam, from Tara Hill, Gorey, was diagnosed with acute leukaemia while in New York in 2019 at 54 years old. He battled the disease in Mount Sinai Hospital in New York for over two months before being airlifted home, spending the next six months in St James Hospital in Dublin.

Liam and Elizabeth Mulligan and their family thanked all those who supported their recent fundraiser including the businesses that provided signage, sponsorship cards, food for the day and to everyone who helped in any way.
New research by Bray-based payroll and HR solutions provider SD Worx Ireland has shown that 30pc of Irish employers cite pay equity as a top challenge when rewarding employees, with 74pc of Irish organisations investing in pay equity initiatives to tackle it.

The independent study was commissioned by SD Worx and carried out by iVOX among 1,000 employers in Ireland to gain insights into how organisations reward their employees and address gender pay inequity in a changing and competitive talent landscape.

The EU Pay Transparency Directive, which came into force in 2023, requires Irish organisations to report and provide transparency across key areas, including pay equity and gender pay gaps.

SD Worx research found that some 49c of employers in Ireland are committed to pay transparency, which would see the pay level of employees being made available to employees of similar grades in the organisation. Moreover, 43pc of organisations cite pay transparency as a top challenge when rewarding employees.

As the war for talent continues to rage, businesses are adopting more strategic approaches to rewards. More than half (51pc) of employers say their reward policy plays an essential role in their reputation as an employer. As such, 31pc is offering flexible wage payment dates, which could include paying employees early or paying on special request.

Some employees have the flexibility to choose how they would like to be rewarded, and 31pc of employers say that workers can put together their own reward package based on an allocated budget. Aside from salary, employee rewards offered by Irish employers include bonuses and commission (53pc), health and wellness benefits (48pc), and vouchers (45pc).

The survey suggests that the rising cost of doing business is having a significant impact on employers. Over half (51pc) say that their organisation is struggling to strike a balance between attractive rewards and manageable labour costs.

The same number of employers state that total wage costs are on the rise, while 42pc cited wage cost pressures as another key challenge when it comes to rewarding employees.

SD Worx Ireland Country Leader Eimear Byrne said: Tackling pay inequity needs to be at the forefront of employers agendas in Ireland, as equal pay for equivalent work should be the rule, not the exception.

Businesses of all sizes must establish structures to effectively manage their pay transparency obligations, especially as mandatory gender pay gap reporting is extending to organisations with more than 50 employees in 2025.

Businesses must place their team members at the core of all business decisions  particularly in relation to rewards and remuneration. Not only will this lead to happier, engaged, and productive employees who are more likely to stay long term, it will also set organisations apart as they look to attract new, skilled workers.

The ever-increasing cost of doing business is being felt across the board, and our research shows that Irish employers are finding it difficult to balance what employees want and need with what the business can reasonably afford to do.

To navigate these challenges effectively, organisations need to be capable of delivering transparent reporting and supporting wage cost projections. These tools are essential for businesses to ensure sustainable success.
A Wicklow mother is among a concerned group of parents who are calling for individual trials of the modulator therapies for their children with Cystic Fibrosis who still do not have access to these highly effective medications.

Louise Patterson, from Bray, is the mother of Aaron, who will soon be 12. His rare gene means he is currently excluded from modulator therapy Kaftrio, which, when combined with other medication, would provide him with a huge boost.

In 2020, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the roll-out of the Kaftrio in Ireland by Vertex pharmaceuticals. This authorisation covered over 900 gene variants and since then has extended to benefit more people with CF including 35 children with CF who were denied access in 2022. However, there remains a group of people whose CF is caused by a rare gene variant, who do not have access to these therapies.

Currently, marketing authorisation for medications like Kaftrio is granted using genetic variant based evidence. This relies on sufficient data being gathered through clinical trials. However, for people with rare genes that cause their CF, this data does not exist as their genes are too rare. It is impossible to conduct the necessary clinical trials, fulfilling all research requirements for this group.

Louise, and fellow parents in the group, are being supported by Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, and believes the only solution for people with CF like Aaron is for the EMA to reconsider their policies and allow individual trials of the therapies, led by their clinical teams.

According to published research, real world studies in France, the United States, and Israel have shown that Kaftrio may benefit up to 50pc of pwCF who have a rare gene variant.

Aaron has a rare gene which means he is excluded from this therapy. Currently in Ireland, only gene variants proven to be responsive to the drug in clinical trials in patients rather than lab based testing are eligible for Kaftrio. Aarons gene has not been included in a clinical trial to date as it is so rare, so he cant access it. The rules are so rigid here in Ireland, so currently he just cant get it, said Louise.

In the past two years, Aaron has taken part in the HIT CF research study in Utrecht which aims to provide better treatment and better lives for people with CF and rare mutations.

Louise added: Taking part in HIT-CF study has shown that Aaron would benefit from Kaftrio, once administered in conjunction with other medication. Crucially this is only in lab trials not in real world studies and so the Irish system doesnt recognise it.

Even Vertex, have now recognised the potential benefits and have listed his gene type for the next generation of modulator therapy. But as long as the Irish system remains as it is, he will not get access to this treatment which could change his life.

In December, the FDA approved the expansion of Kaftrio in the US, where it is known as Trikafta, to people with cystic fibrosis ages 2 and older who have at least one of 94 rare mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene.

Kaftrio would help him a little bit, but combined with other available medication, it would be a huge boost for Aaron, said Louise.

If he was in America he would already be on it. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) are looking for a cohort of people with Aarons gene for clinical trials, but there are only 50 people in the whole world with Aarons gene, so it is impossible to pull together that cohort. We are pushing for individual trails so Aarons doctor can be given permission to use Kaftrio.

He is getting sicker and suffered a collapsed lung this time last year, and he is also at risk of diabetes in the future. Its becoming increasingly frustrating as we know the medication is there, and I can see it every time I visit the pharmacy, but we cant get Aaron access to it.

According to the group, the EMA have the power to grant their children and others in their situation a chance at improving their health, stop the irreversible damage caused by CF and offer a different future. They are calling for the childrens clinical teams to be allowed to undertake an assessment of the treatments efficacy for each child, and for the children to have access to these drugs if they are found to work.

Louise said: We feel we are being left in limbo and time is precious. Aarons health is deteriorating, and every day without access to the medication that could slow his decline, feels like an eternity. The evidence is clear  this can work. This is a call to actionan urgent plea to the EMA for compassion, for fairness, and for access to life-saving medicine that could give Aaron, and others like him, a fighting chance at a future they deserve.
Two Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted a West End performance of The Tempest starring Sigourney Weaver.

Mother of three Hayley Walsh and mechanical engineer Richard Weir can be seen walking on stage where Alien star Weaver, 75, is performing, in a video shared to social media by the climate protest group.

Carrying a sign that reads over 1.5 degrees is a global shipwreck, the pair launch a confetti cannon while a voice says well have to stop the show ladies and gentlemen, sorry.

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Weaver, who had been sitting on a chair, was escorted off stage at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane on Monday, while the two protesters faced boos and a few cheers from the audience.

The sign was a reference to the recent announcement that 2024 had been the warmest on record globally and the first full year when the average temperature exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Ms Walsh, 42, a lecturer from Nottingham, said: I am scared for my children, I cant sleepwalk them into a future of food shortages, life-threatening storms and wars for resources.

Years of writing to MPs, going on marches and teaching my students to be more sustainable hasnt seen the urgent change needed.

1.5 degrees is a global shipwreck we cant ignore. Wildfires in California, deadly floods in Valencia and hundreds of thousands without power in the UK this weekend.

Just Stop Oil supporters disrupting the West End performance (Just Stop Oil/PA)

This isnt a distant, future problem. We need a global treaty to stop fossil fuel burning and a global emergency response.

Mr Weir, 60, from Tynemouth, North Tyneside, said: I started my career in the shipyards of Tyneside and I watched management inaction lead to the collapse of UK manufacturing.

Now I see similar failures of leadership as politicians refuse to take action to protect us and our loved ones.

Were already seeing the damage this crisis is doing to crops, homes and entire neighbourhoods. Unless we come together and demand a move away from fossil fuels by 2030, we will go the same way as manufacturing in the UK.

Bafta-award winning actress Weaver plays the storm-creating magician Prospero in the new staging of the Shakespeare classic, in a role typically played by a man.

The production opened in December and will run until February 1.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed officers were called to the theatre on Monday evening following reports of two protestors entering the stage, but both had left the venue by the time they arrived.

The force said no arrests have been made at this stage and inquires are continuing.

Theatre Royal Drury Lane have been approached for comment.
Olwens relationship with David is complicated as for nearly 30 years she has had another romantic partner, a situation David was aware of and had come to terms with.

Olwen with Joe Duffy on The Meaning of Life and below

Galwegian Olwen said her partner David Heap (76)  who played Donal Maher in the hit soap for several years  is the victim of a condition called Corticobasal Syndrome.

I think its been building for a while, she told presenter Joe Duffy on RTEs The Meaning Of Life.

He knew there was something wrong and this particular disease, called Corticobasal Syndrome, its a particular type of protein that attacks the brain  so its a brain disease and it affects everything.

The symptoms are similar to Parkinsons. Similar to motor neurone, similar to all, you know, whole spectrum. And its progressive and terminal.

Olwen, who recently starred opposite Jamie Dornan in season two of the popular BBC series The Tourist, admits that David took the news better than she did.

I find it hard to talk about it without crying, and I remember we were in the room with the neurologist, and [when] they said that, I wept, she recalls.

Olwen with Jamie Dornan in BBC series The Tourist

They were really great because they were telling him and ... one of the symptoms of the disease is a kind of apathy. Its a sort of passiveness, which is maybe a blessing.

But he was just kind of taking it all in. And I started crying. And then when we left, I said to David, you know what they said? And he said, yeah, that Im going to deteriorate.

Davids character Donal first appeared in Fair City in 1998 as Blue Dolphin computer company owner.

He had a fling with Nicola Prendergast, played by Claudia Carroll. After leaving in 2004, his character made a reappearance in the soap in 2020. The actor has also appeared in The Tudors and The Clinic.

Acclaimed actor Olwen (70) has now pretty much become his full-time carer.

Olwen and her husband David Heap

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 27th

When Im home, when Im not working Im taking care of him, but he needs full-time care, she says.

When I have to go away to work, or indeed, if even if I have to do more than four hours work a day, I have to pay for it.

Plus, Ive turned down quite a bit of work in order to try and manage the situation. Nothing that mattered too much.

I know its very important to continue because thats where my strength is. My strength will come from my work as well, because you can get very sucked into the caring. The caring situation you become totally immersed in at every moment. And its very hard to pull yourself away from it.

How difficult it is for so many other people? Much worse. The great blessing in this situation is David has little or no distress and he has no pain. So thats a huge blessing.

Olwen with Joe Duffy on The Meaning of Life and below

Olwens relationship with David is complicated as for nearly 30 years she has had another romantic partner, a situation David was aware of and had come to terms with.

I think its common that a lot of people will fall in love with other people, she says.

A lot of married people fall in love with other people. And then it was just a sort of a situation wherewe just felt again, its a bit like the challenges youre presented with.

Do you run away from it, or do you go into it? So, we didnt run away from it, basically, and we didnt hide it. And of course, you discover that situation is everywhere.

The honesty was very important to us. It was all very open between us.

Im not saying it was civilised in any way. It was full of rage. But we got through it.

When Joe Duffy asks if by we she means herself, her husband and her lover, she confirms that is indeed what she is talking about.

We, the three of us? Yeah. I mean, they are both extraordinary people, she says.

I dont know many who would have been able to deal with it. And I dont know if the situation had been reversed. I might have  I might be in prison now having killed somebody.

Asked if the shoe was on the other foot and David had met someone, she replies: I dont know if I would have been able to, but we just we didnt want to separate even though we talked about it, we didnt want to separate.

And it was nothing to do with the marriage thing. It was more to do with the relationship.

Olwen is the daughter of two Bretons who fled to Ireland from Brittany in France as political refugees and set up home in Co Galway. She went to boarding school in Dublin during her teenage years, and now also lives in the capital.

She and David also suffered pain in their twenties when they lost two babies.

Their daughter Morgane died a day and a half after she was born 10 weeks prematurely in the mid-80s.

Her baby son, Michael Jo Jo, was pronounced dead in her womb at five and a half months. After those two deaths they decided not to try for another baby.

Dont run away from it, thats my big thing, she maintains.

You know, the dark days. Let them be dark. Let them get darker.

Sink if youre sinking. If youre drowning, often you know with tragedy or grief and all that, it its a little bit like drowning.

But I always think just let yourself sink to the bottom.

You hit the bottom, youll start coming up again, and I think resisting the flood of emotions that come with different kinds of tragedy is the worst thing people can do.

I think you have to be in it, embrace it and come out of it.

And then youll come out stronger and healthier. Dont suppress it.

Its really important.

Life has given you this terrible challenge, you know, a difficult thing, and in many ways, like in terms of the babies, I think Id much rather have had that experience than not had it at all because they touch you.

They touched me on a physical level. Theyre still there. They still exist somewhere. They still exist.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin has spoken with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the first time since being elected to the role in the Dail last week.

Mr Martin said that following his conversation with Mr Starmer, we are both committed to making 2025 an important and defining year for Irish-British relations as we initiate a series of annual summits to drive a programme of strategic cooperation between our two countries.

The call earlier today discussed the impact of storm Eowyn and ongoing recovery efforts  with the Taoiseach welcoming the assistance to ESB provided by UK crews as part of a mutual association agreement between electricity companies.

Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of the Irish-British relationship.

Keir Starmer (James Manning/PA)

They looked forward to the first in an agreed new series of annual Ireland-UK summits that will be hosted by Britain in March.

The two leaders discussed Northern Ireland, legacy issues and a number of international issues, including todays commemoration of the Holocaust in Auschwitz.

The Taoiseach said he looked forward to meeting again with the Prime Minister at an informal meeting of the European Council in Belgium on 3 February next, two days before the Dail resumes.

Micheal Martin leaving Leinster House, Dublin (Maxwells/PA)

Today's News in 90 Seconds - January 27th

Mr Martin confirmed: We spoke about Northern Ireland and our shared vision as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement to furthering prosperity and reconciliation to the benefit of all.

We discussed global issues, including Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, in particular the need for a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Later today I will be attending an event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. We discussed the importance of remaining committed today to combatting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance and racism.

Meanwhile, new Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tanaiste Simon Harris also spoke today to UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy.

I welcomed, in particular, the renewed warmth in our bilateral relationship. This was particularly evident in my meetings with Prime Minister Starmer in recent months, Mr Harris said afterwards.

My call with the Foreign Secretary today was an important opportunity to share perspectives on the global challenges that we face. We focussed in particular on the situation in Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan. We also discussed the importance of the transatlantic relationship.

We agreed to meet in-person soon to engage further on these and other important areas.

Mr Harris said the call was an indicator of the renewed positive engagement of the UK on bilateral relations.

As partners with shared values in a globally challenging environment, there is real potential to work further together on the common global challenges that we face. he said.

I look forward to working closely with Secretary Lammy over the time ahead, as we build towards the Ireland-UK Summit later this spring.
London police release e-fit image of man after woman pushed into car and raped

The woman had been walking alone in Maida Vale, west London, in March 2022 when she was attacked

The incident happened in west London in March 2022 (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Ellie Ng Mon 27 Jan 2025 at 11:20







Police have released an e-fit image of a man they want to identify after a woman walking alone in west London was pushed into a car and later raped.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have returned home to the most heavily bombarded part of the Gaza Strip as Israel lifted its closure of the north. It is the first time the region has been reopened since the early weeks of Israels 15-month war with Hamas, in accordance with a fragile ceasefire.
LATEST | Palestinians return to northern Gaza after more than one year of Israel blockade

Thousands of Palestinians headed north on Monday after waiting for days to cross into their homeland

Palestinians return to northern Gaza after more than a year of Israel blockade

Irish Independent Newsdesk Mon 27 Jan 2025 at 08:02







Palestinians have been allowed to return home to the largely destroyed region of northern Gaza after more than 12 months of besiegement by Israel.
A key Donald Trump ally has criticised the presidents pardons for violent Capitol rioters, saying it was sending the wrong signal.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is close to Trump, told CNN yesterday: I have always said that, I think, when you pardon people who attack police officers, youre sending the wrong signal to the public at large. Its not what you want to do to protect cops.
Top Manufacturing Clusters in India: A Sector-wise Breakdown

India boasts a variety of manufacturing clusters, each specializing in distinct industries, contributing significantly to domestic production and exports. Supported by various central and state government schemes besides rapid infrastructure development, these locations are key to Indias rise as a global manufacturing hub. See our lists of top places in India to manufacture goods.



Top locations for manufacturing in India

India has emerged as a global manufacturing hub due to its large, skilled labor force, improving infrastructure, and favorable government policies like the Make in India initiative and Production-Linked Incentives program.

Indias manufacturing clusters, spread across its states, showcase the countrys industrial diversity and global competitiveness. From automobiles and textiles to pharmaceuticals and electronics, each cluster contributes significantly to Indias economy, creating jobs, driving exports, and attracting foreign direct investment. With continuous infrastructure improvements and policy support, these clusters are poised to strengthen Indias position as a global manufacturing hub.

Automotive industry

Indias automotive manufacturing capacity includes passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, two-wheelers, and auto components. The country is a prominent exporter of small cars and auto components, with significant markets in Europe, Africa, and Latin America.

Key clusters:

Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Often referred to as the Detroit of India, Chennai houses major global automotive manufacturers such as Ford, Hyundai, BMW, and domestic giants like Ashok Leyland. The region is also known for its extensive auto component manufacturing. Pune (Maharashtra): A major automotive hub with manufacturers like Tata Motors, Mercedes-Benz, and Bajaj Auto, Pune also focuses on the production of components and engineering services. Gurugram-Manesar (Haryana): Home to Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp, this cluster has evolved into a significant automotive manufacturing base, including auto parts and engineering facilities. Sanand (Gujarat): The Sanand Industrial Estate is notable for the Tata Nano plant and hosted number of international automotive companies, such as Ford. Ford Motors, however, discontinued its sales and manufacturing operations in India in 2020.

State Location Automobile manufacturer Andhra Pradesh Sri City Satyavedu Vijayawada Penukonda Isuzu Motors India Kobelco Hero Motor Corp. Ashok Lyland Ltd. AVERA New and Renewable Energy Kia Motors Telangana Zahirabad Deccan Auto Mahindra & Mahindra Haryana Dharuhera Gurgaon Faridabad Manesar Hero Moto Corp Hero Moto Corp Suzuki Motorcycle India Limited India Yamaha Motor Escorts Tractors JCB Maruti Suzuki Honda Motorcycle Maruti Suzuki Himachal Pradesh Nlagar Amb Parwanoo TVS Motors International Cars and Motors TAFE Tractors Kerala   Madhya Pradesh Pithampur Mandideep Mahindra Two-wheelers Eicher Motors Hindustan Motors CNH Industrial TAFE Tractors Punjab Nawanshahar Hoshiarpur Mohali Morinda Patiala Barnala Nabha SML Isuzu Limited International Tractors Limited Punjab Tractor Motors Limited Class India Limited John Deere India Limited Standard Tractors Limited Preet Tractors Limited Rajasthan Tapukara Alwar Neemrana Jaipur Honda Cars India Honda Motorcycle and Scooters Ashok Leyland Limited TAFE Tractors Hero Motocorp + Harley Davidson Mahindra & Mahindra Uttar Pradesh Lucknow Greater Noida Tata Motors Honda Cars India New Holland Agriculture India Yamaha Motors Honda Cars India Uttarakhand Haridwar Pantnagar Hero MotorCorp Mahindra & Mahindra Bajaj Auto Ashok Leyland Tata Motors Karnataka Mysore Kolar Bengaluru Bidadi Doddaballapura Dharwad Hoskote TVS Motors Honda Motorcycle and Scooters Scania Commercial Vehicles Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited Mahindra Reva Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited TAFE Tractors Tata Motors Volvo Buses India Private Limited Tamil Nadu Hosur Chennai Kanchipuram Vellore Oragadam Thiruvallur Avadi Ambattur Ranipet Ennore Kalladipatti TVS Motors Ashok Leyland Kamaz Vectra Motors Limited Royal Enfield India Yamaha Motor Daimler Bharat Benz Motorrad Force Motors Wright Bus Isuzu Schwing Stetter Komatsu TAFE Tractors Mahindra & Mahindra SAME Deutz-Fahr Royal Enfield Royal Enfield Mitsubishi Heavy Vehicles Factory TI Cycles Bavina Cars Ashok Leyland TAFE Tractors West Bengal Hindmotor Kharagpur Hindustan Motors Tata Motors Gujarat Dalotporda Halol Sanand Bhuj VR Motors SAIC Motors India Tata Motors Asian Motorworks Maharashtra Baramati Pune Ahmadnagar, Pune Ranjangaon Nashik Chakan Aurangabad Kandivali Talegaon Pargaon Sanaswadi Wai Pimpri Navi Mumbai Alibaug Banda Thane Piaggio, Vespa, Aprillia General Motors MV Agusta Tata Motors Mahindra & Mahindra Mahindra, Ssangyong Bajaj Auto India Kawasaki Motors Sany India Hyundai Construction Equipment JCB Vedant Cranes John Deere Hyosung, Benelli Premier Leibherr Chinkara Motors Premier Eicher Motors Chinkara Motors Caterpillar Eicher Motors

Source: Scribd

Textiles and apparel

Indias textile and apparel production capacity encompasses cotton and synthetic textiles, knitwear, woolen apparel, and home textiles. As one of the worlds largest exporters in this sector, India experiences strong demand from markets in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East.

Key clusters:

Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu): Known as the Knitwear Capital of India, Tiruppur specializes in knitted garments, particularly cotton-based products. It is a major export hub for textiles, serving markets in Europe and the U.S. Ludhiana (Punjab): This city is famous for its woolen apparel and knitwear, producing a large volume of winter wear for domestic and international markets. Surat (Gujarat): A prominent textile cluster, Surat specializes in synthetic textiles and is one of the largest centers for the production and processing of polyester fabrics in India. Bhiwandi (Maharashtra): Known for its power loom industry, Bhiwandi is a major player in producing synthetic and cotton fabrics.

1. Textile Parks under SITP S.No. Name of Park Location State 1 Brandix India Apparel City Private Limited Vishakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh 2 Hindupur Vyapar Apparel Park Limited Ananthpur 3 MAS Fabric (India) Park Ltd Nellore 4 Guntur Textile Park Guntur 5 Rangaraya Textile Park, Godavari West Godavari 6 Tareshkewara Textile Park Pvt. Ltd Nellore 7 Goutham Budha Textile Park Guntur 8 Prag Jyoti Textile Park Darrang Assam 9 JVL Textile Park Rohtas Bihar 10 Gujarat Eco Textile Park Limited Surat Gujarat 11 Mundra SEZ Textile & Apparel Park Limited Kutch 12 Fairdeal Textile Park Pvt. Ltd Surat 13 Vraj Integrated Textile Park Limited Khed 14 Sayana Textile Park Ltd Surat 15 Surat Super Yarn Park Limited Surat 16 RJD Integrated Textile Park Surat 17 Kejriwal Integrated Textile Park Pvt. Ltd Surat 18 Madhav Textile Park Surendrenagar 19 Amitara Green Hi Tech Textile Park Kheda 20 Palsana Textile Park Surat 21 Shanti Textile Park Gujarat Surat 22 NSP Infrastructure Surat 23 Karnaj Integrated Textile Park Surat 24 Aalishan Eco Textile Park Pvt. Ltd Panipat Haryana 25 Himachal Textiles Park Una Himachal Pradesh 26 Kashmir Wool and Silk Textile Park Ghatti J &K 27 Jammu & Kashmir Integrated Textiles Park Kathua 28 Doddabalapur Integrated Textile Park Doddabalapur Karnataka 29 Gulbarga Textiles Park Gulbarga 30 CLC Textile Park Pvt Ltd Chhindwara Madhya Pradesh 31 Baramati Hi Tech Textile Park Limited Baramati Maharashtra 32 Islampur Integrated Textile Park Pvt. Ltd Islampur 33 Latur Integrated Textile Park Pvt. Ltd Latur 34 Metro Hi-Tech Cooperative Park Limited Ichalkaranji 35 Pride India cooperative Textile park Limited Ichalkaranji 36 Purna Global Textile Park Ltd Hingoli 37 Asiatic Cooperative Powerloom Textiles Park Solapur 38 Deesan Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd Dhule 39 Asmeeta Infratech Pvt. Ltd Bhiwandi 40 Kallappana Awade Textiles Park, Kolhapur Ichalkaraji 41 Khed Textile Park Pune 42 Sundararao Solanke Cooperative Textile Park Beed 43 Dhule Textile Park Dhule 44 Satyaraj Integrated Textile Park Kolhapur 45 Shree Ganesh Integrated Textile Park Pvt. Ltd Dhule 46 Hinganghat Integrated Textile Park Vidharbha 47 Lotus Integrated Tex Park Punjab Punjab 48 Rhythm Textile & Apparel Park Ltd Nawanshahr 49 Ludhiana Integrated Textile Park Ltd Ludhiana 50 Progressive Integrated Textile Park Bhatinda 51 Jaipur Integrated Texcraft Park Pvt. Ltd Bagru Rajasthan 52 Jaipur Texweaving Park Limited Kishangarh 53 Kishangarh Hi-Tech Textile Park Limited Kishangarh 54 Next Gen Textile Park Pvt. Ltd Pali 55 Jaipur Kaleen Park Ltd. Dausa 56 Himmada Integrated Textiles Park Balotra 57 Srinath Integrated Textile Park Bhilwara 58 Palladam Hi-Tech Weaving park Palladam Tamil Nadu 59 Karur Integrated Textile Park Karur 60 Madurai Integrated Textile Park Ltd Madurai 61 The Great Indian Linen & Textile Infrastructure Company Perundurai 62 SIMA Textile Processing Centre Cuddalore 63 Komarapalayam Hi-Tech Weaving Park Ltd. Komarapalayam 64 Kanchipuram Arigrar Anna Handloom Park Kanchipuram 65 SLS Textile Park Hosur 66 Pallavada Technical Textiles Park Ltd. Erode 67 Pochampally Handloom Park Limited Pochampally Telangana Telangana 68 Whitegold Integrated Spintex Park Ranga Reddy District 69 Avantika Textile Park Medak 70 Ecotex Textile and apparel park Pvt. ltd Mirganj Uttar Pradesh 71 Sri Lakshmi Textile Park Kanpur 72 Farrukhabad Textile Park Pvt. Ltd. Farrukhabad 73 EIGMEF Apparel Park Limited Kolkata West Bengal 74 Hosiery Park Howrah

Source: Ministry of Textile

Pharmaceuticals and biotech

Indias pharmaceutical industry presents investment opportunities in producing APIs, biosimilars, vaccines, nutraceuticals, as well as food and drug testing and contract research. India stands as the worlds largest producer of generic drugs, supplying significant markets in the U.S., Europe, and Africa. Emerging areas include focus on delivering complex solutions, including molecule generation, synthesis of active ingredients, preclinical studies, pharmaceutical production technology, clinical trials, and the experimental production of pharmaceutical products.

Key clusters:

Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttarakhand host the major pharmaceutical manufacturing clusters in the country.

Hyderabad (Telangana): Referred to as Genome Valley, Hyderabad is a leading hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing and biotech research. Major companies like Dr. Reddys Laboratories and Aurobindo Pharma are based here. Ahmedabad (Gujarat): Ahmedabad is home to major pharmaceutical companies such as Zydus Cadila and Torrent Pharma. It also focuses on bulk drug manufacturing. Mumbai (Maharashtra): The pharmaceutical and biotech cluster in Mumbai houses both large companies like Lupin and Sun Pharmaceuticals and many smaller firms involved in formulation development.

Electronics and IT hardware

Indias electronics and IT hardware industry encompasses the production of smartphones, consumer electronics, telecom equipment, and IT hardware. The country is gradually establishing itself as a key exporter in this sector, particularly focusing on mobile phones, IT hardware, and electronic components. Various policies like the PLI Scheme and Electronics Manufacturing Cluster 2.0 Scheme support investments in this area.

Key clusters:

Bengaluru (Karnataka): Known primarily for its IT industry, Bengaluru has also emerged as a significant hub for electronics manufacturing, particularly in semiconductors and embedded systems. Noida (Uttar Pradesh): Noida has become a key center for consumer electronics manufacturing, with global giants like Samsung and Oppo setting up major facilities. Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu): This cluster is home to major electronics manufacturing, including Foxconn and Flextronics, which produce smartphones and other consumer electronics for brands like Apple and Xiaomi. Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Chennai is another important hub for electronics, including telecom equipment and consumer electronics.

Electronics Manufacturing Cluster 2.0 (Approved Projects)

S.No. PIA Name Location Area Approved Date 1 Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) Kotur & Belur (V), Dharwad (T) 224.50 Acres 23.03.2023 2 Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) Village Shirur & Village Karde Pune district, Maharashtra 297.11 Acres 31.10.2022 3 Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSIIC) Divitipally, Mahabubnagar, Telangana State 377.65 Acres 29.08.2024 4 State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIIDCUL) SIIDCUL Integrated Industrial Estate, Kashipur, Opposite IIM Kashipur Campus, 133.82 Acres 28.04.2023 5 Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (APIIC) Ambavaram (V), Vallur (M); Kopparthy (V), C.K.Dinne (M) and Rampathadu (V), Pendlimarry (M) 540.00 Acres 18.03.2021 6 Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (HSIIDC) Industrial Model Township, Sohna (Haryana) 500.00 Acres 30.09.2021

Source: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

State Location Project Name Area (In acres) Date of Final Approval 1 Andhra Pradesh Sathyavedu Mandal, Chittoor EMC at Satyavedu Mandal, Sri City, A.P (M/s. Sri City Pvt. Ltd.) 94.00 20-Jul-2016 2 Andhra Pradesh Tirupati EMC-I at Tirupathi, A.P (M/s. Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation) 113.27 07-Dec-2017 3 Andhra Pradesh Yerpedu Mandal, Chittoor EMC-II at Vikruthamala, Tirupathi, A.P (M/s. A.P. Industrial Infrastructure Corporation-APIIC) 501.40 02-Aug-2017 4 Assam Kamrup EMC at Bongora, Assam (M/s. Assam Electronics Development Corporation Ltd.-AMTRON) 100.00 01-Feb-2018 5 Chhattisgarh Raipur EMC at Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh (M/s. Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd.-CSIDC) 116.48 07-Jan-2016 6 Goa North-Goa EMC at Tuem, Pernem, Goa (DoIT, Government of Goa) 147.55 03-Mar-2017 7 Gujrat Kutch EMC at Mundra, Gujarat (M/s. Mundra Solar Technopark Private Limited-MSTPL) 631.38 04-Jul-2016 8 Jharkhand Saraikela-Kharsawan EMC at Adityapur, Jharkhand (M/s. Adityapur Industrial Area Development Authority -AIADA) 82.49 22-Sep-2015 9 Karnataka Mysore CFC at Mysore, Karnataka (M/s. Mysore ESDM Cluster) 1.50 15-Sep-2015 10 Kerala Ernakulam EMC at Kakkanad, Kerala (M/s. Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation -KINFRA) 66.87 24-Aug-2016 11 Madhya Pradesh Bhopal EMC at Badwai-Bhopal, M.P. (M/s. Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd.-MPSEDC) 50.00 25-Aug-2014 12 Madhya Pradesh Jabalpur EMC at Purva-Jabalpur, M.P (M/s. Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd.-MPSEDC) 40.00 25-Aug-2014 13 Maharashtra Aurangabad CFC at Aurangabad, Maharashtra (M/s. Deogiri Electronics Cluster Pvt. Ltd.-DECPL) 1.98 03-Mar-2017 14 Maharashtra Pune CFC at Pune, Maharashtra (M/s. MCCIA Electronic Cluster Foundation-MECF) 0.61 13-Dec-2017 15 Orissa Khurda EMC at Bhubaneswar, Odisha (M/s Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation-IDCO) 203.37 05-Sep-2016 16 Rajasthan Alwar EMC at Karoli IA,Rajasthan (M/s. Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation Ltd.-RIICO) 121.51 15-Dec-2017 17 Rajasthan Bhiwadi EMC at Salarpur IA, Rajasthan (M/s. ELCINA Electronics Manufacturing Cluster Pvt. Ltd.-EEMCPL) 50.34 15-Sep-2015 18 Telangana Hyderabad EMC at Hyderabad,Telangana (M/s. Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd.-TSIIC) 603.52 02-Aug-2017 19 Telangana Ranga Reddy EMC at Maheshwaram,Telangana (M/s.Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd.-TSIIC) 310.70 08-Aug-2017 20 Uttar Pradesh Greater Noida EMC at Greater Noida, UP (M/s. TEGNA Electronics Pvt. Ltd.-TEPL) 99.41 21-Feb-2018 21 West Bengal South 24 Parganas EMC at Falta,West Bengal (M/s. West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Ltd.-WEBEL) 58.04 04-Feb-2016 22 West Bengal North 24 Parganas EMC at Naihati, West Bengal (M/s. West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Ltd.-WEBEL) 70.00 21-Aug-2016

Source: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Chemicals and petrochemicals

Indias industrial capacity in this sector includes the production of organic and inorganic chemicals, petrochemicals, specialty chemicals, and plastics. The country is a leading exporter of chemicals and petrochemical products, serving markets in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Key clusters:

Vadodara and Jamnagar (Gujarat): Gujarat is the epicenter of Indias chemicals and petrochemicals industry, with large refineries, petrochemical plants, and chemical manufacturing units. Jamnagar hosts the worlds largest oil refinery complex, operated by Reliance Industries. Mumbai (Maharashtra): Mumbai, being a major port city, is a hub for the chemical and petrochemical industries, including companies like BASF and Dow Chemicals. Ankleshwar and Vapi (Gujarat): These regions focus heavily on chemicals and dye production, housing some of the largest industrial estates dedicated to chemical manufacturing.

Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs) State Location Andhra Pradesh Vishakhapatnam Gujarat Dahej Odisha Paradeep Tamil Nadu Cuddalore and Naghapattinam

Source: Department of Chemical and Petrochemical

Chemical Clusters in India State Location Gujarat Ahmedabad, Ankleshwar, Nandaseri, Valsad and Vapi Kerala Ernakulum Uttar Pradesh Ghaziabad Jharkhand Jamshedpur Haryana Karnal Maharashtra Thane

Source: Sectoral Roadmap for MSME (Chemical Industries), TERI Report

Plastic Parks in India State Location Assam Tinsukia Chhattisgarh Sarora Jharkhand Deoghar Karnataka Ganjimu, Madhya Pradesh Bilaua, Tamot Odisha Jagatsinghpur Tamil Nadu Thiruvallur Uttar Pradesh Gorakhpur Uttrakhand Sitarganj

Source: India Briefing

Petrochemical plants in India (Existing and New) State Location Maharashtra Ratnagiri, Nagothane, Mumbai Kerala Kochi Tamil Nadu Cuddalore, Tuticorn Gujarat Vadodara, Jamnagar, Ankleshwar, Dahej, Hazira Haryana Panipat Punjab Bhatinda West Bengal Haldia Karnataka Mangalore Uttar Pradesh Auraiya

Source: Report by Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Institute of Competitiveness

Gems and jewelry

Indias industrial production capacity in the gems and jewelry sector includes the crafting and processing of diamonds, gold, and precious gemstone jewelry. The country ranks among the top exporters of diamonds and gold jewelry, with significant markets in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East.

Key clusters:

Surat (Gujarat): Surat is globally renowned for its diamond cutting and polishing industry, processing about 90 percent of the worlds diamonds. The city is home to a highly skilled workforce specializing in this trade. Mumbai (Maharashtra): Mumbai is the leading hub for gold jewelry manufacturing and exports, with many of Indias top jewelry brands headquartered here. It also plays a significant role in the diamond trade. Jaipur (Rajasthan): Famous for its colored gemstone industry, Jaipur is a global center for the cutting and polishing of precious and semi-precious stones.

Gems and Jewelry Manufacturing Clusters in India Region/State Major clusters No. of manufacturing units East Paschim Medinipur, Howrah, Nadia, and South Twenty-Four Parganas 46 Gujarat Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, and Bhavnagar 12 North Agra, Ghaziabad, Kanpur Nagar, and Varanasi 44 Rajasthan Bikaner, Jodhpur, Nagaur, and Churu 21 South Chittoor, Davanagere, Coimbatore, and Salem 36 West Mumbai, Thane, Kolhapur, and Salem 26

Source: GJEPC

Engineering goods and machinery

Indias manufacturing capacity in this sector includes heavy machinery, pumps, automotive components, and industrial equipment.

Engineering goods represent a significant portion of the countrys exports, primarily targeting markets in the United States, European Union, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. This category encompasses machinery, electrical equipment, and transport equipment, and makes a substantial contribution to Indias overall export portfolio.

Key clusters:

Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu): Known as the Manchester of South India, Coimbatore is a key center for the manufacturing of engineering goods, textiles machinery, pumps, and automotive components. Rajkot (Gujarat): Rajkot is a hub for the production of machine tools, bearings, and other engineering goods. It plays a vital role in supplying equipment for domestic industries and exports. Pithampur (Madhya Pradesh): Often referred to as the Detroit of India, Pithampur specializes in heavy machinery and engineering goods, catering to industries such as automotive, power generation, and agriculture.

Name of the Industrial Cluster District State Engineering Cluster, Nashik Nashik Maharashtra Hosur Engineering Industry Cluster Krishnagiri Tamil Nadu Sirgitti Engineering Cluster Bilaspur Chhattisgarh

Source: Press Information Bureau

Other clusters in India

Science & Technology Clusters (S&T Clusters) Cluster Name Location State Bengaluru Science and Technology Cluster (BeST) Bengaluru Karnataka Bhubaneshwar City Knowledge Innovation Cluster (BCKIC) Bhubaneshwar Odisha Delhi Research, Implementation, and Innovation (DRIIV): Delhi New Delhi Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Cluster (JCKIC) Jodhpur Rajasthan Pune Knowledge Cluster Pune Maharashtra Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH) Hyderabad Telangana

Source: Report by Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India

Industrial corridors and SEZs in India: An Overview

India has been investing heavily in industrial corridors and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to boost trade, attract investment, and drive economic growth. These zones and corridors are designed to foster industrial development, improve infrastructure, and enhance the ease of doing business.

However, challenges such as land acquisition, regulatory bottlenecks, and regional disparities need to be addressed for these initiatives to reach their full potential.

Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)

The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in India. It is a mega infrastructure initiative aimed at developing new industrial cities across six states, creating an economic backbone that links the national capital (Delhi) with Indias financial hub (Mumbai). Launched in 2006 in collaboration with the Japanese government, DMIC is a model of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) aimed at stimulating economic growth by developing smart, sustainable industrial zones.

Key Features of the DMIC Corridor length Approximately 1,500 km States covered Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra Primary objective To create a global manufacturing and investment destination by offering high-quality infrastructure to industries Smart cities The project includes the development of several smart cities, with industrial parks, high-tech zones, and logistics hubs connected by high-speed rail, road, and ports. Total investment The project is expected to attract an investment of around $100 billion, with a significant contribution from Japan, which holds a 26 percent stake

Key components of DMIC:

Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC): A dedicated freight railway line connecting Delhi and Mumbai, enabling faster and more efficient transportation of goods. This will significantly reduce transportation time and costs. Industrial clusters: High-tech industrial clusters that will host manufacturing units, logistics hubs, and business parks. These clusters are designed to boost industrial output, with a focus on sectors like electronics, textiles, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals. Smart cities: Several smart industrial cities are planned along the corridor, including Dholera in Gujarat, Shendra-Bidkin in Maharashtra, and Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh. These cities will benefit from modernized infrastructure, upgraded ICT systems, and green technology.

Economic impact of DMIC:

Boost to manufacturing: DMIC will significantly boost Indias manufacturing capabilities, making the country a global hub for various industries, such as automotive, electronics, and textiles. Employment generation: The corridor is expected to create millions of direct and indirect jobs. With large-scale industrial activity, DMIC will promote skill development and enhance local employment opportunities. Infrastructure development: The corridor will lead to the development of critical infrastructure, including roads, railways, airports, and ports. This will improve the efficiency of supply chains and reduce the cost of transportation for businesses. Attracting investment: DMIC has already attracted significant domestic and foreign investments. The presence of world-class infrastructure, coupled with supportive policies, is expected to bring more global corporations to set up manufacturing bases in India. Trade and exports: By connecting industrial hubs to ports and international markets, DMIC will enhance Indias export potential. It will enable faster movement of goods and reduce the logistics cost, thus improving Indias competitiveness in the global market.

SEZs in India

SEzs are geographically demarcated areas within a country that have economic laws different from the rest of the country. In India, SEZs were introduced to encourage foreign investment, promote exports, and develop infrastructure.

The concept of SEZs in India gained momentum with the enactment of the SEZ Act, 2005. These zones offer various incentives to attract businesses, including tax breaks, simplified regulations, and improved infrastructure.

Key features of SEZs in India:

Incentives: Exemption from customs duties, excise duties, service tax, and income tax for a specified number of years. Infrastructure: SEZs are equipped with world-class infrastructure such as reliable power, efficient transportation networks, and modern facilities. Export-oriented units: Businesses in SEZs are primarily focused on exports, though they can sell in the domestic market under certain conditions. Ease of doing business: SEZs offer simplified administrative procedures and regulations, making it easier for companies to set up operations.

Types of SEZs in India Sector-Specific SEZs Multi-Product SEZs These are dedicated to particular industries, such as IT/ITES, pharmaceuticals, textiles, or electronics. These zones accommodate multiple industries and provide infrastructure for various types of manufacturing and services.

Special Economic Zones in India as of April 30, 2024 Number of Formal approvals (As on April 30, 2024) 423 Number of notified SEZs (As on April 30, 2024) 375 (Including 7 Central Govt.+12State Govt. / Private Sector SEZs set up prior to the enactment of SEZ Act, 2005) Number of In-Principle Approvals (As on 30.04.2024) 35 Operational SEZs (As on March 31, 2024) 280 Units approved in SEZs (As on December 31, 2023) 5,711

Source: Fact Sheet, SEZ India

Economic impact of SEZs:

Growth in exports: SEZs have played a significant role in increasing Indias exports. In sectors like IT and pharmaceuticals, SEZs account for a large proportion of the countrys total exports. Foreign direct investment (FDI): SEZs have been instrumental in attracting FDI, particularly in sectors such as electronics, automotive, and information technology. Job creation: SEZs have generated a large number of direct and indirect employment opportunities, particularly in manufacturing, IT, and services. Infrastructure development: The establishment of SEZs has led to the development of industrial infrastructure, including roads, ports, and power facilities. Regional development: SEZs are often set up in underdeveloped or rural areas, leading to the economic development of those regions.

Sector-wise Distribution of Operational SEZs (Data as of April 30, 2024) Agro Processing 2 Airport based multiproduct 0 Alumina/Aluminium 2 Auto/Automobile Ancillary 2 Aviation/Aerospace/Copper 3 Mineral Based Industries 1 Biotechnology 7 Building Products / Transport equipments 2 Electronic product/ Semiconductor/ Telecom equipments 5 Engineering/Metallurgi cal Engineering 13 Footwear/Leather 4 Food Processing 2 FTWZ (including Multi Sector SEZ) 5 Gems and Jewellery 4 Handicrafts & Carpets 1 IT/ITES/Electronic Hardware and Software 169 Multi-Product 25 Multi-Services/MultiSector SEZ 3 Non-Conventional Energy 2 Petrochemical/ Petroleum/Oil and Gas 0 Pharmaceuticals/chemicals 14 Port-Based MultiProduct 3 Power/Solar 4 Textiles/Apparel/Wool 7 Writing and printing paper mills 0 Granite processing Industries and other allied machinery/ manufacturing 0

Source: Fact Sheet, SEZ India

Challenges for SEZ development in India:

Land acquisition issues: Acquiring land for SEZs has been a significant challenge, often leading to conflicts with local communities. Regulatory complexity: Despite the incentives, businesses often face bureaucratic hurdles, which complicates the ease of doing business. Impact of external factors: Global economic slowdowns and shifting trade policies can affect the demand for exports from SEZs, impacting their growth. Regional concentration of SEZs: SEZs are concentrated in certain states, such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu, leading to an imbalance in regional development.

State-wise Distribution of Operational SEZs (Data as of April 30, 2024) Andhra Pradesh 25 Arunachal Pradesh 0 Chandigarh 2 Chhattisgarh 1 Delhi 0 Goa 0 Gujarat 21 Haryana 8 Jharkhand 1 Karnataka 37 Kerala 20 Madhya Pradesh 6 Maharashtra 38 Manipur 0 Nagaland 0 Odisha 5 Puducherry 0 Punjab 3 Rajasthan 3 Sikkim 0 Tamil Nadu 55 Telangana 38 Tripura 0 Uttar Pradesh 14 West Bengal 7

Source: Fact Sheet, SEZ India

Opportunities for export-oriented units in India

Export-Oriented Units (EOUs) are businesses in India focused on exporting goods and services to international markets. Established under the Export-Import Policy of 1980, EOUs play a vital role in enhancing exports and foreign exchange earnings by creating an export-driven ecosystem with various incentives. Defined in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), EOUs commit to exporting their entire production, excluding permissible sales in the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA). Their activities encompass manufacturing, repair, service rendering, software development, and agriculture.

To set up an EOU, an application must be submitted using the ANF 6A form, along with a fee of INR 5,000 (US$59.45) and necessary documents. The Unit Approval Committee reviews applications within 15 days, and upon approval, a Letter of Permission (LoP) is issued. EOUs must maintain a positive Net Foreign Exchange (NFE) and sign a Legal Undertaking with the Development Commissioner.

EOUs enjoy various benefits, including customs and excise duty exemptions on imported and locally procured goods, GST exemptions on exports, and access to duty-free raw materials. They also benefit from streamlined regulations, world-class infrastructure, and the ability to retain 100 percent of foreign exchange earnings, enhancing financial flexibility.

The growth opportunities for EOUs are substantial, driven by Indias integration into global supply chains, particularly in sectors like automotive, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and IT/ITES. Government initiatives, such as Make in India, further support export capacity. EOUs also gain from Indias strategic location and trade agreements that provide preferential market access.

Looking ahead, the future for EOUs is promising, with trends indicating a diversification of export markets, a shift toward sustainable manufacturing practices, and increased investment in technology. By focusing on producing high-value products and adapting to market demands, EOUs can significantly contribute to Indias economic growth and foreign trade performance.

(US$1 = INR 84.11)
Kannivedi OTT Release Update: Soon after the success of her film Maamannan, National Award-winning actress Keerthy Suresh announced this now-highly-anticipated project. The movie will mark the directorial debut of Ganesh Raj. While the release date is yet to be announced, Netflix has secured the streaming rights of Kannivedi and will stream it after the film's theatrical run concludes.

Everything we know so far about Kannivedi

This women-centric tech thriller revolves around a media student (played by Keerthy) who has aspirations of becoming a prominent journalist. However, her journey takes an unexpected turn when she begins to investigate a news story, only to find herself entangled in something far beyond her control. The title translates to "a spectacle for the eyes" in Tamil and hints at the film's visual appeal.

Director Ganesh Raj, a former assistant to directors Ram and Hari, describes the film as a story that will entertain audiences with its thrills and suspense, noting that the narrative is sure to be a standout in the genre. Alongside Keerthy, VJ Rakshan plays her friend. The film also stars Visaaranai-fame Ajay Ghosh and Namita Krishnamurthy in pivotal roles.

Kannivedi has onboarded an impressive technical team, with cinematography by Madhesh Manickam, known for his work on Taanaakkaran. The film's editing is handled by JV Manikanda Balaji, whose experience in films like Iraivan and Manithan has been widely appreciated. Art direction by Sakthee Venkatraj and editing by Eford will further contribute to the film's immersive aesthetic.

Produced by SR Prabhu and SR Prakash Babu under their banner Dream Warrior Productions, Kannivedi began its journey with a ceremonial pooja in Chennai back in 2023. Director Ganesh Raj shared that the film would officially begin shooting on July 22 that year. The film is expected to be a Tamil-language release, with potential plans for dubbed versions in other languages once the shoot is completed.

For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.
Roadies XX: In the latest episode of MTV Roadies XX, aired on January 11, 2025, Neha Dhupia took a jab at Elvish Yadav, calling him Prince Narula's "good student." This comment created a tense moment between the two, with Elvish expressing surprise and denying the claim.

Rhea Chakraborty, another gang leader, criticized Nehas remark, suggesting it implied that Elvish lacks his own independent thoughts. The drama unfolded on the popular app JioCinema and MTV, intensifying the rivalry among the gang leaders in this season of Roadies Double Cross.

MTV Roadies XX: Neha Dhupia Mocks Elvish Yadav

The episode showed Neha Dhupia and Elvish Yadav engaged in a serious conversation. Neha mocked Elvish in front of a contestant by saying, Tu Prince ko bohot achi tarah follow karta hai (You follow Prince nicely). This comment caught Elvish by surprise, and he asked, Kaise follow karta hu? (How do I follow?). Neha continued, Achi tarah follow karta hai tu Prince ko. Tu saari uski instructions leta hai (You follow him nicely and take all his instructions).

In essence, Neha implied that Elvish blindly follows Prince Narula and does not think independently, calling him a "good student." Her remarks left the others stunned, particularly Rhea Chakraborty, who had a strong response.

MTV Roadies XX: Rhea Chakraborty Critiques Nehas Comment

Rhea Chakraborty didnt hold back and quickly pointed out that Nehas comment suggested that Elvish did not have his own mind. "Yeh toh insult hai. She is insinuating that aapka apna dimaag nahi hai," Rhea remarked, translating to This is an insult. She is implying you dont have your own brain, which is not good for a gang leader.

This comment from Rhea added fuel to the fire, as it questioned Elvishs ability to think for himself in the competitive environment of Roadies XX.

MTV Roadies XX: Elvish Yadav Defends Himself

Elvish, however, was not easily shaken by Nehas comments. He responded with confidence, stating, "Aise toh kayi aa gaye" (There have been many like her). He made it clear that Neha's tactics would not affect the strong bond of brotherhood he shares with Prince Narula.

MTV Roadies XX: The Rising Rivalry Between Neha Dhupia and Elvish Yadav

The promo ends with a dramatic exchange between Neha and Prince. Neha confidently claims that a contestant will join her gang, while Prince disagrees, asserting that the contestant would be in his gang instead. The moment sets the stage as a brewing rivalry between Neha and Elvish.

About MTV Roadies XX

MTV Roadies XX is the 20th season of the popular reality show Roadies, titled Roadies Double Cross. Hosted by Rannvijay Singha, this season features four gang leaders: Neha Dhupia, Prince Narula, Rhea Chakraborty, and Elvish Yadav. Each leader is responsible for guiding their team of contestants through challenging tasks and dramatic eliminations. The show airs every Saturday and Sunday at 7 PM on MTV and is also available for streaming on JioCinema.

For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events.




Akshay Kumars recently released movie Sky Force has caused some upset within the Kodava community in Karnataka. The film about Indias first airstrike during the 1965 war with Pakistan, shows Squadron Leader Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya as a Tamilian, even though he belongs to the Kodava community in Kodagu. Debutant Veer Pahariya who plays the role of Devayya in the movie has been lately facing backlash along with the makers for ethnic inaccuracies.

Why is Sky Force facing backlash?

The Kodava community who are known for its strong warrior traditions has voiced their frustration online. Some members have even created videos and posts calling out the filmmakers for manipulating their heritage. One such video by Tanya, a lawyer from the Kodava community, has gone viral. In a long video, she criticized the filmmakers for distorting historical facts. Watch here:-

Also Read - Sky Force Box Office Collection Day 3: Akshay Kumars film benefits from Republic Day holiday, record 77% growth

For the unversed, The Kodava community has produced several popular figures in Indias military history, including Field Marshal KM Cariappa, the nations first commander-in-chief, and General KS Thimayya, the third Chief of Army Staff.

Who is Ajjamada B. Devayya?

Squadron Leader Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya, MVC, is a celebrated figure in Indias military history. He is the only Indian Air Force officer to have been awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) posthumously in 1988, the second-highest wartime bravery award in India. During the 1965 India-Pakistan war, Devayya was part of a mission targeting the Pakistani airbase at Sargodha.

Devayya was born on December 24, 1932, in Coorg, Karnataka, and was the son of Dr. Bopayya. In 1954, he joined the Indian Air Force as a pilot. When the 1965 war began, he was an instructor at the Air Force Flying College. Later, he was posted to the No.1 "Tigers" Squadron and flew the Mystere IVa fighter bomber. During the mission, although he was initially on standby, Devayya joined the air battle and encountered a Pakistani F-104 Starfighter.

Despite his aircraft being damaged, he successfully shot down the enemy plane. His plane was destroyed in the process, and it is assumed he died while flying over Pakistani territory.

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Coldplay brought a piece of BTS to India, giving ARMYs a taste of the K-pop group's magic during their Music of the Spheres world tour. Although BTS has not visited India, their collaboration with Coldplay on the song My Universe was a highlight of the British boy band's India shows, showcasing the power of music to transcend language and cultural boundaries. The song, which features a mix of English and Korean lyrics, was a special treat for Indian fans of both Coldplay and BTS.

'We are gonna sing in Korean': Chris Martin's tribute to BTS

Chris Martin and his bandmates performed My Universe at every show in India as part of their setlist, and almost every time, the Coldplay frontman didn't forget to give a shoutout to BTS. As Coldplay took over the Ahmedabad Stadium for their final show on January 26, Martin gushed over his Korean brothers before serenading the crowd with the soulful track.

Before performing My Universe at the Sunday show, Chris Martin gave a heartfelt shoutout to BTS, addressing the massive crowd of over 1.5 lakh attendees. He expressed his admiration for the K-pop group, saying, "And now we are going to sing in Korean; we are going to sing for who you love; we are gonna sing for our brothers BTS."

The way in one of the latest Coldplay concerts in India before singing 'My Universe' Chris Martin said:



and now we are gonna sing in korean, we are gonna sing for who do you love, we are gonna sing for our brothers BTS



MY COLDTAN HEART pic.twitter.com/kI6AUnwTPd  Carolyne (@mhereonlyforbts) January 26, 2025

ARMYs react to Chris Martin's BTS tribute!

ARMYs are now totally freaking out over Chris Martin's shoutout to BTS during Coldplay's concert, with many pinning hopes for a BTS concert in India.

One user wrote, "Been years since My Universe, but Coldplay never fails to show their love and appreciation for the tannies everywhere they go. What a beautiful thing to see when people bonded over their love for music and respected each other as artists."

Been years since My Universe but Coldplay never fails to show their love and appreciation for the tannies everywhere they go. What a beautiful thing to see when people bonded over their love for music and respect each other as artists  https://t.co/E8QhFXGeTD  Fafa   | with7wonders ()       (@tannies0613_7) January 26, 2025

Another commented, "If you think you're the one who loves BTS the most, maybe you're wrong; Chris Martin loves them even more."

If you think you're the one who loves BTS the most, maybe you're wrong, Chris Martin loves them even more https://t.co/oSzIb4xzWZ  vivss (@dtrwkoo) January 26, 2025

A third hopeful fan penned, "I see vision. Ahmedabad Stadium is perfect for the BTS concert next year. Hopefully manifesting."

I see vision. Ahmedabad Stadium is perfect for BTS concert next year. Hopefully manifesting  https://t.co/H5n4BA83VG   (@switzerrland__) January 26, 2025

"This just melted my heart! Coldplay and BTS have such a beautiful bond, and hearing Chris Martin mention them like that is so special. Its amazing to see how much love and respect they have for each other," added another.

This just melted my heart!  Coldplay and BTS have such a beautiful bond, and hearing Chris Martin mention them like that is so special. Its amazing to see how much love and respect they have for each other.  https://t.co/yS48mvtltG  Pepa Petrova 7=1 (@PepaPP0) January 26, 2025

When Chris Martin called himself the 8th member of BTS

Coldplay and BTS collaborated on the song My Universe in 2021. The song was a huge success and topped charts and streaming platforms worldwide. In a 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, Chris Martin opened up about the experience of working with the K-pop group, joking that he's the 8th member of BTS.

Speaking about the collaboration, he said, "It turned out to be the most uplifting, natural collaboration. I would do anything for those guys at any time. They were so good. They made the song so great."

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As Coldplay's India tour has come to a close after their spectacular performances in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the British musical band has wrapped up their 'Music of the Spheres' tour in India. The musical band held their final and biggest-ever concert in India in Ahmedabad on January 26.

The concert was also live-streamed on Disney+ Hotstar, offering fans a chance to experience the live performance by Chris Martin and other band members in Ahmedabad. Amid all this, as the India tour has concluded, Coldplay penned a heartfelt note in which they expressed their feelings about how an unforgettable two weeks in India were for them.

A sign-off post by Coldplay after a remarkable

After a remarkable two-day concert in India, Coldplay shared a heartfelt post on X (formerly called Twitter). In the post, the band shared their experience of the two weeks they spent in India.

Hours after their final concert in Ahmedabad, the team shared a picture of the packed stadium lit up with dazzling lights and spectacular fireworks. The post read, Thank you Ahmedabad, thank you India. Well never forget these two weeks. Your love and kindness will stay with us forever (sic)," with a heart emoji. Check out their post below!"

Thank you Ahmedabad, thank you India. Well never forget these two weeks. Your love and kindness will stay with us forever  pic.twitter.com/vB4BfsfFKY  Coldplay (@coldplay) January 26, 2025





Coldplay's concluded their concert in Ahmedabads Narendra Modi Stadium

Coldplay conducted five concerts in India as part of the Music of the Spheres World Tour and concluded the tour in Ahmedabads Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

As per the reports, the Ahmedabad concert of Coldplay reportedly became the most attended musical concert in Asia, with over 1.34 lakh people attending the event.

Last night, Chris Martin left his fans mesmerised after he delivered his magical performance of Vande Mataram on the occasion of Republic Day. During the concert, he was also seen speaking to the crowd in Hindi and Gujarati.

Well, besides this, Chris Martin also invited the couple to join him on the stage and perform 'Everglow' with him.

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Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) cases are on the rise in Pune and the nearby areas. According to the latest report, a man suspected to have contracted the condition has died in Maharashtra's Solapur district, said the health officials in a news agency, PTI.

As per the report, the deceased, who died in his native Solapur, visited Pune, where he was suspected to have contracted the disease. The death is possibly the first death caused by GBS, an immunological nerve disorder, in Maharashtra. The first suspected death has mounted fear among people, but is Guillain-Barre syndrome deadly?

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a type of rare condition where your bodys immune system mistakenly starts to attack its own nerves. This is often triggered by an infection, often respiratory or gastrointestinal. Those diagnosed with this condition can experience a range of symptoms such as tingling sensation in the hands or feet, rapidly progressive muscle weakness of the arms and legs, difficulty in walking, problems with coordination, shortness of breath, slow reflexes, drooping face muscles, or double vision, says Dr. Pankaj Agarwal, Head of the Department of Neurology, Gleneagles Hospital Parel Mumbai.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) cases | 101 patients have been found until now. 81 patients are from Pune MC, 14 from Pimpri Chinchwad MC and 6 are from other districts: Public Health Department, Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/kdoip599yT  ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025





Risk of death from Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)

Some people may recover fully if they are treated promptly, but others might suffer from long-lasting nerve damage. Dr. Agarwal, The risk of death due to GBS is very low if treated in time. Individuals are advised to immediately consult a doctor if they start experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned before for timely diagnosis and prompt medical intervention. GBS recovers fully in almost all cases if diagnosed and treated in time.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) majorly impacts people of all ages, but it is more commonly seen in children, adults, and older age groups.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome: Which Groups Are Most Vulnerable?

According to Dr. Jagdish Kathwate, consultant neonatologist & paediatrician, Motherhood Hospital, Kharadi, Pune, Guillain-Barre syndrome cases are most commonly reported in children and teenagers, and risk factors for this condition are infections, including respiratory or gastrointestinal infections (like Campylobacter jejuni), some viral infections like Epstein-Barr virus, Zika virus, or influenza, and, in rare cases, recent surgeries.

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Sheryl Sandberg: Metas former COO, Sheryl Sandberg, is facing legal trouble after a Delaware judge sanctioned her for allegedly deleting emails related to the Cambridge Analytica case. The case involves claims that Sandberg and former Meta board member Jeff Zients used personal email accounts to discuss Facebooks privacy practices and deleted emails despite a court order to preserve them. The judge raised the burden of proof for Sandbergs defense, requiring "clear and convincing" evidence. This legal action is part of ongoing concerns over Facebook's privacy violations, which previously led to a $5 billion fine by the FTC.

Allegations Against Sheryl Sandberg and Jeff Zients

According to the lawsuit, Sandberg and Zients used personal email accounts to discuss Facebooks privacy practices. This is seen as a violation of their fiduciary duties and legal obligations. The emails were allegedly deleted from these personal accounts, even after a court ordered them to be preserved.

A Delaware judge has sanctioned Sheryl Sandberg, Metas former COO and board member, for allegedly deleting emails related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. https://t.co/YnRPgewIKX  TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) January 22, 2025

The judge found the claims credible, stating that Sandberg used a personal Gmail account under an alias to communicate about the case. The ruling pointed out inconsistencies in her responses, suggesting that she selectively deleted emails rather than relying on automatic deletion settings.

wallpapercave

Name Role Allegation Sheryl Sandberg Former Meta COO Deleting emails related to the case Jeff Zients Former Meta Board Member Deleting emails related to the case

Court Ruling and Sanctions

The judges decision raises the burden of proof for Sandberg's defense, now requiring her to provide "clear and convincing" evidence, a higher standard than the usual "preponderance of the evidence." The court also granted certain legal expenses to the plaintiffs.

A spokesperson for Sandberg refuted the claims, stating, "All work emails were preserved on Facebook's servers." However, the court remains unconvinced by her defense and continues to pursue the matter.

In a dramatic turn of events tied to the @CamAnalytica privacy debacle, a Delaware judge has issued sanctions against @sherylsandberg , the former COO and board member of @Meta , over claims that she deleted critical emails.



The allegations stem from a lawsuit filed by Meta pic.twitter.com/kKMCYqVxVX  AIM (@Analyticsindiam) January 23, 2025

Metas Data Privacy Violations and Legal Consequences

The lawsuit stems from Facebook's violations of a 2012 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order, which prohibited the company from collecting and sharing user data without consent. Reports suggest that Facebook shared user data with commercial partners, including Cambridge Analytica, and removed required disclosures from its privacy settings.

Meta faced significant penalties for these violations, including a $5 billion fine imposed by the FTC in 2019. European regulators have also taken action against Meta for mishandling user data.

Year Regulatory Action Penalty/Fine 2019 FTC fine for data privacy violations $5 billion 2021 European regulatory action Penalties for privacy violations

The Ongoing Impact on Sheryl Sandberg and Meta

In recent developments, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg reportedly distanced himself from the companys inclusive policies, suggesting that they were influenced by Sandberg. This move came shortly before the courts ruling on the email deletion case.

Sheryl Sandbergs legacy at Meta includes transforming the company into a profitable entity through its advertising business. She joined Meta (formerly Facebook) in 2008 and played a key role in its growth.

The outcome of this case could have significant implications for both Sandberg's future and Metas reputation in handling user data.

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The Maha Kumbh Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage, is happening after 12 years. Amid the ongoing religious event, a Greek woman identified as Penelope married an Indian man, Siddharth, at the MahaKumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Sunday.

According to an ANI report, the couple chose the religious event to get hitched in a more 'divine and spiritual' way rather than the usual wedding, which is more like an opportunity for people to 'party and drink.'.

Swami Yatindranand Giri performed the 'kanyadaan rituals'

While getting married at the Maha Kumbh, the 'kanyadaan' ritual was performed by Swami Yatindranand Giri, Mahamandaleshwar of the Juna Akhara. During the marriage, the bride's mother and other relatives were also present at the moment.

The woman had adopted the Sanatan Dharma a few years ago and is now a devotee of Lord Shiva. On the other hand, her husband, Siddharth, is also a devotee of Shiva, and he has visited various countries to spread yoga and serve the Sanatan Dharma.

Keeping all the traditions in mind, the couple on Sunday did the 'agni phere' (circling the fire); it was done, as per the ANI report.

Greek woman described the experience as 'magical beyond words'

Penelope, the Greek woman, expressed her happiness at choosing to get married in India, that too during the biggest Hindu festival, Maha Kumbh. She revealed it was very nice to see a different perspective in a spiritual way.

Moreover, she also described her experience as magical beyond words and said she was excited about embracing a new culture.





Couple to stay till the end of the Mahakumbh mela

The couple who got married in a spiritual way during the Mahakumbh wanted to get married in the 'most authentic manner,' hence they chose Prayagraj for its 'divine nature.'

The couple has also decided to stay till the end of the Mahakumbh Mela and will also take a holy dip on January 29.

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A routine traffic stop at a Greek toll station turned into a historical find when police discovered ancient coins in a man's possession.

The 32-year-old man was arrested Saturday at the Asprovalta toll station after officers from the Thessaloniki Police Directorate found five ancient coins mixed in with modern currency inside his car.

The coins, protected under Greek law as cultural artifacts, were confiscated.

The man now faces charges for violating laws on the protection of antiquities and cultural heritage.

He is expected to appear before a prosecutor, while authorities work to determine the origin and historical significance of the coins.

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Spring Festival to glow with spending boom

12:02, January 27, 2025 By Ma Jingjing, Tu Lei ( Global Times

China has been basking in festive hustle and bustle as Chinese people prepare to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year with strong consumer sentiment. From the travel surge during the eight-day holiday to a bustling festival shopping spree, the Spring Festival is set to witness a booming consumer market, highlighting the vitality and momentum of the Chinese economy.

According to data released by the Ministry of Transport on Sunday, China saw a total of 273 million cross-regional trips on Saturday, the 12th day of the Spring Festival travel rush period, an increase of 17.3 percent on a yearly basis.

Residents' willingness to travel increased during the holiday - the first Spring Festival since the inscription of "Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of traditional new year" on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2024. According to a report released by Chinese travel agency Tongcheng Travel Holdings Ltd on Tuesday, searches for scenic spots and travel products related to intangible cultural heritage have jumped 87 percent year-on-year since January.

Amid the "China Travel" craze, a large number of foreign tourists are expected to gain a deep experience of Chinese New Year, with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province and Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province among popular inbound tourism destinations, according to Tongcheng.

Umetrip, an official mobile platform for real-time flight information, told the Global Times that the number of domestic air ticket bookings for the Spring Festival holidays (from January 28 to February 4) exceeded 11.72 million by Sunday; inbound and outbound air ticket bookings exceeded 1.82 million by the same time, up about 21 percent from the last Spring Festival holiday.

"Inbound tourism via our platform is expected to increase by about 20 percent on a yearly basis during the upcoming Spring Festival, with tourists mainly from countries including South Korea, Japan, Central and Eastern European countries, and Southeast Asian countries," Xu Xiaolei, a marketing manager from CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Festival shopping spree

In addition to the travel surge, fresh steam is being added to the Chinese New Year consumption drive, as the world's second-largest economy taps its huge market and creates new scenarios and products for a large number of consumers.

"There are some new changes in Chinese consumers' special purchases for the Spring Festival," Zhang Yi, CEO of the iiMedia Research Institute, told the Global Times.

From crowded fairs for the Spring Festival to online shopping, the new trend reflects a range of new business models. From local specialties and common purchases for the Spring Festival such as liquor and sugar to more "guochao", or "national wave" (which refers to products packed with traditional Chinese cultural elements) as well as more high-tech products, the trend highlights increasingly rich supply amid China's economic growth and the country's evolving consumer habits, according to Zhang.

A 35-year-old Beijing-based white-collar worker named Liu Jie told the Global Times on Sunday that he bought a wrist electronic pressure meter for his father, which he thought was better than regular specialty products.

According to data released by Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao on January 15, the transaction volume of handmade lanterns on the platform surged 221 percent month-on-month in January, reflecting the popularity of intangible cultural products during the holiday.

Meanwhile, Chinese consumers are enjoying an expanding menu of global flavors. Earlier this month, a cargo ship loaded with 20,000 tons of Chilean cherries arrived at Nansha Port in Guangzhou, the capital of South China's Guangdong Province, perfectly timed to offer a festive treat for millions, the Xinhua News Agency reported, displaying China's growing consumption power and expanding imports.

In addition to goods consumption, leisure activities are also proving popular among Chinese consumers. According to Chinese online movie ticket platform Taopiaopiao, China's advance ticket bookings for movies set to be released during the upcoming Spring Festival holidays have exceeded 600 million yuan ($82.81 million) as of Sunday noon, marking a strong start to the world's second-largest film market this year.

Economic vibrancy

The Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake offers the world a window into China's economic vibrancy, which boosts market expectations and confidence and augurs well for 2025.

"The robust consumption performance during the Spring Festival is expected to give a strong start to China's economy this year and inject fresh impetus into the global economy," Cao Heping, an economist at Peking University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

China's economic expectations this year will outperform those of last year, Cao said, noting that the economy has great resilience and potential thanks to its ultra-large market, ongoing industrial transformation and upgrade, high-level opening-up, and evolving consumption structure.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently upgraded China's economic growth forecast for 2025 to 4.6 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from October's projection, according to its World Economic Outlook released on January 17.

"I'm bullish on China's economy in the medium and long term. China is now taking steps to stimulate the economy and increase domestic consumption," said Borge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum, the Xinhua News Agency reported on January 22.

The tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing in December pointed out that more proactive and impactful macro policies should be implemented to sustain the upward trend of the economy, sending a crystal-clear signal on the Chinese policymakers' confidence and resolve to maintain a sound economic trajectory characterized by both reasonable speed and higher quality.

"China's economy is not a small pond, but a vast ocean that can potentially keep all ships afloat. It grew by 5 percent year-on-year to reach a record 134.9084 trillion yuan (about $18.77 trillion) in 2024, which lays a good foundation for quality development of the world's second-largest economy," Cao said.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing)
Thousands of mourners, from both Greece and Albania, gathered at the Annunciation Cathedral in Athens on Sunday to pay their respects to the late Archbishop Anastasios of Albania.

Revered for his humility, dedication to Orthodoxy, and missionary work, the beloved archbishops body has been lying in repose since the morning, as clergy perform memorial services.

The

solemn farewell will continue until Monday morning, when the archbishops casket will depart from the cathedral, accompanied by the Hellenic Navy Band.

On Tuesday, January 28, the procession will cross the border at Kakavia, where an honor guard will pay tribute.

Archbishop Anastasios will be accompanied on this journey by senior clerics from the Albanian Church, including Metropolitan Nicholas of Apollonia and Fier, Bishop Anastasios of Kruja, and two priests who were his close collaborators during the post-communist revival of the Albanian Orthodox Church.

Representing the Church of Greece, Metropolitan Ierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agios Vlasios, vice president of the Holy Synod, will also join the delegation.

Archbishop Anastasios legacy as a spiritual leader and unifier continues to resonate across borders, as faithful bid farewell to a figure who symbolized the enduring strength of faith and humility.

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A 61-year-old man on the Greek island of Kos has been arrested and charged with attempted homicide after allegedly attacking his wife while she slept Thursday morning.

Police say the man struck the woman with a metal pipe before stabbing her multiple times with two knives,

causing severe injuries to her hands, neck, and head

"She has severed tendons in her hands," a police source said.

The victim managed to escape and seek help from a neighbor who happened to be a police officer. The officer called for emergency services and then found the husband injured in the yard.

Authorities are investigating how the husband sustained his injuries.

The woman remains hospitalized and has reportedly requested a panic button for protection.

The incident has shocked the local community and brought renewed attention to the issue of domestic violence in Greece.

   iefimerida.gr
The issue of decarbonizing shipping in view of the meeting of the competent Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is expected to approve a global mechanism for determining

Global shipping community discusses energy transition in Athens -  
No fewer than 22 Soldiers have been killed in a clash between Nigeria Army and suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State.

It was gathered that 70 insurgents were also neutralized during the operation located in Timbuktu Triangle, a notorious terrorist stronghold in the northern state.

The attack made by troops of Operation Hadin Kai, began on January 16, 2025, and has focused on dismantling terrorist enclaves in the region.

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In a statement on Sunday, by DHQs Spokesman, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, disclosed that the operation has resulted in several encounters with terrorist groups.

Buba added that among the insurgents killed were three high-ranking commanders: the Terrorist Special Forces Commander, Talha; the Operations Commander, Mallam Umar; and the Brigade Commander, Abu Yazeed.

The statement reads: Troops of Operation HADIN KAI in the Northeast of the country conducted a clearance operation to a renowned terrorist stronghold and enclave known as the Timbuktu Triangle.

The three-prong operation aimed at dismantling the terrorist presence within the triangle commenced on 16 Jan 25 till date.

READ MORE: Nigeria Army Kills 79 Terrorists, Rescues 67 Hostages In One Week  DHQ

Troops recorded several encounters with terrorists during the course of the clearance operations, which resulted in over 70 terrorist combatants, including three notable terrorist commanders, neutralised.

The terrorist commanders neutralised include and are not limited to the following: TALHA (Terrorist Special Forces Commander), Mallam UMAR (Terrorist Operations commander) and ABU YAZEED (Terrorist Brigade Commander).

Overall, during the course of the operations, troops sadly recorded 22 killed in action casualties with several others wounded in action.

On this account, the media is enjoined to resist publishing names of troop casualties to allow the formal notification of their next of kin.
Famous Nigerian socialite and businessman, Pascal Okechukwu, widely known as Cubana Chief Priest, has refuted allegations made by a Kenyan woman who claims he is the father of her child.

Chief Priest maintained that the allegations are part of a targeted attempt to destabilize his marriage.

The woman, named Helen, has been accusing the socialite of neglecting her and their supposed son, but Cubana Chief Priest has consistently denied these allegations.

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READ MORE: Burna Boy Is Jealous Of My Bond With Davido  Cubana Chief Priest

During an appearance on the Rubbin Minds show on Sunday, hosted by Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, Chief Priest stressed that he has never met Helen and firmly asserted that the child is not his.

He stated that the womans actions appear to be focused on targeting his marriage rather than pursuing justice. He also reiterated his love for children and his readiness to care for any child of his.

He said, Children are gifts from God regardless of how they come, and I have more than enough to take care of my children as many as possible that will come my way.

Cubana Chief Priest referred to his marriage as the most significant blessing in his life, emphasizing that the allegations have had no effect on his relationship with his wife.

He explained that their relationship goes beyond marriage, as they are also business partners and close associates.

I have a beautiful marriage; this is the best thing that has ever happened to me and if you watch the whole attack, it is on the marriage.

When asked if he would have accepted if the child was his, Chief Priest replied of course.

He added that he would be willing to take a test to prove his innocence, but emphasized, but you cannot bash me this hard and expect my loyalty.

The businessman, who hails from Imo State, revealed that the controversy has been ongoing for some time, although he is unaware of those orchestrating it.

The entrepreneur suggested that Helens intentions might be questionable, noting that she only reappears during times when he is in the spotlight for other controversies.

He believes this indicates she has an ulterior motive rather than genuinely seeking the father of her child.

Watch him speak below
Anambra State local security agency, identified as Agunechemba, have allegedly uncovered 30 graves and a shrine within the premises of a popular hotel in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area of the state.

INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the discovery was made on Saturday, at La Cruise Hotel, located along Onitsha-Owerri Road.

Reacting to the development in a statement on Sunday, Ejimofor Opera, an aide to the Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, stated that the establishment has been demolished in line with the Anambra State Homeland Security Law.

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He said: The demolition of a kidnappers den disguised as Udoka Golden Point Hotel and Suites, also known as La Cruise Hotel, along Onitsha-Owerri Road, is underway.

Also speaking over the development, Christian Aburime, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Soludo, in an interview with Sahara Reporters on Sunday, said that the demolition was carried out on Saturday, after investigations revealed that the hotel has been confirmed to be kidnappers den.

READ MORE: Kidnapped Anambra Medical Doctor Regains Freedom After Spending Two Days In Kidnapers Den

He said: The hotel was destroyed because of investigation leading to that place as being the kidnappers den.

A lot of things were discovered there  graves, army uniform, live cartridges and something like that.

In short, after the hotel was brought down the community people were happy because they had been complaining that every night they heard gunshots there.

You know the people who should be giving the government information about these criminal activities were afraid, because if you give credible report someone who knows you will say you are the one who told the police.

But with this Homeland Security Law 2025 now in place and everything that the government has put in place, it will be much easier to get these criminals and flush them out of Anambra state.

We are making serious progress ridding the state of criminals and we must commend this drastic action the government has taken.

It is already yielding positive results. More buildings will be destroyed if there are links that they are connected to any kidnapping, robbery and hired killers, especially kidnapping.

The house will be brought down and the owner will be prosecuted.
Former pastor of the City of David parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Idowu Iluyomade, has explained that running a ministry is financially demanding.

He added that this is why God instituted tithes to support the needs of His house.

While speaking on Sunday during the churchs second service at the Civic Centre, Iluyomade stated that, Ministry costs moneythats why God said we should bring tithes to the needs of His house are met. Concerning offerings, God said everyone should give according to how He has blessed them. Naturally, the rich should give more than those with less. We must give in proportion to our prosperity.

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The cleric also urged Christians to lead holy and righteous lives, cautioning against disregarding these fundamental principles of faith.

READ MORE: Zicsaloma Shares Transformative Experience With Facelift, Nose Surgery In Turkey

He further revealed that his newly established ministry, The Family Fellowship, has secured a permanent site at Eko Atlantic, adding that the land was donated by a member of the church.

He took the opportunity to encourage Christians to cultivate the habit of giving, both to support others and to advance Gods work.

He noted that many believers find it challenging to embrace the principle of giving, describing it as a sacrificial act that attracts Gods blessings.

In his sermon titled Giving, Pastor Iluyomade stressed the need to understand the biblical principles surrounding offerings and tithes.

He said, As believers, you have to be very careful because there are all kinds of doctrines flying around today. I want us to reason together because there have been many teachings concerning giving. If you are not careful, you will miss it in this area, and that is the gospel truth.

He continued: Your giving begins with your offering. Tithe belongs to God10 per cent of your income belongs to Him. And God knows mathematics. Many people avoid reading Malachi 3, where God complains about people robbing Him in tithes and offerings.

We need to repent. If God calls us robbers, we should ask ourselves: will any robber enter heaven? And how much is this 10 per cent that God is asking for? If I were God, maybe I would ask for more, but He only asks for 10 per cent to bless the remaining. Lets reflect on that.

Iluyomade encouraged worshippers to avoid a lackadaisical approach to paying their tithes. However, he also emphasised the equal importance of supporting the poor and needy, especially during difficult times.

During the service, two members of the congregation gave a donation of 4 million to Bethesda Home & School for the Blind, reflecting the spirit of generosity that Pastor Iluyomade discussed in his sermon.
Former Deputy Majority Leader of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Olumuyiwa Jimoh, has called for the suspension of Mudashiru Obasa from the House over his recent comment after his impeachment.

INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that Mr. Obasa, while addressing his supporters on Saturday, insisted that he remains the Speaker despite his removal.

Reacting to the former speakers statement on Monday during an interview on Channels TV, Mr. Jimoh statesd that it is unconstitutional for a lawmaker to make such claim in the assembly.

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He said: He (Obasa) claims that he is still the speaker which I think he knows that the implication is automatic suspension. I feel he should be suspended for that. It is an impersonation.

READ MORE: I Remain Lagos Assembly Speaker  Obasa Tells Supporters, Denies Corruption Allegation

How can he be the bona fide speaker of the house? It is going to lead to his suspension.

He knows its implication. He has been in the house for almost two decades. If I were to be in the house, I am going to move for his suspension.

Obasa was removed as Lagos speaker on Monday, January 13, 2025, when more than two-thirds of the 40-member legislative house voted him out over alleged misconduct and sundry offences.

His deputy, Mojisola Meranda, was immediately elected as the new Speaker, becoming the first female to take charge of the legislative body in South-West state.

Obasa, from Agege Constituency I, was first elected into the House in 2007. He has since been in the chamber since then. He emerged speaker in June 2015 before his removal in January 2025.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has made a passionate plea for the preservation of Yoruba cultural heritage, emphasizing that it must not be allowed to fade into extinction.

Speaking in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Sunday, Obasanjo stressed the importance of safeguarding Yoruba culture, which he described as authentic.

Obasanjos comments came during a celebration marking the 50th birthday of renowned female talking drummer, Olamuyiwa Aralola, popularly known as Ara.

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He praised Ara for her efforts in preserving Yoruba cultural heritage through her mastery of the talking drum, a skill traditionally associated with men.

READ ALSO: Were Going Through Hardship, But Dont Lose Hope  Obasanjo Urges Nigerians

For whatever reason, we must preserve our culture. Ara is a woman of culture, she is our cultural ambassador, she has lifted our culture and had broken the taboo on what was formerly believed to be exclusively for male gender, Obasanjo said.

Obasanjo also highlighted the significance of Ifa Orunmila, a Yoruba tradition that predates Christianity and Islam.

Before Christianity and Islam, we have Ifa Orunmila, meaning Olorun lo mo eni to ma laIt is Heaven that knows who will be saved, he explained.

The former President emphasized that preserving African cultural heritage is crucial, as it is being relegated to the background.

We must not joke with our culture. We are being relegated to the background, our language is being relegated, our food, our dress, and others. We must not allow it. They are things that are authentic. Yoruba is not vernacular, he added.
The Anambra State Police Command has apprehended four individuals, including a woman, for allegedly burning a 74-year-old wheelchair-bound woman alive.

According to PUNCH Metro, the incident took place on Saturday in Abagana, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State. However, the police recovered the burnt remains of the victim, her wheelchair, and a casket.

SP Tochukwu Ikenga, spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, disclosed this in a press statement on Sunday.

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READ MORE: Gunmen Kill Delta University Professor At His Residence

Ikenga claimed that after setting the woman on fire, the suspects obtained a casket to bury her before security personnel intervened.

He said, The Anambra State Police operatives serving at the Abagana Divisional Police Headquarters on 26/1/2024 by 9 am arrested four suspects, including a 21-year-old lady Chinenye Ekwenugo from Ifitedunu, over the burning of a 74-year-old woman in a wheelchair at Abagana.

The three other suspects include Uzochukwu Okeke M aged 47, Fidel Anayo M aged 60 and Ikenna Anene M aged 54 years respectively, all from Abagana.

The operatives also recovered the burnt remains of the deceased, the wheelchair, and a casket.

During interrogation by the police operatives, the suspect, Chinenye, confessed that her boyfriend, Ifeanyi Igwe, who is currently at large and three others set the victim ablaze and got a casket to bury her before the intervention of the security operatives.

Ikenga stated that efforts are underway to apprehend the prime suspect, Ifeanyi Igwe, who is currently at large.

He added that the deceaseds body has been deposited in the morgue for an autopsy and further investigation into the cause of death.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam, while reacting to the report of the incident sued for calm and ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department of the Command for a comprehensive investigation.

Further developments shall be communicated, please, he added.
Controversial socio-political activist, Omoyele Sowore, has rejected some bail conditions requested by Nigeria Police Force.

It was gathered that the former presidential candidate of African Action Congress opted to remain in custody at the forces headquarters in Abuja.

Sowore, in a post shared via his X page on Monday, said that he was asked to submit his passport and present a Grade Level 17 officer, the equivalent of a permanent secretary, as surety.

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Recall that the AACs chieftain was summoned to address multiple allegations, including resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful orders, cyber stalking and actions allegedly intended to prevent arrests.

He later posted via his X handle that he had been granted administrative bail, which he vowed to reject if the conditions are unreasonable.

READ MORE: Police Summon Sowore Over Lagos Airport Road Altercation Video

He said: The DIG of FID, Dasuki Galandachi, at the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja had just informed me that he has instructed his personnel to grant me bail, pending the conclusion of the investigation.

If such unreasonable conditions are imposed, I will choose to remain in detention until I am charged to court, even then I know that there is no crime defined or to be investigated it is just the impunity that has become the hallmark of the PoliceNG hierarchy.

The Nigeria Police Force has requested that I deposit my International Passport and provide a level 17 civil servant as a guarantor for bail, but I have declined these conditions and opted to remain in police custody #RevolutionNow.
The Anambra State Police Commands Anti-Cult Unit has foiled a planned cult clash in the Abagana village of the states Dunukofia Local Government Area.

The operatives apprehended one of the cultists, who is already helping the authorities track down the other faction.

SP Tochukwu Ikenga, spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, stated in a news release on Sunday that the operatives arrested the suspect based on intelligence obtained on Saturday.

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READ MORE: Niger Police Apprehend Man For Machete Killing At Wedding

He said: Acting on credible information yesterday, 25th January 2025, at 1:30 pm, police arrested one Maduka Okoye, aged 25, of Abagana.

The team also recovered three expended cartridges from a pump-action gun at a shooting scene in Ezichike Community of Abagana.

The suspect, Maduka Okoye, confessed to being a member of the Baggars Confraternity and said that he was drinking with his friend in a beer parlour in the area when they came under attack by members of the rival cult group, identified as the Axe Men Confraternity.

Meanwhile, the police responded swiftly and restored calm in the area. The suspect is currently assisting the police operatives in an ongoing operation to arrest the fleeing gang members and already identified members of the rival cult, especially those actively involved in the shooting.
One of President Bola Tinubus travels despite secured Nigeria a $2 billion investment deal with Brazilian investors, the Batista Brothers, to develop the countrys livestock industry, according to Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar.

The minister revealed this during an appearance on Channels Televisions Sunday Politics, where he defended President Bola Tinubus frequent travels abroad.

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Tuggar emphasized the benefits of the Presidents trips, citing the investment deal as a prime example.

The minister noted that the Batista Brothers are the largest players in the livestock sector, slaughtering 50 million chickens and over 8 million cows daily.

The investment is expected to boost Nigerias livestock industry, with the Brazilian cows weighing 500kg, compared to Nigerias 250kg.

READ ALSO: Nigerians Pains Will Soon Be Over With President Tinubus Reforms  Gov Sani

This, according to Tuggar, will also help resolve farmer-herder disputes, as investors will be attracted to produce animal feeds.

His words: Look at the benefits, you travel once, then you get $2 billion of investment like he did with Brazil, the Batista Brothers where other countries are chasing after them but President Tinubu was able to secure that to invest in developing livestock in Nigeria.

They are the largest player in that sector slaughtering 50 million chickens everyday, over 8 million cows. If you look at the Brazilian cows that are 500kg compared to ours that are 250kg, which will in turn also solve some of our farmer-herder disputes, because youre also attracting those people to come, not only to help you develop your livestock but they are also coming to invest in producing feeds.

Tuggar argued that President Tinubus travels are necessary to establish relationships with fellow heads of state and attract investments.


The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has made a startling accusation against the All Progressives Congress (APC), alleging that the latter is planning to orchestrate violence in the State.

Recall that the State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal moved its sitting to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja amid escalating tensions following violent incidents during the tribunals first week of proceedings.

According to Chris Nehikhare, the Publicity Secretary of the State PDP Caretaker Committee, the APCs intention is to create chaos and crisis through sporadic shootings.

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Nehikhare warned the APC to desist from its alleged assault on democracy and allow the rule of law to guide governance and politics in the State.

In a statement on Monday, Nehikhare said, It has come to our attention that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State is planning to deploy another set of armed thugs, disguised in PDP-branded attire, to carry out sporadic shootings in the State with the intent to cause chaos and crisis.

READ ALSO: APC, PDP Engage In War Of Words Over Edo Governorship Tribunal Relocation

We want to dissociate ourselves from these planned shootings and violence and wish to inform the public that this is yet another in a series of clandestine efforts by the APC to tarnish the image of our party and stir unrest in the State.

The PDP also condemned the APCs alleged actions, calling on security agencies to apprehend the culprits and bring them to justice.

The Party further urged stakeholders, including civil society organizations and the international community, to speak out against the APCs tactics and protect democracy in Edo State.
New Deptford school board member Justin Green (center) is just 19 years old. Read more

Before he could legally run for office, Justin Green began speaking up at Deptford school board meetings, advocating for his peers. He was a high school junior.

Now, at 19, Green is among the youngest school board members ever elected in New Jersey. Hes part of a younger generation that has taken a growing interest in local politics often reserved for their parents and teachers.

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I viewed my age not as a weakness but as a reflection of the town itself, Green said in an interview. I figured it was time someone new stepped up.

Green was sworn in to the Deptford board earlier this month. Elsewhere in South Jersey, Aidan DiMarco, also 19, joined the Oaklyn school board, a small K-8 district. Both were overwhelmingly elected by voters in their hometowns in November.

Although uncommon, at least three teenagers were elected to school boards in November, according to Janet Bamford, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. Chad Wood, 18, won a seat in 2023 in the Sparta district in Sussex County.

Green and DiMarco dont know each other, but have a lot in common. Both are aspiring lawyers and second-year Rowan University students.

I think its important to have someone younger on the board who has an understanding of how young people feel, said DiMarco, a sophomore political science major. I want to make sure the district continues to grow and has the resources it needs.

New Jersey has been encouraging young people to get involved in school board elections. A bill backed by Gov. Phil Murphy would make 16- and 17-year-olds eligible to vote in local school board races. If adopted, the state would become the first in the country to allow it.

Candidates must be at least 18 and registered to vote when they file nominating petitions. Board members typically serve three-year terms and vote on hiring recommendations from the superintendent and other matters, such as policies, curriculum, and the annual operating budget.

Green, a sophomore political science and law justice major, became a student advocate while attending the Gloucester County Institute of Technology (GCIT) in Deptford. As a junior, he began speaking at meetings after the district threatened busing cuts and proposed a subscription busing plan. The board eventually rescinded the proposal.

But his advocacy began even earlier in life. His middle school classmate Alaina Sodroski recalls Green fighting for students rights when he was 13. The two met in seventh grade.

He can make a difference for our schools, and I cant imagine a better person for this position, she said.

The youngest of three brothers, Green was bullied as a middle schooler and spoke up for himself and others, said his mother Eady. A high academic achiever, he learned to use his smarts to defuse tensions, she said.

Hes very different from my other kids. He doesnt play games, his mother said. Hes really serious about anything he does.

In 2022, Green was appointed by then-Superintendent Michael Dicken as the GCIT student representative to the Deptford school board. Those experiences inspired Green to run for one of three open seats in November.

I think that moment sparked my candidacy, Green said.

Green built a strong constituency base among his peers and older residents. In addition to being a Rowan student government leader, he is an EMT and a Boy Scouts leader.

Carol Smith, a Rowan writing professor who had Green in her class last fall, said he was a hardworking student who was not satisfied with his assignments until everything was 100% finished. She believes he will approach his board role the same way.

What a remarkable young man. He makes people feel heard and cared for, she said.

 READ MORE: Deptford schools rescind subscription busing plan that would have charged students $365 annually

The nine-member Deptford school board has tackled tough issues in recent years that have drawn the ire of parents and students. The district enrolls nearly 4,000 students in K-12.

In 2023, the district suspended a controversial, unpaid meals policy that made national headlines. Students with delinquent accounts would have been served peanut butter or cheese sandwiches.

Murphy ordered the district to rescind the policy, saying it conflicted with state guidelines and would harm children. The district said it enacted the policy because some student accounts were $68,000 in arrears.

At the start of the 2024-25 school year, the district was forced to drop the controversial proposal to eliminate courtesy busing for some students to cut transportation costs after an uproar from parents and township officials who raised safety concerns. The district said it was spending millions on unbudgeted transportation costs.

 READ MORE: Deptford school district has adjusted cutoff times to its upcoming Chromebook policy

Green said he is focused on settling into his board position without a set agenda. He plans to push for more transparency, better communication, and more effective use of technology for board business to keep residents informed.

An aspiring prosecutor or labor attorney, Green hasnt decided on a future political career. He wants to inspire other young people to seek elected office.

Ill see where it takes me, Green said.

DiMarco, who is interested in immigration or family law, also has not decided whether hell pursue politics long-term. He has worked on political campaigns and currently serves as the national membership director of College Democrats of America.

Its important to give back to the community, he said.
Web cam victim Blake Robbins, at his home with his family and attorney Mark Halzman (at right), reads a family statement in response to the Lower Merion School District statement made earlier today, Wednesday, February 24, 2010. Read more

The new docuseries Spy High follows the 2010 scandal about Lower Merion School District laptops secretly photographing students via webcams.

The show will follow Harriton High School student Blake Robbins, a 15-year-old accused of selling drugs. The evidence? A photograph captured on his school-issued laptop without his knowledge or consent, in which he was holding a Mike and Ike candy that officials claimed was a pill.

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That incident led his Penn Valley parents, Michael and Holly Robbins, to sue the school district for allegedly spying on students through remote-activated cameras, violating the Fourth Amendment and other privacy laws.

Another student in the same district at Lower Merion High School, Jalil Hasan, also sued for similar reasons. The scandal, dubbed WebcamGate, led to months of hostile legal battles that resulted in the school district paying a $610,000 settlement. Robbins received $175,000, most of which was placed in a trust, and Hasan received $10,000. The rest went to paying the families legal fees.

In 2008, the district lent 2,300 students Apple MacBooks equipped with tracking software that allowed remote operation of webcams in case of loss or theft. Once activated, the software captured webcam photos and screenshots of the laptop every 15 minutes. Though Robbins and other impacted students had not reported missing or stolen devices, some laptops were being tracked because they had failed to pay required insurance fees, and thus the district considered them unauthorized users.

Over the course of two years, the system stored more than 56,000 images, the majority coming from missing laptops. That number also included photos of some 40 students whose devices continued taking photos after the laptops were returned. Robbins laptop took hundreds of photos of him in his room, including while he was sleeping and shirtless.

WebcamGate rocked the Philadelphia suburbs with debates over student privacy and school surveillance, which have become thornier issues in the past 15 years with more technology used in classrooms.

Spy High will bring the spotlight back to this dark chapter in Lower Merion School District history. Mark Wahlberg is an executive producer through his company Unrealistic Ideas. The four-part series will premiere at SXSW in March and will begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video in April.
While chicken sandwiches have been the darlings of the fast-food circuit for the last few years, another drive-though poultry staple is suddenly reminding us that its been here all along.

Are we in the midst of a nugg-aissance?

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The humble chicken nugget is getting new attention, with the debut last month of Taco Bells unlikely addition to its lineup, a tortilla-chip-breaded nugget. And chains are innovating, coming up with novel saucy and spicy versions of their classics.

Nuggets are versatile  they can be a serviceable snack when you (or your kids) are hangry, a meal in a pinch, even an entertaining showpiece (Im obsessed with the parties that designer Javier Burkle throws where he serves fast-food tenders on silver platters with sauces in gorgeous gravy boats).

Theres something a bit retro about the new appeal of a menu item whose popularity reached a fever pitch in the 1980s. A 1986 story in the Washington Post headlined Nugget Mania declaring the food to be the hot dogs of the 80s included this prescient line, which seems even more relevant circa 2024: We have less time to cook, less time to chew, and an increasing ability to digest only bite-sized pieces, be it food or information.

Now that even Taco Bell, which is better known for its titular menu items, is winging into the nugget game, we decided to take stock of the field and taste the offerings from the largest chains.

Now, there are two categories of nuggets: those that comprise a sort of chicken paste that makes for a more uniform filling and those that employ whole pieces of chicken meat, and we included both in our survey. Im partial to the latter, but as you can see, less processing doesnt guarantee a good nugg.

Heres how they ranked:

Note: Prices listed below reflect those at Washington-area restaurants. Prices vary by location.

6. Taco Bell

The newest entry into the nugget derby was unquestionably the worst. Which was too bad, because these sounded promising, like a Mexican-ish riff on the classic format: Whole bits of chicken are marinated in jalapeno buttermilk and breaded with tortilla chips, according to the Bells marketing folks. But I was wary as soon as I opened the clamshell; the coating on these guys was of a strangely uneven color, with dark spots appearing randomly. I determined that this wasnt a one-off, since it occurred in two orders on different days (and confirmed by pics some others have posted online). And in one of my orders, several nuggets sported what looked like bald spots, where the breading had come off before frying, leaving off-putting dried-out patches on the bird flesh.

Looks werent deceiving, either. These nuggets were as tough as the box they came in (thats a guess, seeing as I didnt attempt a nibble of the cardboard). And the prevailing flavor was tortilla chip, which made me wish I had just  ordered nachos? It could be that Taco Bell simply isnt as dialed in on its deep fryers as its competitors are, but whatever the reason, these arent cause for anyone to, as Taco Bell exhorts us, think outside the bun.

($3.99/5; $6.99/10)

5. Burger King

Heres another chain that should probably just stick to its eponymous business model. The nuggets were no royalty  they were flat, flavorless, and forgettable. The only note I could detect in the breading was, in at least one order, of overused fryer oil. And the interior, what little of it there was (did I mention these looked like theyd been run over by a steamroller?), was spongy. In these times of rising prices and budget-minding, its not irrelevant to note that these are the cheapest birds in the coop. Still, no matter the price, I wouldnt call these sad snacks a bargain.

($1.59/4; $2.99/8; $5.39/16)

4. Wendys

These were paler and rounder than others I tried, and seemed like they were aping the success of Chick-fil-As nuggs (although Wendys doesnt use whole chicken pieces, unlike its apparent inspo source). I found these to be softer than most of the competitors, which I didnt mind. But these were the most likely to have the breading separate from the filling, which might be handy for that small cult of people who like to peel their nuggets (yes, they exist!) but a turnoff for the rest of us who consume them like normal humans. Scant seasoning makes it easy to see why the chain now offers saucy nuggets  theyre probably better as a sauce-conveying vehicle than a stand-alone dish.

($2.69/4; $3.39/6; $5.59/10)

3. McDonalds

Admittedly, nostalgia might have factored into my appreciation for these classic specimens. The Golden Arches, after all, popularized the now-ubiquitous term chicken nuggets when it introduced them nationally in 1983, and since then they have become a staple of kid-dom for many, myself included. They arent all that flavorful, with no discernible spices. But for me, its the breading  a light tempura batter that stays crisp long after youve left the drive-through  that makes them special. Surprisingly, no other chain has tried to replicate it.

($2.99/4; $3.79/6; $7.79/10; $10.79/20)

2. KFC

The colonels chicken chain went years without nuggets on its menu before adding them in 2023, which seems impossible to fathom given how popular nuggets have become in the fast-food galaxy over the last few decades. These relative newbies clearly share the DNA of their bone-in forebears, cloaked in an identical breading that famously contains a secret blend of 11 herbs and spices. That made for a super-flavorful nugg, and with chicken thats juicy and obviously well-seasoned itself, this instantly earned a spot ahead of most of the flock. I also liked their deep golden-brown color and the craggy shape, which offered nooks and crannies for an extra crunch factor.

($3.99/5; $5.99/8 or 10; $7.99/12; $22.99/36; $34.99/50)

1. Chick-fil-A

This fast-growing chain offers a distinct style of chicken: The breading is lighter than many competitors and the bird itself is juicy and flavorful. A persistent rumor credits the latter to a pickle brine, but a peek at the ingredient list  which doesnt include vinegar  indicates thats probably just the stuff of legend. Instead, you can probably chalk it up to that sugar, salt, and MSG.

Whatever alchemy the chicken wizards are getting up to, the result was one irresistible nugget  that is, if you can stomach the brands history of donations to anti-LGBTQ+ groups and its CEOs opposition to same-sex marriage. The nuggets werent as crunchy as McDonalds or KFCs  Id describe them as tender, if that word didnt confuse things too much. (The chain also sells chicken tenders, which I found inferior to its nuggets.)

($3.75/5; $5.95/8; $8.09/12)
Ultimo Coffee Rittenhouse, in Philadelphia, Thursday, February 29, 2024. Workers at Ultimo Coffee have gone on strike, they are supported by Local 80, Philly's barista union. Read more

Rittenhouse is down a coffee shop as of last week, when Ultimo at 20th and Locust announced it would close permanently due to ongoing plumbing issues that have been affecting the building and its workers since last February. That also means theres one less unionized coffee shop in Philadelphia.

Owners Aaron and Elizabeth Ultimo informed staff and Local 80, which represents Ultimos workers, of the closure on Jan. 14. The Rittenhouse cafe employed seven people and was one of four Ultimo locations, two of which had unions. Operations at Ultimos other shops continue as usual.

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Due to the ongoing plumbing repair that needed to be resolved in order for the space to be operational, we had little choice but to close, Elizabeth Ultimo said in a statement. We deeply regret the stress and hardship the permanent closure of this location has caused for everyone involved.

Workers at Ultimo Rittenhouse were almost one year into a three-year contract, according to Kate Lord, a union member and nearly four-year veteran of the coffee shop. This is a loss for everyone, [the Ultimos] included, Lord said. We can all recognize that.

Workers were on the frontline of the plumbing problem, which Lord said got worse over the course of 11 months, despite temporary fixes by the landlord. (The Ultimos do not own the property at 238 S. 20th St.) It got to a point where it was just sort of a constant leak onto the sidewalk and into the basement, Lord said.

The union had publicly aired the ongoing plumbing issue over the past few months, with the Philadelphia Joint Board Workers United posting about unexpected closures on Instagram to raise funds for staffers. The same Instagram account, @phillyworkersunited, posted about the permanent closure last week. It also announced details about a closure agreement proposal the union presented to the owners. Workers are asking for severance pay and continued employment at other Ultimo locations when possible.

Despite having agreed to meet with us for effects bargaining, the post read, the Company gave us no response to any of our proposals and immediately stated that they would get back to us next week.

While commenters on the post construed the closure as union-busting  Oh dang, I guess thats one less coffee shop Im visiting around Philly, one wrote  the owners said the union did not play into this, citing the plumbing problem as the sole cause of the cafes demise.

Theres no other reason that we closed, Elizabeth Ultimo said.

Lord said the union is focused on making sure employees affected by the closure are taken care of, and that the relationship between the union and the Ultimos had been good  something that makes them want to continue working there.

A lot of us saw some kind of future at this company, whether thats immediate or long-term, she said. There are a lot of people who are not looking to let go of that anytime soon.
Chickens stand in their cages at a farm in Iowa in 2009. Pennsylvania reported its first case of avian flu in a commercial flock of chickens in nearly a year this week. Read more

Avian flu has been detected in a commercial flock of chickens in Pennsylvania for the first time in nearly a year, the state Department of Agriculture announced Monday.

The positive test for a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza turned up in samples from a flock of 50,000 egg-laying hens on a poultry farm in Lehigh County.

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The states Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System, which has been monitoring the spread of avian flu, conducted preliminary tests that detected the virus, and the state has also shipped samples from the flock to federal authorities for further confirmation.

With this confirmed positive infection in Pennsylvania and confirmed infections in poultry in surrounding states, the threat is clear and heightened, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said in a statement, urging vigilance on farms raising poultry or dairy.

Pennsylvania was one of the states hit hardest in the early days of the avian flu outbreak, which began in 2022, but the virus had not been detected in a commercial flock here since last February.

Concern has grown as the outbreak widened in other states. Avian flu was found in a flock of backyard chickens in October, the state said. About 200 snow geese were found dead in Lehigh and Northampton Counties earlier this month, and health officials said that preliminary testing by the state had confirmed avian flu.

Philadelphia reported its first case of avian flu in a sick snow goose last week.

While other states have seen cases of avian flu spreading in cattle herds, Pennsylvania has not reported any cases among cattle. Commercial bird flocks have been infected in several surrounding states in the last 30 days, including Ohio, Maryland, and Delaware.

State officials said there was no risk to the general public. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed 67 cases in humans, one fatal, since 2024. All but three cases were associated with contact with poultry, cattle, or other animals. State officials in Delaware reported a case of avian flu in a person last year, but the CDC was unable to confirm the case and the person has since recovered.

Response plan activated

State and federal officials are on the Lehigh County farm carrying out a comprehensive response plan to prevent the spread of the virus, state officials said. The farm has been quarantined, and state authorities have restricted the movement of poultry products within a 10-kilometer radius, or about 6.2 miles, around the flock, the state said.

Typically, when the virus is detected in a domestic flock, the entire flock is euthanized to prevent its spread. Generally, the highly pathogenic avian flu currently spreading will kill domestic birds who contract it.

Pennsylvania has for months had testing and quarantine requirements and travel restrictions to combat its spread.

 READ MORE: What to know about bird flu in Pennsylvania

Lactating dairy cattle from infected farms outside the state are barred from entering Pennsylvania, and the state regularly tests cattle, milk, and poultry on farms and in live bird markets, officials said.

The state has also set up a $31 million fund for poultry farmers to recoup losses from the flu, and has free personal protective equipment available for farmworkers, officials said.

What to do when bird flu is suspected

Poultry farmers and people who own backyard chickens should call the Pennsylvania Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services at 717-772-2852, option 1, if they suspect bird flu in their flocks. The state publishes a map where farmers can enter their address to see if their farm is included in the quarantine zone.

Anyone who sees a sick or dead wild bird should call the Pennsylvania Game Commission1-833-PGC-WILD.

People who have had contact with a sick or dead bird and are feeling ill should call their primary care doctor or the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 877-724-3258.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin (left) visits the Women's Center in Cherry Hill on Monday. With him are the centers director of community engagement Roxanne Sutocky (center) and Lisa Perriera (right) a physician and chief medical director for the center. Read more

In a visit to a Cherry Hill abortion clinic Monday, New Jerseys attorney general asked providers to share their concerns about how access to their care could change under President Donald Trumps new administration.

Democrat Matthew Platkin met with providers at The Womens Center in anticipation of a push for greater abortion restrictions from Republicans now in control of the White House and Congress. Many Republicans support a federal ban on abortion. Trump has said he believes abortion rights should be left to states, but has stopped short of saying that he would veto a federal ban if Congress passed one.

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New Jersey passed a law protecting the right to abortion at any stage of pregnancy in 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to abortion, and that states should decide whether and when abortion is legal.

Abortion also remains legal in Pennsylvania. But at least 12 states have total abortion bans, with some taking steps to criminalize patients and abortion doctors.

Providers at The Womens Center in Cherry Hill said they worry about patients who travel from states where abortion is illegal; and about whether they, as doctors, could be arrested if they traveled to a state that prosecutes abortion providers.

People may be less likely to seek care if they fear being arrested. And doctors may delay care, potentially risking patients health, if they are worried about being sued for providing an abortion, said Lisa Perriera, an obstetrician-gynecologist and medical director of The Womens Center.

I think the biggest concern in all of this is misinformation and stigma, and the chilling effect that has, Perriera said.

Providers are also concerned about Trumps deportation plans for undocumented immigrants, she said.

Health-care facilities, including abortion clinics, were previously off-limits to immigration authorities, along with schools and churches, but Trump revoked that protection.

In an exclusive interview with The Inquirer, Platkin said he is committed to protecting abortion rights for patients and health-care providers in New Jersey. The state is among those suing Trump to block his attempt to end automatic citizenship for American-born children of undocumented immigrants.

Anybody whos going to come and threaten somebody taking advantage of whats lawful in the state of New Jersey, or the people that are providing lawful services in New Jersey is going to have to come through me, he said. And were going to stand up and protect that access here.

Abortion in New Jersey

The Womens Center has abortion clinics in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Georgia.

Its Cherry Hill clinics saw a total of 6,000 patients last year. About a quarter of patients are from out-of-state, including Pennsylvania, where restrictions such as a 24-hour wait limit access for some. Others come from states like Texas, where abortion is effectively banned.

Perriera said she did not know what portion of the clinics patients are immigrants because the facility does not ask for that information. But in the last quarter, about a third of patients used translation services, meaning they needed help communicating with clinic staff in a language other than English or Spanish.

The clinic has also seen an increase in patients asking about walk-in appointments, which the clinic typically does not do, said Roxanne Sutocky, director of community engagement for The Womens Center. She thinks people are worried about giving their information to schedule an appointment, for fear it could be linked to their immigration status, she said.

The clinic has been preparing a plan for how it would respond if there was an immigration raid at the facility, Sutocky said, but she declined to offer specifics.
From keeping a lid on teen rowdiness to trying to prevent tragedy like the recent terror attack on New Orleans Bourbon Street, Wildwood officials announced a number of security upgrades intended to make their historic boardwalk a safer place.

The security initiative, which city officials said is meant to help protect against crime and terrorism, includes new lighting that has been installed along the citys popular boardwalk and strategically positioned security cameras for better surveillance.

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Still in the planning are adding bollards, or short posts, to various points that will prevent unauthorized vehicles from accessing the boardwalk and protect pedestrians against accidental incidents or intentional vehicle-ramming attacks.

Look at what happened in New Orleans, said Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. We take for granted that nobody would be stupid enough to take a car or truck up a ramp and ride down the boardwalk. Now you have to always consider the worst, and pray for the best.

Early New Years Day, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a Texas-born U.S. and Army veteran drove a pickup truck in a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans French Quarter, killing 15 people and injured 57, before he was killed in a shootout with police. An ISIS flag was found in Jabbars truck. The rampage was investigated as an act of domestic terrorism.

The tragedy in New Orleans was a catalyst for the thought that more security measures were called for, said Troiano.

The world has changed, he said.

Wildwood has already added new lighting along the boardwalk from 26th Street to Burk Avenue near the Wildwoods Convention Center and installed new surveillance cameras at locations along that area, city officials said. Some bollards will be permanent while others will be movable.

The safety enhancements were planned with the help of the city and state police who conducted threat assessments, according to Wildwood Deputy Mayor Steve Mikulski.

While we acknowledge that vulnerabilities cannot be completely eliminated, these target enhancements are designed to significantly deter potential threats and mitigate the impact of any incidents, Mikulski said.

Many of the problems law enforcers in Wildwood and other Shore towns have had to contend with, especially in the busy summer months, have been unruly behavior and underage drinking by young people on boardwalks, beaches, and municipal streets. In Ocean City, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed in the stomach last Memorial Day weekend. His injuries were not life threatening.

Shore towns have tried various strategies to keep the peace, including earlier beach closings and curfews. After last Memorial Day weekend, Wildwood officials issued a nighttime backpack ban on their citys boardwalk to limit alcohol and other substances, particularly among underage users.
BOGOTA, Colombia  Visa appointments at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia were canceled Monday following a dispute between President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro over deportation flights from the U.S. that nearly turned into a costly trade war between the two countries.

Dozens of Colombians arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota and were handed letters by local staff that said their appointments had been canceled due to the Colombian governments refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian nationals over the weekend.

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Later on Monday, Colombias Foreign Affairs Ministry said the government was sending a Colombian Air Force plane to San Diego to pick up a group of Colombians who were on a deportation flight that was not allowed to land on Sunday morning.

The victory claimed in Washington turned Colombia into an example of what other nations could face if they stand in the way of Trumps illegal immigration crackdown. It also put on display a clash with a leftist leader of a country that had long been a U.S. partner against drug trafficking.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Monday the Trump administration will take action if countries do not abide by their agreements, such as accepting deportees.

This was about reminding Colombia that there is a price to pay if you go against your agreements, things that you promise, she said in an interview on Fox News The Story. Ultimately, what one would expect to happen did happen. They said oh, our bad, and they reversed everything.

Colombians, like most non-U.S. citizens, require a visa to travel to the United States for tourism, business or other purposes.

But in Colombia it can take up to two years to get a visa appointment at the U.S embassy in Bogota, which has also been handling visa requests from neighboring Venezuela for several years. Those who had their Monday appointments cancelled will likely have to wait several months for a new appointment. And many said they were frustrated with the unexpected cancellations.

President Petro did not represent our interests, said Elio Camelo, a U.S. visa seeker from the city of Cali who had traveled to Bogota for his appointment.

There is a lot of uncertainty now over what will happen next, said Mauricio Manrique, who had his Monday morning appointment canceled. He had traveled from Popayan, about 600 kilometers (about 370 miles) south of Bogota, for his appointment.

Tensions between Colombia and the U.S. escalated Sunday after Petro wrote an early morning message on X saying he would not allow two U.S. Air Force planes carrying Colombian deportees to land in the country.

Petro also shared a video that showed another group of deportees reportedly arriving in Brazil with shackles on their legs. He said Colombia would only accept deportation flights when the United States had established protocols that ensured the dignified treatment of expelled migrants.

Trump responded with a post of his own on Truth Social, in which he called for 25% emergency tariffs on Colombian exports to the United States, and also said that the U.S. visas of Colombian government officials would be revoked, while goods coming from the South American country would face enhanced customs inspections.

Meanwhile, the State Department said Sunday it would stop issuing visas to Colombian nationals until deportation flights resumed.

Tensions decreased Sunday night following negotiations between the countries, with the White House saying in a statement that Colombia had allowed the resumption of deportation flights and agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the arrival of deportees on military flights.

Last year Colombia accepted 124 deportation flights. But those were charter flights organized by U.S. government contractors.

The White House said tariffs on Colombian exports would be put on hold, but added that visa restrictions on Colombian officials and enhanced custom inspections would remain until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

A State Department spokesperson said Monday the agency had no updates on when visas for Colombian travelers would again be issued at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

Last year, more than 1.6 million Colombians traveled to the U.S. legally, according to a report by the Ministry of Commerce. The report said the United States was the top destination for Colombians traveling abroad.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to revise the Pentagons policy on transgender troops, likely setting in motion a future ban on their military service.

He also on Monday ordered troops to be reinstated who had left voluntarily or been booted for refusing COVID-19 vaccines, outlined new rollbacks in diversity programs and provided for the deployment of a space-based missile defense shield for the U.S.  all on Hegseth s first day.

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Trump and Hegseth had described parts of the anticipated orders throughout the day, but the exact language did not drop until late Monday.

Transgender order

A transgender ban had been widely expected, and Trumps order largely sets the stage for a future ban  but directs Hegseth to come up with how that would be implemented in policy.

In his order, Trump claimed that service by troops who identify as a gender other than their biological one conflicts with a soldiers commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in ones personal life and is harmful to military readiness, requiring a revised policy to address the matter.

Trump had tried to ban transgender troops during his first term, but it was tangled up in the courts for years before being overturned by then-President Joe Biden shortly after he took office.

Two groups, Lambda Legal and Human Rights Campaign, which represented transgender troops the first time, vowed to fight again.

We have been here before and seven years ago were able to successfully block the earlier administrations effort, Lambda Legal attorney Sasha Buchert said. Not only is such a move cruel, it compromises the safety and security of our country and is particularly dangerous and wrong. As we promised then, so do we now: we will sue.

Space-based missile defense

During his first presidency, Trump established U.S. Space Command and the U.S. Space Force, which just marked its fifth birthday. Space continues to be a priority for the president, who has now directed the Pentagon to begin to develop the capability to shoot down missiles from space.

For years, the U.S. has cautioned that China, Russia and others were weaponizing space. It has at times declassified information about both countries' efforts to create offensive weapons to disable critical U.S. satellites, including the capability to move satellites from orbit, temporarily blind them or potentially even destroy them.

The Space Force is building a low-orbit ring of redundant satellites that can more quickly track and detect potential missile launches.

But establishing a way to shoot missiles down from space is something the U.S. has not pursued since President Ronald Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative  Star Wars as it was commonly known  in the 1980s. The system was never developed due to cost and technological limitations.

In his order called an Iron Dome for America, Trump called for a multilayer missile defense system capable of countering an array of threats to the U.S., to include development and deployment of space-based interceptors.

COVID-19 vaccination

At least 8,200 troops were forced out of the military in 2021 for refusing to obey a lawful order when they declined to get the vaccine. Notices advising them they could return were sent out in 2023, but just 113 have reenlisted.

The reinstatement process for any who now want to return requires that they meet military entry standards. Trump and Hegseth have persistently stated that the military must not reduce standards.

We will offer full reinstatement to any service member who was expelled from the armed forces due to the COVID vaccine mandate, Trump told a Republican crowd at the Trump National Doral Miami, a resort he owns. And we will restore them to their former rank with full pay. 

In addition to troops forced out for refusing the shot, the order extends the same offer to anyone who signs a sworn statement saying they left the service voluntarily to avoid the vaccine.

The order isnt expected to have a major impact on the number of service members returning. But it could take a bite out of the budget if more do now, since it requires back pay.

To return, all would have to meet weight, fitness, medical and other requirements, and they could be refused if they now have a criminal record or other disqualifying factor. Officers would have to get recommissioned, which is a simple appointment process.

According to the services, 3,748 Marines were discharged, and 25 have opted to re-enlist; 1,903 Army soldiers were discharged, and 73 returned; 1,878 sailors were discharged and two returned; 671 airmen were discharged and 13 returned.

The Pentagon made the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory in August 2021 for all service members, including the National Guard and Reserve. Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said getting the vaccine was critical to maintaining a healthy, ready force that could be prepared to defend the nation.

The Pentagon formally dropped the mandate in January 2023.

Defense officials said then that many troops appeared to use the vaccine mandate as a way to quickly and easily to get out of their service obligations.

DEI initiatives

Trump also, as expected, issued a sweeping order to abolish all programs, initiatives and mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion across the Defense Department and the Coast Guard, which is governed by the Department of Homeland Security.

The order looks to scrub any vestiges of such initiatives that seek to promote a race-based preferences system that subverts meritocracy, perpetuates unconstitutional discrimination, and promotes divisive concepts or gender ideology.

It prohibits the departments from promoting or following un-American theories that suggest that Americas founding documents are racist or sexist; that discuss gender ideology; and that promote divisive concepts such as race or sex stereotyping.

The order says the defense and homeland security secretaries must issue guidance to implement the order in 30 days. It calls for a review to find any instances of actions taken in pursuit of DEI, which will be due to the defense secretary in 90 days.

The secretaries must submit a report to the White House in six months outlining their progress.

The Pentagon had already been taking steps to comply with Trumps initial action ending DEI programs across the U.S. government, and it has had far-reaching consequences. Without clearer direction, agencies were taking a broad approach to removing any content that seemed to run afoul of Trumps ban.

That temporarily included videos of the storied Tuskegee Airmen and World War II Womens Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, which were part of DEI training courses for the Air Forces basic military training. Videos on both the Tuskegee Airmen and WASPs were removed as the courses were taken down last week, causing an uproar.

WASPs were vital in ferrying warplanes for the military. The Tuskegee Airmen were the nations first Black military pilots, serving in a segregated WWII unit, and their all-Black 332nd Fighter Group had one of the lowest loss records of all the bomber escorts in the war.

On Sunday, the Air Force clarified that the DEI courses had been removed to be edited but that the Tuskegee Airmen and WASP content would continue to be taught.
BOGOTA, Colombia  The White House claimed victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the U.S. on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime U.S. partner.

Long close partners in anti-narcotics efforts, the U.S. and Colombia clashed Sunday over the deportation of migrants and imposed tariffs on each others goods in a show of what other countries could face if they intervene in the Trump administrations crackdown on illegal immigration. The White House held up the episode as a warning to other nations who might seek to impede his plans.

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Earlier, the U.S. president had ordered visa restrictions, 25% tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, which would be raised to 50% in one week, and other retaliatory measures sparked by President Gustavo Petros decision to reject two Colombia-bound U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants after Petro accused Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation. Petro also announced a retaliatory 25% increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods.

Trump said the measures were necessary because Petros decision jeopardized national security in the U.S. by blocking the deportation flights.

These measures are just the beginning, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a late Sunday statement that the Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay.

Leavitt said the tariff orders will be held in reserve, and not signed. But Leavitt said Trump would maintain visa restrictions on Colombian officials and enhanced customs inspections of goods from the country, until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

The Colombian government late Sunday said it considered as overcome the episode with the Trump administration and Petro reposted the statement from the White House on X.

We have overcome the impasse with the United States government, said Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo. We will continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights.

Murillo added that the South American countrys presidential aircraft is available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the U.S. military airplanes.

Earlier Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he was authorizing the visa restrictions on Colombian government officials and their families who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations. They were being imposed on top of the State Departments move to suspend the processing of visas at the U.S. Embassy in Colombias capital, Bogota.

Petro had said earlier that his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the U.S. until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with dignity. Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.

A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves, Petro said. That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants... In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens.

After Trumps earlier tariff threat, Petro said in a post on X that he had ordered the foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the U.S. by 25%.

Colombia has traditionally been the U.S.s top ally in Latin America. But their relationship has strained since Petro, a former guerrilla, became Colombias first leftist president in 2022 and sought distance from the U.S.

Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the U.S. from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.

Colombia is also among the countries that last year began accepting U.S.-funded deportation flights from Panama.

The U.S. government didnt immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding aircraft and protocols used in deportations to Colombia.

This is a clear message we are sending that countries have an obligation to accept repatriation flights, a senior administration official told AP. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss issue publicly.

Rubio in a statement said Petro canceled his authorization for the flights when the aircraft were in the air.

Colombians emerged in recent years as a major presence on the U.S. border with Mexico, aided in part by a visa regime that allows them to easily fly to Mexico and avoid trekking though the treacherous Darien Gap. They ranked fourth with 127,604 arrests for illegal crossings during a 12-month period through September, behind Mexicans, Guatemalans and Venezuelans.

Mexico hasnt imposed visa restrictions on Colombians, as they have on Venezuelans, Ecuadoreans and Peruvians.

Petros government in a statement later announced that the South American countrys presidential aircraft had been made available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the U.S. military airplanes and guarantee them dignified conditions.

As part of a flurry of actions to make good on Trumps campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.

Two U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants removed from the U.S. touched down early Friday in Guatemala. That same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people.

Colombia is the U.S.s fourth-largest overseas supplier of crude oil, shipping about 209,000 barrels of oil per day last year, although booming domestic production has reduced the U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The South American country is also the U.S.s largest supplier of fresh cut flowers.
Mrs. Johnson "loved adventure," her family said. She flew in a World War II airplane when she was 92. Read more

Edith Worley Johnson, 97, formerly of Philadelphia, retired reading paraprofessional and classroom aide for the School District of Philadelphia, church leader, volunteer, and mentor, died Monday, Dec. 2, of age-associated decline at her home in Alexandria, Va.

For 12 years, from 1981 to 1993, Mrs. Johnson worked as a paraprofessional in the reading lab for the Chapter One Reading Program at John P. Turner Middle School in West Philadelphia. Before that, she was a classroom aide for five years at Alexander Wilson Elementary School.

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The oldest of six children in her own family, Mrs. Johnson was a natural at nurturing and inspiring others, her family said. She was so effective as an aide with young students that the school district helped pay for continuing education and professional development classes at what was then Peirce Junior College and Community College of Philadelphia.

She went on to support sixth and seventh graders at the reading lab at Turner, and often befriended young people in need in the neighborhood. She was a generally kind and thoughtful person, said her daughter Tia. She was always doing something for a young person.

On her 90th birthday in 2017, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, former Gov. Tom Wolf, former Mayor Jim Kenney, and the Philadelphia City Council recognized her contributions with congratulatory letters and an official citation.

Earlier, she worked in the billing department at the Sears, Roebuck & Co. for 15 years. She was a dedicated employee who took pride in doing her job well, her family said in a tribute.

At church, Mrs. Johnson was superintendent of Sunday School at St. Augustine Episcopal Church, now Calvary St. Augustine. Her parents inspired her religious fervor, and she taught youth Sunday School and served 10 years on the vestry.

In the neighborhood, she was a Girl Scout leader, community representative for the Philadelphia Commission on Aging, and an activist for workers rights. She and her husband, Russell, also served in leadership roles at the Christian Street YMCA for decades.

Service was in the DNA of both of them, her daughter said. Her family said in a tribute: She was always passionate about equality and equal opportunity.

Edith Martha Worley was born June 6, 1927, in Philadelphia. She had three sisters and two brothers, and graduated from what was then William Penn High School for Girls in 1944.

Her family has a long history of community service, and her mother, also named Edith, served as her role model. She was always there for us and would go out of her way to work things out, Mrs. Johnson told the Daily News when her mother died in 1998. We never wore hand-me-downs. She always personalized [clothes] with new buttons, a new collar or something. We just always felt proud and never thought of ourselves as being poor.

She met Russell Johnson at a concert at what is now the Dell Music Center, and they married in 1948, and had daughters Veeda, Bayinnah, Roxanne, and Tia. Later, she adopted her daughter, Freda. Her husband and daughters Veeda and Freda died earlier.

Mrs. Johnson enjoyed trips to church, museums, concerts, and plays with her daughters. She liked to knit and crochet.

She traveled to Europe, the Middle East, Scandinavia, and elsewhere around the world. She visited Africa in her 70s and flew in a World War II airplane when she was 92. Edith loved adventure, her family said.

She preached self-sufficiency and quoted the Bible by saying, Faith without work is empty. She moved to Virginia in 2017.

She was loving and giving, said her daughter Tia. She always told us the sky is the limit. We all said she was sowing into us.

In addition to her daughters, Mrs. Johnson is survived by 10 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, and other relatives. Her sisters and brothers died earlier.

Services were held on Dec. 13.

Donations in her name may be made to Calvary St. Augustine Episcopal Church, 814 N. 41st St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104.
The Montgomery County township official who, in a TikTok video, mimicked Elon Musk with a gesture that looked like a Nazi salute has resigned.

Towamencin Township Supervisor Laura Smith posted a now-deleted video in which she hit her chest three times and then extended her arm out in front of her, similar to the gesture Musk made during President Donald Trumps inauguration festivities last week.

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Smith, a Republican supervisor and vice chair of the board, deleted the video and her TikTok account after outrage toward her grew Friday evening and continued through the weekend. On Saturday, she resigned from the boards of the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library and the nonprofit Knights for Life. Local Democrats said they wanted her to resign from her township position.

Sunday afternoon, township officials published Smiths letter of resignation on the townships website and said the rest of the board intends to accept this resignation at a public meeting as soon as possible.

The Board of Supervisors cannot and will not tolerate such conduct, the post on the township website said.

In the two-paragraph resignation letter the board published, Smith said, To allow the Township to move forward without the encumbrance of the fallout of my video, I tender my resignation from the Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors effective immediately.

In her letter, she repeated a statement that she gave to The Inquirer on Saturday in which she said her video has been greatly mischaracterized and that she abhor[s] racism, anti-Semitism, or discrimination in any fashion or form, and my record as a township supervisor attests to my commitment to treat all people with dignity and respect.

Not wishing to give offense, I removed the video from my accounts, she said.

On Sunday, before the township published Smiths resignation letter, the Philadelphia regions affiliate of the Anti-Defamation League called the TikTok video utterly unacceptable.

Clearly, this sordid episode does not reflect the values of that community or what anyone would expect from their elected officials, Andrew Goretsky, ADL Philadelphia regional director, said in a statement to The Inquirer. Her actions have impacted and caused harm to the community which must be acknowledged.

In a public statement Sunday, Goretsky said intentionally mocking constituents' anxieties and concerns by using a gesture similar to a Nazi salute is not only unprofessional but also divisive.

 READ MORE: A Montgomery County official mimicked Elon Musks controversial salute, sparking outrage online and her resignation from the local library and a nonprofit

Smith had said on Facebook that she posted the TikTok video to stir the pot. Because I can.

The national Anti-Defamation League defended Musk on Inauguration Day, calling the gesture awkward.

Goretsky of the regional affiliate said Smiths video, which she admitted was meant to stir the pot, demonstrates a concerning lack of judgment and said the regions residents should expect and demand better from their leaders.

He called Smiths arm gesture particularly abhorrent given that Monday is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Having public officials play attention-getting games with such a loaded symbol is utterly unacceptable, he said, especially at this time of remembrance and reflection.
Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) has nearly doubled his approval rating among Republicans while continuing to bolster his job performance rating among all Pennsylvania voters, according to an analysis from Morning Consult published Friday.

The analysis points to how the Democratic senators frequent outreach to the GOP  enough to help fuel baseless rumors that he would switch parties  has likely helped him gain the confidence of Republicans while still maintaining widespread support from voters back home in purple Pennsylvania. In the Keystone State, 48% of voters approve and 37% disapprove of Fettermans job performance during the last quarter of 2024, an 8 percentage-point increase since he took office.

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Fettermans support among Democrats has become slightly diluted with 32% strongly backing his performance, a 9 percentage-point decrease from when he first came into office, according to the analysis. But on the flip side, Republicans support of Fetterman has jumped from 14% to 27%, and the percentage of Republicans who strongly disapprove of Fettermans performance has plummeted.

Morning Consult, known for its polling acumen, tracks the approval ratings of all U.S. senators throughout four quarters of each year. Its based on a three-month roll-up from the Morning Consults daily U.S. tracking survey for registered voters. The margins of error are plus or minus 1 to 2 percentage points.

It appears Fetterman has found a way to strike a delicate balance between bipartisanship  something that seems all too rare on Capitol Hill  while apparently staying in Democrats good graces. Fetterman voted with Democrats against the confirmation of Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trumps controversial pick for secretary of defense who was ultimately confirmed after Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.) provided the key vote Senate Republicans needed to nominate him.

But in other instances, Fetterman has strayed from Democrats, contributing to fears among the party that he may become the next Kyrsten Sinema or Joe Manchin, former U.S. Senators who often clashed with the party.

Fetterman cosponsored the GOP-led Laken Riley Act and was one of 12 Democrats in the Senate to vote for the legislation, which would require federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants arrested for theft-related crimes. Hes also expressed an openness to supporting some of Trumps cabinet nominees and even joined Truth Social, the presidents social media platform, in an effort to reach as many people as possible.

The Pennsylvania Democrat perhaps shocked those in his party the most by meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, becoming the first sitting Democratic senator to do so.

Im not just a Senator for Democrats  Im a Senator for all Pennsylvanians... And because nobody is my gatekeeper, I will meet with anyone to secure some wins, including President Trump, Fetterman said in a post on X earlier this month.
A student housing tower, known as The Mark, is being built next to the one -story University Lutheran Church at 3637 Chestnut St, Philadelphia. On Wednesday- a construction accident resulted in damage to the church, although no one was injured. Read more

Materials from a new student housing tower crashed through the roof of University Lutheran Church at 3637 Chestnut St. Wednesday morning, damaging the Modernist building designed by a famed midcentury architect.

Only three people were in the building at the time, and none of them were injured.

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The fallen equipment broke through the ceiling in the front of the church, piercing the roof and leaving the floor strewn with rubble.

We give thanks to God that no one was injured, and we pray for continued safety for our neighborhood and all involved in the project, said Pastor Meagan Esterby, in a text message. We are working with the developer on repairs to our building and to implement additional safety procedures.

The neighboring building, 3615-3635 Chestnut St., will be known as The Mark. It is a student housing tower, still under construction, from Georgia-based Landmark Properties.

We have paused construction until we are certain that all equipment is working as it should and that no processes need to change, said a Landmark spokesperson in an email message on Friday. Landmark Properties will cooperate with any investigations into this matter and will ensure that any necessary repairs to the adjacent structure are made as soon as possible.

Landmark contractors have already patched the ceiling as a temporary fix. The citys Department of Licenses and Inspections is conducting an ongoing investigation and several violations have been issued, although the department did not give details and the forms are not yet available online.

The University Lutheran Church has been cleared for use, although the northwest corner of its entry way is cordoned off.

The church was designed by Italian architect Pietro Belluschi, known locally for the Rohm and Haas building.
Stable Lofts advertised apartments for rent on Broad Street in North Philadelphia last year. A Redfin report found that the Philadelphia metropolitan area was one of the least affordable metros for residents who rent apartments. Read more

Housing in the Philadelphia region is often considered affordable when compared to other parts of the country. But tell that to renters who live here.

The Philadelphia metropolitan area is one of the least affordable in the country for its apartment renters based on their incomes, according to a report by the online real estate brokerage Redfin.

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Apartments for rent in the last quarter of 2024 cost a median of $1,865 per month. The annual income a household needed to comfortably afford that rent was $74,600.

But last year, the typical renter household in the region made $58,970.

Of the 44 major metros that Redfin analyzed, the Philly metro ranked as the ninth-least affordable for its apartment residents.

 READ MORE: In 2024, homes for sale in the Philly region were more affordable than across the country as a whole. But they werent affordable.

It really isnt about whether or not anyone in this country can afford to live in Philly, said Riquan King, director of advocacy at the Philadelphia-based Tenant Union Representative Network. Its about whether Philadelphians can live in Philly.

And across the city, longtime residents have been priced out of their neighborhoods, because they cant afford rents.

The recent boom in apartment construction  seen nationally and in Philadelphia  is helping to tame rent growth. That, along with growing wages, will help make rents across the country more affordable this year, said Sheharyar Bokhari, a senior economist at Redfin.

The affordability gap between renting and buying is likely to widen further in 2025, as home prices rise and mortgage rates remain high, Bokhari said in a statement. That means potential homebuyers  especially from younger generations  may decide to continue renting for longer, as its the only affordable option.

Rental affordability across the country

Nationwide, renters needed to make $63,680 to afford the median asking rent of $1,592 in the last quarter of 2024. Thats the lowest income needed since early 2022, according to Redfin.

But the typical U.S. renter household still didnt make enough to comfortably afford the typical rent last year. The median income for these households was $54,752  almost $9,000 less than they need.

Metro areas in Texas  Austin, Houston, and Dallas  were the most affordable areas for their apartment residents, who made more money than they needed to comfortably afford rent. Providence, R.I.; Miami; and New York were the least affordable for their renters.

Redfin considered apartments affordable if households spent no more than 30% of their income on rent.

Philadelphia renters are struggling

King said housing is one of the many expenses that are squeezing Philadelphians, including childcare, health care, and transportation.

When it comes to housing affordability, he said, what were really talking about is, do you have the ability to keep a roof over your head and pay for all the other components of life?

The attorney gave the example of a Philadelphia woman who faced a judge last week after breaking a previous agreement to pay back rent to her landlord. She paid what she could but came up short because she needed to cover her sons college registration costs. She had broken the agreement, so she lost her court case and will have to leave her home.

Tenants with low and moderate incomes cant afford extra major expenses. They also cant afford to stay in their homes when rents go up, but they struggle with moving expenses and securing another place to live. Renters regularly come to the Tenant Union Representative Network for help because they cant find a home that is both big enough for their family and affordable.

Rarely do you find both, King said. And sometimes you dont find either.

Nora Lichtash, executive director of the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Womens Community Revitalization Project, said she wasnt surprised by the areas ranking on Redfins list.

I know how bad it is, because I know how many people cant afford rents in Philly, she said. When I see us compared to those other cities, it makes me even angrier.

Lichtash is a leader in an ongoing campaign by the Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Communities, a group of 78 organizations, to get the city to spend more of its housing funding on residents with the lowest incomes.

Philadelphians' incomes havent kept up with rising housing costs. Theyre working more than one job to try to cover expenses. And residents with disabilities dont make enough from their benefits to afford homes, Lichtash said.

 READ MORE: A community-driven initiative is asking Philly to spend more housing funds on the lowest-income households

Now is the time for the city to rethink how it uses its housing funds, according to the Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Communities.

People are really struggling, Lichtash said.
Lawnside Historical Society president Linda Shockley stands in the Peter Mott House to show the proximity of the New Jersey Turnpike (just beyond the tree line) in Lawnside, N.J. Read more

Widening the New Jersey Turnpike between Exits 1 and 4 will upgrade a section of the highway largely unchanged since it opened on Nov. 5, 1951.

But the $2 billion project, slated to begin next year, also will bring southbound traffic 12 feet closer to the Peter Mott House, a museum thats a centerpiece in the historically Black borough of Lawnside in Camden County.

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The Mott House, once home to a free Black abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor, is about 120 feet from the existing turnpike.

The added lane is also going to be closer to peoples homes, said Linda Shockley, president of the Lawnside Historical Society.

We dont really know what their [the New Jersey Turnpike Authority] plan is, she said. They have what they call public meetings, but we call them public tellings, because they tell us what theyre going to do.

The Turnpike Authority has scheduled a public hearing focused on one component of the widening project at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Lawnside Borough Hall.

After discussion of the proposal to build a U-turn restricted to official vehicles near Essex Avenue, there should be time available to discuss the overall project, said Matthew Rao, of AECOM, the infrastructure firm doing the engineering work.

A welcome update

Weve got good news, Rao, the project manager, said during an interview Friday. We believe Lawnside will qualify for noise barriers [along sections of the turnpike] including at the Peter Mott House, he said.

The firm also expects to conduct vibration monitoring at the Mott House before and after construction.

We dont anticipate any problems to arise from the work [but] this is a historically significant property, Rao said.

Rao said 10 meetings have been held so far with Lawnside residents and officials. The authority makes robust efforts to answer questions and keep communities informed while also adhering to public notification requirements, said turnpike officials.

Shockley said the news was encouraging, but there needs to be information in greater detail, shared widely with the entire community.

More than just an extra lane

The project will include replacing 55 bridges and overpasses along the nearly 37-mile stretch of the turnpike between Exit 4 in Mount Laurel and Exit 1 in Pennsville Township. A total of 18 municipalities, as well as state, county, and local roads in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem Counties will be impacted as well  including Warwick Road in Lawnside.

Construction is expected to last into the early 2030s.

The construction is going to be a hot mess, said Kia Jones, a retiree who lives on Gloucester Avenue across from the Mott House. The noise level from the construction and the traffic also is a concern in the community.

The Mott House is a museum that does tours and education programs, so that we can know our history, she said. But the noise from the turnpike already makes it difficult for visitors and students to hear.

Still seeking a direct connection

State Assemblyman Bill Moen (D., Camden) has worked with Lawnside officials about traffic noise and emergency vehicle access during the construction. And he has other turnpike concerns as well.

Since the 1990s, there have been efforts to advocate for connecting the turnpike to Route 42, he said. Drivers bound for Philadelphia or Atlantic City must exit the turnpike and use local roads to gain access to Atlantic City Expressway and the Walt Whitman Bridge.

Were still having conversations about building such a connection from Exit 3 in Bellmawr, Moen said.

Sam Donelson a program manager with AECOM, said the congestion at Exit 3 and the Black Horse Pike is being looked at.

But theres a lot of analysis to go and Its a little premature to [say] what those congestion relief opportunities might be, he said.

 READ MORE: Bellmawrs Exit 3 is already a traffic nightmare for residents. Will a turnpike expansion make it worse  or fix it?
In South Australia, road fatalities dropped from 117 in 2023 to 91 in 2024, alongside a slight decline in serious injuries, which totalled 845. However, these figures remain well above the targets set under South Australias Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan. To stay on track, the state would have needed to reduce fatalities to no more than 80 and serious injuries to 638 by 2024.
Burton noted that private credits flexibility allows it to serve a different purpose than traditional syndicated loans, which focus on pricing advantages. This underscores the distinct roles both markets play, with borrowers navigating between them based on cost, flexibility, and the specific terms of their financing needs.
Health and cultural considerations

Medical care in Vanuatu is limited, with evacuation to Australia often necessary for serious conditions. Travelers are advised to ensure their vaccinations are current and to use insect repellent to guard against malaria and dengue fever. Drinking water safety varies by location, with bottled or boiled water recommended in rural areas.
The discussions around Data Privacy Day underline a pressing need for businesses in Australia and New Zealand to balance data-driven innovation with a commitment to privacy and transparency. With the adoption of AI and other technologies expected to grow, companies face increasing pressure to implement ethical and secure data practices to retain consumer trust.
Regulatory shifts for digital asset businesses

Proposed changes to cryptocurrency regulations in Australia will require companies in this sector to obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL). These businesses must also comply with licensing conditions and demonstrate their ability to compensate retail clients for breaches under the Corporations Act 2001.
According to Gallagher, the cyber insurance market is projected to more than double over the next decade, driven by heightened awareness of cyber risks. Cyber ILS serves as a mechanism to expand the pool of capital available to support the sectors growth.
Kelly has a proven track record of navigating complex property portfolios while delivering exceptional service standards. Kelly will be collaborating closely with Howden colleagues in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and across APAC as part of Howden Re Internationals continued expansion. I am delighted to welcome him to the team, Boglione said.
Verhagen has served as general counsel of Ryan Specialty International for the past 12 years. Her career spans more than three decades, including senior legal roles at Aon Corporation and Ryan Specialty. Throughout her tenure, Verhagen has been a proponent of advancing women in the workplace while playing a significant role in the firm's growth.
At Nationwide, Carter has been actively involved in fostering diversity and community engagement. He served as co-executive sponsor of the Nationwide Latino Alliance for four years and currently holds the same role for the Nationwide Cares campaign, which encourages employee volunteerism and charitable giving.
When asked about the potential to accelerate acquisitions in 2025, Lynch was confident but temperate about the firms pipeline. With the current consolidation trend in the brokerage space, were in a strong position, she said. Were nimble, able to act quickly, and have a compelling story to tell when it comes to attracting top talent."
"He listens to and values others opinions and is willing to work as part of the team to find solutions that make sense. Hes the right man for the job, and Im looking forward to working alongside him in this new capacity, Jeffrey Brady said.
Under the proposed bill, property/casualty insurers could face fines of up to $10,000 per violation. Currently, the commissioners office is restricted to a $10,000 cap regardless of the number of violations. The commissioners office noted this change would align the rules for property/casualty insurers with those for health insurers, who already face per-violation fines.
FIO is a duplicative federal bureaucracy whose existence hinders the efforts of state regulators better equipped to address the insurance needs of their communities, Downing said. I was proud to call for FIOs abolishment as Montana State Auditor, and I gladly do it now as a congressman and member of the House Financial Services Committee.
The grants will provide up to $10,000 for projects that meet the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) Fortified standard with a high wind designation and a hail supplement. Funds will be paid directly to contractors after the IBHS Fortified certification is received. The program will operate on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to lower-income homeowners and those in higher-risk areas.
Two workers were injured in an explosion and fire at a cannabis extraction facility on Marylands Eastern Shore last Wednesday, state fire officials said.

Firefighters were called to PharmaCann in Stevensville for a report of an explosion, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Sprinklers contained the damage and one persons injuries were severe but not life-threatening, officials said.

The cause of the explosion, which took place in an extraction booth where propane and butane were used, remains under investigation, officials said.

Four neighboring properties were evacuated and temporarily closed due to damage to the building and fire sprinkler system. Emergency response systems, including alarms and ventilation, worked as designed and helped minimize damage and injuries, officials said.

The exact cost hasnt yet been determined, but damage is estimated to be over $250,000.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Workers' Compensation Numbers Cannabis
The state of Rhode Island last week began a phased relaunch of the HealthyRhode customer portal associated with RIBridges system, which manages many of the states social service and benefit programs as well as its health insurance exchange.

Officials said the controlled relaunch is being attempted after a successful relaunch of the systems internal employee portal earlier this month.

The popular RIBridges system that is used by more than 650,000 people has been offline since mid-December due to a ransomware attack that has exposed users private information. As part of the phased relaunch, limited groups of RIBridges users have been sent e-mails directing them to log into the portal, reset their password, and access their account.

After evaluating the portals performance during these initial phases, the state will determine the timeline for a full restoration of the HealthyRhode website for all customers.

On December 13, the state was informed by its services vendor, Deloitte Consulting, that there was a major security threat to the RIBridges system on December 5. Deloitte confirmed the presence of a malicious code in the system and implemented additional security measures. The system was taken offline.

Rhode Island Ransomware Attack Update: Some Stolen Data Posted to Dark Web

Deloitte has determined that the Brain Cipher international ransomware gang is behind the breach. Deloitte has also confirmed that some of the information breached contained names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, as well as certain banking information. Any individual who has received or applied for health coverage and/or health and human services programs or benefits could be impacted by this leak.

The state has learned that hackers responsible for the ransomware attack have begun posting some of the stolen information to the dark web.

On January 10, the state sent letters to all users affected by the breach of the RIBridges database, which is managed by Deloitte. The letters confirmed that personal data was breached and provided directions on how to access free credit monitoring. The deadline to sign up for free credit monitoring online or via phone is April 30, 2025.

At this time, customers with accounts can only log in after receiving an e-mail. Existing or prospective customers who do not currently have a HealthyRhode account will not be able to create one. Account creation will be enabled soon, according to the state.

Since the attack, Deloitte has been hit with class action lawsuits over the cyber breach alleging that as the services provider for RIBridges, it has been negligent for failing to protect the plaintiffs sensitive data and for being slow to notify them of the breach.

In the meantime, customers who need to manage existing benefits or apply for benefits can do so by contacting the Rhode Island Department of Human Services or HealthSource RI directly. The HealthyRhode mobile app is not yet available.

RIBridges provides access to Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Child Care Assistance Program, health coverage purchased through HealthSource RI, Rhode Island Works, Long-Term Services and Supports, and general public assistance programs.
Sweden detained a vessel suspected of damaging a subsea data cable connecting it with Latvia, the third such incident in the Baltic Sea in the past three months.

The Security Service said its conducting a preliminary investigation into the crime that is classified as aggravated sabotage, according to a statement late on Sunday. The authority also said the incident which happened early that day, may at least partly be directed against Swedish interests.

One of the anchors of bulk carrier Vezhen dragged on the seabed due to strong winds, according to Alexander Kalchev, director of the Navigation Maritime Bulgare, which owns the ship. Speaking at a news conference in Varna, Bulgaria, on Monday, he denied any intentional action by the crew.

Its possible that the ship caused this interruption of the cable, but by no means can I assume any sabotage or other action by our crew, Kalchev said. Were expecting an inspection of the ship by investigators who should discover the reasons and whether we are the perpetrator, this is yet to be proved.

The episode is the latest in a spate of similar incidents in the Baltic Sea. In December, an oil tanker linked to Russias so-called shadow fleet was suspected of damaging undersea links with a loose anchor. A month earlier, a Chinese ship was implicated in separate incident.

While sabotage has not been established in any of the incidents, numerous policymakers have raised the prospect of intentional, malicious activity.

Theres too many of them to call them accidents, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said in Brussels.

Last week, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said focusing on the perpetrator and intent is less important than being able to prevent such damage.

The bottom line is it doesnt really matter who does it, Stubb said on Bloomberg TV.

Swedens Security Service said its taking a number measures under the investigation and is working closely with several other authorities including the coast guard, the armed forces and the police.

In response, Nordic leaders met on Sunday night for dinner at Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksens home to discuss the events. Present were Stubb, Swedens Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

When the cable was breached, there was a day long effort to clarify which ship has been responsible, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said in Brussels, adding authorities have made some progress.

There were several ships that were cooperating, one ship that was not cooperating, she said.

The ship, sailing under the flag of Malta, initially didnt allow foreign personnel aboard due to the bad weather, Kalchev said. The ship was headed for South America, with a crew from Bulgaria and Myanmar, carrying fertilizers, he said.

Photograph: The Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 was anchored in Denmark in a similar incident in November 2024. Photo credit: Mikkel Berg Pedersen/AFP/Getty Images

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Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
U.S. President Donald Trumps administration has halted all pending environmental litigation and reassigned four career Justice Department attorneys focused on environmental issues, according to three sources familiar with the matter and a pair of memos seen by Reuters on Friday.

The memos order the division not to file any new lawsuits or other legal briefs and to halt all pending settlements and consent decrees to give the new Republican administration time to reconsider previously agreed deals.

The change, one of the memos said, is meant to ensure the federal government speaks with one voice in its view of the law and to ensure the presidents appointees or designees have the opportunity to decide whether to initiate any new cases.

The decision to move the four officials, who are not political appointees, from overseeing the natural resources, environmental enforcement, appellate and environmental crimes sections is the latest in a string of similar actions as Trump shakes up the federal governments 2.2 million-strong workforce.

The departments Environment and Natural Resources Division is responsible for bringing criminal and civil cases related to air and water pollution, animal welfare and public safety, as well as defending in court government agencies such as the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy.

The four section chiefs were told in an email late Thursday they have 15 days to accept the new assignment to a newly created Sanctuary City Working Group or face adverse consequences, the sources told Reuters.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.

The sources were granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media. The sources said the reassigned officials have not been provided further details about their new assignments.

Trump has long dismissed climate change as a hoax, vowed to cut regulation and on his first day in office withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate treaty.

Four other Justice Department employees who worked on environmental justice issues were also placed on paid administrative leave this week, four sources familiar with the matter said.

The four officials placed on leave include Cynthia Ferguson, who led the environmental justice office, and Lana Pettus, a prosecutor who worked on some high-profile cases such as the 2015 criminal Clean Water Act case against Duke Energy.

The Trump administration this week ordered anyone in the federal government on diversity, equity and inclusion issues to be placed on leave, and also called for the elimination of any office or position involving environmental justice.

Ferguson and Pettus could not be immediately reached for comment.

The order to freeze all pending environmental regulation was issued to employees on Thursday morning, the sources said.

It is similar to another memo issued earlier in the week to the Civil Rights Division which also halted all litigation, including efforts to finalize court-approved settlements with Minneapolis and Louisville to address civil rights abuses by the police.

Topics Lawsuits Pollution Politics
The US Federal Trade Commission is likely to have bipartisan support to keep filing cases to block anticompetitive mergers under the Trump administration, said Henry Liu, the outgoing director of the agencys Bureau of Competition.

Liu, who led the agencys antitrust unit for the last 18 months under former FTC Chair Lina Khan, stepped down on Jan. 20. During his tenure, the FTC won every merger case it filed, with one still pending in Texas federal court.

All of those suits were brought with bipartisan support from the agencys five commissioners, he said. Of the seven cases, the FTC won five at trial; the companies in the other two dropped their deals.

Antitrust enforcement has a lot of unanimous, bipartisan support and that in many respects wont change, Liu said in an interview before his departure.

A majority vote of the agencys commissioners is needed for the FTC to file a lawsuit. Before Liu joined the agency, the FTC lost two major merger challenges involving Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Liu said antitrust officials view of what constitutes competitive harm from a merger and how to fix that harm has evolved significantly. The days are gone where the agencies were just narrowly focused on horizontal 3-to-2 or 2-to-1 mergers. Were taking a hard look at vertical mergers, potential competition theories, and the functional availability of remedies.

The Biden administrations stepped-up antitrust enforcement under Khan drew criticism from business groups and some conservatives, who hope the Trump administration will take a softer approach, particularly on dealmaking. They may be disappointed, according to Liu, who highlighted the consistent bipartisan support for the Biden teams cases.

Republican Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Andrew Ferguson, who joined the agency last spring, also voted in favor of stricter rules on disclosures for proposed mergers and acquisitions. Those rules are set to go into effect next month, though business groups have now filed a lawsuit seeking to block them.

Ferguson, who is the new FTC chair after he was elevated by President Donald Trump, pledged to keep up the agencys antitrust and consumer protection mandate. In an email to the FTC staff this week, a copy of which was viewed by Bloomberg, Ferguson pledged vigorous enforcement of the law while implementing Trumps program of government reform, including winding down diversity and inclusion programs. The agencys mission of protecting consumers, however, will not change.

Photo: Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomberg

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions
President Donald Trump on Jan. 24 surveyed disaster zones in California and North Carolina and said he was considering getting rid of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, offering the latest sign of how he is weighing sweeping changes to the nations central organization for responding to disasters.

In fire-ravaged California, the states Democratic leaders pressed Trump for federal assistance that hes threatened to hold up, some setting aside their past differences to shower him with praise. Trump, in turn, pressured local officials to waive permitting requirements so people can immediately rebuild, pledging that federal permits would be granted promptly.

Instead of having federal financial assistance flow through FEMA, the Republican president said Washington could provide money directly to the states. He made the comments while visiting North Carolina, which is still recovering months after Hurricane Helene, on the first trip of his second term.

FEMA has been a very big disappointment, the Republican president said. Its very bureaucratic. And its very slow.

Trump was greeted in California by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Trump critic whom the president frequently disparages. The duo chatted amiably and gestured toward cooperation despite their bitter history.

Were going to need your support. Were going to need your help, Newsom told Trump. You were there for us during COVID. I dont forget that, and I have all the expectations well be able to work together to get a speedy recovery.

Newsom has praised Trump before when looking for help from the federal government. In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, he called Trump thoughtful and collaborative.

Trump flew over several devastated neighborhoods in Marine One, the presidential helicopter, before landing in Pacific Palisades, a hard-hit community thats home to some of Southern Californias rich and famous. Accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, he walked a street where all the houses have burned, chatting with residents and police officers.

It takes seeing the damage firsthand to grasp its enormity, Trump said after. The fires, which continue to burn, could end up being the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

It is devastation. It really is an incineration, Trump said.

Trumps brief but friendly interaction with Newsom belied the confrontational stance he signaled toward California earlier in the day. Even on the plane en route to Los Angeles, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was using Trumps disparaging nickname for the governor, Newscum, and telling reporters he has wronged the people of his state and saying Trump was visiting to pressure Newsom and other officials to do right by their citizens.

Trump said Los Angeles residents who lost their homes should be able to get back onto their properties immediately to clear them, adding several told him it will be months before they can rebuild.

Mayor Karen Bass said residents should be able to return home within the week, but keeping people safe from hazardous materials is a top priority. She said the city was easing the process to get permits, but she was repeatedly interrupted by Trump as she tried to explain the citys efforts. He downplayed the concerns about toxins, saying: Whats hazardous waste? Were going to have to define that.

Trump has a long history of minimizing the risks of asbestos. In his 1997 book, The Art of the Comeback, Trump called asbestos the greatest fireproofing material ever used and 100% safe, once applied, and claimed the movement against the insulator was led by the mob, because it was often mob-related companies that would do the asbestos removal.

Before flying to California, Trump reiterated that he wants to extract concessions from the Democratic-led state in return for disaster assistance, including changes to water policies and requirements that voters need to show identification when casting ballots.

Beyond Trumps criticism of FEMA, hes suggested limiting the federal governments role in responding to disasters, echoing comments from conservative allies who have proposed reducing funding and responsibility.

Id like to see the states take care of disasters, he said in North Carolina. Let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happen.

Trump said Michael Whatley, a North Carolina native and chair of the Republican National Committee, would help coordinate recovery efforts in the state, where frustrations over the federal response have lingered. Although Whatley does not hold an official government position, Trump said he would be very much in charge.

FEMA helps respond to disasters when local leaders request a presidential emergency declaration, a signal that the damage is beyond the states ability to handle on its own. FEMA can reimburse governments for recovery efforts such as debris removal, and it gives stopgap financial assistance to individual residents.

Trump has criticized former President Joe Biden for his administrations response to Helene in North Carolina. As he left the White House on Friday morning, he told reporters that its been a horrible thing the way thats been allowed to fester since the storm hit in September, and were going to get it fixed up.

In a small town in western North Carolina, residents told Trump about wading through waist-deep water to escape from their homes while fearing for their lives. Some have battled with insurance companies to get their losses covered.

Weve come to North Carolina with a simple message, Trump said. You are not forgotten any longer. You were treated very badly by the previous administration.

FEMA has distributed $319 million in financial assistance to residents, but that hasnt alleviated the feeling of abandonment among residents who are struggling to rebuild their lives.

Trump has showered California leaders with disdain for water policies that he falsely claimed worsened the recent blazes. He said he would take a look at a fire that could have been put out if they let the water flow, but they didnt let the water flow. In Los Angeles, he met with members of Congress and local officials from both parties in a meeting that was at times contentious.

Michael Coen, who served as chief of staff at FEMA during the Biden administration, said Trump was misinformed about an agency that provides critical help to states when they are overwhelmed by catastrophe.

In addition, Coen criticized the idea of attaching strings to assistance. I think the American people expect the federal government will be there for them on their worst day, no matter where they live, he said.

Trump tapped Cameron Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL with limited experience managing natural disasters, as FEMAs acting director.

Fridays trip could prompt some uncomfortable conversations about climate change, which Trump has played down and denied. Both Helene and the Los Angeles wildfires were exacerbated by global warming.

In Helenes case, a study by international climate scientists at World Weather Attribution found that climate change boosted the storms rainfall by 10%. In California, the state suffered a record dry fall and winter  its traditional wet season  which made the area around Los Angeles more vulnerable to blazes.

This is just breaking our comfort zone of what is supposed to be normal, said University of Oregon researcher Amanda Stasiewicz.

Photo: President Donald Trump talks with California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The rise of artificial intelligence, the digitization of the economy and everyday lifes growing computing needs have turbocharged the expansion of data centers, driving up a surge in electricity demand in Texas and across the country.

Texas main grid operator predicts power demand will nearly double by 2030, in part due to more requests to plug into the grid from large users like data centers, crypto mining facilities, hydrogen production plants and oil and gas companies.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced Stargate, a joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle that will invest up to $500 billion in AI-related infrastructure.

Texas will serve as ground zero, with 10 data centers by the venture already under construction in the state, 10 more on the way and the first project based in Abilene, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said. Each building will occupy half a million square feet.

The announcement reflected the hunger for data centers across industries and a yearslong push to increase data capacity. Ellison noted that the partnership had been in the works for years. He said the new data centers could offer services like maintaining electronic health care records and helping hospitals share medical knowledge.

The demand for digital services continues to increase and continues to be necessary to build out our capabilities for the 21st century economy, Dan Diorio, senior director of state policy at the Data Center Coalition, an industry trade group, said in an interview. Texas is uniquely poised to benefit from that.

That expansion  in addition to other large energy users and factors such as population growth and extreme weather  will stretch the grid over the next decade, raising questions about how Texas can meet the skyrocketing demand for power while ensuring affordability and reliability for everyday consumers.

Data centers in Texas

Data centers  which house servers that provide computing power and the fans and cooling units needed to keep the equipment from overheating  are energy-intensive facilities that operate 24/7.

Large data centers can require 100 MW or more each, consuming the same amount of power per year as 350,000 to 400,000 electric cars, according to the International Energy Agency. Put another way, a larger facility can use as much electricity as a medium-sized power plant, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates.

Texas has seen a rapid increase in data capacity thanks to the states relatively cheap energy prices, the ease with which facilities can connect to the grid and its overall business-friendly tax and regulatory environment.

Companies generally employ around 50 to 150 or more employees in each data center, in addition to an array of building and maintenance contractors, according to the Data Center Coalition, which estimates that each job in a data center supported six jobs elsewhere in the economy.

The state had 279 data centers as of September, according to the Texas Comptroller. The Dallas-Fort Worth area has about 141 of those.

That translated to 591 MW of power leased by data centers in Dallas and Fort Worth last year  the second most in the country  and nearly 190 MW in Austin and San Antonio, according to a CBRE report.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the states primary grid operator, estimates that 1 MW of electricity can power roughly 200 homes.

What do more data centers mean for the grid?

In Texas, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted that demand from large users  including but not limited to data centers  would grow by 60% this year, making up around 10% of the total forecast demand on the states main grid.

Large users requiring 5,496 MW of power have been approved by ERCOT to connect to the grid, according to a September report. The EIA expects that by the end of this year, ERCOT will have approved 9,500 MW in total large-user demand  a 73% increase.

That includes data centers and other large users like crypto mining facilities, which represent the biggest share of large users looking to connect to the grid, according to ERCOT.

Several other large-load projects  which would use up to 56,458 MW a year  were awaiting ERCOT consideration as of September.

Some large users, primarily crypto mining facilities, have committed to temporarily lowering their energy usage in periods of grid strain  an agreement that earned some crypto mining companies millions of dollars while many Texans saw their power bills surge.

Data centers, on the other hand, generally require an uninterrupted supply of power and typically do not participate in ERCOTs high-demand response programs, according to a recent report from the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee.

Nationally, data centers are expected to consume between 11% and 12% of total U.S. power demand by 2030  up from around 3% and 4% of demand today, according to an analysis by McKinsey.

Is the grid prepared?

How to meet soaring power demand is set to drive the discussion around the grid during this years legislative session.

Texas lawmakers have sought to boost the states supply of natural gas through the Texas Energy Fund, which will offer companies up to $10 billion in low-interest loans to build gas-fueled power plants. State regulators are currently vetting loan applications, but new plants will not be operational for years.

Data centers are going to provide a very essential product for consumers that underpins the functions of our life, Mark Bell, president of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, said. As an industry, we are ready to step up to the challenges that we face with this type of large load.

Bell added that the projected demand provides forward signals in the market that encourage companies to invest in new power generation.

ERCOTs demand forecast, which reflected a sharp increase from previous years, also raised questions among lawmakers about whether large users needed more state oversight.

I think we need to rise to the challenge of getting the needed generation onto the grid, state Sen. Charles Schwertner, chair of the Business and Commerce Committee, told The Texas Tribune in June. But there is eventually a prioritization that could be discussed, and obviously Texans  their families, their homes, their businesses  are the most important individuals, the most important clients for electricity.

On social media, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in June that the Legislature needed to take a close look at data centers and crypto mining facilities. We want data centers, but it cant be the Wild Wild West of data centers and crypto miners crashing our grid and turning the lights off, he wrote.

Patrick said in a Thursday statement to The Texas Tribune that he supported Stargate and believed Texas should be the world leader in AI, data center and crypto. The key is to ensure they have the power they need without a major impact to our electrical grid. The industries understand that and they are working on solutions.

Some companies are building generation locally or on site to help lessen their impact on the grid and lock in their own power supply. Building their facilities near existing generation sites can also help alleviate grid congestion. Lawmakers this session will likely consider whether companies should be forced to do so, with the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee recommending that large loads be required to offset their impact on the grid by adding on-site power systems or participating in programs to curtail electricity usage during peak demand periods.

Judging whether data centers and other large projects might actually build in Texas after requesting ERCOT consideration remains difficult, experts testified to lawmakers last year, making ERCOTs demand prediction less certain. Companies looking to build data centers may submit requests in multiple prospective locations.

In order to help firm up that forecast, the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee recommended that the state ensure regulators have enough information about how large users might operate, such as by asking companies to submit more detailed information about their proposed projects.

The Public Utility Commission approved a rule in November requiring crypto mining facilities connected to the ERCOT grid to register their power usage with regulators.

The projected growth in usage also means the grid will need more transmission lines, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said in April.

The forecasted pace of load growth could exceed the pace at which transmission capacity can be built to support it, Vegas presentation said. A new era of transmission system planning is necessary to manage the large amount of prospective load.

Typically, the costs of building out transmission and distribution infrastructure are spread across a utilitys customers. But the major investments needed to support demand driven by large industrial users raised the question of who should foot the bill.

Lawmakers have signaled interest in limiting the costs passed onto small energy consumers by ensuring that industries with significant electricity demands bear a fair portion of their actual costs.

Diorio, of the Data Center Coalition, emphasized that the industry was fully committed to paying our full cost of service.

We do not want residential customers subsidizing data centers, he said. We have a strong stake in helping Texas build out appropriately, and were leaning in to do that.

___

This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Texas
Itasca Re chairman Stephen Weinstein has launched a new Florida-domiciled insurance carrier, known as Mangrove Property Insurance, with plans to assume thousands of policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

Mangrove, with offices in Tallahassee, will be the 10th new insurer to enter the once-distressed Florida market since the 2022-2023 legislative changes  a package of laws that disincentivized excess claims litigation and stabilized much of the market, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reported.

Smart legislative and regulatory reforms have stabilized Floridas marketplace, giving us confidence to enter the market with new capital and capacity to help homeowners meet their property insurance needs, Weinstein, Mangroves CEO, said in a statement Monday. Just as mangroves protect Floridas coastlines from erosion and storm surge, Mangrove Property Insurance Company is committed to being a permanent solution Floridians can turn to in protecting their property.

The OIR in mid-January approved the firms certificate of authority and its plan to assume some 81,000 HO multiperil policies from Citizens by April 15. How many of those offers will be accepted by policyholders wont be known until later, but OIR data show that only about 10% of takeout offers were accepted by policyholders in 2024.

Mangroves takeout application raised a minor question from regulators who noted that the plan would conflict with 2022 Florida law that requires takeouts to offer comparable coverage. But that coverage cannot be achieved through optional endorsements, the consent order explains.

The premium calculation used to determine the 20% eligibility threshold  must be calculated using offers of coverage without the need to offer additional terms or endorsements, the order notes.

Mangrove officers have agreed to comply.

Mangrove also has applied for a financial strength rating from the Demotech rating firm, acceptable to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac secondary mortgage buyers. The consent order requires the rating by Feb. 25 or sooner.

Weinstein is well-known in the industry, having served as chairman of the board at Itasca Re Ltd., a Bermuda-based specialty reinsurance company, as chief legal officer of Renaissance Re Holdings, and on the board of the R Street Institute.

Allan Franklin, a certified public accountant and fraud examiner, is chief financial officer for Mangrove.

The companys announcement said it hopes to provide coverage through independent agents in all 67 Florida counties.

Update: This article has been updated to provide more information about Weinsteins background.

Topics Carriers Florida New Markets Property
OCALA, Fla. (AP)  A Florida Highway Patrol trooper fatally shot a suspect during an altercation at a central Florida hospital on Friday, authorities said.

The altercation happened in the emergency department at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital in Ocala, Florida, according to a statement from the hospital. The unidentified suspect died when the trooper used deadly force, the Ocala Police Department said in a statement.

No law enforcement officers or hospital staff were injured. The highway patrol requested the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the shooting, according to the police department.

No further details were released.

Ocala is located about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of Orlando.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Florida
The owner of a Tukwila, Washington, trampoline park faces more than $68,000 in fines for not giving teen employees meal breaks, and for working them longer hours than allowed under law.

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries investigated and cited the company after receiving a complaint, and Flying Circus Washington LLC, doing business as Sky Zone Seattle, did not file an appeal by the deadline. This is reportedly the second time L&I cited a Sky Zone business. Last year, L&I cited a Vancouver, Washington, location for similar violations.

The L&I investigation at the Tukwila location started as a workplace safety complaint. It reportedly involved a teen reportedly fixing a zip line up to 12 feet off the ground without proper training and fall protection, resulting in the agency citing Sky Zone for failing to hold required safety meetings.

Along with the safety citation, the investigator referred the case to L&Is youth employment standards unit. That investigation reportedly found Sky Zone permitted 57 minors to work more than five consecutive hours without a meal break on 537 occasions.

Other reported violations include:

19 minors worked more than 20 hours per week during a school week 43 times;

34 minors worked more than four hours per day on a school day preceding another school day on 154 occasions;

15 minors worked more than eight hours per day on a non-school day during a school week on 32 occasions.

Along with the recent citations at the Tukwila Sky Zone, in 2024, L&I cited the separately owned Sky Zone trampoline park in Vancouver, Wash. That case focused on numerous violations of meal breaks and hours worked. In that case, 43 teens reportedly went without a meal break on more than 250 occasions, and worked beyond hours allowed under law on more than 350 occasions.

Sky Zone is a franchised indoor trampoline park with a variety of attractions. There are a reported 200 parks across the country.

Topics Washington
Southern California will clock a few more tense hours as showers continue to soak the burn-scarred landscape around Los Angeles.

While the rains are helping fight wildfires that have killed at least 28 and destroyed more than 16,000 structures, theyre also raising the risk of deadly landslides and debris flows that can inundate a house with mud in seconds. A flood watch remains in force through 10 a.m. local time, the National Weather Service said.

Related: LA Wildfires by the Numbers: Insured Losses, Total Losses, Ratings, Rates

Skies over Los Angeles will start to clear Monday afternoon and Tuesday promises to be clear, the weather service said.

A short section of the Pacific Coast Highway west of Topanga Canyon Boulevard was shut due to mudslides and four vehicles had to be pulled out near Woodland Hills on Sunday. In addition to fires that ripped through the region this month, there are older burn scars across Southern California that are also vulnerable to shifting under intense rain, said David Roth, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center.

Related: Moodys Expects LA Wildfires to Increase Property Insurance Costs Across State

The worst dangers are around the Palisades and Eaton fires, which are 90% and 98% contained, respectively. The threat also is high near the Hughes Fire that erupted last week near Castaic Lake and is 95% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

At higher elevations, the precipitation is falling as snow, prompting the closure of Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles, according to a post on X by the California Department of Transportation.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics California Windstorm
Houston - January 27, 2025 (Investorideas.com Newswire) KULR Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE American: KULR) (the "Company" or "KULR"), a leader in advanced energy management platforms, today announced its strategic partnership with EDOM Technology (EDOM) (3048.TW), a long-standing NVIDIA Channel Partner and a premier integration and distribution company. This collaboration positions KULR to deliver its innovative KULR Xero Vibe (KXV) and KULR ONE product lines to Taiwan, a global epicenter of AI supply chain development, by leveraging its suite of energy management products and solutions to address the need for large-scale systems cooling within the AI ecosystem.

This news is paid advertisement/ news disseminated on behalf of/issued on behalf of KULR Technology Group, Inc.

The partnership will enable KULR to service both server and edge computing devices within the AI supply chain while deploying its suite of energy management products and solutions to meet the needs of the entire AI ecosystem. By aligning with a strategic partner like EDOM, KULR is positioning itself to address the global surge in demand for AI infrastructure, fueled by initiatives like The Stargate Project making a recent $500 billion push to accelerate AI infrastructure expansion in the United States.

"Our partnership with EDOM underscores our commitment to scaling our AI solutions to meet the growing demands of the industry," said Michael Mo, CEO of KULR Technology Group. "EDOMs deep-rooted relationship with NVIDIA and extensive expertise in the AI supply chain make them an ideal partner to integrate and distribute our technologies, such as the KXV and KULR ONE, across the region."

Taiwan plays a pivotal role in the global AI supply chain, driving advancements that shape the future of AI infrastructure. Highlighting this prominence, Bloomberg featured Taiwan's critical importance in the AI ecosystem. With EDOM as its strategic partner, KULR is set to expand its reach and impact, leveraging EDOM's market expertise to scale its AI business in Taiwan and Asia more broadly.

In recent months, the Company has made significant progress advancing its infrastructure buildout to support the AI ecosystem, including:

KXV Licensing Partnership for Data Center Cooling : KULR secured a licensing partnership with a leading Japanese corporation specializing in systems integration and advanced semiconductor solutions. The KXV technology will be utilized to balance industrial-scale fan systems for data center cooling, HVAC, and other industrial applications.

KXV with NVIDIA Jetson : KULR launched KXV integrated with NVIDIA Jetson, offering enhanced vibration mitigation for edge AI applications. This integration provides superior vibration control combined with AI capabilities for high-performance and reliable operation in edge AI environments.

Carbon Fiber Cathode Licensing Agreement in Nuclear Reactor Systems: KULR granted a licensing agreement to a new technology partner for advanced carbon fiber cathode applications in nuclear reactor systems in Japan. The license will support laser-based nuclear fusion systems and small modular reactors (SMRs), a cutting-edge, cost-effective, and reliable approach to fusion energy using high-powered lasers. According to Goldman Sachs Research, nuclear power will be a key part of a suite of new energy infrastructure built to meet surging data-center power demand driven by artificial intelligence.

Mo concluded, "With our shared focus on innovation and a commitment to driving progress, this collaboration with EDOM empowers us to deliver cutting-edge technologies, from thermal management solutions to AI-optimized products like the Jetson AI platform, to the rapidly expanding AI supply chain."

Together, KULR and EDOM are poised to innovate at the intersection of AI and energy management, building a resilient supply chain ecosystem to support the next generation of AI technologies.

About KULR Technology Group Inc.

KULR Technology Group Inc. (NYSE American: KULR) delivers cutting edge energy storage solutions for space, aerospace, and defense by leveraging a foundation of in-house battery design expertise, comprehensive cell and battery testing suite, and battery fabrication and production capabilities. The Companyas holistic offering allows delivery of commercial-off-the-shelf and custom next generation energy storage systems in rapid timelines for a fraction of the cost compared to traditional programs. On December 4, 2024, KULR announced that its Board of Directors has agreed to include bitcoin as a primary asset in its treasury program and committed to allocating up to 90% of its surplus cash to the acquisition of bitcoin. For more information, please visit www.kulrtechnology.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains certain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially from those stated or implied in such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business, which include the risk factors disclosed in our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 12, 2024, as may be amended or supplemented by other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions, or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," and "would" or similar words. All forecasts are provided by management in this release are based on information available at this time and management expects that internal projections and expectations may change over time. In addition, the forecasts are entirely on management's best estimate of our future financial performance given our current contracts, current backlog of opportunities and conversations with new and existing customers about our products and services. We assume no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations:

KULR Technology Group, Inc.

Phone: 858-866-8478 x 847

Email: ir@kulrtechnology.com

KULR Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE: KULR) is a featured renewable energy stock on Investorideas.com More info on KULR at Investorideas.com Visit: https://www.investorideas.com/CO/KULR/

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The new Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, played a key role in persuading the previous Government to create a new national public holiday to celebrate Brigid of Kildare, a patron of Ireland with Saints Patrick and Colmcille.

But his appointment as the political head of the countrys oldest Government department is not the only link with La le Bride, which is on this Saturday with next Monday designated as the Bank Holiday.

St Brigids Day and the Gaelic festival of Imbolc on February 1 are traditionally known in rural Ireland as the start of a new year on the land, with winter giving way to spring, fresh growth and new beginnings.

Minister Heydon, a Minister of State in the last Government at the Department he now leads, is a Fine Gael TD from Kildare where Brigid set up a double monastery for men and women in the fifth century.

Hailed as a champion of the poor, justice and equality, she was also a peacemaker and environmentalist who milked cows, churned milk, made up firkins of butter, looked after sheep, helped with the harvest and is sometimes considered as one of the patron saints of beer.

A compassionate and holy woman, she was the daughter of a pagan chieftain father and a Christian mother, shares her name with the Celtic goddess, Brigit, and is associated with many legends and folk customs.

She is thought to have died over 1,500 years ago, aged about 75, and is buried in Downpatrick, Co Down. Her feast day this year follows the start of the 34th Dail and the election of a new Government headed by Taoiseach Micheal Martin with Simon Harris as Tanaiste.

Minister Heydon, now a Cabinet minister in that Government, campaigned for recognition of Brigid of Kildare for many years along with the Brigidine sisters and others who were passionate about celebrating her life with a public holiday.

A beef and tillage farmer, he now has political responsibility for many of the enterprises that Saint Brigid promoted as she travelled countrywide on a chariot. These included livestock farming, dairy production, poultry keeping, ploughing, sheep farming, blacksmithing and horticulture.

She has been venerated by Irish people for generations, especially those living in rural areas, where newborn girls, as well as churches, schools, holy wells, shrines, cemeteries and even GAA clubs are named after her. There are at least 43 townlands named Kilbride in her honour.

Her feast day, which is about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc and is seen as a time to look ahead to brighter days, warmer weather, new growth and care for the earth.

Many sites associated with Saint Brigid have become places of annual pilgrimages. Water from holy wells dedicated to her was often taken home and sprinkled on cattle and crops and in farm outhouses to protect them from harm or damage.

For people of faith, Saint Brigid represents the transition from paganism to Christianity in Celtic Ireland. She is linked with many traditions and customs, including the practice of people making crosses from rushes to celebrate her life and gain her protection for homes, animals, and crops.

According to tradition, Saint Brigid was born at Faughart, near Dundalk, around 454 and is thought to have died 75 years later after a life of prayer, healing, feeding the poor and spreading Christianity.

The public holiday that honours her enduring legacy will be observed countrywide this weekend with religious services, festivals and a wide range of community and cultural events.

The Brigid 2025 Spirit of Kildare festival will highlight the values she championed, such as spirituality, peace, sustainability, arts and culture, social justice, hospitality, and education, and their relevance in the world today.

In her native Louth, the Brigid of Faughart Festival aims to revisit and reclaim some of the richness of the traditions associated with her in ways which are relevant to the lives of people in the 21st century through myth, landscape, folklore, spiritual customs, poetry, music and dance.

Her influence is also strong in countries across the world with many events being held to celebrate her feast day.
Faye Shortt always had a notion that her father was different.

There wasnt a moment as such, says the 26-year-old actor and comedian.

I figured it out in primary school when people would tell me they saw him on the tele. Social Media wasnt a thing back then so Id only see him on TV now and then and didnt think anything of it.

It wasn't until a family holiday that the penny really dropped as to the scale and scope of his career.

I remember we were in Portugal and you were maybe 15 at the time, says Pat.

You were watching Father Ted and there was a scream from the bedroom: Dad youre in this! It was an episode from maybe ten years before. So I remember having a bit of a chat with them about it then.

"I had never really told the kids about it and I wouldnt be watching myself on TV. You move on to the next job and forget about it.

At around the same time, Faye was attending drama classes. Though it was evident that talent ran in the family, she intended to steer firmly clear from following in her fathers footsteps.

I didnt have it down on my CAO as first choice, says Faye.

Pat Shortt: I was putting a live show together and I asked Faye if she wanted to be a part of it."

I think I was leaning more towards a degree in Business but it was my Mum who said I could pursue acting as a career. I was only 18 and wasnt so sure because Dad was so good at it. That was his thing.

"I thought Id be putting myself under pressure. But I started going for auditions and I realised how much I enjoyed it. When I got accepted to drama college that confirmed it.

I never encouraged it to be honest, says Pat.

The main reason being that I wasnt around that much because I was always off touring. It wasnt until I saw her doing a show at the end of her drama school that I saw how good she was.

After four years at the Gaiety School of Acting, Faye was all set to give it a go among the bright lights and glamour of Londons West End. Then COVID struck.

We were stuck at home with each other and started doing sketches, says Pat.

There was nothing else to do and for a writer you need to keep those creative wheels turning. So we sat down, did some writing, performed a few sketches and threw them up online to see what would happen. I was only looking back on them there the other day and I have to say some of them were really good.

Good enough to give people much-needed comic relief from endless lockdowns and the dad-and-daughter duo a bit of a name online. With restrictions lifted and the itch to appear on stage needing a good scratch, they decided they would take to the road, tour their material and see what happened.

I was putting a live show together and I asked Faye if she wanted to be a part of it, says Pat.

Pat Shortt: A lot of what we do in the show involves slagging each other off."

For the first year, I think live audiences werent sure what to make of it but it was great and I was enjoying working with Faye and being part of a double act again. The numbers speak for themselves. Their most recent show, Knuckle Down, has sold out up and down the country. Luckily, those who cant find tickets will have an opportunity to see them in Dublin at the end of February.

The pair are partnering with Specsavers, for a special one-off performance to shine a spotlight on presbyopia, a common eye condition that usually affects people over 40. Presbyopia is the gradual loss of the ability to focus on nearby objects and is a natural part of ageing.

According to new research carried out by Specsavers, more than 84% of Irish people over 35 experience symptoms of presbyopia, despite over half believing their eyesight is good.

The research also found holding text at arms length to read it, increasing the font size on a mobile phone and turning on the big light to read were some of the most common behaviours people adopted to compensate for a change in their vision.

Its those coping mechanisms that Pat and Faye have crafted into a sketch for a one-off performance, taking place on Tuesday 25th February in The Sugar Club, Dublin.

A lot of what we do in the show involves slagging each other off, says Pat.

And of course, a lot of that is age-related, uses the age gap between us as a kind of vehicle. So I think this was a perfect fit. Weve worked on material to bring this condition into the show. Its great to work with Specsavers on this and the fact that all the proceeds are going to Focus Ireland is a bonus.

Hes a divil for the flashlight in the restaurants, says Faye.

Pat Shortt: "Were keeping busy. Its nice to have the break because you come back to it with more energy and enthusiasm.

Of course, this is not Pats first comedy partnership. The Tipp native first came to prominence as one of the DUnbelivables, a riotous comedy duo made up of himself and Jon Kenny who passed away in November last year.

It was a huge shock, says Pat. I was only talking to him a week beforehand. He was doing very well. He was back working. He was still dealing with health issues but working.

"Contrary to what everyone thinks, it wasnt the cancer that got him in the end, it was the heart. Its hard to believe. I miss him a huge lot.

"He was a legend, the funniest guy I ever met. He was a friend of the family. Faye grew up in his house, sure. We would have been over there all the time. We lived in each others ears for 16 years.

After a hiatus in the noughties, DUnbelievables reunited for a nationwide tour in 2010. When it ended in April of the following year, the recurring question from the media was, would it happen again.

It was a huge shock, says Pat on Jon Kenny's passing.

The press kept asking us if wed get back together and I think people thought there was some kind of tension between the two of us and there just wasnt, says Pat.

People had these notions about what was going on. And then people would be making comparisons about who was funnier and stuff like that. Jon was more manic and I was the straight guy in the act. You cant both be manic. Youre offering a different dynamic. You have to have that balance. All good double acts have it.

As for this double act, the Irish tour continues until the end of April before jetting off to Scotland and then onto Australia and New Zealand. All going well, theres the promise of seeing more from the dad and daughter duo very soon.

Were writing already for a new show, says Pat, Faye has her own thing going on TikTok and social media and thats going great and shes working on radio and podcasting too. I have some theatre dates coming up later in the year.

"So were keeping busy. Its nice to have the break because you come back to it with more energy and enthusiasm.

As long as that keeps happening, audiences are sure to keep coming back for more.
Ireland has lodged an emergency request for help with the EU for high capacity mobile generators, coming amid fears that over 100,000 people could be without power into next month.

As ESB Networks crews worked across the weekend in difficult conditions to restore power to more than 490,000 people, it confirmed that about 278,000 people could be without power until Friday.

ESB Networks is deploying crews from the South of the country and Dublin to the worst affected areas, its bringing back skilled retirees to help, and repair crews from Britain are also involved in the mammoth power restoration operation.

ESB Networks crews and contractors at work near Dunmanway in West Cork during restoration works in the aftermath of Storm Eowyn. Picture: Michael O'Sullivan/OSM

However, with a further 100,000 facing into next week without power, the State made a formal request on Saturday for help through the EUs disaster response mechanism, the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM).

It is announced the setting up of emergency response hubs in the worst-affected parts of the country to provide basic needs  such as water, hot food, phone charging facilities, broadband access, showers, and clothes-washing facilities.

The EUs mechanism was activated for Spain last year in response to the flooding disaster in Valencia, which claimed the lives of more than 220 people.

A fallen tree which crashed through the wall of Phoenix Park and on to Blackhorse Avenue in Dublin during Storm Eowyn. Clean-up efforts have been hampered by the arrival the following day of 'Storm Herminia'. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Ireland has made a specific request for large, high capacity mobile generators to support critical infrastructure operators  such as water and telecommunications  that have been affected by the widespread power outages, a government spokesperson confirmed. Irelands European commissioner, Michael McGrath, said he is aware of Irelands application to the EU for help and is lending his full support.

Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly, who made contact on Saturday with European commissioner Hadja Lahbib  who is in charge of preparedness and crisis management  welcomed the move.

The power of the second storm to hit Ireland (dubbed Storm Herminia by Spain's weather authorities) is shown here by the huge waves washing over the sea wall at Garretstown, Co Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

However, he said it should have been made sooner when Ms Lahbib confirmed that her emergency response coordination centre (ERCC) has been in contact with the Irish civil protection counterparts since January 22 to offer any support needed.

The centre has provided analytical emergency reports to the Irish authorities on the storm impact and forecasted damage, and also provided Copernicus rapid satellite mapping facilities on Friday at Irelands request.

Mr Mullooly said: Its clear from my contacts with commissioner Lahbib that her office was in contact with the Irish authorities on Wednesday, when we knew this was going to be the worst storm in decades, so my question is: Why was this request for emergency assistance not made in advance?

Trees were felled all over Ireland by the storms, including this one on the Marina being cleared by Cork City Council workers. Picture: Dan Linehan

We knew it was going to be bad, and this mechanism is there. We should have been more proactive. But rather than engaging in a blame game now, I think we just need to get on with it.

There is no appreciation in parts of Dublin about the conditions in some parts of the country, especially in rural Ireland. Tens of thousands of people have no power or water, they cant make phonecalls, they cant text, and have no broadband.

Its like 1930s living in some places, with people driving 50 miles to make a phone call.

I am deeply concerned about people who are living in isolated areas. We just have to put measures in place to have necessary power available. These storms arent one in 100 years anymore. I think there is a business case to be made for investing in mobile generators ourselves so that, when the next storm hits, Uisce Eireann has its own generators to at least keep the water flowing.

Uisce Eireann crews are also working flat out to restore supply to about 109,000 people, with supply to 126,000 people at risk, and another 112,000 relying on generators for their supply.

Waves breaking at Weaver's Point, Crosshaven, Co Cork overlooking the mouth of Cork Harbour, with Roche's Point in the background, as Ireland endured a second storm in the wake of Storm Eowyn. Picture: Larry Cummins

The Lough Mask water treatment plant was repaired overnight on Saturday, returning water to 48,000 customers in Mayo. However, of its 698 water supply schemes, there are 41 where no water was available in all or part of scheme.

Alternative water supplies and tankers put in place with the impacted areas the West and Midlands  including Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cavan, Monaghan, Westmeath, Donegal, and Longford.

Uisce Eireann head of water operations Margaret Attridge said the number of people experiencing loss of supply due to power outages remains significant.

Workers clearing a fallen tree on Grove Park Drive in Dublin as ESB Networks continue to reconnect homes and businesses after Storm Eowyn was swiftly followed by a second tempest, named 'Storm Herminia' by Spain's weather authorities. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Our crews are on the ground in all impacted areas working to restore water services as quickly as possible, but given the extent of the damage to the power network, it may take some time before full service is restored everywhere, she said.

Meanwhile, the national blood supply has fallen critically low  prompting an appeal from the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) for immediate public and donor support.

It said current supplies for many blood groups are under three days with the storm and high levels of respiratory illness impacting on blood collections.

The services director of donor services and logistics, Paul McKinney, said it needs over 12,000 donations in the coming days and weeks to restore the blood supply and safely support the health service.
The special rapporteur on the States plan to tackle racism says she is concerned the plan is not included in the programme for government.

Dr Ebun Joseph, a race relations consultant and director of the Institute of Antiracism and Black Studies, was appointed in July as the special rapporteur for the National Plan Against Racism.

The plan was approved by the Cabinet almost two years ago, following anti-migrant protests in Cork and Dublin in the wake of the influx of international protection applicants.

It was the first such plan since 2008 and was to be led by the then minister of state for community development Joe OBrien.

It incorporated a range of areas for action, including schools, health, housing, policing and the labour market.

In recent days, Mr OBrien, who lost his seat in the election, posted on social media that the lack of reference of the plan in the programme for government was very concerning.

Dr Joseph said: As a nation, we signed up to a national action plan. It begs the question when it is not included in the programme for government, how conscious are the government of hate?

She pledged to raise the issue with the government because she said the plan cannot go into a big void.

She said there was a lot in the plan but there were a number of particularly important planks, including education.

We want to see how we can use education to get racism training into schools. We also want to look at data, which is so important. If we dont have data, it is impossible to know the extent of racism as a problem.

Ethnicity data should be collected by doctors, by hospitals, for example. When covid happened, in the UK, we were able to see data to show that ethnic minority groups were dying at a higher rate. We do not have an equivalent of that here.

Dr Joseph said policing and reporting of racism incidents were very important too, explaining people are slow to come forward to report having been targeted in racist incidents.

The EU report last year showed that nine out of ten people do not report racism. That is astronomical.

Employment is another key area in helping to address racism in Ireland, according to Dr Joseph.

She said there were incidents of discrimination in Ireland, with people finding it difficult to find employment because of racism.

She is now planning to seek a meeting with government representatives to seek commitment to the plan.

In referencing racism in the programme for government, the document pledged through sustained and positive action aimed at eliminating racism and promoting inclusivity, we can better support those who have been affected by discrimination, racism and inequality.

Among its commitments were to continue to implement training programmes within our education system to address racism and unconscious bias, fostering a more inclusive environment for all students and reducing susceptibility to extremist views.

It also contains a commitment to launch national and local community campaigns to highlight the positive impacts of migration and to challenge disinformation.

Garda figures showed reported hate crimes increased in 2023 by 7.5% to 548 incidents, on the back of a 22% increase in previous years.
The majority of Irish people in their mid-20s are very concerned about access to housing, while at least one in eight such people have emigrated, a new study has found.

The latest edition of the CSOs Growing Up in Ireland study, a periodic survey of young Irish people born in 1998, shows pronounced income inequality also exists already for that age cohort.

Of those surveyed, just over a third, or 34%, of respondents said they were struggling to make ends meet.

That finding is skewed in terms of education, with three in five respondents who have attained a degree at this point in their lives far more likely to be saving regularly.

Head of the study at the CSO Katie OFarrell felt the "most interesting" aspect of the survey was the 86% of respondents who said they were very concerned about housing. This is due to the fact that more than 60% of the 3,380 people who responded to the survey said they were living at home for mostly financial reasons.

Of those living independently, three in five were renting privately, with just one in eight having purchased a home.

Overall, the survey  which has been conducted roughly every five years since the respondents were nine years old in 2008  saw a response rate of just under 50%, which the researchers said stands up well in terms of similar trends across European nations.

More than 12% of respondents have emigrated and were excluded from the main survey. Of those who have left the country, the majority said they planned to stay away from Ireland for 12 months or more, with roughly 60% of those having travelled to either the UK or Australia.

Some 43% of those said they had left Ireland for employment opportunities. The same cohort were not asked whether or not housing, or difficulties accessing same in Ireland, had been a factor in their decision to leave.

The median weekly salary for the 86% of respondents who are in regular employment was 558. However, that figure is skewed between those with a degree and those without, with the former earning 613 a week on average as opposed to 485.

That statistic was particularly acute for women, with those with a degree earning 154 a week more than those without.

Separately, a definite gender pay gap is already present for the group of 25-year-olds, with men earning 64 more a week than women already.

Mental health

While the overwhelming majority of people asked said they were in very good physical health, the study presents a definite decline in mental health levels, with the numbers of those self-reporting depression, anxiety, stress and low self-esteem all having climbed since the 2018 version of the study.

The survey noted one in five respondents had used cocaine in the previous year, while a majority of men with a degree-level education engaged in excessive alcohol drinking, when measured against World Health Organization standards.

While such problematic drinking is notably higher among men, just under 40% of all respondents were noted as engaging in hazardous levels of alcohol use.
Ireland is ready to do business with US president Donald Trump's administration, Tanaiste Simon Harris said in calling for "early engagement" with the US.

The minister for foreign affairs has said the US is "reliant" on foreign direct investment, and it is now "really important" that this country and the wider European Union intensively engage on trade.

He said countries must now engage with Mr Trump in "a way which he relates to" by stressing the benefits of doing business with the EU.

"We can do business with the Trump administration, my country has done business with every US administration," he said.

Attending his first EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, Mr Harris said it was being held at "a time of much geopolitical uncertainty and challenges".

He said that, as the democratically elected leader, Mr Trump will decide the direction of his country for the next four years and that is the "reality in which the EU finds itself".

"I think Europe should not just become a multilateral organisation that talks about Mr Trump, we should also be one that talks about what we are going to do ourselves.

We are not just commentators on the outcomes of other people's elections, we are the European Union

"There are hundreds of millions of us. There are 27 countries and we must now control what we can control," he said.

Strength and unity

Mr Harris told EU colleagues that Europe must engage with Mr Trumps administration from a position of strength and unity by investing in infrastructure and driving competitiveness.

"I think it's absolutely vital that the EU and the US establish a deep, meaningful, working relationship," Mr Harris said.

"The US is reliant on foreign direct investment, it was before the inauguration, before the US presidential election.

The US and EU are dependent on each other both before and after the presidential election

"Now that Mr Trump is in office, it is really, really important that we engage intensively on trade and how we can do business together," Mr Harris told reporters.

The Tanaiste also held a number of bilateral meetings, including with EU commissioner for trade and economic security Maros Sefcovic.

At the meeting of foreign ministers, the Tanaiste said the US and EU trade relationship and broad relationship was interdependent before the election of president Donald Trump. Mr Harris added that that reality remains even after the election and his recent inauguration.

He stressed the importance of investing in infrastructure, driving competitiveness, and engaging with the new US administration from a position of strength and from a place of unity.

The Tanaiste also held a phone call with Britain's foreign secretary David Lammy, where he welcomed the renewed warmth in the Britain-Ireland relationship.

The call focused on the situation in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Sudan, and they also discussed the importance of the transatlantic relationship.

The pair agreed on the need to maintain a greater focus on the security and humanitarian crisis in Sudan, the importance of the protection of civilians, and the need to bring about a negotiated solution to the violence.
MMA fighter Conor McGregor has deleted CCTV footage relating to a civil case against him, according to a court document.

At a High Court trial, Nikita Hand won her claim for damages against Mr McGregor after accusing the mixed martial arts fighter of raping her in December 2018.

Last week, Mr McGregor was ordered not to share CCTV footage relating to the case.

According to the Irish Times, a document filed in court now says Mr McGregor has deleted copies of the footage.

The footage, which was gathered by An Garda Siochana, was shown several times during the case and was the subject of media coverage.

Earlier this month, lawyers for Ms Hand sought assurances in the High Court that Mr McGregor would not disseminate the material after newspaper reports suggested it could be widely released.

'Undermining' court findings

Senior counsel Ray Boland, representing Ms Hand, said Mr McGregor intended to disseminate selected pieces of the evidence with a view to undermining and discrediting the findings of the court.

Barrister Remy Farrell, acting for Mr McGregor, said a High Court order was not necessary as there was already an implied undertaking that material for the case would not be misused or disseminated.

High Court judge Mr Justice Alexander Owens said that any leaking of footage would be a gross contempt of court.

He said it was necessary to nip all of this in the bud, and directed Mr McGregor to return all fobs or sticks containing the footage to his solicitor and arrange the permanent deletion of the files from computers and phones.

The judge also directed him to make an affidavit indicating what copies had been made and how they were deleted.

Mr McGregor would be allowed to see the footage again, if necessary, under supervision at his solicitors office.

He was directed to retrieve the material from anyone who had received it through his actions, if that had occurred.

- Additional reporting by PA
One of seven men who was due to go on trial after a raid on a Panamanian cargo ship off the South-East coast resulted in the largest cocaine seizure in Irish history has pleaded guilty to a drugs offence.

Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, aged 62, with an address at Rudenka, Repina Str, Berdyansk, appeared before the non-jury court on Monday, where he was arraigned on one of the two charges against him.

Lapa pleaded guilty that on dates between September 21 and 25, 2023, both dates inclusive, at a location within the State, he attempted to have in his possession a controlled drug  namely cocaine  for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying the drug to another in contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 to 2023, made under Section 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, and at the time when the controlled drug was in his possession, the market value of the controlled drug amounted to 13,000 or more.

The 2.25 tonnes of cocaine that was seized from the MV Matthew, a Panamanian-registered bulk carrier, has an estimated value of more than 157m. The ship was boarded in a dramatic operation by the army rangers, a specialist wing of the Irish Defence Forces, in September 2023.

Lapa was also facing a charge that between July 15 and September 23, 2023, both dates inclusive, within the State  with knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation  that he participated in, or contributed to, activity intending to or being reckless as to whether such participation or contribution could facilitate the commission of a serious offence by that criminal organisation or any of its members.

Sean Guerin, prosecuting, told the three-judge court that the defendant's guilty plea was acceptable on a full facts basis, adding "that the other count would be dealt with in the usual way".

Caroline Latham, defending, asked the non-jury court for a probation report. She said her client was a foreign-national and from Ukraine. "He has no ties to this jurisdiction and a probation report would greatly assist the court," added counsel.

The 2.25 tonnes of cocaine that was seized from the MV Matthew, a Panamanian-registered bulk carrier, has an estimated value of more than 157m. File Picture: Dan Linehan

Presiding judge Ms Justice Melanie Greally said it would be premature to order a probation report at this stage, and that she wouldn't initiate the process now but "was not ruling it out as a possibility in the future".

Ms Justice Greally, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Grainne Malone, remanded Lapa in custody until February 24 when his case is listed for mention.

Regarding the probation report, the judge said she would have a "better idea at that point in time".

The other six men, who are charged with offences arising from the seizure of the cocaine, applied to the Special Criminal Court on January 13 to have the charges against them dismissed.

The hearings before the three-judge court began two weeks ago and the non-jury court will deliver its ruling on Thursday. The reasons for the application and the substance of the submissions cannot be reported by law.

Lapa was the only one of the accused men who did not make an application under the Criminal Procedure Act to have his case dismissed.

The six men who made the applications are Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk, aged 32, and Vitaliy Vlasoi, aged 32; Iranians Soheil Jelveh, aged 51, and Saeid Hassani, aged 39; Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, aged 49, and Filipino Harold Estoesta, aged 31.

The men are charged with drug trafficking offences at sea contrary to the Criminal Justice Act 1994.

British national Jamie Harbron has previously pleaded guilty to an offence arising from the seizure. He will appear before the court later this year for a sentencing hearing.

Harbron, aged 31, of South Avenue, Billingham, England, pleaded guilty that on a date between September 21 and September 25, 2023, both dates inclusive, he attempted to have cocaine in his possession for the purpose of sale or supply, an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
The Land Development Agency (LDA) is to ramp up its housing delivery in Cork city with plans to build 140 affordable homes on a site currently used as a car park by Cork City Council workers.

Earmarked for Anglesea Terrace, at the junction of Old Station Road and South Link Road, close to the Elysian, the majority of homes will be cost-rental apartments, with a percentage going to the Council for social housing.

The LDA intends to lodge a planning application later this year with the hope of beginning construction by 2027 and delivering the first homes by 2030. Cork City Council expects to publish the design for the project shortly.

The exact number of homes has not yet been finalised but is likely to be just over 140. The site is within short walking distance of the city centre, Kent train station and the main bus terminus at Parnell Place.

The Anglesea Terrace project will revitalise an under-utilised brownfield site in the centre of Cork at a time of pressing housing need.

LDA boss John Coleman said it is delighted to be partnering with Cork City Council to deliver much-needed affordable homes in the heart of Cork city at a time of pressing housing need.

He thanked the council for making the land available to them.

This project will revitalise an under-utilised brownfield site in the centre of Cork, transforming it into a high quality, affordable and desirable residential development, Mr Coleman said.

The agency hopes to begin marketing the homes at the former St Kevin's Hospital site in Shanakiel after Easter. Picture: MMD Construction

Valerie OSullivan, the councils chief executive, said it would create a new, sustainable and well-connected neighbourhood in the Anglesea Terrace area.

We look forward to publishing the design for the project shortly and I would encourage people to engage with the process so that we can deliver a development and community that works for everyone in the city, Ms OSullivan said.

The project will build on the LDAs ongoing activity in Cork which includes a 267-home scheme at the former St Kevins hospital site in Shanakiel; 302 apartments at Horgans Quay in partnership with developers BAM/Clarendon; 350 affordable homes in Wilton, with the first units expected late in 2028; talks with Glenveagh Properties about partnering on a 1,000 apartment scheme at the former Live at the Marquee Marina site, and ongoing talks with the ESB and Bord na Mona about acquiring two further docklands sites on which to deliver 900 homes in the long term.

Planning permission was granted for construction of apartment blocks at the former Ford Distribution site, which was home to Live at the Marquee concert series for many years. File Picture: Larry Cummins

The project is positive news at a time when figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show a 6.7% decrease in house building nationally between 2023 and 2024, while homelessness figures continue to rise.

The Anglesea Terrace project, to the rear of the iconic redbrick former St Joachim and St Annes Asylum building, is earmarked for land owned by Cork City Council and made available by it to the LDA. The 0.6-acre site currently houses a collection of buildings, variously used in the past as a water depot, drainage depot and works department.

The history of the neighbourhood is interesting. A site to the north of Anglesea Terrace was once Corks Corn Market and is now the site of City Hall. The Corn Market, built between 1827 and 1833, was expanded in 1843 and a Hay Market was added to the south. East of the site, the Cork, Bandon and South Coast railway began operations in 1851 and lasted more than a century, until 1961.

The LDAs Anglesea Terrace project will build on its ongoing activity in Cork, where the first homes are just being completed in its 267-unit scheme at the former St Kevins hospital site in Shanakiel. The LDA hopes to begin marketing the homes after Easter.

On Horgans Quay, its in the process of delivering 302 apartments (currently two storeys above ground and rising) in partnership with developers BAM/Clarendon. About two-thirds will be cost rental  at least 25% before local market value - with the rest going to owner-occupiers under the Croi Conaithe (Cities) scheme, where the government subsidizes the cost of the apartments.

More recently, the agency published draft plans for the development of 350 affordable homes in Wilton, on a 6.7 acre site which it bought from the ESB. The first units are expected late in 2028.

Separately, the agency is in talks with Glenveagh Properties about partnering on a 1,000-apartment scheme at the former Live at the Marquee site in the Marina, while talks are ongoing also with the ESB and Bord na Mona about acquiring two further docklands sites on Centre Park Road and Monahan Road, with the capacity to deliver 900 homes in the longterm
President Michael D Higgins was correct to mention Gaza during his speech at a Holocaust commemoration event, Tanaiste Simon Harris has said.

Mr Harris said that it was important that President Higgins attended a Holocaust commemoration event in Dublin on Sunday, saying it was carried out with great solemnity and dignity.

The Tanaiste acknowledged that there was a protest at the event, with several people being removed from the event during President Higgins speech.

The President was very clear in relation to specific issues regarding the Holocaust and his absolute condemnation of the horror, the murder of the Jewish people, but also I think rightly mentioning the situation in the Middle East. Also calling very much for hostages to be released, Mr Harris said.

I am conscious though that this is a very, very sensitive time and I dont want to say anything to distract from that.

The Tanaiste added that this was due to it being the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, saying that it was really important to keep the focus on that.

Mr Harris said that individuals have a right to protest, but he believed President Higgins was very clear in his speech.

I think the President was very clear as is the government, as are the people of Ireland, in calling out the horrors of the Holocaust and making sure that we remember, we record that, that we acknowledge that each year.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin will today attend a ceremony at Auschwitz to mark the 80th anniversary of the concentration camps liberation.

Mr Martin is set to join a number of other world leaders in Poland today for the ceremony, where further commitments to tackling antisemitism will be made.

In recent years we have witnessed a shocking rise in antisemitism and Holocaust denial, both online and offline, Mr Martin said, speaking ahead of the event.

I take this issue very seriously, and the Government will continue to work at home and with international partners to tackle all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism.
Nothing can ever be quite as sad as the books to be found in thrift shops, testifying, as they do, to the death of a generation of readers. A handful of recent thrillers may appear, but for the most part, what crowd the shelves are bunches of old  sometimes very old  books.

Guessing the age of the previous owners doesnt even require a potential purchaser to open the title page to view dedications wishing someone a happy birthday, with a 20th century year underneath.

Eye-scanning the spines is enough.

They capture the writer names from a specific time: Nevil Shute, Paul Gallico, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Compton Mackenzie, Somerset Maugham, John Steinbeck. They are enough to demonstrate that these are the remains of an abandoned library, stuffed into a black plastic bag by a bereaved son or daughter and handed over to be sold piecemeal at a euro a go.

Sometimes, the books are non-fiction. Old blue Pelicans about the sociology of the 1960s. Vance Packard on the manufacturing/marketing culture of that time. Or a collection from various authors about the investigation into the assassination of US president John F Kennedy. The official report of the Warren Commission, its pages yellowed and crisped with age, alongside paperback alternative theories around the event. And then, the definitive hardback conspiracy-theory-squelcher, Gerald Posners Case Closed.

HISTORY HUB If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading

Three-year-old John F Kennedy Jr, front right, salutes his father's casket in Washington on November 25, 1963, three days after the US president was assassinated in Dallas. Widow Jacqueline Kennedy, center, and daughter Caroline Kennedy are accompanied by the late president's brothers US Senator Edward Kennedy, left, and US Attorney General Robert Kennedy. File picture: AP

Those books, perhaps even more than the fiction of the time, sum up a sentinel event that replays forever in the visual memory of people who were in their early teens in 1963.

They can close their eyes and see the happy colour shot of the vast presidential car just before the shots. Then the Secret Service man leaping onto the great flat boot of the car to push Jackie Kennedy back down into her seat. Then the new widow standing beside Lyndon Johnson as he takes the oath of office, her pink suit stained with her husbands blood. Theyve been joined by later generations.

It has never ceased to fascinate and frustrate, that assassination, and one man, on Thursday, played to that audience in his classic knowing way.

Donald Trump was barely back in office before holding a press conference to announce that hes releasing thousands of documents, not just about the JFK assassination, but also about the killings of Martin Luther King Jr and Robert Kennedy.

Everything will be revealed, he told the journalists present, signing an executive order and then handing the pen to an aide with the instruction: Give that to Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Now, at first glance, this move would seem to give the final answers to lingering questions, and lay conspiracy theories definitively to rest, bearing in mind that, just two years ago, 65% of Americans queried in a Gallup poll told the pollsters they didnt accept the Warren Commission finding that the former Marine, Lee Harvey Oswald, had done the killing on his own.

One of the most public Warren Commission dissenters, the man who on Thursday gained a fountain pen  RFK Jr, Trumps selection to run the US Department of Health and Human Services  claims that Oswald was working for the Central Intelligence Agency when he killed Kennedys uncle.

Roughly 16% of the folk responding in the Gallup Poll are with him, all the way, on that claim.

Robert F Kennedy Jr (RFK Jr)  Donald Trumps pick as US health secretary  claims that Lee Harvey Oswald was working for the Central Intelligence Agency when he assassinated John F Kennedy in 1963. Picture: Carlos Osorio/AP

The significance of the document release was queried by Al Jazeera, which pointed out that the administration of former US president Joe Biden ordered the release of approximately 17,000 more documents, leaving fewer than 4,700 withheld in part or in full.

Bottom line: More than 99% of the relevant documentation has gone into the public domain already, according to figures from the US National Archives. Trump had planned to release more, first time around, but was persuaded by the CIA and FBI not to.

Two related implications there.

The first is that, either because of the merit of the argument presented to him or his short attention span, Trump lets some stated objectives go.

The second is that he comes back to them, which in this case is not a bad thing. The general assumption is that neither state agency, even after more than half a century, wanted less than stellar management of the before, during, and after of the event revealed and feared the pentimento of that management would be evident in some released documents.

The laying to rest of conspiracy theories is an appealing notion unsupported by what followed Bidens release of many more documents than indicated by Trump, which didnt amount to anything.

The man who claimed to have closed the conspiracy theorists down, Gerald Posner, has seen his reputation somewhat tarnished in the years since his breathtakingly detailed book appeared in 1993. Posner resigned from his post as chief investigative reporter at The Daily Beast 15 years ago, having been accused of plagiarism.

The appearance in his work of material dangerously close to that of other writers was, he claimed, an inadvertent result of high-tech cut-and-paste under pressure.

Be that as it may, his reaction, as an authoritative analyst of the JFK killing, was sufficiently muted as to suggest that he sees no immediate threat/promise that the newly-released documents will change his 30-year-old thesis. He welcomed the release, describing it as overdue.

RFK Jr may believe the documents will confirm his thus-far unsupportable notions that state agencies were complicit in the killing of his uncle, and that Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of his own father, didnt do the deed on his own. The Secret Service guy who jumped onto the boot of the presidential limousine on that day, and is still alive, wants facts to be seen as facts and conspiracy theories to be seen as what they are.

Sirhan Sirhan photographed during a hearing into his unsuccessful 2016 bid for parole. He is still in prison since his 1968 assassination of US Senator Robert F Kennedy, the father of Robert F Kennedy Jr. Picture: Gregory Bull/AP

The problem is that we live in a post-truth world, a black-and-white condemnatory world where neither side attributes nuance to the other.

Witness the silence in mainstream media about RFKs trenchant opposition to ultra-processed foods, which gets ignored in the shock/horror reaction to his worrying views on vaccination. Mainstream media might usefully renew its commitment to impartial coverage, even in the face of politicians who wouldnt know truth if it bit them in presumably sensitive portions of their anatomy.

Arguably the worst response to Trumps planned release of the assassination documents came from John F Kennedys grandson.

Jack Schlossberg, the only son of Caroline Kennedy, who is being glanced at by Democrats suffering from a wistful memory of the Camelot years, and who said Trumps executive order had nothing heroic about it. Another instance, this, of Democrats creating a straw man to attack. Nobody had suggested the release was heroic.

Declassification is using JFK as a political prop, when hes not here to punch back, went on his grandson. A political prop for what, pray? And how, precisely, would the dead president punch back at the release of documentation which might  just might  finally lay to rest the dangerous myths that have accreted around it over 60 years?
Swedish prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected aggravated sabotage of an underwater cable in the Baltic Sea.

Prosecutors also ordered the detention of a vessel suspected of damaging the fibre optic cable.

Several authorities, including the National Police Operations Department, the Coast Guard and the Armed Forces, are involved in the investigation, said Mats Ljungqvist, senior prosecutor at the National Security Unit, according to a press release.

The patrols come in the wake of suspected sabotage of undersea cables. (Hendrik Osula/AP)

The Swedish Coast Guard confirmed to the newspaper Expressen that they were on site near the vessel, which the paper identified as the Malta-flagged Vezhen, at anchor near the port of Karlskrona.

We are directly on site with the seized ship and are taking measures as decided by the prosecutor, said Mattias Lindholm, spokesperson for the Coast Guard.

According to data from Vesselfinder, the vessel departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga several days earlier and was navigating between Gotland and Latvia at the time the damage was suspected of having occurred.

Latvias state-run radio and TV centre said on Sunday that it recorded disruptions in data transmission on the cable running from the town of Ventspils to the Swedish island of Gotland, and concluded there was a rupture.

Early morning today we received information that the data cable from Latvia to Sweden was damaged in the Baltic Sea, in the section that is located in the Exclusive economic zone of Sweden. We are working together with our Swedish Allies and NATO on investigating the incident,  Evika Silina  (@EvikaSilina) January 26, 2025

The media organisation said it was able to operate using other data transmission routes, while it was taking steps to have the cable repaired.

At the moment, there is reason to believe that the cable is significantly damaged and that the damage is caused by external influences, Vineta Sprugaine, head of corporate communications at LVRTC, was quoted as saying by the LSM state broadcaster.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina wrote on X that her government was working together with our Swedish Allies and Nato on investigating the incident, including to patrolling the area, as well as inspecting the vessels that were in the area.

There is information suggesting that at least one data cable between Sweden and Latvia has been damaged in the Baltic Sea. The cable is owned by a Latvian entity. I have been in close contact with my Latvian counterpart, Prime Minister Evika Silina, during the day.



Sweden,  SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) January 26, 2025

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X that at least one cable belonging to a Latvian entity was believed to have been damaged and that he had been in close contact with MS Silina during the day on Sunday.

Sundays rupture follows a string of incidents that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the strategic region.

There have been previous incidents reported of ruptures of data cables running on the Baltic Sea bed, allegedly linked to Russias shadow fleet  hundreds of ageing tankers of uncertain ownership that are dodging sanctions and keeping oil revenue coming into the country.

Earlier this month, Nato began a new mission dubbed Baltic Sentry which included frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a fleet of naval drones to provide enhanced surveillance and deterrence in the Baltic Sea which the transatlantic alliance says is to protect undersea cables and pipelines.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured eastern Congos largest city, Goma, as the United Nations reported mass panic with the government dubbing the insurgency a declaration of war.

The citys capture came following a 48-hour deadline imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons.

The M23 rebel movement announced the coup detat in a statement.

The M23 rebels announced the citys capture in a statement minutes before a 48-hour deadline expired that had been imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons.

In the early hours of Monday morning, gunfire could be heard throughout the city, as per two aid workers on the ground who were not authorised to speak to the media.

In a statement, the rebels urged residents of Goma to remain calm and for members of the Congolese military to assemble at the central stadium.

In the statement, the rebels urged residents of Goma to remain calm. There was no immediate comment from the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

A UN armoured personnel carrier burns during clashes with M23 rebels outside of Goma, (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

Hours earlier, the UNs special representative for Congo told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that with the airport shut down and roads blocked in the vast regions humanitarian and security hub, we are trapped.

The M23 rebels offensive at the heart of the mineral-rich region threatens to dramatically worsen one of Africas longest wars and create further misery for what is already one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises, with millions of people displaced.

On Saturday, DR Congo broke off relations with Rwanda, which has denied backing the M23 despite evidence collected by UN experts and others.

The surge of violence has killed at least 13 peacekeepers over the past week, again placing the Congolese on the run once again.

The M23 has made significant territorial gains along Congos border with Rwanda in recent weeks, after months of regional attempts to make peace failed.

FILE  M23 rebels stand with their weapons in Kibumba, in eastern DR Congo in 2022. (Moses Sawasawa, File/AP)

On Sunday night, the rebels called on Congos army to surrender their arms and present themselves at a local stadium by 3am or they would take the city.

The Uruguayan army, who are in Goma serving with the UN peacekeeping mission, said in a statement on X late Sunday that some Congolese soldiers have laid down their weapons.

More than a hundred Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) soldiers are sheltered in the facilities of the Siempre Presente base awaiting the (Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration) process, the statement said.

In photos shared with the statement, armed men are seen registering with the peacekeepers in a mix of military uniforms and civilian clothing.

UN special representative Bintou Keita told the Security Council that despite UN peacekeepers support for the Congolese armed forces, M23 and Rwandan forces entered the Munigi neighbourhood on Gomas outskirts, causing mass panic.

Munigi is five miles from the city.

Ms Keita said M23 fighters were advancing and using residents as human shields as others fled for their lives.

M23 has declared the airspace over Goma closed.

She added: In other words, we are trapped.

She said the UN was temporarily relocating nonessential personnel from the city.

Democratic Republic of the Congos State Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner addressed the UN on the issue (AP)

Democratic Republic of the Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told the Security Council that Rwanda was committing a frontal aggression, a declaration of war which no longer hides itself behind diplomatic manoeuvres.

Rwandas ambassador to the UN Ernest Rwamucyo did not confirm or deny Congos claims.

He blamed Congos government, saying the crisis could have been averted if it had demonstrated a genuine commitment to peace.

The United States and France called for a ceasefire and appealed to Rwanda to withdraw its support to M23, with acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea warning that the US would consider all the tools at its disposal to hold accountable those responsible for sustaining the armed conflict.

In the past 48 hours, two UN peacekeepers from South Africa and one from Uruguay were killed and 11 others were injured and or rushed to hospital, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spokesman ahead of the Security Council meeting.

The UN chief reiterated his strongest condemnation of the M23 offensive with the support of the Rwanda Defence Forces, and called on the rebel group to immediately halt all hostile action and withdraw, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

A UN armoured personnel carrier burns on the outskirts of Goma (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich eastern DR of Congo, along the border with Rwanda, in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises.

More than seven million people have been displaced by the fighting.

M23 seized Goma in 2012 and controlled it for over a week.
The White House claimed victory over Colombia into accepting flights of deported migrants from the US on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay.

Ms Leavitt said the tariff orders  which would have put in place 25% tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, and then raised to 50% in one week  will be held in reserve, and not signed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters (Alex Brandon/AP)

She said Mr Trump would maintain visa restrictions on Colombian officials and enhanced customs inspections of goods from the country until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who rejected two US military aircraft carrying migrants after accusing Mr Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation, reposted the White House statement on X.

We have overcome the impasse with the United States government, said Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo. We will continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights.

He said the countrys presidential aircraft is available to facilitate the return of migrants.

Colombias decision comes hours after Mr Trump threatened to order upped tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures to be taken against Colombia after its government rejected two US military flights carrying migrants.

Mr Trump said the measures were necessary, because the decision of Mr Petro jeopardised national security in the US.

These measures are just the beginning, Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.

Colombias President Gustavo Petro (Fernando Vergara/AP)

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Petro said that his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with dignity.

Mr Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.

A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves, Mr Petro said.

That is why I returned the US military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens.

After Mr Trumps announcement, Mr Petro announced in a post on X that he had ordered the foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the US by 25%.

Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the United States from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.

Last year, Colombia and other countries began accepting US-funded deportation flights from Panama.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Mr Petro cancelled his authorisation for the flights when the aircraft were in the air.

Colombians emerged in recent years as a major presence on the US border with Mexico, aided in part by a visa regime that allows them to easily fly to Mexico and avoid trekking though the treacherous Darien Gap.

They ranked fourth with 127,604 arrests for illegal crossings during a 12-month period through September, behind Mexicans, Guatemalans and Venezuelans.

Mexico has not imposed visa restrictions on Colombians, as they have on Venezuelans, Ecuadoreans and Peruvians.

The government of Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, in a statement later announced that the South American countrys presidential aircraft had been made available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the US military airplanes and guarantee them dignified conditions.

FILE  Migrants walk along the Huixtla highway toward the United States. (Edgar H. Clemente, File/AP)

As part of a flurry of actions to make good on US President Donald Trumps campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.

Two US Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants removed from the US touched down early on Friday in Guatemala. The same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people.

In announcing what he called urgent and decisive retaliatory measures, Mr Trump explained that he ordered 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States, which would be raised to 50% in one week.

He said he also ordered A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on Colombian government officials, allies and supporters.

All Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government, Mr Trump wrote will be subject to Visa Sanctions.

He did not say to which party he was referring to or provide any additional details on the visa and travel restrictions.

Mr Trump added that all Colombians will face enhanced customs inspections.
A Bulgarian shipping company has denied that one of its ships intentionally damaged an underwater fibre optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland.

Navibulgar chief executive Alexander Kalchev said it was possible that the Vezhen ship had caused a cable to break, but dismissed any possibility of sabotage or any other action on the part of the crew.
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians were seen carrying their belongings on Monday as they made their way along the seafront of Wadi Gaza, on foot, to the north of the enclave. Israel opened roadblocks after the militant group Hamas agreed to hand over female Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud and two other hostages. Witnesses said the first residents arrived in Gaza City in the early morning after the first crossing point in central Gaza opened at 7.00 a.m local time.
Firing by Israeli troops killed two people and wounded 17 on Monday in the second day of deadly protests in southern Lebanon, health officials said, as residents displaced by the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah attempted to return to villages where Israeli troops remain.

The shooting came a day after 24 people were killed and more than 130 wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on protesters who breached roadblocks set up along the border.

Under a US-brokered ceasefire on November 27, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah was to move north of the Litani River by January 26.

Lebanese soldiers enter a neighbourhood in the southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

While the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers had already deployed in several villages before the deadline, Israel remained in more than a dozen villages.

The United States and Lebanon announced later on Sunday that the deadline to meet the ceasefire terms had been extended to February 18.

In a pre-recorded speech aired on Monday, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said his group would not accept the extension of the ceasefire deadline, without addressing the fact that the Lebanese government had already done so.

Israel has to withdraw because the 60 days are over, Mr Kassem said. We wont accept any excuses to extend one second or one day.

Any delay in the withdrawal is the responsibility of the United Nations, the US, France and Israel, he added.

Mr Kassem also said his group has not violated the ceasefire terms and acknowledged that they considered retaliating against Israeli airstrikes but were advised by Lebanese authorities against it.

Protests resumed Monday, particularly in eastern border villages, where residents again attempted to return home.

Israeli soldiers take a position to block a road in the southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun (Bilal Hussein/AP)

Israeli troops opened fire, killing one person in the town of Odaisseh and wounding seven others across four southern villages, the Health Ministry reported.

The Israeli military has blamed Hezbollah for pushing people to protest and has said soldiers fired warning shots when demonstrators approached.

In the village of Aitaroun, scores of unarmed residents, some waving Hezbollah flags, marched hand-in-hand or rode motorcycles, escorted by ambulances, bulldozers and Lebanese army tanks. They approached the edge of the town but stopped short of Israeli positions, unable to enter.

Lebanons national news agency reported that Israel dropped a bomb at the entrance of the southern village of Yaroun to deter residents from proceeding further.

Israel blamed the Lebanese army for not deploying to the region fast enough, while the Lebanese military accused Israel of stalling its withdrawal, complicating its deployment efforts.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,000 people during the war, but Lebanese authorities do not distinguish between fighters and civilians in their death toll.

Since the ceasefire began, Israel has conducted near-daily operations such as house demolitions, shelling and airstrikes in southern Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of violating ceasefire terms by attempting to move weapons. Lebanon in turn has accused Israel of hundreds of ceasefire violations.
Chinese New Year offers window on nation's economic vitality

12:05, January 27, 2025 By Hu Weijia ( Global Times

The Spring Festival holds a cherished place in the hearts of the Chinese people, offering a vivid snapshot of China's economic vitality. In this festival, filled with festive joy, we experience not only the deep bonds of family and the preservation of age-old traditions but also a dynamic display of the Chinese economy. From the bustling surge of travel during the holiday period to shifting consumer habits, the Spring Festival offers a comprehensive look at the nation's evolving economy.

On the global stage, China's economic rise often puzzles Western observers, as conventional models fail to capture the unique dynamism of China's economic practices. Examining the "economics of the Spring Festival" offers valuable insights into the essence of China's economic development. This beloved holiday, rich in tradition and festivity, highlights the unique nature and immense potential of China's economy.

Home: The economic pulse within chunyun

For the Chinese people, home symbolizes warmth and remains central to the Spring Festival. China's annual Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, officially started on January 14 this year, with an estimated 9 billion trips expected over the 40-day festive period. This massive short-term migration, driven by the Chinese people's strong desire to reunite with their families during the holiday, ultimately plays a role in driving China's economic growth.

The travel rush reflects both the yearning for home and the progress of China's economic development. China has built the world's largest high-speed railway and expressway networks. Technologically, China's railway system leads globally in high-speed, plateau, cold-climate, and heavy-load rail technologies. This vast transportation network and the rapid progress in transportation technology enhance travel experiences and drive economic growth.

The evolution of the Spring Festival travel rush mirrors China's broader socio-economic progress, contributing to steady GDP growth. China's fixed-asset investment in transportation is expected to reach approximately 3.8 trillion yuan ($521 billion) by the end of 2024, according to the Ministry of Transport's annual conference held in December. With continued investment, each infrastructure upgrade bolsters the foundation of China's growing economy. Amid festive reunions, China's economic transformation continues to unfold.

Gifts: The economic trends in consumption

The Spring Festival is a time for exchanging blessings and gifts. From the bygone era of scarcity, when tobacco, liquor, sugar, and tea were popular presents, to the recent trend of digital red envelopes on WeChat, and now the "send gifts" feature on some e-commerce platforms, these trends highlight China's economic growth and evolving consumer habits.

In recent years, younger generations - especially those born in the 90s and even the 00s - have become key drivers of New Year purchases. As the Spring Festival approaches, a trending topic on Chinese social media highlights young professionals, who return to their rural hometowns for the holiday, yet can't seem to shake their coffee-drinking habits. These discussions appear to influence younger consumers' New Year shopping choices. The wide range of items they choose - from deeply personal, emotionally meaningful gifts to more unconventional pairings like "frozen pear plus coffee" - reflects growing emotional and personalized consumption trends.

As concepts like "Chinese style," "guochao," and "neo-Chinese style" gain popularity across consumer markets; as Thai rice, Chilean cherries, and New Zealand kiwifruits make their way to Chinese dinner tables; as VR technology, drones, and robot vacuum cleaners find their place in shopping carts - these trends drive market diversification and economic upgrading.

Celebration: The economic potential beyond the data

The Spring Festival is a time for joyous celebration. Lantern displays, dragon dances, and bustling New Year fairs characterize the celebrations. From an offline perspective, data from China's Ministry of Commerce reveals that on the eve of last year's Spring Festival, foot traffic in major pedestrian streets rose 26.9 percent, with sales increasing 21.7 percent year-on-year. From an online viewpoint, in the two weeks leading up to last year's Spring Festival Eve, sales of alcoholic beverages in Alipay's live streams reportedly doubled, which, to some extent, reflects the increase in gatherings and celebrations.

These festive activities do more than simply contribute to GDP growth; they signify broader economic potential. Beyond the numbers, the vibrancy and celebrations of the Spring Festival highlight the Chinese people's optimism and forward-looking aspirations. This positive, forward-looking spirit serves as the unyielding force driving the continuous and healthy development of China's economy.

Travel: The economic vitality in leisure activities

The Spring Festival is a time for reunions and a peak travel season. In 2025, with the government officially adding the eve of Spring Festival to the public holiday calendar and the successful inclusion of the Spring Festival on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage, travel enthusiasm is expected to rise further. Several domestic travel agencies have released their findings, indicating a positive trend in inbound and outbound travel. According to Trip.com, during the Spring Festival holidays in 2025, bookings by foreign tourists visiting China are projected to rise by 203 percent year-on-year.

During the Spring Festival, the flourishing of both outbound and inbound tourism reflects a thriving tourism market and fosters cultural exchanges between China and the world. This interaction benefits China's economy and energizes the global market, highlighting the profound integration and mutual benefits between China's economy and the wider world.

Novelty: The economic transformation in change

The Spring Festival ushers in the Chinese New Year, symbolizing renewal and hope. As new technologies become ever more integrated into daily life, new dimensions emerge, including "online gatherings" and "virtual tourism." Technology brings a fresh sense of wonder to the Spring Festival. Beijing's "AI-themed" technology Spring Festival temple fair, scheduled to run from January 30 to February 3, 2025, will highlight technological innovation. Over 50 technology companies will present more than 70 AI applications, according to CNR, infusing the celebrations with a high-tech flair.

The Chinese economy surrounding the Spring Festival continues to evolve. As the economy undergoes significant transformation, the "economics behind the Spring Festival" serves as a vivid reflection of this change, reflecting both economic progress and development potential.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing)
A preliminary report released today reveals that both engines of the Jeju Air plane, which crashed last month, contained remains of ducks. Authorities are still working to uncover the cause of the deadliest air disaster in South Koreas history.

The six-page document issued by South Korean authorities, one month post-crash, indicated that DNA from Baikal Teals, a type of migratory duck that travels to South Korea in large flocks for winter, was found in both engines of the Boeing 737-800 jet.

However, the report did not provide any initial conclusions regarding the reasons behind the planes landing without its landing gear deployed, nor why the flight data recorders stopped functioning in the last four minutes of the flight.

The Jeju Air flight from Bangkok on December 29 lost control and overshot the runway of Muan Airport while making an emergency belly landing. It crashed into an embankment containing navigation equipment, known as localisers, resulting in the deaths of all but two of the 181 passengers and crew on board.

Investigators are currently examining the wreckage of the plane following the crash on December 29.

The localiser assists in guiding aircraft during their approach to the runway. Experts have noted that the reinforced concrete and earth structure at Muan airport supporting the systems antennas likely played a role in the high fatality rate.

Next steps in the investigation will include dissecting the engines, conducting a thorough analysis of components, reviewing in-flight and air traffic control data, and examining the embankment, localisers, and potential evidence of a bird strike, according to the report.

These comprehensive investigation efforts are aimed at determining the precise cause of the accident, the report stated.

Mayday

The report underscored several of the initial findings from South Korean investigators, which were shared with victims families on Saturday. It confirmed that the pilots were aware of a flock of birds during the aircrafts final approach.

While the exact timing of the bird strike as reported by the pilots remains unverified, the accident report mentioned that the aircraft issued an emergency declaration (Mayday x 3) due to a bird strike during a go-around.

The report does not clarify what may have caused both the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) to stop recording simultaneously just prior to the pilots declaring the emergency.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency, mandates that accident investigators produce a preliminary report within 30 days of the incident and encourages the publication of a final report within 12 months.

South Koreas Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board has shared its findings with ICAO, as well as with Thailand, the United States, and France, which are the countries of origin for the plane and engine manufacturers, as reported by an official today.
The UK has announced it will compel retailers to adopt stricter age-verification measures to prevent minors from purchasing knives, following a recent incident where a teenager confessed to killing three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event.

Axel Rudakubanas knife attack in July was labeled last week as one of the most distressing events in Britains history by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, prompting a public inquiry into the lapses that allowed the tragedy to occur.

As that inquiry is anticipated to concentrate on the failure of state institutions to heed warnings regarding the perpetrator prior to the attack, there is also increased scrutiny on the regulations surrounding knife sales.

Existing UK laws mandate that retailers implement an age verification system to prevent anyone under 18 from acquiring knives, yet certain aspects of these systems remain inadequately defined.

This morning, the government announced it will now require retailers to verify photo identification at both the point of sale and upon delivery, ensuring that packages can only be received by the individual who placed the order.

Its utterly disgraceful how easily children can access dangerous weapons online, Ms. Cooper stated in a release.

Its all too simple to input false birth dates, and deliveries frequently go unanswered at front doors without any scrutiny.

The new measures will be included in a bill anticipated to commence the legislative process in Parliament in the upcoming months.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin is heading to Poland today to participate in a commemoration service marking 80 years since the liberation of the former Nazi-German concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Since 2005, the day of Auschwitz-Birkenaus liberation has been annually recognized as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, honoring the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust along with other ethnic minorities who lost their lives at the hands of the Nazis.

The commemorative event today, taking place at the former death camp, will see the attendance of around 50 Auschwitz-Birkenau survivors and over 50 other global leaders and heads of state.

Established in 1940 in what was then German-occupied Poland, Auschwitz was the largest of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps during World War II.

(Watch above: Liam Nolan speaks to visitors at Auschwitz)

Approximately 1.1 million individuals were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau, with about a million of them being Jewish.

Other victims included Poles, Roma and Sinti gypsies, as well as Soviet prisoners of war.

The camp was liberated by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945.

In remarks ahead of the event, the Taoiseach stated, We owe it to [the survivors] to ensure that now, and for all future generations, we remember and proclaim never again.

Mr. Martin emphasized that his attendance at todays commemoration serves to reaffirm Irelands commitment to denouncing and combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance, racism, and xenophobia.

The Taoiseach also highlighted a concerning rise in antisemitism and Holocaust denial in recent years, both online and offline, noting that Ireland had recently endorsed the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances definition of antisemitism.

We will continue to maintain a close relationship with the Jewish community in Ireland and ensure their concerns are addressed, he added.

Read more:

Auschwitz: Where the Nazis created hell on earth Protesters removed from memorial while President speaks How the world discovered the Nazi death camps A history of Auschwitz-Birkenau 80 years on from liberation Holocaust generation a narrowing bridge to past horrors

Todays gathering is expected to be one of the last significant events that will witness those who lived through its atrocities.

The anniversary at the camps site, established by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland, will also see attendance from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britains King Charles, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Antonio Costa, and numerous other leaders.

Israel will be represented by Education Minister Yoav Kisch.

Pawel Sawicki, a spokesperson for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial, mentioned that there would be no speeches from politicians and that the focus would be on listening to the stories of the survivors.

It is evident to all that this is the last milestone anniversary where we can have a visible group of survivors present at the site, he remarked.

In ten years, this may not occur, and as long as we can, we should heed the voices of survivors, their testimonies, and personal narratives. This is of immense importance when discussing how the memory of Auschwitz is preserved.

The main commemoration will commence this afternoon in a tent constructed over the entrance to the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp. One of the key symbols of the anniversary will be a freight train car, which will be positioned in front of the gate.
The images captured when the Allies liberated the Nazi death camps towards the conclusion of World War II brought the atrocities of the Holocaust to the forefront of global awareness.

Initially, many of the horrific photographs were withheld from the general public, partly in consideration of those with missing loved ones.

One by one, the concentration and extermination camps were liberated as Allied forces approached Berlin during the final days of the 1939-1945 conflict.

The first camp liberated was Majdanek, located near Lublin in German-occupied eastern Poland, where the surviving prisoners were freed by the Soviet Red Army on July 24, 1944.

Death marches

In June 1944, SS leader Heinrich Himmler ordered the evacuation of several camps before they could be overrun by Allied forces, with prisoners to be relocated to other facilities.

SS officers were instructed to eliminate all evidence of their crimes prior to escaping.

The expansive Auschwitz-Birkenau complex in southern Poland, the largest concentration camp, was systematically dismantled beginning in mid-1944, while 60,000 malnourished prisoners were forced onto death marches to other camps.

A group of child survivors behind a barbed wire fence at the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in southern Poland, on the day of the camps liberation.

When Soviet troops arrived on January 27, 1945, only 7,000 prisoners remained, primarily those who were unable to walk with the others.

Images not widely shared

The initial discoveries of the camps had minimal impact on the broader public, as the images were not widely disseminated.

Investigators from Russia and Poland documented the conditions at Majdanek and Auschwitz-Birkenau, while American military photographers produced a documentary about Struthof, the only Nazi concentration camp situated in what is now France.

French authorities, particularly, sought to prevent the circulation of these images to avoid distressing families with missing relatives who had been deported, captured, or conscripted.

Concentration camp victims are led through the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp gate in 1945.

A pivotal moment occurred on April 6, 1945, with the discovery of the Ohrdruf concentration camp, an annex of Buchenwald in Germany.

Indescribable horror

When American forces  alongside US war correspondent Meyer Levin and AFP photographer Eric Schwab  entered Ohrdruf, they encountered a still-burning inferno and skeletal prisoners being executed.

Shoes discarded by men, women, and children at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, Dwight Eisenhower, visited the camp on April 12 and later described the conditions of indescribable horror.

Read more: Auschwitz: Where the Nazis created hell on earth

In response, the Allied leadership swiftly decided that all censorship should be lifted so that the world could witness the evidence of Nazi atrocities.

Days later, Eisenhower stated that journalists should visit the camps where the evidence of bestiality and cruelty is so overpowering as to leave no doubt in their minds about the normal practices of the Germans.
( RFE/ RL )  The 15-month conflict in the Middle East has caused a dramatic shift in the regional balance of power.

Iran and Russia have been severely weakened as Israel has pounded Tehrans proxies in the region, leading also to the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. Israel has emerged strengthened, but countries such as Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar have also gained influence.

Irans decline is perhaps the most striking. Its much-vaunted axis of resistance was based primarily on Hamas and Hezbollah, both listed as terrorist organizations by Israel, the United States, and other countries.

Dramatic Changes

The war began after Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. In a dramatic escalation of decades of conflict, Hamas raids into Israel killed over 1,200 people, and the militant group seized over 200 hostages.

The Israeli bombing and ground campaign that followed has killed the top figures in the Hamas leadership and an estimated 18,000 Hamas fighters.

But it also reduced Gaza to rubble, killing some 46,000 people in total, according to Gaza health authorities.

Weakening Hamass core leadership and destroying Gaza is going to fuel other types of militancy, said Fatima Ayub, a Washington-based political analyst and researcher on the Middle East and South Asia.

On January 14, former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington estimates that Hamas has recruited as many fighters as it lost during the war.

That is a recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war, he told an audience in Washington.

Irans Debacle

The war was a disaster for Iran. During the past four decades, Tehran has spent billions on building a network of militant proxies across the region in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Gaza, and Yemen.

Today, that lies in tatters.

Since September 2024, Israel has dealt severe blows to Hezbollah in Lebanon by killing its long-standing leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and his key associates.

The Israeli onslaught strongly diminished Hezbollah, which was previously the most powerful political force in Lebanon. Beirut now has a new president and prime minister. Both are seen as moderate and reformist figures free from Tehrans influence.



Photo by Mohamad Mekawi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crowd-on-a-street-10091339/

In Syria there was an even more profound impact. Hezbollah was no longer able to help President Bashar al-Assad maintain his grip on power. Nor were Russian forces, distracted and diluted by their much bigger war in Ukraine.

Israel set in motion a chain of events that ultimately led to the collapse of the Assad regime, said Hugh Lovatt, a Middle East expert at Londons European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

Tehran was forced to withdraw from Syria in the wake of Assads collapse.

In Iran, even among hard-liners and the proponents of the axis of resistance, they accept that they have been defeated, said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

He said that it is too early to tell whether this will be a turning point for Tehrans regional ambitions as it weighs giving up on Islamist militant groups in the Arab states.

The costs are exceeding the benefits, Vatanka said. And if they make that decision, we will face a different reality of the Iranian regional agenda going forward.

He said Irans influence over the Huthi rebels in Yemen is more tenuous.

The United States, Israel, and Britain have attacked power and port infrastructure controlled by the group in northern Yemen after it fired missiles and drones at Israel and attacked maritime traffic in the Red Sea.

The Huthis have far more independence and an agenda of their own in terms of the Palestinians, he said. [They are] not so dependent on what Iran decides to do.

Moscows Exit

Assads flight to exile in Moscow means that Russia has lost its military foothold in the Middle East.

Russian forces were filmed evacuating, reportedly to eastern Libya. The Kremlin has lost an ally that dates back to the Cold War.

It has suffered a huge strategic blow, Lovatt said. I dont see any imminent openings for Russia to reassert itself in the Middle East.

However, other nations in the Middle East have gained influence at the expense of Tehran, Moscow, and their allies.

Turkey will now have plenty of opportunities to shape Syrias future.

Ankara-backed Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) now leads the interim government in Damascus after toppling Assads government in a lightning offensive.

Turkey Replacing Iran As The Dominant Foreign Player In Syria

Israel now finds itself in a much stronger military position, having dealt powerful blows to many enemies.

Egypt and Qatar have scored diplomatic gains by brokering the elusive truce between Hamas and Israel.

However, Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich Sunni monarchy, has not gained much from the war.

They put all their money on the Abraham Accords and were close to normalizing with Israel formally before October 7, said Ayub, the analyst in Washington. But they had no meaningful sway on regional developments since then.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, key allies of Riyadh, recognized Israel under the Abraham Accords in September 2020.

The prewar hopes for Saudi Arabia to follow suit may be a casualty of the conflict, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza.

This factor has also turned much public opinion in the region against the United States, which has called on Israel to show restraint while also providing the weapons it needed to wage war.

Both the outgoing and incoming U.S. administrations claimed credit for the peace deal, but it will be for President-elect Donald Trump to deal with the aftermath.

Its expected he will adopt a policy of maximum pressure toward Iran. His rhetoric has been firmly pro-Israel. The coming days will show if the peace deal holds  and how Trumps arrival reshuffles the cards once again.

Via RFE/ RL

Copyright (c)2024 RFE/RL, Inc. Used with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2025) - Indigo Exploration Inc. (TSXV: IXI) (OTCQB: IXIXF) (FSE: INEN) (the "Company") is pleased to announce drill results from its Phase 1 48-hole drill program on its uranium project located in the past producing Shirley Basin of Wyoming. Greater than 90% of the holes encountered uranium intercepts. Indigo's 100% owned Hot Property covers a 5.75 km2 (2.2 miles2) area of the Basin and has seen historic uranium exploration drilling completed between 1957 and 1981. The Project is located adjacent to Uranium Energy Corp.'s (UEC-NYSE) Shirley Basin project, Ur-Energy Inc.'s (URG-NYSE) Shirley Basin mine, and Nuclear Fuels Inc.'s (NF-CSE) Bobcat Uranium Project (Figure 1). Ur-Energy's Shirley Basin project hosts an NI 43-101 Measured and Indicated Resource of 8.8 Mlb U 3 O 8 grading 0.23%1 currently under construction2 and only 1.8km from Indigo's property.

Indigo's Phase 1 drill campaign systematically explored a 1km x 1.3km area where 29 historic drill holes encountered 47 uranium intercepts with thicknesses of 0.91-3.66m (3-12 ft), averaging 1.6m (5.2 ft) thick, within the top 61m (200 ft). Average grade of mineralization in these 29 historic vertical holes was 0.089% eU3O8. Some of these historic holes went deeper, encountering uranium intercepts at 121.9-137.2m (400-450ft) depths.

Indigo's Phase 1 Drilling

Forty-four of the 48 vertical holes completed by Indigo encountered 165 intercepts of uranium mineralization with a grade at or over 0.01% eU3O8, typically having 3-4 zones per hole. Forty of 48 holes encountered 133 intercepts of uranium mineralization 0.91-7.92m (3-26 ft) thick, similarly averaging 1.6m (5.2 ft) thick with a grade estimate of at or over 0.01% eU3O8. Thirty-eight intercepts exceeded 1.8m (6 ft) thick. Indigo's holes were spaced roughly every 160 metres (525 ft) apart and typically only 53.3m (175 ft) deep, targeting the depths where the vast majority of historic intercepts occurred. There appears to be good lateral correlation of the multiple zones between holes.

Downhole gamma ray geophysical logging was employed to determine uranium intercepts and grade in this uranium roll front target area. Gamma ray signatures of the intercepts were characteristic of roll front "near interior" and "interface" peaks. Thicker and higher-grade areas of mineralization appear to favour multiple north-northeast south-southwest corridors and are open-ended in both directions. Deeper intercepts from historic drilling indicates additional uranium opportunities at depth on the property. The Phase 1 objective of a quick and low-cost test to verify uranium mineralization on the property was met with success. Company geologists will be working with this data for a more comprehensive interpretation and evaluation before a Phase 2 program is designed to target the nose of the roll fronts in the uranium-bearing stratigraphy on the property.

Figure 1: Shirley Basin Uranium Project Map

1 Updated Initial Assessment Technical Report Summary on Shirley Basin ISR Uranium Project, Carbon County Wyoming, USA dated March 4, 2024 and prepared by Western Water Consultants, Inc.

2 Ur-Energy Announces Decision to Build Out Shirley Basin Mine: Press Release dated March 13, 2024

Bradley Parkes, P.Geo., VP Exploration and Director of Indigo Exploration Inc., is the Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, who has read and approved the technical content of this news release.

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions. Forward looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend" and similar words referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, competitive risks and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in our recent securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and we caution against placing undue reliance thereon. We assume no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
TORONTO, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Belo Sun Mining Corp. (Belo Sun or the Company (TSX:BSX, OTCRB: BSXGF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Jack Lunnon as a director of the Company with immediate effect. Mr. Lunnon is a nominee of La Mancha Investments S. a r. l. (La Mancha) appointed pursuant to the investor rights agreement among the Company and La Mancha (see Press Release dated December 30, 2024).

Mr. Jack Lunnon serves as Chief Technical Officer for the La Mancha group, where he is responsible for overseeing all technical aspects of their investments, having started with the group in 2021. He has over fifteen years of experience in geology, mining and investments. Jack also has significant board-level experience, having previously served as a director of Elemental Altus Royalties Corp.  a TSXV-listed royalties company. Jack is a Chartered Geologist in London (CGeol) and Europe (EurGeol), with a specialism in Resource Geology.

Jack is an expert in manipulating geological models and has obtained a Citation in Geostatistics from the University of Alberta. Jack holds a Master of Geology (MGeol) degree from the University of Southampton, UK.

Prior to joining the La Mancha group, Jack was a Consultant Geologist for SLR Consulting (formerly RPA), where he performed countless due diligence reviews and audits on numerous projects across the world, and generated NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource and technical reports for multiple clients. Jack also previously worked for Micromine, a major geological software company, developing in-depth knowledge of advanced resource modelling. Jacks resource skills are backed by solid geological exploration experience across Africa, the Middle East, and Australia, working for world-class mining companies.

Ms. Ayesha Hira, Interim President and CEO of Belo Sun commented, We are very pleased to welcome Jack Lunnon to our board as the La Mancha nominee as we look forward to working with La Mancha in the advancement of the Volta Grande Project. Jacks breadth of global technical experience will be an asset to the Board, along with his experience with the La Mancha group in Brazil, helping the company unlock value for the benefit of all stakeholders.

About the Company

The Volta Grande Gold Project is located in Para State, Brazil. Belo Sun Mining Corp. is a mineral exploration and development company with gold-focused properties in Brazil. Belo Suns primary focus is advancing and expanding its 100% owned Volta Grande Gold Project. Belo Sun trades on the TSX under the symbol BSX and on the OTCQB under the symbol BSXGF. For more information about Belo Sun, please visit www.belosun.com.

For more information, please contact BSX Mining Corp: (416) 309-2137

Caution regarding forward-looking information:

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the change in directors of the Company; and progress of the advancement of the Volta Grande Project. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks inherent in the mining industry and risks described in the public disclosure of the Company which is available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.belosun.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2025) - GT Resources Inc. (TSXV: GT) (OTCQB: CGTRF) (FSE: 7N1) (the "Company" or "GT Resources") is pleased to announce that several Bore Hole ElectroMagnetic ("BHEM") conductors have been identified on the North Rock copper - nickel - platinum group element project located in Northwestern Ontario, Canada.

The North Rock project encompasses a strikingly underexplored 13-kilometre long mineralized basal gabbroic contact along the Grassy Portage Gabbroic Complex. The limited, approximately 12,000 meters, of historic drill testing demonstrates Cu-Ni-PGE (copper-nickel-palladium and platinum) mineralization throughout the tested zones of the favorable basal contact. A historic resource estimate1 of 1 million tons grading 1.2% copper was outlined by Noranda in 1958 on the Beaver Pond Zone.

Having completed historic data compilation and analysis, the Company views the North Rock project as a copper exploration project with meaningful polymetallic enhancement opportunities, in a highly favorable environment with proven mineralization. The Company intends to target 'footwall style' semi-massive to massive sulphide along the basal contact.

Historically, BHEM surveys were not undertaken. The Q4 2024 BHEM survey has proven the worth of this geophysical technique by identifying several conductors along the deepest holed drilled to date. The Company believes that the use of modern electromagnetic geophysical techniques including BHEM to expand know zones and to target new zones is a priority for effective drill testing of higher-grade mineralization.

Q4 2024 exploration highlights include:

8.2% Copper in grab sample NP-NR-24-001 from the Historic Beaver Pond Zone.

in grab sample NP-NR-24-001 from the Historic Beaver Pond Zone. First use of BHEM geophysics has identified several in and off-hole conductors, an important first step in targeting blind, net-textured to massive sulphides below historic shallow drilling.

Derrick Weyrauch, President and CEO, commented: "The North Rock project was one of most significant assets acquired via the 2023 Metalcorp acquisition. High grade copper in grab samples from our first exploration program, bear out the significant copper opportunity that North Rock represents.

"The project hosts a Historic Resource Estimate1 of 1 million tons grading 1.2% Cu in the Beaver Pond Zone and boasts a highly prospective 13-kilometer long mineralized horizon. The Historic Resource Estimate1 focused on a gabbro hosted disseminated style of mineralization, where as the Q4 2024 BHEM survey of historic drill holes has identified potential for additional high-grade "footwall style' semi-massive to massive sulphide. North Rock's location and excellent access and infrastructure will result in very cost-efficient copper exploration and development."

Neil Petttigrew, VP Exploration, stated: "The BHEM survey results confirm our thesis that the Grassy Portage Gabbro Complex, which hosts the North Rock project is a favourable setting for not only disseminated copper-rich Cu-Ni-PGE sulphide mineralization but also significant higher grade footwall vein style mineralization. The geological setting draws comparisons to the historic Temagami and Thierry Mines located Ontario, and the Mesaba, NorthMet, and Maturi Deposits hosted with in the Duluth Complex in Minnesota."

The North Rock Project

The North Rock project is located in Northwest Ontario, and covers over 7,000 hectares (Figure 1). The project boasts excellent infrastructure and is crossed by a paved provincial highway, a railroad, and hydro lines. North Rock is hosted by the Archean aged, 20 kilometer long Grassy Portage Gabbro Complex. The mineralization is copper-rich magmatic sulphide, and is focused along the basal contact of the Complex with mafic and ultramafic volcanic rocks (Figure 2 and 3). The mineralization occurs in two main styles; "gabbro hosted" disseminated to locally net-textured sulphide within the basal heterolithic, varitextured gabbro, and as massive copper-PGE-rich sulphide "footwall vein" style within the footwall volcanic rocks.

Two very shallow zones have been discovered to date, the most significant of which is the Beaver Pond Zone (Figure 3 and 4), which hosts a Historic Resource Estimate1of 1 million tons grading 1.2% Cu. The Beaver Pond Zone was discovered by Noranda in 1958 and subsequently explored from underground via a 90-meter deep shaft and one drift on the 70m level.

Reconnaissance Prospecting

The grab samples presented in this news release (Table 1, Figure 5) were collected during Q4 2024 from a 10,000-ton surface stockpile of material recovered from underground development of the Beaver Pond Zone in the 1970's. The samples are roughly representative of high, mid and low-grade material present within the pile. The mineralization is notably copper-rich, with chalcopyrite being by far the most abundant sulphide. Of note was the presence of molybdenite (with assay up to 0.10% Mo), normally rare in a magmatic Cu-Ni-PGE systems, molybdenum was likely assimilated during the emplacement of the Gabbro complex, as evidenced by numerous partially assimilated wall rock clasts within the heterolithic, varitextured gabbro which hosts the mineralization.

BHEM Survey

The Company undertook a BHEM survey in Q4 2024 on select historic holes located within the Beaver Pond zone. This was the first BHEM survey conducted on the property and was a "test case" to see if the North Rock mineralization was amenable to BHEM techniques.

A prime focus of the survey was hole NR07-062, which at 780m is by far the deepest hole drilled on the project. Of significant note, this hole intersected footwall style Cu-PGE rich mineralization at ~450m depth but was drilled down dip of the Zone, and never exited the footwall volcanics into the main gabbro hosted mineralization. The fact that high-grade footwall mineralization was intersected, suggests that untested disseminated gabbro hosted style mineralization occurs proximal to the hole. This hole returned several conductors which have been modelled as Maxwell EM plates (Figure 4) with some corresponding to known footwall style mineralization that was intersected within the hole "in hole" plus "off hole" conductors potentially representing untested footwall style mineralization.

Plans are underway to open historic drill trails in order to provide better access to more historic holes for the next, more extensive BHEM survey, including the East Zone (Figure 2) where abundant footwall vein style mineralization has been intersected.

Figure 1. Location, and regional geology map of North Rock project, highlighting 13-kilometer long prospective mineralized horizon.

1. see Historical Resource Estimate disclaimer below

Figure 2. Zoom in on historic zones of copper & PGE rich mineralization along the favorable basal contact of the Grassy Portage Gabbroic complex.

1. see Historical Resource Estimate disclaimer below

Figure 3. Zoom in on Beaver Pond Zone showing the historic Noranda shaft and workings, and historic resource estimate1 area.

1. see Historical Resource Estimate disclaimer below

Figure 4. Cross section, looking northeast through the Beaver Pond Zone showing historic drilling and newly modelled Maxwell EM plates, note hole NR07-062, the deepest hole on the property that hit footwall style Cu-PGE mineralization, but missed the gabbro hosted mineralization.

Table 1. Recent Grab samples from Beaver Pond Zone's Noranda Shaft waste rock pile, representing high, mid and low grade material.

Sample Easting

UTM Northing

UTM Cu

% Ni

% Co

% Mo

% Pt

g/t Pd

g/t Au

g/t NP-NR-24-001 495,046 5,393,906 8.16 0.13 0.05 0.01 0.25 0.03 0.15 NP-NR-24-002 495,039 5,393,907 0.19 0.06 0.02 0.10 0.06 0.03 0.03 NP-NR-24-003 495,645 5,393,928 4.20 0.06 0.02 0.00 0.05 0.01 0.22

Note: Rock grab samples are selective in nature and may not be indicative of the true grade and style of mineralization on the property. Coordinates are in UTM, WGS84 Zone15.

Figure 5. Grab samples NP-NR-24-001 (left) with net-textured and NP-NR-24-002 (right) with heavy disseminated chalcopyrite-rich sulphide.

1 - Disclaimer - Historical Resource Estimate1 - North Rock

Readers are cautioned that the Company has not attempted to verify historic mineral resource estimates and therefore readers should not place any reliance on any historical estimate. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify a historical estimate as a current mineral resource, additionally, a qualified person has not yet determined what work needs to be done to upgrade or verify a historical estimate as a current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The Company is not treating any historical estimates as current mineral resources.

A Historical Resource Estimate on the Beaver Pond Zone of the North Rock project is quoted at 1 million tons grading 1.2% copper by Bergman (1973) (Ontario Mineral Deposit Inventory record MDI52C11NE00029). The parameters, methodology and categorise used are not known, and thus the reliability of the estimate cannot be determined, however, it is still considered relevant as underground development and diamond drilling in the 1960 & 1970s supported the estimate and provides a guide for future exploration.

QA/QC

The initial prospecting program was carried by Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration, and a Director of the Company.

Samples were transported by company staff in secure bags directly by Company to Actlabs laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Actlabs, is an accredited lab and are ISO compliant (ISO 9001:2015, ISO/IEC 17025:2017). PGE analysis was performed using a 30 grams fire assay with an ICP-MS or ICP-OES finish. Multi-element analyses, including copper and nickel were analysed by four acid digestion using 0.5 grams with an ICP-MS or ICP-OES finish.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this release has been reviewed and verified by Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration and a director of the Company and the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About GT Resources Inc.

GT Resources Inc. (TSXV: GT) is a mineral exploration company with a strategy to develop copper and nickel mining projects in Europe and North America. Our projects are located in Finland and Canada and are comprised of district scale opportunities that have attracted strategic investment from a major mining company.

Follow GT Resources on LinkedIn, Twitter, and at www.gtresourcesinc.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Derrick Weyrauch"

President & CEO, Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release is not an offer or a solicitation of an offer of securities for sale in the United States of America. The common shares of GT Resources Inc. have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration.

Information set forth in this press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-Looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address a company's expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks associated with project development; the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in mineral and commodity prices; title matters; environmental liability claims and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the absence of dividends; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume; and the impact of governmental entities. Forward-Looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.
Toronto  TheNewswire - January 27, 2025 - AbraSilver Resource Corp. (TSX.V: ABRA; OTCQX: ABBRF) (AbraSilver or the Company) is pleased to announce assay results from four initial reconnaissance drill holes at the porphyry complex, located approximately 3.5 km northeast of the Oculto deposit, on its wholly-owned Diablillos project in Argentina (the Project).

Results indicate that drilling has tested the upper part of a major porphyry system that is estimated to span up to approximately 3 km in length and 2 km in width, hosting zones of gold, silver and copper, including some high-grade intervals. The porphyry mineralisation appears to have a high-grade gold epithermal overprint. Key highlights from the latest assay results include:

Cerro Viejo:

Initial reconnaissance drilling at the Cerro Viejo target in the Diablillos porphyry complex, included three holes confirming widespread gold mineralization. Notably, hole DDH 24-056 showcases a high-sulphidation overprint over a porphyry system. Significant drill intercepts included:

Hole DDH 24-056 intersected 36.0 m at 1.91 g/t Au, starting at a downhole depth of only 87 m, with a higher-grade interval of 5.0 m at 7.22 g/t Au. This intercept highlights a shallow, high-grade gold zone easily accessible for future exploration. Surface chip/channel samples further revealed enriched gold values (refer to Figure 1).

Hole DDH 24-059, located 450 m north of hole 24-056, intersected broad zones of lower-grade gold and copper mineralization with 81.0 m grading 0.25 g/t Au and 0.01% Cu from a downhole depth of 130 m. Together with hole DDH 24-071 and the epithermal overprint, this appears to demonstrate the upper part of a robust porphyry system.

Hole DDH 24-071, located 500 m south of hole 24-056, intersected multiple zones of gold, copper and silver mineralization, including a broad intercept of 106.0 m grading 0.15 g/t Au starting at a down-hole depth of104 m. Porphyry style gold mineralization is shown by drilling to extend over a distance of more than 1 km north-south.

Cerro Blanco:

Due to rugged terrain, drilling in Cerro Blanco was limited to one hole, DDH 24-081, which was not ideally positioned and intercepted only short intervals of gold and copper mineralization. However, historical and recent surface sampling revealed high-grade zones with copper-rich intervals, offering promising targets for future exploration.

John Miniotis, President and CEO, commented, Our initial drill results unveil the significant potential of the Cerro Viejo area to host a new high-sulphidation epithermal system. We are particularly encouraged by the shallow, high-grade gold mineralization identified in hole DDH 24-056. Ongoing exploration efforts are currently being planned to help further define this promising new target.

Dave OConnor, Chief Geologist, commented, The widespread gold mineralization, along with associated copper identified in this initial drilling program indicates an overprinting of epithermal mineralization on the upper portion of a porphyry system. All drill holes encountered porphyry-style alterations with well-developed stockwork veining and abundant sulphides. The high-sulphidation overprint suggests potential for a shallow, high-grade epithermal gold resource, as demonstrated by the 36 m interval grading 1.91 g/t Au in hole DDH 24-056. Additionally, the initial reconnaissance drill hole at Cerro Blanco highlights a likely upfaulted portion of the porphyry system, where mineralization is expected to be closer to the surface. These findings are further supported by nearby surface chip/channel sampling, and, as a result, additional exploration is certainly warranted in this area.

The latest assay result highlights are summarized in Table 1 below.

Table 1  Summary of Key Drill Intercepts

Intercepts noted on page 1 above are shown in bold text:

Drill Hole Area From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au g/t Ag g/t Cu % DDH-24-056 Cerro Viejo 12.0 14.0 2.0 0.99 - - 28.0 39.0 11.0 0.24 - 0.10 65.0 69.0 4.0 0.24 - 0.27 75.0 78.0 3.0 0.78 - 0.90 87.0 123.0 36.0 1.91 - - Including 106.0 111.0 5.0 7.22 - - 126.0 127.0 1.0 0.39 - 1.51 142.0 143.0 1.0 2.08 - - 151.0 152.0 1.0 0.21 - 3.07 169.0 171.0 2.0 1.00 - - 207.0 209.0 2.0 0.54 - - 226.0 227.0 1.0 0.08 - 1.53 231.0 235.0 4.0 0.26 - 0.22 253.0 254.0 1.0 0.07 - 3.06 277.0 281.0 4.0 0.10 - 0.72 298.0 304.0 6.0 0.07 - 0.50 339.0 340.0 1.0 0.02 - 1.53 DDH-24-059 Cerro Viejo 130.0 211.0 81.0 0.25 - 0.01 303.0 379.0 76.0 0.11 6.5 0.12 482.0 490.0 8.0 0.11 7.7 0.13 DDH-24-071 Cerro Viejo 34.0 35.0 1.0 - - 0.38 52.0 56.0 4.0 0.14 - 0.20 104.0 210.0 106.0 0.15 - - 400.0 405.0 5.0 0.27 - - 632.0 636.0 4.0 - - 0.58 728.0 729.0 1.0 0.23 42.1 1.10 DDH-24-081 Cerro Blanco 88.0 89.0 1.0 0.14 - 0.13 427.0 428.0 1.0 0.53 - 0.21 593.0 623.3 30.3 - 2.17 -

Note: All results in this news release are rounded. Assays are uncut and undiluted. Widths are drilled widths, not true widths.

Figure 1  Map and Plan View of Drill Holes and Surface Samples in the Porphyry Complex Area

Figure 2  Section View of Latest Drill Holes

Additional Details on Drill Results

Cerro Viejo target: The high-grade, shallow gold result in hole DDH 24-056 (36m @ 1.91 g/t Au) and the gold results in surface chip/channel sampling of associated siliceous outcrops (including 16.36 g/t Au, 12.14 g/t Au, 2.3 g/t Au, 3.2 g/t Au etc. see Figure 1) outline a zone measuring almost 1 km in length with potential for gold resources at shallow depths. Core from hole DDH 24-056 has been submitted for metallurgical testing and a program of shallow holes will be planned to explore this new zone.

Photo of core from 106-108m of hole DDH 24-056;

Porphyry alteration and sulphide bearing stockwork veining with associated gold throughout;

Local overprint of epithermal mineralisation hosting high-grade gold

Cerro Blanco target: One additional drill hole is being planned south of Cerro Blanco to test at depth, and into the geophysical chargeability high. It is interpreted that Cerro Blanco is an upfaulted part of the porphyry system and the higher-grade porphyry mineralization potassic zone is believed to be shallower in this area.

Phase IV Exploration Program Update

The ongoing Phase IV drill program is focused on expanding the existing Diablillos Mineral Resource estimate at a number of target areas with known mineralization as well as exploring newly identified prospective exploration targets within the broader Diablillos land package. The Company has two drill rigs operating and, to date, has completed approximately 19,000 m of drilling in 96 holes. Several assay results are awaited and will be released on an ongoing basis pending review and meeting Company quality assurance-quality control protocols.

Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) Update

The DFS will be managed by a team of experienced engineers and consultants, supported by the Companys technical team. The Company will undergo a competitive tendering process to select qualified Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Management firms, with the award anticipated by no later than April 2025. Regular progress updates will be provided by the Company as the DFS advances, with results expected to further showcase the Companys potential to become a key low-cost silver-gold producer.

Collar Data

Hole Number UTM Coordinates Elevation Azimuth Dip Depth (m) Area DDH 24-056 723641 7202731 4,068 0 -60 357.0 C. Viejo DDH 24-059 723676 7203107 4,045 0 -70 700.0 C. Viejo DDH 24-071 723656 7202276 4,116 180 -80 749.0 C. Viejo DDH 24-081 723970 7204737 4,061 0 -60 623.5 C. Blanco

About Diablillos

The Diablillos property is located within the Puna region of Argentina, in the southern part of Salta Province along the border with Catamarca Province, approximately 160 km southwest of the city of Salta and 375 km northwest of the city of Catamarca. The property comprises 15 contiguous and overlapping mineral concessions acquired by AbraSilver in 2016. The project site has good year-round accessibility through a 150 km paved road, followed by a well-maintained gravel road, shared with other adjacent projects.

There are several known mineral zones on the Diablillos property. Approximately 150,000 m have been drilled to date, which has outlined multiple occurrences of epithermal silver-gold mineralization at Oculto, JAC, Laderas and Fantasma. Additionally, several satellites zones of silver/gold-rich epithermal mineralization have been located within a 500 m to 1.5 km distance surrounding the Oculto/JAC epicentre.

Comparatively nearby examples of high sulphidation epithermal deposits include: La Coipa (Chile); Yanacocha (Peru); El Indio (Chile); Lagunas Nortes/Alto Chicama (Peru) Veladero (Argentina); and Filo del Sol (Argentina). The most recent Mineral Reserve estimate for Diablillos is shown in Table 2:

Table 2 - Diablillos Mineral Reserve Estimate  As of March 07, 2024

Category Tonnage

(000 t) Ag

(g/t) Au

(g/t) Contained Ag

(000 oz Ag) Contained Au

(000 oz Au) Proven 12,364 118 0.86 46,796 341 Probable 29,930 80 0.80 76,684 766 Proven & Probable 42,294 91 0.81 123,480 1,107

Notes for Mineral Reserve Estimate:

Mineral reserves have an effective date of March 7th, 2024. The Qualified Person for the Mineral Reserve Estimate is Mr. Miguel Fuentealba, P.Eng. The mineral reserves were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Reserves, as prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIM Council. The mineral reserves were based on a pit design which in turn aligned with an ultimate pit shell selected from a Whittle TM pit optimization exercise. Key inputs for that process are:

 Metal prices of USD $1,750/oz Au; USD $22.50/oz Ag

 Variable Mining cost by bench and material type. Average costs are USD $1.94/t for all lithologies except for cover, Cover mining cost of USD 1.73/t, respectively.

 Processing costs for all zone, USD $22.97/t.  Infrastructure and G&A cost of USD 3.32/t.  Pit average slope angles varying from 37 to 60 depending on the geotechnical domain.  The average recovery is estimated to be 82.8% for silver and 86.6% for gold.

The Mineral Reserve Estimate has been categorized in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards (CIM, 2014). A Net Value per block (NVB) cut-off was used to constrain the Mineral Reserve with the reserve pit 2shell. The NVB was based on "Benefits = Revenue-Cost" being positive, where, Revenue = [(Au Selling Price (USD/oz) - Au Selling Cost (USD/oz)) x (Au grade (g/t)/31.1035)) x Au Recovery (%)] + [(Ag Selling Price (USD/oz) - Ag Selling Cost (USD/oz)) x (Ag grade (g/t)/31.1035)) x Ag Recovery (%)] and Cost = Process Cost (USD/t) + Transport Cost (USD/t) + GA Cost (USD/t) + [Royalty Cost (%) x Revenue]. The NVB method resulted in an average equivalent cut-off grade of approximately 46g/t AgEq. In-situ bulk density was read from the block model, assigned previously to each model domain during the process of mineral resource estimation, according to samples averages of each lithology domain, separated by alteration zones and subset by oxidation. All tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes and ounces of contained gold and silver are troy ounces. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Minor discrepancies may occur due to rounding to appropriate significant figures.

QA/QC and Core Sampling Protocols

AbraSilver applies industry standard exploration methodologies and techniques, and all drill core samples are collected under the supervision of the Companys geologists in accordance with industry practices. Drill core is transported from the drill platform to the logging facility where drill data is compared and verified with the core in the trays. Thereafter, it is logged, photographed, and split by diamond saw prior to being sampled. Samples are then bagged, and quality control materials are inserted at regular intervals; these include blanks and certified reference materials as well as duplicate core samples. Groups of samples are then placed in large bags which are sealed with numbered tags in order to maintain a chain-of-custody during the transport of the samples from the project site to the laboratory.

All samples are sent to the Alex Stewart sample preparation facility in Jujuy, then the sample pulps are sent to the Alex Stewart laboratory in Mendoza where they are analyzed. All samples are analyzed using a multi-element technique consisting of a four-acid digestion followed by ICP/AES detection, and gold is analyzed by 50g Fire Assay with an AAS finish. Silver results greater than 100g/t are reanalyzed using four acid digestion with an ore grade AAS finish.

Qualified Persons

David OConnor P.Geo., Chief Geologist for AbraSilver, is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and he has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.

About AbraSilver

AbraSilver is an advanced-stage exploration company focused on rapidly advancing its 100%-owned Diablillos silver-gold project in the mining-friendly Salta and Catamarca provinces of Argentina. The current Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve estimate for Diablillos, from a recently completed Pre-Feasibility Study, consists of 42.3 Mt grading 91 g/t Ag and 0.81 g/t Au, containing approximately 124 Moz silver and 1.1 Moz gold, with significant further exploration upside potential. In addition, the Company has entered into an earn-in option and joint venture agreement with Teck on the La Coipita project, located in the San Juan province of Argentina. AbraSilver is listed on the TSX-V under the symbol ABRA and in the U.S. on the OTCQX under the symbol ABBRF.

Alternatively please contact:

John Miniotis, President and CEO

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tel: +1 416-306-8334

Cautionary Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. When considering this forward-looking information, readers should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in the Companys disclosure documents filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The risk factors and other factors noted in the disclosure documents could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking information. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release
Preparations underway for maiden drill program at Carmenes Project

Providencia soil sampling confirms target over 250m x 150m extending beyond past mine workings

Assays up to 24.3g/t Au, 16.2% Cu, 1.3% Ni, 48.7g/t Ag, 1.1% Co, 1.6% Pb, and 2.3g/t Pt + Pd

Higher gold zone with 49 samples averaging 5.8 g/t Au

Providencia surface rock samples grading up to 10.6 g/t Au, 48.1% Cu, 2.0% Ni, 1.1% Co, 33.7g/t Ag, 1.6% Pb

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 27, 2025 /CNW/ - Pan Global Resources Inc. ("Pan Global" or the "Company") (TSXV: PGZ) (OTCQX: PGZFF) (FRA: 2EU) is pleased to announce results from soil and rock sample geochemistry, including follow-up sampling at the Providencia target, at the Company's 100%-owned, Carmenes copper, gold, nickel, cobalt Project ("Carmenes"), in northern Spain.

"The new high-grade copper, gold and other metals results from Carmenes are very encouraging. The initial soil and rock geochemistry results indicate the footprint of the Providencia breccia pipe mineralization is much larger than previously known, and shows significant gold potential. The grades detected in the soil samples are exceptional, including assays up to 24.3 grams-per-tonne (g/t) gold, and percent levels of copper, nickel, and lead. The rock samples confirm mineralization in outcrop," said Tim Moody, Pan Global President and CEO.

"Our team is eagerly awaiting the results of additional trench and channel sampling completed at the Providencia target, and underground sampling at the Profunda target. The potential exists for the discovery of addition breccia pipes in proximity to Providencia and other target areas. Two drill rigs are now operating in the Company's Escacena Project and a third rig will commence the first ever drillhole within the coming days at Providencia."

Highlights:

A total of 1,089 first pass soil samples were collected as part of the maiden exploration program at Carmenes on a 100m x 40m grid over a 1.8km x 1.5km survey area and analyzed in the field by portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF).

were collected as part of the maiden exploration program at Carmenes on a x grid over a and analyzed in the field by portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). The pXRF survey results confirmed prominent copper anomalies over the historical Providencia and Profunda mine areas, and multiple other untested copper anomalies and indicators for the discovery of additional mineralization.

over the historical Providencia and Profunda mine areas, and multiple other untested copper anomalies and indicators for the discovery of additional mineralization. The Providencia and Profunda targets are carbonate-hosted "pipe-like" breccia style mineralization previously mined for copper, nickel, and cobalt.

Numerous mine/exploratory workings found during recent mapping and prospecting, including previously unrecorded tunnels and shafts , highlight additional mineral potential.

, highlight additional mineral potential. Detailed follow-up soil sampling at the Providencia target was completed and samples submitted for laboratory analysis. A total of 203 samples were collected on a nominal 50m x 20m grid over an area 450m x 250m . Results include: A new coherent soil geochemistry anomaly area of 250m x 150m , with coincident highly anomalous gold, copper, nickel, cobalt, lead, silver, platinum and palladium, associated with strong dolomitic alteration, breccia, and gossan. S oil anomaly includes 49 samples with >1.0g/t Au, averaging 5.8g/t Au , with the highest-grade assays concentrated east of the Providencia mine workings. Highest individual soil sample assays up to 24.3g/t Au, 16.2% Cu, 1.3% Ni, 1.1% Co, 1.6% Pb, 48.7g/t Ag and 2.3g/t Pt + Pd.

x grid over an area x Results include: A total of 45 rock samples collected in the Providencia target area, including outcrop, float, and mine dump material, returned assays up to 10.5g/t Au, 48.1% Cu, 2.0% Ni, 1.1% Co, 33.0g/t Ag, 1.6% Pb confirms that mineralization from surface continues east of the main Providencia mine workings in outcrop .

. There are no historical records of gold extraction at Carmenes.

Next Steps

Results are pending for surface trench samples and channel sampling in two historical galleries/tunnels in the new multi-metal soil geochemistry anomaly area at the Providencia target.

The first drillhole at Providencia is planned to commence in January, initially testing for continuation of the mineralization beneath the main underground mine workings, with results potentially available in March. No previous drilling has been completed in the Providencia target area.

Detailed follow-up of the Profunda target is also underway, and results are pending for channel sampling within the former underground mine workings.

A Helicopter Transient Electro-Magnetic (HTEM), magnetic and radiometric survey is in progress over the entire Carmenes Project area to fast-track identification and prioritization of new targets for future detailed follow-up.

The Company will host an investor webcast on Thursday, January 30 to discuss the Carmenes results as well as the 2025 drill campaigns at the Escacena and Carmenes Projects. See registration instructions at the end of this release.

Soil sample results for pXRF copper are provided in Figure 1 below, and the Providencia Target close-spaced laboratory soil sample results for gold, copper, nickel, cobalt and lead are provided in Figures 2 to 6. Rock sample results from Providencia for gold and copper are provided in Figures 8 and 9.

Investor webcast

The Company will host an investor webcast with CEO Tim Moody on Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time / 10 a.m. Pacific Time to discuss the 2025 plans for the Escacena and Carmenes Projects and provide an update on the ongoing work. A Q&A session will follow a short presentation. Please register in advance here.

About the Carmenes Project

The Carmenes Project is located approx. 55km north of Leon in northern Spain and comprises five Investigation Permits over 5,653 hectares. The Project area is highly prospective for multiple bodies or "clusters" of carbonate-hosted "pipe-like" breccia style copper, nickel, cobalt, and gold mineralization. The area includes the former Profunda and Providencia mines, that last operated in the 1930s, producing concentrates of copper and cobalt with nickel. Numerous other smaller historical mine workings in the area highlight potential for additional breccia pipes. These types of deposits can have significant vertical dimensions exceeding 1km.

About Pan Global Resources

Pan Global Resources Inc. is actively targeting copper-rich mineral deposits, given copper's compelling supply-demand fundamentals and outlook for strong long-term prices as a critical metal for global electrification and energy transition. The Company's flagship Escacena Project is located in the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt in southern Spain, where a favourable permitting track record, excellent infrastructure, mining and professional expertise, and support for copper as a Strategic Raw Material by the European Commission collectively define a tier-one low-risk jurisdiction for mining investment. The Pan Global team comprises proven talent in exploration, discovery, development, and mine operations - all of which are committed to operating safely and with utmost respect for the environment and our partnered communities. The Company is a member, and operates under the principles, of the United Nations Global Compact.

Qualified Persons

Alvaro Merino, Vice President Exploration for Pan Global Resources and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has approved the scientific and technical information for this media release. Mr. Merino is not independent of the Company.

QA/QC

Rock samples delivered to the ALS sample preparation facility in Seville were prepared and assayed at the ALS facility in Ireland. All samples were crushed, split and pulverized using methods CRU-31, SPL-22Y and PUL-31. Gold analysis was by 50gm Fire assay with AA finish (Au-AA23). Multi element analysis was undertaken using a 4-acid digest with ICP-AES finish (ME-ICP61). Over-grade samples were analyzed using 4-acid digest with ICP-AES finish for base metals (OG62), and Fire Assay with Gravity Finish for gold (Au-GRA21). Certified reference materials were inserted at a 1/25 samples. The grab sample results are selective by nature, and may not be representative of average grades for the mineralization.

The first pass soil geochemistry survey includes samples collected from the top 20cm from surface (un-sieved, weighing approx. 1kg) on a 100m x 40m grid and follow-up/infill sampling was tightened to 50m x 20m. The samples are collected in plastic bags, and a multi-element analysis is obtained using an Olympus Vanta hand-held x-ray fluorescence ("pXRF") device. Analyses are repeated on 1 per 20 samples, and standards analyzed to check and compare against pXRF results. Additionally, closer-spaced infill samples over the Providencia area were also sent to the ALS laboratory in Seville for higher resolution multi-element analysis. The pXRF copper values shows excellent (99%) correlation with laboratory copper assays.

Soil samples delivered to the ALS sample preparation facility in Seville were prepared and assayed at the ALS facility in Ireland. All samples were weighed and screened to 180 microns. All samples were analyzed by super trace low detection Aqua Regia digest with ICP-MS finish (ME-MS41L). Over-grade samples were analyzed using Aqua Regia digest, ICP-AES finish (ME-OG46). Certified reference materials were inserted at a 1/25 samples. The rock sample results from outcrop, float and dumps are selective by nature, and may not be representative of average grades for the mineralization.

www.panglobalresources.com

Forward-looking statements

Statements which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information included in this media release are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental, and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products, and prices. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.

The forward-looking information contained in this media release is based on information available to the Company as of the date of this media release. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information.

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 27, 2025 /CNW/ - Libero Copper & Gold Corporation (TSXV: LBC) (OTCQB: LBCMF) (FRA: 29H) ("Libero Copper" or the "Company") is pleased to announce promising results from its follow-up exploration program at the Piedralisa and Estrella targets within the Mocoa porphyry system.

Highlights

Encouraging surface sampling results across key targets: Follow-up exploration activities at Piedralisa and Estrella targets returned promising Cu-Mo-Zn-Pb rock sample results, with copper values up to 1,930.5ppm, Mo values up to 695.7ppm, Zn values up to 14,200ppm and Pb values up to 4,232.5ppm. These results highlight the potential for significant mineralization near the Mocoa porphyry Cu-Mo deposit.

Follow-up exploration activities at Piedralisa and Estrella targets returned promising Cu-Mo-Zn-Pb rock sample results, with copper values up to 1,930.5ppm, Mo values up to 695.7ppm, Zn values up to 14,200ppm and Pb values up to 4,232.5ppm. These results highlight the potential for significant mineralization near the Mocoa porphyry Cu-Mo deposit. Strategic target advancement and 3d geophysical correlation: Exploration at Piedralisa and Estrella targets confirmed the presence of elevated metal concentrations in sericite-altered porphyry units, aligning with 3D radial symmetric isosurface and demagnetized zones. This reinforces the interpretation of porphyry-style systems and validates the integration of airborne geophysical surveys with fieldwork.

Exploration at Piedralisa and Estrella targets confirmed the presence of elevated metal concentrations in sericite-altered porphyry units, aligning with 3D radial symmetric isosurface and demagnetized zones. This reinforces the interpretation of porphyry-style systems and validates the integration of airborne geophysical surveys with fieldwork. Expansion potential and focused future efforts: A priority 2.5 x 2.0-kilometre area including eastern Estrella and northwestern Piedralisa was selected for continued exploration, driven by encouraging alteration, veining, and mineralization patterns.

"Recent drilling delivered over 1,000 metres of continuous copper-molybdenum mineralization from surface, highlighting Mocoa's exceptional scale. Now, follow-up work at Piedralisa and Estrella shows this system may extend well beyond the known footprint, pointing to multiple porphyry centers. With a drill program in 2025 that's 50% larger than all previous drilling combined, our focus is on expanding the main deposit and testing this broader district potential. We believe Mocoa stands out in today's copper market, and we're excited to keep demonstrating just how significant it could become" said Ian Harris, President and CEO.

Intensive follow-up exploration activities have been conducted at key targets including Piedralisa, Estrella and southeast of Neblina (figure 1). The field program included detail mapping of alteration, veining and mineralization across the soil grids completed on the property (refer to news release February 7, 2023) and along the main creeks on the zone. A total of eighty-five rock samples were systematically collected returning promising results detailed in table 1. Samples returned copper values up to 1,930.5ppm, Mo values up to 695.7ppm, Zn values up to 14,200ppm and Pb values up to 4,232.5ppm.

Piedralisa target

Piedralisa target is located 3km to the southeast of the known-resource of the Mocoa porphyry deposits, was a focal point for follow-up exploration, particularly in its northern sector where leach cap outcrops were extensively mapped (refer to news release February 7, 2023). Rock samples from exposed outcrops highlighted elevated concentrations of Cu-Mo-Zn-Pb within sericite-altered dacite and andesite units. These observations correlate with 3D radial symmetric isosurface from intrusive features and demagnetized zones identified in the early 2022 airborne geophysical survey (refer to news release May 3, 2022). Additionally, it has been identified outcrops of dacite-rhyolite porphyry with strong phyllic alteration and some remanent A-type veins as far as 2.5-kilometres east of Mocoa drilled area, highlighting the size and prolonged hydrothermal activity within the Mocoa porphyry system (figure 2 - R00631 and figure 3G).

Estrella target

Previously referred to as target 1 (refer to news release May 3, 2022), the Estrella target is situated approximately 1 km south of the Mocoa porphyry deposit. This area is characterized by a 3D radial symmetric isosurface intrusion, interpreted as a potential porphyry body with elevated Cu-Mo values in rock samples, and strong potassium alteration, as indicated by the radiometric survey. These features are further associated with a 300ppm copper anomaly in soil samples (refer to news release February 7, 2023). Follow-up exploration activities were focused on the eastern section of the target, where leach cap outcrops had been mapped during previous fieldwork (refer to news release February 7, 2023). Detailed rock sampling was conducted across an exposed window of argillized dacite, characterized by extensive quartz and pyrite veining indicative of a leach cap environment similar to the upper parts of the Mocoa porphyry (figure 3A to 3D). Rock sample assay results returned Cu values up to 1,091.1ppm and Mo values up to 158.86ppm (figure 2 and figure 3H and 3I).

Next step

The identification of a targeted 2.5 x 2.0-kilometer zone (figure 2), including the eastern Estrella and northwestern Piedralisa sectors, represents a pivotal step in Libero's exploration efforts. This area has been prioritized for detailed fieldwork, highlighting the company's focus on understanding and expanding the potential of the Mocoa porphyry system. Additionally, Libero geologists are actively exploring anomalies identified in the Neblina target, located north of the drilled Mocoa porphyry area. Their work involves systematically mapping of alteration, veining, and mineralization for rock sampling.

Fieldwork is a cornerstone of Libero's exploration strategy, providing the necessary groundwork to identify new drill targets and refine existing ones. This systematic approach is key for fully evaluating the scale and potential of the Mocoa system, supporting ongoing efforts to expand resources and enhance geological understanding.

Table 1. Assay results for rock samples(1). Coordinates are UTM. Zone 18N and WGS84 projection.

Sample Id Cu (ppm) Pb (ppm) Zn (ppm) Mo (ppm) Easting Northing Elevation Rock samples - Mocoa deposit area R00114 386.67 2.60 4.76 695.70 313,849 137,807 1,661 R00115 327.97 9.64 7.46 66.23 313,904 137,747 1,617 R00143 153.96 5.69 9.26 11.36 313,533 137,555 1,689 R00144 145.93 6.75 4.41 9.01 313,498 137,555 1,645 R00152 317.93 3.42 7.06 142.26 313,790 137,800 1,677 R00159 454.80 2.00 16.69 14.87 313,899 138,206 1,950 R00301 416.39 7.79 153.88 15.07 313,582 138,474 1,850 R00302 208.63 2.98 41.15 4.32 313,503 138,509 1,797 R00303 1,338.55 2.00 10.35 6.30 313,501 138,042 1,695 R00304 1,930.59 13.81 21.19 28.35 313,520 138,222 1,717 R00367 360.73 14.32 10.88 137.12 313,739 137,833 1,752 R00368 148.96 2.39 9.17 275.59 313,745 137,837 1,746 R00372 276.46 10.59 12.48 241.64 313,786 137,887 1,759 R00380 213.64 7.83 9.71 65.15 313,832 137,930 1,764 R00383 291.13 2.00 8.45 50.98 313,834 137,935 1,756 R00398 189.12 2.00 8.66 300.60 313,868 137,949 1,765 R00445 343.14 2.12 7.94 388.37 313,865 137,968 1,748 R00483 293.69 6.48 4.48 25.56 313,465 138,070 1,700 R00539 916.23 18.12 29.42 13.95 313,280 137,783 1,553 R00654 922.70 16.35 39.86 27.93 313,303 137,748 1,607 Rock samples  East of Mocoa desposit area R00064 146.28 34.21 141.10 12.63 314,806 137,798 1,807 R00116 115.02 5.03 5.27 12.32 314,051 138,440 1,998 R00117 373.06 2.29 40.87 9.63 314,322 138,510 2,035 R00145 145.25 4.38 7.17 4.93 314,104 137,401 1,496 R00146 295.89 9.18 5.10 8.83 314,199 137,755 1,527 R00147 103.38 4.12 5.99 23.88 314,101 137,800 1,607 R00153 245.12 8.88 8.03 78.51 313,895 137,800 1,649 R00154 439.33 17.96 10.07 82.66 313,895 137,800 1,649 R00155 110.52 2.00 9.26 1.00 313,991 138,406 2,003 R00156 878.45 7.41 9.26 7.54 314,121 138,431 2,006 R00160 190.12 2.70 6.19 8.71 314,050 138,030 1,745 R00183 1,434.38 9.46 7.28 6.52 314,170 137,991 1,647 R00189 205.85 6.00 2.80 18.92 314,085 138,007 1,671 R00205 735.03 22.60 33.10 9.21 314,240 137,418 1,428 R00206 188.57 14.15 5.86 8.88 314,190 138,208 1,819 R00207 361.23 8.94 11.16 33.70 314,298 138,217 1,838 R00224 154.66 2.00 68.71 17.03 314,896 139,294 2,007 R00283 240.35 34.64 116.55 11.34 314,350 137,401 1,424 R00284 407.54 24.32 122.59 17.01 314,598 137,401 1,567 R00285 1,091.61 76.03 593.10 43.98 314,797 137,400 1,638 R00472 106.26 2.00 278.98 17.16 315,228 138,870 2,266 R00487 105.09 22.40 130.40 11.51 314,402 137,408 1,423 R00488 137.77 310.90 103.37 11.51 314,655 137,396 1,583 R00511 132.54 3.52 3.92 65.12 314,102 137,957 1,671 R00522 386.40 20.11 33.21 2.37 314,506 137,806 1,666 R00564 619.80 7.47 12.35 28.02 314,703 138,476 1,937 R00625 145.02 1,109.43 135.70 22.94 314,999 138,201 1,868 R00626 109.64 18.05 461.69 12.99 314,901 138,205 1,888 R00629 466.62 635.29 51.11 36.75 314,802 138,199 1,957 R00630 230.53 12.30 360.45 4.32 314,649 138,202 1,997 R00631 445.80 2,429.46 545.01 34.69 316,342 137,781 1,337 R00636 698.85 14.45 40.40 3.44 314,904 138,198 1,752 R00666 209.48 3,177.07 406.38 14.34 315,508 138,344 1,532 Rock samples - Estrella (south of Mocoa drilled area) Sample Id Cu (ppm) Pb (ppm) Zn (ppm) Mo (ppm) Easting Northing Elevation R00058 336.34 9.74 42.34 21.04 313,623 136,038 1,244 R00073 521.40 24.39 58.25 10.16 314,623 136,831 1,482 R00074 396.88 40.25 238.87 7.03 314,683 136,838 1,462 R00120 173.99 11.33 164.63 9.66 314,558 136,615 1,412 R00166 139.29 2.00 129.72 8.90 314,252 136,598 1,165 R00210 780.48 14.60 123.70 30.27 313,900 135,930 1,140 R00238 120.97 14.56 30.79 22.01 314,569 136,600 1,387 R00239 553.63 98.95 95.84 12.98 314,549 136,637 1,404 R00240 134.19 23.80 333.41 1.00 314,551 136,628 1,406 R00241 106.05 23.31 56.20 5.19 314,539 136,744 1,427 R00245 133.39 30.74 60.54 24.29 314,680 136,687 1,417 R00257 472.71 4.61 34.71 6.18 314,029 136,988 1,265 R00307 149.75 9.32 92.74 9.57 314,176 135,346 978 R00310 160.79 8.96 47.05 18.06 313,913 135,558 1,087 R00328 118.19 54.72 22.70 1.94 314,621 136,899 1,529 R00329 670.83 309.77 22.08 50.21 314,617 136,896 1,523 R00330 249.69 38.63 31.30 2.56 314,615 136,892 1,520 R00331 342.32 77.81 29.99 64.88 314,615 136,894 1,515 R00332 566.60 100.04 27.90 158.86 314,614 136,892 1,509 R00333 612.33 88.53 21.22 75.53 314,612 136,892 1,509 R00334 292.68 45.17 24.45 6.02 314,609 136,894 1,510 R00448 130.63 6.44 37.73 1.40 314,255 136,963 1,232 R00501 415.60 11.01 11.61 4.47 313,978 136,037 1,128 R00505 130.75 614.82 1,575.16 36.34 313,966 135,938 1,092 R00648 1,096.11 32.92 130.29 1.06 314,561 136,811 1,468 Rock samples - Piedralisa (southeast of Mocoa drilled area) Sample Id Cu (ppm) Pb (ppm) Zn (ppm) Mo (ppm) Easting Northing Elevation R00249 205.12 9.88 604.33 8.55 315,081 136,470 1,181 R00357 207.20 960.95 6,441.15 57.08 315,493 136,183 1,171 R00405 179.37 11.78 94.48 2.19 315,117 136,431 1,148 R00572 227.19 2,847.84 5,190.26 10.48 315,293 136,734 1,227 R00577 719.59 623.07 765.12 30.18 315,666 136,331 1,224 R00671 130.95 684.97 14,200.00 7.59 315,638 136,422 1,202 R00673 368.51 4,232.52 6,042.76 4.09 315,694 136,468 1,243

(1) Rock samples are inherently selective in nature. As such, these results may not be representative of the underlying geological values or the overall mineralization within the sampled area.

Qualified Person and Technical Notes

Edwin Naranjo Sierra, Exploration Manager of Libero Copper, is the designated Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and verified the technical information in this news release. Mr. Naranjo holds a MSc. in Earth Sciences, and is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM) and the Society of Economic Geologist.

Mineralized zones at Mocoa are bulk porphyry-style zones. Rock samples are inherently selective in nature. As such, these results may not be representative of the underlying geological values or the overall mineralization within the sampled area.

Libero Copper operates according to a rigorous Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) protocol consistent with industry best practices. For surface samples, 2.5kg of material is taken on each outcrop using chip or channel techniques. Samples are taken by well-trained field helpers supervised by the geologist of the company. Core diameter is a mix of HQ and NQ depending on the depth of the drill hole. Diamond drill core boxes were photographed, sawed, sampled and tagged in maximum 2-metre intervals, stopping in geological boundaries. All samples were bagged, tagged and packaged for shipment by truck from Libero Copper's core logging facilities in Mocoa, Colombia to the Actlabs certified sample preparation facility in Medellin, Colombia. ActLabs is an accredited laboratory independent of the company. Samples are processed in the Medellin facilities where they are analyzed for copper and molybdenum by 4-Acid digest Atomic Absorption (AA) analysis. The sample pulps are air freighted from Medellin to the ActLabs certified laboratory in Guadalajara, Mexico, where they are analyzed for a suite of 57 elements using 4-Acid digest and ICP-MS. In order to monitor the ongoing quality of assay data and the database, Libero Copper has implemented QA/QC protocols which include standard sampling methodologies, the insertion of certified copper and molybdenum standard materials, blanks, duplicates (field, preparation and analysis) randomly inserted into the sampling sequence. QA/QC program also include the ongoing monitoring of data entry, QA/QC reporting and data validation. No material QA/QC issues have been identified with respect to sample collection, security and assaying.

About the Mocoa Porphyry Copper-Molybdenum Deposit

The Mocoa deposit is located in the department of Putumayo, 10 kilometres from the town of Mocoa. Libero Copper's district scale holdings cover over 1,000 km2 through titles and applications, encompassing most of the Jurassic porphyry belt in southern Colombia. Mocoa was discovered in 1973 when the United Nations and the Colombian government conducted a regional stream sediment geochemical survey. Between 1978 and 1983, an exploration program was carried out that consisted of geological mapping, surface sampling, ground geophysics (IP, magnetics), 31 diamond drill holes totaling 18,321 metres and metallurgical test work B2Gold subsequently executed diamond drill programs in 2008 and 2012.

The Mocoa deposit appears to be open in both directions along strike and at depth. Current work on the property has identified additional porphyry targets including the possible expansion of known mineralization. The Mocoa deposit is situated in the Central Cordillera of Colombia, a 30-kilometre-wide tectonic belt underlain by volcano-sedimentary, sedimentary and intrusive rocks that range in age from Triassic-Jurassic to Quaternary and by remnants of Paleozoic metasediments and metamorphic rocks of Precambrian age. This belt hosts several other porphyry-copper deposits in Ecuador, such as Mirador, San Carlos, Panantza and Solaris' Warintza. Copper-molybdenum mineralization is associated with dacite porphyry intrusions of the Middle Jurassic age that are emplaced into andesitic and dacitic volcanics. The Mocoa porphyry system exhibits a classical zonal pattern of hydrothermal alteration and mineralization, with a deeper central core of potassic alteration overlain by sericitization and surrounded by propylitization. Mineralization consists of disseminated chalcopyrite, molybdenite and local bornite and chalcocite associated with multiphase veins, stockwork and hydrothermal breccias. The Mocoa deposit is roughly cylindrical, with a 600-metre diameter. High-grade copper-molybdenum mineralization continues to depths in excess of 1,000 metres.

1 For further information refer to National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects Technical Report, entitled "Technical Report on the Mocoa Copper-Molybdenum Project, Colombia", dated January 17, 2022, prepared by Michael Rowland Brepsant, FAusIMM, Robert Sim, P.Geo, and Bruce Davis, FAusIMM. with an effective date of November 01, 2021.

About Libero Copper

Libero Copper is led by a team with rare experiencehaving advanced projects from post-resource discovery to the path of construction, including some of the few large copper projects built in the last 20 years. This real-world expertise drives Libero Copper's focus on relationships, responsibility, trust, and a relentless commitment to sustainable progress.

At the core of Libero Copper's portfolio is the Mocoa copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit in Putumayo, Colombiaa cornerstone asset where the Company is actively drilling. In a market increasingly hungry for new copper supply, Libero is focused on systematically expanding and de-risking Mocoa's resource base.

Now, with the Fiore Group's bold company-building vision behind it, Libero Copper is uniquely positioned to fill a crucial gap in the copper industryadvancing large-scale projects toward construction. Through this approach, Libero Copper is committed to creating lasting value for all stakeholders while positioning itself at the forefront of meeting the growing global demand for copperthe metal driving progress in the modern economy.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the actual rock sample results will lead to significant mineralization, anticipated drilling and expected results, the resulting other activities and achievements of the Company, including but are not limited to: the potential for the Mocoa Project resource estimate to expand in size, the belief that all necessary permits are currently in place for the initial phase of the Mocoa Project, and the timing and success for the advancement of the Mocoa Project, are to be considered forward looking. Although Libero Copper believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices and volatility with the Company's common shares, exploitation and exploration successes, uncertainty of reserve and resource estimates, risks of not achieving production, continued availability of capital and financing, processes, permits and filing requirements, risks related to operations in foreign and developing countries and compliance with foreign laws and including risks related to changes in foreign laws and changing policies related to mining and local ownership requirements in Colombia, and general economic, market, political or business conditions and regulatory and administrative approvals. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
WHITE ROCK, BC / ACCESS Newswire / January 27, 2025 / TDG Gold Corp (TSXV:TDG) (the "Company" or "TDG") is pleased to announce that the Company intends to complete a non-brokered private placement to raise gross proceeds of up to $14,550,000 (the "Offering"), including a strategic investment by Skeena Resources Limited ("Skeena Gold & Silver", "Skeena"). TDG has also entered into a binding letter of intent (the "LOI") with Skeena pursuant to which the Company will acquire a 100% interest in the Sofia Property (the "Sofia Property"), which consists of a group of mineral claims located in the Toodoggone District of north-central British Columbia (the "Acquisition") and which are contiguous with TDG's existing mineral claims (Figure 1). The proceeds of the Offering would facilitate the early mobilization and exploration to begin at TDG's Greater Shasta-Newberry project which is located directly adjacent to the AuRORA gold-rich porphyry discovery1 recently announced by Freeport McMoRan Inc. and Amarc Resources Ltd. (see TDG's news release dated January 17, 2025, for further information).

Fletcher Morgan, TDG's CEO, commented, "The recent announcement of the AuRORA discovery1 on our boundary represents a paradigm shift for the whole Toodoggone District. Completion of the private placement, including the support of Skeena, advances our plans for a rapid, focused program to explore the potential extensions from AuRORA1 onto our 100% owned Greater Shasta-Newberry project. The acquisition of Skeena's Sofia project expands the scope of our porphyry target generative program without distracting from our core focus at Greater Shasta-Newberry. Skeena is a company that has demonstrated industry vision as well as the ability to advance projects in British Columbia. We are therefore thrilled to now be able to collaborate with the Skeena team in the Toodoggone District."

The Offering

The Company will issue up to 6,000,000 non-flow-through shares of the Company (the "NFT Shares") at a price of $0.50 per NFT Share, for gross proceeds of up to $3,000,000.

In addition, as a condition to the completion of the Acquisition, Skeena shall act as the back-end purchaser of all the 14,000,000 charity flow-through shares of the Company (the "Charity FT Shares") to be issued, at a purchase price of $0.825 per Charity FT Share for gross proceeds of $11,550,000, and will acquire the Charity FT Shares from the original subscribers at a purchase price of $0.50 per Charity FT Share.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for (i) continued exploration on TDG's mineral properties in British Columbia, with a principal focus on the Greater Shasta-Newberry project and Baker Complex, and (ii) general working capital.

The Consideration Shares and all securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a four-month and a day hold period from the date of issuance thereof. Finder's fees may be payable on portions of the Offering. The Acquisition and the Offering are expected to close concurrently, and remain subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange").

Sofia Property Acquisition

The Sofia Property consists of ~9,000 hectares of mineral claims located within the Toodoggone District of north-central British Columbia. In 2021, a diamond drill program was completed on the property primarily targeting the potential for multiple epithermal vein sets. In 2021, Skeena acquired the property and in 2022 Skeena completed a nine diamond drillhole program that intercepted low-grade porphyry-style mineralization, and which has been interpreted by Skeena as potentially peripheral to a better mineralized system. The mineral claims composing the Sophia Property are in good standing until 2034.

Under the terms of the LOI, the Company has agreed to issue 8,000,000 of its common shares (the "Consideration Shares") at a deemed price of $0.50 per Consideration Share to Skeena in exchange for a 100% interest in the Sofia Property.

The LOI provides that the Acquisition is subject to several conditions including, among other things, customary representations and warranties and receipt of all regulatory approvals, including Exchange approval.

Figure 1 - TDG's Mineral Tenure Holding and Sofia Acquisition.

Caution to US Investors

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About TDG Gold Corp.

TDG is a major mineral tenure holder in the historical Toodoggone Production Corridor of north-central British Columbia, Canada, with over 32,000 hectares of brownfield and greenfield exploration opportunities under direct ownership. TDG's projects include the former producing, high-grade gold-silver Shasta and Baker mines, which produced intermittently between 1981-2012, and the historical high-grade gold Mets developed prospect, all of which are road accessible, and combined have over 65,000 m of historical drilling. These projects have been advanced through compilation of historical data, new geological mapping, geochemical and geophysical surveys and, at Shasta, 13,250 m of modern HQ drill testing of the known mineralization occurrences and their potential extensions. In January 2025, TDG published an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for Shasta (news release January 08, 2025) which remains open at depth and along strike. In January 2023, TDG defined a larger exploration target area adjacent to Shasta (Greater Shasta-Newberry'; news release Jan 25, 2023) which is located directly adjacent to the AuRORA discovery announced by Freeport McMoran Inc. and Amarc Resources Ltd (news release January 17, 2025). In early 2024, TDG identified new copper-gold target areas over an expanded footprint covering ~53 sq.km known as the Baker Complex' (news release Feb 28, 2024) and which is on trend with the AuRORA discovery.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved Steven Kramar, MSc., P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration for TDG Gold Corp., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

1Adjacent Properties: The Company has no interest in, or rights to, any of the adjacent properties mentioned, and exploration results on adjacent properties are not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Company's properties. Any references to exploration results on adjacent properties are provided for information only and do not imply any certainty of achieving similar results on the Company's properties.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Fletcher Morgan

Chief Executive Officer

For further information contact:

TDG Gold Corp.,

Telephone: +1.604.536.2711

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release includes certain statements and information that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information specifically include, but are not limited to, statements that relate to the completion of the Acquisition or the Offering, and timely receipt of all necessary approvals, including any requisite approval of the Exchange, and exploration plans of the Company.

Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts, including all statements regarding the planned completion of the Acquisition and the Offering, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainty affecting the business of the Company. Such statements can generally, but not always, be identified by words such as "adjacent", "plans", "rapid", "intends", "focus", "extension", "accelerate", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. All statements that describe the Company's plans relating to operations and potential strategic opportunities are forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. These statements address future events and conditions and are reliant on assumptions made by the Company's management, and so involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including, the inability to satisfy the conditions precedent to complete the Acquisition, the inability to complete the Offering, the inability to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals for the Acquisition and the Offering, consents or authorizations required for mining activities, environmental regulations or hazards and compliance with complex regulations associated with mining activities, climate change and climate change regulations, fluctuations in exchange rates, the business objectives of the Company, the interpretation that the Greater Shasta-Newberry Target Area represents a larger mineralized system encompassing several target zones and the potential that such zones may represent additional Shasta-like deposits, the uncertainty that any mineralization encountered on adjacent properties continues on to TDG tenure, the uncertainty that geological and/or geophysical and/or any trends, interpretations, or conclusions related to adjacent properties have relevance to TDG tenure, changes in project parameters as plans to continue to be refined; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry and such further risks as disclosed in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, and the assumptions underlying the forward-looking information, actual results could materially differ from those currently projected, and there is no representation by the Company that the actual results realized in the future will be the same in whole or in part as those presented herein. Readers are referred to the additional information regarding the Company's business contained in the Company's reports filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that could cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. For more information on the Company and the risks and challenges of its business, investors should review the Company's filings that are available at www.sedarplus.ca.

The Company provides no assurance that forward-looking statements and information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, other than as required by law.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2025) - Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: PEX) (OTCQB: PEXZF) (FSE: PQWN) ("Pacific Ridge" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its plans to raise $2.4M to explore the portfolio of recently optioned copper and gold projects (the "Projects") in the United States: the Mineral Hill gold project (Wyoming), the Red Star copper project (Utah), the Ripsey West copper project (Arizona), and the Royston copper project (Nevada). Please see news release dated January 8, 2025, for further information.

"These highly prospective Projects are located in mining-friendly states, are road accessible, and are ready to be drilled," said Blaine Monaghan, President and CEO of Pacific Ridge. "Additionally, the Projects complement our existing portfolio of copper projects in Canada and expand our footprint into areas that include some of the world's largest porphyry copper mines. We are excited to get to work."

The Company plans to issue up to 15,000,000 units ("Units") at a price of $0.16 per Unit in a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of up to $2,400,000 (the "Financing"). Each Unit will be comprised of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable to purchase one additional common share at an exercise price of $0.24 for a period of 36 months. The Warrants contain an accelerated expiry clause (the "Acceleration Clause"). Pursuant to the Acceleration Clause, if the common shares of the Company close at or above $0.40 for ten (10) consecutive trading days on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"), then Pacific Ridge may elect to accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants by issuing a news release announcing the accelerated Warrant term, pursuant to which the Warrants will expire on the 30th calendar day after the date of such news release.

Proceeds from this Financing will be used to explore the Projects and for general working capital. Pacific Ridge may pay finder's fees of 6% cash on a portion of the Financing. The Financing and payment of finder's fees are subject to TSXV acceptance.

About the Projects

Mineral Hill

Mineral Hill is over 902 hectares in size (comprising 19 patented lode and placer claims, and 177 unpatented federal lode mining claims) and is located in eastern Wyoming in the Black Hills gold province, which has produced more than 40 million ounces of gold from the Homestake gold mine alone1 (see Figure 1). Tertiary alkalic intrusive centers and domes follow an 80 km-long WNW-trending belt across the Black Hills. Low- to intermediate-sulfidation epithermal gold-silver mineralization is currently being mined 18 km east of Mineral Hill at Coeur Mining, Inc.'s Wharf mine. Targets at Mineral Hill include high-grade epithermal gold veins and disseminated and stockwork veined porphyry gold-copper mineralization. The Company believes Mineral Hill represents a fully intact upright alkalic porphyry gold-copper system and near-surface epithermal transition zone that is associated with a 3 x 2 km composite alkaline intrusive centre. Known gold-copper mineralization at historical Interocean mine is related to cross-cutting quartz-sulfide veins in a 300-m-long north-south trending corridor that has been drill-tested to about 200 m vertical depth and remains open in every direction. Epithermal gold target areas lie 600-750 m west and southwest of the Interocean zone.

Figure 1: Mineral Hill Location

Red Star

Red Star is approximately 3,005 hectares in size (398 unpatented federal lode mining claims) and is adjacent to the Star mining district, Utah (See Figure 2). Surface alteration and mineralization suggests the presence of a porphyry copper system beneath post-mineral cover composed of volcanics and alluvium. Polymetallic (Pb-Zn-Ag-Cu-Au) fissure veins, mantos, and local Zn-rich skarn are hosted in east-tilted and fault-repeated Paleozoic carbonate rocks in the Star mining district. These fissure veins may be analogous to fissure veins found in the periphery of the Bingham and Tintic districts. Red Star also shares a similar regional geophysical signature with Bingham and Tintic porphyry copper deposits, each lying within ENE-trending aeromagnetic domains considered to be representative of Tertiary batholiths (see Figure 2). The timing of Tertiary magmatism in Utah youngs southward such that the age of an undiscovered porphyry system at Red Star would likely be ~34-27 Ma.. At Red Star, known polymetallic fissure veins and replacement mantos, and a copper-zinc skarn occurrence (Moscow mine), define a WSW-trending vector towards a 2.0 x 1.5 km porphyry target area with anomalous geophysics (Spartan IP-MT and UAV magnetics). The primary target zone starts about 1.5 km west of the Moscow mine skarn.

Figure 2: Red Star Location

Ripsey West

Ripsey West is over 2,161 hectares in size (comprising 36 unpatented federal lode mining claims and eight Arizona state leases) and is located 23 km south of the Ray Mine in Arizona (see Figure 3). The principal target at Ripsey West is a high-grade Laramide porphyry copper system. An ENE-trending target area measures ~3.5 x 1.5 km and has potential for both hypogene mineralization and supergene enrichment.

The Ripsey West exploration model is for a porphyry copper system that's been episodically faulted and tilted 90 eastward and buried under alluvial cover in a half graben basin. The porphyry target area lies between a 2-km-long ENE-trending stock-shaped magnetic low feature in the west thought to be associated with a Laramide pluton, and a magnetic high feature in the east demarking the faulted basin edge. A zone of quartz-sericite-pyrite ("QSP") alteration and D-veins associated with ENE-trending Laramide porphyry dykes extends for 900 m east outside the basin margin, and base metal mineralization and veins in historical drilling continue for ~2 km. These provide a vector towards a porphyry core in the west under the post-mineral alluvium.

Figure 3: Ripsey West Location

Royston

Royston is over 1,855 hectares in size (comprised of 227 unpatented federal lode mining claims) and is located 30 km northwest of Tonopah in Nevada (see Figure 4). The principal target at Royston is a porphyry copper system within a 2.8 x 1.8 km target area which contains a significant zone of QSP alteration and mineralization A five-hole reconnaissance reverse circulation drill program completed in late 2023 confirmed the presence of a strongly westward tilted and fault segmented porphyry of significant scale containing intense QSP alteration and base metal mineralization. Two of the holes were cased and are ready to be followed up with diamond core tails under the active drill permit at Royston.

Figure 4: Royston Location

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About Pacific Ridge

Pacific Ridge is one of North America's leading copper exploration companies. We own or control eight copper projects located in premier copper mining districts in America and Canada.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The technical information contained within this News Release has been prepared under the supervision of, and reviewed and approved by Danette Schwab, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration of the Company, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

1 Maps Showing Geology, Structure, and Geophysics of the Central Black Hills, South Dakota (USGS) https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2777/downloads/2777_pamphlet_508.pdf

Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements in this news release include plans to raise $2.4M to explore the Projects. Although Pacific Ridge believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. These statements are based on a number of assumptions including, among other things, assumptions that TSXV approval will be granted in a timely manner subject only to standard conditions; that all conditions precedent to the completion of the Consolidation will be satisfied in a timely manner; and the ability of third party service providers to deliver services in a timely manner. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Pacific Ridge does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
CALGARY, Alberta, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Integral Metals Corp. (CSE: INTG | FSE: ZK9) (the Company or Integral) is pleased to announce the acquisition of its Woods Creek Project, located within the Idaho Rare Earth Elements-Thorium (REE-Th) Belt in southwestern Montana. This strategic addition to the Company's portfolio includes 25 lode claims covering 516 acres and is positioned to capitalize on the increasing demand for rare earth elements critical to modern technologies.

The Woods Creek Project lies within the Idaho REE-Th Belt, a geologically significant trend renowned for its rare earth element-rich carbonatite systems. This belt extends across Idaho and Montana and is host to known mineralized systems such as Sheep Creek, Mineral Hill, Diamond Creek, and Lemhi Pass. At Woods Creek, REE mineralization is believed to be associated with carbonatite dikes that intrude structurally complex zones of amphibolite-grade gneiss and schist, offering a geological setting highly prospective for REE discovery. This mirrors the characteristics of the Sheep Creek area, where over 50 REE-bearing carbonatite dikes have been documented.

The acquisition of the Woods Creek Project aligns with our commitment to advancing exploration in high-potential critical mineral districts," stated Paul Sparkes, Chief Executive Officer. "This project not only diversifies our portfolio, but also strengthens our ability to address the global need for critical minerals.

The addition of the Woods Creek Project underscores Integral Metals' strategy to focus on mineral exploration within underexplored yet geologically promising regions. The Company intends to prioritize exploration activities, including geochemical sampling, detailed geophysical surveys, and petrographic studies, to refine a geological model and develop drill targets for the project.

Integral Metals is committed to unlocking the value of the Woods Creek Project as part of its broader mission to advance critical mineral exploration in North America. The Company notes that the claims for the Woods Creek Project are currently awaiting adjudication by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a routine process that is expected to confirm the Companys rights to explore the property.

On Behalf of the Board Directors

Paul Sparkes

Chief Executive Officer

825-414-3163

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ABOUT INTEGRAL METALS CORP.

Integral is an exploration stage company, engaged in the business of mineral exploration for critical minerals, including gallium, germanium, and rare earth elements, with the goal of contributing to the development of a domestic supply chain for these minerals. Integral holds properties in mining-friendly jurisdictions in Canada and the United States of America, including the Northwest Territories and Manitoba, where it has received regulatory support for its exploration efforts.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words could, intend, expect, believe, will, projected, estimated and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Companys current beliefs or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information relating to, among other things, the Companys future plans, including the Companys plans to focus its efforts and resources on the Kap Property and its other mineral properties.

Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information, including, in respect of the forward-looking information included in this press release, assumptions regarding the future plans and strategies of the Company, including that the Company will continue to focus its efforts and resources on the Kap Property.

Although forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions of the Companys management, there can be no assurance that any forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include, among other things, the risk that the Companys business prospects and priorities may change, whether as a result of unexpected events, general market and economic conditions or as a result of the Companys future exploration efforts, and that any such change may result in a re-deployment of the Companys resources and efforts in a manner divergent from the Companys current business plan or strategy. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof, and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orezone Gold Corporation (TSX: ORE, OTCQX: ORZCF) (the Company or Orezone) is pleased to provide additional drill results from its recently announced multi-year exploration campaign at its flagship Bombore Gold Mine. The new results are centered on the North Zone, with high grades intercepted below both the North Zone Footwall and North Zone Hill resource and reserve pits.

Selected Drill Highlights:

2.55 g/t Au over 23.00m, including 5.54 g/t Au over 5.00m (BBD1324)

1.14 g/t Au over 29.50m, including 2.30 g/t Au over 4.50m (BBD1320)

1.20 g/t Au over 23.80m (BBD1323)

1.01 g/t Au over 18.70m (BBD1319)

1.80 g/t Au over 15.00m (BBD1318)

1.59 g/t Au over 9.80m (BBD1318)

1.69 g/t Au over 6.85m (BBD1322)

24.74 g/t Au over 2.00m (BBD1323)

Patrick Downey, President and CEO stated, These latest drill results further underscore the significant exploration upside at Bombore, and the potential to materially expand the resource base from the current global 5.1 million gold ounces, to a targeted 7 to 10 million gold ounces longer term. Given Bombores 14km long reserve defined strike length at an average reserve pit depth of less than 40m, we have been aggressive in our pursuit of illustrating this potential. Towards this goal, we are accelerating the Phase I exploration campaign and planning a comprehensive 30,000m drill program through 2025. Recent drilling from only 12 wide spaced drill holes in the North Zone Footwall has successfully extended mineralization 100m to 250m below the reserve pit bottoms along a strike length of over 800m. This has clear implications in terms of extending current life of mine pits to depth and increasing the future production profile at Bombore.

The discovery potential of the orogenic gold setting at Bombore is also highlighted by the multiple higher-grade sub-zones, which we believe may host the potential to transition into an underground mining scenario beneath the existing life of mine open pits. This prospect continues to be an area of focus at North Zone Hill, as well as at P16 and P17 where drilling has recently commenced.

Together with our ongoing production expansion, which is currently ahead of schedule, this renewed focus on exploration at Bombore, and testing the overall size and scale of the broader system, represent a truly exciting time for Orezone on multiple fronts.

North Zone Footwall  Extending Mineral System to Depth

Initial drilling last year, targeting the North Zone Footwall at depth, was successful in extending high-grade mineralization 240m below the current reserve pit, with intercepts of 1.02g/t Au over 57.00m (BBD1313) and 1.64g/t Au over 46.00m (BBD1314). Wide spaced follow-up drilling was successful in extending mineralization 100m to 250m below the reserve pits along a strike length of over 800m (Figure 2). This was marked by several broad high-grade intercepts including 1.17g/t Au over 29.50m (BBD1320), 1.20g/t Au over 23.80m (BBD1323), 1.01g/t Au over 18.70m (BBD1319) and 1.80g/t Au over 15.00m (BBD1318).

While early-stage, the main takeaways from this recent round of drilling along the North Zone Footwall include:

1) The potential, with subsequent infill drilling, to materially extend the North Zone Footwall resource and reserve pits to depth. If successful, this would have positive implications in terms of further expanding the production profile at Bombore.

2) Given the initial results at the North Zone Footwall, there are comparable opportunities to extend the mineralized system at depth across the greater 14km long reserve defined trend, where the average reserve pit depth is currently less than 40m.

North Zone Hill and Higher-Grade Sub-Zone Targeting

As part of the exploration campaign to test the broader size and scale of the Bombore mineralized system, a second focus of the current drill program is to further delineate a number of higher-grade sub-zones within, and extending below, the current life of mine open pit resource and reserves. The Company believes that these higher-grade sub-zones may host the potential to transition into underground mining beneath the open pits in the future. This is a well demonstrated mine sequence in-country, and if successful, would not only serve to increase the operating head grade at Bombore, but also increase the overall production profile.

With exploration efforts initially concentrated in the northern end of the project, initial testing of this thesis was centered on North Zone Hill, where at open pit drill spacing, there is a defined trend of higher-grade mineralization. As detailed in Figure 3, this sub-zone is marked by multiple high-grade intercepts including 8.75g/t Au over 7.20m (BBD1246), 7.17g/t Au over 7.00m (BBD0903), 13.44g/t Au over 2.80m (BBD1249), and 6.92g/t Au over 6.00m (BBD0911). Initial drill testing down plunge along this trend intercepted a broad interval of 2.55g/t Au over 23.00m, with a higher-grade sub-interval of 5.54g/t Au over 5.50m (BBD1324). Follow-up testing at North Zone Hill in the future will focus on additional step-outs down plunge and on tighter spaced drilling along trend to further resolve the controls on this higher-grade mineralization.

The Companys objective to further delineate such higher-grade sub-zones has extended to the P16 and P17S deposits at the southern end of the mining permit, in advance of the start of the rainy season in May. As outlined below, and detailed in Figure 4 and Figure 5, the P16 and P17S deposits host a number of higher-grade sub-zones. Initial testing at these deposits will focus on the down plunge continuity of the high-grade sub-zones and the potential for limb extensions to the East and West. Follow-up drill programs will further reduce the drill spacing towards the base of the pits and down plunge, as well as to test for repeats of the system along strike, a prospect that is well supported by historical drilling.

P16  selected high-grade historical intercepts:

10.63g/t Au over 14.0m (BBD0448)

16.50g/t Au over 5.0m (BBD0448)

9.03g/t Au over 12.0m (BBC3241)

6.69g/t Au over 15.5m (BBD0443)

5.91g/t Au over 15.0m (BBD0447)

7.82g/t Au over 9.0m (BBD0213 )

) 58.91g/t Au over 3.0m (BBD0768)

P17S - selected high-grade historical intercepts:

14.67g/t Au over 6.0m (BBD1066)

16.58g/t Au over 4.6m (BBD0991)

11.52g/t Au over 10.6m (BBD1081)

9.44g/t Au over 10.0m (TYD0041)

8.47g/t Au over 6.0m (BBD1132)

7.08g/t Au over 7.0m (TYC0123)

7.62g/t Au over 5.5m (TYD0035)

Figure 1: Bombore Gold Mine Property Map

Figure 2: North Zone Footwall Long Section Looking Southeast

Figure 3: North Zone Hill Long Section Looking Northwest

Figure 4: P16 Long Section Looking North-Northwest

Figure 5: P17 Long Section Looking North-Northwest

Bombore Drill Results

Table 1: Highlight Drill Intercepts from the North Zone

Hole Easting Northing Elevation Dip Azimuth EOH

(m) From

(m) To

(m) Length

(m) Grade

(g/t Au) Type BBD1315 729390 1354119 282 -51 313 414 322.00 325.00 3.00 0.70 HR and 336.00 345.00 9.00 1.06 HR and 363.00 368.00 5.00 1.02 HR and 386.30 393.00 6.70 1.40 HR BBD1316 729160 1354057 286 -52 313 300 188.00 191.00 3.00 0.69 HR and 271.00 282.60 11.60 0.78 HR and 292.00 293.00 1.00 2.68 HR BBD1317 729234 1353990 284 -51 313 429 14.00 18.00 4.00 0.44 OX and 20.80 24.20 3.40 1.02 OX and 45.50 48.60 3.10 0.37 OX and 65.00 75.00 10.00 0.75 OX and 303.00 314.00 11.00 0.95 HR and 328.00 339.00 11.00 0.75 HR and 380.10 387.40 7.30 1.53 HR incl. 382.25 387.40 5.15 1.92 HR and 398.00 401.00 3.00 1.73 HR BBD1318 729062 1354011 284 -56 312 317 167.20 177.00 9.80 1.59 HR and 254.00 269.00 15.00 1.80 HR incl. 261.00 267.90 6.90 2.52 HR and 286.00 287.00 1.00 2.95 HR BBD1319 729009 1353921 282 -53 313 330 282.00 300.70 18.70 1.01 HR incl. 293.70 300.70 7.00 1.23 HR and 305.65 309.75 4.10 1.29 HR and 318.00 323.00 5.00 1.04 HR BBD1320 729492 1354296 289 -56 312 321 88.00 93.30 5.30 1.55 HR and 259.00 288.50 29.50 1.14 HR incl. 261.50 266.00 4.50 2.30 HR and 275.00 281.20 6.10 1.93 HR BBD1322 729569 1354228 289 -55 311 456 5.50 9.80 4.30 0.56 OX and 58.15 61.50 3.35 0.47 OX and 364.00 367.00 3.00 0.75 HR and 391.00 402.00 11.00 0.95 HR and 409.00 415.85 6.85 1.69 HR incl. 411.90 414.80 2.90 3.07 HR BBD1323 729136 1353944 282 -56 311 429 4.50 6.75 2.25 0.86 OX and 12.80 15.10 2.30 0.54 OX and 209.00 211.00 2.00 24.74 HR and 244.25 247.00 2.75 0.99 HR and 364.00 387.80 23.80 1.20 HR incl. 371.00 375.00 4.00 1.79 HR and 391.30 394.00 2.70 0.96 HR BBD1324 728995 1353667 280 -52 310 312 20.20 23.20 3.00 1.23 OX and 193.00 216.00 23.00 2.55 HR incl. 196.00 201.00 5.00 5.54 HR and 277.95 280.00 2.05 0.91 HR and 382.00 385.00 3.00 2.42 HR BBD1325 728983 1353576 276 -54 311 381 233.00 237.00 4.00 1.94 HR incl. 235.00 236.00 1.00 5.40 HR and 243.00 248.00 5.00 1.46 HR BBD1326 729674 1354502 286 -52 314 335 6.00 8.15 2.15 0.71 OX and 189.00 191.00 2.00 5.42 HR and 253.00 254.00 1.00 2.11 HR BBD1327 728991 1353806 281 -51 312 468 13.50 17.50 4.00 0.54 OX and 21.60 23.80 2.20 1.38 OX and 33.55 34.50 0.95 1.48 OX and 360.00 362.00 2.00 0.99 HR and 372.20 373.10 0.90 8.81 HR and 384.70 396.00 11.30 0.86 HR BBD1328 728976 1353684 281 -51 313 282 24.00 31.75 7.75 0.58 OX and 59.25 63.90 4.65 0.46 OX and 172.20 173.10 0.90 5.53 HR and 210.25 212.15 1.90 2.44 HR and 253.60 257.55 3.95 1.39 HR

True widths for North Zone drilling are approximately 85% of drilled lengths.

HR  Hard Rock, OX - Oxide

About Orezone Gold Corporation

Orezone Gold Corporation (TSX: ORE OTCQX: ORZCF) is a West African gold producer engaged in mining, developing, and exploring its flagship Bombore Gold Mine in Burkina Faso. The Bombore mine achieved commercial production on its oxide operations on December 1, 2022, and is now focused on its staged hard rock expansion that is expected to materially increase annual and life-of-mine gold production from the processing of hard rock mineral reserves. Orezone is led by an experienced team focused on social responsibility and sustainability with a proven track record in project construction and operations, financings, capital markets and M&A.

The technical report entitled Bombore Phase II Expansion, Definitive Feasibility Study is available on SEDAR+ and the Companys website.

Contact Information

Patrick Downey

President and Chief Executive Officer

Vanessa Pickering

Manager, Investor Relations

Tel: 1 778 945 8977 / Toll Free: 1 888 673 0663

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / www.orezone.com

For further information please contact Orezone at +1 (778) 945 8977 or visit the Companys website at www.orezone.com.

The Toronto Stock Exchange neither approves nor disapproves the information contained in this news release.

QUALIFIED PERSON

Alastair Gallaugher (CGeol), Exploration Manager for Orezone, is the Qualified Persons under NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

QA/QC

The mineralized intervals are based on a lower cut-off grade of 0.28g/t in the Oxide+Upper Transition zone, and 0.45g/t Au in the Lower Transition+Hard Rock zone. The true width of the mineralization is approximately 85% of the drill length in the North Zone. The half-core drilling samples were cut using a diamond saw by Orezone employees. The samples were prepared by BIGS Global Burkina s.a.r.l. (BIGS Global) and then split by Orezone to 1 kg using Rotary Sample Dividers (RSDs). A 1-kg aliquot was analyzed for leachable gold at BIGS Global in Ouagadougou, by bottle-roll cyanidation using a LeachWellTM catalyst. The leach residues from all samples with a leach grade greater than or equal to 0.25g/t Au were prepared by BIGS Global and then split by Orezone to 50 g using RSDs. A 50-g aliquot was analyzed by fire assay at BIGS Global.

Orezone employs a rigorous Quality Control Program including a minimum of 10% standards, blanks and duplicates. The composite width and grade include the final leach residue assay results for most of the drill intercepts reported.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian Securities laws and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable U.S. securities laws (together, forward-looking statements). Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as plan, expect, project, intend, believe, anticipate, estimate, potential, possible and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions may, will, could, or should occur.

Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the exploration program (including the significant exploration upside at Bombore, and the potential to materially expand the projects resource base from the current global 5.13 million gold ounces, to a targeted 7 to 10 million gold ounces longer term; implications of extending the current life of mine pits to depth, and increasing the projects production profile; the potential with subsequent infill drilling to materially extend the North Zone Footwall resource and reserve pits to depth; opportunities to extend the mineralized system at depth across the greater 14km long reserve defined trend; the belief that the higher-grade sub-zones may host the potential to transition into underground mining beneath the existing open pits and that this is a well demonstrated mine sequence in-country, and if successful, would not only serve to increase the operating head grade at Bombore, but also increase the overall production profile; and historical drilling supporting P16 and P17S deposits down plunge continuity of the high-grade sub-zones, the potential for limb extensions to the East and West and repeats of the system along strike); the potential expansion of mineral reservices and resources; exploration activities; interpretations of drilling results; future production; project development timelines (including the ongoing production expansion being ahead of schedule); and anticipated economic benefits.

All such forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management and the qualified persons believe are appropriate in the circumstances.

All forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, delays caused by pandemics, terrorist or other violent attacks (including cyber security attacks), the failure of parties to contracts to honour contractual commitments, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; unexpected failure or inadequacy of infrastructure, the possibility of unanticipated costs and expenses, accidents and equipment breakdowns, political risk, unanticipated changes in key management personnel and general economic, market or business conditions, the failure of exploration programs, including drilling programs, to deliver anticipated results and the failure of ongoing and uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, and other factors described in the Company's most recent annual information form and management discussion and analysis filed on SEDAR+. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2025) - Omai Gold Mines Corp. (TSXV: OMG) ("Omai" or the "Company") has entered into an agreement with Paradigm Capital Inc., as co-lead Underwriter and sole bookrunner, on behalf of Haywood Securities Inc., as co-lead Underwriter, and a syndicate of underwriters to be formed (the "Underwriters"), in connection with a "bought deal" private placement offering (the "Offering") of 50,000,000 common shares (each, a "Share") of the Company to be issued at $0.30 per Share (the "Issue Price") for gross proceeds of $15,000,000.

In addition, the Underwriters have been granted an option to purchase up to 7,500,000 additional Shares for additional gross proceeds of up to $2,250,000.

The net proceeds from the Offering will be used for exploration and development, and general working capital purposes.

The Offering is expected to close on or about February 13, 2025, and is subject to certain closing conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the conditional listing approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and the applicable securities regulatory authorities. The Offering is being made by way of private placement in Canada, in the United States pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and in such other jurisdictions as may be mutually agreed upon by the Underwriters and the Company. The securities issued under the Offering will be subject to a hold period in Canada expiring four months and one day from the closing date of the offering.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Shares have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "1933 Act") and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, "U.S. persons" (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act), except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act.

About OMAI GOLD MINES CORP.

Omai Gold Mines Corp. holds a 100% interest in the Omai Prospecting License that includes the past producing Omai Gold Mine in Guyana, and a 100% interest in the adjoining Eastern Flats Mining Permits. The Company announced a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") on its Wenot deposit at Omai on April 4, 2024, supporting an open pit operation to produce 1.84 million ounces of gold over a 13-year period, with an NPV5% of US$556 million at a US$1950/oz gold price1. An updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") announced February 8, 2024 includes 2.0 million ounces of gold (Indicated) and 2.3 million ounces (Inferred)1. Once South America's largest producing gold mine, Omai produced over 3.7 million ounces of gold between 1993 and 2005. Mining ceased at a time when the average gold price was less than US$400 per ounce. As a brownfields project, Omai benefits from good road access and a wealth of historical data that provides knowledge of the geology and gold mineralization on the Property, as well as metallurgy, historical process recoveries and many other relevant mining parameters.

1 The NI43-101 Technical Report dated May 21, 2024, titled "UPDATED MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE AND PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE OMAI GOLD PROPERTY, POTARO MINING DISTRICT NO. 2, GUYANA", prepared under the supervision of Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET, President of P&E Mining Consultants Inc., who is a Qualified Person (QP) and is independent of Omai Gold for the purposes of NI 43-101. The report is available on SEDAR+ and on the Company's website at https://omaigoldmines.com/site/assets/files/5486/omg_wenot_pea_final_may_21_2024.pdf.

Elaine Ellingham P.Geo. is a Qualified Person (QP) under NI 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects" and has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release. Ms. Ellingham is not considered to be independent for the purposes of NI 43-101.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements or information (collectively, "FLI") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.

Generally, FLI can be identified by the use of statements that include words such as "seeks", "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "continues", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "expects", "forecasts", "intends", "projects", "predicts", "proposes", "potential", "targets" and variations of such words and phrases, or by statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "will" "could", "would", "should" or "might", "be taken", "occur" or "be achieved." FLI herein includes, but is not limited to, the terms and conditions of the Offering, anticipated regulatory approvals in connection with the Offering, timing of closing of the Offering, stated use of proceeds of the Offering, statements regarding the results of the Omai PEA, including the production, operating cost, capital cost and cash cost estimates, the projected valuation metrics and rates of return, and the cash flow projections, as well as mineral resource estimates for the Omai Gold Mine.

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are FLI that involve various risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties. For additional information with respect to these and risks, assumptions, and other factors that may affect the FLI made in this press release concerning the Company, please refer to the sections entitled "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors" in the most recent management discussion and analysis of the Company, which is available electronically on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under the Company's issuer profile. FLI is not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The FLI contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof or as at the date of the applicable document only and, accordingly, are subject to change after such dates. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any FLI or the foregoing list of risks, assumptions or other factors, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan / Jan 27, 2025 / Business Wire / Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) was informed by our partner, National Atomic Company Kazatomprom JSC (Kazatomprom), and Joint Venture Inkai LLP (JV Inkai) that the Inkai operation has resumed production.

Cameco and Kazatomprom are now working with JV Inkai to determine the impact of the production suspension on the operations 2025 production plans.

Kazatomprom holds a 60% interest in JV Inkai, while Cameco owns a 40% share.

Caution about forward-looking information

This news release includes statements and information about our expectations for the future, which we refer to as forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on our current views, which can change significantly, and actual results and events may be significantly different from what we currently expect. Examples of forward-looking information in this news release include: the impact of the production suspension on the operations 2025 production plans.

Material risks that could lead to different results include: complexity and uncertainty in the application, interpretation and enforcement of the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan; expropriation or nationalization of JV Inkais properties or Camecos interest in JV Inkai; amendments to and uncertainty in the enforcement of government regulation in the Republic of Kazakhstan; termination of JV Inkais resource use contract by governmental authorities; geopolitical risk in Kazakhstan and surrounding countries; risk of corruption in Kazakhstan and surrounding countries; risk of sanctions and risk of dealing with sanctioned individuals or entities; production variance from JV Inkais resource use contract; procurement and supply chain issues, including with respect to the availability of sulphuric acid; development, filing and acceptance by governmental authorities of updates to JV Inkais operations, and the negotiation and execution of any resulting amendments to JV Inkais resource use contract; the completion of an expansion to JV Inkais processing circuit, including the addition of a pre-dryer and calciner; availability of drilling services and construction services in Kazakhstan; and availability of transportation.

Please also review the discussion in the Risk Factors section of our current annual information form and the Other relevant data and information  Regulatory risks and Other relevant data and information  Production and product delivery risks sections of our technical report Inkai Operation, Turkestan Region, Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 12, 2024 for other material risks that could cause actual results to differ significantly from our current expectations, and other material assumptions we have made. Forward-looking information is designed to help you understand managements current views of our near-term and longer-term prospects, and it may not be appropriate for other purposes. We will not necessarily update this information unless we are required to by securities laws.

Profile

Cameco is one of the largest global providers of the uranium fuel needed to energize a clean-air world. Our competitive position is based on our controlling ownership of the worlds largest high-grade reserves and low-cost operations, as well as significant investments across the nuclear fuel cycle, including ownership interests in Westinghouse Electric Company and Global Laser Enrichment. Utilities around the world rely on Cameco to provide global nuclear fuel solutions for the generation of safe, reliable, carbon-free nuclear power. Our shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. Our head office is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

As used in this news release, the terms we, us, our, the Company and Cameco mean Cameco Corporation and its subsidiaries unless otherwise indicated.
They were four years old, 15 or only seven months when they were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald and Ravensbruck. Some were even born there.

Somehow they survived, began their lives again and had children themselves.

Now in the evening of their lives, some 40 survivors of the Nazi camps agreed to talk to AFP as the world marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the most notorious of the extermination camps.

In 15 countries, from Israel to Poland, Russia to Argentina, Canada to South Africa they sat in front of our cameras to tell their stories, alone or surrounded by their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren -- proof of their victory over absolute evil.

Some were speaking publicly for the first time, others have long recounted the horrors visited upon them. Many wondered what would be remembered of what happened to them when they are gone.

"I am part of the very last generation," said 86-year-old Evelyn Askolovitch, who was four when she was taken from her home in France to the camps and survived Bergen-Belsen.

"How did the world allow Auschwitz?" asked 95-year-old Marta Neuwirth from Santiago, Chile. She was 15 when she was sent from Hungary to the largest and most notorious Nazi death camp in occupied Poland.

Around one million Jews as well as Roma and members of the Polish resistance were murdered there between 1940 and its liberation by the Red Army on January 27, 1945. Most went straight to the gas chambers as soon as they arrived.

Six million Jews in total were slaughtered.

"Why?" asked Gyorgyi Nemes, who survived Ravensbruck and Flossenburg camps in Germany as well as Mauthausen in Austria.

"Even now I don't know why they hate us so much," said the 97-year-old who was born in Budapest and now lives in Canada.

No one wanted to hear

All have had to try to make sense of life after watching their parents go to the gas chambers, their brothers and sisters die of hunger or exhaustion, or discover at the end of the war that their families had been wiped out.

Julia Wallach, who is nearly 100, has difficulty talking about what happened without crying. "It is too difficult to talk about, too hard," she said. The Parisian was dragged off a lorry destined for the gas chamber in Birkenau at the last minute.

But hard as it is to relive the horrors, she insisted she would continue to give witness. "As long as I can do it, I will do it." Beside her, her granddaughter Frankie asked, "Will they believe us when we talk about this when she is not there."

That is why Naftali Furst, a 92-year-old Israeli Auschwitz survivor born in Bratislava, has been going to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic for years to tell his story "so the younger generations never forget what happened".

It is also why Esther Senot, 97, braved the Polish winter last month to go back to Birkenau with French high school students.

She was keeping a promise she made in 1944 to her dying sister Fanny, who -- laid out on the straw coughing up blood -- asked her with her last breath to "tell what happened to us... so that we are not forgotten by history".

"We shouldn't have died for nothing," echoed 97-year-old Eva Shainblum in Montreal, who was deported to the same enormous death camp next to Auschwitz from what is today Romania when she was 16. Almost all of her family were exterminated.

What we now forgot is that for years no one wanted to hear about the Shoah.

It took until December 7, 1970 and a remarkable act of contrition by German Chancellor Willy Brandt for survivors' stories to be listened to.

By kneeling in front of a monument to the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and begging forgiveness for his people, he helped create a space for their suffering to be heard.

'There wasn't a scream'

The shock of their arrival in the camps, the horror of the selections, the brutality of the SS and the cold efficiency of industrial mass murder still haunt the survivors who talked to AFP.

Many had already been traumatised by their nightmarish journey to the camps inside locked cattle trucks "like animals".

"There were about 80 of us, women, children and old people with just a bucket. No water or even a bit of bread," said Albrecht Weinberg, 99, who still lives in Germany.

"When we arrived (at Auschwitz), prisoners in uniforms with sticks shouted 'Out! Out!' The old people fell out of the wagon -- there was a heap of them on the ground -- and the young came out on top of them."

The dehumanisation still marks Polish-born Canadian Nate Leipciger, now 96. In a few "minutes we were transformed from being free people to being incarcerated in a concentration camp with numbers on our arms".

"They removed our clothing, our hair, and everything that was personal, so you became just an object, and you lost all your ability to function as a human being."

The old, the fragile and the children were sent straight to their deaths, the rest became slave labourers.

"They separated us, women and children on one side, men on the other side. It was a long platform, and at the end of it was a table with several SS soldiers," recalled 100-year-old Hungarian-born Canadian Ted Bolgar.

The soldiers "looked at you and waved you right or left. We had no idea what it meant. But we found out later".

Marta Neuwirth, who sorted the clothes taken from inmates at Auschwitz, saw columns of naked women arriving "day and night" from convoys that "arrived from everywhere".

"They made them throw their clothes on the ground. They weren't worried, they thought they were going to have a shower... there wasn't a scream. It was calm. They went big and healthy straight to the ovens."

'I passed out from hunger'

Ted Bolgar's sister and mother were gassed as soon as they arrived, "then burned at night". He and his father were sent the other way during the selection when he told them he was an electrician.

Those not killed straight away became slaves at the mercy of the SS butchers and their underlings.

"The work was so hard, the engineer.... so brutal that sometimes three people died of exhaustion in one day," said Albrecht Weinberg, who was put to work burying cables under Auschwitz.

"I cannot find words to describe the ferocity and the savagery" of the kapos at Birkenau -- the prisoners recruited to lord it over the other inmates -- said Frenchwoman Ginette Kolinka, 99. "Move or I'll kick you. That was the kapos."

Not to mention the hunger. Pole Marek Dunin-Wasowicz, 98, who was held in the Stutthof camp, said there were "weeks when I ate nothing. I passed out from hunger".

And then there were the medical experiments. Romanian-born American Sami Steigmann became a human guinea pig in the Mogilev-Podolsky camp near the border between today's Ukraine and Moldova.

"I'm in constant pain every single second," said the 85-year-old, who has long lived in poverty. "I used extremely powerful, addictive medication, but about 45 years ago, I decided to learn to live with the pain, but without the medication."

'I don't sleep at night'

Nor has the pain dimmed for Hirsz Litmanowicz, sent at 11 with his brother to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Later transferred to Sachsenhausen in Germany, they tested a hepatitis B vaccine on his skeletal body.

His brother died in the camps but he survived "because I was chosen for these experiments not him. I wasn't even able to say goodbye or hold him to me," said the Polish-born Peruvian, overcome with emotion.

Now 93, and a grandfather of six and great grandfather of eight, he admitted that he "feels the pain of what I endured more now than in the past. I don't sleep at night, I have nightmares."

"I had a twin sister," said Polish-born Canadian Pinchas Gutter, 92.

They were both sent to Majdanek camp when he was 11. He was separated from Sabrina the moment they stepped into that "apocalyptic hell". "She started running towards my mother, and she hugged her... She had this beautiful blonde braid."

That beautiful braid is now the only visual memory he has of Sabrina, who was gassed with her mother.

"It is extremely hurtful to me," the old man said.

In Buenos Aires, Polish-born Petr Polacek, 88 -- who was six when he was sent to the Theresienstadt (Terezin) camp in what is now the Czech Republic -- holds to what his murdered father "taught me before we were deported: to face life".

It was her mother's heroic strength which saved Prague-born Israeli Eva Erben, 84, who was also in Theresienstadt before being sent to Auschwitz. "She talked about what we would do when he went home; what we would buy, what shoes we'd have, what clothes we'd wear when we visited people, and how we would have our teeth repaired."

She died in the snow on the "death march" to Germany and Austria when the Nazis emptied the camps as the Soviet army approached.

Return of anti-Semitism

Like a lot of the remaining survivors, Nate Leipciger said that "I did not expect that it would be so important to talk about the Holocaust 80 years later but it has become so because of the terrible rise in anti-Semitism around the world."

It has been particularly resurgent since the October 7, 2023 attack by the Islamist movement Hamas on Israel, which set off the war in Gaza that was halted days ago by a ceasefire.

Leipciger sees other parallels too with the 1930s. "No one was willing to take us in as refugees" either, he recalled, though the difference today is "we have Israel".

Many survivors are also frightened by the rise of the far-right across Europe, especially the Alternative for Germany (AfD).

"These are dark times," said Erich Richard Finsches, 97, horrified by the historic victory of the Freedom Party (FPOe) in his native Austria. He believes that voters are being duped just as they were by Austrian-born Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.

The fear of the world forgetting torments many of them.

Pinchas Gutter worries that the Holocaust "will get drowned out" by the weight of history, or by the constant stream of social media, adds Eva Shainblum.

"I'm worried about the new generation because they don't have the patience to listen," she said. "They have this machine (smartphone) that they are on day and night. I see even with my grandchildren," she said.

"For decades they said we talked about it too much... but the more generations pass the less they seem to know about what happened," worried Hungarian Judit Varga Hoffmann, 97, who survived Auschwitz.

Russian Elena Zhabina, 82, who was only seven months old when she was put in the Klooga concentration camp in Estonia, fears that after the death of the last survivors "no memory of it will probably remain".

"There is a phrase in the Talmud (the source of Jewish law and theology) that says, 'He who forgets his past is condemned to relive it'," said Catherine Chalfine.

Her father, Algerian-born Auschwitz survivor Gabriel Benichou, at 98 is no longer able to testify for himself.

Seeing her Roma culture and language fade adds to the suffering of Vienna-born Rosa Schneeberger.

"The Sinti are disappearing," the 88-year-old who was sent to the Lackenbach "gypsy" camp in Austria when she was five.

"Most died during the war" and there are not enough survivors to keep the community going, she said.

'Life is about standing up'

Despite everything they went through, the survivors hold to hope and a faith in life that sustained them through the worst a human can endure.

You can only be awed listening to Gyorgyi Nemes, who finished her interview in Montreal by saying, "I buried my husband 10 years ago, but I have a son, a daughter-in-law and my family, and I'm telling you, I'm the luckiest person in the world."

Or 103-year-old Ella Blumenthal, who lost her whole family -- 23 people -- in the Holocaust. She somehow survived the Warsaw ghetto, Majdanek, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen.

"It was a miracle we came out alive. We weren't gassed and I'm still here. So it's an art, I am telling you, to survive.

"I knew how and God helped me. It wasn't just me, but I was helped to survive, to stand on my feet and say what a beautiful world."

It is that absolute necessity for resilience and resistance that the survivors return to again and again as they call for peace and tolerance and an end to hate.

"To always have hope of surviving and to fight for that," said 97-year-old Argentinian Raquel Lily Soriano Alhadeff.

Born on the Greek island of Rhodes, then under Italian rule, she survived Auschwitz-Birkenau, and escaped from a Dachau satellite camp just before it was liberated.

"We must pass the torch to the young," declared Marek Dunin-Wasowicz, who was in the Polish resistance, and survived the death marches at 15 to testify 75 years later in the trial of the SS guard Bruno Dey, one of the last of its kind.

The young "are the only hope", he insisted.

Guy Poirot, one of the youngest of the survivors, agrees.

Born in Ravensbruck 46 days before its liberation, the Frenchman's very existence is a miracle. Babies born in the camps were killed straight away.

"It's for you the young to take things in hand," he said, "to listen to those who have given you a conscience. "Work together, think together," he urged. "Life is all about standing up."
One of the world's largest Holocaust archives was published online for the first time Monday, coinciding with Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

The Wiener Holocaust Library's new online portal includes more than 150,000 documents -- such as photos, transcripts and testimonies -- detailing Nazi Germany's genocide of six million European Jews.

"The need to defend the truth has been given new urgency by the resurgence of anti-Semitism and other forms of misinformation and hatred," Toby Simpson, director of the London-based library, said in a press release.

"By placing a wealth of evidence freely available online we are ensuring that the historical record is available for all regardless of their location, prior knowledge or means."

The items include photographs of Auschwitz, the notorious Nazi death camp in Poland where more than one million Jews died between 1940 and its liberation on January 27, 1945.

Documents from the Nuremberg war crimes trials of Nazi leaders and materials about fascist and anti-fascist groups in the United Kingdom before and after World War II feature in the collection as well.

The library has also published some 500 pamphlets and books containing anti-fascist propaganda that were distributed in Germany during the Nazi era.

The reading material was disguised as advertisements for cosmetics or shampoo, recipe books and instruction manuals for housewives.

The Wiener Holocaust Library was founded in the early 1930s by Alfred Wiener, who gathered evidence of the persecution of Jews in Germany after fleeing the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday praised Soviet soldiers for ending the "total evil" of Auschwitz on the 80th anniversary of the Red Army's liberation of the Nazi death camp.

Auschwitz was the largest of the extermination camps and has become a symbol of Nazi Germany's genocide of six million European Jewish people, one million of whom died at the site between 1940 and 1945, along with more than 100,000 non-Jewish people.

Soviet troops found 7,000 survivors when they arrived on January 27, 1945, the first Allied troops to enter the camp.

"We will always remember that it was the Soviet soldier who crushed this terrible, total evil and won the victory, the greatness of which will forever remain in world history," Putin said, according to the Kremlin.

"We will do everything to defend the right of people to ethnic, linguistic and spiritual identity, and to prevent the spread of anti-Semitism, Russophobia and other racist ideologies," he added.

The Russian leader often credits the Soviet Union with defeating Nazi Germany in his speeches, especially in the context of Russia's offensive in Ukraine.

Putin has regularly accused Ukrainian and Western officials of "Nazism" and "Russophobia", using this as a pretext to launch the assault in February 2022.

Russian officials were not invited to the commemorations in Poland for the third year running since the Ukraine offensive began, after organisers said their presence would be "cynical".

- Leningrad blockade -

State television news on Monday focused coverage instead on the 81st anniversary of Russia breaking the Siege of Leningrad, during which around a million inhabitants starved and froze to death.

Putin said in televised comments that the siege, which began in 1941 and was only fully broken in 1944, was an atrocity of the same order of magnitude to the Holocaust.

Putin, born in 1952, is a native of the city, which was renamed to Saint Petersburg.

On Monday, he laid flowers at a mass grave where his brother Viktor -- who died in the siege as a child in 1942 -- is buried.

"It's absolutely clear that the siege of Leningrad ranks alongside such monstrous crimes against humanity as the Holocaust, the death camps and punitive actions by Nazi henchmen against peaceful civilians," Putin said at a commemorative concert.

"The siege carried away more than one million lives," he said.

Teaching of history in the Soviet Union and Russia has always focused far more on the vast losses among Soviet soldiers and civilians in what is known as the Great Patriotic War than on Nazi extermination of Jewish people.

And aspects such as the secret Nazi-Soviet pact that gave Adolf Hitler the green light to start the war and the subsequent Soviet invasion of Poland, are taboo -- either downplayed or ignored in official narratives.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly condemns" a paramilitary attack on a hospital in El-Fasher, in Sudan's western Darfur region, that killed 70 people, his spokesman said Monday.

"This appalling attack which affected the only functioning hospital in Darfur's largest city comes after more than 21 months of war have left much of Sudan's health care system in tatters," Stephane Dujarric said.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

RSF paramilitaries have captured every state capital in the vast western region of Darfur except for El-Fasher, which they have besieged since May.

"The secretary-general reiterates that, under international humanitarian law, the wounded and sick, as well as medical personnel and medical facilities, must be respected and protected at all times," Dujarric said.

The Friday hospital attack left 70 people dead and 19 injured, according to the head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom.

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan said Monday his office believed that "international crimes are undoubtedly being committed in Darfur."

Khan told the UN Security Council that steps were being taken "to put forward applications for warrants of arrest" in relation to alleged crimes in the region.

The war in Sudan has so far killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted over 12 million and threatened millions across the country with mass starvation.

In the area around El-Fasher, famine has already taken hold in three displacement camps -- Zamzam, Abu Shouk and Al-Salam -- and is expected to expand to five more areas including the city itself by May, according to a UN-backed assessment.
Following its latest episode, the Netflix K-drama When The Stars Gossip is in hot water due to a sex scene so controversial that fans are calling it "the worst in K-Drama history."

In Episode 8, lead stars Lee Min Ho and Gong Hyo Jin's characters are trapped inside a space station trying to survive in the extreme cold.

To keep each other warm, the two strip naked and cuddle leading to an intimate moment set against BTS Jin's soundtrack "Close To You."

However, the execution of the scene has sparked outrage among fans.

Social media blew up with criticism after the episode was aired. Korean netizens poured in comments on the online community forum Theqoo, expressing their shock over the production values and disappointment over the lead pair's lack of chemistry.

One viewer was frustrated by the extra variation, saying: "What the hell is this? I wonder if they used all of KRW 50.0 billion (approximately USD 35 million) on casting? The scriptwriter and director took some heat as others expressed the same sentiments.

Many are critical of the low quality of the story and direction compared to the vast budget spent on the drama.

"This show just gets worse with every episode," one viewer lamented, while another pointed out, "Well the leads have zero chemistry; this directing is so third-rate C-Drama-esque."

Here's what other K-netz are saying:

When The Stars Gossip has suffered from declining viewership ratings since it first premiered and continues to do so in the wake of negative responses to new episodes.

With the latest scene, it's hard to say how the show will bounce back under added scrutiny.

With fans taking to social media more than ever to express their displeasure, the question remains whether the show can get back on track.
Following a super-viral video of him with Strong Girl Nam Soon co-star Park Bo Young last week, actor Park Hyung Sik has addressed renewed dating rumors with the actress.

In the clip, which went viral in no time, the two actors were seen getting cozy at a public gathering.

After a while, Park Bo Young gently wipes an eyelash on Park Hyung Sik's face, which led some to speculate about their romantic relationship.

wtf sooooo cuteeee for whatttttt pic.twitter.com/O7yu0JNBsx  liy (@chaedaely) October 14, 2024

Park Hyung Sik explained what exactly happened in a recent interview with Single's Korea. He added that although the moment looked romantic, it was just a friendly hug that happened to be snapped.

"We were sitting together for a photo when Bo Young noticed an eyelash on my cheek and helped me remove it," he said. "The way it was edited might have given off a different vibe."

The actor alluded to the fact that their relationship onscreen has previously made people speculate about them possibly being together in real life.

Both actors have previously confessed to having feelings for each other when they starred together in Strong Girl Nam Soon, fanning the flames for fans even more.

Now, even with the discussion of a relationship getting a second wind, Park Hyung Sik stressed that the two have a brother and sister-like relationship. Their friendship and working relationship is a great one, he explained.

K-drama fans can see Single's Korea's full interview and interaction in the clip below, which has also become a hot topic in the K-drama fandom.




Monday, January 27, 2025 - An employee of the Postal Corporation of Kenya (Posta Kenya) tragically took his own life earlier this month after enduring weeks of financial and psychological struggles stemming from a withheld salary.

Festus Kipkoech Bore, aged 32, had been working at the Namanga branch of Posta Kenya at the time of his death.

According to his family, friends, and colleagues, the financial strain resulting from the unexplained suspension of his salary severely impacted his mental health, culminating in his decision to take his own life on the morning of January 16, 2025.

His family revealed that his challenges began last year when his salary was abruptly stopped for unclear reasons.

Efforts by community elders, workmates, and his church to provide support were ultimately unable to prevent the tragedy.

Workers at Posta have not received their wages for several months with some going without pay since August 2024.

Sources indicate that managements response to the issue has been largely unhelpful often resorting to intimidation rather than offering solutions.

The hope for resolution is tied to the return of senior executives who are currently on vacation until February.

In addition to financial struggles, there have been reports of a go-slow strike among Posta staff particularly those working at key hubs like the Logistics Hub City Square and GPO.

The workers who are clearly fed up with the managements inaction have resorted to deliberately delaying operations such as parcel deliveries and sorting.

Another scandal that has captured attention is the revelation of fake certificates among nearly 300 Posta employees.

These employees many of whom are reportedly connected to high-ranking officials were found to have falsified their qualifications.

Despite some terminations following the expose key figures like the HR continue to shield others involved in the scam creating further unrest within the organization.

Compounding these issues Posta Kenya has faced difficulties in managing its operations effectively with regional restructuring causing discontent among employees.

Decisions like the creation of a new mega-region with its headquarters in Nyeri despite the availability of a larger rent-free facility in Meru have raised eyebrows.

Staff members in affected regions such as Kisumu and Kakamega have voiced their displeasure over the merging of their regions further adding to the instability.

It remains to be seen how Posta Kenya will address these mounting challenges within its workforce as calls grow for solutions that prioritize employee welfare and stability.

But insiders say it is highly unlikely meaningful steps will be taken anytime soon.

Below are photos of the deceaseds burial.





















The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Monday, January 27, 2035 - An X personality has reportedly been abducted by suspected state agents, days after he posted an AI-generated photo of President William Ruto in a coffin surrounded by his wife and children.

The vocal user identified as Ash Papi on X, posted the viral photo on his X handle on January 18th.

The photo had over 1300 comments and was retweeted widely.

According to blogger Aoko Otieno, the missing X personality, who is a critic of President Ruto, was abducted by two men at his shop in Bungoma town.

They handcuffed him and drove off.

His family has tried to look for him in police stations around Bungoma in vain.

They have also visited DCI headquarters to look for him but their efforts have not yielded fruits, leaving them in distress





The Kenyan DAILY POST.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - Hellen Ati, the Kenyan woman claiming Nigerian businessman Cubana Chief Priest fathered her son, has urged him to take a paternity test to put all doubts to rest.

She shared a part of a legal document filed on September 13, 2024, naming Paschal Chibuike Okechukwu, aka Cubana Chief Priest, as the father of her child.





She provided a phone number and address in Owerri believed to be his contact details.





She also shared a screenshot of a questionnaire showing her answering questions about her relationship with Cubana Chief Priest, including claiming he has made no effort to confirm her child's paternity.

Hellen called on Cubana to rectify that by taking a DNA test and if it turns out he's not the father, she will bear the legal consequences.

This comes after Cubana Chief Priest granted an interview where he denied ever meeting Hellen, let alone having intimacy with her.




Monday, January 27, 2025  ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna has slammed party members supporting the government.

This comes months after former Prime Minister Raila Odinga joined forces with President William Ruto to form a broad-based Cabinet.

Speaking yesterday when he accompanied Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Sifuna reiterated that the party's mandate was to fight for Kenyans as the opposition but some members had reportedly decided to defend the government.

As a result, he asked Raila and his allies to leave the party and join the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) instead.

"There are people in my party, ODM who have forgotten where we came from. They have forgotten what the ODM party stands for and some are saying they are tired of fighting for Kenyans and they were not born to stay in opposition," Sifuna lamented.

"For those who feel they are tired of defending Kenyans, just leave the party and join UDA once and for all to be with Ruto.

"Why would you pretend to like a President who is affiliated with another party and forget you are a member of another party? If you are tired of ODM, go to Ruto's party."

Although it is not the first time Sifuna has differed from his fellow ODM leaders, he insisted that he would not be leaving the party or his position any time soon.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - An American drug cartel ringleader has been captured after his wife shared luxury holiday photos online, giving away his location.

Luis Manuel Picado Grijalba, 43, was arrested at a London airport in December after he was accused of shipping cocaine from Limon, Costa Rica to the US, Nicaraguas La Prensa reported.

Grijabla, who goes by his alias Shock, was wanted by the US Drug Enforcement Administration for several months for his alleged involvement in international drug trafficking, said Randall Zuniga the director of Costa Ricas Judicial Investigation Department (OIJ).





Grijabla, who is a naturalized Costa Rican citizen, met his wife in Paris and had planned to ring in the New Year with his family in England before his arrest.

To document the vacation, Grijablas wife, Estefania McDonald Rodriguez, made several posts to a now-deleted Instagram account during her European travels, according to The Sun.

One post captured the couple posing underneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris.





Zuniga said that Rodriguez frequently travelled abroad and posted about her adventures across her social media platforms, the outlet added.

She boasted about her vacations on sunny beaches, where she was spotted holding two parrots, and in Rome where she sat in front of the famed Trevi Fountain.

DEA agents, who had been tracking Grijabla since he took off from Costa Ricas Juan Santamaria Airport, used the post of the couple in Paris to the suspected drug kingpins location, Costa Rican outlet Teletica reported.



The arrest was approved after the DEA obtained an international warrant.

The American agency wanted to capture Grijabla in Europe instead of Costa Rica as the Central American nation prohibits extradition of its citizens in the country.

Grijabla was in court the day after his arrest and is currently fighting his extradition to the US, where he could face a long jail sentence, the Sun reported.

Costa Ricas Attorney General Carlo Diaz praised the DEAs arrest but noted his office did not have any charges against Grijabla.

For us, it is also an important capture, because we had not yet been able to attribute any criminal act to him in our country, but I repeat, he has been linked in some investigations to drug trafficking in Limon, Diaz, according to Teletica.





The international capture divided officials in the country, with President Rodrigo Chaves Robles and Security Minister Mario Zamora questioning the OIJ.

It is outrageous that the Costa Rican police, I mean the Judicial Investigation Agency, the Judiciary, and the Attorney Generals Office, with everyone knowing what Shock does, do not even have an open case against him, while the gringos leave the country and capture him in London. What do the gringos have that the OIJ does not have? Is it decency? Chaves questioned, according to La Teja.

Zuniga rebutted saying the DEA had an incentive to capture the people suspected of harming its countrys citizens.

There is an investment. The rulers are crystal clear that the DEA is very important to prevent the scourge of drugs, he said.




Monday, January 27, 2025 - Narc Kenya Party Leader Martha Karua has hailed former Deputy President Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua for his resilience and courage.

In a statement yesterday, Karua explained that Gachagua had demonstrated great resilience despite facing various hostilities including his impeachment from the second-highest office in the land.

She argued that Gachaguas qualities were crucial for pushing for nationwide unity aimed at tackling issues bedevilling the country.

I salute your courage and resilience in the face of adversity, qualities that we need as we fulfil our joint commitment to rally together leaders from across the nation, to address the many challenges facing the people of Kenya, Karua wrote in a statement.

The senior counsel while appreciating Gachagua and his wife Pastor Dorcas Rigathi for their visit, added that leadership was about service to the people and prioritising them in all decisions and policy directives.

Further, Karua who is known to hold a very firm stance, expressed her commitment to working with the former Deputy President.

She, however, did not delve deeper into what their working relationship would entail.

I look forward to working with you and wish you well in all your endeavours, Karua wrote.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Monday, January 27, 2025 - An employee of the Postal Corporation of Kenya (Posta Kenya) tragically took his own life earlier this month after enduring weeks of financial and psychological struggles stemming from a withheld salary.

Festus Kipkoech Bore, aged 32, had been working at the Namanga branch of Posta Kenya at the time of his death.

According to his family, friends, and colleagues, the financial strain resulting from the unexplained suspension of his salary severely impacted his mental health, culminating in his decision to take his own life on the morning of January 16, 2025.

His family revealed that his challenges began last year when his salary was abruptly stopped for unclear reasons.

Efforts by community elders, workmates, and his church to provide support were ultimately unable to prevent the tragedy.

Reports indicate that his wife left him for another man when he failed to provide for her and their two kids, leading him to depression.

Below are photos of his burial.





The Kenyan DAILY POST.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - A Texas substitute teacher has come under fire after inviting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to raid his school because his students dont even speak English.

The teacher, known on X as @Hookem232, called for agents to come to Fort Worth, TX to Northside High School. I have many students who dont even speak English and they are in 10th-11th grade. They have to communicate through their iPhone translator with me. The [U.S. Department of Education] should totally overhaul our school system in Texas too, the post added.





The alleged post was made on X, formerly known as Twitter, under an ICE post on Jan. 23 regarding an update on their immigration operations.

Fort Worth Independent School District is now investigating the social media post allegedly made by a substitute teacher that encouraged Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, to come to North Side High School.

"We are aware of a recent social media post referencing North Side High School which was allegedly made by a substitute teacher and has caused concern among our Fort Worth ISD community," said the district in a statement. "We take this matter very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation to understand the circumstances and ensure appropriate actions are taken."




Monday, January 27, 2025  Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka could derail the appointment of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman and commissioners even further.

This is after he rejected the appointment of Adams Oloo to the IEBC selection panel on the pretext that he is former Prime Minister Raila Odingas friend and President William Rutos advisor.

According to Kalonzo, the nomination of Adams Oloo to the panel is against the law since it will benefit the president.

Kalonzo argued that there could be a plot to delay the reconstitution of the electoral agency with only two years and six months to the August 2027 polls.

The Wiper leader implored Dr. Oloo to choose between retaining the position of presidential advisor and serving on the panel.

There could be a plot to derail the reconstitution of the IEBC. I want to ask Dr Oloo to relinquish his position as a presidential advisor and remain on the selection panel.

"We know they dont want this reconstitution of the IEBC, charged Kalonzo.

Let us not give them an excuse to prolong the process. We know their game plan and we shall not allow them.

However, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna clarified that Oloo was nominated by Azimio to represent them in the panel before Ruto picked some of the Orange party members as experts in his government.

According to Sifuna, the nomination of Oloo was done way before even the court case and urged for speedy resolution of the impasse.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Monday, January 27, 2025 - Controversial second-hand car dealer Joseph Kairo Wambui popularly known as "Khalif Kairo" who has recently been embroiled in a series of allegations involving fraudulent dealings, is once again in the spotlight.

This time, he is accused of scamming a client out of Ksh 2,220,000 after the buyer allegedly paid the full amount for a 2017 BMW X1, which was never delivered.

Despite receiving the payment, Kairo is said to have failed to settle the supplier's fees, leaving the car stranded in Mombasa for over a month.

The victim, whose car is now at risk of being auctioned, has demanded a refund of the funds, but Kairo remains unresponsive.

According to the victim, the payment of Ksh 2,220,000 was made directly to Kairos KCB account as per the sales agreement.

However, the supplier has allegedly confirmed that no payments were made on their end.

This prompted the victim to take legal action through a formal demand letter to Kairo dated January 15, 2025, which outlines the breach of the sales agreement and the failure to deliver the vehicle as promised.

This latest scam is just the tip of the iceberg for Kairo, who has gained notoriety for his numerous fraudulent dealings in the second-hand car market.

As a wave of disgruntled customers continues to mount, a series of complaints have surfaced, shedding light on a pattern of dishonesty and poor business practices.

Just weeks ago, Kairo was arrested by police in connection with another case where he allegedly defrauded a client of millions after receiving full payment for a high-end vehicle that was never delivered.

Following his arrest on January 11, 2025, and his appearance in court on January 13, 2025, he was granted a Ksh 2 million cash bail on January 14, 2025, but he remains at the center of multiple investigations into fraudulent activities within the second-hand car industry.

As the legal proceedings unfold, it remains to be seen whether Kairo will face the full weight of the law.

Meanwhile, customers who have lost trust in his operations are calling for stronger regulations in the second-hand car market to prevent others from falling victim to similar frauds.

His first trial is set for January 28, 2025, Kairo's fate will likely capture widespread attention as his past actions are scrutinized in the courtroom.

"Hi, Cyprian. Khalif Kairo has robbed me of Ksh 2,220,000. I paid him this amount, and he has not delivered my BMW.

"I have all the receipts and screenshots as proof.

"This guy is a thief. I have been given a notice that my car is being auctioned in Mombasa, and this guy is doing nothing about it.

"Khalif Kairo is a thief. I sent him 2.22M to his KCB account, and I have all the receipts.

"The suppliers have confirmed that Khalif Kairo never paid them a single coin.

"The car arrived in Mombasa on 21st December 2024 and has been there for one month and one week because Khalif Kairo never paid the supplier, despite me sending him all the money as per the sales agreement.

"Now, our cars are being auctioned. We have passed by his car yards and they are empty. This guy was planning to escape with our money.

"This is unacceptable! Please help me expose this fraudster. Thank you."

The Kenyan DAILY POST.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - A South African man, Fanie Petros Mtshali, 60, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the tragic m*rder of his 24-year-old daughter following a heated argument.

The incident unfolded in Phola, near eMalahleni (Witbank), on the night of September 10, 2022, when the victim arrived home late, triggering a confrontation with her father.

According to police spokesperson Lt-Col Jabu Ndubane, the argument escalated when Mtshali slapped his daughter, causing her to fall onto a TV. She later succumbed to her injuries at the scene. Emergency services and police arrived, but the victim was declared de@d shortly thereafter.

Authorities arrested Mtshali the following day, and he was charged with murder. He was denied bail and remained in custody during the legal proceedings. The sentencing, which took place on January 21 at the eMalahleni regional court, was welcomed by acting Mpumalanga police commissioner Maj-Gen Zeph Mkhwanazi.

He expressed that this case serves as a tragic reminder of the harmful effects of domestic violence and stressed the importance of seeking professional help in times of family conflict instead of resorting to violence.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - A Harare man, Joseph Katumba, has accused his wife, Stella Kangara, of denying him his conjugal rights for nearly a decade as punishment for being unemployed.

Katumba shared his ordeal in court, alleging that his wife reacts violently whenever he attempts to be int!mate with her.

She screams, bites, and scratches me whenever I touch her. She yells, You want to k!ll me! and pushes me away, Katumba said, describing how he has been sleeping on the floor for nine years while his wife occupies their matrimonial bed. Seeking relief, Katumba requested a protection order against his wife, claiming her actions amounted to emotional and psychological abuse.

In her defence, Stella argued that her husbands unemployment had rendered him unappealing.

I am not a s3x object. I need emotional and financial security to feel loved and appreciated. My husbands lack of effort to get a job has killed my desire for intimacy. Sometimes we sleep on an empty stomach, and he demands s3x when I dont even have the energy for it, she told the court.

Magistrate Meenal Naratom, presiding over the case, condemned Stellas actions, emphasizing that unemployment, while challenging, does not justify abusive behaviour.

While unemployment can be a significant stressor, it does not justify physical and emotional abuse, the magistrate stated. The court granted Joseph a protection order, prohibiting Stella from further abuse. Magistrate Naratom also advised the couple to pursue marriage counselling to address their challenges and work toward rebuilding their relationship.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - A South African man, Sechaba Mohapi, 42, has been sentenced to 15 years in direct imprisonment for r@ping his 23-year-old neighbour. Mohapi, from Masike in Phelindaba near Bloemfontein, was convicted after standing trial at the Bloemfontein s3xual offences court.

The incident occurred on December 9, 2022, when the victim, a lesbian, was walking to the shop to buy milk. The accused called her into his yard, pretending to ask her to purchase something on his behalf. Once inside, he forcibly pulled her into his house, threatened her with a knife, and r@ped her.

After the assault, he discarded her clothes outside. The victim had previously informed Mohapi that she was not interested in a romantic relationship when he proposed, citing her s3xual orientation.

Regional court prosecutor Azola Key argued that no substantial or compelling reasons existed to reduce the mandatory 15-year minimum sentence, emphasizing the severity of the crime and the prevalence of corrective r@pe in society. Mohapi's Legal Aid representative had pleaded for a lighter sentence, noting that he was a first-time offender. The court also ruled that Mohapi's details be added to the National Register for S3x Offenders.




Monday, January 27, 2025 - Mombasa-based actress Trisha Khalid has sparked fresh controversy after reports emerged that she eloped with a married man following her breakup with former National Police Service Commission (NPSC) CEO Joseph Onyango.

Onyango was funding Trishas lifestyle using looted public funds and wanted to marry her as a second wife.

Last year, he gifted her a Mercedes Benz on her birthday.

However, their relationship crumbled despite Onyango spoiling her with expensive gifts.

Trisha is now dating another married man called Kevin Woods on Tiktok after she was dumped by the former Senior Government official.

The cheating man, who works in the U.S. as a truck driver, is currently in the country on holiday.

He has been spending most of his time with Trisha.

Photos of Kevin and Trisha in an Airbnb in Westlands leaked after he lied to his wife that he had attended a wedding.

They even went live on Tiktok and got mushy, leaving the mans wife heartbroken.

Below are photos of Trishas Mubaba who dumped her, forcing her to settle for a married U.S. truck driver.





Watch more of the scandal here.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - Foreign visitors to New Zealand are now able to work remotely while in the country, the government announced on Monday, Jan. 27.

Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis said the change, which comes into effect immediately, was part of a plan to boost the economy.

Willis said: Making the country more attractive to digital nomads people who work remotely while travelling will boost New Zealands attractiveness as a destination.

Tourism was New Zealands second-largest export earner, generating revenue of almost 11 billion U.S. dollars and creating nearly 200,000 jobs.

However, Statistics New Zealand data showed the sector had not yet completely bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic border closures, with international visitors at about 86 per cent of 2019 levels.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said the visa change reflected the realities of the modern, flexible working environment.

This is a brand-new market of tourists New Zealand can tap into. We want people to see our country as the ideal place to visit and work while they do it.

Those wanting to work remotely for more than 90 days should look at possible tax implications, Stanford added.

The change will enable many visitors to extend their stays which will lead to more money being spent in the country.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - Two Evansville parents are in custody after police say their child admitted herself to the hospital on Saturday, Jan. 25, but they never came to pick her up, leaving her there for several hours in Indiana, USA.

Authorities say the child took herself to the hospital following an alleged mental health break down, where it is said the child bit her mother Amanda Osmon during a physical altercation.

They say the child was admitted to the hospital by herself for a mental health evaluation.

After several hours, the hospital staff says they attempted to make contact with Osmon and stepfather Jeffrey Scheda, but with no answer.

Hospital staff says they eventually made contact with Osmon around 10:00 p.m. where it is said the conversation was agitated and an argument ensued about who was coming to pick up the child.

Osmon allegedly told staff, Im not dealing with this s**t tonight, and hung up.

Officers say they made contact with Osmon and Scheda at their residence. Osmon claimed she was first notified by hospital staff that her daughter was ready to be discharged at 2:52 a.m., but allegedly had no proof.

It is said both parents had gotten drunk and passed out during the time the child was at the hospital.

Both Osmon and Scheda were arrested and charged with Neglect of a Dependent. They are booked in the Vanderburgh County Jail.




Monday, January 27, 2025 - Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has alleged a plan by President William Ruto to kick out Chief Justice Martha Koome.

Addressing congregants at Meru PCEA Church on Sunday, Gachagua claimed there was an elaborate plan by the Head of State to oust Koome from office.

According to Gachagua, the recent withdrawal of Koome's security was meant to intimidate her and force her to resign.

The former Mathira lawmaker suggested that a budget had already been allocated through the National Intelligence Service (NIS) for a scheme to oust Chief Justice Koome and install a more friendly replacement ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

We have seen a scheme to remove Chief Justice Martha Koome from office. There is even a bigger scheme to dismantle the Supreme Court ahead of the 2027 elections.

"A budget has been set aside through the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and all those petitions you are seeing against Martha Koome, and judges of the Supreme Court are the machinations of the state, Gachagua stated.

The former DP urged the embattled CJ to stay put, arguing that she was doing a great job despite criticism from some Kenyans.

I want to ask my sister, Lady Justice Martha Koome, dont be intimidated. Stay put.

"You are doing a good job. Continue making sure this is a country of rule of law and constitutionalism, Gachagua said.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Monday, January 27, 2025 - Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has dropped a bombshell, revealing why President William Ruto has started frustrating and intimidating Chief Justice Martha Koome.

This follows the withdrawal of Koomes security detail recently; something that caused an uproar among Kenyans.

Speaking at a church service in Meru yesterday, Gachagua accused Ruto of planning to neutralize the Judiciary before the 2027 General Election.

According to Gachagua, Ruto is orchestrating a scheme to oust the current Supreme Court judges and replace them with figures loyal to him.

He noted that the state had splurged a budget on a smear campaign against the judges to instigate their exit from the country's apex court.

The bench would later be replaced by a lenient one, according to Gachagua.

"There is a bigger scheme to dismantle the Supreme Court ahead of the 2027 elections.

A budget has been set aside through the National Intelligence Service (NIS), and the petitions you are seeing against Chief Justice Martha Koome and Supreme Court judges are the machinations of the state.

They would like to put a bench that is amiable to what those in power want," Gachagua said.

The former deputy president vowed that Kenyans would not support such machinations.

He invited the international community to observe the political happenings in Kenya and put the current regime in check.

"We will not accept, and we want to ask the international community to keep an eye on Kenya because parliament and opposition have been captured, and if they capture the Judiciary, this country would slip into a dictatorship," he added.

He noted that the recent claims by CJ Koome that her security had been withdrawn were a clear indication of the plot.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.
Monday, January 27, 2025 - Controversial Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo was hosted by President William Ruto at State House alongside his wife after he jetted into the country for an alleged business trip.

Chivayo has been accused of corruption, fraud, and money laundering in his home country.

He was linked to a US$40 million corruption elections tender deal.

Last year, the Zimbabwean Anti-Corruption Commission announced its intention to investigate the controversial businessman along with his former business partners for suspected fraud and money laundering.

Chivayo went on a spending spree after receiving money from a corrupt US$40 million Zimbabwe Electoral Commission tender deal.

He bought two Maybachs, a luxury car brand, in one week, one in Johannesburg for R3.5 million and another in Harare for US$400,000, which he referred to as little change.

Chivayos spending habits raised eyebrows, with reports indicating that he spent US$3 million on cars and cash donations.

His fleet of luxury cars includes three Maybachs, an unusual sight in Zimbabwe and elsewhere.

See photos.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - New US Vice President JD Vance has claimed that President Donald Trump accomplished more in just five days than ex-President Joe Biden did in four years.

Vance stated this on Sunday, January 26 while fielding questions during an interview on CBS Face the Nation.

Vance argued that several of President Trumps first moves in office would help bring down prices for Americans.

Prices are going to come down, but its going to take a little bit of time, right? The president has been president for all of five days. I think that, in those five days, hes accomplished more than Joe Biden did in four years, Vance said.

Vance said that Trump has already taken multiple executive actions that are going to lower energy prices.

The Vice President said he believes that consumers are going to see lower prices at the pump and at the grocery store but its going to take a little bit of time.

Some Democrats have mocked Trump over grocery prices after he took office.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., posted on X in early January, I dont care if Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland. I just want to know what hes going to do to lower the cost of groceries.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - US President Donald Trump on Sunday, January 26, announced retaliatory tariffs on Colombia after the countrys president said he blocked US military deportation flights, the first instance of Trump using economic pressure to force other nations to fall in line with his mass deportation plans since he took office last week.

Earlier on Sunday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced he had blocked two US military flights carrying migrants heading toward the country and called on the United States to establish better protocols in its treatment of migrants. Petro also left the door open to receiving repatriated migrants traveling on civilian planes.

Following Petros announcement, Trump criticized him on social media while announcing new sanctions and policies targeting Colombia, including a 25% tariff on all imports from the country, a travel ban for Colombian citizens, and a revocation of visas for Colombian officials in the US along with all allies and supporters.

Trump also ordered stricter inspections of cargo shipments arriving from Colombia, along with banking and finance sanctions and visa sanctions on all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government.

These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States! Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The Trump administration was caught by surprise at the military flights being rejected as they were bound for Colombia, according to an administration official.

Colombian authorities approved the two flights before they took off, according to documents reviewed by CNN, but those plans were suddenly scrapped, frustrating Trump officials.

Trumps reaction to Colombias rejection of repatriated citizens marks the first major clash with another country over immigration issues since he began his second term.

Later Sunday, Petro called on US citizens living in Colombia illegally to regularize their stay, without offering specifics.

American citizens who wish to do so can be in Colombia, I believe in human freedom, he wrote on X,

You will never see me burning a US flag or carrying out a raid to return handcuffed illegal immigrants to the US.

Petro also offered his presidential plane to help repatriate deportees from the US who were set to arrive in the country Sunday morning.

The US began using military aircraft to return recent border crossers back to their countries of origin last week. On Thursday, the US returned migrants to Guatemala using military planes.

The US is also asking Mexico with help repatriating its nationals via land ports of entry along the US-Mexico border.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - US President, Donald Trump has revealed his post war plans for the Gaza Strip saying that he had spoken with the king of Jordan about potentially building housing and moving more than 1 million Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries.

Trump said he asked Jordans Abdullah II, a key US partner in the region, to take in more Palestinians in a Saturday phone call.

I said to him that Id love you to take on more, because Im looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and its a mess, its a real mess, he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Jordans state news agency Petra reported the call with Trump, but made no mention of relocating Palestinians. The kingdom is already home to more than 2.39 million registered Palestinian refugees, according to the UN.

Trump said he would like both Jordan and Egypt  which borders the battered enclave  to house people, and that he would speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about the matter on Sunday.

Youre talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing, Trump said, adding that there have been centuries-long conflicts in the region.

He continued: I dont know, something has to happen, but its literally a demolition site right now. Almost everythings demolished and people are dying there, so Id rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change.

The president, a former property developer, said that the potential housing could be temporary or could be long-term.

Amit Segal, an analyst with Israeli network Channel 12 News, cited Israeli officials and reported that the move was not a slip of the tongue but part of a much broader move than it seems, coordinated with Israel.

The comments mark a break with US policy for decades and is a remarkable statement from a sitting US president. US foreign policy has long emphasized a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

There has long been a fear in the region that Israel wants to push Palestinians out of Gaza into neighboring countries  a premise Israel rejects but one supported by far-right factions of its governing coalition.

As well as killing tens of thousands of people, the 15-month war between Israel and Hamas has reduced much of Gaza to rubble. Israeli airstrikes have damaged or destroyed around 60 per cent of buildings, including schools and hospitals, and around 92 per cent of homes, according to the UN.

Approximately 90% of Gazans have been displaced, and many residents have been forced to move repeatedly, some more than 10 times, according to the UN.

President El-Sisi of Egypt criticized Israels move to evacuate more than a million residents from northern Gaza in October 2023, characterizing it as part of a larger plan to rid the entire area of Palestinians.

The displacement or expulsion of Palestinians from the (Gaza) Strip into Egypt simply means that a similar situation will also take place  namely the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan, Sisi said, adding that there would be no point in discussing a Palestinian state, as the land will be there, but the people wont.

Around the same time, King Abdullah called the idea of more Palestinian refugees moving to Jordan or Egypt a red line.

Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, an independent Palestinian politician, said he completely rejected Trumps comments.

What the occupation has failed to achieve through its criminal bombardment and genocide in Gaza will not be implemented through political pressures, Barghouti said in a statement, adding The conspiracy of ethnic cleansing will not succeed in Gaza or the West Bank.

There are some 5.9 million Palestinian refugees worldwide, most of them descendants of people who fled with the creation of Israel in 1948.




Monday, January 27, 2025 - Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni has revealed what former President Uhuru Kenyatta told him about his meeting with President William Ruto late last year.

Speaking during an interview, Kioni clarified that the Ichaweri meeting was born out of Uhurus initiative to restore faith in Kenyas economic capacity occasioned by the rapid exit of many international firms from the Kenyan stock market.

One of the things that my party leader (Uhuru Kenyatta) told me why he sat with William at Ichaweri, was to try and see whether there could be an injection of hope that could go into the market so that the exodus of companies to Tanzania and Uganda gets slowed down for the sake of young people so that we see whether we can generate employment, Kioni stated.

According to Kioni, Uhuru had not entered into any pact with Ruto contrary to popular belief.

He stated that the meeting was purely consultative in nature, as is standard practice between current and former heads of state.

No he (Uhuru) is not (in any pact with Ruto), but he is the former head of state. If you want advice, you can go and see him. If I want advice on how to run the party, I can go and see him, he stated.

Kioni added that the proceeding actions by Ruto and members of the Kenya Kwanza camp to claim that Uhuru had been co-opted into government through a super broad-based government was all a ploy to fool the public.

Of course, people like Ruto and his camp would want to milk that meeting to make it look more than what it really was, Kioni noted.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - The Ukrainian military has said it thwarted 50 of 72 drones launched by Russia overnight and attacked one of Russias largest oil refineries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had used at least 1,250 aerial bombs, over 750 attack drones and more than 20 missiles to attack Ukraine over the past week.

Only determination can stop such terrorists. We are constantly working with our partners to strengthen our defence capabilities and to reduce Russias ability to terrorize Ukraine. Long-range capabilities are crucial.

Sanctions are essential. Lowering the price of oil is important. The key is to act in unity and protect lives with resolve, Zelenskiy said.

Also, Kyivs general staff on Sunday said its forces attacked Russias Ryazan oil refinery last night and explosions and fire were reported in the target area.

The Ryazan Oil Refinery is one of the four largest refineries in the Russian Federation, it said on Telegram.

Ukrainian Military and civilian authorities did not immediately report casualties or damages.

Responding, Russias Defence Ministry stated that its air defence systems destroyed 15 Ukrainian drones over Russia and two sea drones in the Black Sea.

It added that eight drones were downed over the Ryazan region, six drones were destroyed in the Kursk region and one drone was hit over the Belgorod region overnight.

Ryazan Governor, Pavel Malkov said on Sunday that there were no casualties in the latest drone attacks but authorities were still estimating the damage.



The Ukrainian good drones struck the Ryazan Oil Refinery in Russia for the second time in the last 48 hours.



The Ryazan Oil Refinery is one of the largest in Russia, with a processing capacity of 17 million tons of oil per year. pic.twitter.com/vXqQQWu4Pi  NoHoldsBarred (@AussieSteve64) January 26, 2025




Monday, January 27, 2025 - A section of reformed youth in Mathare, Nairobi, has decried police harassment that led to the injuries of several eco-warriors in the area during a police operation.

The young people took to the streets protesting the police assault, stressing that they were unfairly targeted while inside their houses despite having left the life of crime and joined the ecological justice network.

In their complaints, they also named Nyumba Kumi leaders as being part of the officials who harassed them while looking for a murder suspect who killed a man walking his three-year-old son to school on Monday.

"At around 2 am to 3 am, we heard banging on the door and we asked who it was. Their voices sounded like village elders but we refused to open the door. They broke the door and barged in asking us to produce the weapons," one of the victims narrated.

"They did not handcuff us and take us to the police station. They just beat us and left us there telling us to go back to sleep. I woke up this morning to go to the hospital and the doctor asked me to obtain a P3 form. Even my brother was beaten."

The youth added that they understood the urgency of apprehending the suspect and only wanted the right parameters to be used during the operation.

They pointed out the lack of arrest of any of them despite being treated as suspects almost every time such an operation was carried out in the area.

The reformed youth are reportedly involved in lawful activities that not only benefit them but also the environment as well. They include eco-friendly efforts like tree planting and vegetable farming along riparian lands.

A Community Policing Member of the Nyumba Kumi initiative defended the youth but stated that the urgent nature of the investigation called for the officials to be stricter in their operation.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.






Monday, January 27, 2025 - The US will not go ahead with tariffs on Colombia, after Colombia agreed to accept without restrictions - deported migrants, the White House says.

Donald Trump had ordered 25% tariffs on all Colombian goods after its president barred two US military deportation flights from landing in the country on Sunday.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro had initially responded by saying his country would accept repatriated citizens on "civilian planes, without treating them like criminals".

A White House statement late Sunday night, January 26, says Colombia has now agreed to accept migrants arriving on US military aircraft "without limitation or delay". Colombia said a dialogue would be maintained to "guarantee the dignity of our citizens".

The White House has hailed the agreement with Colombia as a victory for Trump's hard-line approach, after the country's two leaders traded threats on social media on Sunday.

Colombia's foreign ministry said it had "overcome the impasse" with the US just hours after Petro published a lengthy post on X condemning what he called Trump's "blockade".

Petro had earlier denied entry to US military deportation flights, saying that migrants should be returned "with dignity and respect".

In response, Trump announced "urgent and decisive retaliatory measures" in a post on his social media site Truth Social, including tariffs and visa sanctions.

Petro responded on X with a post announcing his own tariffs and celebrating Colombia's heritage.

"Your blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, besides being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world," he said.

Within hours, Columbia agreed to "all of President Trump's demands", the White House says.

Trump's proposed tariffs had been "fully drafted" and would still be implemented if Colombia does not honour this agreement, according to the White House.

Trump had also announced visa sanctions and enhanced inspections on Colombians at the border. These will remain in place "until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned", the White House said.

Colombia's foreign minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said the country would "continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions, as citizens subject to rights".

Petro's presidential plane has been prepared to facilitate the return of the Colombians who would have arrived in the country earlier on the blocked military flights, he added.

The feud between the two nations came after Trump's administration vowed to carry out "mass deportations". The president signed multiple executive orders related to immigration on his first day in office.




Monday, January 27, 2025 - Narc Kenya Leader Martha Karua has accused President William Ruto of being a dictator.

This follows the spate of abductions of his critics by alleged police officers.

Speaking from her Kimunye home in Kirinyaga County, Karua vowed to bring abductions to an end, emphasizing the need to stand against Kenya becoming a hub of kidnapping and enforced disappearances.

Karua expressed deep concern over what she described as a systematic erosion of fundamental rights under the current administration.

Lets say no to Kenya being made a capital of abductions, she declared.

Karua highlighted that the Constitution guarantees every Kenyan the right to life and other fundamental freedoms, rights she claims are now under threat.

Our Constitution guarantees you the right to life and all other fundamental rights. Today, the Ruto regime is abducting mainly our youth. Those who are helping transform this society are abducted and kept in illegal detentions, Karua said.

She further pointed out that holding individuals in undisclosed locations amounts to illegal detention. According to her, victims of such abductions are often tortured, abandoned, or made to disappear entirely.

Ameturudishia detention without trial. Our youths are being executed because when you are abducted, you are tortured, dumped somewhere, or made to disappear completely. People turn up dead; others disappear forever, she added.

She warned Ruto against veering toward authoritarianism, stating that Kenyans would not allow him to become a dictator.

To William Ruto, as Kenyans we will not allow you to graduate to a dictator. We will dethrone you, she warned.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.
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Understanding Government-backed Loan Guarantee Schemes in India

khaskhabar.com : , 27  2025 6:44 PM
Kildare has been ranked sixth last in terms of the availability of public electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure for zero-emission vehicles, according to a recent analysis by Geotab.

The study places Kildare 21st nationwide, revealing that the county has just one charger for every 18 Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in the area.

This puts Kildare near the bottom of the list, with counties like Kerry, Longford, and Mayo performing significantly better.

Kerry, for instance, has one charger for every 5.9 BEVs, ranking the highest in the country. Longford follows closely behind at 5.93, and Mayo comes in at 6.61 chargers per BEV.

The data is based on the past ten years of BEV sales and the most recent public charging infrastructure statistics available.

The slow adoption of BEVs has been partly attributed to "charging anxiety," with many consumers opting for hybrid vehicles for peace of mind, with a 24% increase in new hybrid cars seen in the first 11 months of 2024.

The Government's National Road EV Charging Network Plan, announced earlier this year, aims to improve access to recharging stations, with a commitment to having charging points located every 60 km across the country.

Recent advancements, such as the opening of IONITY CharlestownIrelands largest high-power charging hub with 12 350kW CCS unitshighlight the growing progress.

The Geotab analysis also shows that while the ratio of BEVs to public chargers is improving, there remains significant inconsistency across counties.7 While counties like Kerry and Mayo have a relatively high number of chargers per BEV, regions like Meath, Waterford, and Louth lag behind, with Meath alone having one charger for every 36 BEVs.

As the number of BEVs continues to rise, largely due to the introduction of more affordable models like the Citroen Ami, priced from 9,990, the demand for expanded charging infrastructure will grow.

The Irish EV Associations latest analysis suggests that the number of charging points could triple by the end of 2025 compared to pre-2023 levels, with over 80 planning applications for fast-charger sites already in the works.
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Kilkenny-based nutrition company Glanbia has announced that up to 60 jobs could go in a restructuring of the business in Ireland.

The company, which has headquarter offices on the city's ringroad, says that while the exact figure is not yet known, the move comes following "significant change over the past number of years including the reshaping of our global footprint."

In a statement the company added: "it is anticipated that up to 60 roles in Ireland will be impacted on a phased basis in 2025." Areas affected will be HR, IT and finance services.

"To ensure that we are prepared for our next stage of growth and to enhance how we serve the needs of our business globally, the company is making some changes to its services functions, through a digital transformation program. As part of these changes, Glanbia is establishing a new Enterprise Solutions function (Glanbia Enterprise Solutions  GES), which will centralise and optimise the delivery of finance, HR and IT services to the business."

Describing the losses as 'regrettable' the company says that "due to the nature of the consultation process and timelines, the exact numbers cannot be confirmed at this stage."

"We will work closely with employees and their representative groups to support everyone over the coming period, providing severance packages and outplacement services."
Recent analysis by Geotab, a global leader in connected transportation solutions, has revealed that Kilkenny ranks seventh nationally in terms of availability of EV charging infrastructure for zero emissions vehicles.

With 994 Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) sold in the county over the past ten years, Kilkenny has one charger for approximately 10 (10.14) BEVs in the county.

This puts Kilkenny just inside the top ten, with Kerry coming out on top with one EV charger for every six (5.90) BEVs in the county.

READ NEXT: Irelands answer to the Taj Mahal sits right here in Kilkenny

The Kingdom ranks slightly ahead of Longford (5.93) and Mayo (6.61) based on the analysis of ten years of Battery Electric Vehicle sales in each county and the latest public EV charging infrastructure data available locally.

Charging anxiety has been a factor in the slow adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles, with the public opting for hybrid vehicles for a sense of security, with a 24% growth in new hybrid cars licensed in the first 11 months of the year.

Progress has been made, however, with the Government announcing its National Road EV Charging Network Plan earlier this year with a commitment to have recharging stations every 60 km.

The steady improvement in Irelands public charging network is highlighted with the recent opening of IONITY Charlestown, the countrys largest, high power charging hub with 12 350kW CCS units at the site.

The ratio of BEVs to public charging infrastructure is now at its best level ever. As the EV public charging network improves, the challenge will now be to ensure high levels of availability across the country, with some inconsistency identified by the Geotab analysis.

While counties like Kerry, Longford and Mayo have six chargers on average for every BEV sold in the county, this rises sixfold to 36 in Meath.

Similarly, Waterford (26) and Louth (23) also have less public charging infrastructure available to BEV owners compared to other counties.

The growth of the public charging network will need to keep pace with the increasing numbers of Battery Electric Vehicles in the country, a trend which is set to continue as EVs become more attractive due to a lower average price point as models like the Citroen Ami, which retails from 9,990, come onto the market.

There are positive signs of momentum in the continued growth in the public charging network, with analysis by the Irish EV Association revealing that the scale of infrastructure at the end of 2025 will be triple the level of what was in place prior to 2023.

The organisation has also noted that there are currently over 80 planning applications for fast charger sites across the country.

Commenting on the analysis, Phil Barnes, Geotab Business Development Manager - Ireland & UK, said that while the majority of people charge their EVs at home, public chargers are a crucial piece of infrastructure that give people peace of mind that they can get from A to B without being worried about being stuck at the side of the road.

"Whether its a taxi driver working a long shift or a family taking a trip from one end of the country to the other, people want to know they can get access to a charger if they need one," he said.

"The latest data is really positive as it illustrates how quickly the charging network is expanding and catching up with the amount of service stations available for traditional vehicles.

"The ambition and measures set out in the Programme for Government to substantially increase the number of public charging points, putting us ahead of the European average, and reduce the average distance between EV recharging points will help increase the momentum behind the adoption of zero emission vehicles in Ireland."

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Fran OSullivan writes:

News media went for Simeon Brown with the cheap shot that his appointment as Health Minister meant getting an abortion could be threatened.



The media posse at the National Party caucus retreat this week wasnt focusing on his priorities for this weighty portfolio: how he would ensure New Zealand does develop a first-class health system amid the disarray left behind when a major centralisation by the last Labour Government to form Health New Zealand resulted in chaos. All too complex in todays media world? Surely not.



Instead, its members picked up on an obvious smear by a pro-abortion lobby suggesting Browns appointment meant abortion services and funding delivered by the health system were in jeopardy. His appointment was a provocation, the lobby claimed.
PAP Soldiers Conduct Field Tactics Training

China Military Online) 13:11, January 27, 2025

Soldiers assigned to a special operation unit of the Lvliang detachment under the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) Force Shanxi Corps rush to board an infantry vehicle during a field tactics training exercise, which includes operations of lurking, sniping and searching, on December 17, 2024. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Cao Zhengyu)

Soldiers assigned to a special operation unit of the Lvliang detachment under the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) Force Shanxi Corps advance in tactic formation during a field tactics training exercise, which includes operations of lurking, sniping and searching, on December 17, 2024. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Cao Zhengyu)

Soldiers assigned to a special operation unit of the Lvliang detachment under the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) Force Shanxi Corps advance in tactic formation during a field tactics training exercise, which includes operations of lurking, sniping and searching, on December 17, 2024. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Cao Zhengyu)

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing)
Weather Alert

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON FRIDAY TO 1 AM CDT SATURDAY... * WHAT...South winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 55 mph expected. * WHERE...Portions of south central, southwest, and west central Illinois and central, east central, northeast, and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...From noon Friday to 1 AM CDT 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. &&
By KTimes

Actor Kim Soo-hyun has addressed dating rumors involving his "Queen of Tears" co-star Kim Ji-won, months after speculation began.

Messages Kim Soo-hyun exchanged with fans on the communication platform Bubble surfaced online Friday, as reported by Newsis and other outlets.

According to the messages, a fan made a playful suggestion to the actor: Marry (Kim) Ji-won quickly, and start a 'lovestar' (a portmanteau of 'love' and 'Instagram'). Make your relationship public and show everyone how much you love each other. Announce to the world that youre each others everything. Please get married.

In response, Kim wrote, I hope you will now view the drama as just a drama, denying the dating rumors.

The two actors starred as a married couple in tvN's hit drama "Queen of Tears," which concluded in April last year. Three months later, dating rumors emerged after Kim Soo-hyun shared photos on social media from an overseas fan meeting but later deleted them.

Netizens pointed out similarities between Kim Soo-hyuns deleted photos and images Kim Ji-won posted while attending a fashion event in Taiwan around the same time, including comparable outfits and poses.

These observations fueled speculation of a possible relationship, which spread rapidly online. At the time, both actors agencies stated they would not respond to every rumor. "Queen of Tears" concluded in April last year with a record-breaking 24.85 percent viewership rating.

Kim Soo-hyun is set to return this year with the Disney+ series "Knock-Off." The drama follows the story of Kim Sung-jun (played by Kim Soo-hyun), whose life is upended by the IMF crisis, transforming him from an ordinary office worker into the king of the counterfeit market.

Cho co-stars as Song Hye-jung, Sung-juns former lover and a special judicial officer dedicated to cracking down on counterfeit goods.

This article is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.


By Lee Yeon-woo

Twenty percent of Korea's population is now 65 or older, officially earning the country the status of a "super-aged" society. By 2070, when today's 20-year-olds turn 65, the proportion of the older adult population to working-age population (aged 18 to 64) is projected to go up by 100 percent.

The largest component of the country's welfare system is the basic pension, which is fully funded by taxes and provided to the bottom 70 percent of income earners among adults aged 65 and older. In 2025, individuals earning less than 2.28 million won ($1,585) will be eligible for the pension.

Just as baby boomers, with substantial assets and incomes, are entering this demographic, the eligibility threshold has been significantly raised, sparking concerns about fairness and the fiscal sustainability of the system.

"There are younger individuals earning less than the elderly receiving basic pensions. Imposing taxes on them to fund the pensions for seniors inevitably raises issues of fairness," Kim Woo-chang, a KAIST professor who participated in the government's pension reform discussions, said.

"The system should be gradually reformed to limit payments to senior citizens living below the poverty line."

At the same time, the government's mandatory expenditures are expected to grow from 347.4 trillion won in 2024 to 433.1 trillion won by 2028, with their proportion of total expenditure increasing from 52.9 percent to 57.3 percent.

Consensus is growing that raising the age threshold is an inevitable step to better align with the fact that life expectancy for Koreans has been increasing.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced plans to initiate discussions this year on revising the current older adult age threshold of 65, following a request from the Korea Senior Citizens Association.

If the age for defining who is an older adult is raised, discussions about extending the retirement age and reforming the pension system are likely to gain momentum.

The National Assembly Budget Office recently estimated that raising the basic pension eligibility age from the current 65 to 70 could reduce annual fiscal expenditures by about 6.8 trillion won.

Experts recommend the fiscal savings from this change should be reinvested as a catalyst to facilitate a transition into an "active aging" society.

"Raising the age threshold for the elderly should not be viewed as a reduction in welfare but rather as a shift toward a system that more aligns with the realities of a super-aged society," Lee Sang-rim, senior researcher at Seoul National University's Population Policy Research Center, said. "The financial savings from this process should be directed toward supporting the transition."

Efforts to address the issue have been made multiple times, but progress has been lackluster due to the older adult poverty rate.

According to the OECD, Korea's elderly poverty rate is the highest among its member countries. The country is the only one where the rate surpassed the 40 percent level.

"Discussions on a super-aged society should not focus solely on welfare expansion," Lee said. "Raising the age for senior citizens is tied to challenges that necessitate changes to existing lifestyles, including extending the retirement age and implementing reeducation systems."
Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho and Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the defense sector and the arms industry Monday, according to the defense ministry.

In the talks held in Seoul, Kim noted that the two countries' cooperation in the cybersecurity sector has been advancing and suggested expanding such ties to other areas, according to the defense ministry.

Kim also briefed Pevkur on South Korean weapons systems, including the K9 self-propelled howitzer that Estonia has acquired.

Both sides agreed to push for mutually beneficial cooperation, such as personnel exchanges and training, while closely communicating on ways to expand their defense and arms cooperation.

They also expressed concerns over North Korea and Russia's deepening military alignment and the negative impact it has had on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe, urging for the immediate halt of their illegal cooperation. (Yonhap)
Acting President Choi Sang-mok conducted inspections of transportation, fire prevention and public safety measures Monday during the extended Lunar New Year holiday, his office said.

Choi received briefings from the head of the state-run Korea Expressway Corp., as millions of people travel to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year, known as Seollal, one of the country's two major traditional holidays, according to the finance ministry.

This year's holiday has been extended to six days, lasting until Thursday, after the government designated Monday as a temporary national holiday.

"Please ensure that transportation management is thorough so that the public can travel safely and comfortably, with this year's Lunar New Year holiday being longer than usual," Choi was quoted by the ministry as saying.

In addition, Choi visited the Seoul Emergency Operations Center, where he was briefed on the potential for emergency cases during the holiday period, the ministry said.

He urged officials to focus their efforts on maintaining the country's emergency medical system, emphasizing the increased movement of people and the heightened risks of various safety incidents. (Yonhap)
Why Samsung cannot abandon Exynos development

By Nam Hyun-woo

Samsung Electronics businesses for smartphone application processors (APs) are facing growing concerns as Arm, which holds over 90 percent of the market share in the global AP architecture market, is expected to hike the royalty rates for its clients by as much as 300 percent.

Samsung Electronics has been reliant on Arms intellectual property (IP) for designing its in-house AP, the Exynos series. If the fee hike is realized, a rise in the manufacturing costs for the Exynos series is inevitable, dealing additional damage to the companys already struggling foundry business.

Reuters on Jan. 14 reported that Arm is developing a long-term strategy to hike its royalty rates by as much as 300 percent, citing Arms strategy revealed during its unsuccessful court trial to secure higher royalties from Qualcomms APs. An AP is a chipset that works as the brain of a smartphone, combining functions of a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU) and other core components like the modem, memory controller and power management unit.

In the trial, Arm claimed that Qualcomm should pay higher royalty rates for breaching the terms of its design subsidiary Nuvias license with Arm while producing new Snapdragon chips based on Nuvias Oryon technology.

Qualcomm claims that Oryon has 1 percent or less of Arm's original technology, and a U.S. federal court found that Qualcomm can use Nuvias technology in producing APs without paying additional royalty rates.

This came as a temporary relief for Samsung which used Oryon-based Snapdragon 8 Elite for its latest Galaxy S25 smartphones, but at the same time increased the likelihood of Arm pursuing more aggressive profit strategies, such as the 300 percent fee hike, after losing the suit.

A fee hike could deal a hefty blow to Samsungs in-house AP, the Exynos series, which uses Arms IP such as Arm v9 architecture.

The latest Exynos 2500 has already been facing questions due to its manufacturing yield, which refers to the ratio of good and error-free units to the total number of units produced. The chip was set to be produced at the Samsung foundrys 3-nanometer process and supposed to empower the Galaxy S25 series, but the company apparently failed to improve the process in time for the phones launch.

To address the yield problem, Samsung even considered outsourcing Exynos 2500s production to its foundry rival TSMC, but was rejected, according to a Jan. 15 report by tech media PhoneArena.

It is a really bad sign that Samsung is not using its own APs, even though its foundry business is suffering a loss, said Lee Jong-hwan, a professor at Sangmyung Universitys Department of System Semiconductor Engineering. Not using its in-house chipset means that the companys biggest strength as the total service provider is becoming its biggest weakness.

Industry watchers expect that a 300 percent increase in fees to Arm could force Samsung to withstand greater costs for developing the Exynos series down the road, and the company may become less committed to maintaining its development. This is especially so when comparing the costs of paying the quadrupled fees to Arm versus the expenses of using Qualcomm's Snapdragon, which will eventually become independent of Arms licensing.

Despite the challenges, Samsung seeks to improve the yield of Exynos 2500 in time to use it in the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip 7 series, which will debut in the latter half of this year Also, the company is reportedly developing Exynos 2600 for use as the AP for its upcoming smartphones.

Industry officials say the company is bound to be holding onto its in-house chipsets because of the cost advantages that Samsung has been enjoying as the worlds only total service provider which can design and fabricate chips and even produce end-devices such as smartphones.

In the third quarter of 2023, when Samsung used only Qualcomms chipsets for its Galaxy S23 series, the cost of purchasing APs from outside parties accounted for 18.1 percent of its total spending for smartphone parts and materials. The ratio declined to 16.6 percent in the third quarter of 2024, when Samsung used Exynos 2400 chipsets for the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus.

Qualcomms pricing strategy is also another reason for Samsung to continue making efforts on the Exynos series. Reportedly, Qualcomm has increased the price of Snapdragon 8 Elite between 20 to 30 percent, and U.S. media reports assume that Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 could see a significant price hike in 2025.

For Samsung, which maintained the prices of Galaxy S25 phones despite the increased expenses for purchasing APs, Exynos success is critical for the profitability of its smartphone business as well.

From Samsungs perspective, the current situation could be a conundrum, Lee said. Samsung is assumed to be exploring ways to address the situation, such as developing its own design technology or securing more IP through partnership design houses, but we all know that this is a challenging and time-consuming process.
The White House claimed victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the U.S. on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime U.S. partner.

Long close partners in anti-narcotics efforts, the U.S. and Colombia clashed Sunday over the deportation of migrants and imposed tariffs on each others goods in a show of what other countries could face if they intervene in the Trump administrations crackdown on illegal immigration. The White House held up the episode as a warning to other nations who might seek to impede his plans.

Earlier, the U.S. president had ordered visa restrictions, 25 percent tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, which would be raised to 50 percent in one week, and other retaliatory measures sparked by President Gustavo Petro's decision to reject two Colombia-bound U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants after Petro accused Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation. Petro also announced a retaliatory 25 percent increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods.

Trump said the measures were necessary because Petros decision jeopardized national security in the U.S. by blocking the deportation flights.

These measures are just the beginning, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a late Sunday statement that the Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay.

Leavitt said the tariff orders will be held in reserve, and not signed." But Leavitt said Trump would maintain visa restrictions on Colombian officials and enhanced customs inspections of goods from the country, until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

There was no immediate reaction from the Colombian government.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he was authorizing the visa restrictions on Colombian government officials and their families who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations." They were being imposed on top of the State Department's move to suspend the processing of visas at the U.S. Embassy in Colombias capital, Bogota.

Earlier in the day, Petro said his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the U.S. until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with dignity. Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.

A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves, Petro said. That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants... In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens."

After Trump's earlier tariff threat, Petro said in a post on X that he had ordered the foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the U.S. by 25 percent.

Colombia has traditionally been the U.S.s top ally in Latin America. But their relationship has strained since Petro, a former guerrilla, became Colombias first leftist president in 2022 and sought distance from the U.S.

Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the U.S. from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.

Colombia is also among the countries that last year began accepting U.S.-funded deportation flights from Panama.

The U.S. government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding aircraft and protocols used in deportations to Colombia.

This is a clear message we are sending that countries have an obligation to accept repatriation flights," a senior administration official told AP. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss issue publicly.

Rubio in a statement said Petro canceled his authorization for the flights when the aircraft were in the air.

Colombians emerged in recent years as a major presence on the U.S. border with Mexico, aided in part by a visa regime that allows them to easily fly to Mexico and avoid trekking though the treacherous Darien Gap. They ranked fourth with 127,604 arrests for illegal crossings during a 12-month period through September, behind Mexicans, Guatemalans and Venezuelans.

Mexico hasn't imposed visa restrictions on Colombians, as it has on Venezuelans, Ecuadoreans and Peruvians.

Petro's government in a statement later announced that the South American country's presidential aircraft had been made available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the U.S. military airplanes and guarantee them dignified conditions."

As part of a flurry of actions to make good on Trump's campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.

Two U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants removed from the U.S. touched down early Friday in Guatemala. That same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people.

In announcing what he called urgent and decisive retaliatory measures, Trump explained that he ordered the tariffs and A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on Colombian government officials, allies and supporters.

All Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government, Trump wrote will be subject to Visa Sanctions. He did not say to which party he was referring to or provide any additional details on the visa and travel restrictions.

Trump added that all Colombians will face enhanced customs inspections.

Trumps actions would seem to undercut his goal to reduce his country's trade deficit. Unlike Mexico or China, Colombia is one of the few countries with a trade deficit with the U.S., of around $1.4 billion, according to U.S. trade data.

Colombia is the U.S.s second-biggest buyer of corn and corn feed, according to the U.S. grains council, helping boost U.S. commodity exports from farm belt states like Iowa, Indiana and Nebraska to more than $733 million last year.

The U.S. export boom has been driven by a two-decade-old free trade agreement between the two countries, which have for long been close partners in the war on drugs. It is unclear if Trumps tariffs are allowed under the agreement, which contains a dispute mechanism to resolve trade fights.

Colombia is the U.S.s fourth-largest overseas supplier of crude oil, shipping about 209,000 barrels of oil per day last year, although booming domestic production has reduced the U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The South American country is also the U.S.s largest supplier of fresh cut flowers. (AP)
The recent kidnapping of a Chinese actor on the Thailand-Myanmar border has turned the spotlight on the international criminal gangs responsible for luring Chinese citizens abroad and forcing them to take part in telecoms scams.

Wang Xing was duped into flying to Thailand by a bogus casting agent on the pretext of taking part in a film shoot.

He was then taken to the border town of Mae Sot, where he was abducted and taken into Myanmar and then imprisoned in various compounds run by fraud gangs.

The publicity generated by his disappearance  largely thanks to his girlfriend's tireless campaigning on social media and support from celebrities  and his subsequent rescue has hit Thailand's tourist industry after many Chinese nationals cancelled their planned trips over Lunar New Year, one of the peak seasons for visitors.

But while Wang was freed many thousands of Chinese trafficking victims are still believed to be trapped in Myanmar, prompting questions on social media about what is being done to tackle the problem and help the victims.

Dozens of other posts have appeared on Chinese social media from people saying that friends and family members had disappeared in similar circumstances, and Wang said he was held in a building with dozens of other people. So far there has been no official word that they have been rescued.

Southeast Asia has become a major breeding ground for international criminal networks, including telecoms fraud gangs preying on Chinese citizens, because of lax border controls and law enforcement as well as their physical closeness to China.

Many of the gangs relocated from China after law enforcement started cracking down on their activities, and a key technique used by the scammers is targeting people with fake job offers, often promising much higher salaries than they could get at home.

The faltering Chinese economy, and associated problems such as low-paid, insecure jobs in the gig economy and rising personal debt  have increased the pool of potential victims.

A family member of one of these victims has posted a list of cases online, inviting other families to provide details of those who have fallen into the hands of the gangs. So far it has listed around 2,000 cases, most of whom were men under 30, with the youngest being just 15.

Myanmar is a key location, partly because of its shared border and partly because of the ongoing conflict between the military junta and armed rebel groups  some of them ethnic Chinese  that have allowed gangs to operate with relative impunity.

There is also a well-established trafficking network taking people from less developed areas of southwest China, including parts of Yunnan and Guangxi, through the mountains of Vietnam and Laos as well areas such as the Golden Triangle, a notorious hub for opium and organized crime.

Mae Sot, the Thai border town where Wang was smuggled into Myanmar, is another key trafficking hub.

China's shared borders and the role of ethnic Chinese crime syndicates makes the country a key player in tackling the problem.

Beijing has been involved in a difficult balancing act, trying to maintain relations with both the military government and ethnic minority rebel groups, including one that consists largely of ethnic Chinese fighters in the border province of Kokang.

China has also been actively mediating between the junta and rebel groups to maintain stability on its border and secure a ceasefire.

Beijing has recently pledged to work with neighboring countries to eradicate cyber fraud and related crimes such as human trafficking and online gambling and has conducted a number of major operations in recent years.

In 2023 it started working with local law enforcement across Southeast Asia to carry out joint operations targeting the gangs.

Meanwhile, China has also been working with Myanmar's military rulers to get them to withdraw their support from some of the main crime families operating in border regions such as Kokang, arresting many key figures and extraditing them to China.

They included Ming Xuechang  who ran the notorious Crouching Tiger Villa, a large telecoms scam compound in Kokang and died in custody, reportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot, in November 2023  and the heads of three other crime families who were extradited in January last year.

Late last year Beijing declared that the main telecoms fraud hubs operating near the China-Myanmar border had been eradicated and more than 53,000 suspects detained.

But many of the scammers have simply relocated to Myawaddy, where Wang was held, prompting fresh pledges of action last week by China, Myanmar and Thailand.

Read the full story at SCMP.
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Natasha Reid

A 27-year-old fitness instructor has been jailed for six and a half years for transporting almost 4 million worth of cannabis from Cavan to Dublin.

The Dublin man, who had no previous convictions, drove a hired van for the round trip after experiencing financial problems. The court heard he had no idea of the amount of drugs involved.

Jamie Smith, of Corbaliss Cottages in Donabate, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis on May 26th, 2023, in the Balbriggan area of North Dublin.

Det Garda Gavin OGara told the court that, as part of an intelligence-led operation, they received information that a van and an occupant were to be involved in the collection of drugs that day.

Surveillance was organised and Smith was seen collecting a rented van from a gym in Jamestown Business Park in Finglas. He headed towards the M3 and travelled to Cavan, where he parked outside a pub.

He got out of the van and spoke to another person, who got into the van and drove away. Smith walked to a nearby petrol station, where he spent about 30 minutes before returning to the van and driving back towards Dublin on back roads.

He was stopped by gardai when he rejoined the main roads near Balbriggan. A phone was seized from him, which showed he had been in communication with someone regarding the goods in the vehicle and his route back to Dublin.

He was arrested and, during interview, he spoke about his outgoings and that he could not do personal training at the time.

I got offered this, to drive the van, a one-off payment, he said. My job is what I love, helping people lose weight. I was just stupid. Have a look on my Instagram: JS Fitness.

Det Gda OGara said that 186 kilos of cannabis herb and 291 solid bars of cannabis resin were found in the back of the van. They had a value of just under 3.9 million.

Under cross examination by the defence, the detective said that in his own opinion, Smith was not controlling the whole operation.

Defence counsel told Judge Martin Nolan that his client had found himself in difficult financial circumstances, and would not have had any idea of the amount of drugs involved.

He also said that Smith had ADHD, and that this would have caused him to have a degree of impulsivity and lack of self-regulation, beyond which other people would have.

Judge Nolan said he was satisfied that he could depart from the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in this case, due to Smiths cooperation and early plea.

He noted that he had a good work history, and agreed with Smiths probation officer that he was unlikely to reoffend.

It seems hes a likeable man. I have many, many letters on his behalf before me, he said, before imposing a sentence of six and a half years. I think thats the most lenient I can be, said the judge.

Smith and a number of his supporters became emotional as he was led away to begin his sentence.
LAOIS Independent Republican TD Brian Stanley said the Junction at the Mountrath end of Castletown needs public lighting as a matter of urgency.

Deputy Stanley said: The Junction at the Mountrath end of the village is in complete darkness. This poses a real danger for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists.

In contrast, the junction at the Pike of Rushall end of the village is very well lit up.

Deputy Stanley said: Numerous residents have complained to me about this. I have raised the matter with Laois County Council and since then it has surveyed the area and has agreed that public lighting is badly needed there.

The Portlaoise based TD said, to date on the matter. the council has completed a full Topographical Survey. Lighting design has been completed and a quotation for the work has been requested from a lighting contractor.

I am anxious that adequate lighting is erected in the vicinity of this junction and that it is made safe for the residents of Castletown, said Deputy Stanley.
Kenneth Fox

Over 682 patients were being treated on trolleys, chairs or in other inappropriate bed spaces in Irish hospitals on Monday morning, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

University Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded hospital with 98 people without beds followed by University Hospital Galway with 80 people on trollies.

INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said: The number of patients being treated without a bed in Irish hospitals is very concerning and does not bode well for the St.Brigids day bank holiday weekend ahead.

"Dangerous levels of overcrowding is not confined to one or two hospitals, we are seeing extremely high number of patients being treated in inappropriate spaces right across the country.

The HSE needs to immediately outline how it will be planning to discharge patients ahead of the weekend including the rostering on of senior clinical decision-makers across all sites.

The sheer number of patients on trolleys is not helped by the fact that practically all hospitals are running short because of the HSE recruitment freeze which is having a detrimental impact on patient and staff safety.

We are continuing to hear from our members that vulnerable patients being are being placed on infection control and other high-risk wards, despite nursing staff identifying significant risks. This practice needs to end."

She said it was clear there was no let up for patients and nursing staff trying to care safely in impossible conditions.
Prayagraj, January 27: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to make a one-day visit to Prayagraj today to take part in the Mahakumbh Mela 2025, as per a release from the Mahakumbh Media Centre. According to the release, Shah is scheduled to arrive in PrayaTriveni graj at 11:25 AM on Monday, following which he will take a holy bath at the Sangam. He will then visit the Bade Hanuman Ji Temple and Abhayvat.

Later, the minister will proceed to Juna Akhara, where he will meet the Maharaj and other saints of the Akhara and have lunch with them. His schedule also includes visits to Guru Sharananand Ji's Ashram, where he will meet Guru Sharananand Ji and Govind Giri Ji Maharaj, and conclude his visit with a meeting with the Shankaracharyas of Sringeri, Puri, and Dwaraka. The Home Minister will depart from Prayagraj for Delhi in the evening, the release stated. Maha Kumbh Mela 2025: Sangam Sees Surge of Devotees in Prayagraj for Mauni Amavasya Snan on January 29.

Meanwhile, Yog Guru Baba Ramdev conducted a free yoga therapy and meditation camp at MahaKumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj. 7th Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche arrived at Yog Guru Baba Ramdev's free yoga therapy and meditation camp. The Mahakumbh is held every 12 years and a huge turnout of devotees is expected in Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26.

Mahakumbh, which commenced on January 13 with the auspicious Paush Purnima, has already witnessed an overwhelming turnout, with over 110 million devotees taking a holy dip in the sacred waters of Prayagraj during the first 14 days on Sunday. According to tradition, pilgrims flock to the Sangam--the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati (now extinct) rivers--to take the holy dip believed to absolve sins and grant moksha (liberation). Maha Kumbh Mela 2025: Revamped AI Chatbot Assists Pilgrims With Parking, Food Courts and Hospitals, MeitY Integrates Bhashini for Multilingual Support.

Rooted in Sanatan Dharma, the event signifies a celestial alignment that creates an auspicious period for spiritual cleansing and devotion. The Mahakumbh Mela is expected to host over 45 crore visitors, marking a historic occasion for India.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday stayed parts of the Madras High Court's December 28 order, including adverse remarks against the Chennai Police Commissioner and other officials, regarding the leak of the FIR and the identity of the survivor in the alleged sexual assault of an Anna University student.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma also stayed, until further orders, the High Court's directive to conduct a departmental inquiry into the FIR leak.

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The court stayed the portions of the High Court order, including paragraphs 20, 21, 23, and 29(9), where lapses by the police were noted. In paragraph 29(9), the High Court had directed the state and the Home Secretary to initiate a departmental inquiry against officials responsible for lapses, negligence, and dereliction of duty under relevant service rules.

The Supreme Court also issued a notice on Tamil Nadu's plea seeking to expunge the adverse remarks made by the High Court concerning police lapses.

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The bench clarified that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed for the case would continue its investigation.

During the hearing, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra, representing the state government, argued that the leak of the FIR and survivor's details was due to a "technical glitch" in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), managed by the Centre.

Rohatgi explained that the FIR was inadvertently exposed due to the migration from the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. He further noted that the state and police were not opposing the High Court's decision to constitute an all-women SIT for the case.

The High Court had earlier criticised the Commissioner of Police for holding a press conference on the case without prior government sanction, stating that such an event should have been avoided. It also described the FIR leak as a serious lapse by the police, which caused trauma to the victim and her family.

Additionally, the High Court criticised the insensitive wording of the FIR, which it said encouraged victim-blaming.

The alleged sexual assault of a second-year engineering student occurred inside the Anna University campus in Chennai on December 24, 2024. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI): As temperatures in Delhi plummeted on Monday, hundreds of vulnerable people have sought refuge in night shelter homes across the national capital. With the cold wave intensifying, these shelters are witnessing an influx of individuals and families in need of warmth and protection from the biting chill.

The minimum temperature recorded in the national capital on Monday was 7.8 degrees Celsius. A thin layer of fog covered Delhi this morning.

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Several flights were also delayed due to fog at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted foggy conditions in the national capital for the next five days starting from January 28. The minimum temperature will range from 7-11 degrees Celsius.

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A layer of dense fog was seen at Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad on Monday creating visibility problems.

Further, a large number of people thronged Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya amid a thin layer of fog in the area.

The weather department also pointed out that dense foggy conditions are very likely in isolated pockets of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Assam and Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura on January 28.

Meanwhile, the air quality in Delhi on January 26 was recorded in the "poor" category as AQI recorded at 216, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

The air quality in Delhi on Saturday at 8 am was recorded in the "moderate" category, with a reading of 191.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

The temperature has dropped since Thursday, when the city recorded a low of 11 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, large number of people gathered at the Triveni Sangam at Mahakumbh in Prayagraj to take a dip.

The IMD has predicted a minimum temperature of 8-10 degrees Celsius in Prayagraj for three days starting from January 28.

The Mahakumbh is held every 12 years. Rooted in Sanatan Dharma, the event signifies a celestial alignment that creates an auspicious period for spiritual cleansing and devotion.

The Mahakumbh Mela is expected to host over 45 crore visitors, marking a historic occasion for 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)
New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI): Bhartiya Janta Party ( BJP) MP Manoj Tiwari campaigned in Shiv Vihar and urged people to vote for the party's candidate, Mohan Singh Bisht, in the upcoming Delhi Elections.

Tiwari emphasized that Mustafabad's support will be crucial for BJP's success in forming the next government in Delhi. He likened the results of this election to the recent Maharashtra elections, signalling a strong showing by the party.

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Speaking to ANI, Tiwari said, "This Shiv Vihar rally is an example of how Mustafabad will contribute a strong seat to BJP forming the government in Delhi...We are requesting everyone to benefit from the policies promised by PM Narendra Modi by helping Mohan Singh Bisht win... The results of this election will be just like Maharashtra elections."

Earlier in the day, BJP leader Shazia Ilmi claimed that the people of Delhi will chase away Aam Admi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, paving the way for the BJP to regain power.

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The elections will be held on February 5. The counting of votes is set for February 8. A total of 699 candidates are competing for the 70 Assembly seats in the National Capital.

The Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and failed to win any seats.

In contrast, AAP dominated the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections, winning 67 and 62 seats, respectively, out of a total of 70 seats, while BJP secured only three and eight seats in these elections. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 27 (ANI): A surge in devotees visiting the Ram Janmbhoomi Temple in Ayodhya has led authorities to tighten security measures. The influx is attributed to the ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, where devotees take a holy dip before visiting the Ram temple.

To accommodate the growing crowd, special arrangements have been made, including expanding capacity and ensuring devotees' safety during the cold weather.

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"The number of people coming to Ayodhya is continuously increasing and the main reason for this is the Maha Kumbh Mela organized in Prayagraj, a large number of people are coming here after taking a holy dip there... ATS and commandos are also deployed. All arrangements have been made for the devotees," said Balramachari Dubey, SP (Security), Shri Ram Janmabhoomi to ANI.

Meanwhile, devotees expressed their joy and blessings after visiting the temple."It feels very divine and grand. I'm very happy. We came here as a group of ten people. Earlier, we went to Prayagraj to attend the Mahakumbh. The arrangements were good there. We didn't encounter any problems," said Hitesh Jain, a devotee from Maharashtra.

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Earlier, Ayodhya Commissioner Gaurav Dayal announced that special arrangements are being made to manage the large number of devotees visiting the Ram Janmbhoomi temple. Dayal said that large crowds are expected after the Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya on January 29.

Arrangements have been made to manage the growing crowd and expand the capacity to accommodate devotees and ensure their safety during the cold weather.

Speaking to ANI, Dayal said, "The devotees visiting the Mahakumbh have been visiting Ayodhya temple afterwards. Especially after the holy baths, a huge influx of crowds is being witnessed here. We are expecting large crowds after the Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya on January 29 as well."

After the successful completion of Paush Purnima and Makar Sankranti, the Yogi Adityanath government has now shifted its complete focus to the preparations for the Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya, scheduled for January 29, according to an official statement.

To strengthen the arrangements, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and Uttar Pradesh DGP Prashant Kumar conducted a visit to the Mahakumbh area last Thursday. During their visit, they chaired a high-level review meeting at the ICC auditorium.

The Chief Secretary Manoj Singh noted that the arrangements and facilities during the previous festivals were commendable but emphasized the need for further refinement.

He stated that preparations must also account for the anticipated visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Mahakumbh, along with a possible cabinet meeting.

Singh instructed that all preparations should be completed promptly and directed that sector magistrates, police, and officers from all departments ensure their presence in all sectors.

Maha Kumbh, which began on January 13, will continue until February 26. The next key bathing dates include January 29 (Mauni Amavasya - Second Shahi Snan), February 3 (Basant Panchami - Third Shahi Snan), February 12 (Maghi Purnima), and February 26 (Maha Shivaratri). (ANI)

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New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI): Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar surrendered before the jail authorities on January 24 as the operating doctor was not available till January 30.

Delhi High Court on January 22 granted interim bail to Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who had to undergo cataract surgery at AIIMS in Delhi on January 24.

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He is serving a life sentence in the Unnao Rape case and ten years imprisonment in a custodial death case.

The court also had said that if in any case, it doesn't take place on January 24, he shall surrender before the concerned jail authorities on the same day.

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Senior advocate N Hariharan submitted before the Division bench headed by Justice Navin Chawla that Sengar had already surrendered on January 24 as the operating doctor was not available.

We will move the court again on January 28 and 29 to seek medical bail for cataract surgery.

The bench asked the counsel to argue on appeal and listed the matter in February 2025.

The bench had granted the relief on furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 50000 and one surety in the like amount.

The High Court had said that Sengar will be released from Jail on January 23 and get himself admitted to AIIMS on January 24 for surgery.

The high court had also directed that one police constable shall be stationed outside his private ward. Only two visitors would be allowed to see him at a time.

Senior advocate Sameer Vasisth argued for Sengar. It was submitted that he was advised to undergo a cataract surgery at AIIMS which is scheduled for January 24. But his medical bail expired on January 20 and he was directed to surrender by the coordinate bench.

It was also argued that the appellant is required to undergo the cataract surgery.

On the other hand, advocate Mehmood Pracha appeared for the victim and opposed the interim bail application. (ANI)

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New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI): The Ministry of Culture and Sangeet Natak Akademi's magnificent performance, 'Jayati Jai Mamah Bharatam' (JJMB), mesmerized spectators at the Republic Day Parade 2025, creating a cultural extravaganza that celebrated the rich and colourful legacy of folk and tribal forms of Bharat.

This spectacular ensemble featured over 5000 folk and tribal artists representing artistic heritage, youth power and Nari Shakti drawn from the length and breadth of India representing the varied tapestry of culture and diversity of India's heritage, the Ministry of Culture said in a press release.

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Over 5,000 artists performed more than 50 folk and tribal dance forms, showcasing India's rich heritage on a global stage. The choreography celebrated the themes of Viksit Bharat, Virasat bhi Vikas bhi, and Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.

The event captivated millions with its grandeur and was recognized by the Guinness World Records as 'The Largest Indian Folk Variety Dance' a milestone that underscored the global significance of India's cultural wealth.

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The performance was a vibrant mosaic of over 50 folk and tribal dance forms, seamlessly blending regional identities into a unified expression of national pride. The dance forms celebrated local traditions and customs, ranging from a focus on agricultural practices and harvest rituals, inspired by the natural and animal world, marking auspicious occasions and new beginnings, and victory of good over evil.

Artists from Arunachal Pradesh brought the mystique of their Snow Lion and Monpa Mask Dances to life, while the exuberant Bihu from Assam and the energetic Kalbelia from Rajasthan showcased the dynamism of India's folk traditions. The audience was spellbound by the mesmerizing Padayani from Kerala and the majestic Chhau from Bengal and Odisha, which exemplified the storytelling brilliance of Indian dance forms.

The Badhai folk dance of the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, the Mentok Flower Dance marked auspicious occasions and heralded new beginnings. Each performance reflected the cultural identity of its region, combining authentic movements, music, and costumes to create a truly immersive & captivating experience.

"The performance's grandeur extended to its symbolic representation of India's unity in diversity. The seamless blending of regional dance forms and musical traditions highlighted the interconnectedness of India's cultural landscape. From the exuberant movements of Bhangra to the graceful steps of Garba, from the intricate storytelling of Yakshagana to the rhythmic dynamism of Sambalpuri, each performance honoured the unique heritage of its origin while contributing to a collective celebration of India's cultural legacy. The dynamic use of floral elements and ceremonial props, such as Ambala kavadi and pooja kavadi, further emphasized the spiritual and celebratory undertones of the event, uniting traditional art forms with symbolic gestures of devotion and joy," the release stated.

Integral to the success of "Jayati Jai Mamah Bharatam" was the meticulous attention to detail in costumes and props. Artists adorned themselves in their traditional attire, featuring vibrant colors, intricate embroidery, and region-specific patterns. Authentic jewelry, ornate headgear and accessories added to the visual richness of the performance, while props such as spears, swords, kavadi, and floral arrangements brought depth and authenticity to the choreography.

The National School of Drama's team of experts Aruna Kumar Malik, Parag Sharma, Nalini Joshi under the leadership of Director, Chittaranjan Tripathy played a pivotal role in crafting over 60 unique props, including ceremonial items, masks, muppets and animal frames, further enriching the visual spectrum of the performance.

These elements were specifically designed to complement the choreography, creating a seamless visual narrative that celebrated both individual regional identities and a collective national spirit. The spectators spontaneously cheered and interacted with the muppets and animal props.

The musical composition 'Jayati Jai Mamah Bharatam', written by Subhas Sehgal, composed by Shankar Mahadevan, with voice-over by Harish Bhimani provided the thematic foundation for this historic performance. The music masterfully bridged India's traditional sounds with contemporary harmonies, creating a soundscape that resonated with audiences of all generations and pulsated through the entire length of Kartavya Path as a beacon of hope and positivity.

This artistic presentation has been conceptualized and curated by the Chairman, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sandhya Purecha and supported by co-choreographers Subhash Nakashe, Ankur Pathan, Kalpesh Dalal, Sanjay Sharma and Ranjit Gogoi.

"The heralding of the Republic Day 2025 Parade was done by a group of 300 artists with an indigenous mix of martial instruments that resonated with the melody, beat and hopes of a billion hearts of Indians. The stirring rendition of 'Saare Jahan Se Accha' skillfully blended traditional and contemporary sounds using instruments such as dhols, bansuris, shehnais, and mridangams. The harmonious interplay of these instruments resonated deeply with the audience, evoking a profound sense of unity and pride. The heralding instruments like Ranashingha, Tutari, and shankh added an auspicious and regal start to the event, creating a rhythm that energized the parade from its very first note," the release added.

Adding to the grandeur and festive mood, 'Jayati Jai Mamah Bharatam etched its name in history by setting a Guinness World Record for 'The Largest Indian Folk Variety Dance'. The announcement of this historic achievement was made by Guinness officials during a special ceremony held at Pusa, New Delhi this afternoon.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Culture and Tourism along with Arunish Chawla, Secretary, Ministry of Culture and other officials of Ministry of Culture received the certificate on behalf of all the artists. (ANI)

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Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], January 27 (ANI): Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme, the Gujarat government is actively providing financial assistance to farmers for the installation of solar pumps. Under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the scheme has been implemented extensively, resulting in the installation of over 7,700 off-grid solar pumps by farmers in the state by December 2024. The government has disbursed subsidies exceeding Rs 218 crore, covering approximately 70 per cent of the cost. These off-grid solar pumps are not only helping farmers save electricity but are also contributing to environmental sustainability, said a release from Gujarat CMO on Monday.

As per the release, the PM-KUSUM scheme, launched by the central government in 2019, aims to ensure regular availability of water and electricity for irrigation while promoting the use of solar energy. Leveraging this initiative, numerous farmers are now using pollution-free electricity for agricultural purposes. Gujarat has been sanctioned to install 12,382 standalone off-grid solar pumps by March 2026 under the scheme.

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Vijayaben V. Asodariya, a beneficiary from Hadmatiya (Khakhra) village in Bhesan Taluka, Junagadh, shared her experience, stating, "Once installed, this pump operates for 8-10 hours a day without requiring electricity. It has been maintenance-free for five years and has greatly boosted crop yield and income. Additionally, being powered by solar energy, it is completely pollution-free," the release mentioned.

According to the release, Narmada district leads with over 5100 solar pumps installed under this scheme. In terms of the number of solar pumps installed, the top ten districts following Narmada are Valsad with over 460, Banaskantha with over 450, Dang with over 320, Mahisagar with over 260, Gir Somnath with over 220, Chhota Udepur with over 180, Tapi with over 160, Kutch with over 130, and Navsari with over 100 pumps. (ANI)

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Malda (West Bengal) [India], January 27 (ANI): Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, along with several other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, took out a rally in Malda on Sunday to celebrate the 76th Republic Day.

Visuals from the spot showed scores of people carrying the national flag, marching and chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Jai Shri Ram."

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Speaking to ANI, Adhikari said that every Indian citizen stands with the BSF, except Mamata Banerjee, who, during her visits to Murshidabad and Malda, had advised people to stay away from the border fencing area and not cooperate with the BSF.

"Every Indian citizen is with the BSF, except Mamata Banerjee. Mamata Banerjee visited Murshidabad and Malda and told people not to go near the fencing area at the border and not to cooperate with the BSF. The entire public is with the BSF and with the country's Prime Minister," Adhikari said.

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India observed its 76th Republic Day with stunning tableaux and mesmerizing cultural performances at Kartavya Path. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was the chief guest at this year's Republic Day parade. The Border Security Force (BSF) celebrated the 76th Republic Day with a grand Beating Retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar, Punjab, on Sunday.

The celebration of the 76th Republic Day extended beyond borders on Sunday, as Indian security forces spread the spirit of unity and goodwill by exchanging sweets with their Bangladeshi and Nepali counterparts.

At the zero-point of the Fulbari Indo-Bangladesh Border in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri, the Border Security Force (BSF) shared sweets and greetings with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel on the occasion of Republic Day.

From missiles to advanced weapon systems, the Indian Army showcased its variety of military equipment on Kartavya Path. The Indian Air Force (IAF) put on a breathtaking show at the 76th Republic Day celebrations with a dazzling air display that left the audience in awe. (ANI)

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Imphal (Manipur) [India], January 27 (ANI): Indian Army, Assam Rifles, Manipur Police, and other security forces have successfully recovered 35 weapons, ammunition, and warlike stores in a series of joint operations. The recoveries were made from various districts in Manipur, including Thoubal, Tengnoupal, Bishnupur, Churchandpur, Imphal West, Noney, Jiribam, and Kakching.

"On January 19, acting on specific intelligence, the Indian Army, in coordination with Assam Rifles and Manipur Police launched a joint operation in Lungkhongjang ridge North of Bungte Chiru village in Bishnupur district and recovered one modified sniper rifle, five 9 mm pistols, two single barrel rifles, grenades, ammunition and war like stores," as per a Pro Defence Guwahati release.

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Similarly, on January 20, based on specific inputs, Indian Army launched another operation in near Khuga river and fringes of Dampi Ridge located at border areas of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts in collaboration with CRPF and Manipur Police and recovered one 9mm Sub Machine Gun, one .303 rifle, one pistol, one single barrel breach loaded gun, one country made mortar, one grenade launcher, grenades ammunition and war like stores.

"In Tengnoupal district, Assam Rifles on receiving specific intelligence of attempts of infiltration on January 20, along the Indo-Myanmar Borde near Yangoupokpi, laid ambushes along the likely infiltration route and apprehended a cadre. On questioning the arrested individual stated his affiliation with the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL)," the release read.

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An intelligence-based operation of presence of arms and ammunition launched by Assam Rifles in general area Maohing, Noney District on January 20, resulted in the recovery of a 9mm country-made pistol, one .303 rifle, one improvised projectile launcher, grenades, ammunition and war like stores.

"On January 23, intelligence-based joint operations were conducted by Assam Rifles and Manipur Police in general area of Ngamukhong Fungi Ching (Leingangpokpi) in Thoubal District, which resulted in recovery of one country-made pistol, one single-bore country-made rifle, ten No. 36 hand grenades ammunition and war like stores," the release read.

On the same day, Assam Rifles, in a joint operation with Manipur Police including Commando Teams, launched in the area between Heirok and Wangjing in Thoubal district, apprehended two KCP(PWG) cadres along with two 9mm pistols, ammunition and war-like stores.

"In the Jiribam district a cordon and search operation launched by Assam Rifles and Manipur Police in the general area between Zairawn and Uchatol in Jiribam district on January 23-25 resulted in the recovery of one carbine, one single barrel gun, grenades and ammunition," the release read.

In Chandel district, the Assam Rifles conducted a successful operation on January 24, between Gamngai and Pheijang and recovered one 9mm Pistol, one locally made Mortar (Pompi), one Improvised Explosive Device (IED, (approx 1 kg), grenades, ammunition and ear like stores.

"On the same day in Imphal West district, Assam Rifles, along with Manipur Police launched a joint search operation in the general area of Potsangbam Khullen Hill Range in Imphal West District and recovered, one self-loading rifle, one carbine machine gun, one .32 calibre country-made pistol, two 51mm mortars, grenades and ammunition," the release read.

In Kakching district, Assam Rifles in a joint operation with Manipur Police launched an intelligence based joint operation in the general area Thangjao Mamang Ching, on 25 January 2025 and recovered one Modified .303 Sniper Rifle, Airgun Rifle, Grenades, ammunition and war like stores.

"On the same day in Imphal West District, Assam Rifles and Manipur Police launched a joiunt search operation in general area Sekmai (Tendongyan) and recovered one .303 rifle, one 9mm pistol, one .32 caliber pistol, hand grenades and ammunition.

The apprehended individuals, recovered weapons and other items recovered in the operations have been handed over to Manipur Police," the release read.

Violence erupted in Manipur between the Meitei and the Kuki communities after a rally by All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3, 2023, following the Manipur High Court order directing the state to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list. (ANI)

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Wayanad (Kerala), Jan 27 (PTI) A 'man-eater' tiger that killed a woman when she had gone to collect coffee beans in a forest-fringed estate two days ago was found dead in Kerala's high-range district of Wayanad in the early hours of Monday, forest officials said.

The death of the woman triggered widespread protest in the area, forcing the state government to declare the tiger as a man-eater on Sunday and schedule it for culling.

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Forest officials who were engaged in combing operation day and night to spot the animal, found it dead with deep injuries on its neck inside Pilakavu Estate by 2.30 am on Monday.

After verifying the stripe pattern of the carcass, officials confirmed that it was the same tiger that killed Radha, a 46-year-old woman, on Saturday and triggered widespread scare in the Pancharakolli area.

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Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) Northern Circle, KS Deepa, said the exact cause of this tiger's death could be ascertained only after a postmortem.

She said the forest officials were constantly monitoring its movements by examining the visuals of cameras installed in various spots in the area.

An attempt was made to tranquilise the big cat in the wee hours of Monday, but it didn't succeed, she said. Later that tiger was found dead in the Pilakavu area, she told reporters here.

Authorities had imposed a curfew in certain areas of Mananthavady Municipality on Sunday, following the fatal tiger attack on the woman.

Forest Minister A K Saseendran declared the tiger a man-eater following a high-level meeting at the district collectorate on Sunday.

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Balrampur (UP), Jan 27 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey has claimed that pilgrims visiting the Devi Patan Dham here will soon have to cough up a fee and accused the BJP of "profiteering in the name of religion."

The Devi Patan Dham here is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths.

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Pandey, who was in Balrampur on Sunday evening to attend the death anniversary of former minister Shiv Pratap Yadav, said, "Under the guise of religion, the BJP is preparing to snatch people's rights and harass them".

"Soon, visitors to the Devi Patan temple will be required to purchase tickets for darshan. A law for this has already been passed," he claimed.

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"Ayodhya is being sold off. Land is being taken away from the poor and handed over to large industrialists. Big hotels are being built there, and extortion is taking place in the name of development. In South India, where the BJP has little presence, it is bringing people from there to temples for political and economic gains," he said.

"The son of Ram Mandir Construction Committee chairman Nripendra Mishra was given a BJP ticket from Shravasti, but the people of Shravasti and Ayodhya rejected the BJP. Today, the BJP is running around in distress, both in Uttar Pradesh and across the country," he said.

Responding to BJP's jibes at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's participation in the Kumbh Mela, Pandey said, "Regardless of what the BJP says, Akhilesh Yadav has always been genuinely concerned about the welfare of the poor, backward classes, Dalits, minorities, and the oppressed. His commitment to their upliftment remains unwavering."

On the Milkipur assembly bypoll on February 5, Pandey accused the BJP of relying on administrative machinery instead of genuine public support.

"The BJP is not contesting the Milkipur election; it is being fought by officials on their behalf. Had the BJP contested it fairly, their position would have been clear. Like the previous bypoll, they are attempting to win using bureaucratic influence. However, this time, the people of Milkipur are firmly standing against them, and BJP is set to face a humiliating defeat."

Reiterating his party's support for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi assembly elections, Pandey emphasised that INDIA bloc is standing against the BJP with strength.

"The Samajwadi Party is supporting the AAP in Delhi because it is the AAP that can defeat the BJP there. The INDIA alliance stands strong against BJP across the country," he said.

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Kannada film stunt artist and stunt director KH Raghu, popularly known as Hassan Raghu, has been honoured with the Padma Shri by the central government. He is an expert in various martial arts, including Kalaripayattu and gymnastics. In a conversation with ANI, he expressed his gratitude to the government for the award, saying, "I am thankful to the government for recognising my talent and giving this honour. I have been teaching martial arts to students." Padma Awards 2025: Centre to Confer 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards; Check Full List Here.

Raghu has worked as a stunt director in more than a hundred films and was awarded the special award of the state government in 1984-85 for the stunt direction of the film Accident.

Kannada Stunt Icon Hassan Raghu Honoured with Padma Shri

Glad to note that Shri Dr. Hassan Raghu, a distinguished expert in traditional martial arts, has been honored with the Padma Shri award. His remarkable contributions to action choreography, not just in Sandalwood but also in Hollywood films, are truly inspiring.#PeoplesPadma pic.twitter.com/qnNBRK9aNj  Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) January 26, 2025

"I have been working in films for about 20 years and also worked in theatre," he added.

He is currently running a stunt art school in Bengaluru and teaching martial arts.

On the eve of Republic Day, the central government on Saturday announced the list of recipients for the Padma Shri Awards 2025.

The Padma awards, among the country's highest civilian honours, are conferred in three categories - Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.

The awards are given in various disciplines, such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine and literature among others.

The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. Padma Awards 2025: Suzuki Motors Former CEO Osamu Suzuki Gets Padma Vibhushan, Sushil Modi Among Padma Bhushan Awardees; 139 Individuals From All Walks of Life To Be Awarded.

These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year. 23 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 13 posthumous awardees, as per the Ministry of Home Affairs press release.
Balochistan [Pakistan], January 27 (ANI): Paank, the human rights wing of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), strongly condemned the extrajudicial killing of Pindok, son of Somar, by Pakistani security forces in Mazarabad of Awaran district's Mashkai in Balochistan.

According to the statement shared by Paank, Pindok was abducted on January 14, 2025, along with two others, Shoaib and Ayoub, and was subjected to severe torture before being killed.

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It further said that Ayoub and Shoaib were released earlier. However, Pindok's body was handed over to his family on January 25. This incident highlights the pervasive human rights abuses in Balochistan, including enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings.

Paank urged the international community to take action to ensure justice for the Baloch people and hold the Pakistani government responsible.

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In the post, Paank highlighted that this heinous act showcases the widespread violations of human rights in Balochistan, which include extrajudicial executions, torture, and enforced disappearances. In addition, intentional internet shutdowns are used to quiet victims and censor evidence.

Previously, Paank published a study detailing grave violations of human rights in Balochistan in December 2024. The report details five extrajudicial deaths and 22 examples of enforced disappearances, primarily attributable to Pakistani intelligence and military services, The Balochistan Post reported.

The disappearances were spread across six districts. Paank also expressed concerns that the true number of disappearances may be higher, as many families are too fearful of retribution to report the abductions, The Balochistan Post reported.

The report pointed to a pervasive atmosphere of fear, with numerous individuals choosing silence over speaking out against the authorities, The Balochistan Post reported. In addition to the disappearances, the report highlighted five extrajudicial killings, which Paank attributes to Pakistani forces.

Among the victims were Naveed Hameed and Zareef Umar, who were reportedly killed in Kech, while Abdul Hameed, Zakir, and Dil Jan lost their lives in drone strikes carried out in Panjgur. Paank noted that the killings are part of a broader pattern of state-led violence in the region, The Balochistan Post reported.

Paank demanded that these abuses end right away and called for an investigation into Pindok's murder. It also demanded restoration of the internet connectivity in the area.

In a post on X, Paank wrote, "Extrajudicial killing of Pindok, son of Somar Paank condemns the extrajudicial killing of Pindok, son of Somar, by Pakistani security forces in Mazarabad, Mashkai, district Awaran, Balochistan. Abducted alongside Shoaib, son of Ghulam Rasool, and Ayoub, son of Dilmurad, on January 14, 2025, Pindok was subjected to severe torture before his killing. His body was handed over to his family on January 25, while Shoaib and Ayoub had been released earlier."

"This brutal act highlights the pervasive human rights abuses in Balochistan, including enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings, compounded by deliberate internet shutdowns to suppress evidence and silence victims. Paank calls for an immediate halt to these practices, an independent investigation into Pindok's killing, and the restoration of internet access in the region. The international community must act to hold the Pakistani authorities accountable and ensure justice for the Baloch people," it added. (ANI)

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Halle [Germany], January 27 (ANI): American tech billionaire Elon Musk surprised many by addressing the campaign launch for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Saturday, as tens of thousands of people across the country protested against the rise of the controversial group, CNN reported.

Speaking via live video to an audience of approximately 4,500 AfD supporters in Halle, Musk expressed his strong support for the party ahead of Germany's snap elections on February 23, calling it the country's "best hope."

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Musk appeared alongside AfD leader Alice Weidel, the party's candidate for Chancellor, and echoed AfD's nationalist sentiments, emphasising that "people take pride in Germany and being German." The statement was met with rapturous applause from the crowd. Musk also discussed immigration, a central issue in the election, warning against the dangers of "multiculturalism that dilutes everything" and calling for the preservation of national identity.

Germany's upcoming elections were triggered after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence in December, resulting in the collapse of his coalition government.

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The AfD, recently making history as the first far-right party to win a state election since the Nazi era, has gained momentum in national polls. However, its heavy anti-immigrant policies have alienated mainstream parties, all of which have ruled out any collaboration with the AfD, reported CNN.

Protests against the AfD's rise were widespread over the weekend. In Berlin, demonstrators gathered at the Brandenburg Gate, singing anti-fascist songs and holding banners denouncing the party. Similar protests were held in other cities, including Cologne, where tens of thousands of people participated in marches against far-right extremism. Climate activist Luisa Neubauer addressed the crowds, highlighting the dangers posed by the AfD's rhetoric and policies, which she argued threaten societal cohesion and environmental progress.

Musk's growing involvement in European politics has drawn criticism, particularly from German leaders. Government officials have accused him of interfering in the country's democratic process after he publicly endorsed the AfD and attacked Scholz. In the weeks leading up to the campaign launch, Musk labeled Scholz an "incompetent fool" and called for his resignation.

He has also compared Germany's political climate to that of the United States, urging voters to embrace change in the same way many did by supporting Donald Trump in 2016.

The tech billionaire's endorsement of AfD has sparked backlash, with government officials warning of its potential implications. Social Democratic Party (SPD) co-leader Lars Klingbeil accused Musk of meddling in Germany's elections and compared his actions to those of Russian President Vladimir Putin, CNN reported.

Klingbeil argued that both are attempting to destabilise democracy and weaken Germany. Similarly, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz criticised Musk's comments as an unprecedented intrusion in the affairs of an allied nation.

Despite the scrutiny, Musk has continued to voice his support for populist movements in Europe, claiming that the AfD is best positioned to address the frustrations of German voters. During his address on Saturday, he highlighted the global significance of Germany's election, stating, "I think it could decide the entire fate of Europe, maybe the fate of the world." (ANI)

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New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI): The Ministry of External Affairs has congratulated all the Padma Awardees from abroad who are being awarded for their outstanding contribution in various fields.

"Commemorating excellence & contributions to society. Congratulations to our distinguished friends from abroad on being selected for Padma Awards 2025 by President Droupadi Murmu for their outstanding contribution in various fields," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated in a post on X.

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https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1883502289702535309

Osamu Suzuki (Posthumous) of Japan was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in Trade and Industry category

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Vinod Dham from the US received the Padma Bhushan in the Science and Engineering category.

A total of 8 Padma Shri awardees include Ajay V Bhatt and Sethuraman Panchanathan from the US and Chetan E Chitnis from France, who have been awarded in the Science and Engineering category.

Stephen Knapp, Nitin Nohria from the US and Arvind Sharma from Canada were also awarded in the Literature and Education category.

Jonas Masetti from Brazil has been awarded the Padma Shri in 'Spiritualism', while Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah from Kuwait bagged the Padma Shri in the field of Medicine.

The Padma awards, among the country's highest civilian honours, are conferred in three categories - Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.

'Padma Vibhushan' is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; 'Padma Bhushan' for distinguished service of high order and 'Padma Shri' for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.

These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year.

The Centre announced the list of recipients for the prestigious Padma Awards on Saturday, with President Droupadi Murmu's approval for 139 honorees.

The list includes 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri awards. Among the awardees are 23 women, and the list features 10 distinguished individuals from the Foreigners, NRI, PIO, and OCI categories, as well as 13 posthumous awardees.

The recognition spans a wide array of fields, honouring exceptional contributions to the nation's progress and global standing. The awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kathmandu [Nepal], January 27 (ANI): Nepal's Rupandehi District Court on Sunday ordered the release of Nepal's cooperative scam accused former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane on bail.

A bench of Justice Prahladkumar Yogi of Rupandehi District Court ordered the release of Lamichhane in bail amounting to Nepali Rupees (NRs) 10 million, court officials confirmed.

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This is the third court amongst the 5 districts that have ordered the accused leader to be released on bail.

A case was lodged against the founder of Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the fourth largest party in parliament for embezzling funds from Butwal-based Supreme Cooperative.

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"Rabi Lamichhane's statement was recorded in court on Wednesday. The plaintiff and defendants deliberated over the case on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Upon completion of the hearing, bench of justice Prahladkumar Yogi ordered release in bail of 10 million (Nepali rupees)," Yagyamurti Gyawali, registrar at Rupandehi District Court confirmed ANI over phone.

Earlier, the Pokhara District Court had ordered his release on a bail amount of NRS 6.5 million in the case of embezzlement of funds from Suryadarshan Cooperative of Pokhara. Later he was granted bail in a similar case involving Swarnalakshmi Cooperative based in Kathmandu on bail amount of NRS 6 million.

Last year on October, 18, Lamichhane was arrested from Kathmandu in the Suryadarshan Cooperative fraud case in Pokhara and was released after 84 days on bail. However, he later faced charges related to embezzlement in the Swarnalakshmi Cooperative case, where he and others are accused of misappropriating NRs 1.19 billion from 690 depositors.

Lamichhane is accused of misappropriating NRS 1.199 billion from the Swarnalakshmi Cooperative alongside 38 accomplices, including key officials of the Gorkha Media Network including former vice chair Chhabilal Joshi, chair Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, and director Kumar Ramtel.

They are accused of illegally diverting the cooperative funds to the media company, which ran the now-defunct Galaxy 4K Television. Lamichhane was managing director of the company before joining politics in June 2022.

The charges include cooperative fraud and organised financial crimes, alleging systematic diversion of funds. Police investigations also link the accused to cooperative fraud in Butwal, Chitwan, and Parsa.

Police investigations have expanded to include cooperatives in other districts, including Rupandehi, Chitwan, and Parsa. The focus of these investigations is on the systematic embezzlement of funds, which, according to authorities, were misused in a coordinated effort across multiple cooperatives. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI): Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal hailed the US Supreme Court's decision to clear the way for 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Tahawwhur Rana's extradition to India.

Stating that the whole country was enraged and demanding justice, Goyal alleged that the UPA government showed "weakness" after the 26/11 attacks and didn't take any strong steps.

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Speaking to ANI, Goyal said, "I am a Mumbaikar. Not just Mumbai, but the entire country was enraged at the terrorists who attacked Mother India. The only demand of the country was that they must be punished severely. The army also said that they could take revenge. It is unfortunate that the government of that time showed weakness, and did not take strong steps."

The Union Minister commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to make Rana's extradition to India possible. Terming this as the "victory of 140 crore people", Goyal said that today India is capable of bringing any terrorist to justice.

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"I am very satisfied with Prime Minister Modi's efforts and the relationships between him and the international community. He has shared the relationship of India with the world. The US too assisted India and with the help of good lawyers, the act of giving punishment to the terrorists is in its final leg. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts in bringing these terrorists to justice is commendable," he said.

"Today India is capable of bringing any terrorist or terrorist nation to justice. This is the victory of India, the victory of the 140 crore people of India. This is an important step towards giving justice to Mumbai. And I am very grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has given a lot of confidence to all the people of Mumbai. If anyone tries to cast an evil eye, then PM Modi will answer them and bring them to justice. If Modi is there, then it is possible," Goyal added.

The US has now cleared the way for Pakistani-origin businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana, convicted for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, to be extradited to India.

174 people, including 20 security force personnel and 26 foreigners, were killed and over 300 were injured in the horrific attacks that took place at Mumbai's Taj Hotel on November 26, 2008. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi (India), January 27 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked his Irish counterpart Micheal Martin and French President Emmanuel Macron for extending their wishes to India on the occasion of Republic Day.

PM Modi expressed his gratitude to Martin for his wishes and expressed confidence that the enduring bonds of friendship between India and Ireland would continue to strengthen in the future.

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In a post on X, PM Modi stated, "Thank you Prime Minister @MichealMartinTD for your kind wishes. I am confident that the enduring bonds of friendship between India and Ireland, based on the shared trust and belief in democracy, will continue to strengthen in times to come."

This statement followed Micheal Martin's greetings to President Droupadi Murmu, PM Narendra Modi, and the people of India on Republic Day.

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"On this Republic Day in India, I offer my heartfelt greetings to President @rashtrapatibhvn, Prime Minister @narendramodi, and the people of India. Ireland treasures the strong bonds of friendship and solidarity between our nations," Micheal Martin posted on X.

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1883740292614160633

Calling Macron his "dear friend," PM Modi expressed appreciation for the French President's greetings on India's 76th Republic Day. He also recalled Macron's presence during India's 75th Republic Day celebrations when he was the chief guest. PM Modi mentioned that he would soon meet Macron at the AI Summit in Paris, scheduled for February 10-11.

"My dear friend, President @EmmanuelMacron, your kind greetings on India's 76th Republic Day are deeply appreciated. Your august presence last year on this day was indeed a high point in our strategic partnership and enduring friendship. See you soon at the AI Action Summit in Paris as we work together for better future of the humanity," PM Modi wrote on X.

PM Modi's response came after Macron congratulated the people of India and PM Modi on Republic Day. He also shared a picture of himself with PM Modi from last year's Republic Day, when he visited India as the chief guest. Macron stated that he looked forward to meeting PM Modi in France at the Summit on Action for Artificial Intelligence in February.

In a post on X, Emmanuel Macron stated, "My congratulations to the Indian people and my dear friend @NarendraModi on this Republic Day. Fond memories of that great moment of friendship I shared with you in 2024. Looking forward to seeing you in France in February for the Summit on Action for Artificial Intelligence."

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1883740024107127040

On Sunday, India celebrated the Republic Day with a grand showcase of its military strength and cultural diversity at the grand parade at Kartavya Path. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations this year.

President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday unfurled the national flag at Kartavya Path on the occasion of the 76th Republic Day, followed by the national anthem with a thunderous 21-gun salute using 105-mm Light Field Guns, an indigenous weapon system. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Taipei [Taiwan], January 27 (ANI): Taiwan stated that it detected four Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 am (local time) on Sunday and 6 am (local time) on Monday.

According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND), of the four People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, two crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country's northern air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

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In a post on X, Taiwan's MND said, "4 PLA aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly."

https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1883681333584781368

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Notably, Chinese activity has risen around Taiwan.

On Sunday, Taiwan reported six Chinese aircraft and seven naval vessels near its territory.

In a post on X, the Taiwanese MND said, " 6 PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly."

https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1883320298742939714

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.

Earlier on Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has raised concerns over Beijing's coercion against Taiwan during a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Focus Taiwan reported, citing the US Department of State.

According to Focus Taiwan, Rubio emphasized the United States' "commitment to our allies in the region and serious concern over China's coercive actions against Taiwan and in the South China Sea," said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce in a readout following the phone call on Friday (Washington time).

Bruce also quoted Rubio as stating that the US will pursue a relationship with Beijing that "advances US interests and puts the American people first." (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Des Moines (US), Jan 27 (AP) President Donald Trump should rethink his decision to remove security details from three former senior national security officials, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday.

That protection is not just for them, but also the public, said Sen. Tom Cotton, a Trump loyalist who nonetheless is pushing back against the president's targeting of those he perceived as adversaries. Cotton said a president needs to keep qualified individuals interested in serving the White House and that may sometimes require enhanced security for officials.

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The Arkansas senator said he would encourage Trump to revisit the decision for those people  former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Brian Hook, a former senior policy adviser to Pompeo. All were involved in planning and discussions of the deadly drone strike on Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in January 2020.

The threat to anyone involved in President Trump's strike on Qasem Soleimani is persistent. It's real, Cotton said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. Iran is committed to vengeance against all of these people.

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Trump had revoked security protection for the three, effective last week, despite the fact that they faced threats from Iran for taking hardline stances against the Islamic Republic during Trump's administration.

Trump ended protective security details for his former national security adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his onetime deputy, Brian Hook. The security protections had been regularly extended by the Biden administration over credible threats to the men's lives. Cotton said he had seen recent intelligence that suggests all three former Trump officials remained targets of Iran.

It's another sign of steps Trump is taking just days into his return to the White House  to target those he perceives as adversaries.

Bolton, who was fired during the president's first term in 2019, later wrote a book whose publication the Trump administration unsuccessfully sought to block on grounds that it disclosed national security information.

Trump had soured on Pompeo some months ago, saying publicly that he would play no role in his new administration. And last week, Trump fired Hook from his presidentially appointed position on the board of the Wilson Centre, a national security think tank.

It's better to be safe than sorry, because it's not just about these men who helped President Trump carry out his policy in his first term, Cotton said. It's about their family and friends, innocent bystanders every time they're in public.

Cotton also suggested that Trump's decision to remove their security protection could have a chilling effect on the president's ability to hire the most qualified advisers in the future.

It's also about the president being able to get good people and get good advice, Cotton said. They might hesitate to do so, or they might hesitate if they're in office to give him the advice he needs to carry out the policies that he decides upon.

Asked last week about his decision, Trump told reporters, "Do you want to have a large detail of people guarding people for the rest of their lives? I mean, there's risks to everything. (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, Jan 27 (PTI) Law enforcement officials from the US Department of Homeland Security have started visiting gurdwaras in New York and New Jersey to check for the presence of illegal immigrants, drawing a sharp reaction from some Sikh organisations which see such actions as a threat to the sanctity of their faith.

Some of the gurdwaras in New York and New Jersey are believed to be used as a hub by Sikh separatists along with illegal and undocumented immigrants.

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Within hours of Donald Trump being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman in a directive rescinded the Biden administration's guidelines for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement actions that thwart law enforcement in or near so-called sensitive areas.

These sensitive areas included places of worship like gurdwaras and churches.

Also Read | US Intensifies Crackdown on Immigration; Vice President JD Vance, Donald Trump's Border Czar Tom Homan Defend Raids on Schools, Churches.

This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliensincluding murders and rapistswho have illegally come into our country, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said.

Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense, the spokesperson said.

In a statement, the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDF) expressed grave concern over the directive rescinding the guidelines that designated sensitive areas, such as houses of worship, where immigration enforcement actions were previously restricted.

"This troubling shift in policy comes in tandem with community reports of DHS agents visiting gurdwaras in the New York and New Jersey areas just days after the directive was issued," SALDF said.

We are deeply alarmed by the Department of Homeland Security's decision to eliminate protections for sensitive areas and then target places of worship like gurdwaras, said Kiran Kaur Gill, executive director of SALDEF.

Gill said gurdwaras are not just places of worship; they are vital community centres that provide support, nourishment, and spiritual solace to Sikhs and the broader community.

"Targeting these spaces for enforcement actions threatens the sanctity of our faith and sends a chilling message to immigrant communities nationwide, Gill said.

Sikh Coalition said the Trump administration's decision to rescind the DHS policy on protected areas (which also included hospitals, schools, social service providers, and more) opens the door to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducting surveillance, investigations, arrests, and raids at gurdwaras."

The idea that our gurdwaras could be subject to government surveillance and raids by armed law enforcement with or without warrants is unacceptable to the Sikh faith tradition. It will burden religious exercise by limiting the ability of Sikhs to gather and associate with one another in accordance with our faith, Sikh Coalition said.

It also harkens to dark periods in our collective memory when governments interfered in the ability of Sikhs to practice our faith freelywith deadly consequences, it said.

"If Sikhswhether documented or undocumentedare concerned with gurdwara raids and surveillance, gurdwaras may well be impacted by decreased attendance, and thus an inability to carry out essential religious practices in a meaningful manner," said Sikh Coalition.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Palakkad, January 27: An elderly woman and her 53-year-old son were hacked to death in broad daylight in this north Kerala district on Monday, police said. The victims have been identified as Meenakshi, also known as Lakshmi, aged 72, and her son Sudhakaran. The incident was reported from Pothundi under the Nenmara police station limits at 10 am. Both of them were allegedly hacked to death outside their residence. Kerala Shocker: Man Slashes Womans Neck While Having Sex With Her in Kadinamkulam, Flees Scene After Murder; Held From Kottayam.

Police said the crime is suspected to have been committed by Chenthamara, aged 57, their neighbour, who was released on bail after being jailed for allegedly killing Sudhakaran's wife a few years ago. Lakshmi was allegedly attacked when she tried to prevent Chenthamara from attacking Sudhakaran. While Sudhakaran died on the spot, his mother passed away while being taken to hospital, police said. Triple Murder in Kerala: 3 of Family Hacked to Death by Their Neighbour in Kochi, Accused Arrested.

According to police, Chenthamara had been harbouring animosity towards Sudhakaran's family, as he believed that his wife and children left him due to the family's interference. They said an investigation has been launched to trace Chenthamara, who fled the scene after the incident.
Jammu, January 27: Four Army soldiers were injured on Monday in a road accident in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said. Officials added that an Army vehicle skidded off the road at Gantar Morh in the Sunjian area of Poonch and overturned after dropping into a ditch. "The injured soldiers were immediately evacuated with the help of local people and shifted to hospital for treatment," officials said.

On December 24 last year, five soldiers were killed and eight injured in a road accident in Poonch district when an Army vehicle skidded off the road and dropped into a deep gorge. The Army and the security forces have increased vigil along the Line of Control and the hinterland after terrorists carried out some terrorist attacks in the last quarter of 2024. Jammu and Kashmir Road Accident: Several Injured As 2 Passenger Buses Collide Head-On in Reasi (Watch Video).

On October 20, 2024, two terrorists entered the worker's camp in Gagangir area of Ganderbal district. Seven civilians, including six non-local workers of an infrastructure company and a local doctor were killed in that attack. One of the two terrorists involved in Gagangir attack was later killed by the security forces in Harwan area of Srinagar. On October 24, 2024, terrorists ambushed an Army vehicle in the Botapathri area of Gulmarg, killing three Army soldiers and two civilian porters.

On November 2 last year, terrorists hurled a grenade at the busy Sunday Market near the tourist reception centre in Srinagar, killing a 42-year-old mother of three children and injuring 11 other civilians. The Jammu and Kashmir Police later arrested the terrorist associates, who had hurled the grenade. They belonged to the Ikhrajpora locality of Srinagar city. Bandipora Road Accident: 2 Soldiers Killed, 3 Hurt As Army Vehicle Falls Into Gorge in Jammu and Kashmir (Watch Video).

Poonch Road Accident

All these attacks were carried out by the terrorists after peaceful, people-participative Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Intelligence agencies believe that the handlers of terrorism sitting across the border in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir directed terrorists to carry out those attacks after getting unnerved by the people's participation in the democratic process in Jammu and Kashmir.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 27, 2025 05:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
New Delhi, January 27: Uttarakhand is set to create history on Monday as it becomes the first state in India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The UCC will not only be implemented throughout the state but it will also apply to the people of Uttarakhand living outside it. The landmark legislation will be rolled out at around 12:30 pm and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will unveil the UCC portal, just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state today.

The UCC rules that have been approved by the Uttarakhand government have avoided the controversial proposals for creating a separate process to resolve disputes related to personal laws. The rules proposed by the Shatrughan Singh Committee for the UCC initially presented to the Chief Minister on October 18, 2024, were subject to some revisions. The extensive 400-page document has been condensed to under 100 pages, with only provisions concerning registration of marriage, divorce, inheritance, and live-in being retained, sources said. Uttarakhand UCC Nothing but Kickstarting a Pilot Project Without Proper Consensus: Cong.

As a result, the revised UCC rules approved by the Uttarakhand government no longer include the proposal for a separate process to handle disputes related to personal laws. The UCC that will be rolled out today ensures equal rights in property for both sons and daughters. Under the UCC polygamy will be prohibited, and monogamy will be the norm under the landmark legislation. The UCC requires men who have attained the age of 21 and women who are 18 years of age to enter a union through marriage. Though the marriages will be solemnised as per religious customs of the couple, the registration of the marriage will be mandatory. Uttarakhand To Implement UCC on January 27, a Day Prior to PM Narendra Modis Arrival in Dehradun, Says CM Secretary Shailesh Bagoli.

In another far-reaching reform, there will be no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children now as the law aims to abolish this distinction over property rights. Once the UCC is implemented all children will be recognised as biological offspring. The law will also ensure that children adopted, born through surrogacy, or conceived via assisted reproductive technology will be treated equally to biological children. Following a person's death, the law will grant equal property rights to the spouse and children. Additionally, equal rights would be extended to the dead person's parents, thus ensuring that they are taken care of.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 27, 2025 09:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
New Delhi, January 27: The Joint Parliamentary Committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Monday adopted all amendments proposed by the ruling BJP-led NDA members and negated every change moved by opposition members. The committee chairman Jagdambika Pal told reporters after the meeting that amendments adopted by the committee will make the law better and more effective. Waqf Board Amendment Bill 2024: Members of Parliamentary Panel on Waqf Bill Suggest 572 Amendments To Draft Legislation.

However, opposition MPs decried the meeting's proceedings and accused Pal of "subverting" the democratic process. "It was a farcical exercise. We were not heard. Pal has acted in a dictatorial manner," TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee told reporters. Pal rejected the charge, and said the entire exercise was democratic, and the majority view prevailed. Waqf Board Amendment Bill 2024: Ahead of JPC Meeting on Waqf Bill, Kiren Rijiju Holds Meeting With NDA MPs, Advises To Stay United.

One of the more significant amendments proposed by the committee is that the existing Waqf properties cannot be questioned on the grounds of 'Waqf by user', which existed in the current law but will be omitted in the new version, if the properties are being used for religious purposes. Pal said the amendments moved by the NDA members in 14 of the Bill's clauses have been accepted. Opposition members moved hundreds of amendments in all 44 clauses and all of them were defeated by vote, he added.
On 25 January the president of Haitis transitional presidential council,, warned the decision by the new US administration led by Presidentto freeze foreign aid programmes, deport migrants and block refugees would be catastrophic for Haiti.

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On 25 January the United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Mexico denounced the murder of journalistin Tabasco state.

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UPDATE: Lafayette faculty approves no confidence vote against the college president

A no confidence vote for Lafayette College President Nicole Hurd is scheduled for a faculty meeting Tuesday.

The motion for a no confidence vote was put forward by a group of ten professors. Sociology professor Caroline Lee confirmed the authenticity of a link to the motion that has been circulated by the Lafayette student newspaper and local media outlets.

Lafayette College spokesman Scott Morse declined to comment on the planned vote.

The motion is attached to a letter to faculty dated Jan. 22. None of the ten professors who signed the letter responded to requests for comment from lehighvalleylive.com.

The faculty blame Hurd for a high turnover among administrators. They say she eschewed debate over the colleges strategic plan and opted instead to solicit input through surveys. They call her a divisive and autocratic leader.

The faculty calls for immediate steps to be taken by the board of trustees of Lafayette College to address this leadership crisis.

Hurd has been president of Lafayette since 2021.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com.
The Hackettstown Business Improvement District and neighbors on Main Street welcomed a new company to the street this month.

The Love of Dance opened at 289 Main St. The studios mission is to create a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment where children can build confidence and independence, the studios owner Kellie Harris said.

Kellie Harris and Jill Adamec are two experienced and certified choreographers who have joined forces to create classes for The Love of Dance studio. They want to make dance accessible to everyone, regardless of age (starting at 6 months) or ability. The studio offers parent/child, childrens dance, hip-hop, all-abilities and 18-and older dance classes.

Kellie Harris, the owner of The Love of Dance studio, at 289 Main St. in Hackettstown, NJ, celebrated the opening of her new business with a ribbon cutting on Jan. 18, 2025.Hackettstown Business Improvement District

Harris has studied dance and choreography for 30 years. She became a certified member of the Dance Educators of America in 2013, at age 17, and assisted at The Next Step School of Dance, formerly known as The Nancy Carole School of Dance, for several years prior to that.

Adamec has taught dance professionally for 23 years. She is certified by both Dance Masters of America and the Associated Dance Teachers of New Jersey. She leads a growing group of dancers in the All Abilities Dance Program.

We believe dance should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability the Harris said. Dancing builds confidence and community, she said.

To register, call or text 908-350-0662, or visit The Love of Dance website.

The Love of Dance signed an agreement in 2024 to lease the space at 289 Main St. and spent months renovating the vacant former retail space into a dance studio with mirrors and new flooring.

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.
Gardai are appealing for information in relation to the break in and car theft in Laois at the weekend.

The white 191 registered Skodia Kodiaq was stolen from Killenard Lodge in Killenard on Saturday night at around 9.30pm.

Portlaoise Gardai said a house was entered and car keys were stolen. The incident, which is believed to have happened at around 9.30pm on Saturday night, was reported to gardai on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, a second incident occurred at Killenard Lodge on Sunday morning. On this occasion, Gardai said an unlocked car was rummaged through at around 2.30am in the morning. It is not believed anything was taken from the car.

Elsewhere, Offaly Gardai confirmed they are investigating an incident in Curragh Hill, Ballinagar, Co Offaly. A house was entered and keys to a white 171 registered BMW car were stolen in the early hours of Monday morning. Its understood a white jeep was seen in the area and may have been used in connection with the incident. The white BMW was stolen but has since been recovered in Dublin in an undamaged state.

Gardai at Portlaoise Garda Station are appealing for information in relation to the incident in Killenard. They are eager to speak to witnesses or anyone who may have dashcam or CCTV footage.

Anyone with information can contact Portlaoise Garda Station on 057 867 4100.
Women have been forgotten about in the formation of a new Government which had as its first action to 'create more jobs for the boys,' according to Laois TD Brian Stanley.

The independent TD took aim at the Fianna Fail / Fine Gael / regional independent coalition when he addressed the Dail on the day Micheal Martin was elected Taoiseach.

The Laois TD congratulated but that's where the pleasantries ended when he spoke in the Dail.

"We now have a new Government but we have a new Government of two old conservative parties and one regional group. The two Civil War parties are united now like never before. The problem is that nothing separates them, except one letter; they are FF and FG," he said.

Dep Stanley was critical of the gender make-up of the Ministerial team and delay in getting the Dail operational.

"The Government's first action was to create more jobs for the boys - the girls seem to have been forgotten - and to suspend the Dail yet again until 5 February," he said.

Dep Stanley also slammed the Government's plan for the next five years for Securing Ireland's Future.

"We now have a programme for Government which, on the big issues facing workers and families, fails. For example, on housing where is the rent freeze that hundreds of thousands of people across the State need so badly? There are not even effective rent controls. We are going to have a rent register instead. Where is the massively expanded affordable housing scheme for those middle-income families that desperately need it? MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Picture of Taoiseach with President Michael D Higgins with other Ministers and others in Aras on Uachtarain

"Where is the commitment to drive on with cost-rental schemes to provide homes for those low-paid workers who are just above the income limit for social housing? It is very important that this is addressed.

"Last year, the then Minister for Housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, promised that up to 40,000 - the figure was at least in the high 30,000s - new homes would be finished. What happened? We had 30,000 new homes finished, which was 3,000 fewer than in 2022.

"In health there is no evidence of a commitment or determination to get a national health system in place, as envisaged under Slaintecare, which was put in place back in 2016 or 2017. There are no timelines to put that system in place. Instead, we are a muddling along with the inefficient two-tier system we have. There is no sign of the system that has been in place in most European countries for the past 60, 70 or 80 years. Hundreds of thousands of people will continue to languish on hospital waiting lists and waiting for appointments," he said.

Dep Stanley highlighted a particular child health issue in Laois relating to dental treatment for children in Laois as an 'absolute scandal'.

The TD is in the Independents and Smaller Parties technical group on the opposition benches. He voted against Mr Martin in the vote for Taoiseach.
Storm Eowyn weather warnings caused the Laois store of the Army Surplus Warehouse to sell their whole year's supply of gas stoves in a pre-storm buyout.

The store in Portlaoise Retail Park for the first time had a queue outside their doors before it opened on Thursday morning before the storm hit.

They sold 520 of their unique single hob 'briefcase' countertop stoves, along with over 3,000 bottles of camping gas and and estimated 200 backpack stoves, and about 2,000 emergency lights.

Across the four branches of the Irish business, over 1,500 of the briefcase stoves were all sold out.

Portlaoise manager John said "it was like the end of the world was happening" with the queue.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Army Surplus Warehouse (@armysurpluswarehouse)

The Cork family business owner Noel Curtin told the Leinster Express / Laois Live that they are out of stocks of stoves now for the coming summer.

"We are out of stock now for summer barbecues and camping. We get these stoves made and sell them all year round, they are our own brand, they are priced very reasonably at 23. We got our year's supply in autumn for our four shops and there is a very long lead time to manufacture more," he said.

"It's not a windfall for us. We didn't jack the price or capitalise on the storm. There's no Oasis dynamic pricing here. It will increase our weekly turnover but not our annual turnover. We were the same in Covid, we always sold masks for no more than 1," he said.

He said that the Met Eireann weather warning system caused the pre-storm rush on stoves, a day before the storm hit.

"The colour coding weather warnings have put legs on these things. We normally get a business surge after a power outage, not before," Mr Curtin said.

The other shops are in Graiguecullen in Carlow, Killarney in Kerry and the founding store in Middleton, Cork opened 30 years ago. Noel's wife and daughters now run the business with him along with local staff.

"In the west we assume we will have no power in storms. But Portlaoise of all areas, had the most electrical faults. It's mostly fixed up in Killarney but I see around Portlaoise on Powercheck there's still 16 or 18 ESB bases out," he said.
Following works across the county over the weekend in the wake of Storm Eowyn, Uisce Eireann reports that supply is returning to the majority of impacted customers.

Uisce Eireann repair crews are again on the ground across County Kildare today (Monday January 27) working to restore water supplies. Crews have been working tirelessly over the weekend to restore supply to impacted customers.

The high winds and immense power of Storm Eowyn resulted in a number of power outages across the county. Many water treatment plants are now back in operation through the restoration of power supply in the area.

READ NEXT: Over 100,000 households across Ireland still without water following Storm Eowyn

Power has been restored to Allen Reservoir. A number of smaller water treatment plants and pumping stations are still without power and we are continuing to co-ordinate with the National Emergency Co-ordination Group, Local Authorities, ESB Networks, Civil Defence and other agencies as work continues to restore power and normal water supplies as quickly as possible.

Customers will continue to experience low water pressure or no water in some areas as Uisce Eireann works to refill reservoirs following the restoration of power.

Impacted areas include Ardcarraig and Clonuff. Alternative water supplies are available at Ardcarraig, at the entrance to the pumping station.

Customers can go to www.water.ie and enter their address for details of localised issues and estimated restoration times.

In the meantime, customers are urged to conserve water where possible in order to protect supply while the outages are resolved.

Eoghan Forristal, Uisce Eireanns Water Network Operations Manager, said: "Uisce Eireann crews and ESB Networks are working together to restore power to all areas so that production of treated water can recommence as quickly and as safely as possible."

Uisce Eireanns Customer Care Team is available to help 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on X @IWCare with any queries.

Uisce Eireann has also launched a free text service, providing real-time updates for local issues. Customers can sign up with their Eircode and mobile number at www.water.ie

Vulnerable customers who have registered with Uisce Eireann receive direct communications from Uisce Eireann for planned and unplanned outages lasting more than four hours.
Maynooth University welcomes the appointment of Gavin McCrea as Writer in Residence at the University for 2025. He is one of nine new Arts Council artists in residence announced across six Irish universities, with each residency worth 30,000.

Gavin, who was born in Dublin in 1978, has published three books. His first novel, Mrs Engels (Scribe, 2015), was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize and the Walter Scott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. His second novel, The Sisters Mao (Scribe, 2021), received high acclaim internationally.

The novels are the first two instalments of Gavin's Wives of the Revolution trilogy. During his residency at Maynooth University, he will work on the third instalment, Mother Molotov.

His first work of non-fiction, Cells (Scribe, 2022), was chosen as a book of the year by The Observer, The Irish Times and the Irish Independent, and was longlisted for the Polari Prize for LGBTQ+ Literature. The memoir, provoked by a homophobic assault, explores Gavins relationship with his aging mother with whom he spent the Covid-19 quarantine as her mind slipped slowly away.

Gavins next novel, Walking with Jean-Jacques, will be published by John Murray on 26 February 2026. His articles have appeared in The Paris Review, The Guardian, The Irish Times, The Dublin Review, Lithub and Catapult.

Welcoming his appointment, Belinda McKeon, Coordinator of MUs MA in Creative Writing, said: We at Maynooth University are thrilled to welcome Gavin McCrea as the 2025 Arts Council Writer in Residence. Gavin's talent and breadth as a writer will make him a terrific presence in our growing Creative Writing community, as well as extending rich opportunities for conversation and learning to our MA students. We are also committed to creating a nurturing and beneficial working environment for Gavin as a practitioner.

Speaking about the residency programmes, Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council, said: They help embed creativity in education, providing critical support to artists as they advance their practice, while also creating vibrant opportunities for students and staff to engage directly with professional artistic expression. They make for a profound exchange that inspires and uplifts both the artistic and academic communities.

We are hugely grateful to all the institutions who work with us to deliver these residency programmes. Their partnership and continued support are immensely valued.

MUs previous Arts Council Writer in Residence Paul Lynch won the 2023 Booker Prize for his novel Prophet Song, which he worked on while at MU. He has since been appointed as a Distinguished Writing Fellow at the University and teaches on the MA in Creative Writing.

Late last year, MU appointed percussionist Ruairi Glasheen as Artist in Residence while it also named Re OLaighleis as its Scribhneoir Conaithe or Irish language Writer in Residence, underlining its commitment to heritage, culture and language as outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2023-2028.

The full list of 2025 Arts Council awardees is available here
Kildare County Councils Local Enterprise Office, in association with County Kildare Chamber and Network Ireland Kildare Branch, is excited to announce the upcoming Women in Business luncheon, a celebration of leadership, resilience, and innovation in the professional world.

The event will take place on January 30 at Kilkea Castle and will feature the inspirational story of Sarah de Lagarde.

Sarah de Lagarde, a renowned advocate for empowerment and resilience, is best known for her transformational journey of overcoming adversity and driving change.

As a seasoned professional with an extraordinary story, Sarah embodies the essence of perseverance and the power of embracing challenges as opportunities for growth.

Her keynote, titled SAINT BRIGIDS LEGACY: Embracing Change and Resilience for Women in Business", promises to leave attendees inspired and equipped with actionable strategies to thrive in their careers.

This event is designed to connect, empower, and celebrate women from all sectors of business. Attendees will also have the opportunity to network with influential professionals and peers.

READ NEXT: PICTURES: All smiles at Spirit of Kildare

This is Kildares 2nd annual Women in Business event to celebrate St. Brigid. Building on the success of the Brigid 1500 celebrations, which attracted nearly 80,000 visitors to Kildare in the early part of 2024, Brigid 2025 is set to deliver a bigger, bolder, and more vibrant experience as it becomes the latest cultural mainstay in an increasingly colourful annual Irish calendar.

This years festival combines intimate concerts, large-scale events, and a series of cultural gatherings that honour Brigids enduring legacy through the theme "Her Spirit, Our Story".

Jacqui McNabb, Head of Enterprise, Tourism and Economic Development, Kildare County Council said: Together with County Kildare Chamber and Network Ireland Kildare Branch, we are delighted to host this event and welcome Sarah de Lagarde as our keynote speaker. Her story is a testament to the resilience and determination that we aim to celebrate and cultivate among Kildares women in business.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, a seasoned executive, or just starting your career journey, this event offers a unique opportunity to learn, connect, and grow as part of the She Succeeds Women in Business Cluster.

Visit www.localenterprise.ie/Kildare to register and learn more about the event.
A construction worker fell from the sixth floor of the new 96-bed block for University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

It is understood the man, aged in his 50s, was working on scaffolding when the incident occurred this Monday afternoon. The building is located beside the emergency department (ED).

The worker is lucky to be alive, according to one eye-witness, as he landed on a lift shaft after falling some 14 or 15 metres.

He was on the sixth floor. It could have been a lot worse, they said.

It is believed the man has suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries.

HSE Midwest has not responded to a media query at this time. The main contractor for the project have not responded to a media query at this time.

The new 9,800 square-metre block is being built over the existing emergency department and dialysis unit and will consist of 96 en-suite single rooms over four floors.

A spokesperson for Limerick City and County Council said three units from Limerick City Fire and Rescue Service attended an incident at University Hospital Limerick this afternoon to assist with the rescue of a worker who sustained injuries on a building site.

The person was extricated and handed over to the care of the HSE, said the council spokesperson.

Paramedics from the National Ambulance Service gave immediate care and treatment to the injured man.

Limerick Fire and Rescue Service received the call-out at 12.56pm. Firefighters returned to their headquarters in Mulgrave Street at 2.25pm.

READ MORE | PICTURES: Inside the transformed 'dream project' charity home build on RTE Room to Improve
Thousands of households across Ireland are still without electricity after Storm Eowyn hit the country with record-breaking winds. Taoiseach Micheal Martin described the damage as unprecedented, confirming that at one point, 768,000 people were without power. Sadly, the storm also claimed the life of 20-year-old Kacper Dudek in County Donegal.

In response to the devastation, Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary has announced that the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme will be available to homeowners whose properties have been damaged. The scheme is income-tested and aims to prioritize those most in need. It provides support for immediate essentials such as food, clothing, and personal items, helps families replace vital household goods like fridges, washing machines, and furniture, and covers long-term repairs for structural damage, electrical work, and painting.

Anyone seeking help through the scheme can contact the Community Welfare Service by calling 0818 60 70 80, which is open throughout Friday, January 24. Over the weekend, staff will be available at 087 2895001 from 10am to 4.30pm. For those unable to call during these hours, the email address DNCWS@welfare.ie can be used, and messages are monitored continuously.

Meanwhile, Tanaiste Simon Harris confirmed that the Irish Defence Forces are assisting ESB Network in restoring power, while Civil Defence remains on standby. Met Eireann has issued ongoing weather warnings for multiple counties and is urging the public to exercise caution in affected areas.

The Taoiseach expressed gratitude to emergency responders and local authorities who have been working around the clock to clear roads and reconnect essential utilities. He acknowledged that the restoration of high-voltage lines, water supplies, and communications will require significant effort in the days ahead.

This is a whole-of-Government effort, Martin stated, referencing the coordinated work of ESB, EirGrid, Irish Water, local councils, the Defence Forces, Civil Defence, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Coillte, and others. He added that his Government will fully assess the situation and develop comprehensive relief measures to aid households and businesses recovering from Storm Eowyns aftermath. Communities rally to support neighbors in need.

READ MORE Thousands without power in Leitrim as storm Eowyn strikes
Fans of Irish storytelling and humour had plenty to celebrate recently, as beloved writer, actor, and performer Seamus ORourke made an appearance on The Tommy Tiernan Show last Saturday night on RTE. Known for his rich storytelling style and quick wit, ORourke has built a dedicated following through his one-man shows, radio broadcasts, and theatrical performances across Ireland.

The Tommy Tiernan Show is famous for its spontaneous formathost Tommy Tiernan does not know which guest will walk onto his set until they arrive. This unscripted approach often leads to heartfelt and illuminating conversations that reveal surprising stories and insights.

Originally from County Leitrim, ORourke has long been celebrated for capturing the essence of rural Irish life. During his conversation with Tommy, he shared anecdotes from his upbringing, discussed his creative process, and read an excerpt from his new book Leaning on Gates, focusing on his fathera poignant moment that resonated deeply with viewers.

"My father was not quite a farmer nor a fool, but came close to proving me wrong on both counts at different times in his life. He's gone over 20 years now and there's not a day goes by that I don't think of him or quote him or feed from his legacy. A true man and father of his time, properly embarrassing to no one but his own.

Awkward and straight at the same time, a man with a sense of what was just and what was just nonsense. He had independent thought, a rarity at the time, and he taught us integrity and how to put on an edge. He hated to see someone cutting grass or a hedge or bread with a bad edge.

Sharpen the knife and the blade, it'll do the work. I never hugged him or him me, but I do remember sitting on his knee as a child and rubbing his stuggled chin. He rarely went down shave, but this day he had growth on his face and I was fascinated by its roughness to the touch.

Yet it felt like I was taming him with every stroke, as close and as intimate as a father and son could be. I didn't feel pride or love or joy, it was just being on my daddy's knee and stopping him from having his tea. I shook his hand once when I came back from America in 1986 and he and me mother came down to Shannon Airport to meet me and it was a cold day in March and he had big purple hands because of his bad circulation.

Mammy hugged me and welcomed me home and he held out his big purple hand and shook mine and said, was there money on the plane? And I touched his face again after he died. It was cold and devoid of life, so I chose to remember him when I was just a child when he bounced me on his knee and said, up up little horsey, up up again, how many miles to Dublin, four score and ten."

After the show, social media lit up with praise from viewers who described it as a great interview. For his part, ORourke jokingly remarked, Free pints in Carrigallen for the rest of my life, delighting fans who admired his trademark humour and down-to-earth charm.

ORourkes visit offered a warm, intimate glimpse into the life and creative mind of one of Irelands most engaging storytellers, underscoring why he continues to captivate audiences both on stage and on screen. The show can be watched on RTE player.

READ MORE Thousands without power in Leitrim as storm Eowyn strikes
Leitrim is the most affordable county to buy a home in nationwide, according to a report from CHILL Insurance.

The study, which ranked the affordability of buying a home in counties nationwide using data from 2012 to 2024, found that the average price of a home in Leitrim was 186,487.

The average deposit needed to buy a house in Leitrim was only 18,649 which on average took three years and nine months to save - based on the mean salary earned in Leitrim.

Longford took second place on the list with an average house price of 192,682. Buyers would need to save 4,891 annually over 3 years and 11 months to reach the 19,268 deposit based on the mean salary earned in the county.

Meanwhile, Donegal completed the top three most affordable counties with an average house price of 199,332, with a deposit of 19,933 requiring approximately 4 years and 5 months of saving.

Unsurprisingly, Dublin was found to be the least affordable county to buy a house in with an average house price of 614,012, which required a deposit of 61,401, which would take 8 years and nine months to save up with the average Dublin salary.

These findings come despite house prices in Leitrim rising by 10,025 in the last quarter of 2024, according to the latest MyHome Property Price Report.

The supply of homes on the market continues to tighten, with only 111 properties for sale in the county at the end of 2024, marking a 10% decrease compared to the previous quarter.

These figures highlight a strong upward trend in Leitrims property market, reflecting growing demand and limited supply in the county.

Demand is still fierce in the market and indeed has strengthened as the year has gone on, according to Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland.

The average time for a property to have a sale agreed upon in the county after being placed up for sale now stands at just over two months.

The pressure on housing demand nationally is unlikely to let up in the next year, and with that prices will continue to rise, according to the report.

READ MORE: Seamus ORourke shines on The Tommy Tiernan Show
Colombian President Celebrates Landmark PV Project Exclusively Powered by JA Solar





BEIJING, Jan. 26, 2025 /CNW/ -- Recently, Colombian President Gustavo Petro attended a ceremony at a refinery near Cartagena, where he personally signed a JA Solar module to commemorate the successful completion of a groundbreaking PV project. This marks the first PV power plant built at an oil refinery across Latin America, a signature initiative supporting President Petro's renewable energy development agenda.

JA Solar exclusively supplied the PV modules for this 23MW project, constructed by PowerChina. The installation, located at the Cartagena Refinery of Colombian Petroleum Company (Ecopetrol), stands as a pioneering example of integrating renewable energy into traditional industrial settings. Ecopetrol's CEO, Ricardo Roa, hailed the project as "a milestone in replacing conventional oil and gas with clean energy solutions."

At the inauguration, President Petro praised the project's role in reshaping Colombia's energy landscape. Calling it a "milestone with far-reaching implications," he expressed hope for expanding similar initiatives nationwide. Petro also extended his gratitude to JA Solar and other Chinese enterprises for introducing advanced technology and high-quality products to Colombia, fostering a collaborative approach to energy transition.

The completion of this landmark project underscores JA Solar's unwavering dedication to advancing renewable energy across Latin America. The company has achieved significant milestones in several key markets in this region.

In 2023, JA Solar partnered with Solatio, one of Brazil's largest PV developers, to supply 1.2GW of modules for the Cassiolandia and Paranaiba PV Power Stations in Mato Grosso do Sul, contributing to over 4GW across seven Solatio projects. In Chile, JA Solar exclusively powered the 480MW CEME1 PV Power Station, the country's largest single-unit PV project, operational since 2024 and accounting for 10% of Chile's renewable energy capacity.

In 2024, EUPD Research awarded JA Solar the titles of "Top Brand PV Latin America" and "Top Brand PV" in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, highlighting the company's growing market leadership and customer trust. "Building on this success, JA Solar remains fully committed to driving Latin America's renewable energy transition through technological innovation and market excellence," said Aiqing Yang, Executive President of JA Solar. "By leveraging our industry-leading products and expertise, we aim to continue playing a pivotal role in advancing global carbon neutrality and fostering a sustainable future."

SOURCE JA Solar Technology Co., Ltd.

26 january 2025 at 21:00

News published onand distributed by:
E-Learning Market in US to Grow by USD 45.37 Billion (2025-2029), Shaped by Evolved Education Landscape, Report on AI-Driven Market Transformation - Technavio





NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Report with the AI impact on market trends - The global e-learning market in us size is estimated to grow by USD 45.37 billion from 2025-2029, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 14.1% during the forecast period. Evolved learning and education landscape is driving market growth, with a trend towards advent of advanced technologies. However, competition from moocs poses a challenge. Key market players include 2U Inc., Adobe Inc., Anthology Inc., Articulate Inc., Cengage Learning Holdings II Inc., Coursera Inc., D2L Inc., Docebo Inc., eLearning Co. Inc., Flatworld Solutions Inc., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co., iEnergizer Ltd., Infopro Learning Inc., Instructure Holdings Inc., John Wiley and Sons Inc., McGraw Hill LLC, Microsoft Corp, Stylus Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Udemy Inc., and VitalSource Technologies LLC.

Key insights into market evolution with AI-powered analysis. Explore trends, segmentation, and growth drivers- View Free Sample PDF

E-Learning Market In US Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2024 Historic period 2019 - 2022 Forecast period 2025-2029 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 14.1% Market growth 2025-2029 USD 45373.8 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 12.3 Regional analysis US Performing market contribution North America at 100% Key countries US Key companies profiled 2U Inc., Adobe Inc., Anthology Inc., Articulate Global Inc., Cengage Learning Holdings II Inc., Coursera Inc., D2L Inc., Docebo Inc., eLearning Co. Inc., Flatworld Solutions Inc., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co., iEnergizer Ltd., Infopro Learning Inc., Instructure Holdings Inc., John Wiley and Sons Inc., McGraw Hill LLC, Microsoft Corp, Stylus Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Udemy Inc., and VitalSource Technologies LLC

Market Driver

The e-learning market in the US is experiencing significant growth, particularly in sectors like childhood education and K-12 education. Public-private funding and digitalize classrooms are driving this trend. Companies like VIPKID are leading the way with innovative e-learning solutions using digital tools and smart devices. Higher education and test preparation are also adopting cloud-based solutions for cost-effective training methods. E-learning platforms provide interactive learning environments using AI, AR, and VR. However, challenges like inadequate internet access and slow loading times persist. Ongoing efforts to deploy 5G networks and IoT devices aim to address these issues. E-learning market statistics show continued growth, with companies offering remote learning solutions, digital content, and standardized training. Vocational programs and corporate learning are embracing AI-based learning and e-learning solutions. Educational institutions are investing in digital learning solutions, including LMS like Blackboard Learn, to enhance teaching and learning outcomes. The future of education and training is in affordable online degrees, such as online MBA, and innovative learning solutions.

The US e-learning market is at the forefront of integrating advanced technologies to enhance educational experiences. Virtual assistants, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) are among the technologies being utilized in e-learning products. These innovations have significantly transformed the e-learning landscape. Wearable devices like Google Glass and Oculus Rift, as well as smartwatches such as the Apple Watch, enable dynamic and efficient learning. AR and VR systems and headsets provide learners with customized experiences through simulated environments and roleplay scenarios. This technological integration offers a more engaging and effective learning solution.

Request Sample of our comprehensive report now to stay ahead in the AI-driven market evolution!

Market Challenges

The E-Learning market in the US is growing rapidly, with a focus on digitalizing classrooms in K-12 education and higher education. Companies like VIPKID lead the way, providing digital learning solutions for students. However, challenges persist, such as inadequate internet access and slow loading times. Public-private funding is essential for making e-learning more accessible and cost-effective. Education institutes are deploying cloud-based solutions and IoT devices to enhance the learning experience. Vocational programs and test preparation courses are also popular. E-learning market statistics show continued growth, with innovative learning solutions like AI-based corporate training and virtual reality (VR) gaining traction. E-learning platforms offer interactive learning environments, while remote learning solutions enable students to learn from anywhere. Standardized training and affordable college education are key benefits of e-learning. The future of education and training lies in digital content, smart devices, and AI-based learning.

In the US e-learning market, the emergence of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has significantly impacted the landscape. MOOCs offer an open learning environment with free access, making them a popular choice among learners. Their cost-effectiveness is another advantage over traditional e-learning. Vendors providing e-learning face intense competition due to MOOCs' community support, wide variety of content, and semi-synchronicity. Modern MOOCs also incorporate analytics, engaging course design, and offer verified certificates and diplomas from reputed institutions and businesses. Functionally and in terms of learner engagement, MOOCs are comparable to e-learning.

Discover how AI is revolutionizing market trends- Get your access now!

Segment Overview

This e-learning market in US report extensively covers market segmentation by

Deployment

1.1 On premises

1.2 Cloud

End-user

2.1 Higher education

2.2 Corporate

2.3 K12

Product

3.1 Content

3.2 Technology

3.3 Services

Geography

4.1 North America

1.1 On premises- The on-premises deployment type is the most common method for delivering e-learning in the US market. This approach significantly impacts the overall growth of the e-learning market in the US, which is projected to expand steadily during the forecast period. Organizations, including corporations and educational institutions, prefer on-premises deployment due to the increased control it offers over data and technology. Large players dominate the US e-learning market for on-premises deployment. However, small and medium-sized businesses also cater to specific consumer groups with niche e-learning solutions. The US e-learning market is primarily driven by corporations and educational institutions, which demand secure and reliable learning solutions. The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent trend of remote work and remote learning have accelerated the adoption of on-premises e-learning solutions in the US, leading to their continued growth during the forecast period.

Download a Sample of our comprehensive report today to discover how AI-driven innovations are reshaping competitive dynamics

Research Analysis

The E-learning market in the US is experiencing significant growth, particularly in sectors like childhood education and K-12 education, as institutions seek cost-effective, flexible, and engaging alternatives to traditional classroom learning. Public-private funding and partnerships are driving the digitalization of classrooms, with electronic gadgets like computers, PCBs, LEDs, and high-performance adhesives becoming essential tools. Companies like VIPKID and Futurelearn are leading the way in children's language learning and remote learning solutions. However, challenges such as inadequate internet access and slow loading times persist, requiring ongoing efforts to improve e-learning infrastructure and 5G networks. E-learning market statistics indicate continued expansion, with e-learning solutions increasingly adopted by educational institutions for training and development. Despite these advancements, face-to-face interaction remains a crucial component of effective teaching, necessitating a balance between electronic and traditional methods.

Market Research Overview

The E-Learning market in the US is experiencing significant growth as childhood education and K-12 education increasingly embrace digitalize classrooms. Public-private funding is driving the adoption of smart education, with education institutes deploying cloud-based solutions and IoT devices to enhance course delivery. Higher education and test preparation are also transitioning to online learning, with e-learning solutions and virtual environments offering cost-effective training methods. Vocational programs are also benefiting from digital learning solutions, enabling remote learning for students using smartphones and computers. Despite ongoing efforts to improve e-learning, challenges persist, including inadequate internet access and slow loading times. However, 5G networks and innovative learning solutions, such as AI-based learning and interactive platforms, are addressing these issues. The e-learning market is expected to continue growing, with statistics showing a significant increase in student registrations and the use of digital tools. The future of education and training lies in online education, with e-learning platforms offering standardized training and educational content to a global audience.

Table of Contents:

1 Executive Summary

2 Market Landscape

3 Market Sizing

4 Historic Market Size

5 Five Forces Analysis

6 Market Segmentation

Deployment

On Premises



Cloud

End-user

Higher Education



Corporate



K12

Product

Content



Technology



Services

Geography

North America



7 Customer Landscape

8 Geographic Landscape

9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10 Company Landscape

11 Company Analysis

12 Appendix

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio

27 january 2025 at 04:37

News published onand distributed by:
We Are China

Cities hang lanterns to greet Spring Festival across China

Ecns.cn) 13:17, January 27, 2025

Lanterns are lit up in Chengdu Wuhou Shrine to celebrate Spring Festival in southeast China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 25, 2025. (China News Service/An Yuan)

People visit lantern fairs across China to greet the festival.

Tourists enjoy lanterns at the 18 Steps, a well-known popular tourist spot that features a blend of ancient architecture and modern retail spaces, in Chongqing, Jan. 25, 2025. (China News Service/He Penglei)

Tourists enjoy lanterns at the 18 Steps, a well-known popular tourist spot that features a blend of ancient architecture and modern retail spaces, in Chongqing, Jan. 25, 2025. (China News Service/He Penglei)

Tourists visit a lantern fair to greet the Spring Festival in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 25, 2025. (China News Service/Yang Bo)

Lanterns are lit up in Chengdu Wuhou Shrine to celebrate Spring Festival in southeast China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 25, 2025. (China News Service/An Yuan)

Lanterns are lit up in Chengdu Wuhou Shrine to celebrate Spring Festival in southeast China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 25, 2025. (China News Service/An Yuan)

Tourists enjoy lanterns at the 18 Steps, a well-known popular tourist spot that features a blend of ancient architecture and modern retail spaces, in Chongqing, Jan. 25, 2025. (China News Service/He Penglei)

Tourists enjoy lanterns at the 18 Steps, a well-known popular tourist spot that features a blend of ancient architecture and modern retail spaces, in Chongqing, Jan. 25, 2025. (China News Service/He Penglei)

Tourists visit a lantern fair to greet the Spring Festival in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 25, 2025. (China News Service/Yang Bo)

Tourists visit a lantern fair to greet the Spring Festival in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 25, 2025. (China News Service/Yang Bo)

Tourists visit a lantern fair to greet the Spring Festival in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 25, 2025. (China News Service/Yang Bo)

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing)
KBR Awarded $187M U.S. State Department Task Order for Medical Support Services in Iraq





HOUSTON, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- KBR (NYSE: KBR) announced today it has been awarded a new time and material (T&M), cost-reimbursable task order by the U.S. Department of State to provide medical support services in Iraq. The Medical Support Services Iraq (MedSSI) task order has a $187M ceiling and falls under the Diplomatic Platform Support Services (DiPSS) contract.

Under the MedSSI task order, KBR will provide medical support services to a population of over 4,000 personnel supporting U.S. Mission Iraq. KBR will operate a Diplomatic Support Hospital and four clinics supporting the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. KBR will provide on-site primary, urgent, and initial emergency care. KBR physicians, nurse practitioners, physicians' assistants and support staff will be certified to provide general and specialty care, including surgery, orthopedics, neurology, gynecology, radiology, emergency medicine, critical care, mental health care and triage. The period of performance is five years and runs through 2029.

"KBR is proud to support the U.S. diplomatic mission in Iraq," said Byron Bright, President, KBR Mission Technology Solutions. "Access to quality medical care is critical to State Department personnel, and our team of skilled medical professionals and hospital administrators stand ready to provide top-notch care. With our long history in Iraq, KBR is well-positioned with a robust supply chain, sophisticated logistics and a solid understanding of Iraqi operational requirements."

The MedSSI task order is KBR's first medical support contract with the U.S. Department of State. KBR has provided health and human performance care to NASA and the U.S. military for decades, including medical and psychological services to U.S. astronauts and special operations personnel.

About KBR

We deliver science, technology and engineering solutions to governments and companies around the world. KBR employs approximately 37,000 people worldwide with customers in more than 80 countries and operations in over 30 countries.

KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, and long-term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver.

Visit www.kbr.com

Forward Looking Statements

The statements in this press release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding performance periods, contract values and future capabilities, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which are beyond the company's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, those set forth in the company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Form 10-Qs and 8-Ks and other U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which discuss some of the important risks, uncertainties and assumptions that the company has identified that may affect its business, results of operations and financial condition. Due to such risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

For further information, please contact:

Investors

Jamie DuBray

Vice President, Investor Relations

713-753-5082

[email protected]

Media

Philip Ivy

Vice President, Global Communications and Marketing

713-753-3800

[email protected]

SOURCE KBR, Inc.

27 january 2025 at 06:00

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Mytheresa Prepares Renaming to LuxExperience Upon Closing of YNAP Acquisition





MYT Netherlands Parent B.V. (NYSE: MYTE) ("Mytheresa" or the "Company") prepares to rename the Company "LuxExperience B.V." as part of its planned acquisition of YOOX NET-A-PORTER ("YNAP"). As a newly combined group, LuxExperience will be home to some of the most distinguished store brands in digital luxury with strong identities and unique characteristics, offering highly curated and strongly differentiated edits of the most prestigious luxury brands for luxury shoppers worldwide. The renaming reflects the Companys ambition to build a leading global multi-brand digital luxury group that creates communities for true luxury enthusiasts and desirability through unique digital and physical experiences. Subject to approval and effective with closing, the Company will continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the trade name "LuxExperience" and a new ticker symbol of "LUXE". The renaming will be presented for approval by the Companys shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting, scheduled for March 6, 2025.

The renaming will be a first milestone following the completion of the Companys announced acquisition of YNAP, featuring the NET-A-PORTER, MR PORTER, YOOX and THE OUTNET brands. Mytheresa and YNAP have each earned a strong reputation in the luxury industry for their pioneering roles in innovation, authoritative editorial voice and curation as well as high-quality customer service. All brands stand for clearly differentiated but complementary multi-brand offerings for luxury customers worldwide and carry a strong heritage: Launched in 2000, NET-A-PORTER became a leader in the online luxury fashion sector and an authoritative editorial voice for must-have womenswear collections. Since 2006, Mytheresa has established itself as an industry leader in the online luxury market with special access to exclusive product and brand experiences. Since 2011, MR PORTER is a go-to destination for men's style with a unique curation for fashion and lifestyle. Since 2000, YOOX offers a luxury treasure hunt shopping experience with one of the world largest offerings of luxury brands from past seasons, while THE OUTNET, founded in 2009, offers the most luxurious shopping experience in off-price.

All brands share the same principles: a strong customer focus, curation and inspiration and the creation of desirability through unique digital and physical experiences. LuxExperience serves as a unifying symbol and home reflecting those core values.

Michael Kliger, Chief Executive Officer of Mytheresa, said, "Luxury is an experience-driven business. The introduction of the new group name LuxExperience reflects our ambition to strengthen our position as a leading global multi-brand digital luxury group that builds a community for true luxury enthusiasts and creates desirability through digital and physical experiences. Within the group, we will further strengthen and develop the unique store brands and their identities, while creating synergies in the back-of-house. The new formed group will present one of the most exciting opportunities for investors worldwide to participate in the huge market opportunity in digital, multi-brand luxury shopping."

The closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur in the first half of calendar year 2025, is subject to customary conditions, including the receipt of antitrust approvals.

ABOUT MYTHERESA

Mytheresa is one of the leading luxury multi-brand digital platforms shipping to over 130 countries. Founded as a boutique in 1987, Mytheresa launched online in 2006 and offers ready-to-wear, shoes, bags and accessories for womenswear, menswear, kidswear as well as lifestyle products and fine jewelry. The highly curated edit of up to 250 brands focuses on true luxury brands such as Bottega Veneta, Brunello Cucinelli, Dolce&Gabbana, Gucci, Loewe, Loro Piana, Moncler, Prada, Saint Laurent, The Row, Valentino, and many more. Mytheresa's unique digital experience is based on a sharp focus on high-end luxury shoppers, exclusive product and content offerings, leading technology and analytical platforms as well as high quality service operations. The NYSE listed company reported ?913.6 million GMV in fiscal year 2024 (+7% vs. FY23). (https://investors.mytheresa.com).

"LuxExperience" will be the trade name for LuxExperience B.V., a Dutch company with limited liability, upon completion of the renaming of MYT Netherlands Parent B.V.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact or relating to present facts or current conditions included in this press release are forward- looking statements. Forward-looking statements give Mytheresa's current expectations and projections relating to the proposed transaction and the operation of the combined companies; its financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business, including statements relating to financing activities, future sales, expenses, and profitability; future development and expected growth of our business and industry; our ability to execute our business model and our business strategy; having available sufficient cash and borrowing capacity to meet working capital, debt service and capital expenditure requirements for the next twelve months; and projected capital spending. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions that Mytheresa has made in light of its industry experience and perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate under the circumstances. As you read and consider this press release, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. They involve risks, uncertainties (many of which are beyond Mytheresa's control) and assumptions. Although Mytheresa believes that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect its actual operating and financial performance and cause its performance to differ materially from the performance anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Mytheresa believes these factors include, but are not limited to: the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination or abandonment of the proposed transaction; the expected timing and likelihood of completion of the proposed transaction with Richemont, including the timing, receipt and terms and conditions of any required governmental and regulatory approvals of the proposed transaction that could reduce anticipated benefits or cause the parties to abandon the transaction; the risk that the conditions to closing the proposed transaction may not be satisfied in a timely manner or at all; the risk that the proposed transaction and its announcement could have an adverse effect on the ability of YNAP to retain customers and retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with their brand partners and customers and on their operating results and businesses generally; the risk that problems may arise in successfully integrating the businesses of YNAP and Mytheresa, which may result in the combined company not operating as effectively and efficiently as expected; the risk that the combined company may be unable to achieve cost-cutting synergies or that it may take longer than expected to achieve those synergies; Mytheresa's ability to effectively compete in a highly competitive industry; Mytheresa's ability to respond to consumer demands, spending and tastes; Mytheresa's ability to respond to any current or future health epidemic or other adverse public health development; Mytheresa's ability to acquire new customers and retain existing customers; consumers of luxury products may not choose to shop online in sufficient numbers; the volatility and difficulty in predicting the luxury fashion industry; Mytheresa's reliance on consumer discretionary spending; and Mytheresa's ability to maintain average order levels and other factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of these assumptions prove incorrect, Mytheresa's actual operating and financial performance may vary in material respects from the performance projected in these forward-looking statements.

Mytheresa undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

The achievement or success of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, Mytheresa's results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements it makes.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements represent Mytheresa's management's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date such statements are made.

Further information on these and other factors that could affect Mytheresa's financial results is included in filings it makes with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") from time to time, including the section titled "Risk Factors" in its annual report on Form 20-F and on Form 6-K (reporting its quarterly results). These documents are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on the SEC Filings section of the Investor Relations section of our website at: https://investors.mytheresa.com.

27 january 2025 at 08:05

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Andrew Brooks, UNICEF Representative to Liberia speaking at their annual review meeting held at the EJS Ministerial Complex in Congo Town.
LIMERICK artist NIYL has been announced as one of the acts bidding to represent Ireland at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest taking place in Basel, Switzerland in May this year.



NIYL, better know to many in his native Limerick as Niall O'Halloran, has an entry entitled Growth.

NIYL mixes a unique blend of emotionally fuelled vocals with an electronic sound to deliver a powerful, cinematic; original works. Inspired by artists including London Grammar, Woodkid and Yebba, NIYL has ambitions to establish a new sound within the Irish music industry. A lyricist who draws inspiration from his upbringing in the west of Ireland and the dramatic landscapes of the coast, NIYL writes as a means of catharsis, channelling emotions through word and song.

NIYLs ambition is to shed light on the challenges and thrills that come with being queer in the county. As a queer Irish artist, NIYLs songs look to amplify queer culture in the Irish music industry with his music. NIYL is currently in the midst of releasing his debut album Parish Is Burning which is being released across 2025.

As a solo artist, NIYL has joined the National Geographic Concert Orchestra as a lead vocalist for their award winning Symphony for our World and has performed as a headline act at Irish festivals Doolin Folk Fest, Live on Air and Go Tobann. Overseas, in 2018 NIYL joined Tony winning songstress Cynthia Erivo for a week-long residency in St Jamess Theatre, London - performing the works of composer Scott Alan. As a backing vocalist NIYL has performed alongside many internationally acclaimed artists including Rufus Wainwright and Dermot Kennedy.

READ MORE: Arts and music festival in Limerick for Bank Holiday weekend

All six finalists have now been confirmed for The Late Late Eurosong Special with Bobbi Arlo, Reylta, Adgy, Samantha Mumba, EMMY, and NIYL hoping to get the opportunity to represent Ireland on the biggest stage and bring home Eurovision 2025.

The contenders will battle it out on The Late Late Eurosong Special on Friday, February 7 at 9:35pm on RTE One, where they will face a combination of the National Jury, International Jury, and public vote. Each artist will perform their song, selected from hundreds of entries received by RTE following a callout for submissions last year.

The 69th Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be held in St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland after Nemo took home the trophy for Switzerland in 2024. Two Eurovision Semi-Finals will take place on Tuesday, May 13 and Thursday, May 15 with the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final taking place on Saturday, May 17.
PRIVATE security drivers have started to escort evening bus services in a city estate to protect drivers and passengers from serious violence.

Limerick Live has learned that a vehicle waits for the 303 bus to enter Southill from 5.30pm to close of service every night, with a security guard on hand to intervene if an issue on the bus arises.

The vehicle follows the bus - a service operates up to every 15 minutes - as it collects and drops off passengers in Carew Park and OMalley Park.

It then leaves the bus as it completes the rest of its route through Janesboro, the city centre and out to Moyross, before moving to follow another 303 service when it enters Southill.

READ MORE: Limerick hurlers make Guinness Book of World Records

Local TD Maurice Quinlivan said he is aware of the security guard following the bus.

He said its disappointing its happening, but added: If the services are under attack, we have to defend them as best we can.

The move comes following a spate of violent incidents on the bus.

Last year, drivers stopped serving OMalley Park and Carew Park for a time after a driver ended up in hospital with facial injuries after she was shot at with an airgun.

Limerick Live understands a condition of the National Bus and Rail Union allowing its members to return to Southill was having this security measure put in place, alongside regular appearances by gardai on board the 303.

The security personnel, it is understood, are funded by the National Transport Authority which governs bus services across the State.

Only last week, a driver in his 40s ended up in hospital after being assaulted by two people on William Street.

He suffered a black eye and cuts to his face.

Mr Quinlivan added: The communities the buses serve are by-and-large sound, solid communities. But, unfortunately, in some areas across the city, a tiny group of people have caused problems over the years. It's not fair when the service is cut off due to a small group of people.

The City TD said the root cause of this is a decline in frontline gardai. He claimed that 10 years ago, 92 community gardai served the city and that's down to just 22 now.

The NTA referred queries on the security presence to Bus Eireann, with the bus firm not returning a request for comment.
Elaine Crowley became the second celebrity to be eliminated from series eight of Dancing with the Stars in the latest episode with an annual special 'Movie Week'.

Elaine and pro partner Denys Samson had the lowest number of votes combined from the first four episodes.

On exiting the competition Elaine said: "I'm disappointed but I had a shaky day today," RTE said.

It was Movie Week on the show on the Sunday January 26th episode where the annual special saw the ten remaining celebrity couples dance glittering routines inspired by some of the biggest movies of all time, with iconic heroes, villains and much-loved characters taking centre stage.

Former Miss Universe Ireland, Aishah Akorede and Robert Rowinski were the first to take to the dancefloor tonight with their take on a Cha-cha-cha to Rescue Me by Fontella Bass from Sister Act, said RTE.

Rhys and Laura have us tangled in their wondrous web... and we aint complaining! 29 points for their Charleston! #DWTSIRL pic.twitter.com/rdl25Qlpsv  DWTS Ireland (@DWTSIRL) January 26, 2025

Judge Karen Byrne said: "Aishah you didn't need any rescuing tonight! You did not disappoint. What an opener!" according to RTE.

READ NEXT: ALERT: ESB warns of 'very dangerous' incident that could occur following weekend of storms

Judge Arthur Gourounlian said: "You took the whole audience to the chapel with you... you have stunning charisma. You have set the standard for Movie Week."

Dancing second on the night comedian Gearoid Farrelly transformed into The Artful Dodger, alongside his partner Stephen Vincent for an American Smooth to Consider Yourself from Oliver!

Arthur said: "That lift - my jaw dropped. It's the first time you've danced without looking to Stephen for validation. I'm so proud of you."

Third up were social media star Kayleigh Trappe and her partner Ervinas Merfeldas were aiming for "purr-fection" when they took on a Quickstep to the title track from The Aristocats.

Reactions from viewers on social media platform X, poured in for the latest episode.

One person said that it was "Kayleighs best dance yet!".

Another person said, "Well done Jack and Alex another very good performance."

Someone else commented on Rhys and Laura's preformance, "he's not dancing, he's doing a gymnastics competition."
Dance lovers, listen up! What Next Dance Festival is back and better than ever.

Running from Monday, February 10 to Saturday, February 15, and hosted by the renowned Dance Limerick, this years festival gathers performers from across Ireland and internationally for over six days of discovery and celebration for both audiences and dance artists alike.

This years programme sheds light on dance artists and choreographers bringing their unique voices, experiences and rich questions to their dance-making.

Their work offers perspectives on relationships, resistance, liberation, society and how we want to be together in our communities.

Image by Patricio Cassinoni

Make sure to join Dance Limerick for this incredible and fun-filled event!

What Next curators Catherine Young and Mary Wycherley are delighted to welcome audiences to Limerick so they can dive in and discover dance.

Something that is central to the festival, since its inception in 2018, is the Artists Creative Exchange.

This year, the festival artists will spend two days together at Dance Limerick, sharing their practice with each other. This allows them to connect and be inspired, have fruitful discussions and interactions and gain invaluable insights into each other's work.

Dance Limericks performance space at St Johns Church will be the stage of three mixed-bill nights featuring a total of seven performances by exceptional national and international dance artists who are shaping the world of dance today.

Image by Luca Truffarelli

Opening the festival will be Aerowaves Twenty24 artist, Charlie Khalil Prince, with the body symphonic, a solo performance-concert created in response to the multiple geo/political crises in Lebanon, followed by Luca Truffarellis immersive new dance work The Weight, set against a soaring orchestral backdrop composed by Greg Haines and recorded by the RTE Orchestra.

On Friday, February 14, they will have the pleasure to accompany artist Rocio Dominguez as she explores transit, loss and rebirth in 'MANY MEs'.

Aerowaves artist Tu Hoang will also be preforming a duet, False Memories, created through the perspective of two individuals that have an unspeakable connection with each other.

Saturday night will pay homage to the many Irish-based dance artists who are making new work today.

Image by Luca Truffarelli

Audiences will enjoy the work of The Parsley Collective, composed of five dancers who share a curiosity for improvisation and exploration.

Jessie Thompson will then present her newest piece, commissioned by Dance Limerick for What Next festival missing you, missing me, a look at unique familiar settings, grief, guilt and the consequences of these.

Choreographer, Amir Sabra, in collaboration with students from the MA in Contemporary Dance Performance at the Irish World Academy, with composer Rossa O Snodaigh, and fellow members of the award-winning Irish band Kila, closes the last performance night with an invitation to experience an intercultural dialogue.

Image by Maurice Gunning

This spirit is continued by the closing event, returning for a second year at What Next, Catherine Young and The Welcoming Projects Ceili Afro Dabke Ukraine, an upbeat world music ceili dance with live music where all are welcome to dance the night away!

In addition to the performances, this years festival includes a workshop with festival artist Charlie K. Prince, as well as a gathering morning for the community to meet, enjoy some food together, and hear about diverse career experiences in panel discussions, featuring festival and visiting artists.

The events take place at Dance Limerick's performance space in Johns Square, and feature a range of affordable prices.

Mixed performance bills ensure there is a show to suit everyones taste. Why not discover dance in 2025, at What Next dance festival from February 10-15.

Get ready to be inspired, challenged and involved in What Next 2025!

To purchase your tickets today, go here.

*Sponsored content
As part of Lincoln University of Missouris '25 in 25' points of pride, the University celebrates the reaffirmation of accreditation for the LU School of Business by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).The programs accreditation, approved by the councils Baccalaureate/Graduate Degree Board of Commissioners, will remain in effect for the next 10 years.

The successful reaffirmation of our ACBSP accreditation reflects our faculty and staffs dedication to providing the highest academic experience for our Lincoln business students, said Lincoln President Dr. John B. Moseley. This recognition proves our commitment to preparing our business graduates for success, and I want to thank our faculty and staff for their hard work and dedication to maintaining this recognition.

The councils action reaffirms accreditation to the following Lincoln degree programs: Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Bachelor of Science in Marketing, Master of Business Administration with Emphasis in Accounting, Master of Business Administration with Emphasis in Agribusiness, Master of Business Administration with Emphasis in Management, and Master of Business Administration with Emphasis in Management Information Systems.

Accreditation is an essential component of a schools educational programming. The ACBSP reaccreditation process focuses on recognizing teaching excellence, student learning outcomes and a continuous improvement model. It provides validation for the degrees students earn in an accredited program.

The ACBSP process follows the Baldrige model for performance excellence, a quality assurance program known for its annual National Quality Awards that recognize and improve performance of the nations businesses, hospitals, schools and nonprofit organizations and government agencies. ACBSPs student-centered teaching and learning approach ensures that students gain the right skills from their educational investment and ACBSP-accredited institutions are committed to continuous improvement.

The reaffirmed accreditation came with a few suggestions for improvement opportunities through regular cycles of planning, execution and evaluation of every process and system. The council has suggested the business school focus on systematically gathering information from its various stakeholders for strategic planning purposes; regularly collecting feedback from the faculty; and creating its own documented human resource plan tied to the schools strategic plan and the universitys plan. Lincoln must submit a status report on improvements by September 2026.

The School of Business is a division of Lincoln Universitys College of Professional Studies.

Stay tuned for the rest of the month with more of Lincolns 25 in 25.
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USA Stocks - Tech stocks fall sharply as Chinas DeepSeek sows doubts about AI spending 27-01-2025 02:14



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A day before curtains rise on the Burman family's open offer for Religare Enterprises Ltd, Indian-American businessman Digvijay Danny Gaekwad has sought to expand his counter-offer for the financial conglomerate. However, the late entry may not pass regulatory muster, said two people close to decision-making at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and three experts in securities law.

Gaekwad, who wrote to Sebi chair Madhabi Puri Buch on Friday for permission to launch an open offer for 26% in Religare, revised his offer to at least 55% on Sunday. At 275 a share, Gaekwad's competing offer is 17% higher than the Burmans's offer of 235, and will involve investment of 5,000crore. On Friday, Religare shares closed at 249.35, against 275 a day before the Burmans first announced their open offer plan.

However, according to the people cited above, Sebi is unlikely to allow Gaekwad to go ahead.

"This is first because, as per the extant takeover code of Sebi, any counteroffer is to be made within 15 days of the detailed public statement regarding an open offer by the original acquirer, or within 20 days under Section 20 of the SAST regulations under cases involving the White Knight defence provisions in the takeover," said the first person. SAST stands for Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers.

Queries emailed to Sebi and Religare remained unanswered. Calls, text messages and an email sent to Gaekwad did not elicit a response.

The Burman family already holds above 25.18% in Religare, and if public shareholders fully accept the upcoming tender offer, the family's holding will total 53.94%. Gaekwad expanded his offer on Sunday, since takeover norms stipulate that any rival bid should be for more shares than proposed by the original acquirer.

Potential hurdle

Another potential hurdle is the timing.

There are clear timelines under Regulation 20 of the SAST regulations for competing bids, and strict adherence to these timelines are critical in such public offers. It has not been followed in Gaekwad's competing offer," said Ramesh Vaidyanathan, managing partner of corporate law firm BTG Advaya. "Secondly, the timing of the competing offer is questionable. It has been made just a day before the Burman family's open offer on Monday, which suggests that this may not be a bona fide competing offer, but merely a red herring with some other objective. Also, the due process meant to be followed in competing offers, which establishes the credentials of the funds and the competing acquirer, is not complied with by the Gaekwad entity. So, this competing offer proposal is unlikely to be approved or go any further," Vaidyanathan added.

Religare owns Care Health Insurance Ltd, India's second-largest private standalone health insurer worth at least 10,000 crore, boasting a stellar growth story over the past seven years. The board of Religare, after initially welcoming the Burman offer in 2023, turned around to oppose it, citing the allegedly low price on offer, and questioned the fit-and-proper status of the Burmans. While the Burmans have accused Religare and its chairperson Rashmi Saluja of various misdemeanours, the company has staunchly defended her and denied the charges. After securing clearances from India's banking, markets and insurance regulators, the open offer is set to hit the market on Monday.

"There is a formal procedure for making a competing offer and only then can it be accepted. The veracity of the competing offer, credentials of the acquirer and the source of funds are all part of that formal procedure. Such an offer could have been made even at this stage. Since Gaekwad's competing offer proposal has been made merely through a letter it has no legal validity," said Sandeep Parekh, managing partner at Finsec Law Advisors.

Lack of information

Another cause of concern is the lack of information on how Gaekwad will finance the open offer.

"The entity is neither a foreign portfolio investor nor has a meaningful business presence in India. One does not know the antecedent of this Gaekwad entity, the source of its funds and the ultimate beneficiary owner. This is just another ploy to derail the takeover offer by the Burman group," said Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director of proxy advisory InGovern Research Services.

"Sebi has many grounds to reject Gaekwad's offer. Firstly, any competing offer was to be made within 15 days of the public announcement made in 2023. Secondly, any competing offer has to be made through a merchant banker along with proof of funds. The Gaekwad entity has not followed any process, which shows the non-seriousness of the competing offer and raises questions on the entity's credibility," said Subramanian.

He said Gaekwad's attempt raises more questions since Religare's board has resisted a takeover by the Burmans. "As a responsible market regulator, Sebi cannot allow abrupt competing offers that defy all procedures and regulations when an existing open offer is launched by a credible entity that owns 25% shareholding," Subramanian added.

Hitting back

On Sunday, the Burmans hit back at Gaekwad's plan.

Gaekwad had to make the competing offer, if at all, within 15 days from the date of public statement, which was made by the Burman Group on 4 October, 2023 but he did not do so. Over 400 days have now elapsed for entitling anyone to make a valid competing open offer. The request for permission is entirely lacking in substance, bona fides, and offers no indication of any source of funds or even the capacity to purchase the proposed shares. The fact that this purported letter, lacking any bona-fides has been disseminated by REL to the stock exchanges, without undertaking any diligence, reeks of connivance, deceit and gross recklessness amongst the executive leadership at REL. It is clearly done with the aim of misleading the public shareholdersofREL," the Burman family said in a statement.

However, some Religare investors feel even the 235 per share offered by the Burman family may attract only a handful of shareholders. "At 235, the open offer may attract only a few who bought shares at a much cheaper rate. Religare share price has moved up significantly since the original offer was made in 2023 by the Burman family. So, the price ideally could have been bettered," a Religare shareholder said on the condition of anonymity.

The intention behind Gaekwad's competing offer at this stage is not very clear, but the offer price of 275 may just be an attempt to plant doubts in the minds of prospective public investors tendering their shares in the open offer. After Gaekwad's offer, they may think that in future, their shares may be offered an even higher price by someone else than the 235 offer made by the Burman family. And that may influence the decision of some of the shareholders to tender their shares in the offer made by the Burman family," Vaidyanathan of BTG Advaya said.
Insurtech startup InsuranceDekho has raised capital from Beams Fintech Fund, MUFG Bank and C. Development, an associate firm of BNP Paribas Cardif, documents filed with the ministry of corporate affairs showed. This is part of a larger fundraiser that could go up to $75-100 million, two people familiar with the matter told Mint .

The filings showed that the firms bought 4.33 million shares of InsuranceDekho for 121.9 crore.

The startup is expected to appoint bankers for an initial public offering over the next 3-4 weeks, the people said. They added that the company plans to fast-track is IPO plans.

It should be ready for a public offering sometime later this year and is likely to be their last fundraise before the listing," one person said. The round is internal with participation from existing investors. It only has a primary component that the company plans to use towards its expansion and inorganic growth plans."

The funding will come in multiple tranches with other existing investors also expected to come on board over the next 2-3 weeks, the second person said, adding that details of the valuation have not been fully determined.

InsuranceDekho, Beams and C. Development did not immediately respond to Mints requests for comment. MUFG declined to comment.

Mint first reported in June that the company was in early talks to raise $100-150 million and had appointed Avendus to help with the process. In October, Mint exclusively reported that the company was in final stages to merge with smaller peer RenewBuy in a cash-and-stock deal that would create Indias second-largest insurance aggregator.

InsuranceDekho raised $60 million in its Series B round in October 2023 at a valuation of $630 million. The round was led by Japans Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), BNP Paribas Cardif through its insurtech fund managed by European investment major Eurazeo, Beams Fintech Fund and Yogesh Mahansaria Family Office.

Other investors

At the time, the company outlined plans to beef up tech capabilities, enhance marketing efforts, finance new initiatives like reinsurance, and pursue inorganic growth plans through the fund-raise.

InsuranceDekho raised $150 million in its Series A round led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and TVS Capital Funds in February 2023. Its other existing investors include Investcorp, Avataar Ventures and LeapFrog Investments.

Founded in 2017 by Ankit Agrawal and Ish Babbar, InsuranceDekho earns about 82% of its premium from Tier-II cities and beyond. With more than 6 million customers, the company has direct integration with 46 insurance companies in India, offering over 380 products, including 175 for health and life and claims to be present in about 1,500 towns. It competes with Acko, Turtlemint and PolicyBazaar.

InsuranceDekho is a subsidiary of automobile portal CarDekho, which pivoted from selling used vehicles to vehicle financing. Jaipur-based CarDekho, which became a unicorn in 2021, competes with CarTrade, Spinny, and Cars24. In December 2023, it acquired shared mobility startup Revv.

In FY24, InsuranceDekho's operating revenue surged 670% to 743.6 crore from 96.5 crore a year earlier. It posted a profit of 85.7 crore as compared to a loss of 51.6 crore in FY23, as per an Inc42 report.
NEW DELHI : Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) will have a refining capacity of around 50 million tonnes (mt) after commissioning the proposed greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh, said the chairman and managing director of G. Krishnakumar.

The proposed refinery is expected to have an annual refining capacity of nine million tonnes.

The company has major expansion plans in line with its vision to become major player in India's petrochemical sector, as the government is looking at positioning the country as hub to meet the global petrochemical demand in years ahead.

Krishnakumar added that India's third-largest refiner is already working on the expansion of its existing refineries at Madhya Pradesh's Bina and Kerala's Kochi. India's current refining capacity is 250 mt per annum, of which BPCL accounts for 35 mt.

Earlier in January, the Andhra Pradesh state cabinet approved the proposal for setting up a petroleum refinery project by BPCL at Ramayapatnam in Nellore district.

"Overall, we may get about 50 million metric tonne capacity when we finish the Andhra Pradesh project, roughly (in the range of) 50-52 mt. From 35 mt, it will go up to 50-52 mt," the CMD said.

The company expects to complete the final investment decision (FID) by the end of 2025 after the pre-project activities, including feasibility study, environmental impact assessment, and land acquisition. The board of directors of the company in December approved the commencement of pre-project activities that would incur an estimated cost of 6,100 crore.

Although the company has yet to decide on the investment amount, it is estimated that it would be India's costliest refinery project, with an estimated cost of 95,000-97,000 crore.

Speaking to reporters after the state cabinet's approval, K. Parthasarathy, Andhra Pradesh's information and public relations minister, said the refinery would be set up with an investment of 96,862 crore.

Vetsa Rama Krishna Gupta, director (finance) at BPCL, also said in an analyst call on 24 January that although FID is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, the current projection is around 95,000 crore.

Also Read: Petroleum ministry recommends GST on natural gas

"(In the case of ) Andhra Pradesh refinery, we have not yet reached the FID stage. Pre-project activity is there. So, it may take another nine months to one year to reach the FID stage. That point in time, we will get the clarity of the overall capex numbers," Gupta told Mint.

Strong demand

The expansion in refining capacity comes at a time when the domestic petroleum demand continues to grow at a robust pace and is expected to grow at the fastest pace globally, while the growth in other countries is seen tapering down.

India's petroleum goods production is projected to reach 252.9 mt in the next fiscal year (FY26), according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. This is 4.65% higher than the 241.8 mt estimated for 2024-25, driven by key transport fuels petrol and diesel.

The state-run OMC-cum-refiner already has expansion plans for its Bina Refinery in Madhya Pradesh and Kochi Refinery in Kerala, as well as plans to establish petrochemical facilities there.

"Bina and Kochi petchem projects have been approved. There is a creeping expansion in Bina as well, and we are looking at creeping expansion at the Mumbai refinery. Right now the outlay for Kochi and Bina is about 55,000 crore, plus there is another creeping expansion of about 5,000 crore," Krishnakumar told in the interview.

The demand for petrochemicals is expected to grow globally even if the demand for petrol and diesel subdues amid the transition to electric mobility. Petrochemical products include plastics, fertilizers, solvents, drugs, pesticides, synthetic fibres and rubbers, paints and insulating materials, among others.

The demand for chemicals is predicted to nearly triple and the petrochemicals industry in India may reach $1 trillion by 2040, according to an EY report released in August 2024.
Levi Strauss knew baggy jeans were a big deal, but its data infrastructure helped the company understand the depth of the trend and move quickly to meet demand.

Levi Strauss & Co., making jeans since the 1850s, intuitively knew the baggy fit would catch on with younger shoppers, new to its dungarees. But it took technology to help the company see the roomier fit also would catch on with everyone else.

Theres also a whole lot of people that used to wear a 501, and they love their 501s," Levis Chief Digital Officer Jason Gowans said of the companys classic straight-leg jeans. But theyre also now leaning into our wider-leg fits. That was something that was at least a little bit of a surprise to us."

In 2020, Levis signed a deal with Google Cloud and began gathering data points from purchases, web-browsing, retail partner sales and its loyalty program into a Google database, and running daily machine-learning algorithms designed to identify and predict purchase trends, said Gowans. For the first time, he said, Levis was able to continuously pull together data from 110 countries and 50,000 points of distributiononly 1,100 of which were Levis own stores.

View Full Image How Tech Helped Levis Ride the Baggy Jeans Trend

Levis, which has a global wholesale business, had previously struggled to bring all its data under one tent. Purchase dataa major piece of the profilewas spread across a range of different retail partners of varying sizes and technical capabilities.

Getting numbers from big department stores was straightforward enough, but from a smaller retailer in Indonesia might be difficult, Gowans said. Google helped Levis automate the collection of data from those retailers, as well as checking when the information wasnt arriving on time.

Being able to comprehensively pull that data together on a continuous basis has been a big reason for why weve been able to operate with a bit more agility over the past two years," Gowans said.

Looser for everyone

The new data system helped the company understand that baggy and loose silhouettes werent just for the TikTok generationthey were for everyone. As a result, Levis dove into marketing campaigns like Live Loose" and began evangelizing on the trendiness of roomier fits to its retail partners. The insight also informed ordering decisions to keep the more capacious fits in stock and influenced future design choices.

The Google initiative helped them understand the scope and scale of the trendthat it went beyond younger women and even encompassed older consumers and menand quickly move to provide those options, Gowans said.

As we introduce looser and baggier fits, we see that demand shifting towards ever more looser, ever more baggier fits," he said.

On Levis latest earnings call in October, CEO Michelle Gass said loose fits were up 15% in the quarter, reflecting strength across genders and channels."

Even Gowans, who went for the slim fit in the past, is now going baggy.

Gleaning directions from the data

The retail industry as a whole has worked hard over the past few years to get better at collecting and analyzing data to decide what styles and trends to prioritize in future orders and serve to various demographics, said Nikki Baird, vice president of strategy and product at retail technology provider Aptos.

Its just been really hard to get that data, to get it by customer and then to pile that all together in a meaningful way," she said.

Data on web-browsing can be misleading, and purchase data doesnt always yield insights on how certain demographics are shopping, she said. Gowans said Levis is looking at opportunities to expand its data-collectingcurrently its loyalty program is the only way it has to separate shoppers by demographic.

For much of its storied past, Levis has been data-rich, but information-poor," Gowans noted. The 172-year-old company had amassed a trove of datareceipts from purchases made in the days of horses and buggies, and a digitized archive with information on the placement of pockets on jeans in the 1970s, for starters. But the company struggled to muster a continuous flow of information useful to predicting trends.

In the past few years, the company has developed a data infrastructure in which the majority of its analytics resides in Googles ecosystem. Besides its Cloud storage, that includes its BigQuery data warehouse, the governance tool Dataplex, various machine-learning tools and its Analytics Hub.

The new data capability is part of a broader effort at Levis to transform the way jeans are designed, shipped and sold, from the use of 3-D renderings of tops to equipping store associates with generative AI-powered tools that let them ask questions about the qualities of various types of denim.

Ultimately the goal is financial benefit, but it really is grounded in the customer: making sure that were relevant, making sure that weve got that relevant flow of newnessthats really whats motivating all this work," Gowans said.

Write to Isabelle Bousquette at isabelle.bousquette@wsj.com
Mumbai: Mumbai-based financial services group Motilal Oswal wants to exit the home finance business and has put its housing finance company on the block, three people aware of the matter said.

The development comes in the backdrop of increased deal activity in the affordable housing space in the past few months, both from private equity investors and in the primary markets.

Motilal Oswal has appointed investment bank Avendus Capital to look for potential buyers, the people cited above added on condition of anonymity.

The groups holding company, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, along with other wholly owned subsidiaries, currently holds 97.49% stake in the housing finance subsidiary, Motilal Oswal Home Finance.

While it was not immediately known how much the stake might fetch, some of its listed peers in the affordable housing spacesuch as Aadhar Housing Finance, Aavas Financiers, Aptus Value Housing Finance India, and Home First Finance Companyare trading at 2.8-3.9 times their book value or net worth.

As per data from Crisil, Motilal Oswals housing finance business had a standalone net worth of 1,290 crore as on 31 March 2024. Going by peer valuation, back-of-the-envelope calculations show the company could be valued between 3,612 crore and 5,031 crore.

A spokesperson for Motilal Oswal Home Finance denied the move: There is no such development of sale of business of Motilal Oswal Home Finance Ltd (MOHFL)".

The spokesperson added that the company continually evaluates various business opportunities as part of ongoing strategic efforts, and it would communicate any relevant updates if there is any such specific development in future".

An email sent to Avendus remained unanswered till press time.

The numbers

The affordable housing finance lender started operations in 2014 as Aspire Home Finance Corp. and was renamed to Motilal Oswal Home Finance in 2019. As of 30 June 2024, it had a loan book of 4,098 crore, according to Crisil. The loan book size was 4,048 crore on 31 March 2024.

The lender has had its share of asset quality troubles in the past. An August 2021 note by rating agency Icra had pointed out that in FY19, the lenders gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose to 9.2% of loans. It said that the Motilal Oswal Group undertook several remedial measures, including the strengthening of the systems and processes, managerial support, increased oversight, and capital infusion, thereby underscoring its commitment to the venture".

Also read | Why HDFC Bank turned down MUFJ's overtures on HDB Financial

The asset quality situation has since improved, with gross NPA ratio at 1.3% as on 30 September 2024, down from 2.1% as on 30 September 2023. A peer comparison showed that Aadhar Housing Finance and Aptus Value Housing Finance India had gross NPA ratios of 1.3% and 1.25%, respectively, as on 30 September 2024.

Meanwhile, Crisil Ratings believes that Motilal Oswal Home Finance remains strategically important to Motilal Oswal Financial Services as it gives the group exposure to the housing finance space. This imparts diversity to its revenue profile and mitigates the effect of cyclicality inherent to capital-market businesses".

In September 2024, Crisil revised its outlook on non-convertible debentures of Motilal Oswal Home Finance to positive from stable.

Rising deal activity

The decision to put the business on the block comes at a time when private equity investors have taken a keen interest in affordable housing businesses.

For instance, Shriram Finance sold its entire 84.44% stake in Shriram Housing Finance to Warburgs affiliate, Mango Crest Investment, for 3,929 crore in December 2024. The company has since been rebranded as Truhome Finance.

Then, EQT Partners acquired 100% stake in Indo Star Home Finance in September 2024. Earlier, CVC Capital Partners acquired a 26.47% stake in listed Aavas Financiers in August 2024, triggering an open offer for control.

Also read | Why RBI's new rules on bad loans have enthused buyers of stressed asset

Other private investors such as TA Associates, Prosus Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and Multiples Alternate Asset Management have also made minority investments. These include investments into Vastu Housing Finance, Vridhi Finserv Home Finance and Shubham Housing Finance.

The segment also saw two large IPOs (initial public offerings) last year. At least a few housing finance companiesincluding Aadhar Housing Financepivoted from a sale process in favour of the public markets because of lucrative valuations. Besides Aadhar, Bajaj Housing Finance also went public last year.

Affordable homes a bright spot

Experts said that the affordable housing segment continues to remain a bright spot supported by rapid urbanization, increasing migration to cities, and a growing middle class, and is likely to continue to be a high growth segment.

This is particularly attractive for non-banks given limited penetration of large banks allowing HFCs (housing finance companies) to generate attractive risk-adjusted yield," said Prakash Agarwal, a partner at debt market advisory firm Gefion Capital Advisors.

According to Agarwal, the outlook for the sector continues to remain positive even in the long term and provides enough scope for sustained growth for the players in the segment.

This allows the sector to attract significant capital as it supports many aspects which investors are looking for in terms of large addressable market, long term prospect, strong visibility, decent returns and regulatory support," Agarwal said.

Mint reported on 28 December how mortgage lenders are increasingly looking to finance affordable homes on the back of stiff competition from banks in the prime housing space.

The affordable housing loan market in India is estimated at 13 trillion, with HFCs constituting 6.9 trillion and banks having a share of 6.2 trillion, as per National Housing Bank data cited in a joint report from industry lobby body CII and real estate consultancy Knight Frank in December.
Many employees are frustrated about why some of their colleagues dont have to comply with RTO mandates.

Millions of workers across the country are being given return-to-office marching orders. But the rules are different for stars and top performers.

Companies including Amazon.com, AT&T and JPMorgan Chase have called workers back to the office five days a week recently, with bosses citing a need for collaboration and connection. Nearly 80% of 400 CEOs in a 2024 KPMG survey said they expect employees to be in offices full time within the next three years.

Employees with unique skills and talents, however, are often being offered more flexibility than their peers, labor researchers and recruiters say. The privilege gets extended to those with a proven record of exceeding performance quotas, or whose brains and personal brands make them a hot target for competitors to poach. Sometimes it is also about seniority. In other cases, your work-from-home status depends on what team youre on.

Work-from-home days once arranged with an empathetic boss have now become a privilege.

Its a little bit more selective, more quote-unquote perky," said Ron Porter, a senior partner at organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry, which referred to the phenomenon as the new hybrid hierarchy" in a recent report. In certain roles, you could see it as thats what it took to get them, or thats what it took to retain them."

Still, the tiered return-to-office policy can lead to tensions about fairness among peers, as well as between managers and their staff.

Hadejah Alford, who works in sales for an advertising company in California, is allowed to remain hybrid while managers have had to start going into the office five days a week. Work from anywhere is important for her as a mom of four, she said, allowing her to easily schedule her childrens doctors appointments or help with school projects.

From the managers perspective, I think theyre looking at it as like, OK, if we can do it, you can do it too, so theres that resentment," she said.

Work-from-home haves and have-nots

Many employees are frustrated about why some of their colleagues dont have to comply with RTO mandates.

Ryan Essenburg, a business development director in Mountain View, Calif., wasnt happy when a former employer moved from hybrid to five days a week in office last year, with the exception being those who exceeded their performance quotas.

He and colleagues who didnt exceed the quota went into the companys office every day and were routinely treated like children and micromanaged," he said.

Essenburg parted ways with the company shortly after and continues to look for other hybrid opportunities.

I believe hybrid is the most optimal, productive and beneficial form of work regardless of seniority, title or quotas," he said. At one previous employer, everyone from the chief executive officer to rank and file went into the office on the same day every week. It worked great, there was no tension."

Chris Pelesky, a 26-year veteran of AT&T, resented a company RTO mandate.

After AT&T began implementing mandated in-office days for management employees in 2023, Chris Pelesky, a former lead channel manager at the company, said he found the policy inconsistent, with many cases of favoritism." Certain employees were allowed to work remotely more often than others.

Some people were correctly protected by classification, thats understandable, but there were a lot of teachers pets situations as well," he said.

An AT&T spokesperson said business units have some flexibility to determine a workplace model that best serves customers, and that some employees will continue to work remotely or on a hybrid schedule.

Pelesky, who worked at AT&T for 26 years, lost his job last year after he couldnt relocate from Abingdon, Md., to a Dallas hub to comply with the companys mandate.

He now works in a chief sales and marketing role at a 3-D printing business in Newark, Del. His salary is 40% lower than his AT&T pay, but he has a hybrid schedule that includes one remote day.

Who gets to work from home?

Five days a week in the office was the norm for most office workers until the pandemic forced millions to work from home. Many workers discovered a new work-life balance, with the flexibility to start preparing dinner earlier while still getting work done.

As offices started reopening in 2021, many employers stayed remote or settled on a hybrid schedule of two or three days in the office. When some workers still wouldnt come in, bosses started putting their foot down, mandating and even tracking attendance.

Today, one in 10 working professionals in the U.S. who want to change jobs cited a desire for hybrid or remote work that their current company doesnt allow, according to a new LinkedIn survey.

Fields where the share of hybrid job listings increased the most in 2024 include technology, finance and insurance, and nonprofit, according to jobs platform ZipRecruiter. Overall, the increase in job listings for hybrid roles slowed in 2024, according to jobs site Indeed.

Remote workers are more likely to be white, older and wealthier, according to new Census Bureau data.

Seemingly each week, more companies are pivoting back to making sure everyone comes back to the office. They believe in-person time leads to better communication, camaraderie and productivity.

At WPP, an advertising and marketing-services group, Chief Executive Mark Read announced in a New Years memo to staff that most employees would be required to spend an average of four days a week in the office. The policy applies to every employee at the company, including Read, he said, with some exceptions that would have to be agreed upon with a manager.

This is not about asking our junior staff to do something that our most senior staff are not going to do," he said. In fact, were rolling this out with our most senior people now, at the beginning of the year, before the whole organization in April."

Write to Ray A. Smith at Ray.Smith@wsj.com
UK-based private equity firm Aurea Group, which rescued London-based The Body Shop last year, is in the process of deploying $3-5 billion into more beauty brands, its Indian-origin founder Mike Jatania said.

Jatania, who is in India this week, added that The Body Shop was grossing $1 billion in annual sales and turning its focus on India as it sees the country as a top five global market for the beauty business.

India is very much at the top of our global growth strategy. We hope that in the coming years, India will move into the top three markets for us," he told Mint, adding that the company was launching a new product line in the country before exporting to the rest of the world.

Were also excited about quick commerce here as thats delivered very good results for us," Jatania added.



The PE firm also owns Herbivore Botanicals, a plant-based cosmetics company, Scandinavian Biolabs, a natural haircare product company, and Decypher, a company that produces and sells foundation makeup.

Also Read | India's beauty brands battle hard in a crowded market

Jatania's vision for the future of The Body Shop is focused on maintaining the brands iconic presence while adapting to the rapidly changing retail environment. "Were living in a very dynamic environment where you have to invest in social engagement, digital channels, and store formats. It requires significant capital, but we are committed to making the beauty business relevant for the next 50 years as it has been in the past," he said.

The Body Shop acquisition was the company's largest investmentfor an undisclosed sumto date in the sector, and Jatania described the opportunity as a rare one. "Its not every day you get to buy an iconic brand with such a large pie of global sales thats sold in 70 countries. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he said.

Also Read | Shoppers Stop looks to double its beauty business as global brands come knocking

The acquisition was complex, as The Body Shop had entered administration or insolvency as per UK rules, but the PE firms previous experience in revitalizing beauty brands like Yardley of London led to his interest in this business. "We took 11 weeks to complete the deal, closing it by late August or early September 2024."

Lornamead, a company that made and sold hair care, skin, oral care, and bath products, which was earlier owned by investment firm Aurea Group, was sold to various strategic investors in 2013 in the US, India and China, including India's Wipro. Some of the other brands owned by Lornamead were also Lypsyl, Woods of Windsor, and Harmony.

Also Read | Beauty, wellbeing, mini meal: HUL eyes high-growth segments to boost demand

The PE firm's investment strategy is highly focused, though, and Jatania said that the firm plans to remain specialised within the beauty and wellness sector rather than diversifying into other industries like food and beverage.

"Our ambition is, over the next five years, to become the largest private equity house in this space. We want to be a force in the private equity sector but are highly focused. Beauty and wellness require very different operational capabilities than, say, restaurants or food. We believe this focus will add value," he explained.

'Cautious of influencer-driven brands'

He said he would only be keen on investing in local brandsin India and elsewhere, toothat are highly differentiated and have a strong, long-term brand positioning. But, he is cautious not to focus on influencer-driven or celebrity-endorsed brands, which tend to be short-lived.

"In beauty, the key to success is building lasting relationships with consumers by engaging with them through different stages of their lives. The lifetime value of a consumer, achieved through ongoing relevance, is far more profitable than temporary interactions," he added.

Indias growing beauty market is a central component of this strategy. The Body Shop currently operates around 200 stores across the country, but its local franchise partnerQuest Retailplans to double the store footprint within the next three to five years, with a focus on both major cities and smaller towns.

"Weve been engaged in second- and third-tier cities since 2007, and the consumer demand is growing rapidly in these areas," Jatania said. "The goal is to open many more over the next few years, not just in big cities but also in smaller towns as we get about 50% of our business from smaller towns, including the e-commerce sales."

India is expected to play a central role in The Body Shop's global expansion strategy, alongside other major markets like the US, UK and Australia. It will take a re-look at its China strategy as well. "India is very much a focus market for us. Its part of our global growth strategy, and we see it continuing to grow to a top three market in the next few years as it will grow at an accelerated pace," he added.

Fragrance and skin care will remain a focus area, and these segments continue to grow. Along with physical stores, the beauty company has been focusing on increasing its digital presence, especially through quick commerce channels in India.

"Weve seen fantastic growth in quick commerce in India. It drives convenience and impulse purchases, and were at the forefront of this trend," Jatania said. Quick commerce has delivered very good results for us. Were currently at about 30% online in India, and we aim to push that number closer to 50%."

According to McKinsey, the AsiaPacific region (excluding China and Australia) maintained its position as the largest market for beauty retail sales in 2023, with a growth rate of 10% compared to the previous year. India stood out within the region, also recording a 10% growth, driven by 4% volume growth and 6% price growth.

McKinseys regional survey data revealed that India had the highest proportion of consumers willing to spend more on beauty products in 2023 and 2024, spanning all income levels. Notably, low-income consumers in India were unique in their intention to increase spending on beauty products, marking a significant trend through the second quarter of 2024.
Multiple startups incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) have raised substantial funding, helping the elite institution exit such investments and raise revenue for future research projects, director Rangan Banerjee said.

The institute had research and development (R&D) grants of 500 crore for FY25, an amount that keeps growing, Banerjee said on the sidelines of releasing its first research impact report covering the past six years. This helps our research build startups that generate direct employment, and leverage technology transfers from academia to compete in the industry," he added.

For comparison, the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and IIT Madras had R&D grants of 626 crore and 681 crore respectively in FY24, as per their annual reports.

Also read | Electronics manufacturing firms tipped to outperform indices this year

The balance of research funding is tricky for Indian institutes compared with global ones. Here, most funding comes from the governmentand these are competitive grants. Compared with previous years, the industry component of research funding is increasing, but its share is still relatively smaller," said Banerjee, who heads the IIT ranked second among Indias best engineering colleges. Government initiatives such as the Anusandhan National Research Fund (ANRF) could help, Banerjee added. ANRF funds research projects and assists in setting up research infrastructure.

Among startups incubated by IIT-Delhi affordable internet startup Wiom and connected car infrastructure startup Vecmocon raised $17.1 million and $10 million respectively, Banerjee added.

Part of a growing base

Preeti Ranjan Panda, dean, corporate relations at IIT Delhi, said these are part of a growing base of successful private ventures building large companies through partnership funding from large corporations.

We have a partnership with aviation giant Boeing for its Build (Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development) programme, as well as pharmaceutical conglomerate Pfizer with the latters Innovation and IP Programme. Each of them helps startups like Wiom and Vecmocon create an industry network, and an ecosystem of support to build for the world," Panda said.

Industry veterans have voiced the need for India to build its own intellectual properties in foundational technologies to reduce reliance on other nations. Last week, Ajai Chowdhry, co-founder, HCL and chairman of think-tank Epic Foundation told Mint that a lack of core patents can leave India at the mercy of other nations, especially the US, and the sanctions that they can impose to force their will on our and the global technology supply chain."

Meanwhile, 20 research students from IIT-Delhi are at Taiwans National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University to build chip fabrication skills.

India already has a big base of chip design engineers, but fabrication is a skill that remains absent. This will be necessary to cater to Indias upcoming chip fabs. Our partnership with NYCU, Taiwan is in order to bring core chip fabrication skills to India, which will help India build greater value R&D in the semiconductor field," said Naresh Bhatnagar, dean of research and development at IIT Delhi, who heads the project.

Steadily growing figure

Nikhil Agarwal, managing director of IIT-Delhis Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer said that in FY24, the institute was granted 190 patents, a figure he said is steadily growing.

Banerjee added that there are multiple factors that need to be taken into account before Indias R&D initiatives can build the kind of impetus that could rival the US.

We will have to establish trust among investors and showcase the mutual benefit of R&D investments to those funding these efforts. The scaling of startups is a key challenge on this notewere trying to see how we can grow some of our R&D projects to have a very large impact. For that, we are trying to enhance the overall investment and marketplace ecosystems," he said.

The question now is how fast we can build scale (for startups to make R&D investments successful). Favourable regulatory and policy frameworks, of course, help. There are policies in place in India to maintain financial discipline, which is fine. But, in research, one also needs speed. There, its not just about buying a commodity versus a specialized equipment. We need to be able to do the latter, and there are some challenges left to be addressed there," Banerjee further added.

ANRF, which Banerjee cited earlier, could be key on this note. With this programme, the Centre seeks to build a 50,000 crore ($5.8 billion) corpus to fund R&D initiatives in the countrywith 14,000 crore ($1.6 billion) invested by the Centre, and the rest raised from donations and private sector participation.

Mint reported on 12 December that the Centre is working on a 30,000 crore ($3 billion) incentive programme for the electronics industry, of which a potential $1.2 billion could be earmarked to incentivize the private sector to spend more on R&D partnerships in Indiasuch as Boeing and Pfizers partnerships with IIT Delhi.
BENGALURU : Community management leader MyGate is banking on increased penetration in societies and advertising revenue to drive profitable growth in the next three to four years, a top company official told Mint . The growth will, however, be at a slower pace than in the ongoing financial year.

We are at that stage where we can grow at least 30% year-on-year on the back of societies and advertising revenue. With some new verticals and experiments, we may be able to drive 50% growth," said Abhishek Kumar, co-founder and chief executive of the company, for beyond 2024-25.

For this fiscal year, Kumar said the startup achieved company-wide profitability and was on track to almost double its revenue, adding that the company can easily keep the momentum for 30-50% growth.

In 2023-24, the company posted a revenue of 110 crore and reduced its losses by 82% to 40 crore.

Sharp focus

Kumar told Mint that MyGate was past early distractions and focused on building a sustainable business and going public. He did not disclose any timelines for the initial public offering (IPO) but said the company has seriously started thinking about it.

The main driver for the growth is the acquisition of new societies and homes. While the company is currently present in about four million homes, it is adding about 100,000 homes every month.

There are 25 million households in gated communities as per our estimate, and we are present in just four million households. Every month, we are acquiring communities, and as the target increases, the team keeps on increasing," he said.

While 65-70% of the revenue comes from advertisements right now, about 30% comes from software as a service (SaaS). Advertising has allowed it to become a very viable business, according to Kumar. While Its a comfortable split, SaaS share may increase a little bit, he noted.

Talking about the challenge with the software offering, Kumar said, We thought integrating SaaS with societies would make money, but you cant make money in India just with SaaS. India is a software exporter of the world, but non-Indians pay for that software."

He added communities are almost always short on cash. It's very tough as a resident welfare association (RWA) member to run it as an enterprise. They have a different full-time job, and they are going out of their way to do this very thankless job. Residents also dont pay on time. You'll always find them thinking we need to pay vendors less. Now, with ads, we have created a win-win situation," he said.

"Most new premium residential society launches typically will come with a platform. Acquiring new societies requires significant effort to convince existing users to switch platforms," said Shivaraj Jayakumar, practice leader, mobility, energy and transportation at Praxis Global Alliance. Existing societies may be reluctant to switch platforms due to data migration issues and potential disruption to existing workflows."

However, he added, that certain structural factors were driving demand for society management solutions.

"The verticalization of housing, fueled by urban development, is optimizing land usage and creating a pipeline of opportunities. Increasing security needs and the coordination of rising delivery volumes further underscore the importance of these platforms," said Jayakumar.

The sector hasnt seen much activity recently because of the struggle with scaling SaaS offerings in society management. Indian customers are price-conscious, making it difficult to price solutions competitively while maintaining profitability. Freemium models often result in users staying on free tiers without converting to paid plans.

MyGates main competitors include ApnaComplex (acquired by real estate services firm Anarock), Adda, and the deep-pocketed NoBroker.

NoBrokers entry into the residential society app market in 2018 marked a turning point for MyGate's strategy, when the company shifted its focus from generating revenue to aggressively acquiring customers. As it became harder to convert customers to pay, MyGate shifted focus to a sustainable model and advertising has started to pay off.

As part of its new experiments beyond advertising and SaaS, the company launched MyGate Locks, its range of smart door locks, in September 2024. "We are looking at this as an option value right now. We'll scale this up when we believe that we have solved the profitability problem. It is still at a very early stage," said Kumar.

Hard lessons

The company has experimented with many things and burnt money. Now, it plans to build the business slowly and sustainably, according to the co-founder.

The first distraction is that I don't want more money in the bank than we need. Let's say some venture capital (VC) money comes and says, oh, you are doing great, take $100 million; I don't know if I will be super happy with that. It will be a major distraction for us," he said.

Whatever funds we raised, we have locked in the bank. Safety net is enough, and it allows us to also do some experiments, which is what we are doing with smart devices," Kumar added.

Talking about the past mistakes, Kumar said the companys monetization journey should have started earlier than it did. We started monetizing from 2021. So, if you see, the history of MyGate revenue, 2020-21 was 8 crore, but we started from 2016-17. We had 10 crore of yearly revenue, which for a company that has raised $60 million was nothing," he said.

MyGate has raised about $80 million in funding from investors like Tencent and Tiger Global Management, among others.

According to Kumar, the scale still remains a challenge, but he is optimistic. The vision is that of 25 million homes in gated communities in India using MyGate."
With Donald Trump returning to power as the US President, India finds itself in a tough position, particularly on two fronts: trade and the migration of Indians to the US. Since India may be the third or fourth biggest source of illegal immigration to the US by some estimates, forging a cooperative relationship with Washington could help the country avoid trade barriers in the future.

The ministry of external affairs last week said India will be willing to take back illegal migrants if their nationality as Indians is established, while Bloomberg reported quoting sources that the Indian government intends to repatriate 18,000 Indians residing in the US illegally. But how many such Indians are there in the US? According to the latest data from the Department of Homeland Security, the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants from India was 220,000, the ninth largest, in 2022. However, the Pew Research Center and the Center for Migration Studies of New York estimate a much higher number: nearly three times more. The difference between the official and unofficial figures for other top countriesMexico, Guatemala and El Salvadoris not that alarming.

At the same time, a large number of Indians also migrate to the US legally, forming the biggest group to attain H-1B visas, a work visa that allows US employers to hire foreign workers. Trumps new immigration policy has proposed to restrict birthright citizenship, which could significantly impact H-1B visa holders, leaving their US-born children in future without automatic citizenship.

Also Read: Americas H-1B visa is vital to US interestsand suits India too

The numbers game

Still, the Trump administrations stance has not been as stringent on H1-B visas as on illegal immigration. This offers India a chance to strike a better deal for skilled Indians looking to migrate to the US legally, by being tough on illegal migration.

While it is not clear whether India is the ninth-largest source of unauthorized immigrants (by official estimate), third-largest (by the Pew Research Center) or fourth-largest (by the Center for Migration Studies), the number of Indians detained for this reason is one of the biggest even by official numbers. According to the latest US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report, Indians make up the fourth-highest share of detainees in the US, with 2,647 individuals held between October 2023 and September 2024, trailing only Latin American countries like Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala.

Meanwhile, border encounters in the US involving undocumented Indians have surged nearly fivefold from nearly 20,000 (October 2018-September 2019) to over 90,000 (October 2023-September 2024). While these numbers appear alarming, Indians still represent a relatively modest share of unlawful border crossings, accounting for just 2-3%.The number of unauthorized immigrants from India does not make up more than 7% of 11 million in total, even going by the highest estimate. As such, the Trump administrations focus may be more on Mexico, which accounts for about 40% of unauthorized immigrants.

Also Read: Unpacking Trumps birthright citizenship restriction: Who stands to lose?

Tough trade-off

While India may not be the US biggest problem in terms of illegal migration, the US is one of India's leading trading partners, making it more likely for India to cooperate on new immigration policies. Colombia already got a taste of Trumps trade war threats on Sunday, as he briefly imposed high tariffsand even travel banson the South American nation after its unfriendly response to deportations.

The US has become India's largest export destination, with nearly 19% of total exports in 2024-25 so far. In the past seven years, the US has surpassed China as India's leading trading partner five times, and its share in India's overall trade has grown from 8% to nearly 11% in about a decade.

However, potential trade tensions loom: During Trump's first presidency, India faced higher effective tariffs, and he recently threatened to reciprocate India's high tariff rates, especially the 100% rate on certain products.

Indias strategic cooperation along with significant contribution in terms of skilled workers and trade partnership suggest that both nations recognize their mutual benefits and any future immigration policies will likely navigate carefully around these intersections.

Also read: Indian IT services companies shed reliance on H-1B visas
A few years ago, Neha Mathur, a loyal customer of a well-known beauty brand, wouldnt have thought twice before restocking her favourites, even at full price. Today, however, shes scrolling through multiple e-commerce platforms, hunting for the best deals. Ill buy whichever brand is offering a discount. Why pay more when theyre all the same?" she says.

Mathur isnt alone. Across India, consumers are increasingly trading brand allegiance for value, driven by a culture of discounts, cashback offers and flash sales. This shift has left brands scrambling to retain loyalty in a market where price often outweighs everything else.

However, this narrative oversimplifies the evolving Indian consumer. As Shubhranshu Singh, chief marketing officer (CMO) of Tata Motors commercial vehicles business, points out, It is futile to talk about an average Indian customer. India is incredibly diverse and heterogeneous. Its true value-consciousness is a common factor no matter whether the customer is looking for mass, popular or premium goods or services. But remember, India is incredibly young400 million Indians are not yet 20 years old."

Also read | Prayagraj Maha Kumbh 2025: The ultimate confluence of bhakti and brands

This begs the question: Is the relentless focus on short-term wins eroding the foundations of long-term brand equity?

The rise of the deal-seeker

E-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart have fundamentally reshaped shopping habits in India. Annual shopping events such as Amazons Great Indian Sale and Flipkarts Big Billion Days have conditioned consumers to wait for discounts, with many now equating affordability with value.

Add to this the growing popularity of buy now, pay later (BNPL) schemes and cashback offers from platforms like Paytm and Google Pay, and its no surprise that over 60% of Indian shoppers actively compare prices before making a purchase. Its not that consumers dont care about brands," says Pranav Tambey, general manager, marketing, Havells India. Its just that the thrill of getting a good deal often outweighs the loyalty momentarily. However, sustainably superior brand experiences of products and services will always outweigh the deal thrills."

Yet, Tata Motors Singh reminds us of the broader picture. Indian customers are technology-savvy and well-networked. They may not be affluent, but they are not ignorant. More than discounts, they have a refined sensibility for empathy, personalization, convenience and emotional gratification. These will define and create loyalty. Quality, reliability, transparency and trust are highly valued."

The short-term trap

While discounting strategies drive immediate sales, they come at a significant cost. Brands that rely too heavily on price cuts risk diluting their value proposition. A product perpetually on sale loses its aspirational appeal, reducing the consumers perception of its worth.

For example, subscription services like Zomato Gold initially positioned themselves as premium offerings, exclusive to a select few. Over time, frequent discounts and aggressive competition with similar platforms eroded this distinctness, turning a once-coveted membership into a commodity.

This phenomenon is evident across categories like electronics, fashion and even D2C (direct-to-consumer) brands, where festive offers" and constant sales cycles dominate marketing strategies. However, once a brand becomes synonymous with discounts, its nearly impossible to walk back without losing customers.

The brands that stand tall

Despite these challenges, some brands have successfully maintained loyalty without resorting to aggressive discounting.

Take Apple, for instance. By consistently positioning itself as a premium, innovative brand, Apple has managed to cultivate a loyal base of customers who prioritize quality and experience over price. Similarly, Tata Teas iconic Jaago Re" campaigns have resonated emotionally with Indian audiences, reinforcing trust and loyalty.

Among D2C brands, Mamaearth stands out as an example of leveraging transparency and authenticity to build a loyal customer base. By focusing on toxin-free, ecofriendly products and engaging storytelling, the brand has created a value proposition that transcends price wars.

Winning emotional loyalty

The brands that thrive in a deal-driven market are those that shift focus from transactional loyalty to emotional connections. Emotional loyalty, built on shared values, trust and authenticity, is what drives repeat purchases even when prices arent discounted.

As Singh elaborates, Customer value in terms of ease of access and great experience delivered with ecosystem benefits will build community, affiliation, and stickiness. Responsive customer support that prioritizes solving problems efficiently and empathetically is highly esteemed. Indian consumers value relationships and have immense pride in leading Indian brands and businesses."

Also read | Hello, 6E: Whose brand is it anyway?

Storytelling has emerged as a critical tool in this shift. Campaigns like Amuls iconic ads blend nostalgia, humour and topicality, creating a strong cultural and emotional bond with audiences. Similarly, purpose-driven marketingwhether championing sustainability, gender equality or local artisansresonates deeply with Indian consumers.

Technology also plays a pivotal role in fostering emotional loyalty. AI-driven loyalty programs, personalized rewards and gamified experiences are helping brands retain customers in meaningful ways. For instance, Starbucks uses purchase history to recommend beverages, creating a sense of exclusivity and personalization.

What about smaller towns?

Interestingly, while urban consumers have become increasingly deal-driven, tier-II and III cities remain relatively brand-loyal. For these audiences, trust and familiarity still hold sway. Brands like Patanjali and Maruti Suzuki have leveraged this insight, building their appeal on reliability rather than discounts.

However, as digital penetration deepens and online platforms gain prominence in smaller towns, even these markets are gradually shifting. The exposure to a wider range of options and deals is turning traditionally brand-loyal consumers into savvy, value-conscious shoppers.

The balancing act for marketers

For CMOs, the challenge lies in striking a balance between meeting quarterly sales targets and investing in long-term brand-building initiatives. While discounts may drive short-term results, a purely transactional relationship with customers is unsustainable.

Loyalty isnt deadits just evolving and expecting more out of the brands," adds Tambey. Customers still value quality, trust, and pre- and post-sales experiences. Its our job to remind them why brands matters, beyond the price tag."

Also read | From Dadar to Delhi: How AI-powered storytelling is reshaping Indian advertising

By focusing on emotional connections, storytelling and purposeful marketing, brands can reclaim their relevance and build lasting relationships with consumers. While deals may win a transaction, its authenticity, innovation and experience that win a customers heartand loyalty.

In a market flooded with choices, loyalty is no longer guaranteed. But for brands willing to rise above the noise of discounts and price wars, the rewards could be extraordinary.
Companies are ditching celebrities and moving to influencers for advertisements. Influencers are more affordable than celebrities, giving the brands better returns and conversions. This is slowly leading to companies cutting their celebrity endorsement marketing budgets and channelling them towards influencers.

I strongly believe that influencer marketing is eliminating celebrity endorsement from a regular and monthly investment standpoint," said Jatan Bawa, founder of oral care brand Perfora.

The entrepreneur explains that celebrity endorsements are being treated as one-off brand awareness-raising activities due to their high cost and need for precise messaging. In contrast, influencer marketing is more cost-effective, leveraging the influencer's existing reach and eliminating the need for additional marketing expenditure.

Marketing budgets and ROI

Over the past two years, the brand has spent 1-2% of its annual marketing budget on a couple of celebrity endorsements, while it regularly spends 15% of the same budget on influencers. This comes to 20 lakh a month.

We will continue to press the pedal on influencer marketing because it helps us get more eyeballs from our target audience," Bawa said.

Marketers are betting on digital celebrities as they see better return on investments. Mathematically, as they come in at lower rates than celebrities, they provide better returns. Moreover, it is easier to track and attribute, and they are known to drive sales better.

Influencer marketing often delivers a better return on investment due to lower costs, higher engagement, and targeted audiences," said Ayush Tainwala, CEO of Bagzone Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd, the holding company of handbag brand Lavie. While celebrity endorsements build mass appeal, influencer marketing provides measurable returns, typically 4-6 times compared to 2-3 times from celebrity endorsements. This makes it a more effective strategy for driving audience relevance and conversions," he added.

Malayalam actor Dulquer Salman promoted one of the smartphone brand Iqoos latest models Neo9 Pro on Instagram. The same device was also promoted by Malayali influencer Shaz Mohamed who has 1.6 million followers on Instagram.

The executive added that 20-25% of the brands marketing budget is dedicated to celebrity endorsements and influencer partnerships combined. Without specifying the percentage, he also told Mint that they have been increasing their influencer investment as they continue to create authentic connections with audiences. He said this investment has yielded tangible results, increased sales, and attracted new customers.

Regional reach, consumer trust

These companies find influencer campaigns to be a targeted medium for their marketing as their content is more relatable and authentic for the audience that consumes them rather than celebrities who are more aspirational.

"Influencers are able to promote brands by making the content more relatable, and reach the target market more effectively with the use of regional influencers to drive hyper local engagement. This is making them a better prospect than celebrity endorsements and thus brands are switching to them," said Amisha Gulati, president of creative marketing agency Gozoop Creative Digital.

Lavie worked with Ankita Mestry, a Marathi influencer with 160,000 followers on Instagram, in one of its campaigns to draw the attention of a Maharashtrian audience to their products.

The preference for influencers promoting products from the consumer perspective has also been observed. A study by adtech platform ICubesWire suggests that about 17% of consumers deem celebrity endorsements not credible, while most place their trust in influencers.

Even traditional retail brands are embracing the new-age endorsers while still holding on to the mass market outreach celebrities.

A spokesperson for Senco Jewellery, a diamond and gold jewellery brand headquartered in Kolkata, said that with the help of regional influencers, besides their brand ambassadors, they were able to raise awareness about their brand in tier two and three cities. Hyper-local influencers were specially important in this push and so Senco sees influencers as an important marketing medium.

Strategies and celebrity influence

Influencer marketing remains a valuable tool for driving product discovery and trial, especially in the digital-first consumer segments," said Ravi Saxena, CEO of kitchen appliances brand Wonderchef.

While the executive pointed to overcrowding as an issue in the creator economy and the brands spending more on celebrity endorsements, he said that influencer marketing shows hope. While we may recalibrate our influencer strategies to focus on quality over quantity, we see it as a continued part of our overall marketing mix, complementing our retail-focused efforts," he added.

As a result of this shift in the dynamics of marketing, some celebrities are raising their social media game and turning influencers themselves to fit brands' eligibility criteria and bag more deals.

Many celebrities and artists are becoming more active on social media to not miss the bus on digital marketing campaigns. This is ranging from them just following the latest trends to get audiences attention to creating full blown long-form content for mass consumption in the form of vlogs (video blogs) or podcasts. Either way, their increasing social media presence points to them seeking attention from brands for digital campaigns," said the head of an influencer marketing agency.
New Delhi: The ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) has written to states and Union territories (UTs), seeking names of serving Muslim male and female doctors as well as paramedics to accompany Indian Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

These medical professionals for Hajj medical deputation will help provide healthcare services in Saudi Arabia at facilities manned by Indian doctors.

Every year, thousands of Indian Muslims go on the Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia. This year, India has got a quota of 175,025 Hajj pilgrims as per a bilateral agreement signed in January with Saudi Arabia.

The ministry has requested the states/UTs to appoint a nodal officer to send nominations of deputationists to the directorate general of health services at the health ministry by 7 February.

Also Read | Medical education regulator looks to tighten rules to hire faculty

The Hajj pilgrimage, being a large scale mass gathering, requires preparedness in the form of medical screening, vaccinations of the pilgrims, constant monitoring of the health of these pilgrims throughout the period. MoHFW seeks your support and cooperation to ensure a safe, hassle-free, and seamless Hajj pilgrimage 2025 with minimal health challenges," health secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said in her letter to the states/UTs, as seen by Mint.

The nominee should be a serving Muslim, permanent employee in government health facilities in the age bracket of 25-55 years for doctors, and 25-45 years for paramedics. Pregnant females should not be nominated.

The medical professionals that are required include doctors (general medicine, pulmonary medicine), gynaecologists, radiologists, orthopaedics, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, ECG technicians, physiotherapists, biomedical engineers and lab technicians.

As is already known, the pilgrims would be provided healthcare in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the health facilities along the pilgrimage route. These health facilities would be manned by the doctors and paramedics working in the health facilities of the government at the Centre and state/UT level, medical and dental colleges, and in various institutes of India. The period of deputation will be approximately 2-3 months tentaively from mid of April to mid of June 2025, Srivastava said.

Also Read | IT firms with exposure to healthcare brace for immunity test

Queries sent to the Union health ministry remained unanswered till press time.

Online portal Starting this year, the health ministry has developed an online portal for inviting the applications for deputation of medical professionals for Hajj 2025.

The health ministry will conduct the actual assessment of the nominations based on experience, specialization and desirable qualification. Preference would be given to those, who have not gone for this duty in the past.

From the nominations received, the final selection for deputation will be the purview of the screening committee of the ministry of health and family welfare, the letter stated.

The ministry said that selected candidates will not be allowed to take any of their family members (parents, spouses, children) even at their own cost.

The government will also conduct the workshop and capacity building training program before the departure of medical team from India who will be deployed by consulate general of India (CGI), Jeddah, for rendering appropriate medical services to the pilgrims at various hospitals and branch dispensaries in Makkah, Madinah, Hajj terminal at Jeddah, camps at Mina and Arafat, etc. on a functional basis.
US President Donald Trumps manufacturing push is a wake-up call for countries vying to be the next China. They need to get working. India, for instance, has to address issues such as logistics and a weak components ecosystem. Mint explains:

What is Trumps manufacturing plan?

US President Donald Trump has laid out a carrot-and-stick strategy to boost his plan to Make in America. Trump wants companies to either set up factories in America or, if they dont, face higher tariffs on their exports to the US, he warned. My message to every business in the world is very simple: come make your product in America and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on earth," the US president said in a video address to global business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Trump has proposed a 15% corporate tax rate for companies that make in the US.

What impact will it have?

In recent decades, global manufacturing has shifted to Asia, primarily China and, to a lesser extent, to Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. They make everything from electronics to air cons, shoes to t-shirts, for global markets, relying on a complex multi-country web of suppliers. Hi-tech manufacturing, like chip-making, is already scaling up in the US. For finished goods, theres adequate global supply. Unemployment is low and capacity constrained in the US. Contract manufacturers will be reluctant to shift base immediately as it entails fresh investments, and higher US labour costs may offset gains from sops.

Read more: India must wake up on basic R&D for technology before it gets too late

Is there value in contract manufacturing?

Global companies owning products and intellectual property (IP) outsource manufacturing to contractors. Nvidia designs AI chips in India and elsewhere, which are made by TSMC in Taiwan. Apple designs in California and makes in China, India, etc., via contract manufacturers. IP and product ownership hold more value than low-margin manufacturing.

Is it a wake-up call for Indian manufacturers?

Outdated technology, inconsistent quality standards, skills gaps, and complex regulations hobble Indian manufacturing. India spends just 0.64% of its GDP on R&D, impacting innovation, compared to Chinas 2.4% and the USs 3.5%. Indias logistics costs, at 14-15% of GDP, are expected to decline to 9% as targeted by the National Logistics Policy 2022, enhancing competitiveness. The governments production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme is helping improve manufacturing, albeit slowly.

What are other Asian countries doing?

According to a December 2024 Niti Aayog report, India has seen limited success in capturing the China Plus One strategy, while Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia have become bigger beneficiaries. It noted that factors such as cheaper labour, simplified tax laws, lower tariffs and pro-activeness in signing free trade agreements have played a critical role in helping these countries expand their export shares. Now with the looming threat of US trade barriers, India must create ease of manufacturing.
Scale and diversity were the two essential principles that Jugal Mistri picked up during his days as a student at Columbia University in the United States. They are an integral part of the process he follows at JMA Mumbai these days.

Early on, I learned to think big and aim for a significant societal impact. It wasnt about the size of the building, but the positive influence it could have on a broad audience across urban and exurban landscapes," says Mumbai-based Mistri, 41, Principal Architect and Founder, JMA Mumbai.

Since he started out in 2012, the goal has been to create a practice that combines socially conscious designs with a deep respect for the local context, besides striking a balance between design and sustainability. For instance, a project design in North Goa utilises locally sourced timber and red mission tiles to reduce carbon footprint, while incorporating solutions to manage the heavy rainfall as well. Alongside luxury projects, hes also taken on self-funded and self-motivated social initiatives such as AirBox, which aims to make public sanitation facilities accessible for women.

We repurposed prefabricated structures to keep the design eco-friendly and economical. The first AirBox was inaugurated on International Womens Day in 2018, with facilities like Wi-Fi, CCTV, auto-flush systems and even sanitary napkin vending machines. Its a compact and modern solution for urban sanitation that can travel to remote parts of India, a valuable resource for the community that can improve lives sustainably," he says.

Mistri talks to Lounge about mentorship and why he doesnt encourage late working culture.

View Full Image Jugal Mistri

Who do you consider your mentor?

Anyone who inspires and helps shape your ideas through a collaborative, non-authoritarian approach can be called a mentor. Im fortunate to still be in touch with mine, from my undergraduate days all the way through to my professional employers.

One major insight you worked on with your mentors guidance?

Believe in what you do, invest the hours and years into it, and the results will follow.

What does being a mentor mean to you? How do you mentor your colleagues at work?

Being a mentor means guiding and supporting others as they grow, both professionally and personally. Its about sharing knowledge, imparting philosophies, and helping others develop their own approach to design and problem-solving. For me, mentoring goes beyond just providing technical expertise - its about instilling values like sustainability, client relationships and socially relevant design, as well as nurturing a deep respect for community and contextual design. Through regular discussions, feedback sessions and collaborative projects, I aim to inspire my colleagues to think holistically, challenge the status quo and always stay connected to the communities we design for. Additionally, I am always encouraging JMA team members to actively participate in life outside the office as I strongly believe that real inspiration comes once the universe knows youre there.

Whats your morning schedule like?

I sleep as early as 9pm and wake up by 5.30am so I can enjoy the peaceful time for reading. Im also diving into deep learning on the Spotify channels for manifestation, positivity and productivity. I head to the gym thrice a week. Once Im back, its all about getting my daughter ready and dropping her off at the school bus. By 9.30am, were in the office.

What are some of the productivity principles you follow that have made your professional and personal life much easier?

Drawing boundaries is key. We work Monday through Friday and alternate Saturdays. I have a non-negotiable rule, not just with our clients but also with my staff, to avoid working beyond a certain hour in the evening. We do not encourage a late working culture in the studio. The days of college are behind us and I believe that practical work life can be well-balanced with social and personal time if approached efficiently and mindfully. In our work, focus and a positive mindset are crucial and these are best achieved during the first part of the day. Thats why we aim to be at our desks by 9.30am to make the most of it before the phones start ringing around 11.30am. I personally schedule calls after 2pm, unless they are urgent. This gives me time to sketch, think and pass on the creative direction to my staff for further development.

Whats the one positive work routine you have developed during the pandemic?

Avoid unnecessary travel, as I used to be airborne traversing cities a lot. My value is on the drawing board as thats where the real work happens. While Zoom meetings were convenient, in our work, a more direct discussion over the table with drawings and samples is critical. Hence, we expanded our physical office space equipped with a large meeting room to invite various stakeholders to brainstorm and resolve queries more efficiently.

Any book or podcast you would recommend about mentorship and growth?

The Charlie Rose interviews should be mandatory for anyone interested in world affairs or those aiming to do monumentally meaningful things in their lives. There is no other archive as diverse in content and topics as his. The list goes on from Pritzker-winning architects to secretaries of state, dictators and the Fortune 500 CEOs. What sets this podcast apart is the era it spans - 1991 to 2017, before the rise of woke" culture and extremism - making it refreshingly unbiased and rich in the knowledge it shares. More recently, Pivot by Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway offers sharp, unfiltered insights into the biggest stories in tech and business. Its especially beneficial for young students considering graduate studies, as Scott is a professor at NYU and Kara is a key figure in Silicon Valley. As for books, anything from Noam Chomsky, Fareed Zakaria, Thomas Friedman and Malcolm Gladwell is essential.

How do you unwind? Do you pursue any serious hobbies?

Im a huge music lover, so my unwind time usually involves listening to music and playing board games with my daughter. Although my two serious hobbies have taken a back seat lately, I plan to get back to them soon. I used to cycle every morning from Bandra to Nariman Point and back, covering almost 40km daily. The other is my love for motorcycles, particularly vintage classics and racing.

Monday Motivation is a series in which business leaders discuss their mentors and their work ethics.
For India to ensure consistent economic growth and achieve its ambitious target of becoming the third-largest economy by 2027, it needs robust financial systems in which the insurance sector plays a critical role. The sectors development is crucial to bridging protection gaps, enhancing financial resilience, and driving sustainable growth towards Amrit Kaal.

Insurance regulator IRDAI has set a target of insurance for all by 2047, in which every citizen has appropriate life, health and property cover and every enterprise is supported by appropriate insurance solutions. To achieve this goal, IRDAI has introduced various initiatives, creating a supportive and a forward-looking regulatory architecture, leading to wider choice, accessibility and affordability for policyholders.

Also read | Budget 2025: A green hydrogen push likely for polluting sectors

In the upcoming Union Budget 2025-26, the government could look at giving a fillip to this mission by accelerating its support to the insurance sector with some key announcements.

Buying health insurance early on: The government could look at incentivising first-time health insurance buyers, especially those below the age of 30. This would nudge more Indians to buy health insurance early on. The government could look at offering a multiplier-based tax deduction (for example: 150% of premium paid) to everyone below the age of 30. A similar incentive could be extended to first-time insurance buyers, but only as a one-time tax benefit.

The government could look at incentivising first-time health insurance buyers, especially those below the age of 30. This would nudge more Indians to buy health insurance early on. The government could look at offering a multiplier-based tax deduction (for example: 150% of premium paid) to everyone below the age of 30. A similar incentive could be extended to first-time insurance buyers, but only as a one-time tax benefit. Protecting the golden years: India confronts a significant retirement challenge as many individuals dont make adequate financial preparations for their later years. Pension or annuity proceeds are currently taxed at the slab rate. Considering retirees have little or no income, and high medical costs, the government could look at making income from such retirement plans tax-free. Making pension payouts tax-free would give them EEE status (exempt exempt exempt), in line with the Public Provident Fund (PPF).



The government could also look at aligning life insurance annuities or pension products with the National Pension Scheme (NPS), allowing an additional income-tax deduction of  50,000 or more for these products. This would encourage more people to secure their post-retirement financial needs through life insurance annuities or pension products.

Also read: Marginal hike seen in budgetary allocation for farm buffer fund

Worry-free travel: The government is promoting domestic tourism through its Dekho Apna Desh initiative. As people travel more, they will also have to be encouraged to buy travel insurance. The Budget could thus make premiums paid towards travel insurance exempt under the Leave Travel Allowance.

The government is promoting domestic tourism through its Dekho Apna Desh initiative. As people travel more, they will also have to be encouraged to buy travel insurance. The Budget could thus make premiums paid towards travel insurance exempt under the Leave Travel Allowance. Insuring more vehicles: More than half of vehicles in India are still uninsured even though third-party motor insurance is compulsory. There could be various reasons for this, including costs, negligence or simply a misguided belief that insurance is not required. The government could incentivise owners of such vehicles to buy insurance with a one-time tax exemption for renewing their insurance policies.

More than half of vehicles in India are still uninsured even though third-party motor insurance is compulsory. There could be various reasons for this, including costs, negligence or simply a misguided belief that insurance is not required. The government could incentivise owners of such vehicles to buy insurance with a one-time tax exemption for renewing their insurance policies. Protecting homes: The world is seeing a staggering rise in natural calamities such as earthquakes, landslides and floods. India has seen many catastrophes in the past few years, ranging from floods in Assam and Uttarakhand to cyclones in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha and other states.



Catastrophic events can cause severe hardships in various dimensions of life, impacting individuals financially, physically and socially. To address this issue, the government could provide a separate limit for deduction up to  25,000 paid for property insurance. Alternatively, it could consider directing the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) to make home insurance compulsory for homeowners when buying the property.

The world is seeing a staggering rise in natural calamities such as earthquakes, landslides and floods. India has seen many catastrophes in the past few years, ranging from floods in Assam and Uttarakhand to cyclones in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha and other states. Catastrophic events can cause severe hardships in various dimensions of life, impacting individuals financially, physically and socially. To address this issue, the government could provide a separate limit for deduction up to 25,000 paid for property insurance. Alternatively, it could consider directing the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) to make home insurance compulsory for homeowners when buying the property. Parity in non-par products: To incentivise long-term financial savings and use these savings to fund the growing need for infrastructure development, the government could look at changing the taxation of non-par products.



Currently, for policies with premiums beyond  5 lakh, the maturity proceeds are treated as part of the individual's income and taxed at the applicable rate. The government could look at changing this by introducing long-term capital gains taxability for all high-value traditional life insurance plans (with an annual premium of more than  5 lakh).



This would bring in uniformity and tax efficiency for insurance customers, making life insurance products competitive with other financial products and providing a reliable source of capital to fund Indias infrastructure needs.

Also read | Budget 2025: Tax breaks to spur spending, boost economy?

Relief measures: The government could also look at providing relief to insurance companies or intermediaries. It could consider increasing the threshold limit for TDS on commissions paid to agents (under Section 194D of the act) from  15,000 to  1 lakh. This would not only reduce the administrative burden on the tax department from processing refunds, but also increase the disposable income of agents. The government could increase the carry-forward and set-off of losses from eight years to 12 years since it takes time for insurance companies to break even.

The government could also look at providing relief to insurance companies or intermediaries. It could consider increasing the threshold limit for TDS on commissions paid to agents (under Section 194D of the act) from 15,000 to 1 lakh. This would not only reduce the administrative burden on the tax department from processing refunds, but also increase the disposable income of agents. The government could increase the carry-forward and set-off of losses from eight years to 12 years since it takes time for insurance companies to break even. Raising awareness: The government could also look providing budgetary support for nationwide campaigns to promote insurance literacy and spread awareness about the benefits of insurance, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas. The government could also mandate microinsurance coverage to all beneficiaries of government flagship programs such as PM Kisan or MGNREGA.

By addressing these expectations, the government could accelerate the insurance sector's contribution to financial inclusion, economic growth and societal resilience. These measures align with the vision of insurance for all by 2047 and support Indias journey in becoming a global economic powerhouse.

Parimal Heda is chief investment officer, Go Digit General Insurance. The views expressed are his own.
Banking is at the heart of any nation's growth. When democratised, it becomes a financial engine capable of uplifting the masses on a large scale. The Indian banking industry is currently at a significant crossroads.

It's struggling to reinvent itself in the face of rapidly scaling fintechs, who are fast capturing the untapped customer segment. PwC's research shows that from FY21 to FY24, the number and value of loans disbursed by fintechs have grown by a CAGR of 81% and 46%, respectively. This growth has been facilitated by fintech entities harnessing technology to extend their reach, streamline operations through automation and enhance credit accessibility. These players have been offering a broad spectrum of loan products tailored to the diverse needs of borrowersespecially smaller borrowers, enabling financial inclusion.

Additionally, growing consumer interest in financial instruments beyond traditional fixed and recurring deposits is prompting bankers to reassess their product offerings. An increasing preference among investors for higher-yielding investments, such as equities and mutual funds over bank deposits, has led to a decline in the share of bank deposits in the financial assets of Indian households. According to data released by RBI, the proportion of household financial assets held in bank deposits dropped from 56.3% in FY20 to 44.2% in FY24.

A closer look at the RBI data also reveals that while term deposits grew 13.1% in H1FY25, current account saving account (CASA) deposits increased by only 6.5%. The declining share of CASA in the deposit mix is likely to raise the cost of funds for banks. This is despite the fact that, as of March 2024, currency held by households amounted to a staggering 32.4 lakh crore ( 32.4 trillion), highlighting the banking system's struggle to tap into the untapped deposit potential within Indian households. Poor mobilization of deposits is pressurising profitability and resilience of the banking system and pushing up the cost of financing.

Faced with the challenge of lending large sums to enterprises developing innovative, tech-intensive business models addressing problems such as climate change amongst others, banks are struggling to evaluate these ventures, accurately determine the true cost of funding, and assess the risks associated with such projects.

Expectations from Union Budget 2025

Introduce tax incentives for research and development and innovation specifically for the banking industry to encourage banks to collaborate with fintechs and startups. This will foster the creation of new products, services, and business models, leading to greater penetration of banking and financial services while promoting the formalization of the Indian economy.

Rationalize the income tax rate on interest from bank deposits to help redirect household savings towards bank deposits. Additionally, raising the deposit insurance limit from the current 5 lakh per depositor to 10 lakh would enhance the safety of deposits and consequently increase their attractiveness to households.

To meet cost-effective funding needs for disruptive ideas and projects in areas such as climate change, the government, through the RBI, could provide priority sector lending (PSL) status to projects focused on climate adaptation and mitigation of climate risks. This alignment would not only help the country achieve its sustainability goals but also foster employment opportunities linked to these investments. The principle of aligning the PSL framework to address emerging financing needs can also be extended to other critical sectors, such as investments in new technologies (e.g., AI, GenAI), digital infrastructure, healthcare, and other green initiatives.

Credit is the financial fuel that propels India's journey towards becoming a Viksit Bharat. For banks to remain relevant in this credit-driven growth narrative, they must reinvent the way they design, develop, and deliver value to their customers. As banks navigate this transformative phase, they will undoubtedly require support, and the government should proactively utilize the budget as a platform to provide such assistance.

Vivek Prasad is partner and leader  markets, PwC India
Chinese AI companies are laser-focused on closing the development gap with the US. Despite Washingtons efforts to hold the industry back, its proving it can stay competitive with Silicon Valley.

I spent some time playing around with Vidu 2.0, a revamped AI video generator that has been dubbed a domestic rival to OpenAIs Sora. Released by Shengshu Technology, a Beijing-based startup with ties to Tsinghua University, the public platform lets anyone from around the world turn images into short videos.

There were still notable inconsistencies in some of the clips I created: wonky facial expressions, limb movements that seemed to defy the laws of physics and other clear indications that these were AI-generated.

These limitations also seem to plague Sora. But I was most impressed by its speed. In a matter of seconds, I was able to create fake clips of Donald Trump crying. The company says the real breakthrough is its ability to cut costs, claiming its short-form video content is produced 55% cheaper than the industry average.

Vidu 2.0s release came on the heels of another AI development from China: DeepSeek-V3.

Not only did this large language model (LLM) score impressively on global benchmarks, but it was reportedly developed and trained at a remarkably low cost.

A founding OpenAI member, Andrej Karpathy, called it a joke of a budget." As Nvidia senior research manager Jim Fan said, DeepSeek proves that resource constraints are a beautiful thing."

Chinas advancements are a reminder for the new US administration to examine how effective its export controls and other policies have been at impeding Chinas AI sector. They also expose how deeply Beijings values are being infused into this emerging technology.

Vidu 2.0 offers an English-language interface, as Shengshu aims to export it. But it didnt take long for the tool to expose its roots. When I tried to make a video clip of Chinese President Xi Jinping, my input photo and request were denied.

Also Read: India requires a specialized AI cadre for effective governance of this technology

The platform must follow regulations, and its not a bad thing that a tech firm blocks the images of politicians from being manipulated. Though it seemed odd that I could easily make Trump break down in tears.

Theres evidence of political views baked into DeepSeek as well.

When I asked the chatbot about the Chinese Communist Partys human rights track record in Xinjiang, it spewed a response celebrating how the CCP is comprehensively advancing the cause of human rights," and the harmonious coexistence of various ethnic groups" in the northwestern province.

Its a far cry from the views of international organizations.

As more people around the world turn to Chinese AI tools for everything from homework help to creating social media content, how these biases play out could have unforeseen consequences.

Theres also a mountain of international concerns surrounding AI-generated videos that cant be overlooked. Multimedia clips could sow chaos and confusion by convincingly mimicking someone else. Globally, there have been mounting fears about deepfakes being used to target, deceive and harass individuals, or even to generate non-consensual pornography.

There are also reports that Beijing has exploited AI video technology in the past to spread pro-China and anti-US propaganda on a massive scale.

As more companies in China and the US release these tools, policymakers must keep pace with safety protections. There are myriad guardrails in place on Vidu to prevent abuse, and they seem to be improving. Vidu 2.0 refuses to remove anyones clothing, for example.

AI-generated video has also quietly emerged as a tech priority for Beijing. State-backed Global Times has repeatedly signalled its stamp of approval, touting that AI-generated content in its domestic film and TV production is about to boom."

Vidu was used to produce an impressive promotional video that was shown in China before screenings of Sonys Pictures Venom: The Last Dance Last October, another move hailed by that news outlet.

Producing longer clips or hyper-realistic deepfakes is still a tedious and time-consuming process for users on Vidu. Videos are currently up to only eight seconds long. But they offer a hint at whats to come, with Beijings blessingso long as they adhere to its politics.

Vidu is far from the only player: Its in an increasingly crowded field, with startups from Zhipu AI and MiniMax to giants like ByteDance and Alibaba Group Holding also offering video-generating products.

The breakthroughs that make these offerings cheaper give them a competitive edge when trying to tap global markets. This should put people on notice far beyond Silicon Valley. Bloomberg
Indias embrace of democracy has been affirmed many times over by the power of the vote as a lived experience. That We the People live in a republic, with no hereditary right to rule, remains far more abstract in comparison.

Three-quarters of a century ago, whether democracy would endure was seen as our big challenge. In his last address to the Constituent Assembly after the final reading of the Constitution, on 25 November 1949, B.R. Ambedkar made a case for social democracy, based on a union of liberty, equality and fraternity. If any of these were to be divorced from the other, he held, it would defeat the very purpose of democracy."

The weak link, in his view, was equality: On the 26th of January 1950, we are going to enter a life of contradictions. In politics, we will have equality, and in social and economic life we will have inequality."

Equality denied for too long in the two other spheres, he feared, would imperil our political democracy. It was Indias status and credentials as a republic, though, that pre-occupied him in the years to follow.

In the West, the concept rode into public awareness on the back of revolutions.

In France, royalty was ousted from power in a fit of hair-raising fury, but America snapped apart from the yoke of Britains monarchy by calmly declaring itself free before it sent redcoats packing.

In both cases, arguably, the stage was set by the 1776 pamphlet Common Sense, written by Thomas Paine, a French immigrant, in the US.

While its basic point was that an oppressor could not possibly protect people, the primary purpose of government, the blow his essay landed on anybodys divine right to rule made it an ode to the republican ideal, as encoded in the rule of law. For as in absolute governments the King is law," argued Paine, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other."

Back home, it should not surprise us that Ambedkar, who had grappled with the graded inequality" of caste heritage, sought relief from inherited authority across all of Indian society.

Today, its hard to tell if people accord republican ideals much value, even though our electoral democracy is held dear.

Also Read: The Indian economy also has much to thank the Constitution for

On the right, some argue that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Partys campaign against dynastic politics has driven home the idea of a republic, making it harder for descendants of well-known leaders to get far in the political arena. On the left, some reckon that political appeals drawn from olden times have stalled the ideas progress.

Regardless of its explicit advance, arguments over inheritance and privilege are likely to go on. This in itself may be seen as a republican victory of sorts.

Yet, in the social sphere, while caste is often used to mobilize votes, its lineage link stays in place.

In our economic life, to the extent prosperity relies on market forces and the right to property, the heft of inherited wealth cannot be wished away. Nor, for practical reasons, should it.

Soviet-style economic models that tried to flatten ownership saw their incentives for value-generation collapse. The rise of Communist China, notably, only followed its market pivot. The emergence of our remixed economy is a similar story. It took a rational rethink of economic policy.

Also Read: AI has not yet destroyed democracy

Whatever the ideals pursued, a republic evolves through the active exercise of reason in a contemporary context. Even the sudden rise of reasoning models of artificial intelligence implies that the future may belong to countries that deploy reason well. The power India can wield might well be shaped by it.
Its owner claims it cost under $6 million, a fraction of what American LLMs took to create.

Since its a reasoning" model, which involves an internal dialogue to spout answers, it could upturn the economics of the AI race. So far, success has required bearing high fixed costs on hardware and training, with relatively low variable costs on output generation.

Such a ratio makes for a winner-takes-all market, since an early mover can maximize usage cheaply once its LLM is built. But if LLMs can be made at low cost and rivalry becomes a game of sharpening an edge on reasoning", which consumes far more energy, then AI costs that vary by output would shape pricing trends and usage growth, making the lead taken by OpenAI and others easier to chase down.

The implication is clear.

India should dive headlong into the LLM field and seek to minimize both its creation and usage costs. This will also offer the country a cushion for any tech-denial regime adopted by the US, which already has chip-export bars in place. Lets treat this with due urgency.
In his inauguration speech Donald Trump promised that, in his administration, we will not forget our constitution." Before the day was over, Mr Trump had signed an executive order that, if implemented, would apparently end birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the constitution. According to the plain text of the amendment, all persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." It doesnt mean what it appears to mean, Mr Trump claims.

Under Mr Trumps order, from next month the federal government will refuse to issue documents recognising American citizenship" (presumably passports) to newborns unless they have a parent who is either a citizen or a permanent resident of the United States. Children born in America to unauthorised immigrants would thus be excluded. But so too would those of around 3m people living in America on exchange, work or student visas.

Relatively few rich countries automatically extend citizenship to everyone born on their territory (though Canada does, as do most countries in Latin America). America started doing so at the end of the civil war. The constitution was amended then to overturn the Dred Scott decision of 1857, which held that black people were not Americans. The 14th Amendment ensured that freed slaves and their children would henceforth be citizens.

The Trump administrations argument is that the 14th Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States". Narrowly speaking, this is true. The American-born children of foreign diplomats, who have immunity from prosecution, have always been excluded from American citizenship, under the clause about jurisdiction. Until the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924, so too were some native Americans. But Mr Trump seems to think the jurisdiction clause allows him to exclude far more people.

To justify this he draws on fringe thinking, which has gained adherents on the right since the early 1990s. Republican representatives in Congress have repeatedly introduced laws ending birthright citizenship, though none has got out of committee, notes Peter Spiro of Temple University in Philadelphia. The argument made is that when the framers of the amendment wrote jurisdiction" what they in fact meant was allegiance". This just looks reversed-engineered", says Mr Spiro.

Since 1898, when United States v Wong Kim Ark was decided by the Supreme Court, American law and practice has held that birthright citizenship applies to the children of foreigners, says Alison LaCroix of the University of Chicagos law school. In that case, an American-born child of Chinese migrants in San Francisco sued when he was refused re-entry to America. A president cannot overturn over a century of precedent about how to interpret a constitutional amendment with an executive order, says Ms LaCroix. Had it been applied in the 1960s Mr Trumps rule would have stopped Kamala Harris from becoming a citizen.

Mr Trumps order seems unlikely to survive legal challenges, even with a friendly Supreme Court. But even if it does, implementing it would be difficult. When applying for passports Americans have to submit only a birth certificate to prove their citizenship; these do not now record the citizenship or legal status of parents. Birth certificates are also issued by local governments, so that is unlikely to change soon, at least in Democratic states. To exclude foreigners children, everyone would have to provide documentation.

Ending birthright citizenship would also create some perverse outcomes. Although work visas and the like are nominally meant to be temporary, in reality, many people have them (legally) for decades, and start families during that time. In particular, because of a federal cap on the number of green cards available to citizens of any one country, people from India and China find it almost impossible to convert to permanent residency. Their children could now be excluded from citizenship, too. Indeed, it is unclear what legal status those children would have. In effect, some legal immigrants would give birth to undocumented immigrants".

The effect of ending birthright citizenship, combined with Americas current immigration law, would be to create a growing class of second-class residentsnon-immigrants who can never become citizens. Fortunately, Mr Trump probably lacks the power to bring that about.

Stay on top of American politics with The US in brief, our daily newsletter with fast analysis of the most important political news, and Checks and Balance, a weekly note from our Lexington columnist that examines the state of American democracy and the issues that matter to voters.

 2025, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
Met Eireann is forecasting a "mix of sunny spells" over the coming days with a status yellow weather warning in some counties.

A Status Yellow wind warning has been issued for Wexford bringing strong and gusty winds.

This will bring further damage to already weakened structures and trees and dangerous travelling conditions, Met Eireann warns.

This is valid from 02:00 Monday 27/01/2025 to 14:00 Monday 27/01/2025.

Another Status Yellow weather warning was issued for Cork, Kerry and Waterford and is valid from 23:00 Sunday 26/01/2025 to 09:00 Monday 27/01/2025.

Also read: UPDATE | Power restored to Longford town, Ballymahon, Abbeyshrule and Newtowncashel water treatment plants but reservoirs depleted

Monday:

Met Eireann said it will be a blustery start with showery outbreaks of rain with a few dry and bright spells on Monday January 27th.

Moderate to fresh south to southeasterly winds, strong in the south and southeast, will ease mostly light to moderate variable in the afternoon. Highest temperatures of 5 to 10 degrees, coolest in the northwest.

Monday Night:

Showery outbreaks of rain will continue, according to Met Eireann, and it will turn quite cold with lowest temperatures of 2 to 6 degrees.

"Light to moderate north to northwesterly winds will freshen overnight, becoming strong to near gale in southwestern counties by morning," Met Eireann said.

Tuesday:

"Tuesday will bring a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers with longer spells of rain possible in parts. Highest temperatures of 6 to 9 degrees with fresh and gusty northwesterly winds, strong over Munster and west Connacht, but decreasing moderate to fresh westerly later," Met Eireann stated.

"Rather chilly at first but turning milder for Friday and the weekend. Decent dry spells for many but showers in the far north and west. Turning more unsettled over next weekend," Met Eireann added.

A blustery start with showery outbreaks of rain today



A few dry and bright spells will occur though



Moderate to fresh S to SE winds, strong in the south and southeast, will ease mostly light to moderate variable in the afternoon.



Highs of 5 to 10 C, coolest in the NW. pic.twitter.com/jnoTdid1j3  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) January 27, 2025

Tuesday night will be dry for a good part of the country, but there will be some scattered showers in the north and west with some wintry falls in the north. Frost and icy patches are likely with some fog pockets too with mostly light winds. Lowest temperatures of -1 to +3 degrees, according to Met Eireann.

READ NEXT: Longford Gardai launch investigation following death of baby girl

Wednesday:

It will be a cold bright day with sunny spells, according to Met Eireann.

While there will be a lot of dry weather, some scattered will affect mainly northern and western fringes, some wintry with hail or sleet. Highest temperatures of 5 to 8 degrees with moderate north to northwest winds, freshening in the afternoon, Met Eireann said.

Wednesday night will bring clear spells and scattered showers, these mainly in the west and north with some wintry falls. Lowest temperatures of -1 to 3 degrees with moderate northwest winds easing light westerly. It will turn frosty with a few mist or fog patches too, Met Eireann added.

Also read: Super night as Edgeworthstown's Sara-Lee Greene is crowned 2025 Longford Rose winner

Thursday:

Met Eireann has said it will be mainly dry with sunny spells with highest temperatures of 5 to 9 degrees with light southwest breezes.

It will be turning milder for Friday and the weekend, Met Eireann predicts, "but more unsettled and turning windy, with rain-bands moving in from the Atlantic."

Also read: Longford emergency services tackle devastating house fire
An Garda Siochana at Wexford Garda Station have commenced an investigation following the discovery of nine people in a shipping container at Rosslare Europort at around 10:30am on Monday, 27th January 2025.

Gardai were alerted to the presence of a number of people inside a shipping container at Rosslare Europort.

Gardai and emergency services located the nine males and they have been assessed by medical personnel.

Eight of the men have been deemed to be in good health while one male is receiving further medical assessment at a hospital in the south east of the country for non-life threatening injuries.

Gardai attached to Wexford Garda Station, supported by the Garda National Immigration Bureau, are investigating all of the circumstances of this incident.

Anyone with any information in relation to this discovery is asked to contact Wexford Garda Station 053-9165200, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 66 11 or any Garda Station.

READ NEXT: Emotional scenes as Conor Loftus delivers penalty to win All Ireland Intermediate title
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: January 27 2025

Approval of Financial Assistance Authorizes Municipal Access to the Capital Needed for Projects that Reduce Risks to Public Health and the Environment.

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the Environmental Facilities Corporation Board of Directors approved $273 million in financial assistance for water infrastructure improvement projects across New York State. The Board's approval authorizes municipal access to low-cost financing and previously announced grants to get shovels in the ground for critical water and sewer infrastructure projects, including lead service line replacement and treatment processes to remove emerging contaminants from drinking water.

Todays announcement marks the first grant approved under the new Lead Infrastructure Forgiveness and Transformation program, following Governor Hochul's announcement last fall of this unprecedented $100 million initiative. EFCs Board approved funding for a $12.9 million project to replace nearly 2,500 lead pipes in Albanys water system. This is part of a larger $340 million effort across New York, using both state funding and federal funding to get the lead out. Albany is one of 12 communities receiving these loan forgiveness grants to cover costs not fully paid for by federal grants, helping to ensure local ratepayers in these communities will not bear the financial burden of these vital projects.

Todays announcement is another large step towards ensuring that New Yorkers dont have to worry if the water coming out of the faucet is safe, Governor Hochul said. Keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority, and thats why I committed another $500 million for clean water in my executive budget. By helping communities fund essential upgrades to their water systems, we're protecting public health, the environment, and New Yorkers' wallets.

EFCs Board approved grants and financings to local governments from the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds  a mix of federal and state dollars dedicated to funding community water infrastructure projects  and state grants already announced pursuant to the states Lead Infrastructure Forgiveness and Transformation and Water Infrastructure Improvement programs. Board approval is a critical step in the funding process and will allow communities to access these funds for project implementation.

Leveraging federal funding with the states investments will continue to empower local communities to make critical system improvements to safeguard public health, protect the environment, bolster communities climate readiness, and promote economic development.

Environmental Facilities Corporation President & CEO Maureen A. Coleman said, Healthy communities are strong communities, and thats why its so important to invest in modern, resilient water infrastructure. By supporting these projects, we're not just protecting public health today  Governor Hochul is ensuring that future generations have access to reliable, safe water without placing a heavy financial burden on ratepayers."

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said, Thanks to Governor Hochuls sustained commitments and an additional $500-million investment in the Executive Budget to safeguard communities and protect natural resources, New York State continues to help ensure the long-term affordability of new and existing municipal water quality projects. Building on the successful work advanced by DEC, EFC, and our many partners to improve water infrastructure statewide, the initiatives and investments announced today will promote environmental protection, protect the public from lead and emerging contaminant pollution, and prevent flooding by boosting resiliency and promoting sustainability.

State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, Governor Hochul continues to make good on her commitment to providing safe and reliable drinking water for all New Yorkers. This latest announcement will help municipalities finance critical water infrastructure projects that will remove lead, protect from climate change and safeguard the health and wellbeing of their community today and for generations to follow.

New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley said, Affordable clean water infrastructure provides the foundation for healthy, resilient and prosperous communities throughout the Empire State. Once again Governor Hochuls budget includes hundreds of millions to upgrade local water systems, which will create jobs, protect and preserve the environment and improve public health for communities around the state.

Senator Charles Schumer said, Everyone deserves access to clean water and modern water systems. Now, thanks to my Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law, a historic $100 million is flowing to communities from Lockport to Long Island to upgrade water infrastructure  including major funding to replace lead service lines in Albany. These dollars will help give municipalities statewide the support they need to modernize critical water systems. It also means jobs, jobs, jobs, uplifting our communities and boosting the economy with long overdue projects to make New York's waters healthier and cleaner. I am proud to deliver this major funding and am grateful for Governor Hochuls partnership in the fight to turn the tide on our states aging water infrastructure, create jobs for New Yorkers, and keep our communities safe and healthy.

Representative Paul Tonko said, When I cast my vote for our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I was particularly proud of the measures we included to deliver more than $50 billion to help states and municipalities across the nation bolster their drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. Now, Im thrilled to see more of those investments flowing to communities across New York State. With $273 million in state and federal funding committed to critical water infrastructure projects, including $12.9 million to replace nearly 2,500 lead service lines in the City of Albany, todays announcement marks a major step forward in our efforts to ensure every family has access to safe, clean drinking water. Going forward, Im eager to see how these investments will empower our communities to protect public health, respond to the climate crisis, and bolster their local economies.

Representative Tom Suozzi said, The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which I helped negotiate as part of the Problem Solvers Caucus, is once again providing the funding our local water districts need. These projects in Port Washington and Westbury are crucial investments that will not only safeguard and enhance our water infrastructure for future generations but also alleviate the financial strain on our local taxpayers.

Funding was approved for projects in the following regions:

Capital Region

Albany Municipal Water Finance Authority

-$1.3 million grant for the planning, design, and construction of stormwater improvements.

-$12.9 million for the replacement of nearly 2,500 lead service lines. This includes a federal grant and interest-free financing, together with the states new Lead Infrastructure Forgiveness and Transformation grant to forgive the interest-free financing.

Finger Lakes

Village of Clyde  $2.4 million grant and financing package for the replacement of the pumps for two wells with new vertical turbine pumps, upgrades of the chemical feed system, and construction of a new treatment system and building.

Village of Elba  $4.1 million in grants and interest-free financing for the design and construction of wastewater treatment plant and sanitary sewer system improvements.

Town of Lyons  $4.4 million interest-free financing for the planning, design and construction of pump station upgrades in the sanitary sewer collection system.

Town of Phelps  $587,160 grant and financing package for the extension of the water district to provide public drinking water to 25 properties that currently rely on private wells on White Road and Marbletown Road.

Long Island

Greenlawn Water District  $1.4 million grant for the installation of two granular activated carbon adsorption vessels and all associated appurtenances to treat volatile organic compound contamination, specifically trichloroethene, at Wellhead No. 6.

Port Washington Water District  $5 million grant for the construction of a granular activated carbon treatment system for the removal of PFOA and PFOS from Well No. 7.

Westbury Water District  $5 million grant for the installation of two pairs of granular activated carbon adsorption vessels and all associated piping, valves and appurtenances to treat PFOA and PFOS at Well Nos. 15 and 18.

Mid-Hudson

City of Newburgh  $44.9 million in grants and interest-free financing for the planning, design and construction of improvements to the combined sewage collection system and wastewater treatment plant.

Village of Suffern  $852,000 grant and financing package for the rehabilitation of three existing granular activated carbon filter vessels that have been offline for 30 years.

Town of Wawayanda  $1.4 million grant and financing package for the planning, design, and construction of a new ultraviolet disinfection system at the Robinn Meadows Wastewater Treatment Plant.

North Country

Town of Ticonderoga  $34.2 million in grants and interest-free financing for the planning, design, and construction of upgrades to the collection system and wastewater treatment plant.

Southern Tier

City of Norwich  $4 million in grant and interest-free financing for the planning, design, and construction of wastewater treatment plant upgrades.

Town of Owego  $9 million grant and financing package for the planning, design, and construction of Sewer District No. 1 Water Pollution Control Plant improvements.

Village of Sherburne  $3.7 million grant for the planning, design, and construction of wastewater treatment plant upgrades.

Western New York

Buffalo Sewer Authority  $62.2 million in grants and financing for the planning, design, and construction of primary treatment and high-rate disinfection upgrades at the Bird Island Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Erie County  $56 million grant and financing package for the planning, design and construction of improvements at the Southtowns Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility.

City of Lockport  $9.1 million in grants and interest-free financing for the planning, design, and construction of improvements to the Gulf Interceptor.

Refinancing Completed Projects Will Achieve Long-Term Debt Service Savings

The Board also took action to help ensure continued, long-term affordability of existing projects. The Board approved long-term financing totaling nearly $10.7 million for projects undertaken in the City of North Tonawanda and Chautauqua County, both in Western New York.

Short-term financing provides capital for design and construction of projects. Once project construction is completed, the short-term financing is typically refinanced to long-term financing for up to 30 years, saving municipalities significant interest expenses versus financing on their own. Based on current market conditions, these long-term financings are projected to save local ratepayers an estimated $16 million in interest payments over the life of the financings.

New York's Commitment to Water Quality

New York State continues to increase its nation-leading investments in water infrastructure, including more than $2.2 billion in financial assistance from EFC for local water infrastructure projects in State Fiscal Year 2024 alone. With $500 million allocated for clean water infrastructure in the FY25 Executive Budget announced by Governor Hochul, New York will have invested a record $6 billion in water infrastructure since 2017.

Governor Hochuls State of the State initiatives are ensuring ongoing coordination with local governments and helping communities to leverage these investments. Governor Hochul announced $435 million in grants to 102 projects in November, featuring increased awards for wastewater projects for smaller, disadvantaged communities. The Governor also expanded EFCs Community Assistance Teams to help small, rural and disadvantaged communities leverage this funding and address their clean water infrastructure needs. Any community needing assistance with water infrastructure projects is encouraged to contact EFC.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: January 27 2025

New CCJ analysis of 2024 crime trends also shows year-over-year decreases in 12 of 13 offenses, with only reported shoplifting continuing its recent rise.

Homicide and most other violent crimes have dropped below levels seen before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide social justice protests of 2020, according to a new study of crime trends in 40 American cities released today by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ). Progress on property crime has been more mixed, and two offenses that have captured widespread attention from the public and policymakersshoplifting and motor vehicle theftremain elevated compared to 2019 levels.

Examining trends for 13 crime types in cities that have consistently published monthly law enforcement data over the past six years, the study also found that levels of 12 of those offenses were lower in 2024 than in 2023, with reported shoplifting (+14%) the lone exception. The number of homicides in 2024 fell by 16% compared to 2023, representing 631 fewer murders in the 29 cities providing data for that crime. If that decrease holds once a larger number of jurisdictions report 2024 data to the FBI later this year, it would rank among the biggest single-year homicide drops since at least 1960, the start of modern record keeping.

Among the CCJ study cities, 22 saw homicide levels fall last year, with Chandler, AZ, (-50%) and Little Rock, AR, (-43%) recording the largest decreases. Six cities experienced increases, led by a 56% jump in Colorado Springs.

In other year-over-year findings, reported incidents of aggravated assault (-4%), gun assault (-15%), sexual assault (-6%), and domestic violence (-4%) all fell from 2023 to 2024 in the study cities. Robbery reports also declined (-10%), and carjacking (a type of robbery) dropped 32%. Motor vehicle theft, a crime that had risen sharply since the summer of 2020, reversed course last year, falling 24%.

In addition to analyzing changes from 2023, the CCJ report compares 2024 crime levels with those seen before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the police killing of George Floyd, which ignited widespread demonstrations. There were 6% fewer homicides in the study sample in 2024 than in 2019, a decline largely driven by cities with traditionally high homicide levels. These include Baltimore (-40%) and St. Louis (-33%), which experienced the largest drops in homicide rates among the study cities.

The analysis also found that homicide rates in some of the citiesBaltimore, Detroit, and St. Louishave receded to the levels of 2014, when national homicide rates were at historic lows. In other cities, murder rates have largely returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Similarly, reported sexual assault (-26%), domestic violence (-11%), and robbery (-19%) all were lower in 2024 than in 2019. But aggravated assaults (+4%), gun assaults (+5%), and carjackings (+25%) remained elevated in 2024 compared to five years earlier. Property crime trends have been mixed. There were fewer reported residential burglaries (-38%) and larcenies (-12%) in 2024 than in 2019, but more nonresidential burglaries (+12%). Motor vehicle thefts were higher by half (+53%) during the timeframe, while drug offenses in 2024 were 28% below 2019 levels.

Shoplifting has received widespread attention from the retail industry, policymakers, and the media amid smash-and-grab episodes that have gone viral on social media. Reported shoplifting incidents fell during lockdowns at the onset of the COVID pandemic but began rising in 2022 and continued to climb last year. The 2024 level was 1% above 2019 levels in 25 of the study cities.

The reductions were seeing across a large number of crime types are promising, but the United States still experiences high levels of homicide compared to other industrialized nations, said CCJ Senior Research Specialist Ernesto Lopez, co-author of the report. We must continue to identify and adopt evidence-based strategies that effectively prevent violence and save lives. Researchers should also redouble their efforts to understand how broad behavioral shifts and other societal dynamics may be influencing crime trends today.

CCJs Crime Trends Working Group last year released a roadmap to improve the nations crime data infrastructure to equip policymakers with more timely, accurate, complete, and usable crime information. CCJs Violent Crime Working Group identified 10 essential actions to reduce violence, which served as the foundation of the Violent Crime Reduction Roadmap published in December 2023 by the Department of Justices Office of Justice Programs.

Other CCJ reports provide more detailed analyses of crime trends and crime types, such as homicide, motor vehicle theft, and shoplifting.

Support for the year-end crime trends analysis comes from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Arnold Ventures, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, Southern Company Foundation, and Stand Together Trust, as well the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and other CCJ general operating contributors.

About the Report and Data

Co-authored by Lopez and Doctoral Candidate Bobby Boxerman, the new analysis updates and supplements previous U.S. crime trends reports by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) with data through December 2024. It examines yearly and monthly rates of reported crime for 13 violent, property, and drug offenses in 40 American cities that have consistently reported monthly data over the past six years, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington. The smallest city in the sample was Syracuse, NY, with about 142,000 residents; the largest was New York City, with about 8.3 million residents. The study cities are not necessarily representative of all jurisdictions in the U.S., and not all cities reported data for each offense.

About the Council on Criminal Justice

The Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) is a nonpartisan think tank and invitational membership organization that advances understanding of the criminal justice policy challenges facing the nation and builds consensus for solutions based on facts, evidence, and fundamental principles of justice.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: January 27 2025

Alvin Tirado pleaded guilty on November 25, 2024, to a charge of aggravated harassment specifically designed to address hate crimes.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Queens man was sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years probation for attempting to start fights with worshippers outside of a Cedarhurst Synagogue and making antisemitic remarks toward them, and later threatening and spitting in the face of another victim.

Alvin Tirado, 38, of Far Rockaway, pleaded guilty before Judge Anthony Paradiso on November 25, 2024, to Aggravated Harassment PL 240.30(3) (an A misdemeanor), a subsection specifically designed to address hate crimes.

The defendant was sentenced yesterday to 60 days in jail with three years probation.

Hate-fueled behavior and violence have no place in Nassau County. Every resident should feel safe, especially near places of worship and community, said DA Donnelly. This defendants vile actions  targeting individuals with antisemitic remarks and harassing them during one of Judaisms holiest periods of the year  are unacceptable. We remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting members of the Jewish community from harm.

DA Donnelly said that, according to the charges, on October 4, 2024, at around 1:20 p.m., the defendant was driving his vehicle near the intersection of Lincoln Street and Oakland Avenue in Cedarhurst when he stopped, got out of his vehicle, and got into a verbal argument with a group of people that had recently left Shaare Emunah, Sephardic Congregation of The Five Towns.

The defendant became aggressive, clenching his fists and attempted to fight multiple people while screaming antisemitic remarks, including the Jews are taking over and I know this building; Im going to run all the children over.

Tirado then drove away, nearly hitting a man and his children.

About 20 minutes later, at 1:40 p.m., the defendant stopped his car in Lawrence, near the intersection of Barrett Road and Washington Avenue, exited his vehicle, and approached another victim.

The defendant shoved the victim, exclaiming remarks such as I am going to knock you out and I am going to kill you. He then spat in the victims face.

Tirado was arrested on October 4, 2024, in Far Rockaway by members of the Nassau County Police Department. Upon his arrest, the defendant became physically aggressive, driving his shoulder into the arresting officers ribs.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: January 27 2025

The Defendant Was Convicted by a Jury in December 2024.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that a 60-year-old Connecticut man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child for sexually abusing his ex-girlfriends daughter for five years, beginning when the child was just six years old.

The defendants actions were reprehensible, and the sentence reflects the gravity of the harm done to an innocent child, said District Attorney Tierney. Here, the victim bravely came forward years after the abuse for justice and to prevent the abuse of others. It is never too late.

The evidence at trial established that in September 2011, the defendant was dating the mother of the then 6-year-old victim and was staying in their home. In October 2011, the defendant began to sexually abuse the child which escalated in severity over time. The abuse ended in October 2016 when the defendant moved out of the home and went to live with his mother in Connecticut. The victim reported the abuse to police in 2021 after she told her grandmother, who encouraged her to file a report.

On December 16, 2024, the defendant was convicted of Course of Sexual Conduct in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, after a jury trial heard before Acting County Court Judge Richard T. Dunne.

On January 17, 2025, the defendant was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was represented by Chad LaVeglia, Esq.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Ashley Moruzzi and Alexandra Raso of the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Lisa Hofelich of the Suffolk County Police Departments Special Victims Section.

Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.
A video released by the Syrian Democratic Forces claims this vehicle was destroyed on a road near Tishrin Dam on January 18. (SDF on X)

The Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates River in Syria has become a key point of conflict in the countrys post-Assad era. Since the fall of dictator Bashar al Assads regime on December 8, the dam has been contested by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian National Army (SNA). The SDF is backed by the United States as part of the war on Islamic State (IS), and Turkey backs the SNA.

Over the past week, clashes have continued at the dam. Protesters from SDF-controlled areas of eastern Syria have arrived at the site, and media outlets sympathetic to the SDF have reported that some of them have been killed. The ANHA Hawar news agency claimed on January 26 that a bombing resulted in the death of a citizen and the injury of a number of others. The same day, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that 12 people were severely injured in an attack by a Turkish drone on a civilian convoy of protesters at Teshrin Dam.

The clashes illustrate that the dam is at the crossroads of several key challenges in post-Assad Syria. Completed in 1999, Tishrin Dam is strategically located on the Euphrates River, 30 miles south of the Turkish border. Because of the reservoir created by the dam, there are very few crossing points on the Euphrates in this area. One crossing point is the M4 highway from Manbij, 20 miles upriver, and the other is Tabqa, more than 40 miles downriver.

Control of this area among Turkish-backed forces, US-backed forces, and the new government in Damascus potentially hinges on controlling the dam. The new government in Damascus, led by Hayat Tahrir al Shams Ahmed Sharaa, wants to unify the country and all armed groups, including the SDF and SNA.

The SDF has controlled Tishrin Dam since it conquered it from the Islamic State in December 2015. US forces, which back the SDF, operated in the area between 2015 and 2019. In 2019, the Russians temporarily moved to a location near the site. With the collapse of the Syrian regime, the dam has come back into focus as competing groups around it vie for control.

Clashes between the SNA and the SDF are not new, nor are fights between Turkey and the SDF. Ankara launched several operations in Syria over the last decade, including Operations Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019), all aimed at fighting the SDF or the Peoples Defense Units (YPG), the major faction within the SDF. Before the fall of the Assad regime, which began with an HTS offensive near Aleppo in late November, the frontlines in Syria between the SDF and SNA had remained static for several years. However, the collapse of the regime led to rapid changes.

On December 13, Turkeys Anadolu state media stated that the opposition Syrian National Army (SNA) has liberated Tishrin Dam, which provides a large part of the water and electricity supply of the provinces in eastern Syria, from terrorist group PKK/YPG occupation, according to local sources. Ankaras media reflects Turkeys view that terrorist groups run the dam and the rest of eastern Syria. For this reason, Ankara backs the SNAs attacks designed to take the area. Despite Turkish reports, the SDF continued to hold the dam. The December clashes briefly brought Tishrin into the spotlight, resulting in several statements by the UN, aid groups, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The SNA was unable to dislodge the SDF from the dam in December and the first weeks of January 2025. The battle has stagnated, and casualties have mounted. Fighting increasingly shifted to the dam after the US helped back a December ceasefire between the SDF and SNA in a different sector, near Manbij, north of the dam. The SNA sensed that the dam was still in play and its forces might cross it to outflank SDF forces further south.

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the civilian authority that runs eastern Syria and backs the SDF, organized civilian protest convoys to the dam site in early January, hoping the presence of civilians would deter attacks and airstrikes. Since these protests began, a number of civilians have been harmed in shelling and airstrikes, according to local pro-SDF reports.

Kurds view the Tishreen Dam as a vital source of water and electricity for the region. The area is already facing significant water and electricity shortages, and losing the damor its potential collapsewould have dire consequences. As a result, they are determined to defend it, Mutlu Civiroglu, a Washington, DC-based journalist specializing in Kurdish affairs and the SDFs fight against IS in Syria and Turkey, told FDDs Long War Journal on January 25.

Civiroglu says that the dam is important for the defense of Kobani, a city north of the dam on the Turkish border that is controlled by the SDF and was the site of a tough battle against IS in 2014-2015. Many Kurds believe that losing Kobani would undermine the sacrifices they made and place the rest of Rojava under threat, Civiroglu said.

Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDDs Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).
Youve probably been using the same passcode on your iPhone for years, handed down on your handsets from generation to generation. You most likely dont have to use it all that often, because you open your iPhone with your face or fingerprint, but there are times when you need that code, such as when you start up an iPhone after its been powered down, or when you want to check a password.

This wont be a problem if you know the code, but what if you had recently changed the passcode and didnt note it down, or the phone belongs to someone else who has forgotten the passcode (or died, if so read: How to unlock an iPhone, iPad or Mac when its owner passed away)?

Perhaps you have found an old iPhone in a drawer and decided to make some money by selling it only to realise you dont remember the code you were using a few years ago and cant unlock it in order to prepare the iPhone for sale.

Panic not  its relatively simple to circumnavigate an iPhones passcode, but it will require your Apple ID and password, a PC or Mac, and some time, because doing so will essentially wipe your device back to factory settings for a clean setup on the same Apple ID.

This works for both iPhone and iPad, but well also cover the use of forensic software you may see used by law enforcement agencies to crack Apple phones and tablets on occasions where a passcode simply isnt able to be recalled.

Finally, we cover the basics of removing or resetting the passcode once youve managed to access your iOS device.

Is it legal to hack an iPhone passcode?

If youve forgotten your passcode and youre looking to regain access to a device you own, then youre naturally well within your rights to do so. Things get murkier in legal terms if you want to access a device thats not yours, and veers into black hat (legally questionable) tech support.

If youre reading this page because you stole an iPhone and then discovered it was locked, however, you are very obviously breaking the law, and you will find nothing to help you in this article.

How to unlock your iPhone using Recovery Mode

Foundry

If youve ever change an iPhone passcode youll know that iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS all ask for your existing passcode beforehand, which means simply hopping in and changing it isnt an option if you dont have it to begin with.

Its also not as if you can keep trying since, after a certain number of tries, your iPhone or iPad will lock you out for an increasing period of time  not ideal.

That means youll need to use Recovery Mode. What was once the jailbreakers best friend is also the best way to get back into an iPhone sans passcode, and works by essentially removing all personal data from the device and reinstalling latest version of iOS or iPadOS before letting you restore your data (if you have a recent backup).

Its worth noting it doesnt give you an entirely clean slate  the device will still be tied to your Apple ID, meaning youll need the Apple ID and password that were used to originally set up the device to use it, but it will reset the passcode system so you can set a fresh one (hopefully one thats easier to memorize).

Follow these steps to restore an iPad or iPhone using Recovery Mode:

Ensure your devices battery has 20% of charge. On macOS Catalina or later: Open Finder on your Mac and find your device in the sidebar. (On macOS Mojave or earlier or Windows: Open iTunes and find your device. iTunes may open automatically.) Force-restart your iPhone or iPad: The method varies depending on the model. Select Update or Restore (in Finder or iTunes, depending on your platform): Update will install the latest iOS or iPadOS firmware, but either works. Set up your device as if it were new, following the prompts once it reboots.

Once youre logged back in with your Apple ID, youll be able to follow steps to set a fresh passcode, or operate without one. We wouldnt recommend the latter, but if you do choose to add a passcode later, you can do so by heading into Settings, then Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode in models with a home button).

Similarly, if you decide you want to remove a passcode from the iPhonewhich for security reasons we dont recommendgo to Settings > Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode in models with a home button), then tap Turn Passcode Off. But you will need to know the passcode in order to do this.

Also read: How to put an iPhone into recovery mode and return to factory settings.

How to unlock your iPhone using forensic software

Every so often someone discovers (or claims to discover) a technique to bypass the Apple passcode. This is sometimes a sort of finger-tapping trick that enables the person to access something on a locked device: typically either Contacts or Messages. This isnt hacking the passcode, its merely bypassing it.

Forget the finger tricks youll see in YouTube videos. It is possible to hack the passcode, but you need serious software to do so. This is known as forensics software because law enforcement agencies use it when analysing mobile phones used by suspects in serious criminal cases. Software of this kind is sophisticated, complex, frequently expensive, and massive overkill (and potentially illegal) for most consumer uses. But if you feel certain this is for you, there are options you can consider.

Some years ago we tested Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit ($2,199/2,199), and found it a reliable means of cracking an iPads passcode, although we have to add that this is a Russian company so we might not recommend it now. Read this review of Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit for more information about how forensics software works.

Another option is Wondershares Dr.Fone which has an iPhone unlocker called Screen Unlock. We have reviewed Dr.Fones iPhone Data Recovery tool.

You could also try Tenorshare 4uKey, which promises to bypass iPhone and iPad passwords instantly. Weve not yet tested the software ourselves, but theres a free trial available so it cant hurt to try.

How do law enforcement unlock iPhones?

iPhone passcodes hit the headlines in March 2016, with the news that the FBI had obtained an iPhone 5c used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino terrorist attack, but couldnt get past the passcode security. The Feds managed to get a court order instructing Apple to assist them and break into the phone. Apple refused.

As the case progressed, public opinion started to turn against the law enforcement officials, and the day before the Department of Justice was due to present its arguments, it was announced that actually, they didnt need Apples help after all, and that a third party had agreed to do the hacking for them. A week later the case was dissolved, and the FBI announced it had opened up the phone without Apples help.

Apple asked how this was donearguing that if a security vulnerability was exploited this represented a danger to other iPhone owners and needed to be patchedbut the FBI refused to say, even when a Freedom of Information lawsuit was filed by a number of media organisations. A court subsequently ruled that these details were national security secrets and therefore exempt from disclosure.

Its comforting for iPhone owners that Apple is so determined to protect their privacy that it will stare down the might of the U.S. government, but worrying that someone has worked out how to bypass the security. And we dont know who or how. It was initially reported that the Israeli firm Cellebrite bypassed the passcode, but the Washington Post later claimed professional hackers used a zero-day vulnerability.

Can iPhones be hacked?

It was believed at the time that the method, whatever it was, would not work on later models of the iPhone: the iPhone 5s and later have superior security features (the Secure Enclave) and Apple has claimed its own engineers wouldnt be able to break into these devices, even if they wanted to. But thats been thrown in doubt by the news that US law enforcement later unlocked an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 11 Pro Max, yet still carried on demanding that Apple give it backdoor access to the iPhone range.

Its all about time and money; it took the FBI two months to get into that iPhone 11, and former director James Comey has implied that it cost well over a million dollars to crack the iPhone 5c in 2016. In other words, unless the person hacking your handset is incredibly rich and/or incredibly patient, your privacy should be assured.

We discuss these matters in far more depth in two other articles: How to protect your iPhone privacy and How secure is the iPhone?

Need some help coming up with a safe and secure password? Read our tips to make your passwords even stronger and try a Password Manager  we recommend some we have tested here: Best password managers for Mac and iPhone.
A Boston teenager involved in a school disturbance in the middle of the day on Friday was arrested after police said he was later found at a nearby laundromat with a loaded gun.

The disturbance at the Mary Lyons School in Brighton happened around 12:40 p.m. on Jan. 24 between multiple students, according to the Boston Police Department. School staff members had to intervene to de-escalate the situation, police said.

A 16-year-old boy made threats during the incident before he left the school in a vehicle, police said. School staff were worried the situation might escalate further, which prompted Boston police officers to stay on campus until the end of the school day.

A report came in to police later that the boy was back nearby the school, and officers spotted him inside a laundromat. He tried to run from the police but was quickly taken into custody for safety reasons due to the earlier threats, police said.

A black jacket with a loaded Smith & Wesson revolver and six round of .38 special ammunition was found near the boy as officers secured the scene, police said.

The teen boy is expected to be arraigned in Brighton District Court on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and carrying a loaded firearm without a license.
Tiny blue and white Nike sneakers dangled above the carpeted Boston courtroom floor. They swayed slightly as the little girl drew on a piece of paper with crayons, given to her by the court clerk.

The child sat next to her mother at the wooden table before the judges bench, and wore blue velvet pants with a white winter coat. Her dark tendrils of curly hair were pulled back in a neat ponytail.

In these proceedings, the court is seeking to remove you from the United States, Judge Erin Gover said.

The judges words were matter-of-fact, and she did not give away any emotion in her tone or face.

A Spanish interpreter on a large live TV screen relayed the words back to the girl and her mother, and the child picked her head up to look at her mom briefly.

She then focused back on her drawing as her mother listened to Gover decide their fate.

This exchange was just 11 minutes inside courtroom three at U.S. Immigration Court in Boston on Thursday morning.

Over the course of about two hours, about 10 families and individuals heard the same statement from Gover as they went through standard United States removal proceedings  more commonly known as the process of deportation.

After their proceedings, and with their asylum papers  previously deemed lost in the courts by Gover  finally found, the little girl in blue and white shoes walked out of the courtroom with her mom to head home to Lynn, their next court date scheduled for May.

Boston's immigration courts are held inside the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in downtown Boston.

Deportation processes, or a judges decision of whether a person is going to be removed from the country, can take up to two to three years for nonviolent cases, according to Boston immigration attorney Matthew Maiona.

But as there have been threats of mass ICE deportations from the new presidential administration, additional fears have been created for these Massachusetts residents and families.

Many clients of Desmond FitzGerald, head immigration attorney at FitzGerald Law Company in Boston, have been calling him for advice  even those who have already gone through the legalization process.

People are absolutely terrified, he said.

But in other Boston courtrooms, there was a stark difference this past week  emptiness.

I was in court today in Chelsea ... and the court was absolutely desolate, said FitzGerald on Thursday.

FitzGerald was able to park very easily that morning with an emptied lot, and the Dunkin across the street  usually full before court begins  had no line.

They were calling cases for people that had been sent notices to come into court, and the first four names they called, no one was there. It was remarkable, FitzGerald said.

The reason? Fear.

It was less than a week after President Donald Trumps inauguration, where he declared millions and millions of criminal aliens would be returned to their home countries during his presidency.

Reports of raids have cropped up around the country, and many in Boston were left scared and confused after federal officials were seen in East Boston on Wednesday.

According to reports from Boston 25 through its affiliation with Fox News, which reportedly has an exclusive partnership with ICE, eight immigrant people who were violent criminals were taken into custody.

MassLive submitted a request for comment to ICE on Thursday morning, and received a statement early Saturday.

It read that nine illegal aliens were arrested in and around Boston Wednesday by ICE ERO officers not with the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services).

ICE declined to comment on ongoing or future operations, citing operational security and the safety of our officers.

FitzGerald said it was not unusual for ICE to have been in Boston on Wednesday.

That action they took in East Boston to detain a fugitive is something that happens regularly, FitzGerald said.

But additional fear was created when the images were all over TV screens as Fox News followed along, FitzGerald said.

When [the public] sees the images of ICE officers with flack jackets going into homes in largely immigrant communities like in East Boston, it exaggerates the sentiment of people, he said.

That fear is stopping people, even permanent residents, from going to their court dates, to work and from traveling, FitzGerald added.

Its also stopping the clients of Zoe Zhang-Louie, a managing attorney in Boston for immigration legal counsel Zhang-Louie, PLLC. Her firm helps immigrants who are high-skilled in their work fields obtain visas to work in the U.S. without requiring an employer sponsor.

Zhang-Louies clientele includes researchers, entrepreneurs and healthcare professionals from a wide range of countries. They need the freedom to be able to travel, Zhang-Louie explained, as many of her clients are on work assignment outside of the U.S. and waiting for their immigrant visa appointment.

But theres been fewer people seeking to enter America with the new administration, the immigration attorney said.

Thats dwindled down a bit, as a lot of them choose to j ust sit out, and sit out [because of] this administration, Zhang-Louie said.

This overall effect of peoples fear can have dire economic consequences, said Maiona.

The point seems to be to make people uncomfortable, to make people anxious, to disrupt, Maiona said.

We have to keep in mind that, at the end of the day, these people who dont show [up to work out of fear] are going to affect our parents, grandparents, ourselves, our economy, he said.

Maiona listed off some professions  such as home health aides, nursing home employees, construction workers and restaurant staff  that could see a problem if the shroud of confusion is not lifted.

There are people all over the United States who are temporary, who came in the last few years and got a work permit ... but theyre just too afraid to go out, to go to work, Maiona said.

But the terror and fear-mongering isnt limited to just immigrants.

On Thursday afternoon, the Providence, Rhode Island office of well-known immigration attorney Joseph Molina Flynn was searched by FBI agents, according to reports from multiple outlets. Molina Flynn stepped down from his role as a municipal court judge for Central Falls shortly after.

This news felt like a kick in the gut to Zhang-Louie, who knows her colleague, she said.

Telling my husband, I was like ... Where does this end? They cant do that, Zhang-Louie said.

However, she felt it was too soon for the Trump administration to have had a hand in the incident  another sign of the distorted information pervading the current climate.

If its FBI investigated, its not  it doesnt seem like  it was something that could have started by this administration, Zhang-Louie said.

At this point, Im just taking it day by day ... I have to think about that, right? Just be there for my clients, whenever I can, she said.

But while some people who come to the U.S. in pursuit of their passion and freedom are successful, others are not.

No, I dont want to leave now, a father cried in Spanish to Judge Gover before her bench in the Boston immigration courtroom on Thursday morning, his pleas translated by an interpreter.

Hearing her fathers voice break, the mans 12-year-old daughter sitting beside him lowered her head on the table. Her face was pressed into the crook of her elbow.

Through his tears, the man said, I came for the benefit of my daughter, so she could learn something, and graduate.

So, then, sir, that is not  Gover paused for a moment, a basis for legal relief in this country.

She then gave the choice of voluntary departure, meaning the family had to leave within 120 days, or of removal  deportation  by the government.

The man replied, I dont want to be expelled. But if thats the destiny that God has for me, that is His will. He agreed to voluntarily leave the country by May 23.

When the man and his daughter finally stood to turn and leave the courtroom, the front of the childs gray sweatshirt came into view.

It was covered in tear drops.
More than 100 full-time educators at Tufts University in Medford will go on strike Monday after almost a year of unsuccessful contract negotiations.

The university and its lecturers are at odds over fair wages, a cost-of-living adjustment and sustainable workloads, according to the Service Employees International Union (SEUI) Local 509 union representing the educators.

There are 121 lecturers at the universitys School of Arts & Sciences represented by the union, who authorized the strike by a 94% vote in favor.

The walk-out is set to last for two days. A rally will be held on the first day, Jan. 27, at the Mayer Campus Center at 10 a.m., where the picket line will also stand until the end of the day on Jan. 28.

Classes, lectures and labs usually held by the full-time lecturers will not be conducted on those days, a spokesperson for Tufts University said. However, classes will still be held by faculty who are tenured, part-time, graduate teaching assistants or professors of the practice.

The strike comes after 10 months of failed discussions, the union said. The lecturers salaries are below 80% of the areas median income, making them some of the lowest-paid faculty among their peer institutions, the union wrote in its statement.

The unionized workers demands are a 3.5% annual raise along with a cost-of-living adjustment to ensure their compensation reflects the rising cost of living in the Boston area. Additionally, they ask for a reduced workload to ensure quality education for students, the union stated.

Tufts University said it has a compensation and merit increase philosophy for its faculty and staff salaries. This philosophy pays attention to the relevant external market and internal equity, among other factors, the spokesperson said.

We look forward to continuing to work with SEIU to arrive at an agreement, the universitys statement read.
Its been dismaying to write about Massachusetts breweries closing one after another at the end of 2024.

So Im happy to report that 2025 is starting on a much more upbeat note: Incandescent Brewing just opened its doors in Bernardston. The brewery is literally replacing one that closed, as Incandescent has taken over the space formerly occupied by Hitchcock Brewing, which closed last August.

Incandescent Brewing is the new business of brewer Nathan Perry, most recently the head brewer at Northamptons Building 8, which closed in July. Before that, Perry started as a home brewer then worked at an array of breweries, including Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa, California, and Twisted Pine Brewing Co. in Boulder, Colorado.

The beer is now available in package stores in Franklin County, but Perry is looking to expand the footprint to Hampshire County soon. He discussed his new venture last week.

Q. How did Incandescent Brewing come about?

Its been my dream to start my own brewery since the homebrewing days. So the experience was built up for a couple reasons: as means to move around and experience the country, and to learn as much as I could from as many people as I could to make this dream a reality. Seeing the brewing scene around the country, in some serious beer towns, has been a huge inspiration for us.

My wife Mesi and I are 50-50 co-owners, so developing the brand has been a collaboration between us, with a lot of the aesthetic developed by Mesi, and the beer program by me, and working together on the many other facets of starting a brewery.

Q. Is there a taproom? Talk a bit about the plans for the physical space.

There is a large taproom with a 186-person capacity, as well as a 1,500-square-foot patio, with a garage door that opens right to it from the taproom. We are in the process of repainting the taproom to really liven up the space, with further redesign down the road as cash allows, since were opening on a tight budget.

We also have a really nice stage, with great lights and sound that were part of the Hitchcock space. So well be able to swing pretty big with our music program once we open.

Q. What about food?

We wont have food right away, but as soon as permitting allows, well add a small, quality-focused menu with things like soft pretzel, cheese and charcuterie board, local sausage board, etc. Well get as many food trucks here as possible in the interim. Down the road, likely a couple years, wed like to add a small commercial kitchen to further enhance the food program.

Q. What is your guiding philosophy when brewing?

Recipes can vary, but if you dont have clean, efficient fermentation and keep oxygen out of your finished beer, even a great recipe will go bad. So I think thats an underrated part of the process. And then Id also say, very close attention to detail is key in every aspect, from brewing to packaging, to ensure quality.

Q. Whats your biggest challenge as a brewer that you face on an ongoing basis?

Well, this answer will change as we open and really get running Im sure. But right now, like everywhere else, the cost of ingredients and materials keeps going up, and the price of a four-pack really cant go up any more from small breweries before consumers wont buy it anymore. So finding ways to keep beer affordable and high-quality is a huge challenge, especially for small breweries like us that dont have the economy of scale.

Q. Whats the hardest part about starting up and running a new brewery these days?

Weve seen a lot of breweries close or be sold, both locally and nationally, in the last year or so. There are many factors to this, but market saturation and declining alcohol sales, combined with high costs are maybe the biggest factors in my mind. And so the financial part of it has been the biggest unknown. Also, its so heavily regulated, so getting federal, state, and local approval for everything is tricky. And then finding a way for your brand to stand out among all the options beer lovers have on store shelves.

Q. Whats your favorite style to brew? To drink?

I really like to brew lagers, for the attention to detail required and that delayed gratification of waiting for them to finish conditioning. Im a really equal opportunity beer drinker who loves variety, but a good pilsner or West Coast-style IPA are my go-tos.

Incandescent Brewing is located at 203 South St. in Bernardston.
Its a pretty safe bet that most local music fans know about Ray Mason. After all, hes been plying his trade both as a solo act and with the Ray Mason Band for more than four decades.

But whats just as impressive is that Mason is also celebrating 40 years with another band, Lonesome Brothers, who will play an anniversary show at Northamptons Iron Horse Music Hall on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.

After all these years playing solo, Lonesome Brothers, my band  they all exist in a seamless sort of way. Sometimes hard to explain, but always easy and natural to do, Mason said in a recent interview.

When asked if he was surprised that Lonesome Brothers have lasted this long, Mason took a pragmatic view.

Forty years have seemed to go by quick. I dont think we ever really thought in terms of longevity; weve always just written our songs and then went out and played them, he said. Dont think we ever approached this with an actual time frame of how long we would stay together. Things happened, and here we are 40 years later with no plans of stopping anytime soon.

Mason and guitarist Jim Armenti started the band as a duo in 1985, playing some Tuesday evenings at the Barre Hotel in Barre, Massachusetts. Mason says hes pretty sure the band name came from liking the Everly Brothers and Hank Williams Sr.

The band soon became a trio, adding drummer Bob Grant. At some point over the years, Tom Shea took over on drums, followed by current drummer Keith Leverault. Those minimal lineup changes have given the band continuity, along with a few other aspects.

I think the fact that we really do get along, play our tunes with conviction and show up on time has something to do with that continuity thing, Mason said.

The band plays mostly originals along with a good sample of classic tunes. The songs are written by either Mason of Armenti individually  with one exception.

Jim and I have written together only once, on a tune called Valley Rock, which appeared on one of Signature Sounds early compilations, Mason said. We usually bring in our tunes fully formed as far as lyrics and chord changes go. Jim, Keith and I then add our own parts.

While Mason plays guitar in his own band, he plays bass in Lonesome Brothers. He enjoys both, and describes his approach to each.

Im only a guitar player when Im solo or with my band (Frank Marsh, Stephen Desaulniers and Tom Shea). My approach on guitar has always been the same  lay down the chords and rhythm to help make it happen, he said. On bass its a different story: I always try to know the tune and its form so I can mess with it a little later, if it happens to go in that direction.

Since he writes for both bands, how does he decide which band gets certain songs?

Many years ago, certain songs definitely fit better with one or the other. For a while now, that line has been seriously blurred, as I like to think all the songs I now write would fit either band, he said.

Mason said that what keeps the band moving forward is the alchemy between the members and their ongoing quest to keep things fun.

To me, bands are magical because it all comes down to the combination of the people involved. I like to think that both my band and the Lonesomes have our own sounds due to that combinationwouldnt be the same otherwise, he said. Jim, Keith and I always try to keep things fresh, rarely writing sets, and not being afraid to banter with the audience.

Tickets to the Lonesome Brothers 40th anniversary celebration, starting at $18, can be purchased online at ironhorse.org.
As January nears its end, taxpayers should keep their eyes peeled for an extra direct deposit in their bank accounts and check the mail to see if theyre getting a special payment from the Internal Revenue Service.

The agency is sending out $2.4 billion to approximately 1 million qualifying taxpayers by the end of the month in back-stimulus payments.

The funds will go to taxpayers who did not receive one or more Economic Impact Payments or claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns.

The maximum payment amount individuals can receive is $1,400.

These payments are an example of our commitment to go the extra mile for taxpayers, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement.

Looking at our internal data, we realized that one million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible, he said.

To minimize headaches, the payments will be automatic and recipients will not have to go through the process of filing an amended return.

Payments were issued beginning December 2024 and should wrap up by late January.

The IRS reminds taxpayers who have not filed their 2021 returns to do so before the April 15, 2025 deadline.

How automatic payments work

Payments will be sent to the bank account listed on taxpayers' 2023 tax returns. Taxpayers receiving these payments should have received a letter from the IRS stating they would receive the funds.

If taxpayers closed their bank account since filing their 2023 returns, the bank will return the payment to the IRS and the refund will be reissued to the address the IRS has on record.

Didnt file a 2021 tax return?

Taxpayers who have not filed their 2021 tax returns may be eligible for a refund if they file and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit by April 15, 2025.
After attracting a record-breaking 94 million tourists in 2024, several Spanish cities are implementing guidelines to regulate tourism rental properties.

The country is not banning tourism, but several cities are dialing back on how many short-term rentals will be available to tourists amid a national housing crisis.

According to the Associated Press, tourism accounts for nearly 12% of Spains Gross Domestic Product but locals have raised a red flag in how its effects lead to skyrocketing housing costs.

In November 2024, AP reported tens of thousands of Spanish protestors holding signs reading Fewer apartments for investing and more homes for living and The people without homes uphold their rights.

The outlet reported rent in Spain doubled over the past decade from 7.2 euros ($7.5) per square meter in 2014 to 13 euros in 2024.

New tourism restrictions

Malaga, a port city on the southern Mediterranean coast of Spain is prohibiting the addition of new rental properties in 43 neighborhoods where rentals exceed 8% of residential housing, AP reported.

The citys veto on holiday homes in certain areas went into effect Jan. 14, Spanish news outlet SUR reported.

The law aims to improve long-term access for local residents by scaling back access to real estate as short-term rentals for tourists.

Though the law prohibits the addition of short-term rental properties, tourists can still book with Airbnb, hotels and any of the 13,000 holiday rentals already registered, according to SUR.

Barcelona also announced it would implement regulations to create more housing for full-time residents by closing down 10,000 apartments licensed short-term rentals by 2028, Reuters reported.

The mayor, Jaume Collboni said the city would not renew any short-term rental licenses as they expire.

We are confronting what we believe is Barcelonas largest problem, Collboni said during a city government event.

He added tourism contributed to skyrocketing rent prices for locals of up to 68% in the past 10 years and the costs of buying a home rose by 38%.

How will tourists be affected?

Newsweek reported that tourists will likely face more limited and costly rental options as availability and access to short-term rentals will decrease.

While only certain areas of the country, such as Malaga and Barcelona are instituting tourism restrictions, these areas will likely see increased rental costs.

However, tourists will still be able to visit and book their stays in Spain as usual.
Everyone seated at the Lobster Cove Restaurants upstairs bar had felt it. It was the talk of the Monday lunch rush in York, Maine.

One patron had been blow-drying her hair. Another was relaxing in a recliner. Over drinks and haddock sandwiches with a view of Long Sands Beach, the bar was abuzz with the mornings events  when just two hours prior the coastal southern Maine town was the epicenter of a magnitude 3.8 earthquake.
Two bills filed on Beacon Hill this month aim to make a dent in a lesser-known trend in the opioid crisis; one where little regulation exists, if any.

Pill press machines historically had legitimate and legal uses by the pharmaceutical profession and people who made their own supplements, and they still do.

In recent years, however, the machines have fallen into the hands of illicit drug manufacturers as a clandestine tool that can produce dangerous and sometimes deadly counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine  at frightening volumes.

Often, the pills are nearly indistinguishable from pharmaceutical-grade oxycodone or Adderall, for example. Other times, they look like candy.

With a new legislative session underway, state lawmakers have filed bills calling for pill press penalties and regulation. Currently, Massachusetts doesnt have any laws specific to pill press machines.

Last fall, MassLive published a multi-part investigative series looking into pill presses in the commonwealth. Since 2019, the machines have helped fuel an explosion in the counterfeit pill market as drug dealers shifted their business strategy and stopped relying on finished pills imported from Mexico.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the number of individual pills containing fentanyl seized by law enforcement in 2023 was 2,300 times greater than in 2017.

Authentic oxycodone M30 tablets are show at top, while counterfeit oxycodone M30 tablets containing fentanyl are shown at bottom.Drug Enforcement Administration

Pill press operations, which are often set up in residential neighborhoods, can churn out hundreds to thousands of pills per hour. MassLive found pill presses have been discovered in more than 25 cities and towns across the state within the last five years. There are likely many more.

Making matters challenging is that pill presses themselves are legal to possess. Its what people do with them that can make them illegal. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security have struggled to police them for that reason, particularly when theyre easily purchased from China through encrypted apps and cryptocurrency.

Creating a felony charge

Rep. Marcus Vaughn, R-9th Norfolk, has refiled a bill that would make it illegal for someone to possess, purchase, deliver, sell, or possess with intent to sell or deliver a pill press machine knowing, intending or having reasonable cause to believe that it will be used to manufacture a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance.

You can get these machines for a pretty short dollar these days, and with all of the controlled substances on the streets and counterfeiting materials, having this  law in place, I think would justifiably take some of these off the streets and give people second thought, Vaughn said.

HD.58 would make the crime a felony with a potential prison sentence of up to five years or a fine of at least $25,000.

Vaughns proposed law is similar to those already on the books in Mississippi and Florida. As of March 2024, only eight U.S. states had pill press laws in place, according to the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association.

This is the third session Vaughn has introduced the bill. Last year, it was sent to study in a massive package of other judicial bills.

Were really hoping this is the year, he said. Weve been gaining a lot of traction and theres a lot more eyes on it. This legislation is about putting lives at the top of the ticket.

Proposed rules and regulations

A second bill filed by Rep. Richard Wells Jr., D-7th Norfolk, mirrors Vaughns but takes a step further. That bill, HD.3071, includes directing the state Board of Registration in Pharmacy to adopt rules and regulations for standards of compliance for the use of and licensing of pill press machines for the legal use of any of the said devices in this section.

Wells, who served as the police chief in Milton for nine years, said he spoke with district attorneys and narcotics detectives about the need for legislative action on pill presses. As a first-term representative, the bill was one of his priorities because fentanyl could wipe out a generation.

If you had a machine that was manufacturing bullets in the commonwealth and you sold them, you couldnt do that legally, Wells said. Why should you be able to do that with fentanyl?

Like Vaughn, Wells doesnt see his legislation as a silver bullet for the issue, considering the black market nature of illicit drug-making. Rather, it could be one lever to pull, among others.

If youre distributing narcotics, youre in business, Wells said. Thats a business, and its a big business. A worldwide business. So youre going to do what is the easiest, fastest, most efficient and financially viable way to do it. Anything that we can do to put a deterrent in place, Im in support of.

Wells bill also says the Board of Registration of Pharmacy may require registration of pill presses or similar equipment.

A hand-crank pill press that was purchased from China by MassLive.Sebastian Restrepo

A federal registration requirement currently exists, but it doesnt sport much teeth.

Under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, online retailers selling pill presses are required to provide records of purchases to the DEAs Diversion Control Division. But most pill presses and associated materials are shipped from China-based suppliers, which are beyond the reach of U.S. government regulation.

Buyers of pill presses are also supposed to report their purchases and intentions to the DEA via an online reporting system. But there arent any enforcement mechanisms to ensure people do so.

Buyers and sellers can face civil or criminal penalties for not registering a pill press with the DEA, but that hinges entirely upon the agency knowing the purchase even took place.

MassLive purchased a pill press from China in October 2024 (Watch that video here)  using an encrypted app and $600 in cryptocurrency  and followed all relevant laws to show how easy it is for criminals to obtain the machines for nefarious purposes.
A group of Central Massachusetts first responders gathered in Paxton on Monday and received the Team Excellence and Merit, or TEAM, Award from Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. for their work in saving an injured woman last year.

Paxton dispatchers, firefighters, police officers and Department of Conservation and Recreation park rangers gathered at the Paxton Fire Department building to receive their awards.

First responders were called out on the morning of July 27, 2024, to Moore State Park, about a reported injured hiker. At around 10:14 a.m., a 911 call was made to the Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center about the hiker, who was about a half-mile into the woods on the parks rear trail.

Less than 30 minutes later, Paxton firefighters had located the woman, who had fallen and sustained a very large cut along her arm, Early said on Monday. They quickly assessed her injuries and knew that she was going to have to be carried out of the woods.

First responders saved the wife of Richard Trumbull, who hurt her arm during a hike in Moore State Park in July 2024. Courtesy of the Paxton Fire Department.Paxton Fire Department

Despite steep terrain and warm temperatures in the mid-80s, first responders took turns to carry her.

Together, they successfully brought the woman out of the woods at about 11:30 a.m. She went to the care of a waiting ambulance and was taken to the hospital, where she underwent surgery for her injury, Early said.

The hikers husband, Richard Trumbull, was with her through the entire experience and also received an award on Monday. His wife was not at Mondays ceremony.

Richard Trumbull, the husband of a hiker who hurt herself in Moore State Park in July 2024, speaks before he accepts his TEAM Award from Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. Ryan Mancini/MassLiveRyan Mancini

On behalf of my wife and myself, a sincere thank you, Trumbull said. This is really, really amazing work that indicates the TEAM Award. Thats what really stood out the most, to me, was just the teamwork associated with all these different departments that all came together and everybody just had individual expertise in different areas ... It was amazing, amazing. Outstanding. Thank you.

Paxton Fire Chief Michael Pingitore, who was also among the first responders to receive the TEAM Award, said he could not say enough about these guys. They knew how to face that terrain and get out of there.

The first responders and one civilian stand with their TEAM Awards from Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr., far right. Ryan Mancini/MassLiveRyan Mancini

The first responders and one civilian who received the TEAM Award on Monday were:

Paxton Fire Department

Chief Michael Pingitore

Deputy Chief Michael Benoit

Firefighter/Paramedic Richard McGinn

Firefighter/EMT Meghan Stevens

Firefighter/EMT Emily Goodsell

Paxton Police Department

Sgt. Forrect Thorpe

Wachusett Regional Emergency Communication Center

Dispatcher Alice Ordung

Dispatcher Emily Lebeau

Dispatcher Jordan Smith

Dispatcher Supervisor Abby Parkinson

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation

Ranger Lt. Rebecca Baronoski

Forest and Park Supervisor Shane McCaffrey

Civilian
February starts on Saturday. Truck Day is exactly one week away. Alex Cora and Craig Breslow will hold their opening media sessions of spring training in just about two weeks (on February 11) in Fort Myers.

Yes, the offseason, at least calendar-wise, is almost over. But that doesnt mean the Red Sox should be done with their winter work. Even after revamping their pitching staff with the additions of Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, Aroldis Chapman, Justin Wilson and the injured Patrick Sandoval, Boston still has a bit of an incomplete roster in need of a right-handed bat and maybe some bullpen help. And at least theoretically, theres still money to spend.

On November 20, team president/CEO Sam Kennedy told The Boston Globe that the club was investing more than we did last year in this years roster, even if it takes us over the CBT, opening the door to spend more than $241 million in payroll. Kennedy spoke of an extreme urgency internally to win 90+ games and compete for an American League East title in 2025. While the additions of Crochet, Buehler, Chapman and others will improve the team, spending  in large part because the addition of Crochet came via trade and hes only making $3.8 million in 2025  has been more measured. In terms of the CBT threshold, the Red Sox spent an estimated $226 million on payroll last year and as now, have just $209 million committed to their 2025 roster.

That leaves an estimated $32 million for the Red Sox to spend before hitting that first threshold of $241 million (though again, Kennedy said theyre willing to surpass it if need be). With only 14 of the top 50 free agents in this years class (per MLBTradeRumors rankings) still available, its getting harder by the day to envision the Red Sox the Red Sox reaching the threshold.

If they do spend, there are three main areas where theyre most likely to do so: right-handed offense, the bullpen and contract extensions. Heres a look at whats left out there:

RIGHT HANDED POP:

The two big names that have been linked to the Red Sox for months are Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado. Both are readily available (Bregman as a free agent and Arenado on the trade market) and both are interested in coming to Boston. But the fact the Red Sox have been unable to make something happen to this point casts doubt on both possibilities.

Bregman is the cleaner fit as hed almost certaintly take over at second base, a spot that is open with Vaughn Grissom and David Hamilton serving as immediate internal options and top prospect Kristian Campbell likely ready soon. But its clear Bostons decision-makers are split making a real run at Bregman (manager Alex Cora is a huge fan and wants him) and recent reporting suggests the club wont go past four years for him when other teams have longer deals on the table. The Astros are back in the mix for him, and after shedding salary by dealing reliever Ryan Pressly to the Cubs and publicly discussing a potential Jose Altuve move to left field, theres a sense in the industry Houston is once again a favorite. The Tigers, Blue Jays and Cubs have been involved as well and Bregman appears to have better offers than what Bostons willing to give him.

Bregman would cost north of $25 million per year, which would get the Red Sox close to that first $241 million threshold. So would a deal for Arenado, who the Cardinals are dying to move despite a full no-trade clause. Arenado has made it clear he would welcome a trade to Boston but the moving parts involved (Rafael Devers to first base? A Triston Casas trade?) make the fit look easier on paper than in reality. The Cardinals are motivated to move Arenados salary  the acquiring team would pay him $64 million over the next three years  so its possible the Red Sox could wait out that market, take on a huge chunk (or all) of the contract and simply shift Devers to designated hitter. Its unclear if other teams remain involved on Arenado.

Beyond Bregman and Pete Alonso (a powerful right-handed bat who really does not fit the Red Sox because they have Casas at first), theres not much left on the free agent market. But there are some cheaper guys still available who might fit Boston on a short-term deal. Randal Grichuk and Austin Hays remain unsigned and could serve as platoon outfield/designated hitter options who have the chance to provide some pop from the right side. A one-year deal for one of those guys would fit the recent righty rental spot filled by players like Hunter Renfroe, Adam Duvall and Tyler ONeill. Stopgap second base options like Brendan Rodgers, Ha-seong Kim and Jorge Polanco are out there, too, but all come with some warts. And hey, old friends Justin Turner, Kike Hernandez and J.D. Martinez all hit right-handed, too.

The profile of someone like Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki, who is making $38 million over the next two years (and accounts for a $17 million CBT hit) would be perfect and would fit the team as a DH/outfield depth option much more better than the left-handed hitting Masataka Yoshida. But the Cubs dont seem inclined to move him even if a team like the Red Sox took on his entire salary (and make no mistake, Boston is able to).

BULLPEN ARMS:

The last couple weeks have been busy on the bullpen market with a lot of top options coming off the board. Still, it seems like theres room for the Red Sox to add a reliable, veteran arm  likely from the right side  to add to a group that will include Liam Hendriks, Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson to start the year.

Carlos Estevez, David Robertson, Kyle Finnegan and Tommy Kahnle are probably the best fits out there with veterans like Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek and Spencer Turnbull making some sense as well. MLBTRs pre-winter predictions had Estevez getting three years for $27 million, Robertson getting one year at $11 million and Kahnle getting two years at $13 million. A one- or two-year deal makes all the sense in the world for the Red Sox. Kenley Jansen remains unsigned and would actually be a good fit if the relationship between the team and player hadnt turned horrendous by the end of September.

The Red Sox can also attack the trade market for a highly paid reliever whose team might want to shed money by moving him. Pressly actually would have been a great fit  the Cubs took on $8.5 million of his 2024 salary and sent a young lottery ticket-type prospect named Juan Bello to Houston for him  but the veteran had full no-trade rights and told the Astros he didnt want to pitch on either coast. A similar deal, at a palatable price (a good chunk of money, but not a major prospect) for someone like San Diegos Robert Suarez (owed $10 million in 2025 with a two-year player option), St. Louis Ryan Helsley (owed $8.2 million in his final year of free agency) and San Franciscos Camilo Doval (available after a bad year) could make sense as well.

And heres an outside-the-box way for a team with cash to burn (sorry, Jerod Mayo) to spend it: Nick Pivetta is still out there and the qualifying offer is clearly hurting his market. The Red Sox have seen him dominate in the late innings before and could be interested in a reunion if his market continues to struggle. His versatility is obviously a plus and Boston could provide a soft landing on a one-year deal if he wants to re-enter free agency without the QO attached next year.

EXTENSIONS:

Last year during spring training, the Red Sox significantly inflated their CBT total by signing Brayan Bello and Ceddanne Rafaela to long-term extensions that began in 2024. For example, Rafaela was supposed to make $743,500 but after signing, saw his CBT hit jump to $6.25 million (despite making $1 million in 2024). Expect similar jumps based on a deal or two getting done before Opening Day.

Garrett Crochet is the obvious top extension candidate on the roster and theres believed to be strong mutual interest in hammering something out soon. If that happens, the average annual value/CBT on him will be much more ($20 million per year? $25 million per year?) than it is now ($3.8 million).

Boston could also could also have real talks about an extension with Wilyer Abreu, Kutter Crawford, Jarren Duran, Tanner Houck, Triston Casas and Justin Slaten though theyve never gotten close with key guys like Duran, Houck and Casas in the past. Theyre also interested in talking to players like Campbell, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer before they make their debuts. Any of those deals would have big-time CBT ramifications in 2025.

In reality, these types of extensions, while important, are kind of a dressed-up, cop-out way for a team to get closer to the CBT threshold. Theyre definitely in play.

ONE OTHER THOUGHT...

As of now, the Red Sox plan to have four rather inexperienced options in camp as backup catching options: Carlos Narvaez and Blake Sabol, who are both on the 40-man roster, as well as Seby Zavala and Mark Kolozvary, who are non-roster invitees with big league experience.

Boston could add some depth behind Connor Wong by adding a veteran free agent like Yasmani Grandal, Elias Diaz or James McCann. The club could also flex its financial might by turning toward an old friend. Its another outside-the-box idea, but a trade with the Twins for Christian Vazquez would make some sense. At 34 (35 in August), Vazquez had a down year in 2024 but works well with pitchers and is a Cora favorite. Most importantly, hes readily available because the Twins are looking to shed payroll and hes worth $10 million in 2025, the final year of his three-year, $30 million contract from December 2022. The Red Sox are prioritizing defense behind the plate this year anyway.
SPRINGFIELD  A city man was arrested at his Atherton Street home and two guns were seized following a joint investigation into the sales of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl.

Johnadier Santiago, 28, was charged with two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, two counts of possession of a rifle near a minor, trafficking cocaine and several other crimes, said police spokesman Ryan Walsh.
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Mayo has been ranked third nationally in terms of the availability of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure throughout the county.

Geotab, a global leader in connected transportation solutions, revealed the results of the recent analysis of the national charging infrastructure which shows that there is almost one EV charger for every Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) sold in Co Mayo.

There are currently 124 public chargers located around Co Mayo and with 820 BEVs sold in the county over the past ten years, Geotab found that Mayo has one charger for approximately 6.61 BEVs in the county.

This puts Mayo near the top of the table, with Kerry coming out on top with one EV charger for every six (5.90) BEVs in the county. The Kingdom ranks slightly ahead of Longford (5.93) and Mayo (6.61) based on the analysis of ten years of Battery Electric Vehicle sales in each county and the latest public EV charging infrastructure data available locally.

While the ratio of BEVs to public charging infrastructure is now at its best level ever, the Geotab analysis has identified some inconsistencies regarding the high levels of availability across the country. While counties like Kerry, Longford and Mayo have six chargers on average for every BEV sold in the county, this rises sixfold to 36 in Meath. Similarly, Waterford (26) and Louth (23) also have less public charging infrastructure available to BEV owners compared to other counties.

Commenting on the analysis, Phil Barnes, Geotab Business Development Manager - Ireland and UK, said: While the majority of people charge their EVs at home, public chargers are a crucial piece of infrastructure that give people peace of mind that they can get from A to B without being worried about being stuck at the side of the road. Whether its a taxi driver working a long shift or a family taking a trip from one end of the country to the other, people want to know they can get access to a charger if they need one.

The latest data is really positive as it illustrates how quickly the charging network is expanding and catching up with the amount of service stations available for traditional vehicles. The ambition and measures set out in the Programme for Government to substantially increase the number of public charging points, putting us ahead of the European average, and reduce the average distance between EV recharging points will help increase the momentum behind the adoption of zero emission vehicles in Ireland, he said.

Charging anxiety has been a factor in the slow adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles, with the public opting for hybrid vehicles for a sense of security, with a 24 percent growth in new hybrid cars licensed in the first eleven months of the year.

Progress has been made, however, with the Government announcing its National Road EV Charging Network Plan earlier this year with a commitment to have recharging stations every 60 km.
PATIENTS and healthcare workers are said to be dealing with almost impossible conditions as 21 people were treated on hospital trolleys in Mayo Univerisity Hospital this morning.

Concerns were raised last week when 38 people - the highest in 2024 so far - were left on trolleys in the Castlebar hospital.

Today (January 27, 2025), eight patients were being treated in the emergency department while the other 13 were being treated on wards.

The hospital has seen an extremely high level of presentations following a surge in respiratory illnesses in December.

The Irish Nurse and Midwives Organisation have described the number of people being treated without a bed in Irish hospitals as very concerning. A total of 682 people across the state were treated on hospital trolleys this morning.

Dangerous levels of overcrowding are not confined to one or two hospitals, we are seeing extremely high numbers of patients being treated in inappropriate spaces right across the country, said INMO General Secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha.

Ms Ni Sheaghdha called for the HSE to immediately outline how it plans to discharge patients ahead of the bank holiday weekend.

The sheer number of patients on trolleys is not helped by the fact that practically all hospitals are running short because of the HSE recruitment freeze which is having a detrimental impact on patient and staff safety, she added.

We are continuing to hear from our members that vulnerable patients are being placed on infection control and other high-risk wards, despite nursing staff identifying significant risks. This practice needs to end.

It is clear that there has been no let up for patients and nursing staff trying to care safely in impossible conditions.
U.S. not to impose tariffs as Colombia agrees to accept deportees: White House

Xinhua) 13:32, January 27, 2025

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump won't impose tariffs on Colombia after its government agreed to accept Colombians deported from the United States, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Sunday night in a statement.

"The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump's terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay," Leavitt said in the statement.

Earlier in the day, Trump posted on his social media platform that the United States will impose 25 percent tariffs, which will increase to 50 percent in one week, on all goods coming into the United States from Colombia.

In response, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on social media that Colombia would respond to the raised tariffs with an increased tariff of its own on U.S. goods.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
by Ray Schultz , Columnist, January 24, 2025

Donald Trump may rail against the fake news media. But he reads and pays for a vast number of news products, according to an investigative report by The Ankler.

Trumps committees spent more than $31,000 on subscriptions to 65 publications during the recent campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records through late 2024, Dave Levinthal reports. Thats roughly twice the number subscribed to by opponent Kamala Harris.

Among the periodicals Trump subscribed to are The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Foreign Affairs, Newsweek and The Daily Beast. And it paid four-figure sums for The Associated Press, Bloomberg, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Financial Times, Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel, Philadelphia Inquirer, South Florida Sun Sentinel and The Economist.

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How could Trump subscribe to such titles when he has been denounced as corrupt, lame, radical, phony, crazy, deranged, unhinged, pathetic, false, sick, inaccurate, dangerous, dying and fiction writers, Levinthal asks.

You dont know how to attack them if you dont know what theyre saying, says Rod Hicks, director of ethics and diversity for the Society of Professional Journalists, Levinthal reports. Him paying for news helps prove why I dont believe Donald Trump believes the news is fake.

Of course, Trump has also subscribed to conservative news products like Washington Times, Newsmax, Daily Wire, Epoch Times, American Conservative, American Spectator, National Review and Townhall Media, and to the Tucker Carlson network along with many other streaming services.



Another publication paid for by the Trump team is The Augusta (Georgia) Press, whose reporter Skyler Andrews was kicked out of a Republican event on orders from the Trump campaign, Levinthal writes.

In addition, the Trump campaign spent $90 to subscribe to New York magazine, which has spent more than 40 years covering Trumps deals, bankruptcies, marriages, affairs, casinos, yacht, children, vendettas, television show, marketing schemes and presidential campaigns, spokesperson Lauren Starke notes, Levinthal writes.

So were not surprised that the campaign subscribed, Starke says. Were glad that they see the value in paying for quality journalism, a necessity for a healthy news ecosystem.

Levinthal is an investigative journalist based in Washington, D.C. He previously was editor-in-chief of Raw Story and a deputy editor at Business Insider.

Hopefully, The Ankler sent Trump a copy of the Levinthal article for free.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, January 27, 2025

PALM SPRINGS, CA -- Awareness and support of data privacy laws has grown, especially in the United States, but more consumer education is needed.

The findings from the latest IAB study  Striking the Balance: The Consumer Perspective on Privacy, Preference, and Personalization  are a validation that privacy and personalization can coexist, but there is a significant divide of digital privacy literacy in the U.S.

Overall, 86% of U.S. consumers understand advertising helps companies keep access to information on websites and apps free. Only 40% know they can access and delete the data collected about them online.

Most consumers understand the surface-level privacy concepts they encounter regularly  account settings and accepting cookies  far fewer are aware of their deeper privacy rights, with regard to accessing or deleting their data.

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Only 40% know they can access and delete the data collected about them online. Not surprisingly, the groups with greater overall familiarity with privacy laws  Gen Z, Millennials, and higher-income groups  show greater awareness of these privacy rights, while Boomers lag behind.

Conducted in partnership with Talk Shoppe, findings released Monday from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) at the IAB ALM conference in Palm Springs, California suggest that consumers value laws protecting data privacy, as well as the free and open internet.

Consumers support privacy legislation, as well as website and app privacy management tools, but they are frustrated by current privacy management implementations. About 60% find todays privacy management complex, confusing, and inconvenient.

Younger generations and higher-income consumers, with higher expectations for seamless internet experiences, report greater frustration compared with older and lower-income groups.

Seventy percent of consumers said they are familiar with current state-level of data-privacy legislation, and a majority perceive the laws to be effective.

Some 82% of U.S. consumers agree personalized ads help them discover products and services they are interested in, 80% prefer ads for products or services they are interested in or shopping for, and 79% feel more positive toward brands and retailers that tailor ads based on consumer preferences.

About 1,500 U.S. and 2,500 non-U.S. consumers participated in the study  which was fielded across the U.K., Germany, Australia, Mexico, and Brazil  to uncover awareness and perception of current data privacy legislation and website and app privacy controls.

The IAB conducted the study to learn more about the role of advertising in helping to power the free and open internet, and consumer appreciation for the exchange of data for seamless internet use.

The findings also show that 80% of U.S. consumers are concerned about their data being used for criminal activity, which highlights the importance of data security, and a mere 2% stated being concerned about the use of their data to personalize advertising.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, January 27, 2025

Meta Founder Mark Zuckerberg has been touting open-source artificial intelligence (AI) technology for years. Now advertisers will understand why.

On Monday, the Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek presented a ChatGPT-like AI model called R1, which has all the familiar abilities, but can operate at a fraction of the cost of OpenAIs, Googles or Metas popular AI models.

The company said it had spent just $5.6 million training its newest AI model, compared with the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars that U.S. companies have spent on building and training AI technologies.

As U.S. companies pledge billions of dollars to AI, DeepSeek-R1 released a research paper that claims to beat the industrys leading models on several math and reasoning benchmarks. Many of the metrics like capability, cost, openness have come in at a much lower cost to run. And it has brought down the cost to train and operate these models.

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Zuckerberg on Friday said in a Facebook post the company plans to build a data center so large that it would cover a significant part of Manhattan. The plan is to bring a gigawatt of computing power online in 2025 and is projected to end the year with more than 1.3 million graphics processing units.

At the IAM ALM conference on Sunday, Meta Vice President of Research Joelle Pineau described some of the investments and advancements the company has made in AI, saying that combining AI with metaverse would fuel innovations for advertising.

Meta's multimodal Llama model is an open-sourced technology that now has more than 85,000 derivative models from healthcare to advertising. The idea, Pineau said, is to move from word to world models that work across many segments and through a family of AI agents.

Pineau said creators and moviemakers are working with Meta on technology that will allow them to use AI to create synthetic content that includes visuals and audio. She alluded to the ability to create complete television advertisements and possibly movies by using AI and open source platforms.

Im expecting models to become better at reasoning and personalization, she said. Now these are very generic.
by Fern Siegel , January 27, 2025

January 27 marks Holocaust Memorial Day, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp.

Britain's Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and its agency St. Luke's, created the 2025 work "Remembering the past for a better future." The campaign was inspired by the knowledge that the 80th anniversary is likely to be the last milestone year where Auschwitz survivors are able to share their testimonies first-hand.

St Lukes creative is shown across hundreds of digital OOH sites in the U.K., including the Piccadilly Lights, at 8 p.m. GMT tonight (3 p.m. ET in the U.S.)

The image is a photo of a grandfather and granddaughter whose hands cradle a candle, the HMDT's symbol of peace and remembrance. Shot by portrait photographer James Day, Ocean Outdoor and JCDecaux worked in partnership with HMDT to ensure widespread coverage across OOH spaces.

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Holocaust Memorial Day remembers the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, along with the millions of people killed under Nazi persecution. It also remembers the lives lost during more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, and the Yazidi genocide.

Olivia Marks-Woldman, Chief Executive Officer of Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: As the Holocaust fades further into history, it becomes increasingly challenging for younger generations to connect with a tragedy so distant from their own experiences. This is why St Lukes campaign, featuring a poignant image of a grandfather and granddaughter cradling a candle, is so powerful. It symbolizes the bridge between generations, ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust endure and are never forgotten."

The BBC is broadcasting the annual Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony on television for the first time since 2020. There is also coverage of the Auschwitz Ceremony from Poland.

Ed Palmer, managing director of St Lukes, said: Now more than ever, we hope the message 'for a better future' prompts reflection on the Holocaust and other genocides of the past.

This is the third year St Lukes has partnered with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
by Wayne Friedman , January 27, 2025

While Netflix global advertising revenue is estimated to more than double to $4 billion in 2025, revenue per member for its ad tier is not expected to grow at a commensurate level compared to its ad-free subscription tier anytime soon, according to Bernstein Research.

There have been only modest gains in the "effective" advertising cost-per-thousand viewer price (eCPM), writes Laurent Yoon, media analyst at Bernstein.

eCPMs are projected to rise slightly to $22.05 in 2025 (up from $21.00 in 2024). The eCPM is the "delivered CPM" -- not the agreed-upon price paid by the media brand, Yoon says.

Yoon sees Netflixs overall ad-tier as a slower-growth business.

With our base case assumption of 5% [growth rate] on effective CPM and flat average consumption per subscriber, we dont expect that ARM [advertising revenue per member] gap between the AVOD tier and non-AVOD tiers to close in the foreseeable future.

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For Netflix, the derived average U.S./Canada advertising revenue per member was an estimated $10.22 in 2024 -- expected to increase to $10.73 in 2025.

Total revenue per membership --advertising and subscription -- for Netflixs "Standard With Ads" plan amounted to $17.21 last year -- and is expected to grow to $18.72 this year.

Netflix's new subscription price for AVOD is $7.99/month -- up 14%, compared to $6.99 in 2024.

Broader projections for the U.S. and Canada estimate domestic advertising will reach $2.9 billion this year -- more than double the estimate of $1.3 billion in 2024.

Netflix is expected to see a 70% gain of AVOD members in 2025, to around 27.9 million, compared to 16.4 million in 2024. That will mean advertising subscriptions will be 30% of its total number of U.S./Canada subscribers -- 94 million.

While AVOD helps to drive subscriber growth and generates additional advertising revenue, its still dilutive to the overall ARM [advertising revenue per member], Yoon says. Based on our estimates, ARM for the AVOD tier in UCAN is $17.21 in 2024, which is lower than the average price of [Netflixs] Standard and Premium tiers.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, January 27, 2025

Siding with Google, a federal judge has sent antitrust claims brought by two advertisers to arbitration.

In a ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Castel in New York said the advertisers -- Cliffy Care Landscaping and California resident Michael Stellman -- agreed to arbitrate any disputes with Google by accepting its terms of service, which provided for arbitration.

The record reflects that Stellman and Cliffy Care both affirmatively agreed to the terms after being presented with a page that included a conspicuous and boldfaced notice that the terms included a binding arbitration provision, from which advertisers could opt out, Castel wrote.

The decision comes in a sprawling antitrust lawsuit initially brought in 2021 by advertisers and numerous publishers over Google's alleged monopolization of the ad-tech stack.

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Castel's ruling Friday only affects advertisers who accepted Google's arbitration clause in the terms of service. At least one advertiser that sued -- the Hanson law firm -- didn't accept the arbitration agreement, according to court papers.

The complaint against Google centers on allegations that it monopolized markets connected to display ads. Those claims are also at the center of a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against Google that went to trial last year in Virginia. U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema, who presided over that trial, hasn't yet issued a ruling.

Stellman and Cliffy Care had urged Castel to invalidate the arbitration clause in Google's terms of service for several reasons, including that Google allegedly failed to prove it gave the advertisers adequate notice of the provision.

The judge rejected that argument, noting that the webpage shown to Stellman contained boldfaced, conspicuous notice that it contained an arbitration agreement, and that advertisers could opt out of arbitration. Castel likewise found Cliffy Care had entered into valid arbitration agreement with Google.
by Ray Schultz , January 27, 2025

Hearst has named PMG, a global marketing services company, as its creative and media agency.

The appointment is part of a multimillion-dollar, multiplatform investment in brand-building across Hearsts businesses, the company says.

PMGs first campaign for Hearst will start rolling out next month in such newspapers as Houston Chronicle and San Francisco Chronicle. The multichannel effort will focus on the role local newspapers play in their communities, and on Hearsts storytelling capabilities.

Hearst is a growing, diversified company with a rich, iconic history dating back to 1887, says Jon Dupuis, president of PMG.

Dupuis continues, As its lead agency, we will combine Hearsts keen understanding of people and their passions with the creative and data-driven insights from our Alli marketing intelligence platform to position Hearst as the go-to source for people looking to stay informed, engaged and connected to their community while also maximizing success for its individual brands.

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In other Hearst-related news, the company announced it is purchasing an office building in San Franciscos North Financial District.

Hearst believes that San Francisco remains a vital market for innovation and commerce, says Steve Hearst, vice president and general manager of Hearsts Western Properties Real Estate Division.

Hearst adds that this acquisition reflects our belief in the citys long-term resilience and appeal as a destination for world-class businesses.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, claims that by 2030, AI could help humans live twice as long. This could reshape the future of medicine, biology, and longevity.



Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, believes AI could help double human lifespans by 2030, driven by breakthroughs in biology. #AI #longevity #healthtech #medindia

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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Believes A.I. Could Double Human Lifespans in 5 Years- (https://observer.com/2025/01/anthropic-dario-amodei-ai-advances-double-human-lifespans/)

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Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, shared his bold vision at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he claimed that artificial intelligence (AI) could soon enable humans to live twice as long.Drawing from his background in biophysics and experience at OpenAI, Amodei believes that breakthroughs in biology, spurred by AI advancements, could lead to a doubling of human lifespan within the next decade. He stated, We can make 100 years of progress in biology in five or ten years if we get AI right.Amodei sees AI as a powerful force in accelerating scientific discoveries, especially in areas like healthcare. He envisions AI contributing to the treatment of infectious diseases , the elimination of many forms of cancer, and even offering cures for genetic disorders . This potential, he says, could transform how we approach human health in the coming years.In addition to health advancements, Amodei predicts that AI will surpass humans in nearly all areas, from math and programming to biology. He is confident that by 2026 or 2027, AI systems will outperform humans across a wide range of tasks.However, Amodei acknowledges that societal limitations, such as laws and regulations, may slow the pace of some AI applications, like autonomous driving and pharmaceutical innovations.Amodeis optimistic outlook stems from recent AI developments, including models that perform at the level of advanced researchers in various fields. He believes that AIs rapid progress could bring about transformative changes in health, business, and beyond.Anthropic, the company Amodei co-founded in 2020, is positioning itself at the forefront of this AI revolution, securing significant investments from companies like Google.Though ambitious, Amodeis statements reflect the growing belief in the potential of AI to reshape the future of medicine and human longevity. The next few years may hold unprecedented breakthroughs in both biology and technology.Source-Medindia
Forming healthy habits can take two months to a year, challenging the 21-day myth, and requires consistency, enjoyment, and strategic planning to achieve it.

Did you know?

It takes two months to a year to form a new healthy habit - dont give up after 21 days! #healthyhabit # healthylife #exercise #medindia 

It takes two months to a year to form a new healthy habit - dont give up after 21 days! #healthyhabit # healthylife #exercise #medindia 

Why Healthy Habits Take Longer Than 21 Days

Tips for Building Lasting Healthy Habits

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Time to Form a Habit: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Health Behaviour Habit Formation and Its Determinants - (https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/23/2488)

University of South Australia research reveals that forming a healthy habit takes longer than expected. It would take anywhere from two months to nearly a year to form a healthy habit.The study results were found in the first systematic review. Its an important finding that could inform health interventions to promote healthy behaviors and prevent chronic disease In Australia, chronic disease contributes to a large portion of the disease burden. Many conditions, including type 2 diabetes lung disease , and stroke , can be prevented by changing unhealthy habits or lifestyle factors.University of South Australia researcher, Dr Ben Singh, says that contrary to popular belief, healthy habits take far longer than three weeks to lock down. Adopting healthy habits is essential for long-term well-being but forming these habits  and breaking unhealthy ones  can be challenging, Dr Singh says.At the beginning of the year, many of us are setting goals and making plans for the months ahead things like being more active, cutting back on sugar , or making healthier food choices  but while common wisdom suggests that it takes just 21 days to form such habits, these claims are not evidence-based.In our research, weve found that habit formation starts within around two months, but there is significant variability, with formation times ranging from four days to nearly a year. So, its important for people who are hoping to make healthier habits not to give up at that mythical three-week mark. The study of more than 2600 participants also found that certain factors can influence successful habit formation.When trying to establish a new healthy habit, success can be influenced by a range of things including how frequently we undertake the new activity, the timing of the practice, and whether we enjoy it or not, Dr Singh says. If you add a new practice to your morning routine, the data shows that youre more likely to achieve it. Youre also more likely to stick to a new habit if you enjoy it.Planning and intending to complete a new behavior can also help solidify a new habit, so make sure you continue to make time to include your new healthy habits into your everyday activities. This could be as easy as laying out your gym clothes the night before a morning walk or having a healthy lunch ready to go in the fridge.Tailoring habit-building strategies into our day and making plans on how we can achieve them, will put you in a position for success.While more research is needed, researchers say that these findings can guide public health initiatives and personalized programs that support sustained and healthy behavior change.Source-Eurekalert
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korea said Sunday it tested a cruise missile system, its third known weapons display this year, and vowed the toughest response to what it called the escalation of U.S.-South Korean military drills that target the North.

The moves suggested North Korea will likely maintain its run of weapons tests and its confrontational stance against the U.S. for now, even though President Donald Trump said he intends to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim observed the test of sea-to-surface strategic cruise guided weapons on Saturday.

The term strategic implies the missiles are nuclear-capable. KCNA said the missiles hit their targets after traveling 1,500-kilometer (932-mile) -long elliptical and figure-eight-shaped flight patterns, but that couldn't be independently verified.

KCNA cited Kim as saying that North Koreas war deterrence capabilities are being perfected more thoroughly and affirming that his country will make strenuous efforts to defend stability on the basis of more powerfully developed military muscle.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea had launched several cruise missiles toward its western waters from an inland area at around 4 p.m. on Saturday. It said South Korean maintains a readiness to overwhelmingly repel any provocations by North Korea in conjunction with its military alliance with the U.S.

In a separate statement carried by KCNA on Sunday, North Koreas Foreign Ministry criticized the U.S. for committing serious military provocations aiming at North Korea with a series of military exercises with South Korea this month.

The reality stresses that the DPRK should counter the U.S. with the toughest counteraction from A to Z as long as it refuses the sovereignty and security interests of the DPRK and this is the best option for dealing with the U.S, the Foreign Ministry statement said.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the abbreviation of its formal name. The Foreign Ministry warning was in line with Kim's vows to implement the toughest anti-U.S. policy during a year-end political meeting.

North Korea views U.S. military training with South Korea as invasion rehearsals though Washington and Seoul have repeatedly said their drills are defensive in nature. In recent years, the U.S. and South Korea have expanded their military exercises in response to North Korea's advancing nuclear program.

The start of Trump's second term raises prospects for the revival of diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea, as Trump met Kim three times during his first term. The Trump-Kim diplomacy in 2018-19 fell apart due to wrangling over U.S.-led economic sanctions on North Korea.

During a Fox News interview broadcast Thursday, Trump called Kim a smart guy and not a religious zealot. Asked whether he will reach out to Kim again, Trump replied, I will, yeah.

Many experts say Kim likely thinks he has greater bargaining power than in his earlier round of diplomacy with Trump because of his country's enlarged nuclear arsenal and deepening military ties with Russia.

In South Korea, many worry that Trump might scale back military drills with the Asian U.S. ally and abandon the goal of the complete denuclearization of North Korea and focus on eliminating its long-range missile program, which poses a direct threat to the U.S., while leaving its nuclear attack capabilities against South Korea intact.

On Monday, Trump called North Korea a nuclear power as he spoke of his personal ties with Kim during a news conference at the Oval Office after his inauguration. Washington, Seoul and their partners have long shunned describing North Korea as a nuclear state because that could be seen as accepting its pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

After his first summit with Kim in 2018, Trump baffled many in South Korea by unilaterally announcing the suspension of major summertime military drills, calling them very provocative and tremendously expensive.

North Korea hasn't commented on Trump's latest overture. Sunday's cruise missile tests were the North's first known weapons launches since Trump's inauguration.
MAYS AL-JABAL, Lebanon (AP)  The White House said Sunday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend the deadline for Israeli troops to depart southern Lebanon until Feb. 18, after Israel requested more time to withdraw beyond the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November.

Israel has said that it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army has not deployed to all areas of southern Lebanon to ensure that Hezbollah does not reestablish its presence in the area. The Lebanese army has said it cannot deploy until Israeli forces withdraw.

The White House said in a statement that the arrangement between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the United States, will continue to be in effect until February 18, 2025. It added that the respective governments will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli or Lebanese governments. The Lebanese presidents office had put out a statement earlier Sunday denying that there was an extension.

The development in Lebanon comes as Israel kept thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza on Sunday, accusing Hamas of violating a fragile ceasefire by changing the order of hostages it has released.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement addressing the people of southern Lebanon on Sunday that Lebanons sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable, and I am following up on this issue at the highest levels to ensure your rights and dignity.

He urged them to exercise self-restraint and trust in the Lebanese Armed Forces. The Lebanese army, in a separate statement, said it was escorting civilians into some towns in the border area and called on residents to follow military instructions to ensure their safety.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, whose Amal Movement party is allied with Hezbollah and who served as an interlocutor between the militant group and the U.S. during ceasefire negotiations, said that Sunday's bloodshed is a clear and urgent call for the international community to act immediately and compel Israel to withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories.

An Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli military, Avichay Adraee, posted on X that Hezbollah had sent rioters and is "trying to heat up the situation to cover up its situation and status in Lebanon and the Arab world.

He called Sunday morning for residents of the border area not to attempt to return to their villages.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and the head of mission of the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lazaro, called in a joint statement for both Israel and Lebanon to comply with their obligations under the ceasefire agreement.

The fact is that the timelines envisaged in the November Understanding have not been met, the statement said. As seen tragically this morning, conditions are not yet in place for the safe return of citizens to their villages along the Blue Line.

UNIFIL said that further violence risks undermining the fragile security situation in the area and "prospects for stability ushered in by the cessation of hostilities and the formation of a government in Lebanon.

It called for the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, the removal of unauthorized weapons and assets south of the Litani River, the redeployment of the Lebanese army in all of south Lebanon and ensuring the safe and dignified return of displaced civilians on both sides of the Blue Line.

An AP team was stranded overnight at a UNIFIL base near Mays al-Jabal after the Israeli army erected roadblocks Saturday while they were joining a patrol by peacekeepers. The journalists reported hearing gunshots and booming sounds Sunday morning from the base, and peacekeepers said that dozens of protesters had gathered nearby.

In the village of Aita al Shaab, families wandered over flattened concrete structures looking for remnants of the homes they left behind. No Israeli forces were present.

These are our houses, said Hussein Bajouk, one of the returning residents. However much they destroy, we will rebuild.

Bajouk added that he is convinced that former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Beiruts southern suburbs in September, is really still alive.

I dont know how much were going to wait, another month or two months... but the Sayyed will come out and speak, he said using an honorific for Nasrallah.

On the other side of the border in the kibbutz of Manara, Orna Weinberg surveyed the devastation of the recent conflict on her neighbors and the Lebanese villages on the other side of the frontier. The sound of gunfire sporadically popped in the distance.

Unfortunately, we have no way of defending our own children without harming their children," Weinberg, 58, said. "Its a tragedy to all sides.

Some 112,000 Lebanese remain displaced, out of over 1 million who fled their homes during the war.



Sewell reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller in Washington, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Bilal Hussein in Aita al-Shaab, Lebanon, and Sam McNeil in Manara, Israel, contributed to this report.
Denmarks prime minister said the U.S. should remember that the Nordic country has lost troops fighting in U.S.-led wars and always has supported its large partner, after President Donald Trump escalated his demands over Greenland.

I think it is important that everyone in the U.S. remembers how good an ally Denmark has been, Mette Frederiksen said on Sunday in an interview broadcast by TV2 from Copenhagen. So Denmark has been a good ally, we are a good ally now, and we intend to continue to be one.

Her comments were in response to Trump reiterating on Saturday his intention to obtain Greenland for the U.S. The president has in recent weeks said the U.S. needs Greenland for international security reasons and has refused to rule out using military force to obtain his goal.

I think were going to have it. And I think the people want to be with us as you know, Trump said to reporters traveling with him on Air Force One on Saturday. I dont know really what claim Denmark has to it. But it would be a very unfriendly act if they didnt allow that to happen because its for protection of the free world.

The two leaders also held a call last week, which some officials had described as confrontational, according to the Financial Times. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but its 57,000 inhabitants have extensive home rule.

Frederiksen repeated on Sunday that Greenland is not for sale and that the Arctic islands future is up to the local population to decide, not Denmark nor the U.S. According to TV2, Frederiksen was due to meet leaders of the other Nordic countries  Sweden, Norway and Finland  later on Sunday, to discuss Greenland, among other things.

We are working to discuss this as thoroughly as we can with the Americans but its not a discussion I want to have in public, for obvious reasons, Frederiksen said, in a separate interview Sunday, broadcast by DR.

Denmark, a NATO member and a country of 6 million people, lost 44 soldiers in the Afghanistan war and eight in Iraq, under missions instigated by the U.S. The Nordic country spent a total of $1.7 billion on the war in Afghanistan, over 20 years.

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(With assistance from Stephanie Lai.)

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2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Marine Corps quietly directed its recruit depots to integrate male and female drill instructor teams at the platoon level in late 2023, and now the service is full steam ahead with the effort, according to several Marine officials who spoke to Military.com last week.

Between the Marine Corps' two recruit depots at San Diego and Parris Island, South Carolina, recruits from all over the country arrive on the famous yellow footprints to be trained by upward of 1,300 drill instructors, or DIs, charged with molding them into Marines over a 13-week boot camp.

Of those 1,300 drill instructors currently training recruits, roughly 15% are women -- and leaders at the depots and the service's education entity said that integrating that relatively limited number of women with their male counterparts at the lowest training level has gone smoothly over the last year-plus, with few adjustments required to make it happen.

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The depots currently have seven gender-integrated drill instructor teams at the platoon level, though that number can fluctuate week to week depending on the number of companies that graduate and assemble for training, service leaders from the San Diego and Parris Island recruit depots said.

"This is not a pilot program," Col. Misty Posey, chief of staff of the Marine Corps' Training and Education Command, or TECOM, said Wednesday. Posey was previously a commander of Parris Island's now-shuttered 4th Recruit Training Battalion, an all-female unit that closed in 2023 amid the service's efforts to gender-integrate training.

"This is what we're doing, and there was never a doubt that we could integrate platoon-level DI teams," Posey said. "There was never a doubt in the value in doing it. There was never a doubt in the fact that it would be successful."

While the Marine Corps has consistently had the lowest percentage of women compared to its sister branches, the number of women putting on the Eagle, Globe and Anchor has slowly increased by two percentage points since 2016, with the Pentagon reporting that women made up nearly 10% of the Corps in 2023.

And as that number steadily increased, Posey said that "one battalion was no longer sufficient or appropriate to train all female recruits" in terms of the space that was once allotted to them, "which meant more female DIs and staff were needed to train them."

"It really gave us a lot of flexibility," she added.

Posey said that the effort to integrate women into drill instructor roles during boot camp harkens back to 1996, when initial training for men and women began to mirror each other. She said that drill instructors could have been integrated at that point, but given the small number of female recruits and drill instructors in the Marine Corps, the service felt it was "more efficient" to train women in a separate unit.

In December 2023, the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, a Pentagon entity, recommended that the Marine Corps integrate its platoon-level drill instructors. The committee said that it "believes mixed-gender drill instructor teams are essential to providing recruits training and mentorship from opposite-gender role models as they prepare to enter an integrated operational environment," according to the report.

That same month, retired Lt. Gen. Kevin Iiams, then-commanding general of TECOM, gave verbal guidance to both depots to provide a proof of concept for integrating platoon-level drill instructors within gender-segregated companies, as Marine Corps Times first reported earlier this year.

Part of the impetus to integrate drill instructors at the platoon level, the officials told Military.com, was to get all Marines used to seeing both men and women in leadership roles before heading to the operational fleet, which is mixed-gender.

"We had to make very few changes overall, because honestly, integration at the depots is not that much different from integration in any Marine Corps unit, and we've been doing that to various degrees over the past few decades and it worked great," said Col. Peter Rummler, the commander of the Recruit Training Regiment at San Diego.

"The Marines thought of it just as a continuation of what they've experienced during their tours in the fleet," he added.

Col. Christopher McArthur, commander of the Recruit Training Regiment at Parris Island, said that each integrated training team will always include at least two drill instructors who are the same gender of the platoon they are training. An all-male platoon will have a drill instructor team made up of two women and two men, for example, though numbers can fluctuate due to manning.

Posey, the TECOM chief of staff, said teams that instructed martial arts, marksmanship and rapelling, for example, have been gender-integrated "for quite some time," but added that the service wanted to take a "deliberate approach" to integrating platoon-level drill instructors to establish procedures for drill instructor rest plans and recruit privacy during hygiene time.

While women have been enlisting in the Marine Corps for more than a century, to include more recently playing critical roles in Female Engagement and Lioness Teams during the Global War on Terrorism, the service has been slower to integrate them into training or combat roles compared to its counterparts.

After the Pentagon lifted the ban on women in direct combat jobs in 2013, for example, the Marine Corps was the only branch to request an exception, which was rejected. As of November, nearly 700 women were serving in combat roles in the Marine Corps.

Platoons are still segregated by gender at the depots, and it was not until 2019 that the Marine Corps graduated its first coed company of Marines at Parris Island. By comparison, the Army began integrating women at the platoon level in the 1990s. Female recruits did not start training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego until 2021, roughly 100 years after the West Coast unit was established.

"I get asked often by older, former retired Marines, and I would just reassure folks that even though we're generally integrated, boot camp is still challenging. It's conducted to the same level of standard expectation it's always been," said McArthur, the commander of the Recruit Training Regiment at Parris Island.

"It's enhanced just [by] the mere fact that now that recruits get to see leaders of both genders, and that's a positive for them, as well as a positive opportunity for our Marines to lead both genders," he added.

A University of Pittsburgh study cited staff shortages as contributing "burnout" factors for the disproportionately fewer female drill instructors, among other takeaways in the 738-page report.

Maj. Hector Infante, a TECOM spokesperson, said insights from that study "have been instrumental in enhancing opportunities for integrated training, especially as personnel and resources became available for pilot programs and execution."

"Female drill instructors have the same work requirements as their male counterparts, but their smaller population size can lead to disproportionately heavier workloads and increased burnout," the study said. "The inflexibility of single-gender drill instructor teams combined with personnel shortages necessitate female drill instructors shortening their between-cycle breaks to ensure sufficient coverage for every female platoon."

Depot leaders said they did not see any challenges in terms of managing work-rest cycles amid the integration of drill instructor teams at the platoon level -- a historically demanding job for drill instructors overall, but especially for women who had to shoulder greater responsibilities given their fewer numbers, the study said.

Before, "women were always considered sort of second-class citizens, whether they were recruits or drill instructors, and part of that was because the leaders had historically created distance in terms of space and time to keep the women so separate that they were automatically assumed not to be able to keep up," former Marine Lt. Col. Kate Germano, who led the all-female 4th Recruit Training Battalion, told Military.com.

"Because there were female drill instructors who were allowed only to train the women, it caused a lot of burnout, a lot of exhaustion, a lot of divorce," she said.

Germano said that the integration of female drill instructors at the platoon level was a long time coming, and that because they were allowed only to train women in the drill instructor capacity for so long, the new change could lighten the load in terms of time off, giving women in those roles more time to recover.

Germano was relieved of command in 2015 despite improving metrics for female Marines under her leadership, such as shooting qualifications. The firing by the Corps sparked years of controversy over the way women are perceived in the military. She said that, for her, the integration of female drill instructors at the platoon level is indicative of an overall generational shift that wasn't around when she was serving.

"Ten years ago, we had individuals in top leadership positions who had never served side by side with women in combat and had never really understood what women were capable of," she said of the service's moves to integrate women into key roles. "And now we're seeing that that's the norm."

Both Germano and the current Marine Corps leadership said that the move to integrate women in platoon-level drill instructor roles makes it easier for the depots to manage their recruit shipping models amid a difficult recruiting environment for all branches.

"In the old days, women were only trained in one place, which limited the throughput of recruits, which limited the mission of the recruiters," Germano said. "And so now what we're seeing is, because training has been open to more than one location and there's more than one squad bay available, more women can be recruited, more women can be trained."

"And this ties back into this idea of integrating the teams, because the less you have to worry about only having women train women, the more people there are available to fill those company leadership slots," she added. "So it's all related. It's all connective tissue, and this is just sort of the cherry on top of the ice cream."

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KYIV, Ukraine  Russia on Sunday claimed its troops had captured a strategically important town in eastern Ukraine as part of a grinding campaign to weaken Kyivs grip on the countrys industrial heartland, while uncertainty over the continued flow of U.S. funding has reportedly halted the work of some Ukrainian NGOs, including those helping war veterans.

Russias Defense Ministry announced the fall of Velyka Novosilka, which had around 5,000 residents before the war, following a monthslong battle. Its statement could not be independently verified, and Ukraine claimed its troops had only strategically withdrawn from certain areas.

But if confirmed, it would make Velyka Novosilka the first significant town to capitulate in 2025 under Moscows onslaught in the eastern Donetsk region against Ukraines weary and short-handed army. The war is set to reach its three-year milestone in February.

Ukrainian forces withdrew from certain parts of Velyka Novosilka to avoid encirclement, the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade said in a statement on its official Telegram channel Sunday. The brigade is active in that patch of the frontline.

Analysts have long predicted that its only a matter of time until Russian forces capture the settlement, which lies only 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region.

The brigade said though they have approximate parity with Russian forces in terms of artillery and drones, the Russians have a huge advantage in manpower.

Our units, using the weather conditions, skillfully withdrew from areas where there was a threat of encirclement. This does not mean that we have completely left the city, the fighting in Velyka Novosilka continues . All actions are aimed at minimizing our own losses and maximum damage to the enemy, the statement said.

The brigade said the withdrawal will make it topographically difficult for Russians to advance by making the river an obstacle for further advance.

The enemy () will have no peace, any movement is cut off by shells and drones, the statement said.

Russia captured the Donetsk cities of Avdiivka and Vuhledar last year after long and grueling battles. Those cities were largely leveled by Russian artillery, glide bombs and drones before they fell.

Russian forces have also been trying for months to capture the key Donetsk strongholds of Pokrovsk and Chasiv Yar.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian NGOs catering to the needs of war veterans and their families have claimed a suspension of U.S. funding is forcing them to halt their work, days after newly sworn in U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he would pause foreign aid grants for 90 days.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later claimed that military aid to Ukraine would continue, but did not clarify whether humanitarian aid had been paused. Kyiv relies on the U.S. for 40% of its military needs.

According to news reports, Ukrainian NGOs receiving funding from Washington this weekend began receiving stop work orders, requiring them to pause all projects and related travel.

Veteran Hub, an NGO that provides legal and psychological support to war veterans and their families, was forced to halt operations of two of its three largest service units as a result, the organization said in its official Facebook page.

It said the suspension has lead it to ask for public donations for the first time.

Since 2018, we have refrained from public fundraising because we believe that donations are primarily needed for the military. Today, we are forced to publicly ask for support for the first time, the organization said.

With the Trump administration questioning the future of U.S. aid to Ukraine, stressing the need to quickly broker a peace deal, both Moscow and Kyiv are seeking battlefield successes to strengthen their negotiating positions ahead of any prospective talks.

For the past year, Russian forces have been waging an intense campaign to punch holes in Ukraines defenses in the eastern Donetsk region. The sustained and costly offensive has compelled Kyiv to give up a series of towns, villages and hamlets.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed into the most heavily destroyed part of the Gaza Strip on Monday as Israel lifted its closure of the north for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas in accordance with a fragile ceasefire.

Israel, meanwhile, announced that a Hamas list showed that eight of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the truce are dead. Whether hostages are alive or dead inside Gaza has been a heartbreaking question for waiting families who have pushed Israels government to reach a deal to free them, fearing that time was running out.

On Monday, massive crowds of people walking with their belongings stretched along a main road running next to the coast in a stunning reversal of the mass exodus from the north at the start of the war that many Palestinians had feared Israel would make permanent.

Palestinians who have been sheltering in squalid tent camps and schools-turned-shelters for over a year are eager to return to their homes  even though they have likely been damaged or destroyed.

Yasmin Abu Amshah, a mother of three, said she walked 6 kilometers (nearly 4 miles) to reach her home in Gaza City, where she found it damaged but still habitable. She also saw her younger sister for the first time in over a year.

It was a long trip, but a happy one, she said. The most important thing is that we returned.

Many saw their return as an act of steadfastness after Israels military campaign, which was launched in response to the Hamas militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The return was also seen as a repudiation of U.S. President Donald Trumps suggestion that large numbers of Palestinians be resettled in Egypt and Jordan.

The joy of return

Ismail Abu Matter, a father of four who waited for three days near the crossing point before moving north with his family, described scenes of jubilation on the other side, with people singing, praying and crying as they were reunited with relatives.

Its the joy of return, said Abu Matter, whose relatives were among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. We had thought we wouldnt return, like our ancestors.

The opening was delayed for two days over a dispute between Hamas and Israel, which said the militant group changed the order of the hostages it released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Mediators resolved the dispute overnight.

Hamas said the return was a victory for our people, and a declaration of failure and defeat for the (Israeli) occupation and transfer plans.

The ceasefire is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas and securing the release of dozens of hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack. Militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in that assault and abducted another 250.

Israel responded with an air and ground war that has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

In the opening days of the war, Israel ordered the wholescale evacuation of the north and sealed it off shortly after ground troops moved in.

Around a million people fled to the south in October 2023, while hundreds of thousands remained in the north, which had some of the heaviest fighting and the worst destruction of the war. In all, around 90% of Gazas 2.3 million people have been displaced.

List of hostages' status released

Israel overnight said it had received a list of information from Hamas on whether hostages were alive or dead. Government spokesman David Mencer told journalists Monday that Hamas said that of the 33 to be released in the first phase, eight are dead and the other 25 are alive.

Approximately 90 hostages are still in Gaza. Prior to Mondays announcement, Israel believed at least 35 of them were dead.

Hostage dispute rattled week-old ceasefire

Israel had delayed the opening of the crossing, which was supposed to happen over the weekend, saying it would not allow Palestinians north until a female civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, was released. Israel said she should have been released before four young female soldiers, who were freed on Saturday.

Hamas in turn accused Israel of violating the agreement by not opening the crossing.

The Gulf nation of Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, announced early Monday that an agreement had been reached to release Yehoud along with two other hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the hostage release  which will include female soldier Agam Berger  will take place on Thursday. Another three hostages are expected to be released on Saturday as previously planned.

Starting at 7 a.m., Palestinians were allowed to cross on foot without inspection via a coastal road passing through part of the so-called Netzarim corridor, a military zone bisecting the territory just south of Gaza City that Israel carved out early in the war. A checkpoint for vehicles opened later on Gaza's main north-south highway, where traffic was backed up for around 3 kilometers (2 miles).

Under the ceasefire agreement, vehicles are to be inspected for weapons before entering the north, but the mechanism for that was not immediately clear.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would continue to enforce the ceasefire, and that anyone violating it or threatening Israeli forces will bear the full cost.

We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7, he wrote on the social media platform X.

A second and more difficult phase awaits

Under the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is to free a total of 33 hostages in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. So far under the truce, the militants have released seven hostages in exchange for more than 300 prisoners, including many serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis.

The second  and far more difficult  phase of the agreement has not yet been negotiated. Hamas says it will not release the remaining 60 or so hostages unless Israel ends the war, while Netanyahu says he is still committed to destroying the militant group and ending its nearly 18-year rule over Gaza.

___

Shurafa reported from Wadi Gaza, Gaza Strip, and Krauss from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press reporters Samy Magdy in Cairo, and Mohammad Jahjouh and Abdel Kareem Hana in Wadi Gaza, Gaza Strip, contributed.
Independent watchdogs at the Defense Department and Department of Veterans Affairs appeared Monday to be among the estimated 18 inspectors general fired by President Donald Trump on Friday.

A full list has yet to be released, but officials for the Defense Department confirmed that DoD Inspector General Robert Storch had been fired. And while the VA declined to comment on the dismissals, a note on its inspector general's website confirmed that VA Inspector General Michael Missal also is among those who was terminated.

Trump's firings -- which violated a 2022 law that requires that Congress be notified in advance -- have sown confusion and apprehension in the federal offices responsible for rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. Both Storch and Missal have overseen investigations in those agencies of issues such as the botched handling of organs, Navy SEAL training safety, misconduct at veterans facilities, and VA bonuses.

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DoD spokeswoman Mollie Halpern told Military.com on Monday that Principal Deputy Inspector General Steven Stebbins is now serving as the acting inspector general at the department.

A spokesman for the VA's Office of Inspector General said that the deputy inspector general, David Case, would be stepping into the role until a replacement is named.

"Currently, we are not commenting on the status of the position of inspector general. However, the VA OIG wants to reassure veterans, taxpayers and Congress that our nationwide staff of auditors, inspectors and investigators remain committed to the mission of serving veterans and the public by conducting meaningful independent oversight of VA," the office said in a statement.

As of Monday, the Pentagon had updated its website, but Storch's biography page was still online as of publication. Missal's also remained; however, the VA placed a statement on Missal's page saying he was "no longer at the department" and that the page was still up for historical purposes.

Federal law requires the administration to notify Congress 30 days before removing an inspector general. In 2020, Trump provided that notice before firing the State Department's inspector general, but this time he appears to have ignored a law of which he clearly is aware.

The overnight dismissals prompted the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to write to the White House advising it to consult legal counsel, given the legal notification requirement.

The letter stopped short of saying the group would take action against the administration but advised the White House to reconsider its moves.

"At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed inspectors general," wrote Hannibal Ware, the council's chairperson and inspector general for the Small Business Administration.

Storch was confirmed by the Senate in November 2022 and began work in early December.

Under his tenure, the watchdog conducted and released a number of investigations that criticized the actions and inaction of Pentagon leadership and contributed to a better understanding of several major stories that impacted troops and their families.

Inspector general investigations found that the Navy needs to do a better job of policing its use of sleep deprivation in SEAL training and that the Armed Forces Medical Examiner mismanaged the collection and handling of organs from at least 184 deceased troops -- and it wasn't effectively tracking the organs that it had kept in its care.

The watchdog also conducted investigations of issues that arose from national headlines.

In 2023 alone, the agency found that 78 service members were suspected of advocating for the overthrow of the U.S. government and another 44 were suspected of engaging or supporting terrorism.

It also found that Defense Department "personnel did not have the required accountability of the thousands of defense items that they received and transferred" to Ukraine as part of the massive shipments of aid that went out after the country was invaded by Russia.

A year later, it was tasked with investigating the controversial Gaza pier mission after a string of public breakdowns and operational pauses, as well as three injuries, left a lot of unanswered questions about the value the mission brought to the war-torn area.

Military.com found that the Army's watercraft elements at the heart of the operation may not have been ready for prime time after the boats that were used, which had lingered in obscurity for half a century, were suddenly tasked with one of the Pentagon's highest-profile missions in years.

Another Military.com investigation, which found abuse within the military's child care centers, service branch rules that generally prioritized protecting the institution, and minimal safeguards to guarantee accountability, also triggered an IG investigation in May 2024.

Meanwhile, Missal has served as the VA's inspector general since 2016, across three administrations. He was appointed by President Barack Obama after leading several high-profile investigations at the Justice Department, including the bankruptcy of a subprime lender that contributed to the recession and an accounting scandal at WorldCom, a long-distance phone carrier, in 2002.

In fiscal 2024, his office published 316 reports and assisted in investigations that led to the arrests of 249 individuals. It received more than 34,000 tips and complaints and conducted 393 investigations.

Among its most high-profile cases, the VA OIG exposed failings at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia, that allowed a nurse to murder seven patients during the course of a year without detection.

He also found that the VA paid 182 senior executives nearly $11 million in bonus money that was meant to be used as incentive pay to retain employees in critically understaffed positions.

But he also ran afoul of VA leadership during the first Trump administration when he found that former VA Secretary Robert Wilkie disparaged a veteran who said she was sexually assaulted at a VA hospital and that he sought to undermine her credibility.

The report involved allegations that Wilkie took steps to discredit Andrea Goldstein, a Navy Reserve intelligence officer and then-adviser to the House Veterans Affairs Committee, after she said she was groped at the VA Washington DC Medical Center.

In that investigation, Missal cleared Wilkie of an allegation that he actively investigated the former service member or ordered others to dig into her background.

Missal also clashed with the VA's acting secretary in 2018 when he said his office had been blocked from accessing data on whistleblower complaints, in a possible violation of the law.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, released a statement Monday saying that Missal's firing hurts veterans by putting them at risk for "corruption and abuse of power."

"The inspector general is the most important internal watchdog that protects veterans from waste and wrongdoing," Blumenthal wrote in a news release.

"Firing him and eliminating his independent oversight is a betrayal of trust as well as violation of law. Veterans deserve that VA be held accountable to meet the highest standards of efficiency and integrity in health care, benefits and all the services it provides -- a mission the inspector general has been essential to fill," Blumenthal said in the statement.

During a confirmation hearing last week for former Rep. Doug Collins, Trump's pick to serve as VA secretary, Committee Chairman Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said the committee works closely with the VA inspector general.

"I find him valuable both to me and to the committee," Moran said, before asking Collins how he would utilize the IG office.

"Inspector[s] general play a vital role. We're not always going to agree with the outcome, but we can come to a conclusion because ... I'm one of those that believes in gathering a lot of input and then making a decision, so if you're having input from an inspector general who's looking out for the best interest of what the VA is for, then I'll be working with them," Collins said.

In January, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, launched the Inspectors General Caucus, calling their work an invaluable part of her mission to uncover waste, fraud and abuse.

"Inspectors general serve a vital role in uncovering waste in Washington and must be empowered to continue looking out for taxpayers," Ernst said.

In statements to Military.com on Monday, Ernst and Moran did not question Trump's ability to fire the investigators.

"Sen. Ernst looks forward to learning more about this decision and working with the president to nominate replacements, so the important work of independent investigators to root out waste, fraud, and abuse can continue with full transparency," her office said in a statement.

"The president has the authority to fire inspectors general, and there is precedent for doing so. Independent oversight at VA is critically important, and last year the VA Office of the Inspector General uncovered millions of dollars in improper payments and conducted investigations that led to criminal arrests," Moran said. "I look forward to promptly considering the nomination of the next inspector general to fill this vacancy as soon as possible."

Editor's note: This story was updated to include comments from Sens. Ernst and Moran.

Related: VA Review Finds Underused Therapists and Misused Scheduling for Mental Health Care at Georgia Clinic
The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.

Through a drone above a farm destroyed by shelling near my home city of Kharkiv, I watched the grainy smoke and flames spreading like fingers through golden, burning wheat. The fire stretched outward, squeezing red and black from the vibrant gold until it clenched into a fist and disappeared into ash. As an artist, I was struck by the brutal beauty. It felt like a metaphor for war -- gripping, consuming, and annihilating everything it touches.

The soldier in me knew this was no ordinary attack. The Russian shelling was deliberate, an effort to destroy our food supply before what promised to be another brutal winter. Even though we survived the barrage, others would perish from hunger.

War's true essence lies in its smells and sounds: the cries of wounded animals and people, the suffocating heat, the incessant flies that settle on your face and hands. It is the weight of exhaustion and the awareness that some of the best people you know have died while you are still alive.

I have lost so many friends -- brothers in arms who volunteered to stand between danger and their people. Brilliant, vibrant individuals: a lawyer turned commander, a beloved teacher, a gifted student. All gone. They didn't seek glory or riches. Their reward was the simple honor of fighting for what they believed in: our independence, our culture, and our right to exist.

In Ukraine, everyone has a war story. It may not be combat, but it is the constant burden of destruction. We see our enemies' intentions clearly, every day, as stark as the air after a storm.

Their goal is not just to take our land; it is to destroy our identity, our freedom, and our democracy. Ukraine's attackers see our freedom, independence and democracy as threats, and these values have become their primary targets. Their aim is not merely to destroy our resources but to erase our identity.

This is why we fight. We resist not because we seek conflict, but because the alternative is annihilation not just of our nation, but of our very soul.

As an artist, I understand the power of culture. It is both a target for our enemies and a source of our resilience. Ukraine has long been a battlefield, and this history has paradoxically made us inclined toward peace. Our culture, shaped by generations of survivors, teaches us the value of life and the futility of war.

This war, the one started via an invasion in 2022, has claimed countless artists, writers, teachers and social activists. These are the very people who were building the future of our culture. Their loss is immeasurable, but it compels us to work harder to create, rebuild and preserve.

Russia is using kill lists to target not only our soldiers but also our teachers, artists, scientists and social activists. These lists aim to destroy Ukrainian culture by eliminating those who contribute to its growth and preservation. Teachers of the Ukrainian language, cultural leaders, and the parents of our future artists and scientists have been systematically killed in occupied territories. By extinguishing these lives, the Russian army is killing the future of our culture.

Our resistance, both military and cultural, is also inspired by history, especially the sacrifices of American soldiers. We have long admired how American troops fought with unwavering bravery during World War II. My father, like almost all young men in the Soviet Union, had to serve in the Soviet army. He was in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. He always believed that the world was saved by the determination of the United States.

We understand the responsibility you feel: the duty to defend freedom everywhere even when it may not seem like your own fight. It is a humbling and powerful example for us. As volunteers, we all came to the Ukrainian army because we felt our own responsibility in the face of history.

Your example inspires us to stand firm. You have not fought on your own soil in a long time, but your battles around the world show us what it means to protect democracy and freedom wherever they are threatened.

The war in Ukraine is not just our fight; it is a defense of values shared by people across the world. Freedom, democracy and cultural identity are not abstract concepts -- they are the essence of who we are. In this fight, art is our resistance. By continuing to create, we assert our right to exist and preserve the culture that has long been a target of those who seek to erase it.

Those who can stand and protect these ideals have no choice but to do so, for the alternative is unthinkable.

This is why we fight. This is why we create. This is why we endure.

-- Slava Leontyev is a veteran of the Ukrainian special forces and a highly regarded weapons instructor for civilians defending their country. He is the first-time co-director of the documentary

"Porcelain War," which won the Sundance Festival Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary. As a debut director, he has also been nominated for an Academy Award in Documentary Feature film and by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary. Together with his wife and longtime collaborator, Anya Stasenko, Leontyev creates the porcelain figurines featured in the film.
PAULDING COUNTY, Ohio  Four people from Indiana were killed and two others injured in a head-on crash Friday night in Northwest Ohio.

A news release from the State Highway Patrol provided to the West Bend News says the crash occurred at about 9:13 p.m. Friday on U.S. 24, about 15 miles from the border with Indiana. A 2024 Peterbilt semi driven by a 72-year-old man from Clio, Michigan, was heading east on U.S. 24 when it reportedly went left-of-center and through the median.

The Peterbilt then crashed into a Honda Pilot head-on in the westbound lanes, the news release says.

The driver of the Honda, Amin Mukbel Humaidi, 35, along with three passengers, Nadia Humaidi, 40, Rajaa Humaidi, 21, and Asmaa Humaidi, 3, all were pronounced dead at the scene, the patrol says. All of the victims were from Fort Wayne, Ind.

Another passenger in the Honda, Hamzah Humaidi, 14, also of Fort Wayne, was flown by helicopter to St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo. WTVG Channel 13 reports the teen is expected to survive. The driver of the Peterbilt was taken to a hospital in Defiance, Ohio.

The patrol says the crash remains under investigation.
(c) 2025 , The Washington Post  Nick Miroff, Maria Sacchetti

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been directed by Trump officials to aggressively ramp up the number of people they arrest, from a few hundred per day to at least 1,200 to 1,500, because the president has been disappointed with the results of his mass deportation campaign so far, according to four people with knowledge of the briefings.

The quotas were outlined Saturday in a call with senior ICE officials, who were told that each of the agencys field offices should make 75 arrests per day and managers would be held accountable for missing those targets. The four people spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal briefings.

The orders significantly increase the chance that officers will engage in more indiscriminate enforcement tactics or face accusations of civil rights violations as they strain to meet quotas, according to current and former ICE officials.

White House border czar Tom Homan has said for weeks that ICE would not conduct mass roundups and its officers would prioritize immigrants with criminal records and who are gang members. But the quotas issued this weekend would place ICE officers under more pressure to seize a wider range of potential deportees to avoid reprimand, including immigrants who have not committed crimes.

Neither ICE nor Homan responded to requests for comment. After an earlier version of this article was published, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an email that, your story is false, but did not reply when asked for specifics.

Homan told ABC News in an interview broadcast Sunday that the administration is in the beginning stages of its mass deportation plan, and while public safety threats and national security threats are a priority, as that aperture opens, therell be more arrests nationwide.

ICE announced in a statement Sunday that agents began conducting enhanced targeted operations today in Chicago, with help from other federal agencies, including the FBI. Acting Homeland Security secretary Benjamine C. Huffman last week revoked a directive that had essentially barred ICE from arresting immigrants in or around sensitive areas such as schools, hospitals and churches.

Later Sunday, Homan appeared on a streaming service with Phil McGraw, the television doctor known as Dr. Phil, to emphasize that ICE is searching for specific immigrants who have committed crimes.Sweeps dont occur anywhere, Homan told McGraw, whose MeritTV said they were inside the ICE Command Center in Chicago.

An ICE official who was not authorized to discuss the quota said the agencys list of criminal suspects was sufficiently long, so officers would be able to continue prioritizing public safety and national security threats to meet quotas.

Last year, ICE told lawmakers there were about 670,000 immigrants on its caseload who had criminal convictions or faced criminal charges. Some are currently serving sentences in jails and prisons.

But Paul Hunker, a former ICE chief counsel in Dallas, said arresting serious offenders takes time, staff and planning - more time than quotas might allow.

Quotas will incentivize ICE officers to arrest the easiest people to arrest, rather than the people that are dangerous noncitizens, said Hunker, who, as the agencys chief counsel in Dallas, oversaw offices in North Texas and Oklahoma from 2003 through January 2024.

Ive just never heard of that, he said, referring to the quotas.

The agency manages a docket of about 7.8 million people who potentially face deportation, but many of them have pending claims in the U.S. immigration system or a form of provisional residency status. ICEs caseload more than doubled during Joe Bidens presidency amid record numbers of illegal border crossings.

ICE officers deployed aggressively during President Donald Trumps first week in office, boosting the number of immigrants taken into custody from fewer than 400 on Tuesday to nearly 600 on Friday. The number declined to 286 on Saturday, according to ICE.

Trumps supporters and others have pointed out that those totals will not yield the millions of deportations the president has promised.

Trump made a similar promise during his first term and came up far short, reaching a peak of about 267,000 during the 2019 fiscal year. The Biden administration deported 271,000 in fiscal year 2024, the highest annual total in a decade. Trump has long had little patience for explanations of why his goals are not realistic.

ICE officers have been told for years that indiscriminate roundups are unsafe and counterproductive, because they spread panic throughout immigrant communities and produce significant public backlash. ICE and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump officials have told ICE the president expects arrest operations to proceed around-the-clock and that officers should cancel personal leave, according to the four people briefed on the directives.

ICE has about 5,500 officers nationwide working on immigration enforcement, a staffing level that has remained roughly flat for the past decade. The Trump administration took steps to supplement those numbers by deputizing officers and agents at the Justice Department to investigate immigration violations and make arrests, enlisting personnel from the FBI, U.S. Marshals, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Trump also ordered ICEs Homeland Security Investigations division to shift its focus to immigration enforcement. The agency is DHSs investigative division for counterterrorism, drug smuggling, human trafficking cases, child exploitation and other crimes.

Mobilizing these law enforcement officials will help fulfill President Trumps promise to the American people to carry out mass deportations, Huffman said in a statement. For decades, efforts to find and apprehend illegal aliens have not been given proper resources. This is a major step in fixing that problem.

Former ICE officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe the work of Homeland Security Investigations, said reassigning special agents to carry out civil immigration enforcement will mean they devote less time to probing serious crimes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio greets State Department staff during a welcome event at the State Department, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)AP

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press

BEIJING (AP)  Chinas veteran foreign minister has issued a veiled warning to Americas new secretary of state: Behave yourself.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi conveyed the message in a phone call Friday, their first conversation since Marco Rubios confirmation as President Donald Trumps top diplomat four days earlier.

I hope you will act accordingly, Wang told Rubio, according to a Foreign Ministry statement, employing a Chinese phrase typically used by a teacher or a boss warning a student or employee to behave and be responsible for their actions.

The short phrase seemed aimed at Rubios vocal criticism of China and its human rights record when he was a U.S. senator, which prompted the Chinese government to put sanctions on him twice in 2020.

It can be translated in various ways  in the past, the Foreign Ministry has used make the right choice and be very prudent about what they say or do rather than act accordingly.

The vagueness allows the phrase to express an expectation and deliver a veiled warning, while also maintaining the courtesy necessary for further diplomatic engagement, said Zichen Wang, a research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, a Chinese think tank.

What could appear to be confusing is thus an intended effect originating from Chinese traditional wisdom and classic practice of speech, said Wang, who is currently in a mid-career masters program at Princeton University.

Rubio, during his confirmation hearing, cited the importance of referring to the original Chinese to understand the words of Chinas leader Xi Jinping.

Dont read the English translation that they put out because the English translation is never right, he said.

A U.S. statement on the phone call didnt mention the phrase. It said Rubio told Wang that the Trump administration would advance U.S. interests in its relationship with China and expressed serious concern over Chinas coercive actions against Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

Wang was foreign minister in 2020 when China slapped sanctions on Rubio in July and August, first in response to U.S. sanctions on Chinese officials for a crackdown on the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region and then over what it regarded as outside interference in Hong Kong.

The sanctions include a ban on travel to China, and while the Chinese government has indicated it will engage with Rubio as secretary of state, it has not explicitly said whether it would allow him to visit the country for talks.

___

Associated Press writers Didi Tang and Fu Ting in Washington contributed to this report.
JACKSON COUNTY, MI  Readers kept the Jackson District Library busy in 2024, but some books were read or listened to more than others.

From novels The Women by Kristen Hannah and The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, here is a list of the top books that were borrowed last year, as well as brief descriptions taken from the library website.

The Women: A Novel by Kristin Hannah

The Women by Kristen Hannah was checked out or downloaded digitally from the Jackson District Library 699 times in 2024, JDL Marketing and Communications Manager Will Forgave said. The audiobook was also reserved 267 times.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances Frankie McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path. As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

The 2023 thriller novel None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell was checked out in-person and virtually 410 times last year. The book was also listened to by 224 readers.

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins. A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alixs childrens school. Josie has been listening to Alixs podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life. Josies life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she cant quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alixs life--and into her home. But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her familys lives under mortal threat. Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Readers in Jackson County checked out James McBrides novel, The Heaven Earth Grocery Store 246 times.

In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshes theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe. As these characters stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the towns white establishment played in it.

Funny Story by Emily Henry

The novel Funny Story by Emily Henry was checked out in-person and through eBook 238 times.

In Funny Story, a chance encounter brings two unlikely individuals together in a story brimming with humor, heart and unexpected twists. When the uptight yet lovable protagonist finds themselves stuck in an awkward situation with a sharp-witted free spirit, what begins as an inconvenience spiral into a whirlwind of hilarity, romance and self-discovery.

First Lie Wins by Ashley Eaton

First Lie Wins by Ashley Eaton was popular for audiobook listeners at the library in 2024. The book was reserved 234 times.

When a rebellious teen finds herself enmeshed in a dangerous web of lies, deception and betrayal, she learns the hard way that the truth is more elusive and valuable than she ever imagined. Set against a backdrop of mystery and intrigue, First Lie Wins takes readers on a gripping journey through family secrets, unexpected alliances, and high-stakes gambles, where every lie has a consequence and nothing is as it seems.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Jackson County listeners downloaded the fantasy novel Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 231 times.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is an epic fantasy novel set in a world where dragon riders are the elite defenders of their kingdom. The story follows a young woman who, despite her fragile beginnings, must fight to prove herself worthy of riding one of these majestic creatures. As alliances are tested and enemies lurk in every shadow, the protagonist must navigate a brutal world where power is everything and the stakes are life or death.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

The novel Tom Lake was requested via audiobook 230 times in 2024. It was written by author Ann Patchett.

In the spring of 2020, Laras three daughters return to the familys orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Audiobook listeners in Jackson County requested Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros 224 times in 2024.

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College-Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy and the unlucky. Now the real training begins, and Violets already wondering how shell get through. Its not just that its grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that its designed to stretch the riders' capacity for pain beyond endurance. Its the new vice commandant, whos made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is. Although Violets body might be weaker and frailer than everyone elses, she still has her wits, and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules. But a determination to survive wont be enough this year. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College, and nothing may be enough to save them in the end

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SAGINAW, MI  The work of a Detroit-born artist will be featured at the Saginaw Art Museum later this winter.

The exhibit from Sabrina Nelson, She Carries, will feature paintings, sculptures and installation pieces that explore the essence of survival, resilience, and legacy, particularly through the lens of Black womanhood, marketing for the museum show stated.

The exhibit will open Thursday, Feb. 13, and conclude in late May at the museum, 1126 N. Michigan.

An artist and an art educator, Nelsons work has been featured in venues including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, and the African American Art in Culture in San Francisco, according to her biography. She has been featured in art exhibits in Florida, New York, Louisiana, Illinois and Ohio.

Nelson will attend an opening reception for She Carries from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Saginaw Art Museum.

A description of her exhibit provided by museum officials reads as follows:

Sabrina Nelsons art delves into the essence of survival, resilience, and legacy, particularly through the lens of Black womanhood. Her work traverses beyond the constraints of two-dimensional art, merging painting, sculpture, and installation into profound visual narratives. Each piece embodies the sacred weight of stories carried through generations, exploring themes of protection, mourning, and transformation. Nelsons art is deeply influenced by Yoruba spirituality and African diasporic traditions, creating spaces for reflection, reverence, and healing.

In She Carries, the artist examines the balance of burden and strength that defines collective histories and personal identities. Her pieces reveal the invisible weight borne by women as caretakers, protectors, and cultural bearers, highlighting the sacrifices and traumas woven into the fabric of survival. Nelsons work also celebrates the quiet power of resistance  the ways in which women transform pain into art, spirituality, and community action.

Drawing inspiration from both natural elements and cultural symbolism, Nelson employs rich textures and evocative forms that convey both fragility and power. Gold accents suggest divinity and resilience, while layered materials and gestural marks evoke the chaotic beauty of lifes complexities. The interplay between these elements invites viewers to consider how personal and communal memories are preserved, even in the face of erasure.

Ultimately, She Carries invites contemplation on the ways Black women hold space for joy, pain, and possibility within their bodies and their art. Nelsons work is not only a reflection of her personal journey but also a testament to the enduring strength of those who carry the weight of history and transform it into something sacred and transcendent."

For more information about the exhibit, visit the Saginaw Art Museum website by clicking here or emailing staff@saginawartmuseum.org.

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MIDLAND, MI  Children under 16 must now be accompanied by a parent or guardian when at the Midland Mall, officials announced Saturday, Jan. 25, on social media. Unsupervised children will be asked to contact an adult, according to the post.

Mall owner Jordan Dice wrote in a social media post that the rule change had been debated for a while. Second chances and the benefit of the doubt were given to young visitors, he said, but there have been too many instances of kids kicking holes in drywall, writing on bathroom stalls and shoplifting from stores.

Its come to a point where we cannot tolerate the disrespect or the damage to our property any longer, mall officials wrote.

Read more: Construction begins on Midland Malls new 4-story play area

Mall employees aged 14 or 15 are permitted to be at the mall without a guardian.

Children under 16 can shop and hang out if their accompanying adult is also inside the mall. Older siblings are allowed to act as guardians, if they take responsibility and ensure they are being appropriate.

If we see kids without supervision causing problems, we will ask them to call you so that you can come pick them up, the post reads. If your kids are giving us a hard time, we will call the police.

The announcement garnered a lot of attention, with some supporting the move while others criticized the malls decision. The initial post had more than 1,100 reactions, 250 comments and 270 shares as of 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26; it also led to a follow-up post from Dice.

Since my time owning and operating the mall for the past year and a half, I and my team have paid close attention to the details of the incidents that occur here, Dice wrote. Weve now had countless incidents to deal with and form a consensus on. Almost all incidents have involved unsupervised children at the mall.

Considering they cannot drive, and without a parent or someone of age responsible for them on the premises, they cannot leave when told and we must monitor and literally babysit them until we can locate a parent or someone that will take them, the post continues. Sometimes it has taken parents hours to get back to the mall to pick up their children. It is not the malls job to monitor and babysit these children.

Dice declined to provide additional comment when contacted by MLive Monday morning, Jan. 27.

The Midland Mall is located at 6800 Eastman Ave. Mall tenants include Target, a new Ross store, Barnes & Noble, Hobby Lobby and veteran-owned Sergeant Scoops and Baked Goods.

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The Michigan GOP alleges Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson violated state campaign finance law when she used a state-owned building as part of her newly launched campaign for governor.

The complaint filed Monday stems from how Benson rolled out her announcement last week as a Democratic candidate in the 2026 governors race.

Benson announced her candidacy on social media early Wednesday, Jan. 22. Her team then invited reporters to the Richard H. Austin Office Building in Lansing to watch her file candidate paperwork and answer questions about her campaign.

Related: Jocelyn Benson announces run for Michigan governor

Michigan campaign finance law prohibits using public resources for political campaign activities. Michigan GOP officials say Benson using the state-owned building in her campaign rollout is a clear violation of that law.

Bensons office is headquartered at the Richard H. Austin Office Building. Michigan Republican Party officials claim the building isnt a public space open to all.

A spokesperson for Bensons campaign could not immediately be reached.

We call on the Bureau of Elections to take this complaint seriously and to hold Jocelyn Benson accountable for her flagrant abuses of the publics trust, said Tyler Henningsen, political director of the Michigan Republican Party. We also request that the Bureau of Elections enjoin Secretary Benson and her campaign from future violations and fine them the maximum amount permitted by law.

The integrity of our public office holders must be maintained, and the misuse of taxpayer-funded resources for personal political gain will not be tolerated.

As the secretary of state, Benson oversees the Bureau of Elections, which investigates state campaign finance law complaints like the one against her.

However, campaign finance complaints that pertain to Bensons campaign will be referred to Attorney General Dana Nessels office to investigate and resolve, according to a State Department spokesperson.

A person who knowingly uses public resources for political campaign activities could face a misdemeanor charge of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Benson is the only major Democratic candidate to announce a bid for governor next year. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited and unable to seek reelection.

Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, is running for governor as a Republican. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a longtime Democrat, is running as an independent.
After a successful 2024 premiere on Hulu, a group of Mormon mom influencers is making its way to ABC. Season one of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives makes its broadcast premiere on Monday, Jan. 27, at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

Watch episode one for free with a trial on Fubo or DIRECTV Stream. You can also watch all of season one now with a free Hulu trial or Hulu with the Disney Bundle. Season two will premiere on Hulu in spring 2025.

About the show:

The scandalous world of a group of Mormon mom influencers implodes when they get caught in the midst of a swinging sex scandal. Now, their sisterhood is shaken to its core. Faith, friendships and reputations are all on the line. Will #MomTok be able to survive and continue to give the rulebook a run for its money, or will this group fall from grace?

In tonights premiere, The First Book of Taylor the #MomTok swinging scandal goes viral worldwide, and a shocking turn of events changes Taylor Frankie Pauls life forever. Whitney comes back from exile, and more secrets are revealed rocking #MomTok to its core.

You wont want to miss this binge-worthy show. Watch The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives broadcast premiere tonight, Jan. 28, at 10/9c on ABC.

Where to watch:

Cast:
On Monday at 1:20 p.m. EST the National Weather Service issued an updated special weather statement in effect until 5 p.m. EST for Cass, St. Joseph, Branch, Hillsdale and Berrien counties.

"Sustained southwesterly winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts of 35 to 40 are expected this afternoon into the early evening hours. Sporadic gusts to 45 mph are possible mainly along and north of Highway 30 from La Porte to Warsaw to Fort Wayne to Lima. If you are driving a high profile vehicle, use caution. Secure outdoor objects that may be blown around," according to the weather service.

Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.
Narwhal Capital Management acquired a new stake in Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc. (NYSE:NUV  Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,050 shares of the closed-end funds stock, valued at approximately $86,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Nuveen Municipal Value Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at about $104,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Nuveen Municipal Value Fund by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 164,283 shares of the closed-end funds stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 10,633 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Nuveen Municipal Value Fund by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,999 shares of the closed-end funds stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 8,247 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nuveen Municipal Value Fund during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $90,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Nuveen Municipal Value Fund by 359.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 75,916 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 59,405 shares in the last quarter. 22.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Nuveen Municipal Value Fund Price Performance

NYSE NUV opened at $8.70 on Monday. Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.35 and a fifty-two week high of $9.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.72 and a 200-day moving average of $8.84.

Nuveen Municipal Value Fund Announces Dividend

About Nuveen Municipal Value Fund

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.0325 dividend. This represents a $0.39 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th.

(Free Report)

Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments, Inc The fund is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors LLC and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund also invests some portion of its portfolio in derivative instruments.

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Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ):

1/17/2025  Constellation Brands was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a hold rating to a sell rating.

1/17/2025  Constellation Brands had its price target lowered by analysts at Roth Capital from $298.00 to $284.00. They now have a buy rating on the stock.

1/17/2025  Constellation Brands had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group AG from $265.00 to $223.00. They now have a buy rating on the stock.

1/14/2025  Constellation Brands had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $282.00 to $214.00. They now have an overweight rating on the stock.

1/14/2025  Constellation Brands had its price target lowered by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from $255.00 to $190.00. They now have a hold rating on the stock.

1/14/2025  Constellation Brands was downgraded by analysts at Argus from a buy rating to a hold rating.

1/13/2025  Constellation Brands had its price target lowered by analysts at Piper Sandler from $300.00 to $245.00. They now have an overweight rating on the stock.

1/13/2025  Constellation Brands had its price target lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $280.00 to $220.00. They now have an overweight rating on the stock.

1/13/2025  Constellation Brands had its price target lowered by analysts at Evercore ISI from $300.00 to $250.00. They now have an outperform rating on the stock.

1/13/2025  Constellation Brands had its neutral rating reaffirmed by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.. They now have a $203.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $262.00.

1/13/2025  Constellation Brands had its hold rating reaffirmed by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc.. They now have a $201.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $310.00.

1/10/2025  Constellation Brands had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at Needham & Company LLC. They now have a $280.00 price target on the stock.

1/8/2025  Constellation Brands had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $300.00 to $282.00. They now have an overweight rating on the stock.

1/8/2025  Constellation Brands had its price target lowered by analysts at TD Cowen from $270.00 to $260.00. They now have a hold rating on the stock.

1/7/2025  Constellation Brands had its price target lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $293.00 to $262.00. They now have an overweight rating on the stock.

1/7/2025  Constellation Brands had its price target lowered by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $295.00 to $275.00. They now have an overweight rating on the stock.

1/7/2025  Constellation Brands had its outperform rating reaffirmed by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada. They now have a $308.00 price target on the stock.

12/20/2024  Constellation Brands had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at Needham & Company LLC. They now have a $280.00 price target on the stock.

12/6/2024  Constellation Brands is now covered by analysts at Needham & Company LLC. They set a buy rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:STZ traded up $3.72 on Monday, hitting $186.82. The stock had a trading volume of 396,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,917,928. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.51 and a 52-week high of $274.87. The stock has a market cap of $33.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $221.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.20.

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Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

Insiders Place Their Bets

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Constellation Brandss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.60%.

In other news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total transaction of $6,089,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,771,800.92. This represents a 77.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total transaction of $8,768,537.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,042 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,898,045.58. This trade represents a 69.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,172 shares of company stock worth $16,778,841 over the last quarter. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Constellation Brands

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 78.3% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,704 shares of the companys stock worth $1,468,000 after acquiring an additional 2,504 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 54.2% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 2,146 shares of the companys stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 239.5% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 18,853 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,526,000 after buying an additional 13,300 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,099,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 7.6% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 134,179 shares of the companys stock worth $34,522,000 after purchasing an additional 9,422 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the companys stock.

Constellation Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, imports, markets, and sells beer, wine, and spirits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. The company provides beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Familiar, Corona Hard Seltzer, Corona Light, Corona Non-Alcoholic, Corona Premier, Corona Refresca, Modelo Especial, Modelo Chelada, Modelo Negra, Modelo Oro, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.

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AppYea, Inc. (OTCMKTS:APYP) recently disclosed a significant alteration in its leadership structure. In a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 19, 2025, the company announced that SleepX Ltd., an Israeli company and fully-owned subsidiary of AppYea, Inc., had arrived at an agreement with Mr. Adi Shemer (AS) to terminate his role as Chief Executive Officer of AppYea, Inc. AS will continue to support both companies until April 19, 2025, with a non-officer responsibility primarily focusing on overseeing SleepXs operational functions.

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Following this development, Mr. Boris Molchadsky, the Chairman of AppYea, Inc., will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer within the company. These changes in the executive team signal a strategic shift for AppYea, Inc., indicative of the managements direction moving forward.

The filing also included the necessary signatures by Asaf Porat, Chief Financial Officer of AppYea, Inc., on behalf of the registrant, in compliance with the regulations outlined by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

This corporate reorganization within AppYea, Inc. highlights a transitional phase for the company and underscores its commitment to adapting its leadership structure to meet evolving business requirements. Investors and stakeholders will be keen to observe how these internal changes influence the future trajectory of AppYea, Inc.

This article was generated by an automated content engine and was reviewed by a human editor prior to publication. For additional information, read AppYeas 8K filing here.

About AppYea

(Get Free Report)

AppYea, Inc, a digital health company, develops wearable monitoring solutions to treat sleep apnea and snoring. It develops AppySleep app, a wristband that monitors physiological parameters during sleep; AppySleep, a biofeedback snoring treatment wristband; AppySleep LAB, a smartphone medical application that monitors breathing patterns in the sleep and identify sleep arena episode without direct contact to the user; and AppySleep PRO a wristband for the treatment of sleep arena using biofeedback in combination with AppySleep LAB app.

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On January 26, 2025, Barnwell Industries, Inc. (NYSE: BRN) announced the adoption of a limited-duration shareholder rights plan (Rights Plan) aimed at safeguarding the company and its shareholders from potential changes in ownership structures. The Rights Plan, enacted by the Board of Directors in response to the notable ownership position held by the Sherwood Group, seeks to prevent any entity from gaining control over the company through incremental acquisitions or similar means.

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The Rights Plan has been strategically designed to offer the Board of Directors ample time to make well-informed decisions that align with the best interests of both Barnwell and its shareholders. This decision was prompted by the 30.00% ownership stake held by the Sherwood Group in Barnwells outstanding common stock, along with unsuccessful attempts to extend the Cooperation and Support Agreement with the Sherwood Group.

To this end, a Special Committee was formed to evaluate corporate governance matters, subsequently recommending the adoption of the Rights Plan to shield all shareholders from potential adverse impacts that could result from a gradual acquisition of the company. The objective is to uphold the long-term value of investments, ensure fair and equitable treatment in the event of a proposed takeover, and prevent any attempts to commandeer control without appropriately compensating shareholders.

The Rights Plan, standard practice in the realm of publicly traded companies, involves issuing one right for each common share held as of February 7, 2025. These rights will become active if any entity acquires 20% or more of Barnwells outstanding common stock. Notably, existing shareholders with beneficial ownership of at least 20% are exempted from acquiring additional shares exceeding 0.25% of the overall outstanding common stock without setting off the Rights Plan.

Under the Rights Plan, in the event of activation, shareholders apart from the acquiring entity would have the opportunity to purchase Barnwell common stock at a discounted price or opt for a cashless exchange for common stock. The Rights Plan is effective immediately and is set to run for one year, unless earlier redeemed or exchanged, with any extension requiring shareholder approval.

Further details regarding the Rights Plan will be disclosed in forthcoming filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Barnwell encourages shareholders to engage constructively in propelling the companys future. The company remains steadfast in maintaining its commitment to shareholder investments and business integrity amidst these strategic developments.

This article was generated by an automated content engine and was reviewed by a human editor prior to publication. For additional information, read Barnwell Industriess 8K filing here.

Barnwell Industries Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Barnwell Industries, Inc acquires, develops, produces, and sells oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Oil and Natural Gas, Land Investment, and Contract Drilling. It also acquires and develops crude oil and natural gas assets in the province of Alberta, as well as invests in land interests in Hawaii.

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Center For Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. (NYSE:OHI  Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,474 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the quarter. Center For Asset Management LLCs holdings in Omega Healthcare Investors were worth $434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Omega Healthcare Investors by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,339,753 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $502,228,000 after buying an additional 114,085 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Omega Healthcare Investors by 3.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,426,129 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $261,589,000 after purchasing an additional 192,465 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Omega Healthcare Investors by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,216,835 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $171,625,000 after purchasing an additional 380,626 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Omega Healthcare Investors by 317.7% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,949,368 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $160,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,003,845 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Omega Healthcare Investors by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,830,302 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $155,893,000 after buying an additional 240,006 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

OHI has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Omega Healthcare Investors from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Omega Healthcare Investors in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a buy rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an overweight rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of Omega Healthcare Investors in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Omega Healthcare Investors from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Omega Healthcare Investors from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $49.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $41.10.

Omega Healthcare Investors Stock Up 0.3 %

OHI stock opened at $37.19 on Monday. Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.53 and a twelve month high of $44.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 6.48, a current ratio of 6.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.94.

Omega Healthcare Investors Profile

(Free Report)

Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc engages in the provision of financing and capital to the long-term healthcare industry with a particular focus on skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, independent living facilities, rehabilitation and acute care facilities, and medical office buildings.

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Community Heritage Financial (OTCMKTS:CMHF  Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, Zacks reports.

Community Heritage Financial Stock Performance

OTCMKTS CMHF opened at $24.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.08 million, a P/E ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.46. Community Heritage Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.55 and a fifty-two week high of $24.00.

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Community Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Community Heritage Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Community Heritage Financials dividend payout ratio is presently 12.06%.

Community Heritage Financial Company Profile

Community Heritage Financial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Middletown Valley Bank that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in Frederick and Washington counties in Maryland and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Its primary deposit products include demand, savings, and time deposits, as well as lending products comprise real estate mortgages, commercial business loans, and instalment loans.

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StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

DFS has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Discover Financial Services from $150.00 to $146.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a buy rating and a $233.00 target price on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $180.57.

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View Our Latest Analysis on DFS

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.3 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $201.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $178.82 and a 200-day moving average of $154.68. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $101.71 and a one year high of $204.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 27.52% and a net margin of 17.29%. On average, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Discover Financial Servicess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Flavin Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $937,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Patron Partners LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 4,500 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the companys stock.

About Discover Financial Services

(Get Free Report)

Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts.

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Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE  Free Report) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,828 shares of the conglomerates stock after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLCs holdings in General Electric were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

GE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America boosted their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Northcoast Research started coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a neutral rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $205.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This trade represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Electric Stock Down 2.0 %

GE opened at $196.81 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.08. General Electric has a 52 week low of $103.75 and a 52 week high of $207.65. The company has a market capitalization of $213.00 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

General Electric (NYSE:GE  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. Analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. General Electrics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.70%.

General Electric Company Profile

(Free Report)

General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and mechanical aircraft systems. It also offers aftermarket services to support its products. The company operates in the United States, Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa.

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Heartland Bank & Trust Co lowered its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG  Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,183 shares of the restaurant operators stock after selling 546 shares during the quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Cos holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,900.0% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 400 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 384.0% in the 3rd quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 484 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 950.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 525 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.31% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $286,304.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 185,792 shares of the companys stock, valued at $12,078,337.92. This trade represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

NYSE:CMG opened at $56.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.14 billion, a PE ratio of 52.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.27. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.15 and a fifty-two week high of $69.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.72.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 43.20%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $66.81.

View Our Latest Report on Chipotle Mexican Grill

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

(Free Report)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It sells food and beverages through offering burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company also provides delivery and related services its app and website. It has operations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

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Shares of Marks and Spencer Group plc (LON:MKS  Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of Buy from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 327 ($4.08).

Separately, Shore Capital reaffirmed a house stock rating on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

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Marks and Spencer Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MKS opened at GBX 323.84 ($4.04) on Monday. Marks and Spencer Group has a 1-year low of GBX 229.60 ($2.86) and a 1-year high of GBX 415.30 ($5.18). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 110.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 371.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 355.74. The stock has a market cap of 6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,542.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62.

Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The retailer reported GBX 14.70 ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter. Marks and Spencer Group had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 3.31%. Equities analysts forecast that Marks and Spencer Group will post 26.0113154 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marks and Spencer Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 28th were given a GBX 1 ($0.01) dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.26%. Marks and Spencer Groups dividend payout ratio is presently 1,428.57%.

About Marks and Spencer Group

(Get Free Report

M&S has a heritage of quality, innovation and value for money and has been voted the UKs most trusted brand. From these foundations, M&S is reshaping for sustainable profitable growth and value creation.

We operate as a family of businesses, selling high-quality, great-value, own-brand products and services, alongside a carefully selected range of third-party brands.

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Register Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 785 shares of the investment management companys stock after selling 24 shares during the quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLCs holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth about $1,040,000. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 9.6% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,267 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 34.0% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,477 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.7% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 74,446 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $33,674,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GS. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a buy rating to a hold rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $591.06.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of GS opened at $636.80 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.38. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $374.24 and a 12-month high of $645.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $591.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $536.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The business had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.48 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 46.81 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Groups dividend payout ratio is 29.59%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Director Kevin R. Johnson bought 2,400 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $619.02 per share, with a total value of $1,485,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,400 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,485,648. The trade was a  increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total value of $1,275,338.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,455 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,047,349.55. The trade was a 23.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,017 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,538. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements.

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Strategic Investment Advisors MI reduced its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 86,031 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 4,293 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MIs holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PFE. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 612,429 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $17,068,000 after acquiring an additional 9,435 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% in the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $742,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 23.2% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 50,845 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 9,565 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 80,848 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $2,262,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, Forefront Analytics LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 17.0% in the second quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC now owns 15,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 2,189 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $26.10 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $147.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

Pfizer ( NYSE:PFE Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. This is a boost from Pfizers previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizers dividend payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reissued a neutral rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $32.00.

Read Our Latest Report on Pfizer

Pfizer Company Profile

(Free Report)

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

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Webster Bank N. A. cut its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS  Free Report) by 84.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,807 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 47,725 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Webster Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $341,229,000 after acquiring an additional 333,606 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $138,465,000 after buying an additional 54,613 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,874,644 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $87,377,000 after buying an additional 191,894 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 5.6% in the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,777,413 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $82,845,000 after buying an additional 93,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Webster Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,942 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $68,467,000 after acquiring an additional 34,373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a buy rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $62.08.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:WBS opened at $58.90 on Monday. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firms fifty day moving average is $58.06 and its 200-day moving average is $51.66. The firm has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.30.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $687,532.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In related news, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $581,965.17. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,300,738.37. This represents a 30.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $99,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,023 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $910,393.80. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,287 shares of company stock worth $1,485,050 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the companys stock.

About Webster Financial

(Free Report)

Webster Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Webster Bank, National Association that provides a range of financial products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Consumer Banking.

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Youdao, Inc. (NYSE:DAO  Get Free Report) shot up 7.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $7.59 and last traded at $7.64. 15,577 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 69,661 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Citigroup lowered shares of Youdao from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on DAO

Youdao Trading Up 9.0 %

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Youdao

The firm has a market capitalization of $932.90 million, a PE ratio of 110.21 and a beta of 0.01. The firms fifty day moving average price is $6.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.97.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DAO. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Youdao by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,733 shares of the companys stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,969 shares during the period. Symmetry Peak Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Youdao during the third quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Youdao by 6.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 52,300 shares of the companys stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. 21.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Youdao

(Get Free Report)

Youdao, Inc, an internet technology company, provides online services in the field of content, community, communication, and commerce in China. It operates through three segments: Learning Services, Smart Devices, and Online Marketing Services. The company provides various learning content, applications, and solutions, which cover topics and target people from various age groups for their learning needs through its websites and mobile applications.

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Experts continue to see long-term opportunities for key investment sectors beyond Budget 2025

Anishaa Kumar

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Controversial dance scene in Vicky Kaushal-starrer Chhaava to be removed after facing objections

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Deepika Padukone trolled for her look at Sabyasachi show, a user writes, "fashion ke naam par kuch bhi"

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Saif Ali Khan attack case: Accused detained in Durg released, man says "I want justice as Mumbai cops have ruined my life..."

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When Deepika Padukone revealed how Ranveer Singh initially struggled to understand depression; latter said, "I felt completely helpless..."

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Namita S Kalla is a senior journalist who writes about different aspects of modern life that include lifestyle, health, fashion, beauty, and entertainment.

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Adrija Chatterjee is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol. She has been tracking and reporting on finance and trade ministries for over eight years.

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Dibrugarh to be Assam's second capital in next three years, says Himanta Biswa Sarma

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Average number of retail applicants in SME IPOs jumps from mere 30,000 to 2.3 lakh in just four years

Ashish Rukhaiyar

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Crude cools: Why oil price is feeling the pressure from Donald Trump's tariff threat

Shaleen Agrawal

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FinMin invites applications for new SEBI chairperson; Madhabi Puri Buch's tenure to end on Feb 28

Zoya Springwala

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Trade Spotlight: How should you trade ICICI Bank, Britannia, Redington, Manappuram Finance, JK Cement and others on January 27?

Sunil Matkar

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Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day

Aryaman Gupta

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Meesho IPO: Firm moves NCLT to reverse flip to India after $550-million funding round, says report

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Debaroti Adhikary

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Zoho's Sridhar Vembu steps down as CEO, assumes the role of chief scientist

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Bhavya Dilipkumar

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Subhash Helgaokar

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Danish Khan is the editor of Technology and Telecom. He was previously with the Economic Times and has tracked the sector for 13 years.

Danish Khan

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Ayushman Bharat: Why 600 private hospitals in Haryana will stop treating beneficiaries from next month

Priyanjali Ghose

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Sandeep Shrivastwa

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BJP govt mixing poison in water coming from Haryana, says Kejrwal ahead of Delhi election

Priyanjali Ghose

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CBI court sentences Himachal IGP, seven other cops to life imprisonment in custodial death case

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Parimal Peeyush

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Arishaa Izaj

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'I am Baniya, will arrange money for all schemes': Kejriwal

101Reporters

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Priyanjali Ghose

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Deblina Halder

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Siddharth Chakravorty

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Special trains offer immersive experiences to tourists bound for NE China's Heilongjiang

People's Daily Online) 10:29, January 27, 2025

A photographer takes pictures for passengers on a special train in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Photo/Jiang Qi)

In the 2024-2025 winter season, ice and snow tourism remains popular in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, with the upcoming 9th Asian Winter Games adding to the excitement. Alongside traditional attractions like the Harbin Ice-Snow World, this winter season offers new experiences and activities, providing visitors with immersive adventures.

At the beginning of the year, train K5197 from Harbin to Yabuli town, the first train themed on ice and snow travel photography services in China this year, started operation.

The train stations and themed carriages provide passengers with the chance to change costumes, enjoy photography services, and immerse themselves in a unique travel experience. The carriages feature various scenarios such as Harbin street scenes, European elegance, fantastical adventures, ice and snow marvels, and folk culture, allowing passengers to engage in photography services across different themed carriages.

Zhang Peng, a 38-year-old former chief attendant of a dining carriage from northeast China, initially had little knowledge of tourism photography. However, when tasked with taking pictures for passengers on trains, he took the initiative to learn the techniques online and dedicated his spare time to visiting photography shops to study photo composition and angles. Now, he has evolved into a semi-professional photographer.

An intangible cultural heritage inheritor presents a performance on a train in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Photo/Xu Shuai)

To enhance the photography experience during the train journey, passengers are provided with a range of costumes in Chinese, Western, and folk styles free of charge, along with a dressing room and a makeup area.

"In response to the growing interest in ice and snow tourism, we now offer makeup services to at least six to seven tourists daily," shared Su Ruiqi, a makeup artist. She was applying makeup to a passenger while introducing the cuisine of Harbin and Yabuli Ski Resort in the train's makeup area.

"We snapped photos all the way from the front to the back of the train, but with the trip coming to an end we wish we could still shoot more," said a tourist named Liu Ziyao from central China's Hunan Province. Two hours later, the train arrived on time at Yabuli South Station. As the 9th Asian Winter Games approaches, this place, the venue for snow events, has become a popular spot for tourists to visit.

On Jan. 11, 2025, aboard train K7041 from Harbin to Mohe in Heilongjiang Province, the first train themed on intangible cultural heritage this year, passengers enjoyed a special cultural feast. A man from the Oroqen ethnic group sang traditional Oroqen tunes while wearing a roe deer horn hat and ethnic clothing. His performance inspired tourists to join in singing along.

"The upcoming Spring Festival is the first one taking place after the 'Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of the traditional New Year,' was officially recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Many tourists are traveling to Mohe, China's northernmost city. We decided to operate a train themed on intangible cultural heritage of ethnic groups, inviting inheritors to showcase their works on board. This allows tourists to learn about Heilongjiang's intangible cultural heritage during the journey," said train conductor Shi Lei.

Heilongjiang is home to rich intangible cultural heritage. Along the route of train K7041, areas including Jiagedaqi district of Daxinganling prefecture, Tahe county, and Mohe city, are known for the rich Oroqen ethnic culture, with practices such as Oroqen folk songs, birch bark pyrography, dough figurine making technique, and others recognized as national and provincial intangible heritage projects.

Tourists make dumplings on a folk culture-themed train in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Photo/Xu Shuai)

To celebrate this heritage, this year's first train themed on intangible cultural heritage was operated, with inheritors of these traditions showcasing their skills on board to promote ethnic culture and the ice and snow culture.

Boarding train K7103 train from Harbin to Jiagedaqi district, passengers are immersed in the rich culture of northeast China. The carriages are adorned with traditional decorations featuring elements of northeast China, setting a warm and genuine ambiance.

The train staff, mostly locals from Heilongjiang, have infused the train with folk elements of northeast China, offering passengers a glimpse into the local customs and traditions. This year, the train features a special area showcasing specialty products from the Greater Khingan Mountains, allowing travelers to discover the specialties of Heilongjiang.

"I never imagined the train would offer such a range of activities, adding to our excitement for the upcoming journey. In just a few days, we'll be off to Mohe, with high hopes of catching a glimpse of the aurora," said Zhang Yutong, a tourist from south China's Guangdong Province.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Maha Kumbh Mela: Amit Shah in Prayagraj today, to take holy dip in Triveni Sangam

101Reporters

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Nitish Kumars son may join politics after Holi: Who is Nishant Kumar?

Priyanjali Ghose

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RG Kar case: Calcutta HC reserves order on admission of appeal of state and CBI

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Uttarakhand rolls out Uniform Civil Code: What it means for marriage, divorce and succession?

Priyanjali Ghose

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What next after UCC in Uttarakhand? Nationwide adoption only a matter of time, claims V-P Dhankhar

Parimal Peeyush

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Google's marketing head says tech giant is 'more like a jungle gym than a career ladder'. Here's why

Ankita Sengupta

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Ankita Sengupta

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Shark Tank India judges run losses in crores, says Harsh Goenka. 'More bleeding in the tank than...'

Ankita Sengupta

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Brazil fumes as immigrants deported by US arrive handcuffed: 'Flagrant disregard of human rights'

Parimal Peeyush

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Armaan Bhatnagar

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US vs Colombia over deportations and tariffs, here is what we know so far

Surabhi Pandey

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Sheetal Kumari

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Apple in talks with Bharat Forge to make the firm its India vendor, says report

Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day

Debaroti Adhikary

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Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day

Ankita Chakravarti

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Government issues warning for Mac and Windows Chrome browsers and Chromebooks, here's what you need to do

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Shaurya Shubham

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Reshab Shaw

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By Jillian Smith | Jan 27, 2025

Madisyn Ransey (left) and Katelyn Gardner (right)

MURRAY, Ky.  Madisyn Ransey, a recent Murray State University elementary education graduate from Murray, Kentucky, and Katelyn Gardner, a junior middle school education major from Erlanger, Kentucky, are the recipients of the 2024 Kentucky Education Associations (KEA) Read Across America grant.

The National Education Association created Read Across America in 1997 as a day to inspire children to read. Each year, the KEA awards competitive grants of up to $500 to local and governance districts to support Read Across America events.

Ransey first learned about the grant through the KEA and was motivated to apply after organizing a Read Across America event with the Calloway County Public Library.

We partnered with the library for a Mo Willems night and a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) night for local children and families, Ransey said. Both events were huge successes, bringing smiles to many kids' faces. This inspired me to apply for the grant this year and plan another event.

Gardner, who serves as president of the Universitys KEA-AE chapter, worked alongside Ransey to develop the grant proposal.

We started working on the grant at the beginning of the semester, Gardner said. Madisyn has done most of the planning, in collaboration with our advisor, Holly Bloodworth, and the rest of our executive teamMatthew Callahan, Judah Tyner and Addie Mosier.

Ransey, who served as the primary grant writer, came up with several ideas before the team decided on Reading Under the Stars.

For Reading Under the Stars, well host a nighttime event at Calloway County Park this spring, Ransey said. Well have tents and flashlights where children can read and explore new books. Kids can also dress as their favorite book characters, and there will be a campfire read-aloud session led by teachers and community members.

The event is aimed at elementary-aged children in the Calloway County community, with the goal of fostering a love for reading.

Literacy is extremely important to us, so we want as many kids as possible to get involved, Gardner said. We hope this event will promote literacy and show kids that reading can be fun, too!

Gardner and Ransey will collaborate with the Calloway County Public Library to bring the event to life. Sandy Linn, the librarys community relations coordinator, will assist the students in planning the event.

The grant money will be used to purchase supplies and materials necessary to ensure the event's success. Details of this event arent yet available, but Gardner and Ramsey said the event will be held sometime in spring 2025.

For more information about Murray State Universitys KEA chapter, visit murraystate.edu/kea.
The screenwriter of Borgen, Adam Price, talks during an interview with Reuters in Copenhagen, Denmark, Jan. 22, 2025.
Reporter

Andrew Roberto was raised his whole life on Saipan. He graduated from Saipan Southern High School, holds a degree from Northern Marianas College, and a BA in English from the University of Guam. He once worked for KUAM, UNO Magazine, and the Guam Daily Post.
Calaveras County Government Center View Photo

Several items will go before the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors during its meeting on Tuesday.

Early in the meeting, the board will vote to declare February 14-20 as Kindness Week and deem the county as a Random Acts of Kindness Zone.

Later, the board will hear an update on the design and construction documents being developed for the planned new animal shelter. There will also be an update from the Calaveras Visitors Bureau on tourism related initiatives. Other presentations include an update from the Mental Health Advisory Board and selection of a slogan for the Clean California-Keep Calaveras Clean Project.

Toward the end of the meeting, the board will give staff direction on potentially developing a Short-Term Vacation Rental ordinance.

The regular portion of Tuesdays meeting starts at 9 am at the Government Center in San Andreas.
Harare  A Harare man claiming to be the secret son of the late former President Robert Mugabe, Tonderai Gabriel Mugabe, withdrew his High Court application seeking a share of the late leaders estate last Friday. The withdrawal, which came after intense scrutiny of his case, leaves the estate undisturbed.

Tonderais application, filed against Bona Mugabe, the executor of the estate, sought to reopen the estate and include himself as a rightful heir. The application also named the Registrar of Births and Deaths and the Master of the High Court as respondents.

His legal team, led by Mr T.M. Zenda of Hungwe and Partners, cited several issues needing rectification before resubmitting a revised application. These issues included a review of the Master of the High Courts decision to proceed with the estates distribution despite pending High Court cases.

In his original application, Tonderai sought a court order compelling Bona Mugabe to provide him with a copy of his late fathers death certificate. This, he argued, was necessary to amend his birth certificate to reflect his fathers identity. He claimed to have been born on April 20, 1977, in Chimoio, Mozambique, during the liberation struggle. He stated that his mother, Hilda Maeka, had a relationship with the late president, and that their relationship ended after the bombing of Chimoio, with Mugabe believing Maeka to be deceased.

Tonderai further alleged that his parents reconnected after Zimbabwes independence and maintained contact, although Mugabe kept their relationship secret from his family. He stated that he had occasional meetings with his father but that the relationship remained undisclosed to the Mugabe family. He also claimed to have been in contact with some members of the Mugabe family, including his aunt, Laurencia Machemedze Mugabe. He added that his fathers death prevented his formal introduction to the family.

Tonderai presented DNA evidence to support his claim of paternity, stating that despite this evidence, the Registrar of Births and Deaths refused to issue a corrected birth certificate. He also claimed that his attempts to obtain the death certificate from Bona Mugabes lawyers, Messrs Hussein Ranchold and Company, were unsuccessful. He stated that efforts to meet her personally to discuss this matter and request for a copy of the deceaseds death certificate have been made severally but all have been fruitless.

However, the court, presided over by Justice Tawanda Chitapi, found significant flaws in Tonderais application. Mr Addington Chinake of Kantor and Immerman, representing Bona Mugabe, effectively dismantled Tonderais arguments, highlighting the failure to challenge the Master of the High Courts decision within the legally mandated six-week period. This procedural lapse rendered the claim legally prescribed, effectively barring the claim.

Justice Chitapi also dismissed Tonderais reliance on his surname, Mugabe, as insufficient to establish legal kinship. The judge stated that the adoption of a surname does not, in itself, confer legal status as a descendant. The court further criticised the lack of probative value in the DNA evidence and birth certificate presented, noting that they did not meet the standards required by the Civil Evidence Act. Mr Chinake also pointed out that the estate had already been wound up and distributed, precluding any further claims.

Given the insurmountable legal obstacles and the fatal procedural defects, Mr Zenda, representing Tonderai, requested an adjournment to consult with his client. Upon reconvening, the decision to withdraw the application was made, with Tonderai agreeing to bear the costs incurred by the estate in defending against his claim. Justice Chitapi accepted the withdrawal, describing the case as fatally defective and legally incurable.

The withdrawal of Tonderais application brings an end to this chapter in the ongoing saga surrounding the late former President Mugabes legacy.

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Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up. I managed to miss this New York Times article last week thanks to the barrage of Trump edicts and the furor about them:

As well see soon, other countries, namely Italy and El Salvador, have reached the opposite conclusion about the importance and value of rooting out organized crime, particularly in agriculture and food supplies. Italy has been particularly concerned about Mafia participation in food production due to their success in adulterating products and evading regulations.

But first well turn to the New York Times piece. The guts of the argument has two pieces. One is that some industries so depend on cartel, erm, assistance that they cant get rid of at any time soone except at high cost. So these activities fit the Ambrose Bierce definition of partners. From his The Devils Dictionary:

Partners: When two thieves have their hands so deeply plunged into each others pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third party.

The second leg is the ambit of the terrorist definition is so sweeping that parties that one ought to consider too removed could be swept up in it. That will result in innocents being harmed, with the Times of course being particularly concerned about innocent businesses.

Well also note that the story is sufficiently one-sided as to smack of being planted. Even though the Times solicited comments from various thesis-sympathetic sources, it appears to be intellectually reliant on a report by FTI Consulting:

The foreign terrorist designation could lead to severe penalties  including substantial fines, asset seizures and criminal charges  on companies and individuals found to be paying ransom or extortion payments. U.S. companies could also be ensnared by standard payments made to Mexican companies that a cartel controls without the American companies knowledge. Some extortion payments, even if made under duress, could be considered material support to cartels, said Pablo Zarate, senior managing director at FTI Consulting, an American firm that released a report laying out some of the risks of the terrorist designation.

Merely looking at some entires in our CalPERS Hall of Shame shows that FTI Consulting has engaged providing analysis so deficient in the interest of defending private equity that it calls their competence and/or credibility into question.1

The article begins with alarmed comments by Samantha Sultoon, which the Times describes as a senior adviser on sanctions policy and threat finance in the Trump and Biden administrations. Sultoon says the idea of designating Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations has come up before, but backed off:

But no one has done it because they have looked at what the implications would be on trade, economic and financial relationships between Mexico and the United States, she added. They have all come away thinking that such a designation would actually be super shortsighted and ill-considered, though prior administrations viewed the U.S.-Mexico relationship far differently than the incoming Trump administration appears to.

So Sultoon does acknowledge that the Trump Administration does not consider harm to Mexico as a result of failing to crack down on its cartels or at least restrict their scope of action to be a US problem.2

But the second noteworthy aspect about the reliance on Sultoon and (as well see soon) another ex-State Department official is that the US amusing calls terrorist financing as opposed to anti-terrorist financing is run by the US Treasury Department, not State:

Banks talk all the time to Treasury, and to State only on an exception basis. So one can infer that the fact that the Times was able to find strong opponents to the Mexico cartel designation from diplomatic/foreign policy circles suggests that the historical concern was on relations with Mexico. The story does not have anonymous quotes from US banker types saying theyd have to drop or radically cut back on Mexico business. This is all hypotheticals from parties who are not on the finance front lines

Admittedly , the Times oddly failed to that Sultoon now works for Truist Financial, a product of the merger of BB&T and Sun Trust, as SVP | Senior Financial Crimes Director. But her discussion was entirely about past Administrations decision not to go forward with the terrorist designation, and not about the impact on particular actors, above all cross-border payments players.

Nevertheless, public companies pretty much never let employees talk to the press without an internal approval and limits on the range of discussion. So why would it be in Truists interest to have Sultoon go on the record? One must note that the article nowhere contemplates that the most immediate impact of a new terrorist designation with respect to Mexico is a raft of new compliance procedures, as in more costs and hassle. It instead flogs worst case scenarios, of all sorts of Mexico-related activity, like remittances, coming to a full stop. For instance:

Banks may turn away customers, because they may not think they are worth the risk if they have links to Mexico, said Eric Jacobstein, a former State Department official in the Biden administration.

And an eyepoppingly odd source:

Banks could ultimately decide to avoid entire sectors perceived as high risk, said Fabian Teichmann, a Swiss lawyer and expert on terrorist financing. Mr. Teichmann singled out Mexicos avocado trade, where cartels have drastically expanded their operations, as one area that could come under greater scrutiny.

A SWISS lawyer? Seriously?

And MAGA types would argue reducing Mexican supply of avocados to the US wound be beneficial, in that California and other states are perfectly capable of growing them. They might also regard the PMC having to pay more for avocado toast as an additional gain.

We have to get well into the article to find out where the cartels seem to be more deeply involved in US business:3

The terrorist designation would also hurt American companies that are firmly north of the border but rely on Mexican labor. The designation is so broad and vague that ranches in Texas or farms in California could be swept up by the penalties if their employees send remittances to family members in Mexico who are involved in organized crime. If money transfer companies like Western Union also stop transactions to Mexico over worries about properly vetting Mexican clients, it could affect the remittances the country relies on. That would be devastating for the Mexican economy, which received $63.3 billion in remittances in 2023, nearly 5 percent of the countrys gross domestic product.

One can turn this possibility on its head. Widespread reports in the press contend that the cost of Trump expelling all illegal immigrants as on the order of $1 trillion over ten years (which assumes a Vance or similar administration to keep pursuing the program). Given the 80/20 nature of most activities in life, even Trumps immediate focus on expelling the 1.3 million with outstanding final deportation orders and the (depending on who is counting) 400,000 to 600,000 actual criminals would likely add up to a much bigger than proportionate outlay.

So if cutting all remittances off were to lead to Mexicans who are here to earn money to remit home to depart (which admittedly would also hurt recipients from legal migrants), the Trump Administration could write a $60 billion a year check to Mexico for say 5 years for a transition, cut way back on its deportation efforts, and call it a win.

In other words, even if you dont buy the illustrative math above, the Trump team could also view choking way down on remittances as a feature, not a bug.

Lets contrast the Times account with a 2018 in the Financial Times, How the mafia got to our food. The headline suggests that the Mafia involvement in food production and distribution is harmful to consumers outside Italy (our food). The piece proper gives some grim examples:

Siphoning off farm subsidies does not carry the same dubious glamour as the racketeering or drug running usually associated with the Mafia. But it has become a highly lucrative income stream for Italys organised-crime syndicates. Their forays into farming do not end there: in recent years, they have infiltrated the entire food chain According to Professor Umberto Santino, a Mafia historian from Palermo, the Mobs interests in the agricultural industry now extend to human trafficking, money laundering, extortion, loan sharking, illegal breeding, backstreet butchering and baking and the burial of toxic waste on farmland. Its an integrated cycle, a full package of systematic interactions. For the consumer, counterfeiting is the main danger. The falsification of food products is now the second-most profitable enterprise in the EU after drug trafficking, says Europols Chris Vansteenkiste. Food is where the profit is. Women buy a handbag every few months but you have to eat every day. Counterfeited organic food is the most profitable area. In one operation, Italian gangs were found importing wheat from Romania and labelling it as organic, which commands a price three to four times higher. Knock-offs of prestigious Italian products such as mozzarella di bufala campana and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese have increasingly entered the market. The DIA oversees operations against the agromafia conducted by all of Italys different police and law-enforcement forces. Specialist police tasters work to uncover adulterated foods, especially olive oil. Their taste buds are considered so precise that the findings are even admissible in Italian courts. Records reveal a mind-boggling  and nausea-inducing  range of food fraud. Mozzarella has been found whitened with detergent, olive oil mixed with cheap imported north African oil, bread made with asbestos or sawdust and cheap wine repackaged as Tuscanys Brunello di Montalcino.

I strongly urge you to read the Financial Times account in full. Its an impressive job of reporting, with a strong focus on how Italian officials, at considerable risk to their safety, are working to roll back Mafia control of the food industry. It also gives very good detail on how the mob became so deeply involved in the first place (the very short version is lots of spare cash needing to be laundered versus a fragmented industry where farmers and small businesses regularly come under stress, and even more so during the financial crisis).

Official action against the Mafia in Italian food supplies got more headway in 2019, as the Financial Times recounted in Police target vast mafia profits from food fraud and mislabelling. But that was before Covid. Perhaps Italy-knowledgeable readers can provide an update.

Another riposte to the New York Times special pleading for cartels comes from El Salvador president Nayib Bukele (hat tip Not the Bee)

The money quote:

The reality is that crime is crime. Period. And if you allow it, they will always win in the war of incentives.

____

1 From Why Did CalPERS Pay FTI Consulting $224,625 for a Garbage-In, Garbage-Out Private Equity Whitewash?:

Last week, we said wed discuss an attorney-client privileged report by FTI Consulting on some of CalPERS private equity investments. Violating attorney-client privilege, FTI provided a redacted copy to another California public pension fund, LACERA, as part of a business pitch. Several parties, including your humble blogger, obtained the report via Californias Public Records Act and were able to expose the redacted parts. The document shows the lengths to which CalPERS is willing to go to whitewash private equity misconduct. The study took place in 2015 and appears to be in response to the hard-hitting reporting by Mark Maremont of the Wall Street Journal and Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times about private equity fee abuses, along with knowledgeable outsiders pressing CalPERS about them at the time. But this wasnt an effort to get to the bottom of things and set the table for demanding restitution from private equity grifters. Its obviously a garbage-in, garbage-out purposeful whitewash. CalPERS staff, if they are remotely competent, had to have recognized that. Not only was the methodology hopelessly deficient, but as we will demonstrate, public records, which FTIs project scope shows it was not directed to check, reveal that s some of its positive assessments are false. Given how little it is possible to observe directly about private equity, this level of verifiable failure is damning.

FTI Consulting violating attorney-client privilege to win new clients is rich.

Similarly, from Why Is FTI Consulting Making It Look Like Apollo Overpaid Its Real Estate Execs $50 Million? based on another CalPERS attorney-client privileged report that FTI Consulting astonishingly gave to LACERA:

But today we will focus on the way FTI did a disservice to yet another client, Apollo, in making its pitch to LACERA. As well discuss in more detail, the pitch contains both descriptions of relevant client projects, most of which are confidential, and then a list of clients for who FTI did relevant work. A reader looking at both sections of the proposal, which are right next to each other, would be likely to connect a project discussing a serious failure in internal controls that led to $50 million of excessive compensation being paid out, to Apollo. Needless to say, Apollo would not be happy to learn its been made to look guilty, particularly by a firm Apollo presumably paid well And if we have two improprieties of this magnitude in a single proposal, how much supposedly privileged information is FTI casually tossing over the wall in its efforts to get new business?

2 This idea is not as crazy as it sounds. I believe the long-standing Japanese deal with its yakuza is still operative: they could run all sorts of rackets like prostitution and illegal gambling, provided they did not deal in hard drugs and could be relied on to stop the entry of other gangs that attempted to do so.

3 A further sob story:
Lambert here: Everythings going according to plan.

By Amy Maxmen, public health local editor and correspondent, was a senior reporter at Nature covering health inequities, global health, infectious diseases, and genomics. Shes also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg Businessweek, National Geographic, and many other outlets. Originally published at KFF Health News.

The life expectancy among Native Americans in the western United States has dropped below 64 years, close to life expectancies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti. For many Asian Americans, its around 84  on par with life expectancies in Japan and Switzerland.

Americans health has long been unequal, but a new study shows that the disparity between the life expectancies of different populations has nearly doubled since 2000. This is like comparing very different countries, said Tom Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations and an author of the study.

Called Ten Americas, the analysis published late last year in The Lancet found that ones life expectancy varies dramatically depending on where one lives, the economic conditions in that location, and ones racial and ethnic identity. The worsening health of specific populations is a key reason the countrys overall life expectancy  at 75 years for men and 80 for women  is the shortest among wealthy nations.

To deliver on pledges from the new Trump administration to make America healthy again, policymakers will need to fix problems undermining life expectancy across all populations.

As long as we have these really severe disparities, were going to have this very low life expectancy, said Kathleen Harris, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina. It should not be that way for a country as rich as the U.S.

Since 2000, the average life expectancy of many American Indians and Alaska Natives has been steadily shrinking. The same has been true since 2014 for Black people in low-income counties in the southeastern U.S.

Some groups in the United States are facing a health crisis, Bollyky said, and we need to respond to that because its worsening.

Heart disease, car fatalities, diabetes, covid-19, and other common causes of death are directly to blame. But research shows that the conditions of peoples lives, their behaviors, and their environments heavily influence why some populations are at higher risk than others.

Native Americans in the West  defined in the Ten Americas study as more than a dozen states excluding California, Washington, and Oregon  were among the poorest in the analysis, living in counties where a persons annual income averages below about $20,000. Economists have shown that people with low incomes generally live shorter lives.

Studies have also linked the stress of poverty, trauma, and discrimination to detrimental coping behaviors like smoking and substance use disorders. And reservations often lack grocery stores and clean, piped water, which makes it hard to buy and cook healthy food.

About 1 in 5 Native Americans in the Southwest dont have health insurance, according to a KFF report. Although the Indian Health Service provides coverage, the report says the program is weak due to chronic underfunding. This means people may delay or skip treatments for chronic illnesses. Postponed medical care contributed to the outsize toll of covid among Native Americans: About 1 of every 188 Navajo people died of the disease at the peak of the pandemic.

The combination of limited access to health care and higher health risks has been devastating, Bollyky said.

At the other end of the spectrum, the studys category of Asian Americans maintained the longest life expectancies since 2000. As of 2021, it was 84 years.

Education may partly underlie the reasons certain groups live longer. People with more education are more likely to seek out and adhere to health advice, said Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, and an author of the paper. Education also offers more opportunities for full-time jobs with health benefits. Money allows you to take steps to take care of yourself, Mokdad said.

The group with the highest incomes in most years of the analysis was predominantly composed of white people, followed by the mainly Asian group. The latter, however, maintained the highest rates of college graduation, by far. About half finished college, compared with fewer than a third of other populations.

The study suggests that education partly accounts for differences among white people living in low-income counties, where the individual income averaged less than $32,363. Since 2000, white people in low-income counties in southeastern states  defined as those in Appalachia and the Lower Mississippi Valley  had far lower life expectancies than those in upper midwestern states including Montana, Nebraska, and Iowa. (The authors provide details on how the groups were defined and delineated in their report.)

Opioid use and HIV rates didnt account for the disparity between these white, low-income groups, Bollyky said. But since 2010, more than 90% of white people in the northern group were high school graduates, compared with around 80% in the southeastern U.S.

The education effect didnt hold true for Latino groups compared with others. Latinos saw lower rates of high school graduation than white people but lived longer on average. This long-standing trend recently changed among Latinos in the Southwest because of covid. Hispanic or Latino and Black people were nearly twice as likely to die from the disease.

On average, Black people in the U.S. have long experienced worse health than other races and ethnicities in the United States, except for Native Americans. But this analysis reveals a steady improvement in Black peoples life expectancy from 2000 to about 2012. During this period, the gap between Black and white life expectancies shrank.

This is true for all three groups of Black people in the analysis: Those in low-income counties in southeastern states like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama; those in highly segregated and metropolitan counties, such as Queens, New York, and Wayne, Michigan, where many neighborhoods are almost entirely Black or entirely white; and Black people everywhere else.

Better drugs to treat high blood pressure and HIV help account for the improvements for many Americans between 2000 to 2010. And Black people, in particular, saw steep rises in high school graduation and gains in college education in that period.

However, progress stagnated for Black populations by 2016. Disparities in wealth grew. By 2021, Asian and many white Americans had the highest incomes in the study, living in counties with per capita incomes around $50,000. All three groups of Black people in the analysis remained below $30,000.

A wealth gap between Black and white people has historical roots, stretching back to the days of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and policies that prevented Black people from owning property in neighborhoods that are better served by public schools and other services. For Native Americans, a historical wealth gap can be traced to a near annihilation of the population and mass displacement in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Inequality has continued to rise for several reasons, such as a widening pay gap between predominantly white corporate leaders and low-wage workers, who are disproportionately people of color. And reporting from KFF Health News shows that decisions not to expand Medicaid have jeopardized the health of hundreds of thousands of people living in poverty.

Researchers have studied the potential health benefits of reparation payments to address historical injustices that led to racial wealth gaps. One new study estimates that such payments could reduce premature death among Black Americans by 29%.

Less controversial are interventions tailored to communities. Obesity often begins in childhood, for example, so policymakers could invest in after-school programs that give children a place to socialize, be active, and eat healthy food, Harris said. Such programs would need to be free for children whose parents cant afford them and provide transportation.

But without policy changes that boost low wages, decrease medical costs, put safe housing and strong public education within reach, and ensure access to reproductive health care including abortion, Harris said, the countrys overall life expectancy may grow worse.

If the federal government is really interested in Americas health, she said, they could grade states on their health metrics and give them incentives to improve.
Yves here. In the unlikely event that the Trump Administration decides to shrink the number of US bases a tad, even if more to placate MAGA backers or to free up troops so as to be able to deploy more elective forces, it will face issues similar to the ones France is contending with in Africa. Note that some of these, erm, withdrawals, were not voluntary. What happens when the US is eventually faced with similarly uppity hosts?

By Thierry Vircoulon, Coordinateur de lObservatoire pour lAfrique centrale et australe de lInstitut Francais des Relations Internationales, membre du Groupe de Recherche sur lEugenisme et le Racisme, Universite Paris Cite. Originally published at The Conversation

Senegalese president Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced on 31 December 2024 that all foreign military bases in his country would close by 2025. On the same day, the Ivorian president said France would hand over control of the Abidjan military base to his countrys army.

These announcements followed the planned withdrawal of French forces from Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Researcher Thierry Vircoulon discusses the potential implications of these decisions for France.

What advantages could France lose by withdrawing its troops from African countries?

Frances military presence in French-speaking Africa has evolved in strategic importance over the past 65 years. Over time, the significance of this presence has diminished. By the end of the 20th century, some French military bases had been closed and the number of pre-positioned troops had reduced from 20,000 in 1970 to 6,000 in 2022.

Military bases have been a strategic asset for France, initially securing newly independent and fragile regimes in the aftermath of independence. They also played a key role in conducting external operations. These bases served as logistical hubs that enabled French military interventions and the evacuation of French nationals during crises.

For instance, Operation Sagittarius, which evacuated European nationals from Sudan at the start of the war in April 2023, relied on the resources of the French base in Djibouti.

Without these logistical points, projecting military strength becomes much more challenging and, in some cases, impossible. The closure of these military bases implies the end of major French military interventions, such as Operation Licorne (2002-2015) or Barkhane (2014-2022).

In recent years, the cost-benefit analysis of these bases has been questioned in Paris. They have become a political and strategic issue. On one hand, these bases symbolise the old post-independence security pact between Paris and the leaders of some countries, making them appear as a legacy of neocolonialism.

On the other hand, from a strategic point of view, having a pre-positioned military presence in Africa serves little purpose when the main threats to France come from elsewhere (for instance, eastern Europe and the Middle East). As a result, the strategic value of Frances military bases in Africa has diminished in recent years.

What impact could military withdrawal have on Frances political and diplomatic influence in its former African colonies?

The closure of the bases would signal the end of Frances capacity to intervene  whether justified or not  in certain conflicts across Africa.

This would weaken its influence in the region, particularly as conflicts intensify across the continent, with more and more African countries seeking security providers. Addressing, stabilising or resolving these conflicts requires a combination of diplomacy and military intervention.

Its important to distinguish between countries that have chosen to sever military cooperation agreements with Paris (such as Chad and Senegal) and those that have simply closed military bases but maintained the military cooperation (like Ivory Coast).

The announcement of base closures by African leaders, rather than by Paris, symbolises a rejection of French policy. This marks a significant loss of influence for France in the countries involved.

Could this withdrawal reduce Frances influence in managing security crises in Africa?

As part of the informal division of security responsibilities among western nations, France has long been considered the gendarme of Africa.

Between 1964 and 2014, France conducted no fewer than 52 military operations across the continent. At the start of the 21st century, it played the role of lead nation in European military interventions in Africa. Other western powers recognised Frances expertise in managing African crises. In most cases, they either supported or simply followed its policies.

This was reflected in Frances diplomatic responsibilities within the European Union and at the United Nations. French diplomacy is well represented in the Africa division of the European External Action Service. The French delegation is tasked with drafting UN security council resolutions on Africa. The peacekeeping department at the UN is led by a French diplomat.

The end of Frances military interventionism will have diplomatic repercussions beyond Africa. They are already being felt in Brussels, Washington and New York.

In Niger, the United States did not follow Frances hard line stance after the coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in 2023. Instead it attempted to engage with the junta. This effort ultimately failed.

In Chad, while Paris was complacent towards the dynastic succession from Idriss Deby to his son, Berlin took a critical stance. This led to a diplomatic crisis and the expulsion of ambassadors from Chad and Germany in 2023. In Italy, prime minister Giorgia Meloni publicly criticised French policy in Africa, causing tensions between Paris and Rome.

How will the reduction in military presence affect Frances ability to protect its economic interests, particularly in the mining and energy sectors?

In 2023, Africa accounted for only 1.9% of Frances foreign trade, 15% of its supply of strategic minerals, and 11.6% of its oil and gas supply.

Frances top two trading partners in sub-Saharan Africa are Nigeria and South Africa  former British colonies which have never hosted a French military base.

Since the beginning of the century, relations between France and African countries have been marked by a clear separation between economic and military interests. France not only has diminishing economic interests in Africa, but these are concentrated in countries that do not host French military bases.
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

The question of Covids origin has generated a vast literature and a polemic[1] even vaster, neither of which I can pretend to have mastered[2],[3]. Nevertheless, with the change in administrations, the Origin Question has exploded into the news again, and I think I can at least make a small contribution, limited in scope and questioning the conventional wisdom, summarized in the title. On January 24, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA )director John Ratcliffe] gave an interview to Brietbart (bless their hearts) that included the following passage:

[RADCLIFFE:] One of the things that Ive talked about a lot is addressing the threat from China on a number of fronts, and that goes back to why a million Americans died and why the Central Intelligence Agency has been sitting on the sidelines for five years in not making an assessment about the origins of COVID. Thats a day-one thing for me. Ive been on record as you know in saying I think our intelligence, our science, and our common sense all really dictates that the origins of COVID was a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. But the CIA has not made that assessment or at least not made that assessment publicly. So Im going to focus on that and look at the intelligence and make sure that the public is aware that the agency is going to get off the sidelines.

On the following day, the CIA released a new analysis that began under the Biden administration. From the New York Times, C.I.A. Now Favors Lab Leak Theory to Explain Covids Origins:

[T]he agency issued a new assessment[4] this week, with analysts saying they now favor the lab theory. There is no new intelligence behind the agencys shift, officials said. Rather it is based on the same evidence it has been chewing over for months. Officials said the agency was not bending its views to a new boss, and that the new assessment had been in the works for some time. The agency made its new assessment with low confidence, which means the intelligence behind it is fragmentary and incomplete.

That is, there is no casus belli. More:

Senior intelligence officials in the Biden administration defend their process and methodology. They have said that no intelligence was suppressed and insist that politics did not play into their analysis. These officials say that there are powerful logical arguments for both the lab leak and the natural causes theories, but that there simply is no decisive piece of intelligence on either side of the issue. To boost the natural origins theory, intelligence officers would like to find the animal that passed it to a human or find a bat carrying what was the likely ancestor of the coronavirus that causes Covid. Similarly, to seal the lab leak, the intelligence community would like to find evidence that one of the labs in Wuhan was working on a progenitor virus that directly led to the epidemic. Neither piece of evidence has been found.

At this point, I had expected to transition into quoting directly from the new assessment. Unfortunately, in their coverage of the story, neither The Times, nor AP, Axios, Breitbart, CNBC, CNN, Daily Caller, Financial Times, FOX, NBC, Politico, nor the Wall Street Journal include a link to the new assessment, or even quote directly from it. Nor do they at any point link to a complete copy of the CIAs (emailed) statement on the matter. Nor is there anything relevant in the press release or reports sections of the CIA, Intelligence.gov, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence. So while all the stories defer to Ratcliffes claim that the new assessment has been released, it is not entirely clear to whom, if anyone, the release has been made. Perhaps matters will clarify on Monday.

What I expected to find, in the new assessment, was no mention of early Covid cases in Italy (which Yves has been highlighting in the comments section), with the focus entirely on Wuhan. That was the case in the previous 2021 and 2023 assessments. In this post, I hope to at least persuade you that the potential cases of Covid in Italy, pre-Wuhan, aggregated, merit at least a dismissive footnote in the CIAs assessments. After all, if SARS-CoV-2 was out in the world prior to, or contemporaneously with, its initial small scale November 2019 appearance in Wuhan, or the first major in December 2019, that might well call its origin at the Wuhan Institute of Virology into question. The absence of such a footnote is therefore curious, and in the context of an assessment of such political and strategic import, downright odd. I will simply post the studies I have found from 2020 through 2022. There are rather a lot of them for a completely unfounded hypothesis; in fact, I would so far as to say that for the Italian medical establishment, the consensus view was that the existence of early Italian cases was worth pursuing. Finally, 2022, I will present a meta-study that aggregates many more early cases, including its conclusions.

Now to the studies.

The Studies

Ive organized studies claiming early Covid in Italy chronologically by publication date. The method used to detect Covid appears in square brackets before the study title. (I havent included some studies whose test methods were inferior to Nested-PCR.)

2020

[Nested-PCR, RT-PCR] SARS-CoV-2 has been circulating in northern Italy since December 2019: Evidence from environmental monitoring Science of the Total Environment (August 15, 2020):

The first autochthonous Italian case of COVID-19 was documented on February 21, 2020. We investigated the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 emerged in Italy earlier than that date, by analysing 40 composite influent wastewater samples collected  in the framework of other wastewater-based epidemiology projects  between October 2019 and February 2020 from five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in three cities and regions in northern Italy (Milan/Lombardy, Turin/Piedmont and Bologna/Emilia Romagna). Twenty-four additional samples collected in the same WWTPs between September 2018 and June 2019 (i.e. long before the onset of the epidemic) were included as blank samples A total of 15 positive samples were confirmed by [nested RT-PCR and real-rime RT-PCR]. The earliest dates back to 18 December 2019 in Milan and Turin and 29 January 2020 in Bologna. Our results demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 was already circulating in northern Italy at the end of 2019. Moreover, it was circulating in different geographic regions simultaneously, which changes our previous understanding of the geographical circulation of the virus in Italy.

[In-house ELISA, virus neutralisation assay] Unexpected detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the prepandemic period in Italy Tumori (November 11, 2020).

We investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD)specific antibodies in blood samples of 959 asymptomatic individuals enrolled in a prospective lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 and March 2020 to track the date of onset, frequency, and temporal and geographic variations across the Italian regions. SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific antibodies were detected in 111 of 959 (11.6%) individuals, starting from September 2019

And:

[T]he onset of the epidemic [is] likely to have preceded the identification of the first case, probably in the last part of 2019. Since NovemberDecember 2019, many general practitioners began reporting the appearance of severe respiratory symptoms in elderly and frail people with atypical bilateral bronchitis, which was attributed, in the absence of news about the new virus, to aggressive forms of seasonal influenza. One investigation on SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in healthy blood donors has been performed in one of the two initial lockdown areas in northern Italy. In a group of 300 stored plasma samples, 5 samples collected between the 12th and 17th of February exhibited evidence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 NAbs. Moreover, a phylogenetic analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 genomes isolated from 3 Lombardy patients involved in the first COVID-19 outbreak suggests that the common origin of the strains dates back several weeks before the first cases of COVID-19 pneumonia reported in China. Based on these findings, a prior unnoticed circulation of the virus among the Italian population could be hypothesized.

(This article was covered in Reuters (and News Medical Life Sciences, and the Week. Concerns were raised about it in Retraction Watch, apparently because it was fast-tracked, but nothing came of them.)

2021

[Nested-PCR, Sanger sequencing] Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in an Oropharyngeal Swab Specimen, Milan, Italy, Early December 2019 Emerging Infectious Diseases (February 2021):

We describe the earliest evidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a patient in Italy, 3 months before Italys first reported COVID-19 case. These findings, in agreement with other evidence of early COVID-19 spread in Europe, advance the beginning of the outbreak to late autumn 2019 . However, earlier strains also might have been occasionally imported to Italy and other countries in Europe during this period, manifesting with sporadic cases or small self-limiting clusters. This finding is of epidemiologic importance because it expands our knowledge on timing and mapping of the SARS-CoV-2 transmission pathways. Long-term, unrecognized spread of SARS-CoV-2 in northern Italy would help explain, at least in part, the devastating impact and rapid course of the first wave of COVID-19 in Lombardy.

[Immunohistochemistry, insitu hybridisation] COVID19related dermatosis in November 2019: could this case be Italys patient zero? British Journal of Dermatology (May 1, 2021).

In November 2019 , a 25yearold woman presented with urticarial plaquelike dermatosis on the arms (Figure 1a). In July 2020, we realized that the histopathological features of the biopsy matched the minichilblain pattern described in our previously published paper on COVID19related dermatoses (Figure 1b, c).2 Hence, we decided to study this biopsy again. An Italian paper demonstrated SARSCoV2 gene sequences with PCR analysis in northern Italy in wastewater samples in December 2019.6 A more recent paper reported the presence of SARSCoV2 receptorbinding domainspecific antibodies in blood samples of 111 asymptomatic Italian individuals enrolled in a prospective lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 and March 2020.7 Along the same lines, Amendola et al. reported the presence of SARSCoV2 RNA in an oropharyngeal swab specimen of a child from Milan with dermatosis suspected to be measles in early December 2019. All these facts lead us to believe that our patient could represent the earliest case in the literature of detection of the virus on tissue samples. Can we then call this case the dermatological Italian patient zero?

[ELISA, microneutralisation assay] Timeline of SARS-CoV-2 Spread in Italy: Results from an Independent Serological Retesting [Viruses] (December 30, 2021):

Given the importance of this evidence, an independent evaluation was recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to test a subset of samples selected on the level of positivity in ELISA assays (positive, low positive, negative) detected in our previous study of prepandemic samples collected in Italy. SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were blindly retested by two independent centers in 29 blood samples collected in the prepandemic period in Italy, 29 samples collected one year before and 11 COVID-19 control samples. The methodologies used included IgG-RBD/IgM-RBD ELISA assays, a qualitative micro-neutralization CPE-based assay, a multiplex IgG protein array, an ELISA IgM kit (Wantai), and a plaque-reduction neutralization test. The results suggest the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in some samples collected in the prepandemic period, with the oldest samples found to be positive for IgM by both laboratories collected on 10 October 2019 (Lombardy), 11 November 2019 (Lombardy) and 5 February 2020 (Lazio).

(This is a follow-up to the Tumori study.)

2022

[ELISA, RT-PCR] Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies and RNA on Autopsy Cases in the Pre-Pandemic Period in Milan (Italy) Frontiers in Microbiology (June 14, 2022):

To date, no studies aimed at searching for evidence of the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in the pre-pandemic period have been conducted on autopsy cases. We wanted, therefore, to address this specific topic by analyzing blood samples collected from cadavers subjected to autopsy at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Milan.. [O]ur data indicated that the first SARS-CoV-2 positive case dated December 2019, while the detection of positivity only to IgM test by rapid LFIA in October 2019 , being within the lower limit of the specificity rate of the test, possibly represents nonspecific signal or cross-reaction with antibodies against other coronaviruses.

[Nested-PCR, Sanger sequencing, commercial ELISA, neutralisation assay] Molecular evidence for SARS-CoV-2 in samples collected from patients with morbilliform eruptions since late 2019 in Lombardy, northern Italy Environmental Research (December 2022):

As a reference laboratory for measles and rubella surveillance in Lombardy, we evaluated the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and measles-like syndromes, providing preliminary evidence for undetected early circulation of SARS-CoV-2. Overall, 435 samples from 156 cases were investigated. The earliest sample with evidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was from September 12, 2019 d.

And from News-Medical Life Sciences, Italian study finds SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples collected before December 2019:

Despite the lack of a definitive timeline on when SARS-CoV-2 initially emerged, previous evolutionary studies indicate that the virus likely circulated in China for several months before the first outbreak was recorded in Wuhan, China. Soon after, an increasing number of cases were reported in several European and North American countries by mid-January 2020. The SARS-CoV-2 strain that circulated in Lombardy, as well as much of Europe soon after its initial detection in Italy, differed from the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain, which was the reference genome originally identified in China. In fact, some of the different mutations present within this strain included A23403G (Spike D614G), C14408T (RdRp P323L), and C3037T (synonymous). This strain, which has since been named B.1 in Pangolin and 20A in NextStrain, is often referred to as the DG1111 haplotype and comprises an  mutational signature. Several studies suggest that SARS-CoV-2 was circulating in many nations prior to its official detection.

Finally, let me quote from this review of the literature in the British Medical Journal, Waiting for the truth: is reluctance in accepting an early origin hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 delaying our understanding of viral emergence? (December 2022). From the Summary:

A growing body of studies provides evidence for the global circulation of SARS-CoV-2 prior to December 2019, contradicting the currently hypothesised timeline of the original viral emergence in Hubei province of China around November 2019; however, any suggestion of an earlier SARS-CoV-2 circulation is met with scepticism.  Several studies performed independently by different groups retrospectively demonstrated the presence of antibodies and viral RNA in clinical samples and showed SARS-CoV-2 community circulation by detecting viral RNA in wastewater at times inconsistent with November 2019 emergence.  Despite some limitations, combining the knowledge acquired from these studies is sufficient to warrant further larger-scale investigations to determine the veracity of this hypothesis.  If proven true, an earlier than currently believed worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2 will provide essential clues for understanding the genesis of this pandemic and offer invaluable lessons from our successes and failures with crucial implications for future pandemic preparedness and global health.

(I did my own digging for sources, but they overlap with Table 1.) Sadly, no larger-scale studies were ever made  in fact, the studies stop entirely, rather as if a switch was thrown  but that doesnt mean they wouldnt have been worth making:

Despite the increasing documentation available in support of its early circulation, current scientific literature discussing the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is almost exclusively focused on the November/December 2019 hypothesis, completely ignoring this growing body of contradictory evidence. In fact, the possibility of early circulation is only seldom mentioned or discussed in such papers. Furthermore, as this alternative hypothesis clearly contradicts the timeline that is today held as the most likely, when these studies are cited, it is done dismissively, minimising the results obtained by numerous independent research groups. This attitude, pervasive among high-ranking journals, clearly demonstrates scepticism and has the consequence of avoiding a more critical interpretation of scientific data and of discouraging a constructive scientific debate that should consider all available facts when advancing a hypothesis and re-evaluate assumptions in light of new evidence. Additionally, this bias often results in rejection of manuscripts in support of an early SARSCoV-2 circulation, reinforcing the echo chamber effect. Science is a quest for ultimate truth, which shall not be discouraged by such mindset.

Sounds like droplet dogma all over again. And concluding:

Despite the technical limitations of available early origin studies, even a remote possibility that positive tests indicate an early SARS-CoV-2 circulation should be considered sufficient to warrant the scaling up of research to more samples from more regions and through a wider timespan. Time is running out: valuable samples that may contain the key to the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 origin might already have been destroyed as their regulatory storage time requirements lapse. Many more will meet the same fate in the coming months and years. What is there to lose in accepting this hypothesis as tenable and exploring it urgently before the chances of finding the answers to explain how this pandemic emerged are gone forever?

What was there to lose? Plenty, as with all paradigm shifts.

Conclusion

Jon Stewart framed the origin question hilariously in 2021:

Theres been an outbreak of chocolatey goodness near Hershey Pennsylvania. What do you think happened? Maybe ask the chocolate factory https://t.co/dRihMZZV2O  MAD & CRAB  (@bigmadcrab) January 26, 2025

Turn it around. What do you think happened when theres an outbreak of chocolatey goodness near Hershey Pennsylvania, and also  before?  in Italys Chocolate City, Turin?. Investigate further, I would say.

Further investigation, however, seems unlikely. Both sides of the controversy are now dug in to an origin story centered on Wuhan, whether at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. Science, it would seem, has no further role to play.

NOTES

[1] For example, this exchange on X following the quasi-release of the CIAs new assessment isnt only overheated:

I translated the Taz interview with Drosten cited by Metzl:

taz: In any case, they believed in a natural origin. Drosten: I still think thats likely, and almost all scientists who are working on the topic also assume that. But assuming doesnt mean knowing. taz: If you now say that this virus may have come from the laboratory after all, that will cause an uproar. Drosten: I wouldnt postulate that directly. But its not the same if we dont have proof of a natural origin in 2020 as if we still dont have that proof in 2025.

(Further down, Drosten gives a really good explanation of how the furin cleavage site works). I guess I can see what Ebright and Metzl are saying in Drostens actual words if I squint really, really hard

[2] Personally, I take the strong form though not generally sympathized-with view that tweets like this:

If the FCS was inserted by a zoonotic mechanism, why is it flanked by BsaXI? pic.twitter.com/VkLoAvbbTm  Tony VanDongen (@tony_vandongen) January 24, 2025

are logically equivalent to saying: Look at this watch; gears so round and intermeshed can only have been created by God (the Watchmaker analogy, beloved of Creationists). When searching for causes, at least in the US, I think we give far too much weight to malevolent human actors, and far too little to impersonal systems, evolution, sheer accident, etc.

[3] Hilariously, Chinas discourse is a mirror image of our own; see Bioethical Inquiry, In the Shadow of Biological Warfare: Conspiracy Theories on the Origins of COVID-19 and Enhancing Global Governance of Biosafety as a Matter of Urgency:

Immediately after the epidemic (initially called Wuhan pneumonia) became public knowledge in late January, an unsettling theory started to circulate in China. Posts with certain variationsbut containing exactly the same information and similar wordingspread like wildfire, particularly on Chinese social media WeChat. They tied the origins of the virus to the first China-hosted international military multi-sport event which involved the participation of nearly ten thousand athletes from over one hundred countries. The original message is a masterpiece of conspiracy theory rhetoric. It is worthwhile citing it in full (in English translation): Compatriots: In this time of the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic, please do not forget the Seventh World Military Games in Wuhan three months ago. Of course, some international athletes came from Africa, where infectious diseases frequently break out. Some athletes came from the United States, which has long attempted to carry out biological warfare against China. When [the authorities] investigated the source of the virus responsible for the 2003 SARS epidemic, many clues pointed to the United States and its biological warfare conspiracy against China. So, doesnt this coronavirus pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan have something to do with the USA? This outbreak coincides with respect to the timeline, coincides with respect to the place, and coincides with respect to the gathering of people. And it also coincides in a major way with the ChinaUS trade war, which is still raging fiercely. Shouldnt we put all these coincidences together to analyse, synthesize, theorize, and verify so as to reach a clear conclusion? While carrying out its trade war with China, the U.S. government took advantage of the Seventh World Military Games, where many American athletes had numerous personal interactions with Chinese, hiding the novel coronavirus in their equipment with the aim of infecting the people of Wuhan. As the virus has an incubation period of two or three months, outbreaks on a massive scale would occur around the Spring Festival Holiday when vast numbers of people return home for the Chinese New Year.

See also GOP report says October 2019 Wuhan military games were one of the earliest super spreader events, Washington Examiner.

[4] There are other early claims (France, England; Singapore; Barcelona, Spain; the Congo; the United States). Im focusing only on Italy because the aggregate number is so large.
Forever chemicals in farmland sludge threaten health, EPA admits

The EPA warns that sewage sludge used as farmland fertilizer contains dangerous "forever chemicals" (PFAS), posing cancer and health risks.

PFAS in sludge exceed safety thresholds, contaminating soil, water, and food like milk, beef, and eggs.

Over 2 million tons of sludge are applied annually, with contamination persisting for decades.

Critics slam the EPA for inaction and focusing on only two PFAS types, urging stricter regulations and manufacturer accountability.

States like Maine are banning sludge use, but experts stress reducing PFAS in products and wastewater to address the root cause.

For decades, sewage sludgea byproduct of wastewater treatmenthas been pushed as a cost-effective fertilizer for farmland. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued a warning that sludge contaminated with forever chemicals poses significant health risks, including cancer, for those who consume food grown on treated land. This admission marks a turning point in the agencys stance on the practice, which has long been promoted despite mounting evidence of its dangers.

The EPAs draft risk assessment revealed that levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in sludge can exceed safety thresholds by several orders of magnitude. These chemicals, used in products like nonstick cookware and firefighting foam, do not break down in the environment and have been linked to kidney cancer, testicular cancer, immune system damage, and developmental issues in children.

PFAS-contaminated sludge has been spread on millions of acres of U.S. farmland, with more than 2 million dry tons applied annually. The chemicals persist in soil and water for decades, meaning even farms that stopped using sludge years ago may still be contaminated. The EPAs assessment found that the highest risks are for those who consume milk, beef, or eggs from animals raised on contaminated land, as well as those who drink water from affected wells.

Christopher Higgins, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines, noted that sludge has historically been applied at concentrations far higher than what the EPA now deems risky. That implies theres going to be a lot of places where there might be an unacceptable risk, he said.

EPA slammed over lack of action

Despite the alarming findings, the EPA has yet to regulate PFAS in sludge, leaving farmers and rural communities vulnerable. The agency has been slow to act, even though evidence of PFAS contamination in sludge dates back to the early 2000s.

Kyla Bennett, director of science policy at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, called the assessment a good first step but criticized the EPA for focusing on only two types of PFAS. Because we dont fully know how they interact with each other and how they affect human health, I think the EPA needs to do more, she said.

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies, representing wastewater treatment plants, shifted blame to manufacturers, arguing they should bear the cost of removing PFAS from the environment. Ultimately, the manufacturers of these chemicals must bear the responsibility, said Adam Krantz, the groups CEO.

States take matters into their own hands

In the absence of federal action, states like Maine have banned the use of sludge on farmland, while others, including Texas and Oklahoma, are considering similar measures. However, banning sludge outright creates new challenges, as wastewater treatment plants must find alternative disposal methods.

Environmental experts emphasize the need to address the root of the problem: reducing PFAS in consumer products and industrial wastewater. There is no doubt that sending PFAS waste to wastewater treatment plants and then using that sludge as a fertilizer was a mistake, said Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group. The only question is whether well continue to make the same mistake.

The EPAs admission is a long-overdue acknowledgment of the risks posed by sludge fertilizer. However, without stricter regulations and accountability for manufacturers, the cycle of contamination will continue. As states and advocacy groups push for stronger protections, the EPA must act swiftly to safeguard public health and the environment.

The dangers of the practice of spreading sludge on farmland are now impossible to ignore. Its time for the EPA to prioritize public health and ensure that the food we eat and the water we drink are free from harmful chemicals.

Sources for this article include:

NYTimes.com

APNews.com

TheGuardian.com
From jail to jubilation: Gary Heavin discusses his bold RESCUE PLAN for J6 prisoners on the Health Ranger Report

A nationwide rescue operation led by entrepreneur Gary Heavin aims to assist approximately 300 Jan. 6 prisoners in transitioning back to freedom. The initiative involves private jets, 100 ambassadors at 75 federal prisons and transitional housing to restore dignity and justice to those believed to be wrongfully imprisoned.

The operation includes providing warm clothing, meals, hotel accommodations and transportation for released prisoners. Private jets will transport individuals to their homes, while transitional housing in Texas and Missouri offers support for those who have lost homes or jobs during incarceration.

A GiveSendGo campaign has been launched to fund immediate needs like hotels, meals and transportation. Excess funds will directly aid prisoners in rebuilding their lives, with Heavin emphasizing the importance of public generosity in restoring justice.

Heavin and others argue that the J6 prisoners were targeted in an "insurrection trap" to criminalize dissent. They call for full pardons, expungement of records and substantial compensation, viewing the prisoners' plight as a symbol of government overreach and a test of the Trump administration's commitment to justice.

The release of J6 prisoners could serve as a turning point for a divided nation, sparking both healing and renewed debate. Heavin frames the effort as a fight to reclaim justice and restore the nation, urging Americans to support the cause through donations and advocacy.

In a bold and unprecedented move, a coalition of patriots led by entrepreneur and philanthropist Gary Heavin is mobilizing a nationwide rescue operation to help Jan. 6 prisoners transition back to freedom after years of alleged government persecution.

Dubbed Operation Airlift, the initiative involves over a dozen private jets, 100 ambassadors stationed at 75 federal prisons, and transitional housing across the country. This mission is not just about logisticsit's about restoring dignity, justice and hope to individuals who many believe were wrongfully imprisoned for exercising their First Amendment rights.

The J6 prisoners, numbering around 300, have been scattered across 35 states in what Heavin describes as a "Gulag archipelago" designed to isolate them from their families and communities. Many have endured years of solitary confinement, inadequate legal representation and psychological trauma. Now, as President-elect Donald Trump has issued pardons for these individuals, Heavin and his team are preparing to ensure their safe return to society. (Related: Calls for JUSTICE: Trump urged to pardon J6 protesters as 2025 inauguration nears.)

Operation Airlift is a meticulously planned effort to address the immediate needs of the prisoners upon their release. Over 100 ambassadors will be stationed at the gates of 75 federal prisons to greet the newly freed individuals. These ambassadors will provide warm clothing, meals, hotel accommodations and transportation to reunite them with their families. For those whose homes are hundreds or thousands of miles away, more than a dozen private jets have been secured to fly them home in safety and dignity.

"We're calling it Operation Airlift because we're bringing these heroes home in private aircraft," Heavin explained during a recent "Health Ranger Report" interview with Mike Adams on Brighteon.com.

The founder and former CEO of Curves International Inc. said the J6 prisoners have suffered enough, and they deserve to return to their lives with the respect and care which have been denied from them for so long.

But the mission doesn't end there. Many of the prisoners have lost their homes, jobs and even families during their incarceration. To address this, Heavin and his team have established transitional housing in several locations, including a ranch in Waco, Texas, where 12 brand-new one-bedroom homes have been built. Additional housing is available in Fredericksburg, Texas, and Missouri, with more locations being added as the need arises.

The plight of the J6 prisoners: A call for action and a moral test for Trump

The success of Operation Airlift hinges on the generosity of the American people. A GiveSendGo campaign has been launched to raise funds for hotels, meals, transportation and other immediate needs. Any excess funds will be distributed directly to the prisoners to help them rebuild their lives.

Heavin said this is the American people's chance to show they care for the J6 prisoners who have been brutalized by a system that has no regard for justice or accountability. The pro-life and pro-woman advocate added that this is time to honor their sacrifice and stand up for what is right.

The J6 prisoners have become a symbol of a much larger struggleone that pits the American people against a government many believe has overstepped its bounds. Heavin and Adams both argue that the events of Jan. 6 were a trap set by the Deep State to criminalize dissent and silence opposition.

"This was an insurrection trap," Adams said. "It was designed to create a narrative that all Trump supporters were terrorists and to halt any discussion about the 2020 election being stolen."

The Health Ranger said that these people were exercising their First Amendment rights, and they have paid a heavy price for it. Heavin echoed this sentiment, calling the imprisonment of J6 prisoners "the second greatest crime in history," second only to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The entrepreneur believes that SARS-CoV-2 was a bioweapon designed to harm the population.

As the nation watches, the fate of the J6 prisoners has become a litmus test for the Trump administration. Heavin and Adams are calling for not only a full pardon but also the expungement of all records and substantial compensation for the years lost.

The Health Ranger's guest mentioned that these people deserve more than just their freedom but also justice. Adams went further, suggesting that each prisoner should receive a tax-free settlement of $100 million or more.

Heavin rhetorically asked: "What's four years of your life worth when you've been taken away from your children and grandchildren?"

As Heavin and his team prepare to launch Operation Airlift, they are sending a powerful message to the American people and the world. "We're not going to tolerate our fellow citizens being put into a Gulag deprived of all their rights," Heavin said. "We want our country back, and were going to fight for it."

Follow Freedom.news for more news about the J6 prisoners.

Watch the full interview between Gary Heavin and the Health Ranger Mike Adams below.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Gary Heavin carried out Hurricane Helene rescue missions in western North Carolina with his own helicopter.

Trumps plan to pardon over 1,000 convicted J6 protesters sparks criticism from Big Government.

J.D. Vance believes Jan. 6 participants who committed violent acts obviously should not be pardoned.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

Law.Cornell.edu

CoastToCoastAM.com

GiveSendGo.com
Hamas RESILIENCE in Gaza complicates path to lasting peace after ceasefire

Despite Israel's efforts to dismantle Hamas during the 15-month war, the group has quickly regained authority, overseeing rubble clearance, securing aid convoys and restoring basic services, signaling its enduring influence.

The Jan. 19 ceasefire has provided a brief respite for Gaza's population, but Hamas' entrenched presence complicates postwar governance plans, with Israel opposing its role and the Palestinian Authority lacking support.

Since the truce, Hamas has deployed police and gunmen to patrol neighborhoods, secure aid and prevent looting, while 18,000 employees work daily to repair infrastructure and restore essential services.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no clear plan for Gaza's future, rejecting Hamas' role and distrusting the Palestinian Authority, while alternative governance proposals such as empowering local leaders have failed to gain traction.

The ceasefire agreement includes phased Israeli withdrawal and hostage releases, but divisions in Israel and Hamas' resilience complicate long-term stability. Reconstruction efforts, requiring billions of dollars, hinge on unresolved governance questions  leaving Gaza's future uncertain.

In the aftermath of a 15-month war that has left Gaza in ruins, Hamas has reasserted its control over the enclave, complicating efforts to establish a lasting peace. Despite Israel's vow to dismantle the militant group, Hamas officials are overseeing rubble clearance, guarding aid convoys and restoring basic services, signaling their enduring grip on power.

The ceasefire, which took effect on Jan. 19, has brought temporary relief to Gaza's war-weary population, but the group's entrenched presence poses a significant challenge to any postwar governance plan. With Israel insisting that Hamas cannot remain in power and the Palestinian Authority lacking popular support, the path to stability remains fraught with uncertainty.

Since the ceasefire began, Hamas has moved swiftly to reestablish order in Gaza. Its police and gunmen, absent from the streets for months due to Israeli airstrikes, have returned to patrol neighborhoods and secure aid convoys.

"We want to prevent any kind of security vacuum," said Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office. He noted that 700 police officers are protecting aid deliveries, with no reports of looting since the truce began. Hamas' administration has also begun clearing rubble, repairing infrastructure and restoring water services, with 18,000 employees working daily to provide essential services.

Despite Israel's targeted strikes on lower-ranking officials and the elimination of top leaders like Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, the group's governance structure remains intact. "Currently, we have 18,000 employees working daily to provide services to citizens," Al-Thawabta said.

Israel's dilemma and the PA's weakness

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to articulate a clear vision for Gaza's postwar future, beyond insisting that Hamas cannot play a role and expressing distrust in the Palestinian Authority (PA). Established under the Oslo Accords three decades ago,the PA administers parts of the occupied West Bank but has no presence in Gaza and little popular support.

Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis Group noted that Israel faces a difficult choice: Continue fighting with no guarantee of success or allow the PA to take control with Hamas' acquiescence.

"Israel has a choice, to continue fighting in the future and killing people  and that hasn't worked in the past 15 months  or it can allow an arrangement where the PA takes control with Hamas' acquiescence," Hiltermann said.

While senior Hamas officials have expressed support for a unity government, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has not endorsed the idea. Meanwhile, Israel has floated alternative governance models, such as empowering local clan leaders or civil society figures, but none have gained traction.

The ceasefire deal and the road ahead

The ceasefire agreement, which mandates a phased Israeli withdrawal and the release of hostages, has divided opinion in Israel. While many celebrated the return of the first three hostages, others, including members of Netanyahu's cabinet, favor resuming the war to remove Hamas from power. (Related: Israel's ceasefire deal under threat as deadly strikes continue in Gaza.)

"There is no future of peace, stability and security for both sides if Hamas stays in power in the Gaza Strip," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.

The deal's second phase, expected to include a permanent ceasefire and complete Israeli withdrawal, hinges on negotiations set to begin 16 days after the truce. Reconstruction, estimated to cost billions of dollars and take years, would only commence in a final phase.

While the ceasefire offers a temporary reprieve, the absence of a viable postwar governance plan and the deep divisions between Hamas and the PA leave the future uncertain. As Gaza begins the arduous task of rebuilding, the question of who will govern the enclave  and how  remains unanswered, casting a long shadow over hopes for stability and peace.

Head over to Fallout.news for more stories like this.

Watch this clip featuring celebrations in the Gaza Strip following the ceasefire announcement.

This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Israel's deadly strikes continue despite ceasefire deal, raising doubts about lasting peace.

Israel approves ceasefire-hostage deal but violence continues.

Israel and Hamas resume ceasefire talks amid ongoing violence in Gaza.

Sources include:

Reuters.com

IrishTimes.com

EFE.com

Brighteon.com
Over 30 mostly Chinese migrants rescued after being abducted, stuffed into the back of a U-Haul truck

A U-Haul truck carrying 31 allegedly smuggled illegal immigrants was apprehended by authorities in Coral Gables, Florida.

The 31 illegal immigrants  16 Chinese women, 15 Chinese men, one Cuban man and one Ecuadorian woman  in the U-Haul were picked up along with four other illegal immigrants in an accompanying Toyota vehicle.

The vehicles were spotted by a vigilant security guard who reported suspicious activity from the cars to local police.

Initial investigations suggest the migrants were likely trafficked into the United States by boat, dropped off near Coral Gables and then loaded into the U-Haul.

Police and fire departments swiftly intervened, providing medical care to the migrants, who were described as tired but in good condition. Four individuals connected to the incident were arrested, and the migrants were handed over to Border Patrol for processing.

Authorities in Florida discovered over 30 mostly Chinese nationals packed into the back of a U-Haul truck.

A security officer for a homeowners association in Coral Gables in southern Florida reported the U-Haul truck at around 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 17, after witnessing what appeared to be an abduction. The individual spotted a Toyota vehicle along with the U-Haul truck involved in suspicious activity and immediately notified a patrol officer.

The officer swiftly issued a BOLO  a "be on the lookout" alert  to other law enforcement personnel, setting off a rapid response.

Police located and stopped both vehicles. Inside the Toyota, officers found a woman who was allegedly abducted, along with a Cuban man, a Brazilian woman and an Ecuadorian man. In the back of the U-Haul truck, officers saw 31 individuals crammed into a space meant for cargo  16 Chinese women, 15 Chinese men, one Cuban man and one Ecuadorian woman. (Related: Investigative journalist: Over 85,000 unaccompanied migrant children trafficked into the U.S. have been KIDNAPPED.)

Coral Gables Police Chief Edward James Hudak Jr. described the scene as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by human smuggling operations. He noted that the migrants were likely brought to the United States by boat, dropped off near the southern end of Coral Gables and then loaded into the U-Haul. Investigators are still piecing together the details, including whether the woman allegedly abducted was attempting to escape her smugglers.

In a press conference, Hudak celebrated the security guard's quick intervention, noting that the rescue of the likely trafficked individuals "was not intelligence driven."

"It started as a citizen's report of a crime, and I believe lives may have been saved because of that alert individual," said Hudak.

Trafficked migrants handed over to Border Patrol for processing

The Coral Gables Fire Department responded to provide medical care to the migrants, who were described as "tired" but otherwise in good condition.

The migrants were handed over to Border Patrol for processing, while four individuals connected to the incident were taken into police custody. Authorities are continuing to investigate the smuggling operation, including efforts to identify the boat used to transport the migrants.

"Today's event is a prime example of why FDLE [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] is supportive of the governor's proposed special session to tackle illegal immigration immediately," said FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass. "The actions of law enforcement are an integral part in preventing these smuggling ventures that happen too frequently on our southern border."

Watch this clip from Newsmax featuring Border Czar Tom Homan discussing why it is essential to shut down the border.

This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Illegal immigrant from Dominican Republic ARRESTED for drug and weapon trafficking at taxpayer-funded migrant shelter.

Biden regime behind massive child trafficking networks in Guatemala, hidden by NGOs that front as "humanitarian aid" to "save" the kids of this sex slave trade.

Incoming Trump "border czar" to conduct worksite RAIDS for busting migrant sex, labor trafficking networks.

DHS report: ICE has failed to track down location of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children.

Sources include:

NYPost.com

CBSNews.com

AOL.com

Brighteon.com
Trump deploys 1,500 troops to southern border, plans for 10,000 in major security overhaul

President Trump deploys 1,500 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to enhance security and combat illegal immigration.

The deployment is part of a broader plan that could involve up to 10,000 troops, signaling a shift from Bidens open-border policies.

Troops will assist with logistics, transportation, and barrier construction but are barred from direct law enforcement activities.

The administration plans large-scale raids, detentions, and potential use of military bases to address the border crisis.

Trumps actions aim to fulfill campaign promises, with widespread voter support for restoring national security and halting illegal immigration.

To address the escalating crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of 1,500 active-duty troops to bolster border security. This initial wave of military personnel is part of a broader plan that could see up to 10,000 troops stationed along the southern border to combat illegal immigration and restore national security.

The decision, announced just days after Trumps inauguration, marks a dramatic shift from the Biden administrations open-border policies and fulfills a key campaign promise to secure the nations borders.

The troops, consisting of 1,000 Army personnel and 500 Marines, are expected to arrive in El Paso and San Diego by the end of the week. They will join the 2,500 National Guard and Reserve forces already stationed at the border. While these troops are prohibited from engaging in law enforcement activities, they will assist with logistics, transportation, and the construction of physical barriers. Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses emphasized that this deployment is just the beginning, signaling that additional missions and resources will follow.

A swift response to a growing crisis

The decision to deploy troops comes amid a surge in illegal border crossings and growing concerns about national security. According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection briefing document, the Trump administration is preparing to send up to 10,000 troops to seal the borders and prevent unlawful mass migration. The document also outlines plans to use military bases as detention centers for migrants awaiting deportation, a move that underscores the administrations commitment to addressing the crisis head-on.

Border Czar Tom Homan confirmed that large-scale raids targeting criminal illegal aliens are already underway, with over 300 arrests made in the first days of Trumps presidency. Among those detained were individuals with serious criminal records, including an attempted murderer and a child molester. Homans message to far-left officials pushing back against mass deportations was clear: Game on.

The deployment of troops to the border represents a major shift away from the policies of the previous administration, which facilitated an unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants. During his inaugural address, Trump declared, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places in which they came.

The administrations swift action has been met with widespread support from voters who prioritized border security in the 2024 election.

A long-term commitment to border security

The deployment of 1,500 troops is just the first step in a comprehensive strategy to secure the border. The administration is also considering invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow active-duty troops to engage in law enforcement activities if necessary. Additionally, plans are underway to expand detention capacity, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seeking to build 18 new facilities capable of holding thousands of migrants.

As the situation at the border continues to evolve it is clear that President Trump is determined to deliver on his promise to restore national security and protect American citizens. The deployment of troops is a powerful statement of intent, signaling that the days of open borders and unchecked illegal immigration are over.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

FoxNews.com

Modernity.news

100PercentFedUp.com
Redefining personal freedoms: U.K. to launch digital drivers licenses amid push for online age verification

The U.K. will introduce digital driver's licenses in 2024, allowing citizens to store licenses in a government app for tasks like voting, purchasing alcohol and boarding domestic flights.

Critics warn that digital IDs could lead to increased surveillance and erode personal freedoms. Privacy advocates argue that voluntary systems often become de facto mandatory over time, raising risks of hacking and unauthorized access to sensitive data.

Under the Online Safety Act, websites hosting adult content must implement age verification systems by July 2025, using technologies like photo ID and facial age estimation.

The convergence of digital IDs and age verification raises concerns about mission creep, where tools designed for one purpose (e.g., age verification) could be expanded to track online behavior or restrict access to dissenting content, chilling free expression.

The U.K.'s move aligns with global trends, as countries like Australia and Norway already use digital IDs, and the EU requires member states to adopt digital identity systems by 2026.

The United Kingdom is set to introduce digital driver's licenses later this year, marking a significant step in the government's effort to modernize public services through technology.

The initiative, which will allow citizens to store their licenses in a government app, promises convenience for tasks like voting, purchasing alcohol, and boarding domestic flights. However, the rollout coincides with the implementation of stringent online age verification systems under the new Online Safety Act, sparking debates about privacy, surveillance and the future of digital identity in the United Kingdom.

While the government insists that digital licenses will remain voluntary and secure, critics warn that such systems could pave the way for increased surveillance and erode personal freedoms. The convergence of these initiatives  digital IDs and online age verification  has raised concerns about the potential for mission creep.

The Labor government has announced that digital driver's licenses will be available in a government app, rather than through existing platforms like Google or Apple Wallets. The app will feature advanced security measures, including biometrics and multi-factor authentication, to ensure only the license holder can access it. While physical licenses will still be issued, the digital option is touted as a more secure and convenient alternative.

"Technology now makes it possible for digital identities to be more secure than physical ones, but we remain clear that they will not be made mandatory," a government spokesperson said. The app may also allow users to hide their addresses in certain situations, such as in bars or shops, and could be used for age verification at supermarket self-checkouts.

However, privacy advocates argue that voluntary systems often become de facto mandatory over time, as more services require digital verification. The concentration of sensitive data in one app also raises concerns about hacking and unauthorized access.

"This is one of the biggest assaults on privacy ever seen in the U.K.," warned Big Brother Watch, a privacy campaign group, during earlier discussions about national ID cards.

Online age verification: A step toward broader digital IDs?

Under the Online Safety Act, websites hosting adult content must implement robust age verification systems by July 2025. These measures include intrusive technologies like photo ID verification and facial age estimation to prevent minors from accessing harmful material. While the initiative aims to protect children, critics fear it could undermine online anonymity and set a precedent for broader surveillance. (Related: U.K. set to launch controversial DIGITAL ID system in 2025, sparking privacy concerns.)

Age verification systems risk creating a digital footprint for users, linking their identity to specific online activities. This could lead to mission creep, where the tools are repurposed to enforce additional controls, such as tracking online behavior or restricting access to dissenting content. Privacy advocates warn that such measures could have a chilling effect on free expression and fundamentally alter how individuals interact online.

The simultaneous rollout of digital driver's licenses and online age verification systems suggests a broader effort to integrate digital identity into daily life. The government is considering expanding the digital license app to include other services, such as tax payments, benefits claims and national insurance numbers. While officials have ruled out compulsory national ID cards  a proposal championed by former Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Foreign Secretary William Hague  the integration of multiple services into a single app raises concerns about data privacy and misuse.

Similar initiatives already exist in countries like Australia, Denmark, Iceland and Norway. By 2026, the European Union will require member states to develop at least one form of official digital identity, which could be accepted across the bloc. The U.K.'s move aligns with this global trend but also highlights the challenges of balancing convenience with privacy and autonomy.

As the U.K. moves forward with these technologies, it will need to navigate the delicate balance between innovation and individual rights. The success of these initiatives will depend on robust safeguards to protect privacy and ensure that digital identity systems serve the public good without compromising personal autonomy. For now, the debate over digital IDs underscores the challenges of adapting to a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

FutureTech.news has stories related to this.

Watch the video below titled "Age verification is another nail in the coffin of privacy."

This video is from the Unmasked channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Biden signs executive order expanding use of digital IDs in application process for public benefits.

U.S. states are passing internet age verification laws as a cover to compel people into using digital IDs.

Globalist organizations step up efforts to make digital IDs mandatory for people to participate in society by 2030.

Sources include:

ReclaimTheNet.org

TheGuardian.com

Brighteon.com
ABSURD: UN calls for widespread adoption of digital ID systems to combat climate change

The United Nations (UN) is promoting the adoption of digital identity systems to address the global climate crisis, focusing on monitoring energy consumption and promoting sustainable practices.

This initiative is part of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under Agenda 2030, which aims to provide legal identity for all individuals, including birth registration, by 2030.

The UNDP claims that digital IDs will allow governments to track populations during environmental emergencies, collect data on energy consumption and inspire "behavior change" to enhance sustainability measures.

Critics and privacy advocates are worried about potential government overreach, intrusive monitoring and risks to individual privacy, including the potential for widespread surveillance and diminished personal freedoms.

The push for digital IDs highlights the tension between effective climate action and preserving individual privacy, emphasizing the need for measures that respect democratic principles and individual freedoms.

In a recent move to address the global climate crisis, the United Nations (UN) is advocating for the widespread adoption of digital identity systems.

The UN's Development Program (UNDP) claims that these systems are crucial for monitoring energy consumption and promoting sustainable practices among citizens. However, this initiative has raised concerns among privacy advocates who fear potential government overreach.

The push for digital IDs is part of the UN's broader Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under Agenda 2030, which seeks to provide legal identity for all individuals, including birth registration, by 2030. The UNDP argues that digital identities would allow governments to track populations during environmental emergencies and implement targeted responses to mitigate crises effectively. (Related: United Nations renews push for globalized digital marking system to deal with 'emergencies.')

According to a recent article by the UNDP titled "Why legal identity is crucial to tackling the climate crisis," digital IDs would enable governments to collect data on citizens' energy consumption. This information would then inspire "behavior change" and enhance sustainability measures. The organization claims that such actions can mitigate climate-related disasters.

The UNDP's argument is not without precedent. In May 2023, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres supported digital IDs linked to financial systems, stating that they can improve the delivery of social protection coverage and help reach eligible beneficiaries more efficiently.

The UNDP's push for digital IDs is part of a larger global initiative to combat so-called "climate change." The organization argues that understanding citizens' energy usage is critical in addressing climate-related challenges. By leveraging data collected via digital IDs, governments can implement policies to reduce carbon footprints and promote sustainable living.

However, this initiative has its roots in the UN's broader goal of providing legal identity for all individuals by 2030. This includes birth registration and other forms of identification that link individuals to various government services. For example, in Ghana, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) has been piloting a program that registers biometric data of newborns, including fingerprints and caregiver voice data, which are then linked to government services like vaccination tracking.

Privacy concerns and potential risks

While the UNDP argues that digital IDs are essential for climate action, critics have raised concerns about potential government overreach and the risks to individual privacy. Opponents argue that such systems could enable intrusive monitoring and be used to enforce punitive measures, such as withholding access to financial resources for failing to comply with carbon tax regulations.

Privacy advocates warn that digital IDs could lead to widespread surveillance and diminish personal freedoms. The precedent of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown enforcement and vaccine passports has raised concerns about the potential for these systems to be misused.

The debate over digital IDs highlights the tension between the need for effective climate action and the preservation of individual privacy. As governments weigh the benefits of digital IDs against the risks, the future of this initiative remains uncertain.

The UN's push for digital IDs as a tool to combat climate change reflects the organization's commitment to addressing global environmental challenges. However, it also raises important questions about the balance between public good and individual privacy. As governments consider implementing these systems, it is crucial to address the concerns of privacy advocates and ensure that any measures taken are in line with democratic principles and respect for individual freedoms.

Visit Surveillance.news for stories related to global initiatives that aim to violate privacy.

Watch the video below that talks more about the world's reliance on digital IDs.

This video is from the Stand Up for Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Globalist organizations step up efforts to make digital IDs mandatory for people to participate in society by 2030.

U.S. states are passing internet age verification laws as a cover to compel people into using digital IDs.

Biden signs executive order expanding use of digital IDs in application process for public benefits.

U.K. set to launch controversial DIGITAL ID system in 2025, sparking privacy concerns.

Australian parliament passes digital ID law to enshrine the globalist control matrix down under.

Sources include:

YourNews.com

SlayNews.com

UNDP.org

Brighteon.com
CIA busy polishing its Ukraine legacy

You know the end is nearing in Ukraine when the CIA  i.e., the Director and unnamed US government officials  start dishing on what we did in Ukraine that was so great. The CIA storyline is simple, this was not our fault. It would be hilarious if this was just a bungled coup where no one died. But that is not the case. There are more than a million dead, mostly Ukrainian, as a result of CIA activities, starting with the Maidan of February 2014.

(Article by Larry C. Johnson republished from Sonar21.com)

These are the two articles I want to draw to your attention:

How Mild Bill Burns led a covert CIA campaign in Ukraine

How the CIA and Ukrainian intelligence secretly forged a deep partnership

Lets start with Bill Burns. Here are five salient quotes from this Ignatius puff piece:

No one would ever refer to CIA Director William J. Burns as Wild Bill, the nickname of William J. Donovan, who led the OSS, the agencys swashbuckling predecessor, during World War II. But the self-effacing Burns has bravely commanded a CIA force in Ukraine since Russias invasion nearly three years ago. . . . Ukraine has been in many ways Burnss war, more than for any other U.S. official. He warned Kyiv and the world in late 2021 that the Russians were coming by sharing highly sensitive U.S. intelligence. His CIA officers stayed on the ground after the Russian invasion began and after U.S. diplomats and military personnel had departed. They have been at the front for nearly three years, sharing intelligence to help Ukraine target Russian invaders. . . . Burns was perhaps fated to meet Putin on the battlefield in Ukraine, in a war he has seen coming since 2008. But the conflict has become a brutal war of attrition beyond what even Burns could have imagined: The CIA estimates that Russia has suffered more than 700,000 casualties over the past three years, 10 times what it lost in Afghanistan over a decade. Burns sees little chance that Putin is ready for any deal that isnt a Ukrainian capitulation. . . . The closest Burns has come to a public description of what he encountered in his travels to the front came in testimony to Congress on March 12. He described how he was briefed on the battle of Avdiivka, a painful defeat for Ukrainian forces who were starved of supplies. He recalled how a Ukrainian commander told him: Our men fought as long and hard as they could, but we ran out of ammunition. And the Russians just kept coming. One Ukrainian brigade had just 15 artillery rounds a day for its 2,500 men before it was forced to withdraw. . . . The terrible thing about this war is that Burns has seen it coming in slow motion since he was ambassador to Moscow. When Burns presented his credentials, Putin warned: You Americans need to listen more. You cant have everything your way anymore. He amplified that in a 2008 meeting: No Russian leader could stand idly by in the face of steps toward NATO membership for Ukraine. That would be a hostile act toward Russia, Putin said.

This is a classic move by Burns, getting a reporter known for being a CIA stenographer to write a hagiography about his role in the disastrous Ukraine operation filled with misleading and inaccurate information. For starters, Burns, according to Ignatius, couches the CIA role as, intelligence sharing. It was nothing of the sort. I believe the CIA was heavily involved in helping the Ukrainians craft and execute information operations (aka propaganda), the training of terrorist hit teams and the training and equipping of Ukrainian special operations forces for operations inside Russia. This included gathering intelligence on sites that were subsequently targeted with missiles and drones.

We now have firm confirmation that the casualty numbers Donald Trump has been citing this week come from the CIA. Ignatius writes:

The CIA estimates that Russia has suffered more than 700,000 casualties over the past three years, 10 times what it lost in Afghanistan over a decade.

This is intelligence malpractice. It is a tacit admission that the CIA is simply parroting casualty figures it receives from Ukraine. The blame for this incompetence rests with Burns. Instead of being spoon-fed by the Ukrainians, he could have demanded that analysts use a combination of Open Source Intel and imagery of new graves in Russia to produce a more accurate number. The lie about Russian casualties has been used to deceive Congress and the American public about the true nature of the war.

Burns account of the battle of Avdiivka provides indirect evidence for the disproportionate Ukrainian casualties. Burns recounted a conversation with a Ukrainian commander:

Our men fought as long and hard as they could, but we ran out of ammunition. And the Russians just kept coming. One Ukrainian brigade had just 15 artillery rounds a day for its 2,500 men before it was forced to withdraw. . . .

We have known for more than two years that Russia had between a six-to-one and ten-to-one advantage in artillery shells. And this does not include Russias decisive advantage with tanks, drones, missiles and glide bombs. The side with the most firepower inflicts the most casualties. Simple. You do not have to be a graduate of an Ivy League school to figure that out.

The ABC article reveals a different kind of deception and disinformation. It pretends that CIAs involvement in Ukraine only started after the Maidan coup in February 2014:

Lt. Gen. Valeriy Kondratyuk had come to Washington, D.C., with a mission: to persuade American intelligence agencies to trust him. It was 2015, a year after Russia had seized Crimea and started a war in eastern Ukraine. It was still six years before Russia would move to its full-scale invasion, but the front-line in eastern Ukraine still smoldered amid a poorly observed ceasefire agreement. General Kondratyuk was the head of Ukraines military intelligence agency. Convinced Ukraines future was with the West, he wanted the United States to help strengthen his agency to better hold off Russia. But so far he had found American intelligence wary. To change that, he believed he needed a bold gesture. That was why his luggage was stuffed with top-secret Russian military documents.

What a bunch of hokum! All Kondratyuk had to do was share this with the CIA Chief of State (COS) in Kiev. But that aint dramatic enough. Got to embellish the story.

Almost missing from the ABC account are the actions of the CIA and the UKs MI-6 in fomenting, funding and arming the Ukrainians (and Georgians) who instigated the violence that led to the departure of Ukraines elected government. No mention whatsoever of CIAs long history  it started with Operation Red Sox in the late-1940s  of using Ukraine as a base to attack Russia. However, ABC reports that the CIA and MI-6 were involved in the actions that led to the Maidan coup:

On the spot, Nalyvaichenko said, he decided that night to call the U.S. and British embassies directly from his abandoned office, and to ask for help. The Americans and British quickly agreed, according to Nalyvaichenko, setting up a training program in combat tactics for SBU officers. That was the beginning. We could feel a palpable change on the Ukrainian side, said a former U.S. official. There were those of us on the agency side who were like, Hey, this is something to exploit. We need to change with it. Lets help, you know, the Ukrainians be Ukrainians.'

And exploit they did. So, why publish this story now? Heres the ABC explanation:

Some of the former American and Ukrainian officials said they were speaking out now because they believed it was vital for American lawmakers to understand the benefits the partnership that Kondratyuk first helped build has brought to the U.S. as well as Ukraine. This is something that the American Congress needs to know. What they have done as a service  and what Valeriy [Kondratyuk] has done personally  has saved the U.S. taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars. Maybe even billions of dollars, said a former U.S. official.

Nonsense. This is CIA trying to cover its ass before Ukraine collapses. ABC tries to put lipstick on the CIAs efforts:

From 2016, the collaboration picked up speed. The CIA started providing secure communications technology, as well as training to Ukrainian officers in combat and espionage tactics. Ukrainian officers were brought to a European country for field training with officers from the CIA and Britains MI6, according to Kondratyuk. The training included how to operate as a case officer in Russia and in occupied Ukraine. . . . The CIA also eventually helped Ukraine equip a dozen forward-operating bases along the Russian border, from where the Ukrainian officers gathered intelligence, monitoring Russian communications and sometimes launching covert operations, according to Kondratyuk and former U.S. officials. . . . Such officers made up a new commando unit trained by the CIA, called Unit 2245, that would become known for its audacious operations behind Russian lines and overseas, according to Kondratyuk. An officer from the unit, Kyrylo Budanov, is now the head of HUR. . . . The CIA and Ukraine also established a training program, called Operation Goldfish. The name derived, Kondratyuk said, from a post-Soviet joke about an untrustworthy Russian-speaking fish. The program trained Ukrainians to pose as Russians, not only in Russia but in third countries around the world in joint operations with the CIA. The Ukrainians were able to pass as Russians, creating remarkable opportunities for access and recruitment, former Ukrainian and U.S. officials said.

Why does an intelligence organization disclose this highly classified program now? To avoid blame and lay the responsibility for the debacle at the feet of the Ukrainians.

When Russia invaded in 2022, the Biden administration lifted many of the restrictions on the CIAs operations in Ukraine, according to current and former U.S. officials. The article confirms what I and others, including Ray McGovern, Scott Ritter, Doug MacGregor and Danny Davis, have long argued: The CIA played a major role in Ukraines attacks on Russia. ABC reports:

CIA officers were authorised to remain in Ukraine as Russia attacked. They were still not permitted to directly kill Russians, but they were now authorized to assist Ukraine with targeting information. . . . When Russia invaded in 2022, the Biden administration lifted many of the restrictions on the CIAs operations in Ukraine, according to current and former U.S. officials. CIA officers were authorised to remain in Ukraine as Russia attacked. They were still not permitted to directly kill Russians, but they were now authorized to assist Ukraine with targeting information. As Russian columns advanced over the border, CIA-trained HUR special forces units, operated behind the lines, sending intelligence on Russian troop movements and attacking them. Ukrainian agents had also planted explosives on train lines and logistics points and left weapons caches inside Russia and occupied Ukraine.

But ABC, without an inkling of irony, concludes its piece with this nonsense:

Putin has publicly long insisted Ukraine is controlled by the CIA and was becoming a beachhead for NATO forces, using the claims as justification for his invasion. Some have alleged the CIA partnership with Ukrainian intelligence was a provocation to Putin, giving him a pretext for the war. Kondratyuk, who arrived in Washington all those years ago with luggage full of secrets, dismisses those claims, describing them as Russian propaganda. Putin, he said, invaded Ukraine because he wanted to dominate it. This is just Russian propaganda, manipulation in order to somehow justify this inhuman and terrible invasion of another country, he said. Our cooperation did not provoke. It only strengthened our ability to resist Russian aggression.

Hello? The ABC report, taken as a whole, confirms Putins claim. While Konddratyuk may be a convenient scapegoat, the facts show that once he disappeared from the scene the CIA operations escalated and that the CIA committed acts of war against Russia.

Let me suggest another reason the CIA officials who were the sources for this article are sharing this information  they are trying to sabotage Donald Trumps promise to negotiate an end to this war. . . a war provoked by the West.

I discussed some of these issues today with Danny Davis. ERRATA  during my chat with Danny I misspoke about the murder rate for Chicago. The number I cited was over a 20-year period, not one year. My bad.

Read more at: Sonar21.com
Elon Musk states it perfectly on Joe Rogan Experience regarding bioweapons research: Gain-of-Function is a propaganda word for Death Maximization

Gain-of-Function Research : This research is seen as a method to create deadly viruses that humans can catch, spread, and die from, essentially maximizing death rates. The primary goal is to modify a virus that originally affects specific animals, making it transmissible and lethal to humans.

: This research is seen as a method to create deadly viruses that humans can catch, spread, and die from, essentially maximizing death rates. The primary goal is to modify a virus that originally affects specific animals, making it transmissible and lethal to humans. Vaccines and Nanoparticle Injections : These injections, marketed as "vaccines," are viewed as part of a broader agenda to drive fear and compliance, leading people to accept dangerous treatments. Critics argue that these injections cause severe side effects, such as clogging vascular systems and damaging reproductive health.

: These injections, marketed as "vaccines," are viewed as part of a broader agenda to drive fear and compliance, leading people to accept dangerous treatments. Critics argue that these injections cause severe side effects, such as clogging vascular systems and damaging reproductive health. Elon Musk's Whistleblowing : Elon Musk has publicly criticized gain-of-function research, calling it a sham and a method to maximize human deaths. He has used his platform to expose what he sees as a sinister agenda, challenging the pharmaceutical industry's practices.

: Elon Musk has publicly criticized gain-of-function research, calling it a sham and a method to maximize human deaths. He has used his platform to expose what he sees as a sinister agenda, challenging the pharmaceutical industry's practices. Exposure of Funding and Legal Consequences: Documents have exposed the direct link between gain-of-function research and the Wuhan lab in China, implicating figures like Anthony Fauci. Despite a pardon, Fauci remains under scrutiny for his role in the pandemic and the promotion of potentially dangerous "vaccines," with the potential for prosecution in other countries.

Gain of function really means death maximization, because the goal is to modify a virus thats only transmitted between certain animals and make it so that humans can catch it, spread it, and most importantly, die from it. Also, the corresponding nanoparticle injections called vaccines are a key part of the death maximization agenda, where the fear of the gain-of-function virus drives billions of humans to get stabbed with anything the CDC and FDA tell them is safe and effective, even when that means being injected with technology that tricks cells into creating millions of virus-mimicking prions that clog the vascular system and wreck reproductive abilities.

Elon Musk blows the whistle on the Joe Rogan Experience, coming right out and calling the whole plandemic sham for what it is, saying that gain-of-function really means death maximization, because theres really NO other reason for scientists to go into a lab and create a deadly virus for humans to contract, spread, and die from that they could not before. Its that straightforward and simple, and Elon Musk really hits the nail on the head, speaking frankly with courage on the most popular podcast in the world, with no fear of repercussions from the Vaccine Industrial Complex.

The worlds richest man has even taken up arms to fight in the information war and expose Pharmas extinctionist agenda called "gain-of-function" research

This is an Anti-Pharma revolution like the world has never seen. The worlds richest man has even taken up arms to fight in the information war and expose the truth about the worlds deadliest medicine, the funding of insidious population-reduction research, and exposing the extinctionist plan the globalists seemed to have failed miserably at, for the time being.

Joe Rogan follows up on Elon Musks description of gain-of-function extinctionist goal, Make a disease so that people can get it. Musk says, Oh whats that function again? Oh, the function is death. So just call it a death maximizing virus. The virus was created to cause humans to die, and anyone involved in this research or funding of it should be tried in court for conspiracy to commit murder and for the mass murder that occurred because they were successful at doing it. This includes the coinciding mRNA deadly clot shots.

Now that CIA documents also expose the funding of gain-of-function and its research directly back to the Wuhan lab in China, we now know and have proof that Anthony Fauci was the main figure head responsible for it all, and for the wicked propaganda that put fear in billions of people about Covid, convinced billions of people to wear bacteria-breeding masks, and get injected with the deadliest vaccines ever created.

Though Fauci got a pardon from Sleepy Joe, hes not off the hook for mass murder. There are many ways he can still be prosecuted for his crimes against humanity, including by OTHER countries around the world who dont have to honor the pre-crime pardon that further proves his guilt. May the trials begin soon. Let justice reign supreme in the name of every human who was maimed or killed by the Fauci Flu and the mRNA clot shots.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anna Hatch (@toxins_in_children)

Bookmark plague.info to your favorite independent websites for updates on new death maximization gain-of-function viruses the CDC and WHO release into the wild, along with the corresponding population reduction nanoparticle injections they call vaccines.

Sources for this article include:

Pandemic.news

GatewayPundit.com
Federal court strikes down warrantless FISA backdoor searches as unconstitutional

A federal judge ruled that the U.S. governments warrantless backdoor searches under Section 702 of FISA are unconstitutional, marking a major victory for privacy rights.

The case involved Agron Hasbajrami, whose communications were collected without a warrant under Section 702, which targets non-U.S. persons abroad but often sweeps up Americans data.

Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall emphasized that warrantless searches of U.S. persons data violate the Fourth Amendment, curbing unchecked government surveillance.

Section 702, set to expire in 2026, faces renewed scrutiny, with privacy advocates pushing for reforms like warrant requirements and increased transparency.

While Hasbajramis conviction stands, the ruling sets a precedent to limit government overreach and reaffirms constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.

In a landmark decision that reaffirms the sanctity of the Fourth Amendment, a federal judge has ruled that the U.S. governments use of backdoor searches under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is unconstitutional.

The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall, marks a significant victory for privacy advocates and a rebuke of the governments warrantless surveillance practices. The case centers on Agron Hasbajrami, a legal permanent resident arrested in 2011 for attempting to provide material support to a terrorist group. Authorities used evidence obtained through Section 702, which allows warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. persons abroad, but also swept up Hasbajramis communications in the process.

Judge Halls decision underscores a critical principle: while the government may lawfully collect communications under Section 702, it cannot later search that data without a warrant when targeting U.S. persons. To hold otherwise would effectively allow law enforcement to amass a repository of communications under Section 702including those of U.S. personsthat can later be searched on demand without limitation, Hall wrote.

A long overdue check on government overreach

Section 702, enacted as part of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, has long been a contentious tool in the governments surveillance arsenal. It permits intelligence agencies to collect communications of non-U.S. persons reasonably believed to be outside the country. However, the program has been criticized for its incidental collection of Americans communications and the FBIs routine use of backdoor searches to access this data without a warrant.

In Hasbajramis case, the government initially targeted a foreign individual but mistakenly collected his communications, later querying the database without a warrant. While the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the initial collection as lawful in 2019, it remanded the case to Judge Hall to determine whether the subsequent searches violated the Fourth Amendment. Halls ruling confirms what privacy advocates have argued for years: warrantless backdoor searches are unconstitutional.

This is a major constitutional ruling on one of the most abused provisions of FISA, said Patrick Toomey, deputy director of the ACLUs National Security Project.

The ruling comes as Section 702 is set to expire on April 15, 2026, and reignites the debate over its reauthorization. Privacy advocates are urging Congress to implement reforms, including a warrant requirement for querying U.S. persons data and increased transparency.

Despite the courts decision, Hasbajramis conviction stands, as Judge Hall denied his motion to suppress the evidence on separate grounds. However, the ruling sets a precedent that could curb the governments unchecked surveillance powers.

A victory for privacy, but the fight continues

Judge Halls decision is a resounding affirmation of the Fourth Amendments protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. It also highlights the need for greater oversight and accountability in how the government uses Section 702. While the ruling is a win for privacy advocates, the battle is far from over. With Section 702s expiration looming, Congress faces a critical choice: will it uphold the Constitution and rein in warrantless surveillance, or will it continue to enable the erosion of Americans privacy rights?

For now, the courts decision serves as a powerful reminder that no one  not even the government  is above the law.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

EFF.org

Cato.org
Federal government ends sanctuary protections, expands immigration enforcement to SCHOOLS and CHURCHES

The Trump administration rescinded 2021 guidelines that barred immigration arrests at "sensitive locations" such as schools, churches, and food banks.

Federal officers with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are now empowered to make arrests at these locations.

The administration also ended the broad use of humanitarian parole, limiting it to case-by-case approvals.

President Trump has vowed to carry out mass deportations, targeting "criminal aliens" and those who entered the U.S. illegally under the previous administration.

Immigration advocates warn the policy will instill fear in communities, while supporters argue it is essential to uphold the rule of law.

In a sweeping move to tighten immigration enforcement, the Trump administration has authorized federal officers to arrest illegal immigrants at previously protected locations, including schools, churches, and food banks. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman announced the policy shift on Monday, rescinding 2021 guidelines that designated such places as off-limits for immigration-related arrests. The decision, part of a broader crackdown on illegal immigration, has sparked fierce debate, with supporters praising it as a necessary step to restore order, and human rights advocates condemning it as an overreach that threatens vulnerable communities and separates families.

A shift in enforcement priorities

The 2021 guidelines, implemented under the Biden administration, expanded protections for illegal immigrants by prohibiting arrests at locations deemed "sensitive," including schools, churches, homeless shelters, and playgrounds. These protections built on a 2011 policy that initially shielded schools and places of worship from immigration enforcement.

At the time, then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas emphasized the importance of balancing enforcement with humanitarian concerns, stating, We can accomplish our enforcement mission without denying or limiting individuals access to needed medical care, children access to their schools, the displaced access to food and shelter, people of faith access to their places of worship, and more.

However, the Trump administration has framed the rescission of these guidelines as a necessary step to restore order and prioritize public safety. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in Americas schools and churches to avoid arrest, Huffman said in a statement. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.

Mass deportations and policy overhaul

The move is part of a broader immigration enforcement strategy that includes mass deportations and stricter border controls. On his first day in office, President Trump signed multiple executive orders aimed at curbing illegal immigration, including declaring a national emergency at the U.S.Mexico border and clarifying that U.S. policy seeks to prevent illegal entry, remove all illegal immigrants, and prosecute those who facilitate their presence.

With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense, Trump said in his inaugural address. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.

Tom Homan, President Trumps border czar, confirmed that deportation operations are already underway. ICE teams are out there as of today, he said on Tuesday.

The policy shift has drawn sharp criticism from immigration advocates, who argue it will instill fear in immigrant communities and deter individuals from accessing essential services. Trumps words and actions reveal the enormity of the danger were facing, which compels us all to mobilize to fight back, said Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center.

On the other hand, groups advocating for stricter immigration controls have applauded the administrations actions. President Trump has broad public support for his promise to remove millions of illegal aliens in this country, beginning with criminals, people who have been issued final orders of removal, and the millions more who entered our country during the previous administration, said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Historical context and implications

The debate over immigration enforcement at sensitive locations is not new. The 2011 policy that initially protected schools and churches was implemented under the Obama administration, reflecting a recognition of the need to balance enforcement with humanitarian concerns. The Biden administrations expansion of these protections in 2021 was seen as a continuation of this approach.

However, the Trump administrations decision to rescind these protections marks a significant departure from recent precedent. It signals a return to a more aggressive enforcement strategy reminiscent of the early days of Trumps first term, when ICE raids and deportations surged.

The policy shift also raises questions about its practical implications. Will federal officers prioritize high-risk individuals, or will the new guidelines lead to widespread arrests that disrupt communities? How will schools and churches respond to the presence of immigration enforcement officers on their premises? These questions remain unanswered as the administration moves forward with its enforcement agenda.

Sources include:

Zerohedge.com

TheEpochTimes.com

Enoch, Brighteon.ai
FEMA under scrutiny as Trump establishes council to review agencys political bias and inefficiency

President Trump signed an executive order establishing a council to review FEMAs performance after its poor response to Hurricane Helene.

The council will evaluate FEMAs efficacy, priorities, and competence, with a report due within 180 days.

Allegations of political bias include FEMA officials instructing employees to avoid helping homeowners with Trump campaign signs.

FEMA is accused of misusing funds, including over $1 billion spent on programs for incoming migrants instead of disaster relief.

North Carolina continues to struggle with Hurricane Helene recovery, with thousands still displaced and debris cleanup only halfway complete.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Sunday establishing a review council to evaluate the performance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The decision comes after FEMAs widely criticized response to Hurricane Helene, which devastated North Carolina in September, and amid allegations of political bias and misuse of funds. The council, composed of federal leaders and outside experts, will hold its first public meeting within 90 days and deliver a report to the president within 180 days.

Trumps announcement follows his recent visit to disaster-stricken areas in North Carolina, where he vowed to overhaul or even eliminate FEMA, calling the agency not good and accusing it of failing vulnerable Americans. The presidents executive order highlights serious concerns of political bias within FEMA, including allegations that agency officials instructed employees to avoid helping homeowners displaying Trump campaign signs in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Allegations of political bias and misused funds

The executive order cites evidence of FEMAs mismanagement and political discrimination, including reports that agency funds were diverted to programs supporting incoming migrants rather than disaster relief. Trump emphasized that FEMA has lost mission focus, spending over $1 billion on non-disaster-related initiatives while leaving disaster victims without critical resources.

One of the most shocking allegations involves a FEMA supervisor, Marni D. Washington, who was terminated after whistleblowers revealed she instructed employees to skip homes with Trump signs or flags. Washington claimed she was acting on guidance from higher-ups, and other FEMA officials corroborated her account, describing the practice as an open secret within the agency.

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer and other lawmakers have called for a full investigation into FEMAs conduct. America First Legal has launched its own investigation into the agency.

North Carolinas ongoing struggle

More than 120 days after Hurricane Helene, North Carolina is still grappling with the storms aftermath. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports that only half of the debris has been cleared, and thousands of families remain in hotels paid for by FEMAs Transitional Housing Assistance program. During his visit to the state, Trump promised to do a good job for North Carolina, vowing to expedite recovery efforts and ensure accountability.

The president also suggested that states should take a larger role in disaster response, arguing that local governments are better equipped to handle emergencies. I prefer that states be given federal money to handle disasters themselves, Trump said, criticizing FEMAs bureaucratic inefficiencies.

The newly established FEMA Review Council, co-chaired by the secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense, will assess the agencys efficacy, priorities, and competence. The councils recommendations could lead to significant structural changes or even the agencys dissolution.

Americans deserve an immediate, effective, and impartial response to and recovery from disasters, the executive order states. FEMA therefore requires a full-scale review by individuals highly experienced at effective disaster response and recovery.

As the review process begins, the stakes are high for FEMA and the communities it serves. For North Carolinians still recovering from Hurricane Helene, the councils findings could mean the difference between continued neglect and much-needed reform.

President Trumps executive order marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate over FEMAs role and effectiveness. With allegations of political bias, mismanagement, and misuse of funds, the agency faces a reckoning that could reshape disaster response in the United States. As the FEMA Review Council begins its work, Americans will be watching closely to see whether this effort delivers the accountability and efficiency they deserve in times of crisis.

Sources for this article include:

Reuters.com

100PercentFedUp.com

X.com

FoxNews.com

AFLegal.org
Forever chemicals in French drinking water: A looming health crisis demands immediate action

A study by UFC-Que Choisir and Future Generations revealed dangerous levels of "forever chemicals," specifically trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), in tap water across many French cities, including Paris.

Paris 10th district ranked second in contamination levels, with 6,200 nanograms per liter of TFAfar above the EUs proposed limit of 500 nanograms per litre for all PFAS combined.

PFAS exposure is linked to health issues like birth defects, kidney disease and cancer. The study criticized Frances current PFAS regulations as far too unprotective compared to stricter standards in other countries.

A U.S. study linked PFAS-contaminated drinking water to higher cancer incidences, suggesting the need for stricter regulations and comprehensive testing worldwide.

A bill restricting PFAS manufacture and sale, which passed its first reading, will be voted on again, with advocates hoping for stricter national regulations to address the contamination crisis.

A shocking new study has revealed that drinking water in many French cities, including Paris, is contaminated with dangerous levels of "forever chemicals," raising urgent concerns about public health and regulatory oversight. The findings, released by consumer rights organization UFC-Que Choisir and environmental group Future Generations, highlight the pervasive presence of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), in tap water across the country.

The scope of contamination

The study analyzed 30 water samples from cities and towns across France, with TFA detected in 24 of them. Alarmingly, 20 samples exceeded European regulatory limits for PFAS, which are set to become stricter in 2026. Paris 10th district ranked second in contamination levels, with a staggering 6,200 nanograms per liter of TFAfar above the EUs proposed limit of 500 nanograms per liter for all PFAS combined. Moussac in southern France topped the list, while Bruxerolles in western France came in third.

PFAS, often called "forever chemicals" due to their resistance to breaking down in the environment, have been linked to a range of health problems, including birth defects, kidney disease and cancer. Despite their known risks, TFA is rarely tested for in Frances drinking water controls, leaving millions of citizens unknowingly exposed.

There is no miracle solution to offer consumers, said Pauline Cervan, a toxicologist at Future Generations. Bottled water is also contaminated, and filters are not effective.

A call for stricter standards

The study also criticized Frances current PFAS regulations as far too unprotective compared to stricter standards in countries like the United States and Denmark. If France were to adopt the most stringent standards and include TFA in its testing, 80% of the samples analyzed would be deemed non-compliant.

Olivier Andrault of UFC-Que Choisir emphasized the need for immediate action: We therefore need to act. At an individual level, it is impossible to escape PFAS. So we need collective action by the public authorities.

A bill aimed at restricting the manufacture and sale of PFAS, which passed its first reading in 2024, is set to be voted on again next month. Advocates hope this legislation will mark a turning point in addressing the contamination crisis.

The global cancer connection

The French findings come on the heels of a groundbreaking U.S. study linking PFAS-contaminated drinking water to a higher incidence of rare cancers. Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC found that communities exposed to PFAS in their water supply experienced up to a 33% higher incidence of certain cancers, including digestive, endocrine, respiratory, and mouth and throat cancers.

These findings allow us to draw an initial conclusion about the link between certain rare cancers and PFAS, said Shiwen (Sherlock) Li, PhD, the studys lead author. This suggests that its worth researching each of these links in a more individualized and precise way.

The study estimated that PFAS contamination contributes to over 6,800 cancer cases annually in the U.S. alone. Males in affected areas showed higher rates of leukemia and urinary system cancers, while females had elevated rates of thyroid and soft tissue cancers.

A path forward

The mounting evidence underscores the urgent need for stricter regulations and comprehensive testing for PFAS worldwide. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to enforce limits on six types of PFAS by 2029, experts argue that even these measures may not go far enough.

Certain PFAS that were less studied need to be monitored more, and regulators need to think about other PFAS that may not be strictly regulated yet, Li added.

In France, the battle for cleaner water is just beginning. As citizens and advocacy groups demand action, the question remains: will policymakers rise to the occasion, or will the invisible threat of forever chemicals continue to poison our water and our health?

The stakes could not be higher. As Cervan aptly put it, We need collective action by the public authorities. The time to act is nowbefore the contamination crisis becomes irreversible.

Sources include:

NationalPulse.com

InsiderPaper.com

Kecek.usc.edu
IDF overlooked warning signs before Hamas attack, report suggests

Israeli military officials received early warnings of Hamas' aerial division preparing for attacks but did not act swiftly, leading to a catastrophic breach of security that resulted in hundreds of deaths and kidnappings.

In the months prior to the attack, military officials underestimated the Hamas threat, relying heavily on the Gaza border fence as a deterrent. This overconfidence allowed thousands of terrorists to cross into Israel easily.

The IDF's decision-making process has come under scrutiny, with officials failing to prioritize immediate action over concerns about burning intelligence sources.

The attack resulted in at least 1,200 deaths and the kidnapping of 251 hostages, highlighting the catastrophic consequences of underestimating the threat and failing to act on intelligence.

In response to the failures, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and Southern Command head Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman announced their resignations, emphasizing the serious implications of the security breach and the need for a thorough review of protocols.

In the early hours of Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli military officials received reports of unusual activity by Hamas' aerial division, including preparations for rocket launches. However, these alerts were not acted upon swiftly enough, leading to the devastating Hamas attack that left hundreds dead and scores more kidnapped.

This revelation, detailed in a report by Ynet News, highlights critical intelligence failures and overconfidence within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that contributed to one of the most severe security breaches in Israel's history.

It was around 2 a.m. on Oct. 7 when reports of strange activities from Hamas' aerial division began to filter into the Israeli Air Force command center. By 3 a.m., the IDF Southern Command general was on the line with senior officers to assess the situation. According to Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, the head of the IDF Operations Directorate, Hamas could be preparing for "action against Israel in the coming hours," which might include rocket fire or an airborne infiltration.

Despite these warnings, the IDF did not immediately shut down the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re'im, where thousands of young people were sleeping or partying in tents. This failure to act quickly on the intelligence has been a subject of intense scrutiny and criticism.

Dismissal of threats and overreliance on border fences

In the months leading up to the attack, military officials downplayed the severity of the Hamas threat, citing the Gaza border fence as an impenetrable barrier. This overconfidence proved devastating on the morning of Oct. 7, when thousands of armed terrorists streamed into Israel with ease, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 251 hostages.

The disconnect between the seriousness of the threats and how seriously they were taken by IDF brass is evident in the reports. Despite the warnings, few actions were taken, partly due to concerns about burning intelligence sources.

"The Operations Directorate head emphasized the need to beware of a rash defense," the report quoted from a document on that morning's activities.

A senior officer cited by Ynet said that if anyone thought there was a danger, stopping it would be more important than any source. This perspective underscores the critical nature of the decision-making process and the potential consequences of inaction in the face of imminent threats.

The reports of intelligence failures and dismissed threats have led to significant repercussions within the IDF. On Jan. 21, both IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and Southern Command head Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman announced their resignations over their roles in the failures that led to the Hamas attack. (Related: Israel's rules of engagement under scrutiny: IDF accused of indiscriminately killing civilians in Gaza.)

This incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of vigilance and decisive action in the face of potential threats, especially when dealing with a hostile group like Hamas. The IDF's overreliance on border fences and downplaying of intelligence warnings have had catastrophic consequences, highlighting the need for a thorough review of security protocols and decision-making processes.

Visit IsraelCollapse.com to read stories related to this.

Watch the clip below that shows three female hostages being handed over to IDF in Gaza.

This video is from Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Israel threatens Hamas: Release hostages or face unprecedented escalation in Gaza.

Former IDF minister admits Israel is ethnically cleansing Gaza to create Greater Israel.

Israel's finance minister wants Gaza to become Israel, calls for "thinning" of Palestinian population.

IDF discovers videos of TORTURE conducted by Hamas against Palestinians.

Haaretz criticizes Israeli military attacks on Gaza hospitals.

Sources include:

TimesOfIsrael.com

Brighteon.com
Israel criminalizes dissent: New law bans anyone from questioning how Israel handled the October 7th attack

As Netanyahus grip on power weakens, Israel enacts an Orwellian law to silence critics and suppress scrutiny of its handling of the October 7th attack, raising alarms over free speech and democratic freedoms

Key Points:

 Israels Knesset passed a law criminalizing doubts about the official narrative of the October 7th Hamas attack, with penalties of up to five years in prison.

 The law has drawn widespread criticism from free speech advocates, who warn it creates a chilling effect on public discourse.

 Questions persist about the Netanyahu governments security failures on October 7th and whether the attack was exploited to justify a devastating war in Gaza.

 The legislation mirrors Israels Holocaust denial law, but critics argue it is a tool to shield Netanyahu from accountability as his political support erodes.

A desperate move to control the narrative

In a move that has sparked outrage and alarm, Israels Knesset has enacted a law that criminalizes questioning the official account of the October 7th Hamas attack. The legislation, which imposes a five-year prison sentence for denial of the state-sanctioned narrative, has been widely condemned as an assault on free speech and a desperate attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to consolidate power amid growing political turmoil.

The law comes at a precarious moment for Netanyahu, whose government has faced mounting criticism over its handling of the October 7th attack and the subsequent war in Gaza. The ceasefire agreement with Hamas, which temporarily halted the conflict, has further fractured Netanyahus coalition, with far-right allies abandoning his government and military leaders resigning in protest.

In an era where lies are spread at the speed of light on social media and in the international arena, this law is a bulwark, said Oded Forer, the Knesset member who sponsored the legislation. Not only for the memory of the murdered and the honor of the survivors, but for the sake of future generations who will remember the truth, and not the lies that try to obscure it.

Yet critics argue that the law is less about preserving truth and more about shielding Netanyahu from scrutiny. The prime ministers government has long faced accusations of security failures on October 7th, with some even suggesting the attack was permittedor exploitedas a pretext to launch a devastating military campaign in Gaza.

The October 7th attack: A narrative under scrutiny

The October 7th attack, which saw Hamas militants breach Israels border defenses and kill over 1,200 people, has been a focal point of controversy since the day it occurred. While the Israeli government has portrayed the attack as an unprovoked act of terrorism, questions have emerged about the extent of the security failures that allowed it to happenand whether Netanyahus government bears responsibility.

One of the most contentious aspects of the official narrative is the claim that Hamas militants committed widespread atrocities, including mass sexual assault and infanticide. While the United Nations and other organizations have documented evidence of sexual violence, some allegations have been debunked. For example, ZAKA, an Israeli search and rescue organization, initially reported accounts of sexual assault that were later admitted to be false.

Similarly, revelations about Israels use of the Hannibal Directivea controversial military protocol that permits the killing of Israeli citizens to prevent their capturehave further undermined the governments credibility. Despite initial denials, evidence has emerged that the directive was authorized during the attack, raising questions about how many casualties were caused by Israeli forces rather than Hamas.

The law creates a chilling effect on freedom of expression, said Gil Gan-Mor, head of the Civil and Social Rights divisions at the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. The ambiguity surrounding what constitutes permitted speech is enough to dissuade independent inquiry.

A broader crackdown on dissent

The new law is part of a broader effort by the Netanyahu government to control the narrative surrounding the October 7th attack and the war in Gaza. This campaign extends beyond Israels borders, with the government lobbying foreign leaders and social media platforms to suppress criticism of its actions.

In the United States, efforts to ban TikTok gained momentum after the platform became a hub for voices opposing Israels military campaign in Gaza. While the push to ban TikTok has been framed as a national security issue, critics argue it is part of a coordinated effort to silence dissent and control the flow of information.

The parallels between Israels crackdown on free speech and similar measures in other countries are striking. In the U.S., laws justified on national security grounds have often been used to suppress whistleblowers and investigative journalism. In Israel, the new law raises concerns that the Netanyahu government is using national security as a pretext to shield itself from accountability.

The future of Netanyahus regime

As Netanyahus political fortunes wane, the new law represents a last-ditch effort to maintain control over the narrativeand his grip on power. Yet the legislations passage has only intensified scrutiny of his governments actions, both on October 7th and in the months that followed.

The war in Gaza, which has claimed over 30,000 lives and displaced millions, has drawn accusations of genocide from international observers. Netanyahus rhetoric, which has framed the conflict in biblical terms by likening Palestinians to the ancient enemy Amalek, has further fueled these allegations.

If the truth about October 7th and the governments handling of the attack ever comes to light, it could spell the end of Netanyahus political careerand potentially his freedom. For now, the new law ensures that such revelations remain buried, at least within Israels borders.

But as history has shown, the truth has a way of surfacing, no matter how hard authoritarian regimes try to suppress it. When it does, the consequences for Netanyahu and his government could be catastrophic. In the meantime, the law stands as a stark reminder of the lengths to which desperate leaders will go to cling to powerand the high cost of silencing dissent in a democracy.

Sources include:

Zerohedge.com

X.com

X.com
Los Angeles residents demand COMPETENT leadership as wildfires expose the failures of Bass and Newsom

The wildfires in Los Angeles, which have caused $250 billion in damage and displaced thousands, have exposed significant leadership failures by Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom. Residents are demanding accountability and action, criticizing both leaders for inadequate responses and poor decision-making.

Bass has been scrutinized for cutting $17.6 million from the LA Fire Departments budget, diverting funds to other initiatives like the LAPD and homelessness programs. Her delayed response to the wildfires and absence during critical moments have left residents feeling abandoned.

Newsom also faces backlash for prioritizing his political ambitions over the crisis. His 2019 pledge to clear flammable underbrush was never fully realized, and his recent $101 million budget cut to firefighting efforts worsened the situation. Residents criticize his lack of on-the-ground presence and focus on maintaining his national image.

The wildfires have sparked widespread anger, with recall efforts gaining momentum against both Bass and Newsom. Residents accuse them of mismanagement and neglect, arguing that better planning and investment in fire prevention could have mitigated the disaster.

To regain public trust, Bass and Newsom must prioritize fire prevention and response, restore funding for firefighting resources and be present and transparent with affected communities. The crisis demands immediate, decisive action to rebuild LA and restore faith in its leadership.

Los Angeles is burning, and its residents are furious. The 2025 wildfires, which have ravaged neighborhoods, displaced thousands and left a trail of destruction estimated at $250 billion, have exposed a glaring lack of leadership from Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom.

As the flames continue to consume homes and livelihoods, Angelenos are demanding accountability, action and a clear path forward from their elected officials.

Residents frustrated at the shortcomings of Bass and Newsom

The crisis has laid bare the shortcomings of both leaders. Mayor Bass, who took office in 2022 with promises of unity and progress, has been criticized for her absence during critical moments of the disaster.

Her decision to cut $17.6 million from the LA Fire Departments budget earlier this year has come under intense scrutiny, with many questioning her priorities.

At a time when the city needed robust firefighting resources, Bass diverted funds to other initiatives, including the LAPD and homelessness programs. This decision, coupled with her delayed response to the wildfires, has left residents feeling abandoned.

Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom has faced accusations of prioritizing his political ambitions over the needs of his constituents. His handling of the crisis has been marked by missteps, from tone-deaf photo ops to misleading statements about wildfire preparedness. (Related: Gavin Newsom could face second recall election as Californians express disappointment over his handling of L.A. fires.)

Newsoms 2019 pledge to clear flammable underbrush in fire-prone areas like Pacific Palisades was never fully realized, leaving the region vulnerable to the inferno that followed. His recent budget cuts to firefighting efforts  slashing $101 million just months before the wildfires erupted  have only deepened public distrust.

For residents like Eddie De Ferrari, a retired accountant who lost his home to the Eaton Fire, the lack of leadership has been devastating. "At the very least, youd expect [Newsom] to be on the ground, showing he cares," De Ferrari said.

Instead, the governor has been criticized for appearing more focused on his national image than on the crisis at hand.

Elysabeth Cherniak, a Pacific Palisades resident who narrowly escaped the flames, echoed these sentiments. "The emergency workers and volunteers have been incredible, but where is Karen Bass? Shes nowhere to be found," said Cherniak. "This is a time when we need strong leadership, and shes failing us."

The fallout from the wildfires has sparked a wave of anger and frustration across the city.

Recall efforts against both Bass and Newsom are gaining momentum, fueled by accusations of mismanagement and neglect. Critics argue that the crisis could have been mitigated with better planning and investment in fire prevention and response.

Instead, residents are left grappling with the consequences of what many see as a failure of governance.

What Bass and Newsom must do

For Bass and Newsom to regain the trust of their constituents, they must take immediate and decisive action.

Heres what they can do:

Prioritize fire prevention and response

Both leaders must commit to restoring and increasing funding for firefighting resources. This includes investing in equipment, personnel and infrastructure to ensure that LA is better prepared for future disasters.

Newsom should also revisit his 2019 pledge to clear flammable underbrush and make it a top priority.

Be present and transparent

Angelenos need to see their leaders on the ground, engaging with affected communities and demonstrating empathy.

Bass and Newsom must hold regular, transparent briefings to update the public on recovery efforts and address concerns directly.

Reevaluate budget priorities

Bass must reassess her budget allocations to ensure that critical services like firefighting and emergency response are adequately funded.

Cutting corners on public safety in favor of other initiatives is a gamble that LA can no longer afford.

Collaborate with federal and local partners

Newsom must work closely with federal agencies and local officials to secure the resources needed for recovery.

This includes advocating for federal disaster relief and coordinating with neighboring jurisdictions to address the broader impact of the wildfires.

Address long-term challenges

Both leaders must tackle the underlying issues that have exacerbated the crisis, such as urban sprawl and inadequate infrastructure.

This will require bold, forward-thinking policies that prioritize the safety and well-being of all Californians.

Hope for a city in crisis

The 2025 wildfires have been a wake-up call for LA. They have exposed the fragility of the citys infrastructure, the consequences of poor planning and the dire need for competent leadership.

As the flames continue to rage, Angelenos are demanding more from their elected officials.

Bass and Newsom have a choice: They can rise to the occasion, take responsibility and lead their constituents through this crisis, or they can continue to falter and risk losing the trust of the people they were elected to serve.

The time for excuses is over. The time for action is now.

LA deserves better. Its residents deserve leaders who will put their needs first, who will fight for their safety, and who will work tirelessly to rebuild their city.

The question is, will Bass and Newsom step up, or will they step aside?

More related stories can be found at CaliforniaCollapse.news.

Watch the video below as California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder calls for Bass and Newson to resign.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

DIOXIN APOCALYPSE: Are the California fires unleashing a silent CANCER epidemic?

Strategies to combat oxidative stress from fires and pollution.

Four arrested in separate incidents for attempting to ignite new fires in Los Angeles County.

WILDFIRES and ZONING WARS: Altadena residents fear land grab amid Los Angeles County rebuilding plans.

BOMBSHELL: Los Angeles and Maui infernos likely started using PATENTED ENERGY WEAPON that lights anything on FIRE unless its blue.

Sources include:

NYPost.com

City-Journal.org

APNews.com

Brighteon.com
Mike Adams criticizes Trumps project Stargate as outdated and wasteful as Chinas AI advances

Mike Adams criticizes President Trumps $500 billion AI initiative as wasteful and outdated, arguing it fails to match Chinas advanced AI capabilities, labeling it a potential historic financial misstep.

Adams highlights Chinas DeepSeek R1 model, built for under $5 million, as outperforming U.S. AI systems like OpenAI and Google, calling it a groundbreaking achievement in AI performance and transparency.

Adams advocates for open-source AI models, criticizing Project Stargates reliance on closed systems. He emphasizes that open-source promotes innovation and transparency, unlike the U.S.s zero-sum hardware focus.

Adams accuses OpenAI of unethical practices and dishonesty, contrasting it with Chinas more transparent tech approach. He calls for decentralized, ethical AI development to counter U.S. shortcomings.

Adams urges the U.S. to adopt Chinas decentralized AI model, announcing his open-source AI, Enoch, to empower uncensored, reality-based information sharing and foster global innovation.

In a scathing critique on his Brighteon Broadcast News, Mike Adams has criticized President Donald Trump's $500 billion AI initiative, Project Stargate, as a misguided and wasteful attempt to catch up with China's advanced AI capabilities. Adams, known for his outspoken views and deep knowledge of technology, argues that the project is based on outdated assumptions and is likely to become one of the biggest wastes of capital in history.

Outdated assumptions and wasteful spending

Adams has been running the 32 billion parameter version of the Chinese-designed DeepSeek R1 reasoning model on his desktop and he notes that this model, developed at a fraction of the cost, outperforms every major U.S. AI model, including those from OpenAI and Google. "The DeepSeek model from China doesn't go along with the insane, mentally ill narrative of nearly all Democrats who still stupidly insist that men can have babies," Adams stated, emphasizing the model's logical and rational responses.

Adams describes DeepSeek as a "nuclear bomb detonated in the heart of Silicon Valley," a historic accomplishment that has sent shockwaves through the U.S. tech industry. The model, which was built with less than $5 million in compute cost, has set new standards in AI performance and transparency. "It's better on my desk than OpenAI's multi-hundred billion dollar data center computing system," he remarked.

The future of AI is decentralized and open source

One of the key criticisms Adams levels against Project Stargate is its reliance on closed and controlled models. "The future of AI is with open source alternatives," Adams asserts. He points out that the market has a clear preference for open source AI models, which promote transparency and innovation. In contrast, Project Stargate clings to a Cold War playbook, framing AI dominance as a zero-sum hardware arms race.

Adams also raises ethical concerns about the companies involved in Project Stargate, particularly OpenAI. "OpenAI is a dishonest company. They have no values other than raw power. They're not run ethically, and their very name is deceptive," he said. He contrasts this with China's approach, which, despite some narrow censorship on topics like Tiananmen Square, is more transparent and freedom-oriented in terms of tech.

A call for decentralization and innovation

Adams believes that the U.S. should adopt a decentralized approach to AI development, similar to China's model. He is releasing a free, open-source AI model called Enoch on March 1, which will be available at Brighteon.ai. Enoch, a knowledge model trained on extensive data sets, aims to empower people with uncensored, reality-based information. "We are on Team humanity, and by sharing our knowledge and tools, we can create a better world together," Adams stated.

The global AI race is not just about technology but also about ideology and governance. China's lead in AI, as well as in 37 out of 44 key technologies, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, underscores the urgency of the situation. Adams warns that if the U.S. continues on its current path, it risks falling irreversibly behind in the race to super intelligence, a technological achievement that could dictate the future of the world.

Conclusion

As the U.S. grapples with its AI strategy, Adams' critique of Project Stargate serves as a wake-up call. The future of AI is not just about computational power but also about transparency, ethical governance, and the freedom to innovate. China's success with DeepSeek and its broader technological advancements highlight the need for a fundamental shift in the U.S. approach to AI development. Only by embracing open source and decentralized innovation can the U.S. hope to remain competitive in the global AI race.

Watch this Jan. 27 episode of "Brighteon Broadcast News" as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about Trump's Stargate project as outdated and wasteful as China's AI advances.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

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Project Stargate: CIA, DoD had a well-funded secret program aimed at developing psychic abilities

Project Stargate is upon us: Trump to invest $500 billion in new U.S. data centers to boost the power of artificial intelligence

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

VentureBeat.com
Finally, the TRUTH: PayPal admits freezing accounts over criticism of COVID-19 policies, sparking free speech concerns

PayPal acknowledged freezing the account of U.K. children's rights campaigner Molly Kingsley due to her criticism of COVID-19 policies, reigniting debates on free speech and corporate censorship.

Kingsley's account was terminated after PayPal compiled a dossier on her, citing passages from her book criticizing pandemic measures, such as mandatory vaccinations and school closures.

The case was not isolated, with other critics of pandemic policies, including Toby Young and the group Law or Fiction, also having their PayPal accounts frozen during the same period.

The Financial Conduct Authority intervened, leading to Kingsley's account being reinstated after 22 days, and thousands of PayPal users boycotted the platform in solidarity.

The incident highlights a broader trend of financial censorship, with examples from Canada and the U.S., and raises questions about accountability, transparency and the role of corporations in shaping public discourse.

PayPal has acknowledged for the first time that it froze the account of a prominent U.K.-based childrens rights campaigner due to her criticism of COVID-19 policies, including school closures and mandatory vaccinations. The admission has reignited debates over free speech, financial censorship and the role of corporations in policing dissent.

Molly Kingsley, founder of the parent campaign group UsForThem, was informed by PayPal in September 2022 that her account had been terminated due to the nature of its activities. Documents disclosed during pre-action correspondence reveal that PayPal compiled a dossier on Kingsley over four months, citing excerpts from her book, The Childrens Inquiry, which criticized pandemic measures.

The dossier highlighted passages such as: Some may maintain that restrictions applied to children were a necessary evil. We say that a public health paradigm which strives to protect adults without weighing up the costs to children is the very antithesis of public health. Another excerpt criticized the stigmatization of children with mask exemptions: In our new world, children with mask exemptions were often forced to wear a lanyard or other symbol, signaling their disability to the rest of their cohort.

PayPals admission marks a significant moment in the ongoing debate over corporate power and free speech. The company stated that Kingsleys account was frozen because of content published by UsForThem relating to mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations and school closures, which it claimed violated its acceptable use policy.

A pattern of financial censorship

Kingsleys account was reinstated 22 days later after the U.K.s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) intervened, demanding an urgent explanation from PayPal. However, her case was not isolated. Other critics of pandemic policies, including free speech advocate Toby Young and the lockdown-critical legal group Law or Fiction, also had their PayPal accounts frozen during the same period.

Law or Fiction described the debanking as a blatant assault on free speech, as practised in China. Young, who runs the Daily Sceptic blog, said: Ive long suspected that the reason PayPal closed the accounts of UsForThem as well as the account of my lockdown sceptics website is because it wanted to shut down criticism of our governments pandemic response.

The backlash was swift. Thousands of PayPal users boycotted the platform, closing their accounts in solidarity with those affected. Critics accused the company of failing to provide clear explanations or specify how individuals or groups had violated its policies.

Government surveillance and corporate complicity

Kingsleys case also sheds light on the broader context of government surveillance during the pandemic. Her social media activity was monitored by the U.K.s Counter Disinformation Unit, which collaborated with tech companies to suppress discussions critical of lockdown measures.

PayPal appears to have admitted what we had suspected all along: that it was engaged in politically motivated debankings of those of us who criticized the governments response to COVID, and the lockdown narrative in particular, Kingsley said. For more than two years, PayPal has resisted my efforts to uncover what happened.

PayPal has denied any political bias, stating: We are not able to comment on individual customer accounts; however, we base all reviews of our customers use of PayPal services on their compliance with our policies. We apply an objective approach to these reviews, one that is not driven by politics.

A global trend of financial censorship

The targeting of lockdown critics by PayPal is part of a growing trend of financial institutions wielding their power to suppress dissenting voices. In Canada, the government froze bank accounts of protesters and their supporters during the 2022 truckers protests against vaccine mandates. In the United States, federal investigators reportedly asked banks to flag transactions using terms like MAGA and Trump as part of broader surveillance efforts.

In the U.K., Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party, had his accounts closed by Coutts, a private bank owned by NatWest Group. Initially justified on commercial grounds, internal documents later revealed the decision was politically motivated, based on Farages views being at odds with the banks values.

Access to banking and financial services is essential in modern society, enabling individuals and organizations to operate effectively. Denying these services based on political or ideological views disrupts financial stability and silences dissenting voices, undermining free speech and democratic participation.

As Kingsleys case demonstrates, the line between corporate policy and political censorship is increasingly blurred. The implications for free speech and financial freedom are profound, raising urgent questions about accountability, transparency and the role of corporations in shaping public discourse.

Sources include:

ReclaimTheNet.org

Telegraph.uk.co

FreeSpeechUnion.org
Russian Defense Ministry accuses Bill Gates of funding bioterrorism for population reduction in Africa

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD) has accused Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation of funding bioterrorism-related activities aimed at population reduction.

Major General Aleksei Rtishchev, Deputy Chief of Russias Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops, claims the U.S. is using Africa as a testing ground for dangerous pathogens and experimental drugs.

The Gates Foundation is allegedly involved in biological research projects across 18 African nations, exploiting economic vulnerabilities in healthcare systems.

Bill Gates has faced backlash for admitting to using India as a laboratory for vaccine experiments, sparking accusations of crimes against humanity.

Bill Gates is running a bioterrorism network around the world

In a startling press briefing, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD) has accused billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates of funding bioterrorism-related activities with the alleged goal of reducing global populations. Major General Aleksei Rtishchev, Deputy Chief of Russias Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops, delivered the explosive claims, asserting that the Gates Foundation is a primary sponsor of U.S. biological research in Africa. The allegations, which also implicate the Clinton Foundation, come amid growing scrutiny of Gates controversial experiments in developing nations, including his recent admission of using India as a laboratory for vaccine trials. The Russian MODs claims, if proven, could have far-reaching implications for global health governance and the ethical boundaries of scientific research.

The Russian MODs briefing painted a grim picture of U.S. biological activities in Africa, alleging that the continent is being exploited as a testing ground for dangerous pathogens and experimental drugs. Major General Rtishchev claimed that American specialists are actively enhancing the pathogenic functions of microorganisms, raising concerns about the potential for bioterrorism. The U.S. administration views the region as an unlimited natural reservoir of dangerous infectious agents and a testing ground for experimental medical drugs, Rtishchev stated.

The Russian military leader also accused the Gates Foundation and Clinton Foundation of sponsoring these activities, which he claims are part of a broader strategy to manage biological risks. According to Rtishchev, the U.S. has established a network of biological laboratories across Africa, including in Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Ghana, and Djibouti. These facilities, he alleges, are part of a Pentagon-backed initiative to monitor and manipulate infectious diseases, with potential consequences for global health security.

Gates controversial experiments in India raise ire

The Russian MODs allegations come on the heels of widespread outrage over Bill Gates recent comments about using India as a laboratory for vaccine experiments. During an interview with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, Gates admitted that India serves as a testing ground for his foundations initiatives. Its kind of a laboratory to try things that then, when you prove them out in India, you can take to other places, Gates said. The remarks have sparked accusations of exploitation and crimes against humanity, with critics arguing that Gates experiments disregard the dignity and rights of Indian citizens.

The allegations against Gates and the Gates Foundation are not new. Over the years, the foundation has faced criticism for its involvement in controversial health initiatives, including vaccine trials in developing countries. Critics argue that these efforts often prioritize profit over ethical considerations, exploiting vulnerable populations for scientific and financial gain. The Russian MODs claims add a new layer of complexity to these criticisms, suggesting that Gates activities may be part of a larger, more sinister agenda.

Gates invested in population control methods

The Gates Foundations involvement in Africa has long been a subject of debate. While the foundation has contributed billions of dollars to combat diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS, its methods and motivations have been questioned. The Russian MODs allegations raise the possibility that these efforts may have darker undertones, with potential links to bioterrorism and population control. Bill Gates was one of the main voices behind the bio-terror propaganda in 2020 and beyond, asserting that all nations lockdown until every man, woman, and child are vaccinated with experimental mRNA shots. He has also been behind the push to use geoengineering programs to block out the sun, and promotes birth control methods to reduce the population.

The Russian Ministry of Defenses allegations against Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation represent a significant escalation in the ongoing debate over the ethics of global health initiatives. If proven true, these claims could have profound implications for international relations, public health, and the future of scientific research. The accusations also underscore the need for greater transparency and accountability in the activities of powerful organizations and individuals.

The potential for bioterrorism, the exploitation of vulnerable populations, and the erosion of trust in global health governance demand a thorough and impartial investigation. In the words of epidemiologist Nicolas Hulscher, All individuals, regardless of their income or status, who have participated in or supported bioterrorism-related activities with the goal of population reduction or societal disruption will ultimately face the appropriate legal consequences. Whether these words will translate into action remains to be seen, but the world is watching.

Sources include:

AllNewsPipeline.com

SlayNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Senate CONFIRMS John Ratcliffe as CIA director under second Trump administration

The U.S. Senate confirmed John Ratcliffe as the new CIA director with a 74-25 vote, marking a significant milestone in reshaping national security leadership under the second Trump administration.

During his Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Ratcliffe pledged to prioritize the CIA's core missions, such as unbiased analysis and human intelligence collection, and emphasized the importance of addressing the growing influence of the Chinese Communist Party.

Ratcliffe's confirmation saw bipartisan support, with 21 Democratic senators joining Republicans, a stark contrast to his contentious 2020 DNI nomination which passed along party lines.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) praised Ratcliffe's commitment to returning the CIA to its core responsibilities of recruiting spies and providing objective intelligence analysis.

Ratcliffe's confirmation highlights the Trump administration's focus on aligning intelligence and security priorities, with additional high-profile nominations expected to follow.

In a decisive 74-25 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed John Ratcliffe as the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Thursday, Jan. 23, marking a significant milestone in the second Trump administration's efforts to reshape national security leadership.

Ratcliffe, a former three-term Texas congressman and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) during Trump's first term, was sworn in by Vice President J.D. Vance shortly after the vote. Ratcliffe's confirmation comes amid a complex and volatile global security landscape, which he described as "the most challenging national security environment in our nation's history."

During his Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Ratcliffe pledged to prioritize the CIA's core missions, including human intelligence collection and unbiased analysis.

"We will collect intelligence  especially human intelligence  in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult," he told senators. "We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgment or infect our products."

President Donald Trump, who announced Ratcliffe's nomination in November, lauded his pick to lead the CIA as a steadfast defender of truth and honesty. "From exposing fake Russian collusion to be a Clinton campaign operation, to catching the [Federal Bureau of Investigation's] abuse of civil liberties at the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] Court, John Ratcliffe has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public," Trump said at the time. (Related: Donald Trump names John Ratcliffe as CIA director.)

The bipartisan nature of Ratcliffe's confirmation vote stood in stark contrast to his contentious 2020 nomination as DNI, which passed along party lines with no Democratic support. This time, 21 Democratic senators joined Republicans in backing his appointment, despite lingering concerns about his partisan record and past controversies.

Ratcliffe's tenure as DNI was marked by his staunch defense of Trump during the 2020 election and his public release of information about Russia's influence in the 2016 election, which critics argued was politically motivated. However, Ratcliffe has consistently denied allegations of politicizing intelligence.

Ratcliffe's confirmation is a key win for the administration's security priorities

Ratcliffes confirmation also highlighted the Senate's evolving approach to presidential nominees. While former CIA Director William Burns was unanimously confirmed in 2021 without a roll-call vote, Ratcliffe's nomination faced procedural delays and opposition from some Democrats.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Ranking Member Mark Warner (D-VA) issued a joint statement emphasizing the urgency of Ratcliffe's confirmation: "Our world is far too dangerous for any delay in having a Senate-confirmed leader in charge of the CIA."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) meanwhile praised Ratcliffe's commitment to restoring the CIA's focus on its fundamental responsibilities. "We need a return to fundamentals," Thune said in a floor speech.

"Last week during his confirmation hearing, Ratcliffe promised to return to the CIA's core mission. That means recruiting spies to collect intelligence and providing objective intelligence analysis without bias."

As CIA director, Ratcliffe will face the formidable task of countering the growing influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which he identified as a top priority. "The CCP remains committed to dominating the world economically, technologically, and militarily," Ratcliffe stated during his hearing. He praised the CIA's recent establishment of the China Mission Center but stressed that more work is needed to address the threat.

Ratcliffe's confirmation underscores the second Trump administration's focus on alignment with its policy priorities when it comes to intelligence and security. With Vance casting the tie-breaking vote if needed, the administration is poised to push through additional high-profile nominations, including Pete Hegseth for the Department of Defense and Kristi Noem for the Department of Homeland Security.

Visit SpygateNews.com for more stories about the CIA.

Watch this Fox News report about John Ratcliffe being named as the CIA director, a position the former DNI was later confirmed to.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

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Sources include:

YourNews.com

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Edition.CNN.com

Brighteon.com
Trump orders 90-day pause on almost all foreign aid  including the billions being sent to Ukraine

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a 90-day freeze on most foreign aid grants, including military assistance to Ukraine, with exceptions for Israel, Egypt and emergency food aid.

The directive, which halts disbursements for already approved programs, has raised concerns about U.S. credibility and the freeze's impact on global stability and exposed the government to legal challenges.

The freeze comes amid heightened tensions with Russia, sparking questions about the U.S. commitment to Ukraines defense despite Trumps rhetoric against Russian aggression.

Ukrainian officials downplayed the immediate impact, noting some funding has already been transferred, but critics warn the pause could harm critical initiatives like energy restoration and demining.

The sweeping nature of the directive has created uncertainty, affecting not only Ukraine but also key allies like Jordan and Taiwan, while leaving USAID reconstruction programs in limbo.

Newly-confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a 90-day freeze on most foreign aid grants, including all military assistance meant for Ukraine.

The directive, which took effect immediately, requires staff to issue "stop-work orders" on nearly all existing foreign assistance awards, according to a document obtained by Politico. While exceptions are made for Israel, Egypt and emergency food aid, the broad scope of the guidance has left officials scrambling to interpret its implications and raised alarms about its impact on key allies and global stability.

The announcement comes just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for a 90-day review of foreign aid programs. However, Rubios directive goes further, explicitly halting disbursements for already approved programs, including aid programs earmarked for Ukraine.

The move has sparked concerns among current and former officials, who fear it could undermine U.S. credibility and expose the government to legal challenges over unfulfilled contracts.

"State just totally went nuclear on foreign assistance," one official told Politico.

The decision to halt aid to Ukraine, a country that has received already received hundreds of billions of dollars in support from the United States alone, is particularly contention.

Many American officials view Ukraine as a critical partner in countering so-called Russian aggression, and the pause comes at a pivotal moment in the nearly three-year conflict.

Trump has recently intensified his rhetoric against Russia, threatening sanctions if Moscow does not end its conflict. However, his administrations actions have raised questions about its commitment to Ukraines defense.

"Putin bears responsibility for ending the war," Trump said recently, signaling a focus on diplomacy over military aid.

The guidance, reviewed and cleared by senior State Department officials, including counselor Michael Needham and policy planning director Michael Anton, has left many within the department reeling. While the document allows for exceptions and states that decisions must remain "consistent with the terms of the relevant award," its sweeping nature has created uncertainty. Officials believe the halt will affect not only Ukraine but also other key allies, including Jordan and Taiwan. (Related: Trump suspends U.S. foreign aid, citing national priorities and economic concerns.)

Ukraine claims most military aid has already made its way to Ukraine

Ukrainian officials have sought to downplay the immediate impact of the freeze, noting that some funding, including $50 billion under the Biden administrations ERA (Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration) initiative, has already been transferred to the World Bank.

"In terms of budget funding, were secured," said Roksolana Pidlasa, chair of the Verkhovna Rada's (Ukrainian parliament) budget committee.

Critics of the foreign aid pause argue that it could harm vital initiatives, including USAID-funded programs in Ukraine, such as energy facility restoration and demining efforts.

However, USAID reconstruction programs remain in limbo, leaving Ukraines recovery efforts uncertain. Maksym Samoiliuk, a monetary and fiscal policy expert at the Centre for Economic Strategy, warned that the pause could harm initiatives critical to Ukraines stability, including support for civil society and independent journalists.

Watch this report from DW discussing what military aid has already been pledged for Ukraine.

This video is from the Treasure Of The Sun channel on Brighteon.com.

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Homeless crisis in America GETTING WORSE as government continues to spend hundreds of billions on foreign aid.

Biden administration racing to distribute another $1.25 billion in military aid to Ukraine before term ends.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

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NewRepublic.com

Politico.eu

Brighteon.com
Trump fires 17 inspectors general in sweeping government overhaul

President Trump fired 17 inspectors general across federal agencies, sparking claims of violating federal law and backlash from critics.

Critics argue the firings undermine independent oversight, while Trump claims they are necessary to improve efficiency and accountability.

The dismissals appear to violate the Inspector General Act of 1978, which requires 30 days' notice to Congress.

Democratic lawmakers condemned the move, calling it a "purge," while Trump allies defended it as a needed overhaul of a flawed system.

The firings are part of Trump's broader effort to reshape the federal bureaucracy.

As part of his bid to streamline government operations, President Donald Trump fired at least 17 inspectors general (IGs) across multiple federal agencies late Friday, sparking immediate backlash from critics who claim the dismissals violate federal law. The terminations, carried out via email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, targeted IGs at agencies including the Departments of State, Defense, Transportation, and Energy. While critics decry the move as a "purge" of independent oversight, Trump and his allies argue the shakeup is necessary to eliminate inefficiency and ensure accountability to the American people.

The role of inspectors general and the controversy

Inspectors general are independent watchdogs tasked with auditing, investigating, and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse within federal agencies. Established in the 1970s in response to government scandals, IGs are designed to operate independently of political influence, often serving across multiple administrations. However, Trump has long criticized the system, calling many IGs "very political" and ineffective.

The firings, which occurred without prior notice to Congress, appear to violate the Inspector General Act of 1978, which requires the president to provide Congress with 30 days' notice and a detailed explanation for any IG dismissal. Hannibal Ware, the inspector general for the Small Business Administration, argued in a letter to the White House that the terminations were "not legally sufficient."

Despite the controversy, Trump defended the move, telling reporters aboard Air Force One, "Some people thought that some were unfair, or some were not doing the job." He added, "We'll put people in there that will be very good."

The dismissals drew swift condemnation from Democratic lawmakers. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the firings a "chilling purge" and accused Trump of violating federal law. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) took to social media, labeling the move a "purge of independent watchdogs in the middle of the night" and warning it was "paving the way for widespread corruption."

On the other hand, Trump allies have rallied to his defense. Sidney Powell, a former Trump attorney, argued that the existing IG system is "virtually worthless" and in need of a complete overhaul. "They may bring a few minor things to light but accomplish next to nothing," Powell wrote on X. "The whole system needs to be revamped!! They are toothless and protect the institution instead of the citizens."

A broader effort to reshape government

The firings are part of Trump's broader effort to reshape the federal bureaucracy, which has included scrapping diversity programs, rescinding job offers, and sidelining more than 150 national security and foreign policy officials. Trump has made no secret of his desire to replace officials he views as obstacles to his agenda with loyalists who will execute his policies without hesitation.

While some IGs were dismissed, others, such as Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, were spared. Horowitz, who led the investigation into the FBI's handling of the Russia collusion probe, has been praised for his impartiality and effectiveness.

President Trump's decision to fire multiple inspectors general has ignited a fierce debate over the balance between executive authority and independent oversight. While critics argue the move undermines accountability, Trump and his supporters contend it is a necessary step to eliminate inefficiency and ensure the government works for the people. As the administration moves forward with its agenda, the battle over the role of inspectors general is likely to continue, with potential legal challenges and congressional scrutiny on the horizon.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

FoxNews.com

NYPost.com
Trump preparing to DEPORT 1.5 million illegal immigrants paroled and let into the country by Biden

President Donald Trump authorized DHS and ICE to review the cases of 1.5 million migrants who entered the U.S. under Biden-era parole programs, signaling a major shift in immigration policy.

Biden's programs, including TPS, the CBP One app and CHNV parole flights, allowed migrants temporary legal entry, but critics argue they lacked proper vetting and accountability.

Trump swiftly reversed these policies, shutting down the CBP One app, halting CHNV flights and authorizing rapid removals of migrants who fail to meet asylum or legal standards.

ICE has arrested 1,300 illegal immigrants, many with serious criminal records, while expanding efforts to deputize local law enforcement to assist in immigration enforcement.

The policy has faced strong opposition from Democrats and advocacy groups, who argue it risks targeting non-criminals, disrupting families and leaving migrants stranded.

President Donald Trump has authorized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to review the cases of approximately 1.5 million illegal immigrants who entered the United States under parole programs initiated by the administration of former President Joe Biden.

This sweeping action marks a significant shift in U.S. immigration policy, as the Trump administration seeks to restore order at the southern border and enforce long-neglected immigration laws.

Under Biden, these individuals were granted temporary legal status through programs such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS), the CBP One app and the CHNV (Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela) parole flights.

These initiatives allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the U.S. legally, ostensibly to reduce illegal border crossings. However, critics argue that these programs were exploited, enabling mass migration without proper vetting or accountability. (Related: ICE begins NATIONWIDE raids targeting criminal illegal immigrants.)

Trump wasted no time in reversing these policies. On his first day back in office, he shut down the CBP One app, which allowed migrants to schedule appointments at legal border crossings and halted the CHNV flights that brought migrants directly into the U.S. from their home countries. Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman also signed a memo this week authorizing the rapid removal of recently arrived illegal immigrants who fail to meet initial standards or claim asylum.

ICE already arrested thousands of illegals

This memo is part of a broader strategy to secure the southern border, increase deportations and expedite the removal process. The Trump administration has made it clear that it will not tolerate the lax immigration policies of the previous administration, which they argue have led to chaos and danger in American communities.

ICE has already arrested 1,300 illegal immigrants across the country, many of whom were wanted for serious crimes, including murder and the sexual abuse of children.

The administration is now leveraging an obscure immigration statute to deputize state and local law enforcement agencies, empowering them to assist in the arrest and detention of illegal immigrants.

However, the move has sparked fierce opposition from Democrats and immigrant advocacy groups. Critics argue that the policy could target non-criminals, disrupt businesses and tear families apart. Immigrant rights organizations, such as Make the Road New York, have already filed lawsuits to block the expansion of fast-track deportations.

The Biden-era parole programs allowed 1.5 million migrants to enter the U.S. between 2022 and 2024. One program permitted migrants in Mexico to schedule asylum appointments at legal border crossings, while another allowed Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to enter by air if they had U.S. sponsors and underwent vetting. Trumps decision to end these programs has left many migrants stranded in Mexico, unsure of their next steps.

The administration's new guidance allows ICE officers to consider stripping temporary legal status from migrants who entered through these programs, even if they have not yet reached the end of their parole period. This could affect not only those from Latin America but also Afghan and Ukrainian refugees who were brought to the U.S. under separate initiatives.

Watch this video discussing the beginning of Trump's mass deportation program.

This video is from the Sanivan channel on Brighteon.com.

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Trump announces 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, effective February 1.

Trump Administration shutters the CBP One app, designed to streamline migrant invasion.

Sources include:

TheNationalPulse.com

Reuters.com

NYTimes.com

Brighteon.com
Trump team wiping out DEI hires, tackling corporate corruption, and ending positions that focus on so-called misinformation

President Donald Trump has initiated a rapid transformation of the federal government , sidelining or removing hundreds of employees, shuttering diversity offices, and reclassifying job protections to enable mass firings. The actions, executed within days of his inauguration, have sent shockwaves through the federal workforce, leaving many employees anxious about their futures and the direction of their agencies.

The Republican president, who campaigned on a promise to dismantle what he calls the deep state and restore common sense governance, has targeted Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across the agencies, including in the National Security Council (NSC), the Department of Justice, and the Coast Guard. Offices dedicated to DEI programs have been permanently closed, and executive orders have overturned Biden-era policies, leaving many officials uncertain about their roles.

Trumps transition team has framed these changes as necessary reforms to eliminate what they describe as radical social engineering programs. The government under Biden weaponized federal agencies for political ends, setting up misinformation and disinformation targets that censored Americans and chilled Free Speech.

Additionally, Trumps appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) signals a shift toward scrutinizing Big Pharma influence and addressing public health concerns, such as toxic pollutants, food chemicals, and harmful vaccines.

Key Developments:

 Mass staff removals: Over 160 National Security Council staffers were sent home, and 20 senior Justice Department attorneys were reassigned.

 DEI office closures: Federal diversity offices have been shuttered, with staff placed on paid leave.

 Executive orders: Trump signed orders reclassifying federal workers, making it easier to fire hundreds of thousands of employees.

 Hiring freeze: Nearly all federal hiring has been halted, except for military, immigration enforcement, and public safety roles.

 Legal challenges: Unions have filed lawsuits to block the reclassification of federal workers, arguing it undermines civil service protections.

A swift and coordinated effort to destroy DEI programs

Trumps actions have been characterized by their speed and coordination, catching many federal employees off guard. A lot of people did not expect him to act with such a broad stroke, said Don Quinn, an employment lawyer representing federal workers. Theres definitely a sense of disbelief. People are concerned about their livelihoods and their families.

At the NSC, staffers were informed via a brief call to turn in their devices and badges. It came as a surprise and a shock to people, said a former NSC official. The move is widely seen as part of Trumps broader effort to purge agencies of individuals he perceives as disloyal or part of the so-called deep state.

The closure of DEI offices has been particularly contentious. Admiral Linda Lee Fagan, the first female leader of the Coast Guard, was reportedly removed for her focus on diversity initiatives. A Department of Homeland Security official stated that her priorities were deemed excessive.

Reclassifying federal workers

One of the most significant changes is Trumps executive order reclassifying federal employees as Schedule Policy/Career, stripping them of traditional civil service protections. This move could affect hundreds of thousands of workers, as nearly all federal employees touch policy in some capacity.

By deeming anyone involved in policy as part of this new category, the pool of people that could potentially be fired expands enormously, said Don Moynihan, a professor at the University of Michigans Ford School of Public Policy.

The National Treasury Employees Union has filed a lawsuit to block the order, arguing that it wrongly applies rules for political appointees to career staff. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, expressed concern: The members Ive heard from are anxious and uncertain about what the future holds for their employment and for their families.

Federal employees who have used their offices and titles to censor and wage warfare against innocent Americans should be scared to lose their positions. Federal workers who have enjoyed the benefits of using their power to their advantage must be FIRED.

Sources include:

Reuters.com

Reuters.com

Enoch, Brighteon.ai
Trumps tough stance convinces Colombia to accept deportees, averts trade war

President Trump pressured Colombia into accepting deported citizens through threats of tariffs and visa sanctions.

Colombia initially resisted but reversed its stance after Trump imposed a 25% tariff and threatened further economic measures.

The White House praised the outcome, emphasizing Trumps commitment to U.S. sovereignty and immigration enforcement.

The standoff serves as a warning to other nations, highlighting the economic consequences of defying U.S. demands on immigration.

Trumps actions contrast with Bidens policies, showcasing his resolve to restore order and enforce immigration laws.

In a dramatic showdown that lasted less than 10 hours, President Donald Trump successfully pressured Colombia into accepting its citizens being deported from the United States, averting a potential trade war. The swift resolution came after Trump issued a series of hardline threats, including imposing steep tariffs and visa sanctions, to convince Colombia to comply. The incident underscores Trumps unwavering commitment to enforcing U.S. immigration policies and serves as a strong warning to other nations that refuse to cooperate with America's efforts to improve national security after Biden administration policies facilitated the flow of criminals across the border.

The conflict began on Sunday when Colombia initially blocked two U.S. military flights carrying deportees from landing on its soil. Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused the U.S. of treating migrants like criminals and vowed to resist what he called degrading conditions. However, Trump responded swiftly, announcing a 25% tariff on all Colombian imports, threatening to raise it to 50% within a week, and imposing visa bans on Colombian officials.

A swift capitulation

Faced with the prospect of economic devastation, Colombia quickly reversed course. By Sunday evening, the White House announced that Colombia had agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of deportees on U.S. military aircraft. In a televised statement, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo confirmed the agreement, adding that the countrys presidential plane would assist in repatriating its citizens.

The White House praised the outcome, stating, Todays events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nations sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States.

A warning to other nations

The standoff highlights the challenges other countries may face as Trump ramps up his immigration crackdown. Colombia, a major non-NATO ally and one of the U.S.s closest partners in South America, was forced to back down after realizing the economic consequences of defying Trumps demands. The U.S. is Colombias largest trading partner, with bilateral trade totaling $33.8 billion in 2023. A 25% tariff on Colombian goods would have devastated key industries, including coffee exports, which support more than 500,000 families.

Trumps decisive action sends a clear message to other nations: the U.S. will not tolerate defiance on immigration. The president has already threatened similar measures against Mexico and Canada if they fail to address illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Cleaning up Bidens mess

This incident also underscores the contrast between Trumps leadership and the chaos of the Biden administration. Under Biden, illegal immigration surged to record levels, with millions of migrants crossing the southern border unchecked. Trumps swift and decisive action demonstrates his commitment to restoring order and enforcing the rule of law.

As the world watches, other nations would do well to take note of Colombias experience. Trumps willingness to wield economic and diplomatic tools to achieve his goals shows that the U.S. is once again a force to be reckoned with. For those who doubted his resolve, this episode serves as a powerful reminder: when it comes to protecting American sovereignty, Trump means business.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

CNN.com

Reuters.com

FoxNews.com
Why do some vaccine-injured people wake up  but others dont?

As Covid vaccine injuries started mounting up, and the topic became somewhat less taboo in the media - albeit always accompanied by boilerplate text about how the benefits outweigh the risks - some of us expressed hope that injured people would wake up to the risks of the shots, creating a wave of awareness and action.

(Article republished from News.RebekahBarnett.com.au)

Some vaccine-injured people recognised what happened to them, accepted it, and joined the campaign for better research and vaccine safety. Yet, this has not uniformly been the case. A good many others remain in the dark, despite dealing with sudden and ongoing mystery illnesses.

These people grope for answers, pinning their symptoms on catch-all explanations like stress or long Covid (a more politically favourable diagnosis than post-vaccine syndrome), or awkwardly straddling the cognitive dissonance arising from the clash between medically recognised post-vaccine side effects, and deeply held faith in the Saviour Vaccines.

Why do some vaccine-injured people accept what happened to them, but others dont? Brendan and Michelles stories offer insight.

Brendan Foster, post-vaccine myo- and pericarditis. Status: deep denial.

In an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald this week, we meet Brendan Foster, a communications professional and former journalist from Fremantle. Brendan had a heart attack after his Covid vaccine and has been going downhill ever since. His anecdotal story is equal parts description of his injuries and social signaling that he belongs to the correct tribe.

From, I kept getting sicker. But you wont catch me reaching for a tin foil hat:

I had a suspected mild heart attack just over two years ago. Probably just a reaction to the COVID vaccine, a series of medicos cheerfully informed me, as some nurse grimaced while shaving away swathes of my matted chest hair to attach stickers for an ECG.

Brendan had no prior health conditions. After several days in hospital, a cardiologist tells him he has myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle.

The medical condition was of unknown origin, but it mightve been triggered by a recent COVID jab. Whatever caused that coronary blip, I had no regrets about getting vaccinated. I havent wavered. There have been no urges since to look up flat earth theory.

Despite the possibility of permanent heart damage, Brendan would do it all again. Regretting getting a shot that ruined your heart would be like believing the earth is flat. The poor man has since been back to the Emergency Department (ED) five times with heart issues, thinking hes going to die.

After getting zipped and zapped in the hospital, the diagnosis is always the same: pericarditis. Ill spare you the medical mumbo jumbo, but its swelling of the tissue surrounding the heart. Both myocarditis and pericarditis have been linked to the COVID vaccine and the virus itself. For the record, Ive had COVID once and am fully vaccinated.

Now Brendan has myocarditis and pericarditis. You know whats worse than the cardiac risk of Covid or the vaccines? Increasing your risk by having both. If I were the editor I would have insisted that Brendan detail whether the Covid infection was before or after the first heart attack. However, it is unlikely that a series of medicos would have attributed his heart attack to the vaccine if, a) he hadnt just had the vaccine, and b) they could reasonably pin it on a Covid infection instead.

Again, Brendan emphasises that hes definitely not a conspiracy theorist:

To make the bold claim that cardiovascular conditions could be caused by one or more of the potions to prevent the virus isnt some crazed, anti-vax conspiracy theory  as the Albanese government has a website dedicated to exactly that. Maybe both have caused my cardiovascular complaints. However, no one in the medical fraternity can confidently say which one... I was more than OK being one of the walking vaccine injured, convincing myself I was part of that glum utilitarian idiom: the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Brendans hedging - his illness might not really have been caused by the vaccine. But if it was, hed be fine with it, because that would make him a human sacrifice, part of a prehistoric ritual that has recently come back in vogue.

Unfortunately for Brendan, hes getting sicker by the day. He was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called hemolytic anemia, a potentially fatal disorder in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be made. Apparently there is evidence to suggest that both Covid infection and the vaccines can cause hemolytic anemia.

He has terrible brain fog, and also has relentless hiccups which he thinks might be due to the jabs. But:

Just to be abundantly clear: I am pro-vax. I didnt have one nanosecond of doubt about the importance of getting the jab, not only for myself but for my loved ones. History is littered with illogical moments, but folk refusing to get inoculated against COVID would be one of humanitys dumber choices.

I might die, my quality of life is severely degraded, and I suspect it is due to the Covid vaccines. But please do not think I am anti-vax or that I regret my situation. Volunteering as tribute is the only logical thing to do when faced with the unnecessary risk of life-threatening injuries from medical intervention that doesnt prevent infection or transmission.

A megatrillion people would have died:

Without the vaccine, its estimated another 20 million people wouldve died. More than 7 million have already perished because of the virus. There is no denying the COVID-19 vaccine is one of the greatest achievements in medical science that substantially altered the course of the pandemic. But I think we need to acknowledge that its just possible that thousands of us are still battling serious health issues because of the jab. I can assure you that I wear no tin foil hat.

I want to place my hand on Brendans shoulder, look him in the eye and whisper, You got the vaccine. Youre a credible professional. You believe in Science. People respect you. You are not a cooker.

The Australian government has paid more than $32 million in compensation to people who had adverse reactions to COVID vaccines. However, they stopped accepting new claims in September. There have been calls from academics and medical professionals for Australia to develop a permanent vaccine compensation scheme. Given no one seems to understand the long-term impacts of subjecting our bodies to a quick succession of jabs, it might not be a bad idea. But I guess like me, we may never know what is making us sick.

Brendan just spent his entire opinion piece telling us that both he and medical professionals suspect he is badly injured by the Covid vaccine with conditions that are also recognised by the Australian Government.

At the same time, he says he doesnt know what made him sick, and hes desperately afraid that people might think that he is a conspiracy theorist for talking about his injuries.

I posted this story on Instagram and received many comments about how stupid Brendan is. Unlikely. I reckon hes probably quite smart - smart enough to engage in some gymnastic motivated reasoning.

As beautifully explained by Substacker

in an article titled Why Smart People Believe Stupid Things, motivated reasoning is the deployment of ones intellect in service of ones base instincts (e.g.: social belonging) and ideological biases (e.g.: religious adherence to The Science?).

Evidence suggests that intelligent people are more prone to motivated reasoning than those less intelligent, and that this is the case on both sides of the political divide, says Gurwinder. While less intelligent people are more easily misled by others, more intelligent people are more easily misled by themselves.

There are plenty of reasons why someone like Brendan might be so motivated to build a fortress of denial. Fear of being out-grouped. Attempting to resolve the cognitive dissonance that clangs through his opinion piece, and presumably his head on a daily basis. Avoidance of painful feelings (like betrayal and grief). And, lack of courage to examine his own beliefs and change them if needs be. There are potentially others.

This is the kind of person who gets a glimpse of the Matrix and chooses to stay plugged in anyway, even though he cant shake the feeling that things arent adding up.

Michelle Hunder, post-vaccine pericarditis. Status: Acceptance.

I understand that mindset because I used to be him. I read it and I go, I get it, Michelle Hunder told me over the phone.

But Michelle, a successful Melbourne-based music photographer, had a very different response to her Covid vaccine injury.

Michelle got her Pfizer shots at the height of Melbournes world-famous lockdowns, in September 2021. It was a starkly different life from her day-to-day before the pandemic, travelling the globe with music artists. Getting vaccinated, we were told, was the only way to go back to normal.

I would have done anything to get my life back, she explains. Everything Id been working towards for 15 years I hit in 2019. Its not a job. This is everything to me. The thing that feeds my soul. I love what I do so much.

Michelles cardiac symptoms started with the first shot and escalated after the second. Unlike Brendan, the vaccine link wasnt recognised at first by the medical professionals she went to for help. Michelle presented at ED five times with severe chest pain, but was told she had anxiety and to seek therapy.

However, I knew straight away from the first night that I ever presented to hospital that something was very wrong, and it was related to the vaccine, which I had had four days before, says Michelle, adding that she has never tested positive for Covid to this day.

It turns out, Michelle was right. In 2022, she was finally diagnosed by a cardiologist with pericarditis caused by her Pfizer Covid vaccinations.

How did Michelle call it correctly so early in spite of medical gaslighting, while Brendan is still tying himself in knots despite acknowledgment from medicos, scientific papers, and the Australian Government that there is a high probability that his conditions are vaccine-related?

Michelle reckons curiosity, education, and readiness have a lot to do with it.

I have a very curious mind. I was always extremely left-leaning until probably 2017, 2018, she says. I just started to listen to alternative views, and I found it really, really great for balance. And I really started questioning a lot of stuff that my friends and a lot of people had thought as gospel, just to open up my own worldview.

Incidentally, research shows that curiosity is the strongest countermeasure against ideological bias.

Due to being weirdly obsessed with evolutionary biology, one of the people Michelle tuned into before the pandemic was Bret Weinstein, an evolutionary biologist with a deep knowledge of bat viruses. Weinstein happened to become one of the most famous skeptics of the Covid wet market origin theory because of his uncannily specific expertise.

As Michelle had already followed Weinstein for some time, she trusted his ability to parse scientific information. So when Weinstein started questioning elements of the Covid dogma, including vaccine safety, Michelles curious mind tugged on those threads, and she sought more information.

None of this convinced Michelle not to get the shots - her desire to get her dream life back was by far the greater motivator. But when she was injured, there was already enough mental scaffolding in place for her to be open to assessing the facts of her situation on their merits. She was ready.

It wasnt easy, though.

I see what happened to me as such a destabilising event, because it literally flipped everything that I had believed for 40+ years on its head, Michelle recalls.

Not only was Michelle very pro-vax, having taken every shot shed ever been offered in her life, but she says I just had never had any reason to distrust the government, which sounds crazy to a lot of people, I'm sure.

It's like an entire worldview. Until something really shakes you to your core, it's really hard to see the other side.

Michelle says it was socially and emotionally challenging to speak up about her vaccine injury, but as a music industry professional with a profile, she felt a responsibility.

I felt like I'm not one of those people that if you see, you're gonna think, oh, they're a kooky f*cking anti-vaxxer, she says. I'm like, no, look at me, I'm one of you. You lefties, I was pro-vax, I was one of you, I was compliant, I'm in the music industry, I'm in the arts industry and this happened to me.

Online, Michelle was attacked from both sides. Pro-vaxxers called her an anti-vaxxer - an argument that she says is intellectually dishonest.

The truth is I went and lined up and got two vaccines. I got a second one even after I was injured. So how the f*ck do you call me an anti-vaxxer?

But vaccine skeptics also came at her. Some people called us sheep, or said it was our fault for what happened because, you know, people were trying to warn us. But like, you're just being bombarded with, This is safe. This is fine. You're gonna be fine.

Its understandable that being ostracised from all angles would be an experience people like Brendan might want to avoid. Michelle doesnt give herself credit for this, but I will - it requires a degree of courage to take that risk.

Going through this experience has been a growth opportunity for Michelle in this regard.

I have so much admiration for people that were able to stand their ground and go, [Covid vaccination] doesn't feel right for me, she says. Like, that's strength of character. I think I am that person now, but I wasn't that person then.

Most of all, Michelle says that what got her through was the unconditional love and support of her husband, and close friends who were able to listen to her experience without judgment - even if it didnt align with their own beliefs.

Faced with a dead end from the medical establishment in terms of treating her symptoms, Michelle sought help from a naturopath and began to heal. Three and a half years on, she says shes pretty much fully recovered.

During that time she has done a tonne of media interviews and continues to raise awareness about the difficulties that Covid vaccine-injured Australians face in seeking diagnosis, treatment, recognition, and compensation.

Creating the conditions for vaccine-injured people to wake up

Contrary to the simplistic adage that the vaccine rollout was just an IQ test, the reasons people got the shots were complex and multi-layered. So are the reasons for some injured people resisting the awful realisation that they were collateral damage in the rollout.

As someone whos been through the process and come out the other side, Michelle says its important for injured people to be heard, understood, and recognised.

Pejorative labels like anti-vaxxer and sheep trigger immediate shutdown of a conversation. What injured people need when they come forward is empathy and understanding, not abuse.

Media reporting still undermines the lived experience of the vaccine-injured, with excessive emphasis on the rarity of their conditions, and editorial choices like putting vaccine-injured in quote marks. You're like, what? I literally have a piece of paper that says that I've got pericarditis [from the vaccine], says Michelle.

There also needs to be large-scale government acknowledgment of us because that's the thing that has not happened, that's what we have not had, she says.

The need for acknowledgment from the officials who promised that the vaccines were safe and mandated them on the public is a common theme expressed in testimonials like those found on Jab Injuries Australia, or featured on last years 7NEWS Spotlight TV special.

The lack of acknowledgment is actually retraumatising over and over, and the lack of compensation is another retraumatising event, says Michelle.

Although theres no question that Michelles pericarditis was caused by the vaccine, she was not able to qualify for the federal compensation scheme because she did not spend a night in hospital. Ironically, she went to hospital multiple times, but was turned away by dismissive medical professionals.

The compensation scheme closed in September last year, having paid out only $38.6 million (AUD) for 418 approved claims of 4,941 received. At the time, there were 1,057 claims still being processed - the remainder had been rejected or withdrawn.

Michelle has now joined a Covid vaccine injury class action, along with more than 2,000 other Australians.

I want there to be some type of historical record about what happened to us, she says. That's the only thing that's important to me now. It's the principle, you know?

Its possible that official acknowledgment on this scale could even give people like Brendan the cover they need to finally accept what happened to them, too.

Read more at: News.RebekahBarnett.com.au
Revolutionary heritage in cradle of the Chinese revolution continues to tell the CPC story

People's Daily Online) 10:56, January 27, 2025

Yan'an, an iconic revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the cradle of the Chinese revolution, continues to draw visitors from across China and around the world.

Photo shows the scenery of rice fields in Nanniwan township, Baota district, Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Jia Kailu)

The CPC Central Committee was based in Yan'an, located in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, for 13 years from 1935 to 1948, leaving behind invaluable revolutionary heritage and a profound legacythe Yan'an Spirit, which still empowers and inspires people today.

Hou Xiuzhen, an 80-year-old woman from Nanniwan township, Baota district, Yan'an, has been practicing and promoting the Yan'an Spirit for decades.

She was deeply influenced by her late father-in-law Liu Baozhi.

Hou Xiuzhen, an 80-year-old resident of Nanniwan township, Baota district, Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, rises from her wheelchair after an interview. (People's Daily Online/Jia Kailu)

Back in the 1940s, Liu, then a deputy company commander in the Chinese Eighth Route Army, worked with his comrades in a large-scale production campaign, transforming Nanniwan from a desolate place with a harsh environment into a productive oasis.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu declined a job offer in the city's downtown area, and chose to stay in Nanniwan. He continued to work the land and share the stories of Nanniwan and the CPC until his death in 1984.

Hou, who served as village leader and official of the township government, spearheaded efforts to improve the area's infrastructure and environment.

Photo shows a performance of a revolution-themed stage play titled "Yan'an, Yan'an". (People's Daily Online/Jia Kailu)

Under her leadership, a primary school was built in Nanniwan in 1982, saving local children from the difficulty of wading across a river and walking 2.5 kilometers to attend school.

In the late 1990s, she led villagers in reforesting barren hills, greatly improving the ecological environment.

Today, Hou shares the stories of Nanniwan and the CPC with visitors eager to learn about the glorious course and history of the CPC.

"As long as I can move, I will continue telling the stories to more people," she said.

In addition to narratives from local residents like Hou, who have witnessed and personally experienced the tremendous changes in former revolutionary areas, revolution-themed stage plays combining the local revolutionary culture and modern technology have also helped bring visitors closer to the memorable and extraordinary years of the CPC.

Photo shows a beautiful view of Baota Mountain in Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Deng Nan)

One such play, "Yan'an, Yan'an", has been staged around 2,600 times since its debut in 2016. The live show, which dramatizes the 13 years of the CPC's revolutionary journey in Yan'an, touches audiences deeply with its portrayal of the revolutionary forefathers' perseverance and dedication.

Well-preserved revolutionary sites across the city are also popular attractions among visitors.

In early summer 2024, international students and visitors from countries such as Angola, Cuba, Vietnam, and Portugal retraced the footsteps of American journalist Edgar Snow, who wrote the book "Red Star Over China", shedding light on China's brightness and hope to the world through a rare and detailed account of the Chinese revolution 89 years ago.

As they visited the Bao'an Revolutionary Site in Zhidan county, Yan'an, they were struck by the simplicity of the conditions in the caverns where Mao Zedong and other top CPC officials lived.

"The conditions were difficult at that time, and there were no chairs to sit on, so they used tree stumps as substitutes," Cao Tingting, a docent, said emotionally in the cavern where Mao lived.

Photo shows Bao'an Revolutionary Site in Zhidan county, Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Deng Nan)

"It was in this very cave dwelling that Chairman Mao, sitting on a wooden stump, met Edgar Snow, the first American journalist to enter the revolutionary base area in northern Shaanxi for an interview," she added.

"Relying on one's own strength to solve problems and create a happy lifeI think this is the essence of the 'hard work' in the Yan'an Spirit," said Pascoal Calunga from Angola. "As a foreigner in China, the happy China I see today is the result of the efforts of the revolutionaries. I hope this history will be seen by more people."

Photo shows cave dwellings carved into the mountainside in an old revolutionary site in Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Lu Yang)

Yasef Calderon, from Cuba, mentioned that he would tell his friends that when visiting China, they should not only go to cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but also visit Yan'an to see the old revolutionary sites.

"They should understand how China gradually became a great country from that time onward," he noted.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
Platypus expert Joshua Griffiths analyses five dead platypuses found drowned inside two Opera House Nets used to trap yabbies in Labertouche Creek, Victoria. Source: Doug Gimesy

There are few things more Aussie than hauling in a feed of yabbies. But sadly one of the most common methods to catch the small crustaceans was having a devastating impact on one of their natural predators, the platypus.

The problem with Opera House nets is that they're fully enclosed and don't provide a route for escape, with this poor design made them a leading killer of native air-breathing mammals. Platypus would routinely spot trapped yabbies and be lured inside the traps tiny opening, then slowly drown.

I think drowning would be a horrible way to die, award-winning wildlife photographer Doug Gimesy told Yahoo News.

State's response to killer nets dubbed 'outrageous'

Gimesy was a key advocate in securing an Opera House net ban in his home state of Victoria in 2019, resulting in a tenfold reduction in platypus deaths from their use over the next five years. While NSW, ACT, Tasmania and South Australia followed suit and outlawed the traps, theres one other state where platypus live that still permits their use.

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Queenslands fishing department released a discussion paper in 2024 that explored phasing out the use of Opera House traps, but the state government is yet to act on it. Fisheries Queensland, which sits under the Department of Primary Industries, told Yahoo it has prepared a consultation report based on the stakeholder feedback. [It] will be considered by the Government in due course, a spokesperson said.

Related: 'Extraordinary' white platypus filmed basking in Aussie creek

But as more than five years have passed since Victoria took action on the killer nets, Gimesy thinks Queensland regulators have had ample time to review the evidence, and its time to make a decision.

These animals evolved over 60 million years, as one of only two types of egg-laying mammals, and they need to be protected. Queensland is not doing one simple thing to protect them and that's really disappointing. In fact, it's morally outrageous, he said.

I dont think theres any doubt now that banning Opera House nets will help reduce drownings.

Opera House nets have been banned in three states due to their impact on platypus (right) and other wildlife. Source: Supplied

Sad photograph leads to massive change for platypus

It's hard to know exactly how many platypus die inside Opera House nets because most people who accidentally kill them dont report it. A new study published by the CSIRO found evidence of close to 30 dying in the five years leading to the ban, but Gimesy believes the real figure could have been in the hundreds.

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Given the very high number of platypus mortalities attributed to the use of fish nets or enclosed crustacean traps, their use should be banned in all waters where platypus populations are known to occur, the report recommended.

Gimesy helped form the Victorian Alliance for Platypus Safe Yabby Traps with platypus expert Joshua Griffiths and Dr Tiana Preston, a former Melbourne Water planner who now heads up environmental consultancy firm Ecology Australia.

It was created in 2017 after Gimesy witnessed the impact of Opera House nets firsthand while documenting the work of Griffiths. His heartbreaking photograph shows the man looking at the bodies of five platypus found dead inside two of the traps at Labertruche Creek, east of Melbourne.

I was flabbergasted, upset and angry at such an awful occurrence happening when there was such a simple solution, he said.

Are platypus facing extinction?

In Victoria, the platypus was listed as vulnerable to extinction in 2020, after Gimesy nominated it as a threatened species. In Queensland, scientists have collected evidence indicating numbers have plummeted, but its official status remains as least concern.

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Australias wildlife is rapidly vanishing. Koalas were once considered abundant across much of eastern Australia, and now populations are endangered in NSW, Queensland and the ACT.

Platypus have been much harder to track because they live in rivers, but with the development of eDNA testing  a process that allows scientists to identify genetic material in water  they are increasing their ability to understand where populations remain. What they are increasingly finding is that platypus are dying off due to the impact of habitat destruction and degradation, predation by invasive species, and fishing gear entanglement and trapping.

If platypus are to survive into the next century, increased intervention from authorities will be required.

It's wonderful to see a ban have such a positive impact in Victoria. I find it sad that Queensland isnt doing everything it can to protect this iconic animal, Gimesy said.

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In NSW, shark nets deployed to keep people safe. But they also indiscriminately trap and kill marine animals, many of which are not dangerous to humans.

A European expat was shocked to see swimmers had reentered the water at Shelly Beach in Manly after a shark alarm sounded. Source: Supplied/Northern Beaches Council

As support mounts in the country's most populous state to end the controversial use of shark nets, a European expat has captured an image she believes proves that Australians are largely unfazed by the marine predators amid ongoing debate about attack mitigation systems.

Conservationists have long argued that shark nets inflict more harm on smaller marine animals than they actually to do to prevent attacks on people. They argue the nets trap and kill thousands of aquatic species annually  including many endangered kinds of turtles, fish and dolphins  and provide a false sense of security to swimmers.

Leoni Fahrenkrug, a German national currently living and working on Sydney's northern beaches, spent Australia Day at Shelly Beach, adjacent to North Head. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, she explained how merely minutes after a shark alarm sounded  one of many rung at Manly over the long weekend  people flocked back into the water despite the danger.

Leoni joked that Aussies appeared to give "zero f**ks" about the apparent presence of sharks in the area.

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Support among the public in NSW has in recent times increasingly favoured the removal of shark nets from the state's beaches. Online, multiple encounters have emerged showing Aussies return to water soon after shark alarms ring.

A British expat posting online earlier this month shared her confusion and shock at the fact Sydney swimmers, just half an hour after a shark alarm sounded, returned to the water.

Shark nets are used at a total of 51 beaches along the NSW coast from Newcastle to Wollongong. Source: NCA Newswire

NSW councils withdraw support for shark nets

On January 14, Newcastle City Council withdrew support for shark nets at its six local beaches, joining six other NSW councils  Wollongong, Sutherland, Waverley, Northern Beaches, Central Coast, and Lake Macquarie  in rejecting their use.

The council said it is deferring the final decision to the state government while backing modern alternatives including drones, listening stations, and SMART drumlines. It's now just Randwick that has yet to decide, with a vote scheduled for late February.

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Lawrence Chlebeck, marine biologist with Humane Society International (HSI) Australia, has long campaigned for shark nets to be prohibited in the state.

He spoke to Yahoo News Australia and explained why the movement is finally picking up steam, and what's next from here.

Turtles are also often victims of shark nets. Photo: Instagram/TheSharkNetFilm

"We are hopeful that the results of these consultations, and the wealth of data showing just how much more effective new technologies are, rings the death knell  this time not for wildlife, but for the shark nets," Chlebeck previously told Yahoo News Australia.

The results of these council consultations will now go back to the state government. "Weve heard that all options are on the table. The NSW government delayed a decision on the shark nets at the beginning of last season, citing the need for more data and community consultation," he explained.

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"Now theyve got it, and the communities have spoken. Time to take the next step and enact a plan to end the use of shark nets in NSW."

Why are shark nets so controversial?

Shark nets, while intended to enhance beach safety, are highly controversial due to their significant environmental impacts.

In NSW, the shark meshing program covers 51 beaches from Newcastle to Wollongong during the swimming season.

Data from the NSW Department of Primary Industries revealed that between 1950 and 2020, over 21,000 marine animals were caught in shark nets, with nearly half being non-target species.

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This includes dolphins, turtles, rays, and even critically endangered species like the grey nurse shark. In the 2021-2022 season alone, 376 marine animals were entangled in NSW shark nets, with 62 per cent of them dying as a result.

Modern alternatives such as drone surveillance, SMART drumlines, and shark-detecting buoys are being trialed across NSW beaches, offering non-lethal solutions to shark management.

Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment?  Get our new newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories.
Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) harboring BRAF V600E mutations benefitted from first-line treatment with the targeted therapies encorafenib and cetuximab plus a mFOLFOX6 chemotherapy regimen, according to results from the Phase III BREAKWATER trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The findings, presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers (ASCO GI) Annual Symposium and published in Nature Medicine, demonstrated a 60.9% overall response rate (ORR) with the three-drug combination compared to 40% with the standard-of-care (SOC) treatment  chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab. In the experimental arm, 68.7% of patients had a duration of response of at least six months, compared to 34.1% of patients in the SOC arm.

Data from this multi-institutional collaboration across 28 countries supported the accelerated approval of this combination by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Dec. 2024, providing an effective new first-line treatment option for patients with BRAF V600E-mutant mCRC.

Chemotherapy has had limited efficacy as a first-line treatment in controlling the aggressive tumor growth we see in patients with this mutation. This new regimen highlights the importance of combining dual-targeted therapy with chemotherapy to improve patient outcomes in the first-line setting, and the durable responses are a significant development as we work to improve quality of life for these patients." Scott Kopetz, M.D., Ph.D., co-principal investigator, professor of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology and associate vice president of Translational Integration at MD Anderson

More than 150,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year, making it the fourth most common cancer in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute. BRAF mutations occur in approximately 8-12% of cases and are associated with aggressive tumor growth, low efficacy from SOC treatments and a poor prognosis, with a median overall survival less than 12 months. Previously, there were no first-line targeted therapies approved for patients with BRAF V600E-mutant mCRC.

The BREAKWATER trial was one of the first studies to utilize the FDA's Project FrontRunner, an initiative to encourage the evaluation of therapies in earlier clinical settings for advanced cancers rather than after patients received numerous previous treatments.

The trial enrolled patients who were at least 16 years of age with previously untreated BRAF V600E-mutant mCRC. Patients were randomized equally to one of three treatment arms: SOC chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab; a dual combination of encorafenib plus cetuximab; or a triple combination of encorafenib, cetuximab and mFOLFOX6.

When researchers analyzed patient subgroups on the trial, the triple combination showed benefits across important groups, including patients with cancer spread to three or more organs and those with liver metastases.

"These results support this combination as a new first-line standard of care for patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer," Kopetz said. "It also highlights the importance of swiftly identifying molecular subtypes of colorectal cancer at diagnosis to optimize treatment strategies for our patients."

The safety profile of this combination was consistent with the known safety profile of each respective drug. No new safety signals were identified. The most common adverse reactions included nausea, rash, fatigue, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea and decreased appetite, all of which were reported in at least 25% of patients and were similar between arms.

Final calculations of progression-free survival and overall survival will be formally assessed in the next phase of the trial. Future analyses of this trial may shed light on predictive biomarkers for this combination therapy.

The study was sponsored by Pfizer Inc., and Kopetz disclosed consulting for Pfizer and receiving research funding from the company.
A comprehensive review challenges the perception of cannabis as harmless, linking it to severe heart health issues.

Study: The relationship between cannabis and cardiovascular disease: clearing the haze. Image Credit: Nicole Piepgras/Shutterstock.com

Against the global backdrop of escalating cannabis use, a recent review published in Nature Reviews Cardiology reviews current knowledge on the effects of cannabis consumption on the human cardiovascular system.

They study the different types of cannabisboth traditional/organic and syntheticalong with the receptors they interact with, their mechanisms of action, and their links to cardiovascular risk factors, including cardiomyopathies, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and arrhythmias.

Their findings reveal that contrary to the public perception, mounting epidemiological evidence emphasizes that cannabis is not harmless, linking the drug to severe cardiovascular complications. These findings are critical to informing users, citizens, and policymakers of the potential harms of cannabis use in today's increasingly cannabis-tolerant world.

Background

Cannabis is a generic term to describe chemically non-uniform drugs derived from the Cannabis sativa plant. Colloquially termed 'weed,' 'marijuana,' 'ganja,' and 'pot,' cannabis is native to Central and South Asia and has been used for both recreational and medicinal purposes for thousands of years.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that currently, 147 million people (~2.5% of the global population) consume cannabis recreationally via modalities including smoking, vaping, hookah, and edibles.

Despite its global use being substantially arrested via government prohibition, the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988) triggered a policy reversal, resulting in escalating and ongoing legalization and decriminalization of the drug's use.

Currently, public perception supports cannabis use, deriving from the belief that cannabis and its numerous components (cannabinoids) are medically safe.

Unfortunately, a mounting body of epidemiological evidence challenges this notion, highlighting several medical risk factors associated with cannabis.

About the review

The present review traces the evolution of global cannabis regulation and use, highlighting how recent policy changes, decriminalization, and legalization have substantially increased cannabis accessibility and consumption.

It elucidates key cannabinoids and their interactions with the endocannabinoid system and cannabinoid receptors.

It emphasizes the limitations of historical research and their role in shaping current public perception of cannabis safety, using recent epidemiological evidence to highlight that cannabis and its derivatives can severely hamper human cardiovascular functioning.

Finally, it distinguishes between traditional/organic cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids, comparing the medical demerits of both to educate public opinion and policymakers.

A brief history of marijuana

Cannabis has been a popular recreational drug in Central and South Asia for thousands of years. The drug was introduced to the West in the 13th and 14th centuries, but global prohibition movements (20th century) made its consumption illegal.

The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988) and the compassionate use of medical cannabis as a painkiller have slowly changed public and government opinion, with more than 40 nations now allowing medical marijuana consumption.

Notably, ten nations (Netherlands, Georgia, Canada, Luxembourg, Mexico, Malta, South Africa, Uruguay, and Thailand) have legalized recreational cannabis consumption, and potentially more countries will follow suit soon.

This has significantly increased cannabis consumption, with the United States alone generating ~US $ 54 billion per year from legal cannabis sales.

Cannabinoids and the human body

Cannabinoids are the active components (n = ~100) of cannabis (~500 compounds), with 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) being the most abundant and best studied.

Cannabinoids elicit psychoactive and therapeutic effects on humans predominantly via their actions on specific G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) called cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB 1 ; brain and vasculature) and CB 2 (immune cells and vasculature).

Under normal conditions, naturally circulating endocannabinoids bind to these receptors, regulating hemodynamic effects (heart rate, blood pressure, vascular tone, and myocardial contractility) and regulating immune cell inflammation.

When consumed, cannabis-derived 'endocannabinoids' bind to these receptors in dose-dependent manners, potentially resulting in pro-inflammatory responses, stress signaling, oxidative stress, fibrogenesis, and cell death.

Furthermore, given the role of the endocannabinoid system in mood, learning, and behavior, recent evidence highlights the role of excessive cannabis consumption in endocannabinoid system dysregulation, resulting in obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, and dyslipidemia.

Several preclinical and clinical trials have revealed the associations between cannabis consumption and subsequent arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, and other cardiovascular diseases.

Synthetic cannabinoids

Traditional cannabinoids comprise CBD, THC, and similar cannabis-derived compounds, consumed and studied for their recreational properties and potential as therapeutics and pharmacologicals.

Research aimed at better understanding medical marijuana resulted in the development of 'synthetic cannabinoids' such as CP 47,494 and JWH-018.

Unfortunately, newer, often illegal, recreationally-aimed versions of synthetics (AB-FUBINACA, MDMB-FUBINACA, and ABM-FUBINACA) have begun infiltrating the market.

Procured under the street/trade names of 'K2' and 'Spice,' these cannabinoids are substantially more potent than their organic counterparts, having been reported to cause respiratory depression, neuropsychiatric trauma, and death.

"To resolve remaining uncertainties and better inform policymakers and the public, the effects of cannabis and natural and synthetic derivatives on the cardiovascular system need to be rigorously investigated."
The Mount Sinai Hospital has performed New York City's first procedure using the HYDROS Robotic System, a cutting-edge technology designed to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or an enlarged prostate. The minimally invasive procedure offers new hope for patients experiencing the symptoms of BPH, including frequent urination, incomplete bladder emptying, and nighttime urgency.

Urologists at the hospital recently performed the health system's first three procedures, with all patients responding well to the treatment and being discharged the following day.

This technology provides a much-needed option for men dealing with the burdens of BPH. What makes HYDROS stand out is how it combines advanced imaging, robotic precision, and a heat-free approach to tissue removal, all while preserving crucial functions like continence and sexual health." Steven A. Kaplan, MD, Director of the Men's Wellness Program, Mount Sinai Health System, and Professor of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

BPH affects more than 50 percent of men over 60 and 80 to 90 percent of men over 70 years of age, making it one of the most prevalent conditions impacting older adults. While noncancerous, the condition can significantly impact quality of life, leading to discomfort, frustration, and lifestyle adjustments for millions of men.

The HYDROS system builds on traditional surgical methods for treating BPH, such as transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and laser treatments, by introducing several notable innovations. It features artificial intelligence (AI)-powered treatment planning through FirstAssist AI, a sophisticated image recognition software that identifies critical anatomical structures using ultrasound. This technology aids in creating personalized treatment plans tailored to each patient's prostate anatomy.

Additionally, the system combines advanced ultrasound imaging with digital cystoscopy, providing surgeons with a detailed, multidimensional view of the prostate. This improved visualization supports greater precision during procedures and enhances surgical planning.

HYDROS also employs a robotic-assisted heat-free waterjet for tissue resection, allowing for effective removal of obstructive tissue while preserving key anatomical structures. This approach reduces the risk of complications, such as incontinence or erectile dysfunction.

Finally, the system is designed to streamline the surgical workflow with features like an integrated tower for setup, an adjustable touchscreen for better ergonomics, and user-friendly software to guide surgeons through each step of the procedure.

These advancements provide a more precise and patient-friendly treatment option compared to traditional methods, addressing common challenges such as tissue damage and unwanted side effects.

To expand access to this innovative technology, The Mount Sinai Hospital has prioritized training for its urology team. Dr. Kaplan, who has performed well over 400 aquablation procedures with the earlier model, recently completed advanced HYDROS training. He will be joined by Mount Sinai surgeons who will begin performing the procedure in the coming months.

"This new technology is part of our commitment to delivering the most advanced and patient-centered care," says Dr. Kaplan. "The positive outcomes we've seen so far are a testament to the potential of HYDROS to redefine how we approach BPH treatment."

With this milestone, Mount Sinai continues to establish itself as a leader in robotic surgical care. The team plans to track patient outcomes closely to contribute to a growing body of evidence supporting the benefits of HYDROS therapy for men with BPH.

The HYDROS Robotic System, developed by PROCEPT BioRobotics Corporation, received FDA 510(k) clearance on August 21, 2024.
Young patients who have undergone the Ross procedure for aortic valve disease have shown excellent long-term survival, the majority without the need for additional surgery two decades later.

These findings, presented today at the 61st annual meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), were the result of a 22-year study at the Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences in Bengaluru, India.

"The Ross operation can be performed safely with results comparable to mechanical valve replacement," said the study's lead author, cardiac surgeon Varun Shetty, MBBS, DNB (CVTS). "It has the added advantage of avoiding oral anticoagulation drugs and the risks associated with lifelong anticoagulation. In fact, most of our patients are not on any cardiac medications following one year after surgery."

Dr. Shetty's team followed 252 patients who underwent the Ross procedure, a heart valve replacement operation commonly used to treat younger patients with severe aortic valve disease. During the surgery, the malfunctioning aortic valve is replaced with the patient's own healthy pulmonary valve-a technique called an autograft-and the pulmonary valve replaced with donor tissue.

"The main drawback of the Ross operation is failure of the autograft over time," Dr. Shetty said.

We wanted to examine our outcomes, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the freedom from re-intervention was 91% at 10 years and 87% at 20 years." Varun Shetty, Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences

Of the 252 patients in the study, 186 underwent a cylinder inclusion technique, or "mini root" replacement, while 25 received a Dacron-reinforced autograft. Three patients underwent the Ross-Konno procedure, in which the left-sided outflow root is enlarged to fit the pulmonary autograft. Twenty-five patients also received an ascending aorta replacement, two received hemiarch replacement, and four underwent septal myectomy-removal of abnormally thickened heart muscle.

At follow-up, Dr. Shetty's team found that survival rates were 95.8% at 5 years, 94.3% at 10 years, 93.3% at 15 years, and 90.3% at 20 years. "Freedom from aortic regurgitation was 95.1%, 92.2%, 87.7%, and 84.5% at 5,10,15 and 20 years respectively," the researchers reported.

Freedom from pulmonary regurgitation was lower-97% at 5 years, 83.6% at 10 years, 79.7% at 15 years, and 75.1% at 20 years.

"Individuals aged 18 years or younger exhibit notably higher rates of aortic regurgitation," Dr. Shetty observed. "Risk factors for late autograft dysfunction include a dilated aortic annulus and ascending aorta."

"Stabilization of the aortic annulus and pulmonary autograft will improve the re intervention rate in the future," he added.

Because the Ross procedure uses living tissue, it not only can circumvent the need for anticoagulant medication, but also allows the valves to grow along with a growing child.

"The most important message from our study is that the Ross procedure offers excellent long-term survival rates with low risk of re-intervention even at 20 years," Dr. Shetty said. "This makes the Ross operation an excellent substitute for mechanical valve replacement."

Dr. Shetty's team benchmarked their results with those recorded in the STS Congenital Heart Surgery Database (CHSD)-which contains more than 600,000 congenital heart surgery procedure records and currently has more than 1,000 participating physicians, including surgeons and anesthesiologists.

"Our study, performed at a single high-volume surgical center in India, demonstrates that the Ross operation can be performed with reproducible success across the globe," Dr. Shetty said.

The CHSD is part of the STS National Database, one of the largest and most comprehensive clinical registries with nearly 10 million cardiothoracic procedures performed by 4,300+ surgeons. With over 95% of adult and congenital cardiac surgery procedures and a majority of lung cancer and esophageal cancer surgery in the U.S., the data and outcomes from the STS Database specialty registries provide true national benchmarks for clinical outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery.
Adults with ADHD in the UK live 6.78 years shorter than the general population, with co-occurring health issues contributing to the disparity.

Study: Life expectancy and years of life lost for adults with diagnosed ADHD in the UK: matched cohort study. Image Credit: MGARCIA_CREATIVE/Shutterstock.com

In a recent article in The British Journal of Psychiatry, researchers investigated the life expectancy deficit for adults with diagnosed attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the United Kingdom.

Their results indicate that, largely because of preventable factors, adults who have been diagnosed with ADHD experience significant reductions in life expectancy.

Background

ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder marked by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity, negatively affects academic, work, and social life. Initially recognized in 1968 to be a childhood condition, ADHD often continues into adulthood for about 90% of those who receive diagnoses in childhood.

Globally, adult ADHD affects around 2.8% of the population. In the UK, most adults with ADHD traits remain undiagnosed and untreated despite effective interventions that could improve life outcomes.

ADHD is linked to significant challenges, including educational underachievement, unemployment, financial struggles, legal issues, and homelessness.

Adults with ADHD experience poorer mental and physical health, including substance use, cardiovascular disease, and sleep problems. The suicide risk among people with ADHD is also higher.

Research shows that adults with ADHD may die prematurely at twice the rate of the general population. Mortality studies emphasize the need to address health disparities and provide adequate support.

However, no prior research has used life expectancy estimates to quantify the years of life lost due to ADHD, which could help raise awareness and drive advocacy efforts to address these unmet needs.

About the study

This study aimed to assess how many years were lost due to ADHD using UK mortality data between 2000 and 2019, highlighting the broader health disparities faced by adults with this diagnosis.

Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study using anonymized health records from 794 primary care practices, covering about 10% of the population of the UK.

Adults diagnosed with ADHD were compared to age- and sex-matched individuals without ADHD, focusing on all-cause mortality.

The cohort included people diagnosed with ADHD using standardized codes. Their observation periods began at diagnosis or when reliable records became available and ended at death, deregistration, or 2019.

Individuals who were matched to ADHD participants were compared over the same period. Mortality rates were modeled based on age and sex, and life expectancy at 18 was estimated using established statistical methods.

The study also analyzed health conditions, socioeconomic factors, and potentially fatal incidents to ensure comprehensive data. Individuals with ADHD had higher rates of health issues like anxiety, depression, and self-harm.

Researchers involved individuals with ADHD and their families in the study design, ensuring the research was relevant and impactful.

Findings

The study analyzed 9.56 million people, identifying 30,039 individuals (0.32% of the population) with ADHD diagnoses, a much lower figure than survey-based estimates (2.8%).

The cohort included 23,377 males and 6,662 females with ADHD, matched with 300,390 individuals without ADHD. Most ADHD diagnoses occurred between 1999 and 2009, with the median diagnosis age being slightly under 19 years for males and slightly over 22 years for females.

Health conditions were more prevalent among individuals with diagnosed ADHD than their non-ADHD counterparts. Mortality rates were higher for both males (0.83%) and females (2.22%) with ADHD compared to males (0.52%) and females (1.35%) without ADHD.

Males with the condition were 1.89 times more likely to die during follow-up, and females were 2.13 times more likely.

Life expectancy estimates revealed that males with ADHD lived 6.78 years less (73.26 years) and females 8.64 years less (75.15 years) than their matched counterparts. Mortality rates increased significantly with age, and sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings.

Conclusions

These findings highlight the association between ADHD and higher mortality risk, emphasizing the need for targeted healthcare interventions.

This study provides the first estimate of how ADHD may affect the life expectancy of UK adults, revealing a reduction of about 7 years for males and 9 years for females compared to those without the condition.

These findings are likely due to preventable factors, such as unmet physical and mental health needs, smoking, and risky behaviors, rather than ADHD itself.

Similar trends have been observed in other high-income countries, further highlighting the urgent need for targeted support and interventions.

Adults with ADHD often face adversity, including higher risks of cardiovascular disease and mental health challenges. The lack of specialist ADHD services in the UK contributes to unmet needs, as many individuals seek help but do not receive adequate support.

Limitations include the lack of cause-of-death data and the overrepresentation of individuals with severe cases.

Future research should include both diagnosed and undiagnosed individuals and explore the roles of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and gender diversity.

Addressing these gaps and improving access to support services are critical for reducing the life expectancy deficit in people with ADHD.
Free Uber Shuttle Commutes Between Delhi and Gurugram Until February 2025, Here's Why

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 16:33 IST

Commuters can book seats up to a week in advance, track their shuttle in real-time, and see when it will arrive  all through the Uber app.

In May 2024, Uber became one of the first companies to receive a licence to operate buses under Delhis Premium Bus Scheme.

Travelling between Delhi and Gurugram has just become more convenient with Uber Shuttle, now offering unlimited free rides until 1 February 2025.

What is Uber Shuttle?

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Uber Shuttle operates air-conditioned buses on set routes, connecting Gurugrams business districts with residential areas in Delhi.

Why Free Rides?

To encourage more people to try the service, Uber is offering free rides during this period. Amit Deshpande, Head of Uber Shuttle India, said: We are confident that this will encourage more commuters to ditch their personal car and take an Uber Shuttle ride which is affordable, convenient, and hassle-free."

Features and Benefits

Book Your Seat: Reserve up to a week in advance.

Reserve up to a week in advance. Track Your Bus: Live location, route, and ETA available via the Uber app.

Live location, route, and ETA available via the Uber app. Comfortable and Safe: No standing passengers, ensuring a premium experience.

No standing passengers, ensuring a premium experience. 24/7 Support: A safety line connects users to trained agents within 30 seconds if needed.

How to Book Your Free Ride

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Open the Uber app.

Enter your destination and select Shuttle.

Check your fare (Rs 0 during the promotional period).

Pick your route and timing, then tap Request.

Receive driver and bus details 25 minutes before your journey.

Track the bus in the app, head to the pick-up point, and enjoy the ride.

Uber Shuttle was one of the first services to secure a licence under Delhis Premium Bus Scheme in May 2024.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 16:33 IST
Hyundai Retailed Over 6.75 Lakh Units in India With connected Tech, Check Details

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 15:00 IST

According to the details shared by HMIL, the company has witnessed an increase in sales by 25.7 percent. The number has grown by 4.7 percent as compared to CY in 2019.

Hyundai Creta Electric. (Photo: Shahrukh Shah/ News18)

The top carmaker Hyundai has been grabbing all the headlines for the past few months, a big thanks to the newly launched Creta electric. Now, the company has announced that it has retailed over 6.75 lakh cars with connected features, which were introduced in 2019 in India.

The news has been confirmed by the brand via official release. According to the details shared by HMIL, the company has witnessed an increase in sales by 25.7 percent. The number has grown by 4.7 percent as compared to CY in 2019.

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Benefits

With the help of Hyundai Bluelink, customers can have access to a wide list of services such as real-time vehicle tracking, locating the nearest Hyundai service center, fuel efficiency parameters, restaurants, fuel stations, navigation and whatnot.

Heres How It Works

In case you are wondering how these car-connected features work. Well, it uses Bluelink  a technologically advanced platform that enables easy flow of critical information between the vehicle and the users mobile device. It is an AI-based technology with an inbuilt SIM in the vehicle, ensuring top-notch safety convenience and security to all the occupants.

Current Model With Connect Features

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Currently, HMIL has launched the feature first in VENUE in 2019, allowing customers to enjoy 35 telematics features. The Hyundai Bluelink is currently available in Hyundas top offerings including i20 N Line, i20, Exter, Venue N Line, Venue, Verna, Creta N Line, Creta Electric, Tucson, Alcazar, and the tech-loaded IONIQ 5.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:00 IST
China's Factory Activity Contracts In January For First Time In 4 Months

Published By :

PTI

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 15:03 IST

The National Bureau of Statistics said its purchasing managers index, based on a survey of factory managers, slipped to 49.1 in January from 50.1 the month before.

China's disappointing PMI data underscores the difficulty policymakers face in achieving a sustained recovery in growth.

Manufacturing slowed in China in January for the first time in four months as workers began leaving assembly lines to travel to their hometowns for Lunar New Year holidays. The National Bureau of Statistics said its purchasing managers index, based on a survey of factory managers, slipped to 49.1 in January from 50.1 the month before. A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion. Under 50 signals a contraction in activity.

New orders and production also contracted.

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A parallel purchasing managers index for the non-manufacturing sector, which covers construction and services, fell to 50.2 points from 52.2 in December.

The slide in factory activity was partly due to the approach of the holidays, said Zhao Qinghe, a bureau senior statistician.

Chinas most important festival, this year public holidays will begin Tuesday and continue until February 4. Millions of Chinese leave the cities to travel back home for a rare break with family during the holidays, which tend to distort economic data early in the year.

Chinas economy grew at a 5 per cent annual pace in 2024, hitting the governments target thanks to strong exports and stimulus measures.

While activity slowed this month, its likely to pick up again thanks to the governments efforts, Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a commentary.

But the disappointing PMI data underscores the difficulty policymakers face in achieving a sustained recovery in growth," she said.

She noted that the PMI for construction also fell.

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This is disappointing, and suggests that fiscal support may be struggling to offset the broader pressures weighing on construction activity," Huang said.

The outlook for exports also remains uncertain, given threats by US President Donald Trump to raise tariffs on imports from China.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:03 IST
Hordes of drivers packed the popular beach on Australia Day amid a sometimes contentious rise in 4WD tourism along our coastline.

While the 'insane' scenes have divided locals, the mayor said authorities were 'really pleased' with visitor behaviour. Source: TikTok

As millions of Australians celebrated the increasingly contentious public holiday yesterday, plenty were keen to spend the day at the beach in style. And one spot in particular showed Aussies enjoying one of their favourite activities  showing why authorities were quick to issue warnings ahead of the long weekend

Thousands of 4WD vehicles flocked to South Australia's Adlinga Beach on Australia Day with drone footage flying over the popular tourist spot showing cars parked along the sand, stretching for kilometres along the coastline.

The SA government describes the beach as "a little patch of seaside bliss less than an hour from Adelaide" and it's even described as "quiet" online. However it was anything but yesterday.

And not everyone was thrilled to see the rather incredible scene. A photo shared by local newspaper the Adelaide Advertiser on Sunday evening drew a fierce response from some locals when it was shared on social media.

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"That is way too many cars. Why wasn't a limit imposed?" one person wondered. "I used to live 5 minutes away and I'd never go to that beach on Australia Day because people have too much to drink and often drive like maniacs".

"How awful to see a beach full of cars. Would be so good to just see people enjoying the beach and the day," another said.

The 'insane' scene captured on Sunday has divided Aussies. Source: The Advertiser/Facebook/Brett Hartwig

"Beautiful. Next year I'm going to Marion Shopping Center carpark," another person mocked.

"I hate cars on the beach. Its just sitting in a sandy car park. Not an enjoyable experience," another said.

While some cheered on the scenes, which are typical of the spot on Australia Day, some admitted they'd never seen so many vehicles at the beach, labelling it "insane".

Mayor 'really pleased' with beachgoers ahead of clean up

Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Mayor Moira Were said authorities were "really pleased" with crowds on the drive-on beaches and said authorities had been preparing for Australia Day celebrations since September as it's one of the busiest days of the year.

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"Although it wasn't our busiest Australia Day, all our beaches were busy, and overall behaviour was fantastic," she said.

"Theres no specific capacity limit for vehicles on our beaches, and ramp closures depend on how much sand is available for parking due to tides on the day, the beachs condition, and how vehicles are spaced."

She told Yahoo that extra patrols were deployed on Sunday with council rangers monitoring the 31-kilometre stretch of coastline.

"If there are concerns about safety or crowd numbers, we assess the situation and work with SAPOL [police], who have the authority to close the beach. We didnt need to do this yesterday because there was ample room on the beach and the vehicles were well spaced out."

From Tuesday, rangers will undertake hand collection of rubbish and debris left along the area's drive-on beaches.

The council recently increased fees to access the beach from $8 to $12 with authorities projecting they would collect $375,000 over the summer from Aldinga Beach along with Moana, Sellicks and Silver Sands beaches. A majority of the money goes towards maintaining the environment and keeping the area safe.

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"The current fee reflects increasing costs to maintain our foreshore environment and manage safe use where vehicles are permitted," the governing City of Onkaparinga Council previously told Yahoo News.

Council said vehicle access has been regulated on parts of its foreshore since 1975, including imposing conditions such as setting vehicle speed limits on entrance ramps and on the foreshore. It also regulates access hours and exclusion areas over or along any sand dunes.

Drivers with a current Onkaparinga council vehicle beach access permit are exempt from paying the fee but those who travel on the beach without a pass will cop a $187 penalty.

Visotirs shared the Aldinga Beach scene on social media yesterday. Source: Facebook

Popularity of 4WD beaching prompts crackdown

At the end of last year, officials from South Australia's Department for Environment and Water took to the skies to hunt drivers doing the wrong thing on the state's beaches.

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Authorities used a helicopter, long-range camera and radio communication with rangers to set up roadblocks "to corral offenders" not complying with the rules, the department told Yahoo News last month.

The operation was focused on tackling concerns about degradation due to high traffic and focused on motorists  some in unregistered vehicles  heading off the designated tracks and potentially harming wildlife.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Gold Prices, Silver Rate Fall On January 27: Check Precious Metal Prices In Your City Today

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 09:59 IST

Gold Rate Today In India: Check 22-carat and 24-carat gold and silver prices in various cities for January 27, 2025.

Gold Prices Today In India on January 27, 2025.

Gold Rate Today In India: Gold prices in India were under pressure on Monday, January 27, 2025. Known for its unmatched purity, 24-carat gold continues to attract buyers seeking premium quality. Meanwhile, 22-carat gold, prized for its durability and timeless charm, remains a favourite among jewellery enthusiasts and investors alike, striking a balance between elegance and practicality.

24-Carat Gold, 22-Carat Gold In India

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On Monday, the price of 24K gold was trading at Rs 82,400 per 10 grams in the national capital New Delhi, while 22K gold was quoted at Rs 75,550 per 10 grams.

Heres a detailed breakdown of gold prices across key cities:

City 22K Gold (per 10gm) 24K Gold (per 10gm) Delhi Rs 75,550 Rs 82,400 Mumbai Rs 75,400 Rs 82,250 Chennai Rs 75,400 Rs 82,250 Kolkata Rs 75,400 Rs 82,250

Silver Price Today in India (January 27, 2025)

Silver prices was also down by Rs 1,000 to Rs 96,500 per kg in major Indian cities on Monday, as weak domestic demand kept prices in check.

Gold, Silver Prices On MCX

In the futures market, gold was trading lower by 0.20 per cent at 79,863 per 10 grams, while silver was down by 0.97 per cent at 90,712 per kg in the morning trade on the MCX.

What Factors Affect Gold Prices in India?

International market rates, import duties, taxes, and fluctuations in exchange rates primarily influence gold prices in India. Together, these factors determine the daily gold rates across the country.

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In India, gold is deeply cultural and financial. It is a preferred investment option and is key to celebrations, particularly weddings and festivals.

With constantly changing market conditions, investors and traders monitor fluctuations closely. Staying updated is crucial for effectively navigating dynamic trends.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 09:59 IST
Zoho's CEO Sridhar Vembu Steps Down, Assumes 'Chief Scientist' Role

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 16:34 IST

Sridhar Vembu, the founder of the Zoho Corp, has stepped down as the CEO of the software firm.

Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu.

Sridhar Vembu, the founder of the Zoho Corp, has stepped down as the CEO of the software firm. Vembu wrote on social media platform X that he would focus on research and development as the chief scientist of the company.

A new chapter begins today.In view of the various challenges and opportunities facing us, including recent major developments in AI, it has been decided that it is best that I should focus full time on R&D initiatives, along with pursuing my personal rural development mission.  Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) January 27, 2025

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A new chapter begins today. In view of the various challenges and opportunities facing us, including recent major developments in AI, it has been decided that it is best that I should focus full time on R&D initiatives, along with pursuing my personal rural development mission," Vembu said in a post on X.

Sridhar Vembu, renowned for his commitment to sustainable development and the rural economy, announced a shift in his role at Zoho. He will step down as CEO of Zoho Corp to take on a new position as Chief Scientist, where he will focus on driving deep R&D" initiatives.

Vembu also revealed that the groups co-founder, Shailesh Kumar Davey, will take over as the new CEO of Zoho Corp. He further outlined the leadership structure, with co-founder Tony Thomas leading Zoho US, Rajesh Ganesan heading the ManageEngine division, and Mani Vembu taking charge of Zoho.com. Vembu expressed his enthusiasm for his new role, stating that the companys future hinges on successfully navigating the R&D challenge, and he is excited to return to hands-on technical work.

Who is Sridhar Vembu?

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Sridhar Vembu is a highly successful entrepreneur with a net worth of $5.8 billion, according to Forbes. He is the founder and CEO of Zoho, a privately held company that develops cloud-based business software. Vembu and his two siblings hold a majority stake in Zoho.

Vembu holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Princeton University. In addition to his business ventures, he funds a school for rural children in Tamil Nadu. He also runs Zoho University, an in-house institution designed to upskill students straight out of school, many of whom are subsequently employed by Zoho. Vembus leadership has contributed to making Zoho one of the most successful privately owned companies in India.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 16:27 IST
AEEE 2025 Admit Card To Be Released Soon at amrita.edu, How To Download?

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 12:17 IST

AEEE 2025: Candidates appearing for the exam can visit the official website at amrita.edu to download their admit cards using their registration number and date of birth, once out.

According to the official schedule, the AEEE 2025 is scheduled to be conducted on February 1 and 2, 2025 (Representative/File)

The Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore is expected to release the admit cards for the Amrita Engineering Entrance Examination (AEEE) 2025 today, January 27. Candidates appearing for the exam can visit the official website at amrita.edu to download their admit cards using their registration number and date of birth, once out.

According to the official schedule, the AEEE 2025 is scheduled to be conducted on February 1 and 2, 2025. The exam will carry a total of 300 marks for 100 questions. Each question asked in the paper will carry three marks. The Maths section of the exam will involve a total of 40 questions for 120 marks. Physics will have 30 questions for 90 marks. The chemistry section will have 25 questions carrying 75 marks. Whereas English will only have five questions for a total of 15 marks

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AEEE 2025 Admit Card: How To Download?

Step 1: The primary step is to visit the official AEEE website at amrita.edu.

Step 2: Look for the Amrita admit card 2025 link.

Step 3: After clicking on the link, a login page should appear in front of you.

Step 4: You will be required to enter some details including your application number and password.

Step 5: Fill in all the required details and ensure that you have mentioned accurate information.

Step 5: Hit submit and the AEEE 2025 admit card should now be displayed on your screen.

Step 6: Cross-check the details and then hit the download tab.

Step 6: Make sure you take a printout of the admit card for future reference.

Details Mentioned On AEEE 2025 Admit Card

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Candidates will find their name, roll number, and registration number on the admit card. It includes the exam date and time. The admit card will also have the exam centre address along with the exam day guidelines. The candidates photograph, signature, and their parents names will also be mentioned in the document. Candidates must their admit cards to the examination centres on the day of the AEEE as without it they will not be allowed to take the exam.

The Amrita Entrance Examination  Engineering (AEEE) is held for Class 12 students who are seeking admission to BTech degrees at Amrita Universitys several campuses including Amritapuri, Amaravati, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Chennai, Faridabad, and Nagercoil.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 12:13 IST
CBSE Board Exam 2025: Admit Cards Expected Soon, Check Date And Time Update

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 11:31 IST

Students who filled out the private form will have to download the CBSE Board Admit Card themselves. While regular students will have to collect their admit cards from their respective schools

CBSE board exam will be held in February 2025 (Representative/File)

CBSE Board Exam 2025: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is expected to release the admit card for the 10th, and 12th exams 2025 soon. Students will be able to download the admit card for the CBSE Board Exam 2025 from the official website at cbse.gov.in.

Students who filled out the private form will have to download the CBSE Board Admit Card themselves. While regular students will have to collect their admit cards from their respective schools. Principals of schools affiliated with the CBSE board can download the admit cards of the students using their credentials. Regular students will not be able to download the admit card themselves by visiting the website. CBSE Board will also inform all the schools about the release of the admit card through mail.

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When Will The CBSE Board Exam 2025 Be Held?

CBSE board exam will be held in February 2025. The Central Board of Secondary Education has uploaded the schedule of CBSE 10th, and 12th examinations on cbse.gov.in. It will start from February 15, 2025. According to the official notice of CBSE, the 10th exam will be held from February 15 to March 18 and the 12th exam will be held from February 15 to April 4, 2025.

CBSE Admit Card 2025: How To Download Hall Ticket?

To download the CBSE Board Exam 2025 Admit Card Class 10, and 12, students can follow the steps given below-

Step 1- Visit the official website of CBSE, cbse.gov.in.

Step 2- Click on the link CBSE Admit Card 2025 Class 10th and 12th.

Step 3- Now you will be redirected to the login page.

Step 4- Enter details like roll number, and date of birth.

Step 5- CBSE Admit Card 2025 Class 10th & 12th will be displayed on the screen.

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Step 6- Download CBSE Admit Card 2025 Class 10th and 12th. Take a printout of it for future reference.

After receiving the CBSE 10th Admit Card 2025/ CBSE 12th Admit Card, students are advised to check it thoroughly. If you find any mistake in it, contact the concerned school authorities. Usually, schools contact the board for correction in the admit card. Whatever information is recorded in the CBSE Board Admit Card 2025, the same can also be seen in the CBSE Marksheet 2025. Therefore, if there is a mistake, then definitely get it corrected before the exams begin.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 11:29 IST
Karnataka: 4 Schools In Udupi, Dakshina Kannada Districts Receive Bomb Threats

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 28, 2025, 07:19 IST

Four schools in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada received bomb threat emails, but no explosives were found after thorough investigations by the police.

4 schools get bomb threats in Udupi, Dakshina Kannada districts. (Image: Getty)

Four schools in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts received threatening emails on Monday, claiming that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were placed on their premises, news agency PTI quoted police as saying.

The schools that received the threats are Manipal School in Attavar, Presidency School and PU College, Cambridge School near Neermarga in Mangaluru City, and Sharada Residential School in Kunjibettu, Udupi, they added.

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Police teams were sent to these schools, and bomb disposal squads conducted thorough searches. No suspicious items were found during the investigations. To ensure safety, police officers have been deployed at the schools.

Authorities have asked school staff to stay alert and immediately report any unusual activity or messages to the police.

Separate cases have been registered concerning the threat emails, and a detailed investigation is underway to identify the source of the threats," a senior police officer said.

Mumbai School Receives Hoax Bomb Threat Over Email

A private school and junior college in the western suburbs received an email about a bomb on their premises on Monday, but it was later found to be a hoax, police said. The email, sent to the administration of a school in Kandivali, claimed the Afzal gang had planted a bomb. Police, along with bomb detection and dog squads, searched the Kandivali Education Society (KES) School and Junior College but found nothing suspicious. They later confirmed the email was a hoax. ALSO READ: Varanasi Schools Closed Till Feb 5 Due To Maha Kumbh; Online Classes To Continue A similar incident happened at a school in the Jogeshwari-Oshiwara area on January 23. The school received another email claiming explosives were on the premises, but the threat was also found to be a hoax. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all

First Published: January 27, 2025, 19:46 IST
SSC GD Admit Card 2025 Soon, Application Status Released For Karnataka Kerala Region

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 09:22 IST

The SSC GD 2024 recruitment drive aims to fill 39,481 Constable (GD) positions in CAPFs, SSF, Rifleman (GD) in Assam Rifles, and Sepoy in the Narcotics Control Bureau.

The SSC Constable GD Exam 2025 is scheduled to take place from February 4 to 25 (Representative/File Photo)

SSC GD Constable Admit Card 2025: The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) is set to release the admit cards for the recruitment examination of Constable (GD) in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), SSF, Rifleman (GD) in Assam Rifles, and Sepoy in the Narcotics Control Bureau soon. The Commission has also published the application status for the Karnataka Kerala region and has announced that the city intimation slips will be released soon.

The SSC Constable GD Exam 2025 is set to be conducted on February 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 25, 2025. Candidates must note that the SSC GD Exam City Slip 2025 will be available 10 days before the commencement of the particular shift of examination.

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SSC GD Admit Card 2024: How To Download?

Step 1: Once the admit card link is activated, visit the official website, ssc.gov.in

Step 2: On the homepage, click on the Admit Card" tab

Step 3: Enter your registration number and password

Step 4: Click on the login button to view your SSC GD Constable Admit Card

Step 5: Download the hall ticket and take a printout for exam day

The Admission Certificate cum Commission Copy for the said examination will be available for download before 04 days from commencement of the particular shift of Examination. The same can be accessed through the designated login module on the website of the Commission (https://ssc.gov.in/) in a similar manner. Detailed instructions in this regard are available in the Notice published on 08.01.2025 on the website of the Commission," reads the official notice.

SSC GD Constable Exam Pattern 2025

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The SSC GD Constable 2025 exam will be conducted in Computer-Based Examination (CBE) mode in English, Hindi, and 13 Regional Languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. The Computer-Based Examination will consist of 80 objective-type questions, each carrying 2 marks. A negative marking of 0.25 marks will be applied for each incorrect answer.

This recruitment drive aims to fill a total of 39,481 Constable (GD) positions in CAPFs, SSF, Rifleman (GD) in Assam Rifles, and Sepoy in the Narcotics Control Bureau.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 09:06 IST
Top 5 NITs In India: Admission Process, Fees And Key Details

Published By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 19:23 IST

Discover the top 5 NITs in India, their fees, admission process, and rankings based on NIRF 2024.

NIT Trichy is ranked first among the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) in India. (Image: NIT Trichy)

The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are highly regarded public engineering institutions in India, renowned for delivering exceptional education across various engineering fields. Established by the Government of India, they are distinguished by their excellent faculty, state-of-the-art facilities, and research opportunities, making them a preferred choice for aspiring engineers. India is home to 31 prominent NITs, with 20 government-owned institutions and two privately managed ones.

NITs in India offer a range of traditional engineering courses such as BTech and MTech. Additionally, many NITs provide five-year dual degree programmes in various specialisations. NIT Trichy, NIT Allahabad, and NIT Rourkela are among the institutes offering MBA or BBA programmes. Some NITs also offer five-year BArch and four-year BSc degree courses.

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Top 5 NITs Based on NIRF Rankings

1. National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NIT Trichy)

NIT Trichy ranks 9th in the Engineering category, according to the most recent NIRF 2024 rankings.

Fees:

The fees vary depending on the course and category. For undergraduate programmes (BTech), the approximate fee structure for general category students is around Rs 5 lakh per year. Postgraduate courses (MTech) typically cost around Rs 1.4 lakh annually.

Admissions:

Admission to various courses at NIT Trichy is based on national-level entrance exams such as JEE Main, CAT, GATE, and others. The final seat allotment is conducted through counselling sessions like JoSAA, CCMT, and CCMN.

2. National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal

NIT Surathkal consistently ranks among the top institutions in the country. In 2024, it secured the 46th position in the NIRF Overall rankings, marking the third consecutive year within the top 50.

Fees:

For BTech programmes, the annual fee is approximately Rs 5 lakh. Postgraduate courses such as MTech or MBA range between Rs 1.4 lakh and Rs 3.2 lakh per year. Additional costs for accommodation, meals, and other services may apply.

Admissions:

NIT Karnataka selects students through national-level entrance exams, including JEE Main, GATE, CAT, and others.

3. National Institute of Technology, Rourkela

NIT Rourkela is a prestigious institution known for its strong academic performance. It ranked 34th in the Overall category in the 2024 NIRF rankings.

Fees:

The annual fees for undergraduate programmes like BTech typically range from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6.5 lakh. Postgraduate programmes such as MTech or MBA cost between Rs 1.4 lakh and Rs 6.25 lakh, depending on the course.

Admissions:

Admissions for 2025 are based on entrance exams like JEE Main, GATE, or IIT JAM, or on the basis of merit. The application process is conducted online.

ALSO READ: Top 3 Medical Colleges In Maharashtra: A Look At Their Rankings, Fees And NEET UG Cutoffs

4. National Institute of Technology, Warangal

NIT Warangal is renowned for its academic excellence and has consistently secured high rankings. It ranked 53rd in the Overall category in the 2024 NIRF rankings.

Fees:

For BTech programmes, the annual fee is around Rs 5 lakh. Postgraduate courses such as MTech and MBA generally cost Rs 1.4 lakh per year.

Admissions:

Admission to the BTech programme is based on the JEE Main exam. The institute also accepts other national-level exams such as CAT, MAT, GATE, IIT JAM, and NIMCET for its various programmes.

5. National Institute of Technology, Calicut

NIT Calicut is a distinguished institution that secured the 54th position in the 2024 NIRF rankings, maintaining its reputation as one of Indias top engineering colleges.

Fees:

The fee structure varies by programme and category. For BTech courses, the annual fees are around Rs 5 lakh, while postgraduate programmes like MTech and MBA cost approximately Rs 1.4 lakh per year.

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Admissions:

Admissions for 2025 are conducted through national-level entrance exams like JEE Main, GATE, and CAT. Applications are submitted online.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 19:12 IST
Varanasi Schools Closed Till Feb 5 Due To Maha Kumbh; Online Classes To Continue

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 14:56 IST

Varanasi schools will remain closed from January 27 to February 5 due to the Kumbh crowds, but online classes will continue as usual.

Varanasi Schools temporarily shift to online mode due to Kumbh Mela. (Image: Getty)

Schools Closed In Varanasi: In light of the growing influx of devotees travelling from Prayagrajs Maha Kumbh to Varanasi, the District Magistrate of Varanasi has issued an order to close all schools in the district from January 27 to February 5, 2025.

However, online classes will be held at the usual school timings to ensure the syllabus is completed. This directive applies to all CBSE, ICSE, and state board schools in the district.

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Additionally, if any board practical exams are scheduled, they will continue without any interruptions.

This decision has been taken primarily to address the challenges posed by massive crowds and potential traffic issues, ensuring the safety of students and the smooth functioning of the city.

The District Basic Education Officer Arvind Pathak, in an official notice, stated: Given the current situation in the district, particularly in urban areas, where a large number of pilgrims and devotees are expected to arrive, all government, aided, CBSE, and ICSE schools offering classes from Grade 1 to 12 are instructed to switch to online learning from January 27 to February 5, 2025. Moreover, if any practical exams for CBSE, UP Board, or other boards are scheduled during this time, they should be conducted seamlessly without disruption."

ALSO READ: CBSE Board Exam 2025: Admit Cards Expected Soon, Check Date And Time Update

According to the order, school staff, and teachers have been asked to attend school during this time.

This year, Mauni Amavasya falls on January 29, during the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. As a result, a large number of devotees have started arriving in Varanasi. Officials estimate that around 5 to 7 lakh devotees are visiting the city every day leading up to the occasion. Due to the crowd, most schools have been asked to hold online classes. Students and parents are advised to stay in contact with their schools for the latest updates. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all

First Published: January 27, 2025, 14:43 IST
'Factually Wrong': Delhi Jal Board, BJP Lambast Arvind Kejriwal Over Poison In Yamuna Claim

Curated By :

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 23:55 IST

The claim was soon refuted by Delhi Jal Board (DJB) saying that Kejriwals allegations are factually wrong and without any basis.

AAP chief urged the saffron party to not stoop so low as the water is getting so polluted that the citys treatment plants are unable to process it. (File)

Another political storm hit Delhi amid the upcoming assembly elections after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the BJP-led Haryana government of poisoning the water of Yamuna which is being supplied to the national capital.

What Did AAP Allege?

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AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP government in Haryana of releasing toxic water through river Yamuna that could have caused a catastrophy in Delhi leading to even deaths.

He further alleged that the BJP is indulging in such sinister act to blame the AAP government in case of any harm to people or deaths in the national capital. He lamented that the saffron party has stooped to such dirty politics never seen before in the country.

BJP people in Haryana are mixing poison in the water and sending it to Delhi. If people in Delhi drink this water, many will die. Can anything be more disgusting than this? The poison that is being mixed in the water cannot even be cleaned in water treatment plants. For the safety of the people of Delhi, the water supply has to be stopped in many areas," he said in a post in Hindi on X.

                                                      ? https://t.co/QqpuR1HZEr  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 27, 2025

He further expressed gratitude to the engineers of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) who, he claimed, did not let the toxic water coming from Haryana mix with the water supplied to Delhi. Otherwise, things could have been worse, he contended.

They (the DJB engineers, prevented water from entering Delhi on the border, else it could have led to a genocide. If the toxins had merged with the river water, even the water treatment plants could not have treated it," he added.

At a press conference on Monday, Delhi CM Atishi alleged that the BJP is deliberately disrupting" Delhis water supply as a historic loss" awaits the saffron party in the upcoming Assembly polls in the capital.

The bewildered BJP is resorting to tactics, such as stopping the water supply. Haryana is intentionally draining industrial waste into the Yamuna to harm the people of Delhi and influence the election outcome unfairly," she said.

Delhi Jal Board Refutes Claim

The claim was soon refuted by Delhi Jal Board (DJB) saying that Kejriwals allegations are factually wrong and without any basis.

DJB CEO Shilpa Shinde wrote Delhi Chief Secretary saying statements by AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal alleging that Haryana has released poison into raw water reaching Delhi through Yamuna are factually incorrect, without any basis and misleading."

The statement of former Chief Minister and present Chief Minister that the Haryana government has released poison in the water " is false, misleading, and factually incorrect. Such alarmist statements amount to fear mongering. Water in river Yamuna is of the same quality -1/2 Delhi Jal Board (@DelhiJalBoard) January 27, 2025

The matter is being brought to your attention, given the fact that such false statements lead to fear mongering amongst city residents and also adversely impact relations with the upper riparian state of Haryana. Given that this matter is likely to affect inter-state relations, these facts may be brought to the attention of Honble Lieutenant Governor in terms of the Transaction of Business Rules," the letter read.

BJP Hits Out At AAP

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said it is their old habit of blaming others and then running away. I asked them (the AAP government in Delhi) to send their chief secretary and said I will ask my chief secretary to check the quality of the water. They are talking about ammonia, but there is no shortage of water," Saini told reporters.

Saini further said that Kejriwal should apologise to the public or else he would would file a defamation case against him over the fraudulent remarks.

#WATCH | Delhi: On Arvind Kejriwals statement on the Yamuna River, Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini says, Kejriwal said that the engineers of Delhi Jal Board stopped the water from coming to Delhi because they found out that it poisoned. I want to ask Arvind Kejriwal on which day pic.twitter.com/en1sY2Q1mn ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025

Hitting back at AAP and Kejriwal, BJP leader and Delhi MLA Vijender Gupta accused the former Delhi CM of misleading the people. The Rohini MLA also accused the AAP supremo of promoting anarchy". The BJP leader said that Kejriwal was setting false narrative" and using it as a diversionary tactic in order to evade questions on vandalization of Ambedkars statue in Punjab.

                                                     https://t.co/Iko6jJcE8x  Vijender Gupta (@Gupta_vijender) January 27, 2025

Taking to X, MLA Gupta wrote, Kejriwal has proved his mental imbalance by making serious and baseless allegations against the BJP government of Haryana of poisoning the Yamuna. Fearing electoral defeat, he is now trying to mislead the public by promoting anarchy(sic)."

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya also traded guns at AAP saying, Delhi Jal Board has issued a statement castigating Arvind Kejriwal for his irresponsible statement. It reads: These statements are factually incorrect, without any basis and misleading. The fact of the matter is that DJB regularly monitors incoming water quality and regulates supplies depending on the various parameters. Notwithstanding, it is Kejriwals attempt to intentionally spread mass fear and panic, which could lead to violence. It is malicious disinformation at another level."

Delhi Jal Board has issued a statement castigating Arvind Kejriwal for his irresponsible statement. It reads:Quote These statements are factually incorrect, without any basis and misleading. The fact of the matter is that DJB regularly monitors incoming water quality and pic.twitter.com/zIcobQbTtx  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 27, 2025

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Delhi Polls 2025

The Delhi Assembly polls are scheduled for February 5, with the results set to be announced on February 8. As the campaigning intensifies, allegations and counter-allegations add fuel to the capitals political atmosphere.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 21:42 IST
Atishi Accuses BJP Of Violating Poll Code By Conducting Registrations For Welfare Scheme

Published By :

PTI

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 23:55 IST

Delhi CM Atishi accused BJP of violating the Model Code by registering for welfare schemes to influence voters before the February 5 elections, demanding Election Commission action.

Atishi urged the Election Commission to take strict measures, including disqualifying the BJP candidates involved. (PTI photo)

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Monday accused the BJP of violating the Model Code of Conduct by conducting registrations for its welfare schemes, claiming that such actions were aimed at influencing voters ahead of the February 5 elections.

In a letter to the Election Commission, Atishi demanded immediate action against BJP leaders and workers, warning that her party will also conduct similar registrations for its welfare schemes if no action is taken within 24 hours.

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I am writing to formally bring to your attention a serious violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by BJP candidates and workers. They are conducting registrations of women for their so-called scheme in which they will distribute cash to women. They are also registering individuals for other promises involving giving houses and land rights," Atishi wrote in the letter.

Carrying out such registrations during the enforcement of MCC constitutes electoral malpractice and is a clear violation of MCC guidelines. These acts also fall under the offence defined in Section 123(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as per the Election Commissions instructions dated 02.05.2024," she added.

BJP candidates and workers allegedly conducted these activities in multiple locations, including Patparganj, Matiala and New Delhi, the letter claimed.

On January 24 and 25, BJP workers in Patparganj were reportedly approaching women and promising them financial aid while collecting registration forms. Since January 25, BJP workers have been registering people under the PM-Uday scheme at MRV Vatika Ghasipura, Matiala. On January 26, BJP workers allegedly conducted registrations under the Jahaan Jhuggi Wahaan Makaan promise in New Delhi," Atishi alleged.

These activities blatantly violate MCC guidelines and the aforementioned ECI instructions, which prohibit any actions that unduly influence voters or compromise the fairness of the electoral process," the letter added.

Atishi urged the Election Commission to take strict measures, including disqualifying the BJP candidates involved, suspending the officials who failed to prevent these activities, and ensuring fair elections.

She also called for immediate legal action against those engaging in these alleged malpractices.

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If the Election Commission does not take concrete action within the next 24 hours, it will be assumed that the BJPs activities are considered permissible under the legal framework. In that case, we will also resume registrations for our Mahila Samman Yojana and Sanjeevani Yojana," Atishi warned.

The BJP is yet to respond to the allegations.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 23:55 IST
Also Donald Trump is slapping sanctions on one country after they refused to accept two flights full of deported migrants.

This firie has plenty of fans after his Australia Day move for a bunch of revellers. Source: Manly Observer/ Instagram

Yahoo's live news blog for Monday, January 27 has now concluded. Qantas has hailed one of their latest routes to the Pacific, saying Australians are loving heading to Palau  a real "untouched gem".

There could be Oz Lotto history tomorrow with one of its biggest ever jackpots on offer. Up to one in five Aussies are expected to have a ticket for the $70 million draw, and if one person was to win it all, it would be the most anyone has ever taken home from the game.

A firie has been hailed "a legend" after his Australia Day antics. Huge crowds flocked to beaches across Australia on Sunday, with a handful of revellers given a helping hand by one firefighter. Read more below.

See all of the day's updates below.

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER 14 updates Featured Tributes flow for dad who died alongside four-year-old son after crash Tribute have poured in for a father who was tragically killed in a car crash with his four-year old son. Chris Vrbesic, 37, was driving a Holden Commodore VK Brock sedan when it collided with a a red Mitsubishi Lancer at the intersection of Rickertt Rd and Chelsea Rd in Ransome, Brisbane just before 9am on Sunday. He died at the scene. His son, a four-year-old, who was a passenger in the Holden, was taken to the Queensland Childrens Hospital, and later died. Vrbesic has been described as a family man" with "such a big f****** heart". Brisbane father, Chris Vrbesic, identified as dad who died alongside son, 4, in shock crash at Ransome He was a project manager at Innate Developments - a company that specialises in residential and commercial construction. I think youre going to find this will be one of those tragedies  thousands of people it is going to affect, a friend told Courier Mail. "He helped so many people." The Seven of Clubs Mazda Car Club of QLD paid tribute to Mr Vrbesic on social media sending heartfelt condolences to his family. Chris has been a member of the club for many years and will be dearly missed by all. Rest in peace my friend, the tribute said. Melbourne surpasses 40C The mercury is soaring in Melbourne, with temperatures reaching 41.8C in the city's southwest. Point Cook reached the sweltering mark at about 2.30pm, while the CBD is nearing 39C. There is a total fire ban in the city for the public holiday as hot, dry and windy conditions pose a high risk to the area. "The conditions will make it difficult for firefighters to suppress a fire should one start," CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan said.

Albo breaks silence on Grace Tame's 'disrespectful' t-shirt Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Grace Tame's decision to wear a 'F*** Murdoch' t-shirt to Saturday's Australian of the year event was "disrespectful". Albanese was pictured posing for photos next to Tame and said he failed to declare his feelings about the shirt at the time to ensure attention wasn't taken away from the event. "I clearly disagree [with the message on the t-shirt]," Albanese told reporters on Monday. I want debate to be respectful  and thats a choice that she made. People are allowed to express themselves, but I thought it was disrespectful of the event and of the people who that event was primarily for, he said. Albanese says he does not condone such stunts that former Australian of the year Grace Tame orchestrated. Source: AAP

Qantas bookings surge to 'untouched gem' Qantas says it has had a huge response from holidaymakers after adding a tiny island nation to its Pacific offering. Australia's flag carrier won the route in a tender last October and says Australians are lapping up the chance to head to the "untouched gem". The reception so far has been nothing short of great, Qantas regional general manager Anthony Penney told the Sydney Morning Herald. We saw an immediate surge in searches and were now seeing that translate into bookings. I think [Palau] is one of those untouched gems for a lot of people, and now being part of our network, its coming onto peoples radars. Palau has not seen the levels of tourism some of its Pacific neighbours enjoy. Source: Getty

Woman, 24, charged over alleged murder of nine-year-old boy A nine-year-old boy in Townsville is dead and police have charged a woman with his alleged murder. Emergency services were called to a home on Saturday evening with reports that a boy was unresponsive. Police have charged a 24-year-old woman with murder and taken her into custody. Police say the woman and boy were known to each other. The woman is due to face Townsville Magistrates Court on Monday. Detective Senior Sergeant David Miles told reporters the boy had suffered a "significant head injury" and police are looking to whether a weapon was used. Investigations are continuing.

Man charged over alleged camera act around sunbakers A man was arrested at Sydneys busy Bronte Beach after allegedly recording intimate images without consent on Australia Day. Police were called to the popular swim spot shortly before 4pm on Sunday following reports of inappropriate behaviour. Officers arrived and arrested a 63-year-old man, which was captured on camera by the NewsWire, before he was taken to Waverley police station. He has since been charged with three counts each of intentionally recording intimate images without consent and offensive behaviour in a public place. He was refused bail to appear before Parramatta Local Court on Monday. - NCA NewsWire A man has been arrested at Sydneys busy Bronte Beach after allegedly recording intimate images without consent. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Dubious cabana act continues Another day, another line of cabanas. Source: Facebook/ The Bell Tower Times The divisive issue made national headlines earlier this month, with even the prime minister having his say. But that hasn't deterred beachgoers who are keen to reserve their spot on the sand. Photos shared by popular Facebook page the Bell Tower Times of the beach at WA's Busselton show at least a dozen unoccupied beach cabanas along the water. "How un-Australian is it to think you should be able to reserve a spot on the beach like that," one person responded. While the majority of people agreed it was a dodgy move to try and reserve a spot, what are your thoughts on cabanas in general? Have your say below.

Elderly woman charged with alleged murder of roommate of four days An elderly woman has been charged with the alleged murder of her roommate at a Perth aged care home. Emergency services raced to the Bethanie Waters Aged Care Home in Port Kennedy early on Friday morning after an 88-year-old woman was found dead. A 75-year-old woman, who had been the womans roommate for the last four days, was arrested and has been charged with her murder. She was due to face Northbridge Magistrates Court on Sunday. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and loved ones of the deceased, Bethanie chief executive officer Roule Jones said in a statement. Our staff responded quickly and professionally when the alarm was raised, and followed all Bethanie procedures. We wish to reassure the public that no Bethanie staff were involved in this incident. - NCA NewsWire

'Will target children': Dingo warning after toddler rushed to hospital A toddler has been rushed to hospital after she was bitten by a dingo on Queenslands Fraser Island in the third reported attack in as many days. Emergency services were called to Kgari shortly after 1pm on Sunday after reports a two-year-old girl had been bitten on the leg at Lake McKenzie. Park rangers provided first aid to the girl who encountered the dingo in the carpark at Boorangaroo, before she was later flown to Hervey Bay Hospital. A Queensland Ambulance spokesperson said paramedics had been called to meet the child at a resort on the island and that they were in a stable condition. It comes after a four-year-old girl was earlier bitten by a dingo when it reportedly charged at her and her 12-year-old sibling in shallow waters at Boorangaroo. QPWS said in a statement that it was investigating the multiple incidents to determine next steps, with travellers to the island being urged to look out for dingoes. Senior Ranger Dr Linda Behrendorff said visitors needed to remember the importance of carrying a dingo stick while on the busy island and keeping children close. Some dingoes will target children because they are seen as the weaker links of the pack. This is why it is so important to keep children within arms reach, she said. We have increased our ranger patrols during this busy long weekend period, but urge people to remain vigilant, particularly parents with young children. Read more from NCA NewsWire here.

Melbourne set to reach a sweltering 41C There are soaring temperatures for the public holiday today as millions across the country are set to swelter. Melbourne is predicted to hit 41C later today, while every other state and territory capital is set to rise above 30C. Hot, dry and windy conditions are of a big concern to fire authorities in Victoria, where the heat will reach a high of 44C in the border city of Mildura. Read more about the conditions here.

Firie hailed over Australia Day move A firie is being hailed for his role in Australia Day celebrations, helping out a bunch of revellers enjoying the day on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Video shared by community outlet The Manly Observer shows the firie pull out his hose from his truck and soak a slip-and-slide in Freshwater before a group of young men hurtle down it. "This is why I love Australia," one person declared online. "Firefighters are the best," another said. Take a look at the video below. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Creatures of Manly (@creaturesofmanly)

Man and four-year-old son die in 'horrific' crash A young boy and his dad have been killed following a horror crash in Brisbanes east. Chris Vrbesic was driving a Holden Commodore VK Brock sedan when it collided with a a red Mitsubishi Lancer at the intersection of Rickertt Rd and Chelsea Rd in Ransome just before 9am on Sunday. The 37-year-old driver from Manly West died at the scene. His son, a four-year-old, who was a passenger in the Holden, was taken to the Queensland Childrens Hospital, where he has since died. A man and his son both died in a the crash in Brisbanes east. Picture: 7 News The driver of the Mitsubishi suffered minor injuries in the crash. The 29-year-old Birkdale man was the sole occupant of the Mitsubishi. It is understood the vehicles T-boned at the intersection. Mr Vrbesic has been described as a family man. He was a project manager at Innate Developments - a company that specialises in residential and commercial construction. I think youre going to find this will be one of those tragedies  thousands of people it is going to affect, a friend told Courier Mail. He helped so many people, he had such a big f**king heart. A neighbour described it as horrific and tragic. The Forensic Crash Unit launched an investigation, and anyone with information has been urged to come forward. - NCA NewsWire

Oz Lotto eyes history with $70m draw We could have lottery history tomorrow if one person is lucky enough to claim the $70 million Oz Lotto jackpot. It would be the highest amount in the game's 31-year history someone has claimed. The $70 million figure is the fourth highest Oz Lotto division one prize ever, with previous higher jackpots being shared. "We anticipate a rush across the country as Aussies vie for the chance to score the biggest jackpot of any Australian lottery game this year and become 2025s first Oz Lotto multi-millionaire," The Lott spokesperson Anna Hobdell said of Tuesday night's draw. This is the time when office chatter turns into work syndicates, and everyone becomes a dreamer, plotting how theyd spend a share of the $70 million Oz Lotto prize."

Trump vows sanctions 'just the beginning' Donald Trump says he will slap tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after it refused to accept two deportation flights as part ofthe US president's crackdown on immigration. Trump's punitive action appeared aimed at making an example of Colombia and was a demonstration of a more muscular US foreign policy and showed a renewed willingness by Trump to use the might of the United States to force other countries to bend to his will. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the refusal by Colombian President Gustavo Petro to accept the flights jeopardised US national security. The retaliatory measures include imposing 25 per cent tariffs on all Colombian goods coming into the United States, which will go up to 50 per cent in one week; a travel ban and visa revocations on Colombian government officials; and emergency treasury, banking and financial sanctions. Trump said he would also direct enhanced border inspections of Colombian nationals and cargo. "These measures are just the beginning," he wrote. "We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!" - Reuters

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Delhi Polls: Will Owaisi's Decision To Field Tahir Hussain From Mustafabad Help Kapil Mishra In Karawal Nagar?

Reported By :

News18.com

Edited By: Pragati Ratti



Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 12:44 IST

Karawal Nagar faces issues like overflowing drains and poor roads. BJP's Kapil Mishra is aiming to address these. The 2020 Delhi riots and AIMIM's nomination of accused Tahir Hussain from neighbouring Mustafabad have polarised voters.

BJP's Kapil Mishra campaigning in the bylanes of Karawal Nagar. (Image: News18)

It transports you to the nineties Uttar Pradesh where finding any 50-metre stretch of straight road would be quite a job. But Karawal Nagar does exactly that for you even in 2025 and BJPs Kapil Mishra with a beaming smile promises to change both.

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THE ARITHMETIC OF THE SEAT

According to the 2011 census, Karawal Nagar had a population of 224,281. Hinduism is the majority religion in Karawal Nagar city with 88.88 per cent followers. Islam is the second most popular religion in Karawal Nagar with approximately 10.44 per cent following it. That makes a whopping 23,421 Muslim voters in the seat. However, locals believe the number of Muslim voters is much higher, but they do not have any findings to back their claim.

Among Hindus, Pahadis, Gujjars and backward classes have a significant presence in this assembly seat. Because of this, Mohan Singh Bisht  a Pahadi and sitting MLA from the seat  who was dropped, turned a rebel. the BJP understood the sensitivity of the matter and came out with a third list with just Bishts name offering him Mustafabad  the neighbouring seat  as a peace deal.

Not taking any chance, BJPs Kapil Mishra got Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to campaign for him to send out the right signal to the crucial Pahadi community here. With Mishra on his side, Dhami said, The Yamuna which flows clean and pure in Uttarakhand turns into a drain as soon as it reaches Delhi. The water of Mother Yamuna in Delhi is not fit for irrigation, let alone drinking."

2020 RIOTS ON THEIR MIND?

It was 3 pm and Mukhram Singh was having a plate of kachori and hot sabzi as lunch. Ironically, Singh was an auto driver  a segment who was the biggest proponent of former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. But if one asks him to list the problems of Karawal Nagar, he will go on, knowing the sitting MLA was from the BJP. However, he says, he will vote for Mishra, given AAPs role, to be more specific AAP candidate Manoj Tyagis alleged role, in the Delhi riots that rocked the North East belt of the national capital. I remember what they have done. I remember the CM went to certain victims houses selectively. Yes, there are problems with drains and roads and if they wont be sorted, we will change Mishra next time. But we will vote for BJP," he said biting his kachori and sitting inside his auto.

For 70-year-old Pushkal Ji, the choice is simple  the candidate doesnt matter, the party does. Here they are giving so much for free. Yogi (Adityanath) does not need to give anything for free. His work speaks for itself. Even if AAP gave me Rs 1 lakh, I wont vote for them," he said.

Scattered around Karawal Nagar, paramilitary forces could be spotted. When enquired, locals said, they arrived this morning, probably due to Republic Day". But a long stroll will expose a pattern, they were stationed only in front of religious places like temples, presumably to avert any tension. This reporter caught hold of a Pujari of the Shiv Temple of the Main Chowk of Karawal Nagar, who refused to be named. He told the reporter, much of the seat is likely to vote on religious lines.

THE MOST POLARISING FIGURE

But why would a five-year-old event cast its shadow on 2025? A decision by Asaduddin Owaisi to nominate former AAP leader and Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain from neighbouring Mustafabad (Karawal Nagar was carved out of Mustafabad during delimitation. So, the two have a deep connection) on behalf of his party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).

On the eve of February 23, 2020, riots broke out in Northeast Delhi between anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and pro-CAA protestors. The violence took a sharp communal turn leading to 53 deaths over the next 10 days. More than 200 were left injured. Shops were gutted, houses burnt down and even places of worship were not spared from attacks. Now, Hussains nomination has brought back the demons of those dreadful days for which he is accused.

Meanwhile, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court will hear the bail plea of former councillor and February 2020 Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain on January 28. But Mishra makes no distinction between Hussain and Tyagi. Speaking to News18, he said, Do you know that it is Tyagi who gave refuge to Hussain? How can the two be different? Both are the same," he alleged.

But AAPs Tyagi has been relentlessly trying to portray Mishtra as hateful" and package him as development-oriented. Hatred will lose in Karawal Nagar assembly and development will win," he recently posted on social media. In a recent speech, he talked about Ram Rajya, another reason why Tyagi called Mishra hate spreading candidate in Karawal Nagar" without naming him. His temple visits have also increased as have Mishras shrill attacks quoting the past from Delhi riot days  something Tyagi wants to avoid.

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None of it would have happened had Hussain not been fielded. Then people would have debated on issues. But now things are different," he said.

The big question now is  Has Owaisis decision to field the Delhi riots accused helped BJPs Kapil Mishra gain an edge in a seat where the odds were against him?

First Published: January 27, 2025, 11:24 IST
'Don't Have To Comment On Everything': Unease In INDIA Bloc Over Kharge's 'Holy Dip' Remark

Reported By :

News18.com

Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee



Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 22:06 IST

This is not the first time that Congress leaders have put INDIA bloc allies in a spot  from Rahul Gandhi's comments on Savarkar before the Maharashtra polls to the partys boycott of the Ram Mandir inauguration

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge (L) with LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during the 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' rally, in Mhow. (Image: AICC via PTI)

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharges remarks on BJP leaders taking holy dips at the Sangam in Prayagraj have not only drawn the BJPs ire, but also left INDIA bloc allies squirming.

For example, take the Samajwadi Party, which feels confident about matching the BJPs Hindutva pitch after its leader Awadesh Kumar won from Faizabad in the Lok Sabha elections. Despite the Ram Mandir euphoria, the saffron party failed to win the constituency where Ayodhya is located.

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The Akhilesh Yadav-led party wants to repeat this victory in the Milkipur bypoll, which is also scheduled for February 5. With visuals of the SP chief taking a dip in the Sangam going viral, Kharges comments are likely to make him unhappy so close to the election.

According to sources, Trinamool Congress leaders like Derek OBrien and Congress leaders from the Uttar Pradesh unit have also visited the Maha Kumbh. We dont have to comment on everything. Its up to the people to decide where and when they want to go for a dip," an opposition leader said on condition of anonymity.

This is not the first time that comments from Congress leaders have put its allies in a spot. Senior leader Rahul Gandhis comments on Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar, right before the Maharashtra polls, had upset the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and NCP.

Similarly, when the Congress boycotted the Ram Mandir pran pratishtha last year, some of its allies disagreed with the party and attended the inauguration. In fact, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalins Sanatan Dharma comment and the silence of the Congress on the issue also made many uncomfortable.

While even Congress leaders were not keen to share the stage with the DMK for a joint opposition rally in Bhopal ahead of the Madhya Pradesh elections, it was imperative for its allies to stay away as well.

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Cut to the present, in a snub to the Congress, allies like the SP and TMC have joined hands to support the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in upcoming Delhi polls. But, they do not want to take chances now, particularly with former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal fighting his toughest poll battle. The AAP is also trying its best to woo Hindus, so Kharges comments, despite a clarification from the Congress, could sow discord among allies.

There is, however, another dilemma at hand. After these comments, will the Gandhi siblings now visit the kumbh mela like their mother Sonia Gandhi did in 2001?

First Published: January 27, 2025, 22:04 IST
Too Late? Congress Hopes To Woo Muslim Voters Ahead Of Delhi Polls

Reported By :

News18.com

Edited By: Pragati Ratti



Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 09:32 IST

The Congress is targeting Delhi's Muslim vote-bank, previously held by AAP, aiming to unite Dalits, Muslims, and OBCs. Rahul Gandhi's campaign counters BJP's Hindutva narrative.

It's not without a reason that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi chose Seelampur as his first campaign stop in Delhi. (Image: PTI)

As per the last census, there are about 12 per cent Muslims in Delhi and this is the vote-bank the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been riding high on. At one time, the minority card was with the Congress. But not any more, just like it is in the rest of the country where voters have found other options  like the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Bengal, Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh, and Asaduddin Owaisis AIMIM down south.

But as the Congress party heads into the Delhi battle a little bit too late, its the M factor which they want to target. The reason is also long term. The party is hoping to bounce back riding high on the formula of  Dalits, Muslims, OBCs.

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Its not without a reason that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi chose Seelampur as his first campaign stop in Delhi. The area is minority dominated. He wanted to ensure that the Muslims feel assured that he and the Congress are with them. Samvidhan khatre mein hai" or the Constitution is under threat" is also a narrative which is being pushed with an eye on these votes. Sources say that when Rahul Gandhi hits the campaign trail again, he is expected to address at least two more rallies in Muslim dominated areas. A feedback given is that the Hindutva push has made the minorities unsure of the Congress. The Congress now knows that the Hindu vote is unlikely to be impressed by the Gandhis trips to temples. So its back to basics again.

At a closed door meeting of the Congress when seats were being discussed, Rahul Gandhi had intervened to make the point that Ishrat Jahan, the Delhi 2020 riots accused, need not be overlooked for tickets. In the end, the Cong came under the BJP pressure and gave ticket to Ariba Khan, who incidentally is the niece of Bihar governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who fell out with the Congress.

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On Sunday, the Congress held a special press conference, addressed by Abhishek Manu Singhvi, in which it condemned the BJP for supporting the release of the movie based on Delhi riots of 2020. The Congress accused the BJP of trying to polarise the people of the national capital ahead of the Assembly polls on February 5. The Congress plans to approach the Election Commission of India over the release of this movie.

The AAP, on the other hand, has seen through the Congress plan to woo Muslim voters, which is why its constantly referring to the Congress as the B-team of the BJP or helping the BJP win. It hopes that this narrative would ensure that the minorities stay with the AAP. But the Congress wouldnt want this to happen. For the Congress, it is not just about Delhi any more, but the partys larger plan to be the party of the under privileged and targeted".

First Published: January 27, 2025, 09:32 IST
What Is GBS Disorder That Has Claimed 1 Life In Pune? Symptoms You Should Know | Explained

Curated By :

News18.com

Edited By: Shilpy Bisht



Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 12:44 IST

Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is caused by a respiratory or a gastrointestinal infection. Most people with GBS need hospitalisation, however, most of the patients recover completely. A senior official of the Maharashtra health department has appealed to people to not panic

While authorities are investigating potential sources of Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS), water contamination cannot be ruled out.

Pune has reported more than 100 cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), with one suspected death reported in Solapur, the Maharashtra government has confirmed.

Initial reports indicate that the deceased may have contracted the infection in Pune before travelling to Solapur. A total of 28 new GBS cases were reported, bringing the overall count to 101.

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How Much Do We Know About GBS?

The neurological disorder is rare condition, with exact causes not known. Two-thirds of people have symptoms of an infection in the six weeks before Guillain-Barre symptoms begin. Infections can include a respiratory or a gastrointestinal infection, including Covid-19. Guillain-Barre also can be caused by the Zika virus.

GBS can cause numbness, weakness or paralysis. The first symptoms include weakness and tingling in the hands, feet. The sensations quickly spread and may lead to paralysis.

The most serious form of Guillain-Barre syndrome is a medical emergency. Most people with the condition need treatment in a hospital, according to Mayo Clinic.

Other symptoms may include unsteady walk or not being able to walk or climb stairs, trouble with facial movements, including speaking, chewing or swallowing, double vision or inability to move the eyes, severe pain that may feel achy, shooting or cramp-like and may be worse at night, trouble with bladder control or bowel function, rapid heart rate, low or high blood pressure and trouble breathing.

There Are Two Types Of GBS:

Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP) is the most common form of GBS found in North America and Europe. The most common sign of AIDP is muscle weakness that starts in the lower part of the body and spreads upwards.

Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) in which paralysis starts in the eyes. MFS is also associated with an unsteady walk. MFS is less common in the US but more common in Asia.

Acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) and acute motor-sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN) are less common in the US. But AMAN and AMSAN are more frequent in China, Japan and Mexico.

What Are The Causes And Complications?

Although the exact cause of GBS is not known, but the disease usually appears days or weeks after a respiratory or digestive tract infection.

A senior medical officer from the Maharashtra health department told CNN-News18 Guillain-Barre Syndromes symptoms usually become prominent after a respiratory or digestive tract infection. He pointed out that a bacterial or viral infection, recent vaccination, surgery and neuropathy can trigger Guillain-Barre Syndrome. He has appealed to the people to not panic saying that even though GBS is a rare disease, it can be treated.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infection with Campylobacter jejuni, which causes gastroenteritis, is one of the most common risk factors for GBS. Other triggers include viral infections such as cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and, in rare cases, vaccinations, Some of the GBS symptoms are triggered by campylobacter, a type of bacteria often found in undercooked poultry, influenza virus, Zika virus, Hepatitis A, B, C and E, HIV, Mycoplasma pneumonia, Covid-19 and surgery.

In the GBS, the body begins attacking the nerves instead of killing the organisms. In AIDP, the nerves protective covering, known as the myelin sheath, is damaged. This prevents nerves from transmitting signals to the brain, causing weakness, numbness or paralysis.

People infected with GBS may experience trouble in breathing. Up to 22% of people with Guillain-Barre syndrome need temporary help from a machine to breathe within the first week when they are hospitalised for treatment.

Most people with Guillain-Barre syndrome recover completely or have only minor, residual weakness, numbness or tingling. Blood pressure fluctuations and irregular heart rhythms are common side effects of Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Sluggish bowel function and urine retention may result from Guillain-Barre syndrome. People whose movements are less due to Guillain-Barre syndrome are at risk of developing blood clots.

People are advised to maintain proper hygiene, consume boiled water, and seek medical attention if they experience symptoms such as muscle weakness or difficulty breathing.

What Is The Situation In Pune?

The first suspected GBS case was hospitalised on January 9. Laboratory tests have detected the presence of Campylobacter jejuni bacteria in biological samples taken from hospitalised patients.

Of the confirmed cases, 16 patients are on ventilator support. An analysis of the cases indicates that 19 patients are below the age of nine, while 23 are within the 50-80 age bracket. The gender distribution reveals that 68 patients are male, and 33 are female.

While authorities are investigating potential sources of infection, water contamination cannot be ruled out as a major cause. Tests conducted on water samples have revealed high levels of E. coli bacteria in a well near Khadakwasla Dam, which is Punes primary water source. However, it remains uncertain whether the well was in use.

Health officials have surveyed 25,578 households in order to trace the source of the outbreak.

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The GBS treatment requires immunoglobulin (IVIG) injection, which is priced at Rs 20,000. Patients often require multiple injections, which add up the financial burden. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stated, The treatment is expensive. After discussions with officials from the district administration and municipal corporation, we have decided to provide free treatment. Those from Pimpri-Chinchwad will be treated at YCM Hospital, while patients from Pune Municipal Corporation areas will receive treatment at Kamla Nehru Hospital. For citizens from rural areas, free treatment will be provided at Sassoon Hospital in Pune."

Maharashtra Health Minister Prakashrao Abitkar told CNN-News18 that he will be reaching Pune soon, and there is no need to panic. He mentioned that GBS had existed before and is not a communicable disease. We are taking all measures to contain the surge," he said.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 12:40 IST
What Is Paraquat, Used By A 24-Year-Old Woman In Kerala To Poison Her Boyfriend? Explained

Curated By :

News18.com

Edited By: Shilpy Bisht



Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 16:49 IST

Paraquat dichloride, or paraquat, is a highly toxic liquid, which is mostly used by commercial farmers to kill weeds or dry out certain crops, like cotton, before harvesting them. Greeshma gave the chemical as concoction to her boyfriend, Sharon Raj, to relive pain. The court... Read More

Early signs of paraquat poisoning include choking, swelling in throat, irritation or redness, nosebleed, sore throat, stomachache and vomiting. (Photo: X)

A woman in Kerala has been sentenced to death by a court in Thiruvananthapuram for poisoning her boyfriend in 2022 using a chemical called paraquat. She is the youngest woman in the state to have been awarded a death sentence.

In its verdict, the Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court referred to the murder as extremely brutal, gruesome, diabolical, and revolting."

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What Is Paraquat Poisoning?

Paraquat dichloride, or paraquat, is a highly toxic (poisonous) liquid herbicide (plant or weed killer), which is mostly used by commercial farmers to kill weeds or dry out certain crops, like cotton, before harvesting them.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies paraquat as Category 2 (moderately hazardous and moderately irritating) chemical. Its sale is banned in over 70 countries, including China and the European Union, due to its potent toxicity. However, it is widely used in the US and in India. The Washington Post reported that the use of paraquat across the country doubled to at least 11 million pounds a year in the US between 2014 and 2018.

One can get paraquat poisoning if they paraquat. Consuming just 1 teaspoon (tsp) of paraquat can cause death. The chemical can also cause serious illness or death if it touches your clothing, eyes or skin, according to Cleveland Clinic.

What Does Paraquat Poisoning Do?

Paraquat poisoning occurs when someone pours paraquat into another container and another person mistakenly drinks it. Some people get paraquat poisoning by breathing in particles or getting them in their eyes during a paraquat spraying.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), paraquat causes direct damage when it comes into contact with the lining of the mouth, stomach, or intestines. The CDC noted that cells select how they allow paraquat to enter through active transport"  a process that moves molecules in and out of the cell.

Paraquat poisoning can cause death or permanent damage to vital organs such as heart, kidneys, liver and lungs.

Early signs of paraquat poisoning include choking, swelling in throat, irritation or redness, nosebleed, sore throat, stomachache and vomiting. It can also increase heart rate, cause confusion, muscle weakness and trouble breathing.

Whats The Treatment?

While there is no antidote for paraquat poisoning, according to a 2021 article in the National Medical Journal of India (NMJI), studies that have used immunosuppression or charcoal haemoperfusion as treatment. (Dambal et al, Reasons for under-reporting of paraquat poisoning in India).

Medical practitioners wont give oxygen if you have paraquat poisoning as paraquat reacts with oxygen in the body; adding more oxygen to lungs makes paraquat poisoning worse.

The CDC suggests swallowing activated charcoal or Fullers earth (multani mitthi) for the chemical to stick to. Treatment at a hospital is necessary.

How The Kerala Woman Poisoned Her Boyfriend

Only with the mind of extreme brutality one can repeat the same crime against her boyfriend or husband while in love. She being a repeated offender, not entitled to mercy," the court said. I conclude, the murder committed by the accused is extremely brutal and diabolical one. The medical evidence speaks volumes about the brutality of the crime," it added.

Sharon was a final-year BSc Radiology student, while Greeshma was pursuing a postgraduate degree in literature when the murder took place.

According to prosecution, Greeshma invited Sharon Raj (aged 23 at the time of death) to her house in Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu on October 14, 2022, where she offered him a concoction, claiming it would relieve pain. Sharons friend, who accompanied him, said he began to feel unwell after leaving Greeshmas house. He was later taken to the Parassala Government Hospital and referred to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. However, he was sent home after his blood tests came back normal.

On October 15, 2022, Sharons health deteriorated further, and he was taken to several hospitals before being readmitted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. He was eventually admitted to the ICU and later died on October 25 due to cardiac arrest.

Additional district sessions judge AM Basheer order said Greeshma poisoned Sharon, with whom she was in a relationship, after her parents fixed her marriage with another person and the victim refused to end their relationship.

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In his dying declaration to the magistrate, Sharon Raj admitted that he had consumed the herbal medicine given by Greeshma without suspecting any harm. The police filed the charge sheet on January 25, 2023.

The court also noted that the convicts claim of physical abuse from Sharon lacked proof. On the contrary, Sharon had never blamed her in any messages or communications. While Sharon remained committed to the accused, she was simultaneously in contact with her fiance," the court said, noting that the convicts age should not be considered in addition to the gravity of the crime committed.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 16:49 IST
What Signal Is Trump Sending On Illegal Immigrants, Why Colombia Face-Off Is A Warning For Others | Explained

Curated By :

News18.com

Edited By: Shilpy Bisht



Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 12:30 IST

Colombia has taken a U-turn by accepting unrestricted acceptance of deported migrants after earlier refusing two US military planes to land. Trump seems to be prioritising executive action on illegal immigrants over trade measures. His administration has arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals and deported hundreds

US President Donald Trump's first major announced tariffs are being enacted to punish a nation that he thinks is not sufficiently supporting America's new hardline immigration policies. (Reuters Image)

The United States has begun the mass crackdown on illegal immigrants, with Colombia, one of Americas closest allies in South America, agreeing to unrestricted acceptance" of deported migrants after newly sworn-in president Donald Trump warned of introducing a travel ban and immediate visa revocations" on Colombian government officials besides ordering 25% tariffs on the South American country.

Colombia had earlier refused to allow two US aircraft carrying deported immigrants to land because they were military, not civilian, transport planes.

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But the Colombian government had agreed to President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay," the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in the statement on Sunday night. Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement."

Trump seems to be prioritising executive action on illegal immigrants over trade measures  considering the latter was a key campaign promise. His first major announced tariffs are being enacted to punish a nation that he thinks is not sufficiently supporting Americas new hardline immigration policies.

By setting Colombia as an example, Trump has warned allies and adversaries that if they dont cooperate with the US, they will be punished with sanctions.

Whats US-Colombia Trade War?

After Trump threatened Colombia with tariffs and sanctions, Colombia, the US third largest trading partner in Latin America responded, with President Gustavo Petro warning of imposing a 50% tariff on US goods. He later posted on X that he had directed his trade minister to increase tariffs on US imports by 25%.

Colombia also refused US military deportation flights, which riled up Trump, who posted on Truth Social that Petros action to not accept flights could jeopardise US national security.

The US governments retaliatory measures include imposing 25% tariffs on all Colombian goods coming into the US, which could go up to 50% in one week; a travel ban and visa revocations on Colombian government officials; and emergency treasury, banking and financial sanctions.

These measures are just the beginning," Trump wrote. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!"

Whats Colombias Complaint?

Colombias Petro condemned the US practice on Sunday, suggesting it treated migrants like criminals. In a post on X, Petro said Colombia would welcome home deported migrants on civilian planes. He also offered his presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return" of Colombian nationals.

Petro said even though there were 15,660 Americans without legal immigration status in Colombia, he would never carry out a raid to return handcuffed Americans to the US. We are the opposite of the Nazis," he wrote.

Meanwhile, Mexico also refused a request last week to let a US military aircraft land with migrants. But Trump did not take similar action against Mexico, the largest US trading partner, instead has said he is thinking about imposing 25% duties on imports from Canada and Mexico on February 1 to force further action against illegal immigrants and fentanyl flowing into the US.

A White House source told Reuters countries have an obligation to accept repatriation flights" when asked if Trump was using Colombia to set an example. The US is simply sending back the criminals that Colombia sent to the US."

How Sanctions Could Lead To Higher Prices For US Consumers

The US is Colombias largest trading partner, largely due to a 2006 free trade agreement that generated $33.8 billion in two-way trade in 2023 and a $1.6 billion US trade surplus, according to US Census Bureau data.

But Colombia ranks just 23rd among US trading partners, which means it may have more to lose.

Alejo Czerwonko, chief investment officer for emerging markets Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, said Colombia relied on access to the US market for about a third of its exports, or about 4% of its GDP.

Colombias top 2023 exports to the US were heavy crude oil, gold, coffee, cut roses, aluminum windows and diesel fuel, Census Bureau data showed. Colombia accounted for more than a third of the total nursery stock imports and about 20% of coffee imports, according to the Census Bureau.

US makers of petroleum products did about $2.5 billion in business with Colombia in 2023. The next most valuable annual exports to the country were corn ($1.2 billion) and chemicals ($1 billion). Its other top imports from the US were civilian aircraft, naphthas, and soybean solids.

So, if the US government imposes sanctions on Colombia, it will lead to higher prices for US consumers. The US industries most likely to be affected are agriculture and suppliers of the raw materials. Importers may have to shift to other sources to avoid this, which would hit Colombian producers by reducing a key market.

Will Mass Deportation Reach Its Promised Scale?

Although Trumps rhetoric has created fear among immigrants, experts say the reality of intensifying deportations is costly, and more complicated than an election promise.

Ive been working with members of Congress, and the whole team has been working, to come up with a number that makes sense," border czar Tom Homan told CNN. But like Ive said many times, were going to use whatever money we have and do the most efficient operation we can. The more money we have, the more we can do. And I think this election proves that the American people support the removals of criminal aliens in this country. So, Im looking for Congress to come through and give us the budget we need."

An analysis done in 2015 by Laura Collins, an immigration policy expert at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, co-authored for the American Action Forum, a conservative think tank, estimated arresting and removing all undocumented immigrants from the US would cost at least $100 billion and take 20 years.

If 1 million undocumented immigrants are deported per year, mass deportation could cost more than $88 billion annually, according to the American Immigration Council.

Around $992 million is the Department of Homeland Securitys budget for soft-sided" temporary detention facilities along the border in fiscal year 2023. Operating a soft-sided shelter can cost up to $40 million a month, according to Jason Houser, a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief of staff, as mentioned by CNN.

How Many Have Been Deported So Far?

In a post on X on Thursday, White House press secretary Leavitt said, The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors."

Tren de Aragua is a violent gang that started in Venezuela and has now reached the US. It became a flashpoint during the presidential campaign.

Among the 538 arrests, 373 people have criminal records and 165 people without criminal records aside from immigration violations, according to documentation provided by a senior administration official, as mentioned in a CBS report. Another 1,041 people were removed or repatriated, according to those records.

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Leavitt stated, The Trump Administration also deported hundreds of illegal immigrant criminals via military aircraft. The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway."

There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, with several of them living in the country for many years.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 10:45 IST
In Major Breakthrough, India & China Agree To Resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, Direct Flights

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 20:23 IST

Along with Kailash Mansarovar Yatra resumption, the two sides have also agreed to resume direct flights between the two nations, promote cross-border river cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

Vikram Misri visited Beijing on 26-27 January for a meeting With Wang Yi. (X)

In a big move, India and China have agreed to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, stopped since 2020, following years of border tensions, during a special representative meeting between the two sides.

New Delhi and Beijing also agreed in principle the resumption of direct flights between the two nations during a meeting between between Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

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Misri is on a two-day visit to Beijing on January 2627, 2025, for a meeting with Vice Foreign Minister of China to review India-China bilateral relations.

The two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025; the relevant mechanism will discuss the modalities for doing so as per existing agreements," a MEA press release said.

They agreed in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries; the relevant technical authorities on the two sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date," it added.

Along with Kailash Mansarovar Yatra resumption, the two sides have also agreed to promote and facilitate people-to-people changes, promote cross-border river cooperation, and resumption of provision of hydrological data.

The two sides agreed to take appropriate measures to further promote and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, including media and think-tank interactions. They also agreed to hold an early meeting of the India-China Expert Level Mechanism to discuss resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers," the statement read.

The two sides recognise that 2025, being the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China, should be utilised to redouble public diplomacy efforts to create better awareness about each other and restore mutual trust and confidence among the public. The two sides will conduct a number of commemorative activities to mark this anniversary," the statement by the MEA further said.

The MEA said that the resumption of this bilateral mechanism flows from the agreement at the leadership level to discuss the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains.

The meeting followed the bilateral meetup between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit held in Kazan in October 2024.

During the meeting, both sides agreed on measures to maintain peace and tranquility along the border, and strengthen mechanisms for diplomatic and military negotiations.

Last year, India had announced that it had reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. The agreement is anticipated to ease patrolling in the Depsang and Demchok areas, where major issues remained unresolved.

EAM Jaishankar had said that Indian and Chinese soldiers will resume patrolling as they did before the 2020 border face-off.

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Misri had said that the agreement between the two countries was finalised after several weeks of negotiations and would help resolve the issues that arose in 2020.

Ties between the two Asian giants nosedived following a fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, marking the most serious military conflict between them in decades.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 19:55 IST
Charred Body Of Woman Found Near Ghazipur On Republic Day, Suspect Arrested

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 15:32 IST

According to the police, they received a call at approximately 4 pm on January 26, reporting that a charred body had been recovered in the area

Ghazipur: Police personnel stand by during farmers agitation, at NH24 in Ghazipur border, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019. Hundreds of farmers from Uttar Pradesh were on their way to Kisan Ghat in Delhi demanding pending sugarcane dues, loan waivers and cheap electricity, among others. (PTI Photo/Arun Sharma) (PTI9_21_2019_000078B)

The half-burnt body of a woman was discovered near Ghazipur on Sunday amid heightened security in the national capital for the Republic Day celebrations.

According to the police, they received a call at approximately 4 pm on January 26, reporting that a charred body had been recovered in the area. The woman has been identified as Shilpa.

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Upon arrival, the police team found it difficult to identify the body due to the severe burns. An FIR was immediately registered, and a detailed investigation was launched.

Several police teams were deployed to gather information and track down the person responsible for the crime.

Later the police were able to identify the accused as Amit Tiwari, who was arrested in Greater Noida. Amit confessed to the crime, revealing the victim to be his cousin, Shilpa.

According to Amits statement, he and Shilpa had been living together in a live-in relationship. Shilpa had been pressuring him to marry her, which led to a violent confrontation. In a drunken state, Amit strangled her to death.

After committing the crime, Amit called his friend, Anuj, and the two decided to dispose of the body. They went to a petrol pump, purchased petrol, and planned to move the body out of the city.

However, due to heavy security checks, they decided to dispose of the body in the Ghazipur area instead. They doused the body in petrol and set it on fire using fresh stubble in an attempt to destroy evidence and make the body unrecognizable.

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The police have arrested both Amit and his accomplice, Anuj, and further investigations are ongoing.

Amit has been charged with murder, and both suspects will face additional charges related to the crime.

Location : Ghazipur, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:28 IST
CISF Refutes Man's Claim Of Apple Watch Stolen At Delhi Airport: 'You Were Seen Wearing It'

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 07:47 IST

Gurugram-based doctor Tushar Mehta had alleged that his Apple Watch was stolen during security check-in and he had seen the thief giving it to a salesman at a watch store

Gurugram-based doctor Tushar Mehta claimed that an attempt was made to steal his Apple Watch during the security check-in at the Delhi Airport.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Sunday refuted the claims of a surgeon who had said that his Apple Watch was nearly stolen during the security check-in at the Delhi Airport.

The CISF, which ensures security at all major airports in the country, said that the CCTV recordings contradicted the sequence of events".

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The review of the CCTV has contradicted the sequence of events as narrated above. After the security check, you were seen wearing your watch and heading for the boarding gate without interaction with any CISF personnel. The boarding was completed smoothly and hassle-free," said the CISF on X.

Dear Pax,The review of the CCTV has contradicted the sequence of events as narrated above. After security check, you were seen wearing your watch and heading for boarding gate without interaction with any CISF personnel. The boarding was completed smoothly and hassle-free.(1/2) APS  CISF (@CISFAirport) January 26, 2025

Posting of such unsubstantiated messages creates unnecessary apprehension in the minds of passengers, hence avoidable," it further said.

What Did The Doctor Claim?

The controversy erupted after Gurugram-based doctor Tushar Mehta on Saturday took to X where he wrote about how his Apple watch got almost stolen at the Terminal 3 of the Delhi Airport.

Mehta said that the incident occurred when he was putting his things back inside his laptop bag after going through the security check. He said that he realised his Apple watch was missing and reached out to a CISF personnel who asked him to check his pockets and bag again.

Mehta said that he saw a person who was looking at him and then started walking away. On confronting the person, he found his Apple watch was with him and forcibly recovered it from him.

In a long post on X, Mehta wrote, The moment I crossed security, I started putting things back into my laptop bag. I could feel that something is missing and I realised I dont have my watch. I asked the CISF guy standing there. He asked me to look again in my bag, pocket etc which I had already done."

I turned around curiously and saw someone looking back at me while walking away. I didnt care about what CISF guy was about to do or say and started walking for that guy. Few steps ahead I saw him standing at the Titan Watches Helios store on the left," he added.

I confronted him and forcibly put my hand over his trouser pocket and I could feel the watch. The sales guy standing at Helios came over towards me and behaved weirdly as it had nothing to do with him. Forcefully I took out my watch (I am glad I could and I did). The guy who took my watch and the Helios guy tried to confront me which made me realise that they knew each other from before. The Helios guy looped me in and meanwhile the other guy left the shop and escaped," Mehta added in a post which he deleted later and even deactivated his X account.

He claimed that he was getting late for his flight and hence, left the shop after recovering his watch. Meanwhile on the way to the gate, a CISF guy came with the Helios guy and started asking me for my rude behaviour and asked to apologise," he said.

How Did The Airport Authorities React To The Viral Post?

After the post went viral, the Delhi Airport said that a thorough investigation" will be carried out into the matter.

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Dear Dr Tushar, we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused. The theft of your Apple Watch and subsequent events are being taken seriously. We assure you that we will take this matter up strongly with all relevant parties, including CISF and the concessionaire," it said on X.

Meanwhile, the CISF had earlier requested the man to share his travel details. Dear Passenger, We request you to share your PNR and contact number via DM (Direct Message) for us to look into it," it said.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 07:47 IST
Delhi High Court Junks Plea Seeking ECI Direction To Cancel AAP Registration

Published By :

PTI

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 15:00 IST

The petitioner urged the top court to direct ECI to cancel AAP's registration arguing not disclosing antecedents was in violation of Supreme Court's directions.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal (PTI Image)

The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to examine a plea seeking cancellation of AAPs registration, alleging it failed to disclose criminal antecedents of the party and its candidates in the upcoming assembly elections.

The petitioner urged a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela to direct the Election Commission of India to cancel the partys registration arguing not disclosing antecedents was in violation of Supreme Courts directions.

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The SC mandates publishing criminal antecedants by candidates and political parties, said the plea filed by one Ashwin Mudgal.

His counsel said AAP was an accused in the liquor scam and it had failed to disclose being an accused in the case.

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The court however said the direction was by the Supreme Court and there was no provision to de-recognise a political party.

The petitioner subsequently withdrew the petition with the liberty to move the Supreme Court.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:00 IST
Did NTK Chief Seeman Eat Turtle Meat During Meeting With LTTE's Prabhakaran?

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 11:42 IST

In an exclusive conversation with News18 Tamil, Ellalan film cinematographer Santosh who accompanied Seeman, the chief of the Naam Tamil Party to Sri Lanka in the 2000s, spoke about their meeting with LTTE chief Prabhakaran

Ellalan film cinematographer Santhosh pointed out that NTK chief Seeman's account lacks credibility. (News18 Tamil)

Tamil documentary film Ellalans cinematographer, SR Santhosh, has recently clarified whether Seeman, the Naam Tamil Party chief coordinator, was served turtle meat during his visit to Sri Lanka in the 2000s.

This comes after recent claims by Tamil film director Sankagiri Rajkumar who asserted that a photo of Seeman with Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, was fake and had been edited.

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According to some reports, Seeman admitted to having consumed tortoise meat during a visit to the Liberal Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) camp in Sri Lanka in the 2000s when the island nation was going through a civil war. Seeman reportedly mentioned that the LTTE leaders extended great hospitality to him, serving tortoise meat as part of the meal.

However, in an exclusive interview with News18 Tamil, Prabhakarans nephew, Karthik Manoharan, denied such claims that Seeman was served turtle meat.

Its true that a meeting took place between myself and Seeman," he confirmed, but it was brief, lasting only eight to ten minutes. Contrary to his claims, Seeman had no contact with my aunt (Prabhakarans wife). There was no shared meal, no turtle curry, no idli curry. These are all fabrications."

Meanwhile, Santhosh, who accompanied Seeman on his visit to Sri Lanka to meet Prabhakaran, said in an exclusive interview to News18 Tamil, While Seemans assertions may hold some truth, his comparison of LTTE fighters to five-star hotel chefs is inaccurate."

Speaking about the hospitality offered to them in Sri Lanka, Santhosh said, The hospitality of Eelam Tamils is beyond words. Despite their own hardships, they demonstrate remarkable generosity and care for others. Even in the midst of conflict, their willingness to share their limited resources speaks volumes about their character. The depth of their hospitality cannot be overstated; Eelam Tamils prioritise the well-being of guests, even if it means sacrificing their own comfort."

Santhosh further added that, during his visit, he was served turtle meat, while Seeman, despite requests, was not.

I lived there for seven months and even had turtle meat. It is important to clarify that the turtle meat was not served to Seeman but to me. Despite this, he claims to have been served turtle meat. While he was indeed served iguana meat and even requested turtle meat, his request was not fulfilled," he said.

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Santhosh pointed out that Seemans account lacks credibility. The constant presence of individuals preparing turtle food cannot be true. Furthermore, the LTTE does not possess a system for recording and fulfilling individual food requests," he said.

The Tamil Eelam stated that Seeman met and spoke with LTTE leader Prabhakaran at length and received special hospitality. During the 2009 war, Prabhakaran invited many Tamil nationalists from Tamil Nadu to showcase his pride, and Seeman was brought to Sri Lanka through Cheralathan, the person in charge. The Tamil Eelam Political Department also stated that numerous militants in various countries witnessed Seeman spending considerable time with Prabhakaran during his stay in Sri Lanka. Their statement further declared their readiness to provide direct testimony if required.

Location : Tamil Nadu, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 11:42 IST
From Wanting To End Life Over Insult To Chief Guest On R-Day: UP Auto Drivers Heart-warming U-Turn

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 15:39 IST

An emotional Rakesh Soni said, This was indeed a Republic Day for me. The Republic is not just about the Constitution; its about the spirit of equality and inclusion, said DM Jitendra Pratap Singh

District magistrate (DM) Jitendra Pratap Singh (left) with Rakesh Soni, an auto-rickshaw driver. (News18)

In a heart-warming move, district magistrate (DM) Jitendra Pratap Singh invited Rakesh Soni, 45, an auto-rickshaw driver who had once sought permission to end his life after being assaulted by a traffic constable, to be the chief guest at the district collectorates Republic Day celebrations in Kanpur.

Soni not only hoisted the Indian flag, but also sat alongside the DM, symbolising a rare acknowledgement of the common mans struggle.

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This was indeed a Republic Day for me," said an emotional Soni.

I am honoured. Never thought that an auto-rickshaw driver like me could be a chief guest at the flag-hoisting ceremony at the district collectorate. Thanks to DM sir for making this the most memorable day of my life."

The Republic is not just about the Constitution; its about the spirit of equality and inclusion," said Jitendra Pratap Singh.

THE TRIGGER

Sonis ordeal began on December 30, 2024, when he was driving his auto-rickshaw from Naubasta to Baradevi in Kanpur. At a busy traffic intersection, a constable stopped his vehicle, banged a stick on it, and began tearing the curtain of the auto. When Soni protested, pleading that he was a poor man and could not afford to fix the damage, the constable grew aggressive. He pushed a plastic stick into my mouth and threatened to teach me a lesson," Soni recalled.

The damage to his auto-rickshaw came was worth Rs 2,000  a significant amount for someone earning barely Rs 300-400 a day after paying Rs 500 as daily rent for the vehicle. Humiliated and unable to bear the financial burden, Soni approached the police for help. However, his complaints fell on deaf ears. Instead, the same constable began harassing him further, even photographing his vehicle to intimidate him.

Dejected, Soni decided to take his plea to the DMs office.

THE PROMISE

The then newly appointed DM, Jitendra Pratap Singh, was known for his empathy towards the underprivileged, even paying school fees for needy children out of his pocket. Soni gathered the courage to meet him and shared his grievances. Overwhelmed with despair, he requested the DM to grant him euthanasia, as he felt his dignity and livelihood had been stripped away.

Instead of dismissing his plea, the DM assured Soni of justice. Your dignity has been hurt, but I will ensure it is restored," he said.

True to his word, the DM not only resolved the issue, but also decided to honour Soni by inviting him as the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations. I thought it was just a kind gesture when he said that. But when an official arrived at my house with a formal invitation, I realised he meant it," said Soni. His family, too, was incredulous. Living in a rented house with limited means  his wife working as a school attendant  the idea of such an honour was beyond their wildest dreams.

A DAY OF PRIDE

On the morning of January 26, Soni arrived at the collectorate in his best clothes. Standing beside the DM, he hoisted the national flag, a moment that brought tears to his eyes. It felt like my entire lifes struggles had been acknowledged," he said.

For the first time in his 28 years as an auto driver, he felt respected, not ridiculed.

UPS AUTO-RICKSHAW DRIVERS HAIL THE MOVE

Sanjay Kumar, another auto driver, hailed the DMs move as groundbreaking. We face harassment daily. Police officers beat us, damage our vehicles, and sometimes take bribes. This gesture shows that someone in power cares about us," he said.

Its a tough life. We barely make enough to survive, and on top of that, were humiliated. But now, seeing Rakesh being honoured, we feel theres hope," he added.

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Another driver, Mahesh Gupta, said, This Republic Day felt different. It reminded us that even the poorest among us can be heard and respected. Rakeshs story is an inspiration to all of us."

By honouring Soni, the DM sent a powerful message about justice, dignity, and the role of governance in uplifting the marginalised.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:39 IST
Maharashtra Reports First Death Due To Guillain-Barre Syndrome Amid Rising Cases In Pune

Reported By :

CNN-News18

Edited By: News Desk



Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 11:09 IST

There are 101 cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) so far in Maharashtra, out of which 81 patients are from Pune MC, 14 from Pimpri Chinchwad MC and 6 are from other districts.

The first death due to Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) has been reported in Maharashtra. More than 100 patients are admitted in the state.

The first death due to the Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) virus was reported in Solapur, Maharashtra amid the outbreak on Monday.

A 40-year-old man from Dhayari, Pune, succumbed to the syndrome while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Solapur. The deceased was initially diagnosed in Pune but was shifted for specialised care.

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Till now, 101 cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) have been reported out of which 81 patients are from Pune MC, 14 from Pimpri Chinchwad MC and 6 are from other districts. Pune has been the centre of the outbreak.

Every day, 28 new cases of GBS are recorded. Among the affected, 16 patients are critically ill and require ventilator support.

In the wake of the outbreak, a rapid response team was formed by the Maharashtra government. Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is a rare auto-immune disorder which leaves patients in a paralysis-type situation.

The public health department of the state, in a communication, said that a state-level rapid response team had visited the affected area. Authorities have informed the public that Guillain-Barre Syndrome is alarming, but it cannot lead to an epidemic or a pandemic.

The state department said that the rural district authorities and Pune Municipal Corporation have been given instructions to increase surveillance activities.

A team has also been sent by the Union Health Ministry to Pune to assess the situation after the GBS outbreak.

The officials have collected water samples from various parts of Pune and sent them to the public health laboratory for biological and chemical analysis as a precautionary measure.

The state government have asked private medical practitioners to notify authorities about every GBS patient they treat. They are also thinking of increasing health promotion activities.

Health officials have so far surveyed over 25,578 houses in the affected areas. The surveys are being carried out by the Maharashtra State Health Departments Rapid Response Team (RRT) in collaboration with the Pune Municipal Corporation and local health authorities.

Speaking to News18.com, Maharashtra Health Minister Prakashrao Abitkar said that he is on his way to Pune and that there is no need to panic about GBS. He said that GBS is an existing disease and is not communicable. He added that all measures are being taken to contain the surge.

To address the growing concern, the government has revised treatment costs under the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MPJAY). Previously, private hospitals under the scheme were allocated Rs80,000 per patient.

This amount has now been doubled to Rs1.6 lakh, ensuring better access to advanced treatment for affected patients.

Announcing the decision, MPJAY CEO Annasaheb Chavan emphasised the importance of providing relief to families struggling with the disease. Health Minister Abitkar reiterated the governments commitment to managing the crisis effectively.

What Is Guillain-Barre Syndrome?

Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder in which the peripheral nervous system is attacked by the immune system of the body, as per the World Health Organisation. The syndrome is seen in people who get infected with bacteria or viruses.

The syndrome affects the nerves which control muscle movement and those that have touch, temperature and pain sensations which leads to loss of sensation in the legs and/or arms, muscle weakness and difficulties in breathing or swallowing.

French neurologists Georges Guillain and Jean Alexandre Barre first discovered this syndrome in 1916.

The exact cause behind the disease is not clear, however, it often occurs after a viral or bacterial infection, vaccination, or major surgery. The immune system becomes hyperactive during such periods which leads to this rare condition.

GBS has often been linked to bacterial infections caused by consuming contaminated water or food. Symptoms such as diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and sudden weakness in the limbs are key indicators of the syndrome.

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Experts warn that infections like Campylobacter, dengue, or chikungunya can trigger an immune response that attacks the nerves, leading to GBS. Diagnosis typically occurs within one to three weeks of the onset of symptoms.

Authorities have urged citizens to take precautions, such as boiling and filtering drinking water, avoiding stale or exposed food, and consulting a doctor immediately if symptoms like muscle weakness or numbness occur. Public awareness campaigns and targeted measures in affected areas are being undertaken to prevent further spread.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 09:15 IST
'Mumbai Cops Ruined His Life': Father Of Man Detained, Released In Saif Attack Case

Published By :

PTI

Last Updated: January 28, 2025, 00:01 IST

The father of a man who was detained in Durg in Chhattisgarh as a suspect in the January 16 Saif Ali Khan attack case slammed Mumbai police on Monday for "ruining my son's life".

Saif Ali Khan Stabbing Case | File Image

The father of a man who was detained in Durg in Chhattisgarh as a suspect in the January 16 Saif Ali Khan attack case slammed Mumbai police on Monday for ruining my sons life".

Akash Kanojia (31), a driver, was detained from Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Kolkata Shalimar Jnaneshwari Express at Durg station by the Railway Protection Force on January 18 after a tip off from Mumbai police.

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On the morning of January 19, Mumbai police arrested Bangladeshi national Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir alias Vijay Das from neighbouring Thane, after which the Durg RPF allowed Kanojia to go leave.

Kanjojia is a resident of Indiranagar chawl in Titwala in Thane district.

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The police detained my son without verifying his identity. This mistake has ruined his life. Now, due to the mental trauma, Akash is unable to focus on work or communicate with his family. He has become withdrawn, doesnt talk properly, and has lost all motivation," his father Kailash Kanojia said.

People are saying there is no resemblance between my son and the actual accused. He lost his job and his marriage was called off. Who is responsible? The behaviour of the police has destroyed Akashs future," Kailash added.

First Published: January 28, 2025, 00:01 IST
No Wheelchair, Wet Seats: Elderly Couple Have Harrowing Experience On Lufthansa, Airlines Faces Rs 55K Fine

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 10:09 IST

An elderly couple had to sit on wet seats with water dripping from above on a Lufthansa flight for 10 hours. They were also not provided assistance and were denied wheelchair

A court has asked Lufthansa Airlines to pay Rs 55,000 to an elderly couple for causing mental harassment. (Source: Reuters)

A Chennai court has slapped Lufthansa Airlines with a fine of Rs 55,000 after an elderly couple filed a complaint regarding the traumatic experience they faced aboard the plane on a 10-hour journey to Frankfurt.

The couple had a harrowing experience on the flight where they were forced to use wet seats with water dripping from above throughout their journey.

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The couple  Joju Dominic, 69, and his wife Jasmine, 65  had to face emotional and financial distress because of delays in the flights and denial of assistance, reported The Times Of India.

Couple Face Harrowing Experience In Lufthansa

The couple were travelling from Chennai to Vancouver via Frankfurt and had booked round-trip tickets of Lufthansa Airlines for Rs 3.5 lakh.

On June 12, 2023, the couples troubles began as they started the journey. Their first flight from Chennai to Frankfurt was late by 90 minutes because of which they had to wait in the aerobridge.

After boarding the flight, the couple found that their seats were completely wet and water was dripping from the compartment overhead.

Joju said that the cabin crew did not offer any help to them and instead threatened to deplane him if he complained about the situation.

The staff blamed the issue on Chennais climate and suggested we use a blanket to deal with the dripping water," he added.

After facing inconvenience for long, the couple were finally given alternative seats.

The couple then missed their connecting Air Canada flight to Vancouver because of a lack of priority assistance and delays by Lufthansa Airlines.

The couple had some arguments with airline staff after which the officials accommodated them on a later flight. However, the constant delays further led to the couple missing their scheduled ferry in Canada.

The harrowing experience continued during the couples return journey. The Lufthansa Airlines, after the take-off, faced a fuel leakage and came back to Frankfurt.

On October 3, 2023, the couple were asked to go to a service centre to seek help at Frankfurt airport where they were treated harshly.

Lufthansa Airlines also initially denied their request for accommodation before the departure of the rescheduled flight, Joju alleged.

The couple were also not provided pre-booked wheelchair assistance and were forced to walk for around 2 km to their lodging.

Joju said that the meal provided after the flight was delayed was also inadequate and they also ran out of their medical supplies.

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The couple sued the airlines and demanded Rs 3.5 lakh in compensation which is equal to the cost of their tickets.

The court directed the airline to pay Rs 55,000 for causing mental harassment to the couple and to cover their legal costs.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 10:09 IST
'One Nation, One Election' Critical Discussion For India's Democratic Process: PM Modi

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 22:22 IST

The prime minister observed that polls have often led to an overwhelming cycle of continuous electioneering in India.

PM Narendra Modi (PTI Image)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the ongoing debate on the "One Nation, One Election" proposal is critical for Indias democratic process and urged youngsters to actively engage in and promote the discussions.

Addressing a National Cadet Corps (NCC) rally here, Modi urged youngsters, including NCC cadets and National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers, to actively engage in and promote the debate, which he said is directly linked to their future.

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The prime minister observed that polls have often led to an overwhelming cycle of continuous electioneering in India.

"After independence, elections at the state and central levels were held together for a long time. But over time, this pattern broke down, causing significant challenges for the country," he said.

Modi highlighted that the current situation, where elections take place frequently, disrupts governance and development.

"Today, there is an important debate about One Nation, One Election. Holding the Lok Sabha and state elections simultaneously could alleviate disruptions and enable a more focused governance approach," he said.

The prime minister urged youngsters to take part in the discussion, stressing its relevance for the countrys future.

"I appeal to the NCC cadets, volunteers and all youngsters across the country  wherever you are, take this debate forward. It is directly linked to your future," he said, while emphasising that participating in the debate is essential for shaping Indias future political landscape.

Comparing Indias election frequency with that of other countries, Modi pointed out that even in the United States, the electoral cycle is structured to ensure a clear separation of governance periods.

"In countries like the US, elections are held every four years and the dates for forming a new government are fixed," he noted.

The prime minister further emphasised the need for more young people to join politics with innovative ideas.

"I had said from the Red Fort that one lakh youngsters should join politics," he said.

Reflecting on the significance of youngsters in global development, the prime minister said, "The future of the world cannot be imagined without Indias youngsters. That is why I call you a force for global good." He also mentioned that India has witnessed a significant rise in the number of NCC cadets.

"In 2014, the number of NCC cadets in the country was around 14 lakh. Today, it is around 20 lakh and more than eight lakh of them are girl cadets," Modi noted.

The prime minister lauded the achievements of Indias youngsters.

"Indias youngsters are not just for Indias development, they are a force for global good. The world is recognising this," he said, further stressing that Indias youth power is indispensable in sectors across the globe.

On youth empowerment, the prime minister mentioned his governments efforts to ease out challenges.

"Earlier, youngsters used to struggle to get bank loans. When I became the prime minister, I said I would give a guarantee for loans to youngsters. We launched the Mudra Yojana, which provides loans without a bank guarantee. Earlier, loans of up to Rs 10 lakh were given without a guarantee but in our third term, we have increased this limit to Rs 20 lakh," he said.

Modi also mentioned the expansion of the NCCs presence, particularly in border and coastal areas.

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"The NCC has reached more than 170 border talukas and over 100 coastal talukas," he said, further highlighting the significance of this expansion for national security.

Modi urged youngsters to be a driving force for Indias growth, saying, "No sector can progress without Indias youngsters and talent. The world cannot imagine its future without the contribution of Indias youngsters."

First Published: January 27, 2025, 22:22 IST
'Will Work Together For Global Peace': PM Modi, Trump Discuss Bilateral Ties Over Phone Call

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 23:04 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Donald Trump, a week after his second inauguration as the US President

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump | AP/File Image

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Donald Trump for the first time since the latter took charge as US President for a second term.

During the conversation, both leaders discussed bilateral ties between the two biggest democracies and emphasised their shared commitment to working together for global peace and stability.

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The two leaders exchanged views on pressing global issues, including the situation in West Asia and Ukraine, and reiterated their commitment to work together to promote global peace.

Both leaders have agreed to remain in touch and meet soon at an early mutually convenient date, said sources.

Delighted to speak with my dear friend President Donald Trump. Congratulated him on his historic second term. We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, and security," said PM Modi in an X post.

Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. Congratulated him on his historic second term. We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 27, 2025

Prime Minister Modi last spoke to Trump on November 7 last year, the day the Republican leader achieved a sweeping victory in the US Presidential Elections.

Trump was sworn in as the President succeeding Joe Biden during a grand inauguration event at the US Capitol in Washington on January 20, which saw several dignitaries, including former presidents and billionaire entrepreneurs.

PM Modi congratulated his dear friend", saying he wanted New Delhi and Washington to work closely together.

Congratulations my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump on your historic inauguration as the 47th President of the United States! I look forward to working closely together once again, to benefit both our countries and to shape a better future for the world. Best wishes for a successful term ahead," said PM Modi in an X post.

Notably, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented India at Donald Trumps inauguration event. Invited by the US State, he carried a personal letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Trump.

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Soon after assuming the office, Trump signed a batch of executive orders aimed at overhauling US immigration, and the H1-B visas that allow companies to bring foreigners with specific qualifications to the United States.

India is among the largest sources of legal migration into the United States, but tens of thousands of Indians have also entered the country illegally in recent years by crossing the Canadian and Mexican borders.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 19:20 IST
Rajasthan Shocker: Man Kills Business Partner's Kids In Jodhpur, Hangs Bodies Over 'Betrayal'

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 08:51 IST

Shyam Singh Bhati had entered into a partnership in a bangle factory with Pradeep Devasai before the latter left, causing financial losses to Bhati. Upset over the 'betrayal', Bhati killed his kids.

The accused kidnapped the children and killed them over an alleged 'betrayal' by their father in a business relationship. (Representative Image)

In a shocking incident, a 70-year-old man in Rajasthans Jodhpur allegedly picked up his business partners two children, killed them and hanged their bodies in a bangle factory in retaliation for their fathers betrayal", according to police.

The incident took place in Boranada and the childrens bodies were found on Sunday, two days after they were reported missing by their family. Police said they also found a note where the accused purportedly admitted to killing the children due to their fathers betrayal and his intent to commit suicide.

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Shyam Singh Bhati, 70, from Rajasthans Phalodi, had started a bangle factory in partnership with Pradeep Devasai, a bangle craftsman from Uttar Pradesh, more than nine months ago before the latter left the partnership due to some personal reasons, DCP (West) Rajarshi Raj Verma told news agency PTI. They had known each other for around 20 years.

According to preliminary investigation, Bhati had invested money in the bangle factory, while Devasai worked there as a craftsman. Due to some disagreements, Devasai ended the partnership, resulting in financial losses to Bhati.

This led to Bhati harbouring resentment against Devasais family and wanting to teach him a lesson. Seizing an opportunity, Bhati murdered Devasais two children. Their bodies were found in his (Bhatis) rented house near his factory," Verma told PTI.

According to police, Tamanna alias Tannu (12) and Shivpal (8) left home on Friday for their school but never returned. Their family searched for them and eventually filed a report at the Boranada police station on Saturday. The two children studied in a school in Pal.

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Police said Bhati picked up the children from the school under the pretext of dropping them home but took them to his house near the bangle factory which is located in the vicinity of the Jain Temple in Boranada. He killed them there and hanged their bodies, police said.

The DCP said Bhati is absconding and a manhunt has been launched to arrest him. In the note found at the crime site, Verma said Bhati had written his partner had betrayed" him, which is why he also wanted to take his own life.

Location : Jodhpur, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 08:51 IST
'She Wants My Death': Karnataka Man Dies By Suicide, Leaves Note Alleging Harassment By Wife

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 21:37 IST

Peter Gollapalli, who worked in a private firm, died by suicide on Sunday, said the police, adding that the incident occurred in the Chamundeshwari Nagar area.

Peter Gollapalli with his wife | Image.X

A 40-year-old man died by suicide at his home in Karnataka and left behind a note, alleging harassment by his wife, said officials on Monday.

Peter Gollapalli, who worked in a private firm, died by suicide on Sunday, said the police, adding that the incident occurred in the Chamundeshwari Nagar area.

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In the note, Peter wrote to his father, Daddy, Im sorry." He further went on to accuse his wife, saying, My wife Pinky is killing me, she wants my death I am dying because of my wifes torture."

Preliminary inquiry has revealed that the couple got married two years ago and started living separately after three months of marriage following frequent quarrels. His wife has also filed for a divorce and demanded Rs 20 lakhs as an alimony.

The family members said that he and his wife had been going through a marital discord for the last three months.

Speaking to reporters, the victims brother Eshayya said since it was Sunday, everybody had gone to church and when they returned home in the afternoon, he found his brother hanging.

Seeking justice for his brother, Eshayya said Petaru was working at a private firm, but lost his job three months ago.

We want justice for my brother. That woman (the deceaseds wife) should be arrested. No one should suffer the way my brother has suffered. Her elder brother had also beaten him and there is also a police report about it," he added.

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Based on a complaint from the victims brother, a case under section 108 (abetment to suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered against his wife, police said, adding further investigation is underway.

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)

First Published: January 27, 2025, 21:36 IST
The Mizoram-Myanmar Drug Trade Riding High: Exclusive From Intel Sources On Routes, Profits

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 14:38 IST

News18 has exclusively accessed an intelligence report on how the illegal drug trade is flourishing along the Mizoram-Myanmar international border

Sources said the India-Myanmar shadow economy is worth Rs 30,000-40,000 crore.

With the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recently unearthing a hidden tunnel built for smuggling of drugs along the Mizoram-Myanmar international border, News18 has exclusively accessed an intelligence report on how the illegal trade has become a shadow economy".

Intelligence sources called it a global nexus", which helps drugs from Mizoram reach Bangladesh, Nepal, and Southeast Asia via Assam and Manipur.

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Sources said the India-Myanmar shadow economy is worth Rs 30,000-40,000 crore.

THE ROUTE

Mizoram and Myanmar have more than 500-km-long porous border, which is surrounded by dense forest, river and difficult terrain, which make surveillance impossible. Moreover, only 10% is fenced.

First, the drug cartels use the Champhai district of Mizoram to enter India due to proximity to Tiau river.

The second choice is Zokhawthar, a village close to the border.

The third is Siaha and Lawngtlai districts, which are remote areas with limited surveillance. These are used to move drugs to Assam and beyond.

From India, shipments move to Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Middle-East. These drugs are transported by locals, fake components in trucks, bamboo logs and food supplies such as rice sacks.

WHAT GOES WHERE?

Methamphetamine is supplied to India, Thailand and Australia.

Heroin is produced and sent to Europe via Iran and Africa.

Fentanyl and ketamine is sent to the Chinese market.

Meth is transported via river networks to Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam

They are using private planes and even fishing boats for bulk shipments to Australia, Japan, and the U.S.

THE BUSINESS

The drug cartels are using inventions to make profit. A case in point, the trade of synthetic drugs for higher profits. Traffickers are shifting to fentanyl and methamphetamine crystals for higher profits. Huge profit margins are helping Myanmar and smugglers in India multiply it. A yaba tablet costing Rs 10 in Myanmar sells for Rs 500-1,000 in Mizoram. Myanmar produces heroin worth Rs 20,000 crore, of which 80% comes to India," said sources.

THE ROLE OF ARMED GROUPS

Even heavy vehicles can pass the drug tunnel found along the Mizoram-Myanmar international border during the DRI raid," said sources.

Another alarming issue is the collaboration between traffickers and Myanmar-based armed groups like Chin National Army to protect the tunnels.

The Myanmar United Wa State Army makes Rs 20,000 crore annually from Indian market and even has properties and luxury investments in Delhi and Mumbai," said sources.

United Wa State Army (UWSA) operates methamphetamine labs and produces 80% of South East Asia Meth, Yana Tablet and crystal meth and is supported and protected by Junta.

The Shan State Army (SSA) is involved in heroin production and their nexus is mainly Thai and the Chinese.

Peoples Militia Forces are now control drug labs in Chin and Kachin States and they are using this money to fund weapons.

Their global nexus is ranging from India to Australia, Africa, Iran and Europe.

CRISIS ACROSS THE GLOBE

According to sources, these groups have huge investments abroad and are involved in money laundering. These smugglers have cryptocurrencies (e.g. bitcoin) and shell companies in Singapore/Thailand.

They also have huge investments in real estate, casinos such as KK Park in Myanmar-Thai border.

These drugs have caused addiction crises in Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia.

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Heroin and meth from UWSA labs are driving epidemics in Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland.

Fentanyl precursors from UWSA-linked labs are contributing to the U.S. opioid crisis.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 14:29 IST
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TMC Forms Doctors Body For Outreach After RG Kar Hospital Rape-Murder Fiasco

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 19:14 IST

The RG Kar rape-murder led to anti-government widespread protests by doctors at all levels

The RG Kar rape-murder led to anti-government widespread protests by doctors at all levels. (PTI File)

Amid the RG Kar Hospital fiasco in Kolkata, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has established a health organisation, Progressive Health Association (PHA), to highlight the governments positive contributions to the health sector and act as a liaison between the health department and doctors.

The RG Kar rape-murder led to anti-government widespread protests by doctors at all levels. Although the TMC had doctors organisations, none could effectively combat the situation. Instead, the discord between doctor-cum-leaders Shantanu Sen and Sudipto Roy became public, exposing the organisations inability to manage the situation in the governments favour.

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Minister Shashi Panja, the organisations president, said, Yes, there was a gap during the RG Kar Hospital incident. We probably could not do what we were supposed to do. We will work on a 10-point agenda. We will work between the government and doctors. We will highlight the government work also. This association will act as a bridge between doctors and health department."

With representation from across Bengal, the organisation will hold its first state committee meeting on February 8.

THE OBJECTIVES

The organisations objections are:

Ensuring good working conditions for doctors.

Preventing strikes that could disrupt healthcare services.

Fostering positive relationships between doctors and patients.

Maintaining a peaceful environment in hospitals, addressing any unrest.

Doctors who align with these objectives can join the organisation; an email address will be provided for this purpose.

THE OUTREACH

The initiative shows the TMCs efforts to strengthen its engagement with doctors after the shortcomings during the RG Kar Hospital incident.

Aniketh Mahatho, leader of West Bengal junior doctors front, who spearheaded the RG Kar movement told News18: This new organisation is back in the old threat culture, friends."

Sources within the party indicate that CM Mamata Banerjee plans to hold a seminar with doctors on February 24.

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TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has already begun outreach efforts, conducting a seminar with 1,200 doctors and launching the Sebashray health camp in his constituency with doctors.

Only time will tell if this new organisation can effectively address the damage caused by the RG Kar episode.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 19:07 IST
Uttarakhand Becomes First State To Enforce Uniform Civil Code: All You Need To Know

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 13:35 IST

Uttarakhand has become the first state to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which refers to one law for all religious communities in matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said all preparations for the implementation of the UCC have been completed. (PTI/File Image)

UCC In Uttarakhand: Uttarakhand has officially become the first Indian state to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on Monday (January 27), a move that has stirred political debates and national attention.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launched the UCC portal and rules at an event in Dehradun. The Chief Minister also launched the Gazette Notification for the UCC. He earlier said the law will bring uniformity in society while ensuring equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens.

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#WATCH | Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launches UCC (Uniform Civil Code) portal and rules. pic.twitter.com/LwetU9tv1o ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025

Today, by implementing UCC in Uttarakhand, we are paying our true tribute to the makers of the Constitution, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and all the respected members of the Constituent Assembly," Dhami said on the occasion.

Uniform Civil Code has been fully implemented in Uttarakhand from this very moment and the constitutional and civil rights of all the citizens of the state of Uttarakhand have become equal and from this very moment, women of all religions have got equal rights," he added.

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Act was notified on March 12, 2024, after getting the nod from President Droupadi Murmu. The Uniform Civil Code is just an offering made by our state in the great yagya being performed by the prime minister to make the country a developed, organized, harmonious and self-reliant nation," he said.

 ,  27  2025     ()   ,                          ,         Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) January 25, 2025

However, the opposition Congress said the UCC implementation in Uttarakhand is nothing but kickstarting a pilot project" without proper consensus. Can a uniform civil code be state-specific. You talk of the uniform civil code and then make it state-specific," said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi.

What Is The Uniform Civil Code?

The UCC refers to one law that would be applicable to all religious communities in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, maintenance etc. India has a uniform or one set of criminal code for all its citizens but doesnt have uniform civil law.

After much debate, tribals have been kept out of the UCC ambit, and has a complete ban on practices like halala, iddat, and talaq (customs related to marriage and divorce in Muslim Personal Law).

The UCC, which has 392 sections under seven schedules, is based on a 750-page draft, spread over four volumes, prepared by an expert committee formed by the government in June 2022, to examine the way the law can be introduced in the state.

The five-member expert committee, headed by Retd. Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, had submitted its draft to Uttarakhand on February 2, 2024, which was subsequently passed by the State Cabinet on February 4. The Bill, after it was passed in the Assembly during a special session, was sent for Governors nod and was approved by the Lt. Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd) on February 28. This received presidential assent in March 2024.

ALSO READ: When Will Uniform Civil Code Be Implemented As Uttarakhand Govt Clears Manual, What Will Change?

What To Know About UCC In Uttarakhand?

The Uttarakhand government already implemented the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Act, 2024, establishing a streamlined framework for the creation and cancellation of wills and supplementary documents, known as codicils, under testamentary succession.

The Chief Minister is expected to launch the UCC Portal at 12:30 pm at the Secretariat. Earlier, the Uttarakhand Governments Information Technology Development Agency (ITDA) conducted a mock drill for the Uttarakhand UCC Portal.

The state government notified on Wednesday the UCC which contains clarity of legal provisions for marital conditions and protection of individual rights and social harmony, according to an official statement. This act applies to the entire area of the state of Uttarakhand and is also effective on the residents of the state living outside Uttarakhand.

The law applies to all residents of Uttarakhand, except Scheduled Tribes and protected authority-empowered persons and communities. This Act does not apply to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) notified under Article 342 and Article 366 (25) of the Constitution and protected authority-empowered persons and communities under Part XXI have also been excluded from its purview.

What Are The UCC Provisions On Marriage?

According to the government, a public welfare system promoting the protection of individual rights and social harmony has been provided in the Uniform Civil Code Act to streamline and simplify the legal processes related to marriage.

Under this, marriage can be solemnised only between those parties, none of whom has a living spouse, both are mentally capable of giving legal permission, the man should have completed at least 21 years of age and the woman 18 years of age and they should not be in the ambit of prohibited relationships.

Marriage rituals can be performed in any form under religious customs or legal provisions, but it is mandatory to register marriages taking place after the implementation of the Act within 60 days.

Moreover, the acceptance and acknowledgement of marriage registration is also required to be completed promptly. After receiving the application, the sub-registrar has to make an appropriate decision within 15 days. If no decision is taken in that period, then that application will be automatically forwarded to the registrar.

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The implementation of the UCC was a major commitment of the BJP in the run-up to the 2022 assembly polls in Uttarakhand which saw the party storm to power for a second consecutive term.

(with inputs from agencies)

Location : Dehradun, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 08:05 IST
Uttarakhand: Elderly Woman Charred To Death, Nine Houses Gutted In Blaze

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 12:28 IST

While efforts are underway to ascertain the exact cause of the incident, it is suspected that an earthen lamp burning in one of the houses led to the fire

The fire was brought under control by 2.45 am on Monday, according to the SEOC. (Image via X/@uttarakhandcops)

A 75-year-old woman was charred to death and more than half a dozen houses were gutted in a blaze that broke out in Savni village of Uttarkashi late Sunday.

It took the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and fire service personnel several hours to douse the flames. Nine houses, in which around 16 families resided, were completely destroyed, the state emergency operations centre said.

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The fire was brought under control by 2.45 am on Monday, according to the SEOC.

While efforts are underway to ascertain the exact cause of the incident, it is suspected that an earthen lamp burning in one of the houses led to the fire, it said.

The woman who died in the fire was identified as Brahma Devi.

Apart from the nine houses, five adjacent houses had to be razed to prevent the fire from spreading.

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Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has issued orders to provide all possible help to the affected families.

They should be provided food, clothes, other essentials and a temporary shelter immediately, he said.

Location : Dehradun Cantonment, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 12:28 IST
Vande Bharat To Kashmir, Bridge To Link Rameswaram | Why PMs February Gifts Matter

Reported By :

News18.com

Edited By: Apoorva Misra



Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 11:02 IST

The train line to Kashmir will be an engineering marvel that would rival the most challenging projects in the world, while the 2.07-km-long vertical lift Pamban rail bridge will have two rail lines

The first Vande Bharat train crosses Chenab Bridge, the world's highest rail bridge on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link, in Reasi district. (PTI)

A train to Kashmir in the North and a new bridge to take a train to Rameswaram in the South  both these feats will be possible soon with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to inaugurate the landmark projects in February.

These are also the PMs dream projects and exhibit the countrys flourishing infrastructure story amidst some big challenges. The Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Rail Link will link the Kashmir Valley described by the 13th century poet Amir Khusrau as paradise on earth with the rest of the country after a wait of decades. The new Pamban Rail Bridge will re-link Rameswaram, home to the late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, to the mainland.

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The visuals of the trial run of the first Vande Bharat train from Katra to Srinagar last week exhibit how humungous challenges were overcome in the last decade on a 111-km stretch between Katra and Banihal to be inaugurated by Modi next month. No work had happened on this stretch till Modi first reviewed it on June 24, 2015. This was a significant date as the prime minister termed it an important national project and asked J&K and Railways to speed up the work".

This is one of the most complex and technologically challenging stretches in the country. Of the 111-km rail line between Katra and Banihal, 97.42 km is through as many as 25 tunnels and there are 6 km of bridges. The Vande Bharat on Saturday during the trial run passed over the Chenab Rail Bridge, the worlds highest railway bridge which sits 359 meters over the Chenab River, and the Anji Khad Bridge, which is Indias first cable-stayed rail bridge.

Why this explains Indias Success Story

The train line to Kashmir will be an engineering marvel that would rival the most challenging projects in the world  it has a total of 38 tunnels, one of them nearly 13 km long, and 931 bridges. The commitment to the same by the Modi government explains a lot about the prime ministers vision for Kashmir. Despite a year-round tourism industry, the Kashmir Valley historically had just a single mode of transport connecting it to the rest of India  by road.

A recent study by Oxford University explained how, for years, overwhelming traffic on a National Highway, as well as shutdowns created by erratic snowstorms, served as a constant reminder of the need for an alternative source of connectivity to Kashmir. It was a four-decade-old vision to nestle a railway line within the Himalayas  traversing mountains, gorges, and ridges. February marks the culmination of this long and arduous journey that required innovative tunneling in the most treacherous terrain.

The PM putting the project on the fast-track in 2015 ushered in a paradigm shift at all levels of execution and administration regarding the rail link, said the Oxford Study. The PMs push prompted publication of weekly hindrance reports, unparalleled support given to project officials, and army convoys that escorted trucks of construction material. Former Chief Secretary of J&K Arun Mehta says the PMs intervention galvanised the projects execution and will be a lifeline for Kashmirs socio-economic development.

As an all-weather means of transport for an area that is snowbound for part of the year, the Kashmir rail link could open up opportunities for enhanced tourism, investments and boosting J&Ks economy.

PMs Second Gift in February

The second big project on the PMs table in February is the new Pamban Rail Bridge to Rameswaram whose foundation stone was laid by Modi in 2019 and the sea bridge is now ready for operations after a safety nod. This new bridge is replacing a bridge made by the British in 1914, which was decommissioned in 2022 as it completed its life term. The new bridge re-connects Rameswaram to the main land now after a gap of two years.

The 2.07-km-long vertical lift rail bridge having two rail lines  which can be lifted up to 17 meters and closed within 10 minutes using machines  it would rival in technology the Tower Bridge of London. Train operations would be disrupted for not very long when the bridge is lifted for ships and vessels to pass through in the Bay of Bengal.

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The bridge is set to accommodate heavier rail traffic and faster trains. With its vertical lifting capabilities, this bridge will take India at par with more developed nations and its success sets a precedent for infrastructure projects across India. Rameswaram island is an important centre in South India. It is a temple town, also the hometown of Kalam, and it was in Rameswaram where the Ram Setu was built by Lord Rams army to bring back Sita from Lanka.

The new Pamban Bridge in Bay of Bengal will be the Setu to Rameswaram.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 10:51 IST
Argentina To Canada, Countries That Uphold Unrestricted Birthright Citizenship

Published By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 15:54 IST

US President Donald Trump reignited the conversation by suggesting the repeal of birthright citizenship in the US.

According to the World Population Review, there are as many as 33 countries globally that offer unrestricted birthright citizenship. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Birthright citizenship is a legal principle that automatically grants citizenship to individuals born within a countrys borders. There are two major types of birthright citizenship: ancestry-based citizenship, which is determined by the citizenship of ones parents, and birthplace-based citizenship, known as jus soli, a Latin term meaning right of the soil." In the United States, this principle is protected under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ensuring that any child born on US soil is automatically granted citizenship, regardless of the parents immigration status or nationality.

This policy has sparked significant debate worldwide. US President Donald Trump reignited the conversation by suggesting the repeal of birthright citizenship in the US, a country long associated with this right. Trump argued that abolishing birthright citizenship would reduce illegal immigration and prevent the birth of anchor babies," a term used to describe children born to non-citizens to secure benefits. However, critics argue that such a change would lead to legal challenges and raise serious ethical concerns.

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According to the World Population Review, there are as many as 33 countries globally that offer unrestricted birthright citizenship. Lets explore some of them and examine the potential benefits of this policy.

Argentina

In Argentina, anyone born on the countrys soil is automatically granted citizenship, with a few exceptions. For instance, children of foreign diplomats or government officials are excluded from this rule. Similarly, those born in the disputed Falkland Islands also qualify for Argentine citizenship.

Paraguay

With Paraguays birthright citizenship policy, individuals born in the country enjoy significant advantages, such as free education and healthcare. This policy also plays a role in Paraguays strategy to attract foreign investment and promote family-oriented immigration.

Canada

As one of the leading countries offering jus soli, Canada grants automatic citizenship to nearly all individuals born within its borders. Foreign nationals can also obtain Canadian citizenship through naturalisation by meeting residency requirements and demonstrating proficiency in either English or French.

Costa Rica

Costa Ricas approach to birthright citizenship ensures that all children born within the country are immediately granted citizenship. The nations peaceful political climate and focus on environmental preservation make it a desirable location for expectant parents looking to settle in a stable and welcoming environment.

Peru

In Peru, the constitution guarantees citizenship to anyone born within its territory. Recent amendments have expanded this right, allowing children born outside Peru to Peruvian parents to apply for citizenship at consular offices, provided they were not registered by the age of 18.

Antigua and Barbuda

Since the policy was enacted in 1981, anyone born in Antigua and Barbuda automatically acquires citizenship. In addition to jus soli, the country also offers citizenship through descent and naturalisation, making it an appealing option for families seeking a relatively simple path to citizenship.

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Fiji

In Fiji, citizenship is automatically conferred on anyone born within the countrys borders, though this was not the case between 1990 and 1997. During this period, citizenship was granted only to children with at least one Fijian parent. Foreign nationals can become Fijian citizens through naturalisation after living in the country for a minimum of five years.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:54 IST
Coffee Culture 2025: Trends and Innovations

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 17:49 IST

From advanced brewing machines to manual brewing techniques and wellness-focused beverages, the coffee industry is adapting to meet the diverse preferences of its audience

As coffee continues to evolve into a cultural and lifestyle icon, it promises richer and more meaningful experiences for all.

In 2025, coffee culture has transformed into a rich blend of technology, sustainability, wellness, and indulgence. From high-tech brewing systems to culturally inspired flavors, the coffee industry continues to innovate, meeting the demands of a growing and diverse audience. Vikram Khurana, CEO, Kaapi Solutions, and Shreya Ghai, Founder & CEO, Bean & Coffee + Kitchen share a closer look at the trends shaping the coffee world:

Technology Leading Coffee Precision

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Cutting-edge coffee machines are redefining brewing precision. Innovations such as separate boilers for each group head allow for exact temperature control, while PID controllers and programmable pre-infusion ensure optimal flavor extraction. Flow rate adjustments enable baristas to craft nuanced flavor profiles, and patented dry steam technology produces perfect micro-foam for latte art.

Features like real-time data monitoring provide insights into pressure, temperature, and consumption, ensuring consistent quality. With energy-saving modes and intuitive displays, these machines combine sustainability and ease of use, appealing to professionals and enthusiasts alike.

Specialty Coffee and Two-Step Machines

The rise of specialty coffee has driven demand for two-step machines. By separating coffee brewing from milk frothing, these machines ensure consistent quality and allow for precise customization. Automating these processes enables baristas to focus on customer engagement, educating them about coffee origins and brewing techniques while creating a more immersive experience.

Two-step machines are essential for delivering perfectly crafted espresso shots and impeccably frothed milk, elevating the overall coffee experience.

Advanced Grinders for Consistency

Grinders are becoming indispensable tools in cafes, ensuring uniform particle distribution for balanced extractions. Advanced grinders now feature heat prevention systems that protect the coffees aromatic oils and natural flavors.

Smart features, such as weight-based dosing, pre-programmed settings, and built-in timers, minimize waste while maintaining consistent quality. This technology empowers cafes to deliver a wide range of beverages, from single-origin espresso to cold brews, with exceptional precision.

Cold Coffee and Functional Beverages

Cold coffee beverages continue to dominate, driven by health-conscious consumers. Nitro cold brews and traditional cold brews deliver smooth, naturally sweet flavors without added sugars. Iced matcha lattes and blue pea flower infusions are also gaining popularity for their refreshing, wellness-oriented appeal.

Functional coffee drinks are another emerging trend. Beverages like turmeric and adaptogen-infused lattes offer health benefits such as improved focus and relaxation, while vacuum blending technology ensures freshness and preserves vibrant colors in cold coffee-based drinks.

Sustainability in Coffee

Sustainability is now a key element of coffee culture. Plant-based milk options like oat, almond, and coconut remain popular, while newer options such as pistachio and hemp milk are gaining traction. Cafes are prioritizing compostable packaging and eliminating single-use plastics, aligning with consumer demand for eco-conscious practices.

This emphasis on sustainability reflects a shift toward environmentally responsible coffee consumption and production.

Manual Brewing and Global Inspiration

Manual brewing methods are growing in popularity, especially in India. Techniques like pour-over, AeroPress, and cold brew allow consumers to explore the unique flavors of single-origin beans. Local initiatives, such as workshops by Pahadee Coffee Roasters and sustainable sourcing by Half Light Coffee Roasters, are fostering a vibrant specialty coffee culture in the country.

Globally, cultural inspiration is enriching coffee menus. Vietnamese egg coffee, Japanese-style pour-overs, and Turkish brewing traditions are offering consumers the opportunity to experience diverse flavors and brewing techniques.

Indulgent, Personalized Creations

Indulgence is a key theme in 2025. Dessert-inspired beverages such as creme brulee lattes and tiramisu cappuccinos bring a nostalgic twist to coffee, while nitro cold brews topped with flavored foams or exotic syrups like yuzu, lavender, and spiced honey offer unique, personalized experiences.

These creations elevate coffee to an art form, blending creativity, indulgence, and sophistication.

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A Dynamic Coffee Future

In 2025, coffee culture represents a harmonious fusion of precision, sustainability, and creativity. From advanced brewing machines to manual brewing techniques and wellness-focused beverages, the coffee industry is adapting to meet the diverse preferences of its audience. As coffee continues to evolve into a cultural and lifestyle icon, it promises richer and more meaningful experiences for all.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 17:49 IST
Germs On Your Toothbrush? How To Keep It Clean And Protect Your Dental Health

Published By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 14:00 IST

A well-sanitized toothbrush helps prevent bacteria buildup and improves your dental health significantly.

It is essential to change your toothbrush once in three-four months.

In todays world, where germs and bacteria are constantly lurking, it has become essential to maintain proper oral hygiene. Maintaining good oral health involves multiple steps, including brushing your teeth, flossing and using a mouthwash. Theres an important factor most individuals dont consider when it comes to dental health  sanitising your toothbrush. Yes, you heard that right. Sanitising your toothbrush is also nearly as important as brushing your teeth. Cleaning your toothbrush regularly with water and storing it in a clean, dry area can help prevent the spread of infections and enhance your dental health.

Dr Ramakrishna Tanguturi, a dental surgeon at Dental Profiles, recently explained the significance of sanitising your toothbrush regularly. Yes, not sanitising your toothbrush regularly can pose risks. Over time, a toothbrush can harbour bacteria, fungi, and even viruses, especially if it is stored in a moist environment. While many of these microorganisms are harmless, some  such as Streptococcus mutans, a bacteria responsible for cavities, or even Escherichia coli (E. coli) from bathroom exposure  can multiply," he told Indian Express.

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Speaking further, Dr Ramakrishna Tanguturi also explained how bacteria on toothbrushes could lead to severe dental problems. Bacteria on a toothbrush can reintroduce harmful microorganisms into the mouth, contributing to plaque buildup, tooth decay, and gum disease. Some studies suggest that pathogens on toothbrushes could exacerbate conditions like bad breath or worsen pre-existing gum issues," he said.

How to keep your toothbrush clean?

Rinsing

Ensure that you rinse your toothbrush every time you use it. A thorough wash after each use will help remove food particles and toothpaste residue that may be stuck in the bristles.

Store it properly

Placing your toothbrush improperly can also lead to bacteria build up in its bristles which can affect dental health. Ensure that you keep your toothbrush upright after use, allowing it to dry out. Since bacteria thrive in moist environments, a dry toothbrush will likely not be affected by any sort of microorganism build-up.

Dont cover your toothbrush

Covering your toothbrush with airtight caps may prevent it from dust, but it also promotes bacteria build-up and microbial growth. Instead, try finding a spot that is relatively dust-free but has enough space for airflow.

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Replacing toothbrush

Yes, your toothbrush needs replacement every three or four months. This is necessary as the bristles of older toothbrushes wear out over time, leading to bacteria build-up.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 14:00 IST
Planning Your Next Getaway? Take Cues From Janhvi Kapoors Kerala Diaries

Published By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 13:47 IST

Janhvi Kapoor recently took to her social media to share pictures from her trip to Kerala. The pictures captured the beauty of the state.

Janhvi Kapoor explored Kerala in all its glory.

Janhvi Kapoor recently shared pictures from her work trip to Kerala, showcasing the states lush greenery and tranquil landscapes. The actress captured the essence of Kerala, which is known for its serene beauty and cultural richness. Whether youre a nature lover, a culture seeker, or simply looking for a peaceful retreat, Kerala offers a diverse range of experiences.

If youre hoping to experience this destination like Janhvi Kapoor, heres a guide to some must-do activities that will immerse you in Keralas natural and cultural wonders!

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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Janhvi Kapoor (@janhvikapoor)

Explore the Spice Plantations in Thekkady

A visit to Thekkady wouldnt be complete without taking a guided tour of its famous spice plantations. This area is renowned for its rich variety of spices such as black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and even exotic vanilla. During the tour, youll have the opportunity to taste these spices and learn about their cultivation. You can also take a leisurely walk through the plantations and immerse yourself in the aromatic surroundings.

Experience Houseboat Living in Alleppey

One of the most unique and unforgettable experiences you can have in Kerala is staying on a houseboat in Alleppey. As you float through the serene backwaters, youll be surrounded by lush greenery, tranquil waters, and picturesque landscapes. The experience includes delicious traditional Kerala meals on board, adding to the charm of this relaxing journey. If youre looking to unwind and connect with nature, this is a must-do activity!

Experience Elephant Interaction at Kodanad

Kodanad Elephant Sanctuary, located about 42 kilometres from Kochi, is a popular destination for animal lovers. This sanctuary offers visitors the chance to bathe, feed, and even take part in an elephant safari. Its an incredible opportunity to get close to these majestic creatures and learn about their care and conservation. If youre looking for a fun and unique experience during your trip to Kerala, interacting with elephants at Kodanad is something you wont want to miss.

Stay in a Treehouse in Wayanad

If youre looking for a more adventurous and immersive stay in Kerala, consider spending a night in a treehouse in Wayanad. This experience lets you get up close to nature while offering a cosy and unique accommodation. In addition to your stay, you can enjoy exciting outdoor activities like rappelling, rock climbing, nature treks, and mountain biking. Its the perfect blend of adventure and relaxation in the heart of Keralas natural beauty.

Discover Wildlife at Periyar Sanctuary

For nature enthusiasts, a visit to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is a must. Known for its incredible biodiversity, the sanctuary offers a chance to see a wide range of animals and plants. You can enjoy a thrilling jungle ride through the sanctuary, which also provides stunning views of Idukki town, the Mullaperiyar Dam, and the lush green vegetable farms. If youre lucky, you may even spot the rare and endangered lion-tailed macaque during your visit.

This isnt Janhvi Kapoors first time exploring the beauty and culture of South India. The actress kicked off the year 2025 by embarking on a spiritual journey, paying a visit to the famous Tirumala Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh.

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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Janhvi Kapoor (@janhvikapoor)

Janhvi Kapoor holds a deep sense of reverence for Lord Venkateswara of the Tirumala Tirupati temple, and her connection to the sacred site is something she cherishes greatly. As a devout follower, she regularly visits the temple to seek the divine blessings of Lord Venkateswara. These visits are especially significant on special occasions in her life, such as her birthday, during major festivals, or after the release of a new film. Her consistent devotion to the temple and the Lord has become an integral part of her spiritual journey, and its something her fans admire and recognise as a key element of her personal faith and beliefs.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 13:47 IST
Sonam Kapoor Takes Over Paris In Dior Faux Fur Coat, Kaala Gajra and Sheer Elegance

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 21:41 IST

The Dior show marked Sonam Kapoors first attendance as the brands global ambassador.

Sonam sported an outfit from Dior's Spring-Summer 2025 collection and a coat from Dior's Resort 2025 collection.

Sonam Kapoor and Dior have shared a long-standing relationship and Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2025 just saw the magic come alive. Sonam Kapoor became the Dior ambassador for collections dreamed up by Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Styled by Rhea Kapoor, Abhilasha Devnani and Chandni Modha, Sonam Kapoor was the only Indian celebrity present at the prestigious and supremely marquee event, which is one of the most anticipated ones in the global fashion calendar. Exuding the audacity, grace and elegance of Dior style, Sonam Kapoor graced the Christian Dior showcase in a sheer black dress paired with a voluminous faux fur coat. Kudos for choosing cruelty-free fashion!

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Attending her first Dior show, now as the global ambassador of the French luxury house, Sonam Kapoor shares, This Dior show holds a very special place in my heart as it marks my first attendance as the brands global ambassador since it was announced in October. Having attended Diors shows in the past as an admirer, stepping into this role as their first South Asian ambassador feels truly surreal."

Sonam further adds, Dior has always been more than just a brand to meit has been an integral part of my personal style journey and a creative partner in many of my films. Becoming a part of this storied legacy is both an honour and a responsibility, one that I embrace with great pride. I look forward to deepening my association with Dior and shining a spotlight on the incredible artistry of Indian and South Asian craftsmen, bringing their talent to the global stage."

Apart from being the brand ambassador, another reason the show was special for Sonam was that dear friend, artist Rithika Merchants artwork was commissioned exclusively for the Dior show. Rithika was the artistic mind behind the note announcing the birth of Sonams son, Vayu, back in 2022. Expressing her excitement on seeing Rithikas art take centre stage Sonam says, I have known Rithika for years. I feel proud to be witnessing her work take centre stage in Paris this year. I believe that everyone attending the Paris Fashion Week will celebrate her work like we have done for years now."

The highlight of this iconic look was the floral arrangement of handwoven rolled fabric buds created by Harshita Gautam of Nomad. The hair accessory Kala Gajra as Rhea defined it on her Instagram story, celebrated the powerful cultural ties between the French luxury brand and India. Sonams stunning hairstyle was styled by Stephane Lancien. Her glamorous chic makeup was done by celebrity makeup artist Arti Nayar.

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Sonams luxurious look was further enhanced with jewellery pieces including the silver starlit ear cuff featuring shell pearls from Eurumme and handcrafted pearl kaan chain from Anaash.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 21:41 IST
Tania Shroff Rocks Bold Look In This Out Of The Box Translucent Jumpsuit

Published By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 13:55 IST

Tania Shroff made a statement in a translucent jumpsuit at a recent fashion event in Mumbai. The social media personality got the fashion police talking with her bold look.

Tania Shroff's translucent beige jumpsuit featured a structured bodice, full sleeves, and corset design.

The Business of Fashion (BoF) Gala in Mumbai was a star-studded occasion, with popular celebrities looking their stylish best on the red carpet. Sonam Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor, Diana Penty, Ishaan Khatter, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ananya Panday, and many others stood out in their amazing ensembles. Among others, Tania Shroff stunned the crowd in a unique ensemble for the night. Her costume was one of a kind and managed to grab attention at the event.

For the BoF event, Tania Shroff decided to go for a completely out-of-the-box look. She wore a beige, translucent jumpsuit with a structured bodice. It featured full sleeves with sharp shoulders and a fitted bust with a corset-like design around the vest. The bottom has a straight look. She matched her outfit with maroon stilettos, and the highlight was a transparent fan in her hand.

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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Snehkumar Zala (@snehzala)

For her makeup, she went for a sharp look. She went with well-drawn eyebrows, with a nude eyeshadow, sleek eyeliner, highlighter, and dark nude lipstick. Her hair was styled in a backswept bun with a few fringes left loose over her forehead.

Last year, Tania Shroff attended another fashion event in town and flaunted another breathtaking look. She chose a black outfit that screamed daring fashion from all sides. The dress, which accentuated her toned physique, had a turtleneck with distinctive side cutouts and an asymmetrical, flowy bottom with a small trail. Tanias appearance was enhanced by the high thigh slit.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani)

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She kept her ensemble simple, teaming it up with pointed heels. Her makeup was simple and understated, with a soft glam background, flushed and highlighted cheeks, fine eyeliner strokes, and peach-toned lips. Tania completed the image by styling her hair in a smooth, damp, open haircut.

Speaking about her inclination towards making trendy style statements, Tania previously told Harpers Bazaar, I always say my fashion icon is Bianca Jagger. Shes super edgy, yet feminine. I wouldnt be able to say who I admire the most, but I do look up to a lot of women for fashion inspiration."

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 13:55 IST
Indias Tourism Sector on the Rise: Growth, Innovation, and Future Prospects

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 26, 2025, 23:31 IST

With India securing the 39th position in the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Development Index, the future looks promising for the industry.

As India celebrated National Tourism Day on January 25, 2025, the collective focus is on fostering sustainable tourism, embracing digital transformation, and enhancing infrastructure to create unforgettable travel experiences

Indias tourism sector has reached unprecedented heights in 2024, contributing a remarkable $199.6 billion to the GDP, reflecting a surge in both inbound and outbound tourism. With India securing the 39th position in the World Economic Forums Travel & Tourism Development Index, the future looks promising for the industry.

Rikant Pittie, CEO and Co-Founder of EaseMyTrip, expresses his pride in the sectors growth, stating, We are proud to see how the Indian travel industry has evolved over the years. With the government launching initiatives like PRASHAD, Dekho Apna Desh, Incredible India, and the E-visa scheme, we are progressing towards digitization, exploring hidden retreats, and boosting industry growth. Furthermore, with the allocation of Rs 2,479 crore for the tourism sector in FY25, our infrastructure and travel experiences have significantly improved."

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Looking ahead, Pittie envisions a new era for Indian tourism, marked by increased global involvement, enhanced heritage preservation, and advanced infrastructure with high-tech digital assets. He affirms his firms commitment to empowering the industrys growth and encouraging citizens to embrace sustainable tourism, digitization, and economic development.

Indias Tourism Sector: A Driver of Economic Growth

According to Balasubramanian A, Senior VP and Business Head, TeamLease, the Indian tourism sector has shown remarkable resilience, contributing $11.10 trillion to the GDP in 202410% higher than pre-pandemic levels. Employment in the sector has seen significant growth, with 43 million jobs created, marking an 8% increase compared to 2019. Balasubramanian shares,

The sector is expected to expand further in 2025, potentially adding 6.1 million jobs by 2034. By 2025, around 31% of jobs will be direct, including roles such as tour guides, hotel staff, and tour operators, while the remaining 69% will be indirect, spanning supply chain management, logistics, IT support, and landscape maintenance."

Despite this progress, challenges such as workforce shortages in hospitality and technology, lack of consistent training, and uneven regional development persist. To address these issues, government initiatives like Swadesh Darshan 2.0 and Dekho Apna Desh are focused on improving infrastructure, connectivity, and niche tourism, with airport modernization, rail tourism expansion, and AI-driven e-tourism services paving the way for sustainable growth.

Technology: Transforming Travel Experiences

With rapid technological advancements, Indias tourism sector is poised to provide a seamless experience for travelers. Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO, Digi Yatra Foundation, highlights the critical role of technology, stating, The travel and tourism industry continues to be a critical driver of Indias economic growth, contributing approximately $178 billion to the GDP. The travel market is projected to reach $125 billion by FY 2027, with international tourist arrivals set to grow significantly. The governments focus on fostering innovation and improving ease of doing business will further strengthen the sector."

Khadakbhavi underscores how initiatives like Digi Yatra are leveraging cloud solutions, SaaS technologies, and digital platforms to transform the traveler experience. With over 1,500 tourism startups offering technology-driven solutions, there is an urgent need for policies that encourage tech adoption while ensuring privacy and decentralization.

Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of reforms such as granting infrastructure status to smaller projects, simplifying licensing processes, and rationalizing GST structures, which would encourage investment, support entrepreneurs, and strengthen Indias position as a global tourism leader.

Unlocking Tourisms Potential through Skill Development

With Indias tourism economy poised for exponential growth, the need for a skilled workforce has become more crucial than ever. Jaideep Kewalramani, COO and Head of Employability Business, TeamLease Edtech, highlights the diverse opportunities within the sector, stating,

Tourism in India is multi-facetedranging from ancient sites and historic monuments to wellness, healthcare, and destination events. The culture of Atithi Devo Bhava creates a magical experience for visitors, making India a unique destination. The tourism economy contributed approximately $200 billion and is expected to double in the coming years, potentially contributing 5-7% of GDP over the next few decades."

Kewalramani emphasizes the role of work-integrated learning programs in empowering youth to pursue careers in tourism while gaining hands-on experience in the hospitality industry. Entry-level jobs in the sector offer salaries ranging from INR 3 to 8 lakh per annum, depending on skills and education. He asserts that continued investment in education and training will further boost employment opportunities and industry growth.

The Road Ahead: Sustainability and Innovation

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As India celebrated National Tourism Day on January 25, 2025, the collective focus is on fostering sustainable tourism, embracing digital transformation, and enhancing infrastructure to create unforgettable travel experiences. Industry leaders are optimistic about the future, with government support, technological innovation, and a skilled workforce driving Indias tourism sector to new heights.

With a shared vision, industry stakeholders, entrepreneurs, and travelers alike can contribute to Indias journey towards becoming a global leader in tourism, ensuring its rich heritage and diverse offerings continue to inspire the world.

First Published: January 26, 2025, 23:31 IST
Coldplays Heartfelt Post After Wrapping Up India Tour: 'We'll Never Forget These Two Weeks'

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 10:03 IST

Coldplay shared a picture of the packed stadium during their Ahmedabad concert last night. As the India tour concluded, the band wrote that these two weeks will remain unforgettable.

Signing off after the phenomenal India tour, Coldplay shared a post reflecting on the two weeks they spent in India

After their stellar concerts in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, British band Coldplay wrapped up their Music Of The Spheres India tour. They held their final and biggest-ever concert in Ahmedabad on January 26, and it was also livestreamed on Disney+ Hotstar, allowing fans to experience Chris Martin and other band members spectacular performances. As the India tour concluded, Coldplay penned a heartfelt note, in which they wrote that they had an unforgettable two weeks in India.

Signing off after the phenomenal India tour, Coldplay shared a post on X (previously Twitter), reflecting on the two weeks they spent in India. Hours after their final concert in Ahmedabad, they shared a picture of the packed stadium lit up with dazzling lights and spectacular fireworks. They wrote, Thank you Ahmedabad, thank you India. Well never forget these two weeks. Your love and kindness will stay with us forever (sic)," with a heart emoji. Check out their post below!

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Thank you Ahmedabad, thank you India. Well never forget these two weeks. Your love and kindness will stay with us forever pic.twitter.com/vB4BfsfFKY Coldplay (@coldplay) January 26, 2025

Coldplay held five concerts in India as part of the Music Of The Spheres World Tour. They concluded the India tour in Ahmedabads Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, and it reportedly became the most attended musical concert in Asia, with over 1.34 lakh people grooving together.

Last night, Chris Martin left Indian fans awestruck after he delivered his rendition of Vande Mataram on the occasion of Republic Day. He was also seen speaking to the crowd in Hindi, and Gujarati. Apart from this, Chris Martin also invited a couple to join him on stage and perform Everglow with him.

Coldplay kicked off the India tour in Mumbai on January 18. The band performed at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on January 18, 19 and 21, followed by concerts in Ahmedabads Narendra Modi Stadium on January 25 and 26. Apart from Chris Martin the band also consists of guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 10:03 IST
Jaideep Ahlawat Melted Like Makhan Over Amuls Paatal Lok Season 2 Tribute

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 15:27 IST

Jaideep Ahlawat reshared Amul's post and wrote, I melted like makhan looking at this. Thank you for the love. This ones special.

Paatal Lok season 2 was released on Prime Video on January 17. (Photo Credits: Instagram)

Jaideep Ahlawat has been receiving massive appreciation for masterfully reprising his role as Inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhary in the second season of Paatal Lok. The crime thriller was released on Prime Video on January 17 and has been lauded for its riveting storyline. Amidst this, a topical shared by Amul India praising his work has stood out for him.

Amul shared an animated poster of the series with Ahlawats cartoon version contemplating on a burning ground (similar to the poster of the series.) The caption of the humorous post read, Iske Ahlawa aur kya."

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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jaideep Ahlawat (@jaideepahlawat)

Sharing the post, Jaideep tagged Amul and wrote, Itna bhi maska nahi lagana tha Hathi ram ko, aur bhi zyada mota ho jayega. (You didnt need to flatter Hathi Ram so much, he may become even more fat)." He further added, I melted like makhan looking at this. Thank you for the love. This ones special."

Soon after the post was shared, it caught the attention of celebrities and fans. Manisha Koirala wrote, You were brilliant. Just outstanding, keep rocking!!" His co-actors from the franchise Merenla Imsong, Tillotama Shome and Gul Panag also expressed their appreciation. Moreover, Shefali Shah who shared the screen with the actor in Three Of Us said, Omg, Thats the coolest. So happy for you."

Recently, director Anurag Kashyap also took to social media to share his views on Paatal Lok season 2. Calling the first season a perfect example of peak writing, direction and acting", he noted that Sudip Sharma and director Avinash Arun Dhaware outdid themselves with season 2.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap10)

The opening sequence of Jonathan Thoms body being found just took my remaining sleep away and I got sucked into the world of Hathi Ram Choudhary so fast like it was a quicksand. The depths of human darkness that he dwells into, always looking for some hope that will and wont come by," he wrote.

Paatal Lok season 2 follows Inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhary as he investigates a high-profile murder that leads him to remote corners of North-East India, where he battles powerful forces and personal tragedies in his pursuit of truth.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:26 IST
Maharashtra CM Fadnavis Reacts To Vicky Kaushal's Chhaava Controversy: 'Not Right To Distort History'

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 15:28 IST

Earlier today, Chhaava director Laxman Uttekar met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray and assured that all objectionable scenes from the Vicky Kaushal starrer will be removed.

Chhaava is a historical drama that revolves around the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has urged the makers of Vicky Kaushals upcoming movie Chhaava to maintain a balance between sensitivity and creativity while working on projects like this. Recently, Fadnavis reacted to the controversies regarding the film when he also asked the producers not to distort history.

Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharajs history should be shown correctly, it is not right to distort history. Everyone has a lot of love and respect for Sambhaji Maharaj. This respect and honour should not be hurt. There should be creativity (in filmmaking) but we believe that there should be sensitivity along with it," the Maharashtra Chief Minister said as quoted by India TV.

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This comes a day after Maharashtra minister Uday Samant expressed disappointment with Vicky Kaushals upcoming movie. He raised objections to a scene where Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj is shown dancing and said that it should be removed.

If they raise objections, we will not let it be released," Samant said while speaking to the media and then threatened the block the films release. The movie shows Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj dancing. The director should cut this part. This movie should be shown to historians and scholars. If they raise objections, we will not let it be released," he added.

Later, the films director Laxman Uttekar met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray and assured him that all objectionable scenes from the Vicky Kaushal starrer will be removed before its release.

Chhaava is a historical drama that revolves around the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. In the film, Vicky Kaushal is set to portray the character of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the eldest son of the Maratha empires founder. The film also stars Rashmika Mandanna, Akshaye Khanna, Ashutosh Rana, and Divya Dutta in key roles.

Chhaava will hit theatres on February 14, 2025.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:24 IST
Maharashtra Minister Objects To Vicky Kaushal's Dance Scene In Chhaava: 'We Will Not Let It Release'

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 09:27 IST

Previously, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj also expressed his desire to watch the full film before its release.

Vicky Kaushal's Chhaava will hit theatres on February 14, 2025. (Photo: Instagram)

Maharashtra minister Uday Samant has expressed disappointment with Vicky Kaushals upcoming movie, Chhaava. On Sunday, the minister raised objections to a scene in the movie where Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj is shown dancing. He said the scene should be removed and suggested that the film be reviewed by historians and scholars.

If they raise objections, we will not let it be released," Samant said while speaking to the media and then threatened the block the films release. The movie shows Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj dancing. The director should cut this part. This movie should be shown to historians and scholars. If they raise objections, we will not let it be released," he added.

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This comes hours after the minister also took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle and praised the makers for showcasing the life of Sambhaji Maharaj via their film. However, he also mentioned that a film like this might face backlash if there are any objectionable" scenes.

It is a matter of joy that a Hindi film based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the protector of religion and protector of freedom, is being made. Such efforts are necessary to make the world understand the history of Chhatrapati. However, many have expressed their opinions that there are some objectionable scenes in this film. Our position is that this film should not be released without first showing it to experts and knowledgeable people. Anything that will harm the honor of the Maharaj will not be tolerated," Samant wrote.

Our position is that the producers and directors of the film should take immediate action in this regard and remove anything objectionable. A further decision will be taken after watching the film; otherwise, this film will not be allowed to be released!" he added.

Prior to Samant, in an interaction with PTI, Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and former Rajya Sabha MP, also expressed his desire to watch the full film before its release. I also offered to connect them with historians to address inaccuracies to ensure this significant story is presented authentically to audiences worldwide," he said.

Chhaava is a historical drama that revolves around the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. In the film, Vicky Kaushal is set to portray the character of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the eldest son of the Maratha empires founder. The film also stars Rashmika Mandanna, Akshaye Khanna, Ashutosh Rana, and Divya Dutta in key roles.

Chhaava will hit theatres on February 14, 2025.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 09:27 IST
Natalie Portman, Selena Gomez Lead Race To Play Britney Spears In Pop Icon's Biopic; Fans Object

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Last Updated: January 28, 2025, 03:10 IST

Natalie Portman and Selena Gomez are frontrunners for Britney Spears' biopic, sparking debates among fans over casting choices for the pop icon's story.

Natalie Portman and Selena Gomez are the top contenders to portray Britney Spears in her upcoming biopic.

The pop culture world is abuzz as Britney Spears life story prepares to leap from the pages of her memoir, The Woman in Me, to the big screen. Directed by Jon M. Chu, known for his recent triumph with Wicked (2024), the biopic promises to delve into the life of one of the most iconic pop stars of our time. Chu, who is still basking in the glow of Wickeds 10 Academy Award nominations, recently shared that Britney will play a significant role in shaping the narrative of her story.

Speaking at the Golden Globes on January 6, Chu revealed, Britney is deeply involved in this project. This is her story, and we want it to reflect her truth." He even reminisced about seeing Britney perform early in her career, highlighting his admiration for her journey. While details about the film are scarce, fans are already speculating, and Britneys active involvement ensures her voice will remain front and center.

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The real buzz, however, centers on who will play Britney in the film. According to insider reports, two names top Britneys wishlist: Natalie Portman and Selena Gomez. Britneys admiration for Portman is no secret, with the pop star once calling her an incredible actress" capable of bringing depth to her story. Portmans transformative abilities and Oscar-winning resume make her a compelling choice, albeit an unconventional one.

On the other hand, Selena Gomez, with her shared experience as a former child star navigating fame, has captured Britneys attention for her emotional relatability. Britney thinks Selenas personal journey could add authenticity to the role," said the insider.

While the choices reflect Britneys admiration for these actresses, fans are far from convinced. Social media is ablaze with debates about whether either star could truly embody Britneys unique essence. One fan tweeted, Natalie Portman? Selena Gomez? Theyre talented, but neither feels like Britney. She deserves someone fresh, someone who is her energy." Another chimed in, I think they should cast an unknown actresssomeone who can nail the dancing and bring that firecracker spirit Britney had in her prime."

The casting debate extends beyond acting ability, with many fans arguing for someone who visually and physically resembles Britney. Hollywood loves big names, but sometimes, the right choice isnt famous. Britneys story deserves authenticity," a fan commented.

Jon M. Chu, however, remains tight-lipped about casting decisions, indicating the process is still in its early stages. Whether its Portman, Gomez, or an unknown actress, one thing is clear: Britneys fans are passionate about ensuring her story gets the justice it deserves.

With production still in the works, the anticipation for Britneys biopic continues to grow. As Britney herself said in her memoir, Ive spent my life being misunderstood. This is my chance to set the record straight." The question remains: who will help her do it?

Location : Los Angeles, United States of America (USA)

First Published: January 28, 2025, 03:10 IST
Don't Create Confusion: CM Fadnavis Says Saif Ali Khan Attack Case Probe Nears Completion

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 23:44 IST

CM Fadnavis said that he will ask the Mumbai CP to address a press conference soon to share all the details related to the case.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis (Photo: PTI file)

Amid ongoing investigation into the attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has urged people to not create confusion" based on speculations.

While speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Fadnavis said that police are doing a proper probe and they have zeroed in on all possible leads into the case.

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I will ask all not to create confusion based on speculative things and things which are not told by police. Police are doing a proper investigation, they have almost everything," said CM Fadnavis.

#WATCH | Mumbai | On actor Saif Ali Khans attack case, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis says, I will ask all not to create confusion based on speculative things and things which are not told by police. Police are doing a proper investigation, they have almost everything; Ill pic.twitter.com/ONIkar7YgU ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025

The Maharashtra CM added that he will ask the Mumbai CP to address a press conference soon to share all the details related to the case.

Ill ask Mumbai CP to address the media, maybe today or tomorrow, to convey the details of the case," he added.

All About Saif Ali Khan Attack Case

For the unversed, Khan was stabbed by an intruder at his Mumbai residence in the wee hours of January 16. It was reported that at around 2am, the actor heard noises when one of his female employees was attacked in his son Jehs room. This prompted Saif to intervene, which led to an altercation between the two and the attacker injured both Saif and the female employee. The Bollywood star was stabbed six times by the robber following which he was rushed to the hospital.

Following the incident, police stepped into action and arrested the alleged accused Shariful Islam (30).

Police further revealed that Islam changed his name to Vijay Das after entering India. He was arrested from the Labour Camp area of adjoining Thane city, three days after the violent attack.

After he was nabbed by police, Fakir told police that his name was Vijay Das and he was a resident of Kolkata. He, however, failed to provide any document to support his claim. He disclosed his true name and Bangladeshi nationality during interrogation," a police official told the news agency PTI.

He called his brother and asked him to send his school living certificate. His brother sent it (the certificate) on Fakirs mobile phone. This document is strong evidence to prove he is a Bangladeshi national," the official added. The case is currently being probed.

On January 19, a Bandra court had sent him to police custody for five days till January 24.

Addressing a press conference on January 19, police said the accused had entered the Bollywood stars home, in Satguru Sharan building in Bandra, in the early hours of January 16 with the intention of robbery.

Police revealed that that he had been working as housekeeping staff at Rickys bar in Thane and used the different names to avoid detection.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 23:32 IST
Shah Rukh Khan Shares Big Update On King, Confirms Siddharth Anand To Direct It: 'You Will Enjoy It'

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 08:01 IST

Shah Rukh Khan's King will also star Suhana Khan in the lead. Munjya star Abhay Verma will also play a key role in the film.

Shah Rukh Khan says he is currently shooting for King.

Shah Rukh Khan attended an event in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night when he shared a big update on his upcoming movie, King. The Bollywood superstar confirmed that the film will be directed by Siddharth Anand, who previously also helmed SRKs Pathaan. King Khan also assured everyone that the upcoming movie would be entertaining andthat everyone would love watching it in theatres.

I am just just shooting it. I will be shooting it for a couple of months. My director, Siddharth Anand, is very strict. He made Pathaan also. He has asked me not to reveal what we are doing. I cant tell you but I can assure you that it will be entertaining. You will enjoy it," he said.

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The actor further teased that film and stated that for the first time, a film will present, Shah Rukh Khan as Shah Rukh Khan King." The team is working very hard. We are making a great film for everyone," he added.

Shah Rukh Khans King will also star Suhana Khan in the lead. Munjya star Abhay Verma will also play a key role in the film. Previously, at the Locarno Film Festival, Shah Rukh Khan opened up about King and said, It is an action drama, its a Hindi film. Itll be interesting. Ive been wanting to do a film like that for some time, and I really wanted to do a film like this for seven, eight years. We just felt Sujoy would be the right choice, because we wanted it to be very emotionally correct. We are all coming together to make a cool, massy, action, emotional film."

Kings release date has not been announced as of now. Moreover, no details about its plat are also known for now.

Location : Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

First Published: January 27, 2025, 08:01 IST
Sharda Sinha's Son On Her Posthumous Padma Vibhushan Honour: 'This Was Long Awaited'

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 16:49 IST

Sharda Sinha has been posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan. Her songs, especially those performed during the revered Chhath Mahaparv, are etched in the hearts of fans.

Sharda Sinha's honour brought a bittersweet moment of pride and remembrance for her family. (Photo Credits: X)

Sharda Sinha, a name synonymous with the soul of Bhojpuri and Maithili folk music, has been posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, Indias second-highest civilian honour. This accolade serves as a testament to her lifelong dedication to preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of Bihar and beyond. The honour brought a bittersweet moment of pride and remembrance for her family. Her son, Anshuman Sinha, spoke to the media on the occasion. It is a matter of great pride for Bihar. It is a milestone in Bihars history to have achieved all three highest honours in the field of folk music," he said.

Expressing gratitude, he told ANI, I thank the Central government as this will convey a message to the upcoming generation that you can gain respect all over the world through folk music This was long awaited and I heartily accept it I congratulate the entire nation for the honour bestowed upon folk culture."

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Known as the Bihar Kokila, Sharda Sinhas melodious voice was an intrinsic part of Bihars culture. Her songs, especially those performed during the revered Chhath Mahaparv, are etched in the hearts of millions. For decades, her music served as the soundtrack of this sacred festival, her renditions transcending regional boundaries to evoke collective reverence for tradition.

Her passing on November 5, 2024, at the age of 72, marked the end of an era. After a valiant fight against multiple myeloma, her health took a turn for the worse, leading to her final days on life support. The news of her demise sent ripples of sorrow across the nation, with an outpouring of tributes from all walks of life.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage on social media. Taking to his official X handle, he wrote, Her contribution to Bhojpuri and Maithili folk music is immense and the echo of her melodious songs will last forever. Her demise is an irreparable loss to the world of music."

                                                        pic.twitter.com/sOaLvUOnrW Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 5, 2024

Sinhas musical career, which began in the 1970s, was nothing short of illustrious. Over the decades, her voice became a beacon of cultural pride, bridging the gap between regional folk traditions and national recognition. Her songs, steeped in the essence of rural India, were both a celebration and a preservation of heritage.

Previously honoured with the Padma Bhushan, Sharda Sinhas journey stands as a shining example of how art rooted in tradition can achieve universal acclaim. Her music, deeply embedded in the ethos of her land, continues to inspire new generations to cherish their roots.

While the Padma Vibhushan may have arrived posthumously, it is a fitting tribute to a life dedicated to art and culture. Sharda Sinhas legacy remains alive in the hearts of her listeners, a living echo of her timeless voice that still sings of the spirit and soul of India.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 16:49 IST
Opinion | Hindutva Versus Enemies Of Humanity: A Clash of Ideologies

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News18.com

Last Updated: January 26, 2025, 17:10 IST

Neo-colonialism, driven by the deep state, represents a profound threat to humanity. It enslaves populations through economic manipulation and perpetuates misery through conflict, all while enriching a small elite

The answer lies in a broader divine plan that centres on humanity as a whole and on protecting India, in particular. (File)

In recent decades, a coalition of ideologiescomprising liberal elites, woke activists, Islamic jihadists, evangelical crusaders, and other left-leaning factionshas dominated global discourse under the guise of fairness, compassion, and moral superiority. These forces collectively pose a significant threat not only to Hindus but to the survival and well-being of humanity as a whole. Together, these groups, including the evangelical church, form what is referred to as an evil cabal known as LIWEC (Liberals, Islamic Jihadists, Wokes, Evangelical Crusaders, and Communists).

However, this coalition has steadily lost its credibility. Events such as Narendra Modis rise to power in 2014 and Donald Trumps historic comeback victory in 2024 have disrupted its power structure, exposing cracks in its narratives and agendas. The coalitions once-unquestionable moral high ground has eroded. Increasingly, a significant portion of the global populaceand many Americansview its influence as deceptive and self-serving, cloaked in progressive rhetoric but driven by ulterior motives.

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Neo-Colonialism: A Modern Form Of Slavery

The neo-colonialism propagated by this evil coalition is far more sinister than its historical predecessor. It functions as a modern form of slaveryone rooted in the domination of currencies, economic dependency, and perpetual conflict. At its core, this system is driven by the illegal and unchecked printing of currency, enabling the deep state and its LIWEC puppets to manipulate economies, impoverish the vast

majority, and to enforce their agenda without accountability. This slavery of currency" creates artificial dependencies that entrap nations in a cycle of debt and subjugation.

This system is further sustained by a vast global military machine that feeds on the blood of innocents. Wars, strife, and manufactured crises are orchestrated to secure control over resources and geopolitical leverage, leaving behind a trail of human misery and destruction. Neo-colonialisms true face is one of exploitationan unethical and deeply immoral construct that robs nations of their sovereignty while devastating lives in the name of progress and democracy.

Divine Interventions And Global Stability

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump, narrowly avoided, highlights the fragility of global leadership and perhaps even the hand of divine intervention in shaping history. This event can be seen as a pivotal moment where a higher power intervened to prevent humanity from descending into catastrophe.

The deep state and its political puppetsincluding leaders like Bush, Biden, Obama, and Harrishave long pursued warmongering agendas, jeopardising global stability in their quest for power. The world narrowly escaped the chaos of a potential third World Warone that could have resulted in humanitys extinction.

Why was Trump saved? The answer lies in a broader divine plan that centres on humanity as a whole and on protecting India, in particular. The same forces threatening global peace also endanger Indias sovereignty. Cultural Marxism, woke ideologies, Islamic jihadism, and the evangelical church, along with corrupt domestic politics embodied by groups like Congress and the INDI alliance, aim to destabilise the nation.

As a beacon of ancient wisdom and dharmic values, India holds a unique role in the global order. Trumps 2024 victory signals a cosmic intent to shield India from these adversarial forces and to save the humanity, underscoring the notion that US politics, though impactful, serves as a backdrop to a larger spiritual and geopolitical drama.

Deep State And Its Adversaries

The deep state, a shadowy network of unelected officials and global influencers, exerts enormous power in shaping policies worldwide. Its alignment with LIWEC represents a deliberate effort to undermine traditional values, national sovereignty, and individual freedoms. In this battle, Trump emerges as a formidable opponent, challenging their narratives and exposing their hypocrisy.

By standing against this coalition, Trump inadvertently aligns with the interests of nations like India, and of humanity as a whole, which face similar existential threats from analogous forces. For Hindus, the LIWEC coalition is not merely a political adversary but an existential threat to their cultural identity and spiritual heritage. These forces, often supported by global elites, seek to impose a homogenised worldview that clashes with the pluralistic and dharmic traditions of India.

Preserving these traditions is essential not only for India but for the world, as they represent a critical bulwark against the erasure of diverse cultural and spiritual thought.

Enemys Enemy: A Strategic Alignment

The principle of the enemys enemy is my friend" holds particular relevance in this context. Trump, despite his controversies and imperfections, represents a bulwark against the LIWEC coalition and other adversaries of dharmic values. His defiance of globalist agendas and unapologetic commitment to national sovereignty make him an unlikely but significant ally in this ideological struggle.

Indias spiritual ethos, symbolised by the timeless mantra Om" aligns with this broader battle against forces of deceit and domination. As India rises on the global stage, it must remain vigilant against these threats while forging strategic alignments with those who oppose them. Recognising the interconnectedness of these battles will be crucial in maintaining Indias sovereignty and dharmic principles.

Conclusion

The current geopolitical and ideological landscape reflects an intense struggle between preservation and destruction of humanity (depopulation/World War 3, perpetual wars, etc), traditional wisdom and modern corruption, dharma and adharma. The unmasking of the LIWEC coalition marks a significant turning point. Leaders like Narendra Modi and Donald Trump, operating in vastly different contexts, represent resistance to these forces and a commitment to safeguarding traditional values.

Neo-colonialism, driven by the deep state and aided by unethical practices like unchecked currency printing and a global war machine, represents a profound threat to humanity. It enslaves populations through economic manipulation and perpetuates misery through conflict, all while enriching a small elite.

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The world must take heed of these signs and work toward a future that upholds sovereignty, tradition, and spiritual wisdom against the impending destruction of humanity by the neo-colonialist ideologies.

Dr Deepak Birewar is a chemical engineer with a BTech from IIT Mumbai and PhD from Carnegie Mellon University. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

First Published: January 26, 2025, 17:10 IST
For the year of 2024, the cumulative registration volume of domestically produced passenger vehicles (PVs) on the Chinese Mainland stood at 22,906,719 units, a YoY increase of 8.55%, according to the data compiled by the Gasgoo Auto Research Institute ("GARI").

The monthly PV registrations in the country hit a new high of 2,724,588 units in December, reflecting year-on-year and month-on-month growth rates of 10.31% and 14.55%, respectively. Among these, new energy vehicles (NEVs) accounted for 1,291,690 units, securing a 47.41% market share and setting a new monthly record.

For the entire year, NEVs constituted 10,750,218 units of registrations, achieving a penetration rate of 46.93%.

For clarity, the PVs hereby refer to the passenger vehicles locally produced and registered on the Chinese Mainland.

China's PV market began with strong momentum in December 2024, fueled by automakers intensifying efforts to meet annual sales targets. The approaching expiration of vehicle trade-in and scrappage subsidies at year-end spurred significant demand. Additionally, the earlier-than-usual Chinese New Year in late January 2025 prompted some consumers to bring forward their purchases to December, although certain regions exhausted subsidy funds, slowing sales in the latter half of the month. These factors collectively contributed to the robust release of car-buying demand in December.

Top 20 brands by Dec. 2024 and annual passenger vehicle registrations

In December last year, 11 of the top 20 brands based on monthly PV registration volume were China's self-owned ones, with five making it into the top 10. Leading indigenous brands included BYD, Geely, Wuling, Chery, Changan, Galaxy (from Geely Auto), Li Auto, Haval, Hongqi, JETOUR, and Leapmotor.

BYD maintained its dominance, with over 360,000 vehicles registered in December, outnumbering the runner-up Volkswagen by 114,297 units. Despite this strong performance, BYD's December registrations dipped by 6.68% compared to November. Within its Dynasty and Ocean series, 28 models were registered during December, with 13 surpassing the 10,000-unit mark and four exceeding 30,000 units.

Notably, on December 24, BYD celebrated the delivery of its two-millionth Qin family vehicle. The Qin lineup now includes three core models: the Qin PLUS DM-i, Qin PLUS EV, and the Qin L DM-i. Additionally, road tests for the Qin L EV are underway, with the model expected to hit the market in 2025.

Chinese brands Geely, Wuling, Chery, and Changan ranked fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth, respectively. Geely and Chery each climbed one spot from the previous month, while Wuling and Changan slipped by one and two places, respectively. All four brands registered over 100,000 units in December.

Some NEV-focused indigenous brands also performed well. Galaxy, Li Auto, and Leapmotor ranked 11th, 14th, and 20th, respectively, underscoring the growing influence of Chinese NEV manufacturers.

Volkswagen and Toyota secured the second and third positions. The German brand registered 15,429 NEVs in December, comprising 6.12% of its total registrations. This included 1,160 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and 14,269 battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Toyota's NEV penetration came in at 1.79%, with 3,011 NEVs registered for the month.

Tesla, the sole brand entirely funded by a foreign entity in the top 20, ranked ninth with 81,638 vehicles registered in December, up 10.9% from the previous month, though its rank slipped by one position.

Among the German trio, BMW ranked highest at tenth, with three modelsthe BMW 3 Series, X3, and 5 Serieseach surpassing 10,000 units in December registrations. Audi and Mercedes-Benz followed at 13th and 15th, respectively. Audi's A6L and Q5L, and Mercedes-Benzs E-Class, GLC, and C-Class, were the top contributors.

On an annual basis, BYD, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Geely claimed the top four positions, each exceeding one-million-unit registrations. BYD led with over three million vehicles, while Volkswagen surpassed two million units.

Aside from BYD and Geely, nine brands among the top 20 were also China's wholly-owned ones, including Wuling, Changan, Chery, Li Auto, Haval, Hongqi, AITO, JETOUR, and AION.

Top passenger vehicle models by Dec. 2024 and annual passenger vehicle registrations

In December, 18 of the top 20 PV models drew contribution from NEVs. Notably, among the top five models, the Model Y (1st), the Seagull (2nd), and the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV (5th) featured only BEV options, while the Song PLUS (3rd) and the Qin PLUS (4th) both had BEV and PHEV versions available for sale.

The Model Y reclaimed the top spot, while Tesla's Model 3 dropped out of the top 20. BYD had seven models listed in the top 20 brands rankings by December PV registrations. Xiaomi's SU7 secured the 19th place, with its registrations up 11.23% month-on-month.

In 2024, six PV models recorded annual registrations exceeding 300,000 units each. Leading the pack were Tesla's Model Y, BYD's Qin PLUS, Seagull, and Song PLUS, each surpassing 400,000 units. Among joint ventures' models, the Nissan Sylphy ranked fifth overall, followed by the Volkswagen Lavida. BYD claimed an impressive presence in the top 20 PV models, with nine models entering the list.

Two BEV models from Wuling brand, the Hongguang MINIEV and the Bingo, also secured spots in the top 20, ranking 7th and 15th, respectively.

Top cities by Dec. 2024 and annual passenger vehicle registrations

In December, 13 cities on the Chinese Mainland each recorded registrations of over 40,000 locally produced PVs, with nine cities exceeding 50,000 units. Shanghai and Chengdu led the rankings, each surpassing 70,000 units, while Beijing followed with over 60,000 units.

From the full-year perspective, 12 cities reported cumulative registrations exceeding 400,000 units, with five citiesChengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hangzhoueach surpassing 500,000 units.

Monthly new energy passenger vehicle registrations and breakdown by powertrains

In December 2024, registrations of domestically made new energy passenger vehicles (NEPVs) on the Chinese Mainland amounted to 1,291,690 units, a remarkable year-on-year surge of 45.72% and a month-on-month rise of 4.5%.

Breaking down the December NEPV registrations by powertrain solutions, BEVs accounted for the largest share at 59.73%. PHEVs followed with a 30% share, while range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs) contributed 10.27%. Only two fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) were registered during the month, a negligible percentage of the total.

Throughout 2024, a total of 10,750,218 homemade NEPVs were registered on the Chinese Mainland, reflecting a 48.54% year-on-year soar. BEVs, PHEVs, and REEVs represented 58.47%, 30.6%, and 10.93% of the total, respectively. Additionally, 28 fuel cell vehicles were registered over the year.

Top 20 brands by Dec. 2024 and annual new energy passenger vehicle registrations

In December 2024, China's self-owned brands solidified their dominance in the country's NEPV market, claiming 18 of the top 20 spots in brand rankings by registration volume. BYD retained its top position, with December registrations surpassing the combined total of the second through sixth brands.

Two brands powered by Huawei's HIMA (Harmony lntelligent Mobility Alliance)AITO (9th) and LUXEED (17th)also made the top 20. Li Auto ranked fifth, slipping one spot from November, while Geely Holding's Galaxy and ZEEKR placed 4th and 12th, respectively. The Geely brand itself ranked 16th.

For the full year, ten brands achieved cumulative NEPV registrations exceeding 200,000 units. BYD led the market by a significant margin, with over three million vehicles registered. Tesla followed in second place with nearly 600,000 units, while Wuling, Li Auto, and AITO secured third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. AION and Galaxy claimed the sixth and seventh spots.

Notably, Xiaomi EV entered the top 20 with 123,686 units of annual registrations, ranking 18th for the year. Its sole model, the Xiaomi SU7, surpassed the 100,000-unit delivery mark as of mid-November.

Xiaomi EV also made strides in expanding its charging network. On December 25, the company announced collaborations with NIO, XPENG, and Li Auto to integrate charging infrastructure. Through this partnership, Xiaomi's charging map now had included over 14,000 NIO's charging piles, 9,000 XPENG's piles, and 6,000 Li Auto's piles, with real-time updates available in the app. However, service details vary slightly among partners: only selected Li Auto chargers support Xiaomi EV's app scanning, while XPENG offers plug-and-charge functionality.

Top 20 new energy passenger vehicle models by Dec. 2024 and annual registrations

In December 2024, BYD's dominance in China's NEV market was evident as 11 of its models secured positions in the top 20 brands by NEPV registration volume, with six of them making the top 10. Tesla also had two models in the top 20, while Geely's Galaxy Starship 7, hitting the market in early December last year, entered the top 20 rankings at 18th with 17,098 vehicles registered.

For the entire year, BYD continued its strong presence with 11 models in the top 20 NEPV models rankings. Wuling, AITO, and Tesla each contributed two models to the list.

Top 20 cities by Dec. 2024 and annual new energy passenger vehicle registrations

On the city front, Shanghai led all cities with 43,883 NEPVs registered in December, which accounted for 58.17% of its total PV registrations. Shenzhen followed with 35,849 NEPVs, making up 62.75% of the city's overall PV registrations.

Regarding the full-year performance, 12 cities on the Chinese Mainland recorded cumulative NEPV registrations exceeding 200,000 units. Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen topped the list, with annual NEPV registrations all surpassing 300,000 units.
Opinion | The Prabowo Pivot: How Indonesia's Strategic Shift Benefits India

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 09:42 IST

Indonesian President Prabowo Subiantos visit, strategically timed and swiftly following on the heels of his engagements with both China and US late last year, carries significant weight

PM Narendra Modi with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto during a press meet, at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on January 25. (Image: PTI/Arun Sharma)

Indonesian President Prabowo Subiantos presence as the chief guest for Indias 76th Republic Day is more than just a ceremonial gesture. He engaged in serious bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing critical regional and global issues.

This visit, strategically timed and swiftly following on the heels of Prabowos engagements with both China and the United States late last year, carries significant weight. Traditionally, newly elected Indonesian leaders have prioritised visits to their ASEAN neighbours, a diplomatic custom he has conspicuously sidestepped.

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This deviation is not a mere anomaly; it signals a profound shift in Indonesias foreign policy outlook hinting at a nation ready and, perhaps compelled, to assert itself on the global stage. The question now is not whether Indonesia can walk this newly charted path, but rather how and to whose strategic benefit, particularly Indias, this walk will proceed under Prabowos leadership.

DEPARTURE FROM REGIONAL ORTHODOXY

Prabowos administration is not simply tinkering at the edges of Indonesian foreign policy, it is initiating what his foreign minister Sugiono has termed a bold and innovative" turn. This is not mere rhetoric.

A closer examination of Jakartas recent diplomatic actions reveals a deliberate recalibration away from its long-held ASEAN-centric approach. For decades, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has been the cornerstone of Indonesias foreign policy with the country often perceived as the blocs de facto leader.

Prabowos campaign speeches, however, notably omitted any significant mention of ASEAN  a telling detail in itself. His first state visits to Beijing and Washington, before even a substantial engagement with ASEAN partners, underline this shift in priorities.

The postponement of a formal ASEAN meeting, replaced by an informal" engagement with Malaysia, and Sugionos absence from crucial ASEAN consultations on Myanmar, further underscore a discernible downgrading of ASEANs centrality in Indonesias strategic calculus. Indeed, some analysts within Indonesia itself are beginning to question whether this new direction signifies ASEAN being placed on hold", as Indonesia looks towards grander, global horizons. This departure, while perhaps necessary for Indonesias burgeoning ambitions, raises pertinent questions about regional stability and the future of ASEAN cohesion.

Further, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), historically a significant component of Indonesias foreign policy identity, also appears to be undergoing a reassessment under Prabowo. While Sugiono referenced the Bandung Conference, the bedrock of NAM, in his recent policy address, the manifesto of Prabowos own Gerindra party dismisses NAM as an outdated relic of history".

This internal contradiction raises serious questions about the future direction of Indonesias engagement with the movement. In a geopolitical landscape increasingly defined by great power competition, Prabowo seems to be prioritising a more pragmatic, power-centric approach.

INDIA AND INDONESIA: CONVERGING STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Against this backdrop of Indonesian foreign policy recalibration, Prabowos scheduled state visit to India takes on an added significance. This visit, following trips to Beijing and Washington, underscores Prabowos focus on major power diplomacy over regional engagement.

This very focus presents a unique opportunity for India. Historically, India and Indonesia have shared a complex, often under-realised, strategic partnership. Both countries, giants of the NAM, have long espoused principles of multilateralism and peaceful coexistence.

Shifting geopolitical sands, however  particularly the assertive rise of China  are forging a new convergence of strategic interests between Delhi and Jakarta. India, like Indonesia, is increasingly wary of Chinas growing influence in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

The common strategic interests and concerns particularly regarding Chinas ambition, provide a solid foundation for enhanced cooperation. Both countries recognise the imperative of maintaining a balanced regional order, one that is not dominated by any single power.

Prabowos apparent pivot towards major power engagement, while potentially diluting ASEAN centrality, could paradoxically create space for a stronger bilateral partnership with India, predicated on shared concerns and a mutual desire for a multipolar Asia.

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed in 2018, now takes on a renewed significance. This partnership, initially aimed at economic and security collaboration, can be the bedrock upon which a deeper strategic alignment is built.

India, with its Act East Policy and Indo-Pacific vision, finds in Prabowos Indonesia a potentially willing and able partner. The question is whether both nations can seize this moment.

UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF DEFENCE, MARITIME COOPERATION

The maritime domain represents a crucial arena for enhanced India-Indonesia cooperation. Both nations are significant Indian Ocean powers, sharing concerns about maritime security and freedom of navigation, especially in the face of Chinas growing naval assertiveness.

The existing Defence Agreement since 2018, with its pledges for increased strategic consultations and joint military exercises, must be proactively leveraged. Joint patrols in the Indian Ocean, already a reality since 2002, need to be intensified and expanded in scope. Indonesias experience with Chinese incursions in the Natuna Sea offers a stark lesson in the realities of dealing with Beijings expansive maritime ambitions.

In addition, Prabowos background as a former defence minister suggests a predisposition towards prioritising security and defence considerations in foreign policy. His appointment of Sugiono, a party ally, as foreign minister, signals a potential shift in foreign policy leadership, possibly towards the Istana Palace, further underscoring the Presidents personal interest and direction in this domain.

This focus on security, combined with Indonesias strategic location and Indias growing defence capabilities, creates a fertile ground for a more robust and impactful defence partnership, one that could contribute significantly to regional stability and balance of power.

NAVIGATING THE TIGHTROPE: CHALLENGES AND CAUTIONS

Despite the promising signs, the path ahead is fraught with complexities. Prabowos bold diplomacy", while potentially beneficial for India, introduces an element of uncertainty into regional geopolitics.

Indonesias attempt to balance relations with both the US and China, while understandable, is a tightrope walk. The US has softened its stance towards Prabowo, indicating a pragmatic acceptance of his leadership. However, navigating the intensifying US-China rivalry, especially with the potential return of a Trump presidency, will be exceptionally challenging for Jakarta.

While Prabowo aims to avoid alienating either power, it could become increasingly precarious in an era of intensifying US-China rivalry. India must be acutely aware of Indonesias strategic calculus and avoid any perception that a closer India-Indonesia partnership is aimed at containing or confronting China directly.

Such a perception could be counterproductive, potentially pushing Indonesia back towards a more cautious and less assertive foreign policy stance. While Prabowos focus on global power dynamics might benefit India in certain respects, it also carries the risk of further marginalising ASEAN.

A weakened or internally divided ASEAN would not serve Indias long-term strategic interests in Southeast Asia. India has consistently championed ASEAN centrality and regionalism, and it must ensure that a closer bilateral partnership with Indonesia does not inadvertently undermine these broader regional frameworks.

Delhi needs to engage proactively with Jakarta to ensure that Prabowos global ambitions are not pursued at the expense of regional stability and ASEAN cohesion. For India, the challenge lies in effectively engaging with Prabowos Indonesia, ensuring that the burgeoning bilateral relationship translates into concrete strategic gains, particularly in the defence and maritime sectors. The opportunity is present, but capitalising on it demands astute diplomacy and a clear understanding of the shifting sands of Indonesian foreign policy under Prabowo.

A WATERSHED MOMENT OR A FLEETING OPPORTUNITY?

Prabowos state visit to India arrives at a critical juncture in regional geopolitics. It represents a potentially transformative shift in Indonesias foreign policy, one that could have far-reaching implications for the Indo-Pacific.

For India, this shift presents a unique opportunity to forge a deeper and more consequential strategic partnership with a key regional player. However, realising this potential will require careful navigation, strategic foresight, and a nuanced understanding of Indonesias evolving foreign policy priorities.

This visit could indeed be a watershed moment, marking the beginning of a new era of India-Indonesia strategic alignment. But it could also prove to be a fleeting opportunity, lost amidst the complexities of great power competition and regional uncertainties.

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The onus is now on both Delhi and Jakarta to seize this moment, to translate converging strategic interests into concrete actions, and to build a robust and enduring partnership that serves not only their own national interests, but also the broader cause of peace, stability, and a balanced order in the Indo-Pacific. The stakes are high, and the time to act is now.

Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 08:00 IST
Opinion | Why New Iron Age Timeline Proves Indians Jugaad Ingenuity

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 15:26 IST

As iron ore was abundant in south India, our ancestors brains figured out how to use it while the rest of the world persisted with copper

MK Stalin announced that scientific dating of fragments excavated from two sites has pushed back the date of iron metallurgy on the subcontinentand indeed, the worldto 5,300 years ago. (X/@mkstalin)

Human ingenuity needs no reiteration; we have managed to conquer and control the world in order to better our lives no sooner did we emerge out of Africa. In that context, the revelation last week by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin that the Iron Agedeemed by historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, sociologists, etc, to be the time when humans really took the great leap forward around the worldbegan in this part of India 5,300 years ago, is hugely significant.

So far, it had been decided based on available evidence, and probably a fair degree of unconscious bias, that the Iron Age began in the Anatolia region of modern Turkey, supposedly the crucible of human civilisation, around 3,200 years ago. This is the conventional timeline ascribed to ancient humans by mostly Western scholars, named after the material of the tools that successive excavations have yielded: the Stone Age, Copper Age, Bronze Age and finally the Iron Age.

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It takes gumption to challenge the authority and assertions of generations of European stalwarts from the 17th century to the present. India tended to meekly follow many of their now-outdated precepts including calling the most ancient civilisation of the subcontinent Harappan" or Indus Valley" even after far older examples were found further east, alongside a different (now extinct) river. Stalins bold declaration, thus, is a measure of Indias newfound confidence.

In 2022, he had announced that there was evidence of iron metallurgy happening in Tamil Nadu 4,200 years ago, which led to the rise of ancient agriculture there. On Thursday he announced that scientific dating of fragments excavated from two sites has pushed back the date of iron metallurgy on the subcontinentand indeed, the worldto 5,300 years ago. These dates were determined and verified by two Indian and one US laboratory, using the very latest methods, he said.

Sceptics have been quick to note that the Tamil Nadu findings have not been published in any peer-reviewed journal, but that cannot mean that the results must be rejected. There is no reason to argue that Indias southernmost region did notor could not independently evolve iron metallurgy earlier than other parts of the world. Stages of civilisational advancement have happened at different times in disparate parts of the world, without one influencing the other.

The singling out of Anatolia and the Levant as the region where major advances of human civilisation began and then dispersed eastwards and westwards is not surprising. That area is at the cusp of three continents and therefore a sort of neutral territory. Moving the civilisational fulcrum further eastwards upsets the comforting balance set by generations of Western scholars but geology and geography appear to be doing precisely that, in collusion with technology.

South of the Vindhyas, Indias Peninsular Shield has unique characteristics. It is one of the most stable land formations of our subcontinent, rarely being subjected to quakes. And the Tamil region of the peninsula happened to be rich in iron ore while copper was not really that accessible. The excavations in Sivagalai that yielded the urns and iron implements whose fragments provided the new Iron Age timeline are actually an ode to human ingenuity, or, Indias famous jugaad.

At the same time when the more famous ancient conurbations in northern Indiathe Indus Valley or Indus-Saraswati civilisationwere firmly in the Copper Age, the megalithic culture of southern India leapfrogged into the Iron Age by dint of circumstance. It is now conjectured that iron ore was abundant in the region, so the ancient South Indian brain simply turned to the task of figuring out how to use it much before others in the rest of the world. It sounds perfectly plausible.

Jugaad and incentives have fuelled much of the worlds progress and ancient Indians were not very different from their modern counterparts. Given these primordial impetuses, it was prescient of MK Stalin (despite predictable political posturing) to announce a $1 million reward for deciphering the Indus Valley/ Saraswati civilisations signs and seals after graffiti (marks) found on megalithic burial potsherds in Keeladi turned out to be amazingly similar to them.

Researchers of the Tamil Nadu State Archaeological Department have categorised 42 of the graffiti as base signs, 544 as variants and 1,521 as composite forms and compared them with Indus-Saraswati seals. Of the base signs and variants, nearly 60 per cent have similarities with the Indus-Saraswati script. The implications of a definite link between the subcontinents oldest civilisationsboth of which may be even more ancient than currently estimatedare too tantalising to ignore.

Deciphering the script based on the similarities of northern and southern graffiti and signs would conclusively prove that the Indian subcontinent was united by a multi-millennia-old composite civilisation, not an artificial construct as asserted by the British and then their Leftist successors in academia. Reading those seals and graffiti would also reveal how much of the majority religion here has been an evolving and growing, organic synthesis of indigenous and new beliefs.

The similarity of the signs indicates a pan-Dravidian nature of the subcontinent that is not based on antagonistic racial lines, as has often been subversively posited. A contemporaneous northern Copper Age culture and southern Iron Age culture point to a commonality that can only be further boosted by intelligible epigraphic evidence. This would then give heft to the currently contested argument that India evolved into one nation long before it became a country.

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There is nothing quite like money to kickstart activity, as US President Donald Trump underlined by getting three billionaires to underwrite a huge push for AI research. An ancient alphabet perhaps does not have the same urgency, but if Stalins cash incentive is further enhanced by, say, not only AI but also additional generous commitments from a few of Indias billionaires, one of the most crucial mysteries about our ancient pastthe inception of Bharatcould be solved.

The author is a freelance writer. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:26 IST
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Owaisi Leads Oppn Charge In Rejecting Waqf Bill, BJP MPs To Propose Amendments In JPC Meet Today

Reported By :

CNN-News18

Edited By: Apoorva Misra



Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 10:42 IST

The Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session in 2024

Owaisi, the five-time Member of Parliament from Hyderabad, has been sending in his objection to the Bill in a written format to the committee chairman in every meeting. (PTI)

AIMIM president and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi is leading the opposition charge on the rejection of the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, in its entire form. Owaisi has submitted amendments to all the clauses of the Bill, thereby opposing the Bill in totality as was brought in by the Centre.

On Monday, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), which is examining the Bill, will hold a clause-by-clause discussion on the Bill and the proposed amendments that will also be put to vote.

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Owaisi, the five-time Member of Parliament from Hyderabad, has been sending in his objection to the Bill in a written format to the committee chairman in every meeting.

Apart from Owaisi, many other MPs from the Opposition have objected to the Bill in its present form and have submitted amendments to the JPC. The others include Gaurav Gogoi, Naseer Hussain, Imran Masood, Mohammad Javed from the Congress; A Raja and Abdulla from DMK; Kalyan Banerjee and Nadeem Ul Haq from the TMC; Mohibbulah from Samajwadi Party; Arvind Sawant from UBT and Sanjay Singh from AAP.

A few amendments have also come from the ruling side from BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, Aparajita Sarangi, Tejasvi Surya, Brijlal, Sanjay Jaiswal, DK Aruna and Dilip Saikia.

A member of the committee, Vijay Sai Reddy, recently resigned from his Rajya Sabha membership so he shall no longer be in the panel. YSRCP in the past had strongly objected to the Bill.

What are the objections?

Some objections of the Opposition in unanimity included the clause to amend the short title of the Act from the Waqf Act, 1995 to Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995 (UMEED). The leaders have questioned the governments intent to rename the Bill which, according to them, was not required.

Other questions raised by the Opposition include: Should any work property proceedings being used for anti-national activities be confiscated? Why should collector get so much power if he is the complainant? How can he be the judge in the same case? Why are you allowing non-Muslims to become part of the Waqf Council? Will you allow Muslims to become members of the Hindu Endowments Board?

According to an NDA MP, in case of a disputed property, where both sides are claiming the right, the property must be transferred to government through a trust. Another MP is likely to suggest that in case the proceedings of any Waqf property are used for international activities, such properties must be immediately confiscated.

Another NDA partner is likely to suggest that the appointment of non-Muslims to the Waqf Board must be for management activities and any interference in the rituals, customs etc should be strongly discouraged.

Opposing separate Waqf Board for Bohras and Aghakhanis has also been listed by the Opposition in its amendments.

Preliminary survey of Waqf to replace the Collector in place of the Survey Officers so as to confer powers upon the Collector to make the survey in accordance with the procedure in revenue laws of the state, as proposed in the Bill, is also being objected to by opposition MPs.

What are the amendments proposed?

Amongst the amendments given by the ruling side, Nishikant Dubey has given an amendment on Waqf by user clause. His amendment states: That in Clause 3 at page 2, after Clause 3(ix)(d), following proviso be inserted. Provided that the existing Waqf by user properties registered on or before the commencement of Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2024, as Waqf by user will remain as Waqf properties except that the property, wholly or in part, is in dispute or is a government property."

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya has proposed that Clause 36 be omitted. Clause 36 of the Bill seeks to amend Section 84 relating to tribunal to hold proceedings expeditiously and to furnish to the parties copies of its decision. It provides that if the matter is not decided within six months, the tribunal may decide the matter within a further period of six months for the reasons to be recorded in writing as to why the matter was not decided within the said period of six months.

In her amendment, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi proposes that in Clause 4 on page 3 of the Bill, after newly proposed Section 3B(1), the following proviso be inserted: Provided that Tribunal may, on an application made to it by the Mutawalli, extend the period of six months under this section for such period as it may consider appropriate, if he satisfies the Tribunal that he had sufficient cause for not filing the details of the waqf on the portal within such period."

Section 3B (1) provides for every Waqf registered under this Act, prior to the commencement of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2024, to file the details of the Waqf and the property dedicated to the Waqf on the portal and database, within a period of six months from such commencement.

What next?

On Monday, members will move their amendment which will be put to vote and results will be announced by the chair, which will also be a part of the record. Similarly, members suggestions on the Bill will also be discussed, for which no voting would be required. Based on the clause-by-clause consideration, the draft report will be finalised and shared with the legislative department. The Bill, as amended by the committee, will be prepared by the legislative council, Ministry of Law and Justice.

The draft report will also be sent to the Hindi translation wing and to the ministry for factual verification. Then, along with the amended Bill as prepared by the legislative council, it will be submitted to the chairperson for approval. Once approved by the chair, it will be circulated to the members. The draft report and the Bill, as amended, will be considered by the committee. After adoption of the report by the committee, a date will be given by the chairperson to the members for giving dissent note/minute of dissent to the secretariat. After the examination of dissent note/minute of dissent by the Secretariat, the final report will be prepared. This will then be given to the Lok Sabha Speaker for his approval. After getting his approval, the draft report will be presented in the House.

The BJP-led NDA government had amended the Waqf Act of 1995, which was further amended in 2013.

This Bill has been in the works for the last few years, with the government having met various stakeholders, including members of the community, eminent jurists and lawyers.

Salient Features of Proposed Legislation

 The new legislation proposes the renaming of the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995

 The term Waqf will be clearly called or defined by a person practising Islam for at least five years and having ownership of such property

 It proposes not to deprive women of the right to inherit such property

 Survey Commissioner to the Collector or any other officer wont be below the rank of Deputy Collector duly nominated by the Collector for the survey of Waqf properties

 Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards will ensure the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims

 A separate Board of Auqaf will be established for Boharas and Aghakhanis

 The board will have representation of Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Agakhani and other backward classes among Muslim communities

 The registration of Waqf property must be through a central portal and database

 The legislation proposes providing for a detailed procedure for mutation as per revenue laws with due notice to all concerned before recording any property as Waqf property

 The new Act provides that the board no longer will be the sole authority to decide if a property is indeed Waqf property

 The Bill proposes decreasing the annual contribution from seven per cent to five per cent payable to the board by mutawalli of every Waqf having a net annual income of not less than Rs 5,000

 The Bill proposes providing for filing of accounts through a central portal for better control over their activities

 The new legislation proposes that the tribunal structure will be restructured with two members and providing for appeals against the orders of the tribunal to the high court within a specified period of 90 days

In August last year, the Union Cabinet gave its approval to this Bill. Waqf Boards have approximately over 8.7 lakh properties, totaling around 9.4 lakh acres. In 2013, the UPA government had given more powers to the Waqf Boards by amending the original Act.

The Waqf Act, 1995, was enacted to regulate auqaf (assets donated and notified as Waqf) by a Waqif  the person who dedicates a property for any purpose recognised by Muslim law as pious, religious, or charitable.

The Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session in 2024. On August 9, legislation was sent for Parliament scrutiny and a JPC was formed. So far, the committee has held 35 meetings in Parliament and has gone on tours on three occasions. Theyve covered states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam etc.

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The first meeting of the JPC was held on August 22, 2024, and since then, a total of 35 meetings have taken place so far. More than 112 hours have gone into the discussion on the Bill. A total of 284 stakeholders have been consulted, which includes 49 in Delhi and 155 during study tours. Twenty-five state waqf boards and 15 state government representatives have deposed before the panel. Eight MPs, seven MLAs and five state ministers have deposed before the committee. Five minority commissions have appeared as witnesses in the committee.

On the front of public opinion being sought by the JPC, 92.28 lakh emails and 4.99 lakh physical representations have been received.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 09:30 IST
Sam Pitroda Stokes Row Again, Wants Illegal Migrants To Settle In India; BJP Reacts

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 19:05 IST

Sam Pitroda, a close aide of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, advocated for illegal migrants to settle in India and criticised the Centre for its failure to address the issue.

Chairman of Congress Overseas Sam Pitroda with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi | File Image

Nearly a year after his controversial racist" remark on Indias diversity sparked political slugfest, Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda has once again found himself in soup as he reflected upon illegal migrants in the country.

Pitroda, a close aide of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, advocated for illegal migrants to settle in India and criticised the Centre for its failure to address the issue.

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If they want to come here, even illegally, let them come. We should include everybody. If we have to suffer a little bit, its okay. We will share but nobody wants to share. They want to keep their pie bigger and bigger," Pitroda said.

OUTRAGEOUS!Rahul Gandhis right hand man Sam Pitrodas statement advocating for illegal migrants to settle in India, even at the countrys expense, is shocking and irresponsible. Now you wonder how Congress since the last 70 years worked overtime to settle ILLEGALS in our pic.twitter.com/kKVFusDD71  Pradeep Bhandari( ) (@pradip103) January 27, 2025

Noting the Centres crackdown on illegal migrants, Pitroda emphasised government should focus more on addressing issues that matter to the public, such as global warming, rather than only tackling migration.

Notably, the contentious issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigration has re-emerged as a pivotal political narrative ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections.

The BJP claimed that the ruling AAP was involved in creating fake Aadhaar cards for Bangladeshi infiltrators and accused Delhis ruling party of using them as a vote bank" for the upcoming polls.

BJP Reacts To Pitrodas Remark

BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari swiftly reacted to Sam Pitrodas statement advocating for the permanent settlement of illegal migrants in India, calling the remark outrageous."

Rahul Gandhis right-hand man Sam Pitrodas statement advocating for illegal migrants to settle in India, even at the countrys expense, is shocking and irresponsible," Bhandari said in an X post.

Now you wonder how Congress for the last 70 years worked overtime to settle illegals in our country!" he added.

However, this is not the first time Pitroda courted controversy. During the Lok Sabha elections last year, the Congress leader said that Northeast people look like Chinese, people in the west look like Arabs, people in the north look like white and the south look like Africa."

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First Published: January 27, 2025, 19:05 IST
'Anti-Hindu': BJP Hits Back At Congress Chief Kharge Over 'Dubki' Remark On Amit Shah

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 16:55 IST

Mallikarjun Kharge's remark came hours after Amit Shah took a holy dip in Sangam at Prayagraj during Maha Kumbh mela, the largest religious congregation in the world.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Union Home Minister Amit Shah | ANI Image

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday courted controversy by targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who took a holy dip in Sangam at Prayagraj, saying that even after 100 births, he wouldnt ascend to heaven.

Reacting strongly to the remark, the BJP labelled Congress as anti-Hindu" and asked whether the grand old party can insult other religious sentiments the same way they have been insulting Sanatan for many years.

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Shah reached Prayagraj on Monday to take a holy dip in Triveni Sangam during the ongoing Maha Kumbh mela. Accompanied by several Hindu saints and seers, he offered prayers to God during the occasion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have committed so many sins together that they wont be able to go to heaven even in 100 lifelines," said Kharge while addressing a public rally in Madhya Pradeshs Mhow.

Kharge further intensified his criticism of BJP leaders participating in the holy dip at the Sangam, saying BJP leaders are in a competition, taking the holy dip as part of a race."

Arre bhai, Ganga mein dubki lene se garibi dur hoti hai kya? (By taking a dip in Ganga, will poverty be eradicated? Do you get food by taking a dip" he asked the gathering.

Soon realising the impact of his remarks, Kharge apologised for any unintended hurt his comments may have caused to the religious sentiments of those present at the rally.

Congress President Mr Kharge opposes Dubki " in Mahakumbh!Why does Congress hates Hindus so much?#AntiMahaKumbhCongress #CongressHatesHindus pic.twitter.com/XIHChagfQy  Pradeep Bhandari( ) (@pradip103) January 27, 2025

BJP Hits Back

BJP leader Sambit Patra quickly responded to the Congress chiefs remark on Shah and other BJP leaders, labelling the grand old party as anti-Hindu."

Such a statement against Sanatan is very shameful. Congress is mocking the sentiments of Hindus and Sanatan. The whole congress should apologise for Kharges remark," Patra said while addressing a press conference.

Hours before leaving for Prayagraj, the Home Minister said that Mahakumbh is a unique symbol of the uninterrupted flow of Sanatan culture.

Kumbh reflects our eternal philosophy of life-based on harmony. Today, I am eager to take a dip in the confluence and seek the blessings of the saints in this great festival of unity and integrity in the holy city of Prayagraj," he added.

#WATCH | #MahaKumbh2025 | Union Home Minister Amit Shah takes a holy dip at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. pic.twitter.com/TH2MFFgwA5 ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025

Shahs holy dip in Sangam comes days after the entire UP cabinet led by Yogi Adityanath took a holy dip at the Sangam.

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The Maha Kumbh is witnessing a huge surge of devotees and pilgrims for the two-month-long festival. On the day of Makar Sankranti alone, over 3.5 crore devotees including seers and saints took a holy dip in the Sangam.

Location : Prayagraj, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:56 IST
Air India Locks Passengers For 5 Hours On Mumbai-Dubai Flight: Open The Door

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 11:20 IST

After 'locking' passengers inside the Dubai-bound flight for nearly five hours, Air India finally deboarded them at around 1 pm.

The incident took place on Air India's Mumbai-Dubai flight on Republic Day's eve. (Image: Instagram/@udtapatang)

Air India flight from Mumbai to Dubai, initially scheduled to depart at 8:25 am, was delayed by several hours, with passengers being locked" inside it for nearly five hours. As frustration mounted, passengers began banging on the overhead bins and demanding the crew open the doors. The flight eventually took off at 4:32 pm. A video of the irate passengers demanding to leave the aircraft has since gone viral on the Internet.

What a horrible experience for all the passengers flying with Air Indis to Dubai on flight AI909," wrote a passenger while sharing the now-viral video on Instagram.

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Tejasvi Anandkumar Soni, the passenger who made the video and shared it online, added, The flight that was supposed to take off at 8:25 am was delayed for 5 hours with passengers (including toddlers and senior citizens) on board without the air condition system working. Passengers started feeling suffocated and yet the crew did not provide and relief untill passengers forced them to open the gates and deboard."

Read| Man Misses IndiGo Flight After It Takes Off 15 Minutes Early, Forced To Buy New Ticket

According to reports, after the protests intensified, the passengers were finally deboarded around 1 pm at Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on the Republic Day eve.

The captain not once came out of the cockpit to address the passengers to assauge the situation but only waited inside untill passengers lost their calm after five hours waiting patiently. High time the aviation ministry starts to handle such incidents with strictest of actions," Soni further expressed.

The flight, as per data available on flight tracker Flightradar24, landed at 5:36 pm. It took off at 4:32 pm from Mumbai.

Also Read| IndiGo Offered Rs 6,000 To Delete Social Media Post: Man Who Missed Flight That Took Off 15 Minutes Early

The video, that has clocked over 24.5 million views, shows passengers shouting at the cabin crew, with one passenger banging on the overhead bin. We dont trust you," shouted one enraged passenger, while others pleaded, Please, open the door."

In the video, the captain can be heard explaining, The airplane jack needs to be connected, please understand."

Watch the video here:

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Why should the passengers be always on the receiving end?" asked Soni towards the end of his Instagram post, before adding, Truly not the kind of experience we expected from an airline owned by one of the most accountable business houses."

First Published: January 27, 2025, 10:49 IST
Bengaluru Landlords Are A Menace: Couple Forced To Spend Rs 1 Lakh On Maintenance, Denied Deposit Refund

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 16:04 IST

A startup founder shared the couples harrowing experience on LinkedIn and termed it as modern-day exploitation by landlords in Bengaluru.

In yet another episode of rental woes in Bengaluru, a couple was denied security deposit as the landlord refused a refund, citing maintenance issues. (Representative image: Getty)

Bengaluru landlords are a menace," remarked startup founder Shravan Tickoo after learning about a couples ordeal with their rented flat. The couple, who paid 55,000 per month in rent, ended up spending over Rs 1 lakh on maintenance issues that the landlord refused to address. To make matters worse, when they vacated the property, their 1.75 lakh deposit was withheld.

In a LinkedIn post, Tickoo shared that the landlord cited flat maintenance" as the reason for withholding their security deposit. He termed this as modern-day exploitation", warning non-natives" who relocate to the city to make it big.

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I recently saw a case where a couple moved into a society for a 2BHK with an astronomical rent of Rs 55,000. The couple paid the rent every month, but whenever there was leakage or any issue with the property, the landlord didnt even pick up the phone. Instead, they communicated through the property maintenance person, saying, Its your headache to fix it, even though it was clearly a property issue. The couple ended up spending over Rs 1 lakh fixing these issues from their own pocket," Tickoo wrote on LinkedIn.

He added, When they finally left the flat, the owner refused to return their deposit of Rs 1.75 lakh. They sent an SMS saying, The flat needs maintenance, so you shouldnt get anything back."

When the couple suggested deducting a months rent and refunding the remaining deposit, the landlord reportedly dismissed their request, stating, Do whatever you can, but this is what it is."

Left with no legal recourse, the couple had no choice but to vacate the property and forfeit their deposit entirely.

Tickoo further said, When it comes to increasing rent, landlords are the first to call and ping you, but when theres a problem, its suddenly your problem. I know some might think this is a one-off case, but trust me, Ive seen this happen time and again with so many people."

To everyone who wishes to make it big in Bengaluru, my only request is: focus on people before you make a move here. Spend time on those who respect you for who you are, and be cautious while renting or purchasing homes. Otherwise, this city of dreams for so many of us can quickly turn into a nightmare you never expected," he warned non-Bengalureans.

In response to the viral LinkedIn post, an individual suggested, It would be good to see a platform where tenants and landlords rate each other .. this ought to solve this problem to a good extent if not completely."

Its a generic issue not specific to Bengaluru only. I have faced similar situation in Delhi NCR as well," said another social media user.

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A third commented, Bangalore has become uninhabitable."

A Chartered Accountant (CA), who came across the post, suggested that people should take proactive steps from the start to avoid rental disputes. Yukti Sehgal suggested tenants get their rental agreement reviewed by a knowledgeable professional, document the propertys condition with photos, conduct a thorough inspection before moving in, and maintain all communications via email for a clear trail. She also said that the tenants should notify landlords three months prior to vacating, clarify deposit adjustments, and take exit photos. If the deposit is unfairly withheld, they should promptly send a legal notice as per the agreements terms.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 16:02 IST
Chinese Police Dog Loses Bonus for Sleeping On Job, Internet Demands Action

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 18:01 IST

A Chinese police dog named Fuzai has sparked widespread reactions after getting its year-end bonus docked.

The canine was fined its snacks for sleeping at work and peeing in its food bowl. (Photo Credits: Instagram)

Fuzai, a Chinese police dog, has caught the internets attention after losing its year-end bonus due to indiscipline. The canine cop had joined the police dog training base in Wiefang, Shandong province, in January last year. Fuzai quickly garnered popularity worldwide, becoming an internet sensation. The police dog has now made headlines once again for its overall performance in 2024. While Fuzai was recognised for several achievements last year, its annual bonus was docked for sleeping on the job and peeing in a food bowl, as per a South China Morning Post report.

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The news of Fuzais penalty has sparked widespread reactions on social media. One user was curious to know about what the dogs bonus was. And whats the poor guys bonus," he asked.

Another jokingly wrote, Bro took a power nap to do night duty."

One enquired if the dog applied for the job itself. Did the dog apply for the job," he asked.

Milibhagat of L&T Chairman Narayana Murthy," added one more.

As per the same report, a video on Fuzais performance round-up for 2024 was shared on a Chinese social media platform. In the clip, a male officer highlighted the canines achievements. Come on, lets hold a meeting. You performed great this year. You passed the Level 4 assessment for police dogs. Not only that, but you also completed various security tasks and significantly helped promote Weifangs police dogs," he said, as per the report. Fuzai even received a red flower, some canned snacks and toys for his merit.

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Later, the officer also revealed Fuzais antics in its workplace last year. But because of your recent behaviour, being fatigued in the workplace and even urinating in your dog basin, we had to criticise and confiscate your snacks as a penalty. You will keep only the red flower," the officer added.

Fuzai was born on August 28, 2023. It was donated to the training base after its original owner took it to the park at two months old where Zhao Qingshuai, a police dog trainer at the dog base of Changle County Public Security Bureau, recognised its potential. After joining the police dog training base in northern China, Fuzai began its job as a reserve operative for explosives detection. It was four months old at the time. By October 2024, the police dog graduated from its reserve status to become a fully qualified operative.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 18:01 IST
Indian Man Marries Greek Girlfriend At Maha Kumbh Mela: This Is Such A

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 14:57 IST

The man gave his Greek girlfriend the choice of marrying in either India or Greece. When she chose India, they decided to tie the knot on Republic Day at the Maha Kumbh Mela.

Siddharth (right) from India with his wife, Penelope, from Greece (left). (Image: X/@ANI)

An Indian man tied the knot with his Greek girlfriend at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on Republic Day, January 26. Siddharth married Penelope from Greece in a traditional Vedic ceremony. The kanyadan was performed by Swami Yatindranand Giri, Mahamandaleshwar of the Juna Akhara, alongside the brides mother and relatives.

We are very grateful just to get married to each other, she is really special. When we decided on it, we wanted to do it in the most authentic manner which would be simple yet divine, and for that, we chose Prayagraj, Maha Kumbh, this specific date (January 26)," Siddharth told news agency ANI.

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He added, We know that at this point of time that this is probably the best place not just in the country or the world but the universe wh all forms of divinity, pilgrimages everything is present here. You meet such great souls. We meet Maharaj ji (Swami Yatindranand Giri) and get his blessings and this is such a pleasure for the heart and the soul."

Read| Maha Kumbh Mela From Space: NASA Astronaut Shares Pics Of Worlds Biggest Gathering

When we think about marriage, people are forgetting that marriage is a holy institution It gives us an understanding that man and women are completers of each other, both are incomplete without the other. Following ancient tradition is not something to frown about Marriage being such an important institution to ones it had to be done that we did it today the vedic way," he further told the news agency.

Siddharth also revealed that when he proposed to Penelope, he offered her the choice of getting married in either India or Greece, and she chose India.

Penelope described her wedding at the Maha Kumbh Mela as magical beyond words". She told the news agency, I think what has happened today is something magical beyond words and it is only when I see some of the pictures that I realise we were experiencing divine energy. I have never attended an Indian wedding, and today I was the bride so everything was new to me but at the same time very familiar. What happened was a ceremony, I was married with a more spiritual way, according to Vedic scriptures, and it was amazing."

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Penelope, who converted from Buddism to Hinduism, said that everything comes from Sanatan Dharma". She further said that she is looking forward to the holy dip on January 29.

For me it is a way to have a meaningful, happy life, and be able to go beyond this circle of birth and rebirth. As a person, this is what triggered me, as I was looking for a solution for the sadness of what happened in life. It was like a puzzle, that was making some sense when you put it all together. I was into Buddhism for many years and after that, I realised that everything comes from Sanatan Dharma, so I go to the source instead of somebody else speaking," Penelope expressed.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 14:27 IST
Beijing (Gasgoo)- On January 26, Chinese automaker SERES Group signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Beihang University, the automaker announced on the same day.

Signing ceremony; photo credit: SERES Group

Under the agreement, both parties will collaborate on foundational research and product development in emerging industries. The partnership aims to strengthen industry-academia-research integration and promote the establishment of organized research platforms to explore innovative fields. Joint research on scientific projects and the development of professional talent will be prioritized to provide long-term support for the collaboration.

Leveraging their respective expertise in industrial and technological fields, SERES and Beihang University will focus on complementary strengths and shared resources. The partnership is expected to accelerate technological innovation and the transformation of research achievements, supporting advancements in industrial upgrading and innovation-driven growth.

On January 21, SERES announced its 2024 financial forecast, expecting revenues to surge by over 300% year-on-year to reach 144.2 billion to 146.7 billion yuan. The automaker anticipates a net profit of 5.5 billion to 6 billion yuan, marking a significant recovery after four years of cumulative losses totaling 9.835 billion yuan.
Indian Woman Faces Racism At Cambodia Border, Denied Entry Despite Visa: Beyond Traumatising

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 13:14 IST

A woman from Mumbai was forced to cut short her trip after being denied entry at the Cambodia border due to racism despite holding a valid visa.

The Indian woman, despite having a valid visa, wasn't allowed to enter Cambodia. (Image: Instagram/@nidadadj)

A woman from Mumbai has accused officials at the Cambodia border of racism after being denied entry despite holding a valid visa for up to two to three months. Nida Merchant, a music curator, DJ, and designer, revealed that she had to cut short her trip and return directly from Vietnam. While she had heard rumors about Indians facing racism at the border, Merchant confirmed that these rumors are not just hearsay  they are true.

I cut my trip short and came back directly from Vietnam after being denied entry into Cambodia for racist reasons. Rumour has it they do it a lot but guess what its not a rumour," Merchant wrote while sharing her ordeal which she documented on video on Instagram.

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She added that she was made to wait for an hour before an official tried to lock up her luggage and offered to help her enter the Southeast Asian country on his bike. A shady official tried to lock up my suitcase and get me jump onto a bike with him if I wanted to get into Cambodia. My suitcase was broken and I was scared of what they were planning on doing with me, as I was travelling alone!"

Merchant further claimed that she took the last ferry to Phu Quoc, then flew back to Ho Chi Minh before returning to India on January 4.

This is for other people, back packers, tourist, etc travelling to Cambodia, they have a list of countries, India, Nepal, etc. that dont get entry into the country. The taxi guy who drove me back from the border to the ferry told me Indians havent been allowed to cross that border for months," the woman went on to say.

Merchant shared that she attempted to contact the Indian Embassy in Cambodia, but her calls went unanswered. She also tried reaching out to the Cambodian Embassy in Delhi, which had issued her visa, but received no response there either.

I have never in my life faced any sort of racist behaviour and I must say this was beyond traumatising. Idk what would happened had I actually got on that bike or had they successfully locked up my suitcase, so please be careful," she noted.

The video opens with Merchant saying, I just had one of the worst experiences of my whole life." As the video goes on, she narrated her harrowing experience at the Cambodia border, alleging racism and mistreatment at the hands of the officials.

The video opens with Merchant saying, I just had one of the worst experiences of my whole life." As the video goes on, she recounts her harrowing ordeal at the Cambodia border, accusing officials of racism and mistreatment. Merchant further claimed that while attempting to retrieve her luggage from the border officials, the wheels of her suitcase broke, and she suffered scratches on her legs. Toward the end of the video, she warned others against travelling to Cambodia by ferry.

In response to her video, an Instagram user from Cambodia wrote, First, I want to say Im sorry to hear you had a bad experience at the Cambodia-Vietnam crossing border, but I want to clarify some points. First, the police officers that you pointed out in the video are in Vietnamese uniform. Theyre not Cambodians, because you were not on the Cambodias land yet. Second, the most important factor. You showed an e-Visa in the video and it clearly mentions that youre only allowed to enter through valid e-Visa ports and there isnt one around the Ha-Tien border. If you faced harassment thats wrong but I think you were simply denied entry because of that."

This sounds like a horror story. But at the same time, it is unbelievably great that you are safe and out of that situation," expressed another.

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Well fight through this and ensure this reaches the right set of eyes & ears. Absolutely horrifying behaviour shown by the Cambodian officials. So so glad youre safe. And I truly commend you for being so brave throughout. Youre back in homeland & safe now," expressed yet another social media user.

A fourth shared a similar experience. I had a dual entry visa to Thailand, which I got stamped in my passport prior to my Thailand-Cambodia-back to Thailand trip in 2018. Yet, as the bus crossed via the Thailand-Cambodia border, it was the Thai immigration officials who asked me show printouts of my hotel stay in Bangkok. I had the hotel reservations on my phone but that wasnt good enough apparently. And I had to go back, find an Internet cafe (yeah, in 2018) or some place to take printouts! I managed to do that, and was eventually allowed through but just because of me, the entire bus (I was the only Indian) was held up."

First Published: January 27, 2025, 11:38 IST
Kiran Bedi Recalls Facing Gender Bias Before Leading All-Men Contingent At Republic Day Parade

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 14:17 IST

Kiran Bedi led an all-male contingent of the Delhi Police at the Republic Day Parade in 1975.

Kiran Bedi shared a video, recalling gender bias at the time.

India celebrated its 76th Republic Day on Sunday, January 26 with great zeal and valour. The grand Republic Day Parade in Delhi saw a showcasing of cultural diversity from various states through the tableaux and dances along with the countrys military prowess. In the wake of the grand celebrations, Kiran Bedi, the nations first female IPS officer also took a moment to reflect on a significant part of her career when she led the Republic Day Parade in 1975. Bedi shared a three-minute-long video where she spoke about the challenges faced in a male-dominated society.

As the first female officer in the Delhi Polices IPS cadre, Bedi acknowledged battling against gender bias is to achieve a remarkable feat.

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I was NOT being given the opportunity to lead the Republic Day Parade in 1975, being a Woman. I called on my then IGP, Mr PR Rajgopal, and insisted I be given the chance to do so. Rest is history. Its exactly 50 years ago," she wrote in the caption.

I was NOT being given the opportunity to lead the Republic Day Parade in 1975, being a Woman. I called on my then IGP, Mr PR Rajgopal and insisted i be given the chance to do so. Rest is history. ???Its exactly 50 years ago. pic.twitter.com/qxedpFcybt Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) January 25, 2025

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Further in the video, Bedi provides a detailed recollection of the events that led to her selection to lead the all-male contingent at the Republic Day Parade. Mentioning that she directly reached out to then Inspector General of Police, PR Rajgopal, Bedi added that she went through intense training in the harsh Delhi winter. Its been 50 years since that historic day. For me, and for the women of India, it is a day to be remembered," she said in the video.

Users took to the comment section and expressed their admiration for Bedi and her incredible journey. Kiran Bedi has voiced her thoughts at a time when the Republic Day Parade this year saw a spectacular display of women power in Delhi. Along with a 148-member all-women contingent of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the all-girls contingent of the National Cadet Corps also marched in the parade.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 14:17 IST
Malaysian Man Introduces Villain For Hire Service To Play Hero In Front Of Partner

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 17:50 IST

A 28-year-old Malaysian man is providing a special service in which he pretends to be a 'villain' to help clients amaze their partners by playing the role of hero.

On weekdays, Shazali Sulaiman charges Rs 1,975 for his basic service. (Photo Credits: X)

A Malaysian man is offering a unique service to assist men impress their partners by assuming the role of a villain". This is a strange spin on the matchmaker market. 28-year-old Shazali Sulaiman of Ipoh, Perak has been advertising this unusual villain for hire" service on social media, saying he can assist clients in showcasing their masculinity and making a great impression on their partners.

Are you tired of your partner thinking you are weak? For a reasonable fee, I will help you prove them wrong," Shazali Sulaiman captioned this in a promotional post earlier this month.

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As part of the service, Shazali Sulaiman sets up a scenario in which he disturbs" the clients partner, allowing the person to act heroically. Just tell me the time and place, and I will show up to disturb your partner, giving you the chance to step in as the hero and take me down," he added in his promotional post.

The cost of Shazali Sulaimans basic service is Rs 2,963 (Malaysian Ringgit 150) on weekends and Rs 1,975 (Malaysian Ringgit 100) during the week. Adding to his tough-guy persona, he posted a picture of himself with messy hair and an unlit cigarette in his hand.

Men are not the only ones who can use the service. Shazali Sulaiman said, Females could also seek my assistance," illustrating the inclusiveness of his service.

Citing one instance, Shazali Sulaiman revealed, When the boyfriend went to the bathroom, I pretended to harass his girlfriend. When he came back, he confronted me like a hero." Additionally, he stressed that the act is harmless. It is all just an act, like WWE. No one gets hurt, I am the only loser," Sulaiman highlighted in his post.

Shared on January 7, the post has raked up more than 1000 likes and several comments on social media. Some people were skeptical, while others praised the inventiveness.

A user said, Save post now. I will use it later."

Another commented, Bro is on that grind."

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People who pay to play the hero would probably be the first to run in a real crisis. Fake heroes are always fake," someone who was skeptical about the post wrote.

Bro does side hustle," another person remarked.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 17:25 IST
Mumbai Woman Praises IndiGo For Stress-Free Travel With Wheelchair-Bound Daughter

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 17:56 IST

"Travelling with Keya, my wheelchair-bound daughter, has never been easy," the woman in her post mentioned.

The woman's daughter is diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. (Photo Credits: LinkedIn/Monisha Hatkar)

Monisha Hatkar, a Mumbai-based woman, recently shared a touching travel experience on LinkedIn that resonated deeply with social media users. She expressed her gratitude towards IndiGo Airlines for offering a stress-free flying experience for her daughter, who required a wheelchair due to her medical condition. Monisha described the challenges of travelling with her 14-year-old, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic disorder diagnosed when her daughter was just 10 months old.

Travelling with Keya, my wheelchair-bound daughter, has never been easy. Her mobility has gradually decreased over the years as a result of SMA, which she was diagnosed with as an infant," the post reads.

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Monisha further shared that her daughters condition has led to 80% physical disability, significantly restricting her life, particularly after undergoing extensive spine corrective surgery in 2022. The surgery was crucial to help her maintain the ability to sit and breathe independently, without medical support, and to prevent her from becoming bedridden.

Furthermore, she described how every travel trip felt like an adventure and required rigorous planning and prayer to safeguard her daughter and the medical equipment. None of our excursions to yet have been incident-free. Whether it was wheelchair damage or a health attack, a memory remained with them. These concerns havent limited me or Keya," the post read.

Monisha expressed her gratitude, sharing that for the first time, her trip with her daughter was completely hassle-free, thanks to the exceptional efforts of the IndiGo staff, especially Pratik Arjun Sen. She wrote, This is an appreciation post for the seamless experience we had flying back-to-back with IndiGo Airlines, both on the ground and in the air. The one man who made this magic happen was Pratik Arjun Sen, who ensured that we faced no obstacles at any moment."

Monisha also recalled her earlier experience with IndiGo in 2023, when her daughters wheelchair was accidentally damaged by airline staff shortly after her surgery. I was furious at that time. But over time, both I and the team learned to navigate the complexities of accommodating wheelchair users," she added.

She concluded the post on a positive note, reflecting on the trust and respect she and her family had developed for the airline. Monisha shared a few pictures of her daughter with the IndiGo ground staff and cabin crew, along with a handwritten note they received from the airline, expressing their gratitude for the experience.

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IndiGo also commented on the post and wrote, Thank you for your wonderful words of gratitude. Your opinion is essential in helping us make our services more accessible and thought-provoking."

Whats your best travel story?

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 17:56 IST
Scolded Over Homework, 10-Year-Old Calls The Cops On Dad's Opium Collection

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 13:58 IST

A 10-year-old in China called the police on his father after being scolded for not doing homework. Police discovered eight dried opium pods on the balcony and referred the case to the Anti-Narcotics Brigade

The fifth grader, after being reprimanded by his father, headed to a nearby store where he could access a phone to call the police. (News18 Hindi)

Parenting is hard. It is not easy to get your child to clean up after them, put their toys away or finish their food. But the toughest task as they grow is getting them to do their homework. Some kids comply after being reprimanded, while others are so crafty that they manage to get back at their parents and teachers to escape the situation entirely. One such mischief-maker from China ensnared his father in a tricky situation after being admonished for his unfinished homework.

According to a report from Audit Central, this incident took place in Yongning County, China. A 10-year-old boy in this area failed to complete his homework, prompting his father to scold him. Instead of working on his assignments after the reprimand, the child headed to a nearby store where he could access a phone.

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The fifth grader then called the police, claiming that his father possessed opium at home. Following the call, he settled back at home while the rest of the family remained oblivious to the unfolding situation. When the police arrived at their residence, only the child was in the know about what was happening.

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According to the report, upon searching the home, police discovered eight dried opium pods on the balcony, and the childs father confessed to having them for medicinal purposes. Since possessing narcotic substances like opium is illegal in China, the police disregarded the mans explanation and referred the case to the Anti-Narcotics Brigade.

In China, even possessing dried opium pods is a criminal offense, regardless of their intended use. The Chinese media didnt provide details on the childs fate after the incident.

Location : China

First Published: January 27, 2025, 13:58 IST
Storm Moving At 33,000 Kilometres Per Hour! Scientists Shocked At Discovery

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 09:19 IST

Scientists have detected 'supersonic winds' travelling at a speed of 33,000 km per hour on a giant gaseous planet named WASP-127b. If such extreme weather occurred on Earth, it would make life nearly impossible

The winds on WASP-127b are travelling at a staggering speed of 9 kilometres per second, which is 130 times faster than the limit of a Category 5 hurricane. (News18 Hindi)

The most powerful winds on Earth have been recorded at a speed of 407 km per hour. However, scientists have now detected a storm with winds moving at an astonishing speed of 33,000 km per hour.

Astronomers have observed a supersonic jet stream on an exoplanet located outside our solar system. These winds are the fastest ever recorded in space. According to scientists, if such extreme weather occurred on Earth, it would make life nearly impossible.

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The exoplanet, WASP-127b, is located 500 light-years away from Earth. It is a giant gaseous planet slightly larger than Jupiter but with a lower mass.

Discovered in 2016, WASP-127b has a large band of strong winds at its equator, resembling the stripes seen on the gaseous planets of our solar system. Until recently, the speed of these winds remained a mystery. On January 21, a study published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics revealed the wind speeds. Using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, scientists measured these winds speed.

Wind Speeds Of 9 Kilometres Per Second

The lead author of the study, astrophysicist Lisa Nortmann from the University of Gottingen, Germany, explained: Part of the planets atmosphere is moving towards us at a very high speed, while another part is moving away at the same speed. This indicates the presence of a very fast jet stream on the planets equator."

The winds on WASP-127b travel at a staggering speed of 9 kilometres per second, which is 130 times faster than the limit of a Category 5 hurricane.

According to NASA, these winds are approximately 18 times faster than the jet streams on Neptune, which can reach up to 1,800 km per hour, making them the fastest winds recorded in our solar system.

Planets Temperature

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By analysing light passing through the atmosphere of WASP-127b, researchers determined the composition of its clouds, finding both water vapour and carbon dioxide present in the swirling masses. While these compounds are associated with life on Earth, the planets extreme conditions make it uninhabitable.

Temperature data collected by the VLT revealed that WASP-127bs polar regions are cooler than the rest of the planet, with only a slight difference between its day and night temperatures. Currently, only ground-based telescopes like the VLT can measure wind speeds on such distant planets.

First Published: January 27, 2025, 09:19 IST
This Ludhiana Farmer Owned The Delhi-Amritsar Express Train For Five Minutes

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 14:01 IST

Sampoorn Singh briefly owned the Delhi-Amritsar Swarna Shatabdi Express when in 2017, the District and Sessions Judge directed the confiscation of the train at Ludhiana station as part of the compensation settlement

Sampoorn Singh became the sole owner of a train in the country in 2017. (News18 Hindi)

Owning a luxury car is a status symbol today, a far cry from the days when kings and maharajas paraded their wealth with elephants and horses. Capitalism ushered in a new era of extravagance, with private jets and multi-crore cars becoming the trophies of the ultra-wealthy. However, owning a train seems unfathomable, an asset reserved for governments.

Sampoorn Singh, a farmer from Katana village in Ludhiana, achieved the seemingly impossible. He became the sole owner of a train in the country, the prestigious Delhi-Amritsar Swarna Shatabdi Express. Let us learn how this extraordinary feat came to pass.

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In 2007, the railways acquired land from farmers, including Singh, for Rs 25 lakh per acre. The situation took a turn when it was found that the railways had acquired land in a nearby village for a significantly higher price of Rs 71 lakh per acre. This discrepancy did not sit well with Sampoorn Singh, who decided to take the matter to court. The court, in its initial ruling, increased the compensation amount from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, eventually raising it to Rs 1.47 crore.

In 2012, a petition filed by Sampoorn Singh resulted in a court order mandating the railways to settle the payment by 2015. However, the railways only paid Rs 42 lakh, leaving a balance of Rs 1.05 crore.

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In 2017, District and Sessions Judge Jaspal Verma took the unprecedented step of ordering the confiscation of the Delhi-Amritsar Swarna Shatabdi Express at Ludhiana station as compensation. Accompanied by his lawyers, Sampoorn Singh arrived at the station and, following the court order, became the official owner of the train.

This marked a historic first, as no individual in India had ever owned a train before. However, the victory was short-lived. Within five minutes, the section engineer, citing potential passenger inconvenience, got the train released through a court official. According to reports, the case is ongoing, and Sampoorn Singh continues to receive earnings from the trains operation.

Location : Ludhiana, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 14:01 IST
This UK Man Cleans Graves As Side Hustle; He Has Earned Enough To Own His First Home

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 18:37 IST

In December 2024, Shaun Tookey purchased his first family home after turning his grave cleaning side gig into a successful business.

Shaun Tookey spends his weekends and days off working on his side business. (Representative Image)

A 31-year-old man from Harlow, England, has used an unusual but lucrative side gigcleaning gravesto achieve a dream  buying his first home. Shaun Tookey, who started his business in May 2023 in addition to his full-time job as a tree surgeon, has renovated more than 300 graves. His services include deep cleaning, lettering repainting, and decorative chippings.

According to the New York Post, Shaun Tookey saved for a deposit and obtained a mortgage by earning between $187 (more than Rs 15,535) and $562 (more than Rs 46,673) for each job. This allowed his family to move into their first home in December 2024.

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As per reports, Shaun Tookey spends his weekends and days off working on his side project, The Grave Cleaner," where he cleans two to four graves daily. Meanwhile, TikTok and Facebook have become popular platforms for his work; he posts transformation videos there under the account @thegravecleaner.

I am trying to run a successful business and provide a service that most people cant do," Shaun told the New York Post. It is a very satisfying job and very rewarding. Its nice to help others who dont know how to go about cleaning their loved ones gravestones," he also said.

Shaun Tookeys perseverance allowed him to accumulate money for a down payment and obtain a mortgage, fulfilling a dream he previously believed was unachievable. This job has given my family stability, especially with how life is hard at the minute," he told the publication.

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Shaun Tookey owes his successful business to the milestone of moving into their first home with his family in December 2024. In a way, it has allowed us to be financially independent. It was a huge accomplishment for me," he remarked.

Moreover, Shaun Tookey customised his services for each client, taking into account things like the size of the grave, the type of inscription, and if paint or gold leaf was needed. He uses social media for most of his work, but he also uses cards and leaflets to raise awareness. Shaun Tookey also adds that the business has given him both financial security and personal fulfilment.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 18:36 IST
'What A Vibe: IndiGo Flight With Coldplay Fans Recreate Sky Full Of Stars Moment

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 16:20 IST

The pilot's playful request for extra tickets had the entire cabin laughing.

Coldplay concluded their India tour in Ahmedabad on Republic Day. (Photo Credits: Instagram)

Coldplays Music of the Spheres tour came to a thrilling end in India with an unforgettable concert in Ahmedabad on January 26. While fans are still talking about the electrifying performance, an amusing moment before the show has grabbed everyones attention. A video reveals an Indigo flight from Pune to Ahmedabad, filled with concertgoers. The pilot lightened the mood by joking with the passengers, asking how many were headed to the Coldplay concert. The hilarious moment unfolded when passengers realised just how many were attending the show. The pilots playful request for extra tickets had the entire cabin laughing, especially when one passenger raised their hand.

The video starts with the captain asking the passengers, How many here of you are going to the Coldplay concert?" When nearly everyone raised their hands, he then jokingly asked, How many of you have 2 extra tickets?"

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When one passenger raised their hand, the pilot was surprised and responded with excitement, saying, You do? You actually do? Hello sir, nice to meet you, were gonna be very good friends today."

The fun continued as the video ended with all the passengers recreating Coldplays iconic A Sky Full of Stars moment. They turned on their phone flashlights and transformed the cabin into a pre-concert celebration. The impromptu tribute made the flight feel like part of the concert experience. Sharing the video on Instagram, the IndiGo Captain wrote, What an incredible group of passengers from Pune to Ahmedabad. So much energy at 7 AM, wow."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pradeep Krishnan (@capt_pradeepkrishnan)

Reacting to the post, a user wrote, Everybody must appreciate this side of INDIGO too."

Another shared, A plane full of stars."

Why do I never get such captain," a comment read.

Another mentioned, What a vibe."

An individual shared, What a cool pilot. I remember telling my boyfriend right after landing for the first show in Mumbai, that the pilot shouldve mentioned the Coldplay concert, it wouldve been such an epic way to kick start the concert vibe."

One more added, IndiGos brand value goes high when we have such pilots."

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Since the video was shared on Instagram, it has garnered over sixty-six lakh views.

Following their India concerts, Coldplay members Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion are set to perform in Hong Kong, South Korea, the USA and Canada. The band will wrap up their Music of the Spheres tour with a grand finale at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London on September 8.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:23 IST
'Will Have Your Uniform In 2 Hours': Stopped For Using Siren, SUV Owner Threatens Traffic Cops

Curated By :

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 13:51 IST

According to reports, Kunal Bakliwal has been taken into custody, and his car has been impounded. A case has been filed against him for obstructing government work, using abusive language, and issuing threats

The police recorded the entire incident, including Bakliwal threatening senior officers by making phone calls and taking photographs of the policemen. (Local18)

In a blatant display of arrogance, a wealthy man driving a luxury car fitted with a VIP siren verbally abused and threatened traffic police officers.

The incident occurred in Maharashtras Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, earlier known as Aurangabad. When traffic police stopped Kunal Bakliwal, who was driving his black Defender SUV with a siren activated, Bakliwal reacted aggressively and proceeded to abuse the officers.

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A video of the incident has gone viral, showing the man in the luxury car threatening the police. Dont you recognise who I am? I will have your uniform taken off in two hours," he is purportedly heard saying.

Despite his behaviour, the police remained calm and asked him to park his car on the side of the road.

However, Bakliwals anger escalated. He criticised the traffic police, stating, You dont know how to manage traffic. Dont you recognise me? Do you even know how to perform your duty?"

The police recorded the entire incident, including Bakliwal threatening senior officers by making phone calls and taking photographs of the policemen. Eventually, the police escorted him to the station and registered a case against him.

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According to reports, Kunal Bakliwal has been taken into custody, and his car has been impounded. A case has been filed against him for obstructing government work, using abusive language, and issuing threats.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Nitin Bagate confirmed that the process of his arrest is underway.

Location : Aurangabad, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 13:51 IST
With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information.

HOZON New Energy targets up to 4.5 billion yuan in Series E funding

On January 24, HOZON New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., the parent company of NETA Auto, held a shareholder meeting to discuss its ongoing Series E funding round. The company aims to raise 4 billion to 4.5 billion yuan, with a lead investor expected to contribute around 3 billion yuan. During the meeting, the company also outlined its operational development plans for the next three years.

NETA X; photo credit: NETA Auto

SAIC Motor files trademark application for 'Shangjie'

According to the business data platform Tianyancha, SAIC Motor recently filed trademark applications for "Shangjie" (name in Chinese Pinyin) and other related terms. The trademarks are currently awaiting substantive review. Amid speculation about a potential partnership between SAIC Motor and Huawei, industry analysts believe "Shangjie" could represent the name of a new co-branded venture. As of 4 PM on January 26, neither SAIC Motor nor Huawei has issued an official statement regarding the purpose of the trademark applications.

ONVO's second model goes into production validation stage

NIO's sub-brand ONVO announced that its second model has entered the TT (Tooling Trial) stage, which involves full-process production validation under pre-mass-production control plans. The new model, a six- or seven-seat flagship SUV, is expected to hit the market in the third quarter of this year.

Senior Auto wins bid for autonomous driving project at Weihai Port, Shandong Province

Chinese autonomous trucking solution developer Senior Auto has been announced as the winning candidate for the autonomous driving technology development and procurement project for roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) ships at Weihai Port in Shandong Province, according to the company's announcement on Jan. 27.

SERES gains approval for asset purchase to acquire super factory ownership

On January 21, Chinese automaker SERES Group announced that the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Merger and Acquisition Review Committee had approved its plan to acquire Longsheng New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. The major asset restructuring was accepted in November 2024 and entered the inquiry stage in December.

SERES partners with Beihang University on industry-academia research integration

On January 26, Chinese automaker SERES Group signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Beihang University, the automaker announced on the same day.

China's vehicle inventory alert index in Jan. 2025 grows both YoY, MoM

The China Automobile Dealers Association ("CADA") recently released the latest "China Automobile Dealers Inventory Alert Index" (VIA), showing that in January 2025, the VIA for Chinese automobile dealers reached 62.3%, representing a year-on-year growth of 2.4 percentage points and a month-on-month jump of 12.1 percentage points.

Xiaomi EV so far delivers over 150,000 SU7 vehicles

On Jan. 26, 2025, Lei Jun, Xiaomi's Founder, Chairman, and CEO, confirmed that cumulative deliveries of the Xiaomi SU7 model have already surpassed 150,000 units.
'As Lord Hanuman Stood Unwavering...': Ukraine Envoy To Skip Diplomats' Maha Kumbh Visit

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 19:37 IST

Earlier it was reported that diplomats of 73 countries including Russia and Ukraine would visit Prayagraj to take a holy dip in Triveni Sangam during ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela.

Devotees gather to take a holy dip at the Sangam during Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, in Prayagraj (PTI)

Amid the reports of foreign diplomats participating in the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradeshs Prayagraj, Ukraine has refused to attend the event saying that participating in celebrations along with representatives of Russia would betray the principles of justice and truth.

In a series of posts on X, Ukraine said, Recent media reports suggesting Ukraines participation in celebrations along with representatives of the aggressor during the Maha Kumbh Mela on February 1, 2025 are wishful thinking only."

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Congratulations on the auspicious Maha Kumbh Mela 2025  a testament to Indias rich cultural heritage and the enduring faith of its people!However, recent media reports suggesting s participation alongside representatives of the aggressor are wishful thinking only.  UKR Embassy in India (@UkrembInd) January 27, 2025

Drawing parallels with Lord Hanuman, Kyiv said, As Lord Hanuman, the protector of dharma, stood unwavering in the face of evil, Ukraine too stands firm as a guardian of justice and truth. Participating alongside representatives of the aggressor at the Maha Kumbh would betray these very principles. Thus, the Ambassador of Ukraine to India will avoid participation on this occasion."

Kyiv further accused Moscow of mass killings, brutal torture of war prisoners, and destroying of Ukraines national identity and culture. It said that the blood of thousands of innocents would forever stain the hands of Russia and these sins could never be washed away even by the sacred Triveni Sangam.

Ongoing aggression against Ukraine results in mass killings, forcible child deportations, brutal torture of prisoners of war, sexual violence against women and girls, and the destruction of Ukraines national identity and culture. This blood, the blood of thousands innocently killed by the aggressor people still knocks in our hearts. This blood will forever stain the hands of the aggressor and can never be washed away, not even by the sacred waters of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati at the Holy Triveni Sangam," it added.

Earlier it was reported that diplomats of 73 countries including Russia and Ukraine would visit Prayagraj to take a holy dip in Triveni Sangam during ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela.

Mela Adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand had confirmed to the news agency PTI that the diplomats would participate in the mega religious congregation on February 1.

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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had also wrote to the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary regading the diplomats visit, saying that envoys from countries including Japan, USA, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Netherlands, Cameroon, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland and Bolivia would participate in the Maha Kumbh, Anand added.

As per the letter, all these foreign diplomats would reach Triveni Sangam Nose via boat and take a dip in the holy Sangam. After this, they would pay their obeisance at Akshayvat and Bade Hanuman Temple, following which they would understand" Maha Kumbh at the Digital Maha Kumbh Experience Centre.

Location : Prayagraj, India

First Published: January 27, 2025, 19:34 IST
Colombia Takes U-Turn On US Deportation Flights Amid Tariffs War, Says 'We Accept All Trump's Terms'

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 09:40 IST

The US and Colombia had entered a tariff war after Trump imposed sanctions due to South American country's refusal to allow US flights to land. However, Colombia has now agreed to "all terms" of US.

Colombia succumbs to Donald Trump's tariff threat (AP Image)

In a U-turn within hours of Donald Trump threatening to impose sanctions, Colombia succumbed to the tariff war and agreed to accept all terms" of the US President for the deportation of immigrants from the South American country, the White House said.

The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay," The White House Press Secretary statement said on Sunday (local time).

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Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo also confirmed in a late-night news conference that the country had overcome the impasse" and would accept the immigrants who the US calls illegal" and had been living in the United States.

US Pauses Sanctions On Colombia After Agreement

With this U-turn, the sanction announced by the US President will be held in reserve" unless the South American country fails to honour" the agreement.

Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement," the White House said.

The visa sanctions announced by Trump on the Colombian government officials and their supporters", however, will remain in effect".

The visa sanctions issued by the State Department, and enhanced inspections from Customs and Border Protection, will remain in effect until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned," the statement said.

What Triggered Trade War Between US And Colombia?

Trump on Sunday announced the imposition of a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods, which would have risen to as high as 50% in a week after the latter refused to allow two military flights of the US, deporting the illegal immigrants, to land. Historically, Colombia has been one of the closest allies of the US in Latin America and enjoys a free-trade agreement.

However, the standoff over the deportation of illegal Colombian immigrants into the US back to Colombia led to a trade war between the two nations, leading to sanctions on the latter. The sanctions have, however, been put on hold.

Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States. In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%. A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters. Visa Sanctions on all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government. Enhanced Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian Nationals and Cargo on national security grounds. IEEPA Treasury, Banking and Financial Sanctions to be fully imposed," Trump had announced in a long post on Truth Social earlier in the day.

The White House underlined that the U-turn by Colombia, which in turn imposed a 25% goods on the US products, triggering tariff war between the two countries, make it clear that America is respected again".

President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nations sovereignty and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States," the White House said.

You Will Never Dominate Us: Colombian President

Before being defeated by Trumps pressure, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that he had instructed his minister for external trade to raise tariffs on imports from the US to 25%".

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In a long post on X dedicated to Trump, he had said, You will never dominate us".

The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants," Petro wrote earlier on X.

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: January 27, 2025, 09:02 IST
'Complex': Italy's Georgia Meloni Downplays Trump's Gaza Comments

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 21:00 IST

The US president said on Saturday that he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take people from from Gaza, suggesting "we just clean out that whole thing" -- an idea quickly rejected by Palestinian leaders

Donald Trump and Georgia Meloni (File)

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Monday she does not believe Donald Trump has a defined plan" to move Palestinians out of Gaza, but said she welcomed a debate on the territorys reconstruction.

The US president said on Saturday that he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take people from from Gaza, suggesting we just clean out that whole thing"  an idea quickly rejected by Palestinian leaders, the Arab League, Jordan and Egypt.

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Meloni, who attended Trumps inauguration and hopes to position herself as a bridge between the US administration and the European Union, said it was complex".

Trump is right when he says that the reconstruction of Gaza is obviously one of the main challenges we face, and that to succeed, however, a great deal of involvement from the international community is needed," she told reporters during a visit to Saudi Arabia.

As for the issue of refugees, I dont think, here again, that we are faced with a defined plan. I think we are rather faced with discussions with regional actors, who certainly need to be involved in this," she said.

Most of Gazas 2.4 million people have been displaced, often multiple times, by the Israel-Hamas war that began with Hamass attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Trump said the war-battered territory had become a demolition site", adding that over the centuries its had many, many conflicts that site. And I dont know, something has to happen."

He said moving Gazas inhabitants could be temporarily or could be long term".

For Palestinians, any attempt to move them from Gaza would evoke dark historical memories of what the Arab world calls the Nakba" or catastrophe  the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israels creation 75 years ago.

Meloni warned of the significant impact" of Syrian refugees in several countries in the region, which is not helping stabilisation".

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These are certainly very complex matters, but the fact that they are being discussed, even at an informal level with the actors in the region, in my opinion means that we want to work seriously on the issue of the reconstruction of Gaza," she said.

The Italian prime minister spoke to reporters during a trip to Saudi Arabia, where the two countries signed cooperation and industrial agreements worth around $10 billion (9.53 billion euros).

Location : Rome, Italy

First Published: January 27, 2025, 21:00 IST
'Guru Vowed To Bed 1,000 Virgins': UK Woman Exposes Yoga Centre's Descent Into Sex Cult

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 18:58 IST

In 2017, the woman was looking for a job as a teacher in London when she came across the Tara Yoga Centre near Old Street.

She told The Sun that in guise of spirituality, she encountered strange and unexpected events that promoted sex in every possible way. (Image: Pixabay/Representative image)

The story of a woman who was made a part of a sex racket in guise of attaining spirituality" has left many in shock. According to a report in The Sun, the woman was made to have sex with Gregorian Bivolaru, a yoga sect leader who is accused of rape and other criminal offences.

The report revealed how she was lured into a sex cult, putting her in the bed of the movements so-called guru. Being at the centre of an international trafficking and sexual exploitation ring, she was made to work as topless masseur and a sex cam girl.

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The report, citing the woman, claimed that she was brain-washed into believing that Bivolaru was God on Earth and that she could receive a higher spiritual awakening by having sex with him.

I thought, I dont want to do this." The Sun quoted the 30-something-year-old woman from Oxfordshire, as saying.

I was physically repulsed by this person. I was shocked because we had been told so much about how this was a perfect living example of a tantric master," she said.

Describing the experience as sickening and bizarre, she told The Sun that she engaged in sexual activities with the small and dishevelled 67-year-old man at his two-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of Paris.

Closing her eyes, she recited the consecration ritual she had been taught  Lord God, I offer up to you, here and now, totally and unconditionally, all the fruits of this action."

The UK woman added, I went into autopilot, feeling completely disconnected and repulsed. After three of the positions he said, You have lost your erotic energy. We are going to stop."

Her absurd journey began in the most ordinary way possible when she joined a yoga class in London a few years ago. At that time, she was an English teacher who was looking for a job.

A respectable and educated woman, she was in stress as she was looking for a job as a teacher in London when in 2017 she came across the Tara Yoga Centre near Old Street in 2017. She joined the classes in order to find some spiritual and mental wellbeing.

The centre promoted the teachings of Romanian-born Bivolaru, and was part of the the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute (MISA) it had various branches in the UK and 28 other countries.

She told The Sun that in guise of spirituality, she encountered strange and unexpected events that promoted sex in every possible way.

In the spring of 2018, she was invited to attend a weekend retreat in a beautiful country house in Somerset, organised by the Centre.

She revealed, The course was called The Polarity Retreat. Polarity is one of their tantric theories that there is a very binary concept that men and women have very different needs, qualities and energies and that by separating them, as much as possible, you increase the magnetism between them."

At the house, the men and women were split into separate groups  a tactic to " increase the magnetism between them."

After some meditative yoga with the womens group, she was surprised when things took an overtly sexual turn  learning about make-up, clothes and how to look sexy.

We were encouraged to dance very sexually to a song," she revealed.

Later, they were told to surprise the men by doing the sexy dance for them they had learned.

She said, Some of the teachers wore just their underwear or took their underwear off when they were in there. I wore a short skirt and a top.

I danced close to my tantric teacher from London and I remember him looking directly at my crotch."

I was shocked because it was very much in conflict with everything we had been taught about spiritual sexuality where teachers, in particular, were on a higher level and understood women and worshipped them and didnt sexualise them."

Previously in June 2019, she was informed that Bivolaru was ready to meet her and there would also be something called an initiation."

Around the same time she learned Bivolaru had been sentenced to six years in jail for having sex with an underage girl in Romania.

Agnes Arabela Marques, 33, would later reveal she was one of the underage girls he abused, when she was 15, and she revealed he believed he could achieve a high level of spirituality if he slept with 1,000 virgins.

However, in November 2023, Bivolaru was arrested by French police on charges of human trafficking, organised kidnapping, rape and organised abuse of weakness by members of a sect.

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In a raid, which also saw 40 of his followers arrested and 500,000 seized, police found 58 women living in appalling conditions in various properties, with no hygiene facilities, and many were malnourished.

The investigation into the sex racket is ongoing.

Location : London, United Kingdom (UK)

First Published: January 27, 2025, 18:27 IST
China And India Should Commit To Mutual Support Rather Than Suspicion, Alienation: Wang Yi Tells Misri

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 13:13 IST

China and India should commit to mutual understanding and support rather than "mutual suspicion", and "alienation", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday told Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri that the two nations should commit to mutual support and achievement" rather than suspicion" and alienation".

Yi said India and China should work in the same direction and commit to mutual understanding.

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Misri is on a two-day visit to Beijing on January 26 and 27 to explore ways to strengthen ties with China.

India-China Meeting

The two sides should seize the opportunity, meet each other halfway, explore more substantive measures, and commit to mutual understanding, mutual support, and mutual achievement, rather than mutual suspicion, mutual alienation, and mutual consumption," Yi told Misri at a meeting in Beijing, according to a readout by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Yi cited a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan last year and said that both nations have earnestly implemented the important consensus" reached by the two leaders and have further carried out positive interactions", leading to an acceleration in the process of improving China-India relations".

The Chinese Foreign Minister further said that the improvement in India-China ties is fully in line" with the fundamental interests of the two countries and is conducive to safeguarding the interests of the global south nations.

Misri said that India and China have held a series of beneficial dialogues and communications" as per the consensus reached by PM Modi and Jinping in Kazan, and properly managed and resolved differences and promoted the restart of practical cooperation in various fields".

India is willing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with China and will fully support Chinas work as the chair of the SCO," Misri said, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday had said that Misris visit flows from the agreement at the leadership level to discuss the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains".

China Welcomes Foreign Secretarys Visit

China earlier said that it welcomes the Indian Foreign Secretarys visit to Beijing for the India-China deputy foreign minister-level dialogue.

Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, earlier said that Jinping and PM Modi had agreed on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in October last year that their foreign ministers and officials would hold talks at various levels to bring the relationship back to sound an steady" at an early date, Global Times reported.

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Meetings have already taken place between the foreign ministers and defence ministers of the two countries on various occasions.

Both China and India are committed to improving and strengthening exchanges, restoring mechanism-based dialogue and cooperation in various fields, and promoting the early return of China-India relations to healthy and stable development," Mao earlier said.

Location : Beijing, China

First Published: January 27, 2025, 12:57 IST
Israel Says Palestinians Can Return To Gaza Strip As Hamas Agrees To Release 6 More Hostages

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 08:56 IST

Israel had been stopping vast number of Palestinians from using a coastal road to return to northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the truce agreement by not releasing civilian women hostages.

Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal (Reuters Image)

The Palestinians can start returning to the north of the war-torn Gaza Strip on Monday as a deal has been struck with Hamas for the release of another six hostages as part of the truce, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said.

The Israel-Hamas war has displaced almost all residents of the Gaza Strip and the latest breakthrough paves the way for the swapping of more hostages and prisoners as part of the deal aimed at ending over 15-month conflict.

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Israel has been accusing Hamas of violating the truce agreement by not releasing the civilian women hostages from its captivity and thus had been preventing a large crowd of Palestinians from using a coastal road to return to northern Gaza.

Hamas has backtracked and will carry out an additional phase of releasing hostages this Thursday," Israels PMO said in a statement, adding that three hostages would be released that day and another three on Saturday.

Palestinian Leaders Slam Trump On Gaza Plan

The Palestinian leaders slammed a plan floated by US President Donald Trump to clean out" Gaza. Trump described the current situation of Gaza as a demolition site" and added that he had spoken to Jordans King Abdullah II about resettling the Palestinians.

Id like Egypt to take people. And Id like Jordan to take people," Trump told reporters.

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Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, who is based in the West Bank, said that he has strong rejection and condemnation of any projects aimed at displacing Palestinians from Gaza, according to his office.

Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas political bureau, told AFP that the Palestinians would foil such projects, as they have done in the past for displacement and alternative homelands".

Location : Israel

First Published: January 27, 2025, 08:18 IST
'Its Lonely...': Royal Expert Claims Prince Harry Is In 'Exile' After Family Split

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 21:53 IST

I think Meghan [Markle] is undoubtedly the dominant person in their relationship, royal expert Fitzwilliams said.

Its lonely, and he (Prince Harry) will undoubtedly miss his friends and family, said the royal expert. (Reuters photo)

Prince Harry is reportedly feeling lonely" in the United States after renouncing his royal titles and the apparent fallout with his family.

The Duke of Sussex, 40, is learnt to be struggling with carving out a career path for himself stateside following the releases of several money-making ventures like Spare" and his Netflix series.

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Citing a royal expert, Fox News reported that the Prince is in exile."

Harry is in exile  he chose it," Fox News quoted royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams as saying. Fitzwilliams said that there was no sign of reconciliation in sight.

Its lonely, and he will undoubtedly miss his friends and family. There is no sign whatsoever of the rift in the royal family healing. King Charles and the Prince and Princess of Wales have, to put it mildly, other priorities," Fitzwilliams said.

I think Meghan [Markle] is undoubtedly the dominant person in their relationship," Fitzwilliams added. I dont doubt he wishes they had managed to arrange a half-in, half-out arrangement [with the royal family], especially as his military links meant so much to him."

On the other hand, royal expert and photographer Helena Chard told the outlet that there was no way back into the royal fold for The Duke of Sussex after he revealed his familys grievances in a tell-all memoir.

A self-assured, self-titled, angry Prince Harry thought it was completely OK to publicly verbally annihilate his family," Chard said.

It is said he was naive and didnt realize it would upset his family. He didnt realize that his actions would cause such a fallout with his family and the public, " she added.

The couple has reportedly been left to lick their wounds following the release of a scathing Vanity Fair expose earlier this month.

The piece, published on January 17, provided insights into the couples struggling business ventures, depicting a not-so impressive picture of their attempts at maintaining relevance after quitting royal life in 2020.

The report claims that numerous former colleagues and associates have slammed Meghan Markles character.

Among the many claims made in the expose, one in particular suggested that the duo had been labeled local villains by neighbors.

Another shocking claim suggested that the Suits" alums team floated the idea of a post-Harry divorce book" to a publisher.

According to reports, the mother of two was also criticised for her alleged bully" behavior by several ex-colleagues.

As per the report, some of them claimed they were undergoing long-term therapy after working with Meghan," while another described her as a Mean Girls teenager."

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An individual who worked with the Duchess of Sussex, 43, on media projects revealed to the publication that her time with the former actress was really, really, really awful" and very painful."

As a result, Markle has reportedly been left bruised and upset" and in a bad place" following the claims, according to royal commentator Kinsey Schofield.

Location : London, United Kingdom (UK)

First Published: January 27, 2025, 21:53 IST
Six Killed, 31 Wounded In LPG Tanker Explosion In Pakistan's Punjab Province

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 15:17 IST

The incident took place at the Industrial Estate in Multans Hamid Pur Kanora area, according to rescue authorities

A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker truck lies charred after it exploded near an industrial area in Multan on January 27, 2025. (AFP photo)

A tanker filled with liquified petroleum gas exploded in an industrial area in Pakistans Punjab province, killing at least six persons, including a minor girl, and injuring 31, authorities said on Monday.

The incident took place at the Industrial Estate in Multans Hamid Pur Kanora area, according to rescue authorities.

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The explosion in the LPG tanker that occurred on Monday triggered a massive fire, with debris from the shattered vehicle landing on nearby residential areas, causing significant destruction, Geo News reported.

Rescue officials said that the fire was extinguished after hours of effort, involving over ten firefighting vehicles and foam-based fire suppression.

A total of five people were initially reported to have lost their lives in the deadly blast. However, the death toll rose to six after rescue officials recovered another body from a house damaged by the explosion.

The deceased include a minor girl and two women, the report added.

The police reported that at least 20 houses surrounding the explosion site were completely reduced to rubble, while 70 were partially damaged.

Multans City Police Officer (CPO) Sadiq Ali told Geo News that several houses were destroyed, and livestock perished in the blaze.

He said that gas had been leaking from one of the valves of the tanker truck parked in the Industrial Estate. Some of the people present in the area had already evacuated after smelling the gas before the tanker exploded, he added.

Ali further stated that gas leakage from the tanker persists, prompting authorities to evacuate the area. Among the injured, 13 are reported to be in critical condition.

The District Emergency Officer confirmed that an emergency has been declared at Nishtar Hospital, where the injured are receiving treatment.

Search operations are ongoing in the adjacent localities to ensure safety. Electricity and gas supply in the area has been suspended as a precautionary measure, though Multan-Muzaffargarh Road has now been reopened for traffic.

Meanwhile, locals have been advised to stay away from the site of the blast as the gas from the exploded tanker is in the air.

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Later, the police revealed that the location of the incident was identified as an illegal LPG refilling warehouse and the explosion occurred during refilling operations. They said the LPG was being transferred from a large gas bowser to smaller bowsers and commercial cylinders at the site.

The police further stated that the large gas bowser allegedly carried smuggled LPG. Five small and large gas bowsers present in the warehouse were destroyed in the explosion, they added.

Location : Pakistan

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:04 IST
Trump Crackdown On Gurdwaras In New York, New Jersey In Hunt For 'Undocumented Aliens'

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 13:44 IST

On Saturday and Sunday, more than 1,000 people were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for illegal immigration in US

US Immigrations and Customs (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents detain immigrants. (Source: Reuters)

The officials of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have started visiting the gurudwaras located in New Jersey and New York to hunt illegal immigrants as part of the new policies of the Trump administration.

This action of the government has been strongly criticised by various Sikh organisations who are seeing it as a threat to their religious places sanctity.

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The crackdown is being carried out in the wake of some reports hinting at Sikh separatists and undocumented immigrants hiding themselves at such places.

The policy change was introduced shortly after Donald Trump took oath as the president.

A directive was issued by Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman which reversed the guidelines of the previous regime on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement.

In the previous guidelines, enforcement actions were not allowed in or near sensitive areas" which included places of worship.

Trump administration officials have been using the illegal aliens" for the illegal immigrants".

This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens  including murders and rapistswho have illegally come into our country," said a DHS spokesperson, reported PTI.

Criminals will no longer be able to hide in Americas schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense," the spokesperson added.

The new administration under US President Donald Trump has started taking action against immigrants who have entered illegally as per the government.

Sikh Community Criticises Crackdown On Gurudwaras

Reacting to the crackdown on gurudwaras, the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDF) expressed their concern over the changes in the policy in a statement.

This troubling shift in policy comes in tandem with community reports of DHS agents visiting gurdwaras in the New York and New Jersey areas just days after the directive was issued," said the group.

We are deeply alarmed by the Department of Homeland Securitys decision to eliminate protection for sensitive areas and then target places of worship like gurdwaras," said SALDEF executive director Kiran Kaur Gill.

She added that gurdwaras are not just places of worship but something more than that.

They are vital community centres that provide support, nourishment, and spiritual solace to Sikhs and the broader community. Targeting these spaces for enforcement actions threatens the sanctity of our faith and sends a chilling message to immigrant communities nationwide," Gill said.

The Sikh Coalition further criticised the policy change because of which protection was removed from areas like hospitals, schools, and social service providers.

They warned that these changes can permit surveillance, investigations, arrests, and raids by ICE agents at gurdwaras.

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The idea that our gurdwaras could be subject to government surveillance and raids by armed law enforcement with or without warrants is unacceptable to the Sikh faith tradition. It will burden religious exercise by limiting the ability of Sikhs to gather and associate with one another in accordance with our faith," said the Sikh Coalition.

It also harkens to dark periods in our collective memory when governments interfered in the ability of Sikhs to practice our faith freelywith deadly consequences," added the group.

Location : New York, United States of America (USA)

First Published: January 27, 2025, 13:40 IST
Trump Sanctions Colombia For Refusing Deportation Flights, Says 'It's Just The Beginning'

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 07:21 IST

Colombia turned away incoming US aircraft for deportation of immigrants. Trump announced sanctions on the South American country, while Bogota responded with 25% tariff on US goods, waging tariff war.

US President Donald Trump (AP Image)

US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) announced that he would impose retaliatory measures on Colombia, including tariffs, sanctions and travel bans for the South American countrys refusal to accept two military aircraft full of migrants that were being deported under his massive immigration crackdown.

Colombia, in turn, also responded with a 25 per cent tariff on US goods, waging a tariff war between the two countries.

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Trump, who was peeved after President Gustavo Petro refused to accept the US planes, vowed to impose a 25% tariff on Colombian products, which would increase swiftly to as high as 50% in a week.

Notably, Colombia is historically one of the closest allies of the US in Latin America and has a free-trade agreement in place.

What Did Trump Say On Colombia?

Announcing sanctions, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he would immediately scrap visas for Colombian government officials and President Petros supporters", while also pushing Colombians to undergo greater scrutiny at airports.

He said that with the denial of landing of deportation flights, Colombia has jeopardized" the national security of the United States, prompting him to announce sanctions on the South American country.

Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States. In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%. A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters. Visa Sanctions on all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government. Enhanced Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian Nationals and Cargo on national security grounds. IEEPA Treasury, Banking and Financial Sanctions to be fully imposed," Trump wrote in a long post.

These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!" he added.

Colombias Petro said that he has issued instructions to his minister for external trade to raise tariffs on imports from the US to 25%".

You will never dominate us," he said in a long post on X addressed to Trump.

Trump, a mi no me gusta mucho viajar a los EEUU, es un poco aburridor, pero confieso que hay cosas meritorias, me gusta ir a los barrios negros de Washington, alli vi una lucha entera en la capital de los EEUU entre negros y latinos con barricadas, que me parecio una pendejada, Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 26, 2025

In the run-up to his election victory, Trump had promised to deport the illegal immigrants, who he termed criminals", back to their respective countries soon after taking office. He was sworn in on January 20 and soon after he launched a massive deportation drive.

However, he faced resistance from Petro who was elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Colombia.

The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants," Petro wrote earlier on X.

Later, he said he had turned back US military planes." This comes as Trump said that two US planes were not allowed to land.

The US State Department said that it will continue to prioritise the America First" agenda.

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The State Department will continue to enforce and prioritize an America First agenda. Following President Petros refusal to accept two repatriation flights he previously authorized, @SecRubio immediately ordered a suspension of visa issuance at the U.S. Embassy Bogota consular Department of State (@StateDept) January 26, 2025

The State Department will continue to enforce and prioritize an America First agenda. Following President Petros refusal to accept two repatriation flights he previously authorized, @SecRubio immediately ordered a suspension of visa issuance at the U.S. Embassy Bogota consular section," it said.

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: January 27, 2025, 07:21 IST
Beijing (Gasgoo)- On January 21, Chinese automaker SERES Group announced that the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Merger and Acquisition Review Committee had approved its plan to acquire Longsheng New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. The major asset restructuring was accepted in November 2024 and entered the inquiry stage in December.

AITO M9; photo credit: AITO

SERES plans to purchase 100% equity of Longsheng New Energy from Chongqing Industrial Investment Parent Fund Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership), Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Development and Investment Group, and Liangjiang Industry Group by issuing approximately 123 million shares at 66.39 yuan per share. The transaction, valued at roughly 8.164 billion yuan, will account for 7.53% of SERES' total equity post-issuance. Once completed, Longsheng New Energy will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of SERES Group.

Established in 2022, Longsheng New Energy specializes in leasing services for manufacturing facilities and manages infrastructure projects in the Liangjiang Intelligent Connected New Energy Vehicle Industrial Park. Prior to the transaction, SERES leased a super factory from Longsheng New Energy to produce its AITO series new energy vehicles (NEVs). The factory, operating at full capacity, can roll out one NEV every 30 seconds.

Upon completing the transaction, SERES will gain direct ownership of the super factory, enhancing its manufacturing capabilities and consolidating its position in the smart NEV market.
Trump, Starmer Discuss Gaza & Economy, Promise To Meet Soon

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 15:02 IST

Starmer praised Trump for his "role in securing the landmark ceasefire and hostages deal in Gaza", while the US President welcomed the release of British-Israeli national Emily Damari.

US President Donald Trump and British PM Keir Starmer. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke on Sunday in a wide-ranging conversation on Gaza and the economy, promising to meet soon."

Starmer praised Trump for his role in securing the landmark ceasefire and hostages deal in Gaza," as the pair discussed the importance of working together for security in the Middle East," according to a readout of the call from Downing Street.

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Trump meanwhile welcomed the release of British-Israeli dual national Emily Damari who was freed a week ago by Hamas.

The two leaders additionally talked about how both countries can promote a fair bilateral economic relationship," according to a White House readout, with Starmers office highlighting the UKs efforts deregulating to boost growth."

The pair also agreed to meet soon," Downing Street said, stressing the importance of the close and warm ties" between the two countries.

Trump, a longtime fan of Britains monarchy, also expressed his well wishes for the British Royal Family," the White House said.

The US Republican opened the call by offering condolences for the death of Starmers brother Nick last month.

Britains new Labour government, elected in July, has spent months trying to build bridges with Trumps team.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who once called Trump a tyrant in a toupee," this week praised his incredible grace," recalling a dinner he and Starmer had with Trump in New York in September.

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Then on Saturday, Trump applauded Starmer, saying he was doing a very good job."

The comments come after Starmer was recently on the receiving end of brutal verbal attacks by Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump and the worlds richest man.

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: January 27, 2025, 15:02 IST
UK Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds To Visit India In February To Finalise FTA Talks

Reported By :

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 23:17 IST

The Cabinet minister reaffirmed the British governments commitment to improve trade between India as the fifth and the UK as the sixth largest economies of the world.

UKs Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds

The UKs Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, has revealed that he will be visiting India next month in an effort to propel the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with urgency.

Addressing India Global Forums (IGF) 7th Annual UK-India Parliamentary Lunch at the House of Lords as Chief Guest on Monday, Reynolds said, I want to reaffirm the UKs commitment to deliver growth for both countries through the trade deal that were talking about, through the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Technology Security Initiative; and I can let you know exclusively, I hear what you say about urgency, [that] Ive just been finalising my own visit to India next month to make sure we proceed on that basis."

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The ministers comments came against the backdrop of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announcing that the stalled UK-India FTA talks would relaunch in early 2025, following a his bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit in November last year.

Referencing that meeting and other recent high-level engagements, Reynolds stated, India is a top priority partner for the UK, and we want to elevate that ambition across all aspects of our relationship, but also to take it to new heights.

Its why in our manifesto, the UK government committed to our Free Trade Agreement. But its also why were so energised by the prospects of what that might bring, and the Bilateral Investment Treaty, and what that would mean for both countries going forward."

The Secretary of State in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) also welcomed the absolutely excellent" report launched by the UK-India Future Forum (UKIFF), IGFs central UK-India platform, focused on emerging and disruptive technologies as sectors that will help drive growth in both countries. UKIFFs Sentiment to Success  Futureproofing UK India Relations presents a detailed review of the areas of progress along with immediate and actionalable strategies to energise the bilateral partnership.

IGF Chairman and CEO Manoj Ladwa said, The world is at a tipping point, and sentiment alone wont sustain relationships in this era of uncertainty. The UK-India partnership must pivot from nostalgia to action, leveraging Indias rising global influence and the UKs unmatched expertise.

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Together, we can lead in critical areas like energy, tech, healthcare, and defence. Delays are not an option  the time to act is now. Democracies thrive when democracies work together."

Co-hosted with the High Commission of India in the UK and Lord Jitesh Gadhia, the UK-India Parliamentary Lunch convened 100 leading figures from the world of politics, business, finance and technology over a sit-down meal at the House of Lords to take stock of the ties between the two leading democracies.

Location : London, United Kingdom (UK)

First Published: January 27, 2025, 23:17 IST
'I Don't Shake Hands With White Slavers...': Colombian President Hits Back At Trump Amid Tariff War

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 11:39 IST

Colombia succumbed to Donald Trump's pressure and accepted defeat in the tariff war with the United States. But before the agreement, the Colombian President lashed out at Trump in a long post.

Colombia succumbs to Donald Trump's pressure amid tariff war (Reuters Image)

Moments before being defeated in the tariff war by Donald Trump, Colombian President Gustavo Petro criticised the US President as a white slave owner" and said that the US would never dominate" the South American country.

He said that Trump considers him an inferior race" and added that he is not, nor is any Colombian".

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US-Colombia Tariff War

Petros strong-worded remarks came after Donald Trump on Sunday announced sanctions, including revocation of visas to government officials and imposition of 25% tariff on all Colombian goods, as Colombia refused to grant permission to two US military aircraft deporting the illegal immigrants to land.

Petro, in turn, ordered retaliatory tariffs on all US goods entering Colombia, triggering a tariff war. However, hours later, the White House said that the South American country has agreed to all terms" of Trump, including accepting planes carrying illegal immigrants.

However, before the agreement, the Colombian President took to X and lashed out at Trump.

Trump, a mi no me gusta mucho viajar a los EEUU, es un poco aburridor, pero confieso que hay cosas meritorias, me gusta ir a los barrios negros de Washington, alli vi una lucha entera en la capital de los EEUU entre negros y latinos con barricadas, que me parecio una pendejada, Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 26, 2025

Trump, I dont much like traveling to the U.S. Its a bit boring, but I admit there are things worthy of merit," Petro said.

I dont like your oil, Trump. It will destroy the human race because of greed. Maybe one day, over a glass of whiskeywhich Ill accept despite my gastritiswe can talk frankly about this. But its difficult because you consider me an inferior race, and Im not, nor is any Colombian," he added.

The President said that he would die by my principles", adding that he was resisting Trump the way he resisted torture.

If you know someone stubborn, thats me. Period. You may try to impose an economic or political coup, as was done to Allende, but I will die by my principles. I resisted torture, and I resist you. I do not want slave owners near Colombia; weve had plenty of those, and we freed ourselves. What I want near Colombia are lovers of freedom. If you cannot join me, I will go elsewhere," he said.

You may kill me, but I will survive in my people, who came before yours, in the Americas. We are the people of the winds, the mountains, the Caribbean Sea, and freedom," Petro said.

I Dont Shake Hands With White Slave Owners: Colombian President Targets Trump

You dont like our freedom, fine. I dont shake hands with white slave owners. I shake hands with the white libertarians who are heirs of Lincoln and with the young Black and white farmers of the U.S., at whose graves I cried and prayed on a battlefield I reached after walking the mountains of the Italian Tuscany and surviving COVID. They are the U.S., and to them, I kneel. To no one else. Knock me down, Mr. President, and the Americas and humanity will respond. You will never dominate us," he added.

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Responding to Trumps tariff threat in which he said that the US would impose a 25% tariff which would rise to 50% in a week, Petro said that he would take the same retaliatory action.

I hear that you impose a 50% tariff on the fruit of our labor entering the U.S. I will do the same," he said.

Location : Colombia

First Published: January 27, 2025, 11:39 IST
US Suspends Funding To Bangladesh After Trump Orders 90-Day Freeze On All Foreign Aid

Curated By :

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 17:10 IST

Trump claimed in his first batch of executive orders that foreign aid provided by the US was "not aligned" with America's "interests and values."

US President Donald Trump | Reuters Image

After the Donald Trump administration issued a stop-work" order for all existing foreign assistance and pausing new aid, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) suspended its funding in Bangladesh.

Citing Trumps executive order on reevaluating and realigning" foreign aid, USAID issued a statement to Bangladesh directing them to immediately stop, cease, and suspend any ongoing work under its contract.

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This letter serves as a directive to all USAID/Bangladesh implementing partners to immediately stop, cease, and/or suspend any work performed under your respective USAID/Bangladesh contract, task order, grant, cooperative agreement, or other acquisition or assistance instrument," the developmental agency said.

Partners shall take all reasonable steps to minimize the incurrence of costs allocable to their awards. Partners shall not resume work under their awards until notification has been received in writing from the contracting/agreement officer that this award stop-work order/suspension has been cancelled," it added.

Trump, who took back charge as the US President on January 20, claimed in his first batch of executive orders that foreign aid provided by the US was not aligned" with Americas interests and values."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also sent an internal memo days after Trump took office vowing an America First" policy of tightly restricting assistance overseas.

The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values. They serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries," the White House said.

It is the policy of the United States that no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States," it added.

USAIDs suspension of financial aid to Bangladesh could have severe implications for the Yunus-led government. According to USAID, its program in Bangladesh is the largest in Asia and covers vital areas like food security, health, governance, education, and the environment.

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It also funds critical humanitarian efforts, including addressing the Rohingya crisis. In 2024, the US committed $202 million to Bangladesh, part of a broader 2021 agreement promising $954 million in aid through 2026, with $425 million already disbursed.

Location : United States of America (USA)

First Published: January 27, 2025, 17:10 IST
Who is Kush Desai? Trump Taps Ex-Indian-American Journalist As Deputy Press Secretary

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Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 12:24 IST

Desai brings a wealth of experience to Trump's communications office, having served as Deputy Battleground States and Pennsylvania Communications Director at the Republican National Committee.

Kush Desai (Left) has been appointed as Deputy Press Secretary in Trump 2.0. (Kush Desai/X)

US President Donald Trump appointed Indian-American Journalist Kush Desai as the Deputy Press Secretary in the White House, Desai and Anna Kelly will join the administration as deputy press secretaries for the work for the Republican Party.

Desai is among the three new Indian-American appointments in the Trump administration  Ricky Gill as the senior director, South and Central Asia, National Security Council (NSC), and Saurabh Sharma, who will join the Presidential personnel office to focus on staffing and appointments.

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Reacting to his appointment, Kash Patel took to X and said, Im back, back in the DC groove."

Im back, back in the DC groove pic.twitter.com/MI7d8MeXep Kush Desai (@K_SDesai) January 25, 2025

Who Is Kush Desai?

Kush Desai is a Dartmouth College graduate, who also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ivy League institution in Hanover, New Hampshire. He is bilingual, fluent in both English and his native language Gujarati. Desai has also earned the prestigious James O. Freedman Presidential Research Scholarship, which allows students to gain first-hand research experience at Dartmouth.

Before coming to politics, Desai briefly worked as a journalist at The Daily Caller in Washington DC and served as a research analyst at the RNC, as per his LinkedIn page, after which he was promoted to Director of Vetting.

Desai brings a wealth of experience to Trumps communications department, having served as Deputy Battleground States and Pennsylvania Communications Director at the Republican National Committee (RNC)

He also previously served as Deputy Communications Director for the 2024 Republican National Convention and Communications Director for the Republican Party of Iowa. Desai also held the same position of Deputy Battleground States and Pennsylvania Communications Directors at the RNC.

As such, Desais work helped shape the narratives and messages in key battleground states, including Pennsylvania, which Trump wrested back from the Democrats during last years election. In his new role, Desai will work under the White House Office of Communications, overseen by Deputy White House Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich.

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This announcement follows President Trumps earlier appointments of Steven Cheung as assistant to the President and White House communications director, and Karoline Leavitt as assistant to the President and press secretary.

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: January 27, 2025, 12:22 IST
As the Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake draws near, regardless of one's location or the hustle and bustle of daily life, the chime of the Spring Festival always evokes a deep sense of nostalgia and longing for home inside Chinese people's hearts. Today, the Spring Festival, the most important traditional festival in the hearts of the Chinese, is also being empowered by advancements in economy, culture, society, and technology, becoming a shining emblem that showcases Chinese modernization.

Once, the Spring Festival travel rush was a crowded journey on green-coated slow trains. Today, the country's comprehensive multi-layered transportation network spans 6 million kilometers, with railway passenger trips expected to exceed 510 million during the Spring Festival travel season. New lines such as the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou and Jining-Datong-Yuanping lines have commenced operations. Over 30,000 charging stations and nearly 50,000 charging spaces on highways serve the growing number of new energy vehicle owners. Sixteen domestically produced C919 large aircraft have joined the "warm journey home" for the Spring Festival. Cities like Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangzhou are witnessing a new surge in cruise travel, with the "Spring Festival travel rush on the sea" expected to surpass 100,000 passenger trips. The increasingly convenient and comfortable journey home for the Chinese during the Spring Festival is a testament to the transformative changes in China's transportation infrastructure.

The enhancement of happiness during the Spring Festival by Chinese modernization extends far beyond a single dimension. Smart lanterns, augmented reality light shows, and digital temple fairs infuse the festival with a sense of technological advancement that keeps pace with the times. Innovations like "rotational holidays" and "intelligent logistics" enable people to fully embrace the Spring Festival through high-quality development. From the Spring Festival Gala to Chinese New Year movies, and from games and live streams to micro-dramas, the cultural life during the Spring Festival is vibrant and diverse. Beijing Daxing International Airport provides special care bracelets for passengers such as the elderly and pregnant women, while Shenzhen North Station introduces the "Easy Travel" service, allowing passengers to bid farewell to the hassle of carrying heavy luggage. Centered on people's livelihoods, Chinese modernization adds warmth to our Spring Festival celebrations.

The Spring Festival of the Year of the Yi Si (according to the Chinese lunar calendar) will be the first "World Intangible Cultural Heritage Edition" Spring Festival. The Chinese New Year is also a "World's New Year," not merely as an impression but as a vivid reality. During the upcoming global "Spring Festival Week," if we stroll through Trafalgar Square in London, witness a grand parade in San Francisco, learn paper-cutting and sugar painting at the Frankfurt temple fair, shop for New Year goods at Singapore's Chinatown, or see thousands of lanterns illuminating the winter night in Nagasaki, and hear the melody of Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower, or Mo Li Hua, at a concert in Toronto, we are certain to deeply appreciate and feel the immense global influence of the Spring Festival today.

As of now, nearly 20 countries worldwide have already designated the Spring Festival as a public holiday, and the number of countries and regions celebrating the festival with traditional activities has reached nearly 200.

The Spring Festival has "flown into the homes of ordinary people" around the world, carrying profound significance in terms of civilization exchange. The Spring Festival is endearing and respectable. Chinese people always reserve the most solemn sense of ceremony and the best wishes for this festival. A couplet, a paper-cut, a reunion dinner - all embody the deep affection of the Chinese people and their aspirations for a happy life. When people from different cultural backgrounds are attracted to the dragon and lion dances, window paper-cuts, couplets and traditional Tang and Han costumes during the Spring Festival, they are, in fact, drawn by the Chinese people's enthusiasm for life. When people greet each other with "Happy Chinese New Year," despite potentially different cultural backgrounds, the shared sense of mutual respect resonates universally among humanity.

The Spring Festival possesses immense inclusiveness. Although customs vary from north to south, China and the world celebrate the same Spring Festival, and this precisely reflects the Chinese cultural concept of "harmony and unity." This concept manifests in our attitude toward different cultures and civilizations, advocating for living in harmony, harmony in diversity, and prioritizing cooperation.

The Spring Festival is increasingly embraced by the world, revitalizing itself through inheritance, innovation, and mutual engagement with the global community. We have reason to believe that with the enhancement of China's comprehensive national strength and the expansion of its opening-up policies, "visiting intangible cultural heritage activities and celebrating an authentic Chinese New Year" is bound to become a long-standing favorite on the "China Travel" menu.

From the long journey home to "sharing this moment from afar," the Spring Festival is increasingly becoming a "world moment," representing a culture and an ideology. The warmth gained from the companionship of friends and family during the New Year, the hope of welcoming a new year, and the aspiration for a harmonious world, are being shared with more people around the globe. May the cultural spirit embodied in the Spring Festival become a force that inspires and unites the world in the new year; this is our shared blessing and hope. (Global Times)
The ever-growing true crime genre has now tipped into another industry: tourism. As the Washington Post reports, walking and bus tours that visit crime scenes are a growing trend in cities, giving aficionados a glimpse into the history of famous cases. A sampling of these include a mob boss walking tour in New York City that stops at haunts frequented by the Gambino crime family, and a "Cream City Cannibal" tour in Milwaukee walking in the footsteps of Jeffrey Dahmer. The story cites a stat explaining the trend: A 2024 YouGov poll found that 57% of US adults indulge in true crime content, with the majority (60%) being women. Podcasts are a common source.

Amateur detectives also participate in a type of true crime tourismbut in the hopes of solving cold cases. "It really makes a difference in the way you think about these cases, and I find it very helpful as you try to get into the head of the perpetrator," Kevin Allen of North Carolina tells the newspaper. He recently traveled to Springfield, Missouri, to better understand a famous missing women's case known as the Springfield Three.

And there's always the question of whether these activities sensationalize the horror of crime. "It's really dark, depressing material, and you're retelling these stories for hours throughout a week," Tim McAleer, operator of The Philly True Crime Tour, tells the Philadelphia Tribune. "It's a balance. We always ask ourselves, 'How do we shed the best light on the city.'" (More true crime stories.)
Six more Israeli hostages will be released by Hamas this week, including Arbel Yehoud, the civilian that Israel said was supposed to have been released Saturday . Israel vowed not to let Palestinians start returning to the northern part of Gaza until she was freed, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later announced a deal had been reached and Gazans would be allowed to return to their homes, the BBC reports. Al Jazeera has photos of Palestinians returning to the area by foot for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began with Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Yehoud's release will be the third hostage release since Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal; Israel says she will be released Thursday along with female soldier Agam Berger and an unnamed third hostage, and three more hostages will be released Saturday, the Times of Israel reports. The New York Times has more on Yehoud, alternately spelled Yehud, who was seized along with her partner from her home in Nir Oz, near the Gaza border. She is the last female civilian hostage believed to be alive; another female civilian, Shiri Bibas, has also not been freed, but authorities fear she and her two young children, who were also taken from Nir Oz, are dead.

The first phase of the ceasefire, which will end sometime in March, will see Hamas releasing a total of 33 hostages; seven of those have already been freed, the AP reports. About 60 Israeli hostages will remain in Hamas captivity, and so far the militant group is pledging not to release them until Israel ends the war. The second phase of the ceasefire has not yet been negotiated. (More Israel stories.)
A 19-year-old Japanese snowboarder on Friday landed the first known 2340 in a competition, making history at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado. Hiroto Ogiwara landed perfectly during his entry in the Big Air competition, CNN reports. The trick requires six and a half rotations in the air, and his near-perfect score of 97.33 nabbed him the gold medal, the Guardian reports. The following day, 20-year-old Miro Tabanelli of Italy became the first skier known to land a 2340 in competition in the ski version of the Big Air event, NPR reports. He also won gold with a score of 98.
Health officials in Kansas City, Kansas, are trying to tame an outbreak of tuberculosis that has become the largest ever recorded in the nation, reports the Topeka Capital-Journal . The city has 67 active cases reported since last year, along with 79 inactive, or latent, infections, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment . The vast majority are in Wyandotte County. "The current KCK Metro TB outbreak is the largest documented outbreak in US history," says Jill Bronaugh, a KDHE spokesperson. "This is mainly due to the rapid number of cases in the short amount of time." The CDC began monitoring TB in the 1950s.

Tuberculosis is a caused by a bacterium and usually affects the lungs, according to a CDC explainer. It's spread by people with active infections through the air, and while it can be fatal if untreated, a course of antibiotics typically clears it up within two weeks. Those with inactive infections can't spread it, but they can develop the disease at any time. Another KDHE official, Ashley Goss, described the outbreak as "unprecedented" to lawmakers last week, per KSHB. However, she added that the numbers have been "trending in the right direction" of late. The agency considers the risk to the general public to be "very low." (More tuberculosis stories.)
M23 rebels, reportedly backed by Rwanda, claimed control of Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, early Monday. This development comes as the Congolese government cut diplomatic ties with Rwanda, with Congolese spokesman Patrick Muyaya calling the situation a "declaration of war." He emphasized, "We are in a war situation where the news is changing."

Goma, situated in the mineral-rich North Kivu province where over a third of the population is already displaced, now faces further instability. The UN peacekeepers started processing surrendering Congolese soldiers, while Bintou Keita, the UN special representative, reported to the Security Council that the presence of M23 and Rwandan forces caused "mass panic." Keita noted, "M23 has declared the airspace over Goma closed. In other words, we are trapped."

Congo's foreign minister, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, accused Rwanda of "frontal aggression." Rwanda's UN ambassador, Ernest Rwamucyo, however, pointed at Congo's alleged failure to commit to peace. Despite Rwanda's denial, UN experts estimate up to 4,000 Rwandan troops are present in Congo.

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International calls for a ceasefire are intensifying. Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea urged Rwanda to withdraw its support for M23, warning that the US would "consider all the tools at its disposal" for accountability. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the M23 actions, calling for an immediate halt to hostilities, as recent violence resulted in the deaths of two South African and one Uruguayan peacekeeper, with more injured. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
Swedish authorities are investigating a suspected sabotage of an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland. The investigation involves the National Police Operations Department, the Coast Guard, and the Armed Forces, as stated by senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist.

A vessel flagged under Malta, named Vezhen, has been detained in the Baltic Sea. The Swedish Coast Guard is currently overseeing the situation, with spokesperson Mattias Lindholm confirming, "We are directly on site with the seized ship and are taking measures as decided by the prosecutor." The ship had recently traveled from Russia's Ust-Luga port and was between Gotland and Latvia when the damage is believed to have occurred.

Latvia's state-operated radio and TV center, LVRTC, has reported interruptions in data transmission and identified a rupture in the cable running from Ventspils to Gotland. Head of corporate communications Vineta Sprugaine noted, "At the moment, there is reason to believe that the cable is significantly damaged and that the damage is caused by external influences." The organization is using alternate routes for data transmission while repairs are underway.

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Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina announced cooperation with Swedish allies and NATO to investigate the incident, stating they are "working together...including patrolling the area, as well as inspecting the vessels that were in the area." Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also acknowledged potential damage to a cable owned by a "Latvian entity" and mentioned ongoing discussions with Silina. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko extended his more than three decades in power in Sunday's orchestrated election that the opposition and the European Union rejected as a sham. As the AP reports, the Central Election Commission declared Lukashenko the winner in the early hours of Monday and reaffirmed it later in the morning, saying the strongman leader garnered nearly 87% of the vote after a campaign in which four token challengers all have praised his rule.

Lukashenko's opponents, many of whom are imprisoned or exiled abroad by his unrelenting crackdown on dissent and free speech, called the election a shammuch like the last one in 2020 that triggered months of protests that were unprecedented in the history of the country of 9 million people. Over the following four years, more than 65,000 people were arrested and thousands beaten, with the crackdown bringing condemnation and sanctions from the West. The European Union has rejected the Sunday's election as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions. Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and has ruled the country with an iron fist. He relies on subsidies and political support from Russia.

(More Alexander Lukashenko stories.)
For reasons unknown, Drew Goins thanked Celine Dion during his introduction on Jeopardy! on Friday, reports NBC News. For reasons known, Goins then proceeded to flub a question about the very diva to whom he'd expressed his gratitude. The shout-out from the Hawaiian journalist went a little something like this:

"John the producer suggested, long story, that I thank Celine Dion. So, thank you, Celine Dion," said Goins. "Does she know what she did?" asked host Ken Jennings. "Oh, she does," Goins said. "Deep down."
A fire broke out early Monday morning in the town hall of Paris' 12th district, starting at 3:20am. Paris police prefect Laurent Nunez reported the incident, stating that approximately 150 firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze by morning.

The fire caused substantial damage to the bell tower of the 19th-century building, raising concerns about a "risk of collapse" in its upper section, said Paris police prefect Laurent Nunez. As a result, a security zone has been established around the site. An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the fire.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo praised the "exceptional intervention" of the fire department. She assured residents that "all public services for residents have been maintained and will be provided in the 11th district town hall." The town hall, constructed in 1876, is recognized as a historical structure in the city. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
The European Union has extended its sanctions against Russia for another six months. This decision comes after Hungary agreed to the sanctions following initial objections related to energy security. The sanctions impact areas such as trade, finance, and energy, specifically banning the import of Russian seaborne crude oil and some petroleum products. They will remain in effect until at least July 31. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had called for EU intervention after Ukraine stopped Russian gas transit, increasing Hungary's energy costs.
ChatGPT, meet DeepSeek. The latter is a Chinese startup whose new AI assistant has just overtaken ChatGPT as the top downloaded app for iPhones. DeepSeek is also ratting US tech stockschip-maker Nvidia in particularbecause its success threatens to undermine the world of artificial intelligence with a relatively inexpensive new way of doing things. In short, it may have built a better chatbot, on the cheap. Coverage:

New mindset: "The conventional thinking was that AI companies needed expensive, leading-edge computer chips to train the best systems," explains the Wall Street Journal. But DeepSeek claims to need less-expensive chips to achieve results comparable to those of bigger players such as OpenAI and Google. Users have been praising its performance and its reasoning in tackling problems, notes CNBC.
A high school track and field competition in Colorado ended in tragedy Sunday when a spectator was killed after an errant hammer throw by a competitor, reports NBC News. The victim has not been identified, but KRDO reports that he was the father of one of the student athletes and that he died while shielding his wife and son. The "hammer" used in the hammer throw event was actually a 16-pound metal ball on a chain, per the AP.
TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

The Shura Council gave its full backing yesterday to a law approving Bahrains membership in the Digital Cooperation Organisation.

The decision marks a step towards enhancing Bahrains influence in international efforts to tackle the rapid shifts in the digital world.

Bahrain played a founding role in establishing the organisation in 2020, joining forces with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, and Pakistan to set up a platform aimed at improving cooperation in technology.

Since then, the organisation has grown to 16 member states, including Greece, Nigeria, and Morocco, and has attracted 39 observers from the private sector and global institutions, including the United Nations.

Investments

Speaking at the session, H.E. Shaikh Dr Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, praised Bahrains leadership in the field, pointing to substantial investments in telecommunications and IT infrastructure.

Bahrain has firmly established itself as a leader in this sector, he said, adding that membership in the organisation would enable Bahrain to exchange expertise and keep pace with legal and technological changes.

The minister also confirmed that Bahrain chaired the organisation in 2023 and remains deeply committed to its aims.
TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

His Majesty the King of Bahrain welcomed the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and her accompanying delegation in a visit marking a significant milestone in the deepening of bilateral ties between Bahrain and Italy. This visit underscores the growing partnership between the two nations, reflecting mutual respect and shared interests.

The Italian Prime Minister expressed heartfelt gratitude for the warm reception and generous hospitality extended by His Majesty, acknowledging the welcoming atmosphere of Bahrain as a sign of the enduring friendship between the two countries.

During the meeting, both leaders reviewed the robust strategic relationship between Bahrain and Italy, highlighting numerous opportunities for enhanced cooperation in key areas such as economic growth, commercial ventures, investment, and sustainable development. They discussed ways to further strengthen these sectors in line with their common interests, aiming to elevate their partnership to new heights of prosperity and progress.

His Majesty emphasized Bahrain's commitment to nurturing its relationship with Italy, underscoring its significance in advancing the shared aspirations of both nations. He highlighted that Bahrain's relationship with Italy is not only a vital aspect of its foreign policy but also a cornerstone of regional and international cooperation.

The discussions also touched on Italy's critical efforts to fortify international security and stability, with both leaders acknowledging the importance of multilateral cooperation in tackling global challenges. His Majesty reiterated that dialogue and diplomatic solutions remain the most effective means to address crises, advocating for peaceful resolutions that benefit all nations.

Furthermore, the leaders delved into regional and international developments, particularly the evolving situation in the Middle East. Both sides agreed on the necessity of continued dialogue and diplomatic engagement to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region.

His Majesty also reflected on Bahrain's pivotal role in bridging civilizations, cultures, and religions, promoting values of tolerance and coexistence for the betterment of humanity. He reiterated that Bahrain's historical role as a conduit for peaceful exchange remains a priority in the Kingdom's foreign policy.

In closing, the Italian Prime Minister praised His Majestys leadership and vision, noting the significant strides made in strengthening the enduring ties of friendship and cooperation between the two nations. She commended His Majesty for his efforts in fostering lasting relationships that continue to benefit both countries and contribute to global peace and cooperation.
TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)  Medical University of Bahrain has announced the appointment of Professor Husain Nasaif as Director of the Master of Science (MSc) in Nursing Programme.

Professor Nasaif, an Associate Professor in Nursing at RCSI Bahrain, brings a wealth of academic and clinical expertise to his new role. He holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Educational Leadership from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, USA, and a Masters degree in Advanced Practice Nursing. Additionally, he has undergone advanced training in leadership and knowledge synthesis through prestigious programmes at Harvard Medical School and the University of Toronto.

Since joining RCSI Bahrain in 2009, Professor Nasaif has held several key leadership positions, including Director of the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Nursing (Hons) Programme and Director of the Nursing Bridging Programme. His dedication to academic leadership and nursing education has significantly contributed to the enhancement of the universitys nursing curriculum.

As Director of the MSc in Nursing Programme, Professor Nasaif will focus on developing specialised postgraduate nursing programmes that integrate cutting-edge research and knowledge. Collaborating with the School of Nursing & Midwifery, he aims to elevate the academic and professional standards of nursing education. He will also continue his research in advanced nursing practice, workforce health and wellbeing, mens health, and the evaluation of nursing education systems.

Commenting on the appointment, Professor Sameer Otoom, President of RCSI Bahrain, said:

"We are delighted to welcome Professor Nasaif into this pivotal leadership role. His extensive experience in nursing education, clinical practice, and strategic development will be instrumental in advancing postgraduate nursing education. We wish him great success in this capacity."

Expressing his gratitude, Professor Nasaif said:

"I am honoured to take on this role and further enhance the universitys contributions to nursing leadership and advanced patient-centred care. I look forward to supporting healthcare advancements for the benefit of the people of Bahrain."

RCSI Bahrain continues to demonstrate its commitment to advancing healthcare education and fostering impactful contributions to the healthcare sector in Bahrain through collaboration with partners and stakeholders.
Knorr launches #UnlockYourGreenFlag, celebrating cooking as the ultimate dating advantage to spark a meaningful connection.

TORONTO, Jan. 27, 2025 /CNW/ - Is food truly the language of love? A new survey commissioned by global food expert Knorr showcases 79% of singles aged 18-35 in Canada are more likely to connect with someone on a dating app if they can cook or are interested in cooking.

Cooking with Knorr to #UnlockYourGreenFlag. (CNW Group/Knorr Canada)

With cooking being one of the top interests that Canadians find attractive, Knorr is sparking vibes in the kitchen and launching #UnlockYourGreenFlag, a new campaign that champions the power of cooking to bring singles together. As we navigate red flags, cooking is one dating 'green flag' that can be relied on  that's why Knorr is encouraging singles to show off their cooking interests by adding it to their dating profiles. As part of the #UnlockYourGreenFlag campaign, Knorr is partnering with former Big Brother Canada contestant Moose Bendago to explore useful tips, hacks and 'flags' in the kitchen and in real life, so that singles across Canada can unite over the allure of cooking.

"With #UnlockYourGreenFlag, Knorr is supporting singles by advocating for the universal green flag that we can all agree on, and that's cooking. As your wingman in the kitchen, we're on a mission to tell the world just how powerful it can be  regardless of whether you're skilled or not, cooking for someone is a great way to demonstrate your creativity, while also helping you to connect with your date and show them you care," said Maya Atallah, Associate Marketing Director on Knorr Canada. "Our research shows that something as simple as adding cooking as an interest or skill on your dating profile can be enough to win over a potential suitor. After all, food is the universal language of love, so it makes sense that something so simple is enough to stir up some passion."

The research by Knorr unveils some key ingredients for successful dating:

The Green Flags:

Being a good cook is undeniably attractive, as 57% of singles associate it with independence, 54% see it as a sign of care, and 48% believe it shows the ability to look after others.

62% have cooked a meal to impress a love interest, and more than a quarter (26%) have actually learned to cook to impress one.

With 68% of singles more likely to agree to another date with someone after being cooked an amazing meal, 35% won't even consider dating someone who can't cook.

The most attractive cooking skills include making creative recipes (48%), adding a personal touch (46%), and good chopping skills (42%), while Salt Bae seasoning techniques (12%) and flambeing (8%) come at the bottom of the list.

The Red Flags

Be cautious  16% of Canadians admit to exaggerating their cooking skills, with 8% lying about being able to cook, and 10% passing off restaurant food as their own.

When it comes to deal breakers, food with no seasoning (35%), bland dishes (30%), and overcooked pasta (21%) top the list. Microwave-ready meals fare no better, with 37% calling them a major turn-off.

Offering to cook on a first date might be too bold  29% say the third date is the best time to make your move.

To follow along Moose Bendago's journey of dating icks and cooking ticks, check out Knorr's Instagram account (@knorrca). Viewers can also try their hand at cooking a romantic recipe themselves through Knorr Canada's recipe page  after all, steak was considered the top homemade meal of choice by surveyors!

About Knorr

Knorr believes that wholesome, nutritious food should be accessible and affordable to all. That's why we're on a journey to ensure all Canadians can create healthy meals they feel good about. Whether it's creating high-quality products, offering simple chef-developed recipes, or supporting organizations and initiatives that provide access to healthy foods, Knorr remains committed to its long history of making good food that's delicious, nutritious and affordable. The business was formed in 1838, when founder Carl Heinrich Knorr pioneered experiments in drying seasonings and vegetables to preserve their flavour and nutritional value. Since then, Knorr has become an international brand offering a wide range of bouillons, soups, seasonings, sauces, Sidekicks, and more.

About Unilever North America

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream products, with sales in over 190 countries and products used by 3.4 billion people every day. Worldwide, we have 127,000 employees and generated sales of 60.1 billion in 2022. Our leading brands in North America include Dove, Knorr, Hellmann's, Magnum, Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Degree, Seventh Generation, TRESemme, and Vaseline.

Our vision is to be the global leader in sustainable business and to demonstrate how our purpose-led, future-fit business model drives superior performance. We have a long tradition of being a progressive, responsible business.

The Unilever Compass, our sustainable business strategy, is set out to help us deliver superior performance and drive sustainable and responsible growth, while:

improving the health of the planet; improving people's health, confidence and wellbeing; and contributing to a fairer and more socially inclusive world.

For more information on Unilever Canada and its brands visit: www.unilever.ca

SOURCE Knorr Canada

For more information, please contact: Amandine Lucas, Edelman, [email protected].
TORONTO, Jan. 27, 2025 /CNW/ - In 2024, small businesses spent a whopping 735 hours complying with regulation, finds a new report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released today in partnership with Intuit QuickBooks as part of the Red Tape Awareness WeekTM. Over a third of that (256 hours or about 32 business days) is spent on red tape that could be eliminated without compromising public health and safety.

The time spent on red tape specifically has increased by 35% since 2020, from 189 hours in 2020 to 256 in 2024.

Small businesses in Canada spend hundreds of hours a year complying with regulation and dealing with red tape. Marvin Cruz, director of research at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), breaks down their impact and financial cost on small firms, and provides recommendations to governments.

"Business owners lose an entire month's worth of productivity to filling out lengthy or redundant forms, navigating mazes of government websites, and deciphering government jargon. That is crucial time that could be better spent on activities like training staff, planning business expansions, serving customers or even spending time with family," said Marvin Cruz, CFIB director of research. "As governments at all levels look for solutions to Canada's productivity problem, eliminating regulatory barriers and giving small business owners their time back needs to be a top priority."

In addition to lost time, regulatory compliance also comes with a big price tag.

In 2024, Canadian businesses faced compliance costs totaling approximately $51.5 billion, a significant increase of 13.5% or $5 billion from CFIB's 2020 estimate ($45.4 billion). Business owners attribute a substantial portion35%, or $17.9 billionof these costs to red tape, up from $12.7 billion in 2020. Higher wages and professional fees, along with an increase in time spent on compliance, are driving the rise in costs.

Small businesses also face a higher regulatory burden than their larger counterparts, paying over five times more per employee. In 2024, businesses with fewer than five employees spent $10,208 per employee on regulatory compliance, while businesses with 100 or more employees spent $1,374. Smaller firms also spent 198 hours per employee on compliance, compared to just eight hours for those with over 100 employees.

Business owners indicated that savings from regulatory reductions could be used to expand operations, hire more employees, increase wages, and improve work-life balance, all of which could contribute to greater productivity and economic growth.

"Small business owners don't get into business to be government compliance experts. Red tape discourages entrepreneurship, stagnates economic growth and overall, is a lose-lose situation for businesses and consumers alike. Eliminating unnecessary regulatory compliance would free up over 200 million hours across the economy for more productive activities," said Laure-Anna Bomal, CFIB economist and report co-author. "Imagine what an entrepreneur could do if they got just over a month back. If Canada wants to improve its productivity and economic competitiveness, it must put a renewed focus on cutting red tape."

Actionable steps to reduce red tape

An overwhelming majority (87%) of small business owners said that excessive government regulations significantly reduce their business's productivity and ability to grow. With a looming threat from the U.S. tariffs, our governments need to focus on boosting Canada's productivity and competitiveness.

CFIB put together a 10-point plan with practical ways for governments to reduce red tape, which includes measuring the regulatory burden, staying accountable to the public, prioritizing plain and simple language, and making regulatory accountability a political priority.

Read the full report: Canada's Red Tape Report: The Cost of Regulation to Small Business .

About CFIB

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners' chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca .

SOURCE Canadian Federation of Independent Business

For media enquiries or interviews, please contact: Dariya Baiguzhiyeva, CFIB, 647-464-2814, [email protected]
Cary, North Carolina, January 26th, 2025, CyberNewsWire

INE Security, a leading global provider of cybersecurity training and certifications, today announced a new initiative designed to accelerate compliance with the Department of Defenses (DoD) newly streamlined Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0. This initiative aims to assist Defense Industry Base (DIB) contractors in swiftly adapting to the updated certification standards, which are critical to securing and maintaining defense contracts.

With the DoDs reduction of CMMC levels from five to three, the path to compliance has become more direct but not less demanding. Recognizing the urgency for contractors to comply without delay, INE Security is offering a guide to strategic compliance acceleration. This includes a comprehensive checklist and guidance on how to implement the compliance requirements.

The DoDs updated framework requires greater clarity and speed in the compliance process than ever before, said Dara Warn, CEO of INE Security. At INE Security, we recognize the challenges organizations face in navigating the complexities of CMMC compliance. Our goal is to empower organizations to not only meet but exceed their compliance objectives by providing them with the tools and strategies needed for a faster and smoother journey. We are committed to simplifying the path to compliance, enabling our clients to focus on what they do best: securing their operations and contributing to our national defense.

Certification Requirements

Each level carries its own stringent requirements, ranging from broad in scope at Level 1 to highly specialized at Level 3. Organizations can use this checklist to track progress and identify areas requiring attention before assessment.

Level 1 Certification Requirements

Technical Controls

Basic password management

Access control implementation

Information integrity checks

Basic endpoint protection

Documentation Needs

System security policies

Access control documentation

Asset inventory

Basic security procedures

Assessment Preparation

Self-assessment documentation

Evidence collection

Policy review

Annual review planning

Level 2 Certification Requirements

Technical Controls

Multi-factor authentication

Network segmentation

Security monitoring tools

Incident response capabilities

Audit logging systems

Documentation Needs

System Security Plan (SSP)

Configuration management plans

Incident response procedures

Risk assessment documentation

POA&M development

Assessment Preparation

Third-party assessment readiness

Evidence compilation

Technical demonstrations

Staff interview preparation

Control validation testing

Level 3 Certification Requirements

Technical Controls

Advanced threat detection

Security orchestration

Continuous monitoring

Zero-trust implementation

Advanced access control

Documentation Needs

Enhanced SSP

Threat modeling documentation

Advanced security procedures

Risk management framework

Continuous monitoring plan

Assessment Preparation

Government assessment readiness

Advanced evidence compilation

Security control testing

Personnel training records

Program effectiveness metrics

Implementation Guidance

Successfully navigating the compliance requirements of CMMC 2.0 demands a structured approach to implementation and preparation. Each step, from initial technical review to mock assessments, is designed to build upon the previous, ensuring a seamless path to CMMC certification.

Technical Control Implementation

Reviewing current architecture

Identifying gaps in controls

Developing implementation plan

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Police are seeking the publics help in locating an African grey parrot valued at $7,000 that was stolen Thursday from an exotic bird shop on Route 46 east in Bergen County.

According to authorities, the theft occurred at Birds by Joe 2, a family-owned store in Saddle Brook specializing in hand-raised parrots and other exotic birds. A man wearing a dark-colored Nike hooded sweatshirt entered the shop on Jan. 23 around 3:30 p.m. and asked to see an African grey parrot.

The clerk packaged the parrot in a single cage display to show the customer. He grabbed the cage and quickly ran out of the store, police said in a statement.

One of the stores video surveillance cameras captured the man scrambling out the door as the stores owner, Katarina Rukavishnikova, chased him.

Rukavishnikova told NJ Advance Media on Monday that the had asked all the right questions about the African grey parrot, including the size cage required and the type of food needed. He also told workers he grew up with birds.

When the man offered to purchase the parrot, Rukavishnikova said she placed the bird in a carrier and went behind the counter to start the paperwork.

As soon as I closed the zipper, he grabbed the carrier, ran out the door and through the parking lot, she said. I made it a few steps out the door but I couldnt catch up. He ran really fast.

The business owner said she has dozens of birds for sale in the store at any one time, but few as expensive as the African grey parrots.

I have 50 birds. He chose the most expensive one, she said.

African grey parrots, which can live 50 years or more with proper care, are sought after for their intelligence and ability to mimic human speech and other sounds with remarkable accuracy.

It squawks, whistles, shrieks, screams, and mimics. This particular species of parrot is a well-known and very accomplished mimic, the Maryland Zoo states on its website.

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact the Saddle Brook Police Department Detective Bureau at 201-587-2940 or Rukavishnikova at 862-591-2473.

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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Ocean City is allowing pet daycare centers to open while to address a growing demand for temporary animal housing.

City Council on Thursday adopted an ordinance allowing mercantile licenses for kennel-style businesses, removing a rule that prevented permits for kennels and other pet boarding businesses.

Earlier this month city officials said they had been approached by one prospective business owner interested in opening a doggy daycare. However, two council members objected to the ordinance, believing softer restrictions could lead to misuse.

Councilman Keith Hartzell backed the idea during the Jan. 9 council meeting, saying Ocean City is behind the times as the popularity of pet daycare centers is on the rise. He said pet owners visiting the Shore and residents have been looking for daycare services, preferring these be on the islands so they dont have to drive inland during the busy summer season.

But when the ordinance came up for a vote, Hartzell raised concerns the new law does not explicitly exclude puppy mills from getting a permit.

I cannot, I will not, support the sale of puppy-mill dogs in Ocean City, New Jersey, Hartzell said Thursday before a vote on the ordinance. If that (ordinance) doesnt say that, Im out.

City Solicitor Dottie McCrosson said city zoning rules prohibit new kennel or breeding-style businesses. However, the ordinance change allows potential businesses to apply for a variance to deviate from these zoning laws.

Councilman Jody Levchuk also voted against the ordinance, saying the mercantile ban acts as a barrier to stop unwanted businesses from opening.

If Im a puppy mill operator that wants to operate in Ocean City, and I know its against right now, I also know that all I have to do is get through the zoning board, and I will now get my mercantile license, Levchuk said.

He raised concerns that license holders could operate their pet daycare centers out of their homes and not in commercial spaces.

About 150 New Jersey towns have banned puppy mills and the sale of animals from these kinds of breeders.

A Democrat-led bill has stalled in the New Jersey Legislature that would prohibit the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at pet shops. The ban would follow New York State, which banned those sales in 2022.

McCrosson said officials were instead approached by a prospective business to offer day-care style services for pet owners. Details about the anticipated business were not addressed at either meeting.

The ordinance passed by a 5-2 vote.

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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.
A Mercer County school district is asking voters to approve its fourth school construction bond referendum in eight years.

The K-12 Princeton Public Schools district is asking voters Tuesday to approve three ballot questions that would allocate $89.1 million for renovations and improvements at four schools, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association.

The proposals include adding a gym and library to an elementary school, building an addition on another elementary school, adding science classrooms to a middle school and overhauling the heating and air conditioning system at Princeton High School.

If all three questions are approved, Princeton would receive $14.8 million in state aid to help fund the projects, the school boards association said.

Princeton has the costliest school construction bond referendum on the ballot Tuesday, the first of six days throughout the year when New Jersey school boards can hold local elections and put bond questions before voters. (See the ballot questions for each town below.)

The others school districts asking voters to approve referendums Tuesday are in Mendham Borough in Morris County and Pitman in Gloucester County, the school boards association said. The school construction questions in Princeton, Mendham Borough and Pitman are asking voters to approve a total of $129.6 million in school improvements.

Voters in Princeton  which has some of the highest property tax bills in New Jersey  approved school construction bond referendums in 2018, 2022 and 2023. The most recent referendum, totaling $12.9 million, was approved in November 2023, with 4,458 voting in favor and 1,831 voting against it.

Due to the way Tuesdays referendum is structured, approval of the second ballot question in Princeton would not count unless voters also approve the first question. Approval of the third question hinges on voter approval of the first two questions.

Approval of all three ballot questions would result in an estimated $532 annual school tax increase on the average assessed home, which in Princeton is $853,136, the school district said. If only the first question totaling $37.9 million is approved, the average homeowner would pay an addition $222 in annual school taxes.

Student enrollment growth is imminent. The planning, approval and execution of school renovations take years to complete, and we need a definitive plan in place as we welcome more students and maintain our model of neighborhood schools and strong programming, the school district said in an overview of the referendum on its website.

Princetons referendum does not involve the former Westminster Choir College site, which has been discussed for several years as a possible location for school district expansion. While the borough council in September approved an ordinance that would enable it to buy the 23-acre site, no sale has been approved and the timeline for availability is uncertain, the district said.

Here is an overview of the bond referendums in three school districts that will be decided on Tuesday, based on information provided by the New Jersey School Boards Association and Princeton Public Schools:

Princeton

Question 1

Total cost: $37,905,000

State funding: $8,805,765

HVAC  heating, ventilation and air conditioning  systems would be replaced at Princeton High School. Community Park Elementary School would get additional classrooms, a new multipurpose room/gym and a larger cafeteria, library and music room.

Question 2

Total cost: $38,300,000

State funding: $5,044,358

Princeton Middle School would receive additional science classrooms and flexible instruction space. A connecting outdoor hallway would reduce crowding and improve the flow of students through the building. The cafeteria, vocal music and band rooms would be expanded and a multipurpose room would be added. There would be renovations at Princeton High School.

Question 3

Total cost: $12,915,000

State funding: $1,003,996

Littlebrook Elementary School would receive additional classrooms and a vocal music room as part of a building addition. The student support services area and small-group instruction areas would be renovated.

Mendham Borough

Question 1

Total cost: $9,964,305

State funding: $3,985,722

Mountain View Middle School and Hilltop Elementary School would receive renovations and improvements.

Question 2 (would only take effect if Question 1 is also approved)

Total cost: $9,317,520

State funding: None

An auditorium would be built at Mountain View Middle School.

Pitman

Question 1

Total cost: $14,220,000

State funding: $5,688,000

Pitman Elementary School would upgrade its boiler and heat infrastructure, among other improvements. Pitman Jr./Sr. High School would receive a partial roof replacement, the parking lot would be repaved and regraded, and the existing running track would be reconstructed.

Question 2 (would only take effect if Question 1 is also approved)

Total cost: $7,032,000

State funding: $2,812,800

Pitman Elementary School would receive HVAC upgrades and Pitman Jr./Sr. High School would receive furniture and equipment, among other improvements.

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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.
Rutgers University on Friday canceled an educational conference designed to discuss how students at historically Black colleges and universities can gain entry into apprenticeships.

The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions said it was asked to cease all work it was performing under the auspices of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility HUB at Jobs for the Future, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The decision was directly influenced by recent actions taken by President Donald Trump in his first week in office, a spokesperson for the university said.

President Trumps administration enacted three executive orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives that take a shock and awe approach that upends longstanding, bipartisan federal policy meant to open doors that had been unfairly closed, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) posted to its website, in reaction to the decision.

In his first days, the president weaponized civil rights laws that address discrimination and ensure everyone has a fair chance to compete, whether its for a job, a promotion, or an education, the ACLU said.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, both took to X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday to denounce the universitys decision. Both Baraka and Fulop are running for New Jersey governor this year.

Most of the panelists scheduled to speak at the virtual conference, scheduled for Jan. 30, were from Jobs for the Future and could not participate because of the executive orders that direct federal agencies to terminate federal contracts and grants related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, (DEI), a statement to students from Rutgers University explained.

Tammi Ferguson, Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Education was expected to participate as a panelist at the event.

Rutgers Universitys Center for Minority Serving Institutions promised it will continue to engage with students through other programming.

The capitulation continues. These ill-conceived moves are pushing American higher education backwards. We must fight back, the American Association of University Professors posted to X on Saturday.

Glenn Epps can be reached at gepps@lehighvalleylive.com or glenn_epps_on X (formerly known as Twitter.com), Facebook and Threads.

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Protesters sprayed antisemitic graffiti on the sidewalk outside a synagogue in South Orange on Sunday morning, officials said.

The protesters, described as pro-Palestinian, were at the Oheb Shalom on Scotland Road because two members of the Israel Defense Force were making a presentation, according to Rabbi Abigail Treu.

The program this morning featured an elite rescue unit of the Israel Defense Force, whose sole mission is search and rescue, Treu said in a statement,

Protesters wrote terrorists this way and also shouted baby killers to passing drivers, according to Treu and South Orange Mayor Shena Collum.

South Orange police were present during the protest, Treu said.

Treu said that in addition to saving lives in Israel, the Israeli Defense Force rescue unit also has participated in rescue efforts following natural disasters in Turkey and Haiti.

SOMA for Palestine, a local Pro-Palestinian group, issued a statement condemning the presence of the Israeli Defense Force.

Shame on the organizers of this event. Shame on those pretending that people protesting this event were there to persecute the local Jewish community, the organization said in a statement. Religious institutions should not be used to provide political cover for a potential war criminal.

A neighbor cleaned the sidewalk and the program inside was not interrupted, according to Treu.

People who stand outside our building, calling us terrorists, making us feel threatened or on the defensive as we undertake the peaceful work of joining in local community, do not have a place here, Treu wrote. Not at Oheb, and I know not at our neighboring synagogue partners, either. Our tent is a large one, but it has walls.

Mayor Collum called the graffiti and the chants deeply disturbing.

We must come together, united in our commitment to stand against hate, bigotry, and discrimination in all forms, Collum said in a statement. This is not just an attack on one group; it is an attack on the values that bind us all as neighbors.

Nancy Adams, the mayor of neighboring Maplewood also condemned the graffiti in a statement.

Rights of free speech and protest do not give anyone the right to deface property or make threats against the Jewish community, Adams said. We stand together to resist and reject your intimidation and disrespect of the Jewish residents in our towns. An act of hate toward one is an act of hate toward all of us.

The Essex County Prosecutors Office and South Orange police couldnt immediately be reached Monday morning.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop will deliver his 11th and final State of the City address Thursday, Jan. 30, at City Hall.

The 6 p.m. event will be livestreamed on the citys social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Two Hamilton brothers face several criminal charges following a Dec. 23 shooting at their home that left two people wounded, authorities said.

Juan Cruz, 18, is charged with attempted murder and related firearms charges and Nelson Cruz, 21, is charged with aggravated assault and firearms charges, Hamilton police said. The incident occurred in the 2500 block of Liberty Street.

Authorities arrested the pair on Jan. 15. Lawyer information for Juan Cruz and Nelson Cruz was not immediately available.
Editors note: This story was shared as part of a content-sharing agreement between Mosaic.NJ.com and Chalkbeat. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter (or X).

Newark leaders and advocates are urging Superintendent Roger Leon and the Newark school board to address racial tensions after Chalkbeat obtained a copy of a scathing draft report that found Black students and teachers at a city high school endured racial and religious harassment.

The review, conducted by the consulting firm Creed Strategies, also found district and school leaders failed to quickly and consistently address the problems at the Newark School of Global Studies and, in some cases, magnified racial issues. The draft obtained by Chalkbeat is not the latest version of the report, but Newark Public Schools has fought to keep all versions of the report private.

During Thursdays school board meeting, three residents demanded transparency from the district about its steps to find solutions.

Tony Al-Amin, a Weequahic High School alum and Imam at Newarks Masjid Muhammad, raised concerns about the racism that exists in our schools.

Racism is a social terror. This is not my imagination. This is what is actually happening, Al-Amin said. When people are treated unjustly, unfairly in one place, it makes injustice acceptable in other places.

Yolanda Johnson, an education advocate, spoke about the need for transparency and said, It was painful to read the draft report on Global Studies.

Its 2025, we are demanding and we want inclusion, equity, accountability, and we want transparency, Johnson added.

Leon did not respond to the comments, but board member Josephine Garcia said the board has access to a wide range of non-public information that offers a perspective vastly different from the narrative being presented.

Once all the information is made available, a much clearer and more informed understanding will emerge, Garcia added.

No issue can be fully addressed without considering both sides, and at the moment, one side of the issue remains suppressed.

Board member Dawn Haynes, who faced removal from her role after her daughter filed a legal claim against the district alleging discrimination during her time as a Global Studies student, recalled how her husband was hurt, disappointed, and ignored and, out of fear of being labeled as a threatening parent, could not do anything about the situation.

I held my composure for three years  knowing that my child and her friends were harmed and it was covered up, said Haynes during Thursdays meeting.

Earlier this week, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos also said they plan to call on Leon to discuss the findings and will continue to raise awareness about equity and inclusion.

Nurturing student growth toward equality and inclusion, however, takes a lot more than holding forums and events. This work is an ongoing historic and cultural transformation that relies on continued curriculum focus and the student dialogue it spurs, Baraka said in a statement Tuesday.

Former Global Studies students first raised the allegations of racism detailed in the draft report during a November 2022 school board meeting. In response, school board members commissioned a review of the cultural, racial, and religious dynamics at Global Studies that pushed some Black students to transfer and teachers to resign.

But in 2023, Leon said the report would remain internal and inform the districts strategy on race. The issues also caught the attention of Baraka, who hosted a town hall in March 2023 to discuss unity among Black and brown communities months after students spoke publicly about their experiences.

In his Tuesday statement, Baraka said he spoke in depth with the former students at Global Studies and their parents about how we cannot tolerate racism. He also spoke with Leon about the issues, which led to the school bringing in a consultant to try to get a handle on the situation.

Our goal is to raise awareness in our children so they wont fall victim to what is going on around the country and, in fact, become leaders for tolerance and inclusion as adults, Baraka added.

Ramos, a city councilman, said in a statement last week that council members had received limited information from the district about the Global Studies report due to confidentiality issues. His office had met with a few parents from the school over the past year and at one point, some of the parents met with him and Baraka.

The allegations referenced in the leaked report are concerning, and any type of racist comments  regardless of who they came from  are disturbing and unacceptable, Ramos added.

He plans to speak with other council members about having Leon and others come before the city councils education committee to discuss the reports findings and the districts plans to address the issues and improve the environment at Global Studies.

At Thursdays school board meeting, Hassana Shaw, an educator and member of the Council of Imams in New Jersey, said the district needs to be truthful about what is going on in our schools.

We cant keep quiet about things that are happening with our kids. We have to take direct action to make sure our students are being educated in a place thats safe because we cant teach them if they dont feel safe, said Shaw.

She also spoke against the districts efforts to unseat Haynes, saying the board should not get rid of board members who try to ensure that our children dont encounter the trauma and hardship while theyre in school.

And with that said, board member Dawn Haynes is owed an apology for the covert actions taken to remove her from her position, Shaw added.

Malkia King, the daughter of former board member Barbara King, said the current board is different from the board my mother sat on. She recalled how Black and Puerto Rican residents came together to fight for local control of the school board.

We worked too hard to overcome [racism], and were supposed to be the model going forward, and it [would] seem like were going backward, King said.

Jessie Gomez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.

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In his first week back on the job, Donald Trump tried to rewrite the Constitution, just the first sign of his implacable need to seize power and tear apart American norms.

Fortunately, a federal judge in Seattle immediately blowtorched this effort -- an encouraging reminder that we still have guardrails, even during a week of democracy-shattering actions from a chief executive who pardoned a large battalion of cop beaters and declared trans people nonexistent.

Trump issued an executive order that would erase part of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to all children born on US soil. Birthright citizenship has been American doctrine since it was ratified in 1868 and affirmed multiple times by the Supreme Court  notably in the late 19th century during an era of anti-immigrant sentiment.

But U.S. District Judge John Coughenour did more than affirm the demarcation of powers. He reminded Trump that the judiciary is too busy to tolerate the beclowning of the executive branch.

I have been on the bench for over four decades, said Coughenour, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1981, and I cant remember another case where the question presented is as clear as it is here. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.

Then, after the lawyers from Trumps Justice Department tried to explain why his order was constitutional, the incredulous judge flattened them: I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar can state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order, Coughenour said. It boggles my mind. Where were the lawyers when this decision was being made?

Coughenour didnt think hed ever need to explain to an adult that birthright citizenship is sacrosanct in America. He didnt think hed need to explain to Trump that he lacks the authority to unilaterally blow up the Constitution without two-thirds support of Congress and ratification of an amendment from 75% of the states.

So the judge blocked the order until Feb. 6 -- when he will hold a hearing to consider a preliminary injunction  and its not likely to go any better for Trump at that point, because his executive order has already been enshrined as a national joke.

Presidents cant overrule the Constitution and centuries of precedent with a stroke of a pen.



I'm leading a coalition of 18 states in suing to stop Trump's unlawful EO banning birthright citizenship.



When we say we will fight for the rule of law, we mean it. pic.twitter.com/arwPZ2IRS5  Attorney General Matt Platkin (@NewJerseyOAG) January 21, 2025

This case, however, will ultimately reach the Supreme Court, which has its own record of boggling minds. Yet its hard to find any legal expert who thinks the Roberts Court would agree with Trump on this issue, because the 14th Amendments language is both simple and clear: Anyone born in the United States  other than children of alien enemies in a hostile occupation, or children of foreign diplomats  is a citizen.

Youd think that Trumps legal advisors, who assert their dedication to the Constitutions textual integrity every time they approach the bench, would inform him of all that. As two experts pointed out during Trumps last attack on birthright citizenship  that was when he decried caravans of menacing 5-year-old Guatemalans invading the US during the 2018 midterms  this president promised judges in the mold of Antonin Scalia.

We have no doubt what Scalia  who preached adherence to the text of the Constitution and the laws of the United States in light of their original meaning  would think about this proposal, Neal Katyal and George Conway wrote in the Washington Post. To say that he would have declared it dead on arrival would be an understatement.

That doesnt mean Trump will let the matter go, because hell always find attorneys willing to tell him what he wants to hear and accept public humiliation on his behalf in federal court. And the president still has an unsurpassed skill for turning anything  immigration, disaster relief, pandemic management, even public riots he personally inspired -- into a zero-sum culture conflict.

So he will always believe that he can use that same strategy to demolish constitutional order. The judiciary must continue to disabuse him of that notion.

To comment on this Star-Ledger editorial, send a letter to eletters@starledger.com.

BREAKING: Stunning new polling shows Donald Trumps Executive Order to end birthright citizenship is remarkably unpopular. One day in and Donald Trump is already at odds with the American people. pic.twitter.com/iEt5oujGMJ  Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) January 21, 2025

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In response to President Trumps Issuance of Order purporting to limit birthright citizenship, Michigan and 17 other states filed suit today to defend basic constitutional rights for all Americans. pic.twitter.com/988bUCtGex  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (@MIAttyGen) January 21, 2025

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Elon Musk spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help get President Donald Trump back in the White House.

But the U.S. isnt the only place in the world where the tech billionaire is wading into politics. And Bill Gates accused Musk of some insane shit.

Musk has said over the past month that only the far-right party Alternative for Germany, or AfD, can save Germany. Over the weekend, he addressed the Afd and urged them to take pride in Germany and reject feelings of guilt tied to the nations history of their parents or grandparents.

His interest in Germany and politics elsewhere in Europe, after he poured money and energy into helping Trump win the U.S. election, has set off alarm bells among politicians across the continent. The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive also has demanded the release of jailed U.K. anti-Islam extremist Tommy Robinson and called British Prime Minister Keir Starmers government tyrannical, claiming Starmer should be in prison.

Gates, speaking to The Times, said this has him alarmed.

Gates:

Its really insane that he can destabilize the political situations in countries. I think in the US foreigners arent allowed to give money; other countries maybe should adopt safeguards to make sure super-rich foreigners arent distorting their elections.

Its difficult to understand why someone who has a car factory in both China and in Germany, whose rocket business is ultra-dependent on relationships with sovereign nations and who is busy cutting $2 trillion in US government expenses and running five companies, is obsessing about this grooming story in the UK. Im like, what?

You want to promote the right wing but say Nigel Farage is not right-wing enough I mean, this is insane shit. You are for the AfD.

We can all overreach If someone is super-smart, and he is, they should think how they can help out. But this is populist stirring.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An elected official in Pennsylvania resigned from her post after she mimicked Elon Musks straight-arm gesture that the head of a prominent U.S. Jewish civil rights called a Nazi salute.

Republican Towamencin Township Supervisor Laura Smith in Montgomery County reportedly hit her chest three times and then extended her arm out in front of her in a now-deleted TikTok video, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. She resigned from the township position, from the boards of the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library and the nonprofit Knights for Life over the weekend amid local uproad.

Her gesture was similar to what Musk did during a speech amid President Donald Trumps inauguration.

Per The Inquirer:

In her letter, she repeated a statement that she gave to The Inquirer on Saturday in which she said her video has been greatly mischaracterized and that she abhor[s] racism, anti-Semitism, or discrimination in any fashion or form, and my record as a township supervisor attests to my commitment to treat all people with dignity and respect.

Not wishing to give offense, I removed the video from my accounts, she said.

Right-wing extremists celebrated Musks straight-arm gesture during a speech earlier this month.

I just want to say thank you for making it happen, Musk said during a speech at Capital One Arena, referring to Trumps victory in the presidential election. Then he slapped his hand on his chest, extended his arm straight out and up with his palm facing down.

My heart goes out to you, said Musk, after turning around to make a similar gesture facing the other way.

Many social media users noticed that the gesture looked like a Nazi salute. Musk has only fanned the flames of suspicion by not explicitly denying those claims in a dozen posts since, though he did make light of the criticism and lashed out at people making that interpretation.

The everyone is Hitler attack is sooo tired, Musk posted on X several hours after he left the stage.

Days later, Musk made several Nazi-related puns on his social media site: Dont say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Goring your enemies! His pronouns wouldve been He/Himmler! Bet you did nazi that coming.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former Tea Party conservative Congressman Joe Walsh has one word to describe how President Donald Trumps administration is deploying TV personality Dr. Phil in the new presidents long-promised mass deportation efforts.

Cruel.

The former lawmaker turned never-Trumper reacted Monday after Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, was shown giving Phil McGraw, aka Dr. Phil, exclusive live coverage of a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Chicago over the weekend.

What have you been charged with? McGraw asked a man, who identified himself as Pedro from Thailand. Are you a citizen?

Homan said the man had been accused with sex crimes involving children and the fact he was out on the streets showed the problem with sanctuary cities.

Dr Phil, Walsh wrote on X. These targeted raids went on all the time under (Barack) Obama, they went on all the time under (Joe) Biden. In fact, Obama, in each of his terms, deported way more people than Trump. Biden & Trump deported the same number. But neither Obama nor Biden chose to bring a talk show host along on the raids and post a video. Because neither Obama nor Biden is cruel.

Dr Phil. These targeted raids went on all the time under Obama, they went on all the time under Biden. In fact, Obama, in each of his terms, deported way more people than Trump. Biden & Trump deported the same number. But neither Obama nor Biden chose to bring a talk show host https://t.co/PSpb0s6kAl  Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) January 27, 2025

Top Trump administration officials, Homan and the acting deputy attorney general, visited Chicago on Sunday to witness the start of ramped-up immigration enforcement in the nations third-largest city as federal agencies touted arrests around the country.

Few details of the operation were immediately made public, including the number of arrests. But the sheer number of federal agencies involved showed Trumps willingness to use federal law enforcement beyond the Department of Homeland Security to carry out his mass deportations.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it made 956 arrests nationwide on Sunday and 286 on Saturday. While some of the operations may not have been unusual, ICE averaged 311 daily arrests in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said he observed immigration agents from the DHS along with agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He didnt offer details on the operation, which came days after DHS expanded immigration authority to agencies in the Department of Justice, including the DEA and ATF.

Chicago has some of the strongest sanctuary protections, which bar cooperation between city police and immigration agents.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is not thrilled about some of President Donald Trumps latest decisions.

Trump has been authorizing a flurry of executive actions since being sworn into office last week, including pardoning those who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and revoking Secret Service protection for a handful of his former officials. Graham, along with a handful of other Republicans, raised concerns over the weekend about pardoning those who attacked police officers and revoking security detail.

CNNs Dana Bash pressed Graham on Sundays State of the Union whether he was OK with Trump pardoning those who attacked police officers on Jan. 6.

No. I have always said that I think, when you pardon people who attack police officers, youre sending the wrong signal to the public at large. And its not what you want to do to protect cops. But he has that power, he said.

Biden pardoned a guy that shot two FBI agents in South Dakota. The FBI was all upset about that. He pardoned half his family, when he said he wouldnt. President Trump at least said, Im going to do this, he added.

He then suggested that there could an effort to curtail the pardon power of the president.

I dont like this. I dont like it on either side. And I think the public doesnt like it either. So if this continues, if this is the norm, there may be an effort to rein in the pardon power of the president as an institution, he said.

He also said that he believes it was a mistake to remove security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former national security adviser John Bolton.

Whether you like John Bolton or not, thats not the question for me. Its that you dont want to leave people hanging. Theres no doubt in my mind the Iranians have been out to kill President Trump. I have been briefed about it. I know hes been briefed about it, Graham said.

Im glad he has protection. Whether you like Bolton or anybody else, we need to make sure that, if you serve in our government and you take out a foreign power at the request of the administration, that we do not leave you hanging, he added.

.@LindseyGrahamSC tells @DanaBashCNN it was a mistake for Trump to revoke security for John Bolton and Mike Pompeo: "Whether you like Bolton or anybody else, we need to make sure that, if you serve in our government and you take out a foreign power at the request of the pic.twitter.com/7xfXLKcRMe  State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) January 26, 2025

He then said that the former Trump officials should get their security back.

Yes, he said when asked by Bash. The Senate needs to look at what happened and sit down and figure out whats the best way forward.

Everybody doesnt deserve to detail all their life. It needs to be as needed. But what Senator Cotton told me, the threats seem to be real against these individuals. And I dont want to leave them hanging. It makes it hard to recruit people in the future. And if something happened to these people, and President Trump needs to think about getting people to serve in the future, owning that decision, he added.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) expressed similar concerns on Sunday while making an appearance on Fox News Sunday.

Trump had revoked security protection for the three, effective last week, despite the fact that they faced threats from Iran for taking hardline stances against the Islamic Republic during Trumps administration.

Trump ended protective security details for his former national security adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his onetime deputy, Brian Hook. The security protections had been regularly extended by the Biden administration over credible threats to the mens lives. Cotton said he had seen recent intelligence that suggests all three former Trump officials remained targets of Iran.

Its another sign of steps Trump is taking just days into his return to the White House  to target those he perceives as adversaries.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bill Maher got caught in a heated exchange with embattled former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)

In the latest podcast episode of Club Random, Maher sat down with Gaetz to discuss the recent election, the allegations of sexual misconduct facing Gaetz and other political topics. At one point, Maher explains that there is a difference between Democrats calling President Donald Trump an illegitimate president and Trump actually trying to stay in power.

We just had January 6. It went off smoothly, without a hitch... Thats not what [would] have happened if you guys had lost and you know that, Maher told Gaetz.

The last time we had a Republican president elected and Democrats did not object to the electors. Do you know the last time that was? Gaetz responded.

This is the kind of bulls--t.... Maher started to tell him before Gaetz interjected to tell him it was 1988.

New episode with Matt Gaetz is avail nowWatch here on X or wherever you get your podcasts @billmaher @mattgaetz pic.twitter.com/UZrG4yXeOQ  Club Random with Bill Maher (@ClubRandom_) January 26, 2025

Maher went on to argue that objecting to a states election results is different than trying to remain in power.

Objecting is different than calling the Justice Department and pressuring them to do things that even his own Justice Department wouldnt do. Its different than calling the guy in Georgia and saying, find the 11,000 votes. Its different than going to court with all these ridiculous cases that were laughed out of every courtroom. Its different than actually sending fake electors, he said.

Dont give me bulls--t and well be friends. Bulls--t me, well still be friends, but then Ill think youre a hack, instead of someone who could actually have an honest conversation and admit this asymmetry exists, he added.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly pushed false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and that he did not lose. There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

The two concluded that discussion with Gaetz arguing he doesnt believe its asymmetrical at all and Maher conceding that Gaetz is smarter than he thought he was.

I dont believe its asymmetrical at all. When you look at the way the Democratic Party used like an authoritarian bum rush to get Joe Biden out of the race and replace him with with Harris.... Was that the great, you know, sacrifice to the virtue of democracy and the great rejection of authoritarianism, was swapping her out for him like at some Mississippi square dance? Gaetz said.

Just looking in your eye talking to you, not the media guy I saw. Youre a lot brighter than I thought you were, Maher responded.

Trump initially tapped Gaetz to be his attorney general in his second administration, but the Florida Republican withdrew his name from consideration after backlash from both Republicans and Democrats. Gaetz is now hosting his own talk show on The One America News (OAN) Network, a far-right broadcaster.
Shortlived Donald Trump staffer turned Trump critic Anthony Scaramucci argues in a recent interview that he thinks the new president is more cruel this time around  and that he has a feeling about why thats the case.

The lack of family within the inner circle this time.

Scaramucci:

Trump likes having his family around. Whatever you think of Donald Trump, he ran the Trump organization with family, he ran The Apprentice with family. First Trump administration, Jared, Ivanka, were in it, (and) lots of family members around.

This administration sans family and I think it has an impact on his mood.

Theres a cruely to a lot of things that he did on his first day returning to the presidency, and I think his personality is impacted by not having some of those people around.

And I got to know Melania on the first campaign. I like her. I think she is a softening agent for him when they have a good relationship, and obviously the kids, you know, I  dont speak to them anymore, but Im sure if I did speak to them it would be cordial, they were always good to me and I was good to them. They were softening agents for Donald Trump. Theyre not around now and I think you can see theres an expression of unkindness coming out of the president in the first couple days of the administration.

Scaramucci worked as Trumps White House communications for 11 days after he came into the job hot by publically attacking former Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus as a leaker in graphic terms. The fish stinks from the head down, he said in 2017. I can tell you two fish that dont stink, and thats me and the president.

Will Trumps presidency change without his family in the inner circle?@Scaramucci highlights how the Trump familys absence from this administration sharply contrasts the last. pic.twitter.com/8UswEw8OTd  The Rest Is Politics US (@RestPoliticsUS) January 27, 2025

Then in an interview published by The New Yorker, an angry Scaramucci used an expletive to accuse Priebus of being a f------ paranoid schizophrenic and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon of trying to burnish his own reputation.

He also threatened to fire White House staffers who leaked about a dinner he had with the president.

Scaramucci was then ousted from his position and has fought to keep Trump from returning to the White House.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
90 Day Fiance star Jasmine Pineda is pleading the fifth when it comes to mounting pregnancy rumors.

Hi my loves. Once again  Im not clarifying any rumors, Pineda wrote via her Instagram Story on Sunday, Jan. 26. If youre really concerned about my well being, go ahead and book my cameos or subscribe to my [OnlyFans]. Its the best way for you to support me.

She added that the statement was in response to speculation that she lost a toe and other rumors.

People were making fun of me saying I have rotten toes and I lost one of them. I have all my toes and none of them are rotten, Pineda wrote. There are so many [rumors] and its hard to keep track.  Enough of clarifying stuff. It drains me.

Pineda did not directly address the rumor that she is expecting a baby with Matt Branis, a man she met at the gym while married to Gino Palazzolo. Eagle-eyed Reddit users have noticed that Pineda is deleting comments on her Instagram or restricting who can comment on her posts.

With 90 Day Fiance social media fan accounts posting about the pregnancy rumors, fans of the show have been in Pinedas comments asking if they are true but she is remaining tight-lipped and not addressing anything.

During season 2 of 90 Day Fiance: The Last Resort, which is currently airing on TLC, Pineda was candid about wanting to open her and Palazzolos marriage. She started spending more time with Branis, and even called him to calm her down after she had a fight with Palazzolo.

Some viewers have speculated that Pineda will reveal her pregnancy during the tell-all for season 2 of 90 Day Fiance: The Last Resort. The reality star already has two sons, Juance and JC, from previous relationships.

Read More: 90 Day Fiance star describes mysterious illness after 50-pound weight loss

Pinedas desire to open her and Palazzolos marriage was not shocking to those who have followed the duos 90 Day Fiance journey. Throughout Pineda and Palazzolos appearances on the OG series, 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After, and now The Last Resort, intimacy issues have been a common theme.

Earlier this month, the 90 Day Fiance Instagram page shared a clip of Pineda getting into bed with Palazzolo and kissing him. Palazzolo responded by saying, youre tickling me! and getting out of bed. The moment displayed Palazzolos consistent disinterest in being intimate with Pineda.

Palazzolo and Pineda tied the knot in June 2023 but have reportedly since split. Pineda last posted Palazzolo on her Instagram feed in June 2024.

Happy anniversary my dearest husband, she captioned a photo from their wedding day.

Palazzolo, meanwhile, took to his Instagram Story on Monday, Jan. 27, to accuse Pineda of lying about why she lost a teaching job in Panama.

Jasmine claims she lost her teaching job in Panama because of leaked photos that my ex supposedly sent to her school. How would my ex even know what school she worked at in Panama? he wrote. She lost her job due to personality conflict with her boss which she told me multiple times about.  Jasmine continues to lie to try and make me look bad and this has been going on for years!

90 Day Fiance: The Last Resort airs on TLC on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST and can be streamed on Max the following day.

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When Cash Money Records was getting off the ground in New Orleans in the early 90s, Sthaddeus Polo Silk Terrell had a front row view. Good thing he always had a camera on him.

An Uptown native, Terrell knew Bryan Baby Williams and Ronald Slim Williams from the neighborhood, and the brothers knew Terrell was out and about, going to hip-hop shows all over the city and taking photos of both performers and clubgoers. So when Cash Money started releasing albums and booking shows, Terrell helped out by putting up posters and getting the new music into the hands of DJs.

And he would snap photos the whole time.

Baby would always say, Im not a rapper. Im a game spitter, Terrell says. But who knew, in the early 90s, that game spitting would wind up [making Cash Money] not only one of the biggest brands in hip-hop but in music?

Terrell has photographed countless Cash Money artists, fans, friends and family members over the years, and a new exhibition now puts many of those shots on display.

Polo Silk Presents: Cash Money Records from the 99-2000 opens Friday, Jan. 31, at Sibyl Gallery in Uptown with 42 photos taken by Terrell of artists like Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Baby, Mannie Fresh, Magnolia Shorty and more. There also will be some backdrops, posters, business cards and other items on display. The show continues through March 16, and there are plans to publish a photo book based on the exhibition.

The photos, Terrell says, stretch from the early 90s with shots from Cash Moneys early years with artists like Tec-9 and Lil Ya (who perform together as UNLV) and the late Pimp Daddy into the early 2000s and the era when Lil Wayne, Juvenile, BG, Turk, Baby and Mannie Fresh dominated national radio. Its an intimate documentation of an important era in not only New Orleans music but the wider hip-hop community.

We used to be hearing NWA and Big Daddy Kane or the other rappers from around the country talking about their neighborhoods, Terrell says. But when you got to the point where you could hear people that you knew and grew up with, and theyre telling their stories that you can relate to  and saying, Get your shine on and Im the number one stunna  it kind of makes you stick your chest out.

Alongside shots of performers on stage or partying together, Terrell also wanted to include photos of family members and fans. Terrell often prints and frames photos to give to people, often a picture of a lost family member or friend.

Most exhibits on artists show mostly them performing and stuff like that, but Im showing pictures of Baby with his family members and BG with his family. [Theres] a picture of Magnolia Shorty with her friends, Terrell says.

Family has always been big to me, he adds. Thats why anytime I had an opportunity  when I caught them with their family members, I made sure I got a shot of them.

For nearly 40 years, Terrell has captured Black New Orleans life in an unparalleled way through countless film shots and Polaroid pictures at concerts, block parties, second lines and Super Sundays.

A fan of the photos in ESSENCE, Ebony and Jet magazines, he started out by taking photos of clubgoers at teen venues around New Orleans. It also was an era when hip-hop was taking off in the city, and Terrell was there to document the rappers and bounce artists coming up in the 90s.

+4 Birdman celebrates 30-plus years of Cash Money Records at Essence Fest Gambit spoke with Birdman about the world-changing three decades of Cash Money, the labels early strategy and how things have changed.

In the last decade, Terrell has been increasingly recognized locally and nationally for his work, with exhibitions at the New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans Jazz Museum and Antenna, which published his book Pop That Thang!!! His photos also appeared in the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap and The Nameplate: Jewelry, Culture and Identity.

A couple of years ago, Terrell saw an exhibition at Sibyl Gallery and met founder Katherine Ainsley, and the two discussed mounting a show of Terrells work. But 2024 at the gallery was already booked up, so Terrell asked Ainsley for the winter 2025 slot  coinciding with the Super Bowl being in New Orleans. Theres also serendipity to the timing following last years Cash Money celebration at the ESSENCE Festival and the Hot Boys reunion.

It feels like a really energetic and historical show, Ainsley says, adding, Polo said the neighborhood superstars need to be able to stick their chest out for this one. Its going to be a beautiful homage to that time and to the people who are no longer with us.

Find more information at sibylgallery.com.
The Spring Festival culture, with a history of around 4,000 years, is a public holiday in almost 20 countries and celebrated in various ways by about one-fifth of humanity.

ZAGREB, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- More and more people in Croatia and other European countries are enjoying the Spring Festival culture, Kresimir Jurak, a Croatian scholar, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Spring Festival, marking the start of the Lunar New Year, was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2024.

The UNESCO addition showcased the vitality and significance of the traditional Chinese Spring Festival culture, Jurak, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Zagreb, said.

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, this year's Spring Festival falls on Jan. 29, marking the start of the Year of the Snake.

"I think the most important part is that it shows the Chinese Spring Festival is really this level of event that UNESCO would consider it to be cultural enough and historic enough and important enough to put it on this very important list," he said.

The Spring Festival culture, with a history of around 4,000 years, has made different civilizations and people in the world more connected, Jurak noted, pointing out that the festival is a public holiday in almost 20 countries and celebrated in various ways by about one-fifth of humanity.

"I think it is interesting, it is colourful, it has a great tradition, it has a lot of people supporting it in this way," he said, noting that in many European countries, including Croatia, more and more people are enjoying this culture.
AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU, Poland  Even before the gas chambers were destroyed and the savage toll of years of industrialized mass murder revealed to the world, prisoners at the largest Nazi concentration camp were already repeating two words: Never again.

But as the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz approaches, an occasion being marked by events around the world and culminating in a solemn ceremony at the former death camp on Monday that will include dozens of aging Holocaust survivors, Piotr Cywinski, the director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, is worried.

More and more we seem to be having trouble connecting our historical knowledge with our moral choices today, he said. I can imagine a society that understands history very well but does not draw any conclusion from this knowledge.

In this current political moment, he added, that can be dangerous.

All one has to do is look at the backdrop against which this anniversary is taking place.
Preventative physical therapy, sometimes called pre-hab, is generally focused on strengthening parts of your body that could contribute to future injury or discomfort. Knee pain, for example, could stem from issues in the ankles or hips, Dr. Uhan said, which could be prevented with targeted exercises. Some athletes or people following consistent training schedules incorporate preventative physical therapy into their regular fitness routines to stay ahead of injuries before they happen. (Your doctor may also recommend pre-hab physical therapy ahead of some surgical procedures.)

For chronic injuries, like tendinitis, a physical therapist can help identify the cause of your recurring issues and create a plan to improve your strength or mobility. If you have a nagging injury or any pain or discomfort that affects your daily activities, it can be a good first step to seek out a physical therapist, said Maureen Soliman, a physical therapist at the University of California, San Francisco.

For acute injuries, like a torn Achilles tendon, you should see a sports medicine doctor or an orthopedic specialist as your first step. They can advise on when to start physical therapy and give you a referral. Your readiness for physical therapy will depend on how severe your injury is and how much you have recovered.

Following a major surgery, like a total knee replacement, physical therapy is typically a key part of the healing process, said Sue Wenker, the director of the doctor of physical therapy program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In those cases, you will typically be referred to physical therapy by your orthopedic doctor or surgeon. Post-surgery programs may focus on gradually putting more weight on your joints, strengthening the muscles around the surgical area and rebuilding your range of motion.

How to Find the Right Physical Therapist

If you live in the United States, you do not generally need a referral to see a physical therapist for an intake visit, and many insurance policies cover some physical therapy. Still, it is wise to ask the physical therapy clinic what your insurance will cover. When paying out of pocket, some appointments can cost hundreds of dollars.
Millions of Christians in churches around the world heard the same passage on Sunday from the Gospel of Luke. In it, Jesus declares his intentions to proclaim good news to the poor, as he speaks to people gathered in a synagogue in Nazareth.

At Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas, the passage felt particularly appropriate this week, though it was chosen years ago as part of a three-year cycle of Bible readings.

Its Jesus 101, said Michelle Williams, 55, a parishioner at the church.

It was the first Sunday since a fellow Episcopalian, Bishop Mariann E. Budde, delivered a sermon that many observers heard as an echo of passages like the one from Luke. Speaking at a prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington the day after President Trumps inauguration, she faced the president and made a direct plea: Have mercy.

After the service, Mr. Trump called Bishop Budde a Radical Left hard line Trump hater in a social media post. His foes immediately hailed her as an icon of the resistance. But for many progressive Christians and their leaders, the confrontation was more than a moment of political catharsis. It was about more than Mr. Trump. It was an eloquent expression of basic Christian theology, expressed in an extraordinarily public forum.
A slow-moving rainstorm system was bringing a reprieve to Southern California on Monday after a lengthy dry spell, but also caused some mudslides in areas scarred by this months wildfires, forcing road closures and making driving hazardous.

The storm had dropped about half an inch of rain in downtown Los Angeles by early Monday morning, the most the city has received in about nine months. The rain was easing, and the threat of flooding and mudslides was expected to decrease as the day went on, though some isolated showers were expected into Tuesday.

The precipitation had caused some damage and hazards. The Los Angeles Fire Department said there had been debris flow and vehicles in the mud in Woodland Hills overnight. Local news media showed images of mudslides in Pacific Palisades.

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District said its schools in Malibu would be closed on Monday because of dangerous road conditions and challenges accessing the schools. Schools in nearby Santa Monica remained open.
President Trump spoke with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain on Sunday about trade, the economy and the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, according to a statement from 10 Downing Street, which said that Mr. Starmer paid tribute to Mr. Trump for his role in securing the deal.

A British-Israeli woman, Emily Damari, was among the first three hostages released by Hamas under the terms of the agreement, which was negotiated by the Biden administration with a last-minute assist by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Starmer agreed to meet soon, according to the Downing Street statement. The two men first met over dinner last September at Trump Tower, along with David Lammy, the British foreign secretary.

Mr. Trump has spoken generously of Mr. Starmer, despite his affiliation with the center-left Labour Party. Hes liberal, which is a bit different from me, Mr. Trump said to the BBC earlier on Sunday, but I think hes a very good person and I think hes done a very good job thus far.
The Israeli military raided the Jerusalem home of a Hamas member released as part of an exchange for Israelis being held hostage in Gaza, detaining one person and roughing up others on Saturday evening, including a New York Times reporter conducting interviews at the scene.

A squad of soldiers forced its way into the house on the outskirts of Jerusalem and disrupted an event marking the early release of Ashraf Zughayer, a Hamas member imprisoned in 2002 for driving terrorists to the locations of their attacks. Among them was a suicide bomber who killed six civilians by blowing up a bus. According to court documents, Mr. Zughayer confessed to the charges.

Mr. Zughayer, 46, was released on Saturday afternoon along with 199 other prisoners.

Overseen by a colonel, the soldiers entered the Zughayer familys building with their rifles raised and assaulted several people, including Mr. Zughayers father and a Times reporter conducting interviews. The soldiers detained Mr. Zughayers brother and expelled journalists, then left about an hour later.

For years, Israeli security services have discouraged and often broken up family events celebrating the release of Palestinian militants, saying that the gatherings provoke unrest, lionize terrorists and inspire support for violence. Critics say the interventions increase Palestinian antipathy for Israel, prolonging a cycle of violence.
The protracted delay mirrors the many obstacles the musicians faced as migrants to the U.K. decades ago. While the pair now live in Anguilla, for the interview, conducted by video, Scipio spoke from his childrens home in Kent, England, while Patterson, 75, spoke from his kids place in London, three miles from where the two grew up, in Balham. With joy, they recalled their early days in Guyana, which has strong cultural connections to the Caribbean.

At the time Guyana was still a colony and most of the high-profile jobs were taken by English people, Scipio said. But we were kids, so we werent aware of that.

Their families, who were friends, came to London when Scipio was 13 and Patterson 8, seeking further education to advance their careers. But their childrens experience at school had a negative effect. Guyana had the best educational system in the whole Caribbean, Scipio said. I was far more advanced than the other kids in my London class. But, instead of encouraging that, my teachers made me sit idle in the back of the room.

At the same time, the musicians parents found their opportunities for advancement limited. Though Caribbean immigrants had been strongly encouraged to come and help rebuild postwar London in the 50s, they found themselves demonized by the 60s, fueled by anti-immigrant rhetoric. Suddenly, politicians said, Theres too many of them, lets send them back, Patterson said.

Playing instruments, which the two friends learned on their own, became the most positive force in their lives. In 1971, they formed Cymande, taking the name from a calypso term for dove. The other members, including the supple singer Ray King and the spirited conga player Pablo Gonsales, also had immigrant roots, in Jamaica, St. Vincent and Nigeria, giving the group ties to a wealth of Afro-Caribbean styles.

The lyrics they wrote either celebrated their culture or commented on the racism they faced because of it. In The Message, they stressed the power of group resistance (Remember, youve been told / together, we can go), while in Changes they soothed the communitys wounds (No love has been displayed out here / and common pains have brought us near.)
Deborah F. Rutter will step down as president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington at the end of the year, the center announced on Monday, in the latest sign of uncertainty at the institution as it navigates President Trumps second term.

The Kennedy Center had planned to welcome a new board chairman this year, but shortly after the presidential election it announced that it had failed to find a new one and that David M. Rubenstein, who was elected chairman in 2010, would stay on until September 2026.

Ms. Rutter, 68, the centers president since 2014, guided the organization through the coronavirus pandemic, oversaw an expansion of its campus, added hip-hop and comedy to its offerings and lured the Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda to be music director of the National Symphony Orchestra. She helped keep the Kennedy Center Honors, the popular annual telecast recognizing distinguished American artists, robust during Mr. Trumps first term, when he broke with precedent and declined to attend after some honorees criticized him.

Ms. Rutter, whose contract is up in August, agreed to stay on through the end of the year to help with the transition. She said in an interview that the center was looking forward to working with Mr. Trump and his administration, noting that half of the centers board is made up of his appointees. She said that the first lady, Melania Trump, had already personally expressed interest in reconnecting with the center.
Tensions flare in Lebanon and Gaza

Fragile cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza were put to the test yesterday.

In Southern Lebanon, Israeli forces killed or injured scores of people, Lebanese officials said, and in Gaza, Israel prevented thousands of uprooted Palestinians from moving back to their homes, saying Hamas had violated the terms of their truce, including by not adhering to the agreed order of hostage releases.

By the end of the day, however, Israel and Hamas said understandings had been reached via mediators to resolve their dispute, and the White House issued a statement indicating that in Lebanon, an arrangement for an initial 60-day truce would be extended until Feb. 18.

Negotiators had hoped that the cease-fire in Lebanon would become permanent by now, securing a measure of calm in a turbulent region. Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war have poured onto roads leading south as they aim to return home.

The latest: Displaced Gazans in the enclaves south can start returning on foot to their homes in the north starting at 7 a.m. local time this morning, followed by vehicles via a different route two hours later, according to an Israeli military spokesman.
When a group of prominent Chinese doctors publicly raised worries last week about the quality of domestic drugs, Chinas government sent officials to investigate.

But now data about the drugs that appeared on a government website as recently as Friday is no longer publicly available. A social media post from a doctor who scrutinized the data has been taken down.

The criticism in China over how the government buys drugs for its public health care system, which most people use, has ignited frustration over the most basic of concerns: the effectiveness of medicine.

Two separate groups of medical experts and political advisers in Shanghai and Beijing are sounding the alarm over the countrys centralized drug procurement system and the drugs on a list of medications for public hospitals.
Litigation has long been one of President Trumps favorite weapons against media outlets whose coverage he objects to. But in at least one case, he is encountering an unforeseen obstacle: his previous arguments in court.

On Monday, the board that awards the Pulitzer Prizes  which Mr. Trump sued in Florida in 2022 for defamation  said that the case should be put on hold because, as Mr. Trump has argued in two other cases, a state court should not be permitted to exert control over a sitting president.

Defendants agree, wrote the law firm representing the board, Ballard Spahr. To avoid such constitutional conflicts, the court should stay this case until plaintiffs term in office has concluded.

Mr. Trumps lawsuit accuses the Pulitzer board of defaming him, in essence, by continuing to honor The New York Times and The Washington Post for their coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. A state judge in Florida last year cleared the case to proceed toward trial.
After the United States blocked Nippon Steels bid for U.S. Steel, the Pittsburgh company is facing new pressure from an activist investor who is seeking to oust U.S. Steels leadership and thwart the companies efforts to revive the deal.

The activist investor, Ancora, said in an open letter to U.S. Steels board on Monday that it has nominated nine directors, including Alan Kestenbaum, the former chairman and chief executive of Stelco Holdings.

Stelco last year was acquired by the Cleveland- Cliffs, which is considering its own bid for U.S. Steel. Ancora wants Mr. Kestenbaum to replace U.S. Steels chief executive, David Burritt, and formally end talks with Nippon.

Shares of U.S. Steel, which are down about 22 percent over the past year, were down more than 1 percent in trading Monday morning.
The North Dakota Supreme Court's rulemaking committee voted unanimously last week to adopt changes to how court transcriptions are prepared, moving toward artificial intelligence-generated records and eliminating per-page fees for court reporters.

Supporters of the change maintain that adopting AI for court transcriptions will modernize the system, reduce costs and increases access for indigent defendants. Critics, however, contend the move jeopardizes accuracy, privacy and reliability, raising concerns about the potential mishandling of confidential information, errors in transcriptions and the loss of skilled stenographers from courtrooms.

Proposal to move toward AI transcriptions

In a November proposal, State Court Administrator Sally Holewa suggested amending Policy 206, which pertains to expenses for the preparation of transcripts by court staff. The proposed changes will get rid of per-page fees paid directly to court reporters and require that audio recordings be made for every proceeding. It also established a fee waiver program for transcripts provided to indigent defendants.

The proposal mandates audio recordings in courtrooms starting Jan. 1, 2026. Transcripts could then be generated using automated speech recognition (ASR), also known as artificial intelligence software, replacing certified stenographers, court reporters and transcribers.

No current staff would lose jobs, though positions may be reclassified under the Clerk of Courts Office without pay cuts, Holewa said Wednesday.

She opposed a proposed $2 per page price hike for transcripts requested by third parties. Current rates, unchanged since 2014, are $3.25 per page, plus 75 cents for paper copies. Expedited transcripts, delivered within 14 days, cost $4.25 per page, according to Kayla Richards, president of the North Dakota Court Reporters Association.

Before 1994, court reporters provided their own equipment, and per-page fees were intended to end by 1997 to allow time to recover those costs, Holewa said. Now, the state court system covers equipment and maintenance while also permitting court reporters to prepare transcripts for private clients during regular working hours.

Holewas letter estimates the proposed fee increase could cost the court system, Judicial Conduct Commission, and Indigent Defense Commission about $45,000 annually, as transcripts are often requested by staff attorneys. Instead, she suggests eliminating per-page fees for state-paid reporters while keeping the 75-cent fee for paper copies.

Opposition to Holewas proposed amendments includes members of the states court reporters association, the National Court Reporters Association, attorneys at a Fargo law firm, and all judges in the South Central, East Central, and Southeast Judicial Districts.

In a letter, the judges cited risks of inaccuracies, exposure of confidential information typically redacted by court reporters, and disruptions if recording systems fail, as seen in Bismarck and Mandan on Nov. 27, 2024.

"When the servers and recording system were down for hours, we were still able to continue to hold hearings with the assistance of our reporters, thereby guaranteeing that those individuals who found themselves before the court were heard without delay," the South Central Judicial District judges' letter states.

"It is premature to amend the policy to require an inferior digital record when we still have dedicated, long-term employees who continue to create reliable, high-quality written transcripts."

During Wednesdays meeting, Justice Douglas Barr asked Holewa whether the official record would become the audio recording or the transcript prepared from it.

Holewa said the transcript would remain the official record in most cases unless the court further amended its rules.

"Moving to a private commercial vendor, as several states have already done, would simplify and expedite transcript preparation," Holewas proposal states.

Her proposal cites Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Utah, noting those states have used this approach for years without issue.

"It is not part of the proposed change to the policy but the court already uses the digital audio as the official record on appeal for termination of parental rights cases and other expedited proceedings," Holewa said in an email to the Tribune. "If the court would go that way for other types of appeals, it would just be an extension of an existing practice."

The North Dakota Court Reporters Association, joined by the Serkland Law Firm in Fargo, has opposed the proposed changes, with letters signed by every district court judge in the East Central, Southeast and South Central Judicial Districts sent to the rulemaking committee.

Included in the opposition were sample transcripts from a Nov. 14, 2024, court proceeding in Bismarck, one generated by a certified court reporter and the other by ASR using an outside vendor.

Opponents argued that relying solely on audio recordings for transcripts raises accuracy concerns. Richards cited a state-sponsored pilot project from a few years ago that aimed for 93% accuracy.

"They are not even close to being accurate," she said. "They don't identify speakers. Right now, I think the biggest thing is like language barriers, so we get a lot of people with heavy accents."

The Tribune attached both transcripts for comparison.

Other concerns with AI transcriptions

Concerns have been raised about the shift toward using AI technology.

Critics, including the Minnesota Association of Verbatim Reporters and Captioners, have cited a Stanford University study showing ASR error rates of 19% -- and up to 35% for Black speakers -- along with potential confidentiality risks. These concerns mirror those raised by North Dakota stenographers, who worry ASR platforms cannot ensure accuracy or protect sensitive information such as victim names and juvenile records.

Holewa noted that digital recording systems have been used in North Dakota courts for over 20 years, with transcripts often outsourced to vendors who follow strict confidentiality rules. While ASR isnt yet ready to replace official court records, Holewa said advancements are being monitored closely.

For now, human stenographers and court reporters will continue preparing transcripts, but future transitions may involve integrating such duties into the Clerk of Court's Office.
While the lights are back on in most of the citys bars and restaurants, those in the low-lying River Arts District and Biltmore Village neighborhoods are still dark. Bottle Riot, a wine bar next door to the Bull and Beggar, closed permanently, along with El Patio de Guajiro, the four-month-old brick-and-mortar site of a beloved Cuban food truck. Dozens of other trucks, bars, smokehouses, breweries and bakeries are gone. Gourmand, a nearby farm-to-table restaurant  the phrase is almost redundant in Asheville  was knocked off its foundation weeks before it was scheduled to open. The owners now aim to have it up and running next year.

Eda Rhyne, a distillery that flavored its fernet and other spirits with Appalachian forest plants, and Pleb Urban Winery, which fermented grapes from Appalachian vines, were destroyed. So was the pottery studio that made the expressive little ceramic pigs that hold toothpicks on every table at the downtown tapas restaurant Curate.

About 90,000 people live in Asheville, but over the past decade or so its food scene has drawn the kind of national spotlight that typically shines on cities that are many times larger. Its farm-to-table restaurants and their chefs  Katie Button of Curate, Silver Iocovozzi of Neng Jrs, John Fleer of Rhubarb, Meherwan Irani of Chai Pani, Ashleigh Shanti of Good Hot Fish and others  are regularly noticed by the James Beard awards, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Esquire and The New York Times. For several years its craft breweries won it the title Beer City USA in a drinkers poll run by the brewer and writer Charlie Papazian.

As the eating and drinking scene has grown, so has tourism. Almost 14 million visitors came to the city and surrounding Buncombe County in 2023  about 154 people for each resident. According to the local Chamber of Commerce, leisure and tourism make up the second-largest business sector in Ashevilles economy, after health care and education.
When bird flu first struck dairy cattle a year ago, it seemed possible that it might affect a few isolated herds and disappear as quickly as it had appeared.

Instead, the virus has infected more than 900 herds and dozens of people, killing one, and the outbreak shows no signs of abating.

A human pandemic is not inevitable, even now, more than a dozen experts said in interviews. But a series of developments over the past few weeks indicates that the possibility is no longer remote.

Toothless guidelines, inadequate testing and long delays in releasing data  echoes of the missteps during the Covid-19 pandemic  have squandered opportunities for containing the outbreak, the experts said.
The word inauspicious has appeared in 41 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Dec. 21 in Hes the Only 3-Michelin-Starred Chef in Seoul. Dont Cross Him by Daisuke Wakabayashi:

In 2016, Mr. Anh opened his first restaurant in San Francisco called Mosu, a play on the Korean pronunciation of cosmos, a flower that grew in a field near his childhood home in South Korea. Mosu offered a tasting menu for $195, a record high for a new restaurant in the city. In a column for The San Francisco Chronicle, the restaurant critic Michael Bauer said he was shocked at the audacity of the pricing out of the gate considering that chef-owner Sung Anh doesnt have much name recognition. Despite the inauspicious start, Mosu was awarded one Michelin star, an impressive achievement for a new restaurant, and the reservation book at the 18-seat hideaway was consistently full. But Amy In, Mr. Anhs wife, said this was a challenging time.

Daily Word Challenge

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The statement and the mayors decision to forgo public events were highly unusual. Mr. Adams has twice taken time off after testing positive for Covid, but in those instances, he disclosed the nature of his illness. The mayor was once diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, but has frequently said that he has reversed the diagnosis through a plant-based lifestyle.

The mayors office said that if Mr. Adams was unable to carry out his duties, the first deputy mayor, Maria Torres-Springer, would step in as acting mayor.

Mr. Adams held his daily meeting with senior administration officials at 8 a.m. Monday. He was not expected to hold his weekly news conference with reporters on Tuesday.

Shortly after 6 p.m., Mr. Levy posted an update saying that he and others at City Hall had spoken to Mr. Adams on Monday and that hes doing well. The mayor was recently speaking with his doctor and has more tests scheduled for Tuesday and another doctor appointment later in the week, he said.

He appreciates the well wishes as he continues to rest and work remotely, Mr. Levy said.

Mr. Adams, a Democrat who is running for re-election, has kept a busy travel schedule over the last 10 days, attending President Trumps inauguration in Washington after a last-minute invite and visiting Mr. Trump in Florida days earlier. Mr. Adams was indicted in September on federal corruption charges, and Mr. Trump has said that he is considering giving him a pardon.
A Long Island state trooper hailed as a hero last fall was charged on Monday with staging a shooting that set off a manhunt for a nonexistent suspect, according to Nassau County prosecutors.

Thomas J. Mascia, 27, had told authorities that a gunman had shot him in the leg during a traffic stop, according to a criminal complaint  a report that shut down a major road and terrified the public, prosecutors said. Investigators later discovered that Mr. Mascia had actually shot himself, prosecutors said. He was charged with falsifying evidence and lying to law enforcement.

In the West Hempstead home that Mr. Mascia shared with his parents, officers discovered a Smith & Wesson semiautomatic rifle with illegal modifications, according to the criminal complaints. His parents, Dorothy R. Mascia, 55, and Thomas Mascia, 62, were charged with possession of a firearm, a felony, prosecutors said. The rifle was not connected to the charges against Mr. Mascia.

The senior Mr. Mascia, a former New York City police officer, is a felon who is not allowed to carry a gun, according to prosecutors and public records. Mr. Mascia  who was charged in 1992 for illegally buying and selling cocaine in a corruption scandal that led to sweeping police reforms  was fired in 1993 after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute the drugs.
In the video shot this month in the Aldi market, the coyote is hiding in the back of a refrigerated shelf, behind the food. After a police officer finally manages to pull the animal out by its tail, it leaps right back onto the shelf and disappears, once again in plain view but completely out of sight.

This is the way wild animals mostly live among us. They are right there, crouched under a bush, curled up beneath a toolshed, tucked next to the trunk of an evergreen. An ancient, one-eyed box turtle once turned up in my yard decades after I thought hed died. I spend a lot of time in my small yard  Ive written a whole book about my small yard  yet I had no idea that turtle was still there.

The creatures who have adapted to our ways are adept at remaining out of sight. They learn our patterns and modify their own accordingly. Thats why you see so many more dead animals on the side of the road after the clocks spring forward in March. A lost hour of sleep for us means the lost safety of sparsely traveled roads for them. Theyll learn to adjust the timing of their own travels, but soon enough the clocks will fall back. Inexplicably to them, our patterns will change again, and more animals will lose their lives as a result.

The coyote is a highly intelligent and adaptive species, able to live in a variety of habitats, adjusting its diet and denning habits. Nevertheless, it is likely that neither Nashvilles convention center coyote nor Chicagos supermarket coyote truly intended to find itself there. As Chris Anchor, a senior wildlife biologist with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, told CBS News Chicago, These animals are doing everything they can to stay away from us. How surprising is it, then, that a wild animal would duck into an open door at the unexpected sight of human beings?

As human-caused changes in habitat  development and redevelopment, pesticides and pollution, forest fires and flooding  become ever more widespread and ever more intense, such encounters will become more frequent as truly wild spaces become uninhabitable for wildlife. More raccoons will raid our garbage cans, and more bears will raid our kitchens. More groundhogs will den up under our tool sheds, and more wrens will nest in our mailboxes and our charcoal grills. More skunks and more opossums will waddle across our streets in the dark, more fox kits will wrestle on our lawns, and more flickers will pound out their love songs on our downspouts at dawn.
Last week, something potentially enormous happened for artificial intelligence: The Chinese company DeepSeek released an open-source, free-to-use reasoning model that is  by crude measures, at least  on par with the best American equivalents. In its announcement DeepSeek offered one cost estimate: Its new R1 model was built for one-thirtieth the cost of OpenAIs flagship product.

Presumably, in the weeks ahead, geek specialists will be chewing over the claims that R1 was so cheap to produce and that it performs roughly as well as the best-in-class models. But already R1 looks like an earthquake, generating a storm of debate over the weekend, rattling the whole stock market this morning and suggesting two truly seismic possibilities about the technological future on which so much of the American economy has recently been wagered.

The first possibility is that the much-ballyhooed American advantage on A.I. may be much smaller than has been widely thought. Just a few weeks ago, the venture capitalist, President Trump supporter and futurist Marc Andreessen  who spent the Biden years lamenting how far behind America had fallen on building big new things  was consoling himself that the country still had a massive lead on A.I. Last week he called R1 one of the most amazing and impressive breakthroughs Ive ever seen. The A.I. analyst Zvi Mowshowitz quickly called it the first serious challenge to OpenAIs o1.

(The New York Times has sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. OpenAI and Microsoft have denied the suits claims.)
In todays Washington, which seethes with partisan acrimony, Democrats and Republicans at least agree on this: Israel has a right to exist. This right has been affirmed by the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, and his Democratic antagonist, the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries; by the Biden administrations secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and his Republican successor, Marco Rubio; by Donald Trumps new secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, and by the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer. In 2023, the House affirmed Israels right to exist by a vote of 412-1.

This is not the way Washington politicians generally talk about other countries. They usually start with the rights of individuals, and then ask how well a given state represents the people under its control. If Americas leaders prioritized the lives of all those who live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, it would become clear that asking if Israel has a right to exist is the wrong question. The better question is: Does Israel, as a Jewish state, adequately protect the rights of all the individuals under its dominion?

The answer is no.

Consider this scenario: If Scotland legally seceded, or Britons abolished the monarchy, the United Kingdom would no longer be united nor a kingdom. Britain as we know it would cease to exist. A different state would replace it. Mr. Rubio, Mr. Schumer and their colleagues would accept this transformation as legitimate because they believe that states should be based on the consent of the governed.

Americas leaders make this point most emphatically when discussing Americas foes. They often call for replacing oppressive regimes with states that better meet liberal democratic norms. In 2017, John Bolton, who later became a national security adviser in the first Trump administration, argued that the declared policy of the United States should be the overthrow of the mullahs regime in Tehran. In 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the Peoples Republic of China a Marxist-Leninist regime with a bankrupt totalitarian ideology.These U.S. officials were urging these countries not just to replace one particular leader but to change their political system  thus, in essence, reconstituting the state. In the case of the Peoples Republic of China, which signifies Communist Party dominance, or the Islamic Republic of Iran, which denotes clerical rule, this would most likely require changing the countrys official name.
To the Editor:

Re Pete Hegseth Is Sworn In as Defense Secretary After Being Confirmed by Slim Margin (nytimes.com, Jan. 25):

To those Senate Republicans who voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense (and Vice President JD Vance, who broke a 50-50 tie): Unfortunately, you are far from the first members of the U.S. Senate to disgrace themselves through cowardice. But you have done so in historic terms.

By confirming such a wildly unfit nominee and ignorant hatchet man as Mr. Hegseth, you, who trumpet belief in Americas greatness, have actually just severely weakened the United States and greatly endangered your constituents.

Tom Wolfson

Washington

To the Editor:

Senator Mitch McConnells vapid vote against the confirmation of Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense is meaningless. This senator, as well as most of his Republican colleagues, had two significant chances to put an end to such unfolding calamities through impeachment votes against Donald Trump. They chose not to do so.

Now they, as well as our country and the wider world, must live with the consequences. Senator McConnells leadership was absent when it really mattered. He will long be remembered not for this one vote to withhold confirmation but for twice voting not to convict the president of the United States.
For six years, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida could count on Republican state lawmakers bending to his will, giving swift approval to his ambitious legislative priorities with hardly a whiff of protest.

Those days appear to be over.

On Monday, in a remarkable sequence of events at the State Capitol in Tallahassee, Republican legislative leaders asserted their independence. They rejected Mr. DeSantiss call for a special session on illegal immigration, called one of their own instead and, in an exceedingly rare move, overrode one of his budget vetoes.

They even aimed some public disdain his way.

I believe special sessions should be used sparingly and should not be stunts used to generate headlines, Daniel Perez, the new House speaker, said from the chamber floor.

Mr. Perez and Ben Albritton, the new Senate president, introduced their own immigration bill, characterizing it as a way to back President Trump on illegal immigration  much like Mr. DeSantis did when he made his own proposals.
As Arlynn Page walked me into her smoke-clogged living room in Altadena, she tried to answer the question people always ask after wildfires: Why would anyone risk living there?

Ive asked myself that question again and again in the six years since I moved into a house on an old mining claim in the fire-prone foothills outside Boulder, Colo. Its in what experts call the wildland-urban interface  basically, ground zero for wildfires. Im based in Phoenix these days, but still think of that house beneath Sugarloaf Mountain as home.

Ive covered wildfires across six Western states. When I meet people at evacuation centers or alongside their destroyed homes, they often assume that, as a New York Times reporter, Im from, well, New York. I have to tell them that fire zones are close to home for me, too.

We sometimes end up comparing notes about why we chose to make our homes in the hills where fire looms. How weve weighed the risks against the allure of nature and the more affordable housing stock. We talk about clearing out trees and bushes to harden our houses against fire, and whether it makes any difference in this era of hotter, deadlier megafires. We talk about planning evacuation routes, our soaring insurance premiums, what weve got in our go boxes.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived on Monday for his first full day leading the Pentagon, vowing to support President Trumps priorities of sealing the U.S. border with Mexico and promising that more executive orders affecting the military were coming.

The Pentagon last week rushed 1,600 active-duty Marines and Army soldiers to the southwestern border, joining 2,500 forces already there. Mr. Hegseth predicted that more would be on the way soon to help build barriers and support law enforcement.

Whatever is needed at the border will be provided, he told reporters after he stepped out of his car at the Pentagon. This is a shift. Its not the way business has been done in the past.

Mr. Hegseth said the new executive orders would include one reinstating thousands of troops who were kicked out for refusing Covid vaccines during the pandemic.
Thirty years ago, Congress considered a bill much like President Trumps recent executive order on birthright citizenship. It sought to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who were not legal residents. Such bills have been introduced from time to time, and they have never gone anywhere.

The Citizenship Reform Act of 1995 was notable mostly because it provoked a remarkable statement on the deeper meaning of birthright citizenship from one of the witnesses who testified against the bill, a lawyer named Walter Dellinger. A constitutional scholar then in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel, the elite unit of the Justice Department that advises the executive branch on the law, Mr. Dellinger first addressed a question he thought barely worth discussing.

My office grapples with many difficult and close issues of constitutional law, he said. The lawfulness of this bill is not among them. This legislation is unquestionably unconstitutional.

That statement anticipated one on Thursday from Judge John C. Coughenour of the Federal District Court in Seattle. At a hearing before issuing a temporary restraining order blocking Mr. Trumps order, Judge Coughenour said: Ive been on the bench for over four decades. I cant remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.
President Trump on Monday fired the three Democratic-selected members of an independent civil liberties watchdog agency, leaving it paralyzed as Mr. Trumps administration starts to put its stamp on the F.B.I. and intelligence community.

Last week, the day after Mr. Trumps inauguration, Trent Morse, the deputy director of presidential personnel, sent emails to the agency, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, ordering the three members  Sharon Bradford Franklin, Edward W. Felten and Travis LeBlanc  to submit their resignations by that deadline, saying Mr. Trump would terminate them if they did not.

But the deadline came and went. Having received no further word, the three remained in their positions on Friday, when the board released a long-in-the-works study of terrorism watchlists, which keep people off planes or subject them to extra screening at airports.

On Monday afternoon, however, Mr. Morse sent emails to the three members of the board informing them of their dismissals. The New York Times reviewed one of the emails, and Ms. Franklin and Mr. LeBlanc confirmed that all three had been fired.
In Hawaii, colleagues, friends and critics debate whether the spiritual movement Ms. Gabbard grew up in  the Science of Identity Foundation, a secretive offshoot of the Hare Krishna movement vehemently opposed to same-sex relationships and abortion, and deeply suspicious of Islam  was a motivation for her policy stances. In Washington, some colleagues say she was more influenced by a military deployment to Iraq during one of the most brutal periods of the insurgency. Others attribute her ideological arc to ambition.

No one disputes that Ms. Gabbard is an unorthodox choice for one of the most sensitive roles in government. Her nomination has alarmed national security officials of both parties, and Mr. Trump has privately told allies that hers is the cabinet confirmation he is most worried about.

Ms. Gabbards defenders consider her unconventional background and views to be an asset.

Shes not reflexively willing to go along with conventional thinking, said Bernard K. Hudson, a former C.I.A. chief of counterterrorism who informally advised Mr. Trump on national security during the campaign and the transition.

Other intelligence experts find her selection baffling.

Im all for disruption  Ive been a disrupter  but I dont know how you blow up what you dont understand, said Susan M. Gordon, who was the nations No. 2 intelligence official during Mr. Trumps first term until her resignation in 2019. At a time when the world is on fire, I dont know why you wouldnt want the best the world has to offer.
The election will be the first test of Democratic and Republican enthusiasm in the new Trump era, and it will unfold in the state where the new president won his narrowest margin of victory. With few marquee contests in 2025  and no other statewide races until November  Wisconsins court race stands out as potentially the biggest, highest-stakes election in the year after Mr. Trumps return to power.

And while the contest is formally nonpartisan, it has already been stripped of any veneer of nonpartisanship.

Democratic allies of the liberal candidate, Judge Susan Crawford of Dane County, say that electing her will preserve abortion rights in the state and lead to new congressional maps that will help Democrats flip two Republican-held House seats.

Republican supporters of the conservative candidate, Judge Brad Schimel of Waukesha County, a former Wisconsin attorney general, warn that maintaining the courts 4-to-3 liberal majority will bring about the end of a host of laws enacted a decade ago by former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican.

Were going to see a campaign where decorum is dead, said Brian Reisinger, a former aide to Wisconsin Republicans including Mr. Walker and Senator Ron Johnson. This is going to be a bare-knuckle fight in a state that has a history of bruising Supreme Court races. Its about to get turbocharged.
Approval of Mr. Lees long-held ambitions for a statewide school voucher program is perhaps the most tenuous of the three policy items. Mr. Lees office has highlighted support from several eastern Tennessee mayors, but some school boards in the state have voted to publicly oppose the plan.

Conservative activists have worked to fund voucher programs and elevate elected officials who support them. Republicans pushed through a pilot version for Tennessees largest counties in 2019, despite concerns about undermining public education. But a heavily funded push to spend millions of dollars on a statewide plan has so far failed to overcome objections from rural conservatives who are protective of their local public school districts.

After falling short last year, Mr. Lee signaled that he would push lawmakers to take up the issue again. His proposals prospects for passage this year have been boosted in part by Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly said he favored creation of a federal school choice program. Mr. Trump recently tapped Penny Schwinn, a former Tennessee state education commissioner who oversaw the initial stages of the state voucher program, to serve in the U.S. Department of Education.

In the days leading up to the special session, Republicans circulated glowing endorsements for the voucher plan, including one from the America First Policy Institute, a right-wing group deeply involved in drafting the Trump administrations policy agenda. It remains unclear, though, whether that support will be enough to pass the legislation.

President Trump being in favor of school choice has really helped us, Mr. Sexton said.

The proposal would initially allocate about $7,000 in scholarship money a year to each of 20,000 students, about half of whom would be students with disabilities or students from families far below the income threshold to qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches. Thousands more students would be added in the following years. It would also provide a one-time $2,000 bonus for public-school teachers who are teaching this school year.

Dana Goldstein and Patricia Mazzei contributed reporting.
New Zealand relaxed its visa requirements for remote workers on Monday, as the country looked to spur economic growth by courting digital nomads, the skilled professionals who can work from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection.

With the new policy, a New Zealand visitor visa, which allows foreigners to remain for up to nine months, now also permits them to work for overseas employers during that time, which had been forbidden. The visitor visa still does not allow people to work for New Zealand employers, so they wont be competing for Kiwi jobs, said Nicola Willis, the finance minister.

The visa will open the doors to a whole new category of visitors, she told reporters. The governments ambition is that new visa rules will put New Zealand boldly on the map as a welcoming haven for the worlds talent, she added.

The visa change follows a difficult economic period for New Zealand, whose economy sank into recession in the third quarter of 2024.
Dozens of world leaders, including Britains king and the president of Ukraine, joined a dwindling group of Nazi death camp survivors on Monday in southern Poland to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Red Armys liberation of Auschwitz, where more than 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered.

A day of solemn ceremony held near former gas chambers and crematories in the Polish town of Oswiecim, whose name was Germanized to Auschwitz during Hitlers 1939-1945 occupation of Poland, was shadowed throughout by a resurgence of nationalism in Germany and other European countries.

In a place where the technique of mass and industrial murder was introduced, I feel great sorrow and regret very much that in many European countries, including our country, people in uniforms similar to Nazis and proclaiming Nazi slogans march with impunity, Leon Weintraub, a 99-year-old Polish Auschwitz survivor, told a gathering of presidents, royalty and other dignitaries.

Speaking in a large tent erected at the entrance to Birkenau, an annex to the Nazis original extermination camp, Auschwitz I, he added: Let us take seriously what the enemies of democracy preach. They really want to put into practice what they preach, these slogans that they propagate, if they manage to come to power.
The Swedish authorities on Monday boarded a ship in connection with what they described as gross sabotage after an undersea communications cable in the Baltic Sea was damaged a day earlier. The ship was escorted to the coast of Sweden for an investigation, the authorities said.

We suspect that a serious act of sabotage was committed in the Swedish economic zone yesterday, Mats Ljungqvist, the Swedish prosecutor leading the investigation into the damage, said in a phone interview on Monday.

The authorities have not yet made public the nature or the extent of the damage to the communications cable, which runs between Sweden and Latvia.

The incident follows other suspected sabotage attempts on cables under the Baltic Sea, which has recently become a theater of potential hybrid warfare between NATO and Russia.
In August, a jury in Geneseo jolted the Harley-Davidson motorcycle company with a nearly $288 million damages award after a trial on claims that a defective Harley caused a crash that killed a woman and seriously injured her partner.

Jury says Harley-Davidson must pay $287M for crash that killed WNY woman, injured boyfriend A jury in Livingston County found Harley-Davidson responsible for an accident that killed Pamela SinClair and seriously injured Harold Morris, awarding Morris and SinClair's estate a total of $287 million in damages.

But the jurys award was recently cut sharply  by more than $209 million  by the State Supreme Court justice who presided over the trial.

Justice Craig J. Doran turned down a request by Harley lawyers to vacate the entire verdict, but in a decision obtained Thursday by The Buffalo News, he agreed with the motorcycle companys contention that the jury awards were excessive.

Trial evidence showed that Harley was aware of a defect that caused a June 2020 accident that killed Batavia area resident Pamela SinClair and injured her longtime partner, Howard Morris, Doran ruled.

Morris and the SinClair family are still owed a total of $79 million, the judge ruled. But until all appeals are exhausted in the case, which could take months or years, the plaintiffs wont receive a penny, their attorneys said.

Morris, 79, was driving a three-wheel Harley, and SinClair, 62, was his passenger when the vehicle veered off the road and crashed in Hamlin Township, Pa., about 35 miles southeast of Olean.

The evidence during the trial established that (Harley-Davidson) placed the product in the market with error codes, the defendant was aware of a defect involving the rear wheel speed sensor, which caused an unexpected change in vehicle direction, and knew about a traction control defect  but failed to pull the product from the market, Doran wrote.

But the judge agreed with Harley lawyers who called the jurys monetary awards  including $240 million in punitive damages against Harley  unreasonable and unfair under the law.

Jurors awarded $120 million each in punitive damages to Morris and the SinClair family. Doran cut that to $40 million for Morris and $24 million for the SinClair family.

Jurors awarded $36 million to Morris for pain, suffering and medical expenses. The judge cut that to $10 million.

And while jurors gave the SinClair family $12 million for pain, suffering and medical expenses, the judge cut that to $4.85 million.

Harleys corporate spokesman in Milwaukee and lawyer Mark A. Kircher, who headed Harleys legal team during the trial, did not respond Friday to email and phone messages left by The News.

The motorcycle company has filed a notice of appeal with the court.

All I am authorized to tell you is that Harley-Davidson respectfully disagrees with the verdict and is planning to appeal, Kircher told The News in August.

During the trial, Harley lawyers denied that defects in the vehicle caused the crash, raising questions about Morris driving abilities.

Morris is frustrated and very disappointed in the judges decision to cut the jurys financial awards in the case, according to his attorney, Paul J. Edelstein.

Howard is extremely frustrated with the laws of New York state. The judge applied the standards of state law, Edelstein said. Harley has filed a notice of appeal, so who knows how long all this will take. Hopefully, not years. The lawyers for Harley know that my client is an elderly man. Time is a weapon against my client in this case.

Potentially, Harley could reach a settlement with the plaintiffs, which would eliminate the need for further litigation, Edelstein added.

Daniel A. Thomas, attorney for the SinClair estate, said he understands why the judge applied the law as he did in cutting the jury awards.

But, theres also a part of me that says, The trial was a fair fight. The jury spoke, so why mess with their awards?  Thomas told The News.

Even after the judge cut the awards by more than $200 million, I still feel this is a very significant award that sends a strong message to Harley-Davidson, Thomas added.

In cases where a jury has hit a defendant with an extremely high monetary award, it is not unusual for a judge to lower the damage amount after re-examining the case.

One recent example came in September, when acting State Supreme Court Justice Mark J. Grisanti lowered a trial jurys $100 million award to the family of Richard Metcalf Jr., an inmate who died in 2012 in the Erie County Holding Center. After attorneys for the county and jail deputies argued the jury award was excessive, Grisanti cut it by 80%, to $20 million.

Started in Milwaukee in 1903, Harley-Davidson is one of the worlds most popular motorcycle brands, and the company fought hard during the trial to protect its reputation.

Morris is former president of the Harley Owners Group  better known as the HOGS club  in Batavia. He testified that he loved riding his Harleys for decades and drove them all over the United States, often traveling with SinClair. They both lived in the Town of Caledonia, 17 miles east of Batavia.

We knew what we were up against. People have so much faith and trust in this company that they get the Harley-Davidson logo tattooed onto their bodies, attorney Thomas said.

According to court papers, Morris and SinClair actually had two injury accidents on Harley three-wheelers. Both were injured in 2019 when one of their cycles back wheels suddenly braked, causing the vehicle to spin out of control and crash into a wooded area in Florida, according to court papers.

We were riding on a straight, clear highway when the bike suddenly veered to the left. We went off the road, the Harley flipped over and both of us were thrown off the bike, Morris told The News. Pam broke her hand and ankle.

Shortly after the Florida crash, Morris received a recall notice from Harley regarding the three wheelers traction control software system, attorneys for Morris and SinClairs estate said.

The recall came after Harley customers around the country complained of similar issues with their trikes software. Mr. Morris had the vehicle serviced and Harley assured him it was safe to operate. The second, fatal accident, occurred only months later, the plaintiffs attorneys said.

During the trial, Morris testified that he remembered nothing about the accident that killed SinClair in June 2020. He said he doesnt recall anything that happened to him until after 10 weeks of medical and rehabilitation treatment for his injuries.

I was in a rehab facility, and they told me there that Pam was dead, Morris told The News in August. I was shocked.

During the trial, Harleys legal team raised many questions about Morris skills as a driver of motorcycles. Kircher told jurors that Morris was an experienced rider of two-wheel motorcycles, but relatively new to riding three-wheelers when he had his two crashes.

Steering a three-wheeled Harley is much different than steering a two-wheeler, Kircher told the jury.

Rider error is the predominant cause of single vehicle motorcycle accidents, Kircher told the jury.

For over four years, Harley-Davidson has been claiming that both accidents were Harolds fault, which we knew not to be true, Edelstein said after the trial.

Jurors found Harley-Davidson responsible for SinClairs death and Morris injuries. Edelstein and Thomas said they are certain that the nearly $288 million damages award is among the largest ever given in a product liability case in Western New York.

One of the main reasons I bought the three-wheeler is that they were advertised as being a safer, more stable way to travel, Morris said after the jury award.

Thomas said his clients, the SinClair estate, includes a daughter and grandchild of Pamela SinClair.

The SinClair family and Morris have one bright spot as they await further developments in the case, which could take months or even years, Thomas said.

After the judge made his decision on the award, the judgment was entered on court on January 10, Thomas said. On that date, the awards to the plaintiffs started accruing just under $20,000 interest per day. Thats every day, including weekends and holidays, until this litigation is over.
The Rev. Francois Ponchaud, a French Catholic priest whose book Cambodia: Year Zero alerted the world to the atrocities being committed by the communist Khmer Rouge that would take the lives of nearly two million people, died on Jan. 17 in Lauris, France. He was 85.

His death was announced by the Paris Foreign Missions Society, of which Father Ponchaud was a member. The society said he died at its retirement facility. The cause was cancer, a friend, the historian Henri Locard, said.

In 1975, at the end of the Indochina war, only sketchy accounts of the Khmer Rouge horrors had reached the outside world, and they were widely dismissed by those in the West who wanted to put the conflicts in Vietnam and Cambodia behind them.

Father Ponchaud, a priest who had spent a decade in Cambodia and was fluent in the language, was expelled along with other foreigners when the Khmer Rouge took control of the country and sealed its borders.
Elon Musk told a gathering of the hard-right Alternative for Germany party this weekend that the country has too much of a focus on past guilt, an apparent effort to wipe away the long shadow of the Nazis that has influenced generations of Germans to quarantine extreme political parties from public life.

Its good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything Mr. Musk said in a short video that was broadcast to thousands of party members in the eastern city of Halle.

We dont want everything to be the same everywhere where its just one big sort of soup, Mr. Musk said. You know, we want to have something where its, you go to different countries and you experience a different culture and it is unique and special and good and  that the German government takes actions to protect its citizens and makes sure that it seeks the health and well-being of the German people.
When Donald J. Trump huddled with Republican senators at a closed-door meeting in the Capitol days before his inauguration, Senator Rick Scott of Florida rose and gushed to him about the exhilarating opportunity the party had to right-size the federal government by slashing it mercilessly, a long-held conservative goal.

Mr. Trump brusquely agreed but quickly steered the conversation in a different direction, according to two people who attended the meeting. What he was really excited to discuss was tariffs, and he launched into a lengthy discourse about his plans, pulling out a paper from his jacket pocket and laying out calculations of potential revenue the nation could bring in from taxing imports.

The exchange underscored the chasm between Mr. Trump and many members of his party who are setting to work to push his agenda through a closely divided Congress. Even as Republicans have coalesced around broad fiscal policies like cutting spending and extending the tax cuts Mr. Trump enacted in 2017, many do not share his enthusiasm for several ideas he has proposed, including implementing broad tariffs and lowering the corporate tax rate.

Those disagreements are at the heart of Republican leaders efforts to piece together legislation carrying the bulk of Mr. Trumps domestic policy agenda  a massive bill cutting taxes, slashing spending and slowing immigration that they plan to fast-track over the objections of Democrats. It will be a central topic of discussion this week as House Republicans convene in Miami for a retreat entitled Delivering the America First Agenda.
A standoff between Ukraines defense minister and the official in charge of procuring weapons threatened to escalate on Monday, stirring dissent in the government at a critical time as it seeks to persuade President Trump to maintain American support in its war with Russia.

The dispute erupted three days ago when the minister, Rustem Umerov, said he would not renew the contract of the official, Maryna Bezrukova, citing unsatisfactory results. But on Monday, Ms. Bezrukova said she would remain in her position, pointing out that her contract had been renewed by her agencys supervisory board and that Mr. Umerov had no right to override that decision.

The agency was established to ensure transparency and efficiency in acquiring arms. Activists and some lawmakers, including a prominent one in President Volodymyr Zelenskys party, denounced Mr. Umerovs move as an abuse of power undermining anticorruption efforts.

The ministers action is a serious offense against our legislation and corporate governance, Ms. Bezrukova said in an interview over the weekend, calling it an attack on the agencys efforts to cut out questionable intermediaries Ukraine has sometimes relied on to buy weapons during the war.
Israeli forces fired toward residents of southern Lebanon for a second consecutive day on Monday as people pressed on with attempts to return to their homes along the border, a day after at least two dozen people were killed and scores injured in Israeli attacks, Lebanese officials said.

The Israeli fire on Sunday was the deadliest eruption of violence in Lebanon since the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia, ended with a truce in November. In the renewed violence on Monday, at least two people were killed and 17 others injured, according to Lebanons health ministry.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it had fired warning shots in order to eliminate threats, without providing further details about the nature of those threats.

Wire agency photos showed Israeli forces gathered behind makeshift roadblocks, with flattened southern Lebanese villages visible on the rolling hillsides behind them. Some detained men stood crouched alongside a dirt road, blindfolded and with their hands bound as Israeli soldiers stood watch.

The images showed Hezbollah flags on full display and crowds of men and women, in addition to the U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese soldiers attempting to protect them.

Television screens, however, have been flooded with the images of the dead.
Mercury has agreed to provide PR, strategic communications counsel and government relations advice to Temp-3000, Ukraines leading producer of personal body armor.

Partner Jake Dilemani, who has close ties with New York Democrats, will spearhead Temp-3000s outreach to the US media and federal officials.

Mercury, which is part of Omnicom, also will advise Temp-3000 on international market opportunities, and the business and trade environments.

Founded in 1989, Temp-3000 makes ballistic helmets, bulletproof vests, tactical gear, and bomb disposal suits.

Mercurys contract runs through the end of the year, and is automatically renewable on a month-by-month basis, unless terminated in writing by either party. The monthly fee is $5K.

The firm also is working for the Stand with Ukraine advocacy group to build relationships with Team Trump. That pact is worth $100K per-month.
Eight students from Offaly were among 593 students who were awarded prestigious Entrance Exhibition Awards for the 2024/5 academic year from Trinity College Dublin.

The awards go to students accepted into the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree programme who achieved the highest points among Trinity entrants from their secondary school, above a minimum of 500 CAO points (or equivalent).

The Offaly students are Homesh Rajesh St. Mary's Secondary School; Aisling Maire Hughes Sacred Heart Secondary School; Aisling Cotter Killina Presentation Secondary School; Cara Finn Ard Scoil Chiarain Naofa; Corey Eady Oaklands Community College pictured above; Fatima Karimi Tullamore College pictured above; Hannah Kenny Banagher College; Daniel Walshe St. Brendan's Community School

Many former awardees have gone on to make a significant contribution to the economic, cultural, and political life of Ireland and beyond. Past Exhibitioners include former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

The students come from 452 different schools and from 30 counties on the island of Ireland as well as 38 countries overseas.

The awards were delivered at three ceremonies at Trinity's Old Dining Hall, starting on 21 January 2025, to which the students and their school principals were invited.

Trinitys Provost, Dr Linda Doyle, said: I am delighted that the award winners have chosen Trinity College Dublin for their higher education. My own experience of going to university was absolutely transformative and I want nothing less for our students. I encourage them to avail of all that life in Trinity has to offer, from the top-class academic environment to the huge array of clubs and societies, all of which are situated in an outward-looking university with a strong international perspective.

I also want to acknowledge the huge role played by school principals and the wider school community in nurturing the talent of these students. This year, our Principals Forum, taking place alongside the Entrance Exhibition Awards, is focusing on the challenges and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence, which I hope they will find very useful.

Students who achieve the highest points among Trinity entrants from their secondary school with at least 500 points in the Leaving Certificate (or its equivalent EU/EEA second-level final examinations) are eligible for an Entrance Exhibition Award. This includes bonus points for Mathematics. When more than one student from a school get the same high points, all receive an award.

The Entrance Exhibition Awards were awarded to 372 students from Leinster (236 from Dublin), 84 from Munster, 51 from Connacht and 40 from Ulster.

Awards also went to 46 overseas students from the following countries:

Austria (1), Belgium (1), Bosnia-Herzegovina (1), Bulgaria (1), Costa Rica (1), Croatia (1), Cyprus (1), Czech Republic (6), Denmark (1), Finland (1), France (1), Germany (3), Greece (1), Hungary (1), Iceland (1), Italy (1), Latvia (1), Lithuania (1), Luxembourg (1), Malta (1), Moldova (1), Netherlands (1), Norway (1), Oman (1) Poland (1), Portugal (1), Romania (1), Singapore (1), Slovakia (1), Slovenia (1), Spain (1), Sweden (1), Switzerland (1), UAE (1), Taiwan (1), Ukraine (1), USA (1), UK (exc. NI)(2).

Awardees receive a certificate and a 150 book token.
Yoshitha Rajapaksa granted bail

Posted by Editor on January 27, 2025 - 10:47 am

Yoshitha Rajapaksa was released on bail by the Colombo Magistrates Court today (January 27).

He is the second son of former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa was granted bail by Additional Magistrate Manjula Ratnayake, with two sureties of Rs. 50 million each, when he was produced before the court. In addition to the bail, the Magistrate imposed a travel ban on Yoshitha Rajapaksa and ordered that the Immigration and Emigration Controller be notified accordingly.

Meanwhile, Rajapaksa was ordered to report to the Sri Lanka Police Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on the last Sunday of every month. He was also prohibited from attempting to influence any witnesses in the case.

While delivering the decision, the Additional Magistrate stated that the suspect should be released on bail in accordance with the provisions of the Bail Act, as the prosecution had failed to present sufficient and satisfactory evidence to justify further remand.

Rajapaksa was arrested on January 25, 2025, near the Beliatta entrance of the Southern Expressway by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The arrest followed a directive from the Attorney General on January 23, 2025, which stated that sufficient evidence existed to name Yoshitha Rajapaksa as a suspect in a case involving the purchase of land worth Rs. 34 million in Sirimal Pedesa, Ratmalana.

The main suspect in the case is Daisy Forrest Wickremesinghe, commonly known as Daisy Achchi, who is Yoshitha Rajapaksas grandmother.

Rajapaksa was ordered to remain in remand custody until today (January 27) by Additional Magistrate Pavithra Sanjeevani after being produced before the court on January 25, 2025.

This followed the recording of his statement by the CID.

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Will the world ever be free of the menace of nuclear annihilation?

There was a promising start along these lines during the late twentieth century, when-- pressed by a popular upsurge against nuclear weapons-- the nations of the world adopted a succession of nuclear arms control and disarmament agreements. Starting with the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, these agreements helped curb the nuclear arms race and prevent nuclear war.

But the tide gradually turned during the final years of the twentieth century and the first decades of the twenty-first. As international conflict heightened and the nuclear disarmament movement waned, additional nations became nuclear powers, the U.S. and Russian governments abandoned most of their nuclear disarmament agreements, and all nine nuclear powers (the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea) revived the nuclear arms race. Some of their leaders-- Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un, and Vladimir Putin-- even issued public threats of nuclear war. Recently, the hands of the famous "Doomsday Clock" of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists were moved forward to 90 seconds to midnight-- the most dangerous setting in its history.

Deeply disturbed by the slide toward disaster, the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), comprised of hundreds of organizations, teamed up with the governments of many of the world's non-nuclear nations to foster a series of UN conferences focused on the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear war. Eventually, a UN conference drawing representatives from some 130 governments and dozens of civil society organizations met in March 2017 and began negotiations for a treaty outlawing nuclear weapons. In July, the delegates adopted a Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) by a vote of 122 in favor, 1 opposed, and 1 abstention. The treaty banned the use, threatened use, development, manufacture, acquisition, possession, stockpiling, stationing, and installation of nuclear weapons.

After its ratification by the requisite 50 nations, this landmark agreement went into force on January 22, 2021.

A serious problem remained, however, for the nine nuclear weapons nations were determined to sabotage the TPNW. All of them boycotted the treaty negotiations, as did many of their allies. On the first day of treaty negotiations, Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the UN, hosted a press conference outside the negotiations room that sharply criticized pursuit of a treaty. As the treaty neared the necessary ratifications for implementation, the Trump administration urged nations to rescind their ratifications. Meanwhile, at international gatherings, the governments of China, France, Russia, Britain, and the United States issued joint statements disparaging the TPNW.

Most tellingly, none of the nuclear powers signed or ratified the treaty. This hardline rejectionist stance meant that, whatever the non-nuclear nations did, the nuclear powers would continue their nuclear buildups as they prepared for nuclear war.

Even so, public agitation for the TPNW was far from dead. Although the campaign to ban nuclear weapons didn't blossom into an enormous mass movement comparable to that of the 1980s, it had sufficient strength to press the issue. ICAN, which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its treaty leadership, launched a Cities Appeal that led hundreds of cities, local, and regional bodies all over the world to speak out in support of the TPNW. In addition to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they included Berlin, Paris, Sidney, Oslo, Geneva, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and New York.

In 2024, ICAN's campaign continued to advance. In Switzerland, it launched an alliance of organizations to establish a popular vote on joining the TPNW. Gathering momentum, its Cities Appeal reached over 100 cities each in Spain and Italy (including Rome). Campaigners from around the world engaged in a week of action, sponsoring rallies, signature drives, teach-ins, social media collaborations, webinars, protests at banks, and media campaigns. ICAN published a report on the $91.4 billion in annual nuclear weapons spending by the nuclear powers, generating news coverage in some of the major communications media, including ABC, NBC, Washington Post, NPR, The Guardian, The Times, Radio France, Le Figaro, and BFM TV. Addressing the opening of the UN General Assembly, Brazilian President Luis Ina'cio da Silva cited ICAN's figures.

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This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

Honestly, when I first became a book editor an eon ago, if you had told me that the pen and the typewriter would go the way of the dinosaurs and that, almost 50 years later, I would be sitting at a computer able to dispatch (yes, as in TomDispatch) things I had written or edited almost instantaneously more or less everywhere on Earth, I would have said you were delusional.

And if, back then, when I was at a pump filling my car with gas, you had assured me that someday -- a day I haven't personally quite made it to (as, in New York City, I use public transportation) -- the gas pump would be a thing of the past and cars would run better and more cheaply on electricity, I would have thought you just as crazy.

Finally, if you had told me, that the gas I was putting in my car then, when burned, would actually help heat this planet to -- yes! -- what would, in some ever less distant future, become unbearable, I would have just shaken my head and paid you no further attention.

Of course, if you had also told me that, almost 50 years later in the science fiction novel you were then writing, Americans, knowing that the coal, oil, and natural gas industries were all too literally destroying this planet, would nonetheless elect as president a man wildly intent on producing yet more oil and natural gas, I would have thought you were creating the worst futuristic novel imaginable.

And yet here we are in the country that now produces more oil and exports more natural gas than any other on this planet of ours, with a president, who, with six bankruptcies to his name, is now set to potentially bankrupt the United States and the planet. (Honestly, you couldn't make this stuff up, could you?) With that in mind, let TomDispatch regular Alfred McCoy, author of a classic book on an imperial planet, To Govern the Globe: World Orders and Catastrophic Change, introduce you to a world that, at least when it comes to cars and trucks, might be heading in quite a different direction, even if that direction could produce what he calls a "carmageddon" for the U.S. auto industry. Tom

Detroit's Death Spiral?

How Trump's Climate Policy Could Kill the U.S. Auto Industry

By Alfred McCoy

It came upon a midnight clear, a vision both complete and quite specific -- not from any of those "angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold," as in the Christmas carol, but from a long line of trucks on the Indiana Toll Road.

On that cold winter's night about five years ago, the 18-wheelers were playing their usual game to stay awake, passing each other endlessly and slowing me down to 60 miles an hour when I wanted to do 70 or, I'll admit it, 75. When I pulled into a rest stop to gas up, about 50 of those big rigs were parked there. Their drivers were taking the federal government's mandatory 11- or 12-hour rest breaks.

A quick bit of mental arithmetic told me that 50 big rigs, each costing $200,000 new, meant that $10 million in working capital was snoozing profitlessly by the side of that road. Back on the highway in a radio-dead zone, my mind wandered as I wondered just how many trillions of dollars in capital were tied up when America's three million big rigs spent half their working days functionally asleep. Surely, I thought, there must be a better way to run the world's biggest consumer economy.

As I hit the Chicago Skyway with its rough pavement and rusting guard rails, a vision of America's automotive future came to me in a flash, complete in every detail. One day in the not-too-distant future, the left lane of every Interstate highway across America would be filled with platoons of a dozen or so 18-wheelers, all electric, all driverless, going 70 miles per hour only 10 feet apart to draft in the slipstream and cut their energy consumption by 30%. In the right lanes, electric passenger vehicles would be driving, hands-free, until they reached their exit ramps. To keep the navigation signal constant, the highway reflectors would have become wireless transmitters, linked by fiber-optic cables to ensure safety.

Then, as I merged into that crazy-fast nighttime traffic on Chicago's Kennedy Expressway, I came up with what I thought was my really big idea. Outside every major city, those all-electric big rigs would pull into an automated depot to exchange their standard-sized batteries, allowing a full charge in five minutes. There, human truckers, probably more of them than ever before, would take over, navigating crowded city streets and tight loading docks with hard-won skills that no robot could ever replicate.

When I got home to Madison, Wisconsin, late that night, I went online to test my vision with some quick numbers. In 2020, the costs for a big rig's driver, fuel, and engine maintenance were as much as $2.20 a mile, so a typical thousand-mile run from Port Newark on the East Coast to Chicago could cost $2,200. By contrast, a driverless electric semi-slipstreaming in a peloton would make the same trip for just $70 -- with the cost of drivers at near-zero, energy outlays down to five cents per mile, and maintenance reduced to tire replacement -- not to mention the incalculable gains from doubling each rig's driving time to 24/7.

Vision Becomes Reality

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Toronto, Ontario - August 12, 2024 - In the fast-paced world of mobile app development, businesses and developers are constantly seeking innovative solutions that can help them stay ahead of the competition. Enter Flutter - a revolutionary framework by Google that has rapidly become a game-changer in the app development landscape. Deligence Technologies Inc, a premier provider of Flutter services, is leading the charge in helping businesses harness the power 
A large fire destroyed a 12,000-square-foot single-family home in east Clark County early Sunday morning, fire officials said.

Just after 4:37 a.m., firefighters from East County Fire and Rescue were called out to a construction site on Northeast Livingston Mountain Circle.

The first crews found a fully involved fire at the home, still under construction. Wind from the east caused problems, and one nearby house was threatened as the fire burned vegetation around the two-story home being built.

Spot fires popped up 1,500 feet away from the burning house, putting multiple other nearby homes at risk, fire officials said. Residents were told to be prepared to evacuate, but ultimately the fire was contained with no evacuations required.

The incident commander requested additional resources. In all, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Camas Washougal Fire Department, Vancouver Fire Department, and Clark County Fire District 3 joined East County Fire and Rescue in the effort.

Water supply was a challenge with water tenders shuttling water from the closest fire hydrant which was 6.3 miles away, the fire district said in a news release.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Clark County Fire Marshals Office.
Police responded to a burglary call at 5 a.m. Monday morning and discovered a possibly armed suspect inside a business in Southeast Portland, officials said.

The Police Bureaus Special Emergency Reaction Team and Crisis Negotiation Team soon arrived at the scene in the 2400 block of Southeast 10th Avenue to try to bring the suspect into custody safely, officials said. Police closed surrounding streets in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood and asked people in the area to remain inside.

Police said officers entered the building at about 7:30 a.m. and took the suspect into custody without incident.

No additional details are available at this time.

Note: This post has been updated.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive
After a half-century of public silence, a freelance photographer from Vietnam has asserted he took one of the most renowned and impactful photos of the 20th century  the image of a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack in South Vietnam that has long been credited to a staff photographer from The Associated Press.

Nguyen Thanh Nghe claimed authorship of the Pulitzer Prize-winning napalm girl photograph in the new documentary The Stringer and on the sidelines of its premiere Saturday night at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

The AP conducted its own investigation and said it has no reason to conclude that no one other than the long-credited photographer, Nick Ut, made the picture. The news agency said it was surprised and disappointed that filmmakers portrayed it as having reviewed the films materials and being dismissive. The AP said it saw the film for the first time at Sundance.

Nghe joined the filmmakers for the post-screening Q&A where he said, through a translator, I took the photo. The audience cheered enthusiastically. He did not say why he waited so long to make the claim.

The AP said it would review the material but wants to speak to contributors who signed nondisclosure materials for the filmmakers, including Nghe. We cannot state more clearly that The Associated Press is only interested in the facts and a truthful history of this iconic photo.

Investigating an image captured in the fog of war

Nghe says he took the iconic photo of Kim Phuc on June 8, 1972. Nghe said he went to the town of Trang Bang that day as a driver for an NBC news crew and captured the image of Phuc running down the street, crying and naked with arms outstretched. He said he sold his image to the AP for $20, and they gave him a print of the photo that his wife later destroyed.

Representatives for the AP, who saw the film for the first time Saturday at the premiere, are contesting the films implication that the company reviewed their findings and dismissed them.

As recently as December, we reiterated our request to see the filmmakers full materials and they did not respond, nor did they include APs full response in the film, Lauren Easton, an AP spokesperson, said Sunday. We were surprised and disappointed that the film portrayed AP as having reviewed the films materials and being dismissive of the allegations, which is completely false.

Ut retired from the AP in 2017.

The films investigation was led by husband-and-wife team of Gary Knight, founder of the VII Foundation, and producer Fiona Turner. Bao Nguyen, a Vietnamese American filmmaker, directed.

Im not a journalist by any stretch of the imagination, Nguyen said. I had a healthy skepticism, as I think anyone would, going against a 53-year-old truth. ... But as a storyteller and a filmmaker, I thought it was my both or my responsibility and my privilege to be able to uplift the story of individuals like Nghe.

AP investigated independently

Before having seen the film, the AP conducted its own investigation over six months and concluded it had no reason to believe anyone other than Ut took the photo. Now, the AP is calling on the filmmakers to lift the nondisclosure agreements they placed on their subjects to allow the company to investigate more fully.

AP stands ready to review any and all evidence and new information about this photo, Easton said.

Knight and Turner met with AP in London last June about the allegations. According to the AP, filmmakers requested the news organization sign a nondisclosure agreement before they provided their evidence. AP would not. The film suggests that evidence was presented to the AP, which the AP says is not true.

A primary source in the film is Carl Robinson, then an AP photo editor in Saigon, who was overruled in his judgment not to use the picture by Horst Faas, APs Saigon chief of photos. Robinson says in the film that Faas instructed him to make it staff and credit Ut for the photo. Both Faas and Yuichi Jackson Ishizaki, who developed the film, are dead. Robinson, 81, was dismissed by the AP in 1978.

On Saturday, a Sundance Institute moderator asked why he wanted to come forward with the allegations now. I didnt want to die before this story came out, Robinson told the audience after the screening. I wanted to find (Nghe) and say sorry.

A variety of witnesses interviewed by AP, including renowned correspondents such as Fox Butterfield and Peter Arnett and the photos subject herself, Phuc, say they are certain Ut took the photo.

The documentary included forensics of the scene

Robinson was one such person the AP attempted to speak to during their investigation but were told we could only do so under conditions that they said would have prevented them from taking swift action if necessary.

The films investigation took over two years. The journalists enlisted a French forensics team, INDEX, to help determine the likelihood of whether Ut had been in a position to take the photo. The forensics team concluded that it was highly unlikely that Ut could have done it.

Uts attorney, James Hornstein, had this to say Sunday after the premiere: In due course, we will proceed to right this wrong in a courtroom where Nick Uts reputation will be vindicated.

Knight referenced APs investigation Saturday, telling the audience that the companys statement is available online. They said theyre open always to examining the truth. And I think it was a very reasonable thing to say, Knight said. Our story is here and its here for you all to see.

He added: Things happen in the field in the heat of the moment. ... Were all stronger if we examine ourselves, ask tough questions, and were open and honest about what goes on in our profession. Now more than ever, I would argue.

The Stringer does not yet have distribution plans.

___

For more coverage of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/sundance-film-festival
ANCHORAGE, Alaska  North Americas tallest peak is a focal point of Jeff Kings life.

The four-time winner of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race operates his kennel and mushing tourism business just 8 miles from Denali National Park and Preserves entrance, and the 20,310-foot mountain looms large as he trains his dogs on nearby trails.

King and many others who live in the mountains shadow say most Alaskans will never stop calling the peak Denali, its Alaska Native name, despite President Donald Trumps executive order that the name revert to Mount McKinley -- an identifier inspired by President William McKinley, who was from Ohio and never set foot in Alaska.

For many who live near Denali, Trumps suggestion was peculiar.

I dont know a single person that likes the idea, and were pretty vocal about it, King said. Denali respects the Indigenous people that have been here and around Denali for tens of thousands of years.

The mountain was named after McKinley when a prospector walked out of the Alaska wilderness in 1896, and the first news he heard was that the Republican had been nominated for president.

The name was quickly challenged, but maps had already been circulated with the mountains name in place.

At the time, there was no recognition of the name Denali, or the high one, bestowed on the mountain in interior Alaska by Athabascan tribal members, who have lived in the region for centuries.

The McKinley name stuck until 2015, when President Barack Obamas administration changed it to Denali as a symbolic gesture to Alaska Natives on the eve of his Alaska visit to highlight climate change.

Trump said he issued the order to restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs. President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent.

The area lies solely in the United States, and Trump, as president, has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country.

In Ohio, Trumps move drew praise.

I was really excited to see President Trump do that executive order, former U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, told The Associated Press by telephone Thursday. McKinley was a great president, Gibbs said. It was the appropriate thing to do.

Thats not how Alaskans see it.

Trump injected a jarring note into Alaska affairs, Steve Haycox, professor emeritus of history at the University of Alaska Anchorage, wrote in the Anchorage Daily News.

Historical analysis confirms that William McKinley is the wrong public figure for Alaskans to commemorate, he said.

McKinley served as president from 1897 until he was assassinated in 1901. He was an imperial colonialist who oversaw the expansion of the American empire with the occupation of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines and Hawaii, pushed by business interests and Christian missionaries wanting to convert Indigenous peoples, Haycox said.

Trumps push to rescind the name Denali for the colonialist and white elitist McKinley is insulting to all Alaskans, especially to Alaskas Native people, and should be soundly rejected, Haycox said.

John Wayne Howe, who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. House last year representing the Alaskan Independence Party, which holds that Alaskans should be allowed to vote on becoming an independent nation, said he is tired of people changing the names of stuff, period.

He also is not in favor of naming anything after people because the persons that we consider absolutely perfect change over time, and it just leads to confusion.

Howe said he prefers Denali because he knows McKinleys history and its the name most preferred by Alaskans.

This past week, two resolutions were introduced in the Alaska Legislature to keep the name Denali.

Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Trump ally who praised another order by the president aimed at spurring resource development in the state, said he had not had a chance to speak with Trump about the issue but hoped to have a conversation next month in Washington about what Denali means to Alaskans, Americans and our Native folks.

But Sarah Palin, a former Republican governor who is also a Trump supporter, said the McKinley name should never have been removed.

Palins Secret Service code name was Denali in 2008 when she was GOP presidential nominee John McCains running mate the year they lost to Obama and Joe Biden.

But in an interview with Al Arabiya News this past week, Palin said she didnt see why the mountains name needed to be changed to begin with.

Its always been Mount McKinley, said Palin, who didnt respond to a message from The Associated Press. Nobody was begging for a change in name in that peak. Just put it back the way it was, more common sense.

Alaskas U.S. senators, Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, have supported the name Denali. U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, a first-term Republican, sidestepped the debate.

Im focused on job creation, opportunities in Alaska, Begich told Politico. And what we call a mountain in Alaska is of little concern to me.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center, the statewide Indigenous cultural center in Anchorage, supports preserving Indigenous place names.

Restoring and honoring them acknowledges the deep, millennia-old connection Indigenous peoples maintain with these lands and is a step toward respect and reconciliation, the centers president, Emily Edenshaw, said in a statement.

The quirky Alaska community of Talkeetna, about 140 miles (225.3 kilometers) south of the park and where a cat was once mayor, is the jumping off point for climbers before making the ascent of the peak. The historic community long rumored to be the inspiration for the 1990s television series Northern Exposure is also a popular tourist stop.

Joe McAneney of Talkeetna worked as a summer raft-guide for two years before moving to Alaska full time in 2012. Hes now a pilot for an air taxi company, ferrying climbers and tourists to the mountain in a small airplane outfitted with skis to land at base camp, located on Kahiltna Glacier at 7,200 feet (2,194.6 meters) above sea level.

He knows once tourist season comes around, he will have to answer their questions of what he thinks about Trump changing the name. He knows what his answer will be.

Its always been Denali, and it always will be, he said.

The executive order can instigate the name change, but compliance is another issue.

The only people that are going to adhere to that are probably the people that would have been still calling it McKinley anyway, McAneney said

There is a long-standing Alaska trait of ignoring what the rest of the world thinks, and its usually expressed like this: We dont care how they do it Outside. Outside, which is always capitalized, refers to every place that is not Alaska.

I think unofficially and officially in Alaska, itll always be Denali, McAneney said. I dont think the president can change that.

For King, the decorated Iditarod musher and fan favorite, Trumps decision had a whiff of arrogance.

Im surprised he doesnt want to name it Trump Mountain, he said.

___

Associated Press writer Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, contributed to this report.
OSWIECIM, Poland  Auschwitz survivors warned Monday of the rising antisemitism and hatred which they are witnessing in the modern world as they gathered with world leaders and European royalty on the 80th anniversary of the death camps liberation.

In all 56 survivors gathered under a huge tent set up over a gate and railway tracks at the site of the former camp. Many participants expect it to be the last major observance with any notable number of survivors given how exhausting it is for a group whose youngest members are in their late 80s. The numbers have already dwindled considerably from the 200 survivors who attended the 75th anniversary event.

Nazi German forces murdered some 1.1 million people at the site in southern Poland, which was under German occupation during World War II. Most of the victims were Jews killed on an industrial scale in gas chambers, but also Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, gay people and others who were targeted for elimination in the Nazi racial ideology.

Marian Turski, a 98-year-old Polish Jewish survivor, called on those gathered to turn their thoughts to the victims of the Holocaust, recalling that the number of those murdered was always far greater than the far smaller group of survivors.

We have always been a tiny minority, Turski said. And now only a handful remain.

In all, the Nazi regime murdered 6 million Jews from all over Europe, annihilating two-thirds of Europes Jews and one-third of all Jews worldwide. In 2005, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Leon Weintraub, a 99-year-old survivor from Lodz, Poland, decried the rising hatred which he blames on increasingly vocal movements of the radical and anti-democratic right. He said he also sees that in Sweden, where he settled after fleeing postwar antisemitism in Poland.

This ideology, an attitude that preaches hostility and hatred towards others, defines racism, antisemitism and homophobia as virtues, Weintraub, a doctor, said.

Germany was represented by both Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the first time that the countrys two highest leaders attended. It was a sign of Germanys continued commitment to take responsibility for the nations crimes, even with a far-right party gaining increased support in recent years.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who leads a nation defending itself against Russias brutal invasion, was among those in attendance, along with Polands President Andrzej Duda, French President Emmanuel Macron, Britains King Charles III and other royalty.

Ukrainians, like Russians, made up the Red Army forces that liberated the camp.

The evil that seeks to destroy the lives of entire nations still remains in the world, Zelenskyy, himself of Jewish descent, wrote on his Telegram page a day earlier.

Russian representatives were honored guests at the past observances in recognition of the Red Army liberation of the camp on Jan. 27, 1945. But they have not been welcome since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Russian leadership expressed anger over its exclusion. We will always remember that it was the Soviet soldier who crushed this dreadful, total evil and won the victory, the greatness of which will forever remain in world history, President Vladimir Putin said in a message to participants.

Ronald Lauder, head of the World Jewish Congress, called on the leaders gathered to oppose antisemitism, saying it was the worlds silence that led to Auschwitz.

When the Red Army entered these gates, the world finally saw where the step-by-step progression of antisemitism leads. It leads right here. The gas chambers. The piles of bodies. All the horrors within these gates, Lauder said.

He also said that while Adolf Hitlers first targets were Jews, by the time World War II was over, more than 60 million human beings were dead and this continent lay in ruins.

Lauder, 80, recalled how he has been attending the anniversary observances for 50 years, but expected this years event to be the last one where he will speak. But I leave you today with the understanding that I did my best, I did my upmost to be worthy of the memory of all those who were lost here, he said.

Another survivor who spoke was 86-year-old Tova Friedman, who was brought to the camp aged 5 with her mother and was 6 when she was among the 7,000 people liberated. She recalled arriving after a long ride in a dark cattle car. She said she was hot, hungry, thirsty and very terrified and still remembers the cries of desperate women around her. When she arrived at Auschwitz the sky was obscured by dark smoke and stench from the burning bodies.

After the war Friedman settled in the United States where she became a therapist and raised a family. She fears that rising antisemitism is also destroying the safe haven that the United States represented for Jews in the postwar era.

The world has become toxic, she told The Associated Press a day before the observances. I realize that were in a crisis again, that there is so much hatred around, so much distrust, that if we dont stop, it may get worse and worse. There may be another terrible destruction.

-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.
Oregons residential electricity rates have gone up nearly 50% in the Portland area in just the past four years. Those increases have primarily been driven by the rising costs to buy power from the open energy market. But theres growing concern that the rapid expansion of power-hungry data centers could significantly drive up residential power bills in the coming years.

Already, data centers consume more than 10% of all Oregons electricity. Power planners expect tech companies power use will double by the end of the decade, or perhaps quadruple.

Industry insiders say the high end of the forecast is most likely, meaning that by 2030 Northwest data centers could consume nearly as much electricity as all the homes in Oregon and Washington use today.

Mike Rogoway, who reports on data centers for The Oregonian/OregonLive, talked on the Beat Check podcast about a new proposal state lawmakers are crafting for the new legislative session that would give Oregon regulators authority to insulate residential customers from the costs associated with supplying data centers.

READ MORE:

Oregon lawmakers craft bill to shield consumers from the cost of powering data centers

Oregons data centers want a lot more electricity. Whos going to pay? It could be you

Amazon ramps up clean power for Oregon data centers. Does that mean less for everyone else?
Oregons government ethics watchdog on Friday dinged a state representative for failing to follow a law he voted for that requires government officials to disclose some sources of business income.

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted unanimously to move ahead with an investigation into Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner  a procedural move, as there isnt much to investigate. Smith, who didnt attend the commissions meeting and didnt immediately respond to an inquiry from the Capital Chronicle, acknowledged that he erred in not initially listing Harney County as a client on the economic interest statement he filed last year. He later amended the report.

Commissioners said they expected the investigation would end with a letter of education, or a formal note from the commission explaining the law and how to comply with it in the future.

I would hold Rep. Smith to a little higher standard than some of the other folks we hear from, since  without going back and looking at the original bill  Im assuming he voted on the bill that made this change, commissioner Jonathan Thompson said.

Oregons public officials, including lawmakers, have long had to disclose their major sources of household income on annual economic interest statements filed with the commission. They dont have to include dollar amounts, and it largely operates on an honor system.

Last year was the first that officials had to also disclose some sources of income for businesses they own. Under a 2023 law, officials have to name clients that provide at least 10% of the business income and have an interest in the government body the official is a part of. For Smith, thats any client with business before the Legislature; for a mayor it would be a client that interacts with city government.

Smiths consulting firm, Gregory Smith & Company LLC, has several clients that seek money or policy changes from the Legislature  where he serves as a vice chair of the budget-writing Joint Ways and Means Committee. His initial 2024 economic interest statement did not list any clients.

Smith told commission staff that he misunderstood the law and thought he needed to list clients that made up 10% of his household income, not business income. The Malheur Enterprise reported last year that Smith described his annual household income as more than $1 million, including his salary from the Columbia Development Authority, his legislative stipend, his wifes salary as his legislative assistant and income from his business.

After the commission began its review, Smith updated his economic interest statement to include three clients: Harney County, Umatilla Electric Cooperative and Eastern Oregon University.

Eastern Oregon University abruptly ended its nearly $140,000 annual contract with Smith last fall, the Enterprise reported, while Harney County planned to renew his $7,000-a-month contract. The Umatilla Electric Cooperative hasnt disclosed what it pays Smith.

Smith voted for the 2023 law requiring more disclosures, as did all but five House Republicans and two Senate Republicans. Footage from a legislative committee he led that advanced the bill features Smith asking how the ethics commission would determine which clients hit that 10% mark.

I believe its generally up to the honesty and dedication of the people filing those statements of interest, the committees analyst responded.

-- Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle

The Oregon Capital Chronicle, founded in 2021, is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on Oregon state government, politics and policy.
Saying they needed more information, members of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted Friday to investigate Gov. Tina Koteks reported spending on parking, concert tickets and an employee recognition buffet.

Auditors with the Secretary of States Office flagged the spending, which they described as minor and unintentional apparent violations of state ethics law, earlier in January. The ethics commission discussed the findings Friday and concluded it didnt have enough information to decide how to move forward.

But, commission chair David Fiskum said, they needed not to do nothing.

We need to take some kind of action in response to the letter, without just letting it lie fallow, Fiskum said.

He and four other commission members asked staff to investigate the state auditors findings and provide more information at a future meeting. The commission could then decide to send an advisory letter explaining state ethics laws, drop the issue or continue an investigation, potentially leading to fines.

State auditors started looking into spending by the governors office after receiving anonymous reports to the government accountability hotline, run by the Secretary of States Office, last March about misuse of state resources related to Koteks since-abandoned plans to create an office of the first spouse.

They determined that those reports were unfounded, but they flagged several issues with parking reimbursements, concert tickets and a dinner for employees from a Salem brewery. Auditors detailed those issues in a letter to Kotek that they shared with the ethics commission and advised Kotek to review state law and accounting procedures.

Koteks communications director reiterated the offices earlier response to the allegations, including that they mostly reflected longstanding traditions inherited from past governors.

Among the flagged spending:

The state was paying $65 monthly for a parking space for first lady Aimee Kotek Wilson. The governors office said it was consistent with past practice and advice from Oregon State Polices Dignitary Protection Unit. Commission Executive Director Susan Myers said Friday that that space didnt appear to be an issue, because the governor has a parking space at the Capitol and state administrative rules allow public officials to let other people use their parking spaces.

The state paid $315 per month for Annie McColaugh, the governors federal lobbyist, to park in Washington, D.C. The governors office told the Capital Chronicle earlier in January that it was reviewing that space. State law prohibits public officials from receiving financial benefits, including parking reimbursements, that arent explicitly laid out in official policies.

Koteks office hosted a dinner reception at the governors mansion, Mahonia Hall, for employees in August 2023, with a $9,330 spread from Salems Xicha Brewing Company, that included a build-your-own tostada bar. The event, which recognized employees of the governors office, Oregon State Police and the Department of Administrative Services, is apparently a longstanding tradition and had about 180 guests. But state policy allows only refreshments  things like cookies, chips, coffee and juice  to be served at employee recognition events. Koteks office said earlier this month the dinner was consistent with practices by past governors offices and that the office is reviewing its catering practices.

Auditors also flagged about $615 in spending on concert tickets between four events: a Queen tribute concert in Portland, a performance by the Portland Gay Mens Chorus, an orchestral performance at Salems Elsinore Theatre and a silent film concert at Salems Temple Beth Sholom. The governors office said Kotek and Kotek Wilson paid for the Queen concert and Elsinore performance themselves and the tickets the state bought were for their protective detail, as allowed under state law. It described the other two concerts as official events.

-- Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle

The Oregon Capital Chronicle, founded in 2021, is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on Oregon state government, politics and policy.
The Rev. W. J. Mark Knutson on Sunday night said immigrant Oregonians who are afraid of being deported will have a safe space at Augustana Lutheran Church.

Augustana is a sanctuary church, and in 2014, it provided shelter to Francisco Aguirre, now a member of the congregation, for 81 days after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tried to arrest him without a warrant.

If you are afraid of being deported  by hateful and unjust laws  just call them what they are  you are welcome to come find that safe space, Knutson said to a large crowd of several hundred.

Augustana Lutheran Church Reverend Mark Knutson. Mark Graves/The Oregonian

Knutson made his remarks during the 30th annual celebration of service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with this years focus, Together We Stand in Sanctuary: Welcoming Our Immigrant Siblings.

Several hundred community members, faith and community leaders, and elected officials, such as Sen. Kayse Jama, D-east Portland, gathered at Augustana where they reaffirmed their support for the immigrant community during the service that included music and a candlelight vigil outside the church.

The service concluded with a candlelight vigil. Mark Graves/The Oregonian

Since returning to office Monday, President Donald Trump has already issued several executive orders, many of them tied to his promise to carry out a massive immigration crackdown. The Trump administration has also already moved to undo polices that prevented ICE officers from making arrests at sensitive locations, such as churches, hospitals and schools, among others.

The policy preventing ICE arrests at sensitive locations, without approval, had been in place since 2011. In 2021, the Biden administration issued its own guidance expanding those areas.

A sign on the door of Augustana reads: Augustana is a Sanctuary. No weapons, no guns, no force allowed.

Knutson told the newspaper the church has a moral authority to not let ICE officers inside, despite the policy changes. He said hes already received about 10 calls from people potentially seeking sanctuary at the church, although no one is being housed there yet.

Frank So, executive director of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, said about 124 Oregon faith leaders recently got together for an immigrant know-your-rights training and to learn how to turn their places of worship into sanctuaries for immigrants.

Faith leaders, he said, left ready to act.

Faith leaders, elected officials and community members gather at Augustana Lutheran Church Sunday evening, Jan. 26, 2025, to reaffirm their support toward immigrant communities, and let people know the church will provide a safe space for those in need. Mark Graves/The Oregonian

While its still unclear how changes to the sensitive location policies will play out by ICE agents, the reversal has prompted concerns. The issue also came up during a crowded town hall in Portland on Sunday with U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley where immigration and health care were key issues.

Merkley said the changes to allow ICE agents to make arrests at sensitive locations, which also include homeless shelters and other places where children gather, has folks very concerned.

By striking that down, it means ICE has no reservation about going into the lobby of a school or hospital, the sanctuary of a church or any place thats open to the public where theres no presumption of privacy, he said.

Aguirre, who has been in this country for more than 29 years, had a message for Trump during the event at Augustana.

Mr. President, I urge you to cease this moment of hate and division, he said.

Juan Francisco Aguirre-Velasquez, who found sanctuary at Augustana in 2014 for three months to avoid deportation, was a keynote speaker during the service.Mark Graves/The Oregonian

Whats needed, he said, is immigration reform. Even if hes deported, he said, he will not stop fighting for his community, and he knows hes supported. He said hes undocumented and unafraid.

I know you stand with me because this is my country too, he told the large crowd.

So said hes concerned people will be fearful to access services they need.

His organizations food pantry in recent days has already seen a decline of 10% to 20% in turnout depending on the night.

These are clients who need food security from our food pantry, and we fear because of their migratory status, that they may be foregoing food assistance, he said, and those are hungry families, hungry kids that should not be suffering because of new rhetoric and new policies of this administration.

--Yesenia Amaro is an investigative reporter with a focus on social issues and communities of color. Do you have a news tip related to immigration, deportations or publicly funded programs designed to help immigrant Oregonians? Get in touch, 503-221-4395; yamaro@oregonian.com.

Kristine de Leon contributed to this story.
Unlike traditional shipping routes, the "China-Europe Express" is a direct maritime route providing "point-to-point" service without intermediate stops, reducing the shipment time of 45 days in the past to just 26 days. WILHELMSHAVEN, Germany, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- It was a crisp Friday morning when the Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven (CTW) buzzed with activity as the first container ship of the "China-Europe Express" arrived at the port. Containers emblazoned with the logo of the fastest direct route connecting Europe and China's Yangtze River Delta region were lifted by cranes as vehicles zipped across the terminal moving the containers to their designated spots. The bustling scene after the arrival of KAWA NINGBO, the inaugural vessel of this groundbreaking shipping route, marked not only a milestone of the maritime logistics but also a commitment to strengthening China-Europe ties. What makes the route stand out is the remarkably reduced travel time between Ningbo, a bustling port city in China's Zhejiang Province, and Wilhelmshaven, Germany's only deep-water port. Unlike traditional shipping routes, the "China-Europe Express" is a direct maritime route providing "point-to-point" service without intermediate stops, reducing the shipment time of 45 days in the past to just 26 days. For industries like automotive, lithium batteries, and solar energy, where time-sensitive, high-value goods are the norm, this efficiency can be a game-changer. "The world is becoming increasingly interconnected, and supply chain reliability is more critical than ever," said Frank Doods, state secretary in the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economics, Transport, Construction, and Digitization, during a ceremony celebrating the route's operation. "This fast lane is of particular importance in times when supply chain logistics are crucial for all players. It's not just about competition, it's about creating real added value, especially where speed is essential," he said. Stressing that the Wilhelmshaven and the Jade Weser Port play a crucial role in Europe's trade landscape, Doods said, "We are taking on a central role in the North Range of Europe, and this partnership with China is a huge benefit for both sides." He voiced his optimism about the future, citing the route's "unparalleled efficiency and speed." "Ningbo and Wilhelmshaven are 13,800 km apart -- a journey that would take 133 days on foot," said Carsten Feist, mayor of Wilhelmshaven. "But this distance is not a barrier; it's an opportunity to learn from one another and build trust." "In today's unsettled world, both economically and politically, such economic connections can create not only trust and friendship but also ensure peace," he said. "This is a unique selling point for our port and our region." The "China-Europe Express" has been launched at a pivotal moment for global trade as traditional shipping routes have been disrupted by geopolitical tensions. Many vessels are now forced to take longer routes, extending travel times to 50-60 days. For industries undergoing rapid transformation, such delays are untenable. Maud Lau, managing director of KAWA SHIPPING, the operator of the route, explained the rationale behind the new service. "Many Chinese companies, especially those in high-value sectors like automotive, lithium batteries, and solar energy, require faster delivery time." "With this 26-day direct service, we are offering something unprecedented in the industry," Lau said, stressing that the route will play a very significant role in global trade. Lau told Xinhua that the monthly sailings in the first half of this year made by the "China-Europe Express" will be changed into bi-weekly sailings in the second half. Eventually the route will be expanded to include trans-shipments to the East Coast of the United States via Wilhelmshaven. For Wilhelmshaven, the arrival of the KAWA NINGBO marks the beginning of a new chapter. "This is a great development for our port and our region," said Marc-Oliver Hauswald, managing director of Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven. "It's a testament to what we can achieve when we work together." Michael Blach, president of Eurogate Group, operator of the Container Terminal in Wilhelmshaven, shared with Xinhua his confidence about the future of the new route. Highlighting the superior nautical conditions, modern terminal facilities, and efficient sea-rail intermodal services of Wilhelmshaven, he said the smooth port operations and inland transportation here will enable the express service to stimulate trade activities between Europe and China. "China's Belt and Road Initiative has created vast opportunities for port cooperation between China and Europe, and we welcome and remain open to Chinese investment," Blach said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A faction of Zimbabwe's war veterans has called for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down, accusing him of constitutional violations, failing to address corruption, and pursuing self-serving political agendas. The demand, made at a press conference in Harare yesterday, signals growing resistance within Zanu-PF against proposals to extend Mnangagwa's presidency beyond his constitutionally mandated term limits.Led by Zanu-PF central committee member and war veteran Blessing Runesu Geza, the group expressed discontent over plans by Mnangagwa's loyalists to amend the Constitution and grant him an additional two years in office after his final term ends in 2028. Mnangagwa, however, has publicly distanced himself from these proposals, stating that he remains committed to constitutional principles."It is clear to us that Mnangagwa has failed. He is not fit to run this country, and his time to go is now," Geza said, flanked by other senior war veterans. "If he refuses to take heed of this advice, we have no option but to ask the people of Zimbabwe to deal with him in line with the Constitution."The proposed term extension, branded as the "ED2030 agenda," is widely seen as an effort to block Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga's potential ascendancy to the presidency. Geza alleged that the initiative is being orchestrated by Mnangagwa's inner circle, with tacit approval from the President himself."How do you claim to be a constitutionalist and yet you host people at your farm to further these agendas?" Geza questioned. "We cannot disrespect the voice of 90% of those who voted in favor of term limits. No  we can't allow it."Happison Nenji, a former member of the Zanla High Command, echoed these sentiments, accusing Mnangagwa of undermining the values of the liberation struggle. "This country does not belong to a few individuals or the corrupt. It's a nation for all, and it must be respected as such," Nenji said.The war veterans also criticized Mnangagwa's administration for appointing underperforming ministers and sidelining those who supported him during Robert Mugabe's ouster in 2017. They accused the government of neglecting their welfare, leaving many veterans destitute despite their contributions to the liberation struggle."The benefits which were supposed to be accorded to us have been neglected, and we've been turned into destitutes and beggars," said Samuel Parirenyatwa, secretary-general of the Zimbabwe National War Veterans Association. Parirenyatwa, however, noted that the association had not formally discussed the ED2030 agenda.Attempts to seek comments from senior government officials were unsuccessful. Zanu-PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa referred questions to Douglas Mahiya, the party's secretary for War Veterans, who was unavailable for comment. Presidential spokesperson George Charamba and Information Minister Jenfan Muswere did not respond to calls from journalists.The growing discontent among war veterans, who played a pivotal role in Zimbabwe's liberation and Mnangagwa's rise to power, underscores the deepening divisions within Zanu-PF and the broader political landscape. Whether Mnangagwa will address these grievances remains to be seen.
Oliver Heaviside and the theory of transmission lines

Pieter-Tjerk de Boer, PA3FWM web@pa3fwm.nl

(This is an adapted version of an article I wrote for the Dutch amateur radio magazine Electron, November 2021.)

An antenna cable is not just a piece of wire. Technically, it's called a "transmission line", with special properties such as its characteristic impedance. But transmission lines are quite a bit older than radio technology: they date back to the second half of the 19th century, in the form of (mostly submarine) telegraph cables. In this article we look at the principles and properties of transmission lines, with special emphasis on Oliver Heaviside's contribution to our knowledge of them.

Oliver Heaviside

After secondary school, Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925) started working at the company which operated the submarine telegraph cable between Newcastle (UK) and Denmark. At first he worked as a telegraph operator, but soon he also got involved with the (electro)technical side of the telegraph systems. One of the things he noticed, was that when water leaked into a submarine cable and progressively short-circuited it, the signals did not just become weaker (as expected), but also clearer, less distorted.

In those days, electrical engineering was still in its infancy. Thanks to the work of physicists like Volta, Ampere, rsted and Faraday, there was a decent understanding of generating electrical currents and moving compass needles using an electromagnet. Together, that is enough for building a telegraph, at least in principle. But if one uses as very long cable, and tries to send dots and dashes at a high rate, it turned out to not work so well. There was little theoretical understanding of this, particularly among the more practically minded people who cobbled together telegraph systems.

Heaviside studied physics by himself, and stumbled on the books by James Clerk Maxwell. Maxwell's ideas about electromagnetism were, at that time, rather speculative and not widely accepted, but Heaviside got enthousiastic, studied them, and succesfully applied this theory to telegraph lines.

Thus, Heaviside, who never had studied at a university, rose from being a humble telegraph operator to a respected physicist. After quitting his job at the telegraph company at the age of 24, he never had another job. The rest of his life he lived in relative poverty while working on the theory. He became one of the so-called Maxwellians: a group of physicists who enhanced Maxwell's theory after his untimely death (in 1879 at the age of 48) and popularised it. One of Heaviside's achievements is that he converted Maxwell's twenty mathematical formulas into a more accessible set of just four, which nowadays are taught at all universities as "Maxwell's equations". If you want to learn more about this remarkable person, I recommend his biography [1].

Thomson's model

William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) attempted to describe what happens in a long telegraph cable. His model is sketched in the figure. He mentally chopped the cable into short pieces, each of which has some resistance and some capacitance. Next, he calculated what happens if at the left end one suddenly applies a voltage of say 1 volt. The graphs show the result, for a 4 km long cable having 0.1 ohm of resistance per meter, and 10 pF of capacitance per meter. The cable has been divided into 4 pieces of 1 km each, so each having 100 ohm and 10 nF. We see that the voltage on the first capacitor gradually increases to 1 volt: that's logical, as the capacitor gets charged via the first resistor. The voltage on the second capacitor also gradually increases to 1 volt, but slower: that makes sense, as it is charged from the first capacitor. And so on. At the right end of the cable, the voltage increases only very gradually, and this slow increases puts a limit on how quickly Morse code signs can be sent.

However, Thomson's model is wrong.

Heaviside's model

Heaviside realised that the inductance of the cable is also important. See the next figure: here we have replaced Thomson's resistors by inductors, of 1 H per meter of cable length.

First have a look at the first set of graphs, marked as "4 sections". We see that the voltage on the first capacitor reaches the full 1 volt much earlier than in Thomson's model, and even overshoots. This is because once there is current flowing in an inductor, this current doesn't just stop when the voltage across the coil becomes lower. This faster increase of the voltage, and the fact that the current doesn't just stop, also causes the second capacitor to be charged earlier and faster than in Thomson's model, and so on.

Of course, modelling a 4 km long cable in just 4 pieces is not very realistic. For a better model, we could e.g. model it using 10 times as many pieces, each 10 times shorter (i.e., 40 pieces of 100 m each), each with 10 times less capacitance and inductance. The result is shown in the second set of graphs. The third set of graphs is for a yet 10 times finer modelling of the cable. The graphs now show the voltage at every 10th and every 100th capacitor, respectively; i.e., still at distances of 1, 2, 3 and 4 km from the start of the cable, like in the first set of graphs. We see that with the more refined model, the voltages increase faster and the overshoot takes less long.

The schematic with all those coils and capacitors resembles a low-pass filter, and indeed, we see that the voltages increase only gradually, hinting at the absence of high frequencies. When one partitions the model in ever smaller pieces, the inductances and capacitances become smaller and the filter's cut-off frequency becomes higher. If one mathematically takes the limit, eventually modelling the cable as consisting of infinitely many pieces, each having infinitely little inductance and capacitance, one gets an ever more accurate model. While doing so, the low-pass effect disappears, and the voltage jump from 0 to 1 volt is transmitted without distortion.

Impedance

Heaviside's model also helps us to understand what the "impedance" of a cable is. At the left, suddenly a voltage of 1 volt is applied to the cable. The capacitors are as yet uncharged, so there's 1 volt across the first inductor, causing a gradually increasing current to flow. How large will that current become? That depends on the inductance: the more inductance, the slower the current increases. And it also depends on the capacitance: the more capacitance, the more charge needs to be supplied to charge it to 1 volt. When the capacitor has been charged to 1 volt (ignoring the overshoot), there will be 0 volts across the inductor, so the current through it will no longer change. The current doesn't become 0, but remains constant, flows into the second inductor, charges the second capacitor, and so on.

And what happens when also the last capacitor has been charged? As noted above, the current through those inductors cannot just stop. If we "terminate" the cable in a resistor, as shown in the figure, then the current will flow through the resistor and cause a voltage drop across it. If the resistor has exactly the right value, then that voltage drop is exactly 1 volt. Then we reach a stable state: all capacitors are charged to 1 volt, across the coils there's no voltage, and a constant current flows from the source through the cable and the termination resistor.

If the termination resistor is too large, the voltage drop across it will be more than 1 volt, so the last capacitor will be charged to more than 1 volt. Via the last inductor a part of that charge will then flow back from the last to the second-to-last capacitor, from there to the third-last capacitor, and so on: we get a reflected wave. Something similar happens if the termination resistor is too small.

The value of the termination resistor which does not cause a reflection, is called the impedance of the cable. It turns out that this equals L/C , where L and C are the inductance and capacitance per meter of cable length. Note that this formula matches what we already observed earlier: more L means less current and thus higher termination resistor needed to still drop 1 volt; similarly, more C means more current and thus lower termination resistor.

Speed

1/ LC . Does this mean that we can make a cable with any desired speed, simply by choosing L and C appropriately? Perhaps even faster than light? (Einstein already starts turning over in his grave.) No: it turns out that we have only limited freedom in choosing L and C. Changing the shape and size of the cable affects both L and C, and always such that the speed of light is never exceeded. As an example, consider a coaxial cable. If one makes the center conductor thinner, the capacitance between center conductor and shield decreases, so by the formula one would expect the speed to increase. Unfortunately, at the same time the inductance increases! That's (among others) because making the center conductor thinner causes the currents inside that center conductor to be closer together, and thus sense more of each other's magnetic field (which, after all, is what causes (self)-inductance). The figure shows, for a coaxial cable with air as isolation, the theorectical dependence of the capacitance and inductance (both per meter) on the ratio of the diameters of the center conductor and the shield. Furthermore, the resulting impedance and wave velocity are indicated. The solid lines are based on the assumption that the current spreads itself equally over the entire cross-section of the center conductor. We see that in this case the velocity increases when the center conductor is made thinner, but does not exceed the speed of light (300  106 m/s). At higher frequencies the skin-effect kicks in, forcing the current to only flow on the outside of the center conductor. That case is indicated with dotted lines, and the speed exactly equals the speed of light, regardless of the diameters. If we fill the cable with e.g. some plastic material, the capacitance increases while the inductance remains the same. Then the speed decreases; this is generally described as the "velocity factor" being less than 1. Loss and distortion So far, we haven't included loss in the model, but a real cable does have loss due to resistances, and Heaviside included this in his model, as sketched at the right. There are two kinds of loss. The first one is the resistance of the copper wire itself; to model this, Heaviside included a resistance of R ohms per meter in series with each inductance. The second one is the leakage of the capacitor's isolation, modelled as a parallel resistance 1/G. (We write this as 1/G because this resistance is inversely proportional to the length; the shorter the cable section, the less leakage, so the larger the leakage resistance. Thus G itself, being the inverse of the resistance, is again directly proportional to the length; it is expressed in -1 per meter, also called Siemens per meter.) Heaviside showed that losses do not just attenuate the signal, but also cause distortion. In fact we already saw this in Thomson's model in the first figure: the sudden increase of the voltage at the input of the cable, is distorted to something that only rises slowsly, as it travels down the cable. However, Heaviside also found out that this distortion disappears if the following condition is satisfied: L/R = C/G. If there is no loss, then R and G are both 0, so the condition is satisfied. But a realistic cable usually has L/R much smaller than C/G, because G, the leakage of the isolation, is almost zero (good isolation material), and particularly in submarine cables, the capacitance is rather high. In principle, we can improve such a cable in four ways to satisfy the condition: decrease R : use thicker copper wire, that's expensive.

: use thicker copper wire, that's expensive. decrease C , i.e., increase the distance between the wires: that may be feasible on telegraph poles on land, but making a coaxial submarine cable thicker is hard (expensive).

, i.e., increase the distance between the wires: that may be feasible on telegraph poles on land, but making a coaxial submarine cable thicker is hard (expensive). increase G , so use a not-so-good isolation material: this is what happens when water seeps into a sea-cable (recall that Heaviside as a telegraph operator had already noticed that then the distortion is reduced), but the obvious disadvantage is that the signals become weaker.

, so use a not-so-good isolation material: this is what happens when water seeps into a sea-cable (recall that Heaviside as a telegraph operator had already noticed that then the distortion is reduced), but the obvious disadvantage is that the signals become weaker. what remains: increase L. Indeed, special cables have been manufactured in which the center conductor has extra inductance, by covering it in a suitable magnetic material. But the most commonly used way to increase L, is by connecting a coil in series every couple of kilometers. Heaviside invented this idea, but William Preece, the British telegraph service's engineer-in-chief didn't believe it, and in fact thought that one should avoid inductance. As a consequence, the technique initially was not tried in England (and this was not the only conflict between Heaviside and Preece [1]). But Michael Pupin patented the idea a few years later in America. It turned out to work very well and has been used for decades in the telephone industry, until it became possible to amplify signals electronically. And radio amateurs have, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, used such Pupin coils for making audio filters. The picture shows a typical Pupin coil. It had two windings, with red and green wires, for both wires of the telephone line. Separately the windings usually were 22 mH, in series 88 mH. Should we now also insert coils into our antenna cables to prevent distortion of our radio signals? No: firstly the distortion is negligible for relatively narrow-band signals; and secondly, such coils would work as a low-pass filter, so our (high) frequencies wouldn't get through anymore. References [1] Basil Mahon: The forgotten genius of Oliver Heaviside -- A maverick of electrical science. 2017.

In the previous figure, we effectively saw amove from left to right through the cable; the farther from the source, the later the voltage change arrives. How fast does this wave move? That also depends on the values ofand. The larger the inductance, the slower the current increases (at given voltage), so the longer it takes to charge the next capacitor. And the larger, the longer it takes (at given current) to charge the capacitance. Heaviside showed that the speed equals
A 12-year-old boy in Connecticut has sustained multiple gunshot wounds after he threw a snowball at a car in Hartford.

The boy, whose name was not publicly identified by authorities, was allegedly playing with his 11-year-old friend at approximately 7:15 p.m. local time in the area of Capitol Avenue and Park Terrace on Wednesday. They were throwing snowballs when one hit a car.

Authorities said the vehicle "looped the block" to chase the kids before firing multiple rounds at the pair," NBC News reported, citing Hartford Police Lt. Aaron Boisvert.

The 12-year-old boy was rushed to Connecticut Children's Medical Center. His injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening. The 11-year-old child was not struck by the bullets.

Investigation Into the Juvenile Shooting

As of Friday, authorities with the Hartford Police Department have yet to make any arrests in relation to the case. However, they have launched an investigation and are beginning to review videos and other leads to identify the car and its occupants, according to USA Today.

Gun Violence in the US

The shooting is the latest in a string of gun violence cases involving young children and adolescents.

On Wednesday, a 17-year-old male student armed with a pistol opened fire in the cafeteria at Antioch High School, killing a female student and injuring another. The school's resource officers were in the building but not in the cafeteria during the shooting. They were not able to stop the 17-year-old before he turned the gun on himself, per USA Today.

As of Friday, 14 children aged 0 to 11 have been killed, while 26 kids in the same age group were injured. Among teens aged 12 to 17, at least 53 have been killed in gun violence cases, while 132 have sustained injuries, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.

For perspective, 250 children aged 0 to 11 were killed, and 547 were injured last year in gun violence incidents. The death toll increased to 1,171 among teens aged 12 to 17. Also, in the same age group, 3,239 were injured last year.
The Hebrew Northern Kingdom  often called Israel or, after its eventual capital, Samaria  was formed in the tenth century before Christ when the ten northern tribes rebelled against the political entity headquartered in Jerusalem, which thereupon came to be called the Southern Kingdom, or the Kingdom of Judah. But, after a three-year siege of Samaria, the Northern Kingdom was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 722 BC. The Assyrian kings Shalmaneser V, Sargon II, and Sennacherib deported many of the residents of Israel to the areas that are known today as Syria and Iraq. There, the exiles were forced to work as agricultural laborers on farms that were owned by the king or other high officials or by the temples, and, over time, they were assimilated into Assyrian language and culture. (Some Israelites remained behind in the former Northern Kingdom, where they became known as Samaritans.) The disappearance of the people of the Northern Kingdom gave rise to the concept of the Ten Lost Tribes.

The conquest of Israel (and of adjacent Syria) was part of the long-term expansion of a number of succeeding states within the region of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and then out of that region. They expanded out of Mesopotamia, the area between the rivers, up and over the top of the Fertile Crescent and then down southward toward Egypt, the other great Middle Eastern power of the day.

At the beginning of the sixth century BC, a large number of Judeans  mostly residents of city of Jerusalem  were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which had succeeded the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Neo-Babylonian relocations occurred in several waves, beginning with probably about 7000 exiles after Nebuchadnezzar IIs siege of Jerusalem in 597 BC. They continued with further deportations (of indeterminate numbers of exiles) in the wake of the destruction of Jerusalem and the razing of Solomons Temple in 587 BC and again in 582 BC. These deportations created what is commonly referred to as the Babylonian captivity. Anticipating the conquest and the forced exiles, and under divine inspiration, the Book of Mormon prophet Lehi and his small party voluntarily fled Jerusalem southward, away from Mesopotamian imperialism and eventually to the New World.

The actual conquest of Egypt by the Achaemenids, who had succeeded the Neo-Babylonians by then as the rulers of Mesopotamia, occurred during the sixth century BC.

I was immediately (and uncomfortably) reminded of the enforced exile of the peoples of the northern and southern Israelite kingdoms when I heard about President Trumps suggestion that the best solution to the current problem of Gaza would be to simply empty out the people who live there and then to distribute them between Jordan and Egypt. (See, for example, National Review: Trump Floats Plan to Clean Out Gaza, Send Palestinian Refugees to Jordan, Egypt If you cant access the National Review article, Im confident that there are plenty of other places online where you can read about Mr. Trumps proposal.) It would be, in the most literal sense of the explosive term, a kind of ethnic cleansing.

I was also reminded of the infamous Munich Agreement  aka the Munich Betrayal  that was signed in 1938 between Germanys Adolf Hitler, Italys Benito Mussolini, Frances Edouard Daladier, and Great Britains Neville Chamberlain. In hopes (on the parts of Chamberlain and Daladier, at least) of avoiding war, the signatories agreed to allow Nazi Germany to annex the Sudetenland, a German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia. Strikingly and (to my mind) arrogantly, Czechoslovakia was not represented at the meeting in which the Munich Agreement was worked out and the fate of the country was decreed. And, of course, catastrophic war came anyway.

Although Gaza was already an overcrowded, poor, and unpleasant neighborhood long before the recent Israeli incursion into it, and even before the loathsome ascendancy of Hamas over it, I would be enormously surprised if the people of Gaza would willingly be uprooted and handed out to other nations. As the late Achilles might have said, its a poor place, but its theirs. Furthermore, although the people of Gaza are Arabs, Arabs arent fungible. Theyre not mutually interchangeable, any more than  merely because they all speak English and share traditions like the common law  Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and Oregonians are interchangeable. Palestinians arent Egyptians or Jordanians, let alone Iraqis, Algerians, Tunisians, or Moroccans. They have their own distinct culture and their own very distinct dialect. Indeed, on account of the prolonged separation between them, the Palestinian colloquial Arabic of Gaza has even begun to diverge from that of the West Bank. And families within Gaza intermarry, as do West Bank families. But, because they simply cant, residents of Gaza and residents of the West Bank seldom socialize with each other, let alone marry each other. They are growing apart.

And would Jordan really welcome them? Jordan has already experienced stress between its deep-rooted Jordanian natives, who tend to dominate the police and the military, and its multi-generational but still relatively recent Palestinian refugee population, who are disproportionately successful in business and education. (Its probably not purely coincidental that King Abdullah of Jordan married a Palestinian  although the fact that Queen Rania is extremely beautiful probably helped the medicine go down.) How many more hundreds of thousands of Palestinians could Jordan readily assimilate?

And would Egypt welcome an influx of hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians? The country is already overcrowded and poor. Furthermore, it has faced challenges from radical native-born Islamic fundamentalists for many years (since long before the dramatic assassination of Anwar Sadat by members of an Islamist cell) and allowing remnants of Hamas to enter its territory, as they surely would, would almost certainly threaten its stability.

But what bothers me most about Mr. Trumps proposal is the sheer master-of-the-universe arrogance of it. Im hoping that it was nothing more than a casual off the cuff remark, rather than a serious policy suggestion. Im reminded of the mid-level Foreign Office bureaucrats in London after World War One  the Great War, remember, the war to end all wars  who, it is said, drew up some of the boundaries of newly-invented countries in the Middle East using only a straight-edge and a pencil. They had absolutely no first-hand knowledge of the Middle East and, being classics graduates of Oxford and Cambridge, not much book-learning about the area. (Having read Xenophons Anabasis in the original Greek just doesnt quite cut it.)

Im trying to avoid politics here. Especially on the Sabbath. But I felt that, since Im a sometime observer of the Middle East, this was one topic upon which I couldnt really avoid commenting.

Posted from Bountiful, Utah
News / National

by Staff reporter

Harare yesterday witnessed what many have called insanity and mark of the end of the world.This is a story of school boys belonging to two different gangs who fought cats and dogs in Mabvuku over a new female teacher, a dream that can never come to pass.According to witnesses, the boys started it all like a joke. The new female teacher walked into their class immediately after assembly and the boys behind were already saying lowly 'muriwo uyu inyama ndewangu to mean this delicious soup is mine.After introducing herself as Ms Ethel Nakamba, she walked out of the class and the form 4C pupils stood up peeping through the windows amazed at the figure amassed behind her. We will pass the boys clapped in class.This was when one boy said she is mine, the class was laughing except for one guy in the corner who later stood up and said she cannot be yours because you do not even have simple goats. The two started pushing each other until the devil touched his favorite button, violence and hell broke loose.The pupils started hitting each other carelessly, the fight shifted outside, there was so much noise. Like real street thugs, the pupils continued to fight and insult.Only the teachers with the help of some passerby came to separate these learners who reportedly belong to two different gangs which are notorious in the areaMeanwhile, the police managed to nab four pupils from the school in question and one officer refused to go until he met the new female teacher that caused the mess and he confirmed that the evidence was enough.
Admirable Ecumenical Sentiments; Mary as Our Hope & Refuge & Comfort; Must We Always Know of Marys Co-Mediation?

Edward Bouverie (E. B.) Pusey (1800-1882) was an English Anglican cleric, professor of Hebrew at Oxford University for more than fifty years, and author of many books. He was a leading figure in the Oxford Movement, along with St. John Henry Cardinal Newman and John Keble, an expert on patristics, and was involved in many theological and academic controversies. Pusey helped revive the doctrine of the Real Presence in the Church of England, and because of several other affinities with Catholic theology and tradition, he and his followers (derisively called Puseyites) were mocked by over-anxious adversaries in 1853 as half papist and half protestant. But, unlike Newman and like Keble, he never left Anglicanism.

I continue my replies to Pusey by examining a few portions of his follow-up volume, First letter to the Very Rev. J. H. Newman, D.D., in explanation chiefly in regard to the reverential love due to the ever-blessed Theotokos, and the doctrine of Her Immaculate Conception (London: Rivingtons, 1869; aka Eirenicon, Pt. II). He described Newman in the beginning of his letter as his dearest friend and a person whom I still admire as well as love and he fondly recalled the sunny memories of their time together in the Oxford Movement and rejoiced that they were still comrades-in-arms against unbelief. Its an ecumenical model we can all admire, and should seek to emulate. Puseys words will be in blue. The larger series will be collected under the Anglicanism section of my Calvinism and General Protestantism web page, under his name. I use RSV for Bible citations.

*****

The Church of England does hold a Divine authority in the Church, to be exercised in a certain way, deriving the truth from Holy Scripture, following Apostolical tradition, under the guidance of God the Holy Ghost. I fully believe that there is no difference between us in this. The quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus, [that which was believed everywhere, always, and by all] which our own Divines have so often inculcated, contains, I believe, the self-same doctrine as is laid down in the Council of Trent upon tradition. (pp. 4-5)

This shows that High Anglicans or Anglo-Catholics, hold the same view on the rule of faith that we do, over against sola Scriptura.

My book [An Eirenicon, 1864] had necessarily a two-fold aspect. It was a defence of ourselves against what, amid all courteousness of language, was a root-and-branch attack upon the Church of England, . . . I claimed to her all the broad outlines of faith which you too have, and, (as I trust, truly,) I set aside many things which are the ordinary subjects of Protestant attack upon you. (p. 6)

This is true. Puseys criticisms are some of the most articulate and reasoned and bigotry- and falsehood-free observations about Catholicism that I have seen from a Protestant in my 34+ years as a Catholic. He disagrees in all good faith and honesty and he does so with class and a lack of all acrimony and derision. What a breath of fresh air! Pusey is to be highly commended for this and its a pleasure to interact with his thoughts.

I meant to suggest, that this state of things was not irremediable; that there was a way, whereby peace and intercommunion might be restored, through mutual explanations, without calling upon the Church of Rome to abandon any thing which she had pronounced to be de fide. (p. 7)

Its certainly a worthy goal. How sad and discouraging, however, to think upon how much the Church of England has changed  in a heterodox direction  from 1869 up to the present time, where the prospect of such unity and reunion would be the most distant pipe-dream at best. I believe that Pusey, like C. S. Lewis, would certainly be a Catholic if he had the choice that would be presented to him today. The Protestant body that is closest to the Catholic Church in its thinking now is the conservative wing of Lutheranism, though there are still small bodies of separatist traditional orthodox Anglicans that have separated themselves from their mother-communion.

I simply wished to exhibit the picture of practical devotion to the Blessed Virgin, as it was reflected to me in their writings, and it did not even occur to me that I could be thought thereby to pass any opinion as to the inner life of those whose words were cited. When I heard that my not expressing this was thought to be unjust to holy men whom I quoted, I took the first opportunity which occurred to say, that I did not mean, to impute to any, of them that they took from our Lord any of the love which they gave to His Mother. (p. 8)

This is the very model of charity in theological dialogues: assuming the best of the opponent and not attributing to him ill will or ill motives or insincerity. Its not surprising that its an exchange between men who had been, and continued to be, good friends. Would that all dialogue could be of this sublime nature!

Pusey critiques what he thinks is the excessive Marian veneration of St. Alphonsus de Liguori in his Glories of Mary, on pages 9-10. I have explained in several papers that this perceived-to-be-extreme-and blasphemous language has to be understood within the backdrop of St. Alphonsus repeated statements and reiterations in the same book of the primacy of Jesus Christ. See:

St. Alphonsus de Liguori: Mary-Worshiper & Idolater? [8-9-02]

Catholics Think Mary is Co-Creator? (vs. T.F. Kauffman) (Refuting a Distortion of What St. Alphonsus de Liguori Actually Teaches in The Glories of Mary) [7-17-23]

Mary, Not Jesus, is the Catholic Savior? (Response to More Misrepresentation of St. Alphonsus de Liguoris Book, The Glories of Mary) [7-21-23]

It seems to me, that the writer, in his vehement desire to set forth the privileges of Mary, contradicted the truth which he himself held, if he believed that the mercy of Jesus could save them. (p. 10)

This is relatively more accurate, but I submit that the problem isnt contradiction in the Catholic writer; rather, its misunderstanding of the overall theology and veneration of the Catholic writer by the Anglican reader. There are two different ways to look at almost anything.

But my object was a practical one. I knew that in thousands of English minds (I doubt not, that in millions), this and the like language is the great barrier against re-union. (p. 10)

All the more reason to take the greatest pains to try to understand and comprehend the writing and worldview which is so vehemently disagreed with . . . I think articles such as mine, above, can help Protestants today to do exactly that. But it takes an open and willing mind.

I have often (though you will smile perhaps at the advocacy) had to defend the Roman Church against being idolatrous, and that, on the ground of this and the like language. (p. 10)

Then he was predisposed to be open to an agreeable explanation for what he thinks are Marian excesses. But if the brilliant Cardinal Newman couldnt persuade him, I doubt that anyone else ever could (and apparently no one did, or else he would have converted to Catholicism, too). There are many of us  including myself  who have made the move from a much more distant Protestantism to Catholicism, without any insuperable intellectual difficulties. Its entirely possible.

. . . (in your Bishop Milners words which I have already quoted,)  That, as the saints in Heaven are free from every stain of sin and imperfection, and are confirmed in grace and glory, so their prayers are far more efficacious for obtaining what they ask for, than are the prayers of us imperfect and sinful mortals. If this had been all, I have expressed my conviction that the difficulty never would have arisen. (pp. 35-36)

There still, indeed, remain the difficulties of some titles, which do not occur in the Fathers, and which one would have expected rather to be given to our Lord ; Health of the weak, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, Help of Christians . . .

This title, Refuge of sinners, is, accordingly, the text on which S. Liguori puts together the passages of middle-age writers, or such as are attributed wrongly to the Fathers, which speak of her as the Hope of Sinners. Such sinners seem to be spoken of as out of the reach of Jesus, or hopeless of His help, and Mary seems to be held out to them as the way by which they are to approach to Jesus. (p. 37)

I dont see that this is beyond what the Bible says about great prayer warriors. In my Reply #2 to Pusey, I went through a long list of such holy and powerful people. When, for example, God told Abimelech that Abraham would pray for him, so he could live, for Abraham was a prophet (Gen 20:6-7), would it not have been appropriate and fitting for Abimelech to consider Abraham his hope or refuge or help? I think it makes perfect sense. And so we consider Mary a hope and help and refuge in this very sense: her extraordinary holiness helps make her prayers much more powerful. Pusey recognized the premise of this principle of prayer in his words from pages 35-36 above (derived from James 5:16).

Likewise, when All Israel (1 Sam 12:1) said to Samuel [the prophet], Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die. . . (1 Sam 12:19), would it not have made perfect sense for them to regard Samuel as their hope of sinners or refuge or help? Why couldnt this be, then, also applicable to the far holier and indeed sinless and immaculate Mary? Further, when Gods anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and as a result, the people cried to Moses; and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire abated (Num 11:1-2), who could argue that they couldnt possibly have regarded Moses as their hope of sinners or refuge of sinners or help? He saved their lives, and possibly saved them from eternal damnation! How is that not being hope or refuge or help?

St. Paul wrote in some depth about the comfort that his suffering and work had been to the Corinthian Christians, even unto their salvation:

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. [5] For as we share abundantly in Christs sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. [6] If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. [7] Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

So would Pusey argue that the Corinthians could not have called St. Paul in this sense their comforter? That would somehow take away from God? Indeed, such comfort worked both ways, too. Paul spoke of the comfort he received from several of his followers (2 Cor 7:4, 6-7, 13; Col 4:11; 1 Thess 3:7; Phlm 1:7). But we mustnt ever say this about Mary? I think its unbiblical thinking to make such claims or criticisms. * It came to be thought that  God willed that we should have all through her, or that through her, i. e., through her intercession, God will eth that all graces should pass from Christ the Head unto the Church His Body, that doctrine involved the whole system of teaching as to the office of the B. V., as our access to our Redeemer, from which we wish to be exempt. For, setting aside cases of inculpable ignorance, then, if this were true, any one who should neglect to ask her , through whom God willed all His graces to come to His creatures, would be shewing contempt to the known will of God, and incurring the forfeiture of all the graces necessary to his salvation. (pp. 39-40)

*

His conclusion doesnt follow at all. God choosing to utilize Mary in this way to distribute His grace does not require that we always and necessarily know that this is the case, in order for it to obtain. We do good things all the time, not thinking that they were only possible by Gods enabling grace (Catholic teaching). If that can be the case without our conscious knowledge, why not also Marys intercession, whether it is regarded as universally applicable or not? Thus, Pusey harps on a nonexistent problem, or, put another way: he arbitrarily creates one when it fact its not a problem at all.

*

Pusey keeps citing St. Alphonsus, not seeming to be aware that 1) he is not the magisterium, and 2) because of that lack of fallibility, he may, of course, make statements that go too far, and/or 3) these alarming statements may be misinterpreted by not allowing for background explanations, as mentioned above. He cites him, for example, writing about the necessity of invoking the intercession of Mary. Thats certainly not Catholic teaching, if he meant that it must occur in absolutely every case of intercession. It is true if it means that there is some such necessity in a general sense.

*

Even Suarez goes beyond the Council of Trent. The Church holds that the intercession and prayer of the Virgin are useful and necessary to her above all others [saints]; the Blessed Virgin therefore is to be prayed by us above all. For the Council of Trent only says that it is useful; Suarez says, that she is to be prayed to, because her special intercession (for of this he is speaking), such intercession as is to be gained by prayer to her, is necessary. (p. 40)

*

Pusey surely knows that Trent has the magisterial authority; Suarez does not. So either the latter is wrong; corrected by Trent, or he is being interpreted in a way that he didnt intend, and his meaning is a general one, just as Trents is. One or the other thing is likely true, and so this objection poses no problem whatsoever for the Catholic system.

*

Photo credit: photograph of St. John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) from 1866, three years before E. B. Puseys long letter to him. [public domain]

Summary: This is a reply to a few portions of E. B. Puseys First letter to the Very Rev. J. H. Newman (1869), dealing with the veneration of Mary and her Immaculate Conception.
The first key to successfully navigating these difficult times is to keep a firm grasp on reality, and to never let anyone  especially those in positions of power  convince you that something is true when its false, or that something is false when its true.

The second key  and the one I want to focus on here  is to remember who you are.

Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde made news this week when, in an interfaith service at the National Cathedral, she asked President Trump  who was sitting in the congregation  to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now  referring especially to LBGTQ people and to immigrants.

Two points before we go any further. First, we can question the appropriateness of a public prayer service (even an interfaith service) at the beginning of a Presidents term in a country where there is no established religion, but such things have been done occasionally throughout the nations history and consistently since 2001. And second, while the building where this event was held is called the National Cathedral and it was built with a charter from the federal government with the intent to be used for national events such as state funerals (much as Westminster Abbey is used in the United Kingdom), it is part of the Episcopal Church and receives no taxpayer money.

Whats important for us here is that Bishop Budde remembered who she is  a minister of Jesus Christ, called to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

Another sidebar: this is a Pagan blog and I am not interested in debating the authenticity of Bishop Buddes Christianity. From my perspective, progressive Christianity, conservative Christianity, and MAGA Christianity are three separate religions, none of which are mine.

In 2017 we were inspired by badass park rangers who defied Trumps orders to stop sharing information with the public unless it was approved by him. They didnt do anything extraordinary. They just remembered who they were and who they work for (the people, not the President) and did their jobs.

In 2025 were inspired by a bishop who remembered who she was and used an opportunity to speak the truth and to ask for mercy for the most vulnerable among us.

It would have been easy to lead a generic service, to mumble some pretty words, and to avoid a confrontation. She wouldnt be the first Christian leader to sell their soul for the approval of Donald Trump.

Did she change Trumps heart? I dont think he has a heart. Did she persuade him to moderate his extreme positions? No. She made him uncomfortable for a few minutes, but thats about it.

But she remembered who she is and she refused to let Trump change her.

None of us are likely to have an opportunity  and a responsibility  like this. But all of us will be challenged  are being challenged  to remember who we are, what we are, and what our core values are.

Remember who you are when your values are challenged

My conservative friends tell me wed be better off with smaller government, fewer regulations, and less immigration. I dont think so, but they might be right. Policy differences are up for debate.

But when someone argues that trans people shouldnt exist or that refugees should be treated like criminals, thats a matter of values and its not up for debate. Its my responsibility to speak up and speak out, but more importantly, its my responsibility to not let the loudest voices in the room change who I am and cause me to start thinking that some people are less than because of who and what they are.

Remember who you are when your priorities are challenged

I dont know Bishop Budde, but I do know that as a bishop she has a diocese to manage, and I imagine that doing her job as a bishop is going to remain her top priority.

I said Im not a political activist and that caused some people to assume Im abandoning the political world entirely. I think this post and the last post clearly show thats not the case. But what Im not going to do is let yelling at Trump get in the way of doing my paying job, of worshipping my Gods, of trying to contribute to the modern Pagan movement, and of at least occasionally enjoying life. I did too much of that last time and it didnt accomplish much.

Trump and MAGA are a cultural problems. And while we have to oppose them politically, we will never permanently defeat them with only political action. We have to change the culture, and the best way to do that is to be who and what we are, as openly as possible, as loudly as possible.

Remember who you are when it feels like the losses will never end

Were at the beginning of the shock and awe phase of Trump, MAGA, and Project 2025. Bad things are happening, theyre happening fast, and theyre going to keep coming. Team Trump 2025 is much better organized than Team Trump 2017. Theres been some pushback  22 states have already sued to block Trumps executive order ending birthright citizenship. This is a fight I expect to win, but at least for the next few months losses will outnumber victories.

Remember who you are.

And also, remember who you are when the losses are personal and not communal. Last year was a tough year for me. This year has started off with sadness. It helps to remember that no matter what happens, Im still a part of Nature, a part of all that is, made from star stuff and animated by the same forces that give life to every other animal, vegetable, and mineral in the universe.

And also, Im a Druid, a polytheist, a Pagan, and a witch. These arent just labels or titles, theyre part of who and what I am. Knowing that gives me the strength to keep going even in bad times.

Who are you?

In order to remember who you are, you have to know who you are in the first place. For most of us, this is the work of a lifetime. Im in my 60s and Ive spent considerable time and effort exploring this question. I know who and what I am much better now than I did in my 20s and 30s, but I expect to still be wrestling with this when I take up permanent residence in the Otherworld.

There are plenty of people who will be happy to sell you an identity, for a price. For some, the price is your money.

For others, the price is your soul.

I can only tell you what works for me: lots and lots of introspection, combined with trying on a series of identities and seeing how they fit.

Some I didnt really want (i.e.  corporate executive). Some I wanted, but not badly enough to do the kinds of things I would have to do to become / achieve it (becoming rich). Some were helpful but only temporary (amateur athlete). Some stuck, but werent deep enough to build a life around (goth culture and horror fiction).

Ive found an identity, a home, a life here in my religious, spiritual, and magical work.

Which is not to say thats what you should do / be / become. No one can answer this question for you.

But I can promise you this: youll learn a lot about who you are in the next four years, if you live intentionally and pay attention.

Remember who you are

One of the more frustrating parts of our current situation is that so much of it is out of our control. We cant get the party we voted for to do the right things, much less the other party. The only person you can control is yourself.

You have to live by someones values  make sure theyre yours.

You have to support someones ethics  make sure theyre yours.

You have to live by someones priorities  make sure theyre yours.

Remember who you are.
Today we rejoice with exciting news from Rome. The Diocese of Savannah has issued the statement below, confirming that Pope Francis has officially recognized that the friars killed in September 1597 in coastal Georgia truly died as witnesses of the faith.

Ive been closely involved in this Cause for Beatification since 2014 when I visited the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the Postulator of the Cause in Rome with the now Archbishop of Atlanta, Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv. Many more news to come!

You can watch a thirty minute documentary about the Venerable Pedro de Corpa and his Companion friars here.



On behalf of Bishop Stephen D. Parkes, the Diocese of Savannah is grateful to announce that on January 27, 2025, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the Decree concerning the martyrdom of the Servants of God Pedro de Corpa and Companions, of the Order of Friars Minor, killed in odium fidei (hatred of the faith) in September 1597.



The publication of the Decree  declaring that the friars were true martyrs for Christ  is an official act that paves the way for the celebration of the rite of beatification. From this day forward and until beatification, Friar Pedro de Corpa, Friar Blas Rodriguez, Friar Miguel de Anon, Friar Antonio de Badajoz, and Friar Francisco de Verascola are entitled to the title of Venerables.



Details regarding the rite of beatification will be forthcoming.



Bishop Parkes would like to thank the Holy Father; His Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints; the Order of Friars Minor of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Province; and all of those who have worked to promote the Cause of the Georgia Martyrs for over four decades. May Venerable Friar Pedro de Corpa and Companions intercede for families everywhere, and inspire husbands and wives around the world to live out the sacrament of marriage with love, truth, and fidelity.
Vice- President JD Vance accused the US Conference of Catholic Bishops during a Face the Nation interview that their involvement in humanitarian aid toward immigrants is fueled by financial gain. He further stated that the US Bishops have not been good partners in common sense immigration enforcement.

I am not sure where to begin critiquing these points. The worst is that he makes these statements flourishing them with indications that he is a devout Catholic. He mentions that he is heartbroken at the recent bishops statement, where the bishops point out that last weeks executive orders have profound effects in the immigrant community.

Firstly, the Catholic Church does not benefit financially from immigrants. The only financial gain may be the regular offertory given on Sunday by immigrant parishioners, which remains at the local level. Catholic agencies, such as Catholic Charities, do receive money from the government to resettle refugees in the United States. These resettled refuges are not illegal immigrants as the Vice President wrongly states. They have gone through the asylum process, and all sorts of agencies assist them to incorporate into US society. If 100 million dollars have been given, this money has not bankrolled the Catholic Church, but many agencies spread throughout the country that work directly with refugees. It has not paid electric bills, lawsuits or evangelization initiatives.

The Vice President further stated that the Catholic Bishops have not been good partners in common sense immigration enforcement. Ive been a priest for sixteen years, and for those sixteen years the Catholic Church has repeated over and over again the same immigration reform plan. You can view it here. In the meantime, governments have changed, immigration has been used to divide us along partisan lines, and absolutely nothing changes. Individual lives are crushed due to the lack of action. If anyone has not been a good partner, it has been the federal government which has not enacted much needed reforms so that our immigration system meets the current needs of our country.

Since Mr. Vance is a devout Catholic, he should know that the Catholic Church acknowledges the dignity of human life from birth to natural death. He should know this  he spoke at the recent March for Life in Washington DC. The Catholic Church has been in the forefront of humanitarian assistance not for money, but to advance the dignity of human persons, including immigrants. His statement demonstrates either tremendous ignorance or ill will toward the bishops.

Picture used from the Creative Commons License
(Maurine Mo Weindhardt is a Dharma Holder with the Empty Moon Zen Sangha. She delivered this talk at our December Rohatsu retreat. I asked her if I could reprint it here, and she graciously agreed.)

For those of you who might need a sincere reminder, hear me. This is a deep and abiding truth: You are worthy. You are sacred. You are loved.

Today, were going to talk about meeting the struggle. This has many meanings  but whether big or small, minor, or utterly life-changing, the struggle is real. I wonder, what might yours include in this moment?

Zen is a practice of attention. Of awakening to the habits of our minds and actions, and cutting through the delusions of our ego-driven narratives. Basically, cutting through our own bullshit. Not just seeing  but experiencing, fully, the intimate interconnectedness with all that is. Experiencing the bright, boundless emptiness, where concepts of self and other fall away  where there truly is nothing but this, and then remembering this, realizing this, in the thick of everyday life. Bringing this awakening into every moment.

Easy, right?

What were really talking about is just the stuff of our regular, mundane, bread & butter, everyday lives. The joys and pitfalls of being human, where were often reacting and trying to make sense of ourselves and the world. Perhaps trying to heal. Trying to exert control. Trying to find certainty, craving the comfort and assurance that brings.

The question Id like you to hold through this talk is, What is the ground of my practice?

Well begin by exploring this question through the lens of a koan  a Zen encounter from long ago. A story in which were invited to recognize the aspects of ourselves in each character. Ill read the koan first, and then give some context around what led up to this thundrous encounter:

Case 23 of the Gateless Gate: Neither Good Nor Evil

The 6th Chinese Ancestor Hui-neng was pursued by Ming, the head monk, as far as Ta-yu Peak. Hui-neng, seeing Ming coming, laid the robe and bowl on a rock and said, This robe represents the Dharma. There should be no fighting over it. You may take it back with you.

Ming tried to lift it up, but it was as immovable as a mountain. Shivering and trembling, he said, I came for the Dharma, not for the robe. I beg you, lay brother, please open the Way for me.

Hui-neng said, Dont think good; dont think evil. At this very moment, what is the original face of Ming the head monk?

In that instant Ming had great satori. Sweat ran from his entire body. In tears he made his bows, saying, Besides these secret words and secret meanings, is there anything of further significance?

Hui-neng said, What I have just conveyed to you is not secret. If you reflect on your own face, whatever is secret will be right there with you.

Ming said, Though I practiced at Huang-mei with the assembly, I could not truly realize my original face. Now, thanks to your pointed instruction, I am like someone who drinks water and knows personally whether it is cold or warm. Lay brother, you are now my teacher.

Hui-neng said, If you can say that, then let us both call Hung-jen our teacher (the 5th Chinese Ancestor). Maintain your realization carefully.

To fully appreciate this encounter, you need the story behind this story, of why Head Monk Ming was chasing Hui-neng in the first place.

Hui-neng, who became our 6th Chinese Ancestor, was born in the year 638. His father died when he was young. Hui-neng had no education, and as a kid he sold firewood to support himself and his mom. One day he heard a monk reciting the Diamond Sutra, and experienced deep realization. When asked, the monk told him his teacher was Hung-jen, who lived over 1,000 miles away at a temple in North China.

A neighbor kindly agreed to support his mother, and Hui-neng set off to find Hung-jen. After their first encounter, Hung-jen saw the worth in this new student, and assigned Hui-neng to husk rice in the harvesting shed.

Many months passed, and Hung-jen felt the need to name a successor. To determine who his successor would be, he announced a contest, inviting anyone who thought they were worthy of transmission to submit a poem showing their understanding of the Way. The author of the most insightful, penetrating poem would receive transmission and become the next master.

This temple had over 700 monks, and they all felt that the leader of their assembly, Shen-hsiu, had the clearest insight  so none of them wrote anything. Shen-hsiu, however, was not sure of his own attainment. Instead of turning in a poem, he wrote one anonymously on a wall, figuring that if it was approved, he would step forward and announce that he was the author; if it were disapproved, he could just keep quiet.

On this wall, Shen-hsui wrote:

The body is the Bodhi Tree;

The mind is like a clear mirror;

Moment by moment, wipe the mirror carefully;

Let there be no dust upon it.

Hung-jen praised this poem and had all of the monks commit it to memory. However, he did not say anything about making its author his successor.

Hui-neng, our young, penniless, unschooled lay practitioner, did not learn about the contest until he heard a monk reciting Shen-hsuis poem. Since he didnt know how to write, he asked an acolyte to write his response on the wall beneath. It read:

Bodhi really has no tree;

The mirror too has no stand;

From the beginning theres nothing at all;

Where can any dust alight?

Though everyone was impressed with this second poem, it caused quite a disturbance when the monks discovered it was written by a nobody layman working in the harvest shed.

However, the teacher Heng-jen immediately recognized the worth of this poem, but rubbed it off the wall with his slipper, claiming it was of no value. That night however, he summoned Hui-neng to his room and preached on the Diamond Sutra. Hui-neng grasped the inner sense of the sutra at once, and without hesitation, Heng-jen conveyed the robe and bowl of Bodhidharma to him as symbols of transmission.

The teacher then warned Hui-neng that jealous monks would try to harm him if he stayed at the monastery. To protect him, Heng-jen personally rowed Hui-neng across the river and advised him to polish his realization secretly for some time before emerging as a teacher. This is how Hui-neng received transmission.

The next day, all of the monks found out what had happened, and needless to say, they were pissed. They were certain that their old teacher had made a mistake. They set out in pursuit of Hui-neng to bring back the precious symbols of transmission.

The head monk, named Ming, was a former general with a powerful body and will; he quickly outpaced and outdistanced the other monks, tracking Hui-neng through the mountains. This is where we pick up the main case of the koan.

Hui-neng, seeing Ming coming, laid the robe and bowl on a rock and said, This robe represents the Dharma. There should be no fighting over it. You may take it back with you.

This rocked Ming to his core.

Ming tried to lift it up, but it was as immovable as a mountain. Shivering and trembling, he said, I came for the Dharma, not for the robe. I beg you, lay brother, please open the Way for me.

Hui-neng said, Dont think good; dont think evil. At this very moment, what is the original face of Ming the head monk?

Original face can also be translated as True Self. What is the True Self of Ming the head monk?

In that instant Ming had great satori. Sweat ran from his entire body. In tears he bowed, saying, Besides these secret words and secret meanings, is there anything of further significance?

Hui-neng said, What I have just conveyed to you is not secret. If you reflect on your own face, whatever is secret will be right there with you.

Ming said, Though I practiced at Huang-mei with the assembly, I could not truly realize my original face. Now, thanks to your pointed instruction, I am like someone who drinks water and knows personally whether it is cold or warm. Lay brother, you are now my teacher.

Hui-neng said, If you can say that, then let us both call Hung-jen our teacher. Maintain your realization carefully.

In so many ways, each of us is the head monk Ming. Certain. Righteously judgemental. Rigidly convinced of our opinions and views. Angry (or sometimes, more insidiously, disappointed), with those who fail to align with what we consider right or wrong; good or evil; and willing to impose our views violently, if need be.

Sometimes the violence of certainty and knowing is physical in nature; but what I really want to underscore for this group is the verbal and emotional violence we can be so prone to. All the many flavors of, I think you should act differently, feel differently, or be other than you are, and heres why Im right and youre wrong.

I wonder  in how many different ways have you been head monk Ming? Judging and perhaps descending on someone you think is in the wrong, to berate them or straighten them up? Or, how many times have you simply fantasized about doing that?

In yesterdays dharma talk, Tom mentioned that a 10 year old boy decked out in a bright red Trump hat and American flag backpack was on our flight to Seattle. In an instant, I had that first mind of head monk Ming  how dare the adults in his life brainwash this boy to idolize and essentially advertise for a crude, narcissistic, convicted con man who gets off on lying, sexually abusing women, disrespecting and belittling others, and blah blah blah (It builds up steam fast, doesnt it?) The list was loooong. It was surprising how quickly these vitriolic judgements spewed from my brain, and contorted my face. And at exactly that moment, this 10 year old boy happened to lock eyes with me, and smile. In that moment, I noticed what was happening in my mind, and what it was doing to my face, and I saw my mental formations clearly for what they were. (Breathe)

An opening of my heart; a relaxing of my judgments; I smiled back, enjoying a brief moment of connection with this boy, who is not me, and yet we are the same.

Now, for an important turning of this koan. Beyond how we treat other people  as critical as that is  we must equally examine how we treat ourselves. Shine light on this with me for a moment. In how many different ways have you been head monk Ming, descending upon yourself? Judging and berating yourself for being wrong, for making a mistake, because you should have blah blah blah?

My god are we good at shoulding all over ourselves. In my experience, we are rarely as brutal with anyone else in the world as we are with ourselves. All the things we regret or wish wed done differently, and refuse to forgive ourselves for  where is our compassion then? How readily do we suffocate ourselves from the very thing we aspire to practice for all beings?

We would never allow someone to treat a friend or loved one the way we can treat ourselves sometimes  and yet for some reason, it can feel acceptable to unleash this unforgiving bludgeon upon ourselves. If this rings true for you, as it does for me, it is worthy of deep reflection.

This version of my head monk Ming came up earlier in the week. I wont get into all the details, but in a nutshell I encountered a seething white-hot angry 17-year-old Mo who had a middle finger for everyone  especially for now-me. That younger self tracked me down through the mountains of my mind, across time and space, and absolutely tore me apart. She blamed me for so many things, including my moms death, and she beat me bloody with all of the ways that that part of me was certain that what I did was either wrong or not enough.

I should have done this and that; if only Id said such & such, or not done whathaveyou, everything would have been different. Oh, such imaginative mental formations It was brutal.

Whether descending on others, or descending on yourselves, Im sure that all of you have your own versions of an angry and certain head monk Ming.

And this is where I invite us to explore the aspect of ourselves that is Hui-neng in this koan, and return to my original question at the beginning of this talk:

What is the ground of your practice?

Zen permeates every aspect of my life. I dont always pay as much attention as I wish, or sit zazen as consistently as I want to, but everywhere I turn, theres my practice. Just like every step I take, there I am. Same ol me. This wildly imperfect being. A regular, flawed person, who just happens to have committed to prioritizing awakening and compassion  to seeing the bright emptiness we all share, regardless of form, as often as I can. And maybe thats the point.

Hui-neng, seeing Ming coming, laid the robe and bowl on a rock and said, This robe represents the Dharma. There should be no fighting over it. You may take it back with you. Ming tried to lift it up, but couldnt.

In this moment, Mings enraged, ego-centered self was at once completely smashed. He saw through his certainty, his misguided and harmful actions, and it broke him wide open.

Shivering and trembling, Ming said, I came for the Dharma, not for the robe. I beg you, lay brother, please open the Way for me.

Hui-neng said, Dont think good; dont think evil. At this very moment, what is the original face of Ming the head monk?

At this very moment, what is your original face? What is your true nature? What is the ground of your practice? Youre up a tree, dangling from a branch by your teeth. Say something.

Buddha Nature neither rejects nor embraces. Its vibrantly alive in just this, whatever this might be. It does not assess worthiness; it does not play favorites. It does not pat you on the head and reward you for being good; nor does it punish you or withhold itself when you act bad. It is not transactional; it does not function within the dualistic constraints of good or evil, right or wrong, better or worse, enough or not enough. Buddha Nature pervades the whole universe, existing here and now; everything you see, everything you hear, is in fact it. It cannot be confined or reduced into arbitrary categories of worth. Buddha Nature does not make value judgments. We do that.

Its hard not to think of good and evil; to divide the world, other people, or myself into classifications of good and bad, right and wrong. I mean, critical thinking is a necessary skill in the world of form, it allows us to make decisions, anticipate risks and dangers, and hopefully to feel our way into more consistently living our values. The catch is holding our judgments loosely; being aware and cautious of the trappings of knowing, or tightly-held certainty.

As written in the Hsin-hsin ming, or the Precepts of the Faith: To set up what you like against what you dislike  this is the disease of the mind.

We all grapple with the stickiness of certainty, setting up what we like against what we dislike. But regardless of the particulars or the circumstances, how we treat each other  and how we treat ourselves  matters. When the ground of practice is compassion, for ourselves and all beings  when the illusion of separation falls away and the egocentric self is at once completely smashed  this is a great gift of awakening.

The invitation is to recognize this functioning in the thick of activity. Can we realize this in the face of intense emotions? In the face of a wounded heart, or a body thats in pain? When getting laid off, or when rudely honked at in traffic?

We each must earn our realizations  our wisdom. There are no shortcuts. This goes beyond conceptual understanding  awakening cannot be learned, it must be lived. And it requires continuous effort.

Its a dark fucking world in so many ways. And yet. In my experience, with each decision, each loving or thoughtful action we take, things change for the better in ways we dont always see  slowly but surely bending the world towards compassion. Towards kindness. Towards love.

We wear these bodies, these forms, forgetting that we are not them. Like a bead of ocean spray, momentarily a separate droplet, forgetting the source that its part of, that it is in fullness, even as it careens back towards the boundlessness from which it came.

The whole is never separate from the particular; the particular is never distinct from the whole. Awakening to this truth changes everything (& nothing at all) in an instant. And this truth is not to be found outside of ourselves, outside of this moment, outside of the infinite just this.

The Buddha taught that were already awakened  theres nothing to seek, nothing to gain or lose, nothing to obtain. Its just a small matter of not picking and choosing  of not taking too seriously what we like or dislike. This doesnt mean to have no wants or fears or desires  thats impossible. These are natural functions of our human mind. It means practicing to see them clearly for what they are  stories, mental formations, empty mind bubbles  so they dont sway our actions towards the small or the selfish. So we can see that shared light in all beings  even when they piss us off, or worse.

This treasure already shines brightly in each one of us tiny droplets. Nothing is missing. Do you understand? Good, thats a start, but understanding isnt it. This isnt an intellectual exercise. Realize this for yourself. Explore this for yourself. Like Ming, be someone who drinks water and knows personally whether it is cold or warm. Realize that to which words can merely point.

To use different language, we are each God waking up to and recognizing God within and all around. I  thou  all  art sacred. Nothing is left out. Consider the implications of this.

Zen is a practice of attention. Of awakening to our habits, and cutting through our own bullshit. Of fully experiencing this intimate, sacred interconnectedness  the bright, boundless emptiness, where concepts of self and other fall away  and bringing this awakening into the thick of everyday life.

Easy, right?

The struggle is absolutely real. And it can be absolutely brutal. And just as real, is the joy, the effort, the love, the community, the practice of compassion, the mutual support. Youre already home. The Way is already before you. Even as a distinct droplet, you are the entire ocean. And so are they, whoever you consider they to be.

Our invitation is to be intimate with just this, meeting whatever this might be, with the strength of Hui-neng, standing the ground of his practice, hand in hand with the strength of head monk Ming, willing to break open completely.

What I have just conveyed to you is not secret. If you reflect on your own face, whatever is secret will be right there with you. What you seek is within, and it is yours alone to give. Where can any dust alight?

Please  maintain your realization carefully.

Thank you.
A Lancaster man was sentenced to years in prison for the attempted rape of a woman during a 2023 burglary at her city home  the same home hed broken into the previous year, prosecutors said.

Mohamed Camara, 33, was sentenced Friday to 6.515 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of burglary, attempted rape and related offenses, according to the Lancaster County district attorneys office.

Camara was on parole for a May 2022 burglary at the womans house on the 400 block of Fremont Street when he returned on Nov. 16, 2023. He entered through a back door, put his hand over the womans mouth and sexually assaulted her, according to the district attorneys office.

He fled the scene after the woman fought him off and chased him out of the house.

During the May 2022 case at the same house, Camara put his hand over a womans mouth while holding a knife, prosecutors said. He was convicted of burglary and simple assault, then released on parole in May 2023, months before returning to the Fremont Street home.

After police arrested him for the 2023 break-in on Fremont Street, Camara claimed hed returned to apologize for the 2022 burglary.

But less than an hour after the Nov. 16, 2023, break-in, prosecutors said Camara broke into another home on the 500 block of Manor Street and stole a Samsung tablet.

Camara will also have to register as a lifetime sex offender as part of his latest sentencing.
Ed Wiskowski, perhaps best known as professional wrestler Colonel DeBeers, has died, according to multiple reports.

He was 80.

It is with profound sadness that the Cauliflower Alley Club announces the passing of Ed Wiskowski, better known to wrestling fans as Colonel DeBeers, at the age of 80, the Cauliflower Alley Club posted on X. We extend our sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans worldwide. Thanks for the memories. R.I.P. Sir.

DeBeers, who also wrestled as The Polish Prince, was trained by one of the all-time greats  Harley Race. He began his career in 1972 and, per Wrestle Zone, had a prominent run in the AWA where he feuded with the likes of Scott Hall and Jimmy Snuka among other former stars.

The 6-foot-4, 275 pounder had his final match in 2005.

Wiskowski also ran a wrestling school until 2006.
Do you use or have you ever used Cash App?

Well, heres some potentially good news to start your week off.

According to CNET., Block, Inc.  which is Cash Apps parent company  was accused by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of unfair consumer practices.

These accusations  as published in a press release on the CFPB website  include not providing effective customer service to solve problems in a timely manner; and not taking the appropriate action to detect, limit and address fraud which occurs on the app.

As such, Block, Inc. has been ordered to pay $175 million in fines  $120 million to refund to affected Cash App users, and a $55 million penalty thatll go into the bureaus victims relief fund.

Cash App created the conditions for fraud to proliferate on its popular payment platform, CFPB Director, Rohit Chopra, said in the release. When things went wrong, Cash App flouted its responsibilities and even burdened local banks with problems that the company caused.

If you use Cash App and are now wondering if you need to take action in getting a possible refund, theres actually further good news: In most cases, after a company pays its finds to the CFPB, the refunds are automatically distributed to all impacted parties, either through the CFPB or a payment administrator.

As for how much these refunds will amount to  and when people can expect to get them  the Arizona Republic states that still has yet to be confirmed.

An email or a physical letter will also be sent to folks for further information. One may also watch their bank accounts for a refund for the settlement as well.

If you have any further questions, please call Cash Apps customer support at 1-800-969-1940.
Sorry, Pennsylvania commuters.

The Keystone State has just been ranked amongst the worst states to drive in. And its not the first time the states driving conditions have been put in an unflattering light, either.

A report published and conducted by WalletHub ranking the Best & Worst States to Drive In lists Pennsylvania as number 36 out of the 50. This means Pennsylvania was the 15th worst state for people behind the wheel overall.

It should be noted that last years WalletHub study placed Pennsylvania in 29th, meaning the state has only gotten worse in this regard since then.

The studys findings align with various other studies regarding the conditions Pennsylvania residents are forced to contend with, road-wise: One city in the state was recently ranked for having some of the worst traffic in the country while a similar study placed it amongst the not-so-best for motorists.

Hey, at least Pennsylvanias not like Hawaii, which was the state which came in dead last! Alas, its also not like the state in the number one spot, either: Kansas.

Kansas is the best state for drivers due in large part to the quality and safety of its roads, the study explains. Kansas has the third-best road quality in the U.S., and well-maintained motorways are essential for minimizing crashes.

Keeping roads paved well probably isnt too hard, though, given that Kansas is flatter than a pancake. Drivers also stay relatively well-behaved, as the Sunflower State has the sixth-lowest prevalence of speeding, along with relatively few drivers who accelerate aggressively or brake harshly.
By DANICA KIRKA, The Associated Press

LONDON (AP)  Manfred Goldberg was just 13 years old when  stripped to his skin and shuffling toward an SS guard at a Nazi labor camp in Latvia  a man leaned over his shoulder and whispered the secret that saved the young Jews life.

If he happens to ask you your age, say you are 17, the man told him.

Goldberg followed the advice and the guard directed him to the group selected for slave labor. It was only later that he realized that the younger prisoners were sent to die because the guards believed anyone under 17 was too young to work profitably for the Nazi war machine.

I sometimes think of that man as an angel who was sent to save me, Goldberg said. I never saw him again.

Mondays ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz is more than a moment to remember some 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust. It is a reminder that the number of survivors is dwindling, leaving fewer and fewer people to bear witness to the Nazi genocide at a time when Holocaust denial and antisemitism are on the rise.

Im only a drop in the ocean, he said in an interview at the Jewish Care Holocaust Survivors Centre in London. But Ive made up my mind that as long as God gives me the strength, physical and mental, to continue doing it, I have committed myself to keep on doing it. So thats why Im here at age 94, speaking to you.

This is his story.

Manfred Goldberg, a Holocaust survivor displays a photograph of himself with his mother Rosa and younger brother Herman as he is interviewed in London, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)AP

Nazi rise

Manfred was born in Kassel, a city of about 220,000 in central Germany. Just 3 years old when the Nazis came to power in 1933, he didnt realize how the country was changing until he enrolled in the Jewish primary school nearby.

By then, the Hitler Youth, an organization that was outwardly similar to the Boy Scouts but was used to indoctrinate children in Nazi ideology, had begun to spread hatred of the Jews.

They lay in wait of us sometimes, to ambush us and assault us or curse us, Goldberg said.

The children had been warned: Run or face more trouble.

As the Nazis systematically excluded Jews from public life, they first tried to deport Goldbergs father, then threatened to send him to a concentration camp. Manfreds mother, Rosa, pleaded for time to get him a visa to emigrate.

She heard diplomats at the British Embassy in Berlin might help, so she traveled 200 miles to see them. There she found Frank Foley, a British secret agent whose embassy job was cover for his spying activities and who ultimately authorized visas for more than 10,000 Jews to escape Germany.

I believe he was a man with a heart, Goldberg said.

Foley gave Goldbergs father an emergency visa and told his mother that the rest of the family could follow in the coming weeks. But 10 days later, on Sept. 1, 1939, the Nazis invaded Poland. The family was split apart.

Manfred Goldberg, a Holocaust survivor displays a photograph of himself taken in Sept. 1945, as he is interviewed in London, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)AP

Wearing the star

As war raged, Germany stepped up anti-Jewish laws.

Jews were required to wear a yellow six-pointed star outdoors, and could only buy food in certain shops. When the shops ran out, Jews were out of luck.

One day, Goldbergs mother told him to put on his bookbag, which covered the star on his jacket, and go with her to a non-Jewish bakery. Standing across the street, she gave him a handful of coins and told him to run into the shop, ask for a loaf of bread, put the money on the counter and grab the bread before anyone could stop him.

I was 7 or 8 years old. I just did as she asked me to, he said. But in retrospect, I realize how serious the situation must have been. She probably would have been going hungry, but she couldnt bear to see her children suffer hunger.

Then in 1942, the Nazi regime embarked on what it called The Final Solution, the systematic execution of European Jews.

When the SS pounded on the door of the Goldbergs modest flat, they gave his mother just 10 minutes to pack a suitcase. After three days and three nights on a train without food or water, Manfred, his younger brother, Herman and their mother found themselves in Riga, the capital of Latvia, beginning a nightmare that would take him to five camps over the next three years.

Manfred Goldberg, a Holocaust survivor displays a photograph of the barge in Neustadt, that he was transported on as he is interviewed in London, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)AP

Becoming a number

Manfred lost his name. He became No. 56478.

Soon they arrived at a sub-camp known as Precu, where Goldberg and his mother were put to work. But Herman was too young and stayed behind in the camp when Manfred and Rosa went out to work. The SS came and took the children away. Manfred never saw his brother again.

The next morning, both my mother and I had to line up and go to work as though nothing untoward had happened, he said. The mourning took place internally, but if we had refused to go to work, we would have lost our lives.

Only months later, Goldberg faced the same fate as his brother when the unknown benefactor whispered in his ear.

As the Nazis began to lose ground on the Eastern Front, they moved their prisoners west to keep them out of Russian hands and continue the killing.

Goldberg was moved to Stutthof, a camp near the Polish city of Gdansk whose front gate became known as the Gateway of Death because so few inmates left alive. More than 60,000 people died at the camp due to typhus, lethal injections and, beginning in June 1944, after they were gassed with Zyklon B, the same compound used in the gas chambers at Auschwitz.

But there was one last horror to come.

With the war in Europe drawing to a close, the Nazis continued to drive the inmates west toward central Germany.

Goldberg and his mother were marched to 25 miles northwest, where hundreds of prisoners were herded onto barges and held offshore for days without food or water. When the SS guards disappeared, the stronger prisoners ripped up planks and used them as oars to paddle the massive boats back to shore.

But just as the inmates landed, the guards returned. First they shot those too weak to escape, and then rounded up those who had made it to shore, including Goldberg and his mother, and started marching them back to Germany.

Then a British tank column arrived.

Suddenly our armed guards, who moments earlier had still been killing people for not keeping up to speed, turned and ran away in the opposite direction, away from us, Goldberg recalled. People were jubilant. Were not under guard. Were free! Were free! ... You cannot imagine the joy we felt.

After being reunited with his father in England, Goldberg forged a career as an engineer, married and had four children.

Manfred Goldberg, a Holocaust survivor with his wife Shary display their wedding photograph, as he is interviewed in London, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)AP

For more than 50 years, he refused to tell his story.

He wanted his children to have normal parents, unburdened by the weight of the Holocaust. But about 20 years ago, when he was in his 70s, his synagogue asked him to take part in a remembrance service. His wife, Shary, encouraged him to remember: Who will tell your story when you are gone?

He never looked back.

Silence never helps the oppressed, Goldberg said. It always helps the oppressors.

The best revenge

The living room of Goldbergs home in London is a testament to all that matters to him, a gallery filled with pictures of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and a lifetime of family gatherings. To stand in the room is to see a man who is celebrating the miracle that he was allowed to live.

But theres also another picture.

Its a painting of a chubby-cheeked boy with a checkered bowtie and the hint of a smile on his lips. Hung beside the front door, just where it can be seen every time Goldberg steps out into the world, its the picture of another boy who didnt get that chance.

Herman.

Associated Press digital producer Nat Castaneda in Copenhagen, Denmark contributed to this report.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Discontent is simmering within the ruling Zanu-PF party and state actors over the antics of politically well-connected tenderpreneurs accused of amassing wealth through dubious public contracts and flaunting their riches with reckless abandon.Among the most controversial figures is businessman Wicknell Chivayo, a prominent ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Chivayo has reportedly secured lucrative multi-million-dollar government contracts, including the controversial US$100 million Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) tender.Since landing the ZEC deal and other contracts, Chivayo has drawn widespread criticism for his extravagant lifestyle, splurging money, donating cars, and handing out cash like "confetti at a wedding." His ostentatious behavior and public displays of wealth have made him a lightning rod for anger among those accusing him of exploiting state resources for personal gain.Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has taken a firm stance against individuals like Chivayo, describing them as zvigananda - a term he has used to refer to those of "questionable morals" who flaunt their "ill-gotten wealth."Addressing mourners at the National Heroes Acre last week, Chiwenga criticized such individuals, warning that their behavior contradicts the principles of the liberation struggle, which emphasized equitable resource distribution."Zimbabwe belongs to all of us. We must share its God-given resources equally, ensuring that no one is marginalized or pushed aside in a ruthless pursuit of undeserved privileges. Corruption must end," Chiwenga declared.A close ally of Chiwenga revealed to The NewsHawks that the Vice President has vowed to tackle corrupt tenderpreneurs with "Chinese-like resolve and ruthlessness.""The Vice President is against such people and has vowed to deal with them decisively. They may think they are untouchable under President Mnangagwa's wings and believe they can buy the next leader with thirty pieces of silver, but that will be self-delusion," the source said.Chiwenga's remarks come amid growing factional tensions within Zanu-PF, where divisions between loyalists of Mnangagwa and Chiwenga are becoming increasingly visible. Critics within the party accuse Mnangagwa of enabling tenderpreneurs like Chivayo by granting them preferential access to public contracts.Chivayo's involvement in the ZEC tender has particularly drawn scrutiny, with allegations of corruption and mismanagement further fueling discontent. His lavish spending and public donations are seen by some as a provocative display of impunity.Political observers say Chiwenga's warning could signal the beginning of a broader crackdown on corruption within Zanu-PF and state institutions. However, the outcome of this power struggle remains uncertain, given Chivayo's close ties to the President and other influential figures.The growing agitation against tenderpreneurs reflects deep-seated frustrations over corruption and inequality, which continue to erode public confidence in government accountability.As Zimbabwe grapples with economic challenges, Chiwenga's call for an end to corruption and the equitable distribution of resources resonates with many - but whether the Vice President can turn his words into action remains to be seen.
By Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun (TNS)

Thomas D. Kalinowski, a polka enthusiast, instructor and longtime DJ of The Maryland Polka Train who raised thousands of dollars for the charity Gods Special Children, died Jan. 20 of a cerebral hemorrhage at his Dundalk home.

The former Bethlehem Steel payroll clerk was 83.

Tom always treated me like I was a member of his family. I never felt alone and always welcome when I was with him, said Tony Hall, a friend of 40 years, and fellow polka dancer. He was just a great guy.

Thomas Donald Kalinowski, son of Thomas A. Kalinowski, a Bethlehem Steel welder, and Mary Stucker Kalinowski, a department store clerk, was born in Baltimore and briefly lived in Highlandtown before moving to Dundalk with his family.

He was the grandson of second-generation Polish and Irish immigrants.

His Irish grandmother taught him to dance and his first dance he did was always an Irish jig, said his wife of 64 years, Shirley Pierce, a retired caterer and his polka partner.

We were high school sweethearts, and he gave me a friendship ring and paid S. & N. Katz 50 cents a week for it, she said, with a laugh.

After graduating from Dundalk High School in 1959, he went to work as a payroll clerk at Bethlehem Steel in Sparrows Point, where he worked until retiring in 1985.

He then worked for several funeral homes as an attendant and finally for Bradley-Ashton-Kehl Funeral Home in Dundalk, from which he retired in 2020.

Mr. Kalinowski and his wife conducted polka classes at numerous Catholic churches.

Even though Shirley was a head taller than Tom, he was a very, very good dancer and executed all of the routines without any problems, Mr. Hall said.

The longtime German Hill Road resident was a past president of the Polish Community Association of Baltimore and was a past director of the annual Baltimore Polish Festival.

For nearly four decades, Mr. Kalinowski hosted The Maryland Polka Train on various local radio stations including WOLB-AM, which aired his final broadcast in 2013, and was Marylands last polka radio show.

But it was his friendship with Carl Szuba, an Anne Arundel County deputy sheriff, who had a child with Downs syndrome, that led the two men to found Gods Special Children in 1969, an organization that hosted polka events to raise money for developmentally disabled children in the city and Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties.

Over 30 years, until holding their last fundraiser in 1999, Gods Special Children raised more than $500,000.

Mr. Kalinowskis Annual Polka Party held at La Fontaine Bleu in Glen Burnie, became one of the largest events on the East Coast for polka lovers, often drawing nearly a thousand dancers, according to an article in The Baltimore Sun.

He was the man who taught Maryland how to polka, said his daughter, Kelly Kalinowski Melhem, of Dundalk.

In addition to organizing Baltimores Inner Harbor Polka Convention and Diamond Beach Polka Weekend in Wildwood, New Jersey, he coordinated numerous polka weekends and bus trips that drew East Coast polka dancers.

Mr. Kalinowskis efforts on behalf of special needs children brought him wide recognition and a governors citation from William Donald Schaefer.

Tom never wanted any recognition for what he had done raising money for those children, Mr. Hall said. He was a very modest person.

He enjoyed fishing and boating.

Mr. Kalinowski was a lifelong communicant of the now-closed Sacred Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Graceland Park.

A Mass of Christian Burial was offered Saturday at St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Dundalk.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Kalinowski is survived by a son, Mark Kalinowski, of Bel Air; a sister, Mary Kotowski, of Cape St. Claire; and five grandchildren. His daughter, Elizabeth Kalinowski-Harris, died in 2007.

Have a news tip? Frederick N. Rasmussen at frasmussen@baltsun.com and 410-332-6536.

2025 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A Fayette County man who had been reported missing was found dead on Sunday after rescuers pulled his vehicle out of a West Virginia lake.

Kevin Lataille, 59, was pronounced dead after officials recovered a vehicle that was submerged in Cheat Lake, according to WTAE.

The Murrysville Medic One Dive Team said in a post on Facebook that they were called on Sunday to help locate a missing person and a car, adding that the vehicle might have gone over the side of the Interstate 68 bridge and into Cheat Lake.

Ice rescue technicians walked along the interstate bridge locating car parts, the post said. Ice rescue personnel cut an access hole for divers which were deployed locating the vehicle in 12 feet of water under the ice. Divers were able to confirm the vehicles color, make and model, and also confirmed the vehicle was occupied.

Latailles family also issued a statement, WTAE reported, saying that his vehicle had been recovered and his body found.

We regret to inform you that Kevin has been found, but sadly, he has passed away, the post said. We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in the search efforts. The overwhelming support from friends, family, strangers, and those who distributed flyers, shared his missing person post, and prayed daily has been incredible. We are grateful to those who used drones, helped manage social media, and were there when we needed support the most.
A supervisor in a Montgomery County township has resigned after a TikTok video that showed her mimicking a salute Elon Musk gave at an inauguration event went viral.

Laura Smith, who was the Vice Chair on the Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors, submitted her resignation on Sunday.

In a letter to the board, posted on the townships website, Smith wrote that A video I posted recently to social media has been greatly mischaracterized. Not wishing to give offense, I removed the video from my accounts. I abhor racism, anti-Semitic or discrimination in any fashion or form and my record as a township supervisor attests to my commitment to treat all people with dignity and respect.

To allow the Township to move forward without the encumbrance of the fallout of my video, I tender my resignation from the Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors effective immediately, she wrote.

The board said in a statement that it intends to accept Smiths resignation at its next meeting, adding that it cannot and will not tolerate such conduct.

On Saturday, Smith also resigned from the boards of the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library and the nonprofit Knights for Life, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Musk drew condemnation on Jan. 20 when he made a gesture that resembled a Nazi salute twice while addressing a crowd at an inauguration event for President Donald Trump.

The national Anti-Defamation League defended Musks gesture at the time, calling it "an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute. Others, however, accused Musk of deliberately performing the salute.

Smiths TikTok video showed her saying, Just checking in on my friends, who are struggling this week, before she hit the right side of her chest three times and put her arm straight out in front of the camera.

My heart goes out to you. Hope youre doing OK, she said at the end of the video.

Smith later took down the video but it had been downloaded and shared elsewhere on social media by that point..

Smith said in a comment on Facebook that she posted the TikTok video to stir the pot. Because I can, according to Northern Penn Now.
News / National

by Staff reporter

As promised, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has used his stint as Acting President in January 2025 to launch a scathing offensive against corruption, tenderpreneurship, and President Emmerson Mnangagwa's allies, escalating the growing tensions within Zanu-PF.Chiwenga's fiery remarks and decisive actions have reignited speculation about the deepening factional rift within the ruling party. Sources close to the Vice President say he is furious about Mnangagwa's third-term bid and the behavior of his allies, whom Chiwenga accuses of acting as though Zimbabwe is their personal property.During two high-profile national burials at the National Heroes Acre in Harare - first for Chen Chimutengwende, Solomon Siziba, and John Mvundura, and then for Justin Mupamhanga - Chiwenga delivered blistering critiques of corruption and tenderpreneurs, or mbingas."Our Vision 2030 is for all of us, not for those you call mbinga," Chiwenga declared at Mupamhanga's burial. "We reject reckless, tearing apart, and chaotic looting like wild dogs (zveubvanzu bvanzu kudya kwemhumhi). Those who grow big tummies through ill-gotten wealth and questionable morals - zvigananda - will be dealt with severely."The Vice President condemned the so-called "our time to eat" mentality that has allegedly permeated Mnangagwa's administration, singling out politically connected figures like Wicknell Chivayo, a tenderpreneur linked to lucrative and controversial government contracts, including the US$100 million Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) deal.Chiwenga labeled these individuals as "parasites" and "leeches," warning that their corruption has become a societal cancer and a national security threat.Adding weight to Chiwenga's attack, war veterans over the weekend voiced sharp criticism of Mnangagwa, accusing him of reducing Zimbabwe to a "chaotic mess" through dictatorship, cronyism, nepotism, corruption, and incompetence.The war veterans - often seen as a proxy for the military and a key faction within Zanu-PF - called for Mnangagwa's removal, comparing the current situation to the conditions that led to the ouster of the late former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017."Mnangagwa has failed," said one war veteran. "He has turned the state into a playground for his clan and cronies, primarily from Midlands and Masvingo, who act as if they own the country like a personal farm. This Ceausescu-style dictatorship must end."A high-profile ally of Chiwenga told The NewsHawks that the Acting President is using his brief time in charge to send a clear message."Chiwenga is furious about the corruption, state capture, and Mnangagwa's third-term ambitions. He is pushing back, warning that the situation has become a national security threat. He is doing what we said he would - taking a stand and acting against Mnangagwa's allies."The ally added that Chiwenga's escalating criticism reflects growing frustration within the military-backed faction of Zanu-PF. "The war veterans are speaking his mind. This is a coordinated push to save the party and the country from further disaster."The unfolding events underscore the intensifying power struggle within Zanu-PF as Mnangagwa seeks a controversial third term, despite the constitutional two-term limit. Chiwenga's pointed remarks and the war veterans' open criticism signal a possible repeat of the 2017 scenario when military and party factions united to oust Mugabe.Observers say Chiwenga's direct challenge to Mnangagwa could set the stage for a dramatic showdown within the party, as factional rivalries threaten to destabilize the already fragile political landscape.As Zimbabwe watches closely, the Vice President's bold actions during his brief tenure as Acting President suggest that the battle for control of Zanu-PF - and the nation's future - is far from over.
Brian Craig Denies Hometown Hero in RunGood Poker Series Tulsa Main Event

Liam Gannon Live Reporter Copy link

In the RunGood Poker Series Tulsa $800 Main Event, a total of 517 entrants smashed the initial guarantee, creating a $361,900 prize pool. Of those, 63 players cashed, each hoping to end the day with a shiny black ring on their finger. After ten hours of play, only one player's dream became reality.

Kansas' Brian Craig started the day in 15th place, holding a modest chip stack. He stayed steady throughout the tournament, gradually building his momentum. By the time the final table began, Craig had climbed to the top of the leaderboard, setting himself up as the player to beat. A couple of hours later, he stood alone as the last player standing.

The money is great, Craig said when asked what excited him most about his victory. The Kansas resident is no stranger to the RGPS circuit, having final-tabled a $400 Deepstack event at Council Bluffs just over a year ago. Entering the tournament with $75,789 in lifetime earnings, this win nearly doubled his total, giving him a substantial boost to his poker resume.

Brian Craig

Patience was key, the new champion explained when reflecting on his approach to the day. I had stretches where I won every hand for 30 minutes, and stretches where I lost every hand for an hour. With all that back and forth, staying patient was so important.

Craig watched as Mike Travis, the eventual runner-up, eliminated most of the final table's players. By the time heads-up play began, Craig faced a daunting 3:1 chip deficit. But over the next hour, he stayed composed and methodically turned the tide, ultimately claiming the title.

Im a tournament player and circuit grinder, Craig shared, describing his poker career. I only play about 10-15 tournaments a year, so Im very much a semi-professional. Heavy emphasis on the semi. But with this score, Ill probably play more tournaments now.

In addition to the $70,000+ payday, Craig also earned the first free seat to the 2025 RGPS $300 Dream Seat Invitational, set to take place in November. Although thats still months away, Craig plans to take some time to enjoy his victory before deciding on his next poker stop.

Final Table Results

Place Player Hometown Prize 1 Brian Craig Olathe, KS $70,169 2 Mike Travis Tulsa, OK $46,757 3 Josh Wyatt Chelsea, OK $34,453 4 Michael Cantrell Tulsa, OK $25,695 5 Ryan Anderson Kansas City, MO $19,362 6 Tyler Barnes Miami, OK $14,766 7 James Stone (OK) Broken Arrow, OK $11,400 8 Ha Tran Ft. Smith, AR $8,867 9 Greg Henry Goldsby, OK $7,021

Day 2 Action

Pete Petree

Six players who had won RGPS Main Events came into the day, four of them coming from this casino. 2022 Tulsa champion Pete Petree (61st-$1,303) was the first to be eliminated of those six, and he was joined on the rail with main other regulars like Forrest Kollar (63rd-$1,303), Trevor Lewis (57th-$1,303), Hunter Cichy (49th-$1,448), St. Louis Champion Iman Al-Saden (43rd-$1,629), and Kansas City Champion William McCracken (41st-$1,629). After a few more eliminations, it was down to just 26 players for the redraw.

Seth Wright (26th-$2,171) and Chris Willis (25th-$2,171) saw their short stacks unable to spin. Devin Arnone (24th-$2,569) saw his queens cracked by Greg Henrys jacks, and RGPS Tulsa Deepstack champion Michael Perrones (23rd-$2,569) aces fell to Ryan Andersons ace-king. A flurry of eliminations saw Jon Braker (22nd-$2,569), Andrew Todhunter (21st-$2,569), and WSOPC Hammond Main champion Brant Jolly (20th-$3,076) all fall. After that it was Jeremy Radebaughs (19th-$3,076) ace-queen that couldnt improve against Mike Travis kings.

Ashley Frank

With two tables left, Kiet Trans (18th-$3,076) day came to a close, with Wesley Jones (17th-$3,076) following him out the door after losing a flip to Tyler Barnes. RGPS Ambassador Bounty Champion Seth Hargrove (16th-$3,691) who couldnt beat Ha Trans kings. Rachel Sawyer (15th-$3,691) would lose a flip to Josh Wyatt and be ousted the next hand, while at the other table, 2018 Tulsa champion Byron Abernathy (14th-$4,524) got in his short stack against Brian Craig. Ashley PokerFaceAsh Frank (13rd-$4,524) saw her top pair get cracked by Travis set, but she walked over to register the final tournament of the series and came in 3rd place for two scores in one day. Kevin Elwood (12th-$5,609) would be next to go, followed by 2024 RGPS Tulsa Main Event champion Todd Tucker (11th-$5,609) whos king-jack wouldnt beat Travis ace-queen.

The final elimination before the final table came courtesy of a cooler between Rosmel Munoz, who flopped a set of fours against James Stones (OK) top set of tens. Both players got their money in on the turn, and no help would be brought to Munoz, who collected $7,021 for his finish.

Final Table Action

The first two all in confrontations at the final table, saw the short stack double as Josh Wyatts ace-seven cracked stones kings with a flush and Michael Cantrells set of sixes filled up on Andersons flopped nut-straight. After that it seemed the eliminations would be slow, but the floodgates opened shortly after.

First it was Greg Henry who moved in his last chips holding pocket queens, only to find that Wyatt held a pair of aces. No help came on any street and Henry became the first casualty, finishing in ninth place for $7,021.

Ha Tran began the final table as the second biggest stack behind Craig, but a massive cooler saw Wyatts nut straight take almost all of Trans chips as Wyatt overtook the chip lead. After that it was Trans ace-four that couldnt improve against Craigs ace-king and he ended his run in eighth place for $8,867.

James Stone (OK)

After that it was Stone who would collide with Travis and the tone would be set for the rest of the final table. Stone would four-bet jam his sizable stack with ace-five against Travis aces and Travis ascended into a sizable lead while Stone collected $11,400 for his seventh place finish.

Only one former Main Event champion remained at the final table and Tyler Barnes second RGPS final table appearance came to an end in sixth place. He moved in with king-queen against Travis ace-eight and the flop contained an ace and an eight to leave the 2023 RGPS Tulsa Main Event champion to collect $14,766 for his deep run.

Andersons run would come to an end in fifth place. After the big pot at the beginning of the final table against Cantrell, Anderson fell to the shortest stack and remained there for most of the final table. He would jam his last chips in with six-five which flopped the second pair. Travis would flop top pair with ace-seven in the same hand and he would hold to add to his chip lead as Anderson collected $19,362 for his efforts.

Michael Cantrell

Travis would be the executioner again when he would flop top pair with ace-seven and call Cantrell when he moved all in with ace-jack and no pair. The board ran out with no help and despite starting the day as the third shortest stack, he would outlast almost all of the players left and collect $25,695 for his fourth place finish.

Another player would fall to Travis domination as he would call in the small blind with ace-king against Wyatt who would move all in for his last ace-two and Travis would call. No help would be brought to the ace-two and Travis would take a 3:1 lead into heads up play while Wyatt would finish his tournament in third place for $34,453.

Mike Travis

The lead in heads up between Craig and Travis would change when Craig would bet two streets and then move all in on the river in a massive pot where Travis held ace-king, unconnected from the eight-high board. After some tanking, Travis would fold and Craig would take over the lead.

One more hand would determine heads up play as Travis would raise flop and jam turn with bottom pair holding six-two, only for Craig to have flopped three fours with four-three and his call would lock up the tournament and leave Travis collecting $46,757 for his runner-up finish.

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Jordan Daniels Wins the 888poker UKPL Portsmouth Main Event (23,018)

Matthew Pitt Senior Editor Copy link

The Grosvenor Portsmouth Gunwharf was the venue for the first 888poker UK Poker League (UKPL) stop of 2025, and it did not disappoint. The 560 buy-in UKPL Portsmouth Main Event drew in 273 entrants, and Jordan Daniels emerged victoriously after being part of a four-way deal at the final table.

Thirty places were paid, with the money bubble bursting on Day 2. Seasoned pros Jack Hardcastle, Thomas Clack, and David Docherty were among the first in-the-money casualties. Rofiquel Miah busted in 18th place, concluding the second day's action.

The third and final day started with 17 hopefuls and ended with Daniels padding his bankroll with 23,018, receiving the winner's trophy, and forever being known as the 2025 888poker UKPL Portsmouth Main Event champion.

2025 UKPL Portsmouth Main Event Final Table Results

Rank Player Prize 1 Jordan Daniels 23,018* 2 Raja Pottiwal 17,965* 3 Kartik Kartik 15,750* 4 Harry Sandford 20,005* 5 Joan Brooks 6,630 6 Dan West 5,420 7 Andrew Outar 4,500 8 Man Li 3,740 9 Cosmin Staicu 3,110

*reflects a four-handed deal

Cosmin Staicu was the final table's first casualty, bowing out in ninth for 3,100. Most of the dame was done when Staicu ran his pocket eights into the pocket queens of Harry Sandford. Staicu was unsuccessful in his spin-up attempts and he headed to the cashier's desk.

Eighth place and 3,740 went to Man Li. Pocket eights were again involved, but this time they were the best hand. Li jammed all-in for eight big blinds with ace-king and ultimately lost a coinflip against Kartik Kartik's snowmen.

A career-best score worth 4,500 went to Andrew Outar after he crashed out in seventh. Outar only had two big blinds when he moved all-in with king-ten. Raja Pottiwal looked him up with ten-eight, flopped an eight, and Outar was out of the UKPL Portsmouth Main Event.

888poker Releases Bustling Live Schedule for 2025 Save the dates

The 5,420 Dan West collected following his exit in sixth place took his recorded lifetime earnings to almost $100,000. West finished second in a Grosvenor 25/50 tournament in November 2023 for 19,455, but had to make do with a sixth-place finish in this event.

The tournament became an all-male affair with the elimination of Joan Brooks in fifth. Brooks' queen-jack fell foul to the ace-four of Pottiwal, and she headed off to collect her first live cash since February 2017, a career-best 6,630.

A deal was struck shortly after Brooks' demise. The ICM-based deal left an additional 2,972 for the runner-up and 5,000 extra for the eventual champion.

Sandford was the chip leader at the time of the deal, but he was the first of the deal-making quartet to be relieved of his stack. Sandford found himself all-in with king-jack against the dominated king-eight of Kartik, and an eight on the flop eliminated him. Sandford took home 20,005 for his efforts.

Third place and 20,750 went to Kartik after he lost an all-in coinflip against Daniels. The last of Kartik's chips went into the middle of the felt holding pocket deuces, and Daniel called with queen-six. Daniel flopped a queen to bust Kartik and send the Main Event into the heads-up phase.

After an hour-long heads-up battle, with the increasing blinds biting into each player's stack, Pottiwal moved all-in for a shade under five big blinds with queen-nine, and Daniels called with jack-eight of hearts. The six-high missed both players, but the turn gave Daniels a flush draw. The river wasn't another heart, but it was an eight, eliminating Pottiwal in second place for 17,965 and locking the title and 23,018 for Daniels.

Next Up on the 888poker UKPL

The next stop on the 2025 888poker UKPL sees the tour head north to the Grosvenor G Casino in Newcastle. UKPL Newcastle runs from April 1 to April 6, and includes a 1,100 High Roller and another 560 Main Event.

As always, 888poker is where you should head if you want to win your way into the 2025 888poker UKPL Newcastle Main Event.

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Tom Vogelsang Proves Four-Card Prowess in PLO Grand Slam Opener

Frank Visser Live Reporter Copy link

Tom Vogelsang has been a force to be reckoned with in high-stakes No-Limit Hold'em tournaments for the past few years, traveling the European circuit to play five- and six-figure buy-ins. However, Vogelsang also knows his way around four cards, most notably winning a $25,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tournament in 2022. Today, he added a Diamond Poker Series PLO trophy to his collection by winning the 5,200 Opener at the PLO Grand Slam, conquering a field of 225 entries on his way to victory.

Vogelsang received the Lion's share of the 1,057,500 prize pool, taking home 234,200. He bested Sean Rafael, who travelled from the United States to Arena Casino Tirana for some Omaha action, during a short and back-and-forth heads up battle. Rafael was awarded 158,100 for his runner-up finish, while Nino Pansier took home the bronze medal and the final six-figure payout of 108,800.

Sean Rafael

Other players at the final table included back-to-back final tabler Youness Barakat, 2019 WSOP Main Event winner Hossein Ensan, and PLO bracelet winner Ronald Keijzer.

5,200 PLO Opener Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize 1 Tom Vogelsang Netherlands 234,200 2 Sean Rafael United States 158,100 3 Nino Pansier Netherlands 108,800 4 Youness Barakat Italy 88,700 5 Fabian Riebau-Schmithals Germany 70,700 6 Hossein Ensan Germany 54,300 7 Harry Casagrande Austria 39,600 8 Ronald Keijzer Netherlands 28,700 9 Andrew Ige United States 23,700

PLO Opener Final Table

Winner's Reaction

"It's been a while since I've won a live tournament, so I'm really happy," Vogelsang shared after his victory. "Winning a tournament always feels like a relief to me. If you have the chip lead, it feels like your tournament to lose. So I feel relieved first, happy next."

"I think I'm better in Omaha tournaments compared to hold'em ones, relative to the field at least," Vogelsang stated when asked about his preference for one or the other. "Everyone is good in no-limit hold'em but Omaha tournaments are relatively new, a lot of people don't know a lot of stuff yet. I've been playing more PLO than hold'em for the last few years, but it's mostly online cash so it flies a bit under the radar."

It was Vogelsang's first time playing a Diamond Poker Series event, but he was assured he would be back for more. "It's amazing here, I would love to visit every series. The buy-ins are perfect, not too low, not too high, and apparently, they're easy to win since I'm one for one."

Early Day 2 Action

Long before Vogelsang's eventual victory, 42 survivors of the two starting flights took their seats at the beginning of today. With one full level of late registration to go, they were joined by 26 more entries, breaching the 1,000,000 guarantee with ease.

Diamond Poker Series ambassador Max Kruse was one of the early casualties of the day, busting shortly before the end of late registration and deciding not to fire a last shot. Soon, the likes of Bernd Gleissner, Blaz Zerjav, Joni Jouhkimainen, Tom-Aksel Bedell, and Nikolaos Lampropoulos joined him at the rail to leave 32 players remaining.

With 27 spots paid, Lautaro Guerra fell just short of the money, as did Gergo Nagy, whose elimination left the field on the stone bubble. Hand-for-hand did not last long before anonymous player "Alakazam" got his kings in against the tens of Barakat, but the latter flopped a set to burst the bubble, securing the min-cash of 10,600 for the remaining players.

Gergo Nagy

Defending champion Aaron Pahlawani made the money but had to make due with a min-cash, and the same fate befell his former heads up opponent Pavel Izotov. Eventually, Espen Myrmo and "Lion King" busted almost simultaneously in 11th and tenth place to leave a final table of nine players.

Final Table

Andrew Ige started the final table near the bottom of the leaderboard and was the first to depart after bluffing off the majority of his stack. Not long thereafter, Vogelsang grabbed the tournament chip lead from Barakat, who had led from the start of the day until that point, by catching another bluff.

Pansier then landed in a dream spot when he had two players all-in while holding aces. Both Keijzer and Harry Casagrande had a pair of kings in their hands and were unable to perform a miraculous escape. Ensan was next to go, shipping his top pair into Rafael's aces, and Day 1b chipleader Fabian Riebau-Schmithals finished in fifth after getting some pay jumps with his middling stack.

Fabian Riebau-Schmithals

Meanwhile, Barakat was looking to improve upon his third-place finish in this event from last November but could not seem to win any significant pots at the final table. Hemet his seemingly inevitable demise in fourth place after jamming his kings into Vogelsang's aces, falling one place short of equaling his previous placement. Three-handed play then lasted only for ten minutes before Pansier had his aces cracked by Vogelsang, setting up the heads up.

Vogelsang started the battle for the title with a two-to-one chip advantage, but Rafael won the majority of the early pots and took over the lead. However, Vogelsang quickly bounced back and soon had the same amount of chips he started with.

The last hand of the tournament came when Rafael three-bet aces preflop and shipped in his chips on a seemingly harmless flop. Vogelsang, however, had flopped a set of fives, leaving Rafael drawing slim. Indeed, Rafael did not hit the few outs he still had, declaring Vogelsang the champion.

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The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) has unveiled its roadmaps for 2025, outlining strategic plans to drive growth and innovation across various sectors of the economy.

In its 2025 outlook document titled Accelerating Diversification to Rebuild Prosperity by Leveraging Industry, Trade & Investment the ministry said it will create and maintain an enabling environment and regulation for development and the expansion of trade and investment.

In 2025, to accelerate diversification and rebuild prosperity, FMITI will deliver a more enabled environment through good regulation and development policies and the expansion of trade and investment across three broad areas: economic diversification, trade revenue growth and investment mobilisation, it said.

According to the ministry, it will accelerate industrialisation, digitalisation, creative arts, manufacturing and innovation by strengthen the implementation of ease of doing business, rehabilitate and establish public and private export processing zones, prioritise intellectual property protection Act, and ensure compliance with international food safety standards of all exportable food products.

It added that it will reposition Nigerias commodity exchange and other exchanges, promote tech and AI for trade and investment and project to enable and drive services-led economy.

The ministry further noted that it plans to revise trade and investment strategy, laws, regulations and trade policy for export-led and retention-focused economy.

It will also Champion Regional trade & investment under Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), champion and implement digital trade protocol for Africa under AfCTA, regulator synergy for improved access to markets, support and champion free trade zones and enter into preferential trade agreements with key countries, support export compliance and standardisation and Optimise and streamline export procedures and documentation across key agencies, it said.

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It said it will retain domestic investors, deepen capital markets, modernise regulatory regime for Responsible, Inclusive, Balanced and Sustainable (RIBS) investments, develop an investment portal to capture investment flows holistically, facilitate establishment of sub- national one-stop investment centers and drive execution and track delivery of investment priority projects.

Key Priorities

Among the ministrys key prioritises in the document is unlocking the full potential of the automotive sector by accelerating local manufacturing and fostering world-class supply chains.

It also plans to expand value addition in agriculture to position Nigeria as a global powerhouse in agro-industrial production and revitalise the cotton textile and garment ecosystem to enhance domestic production, drive exports, and create millions of jobs.

The ministry noted that it plans advancing Nigerias industrial self-sufficiency through strategic investments in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and petrochemical industries.

It said it will conduct a nationwide census to establish a precise, data-driven roadmap for empowering Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and a high-level task force focused on implementing these industrial reforms and reengineering the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), aiming to create a modernised blueprint for sustainable industrialisation.

Speaking on the outlook, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said this year is poised to be an inflection point in the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

As a ministry, we prioritise creating a dynamic, resilient, and sustainable economy by positioning the private sector for productivity and competitiveness and enabling businesses to take full advantage of the vast opportunities available in domestic, regional, and global markets.

She said in tandem with the Presidents 8-point agenda, the ministry goal is to facilitate the creation of wealth, productive jobs, and shared prosperity for all Nigerians.

We have repositioned ourselves to deliver empirically verifiable policies and reforms based on transparently laid down, which improved FMITIs performance significantly in the last quarter of 2024. As we begin the year, we are committed to delivering measurable impact with renewed energy and determination. FMITI remains steadfast in its resolve to lead the charge in rebuilding prosperity for all.

We are building an economy that attracts abundant investment from across the world, fosters industrial transformation, and facilitates trade in exports to generate productive jobs for Nigerians across the country, she said.

Also, John Enoh, minister of state for industry, said delivering on these priorities requires a bold approachone that creates and enables industrial cities, parks, and MSME clusters; ensures access to cutting-edge industrial machinery and infrastructure; and guarantees stable power and energy solutions through structured financing and management models.

We will also drive the revitalisation of existing industries, ensuring they remain vibrant players in an increasingly competitive world.

To make these goals a reality, he said the ministry will engage extensively with key stakeholders across sectors, fostering strategic partnerships, collaboration, and rigorous monitoring and evaluation of industrial projects.

The journey ahead demands unity of purpose, and I am confident that together, we will set Nigeria on an irreversible path to industrial greatness. Lets build a future where industry thrives, innovation flourishes, and Nigeria takes its rightful place in the global economy, he said.

In his remarks, Nura Rimi, the permanent secretary of the ministry said the ministrys mandate is to create a conducive environment that fosters business growth, job creation, and wealth generation across all sectors of the economy.

As we navigate the complexities of the global economy, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment remains committed to driving Nigerias economic transformation. Our dedication to sustainable economic growth is crucial as we implement initiatives that promote industrialisation, enhance trade facilitation, and attract investments, he added.

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The Anambra State Government has demolished a hotel in Anambra State allegedly used as a camp by kidnappers in the state.

The demolished hotel, Udoka Golden Point Hotel and Suites, was located along Onitsha-Owerri Road in Oba, a community in Idemili South Local Government Area of the state.

The hotel has well-partitioned graves of over 30 on the last floor with a shrine, the state government said in a post on its X handle on Saturday.

Video clip

A video clip uploaded on the X handle showed the hotel buildings being demolished, using an excavator, while officials of the government supervised the exercise.

The government officials were led by the Deputy Governor of the state, Onyekachi Ibezim.

One of the officials was heard in the background of the clip explaining that some arms and ammunition were recovered from the hotel.

The official said some fetish materials such as pots as well as the arms and ammunition had been handed over to the Rapid Response Squad of the police in Awkuzu Area of the state.

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When contacted on Monday, the Commissioner of Information in Anambra State, Law Mefor, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Mefor said the hotel was raided following a tip-off by a whistleblower.

He said the discovery of the graves and shrine indicated that the hotel was being used to commit crimes.

The commissioner also confirmed that some persons have been arrested in connection with the incident, but declined to mention names.

He said the hotel owner, who has been on the run, claimed that the graves were only partitions designed for his planned fish pods and snail business.

But we have evidence to believe that those things are graves. We didnt just assume, Mr Mefor said, adding that dried human bones were seen in the graves.

And further investigations proved that the place is a kidnappers den, he said.

Not political witch hunting

Mr Mefor stressed that the owner of the hotel is not a politician and that the demolition could not have been a case of political witch hunting.

He wondered why the graves and shrine were constructed on the last floor of the building if the facility was not being used to commit crimes.

READ ALSO: Anambra govt reacts to alleged threat to ban traditional worship

If he (hotel owner) is claiming innocent, what is the shrine in the place for? he said.

The commissioner emphasised that the demolition of the hotel was in compliance with the newly enacted Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025.

What the law set out to do is to look into the enablers of insecurity in Anambra State, he said.

Background

Like other states in Nigerias South-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State with frequent attacks by armed persons.

To address growing attacks in Anambra State, Governor of the State, Charles Soludo, recently set up a new security outfit, Agunachemba.

Mr Soludo also launched a new security arrangement known as Operation Udo Ga-Achi involving a combined team of security operatives from various agencies.

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In March 1994, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) set up the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF)  comprising Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, joined by Benin  to combat insecurity in the region.

The regional force symbolises LCBC member states ability to overcome the mistrust and friction that had characterised their bilateral relations, particularly around boundary issues. However, in the past two years, rifts have weakened the MNJTF  while the jihadist threat remains acute and demands regional, not just national, responses.

After a lacklustre first ten years, the force was reactivated in 2014 in response to the rise and spread of Boko Haram attacks. Backed by the African Union (AU), its mandate focuses on combatting Boko Haram and other terrorist groups to enable stabilisation and humanitarian operations.

The MNJTF represented a cornerstone of the holistic peacebuilding approach envisaged by LCBC member states, who quickly understood the need to work together as a region against a transnational threat.

The forces record since 2014 is generally encouraging, with successes achieved in halting Boko Harams territorial expansion. At its height, Boko Haram controlled large areas in north-east Nigeria and directly threatened cities like Chads capital NDjamena, Cameroons Far North Region capital Maroua, and southeast Nigers Diffa.

The insurgents are currently enclaved in three main areas: Lake Chads islands, Cameroons Mandara Mountains, and Sambisa Forest in Nigeria.

Through several operations, such as Lake Sanity, the MNJTF has regularly disrupted Boko Haram by dismantling its bases, arms caches, weapons and armour manufacturing workshops.

Fighters  including commanders  have been killed, liberating occupied communities and enabling the seizure of military and logistical equipment.

Cross-border economic activities have largely resumed, and towns like Nigerias Bagakawa, Monguno, Mallam Fatori and Banki are gradually regaining their earlier dynamism.

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However, Boko Haram factions have demonstrated resilience and adaptability in the face of military operations. The death of top leaders like Abubakar Shekau, the killing of other senior commanders, and material losses, have weakened the group without definitively eliminating its capacity to wreak havoc.

And so the threat persists.

Institute for Security Studies data shows that several deadly attacks were recorded in the last quarter of 2024 in the four Lake Chad Basin riparian countries. In Nigeria, at least 81 people died and others are missing after a 1 September attack in Mafa. In Niger, a transport vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device (IED), killing six people on 28 September.

On 28 October, Boko Haram attacked Chads army in Barkaram, killing over 40 soldiers. In Cameroon, an incursion into Ldamang (Mayo-Tsanaga) killed 11 people on 12 November. Daily attacks on civilians are occurring in the cross-border areas of Cameroon and Nigerias Borno State, along with a resurgence of IEDs and suicide bombings.

The MNJTF has withstood Boko Harams attacks across the region, but is unlikely to survive a rift between the countries that contribute its troops and resources.

Following Nigers 26 July 2023 coup, the country has been in a stand-down mode from the force. This endangers both Niger and the region, given that it is around Nigers Baroua area that Bakura Doro, Shekaus apparent new successor, is based.

Chad also threatened to withdraw from the force in November 2024. After the deadly October attack in Barkaram, Chad quickly launched its own Operation Haskanite to hunt down and neutralise the terrorists, but felt the other MNJTF member states should have provided more support.

These developments show the vulnerability of ad hoc security arrangements and why the current tensions between Lake Chad basin countries must be taken seriously.

At the same time, the MNJTF faces internal challenges that need attention. These include insufficient troops and equipment to deploy to islands and swamplands, and difficulties combatting IEDs and communicating effectively. Financial resources are also inadequate.

The Lake Chad Basin jihadist threat is both transnational and inter-regional, and cannot be overcome by national approaches alone. To be effective, responses must match the threat.

The region should carefully examine the MNJTFs challenges and some member states grievances to strengthen operations and avoid the same fate as the G5 Sahel force. The G5 Sahel was disbanded after setbacks in military cooperation between Sahel countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and France, the forces main partner.

Unlike the G5 Sahel, which was driven by France, the MNJTF has the advantage of being run by countries in the region. Although relations between Sahel countries and their neighbours remain tense, Nigerias recent diplomatic initiatives towards Niger and Chad should be strengthened to prevent them leaving the MNJTF.

After over a decade of relatively successful regional and multidimensional combat against Boko Haram, the LCBC member states are at a crossroads, and decisions about the future must be made.

The Fourth Lake Chad Basin Governors Forum in Maiduguri this month provides the chance to assess the MNJTFs progress, ease hostilities and jointly consider solutions. LCBC members defence ministers should also meet to settle disagreements and keep the force going.

Beyond the MNJTF, countries should invest more in the LCBCs core mission and mandate  to manage the waters sustainably and equitably, conserve the basins ecosystems, promote regional integration, and preserve peace and security. In short, holistic measures are needed.

Finally, more technical and financial support is needed from the international community to enhance the MNJTFs operational and strategic capabilities. A weakened force would allow a resurgence of violent extremism in the region and beyond.

Remadji Hoinathy, Senior Researcher, Central Africa and Lake Chad Basin, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Raoul Sumo Tayo, Senior Researcher, ENACT Central Africa, ISS

(This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish).

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The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, has said over 200 million Nigerians are at risk of contracting at least one Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD), with 165 million in need of preventive chemotherapy.

Mr Salako disclosed this during a press briefing to commemorate the 2025 World NTDs Day (WNTDD) in Abuja, on Monday.

He said globally, over one billion people are affected with NTDs across 149 countries with Africa bearing nearly half of the burden.

He noted that Nigeria alone accounts for about 25 per cent of the cases on the continent.

Nigeria has more than 200 million people at risk of one NTD or the other and 165 million people needing preventive chemotherapy for at least one NTD, he said.

The WNTDD observed annually on 30 January, aims to raise awareness about the devastating impact of NTDs on vulnerable populations, particularly in low-income communities.

The theme for 2025 WNTDD is Unite, Act, and Eliminate NTDs.

Mr Salako said the WNTDD is an opportunity to re-energise the momentum to end the suffering from these diseases caused by a variety of pathogens, viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, and toxins.

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We shall focus attention on millions of people with little or no access to prevention, treatment, and care services to counter the social determinants of health, he said.

Neglected Tropical Diseases

NTDs are a diverse group of conditions caused by various pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), these diseases primarily affect impoverished communities in tropical areas, though some have a much larger geographical distribution.

Some NTDs include Buruli ulcer, Chagas disease, dengue and chikungunya, leishmaniasis, leprosy, Noma, and lymphatic filariasis, among others.

The Nigerian government had in November said approximately $19 million is required to effectively combat NTDs in the country.

Eliminating NTDs

Mr Salako noted that Nigeria is one of the few endemic countries that have developed and reviewed its NTDs master plan 2023  2027, which is now being used as an advocacy tool by stakeholders to achieve the 2030 targets for disease control and elimination.

He said the movement to eliminate NTDs and other significant diseases like leprosy has been driven by partnerships across various sectors, including public and private sectors, donor countries, UN bodies, philanthropies, research institutions, civil society organisations, and the media.

He noted that over the years, there have been significant global, continental, and national efforts aimed at controlling and eliminating these diseases, with some progress being made.

Mr Salako added that 51 countries have successfully eliminated at least one of the 21 NTDs, demonstrating that the NTDs elimination agenda is achievable.

He pointed out that Nigeria has also made progress in tackling some diseases over the years.

A few notable progresses include the eradication of Guinea Worm in 2013, the weaning of 29 million people of ivermectin treatment in 10 transmission zones (States) in the country, elimination of Onchocerciasis in Plateau, Nasarawa states, and interruption of transmission in addition eight States (Kaduna, Kebbi, Zamfara, Delta, Imo, Abia, Enugu, Anambra), he said.

About 39.5 million people across 20 States and the FCT no longer require Lymphatic Filariasis treatment. We have achieved a reduction in prevalence in at-risk populations of trachoma infection by 84 per cent. 3.5 million persons in 109 endemic LGAs across 17 states are no longer in need of Mass Drug Administration.

He assured that the control and elimination of NTDs in Nigeria remains an important element in the governments drive towards attaining Universal Health Coverage by 2030.

READ ALSO: Enugu provides ultrasound services for pregnant rural women

Partnership

In his remark, the Director of Helen Keller International in Nigeria, Aliyu Mohammed, reaffirmed the organisations commitment to supporting Nigeria in its quest to eliminate leprosy and other NTDs by 2030.

Mr Mohammed said; We have been partnering with the government to tackle these issues, and we are stretching our collaboration to ensure we eliminate all phases of leprosy and other NTDs as part of the broader fight against national poverty.

The Country Director of CBM Global, Abdulazeez Musa, emphasised the importance of sustainable funding, innovative solutions, and a commitment to equitable healthcare for all.

Mr Musa stressed that immediate action is crucial, as delays could result in lost lives, diminished livelihoods, and prolonged suffering.

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Legal icon and elder statesman, Afe Babalola, says he is ready to withdraw his criminal defamation suit against rights activist, Dele Farotimi.

Mr Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had sued Mr Farotimi in an Ado Ekiti Magistrates Court following Farotimis publication of a book which allegedly defamed him.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Babalolas decision to withdraw his suit followed the visit to him by the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Sunday night.

The visit by the Ooni to the elder statesmans residence at Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti (ABUAD) was to plead with him to withdraw the suit.

The Ooni, who arrived at ABUAD at about 10.30 pm, was accompanied by other top Yoruba traditional rulers.

Traditional rulers, who came in company with the Ooni, included the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Ogoga of Ikere-Ekiti, Oloye of Oye-Ekiti, Ajero of Ijero-Ekiti and Olojudo of Ido- Ekiti among others.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr Babalola said he had received several letters as well as calls on the issue from eminent Nigerians asking him to withdraw the suit.

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They included former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Bishop Hassan Kukah

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said he had no choice than to succumb to the latest pleas by the visiting traditional rulers.

He stressed that he had nothing to gain in Mr Farotimi being jailed.

Mr Babalola assured the traditional rulers that he would direct his lawyers to withdraw the case.

Earlier, the Ooni had said Yoruba leaders and the traditional institution had been following the development keenly.

The traditional ruler said that he and others resolved to intervene so that Mr Babalola can pardon his son, Mr Farotimi.

He commended the legal icon for building his integrity over the years and urged him not to relent following the development.

NAN reports that the meeting ended at about midnight

NAN also recalls that Mr Babalola recently sued Mr Farotimi at an Ekiti Magistrates court, claiming criminal defamation in the latters controversial book,  Nigeria and its Criminal Justice system.

The court granted Mr Farotimi N30 million bail.

(NAN)

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President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and agencies in charge of enforcing traffic rules to implement measures to prevent recurring petrol tanker explosions in Nigeria.

There has been an increase in petrol tanker explosions across Nigeria in recent times.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that a petrol tanker, on Saturday, exploded at the Ugwu Onyeama section of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, killing several people and injuring others.

The FRSC later confirmed that 18 people died in the incident.

A week before the Enugu incident, another petrol tanker had exploded along a highway in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State.

Over 70 people were killed in the Niger explosion.

Tinubus directive

In a statement on Sunday by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, Mr Tinubu directed all agencies in charge of enforcing traffic to reverse the trend of tanker explosions.

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The president calls for caution and adherence to safety measures among road users, particularly fuel tanker operators, the statement reads.

Furthermore, he directs agencies in charge of enforcing traffic rules to implement measures to prevent recurring petrol tanker explosions nationwide, the statement reads in part.

According to the statement, Mr Tinubu commiserated with the families of the deceased and prayed for the repose of their souls.

The president also prayed for the quick recovery for those receiving medical treatment.

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A suspected kidnapper stretched his luck too far as he was identified while on a sympathy visit to a victims house in Kontagora Local Government Area of Niger State.

Police spokesperson in the state, Wasiu Abiodun, in a statement on Sunday, said the suspect, Nasiru Isyaka, and his gang had invaded Sabon-Gari Mangu Matachibu village, killed a person and kidnapped two others.

The suspect, who is from the village, was arrested when he visited to sympathise with one of the rescued victims after being identified as one of the kidnappers.

On January 17th, 2025, at about 10 a.m., Police operatives of A Div Kontangora arrested one Nasiru Isyaka of Sabon-Gari Mangu Matachibu village via Kontagora, the statement read.

The suspect was arrested in connection with a kidnapping incident that occurred on December 29th, 2024 at the same village, where some armed men invaded the village, shot a victim dead and kidnapped two others, but were later rescued through a joint security effort.

In the course of preliminary investigation, the suspect was arrested when he visited one of the victims in his home, and he was identified to be one of the kidnappers.

READ ALSO: Police arrest activist over planned protest against IGP Egbetokun

One locally made short gun was recovered from him, and he confessed to the crime.

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He has also been transferred to the Police headquarters, Minna, for an in-depth investigation and prosecution.

Effort is ongoing to arrest other members of the gang.

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The police in Rivers State have arrested a suspect accused of vandalising and stealing equipment from an Airtel Telecommunication Company facility in Port Harcourt.

Grace Iringe-Koko, the police spokesperson in Rivers, told journalists on Monday that the police operatives arrested the suspected vandal during a stop-and-search operation.

The male suspect was apprehended by officers from Rumuji Division around 1 a.m. on Saturday while driving a black Toyota Sienna vehicle along the East-West Road.

During the search of the vehicle, officers discovered 2,000 tons of 48 Volts Direct Current Power System Cabinets, which were identified as the property of Airtel Telecommunications Company, Mrs Iringe-Koko, a superintendent of police, said.

She added that the suspect was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation or documentation for transporting the equipment.

We suspect that the equipment was stolen.

Both the suspect and the recovered exhibits are now in our custody while the investigation is ongoing, she added.

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In a separate development, Mrs Iringe-Koko confirmed the arrest of four male suspects linked to criminal activities in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers.

She disclosed that police operatives discovered a round of 7.62 by 51mm live ammunition and containers filled with liquid substances suspected to be hard drugs during a raid on their hideout.

The suspects were apprehended by operatives of the Police Hawk Unit during a targeted raid at Blessing Street, Koko-Kom in Oyigbo LGA, Mrs Iringe-Koko stated.

READ ALSO:Court remands man over alleged killing of girlfriend

According to the police spokesperson, the suspects admitted during interrogation to being members of a criminal syndicate responsible for various acts of terror in the area.

They are currently providing valuable information about their criminal activities, and efforts are underway to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate as well as recover additional weapons, the spokesperson said.

(NAN)

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The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed 12 March for judgment in suit seeking to stop Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) from arresting and prosecuting Commercial Sex Workers (CSWs) in Abuja.

The judge, James Omotosho, fixed the date after lawyers to the parties presented their arguments for and against the case.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the plaintiff, the Lawyers Alert Initiative for Protecting the Rights of Children, Women and the Indigent, sued the AEPB, FCT Minister, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as 1st to 4th respondents respectively.

The suit filed on 14 May 2024, through the plaintiffs team of lawyers led by Rommy Mom, Bamidele Jacobs and Victor Eboh, raised two questions for determination.

It asked the court to determine whether the duties of the AEPB under Section 6 of the AEPB Act, 1997, extends to the harassment, arrest, detention and prosecution of women suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja.

Whether by the provision of Section 35 (1) (d) of the AEPB Act, 1997, women can be regarded as articles or their bodies regarded as goods for purchase.

The lawyers, therefore, sought a declaration that the charge made by the personnel of the AEPB before the FCT Mobile Court, which referred to arrested women suspected of engaging in sex work as articles and considered their bodies as goods for purchase, is discriminatory and violated the provisions of Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution.

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They sought a declaration that the duties of the board does not extend to the harassment, arrest and raid of women suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja.

They also sought a declaration that neither Section 6 of the AEPB Act, 1997, nor any extant laws of the country, authorise the board to arrest women suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja.

They further sought a declaration that Section 35(1) (d) of the AEPB Act, 1997, does not refer to women as articles or their bodies regarded as goods for purchase.

The lawyers, therefore, prayed the court for an order restraining the AEPB, its agents or privies, from harassing, arresting and raiding women suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja.

They sought an order restraining the 1st respondent, her agents or privies from prosecuting women suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja under Section 35(1) (d) of the AEPB Act, 1997.

They equally sought an order directing all the respondents to ensure proper application of the provisions of Abuja Environmental Protect Act, 1997, by the 1st respondent.

Plaintiffs case

A Project Assistant with R.A. Mom and Associates, Ayomide Joshua, in the affidavit she deposed to, said the applicant is a non-partisan and non-profit human rights organisation.

She said the organisation has as its objectives, among others, the provision of free legal services to vulnerable women in Nigeria.

She said the group had rendered assistance to over 200 women in Abuja on account of their being harassed, arrested and prosecuted before mobile courts by AEPB.

She said the group had provided pro bono legal assistance to vulnerable women who were raided, harassed, arrested and prosecuted by officers of the AEPB on suspicion of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja.

She averred that in 2019, the lawyers rendered free legal assistance to more than 30 women whose rights were allegedly violated by AEPB and the Nigeria Police Force.

A copy of the judgement of one of the cases that the applicant filed on behalf of the victims of the 1st respondent is hereby attached and marked as Exhibit A, she said.

The worker said that these women were suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja, leading to their harassment, arrest and prosecution by AEPB under Section 35 (1) (d) of the AEPB Act, 1997.

She said the above-mentioned cases are of both national and international concerns, involving international organisations such as the United Nations, Amnesty International, and the Open Society Fund, along with over 30 local organisations

She said though the women were prosecuted relying on Section 35(1)(d) of the AEPB Act, she said the section states that any person who sells, displays, offers, or carries for sale any goods or articles of trade at a road junction or any other unauthorised place is guilty of an offence.

She alleged that AEPB had normalised the use of the police and other security agencies to arrest, harass and prosecute several women suspected to be engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja under the section.

She said that the women who are arrested often do not have any goods for sale or wares on them.

She said AEPB, at the time of prosecuting these women, frequently accuses them of prostitution and selling their bodies.

She said AEPB had maintained that it only arrests sex workers who are found standing on the streets of Abuja, waiting for their male clients.

These women are often arrested alone, while the male counterparts are pardoned, despite being found in the same place at the same time, she said.

According to her, the women are usually arrested with the assistance of the police and are not permitted to contact any relatives.

She said the determination of the case in favour of the applicant would put an end to the continuous harassment, intimidation and arrest of vulnerable women in Abuja by the board.

She said the rights of these women are being violated by the board.

I know as a fact this violation stems from the 1st respondents demeaning comparison of these womens bodies to articles or goods displaced for sale.

She said before instituting the matter, a pre-action notice dated Feb. 16, 2021, was served on AEPB

She said it would be in the interest of justice to grant their reliefs.

AEPBs defence

But in a counter-affidavit jointly filed by the minister, AEPB and FCTA by their lawyer, Betty Umegbulem, the respondents denied all the averments in the applicants affidavit

Ahmed Gidado, a Legal Assistant, who deposed to the counter affidavit, said the applicant did not file any case against the 1st to 3rd respondents in 2019.

Gidado argued that the exhibit attached therein was for a case filed by one Ms Mirabel Ojimba and not the applicant.

He said the copy of the judgment attached was not complete as the last pages were missing.

He argued that the court could not rely on a judgement signed by the judge and duly certified.

He said the applicant did not present any evidence to prove that any woman was harassed or arrested by the AEPB.

He said contrary to the applicants argument, the police officers are authorised, by law, to arrest any person they suspect to have committed an offence for the purpose of bringing him or her before a court of law for prosecution.

He said such suspect too has the right to defend himself or raise any objection for his or her arrest at trial before a court.

Gidado said all the information contained therein was hypothetical and speculative since applicant was not the person arrested and the source of the information was not disclosed by the deponent.

He argued that the applicant did not state how its fundamental human rights were violated and which of the rights was violated by the 1st to 3rd respondents to warrant filing of the action.

The officer averred that the applicant was not the person whose fundamental human rights were allegedly violated by the 1st to 3rd respondents.

The person (s) alleged to have been harassed, arrested or raided by the 1st to 3rd respondents are not before the court to narrate their side of the story, he added.

He said the applicant did not present any facts to support the assertion that the 1st to 3rd respondents have always harassed and prosecuted women in Abuja.

Gidado said the applicant did not specifically mention the rights (as outlined in Chapter IV of the Constitution) violated by the 1st to 3rd respondents to enable the respondents to reply to the issues appropriately.

Gidado, who argued that the applicants prayers were not in line with the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009, said fundamental human rights cannot be enforced by another person who is not the victim of violation.

Also, the AGF, in his counter affidavit deposed to by Barnabas Onoja, a Litigation Officer, argued that all the facts, as presented by the applicant, were untrue and misleading.

Onoja said contrary to the applicants submission, the AGF never received any pre-action notice from the applicant and that his office was only aware of the present suit upon the receipt of the processes.

He said the AGF does not act as a supervisory officer over the activities of every security or federal government agency.

(NAN)

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The Enugu State Government is providing ultrasound services at Primary Healthcare Centres to improve maternal and child healthcare delivery.

The Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency disclosed this via its Facebook page on Saturday, 25 January.

According to the agency, the ultrasound services are available from 9 a.m. every Tuesday at the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in Abakpa and Asata in Enugu State.

To celebrate the launch, all ultrasound services for pregnant women will be completely free for the first month. After that, services will remain accessible at affordable rates, the agency said.

The agency said pregnant women have to enrol in the Enugu eHealth Platform to enjoy the new services.

PHCs in states across Nigeria are mostly built in the hinterland to cater for the health needs of poor rural communities, but they are often abandoned to rot away because of poor management and lack of funding.

Governor Peter Mbahs administration in Enugu State is working to revamp primary healthcare services.

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Mr Mbah had flagged off the construction of Type-2 PHCs across the states 260 wards.

During his recent visit to Enugu in early January, President Bola Tinubu inaugurated 60 PHCs built and equipped by the state government, while 200 others were still under construction.

An official of the Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that the PHCs in Abakpa and Asata are in the first phase of providing ultrasound services for pregnant women.

This is a start-off, the official said.

Meanwhile, we are trying to equip all our facilities with basic lab equipment as soon as other type 2 PHCs are finished, equipped and furnished so that health workers will live in the facilities and give 24-hour services, he added.

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Armed police officers Sunday night arrested activist Henry Nwodo at the Ruga-Fulani village in the Jahi 2 area of Abuja over a planned protest against alleged police harassment and extortion of Nigerians.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Mr Nwodo was picked up by five armed police officers and was driven away in a black car with no number plates at about 8:30 pm Sunday.

The police officers arrested him at Ruga-Fulani market immediately he got down from the bike, Miss Rose, an eyewitness, told our reporter, adding that he (Mr Nwodo) was beaten, his phone seized while he was resisting, but they immediately pushed him into a waiting black car and drove off.

Mr Nwodo, a member of the Take It Back Movement, is one of the organisers of the #OccupyPoliceHQ to End Police Extortion protest slated for Monday, 27 January, at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Louis Edet House, Abuja.

Mr Nwodos housemate, Emiola Osifeso, told PREMIUM TIMES that the activist had gone to the night market to purchase rice for dinner when the police arrested him.

He was the only one arrested in the area. Eyewitnesses told us that the car used by the police to take him away had been parked there for hours before Nwodos arrival on a bike, Mr Osifeso said.

He further stated that His arrest is connected to tomorrows protest at the police headquarters, adding that some residents said the vigilante officers in the area outed him to the police.

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Police invitation

The planned protest was spurred by Omoyele Sowore, an activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 presidential election.

Mr Sowore will appear before the police on Monday following an invitation in relation to a viral video he released of alleged extortion at a police checkpoint in Lagos.

Sharing a picture of the official invitation letter in a post on X.com on Friday, Mr Sowore wrote, The PoliceNG invitation has arrived, I will be there on Monday as requested.

The letter from the Force Intelligence Department of the NPF partly reads, This office is investigating cases of Resisting and Obstructing Public Officers, Disobedience to Lawful Order, Acts Intended to Cause Grievous Harm or Prevent Arrest, Compelling Action by Intimidation, Reckless & Negligent Acts, Refusal to Assist Public Servant and Cyberstalking in which your name featured, prominently.

You are requested to report for an interview with the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID) through the undersigned, at SPOs Room 212, 2nd Floor, Force Intelligence Department (FID) Complex, Shehu Shagari Way, opposite Force Headquarters Area 11, Garki, Abuja on Monday, 27th January, 2025 at 10am.

The letter added that Mr Sowore is at liberty to come along with his attorney.

The former presidential candidate had disclosed in a post on Facebook on Thursday that he had been contacted by a senior police officer who requested my presence for questioning regarding an extortion video I did at a police checkpoint in Lagos, which prompted the police hierarchy to launch a manhunt for me.

He also disclosed on Wednesday night via X that the police were searching for him but expressed readiness for arrest. He stated that he is currently available in Abuja.

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A 74-year-old physically challenged woman has been burnt to death by five people in Anambra State, South-east Nigeria.

The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, in a statement on Sunday, said the suspects allegedly burnt the victim to death in Abagana, Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, did not, however, state when the incident happened.

He said the suspects involved were four men and one woman.

The spokesperson said police operatives from Abagana Divisional Police Headquarters arrested four of the suspects at about 9 a.m. on Sunday.

He gave the names of the arrested suspects as Uzochukwu Okeke, 47, Fidel Anayo, 60 and Ikenna Anene, 54  all males and indigenes of Abagana.

A 21-year-old woman, Chinenye Ekwenugo from Ifitedunu, was the only female suspect.

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Ifitedunu is a neighbouring community in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The fifth suspect, Ifeanyi Igwe, who is Ms Ekwenugos boyfriend, was currently on the run, the police said.

How it happened

Mr Ikenga said Ms Ekwenugo has confessed that she and her boyfriend alongside three other suspects set the victim ablaze.

The police spokesperson said the female suspect also confessed that they had secured a casket to bury the victim before security operatives intervened.

The police did not provide the name of the deceased woman, who only moved with the help of a wheelchair.

The operatives also recovered the burnt remains of the deceased, the wheelchair, and a casket.

Mr Ikenga said the police have also begun efforts to track down the main suspect, Mr Igwe.

The body of the deceased has been deposited in the morgue for autopsy and further probe of the cause of the death, he said.

He said the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Nnaghe Obono, has ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department of the police for investigation.

Not the first

This latest incident is coming less than a week after a Nigerian man allegedly burnt his wife to death in the same Abagana Community in Anambra State.

The victim, Chioma Nwanna, a mother of five, was confirmed dead on Wednesday morning.

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Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore arrived at the Force Criminal Intelligence Department (FCID) in Abuja on Monday at 10 a.m., amid a heavy security presence.

PREMIUM TIMES observed the deployment of armed police officers ahead of Mr Sowores scheduled appearance.

He was summoned for questioning after posting a viral video alleging extortion by police officers at a checkpoint in Lagos.

According to the invitation letter dated 23 January from the FCID, Mr Sowore is under investigation for multiple offences, including resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful orders, and cyberstalking. The letter, signed by a senior police officer, read in part:

You are requested to report for an interview with the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID) through the undersigned, at SPOs Room 212, 2nd Floor, Force Intelligence Department (FID) Complex, Shehu Shagari Way, opposite Force Headquarters Area 11, Garki, Abuja on Monday, 27th January 2025 at 10 am, the letter said.

The activist was directed to appear before the Deputy Inspector General of Police at the FID Complex in Abuja at 10 a.m. on Monday.

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In response to the summons, the Take It Back Movement, a group aligned with Mr Sowores activism, called for a protest against police extortion at the Force Headquarters. A flier circulated by the group on social media urged supporters to gather in solidarity.

As of press time, there were no reports of disruptions, but tensions remained high with the heavy police presence.

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The Lagos State Government has sealed Lagos Islands Gorodom and Alagbafo markets because of various environmental violations.

Tokunbo Wahab, Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, announced the closure on Monday via his X handle.

Photos and a video accompanying the post show the markets being sealed off around 7 a.m. Monday, with traders hurriedly packing their belongings.

This development follows similar action taken against the Oyingbo, Ladipo, Alayabiagba, Oke-Odo markets, Alaba Rago in Ojo, Alada market in Ikeja, and some plazas around the Tejuosho market for environmental infractions.

Some of these markets were sealed off for various environmental violations, including improper waste disposal, filthy environment, illegal burning of refuse, lack of waste bins and others.

In recent times, the state government has shown zero tolerance for environmental infractions, shutting down commercial buildings, religious centres, and markets found to have contravened the laws.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Mr Wahab, along with Special Adviser on Environment, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu; Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Mahmood Adegbite, and other officials, visited the Savage/Elegbata/Bombata drainage channel around the Olowogbowo-Apongbon axis in Lagos Island.

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Full enforcement of the removal of stalls and shanties is expected to commence on Tuesday following the expiration of the 48-hour quit notice issued to the traders.

During the inspection tour, the team observed that the setback of these two critical drainage collectors, which are Bombata/Olusi and the Alagbafo collector, had been converted into shops/stalls, thereby causing the total blockage of the collectors.

READ ALSO: Lagos mosque sealed off over leadership dispute

These shanties impeding drainage channels will be removed in the best interest of all residents and to complement the approved regeneration of the entire Lagos Island.

Mr Wahab said that the enforcement activities will include removing any extension that impedes public infrastructure within the drainage channels, and any building or structures not erected on drainage alignments will not be touched.

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A mob in Oke-Ijeun, a community in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Tuesday lynched an elderly woman.

The woman, Ojo Kehinde, was accused by the mob of being a witch and transforming from a bird to a human.

Video clips showing Mrs Kehinde in a ditch and surrounded by the mob have been circulating on social media, mainly X.

In one of the clips uploaded by an X user (@Teeniiola), the mob was seen abusing and hitting the victim, who appeared to be in her 80s.

The clip was titled: Full video of a Flying Bird that turns into a human being in Abeokuta.

However, the eight-minute clip did not show Mrs Kehinde transforming into a human, as the video and its title suggest.

In the clip, Mrs Kehinde was visibly weak and looking rather haggard, apparently because of the beatings.

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How it happened

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that a prophetess from a church within the area first raised the alarm that Mrs Kehinde transformed into a human from a bird.

The prophetess, whose name could not be ascertained, claimed the birth fell on the roof of her church before changing into Mrs Kehinde.

The prophetess claimed she was praying when the incident happened.

The prophetess, whose name could not be ascertained, and other members of the community were seen in the video interrogating the old woman.

Mrs Kehinde struggled to speak due to her weakness as the mob interrogated her.

Police operatives from Ogun State later rescued her.

Death

Leo Igwe, the director of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AFAW), told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday that the woman had died as a result of the beatings by the mob.

There were still blood stains while she was being rescued. The prophetess was at some point hitting her on the head, he said.

AfAW is an advocacy group campaigning for an end to witch persecution in Africa.

Mr Igwe said the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department of the police headquarters in Ogun State.

The victims son, Kabir Kehinde, told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that the prophetess, who first raised the alarm, has been arrested by the police.

Mr Kehinde said his mother was not a witch and did not transform from a bird.

Police speak

PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately get the comment of Omolola Odutola, the police spokesperson in Ogun State, because of poor communication network signal.

Ms Odutola, a superintendent of police, did not respond to subsequent calls from our reporter.

However, the investigating police officer in charge of the case confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that the prophetess had been arrested over the incident.

The officer, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to reporters, said he was not at the office at the moment and could not give details of the case.

Group kicks

AFAW, the advocacy group campaigning for an end to witch persecution in Africa, has faulted the accusation and attack on Mrs Kehinde.

The Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW) urges Nigerians to realise that no human being turns into a bird, snake, or cat as popularly believed, Mr Igwe, its director, said in a statement forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday.

He said the viral video clips of the mob action against the woman have illustrated the grip of superstition on the minds of Nigerians despite modern education.

The misconception that a human being can turn into a bird remains a popular superstition.

The notion that a human being could magically turn or transform into a bird or cat is counterintuitive, he said.

Mr Igwe said the superstition contradicts the fundamentals of science and logic studied in schools.

READ ALSO: Man accused of witchcraft burnt to death in Ebonyi

The AFAW director regretted that religions often preach, peddle, and reinforce the idea he described as baseless and nonsense.

Nigerians often use this misconception to justify murder, torture and maltreatment of elderly persons, including those suffering from dementia and other mental health challenges, he said.

AfAW urges Nigerians to abandon these superstitions and embrace science and critical thinking.

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The police are set to grant bail to a human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore on Monday, after interrogation at the Force Intelligence Department (FID), Abuja.

Mr Sowore said this on his official Facebook page on Monday in detention.

The DIG of FID, Dasuki Galandachi at the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja had just informed me that he has instructed his personnel to grant me bail, pending the conclusion of the investigation.

I have also advised the DIG that in accepting bail, I will not agree to conditions that compromise my innocence, dignity, and integrity. If such unreasonable conditions are imposed, I will choose to remain in detention, he said.

Mr Sowore was invited for questioning after posting a viral video alleging police extortion at a checkpoint in Lagos.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that he arrived at the FID complex at exactly 10 a.m. amid heavy security presence.

A police invitation letter dated 23 January, stated that Mr Sowore was under investigation for alleged offences, including resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful orders, and cyberstalking.

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The letter, signed by a senior police officer, directed him to report for an interview with the Deputy Inspector General of Police at Room 212, 2nd Floor, FID Complex, Shehu Shagari Way, Abuja, on Mondayat 10 a.m.

In an earlier post on Facebook on Monday, Mr Sowore accused the police of planning to detain and prosecute him following an interview at the FID.

Mr Sowore said he had completed the engagement with police officers, who, according to him, relied on outdated information sourced primarily from the internet.

When I asked them to identify the location of the alleged crime in Lagos, they provided a vague response, stating it was along the airport road.

I chose not to provide a written statement, as we informed the police team that, in the absence of a defined crime, the process to determine such was unnecessary.

He further alleged that the officers took a break during the session and later informed him they were awaiting instructions from their superiors.

It seems their plan is to detain me and transfer me to Lagos for a kangaroo trial, he said, adding that he remained undeterred.

However, I am prepared to face any consequences. I made it clear to the team that the matter revolves around my publicly stated view that the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who is due for retirement and clearly tired, had his tenure extended illegally. I maintain that we are entering a promising year, and our fight for justice will persist. #RevolutionNow, he said.

READ ALSO: Sowore arrives at police headquarters amid heavy security presence

The Mr Sowore-led Take It Back Movement,had called for a protest at the Force Headquarters on Monday to denounce police extortion and alleged harassment of Mr Sowore.

The group circulated flyers on social media urging supporters to gather in solidarity.

Police authorities have yet to comment on the allegations.

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The federal government on Monday, in Abuja, inaugurated a 25-member committee, the Nigerian Education Data Initiative (NEDI), to build a robust educational databank for the country.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, while inaugurating the committee, said that the databank which would be centralised and harmonised would consolidate all critical education data in the country.

Mr Aluasa said that the initiative was geared towards addressing the problem of out-of-school children and other educational challenges in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the committee has a timeframe of the third quarter of 2025 to build the database for the educational sector.

The minister explained that the databank would not merely house information but would also serve as the foundation for evidence-based decision-making and policy development.

He added that it would also enable the prompt delivery of quality education that meets the aspirations of every Nigerian child.

According to him, for too long, our education system has been hindered by the absence of a unified and comprehensive data framework.

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It has been fragmented and inconsistent with incomplete data, spread across various institutions, agencies, and states.

This has also impeded our ability to make informed decisions, allocate resources effectively, and measure progress with accuracy.

Today, we are saying unequivocally that this must change. The Nigerian Education Data Initiative is our bold response to these longstanding challenges.

Mr Alausa said the roles of the implementation committee would include designing and executing a roadmap for the successful realisation of NEDI.

Other roles he said include developing a framework for the Nigerian Education Databank, harmonising data systems across agencies and institutions and ensuring data security, integrity, and confidentiality, among others.

He explained that the databank would encompass a wide range of data categories that would reflect the realities and complexities of the education system.

This initiative is a game-changer. With accurate, reliable, and accessible data, we will identify gaps and make targeted interventions where they are needed most.

We will monitor progress in real time and address emerging challenges proactively, foster transparency and accountability in resource allocation and policy implementation, he added.

The minister further explained that the databank would provide comprehensive data on school locations, physical infrastructure, and the availability of essential facilities to guide strategic investments, particularly in underserved regions.

He added that it would provide detailed records of students, including their demographics, academic performance, and the integration of the NIN to enable the monitoring of educational trajectories.

He pledged to support the committee by providing the necessary resources and institutional support to ensure that NEDI succeeds in transforming the education system.

Speaking on behalf of the committee members, Abubakar Isah, Vice Chairman, NEDI, thanked the government for the role given them to reposition the education sector.

Mr Isah assured of the committees readiness to deliver on the project, noting that the initiative would serve as a beacon of hope and catalyst for change in the education sector.

(NAN)

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A former Vice President of Ghana, Muhamadu Bawumia, says his decision to concede defeat early in the last presidential election in his country was aimed at preventing political violence.

Mr Bawumia stated this during a conference in Abuja on Monday.

The event, tagged Strengthening Nigerias Democracy: Pathway to Good Governance and Political Integrity, was organised by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (LSD).

Mr Bawumia was the candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 7 December 2024 presidential election. He was defeated by John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Even before the official declaration, Mr Bawumias decision to concede defeat earned him an international commendation.

Speaking on the process that led to his concession speech, the former vice president said his party concluded its collation by 3:00 a.m. a day after the election and decided to give it to ease political tension.

By 3 a.m. on Sunday, it was obvious from the data that my opponent, former President Mahama, had decisively won the election. I knew the Electoral Commission would take 4872 hours to announce the official results.

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I was cognisant of the tension and potential violence that could result if there was a long-drawn-out process of announcing the results.

Indeed, the tension had begun to mount. I therefore took the decision to hold a press conference at 9 a.m. the next morning to concede the election to my opponent even before the EC had announced any collated official results.

I was very confident that our data collation was correct. I believed that my concession within 14 hours of the close of polls was in the supreme interest of Ghanas democracy and peace. The people had decided, and we had to respect their decision without equivocation, he said.

Mr Bawumia stated that he was confident he would win the election based on the performance record of his party in government, but the data from the polling stations proved otherwise.

I was confident of winning the election on 7 December based on the solid record of achievement of our government, notwithstanding the economic challenges, he said.

Why Democracy Is Struggling in Africa  Shettima

In his speech, Vice President Kashim Shettima of Nigeria decried the decline of democracy in Africa, stating that poverty and lack of development were making people disillusioned.

He explained that the development of non-democratic countries makes it difficult to promote democracy to the people.

In many parts of the world, the appearance of rapidly growing economies under political stability in non-democratic countries challenges the idea that democracy has many intrinsic values that should make it the system of choice in a diverse and grossly uneven world.

In many parts of Africa, democracy suffers setbacks owing to complex pressures, which include history and contemporary challenges like endemic poverty levels and insecurity. I would like to state here that Nigerias position regarding the fate of democracy in Africa, particularly in our neighbourhood, is to respect the sovereignty of peoples and encourage a return to democracy because citizens in each country desire that return, he said.

Reforming Political System

Speaking at the conference, the Executive Director of LSD, Otive Igbuzor, said Africa must embark on political reforms and create a roadmap to strengthen democratic systems that serve all Nigerians with integrity and accountability.

He recommended creating a political environment free of manipulation, imposition, and exclusion.

Others at the event include the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last presidential election in Nigeria, Peter Obi, a former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, and others.

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Men disguised as local vigilantes and armed with machetes and sticks have kidnapped a man, his wife and their son from their residence in the Chikakore area of Kubwa in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, the police said in a statement.

The kidnappers visited the residence at midnight on Monday, deceiving the man to open his door.

The spokesperson for the Abuja police command, Josephine Adeh, said the police deployed officers to the area after a report of the incident.

Preliminary investigations revealed that seven unknown men, disguised as vigilante members and armed with machetes and sticks, attacked the residence of the victim, Ms Adeh, a police superintendent, stated.

She explained further that the suspects deceived the victim into opening his gate, after which they abducted him and three members of his family.

A neighbour who attempted to intervene sustained injuries during the attack, the police spokesperson said, noting the injured person was taken to Kubwa General Hospital for medical attention.

The FCT Police Command has commenced a comprehensive search and rescue operation aimed at securing the safe recovery of the abducted victims and apprehending the perpetrators of this criminal act, Ms Adeh said.

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The police, however, urged residents to be calm and vigilant and to report any information that could help their investigation.

Kidnapping in Bwari

Kidnapping for ransom became so frequent in Bwari last year, a situation that forced many residents to abandon their homes.

At least 49 people were kidnapped in Bwari during the year, according to media reports, including the case of Nabeehaa and her four sisters and their father, Al-Kadriyah.

READ ALSO: Police arrest suspected vandal of Airtel telecom equipment

The kidnappers released Nabeehas father so he could source for the N60 million ransom they demanded. Sadly, they killed Nabeeha and raised the ransom to N100 million. However, the other sisters were released after the kidnappers collected an undisclosed amount.

According to a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 614,937 Nigerians were killed, and 2,235,954 others were kidnapped across the country between May 2023 and April 2024.

Noting that N2.2 trillion was paid in ransom, the report revealed that killings and kidnapping were on the rise in rural areas like Bwari.

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The Benue State government has confirmed an outbreak of rabies virus in Kwande and Gboko Local Government Areas (LGAs).

The Director General, Benue Bureau of Livestock Development and Transboundary Animal Diseases Control, Aondoakaa Asambe, disclosed this in Makurdi on Monday.

Mr Asambe said the bureau received reports of suspected rabies cases after a dog bite incident affecting multiple individuals in Adikpo, Kwande, and Gboko LGA.

He explained that, in total, seven persons were bitten by two dogs, adding that the government has commenced contact tracing to identify those involved.

He said investigations revealed that the infected dog in Adikpo was sold to vendors to process for consumption.

Thankfully, the dogs head was retrieved and submitted to the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) in Vom, Plateau, where laboratory results confirmed the presence of the rabies virus, he said.

Rabies is a deadly zoonotic disease with serious implications for both human and animal health.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 55,000 people lose their lives to rabies annually, with most cases resulting from dog bites.

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Mr Asambe said this outbreak serves as a sobering reminder of the need for urgent action to meet the WHOs 2030 target to eliminate dog bite-transmitted rabies.

He said the result also showed that the dog bite in Gboko LGA is also a case of rabies.

In response to the outbreak, he said the bureau, in collaboration with the One Health Development Initiative (OHDI) and other critical stakeholders, has taken steps to address it.

Tracing and identifying exposed individuals for immediate medical intervention. Community sensitisation campaigns to raise awareness about rabies prevention and control, he said.

Ring vaccination of dogs in Adikpo and the launch of a mass anti-rabies vaccination campaign across Kwande and Gboko to curb the spread of the disease.

The Director General noted that the interventions became necessary following the critical role dogs play in rural areas as companions, security providers, and contributors to livelihoods (hunting).

He said they aim to address the current outbreak and strengthen long-term preventive measures.

Looking ahead, the bureau is committed to draughting and implementing a subnational rabies eradication plan, which will guide our coordinated efforts to achieve a rabies-free Benue state by 2030, he said.

We call on all pet owners to vaccinate their dogs and cats against rabies as required by law. The bureau will continue to provide the necessary support to ensure the success of the vaccination programme.

He urged the residents of the state to be vigilant and report any suspected rabies cases in animals to the nearest veterinary office or local authorities.

Additionally, anyone bitten or scratched by a dog or other animal should seek medical attention immediately, he said.

He commended OHDI for their support and other partners contributions to collectively eradicate rabies in Benue state and beyond.

(NAN)

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Two civil society groups and a lawyer have filed a suit to stop moves to remove Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) chairperson Danladi Umar.

The plaintiffsCommunity Rescue Initiative and Toro Concerned Citizens & Relief Foundation and an Abuja-based lawyer, Nasiru Bala  are seeking an interim injunction to prevent the security agencies from summoning, intimidating, or investigating Mr Umar and other tribunal officials until the court rules on a motion on notice.

The suit filed on 24 January challenges the legality of Mr Umars removal without adherence to due process.

The plaintiffs argue that the purported appointment of Mainasara Kogo as the new CCT chairman violates constitutional provisions.

They ask the court to bar Mr Kogo from assuming office or interfering with the tribunals functions.

The defendants in the case include President Bola Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Senate, the Senate, House of Reps Speaker, House of Representatives, and the Clerk of the National Assembly.

The rest are the National Judicial Council (NJC), Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), Mainasara Kogo, and Abdullahi Bello.

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The plaintiffs urged the court to prevent the NJC and FJSC from administering the oath of office to Mr Kogo, arguing that Mr Umar remains the substantive chairman.

They contend that Mr Kogos presence at the CCT premises is obstructing its operations.

Ground for challenge

The ex-parte application was predicated on 14 grounds among which are that the substantive suit revolves around the purported removal of the chairman of the CCT being substantively occupied by Mr Umar.

The plaintiffs claim that the Senate and House of Representatives passed a concurrent resolution removing Mr Umar without following due process, particularly the stipulations of section 157(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

The circumstances of this application as it relates to the substantive suit and the attendant extreme urgency it carries is such that it calls for the invocation of the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court along with the powers, authority and force therein contained to hear and grant this application in the overall interest of justice.

There is a serious need to grant the application pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice in the interest of justice, parts of the originating summons, the plaintiffs filing read in part.

Prayers

The plaintiffs prayed for an order restraining the National Assembly Clerk from transmitting the resolution to President Tinubu.

They also sought an order stopping the president from implementing the National Assemblys resolution.

Also, they sought a declaration that Mr Umars removal is unconstitutional, null, and void.

Among others, the plaintiffs are seeking seven declarative reliefs against the president and 10 other defendants.

The plaintiffs also argued that allowing Mr Kogo to take office would cause irreparable damage to the integrity of the tribunal, hence the urgent need for judicial intervention.

The suit, filed by lawyers Mahmoud Maidoki, A. Salisu, Jibrin Jibrin, and Abubakar Idris, expressed concerns that Mr Umars removal might undermine the independence of the tribunal.

The court is expected to determine whether the National Assembly acted within its constitutional powers and if the process adhered to established legal procedures.

Background

The controversy surrounding the leadership of the CCT began in July 2024, when Mr Tinubu appointed Mr Kogo as the tribunals new chairperson without seeking the mandatory recommendations of the National Judicial Council (NJC), as required by the Constitution.

READ ALSO: Tinubu orders FRSC to stop recurring petrol tanker explosions

Despite the appointment, Mr Umar refused to vacate his office, insisting that his tenure had not yet expired in line with constitutional provisions.

His refusal triggered a political standoff, with the National Assembly stepping into the fray. In November 2024, both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed a resolution urging Mr Tinubu to remove Mr Umar from office. The Senate would later admit that the resolution was tainted by an error.

In a controversial move, Mr Tinubu again in January, acted on the National Assemblys request by appointing Mr Kogo once againthis time backdating the effective date of the appointment to 27 November 2024.

However, Mr Tinubu bypassed the constitutional roles of the NJC and the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).

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The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has announced its collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to recover $6 billion and N60 billion owed to the Nigerian government by oil companies operating in the country.

The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed this on Monday while defending the agencys budget before the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) at the National Assembly, Abuja.

Speaking on the recovery efforts, Mr Orji revealed that NEITI had previously recovered $3.7 billion after publishing its 2020 and 2021 reports on the oil sector.

Over $3.7 billion was recovered into government coffers as outstanding liabilities from companies operating in the oil and gas sector in the country, he said.

However, he did not provide details regarding the companies and entities owing the government.

Discussing NEITIs budget proposal, Mr Orji stated that the agency has an envelope budget of N6.5 billion for the 2025 financial year. This budget consists of N2.2 billion for personnel, N1.7 billion for overhead, and N2.6 billion for capital projects.

He explained that the agencys critical activities for 2025 will include conducting industry reports on the oil, gas, and mining sectors; fiscal allocation and statutory disbursement audits; research studies on the actual volume of petrol consumed in Nigeria; the economic impact of energy transition in the country; and a national perception survey on the implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Nigeria.

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Huge allocation for meals

However, the budget proposal came under scrutiny from lawmakers, particularly over a line item allocating N32 million for meals.

Kafilat Ogbara (APC, Lagos) criticised the proposal, questioning why NEITI would allocate such a large sum for meals at a time when many Nigerians are struggling.

There is no way you can spend that amount of money on meals in a year. Most of our MDAs should ensure that what they are bringing as a budget proposal actually tallies with the line items and the purpose for which the funds are needed.

Let us not just see budget defence as an opportunity to share money. Let us see it as a means to serve the Nigerian people, Mrs Ogbara said.

Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos) also weighed in, urging government agencies to consider the countrys economic realities when preparing their budgets. He noted that the public perception of the National Assembly as a rubber stamp institution must be addressed.

We are all aware of the situation in the country, and we must be circumspect and prudent in our expenditure. The general feeling out there is that the National Assembly is just a rubber stamp that approves whatever is brought to it by government agencies, and that is not the case, Mr Kuye said.

The Chairman of the Committee, Ado Doguwa, echoed these concerns, describing some of the proposed line items as insulting.

While I agree that the budget stops at our desk and you are merely presenting a proposal, I must say that the economy is in a dire state, and the citizens we represent are crying out. Government agencies must be mindful of how they spend public resources.

Some of the proposals brought before us often sound funny and even insulting to the Nigerian people. For instance, welfare packages disguised as ex gratia, health insurance, and packages for critical stakeholders  these need to be properly justified, Mr Doguwa said.

Despite the criticism, Mr Doguwa assured NEITI of the committees support, provided the agency could justify its expenditure.

Your agency is critical, and the legislature appreciates the work you are doing. We will do our best to support you as long as you can justify your expenditure. The legislature will always provide the enabling financial environment for you to discharge your duties and mandate, he said.

In December 2024, President Bola Tinubu presented the national budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.

The committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives are currently conducting budget defence sessions, with various ministries, departments, and agencies appearing before the respective committees to justify their proposals.

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The current goal of the US government is to enhance Americas status, often summarised by the phrase Make America Great Again (MAGA). This approach aims for a level of economic prominence similar to that of historical European colonial powers. In our current reality, countries facing higher tariffs from the United States may respond with their own counter-tariffs. Consequently, this could lead to a decrease in exports to the US and higher prices for imported goods within the US.

Following its inauguration last week, the Trump Administration in the US is set to introduce the world to alt-economic policies. The agenda includes increasing the incidence and severity of tariffs, restructuring the revenue collection system by de-emphasising the Internal Revenue Service in favour of an External Revenue Service, promoting the return of manufacturing activities to the continental US, and focusing on the re-industrialisation of the country. Each of these policies, in its way, upends economic orthodoxy. Start with the tariffs. Mr Trump is not a fan of David Ricardo. In his worldview, nations fail when they focus resources solely on industries where they have the highest production efficiency, relative to their other possible uses of resources. And international trade is unhelpful when other countries run a trade surplus with the United States.

To address the offshoring of jobs from the United States to countries such as China, and to a lesser extent Mexico, it is proposed to implement significant tariffs on imports. For this economic strategy to be effective, it assumes that businesses in the countries subject to the higher tariff regimes will not experience a decline in their export volumes to the United States, nor will US consumers face an increase in the cost of imported goods. Consequently, to replace the taxes currently collected by the Internal Revenue Service with tariffs paid by foreign entities and collected by the External Revenue Service, US policymakers must adjust Americas current import bill by applying the necessary tariff levels to eliminate the budget deficit.

The current goal of the US government is to enhance Americas status, often summarised by the phrase Make America Great Again (MAGA). This approach aims for a level of economic prominence similar to that of historical European colonial powers. In our current reality, countries facing higher tariffs from the United States may respond with their own counter-tariffs. Consequently, this could lead to a decrease in exports to the US and higher prices for imported goods within the US. The overall effect of the proposed tariff-based trade environment could result in a reduction of international trade activity, as suggested by economic theories such as those proposed by Ricardo.

The cost of labour in the US is simply too high for production of goods at the bottom of the technological ladder. At the cutting edge, be it artificial intelligence, space launch vehicles, pharmaceuticals, the US remains unrivalled. This, however, is scant consolation for the MAGA constituency in the US

This is one significant aspect of the problem. Both the proposal to return manufacturing activities to the continental US and the planned re-industrialisation of the countrys economy present their own challenges. For example, Apple does not manufacture any iPhones directly; this is handled by Foxconn in Asia. However, over 85 per cent of the value added from Apples product portfolio goes to the company based in Cupertino. Moving the manufacturing of iPhones, iPads, and other products back to the US could potentially shift the global market for smartphones and related devices to competitors like Samsung and various Chinese firms vying for market share.

The cost of labour in the US is simply too high for production of goods at the bottom of the technological ladder. At the cutting edge, be it artificial intelligence, space launch vehicles, pharmaceuticals, the US remains unrivalled. This, however, is scant consolation for the MAGA constituency in the US, most of whom believe that they have lost jobs like the manufacture of iPhones to countries in Asia, and cars to Mexico and Canada because of underhand practices in those economies.

Worries remain over the tendency for innovative technologies to fail to live up to the hype of their founders, and these technologies propensity for living large parts of old economies behind. But short of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics five-year national development plans, there are few credible alternatives to the allocative efficiency of a market economy.

If higher tariffs will worsen these dynamics, what options are available? Chinas leadership in the manufacture of electric vehicles and the batteries that power them, in fact, looks like threatening Americas leadership at the technological cutting-edge. But the Chinese model of the Communist Party hurling resources at problems that it believes needs to be solved has since come a cropper. Worries remain over the tendency for innovative technologies to fail to live up to the hype of their founders, and these technologies propensity for living large parts of old economies behind. But short of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics five-year national development plans, there are few credible alternatives to the allocative efficiency of a market economy.

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Reforms that aid workers in old industries disrupted by new technologies mean successful transitions themselves could help take the sting off the resentment that has fed Trumponomics. Unfortunately, it is in the nature of market economies that no one may call the next point of technology inflection, nor properly gauge the full extent of its disruption to established patterns of production.

Uddin Ifeanyi, journalist manque and retired civil servant, can be reached @IfeanyiUddin.

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Biden and Harris have suffered humiliation and the judgement of God due to the shedding of the blood of the women and children of Gaza President Donald Trump, a man who I have tremendous respect and affection for and who I believe was called by God, should not make the same mistake lest he suffers an even worse fate.

A friend sent the following to me last night. He wrote,

No to the evacuation of Palestinians. They will never be allowed to return once they vacate Gaza. Thats what happened to their grandparents, expelled forcibly from Jaffa, Tel Aviv and over 700 other Palestinian towns, villages and settlements. Any Palestinian leader who even thinks in this manner of collaboration with the United States, the greatest facilitator of Israeli atrocities, would need to have his head examined. Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniye and other martyrs didnt give their lives for the Palestinians to be evacuated to Egypt or Jordan.

My friend got it right.

The suggestion that the people of Gaza should be relocated to Jordan and Egypt in order to clean the place up is asinine, absurd and unacceptable and thankfully both the Egyptians and the Jordanians have formally rejected it.

The Lord did not save Trumps life and make him president of the most powerful nation on earth for him to indulge in ethnic cleansing and take the lives of others.

As Believers in God, we are called to help and support the persecuted, the poor, the weak, the vulnerable and the brokenhearted.

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We are not called to kill and displace them or to join hands with their violent and savage oppressors.

Biden and Harris have suffered humiliation and the judgement of God due to the shedding of the blood of the women and children of Gaza.

President Donald Trump, a man who I have tremendous respect and affection for and who I believe was called by God, should not make the same mistake lest he suffers an even worse fate.

He was lifted by God to bring peace, liberty, light and justice to the world and not to bring war, destruction, bloodshed, misery, injustice and darkness.

He was lifted to save lives and not to destroy them.

He was lifted to crush the genocidal maniacs and barbarians that call themselves Zionists and not to assist them.

He was lifted to deliver and liberate nations and not to conquer and divide them.

He was lifted to save the women and children of Gaza and not to eat their flesh and drink their blood.

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.

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The Federal Government of Nigeria and its agencies should therefore, as a matter of urgency, make good on their promise to activate surveillance measures for inbound passengers, especially from China. They need to deploy, and deploy quickly, all the resources needed at our points of entry to save the country and its people from an avoidable health crisis. A stitch in time, it is often said, saves nine.

Its been weeks since the news of another strange virus broke. Equally strange and even frightening is the fact that its said to be spreading fast in China. Anyhow one looks at it, there is every cause to worry or panic. This is more so when one remembers the mystery that surrounded COVID-19, which is generally believed to have originated from China. Its unfathomable that about five years down the line, China is again having to explain to the world what is happening in that region.

Known as human metapneumovirus (hMPV), this is one of the viruses that cause the common cold (upper respiratory infection). It belongs to the Pneumoviridae family of viruses, along with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It spreads just like other common cold.

SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19, the most recent pandemic) and hMPV are both respiratory viruses, but they differ in several regards. COVID-19 is more likely to lead to severe illness, including pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and multi-organ involvement, especially in older adults and those with underlying conditions. Its symptoms often include fever, cough, loss of taste or smell, and difficulty breathing. On the other hand, hMPV typically causes milder respiratory symptoms like cough, runny nose, and wheezing, though it can also lead to bronchiolitis or pneumonia, particularly in young children, adults over 65 and people with weakened immune systems.

In severe cases, COVID-19 may require hospitalisation, antiviral drugs (e.g., remdesivir), corticosteroids (e.g., dexamethasone), or monoclonal antibody treatments. COVID-19 vaccines are also now available. The treatment for hMPV, however, focuses on supportive care, such as oxygen therapy for breathing difficulties, fluids, and fever reducers. In severe cases, hospitalisation may be needed.

Experts agree that although hMPV is an important cause of respiratory illness, it is not likely to cause a global pandemic. That is because the virus tends to cause more localised, seasonal outbreaks, and its lower transmissibility, milder disease, and lower mortality rate mean it lacks the characteristics needed to trigger a global health crisis on the scale of COVID-19.

Equally relevant is the fact that hMPV is not a strange or new virus. It was first identified in 2001 and has been spreading among people since or even before then. Its found practically all over the world, especially in temperate regions  in late winter and spring. For now, the World Health Organization (WHO) is of the view that there is nothing unusual about its spread this season as it continues to do so at lower levels in many of the places where it has been reported.

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I believe countries showing serious concerns about hMPV are doing so because their systems and resources were seriously overwhelmed by the impact of COVID-19 in the recent past, and many are yet to fully recover from that impact. They would therefore want to nip in the bud any situation that is likely to put these systems under unnecessary pressure and further deplete lean resources. As the saying goes, Experience teaches caution.

Thankfully, Nigeria has also reacted swiftly to the heightened concerns about hMPV. The government, through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), has issued a public health advisory to strengthen awareness, preparedness, and preventive measures. Although the country has not recorded any unusual rise in respiratory infections linked to hMPV, the NCDC has emphasised the need for vigilance. The agencys National Influenza Sentinel Surveillance (NISS) system, which monitors influenza-like illnesses (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) across the six geopolitical zones, is providing real-time data in order to detect any anomalies.

To address the potential risk of hMPV transmission through international travel, the NCDC said it is implementing stringent protocols at points of entry (PoEs). These include readiness assessments, deployment of infection prevention and control (IPC) materials, and the preparation of quarantine facilities. It said an Entry Implementation Protocol on hMPV has also been developed and would be distributed to all international PoEs.

If there is anything in particular to worry about, it is the fact that Chinas Lunar New Year travel rush has started. This rush is said to be the worlds biggest annual migration. Chinese officials expect a record nine billion domestic trips during this period, up from around 8.4 billion trips logged last year. Some of the people travelling for this years Chinese New Year celebrations, also known as the Spring Festival, are from around the world and would sooner than later return to their countries of residence. And its common knowledge that diseases spread quickly through travel due to the high mobility of people, which facilitates the movement of infectious agents across regions and continents.

The Federal Government of Nigeria and its agencies should therefore, as a matter of urgency, make good on their promise to activate surveillance measures for inbound passengers, especially from China. They need to deploy, and deploy quickly, all the resources needed at our points of entry to save the country and its people from an avoidable health crisis. A stitch in time, it is often said, saves nine.

Sylvester Ojenagbon, a health communication expert, lives in Lagos.

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Governor Umar Namadi is proving to be a transformative leader in Jigawa State, a leader who understands the importance of connecting the past to the present while paving the way for a brighter future. By building on the foundations laid by his predecessors and introducing his own visionary 12-Point Agenda, Governor Namadi is reshaping Jigawa into a state of opportunity and progress, with an impact that promises to last for generations.

Building on the Strengths of the Past

What makes Governor Namadi stand out is his ability to honour the efforts of those who came before him while addressing gaps and challenges. He has revitalised former Governor Ibrahim Saminu Turakis ICT policies, reignited ex-Governor Sule Lamidos focus on infrastructure development, and enhanced his predecessor, Muhammad Badarus rural transformation initiatives.

By integrating these policies into his administration, Mr Namadi has ensured continuity and sustainability, creating a framework for growth that benefits every corner of Jigawa. His 12-Point Agenda, which prioritises education, healthcare, agricultural mechanisation, ICT, rural transformation, and infrastructure, is designed to institutionalise development, ensuring these policies thrive even after his tenure.

Transforming Education

Governor Namadi recognises that education is the foundation for a prosperous society. To address the challenge of overcrowded classrooms, his administration has hired over 6,000 classroom teachers. This initiative aims to provide quality education to every child in Jigawa. Additionally, 3,000 temporary teachers, known as J-TEACH, have been brought on board to fill immediate gaps in the system. These efforts are a testament to his belief in education as a tool for empowerment.

Improving Healthcare Services

Healthcare has also seen significant improvements under Governor Namadi. His administration has employed over 1,000 health workers, ensuring that residents in both urban and rural areas have access to better medical services. This focus on healthcare is part of a larger reform to make quality services more accessible and affordable for everyone in Jigawa.

Revolutionizing Agriculture

As an agricultural state, Jigawa is benefiting immensely from Governor Namadis bold reforms. Recognising the need to modernize farming practices, his administration has employed 1,500 agricultural extension workers, known as J-AGRO, to assist farmers in adopting modern techniques.

To further strengthen the sector, 30 master technicians were sent to China for specialized training to manage newly planned agricultural mechanisation centers. These centers, spread across all 30 constituencies, will offer farmers affordable access to tractors, harvesters, planters, and other equipment, revolutionizing farming in 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

Jigawa is already a national leader in wheat, millet, hibiscus, and gum Arabic production, and these efforts are expected to further boost the states contribution to Nigerias food security. With the introduction of cluster farming systems and subsidised agricultural inputs, farmers can now achieve higher yields at lower costs.

Driving Infrastructure and Empowerment

Governor Namadis administration is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to improve infrastructure. With 300 billion allocated for the construction of 45 roads and other key projects in health and agriculture, Jigawa is experiencing a surge in development that improves connectivity and boosts economic activity.

In addition, over 120,000 Jigawa indigenes have been empowered through cash grants, farm inputs, and small business capital. His administration has also prioritised youth training, equipping young people with skills in trades like plumbing, bricklaying, solar energy, and farm services. These efforts are creating jobs and laying the groundwork for a self-reliant population.

A Lasting Legacy

Governor Namadis leadership is about more than just ticking boxesits about creating lasting change. His commitment to bridging the gaps left by past administrations, fostering innovation, and building sustainable systems ensures that Jigawa is not only thriving today but is set on a path of prosperity for future generations.

Under his guidance, Jigawa has become a model for other states, demonstrating what is possible when a leader invests in people, infrastructure, and policies that prioritise long-term growth. Governor Namadi is, without a doubt, a bridge builder who is crafting a new chapter in Jigawas historyone defined by progress, unity, and hope for the future.

 Garba Al-Hadejawy wrote from Dutse

 alhadejawyglobalconcept@gmail.com

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Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, on Sunday declared that Katsina is an All Progressives Congress (APC) state and would continue to be so. He made the declaration at Ingawa Local Government Area, the venue of the campaign flag-off rally ahead of the 15 January council polls in the state.

Mr Radda said the APC was not afraid of elections and that it would go ahead to defeat the opposition during the forthcoming council polls. He boasted that with the achievements recorded by the APC at both state and federal levels, the party would easily win with majority votes during the 2027 general elections.

Shortly after presenting flags to the chairmanship and councillorship candidates that emerged from partys primaries last year, Governor Radda tasked them to campaign in all nooks and crannies of their respective wards and local government areas.

He also urged other party leaders to carry the message of hope to the electorate while expressing confidence that the party would comprehensively win the local council elections.

Meanwhile, the governors media directorate has cleared the air regarding his verbal slip when he inadvertently mentioned PDP in place of APC during Sundays LG Polls campaign flag-off. The governor had unintentionally mentioned PDP instead of APC but quickly corrected himself while still speaking on the podium.

In a statement on Monday, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed reaffirmed Governor Raddas total loyalty and commitment to the APC and its success in present and future elections. Mr Mohammed pointed out in the statement:

Globally, verbal slip-ups are not just common but fundamentally human, and Governor Dikko Umaru Raddas recent momentary linguistic deviation during the campaign flag-off at Ingawa Local Government testifies to the fact that the governor is human, like everyone reading this piece.

To set the record straight, Governor Radda is one of the foundational members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) since 2014 and a stalwart of the partys progressive ideology. Far from being a deliberate statement, the governors verbal slip points to a micro second of human fallibility that does not in any way diminish the governors unshakable commitment to the APC and its developmental agenda for Katsina state.

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Historically, this verbal inadvertencies is not peculiar to Governor Radda but is a recurring phenomenon across political spheres. At international level, politicians like U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron mistakenly referred to the United Kingdom as a Christian country when intending to discuss religious diversity. Lets narrow it down to Nigeria, during the 2015 presidential campaign, former President Goodluck Jonathan accidentally pronounced PDP as APC in his speech.

Similarly, Atiku Abubakar in 2018, mistakenly referenced APC while ciriticising the ruling party. In 2023, Peter Obi of Labour Party momentarily mixed up party nomenclature during a rally. It important to reiterate that these occurrences are universal human experiences rather than indicators of political unreliability.

We have undivided loyalty and spirit, Katsina State under the leadership of Governor Dikko Umaru Radda anticipate the upcoming February 15th local government elections, where the APC is poised to secure historic victories across all 34 local government areas of the state.

To our electorates, the momentary verbal slip is nothing but a fleeting distraction from the substantive professional and progressive vision that the APC represents for the good people of Katsina state.

The National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, who was special guest at the event, expressed confidence that the APC would win by a wide margin during the 15vJanuary council polls.

Mr Ganduje expressed delight that about 40,000 members from the opposition party had joined the APC in the state, even as he commended the state administration for its people-oriented policies and programmes.

The event was attended by thousands of APC stalwarts, members and supporters from across the 361 wards and 34 council areas. It witnessed the handing over of APC flags to candidates contesting for various positions in the February 15 election.

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Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, on Monday paid a visit to the office of the African Union Development Agency  New Partnership for Africas Development (AUDA-NEPAD) in Abuja, where he met with the newly appointed National Coordinator, Abdullahi Jabiru Tsauri, his former Chief of Staff.

During the visit, Governor Radda expressed his appreciation for the warm reception while noting this was his first visit to the NEPADs office.

Ive seen all the staff downstairs welcoming us into AUDA-NEPAD. I must say that this is my first time visiting this office, not only as a governor, but as an individual, the governor stated.

Addressing NEPAD management staff, Mr Radda explained that the purpose of his visit was to ensure the new NEPAD coordinators successful transition and to solicit institutional support. I came here for two reasons. One is to make sure that the new NEPAD boss is safe. Secondly, is to solicit for your cooperation because he cannot achieve anything without your support, he emphasised.

The governor further highlighted the significance of supporting Mr Tsauri, describing it as support for Katsina State, You are not only giving him the support as an individual, but as a representative of our state. So you are giving that support entirely to the people of Katsina.

Acknowledging NEPADs continental significance, Governor Radda noted, I know this is an organisation that may not only have an impact in Nigeria alone, but in West Africa and the entire Africa continent.

He specifically praised the organisations ongoing initiatives, including renewable energy projects, the Small Farmers Holders Project, and the Goat Production Initiative Empowerment Programme.

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While expressing confidence in Mr Tsauris leadership capabilities, the Mr Radda emphasised the importance of institutional cooperation, As a chief executive, he needs total cooperation and support,because when NEPAD moves forward, its all of you, that moves it forward. If it goes down, its all of you.

Earlier, the NEPAD National Coordinator, acknowledged the governors pivotal role in his appointment and the special nature of the visit.

For me, your coming here today is just like a homecoming. Its evident that you started this journey, you facilitated this appointment. You are the reason that Im sitting on this chair today, Mr Tsauri said.

The national coordinator outlined three major initiatives set to benefit Katsina State and Nigeria at large. The first is an ambitious solar energy project aimed at lighting one million houses across Nigeria.

Your Excellency, we have a very ambitious project which we are working on lighting one million houses across Nigeria using solar energy which I believe will have a significant presence in Katsina. I assure you also Mr. President will do the groundbreaking there, he revealed.

The second initiative focuses on supporting small-holder farmers through a counterpart funding programme. Seven states have already joined the programme, with NEPADs funding ready for disbursement.

We are looking at the possibility of the next phase, which will start very soon, Katsina state will definitely be on that list, he assured.

The third project involves an expansion of the existing goat rearing initiative. Your Excellency, another project which I also met, which you have already started is the goat rearing project. We are going to pick beneficiaries from Katsina State that will have at least 20,000 goats as a start, Mr Tsauri disclosed.

To strengthen the partnership between NEPAD and Katsina State, Mr Tsauri said that his office has already requested the appointment of a state coordinator to facilitate seamless collaboration.

It is noteworthy that Mr Radda is the first governor to be received by the current NEPAD coordinator and staff with the aims of strengthening the collaboration between the organisation and Katsina State.

Governor Radda was accompanied by his Chief of Staff, Abdulkadir Mamman Nasir, Principal Private Secretary to the Governor, Abdullahi Aliyu Turaji, SSA on SDG, Maryam Sodangi and Haroun Abba amongst others

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The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, on Monday said the explosion at a mining site in Sabon Pegi, Mashegu Local Government Area of Niger State was caused by the illegal stockpiling of explosives by a resident of New Bussa, Yushua Maikampala.

Segun Tomori, the special assistant on media to the minister, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

On Sunday, PREMIUM TIMES reported that four people were confirmed dead, and several others injured from an explosion at a mining site in Sabon Pegi, Mashegu Local Government Area of Niger State.

On Monday, Mr Tomori said following reports of the explosion at the mining site on Sunday, Mr Alake dispatched officials of the federal mines office in the state to the blast site for an on-the-spot assessment.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the explosion was caused by the illegal stockpiling of explosives by one Yushua Maikampala, a resident of New Bussa. Maikampala is believed to have been involved in purchasing and storing explosives and their accessories in a house in Sabo Pegi, Mashegun Local Government Area, the statement said.

It said according to witnesses, the explosion was triggered by an electrical spark around 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, destroying the building where the explosives were stored and damaging approximately 20 other houses in the vicinity.

At least two fatalities have been confirmed.

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The minister expressed his deepest condolences to the victims, describing the incident as avoidable given the negligence surrounding the handling and illegal storage of explosives by the alleged culprit.

The statement added that Mr Alake has directed relevant ministry officials, including the Mines Inspectorate Department, to carry out forensic analysis of soil samples collected from the blast site to determine the source of the explosives, which would guide the next course of action.

Security agencies have been put on the trail of the suspected culprit. He will be apprehended to face justice, Mr Alake was quoted as saying.

The statement said the federal government remains committed to ensuring that mining operators adhere to strict environmental and safety standards to avert a recurrence of the unfortunate incident.

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Betty Otimenyin on Monday assumed duty as the first female commissioner of police in Edo State.

Ms Otimenyin arrived at the police headquarters in Edo, some minutes before 10 a.m., where she inspected the guard mounted in her honour.

Senior officers received the commissioner of police, the 49th to be deployed to the state.

Ms Otimenyin replaced Umoru Ozigi, who retired from the service on Saturday after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 60.

In a short interview with reporters, the police chief, who also hailed from Edo, said she would do a lot to reduce the crime rate in the state.

I will do a lot of things until the crime level comes down.

We will also look at extortion (among the men and officers) of the command. The Inspector-General of Police frowns at it, she said.

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According to her, the command will be tougher on violence against women and children.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ms Otimenyin enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet Assistant of Police (ASP) in 1992.

Before her redeployment to Edo, she had served in various commands, including Force Intelligence Department, as commissioner of police, administration.

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The Advocate Against Corruption in Public Service in Nigeria has accused Theo Onyuku, the acting Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar, of falsifying his age and employment records.

Akiki Inam, solicitor to the Calabar-based group, made the allegation in a petition to the minister of state for Health and Social Welfare, which was made available to reporters in Calabar on Monday.

Mr Inam said Mr Onyuku, a medical doctor, was unfit to hold the position of the CMD because of his questionable character and dented records of service.

He said that there were discrepancies between the year the acting CMD was admitted into service and the year he completed his residency.

According to him, Mr Onyuku also provided three different age declarations in his employment records.

His employment records with the Human Resources Department of the hospital show different dates of birth, such as 20 June 1965, 20 June 1967 and 20 June 1968.

Upon his employment in 1997, his date of birth was 20 June 1965, but a record of service personally completed by him shows 20 June 1967.

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His curriculum vitae, as found in his file in the hospital, shows his date of birth as 20 June 1968; this is contradicting, he said.

Mr Inam said it was criminal and unlawful for any employee to present inconsistent dates of birth in their employment records.

The lawyer further stated that Mr Onyuku was employed as a resident doctor on 1 September 1997, presumably after undertaking the compulsory National Youth Service Corps programme.

Available records show that he completed his national youth service in 2003. So he was not qualified to be employed as a resident doctor in 1997, he said.

He said the foundation of the CMDs employment was morally dubious, questionable, and suspicious and required proper investigations and sanctions.

When contacted, Mr Onyuku said he was aware of the petition but declined comment on it.

I cant say anything about it now because it is currently before the ministry, for investigation.

I wont preempt the outcome of their investigation with any response. I am sure that all this will be made open by February.

I, however, want you to know that anyone in a position of authority will always have opposition, he stated.

(NAN)

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The palace of the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has issued the statement below detailing what transpired at a meeting where legal luminary, Afe Babalola, agreed to terminate the criminal defamation case against Lagos-based lawyer, Dele Farotimi.

In a statement by his spokesperson, Moses Olafare, the Ooni explained how he led some Ekiti traditional rulers to meet and plead with Mr Babalola to forgive Mr Farotimi.

Ooni Ogunwusi provided snippets of his speech during the meeting and excerpts of Mr Babalolas response.

Read the full statement below.

OONI RESOLVES ISSUES BETWEEN AARE AFE BABALOLA AND DELE FAROTIMI

The Ooni of Ife, Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, CFR, Ojaja II, in company with prominent Yoruba traditional Rulers in Ekiti state, was at the Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD) last night to appeal to the founder of the university, Aare Afe Babalola, to forgive the human rights lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi and withdraw the ongoing criminal case instituted against him.

Ooni Ogunwusi arrived Ado Ekiti at about 10:08 p.m. last night into the waiting hands of Aare Afe Babalola, himself accompanied by the Vice Chancellor Professor Elisabeta Smaranda Olarinde, Bursar Pastor Joseph Modupe Babalola, the schools PRO, deans of various faculties at the university and the legal team of Afe Babalola handling the Farotimi criminal case.

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The vice chancellor in her welcome speech at the meeting acknowledged Oonis love for the schools founder and the school itself which she described as one of the leading universities in Africa.

The Ooni briefed the journalists on the outcome of a meeting that was earlier held closed-door between Afe Babalola and the Ooni, accompanied by the Ewi of Ado, Oba Rufus Adejugbe Aladesanmi III; the Ajero of Ijero, Oba Adewole Joseph Adebayo; the Ogoga of Ikere, Oba Samuel Adejinmi Adu; the Alaaye of Efon Alaaye, Oba Dr. Emmanuel Aladejare Agunsoye II and the Olojudo of Ido Ekiti (who doubles as the Chairman, Ekiti Council Of Traditional Rulers), Oba Ilori Faboro.

The Ooni said having watched the scenarios surrounding the criminal case instituted against Dele Farotimi with rapt attention, it became very imperative to apply Alternative Dispute Resolution method which the Yoruba race was known for in the past because its a case between father and son.

Ooni Ogunwusi said, We have come today to appeal to Aare Babalola to forgive his son; Dele Farotimi and what we want from him is to withdraw the criminal charges against Farotimi today.

Aare Afe Babalola, you are an elderstateman, you have seen it all, you are one of the iconic voices in this country, a great man per excellence, you are a rare breed who has excelled in everything you have touched in this life, a very God fearing elderstateman, above all, you are one of the proponents of the Yoruba ethos of Omoluwabi which has been your strongest value that you hold in our country. This what we are using to bring down the tempo in what has happened between you and your son Dele Farotimi. We have been very proud of you as a great Yoruba elderstateman. You have done great things for this race and Nigeria such that your name can never be forgotten.

Weve all come together as traditional Rulers to discuss with you on this issue and this gentleman Dele Farotimi is your son and you must forgive him and withdraw the criminal charges against him. As a father, you have soft sons and you have tough sons, Dele Farotimi is a tough son of yours. You have indeed made a point that your name can not be be messed with.

I hereby withdraw the criminal charges against Farotimi  Afe Babalola.

When given the microphone to respond to the request made by the Ooni and the traditional Rulers, Aare Afe Babalola did not hesitate to accept the request saying he grew up as a child to understand such interventions by the traditional rulers. He declared he had not only forgiven Dele Farotimi but also will instruct his lawyers to withdraw the criminal charges against him with immediate effect, because of the honour for the Ooni and the other Obas.

Today is a very important day for me, Im a Yoruba man and Im very proud to be one. Ewi of Ado has come here to meet me on this matter, former president Obasanjo has intervened, same with Bishop Matthew Kukah and a host of other prominent Nigerians to ask for the exact thing you have come to ask for this evening., my answer to them has been NO but today my answer is YES

Your coming is unquantifiable in terms of money, who am I? When the colonialists came here in 17th century or thereabouts, they found as a fact that Yoruba land was a highly organised society with an advanced systems of government with each town headed by an Oba who was regarded as a replica of God on earth. His words were commands.

In the middle ages, the Greeks had a sayingthe meadow that grow on the bank of a river which obeys the direction of the flood remains strong forever but the meadow that grow that disobey the direction of the flood were broken asunder.

Aare Babalola concluded his response with an adage in Yoruba saying  Eni ti o ba nI nkan lati se, kii wo elegan rara meaning those who change the world for the better do not wait to respond to criticism.

He said he listened to the Oonis advice and he certainly didnt want to be a meadow by the riverside which disobeys the flood.

I was a lawyer who defended the EFCC law, yes Im corrupt, I was given an oil block, when I looked at the money and saw that it was too much , I rejected it, yes Im corrupt, I was offered ministerial appointments twice, I rejected it, yes Im corrupt because whatever I am, I dont want anybody to say I made it through corruption. Look at my books, Im Chairman, Transparency International based in Germany, I have given lectures against corruption with my papers in many universities globally. For someone to allege me that I have won my cases through corruption, its an attempt to defame me, that was why I rejected all appeals earlier made to me. But when I heard that Ooni was coming, I knew Im in a fix today. Nkan de o. There is nothing Im going to gain from his(Dele) imprisonment and theres nothing I want from the so called damages. I am not in quest of more wealth, Im rather concerned on managing the one I have already. Dele Farotimi is hereby forgiven. On this occasion, I say YES.

Ooni Ogunwusi departed venue of the meeting at about half past midnight for his Ojaja Park in Akure from where he is expected to make his departure to Abuja on Monday.

Signed:

Otunba Moses Olafare,

Director, Media & Public Affairs,

Oonis Palace

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Following Sundays declaration by the former governor of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, and his group, the Omoluabi Progressives, announcing their exit from the mainstream All Progressives Congress (APC), the state chapter of the party on Monday described the development as good riddance to bad rubbish.

The party noted that Mr Aregbesola, who is also the immediate past Minister for Internal Affairs and his splinter group, had discreetly left the APC over three years ago, stressing that the preposterous announcement of the so-called Omoluabi Progressives to quit the APC is a good riddance to bad rubbish.

In a statement forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES by the APCs Director of Media and Information in Osun State, Kola Olabisi, the party stated that we are not perturbed by the announcement of the group to quit the mainstream of the party in the state, which they had left since 2022.

The statement reads: In the first instance, the kernel of the statement by the dissidents group amounted to a confused pack of rudderless political elements who were approbating and reprobating at the same time as it is on record that a sizeable number of them have either been expelled or suspended from the party.

We, in the Osun State APC, shall be happy to miss the political irritants and deviants who had since left the party by way of body and soul before the 2022 governorship election in the state. You cannot be saying you are in our party and be working against the interests of the same party.

You are agents of the PDP in Osun State, and you are still of service to the ruling party in the state. What we are seeing with hindsight is that the hand is proverbially that of Jacob, while the voice is identifiable to Isau. We shall be ready for the antics of the political renegades.

We are not bothered by the action of the frustrated and expired politicians. The recent announcement of your either forming or joining another party is the imminent beginning of your political funeral, which will end up in your final burial through the 2026 governorship election, the statement concluded.

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It is recalled that the Omoluabi Progressives, in a statement issued by its publicity and organising secretary, Abosede Oluwaseun, on Sunday night, announced the groups exit from the mainstream APC in Osun State.

The group noted that their resolve to quit APC followed a consensus vote by its stakeholders after the ratification of resolutions of members from the 332 wards of Osun at its monthly meeting in Ilesa on Sunday.

They attributed their exit from the opposition party to ostracisation from the APC, suspension and expulsion of their leaders without a fair hearing, and continuous denigration of the structure, among others.

The group also expressed dissatisfaction with the management of Osun APCs intra-party crisis, which led to the partys abysmal loss in the 2022 governorship poll, a situation they agreed had waned its strength and popularity among the people of Osun.

According to the statement, The members were put to a voice vote by the leadership of the fold, where they affirmed their readiness to switch allegiance to another political camp ahead of the 2026 governorship election in the state.

Addressing members of the Omoluabi Progressives during the stakeholders meeting, Mr Aregbesola was quoted as commending them for their commitment and steadfastness to character, integrity, and good governance.

He also assured that the results of the ongoing efforts by the groups leadership to properly position it for the task ahead will materialise soon.

Mr Aregbesola said, I am indeed happy that all of you have spoken with one voice. It is not just one voice but a united front to lead the way to our collective victory in the journey ahead.

I wish to remind you that the journey we are embarking on now is to further raise the level of prosperity of our dear state through responsible leadership. The path we have toed is a smooth path, highly reassuring and full of good tides that will propel our dear state to greatness. Therefore, you must show more commitment and attract genuine people who are ready to walk this path of righteousness with us.

Earlier in his remark, chairperson of Omoluabi Progressives Azeez Adesiji said that with members resolve to align with a novel political platform, efforts will not be spared to reorient them on the ethos of true progressivism, which is the hallmark of the Omoluabi Progressives.

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More than a dozen police officers are currently stationed at the Lagos State House of Assembly to maintain order, as the ousted speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, remains absent from the premises.

PREMIUM TIMES observed that the security operatives are stationed inside and outside the Assemblys premises. There were at least eight security vehicles stationed outside the premises.

This follows the removal of Mr Obasa as speaker for alleged abuse of office and financial impropriety.

His removal comes barely a month after he was accused of spending N17 billion to construct a gate that leads to the Assemblys complex.

Promptly, after his removal, his deputy, Mojisola Meranda, who represents the Apapa Constituency 1, also a former chief whip of the House, was sworn in as the Speaker.

Meanwhile, at least 32 lawmakers have arrived at the Assemblys premises; however, the ousted speaker has yet to appear. As of 2:00 p.m., plenary has yet to resume.

On Saturday in a press conference, Mr Obasa said his removal was unconstitutional and that he remains the rightful speaker. He insisted that the lawmakers did not follow due process in his removal.

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READ ALSO: Lagos govt seals off two markets

I am still the Speaker until the right thing has been done. If you want to remove me, remove me the proper way, he said.

Of the 40 lawmakers in the House, 38 voted for Mr Obasas removal.

His removal appears to be in line with Section 92(2) of the Nigerian Constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority vote for removal.

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The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately cease the prosecution of 11 #EndBadGovernance activists, including Micheal Lenin, who is being charged with treason, mutiny, and terrorism.

The trial is set to begin on 29 January 2025, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, raising widespread concern, as treason is punishable by death under Nigerian law.

Speaking at a press conference held at the International Press Centre in Lagos, Francis Nwapa, the National Secretary of the YRC, emphasised that the activists only crime was participating in a peaceful protest against hunger, poverty, and hardship caused by President Tinubus policies.

The 11 activists who are facing the prospect of a death sentence are Micheal Lenin, Mosiu Sodiq, Daniel Akande, Angel Innocent, Adeyemi Abayomi, Buhari Lawal, Bashir Bello, Suleiman Yakubu, Opaoluwa Simon, Nuradeen Khamis, and Abdulsalam Zubairu.

To be clear, Michel Lenin and others have no fear of appearing before a court of competent jurisdiction to prove their innocence of the false, absurd, and trumped-up charges made up by the Nigerian Police and the National Intelligence Agency against them in a bid to paint the protest as the handiwork of Russia, whereas it was simply the uprising of a people fed up by hunger and poverty.

However, we have every reason to fear that they would not receive fair trial unless the judiciary manages to surmount political interference to ensure fairness, probity, and justice, he said.

Allegations of maltreatment

Citing the testimony of Mr Lenin, one of the arrested activists, the group decried the ill-treatment meted out to the defendants during the period of their detention and the deplorable conditions they were exposed to.

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The group said the psychological torture they suffered while in custody has severely affected the mental health of the activists, who are currently undergoing psycho-social therapy.

The group noted that the actions of the police violate basic fundamental human rights and international human rights laws.

In his chilling report of the conditions of their detention at the IRT facility, Mr Lenin described how they often heard gunshots during the night and how the detention facility is notorious as a torture chamber and slaughter slab.

Mr Lenin described how he was often brought out in the middle of the night for questioning while his cellmates feared for his life because, according to them, bringing people out in the night for questioning was often a ploy used by the police to carry out the unlawful execution of inmates.

It goes without saying that this kind of ill-treatment of political detainees amounts to a violation of several international statutes and laws, including Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading treatment or punishment, he said.

Allegations of repression

The YRC argued that the trial is a blatant attempt to silence dissenting voices and crush opposition, and the proof of evidence is inadequate to sustain the charges against them.

For a group of defendants who are being tried for grievous offences ranging from treason to mutiny and intent to destabilise and levy war against Nigeria, you would have expected that the government would have been able to provide more convincing and incriminating evidence to prove its case like weapons and other indicators.

But the truth of the matter is that the charges against the 11 protesters, just as the charges against the 114, including the children who were discharged in November last year, are trumped-up and false charges. There is no iota of truth to these charges, which Amnesty International has rightly described as a sham trial, he said.

On his part, Hassan Taiwo, the National Coordinator of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), noted that protests should not be criminalised and the trial of the 11 activists suggests that President Tinubu is running a civilian dictatorship.

When the mere expression of protest against a government becomes a basis for a trial that leads to sentencing, then that is the highest form of dictatorship And that is where President Tinubu is leading Nigeria and we are saying enough is enough, he said.

Human rights worsening under President Tinubu

Over the years, concerns over human rights violations have continued to rise.

According to the World Justice Project, in its World Human Rights and Rule of Law Index, Nigeria ranked 120 out of 140 countries in 2023 and 2024.

Activists say President Tinubus heavy-handed approach to protests is reminiscent of Nigerias dark past under military dictatorship.

The widespread arrests, detentions, and trials have evoked memories of the execution of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in November 1995.

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DALLAS, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) ("Ashford Trust" or the "Company") today announced the tax reporting (Federal Form 1099-DIV) information for the 2024 distributions on its Series D, F, G, H, I, J and K preferred shares.

The amounts below represent the income tax treatment applicable to each distribution that is reportable in 2024. The preferred distributions that the Company paid on January 16, 2024 to stockholders of record as of December 29, 2023 are reportable in 2024. The preferred distributions that the Company paid on January 15, 2025 to stockholders of record as of December 31, 2024 will be reportable in 2025.

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series D Cumulative Preferred Stock CUSIP #044103406 traded on the NYSE under ticker symbol "AHTPrD" is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $2.1124000 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.9383323 $1.1740677 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series F Cumulative Preferred Stock CUSIP #044103604 traded on the NYSE under ticker symbol "AHTPrF" is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $1.8436000 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.8189308 $1.0246692 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series G Cumulative Preferred Stock CUSIP #044103703 traded on the NYSE under ticker symbol "AHTPrG" is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $1.8436000 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.8189308 $1.0246692 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series H Cumulative Preferred Stock CUSIP #044103802 traded on the NYSE under ticker symbol "AHTPrH" is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $1.8750000 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.8328787 $1.0421213 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series I Cumulative Preferred Stock CUSIP #044103885 traded on the NYSE under ticker symbol "AHTPrI" is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $1.8750000 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.8328787 $1.0421213 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series J Preferred Stock (CUSIPs #04410A863, 04410A798, 04410A723, 04410A657, 04410A574, 04410A517, 04410A368, and 04410A285) is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $2.0000400 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.8884218 $1.1116182 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

Distributions Per Share reflects the annual rate per share for distributions reportable in 2024.

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series K Preferred Stock (CUSIP #04410D867) is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $2.0792000 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.9235848 $1.1556152 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series K Preferred Stock (CUSIP #04410D792) is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $2.0729500 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.9208085 $1.1521415 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series K Preferred Stock (CUSIP #04410D727) is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $2.0666800 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.9180234 $1.1486566 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series K Preferred Stock (CUSIP #04410D651) is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $2.0604100 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.9152382 $1.1451718 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series K Preferred Stock (CUSIP #04410D578) is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $2.0541400 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.9124528 $1.1416872 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series K Preferred Stock (CUSIP #04410D511) is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $1.8791300 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.8347133 $1.0444167 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series K Preferred Stock (CUSIP #04410D438) is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $1.3666400 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.6070642 $0.7595758 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series K Preferred Stock (CUSIP #04410D362) is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $0.8541500 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.3794151 $0.4747349 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

The income tax treatment for the 2024 distributions for Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. Series K Preferred Stock (CUSIP #04410D289) is as follows:

Distribution Type

Distributions Per Share Ordinary Taxable Dividend Section 199A Dividend Capital Gain Distribution Return of Capital Total Cash Per Share $0.3416600 $0.0000000 $0.0000000 $0.1517661 $0.1898939 Percent 100 % 0 % 0 % 44.42020 % 55.57980 %

Distributions Per Share reflects the annual rate per share for distributions reportable in 2024.

In accordance with IRS Code Section 6045B, the Company will post Form 8937, Report of Organizational Actions Affecting Basis of Securities, which may be found in the Corporate Actions section of the Company's website. This form provides detailed information on the return of capital amount of the preferred share distributions.

The Company encourages stockholders to consult with their own tax advisors with respect to the federal, state and local, and foreign income tax effects of these dividends.

Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing predominantly in upper upscale, full-service hotels.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements and assumptions in this press release contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "potential," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "approximately," "believe," "could," "project," "predict," or other similar words or expressions. Additionally, statements regarding the following subjects are forward-looking by their nature: our business and investment strategy; anticipated or expected purchases, sales or dispositions of assets; our projected operating results; completion of any pending transactions; our plan to pay off strategic financing; our ability to restructure existing property-level indebtedness; our ability to secure additional financing to enable us to operate our business; our understanding of our competition; projected capital expenditures; and the impact of technology on our operations and business. Such forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions, and expectations of our future performance taking into account all information currently known to us. These beliefs, assumptions, and expectations can change as a result of many potential events or factors, not all of which are known to us. If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans, and other objectives may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. You should carefully consider this risk when you make an investment decision concerning our securities. These and other risk factors are more fully discussed in the Company's filings with the SEC.

The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We will not publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, changes in expectations or otherwise except to the extent required by law.

SOURCE Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc.
Officials are sounding the alarm regarding life-threatening blood shortages

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Versiti Blood Center of Michigan has issued an emergency plea for blood donations. The persistent winter weather and a rise in illness such as norovirus have significantly disrupted donations, resulting in less than a day's supply of critical blood types for patients in our local hospitals.

To schedule an appointment to donate blood, call (866) 642-5663 or visit Versiti.org.

"Blood shortages aren't just statistics  they mean real lives hanging in the balance," said Dan Waxman, MD, vice president of transfusion medicine and senior medical director at Versiti. "If hospitals run out of blood, critical treatments are delayed, surgeries are postponed, and lives are at risk."

Consider the story of Yasmeen Anis-Shah, who was diagnosed with beta thalassemia major, a genetic blood disorder, at six months old, requiring her to receive two units of blood every month to manage her condition.

"Over my lifetime, I have received over 500 units of blood. I rely on blood donors to stay alive," shared Yasmeen.

Grateful for the generosity of blood donors, she emphasizes that their selflessness has enabled her to pursue her dreams, including becoming an elementary school teacher and marrying the love of her life.

Proactive blood donation is crucial for ensuring lifesaving resources are available for unforeseen emergencies, trauma victims, cancer patients and those undergoing organ transplants. Donors can give blood six times a year through a safe, simple process. Although all blood types are needed, O positive and O negativethe universal blood donor typeare in the lowest supply.

To schedule an appointment to donate blood, call (866) 642-5663 or visit Versiti.org. Walk-in donors are also welcome.

Donor center locations:

Bay City Donor Center - 1017 North Johnson St.

Farmington Hills - 29305 Orchard Lake Rd.

- 29305 Orchard Lake Rd. Gaylord - 133 W. Main St. Suite 101

Grand Rapids - 1036 Fuller NE

- 1036 Fuller NE Grandville - 3140 Wilson SW

- 3140 Wilson SW Kalamazoo Area - 524 East Milham Ave.

- 524 East Milham Ave. Midland Dow Diamond - 825 East Main St.

Saginaw - 1771 Tittabawassee Rd.

- 1771 Tittabawassee Rd. St. Joseph - 2710 Cleveland Ave.

- 2710 Cleveland Ave. Traverse City - 2575 Aero Park Dr.

Donating blood takes about an hour. Anyone aged 16 or older who is in good health and meets eligibility requirements is encouraged to give. Parental consent is required for donors aged 16 to donate blood. Donors should bring a photo ID that includes their birth date.

ABOUT VERSITI BLOOD CENTER OF MICHIGAN

Versiti Blood Center of Michigan, formerly Michigan Blood, has collected blood throughout the state since 1955. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, the non-profit organization provides blood products and services to 87 Michigan hospitals. Versiti collects more than 143,000 units of blood each year in Michigan at 10 donation centers and through the operation of more than 4,700 community blood drives throughout the state.

SOURCE Versiti Blood Center of Michigan
HOUSTON and TUPELO, Miss., Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadence Bank (NYSE: CADE) (the Company) today announced that it has adjourned its special meeting of shareholders originally convened on Dec. 30, 2024 (the Special Meeting), that reconvened this afternoon, until Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at 8:45 a.m. Central Time. The Special Meeting was adjourned to allow the Company additional time to solicit proxies from preferred shareholders in favor of a proposal (Proposal 2) to authorize the Company's Board of Directors to implement repurchases of stock in accordance with Regulation H.

The proposal is described in more detail in the Company's proxy statement dated Nov. 19, 2024, furnished to the Company's shareholders in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Company's Board of Directors for use at the Special Meeting. The Company's common shareholders approved Proposals 1, 2, 3 and 4 at the Special Meeting on Dec. 30, 2024, prior to adjournment, which was all of the business to be voted upon by common shareholders at the Special Meeting. The Company's preferred shareholders approved Proposal 4 prior to adjournment.

The record date for determining shareholders eligible to vote at the Special Meeting will remain the close of business on Nov. 8, 2024. Valid proxies submitted by Company preferred shareholders prior to the adjourned Dec. 30, 2024 Special Meeting will continue to be valid for purposes of the reconvened Special Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, 2025.

Company preferred shareholders as of the close of business on Nov. 8, 2024, who have not voted on Proposal 2 but wish to do so should contact Okapi Partners, the Company's proxy solicitor, at [email protected] or (855) 208-8902 (Toll-Free).

Attending the Virtual Special Meeting

The reconvened Special Meeting of the Company's preferred shareholders to vote on Proposal 2 will be held virtually on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at 8:45 a.m. Central Time.

Preferred shareholders may attend and participate in the reconvened Special Meeting virtually by visiting the following web address, meetnow.global/MLVC22S, and entering the 15-digit control number found on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (Notice) received. Preferred shareholders who hold shares through an intermediary, such as a bank or broker, must register in advance using the instructions in the Notice materials.

About Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank (NYSE: CADE) is a leading regional banking franchise with approximately $50 billion in assets and over 350 branch locations across the South and Texas. Cadence Bank provides consumers, businesses and corporations with a full range of innovative banking and financial solutions. Services and products include consumer banking, consumer loans, mortgages, home equity lines and loans, credit cards, commercial and business banking, treasury management, specialized lending, asset-based lending, commercial real estate, equipment financing, correspondent banking, SBA lending, foreign exchange, wealth management, investment and trust services, financial planning and retirement plan management. Additional information about Cadence Bank and its products and services can be found at www.cadencebank.com. Cadence Bank, Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.

Additional Information

This communication may be deemed to be additional solicitation material with respect to the special meeting. On November 19, 2024, the Company filed a definitive proxy statement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") in connection with the Special Meeting. SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER SOLICITING MATERIALS THAT ARE FILED WITH THE FDIC OR FEDERAL RESERVE WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THESE DOCUMENTS CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THE PROPOSAL TO BE VOTED UPON. The Company's proxy statement and any other solicitation materials filed by the Company with the FDIC and Federal Reserve can be obtained free of charge on the Investor Relations section of our website at ir.cadencebank.com. Shareholders may also request a copy of these materials at no cost by contacting the Company at 201 South Spring Street, Tupelo, Mississippi 38804, or 1-800-368-5948. The Company has engaged Okapi Partners LLC to aid in the solicitation of proxies. Detailed information regarding the identity of participants, and their respective interests in the Company by security holdings or otherwise, are set forth in the definitive proxy statement for the Special Meeting.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" including statements concerning plans, objectives, future events or performance and assumptions and other statements, which are statements other than statements of historical fact. The Company cautions readers that certain factors may have affected and could in the future affect actual results and could cause actual results for subsequent periods to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by or on behalf of the Company herein. For a list of factors which could affect the Company's results, see the Company's filings with the FDIC and Federal Reserve, including "Item 1A. Risk Factors," set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this filing, even if subsequently made available by the Company on its website or otherwise. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.

SOURCE Cadence Bank
Affordable single-story living just minutes from the coast

PENSACOLA, Fla., Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE: CCS) a top national homebuilder, industry leader in online home sales, and featured on America's Most Trustworthy Companies and World's Most Trustworthy Companies by Newsweekrevealed that its Century Complete brand is now selling cottage-style homes in Pensacola, FL.

Lanier Floor Plan | New Homes in Pensacola, FL by Century Complete Carolina Floor Plan | New Homes for Sale in Pensacola, FL by Century Complete Lanier Plan Interior Rendering | New Construction Homes in Pensacola, FL by Century Complete

Offering affordable living just minutes from the coastline and historic downtown Pensacolawith fast access to world-class shopping, culture, beaches and nature preservesthese new homes come in a variety of single-story floor plans, thoughtfully designed to blend the charm of cottage living with modern layouts and design finishes.

Learn more and explore available homes at www.CenturyCommunities.com/PensacolaCottages.

"Minutes from the ocean and downtown Pensacola, these new homes present a unique opportunity for buyers to purchase a modern new home at an affordable price in a gorgeous location," said Dave Roberts, Executive Vice President of Field Operations. "We've also got incredible limited-time offers to make it even easier for buyers to get into their Pensacola dream home."

Additional Highlights

Single-story, cottage-style floor plans

Now selling from the $180s

2 to 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, up to 1,272 square feet

Standard finishes include Whirlpool  stainless-steel appliances, Kohler  water fixtures, and granite countertops

stainless-steel appliances, Kohler water fixtures, and granite countertops Quick access to popular destinations like Destin, Mobile and the Gulf Islands National Seashore

VISIT OUR SALES STUDIO

While our state-of-the-art online homebuying process allows you to buy on your terms24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a yearwe also offer in-person assistance from local experts at our sales studio.

4771 Bayou Boulevard, Suite 14

Pensacola, FL 32503

850.354.5573

DISCOVER THE FREEDOM OF ONLINE HOMEBUYING

Century Complete is proud to feature its industry-first online homebuying experience on all available homes in Florida, allowing homebuyers to easily find their best fit and purchase when they're readyall while continuing to work with their local real estate agent of choice. Homebuyers can further streamline the homebuying process by financing online with Century Complete's affiliate lender, Inspire Home Loans.

How it works:

Shop homes at CenturyCommunities.com Click "Buy Now" on any available home Fill out a quick Buy Online form Electronically submit an initial earnest money deposit Electronically sign a purchase contract via DocuSign

Learn more about the Buy Online experience at www.CenturyCommunities.com/online-homebuying.

About Century Communities

Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE: CCS) is one of the nation's largest homebuilders, an industry leader in online home sales, and the highest-ranked homebuilder on Newsweek's list of America's Most Trustworthy Companies 2024consecutively awarded for a second yearand Newsweek's list of the World's Most Trustworthy Companies 2024. Through its Century Communities and Century Complete brands, Century's mission is to build attractive, high-quality homes at affordable prices to provide its valued customers with A HOME FOR EVERY DREAM. Century is engaged in all aspects of homebuilding  including the acquisition, entitlement and development of land, along with the construction, innovative marketing and sale of quality homes designed to appeal to a wide range of homebuyers. The Company operates in 17 states and over 45 markets across the U.S., and also offers title, insurance and lending services in select markets through its Parkway Title, IHL Home Insurance Agency, and Inspire Home Loans subsidiaries. To learn more about Century Communities, please visit www.centurycommunities.com.

SOURCE Century Communities, Inc.
TAICHUNG, Jan. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Since its inception in 2016, the China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) International Center has been dedicated to providing world-class healthcare to the people of Guam, delivering nearly 900 services to date. This partnership has extended beyond medical care, with CMUH's significant contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the hospital worked closely with Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to donate 200,000 face masks to Guam, a gesture for which Guam's government later issued a resolution of gratitude. Additionally, CMUH organized "humanitarian healthcare flights" for the people of Guam, further solidifying ties and contributing to the sister-city relationship between Taichung and Guam established in 2022. These efforts exemplify Taiwan's commitment to supporting global health, demonstrating the power of "medical diplomacy."

Dr. Der-Yang Cho, superintendent of CMUH, (third from the left) stated that since 2016 CMUH has been committed to benefiting Guam people with high-quality healthcare in Guam and nearly nine hundred person-times of service have been delivered to date.

Dr. Der-Yang Cho, Superintendent of CMUH, highlighted the hospital's ongoing initiatives, including regular visits to Guam and collaborations with local healthcare institutions. One recent success story underscores CMUH's innovative approach to heart care.

Transforming Heart Health: One-Stop Surgery Saves Lives

In October (2024), a young woman from Guam, Diana, sought CMUH's help after years of struggling with atrial fibrillation (AF), a condition that left her exhausted and unable to fully participate in daily activities. Despite undergoing anticoagulant treatment and monitoring with a smartwatch, Diana's episodes persisted, lasting up to 15 hours, and her condition worsened. A local physician recommended left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) to reduce stroke risks, but the procedure was unavailable locally. Desperate for a solution, Diana traveled to Taiwan in hopes of a healthier future.

Upon arrival, CMUH's pioneering one-stop heart surgery package offered a comprehensive solution: a combination of AF ablation and LAAC. This innovative procedure not only significantly reduced her risk of stroke but also spared her the need for multiple surgeries and the long-term use of anticoagulants. Diana's recovery was swift, allowing her to regain her freedom and return to a life of full activity.

Dr. Kuan-Cheng Chang, Vice Superintendent of CMUH Internal Medicine, explained that AF is a common but potentially debilitating condition caused by abnormal electrical activity in the heart, leading to irregular and rapid heartbeats. If left untreated, blood clots can form, potentially causing strokes. "Our one-stop surgery approach combines the best of both worlds: ablation and LAAC," Dr. Chang noted. "This drastically lowers stroke risk and improves the patient's quality of life."

Diana expressed her gratitude for the care she received at CMUH: "I'm so thankful for the advanced treatment and patient-centered care. CMUH gave me the freedom to enjoy life again, and I'm excited about the future."

Strengthening Ties, Expanding Opportunities

Superintendent Cho also emphasized that CMUH's efforts to streamline medical travel for Guam residents continue to be a top priority. As part of this commitment, the CMUH International Center regularly visits Guam to assess patient needs and explore further opportunities for collaboration. Recently, Ms. Ai-Chi Chou, CEO of the CMUH International Center, met with key figures including Chia-Ping Liu, Head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Guam, and Tina Muna Barnes, Vice Speaker of the Guam Legislature Committee, to discuss how to enhance medical travel services for Guam's residents.

CMUH remains steadfast in its mission to provide cutting-edge healthcare solutions to Guam, reflecting Taiwan's dedication to advancing global health partnerships.

Media contact:

Carolyn Chen

[email protected]

SOURCE China Medical University Hospital
NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Report on how AI is driving market transformation - The global cocoa beans market size is estimated to grow by USD 3.58 billion from 2025-2029, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period. Rising popularity of chocolate-flavored beverages is driving market growth, with a trend towards increasing number of mergers and acquisitions. However, volatility in prices of cocoa beans poses a challenge. Key market players include Barry Callebaut AG, Cargill Inc., CEMOI Group, Cocoa Supply, Costa Esmeraldas Cacao Co., Dutch Cocoa BV, ECOM Agroindustrial Corp. Ltd., Edna Group, Fuji Oil Holdings Inc., India Cocoa Pvt. Ltd., JINDAL COCOA, Meiji Holdings Co. Ltd., Meridian Cacao Co., Mondelez International Inc., Nederland SA, Niche Cocoa Industry Ltd., Olam Group Ltd., Puratos Group NV, The Mexican Arabica Bean Co., and United Cocoa Processor Inc..

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Cocoa Beans Market 2025-2029

Key insights into market evolution with AI-powered analysis. Explore trends, segmentation, and growth drivers- View Free Sample PDF

Cocoa Beans Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2024 Historic period 2019 - 2023 Forecast period 2025-2029 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.5% Market growth 2025-2029 USD 3576.9 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 4.2 Regional analysis Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution Europe at 39% Key countries US, The Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Belgium, France, Italy, Indonesia, China, and India Key companies profiled Barry Callebaut AG, Cargill Inc., CEMOI Group, Cocoa Supply, Costa Esmeraldas Cacao Co., Dutch Cocoa BV, ECOM Agroindustrial Corp. Ltd., Edna Group, Fuji Oil Holdings Inc., India Cocoa Pvt. Ltd., JINDAL COCOA, Meiji Holdings Co. Ltd., Meridian Cacao Co., Mondelez International Inc., Nederland SA, Niche Cocoa Industry Ltd., Olam Group Ltd., Puratos Group NV, The Mexican Arabica Bean Co., and United Cocoa Processor Inc.

Market Driver

The global cocoa beans market has witnessed an increase in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities. These transactions are primarily driven by strategies to expand product portfolios, penetrate new markets, boost market share, enhance brand image, gain greater control over the supply chain, and achieve economies of scale. Notable M&A in the market include FAT Brands, Inc.'s plan to acquire Nestle Toll House Cafe franchises in the US, Mondelez International's acquisition of Ricoline, Mexico's leading confectionery company, and Barry Callebaut's acquisition of GKC Foods (Australia) Pty. Ltd. These deals will contribute significantly to the growth of the global cocoa beans market.

The Cocoa Beans Market is experiencing notable trends in 2023, with an increasing demand for free home delivery and Cash-On-Delivery (COD) options. The confectionery segment, including dark chocolate, is thriving due to growing purchasing power and health awareness. Pharmacology research highlights cocoa's benefits for cell membranes, cholesterol levels, and insulin sensitivity, fueling interest in the pharmaceuticals industry. The dark chocolate segment, rich in antioxidants, is particularly popular due to its potential impact on reducing the risk of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) and managing blood pressure levels. The Powder product segment, including cocoa powder and chocolate syrups, is also gaining traction in the baking industry for use in cakes, chocolate confectioneries, biscuits, and more. Alkalized cocoa powder, with its lower acidity and increased solubility, is a preferred choice for many manufacturers. Cocoa beans remain the foundation of the chocolate industry, with coating applications in vegetables, fruits, and cereals also driving demand. The market is diverse, encompassing chocolate industry, confectionery industry, and pharmaceuticals industry, offering a range of chocolate variants such as milk chocolate, brownies, and more.

Request Sample of our comprehensive report now to stay ahead in the AI-driven market evolution!

Market Challenges

The global cocoa beans market has experienced significant price volatility due to various factors. The primary causes include disruptions in supply and demand. For instance, reduced cocoa production can lead to price increases. In Q1 of 2020, the price of cocoa beans was more volatile due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic weakened demand and affected supply due to low availability of workers and transportation restrictions. Around 5000 to 6000 tons of cocoa beans were stuck in Nigeria due to lockdown restrictions. Moreover, the ongoing Ukraine - Russia war is negatively impacting the cocoa beans market. Orders for cocoa beans have declined in countries like Germany and The Netherlands due to logistical and payment issues. Containers of cocoa beans and fertilizers are being held at various ports due to disruptions in supply routes. The trade disruptions, sanctions on Russia , and high freight rates are significantly affecting the cocoa beans and fertilizer trade. Cocoa farmers are facing a shortage of fertilizers, which may affect the quantity, quality, and size of cocoa beans during the forecast period. These factors have weakened demand for cocoa beans-based products and put pressure on supply due to the low availability of workers and transportation restrictions. As a result, fluctuations in the prices of cocoa beans are expected to hinder the growth of the global cocoa beans market during the forecast period.

due to lockdown restrictions. Moreover, the ongoing - war is negatively impacting the cocoa beans market. Orders for cocoa beans have declined in countries like and due to logistical and payment issues. Containers of cocoa beans and fertilizers are being held at various ports due to disruptions in supply routes. The trade disruptions, sanctions on , and high freight rates are significantly affecting the cocoa beans and fertilizer trade. Cocoa farmers are facing a shortage of fertilizers, which may affect the quantity, quality, and size of cocoa beans during the forecast period. These factors have weakened demand for cocoa beans-based products and put pressure on supply due to the low availability of workers and transportation restrictions. As a result, fluctuations in the prices of cocoa beans are expected to hinder the growth of the global cocoa beans market during the forecast period. The cocoa beans market faces several challenges in the chocolate industry. Cocoa plants are susceptible to pests and require specific climatic conditions for optimal yield. Dry weather and weed accumulation can lead to crop damage, impacting profitability for farmers. In the supply chain, cocoa beans are used in various industries including confectionery, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Cocoa beans are a key ingredient in chocolate production, with milk, dark, and flavored variants like mint, vanilla, and coffee popular among consumers. Cocoa butter, a byproduct, is used as a lubricant, antioxidant, flavor enhancer, preservative, and emulsifier in various applications. The chocolate industry's demand for cocoa beans is influenced by trends in health-conscious consumers seeking the health benefits of cocoa, including its antioxidant properties. However, the impact of hypertension on chocolate consumption poses a challenge. Cocoa beans are also used in the production of cocoa butter, which is used as a humectant, aroma enhancer, and shelf life extender in cosmetic goods and natural cosmetics. The convenience stores, brand outlets, direct selling, and e-commerce portals are significant channels for cocoa bean sales, offering value-added services to consumers.

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Segment Overview

This cocoa beans market report extensively covers market segmentation by

Application

1.1 Confectionery

1.2 Functional food and beverage

1.3 Cosmetics

1.4 Others

Product

2.1 Cocoa butter

2.2 Cocoa powder

2.3 Cocoa beverages

2.4 Others

Geography

3.1 Europe

3.2 North America

3.3 APAC

3.4 South America

3.5 Middle East and Africa

1.1 Confectionery- The global cocoa beans market is experiencing significant growth, particularly in the confectionery segment. This segment's expansion is driven by the high demand for cocoa-based chocolate and confectionery drops and chunks. Companies like Mars and Nestle are responding to this trend by launching products with high cocoa mass, enhancing chocolate liquor flavor. For instance, Prodigy Snacks Ltd recently introduced Phenomenoms, a new chocolate biscuit range in two flavors. The rise in chocolate demand among consumers is fueling this growth. Major players, including Nestle, are integrating vertically and horizontally in the cocoa manufacturing industry value chain to meet this increasing demand. As a result, the confectionery segment is poised for growth in the global cocoa beans market.

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Research Analysis

Cocoa beans are the foundation of the chocolate industry, with applications extending beyond confectionery to vegetable, fruit, cereal, and pharmaceutical industries. Cocoa beans offer numerous health benefits, including antioxidant properties, which help combat hypertension and improve cardiovascular health. The chocolate industry produces various chocolate variants, such as milk, brownies, dark, and flavored chocolates, using cocoa beans. The cocoa plants face challenges like pests and climatic conditions, particularly dry weather, affecting farmers' yields and profitability. Cocoa beans yield cocoa butter, a versatile ingredient used as a lubricant, antioxidant, flavor enhancer, preservative, and emulsifier in various industries. Cocoa butter extends the shelf life of products, enhances mouthfeel, aroma, and acts as a humectant. Additionally, it is used in cosmetic goods and natural cosmetics.

Market Research Overview

Cocoa beans are the foundation of the chocolate industry, with applications extending beyond confectionery to vegetable, fruit, cereal, and pharmaceutical industries. Cocoa beans are rich in antioxidant properties, making them a popular ingredient in various food and beverage products. The impact of hypertension and other health concerns have led to the rise of chocolate variants like dark chocolate, which offers numerous health benefits. Cocoa plants face challenges such as pests, climatic conditions, and weed accumulation, affecting yield and profitability. Cocoa beans are used to produce cocoa butter, a valuable byproduct with applications as a lubricant, antioxidant, flavor enhancer, preservative, and emulsifier. Cocoa powder, another derivative, is used as an additive in various food products, including chocolate syrups, cakes, chocolate confectioneries, biscuits, and alkalized cocoa powder for lower acidity and increased solubility. The chocolate industry's supply dynamics are influenced by various factors, including weather conditions, farmer yields, and crop damage. The convenience of direct selling, e-commerce portals, value-added services, and free-home delivery have transformed the way consumers purchase and consume cocoa-based products. Cocoa beans' versatility extends to the cosmetics industry, with natural cosmetics using cocoa powder as a humectant and aroma enhancer. The pharmaceutical industry also utilizes cocoa extracts for their potential benefits on cell membranes, cholesterol levels, and insulin sensitivity, contributing to the prevention and management of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) and other health conditions. The chocolate industry's growth is driven by consumer purchasing power, with the dark chocolate segment leading the market due to its perceived health benefits. Chocolate variants continue to evolve, with new flavors like mint, vanilla, and coffee, adding to the industry's diversity and appeal.

Table of Contents:

1 Executive Summary

2 Market Landscape

3 Market Sizing

4 Historic Market Size

5 Five Forces Analysis

6 Market Segmentation

Application

Confectionery



Functional Food And Beverage



Cosmetics



Others

Product

Cocoa Butter



Cocoa Powder



Cocoa Beverages



Others

Geography

Europe



North America



APAC



South America



Middle East And Africa

7 Customer Landscape

8 Geographic Landscape

9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10 Company Landscape

11 Company Analysis

12 Appendix

About Technavio

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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.

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SOURCE Technavio
TORONTO, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Collective Mining Ltd. (NYSE: CNL) (TSX: CNL) ("Collective" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has commenced drilling at the San Antonio Project ("San Antonio"), located in Caldas, Colombia. The Company plans to drill a minimum of 2,500 metres and test three large gold-copper porphyry targets located within a well-defined 2.5-kilometer mineralized corridor.

Figure 1: Plan View of the San Antonio Project Highlighting Surface Geochemical Results Defining the Pound, Real and Euro Targets (CNW Group/Collective Mining Ltd.) Figure 2: Plan View of the San Antonio Project Highlighting the Pound Target Area (CNW Group/Collective Mining Ltd.)

The Company currently has five drill rigs operating as part of its fully funded 60,000-metre drill program for 2025. Two additional rigs have been contracted, with drilling anticipated to begin in late January and February, respectively.

Ari Sussman, Executive Chairman commented: "Shortly after going public in 2021, the Company announced a bonafide grassroots discovery at the San Antonio Project by drilling two very high-risk holes on the same section line at different dips into the Pound target with each hole cutting more than 700 meters of mineralization from surface. Immediately thereafter, our attention shifted to the Guayabales Project, leading to the discovery of the Apollo system, which has remained our chief focus ever since. With a strong treasury and an expanded operating team in place today, we are coming full circle and revisiting San Antonio. Being in Colombia this week and visiting the San Antonio Project, I have been convinced by our team that we have a legitimate chance of finding a major gold-copper porphyry system. The size of the alteration zone and abundance of high-grade mineralization on surface is impressive. With drilling underway, we look forward to receiving assay results and using the data to vector towards the mineralized fluid source of what is clearly an exceptionally large system."

Details (see Figures 1-2)

Over the past year, the Companys exploration team has reinterpreted historical data and completed an extensive surface mapping and geochemical sampling program at San Antonio , which led to the definition of a strongly altered and mineralized 2.5-kilometer corridor of interest. Within the corridor, three targets named Pound, Real and Euro have been prioritized for drill testing in the Phase 1 program.





, which led to the definition of a strongly altered and mineralized 2.5-kilometer corridor of interest. Within the corridor, three targets named Pound, Real and Euro have been prioritized for drill testing in the Phase 1 program. Diamond drilling has commenced at the Pound target where previous drilling by the Company in 2021 intercepted from surface 710 metres at 0.53 g/t gold equivalent (SAC-08) and 750 metres at 0.41 g/t gold equivalent (SAC-06) within a mix of brecciated porphyry quartz diorite and metagabbro country rock (see press release dated October 27, 2021 ). Both holes cut increasing grades of copper at depth and bottomed in mineralization. Recent mapping and sampling has encountered widespread mineralization and has expanded the surface footprint of the highly altered system to 650 metres x 550 metres. The Company believes that prior drilling may have discovered the pyrite halo of a copper-gold porphyry system with stronger mineralization potentially in close proximity.





). Both holes cut increasing grades of copper at depth and bottomed in mineralization. Recent mapping and sampling has encountered widespread mineralization and has expanded the surface footprint of the highly altered system to 650 metres x 550 metres. The Company believes that prior drilling may have discovered the pyrite halo of a copper-gold porphyry system with stronger mineralization potentially in close proximity. New gold and copper soil anomalies have been outlined over surface areas exceeding 400 metres x 250 metres at the Real and Euro targets respectively and will be tested with reconnaissance drilling in Q1, 2025. The following observations are highlighted:



The Real target is located 400 metres to the northwest of Pound and is characterized by multiple gold and copper mineralized porphyry clasts hosted within breccia bodies.



The Euro target is located one kilometer south of Pound and is defined by a coherent and coincident soil anomalies for gold (> 0.3 ppm), copper (> 100 ppm) and molybdenum (> 20 ppm). The anomalous area hosts zones of porphyry quartz and sulphide veinlets associated with strong sericitic alteration which suggest the upper and/or peripheral portion of a porphyry system has been discovered.



About Collective Mining Ltd.

To see our latest corporate presentation and related information, please visit www.collectivemining.com

Founded by the team that developed and sold Continental Gold Inc. to Zijin Mining for approximately $2 billion in enterprise value, Collective is a gold, silver, copper and tungsten exploration company with projects in Caldas, Colombia. The Company has options to acquire 100% interests in two projects located directly within an established mining camp with ten fully permitted and operating mines.

The San Antonio project is located 4 kilometers east of the Guayabales Project which is anchored by the Apollo system and hosts the large-scale, bulk-tonnage and high-grade gold-silver-copper-tungsten system.

Management, insiders, a strategic investor and close family and friends own 44.5% of the outstanding shares of the Company and as a result, are fully aligned with shareholders. The Company is listed on both the NYSE and TSX under the trading symbol "CNL".

Qualified Person (QP) and NI43-101 Disclosure

David J Reading is the designated Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") and has reviewed and verified that the technical information contained herein is accurate and approves of the written disclosure of same. Mr. Reading has an MSc in Economic Geology and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and of the Society of Economic Geology (SEG).

Technical Information

Rock, soils and core samples from the San Antonio Project have been prepared and analyzed at SGS laboratory facilities in Medellin, Colombia and Lima, Peru; and at Actlabs laboratory facilities in Medellin, Colombia and Toronto, Canada. Blanks, duplicates, and certified reference standards are inserted into the sample stream to monitor laboratory performance. Crush rejects and pulps are kept and stored in a secured storage facility for future assay verification. No capping has been applied to sample composites. The Company utilizes a rigorous, industry-standard QA/QC program.

Information Contact:

Follow Executive Chairman Ari Sussman (@Ariski73) on X

Follow Collective Mining (@CollectiveMini1) on X, (Collective Mining) on LinkedIn, and (@collectivemining) on Instagram

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussion with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often, but not always using phrases such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the anticipated advancement of mineral properties or programs; future operations; future recovery metal recovery rates; future growth potential of Collective; and future development plans.

These forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding future events including the direction of our business. Management believes that these assumptions are reasonable. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: risks related to the speculative nature of the Company's business; the Company's formative stage of development; the Company's financial position; possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery rates; actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of future economic evaluations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, precious and base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets; change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formation pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the annual information form of the Company dated March 27, 2024. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Collective Mining Ltd.
DeTect's state-of-the-art MERLIN True3D bird radar is the most widely used system for commercial airport and military airfield bird-aircraft strike risk management.

PANAMA CITY, Fla., Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- DeTect, Inc. (DeTect) is shipping a MERLIN True3D Bird Detection Radar (BDR) to Hanseo University's Flight Education Center in South Korea with the system to be installed and operational in mid-February. The system will be used to support flight safety for pilot training and for research, providing real-time bird and drone tracking and strike risk alerting to air traffic controllers and airfield management. DeTect and Hanseo entered into an agreement in June 2024 to deploy the MERLIN system at the training centre airstrip in Taean. "The system will be installed adjacent to the runway and will provide 24-7 real-time information on aircraft, bird and drone activity in support of flight safety" said Gary Andrews DeTect CEO. "The radar detects out to 11 kilometers around the airfield with live displays and risk alerts in the Air Traffic Control tower and other user locations."

MERLIN True3D bird and drone detection radar system installation (USA)

ABOUT DETECT INC:

DeTect is a fully integrated radar company with research, engineering and manufacturing facilities in Florida, Canada and Poland, and offices in North Dakota, California, Hawaii, London, Poland and South Korea. The company's MERLIN BDR is the most proven and widely used system for aircraft-bird strike risk management. Other DeTect products include HARRIER Security and Surveillance Radars, the DroneWatcher counter-UAS system, MERLIN bird protection systems for wind farms, and the HARRIER Aircraft Detection Lighting System. Since 2003, DeTect has manufactured and delivered over 1100 systems in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2606895/5136278/DeTect_Logo___Intelligent_Sensors_Black_NO_TM_Logo.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2606896/MERLIN_True3D_MERLIN_S200H_3D_180_EOIR_BDR__typical_installtion.jpg
DALLAS, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- FinTech Automation, LLC (FTA) announces the launch of its DeFi Exchange clearing & settlement service (DEX Clearing) in partnership with Austin Capital Trust Company, LLC (Austin Capital). Using FTA's UniFi CORE system, Austin Capital will provide custody and agent services to DEX Clearing.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has emerged as a transformative force in the financial sector, enabling trustless transactions, enhanced transparency, and broad accessibility. However, one significant challenge to its mass adoption lies in the integration of fiat currencies with cryptocurrencies, particularly in the realms of clearing and settlement. In traditional finance, there are clearing and settlement entities such as the Federal Reserve, DTCC for securities, and Card Networks. In DeFi, however, the absence of such centralized entities creates a need for innovative solutions to ensure trust, efficiency, and transparency.

To bridge this gap, DEX Clearing offers a clearing and settlement gateway for DeFi companies and financial institutions to bridge banking with DeFi. Austin Capital is now the first trust bank utilizing the DEX gateway and provides DeFi companies and other financial institutions the ability to offer clearing and settlement services to facilitate seamless interaction between fiat and DeFi.

FTA's UniFi CORE system provides banks, credit unions, wealth management firms, and fintechs with integrated digital banking, wealth management and trading capabilities. UniFi supports all asset classes, including cryptocurrencies and other alternative assets, with real-time market data integration. It empowers users to incorporate these assets into diversified portfolios while providing an intuitive and efficient way to manage investments, bridging traditional and decentralized finance ecosystems.

The partnership between FinTech Automation's Defi Exchange and Austin Capital enables banks, credit unions, and fintechs to access a fully integrated platform that supports all asset classes and offers robust clearing and settlement capabilities for decentralized finance.

About Austin Capital

Austin Capital Trust Company, LLC, is a Nevada-chartered trust bank, providing a range of services tailored for financial institutions, financial technology companies, and small businesses. Specializing in custody, technology, settlement, payments, and small business solutions, the firm offers a unified financial services platform for banking, asset management, crypto, trusts, and corporate retirement plans. Services include embedded finance, Banking as-s-Service, Banking as-a-Platform, card issuance, unified payment solution for domestic and cross-border payments.

About FinTech Automation

FinTech Automation is positioned at the epicenter of global growth in financial technology, collaborating closely with leading companies, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders to drive transformative change. Leveraging technologies such as open-source software, cloud computing, machine learning, and API integration, FTA accelerates time-to-market, enhances returns for banks and fintech companies, and empowers global consumers through innovative solutions and applications.

About DeFi Exchange

DeFi Exchange facilitates clearing and settlement between traditional and decentralized finance. It integrates seamlessly with custodians and liquidity providers to deliver efficient on- and off-ramp solutions. Designed for speed, security, and cost-effectiveness, the platform leverages advanced security protocols, asset insurance, and blockchain technology to provide users with reliable and innovative digital asset trading options.

Contact:

Evan Zhang

214-624-1007

SOURCE FinTech Automation, LLC
IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Realizing you may be under scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for criminal tax violations will undoubtedly result in countless sleepless nights. These investigations can stem from a wide array of triggersunintentional mistakes, accountant errors, unreported income, inaccuracies in one's books, or intentionally non-compliant federal accounting & reporting practices. Unlike standard federal civil tax audits, which aim to verify that you have correctly reported and paid your taxes, a Criminal Tax Administrative Investigation is infinitely more intense, often zeroing in on whether you have willfully violated tax laws. Comprehending how these investigations begin, escalate, and ultimately lead to possible prosecutions can be crucial to safeguarding your reputation and, in some cases, your very liberty.

Criminal Tax Evasion Defense

Defining a Criminal Tax Administrative Investigation

In contrast to a routine civil audit, a Criminal Tax Administrative Investigation is a formal inquiry conducted by the IRS's Criminal Investigation Division (CID). Its objective is not simply the accurate calculation and payment of taxes but to determine whether a taxpayer or business has intentionally engaged in criminal tax offenses like tax evasion, money laundering, or fraudulent recordkeeping. The driving force behind such probes is the notion that to keep faith in the federal tax system, there must be regular federal criminal tax enforcement actions against those who choose to intentionally flout the rules. Consequently, these criminal tax investigations are downright frightening due to the severe negative public attention and potential prison time that may follow.

Categories and Initiation of Administrative Investigations

According to the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) that IRS personnel follow, IRM 9.4.1 and IRM 9.9.1, administrative investigations are initiated in the Criminal Investigation Management Information System (CIMIS) under one of three designations:

General Investigations (GI): Launched when initial information suggests possible wrongdoing, but more data is needed before deeper scrutiny begins. Primary Investigations (PI): Triggered when the IRS has sufficient reasonbased on screening or prior leadsto believe criminal tax violations may have occurred. Agents clandestinely collect evidence to decide whether the case warrants a further upgrade. Subject Criminal Investigations (SCI): Initiated if evidence of deliberate or fraudulent criminal tax acts is significant. At this phase, special agents center their inquiry on proving (or disproving) criminal culpability sufficient for criminal tax prosecution.

The Role of the Special Agent in Charge (SAC)

A Special Agent in Charge (SAC) or their designee has the authority to authorize criminal tax investigations of all incoming leads or evidence that, after thorough evaluation, merit additional inquiry. Following this decision, a summary outlining the justification for opening the matter is prepared and placed in the administrative file. This memorandum may take the form of a specialized template (e.g., from the Unified Checklist SharePoint site in CI), ensuring standardized documentation of the investigation's basis.

From First Indicators of Fraud to Firm Indicators

During a federal civil tax audit or through data from offices like the Office of Fraud Enforcement (OFE), the Lead Development Center (LDC), or Refund Fraud and Investigative Support (RFIS), the IRS may detect initial indicators of fraudsometimes referred to as "badges of fraud." Examples include:

Underreporting Income : Significant discrepancies between declared and actual earnings

: Significant discrepancies between declared and actual earnings Cash-Based Transactions : Large or repeated use of cash, concealing the true nature of financial activities

: Large or repeated use of cash, concealing the true nature of financial activities Destruction of Records : Missing or tampered documentation hampering the verification process

: Missing or tampered documentation hampering the verification process Complex Schemes: Offshore accounts, illegal tax shelters, nominee entities, or shell companies indicating potential tax evasion

These first indicators, while suspicious, do not by themselves suffice to warrant felony charges. They merely prompt deeper criminal tax investigations. Once a special agent suspects the taxpayer's actions go beyond innocent mistakes, they work to establish firm indicators of fraud. This entails expanded data-gathering (e.g., forensic accounting, witness interviews) to convert preliminary suspicions into concrete evidence. If firm indicators emerge, the case typically transitions from a primary to a subject criminal investigation (SCI)or, in severe scenarios, to a grand jury investigation.

The Administrative Investigation Lifecycle

1. Information Gathering and Verification

Special Agents in Charge (SAC) and Fraud Referral Specialists (FRS) compile and review bank records, interview witnesses, and utilize forensic accounting techniques to determine whether an error is merely careless or a calculated attempt to evade taxes. They watch for repeated shortfalls in deposits, mismatches in reported transactions, and any attempts at obfuscation (e.g., using third parties to conceal ownership or income).

2. Completing the Special Agent's Report (SAR)

After completing enough investigative work, the SAC prepares a Special Agent's Report (SAR). This detailed document:

Outlines the findings of the administrative investigation

Summarizes witness statements and other evidence supporting a criminal referral

Provides the special agent's recommendation for or against criminal tax prosecution

The Chief Counsel of the Criminal Tax Division will further review this report. If they concur, a Criminal Enforcement Memorandum is drafted to discuss:

The specific crimes for which criminal tax prosecution is recommended

The evidence forming the basis for those charges

Anticipated legal or technical issues

The recommended strategy for proceeding (e.g., felony referral under IRC  7202, 7206, etc.)

Access to the SAR and accompanying exhibits is seldom available to the taxpayer or tax counsel before charges are filed. Requests for the special agent's investigation materials under the Freedom of Information Act (commonly called a FOIA request) have been consistently denied under the investigatory record exemption and the exemption for material exempt by statute. Courts have occasionally required the government to supply an index of material contained in the SAR. The complex interaction between the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act of 1974, and the disclosure provisions of the Code have left many questions unresolved. The SAR should become available to the taxpayer's tax counsel at any trial in which the agent testifies. For this reason, the IRS usually has two agents present for every interview so that the government can present its case at trial without calling the special agent to testify who wrote the SAR. In such cases, the SAR is never disclosed.

3. Referral to DOJ or U.S. Attorney

If the Criminal Enforcement Memorandum endorses prosecution, the case is forwarded to the Tax Division of the Department of Justice or directly to the United States Attorney. In some instances involving legal source incomeand where the taxpayer's counsel indicates a willingness to plead guiltythe IRS may expedite the matter by sending it simultaneously to both the Tax Division and the U.S. Attorney. This approach can abbreviate the timeline between the detection of wrongdoing and a guilty plea.

Alternative Initiation: Grand Jury Investigation

In especially difficult or time-sensitive situations, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division may initiate a grand jury investigation from the outset, effectively bypassing certain administrative phases typically involved in a Criminal Tax Administrative Investigation. A federal grand jury, composed of 16 to 23 citizens, must vote at least 12 jurors in favor of issuing an indictment for a taxpayer to be charged with a tax felony. Grand juries possess substantial investigatory powers, including the authority to compel testimony and require the production of physical evidence, and their proceedings are conducted in strict secrecy, attended only by grand jurors, government attorneys, court reporters, and witnesses. This method is often chosen when the IRS is informed that an existing non-tax-motivated criminal tax investigation has uncovered evidence of tax crimes or when there is an urgent need to investigate quickly and grant immunity to reluctant witnesses. Additionally, grand jury investigations are preferred when the IRS aims to consolidate multiple criminal tax charges into a single indictment, enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of legal proceedings. By leveraging the robust investigatory capabilities of a grand jury, the IRS ensures a thorough and expedited examination of the evidence, maintaining the deterrent effect of holding willful violators accountable under the full weight of federal law.

Potential Consequences of a Criminal Tax Administrative Investigation

An administrative investigation targeting criminal tax violations can yield outcomes far more dire than any typical civil tax audit:

Lengthy Incarceration : Felony convictions often come with months to years in federal prison.

: Felony convictions often come with months to years in federal prison. Hefty Fines : Penalties can exceed the understated taxes, punishing willful deception.

: Penalties can exceed the understated taxes, punishing willful deception. Restitution Orders : Courts may demand repayment of owed taxes, interest, and penalties in full that are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy.

: Courts may demand repayment of owed taxes, interest, and penalties in full that are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy. Reputational Damage : A criminal conviction is part of the public record, potentially hindering future employment or business ventures.

: A criminal conviction is part of the public record, potentially hindering future employment or business ventures. Professional Consequences: Individuals in licensed professionsattorneys, accountants, financial advisorsmay lose licensure or endure suspension.

Avoiding Criminal Tax Investigation and Prosecution Where You Have a History of Committing Tax Fraud and are not Currently Under Audit or Criminal Tax Investigation.

If you have failed to file a tax return for one or more years or have taken a position on a tax return that could not be supported upon an IRS or state tax authority audit, eggshell audit, reverse eggshell audit, or criminal tax investigation, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced tax defense attorney to determine your best route back into federal or state tax compliance without facing criminal prosecution.

Note: As long as a taxpayer that has willfully committed tax crimes (potentially including non-filed foreign information returns coupled with affirmative evasion of U.S. income t ax on offshore income) self-reports the tax fraud (including a pattern of non-filed returns) through a domestic or offshore voluntary disclosure before the IRS has started an audit or criminal tax investigation / prosecution, the taxpayer can ordinarily be successfully brought back into tax compliance and receive a nearly guaranteed pass on criminal tax prosecution and simultaneously often receive a break on the civil penalties that would otherwise apply.

It is imperative that you hire an experienced and reputable criminal tax defense attorney to take you through the voluntary disclosure process. Only an Attorney has the Attorney Client Privilege and Work Product Privileges that will prevent the very professional that you hire from being potentially being forced to become a witness against you, especially where they prepared the returns that need to be amended, in a subsequent criminal tax audit, investigation or prosecution.

Moreover, only an Attorney can enter you into a voluntary disclosure without engaging in the unauthorized practice of law (a crime in itself). Only an Attorney trained in Criminal Tax Defense fully understands the risks and rewards involved in voluntary disclosures and how to protect you if you do not qualify for a voluntary disclosure.

As uniquely qualified and extensively experienced Criminal Tax Defense Tax Attorneys, Kovel CPAs and EAs, our firm provides a one stop shop to efficiently achieve the optimal and predictable results that simultaneously protect your liberty and your net worth. See our Testimonials to see what our clients have to say about us!

Call The Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing Today If You Are Worried About a Criminal Tax Administrative Investigation

Facing criminal tax charges would surely be a horrific nightmare for anyone so unfortunate to be accused. Once an administrative investigation commences, the IRS may swiftly gather evidence that solidifies initial indicators of fraud into "firm" and prosecutable wrongdoing. If you even suspect your situation meets this thresholdor if you have reason to believe your federal civil tax audit is at risk of transitioning into an exponentially severe criminal tax investigationsecuring competent legal counsel immediately can mitigate devastating life altering outcomes.

Obtaining an experienced dual-licensed criminal tax defense attorney & CPA is imperative when faced with strategic decisions such as whether to speak freely and candidly with a civil tax examiner or Criminal Investigation Division (CID). At the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, our unique blend of legal acumen and advanced tax knowledge enables us to mount effective defenses for high-stakes civil and criminal tax matters. Our role will include becoming involved in the paralleling the investigation as soon as possible. Initially, we will strive to protect you, where possible, by not immediately furnishing information to the special agents or at least limiting the amount of information that may be voluntarily given to the Service. This is because we would need time to discern the nature of every representation and to review relevant records.

The subject of a completed CID investigation has a 90% probability of being criminally charged and, if charged, a similar likelihood of being convicted. The fallout of tax investigation and conviction extends beyond the punishment metered out in the criminal case. Adverse collateral consequences typically result merely from being the subject of a CID criminal investigation, and significant legal disabilities always result from criminal convictionwhether by plea or after trial. The stigma of being under an IRS criminal tax investigation is challenging to discount. When you contact the Dual Licensed Criminal Tax Defense Attorneys and CPAs at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, you get a dedicated, resourceful partner in your pursuit of vindication for the tax crimes you've been accused of committing. To learn more about our services, call us today at (888) 904-4096 or schedule a reduced-rate initial consultation online here.

See our Audit Representation Q and A Library

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Public Contact: Dave Klasing Esq. M.S.-Tax CPA, [email protected]

SOURCE Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, PC
The shelf prospectus supplement, the corresponding base shelf prospectus and any amendment to the documents are accessible through SEDAR+ and EDGAR

This news release constitutes a "designated news release" for the purposes of the Company's prospectus supplement dated August 12, 2024, to its short form base shelf prospectus dated June 21, 2024

RENO, Nev. , Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - i-80 GOLD CORP. (TSX: IAU) (NYSE: IAUX) ("i-80", or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news releases dated January 15, 2025 and January 16, 2025, it has filed a prospectus supplement (the "Prospectus Supplement") to its short form base shelf prospectus filed on June 21, 2024 (the "Shelf Prospectus") with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada other than Quebec and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Company's U.S. registration statement on Form F-10 (Registration No. 333-279567, which includes the Shelf Prospectus and was declared effective by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on June 25, 2024 to qualify the distribution of a minimum of 18,000,000 common shares of the Company (the "Offered Shares") at a price of C$0.80 per Offered Share (the "Offering Price") for minimum gross proceeds to the Company of C$14,400,000 (the "Minimum Offering") and a maximum of 36,250,000 Offered Shares at the Offering Price for aggregate gross proceeds of up to C$29,000,000 (the "Maximum Offering" and collectively with the Minimum Offering, the "Offering"). If subscriptions are not received for at least the gross proceeds of the Minimum Offering, the Offering will not be completed.

The size of the Offering has been increased from US$10 million to US$20 million (C$29 million). Subject to the receipt of all required regulatory approvals, including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") and the NYSE American, the Offering is expected to close on or about January 31, 2025.

Access to the Prospectus Supplement, the corresponding Shelf Prospectus and any amendment thereto in connection with the Offering is provided in accordance with securities legislation relating to procedures for providing access to a shelf prospectus supplement, a base shelf prospectus and any amendment thereto. The Shelf Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement are accessible on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under i-80's issuer profile.

An electronic or paper copy of the Prospectus Supplement, the Shelf Prospectus and any amendment to the documents may be obtained, without charge, from the Corporate Secretary of the Company by phone at 1-866-525-6450 or by e-mail at [email protected] by providing the Company with an email address or address, as applicable. The Shelf Prospectus and Prospectus Supplement contain important, detailed information about the Company, the Offering and the Offered Shares. Prospective investors should read the Shelf Prospectus and Prospectus Supplement before making an investment decision.

Concurrently with the Offering, the Company is pleased to announce that it will be completing a concurrent private placement offering (the "Concurrent Private Placement") of up to 1,004,208 subscription receipts (the "Subscription Receipts") at a price of C$0.80 per Subscription Receipt for aggregate gross proceeds of up to C$803,367, with certain directors and officers of the Company (each a "Placement Investor"). Each Subscription Receipt will entitle the holder to receive, without payment of additional consideration and without further action, one common share of the Company (each, a "Placement Share") upon satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions (as defined below). The gross proceeds of the Concurrent Private Placement (the "Escrowed Funds") will be held in escrow and will be released to the Company on satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions. If the Escrow Release Conditions are not satisfied on or before June 30, 2025, the Escrowed Funds will be returned to the Placement Investors and the Subscription Receipts will be cancelled. The "Escrow Release Conditions" will include (i) the receipt of the requisite approval of the shareholders of the Company for the issuance of the Placement Shares to the Placement Investors; and (ii) receipt of all required approvals of the TSX and NYSE American for the Concurrent Private Placement, including the issuance of the Placement Shares to the Placement Investors. The Concurrent Private Placement is being structured to satisfy the requirements of the NYSE American to require shareholder approval for the participation of the directors and officers in an equity financing by the Company at a price that is at a discount to market price. The Company anticipates using the net proceeds of Concurrent Private Placement for working capital and general corporate purposes. The Concurrent Private Placement is expected to close with the Offering on or about January 31, 2025.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful before registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About i-80 Gold Corp.

i-80 Gold Corp. is a Nevada-focused mining company with the third largest gold mineral resources in the state of Nevada. The recapitalization plan underway is designed to unlock the value of the Company's high-grade gold deposits to create a Nevada mid-tier gold producer. i-80 Gold's common shares are listed on the TSX and the NYSE American under the trading symbol IAU:TSX and IAUX:NYSE. Further information about i-80 Gold's portfolio of assets and long-term growth strategy is available at www.i80gold.com or by email at [email protected].

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including but not limited to, statements regarding: consummation of the Offering; the Company's ability to satisfy all closing conditions and close the Offering within the announced timeline; the Company's ability to satisfy all closing conditions and close the Concurrent Private Placement within the announced timeline; the Company's use of proceeds for the Offering; the Company's ability to obtain the approval of the TSX and the NYSE American; the Company's ability to satisfy the Escrow Release Conditions; and the Company's other future plans and expectations. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this release.

Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to: material adverse changes, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to i-80's filings with Canadian securities regulators, including the most recent Annual Information Form, available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

SOURCE i-80 Gold Corp
NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Report with the AI impact on market trends - The global independent software vendors (ISVs) market size is estimated to grow by USD 1.56 billion from 2025-2029, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% during the forecast period. Rise in volume of enterprise data is driving market growth, with a trend towards increasing adoption of cloud computing by end-users. However, high costs of licensing and support poses a challenge. Key market players include Adobe Inc., Alphabet Inc., Autodesk Inc., Avgi Solutions Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Dell Technologies Inc., HP Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Intuit Inc., Magic Software Enterprises Ltd., Microsoft Corp, Mocana Corp., Nutanix Inc., Open Text Corp., Oracle Corp, Salesforce Inc., SAP SE, ServiceNow Inc., Virtusa Corp., and VMware Inc..

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) Market 2025-2029

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Independent Software Vendors (ISVS) Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2024 Historic period 2019 - 2023 Forecast period 2025-2029 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 11.9% Market growth 2025-2029 USD 1559.1 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 10.6 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 32% Key countries US, UK, China, Germany, and Japan Key companies profiled Adobe Inc., Alphabet Inc., Autodesk Inc., Avgi Solutions Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Dell Technologies Inc., HP Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Intuit Inc., Magic Software Enterprises Ltd., Microsoft Corp, Mocana Corp., Nutanix Inc., Open Text Corp., Oracle Corp, Salesforce Inc., SAP SE, ServiceNow Inc., Virtusa Corp., and VMware Inc.

Market Driver

Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) are companies that develop and sell software solutions to businesses. Current market trends show a growing demand for software in various industries, including hardware manufacturers, enterprise applications, industry-specific software, productivity tools, and more. Startups and multinational corporations alike turn to ISVs for innovative software solutions. Cloud computing, AI, data analytics, and UX are key technologies driving the market. Healthcare, finance, education, retail & e-commerce, IT & telecom, automotive, and other sectors are adopting software-as-a-service (SaaS) and web-based services to address specific business problems. IaaS, PaaS, and E-Commerce platforms are popular choices. ISVs focus on integration and interoperability, ensuring their solutions work seamlessly with the latest technologies and platforms. Mobile applications and IoT applications are also gaining traction. AI integration, data security, and privacy concerns are essential considerations. Salesforce Industries and Cloud Technologies lead the market, with SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS being major offerings. Programming languages, platforms, technical support, and training are crucial for ISVs. Businesses seek on-premises software and large technology companies offer partnerships and acquisitions. The cloud computing market continues to expand, with mobile apps, e-commerce, logistics, and IT services being significant areas of growth.

Cloud-based software solutions are increasingly being adopted by businesses and governments for various applications, including authentication processes, video management, biometric information storage, and big data computing. The flexibility and scalability of these solutions enable organizations to meet their evolving needs. The proliferation of IoT-connected devices worldwide has led to an enormous data generation. Industries such as manufacturing, utilities, retail, automotive, and social media utilize IoT for enhanced data transfer. Cloud-based software effectively addresses the storage and processing requirements of this massive data influx.

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Market Challenges

Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) face various challenges in today's dynamic business landscape. Hardware manufacturers pose competition, pushing ISVs to innovate and integrate their software solutions with the latest technologies and platforms. Enterprise applications, industry-specific software, productivity tools, and startups require customized software to solve specific business problems. Multinational corporations seek industry-standard software for their unique needs, while cloud computing, AI, data analytics, and IoT applications demand integration and interoperability. Healthcare, retail & e-commerce, IT & telecom, automotive, finance, education, and various industries require software products that cater to their distinct requirements. ISVs must address data security and privacy concerns, ensuring their software adheres to industry standards. Salesforce Industries and Cloud Technologies dominate the market, offering IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS solutions. E-Commerce, logistics, and programming languages are essential for businesses in the digital age. ISVs must provide technical support, training, and user experience (UX) enhancements to remain competitive. On-premises software faces competition from cloud-based solutions, and large technology companies continue to expand their offerings. ISVs must stay updated on the latest technologies and trends to succeed in this competitive market.

Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) have evolved from service providers to a hybrid of product and service industries. Traditional licensing models, such as single-user and concurrent-user, have given way to usage-based licensing and perpetual licensing in the corporate application sector. While perpetual licensing remains popular, usage-based licensing is on the rise. This shift brings both opportunities and challenges. While usage-based licensing offers flexibility, it also results in higher license and maintenance costs, which may negatively impact the global ISV market during the forecast period.

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Segment Overview

This independent software vendors (isvs) market report extensively covers market segmentation by

Deployment

1.1 On-premises

1.2 Cloud based

Component

2.1 Software

2.2 Services

Geography

3.1 North America

3.2 Europe

3.3 APAC

3.4 South America

3.5 Middle East and Africa

1.1 On-premises- Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) often choose to deploy their software through the on-premises model. On-premises software is locally hosted within an organization's premises, utilizing their computer systems. ISVs charge a one-time license fee for this solution. On-premises software provides data security and local ownership, with the added benefit of customizable integrations. Organizations retain control over their data, enhancing security. Although high hardware costs and maintenance requirements are drawbacks, the need for data security continues to drive the growth of the on-premises segment in the global ISVs market. Many large organizations, particularly those handling sensitive data, opt for on-premises software due to its security advantages. Despite the challenges, the on-premises model's security features are expected to fuel its adoption and expansion in the market.

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Research Analysis

The Independent Software Vendors (ISV) market refers to the industry of companies that develop and sell software solutions to businesses and organizations. These software offerings can range from enterprise applications and industry-specific software to productivity tools and web-based services. ISVs cater to various sectors such as retail & e-commerce, IT & telecom, automotive, finance, education, and more, addressing specific business problems. ISVs leverage the latest technologies and platforms like cloud computing, IaaS, PaaS, AI, and machine learning to create innovative software solutions. They cater to both startups and multinational corporations, offering customized software to meet unique business needs. Productivity tools, programming languages, and platforms are essential components of the ISV market. Technical support, training, and ongoing business relationship management are also crucial aspects of the ISV value proposition. ISVs provide software solutions for hardware manufacturers, helping them offer enhanced functionality and value to their customers. The ISV market is diverse and dynamic, with continuous innovation and evolution driven by the needs of businesses and the emergence of new technologies.

Market Research Overview

The Independent Software Vendors (ISV) market encompasses a vast array of businesses that develop and sell software solutions to address specific business problems across various industries. These solutions range from enterprise applications and industry-specific software to productivity tools and standalone applications. ISVs cater to both startups and multinational corporations, leveraging the latest technologies and platforms such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and user experience (UX). ISVs serve diverse sectors including healthcare, finance, education, retail & e-commerce, IT & telecom, automotive, and more. They offer software products in various forms like web-based services, mobile applications, IoT applications, and AI integration. ISVs prioritize integration and interoperability to ensure seamless data flow between their solutions and other systems. Data security and privacy concerns are crucial for ISVs, as they handle sensitive business information. Salesforce Industries, Cloud Technologies, IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS are popular choices for ISVs due to their scalability and flexibility. E-commerce, logistics, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) are thriving sectors within the ISV market. ISVs provide technical support, training, and consulting services to their clients. Programming languages and platforms are essential tools for ISVs to build and deliver high-quality software. Businesses increasingly rely on ISVs to help them overcome unique challenges and stay competitive in their respective industries.

Table of Contents:

Executive Summary Market Landscape Market Sizing Historic Market Size Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation Deployment On-premises Cloud Based

Component Software Services

Geography North America Europe APAC South America Middle East And Africa

Customer Landscape Geographic Landscape Drivers, Challenges, and Trends Company Landscape Company Analysis Appendix

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SOURCE Technavio
The reporters learned from the Anhui Provincial Development and Reform Commission that in 2024, Anhui continued to lead in industrial innovation through technological advancements, fostering and expanding strategic emerging industries, and proactively planning for future industries. The province aimed to be at the forefront of cultivating and developing new quality productive forces, thereby adding strong momentum to promote high-quality development. In 2024, the industrial added value of enterprises above designated size grew by 9%, ranking first among major industrial provinces. The output value of strategic emerging industries accounted for 43.6% of the industrial output of enterprises above designated size, an increase of 0.7 percentage points, while the added value of high-tech manufacturing accounted for 16.1% of the industrial output of enterprises above designated size, up by 2.1 percentage points. Continuous Enhancement of Strategic Emerging Industry Levels In 2024, Anhui produced 3.57 million vehicles, a 43.3% increase, with 1.684 million being new energy vehicles, up 94.5%. The revenue from the new generation information technology sector is expected to reach 850 billion yuan, with display panel production capacity ranking second in the country, accounting for 8.5% of the global market. The output value of new materials surpassed 500 billion yuan, and three new provincial-level magnesium-based lightweight automotive new material clusters were established. Accelerating the Development of Future Industries The province issued a series of policy documents, including action plans for the development of future industries, the Action Plan for High Quality Development of Aerospace Information Industry, and China's first provincial-level low-altitude economy implementation plan. It initiated the "7+N" future industry cultivation project and established the first batch of 10 provincial-level future industry pilot areas, collaborating with the provincial Peoples Congress to introduce the first provincial-level regulations on future industries. The scale of the low-altitude economy industry in Anhui ranks among the top in the country. Accelerating Intelligent and Green Development of Industries Anhui has rolled out action plans for the development of the digital economy, digital commerce, and computing power, nurturing service-oriented, application-oriented, and technology-oriented digital businesses. The province built intelligent computing power exceeding 16,000 petaflops, promoting the empowerment of the real economy through data and computing power. It compiled an energy efficiency list for key industries, implementing energy-saving and carbon reduction upgrades for major enterprises. The first batch of 10 provincial-level zero-carbon industrial parks was launched, alongside the establishment of a second batch of provincial-level carbon peak pilot parks. Additionally, the installed capacity of renewable energy generation increased by 12.61 million kilowatts, with the total installed capacity of renewable energy historically surpassing that of coal power. Deepening System and Mechanism Reforms Anhui focuses on promoting comprehensive national innovation reforms, addressing prominent issues in the systems and mechanisms that affect technological and industrial development, and deeply promoting institutional and mechanism reform and innovation. The province has undertaken 16 national reform tasks and has piloted the construction of a multi-entity, full-chain innovation consortium in "Grand Union of Innovation." It has established and operated 24 innovation consortia, creating an ecosystem where "a building represents an innovation consortium, and a building represents an industrial chain."

Source: anhuinews.com


NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Report with market evolution powered by AI - The global industrial HVAC market size is estimated to grow by USD 6.8 billion from 2025-2029, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period. Increasing demand for energy-efficient HVAC systems is driving market growth, with a trend towards growing adoption of advance refrigerants in air conditioners. However, frequent change in regulation pertaining to industrial hvac poses a challenge. Key market players include Alfa Laval AB, Carrier Global Corp., Daikin Industries Ltd., Emerson Electric Co., Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., Honeywell International Inc., Ingersoll Rand Inc., Johnson Controls International Plc, Lennox International Inc., LG Corp., MIDEA Group Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Panasonic Holdings Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Shield Air Solutions Inc., Specific Systems LLC, Stryker Corp., and WHESCO Group Inc..

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Industrial HVAC Market 2025-2029

Key insights into market evolution with AI-powered analysis. Explore trends, segmentation, and growth drivers- View Free Sample PDF

Industrial HVAC Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2024 Historic period 2019 - 2023 Forecast period 2025-2029 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 7.9% Market growth 2025-2029 USD 6806 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 7.2 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 41% Key countries China, US, Germany, UK, France, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Brazil, and UAE Key companies profiled Alfa Laval AB, Carrier Global Corp., Daikin Industries Ltd., Emerson Electric Co., Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., Honeywell International Inc., Ingersoll Rand Inc., Johnson Controls International Plc, Lennox International Inc., LG Corp., MIDEA Group Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Panasonic Holdings Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Shield Air Solutions Inc., Specific Systems LLC, Stryker Corp., and WHESCO Group Inc.

Market Driver

The Industrial HVAC market is experiencing significant growth due to the increasing demand for energy-efficient and sustainable climate control solutions in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. Heating, cooling, and climate control technologies are essential for thermal comfort and indoor air quality, especially in light of climatic changes and long-term climate change impacts. The construction sector, including residential and industrial sectors, is undergoing rapid urbanization, leading to an increase in housing units and commercial infrastructure. Energy consumption is a major concern, with air conditioners, programmable thermostats, and specialized equipment playing crucial roles in cost savings and environmental sustainability. HVAC industry consultants and consumer groups are advocating for the adoption of energy-efficient products such as heat pumps and energy-saving systems. The HVAC industry is responding with new product launches, including smart HVAC systems that utilize real-time data and the Internet of Things for efficient temperature and humidity control. Maintenance, repair, and installation costs remain key considerations, as does the affordability of energy-efficient solutions for various consumer groups. HVAC infrastructure is critical for maintaining comfortable indoor environments in various sectors, including data centers, hospitals, shopping malls, and restaurants. HVAC regulations and environmental hazards, such as carbon footprints, are driving the need for energy-efficient and cost-effective solutions. Key components of HVAC systems include thermostats, dampers, condenser fans, compressors, evaporators, blowers, chillers, coolers, cooling towers, VRF systems, cooling equipment, and various types of heating systems, such as furnaces and boilers. The market for HVAC systems is diverse, with applications ranging from new construction to retrofit projects in various industries, including defense, electronics, automotive, and power solutions. The HVAC industry is also responding to the need for energy-efficient and cost-effective solutions through training programs, tax rebates, and federal tax credits for energy-saving products. The market for HVAC systems is expected to continue growing, driven by increasing demand for comfortable indoor environments and the need to reduce energy consumption and environmental hazards.

The industrial HVAC market is shifting towards advanced refrigerants with enhanced efficiency and minimal environmental impact. Traditional refrigerants like CFCs, HCFCs, ammonia, and halons are being replaced due to their high global warming potential (GWP). Companies are developing energy-efficient and eco-friendly HVAC systems, such as Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) systems, to meet the increasing demand. These systems effectively balance refrigerant usage and low GWP, contributing to their popularity. This trend is expected to boost the demand for new industrial HVAC systems worldwide.

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Market Challenges

The Industrial HVAC market faces several challenges in providing energy-efficient and sustainable climate control solutions for various building types, including residential, commercial, and industrial. Heating and cooling systems must maintain thermal comfort and indoor air quality while addressing climatic changes and energy consumption. The construction sector, particularly in areas undergoing rapid urbanization, requires HVAC infrastructure for new housing units and commercial infrastructure. However, affordability and initial cost remain significant barriers for consumer groups. The HVAC industry must offer cost-effective solutions through energy-efficient products, such as programmable thermostats, airflow optimization, and smart HVAC systems that provide real-time data for cost savings. Maintenance, repair, and installation costs are also crucial concerns. Specialized equipment and trained professionals are essential for system failures and replacement parts. The Internet of Things and smart HVAC systems can help mitigate these issues by providing real-time data and system control. Moreover, the HVAC industry must address the lack of awareness and education among consumers and private organizations regarding the importance of energy-efficient HVAC systems, the environmental factors involved, and the long-term cost savings. Collaboration between HVAC industry consultants, government regulations, and consumer groups can help promote energy-efficient products, such as heat pumps, and incentives like tax rebates and federal tax credits. In the industrial sector, HVAC systems are essential for various applications, including data centers, energy usage in electronic components, and ventilation in clean environments. HVAC regulations and environmental hazards, such as carbon footprints, must be addressed to minimize the impact on the environment. The HVAC industry must adapt to meet the demands of the commercial sector, including energy-efficient cooling systems, product lines, and new product launches. Additionally, the HVAC infrastructure in hospitals, shopping malls, restaurants, and commercial construction projects must prioritize comfort levels and energy efficiency. In conclusion, the Industrial HVAC market faces numerous challenges, including energy efficiency, sustainability, affordability, and consumer education. To address these challenges, the HVAC industry must focus on innovation, cost savings, and collaboration with various stakeholders to provide energy-efficient and sustainable climate control solutions for various building types and applications.

Industrial HVAC market requires manufacturers to prioritize regulatory compliance when designing systems. Regulations aim to reduce carbon emissions and enhance energy efficiency. In explosive industrial environments, vendors must provide severe-duty equipment for operational extremes. Regions have varying regulations, making it challenging for vendors to expand into diverse areas. New regulations due to industrial accidents intensify product development. Adhering to these requirements necessitates rigorous testing and innovation. Manufacturers must balance regulatory compliance with business growth.

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Segment Overview

This industrial hvac market report extensively covers market segmentation by

End-user

1.1 Process industry

1.2 Discrete industry

Type

2.1 HVAC equipment

2.2 HVAC services

Geography

3.1 APAC

3.2 Europe

3.3 North America

3.4 South America

3.5 Middle East and Africa

Equipment

1.1 Process industry- The process industry segment, which includes oil and gas, power, pulp and paper, water and wastewater treatment, chemical and petrochemical, mining and metal, pharmaceutical, and food and beverage industries, dominates the global industrial HVAC market. This is due to increasing government regulations and rising energy costs, which are encouraging process industries to reduce energy usage in their manufacturing processes. Additionally, there is growing awareness among end-users regarding energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, leading to an increased demand for energy-efficient industrial HVAC systems in this segment. In highly explosive industrial environments such as oil and gas, chemical and petrochemical, and mining industries, the threat of explosion due to dust or chemical or vapor leaks during operations is constant. The demand for explosion-proof HVAC systems in response to heightened safety concerns and a growing number of accidents in these industries. In the pharmaceutical industry, the need for cleanrooms to process solid ingredients and flammable solvents has increased due to the properties of these substances that can lead to combustion. The food and beverage industry also faces the risk of dust-related explosions, making explosion-proof HVAC systems essential. In 2020, the food and beverages and pharmaceutical industries showed higher demand for industrial HVAC compared to oil and gas, mining and metals, and chemical and petrochemical industries. The latter recorded slow growth in the market segment during 2019-2020. However, investments in the chemical and petrochemical and food and beverages industries are expected to drive stable growth in the process industry segment of the global industrial HVAC market. The need to prevent dust-related explosions will further fuel the demand for explosion-proof HVAC systems from these industries during the forecast period.

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Research Analysis

The Industrial HVAC market is experiencing significant growth due to the increasing demand for energy-efficient and sustainable climate control solutions in various types of buildings, including industrial, residential, and commercial. Energy efficiency is a top priority in today's world, and HVAC systems play a crucial role in ensuring thermal comfort and indoor air quality in buildings. Industrial HVAC systems are used for heating, cooling, and climate control applications in industrial buildings, providing optimal working conditions and ensuring the longevity of commercial infrastructure. Sustainable buildings are becoming the norm, and the demand for energy-efficient HVAC systems is on the rise. Residential buildings, commercial sector, and affordable housing units all require HVAC systems for space cooling, heating applications, and maintaining indoor air quality. The standard of living is directly related to the lifespan and mortality rate of buildings, making it essential to invest in high-quality HVAC systems. Climate control technologies, including thermostats, dampers, condenser fans, compressors, and evaporators, are essential components of Industrial HVAC systems. These technologies help maintain the desired temperature, humidity levels, and indoor air quality within the building's interior, ensuring optimal working conditions and enhancing overall comfort. In conclusion, the Industrial HVAC market is witnessing growth due to the increasing demand for energy-efficient and sustainable climate control solutions in various types of buildings. The market is expected to continue growing as the world shifts towards more sustainable and energy-efficient solutions for heating, cooling, and climate control applications.

Market Research Overview

The Industrial HVAC market encompasses energy-efficient climate control technologies for industrial buildings, focusing on heating, cooling, and thermal comfort in various sectors. These sectors include construction activities for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, influenced by rapid urbanization and climatic changes. Sustainable buildings prioritize indoor air quality and thermal comfort, utilizing programmable thermostats, airflow management, and specialized equipment. HVAC system control ensures cost savings and operator convenience, while the Internet of Things and smart HVAC systems provide real-time data analysis. Maintenance, repair, and installation costs are crucial factors, with consumer groups and HVAC industry consultants advocating for affordability and education. Environmental factors, energy consumption, and HVAC infrastructure regulations are essential considerations, with a shift towards energy-efficient products such as heat pumps and energy-saving systems. HVAC systems include various components like compressors, evaporators, blowers, and air handling units, with implementation types ranging from new construction to retrofit projects in various industries like hospitals, shopping malls, and restaurants. The market also caters to data centers, energy usage in electronic components, and ventilation systems for cleanliness.

Table of Contents:

1 Executive Summary

2 Market Landscape

3 Market Sizing

4 Historic Market Size

5 Five Forces Analysis

6 Market Segmentation

End-user

Process Industry



Discrete Industry

Type

HVAC Equipment



HVAC Services

Geography

APAC



Europe



North America



South America



Middle East And Africa

Equipment

7 Customer Landscape

8 Geographic Landscape

9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10 Company Landscape

11 Company Analysis

12 Appendix

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
Lawsuit alleges negligence by Hall of Fame pitcher and his wife to protect church youth; couple claims they were unaware of the abuse.

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal Bay, the premier presettlement funding company, reports a newly-filed lawsuit against celebrated Yankees-closing-pitcher-turned-church-pastor Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara. The suit filed in the Supreme Court of Westchester County claims that the couple attempted to conceal the sexual abuse of one of their young parishioners. The abuse allegedly took place in their church, Refuge of Hope, and also within the Rivera home itself. The lawsuit claims that as lead pastor, Rivera had a responsibility to protect the young girl who was being abused.

The victim was allegedly molested by another minor-aged girl during a 2018 summer internship at Ignite Life Center in Florida, a trip that was organized by Clara Rivera via Refuge of Hope. Purportedly, both Riveras became aware of the sexual abuse during a visit to the camp, and rather than take action to prevent or report it, they instead pressured the girl to keep quiet. After she returned home from the internship trip, the girl was abused again by the same perpetrator during a BBQ at the Riveras' house. The girl claims that three years later, she was also abused by Ruben Tavarez Jr., the adult son of a Refuge of Hope pastor. According to the lawsuit, the Riveras not only knew about the multiple incidents of sexual abuse, but were negligent in their duties to do anything about it.

No word yet on what kind of compensatory damages the girl and her family can be expected to receive at the end of this complex trial. Childhood sexual abuse cases vary greatly in their scope, and settlements usually reflect the severity and duration of the sex crimes perpetrated against the victims. In any event, this case once again highlights the need for accountability and oversight within the church. As there are too many reports of childhood sexual abuse and assault surrounding youth-based programs, it's clear that systemic issues need to be addressed.

Chris Janish, CEO of Legal-Bay, commented, "Unfortunately the country is facing an epidemic of child sex abuse. We have seen many influential people being accused of being complicit; when in reality there needs to be better training and understanding how to spot and act upon signs of abuse, and then be able to take the necessary steps to report it. Until we have more awareness of the child sex abuse problem, we are going to see a continuous flow of these type of cases. Legal-Bay stands as a financial resource to assist victims and their families with their lawsuit funding needs as they seek justice."

If you've been a victim of any type of sexual harassment, assault, or abuse and need an immediate cash advance against your impending lawsuit settlement, please visit Legal-Bay HERE or call toll-free at 877.571.0405.

Legal-Bay Pre-settlement Funding advocates for victims of sexual abuse and is unfortunately well-versed in such litigation. The loan settlement cash company has been able to provide settlement loans to victims across the country, including NY and NJ. Legal-Bay also provides settlement loan funding for other types of cases including sexual or racial discrimination in the workplace, personal injury, motor vehicle accidents, dog bites, medical malpractice, police brutality, unlawful incarceration, and more.

Legal-Bay's loans for lawsuits have helped numerous plaintiffs by providing immediate cash in advance of a lawsuit's anticipated monetary award. The non-recourse law suit loanssometimes referred to as loans for lawsuit or loans on settlementare risk-free, as the money doesn't need to be repaid should the recipient lose their case. Therefore, the lawsuit loans are less like loans and more like a cash advance.

To apply now, please visit us HERE or call toll-free at: 877.571.0405 where skilled agents are standing by to answer any questions you may have.

SOURCE Legal-Bay, LLC
BOSTON, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty Mutual typically provides an annual update of its key reinsurance Property Catastrophe Program as part of its first quarter earnings disclosure materials. Given recent and ongoing events, the Company can disclose that it has the following reinsurance in place for its domestic business as of January 1st, 2025:

$2.8B of occurrence limit excess $1B retention with one reinstatement. The initial $1.5B of this limit is available on an All Perils basis.

of occurrence limit excess retention with one reinstatement. The initial of this limit is available on an All Perils basis. The company also purchased an Aggregate Property Catastrophe Program this year to protect against frequency and severity of loss: $500M excess $2.4B aggregate retention, excess $100M per event deductible.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward looking statements that are intended to enhance the reader's ability to assess the future financial and business performance of Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc., the parent corporation of the Liberty Mutual Insurance group of entities (the "Company" or "LMHC"). Forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that represent the Company's beliefs concerning future operations, strategies, financial results investment market fluctuations, or other developments, and contain words and phrases such as "may," "expects," "should," "believes," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends" or similar expressions. They include statements regarding preliminary estimated results and estimated losses from recent hurricanes. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because these forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are based on expectations, estimates and assumptions that are subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and changes in circumstances, many of which are beyond the Company's control, difficult to predict, or are subject to change, actual results could be materially different. Therefore, you should not unduly rely on any of these forward-looking statements. See also "Risk Factors" on our website as noted above for examples of factors that can impact our future results. The Company is providing the information above solely on a discretionary basis given current facts and circumstances. The Company, however, (1) does not intend, and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of today's date and (2) is not obligating itself to make any other forward-looking statements in the future.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance

At Liberty Mutual, we believe progress happens when people feel secure. By providing protection for the unexpected and delivering it with care, we help people embrace today and confidently pursue tomorrow. In business since 1912, and headquartered in Boston, today we are the eighth largest global property and casualty insurer based on 2023 gross written premium. We also rank 87th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2023 revenue. As of December 31, 2023, we had $49.4 billion in annual consolidated revenue. We employ over 40,000 people in 29 countries and economies around the world. We offer a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, specialty lines, reinsurance, commercial multiple-peril, workers compensation, commercial automobile, general liability, surety, and commercial property. For more information, visit www.libertymutualinsurance.com.

For additional information, please contact:

Robert Pietsch

Executive Director, Investor Relations and Capital Markets

857-224-6655

[email protected]

SOURCE Liberty Mutual Insurance
MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MartinPatrick 3, Minneapolis's premier luxury lifestyle boutique, finalized plans to add additional square footage to its historic Colonial Warehouse location, bringing its total space to over 30,000 square feet. This solidifies MartinPatrick 3 as one of the country's largest and most dynamic independent luxury retail destinations.

This latest expansion, the second in two years, is driven by the extraordinary success of the women's collection, launched in September 2020. Women's offerings were initially introduced to diversify offerings during the pandemic and have quickly become a core growth engine for the store, boasting a remarkable 50% year-over-year sales increase.

MartinPatrick 3's commitment to the in-person luxury experience sets it apart in a retail landscape increasingly dominated by e-commerce. "Brick-and-mortar isn't just survivingit's thriving when done right," said Tony Serino, Director of Marketing at MartinPatrick 3."We're committed to creating unforgettable in-store experiences, ensuring that every visit to MartinPatrick 3 is both inspiring and exceptional."

The new space will broaden the women's collection and enhance MartinPatrick 3's signature shop-in-shop experiences for men and women alike, including in-house tailoring, personal shopping, interior design services, and more.

Several luxury brands will see expanded spaces, inviting the opportunity to showcase more robust collections and trunk shows. As a place that rewards the ever curious and uniquely stylish, the boutique will increase its offerings in home decor, luxury gifting, and furnishings, as well.

"We emphasize cultivating a community within our space as much as a shopping experience, which is why we host dozens of in-store events each year and invest in community initiatives throughout Downtown Minneapolis," Serino explains, "It's been wonderful how our customers recognize and appreciate these investments, supporting us with the foot traffic we need to continue expanding."

The addition is slated to open this summer with additional details on new brand partnerships and product offerings to be announced in the coming months.

For more information, visit https://www.martinpatrick3.com/. Stay connected with MartinPatrick 3 on social media @martinpatrick3 for the latest on their upcoming expansion.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Tony Serino, Marketing Director

[email protected]

ABOUT MARTINPATRICK 3

MartinPatrick 3 is an internationally recognized boutique located in the North Loop of Minneapolis that offers curated men's and women's apparel, home furnishings, and interior design services. Everything we do is a matter of bringing out the best in every person who walks through our doors.

Apparel ranging from elevated casual garments to custom suits is intermingled with accessories, contemporary furnishing, and artwork, The Loupe fine jewelry, an array of men's and women's apothecary, and even modern literature and gifts, all presented as styled moments across our 30,000 square foot space. We also offer personal shopping, The Tailors at MP3 for custom tailoring, our barbershop, Marty's Barber Shop, and residential interior design services through MartinPatrick 3 Studio.

SOURCE MartinPatrick 3
Slice of Hope Campaign Highlights and Supports Wish Kids Through 2026

THOMASVILLE, Ga., Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nature's Own, America's No. 1 selling bread brand, has announced a $500,000 donation to Make-A-Wish, the global nonprofit that creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 375,000 wishes to children with critical illnesses in the U.S., helping them build the strength and hope needed to fight their battles. A granted wish can be life-changing, bringing hope, unity, and a sense of normalcy to families that can impact entire communities.

Nature's Own 'Slice of Hope Campaign' Highlights and Supports Make-A-Wish kids through 2026. Post this Nature's Own is a proud supporter of Make-A-Wish.

"We are truly honored to partner with Make-A-Wish on this meaningful two-year journey, committing to help grant life-changing wishes," says Krystle Farlow, senior director of brand management for Nature's Own. "Together, we hope to continue to inspire and spread goodness, one wish at a time."

To celebrate this partnership, Nature's Own has launched the Slice of Hope Campaign introducing in-store displays with a virtual "Well Wish Wall" on naturesownbread.com where shoppers can submit their well wishes for Wish kids to see. Additionally, special-edition bread packaging on select loaves will highlight the collaboration with Make-A-Wish and share inspiring stories from three wish kids: Addison, Aden and Joanna.

Addison was born with a respiratory disorder, but she refuses to let her diagnosis hold her back from embracing life to the fullest. Inspired by her fascination with Pearl Harbor, Addison dreamed of experiencing the wonders of Hawaii. Through her wish, she explored volcanoes, swam with dolphins, and fulfilled her greatest desire: horseback riding on a breathtaking, majestic island.

When Aden's wish for an epic fishing trip came true, his energy soared after battling lymphoma. Aden and his family spent a magical day cruising on a stunning lake, where he proudly reeled in a 4.8-pound bass. But for Aden, the highlight of the experience was forming new friendships that will last a lifetime.

Joanna was born with an adventurous spirit and refuses to let her congenital heart disease dim her curiosity, especially when it comes to exploring different cultures. By the age of 5, she had already developed a deep fascination with the Hawaiian lifestyle. Her dream came true when she learned to surf along the breathtaking shores of the Aloha State.

"We are thrilled that Nature's Own will support the Make-A-Wish mission by raising funds and sharing the hope and joy of a wish to its customers through wish-inspired packaging," said Leslie Motter, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. "We know that these wishes have a lasting impact on the wish kids, their families and their communities, and we wouldn't be able to deliver that powerful impact without donors and corporate partners like Nature's Own."

To join the Natures Own Slice of Hope campaign to help Wish kids like Addison, Aden and Joanna fulfill their dreams and help fight their critical illness, make a donation to Make-A-Wish today by visiting wish.org/NaturesOwn. Click here for photos.

For more information on the Slice of Hope Campaign, visit naturesownbread.com/make-a-wish. To learn more about Nature's Own, visit www.NaturesOwnBread.com or follow along on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

About Nature's Own

Upholding a commitment to quality, Nature's Own Bread emphasizes freshness and irresistibly soft texture, maintaining standards that were first introduced in 1977 by Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO), one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States. Today, Nature's Own is America's number one selling loaf bread brand* - known for providing a variety of products with no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors and no high fructose corn syrup. The brand offers a delicious selection of fresh, soft variety breads, buns, rolls and more. Learn more at www.naturesownbread.com. *Circana loaf dollar sales latest 52 weeks ending 12-22-24.

About Make-A-Wish 

Make-A-Wish creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Founded in Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the #1 most trusted nonprofit operating locally in all 50 states throughout the U.S. Together with generous donors, supporters, staff and more than 20,000 volunteers across the country, Make-A-Wish delivers hope and joy to children and their families when they need it most. Make-A-Wish aims to bring the power of wishing to every child with a critical illness because wish experiences can help improve emotional and physical health. Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 585,000 wishes in 50 countries worldwide; more than 375,000 wishes in the U.S. and its territories alone. For more information about Make-A-Wish America, visit wish.org.

FOR MORE MEDIA INFORMATION:

The Zimmerman Agency  850.668.2222

[email protected]

SOURCE Nature's Own
Amplify CKLA students who started the school year at below-average reading levels and used Boost Reading were 18 percent more likely to achieve growth compared to students who did not.

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Amplify , a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, today released the results of a study on the impact of using Boost Reading , an adaptive K5 personalized learning program grounded in the Science of Reading. Designed to complement the Amplify Core Knowledge and Language Arts (CKLA) curriculum, Boost Reading provides both intervention and enrichment support, reinforcing Amplify CKLA's core instruction.

Findings reveal that Boost Reading accelerates growth for K-5 students already using Amplify CKLA. On average across grades, Amplify CKLA students who began the year at below-average reading levels and used Boost Reading for 30 minutes a week or more were 18 percent more likely to exceed national benchmarks for reading growth relative to students who did not.

Boost Reading is an adaptive and student-led program that tailors practice to each student's individual needs, reinforcing core knowledge topics while addressing critical skill gaps. It integrates into any classroom model, allowing for full independent practice and freeing teachers to work with other students.

"It's clear that Boost Reading and Amplify CKLA are powerful, research-backed tools that have the potential to help many K-5 students," said Melissa Ulan, executive vice president of the literacy suite at Amplify. "Because they share the same pedagogical foundation and sequencing of foundational skills, when you combine the two, you really start to see accelerated growth. This is particularly important given the literacy rates among students nationwide."

The study included more than 90,000 students who used Boost Reading for at least 30 minutes a week and a comparison group of more than 90,000 students who did not use Boost Reading, matched on key student characteristics. Students' reading skills were measured using mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition.

About Amplify

A pioneer in K12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our core and supplemental programs in ELA, math and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively and for themselves. Our formative assessment products help teachers identify the targeted instruction students need to build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs and services provide educators with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than 15 million students in all 50 states and on six continents. For more information, visit Amplify.com.

Media Contact: Kristine Frech; [email protected]

SOURCE Amplify
NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ --

Why: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) resulting from allegations that Unisys may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

So What: If you purchased Unisys securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.

To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=9648 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

What is this about: On October 22, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had charged four companies, including Unisys, with "making materially misleading disclosures regarding cybersecurity risks and intrusions." Further, the SEC also charged Unisys with disclosure controls and procedures violations.

On this news, Unisys stock fell 8.6% on October 22, 2024.

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 firm's 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

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com

SOURCE THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P. A.
STOCKHOLM, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sinch (Sinch AB (publ)) - (XSTO: SINCH), which is pioneering the way the world communicates through its digital Customer Communications Cloud announces that RCS Business Messaging (RBM) is now available on iOS for Three UK and Virgin Media O2 (VMO2). Three UK and VMO2's adoption of RBM on iOS offers businesses unparalleled opportunities to engage with customers, including through Mobile Virtual Network Operations (MVNOs) like Tesco Mobile and Giffgaff.

RBM is transforming the way businesses connect with their audiences by offering features that go beyond traditional SMS. From engaging multimedia content to seamless two-way conversations, RCS empowers businesses to deliver personalized interactions that drive customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Forget plain text-RCS redefines communication with rich, interactive experiences, such as videos, carousels, and branded content that invite customers to engage and explore. Businesses can provide real-time, personalized interactions that feel effortless, whether for customer support or conversational commerce. Safety is also paramount; RBM ensures secure communication, with verified sender identities, branded messages, and built-in security features that provide users with peace of mind. Previously restricted to Android only, the addition of RBM for messaging on Apple devices is a huge opportunity for businesses to reach Android and iPhone customers in the same mobile inbox where they are receiving SMS messages today, (no third-party app) over a secure channel that has rich, interactive, and conversational capabilities.

"This is what the future of messaging looks like said," Nicklas Molin, Executive Vice President of EMEA at Sinch. "Partnering with Three UK and Virgin Media O2 is a big step forward in delivering richer, more engaging interactions between businesses and their customers. Together we are making it easier than ever for brands to connect with people in ways that feel personal, secure, and impactful."

As a global leader in RCS enablement since 2018, Sinch has been at the forefront of empowering enterprises and carriers to unlock the potential of this transformational technology. With its robust API-driven platform and SaaS solutions, Sinch makes it easy for businesses to integrate RCS into their digital communication strategies and deliver exceptional customer experiences at scale.

Discover how RCS Business Messaging can transform your business by visiting sinch.com

For more information, please contact:

Janet Lennon, Director of Global PR & Communications

[email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com.

https://news.cision.com/sinch-ab/r/sinch-facilitates-rcs-business-messaging-expansion-with-three-uk-and-virgin-media-o2,c4095983
STOCKHOLM, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Skanska has signed a contract with Texas A&M University System to construct the new Meat Science and Technology Center on their campus in College Station, Texas, USA. The contract is worth USD 91M, about SEK 1 billion, which will be included in the US order bookings for the first quarter 2025.

The new building will be a 7,000-square meter facility constructed to provide AgriLife, a research and educational agency within the Texas A&M University System, with modern, state-of-the-art processing capabilities. This facility will support the next generation of food safety and nutritional quality research in meat science. It will feature an auditorium, laboratories, training classrooms, seminar spaces, and offices designed for graduate students and faculty.

Work is slated to begin in December 2025 and is expected to reach completion in January of 2028.

For further information please contact:

Peggy Cook, Communications Manager, Skanska USA, tel +1 (513) 222 5310

Andreas Joons, Press Officer, Skanska Group, tel +46 (0)10 449 04 94

Direct line for media, tel +46 (0)10 448 88 99

This and previous releases can also be found at www.skanska.com.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/skanska/r/skanska-builds-new-science-and-technology-center-in-college-station--tx--usa--for-usd-91m--about-sek,c4095872

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/95/4095872/3223861.pdf 20250127 US science and tech center

SOURCE Skanska
PORT VILA, Vanuatu, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Vantage Markets is proud to announce a significant milestone in its journey to empower traders: surpassing 5,000 reviews on Trustpilot, one of the world's most trusted consumer review platforms. With an impressive TrustScore of 4*, this achievement underscores Vantage's commitment to delivering exceptional service and value to its global trading community.

Vantage Reaches 5K Reviews on Trustpilot, Cementing Reputation as a Trusted Trading Platform

The 5K review milestone reflects the confidence and satisfaction of Vantage's clients, who have praised the platform for its innovative trading tools, seamless user experience, and dedicated customer support. The positive feedback highlights Vantage's unwavering focus on building trust, transparency, and reliability in the financial markets.

Marc Despallieres, CEO of Vantage Markets, shared his thoughts on this achievement: "Hitting 5,000 reviews on Trustpilot is a proud moment for Vantage. It reflects the trust our clients place in us and our commitment to delivering an exceptional trading experience. We are grateful to our global community for their support and feedback, which inspires us to continually improve and innovate."

As Vantage continues to grow, the company remains committed to fostering a trading environment where clients feel supported, empowered, and valued. By listening to client feedback and driving innovation, Vantage is poised to achieve even greater milestones in the future.

For more information about Vantage's services and achievements, visit Vantage Markets.

*The figures mentioned are accurate as of the time of writing and may change as new reviews are submitted.

About Vantage

Vantage Markets (or Vantage) is a multi-asset CFD broker offering clients access to a nimble and powerful service for trading Contracts for Difference (CFDs) products, including Forex, Commodities, Indices, Shares, ETFs, and Bonds.

With over 15 years of market experience, Vantage transcends the role of broker, providing a trusted trading ecosystem, an award-winning mobile trading app, and a user-friendly trading platform that empowers clients to seize trading opportunities. Download the Vantage App on App Store or Google Play.

trade smarter @vantage

RISK WARNING: CFD trading carries significant risks. You could lose more than your initial investment.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2606483/Vantage_Reaches_5K_Reviews_Trustpilot_Cementing_Reputation_a_Trusted_Trading.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2506103/Vantage_15_Logo_Logo.jpg
Violent crime in Charlottesville and surrounding Albemarle County fell last year, but local police chiefs say they intend to keep driving those numbers down with the launch of a program that has helped other communities do the same: "call-in meetings."

"We're doing away with the dragnet approach," said Albemarle Police Chief Sean Reeves at a gathering of law enforcement officials at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center in Charlottesville, organized by the Community Safety Implementation Group, a regional body formed one year ago by another local jurisdiction: the University of Virginia.

Call-in meetings summon previous offenders to urge them with incentives and disincentives to steer clear of further offenses.

"Research has shown that violent crime is often driven by a small group of prolific offenders," Zachary Lee, acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, said Wednesday.

Lee gave a sense of how call-in meetings might look in the Charlottesville-Albemarle area.

"These meetings" he said, "are designed to offer support, resources and connection to community members who may be at risk or facing challenges that could lead to violence."

He said the meetings will bring together social service providers, law enforcement and "caring community members" to suggest resources to redirect potential offenders.

"Things like access to education, job training, mental health support," said Lee. "All the things that can help someone build a better future for themselves."

Lee likened participation to the classic carrot-versus-stick dilemma.

"You can change your ways, and we have all these support services to provide you," he said, "or not, and continue down the path and face potential legal consequences."

Thew new initiative is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a long-running federal program reinvigorated by the U.S. Justice Department about two years ago when the availability of more than $320,000 in grants was announced for Central Virginia localities.

UVa took a particular interest in reducing violence after the Nov. 13, 2022, mass shooting that claimed the lives of three student-athletes and injured two others. The following year, UVa President Jim Ryan convened a working group which preceded the formation of the Community Safety Implementation Group in 2001.

And while the roots of call-in meetings can be traced back to other cities, including Richmond and Boston, it's the city of Columbia, South Carolina that has claimed some of the most success with the program. Columbia began in 2015 by urging 50 people on probation or parole to pay a call on law enforcers who informed them that any further possession of a firearm would be met with severe penalties.

"In 2024," Columbia police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons told The Daily Progress, "of 35 offenders, only five reoffended  a recidivism rate of just 14%, well below the national average."

Ben Haiman, who helms UVa's recently created Center for Public Safety and Justice, said that Project Safe Neighborhoods, which was founded in 2001, has published statistics showing crime drops of 4% to 20%. He lauds this data-driven, community-oriented approach.

"I don't see the downside," he told The Daily Progress. "Having access to various programs and services can be helpful for individuals to be able to change their circumstances."

Violent crime in Charlottesville and Albemarle County has been on the decline in recent months, the police chiefs of the two localities said at Wednesday's gathering.

Albemarle County's Reeves said that the number of homicides his department investigated fell from seven victims in 2023 to two last year. Without specifying the incident, he alluded to the Oct. 19 shooting death of 23-year-old Zerrion Eubanks-Warfield as gang-related.

Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis said that so-called Part 1 crimes, the most serious according to federal guidelines, fell 10% last year, while reports of shots fired in the city fell 30% and homicides dropped 76%.

"Those are great numbers," said Kochis, "but it doesn't matter until they're zero."

Kochis extended his arms toward the Jefferson School audience and said, "This is the solution in the room: community."

But not everyone there was convinced that offenders would heed the call for call-in meetings.

"It's not going to happen," Herb Dickerson, CEO of Central Virginia Violence Interrupters, told The Daily Progress.

Dickerson, whose group was formerly known as the BUCK Squad, suggested that pushing criminals out of six violence-prone "hot spots" in the city might be a more effective approach.

"The people that need to hear this stuff," he added, "are not in this room."

While local media and elected officials were the target audiences of Wednesday's meeting, organizers plan to convene an additional public meeting this week at Burley Middle School to share more details. Billed as a community dialogue and featuring small group discussions, that meeting is slated for 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the school at 901 Rose Hill Drive. To facilitate attendance, organizers are offering food and child care as well as translators fluent in Spanish and Dari, the Afghan dialect of the Farsi-Persian language.

At least one other police chief was on stage at the Jefferson School on Wednesday. Tim Longo, who heads the UVa police department, told the audience that he embraces this data-driven, cooperative initiative.

"The only way these numbers are going to go away, not just go down  go away  is if the community embraces a collaborative effort," he said.

Longo said he's been in Charlottesville for 24 years and has grown weary of crime.

"This is an encouraging time of hope for this community, and I hope we take advantage of it," said Longo. "I've got just a few more years left, and I don't want to be in a room like this again, having this conversation."
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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Addis Ababa, Jan 27 : Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat has expressed concern over the grave situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and called for an "immediate" cessation of all hostilities.

In a statement issued, the pan-African bloc said it is following "with great attention the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation" in the eastern DRC. The statement came as conflict intensifies and rebellion advances toward major townships in the eastern DRC.

Faki called for the strict observance of the ceasefire agreed between the parties and the immediate cessation of all hostilities. He further "strongly urged" the parties to preserve the lives of civilians.

The chairperson also launched an urgent appeal to the international community to mobilise all possible support for the populations affected by the serious collateral damage of the expanding conflict in the eastern DRC, Xinhua news agency reported.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said on Friday that more than 400,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of 2025 in the eastern DRC.

Expressing grave concern about the safety and security of civilians and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the area, the UN refugee agency said persistent clashes between belligerents in the affected areas continue to worsen the protection environment for civilians in South Kivu and North Kivu provinces, which are already home to 4.6 million IDPs.

Earlier the United Nations announced that it has temporarily decided to relocate non-essential staff from Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), due to the deteriorating security situation.

In a press release, the UN said on Saturday that the decision affects administrative staff and those who can carry out their tasks remotely, noting that this relocation will not compromise its commitment to delivering humanitarian aid and protecting civilians in North Kivu.

The move comes amid escalating hostilities and territorial advances by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels, which has recently seized control of Sake, a town considered the last defence for the government forces before Goma.
Aden, Jan 27 : UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg met with Houthi negotiating delegation head Mohammed Abdulsalam in Muscat, Oman, to address the ongoing detention of UN personnel in Sanaa.

Grundberg on Sunday condemned the "arbitrary detention" of additional UN staff, along with those detained since 2021, 2023, and 2024 respectively, according to a statement released by the UN envoy's office on social media platform X.

He called for the immediate release of all detained UN staff, NGO personnel, civil society members, and diplomats, emphasising the UN's commitment to a peaceful resolution in Yemen, Xinhua news agency reported.

The UN on Friday announced the suspension of its official movements in Houthi-controlled areas after seven more UN staff were detained.

The Houthis have detained dozens of staff from the UN and other humanitarian organisations, mostly since mid-2023. The Houthis claimed they detained "key members of an American-Israeli spy network" linked to the US Central Intelligence Agency, after detaining 13 UN staff members and more than 50 NGO staff in June 2024.

The UN has repeatedly called for the release of those detained, including during a December 2024 visit to Sanaa by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who sought to negotiate their release.

The Houthis have controlled Sanaa and much of northern Yemen since late 2014, fighting forces loyal to the Yemeni government. The conflict has created what the UN calls one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Tehran, Jan 27 : Iran has expressed its readiness to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in the area of information and communications technology (ICT).

In a meeting in Tehran, Iranian ICT Minister Seyed Sattar Hashemi and Saudi Ambassador to Iran Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi stressed the need to promote bilateral relations and cooperation across various sectors and at different levels, Xinhua news agency reported quoting official news agency IRNA .

The Iranian minister outlined different areas for cooperation between the two countries, especially in ICT, adding the two countries could prioritise cooperation in data transit. He also stressed other potential areas for bilateral cooperation, including developing communication infrastructure, advancing e-government initiatives, and ensuring cybersecurity.

Hashemi expressed Iran's readiness to share scientific and technical expertise with Saudi Arabia, adding that the two countries could exchange ICT delegations and experts.

The Saudi ambassador, for his part, emphasised the importance of expanding bilateral relations and cooperation in different fields, affirming his country's readiness to support these efforts.

Earlier in January, Iranian Justice Minister Amin-Hossein Rahimi held a meeting with Saudi Ambassador to Iran Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi, during which both sides vowed to expand bilateral ties in various areas, especially in judicial and legal fields.

Rahimi expressed satisfaction with the resumption of friendly relations between the two countries since 2023, describing "effective, strong and strategic ties between Tehran and Riyadh as very important and influential.

He noted the Iranian government's principled policy of developing friendly ties with all countries, especially neighbouring ones, and called for maintaining and boosting ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia in cultural, economic, and political sectors, said the report.

Iran and Saudi Arabia formally declared in April 2023 the resumption of diplomatic relations with immediate effect.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in response to attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. The attacks followed Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shiite cleric.
Cairo, Jan 27 : Egypt sent another 310 humanitarian aid trucks to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) reported.

"The convoy includes 20 trucks loaded with fuel," the SIS report added. The trucks would go through the Al-Auja (Nitzana) and Kerem Shalom crossings for inspection by the Israeli side before being delivered to Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 4,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza during the first six days of the ceasefire, which began on January 19, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Earlier an Egyptian security source and another one with the Egyptian Red Crescent told Xinhua news agency that Egypt has sent dozens of heavy machines to rehabilitate the roads around the crossing, as well as those leading to Palestinian cities nearby, to facilitate the delivery of aid trucks and the reception of wounded Palestinians from Gaza.

A long line of trucks, laden with humanitarian aid, snaked its way towards the heavily-guarded Rafah crossing, hours after the ceasefire agreement came into effect.

The trucks, carrying food, clothes, medical equipment, tents, mobile toilets, and other relief materials, had been parked in several cities in Egypt's North Sinai Governorate, mainly Arish, Sheikh Zuweid, and Rafah, some of which had been waiting for months to reach Palestinians in need.

The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza has been a key gateway for delivering relief supplies donated by Egypt, other countries, and international organisations. The Palestinian side of the crossing has been controlled by Israel since May 2024, which had blocked its operation until the recent ceasefire deal.

The current six-week first stage of the three-stage ceasefire agreement includes a swap of Israeli captives held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, alongside intensified humanitarian aid deliveries and infrastructure rehabilitation in Gaza.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack across the southern Israeli border, killing about 1,200 people and capturing around 250 others.

Since then, Israel launched retaliatory strikes on Gaza, which killed over 47,000 Palestinians, according to the latest update released by Gaza's health authorities on Sunday.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : In a remarkable initiative for the devotees attending the grand Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, a special camp named 'Netra Mahakumbh' has been set up to provide free eye checkups, spectacles, and medicines.

This camp, running since January 13, is also offering free eye surgeries for those in need, along with promoting awareness about eye donation.

The camp, supported by organisations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Saksham Foundation, and other social groups, has been helping thousands of pilgrims daily.

According to Satyavijay Singh, the RSS's Kashi region service head, the Maha Kumbh is held every 12 years, and this year, the Netra Mahakumbh aims to provide free eye care services to up to five lakh people, including free eye checkups for three lakh individuals, and distributing spectacles and medicines.

Additionally, free eye surgeries are being conducted for those in need. The camp is organised with the collaboration of several social organisations, including the Saksham Foundation, which focuses on empowering differently-abled individuals.

Rajesh Pratap, the RSS Uttar Pradesh publicity head, mentioned that hundreds of devotees are visiting the camp daily for eye checkups. Patients are sent to the OPD (Outpatient Department) where a team of 40 doctors examines them.

Medical staff, numbering over 100, are also available to assist. If a patient requires medicine, it is provided; if spectacles are needed, they are distributed free of charge. If a patient needs further treatment or surgery, they are referred to a hospital where their treatment is also provided at no cost.

Three cards are issued for each patient: one for the patient, one for the hospital, and one for the organisationas records.

Shanti Bhushan Mishra from Prayagraj praised the camp, calling it an excellent initiative. Nimesh Pandey, who came from Hardoi, expressed his appreciation, stating, "This is a great initiative, benefiting hundreds of people."

Saurabh Shukla, another devotee, mentioned, "I came here for an eye checkup, but I also plan to donate my eyes."

The Netra Mahakumbh is not only providing essential healthcare but also fostering a sense of social responsibility and compassion among pilgrims, making it a significant part of this year's Maha Kumbh celebrations.
Helsinki, Jan 27 : The Swedish Prosecution Authority has confiscated a ship suspected of damaging un underwater fiber optic cable linking Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland, it said in a press release.

A criminal investigation into suspected serious sabotage has been launched, the authority said, though it did not disclose the ship's name nor nationality, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to Swedish newspaper Expressen, the vessel is the oil tanker Vezhen, registered in Malta and sailing from Russia. The ship is currently anchored off Karlskrona in southeastern Sweden, maritime analytics provider Marine Traffic confirmed.

An underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea was damaged early on Sunday, the cable's owner, SJSC Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC), informed.

The cable's owner, SJSC Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC), said they detected disruptions in data transmission early Sunday and suggested that the cable was likely seriously damaged by external force. The affected section lies within the Swedish economic zone, Swedish National Radio reported.

Promising to provide internet service via other data transmission routes, LVRTC said since the cable runs on the seabed at a depth of more than 50 metres, the character of the damage would be established once repairs are started.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina convened an extraordinary meeting of ministers and emergency services on Sunday, announcing later that Latvia is working with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Baltic Sea countries to investigate the incident.

She added that Latvia has been preparing for potential crises and is ready to ensure data transmission via alternative routes.

The Latvian naval forces have sent a patrol boat to inspect the site and contacted NATO allies about the incident.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that he had been in contact with Silina on this issue, promising Sweden would provide "important resources for the investigation."

This incident adds to a series of recent disruptions to undersea internet and energy cables in the Baltic Sea.
Bhopal, Jan 27 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will launch on Monday his party's nationwide programme 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' in Madhya Pradesh's Mhow, the birthplace of Dr B. R. Ambedkar.

Bhopal, Jan 27 (IANS) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will launch on Monday his party's nationwide programme 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' in Madhya Pradesh's Mhow, the birthplace of Dr B. R. Ambedkar.

Gandhi will be accompanied by the party's national president, Mallikarjun Kharge and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. More than one lakh Congress workers, including the party's Working Committee Members (CWC), will attend the rally.

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari said that the rally is expected to be historic, with lakhs of party workers from across the state anticipated to participate. He said that every Congress cadre was excited about the rally and eager to raise their voice against the insult to Ambedkar from his birthplace.

"The rally aims to safeguard the people's rights, particularly 'freedom of expression,' and to protect the Constitution, which is a commitment of our leader Rahul Gandhi and has been consistently raising this issue," Patwari added.

With this campaign, the Congress will seek to intensify its attack on the BJP, accusing it of insulting freedom fighters and undermining the Constitution. The party also aims to boost its social justice narrative and to find the lost ground in Madhya Pradesh.

The campaign will include padayatras and rallies in the villages, blocks, districts, and states. Leaders at all levels -- from national to grassroots will lead this initiative. Activities like seminars, public meetings, and rallies will take place from one village to another.

Interestingly, a day before the Congress' programme, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav visited Dr Ambedkar's birthplace to pay tribute on Republic Day on Sunday. During his visit, CM Yadav also hit out at Rahul Gandhi saying, "For some people, Dr Ambedkar's birthplace is a tourist place."

A controversy has already erupted over the restrictions on political speeches at Rahul Gandhi's rally in Mhow by the local administration. The grand old party termed the development "undemocratic".

The sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Mhow, put eight conditions while granting permission to Congress to hold the party event. One of the conditions barred the party leaders attending the event from making political speeches or comments against any religion. The order mentioned that the organisers should ensure that no political speeches or any comment against religion are made at the party programme.

Notably, the Congress is organising the first such political event in Madhya Pradesh after it witnessed a humiliating defeat in the state Assembly elections in November 2023, which prompted the party's central leadership to replace veteran leader Kamal Nath with Jitu Patwari as new state unit chief.
Seoul, Jan 27 : South Korea's major brokerage houses are expected to have racked up decent earnings last year on the back of increased trading of overseas stocks, industry sources said on Monday.

According to the data from market tracker FnGuide, the combined operating income of the country's big five brokerage houses in 2024 is estimated at 5.66 trillion won ($3.94 billion), sharply up from the previous year's 3.37 trillion won, reports Yonhap news agency.

Korea Investment & Securities Co. is expected to have posted the biggest operating income of 1.27 trillion won, followed by Samsung Securities Co. with 1.19 trillion won, Mirae Asset & Securities Co. 1.15 trillion won, Kiwoom Securities Co. 1.23 trillion won and NH Investment & Securities Co. 923 billion won, the data showed.

Their stellar performances were partly driven by commission fees from increased trading of overseas stocks by retail investors.

The average daily turnover of the local stock market stood at 19.1 trillion won last year, up 2 percent from a year earlier, while that for overseas stocks by Koreans jumped 84 percent on-year to $53.1 billion.

Also, local securities firms took less reserve last year than a year earlier against exposure to risky construction development projects, helping jack up their bottom lines.

This year, their performances are widely expected to improve further on the back of expected monetary easing cycles and reduced risks against shaky construction projects.

Meanwhile, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) plans to establish a new overseas office in Johannesburg this year to bolster trade and economic ties with African nations, KITA officials said on Monday.

The announcement to establish the office in the populous South African city was made during a general meeting of the Seoul members of KITA's South Korea-Africa economic cooperation committee held in Seoul on Wednesday.

The Johannesburg office will serve as the association's first dedicated presence on the African continent, aiming to provide on-the-ground support for South Korean companies seeking to enter African markets.

It will also facilitate closer cooperation with African economic organizations and help identify opportunities in key sectors, such as agriculture, energy and infrastructure.

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Baghdad, Jan 27 : Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani called for unified efforts among regional countries to support stability in the Middle East.

Al-Sudani made the remarks on Sunday during a meeting with visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. According to a statement by al-Sudani's media office, the two discussed bilateral relations and the latest developments in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon, emphasizing the importance of adhering to the ceasefire agreements.

Al-Sudani reiterated "Iraq's readiness to coordinate with neighboring countries, especially TArkiye, regarding ongoing regional developments," it said.

For his part, Fidan reaffirmed his country's desire to maintain close coordination with Iraq on regional developments, stressing Turkey's commitment to the strategic Development Road project and cooperation based on the memorandums of understanding signed between the two countries in areas such as energy, education, trade, banking, and other sectors, Xinhua news agency reported.

Fidan also met with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, during which the two discussed regional developments, stressing the importance of reducing tensions, de-escalating conflicts, and promoting dialogue to resolve disputes, according to a statement by the Iraqi presidency office.

Rashid also called for "sustained joint efforts" to eliminate the threat of the Islamic State (IS) and other extremist groups, highlighting the importance of regional and international cooperation in achieving long-term security and stability, it said.

For his part, Fidan proposed forming a regional alliance involving Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Turkey to combat the IS group, dismantle its strongholds, and disrupt its funding sources to ensure greater stability for the region, it said.

Also on Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein met with Fidan. The two sides discussed bilateral ties and ways to advance them to greater prospects to serve the common interests, according to a statement by the Iraqi foreign ministry.

Regarding the situation in Syria, the two sides affirmed that they are in constant contact with Syria's interim administration for joint coordination on issues of common concern, the statement said.

Hussein also stressed the importance of addressing the security situation on the Iraqi-Syrian border, especially about the IS, it said.

The talks also touched on the situation in Gaza, developments in Lebanon, and the importance of turning the ceasefire into a permanent situation while stressing the need to stop Israeli attacks, it said.

For his part, Fidan said Turkey views the relations with Iraq from a strategic perspective, adding that as Iraq enjoys security and stability, Turkey also enjoys them, which contributes to the prosperity of the two peoples, it said.
Charlottesville has approved the last of the new names for its public schools, bringing an end to a five-year initiative that aimed to bring the names of city schools more in line with modern standards and values that was begun in earnest amid a nationwide racial reckoning in 2020.

Earlier this month, the Charlottesville School Board voted to change the names of Burnley-Moran and Johnson elementary schools. Burnley-Moran will be rechristened Sunrise, while Johnson will be renamed Tall Oaks.

The new names will take effect at the start of the next school year in August.

Burnley-Moran was named for Carrie Burnley and Sarepta Moran, two of the citys first women principals who were also both members of the Daughters of the Confederacy.

According to a statement posted to the school divisions website, Sunrise is a nod to the school being the easternmost school in our city. ... Committee members like the way that sunrise conveys a sense of hope, warmth, and new beginnings. It shows the power of students rising through their years in our school.

Johnson was named for James G. Johnson, who served as the superintendent of city schools from 1909 until 1946, while the division was racially segregated.

Tall Oaks embraces its wooded landscape with trails and outdoor learning spaces. The campus prominently contains a large, historic oak among many other oaks across the grounds. Committee members also said they took inspiration from the expression, From little acorns come mighty oaks.

While the original names were deemed controversial, the naming process was not without its own controversy.

The back-and-forth between the school division and the public over the past five years grew testy at times, with some uncomfortable with early renaming proposals and others  including relatives of at least one schools namesake  uncomfortable with the entire enterprise.

Roughly five years ago, amid a nationwide racial reckoning in America prompted by the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a White Minneapolis police officer, Charlottesville City Schools decided to take a deep dive into the namesakes of all nine of its public schools.

In January of 2023, the school board voted to change Venable Elementary School, named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lees aide-de-camp Charles Scott Venable, to Trailblazers Elementary School. That same month, the board voted to change Clark Elementary School, named after Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark, to Summit Elementary School. And in June of last year, the board voted to change the name of Buford Middle School, named for Charlottesville teacher and special education advocate Florence De Launey Buford, to Charlottesville Middle School.

Earlier this month, the school board agreed to keep the names of Greenbrier and Jackson-Via elementary schools, the former named for the surrounding neighborhood and the latter named for Black educator Nannie Cox Jackson and White administrator Betty Via who helped usher in desegregation in the city.

The school division has expressed no intentions to rename Charlottesville High School or Lugo-McGinness Academy. Charlottesville High is named for the city, itself named for Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. Lugo-McGinness was named for Alicia Bowler Lugo and Rebecca Fuller McGinness, both Charlottesville natives, educators and Black women.

One remaining school is set to have its name changed: Walker Upper Elementary School. But that decision was not necessarily because the schools namesake was a controversial figure; Haswell Hunter Walker was a White educator in Charlottesville and proponent of desegregation. Instead, the schools name will have to change because in August of 2026 it will cease to serve as an upper elementary school and will transition to a preschool.

Walker will be retired, the school division said in a statement. A new name will be selected for the preschool on that site.

The renaming of Clark, Venable and Buford stirred up a conversation but did not ultimately prove too controversial. While Buford the woman was a well-respected, powerful force in the Charlottesville community, pushing the city to assist children with special needs early in the development of special education, the decision to rename Buford the school ultimately came down to realigning the middle school with the high school.

Burnley-Moran and Johnson were trickier.

All three of the current namesakes served white-only schools as teacher, principal, or superintendent during the era of school segregation. In other words, the names evoke and honor an era (school segregation) that does not reflect our current values and work, according to the school division.

But at least one of those namesakes descendants have taken issue with that characterization.

Chuck Moran, the great-nephew of Sarepta Moran who still resides in Charlottesville, has been particularly vocal about his frustration over the renaming of the schools. The process, he says, has diminished the accomplishments of his great-aunt. He told The Daily Progress over the summer that assumptions were made about her personal beliefs based on her membership in the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a hereditary organization that has propagated mythologies about the South and the Lost Cause.

I couldnt believe it, said Moran, recalling his reaction to hearing school officials describe his great-aunt. I just couldnt believe it, because that was not the woman that I knew. [By the time I heard] they were pretty much well decided that they were going to scrub her name off of Burnley-Moran Elementary for which she was named.

Moran said he was also concerned that many of the fact sheets used to review school names were pulled from Correcting the Narrative, a website run by local software engineer Phil Varner. Moran has argued that Varners narratives were written with the clear objective of changing the schools names from the start. Moreover, despite the fact that Varner is not a historian and never claimed to be one, school division officials have referred to him as such on multiple occasions, including in interviews with The Daily Progress.

The original proposals for Burnley-Moran and Johnson  Blue Mountain and Cherry Avenue, respectively  were both turned down after public pushback. The former because the school and surrounding city are miles away from the Blue Ridge Mountains, the latter because of concerns the name would be confused with other Cherry Avenue addresses.

The cost of changing Clark and Venables names came out somewhere between $30,000 and $35,000, the school division estimated earlier this year when the signs came down. That estimate does not include the cost of purchasing new stationery, merchandise or floor mats that might bear the schools names.

Even the newer proposals are not universally adored. A first round of public surveys found that only 28.4% of respondents were in favor of the name Tall Oaks to replace Johnson. The lack of support could be attributed to the fact that the schools acronym would be TOES.

But the renaming committee said that could be a positive.

The committee notes that Johnson almost never used the initials JES and that if Tall Oaks chooses to use its initials in the future, they could do so in the spirit of play and fun.

Daily Progress reporter Emily Hemphill contributed to this story.
Johannesburg, Jan 27 : Joburg Super Kings fast bolwers Lutho Sipamla and Hardus Vijoen ripped through the Sunrises Eastern Cape to drive their team to a comprehensive nine-wicket bonus point victory at the Wanderers.

After all the rain the Highveld has experienced the past weeks, the Super Kings fans streamed through the turnstiles at the Wanderers to take in the perfect summer's day to support their team.

The yellow whistles bristling around the Bullring had an immediate effect with Sipamla (3-13) gaining the ultimate redemption.

After the young fast bowler over-stepped at St George's Park on Friday evening when he clean bowled Zak Crawley with the first ball of the innings, Sipamla followed it up on Sunday by having the England Test batter caught at slip this time.

It was the perfect start for both Sipamla and the Super Kings. With his confidence restored, the fast bowler charged in and claimed a second wicket when Tom Abell chopped on to his stumps to leave the Sunrisers reeling at 0/2 after the first over.

From there on the Sunrisers only slipped further into the quagmire with Jordan Hermann and Aiden Markram also following shortly to leave the defending champions at 17/4.

David Bedingham (48) and Tristan Stubbs (37) attempted a rebuild with a 57-run partnership, but the Super Kings were not going to release the pressure with Hardus Viljoen (4-24) closing out the innings with a superb death over spell that saw the Sunrisers skittled for 118.

The Super Kings' performance in the field was also exceptional with Donovan Ferreira highlighting it with an exceptional one-handed grab whilst running on the boundary to send Beyers Swanepoel back to the dugout.

The Super Kings' run chase was near perfect with Devon Conway (76 not out off 56 balls) and Wihan Lubbe (25 not out off 17 balls) easing their team home with six overs remaining.

It was the perfect way for the Super Kings to celebrate their captain Faf du Plessis' 400th T20 appearance.

"T20 is a strange game. You feel on top of the world after a win like that. As a team, we needed it," said Du Plessis said. "Two in the first over makes a huge difference. It really breaks a team when you can take wickets in the powerplay"

"From a bowling perspective, we were not far off (in the previous game as well). Today was nice to get a few rewards, especially glad for the bowling attack," he added.

The League also celebrated its 1 millionth ticket holder at the match which is testament to the unwavering support of the fans who have flocked to stadiums in record numbers to be part of South Africa's premier domestic competition.
New York, Jan 27 : As the US has intensified its campaign of rounding up illegal migrants and deporting them on military planes, it overcame opposition from Colombia with threats of tariffs in a preview of how President Donald Trump will enforce his campaign promise.

After Colombia refused to let two aircraft carrying its nationals apprehended in the US as illegal migrants land, Trump announced on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon a 25 per cent tariff on imports from that country, which, he threatened, would double in a week.

However, by Sunday night, Colombia's resistance crumbled, and the White House said it had agreed to "unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia" including those coming on military planes.

In a show of force on Sunday, federal agents fanned out across the US rounding up criminal illegal migrants.

Trump had promised mass deporations in his Day 1 agenda, but the logistical impossibility of rounding up millions of people has made his administration moderate it by prioritising those who had committed crimes, reinvigorating enforcement of laws that were followed tepidly.

Brazil, meanwhile, protested the handcuffing of deportees who arrived there on US planes calling it "degrading treatment".

Mexico temporarily refused to let US military planes carrying deportees land last week, but quickly rescinded the orders and let them back in.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "It is the responsibility of each nation to take back their citizens who are illegally present in the United States in a serious and expeditious manner".

After a meeting between Rubio and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday, the US said that they had discussed "irregular migration" and the minister said that India was open to taking back illegal migrants.

Reports said that about 20,000 Indians would be taken back.

While that meshes with Trump's goal of ridding the country of illegal migrants, it also deals with India's concern over Indian criminal gangs and extremists operating from the US.

There are an estimated 11 million illegal migrants in the US and, according to the Pew Research Centre about 725,000 of them are Indians.

The rounding up of illegal immigrants, particularly those with criminal histories, has been ongoing, even under former President Joe Biden, but has been reinvigorated with a dash of publicity after President Trump declared a national emergency over illegal migration last Monday after he was sworn in.

On Sunday, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said that several federal agencies were being deployed to help the Department of Homeland Security in roundng up illegal migrants in order to "secure the border, stop this invasion".

He and Border Czar Tom Homan were in Chicago, where the enhanced operations have been launched.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the prime agency for the deportations announced "enhanced targeted operations" in Chicago to keep "potentially dangerous criminal aliens".

Chicago is one of the places that have declared themselves sanctuary cities that claim to be protective of illegal migrants and forbidding their police and other agencies to cooperate with the immigration authorities.

Operations were also afoot in other places, including Colorado where about 50 people were arrested in a raid at a nightclub, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

DEA said in post X that many were members of Tren de Aragua, a dreaded Venezuelan criminal gang declared a terrorist organisation by President Trump.

The agency said it was participating in raids in Los Angeles, Savannah in Georgia, Omaha in Nebraska, and Arizona State.

On Friday, raids were carried out in Newark, New Jersey.

Homan has threatened legal action against those impeding immigration operations.

Despite Chicago's claim to be a sanctuary city, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said in an interview to CNN that the state would cooperate in deporting criminal illegal migrants or those under deportation orders, while ruling out participation in raids.

The White House posted on X stylised photos of some of those arrested, listing the crimes they are convicted or accused of, and these ranged from having ties to the Islamic State terror organisation, membership in the international gang MS-13, rape, sexual abuse of minors, murder, and, even, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

CBS reported that the US was also considering a deal with El Salvador to send illegal migrants from other countries there and tell them to seek asylum there, declaring the Central American nation a "safe third country".

That would be like Britain's plan to send migrants to Rwanda which the British Supreme Court struck down.

Australia sent some asylum-seekers to camps in Papua New Guinea and enacted legislation last year to expand the programme.
Chandigarh, Jan 27 : In a major breakthrough, Punjab Police's Amritsar Counter Intelligence unit has foiled a major targeted killing in Punjab by arresting six members of the Kaushal Chaudhary gang, including key associates, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Monday.

Chandigarh, Jan 27 (IANS) In a major breakthrough, Punjab Policeas Amritsar Counter Intelligence unit has foiled a major targeted killing in Punjab by arresting six members of the Kaushal Chaudhary gang, including key associates, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Monday.

The accused have been identified as Puneet Lakhanpal and Narinder Kumar.

The accused had been evading arrest for the past three years and they were directly involved in the murders of Kabaddi player Sandeep Singh Nangal Ambian in 2022 and Sukhmeet Singh in 2021.

Yadav said they were also involved in firing indiscriminately at the Highway King Hotel in Rajasthan and demanding extortion money to the tune of Rs 5 crore in September last year.

Six sophisticated weapons and 40 rounds were recovered from their possession.

A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered in Amritsar.

Sandeep Singh Sandhu, alias Sandeep Nangal Ambian, was killed in broad daylight by assailants during an international kabaddi match at Mallian Khurd village in Jalandhar on March 14, 2022, due to rivalry among kabaddi associations over international and national kabaddi leagues.

At that time, the Bambiha gang took responsibility for the killing, following which the police had arrested sharpshooters hired from Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

The police had arrested noted kabaddi promotor Surjan Singh Chatha, a main accused in the case.

Chatha, a British national, was not booked initially but his name cropped up during the probe following which he was nominated in the FIR registered under the charges of murder.

For the murder of Jalandhar rural Congress ex-president and councillor Sukhmeet Singh, alias Deputy, the Davinder Bambiha gang owned responsibility.

The police booked four gangsters -- Armenia-based Gaurav Patial, shooter Vijay Maley, Puneet of Jalandhar and one unidentified person -- on the charge of murder and under the Arms Act.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : India accounts for 53 per cent of the global leprosy cases, said experts here urging the need for legal reforms to help individuals affected by the disease.

Leprosy/Hansen's disease is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium lapre that causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage in the arms, legs, and skin areas around the body.

"India accounts for 53 per cent of the global leprosy cases. It is important to establish community-based rehabilitation to eliminate discrimination and support the affected individuals," said Dr. S. Sivasubramaniam, Senior Scientist, at an event held in the national capital.

While leprosy is not so contagious, repeated contact with nose and mouth droplets from someone with untreated leprosy can spread. However, due to a lack of awareness, there has been a significant stigma attached to the disease, said the experts calling for breaking myths and eradicating stigma by advocating inclusion of affected individuals in the mainstream of society.

"Untouchability due to leprosy is worse than caste-based discrimination, as in the former even one's own family members keep a distance from the affected individual," said Rajesh Aggarwal Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) cum Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD).

"Legal reforms are necessary, and vigilance must be kept ensuring early detection of cases," he added, while also stressing the significance of rehabilitation measures after treatment.

The experts underscored the necessity of collective efforts to break the stigma and discrimination associated with leprosy.

"There are still 750 leprosy colonies in India that remain isolated from mainstream society," S. Govindaraj, Commissioner, CCPD.

"Out of more than 700 districts in India, 125 districts still report a significant number of leprosy cases. These districts are spread across 14 States, with Chhattisgarh having the highest number at 24 districts," added Dr. Shivkumar, a leprosy expert.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India aims to achieve zero indigenous cases by 2030. However, the government aims for a Leprosy Mukt Bharat by 2027, three years ahead of the SDG.

The experts stated that ignorance is the biggest challenge in combating leprosy. Leprosy is one of the easiest diseases to cure if detected in time and clarified that it is not a deformity or disability.
Mumbai, Jan 27 : Bollywood actor Sunny Deol shared an adorable photo of himself hugging his younger brother, Bobby Deol, in a heartfelt birthday post.

The picture, which beautifully captured the strong bond between the two, showed Sunny wrapping his arms around Bobby as they posed together. Along with the photo, the 'Border' actor wrote a sweet message that read, "Happy Birthday Little Brother, My Lord Bobby." The post quickly garnered attention, not just from fans but also from their family members and industry friends.

Their sister, Esha Deol, dropped heart emojis in the comments section, while actor Rahul Dev commented, "Happy birthday Bobby."

Bobby Deol is celebrating his 56th birthday today, January 27. On his special day, he is receiving heartfelt shout-outs from family members and fans on social media.

In an earlier interview, the 'Animal' actor spoke about his relationship with his elder brother, Sunny, and the profound impact he has had on him. Describing his brother as a "blessing," Bobby admitted that, initially, he felt that Sunny would intentionally assert his role as the older sibling and boss him around. However, over time, Bobby came to appreciate the wisdom and guidance his elder brother provided, recognizing the significance of their bond.

Bobby Deol made his acting debut in 1995 with Rajkumar Santoshi's "Barsaat," marking the beginning of a promising career in Bollywood. In the late 90s, Bobby quickly rose to stardom, delivering a series of successful commercial hits, including "Gupt," "Soldier," and "Humraaz."

A pivotal moment in Bobby Deol's career came when he portrayed Baba Nirala in the web series "Aashram." His career received a further boost with his powerful performance in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's "Animal," where he played the brutal villain, Abrar Haque.

He received widespread praise for his impactful, albeit brief, role in the revenge thriller starring Ranbir Kapoor.
Chennai, Jan 27 : Tamil superstar-turned-political leader Vijay's party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), is set to conduct a four-day consultation meeting with its party functionaries.

Chennai, Jan 27 (IANS) Tamil superstar-turned-political leader Vijayas party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), is set to conduct a four-day consultation meeting with its party functionaries.

The meeting will take place at the party headquarters in Panaiyur, starting Monday (January 27).

The sessions will be presided over by TVKas state general secretary and former Puducherry MLA, Bussy Anand.

This gathering follows TVKas announcement on Friday of the appointment of district secretaries and other office bearers for 19 districts across Tamil Nadu, including Coimbatore, Salem, and Erode.

Party insiders have indicated that these developments are part of preparations for the upcoming 2026 Assembly elections.

In a statement released on Sunday, Vijay revealed that TVK has divided Tamil Naduas 234 Assembly constituencies into 120 party districts.

The reorganisation aims to streamline the partyas structure, ensure administrative convenience, and expedite decision-making.

At the inaugural rally of TVK on October 27 in Villupuram, Vijay unveiled the partyas ideology, which blends Dravidian principles with Tamil nationalism.

The rally, held in Vikkaravandi, drew over 300,000 attendees, marking a significant milestone in Tamil Naduas political landscape.

During the rally, Vijay criticised the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for being a family-centric party that misuses the Dravidian identity for personal benefit.

He also condemned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its divisive politics.

Vijay urged his cadres to remain honest and to address criticisms from rivals, such as Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) leader Seeman, with respect and factual arguments.

He emphasised TVKas core principles of equality, social justice, and secularism.

Reports have also fuelled speculation about a potential alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), with rumours suggesting that Vijay discussed securing the Deputy Chief Ministeras post and 60 Assembly seats for the 2026 elections.

In a recent executive council meeting held at the party headquarters, TVK passed 29 unanimous resolutions.

These included opposing the BJPas aOne Nation, One Electiona proposal, criticising the DMK for delaying a statewide caste-based census, advocating for the abolition of NEET, and calling for a return to state-controlled admissions.

The party also demanded a reinstatement of the monthly electricity billing system.

Vijay urged TVK members to respond to criticism constructively and respectfully, including on social media platforms.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Uttarakhand is set to create history on Monday as it becomes the first state in India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) across its territory and for its residents living outside the state, however, the move has drawn sharp criticism from senior Congress leaders, who accused the BJP of using the UCC as a political tool.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will unveil the UCC portal at 12:30 p.m., marking a significant legislative milestone ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state.

The UCC establishes a uniform legal framework for marriage, divorce, property, inheritance, and adoption laws for all citizens, regardless of their religion. With its implementation, Uttarakhand will become the second state in India, after Goa, to have a uniform set of civil laws.

Senior Congress leader Kumari Selja called the UCC part of the BJP's "agenda to divide people."

Speaking to IANS, she said, "This is being done because elections are happening there as well as in other parts of the country. This is the BJP's agenda to divide people among themselves, and under the same agenda, they are doing such things."

Uttarakhand Congress leader Ganesh Godiyal likened the UCC to the removal of Article 370 in Kashmir, claiming it is a distraction tactic.

"There are many questions which were not answered by the state government. UCC is similar to the removal of Article 370 in Kashmir, where it was promised that prosperity would follow. The state government is using UCC to divert attention from its failures and suppress pressing issues," Godiyal told IANS.

He also questioned the government's priorities, citing unemployment, corruption, and law-and-order concerns, such as the recent Ankita Bhandari rape and murder case.

"To distract people from issues like unemployment and corruption, the government has come up with this idea. I would like to ask the Pushkar Singh Dhami-led state government how the youth will progress in our state. Will he guarantee the progress and growth?" Godiyal questioned.

Congress leader B.K. Hariprasad expressed reservations about the UCC, arguing that a single civil code cannot accommodate India's diversity. "One common law cannot be applied to a large and diverse population like in India," he said.

Congress leader Avinash Pande emphasised the need for consensus before implementing such laws.

"Every political front has expressed their opinion on the UCC. Laws like this should not be implemented until everyone supports it," he told IANS.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government stated that the UCC rules have been carefully framed, avoiding controversial provisions for resolving disputes related to personal laws.

As Uttarakhand takes this historic step, the UCC is expected to spark further debates on its implications for India's diverse social and cultural fabric.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Ahead of visiting Prayagraj on Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Maha Kumbh is a unique symbol of the uninterrupted flow of Sanatan culture and he was eager to take a dip in the confluence and seek the blessings.

The Union Minister is set to attend the Maha Kumbh, where he will take a holy dip in the Triveni Sangam, the sacred confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers.

In a post on X, Amit Shah wrote (in Hindi), "Mahakumbh is a unique symbol of the uninterrupted flow of Sanatan culture. Kumbh reflects our eternal philosophy of life based on harmony. Today, I am eager to take a dip in the confluence and seek the blessings of the saints in this great festival of unity and integrity in the holy city of Prayagraj."

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will accompany the Home Minister during this significant event.

HM Shah will perform the ritual bath on the 15th day of the Maha Kumbh.

As per the schedule, Amit Shah will arrive at Bamrauli Airport at 11.25 a.m. He will then proceed to the DPS helipad by helicopter at 11.50 a.m. and reach Arail Ghat at noon. From there, he will board a boat to the VIP Jetty, arriving at 12.15 p.m.

Speaking during his recent visit to Gujarat, Shah highlighted the cultural significance of Maha Kumbh, urging everyone to attend this event, which occurs once every 144 years.

"Kumbh gives the message of harmony and unity. It does not ask which religion, sect, or caste you belong to. Food is available without discrimination. No event in the world conveys a stronger message of unity than Maha Kumbh," he had said.

The Home Minister also encouraged the youth of Gujarat to experience the Maha Kumbh, sharing that he has visited Kumbh nine times in his life and has also witnessed the Ardh Kumbh.

Meanwhile, in the fair area, a Dharma Sansad will be organised to unite Sanatanis across the country. The Virat Sanatan Dharma Sansad will take place at the Shanti Seva Camp in Sector 17, led by spiritual guru Devkinandan Thakur. The assembly will feature participation from Shankaracharyas, heads of 13 Akharas, and sadhus and saints from across the nation.

The Dharma Sansad aims to foster unity among followers of Sanatan Dharma. The Maha Kumbh, one of the most significant Hindu festivals, commenced on January 13 with the 'Pavitra Snan' and celebrated its second day on Makar Sankranti, coinciding with the 'Amrit Snan.'

The festival will conclude on February 26, Maha Shivratri. Upcoming sacred bathing dates include January 29 (Mauni Amavasya), February 3 (Basant Panchami), February 12 (Magh Purnima), and February 26 (Maha Shivratri).

Despite the harsh winter, thousands of devotees have been thronging the Triveni Sangam to partake in this sacred tradition. As of now, over 10 crore devotees have taken the holy dip in the Triveni Sangam, marking an unprecedented turnout at the Maha Kumbh.
Hyderabad, Jan 27 : Search was on for a youth who went missing after Sunday night's fire on two boats in Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad. Four persons sustained injuries when fireworks were set off from two boats in the lake as part of the 'Bharat Mata Maha Harati' programme at People's Plaza on Necklace Road abutting the lake.

Hyderabad, Jan 27 (IANS) Search was on for a youth who went missing after Sunday nightas fire on two boats in Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad. Four persons sustained injuries when fireworks were set off from two boats in the lake as part of the aBharat Mata Maha Haratia programme at Peopleas Plaza on Necklace Road abutting the lake.

The injured were admitted to hospitals and the condition of one of them was critical.

The family of a youth approached police in the early hours of Monday that he went missing from Hussain Sagar last night.

The youth was identified as Ajay. His mother and other family members reached the lake on Monday morning and demanded that the authorities launch a search operation to trace him.

Expert swimmers from the Disaster Response Force were deployed for the search operation. Ajay, an engineering student from Nagaram on the city outskirts, had told her mother that he was at Tank Bund with his friends.

His mother said she spoke to him over the phone around 8.30 p.m. and he informed her that he would return home after midnight.

She said she called him over the phone around 11 p.m. but it was switched off. She tried again around midnight. One of Ajayas friends contacted the family at 2 a.m. to inform them he was missing.

The family members along with Ajayas friends visited the hospitals to confirm if he was among the injured. When they did not find him, they approached the police. They suspect that Ajay might have jumped into the lake after a fire broke out.

Police registered a case and continued the investigation into the fire which broke out due to the explosion of firecrackers.

The injured were identified as Ganapati (22), K. Sai Chand (20), Chinatala Krishna (47) and Praneet. Ganapati was admitted to Yashoda Hospital in critical condition. Three others sustained minor injuries and were shifted to Gandhi Hospital.

Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma and Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy attended the aBharat Mata Maha Haratia programme. They had left the venue after a cultural performance by artists and speeches.
Mumbai, Jan 27 : Actress Kajal Aggarwal has begun shooting for her highly anticipated project, "The India Story." Mumbai, Jan 27 (IANS) Actress Kajal Aggarwal has begun shooting for her highly anticipated project, "The India Story."

Marking the start of the film's first shooting schedule in Pune, Kajal took to social media to share her excitement with fans, as she embarks on this new journey. On Monday, the actress posted an image of her holding a clapboard and captioned it, "Kickstarting our first schedule in Pune, for The India Story. Excited to bring this untold, impactful story to life. Mark your calendars- 15th August 2025  see you in the cinemas!"

"The India Story," a gripping drama, also stars Shreyas Talpade and Murali Sharma. Directed by Chetan DK and produced by Sagar B. Shinde under MIG Production and Studios, the film, which delves into the dark side of pesticide scandals, will also include key schedules shot in Kolhapur.

The production house had earlier shared pictures from the first day of shooting on social media, captioning them, "A powerful Story that's not said before. Coming to you in cinemas on 15th August 2025."

The film is slated to hit theaters on August 15, 2025. The upcoming thriller is set to clash with Ayan Mukerji's "War 2," which stars Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR.

Meanwhile, Kajal Aggarwal was last seen in the Telugu film "Satyabhama." Directed by Suman and produced by Sashi Kiran Tikka, Bobby Tikka, and Srinivas Rao Takkalapelly, the film starred Kajal as the titular character along with Naveen Chandra, Prakash Raj, Nagineedu, Harsha Vardhan, and Ravi Varma. The film, released on 7 June 2024, opened to negative reviews.

She has an exciting lineup of major projects ahead. Aggarwal is set to star in Kamal Haasan's highly anticipated "Indian 3," where she will play a key role of Dakshayini.

In addition, she will be featured in "Sikandar," a film directed by AR Murugadoss, alongside Salman Khan. Kajal is also part of "Kannappa," directed by Vishnu Manchu.
Seoul, Jan 27 : South Korean authorities investigating the tragic Jeju Air crash last month released a preliminary accident report on Monday, revealing that the aircraft's Black Box stopped recording approximately 2 kms before the plane approached the runway.

It is the first report as part of the ongoing investigation into the deadly crash at Muan International Airport on December 29, which claimed the lives of 179 of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800. Only two people survived.

The preliminary findings will be submitted to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), as well as aviation authorities in the United States, France and Thailand, according to the transportation ministry.

The ICAO, a United Nations agency, mandates that investigators produce a preliminary report within 30 days of an aviation accident. It also encourages the release of a final report within 12 months.

The investigation committee under the transport ministry disclosed the approximate location where the Black Box, comprising the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), stopped functioning.

According to the report, the Black Box stopped recording at 8:58:50 a.m. on December 29, four minutes and seven seconds before the aircraft struck a localiser near the runway after it had hit a flock of birds.

The ministry noted it would take several months to analyze the FDR and the CVR for further verification, Yonhap news agency reported.

The report further stated that the exact timing of the bird strike, the number of birds involved and whether other bird species were present have yet to be determined.

The ministry briefed bereaved families on the preliminary findings during a meeting on Saturday.

Earlier on January 25, Yonhap news agency reported that the ill-fated Jeju Air plane involved in last month's deadly crash had received a warning from Air Traffic Control about bird activity just one minute before its Black Box recording stopped, the transport ministry said.

The ministry had revealed the preliminary findings to the bereaved families following its probe into the fatal crash of the low-cost carrier plane from Bangkok.

The government had planned to release the preliminary report by Monday, the ministry said.

The investigation committee under the ministry had stated that surveillance footage from the time of the accident at Muan International Airport had confirmed that the plane had attempted a go-around when it had hit a flock of birds.
United Nations, Jan 27 : Top UN officials expressed concern about escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"The situation is deteriorating rapidly," UN Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

She said hundreds of civilians have been killed or injured in the last few weeks, and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes or shelters to escape gunfire and shelling.

Tensions have been running high due to the recent advances by the M23 rebels in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. The rebels took control of Sake, a town considered the last defence for government forces before Goma, the capital of North Kivu and a major regional hub.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN undersecretary-general for peace operations, said the United Nations is profoundly concerned with the resumption of hostilities which have led to the loss of a strategic position several kilometres from Goma.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the UN chief "is deeply concerned by the escalating violence in eastern DRC." Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire.

More than 400,000 people have been displaced since the start of 2025 in eastern Congo, where conflicts between the Congolese army and armed groups have intensified, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier on January 25, the United Nations announced that it had temporarily decided to relocate non-essential staff from Goma due to the deteriorating security situation.

In a press release, the UN said that the decision had affected administrative staff and those who could carry out their tasks remotely, noting that this relocation would not compromise its commitment to delivering humanitarian aid and protecting civilians in North Kivu.

According to the UN, essential personnel had remained on the ground to ensure the continuation of critical operations, including food distribution, medical assistance, shelter provision, and the protection of vulnerable communities. The temporary relocation was to be reassessed as the security situation evolved.
Minsk, Jan 27 : Incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko has won the presidential election of Belarus, according to the preliminary results released early Monday by the country's Central Election Commission.

The preliminary data from the Central Election Commission showed that Lukashenko received 86.82 per cent of the vote. Sergei Syrankov, Oleg Gaidukevich, Anna Kanopatskaya and Alexander Khizhnyak secured 3.21 per cent, 2.02 per cent, 1.86 per cent and 1.74 per cent of the vote, respectively.

Earlier, an exit poll cited by the Belarusian Committee of Youth Organisations also showed Lukashenko leading with 87.6 per cent of the vote, reports Xinhua news agency.

The exit poll showed that the other four candidates received the following percentages of the vote: Oleg Gaidukevich 1.8 per cent, Alexander Khizhnyak 1.2 per cent, Anna Kanopatskaya 1.6 per cent and Sergei Syrankov 2.7 per cent. 5.1 per cent voted against all candidates.

The presidential election kicked off in Belarus earlier on Sunday, with polling stations opening at 8:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) and closing at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT).

Voters cast their ballots at 5,325 polling stations nationwide, and the number of voters stands at about 6.9 million, according to the country's Central Election Commission.

Early voting for the country's presidential election took place from January 21 to 25.

The Central Election Commission said Saturday that 41.81 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots during the five-day early voting session, which is organised for those unable to vote on the election day.

Earlier, the Central Election Commission had confirmed the formation of polling stations for the presidential elections in the country.

The president is elected for five-year terms. A two-term limit, reintroduced by 2022 amendments to the constitution, will be imposed after the election.

According to the law, Belarus' president is chosen through direct elections, and a candidate winning more than 50 per cent of the vote will be elected. If no candidate achieves this majority, the two leading candidates will enter a second round, in which the candidate who receives a simple majority wins.

Presidential elections take place every five years. In the last election on August 9, 2020, Lukashenko was reelected president for the sixth time with 80.1 per cent of the vote.
Bengaluru, Jan 27 : Karnataka Lokayukta on Monday submitted the investigation report in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam to the High Court Dharwad bench. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is the accused number one, and his wife B.M. Parvathi is the second accused in the case.

The Mysuru Lokayukta Superintendent of Police, T.J. Udesh submitted the report in a sealed cover to the court. The court had earlier directed the Lokayukta to submit the report without fail in this regard.

The bench took up the hearing of the petition submitted by activist Snehamayi Krishna, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the MUDA scam.

Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty made a submission before the bench to grant time for placing arguments against the petition and further prayed that this matter could be taken up later when the court resumes functioning in Bengaluru after vacation.

However, the bench refusing to yield, directed the AG to place the arguments without any delay. The AG requested that counsel Kapil Sibal would appear before the court and sought time. The bench, however, stated that the arguments could be placed through video conferencing. The AG then submitted that there was a technical issue with the video conferencing, following which the bench directed to fix the issue and place the arguments in the day only.

Senior Counsel Dushyanth Dave appearing for the fourth accused, land owner J. Devaraju in the MUDA case, submitted that his client is not facing criminal charges and, in this background, there is no necessity for the CBI probe. He further submitted that the petition had been filed to embarrass Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

"The petitioner earlier sought the Lokayukta investigation before the court and when the Lokayukta investigation was progressing, he submitted a petition seeking the CBI probe. The court should not waste a single moment over the petition," he argued. he added that while filing the complaint, the petitioner concealed many facts related to the case. "The petitioner has concealed the order of mutation and revenue department documents which prove that Devaraju was the owner of the property," Dave said.

Earlier, counsel Manindar Singh appeared for petitioner Snehamayi Krishna and concluded his submission over the matter. He submitted to the court how until the writ petition was filed before the court, the FIR was not registered in the case.

Commenting on the development, Snehamayi Krishna stated, "I have full confidence that the case would be handed over to the CBI. The Lokayukta is not conducting the investigation appropriately. We have submitted the evidence and documents to prove that Lokayukta sleuths are colluded with the accused persons in the case."

"In this backdrop and taking the rampant corruption into consideration, based on the evidence and documents submitted in this regard, we are hoping that today the court will hand over the case to the CBI," he stated.

When asked about rumours claiming that CM Siddaramaiah and his wife Parvathi may get a clean chit in the Lokayukta investigation, Snehamayi Krishna stated, "I don't have official information on this. I got to know through the media. It is impossible to give a clean chit to CM Siddaramaiah. We have provided enough documents to prove charges against him."

"The news is that officers are being fixed in the MUDA scam. I want to question, how is that the officers, who do not make any mistakes in other cases, commit mistakes in matters connected to CM Siddaramaiah. It shows that they are influenced," he stated.

"I have not filed a complaint on CM Siddaramaiah and his family alone. I have taken that as an example and filed a complaint on the illegal allotment of thousands of sites by the MUDA to influential people. Many politicians, powerful and officers are involved in the scam. I have requested for comprehensive probe," Krishna stated.

"Against this backdrop, I am vouching for the CBI probe. I would not have insisted on the CBI probe, if it would have been just the case of allotment of 14 sites to CM Siddaramaiah sites illegally," he said.

When asked whether CM Siddaramaiah would resign if the matter is handed over to the CBI, he stated, "I hope that CM Siddaramaiah resigns from his post once the matter is handed over to the CBI. CM Siddaramaiah is suffering setbacks legally and we are emerging victorious. If the court hands over the case to the CBI, it would be a serious setback for him. Considering the actions that follow, he might tender resignation or the party high command might ask him to step down," he stated.

It is alleged that Siddaramaiah used his political influence to get compensation for 14 sites in the name of his wife B.M. Parvathi in lieu of three acres and 16 guntas of land acquired by the MUDA.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife B.M. Parvathi, the second accused in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam. The ED has also issued a notice to the Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, the close confidante of CM Siddaramaiah, sources confirmed on Monday.

Sources reveal that the ED had issued notice to CM's wife on January 23 and directed his wife Parvathi to appear before the ED officials on January 27 (Monday). Minister Suresh has also been asked to appear before the ED sleuths.

Following this, CM's wife Parvathi and Minister Suresh have approached the Karnataka High Court questioning the summons issued to them by the ED.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday said that he is thrilled to see bonds grow between India and the US.

Speaking at the 76th Republic Day celebration in Seattle, US, Nadella said the bond is strong because of shared democratic values by both countries. The event was organised by Indian Consulate in Seattle.

"Looking forward, I am, again, very thrilled to see the bonds between the two countries continue to grow, both because of the community here, but also because of the shared bonds of being two democracies that are grounded in their constitutions," Nadella said.

"I think what happens at the end of the day is people who get elected have to serve all the constituents and to us to have the privilege to build technology that allows these leaders to then pursue what then gets them elected is perhaps the best virtual cycle of a democracy," he added.

The Microsoft CEO said that he hopes "the role model of both the countries doing are what is best in their best interest for each country". This will also "create the model for the world to be able to sort of emulate and thereby build a better world for everybody," he said.

Earlier this month, Nadella announced a $3 billion investment to boost AI and cloud infrastructure in India. The investment aims to accelerate AI innovation in the country, which is pivotal for achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of becoming a developed nation (Viksit Bharat) by 2047.

The tech giant also announced to train and skill 10 million people in AI by 2030. The company has already empowered 2.4 million Indians, including civil servants, college students, and people with disabilities, with AI skills.
Mumbai, Jan 27 : Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande has commended the Uttarakhand government for implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), describing it as a progressive step to eliminate injustice and promote equality.

Speaking exclusively to IANS, Kayande stated, "This is a significant milestone for Uttarakhand. If there is any injustice prevailing in the country, such a law can help address it. I firmly believe the UCC should also be implemented in Maharashtra."

Reiterating Shiv Sena's longstanding support for the UCC, she added, "As a part of the NDA, we have always backed the idea of a Uniform Civil Code and will continue to do so. The increasing activities of Bangladeshi immigrants in India demand that their legal and social status be regulated appropriately."

Responding to Congress leader Husain Dalwai's controversial comparison of Maha Kumbh with Haj, Kayande expressed strong disapproval. "I vehemently oppose Husain Dalwai's statement. Such remarks can create tensions in society, and he must take full responsibility for any unrest if caused. He should issue a public apology," Kayande told IANS.

She further criticised Dalwai, remarking, "Husain Dalwai's mental balance appears to have deteriorated. His comments reflect ignorance and insensitivity. Maha Kumbh holds immense historical and spiritual significance for millions of Indians and comparing it to Haj is sheer stupidity."

Addressing the incident of the attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, Kayande remarked on the political and public discourse surrounding the attack.

"After Saif Ali Khan's discharge, a lot of politics is being played. However, the truth behind the incident lies with the police investigation. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has already addressed the issue. Despite this, questions continue to arise, which is understandable given the circumstances," she said.

Kayande called for transparency, stating, "The hospital should release the medical report to address the questions in people's minds."

On accusations of the incident being a publicity stunt, she responded, "While some artists have resorted to such stunts before their film releases, putting one's life at risk in this manner would be an act of sheer foolishness."

Kayande criticised Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's demand to confer Bharat Ratna on Savarkar, saying, "Sanjay Raut is a three-time MP, yet he has neither written to the Prime Minister or President on this matter nor raised it in Parliament. If he truly believes in this cause, he should have taken concrete steps and presented it formally," she remarked.

Kayande also reflected on the ongoing conflict between Congress and AAP leaders during the Delhi elections. She remarked, "These two parties are openly targeting each other's leadership. Their inability to work together clearly indicates that the INDIA bloc experiment has failed. When they are fighting among themselves, what conclusion should people draw?"
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached Prayagraj on Monday to participate in the Maha Kumbh celebrations. He took the holy dip at Triveni Sangam, flanked by several Hindu saints and seers and offered prayers to God.

Earlier, the Home Minister took a boat ride to reach the Arali ghat and was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and Deputy CMs KP Maurya and Brajesh Pathak.

The beaming visuals from Maha Kumbh showed Amit Shah greeting and waving to the crowd as he proceeded towards the Ganga ghat.

Hours before leaving for Prayagraj, the Home Minister also wrote on X, "Mahakumbh is a unique symbol of the uninterrupted flow of Sanatan culture."

"Kumbh reflects our eternal philosophy of life based on harmony. Today, I am eager to take a dip in the confluence and seek the blessings of the saints in this great festival of unity and integrity in the holy city of Prayagraj," he added.

The Home Minister on a day-long visit to the holy city, is expected to hold meetings with Hindu saints and seers.

According to a release from the Mahakumbh Media Centre, the Home Minister will also visit Bade Hanuman Ji Temple and Abhayvat after the holy bath.

He is also expected to meet the Maharaj and other saints of Juna Akhara and have lunch with them.

His schedule also includes visits to Guru Sharananand Ji's Ashram, where he will meet Guru Sharananand Ji and Govind Giri Ji Maharaj, and conclude his visit with a meeting with the Shankaracharyas of Sringeri, Puri, and Dwaraka.

Amit Shah's holy dip in Sangam comes days after the entire UP cabinet led by CM Yogi Adityanath took a holy dip at the Sangam.

The Maha Kumbh is witnessing a huge surge of devotees and pilgrims for the two-month-long festival.

On the day of Makar Sankranti alone, over 3.5 crore devotees including seers and saints took a bath in the Ganga. For the first time, Shankaracharya of all the four Peethas was present at Maha Kumbh and CM Yogi also met them.
Chennai, Jan 27 : Varsha Bharath, the director of the upcoming Tamil film Bad Girl, has said that women don't need to be purists and that they only need to be human.

Speaking at the teaser launch of the film, which has been produced by ace director Vetrimaran and presented jointly by Anurag Kashyap and Vetrimaran, Varsha Bharath said, "I have one main point to address. The title of the film is 'Bad Girl'. Recently, a screening was organized for some filmmakers. Many of them, after the screening, asked why we had titled the film as Bad Girl as it gave a negative connotation.

"Is this (referring to the protagonist's character in the film) a bad girl? I really don't have answers to that because I am not judging her. I have just written a very human character. She is flawed, she makes some bad decisions, she hurts herself in the process. She doesn't hurt other people. She repents. She survives," she said.

Crediting her lead actress Anjali Sivaraman for carrying the film on her shoulders, the director said, " It is so hard to play such a grey character and Anjali has just carried the film on her shoulders. She has not judged the character one bit. I am so grateful for that."

The actress then went to say, "In Tamil mainstream cinema, the narrative has always been that a woman is a flower, a virtuous person, a goddess, a mother, a pure person. I feel that that is too much pressure for women to carry on their shoulders. So, I just wanted to write a character that's very relatable."

Stating that this movie was just the start of a conversation and that it was not a self help book, the director said, "I am not telling anybody how to lead their lives. This character is not a hero. She is just a really flawed person. She has mental health issues. She is just trying to survive. Generally itself, I don't think filmmakers are people who can tell you how to live."

Claiming that she had seen male characters that were a "thousand times more irredeemable and flawed", than the protagonist's character in her film being hero worshipped, the director said, "This character need not be hero-worshipped but it can be accepted. I am not endorsing that women should drink in this film. I am just telling the story of a girl in this film. Women don't have to be purists. They only need to be human."
Hyderabad, Jan 27 : A youth was brutally murdered in a suspected case of honour killing in Telangana's Suryapet district.

Hyderabad, Jan 27 (IANS) A youth was brutally murdered in a suspected case of honour killing in Telanganaas Suryapet district.

The body of V. Krishna (32) was found on the bund of the Musi Canal on Monday. Police said unidentified persons killed him by smashing his head with boulders. The man had a love marriage with a woman of another caste six months ago. Police shifted the body to a government hospital in Suryapet for autopsy.

Locals found the body on the canal bund along the road to Pillalamarri and informed police. The victim is suspected to have been murdered at some other place and his body was dumped on the canal.

Suryapet Deputy Superintendent of Police Ravi said they were investigating if he was murdered over his inter-caste marriage or if there are any other motives behind the murder.

Krishnaas wife Gayatri and other family members were shocked over the killing. They demanded that the police apprehend the culprits immediately and ensure stringent punishment.

Meanwhile, an eighth-class student of an SC boysa hostel and a 17-year-old female student of an ST residential school died in two separate incidents in Telangana.

A student of the boysa hostel for Scheduled Castes in Wanaparthy district died on Monday. The incident occurred in Gopalapet mandal headquarters.

Bharat, a student of eighth class, suffered fits and was shifted to the government hospital in Wanaparthy, where he succumbed while undergoing treatment. The student had lost his father only four months ago. His family members and student groups staged a protest demanding justice for the family.

In another incident, a female student of ST residential school died by alleged suicide in Rangareddy district. The incident occurred at Kontloor in Hayathnagar mandal near Hyderabad. The 17-year-old student of intermediate hanged herself in the school premises. Police registered a case and took up further investigation.
Chennai, Jan 27 : In a bid to help revolutionise transportation across the world, including in India, IIT Madras on Monday said it will host Asia's first Global Hyperloop Competition (GHC) 2025 from February 21-25.

The competition will take place at IIT Madras' state-of-the-art Hyperloop test facility  a 450-metre test track at Thaiyur on the southern suburb of Chennai.

The facility has been developed in collaboration with Indian Railways, ArcelorMittal, L&T, and Hindalco, it said in a statement.

The competition is being organised by IIT Madras, IITM Pravartak and SAEIndia, with support from the Ministry of Railways.

"The GHC is a testament to what students can achieve when given the right opportunities and platforms," said professor Satya Chakravarthy, Faculty Advisor, Hyperloop IIT Madras.

Hyperloop is often referred to as the "fifth mode of transportation." It is a high-speed train that travels inside a near-vacuum tube, allowing capsules to reach speeds exceeding 1,000 kms per hour due to significantly reduced air resistance.

The concept was first introduced by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in 2013 through his whitepaper titled 'Hyperloop Alpha'.

The competition will feature around 400 participants competing in three major categories. The 'Pod Demonstration' will allow teams to test their Hyperloop pod prototypes on the advanced track.

The 'Hyperloop InnoQuest' will challenge participants to solve real-world issues in Hyperloop implementation. The DesignX category will provide a platform for creative minds to present cutting-edge concepts and ideas for the future of Hyperloop technology.

Delegates from the US, Europe, Turkey, and other parts of the world are expected to attend, fostering global collaboration in developing sustainable and ultra-fast transit systems.

"The 'Global Hyperloop Competition' exemplifies our mission to foster multidisciplinary collaboration and innovation in India," said Pranav Singhal, Student Head (Hyperloop), IIT Madras.
Chennai, Jan 27 : Malayalam actor and director Prithviraj Sukumaran has now disclosed that he was given an opportunity by Subaskaran, the head of well known Tamil film production house Lyca Productions, to direct a film featuring Tamil superstar Rajinikanth in the lead.

Speaking at the teaser launch of his much-awaited Malayalam film L2: Empuraan, Prithviraj said, "I have been assigned the task of welcoming Lyca Productions into Malayalam cinema. This obviously is their first ever project in Malayalam. It is a bit of an anecdote. I think now, it is safe to say that Subaskaran first reached out to me by giving me an opportunity to do a film for Lyca productions starring Rajinikanth sir."

The actor-director then went on to say that he could not come up with a subject as he was only a part time director.

"The opportunity was so good for a new director like me that I tried my best to see if I can come up with something. They obviously had a timeline in place. Subaskaran sir wanted the project to happen within a particular timeline. And I could not, since I am only a part time director. So, that did not happen. But what did happen was the start of a friendship, that whenever I travel to London, I always made it a point to meet Subaskaran sir," Prithviraj said.

His friendship with Lyca productions Subaskaran resulted in two things, Prithviraj said.

"One, Lyca productions wanted me to do a film for them as an actor. A really big ambitious project that will happen someday," Prithiviraj hoped, adding that the conversation shifted to Subaskaran asking him how could be a part of his L2: Empuraan dream.

As a result, Lyca Productions, one of South India's leading production houses, is now set to make its entry into the Malayalam film industry with the highly anticipated project, L2E Empuraan.

Directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, the film stars Mohanlal in the lead role, marking their hat-trick third collaboration as director and actor after the super successful films, Lucifer and Bro Daddy.

The L2 Empuraan teaser sets the stage in an abandoned town in Northern Iraq named "Qaraqosh," introducing the character Steven Nedumpally, a saviour with a dark and intriguing side as Ab'raam Qureshi, who leads the most powerful mercenary hit group in Asia. The film showcases Mohanlal in an action-packed avatar with larger-than-life visuals. The film explores themes of power, betrayal, and control by blending elements of the political nexus and the world of mercenaries.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Senior Maharashtra Congress leader Husain Dalwai's comments on the Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh have sparked mixed reactions from both Shiv Sena and the Congress. While Shiv Sena leaders have demanded an apology for his remarks, the Congress has defended Dalwai, asserting that his statement holds the truth.

The controversy began after Dalwai criticised the arrangements for the Maha Kumbh at the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers.

He described the arrangements as "insufficient and lacking in basic amenities" to manage the large influx of devotees, warning that this could potentially lead to the "spread of diseases."

Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant responded to Dalwai's comment saying, "Questions are being raised about mismanagement. We are proud of the presence of our sants and sages. I request Dalwai Sahab not to create such issues. The situation is good there under the leadership of Yogi sahib. Lakhs of people who go there say that the situation there is very good. But it is not good to raise questions about every programme or event."

Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande strongly condemned Dalwai's statement comparing the Maha Kumbh with Hajj, calling it "nonsense."

"Prayagraj is the confluence of three holy rivers. People who practice Hinduism and spirituality will not say such nonsense. Husain Dalwai should apologise to the entire Hindu community. If everyone starts talking about religion like this, it will cause tension in the country, and Dalwai will be responsible for it. Comparing the Maha Kumbh with Hajj is a foolish thing," she stated.

In contrast, Congress leader Bhai Jagtap downplayed the issue, emphasising that Dalwaias comments were personal.

He mentioned, "This is his personal statement, and I am not talking about it. Videos of women, children, and elderly devotees from the Maha Kumbh show the situation on the ground, and it is clear that the arrangements there are not as promised. Social media reveals the truth."

Jagtap highlighted that the Maha Kumbh is an event of great faith and sacred significance, and despite shortcomings in infrastructure, people continue to attend with devotion. He also mentioned the previous Kumbh held in Nashik, Maharashtra, under the state government's oversight, noting that such events require proper management and facilities.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), scrutinising the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill cleared it on Monday and approved 14 amendments proposed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) members.

The Waqf Amendment Bill, seeking to bring reforms in the way Waqf boards are administered across the country got cleared by the JPC with a margin of 16:10 members (16 from NDA and 10 from Opposition parties).

According to reports, a total of 66 amendments were proposed in the Waqf bill including 23 by the ruling BJP MPs and 44 from Opposition members.

JPC chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, speaking to reporters said that this was the final meeting of the Parliamentary panel and a total of 14 amendments have been cleared on the basis of a majority.

"In the past six months of deliberations, we discussed many amendments. All amendments were put to vote today and members gave out their verdict with 16 voting in its favour while 14 opposing the amendments," he told newsmen.

Aparajita Sarangi, BJP MP and a JPC member added that the deliberations over amendments in the Waqf bill were held extensively and in most democratic manner and it was after the due procedure that 14 amendments have been approved.

The JPC meets in the past have witnessed chaotic scenes with the Opposition accusing the committee chairman of bias and inclination towards the ruling party. The Opposition also claimed that the procedure was being hastened to start a narrative ahead of Assembly elections in the national capital.

The allegations were however brushed aside by the BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, who said that every member was given 'ample time and was heard out by the JPC chief'.

The JPC committee on the Waqf Bill had to submit its recommendations by November 29, however, the deadline was extended till February 13.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : As part of Congress party's 'AAP ke Pap' (Sins of AAP) series, former Delhi Assembly speaker Ajay Maken on Monday hit out at AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal for the lawlessness in Punjab that has resulted in a desecration incident in Amritsar and revival of terror in the state.

Calling Kejriwal a 'khalnayak' (villain) and 'anarchist', Maken condemned the vandalisation of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar's statue in Amritsar on Sunday due to growing lawlessness in Punjab and accused the AAP of shielding terrorists who have undertaken 11 blasts in Punjab under Bhagwant Singh Mann government.

"The time has come to show the door to anarchist Kejriwal who is behind lawlessness in Punjab," Maken said.

Using a slideshow at a press conference, Maken showcased a news clip of February 2, 2017, based on the statement of top cop K.P.S. Gill in which he had warned that the AAP's election in Punjab will promote radicals.

Accusing the AAP of harbouring pro-Khalistan elements, Maken said in Punjab police station areas were being attacked with Austria-make grenades that were like the ones used in Mumbai and Parliament terror attacks -- an indirect reference to the involvement of Pakistani agencies in the incidents.

Accompanied by former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Maken said the act of vandalism of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar's statue in Amritsar had sparked widespread outrage and condemned the disrespect shown to the architect of the Indian Constitution.

The vandalism occurred on January 26 when accused Akashdeep Singh, reportedly belonging to the Scheduled Caste community, defaced the statue on Heritage Street near the Golden Temple complex.

Randhawa said Kejriwal's development model is ruining the country. "In Punjab, he sells the Delhi model and when he is in Delhi he touts the Punjab model," he said.

Raising serious concerns over Kejriwal's alleged links with radicals, Randhawa cited the former Delhi chief minister's proximity with a 2017 temple blast accused Gurinder Singh, whose hospitality the AAP leader enjoyed during his overnight stay at the former's home.

Pointing to a claim by a 'pro-Khalistan' group in March 2024 that it donated $16 million (Rs 128 crore) to the AAP, Randhawa said the ruling Punjab government did not register any case against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Canadian-American lawyer and co-founder of pro-Khalistan advocacy organisation Sikhs for Justice, despite his threats issued to AAP leaders.

Randhawa alleged AAP MP Raghav Chadha has been in constant touch with pro-Khalistan radicals  both on the phone and through physical meetings.

The Congress leader from Punjab said 11 attacks using grenades and explosives have taken place in the state over the past few months and the state police were in denial.

"Every time there is a bomb blast, the state police dismiss it as a cracker blast or radiator blast in car," he said, adding that walls of police stations were being raised and roads leading to police stations were being blocked after sunset to prevent terror attacks.

He also accused the AAP of promoting drug menace in Punjab and allowing the flow of narcotics from Delhi to the agrarian state.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : BJP leaders, including Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, BJP MP Yogendra Chandolia, and National General Secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam, staged a protest outside the residence of former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over vandalisation of Dr Ambedkar's statue in Amritsar, Punjab.

The leaders condemned the attack on the statue and declared that they would not tolerate such acts of disrespect.

Speaking to IANS, Virendra Sachdeva, the Delhi BJP President, expressed outrage over the incident, stating, "In Amritsar, Punjab, an attack was carried out on the statue of Baba Saheb Ambedkar in front of the Kotwali police station. This happened on Republic Day, a day when India celebrates its Constitution. Yet an attack was made on the very creator of the Constitution. The AAP government in Punjab is sitting silently, while the police there are doing nothing. We will not tolerate this attack on our values and history."

Yogendra Chandolia also condemned the vandalism, saying, "Arvind Kejriwal should feel the same outrage. He should dissolve his government in Punjab, as his silence on this matter will only cost him more politically."

Dushyant Kumar Gautam, suggested that the incident was part of a deliberate attempt to distance Kejriwal's government from Dalit communities.

He said, "The Kejriwal government is turning a blind eye to this because they know the Dalit community will not support them. We will never tolerate such humiliation against our leaders and communities."

The incident took place on January 26, when Akashdeep Singh, reportedly from the Scheduled Caste community, defaced Dr Ambedkar's statue on Heritage Street near the Golden Temple complex.

A viral video of the act led to his swift arrest by the Punjab Police. According to the police, Singh used a hammer to damage the statue and set fire to a stone-carved book representing the Indian Constitution placed near the statue. The exact motive behind the act is still under investigation.

Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar confirmed that a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered and that an investigation is ongoing to determine the full extent of the incident and its underlying reasons.

The vandalism has sparked widespread outrage across the nation, with political leaders, including those from the BJP, and members of the public expressing their strong condemnation of the disrespect shown to Dr Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution.
Agartala, Jan 27 : Tension prevailed along the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura's Unakoti district on Monday after a clash between the farmers of two villages on the border of the countries, officials said.

The BSF and police officials separately said the villagers of India and Bangladesh clashed among themselves over the issue of farming in cropland in the border village of Hirachhara in Kailashahar Sub-division on Sunday evening.

According to the officials, two Indian farmers and a Bangladeshi cultivator were injured in the clash before the BSF troops intervened in the conflict. Local people said that Indian farmers -- Karim Ali (28) and Zamir Ali (34), both brothers, were severely assaulted with sharp weapons and iron rods by a group of 10-12 Bangladesh nationals. The attack left them critically injured, with Karim sustaining deep wounds on his left hand and back while Zamir suffered head injuries.

Both are currently undergoing medical treatment at the Unakoti District Hospital, where doctors have indicated that Karim's left-hand finger may need an amputation.

The incident occurred when the two brothers, who cultivate betel leaves and paddy on their land near the zero line of the border, had gone for farming activities on Sunday and found significant damage to their crops. They informed the matter to the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel posted in the area.

However, while returning home in the evening, they were threatened not to go to that area again for cultivation and then attacked by Bangladeshi nationals from the Murui Chhara area of Moulvibazar district (Bangladesh).

The attack occurred within Indian territory raising concerns about the safety of the Indian border villagers. Additional troops of the BSF have been deployed in the areas.

Sunday's incident occurred within three weeks after Bangladeshi nationals allegedly attacked BSF personnel at the Maguruli border and attempted to snatch their firearms on January 7.

Meanwhile, Tripura Chief met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on January 18 and handed over a letter to him on the construction of a big embankment along the border by Bangladesh.

"The Chief Minister in his letter to the Home Minister, highlighted the potential effect of the Bangladeshi embankment in Unakoti district and possible floods on the Indian side. The Chief Minister has urged the Home Minister to take up the matter with the Bangladesh government to take appropriate steps by the neighbouring country," an official said.

Seeking the Union government's intervention, the opposition Congress on Saturday organised a demonstration along the India-Bangladesh border areas in northern Tripura's Unakoti district to protest against the construction of the embankment by the neighbouring country along the boundary. According to senior Congress leader and former Minister Birajit Sinha, who has been spearheading a stir against the controversial embankment, the Bangladesh government now unilaterally constructing an embankment on its land may endanger the district town of Kailashahar and border villages during monsoon floods.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : India on Monday dispatched a consignment of bronchodilators, inhalers and ventilators to assist the people in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The humanitarian assistance to the semi-autonomous region once again spotlights India's people-centric foreign policy and New Delhi's commitment to the making of a 'Vishwabandhu Bharat', or a global friend.

Over the last one decade, India has responded to the urgent needs of Iraq for relief and economic reconstruction directly and as part of international efforts under the UN auspices.

At the same time, India also opened its Consulate in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan region, in August 2016 to further strengthen economic and commercial relations with Iraq.

Several Indian companies have participated in trade fairs and economic and commercial exhibitions held in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq over the past few years.

The number of Indian workers has also steadily increased in the Kurdistan region comprising Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk governorates, with better salaries and working conditions in steel mills, oil companies and construction projects.

Nechirvan Barzani, President of Kurdistan region, has in recent years voiced his willingness to develop relations with India while also highlighting the capacities of the Indian labour force in the region which he says remains a "committed and professional working community".

In February 2022, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had met the President of the regional government on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference and assured Nechirvan Barzani of India's plans to advance capacity building in the Kurdistan Region with training programmes in health, banking systems and academic support.

"Topics of discussion also included the religious and ethnic diversity and the richness of the culture of peaceful coexistence and tolerance in India, the medical trips from the Kurdistan region to India and other topics of mutual interest," read a statement issued by the President's office after the meeting.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Sridhar Vembu, Founder and CEO of software major Zoho Corporation, on Monday stepped down as the CEO to serve as the company's chief scientist.

In a post on X social media platform, Vembu who was touted as 39th richest person in India with a net worth of $5.85 billion last year and was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2021, said he will now oversee deep research and development initiatives.

Zoho offers software and related services on subscription to businesses in several countries.

"In view of the various challenges and opportunities facing us, including recent major developments in AI, it has been decided that it is best that I should focus full time on R&D initiatives, along with pursuing my personal rural development mission," he wrote.

Vembu further stated that the company's Co-founder Shailesh Kumar Davey will serve as new group CEO.

"Our co-founder Tony Thomas will lead Zoho US. Rajesh Ganesan will lead our ManageEngine division and Mani Vembu will lead the Zoho.com division," said Vembu.

He began his professional career with Qualcomm as a wireless engineer in San Diego, California, before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 1996, Vembu founded a software development house for network equipment providers called AdventNet, which was renamed Zoho Corporation in 2009, focusing on providing SaaS support to customer relationship management services.

Vembu moved to Tenkasi in Tamil Nadu in 2019.

In his X post, he said that the "future of our company entirely depends on how well we navigate the R&D challenge and I am looking forward to my new assignment with energy and vigour".

There were reports last year that Zoho was planning a foray into chip-making and seeking incentives from the government.
Vientiane, Jan 27 : The Embassy of India in Laos announced on Monday that it has successfully rescued 67 Indian youth who had been duped and trafficked into cyber-scam centres operating in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Bokeo Province of the Southeast Asian country.

These youths were forced to work there under intimidation and abuse by criminal syndicates operating in GTSEZ.

"Immediately upon receiving their requests for help, Embassy officials responded to all of them promptly and extended all necessary assistance. A team of Embassy officials travelled to GTSEZ at once and worked closely with concerned Lao authorities to achieve required procedures and paperwork to enable them to leave GTSEZ and travel to the Embassy in Vientiane. Their transport from Bokeo to Vientiane was also facilitated. Arrangements for their accommodation and food have been made by the Embassy, as needed," stated the Embassy of India in Laos.

Prashant Agrawal, Ambassador of India to Laos, met with the rescued Indians, discussing the challenges faced by them while assuring full safety and Embassy's full support "as a matter of highest priority" for their safe return to India.

He also advised them about further course of action, including the need for them to lodge complaints against the agents who had duped them.

The Embassy officials in Vientiane are currently working closely with concerned Laos authorities for completion of rescued Indian's exit formalities, following which all of them would be able to travel back home shortly.

"We thank Lao authorities for their cooperation. We have also requested action at their end against unscrupulous elements and the matter has been raised at the highest levels," read a statement issued by the Indian Embassy on Monday.

The Indian Embassy in the country has so far rescued 924 Indians, of which 857 have already been safely returned to India.

"Indian youth who may have been promised a job in Thailand, but upon arrival there, are asked to travel by road to Chiang Rai close to Thai-Lao border, are cautioned that this is a sure indication that they are being trafficked to GTSEZ in Lao PDR. Once they arrive in GTSEZ, their passports may be taken away by criminal syndicates and they are made to sign a so-called 'work contract' in a foreign language which endangers them to exploitation," alerted the Indian Embassy officials.

They advised job-seeking individuals to go through the detailed advisory at the Embassy's website in order to avoid getting duped, or contact the Embassy in case of any doubt.
Bengaluru, Jan 27 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued notices to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife B.M. Parvathi and Minister Byrathi Suresh in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam due to political conspiracy, said Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

Bengaluru, Jan 27 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued notices to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiahas wife B.M. Parvathi and Minister Byrathi Suresh in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam due to political conspiracy, said Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

Speaking to the media near his residence in Sadashivanagar in Bengaluru on Monday, Shivakumar responded to questions regarding the matter.

When asked about the ED notice issued to the CM's wife and Minister Byrathi Suresh, he said, "The same happened in my case as well. It is not possible for two agencies to investigate the same case simultaneously. The Lokayukta is already conducting an investigation. Courts have repeatedly ruled that when the Lokayukta is investigating, other agencies cannot intervene. I will comment further after gathering complete information on the matter."

Regarding demands for a CBI investigation into the MUDA case, he added, "In my case too, both the CBI and ED were investigating simultaneously. Two agencies can not investigate the same case together. I have already referred to court rulings on this issue in my case."

When asked about statements by ministers regarding the CM's position, Shivakumar said, "No one has made such statements. The government is stable, and all of us are working under the leadership of the CM Siddaramaiah."

The Enforcement Directorate has issued a notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiahas wife B.M. Parvathi, the second accused in the MUDA scam. The notice has also been issued to the Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, a close confidante of CM Siddaramaiah.

Siddaramaiahas wife Parvathi has been directed to appear before the ED officials on January 28 (Tuesday).

Meanwhile, the CMas wife, Parvathi, and Minister Suresh have approached the Karnataka High Court questioning the summons issued to them by the ED on separate petitions. The counsel for Parvathi requested the High Court bench to take up the petition on an emergency basis. Considering the request, the court has agreed to take up the petition by Monday.

The High Court has also taken up the hearing of a petition seeking the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the MUDA scam.

CM Siddaramaiah is accused number one in the MUDA case and the investigation is also being conducted against others who got the illegal allotments done through the MUDA.

ED initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Lokayuktha Police Mysuru under various sections of IPC, 1860 and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Siddaramaiah and others.

It is alleged that Siddaramaiah used his political influence to get compensation for 14 sites in the name of his wife B.M. Parvathi in lieu of three acres and 16 guntas of land acquired by the MUDA.

The land was originally acquired by MUDA for Rs 3.24 lakh. The compensation in the form of 14 sites at the posh Vijayanagar locality in Mysuru is worth approximately Rs 56 crore.

The ED said it has also been revealed that money was routed through a cooperative society for the purchase of property, luxury vehicles, etc., in the name of relatives of G.T. Dinesh Kumar, who was the previous commissioner of MUDA.

Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had outrightly rejected the allegations of illegal allotment. His wife Parvathi had returned the allotted 14 sites to the MUDA.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has recovered from his sickness and is all set to boost the Congress campaign in Delhi by addressing two election rallies on Tuesday, said a party leader.

Gandhi, who had to cancel his campaign rallies last week due to poor health, will address rallies in Patparganj and Okhla constituencies between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, announced former Union minister Pradeep Jain Aditya.

The Congress star campaigner had addressed a rally in Seelampur on January 14 but was soon forced out of action due to poor health, resulting in the cancellation of a few of his rallies.

On Monday, Gandhi was in Madhya Pradesh's Mhow, the birthplace of Ambedkar, where he launched the party's nationwide programme 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan'.

Earlier, reaching out to the Jain community in poll-bound city, the Delhi Congress announced the creation of a Jain Welfare Board on the lines of a similar panel in Rajasthan.

The party will also hold simultaneous candle marches in all 70 Assembly constituencies to protest the desecration of Dr B.R. Ambedkar's statue in Punjab, said Jain.

Addressing a press conference, Jain said AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal is silent on the vandalism of Ambedkar's statue in Amritsar and "we want to expose his double standards".

He also hit out at Kejriwal for ignoring the Jain community and not giving a representation in the Delhi Minorities' Commission  which is shut since August 2023.

Highlighting that religious minority status was given to the Jain community on January 27, 2014, during the Congress government at the Centre, Jain also hit out at the BJP for not giving recognition to the Jain community.

"Members of the Jain community are being harassed in Delhi to procure a minority certificate," he said.

Seeking votes for the Congress in the February 5 election, Jain said when the Congress comes to power in Delhi one member of the Jain community will be posted in the city's minorities' panel.

The Congress has failed to win even a single seat in the last two Assembly elections for a 70-member House.

Voting in Delhi is scheduled to take place on February 5 and the results will be declared on February 8.
Bengaluru, Jan 27 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited renowned actor Shivarajkumar, the son of Kannada film legend Dr Rajkumar, in Nagawara in Bengaluru on Monday to inquire about his health.

The actor underwent surgery at a hospital in Miami, US, where his cancerous bladder was removed. According to the surgeon, Dr Murugesh Manoharan, an artificial bladder was created using Shivarajkumar's intestine.

Speaking to the media after the visit, CM Siddaramaiah said, "I visited Shivarajkumar today to check on his health following his surgery. The day after his surgery, I had called him to inquire, and he informed me that the surgery was successful and that there were no complications."

Siddaramaiah also mentioned that Shivarajkumar has expressed plans to resume shooting from next month.

In November, Shivarajkumar had spoken publicly about his illness, acknowledging that he was human like everyone else. While he didn't disclose it was cancer at the time, he said, "At the end of the day, I am a human being. I have a health issue and am currently undergoing treatment for it. I have completed a couple of treatment sessions, and a few more are pending. After that, I will undergo surgery, either in India or the US."

Shivarajkumar was discharged from the hospital in Miami, US, following complete recovery from cancer on January 3.

Nivedita, Shivarajkumar's daughter, had shared a picture showing the actor and family in a relaxed mode. Shivarajkumar stayed back in the US for follow-ups and resting.

Shivarajkumar is expected to begin shooting the Telugu superstar Ramcharan-starrer pan India movie soon.

Earlier, Shivarajkumar shared a video from the US on the first day of 2025, detailing his journey of overcoming cancer and assuring fans of his return.

In the video, he conveyed his New Year wishes to everyone and said, "I am hesitant to speak as I might get emotional at this moment. Leaving Karnataka was a very emotional experience for me. Under these circumstances, fear is inevitable, but the support of my fans has significantly reduced it."

He continued, "The way the doctors took care of me, gave me immense courage. While shooting for the movie '45', I underwent chemotherapy and even filmed the climax fight scene. As the date to leave for the US for treatment approached, I became anxious. However, my wife Geetha and daughter Nivedita stood by me throughout."

"Dr Manohar, who treated me, cared for me like a child. My urinary bladder has been replaced, but there is no need for anyone to panic. I am doing well and will be back with double the energy. I thank all my fans for their unwavering support," Shivarajkumar assured.

Geetha Shivarajkumar, his wife, who had appeared in the video alongside him, stated that all the medical reports had come back negative, and it was officially declared that Shivarajkumar is cancer-free. "He recovered because of the blessings of his fans, and I will never forget this," she said.
Bengaluru, Jan 27 : Karnataka Leader of the Opposition (LoP) R. Ashoka said on Monday that the people are forced to turn to microfinance companies as the state government has failed to provide loans and cut grants.

"The Congress government's actions have forced people to rely on microfinance loans, leading to suicides. People are forced to turn to microfinance companies as the Karnataka government is failing to provide loans and has cut grants to various departments," he said.

Speaking at a press conference in Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Monday, Ashoka said, "If the government had provided loans, people wouldnat have been pushed to the extent of taking their own lives."

Ashoka said that overall, the previous BJP government allocated Rs 15,383 crore to agriculture, horticulture, rural development, and cooperative sectors, while Congress allocated Rs 14,768 crore, creating a deficit of Rs 614 crore.

Ashoka alleged that the Congress government's failure has enabled microfinance companies to exploit the poor.

"In microfinance schemes, a group of 10 people is formed, and each person is given Rs 50,000 as a loan. Members act as guarantors for each other, and high-interest payments are demanded monthly. For a Rs 50,000 loan, Rs 67,000 has to be repaid. If payments are delayed for two months, goons visit homes and create trouble," Ashoka said.

He added that in several villages, people have fled their homes due to pressure from microfinance companies. "The Congress governmentas failure to offer loans through corporations has forced people to turn to microfinance institutions," he reiterated.

He further charged the government, citing a comparison of funding allocations: For the Ganga Kalyana Scheme under B.R. Ambedkar Development Corporation, the BJP allocated Rs 60 crore in 2022-23, while Congress allocated Rs 40 crore in 2024-25.

For the corporation's self-employment scheme, the BJP allocated Rs 100 crore, whereas Congress allocated Rs 45 crore. For the Tanda Development Corporation's self-employment scheme, the BJP allocated Rs 110 crore, while the Congress allocated Rs 60 crore, Ashoka said.

Similarly, the Karnataka Adi Jambhava Development Corporation received Rs 100 crore under the BJP but only Rs 50 crore under Congress.

Ashoka also alleged corruption in the Valmiki Development Corporation, where funds have been frozen. Of the Rs 1,700 crore required by various corporations, only Rs 643 crore has been allocated, leaving a shortfall of Rs 1,055 crore. This shortfall, he claimed, has forced people to seek loans from microfinance institutions.

Ashoka also criticised the Congress government for reducing allocations across key sectors, claiming that the BJP allocated Rs 7,288 crore to the agriculture department in 2022-23, while Congress provided only Rs 5,035 crore, leaving a shortfall of Rs 2,253 crore.

He said that the BJP allocated Rs 1,374 crore to horticulture, compared to Rs 1,207 crore by the Congress.

Ashoka also criticised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, saying, "Like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, Siddaramaiah is now planning to introduce new laws. Notices are being issued, and people are being evicted from their homes without any warning. Even the police are complicit, offering no protection to the victims."

He alleged that Siddaramaiah's promise to waive loans has caused losses to DCC banks, as borrowers are now waiting for waivers instead of repaying loans.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi had warned that Congress would take away peopleas livelihoods, and it is now becoming true. If Congress's 'Griha Laxmi' scheme truly benefits women, why are they still turning to microfinance?" Ashoka questioned.

Ashoka further questioned why the Congress government is asking the central government for funds for Bengaluru and irrigation projects. "If Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to do everything, why is Congress even in power here?" he asked.

He stated he supports the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code, saying it would promote equality. "In other countries, all citizens are treated equally. Similarly, in India, the same laws that apply to Hindus should apply to people of all religions," he said.
Hyderabad, Jan 27 : BJP MP Eatala Rajender on Monday approached the Telangana High Court to quash the First Information Report (FIR) registered against him for slapping a real estate broker.

The Lok Sabha member from Malkajgiri filed a petition in the High Court, seeking orders to quash the FIR booked last week at Pocharam IT Corridor police station under Rachakonda Police Commissionerate.

Rajender, also a former state Minister, had slapped a real estate broker in Pocharam village of Medchal Malkajgiri district on the outskirts of Hyderabad on January 21, accusing him of encroaching land belonging to the poor.

On a complaint filed by Gyara Upender, an FIR was registered under sections 126(2), 115(2), 352, 351(2), read with section 189(2), and read with section 191(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act.

According to the complaint, Etala Rajender, along with 30 others, allegedly attacked Upender, who was on security duty in Ekashila Nagar.

Alleging that the real estate agent is exploiting the poor by encroaching on their lands, the former Minister physically confronted him after a heated argument.

Upon learning that brokers were allegedly harassing locals by encroaching on their land, the MP along with several party leaders, reached Pocharam village and confronted the broker.

He slapped the broker and warned him of legal consequences.

Emboldened by Rajender's action, his supporters and others accompanying him also thrashed the agent.

"I lost my cool because the officials are not coming to the rescue of the common people. Police have lost respect for the government due to its partisan behaviour. We were forced to teach a lesson to land grabbers. My party and I will stand by the people. We will not hesitate to take law into our hands to protect their lands if the police and revenue officials do not act," the BJP MP had told media.

He alleged that some officials have also colluded with real estate brokers to encroach on the lands of the poor.

The BJP leader said he spoke to the District Collector and Police Commissioner about the land issue.

He said that poor people in Narapalli and Korremula villages bought lands and built homes in 1985.

He added that 149 acres of unused land were resold multiple times, causing untold suffering to rightful owners.

Etala Rajender claimed that false documents were created with the collusion of officials to encroach on the lands of the poor.

He demanded action against officials who helped brokers.

He was earlier with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

He joined the BJP after he was dropped from the Cabinet in 2021 by then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao following allegations that he grabbed the lands of some farmers.

The former Minister was re-elected to the Assembly from the Huzurabad constituency in 2021 by-election as a BJP candidate.

He could not retain the seat in the 2023 Assembly elections but was elected to Lok Sabha from Malkajgiri last year.
Chandigarh, Jan 27 : Punjab Police's Counter Intelligence Amritsar has foiled a possible target killing with the arrest of six members of the Kaushal Chaudhary gang, including two key shooters -- Puneet Lakhanpal and Narinder Kumar, alias Lalli, who were involved in the murders of kabaddi player Sandeep Singh Nangal Ambian and Sukhmeet Singh, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Monday.

Chandigarh, Jan 27 (IANS) Punjab Policeas Counter Intelligence Amritsar has foiled a possible target killing with the arrest of six members of the Kaushal Chaudhary gang, including two key shooters -- Puneet Lakhanpal and Narinder Kumar, alias Lalli, who were involved in the murders of kabaddi player Sandeep Singh Nangal Ambian and Sukhmeet Singh, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Monday.

The other four arrested members have been identified as Harpreet Singh, Gurbhinder Singh, Sandeep Singh and Maninderjit Singh.

The police have also recovered six .30 bore foreign-made pistols along with 40 rounds from their possession.

DGP Yadav said the same gang was also involved in firing indiscriminately at the Highway King Hotel in Rajasthan and demanding extortion of Rs 5 crore in September 2024.

All the arrested accused have a criminal history and they have been evading arrests for the last three years, he added.

He said the preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested people are professional shooters of the organised criminal network of the Kaushal Chaudhary gang.

He added that the gang is active in Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, etc., and they execute criminal activities on the directions of their foreign-based handlers.

Sharing operation details, the DGP said on Sunday a team from Counter Intelligence Amritsar received input about members of the Kaushal Chaudhary gang, including Amarjit Singh, Jagjit Singh, Balwinder Singh, Prabhdeep Singh and others were orchestrating a targeted killing in the state by sitting abroad with the assistance of local operatives.

The information further elaborated that local members of the gang were reportedly roaming near Haveli restaurant in Jandiala in Amritsar and were equipped with weapons, he said, adding acting swiftly police teams laid a special checkpoint and arrested six members of the gang and recovered six pistols and ammunition from their possession.

He said further investigations are ongoing to uncover deeper links within their criminal network, which spans multiple states and involves illegal activities, including extortion, arms smuggling, and organised violence.

--IANS

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Guwahati, Jan 27 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday alleged that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru did not want the Constitution is drafted under the leadership of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the inclusion of Ambedkar's name in the drafting committee of the Constitution was very challenging.

The CM said, "Ambedkar's inclusion in the Constitution drafting forum was full of challenges because Jawaharlal Nehru did not want Ambedkar's name there. Nehru desired that the Constitution would be drafted by someone from any foreign country."

"Ambedkar could not find a place in the initial list of 292 members for the drafting of the Constitution of India. It was only after a Dalit leader from East Bengal proposed Ambedkar's name in his place, that B.R. Ambedkar was included in the Constitution drafting committee," Sarma said adding that Nehru wanted to keep Ambedkar out of the Constitution drafting committee by calling him a "troublemaker".

The Chief Minister said, "Nehru proposed the name of international expert Sir Ivor Jennings as the chairman of the Constitution drafting committee. However, Mahatma Gandhi took exactly the opposite stand of Nehru and reposed faith in the intellect and ability of B.R Ambedkar. Today, our country stands tall on the Constitution prepared by Ambedkar which is testimony of Mahatma Gandhi's faith."

Notably, Sarma has been in Dibrugarh and as a part of his target to decentralise power, the CM has vowed to make this town of upper Assam the second capital of the state. A new Assembly complex will be established in Dibrugarh in the next two years.

He said, "We are developing infra to turn three towns into cities - Dibrugarh, Tezpur and Silchar. Dibrugarh will have an Assembly Complex by 2027 and will be Assam's 2nd Capital." Tezpur town is set to get a new Raj Bhawan in the state while Silchar will house a mini secretariat.

"Tezpur will emerge as the Cultural capital and will house a Raj Bhawan and Silchar will house a Mini Secretariat and Chief Secretary's Office," he said.
Jaipur, Jan 27 : Shiv Kishan Bissa, popularly known as Sheen Kaaf Nizam, a celebrated Urdu poet and literary scholar from Jodhpur, has been awarded the Padma Shri for his exceptional contributions to Urdu literature.

His renowned poetry collections include aLamhon Ki Saleeba, aDasht Mein Dariyaa, aNaada, aSaya Koi Lamba Na Thaa, and aBayazein Kho Gayi Haia, among others.

In 2010, his book aGumshuda Dair Ki Gunjti Ghantiyana earned him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award, solidifying his legacy in the literary world.

The Union government has honoured him with the Padma Shri in recognition of his literary achievements. Bissa, who hails from Jodhpur and is a retired government officer has a profound mastery of Urdu and Persian, making him a respected authority in the field.

His pen name aSheen Kaaf Nizama reflects his deep connection to Urdu. Initially writing under aS.K. Bissaa, he adapted his pen name in Urdu, where "S" is referred to as "Sheen" and "K" as "Kaaf," with "Nizam" as his poetic identity.

Despite his Pushkarna Brahmin heritage, his work and persona have seamlessly blended into the Urdu literary tradition, challenging stereotypes about language and identity.

Sheen Kaaf Nizam's poetry has graced Mushairas not only in India but across the globe. His magnetic presence at literary gatherings contrasts with his unassuming demeanour when seen conversing in Marwari on the streets of his Jodhpur neighbourhood.

In addition to his own literary contributions, Nizam has conducted extensive research on great Persian and Urdu poets like Mir Taqi Mir and Mirza Ghalib.

His legacy continues through his son, Brijesh Ambar, who is also a poet. The announcement of the Padma Shri for Sheen Kaaf Nizam has been warmly welcomed by the residents of Jodhpur.

Reflecting on his journey, Nizam remarked, "Language does not belong to any religion. I studied Sanskrit but pursued Urdu and Persian. Unfortunately, Urdu is often seen as tied to a particular religion, but this perception is our own doing, as well as that of governments. Language transcends religion."
Ulan Bator, Jan 27 : Temperatures plunged to minus 44.4 degrees celsius in Otgon soum, an administrative subdivision of Zavkhan province in western Mongolia, during the overnight hours from Saturday to Sunday, the country's National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring said Monday.

This is the coldest temperature recorded in Mongolia so far this winter, the weather monitoring agency in a statement.

The agency has forecasted that most parts of Mongolia will experience colder temperatures than the long-term average throughout the winter.

With its strongly continental climate, the Asian country endures long and bitterly cold winters when temperatures of minus 25 degrees Celsius are typical.

Over the weekend, the weather authorities of the country had warned people to brace for extremely cold weather in the coming days, Xinhua news agency reported.

It said that, starting Saturday, cold air from Russia's Siberia will sweep across large parts of Mongolia, bringing overnight temperatures that could exceed minus 40 degrees Celsius.

"Last year, the lowest temperature recorded in our country was minus 48.8 degrees Celsius on January 23 in the western province of Zavkhan," the agency said, predicting that similar conditions will affect the western regions during this weekend.

Meanwhile, other parts of the country, particularly the national capital Ulan Bator, are expected to experience temperatures 10-15 degrees colder than recent days, with heavy snow anticipated throughout the weekend.

The cold wave is expected to cause significant disruptions, and the public, especially nomadic herders, are urged to take precautionary measures to protect themselves and their livestock from the extreme conditions, Xinhua news agency reported.

Several soums (administrative subdivisions) across Mongolian provinces are grappling with extreme winter conditions.

Earlier this month, the agency had warned that at least 40 per cent of the country's territory was at high risk of experiencing the extreme wintry weather 'dzud' this winter.

The dzud is a Mongolian term to describe a severely cold winter when many livestock die because the ground is frozen or covered in snow.

Most areas in the five western provinces, Bayan-Ulgii, Uvs, Khovd, Zavkhan, and Gobi-Altai, were at high or very high risk, the agency had warned.

Additionally, some parts of the northern provinces, Khuvsgul, Selenge, and Bulgan, the central provinces of Arkhangai and Uvurkhangai, and smaller areas of the southern provinces of Bayankhongor and Dundgovi are also at high risk.

Mongolia, one of the world's last remaining nomadic nations, is known for its extreme winters, largely shaped by the Siberian high-pressure system.

Last winter, the Asian country experienced its heaviest snowfall in five decades, leading to a severe dzud that resulted in the loss of millions of livestock.

The combination of frigid temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns often leads to devastating consequences for both human and animal populations.

In a tragic example of such risks, over 10 people, mainly nomadic herders, lost their lives in November 2023 due to heavy snow and blizzards in the central province of Tuv and the eastern province of Sukhbaatar.

Last winter, nearly all 21 provinces of the country endured extreme wintry conditions, accompanied by record snowfall, the largest since 1975. Around 90 per cent of the country's territory was covered in snow up to 100 centimetres thick, leading to the death of approximately eight million livestock.
Jabalpur, Jan 27 : A long-standing rivalry between two families in Madhya Pradesh's Timri village under the Patan police station area of Jabalpur erupted into a deadly confrontation, leaving four dead and two seriously injured, the police said here on Monday.

The bloody altercation reportedly arose from a dispute between the Pathak and Sahu families over gambling activities. The conflict escalated into violence when members of both groups confronted each other armed with weapons.

According to eyewitnesses, the Pathak family, including Satish and Manish Pathak, arrived at a gathering intended to resolve the month-long dispute regarding gambling in the village. Unknown to them, members of the Sahu family were waiting, allegedly armed with sharp weapons.

Before the Pathak family could assess the situation, the Sahu family launched a sudden attack, resulting in chaos and bloodshed. Four members of the Pathak family -- Satish Pathak, Manish Pathak, and two others  died on the spot. Two others -- Vipin Dubey and Mukesh Dubey, were critically injured and rushed to a hospital by the police.

The conflict reportedly began when the Pathak family objected to gambling activities organised by the Sahu family near their home. Efforts to mediate the dispute, including a recent village meeting, failed to prevent gambling activities in the area.

The incident has caused panic and outrage among the people. Following the attack, the accused members of the Sahu family fled the scene. Villagers, angered by the incident, staged a protest, blocking the roads and accusing the police of negligence in preventing the tragedy despite prior warnings about rising tensions.

The Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Jabalpur, Suryakant Sharma, assured the villagers of swift action. "A case of murder has been registered, and several suspects have already been detained. We are reviewing CCTV footage to identify all involved in the crime. The culprits will be apprehended soon," he said.

The police have sent the bodies for post-mortem and initiated a thorough investigation into the incident. Additional personnel have been deployed in the area to maintain order and prevent further escalation of tension.
Mumbai, Jan 27 : Amid strong objections raised by ruling and opposition members, historians and various organisations, the controversial dance sequence from the film 'Chhaava', which portrays the legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, will now be removed.

The controversial scene evoked angry reactions from various quarters, especially from the Chhatrapati Shivaji's descendent Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati who claimed that Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and Queen Yesubai doing Lezim dance is highly objectionable and it should be dropped.

Another descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji and BJP MP Udayanraje Bhosale also made the same demand.

Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj is played by Vicky Kaushal and it also stars Rashmika Mandanna and Akshaye Khanna.

The film director Laxman Utekar on Monday met the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and thereafter announced that the Lezim dance scene will be removed from the film.

On his meeting with the MNS chief, he said, "We wanted his advice and wanted to know from him as he is well-read, he knows history well. He has read a lot about Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. So I learned from him what exactly needs to be changed in the film. During the discussion, he gave me some suggestions. They are very important and good suggestions. He guided me very well."

"We are going to delete the scenes of Lezim dancing from the film. Raj Thackeray also gave me the same advice. We did not intend to hurt anyone's feelings. But if it indirectly hurts anyone's feelings or if anyone feels that our warrior king should not have danced like that, then we will remove that scene. Because it is not a big part of the film we will delete that scene," said Utekar.

Minister of Marathi language Uday Samant also confirmed the 'Chhaava' film directors and producers have decided to remove the Lezim dance scene from the film.

"If the producer and director have taken a decision to delete the scene then there should not be any objections to the release of the film," he said.

Earlier, the minister had stated that the film be shown to "historians and scholars" and if they raise objections then "we will not let it be released."

Samant in his post on X hailed the efforts to bring Sambhaji Maharaj's story to the big screen but insisted that utmost care should be taken to ensure historical accuracy and respect for the Maratha king.

The minister asked the producers and directors of 'Chhaava' to act responsibly, warning that the film's release could be "blocked" if any offensive content remains.

"It is a matter of joy that a Hindi film based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the protector of religion and protector of freedom, is being made. Such efforts are necessary to make the world understand the history of Chhatrapati. However, many have expressed their opinions that there are some objectionable scenes in this film. Our position is that this film should not be released without first showing it to experts and knowledgeable people. Anything that will harm the honour of the Maharaj will not be tolerated," said Samant.

He further added, "Our position is that the producers and directors of the film should take immediate action in this regard and remove anything objectionable. A further decision will be taken after watching the film; otherwise, this film will not be allowed to be released."

Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said that if there is any film related to history, whether it is on Shivaji Maharaj or Sambhaji Maharaj, this should be handled with sensitivity.

"They are ideals and revered by people. Minister Uday Samant has said that advice should be taken from historians on the issue before making any movie on it. If the story hurts the sentiments of the people, corrective measures should be taken beforehand. Censor Board will play its role in releasing the movie," she remarked.
Chandigarh, Jan 27 : Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday said people wanted the Universal Civil Code (UCC) to be implemented across the country and a decision on its rollout in the state will be taken at the right time.

Responding to a media query on the UCC implementation in the neighbouring and BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, becoming the first state to implement it, BJP leader and second-time Chief Minister said, "The whole country is serious about UCC. People want it to be implemented across the country," adding, "The decision will be taken on the UCC at the right time."

Listing out achievements of his government in the first 100 days of the party's third consecutive helm, Saini told the media here, he said, "We are supplying water to Delhi from Sonipat. You can get it checked; anyone can come and verify the quality of water we are providing."

He was responding to a question on AAP leader and former Chief Minister's claims that the BJP government in Haryana has been sending toxic water through the Yamuna to Delhi.

On the occasion, Saini digitally inaugurated 324 creche centres to mark the completion of 100 days of the third term of the government.

He said that the government has issued appointment letters to 25,000 youths as soon as he took office. These recruitments were done before the Assembly elections, but due to the Model Code of Conduct, the Election Commission had put a stop to it.

The Chief Minister said his government "is working with the speed of three times." "We made 240 promises to the people in our Sankalp Patra (assembly election manifesto), out of which 18 resolutions have been fulfilled and the work is going on rapidly to implement six other promises," he said.

"Fifty more resolutions have been sent for administrative approval," Saini was categorically clear in saying.

Taking a jibe at the neighbouring Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, he said the government has almost two years left of its tenure, but it has not even bothered to implement its election manifesto.

The Chief Minister said that we have started organizing the samadhan shivirs to redress the grievances of the people.

"We have resolved 45,000 public complaints in 100 days on the Samadhan portal," he said.

On procurement of crops on the minimum support price (MSP), the Chief Minister said Haryana is the first state in the country which is buying 24 crops at MSP.

"Not only this, the money of the farmers is sent to their account within 48 hours of selling the crop," he added.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, Jan 27 : Karnataka BJP state chief B.Y. Vijayendra said on Monday that the notice by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to the wife of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister Byrathi Suresh to appear before the ED officers in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam is a significant setback and the development has come as a shocker for Chief Minister.

Speaking to the media on Monday at the BJP state headquarters "Jagannath Bhavan" in Bengaluru, Vijayendra stated that Siddaramaiah was under an illusion that he could come out of the MUDA scam after retuning 14 sites allotted illegally to his wife.

He also remarked on D.K. Shivakumar's statements, saying, "I observed Shivakumar's comments about the ED being politically motivated. But there was a hint of satisfaction on his face. He even seemed pleased that the ED had issued notices to Siddaramaiah's family."

"Shivakumar's happiness over the ED notice to Siddaramaiah's family was evident on his face," Vijayendra taunted.

Vijayendra stated that the ED operates under its own set of rules and regulations and will proceed accordingly.

He claimed, "More than being politically motivated, this notice points to the large-scale illegal allocation of thousands of crores worth of sites during Congress's tenure, which were meant for the poor. This massive scam will have far-reaching consequences in the coming days."

According to Vijayendra, Siddaramaiah was in a hurry to get a "B Report" from the Lokayukta and escape from the MUDA scam.

"At the same time, the ED has issued a notice to the CM's wife, summoning her for questioning. Similarly, Minister Byrathi Suresh has also received an ED notice. It is inevitable that both Byrathi Suresh and the CM's wife will have to face the investigating agencies," he said.

Siddaramaiah, who was trying to close the case swiftly by getting a "B Report" filed by the Karnataka Lokayukta, has suffered a major blow, he said.

"The Lokayukta investigation into the case has already been highlighted by the media. Even without receiving notice, Siddaramaiah's brother-in-law, the third accused, was visiting the Mysuru Lokayukta office during nights," he alleged.

He further criticised that special privileges were extended to the Siddaramaiah's family by the Lokayukta which were evident during the investigation of the MUDA case.

Vijayendra recalled that BJP and JD-S had jointly conducted a protest march regarding the MUDA scam in Mysuru.

"As a result of our efforts, Siddaramaiah's wife wrote a letter overnight to MUDA, offering to return the 14 sites. The Siddaramaiah seemed to believe that this would free him from the controversy. However, today's ED notice has undoubtedly come as a shock," he added.

Vijayendra noted that the details of the Lokayukta report and the information submitted to the state High Court regarding the case are still emerging.

The Leader of the Opposition in Assembly R. Ashoka commenting on the development stated in Bengaluru, "It's natural for the ED to issue notice to Siddaramaiah's wife. The ED and the CBI are individual bodies and there is no discrimination. When notices were issued to former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and BJP MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy it was all okay. Now it's become wrong. This is the double standard of Congress."

Commenting on the Lokayukta probe he said, the Lokayukta is a body which comes under the Siddaramaiah's. The state government monitors the officers' transfers and postings. Why will they take a risk against the ruling Congress-led government? Since the beginning we had demanded the CBI probe into the MUDA case, he stated.

BJP MLC C.T. Ravi stated that all party leaders have agreed on the facts surrounding the MUDA scam, specifically that sites were illegally allotted to influential individuals.

He added that the Congress party has also acknowledged this point. The investigation needs to determine who was involved, during whose tenure this occurred, and who the beneficiaries were.

"My question is, if B.M. Parvathi were not the Chief Minister's wife, would she have been allotted alternative sites in the Vijayanagar locality, which was developed 30 years ago in Mysuru? When we consider both prospective and retrospective facts, there was no law allowing sites to be allotted on a 50:50 sharing formula for acquired land. Despite this, the sites were allotted. Prima facie, everything is quite evident," Ravi opined.

"The guilty must be punished. The ED officers have seized 142 properties in connection with this case. What was the Lokayukta, which is probing the matter, doing? The officer implicated in the MUDA scam was even promoted. Who is behind this? If the guilty are not punished, there will be no meaning to the law or the Constitution. If corrupt individuals are allowed to govern, corruption will only grow," Ravi stated.
Mahakumbh Nagar, Jan 27 : Hundreds of devotees are benefiting from the recently opened 'Jan Aushadhi Kendras' at the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj.

As lakhs of devotees and pilgrims arrive in the holy city on a daily basis, they have got access to essential medicines at highly affordable rates.

Hundreds of devotees are benefiting from these Jan Aushadhi centers on a routine basis.

At least 5 Jan Aushadhi Kendras have been opened in the Kumbh mela ground by the Central government. These centres remain open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A prominent center has been set up at Namami Gange Camp behind Kalagram while the other four are located at Sector-7 Ganga Ghat, Sector-23 Arail Ghat, Sector-14 Pipa Pul and Sector-4.

Several devotees spoke to IANS and shared details of the concessions made available to them in the holy city.

Dinesh Tiwari, who came from Bahraich, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the launch of Jan Aushadhi Centre at Kumbh mela ground.

"I had pain in my leg, I got medicines at the cheaper rate eere. Medicines are available for Rs 10. The Centre is doing very good work under PM Modi, providing housing, toilets, electricity and water facilities to the poor and marginalised," he said.

Sonu Chauhan, who came from Jhansi, also expressed gratitude to PM Modi and said: "Cheap medicines are available here. A lot of benefits are being derived from this centre."

Jugal Kishore Mishra said that it is very good to have Jan Aushadhi Kendras in such a big event.

"People are coming from very far away locations, there was no treatment facility. But, due to the existence of Jan Aushadhi Kendra, cheap medicines have been made available," he stated.

Purushottam Tripathi, director of Jan Aushadhi Kendra, said that the devotees are getting a lot of benefits from this center and the purpose is being duly served.

"Every day, two-three thousand devotees come here to buy medicines. Most of these devotees ask for medicine for body pain," he disclosed.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday hit out at critics of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), asking how we can criticise something which is the mandate of the Indian Constitution and highlighted the security threat posed by illegal migrants.

He said that Article 44 of the Constitution ordains that the state will endeavour to secure for the citizens a #UniformCivilCode throughout the territory of India.

"One state has done it. I'm sure it will be a matter of time that the entire country will have similar legislation," he added.

Addressing the inaugural event for the fifth batch of participants of the Rajya Sabha Internship Programme, he said, "We are in a joyous mood today. The beginning of the last quarter of the century of adoption of the Indian Constitution has taken place with 'Dev Bhoomi' Uttarakhand making Uniform Civil Code (UCC) a reality."

Condemning politics over UCC, Vice-President Dhankhar said, "Some people, out of ignorance, are criticising the Uniform Civil Code."

"Politics has taken such a deep root in our minds that it has turned into poison. For political gain, people don't hesitate to forsake nationalism, not even for a moment, without feeling concerned," he added.

"How can anyone oppose promulgation of Uniform Civil Code! you study it. Study the debates of the Constitutional Assembly, study how many times the Supreme Court of the country has so indicated," he said.

The Vice-President also underlined the security threat posed by illegal migrants and said, "Millions of illegal migrants are living in our land. Is it not a challenge to our sovereignty? Such people will never be wedded to our nationalism."

He said such people use our resources of health, education, and other facilities and engage in jobs meant for our people.

I expect everyone in the government to take a severe look at this, the Vice-President added.

"This problem and resolution of it cannot be delayed even by a day," he said.
Patna, Jan 27 : The political tension in Bihar has escalated following the Mokama firing incident involving supporters of former MLA Anant Singh and the Sonu-Monu gang.

While the opposition, led by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, has criticised the government for allegedly protecting criminals, NDA leaders, including Union Minister and JD-U leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, have come to the defence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Tejashwi Yadav questioned the government's role in the incident, accusing it of shielding criminals, and even hinted at Lalan Singh's alleged involvement.

Responding to these allegations, an agitated Lalan Singh dismissed the claims. "Who is linking my name to the Mokama firing incident? We do not answer these baseless statements by the opposition. Tejashwi Yadav should focus on his work," he remarked.

Lalan Singh further defended Nitish Kumar, rejecting claims by Tejashwi that the Chief Minister is "tired" after ruling Bihar for over two decades.

"Nitish Kumar is a workaholic. Even after 20 years of governance, he continues to visit districts. These opposition leaders are simply making up stories. Tejashwi can keep talking; the public has already rejected him," he said.

The opposition has also raised questions about Anant Singh's release from jail in the earlier case of the arms act.

In a counterattack, Lalan Singh questioned RJD's decision to give Anant Singh's wife, Neelam Devi, a ticket to contest the Mokama by-election, which she won on an RJD ticket.

Singh reminded Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD's past under Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi's leadership, accusing the party of hypocrisy in raising issues about Anant Singh now.

Earlier, Tejashwi alleged that the government is complicit in shielding criminals.

"Crime has become a habit in this government. Corruption has become a courtesy. The Chief Minister remains silent, and criminals are openly giving interviews to the media. Nitish Kumar has used his authority to release two criminals from jail and even visits their homes," Tejashwi claimed earlier.

On January 24, when Anant Singh surrendered before the Barh Sub-Divisional Court. He has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days and is currently lodged in Beur jail.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Uttarakhand has taken a historic step by becoming the first state in India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), igniting a fierce political divide.

While the BJP and Shiv Sena have lauded the state's decision, calling it a progressive move for national unity, opposition parties, including Congress, RJD and a JD(U) leader have raised strong objections, asserting that the move undermines the country's rich cultural diversity and threatens societal harmony.

Uttarakhand's Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami not only announced the implementation of the UCC but also launched an online portal for citizens to register marriages, divorce, inheritance claims, live-in relationships, and their dissolution, all under the newly introduced law. The state also released a set of rules to guide the implementation of the law, marking a significant step in the country's legal landscape.

BJP leaders were quick to praise Uttarakhand's move. Chhattisgarh's Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao described the state's action as courageous and noted that Uttarakhand's experience could serve as a model for the rest of the nation.

"Uttarakhand has long considered UCC, and now it's been implemented. This step should encourage further nationwide discussions," he said.

Haryana Transport Minister Anil Vij also congratulated Uttarakhand, stating, "This is a monumental administrative step. There should be one law for one country, and Uttarakhand has set the stage for the rest of the nation. It is time to move beyond outdated systems."

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam also lauded Uttarakhand for addressing the needs of tribal communities in its UCC framework. "The way the government has thought about tribal people is commendable. Their inclusion in these legal reforms is a positive step," Nirupam remarked.

However, the Opposition has been vocal in its criticism.

JD(U) leader Khalid Anwar argued that the UCC is incompatible with India's multi-cultural society.

"This move is an attack on diversity. India is a land of many traditions, and a uniform law could erode these rich cultures. Our party has always opposed the UCC, believing it could harm the fabric of our society," Anwar stated.

Congress leader TS Singh Deo expressed concerns over the exclusion of certain communities, particularly the tribal community, from the UCC.

"The law should reflect the sentiments and customs of all communities. If we are truly seeking a uniform civil code, it must include every section of society without exception. This cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach," he said.

RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui warned that implementing the UCC without broader consensus could weaken the Constitution and destabilise India's secular and democratic foundations.

"Our country is based on the principles of equality and unity. The Constitution guarantees equal rights for all citizens. The UCC risks undermining these principles, and such a move, even if implemented in one state, could have far-reaching consequences," Siddiqui said passionately.
Mhow, Jan 27 : Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Monday, hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideologue Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing them of attempting to make Dalits and Adivasis "slaves".

Addressing a 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' rally in Madhya Pradesh's Mhow, the Congress leader said that Dalits and Adivasis had no rights until the Constitution was made after the country became free from British rule.

"The Constitution made by Ambedkar gives right to Dalits and Adivasis along with others, but the BJP and RSS are conspiring to snatch their rights and make them slaves," Rahul Gandhi said.

He reiterated his attack on the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, alleging the right-wing organisation does not have any respect for Ambedkar's Constitution.

"A few days ago, RSS Chief said the Constitution did not give us the freedom. Ambedkar's efforts, his blood and sweat were directly insulted and attacked by him," Rahul Gandhi alleged.

Recently at a programme in Indore, RSS Chief Bhagwat had asserted that the date of Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya should be celebrated as "Pratishtha Dwadashi", as the "true independence of Bharat", which faced "parachakra (enemy attack) for several centuries.

During his address in Mhow, Rahul Gandhi appealed to Congress workers to protect the Constitution at any cost if they saw it "getting insulted by the BJP and the RSS members".

Meanwhile, the Congress leader questioned India's education system and growing unemployment.

"The Indian education system is a system of stamps, a system of certification," he said.

He said the people think that after such certifications and paying lakhs of rupees to the billionaires, their children will get employment.

"This is a blatant lie. Your children cannot get employment in this country, no matter what they do. How others would get jobs when students from IIT and IIM are not getting employed," Rahul Gandhi asked.

He also accused the BJP-RSS of attempting to change the Constitution framed by Ambedkar and said that is why they gave the slogan of "400 paar" in last year's Lok Sabha polls.
Guwahati, Jan 27 : Assam's Director General of Civil Defence and Commandant General of Home Guards Harmeet Singh will be the acting Director General of Police (DGP) of Assam Police as the incumbent state police chief will join as the Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Guwahati, Jan 27 (IANS) Assamas Director General of Civil Defence and Commandant General of Home Guards Harmeet Singh will be the acting Director General of Police (DGP) of Assam Police as the incumbent state police chief will join as the Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

An official order of Assamas Home Department said that upon release of Gyanendra Pratap Singh for Central deputation, Harmeet Singh would be the acting DGP, Assam, in addition to his existing duties temporarily till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders.

Harmeet Singh, who is also the Special DGP (HQ) and Special DGP (Border), is a 1992 batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. The order said that in pursuance of the letter of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the services of G P Singh, DGP, Assam are placed at the disposal of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for posting him as Director General on a deputation basis for a tenure upto the date of his superannuation on November 30, 2027 or until further orders.

The officer is hereby released from the date of handing over of charges, the order said.

Earlier this month, the 1991 batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre (G P Singh), was appointed as the CRPF chief. On January 31, 2023, he was appointed as the DGP, Assam.

Officials said that the Special DG of the CRPF, Vipul Kumar, would hand over his position as the DG CRPF to GP Singh, who has also earlier served with the Special Protection Group (SPG).

G P Singh earlier served as inspector general of police at the National Investigation Agency. He was repatriated to his parent cadre at the request of the Assam government.

G P Singh, also locally known as aGun Point Singha for his tough approach against insurgents, was posted in Jorhat district in the 1990s. He had earlier worked as DIG central-western range in Assam Police.

At the height of protests and agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Assam, he was appointed as the ADGP (Law and Order) of the state.

He was also the Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption in Assam during his tenure as Special DGP (Law and Order).

In 2021, he headed the Rhino Protection Task Force. The CRPF is Indiaas largest paramilitary force. The force, which is involved in counter-insurgency operations and left-wing extremism (LWE), also deployed in large numbers in ethnic violence-infested Manipur.
Bhubaneshwar, Jan 27 : The Berhampur Police has rescued four persons including a finance company agent of New Delhi who were kidnapped for Rs 2 crore ransom. They were rescued from an abandoned house in the Chikiti area of Ganjam district.

Police also came to know that the accused used to threaten to kill the victims through snakebite and three snakes have been rescued from the crime scene.

The police also managed to apprehend one of the accused kidnappers, Pruthibiraj Sahu of K Nuagaon area in Ganjam district, during the rescue of the victims.

Police have initiated a probe into the matter by registering a case on the basis of a complaint lodged by one of the victims, Amarjit Samanta Singhara (24) of Pahala area in Bhubaneshwar.

"It is learnt that the accused persons Pruthibiraj Sahu and others made a criminal conspiracy and called the complainant and his three other friends to Berhampur with the pretext of finance for one of their projects by one finance company namely Foreminix. Ind. Pvt. Ltd," said a senior Police official on Monday.

Subsequently, the complainant Singhara with finance agent, Rabindra Kumar of Delhi, and two others from Cuttack arrived at Berhampur on January 23.

"Soon after they arrived at Berhampur the accused persons took the the victims to a place at Golanthara by two vehicles and wrongfully confined them in a building there. The kidnappers also demanded Rs 2 crore as ransom and threatened that if not paid they would kill them," added the police official.

Police sources also informed that the accused persons assaulted the victims during the confinement. Police sources also revealed that the accused persons shifted the victims and kept them in Kerandimal Jungle in the Chikiti area. They further assaulted the complainant and financial agent saying they wouldn't be released until the payment of Rs 2 crore to the accused persons.

On January 26 morning, the complainant Singhara managed to escape from the clutches of the accused persons and rushed to Chikiti Tahasil Office where he narrated the whole matter before the staff.

On being informed, the K. Nuagaon police proceeded to Tahasil Office and rescued the complainant.

Later, Police along with the complainant went to the confinement place and rescued the finance agent and other victims.

"During the rescue, three snakes that were used to threaten the victims were also found. The forest department has been intimated and they are taking lawful action for possession of snakes. Based on the written report this case was registered and is under investigation," informed the police official.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Hours after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal unveiled the party's full manifesto, titled Kejriwal Ki Guarantee, BJP leaders swiftly attacked the party over unfulfilled promises from its previous terms.

New Delhi, Jan 27 (IANS) Hours after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal unveiled the partyas full manifesto, titled Kejriwal Ki Guarantee, BJP leaders swiftly attacked the party over unfulfilled promises from its previous terms.

Responding to BJP's criticism, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai affirmed that the AAP would indeed form government again in Delhi and outlined the partyas commitment to its 15 new guarantees.

Speaking to IANS, Gopal Rai emphasised, "The BJP believes that the AAP government is being formed in Delhi. Today, we presented all our guarantees in one place to make it easier for the public to understand our plan for the future. The guarantees reflect our promises to the people, which we will fulfil once the new government is in place. We are confident that the public will support us in this journey."

Rai also condemned the recent vandalism of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar's statue in Amritsar, calling for strict action against those responsible.

"Whoever is guilty of this heinous act, no matter who they are or what their intentions were, will not be spared. Strict action will be taken against them," he asserted.

Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had also condemned the act, promising firm action against the perpetrators. In a post shared on social media, Mann stated that no one would escape justice for the crime.

The statue vandalism incident occurred on the evening of January 26 on Heritage Street near the Golden Temple complex. The accused, identified as Akashdeep Singh, was arrested shortly after a video of the incident went viral. According to police, Singh, who is from the Scheduled Caste community, used a hammer to deface the statue and set fire to a stone-carved Constitution book placed in front of it. The police are still investigating the motive behind the attack.

Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar confirmed that an FIR has been filed and further investigations are underway.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : The International Space Station (ISS) has captured images of Mahakumbh 2025 -- the world's largest religious and human gathering event -- from space, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said on Monday.

The images captured on Sunday night showcase the mesmerising view of the mega event, being held in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, along the banks of the Ganga river glowing brightly with lights.

"2025 Maha Kumbh Mela Ganges River pilgrimage from the ISS at night. The largest human gathering in the world is well lit," said NASA astronaut Don Pettit, in a post along with the images on the social media platform X.

Pettit, currently in space, at the age of 69, is NASA's oldest active astronaut.

"The images show the grandeur of the Mahakumbh mela's lighting and the massive human crowd, transforming the banks of the Ganga River into a unique spectacle," the Ministry said.

Mahakumbh 2025 is being held after 12 years and is a spiritual event drawing over 450 million devotees from around the world. The mega event will continue till February 26.

It is the world's largest religious event, where millions of devotees take a dip in the Ganga River to attain spiritual peace.

To date, "over 13 crore devotees have experienced this blissful and religious moment by bathing at the confluence", said the Ministry.

Recently, a radar imaging satellite by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) also beamed down images of the ongoing Mahakumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.

The images, taken by the sophisticated optical satellites and day and night viewing capable radarsat -- RISAT-1A -- managed by ISROas National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC) in Hyderabad, show the buildup of the massive infrastructure at the Mahakumbh.

It showcases the layout of structures and roads in the area and a huge number of pontoon bridges across the river network.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Global software intelligence leader CAST on Monday said that it believes technical debt is India's most pressing tech challenge in its pursuit of becoming a global technology powerhouse.

"India understands software better than any other country," said Vincent Delaroche, founder and CEO of CAST, during his recent visit to India.

"As the country moves toward its ambitious target of becoming a $1 trillion digital economy by 2030, addressing software complexities, including the significant burden of technical debt, is vital to sustaining this growth trajectory," he added.

Technical debt, defined as the accumulation of outdated or inefficient code, imposes a global cost of over $1.3 trillion annually, according to McKinsey, and India is no exception.

As one of the fastest-growing IT ecosystems globally, Indian enterprises face the dual challenge of modernising legacy systems while delivering scalable and secure software solutions.

"Technical debt is more than a bottleneck. It's an unseen cost that undermines agility and innovation," Delaroche explained. "CAST equips Indian enterprises with the tools to identify and eliminate inefficiencies, helping them maintain a competitive edge in the global tech arena."

India's IT sector, contributing over $245 billion annually to the global economy (as per Nasscom data), is a key driver of innovation. Delaroche emphasized India's pivotal role, citing the country's 5.2 million-strong developer workforce, the largest globally, as a critical enabler of CAST's global ambitions.

"India's developer talent pool is unmatched, and we view them as essential partners in achieving our vision," he said. "We are committed to empowering Indian enterprises and Global Capability Centers (GCCs) by reducing technical debt, optimizing IT infrastructure, and boosting developer productivity by up to 25 per cent, significantly improving software delivery timelinesa critical factor for achieving efficient business outcomes."

CAST, a privately held company majority-owned by Bridgepoint, a leading FTSE 250 investment firm, has invested $200 million in research and development over the past two decades to support its software intelligence solutions.

These solutions provide a holistic analysis of software systems, addressing key aspects such as technical debt, cloud readiness, security vulnerabilities, and system efficiency.

With a global presence in nine countries and strong partnerships with industry giants such as BCG, EY, Accenture, IBM Consulting, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, CAST's software is deployed by hundreds of companies, top management consultancies, the 10 largest system integrators, and all three major cloud vendors.
Kinshasa, Jan 27 : The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has announced the recall of its embassy staff in Rwanda amid advances by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebellion, which fueled diplomatic tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali.

The DRC foreign ministry said in a statement released over the weekend that it had decided to withdraw its diplomats from Rwanda in a letter to the Rwandan Embassy in the DRC, while asking the Rwandan embassy to cease all diplomatic and consular activities within 48 hours.

The DRC has accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels, as Kigali, while denying all allegations, has also accused the Congolese army of supporting the remnants of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, responsible for the 1994 genocide.

"The last Rwandan diplomat stationed in Kinshasa, under permanent threat from DRC officials, had already left the Congolese capital," responded Olivier JP Nduhungirehe, Rwanda's Foreign Minister.

Tensions have been running high due to the recent advances by the M23 rebellion in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. The rebels took control of Sake, a town considered the last defense for the government forces before Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province and a major regional hub.

The United Nations has also announced that it has temporarily decided to relocate non-essential staff from Goma, where panic has spread among the displaced population.

Goma was under the control of the M23 for 10 days in 2012. Several foreign embassies have issued advisories urging their citizens to leave North Kivu while airports and borders remain operational.

An emergency meeting is set to be held on Sunday by the UN Security Council at the request of the DRC government. DRC army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge said late Saturday at a press conference that his country's armed forces were working to "push back the enemy."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over renewed hostilities by the M23.

Last week, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric condemned the rebel group's renewed offensive since the beginning of the year and its expansion into North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, including the recent capture of Sake, Xinhua news agency reported.

As the offensive has caused devastating civilian casualties and increased the risk of a broader regional conflict, Guterres called on the M23 to immediately cease its attacks, withdraw from all occupied areas, and honor the ceasefire agreement established last August.

More than 400,000 people have been displaced since the start of 2025 in the eastern DRC, where conflicts between the Congolese army and armed groups have intensified.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office had said in a statement on Saturday that Israel will not allow Palestinian residents to return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip for the time being.

The statement noted that the ban will apply until the release of Israeli civilian Arbel Yehud, who was scheduled to be freed on Saturday but was not among the four Israelis released by Hamas, is arranged.

The statement had mentioned that Yehud's release in the second swap of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners was part of the deal that went into effect last week.

Earlier on Saturday, Hamas released the four female Israeli soldiers Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy, and they arrived at an Israeli military camp near the Gaza border in good health.

The army observers, aged between 19 and 20, were abducted by Hamas from the Israeli army's surveillance base at Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023, near the Gaza Strip border.
Gaza, Jan 27 : Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement.

The return follows an announcement by Qatar on Sunday evening that Hamas and Israel had reached an agreement to release Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud and two others by Friday.

On Saturday, Hamas is expected to release three additional hostages.

Under the agreement, Israel has permitted displaced residents to return to the northern Gaza Strip starting Monday morning.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Monday, "Hamas has conceded and agreed to proceed with an additional phase of hostage releases, scheduled for next Thursday following firm and determined negotiations."

The statement outlined that this phase will involve the release of Yehud, a soldier called Agam Berger, and another hostage. Additionally, three more hostages are set to be freed on Saturday as part of the agreement.

Israel has also received from Hamas a list detailing the conditions and status of all hostages to be released in the initial phase of the deal.

For many displaced families, the journey back to northern Gaza is bittersweet. While there is relief at the prospect of returning to familiar surroundings, there is also apprehension about what remains of neighborhoods now reduced to rubble.

"We have to walk about 8 kilometers on foot, but we are happy that, finally, we will be able to return to our areas, even if they are completely destroyed," said Mohammed Hamda, a Gaza resident, while making his way along the coastal route between Gaza City and southern Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office had said in a statement on Saturday that Israel will not allow Palestinian residents to return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip for the time being.

The statement noted that the ban will apply until the release of Israeli civilian Arbel Yehud, who was scheduled to be freed on Saturday but was not among the four Israelis released by Hamas, is arranged.

The statement had mentioned that Yehud's release in the second swap of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners was part of the deal that went into effect last week.

Earlier on Saturday, Hamas released the four female Israeli soldiers Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy, and they arrived at an Israeli military camp near the Gaza border in good health.

The army observers, aged between 19 and 20, were abducted by Hamas from the Israeli army's surveillance base at Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023, near the Gaza Strip border.
New Delhi, Jan 21 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing till January 22 on a plea filed by former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain seeking interim bail for campaigning ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections.

Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has fielded Tahir Hussain as a candidate from the Mustafabad constituency.

A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah sought the Delhi Police's response observing that Tahir Hussain's incarceration of over four years on the charge of being an instigator during the 2020 national capital riots would entitle him to regular bail.

"Suppose we are satisfied on merit that a ground is made for considering regular bail, why should we not grant him? We can't shut our eyes to that," the Justice Mithal-led Bench told the Delhi Police.

Ultimately, the apex court posted the matter for hearing on January 22, saying that "time for interim bail is expiring" and counsel for the Delhi Police will have to come prepared.

In no immediate relief to Tahir Hussain, the top court on Monday adjourned hearing on his petition seeking interim bail. The Justice Mithal-led Bench could not take up Tahir Hussain's special leave petition for hearing due to paucity of time but listed the matter for hearing on January 21.

When mentioned for urgent hearing, the apex court remarked: "It is easy to win elections sitting in jail. All such persons should be barred from contesting the elections."

Last week, the Delhi High Court turned down Tahir Hussain's plea for interim bail but granted him parole to enable him to file nomination papers for the upcoming Assembly polls.

As per the order of the Delhi High Court, Tahir Hussain, while out on custody parole, will not have any access to the phone or the Internet, will not interact with any person except the officials concerned in the nomination process, and will not address the media.

Further, family members of Tahir Hussain may remain present, but they would not be permitted to click photographs of the filing of the nomination or to post the same on social media, the court order had said.

Disposing of Tahir Hussain's plea for interim bail, a bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna ruled: "Merely because the Applicant/Petitioner had earlier been a Municipal Councilor, cannot be a peculiar circumstance entitling him to grant the Interim Bail. Considering the antecedents, nature of allegations and having regard to the totality of circumstances, he (Tahir Hussain) is granted Custody Parole for subscribing the oath and to complete the formalities in respect of filing his Nomination Papers," it said.

On January 14, the Justice Krishna-led Bench reserved its decision after hearing the arguments raised by senior advocate Rebecca John, representing the former AAP councillor, and Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, who appeared on behalf of Delhi Police.

Opposing Hussain's interim bail plea, ASG Sharma said that the AIMIM candidate, facing "gruesome allegations", may file his nomination papers from Tihar jail or under custody parole.

Sharma added that there is no fundamental right to contest elections and if released on interim bail, Hussain may influence witnesses.

"We are conceding that custody parole be granted to facilitate him to file nominations. Like others he can also contest," he said, referring to the former AAP councillor's involvement in several criminal cases, including under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act).

On the other hand, senior advocate John pleaded that Tahir Hussain be released on interim bail, from January 16 to February 9, for filing nominations and for the election campaign. John repeatedly laid emphasis that Tahir Hussain be temporarily released for campaigning.

Tahir Hussain's counsel argued that the former AAP councillor should be released on interim bail since he needed to file nomination papers physically and give a true account of his assets.

The counsel cited the interim bail granted to Jammu and Kashmir leader Engineer Rashid, accused in a terror funding case being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), for election-related purposes.

--IANS

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Mumbai, Jan 27 : Tata Steel on Monday reported a 43 per cent drop in net profit for the third quarter ended December 31 (Q3 FY25). The company's net profit stood at Rs 295.49 crore compared to Rs 522.14 crore in the same period a year ago.

Mumbai, Jan 27 (IANS) Tata Steel on Monday reported a 43 per cent drop in net profit for the third quarter ended December 31 (Q3 FY25). The companyas net profit stood at Rs 295.49 crore compared to Rs 522.14 crore in the same period a year ago.

Sequentially, the decline was sharper, with net profit falling 61.1 per cent from Rs 758.84 crore in the previous quarter (Q2 FY25), according to companyas exchange filing.

The Tata Group companyas revenue from operations also declined by 2.7 per cent year-on-year, at Rs 53,231 crore for the October-December 2024 quarter compared to Rs 54,727.30 crore in Q3 FY24.

The revenue saw a marginal dip of 2.3 per cent from Rs 54,503.30 crore reported in Q2 FY25, according to its filing.

Total income for the quarter was Rs 53,869.33 crore, a 3 per cent drop compared to Rs 55,539.77 crore in the year-ago period. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, it declined slightly from Rs 54,503.30 crore.

Tata Steel's total expenses for Q3 FY25 stood at Rs 52,118.09 crore, down 2.3 per cent compared to Rs 53,351.13 crore in the same quarter last year. Sequentially, expenses dipped 0.4 per cent from Rs 52,331.58 crore in Q2 FY25.

The decline in expenses was primarily attributed to reduced spending on aEmployee Benefits Expensea and aOther Expensesa, which significantly dropped by 11.6 per cent to Rs 17,742 crore from Rs 20,074.73 crore a year ago period, as per the company's regulatory filing.

The aEmployee Benefitsa segment for Tata Steel saw a decline of nearly 7 per cent to Rs 6,072 crore in the third quarter, compared to Rs 6,527 crore in the same period last year.

Tata Steel shares closed 2.77 per cent lower at Rs 126.40 on Monday compared to the previous sessionas Rs 130.

The stock has been under pressure, hitting its 52-week low of Rs 122.60 on January 13. In contrast, it reached a 52-week high of Rs 184.60 on June 18. Tata Steelas market capitalisation as of January 27 stood at Rs 1,57,790.72 crore.

Over the last five years, Tata Steel shares have delivered a remarkable 200 per cent return to investors. However, the stockas performance in the past year has been subdued, with a decline of 6.26 per cent. On a year-to-date basis, the shares are trading 7.45 per cent lower in 2025.
Surat, January 27 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat, on Monday, began a sensing process at its Udhna office in Surat to evaluate prospective candidates for the by-election to the vacant Ward No 18.

The vacancy arose following the death of BJP Corporator Gemar Desai.

A team of two observers, including BJP MLA from Gandevi Assembly constituency Naresh Patel, has arrived in Surat to assess the candidates vying for the position.

As the dates for the local self-government by-elections were recently announced, the BJP is taking proactive steps to finalise its candidate for the by-election.

The sensing process, being conducted by the team of observers, is aimed at hearing from different aspiring candidates, who have shown interest in contesting for the vacant seat.

The process is expected to continue into Monday evening, party leaders said.

After gathering all necessary insights, the observers will compile a report, which will be submitted to the State Parliamentary Board for further evaluation.

A final decision will be made on which candidate will be nominated for the by-election.

The BJP has expressed confidence in securing a victory in this crucial seat.

Gujarat's local body elections are scheduled to take place on February 16.

The elections will include a range of local government bodies, such as municipal corporations, municipalities, and panchayats.

Voting will be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with re-polling scheduled for February 17, if necessary.

The counting of votes will take place on February 18, and the entire election process is expected to be completed by February 21.

The elections will cover several areas, including the Junagadh Municipal Corporation and 66 municipalities, as well as three taluka panchayats.

Additionally, by-elections will be held for vacant seats in the municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, and Surat.

However, the election date for the Kheda District Panchayat has not been announced yet.

In line with the state government's policies, the elections will include reservations for various communities.

About 27 per cent of the seats will be reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 14 per cent for Scheduled Tribes (STs), and 7 per cent for Scheduled Castes (SCs).

These reservations are aimed at ensuring equitable representation across different communities within the local governance structures.

The last local body elections in Gujarat were held two years ago, and since then, several municipalities and panchayats have been operating without elected representatives.

The upcoming elections are expected to address this gap and restore democratic processes at the grassroots level, ensuring more effective governance.
Bengaluru, Jan 27 : The Dharwad Bench of the Karnataka High Court, headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna, reserved its judgment on Monday regarding the petition seeking an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam. This decision followed the conclusion of arguments and counterarguments in the case.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is named as the first accused in the case, while his wife, B.M. Parvathi is the second accused. It has been alleged that Siddaramaiah used his political influence to secure compensation for 14 sites in the name of his wife in exchange for 3 acres and 16 guntas of land acquired by the MUDA.

The petitioner, Snehamayi Krishna, objected to the ongoing probe by the Karnataka Lokayukta and sought a CBI investigation into the scam.

While reserving the matter for judgment, the bench also directed the Karnataka Lokayukta to continue its investigation into the MUDA scam and to submit its further report on the day of the judgment.

Experts opined that, given the involvement of six prominent counsels who presented their arguments and cited Supreme Court judgments, the bench may take about a week to deliver its judgment.

Counsel Maninder Singh, representing the petitioner Snehamayi Krishna, submitted to the court on Monday that it is imperative for the MUDA scam to be investigated by the CBI or another independent agency to uphold public trust.

He emphasised that when prominent government figures are accused, an independent investigation becomes necessary.

"The entire Cabinet has taken a decision to protect Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in this case," Singh argued.

"From the outset, the submission has been to hand over the case to the CBI. This matter demands investigation by the CBI or another independent agency. There have been instances where the Supreme Court has directly handed over cases to the CBI," he added.

Singh further contended that CM Siddaramaiah should have voluntarily welcomed a CBI investigation.

On the other hand, Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty requested the bench to allow more time for presenting arguments against the petition. He also prayed that the matter be taken up later when the court resumes functioning in Bengaluru after the vacation.

However, the bench refused to yield, directing the AG to place the arguments without any delay. The AG requested that counsel Kapil Sibal would appear before the court and sought time.

The bench, however, stated that the arguments could be placed through video conferencing. The AG then submitted that there was a technical issue with the video conferencing, following which the bench directed to fix the issue and place the arguments in the day only.

Senior Counsel Dushyanth Dave appearing for the fourth accused, land owner J. Devaraju in the MUDA case, submitted that his client is not facing criminal charges and, in this background, there is no necessity for the CBI probe. He further submitted that the petition had been filed to embarrass Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

"The petitioner earlier sought the Lokayukta investigation before the court and when the Lokayukta investigation was progressing, he submitted a petition seeking the CBI probe. The court should not waste a single moment over the petition," he argued. he added that while filing the complaint, the petitioner concealed many facts related to the case.

"The petitioner has concealed the order of mutation and revenue department documents which prove that Devaraju was the owner of the property," Dave said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Lokayukta on Monday submitted the status quo investigation report in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam to the High Court Dharwad bench.

Mysuru Lokayukta Superintendent of Police, T.J. Udesh submitted the report in a sealed cover to the court. The court had earlier directed the Lokayukta to submit the report without fail in this regard.

Commenting on the development, Snehamayi Krishna said: "I have full confidence that the case would be handed over to the CBI. The Lokayukta is not conducting the investigation appropriately. We have submitted the evidence and documents to prove that Lokayukta sleuths are colluded with the accused persons in the case.

"In this backdrop and taking the rampant corruption into consideration, based on the evidence and documents submitted in this regard, we are hoping that today the court will hand over the case to the CBI."

When asked about rumours claiming that CM Siddaramaiah and his wife Parvathi may get a clean chit in the Lokayukta investigation, Snehamayi Krishna stated: "I don't have official information on this. I got to know through the media. It is impossible to give a clean chit to CM Siddaramaiah. We have provided enough documents to prove charges against him."

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife B.M. Parvathi, who is the second accused in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.

The ED has also issued a notice to the Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, the close confidante of CM Siddaramaiah.

Sources reveal that the ED had issued notice to CM's wife and directed his wife Parvathi to appear before the ED officials on January 28 (Tuesday). Minister Suresh has also been asked to appear before the ED sleuths.

Following this, CM's wife Parvathi and Minister Suresh have approached the Karnataka High Court questioning the summons issued to them by the ED.
Chandigarh, Jan 27 : Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday laid a roadmap for the all-round development of the state to mark the completion of 100 days of the BJP government.

The Chief Minister announced the government would develop 10 ultra-modern industrial towns across Haryana, modelled after IMT Kharkhoda, to further strengthen the state's industrial infrastructure.

The Chief Minister told the media here that 25,000 MW of electricity will be generated through renewable energy sources, which will be used to power industrial centres across the state and the NCR.

In a bid to address environmental concerns, particularly the discharge of chemical and industrial waste, the government will construct state-of-the-art sewerage treatment plants in Panipat, Faridabad, and Gurugram.

In addition, the government will expedite the construction of the Integrated Multi-Modal Logistics Hub in Narnaul and Mahendragarh to improve connectivity.

In collaboration with the central governmentas PM Mega Integrated Textile Area and Apparel (PM MITRA) scheme, Haryana will establish an integrated textile market in Ambala, the state's largest textile hub.

The Chief Minister also highlighted the governmentas focus on the pharmaceutical sector, with plans to fast-track the establishment of a Pharma Park in Karnal, aimed at capitalising on the growing pharmaceutical industry through the Product Linked Incentive Scheme and the Haryana Pharmaceutical Policy of 2015.

A Defence and Aerospace Hub will be set up in Mahendragarh under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, which is expected to boost the state's presence in the defence sector.

To further support industrial growth, the state will develop a new 10,000-acre land bank through the e-Bhoomi portal.

Furthermore, a new policy will be introduced, requiring government institutions to pay an eight per cent interest on any delayed payments.

The Chief Minister expressed confidence that these transformative measures will lay a strong foundation for Haryana's role in helping India achieve its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said in the past 100 days the government has worked non-stop and completed 18 of the 240 asankalpsa outlined in the Sankalp Patra.

Besides, work is underway at the site for six of the goals. The process to obtain both administrative and financial sanctions to complete an additional 50 decisions is currently underway.

--IANS

vg/dan
Mumbai, Jan 27 : Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has changed his security apparatus after the knife attack on him. The security at his house has been changed. Apart from him and his wife Kareena, the security of the house has been changed.

Mumbai, Jan 27 (IANS) Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has changed his security apparatus after the knife attack on him. The security at his house has been changed. Apart from him and his wife Kareena, the security of the house has been changed.

Security is also being beefed up at the Fortune Heights building complex, Saif Ali Khan's old house. Fortune Heights, where Saif Ali Khan used to live, is now being used as an office.

Saif was attacked by an assailant who barged into his Bandra house through his youngest son, Jehas room during the wee hours of Thursday. The actor reportedly went to the hospital on his own, and was accompanied by his son Taimur.

As per media reports, doctors removed the 2.5 inches of knife from his wound. The actor was stabbed multiple times in an attempt to fight off the accused. The actor sustained six stab wounds, two of which were said to be serious as they were closer to his spine. The incident took place as the accused allegedly barged into their Bandra home, and attacked their house help and then Saif when he intervened.

Saif was woken up by the commotion in his son Jehas room. He went inside the room to see the culprit arguing with their house help, looking at this, Saif intervened to save the house help with bare hands to fight off the intruder.

Earlier, the Association of Medical Consultants Mumbai had stepped into the matter raising important questions with regards to the insurance claim disbursement procedure.

Association of Medical Consultants Mumbai has written to the The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) raising doubts over the quick approval of claims as it involves an influential celebrity.

The body has asked the IRDAI as to why preferential treatment was given to Saif Ali Khan. The letter states that the Insurance company Niva Bupa sanctioned Rs 25 lacs within a few hours to Lilavati hospital for the treatment of Saif Ali Khan.
Chennai, Jan 27 : The Madras High Court has voiced serious concerns about security lapses within its premises after the Additional Advocate General (AAG), P. Kumaresan, presented a status report on allegations that country-made bombs were brought into the court and handed to accused individuals involved in the murder of State Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President, K. Armstrong.

The AAG submitted CCTV footage showing individuals carrying bombs concealed in lunch bags.

Six advocates implicated in the incident have been suspended by the Bar Council.

A division bench comprising Justices S.M. Subramaniam and N. Jothiraman was hearing a batch of petitions seeking to quash the invocation of the Goonda Act against the accused in Armstrong's murder case.

During the proceedings, the bench expressed concern over the potential consequences of the incident.

Justice Subramaniam remarked, "What if the bombs had exploded in the court? How many lives would we have lost? What if the blast damaged the statue of B.R. Ambedkar?"

The court invited opinions from stakeholders, including advocate associations, the police, and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), to strengthen security measures on the court campus.

It also advised advocates to cooperate with security checks, emphasising the need for sensitivity and vigilance.

The counsel for the petitioners, however, objected to the allegations, arguing that the investigation had not provided concrete evidence to substantiate the claims.

The bench scheduled the matter for further deliberation on January 29 to develop a comprehensive security solution.

K. Armstrong, a lawyer, and State BSP President, was brutally murdered on July 5, 2024, in front of his under-construction house in Perambur near Chennai.

An eight-member gang, led by Ponnai Balu -- the brother of slain gangster Arcot Suresh -- surrendered the same evening, confessing that the murder was in retaliation for Suresh's killing, which they claimed Armstrong had orchestrated.

Investigations by a special team formed by Chennai Police Commissioner M. Arun revealed that three gangs had conspired to plan the murder.

Armstrong was ultimately hacked to death by Balu and his associates.

Further inquiries revealed that gangster Nagendran, who has been in prison for 26 years, and another gangster, Sambhav Senthil, financed and orchestrated the murder.

Nagendran reportedly harboured a grudge against Armstrong, blaming him for stalling his son Ashwathaman's political career.

Ashwathaman, a lawyer and state office-bearer of the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress, has since been expelled from the party.

Sambhav Senthil allegedly had disputes with Armstrong over real estate dealings.

Twenty-seven individuals have been arrested in connection with the murder of the State BSP President.

Among them, 23 -- including Ponnai Balu and Ashwathaman -- are in Puzhal Central Prison. However, Sambhav Senthil and two associates, Krishna Kumar and Appu, are absconding.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Eleven Opposition MPs in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 on Monday hit out at the 'autocratic' behaviour of Chairman Jagdambika Pal and his haste in accepting the 14 amendments proposed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) members.

The MPs, anguished by the alleged lack of transparency and discussion in the Committee, likened the Chairman to a painter who enabled the Union government to give 'saffron colour to this secular nation by using its brutal majority in Parliament'.

In a joint statement, the Opposition MPs said, "As the committee has arrived at its closure part of the deliberation, we the members of the opposition registered our protest then and there both in conducting the proceedings of the JWC by the chairman as well the gross and serious deviations from the rules and procedures contemplated thereon."

Citing several instances of being denied the time to study documents, the MPs said they want to highlight a few wilful and wanton 'disregards by the Chairman in sharing the details of deliberations of the Committee.

Objecting to the haste in the panel's proceedings on Monday, the MPs slammed the Chairman for going ahead with clause-by-clause considerations without documents/depositions.

"Ignoring our claims, the chairman himself called the names of the mover of the amendments (given by us) and he himself moved the amendments on our behalf and conducted the head counts on his own desire. And he announced the rejection of our amendments, thereby, our sincere efforts to protect the constitutional assurances given to the minorities are being defeated," wrote the MPs.

The awkward and solo acting of the Chairman himself for all the stakeholders of today's sitting made him a painter to enable the Union government to give saffron colour to this secular nation by using its brutal majority in the Parliament, the statement said.

The signatories of the statement are Kalyan Banerjee, Mohammad Jawed, A. Raja, Gaurav Gogoi, Asaduddin Owaisi, Syed Naseer Hussain, Mohibbullah, M. Abdullah, Arvind Sawant, Nadimul Haque, and Imran Masood.

Expressing their helplessness in preventing the so-called lapses in the Committee, the MPs reached out to the people to protect the rights of minorities.

"We, the members of the opposition appeal to the people of India who stand for the constitutional values to come forward to preserve the labour and conviction put by our forefathers Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar, Vallabhbhai Patel and others in the national building process with secular credentials and to protect the rights of minorities ensuring the social harmony of this sub-continent," said the letter.
Mhow, Jan 27 : Criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leaders over taking dips in Sangam at the Mahakumbh Mela, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday wondered if the Ganga baths would end poverty in the country or put food on the tables of those hungry, while claiming that the BJP leaders have been visiting Prayagraj "just for camera".

Kharge made the remarks while addressing 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' rally in Madhya Pradesh's Mhow, the birthplace of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

However, he soon apologised for his remarks, stating: "I don't want to question anyone's faith'. If anyone feels bad, I apologise. But tell me, when a child is dying of hunger, is not going to school, labourers are not getting their dues, at such a time, these people are spending thousands of rupees and competing for taking dips."

Kharge's comments came after Home Minister Amit Shah visited Prayagraj on Monday and took a dip at Sangam.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also visited Prayagraj last week. Further criticising the ruling BJP, the Congress president said religion is a matter of faith, "but these people (BJP leaders) have commercialised it".

"People perform 'puja' at home every day, but we have an issue with the poor being exploited in the name of religion," Kharge said.

The Congress president's remarks have drawn a sharp response from the BJP. Party MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Congress' hatred was an attack on the faith of crores of Hindus.

"Mahakumbh has been the symbol of the Sanatan faith for ages. I am pained to say that while the entire world reveres this faith, the biggest opposition party in India is ridiculing the Mahakumbh and this faith. They are making a mockery of it," he told the media.

Madhya Pradesh BJP unit also reacted to Kharge's remark, saying the Congress president has insulted the entire Sanatan culture by "spewing venom" at Mahakumbh.

"Today's so-called big demonstration by the Congress in Mhow has once again proved that Congress is against the Constitution and Sanatan Dharma. Mallikarjun Kharge showed an opposing mentality regarding Mahakumbh, the centre of faith of Sanatanis," Madhya Pradesh BJP media in-charge, Ashish Agarwal said.
Bharatpur, Jan 27 : Intensifying their efforts against the illegal arms trade, Rajasthan Police on Monday seized five country-made pistols and five live cartridges while arresting four more individuals and detained a minor.

This brings the total arrests in the case to eight, with a cumulative recovery of eight pistols, and 45 cartridges.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Mridul Kachhawa stated that the operation is part of an ongoing campaign against illegal weapons under his direction.

The operation was carried out under the supervision of Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Satish Yadav and Circle Officer (CO) City Pankaj Yadav (IPS).

On Sunday, a team led by Station House Officer (SHO) Madanlal, with the support of ASI Radhakishan and other officers from Mathuragate Police Station, apprehended Rohit Jat (20); Hritik Jat (20); Pravendra Singh (23) and Munendra Jat (26).

Additionally, one minor involved in the illegal arms trade was detained. The police recovered five illegal country-made pistols and five live cartridges from the accused.

Intensive interrogation is underway to uncover further details about the arms network.

On January 23, the police arrested three other individuals in connection with the case. Hira Singh Gurjar, a resident of Mathuragate, was found with one 12-bore country-made pistol, two 315-bore country-made pistols, 22 live cartridges, and 23 empty cartridges.

Sachin Gurjar, another resident of Mathuragate, was caught with one 315-bore country-made pistol and a live cartridge.

Additionally, Robin Jat, a resident of Chiksana, was arrested with an illegal handmade pistol and a live cartridge. The arrested individuals are reportedly involved in supplying weapons to criminals engaged in organised crime.

The police continue their investigation to dismantle the illegal arms trade network in the region.
Washington, Jan 27 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump, saying both leaders are committed to a 'mutually beneficial and trusted partnership'.

"Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS," PM Modi wrote on X.

The Prime Minister said that he also congratulated President Trump on his historic second term.

"We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, and security," PM Modi wrote on X.

There was no word yet from the White House, which, as is the practice, will release a readout of the conversation shortly.

This was the second phone conversation between the two leaders after President Trump's re-election; the first took place just after Trump won the election in November.

The two leaders have shared a close personal relationship going back to President Trump's first term from 2017 to 2021.

The U.S. President jointly addressed a rally hosted for Prime Minister Modi in Houston in 2019 called the "Howdy Modi" rally and then he travelled to India in February 2020 for a "Namaste Trump" in PM Modi's home state Gujarat.

The two leaders will meet personally sometime this year. According to a report officials of the two countries are trying to arrange for a meeting in February but neither side has made any announcements to that effect yet.

They will meet most certainly when President Trump travels to India for a summit of the Quad countries. It's India's turn to host the summit and likely this year.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented the Prime Minister at Trump's inauguration last week and attended all related events, even a prayer service where guests included the Trump family, cabinet members and the U.S. President allies in the tech world, such as Elon Musk of Tesla, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sundar Pichai of Google.

Jaishankar was also Secretary of State Marco Rubio's first foreign guest for a bilateral meeting at the State Department, following another meeting of the Quad foreign ministers, along with Australia's Penny Wong and Japan's Iwaya Takeshi.
Nairobi, Jan 27 : Kenyan President William Ruto, who is also the champion of the African Union (AU) institutional reforms, said on Monday that conflict continues to deny Africa of its potential, costing the continent an estimated 18 billion US dollars annually and displacing millions of people.

Ruto said Africa currently hosts 35 million internally displaced persons, 8.9 million refugees, 1.1 million asylum seekers, and one million stateless persons.

"Between April and June 2024 alone, a total of 1,000 terrorism incidents were recorded across Africa, resulting in 4,818 deaths," he said during the high-level Extended Bureau Retreat on AU Institutional Reforms held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

The day-long event brought together presidents from Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Ghana, and the Comoros, as well as Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the AU Commission, to accelerate reforms of the 55-member continental organisation.

Ruto noted that the AU security architecture in its current configuration is incapable of addressing the continent's complex dynamics and challenges, and there is an urgent need for immediate revitalization of the peace and security architecture.

He also said the pan-African bloc's presence in regional hotspots remains weak, fragmented, and under-resourced, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Kenyan leader added that the continent's developmental goals are being hindered by destabilizing forces, given that peace is the key to development.

Last week, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi urged intensified efforts to maintain peace and security in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa, stressing the region's strategic importance to global stability.

Sisi made the remarks at a joint press conference with visiting Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud following their meeting on Thursday, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.

"We agreed on the need to intensify efforts to maintain peace and security in that vital region, which affects global security," Sisi said, referring to the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.

He highlighted the outcome of the October 2024 Asmara Summit among Egypt, Somalia, and Eritrea, describing it as "significant progress in relations and coordination among our countries," and stressed the importance of building on the summit by holding a second trilateral meeting "to fortify this partnership."
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Attacking the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over poor drainage and drowning deaths, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Monday joined the BJP's campaign for Delhi Assembly elections by addressing public meetings in Krishna Nagar and Dwarka.

"The way children, old and young people have died by drowning in Delhi last monsoon, it is hard to believe that it is the country's capital, every city in our Rajasthan has a better drainage system than this," said CM Sharma.

He sought support for BJP candidates -- Anil Goyal in Krishna Nagar and Pradyuman Rajput in Dwarka.

As part of the BJP's intensive campaign for the February 5 Assembly election, 26 public meetings were organised on Monday.

These were addressed by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Sukanto Majumdar, Manoj Tiwari, Ravi Kishan, Sanjeev Balyan, Prem Chand Bairwa, and others.

Puri addressed public meetings in support of Harish Khurana in Moti Nagar and Umang Bajaj in Rajendra Nagar and said that today under Arvind Kejriwal's misrule, whether poor or rich, everyone is facing a drinking water crisis.

He said people are forced to buy water to drink and the sewerage system is not working in these two Assembly constituencies.

"Last monsoon there was such waterlogging that four IAS aspirants drowned. Kejriwal should apologise to the people of Delhi for such chaos," he added.

Union Minister of State Sukanto Majumdar addressed a public meeting in support of Dushyant Gautam in Karol Bagh and said that the migrants who have settled in Delhi from other states are ashamed today that the roads and general facilities of their BJP-ruled home states are better than the country's capital.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari addressed public meetings in Badarpur, Tughlakabad, Sangam Vihar, and Chhatarpur and said that the Purvanchal community of Delhi is now fed up with Kejriwal's misrule.

BJP MP Ravi Kishan campaigned extensively in Delhi for the third consecutive day and said in the Purvanchal Samaj Samvad programmes in Wazirpur, Patparganj, Malviya Nagar, and Model Town that Kejriwal always insults Purvanchal's pride by saying that people of Purvanchal come with a ticket of Rs 500 and run away after getting free treatment worth Rs 5 lakh.

"Now the Purvanchal society settled in Delhi will not forgive Arvind Kejriwal for insulting them and will send Kejriwal out of power on February 8," he said.

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa also did intensive door-to-door campaigning along with a huge public meeting in support of BJP candidate Anil Gaur in Seelampur.

Kiran Chaudhary, former MP Locket Chatterjee, National Spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, and former Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan also addressed many public meetings in the national capital.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Accusing Arvind Kejriwal of being "anti-Dalit", the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said on Monday that the former Delhi Chief Minister should go to Punjab and bow down and apologise for the desecration of Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar Sthal and resign from his post of the legislator and AAP's national convenor.

Kejriwal should quit over Ambedkar statue desecration in Punjab: BJP

BJP National Spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra said, "In front of the police station, a person tries to break the statue of Baba Saheb with a hammer, the police remain missing which clearly shows that the role of the administration in this matter is suspicious."

Referring to the incident in Amritsar on Sunday, Patra said what kind of conspiracy is Arvind Kejriwal hatching that Ambedkar's statue was broken under the nose of his party's administration and government and till now all the leaders of Aam Aadmi Party are silent on it.

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva and MP Yogendra Chandolia were also present at the press conference to expose the "anti-Dalit" face of Kejriwal.

The BJP leaders said that a person tried to break the 33-foot-high statue of B.R. Ambedkar installed in front of the police station at a busy crossroad in Amritsar in Punjab by hitting it with a hammer and the AAP government and the police remained mere spectators.

BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari and the party's state media chief Praveen Shankar Kapoor were also present at the press conference.

Patra said that what happened in Amritsar when the country was celebrating the 76th Republic Day is heart-wrenching.

He said that only a traitor can dare to break the tallest statue of B.R. Ambedkar which is installed at the main square of Amritsar.

He said this is not the first time that Kejriwal has insulted Dalits.

Kejriwal talked about making a Dalit Deputy Chief Minister as soon as the government was formed in Punjab but did not do so.

Patra added that if a corrupt person on bail like Kejriwal likens himself to Bhim Rao Ambedkar, it is a matter of disrespect for the country.
Jerusalem, Jan 27 : The Israel Police said in a statement on Monday that it had arrested two 21-year-old Israeli reserve soldiers on suspicion of security offenses related to Iran, in collaboration with the Israel Security Agency.

According to the police, the two, Yuri Eliasfov and Georgi Andreyev from northern Israel, are suspected of transferring classified information about the Israeli Iron Dome air defence system to Iran.

The police added that during their regular and reserve military service, the two carried out missions for an Iranian operator, including filming a video of the air defence system, spraying graffiti in Tel Aviv and northern Israel, and hanging posters.

Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported that the suspects received a few thousand US dollars from the Iranian operator for their actions, Xinhua news agency reported.

The police noted that the two admitted their actions and will be charged with aiding the enemy in war, which is punishable by life imprisonment or death, contacting a foreign agent, and passing classified information to a foreign agent.

Last month, the Hamas militant group claimed that they have arrested some Palestinians who were working for Israeli intelligence agency, Shin Bet in the Gaza Strip and were providing inputs on the whereabouts of top Hamas leaders.

Hamas' al-Majd internal security forces, part of the Qassam Brigades, claimed that they have arrested the spy who was working for Israel.

The group said that one of the Palestinians arrested has admitted to being assigned by the Shin Bet to monitor the homes of Hamas leaders across the Strip.

In addition, it was claimed that they were ordered to report on any movement observed by Hamas terrorists in the area.

The suspects, according to the Hamas intelligence wing, were arrested after they received data and documents from these suspects that were described as dangerous.

Hamas also said that they have received data that included the names of all Gazans who were collaborating with Israeli forces.
Abuja, Jan 27 : At least 22 Nigerian soldiers have been killed and several others wounded by suspected terrorists in a remote town in the country's northeastern state of Borno, the military said on Monday.

Edward Buba, spokesperson for the military, confirmed the casualties in a statement obtained Monday by Xinhua in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, without revealing where and when the attack took place.

He said the suspected terrorists planned an ambush and deployed improvised explosive devices, such as person-borne explosive devices and vehicle-borne explosive devices, to ward off advancing ground troops during an anti-terror raid.

The recent attack on troops followed the thwarting of several terrorist attempts on military bases in Borno, with the military "shooting down the amateur drones used by the terrorists" in some of the attacks, Buba said, recalling that at least 70 suspected terrorists, including a brigade commander and a special forces commander for an armed group in the northeast region, had been killed earlier.

On Sunday, local media outlets reported that another high-ranking commander was also among those killed during the attack on an army base in Borno, Xinhua news agency reported.

Armed attacks have been a primary security threat in Nigeria's northern and central regions, leading to deaths and kidnappings in recent months.

Kenyan President William Ruto, who is also the champion of the African Union (AU) institutional reforms, said on Monday that conflict continues to deny Africa of its potential, costing the continent an estimated 18 billion US dollars annually and displacing millions of people.

Ruto said Africa currently hosts 35 million internally displaced persons, 8.9 million refugees, 1.1 million asylum seekers, and one million stateless persons.

"Between April and June 2024 alone, a total of 1,000 terrorism incidents were recorded across Africa, resulting in 4,818 deaths," he said during the high-level Extended Bureau Retreat on AU Institutional Reforms held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

The day-long event brought together presidents from Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Ghana, and the Comoros, as well as Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the AU Commission, to accelerate reforms of the 55-member continental organisation.

Ruto noted that the AU security architecture in its current configuration is incapable of addressing the continent's complex dynamics and challenges, and there is an urgent need for immediate revitalization of the peace and security architecture.

He also said the pan-African bloc's presence in regional hotspots remains weak, fragmented, and under-resourced.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), R. Alice Vaz, held a high-level meeting on Monday to review the preparedness for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled for February 5.

The meetingas objective was to ensure a smooth and orderly electoral process.

The focus was on key aspects such as law and order, security arrangements, voter awareness, and election expenditure monitoring.

Senior officials, including District Election Officers (DOs), Deputy Commissioners (DCs), Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs), Returning Officers (ROs), Police Observers, Expenditure Observers, and General Observers were all present in the meeting.

Senior officers from the Delhi Police, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), NDMC, and Cantonment Boards were also in attendance.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) representatives and State Police Nodal Officers provided additional insights for effective coordination.

The deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to manage sensitive zones across the city was one of the major points which were discussed. Strategies were finalised for areas requiring heightened security to ensure the safety of voters and maintain peace during the election period. The meeting also stressed the importance of monitoring election expenditures.

Expenditure observers were tasked with overseeing campaign spending to ensure adherence to guidelines and maintain fairness throughout the election process.

MCD reported significant progress in its defacement removal campaign, having already cleared over 13 lakh posters, banners, and hoardings across the city. This is part of efforts to enforce the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and reduce election-related defacement.

Voter education and awareness were also discussed in detail, with Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities being reviewed.

Returning Officers presented their voter awareness plans, which were appreciated for their potential to encourage informed voter participation.

The distribution of Voter Information Slips (VIS) is a top priority. Polling officials have already started reaching out to households to distribute these slips, which provide vital information about polling stations and the voteras registration details. The goal is to ensure 100 per cent distribution of VIS by January 31.

Moreover, preparations for polling stations were discussed, with an emphasis on ensuring Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) at all sites, including ramps, accessible toilets, parking, and adequate lighting.

To enhance transparency, 100 per cent webcasting will be implemented at polling stations to monitor the election process. Proper training of polling personnel and arrangements for counting centres were also highlighted to ensure a smooth, efficient, and transparent election day.
Nicosia, Jan 27 : Israeli flights scheduled to land at Paphos airport in western Cyprus have been redirected to Larnaca airport on the island's southern coast, following a directive from Israeli authorities, according to a Cypriot official on Monday.

The change in destination, which will last several days, comes after the Israeli government cited "various security reasons" for the decision.

Victor Papadopoulos, Director of the Cyprus President's press office, confirmed the alteration in flight routes, stating, "We were informed that the Israelis decided to operate their flights to and from Larnaca airport instead of Paphos." However, Papadopoulos refrained from providing further details on the reasons behind the move.

Israeli media first reported the change late on Sunday night, mentioning security concerns as the primary factor. According to Cyprus' state-run Cyprus News Agency, the decision was made by Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency. The directive is expected to remain in place until further notice.

There are about 17 flights per week from Tel Aviv and Haifa to Paphos, while approximately 60 flights operate weekly between Israel and Larnaca, according to the winter flight schedules, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Israeli embassy in Nicosia also confirmed the diversion, explaining that flights operated by Israeli carriers, including EL AL and Arkia, would temporarily land at Larnaca due to "various security issues." The embassy assured that the situation would be closely monitored and evaluated in full cooperation with Cypriot authorities.

Cypriot authorities have tightened security measures at the Israeli embassy in Nicosia and other possible Israeli targets around the island since the start of the conflict in Gaza last year.
New Delhi, Jan 27 : Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was implemented in Uttarakhand on Monday. With the implementation of UCC, the state will have uniform rules for personal and family matters for all citizens, regardless of religions.

Following this historic step by the government led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Shatrughan Singh, Chairman of the Rules and Implementation Committee, spoke exclusively with IANS.

During the conversation, Singh elaborated on the UCC and answered several key questions. Shatrughan Singh had led the drafting of the UCC for Uttarakhand. He had submitted a 400-page manual to the government, which has now become law.

Regarding the implementation of UCC in Uttarakhand, Shatrughan Singh, said: "It is a matter of great happiness that we were working on this, and now Uttarakhand is the first state under the Constitution to implement UCC. While Goa already had UCC, Uttarakhand is the state that has fulfilled the expectations under Article 44 of the Constitution.

"This is a significant step, taken after in-depth study and debate. Several Supreme Court rulings have also called for the implementation of UCC. Now that it is being implemented, those opposing it will have to explain what is wrong with it."

When asked about the challenges of UCC, he said: "The process was difficult and sensitive, as it involved communication with all communities. Committee members travelled across the state, engaging with the people. In addition, studying traditional laws and integrating them into a unified framework required hard work. This process took over three years and has now been implemented."

When asked if the process was simpler in Uttarakhand due to its demographic profile, he said: "Uttarakhand's demographics are a microcosm of the country's diversity, representing Muslim, Christian, Sikh, and other communities. Although each region has its own traditions, the fundamental spirit of UCC will remain the same across states. Uttarakhand's demographics were not easy, as people from various communities live here. However, the way the core issues were handled here will serve as guidance for other states."

Regarding controversies over personal laws under UCC, he clarified: "There were misconceptions that personal laws were abolished, but that is not true. The draft prepared by the committee included special provisions for matters such as marriage, divorce, and maintenance, which clarified the role of the courts in these processes. However, in some cases, the state government made revisions."

When asked whether other states would adopt Uttarakhandas UCC, he said: "It is difficult to say, but Uttarakhand has created a template. Other states can learn from it and amend it according to their circumstances."

Shatrughan Singh further stated: "A provision for punishment has been included for those who do not follow the UCC. For example, if someone fails to register a marriage or live-in relationship and does not comply after a notice, there will be a fine and punishment. If anyone challenges the UCC in court, the decision will be taken by the judiciary."

Regarding the status of UCC in Uttar Pradesh, he said: "In Uttar Pradesh, UCC has not been formally implemented like it has been in Uttarakhand. There may be some provisions, but they have not introduced a completely new law."

Asked about the impact of UCC on the Muslim community, he said: "The aim of UCC is to protect the rights of all communities, especially women. In the Muslim community, certain traditional practices, such as polygamy and 'halala,' have now been abolished. This is a positive step for women. While some men may oppose changes to traditional rights, this is a progressive law."

On the provisions for live-in relationships under UCC, he explained, "In Uttarakhand, couples in live-in relationships will be required to register. If they have children, those children will have the same rights as children born to married couples. There will be no legal obligation of marriage, but registration will be mandatory."

Regarding same-sex marriages, he clarified: "There is no provision for same-sex marriage in the UCC. It only recognises marriage between a man and a woman."

When asked about facing criticism, he said: "Any change comes with opposition, especially when it is related to religious and cultural issues. Some people in the Muslim community are opposing it, but when it comes to women's rights, a large portion of society agrees with it."

When Shatrughan Singh was asked by IANS about his future plans, he said, "I am currently the Chairman of the Pay Discrepancy Committee and have also been working with a commission responsible for policy making. When asked if he would help other states in drafting the UCC, he said, "If other states seek my assistance in drafting UCC, I am ready to guide them."
Patna, Jan 27 : Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) National President Lalu Prasad Yadav's elder daughter and Pataliputra MP Misa Bharti physically appeared before the Danapur court in connection with violation of the Model Code of Conduct during the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

An FIR was filed at the Maner police station, alleging that Bharti conducted a roadshow without the necessary permissions during the Lok Sabha election.

On Monday, Misa Bharti appeared in person before the First Class Judicial Magistrate Arbaaz Ansari at the Danapur Sub-Divisional Court, in compliance with a court directive.

She recorded her statement and confirmed that she was present to follow the court's orders.

Earlier, she had already been granted bail in the case.

Her lawyer, Shivkumar Yadav, filed an appeal to terminate the case, but the Magistrate directed Misa Bharti to appear in person.

Further proceedings and decisions will depend on the court's instructions.

"Misa Bharti was directed to appear physically as per the court's order. Following the court's order, she has registered her presence in the court. Earlier, she got bail in this case. Further action and orders will be as per the court's instructions," Yadav said.

Yadav also said, "We have appealed in the court to terminate this case. The matter is still pending before the court. We are hopeful that the decision will come in our favour."

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Misa Bharti, the RJD candidate from Pataliputra constituency, was defeated by BJP candidate Ram Kripal Yadav with a margin of nearly 40,000 votes.

Despite this defeat, she made a strong comeback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where she successfully defeated Ram Kripal Yadav by a margin of around 39,000 votes.

This victory marked a significant reversal of fortunes for Misa Bharti and the RJD in the Pataliputra constituency.

Misa Bharti, known for her active engagement with her constituency, frequently visits the Pataliputra area to address the grievances of the local population.

Her proactive approach and regular interaction with the public have helped her maintain a strong connection with her constituents, contributing to her success in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where she defeated BJP's Ram Kripal Yadav.
Bhopal, Jan 27 : a Congress on Monday slammed the BJP government and the RSS for allegedly "insulting" Ambedkar and the Constitution.

Bhopal, Jan 27 (IANS) Congress on Monday slammed the BJP government and the RSS for allegedly "insulting" Ambedkar and the Constitution.

"Congress workers must protect the Constitution at any cost. It should not get insulted by the BJP or the RSS," said Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi while addressing the 'Jai Babu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' rally in Mhow.

He also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and alleged that the BJP and RSS are conspiring to make Dalit and Adivasi "slaves".

"Ambedkar's Constitution was insulted by Mohan Bhagwat when he said that the Constitution did not give us freedom. Ambedkar's efforts, his blood and sweat were directly insulted and attacked by him," LoP Rahul Gandhi added.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also targeted the RSS while highlighting the views of Late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Late Union Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Quoting the statements of Nehru and Patel, the Congress President said that the BJP often spread wrong information about the understanding between Nehru and Patel.

"Both leaders were highly upset after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination and they banned the RSS," said the Congress President.

He further questioned that if taking dips into the Sangam would end poverty in the country or feed hungry people.

"The BJP leaders are visiting Prayagraj only for the cameras. But I don't want to question anyone's faith. If anyone has felt bad about my comments, I apologise. But tell me, when a child is dying of hunger and is not going to school, labourers are not getting their dues, at such a time, these people are spending thousands of rupees and competing for the camera in Prayagraj," said the Congress President.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while addressing the rally said Rahul Gandhi did 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to save the Constitution and brotherhood among the society.

"Today, if anyone is fighting against the BJP, he is Rahul Gandhi. He is fighting to protect the Constitution and rights of citizens of the country," Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister added.

Former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot said that Mhow's rally will encourage Congress workers from across the country to fight against the BJP.

"Under the BJP government, the power of all institutions and constitutional bodies has weakened. Being in opposition, we have to fight against it," Pilot added.

Later, Rahul Gandhi along with Mallikarjun Kharge visited Ambedkar's memorial at his birthplace and paid tribute.

The memorial was established during former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan-led BJP government.

Mhow also has been officially renamed as the Ambedkar Nagar in respect of Ambedkar.
Imphal/Aizawl, Jan 27 : The United Naga Council (UNC) on Monday reiterated its opposition to the border fencing along the India-Myanmar border.

In Mizoram, an apex student body, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), on Monday wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging the Central government to reconsider its decision to 'scrap' the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and erection of fencing the India-Myanmar border.

UNC President N.G. Lorho once again issued directives to all its units and subordinate organisations to initiate stringent steps to prevent the border fencing activities at their respective jurisdiction in unison without fear and favour.

"No activities in regards to the purported construction of border fencing along the imaginary artificial India-Mayanmar border would be allowed in the Naga ancestral homeland. Esteemed units and subordinate bodies of the Council of the impacted areas are requested to initiate stringent steps to prevent the fencing activities at their respective jurisdiction in unison without fear and favour," the UNC directive said.

It added that the Naga population in Manipur is called to remain steadfast to "fight against such sinister design of the colonial power to alienate the Nagas from their lands by the sinister move of the government -- constructing walls and fencing along the "imaginary" India-Myanmar border.

Nagaland and Mizoram governments and a large number of political parties in the two states have been opposing both border fencing and the FMR.

People belonging to different tribal communities living on either side of the India and Myanmar borders, and the Nagaland and Mizoram governments have been demanding to continue the old FMR regime.

The Ministry of Home Affairs recently adopted a new scheme to issue a pass to the border residents of both India and Myanmar living within 10 km on either side of the frontier to regulate cross-border movements.

The new scheme would replace the previously suspended FMR, which earlier allowed citizens residing close to both sides of the India-Myanmar border to move 16 km into each other's territory without a passport or visa.

Four northeastern states -- Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km), and Mizoram (510 km) -- share a 1,643-km unfenced border with Myanmar.

The entire 1,643-km porous India-Myanmar border, known for the smuggling of arms, ammunition, and narcotics, will be fenced at a cost of Rs 31,000 crore.

In Mizoram, the apex student body, MZP sent its letter to the Union Home Minister through state Governor General (retired) V.K Singh.

The MZP letter said the FMR with Myanmar has played a vital role in preserving and fostering the Mizo way of life as well as cultural ties between ethnic Mizos of the two countries by facilitating cross-border contact, economic activities, sharing of resources and participation in each other's cultural, religious ceremonies and community events.

"The proposed termination of the FMR and the fencing of the Indo-Myanmar border threaten to sever these bonds, depriving the Mizo community's cultural rights and access to essential resources.

This decision of the fencing and scrapping of FMR disregards the geographical, historical, and economic interconnectedness of our communities, which have long transcended political boundaries," the letter said.

--IANS

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Patna, Jan 27 : Two youths were killed while another was critically injured in a road accident on Monday in the Khagaul area of Patna in Bihar.

The incident occurred at Kothwa Mor under Rupaspur police station when a speeding black Creta SUV rammed into their bike. The deceased, identified as Rajiv Ranjan (20) and Shashi Nikhil (18) alias Nishu.

They along with Abhimanyu, were heading towards Khagaul when the SUV hit their bike, dragging it for a considerable distance. The driver of the SUV fled the scene after the collision.

Passersby quickly rescued the injured youths and transported them to Patna AIIMS, where Rajiv Ranjan and Shashi Nikhil succumbed due to their injuries while Abhimanyu is battling for his life in AIIMS Patna.

The SHO of Rupaspur said that an FIR under charges of rash and negligent driving has been registered based on eyewitness accounts.

"We are making efforts to trace the location of the Creta SUV and apprehend the driver. We are scanning the CCTV footage to identify the vehicle. We have also alerted the local automobile workshop to inform them of any accidental SUV to the police," said the SHO.

According to the victims' families, Abhimanyu had gone to Nishu's house earlier in the afternoon, inviting him to accompany him. The accident occurred around 3:30 PM.

Upon receiving information, the families of all three youths rushed to the spot and later to the hospital. The police have seized the bike, bearing registration number BR01FV3505, and are continuing their investigation into the matter.

Efforts are ongoing to locate the errant SUV and bring the driver to justice.

Earlier, a government school teacher was killed and the principal was grievously injured after a huge branch of a tree fell on them in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Monday.

The incident, which was captured on CCTV, took place in the Meenapur area when the teacher and the principal were on their way to the school on a two-wheeler.

The teacher who died was identified as Vishakha. The principal, Phoolbabu Rai, is undergoing treatment in a local hospital.
Imphal, Jan 27 : Opposition Congress in Manipur on Monday filed disqualification petitions before the Speaker's Tribunal of the Assembly against four National People's Party (NPP) MLAs for extending support to the BJP-led government, despite the party withdrawing its support to the saffron party in November last year.

Manipur Congress Vice-President Hareshwar Goswami, a retired bureaucrat, filed four different disqualification petitions against the NPP MLAs at the Speaker's Tribunal of the Assembly.

Speaking to the media, Goswami's lead counsel, N. Bupenda Meitei, said that his client (the petitioner), filed the disqualification petitions against four NPP MLAs for extending support to the BJP-led government in the state.

"The four MLAs attend a meeting of the ruling MLAs in November.

The meeting was convened by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, despite NPP National President (Conrad K. Sangma) and his party (NPP), had withdrawn support to the BJP government in Manipur," said Meitei, also an advocate in Manipur High Court.

Citing the Meghachandra case in the Supreme Court for deciding pending disqualification petitions within three months of the date of filing of the disqualification petitions, he expressed confidence that the Speaker would dispose of the disqualification petitions expeditiously.

The 4 NPP MLAs are Mayanglambam Rameshwar Singh, Thongam Shanti Singh, Irengbam Nalini Devi, and Janghemlung Panmei. '

The NPP, led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Sangma, had on November 17 last year withdrawn support to the BJP-led government in Manipur, claiming that CM Biren Singh-led Manipur government "completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy" in the violence-ravaged state.

The NPP had seven MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly.

The withdrawal by the NPP, however, did not have any impact on Chief Minister Biren Singh-led Manipur government as the BJP has 37 MLAs' support in the 60-member Assembly and is also supported by five MLAs of Naga People's Front (NPF) and three Independents.

NPP MLA N. Kayisii, also the party's Manipur unit President, died on January 18 after a prolonged illness, leaving six-party legislators in the House at present.

However, after the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, 10 tribal, including seven BJP and two Kuki People's Alliance legislators, have been boycotting the Assembly sessions and demanding a separate administration or Union Territory for the tribals in the state.

Of the 10 tribal MLAs, two are Ministers -- Letpao Haokip and Nemcha Kipgen (lone woman Minister) a"- are also not coming to the state capital due to security reasons and not attending the Cabinet meeting.

The ruling BJP and the Chief Minister did not yet take any action against the party's seven tribal MLAs.
Bengaluru, Jan 27 : Unable to bear alleged harassment by his wife, a man reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself on Monday at Hubballi in Karnataka. The victim ended his life on the same day his divorce petition was scheduled for a hearing in court.

The deceased has been identified as Peter. He reportedly left a suicide note alleging that he took the extreme step due to "torture by his wife".

According to the police, Peter, a resident of Chamundeshwarinagar, stated in his note: "Daddy, I am sorry. Pinky (my wife) is killing me. She wants my death."

Family sources confirmed that, as per Peter's wishes, his family had it written on his coffin box that he died because he was unable to bear the harassment by his wife.

It has been alleged that Peter's wife, who worked as a teacher at a private school, was in a relationship with another man.

When Peter and her family confronted her, she reportedly asserted that "it was her life and her choice".

Following frequent arguments and disputes, she moved out of the house and filed for divorce.

Peter's family further alleged that his wife had demanded Rs 20 lakh as compensation and also mentally harassed him for money.

Earlier, in a shocking incident, a husband set himself on fire in front of his wife's residence in the Nagarbhavi locality of Bengaluru last Thursday after he was unable to convince her to withdraw the divorce petition.

Police said that the deceased husband is identified as 39-year-old Manjunath, a resident of Kunigal town. He owned a cab.

According to the police, Manjunath had got married in 2013 and lived in a flat after marriage in Bengaluru. The couple had a nine-year-old boy.

Earlier, Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash had committed suicide over alleged torture and a demand of Rs 3 crore by his wife Nikita Singhania for a divorce settlement.

Amid public outrage and furore over the sensational suicide case of Atul Subhash, another case of suicide involving a police officer, allegedly due to similar reasons of torture by his wife and her family, was reported from Bengaluru on December 14, 2024.
Gurugram, Jan 27 : In a crackdown on illegal immigration, the Gurugram Police arrested three Bangladeshi nationals for illegally residing in the Manesar area without valid documents.

The trio had allegedly used fake documents to gain entry into the country and bypass immigration checks, police said.

The accused have been identified as Fatima alias Lomiya (21), Khadija alias Tanisha (25) and Mohammad Habib (19), all residents of Bangladesh.

During police interrogation, it was found that the trio are siblings.

According to the police, Fatima was brought to India by another Bangladeshi girl about three years ago. She contacted her sister Khadija and called her to India as well. Khadija and Mohammad Habib had come to India three to four months ago.

Police also booked an unknown man who helped these accused make fake Indian documents and his search is going on, police said.

The trio have been booked under BNS sections 318(4), 336(2), 336(3), 340(2), 3(5), Foreigners Act sections 14 (A) (B) and (C) and sections 12(1)(C) of the Passports Act.

Gurugram Police started a special campaign against Rohingya and other foreigners living illegally in Gurugram.

Under the campaign, Rohingya and Bangladeshis living illegally in Gurugram are being checked in different areas of the city.

Under this special campaign, 15 police teams were formed for this campaign. These teams conducted special checks at various places like slums, colonies, and hotels in the area of aaGurugram.

Police said the landlords must ensure police verification of landlords and action would also be taken against the landlords of tenants living without police verification.

"If anyone is found staying illegally, action is being taken as per rules against them. In addition, if anyone is found providing housing facility illegally without police verification, FIR will be registered against them," Sandeep Kumar, spokesperson of the Gurugram police said.

"The Gurugram Police appeals to everyone to get their tenants, workers and hotel workers police verification so that no criminal activity takes place in your area or in the society. If there is any suspicious person living around you, immediately inform the police control," he added.
Patna, Jan 27 : The Patna Court issued a warrant on Monday against Sanjeev Mukhiya, the alleged mastermind behind multiple question paper leak cases.

The court directed the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) to arrest Mukhiya at the earliest.

If he is not apprehended or does not appear in court within a month, the court has authorised the investigating agency to attach his properties through a public advertisement.

Sanjeev Mukhiya is accused of orchestrating the leaks of several important examinations, including the Bihar Public Service Commission teacher recruitment exam, constable recruitment exam, and the NEET exam.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also filed a case against Mukhiya under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after uncovering assets grossly disproportionate to his known sources of income.

An ED investigation revealed that Mukhiya possessed 144 per cent more assets than his legitimate income.

Raids conducted at his hideouts unearthed extensive evidence, including documents for land, luxury vehicles, jewellery, and movable and immovable properties valued in crores of rupees.

The court's stern directives mark a significant step in the case, intensifying efforts to bring Mukhiya to justice for his alleged involvement in this high-profile examination paper leak scam.

Sanjeev Mukhiya, a resident of Nagarnausa in Nalanda district, for his alleged involvement in a series of examination-related scams, including the NEET exam paper leak case, which drew nationwide attention.

The EOU, the ED, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are actively investigating the matter, with efforts underway to arrest him.

Sanjeev Mukhiya first came under scrutiny in 2010 when his name surfaced in a case involving exam cheating using Bluetooth devices.

Subsequently, he was allegedly involved in the Bihar constable recruitment exam paper leak, among other similar scams.

Mukhiya's son, Shiv Kumar, is already in jail for involvement in the teacher recruitment exam paper leak case.

The NEET exam paper leak case saw multiple arrests following intervention by the Supreme Court.

The CBI and ED have expanded their probe, with the Patna Civil Court now issuing a warrant against Mukhiya, ordering his arrest.
Guwahati, Jan 27 : Assam Police have thwarted an attempt by the Bangladeshi infiltration along the international border and pushed back two citizens of the neighbouring country following their arrest here on Monday, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Sarma said in X post, "Maintaining strict vigil along the international border, @assampolice apprehended two illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators near the border and promptly pushed them back."

Two Bangladeshi nationals were identified as Md Zulmat Ali and Md Sakil. Both of them were pushed back to Bangladesh. The security vigilance along the international border with Bangladesh was heightened following the unrest in the neighbouring country.

Sarma earlier asserted that although some of the Bangladeshi infiltrators managed to get Aadhaar cards, they could not enrol themselves in the voter list.

He said, "There is no chance that people cross illegally the international border from Bangladesh and get themselves enrolled in the voter list in Assam because we have caught many people who illegally entered Indian territory and they were pushed back within a few hours," he said.

He added that most of the infiltrators were arrested in the morning around 5 AM and before 9 AM in the morning and pushed back to the neighbouring country.

"In two or three hours, they can not register themselves in the voter list," he said.

The Chief Minister said that the security forces must remain double vigilant in this matter.

"We have decided to take a slew of measures against the detection of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh," he added.

The Chief Minister asserted that people from Bangladesh come to India as poverty has climbed up in the neighbouring country after the recent unrest following the departure of the Sheikh Hasina government.

He also claimed that contrary to conventional apprehension, mainly people who belong to the Muslim community have been trying to cross the border and enter India illegally for the sake of jobs.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, Jan 27 : The Dharwad Bench of Karnataka High Court, headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna, on Monday stayed the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife, B.M. Parvathi, and Minister for Urban Development, Byrathi Suresh, in connection with the MUDA land scam matter.

The Bench questioned the urgency of the ED's actions, asking, "What is the tearing hurry?" while passing the order.

CM Siddaramaiah's wife, Parvathi, who has been named as the second accused in the case, was asked to appear before the ED on Tuesday (January 28).

Minister Byrathi Suresh, a close confidant of the CM, was scheduled to appear before ED officers on Monday.

Both Parvathi and Suresh had separately approached the court, seeking relief and requesting a stay on the ED summons.

The High Court granted a stay on the EDas summons until February 10, pending the next hearing in the case.

Sandeep Chowta, counsel for CM Siddaramaiah's wife, argued that the allegations of illegal allotment of 14 sites against Parvathi did not involve monetary gain. He requested a stay on the investigation against her by the ED.

Justice Nagaprasanna questioned Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Arvind Kamat, representing the ED, asking why the agency was continuing its investigation when the matter was already being addressed in court.

ASG Kamat submitted that CM Siddaramaiah's wife is the second accused in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam and is facing charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The bench noted that the illegal assets in question were no longer in the possession of the accused. It emphasized that the ED's investigation should not interfere with the proceedings of the court, which has reserved its judgment in the MUDA case.

The court further questioned the ED's urgency, stating: "What is the emergency to probe the matter at this juncture? The case has been reserved for judgment. Why should the investigation by the ED proceed now?"

ASG Kamat explained that the ED had only requested the accused to appear and produce documents, and that this would not interfere with the courtas proceedings.

The bench responded that the MUDA case is based on an FIR filed by the Lokayukta and is currently reserved for judgment. The court observed: "I cannot allow this as it will frustrate the proceedings before me, especially since I have already heard the related case and reserved orders."

Previously, the High Court had also canceled the summons issued by the ED to former MUDA Commissioner D.B. Natesh.

The bench stated that the argument that the ED is merely recording statements cannot be accepted, as failure to appear could lead to arrests by the ED. Appropriate orders were issued to stay the EDas summons.

Senior counsel C.V. Nagesh, appearing for Minister Byrathi Suresh, submitted that his client is not an accused in the MUDA case.

Despite this, the ED had issued summons directing him to appear before the agency at 11 a.m. on Monday. Nagesh requested similar protection for his client, arguing that the High Court had already canceled the summons issued to former MUDA Commissioner, Natesh.

The Enforcement Directorate issued a notice to Parvathi, who is the second accused in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam. The ED has also issued notice to the Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, a close confidante of CM Siddaramaiah.

Sources said the notice was issued to Parvathi under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act.

The notice, signed by senior ED officer Murali Kannan, has asked her to be present before the ED sleuths on January 28 (Tuesday).

The sources further revealed that this was the second notice to CMas wife Parvathi by the ED. On the first occasion, Parvathi had sought two weeks citing the reasons of ill health, age and inability to appear before the ED officers. She had also pleaded with the officers to allow her to appear before them online. However, the ED has not considered the pleas.

It was revealed that since there is a possibility of the ED initiating legal measures against CM Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi this time, the CMas family had approached the High Court to seek a stay on the notice by the ED.

The counsel for Parvathi had requested the High Court bench to take up the petition on an emergency basis. Considering the request, the court has agreed to take up the petition by Monday.
Bhubaneswar, Jan 27 : The Odisha government has appointed former State Director General of Police Prakash Mishra as an advisor to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, officials said.

As per the notification issued by the Odisha General Administration and Public Grievances Department, Mishra has been accorded Cabinet Minister rank.

"Prakash Mishra, IPS (retired) is appointed as Advisor to the Chief Minister in the rank of Cabinet Minister," reads the notification.

Following the appointment, Mishra expressed his gratitude to the Chief Minister for giving him a huge responsibility.

"I hope that I will be able to perform the duty bestowed upon me properly and successfully address the concerns of the people of Odisha," he said.

He also added that his primary focus would be on the effective functioning of the new BJP-led government, addressing the concerns of the citizens.

The 1977 Odisha cadre IPS officer has earlier served as the Director General (DG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

He was the DG of Odisha Police from 2012 to 2014.

Mishra was later removed as the Odisha Police Chief in July 2014 and a vigilance case was also slapped against him in September 2014.

However, the Orissa High Court quashed the charges against Mishra in June 2015.

He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the general elections in 2019.

Mishra contested from Cuttack Lok Sabha constituency but lost to BJD candidate Bhartruhari Mahtab.

Mishra is known as a strong critique of former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik.

In another significant appointment, the Governor of Odisha Hari Babu Kambhampati also appointed retired 1999-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Madhusudan Padhi as the State Election Commissioner on Monday.

The Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department issued a notification in this regard on Monday.

"In pursuance of clause (1) of Article 243-K of the Constitution, the Governor of Odisha is pleased to appoint Madhusudan Padhi, IAS (Retd.) as State Election Commissioner, Odisha," the notification said.
Cartoonist Lawrence Lindell has always found writing graphic memoirs and respecting privacy to be something of a balancing act. When I was younger, I was always trying to hide, says Lindell, a soft-spoken 36-year-old California native, via Zoom from their Bay Area home. I prefer transparency now.

Still, the author, who lives with their spouse, cartoonist Breena Nunez, and two-year-old daughter, understands the importance of privacytheir own and that of family and friends. We live in a world where people are comfortable taking pictures and videos of strangers and posting them online as their own, and having access to everyones lives literally at their fingertips, Lindell says. The point of me making autobiographical comics and graphic memoirs is that I get to share what I want to share and keep what I dont want to share. If I have that consideration for myself, then the people in my life deserve that same consideration.

Lindells comics are notably plain-spoken and autobiographical, particularly about mental health issues. The titles alone often telegraph a sense of direct urgency, as with the popular zine Couldnt Afford Therapy So I Made This (originally self-published in 2017) and its 2021 sequel, Still Couldnt Afford Therapy, So I Made This Again.

Lindells latest graphic memoir, We All Got Somethingout in April from Drawn & Quarterlyis no different. It takes an unflinching look at a troubled period in the authors early life, as they struggled with a series of setbacks and tried to maintain their mental health. Lindell documents financial and romantic strugglesas well as a move back home to live with their mom and great-auntwith black-and-white visuals that appear effortlessly drawn and work to bolster the immediacy of the narrative.

I can look at those events and reflect on them now, as opposed to what I did when I drew the Couldnt Afford Therapy zines, Lindell says. Those were drawn in the moment; this is what is happening right now. I was doing what I needed to do, which was, you know: do something!

Born in 1988 in Southern California, Lindell spent their early years in Compton. As a kid, Lindell moved around a lot within L.A. County, particularly after their parents divorced. By middle school, they were spending weekdays at their mothers house and weekends with their father. Lindell started drawing comics in high school; founded a comics publishing house, which they named Xtreme Comics (this, they say, they ripped off from Rob Liefelds Extreme Studios); and dabbled in autobiography, crafting a short-lived webcomic titled Lawrences World.

After high school, Lindell attended Otis College of Art and Design in L.A. They graduated in 2011 and later enrolled at California College of the Arts, where they received an MFA in comics in 2020. It was while in college that Lindell became inspired by Julia Wertz, Harvey Pekar, and Marjane Satrapi and worked on a series titled Because Life Is Random and So Am I, in which they continued to chronicle daily life. Lindells first graphic novel, Blackward, was published in 2023 but began five years earlier as the webcomic The Section. The lighthearted but poignant story focuses on four friendsall queer people of colorwho embark on a mission to expand their social circle, hitting many roadblocks along the way.

I got inspired to make my own fictional queer story after reading Bingo Love by Tee Franklin, Lindell says. I drew a page each day and put it on Instagram and Tumblr. It was all done on the fly, and I just started drawing characters that were like me and other people I knew.

Blackward can also been seen as a synthesis of the major themes in Lindells work. Its about community, but the point was to show that there is not one way to be Black, they say. I added in real people to illustrate that. I also used the webcomic to explore my own gender identity. I had just come out that year, so I was reflecting on my own queer experiences as they were happening.

Community is something that matters to Lindell. During the pandemic, they and Nunez launched an online publishing outfit called Laneha House. And while it began as a way for the pair to create without interruption, they soon extended invitations to publish other cartoonists work. We just gave them some freedom, Lindell says, to experience the joys of creating.

Published last August, Lindells second graphic novel, Buckle Up, is aimed at middle grade readers. It follows Lonnie, a young boy whose parents have recently split up, with much of the book taking place in Lonnies fathers car. When my parents got divorced, I would spend weekends with my dad, and he would cram all of our conversations into the car on the ride home to my moms house, Lindell recalls. So, Lonnies dad keeps trying to have these moments and lessons with him in the car.

Growth through hard knocks and inner resiliency are common themes threaded throughout Lindells body of work. In addition to charting the authors personal and professional struggles after college, We All Got Something explores the authors experiences with PTSD after surviving a shooting. In the book, Lindell depicts the incident impressionisticallythe details are purposely kept vaguefocusing on the sounds of gunfire and imagery of broken glass. Originally there was also a scene of what happened after at the emergency room, but I took it out because I dont feel the need to depict everything, nor was it needed to express how sad and dark what happened was, they say. So I drew it all messed up and blurred together.

When asked about plans for their next book, Lindell says the most important thing for them right now is concentrating on raising their daughter. Everything is new for her, Lindell says. And her level of joy and excitement is something to try to rekindle and attain for myself again.

Family life and exploring the past seem to have brought Lindell some measure of peace. Ive had a whole decades worth of time to develop a different view of that part of my life, they say. Its not so raw anymore and I can have compassion for myself. Ive moved on and am not even close to being the person that is in the book. Its impossible to be, after so many life changes.
Leisure Suits

Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings land at #2 on our hardcover nonfiction list with You Deserve to Be Rich, which our review called a practical debut manual. The duo, cohosts of the Earn Your Leisure podcast, bring a welcome recognition of the financial hardships faced by Black individuals, per our review, such as discriminatory housing policies that, the authors write, have kept Black families from getting the credit and loans that serve as the backbone of financial stability.

Girl Power

Horror writer Grady Hendrixs latest novel, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, debuts at the top of our hardcover fiction list. Its set in 1970 at a home for pregnant teenagers, and while the fantastical horror elements are uncharacteristically few, according to our review, Hendrix perfectly captures the girls youth and loss of innocence, as well as the power of their friendships. The story took root after Hendrix learned that two of his relatives had been sent to such homes as teens. I wondered what it must be like to have a child and be told to never talk about them again, he told PW in a prepub interview. It made me angry, and I decided to write a book about it.

Age Appropriate

At #6 on our hardcover nonfiction list, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old is the actor and models candid memoir-in-essays about aging in the public eye, according to our review. Though most of the book deals seriously with the contradiction of feeling personally empowered and systematically dismissed in middle age, Shields also demonstrates a flair for comedy, including in a hilarious, self-deprecating saga about peeing her pants while being transported to the hospital in an ambulance with Bradley Cooper. The upshot? Shields encourages women of all ages to reclaim their power. Its hard not to be inspired.

Lawyer Up

Scott Turows third legal thriller featuring former Kindle County prosecutor Rusty Sabich, Presumed Guilty, is #12 on our hardcover fiction list. Per our starred review, Turow keeps readers guessing about the truth, impressively maintaining suspense across the books hefty page count. Readers last encountered Sabich in 2010s Innocent, and first met him in 1987, when then Chicago attorney Turow made his fiction debut with Presumed Innocent. FSG paid more for it than it had before for a first novel$200Kand Sydney Pollack snapped up film rights for $1 million. PWs review at the time said the book may become a literary crime classic. Turow has gone on to publish a dozen-plus novels and has seen his work adapted multiple times. Not bad for an author who told PW some 38 years ago that hed thought writing would remain a private passion.
The Department of Education has moved quickly to reverse course in its efforts to stem the tide of what it now describes as "so-called" school book bans. In a Friday announcement, the DOE said it was eliminating the position of book ban coordinator at the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and dismissing 11 outstanding civil rights complaints filed with the DOE when it was overseen by the Biden Administration.

By dismissing these complaints and eliminating the position and authorities of a so-called book ban coordinator, the department is beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their childrens education, said acting assistant secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor in a statement. The department adheres to the deeply rooted American principle that local control over public education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the educational needs of their children and communities. Parents and school boards have broad discretion to fulfill that important responsibility. These decisions will no longer be second-guessed by the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education.

The news was immediately condemned by various book organizations. In its response, PEN America criticized the suggestion that books bans are a hoax. "Since 2021, we have meticulously recorded nearly 16,000 instances of book bans nationwidewhere access to books is revoked from their intended readersoften without following commonsense processes and increasingly due to censorial legislation from states," PEN said in a statement.

For over three years we have countered rhetoric that book bans occurring in public schools are a hoax. They are absolutely not," added Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America. "This kind of language from the U.S. Department of Education is alarming and dismissive of the students, educators, librarians, and authors who have firsthand experiences of censorship happening within school libraries and classrooms."

In its statement, Authors Against Book Bans called the DOE action "a distortion of the intended work of the OCRthe protection of civil rights and students freedoms in our nation's schoolsis negligent, grossly un-American, and in direct conflict with freedom of speech, a bedrock right enshrined in the Constitution." The organization stated that it "unequivocally stands against all such attempts at censorship and discrimination. We stand with families, students and educators across the country who exercise free speech every time they open a book, and with the 71% of Americans who are opposed to book bans. Book bans do not protect children; history teaches us that they are a terrifying step toward tyranny."

In its most recent report on school book bans, released in September, PEN counted more than 10,000 cases of book censorship in public schools during the 2023-2024 school year, nearly triple the number from the previous school year. PEN officials said that new state-level rules and legislation are the key drivers of the bans, with nearly 8,000 book bans recorded in Florida and Iowa, where two sweeping new laws have broadly targeted books that contain any sexual content.

The Association of American Publishers has a more nuanced view of the DOE action. "The Administration is broadly correct about the rights of parents and local communities when it comes to reading by minors," its statement reads. "But in recent years there have been over-broad restrictions from local legislatures that required litigation. The courts have been clear about the constitutional line, protecting age appropriate reading, rejecting compelled speech from the government, but also dismissing complaints that are in fact the communitys to decide." The AAP has worked to coordinate lawsuits filed against bans in Texas and Arkansas.
Later this month, African leaders and policymakers will gather at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania  East Africas most populous city  for the highly anticipated Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit.

Mission 300 is an initiative to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030. Success would have profound implications for a continent that has more than 600 million lacking basic access to electricity and millions more with unreliable power supplies that stifle economic development.

However, summit supporters  the World Bank and African Development Bank  have opposed fossil fuel projects in the recent past. Meeting the Mission 300 objective will require Africas heads of state to be bold  and unyielding  in pressing their intentions to utilize hydrocarbons to generate electricity.

Africas Time to Prosper

For too long, African nations have been caught between climate commitments that discourage the use of fossil fuels and a desperate need for the reliable energy that coal, oil and natural gas provide.

The time has come for African leaders to unapologetically embrace their natural resources and chart a course that prioritizes citizens' needs over a vacuous international agenda based on pseudoscience and power politics.

From the Niger Delta to Angolas offshore drilling rigs, hydrocarbons have contributed to national budgets and export revenues. Africa holds an estimated 125 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 620 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. South Africa alone has nearly 11 billion tons of coal.

These resources, if properly developed, could transform the continent's economic landscape. Barely scratching the surface of their potential are Nigeria, Angola, Libya, and newer players like South Sudan, Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania, Gabon, Senegal and Mauritania.

Despite the abundance of resources, the continent's per capita energy consumption remains among the lowest in the world. Energy poverty exacts a devastating toll on human development, healthcare delivery and educational opportunities.

Path to Energy Development Emerging

NJ Ayuk, a phenomenal voice for the energy rights of Africans, believes that proper energy policies would provide an unrivaled opportunity to attract new manufacturing and billions of dollars of investments.

The multiplier effect of a robust energy sector cannot be overstated. From petrochemicals to fertilizers, from manufacturing to technology services, downstream opportunities can create millions of jobs and expand the middle class that Africa needs. Consider the experience of countries like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which have leveraged hydrocarbon resources to build modern, diversified economies.

But it has not been easy for African nations. Germanys recommissioning of coal plants, Norways continued issuance of drill permits, and the U.S.s record-breaking oil production in 2024 highlight Western duplicity in discouraging African use of fossil fuels while pursuing energy abundance and autonomy at home.

The African Energy Chamber, of which Ayuk is the executive chairman, sought the help of American groups in litigating against the Net-Zero Banking Alliance of its members pledge to deny financing for oil and gas development in Africa.

The truth is there has been substantial evidence of collusion and anti-competitive behavior within the financial sector that hurts the African oil and natural gas sector and our fight to beat energy poverty, said Ayuk. These banks impose aggressive ... sustainability goals on businesses that want to invest in our energy sector (and) by so doing they are undermining fair competition.

Thankfully, the Net-Zero Banking Alliance is crumbling. Since December, all the major banks  including Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bank of America  have pulled out of the organization. Although it remains to be seen if the banks individually will abandon their coercive practices, the election of incoming American President Donald Trump  a fan of fossil fuels  has the future for investments in the African energy sector looking brighter.

The Tanzania conference presents a moment for African leaders to seize. Delegates must remember that they will be judged not on how well they conform to external expectations but on how effectively they stand for their right to use African resources to lift people out of poverty and build strong, resilient economies.
For millions of Georgians, January 2025 has started much like how 2024 ended. For several months, the Georgian opposition and Georgian citizens have protested the outcome of the stolen 2024 parliamentary elections. They demanded a new election take place under international supervision, and they have called for a fair and free process.

But Georgian Dream, the ruling political party in Georgian Parliament, has ignored these pleas. Instead, they have pressed forward with their agenda. Following the fabricated parliamentary election, which Georgian Dream falsely claims it won, the Georgian government proceeded to elect its next president. The Georgian College of Electors voted for Georgian lawmaker Mikheil Kavelashvili, a pro-Russian and anti-Western candidate, and he was elected as the next president of Georgia. Kavelashvili was then inaugurated at the end of December 2024. This sparked further outrage across Georgia.

To Georgian citizens and the opposition, the election of Kavelashvili was illegitimate as the parliamentary elections were stolen. They have argued that the new president was elected only because Georgian Dream illegally maintained its majority within parliament. Had the elections been free and fair, the opposition believes it would have defeated Georgian Dream and that a new government would have been formed in the Georgian Parliament. Furthermore, Georgian citizens and the opposition argue that anti-Russian and pro-Western Salome Zourabichvili remains as Georgias president given the illegitimate process that occurred.

Due to this controversy, Zourabichvili has refused to step down as the president of Georgia. In a statement made in December 2024, the Georgian president said that Georgia must have new parliamentary elections.

In other words, these are trying times in the Georgian political system. Zourabichvili, the Georgian opposition, and most Georgian citizens have refused to acknowledge the results of the October 2024 parliamentary elections. They have also called for stronger relations and closer ties with Western institutions. They would like to reform Georgias government so that it meets European standards, and they are hopeful that Georgia will one day become a member of the European Union.

But Georgian Dream does not share similar opinions about Western integration. Political leaders from Georgian Dream have ignored the guidance offered by the European Union to reform the government. Georgian Dream recently suspended Geogias EU accession process, and the party is refusing to speak with opposition member. These events suggest that the leaders and members of Georgian Dream are not interested in reforming their country and creating better socioeconomic opportunities in Georgia. Instead, the decision to put EU accession on hold implies that Georgian Dream is more interested in staying in power rather than improving the lifestyle of Georgian citizens.

Georgian Dreams politics are also puzzling. While the West has invited Georgia to establish stronger relationships through politics and trade, the ruling party in Georgia has opted to strengthen ties with Russia, a country that has illegally occupied Georgian territory since 2008. For example, Georgian Dream has opened commercial flights from Georgia to Russia. The two countries also continue to conduct trade.

Aside from strengthening relations with Russia, Georgian Dream has also cracked down on the opposition movement within Georgia. For example, the ruling political party has increased surveillance methods across the country. According to Eurasianet, the ruling party in Georgia pushed through legislation that would allow it to target political opponents. Security forces have also detained peaceful Georgian citizens who have protested the outcome of the recent parliamentary elections.

Given these developments, the Georgian diaspora has begun to intervene. Georgians throughout the United States and the European Union have met with Western leaders to discuss Georgian politics. These engagements by the diaspora have been successful, and they have resulted in actions being taken by the West. For example, the United States has sanctioned the founder of Georgian Dream. Similarly, the United Kingdom has sanctioned Georgian officials who were responsible for the Georgian governments brutal crackdown on the opposition. (The European Union, however, has not sanctioned Georgian Dream officials due to vetoes by EU member states Hungary and Slovakia.)

In short, the situation in Georgia is dire. If further actions are not taken against Georgian Dream, then further disruption and damage may be caused to the country. Therefore, the West should pressure the ruling party in Georgia. Western leaders must force Georgian Dream to hold new parliamentary elections with international election observers and peacekeepers. In addition, the West should sanction parliamentary members from Georgian Dream. This pressure will force Georgian Dream to alter its methods. Otherwise, if Georgian Dreams antics are not addressed, then the ruling party in Georgia will continue its authoritarian methods. This would then put Georgian democracy and the future of Georgia in jeopardy.

It is time for the West to help the Georgian opposition and Georgian citizens. After all, the West prides itself on promoting Western democracy and values.

Mark Temnycky is an accredited freelance journalist covering Eurasian affairs and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Councils Eurasia Center.
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Instagram / Zach Shallcross

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 01/27/2025



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

alum Zach Shallcross has explained why he and fiancee Kaity Biggar backed out of a wedding contract.alum Ashley Iaconetti attempted to clear up a recent In Touch Weekly report about the current status of Zach and Kaity's wedding."So you and Kaity had a venue picked. Did you have a date picked at this venue yet and you just didn't sign the contract? You had it all planned and then you decided not to go through with it? That's drama!" Ashley said on the Thursday, January 23 episode of "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast."Zach, 28, quipped, "That makes it sound very dramatic, and it's the complete opposite."Season 27 star went on to clarify of his situation with Kaity, "So we had been planning or talking about wanting to plan our wedding, figure out a date, figure out a venue, what do we like, what we don't like.""So one of our good friends just so happens to be an event planner/wedding planner," he continued, "and we were like, 'Let's just meet with her and let's talk her through what we're looking for.'"Zach recalled telling this "good friend" some "rough guidelines" of what he and Kaity were envisioning for their big day."[We talked about] what we expect and what we'd like to have," Zach explained."And credit to our wedding planner, she took it and started to run with it and just started booking us [to visit] all these places. So we were like, 'Oh, wow, this is happening really quick.'"Zach said he and Kaity "had explicitly shared" their wedding budget with this wedding planner and made it know their first priority would be buying a house together."[We thought], 'A wedding would be awesome, but let's see if it can fit into what makes sense for us,'" Zach noted, making it clear a wedding is the couple's second priority."And long story short, our lovely planner, she's like, 'Hey, with what you guys want to do, it's not going to be possible and with this venue that you guys do really like, just know you're going to go a lot over your budget.'"Zach recalled taking some time to let that bad news sink in."We pondered on it for a week and we were like, '[It] does not feel good to just go so into this venue when we've already established what our priorities are,' which is buying a house and not a down payment for one day," Zach said."So we backed out of the contract. Not saying we're done with wedding planning. We've actually gone further in other areas, but we just couldn't do that. I don't know, like it's so crazy nowadays."But Zach insisted that he would marry Kaity tomorrow if given the option."I don't know if Kaity wants me to talk about this, but we are planned to get eloped pretty soon -- like very soon," Zach revealed."And then we'll figure out celebration and all that -- the glitz and the glamour."He concluded, "It's not a matter of when, it's the other stuff, like wanting to have family from all over come for it."Zach proposed marriage to Kaity for the second time -- and with a brand new ring -- in November 2024.Zach popped the question for the second time to Kaity on their second anniversary while the pair was sailing on a romantic yacht in Lisbon, Portugal.Kaity announced the big news via Instagram on November 22, writing, "How lucky am I to get to say 'yes' to you twice!"In a November 11 video, Kaity initially broke the news that she and her fiance would be postponing their wedding planning for a bit."First off, wedding update: So we had a wedding venue, everything, and we actually didn't sign it," Kaity admitted."So we are floating the boat ourselves on this wedding, and having a wedding projected to cost $70K coming out of our pockets is just absolutely insane and not going to happen , especially when we're thinking about having a family."27 winner pointed out how she and Zach were thinking ahead -- and that included figuring out how they're going to pay for their children's schooling and "setting them up for a successful life."Kaity therefore confirmed she and Zach, who had been eyeing a Fall 2025 wedding , decided to "take a step back" from wedding planning."At this point, Zach and I are just going to re-evaluate things, take a step back," Kaity noted at the time."Obviously we want to marry each other. We just want the best venue for the right price tag, as we all do. We also have the rest of our lives together, so it's like, 'Why are we rushing into anything?'"Kaity explained the couple wanted to take things "day by day" and were just "loving being with each other" and building their relationship.As for what's next, Kaity and Zach will be taking a trip to Tokyo in Spring 2025.Zach and Kaity got engaged on 's 27th season, which filmed in late 2022 and aired in early 2023. Zach had selected Kaity over his runner-up Gabi Elnicki Interested in more news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
The intention of this column is to find and review affordable arms  because self defense shouldnt only be for those who can pay premium prices. Our goal has always been $200, but its getting harder to find firearms under that price point without them being broken, outdated, or even worth writing about. But still, there are deals to be found if you know where to look. This Hi-Point YC380 was for sale at Cabelas in Reno, Nevada, and made the cut as a diamond in the rough.

ABOUT HI-POINT

Like it or not, Hi-Point is one of the leading manufacturers of handguns in the United States. These inexpensive arms are manufactured in Mansfield, Ohio (we go behind the scenes in RECOIL Issue 68). Previous names of the company include Haskell Arms and Stallard Arms  and in fact, a Haskell Arms .40 S&W was previously purchased for $125 to try out. It was later sold off, mostly because of the caliber.

In terms of the name of this pistol? Hi-Point is a very customer-oriented company, and when they were debuting an upgraded model a few years ago they asked the internet to name it. True to their word, Hi-Point went with the fan favorite: Yeet Cannon.

THE BUILD

Hi-Point pistols are direct blowback firearms, using a heavy slide made of a zinc alloy to keep down costs as well as the ability to use a lighter recoil spring. The finish is a black powder coat.



The polymer frame features a rail to add accessories. This model features a threaded barrel, the ability to add a red dot sight, and its had some more sculpting done to streamline the look. The front sight is the same style as those found on Glock pistols, for customization like a fiber optic or night sight if you wish.

Two other noticeable additions to the YC380 are a 10-round magazine and a grip safety. While it looks a lot better than previous offerings, it still has the look and feel of a Hi-Point.

ON THE RANGE

While .380 ACP can be a snappy round in many guns, the mass of the YC380 makes it feel downright pleasant. The trigger on this pistol breaks at about 5.5 pounds. It feels somewhat like an original S&W M&P for the sake of comparison.



A few boxes of Blazer Brass 95-grain FMJ and 1 box of Hornady 90-grain XTP were spent. Two rounds of Blazer failed to fire, but the blame may lie with the ammunition over the pistol. The two rounds that failed were tried in a different pistol, and didnt ignite in that one either. The Hornady XTP functioned flawlessly.

Groups at 50 feet were about 2.5 to 3.25 inches on average.

THE AWESOME

Hi-Point Firearms is a company that catches a lot of flak, mostly because of their price and looks. However, if you can get past that  they do work. The people running the company are some of the nicest folks youll ever meet in the industry, and they actually listen to their customers.



Its ugly, but it works reliably and its reasonably accurate. Theres a lot of value in this pistol, as its a step above their past releases regarding features. The threaded barrel, ability to add a red dot, and even the easy replacement of the front sight are all major upgrades. The new 10-round magazine is a nice, too.

Several years ago, I reviewed their .380ACP Carbine, and for the life of me, could not understand why it was made. Theres no appreciable gain in velocity, .380 kind of hits a wall in barrels beyond 5 inches due to the small powder charge in the case. But Hi-Points answer was simple: Most of our customers arent typical firearm enthusiasts. They buy a .380 pistol and wanted a carbine to shoot the same ammunition without having to invest in another caliber choice.



They saw a need, if not a demand, coming from their customer base and filled it. Not too many other companies do that these days.

THE OK

The YC380 is a on the heavy side for a .380ACP at 34 ounces. Thats a bit heavier than a 9mm Glock 19. This will be the biggest issue for seasoned shooters: the weight and mass of the gun. Yet, that is also its strength for new shooters or the recoil sensitive.

THE AWFUL

Appearances aside, the only thing truly awful about the YC380 is the stigma from other gun owners, if you let that sort of thing bother you. If you dont like the pistol, dont buy it. Dont cast shade on those who do, either.



Many new shooters cant afford HK, SIG, or even Glock  and the old saying of Buy a used police revolver or surplus military pistol doesnt work anymore, as those have risen in price as collectors items.

The Yeet Cannon YC380 is an acceptable entry-level pistol.
The weather in Athens is warming up after the snow, and with the change in temperature, the signs are feeling energized and ready to take on t
'The path beyond diesel is not going to be clear. It is really going to be dependent on applications.'



Image used for representational purpose. Photograph: PTI Photo/Rediff archives

The path beyond diesel engines in India hinges on how automobile manufacturers evaluate the need for new powertrains based on their diverse requirements, such as operating conditions, performance expectations, duty cycles, affordability, and the availability of retail fuel infrastructure, Shveta Arya, India regional leader for Cummins, told Business Standard.

Cummins manufactures heavy diesel engines for leading Indian medium and heavy commercial vehicle makers such as Tata Motors.

In September 2023, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had said the automobile industry must reduce the production of high carbon-emitting diesel vehicles.

Otherwise, the government may consider imposing an additional 10 per cent goods and services tax (GST).

As major auto stocks tumbled in reaction, he clarified on the same day that no such proposal was under the governments consideration.

Arya, while talking to Business Standard at Bharat Mobility Global Expo, said: Research in the diesel sector has gone on for over 100 years. Therefore, customers get performance and efficiency from it... This path beyond diesel is not going to be clear. It is really going to be dependent on applications. Even if you look at the highway market, what the long haul trucks need, versus what the mining trucks need, versus what your short haul vehicles need will be very different.

Our strategy is to make a suite of products available and work with the customer to see which application (hydrogen or natural gas, among others) is best suited for which vehicle and in which operating environment, she added.

IMAGE: Cummins B6.7N natural gas and L10 next generation diesel engine at Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025. All photographs: Kind courtesy Cummins India/Facebook

At the Expo, the company launched a natural gas engine, a diesel engine and a hydrogen fuel delivery system.

She said, Now, we are also moving towards natural gas. This is one of the products that we have unveiled at the Expo. We have ensured, through research and development, that the natural gas engine will provide you power equivalent to diesel engine. This helps remove the barrier in a customer's mind that I can't get a similar performance from a non-diesel engine... As the natural gas supply and retail infrastructure around the country gets better, the adoption for such engines will get better.

She added that the company has also developed internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles that run on hydrogen.

She said the hydrogen engine has been built in a way to ensure that its performance remains similar to the diesel engine.

One is performance. Second is (retail) infrastructure. These two go hand in hand, which actually makes the customer switch from one fuel to another, he stated.

She stated that the hydrogen engine is ready and the Jamshedpur facility -- which is currently being set up -- will manufacture these engines.

She said the retail infrastructure for natural gas is being developed for the last 10 years. There are "pockets" in India where natural gas is available.

We in the industry and the government are working together to build the infrastructure as quickly as possible, she added.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
The race to acquire diversified fintech firm Religare Enterprise Limited (REL) intensified as Dabur group promoters, the Burman family, said it was going ahead with the open offer on Monday and claimed that the counter offer made by US-based businessman Digvijay Gaekwad wasnt valid and will not stand scrutiny of market regulator Sebi.

The Burman family claimed that the competing offer falls outside the 15-day window stipulated by the Sebi takeover code, following their initial offer on October 4th, 2023.

In his correspondence, he has only made a Request for Permission to the Sebi seeking their permission to make a competing open offer.

"Gaekwad had to make the competing offer, if at all, within 15 days from the date of public statement, which was made by the Burman Group on October 4, 2023 but he did not do so, the statement by the Burmans said.

The Burmans open offer at Rs 235 a share is opening on Monday.

In a communication to the stock exchanges on late Friday evening and on Sunday, Gaekwad has sought Sebi permission to launch an all cash offer to buy 55 per cent of Religare stake from its shareholders at a price of Rs 275 a share.

The entire stake buy exercise will cost Rs 5,000 crore to 65 years old Gaekwad.

It is a significant 17 per cent premium above the Burman family offer of Rs 235 apiece.

Over 400 days have now elapsed for entitling anyone to make a valid competing open offer. Regulation 20(5) of the SAST Regulations bars any competing offer after this period.

"So, the question of seeking permission from Sebi itself does not arise.

"The Request for Permission is entirely lacking in substance, bona fides, and offers no indication of any source of funds or even the capacity to purchase the proposed shares, the Burman family spokesperson said.

The fact that this purported letter, lacking any bona-fides has been disseminated by REL to the stock exchanges, without undertaking any diligence, reeks of connivance, deceit and gross recklessness amongst the executive leadership at REL.

"It is clearly done with the aim of misleading the public shareholders of REL on whether to participate in the open offer.

"We are going ahead with the open offer and are confident of its successful closure, the spokesperson of the Burman Group, said.

The Burmans had made the open offer after they acquired approximately 25 per cent stake in Religare.

The board, however, has said the Burman offer is too low and has asked shareholders to carefully consider their options.

Meanwhile, legal sources said the Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) may provide exemptions on the timeliness of submitting a bid under certain special circumstances as it has the authority to grant exemptions from certain provisions of its regulations, including those related to timelines.

Besides, in the interest of shareholders, if a company can demonstrate that a competing offer, even if submitted after the usual deadline, is in the best interest of its shareholders, then the regulator may consider granting an exemption, legal sources said.

The factors the Sebi may consider include superiority of the competing offer as the regulator would carefully evaluate whether it is genuinely superior to any existing offers in terms of price, terms, and conditions.

The primary focus will be on whether the exemption would result in a more favourable outcome for the companys shareholders.

Besides, the Sebi would ensure that the exemption does not unfairly disadvantage any particular group of shareholders.

The company or party seeking the exemption would have the burden of proving that the competing offer is indeed in the best interest of shareholders and that the delay in submission is justified.

The Sebi would likely require the company to disclose the details of the competing offer and the reasons for the delay in submission to all shareholders.

Each exemption request would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis based on the specific circumstances and the evidence presented by the company, legal sources said.

On the other hand, legal experts said even if it passes the Sebi scrutiny, the Gaekwad familys proposed open offer may have to navigate other hurdles.

Under FEMA regulations, overseas ownership is capped at 30 per cent.

With 10 per cent already exhausted, it leaves &&&&&limited room for the US-based businessman to acquire 55 per cent, unless there is a special government intervention.

Legal experts note that to lend credibility to the open offer, Gaekwad must approach Sebi or make a formal announcement through a merchant banker.

If Gaekwad takes legal recourse it may further delay the open offer process, which already includes Burmans pending offer, awaiting Sebis approval for over 15 months.

Who is Digvijay Danny Gaekwad?

US-based entrepreneur Digvijay Danny Gaekwad has created a flutter with his open offer to acquire 55 per cent stake in Religare Enterprises, drawing some sharp reactions from Burman family -- promoters of Dabur group.

Burmans are going ahead with their open offer in their bid to take their stake to 54 per cent at Rs 235 a share (subject to acceptance of the open offer) on Monday.

On the other hand, the fate of Gaekwads proposal of Rs 275 a share rests in Sebis hands.

As of yet, Gaekwad has not appointed a merchant banker for the offer, according to a letter addressed to the market regulator.



A Trump supporter, Gaekwad, 65, is the Founder-CEO of NDS USA, an information technology and cloud services company, and the founder of Danny G Management, which owns and operates various restaurants and hotels.

The University of Central Florida, where he is a trustee on the board, says Gaekwad also owns DG Hospitality, a hotel and restaurant management consulting company, and Danny Gaekwad Development & Investments, which oversees his real estate investments.

Born in Vadodara, Gujarat, Gaekwad is son of a judge and grandson of a Colonel in the Indian Army.

After graduating in Political Science from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, he went to the United States in 1987 and set up several small-and medium-sized companies in diverse areas that include convenience stores, real estate development, hospitality, and information technology.

Over the years, Gaekwad created thousands of jobs in Florida and other parts of the United States, contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to the economy, the website says.

In 2016, Danny was recognised by then Florida Governor Rick Scott with the One Million Jobs certificate of appreciation for his contribution in helping Florida job creators add 1 million jobs between December 2010 and December 2015.

Gaekwad also served in a variety of public, private and non-prot leadership roles including a Trustee of University of Central Florida Board of Trustees and executive Board Member, Enterprise Florida Board of Directors among others.
When the Soviet army reached Auschwitz 80 years ago, on January 27, 1945, it found only about 7,000 inmates.

What they saw was beyond words -- living skeletons, lice-infested human forms with just skin and bones, barely able to stand, greeted them.

IMAGE: Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlaender at the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Berlin, Germany, January 23, 2025. Photograph: Annegret Hilse/Reuters

Eighty years ago, on January 27, 1945, the Soviet army freed thousands of people who had survived the largest graveyard in human history -- Auschwitz in Poland.

The world commemorates today the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi death camp where over a million people, mostly Jews, were butchered during World War II.

Auschwitz is a reminder of the evil, barbarism and brutality that man is capable of and the grit, determination and helplessness of those who survived.

The camp, on the outskirts of the Polish town of Oswiecim, was set up by the Nazis in 1940. Hitler had invaded Poland and the Germans renamed the town Auschwitz.

In the beginning, Auschwitz was meant mainly to confine Polish rebels who the Nazis considered to be a threat to their occupation. The Polish prisoners were subjected to horryfying treatment and within 20 months more than 10,000 prisoners died.

But more, unparalleled horrors were unleashed on January 20, 1942, at the Wannsee conference in Berlin. The Nazis came up with the 'Final Solution' for Jews -- mass murder.

During 1942 about 200,000 Jews were sent to Auschwitz from all over Europe. About 70 percent of them were murdered on arrival.

IMAGE: Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor Teresa Regula, 96, a retired sociologist, at a photo session for Reuters in Krakow, Poland, January 22, 2025, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

Auschwitz consited of three main camps and over 40 sub-camps. Auschwitz II or Birkenau was built in October 1941 and held more than 100,000 Jews; it was the main site of mass killings.

Birkenau was the epitome of Nazi efficiency. Gas chambers and crematoria capable of disposing of about 2,000 people a day were built there.

Jewish men, women and children were herded to Auschwitz in trains, like animals.

Those deemed too old or too weak to work were led to the 'showers' -- chambers where Zyklon B crystals, a pesticide used to kill rats, suffocated them. Then the bodies were burned in ovens designed specially for the purpose.

Rolling wagons slid in and out of the ovens so that corpses could be burned quickly.

The remains of the dead were put to industrial use.

IMAGE: Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor Teresa Regula, 96, holds a picture of her father Jan Regula who died in Auschwitz. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

By 1944, Auschwitz was killing 6,000 people a day.

Often, the living suffered more.

The camp had various classes of prisoners. They were distinguished by special marks and numbers tattooed on flesh; Jews were treated the worst.

The inmates were treated worse than slaves. They toiled in the extreme Polish winter with little clothing, several slept on a hard wooden bunk. They were given little to eat. They were subjected to inhuman torture as part of 'experiments'.

Disobedience was punished with starvation, hanging or shooting.

Towards the end of the Second World War, the Nazis took many Auschwitz inmates on 'death marches' through the Polish winter. No food, no water; slowing down meant bullets.

When the Soviet army reached Auschwitz on January 27, 1945 it found only about 7,000 inmates. What they saw was beyond words -- living skeletons, lice-infested human forms with just skin and bones, barely able to stand, greeted them.

IMAGE: Hungarian Auschwitz survivor Agnes Darvas, 92, looks at photographs of her younger years in an album in her apartment in Budapest, Hungary, January 9, 2025. Photograph: Marton Monus/Reuters

IMAGE: Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor Antoni Domanski speaks during an interview for Reuters in Warsaw, Poland, January 8, 2025. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

IMAGE: Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor Janina Iwanska, 94, a retired pharmacist, reacts during a photo session for Reuters in Warsaw, Poland, January 7, 2025. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

IMAGE: An exhibition of discarded shoes displayed in Auschwitz, January 9, 2025. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

IMAGE: A person stands next to barbed wire at Auschwitz-Birkenau, January 26, 2025. Photograph: Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters

IMAGE: An external view of Auschwitz-Birkenau, January 26, 2025. Photograph: Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters

IMAGE: A woman crosses the Arbeit macht frei (Work sets you free) gate at Auschwitz, January 10, 2025. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

IMAGE: Pictures of prisoners are displayed at Auschwitz, January 9, 2025. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

IMAGE: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlaender on the day of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in Berlin, January 23, 2025. Photograph: Annegret Hilse/Reuters

IMAGE: The Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, January 26, 2025. Photograph: Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
The Union health ministry has deputed a high-level multi-disciplinary team to Pune to aid state authorities in instituting interventions and managing the spurt in suspected and confirmed cases of Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) in the city.

Image used only for representation. Photograph: ANI Photo

The central team sent to Maharashtra comprises seven experts from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Delhi, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) Bengaluru, Regional Office of Health & Family Welfare and National Institute for Virology (NIV), Pune.

Three experts from NIV, Pune were already supporting the local authorities.

The team will work closely with the state health departments and take stock of on-ground situation and recommend necessary public health interventions.

The central team has been tasked with monitoring the situation and coordinating with the state.

Maharashtra reported its first death linked to GBS in Solapur, while the number of cases of the immunological nerve disorder in Pune has crossed 100, health officials said on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and the Pune Municipal Corporation's health department continued surveillance in the affected Sinhgad Road area in Pune.

"A seven-member high-level team of experts has been deployed in Maharashtra to assist the state in the monitoring and management of the increasing cases of GBS," an official source said.

GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness, with symptoms including severe weakness in the limbs and loose motions.

Bacterial and viral infections generally lead to GBS as they weaken the immunity of patients, according to doctors.

While GBS is prevalent in both paediatric and young-age groups, it will not lead to an epidemic or pandemic, they said, adding that most patients recover fully with treatment.

The state health department has set up the RRT to investigate the sudden rise in this infection after 24 suspected cases were found initially.
The US has paused sanctions and tariffs on Colombia after it agreed to accept all the terms of President Donald Trump, including accepting flights of deported migrants from America, the White House said.

Image: US President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Photograph: Reuters

The announcement comes after Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro threatened increased retaliatory tariffs after Petro turned away two US military aircraft full of detained Colombian migrants.

But the White House late Sunday night said Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump's terms.

"The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump's terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay, White House press secretary Karolina Leavitte said.

Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Power Act) tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honour this agreement, she said.

The visa sanctions issued by the state department, and enhanced inspections from Customs and Border Protection, will remain in effect until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned, she said.

Today's events make clear to the world that America is respected again, she said.

"President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation's sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States," Leavitte said.

Earlier in the day, Colombian President Petro denied entry to US military planes carrying Columbian migrants.

The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory, Petro said on X, a move that angered Trump.

I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombia's Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people, an outraged Trump said on Truth Social, a media platform owned by him.

Petro's denial of these flights has jeopardised the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, Trump said.

The US president directed his administration to immediately take urgent and decisive retaliatory measures.

He ordered visa restrictions and 25 per cent tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, which would be raised to 50 per cent in one week.

Visa sanctions on all party members, family members, and supporters of the Colombian covernment. Enhanced Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian Nationals and Cargo on national security grounds. IEEPA treasury, banking and financial sanctions to be fully imposed, Trump said.

These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States! Trump said.

The Colombian government immediately responded by saying that it is sending a presidential plane for the dignified return of its people from the United States.

In a statement the Office of Colombian President Gustavo Petro said it has arranged for the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of Colombian nationals who were to arrive in the country today in the morning hours, coming in from deportation flights.

This measure is in response to the government's commitment to guarantee dignified conditions. In no way have Colombians, as patriots and subjects of rights, been or will be banished from Colombian territory, it said.

However, Petro soon retaliated by announcing a 25 per cent import tariff on American products.

American products whose price will rise within the national economy must be replaced by national production, and the government will help in this regard, Petro announced on X.

-- Lalit K Jha in Washington, DC
Two elderly devotees from Haryana who had come to pay obeisance at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, died on Monday, official sources said.

IMAGE: Long queues of devotees outside the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, in Ayodhya on January 1, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

Police have denied social media claim that the deaths were caused by a stampede.

The devotees -- a woman and a man -- fainted outside the temple and were rushed to Sri Ram Hospital where they died, the police said.

Both victims were aged above 60 and are yet to be identified.

The exact cause of the deaths is not known but officials suspect that they died of cardiac arrest.

The police said in a statement that some people and groups on some social media platforms were claiming that the two devotees died due to the rush of people.

"This is misleading and no such thing happened. Elaborate security arrangements are in place in Ayodhya. The woman devotee died due to cardiac arrest," they said.

Ayodhya witnessed a rush of devotees on Monday, with many returning from the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj arriving at the temple town to pay obeisance to Ram Lalla in the new temple.

All roads leading to Hanuman Garhi and the Ram temple are blocked due to overcrowding.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will ask Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde to step down if any evidence is found linking him to sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder, his cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil has said.

IMAGE: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with NCP leader Dhananjay Munde. Photograph: @dhananjay_munde

A comprehensive probe is being conducted into the murder of Deshmukh, BJP leader Patil told reporters in Sangli on Sunday.

Walmik Karad, an associate of minister Munde, has been arrested in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch's killing.

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and killed on December 9 for trying to stop an extortion attempt against an energy firm operating a windmill project there.

Munde, the NCP MLA from Parli in Beed district, is under attack from some of the ruling alliance colleagues and the opposition over his links with Karad.

"The investigation into the murder of Santosh Deshmukh is underway. Each matter is different. As the head of the government, Devendra Fadnavis is fully capable of making decisions. If he believes there is substance in the allegations, he will act immediately and ask Munde to resign," Patil said.

"The Maharashtra government has already seized properties of the accused in sarpanch Deshmukh murder case. Stringent charges have been invoked and the probe is going on," the BJP leader said.

The police machinery is actively investigating the case, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been formed for a probe into it, Patil said.

Additionally, a committee headed by a retired judge has been constituted to oversee the inquiry, the minister said.

Steps are being taken, including invocation of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Walmik Karad and other accused, Patil pointed out.

The process of seizing Karad's assets is also underway, he added.
Water samples from different parts of Pune have been sent to the public health laboratory for chemical and biological analysis.

IMAGE: GuillainBarre syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset muscle weakness as a result of damage to the peripheral nervous system. Photograph: Kind courtesy Doctor Jana/Wikipedia.org

The Maharashtra government has formed a rapid response team as 16 patients of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), an auto-immune disorder, are on the ventilator of the 101 patients in the state so far.

At present, there are 19 suspected cases in the state, and one suspected case of death from Solapur.

In a communication, the state's public health department said a state-level rapid response team visited the affected area.

Of the 19 suspected cases, six are from Pune. The Pune Municipal Corporation and rural district authorities have been instructed to increase surveillance activities, the state department said.

The Union health ministry has also sent a team to Pune to assess the situation after a reported outbreak of GBS, a rare neurological disorder.

As a precautionary measure, water samples from different parts of Pune have been sent to the public health laboratory for chemical and biological analysis.

The state government is planning to increase health promotion activities, and private medical practitioners have been asked to notify authorities if they treat any GBS patients.

A total of 25,578 houses have been surveyed in different parts of the district. Seven stool samples from patients have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

Also, 23 blood samples have been sent to NIV, and all these have tested negative for zika, dengue and chikungunya.

Some stool samples have tested positive for norovirus, while some have tested positive for bacterial infections.

What is GBS?

GBS is an autoimmune neurological disorder where the immune system attacks the nervous system leading to muscle weakness. This can eventually progress to paralysis over days and weeks.

While anyone can be affected, it is more common in adult males.

Causes of GBS are not fully understood. In some cases, it occurs after a viral or bacterial infection.

Infection with the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni, which causes gastroenteritis, including symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, is one of the most common risk factors for GBS.

At times certain vaccinations also lead to people getting GBS.

GBS disease is, however, quite rare -- estimated incidence of 0.5 per 100,000 population. It, however, can lead to death when the autonomic nervous system gets affected which controls heart rate.

Treatments for GBS include plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy.

At a glance

101 patients have been found so far.

62 patients are from Pune rural, 19 from Pune, 14 from Pimpri Chinchwad, and 6 from other districts.

68 are men and 33 are women.

16 patients are currently on ventilators.

Maharashtra advisory to citizens:

Ensure good water quality; drink boiled water.

Food should be fresh and clean.

Avoid keeping cooked and uncooked food items together to prevent infections.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
Maharashtra Health Minister Prakash Abitkar on Monday disclosed that 80 per cent of the suspected cases of Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder, in Pune have been reported from areas located around a mega well in Nanded village on Sinhgad Road.

Image used only for representation. Photograph: Kind courtesy Belova/Pixabay

Abitkar, who was in Pune to review the GBS situation, noted that high number of cases in certain areas appears to be linked to suspected water contamination and assured the civic body is looking into the issue.

After inspecting the water body in Nanded village, he stated, "80 per cent of cases are from areas around this well. The state health department and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) are taking necessary measures to address the issue."

The well is source of water for villages located adjoining it.

A man suspected to have contracted GBS has died in Maharashtra's Solapur district, while the number of cases of the immunological nerve disorder in Pune has crossed 100-mark, health officials said earlier in the day.

Officials and locals suspect that water supplied from the well is contaminated, leading to a spike in suspected GBS cases in the region. These areas recently came under the PMC's jurisdiction, making the civic body responsible for ensuring supply of clean water to residents.

Asked about accountability for the suspected contamination, Abitkar said, "Concrete measures are being implemented to ensure supply of clean drinking water. Responsibility will be fixed where necessary. Additionally, the state needs to establish comprehensive SOPs involving municipal corporations, Zilla Parishads, and other local bodies to prevent such issues in the future."

He emphasised that GBS tends to affect individuals with weak immunity.

"The high number of cases in certain areas appears to be linked to suspected water contamination. Steps are being taken to resolve the issue and ensure clean water supply," the minister noted.

Notably, campylobacter jejuni bacteria, which usually causes stomach infection, triggers the GBS disease.

Consuming water contaminated with this bacteria may increase the risk of developing the immunological nerve disorder.

Abitkar assured that the state government would ensure no contaminated water is supplied across Maharashtra.

Addressing complaints from residents about getting poor quality water despite paying taxes to the PMC, the minister promised to address any gaps in the system.

He urged people to drink boiled water and focus on improving their immunity.

Abitkar highlighted that medical facilities in Pune have been ramped up to provide better medical care to suspected GBS patients.

"In today's review meeting, concrete steps were outlined to prevent a further rise in cases," he added.

Asked about the high cost of treatment of the disease, the minister advised patients to visit empanelled hospitals and said private medical facilities are being instructed not to charge them exorbitantly.

Meanwhile, PMC Commissioner Rajendra Bhosale on Sunday stated that water samples from various sources, including wells in the affected areas, have been tested, but no contamination has some to light so far.

"Our findings show no contamination in wells. We are conducting door-to-door surveillance to check for any signs of water contamination," he said.

Bhosale informed that stool sample tests conducted at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, revealed that some of them tested positive for norovirus, which causes gastroenteritis.

Additionally, bacterial testing identified campylobacter jejuni in some samples, while other samples tested negative. Results for the remaining samples are pending, health officials confirmed.

The civic body has decided to provide clean drinking water through tankers to affected housing societies in Kirkatwadi, Nanded village and other localities, said Nandkishor Jagtap, head of the PMC's water supply department.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to work towards a 'trusted' partnership between India and US and advance global peace and security in their first phone conversation since the American leader's inauguration last week.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hand with US President Donald Trump during the the latter's visit to India in February, 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo

Modi and Trump exchanged views on global issues, including the situation in West Asia and Ukraine, and deliberated on measures to boost bilateral cooperation in areas such as technology, trade, investment, energy and defence, an Indian readout said.

The two leaders agreed to meet soon, it said.

'Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. Congratulated him on his historic second term,' Modi said on X.

'We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, and security,' he said.

In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the two leaders 'reaffirmed' their commitment for a 'mutually beneficial and trusted partnership'.

'They discussed various facets of the wide-ranging bilateral Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and measures to advance it, including in the areas of technology, trade, investment, energy and defence,' it said.

'The two leaders exchanged views on global issues, including the situation in West Asia and Ukraine, and reiterated their commitment to work together for promoting global peace, prosperity and security,' the PMO said.

'The leaders agreed to remain in touch and meet soon at an early mutually convenient date,' it added.

It is not immediately known whether the issues of immigration and tariff figured in the talks.

Like in many countries, there have been some concerns in India as well over the Trump administration's approach on immigration and tariff.

President Trump has already talked about slapping '100 per cent tariffs' on the BRICS grouping, a bloc that includes India too.

It is learnt that the phone call was initiated from the Indian side.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last week that India is looking for 'bolder, bigger and a more ambitious' relationship with the US and indicated its readiness to work with the Trump administration to address issues like illegal immigration and trade.

The phone conversation between Modi and Trump came six days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held separate meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in Washington.

Jaishankar also attended the Quad foreign ministers' meeting in the American capital. The meeting was the Trump administration's first foreign policy engagement.

At a media briefing in Washington on January 22, Jaishankar said his meetings signalled that the Trump administration 'prioritising' the bilateral relationship with India.

The external affairs minister also said that there was agreement between the two sides about the need to be bolder, bigger, and more ambitious about the bilateral relationship.

Asked about the Trump administration's policy on tariff and immigration, Jaiswal said on Friday that India is looking at addressing issues in a constructive manner.

"Our approach has always been to address issues in a constructive manner which is in keeping with the interests of both countries," he had said at his weekly media briefing.

"We remain in close communication with the US administration and would like to continue to work towards strengthening our economic partnership further," he said.
Gangster Anmol Bishnoi had ordered the hit on Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique for his 'association with Dawood Ibrahim and involvement in the 1993 Bombay blasts', alleged main shooter Shivkumar Gautam in his confessional statement to the police.

IMAGE: NCP leader Baba Siddique was shot dead on October 12. Photograph: Kind courtesy @zeeshanBabaS/X

Gautam's confessional statement is part of the chargesheet filed in connection with the October 12 murder of the former Maharashtra minister.

Siddique, 66, was shot dead by three assailants outside his son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Mumbai's Bandra East area.

Gautam also claimed he had been instructed to kill Baba Siddique or Zeeshan Siddique and was promised Rs 15 lakh to carry out the crime.

He has told police he used to collect scrap in Pune and would sell the items to co-accused Harish Kumar Kashyap.

Kashyap, who used to run a scrap shop, had made arrangements for their stay and it was during this period that he became acquainted with Pravin Lonkar and his brother Shubham Lonkar, he told police.

'One day Shubham Lonkar told the shooter that he and his brother work for the Bishnoi gang. In June 2024, Shubham Lonkar (Shubbu) told me and Dharmaraj Kashyap (co-shooter) that if we did a job at his behest, we could be paid Rs 10 to 15 lakh. When I asked about the work, Shubham told us we were to kill a man named Baba Siddiqui or his son Zesshan Siddiqui. But he didn't give any further details,' Gautam said in the statement.

'After a few days, Shubham Lonkar reminded us about the murder work and asked us if we were scared. Then I and Dharmaraj Kashyap told him we would do the work and asked for the money,' he added.

One day Shubham Lonkar made a video call to Anmol Bishnoi through Snapchat app on his mobile phone.

Bishnoi told us the person we have to kill is 'associated with Dawood Ibrahim and is involved in the Bombay bomb blasts', Gautam claimed.

'He motivated us with these words and mentioned that Shubhan Lonkar will arrange the money if they need any. The conversation convinced us that both the Lonkar brothers work for the Bishnoi gang. As per the instructions of Shubham, I downloaded the Snapchat app on my mobile and used to talk to Anmol Bishnoi directly,' the alleged shooter said.

Gautam's statement claimed Shubhman Lonkar had told him that after the murder someone from his gang will post a message on Facebook and take responsibility for it.

Days before the murder, Gautam and Kashyap came to know that Shubham Lonkar had sent another man -- Gurmail Singh -- from Amritsar to Mumbai to commit the murder, as per the confessional statement.

The shooter stated that Shubham Lonkar directed them to indulge in firing practice with the weapons supplied to them for the murder.

The three shooters practised shooting in the forests around Khopoli railway station and informed Anmol Bishnoi and Shubham Lonkar about it on Snapchat, he added.

As per Gautam's confessional statement, Baba Siddiqui and his son were identified from Google and the posters outside their office.

The address of the Siddiques was sent to them by Anmol Bishnoi and Shubham Lonkar during Snapchat conversations, Gautam claimed.

Besides Gautam, confessional statements of six others are part of over 4500 page chargesheet filed against 26 accused before a special MCOCA court. Shubham Lonkar, Yasin Akhthar and Anmol Bishnoi have been shown as wanted accused.

Meanwhile, Shooter Gurmail Singh in his confessional statement claimed his mental health deteriorated after the death of his mother in August 2022.

During this period, Zeeshan Akhtar, who he had met in prison and was a close contact of Anmol Bishnoi, had given him shelter, Singh told police.

Singh was offered Rs 50,000 as well as a passage out of the country in August 2024 for killing Siddique, as per the confessional statement.

Another accused in the case, Sujit Singh claimed he was inspired by jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi (who is not an accused in the case) after watching a post of his on social media in 1998.

Around the same time he had seen videos of Lawrence Bishnoi threatening to kill a film actor, Singh said.

In 2020, he got acquainted with Shubham Lonkar through social media and the latter introduced him to Bishnoi, said Sujit Singh.

Singh had helped in providing financial assistance to the accused who had conducted recce before the murder.

All the accused have been booked under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and are currently in judicial custody.
Indonesian telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison says it has formed a partnership with Vietnam-based electric taxi service Xanh SM to create smart mobility solutions leveraging ICT, IoT and analytics for Xanh SMs new taxi fleet in the country.

Xanh SM  which is owned by Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup  launched its electric taxi service in Vietnam in March 2024 and currently operates in over 59 provinces. It has since expanded operations into Laos and, as of last month, Indonesia.

Under a partnership deal announced on Thursday, Indosat will provide Xanh SM with a connectivity solution through its card management platform, including Cisco IoT Control Center, to provide flexible control and monitoring of SIM cards for taxis and specially tailored mobile packages for Xanh SM drivers.

Indosat will also provide IoT solutions for monitoring critical driving metrics such as speed, acceleration, and behavior that can help identify anomalies or potential vehicle issues to ensure safety and efficiency.

The smart mobility solution will also leverage big data analytics for customer profiling and behavior analysis, which Indosat said will enable targeted campaigns and programs to elevate the customer experience.

Indosat and Xanh SM will start with an initial six-month pilot testing phase to explore and refine solutions, followed by a comprehensive rollout in subsequent stages.

By leveraging the ICT, IoT, and analytics technology offered by Indosat, we can enhance operational efficiency while delivering services that positively impact both customers and the environment, said Nguyen Van Thanh, global CEO of Xanh SM, in a statement.

Indosat and Xanh SM also talked up the eco-friendly aspects of the tie-up, as Xanh SM says its fleet of electric taxis is equipped with energy-efficient technology that reduces carbon emissions and serves as a model for sustainable transportation solutions. Indosat said the partnership is expected not only to enhance Indosats customer experience through high-quality transportation but also to inspire the transportation sector to adopt more innovative and eco-friendly solutions.

Indosat isnt alone in chasing the connected-car/EV dollar. In September 2024, Telkomsel Enterprise struck a partnership with automaker Toyota-Astra Motor to integrate IoT and in-car Wi-Fi into Toyotas T Intouch telematics app for its latest generation of Fortuner SUVs.

The same month, Telkomsel Enterprise also signed an MoU with EV manufacturer Mobil Anak Bangsa Indonesia (MAB) to "jointly develop a more integrated and environmentally friendly EV ecosystem." Under that deal, Telkomsel will provide connectivity, services and tech solutions, including IoT and broadband, to improve the operational efficiency of EVs.
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Some of the local Afghan refugees that are part of ArtLords do a live painting demonstration while other works from the Afghan refugee community are put up on display during a one-day pop-up gallery at Brattleboro Measure and Arts Center on Oct. 17, 2022.
Kashka Lundy appeared in Windham Superior Court via video from the state prison in Springfield for his arraignment on Monday.
USAIDs Better Access and Connectivity (BEACON) project has soft-launched the first Open RAN laboratory in the Philippines, in collaboration with international and local telco industry stakeholders, and is targeting a full launch in May this year.

The US$8 million lab  which is being funded by BEACON in collaboration with the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Electronics and Electrical Engineering Institute (EEEI) and Asia Open RAN Academy (AORA)  has been established at the UP campus in Quezon City to serve as a "center of collaboration on training and research, workforce development, and performance testing" of Open RAN in the Philippines.

The lab is being built by Viavi Solutions using its Automated Lab-as-a-Service for Open RAN (VALOR), which Viavi says provides an innovative, highly automated hybrid testing laboratory-as-a-service (LaaS) for Open RAN testing and evaluation. UP EEEI will provide training initiatives and operations at the lab.

The Open RAN lab is also supported by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), as well as PLDT, its wireless unit Smart Communications and Globe Telecom.

In a statement issued Friday, Smarts head of network build and implemetation, Debbie Hu, said the lab's systems will be made available for PLDT and Smart to support the companies' technical capability development, testing, research, and collaborative studies essential in paving the way for future innovations.

Open RAN is still very much in the testing phase in the Philippines, although all telcos are exploring the technology in the hopes of saving costs and making their networks more intelligent, efficient and flexible.

Smart has been conducting various Open RAN proof of concepts (PoCs) in multiple stages since 2023. Globe Telecom has been collaborating with AORA to test Open RAN as part of its infrastructure modernization strategy. At last years Mobile World Congress, NOW Telecom signed an MoU with Rakuten Symphony to establish a collaborative framework for deploying a 5G Open RAN pilot in the Philippines.

The Open RAN lab is a flagship initiative that was established between the United States and the Philippines during Philippine president Ferdinand R. Marcos Jrs visit to the White House in May 2023.
Anastasiya Huley is 99 years old and has vivid memories of what she endured at Auschwitz 80 years ago.

"All that was left of us was skin and bones. We were people from the underworld who died and were reborn," she told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.

Huley was taken to the notorious Nazi concentration camp after escaping forced labor in Germany during World War II.

Five years ago, she attended commemorations there to mark its liberation by Soviet troops. This year, she's not among the dwindling group of survivors making the trip.

Many were brought to Auschwitz in cattle trucks as children. Now in their 80s and 90s, they gather for what will be among the most poignant anniversaries of its liberation.

Nazi Germany murdered some 1.1 million men, women, and children at Auschwitz between 1940-45. Around 1 million of those were Jews. Other victims were Roma, political prisoners, and Soviet prisoners of war.

Some 50 survivors have made the trip to Auschwitz this year. As ever, they will be joined by monarchs, politicians, and diplomats.

In many ways, the anniversaries are marked by continuity: the Jewish prayer for the dead, the Kaddish, is performed; the victims are honored with solemnity, and the refrain is repeated: "Never again."

But the commemoration is also marked through the prism of contemporary events.

The camp was liberated by Soviet soldiers, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been invited since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

"We remember the victims, but we also celebrate liberty," Auschwitz Museum chief Piotr Cywinski said, according to AFP. "It's difficult to imagine the presence of Russia, which clearly does not understand the value of liberty."

Israel will have a sizeable delegation led by Education Minister Yoav Kisch. Earlier, there was controversy surrounding the possible attendance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Auschwitz is in Poland, which is a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave.

The Polish authorities indicated that Netanyahu would not face arrest if he came, but he has said he will not be attending anyway.

The anniversary is always a moment to reflect on anti-Semitism. This year, United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Turk said it was "rampant."

In a statement on January 24, he said "Jews face increasing intimidation, threats, and physical violence."

In July, the European Union released findings from a survey of Jews in 13 member states. It found that 80 percent felt anti-Semitism had grown and that anti-Semitic incidents had increased since the attack on Israel in October 2023 by Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU.

At previous Auschwitz commemorations, politicians have made speeches. This year, they will not. It may be the last round anniversary at which survivors can play a major role, and the focus is firmly on them.

Huley said her memories have haunted her for her entire life. Despite this, she insists she is not bitter.

"Look into my heart and soul and you will not find any desire for revenge or any hatred for the Germans," she says.
US President Donald Trump has urged Russia to agree to a 30-day cease-fire, warning he would slap additional sanctions on the country if it refused the US proposal, as Moscow made more gains on the battlefield.



"Russia has no way out but cease-fire. If needed we will sanction it, but I hope we won't need to," Trump told reporters at the White House on March 12.



"In a financial sense we can do very unpleasant, very bad things, devastating for Russia, but I don't want to," he said.



His comments come a day after Kyiv agreed to the temporary cease-fire following nine hours of talks with Trump administration officials in Saudi Arabia.



Trump has made ending Russia's more than three-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine a top priority since taking office for a second term less than two months ago, quickly dispatching his top officials to Moscow and Kyiv to prepare the groundwork for peace talks.



He has used Washington's significant leverage over Ukraine -- namely military aid and intelligence sharing -- to get Kyiv to agree to the cease-fire proposal, which if implemented, would leave almost 20 percent of the country in Russia's hands for the time being, at least.



But Trump lacks that type of leverage with Russia, which has navigated sweeping US and European sanctions placed on its economy following the invasion much better than most experts forecasted.

Putin may seek to drag out talks with the US over a cease-fire to improve Russia's position on the battlefield and hence at the negotiating table when and if Moscow and Kyiv hammer out a peace deal.

As Trump spoke at the White House, Putin was visiting troops in Russia's Kursk region, where fierce fighting is currently taking place and Moscow's forces are advancing.

Ukraine seized a swath of the Kursk region in a stealth incursion in August seen as an effort to divert Russian forces from eastern Ukraine and use the territory as a bargaining chip during any peace talks.

That strategy is now at risk of failing as Russian forces slowly push the Ukrainians out of Kursk. Russians forces have retaken more than half the territory initially captured by Ukraine.

Putin's visit to Kursk was his first since the incursion and signals the momentum Russia has in that theater of the war. The Kremlin leader urged his troops to retake the region in its entirety "as soon as possible."

Ukraine's top military commander, General Oleksandr Syrskiy, said that fighting continued in and around Sudzha, the largest town in the part of the region that Ukraine occupied.

Unconfirmed reports on March 12 indicated that Ukraine has begun to draw back units as Russian officials claimed their troops had captured more settlements, including Sudzha.

"Despite increased pressure from the Russian and North Korean forces, we will maintain the defense of the Kursk region as long as it is appropriate and necessary," Syrskiy wrote on Telegram.

In a Facebook post, Syrskiy said that saving soldiers lives is a priority and that Ukrainian troops "maneuver to more favorable positions, if necessary," wording often used top describe a retreat.

Concessions?

Trump hinted that Ukraine would have to make concessions on land, something more and more experts say is inevitable given Russia's momentum on the battlefield.

"When we talk cease-fire [with Ukraine], we talked land, who's withdrawing -- we discussed a lot of things [with Ukraine]," Trump said.

"We don't want to waste time, people are dying. Russia is not in the best situation now. I hope [Putin] gets a cease-fire."

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the cease-fire proposal and said he hoped it would be used as a draft for a lasting peace deal that included security guarantees for Ukraine.

"It's now up to Russia what is next," he said at a March 12 press conference, and whether "it wants to continue its aggression against Ukraine or not."

On the streets of Kyiv, some Ukrainians told RFE/RL's Current Time that they doubted whether Russia would sign on to, and adhere to, a cease-fire deal.

"I'm not sure what to say, but it all seems implausible, frankly speaking," said one Kyiv man, while a woman in the capital said the cease-fire talks were "meaningless without Russia taking part."

Moscow has so far declined to comment on the specifics of the proposal for the 30-day cease-fire, and it's unclear whether Putin has made up his mind on the agreement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was "carefully studying" the joint US-Ukraine statement issued following the Jeddah talks and will wait to comment until Russian negotiators receive more detailed information from Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who represented the United States at the talks, said Washington "will have contact with Russians" today.

Trump on March 11 said he would soon speak with Putin to secure his commitment. Mike Waltz, the White House national-security adviser, spoke with his Russian counterpart on March 12, while Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff also planned to travel to Moscow, possibly to meet Putin.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe held a phone call with Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, late on March 11, the Interfax news agency reported.

Rubio told reporters on March 12 in first comments since leaving the talks in Jeddah that the United States hoped to have a positive answer from Russia toward the cease-fire deal and "strongly urge[s] Russians to end all hostilities.

Konstantin Kosachev, an influential lawmaker in Russia's upper house of parliament, seemed to imply that Moscow would not simply accept the US-backed ceasefire proposal but attach conditions, taking into account that Russian forces have the momentum on the battlefield.

"Russia is advancing, and therefore it will be different with Russia," Kosachyov said in a Telegram post.

"Any agreements (with all understanding of the need for compromise) will be on our terms, not American," he said. "And this is not boasting, but an understanding that real agreements are still being written there, on the front line. Which Washington should also understand."

Rubio also said Ukraine will need a strong deterrent to prevent future attacks and that Europeans will "need to be involved in this regard." He added that further discussions would need to tackle to topic of the European Union lifting sanctions on the Russian economy.

"I would imagine that in any negotiation, if we get there, hopefully with the Russians, they will raise these European sanctions that have been imposed upon them," Rubio said.

Moscow has so far been against a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Russia's position during an interview with three right-wing US bloggers that it will under no conditions accept the presence of NATO forces in Ukraine.

Minerals Deal

Washington and Kyiv could sign a framework agreement as early as this week on sharing the revenue generated from Ukraine's mineral resources.

Trump and Zelenskyy intended to sign the deal during their meeting at the Oval Office on February 28. However, the two got into a heated, public exchange over security guarantees for Ukraine and the meeting was abruptly ended without any deal.

Rubio cautioned that he "would not couch [the] minerals deal as a security guarantee." But he added that "if the United States has a vested economic interest thats generating revenue for our people as well as for the people of Ukraine, wed have a vested interest in protecting it if it were to be challenged or threatened."

The parade of comments come after Russia and Ukraine traded air attacks overnight just hours after Kyiv agreed to accept the cease-fire proposal.

Two Russian missile strikes hit the central Ukrainian city of Kryviy Rih on March 12, killing one person, while a separate attack killed four crew members of a cargo ship near the southern port city of Odesa.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its air-defense systems shot down six drones overnight on March 12, one over Ukraine's Russia-annexed Crimea and five over the Black Sea. The Krymsky Veter Telegram channel reported loud explosions and air-raid sirens over Crimean towns and near Russian military sites.

The United States announced after the talks in Saudi Arabia that it would immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and restore military aid to Ukraine, which could be a boost to Ukrainian forces. Ukraine's battlefield positions have been under heavy pressure, particularly in Russia's Kursk region.
Yasaman crossed more than half a dozen countries on foot, bus, and boat and paid thousands of dollars to smugglers to reach Mexico.

Yasaman, an Afghan woman whose name has been changed to protect her identity, believed she was within touching distance of realizing her dream: entering the United States.

But her hopes came crashing down on January 20, when new U.S. President Donald Trump declared an emergency on the southern border with Mexico as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration.

As part of the executive order, U.S. authorities shut down the CBP One mobile app -- the only legal way for migrants to make an appointment with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, request asylum, and enter the country legally.

"I don't know what to do now," said Yasaman, who arrived in Mexico in November 2024. "I'm waiting [for] what Trump will decide next about migrants."

Yasaman, speaking by telephone from Mexico, said she received a notification on January 20 that read: "Existing appointments scheduled through CBP One are no longer valid."

The shutdown of the app will affect thousands of migrants, including Afghans, hoping to enter the United States legally.

Around 1 million appointments had been scheduled through CBP One since it was introduced in January 2023.

Not Happy In Brazil

Mexico has been a relatively new route for thousands of Afghan migrants seeking a new, better life in the United States.

RFE/RL contacted the United Nations refugee agency and the Mexican migration authorities to find out how many U.S.-bound Afghan migrants are currently in Mexico. We have not received a response.

An Afghan migrant who spoke to RFE/RL from the southern Mexican city of Tapachula estimated there were up to 1,500 people from Afghanistan in that city alone.

Karimullah, whose name has been changed over privacy concerns, said Afghan migrants live in rented apartments, relying on the "limited amount of money" they have brought from Afghanistan or borrow from their relatives abroad.

"Families go hungry for days while waiting for money from relatives," he said.

A former civil rights activist, Karimullah fled Afghanistan after the hard-line Taliban returned to power in August 2021.

After running out of money to pay for food and rent and as she was still waiting to get an appointment through CBP One, Yasaman got a job as a kitchen helper at a restaurant in the capital, Mexico City.

Like many other Afghan migrants in Mexico, both Karimullah and Yasaman had already been offered asylum in other safe countries -- in their case Brazil, which has issued thousands of humanitarian visas for Afghan nationals since 2021.

Asked by RFE/RL why they didn't want to stay in Brazil, where they had been given free accommodation and food, both Karimullah and Yasaman said they did not see a "good future" there due to a lack of jobs and other opportunities.

Instead, many Afghans pay money to people-smugglers to take them through Bolivia, Peru, Equador, Colombia, Panama, and other countries to reach the U.S.-Mexico border.

'Life For Immigrants Not What It Used To Be'

Some cross the border illegally. Ehsan Khan, a 26-year-old former driver from Kabul, entered the United States illegally in November 2024, hoping to get settled in the country before Trump closes the U.S. borders.

After spending two months at an immigration detention facility, Khan was released on January 11 with an electronic ankle bracelet for authorities to monitor his movements.

Speaking from San Diego by phone, Khan told RFE/RL that Afghan migrants should think twice before coming to the United States, because "the life in America for immigrants is not what it used to be."

Khan did not give details of his new life in the United States but said it isn't worth the traumatic journey he had through Honduras and Guatemala, where he said he "was beaten by thieves who demanded money" and witnessed his best friend drown in the sea.

"I saw my friend screaming for help as he drowned and I looked helplessly. I wanted to jump into the water, but I knew I couldn't swim. His parents often call me from Kabul and ask about him, and we cry," Khan said.

Back in Mexico City, Yasaman is determined to enter the United States "by any means, legally or illegally."

"I don't have a life or home in Afghanistan to go back to," Yasaman said. "I see my future only in America."
Tom Tuite

Two teenage sisters arrested during a Garda investigation into thefts from vulnerable adults in Dublin city centre have been charged with stealing 500 from a young man.

The pair, aged 16 and 17, who cannot be named because they are minors and have the legal right to anonymity, appeared at the Dublin Children's Court on Monday.

Officers from the Serious Crime Unit at Pearse Street Garda Station arrested the two girls on Thursday and detained them under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act to be questioned.

They were each charged with theft of 500 from Joshua Spurling, 23, at Aston Quay, Dublin 2, on January 21st. The student with Down syndrome, who is from Greystones, Co Wicklow, had been on a college trip to the city on that date.

Ruth Spurling, mother of the complainant, spoke on RTE's Liveline last week.

The girls, accompanied to the hearing by their mother and using an address in Co Dublin, have yet to enter pleas.

Garda Sergeant Robbie Byrne told Judge Brendan Toale that they "made no reply" when charged. They had to be given station bail on Thursday because of Storm Eowyn's impact on the court, which had to close the following day.

He asked for bail conditions to be imposed: provide proof of their address, stay out of the Dublin 2 area because the incident happened there, and sign on three times a week at their local garda station.

The defence counsel, Doireann McDonagh, argued that the signing-on term was unnecessary as the girls were juveniles and not at risk of failing to appear in court.

Judge Toale decided against including that condition but warned that they must remain out of Dublin 2 with the usual exception for attending for legal advice, and have to reside at the current home address.

He noted that gardai needed to obtain directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions, adjourned the case for four weeks, and pointed out to the garda sergeant that "time is running" for the older girl who will turn 18 later this year.

The girls, who did not address the court, were granted free legal aid given their ages and the nature of the charges. Their mother spoke once to confirm that they were her daughters.
As 2025 begins, small businesses across Australia need to prepare for major workplace law changes designed to improve fairness, transparency, and work-life balance. Heres a quick guide to whats coming and how to adapt.

Criminal penalties for wage theft

From January 1, 2025, intentionally underpaying workers will become a criminal offense. While honest mistakes wont be penalized, its crucial for businesses to:

 Stay compliant with National Employment Standards.

 Keep up with award obligations.

 Maintain accurate records.

The right to disconnect

Starting August 26, 2025, employees will have the right to ignore work calls and emails outside of their regular hours when its reasonable to do so.

To prepare, businesses should:

 Update employee contracts and policies.

 Train managers on respecting these boundaries.

 Establish systems to ensure business continuity while honoring this right.

Award changes

On January 1, 2025, updates to 37 modern awards will come into effect, including:

 Revised pay rates.

 New limits on how long employees can remain in entry-level positions.

Industry associations are a great resource for ensuring youre across the changes.

Changes for WA businesses

From January 31, 2025, Western Australia will introduce new rules that align with federal legislation. Key updates include:

 Clearer definitions of casual employment.

 Tougher penalties for breaking employment laws.

 Casual loading on WAs minimum wage increasing from 20% to 25%.

 Expanded rights for long-term employees to request flexible work.

Business owners in WA should reach out to their associations for tailored advice.

Superannuation on parental leave

From July 1, 2025, the government will pay 12% superannuation on parental leave payments. While this doesnt impact employer contributions, its a positive step toward supporting working parents.

Redefining small business

COSBOA is pushing to expand the definition of a small business from 15 to 50 full-time employees, excluding casuals. This change could:

 Cut red tape for more businesses.

 Encourage growth and job creation.

 Bring Australia in line with international standards.

The Fair Work Ombudsman is accepting feedback on this proposal until March 7, 2025. These updates are designed to reflect the evolving workplace landscape. Staying informed and proactive will help small businesses navigate these changes smoothly.

For detailed guidance, visit smallbusinesspeak.org.au.

Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
50 Years Since the Helsinki Accords

After 1945, Europe was brutally divided

50 Years Since the Helsinki Accords

Steliu Lambru, 03.02.2025, 13:44

After 1945, Europe was brutally divided, and the hopes of Europeans that at the end of the Second World War, once freed from fascism, they would return to normal, were shattered. The Iron Curtain that divided Europe into the Western, prosperous and democratic, and the Eastern, impoverished and tyrannized by communism, passed through the middle of Germany and its capital Berlin. For about two decades, until the late 1960s and early 1970s, the two Europes regarded each other with hatred and tensions had reached paroxysms, especially during the missile crisis of 1962. But if in Western Europe one can see the will of those nations to be part of a democratic system, in Eastern Europe the will of the nations occupied by the Soviets and driven into hatred against other Europeans was trampled underfoot. The anti-communist uprisings in Poland and East Germany in 1953, the one in Hungary in 1956 and the one in Czechoslovakia in 1968, all brutally suppressed by the Soviets, proved that Eastern Europeans did not want to be the enemies of Western Europeans.

But with the passage of time and the change of generations, attitudes would change. Europeans, both Western and Eastern, would find the solution to live in peace and proposed new concepts such as detente in relations on the old continent. The new mentalities materialized in the creation of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), a forum for discussions on thorny issues between Europeans. The capital of Finland, as a neutral country, was chosen for the first meeting of the forum in July 1973. Another meeting followed in Geneva, in September 1973, and two years later, in August 1975, the Final Act was signed in Helsinki, with Nicolae Ceausescu as Romanias signature. Although it had mainly European relevance, in the end, 57 countries, some from North America and Asia, also signed the Act. Diplomat and professor Cristian Diaconescu, former foreign minister, described the changes that occurred in European relations.

Since the 1970s, however, the two blocs had entered into a logic of attempted calm, attempted relaxation. Preliminary negotiations began in 1972, gradually it was agreed that this conference in Helsinki on August 1, 1975 would adopt a Final Act covering four areas, signed by all European states at that time, Canada and the United States, except Albania, which did not want to participate.

The 10 articles of the Act are also known as the Decalogue of the Conference, and are stated as follows: equality of sovereignties and respect for the rights deriving from it; abstention from the threat or use of force; inviolability of borders; territorial integrity of states; peaceful settlement of disputes; non-interference in internal affairs; respect for human rights and fundamental rights, including freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief; equal rights and self-determination of peoples; cooperation between states; mutual trust and in international law. Cristian Diaconescu summarized the principles from which the Decalogue was derived.

The Helsinki Final Act referred to four areas. The first area was the political-military area, which covered the obvious political and military area: territorial integrity, border definition, peaceful settlement of disputes, and the implementation of confidence-building and security measures. The second area referred to the economic dimension. The third to the humanitarian dimension, and here, appropriate to the problems of our days, we discuss freedom of migration, reunification of families divided by internal borders, cultural exchanges, freedom of the press. And, finally, the last chapter was regarding the establishment of a periodicity of mechanisms, debates and the study of implementation. There were also meetings of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, such as those on security and cooperation in Europe before 1990, in 1977 and 1978 in Belgrade, in 1980 and 1983 in Madrid, and in 1986 and 1989 in Vienna. And we arrive to 1990, for two years, when it became the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in a multilateral framework institutionalized on these four levels. The OSCE, the CSCE at that time, was the only multilateral organization that debated such topics.

After 1990, when the wave of civic revolutions of 1989 swept away the communist tyrannies in the eastern half of Europe, the new changes also touched the legacy of the Helsinki Final Act. It remained valid, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) appeared in place of the CSCE through a new document. Here is Cristian Diaconescu.

The Vienna Document was adopted. This document referred precisely to measures to increase confidence and security. What did this document contain? A willingness to notify each other in relation to military activities, in relation to various actions with political-military connotations that could generate a threat. And then, in order not to interpret such a development in one way or another across borders, early warning was necessary.

Starting in the 1970s, Europeans knew how to give their continent a new security architecture. The challenges of the following years were not lacking, and the cases of the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, most tragically, and that of the former Czechoslovakia, tested the viability of the principles and concepts of common security and cooperation. The legacy of the Helsinki Final Act led to the strengthening of the conviction that war is not a solution, but today Europeans must be prepared for anything.
The unfinished Bucharest

In the Romanian area, modern cities began to develop after the European model around the 1830s

banner-Pro-Memoria.-960x540-1.jpg

Steliu Lambru, 27.01.2025, 14:00

In the Romanian area, modern cities began to develop after the European model around the 1830s. At that time, some provisions of the Organic Laws referred to urban planning measures that had to be taken, in order to increase the living standards of the inhabitants. The city that set the tone for the changes was the capital Bucharest, the one that experimented with ideas circulated in different periods, which reverberated in the smaller urban regions. Bucharests urban micro-history is largely Romanias urban macro-history, with often contradictory visions of how peoples lives should look like, combining inertia and conservative mentalities with ambitions and innovative transformations.

From the writings of those who visited Bucharest in different periods of its modern existence, we learn that it was a city in the process of change, where the East and the West met. It was a city that looked up to the great European capitals and aimed to keep up with them and the novelties of the times. The list of those who held the position of mayor of the Romanian capital includes the journalist and politician C. A. Rosetti, the writer Barbu Stefanescu Delavrancea, the politician Vintila Bratianu and others. However, two names stand out, two names that managed the most consistent development of the capital: the liberal lawyer and politician Pake Protopopescu, mayor between 1888 and 1891, and the lawyer and politician Dem I. Dobrescu, mayor between 1929 and 1934. The two, mayors during the reign of Kings Carol I and Carol II, the sovereigns to whose names the main lines of development of Bucharest are linked, managed to mobilize resources for major urban projects, such as networks of streets, running water and sewage, and public transport, as well as the systematization of the Dambovita and Colentina rivers.

After 1945, the communist regime also came up with urban development projects. During this time, extensive transformations took place, but also projects that could even be considered anti-urban. The city expanded and gained height, more was built vertically than had been built previously, and the influx of rural population attracted by the development of industry increased, especially starting in the 1970s. The two leaders of socialist Romania, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, from 1945 to 1965, and Nicolae Ceausescu, from 1965 to 1989, also left their decisive mark on the Romanian capital.

No city is ever finished, as it follows the course of the lives of those who inhabit it, and Bucharest is no exception. Cezar Buiumaci is a historian of the city of Bucharest, a museographer at the Bucharest Municipality Museum. He is responsible for the latest editorial release, The Unfinished City, about the profound transformations of the Romanian capital during the years of the socialist regime between 1945 and 1989: The Unfinished City is an unfinished work, unfinished in the sense that there are so many aspects of the citys components, of the transformations, that an author must end the research at a certain point. I started the research because I personally wanted to understand what happened to this city. It was a mixture of disparate information in different books and articles, none of which truly and objectively dealt with the communist period, and peoples memories that are corrupted by certain influences, especially the passage of time.

From a small community on the outskirts of the Ottoman area, the capital of the Principality of Wallachia, as it was around the 1800s, to what it is today, during the course of 225 years, Bucharest has experienced a lot. It has gone through natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, fires, epidemics, but also through man-made ones such as revolutions, wars, military occupations and the systematization of the 1980s. Cezar Buiumaci wanted to know how Romanians came to have the capital they have today and wrote a book: What happened to this city? What about all these neighborhoods, with this city that surrounds the city? How come we have the neighborhoods of Militari, Drumul Taberei, Crangasi and others, all of which surround the old city? So I tried to find out what happened and I put all the information here so that everyone can understand why the city is unfinished and what has happened over time in Bucharest. The historian Razvan Theodorescu said that Bucharest had three great founders: Carol I, Carol II and Ceausescu. I disagree and say that the third founder is not Ceausescu but Dej. This city has become as big as a country, it is surrounded by several other cities, all these neighborhoods are as big as a city, the city within the city, was built during Dejs time. Ceausescu is not the founder of this city, he is the one who destroyed and deconstructed it in a way that it can no longer be reassembled. Moreover, there was no consistency and no project was carried out to the end, no systematization project, not even the destruction project was carried out to the end. The city is unfinished in many ways.

Todays Bucharest is a city where transformations took place both in the core of its old settlement and in the hinterland. Names of old neighborhoods such as Cotroceni, Vatra luminosa, Dudesti, Ferentari, Bucurestii Noi are in the current vocabulary of Bucharesters along with names of neighborhoods from the socialist years such as Titan, Berceni, Drumul Taberei and those after 1989 such as Brancusi, Latin, Francez and Cosmopolis.
January 27, 2025 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsflash

Newsroom, 27.01.2025, 19:58

A roundup of local and international news.

OPINION  The decision to annul the election results should be taken by the highest electoral body, and the power of the Constitutional Court (CCR) to do so should be limited to exceptional and clearly regulated circumstances, the Venice Commission says in a report on the annulment of the presidential elections in Romania. In Bucharest, the opposition political parties, namely USR, AUR and the Young Peoples Party, reacted by emphasizing that, in effect, the consultative body of the Council of Europe confirmed that the Constitutional Courts decision was illegal and abusive. Former Minister of Justice, Tudorel Toader, explained, however, that this commission issued opinions, not a decision, and the suggestions made are not binding. We recall that the presidential elections scheduled for November 2024 were annulled by the CCR before the second round. The court made its decision based on documents provided by the Supreme Council for National Defense, citing interference from a so-called state actor.

DECISION  The EU foreign ministers, convened within the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), decided on Monday to extend for another six months, until July 31, 2025, the restrictive measures applied against Russia for its continued actions to destabilize the situation in Ukraine, according to a statement from the EU Council, Agerpres reports. These economic measures, first introduced in 2014, were significantly extended as of February 2022 in response to Russias illegal, unjustified and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine, the statement also reads. The FAC meeting in Brussels is the first in this format organized during the Polish presidency of the EU Council, a position taken on January 1. It is also the first such meeting attended by Emil Hurezeanu as head of the Bucharest diplomacy.

ARTIFACTS  Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu had talks with his Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp in Brussels on Monday regarding the theft of Romanian artifacts, including a 2,500-year-old golden helmet, from the Drents Museum in Assen, the Netherlands. The two ministers agreed to cooperate very closely at operational and diplomatic level. The golden helmet of Cotofenesti, as well as three Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia, some of Romanias most important artifacts, were stolen following a particularly serious incident, the Ministry of Culture announced. The General Prosecutors Office reported that a criminal case had been opened ex officio. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced the organization, at the Government level, of a crisis team for the efficient coordination of activities to recover the four stolen artifacts.

HOLOCAUST  Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu emphasized on Monday the Romanian Governments firm commitment to combat the scourge of anti-Semitism and to promote the memory of the Holocaust victims, saying it is the authorities duty to ensure that the Romanian society knows and does not repeat the mistakes of history. In his opinion, education must play a central role in this respect. The Prime Minister participated, at the Coral Temple, in a ceremony dedicated to the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the commemoration of the victims of the anti-Jewish Legionary Pogrom in Bucharest. Ciolacu welcomed the release of the first Israeli hostages, including two women with Romanian citizenship and Romanian origins, following the signing of the Agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, which offers the prospect of lasting peace in the region.

BELARUS  The current president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, won the presidential election with about 87% of the vote, according to preliminary results announced by the electoral commission. His four opponents reportedly received 1% to 2% percent of the vote. International media write that the elections were intended to give a seventh consecutive term to the autocrat Lukashenko, in power since 1994 and considered the most docile ally of Putins Russia. On the eve of the vote, the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, said that the leader in Minsk has no legitimacy and that the new electoral charade is an affront to democracy. On Monday, Britain, the European Union and their allies condemned the rigged presidential elections in Belarus. We are united in condemning the sham presidential elections in Belarus on January 26, as well as the ongoing human rights violations committed by the Belarusian regime, a joint statement by Australia, Canada, the EU, New Zealand and the United Kingdom said.

BACCALAUREATE  High school senior students in Romania have been taking the oral tests in the first session of this years Baccalaureate exam starting on Monday. The assessment of communication skills in Romanian takes place until Wednesday, with the oral tests in ethnic minorities native languages held over three days, starting on January 29. The foreign language oral tests are scheduled between February 3 and 5, and digital skills will be tested between February 5 and 7. The organisation of these tests during the school year has been criticised by some students, teachers and education experts, especially because high school students must also attend classes during the exam days. The written tests in the Baccalaureate exam begins on May 30 and end on June 30, when the final results are to be announced.
January 27, 2025

A roundup of local and world news

Newsflash

Newsroom, 27.01.2025, 13:55

ART THEFT Recovering the golden helmet of Cotofenesti and the three Dacian bracelets of Sarmizegetusa Regia, stolen on Friday night from the Drents Museum in the Dutch city of Assen, is a priority, the Romanian authorities say. The prime ministers office is checking the culture ministrys documents under which the artifacts had been sent to the exhibition, and the culture minister Natalia Intotero will meet with the royal family and the prime minister of the Netherlands to convey Bucharests firm message that the heritage pieces be recovered as quickly as possible. Romanias PM Marcel Ciolcu has set up a task force comprising interior ministry, justice and culture ministry officials as well as Romanian police, to manage the retrieval of these items of immeasurable historical value.

BUDGET The leaders of the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, in the ruling coalition, should meet today for talks on the state budget bill and on means to reduce the deficit to no more than 7% of GDP this year. The original deadline was today, January 27, but the bill could be postponed, as recent trade union protests prompted the ruling parties to announce they are looking for legislative solutions to alter the order underlying the budget law. The alterations, which will be operated in Parliament in the first half of February, concern payment of overtime on weekends or public holidays for employees in the defence, public order and national security system. The coalition would have wanted the budget bill to reach the government this week for approval, and to be sent to Parliament early next month.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS The EU foreign ministers convene today in a Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting, with the main topics on the agenda including the war in Ukraine, the Middle East crisis and relations with the US after Donald Trumps return to the White House. The FAC meeting in Brussels is the first in this format organised under the Polish EU Council presidency, which began on 1 January, and will be chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. It is also the first such meeting attended by Emil Hurezeanu as head of the Romanian diplomacy. The EU ministers will also have informal conference call with their Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Sybiga.

AGRICULTURE The Romanian minister of agriculture, Florin-Ionut Barbu, takes part on Monday in the first AgriFish Council meeting of this year, held in Brussels. According to a news release issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), the agenda will concern the programme of the Polish presidency, unfair trading practices and strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain, trade and performance verification. The Polish EU Presidency will present its work programme and set out the main priorities in the field of agriculture and fisheries for the next six months. In turn, Member State officials will analyse the necessary revision of the performance verification procedure under the financing rules of the Common Agricultural Policy, the Romanian agriculture ministry explained.

BACCALAUREATE High school senior students in Romania are taking the oral tests in the first session of this years Baccalaureate exam starting today. The assessment of communication skills in Romanian takes place until Wednesday, with the oral tests in ethnic minorities native languages held over three days, starting on January 29. The foreign language oral tests are scheduled between February 3 and 5, and digital skills will be tested between February 5 and 7. The organisation of these tests during the school year has been criticised by some students, teachers and education experts, especially because high school students must also attend classes during the exam days. The written tests in the Baccalaureate exam begins on May 30 and end on June 30, when the final results are to be announced.

BELARUS The incumbent president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko won the presidential election with 87.6% of the votes, according to an exit poll which also says his 4 opponents received 1-2% of the votes. International media say the elections are intended to give a seventh consecutive term to the authoritarian Lukashenko, in power since 1994 and viewed as the most compliant ally of Putins Russia. On the eve of the election, the EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas stated that the regime in Minsk has no legitimacy and called the sham election an affront to democracy. In turn, MEPs demanded that the results of the Belarus election not be recognized, especially since the previous elections, in 2020, which were very likely rigged, were followed by ruthless repression of protests. According to the UN, more than 300,000 Belarusians out of a total population of nine million have fled their country for political reasons, mainly to neighbouring Poland. There are reportedly over 1,200 political prisoners in Belarus. (AMP)
Reactions after the theft in the Netherlands

The Romanian government has set up a crisis cell and Romanian policemen are going to the Netherlands, after four pieces from Romania's national treasure were stolen from a museum in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Exhibition Poster (Photo: Facebook / ICR Brussels)

Sorin Iordan, 27.01.2025, 14:00

Four of the most important artefacts from Romanias national heritage were stolen from the Drents Museum in the Dutch city of Assen. They include the gold helmet from Cotofenesti, which dates from the 5th and 4th centuries before Christ, as well as three Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia, from the second part of the first century before Christ. The pieces, of inestimable historical value, were part of the Exhibition Dacia  The Kingdom of Gold and Silver which opened on July 7, 2024 and was to be closed on January 25. The robbery took place on Friday night to Saturday, when four people used an explosive device to enter the museum premises, stole only the Romanian artefacts and fled in a car. Later, they set the car on fire to hide their tracks. The Dutch police do not rule out that Romanians were also involved in the robbery and are investigating the possibility that they fled to Germany.

The four stolen assets are part of the collection of the National History Museum of Romania and were the most valuable in the exhibition. All exhibited objects had been insured for 30 million Euros before being sent abroad, in accordance with Romanian and international legislation. Both the space and the showcases in which the heritage objects were displayed were secured and had surveillance systems installed, as well as alarm systems connected to the local police. In Bucharest, the General Prosecutors Office announced that an ex officio criminal file was opened in this case, and the investigations will be carried out by prosecutors of the Prosecutors Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice and by specialists from the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police. At the same time, a crisis cell was created at the Romanian government, and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that the recovery of the helmet and the three Dacian bracelets is a priority.

In turn, the Romanian Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, said that the theft of the Dacian treasure is an international shame and that it should be found out whether this robbery was possibly orchestrated to manipulate the nationalist trend ahead of the presidential election in Romania due in May. The prime ministers control body is verifying at the Ministry of Culture the documents underlying the sending of objects from the national treasury to that exhibition, and the relevant minister, Natalia Intotero, will meet with the royal family and the prime minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof. Also, the Interior Minister, Catalin Predoiu, announced that a team of Romanian criminologist police officers will urgently join their Dutch colleagues to help in the investigation and that the Romanian authorities maintain permanent contact with the Dutch and European ones. The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, had an exchange of messages with Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who has given assurances that the Dutch authorities are taking all the necessary steps to identify the perpetrators and recover the treasure. (LS)
S&P downgrades Romanias rating

Standard&Poor's has revised Romanias rating from stable to negative.

Photo: Mediamodifier / pixabay.com

Stefan Stoica, 27.01.2025, 13:50

For Romania and its economic-financial prospects, 2025 begins in the same way as 2024 ended: Standard&Poors rating agency has maintained the countrys BBB- rating, the lowest investment grade category, but has revised its outlook from stable to negative. At the end of last year, Fitch also revised its outlook to negative for long-term hard currency loans, while maintaining its BBB- grade.

Standard&Poors believes that that the countrys fragmented and uncertain political environment is likely to delay the new governments fiscal consolidation agenda. The high spending made before the elections pushed the deficit to close to 8.7% of GDP, much above the agencys expectations, which signals challenges to cost containment amid a slowing economy. The experts are also saying that the loose fiscal policies will keep the current account deficits wide and increasingly financed by debt-creating flows, potentially exposing Romania to foreign investor confidence shocks.

In a first reaction, Romanias finance minister Tanczos Barna said the change from stable to negative outlook shows measures are needed to cut the budget deficit, as well as a balanced budget and a slimmer state. Romania is still recommended to investors as safe. The decisions adopted by the government to reduce the budget deficit and consolidate economic growth must be implemented at a fast pace, in the version already agreed with our European partners, the minister posted on his Facebook page. He emphasised that this years budget, which will soon be submitted to Parliament for approval, strengthens this measured approach to the management of public funds. If the evolution of Romanias economy confirms the fears of rating agencies leading to its actually losing the stable grade, this would result in higher lending costs for Romania.

According to analysts, investors and rating agencies are still skeptical, owing to the internal political uncertainty and the delay in structural reforms. However, towards the end of 2024, the newly formed coalition government made up by the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, adopted an emergency order reflecting its will to drastically cut unnecessary spending, especially in the central and local administration, in order to reduce the deficits. The government also froze salaries and pensions to prevent the budget from sliding on a dangerous path.

The measures taken have already sparked a wave of discontent among some public sector employees, so the coalition government will be faced with a serious social test. Moreover, by a turn of events, 2025 has become an election year, just like 2024. In May, Romanian voters will again go to the ballots to elect their president, as the Constitutional Court last December annulled the presidential elections saying the election process had been corrupted.
Indian shares opened lower on Monday as Chinese industrial profits and manufacturing data disappointed, and the U.S. and Colombia pulled back from the brink of a trade war.

The South American nation has reportedly agreed to accept military aircraft carrying deported migrants after U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions on the country to punish it for earlier refusing to accept military flights carrying deportees as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex dropped 350 points, or half a percent, to 75,836 in early trade while the broader NSE Nifty index was down 122 points, or half a percent, at 22,970.

JSW Steel declined 2.6 percent after quarterly profit plunged 70 percent year-on-year.

Godrej Consumer Products fell about 1 percent on reporting a 14 percent fall in Q3 net profit.

Trent, HCL Technologies, Power Grid Corp and BEL all were down around 2 percent.

FMCG stocks traded higher, with Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever and Britannia Industries rising 1-2 percent.

Religare Enterprises rose over 1 percent. The Burman Group has rebutted claims made by U.S.-based investor Digvijay Gaekwad about making an open offer for the company.

DLF soared more than 4 percent after Q3 net profit jumped 61 percent year-on-year.

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Market Analysis
Energy company, Diversified Energy Co. PLC (DEC.L), said Monday that it signed a definitive agreement to buy Maverick Natural Resources, a portfolio company of EIG. The deal, which is valued at approximately $1.275 billion in cash and stock, is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.

The $1.275 billion acquisition, including debt, is valued at 3.3x LTM EBITDA and will be funded through debt assumption, new Diversified shares, and cash, with adjustments based on Maverick's RBL at closing.

The acquisition of Maverick by Diversified unites complementary assets, boosting production, enhancing cash flow, and strengthening sustainability and profitability. Part of the acquisition enhances Diversified's Western Anadarko operations and adds new Permian assets with multi-zone potential in the Northern Delaware Basin.

The combined company will have a $3.8 billion enterprise value, operate in five regions, and produce around 1,200 MMcfe/d (200 Mboe/d).

Upon completion, EIG will hold about 20 percent of the outstanding shares, including previous holdings, under a standard lock-up agreement. Diversified Gas & Oil Corporation may have to pay $50 million break fee if the acquisition falls through under certain conditions.

After the acquisition, the Board will have eight directors, including six from Diversified's current Board and two appointed by EIG.

Diversified's David Turner has been named chair of the Remuneration Committee and joined the Nomination and Governance Committee, while Sandy Stash will become lead independent director, both effective January 25.

Sylvia Kerrigan resigned from the Board of Directors on January 24, 2025, due to other commitments, after serving since 2021.

On Friday, Diversified Energy had closed 3.41% lesser at $1273 on the London Stock Exchange.

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Business News
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War: a calamity that resulted in the deaths of some 70 to 85 million people, 50 to 55 million of them civilians.

Of these, 6 million were European Jews who were rounded up in Germany and German-occupied territories and transported to concentration and forced labor camps. There they were worked to death; or killed by starvation; or died in laboratories and medical facilities where they were subjected to various medical experiments; or they were outright executed by poison gas, simply for being Jews.

In addition to Jews, a number of other minorities were also targeted for extermination, including political opponents and activists, Communists, intellectuals, Romani people, gays and lesbians and the intellectually disabled people. But no other group was persecuted so vehemently, and in such numbers, solely because of their ethnicity.

Indeed, in early 1942, Nazi leadership formalized the implementation of what they called the Final Solution: the systematic annihilation of a specific segment of the population as government policy.

Today, the genocide that was committed by the Nazi regime against European Jews is known as the Holocaust.

On January 27, 1944, Soviet armed forces liberated the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp complex in southern Poland. Sadly, despite mountains of evidence from Auschwitz and a vast network of other such facilities; despite extensive survivor testimonies, and eyewitness accounts from those who liberated the concentration and death camps; Holocaust denial and distortion persist.

That is why two decades ago, the United Nations chose that date to annually honor the millions of victims of genocide: since 2005, on January 27, many nations observe International Holocaust Memorial Day. It is a day for introspection and remembrance, as well as an opportunity to educate people about the Holocaust so that it may never be repeated.

Its been 80 years, four generations since the end of the Second World War. Few are left who survived the Holocaust, or those who broke open the death-camp doors and freed the condemned. It is up to us now to never again allow hatred and intolerance to drown out our humanity and respect for the lives of others.
European stocks opened lower on Monday as artificial intelligence-related stocks succumbed to selling pressure on doubts over America's technological dominance.

Investors also digested weak economic data from China and looked ahead to the Fed and ECB interest-rate decisions due this week.

The pan European STOXX 600 dipped 0.7 percent to 526.62 after finishing marginally lower on Friday.

The German DAX fell 1.3 percent despite the headline German IFO Business Climate Index increasing to 85.1 in January from 84.7 in December.

France's CAC 40 shed 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent.

Chip equipment maker ASML fell nearly 2 percent after Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI Assistant overtook rival ChatGPT to become the top-rated free application available on Apple's App Store in the United States.

Siemens Energy, which makes everything from gas and wind turbines to power network equipment and transmission , plunged 19 percent.

Low-cost airline Ryanair rallied 3.5 percent after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings.

British American Tobacco jumped nearly 4 percent after the Trump administration withdrew a plan to ban menthol cigarettes in the U.S.

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Business News
Oil prices traded lower on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump once again called on the OPEC cartel to bring down crude prices and investors assessed China's manufacturing and industrial profit data.

Tariff worries also weighed on prices as the U.S. and Colombian governments engaged in a tariff hike contest.

Benchmark Brent crude futures dipped 0.4 percent to $77.25 per barrel in European trade while WTI crude futures were down 0.4 percent, at $74.40.

The downside was capped after reports suggested that top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is considering raising crude prices for Asian buyers in March to their highest in more than a year.

Trump on Friday called on OPEC to boost production and reduce prices as a way of bringing the Ukraine war to an end.

"If we don't make a 'deal,' and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries," he wrote on his social network, Truth Social.

Meanwhile, new data showed Chinese manufacturing activity unexpectedly shrank in January and non-manufacturing activity growth slowed sharply - raising concerns about Q1 2025 growth and the effectiveness of stimulus measures.

Also, profits at China's industrial firms fell for a third straight year in 2024, official data showed today, highlighting the need for increased economic support.

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Market Analysis
The ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel has been extended for 23 days.

The deal, monitored by the United States, expired on Sunday.

The White House announced on Sunday that the truce will continue to be in effect until February 18.

It added that the Governments of Lebanon, Israel, and the United States will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel.

Meanwhile, top UN officials in Lebanon are calling for compliance with the ceasefire after reports that Israeli forces killed 15 people, including a Lebanese soldier, along the buffer zone with Israel, which Israel was due to withdraw from on Sunday under the agreement.

The timelines envisaged in the November ceasefire agreement "have not been met", according to a joint statement by UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and head of the UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, and force commander Aroldo Lazaro.

The agreement between Israel and armed group Hezbollah had been reached after more than a year of fighting, stemming from the Israeli war in Gaza.

"As seen tragically this morning, conditions are not yet in place for the safe return of citizens to their villages along the Blue Line," they said, referring to the buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon.

Israel had warned Lebanese civilians not to return to their homes in the south last weekend, stating it would not withdraw due to alleged violations of ceasefire terms.

By the terms of the November 27 ceasefire agreement, Israel was meant to have fully withdrawn its forces from the area by Sunday.

However, the UN officials said much has changed in Lebanon since the cessation of hostilities understanding came into force.

Violence has dramatically decreased, and hundreds of thousands of people have been able to return to their towns and villages in many areas of southern Lebanon.

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Business News
Indian shares fell sharply on Monday, pressured by concerns over weak corporate earnings, uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade and tariff policies, and persistent foreign fund outflows.

Tariff concerns resurfaced as the U.S. and Colombia pulled back from the brink of a trade war.

The Trump administration said on Sunday night it was pausing punitive tariffs against Colombia after its leader agreed to grant entry to U.S. military flights carrying deported migrants.

Earlier, Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions on the country to punish it for refusing to accept military flights as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

Investors also reacted to weak China data and looked ahead to a raft of central bank policy meetings due later in the week and the Union Budget on February 1 for directional cues.

The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex fell 824.29 points, or 1.08 percent, to 75,366.17, extending losses for a second straight session.

The broader NSE Nifty index closed at 22,829.15, down 263.05 points, or 1.14 percent, from its previous close.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes tumbled 2.8 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

The market breath was negative, with 3,518 shares declining on the BSE while 598 shares advanced and 118 shares ended unchanged.

IT stocks led losses, with Wipro, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies falling 4-5 percent.

Hindalco and Shriram Finance both fell over 3 percent.

Cement maker ACC lost 3 percent and state-run oil marketing company Indian Oil plunged 5.2 percent after declaring their quarterly results.

Adani Total Gas gave up 3.4 percent on reporting a 19 percent fall in Q3 profit.

CreditAccess Grameen dropped 2.5 percent after slashing its full-year guidance,

Laurus Labs plummeted 11 percent on fears of a hit to its Anti-Retroviral (ARV) , following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the WHO and halting emergency funding programs.

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German confidence improved slightly in January on more positive assessment about the current situation but the overall low level continues to signal that the economy remains on weak footing.

The ifo business climate index rose more-than-expected to 85.1 in January from 84.7 in the previous month, survey results from the ifo Institute showed on Monday. The reading was seen at 84.9.

Companies were more positive regarding the current situation, while they continued to be pessimistic.

The current situation index registered 86.1, up from 85.1 a month ago and economists' forecast of 85.4. Meanwhile, the expectations index dropped to 84.2 in January from 84.4 in December. Nonetheless, it remained above the expected level of 84.0.



In manufacturing, business confidence showed another decline as firms were even more skeptical about the coming months. However, the current situation was assessed as better. Incoming orders continued to fall and capacity utilization remained almost unchanged.

Confidence among service providers improved notably in January. Companies assessed their current situation as considerably better and expectations brightened.

Business sentiment in trade remained unchanged in January. Traders assessed their current situation as more positive. However, expectations were slightly more pessimistic.

In construction, business confidence worsened again in December. This was due to companies' poorer expectations. By contrast, the current situation was assessed as slightly better.

Capital Economics' economist Franziska Palmas said the business sentiment index remained in negative territory in January which supports the view that that Germany will eke out only a small expansion in GDP this year.

The economist noted that ising real incomes and looser monetary policy will give household spending a boost. However, with sentiment still weak, the election unlikely to bring with it much fiscal loosening and struggles in industry set to continue, economic growth will remain subdued, said Palmas.

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Business News
UGI Corporation, through its subsidiary UGI Energy Services, LLC (UGIES), Monday announced the completion of Pine Run Gathering LLC's $120 million acquisition of Superior Midstream Appalachian.

Pine Run Gathering is a joint venture in which UGIES holds a 49 percent ownership stake, alongside Stonehenge Energy Resources III which owns 51 percent.

Superior Appalachian owns and operates three strategically located gathering systems in Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Mills, Snow Shoe, and Brookfield. Notably, the Pittsburgh Mills system is integrated with UGIES' Big Pine gathering system, enhancing connectivity and operational efficiency.

This acquisition, wholly financed through debt at Pine Run Gathering, is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings.

UGI closed Monday's trading at $30.80 up 1.58 percent or $0.48 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Business News
In 2019, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) presented connected car technology in only 2 models. Now, these features have now been expanded to 12 models in the company portfolio. From 2019 to today, Hyundai has sold 6,75,204 connected cars, demonstrating the evolving nature of Indian automotive market and the shift in trends among buyers.

Hyundai Sold 6.75 Lakh Connected Cars

Connected car features have emerged as an important attribute for buyers. Both in terms of connectivity and safety, telematics suite allows these Hyundai models to be popular among a younger segment of buyers in the country. Hyundai has an expansive range of connected cars in its portfolio which has been steadily growing over the years.

With Hyundai Motor India Limited having sold a total of 6,75,204 connected cars over the past 6 years of 2019 to 2024, its contribution has improved from 4.7% in 2019 to 25.7% in 2024. The company offers connected car features via Bluelink, an AI-based technologically advanced platform with an in-built SIM car and offers 247 call center access for improved safety and convenience.

Bluelink is an AI-based technology, with an inbuilt SIM card and a 247 call center that enhances safety, security and convenience. The features offered by Hyundai Bluelink have increased from 35 features in 2019 to over 70 features in 2024. These connected car services started off in 2019 with the Hyundai Venue when it offered 35 telematics features across four key areas of Performance, Convenience, Safety and Security.

More recently, the company also introduced an in-car payment platform with the Hyundai Creta Electric allowing customers to make payments for EV charging through a total of 1,500 charging points. The system also helps users locate more than 10,000 charging points across the country. Apart from these two models, Hyundai Bluelink also spans models such as the i20, i20 N Line, Exter, Venue N Line, Verna, Creta, Creta N Line, Alcazar, Tucson and Ioniq 5 the electric SUV.

Hyundai Bluelink: Connected Features

Mr. Jae Wan Ryu, Function Head  Corporate Planning at HMIL, stated that the company was the first original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to introduce embedded connected car technology in India. He expressed confidence in the growing demand for connected car technology, citing the increasing number of tech-savvy and convenience-seeking car buyers in the country.

Going deeper into Hyundai Bluelink connected features, buyers have access to features such as remote services, real-time vehicle tracking and fuel efficiency levels. It also offers features such as directions to nearest Hyundai Service Centers, fuel station and restaurants along with navigation. In 2024 the company introduced Digital Key on the Alcazar allowing users to access various features of lock and unlock via a smartphone. This removes the user of a physical key. This feature is also now being offered in the Hyundai Creta Electric.

In terms of safety, the Hyundai Bluelink offers several safety features such as SOS, Auto Collision Notification and Road Side Assistance. This feature is vital in case of emergency. Bluelink also offers access to vehicle health with maintenance alerts, trip history, etc. Security features include theft of vehicle, geo-fencing alerts, valet alerts and high-speed alerts each of which can be accessed via Hyundai Bluelink. The company now aims to expand Bluelinks features and availability which will further enhance sales.

Also read  Hyundai Creta Electric First Drive Review
In one of the first official acts following his swearing in, President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization. President Trump cited the organizations mishandling in 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises.

The executive order notes WHOs failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.

In addition, the WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries assessed payments, said President Trump. China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO.

Under the new executive order, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs will be tasked with establishing mechanisms within the National Security Council to safeguard public health and biosecurity.

President Trump called on the Secretary of State and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to take appropriate measures to pause the future transfer of any United States government funds, support, or resources to the WHO; recall and reassign United States government personnel or contractors working in any capacity with the WHO; and identify credible and transparent United States and international partners to assume necessary activities previously undertaken by the WHO.

President Trump called on the Director of the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy to review, rescind, and replace the 2024 U.S. Global Health Security Strategy as soon as possible.

Moreover, while withdrawal is in progress, the Secretary of State will cease negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement and the amendments to the International Health Regulations, and actions taken to effectuate such agreement will have no binding force on the United States.

President Trump promised during his campaign to work to forge a new coalition of nations that are strongly committed to protecting health while also upholding sovereignty and freedom.
Eight years ago in Colombia, the longest running conflict in the Western Hemisphere ended with the signing of a Peace Accord.

But implementing the Documents provisions proved to be anything but simple. Armed conflict among rival groups in regions where government presence is limited has been increasing and spiked in the early days of the new year. In the third week of January alone, fighting between armed groups just in the Catatumbo region has claimed over 80 lives.

According to the United Nations, the conflict threatens to spread to other regions, with ethnic communities, women and children being among the most affected by the violence.

The Peace Accord sought to address conflict-related atrocities and abuses which took place over more than 50 years. However, Colombia continues to experience long-term consequences of conflict, said Dorothy Shea, U.S. Charge dAffairs ad interim at the United Nations.

We urge the Government of Colombia to continue its commitment to attaining justice for victims and survivors of the conflict, including survivors of gender-based violence. Absent these efforts, Colombia will continue to face challenges meeting its security, stability, and counternarcotics goals.

The United States has contributed more than $2.1 billion to support the Accords implementation. Included in this assistance are more than $125 million to assist Colombia to design and implement development plans in conflict-affected communities.

However, more must be done, said Ambassador Shea. Many women and young people currently experience great trauma from the on-going violence they suffer or witness, the effects of which will continue to be felt for some time.

Their healing, as well as their full and meaningful participation in peace dialogues, are essential components of a durable, sustainable peace. Women and young people need to be part of the conversation in building a peaceful future in Colombia.

The United States remains committed to preventing impunity for criminal acts carried out by terrorists and other illegal armed groups. said Ambassador Shea.

Past peace processes have made clear that a security strategy is essential to pressure illegal armed groups to negotiate in good faith and to avoid impunity for their abuses.

In the eight years since the Final Agreement, implementation of the peace agreement and its ability to address Colombias deteriorating security conditions remains a work in progress, said Ambassador Shea.

Achieving peace for the sake of all Colombians, should remain at the forefront of all involved.
London stocks fell in early trade on Monday as investors eyed a busy week that includes rate announcements from the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, and earnings from more than half the Magnificent 7.

At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 8,469.17.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Theres a lot riding on this weeks earnings reports for big tech, with updates due from Meta, Microsoft, Apple and Tesla. Theres a lot of upside already sewn into expectations, which leaves plenty of room for disappointment. The S&P 500 is set to start the week with a case of the jitters, as investors assess the threat from Chinese AI startups.

"The small Chinese research and engineering firm DeepSeeks AI Chatbot has proved so popular it jumped into the top spot on US iOS App, usurping Open AIs ChatGPT. DeepSeek threatens to spook big tech and has already sent shivers through Silicon Valley by releasing details about how to build large language models more cheaply using low-cost Chinese chips. While they dont offer the cutting-edge tech of Nvidias graphics processing units, the efficacy of the budget version and the willingness of DeepSeek to share its know-how may start to chip away at Nvidias dominance. DeepSeek has access to deep wells of Chinese data and has deep pockets. Its funded by hedge fund manager Liang Wenfeng and is believed to be on the hunt for the best AI talent.

"While Nvidia's latest chips are still far superior in terms of performance, with cheaper rivals making progress, there is likely to be a knock-on effect globally, with competing US and Chinese spheres of AI influence set to emerge."

In UK equity markets, miners retreated after weak Chinese manufacturing data, with Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta all weaker.

Dr Martens edged lower even as the iconic boot maker backed its full-year guidance and reported an uptick in revenue thanks to a solid performance from the ecommerce segment.

On the upside, British American Tobacco was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100 after an upgrade to buy at UBS.

WH Smith rallied as it confirmed it was looking at potential strategic options for its high street stores, including a possible sale of the "profitable and cash-generative" unit.

The company said it had become a "focused global travel retailer" over the past decade. Its travel business now has more than 1,200 stores across 32 countries, providing three-quarters of group revenue and 85% of trading profit.

Diversified Energy advanced as it announced the acquisition of Maverick Natural Resources for $1.28bn. It said the deal would strengthen its position in multiple basins, including the Permian and Western Anadarko.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,469.17 -0.39%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,406.57 -0.54%

techMARK (TASX) 4,712.08 0.00%

FTSE 100 - Risers

British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,133.00p 4.16%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 129.50p 2.78%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 245.80p 2.67%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 68.36p 2.03%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,677.00p 1.83%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 257.20p 1.74%

GSK (GSK) 1,380.00p 1.73%

British Land Company (BLND) 361.00p 1.63%

Tesco (TSCO) 365.40p 1.50%

SSE (SSE) 1,582.50p 1.41%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,383.00p -6.01%

Halma (HLMA) 2,792.00p -4.12%

Fresnillo (FRES) 657.50p -4.08%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 582.60p -3.80%

Glencore (GLEN) 363.30p -3.22%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,698.50p -3.19%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,025.50p -3.16%

Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,270.00p -2.44%

Diploma (DPLM) 4,366.00p -2.33%

The Sage Group (SGE) 1,301.00p -2.18%

FTSE 250 - Risers

WH Smith (SMWH) 1,219.00p 6.18%

Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,306.00p 2.59%

Spirent Communications (SPT) 186.20p 2.31%

Pennon Group (PNN) 516.00p 2.28%

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,200.00p 1.85%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 308.20p 1.68%

Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,704.00p 1.67%

CMC Markets (CMCX) 224.00p 1.36%

Hammerson (HMSO) 278.40p 1.31%

Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 170.60p 1.19%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 425.00p -4.49%

Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 366.00p -4.31%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 638.75p -3.88%

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 348.80p -3.70%

Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 255.00p -3.59%

Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 184.40p -3.46%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 246.00p -3.19%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,404.00p -2.70%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 175.20p -2.56%

BlackRock Greater Europe Inv Trust (BRGE) 587.00p -2.49%
London stocks were set to fall at the open on Monday following a mostly weaker Asian session.

The FTSE 100 was called to open around 65 points lower as investors eyed a busy week that includes rate decisions from the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, and earnings from more than half the Magnificent 7.

This includes earnings reports from Microsoft, Meta and Tesla on Wednesday and Apple on Thursday.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "There is a lot resting on these reports, as tech stocks get sold off in the wake of Chinas Deepseek threat.

"In the last two years, the Magnificent 7 have done the heavy lifting for the S&P 500, and together their share prices have risen by 131% in that period. However, shares have stumbled slightly in 2025, and they are no longer the top performing sector.

"So far in 2025, the equal weighted S&P 500 has outperformed the market cap weighted index, which is a sign that the stock market rally is broadening out beyond tech."

In UK corporate news, WH Smith confirmed it was looking at potential strategic options for its high street stores, including a possible sale of the "profitable and cash-generative" unit.

The retailer said it had become a "focused global travel retailer" over the past decade. Its travel business now has more than 1,200 stores across 32 countries, providing three-quarters of group revenue and 85% of trading profit.

GSK announced that a pre-filled syringe version of its Shingrix shingles vaccine has been accepted for review by the European Medicines Agency.

Shringrix, which has already been administered to over 25m people across the continent since 2018, currently comes as a separate powder and liquid adjuvant, which need to be reconstituted in separate vials prior to administration.

A pre-filled solution, if approved, would offer a more convenient option for physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, GSK said.

Diversified Energy announced the acquisition of Maverick Natural Resources for $1.28bn, expanding its asset base and commodity mix while enhancing scale and operational efficiency.

The FTSE 250 company said the acquisition would increase revenue by 95%, boost free cash flow by 55%, and improve margins through synergies, with the combined company holding an enterprise value of $3.8bn and production of 1,200 million cubic feet equivalent per day.

It said the move would strengthen Diversified's position in multiple basins, including the Permian and Western Anadarko.
Dr Martens backed its full-year guidance on Monday as the iconic boot maker reported an uptick in revenue thanks to a solid performance from the ecommerce segment.

In a statement for the 13 weeks to 29 December 2024, the company said revenue rose 3% at constant currency to 267m.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenue was up 1% in Q3. Dr Martens said the DTC performance was the result of e-commerce revenue growing 2% and retail revenue declining 1%.

By regions, DTC revenue rose 4% in the Americas, in line with the companys key objective of returning the Americas to positive growth in the second half.

DTC revenue was up 17% in APAC, driven by ecommerce. Dr Martens hailed a strong performance across the region, with its largest market Japan continuing to deliver good growth.

In EMEA, DTC revenue dipped 5%, impacted by "the deep promotional nature of several markets", especially in December, when the company maintained its discipline and only participated in promotional activity in line with its discounting strategy.

Wholesale revenue was up 9% "against a weak comparative", it said.

Chief executive Ije Nwokorie said: "Our Q3 trading was as expected and our outlook for FY25 remains unchanged.

"We have made good progress against our objective of turning around our USA performance, with USA DTC in positive growth in Q3. We continue to actively manage our costs and are on track to meet our inventory reduction target for FY25. The team and I are squarely focused on returning the business to sustainable and profitable growth."

At 0945 GMT, the shares were down 3.2% at 70.10p.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The seller of iconic footwear made a start to life as a public company as if it had its shoelaces tied together. Its latest statement is a case of one step forward, two steps back.

"The companys big focus has been on improving the performance of its US direct-to-consumer business and restoring its revenue to positive growth in the second half. On a constant currency basis, it is on track to do so but the company doesnt spell out if this is the case without this adjustment. Reading between the lines it likely isnt, based on the disparity between the reported figure and constant currency figure for the Americas as a whole.

"In the Europe, Middle East and Africa region Dr. Martens showing is weak whatever way you want to spin it - although the company may have done its bit to protect brand integrity by not engaging in heavy discounting around Christmas.

"Performance is improving on a dismal first half of the year and the company remains on track to hit its guidance for the full year. The Asia Pacific region is performing well, albeit from a much lower base.

"While this statement is not a total disaster it will be unlikely to win over many sceptics. Dr. Martens still has a big job on its hands to rebuild its credibility with the market."
Europes largest low-cost airline said it now expected to carry 206 million passengers in the 2025/216 financial year, down from a previous estimate of 210 million. Ryanair in November lowered its forecast from 215 million.

While Boeing 737 production is recovering from Boeings strike in late 2024, we no longer expect Boeing to deliver sufficient aircraft ahead of summer 2025, said chief executive Michael OLeary.

Boeing has struggled to meet orders amid a strike over pay last year and quality problems with aircraft quality after a door panel blew out mid-air on a jet 12 months ago.

The company also said post-tax profit for the third quarter came in at 149m, well ahead of the 60m forecast in a company-compiled poll of analysts, on the back of a 1% rise in average fares in the three months to December 31.

Ryanair said it was "cautiously guiding" after-tax profit for the year to March 31 of 1.55bn - 1.61bn.

Ryanair said it expected to take delivery of nine Boeing 737 MAX aircraft ahead of its peak summer season, fewer than expected. The final 29 aircraft of Ryanair's 210 MAX order will arrive by March 2026, lifting traffic to 215 million passengers a year later.

There was always likely to be some meaningful fall-out for airlines from the problems at Boeing and Ryanair has made these explicit as it lowers its passenger forecast.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said attention would now turn to the crucial summer booking season. "Although, like kids impatient for chocolate eggs, Ryanair will be unhappy with how late Easter is this year given the implications for the current quarter.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
Finalists have been selected in six categories for the National Book Critics Circle Awards, along with shortlists for the John Leonard Prize for First Book and the Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize. Winners will be named on March 20 in New York City. Check out the complete list of finalists here.

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the NBCC Awards. Maxine Hong Kingston, who won the 1976 NBCC Nonfiction Award for The Woman Warrior, will speak in honor of the semicentennial.

"The NBCC remains, as president Ivan Sandrof said at our first ceremony, 'fiercely independent,' the only literary prize selected by the critics themselves," said NBCC president Heather Scott Partington. "This year's finalist list represents another collection of innovative and bold writing. These essential works break down barriers and expectations. As censorship and book bans continue, these new classics communicate indispensable truths and beg to be read. These writers and translators stand shoulder to shoulder with NBCC honorees of the past 50 years. By celebrating their work, we seek to honor the rights of all people to write and to read."

In addition, Sandra Cisneros is receiving the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, Lauren Michele Jackson has won the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, and the winner of the Toni Morrison Achievement Award, recognizing "institutions that have made lasting and meaningful contributions to book culture," is Third World Press.

"As one of the seminal figures in the Chicano literary movement, Cisneros has an unmatched record as a change agent and community builder," Achievement Awards committee chair Jacob M. Appel said. "She writes specifically of the Mexican-American experience, but with a deep emotional understanding and resonance that universalizes the challenges of immigration, exile, and dislocation."

Balakian winner Jackson's "gorgeously written reviews are thoughtful, informed and a joy to read," noted committee chair Colette Bancroft. The NBCC Service Award this year will honor Lori Lynn Turner, associate director of the New School Creative Writing Program.

Regarding Third World Press, Appel commented: "Under the helm of Haki R. Madhubuti, the Chicago-based publisher has championed generations of Black authors and is largely responsible for keeping the works of celebrated poet Gwendolyn Brooks in print."

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Mick Herron is the recipient of the 2025 CWA Diamond Dagger, which is sponsored by the Crime Writers' Association and recognizes "authors whose crime writing careers have been marked by sustained excellence, and who have made a significant contribution to the genre." The Diamond Dagger will be presented at the annual CWA Dagger Awards on July 3.

Vaseem Khan, chair of the CWA, said: "I am delighted that the Diamond Dagger judges have picked Mick as their recipient this year. Few could be more deserving. Mick is the quintessential writers' writer and his Slough House novels have, by general consensus, reinvented the spy thriller, going on to delight millions on the page and onscreen. The Diamond Dagger is a fitting tribute to a writer whose work has become both cultural marker and record of our time."

Herron commented: "I've spent the best part of my life--not the majority of it; just the best part--in the crime writers' community, and to receive this accolade from these friends and colleagues is both a career highlight and a personal joy. I'm touched and thrilled beyond measure, and will try to live up to the honor."
In an ominous indication of the new administration's approach to book censorship, on Friday the new leadership of the Department of Education announced that its Office for Civil Rights has "dismissed" 17 complaints and pending complaints "related to so-called 'book bans' " and said the idea that "local school districts' removal of age-inappropriate, sexually explicit, or obscene materials from their school libraries created a hostile environment for students" and constitutes a civil rights violation is "a meritless claim based upon a dubious legal theory." The Office for Civil Rights also ended the position of "book ban coordinator" and rescinded an agreement reached with Forsyth County School District in Georgia. The Office's statement has the headline, "U.S. Department of Education Ends Biden's Book Ban Hoax."

The announcement of the changes stated in part, "On Jan. 20, 2025, incoming OCR leadership initiated a review of alleged 'book banning' cases pending at the department. Attorneys quickly confirmed that books are not being 'banned,' but that school districts, in consultation with parents and community stakeholders, have established commonsense processes by which to evaluate and remove age-inappropriate materials. Because this is a question of parental and community judgment, not civil rights, OCR has no role in these matters."

The Department's Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor added, "By dismissing these complaints and eliminating the position and authorities of a so-called 'book ban coordinator,' the department is beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their children's education. The department adheres to the deeply rooted American principle that local control over public education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the educational needs of their children and communities. Parents and school boards have broad discretion to fulfill that important responsibility. These decisions will no longer be second-guessed by the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education."

Several book world organizations responded quickly. Kasey Meehan, director, Freedom to Read, at PEN America, said in a statement: "For over three years we have countered rhetoric that book bans occurring in public schools are a 'hoax.' They are absolutely not. This kind of language from the U.S. Department of Education is alarming and dismissive of the students, educators, librarians, and authors who have firsthand experiences of censorship happening within school libraries and classrooms.

"Since 2021, we have meticulously recorded nearly 16,000 instances of book bans nationwide--where access to books is revoked from their intended readers--often without following commonsense processes and increasingly due to censorial legislation from states."

Meehan noted, too, that the 16,000 book bans is "a number not seen since the Red Scare McCarthy era of the 1950s" and that the censorship effort is "organized by conservative groups [and] predominantly targets books about race and racism by authors of color and also books on LGBTQ+ topics as well those for older readers that have sexual references or discuss sexual violence....

"We will continue to raise awareness and resistance to ongoing book bans in defense of students' freedom to read. All students deserve to see themselves and the world around them reflected in the books shelved within their public schools."

For its part, Authors Against Book Bans issued a statement that called the Department of Education's actions a "distortion of the intended work of the OCR--the protection of civil rights and students' freedoms in our nation's schools [that is] negligent, grossly un-American, and in direct conflict with freedom of speech, a bedrock right enshrined in the Constitution.

"Authors Against Book Bans unequivocally stands against all such attempts at censorship and discrimination. We stand with families, students and educators across the country who exercise free speech every time they open a book, and with the 71% of Americans who are opposed to book bans. Book bans do not protect children; history teaches us that they are a terrifying step toward tyranny."
Entrepreneurship is the blood of a nation's thriving economy. It ignites innovation and transforms visionaries who shape the future and fulfill the mission of creating job creators.

The Entrepreneurship Cell IIT Bombay, Asia's largest non-profit student-run entrepreneurship promoting body, brings you E-Summit 25Pursuit of Eminence, the 20th edition of Asia's largest business conclave scheduled for the 1st- 2nd February 2025.

E-Summit '25 aims to connect today's leaders with tomorrow's innovators via funding competitions, insightful speaker sessions, networking opportunities, and much more. Let us get a glance at what is in store for us:-

The Ten Minute Million (TTMM), is India's first-of-its-kind on-the-spot funding platform offering startup founders the chance to pitch their ideas to 16 investors in just 10 minutes in front of an audience of over 3,500 people and win up to INR 3.5 million.

This year, the event will feature inspiring personalities like Nandan Nilekani, Anupam Mittal, Sonam Wangchuk, and Gaurav Chaudhary (Technical Guruji), and over 120 speakers.

At the Startup Expo, you get the chance to exhibit and market your product to over 50K+ attendees.

Seed Stars is where startups get funding opportunities, networking, and mentorship.

I-Hack is the mega competition for all tech geeks with over INR 6 lakh prize money at stake for the data science and development tracks.

Entre-MUN is a Model United Nations forum where students develop leadership skills, debate global issues, and simulate UN council operations.

There will also be workshops covering Android Development, Ethical Hacking, Marketing Analytics, Data Science, and others.

And don't you think E-Summit is limited to just startup founders, if you are a student looking to test your business acumen you can participate in our competitions like IPL Auction, Bid-n-Build, Fish Tank, Corporate Duel, Squid Games, Ace the Case, Pursuit of Eminence and many informal games with prize money up to INR 1 lakh!

If you're an aspiring entrepreneur seeking hands-on experience at a startup or corporation through our internship and job fair, or a finance enthusiast eager to explore the virtual stock market, there is something tailored just for you.

The two-day extravaganza has so many speaker sessions, workshops and fun games in store for you that it is a spectacle you need to witness at none other than the IIT Bombay Campus!

Westbridge Capital and E-Gaming Federation present the conclave in association with Campa Cola and Canara Bank as the Debt Financing Sponsor. It boasts AWS as Cloud Partner, Krafton India as Gaming Partner, Zeropearl as Platinum Partner, India AI as Gold Partner, Somany Impresa as Case Study Partner and Singapore Management University as Catalyst Partner.

Register ASAP at ecell.in/esummit
In the vast world of gemstones, only a few manage to captivate the imagination of collectors as profoundly as the Gold Sheen Sapphire. Celebrated for its shimmering golden radiance and extraordinary rarity, this gemstone has gained a reputation as one of the most coveted treasures in the jewelry world. Let us delve into the fascinating aspects that make Gold Sheen Sapphire a symbol of luxury, sophistication, and exclusivity.

The Unparalleled Rarity of Gold Sheen Sapphire

Gold Sheen Sapphire is recognized as one of the rarest gemstones on Earth, with its discovery marking a significant milestone in the gem industry. Only a tiny fraction of the global populationless than 0.0001%has ever seen its magnificent glow in person.

What sets this gemstone apart is its extraordinary scarcity, backed by scientific studies showing it to be rarer than the iconic Paraiba tourmaline. This extreme rarity elevates its status beyond a simple luxury item, making it a treasure sought by collectors and connoisseurs alike.

Its signature golden sheen, caused by light reflecting off tiny inclusions within the gem, ensures that each stone is a unique marvel of nature. For those fortunate enough to own one, Gold Sheen Sapphire offers not just beauty but also a deep sense of exclusivity.

The Appeal of Gold Sheen Sapphire

Exceptional Hardness: With a Mohs hardness rating of 9, Gold Sheen Sapphire is nearly as durable as diamonds. This makes it a practical choice for jewelry pieces designed to last for generations. A Touch of Mystique: Beyond its visual appeal, this gemstone is believed to hold spiritual and metaphysical properties. Wearers often associate it with enhanced clarity, wealth, and protection, adding an intriguing dimension to its charm.

Why the Pricing Reflects its Value

Gold Sheen Sapphires pricing mirrors its rarity, but experts argue that it remains undervalued compared to its exclusivity. Heres a breakdown of its cost:

Unique, one-of-a-kind pieces start at $6,000 per carat .

. Rare grades range between $3,500 and $5,000 per carat .

. Fine to extra-fine grades are available for $1,000 to $3,000 per carat.

While these prices reflect the gemstones luxurious status, analysts and gem experts predict a steady upward trend in value, driven by its extreme scarcity and increasing global demand. As collectors recognize its investment potential, Gold Sheen Sapphire is rapidly transitioning from a decorative marvel to a prized asset with enduring value.

Demand in the Global Market

The allure of Gold Sheen Sapphire is no longer confined to select regions; it has become a global sensation, particularly in Japan and the United States.

In Japan : Revered for its understated elegance and rarity, Gold Sheen Sapphire resonates with the Japanese appreciation for refinement and exclusivity. It has become a popular choice for bespoke jewelry and heirloom pieces.

: Revered for its understated elegance and rarity, Gold Sheen Sapphire resonates with the Japanese appreciation for refinement and exclusivity. It has become a popular choice for bespoke jewelry and heirloom pieces. In the United States: Luxury enthusiasts and collectors are increasingly drawn to this gemstone, finding it an ideal symbol of individuality and status. Its unique golden glow has made it a standout addition to high-end jewelry collections.

The Tucson Gem Show: A Premier Platform

One of the pivotal events highlighting the brilliance of Gold Sheen Sapphire is the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, held annually in Arizona. As the largest and most prestigious gem exhibition in the world, this show provides an ideal platform for showcasing the unparalleled beauty and rarity of Gold Sheen Sapphire.

Collectors, jewelers, and gemstone enthusiasts flock to Tucson to admire and acquire these exquisite stones, further cementing their status as a prized possession in the gem trade.

The Pioneering Vision of Mr. Tanzim Khan Malik

The global prominence of Gold Sheen Sapphire owes much to the vision and expertise of Mr. Tanzim Khan Malik, a trailblazer in the gemstone industry. His relentless pursuit of excellence and commitment to highlighting the rarity of this gemstone have elevated its status among the elite.

Mr. Maliks efforts extend beyond mere discovery; he has ensured that every step of the process, from sourcing to cutting, upholds the highest standards. His leadership has made Gold Sheen Sapphire synonymous with luxury and quality, capturing the attention of discerning buyers worldwide.

The Dynamic Duo: Mr. Tanzim Khan Malik and Shadaan Malik

Working alongside Mr. Tanzim Khan Malik is Shadaan Malik, whose contributions have played an integral role in the gemstones success story. Together, they have crafted a compelling narrative around Gold Sheen Sapphire, positioning it as not just a gemstone but a legacy.

Their efforts have not only popularized this rare gem in markets like the U.S. and Japan but have also strengthened its presence in prestigious events and elite jewelry collections.

Investing in Gold Sheen Sapphire: A Wise Choice

Gold Sheen Sapphire is more than just a statement piece; its an investment in rarity and beauty. As its recognition grows, so does its value, making it an attractive option for those seeking a tangible asset with enduring appeal.

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Conclusion

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Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, is set to visit Muscat, Oman, for the 11th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) on January 27-28, 2025, alongside Qais bin Mohammed bin Moosa al-Yousef, Omans Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion. This visit underscores the strategic significance of Indias trade relations with Oman, a key member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, with trade ties exceeding USD 8.94 billion for 2023-2024.

The visit is expected to feature comprehensive discussions on enhancing trade and investment cooperation as well as addressing the broader global economic climate. A statement from the commerce ministry indicated that talks on the India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), currently in advanced stages, are likely to gain momentum during the meetings.
Trumps commitment to border security and economic growth resonates with Indian Americans, who value his authenticity, promise-keeping, and strong leadership on national and global issues.

Indian-Americans have found a unique resonance with former President Donald Trump, particularly in his portrayal of authenticity and commitment to fulfilling promises. Many within the community appreciate his direct approach, often viewing him as a figure who speaks his mind without the usual political filter. Trump's emphasis on strong leadership, economic growth, and national security has struck a chord with Indian-Americans, who value self-reliance and hard work.

When Donald Trump took the oath of office as the 47th President of the United States, a group of Indian-origin veterans, who are also US voters, expressed support for his views on border security. They praised him as an "authentic" leader who stands by his promises. According to these veterans, Trumps approach to national security, mainly focusing on securing the US borders, is seen as practical and essential for the country's protection.

Trump's agenda included decisive actions on illegal immigration, with promises to carry out large-scale deportations and introduce significant policies to curb illegal border crossings. These veterans believed that his stance on immigration was not merely rhetoric but a serious commitment to protecting the nation from national security threats posed by undocumented individuals. They also noted exaggerated media concerns about potential disruptions under Trump's leadership.

On the issue of border security, the veterans emphasized that the US is facing a growing challenge from illegal immigration, mainly through the southern border. They highlighted the increasing number of illegal crossings and expressed a sense of urgency in addressing the issue. Many of them believed that Trump's commitment to cracking down on sanctuary cities and focusing on national security was crucial for the well-being of future generations.

In addition to immigration, the veterans expressed their views on Trumps foreign policy. They saw him as taking a tough stance against China, considering it one of the biggest competitors on the global stage. They expected Trump to prioritize strong economic policies, mainly through trade deals that would benefit the US while ensuring a more strategic relationship with countries like India.

However, some veterans raised concerns about the potential challenges of Trumps tariff strategies, particularly regarding trade with China. They acknowledged that while Trumps policies might be challenging, there could be significant costs if negotiations with China did not go as planned. Yet, they remained optimistic about his ability to balance international relations in a way that would protect American interests.

As Trump embarked on his second term, these veterans expressed hope that his administration would deliver on promises related to national security, economic growth, and strong international alliances. They believed his approach to border security and trade would result in a stronger, more secure America while maintaining beneficial relationships with key global partners.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Jeff Wittek, a famous YouTuber, podcaster and social media star who found fame as a celebrity barber with a viral brand of mens grooming products, has opened his first brick-and-mortar barbershop. The location? In the heart of his Staten Island hometown.

Staten Island is where I grew up. Its what made me who I am, where I developed my sense of humor and morals, Wittek noted. I chose Victory Boulevard [for the location], because it holds a lot of personal significance for me. Its where my school bus used to drop me off, and while its not the exact shop where I worked when I lived here, many of the barbers I worked with back then are still there. It feels like the closest thing to home. I grew up in that area, so it just felt right.

Located in Meiers Corners, at the intersection of Victory and Watchogue Road, Jeffs Barbershop features a bright red awning and traditional red-white-and-blue barber pole. Its where Wittek  who has nearly 3 million subscribers  will be filming his hit YouTube series, also dubbed Jeffs Barbershop.

Ill still be spending months here each year to shoot my barbershop show, Wittek said. The show was heavily inspired by the barbershop culture I grew up with, and now, instead of filming on an LA set, Ill finally be shooting in an actual barbershop. It just feels right.

Jeff Wittek is seen in a chair for a fresh cut during the grand opening of his eponymous barbershop in Meiers Corners. (Courtesy of Kyle Barper)(Courtesy of Jeff Wittek)

Wittek was born and raised in the borough and says he started cutting his brothers hair and even his own when he was still in high school. He started hanging out at the barbershop, because thats where the bus dropped him off.

Id watch the barbers work, and eventually, I started sweeping hair, he said. The barbers began asking who was cutting the sides of my hair, and when I told them I was doing it myself, they were shocked. Mike, one of the barbers, offered to teach me and said if I stuck with it, I might even get a job there.

A few weeks later, when Mike called out sick and the owner was on vacation, Wittek found himself running the shop.

I mustve cut 20 people that first day, he said. I was 16, unlicensed, and had no idea what I was doing, but somehow, I pulled it off. When everyone got back, they were proud of how I handled things and gave me a full-time job.

Years later, Wittek moved to Miami and started working at a shop with a big celebrity following.

Thats when things really took off, he said. Celebrities would walk into the barbershop where I worked, and when social media came around, I used it to my advantage. It helped me connect with celebrities and people from all over the world, taking my career to a whole new level.

He gained popularity styling stars like DJ Pauly D and Big Sean before launching his Barbershop series. He also produced an award-winning documentary called Dont Try This at Home before launching his own brand of grooming products in 2019. He said he owes a lot of his success to his Staten Island roots.

"The show was heavily inspired by the barbershop culture I grew up with, and now, instead of filming on an LA set, Ill finally be shooting in an actual barbershop. It just feels right," explained Wittek. (Courtesy of Kyle Barper)(Courtesy of Jeff Wittek)

Staten Island is a one-of-a-kind place, and you dont realize it until you leave, he noted. When I was a kid, there were times I didnt love being from Staten Island. I didnt see many opportunities to grow beyond the Island, and when I moved to LA, I even hated my accent and tried to change it for auditions. But after spending several years away, Ive realized that Staten Island is a huge part of who I am, and in order to be successful in this business, you have to be yourself. I owe a lot of success to the way I was raised and the culture and the people who raised me.

And now that hes opened his flagship barbershop here, Wittek said his intention is to have a regular presence in his hometown.

Ill definitely be around, he concluded. Ill be shooting my show after hours, but Im sure Ill also be hanging out during my free time. Theres just something special about being in a New York barbershop. People say the meanest things to each other, but everyone just laughs it off. Theres nothing quite like that New York sense of humor.
An aerial drone photo shows people visiting the Datang Everbright City scenic area in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 22, 2025. As the Spring Festival approaches, Xi'an, one of the ancient capitals in Chinese history, is brimming with bright lights and splendid festive atmosphere. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)

An aerial drone photo shows tourists enjoying the view of lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 22, 2025. As the Spring Festival approaches, Xi'an, one of the ancient capitals in Chinese history, is brimming with bright lights and splendid festive atmosphere. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)

An aerial drone photo shows a giant lantern decoration at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 22, 2025. As the Spring Festival approaches, Xi'an, one of the ancient capitals in Chinese history, is brimming with bright lights and splendid festive atmosphere. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)

An aerial drone photo shows a view of lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 22, 2025. As the Spring Festival approaches, Xi'an, one of the ancient capitals in Chinese history, is brimming with bright lights and splendid festive atmosphere. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)

An aerial drone photo shows the night view of the Datang Everbright City scenic area, in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 22, 2025. As the Spring Festival approaches, Xi'an, one of the ancient capitals in Chinese history, is brimming with bright lights and splendid festive atmosphere. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)

A drone photo shows visitors watching a performance at the Datang Everbright City scenic area in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 22, 2025. As the Spring Festival approaches, Xi'an, one of the ancient capitals in Chinese history, is brimming with bright lights and splendid festive atmosphere. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)

Editor: WXY
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A water main break is causing part of Morningstar Road in Elm Park to be blocked during the Monday morning rush hour on Staten Island.

Morningstar Road is a major access road to the Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway and located in the shadow of the Bayonne Bridge.

The city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is working to correct the problem, according to a spokesman.

DEP crews are on scene and have shut off the water, the spokesman said around 8:30 a.m. Workers are now excavating to find the source of the leak.

Morningstar is blocked from Lasalle Street to Richmond Terrace.

Traffic is backing up on Richmond Terrance at the intersection of Morningstar.

Police are on scene and caution tape has been spread across the blocked areas along Morningstar.

On the roadway, water from the leak is mixing with slush left over from last weeks storm.

This is a developing story and more information will be published when it becomes available.

A break in a water main is causing a closure of Morningstar Road near Richmond Terrace on the morning of Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

A break in a water main is causing a closure of Morningstar Road near Richmond Terrace on the morning of Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

A break in a water main is causing a closure of Morningstar Road near Richmond Terrace on the morning of Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

A break in a water main is causing a closure of Morningstar Road near Richmond Terrace on the morning of Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

A break in a water main is causing a closure of Morningstar Road near Richmond Terrace on the morning of Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

A break in a water main is causing a closure of Morningstar Road near Richmond Terrace on the morning of Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

A break in a water main is causing a closure of Morningstar Road near Richmond Terrace on the morning of Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel
The NYPD is asking for the publics assistance in identifying and locating an individual wanted in connection with an assault that occurred in the Bronx.

It was reported to police that on Sunday at approximately 11 a.m., a 25-year-old male victim was allegedly stabbed multiple times about his body by an unidentified individual while aboard a northbound 5 train.

The individual fled the location in an unknown direction, while EMS transported the victim to Lincoln Hospital in stable condition, according to a statement released by the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

The NYPD released a surveillance image of the individual sought for questioning.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  As Groundhog Day approaches, theres no better time to revisit Harold Ramis beloved classic 1993 film Groundhog Day. Even if youre a fan of the Bill Murray classic, you may be surprised to learn these fun facts about the movie and the beloved tradition.

1. Big shoes to Phil: The surprising twist in casting

According to IMDb.com, director Harold Ramis initially considered Tom Hanks for the role of Phil. With his talent and popularity in films like Big and A League of Their Own, its no surprise eyes were on Hanks.

However, the filmmaker decided against casting the star because he felt Hanks was too nice to play Phil. Instead, the comedic Bill Murray landed the lead role  adding Groundhog Day to his roster of hit films such as Ghostbusters. Dont feel bad for Hanks, though; we all know he has a list of successes all his own.

2. From Punxsutawney to Woodstock

While Groundhog Day is set in the iconic town of Punxsutawney, Pa., the movie was actually filmed in Woodstock, Ill., located about 50 miles from Bill Murrays hometown of Wilmette, Ill. Director Harold Ramis and his team chose Woodstock as the filming location, feeling it offered a more scenic backdrop than Punxsutawney.

According to IMDb, there is a plaque in Woodstock on the curb where Murray continuously steps in a puddle that reads, Bill Murray stepped here. Additionally, if you re-watch the Ned Ryerson scene, you can clearly see a sign in the background that reads Woodstock Jewelers.

3. Fake snow and real sweat

While the movie takes place in February, the actual filming lasted from March until June. This meant that the crew had to use fake snow while the actors had to endure warm weather in winter coats and attire.

4. Staten Island Chuck vs. Scooter the Groundhog

Similar to our very own Staten Island Chuck, the groundhogs on the set werent shy about biting.

Bill Murray experienced this firsthand when he was bitten twice by Scooter, one of the groundhogs. The bites were apparently so deep that Murray had to receive anti-rabies injections to prevent serious complications.

Groundhog Day at the Staten Island Zoo. Mayor Michael Bloomberg holds SI Chuck. ( Staten Island Advance / Irving Silverstein ) Staten Island Advancestaten island advance

5. Stuck in the loop

The length of time Phil spends in his never-ending time loop has been widely debated. While some estimate he was trapped for about 10 years, Ramis suggested it was actually more like 30 to 40 years.

6. Last-minute additions: Post-production prediction

According to IMDb, the scenes where Bill Murrays Phil films his predictions at the news station with Andie MacDowells Rita werent part of the original shooting schedule.

These scenes were created after filming had wrapped, prompting the crew to return and shoot them later. The scenes were then edited and added during post-production.

7. A timeless classic

In 2006, Groundhog Day was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress and added to the National Film Registry. According to loc.gov, each year the registry selects 25 films showcasing the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation.

8. Gobblers Knob: Movie magic vs. reality

The site of the enthusiastic Groundhog Day celebration, Gobblers Knob, is depicted in the film as being in the center of town. However, the real Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney is located in a wooded area on the outskirts of town.

9. Jeeps Groundhog Day: A drive to the Super Bowl

In 2020, Bill Murray and several other cast members returned to their Groundhog Day roles for a Super Bowl commercial  coincidentally airing on Groundhog Day itself. What better reason to bring the iconic characters back than to promote the Jeep Gladiator?

The nearly two-minute ad features Murray and a groundhog sharing a series of funny moments, all while showcasing the vehicle. Jeep went the extra mile by filming the commercial in Woodstock, just like the movie. The video ends with a clever line that echoes the movie: Have the day of your life over and over again.

10. The Murray brothers share the screen

Brian Doyle-Murray, who plays Buster Green in the film, is actually the elder brother of Bill Murray. The two had previously starred in other movies together, such as Caddyshack and Ghostbuster II.
Reports of more mysterious drone sightings across the Northeast have cropped up just weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted temporary flight restrictions that were put in place following thousands of similar sightings late last year, according to NBC News.

The sightings prompted airport closures in November and December in New York, New Jersey and other nearby states, the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com previously reported.

The FAA imposed temporary flight restrictions from December to Jan. 19, when drone sightings began to once again increase from Connecticut to New Jersey, according to NBC.

NBC reported that U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer confirmed the return of the drones on Sunday, saying, We have now seen new drone sightings. Were going to have to look into it.

President Donald Trump also addressed the issue by stating, I would like to find out what it is and tell the people. Last week, he asked his chief of staff to look into the matter.
Ocean City is allowing pet daycare centers to open while to address a growing demand for temporary animal housing.

City Council on Thursday adopted an ordinance allowing mercantile licenses for kennel-style businesses, removing a rule that prevented permits for kennels and other pet boarding businesses.

Earlier this month city officials said they had been approached by one prospective business owner interested in opening a doggy daycare. However, two council members objected to the ordinance, believing softer restrictions could lead to misuse.

Councilman Keith Hartzell backed the idea during the Jan. 9 council meeting, saying Ocean City is behind the times as the popularity of pet daycare centers is on the rise. He said pet owners visiting the Shore and residents have been looking for daycare services, preferring these be on the islands so they dont have to drive inland during the busy summer season.

But when the ordinance came up for a vote, Hartzell raised concerns the new law does not explicitly exclude puppy mills from getting a permit.

I cannot, I will not, support the sale of puppy-mill dogs in Ocean City, New Jersey, Hartzell said Thursday before a vote on the ordinance. If that (ordinance) doesnt say that, Im out.

City Solicitor Dottie McCrosson said city zoning rules prohibit new kennel or breeding-style businesses. However, the ordinance change allows potential businesses to apply for a variance to deviate from these zoning laws.

Councilman Jody Levchuk also voted against the ordinance, saying the mercantile ban acts as a barrier to stop unwanted businesses from opening.

If Im a puppy mill operator that wants to operate in Ocean City, and I know its against right now, I also know that all I have to do is get through the zoning board, and I will now get my mercantile license, Levchuk said.

He raised concerns that license holders could operate their pet daycare centers out of their homes and not in commercial spaces.

About 150 New Jersey towns have banned puppy mills and the sale of animals from these kinds of breeders.

A Democrat-led bill has stalled in the New Jersey Legislature that would prohibit the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at pet shops. The ban would follow New York State, which banned those sales in 2022.

McCrosson said officials were instead approached by a prospective business to offer day-care style services for pet owners. Details about the anticipated business were not addressed at either meeting.

The ordinance passed by a 5-2 vote.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance began processing income tax returns on Monday, marking the official start of the 2025 tax season, with millions of New Yorkers now able to file their taxes free of charge.

On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul urged eligible residents to file their taxes using IRS Direct File, which allows eligible taxpayers in 25 states, including New York, to file their state and federal taxes directly with the IRS for free.

Direct File is a common-sense approach to filing taxes, Hochul said. If you have a basic return, youll find that its easy to complete the process and that you can save hundreds of dollars in tax preparation fees.

The state Tax Department estimates that roughly 3.4 million New Yorkers will qualify for the program, saving each of them roughly $260 in tax preparation fees.

New Yorkers can visit the Tax Department website to see if theyre eligible, with the state noting that the program has been expanded, meaning residents may now qualify even if they didnt last year.

Residents who earned less $200,000, or $250,000 if filing jointly, may qualify for Direct File, according to the state Tax Department.

Direct File is a safe, secure system that you can access from a smartphone or desktop computer. Qualified New Yorkers can answer simple questions instead of filling out forms or paying a preparer to complete their income return, said Tax Department Acting Commissioner Amanda Hiller.

New income tax brackets

While tax rates have remained the same, ranging from 10% to 37% depending on an individuals total taxable income, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced new brackets with adjusted thresholds for tax year 2024.

In addition to the new tax brackets, the standard deduction, the amount you can deduct to adjust the amount of income on which youre taxed, will also increase from $13,850 to $14,600 for single filers and from $27,700 to $29,200 for married couples filing jointly.

Heres a look at the new tax brackets that will be used when filing in 2025.

Tax brackets for single filers

$11,600 or less in taxable income  10% of taxable income

$11,600 to $47,150 in taxable income - $1,160 plus 12% of the excess over $11,600

$47,150 to $100,525 in taxable income - $5,426 plus 22% of the excess over $47,150

$100,525 to $191,950 in taxable income - $17,168.50 plus 24% of the excess over $100,525

$191,950 to $243,725 in taxable income - $39,110.50 plus 32% of the excess over $191,150

$243,725 to $609,350 in taxable income - $55,678.50 plus 35% of the excess over $243,725

$609,350 or more in taxable income - $183,647.25 plus 37% of the excess over $609,350

Tax brackets for married couples filing jointly
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order that would re-instate military service members who were drummed out of the service for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

USA Today reported that Defense Secretary Peter Hesgeth confirmed the executive order Monday during his first day on the job at the Pentagon.

Trump and other Republicans had criticized measures put in place by the Biden administration during the pandemic, including lockdowns that shuttered businesses and schools.

Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in 2021 ordered vaccinations for military troops against the virus unless they had secured an exemption, such as for religious purposes.

The Pentagon rescinded the order in 2023 upon direction from Congress but not before roughly 8,000 troops had been discharged from duty.

During his inaugural address on Jan. 20, Trump said that those armed service members who had refused the vaccine were unjustly expelled from our military.

Quoting a White House fact sheet on the order, Fox News reported that military members will be reinstated to their prior rank and will be given back pay and benefits.

The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Defense to reinstate all members of the military (active and reserve) who were discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine and who request to be reinstated, the fact sheet said.

The fact sheet said, After the vaccine mandate was repealed in 2023, only 43 of the more than the 8,000 troops dismissed elected to return to service under the Biden Administration and Secretary Austin.

Trump during a campaign speech last year pledged to rehire service members who were dismissed over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Trump said they would get back pay plus an apology from the government.

Trump on Monday is also expected to sign executive orders banning transgender people from serving in the military and gutting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the armed forces.
People visit the Yabuli Ski Resort along the Yaxue Road in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 16, 2025. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

People have fun at the Yabuli Ski Resort along the Yaxue Road in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 15, 2025. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 25, 2025 shows visitors having fun at an ice and snow scenic spot along the Yaxue Road in Dunhua of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, northeast China's Jilin Province. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

A drone photo taken on Jan. 16, 2025 shows a view of the Yabuli Ski Resort along the Yaxue Road in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 25, 2025 shows a vehicle running on the Yaxue Road in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

A drone photo taken on Jan. 24, 2025 shows a night view at China's "Snow Town" scenic spot along the Yaxue Road in Mudanjiang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

This photo taken on Jan. 25, 2025 shows a view of China's "Snow Town" scenic spot along the Yaxue Road in Mudanjiang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

Visitors walk past installations themed on the 2025 Asian Winter Games at China's "Snow Town" scenic spot in Mudanjiang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 24, 2025. As part of national highway G333, Yaxue Road connects Harbin, Yabuli, and "Snow Town," all of them iconic winter tourist attractions in northeast China, offering visitors the natural and cultural charm of the region. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

Editor: WXY
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Review Eating outSouthbank Plumped up desserts and corporate vibes: Our critics verdict on Crowns glitzy new restaurant It might have little to do with its namesake Hollywood hotel, Chateau Marmont, but its serving the sexed up and lascivious cornbread. Besha Rodell January 28, 2025 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

As featured in the February 2025 hit list. See all stories .

1 / 9 One of the pastel-heavy murals at Marmont. Jason South 2 / 9 Inspired by, but not related to, Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. Jason South 3 / 9 Marmonts version goes beyond the regular bounds of cornbread decency. Jason South 4 / 9 The raw scallop tostada with green mango. Jason South 5 / 9 Marmonts mud crab pretzel. Jason South 6 / 9 The fantastic pork pluma with crying tiger sauce and fennel pollen. Jason South 7 / 9 But still ... this is a restaurant in a casino and it cant quite lose that manufactured, corporate vibe. Jason South 8 / 9 Service veers wildly from friendly and attentive to completely disengaged. Jason South 9 / 9 Marinated mussels with creme fraiche and shokupan. Jason South Previous Slide Next Slide 14 / 20 How we score Contemporary$$$$ Los Angeles is so much more interesting than the glammed-up vapidness that exists in the collective consciousness of the rest of the world. Having lived there for more than half a decade, I can attest to the fact that its possible to spend time there and never encounter the bizarreness of Hollywood and Beverly Hills  most people who call the city home live in sunny and palm-tree-bedecked but normal neighbourhoods, with nary a movie star in sight. (This reality has become even more important to understand following the wildfires and resultant devastation  the people who have lost everything are mostly middle and working class, not Kardashians.)

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Marmont opened at the old Rosetta site in December. Jason South This divide between the fantasy of LA and the reality is especially interesting when you see representations of the city elsewhere in the world. Marmont, the new restaurant in Crown casino, facing the Yarra River walk, is just such a projection. Its named in honour of Chateau Marmont, the legendary Hollywood hotel, which has hosted movie stars from Katharine Hepburn to Johnny Depp, and where John Belushi died in 1982. The man behind Marmont is Grant Smillie, an Australian-born DJ and restaurateur who has made a career of importing parts of Australia to Los Angeles, and now, vice versa. In 2015, he opened E.P. & L.P. in West Hollywood, a restaurant and rooftop bar with Australian Louis Tikaram as chef, serving bright, acid-forward food. The raw scallop tostada with green mango. Jason South It stands to reason that Marmont would mostly represent the fantastical side of LA, given the reputation of its namesake. But even so, this place has very little to do with the reality of Chateau Marmont, which is a glory of rococo vintage grandeur.

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Here, the walls are decorated with cartoonish murals that aim to convey that vibe, depicting scenes of swank revellers in a swish dining room. But still, even with the clubby patio furniture and breezy feel, this is a restaurant in a casino, and it cant quite lose that manufactured, corporate vibe. The most Californian thing about this restaurant is undoubtedly its chef, Mark Tagnipez, who has reached into his own Los Angeles background for inspiration, as well as leaning into some fun representations of bold Americana. Bucking the current trend, Marmonts menu is surprisingly short, which probably helps greatly with quality control. Seafood is featured heavily, all of it exceedingly fresh, including the raw scallops on a pretty tostada, which comes piled with green mango and basil. Theres a crudo that combines sliced tuna, swordfish and snapper over a salad of capers, lemon and shaved onion. Skull Island prawns are split open, grilled to a creamy-crispy dream, and slathered in Calabrian chilli butter. Large plates, all of them big enough to share between two people, include a fantastic pork pluma (a tender loin cut) with a tart crying tiger sauce and fennel pollen. Cornbread with peach butter. Jason South

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Perhaps the dish that ought to define this place is the cornbread, which comes topped with a melting ball of peach butter. There are a few types of cornbread in the US, as well as a long-standing debate about whether the recipe should include sugar. Marmonts version goes beyond the regular bounds of cornbread decency, and is basically a dessert, or at the very least a sweet breakfast/brunch item, cooked in the form of a small cake and drowning in sweet butter. This is the Playboy bunny of cornbread, sexed up and lascivious but undeniably appealing in its way. Marmonts version goes beyond the regular bounds of cornbread decency. Following in that unabashedly American bigger-is-better ethos is a giant chocolate chip cookie, gooey and warm, served with ice-cream that is supposedly Armagnac flavoured but doesnt really taste that way  it doesnt matter much, the cookie makes up for it. Service, delivered mostly by dashing young European men, veers wildly from friendly and attentive to completely disengaged. One afternoon I had to wave someone down mid-meal to ask for a drinks list, only to have to do the same 30 minutes later to request the bill  no one had stopped by in the meantime. In the evening when the place was slammed, our waiter was a constant, charming and capable presence. Some people (and restaurants) thrive on chaos, I suppose.

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I tend to prefer restaurants that have a somewhat authentic sense of place, something that feels real and rooted in a culture that actually exists. But I can see the appeal of restaurant-as-fantasy, as a step away from the real world, into something fun but completely divorced from the limitations of authenticity. In this way, Marmont is a success, made even better by the fact the food is consistently impressive. I might not go here to get a taste of the Los Angeles I love and remember, but Id absolutely go back for a gooey, massive cookie, or for that ridiculous cornbread, as plumped up and fanciful as it may be. The low-down Vibe: Airy Mediterranean feel, as much as can be achieved in a casino Go-to dishes: Raw scallop tostada ($24); cornbread ($12); warm chocolate-chip cookie ($18) Drinks: Fun cocktail list leaning sweet, standard mid-sized international wine list with a few showcase bottles for the big spenders Cost: About $170 for two, excluding drinks

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Palestinian children play next to a building destroyed by Israeli army strikes in the central Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis on January 1. Credit: AP Trump has designs on Gaza. He wants to remove all the Palestinians and send them to surrounding countries already caring for a burden of refugees. He says Gazas location is phenomenal with the best weather. Beautiful things could be done over there, fantastic things. I presume by that he means to build Mar-a- Gaza. Lester Grace, Stockton Maybe Trump should offer Gazans resettlement in Texas. Martin Frohlich, Adamstown Heights An idea to end the Ukraine war: tell Trump that if Ukraine is able to reclaim Crimea he can have the entire coast on which to build Trump-branded resorts.

John Burman, Port Macquarie With Trumps designs on Greenland, he is doing a pretty good impression of Argentinas General Leopoldo Galtieri, the Latin American despot who made the mistake of invading the Falkland Islands. Theo Clark, Freshwater

So Trump will clean up the Gaza Strip. Then who will he give it to?

Bruce Graham, Waitara Your correspondent Allan Gibson speculates whether the Trump Bibles will replace the Gideon ones in Trump hotels (Letters, January 27). If they do, I bet you will have to pay for them. Sue Morgan, Menai Trump as US president provides further support for the multiverse theory. We can now say that there are at least two universes: one in which rational thought, utilitarianism and evidence-based decision-making apply; and the other in which irrationality, autocracy and decisions based on retribution are evident. While the theory would say that these two universes can coexist, it cannot say they interact. There is no doubt that these two universes are entangled, which is further support for this aspect of quantum mechanics. Other than these two positive outcomes, I expect it to be turtles all the way down. Ian Caddy, Cheltenham We need a new word to describe the changing political landscape of the US  something that blends oligarchy, plutocracy, kleptocracy, theocracy and Hitlers theory of the Fuhrerprinzip. Suggestions? Gary Stowe, Springwood Right Tame in the right place

Grace Tame did not hijack the Australia Day awards as your correspondent suggests (Letters, January 27). I am so grateful to her for highlighting the damage done to the fabric of both national and global cohesion by the lies and misinformation emanating from this fractured family, whose only aim is to feed their endless greed. I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment and would add from here to the next election. Elisabeth Goodsall, Wahroonga Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame wore the t-shirt at The Lodge. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Although I find it hard to agree with singling out one persons contribution to Australian society above all others, I congratulate all who were nominated in the Australian of the Year categories. It was wonderful to see that all were involved in directly improving the lives of others. And not a ball or bat or pool in sight! Terry Tunkunas, Leura The PM should be careful criticising those who actually believe in something,

have the courage of their convictions, and stand up to oligarchs lest he inspire

us to draw comparisons. Peter Fyfe, Enmore Graceful phenomenon of Putricia

Its not just the dramatic paradox of beauty and beast that is in itself an enigma worthy of perusal in the flowering of the amazing Putricia, but that this dramatically graceful phenomenon has awakened a sense of wonder and awe in so many of us, in these habitually onerous and uncertain times, and made us realise that the world is still a beautiful and wondrous place (The curtains have closed on Putricia. Heres what she looks like now, January 26). Judy Finch, Taree I was one who queued for two hours to see the corpse flower and it was certainly worth the wait. It was very soul-enriching to not only see such a remarkable plant, but to witness those who waited in the line ready to embrace the beauty and fascination of nature. Steven Baker, Engadine Australia clearly not advancing Oh, what an enlightened, forward-thinking, egalitarian society we Australians have become (Australia Day roars back into favour in wake of Voice referendum, January 24). One of the last first world societies to eventually pass gay marriage. Still bitterly divided over climate change and renewables versus fossil fuels. Still remaining a loyal colony to God and the king and content to have another countrys flag emblazoned on ours. Overwhelmingly rejecting the Voice and now we are satisfied to accept January 26 as our national day despite what it represents to our First Nations people and that a vast swag of our population are not of British heritage.

Why dont we simply complete the picture by reinstating the White Australia policy, shut down TV at midnight with the flag flying and God Save the King playing, and reinstate meat and three veg as our national dish? Tony Bennett, Broke The Australian national and Aboriginal flags fly together on the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Australia Day. Credit: Getty Images

At the heart of the heated debate and problem around Australia Day and whether the date should be changed is that there are two unreconciled groups of people in this country  Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous. What needs to happen more than anything as the country moves forward is that these two groups are reconciled. Why not have an Australian National Reconciliation Day? An ideal date to celebrate such a day would be May 27 as it would mark the anniversary of the occasion when more than 90 per cent of white Australians voted to change the Constitution so that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would be counted as part of the population and the Commonwealth would be able to make laws for them. William Brady, Randwick If people keep trivialising Australia Day, such as comparing it to Wattle Day, we will never make progress. The date is one of those which is of major significance in the development of a nation. For the Indigenous people who subsequently suffered atrocities, dispossession and loss of culture over a relatively short time. It marks a significant change in the lives of both the prisoners and the free settlers who have arrived since. It should be the perfect day for both sides to come together and understand each others point of view. Both sides can mourn for what was, celebrate the good that has occurred and move forward together with better understanding. It is not a day to be trivialised but one of serious commemoration and celebration. Augusta Monro, Dural Im not sure about everyone else, but Bob Jackmans OAM for Service to competitive Scrabble caught my eye. Who said were not a balanced society? James Gibson, Summer Hill Such a contrast. The happy smiling faces of those receiving Australian citizenship. And the footage of manacled, undocumented migrants being loaded onto military aircraft to be flown out of the country, their legal right to apply for asylum having been taken away from them. All at the stroke of a Sharpie wielded by Donald Trump. Valerie Bray, East Killara

Wattle we call Australia Day? Steve Jacobs, Willoughby Oafish behaviour The disgraceful display of disrespectful booing by the wealthy, entitled and privileged Australian Open crowd on the retirement of Novak Djokovic with injury is a particularly worrying trend in Australian society (Commentators disbelief over Djokovic booing, January 25). If anything has become more obvious, since the defeat of the Voice and the rise of Duttons adoption of Trump-style aggressive politics, it is the nasty callousness, selfishness and disrespect of a great number of Australians.

It was great that commentators openly aired their disgust at the crowds behaviour. The Australian Opens previous acceptance of bogan behaviour has also led to this. Im glad this is being called out. Mark Berg, Caringbah South Creeping influence Emma Shortis article clearly spells out clearly the unmitigated disaster that Trumps re-election is for the world and Australia (Think the past will protect Australia from Trumps future? Think again, January 27). While it may have been comforting to think during Bidens presidency that Trumps previous term was just an aberration and we could safely settle back into the world as we thought we knew it, Trumps re-election and his behaviour since the inauguration shows what a mistake that was. It seems unlikely that Trump will allow any remaining guardrails of democracy to survive his presidency. We are now shackled to a would-be dictator and need to rethink how we respond. One thing we must consider is how he managed to win. A large part of the answer lies in the oligarchs surrounding him. They own the public square. We have their phones in our pockets, they know who we talk to and who we listen to. We drive their cars, we shop on their platforms. They boosted Trump with their long-term misinformation. It would be a surprise indeed if there were no attempts to interfere in our upcoming election. Gary Barnes, Mosman

Powerful agenda Caitlin Fitzsimmons presents an excellent precis of the possible Trump effect as the world transitions to renewables (Trump is ditching climate action, again. This time there are ways to fight back, January 27). She repeats the common view that in Australia the Coalitions policy is to extend the life of coal-fired power stations until renewables come along in 15 years or so. This meets their zero emissions by 2050 commitment while kicking climate action down the road. Under pressure, shadow minister Ted OBrien admitted on the ABCs 7:30 a few weeks back that renewables would be slowed in anticipation of nuclear and as the old power stations close down, the slack will be taken up by natural gas. And if nuclear takes 20 or 25 years or not at all? Well, gas is cheap and there are large untapped reserves in NSW and Victoria so I guess we just stick with carbon-emitting natural gas. The perfect dog-whistle for their National Party cousins who do not believe in anthropogenic global warming. John Vigours, Neutral Bay Star of the South, 10 kilometres off Gippslands south coast, is the most advanced offshore wind project in Australia. Credit: Getty Images Mass memories Caroline Zielinski reminiscing about her childhood Roman Catholic Church services and homemade cakes afterwards brings back fond memories (My faith might have lapsed but I am still a card-carrier, January 27). In the 1960s, our mother would walk my two sisters, my brother and I up the hill to St Therese Catholic Church at Dover Heights for Sunday Mass. Afterwards, we were rewarded with either a 10, 20 or 40 packet of bulk chocolate bullets weighed by the friendly owner of the milk bar on Military Road. Like Zielinski, I too found Mass boring except on the one occasion when, from the pulpit the parish priest announced to the congregation that the southerly buster was coming. He ran through the consecration in record time and had us out of the church in under 30 minutes. Riley Brown, Bondi Beach
A severe weather warning is in place for Sydney this afternoon with a southerly buster set to bring dangerous wind gusts and a potentially severe thunderstorm.

Tuesday will almost certainly be the hottest day of the year so far as Sydney heads back to the office, with temperatures set to hit 40 degrees in the city and 42 in the west. This peak is predicted to hit around 2pm.

An early morning walker exercises in Brighton-le-Sands on Tuesday ahead of a sweltering January summer day. Credit: Sam Mooy

The coolest place in Sydney will be Bondi, where temperatures are set to top 36 degrees; however, with the UV index set to hit the extreme level of 12, a trip to the beach will come with a significant risk of sunburn and heat stress.

The heatwave conditions wont relent until about 4pm when Sydneys heatwave saviour  the southerly buster  is predicted to drop temperatures by up to 15 degrees in 15 minutes.
The North East Link has entered into more than 7000 non-disclosure agreements, including forcing people with house or tyre damage from the toll roads construction to sign secrecy deals in exchange for compensation.

The cost of the North East Link, which will connect the M80 in Greensborough to the Eastern Freeway in Bulleen, has exploded to $26 billion, from an initial forecast of $10 billion. The state government has blamed the rising cost of materials, labour and environmental regulations for the cost blowout.

The North East Link is due to open in 2028. Credit: Joe Armao

The Age last year submitted a freedom-of-information request for the total number of non-disclosure agreements made over the course of the project so far between the North East Link and individuals and companies; the total value of secret payments; and the reasons for them.

The agency behind the tollway said its initial search of confidentiality deeds and agreements had identified well in excess of 7000 records. It said confidentiality arrangements were standard across every aspect of a major project, and it would be unreasonable to search further.
Bandicoots gather around our morning tea table, and black cockatoos visit us every night. And its a wonderfully supportive community ... but we dont live in each others pockets. The Dornans are the founders of EcoVision, a Town Team which opposes the rezoning and mounted one of 105 submissions to a public environmental review being conducted by the states independent environmental watchdog. Residents oppose the loss of rural identity and worry about loss of tree canopy and habitat for endangered black cockatoos and quendas.

But the major concern causing the Environmental Protection Authority to employ the public review process  more traditionally used in WA for major resource projects  is the proximity to the Greater Brixton Street Wetlands. Wetland water concerns run deep Numerous endangered and fragile ecosystems are dependent on the health of these wetlands, which contain almost half of Greater Perths biodiversity in just 1 per cent of the citys area. The wetlands are set to be surrounded by industrial development on their Maddington-Kenwick side, and now on the other side by the Wattle Grove residential development. While Tonkin Highway forms a major barrier between the wetlands and the rezoning area, the scientific concern is the flow of sub-surface water to and from the wetlands.

Developer Hesperia on behalf of proponent the WA Planning Commission has commissioned a 400-plus-page environmental report from 13 scientific companies, formulated with input from several government environmental agencies, which took several years to complete and was subject to peer review. The Greater Brixton Street Wetlands mosaic of soils and complex water system is said to be the reason for the richness of different species. Credit: Hans Lambers It concludes only an extremely small proportion of the underground water flowing from the rezoning area is going towards the wetland. Hyd2o, the company commissioned to create a district water management strategy for the rezoning, says these contributions are considered minor in the context of maintaining wetland hydrology. Nevertheless, its guiding principle has been to maintain pre- and post-development flow rates and volumes by artfully managing post-development stormwater runoff.

The reports also say the ceasing of operations of other rural horticultural uses of the land, especially the turf farm, will reduce pollutants currently flowing from the area. They note that flows currently to the wetlands from the area do not have any quality control measures in place, meaning wetlands health might be improved with stormwater management, which could even help counteract future rainfall decline to the wetlands due to climate change. But some scientists have told WAtoday there are knowledge gaps on this wetland, with no accepted scientific model yet finalised on its water flows. They point out that the EPA in 2022 officially noted this lack of consensus and advised any project in the vicinity should be assessed in terms of the total cumulative impact of all the proposed developments surrounding them. University of Western Australia environmental planner Daniel Martin, who has been working with the Beeliar Group of scientists for the past four years on the Greater Brixton Street Wetlands, said the lack of a consensus model on the hydrology was effectively leaving hydrological studies too open to interpretation.

He said the environmental review document did not represent the cumulative impact of this development plus the Maddington-Kenwick industrial development, on which a final ministerial decision was pending. This has many of my colleagues in the Beeliar Group, some of the best scientists in Australia, very concerned, he said. WA is home to the most species of carnivorous plants in the world with many  including sundews such as drosera zonaria, drosera heterophylla and drosera glanduligera  found in the Greater Brixton Street Wetlands. Credit: Hans Lambers Scientists are now understanding just how complex and fragile the groundwater-dependent ecosystems of these wetlands are. It demands new ways of thinking about hydrology and the ecological interdependency, because even small changes can have big impacts. Hesperia has committed to retaining all listed threatened ecological communities, which in practice means 3.75 hectares of banksia woodlands, as foraging habitat for black cockatoos.

Complex system erodes public trust Wattle Grove is a case study of how the state governments frameworks to accommodate Perths projected population for 2050 are beginning to take effect. Its also yet another case study of the citys longstanding tensions over sprawl, infill and the sometimes opaque processes by which developers and government cooperate. EcoVision characterises this plan as urban sprawl, not a logical expansion of Perth. On the other hand, there is still no urban boundary imposed on the citys coastal developments now stretching 100 kilometres north to south, and prominent property firm Hesperia says given the residential communities surrounding it, Wattle Grove is considered infill.

Loading In 2018, the government released planning frameworks to accommodate the expected Perth and Peel population of 3.5 million by 2050, identifying Wattle Grove as one of the possible areas for logical urban expansion. The City of Kalamunda then developed an urban concept plan for the area in 2021. Enter Hesperia, helmed by Perth business figure Ben Lisle. Lisle has long been an advocate and proponent of high-density inner-city redevelopments.

But numerous commentators have noted that Perths current high labour costs have made apartment projects unviable in most suburbs. Lisle says he still believes density will be key to keep Perth an attractive place to live. However, the nature of Perths land and construction pricing mean that in the short to medium term we will remain heavily dependent on traditional detached housing to address our housing shortages and deliver affordable housing, while we transition over time toward medium and higher density, he said. He said Hesperia had dealt with landowners in Wattle Grove through its Maddington-Kenwick area industrial developments on the other side of the wetlands, and considered the area an attractive location for future housing. Noting the state government and local council moves, Hesperia worked to secure support from key landowners and in 2021 it requested the WA Planning Commission initiate the rezoning process.

What followed has angered EcoVision, which says the process lacks transparency. Loading The environmental review states in its opening few pages that it is the work of 13 environmental consultants for the WA Planning Commission, without mentioning any involvement by Hesperia. EcoVision believe this raises significant legal and procedural concerns, that the WAPCs delegation to a developer with financial interests may exceed their authority under administrative law, and say a local resident had engaged a lawyer to potentially seek judicial review of any future WAPC approval. Hesperia, on the other hand, emphasised this was standard practice, clarifying that while the WAPC is the proponent for all Metropolitan Region Scheme amendments, private developers, landowners, or local governments typically act as applicants to initiate amendments, in which case they are responsible for providing all supporting materials.

As such, when the EPA decided on a formal assessment, Hesperia as the applicant initiating the amendment was required to commission and fund the environmental review. Hesperia says it worked closely with the WAPC, EPA Services and Department of Water and Environment Regulation to scope the document and supporting studies. The studies were then undertaken by consultants and the review prepared, peer-reviewed, then further reviewed and vetted for endorsement by the WAPC as the proponent, then assessed by the state agencies before public release. A WAPC spokesperson said that the legal requirements under the Planning and Development Act for an MRS amendment and Environmental Review had been followed. A city ravenous for housing

Eighty per cent of the wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain have either been entirely bulldozed or so degraded they are no longer considered conservation-significant. By comparison this wetland is officially recognised as of regional, national and global significance, so regulators are treading carefully. Some would say not carefully enough, given the environmental concerns. Others would say too carefully, with the EPA review adding years to the process as Perth suffers in a housing crisis. Some residents will move on before many of the planned changes take place and be replaced by those willing to embrace the new landscape.

Loading Others are there for the long haul. This was to be our final resting place, Bev Dornan said. But we are now, beyond that, very much aware about how environmentally sensitive this foothills area is. The more we learn, the more we want to keep this area intact  for our grandsons and their futures.
Loading That also amplifies attention on US export curbs of such advanced semiconductors to China  which were intended to prevent a breakthrough of the sort that DeepSeek appears to represent. DeepSeek says R1 is near or better than rival models in several leading benchmarks such as AIME 2024 for mathematical tasks, MMLU for general knowledge and AlpacaEval 2.0 for question-and-answer performance. It also ranks among the top performers on a UC Berkeley-affiliated leaderboard called Chatbot Arena. Whats raising alarm in the US? Washington has banned the export of high-end technologies such as GPU semiconductors to China in a bid to stall the countrys advances in AI  the key frontier in the US-China contest for tech supremacy. But DeepSeeks progress suggests Chinese AI engineers have worked around the restrictions, focusing on greater efficiency with limited resources.

While it remains unclear how much advanced AI-training hardware DeepSeek has had access to, the companys demonstrated enough to suggest the trade restrictions were not entirely effective in stymieing Chinas progress. Tech stocks plunged on Wall Street on Monday, led by AI darling Nvidia. Credit: Bloomberg When did DeepSeek spark global interest? The AI developer has been closely watched since the release of its earliest model in 2023. In November, it gave the world a glimpse of its DeepSeek R1 reasoning model, designed to mimic human thinking. That model underpins its mobile chatbot app, which together with the web interface in January rocketed to global renown as a much cheaper OpenAI alternative. Investor Marc Andreessen called it AIs Sputnik moment. The DeepSeek mobile app was downloaded 1.6 million times by January 25 and ranked No.1 in iPhone app stores in Australia, Canada, China, Singapore, the US and the UK, according to data from market tracker App Figures.

Who is DeepSeeks founder? Born in Guangdong in 1985, Liang received bachelors and masters degrees in electronic and information engineering from Zhejiang University. He founded DeepSeek with 10 million yuan ($2.2 million) in registered capital, according to company database Tianyancha. The bottleneck for further advances is not more fundraising, Liang said in an interview with Chinese outlet 36Kr, but US restrictions on access to the best chips. Most of his top researchers were fresh graduates from top Chinese universities, he said, stressing the need for China to develop its own domestic ecosystem akin to the one built around Nvidia and its AI chips. More investment does not necessarily lead to more innovation. Otherwise, large companies would take over all innovation, Liang said.

Where does DeepSeek stand in Chinas AI landscape? Chinas technology leaders, from Alibaba and Baidu to Tencent, have poured significant money and resources into the race to acquire hardware and customers for their AI ventures. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen called DeepSeeks latest release AIs Sputnik moment. Credit: Bloomberg Alongside Kai-Fu Lees 01.AI start-up, DeepSeek stands out with its open-source approach  designed to recruit the largest number of users quickly before developing monetisation strategies atop that large audience. Because DeepSeeks models are more affordable, its already played a role in helping drive down costs for AI developers in China, where the bigger players have engaged in a price war thats seen successive waves of price cuts over the past year and a half.

What does this mean for Donald Trumps AI push? One of Donald Trumps first announcements since retaking the US presidency was Stargate, a new ambitious joint venture designed to unlock up to $US500 billion in private sector investment to fund AI infrastructure, create more than 100,000 jobs, and help the US stay ahead of the likes of China. DeepSeeks rapid ascent will add a deeper sense of urgency to what was already a fast-moving collaborative effort. What we want to do is we want to keep it [AI] in this country. China is a competitor; others are competitors. We want to be in this country, and were making it available, Trump said at a press conference at the White House. Im gonna help a lot through emergency declarations because we have an emergency; we have to get this stuff built. So they have to produce a lot of electricity. And well make it possible for them to get this production done easily, at their own plants, if they want.

Loading Why did DeepSeek send Nvidias share price tumbling? DeepSeeks success may push OpenAI and other US providers to lower pricing to maintain their established lead. It also calls into question the vast spending by companies such as Meta and Microsoft  each of which has committed to capex of $US65 billion ($103 billion) or more this year, largely on AI infrastructure  if more efficient models can compete with a much smaller outlay. That roiled global stock markets as investors sold off companies such as Nvidia and ASML that have benefited from booming demand for AI services. Shares in Chinese names linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek, climbed. Developers around the world are already experimenting with DeepSeeks software and looking to build tools with it. That could quicken the adoption of advanced AI reasoning models  while also potentially touching off additional concerns about the need for guardrails around their use. DeepSeeks advances may hasten regulation to control how AI is developed.

What are DeepSeeks shortcomings? Like all other Chinese AI models, DeepSeek self-censors on topics deemed sensitive in China. It deflects queries about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests or geopolitically fraught questions such as the possibility of China invading Taiwan. In tests, the DeepSeek bot is capable of giving detailed responses about political figures such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi but declines to do so about Chinese President Xi Jinping. DeepSeeks cloud infrastructure is likely to be tested by its sudden popularity. The company briefly experienced a major outage on January 27 and will have to manage even more traffic as new and returning users pour more queries into its chatbot. Loading It said it was hit by a cyberattack on Monday that disrupted users ability to register on the site. The company, whose artificial intelligence chatbot has sent the tech world into a frenzy, said that it had suffered large-scale malicious attacks on its services. Registered users could log in normally, DeepSeek said.
Photo taken on Jan. 24, 2025 shows the "KAWA Ningbo" cargo ship of the "China-Europe Express" in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The first container ship of the "China-Europe Express", the fastest direct route connecting Europe and China's Yangtze River Delta region, arrived at its destination at the Jade Weser Port in Wilhelmshaven on Friday. (Xinhua/Shan Weiyi)

Unlike traditional shipping routes, the "China-Europe Express" is a direct maritime route providing "point-to-point" service without intermediate stops, reducing the shipment time of 45 days in the past to just 26 days.

WILHELMSHAVEN, Germany, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- It was a crisp Friday morning when the Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven (CTW) buzzed with activity as the first container ship of the "China-Europe Express" arrived at the port.

Containers emblazoned with the logo of the fastest direct route connecting Europe and China's Yangtze River Delta region were lifted by cranes as vehicles zipped across the terminal moving the containers to their designated spots.

The bustling scene after the arrival of KAWA NINGBO, the inaugural vessel of this groundbreaking shipping route, marked not only a milestone of the maritime logistics but also a commitment to strengthening China-Europe ties.

What makes the route stand out is the remarkably reduced travel time between Ningbo, a bustling port city in China's Zhejiang Province, and Wilhelmshaven, Germany's only deep-water port.

Photo taken on Jan. 24, 2025 shows the "KAWA Ningbo" cargo ship of the "China-Europe Express" in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The first container ship of the "China-Europe Express", the fastest direct route connecting Europe and China's Yangtze River Delta region, arrived at its destination at the Jade Weser Port in Wilhelmshaven on Friday. (Xinhua/Shan Weiyi)

Unlike traditional shipping routes, the "China-Europe Express" is a direct maritime route providing "point-to-point" service without intermediate stops, reducing the shipment time of 45 days in the past to just 26 days.

For industries like automotive, lithium batteries, and solar energy, where time-sensitive, high-value goods are the norm, this efficiency can be a game-changer.

"The world is becoming increasingly interconnected, and supply chain reliability is more critical than ever," said Frank Doods, state secretary in the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economics, Transport, Construction, and Digitization, during a ceremony celebrating the route's operation.

"This fast lane is of particular importance in times when supply chain logistics are crucial for all players. It's not just about competition, it's about creating real added value, especially where speed is essential," he said.

Europe Express" container ship in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, on Jan. 24, 2025. The first container ship of the "China-Europe Express", the fastest direct route connecting Europe and China's Yangtze River Delta region, arrived at its destination at the Jade Weser Port in Wilhelmshaven on Friday. (Xinhua/Shan Weiyi)

Stressing that the Wilhelmshaven and the Jade Weser Port play a crucial role in Europe's trade landscape, Doods said, "We are taking on a central role in the North Range of Europe, and this partnership with China is a huge benefit for both sides." He voiced his optimism about the future, citing the route's "unparalleled efficiency and speed."

"Ningbo and Wilhelmshaven are 13,800 km apart -- a journey that would take 133 days on foot," said Carsten Feist, mayor of Wilhelmshaven. "But this distance is not a barrier; it's an opportunity to learn from one another and build trust."

"In today's unsettled world, both economically and politically, such economic connections can create not only trust and friendship but also ensure peace," he said. "This is a unique selling point for our port and our region."

The "China-Europe Express" has been launched at a pivotal moment for global trade as traditional shipping routes have been disrupted by geopolitical tensions.

Photo taken on Jan. 24, 2025 shows containers on the "KAWA Ningbo" cargo ship of the "China-Europe Express" in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The first container ship of the "China-Europe Express", the fastest direct route connecting Europe and China's Yangtze River Delta region, arrived at its destination at the Jade Weser Port in Wilhelmshaven on Friday. (Xinhua/Shan Weiyi)

Many vessels are now forced to take longer routes, extending travel times to 50-60 days. For industries undergoing rapid transformation, such delays are untenable.

Maud Lau, managing director of KAWA SHIPPING, the operator of the route, explained the rationale behind the new service. "Many Chinese companies, especially those in high-value sectors like automotive, lithium batteries, and solar energy, require faster delivery time."

"With this 26-day direct service, we are offering something unprecedented in the industry," Lau said, stressing that the route will play a very significant role in global trade.

Lau told Xinhua that the monthly sailings in the first half of this year made by the "China-Europe Express" will be changed into bi-weekly sailings in the second half. Eventually the route will be expanded to include trans-shipments to the East Coast of the United States via Wilhelmshaven.

Photo taken on Jan. 24, 2025 shows a container printed with the "China-Europe Express" in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The first container ship of the "China-Europe Express", the fastest direct route connecting Europe and China's Yangtze River Delta region, arrived at its destination at the Jade Weser Port in Wilhelmshaven on Friday. (Xinhua/Shan Weiyi)

For Wilhelmshaven, the arrival of the KAWA NINGBO marks the beginning of a new chapter.

"This is a great development for our port and our region," said Marc-Oliver Hauswald, managing director of Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven. "It's a testament to what we can achieve when we work together."

Michael Blach, president of Eurogate Group, operator of the Container Terminal in Wilhelmshaven, shared with Xinhua his confidence about the future of the new route.

Highlighting the superior nautical conditions, modern terminal facilities, and efficient sea-rail intermodal services of Wilhelmshaven, he said the smooth port operations and inland transportation here will enable the express service to stimulate trade activities between Europe and China.

"China's Belt and Road Initiative has created vast opportunities for port cooperation between China and Europe, and we welcome and remain open to Chinese investment," Blach said.

Editor: WXY
The whole point is to pressure you, said Artyom. Get you in a state of fear, urgency  they explicitly tell you [that] you cannot talk to anyone, that its very dangerous. They literally zombify you. Loading This is precisely why all these crazy scripts work  if they were not put in this state of mind, they would never fall for it. Another common scam involves callers pretending to be from a financial institution, who then dupe the victim into either transferring money to them or giving them access codes to their bank accounts. Once the fraudsters have the money, they tell the victim it will be returned only if they attack a specified target.

The number of calls is said to have increased dramatically in recent months. Artyom said that most of the calls were flagged by smartphones as being scam-likely, but he can still receive three or four a week. Russian President Vladimir Putin last month dismissed a suggestion made at a phone-in press conference that he should target what are believed to be Ukrainian scammers behind the attacks. Credit: AP When he picks up the phone, his response is brief: I just ask, Who does Crimea belong to? and they hang up. Older people, however, often have older phones that are not capable of screening the calls, meaning they potentially receive many more than three or four a week.

Ukrainians are able to obtain Russian phone numbers relatively easily because widespread corruption has long led to Russian citizens personal data being sold on black market web forums, often after being leaked by state agencies. Russian authorities have wasted no time in responding to pensioners being weaponised against them. The Kremlin banned internet calls to mobiles and landlines on December 28, claiming it would combat the scammers. The interior ministry also called on citizens to be more vigilant and not to contact unknown interlocutors by phone or other means of communication. A St Petersburg official was reported to have said on December 23 that video cameras were being installed at military enlistment offices and that he was working mainly with elderly people to prevent further attacks. Younger people have also been convinced by the callers to commit acts of vandalism, usually through offers of cash that are rarely paid out.

A man who set fire to two electric trains in the Moscow region on December 30 told Russian law enforcement officers that he had been offered 100,000 roubles ($1600) for the attack, but that he never received it, according to the Izvestia newspaper. Ukraine has long been a world-leading hotspot for fraudulent call centres, with criminal gangs targeting Western countries as well as Russia. But there are some indications that Ukrainian authorities may have been involved in Decembers wave of attacks. Last months blitz was the largest of the war so far and coincided with Russias Security Agency Worker Day on December 20, when the country is supposed to honour security officers responsible for preventing such attacks. A Ukrainian law enforcement source told The Economist that the scammers were mainly financially motivated but they may occasionally serve the fatherland too.

An intelligence source said: Ukraines special services are at work. Its a routine operation. Loading You can get a grandmother to throw a Molotov cocktail into a military office or wherever you want  if your price is right. Although Russias pensioner arsonists are often duped or blackmailed into committing their crimes and are usually given more lenient sentences than committed terrorists, they stand little chance of getting off lightly. Russian legislation does not exempt from liability those who committed a crime under significant third-party psychological pressure, said Igor Ivlev, a criminal defence lawyer, according to Izvestia.
It is broadly within a presidents power, for instance, to order mass deportations, to pull out of an international climate agreement or to fire holdover political appointees, however debatable the decisions might be. But as so often happens with Trump, he takes even those decisions one step further. The theme of this week was vengeance and retribution when all other presidents have used their inaugurations to heal wounds, bring people together and focus on the future, said Lindsay Chervinsky, executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library and author of several books on the presidency. That sounds like a norm, but its actually fundamental to the survival of the republic. Trumps flurry of pardons last week sent a message to law enforcement: He will back the blue if they back him. Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times Trump has never been too impressed with the argument that he should or should not do something because that is the way it has been done. As a government novice in his first term, he found himself flummoxed at times by how Washington worked and unable to exert his will to achieve major priorities. He returns for this second term more prepared and more determined to crash through obstacles and any supposed deep state in his way. Ideas that establishment advisers talked him out of the last time, he is pursuing this time with a new cast of more like-minded aides who share his willingness to disrupt the system.

He decided to rewrite the 14th Amendment to the Constitution as it has been understood for over a century to declare it does not guarantee automatic citizenship to all children born in the United States. It took just three days for a federal judge to temporarily block the move, which he called a blatantly unconstitutional order, but the issue will surely go to the Supreme Court. Loading While other presidents put their assets in a blind trust or otherwise distanced themselves from their personal business interests upon taking office to avoid even the whiff of a conflict of interest, Trump exploited his political celebrity to make enormous amounts of money in a scheme that could potentially be fuelled by investors with a stake in federal government policies. Just three days before his inauguration, he released a crypto token called $Trump that together with other family tokens rose to about $US10 billion ($15.9 billion) in value on paper. The tokens create new opportunities for companies and other financial players inside and outside the US to curry favour with the new administration. Moreover, while other presidents had wealthy patrons who enjoyed access to the Oval Office, Trump has gone so far as to surround himself with billionaires on the inaugural platform and give Elon Musk, the worlds richest man, a mandate to revamp the federal government that puts billions of dollars in his pocket through various contracts.

And unlike any president in modern times, Trump has taken it upon himself to redraw the map of the world, symbolically and otherwise. He has declared that the Gulf of Mexico is now the Gulf of America, sought to pressure Canada into becoming the 51st state and held out the possible use of force to take over Greenland and seize the Panama Canal. Unlike mass deportation or new tariffs, none of these were major topics on the campaign trail. The imperialist policy was not on the ballot, and so it represents a challenge to democratic norms, said Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian at Columbia University. Under no definition of the term could President Trump be said to have a mandate to take the Panama Canal treaty away from Panama or Greenland from Denmark. Trump has given Elon Musk a mandate to revamp the federal government, a government which puts billions of dollars in Musks pocket through various contracts. Credit: AP Naftali, who was founding director of the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum and is writing a biography of John F. Kennedy, said Trump had single-handedly altered the terms of the national conversation in less than a week in office in a way that none of his predecessors had. Some of this is evanescent, but the vibe has changed, Naftali said. Our political and cultural vibe, to the extent that we have a national one, has changed in a matter of days. Yes, FDR made people feel better about banks reasonably fast, but he didnt alter the political culture in the first four days, and even after the first 100 days, it took a while.

Trump is hardly the first president to push the limits of presidential power, of course. Nixon comes to mind, among others. Indeed, some of Trumps allies see a more immediate precedent for violating the conventions of the office in his own predecessor: President Joe Biden, who spoke strongly in favour of traditional standards even as he stretched his authority. In his final days in office, Biden issued pre-emptive pardons to a half-dozen members of his own family and other targets of Trumps wrath, a first-of-its-kind move he described as a means to prevent political prosecutions against them. Trump has in fact made such threats, but even some Democrats objected to the pardons, describing them as self-serving and a terrible precedent. Joe Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris, at Trumps inauguration. Credit: AP Biden also declared in his final days as president that the Equal Rights Amendment had met the requirements of ratification and therefore was, in his view, now the 28th Amendment of the Constitution. In doing so, he disregarded time limits established by Congress that were exceeded. Some analysts asked how it was different for Biden to declare his interpretation of the Constitution in this way than for Trump to try to impose his own interpretation of the 14th Amendment. Joe Biden vastly expanded the presidential parameters of everything from executive orders to border non-enforcement to Biden family pardons, all to implement policies and agendas that for the most part did not enjoy popular support, said Victor Davis Hanson, a scholar at Stanfords Hoover Institution and author of The Case for Trump. He added that Biden thereby ironically empowered Trump to follow that latitude, but to enact agendas that did earn public approval.

Not all of Trumps assertions are popular. An Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research poll found disapproval of the January 6 pardons and little support for ending birthright citizenship. Loading But Jonathan Madison, who studies democracy and governance at the R Street Institute, a free-market research organisation in Washington, said Biden used executive power in unprecedented ways after the election and that Trumps first week in office has reinforced this shift in power. Notably, Madison added, members of Congress from both parties have shown little inclination to challenge executive overreach when it comes from their own side. But Trump, so far, has proved far more effective at squelching opposition than Biden ever was. He dominates his own party as no president in generations. Through force of will and fear of reprisals, Trump has compelled Republicans to bend to his wishes repeatedly and even give support to cabinet nominees who would not have passed muster in the past, like Pete Hegseth for defence secretary.

Trump has forced technology billionaires, Wall Street tycoons, corporate executives and media owners who previously opposed him to show newfound deference and, in many cases, flood his political accounts with millions of dollars. The resistance that sprang up when he was first inaugurated eight years ago has faded, with many progressives and anti-Trump conservatives deflated or afraid of being targeted. That leaves Trump as the single most important player in any decision he cares to involve himself in, whether it be who is the speaker of the House or the fact-checking policies at Metas Facebook. Even the bureaucracy is to be tamed if he has his way, as he moves to convert nonpartisan civil servants into political appointees answerable to him. Loading Were not talking about drilling for oil, where obviously, hes going to pursue different policies; were not talking about supporting Ukraine, said Michael Klarman, a professor of legal history at Harvard Law School. These are all signs that hes not going to have opposition from the Republican Party, hes not going to have opposition from the civil service, hes not going to have opposition from the media. Those are all part of the authoritarian playbook. Trumps allies reject the notion that he has authoritarian aspirations. After all, he is still subject to the 22nd Amendment, which bars him from running again in four years. Yet just last week, Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee introduced a constitutional amendment to allow Trump to run for a third term.
Can a powerful leader who is a bit crazy  or is at least perceived to be crazy  make the world a safer place?

Richard Nixon, the 37th United States president, thought so, according to his chief-of-staff Bob Haldeman. I call it the madman theory, Bob, the incoming president said in 1968, according to Haldemans memoirs, published a decade later. Outlining his strategy to convince communist North Vietnam to surrender to the US and its South Vietnam allies, Haldeman claims Nixon said he wanted the North Vietnamese to believe he was willing to do anything to stop the war  including using nuclear weapons.

Illustration by Joe Benke Credit:

Its unclear whether Nixon ever said these words to Haldeman (he forcefully denied doing so). Regardless, he was not the first nor the last person to advance such an argument. Philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli argued in 1517 that, in certain circumstances, it is a very wise thing to simulate madness.

Nuclear theorist Thomas Schelling wrote in 1966 that a paradox of deterrence is that it does not always help to be, or to be believed to be, fully rational, cool-headed, and in control of oneself. Convincing your adversaries that you may act in an irrational way can keep them unbalanced and force them to make concessions they would not otherwise make, so the madman theory goes.
Photo: Press service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. On January 27, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received the credentials of Gorazd Rencelj, incoming Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia, Trend reports.

The Ambassador presented his credentials to the head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev then held a conversation with the ambassador.

Ambassador Gorazd Rencelj first conveyed his congratulations to the President on the successful organization and achievements of COP29. Expressing gratitude for the congratulations, President Ilham Aliyev underlined Azerbaijan's efficient organization of the event despite the short preparation time, noting that COP29 was the largest international conference ever held in the country. He praised Slovenias active participation in the event and underscored the importance of achieving consensus among the numerous countries represented at COP29. The President emphasized the conference's productive outcomes in advancing the international climate agenda.

President Ilham Aliyev also spoke about the strong history of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Slovenia, recalling the productive discussions during mutual visits by the two countries' leaders. He expressed confidence that cooperation between the nations would continue to strengthen.

During the meeting, they expressed hope that political dialogue between Azerbaijan and Slovenia would develop dynamically, noting that political consultations between the foreign ministers and a meeting of the working group on economic cooperation would be held soon. Plans for high-level reciprocal visits were also discussed.

Ambassador Rencelj highlighted Azerbaijans critical role in the South Caucasus region and the Trans-Caspian transportation corridor. The conversation touched upon cooperation in the energy sector, with a focus on the delivery of Azerbaijani gas to the Slovenian market as a significant step in advancing bilateral ties.

The meeting also included an exchange of views on the prospects for Azerbaijan-European Union relations.
Singapore to trial self-driving public buses from mid-2026



Singapore, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



Self-driving public buses will start plying routes across parts of Singapore from mid-2026 in a pilot test for their mass deployment, the government said Monday.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a Facebook post it has launched a proposal for bids on piloting autonomous public bus services in the city-state.

"This RFP (Request for Proposal) will help us assess the technical feasibility and operational requirements for deploying autonomous buses at both individual service and fleet levels," it said.

"From mid-2026, the autonomous buses will operate alongside our existing manned bus services for an initial period of three years."

Six driverless buses with at least 16 seats will travel through Marina Bay and Shenton Way areas in the financial district and a business park and research centre on the fringes, LTA said.

"We are starting with these routes as they are shorter and simpler."

During the first phase, the buses will operate with a driver on board as "safety operators", it said.

A "remote safety operator can take over the surpervisory role" after that phase.

LTA said it "may purchase up to 14 more" driverless buses to expand the pilot.

The request for bids is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025 and the project will be awarded by the end of the year.

Orderly Singapore has been testing autonomous vehicles for several years, with tests for buses, taxis and trucks carried out in designated areas.

The government has led the drive as it seeks to attract more foreign firms to invest.
Silicon Valley rattled by low-cost Chinese AI



San Francisco, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



Fears that the AI gold rush could be under threat rocked Wall Street on Monday following the emergence of a ChatGPT-like model from China, triggering predictions of turmoil for Silicon Valley and accusations of cheating.

Last week's release of the latest DeepSeek model initially received limited attention, overshadowed by the inauguration of US President Donald Trump that took place the same day.

However, over the weekend, the Chinese artificial intelligence startup's chatbot surged to become the most downloaded free app on Apple's US App Store, displacing OpenAI's ChatGPT.

What truly rattled the industry was DeepSeek's claim that it developed its latest model, the R1, at a fraction of the cost major companies are currently investing in AI development, primarily on expensive Nvidia chips and software.

This development is particularly significant given that the AI boom, ignited by ChatGPT's release in late 2022, has propelled Nvidia to become one of the world's most valuable companies.

The news sent shockwaves through the US tech sector, exposing a critical concern: should tech giants continue pouring hundreds of billions into AI investment when a Chinese company can produce a comparable model so economically?

DeepSeek was also a poke in the eye to Washington and its priority of thwarting China by maintaining American technological dominance, which has already led to legislation that could ban TikTok in the United States.

On his first full day in office, Trump last week announced a major AI infrastructure project with OpenAI and Japan's SoftBank, emhpasizing the competition with China as a key motivator.

Tech investor and Trump ally Marc Andreessen declared "Deepseek R1 is AI's Sputnik moment," referencing the 1957 launch of Earth's first artificial satellite by the Soviet Union that stunned the Western world.

The situation is particularly remarkable since, as a Chinese company, DeepSeek lacks access to Nvidia's state-of-the-art chips used to train AI models powering chatbots like ChatGPT.

Exports of Nvidia's most powerful technology are blocked by order of the US government, given the strategic importance of developing AI.

"If China is catching up quickly to the US in the AI race, then the economics of AI will be turned on its head," warned Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, in a note to clients.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, visibly concerned, took to social media hours before markets opened to dismiss concerns about cheaply-produced AI, saying less expensive AI was good for everyone.

But last week at the World Economic Forum in Davis, Nadella warned: "We should take the developments out of China very, very seriously."

Microsoft, an eager adopter of generative AI, plans to invest $80 billion in AI this year, while Meta announced at least $60 billion in investments on Friday.



- 'Outplayed' -



Much of those investments go into the coffers of Nvidia, whose shares plunged as much as a staggering 17 percent on Monday.

Adding to the turmoil, the esteemed Stratechery tech newsletter and others suggested that DeepSeek's innovations stemmed from necessity, as lacking access to powerful Nvidia-designed chips forced them to develop novel methods.

The blocks are "driving startups like DeepSeek to innovate in ways that prioritize efficiency, resource-pooling, and collaboration," wrote the MIT Technology Review.

Elon Musk, who has invested heavily in Nvidia chips for his xAI company's supercluster, suspects DeepSeek of secretly accessing banned H100 chips -- an accusation also made by the CEO of ScaleAI, a prominent Silicon Valley startup backed by Amazon and Meta.

But such accusations "sound like a rich kids team got outplayed by a poor kids team," wrote Hong Kong-based investor Jen Zhu Scott on X.
Sweden seizes ship suspected of Baltic Sea cable 'sabotage'



Riga, Jan 26 (AFP) Jan 26, 2025



Sweden on Sunday said it had seized a ship suspected of having damaged a fibre-optic cable under the Baltic Sea linking the country to Latvia, which sent a warship to investigate the latest apparent act of sabotage.

The latest incident came as nations around the Baltic Sea scramble to bolster their defences after the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in recent months, with some observers blaming Russia.

Swedish prosecutors opened an investigation into "aggravated sabotage", according to a statement from the Scandinavian nation's prosecutors' office.

"A vessel suspected of having committed the sabotage has been seized," the statement added.

Latvia's navy earlier said it had identified a "suspect vessel", the Michalis San, near the location of the incident along with two other ships.

Several websites tracking naval traffic said the Michalis San was headed for Russia.

"We have a warship patrolling the Baltic Sea around the clock every day and night, allowing us to quickly dispatch it once we learnt about the damage," Latvian navy commander Maris Polencs said at a briefing Sunday.

Prime Minister Evika Silina said Riga had notified the Swedish authorities and that the two countries were working together in response to the incident.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed he had been in contact with Silina during the day.

"There is information suggesting that at least one data cable between Sweden and Latvia has been damaged in the Baltic Sea. The cable is owned by a Latvian entity," he posted on X.

"Sweden, Latvia and NATO are closely cooperating on the matter," he added.



- Data 'disruption' -



Experts and politicians have accused Russia of orchestrating a hybrid war against the West as the two sides square off over Ukraine.

"The damage to the Sweden-Latvia undersea data cable is the latest in a series of systemic incidents affecting EU critical infrastructure," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said Sunday on X.

"We express solidarity with the affected EU partners. An increased NATO presence in the Baltic Sea is critical to countering such threats."

NATO earlier this month announced it was launching a new monitoring mission in the Baltic Sea involving patrol ships and aircraft to deter any attempts to target undersea infrastructure in the region.

The damage occurred in Swedish territorial waters at a depth of at least 50 metres (55 yards), officials said.

The cable belongs to Latvia's state radio and television centre (LVRTC) which said in a statement that there had been "disruptions in data transmission services".

The company said alternatives had been found and end users would mostly not be affected although "there may be delays in data transmission speeds".

The statement added: "Based on current findings, it is presumed that the cable is significantly damaged due to external factors. LVRTC has initiated criminal procedural actions."

European Union President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her "full solidarity" with the countries affected by the incident.

"The resilience and security of our critical infrastructure is a top priority," von der Leyen wrote on X.

burs-sbk/jj
White House says Lebanon-Israel deal extended to February 18



Washington, Jan 26 (AFP) Jan 26, 2025



The White House said Sunday that a deal between Lebanon and Israel had been extended until February 18, as Israel missed a previous deadline to pull troops.

"The arrangement between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the United States, will continue to be in effect until February 18, 2025," the White House said in a brief statement.

Donald Trump's White House also said that the United States would negotiate with Israel and Lebanon for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which brought parallel fighting, at first on a small scale, between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The statement did not explicitly mention a ceasefire, which has been increasingly in doubt as Israeli forces killed 22 people on Sunday, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

The White House also did not make any reference to France, which worked alongside the United States under former president Joe Biden to reach the ceasefire on November 27.

The deal ended Israel's military campaign in Lebanon against Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Under the 60-day deal, the Lebanese army was to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdrew.

Israel made clear in recent days it had no intention to meet the deadline, saying Lebanon's fledgling army had not fulfilled its side of the deal.

On Sunday, Israeli forces opened fire and killed 22 people, including six women, as they returned to their villages, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

The Israeli military said it targeted suspects who posed an "imminent threat" to its troops.
New US defense chief speaks with Israel's Netanyahu



Washington, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday in the Pentagon chief's first call with a foreign official since being sworn in.

Hegseth and Netanyahu "discussed the importance of advancing mutual security interests and priorities, especially in the face of persistent threats," the Pentagon said in a statement.

"The secretary stressed that the United States is fully committed, under President (Donald) Trump's leadership, to ensure that Israel has the capabilities it needs to defend itself," according to the statement, which did not specify why Hegseth spoke with Netanyahu instead of his direct counterpart Israel Katz.

Hegseth was sworn in on Saturday after being narrowly confirmed by the US Senate the night before.

He was one of Trump's most controversial cabinet nominees, facing allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct and concerns over his lack of experience leading a large organization.
India boosts domestic arms industry and looks West to pare back Russia reliance



New Delhi, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



India's efforts to pare back a longstanding reliance on Russian military hardware is bearing fruit after the courting of new Western allies and a rapidly growing domestic arms industry, analysts say.

At a time when Moscow's military-industrial complex is occupied with the ongoing war in Ukraine, India has made the modernisation of its armed forces a top priority.

That urgency has risen in tandem with tensions between the world's most populous nation and its northern neighbour China, especially since a deadly 2020 clash between their troops.

"India's perception of its security environment vis-a-vis China has been dramatically altered," Harsh V Pant, of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think-tank, told AFP.

Relations between the two neighbours went into freefall after the clash on their shared frontier, which killed 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers.

"It has sort of shaken the system and there's a realisation that we have to do whatever is best now, and very fast," Pant said of the incident.

India has become the world's largest arms importer with purchases steadily rising to account for nearly 10 percent of all imports globally in 2019-23, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said last year.

More is in the pipeline, with orders worth tens of billions of dollars from the United States, France, Israel and Germany in coming years.

Modi will be in France next month where he is expected to sign deals worth about $10 billion for Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene-class submarines, Indian media reports say.



- 'Not easy to switch' -



Defence minister Rajnath Singh has also promised at least $100 billion in fresh domestic military hardware contracts by 2033 to spur local arms production.

"India has been traditionally an importer for decades and only switched to emphasising on indigenous manufacturing... in the last decade," strategic affairs analyst Nitin Gokhale told AFP.

"It is not easy to switch, not everything can be manufactured or produced here," he said, saying the country lacked the ability to manufacture "high-end technology" weapons systems.

But its efforts have still seen numerous impressive milestones.

This decade India has opened an expansive new helicopter factory, launched its first homemade aircraft carrier, and conducted a successful long-range hypersonic missile test.

That in turn has fostered a growing arms export market which saw sales last year worth $2.63 billion -- still a tiny amount compared to established players, but a 30-fold increase in a decade.

India is expected in the coming weeks to announce a landmark deal to supply Indonesia's military with supersonic cruise missiles in a deal worth nearly $450 million.

The government aims to triple this figure by 2029, with a significant chunk of the $75 billion it spent on defence last year aimed at boosting local production.



- 'Spread risks' -



India has deepened defence cooperation with Western countries in recent years, including in the much-feted Quad alliance with the United States, Japan and Australia.

This reorientation has helped India sign various deals to import and locally co-produce military drones, naval ships, fighter jets and other hardware with suppliers from Western countries.

It has also led to a precipitous drop in India's share of arms from longstanding ally Russia, which supplied 76 percent of its military imports in 2009-13 but only 36 percent in 2019-23, according to SIPRI data.

New Delhi has nonetheless sought to maintain the delicate balance between India's historically warm ties with Moscow while courting closer partnerships with Western nations.

Modi's government has resisted pressure from Washington and elsewhere to explicitly condemn Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, instead urging both sides to the negotiating table.

Gokhale said that India was not in the position to abandon its relationship with Russia, which still plays an important role as a supplier of advanced weaponry including cruise missiles and nuclear submarine technology.

"India has certainly spread its risks by sourcing from other countries," he said. "But Russia remains a very important and dependable partner."
Iran diplomat says no contact with US since Trump's return



Tehran, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



Iran and the United States have not exchanged any messages since the return of Donald Trump to the White House, a senior Iranian diplomat said Monday.

"It has only been a few days since the new American administration took office and no messages have been exchanged," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the local ISNA news agency.

During his first term, Trump pursued a policy of "maximum pressure", withdrawing the United States from a landmark nuclear deal which imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

Tehran adhered to the deal until Washington's withdrawal, but then began rolling back its commitments. Efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear pact have since faltered.

"We have to plan calmly and patiently. When the policies of the other side (Trump) are announced, we act accordingly," said Takht-Ravanchi.

On Thursday, Trump said he hoped to avoid military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, hoping for an "agreement".

Iran has repeatedly expressed willingness to revive the deal, and President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in July, has called for an end his country's isolation.

Earlier this month, before Trump officially returned to the White House, Iranian officials held nuclear talks with counterparts from Britain, France and Germany.

Both sides described the talks as "frank and constructive".

Takht-Ravanchi said that it was the third round of talks after two earlier rounds one in Geneva and another in New York last year.

He expected another round of talks to be held "within a month" but said the "date has not been confirmed yet."
Iran deploys AI-equipped missiles during drills in Gulf



Tehran, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



Iran's Revolutionary Guards have deployed missiles featuring artificial intelligence technology during military drills in the Gulf, state media reported Monday.

The Guards' naval force "fired Ghaem and Almas missiles equipped with artificial intelligence from advanced Mohajer-6 and Ababil-5 drones", the IRNA state news agency said.

The report added that the missiles "successfully destroyed hypothetical enemy targets" during the drills.

Ghaem and Almas are both precision-guided missiles developed domestically by the Iranian defence ministry.

On Friday, the Guards launched a series of military exercises in the southwest of the country, including in Bushehr and Khuzestan provinces, and in Gulf waters.

The provinces are home to Iran's major oil and petrochemical facilities, with Bushehr also hosting the country's nuclear power plant.

Citing the "sensitive positions", Guards naval commander Alireza Tangsiri told IRNA that the exercises simulated protecting these locations.

Tangsiri also said that Iran was producing cruise missiles with ranges "exceeding 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) that are utilised with AI technology".

The deployment of the missiles comes months after remarks from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, urging the authorities to "master artificial intelligence".

Since its 1979 revolution, the Islamic republic has developed a series of sophisticated missiles and drones following its break in ties with the United States, which had been Tehran's main arms supplier.

The test of the missiles also comes days after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, known for a "maximum pressure" approach towards Iran during his first term, which ended in 2021.

Trump said Thursday that he hoped to avoid strikes against Iranian nuclear sites, calling for a "deal" with Tehran, the sworn enemy of the US and its ally, Israel.
Ukraine detains army official accused of corruption



Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



Ukrainian law enforcement said Monday it had detained a high-ranking military officer accused of embezzling army equipment, the latest arrest within the army as Kyiv ramps up anti-corruption efforts.

The deputy commander of a military unit in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region was accused of falsifying documents to misappropriate 24 night vision devices, valued at around $95,000, investigators said in a statement.

The State Bureau of Investigation said the officer was responsible for logistics, and had allegedly ordered subordinates to conceal the equipment after claiming the devices were lost on the battlefield.

Following searches of the military unit and the suspect's residence, authorities seized evidence and detained the deputy commander pending trial.

Ukraine has been clamping down on illegal arms smuggling and recently launched hundreds of raids to identify ringleaders and block trafficking routes.

Kyiv this month detained several military officials, including two generals, on charges of fraud and negligence that made possible a Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region.

Ukraine has been waging a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown and launched reforms aimed at easing its membership to international institutions like the European Union.
Iran diplomat says no contact with US since Trump's return



Tehran, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



Iran and the United States have not exchanged any messages since the return of Donald Trump to the White House, a senior Iranian diplomat said Monday.

"It has only been a few days since the new American administration took office and no messages have been exchanged," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the local ISNA news agency.

During his first term, Trump pursued a policy of "maximum pressure", withdrawing the United States from a landmark nuclear deal which imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

Tehran adhered to the deal -- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- until Washington's withdrawal, but then began rolling back its commitments. Efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear pact have since faltered.

"We have to plan calmly and patiently. When the policies of the other side (Trump) are announced, we act accordingly," said Takht-Ravanchi.

On Thursday, Trump said he hoped to avoid military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, hoping for an agreement.

Iran has repeatedly expressed willingness to revive the deal, and President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in July, has called for an end his country's isolation.

Earlier this month, before Trump officially returned to the White House, Iranian officials held nuclear talks with counterparts from Britain, France and Germany.

Both sides described the talks as "frank and constructive".

Takht-Ravanchi said that it was the third round of talks after two earlier rounds one in Geneva and another in New York last year.

He expected another round of talks to be held "within a month" but said the "date has not been confirmed yet."

Takht-Ravanchi said Iran and European countries agreed on the framework of the JCPOA which entails curbing Iran's nuclear activities in return for lifting sanctions.

"We will not include non-nuclear issues in the negotiations, as was done in the JCPOA negotiations," he added.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan has published a post timed to January 27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the publication of the country's Foreign Ministry on X said, Trend reports.

On January 27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we honor the memory of the victims of one of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind.

We oppose religious and ethnic hatred, genocide, and crimes against humanity and condemn all forms of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and manifestations of intolerance, the publication of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reads.
Lebanese try again to return to southern border villages



Burj al Muluk, Lebanon, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



South Lebanon residents accompanied by the army tried to return to their villages on Monday, official media and AFP correspondents reported, a day after Israeli fire killed more than 20 people in the area.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that Lebanon had agreed to an extension of the ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel until February 18, after the Israeli military missed Sunday's deadline to withdraw.

An AFP correspondent saw dozens of vehicles carrying families headed towards border towns, a day after hundreds of residents tried unsuccessfully to return to their homes.

Lebanon's health ministry said that fresh "Israeli enemy attacks while citizens attempt to return to their towns" had wounded two people Monday in the village of Bani Hayyan, including a child.

In the village of Burj al-Muluk, an AFP photographer saw dozens of men, women and children gathering in the morning behind a dirt barrier, some holding yellow Hezbollah flags, hoping to reach the border town of Kfar Kila, where the Israeli military is still deployed.

In the city of Bint Jbeil, an access point for many border villages, Hezbollah supporters were distributing sweets, water and images of former chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September.

Others handed out stickers celebrating the "victory from God" as women held pictures of slain Hezbollah fighters.

The official National News Agency said that Lebanese "army reinforcements" had arrived near the border town of Mais al-Jabal, where people had started to gather at "the entrance of the town" in preparation for entering alongside the military.

It said the Israeli army had "opened fire in the direction of the Lebanese army" near the town, without reporting casualties.

In the nearby town of Hula, the agency said residents entered "after the deployment of the army in several neighbourhoods".



- Residents told to 'wait' -



Under the ceasefire deal that took effect on November 27, the Lebanese military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period, which ended on Sunday.

Hezbollah was also to pull back its forces north of the Litani River -- about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.

Both sides have traded blame for delays in implementing the deal, which came after more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee on Monday called again for south Lebanon residents to "wait" before returning.

Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said he did not expect a return to major violence.

"Hezbollah no longer wants any further confrontation with Israel, its goal is to protect its achievements in Lebanon," he told AFP.

The health ministry said Monday that Israeli fire killed 24 people who were trying to return to their villages the previous day, updating an earlier toll of 22 dead.

The Israeli military had said soldiers "fired warning shots to remove threats" where "suspects were identified approaching the troops".

The Lebanese army said Sunday it would "continue to accompany residents" returning to the south and "protect them from Israeli attacks".
Palestinians say two killed in Israeli West Bank strike



Tulkarem, Palestinian Territories, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



The Palestinian health ministry said Monday two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem, an attack confirmed by the Israeli military.

The Ramallah-based ministry said in a statement that two dead and three injured arrived at Tulkarem's Governmental Hospital "following the occupation's targeting of a vehicle in Nur Shams refugee camp", adjacent to the city of Tulkarem.

The Israeli army confirmed the strike, and said in a statement that "in a joint operation by the Israeli army and the Shin Bet (internal security agency), an air force aircraft launched an attack shortly ago in the Tulkarem area."

Official Palestinian news agency Wafa identified the two killed as Ramez Damiri and Ihab Abu Atwi, both residents of the Nur Shams refugee camp.

The health ministry also announced the death of a young man killed Sunday night by Israeli forces in Qalandiya refugee camp, north of Jerusalem.

The ministry reported one dead and two injured "by (Israeli) bullets near Qalandiya camp".

Wafa news agency identified the man killed as Adam Sab Laban, shot by Israeli forces who were stationed at a military tower by the Qalandiya checkpoint into Jerusalem, and who "opened fire at a group of citizens".

Violence has soared throughout the West Bank since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 861 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to the health ministry.

At least 29 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids in the territory over the same period, according to Israeli official figures.
Lebanon says Israeli fire kills one as residents try to go home



Burj al Muluk, Lebanon, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



Lebanon's heath ministry said Israeli fire killed one person Monday and wounded seven others in the south, in a second day of violence as residents tried again to return to border villages.

The bloodshed, which one analyst said was unlikely to re-spark war, came hours after the extension of a deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from south Lebanon under a November ceasefire deal.

The ministry said Israeli fire killed 24 returnees on Sunday.

"Israeli enemy attacks as citizens attempt to return to their towns that are still occupied have led... to one dead and seven wounded," the health ministry said Monday in a statement.

It reported one dead and two wounded in the border town of Adaysseh, with others wounded in Bani Hayyan, including a child, as well as in Yarun and Hula.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said earlier Monday that Lebanon had agreed to an extension of the ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel until February 18, after the Israeli military missed Sunday's deadline to withdraw.

In south Lebanon, residents accompanied by the army were again trying to return to their villages, official media and AFP correspondents reported.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem is scheduled to deliver a televised address at 6:30 pm (1630 GMT).



- 'Bullets don't scare us' -



In the village of Burj al-Muluk, an AFP photographer saw dozens of men, women and children gathering in the morning behind a dirt barrier, some holding yellow Hezbollah flags, hoping to reach the border town of Kfar Kila, where the Israeli military is still deployed.

In the city of Bint Jbeil, an access point for many border villages, Hezbollah supporters were distributing sweets, water and images of former chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September.

Others handed out stickers celebrating the "victory from God" as women held pictures of slain Hezbollah fighters.

"They think they are scaring us with their bullets, but we lived under the bombing and bullets don't scare us," said Mona Bazzi in Bint Jbeil.

The official National News Agency (NNA) said that Lebanese "army reinforcements" had arrived near the border town of Mais al-Jabal, where people had started to gather at "the entrance of the town" in preparation for entering alongside the military.

It said the Israeli army had "opened fire in the direction of the Lebanese army" near the town, without reporting casualties there.

"We waited in a long line for hours, but couldn't enter," said Mohammed Choukeir, 33, from Mais al-Jabal, adding that Israeli troops "were opening fire from time to time on civilians gathered at the entrance of the town".

In nearby Hula, where the health ministry reported two wounded, the NNA said residents entered "after the deployment of the army in several neighbourhoods".

Under the ceasefire deal that took effect on November 27, the Lebanese military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period, which ended on Sunday.

Hezbollah was also to pull back its forces north of the Litani River -- about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.



- Bulldozers -



Both sides have traded blame for delays in implementing the deal, which came after more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war.

Lebanon's army said Sunday that it had entered several border areas including Dhayra, Maroun al-Ras and Aita al-Shaab.

An AFP photographer in Aita al-Shaab on Monday saw widespread destruction, with newly returned families among the ruins of their homes, as bulldozers worked to open roads and rescue teams searched for any bodies leftover from the conflict.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee on Monday called again for south Lebanon residents to "wait" before returning.

Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said he did not expect a return to major violence.

"Hezbollah no longer wants any further confrontation with Israel, its goal is to protect its achievements in Lebanon," he told AFP.

The health ministry said Monday that Israeli fire killed 24 people who were trying to return to their villages the previous day, updating an earlier toll of 22 dead.

The Israeli military had said soldiers "fired warning shots to remove threats" where "suspects were identified approaching the troops".

The Lebanese army said Sunday it would "continue to accompany residents" returning to the south and "protect them from Israeli attacks".
Four killed in Iraq strike blamed on Turkey: sources



Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



Four people were killed on Monday in an air strike blamed on Turkey in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, Kurdish sources said.

Turkey often carries out ground and air operations in northern Iraq against positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.

"A Turkish drone struck a civilian car at 3:20 pm (1220 GMT) killing... two women and two men," said a security source in the Raparin area north of the city of Sulaimaniyah.

"Their identities remain unknown," the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Kamran Othman from the US-based Community Peacemakers Teams (CPT) group monitoring Turkish operations in Iraqi Kurdistan, confirmed the attack took place.

"Two women and two men were killed," said Othman, adding that a fifth person on a nearby motorcycle was wounded.

The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies, holds positions in Iraq's Kurdistan region, which also hosts Turkish military bases.

During a visit to Baghdad, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called on Sunday for combined regional efforts to combat the PKK in Iraq, as well as Kurdish fighters in neighbouring Syria, whom Ankara accuses of having links to the outlawed group.

"I want to emphasise this fact in the strongest way: the PKK is targeting Turkey, Iraq and Syria," Fidan said.

Baghdad has recently sharpened its tone against the PKK, and last year it quietly listed the group as a "banned organisation" -- though Ankara demands the Iraqi government do more in the fight against the militant group.

Fidan said his country hoped Baghdad would declare the PKK a "terrorist" organisation.

In August, Baghdad and Ankara signed a military cooperation deal to establish joint command and training centres with the aim of fighting the PKK.
Portugal says to meet NATO defence spend minimum earlier



Lisbon, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



Portugal on Monday said it was ready to bring forward its planned increases on defence spending -- among the lowest in NATO -- to meet the defence alliance's two-percent of GDP minimum before 2029.

The announcement came after the return to power of US President Donald Trump, who has frequently castigated European members of the alliance for not investing enough in their militaries.

The mercurial Republican leader has in the past thrown into question whether the United States would protect NATO members who did not meet the spending threshold, which he recently suggested should be raised to five percent of GDP.

At just 1.55 percent of its 2024 GDP, Portugal's investment in defence places it close to the bottom of the NATO pile.

Lisbon committed at last summer's NATO summit in Washington to reach the two-percent threshold by 2029.

And after a meeting on Monday with the alliance's chief Mark Rutte, Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said his country was ready to go beyond that and meet the minimum earlier.

"We are ready to bring forward even further the timetable for our trajectory of investment in this area," he said.

Montenegro said that decision was made with "current geopolitical circumstances" in mind.

However, he denied that Trump's return to the White House had influenced the choice to accelerate Portugal's spending plans.

"This is not a response to the new American administration that has just taken office," Montenegro insisted.

Rutte said he welcomed the increases in the country's defence spending.

"But we also know that the goal of two percent, now set a decade ago, will not be enough to meet the challenges of tomorrow," the former Dutch prime minister added.

Montenegro's meeting with Rutte came just ahead of the Dutchman's planned trip to Madrid to meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Spain spent just 1.28 percent of its national output on defence in 2024.
UK govt accused of renaming submarine to avoid offending France



London, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



Former UK defence ministers claimed Monday that a decision by Britain's Royal Navy to rename a nuclear-powered submarine called HMS Agincourt had been taken to avoid offending France.

The previous Conservative government announced in 2018 that the attack submarine would be named Agincourt in honour of Henry V's victory over the French in the 1415 battle.

But the Royal Navy announced on Sunday that the underwater vessel, which is still being built, would be now be called HMS Achilles after a famous World War II cruiser.

"We are proud of our nation's rich military history and the many famous battles fought," a Royal Navy spokesman said in a statement.

"The seventh boat in the Astute class is to be called Achilles, a name which is particularly appropriate this year as we mark the VE and VJ Day 80th anniversaries."

The spokesperson added that the name had been proposed by the navy's ships naming committee and "approved" by King Charles III, as per long-established procedure.

But former Tory defence ministers Grant Shapps and Ben Wallace slammed the move, suggesting the Labour government was changing the name for fear of annoying French counterparts.

"Renaming the HMS Agincourt is nothing short of sacrilege," said Shapps.

"This submarine carries a name that honours a defining moment in British history.

"Under Labour, woke nonsense is being put ahead of tradition and our armed forces' proud heritage."

Wallace accused the government of "focusing on superficial nonsense rather than rebuilding our defence".

"The French are one of our strongest allies. They don't get put off by names like that. I mean, that shows a very pathetic grasp of foreign policy and relationships," he told Times Radio.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the Achilles name was "particularly appropriate" this year due to the Victory in Europe and Victory in Japan anniversaries.

A message posted on the Royal Navy's account on X said six ships had previously borne the Achilles name.

pdh/jwp/jkb/cw
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Yalchin Rafiyev visited the State of Qatar for official talks on January 26, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) told Trend.

According to the ministry, the visit included the 5th round of political consultations between the foreign ministries of Azerbaijan and Qatar.

The talks were led by Yalchin Rafiyev on behalf of Azerbaijan and by Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad bin Sultan Al Muraikhi.

During the consultations, the two sides discussed bilateral political and economic issues, as well as cooperation within the framework of the United Nations (UN), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and other international organizations. The discussions also covered regional and global matters of mutual interest, focusing on trade, investment, agriculture, tourism, education, and other sectors of cooperation.

As part of the visit, Deputy Minister Rafiyev met with Qatars Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed. The two officials emphasized the importance of holding the next session of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission between Azerbaijan and Qatar as soon as possible. They also highlighted the need to organize mutual trade missions and business forums.

Additionally, during his visit to Doha, Rafiyev visited the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS), where he met with the Director of CHS, Ghassan Elkahlout, and experts. They exchanged views on Azerbaijans foreign policy, as well as developments in the South Caucasus and the Middle East regions.

Rafiyev also met with the leadership, faculty, and students of the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) at Georgetown University in Qatar. During this meeting, he informed the audience about Azerbaijan's foreign policy priorities, the country's perspectives on regional and global issues, as well as the post-conflict situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the normalization process, and the ongoing reconstruction efforts in the areas liberated from occupation. He also answered questions from the participants.
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
Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Aleksandr Lukashenko on his re-election as President of the Republic of Belarus, Trend reports.

"Esteemed Aleksandr Grigoryevich,

I sincerely congratulate you on your re-election as President of the Republic of Belarus.

Your decisive victory in the elections reflects the high level of trust placed in you and the support of the people of Belarus for your consistent efforts to strengthen statehood and public order, improve the well-being of the population, and implement democratic reforms across all areas of public life.

I am confident that our joint efforts will continue to contribute to strengthening and expanding the traditional ties of friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Azerbaijan and Belarus, as well as to developing mutually beneficial collaboration for the welfare of our peoples and countries.

Esteemed Alexander Grigoryevich, I wish you robust health, happiness, and success in your high state activities for the progress of the friendly people of Belarus," the letter reads.
Photo: National Confederation of the Entrepreneurs (Employers') Organizations of Azerbaijan Republic

BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. Mammad Musayev has been honored with the "Shohrat" (Glory) Order for his long-standing and fruitful contributions to the development of entrepreneurship in the Republic of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

The corresponding decree was signed by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree making amendments to a previous order from September 9, 2020, aimed at establishing a new framework for managing economic policy and reforms in the Republic of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

The decree also annulled a prior order from July 2016 decree "On the establishment of the Financial Stability Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan" dated July 15, 2016, No. 995.

Under the new decree, Deputy Prime Minister Samir Sharifov will now be a representative within the Economic Council.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan has been tasked with addressing the matters arising from the decree.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
A Moroccan and three Vietnamese citizens, who did not have the right to enter the Schengen Area, were found by the Arad border police in the border area with Hungary, one getting off an international train.

According to a press release sent on Monday to AGERPRES by the Arad Border Police, during a mission in the Curtici border area, a person was checked who got off the train traveling on the Bucharest North - Vienna route.

"During the check, the person was unable to present a travel document to our colleagues, meaning that he was taken to the sector headquarters for further verifications. Following the investigation, the person was identified as a 19-year-old Moroccan citizen who did not have the right to travel to the Schengen Area," the release states.

Also, in the Turnu area, a 42-year-old man from Vietnam, who does not have the right to reside in the Schengen Area, was found walking on the side of a road.

Random road checks were also carried out in the Varsand area, during which a car registered in Romania, driven by a Vietnamese man, with two foreigners travelling with him, was stopped.

"At the time of the checks, our colleagues found that the passengers, the two foreign citizens, do not appear as having the right to reside in the Schengen Area, meaning that the persons and the means of transport were taken to the institution's headquarters for further investigations. Following the investigations, the border police identified the two passengers as citizens from Vietnam, aged 36 and 39, respectively," the press release reads.

In the three cases, the police are investigating into attempted fraudulent crossing of the state border and fraudulen crossing of the state border.
MEP Victor Negrescu (S&D) on Sunday asked the European institutions, in his capacity as Vice-President of the European Parliament responsible for transparency and the fight against corruption, for support after the robbery at the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, where valuable pieces from Romania's Dacian treasure were stolen, as he revealed in a post on his Facebook page.

In his request, the Romanian MEP highlighted the European dimension of this incident "given the historical and cultural significance of the stolen artifacts as well as its cross-border nature," as well as "the need to protect the European cultural heritage."

Victor Negrescu called on the European Union "to quickly implement the existing mechanisms in the case of such incidents targeting cultural heritage and to act with determination using the specific institutions existing at the European level".

Specifically, the Romanian MEP addressed a written request to the Commission regarding "what specific measures the European Commission is considering to improve collaboration between Member States, Europol and Eurojust in the case of the robbery in the Netherlands and to prevent such situations in the future."

Victor Negrescu also requested to be informed about "the steps that the European institutions will take, following this incident, to ensure an efficient implementation of the EU Action Plan against trafficking in cultural goods, adopted in 2022," on which the Romanian MEP states that he worked together with his social democrat colleagues during his previous term as vice-chair of the Committee on Culture and Education in the European Parliament.
The General Prosecutor's Office is looking at the transfer of the Dacian treasure items from Romania to the exhibition in the Netherlands without a relevant government decision.

"We shut out no investigation hypothesis that would lead to the complete clarification of the situation that made possible the robbery of four heritage Treasure artifacts from the Drents Museum in Assen, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, where they were on display as part of the international exhibition 'Dacia! Empire of Gold and Silver'," the institution's Information and Public Relations Office said in response to a question as to whether the investigation is also focusing on how the treasure items were sent out of Romania in absence of a relevant government decision.

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu confirmed on Monday that no such government decision was issued in the case of the exhibition organized by the Romanian authorities with Dacian treasure artifacts at the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, emphasizing that all the details will come to light following the measures ordered at governmental level.

Article 34 of Law 182 of 25/2000 on the protection of the national movable cultural heritage provides the following: "(1) For the purpose of organizing exhibitions, or the realization of cultural projects, public institutions may lend, as the case may be, to public institutions or legal entities under private law in the country, under compliance with the common law, classified movable cultural assets that they hold under administration."

OUG No. 27/2023 introduced a new article to the law - article 34^1, with the following content: "For the purpose of organizing exhibitions abroad, or for carrying out international cultural projects by public museum institutions under the authority of the Ministry of Culture, the measures regarding their organization shall be approved by Government decision, should several authorities and public institutions be involved."

On Saturday, the Prosecutor General's Office informed that a criminal investigation had been opened ex officio in the case of the theft of several prized Dacian treasure artifacts exhibited at the Drents Museum.

The iconic golden helmet of Cotofenesti, dated to the 5th-4th centuries BC, as well as three Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia, dating from the second half of the 1st century BC, were stolen in a heist in which the robbers used an explosive device to break open the only exterior wall of the museum building. AGERPRES
The Urbarial House in the town of Santana, a historic monument dating back to 1749, where one of the first gymnasium schools in this part of Europe operated, and which was also used as an institution for collecting taxes for Vienna, has been restored with European Union funds. The project, costing 8.7 million lei, transforms the building into a cultural centre that will house two museums.

Santana mayor Daniel Tomuta told AGERPRES on Monday that the works, which began in 2021, have been completed, and the building, with a total area of 1,879 square metres, is now part of the cultural circuit.

The building features a conference hall named after a benefactor of the town, Margareta Bibics, as well as several rooms for various activities, such as music and dance courses, creative workshops, or school clubs.

The mayor also said that two museums will be arranged in the building, one dedicated to history, which will include archaeological discoveries from the area, and another ethnographic museum.

"The first function of the building was as a gymnasium school for the children of the nobility; it was one of the first schools established in this part of Europe. Throughout its history, it also served as an office for local affairs. The building was affected by a fire in 1858 and was rebuilt in 1860, when it became a gymnasium school again. The school function was maintained throughout the 20th century, and in the last years of communism, the building hosted a community club where recreational activities took place. After 1990, an Orthodox church was set up on the building's upper floor," said the mayor of Santana.

According to the website www.aradcityguide.ro, which promotes local cultural heritage, "Urbarial-Haus" was used until the threshold of the 1848 Revolution for collecting and storing products derived from feudal rents.

"Until the early 18th century, the abuses of the nobles towards the peasants began to directly affect the state's revenues. In this context, the Court in Vienna initiated a new social policy. The new urbarial regulation, implemented in 1765 by order of Empress Maria Theresa, improved the economic situation of the serfs. Through urbarial institutions like the one in Santana, taxes were collected in cash, based on the amount of work and agricultural products. The money collected by the urbarial houses was directed both to Vienna and to the local lord," says the website.

The restoration of the historic monument was carried out with 8,709,000 lei, of which 7,800,000 lei were non-reimbursable European Union funds, obtained through the Regional Operational Programme (Regio-ROP) 2014-2020.
Foreign affairs minister Emil Hurezeanu had talks with his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, on Monday on the theft of the Dacian treasure items from the Drents Museum in Assen, Netherlands.

"The Romanian foreign affairs minister insisted on the importance of the stolen artifacts being recovered and emphasized their significance in Romanian culture. The two ministers have agreed to cooperate very closely at the operational and diplomatic level," the Romanian Foreign Ministry said on the X platform.

Emil Hurezeanu is attending the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

The iconic golden helmet of Cotofenesti, dated to the 5th-4th centuries BC, as well as three Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia, dating from the second half of the 1st century BC, some of the most important artifacts of Romania's national heritage, were stolen in a "particularly serious incident", in which the robbers used an explosive device to break open the only exterior wall of the museum building, the Ministry of Culture announced.

All the stolen pieces had been insured in accordance with Romanian legislation and international standards on the organization of exhibitions.

On Saturday, the Prosecutor General's Office informed that a criminal investigation had been opened ex officio in the case of the theft of several prized Dacian treasure artifacts exhibited at the Drents Museum.

Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu also announced on Sunday the organization of a crisis cell at the Government level for the efficient coordination of the activities to recover the four stolen treasure items. AGERPRES
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has approved the law amending the "Law on the Efficient Use of Energy Resources and Energy Efficiency," Trend reports.

The amendments expand the sources of funding for the Energy Efficiency Fund.

The head of state signed a decree on "Amendments to the Law in Connection with the Implementation of the Relevant Legislation."

To note, the fund was formally established by decree in March 2024 and is the responsibility of the Ministry of Energy, with management led by the Energy Regulatory Agency.
The Holocaust was one of the most tragic and darkest episodes in the history of humanity, Chamber of Deputies speaker Ciprian Serban and Senate president Ilie Bolojan, said on Monday at the ceremony dedicated to the International Holocaust Remembrance Day organized at the Bucharest Choral Temple.

"Today, we are together to pay homage to those who were victims of the Holocaust and the anti-Jewish Bucharest Pogrom of 1941 carried out by the Iron Guard. The duty to keep in our hearts and souls those who suffered in this huge historical tragedy brings us to this symbolic event. We are welcomed by the Choral Temple, an emblematic edifice and a center of Jewish life in Romania. Today's ceremony is not just a moment of commemoration. It is a call for awareness, responsibility and action for the present and the future. The Holocaust was one of the darkest episodes in human history. The Pogrom of January 1941 remains a painful page of Romanian history," said Ciprian Serban.

He emphasized that the memory of these events compels to deep reflection.

"We must ensure that such tragedies will never happen again. By marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we reaffirm our responsibility not to forget the horrors of the past. We must combat all forms of intolerance and promote the fundamental values of democracy. As a representative of the Romanian Parliament, I emphasize the importance of legislative support for initiatives that combat anti-Semitism, xenophobia and incitement to hatred. Since the adoption of the final report of the Elie Wiesel Commission, Romania has taken important steps forward. We have become a regional model in the fight against antisemitism," said the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.

He further pointed out that "the gap between pluralist discourse and everyday reality" must be acknowledged.

"In a world where disinformation is spreading rapidly on social networks, democratic values are under threat. Antisemitism, xenophobia and other forms of hatred are still present, and combating them is a joint duty. (...) During the interwar period, the Jews in Romania made a significant contribution to the development of our country," added Ciprian Serban.

The message of the president of the Senate, Ilie Bolojan, was presented at the event by the Deputy Speaker of the Upper House of Parliament Mircea Abrudean.

"We are here today to commemorate one of the most tragic pages in the history of humanity - the Holocaust. It is a time for deep reflection, an opportunity to remember not only the suffering endured by the victims of this barbaric act and our obligation to prevent such tragedies from ever happening again, an attack not only on human lives, but also on humanity itself, on the fundamental values that underpin any democratic society. (...) It is our duty to honor their memory by remembering that these people are not just a statistic, but part of the fiber of our humanity. Today, before the memory of the victims, we must reaffirm our firm commitment to tolerance and respect, but above all our commitment never to forget. It is our duty to ensure that future generations learn the painful lessons of the past and understand the devastating consequences of hatred, intolerance and indifference," reads the Senate president's message.

He emphasized that "silence and inaction can become accomplices of evil". "Romania, as part of the international community, has taken important steps in recognizing and coming to terms with the past. But our efforts must not stop here. Through education, memorialization and the promotion of democratic values, we have a responsibility to keep alive the memory of the victims and to build a future based on solidarity and respect. Holocaust remembrance is also a call to awareness, to oppose all forms of discrimination, hatred or injustice that still exist in our society. To be vigilant, to be united, to be humane. Distinguished audience, today we are not only commemorating the past. Today we look to the future, inspired by the hard lessons of history. It is our moral duty to those who have suffered and to the generations to come. Let us never forget! Let us never allow hatred to find a place in our societies," Ilie Bolojan also said. AGERPRES
Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu on Sunday announced the organization at the Government level of a crisis cell for the efficient coordination of the recovery activities of the four stolen treasure pieces.

According to him, this crisis cell includes representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Romanian Police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture.

"I have decided to organize a crisis cell at the Government level for the efficient coordination of activities related to the recovery of the four pieces of treasure stolen from the exhibition organized at the Drents Museum in Assen, the Netherlands. (...) In this regard, tomorrow I will order the sending of the prime minister's control body to the Ministry of Culture to verify all the legal documentation based on which this exhibition was organized in the Netherlands. Moreover, the minister of culture, Mrs. Natalia Intotero, will have meetings tomorrow with the royal family and the Dutch PM on the sidelines of the events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp in Poland, where she will convey the firm message of the Romanian Government that these invaluable pieces of heritage be recovered as quickly as possible," Ciolacu wrote on his Facebook page.

He also mentioned that he had discussed with the minister of the interior, Catalin Predoiu, to urgently send a team of forensic police officers to the Netherlands, to work alongside the Dutch authorities in the investigation carried out to recover the Romanian treasure.

"And I have requested that Romanian experts urgently travel to the Netherlands and ensure the rapid return of the other pieces of heritage that were the subject of this exhibition. It is a very serious situation, but this robbery, which must be resolved quickly, must not become fuel for the propagation of all kinds of conspiracy theories by those who want to obtain easy political capital. The treasure will return to Romania and all state authorities are working on this," the prime minister wrote.

The Prosecutor General's Office reported on Saturday that a criminal case had been started ex officio in the case of the theft of pieces from the Dacian treasure exhibited at the Drents Museum in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The gold helmet from Cotofenesti, dating from the 5th-4th centuries BC, as well as three Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia, dating from the second half of the 1st century BC, some of the most important artifacts in Romania's national heritage, were stolen following a "particularly serious incident," the Ministry of Culture announced.

According to information provided by the management of the Drents Museum and the Dutch authorities, the break-in was carried out by using an explosive on the only exterior wall of the building.

All the stolen pieces had been secured in accordance with Romanian legislation and international standards regarding the organization of exhibitions.
Global technology and automation company Emerson announced Monday that it will acquire the rest of AspenTech, a Massachusetts-based software provider.

Emerson already owns 57% of AspenTech and last fall disclosed its intention to buy all outstanding shares of common stock of AspenTech.

Emerson has agreed to buy the remaining stock for $265 per share. The transaction values the minority stake being acquired at $7.2 billion. It is expected to close in the first half of 2025 and AspenTech will then become a wholly owned subsidiary of Emerson.

Emerson initially proposed to acquire all outstanding shares of AspenTech common stock for $240 per share, or about $6.5 billion, back in November.

The move comes as the Fortune 500 company looks to transform from an old-school industrial company to a technology-forward firm focused on automation. Emerson invested in 55% of AspenTech in 2022 for $6 billion.

This transaction marks a key milestone in our portfolio transformation, and we are excited to fully integrate AspenTech into Emerson to advance our vision for software-defined control, Emerson president and CEO Lal Karsanbhai said in a statement.

Previously, Emerson said that combining with AspenTech would strengthen the companys combined automation software offering, save money and boost sales. Both AspenTechs and Emersons board of directors unanimously approved the acquisition.

Emerson has been an outstanding partner to AspenTech, and in this next chapter, we look forward to further differentiating our offering as we innovate to serve customers evolving industrial software needs, Antonio Pietri, AspenTech president and CEO, said in a statement. This agreement is a testament to the dedication of AspenTechs employees, who have executed on our partnership and transformed the business to position it for future success.

Emerson recently relocated its headquarters from Ferguson to Clayton.
ST. LOUIS  The citys downtown jail is severely understaffed, warehouses inmates with nothing to do and is taking in so many new detainees, it soon wont be able to house them all, a report released Monday alleges.

The 21-page report from Doug Burris, who oversaw improvement at the St. Louis County jail after a series of inmate deaths, lists 35 recommendations in total.

Some reveal just how little inmates have to do  the jail doesnt provide books or very many tablets  so detainees mostly just sit in their cells. Other findings hint at frequent troubles, like how often smoke detectors catch inmates lighting up contraband or starting fires using electrical outlets in their cells.

The city released the report Monday morning and, at the same time, announced Burris as the jails provisional leader, charged with fixing the very problems he uncovered.

The citys previous jail chief, Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah, left city employment last month.

Burris said he was looking forward to making changes with the help of community leaders and city officials.

I think we are on the verge of some great things, he said at a news conference Monday.

For years, the citys jail has been plagued with complaints about dismal health care, understaffing and a string of inmate deaths.

Activists and detainees family members said inmates are locked in their cells for as long as 23 hours at a time, only getting out for one hour a day. And attorneys have said they couldnt get access to their clients.

Burris, who had retired as federal probation chief in eastern Missouri, was contracted by the city in December to review operations, emergency responses, staff morale and population trends at the City Justice Center, which sits on South Tucker Boulevard across the street from City Hall.

His review is wide-ranging. It notes serious problems with the holding area of the jail after people are first arrested. The large rectangular cells leave inmates with no place to sleep or sit down, and many are housed there for days at a time wearing the clothes in which they were first arrested.

Inmates do not have access to books even though they are locked in their cells for hours a day. The jail also doesnt have enough tablets to go around, and phone calls to family members are expensive and difficult to access, too, the report says.

But the biggest concern is staffing, it says.

Since St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore took over from Kimberly M. Gardner in 2023, more people have been charged with violent crimes and are being held without bond.

Meanwhile, the number of corrections officers has fallen significantly.

Over a three-year period, Burris report says, corrections staff decreased by 32% while the inmate population rose by 40%.

Staff members reported having low morale, and many didnt want to train new officers because they were so swamped with their own duties. Many new employees quit within 180 days.

On top of that, inexperienced officers were overseeing the jails most violent, difficult detainees. And some corrections officers were allowed to converse with their own friends or family members who were locked up.

The makeup of the inmate population makes things difficult, too, the report says. A substantial number of detainees are prescribed mental health medications. The area of the jail devoted to drug detoxification is full. The state is also facing backlogs in transporting people to the Missouri mental hospital for evaluations and treatment.

The reports recommendations include:

Hiring an outside agency to recruit new corrections officers and conducting a pay study to determine whether raises are needed.

Exploring options to house detainees elsewhere if the population continues to grow.

Working to become accredited with the American Correctional Association, which recommends best practices for jails and prisons

Conducting a jail-wide safety assessment.

Working with the courts and prosecutors to reduce the amount of time cases are pending.

Partnering with outside agencies or looking for grants to improve mental health treatment and continuing that care when people leave the jail.

Of those recommendations, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones picked a list of more than a dozen immediate action items, including picking a recruitment firm, developing an agreement with the library and creating a plan for college classes and specialized veterans programs.

Burris must carry those out within his first 60 days on the job, she said.

We need our jail to continue to improve, Jones said at the news conference. I can think of no better person to take on this work than Doug Burris.
Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to increase the monthly salaries of military personnel serving in the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

The decree aims to strengthen the social protection of military personnel, with salaries rising by an average of ten percent.

The decree also instructs the Cabinet of Ministers to address matters arising from this decision, while the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance will take the necessary steps to implement it.

The decree took effect on January 1, 2025.
An American flag flies at half-staff over Ohio in 2021. The Army could better tailor suicide prevention initiatives by using machine learning tools to predict which soldiers are at higher risk for harming themselves, according to a new mental health study. (Juliet Louden/U.S. Air Force)

Machine learning tools could help the Army identify which soldiers are at higher risk of self-harm and use the knowledge to improve suicide prevention efforts in the service, a new study found.

Released this month by the Nature Mental Health journal, the study looked at Army records to determine whether an artificial intelligence model could be developed to better predict who would make a suicide attempt within six months of their annual health assessment.

Researchers algorithm found that 25% of soldiers determined to be at the highest predicted risk accounted for 69.5% of suicide attempts in the given time frame, the study said.

The Armys yearly Periodic Health Assessment, which screens for problems, was of little value on its own for predicting future suicide attempts based on its risk questions, according to researchers.

For example, 95% of suicide attempts occurred among soldiers who had denied being suicidal in their health assessment, the report said.

However, when the researchers plugged in thousands of other variables drawn from 54 Army and Defense Department data systems that house soldier records, machine learning proved effective at predicting suicide attempts, the study said.

The researchers drew their sample group from Army records between 2014 and 2019, looking at 452,473 active-duty soldiers and 2,096 recorded soldier suicide attempts.

This model could be used to identify soldiers who should be referred to behavioral health treatment, as well as to suggest which soldiers already in treatment need more intensive treatment, said the report, which was produced by more than a dozen researchers from an array of universities and institutes.

The findings come as the U.S. military as a whole grapples with suicide, a point of long-standing concern that was brought into the spotlight following the high-profile New Years Day suicide of an Army Special Forces member outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger, who authorities say shot himself moments before his rented Tesla truck burst into flames, was on leave from his unit in Stuttgart, Germany.

The Army said Livelsberger, who had an extensive history of combat deployments, had used a Special Operations Command program focused on holistic care related to service members individual physical and mental needs.

However, he did not display any concerning behaviors at the time his leave was approved, the Army said.

Researchers in the Nature Mental Health study said data show that soldiers rarely speak up about having suicidal thoughts.

The findings suggest that despite Pentagon attempts to increase awareness and boost mental health services, rank-and-file service members remain concerned about being stigmatized if they speak up about their problems.

The researchers said a limitation of their study was that it did not analyze how much the more intensive interventions based on the model might cost the Army.

However, such interventions could be effective and inexpensive relative to the value of preventing the negative outcome of mental health struggles in the ranks, the study said.
A Marine Air Defense Integrated System vehicle fires a Stinger missile at a target drone at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Jan. 25, 2025. (Jacqueline Parsons/U.S. Marine Corps)

POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA, Hawaii  Marines used their new hunter-killer system to blast dozens of target drones out of the sky Saturday over a training ground on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The live-fire demonstration marked the first time Marines went solo on the Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or MADIS, said Lt. Col. Matthew Sladek, commander of the 3rd Littoral Anti-Air Battalion, said Saturday.

Battalion Marines directed a frenzy of live fire from the system, which incorporates a Stinger missile, 30 mm cannon and 7.62 mm machine gun, at about 30 drones over the Pohakuloa Training Area.

It was the first opportunity for a Marine-led exercise of the system the regiment fielded last year, Sladek said at the training area.

Before, during all the testing and stuff, youd always have a contractor over the shoulder, and they were really the ones kind of maestroing it, he said. This is Marine-led, Marine-executed, and its really building confidence in the weapon system.

This is really the culmination of 10-plus years of development, he said.

Frankenstein system

MADIS is carried by a pair of light tactical vehicles, each loaded with bundles of weaponry, electronic sensors and communications equipment. The eight-member crew can zero in on any drone with a long-focus lens to determine whether it is a threat.

Think of this as a Frankenstein of different technologies, 1st Lt. Ian Menk, the battalions air defense battery executive officer, told reporters Saturday.

The system is intended to counter the smallest drone threats with a suite of countermeasures that include electronic jamming, an M240C machine gun, a 30 mm cannon like those found on the Armys Apache helicopters and Stinger missiles.

The battalion is fielding 13 MADIS, or 26 vehicles.

MADIS is part and parcel of the formation now, and headed this spring to the Philippines for joint exercises, said Col. John Lehane, commander of the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment.

Were gonna bring it and see how it behaves in high humidity, he said.

The landscape at Pohakuloa Training Area is otherworldly, covered with a jagged rug of dried lava and spotted with scrub brush and hundreds of roaming feral goats. At an altitude of roughly 8,000 feet, the range can be chilly, hot, parched or soaked in cloud fog, often all in the same day.

Col. John Lehane, commander of the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, left, and Lt. Col. Matthew Sladek, commander of the 3rd Littoral Anti-Air Battalion, chat near the Marine Air Defense Integrated System during live-fire training at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Jan. 25, 2025. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes) A small fleet of target drones awaits launching and ultimate destruction by the Marine Air Defense Integrated System, positioned atop the knoll in the background, during live-fire training at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Jan. 25, 2025. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes) Marines stand atop one of a pair of vehicles that carry a Marine Air Defense Integrated System during live-fire training at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Jan. 25, 2025. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes) Technicians from the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, Calif., launch a target drone at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Jan. 25, 2025. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes) Shattered bits of drone fall to the ground after a Stinger missile fired from the Marine Air Defense Integrated System obliterated it during live-fire training at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Jan. 25, 2025. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes)

Obliterating a drone

During the live fire, a pair of MADIS vehicles perched on a high knoll overlooking a vast lava bed.

About a half-mile away, technicians from the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, Calif., launched a mix of rotary- and fixed-wing drones. Once airborne, a computer program moved the unmanned aircraft through a preset course.

The only Stinger fired in the drill obliterated a polystyrene drone into a puff of smoke.

MADIS is part of the Marine Corps Force Design overhaul that aims to sculpt a leaner, more agile force equipped for expeditionary warfare.

But the need for the system became apparent during the Obama administration as U.S. forces engaged with the Islamic State in Iraq.

ISIS insurgents combined off-the-shelf drones with mortars or RPGs to take out an $80 million tank  for an investment of about $1,000, Lehane said.

Makeshift drone weapons have reached an apex during Ukraines defense against Russian invasion.

With MADIS, the Marine Corps will be able to provide a more layered and integrated air defense umbrella that can detect, track, identify, and defeat aerial threats in order to protect the long-range precision fires dispersed throughout the Pacific, the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, a nonpartisan organization, said on its website.

A lot of time has gone into MADIS, Menk said.

Its importance is only growing with the events were seeing in Ukraine, insurgents like the Houthis [in Yemen], as well as the growing threat in the Indo-Pacific, he said.
A construction vessel floats on Oura Bay at the site of a future U.S. Marine Corps airfield for Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Jan. 23, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)

A construction vessel spilled oil at the site of a future Marine Corps airfield in northern Okinawa over the weekend, the second such incident in 10 days.

The spill occurred just more than a mile north-northeast of Cape Henoko in Nago city at 11:50 a.m. Saturday, according to a Japan coast guard news release that day. No injuries or environmental damage were reported.

The airfield is under construction at the Marine Corps Camp Schwab on land reclaimed from Oura Bay to replace Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in densely populated Ginowan city. The U.S. and Japanese governments agreed to move the base in 1996. The Okinawa prefectural government took to the courts to delay construction until recently.

A contractor at the airfield site reported at 12:19 p.m. that hydraulic oil spilled from a crane on a 2.3-ton dredging vessel operating off the coast, according to the coast guard.

The coast guard confirmed oil seepage on the waters surface, and contractors installed an oil fence and an oil absorption mat to recover the oil. No additional oil was found leaking out of the oil fence by 2:45 p.m., according to the release.

The vessel was using its crane to install equipment on another small vessel at the time of the spill. The cause is under investigation, according to the release.

On Jan. 15, hydraulic oil spilled from a drill on a different vessel that was boring into the seabed. No environmental damage or injuries were reported, and the spill was contained the same day, the coast guard said.

Contractors hired by the Okinawa Defense Bureau, an arm of Japans Ministry of Defense, began ground improvement work in Oura Bay on Dec. 28.

The work involves solidifying the soft seabed to ensure stability for the airfield by laying sand at the required locations on the seabed and driving sand piles, the bureau said in a Dec. 27 news release.

In July, contractors drove test piles into the seabed to prepare the site for steel pipes that will support the seawall.

The construction zone is divided into two main sections: 279 acres on Schwabs north side and 91 acres in the south, according to Okinawa Prefectures website.

Work on the Oura Bay side, or north side, had been on hold since April 21, 2020, when Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, citing safety and environmental concerns, refused to approve design changes meant to solidify the seabed.

Last week, the Japan Supreme Court rejected an appeal in a lawsuit filed by Okinawa prefecture in September 2022 seeking to block changes to construction permits required by Japans Ministry of Defense to finish the project.

The dismissal ended a series of 14 construction-related lawsuits filed by both sides since Nov. 17, 2015.
An Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon with the 77th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron takes off at Kadena Air Base, Japan, on Jan. 13, 2025. (Catherine Daniel/U.S. Army)

Air Force wings in Japan and South Korea dispersed aircraft and airmen during weeklong rehearsals this month for flying and fighting on the move.

Airmen from the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, executed their first agile combat employment drill during Exercise Beverly Pack 25-1, Jan. 12-16 at Gwangju Air Base.

On Okinawa, the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base conducted a similar rapid response exercise, Beverly High 25-1, Jan. 8-15. A fighter squadron deployed to a mainland base to test its ability to fly and fight under less-than-ideal conditions, part of the Air Forces agile combat employment doctrine, or ACE.

The doctrine is designed to frustrate enemy targeting and create operational dilemmas by scattering assets to distant airfields, among other tactics.

The 8th Fighter Wing deployed airmen to a simulated forward operating base at Gwangju, according to a wing news release. The exercise demonstrated units ability to disperse swiftly in response to potential threats.

We are exercising our dispersal capabilities by taking a small detachment from our main operating base and moving them here for a short period of time to execute contingency [operations], 1st Lt. Charles Burns, the ACE detachment director of operations, said in the release.

During the exercise, the 8th Maintenance Group conducted the wings first integrated combat turn, which involved rearming an F-16 Fighting Falcon with an air-to-surface standoff missile while the jets engines were running.

The maneuver allows a quick turnaround during combat operations, putting aircraft back into the flight, wing spokesman Capt. Alvin Nelson told Stars and Stripes by email Friday.

Beverly Pack put airmen into mock combat under austere conditions, according to the release. Nelson said the Gwangju challenges were created by design.

Airmen operated with a leaner footprint, less equipment and personnel to generate airpower while responding to simulated threats, he said.

Senior Airman Austin Payton, left, and Staff Sgt. William Rios-Cruz, unstrap cargo from a vehicle during Beverly Pack 25-1 at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, Jan. 12, 2025. (Maria Umanzor Guzman/U.S. Air Force)

This has led us into a larger package of mission generation capability  we are able to fix aircraft more in depth based off the things and people we brought with us here, Senior Master Sgt. Shelley Schofield, the detachments senior enlisted leader, said in the release.

At Kadena, the 77th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron deployed F-16C Fighting Falcons to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Japan, to simulate generating combat airpower from a dispersed location, according to a Jan. 16 news release from the 18th Wing.

The wing enhanced its warfighting capabilities, improved its ability to flex and adapt to changing situations, and strengthened its overall operational readiness by practicing agile combat employment concepts, wing spokesman Maj. Alli Stormer told Stars and Stripes by email Monday.

This type of exercise reinforces the wings readiness to respond effectively to any contingency or operational demand, she said.

Participating in this ACE deployment to MCAS Futenma provided us an opportunity to test our communications equipment and hone our ability to generate aircraft alongside our USMC partners, Air Force Lt. Col. Steven McCord, the 77th squadrons director of operations, said in the release.

Each time we exercise ACE, were able to move faster and leaner than before, providing us with the tactics we need to succeed, he said.
The Tuskegee Airmen, known as the Red Tails were Americas first Black military flyers. They took to the skies in P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang and other fighter aircraft to escort bombers on dangerous missions over Germany in World War II. (U.S. Air Force)

The Air Force is restoring videos of the Tuskegee Airmen and Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, to its basic training curriculum, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Sunday.

Courses featuring videos about the pioneering Black combat pilots and female flyers who ferried warplanes during World War II were removed last week, according to the Air Force, to comply with the President Donald Trump administrations crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The move prompted Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., to post Sunday on social platform X, tagging Hegseth, that she expected he would correct malicious compliance seen in recent days.

As the Pentagon under @PeteHegseths leadership restores its focus to lethality, there is no greater historical example of a highly skilled, valiant fighting force than the Tuskegee Airmen, Britt wrote. These role models will continue to inspire the next generation of courageous, selfless American servicemembers.

The post drew a quick response from Hegseth, who replied Amen! Were all over it Senator. This will not stand.

Within hours he announced, again on X, that the decision to remove the videos had been immediately reversed.

The Tuskegee Airmen, known as the Red Tails during World War II, were Americas first Black military flyers. They took to the skies in P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang and other fighter aircraft to escort bombers on dangerous missions over Germany. The all-Black 332nd Fighter Group had one of the lowest loss records of all the bomber escorts in the war.

President George W. Bush awarded the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007.

Though Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, played an important role during World War II, they were not recognized as military pilots until 1977, after Congress distinguished them as WWII veterans. (U.S. Air Force)

The WASPs ferried new bombers from the assembly lines to airfields where they were shipped off to war, freeing up male pilots for combat missions. They earned the right to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery just in the last decade.

The documented historic legacy and decorated valor with which these units and Airmen fought for our nation in World War II and beyond will continue on 27 January, Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, head of the Air Education and Training Command, said in a statement to the San Antonio Express-News that day. The command is based at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.

Their personal examples of service, sacrifice and combat effectiveness are illustrative of the core values, character and warrior ethos necessary to be an Airman and Guardian, he said in the statement.

No curriculum or content highlighting the honor and valor of the Tuskegee Airmen or WASPs had been removed, Robinsons statement said. Rather, a lesson block that included the Tuskegee Airmen and WASP videos went into revision to get rid of DEI material last week, and some recruits did not receive the instruction or see the videos.

No Airmen or Guardians will miss this block of instruction due to the revision, the statement said.

Trump celebrated the Tuskegee Airmen during his first term, promoting legendary aviator Charles McGee to brigadier general and pinning his stars in the Oval Office, Britt posted.

In 2020, during his State of the Union address, Trump announced he had promoted McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen. McGee died in 2022 at age 102.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. The preparatory session on the trial of Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian citizen accused under articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan of torture, mercenarism, violation of laws and customs of war, terrorism, financing of terrorism, and other articles, was continued today, Trend reports.

Vardanyan petitioned to allow him another 30 days to review the case, but the petition was rejected.

Although during the preliminary investigation, Vardanyan was provided enough time to familiarize himself with the materials of the criminal case in the language he knows and to prepare for his own defense, the court decided to satisfy the motion taking into account the defendant's request and gave him an additional 10 days to review the materials of the case.

To note, Ruben Vardanyan is charged under the following articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan: 100 (planning, preparation, unleashing or waging a war of aggression), 107 (deportation or forced resettlement of population), 109 (persecution), 112 (deprivation of liberty in violation of international law ), 113 (use of torture), 114 (mercenarism), 115 (violation of laws and customs of war), 116 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflicts), 214 (terrorism), 214-1 (financing of terrorism), 218 (organization of criminal association (criminal organization), 228 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of firearms, firearms components, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices), 270-1 (acts endangering aviation safety), 278 (forcible seizure of power or forcible retention of power or forcible change in the constitutional order of the State), 279 (establishment of armed formations or groups not provided for by law) and other acts punishable under other articles of the Criminal Code.
Robert Storch, left, then the inspector general for the Defense Department, speaks with Capt. Richard Gilliard at the hospital at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, in April 2024. (Daniel Taylor/U.S. Navy)

WASHINGTON  Robert Storch, the inspector general at the Defense Department, was among more than a dozen IGs at federal agencies fired by President Donald Trump

Its a very common thing to do, Trump claimed Saturday night to reporters on Air Force One traveling to Florida  his first comments after a decision that caused alarm among government watchdogs and members of Congress.

I dont know them, he said, though many of those he fired late Friday night were people who he appointed during his first term. But some people thought that some were unfair, or some were not doing their job. Its a very standard thing to do.

Other inspector generals terminated include the departments of agriculture, education, labor, transportation and state. The move did not affect the inspectors general for the Justice Department or the Department of Homeland Security, NBC News reported.

An inspector general conducts investigations and audits into any potential malfeasance, fraud, waste or abuse by a government agency or its personnel and issues reports and recommendations on its findings. An inspector generals office is intended to operate independently.

The firings could clear the way for Trump to install loyalists in the role of identifying fraud, waste and abuse in the government.

In 2020, he replaced multiple key inspectors general, including those leading the Defense Department and intelligence community, as well as the inspector general tapped to lead a special oversight board for the $2.2 trillion economic relief package on the coronavirus pandemic, the Associated Press reported.

Storchs tenure as the Pentagon inspector general began in December 2022. For the past year, Storch investigated former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austins handling of his undisclosed hospitalization. Other matters that the departments internal watchdog investigated include how effectively the military facilitated the delivery of food aid into Gaza, the Navys oversight of the Red Hill fuel facility in Hawaii and weapons systems sent to Ukraine could be rendered useless on the battlefield because the Pentagon lacks a plan for Ukrainian troops to maintain them.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. A preparatory session of the trial against Ruben Vardanyan, a citizen of Armenia accused of torture, mercenary, violating the laws or customs of war, terrorism, financing terrorism and other articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, continued on Monday, Trend reports.

During the preparatory session held at the Baku Military Court in the Baku Court Complex, chaired by Judge Zeynal Aghayev and consisting of Jamal Ramazanov and Anar Rzayev, the accused were provided with Russian language interpreters and defense lawyers.

The preparatory session was attended by some of the victims, their legal heirs, and their defense attorneys.

The court session reviewed the motions submitted by Ruben Vardanyan and his lawyer.

While presenting his motions, the accused noted that he was unable to familiarize himself with the criminal case materials in detail and asked the court to grant him an additional 30 working days to prepare his defense effectively.

I want to be ready to defend myself from a legal perspective, Ruben Vardanyan added.

Ruben Vardanyans lawyer Avraam Berman requested from the court to grant additional time to review the case materials, as well as access to legal literature for the accused to organize his defense effectively.

Then, the prosecution expressed his views on to the motions.

The prosecutor representing the state prosecution, proceeding from the principle of procedural convenience, reminded that the accused had been given plenty of time to review the case materials to date, adding that an additional 10 days also granted to him to review the investigation materials based on the defendants motion in the previous trial. The prosecutor expressed his objection to the unnecessary extension of the courts preparatory session.

Then, another prosecutor representing the state prosecution made a statement, emphasizing that the accused persons right to defense was not violated during the preliminary investigation, the indictment was drawn up in accordance with the requirements of the criminal procedural legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the requirements of the jurisdiction were respected.

Thus, the prosecutor proposed that the accused be brought to trial on the charges he is accused of and a trial be scheduled, as well as that the detention measures chosen for the accused be maintained unchanged.

Ruben Vardanyan's lawyer expressed his objections to the criminal case being considered at this stage, requesting that the preparatory session be postponed to allow additional time.

Then the court went into deliberation to review the motions. Following the deliberations, the court announced its decision.

By the court decision, Ruben Vardanyan's motion to grant additional time for familiarizing himself with the criminal case and other motions were not granted.

The judge mentioned that following the conclusion of the preliminary investigation, the accused was granted time to familiarize himself with the criminal case materials, and then at the initial stage of the preparatory session, the court granted the accused additional time to familiarize himself with the case materials in detail. As the court found those terms sufficient, it did not grant the motion. The court also kept the decision on the detention measures for the accused unchanged.

The criminal case was submitted to the court for consideration, and the next court session was scheduled for February 6.

Ruben Vardanyan faces charges under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including Articles 100 (planning and waging aggressive war), 107 (deportation or forcible displacement of populations), 109 (persecution), 112 (arbitrary detention in violation of international law), 113 (torture), 114 (mercenarism), 115 (violation of laws and customs of war), 116 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflict), 214 (terrorism), 214-1 (financing terrorism), 218 (creation of a criminal organization), 228 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, and possession of weapons, their components, ammunition, explosives, and devices), 270-1 (actions threatening aviation security), 278 (forcible seizure and retention of power, forcible change of the constitutional structure of the state), 279 (creation of illegal armed formations and groups), 318 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan), and other articles provided for by the legislation.

Then, an open preparatory court session on the criminal case concerning the crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, including waging an aggressive war, genocide, forced displacement of the population, persecution, torture, military robbery, and other unlawful acts committed against the Republic of Azerbaijan and its people by the Armenian state and its Armed Forces, as well as the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" established in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its illegal armed groups, proceeded.

During the preparatory session held at the Baku Military Court in the Baku Court Complex, chaired by Judge Zeynal Aghayev and consisting of Jamal Ramazanov and Anar Rzayev, the accused were provided with Armenian language interpreters and defense lawyers.

Some of the more than 531,000 individuals recognized as victims, as well as their representatives, participated in the process.

First, the lawyers of the accused - Bako Sahakyan, Erik Ghazaryan, Arayik Harutyunyan, Melikset Pashayan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, Vasily Beglaryan, and Davit Allahverdiyan - made their statements and submitted new motions.

According to the defense attorneys, some of the charges did not apply to the accused. The defense party asked the court to terminate the criminal prosecution in those parts on acquittal grounds.

The accused defended their lawyers' motions.

Harutyunyan's lawyer filed a motion and submitted a document to the court for inclusion in the list of evidence.

The prosecution did not object to the inclusion of the document in the list of evidence. However, the prosecution stated that the authenticity of the document would be verified during the course of the court investigation.

Prosecutors representing the state prosecution requested that the motions for partial termination of criminal prosecution against the accused not be granted.

During the proceedings, victims' representatives also made statements and agreed with the prosecution's stance.

Rufat Mammadov, Head of the Cabinet of Ministers' Office, who participated in the process as a victim on behalf of the Azerbaijani state, made a statement and requested that the motions not be granted.

In his statement, the prosecutor underlined that the requirements of the jurisdiction in the criminal case were respected, that no errors were made in the preparation of procedural documents, that the rights of the accused were ensured, that there were no grounds for changing the detention measures chosen against them, and proposed to schedule a court hearing.

The court went into deliberations to review the motions.

Following the deliberations, the court announced its decision on the motions filed by the defense in the previous trial and in the current session.

According to the decision, the defense did not grant the motions regarding the release of some of the accused to house arrest and the partial termination of the criminal case in some episodes.

The document submitted by Arayik Harutyunyan was included in the case materials.

Additionally, by the court's decision, the criminal case was submitted to the court for consideration, and the detention measures of the accused was maintained unchanged.

The court hearing was scheduled for February 6.

15 persons accused in the crimes committed by Armenian state and its Armed Forces, as well as the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" established in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its illegal armed groups - Harutyunyan Arayik Vladimiri, Ghukasyan Arkadi Arshaviri, Sahakyan Bako Sahaki, Ishkhanyan Davit Rubeni, Manukyan Davit Azati, Babayan Davit Klimi, Mnatsakanyan Levon Henrikovich, Beglaryan Vasili Ivani, Ghazaryan Erik Roberti, Allahverdyan Davit Nelsoni, Stepanyan Gurgen Homerosi, Balayan Levon Romiki, Babayan Madat Arakelovich, Martirosyan Garik Grigori, and Pashayan Melikset Vladimiri have been charged as accused persons under the following articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan: Article 100 (planning, preparing, initiating, or waging an aggressive war), Article 102 (attacks on internationally protected persons or organizations), Article 103 (genocide), Article 105 (extermination of population), Article 106 (slavery), Article 107 (deportation or forcible transfer of population), Article 109 (persecution), Article 110 (enforced disappearance of persons through violence), Article 112 (unlawful deprivation of liberty in violation of international law), Article 113 (torture), Article 114 (mercenarism), Article 115 (violation of the laws and customs of war), Article 116 (violation of international humanitarian law norms during armed conflict), Article 118 (war looting), Article 120 (premeditated murder), Article 192 (illegal entrepreneurship), Article 214 (terrorism), Article 214-1 (financing of terrorism), Article 218 (establishment of a criminal organization), Article 228 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or carrying of firearms, their components, ammunition, explosive substances, and devices), Article 270-1 (acts threatening aviation security), Article 277 (attempt on the life of a state or public figure), Article 278 (forceful seizure of power and its forcible retention, forceful alteration of the state's constitutional order), Article 279 (creation of armed groups and units not provided for by law) and other articles.
Eugenie Houston BL initiated a case last week

A barrister found to have taken frivolous and vexatious lawsuits against a High Court judge and other lawyers has again sued other members of the judiciary.

Eugenie Houston BL initiated a case last week naming seven High Court and Court of Appeal judges, several lawyers and a county registrar as defendants.

The judges include Mr Justice Liam Kennedy, who is due to hear applications in a long-running dispute between the barrister and Wendy Doyle, a solicitor who has secured orders for the possession and sale of Ms Houstons home.

These include an application for an injunction restraining Ms Houston from the property in Naas, Co Kildare, which the barrister reoccupied after bailiffs took possession of it last year.

Ms Doyle is also seeking an Isaac Wunder order against Ms Houston, which is an order restricting a vexatious litigant from instituting further proceedings without first getting court permission.

Ms Houston is seeking an injunction restraining the sale of the property.

Eugenie Houston

When the various matters were mentioned before Mr Justice Kennedy yesterday, Ms Houston told the judge she was suing him for defamation and misfeasance and asked him to recuse himself.

Ms Houston claimed the judge called me a criminal, without cause at a previous hearing.

Tom Murphy BL, counsel for Ms Doyle, urged the judge not to recuse himself and said the application was an abuse of process.

Anybody who had knowledge of the salient facts would understand that Ms Houston has issued proceedings as of last week as a contrivance to prevent you from presiding over these proceedings, Mr Murphy said.

He said an objective person would not have any concerns about the judges integrity or capacity to oversee the proceedings in a proper and fair manner.

Mr Justice Kennedy said he would reflect on the recusal application overnight and rule on it today.

He said that, in making the application, Ms Houston had made a huge number of allegations against solicitors, Ms Doyle, and a postal worker.

The High Court

The judge said that while doing so, Ms Houston was looking at a journalist who was present in the courtroom rather than up at the bench and that he was therefore concerned the claims were made with the intention of generating media publicity.

He said Ms Houston had ample opportunity to put the allegations on affidavit, but had not done so. She has no judicial findings to support her in respect of those allegations, he said.

Last November, another judge, Mr Justice Michael Quinn, recused himself from determining an application for Ms Houstons imprisonment for alleged contempt of court after learning he was a co-defendant, along with 22 other judges, in a lawsuit filed by her in 2023.

The dispute between Ms Houston and Ms Doyle stretches back to 2014 when the barrister sued the solicitor for defamation. The case was settled and an order was made on consent that Ms Houston would pay Ms Doyles costs, but these were not paid.

Ms Houston filed further sets of unsuccessful proceedings, resulting in further costs orders against her and judgment mortgages on her home.

One of these cases was dismissed as frivolous and vexatious by Mr Justice Kennedy last year. The same judge also dismissed as frivolous and vexatious a defamation case filed by Ms Houston against another High Court judge, Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds.
No injuries were reported, but the playground was wrecked

Dublin Fire Brigade tackled the blaze at the Weaver Park playground

A then 13-year-old boy has been accused of an arson that caused 35,000 worth of damage to a children's playground in Dublin.

The blaze broke out at Weaver Park, off Cork Street, in the south inner city shortly before 6.30 pm on October 9, 2022.

No injuries were reported, but the playground was wrecked.

The schoolboy, now aged 15, appeared at the Dublin Children's Court on Thursday and was accused of criminal damage to the playground structure.

Garda Christine Kelly said the boy made no reply when charged. The DPP recommended the case remain in the Children's Court rather than proceeding to the Circuit Court, which has tougher sentencing powers.

Dublin Fire Brigade tackled the blaze at the Weaver Park playground

Shocking video shows playground on fire in Dublin

Judge Paul Kelly noted the value of damage allegedly caused and the boy's age at the time.

The teen has yet to indicate a plea.

Defence counsel Doireann McDonagh asked for gardai to provide a timeline of the investigation and case preparation.

She said the boy had never been in trouble since the alleged incident, and the judge acceded to her request.

The teen, accompanied to court by a family member, was remanded on bail to appear again in February.

Judge Kelly agreed to the garda's request to impose bail conditions. The boy has been warned to stay away from the area of the incident, remain contactable 24/7, have no contact with another male and not be in possession of a lighter or matches.

Asked by the judge if he understood the terms and what would happen if he broke them, the boy answered "Yes" and "I could be locked up."

Legal aid was granted to the boy, who cannot be identified because he is a minor.
Marius Vaduva (38) and Andrea Budeanu (36), both of 189 Emmet Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8, were brought before a sitting of Mullingar District Court following a shoplifting incident

Marius Vaduva and Andrea Budeanu were both barred from entering Longford and Leixlip as part of their bail conditions.

Andrea Budeanu said: "Yes, I'm sorry" after caution when gardai charged her with stealing close to 2,700 of perfume from a Longford based pharmacy.

Marius Vaduva told gardai he intended returning to Romania after carrying out the Longford shoplifting raid, a court has heard.

A couple have been banned from a midlands town after walking into a pharmacy last week to steal over 2,500 worth of perfume.

Marius Vaduva (38) and Andrea Budeanu (36), both of 189 Emmet Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8, were brought before a sitting of Mullingar District Court following a shoplifting incident at Wards Pharmacy, Ballymahon Street, Longford on January 14.

The pair were both charged with stealing 17 bottles of perfume, totalling 2,688 and of targeting a second outlet at Griffins Pharmacy, Oaklawn, Leixlip, Kildare on November 27 last year.

Marius Vaduva told gardai he intended returning to Romania after carrying out the Longford shoplifting raid, a court has heard.

On that occasion, Vaduva was accused of stealing two bottles of Jean Paul Gautier fragrance valued at 202 with his co-accused charged with making off with a 72 bottle of La Vie Est Belle.

The pair did not enter a plea in relation to the latter alleged incident, but did admit to carrying out the Longford raid.

Garda Glenn Horan gave evidence of having arrested the pair and later charging them both at Longford Garda Station during the early hours of this morning.

He said when the latter charge was put to Budeanu, the 36-year-old replied: Yes, Im sorry, after caution, but made no reply to the Leixlip charge.

Andrea Budeanu said: "Yes, I'm sorry" after caution when gardai charged her with stealing close to 2,700 of perfume from a Longford based pharmacy.

Vaduva, meanwhile, made no reply after caution to both charges with the duo being handed a true copy of both charge sheets.

When the Longford charges were put to the pair, Vaduva replied: Guilty and I apologise through a Romanian interpreter with Budeanu replying through an interpreter: Guilty.

Garda Horan said there was no State objection to bail on the proviso a series of conditions were complied with.

They included orders for both Vaduva and Budeanu to reside at their home address, to sign on each Wednesday at Kilmainham Garda Station, to provide a mobile number and remain contactable at all times and to stay out of both Longford and Leixlip.

Garda Horan also requested the pair tender 500 each as a cash lodgement for the Longford incident, revealing that the pair had come to court with 2,500 in cash.

He also applied for the duo to surrender their Romanian travel documentation, a submission he said was based on Vaduva revealing to gardai of his plans to fly back to Romania.

Marius Vaduva and Andrea Budeanu were both barred from entering Longford and Leixlip as part of their bail conditions.

Having accepted jurisdiction on the charges, Judge Owens was told by defence counsel Andrea Callan said there was no issue with either of her clients complying with their respective 500 cash lodgements, adding those monies could be offered up to the state in compensation.

Ms Callan went on to explain both Vaduva and Budeanu were also willing to hand in 1,000 by way of further compensation with the remaining 688 that remained outstanding to be paid when the Longford matter next returns before the courts.

Vaduva and Budeanu were remanded on bail to appear back before a sitting of Longford District Court on February 4 with a date of February 5 being made for when the duo are expected to appear before Blanchardstown District Court for DPP directions.
Construction magnate Maurice Regan bought the farm for 1.35m in a receivership sale after Pat Heffernan defaulted on debts

A permanent injunction has been granted restraining a farmer from entering on to or trespassing on lands that were in his family for decades.

The injunction comes after a court heard he engaged in a campaign of intimidation and harassment against its new owner and staff working there.

Construction magnate Maurice Regan bought the 203-acre Golden Vale farm for 1.35m in a receivership sale in 2022 after its former owner, Pat Heffernan, defaulted on debts linked to an unsuccessful German property venture.

But Mr Heffernan (61) disputed the validity of the appointment of receivers and their sale of the property near Fethard, Co Tipperary, claiming he knew of no evidence of a debt that would have allowed the farm to be sold.

He subsequently resisted requests and an interlocutory injunction requiring him to stay off the land, and has continued to maintain cattle and horses there.

Since the sale he has erected no trespassing signs on the property, twice been convicted of criminal damage after cutting locks and chains, and once been convicted of stealing CCTV cameras. He also spent 87 days in prison after refusing to take up bail while awaiting trial as bail was conditional on him staying away from the farm.

At a hearing yesterday in Clonmel Circuit Court, Judge James ODonohoe granted various orders sought by Mr Regan, the founder of New York-headquartered building firm JT Magen and owner of Newtown Anner stud in Co Tipperary.

The judge also dismissed a defence and counterclaim filed by Mr Heffernan and affirmed Mr Regan as the registered owner of the farm.

Mr Heffernan did not show up in court for the hearing.

Mr Regans counsel David Kennedy SC, appearing instructed by solicitors Addleshaw Goddard, said Mr Heffernan had known about the hearing as he was present at a callover of court dates and had also been written to twice about it in December. The barrister said he understood gardai had a warrant for Mr Heffernans arrest.

However, after the ruling, Mr Heffernan said he had not been notified of the hearing and knew nothing about any warrant for his arrest.

He claimed the judge had made the incorrect decision and said he would defy the injunction.

I have lawful excuse not to respect the orders, he said.

The farmer also disputed testimony given by Mr Regan (59), in which the businessman said Mr Heffernan had been engaged in a campaign of intimidation and harassment.

I am very concerned that if something doesnt happen he is going to kill someone or injure someone severely

Giving evidence in the witness box, Mr Regan said he had bought the farm for tillage when it came up for sale in an auction. He said he had a number of farms, as well as a manufacturing business and interests in the hospitality industry, and employed around 600 people in Ireland.

Under examination from Mr Kennedy, Mr Regan claimed Mr Heffernan had put peoples lives in danger.

He has driven up to their cars with a machine and loader and put it over their cars, he said.

The businessman alleged Mr Heffernan had been involved in theft and damage at the farm, had put cattle into fields of crops, destroying the crops, and that associates of his had worn masks and carried machetes to intimidate people working there.

He had a bunch of very aggressive people around, Mr Regan said.

He said security was required on the farm at night, with security guards working in twos for their own safety.

Maurice Regan

I am very concerned that if something doesnt happen he is going to kill someone or injure someone severely. He needs to stop, Mr Regan added.

These claims were denied by Mr Heffernan after the hearing.

Mr Kennedy told the court that banks had foreclosed on Mr Heffernan after he got into financial difficulty speculating on property in Germany. Mr Regan agreed this was the case, adding: And he got the neighbours to invest as well. He took everybody with him.

The debts included 600,000 owed to Everyday Finance. The sum was a guarantee given by Mr Heffernan in 2008 in connection with an AIB loan facility of 668,000 for a German company.

Among the orders made by the judge was one restraining Mr Heffernan or his servants or agents from harassing, intimidating or otherwise besetting Mr Regan, his employees and contractors.

The judge also made an order allowing Mr Regan to remove cattle and horses from the land to a secure place where Mr Heffernan can collect them. The court heard there were seven or eight cattle and two horses on the land at present.

Courts have previously heard the farm was bought by Mr Regan without vacant possession and that Mr Heffernan disputed the businessmans entitlement to possession of the lands.

Judge ODonohoe dismissed this defence and said the orders he had made were to be brought to the attention of gardai.

Mr Regan is currently awaiting the outcome of a legal dispute over Barne Estate, a 751-acre farm and mansion near Clonmel, that he has agreed to buy for 22.5m.

Its owners are being sued by bloodstock billionaire John Magnier, who claims he had an earlier deal to buy it for 15m. Mr Magnier is being counter-sued by the owners for slander of title.
He had an address which was a Council property in Dublin and the Council has said that he cant stay in it.

An Ennis teenager charged in connection with a broad daylight machete attack cannot currently take up High Court bail as a Dublin local authority has said that he cant stay at a Council owned property, a court has heard.

In the case, Trevor Quinn (18) has been on remand at Limerick prison since November 21st after being charged in connection with an alleged random broad daylight machete attack on Shane Tuohy on Enniss Mill Rd at 3.30 pm on November 20th.

Mr Quinn was refused bail in the district court but obtained consent to bail in the High Court on condition that he remain out of Co Clare.

Mr Quinn of Hermitage, Ennis was waiting to take up bail once gardai approved an address in west Dublin he was due to stay at.

However, Mr Quinns solicitor, Daragh Hassett has told Ennis District Court that his client remains in custody at Limerick prison with consent to bail as there remains an issue of nailing down an address.

Mr Hassett said: He had an address which was a council property in Dublin and the council has said that he cant stay in it.

Mr Quinn was brought to court in the belief that he was facing an additional charge.

However, Sgt Frank OGrady said that there was no new charge.

Trevor Quinn at Ennis Court

Judge Alec Gabbett said that it was not fair on Mr Quinn to bring him to court if there is no new charge other than some fresh air which cant do him any harm.

Mr Hassett said that there was an expectation that there would be a new charge "and it hasnt happened.

Sgt OGrady said that his instructions are that the file in the case is with the DPP.

Sgt OGrady said that his own court note is that Mr Quinns court attendance would be excused if there is no new charge.

Sgt OGrady said that he would wait for the DPPs directions concerning the possibility of an additional charge.

Judge Gabbett said that Mr Quinn is 18 and a very young man to be on remand and he would mark the case time passing.

Addressing Mr Quinn, Judge Gabbett said: Are you okay Trevor? Have you got everything you need?"

Mr Quinn replied: Thanks judge. I spoke to a woman in prison about a psychological evaluation.

Judge Gabbett said: Great. That is very positive. You might get something out of that. Excellent.

In the case, Mr Quinn is facing four separate charges and they are the assault causing harm of Shane Tuohy, a charge of violent disorder on Enniss Mill Rd and charges concerning the use of a machete and the possession of a carpet knife.

In court in November, Judge Gabbett refused bail to Mr Quinn after viewing photos of the alleged machete injuries to Mr Tuohys neck and ear.

Judge Gabbett said that Mr Tuohy was 3mm from death.

Judge Gabbett said that Mr Tuohys artery was visible from the neck wound in the photos provided by gardai.

During the contested bail hearing, Judge Gabbett said that this young mans ear was nearly sliced off. It is but for the grace of God that this man is alive.

Looking at the photos, Judge Gabbett said: "Death was not far off. One more millimetre and that artery was severed and you would have a minute at best. That is what really concerns me.

Judge Gabbett further remanded Mr Quinn in custody with consent to bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on February 5th.
He apologised for his crimes and said he was very remorseful  but is he sorry or hoping for a lighter sentence?

Imre Arakas in court as reported by Lithuanian news outlet, Delfi.lt

Hitman Imre Arakas has landed another 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to a murder and another attempted murder in court in Lithuania.

The Kinahan-linked killer for hire apologised for his crimes and said he was very remorseful.

But is he really sorry for his career as an assassin or was he hoping for a lighter sentence?

Nicola speaks to Clodagh Meaney about Arakas and a day in court in Kaunas.

MORE EPISODES
ISPCA inspector says conditions were among worst shes faced in her career

This is the animal abuser who now faces a probable jail term over the horrific neglect of 13 collies and German shepherds found living in rat-infested sheds.

Vasyl Fedoryn of Ballypierce, Charleville, Cork, is facing fines and jail terms of up to six months in prison on each of nine charges to which he pleaded guilty under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.

Locals this week told the Sunday World that prior to the discovery of the malnourished animals in April 2023, the dogs could be heard barking in the sheds at the side of Fedoryns home.

People were concerned and I assume someone rang the ISPCA, a local told this newspaper.

You hear dogs barking all the time and eventually you think to yourself something isnt right.

But nobody had any idea there were so many dogs and that they were in such distress. The pictures of the poor things would break your heart.

The pups couldnt even stand when found

At a sitting of Mallow District Court, on Monday last, Judge Colm Roberts heard evidence from ISPCA Animal Welfare Inspector Caroline Faherty, who responded to a complaint from a concerned member of the public on April 21, 2023.

Inspector Faherty told the court how she discovered 13 collies and German shepherds, 12 of which were puppies, on Mr Fedoryns property living in filthy, rat-infested sheds with no access to water.

They had no bedding, and their coats were matted with faeces, an emotional Inspector Faherty said, adding that she had to break padlocks to enter one of the sheds.

She said the horrific conditions were some of the worst she had faced in her career and would stay with her forever.

An immediate decision was made to seize all the dogs, and the full extent of the conditions became clear as they were being removed.

Inspector Faherty told the court how the smell was so putrid that she repeatedly retched and had to leave the sheds for air.

She recalled how she had to change into rubber boots and oilskins to enter the sheds as there was faeces and sewage everywhere.

Three German Shepherd pups were unable to walk properly as they were malnourished and confined.

They had no muscle mass in their legs and were walking on their back knees.

Vasyl Fedoryn

Inspector Faherty described some of the collies as feral and extremely nervous, which made it very difficult to get near them.

Fresh drinking water was provided for a lactating German shepherd who was feeding four pups, and she was so thirsty that the water had to be temporarily removed out of fear for the dogs welfare. Videos of the scene were played in court.

The court also heard that although every effort was made to rehabilitate the dogs with veterinary interventions, high-level nutrition and physiotherapy, four of the dogs had to be euthanised based on veterinary advice.

These included a young German shepherd whose limbs were so deformed he could not bear any weight as he grew, and three of the feral collies that did not respond to rehabilitation efforts and were in constant fear and distress.

After hearing the evidence, Judge Colm Roberts commented to Inspector Faherty that she had been traumatised during the rescue, which she confirmed.

Judge Roberts convicted the defendant but adjourned sentencing until April 1 pending a probation and welfare report.

He warned that given the level of cruelty and neglect evident in this case, a custodial sentence was extremely probable.

The defendant agreed not to keep any animals until that date.
73-year-old Margaret Bergin had been sentenced to two years in prison

A fraudster who claimed 271,000 in pension payments in her deceased father-in-laws name is back on the streets after serving just six weeks of her two-year prison sentence.

The Sunday World can reveal Margaret Bergin was released from the Dochas Womens Prison on community return in mid-December after serving just six weeks of jail time.

This equates to her spending a week in prison for every 45,000 she defrauded from the State.

She is on weekly reviewable temporary release, a source told the Sunday World, as part of a community return scheme.

The prison system is dealing with extreme levels of overcrowding currently and releases like this one, while no doubt controversial, are happening more frequently in cases where a prisoner is non-violent and deemed to be of no risk to the public.

Bergin (73) had been jailed for two years on November 1 for falsely claiming her dead father-in-laws pension for over 28 years to the value of more than 271,000.

The 73-year-old, with an address at Fairfield House in Mountrath in Co Laois, had pleaded guilty to 15 sample charges in relation to the offence.

The grandmother was sentenced at Portlaoise Circuit Court to five-and-a-half years in prison, with the final three-and-a-half years suspended.

She had pleaded guilty to ten sample counts of theft and five sample counts of larceny arising from fraudulently claiming the State pension of John Bergin, who died in 1993 aged 82.

Bergin had been drawing down his pension for 28-and-a-half years after his death, to the value of 271,046.28, between December 1993 and February 2022.

The pension fraud was first detected after an amateur gerontologist carried out research in 2022 in relation to a man in Mountrath who was 110 years of age.

At a sitting in Portlaoise District Court last week, Judge Andrew Cody directed the return of 10 commemorative coins  one of which was issued to John Bergin on the occasion of each birthday from his 100th onwards  to Aras an Uachtarain.

A solicitor for Ms Bergin had earlier told the court his client and her family had expressed no interest in retaining the coins.

Directing the return of the coins to their rightful owner, Judge Andrew Cody said Bergin had acknowledged she had claimed the pension falsely or that she had signed documents in the name of the late Mr John Bergin.

While Margaret Bergin received a sentence of five years and six months for Social Welfare fraud and Judge Johnson suspended the final three years and six months of that sentence for a period of six years, she was not prosecuted for any offence involving the Centenarians letters, cheques or coins and accordingly these were not the subject matter of any criminal prosecution.

In his sentencing Judge Johnson said: I cannot believe that correspondence which had been received at least annually in the name of John Bergin could not have been seen by other members of the household particularly the correspondence and centenarian coins from Aras An Uachtarain which would have been unique and noticeable..... I cannot help but feel, despite her assertions to the contrary, that Mrs Bergin has allowed herself to be offered as a sacrificial lamb for the offending and that full responsibility does not rest exclusively with her, the judge said.

In my view, the responsibility for dealing with any correspondence arriving to any household decades after a person has passed away rests with their next of kin, living at that address, and in this case that is his son Seamus.

I am satisfied that these medals were in the possession of Seamus Bergin and/or Margaret Bergin as a result of deliberate and repeated fraud and have no rightful claim whatsoever on the medals, letters and coins.

I am satisfied that they should be returned to their rightful owner, the office of the President of Ireland.
The seized drugs will undergo analysis by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI).

A man in his 30s has been arrested in Cork after gardai seized more than 150,000 worth of cannabis during a search operation yesterday.

Gardai from the Cork Divisional Drugs Unit made the 160,000 cannabis seizure during a planned raid at a home in Carrigaline on Sunday, 26 January.

More than 30,000 in cash was also seized, as well as equipment used to prepare drugs for sale and supply.

The seized drugs will undergo analysis by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI).

A man in his 30s has been arrested and conveyed to a Garda Station in Co Cork. He is currently detained under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.

The investigation is ongoing.

This seizure was made as part of Operation Tara, which aims to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute drug trafficking networks involved in the importation, distribution, cultivation, production, local sale and supply of controlled drugs.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. Websites of Trend News Agency and the Day.Az information portal have been targeted by cyberattacks from abroad. These attacks have disrupted the sites' operations, causing temporary issues with accessing content.

The large-scale attack began around 11:00 PM on January 26 and peaked in intensity early this morning. Azerbaijani IP addresses were stolen by the attackers to carry out the assault. Preliminary findings suggest the origins of the attack are in France and Armenia.

The agency's IT team, working with Delta Telecom, is currently addressing the issues.

We apologize for the temporary inconvenience to our readers. Trend will provide further details on the cyberattack and those responsible shortly.
One of the accuseds sons had been serving a lengthy sentence at the time and was suffering quite severely with his mental health, defence solicitor Holly Laher said.

An artist caught smuggling relaxing tablets into prison for her inmate son was desperate to help him ease his anxiety while he was serving a sentence, a court has heard.

Fiona Anderson (53) was motivated by concern when she made the misguided and stupid decision to bring the drugs during a visit at Dublins Mountjoy Prison.

Judge John Brennan put her on a bond to keep the peace for a pear. Anderson, a mother of three with an address at Markiewicz House, Dublin 2, pleaded guilty to conveying drugs into prison.

Dublin District Court heard gardai were called to the prison on May 29 last year after Anderson was detained by prison officers. She had been seen handing over a package to a prisoner during a visit. This was seized and found to contain 71 of benzodiazepine tablets.

She made admissions and was arrested.

One of the accuseds sons had been serving a lengthy sentence at the time and was suffering quite severely with his mental health, defence solicitor Holly Laher said.

In a desperate attempt which was completely inappropriate, Anderson brought him relaxing tablets to ease his anxiety.

She had serious concerns for him but realises what she did was inappropriate and should never have happened, Ms Laher said.

It was a complete aberration in relation to how she lived her life.

The accused, who had an art degree, previously had alcohol problems but had come out of that and was starting a community employment scheme to return to the arts, the court heard.

Judge Brennan noted that benzodiazepines were not just prescribed relaxants but were also sold on the streets.

Ms Laher said in this case, they were purely on a medical basis but Andersons actions were misguided.

Judge Brennan said the accused was an otherwise hard-working woman and clearly very talented in the arts.

He noted that she was motivated by concern for her son but did something stupid.

The judge took into account that Anderson had not wasted the courts time by requiring the prosecution to get a certificate of analysis for the drugs.

He bound her to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for 12 months, in her own bond of 300.
Initial indications are that the men gained access to the container in France on Thursday and spent four days inside prior to being discovered.

Nine young men have been found inside a freight container at Rosslare Europort.

They were discovered this morning and are believed to have been in the container for up to four days.

Emergency services were alerted to the discovery at the Wexford port this morning and paramedics initially treated the men at the scene.

They have since been transferred to Wexford General Hospital.

While they are not believed to be seriously injured, they are being medically assessed.

Initial indications are that the men gained access to the container in France on Thursday and spent four days inside prior to being discovered.

Its understood the men are originally from eastern Africa. Gardai are also carrying out inquiries into the incident.

A garda spokesperson said: An Garda Siochana at Wexford Garda Station have commenced an investigation following the discovery of nine people in a shipping container at Rosslare Europort at approximately 10:30am this morning Monday, 27th January 2025.

Gardai were alerted to the presence of a number of people inside a shipping container at Rosslare Europort.

Gardai and emergency services located the nine males and they have been assessed by medical personnel.

"Eight have been deemed to be in good health while one male is receiving further medical assessment at a hospital in the south east of the country for non-life threatening injuries.

Gardai attached to Wexford Garda Station, supported by the Garda National Immigration Bureau, are investigating all of the circumstances of this incident. Anyone with any information in relation to this discovery is asked to contact Wexford Garda Station 053-9165200, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 66 11 or any garda station.

Last October, two men were found hiding in a van that had arrived at Rosslare Europort.

They were in good health and provided with state supports, while two other men were arrested as part of the people smuggling operation.

The previous March seven men were discovered inside a trailer at the same port.
The protesters took to their feet as the president spoke about the Hamas attack on October 7, the response inflicted on Gaza after and the long-overdue ceasefire

President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina arriving at a Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Mansion House in Dublin. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

A number of protesters stood and turned their backs to President Michael D Higgins as he delivered his speech during the National Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration in the Mansion House this afternoon.

The protesters took to their feet as the president spoke about the Hamas attack on October 7, the response inflicted on Gaza after and the long-overdue ceasefire.

I believe that those in Israel who mourn their loved ones, those who have been waiting for the release of hostages, or the thousands searching for relatives in the rubble and Gaza, will welcome the long-overdue ceasefire, which for there has been such a heavy price paid, President Higgins said.

The President said the agreement must end the killing, deliver increased humanitarian aid to save lives and that all remaining hostages are released.

President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina arriving at a Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Mansion House in Dublin. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

It is to be hoped that the agreement will not only bring an end to the horrific loss of life and destruction which has taken place, but that it will also mark the beginning of the meaningful discussions, the sustained diplomatic initiatives which have been missing from the international community with tragic consequences, he said.

According to reports from RTE News, while a number of protesters walked out of the Round Room where the commemoration took place, some were removed from the room by security and gardai.

It is understood that the security was event security and not security with President Higgins.

Press access to the Round Room was limited to just two media outlets, however loud voices could be heard on the livestream of the event, while the President was delivering his speech.

The ceremony took place the day before the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp.

There has been controversy in the lead up to the commemoration in Dublin this year, with the Israeli ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich calling on the President is to please reconsider his plan to speak in light of the concerns of the Jewish community.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent last week, Ms Erlich said calling on President Higgins not to deliver the speech, echoed concerns held by Jewish representatives here.

During the keynote speech, President Higgins told those gathered that war was not the natural condition of humanity.

When wars and conflicts become accepted or presented as seemingly unending, humanity is a loser. War is not the natural condition of humanity. Cooperation is, President Higgins said.

We must recover and assert that principle at every level, nationally, regionally, internationally.

We must never lack the courage to challenge hatred and persecution in whatever forms they are sought to be manifested by promoting a world that is free from persecution based on difference, he added.

Organised by Holocaust Education Ireland, Holocaust survivors Tomi Reichental and Suzi Diamond were in attendance and who met the President as he arrived at the Mansion House this afternoon.

Irish President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina with Holocaust survivors Suzi Diamond (left) and Tomi Reichenthal (second left) as they arrive at a Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Mansion House in Dublin

Among the politicians who attended the event included Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Labour leader Ivana Bacik, Lord Mayor of Dublin Emma Blain and Senator Michael McDowell.

During his speech, President Higgins spoke of the importance of education in combating antisemitism and Holocaust denial.

That is why the work of Holocaust Education Ireland is so important, playing, as it does, a crucial role in ensuring that Ireland abides by its commitments under the 2000 Stockholm Declaration to counter antisemitism, Holocaust denial, distortion of the Holocaust facts and xenophobia and racism in its many insidious guises, the President said.

The memorial event has taken place every year in Ireland since 2003. The commemoration includes speeches, music, the lighting of candles and the reading of the scroll of names, which features the names of those who died in the Holocaust.

The President told those gathered that the poisons of intolerance, including antisemitism, are on the rise internationally and that it was important that the Holocaust was heard and understood.

Mr Higgins added that society must confront hate speech and ensure that anti-migrant sentiment does not deepen across Europe.

The Holocaust was enabled by a regime of systematic murder that began by the manipulation of language and the spreading of fear. We in our terms, must be alert to the identification and confrontation of hate speech in any of its many guises, the President said.

We must work together to ensure that hatred and anti-migrant sentiment, for example, in our time, are not permission to deepen their dark shadow across Europe and the world, he added.

During the commemoration, Minister Paschal Donohoe read an extract from the Stockholm Declaration, while Senator Michael McDowell spoke of the challenges of racism and hatred faced today.

Those in attendance also heard from Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichenthal, who moved to Ireland in 1959 and lost 35 members of his family in the Holocaust.

At just nine years of age, Mr Reichenthal, with his family, was brought to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1944 until the camps liberation in 1945.
The call discussed the impact of Storm Eowyn and ongoing recovery efforts  with the Taoiseach welcoming the assistance to ESB provided by UK crews as part of a mutual association agreement

Power was cut to more than a million customers on the island of Ireland in the wake of Storm Eowyn (Brian Lawless/PA)

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has spoken with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the first time since being elected to the role in the Dail last week.

Mr Martin said that following his conversation with Mr Starmer, we are both committed to making 2025 an important and defining year for Irish-British relations as we initiate a series of annual summits to drive a programme of strategic cooperation between our two countries.

The call earlier today discussed the impact of Storm Eowyn and ongoing recovery efforts  with the Taoiseach welcoming the assistance to ESB provided by UK crews as part of a mutual association agreement between electricity companies.

Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of the Irish-British relationship.

Keir Starmer (James Manning/PA)

They looked forward to the first in an agreed new series of annual Ireland-UK summits that will be hosted by Britain in March.

The two leaders discussed Northern Ireland, legacy issues and a number of international issues, including todays commemoration of the Holocaust in Auschwitz.

The Taoiseach said he looked forward to meeting again with the Prime Minister at an informal meeting of the European Council in Belgium on February 3 next, two days before the Dail resumes.

Mr Martin confirmed: We spoke about Northern Ireland and our shared vision as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement to furthering prosperity and reconciliation to the benefit of all.

We discussed global issues, including Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, in particular the need for a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Later today I will be attending an event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. We discussed the importance of remaining committed today to combatting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance and racism.
Raw nerve: New Years Day message sent to senior members has undermined terror leadership

Thomas Cash Mellon has walked away from the New IRA amid pressure from his own ceasefire colleagues and MI5.

Sources in Derry say Ashe Mellon  dubbed recently Cash by republicans after his gangs loansharking was exposed  has had enough and called it a day.

But they warned the dissident republican, who is on a 10-year MI5 watch-list, has done this before and often returns when the money gets tight.

As revealed here over the last few months MI5 have been relentlessly targeting Mellon and his New IRA gang with a series of text messages sent directly to the phones of friends, relatives, spouses and others telling them to quit their links to violent republicanism.

That culminated in a New Years Day message which rocked the gang after MI5 sent it to 25 senior members of the New IRA in Derry.

Doug Beattie

Last night UUP Justice Spokesperson Doug Beattie MLA praised MI5 for the success of its text tactics as very smart.

What MI5 has managed to do is to undermine the credibility of some of these organisations and theyve done so in a number of ways, he told the Sunday World.

First of all theyve shown that with these text messages they (MI5) know who they are so these people, straight away, are starting to look over their shoulders and realise these people know who I am. But the second thing that theyve done, which I think is incredibly smart, is theyve played on their criminal backgrounds.

By doing so they undermine their leadership because the leadership is trying to hold people in line but at the same time they are involved in criminality so they are lining their pockets.

The rank and file terrorists, the rank and file dissident is suddenly realising that he could end up in prison because of orders delivered by someone whos in this purely for financial gain.

So I think what theyve done is a very smart move and it undermines the organisation  not just at the highest level  but right down through its rank and file.

If that individual (Mellon) has walked away then the pressure has told and that individual was there for the money only  these are career criminals pretending to be something theyre not. I think its been very smart of MI5.

But its not just MI5 whove been giving Mellon a headache. His own comrades have been heaping on the pressure to give it up and announce a ceasefire.

Many republicans are fed-up with the Derry brigade and their criminality and money-lending antics which has seen vulnerable people forced into debt and then into storing guns and other terrorist paraphernalia.

Kevin Barry Murphy

Alleged New IRA Chief of Staff Kevin Barry Murphy, who is on High Court bail facing directing terror charges, also quit recently after Mellon refused orders to go on temporary ceasefire, according to sources.

And the final nail in Mellons coffin came at Christmas when Kevin Braney, who is serving life for the 2013 murder of Peter Butterly in Co Meath, was visited in Portlaoise by prominent dissidents Alex McCrory and Colin Duffy  both of who its reported are in favour of calling a ceasefire.

Dissidents Alex McCrory and Colin Duffy

Mellon has resigned and is saying that the Murphy and Duffy faction can do what they want, said a source.

Hes resigned completely from everything, he cant take the pressure. But he does do this now and again though. Hell probably comes back when money is tight.

It really is worth noting that New IRA prisoners want a ceasefire. When Murph (Kevin Barry Murphy) sent those comms out he was speaking on their behalf as OC.

They have wanted a ceasefire for years, and its people outside who wont carry out attacks but will live lavish lifestyles funded by their republicanism who are keeping it going.

Prisoners and prisoners families are disgusted at the state of Thomas Cash Mellon and his loan-sharking mate who bankrolls him so he can live a lavish lifestyle without doing a days work.

Outside of Derry nobody was paying Mellon any mind. All he had left was Derry. This could be a temporary thing until the heat dies down but by the time he comes back there could well be nothing left for him to come back to.

Kevin Braney

The MI5 messages had regularly been posted on social media by their political wing Saoradh however the New Years Day message was not made public by them.

Sources in Derry say thats because that particular message touched a raw nerve with their then leader Mellon.

It was delivered to the 25 people MI5 believe are senior members of the New IRA in Derry at exactly 5pm on New Years Day.

It stated: Another year; what has threatening and exploiting the vulnerable achieved? Ask yourself: arent you also being exploited?

I doubt your leadership are thinking about you taking the risks when they are on multiple holidays a year.

Its 2025, is this still the activity you want done in your name? There are better paths to take.

It came after MI5 had targeted others close to the Derry New IRA and even tried to recruit a republican with an audacious bid while he sat watching Liverpool FC play at Anfield.

And earlier this week republicans posted videos of what appeared to be MI5 operatives dressed as police officers stopping a known republican in Ardoyne.

The Sunday World understands that figure is one of the few dissidents in Belfast who had continued to support Mellon.

Doug Beattie says his assessment of the remaining members of violent dissident republican gangs is one of derision.

I find them largely comical, says the Upper Bann MLA and former soldier.

I know people will say never underestimate them as they can be dangerous but I find them a comical, criminal organization who are there purely to line their own pockets. Theyre after money and nothing more than that.

They dont care a jot about the people they say they represent and they dont have a vision for what they want in the future.

They are there because they want chaos  they have a fascist mindset and they dont want to work a day in their life, so this is what they do instead.

MI5 have gone to the leaders and we now have a leadership which is now looking at each other, you know you can imagine them all sitting in their room staring at the corners of the room and not wanting to say something because they dont know what the other person has done and if they have engaged with these people.

MI5 have clearly wanted to spread chaos and mistrust and its working because weve now got dissidents who are in prison or dissidents who are awaiting charges pending who are now talking about ceasefires and different tactics and leadership changes so its actually worked and has been very clever.
These are two victims found in Larne house as locals reveal lethal crystal meth is widely available in town

The lifeless bodies of Sean Benson (left) and Stephen Chips Clarke (right) were discovered at a house on Elizabeth Street in Larne

These are the two men who died earlier this week in a suspected drugs overdose tragedy in Co. Antrim, the Sunday World has learned.

Sean Benson (37) is a father of four and from the New Lodge area of Belfast. Stephen Chips Clarke, a 47-year-old grandfather, is from the Short Strand district in the east of the city.

The bodies of both were discovered around lunchtime on Thursday in a house in Elizabeth Avenue in the Chinatown area of Larne, Co. Antrim.

Neighbours in the street say at least six PSNI cars and a Fire and Rescue Service vehicle, with officers wearing breathing apparatus, sped into the quiet cul-de-sac shortly before lunchtime on Thursday before making their way to an end-of-terrace house.

The house on Elizabeth Street in Larne

Officers spent hours in the property before a private ambulance arrived and two bodies were removed.

One resident told us: Everything was normal on Thursday and, with Larne being on the coast, everyone was talking about the expected storm on Friday.

The next thing was police cars came flooding into the street followed by a fire engine.

People in the street quickly worked out they were dealing with sudden deaths but, to tell you the truth, it came as no surprise to people living here.

And she added: A while later they removed two bodies from the house. But the police forensic people where still here at night time, although the house is empty now.

Sean Benson

The Sunday World understands that although he is from a respectable family from the New Lodge area of Belfast, Sean Benson had been living in Carnlough, further up the Antrim Coast, but recently moved to Larne.

And Stephen Chips Clarke lived for many years in a rented property in an apartment block overlooking the River Lagan on the Short Strand, which he shared with his recently deceased partner.

Stephen Clarke

Only four weeks ago, Stephen lost his 33-year-old girlfriend Chantelle Louise Mullan, who was well known on the TikTok social media platform as Chazzy Shankill.

An immensely popular figure, Chazzy amassed a following of over 14,000 and she was well known as having coined the much-repeated catchphrase, Uppa Monagh Bypass!

Chantelle Mullan made no secret of her addiction problems.

And following her passing at the end of December, her sister Shannon took to Facebook to announce it publicly.

She posted: This all just feels like a big nightmare, my heart is so sore. I dont know how Ill ever overcome this.

Addressing her sister directly, Shannon added: You werent only my sister, you were my best friend. Youre no longer in pain. Rest in peace. Forever 33 sis.

The late Chantelle Louise Mullan was known as Chazzy Shankill on TikTok

Following Chazzys sudden death, tributes flowed in all over social media.

But confirming the deaths of the two men in Larne this week, a spokesperson for the PSNI said officers were still investigating the matter, after they were alerted to a house on Elizabeth Avenue, Larne, on Thursday afternoon.

Police added there were no further details at present.

However, Alliance MLA Danny Donnelly said he had been informed of some very concerning news surrounding recent activity in the ferry port town.

My thoughts are with the families of those involved, he said.

Sunday World investigations in Larne this week revealed, a highly addictive and dangerous form of crystal meth is readily available in the town, with a number local drugs dealers offering it for sale.

The official name of the laboratory-made stimulant is methamphetamine, but is also known as crystal meth, Tina or ice.

Its short-term effects can include feelings of euphoria and increased alertness and energy  but it can also induce serious negative health effects, including panic and anxiety attacks.

Twins Clare and Stephen ONeill

Next week marks the second anniversary of the deaths of Belfast twins Stephen and Clare ONeill, who died side by side after consuming a form of crystal meth.

Two other men who were present in Clares home at Annadale Crescent at the time were rushed to hospital, where they received treatment for drugs overdoses. They both pulled through.

It was later revealed the 37-year-old twins died after consuming a form of meth.

A taxi driver was later arrested and questioned over the alleged supply of the highly addictive drug and was later released on police bail.

This time last year, a spokesman for the PSNI said the investigation was still active and that a file had been forwarded to the Public Prosecution Service.

Police also said they hoped to present a man to court in the near future in connection with the case, but to date no one has appeared.
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) said that last weekends storm has led to a significant reduction in blood donations.

An urgent appeal has been issued for blood donors in the aftermath of Storm Eowyn as supplies across the country have fallen low.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) said that severe weather conditions like last weekends storm combined with high levels of respiratory illnesses have led to a significant reduction in blood donations.

As a result, stocks are scarce in most blood groups with just a few days' supply left.

The service is now appealing to the public to give blood over the new next few days across the twelve clinics open this week.

In a statement, Paul McKinney, IBTS Director of Donor Services and Logistics, explained: In order to avoid putting further pressure on our hospital system, we need over 12,000 donations in the coming days and weeks, to restore the blood supply, and safely support our health service.

In 2024, the IBTS issued the highest number of blood donation units to Irish hospitals in over a decade, at just under 128,500 units. This exceptionally high demand has continued unabated into 2025.

New donors, younger donors, donors of all ethnicities - particularly those of African heritage  are urged to donate blood in the coming days to relieve pressure on the hospital system.

We are asking people who might never have given blood before, or its been a while, to make it their goal to give blood, and the priceless gift of life, to those in our communities and hospitals who need it, he added.

Giveblood.ie also made an appeal for donors on social media, writing: Following the impact of Storm Eowyn, IBTS has issued an urgent appeal for blood donations with supplies very low.

We need this week's clinics to be filled to avoid an impact on our hospitals!

The following clinics are running this week between January 27 and February 2:

Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan

Bantry, Co Cork

Duleek, Co Meath

Kilrush, Co Clare

Kingscourt, Co Cavan

Listowel, Co Kerry

Malahide, Co Dublin

Portlaoise, Co Laois

Rathkeale, Co Limerick

Skibbereen, Co Cork

Swords, Co Dublin

Westport, Co Mayo

Weekly clinics in Stillorgan, Dublin; DOlier Street, Dublin; and St Finbarrs, Cork are also in operation.

Donors who receive a text message from us can book an appointment online at www.giveblood.ie or contact the number provided. If you want to become a donor, you can register your interest at www.giveblood.ie or call 1800 731 137.
How tough could the No Way In Hell extreme enduro race be? Well, the clue is in the name and so that means its about as tough as things can get.

Next weekends seventh annual Husqvarna-sponsored event will really sort the men from the boys and the women from the girls, with not only some of the nations most brilliant and skilled dirt bike exponents pitted against one another, but theyll be challenged by some of the most brutal terrain in New Zealand and have their fingers firmly crossed that rough weather or just plain bad luck doesnt also play a part.

Set for Saturday, February 1, it is the countrys premier extreme enduro event, run by the man who should know, Tokoroa enduro wizard Sean Clarke.

The 2025 No Way In Hell (NWIH) extreme enduro will be only the eighth time the event has been run and, quite frankly, thats quite a surprise because so few riders actually survived the inaugural event in 2010.

In fact, only two out of more than 60 starters did finish that first race 15 years ago and thats also probably part of the reason why there was something of a hiatus after 2014 and last years resurrection of the extreme event had been so eagerly anticipated.

Again being held on steep farmland at 654 Hauturu Road, Oparau, near Kawhia, this years NWIH enduro, run by the Forestland Motorcycle Club, will be a little different because its soul-destroying and body-breaking qualities have been toned down just a fraction, just to help increase the number of potential finishers/survivors.

However, that doesnt mean the race has been softened by any considerable degree and riders are again being warned to brace themselves for a challenge like they have probably never faced before.

The NWIH extreme enduro is a stand-alone event and just surviving it, let alone winning it, is considered such a fantastic achievement.

There will be some pretty hard sections to test the riders and its actually the weather that may play the biggest part in how tough the course becomes, said Clarke, himself a former international racer.

The course wont be impossible, but the riders will certainly have to be on their toes just to finish it and bodies will feel pretty battered.

The first half of this 70-kilometre race wont be too demanding, but it gets progressively harder after that. It will really put the riders through the wringer. It is something to be proud of just to finish this race.

Clarke said the winning rider would probably take about three hours to complete the course  some could still be on the track after eight hours and many wont finish at all. The cut-off time to actually be considered a finisher is five hours.

Weve gone from creating an event where nobody could finish, to being extremely hard but achievable. Last year we had 148 riders start the event and only 34 completed the course within five hours.

We have about 125 riders entered so far, many of them individuals who were probably too young to tackle it back in 2010 and who will be in for a rude shock when they make their respective debuts on Saturday.

Leading contenders include Kiwi international Chris Birch, from Thames, New Plymouth father and son duo Tony and Sam Parker, Taupos 2023 national cross-country champion Wil Yeoman, Papakuras Ryan Hayward, Amberleys Archer Pascoe and fellow South Islander Luke Corson, from Whitecliffs, to name just a few.

Birch was winner of the in augural NWIH event in 2010, the only individual to finish unaided, in a time of three hours and 12 minutes. Hokiangas Mitchell Neild was two hours behind in second place.

Event organiser Clarke is a multi-time former New Zealand champion and a four-time medallist at the Olympic Games of enduro racing, the International Six Days Enduro, so he knows first-hand what it takes to win at the ultimate level of the sport.

A prologue race from 9.30am on Saturday morning will determine the start order for the main event, starting at 11am, where riders will be started a minute apart.

The event is jointly sponsored by Husqvarna motorcycles, Forbes and Davies accessory distributors, ONeal apparel, Maxima oils, Arai helmets, Ogio bags, Blur, Maxi Grip, Kiwi Rider magazine, Muck-Off, Metzeler tyres, USWE and SATCO logging attachments.

Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com
Businesses in the small town of Ohakune are thriving after the closure of Desert Road.

SH1 between Turangi and Waiouru - including the Desert Road - will remain closed for approximately two months from 13 January while 16 kilometres of road lane is reconstructed, drainage is improved, and about 15 kilometres of road shoulder is cleared.

The deck of the Mangatoetoenui Bridge will also be replaced.

A detour is in place via SH41, SH47, SH4, and SH49.

At the southern end of Tongariro National Park lives the town of Ohakune, with SH49 - or Clyde Street - as the main road.

It has been less than two weeks, but Helen Brown from Utopia Cafe said the closure had been "freaking amazing" for business so far.

Utopia Cafe even put up a sign that read: "Yes! We know the Desert Road is closed. Yes! We are a lot busier! Yes! We love the business!".

Brown said it was so the staff did not have to repeat themselves.

"If anyone talks about Desert Road, I just point at the sign," she told RNZ.

Utopia Cafe was known for its eggs benedict, she said, selling around 90 meals each day since the closure.

"Yeah, it's really bloody busy."

Across the road, The Mountain Rocks owner Karl Christensen said it had been "an absolute boon".

While the licensed cafe had got increasingly busier since the New Zealand border opened in 2022, Christensen said the traffic flow from SH1 had increased the turnover dramatically.

He said the scones - date, cheese, and savoury - made by head baker Joy, better known as Joyalicious, were "flying out the door".

It was not just his business that was thriving, he added, but the entire town of Ohakune.

"The whole area's on a buzz at the moment. It's really good to see. It's really good for business. And everyone is just prospering. It's fantastic."

"And I think people are learning that this route is a viable option, you know, it's not just the Desert Road."

In November, Ruapehu District Council mayor Weston Kirton told RNZ the closure of a section of Desert Road would provide a welcome boost to Ruapehu businesses hit with indifferent ski seasons and the mothballing of the Tongariro Chateau.

A half-eaten eclair from The Chocolate Eclair Shop. Photo / Supplied

He now believed that tourism would be the future of Ruapehu, with towns like Ohakune humming over the last two weeks.

"People haven't really taken much notice in the past, they've gone to the usual route of SH1 and not really considered the options of SH4 and the like."

Kirton said he had spoken to an Ohakune local who said some cafes were staying open longer, enjoying the traffic flow, and breaking "all sorts of records".

One notable example was The Chocolate Eclair Shop.

While the owner declined an interview with RNZ, a customer who visited the bakery earlier this week was told it had sold 1100 eclairs in one day.
Westland, Nelson and South Canterbury are among the 12 regions of New Zealand that have their own regional anniversary days.

But the Bay of Plenty, and everywhere north of Hawkes Bay, gets lumped in with Auckland.

Is it time we carved out a long weekend with our own Bay flavour? Kelly Makiha asks locals and leaders what they think.

Its time to ditch Aucklands coattails and celebrate a day dedicated to the Bay of Plenty  unashamedly described as the best region in New Zealand.

Thats the view of Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell, who has the backing of his National Party colleague over the road, Rotorua MP Todd McClay. Both are calling for a new Bay of Plenty Anniversary Day  although not necessarily on a different day to when we already celebrate.

Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell. Photo / Alex Cairns

Auckland Anniversary Day is officially January 29, although it falls on a Monday near that date to ensure holidaymakers get a long weekend.

While some regions in New Zealand have their own anniversary day, the Bay of Plenty and most of the North Island are lumped in with Aucklands day.

New Zealand has 12 anniversary days. There are four different anniversaries in the North Island (Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki and Wellington), seven in the South Island (Marlborough, Nelson, Canterbury, South Canterbury, Westland, Otago and Southland) and the Chatham Islands.

Northland celebrates Auckland Anniversary Day but calls it Northland Anniversary Day.

Rotorua MP Todd McClay. Photo / Andrew Warner

Rotorua MP Todd McClay said it was time something similar happened locally and he was prepared to facilitate the change if it would be something locals supported.

We should consider a name change to Bay of Plenty Anniversary Day or weekend or, better still, Rotorua Anniversary weekend.

But McClay was conscious not to add to costs for local businesses.

The existing Auckland Anniversary could be renamed, with the holiday being on the same day. If this is something that local people saw merit in, we could consider a local or members bill as it would take a change of law.

Uffindell said the Bay of Plenty was a proud provincial area and the best region of New Zealand.

We need our own anniversary day thats named after us ... We dont want to ride the coattails of Auckland anymore. We like them coming here [over] the long weekend and pumping money into the economy, and we are thankful for that, but we should have an anniversary that represents the Bay of Plenty.

Uffindell said it could develop into a day to be proud of.

No one wants to see big signs going up like they do at this weekend saying, Celebrate Auckland Anniversary Day.

Tauranga Mayor Mahe Drysdale didnt respond to requests for comment and Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell didnt want to comment.

Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer. Photo / Alan Gibson

However, Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer said the Bay of Plenty celebrating Auckland Anniversary was a throwback to the old system of provinces in New Zealand from the 19th century.

While that is now just an interesting historical oddity for us in the 21st century, I think the important thing for our residents is that our anniversary day falls at the perfect time of the year for an area popular with holidaymakers and blessed with some of the best beaches and outdoor attractions in the country.

He said having the anniversary day in late January extended the summer season and book-ended the holiday period.

I would not want to change the date, but we could simply call it Bay of Plenty Anniversary Day in our region.

Ngai Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley. Photo / Alex Cairns

Ngai Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley agreed, saying it was time the Bay of Plenty was no longer attached to Auckland Anniversary Day.

Why dont we call it BOP Family Day  it will then remind us of our biggest asset, our whanau and our loved ones.

Provincial anniversary days are observed locally by custom and practice and are generally prescribed by regional or city councils. These provinces relate to the former provinces of 19th-century New Zealand and are not determined by present-day districts or regions.

How does change happen?

A Local Government New Zealand spokesman pointed NZME inquiries to central government, saying the holidays are for the pre-1876 provinces  not modern regions.

So this may need changes to legislation to enable different regional days to be created, which are subsets of historic[al] provinces, the spokesman said.

There was no clear power for local government to alter the dates of the current provincial anniversaries. The Holidays Act was administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and that ministry would need to clarify what councils in a historic province should do to make changes, he said.

But a spokeswoman from Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Veldens office (who is the minister in charge of MBIE) said the responsibility lay with councils, citing the Employment NZ website, which said anniversary days were observed locally by custom and were the responsibility of regional or city councils.

However, McClay said he had made inquiries with his ministerial colleagues who advised a change could be made either by the Government or a local bill.

He said his colleagues were willing to look at it if the Bay of Plenty wanted to pursue a name change from the existing Auckland Anniversary Day.

The history of Auckland Anniversary Day

In 1841, Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson decreed January 29 would become Aucklands anniversary, marking the day in 1840 when he arrived in the Bay of Islands.

According to the Auckland Council website, members of Hobsons team then sailed down the coast, arriving in Auckland on September 18, 1840.

The group included Surveyor-General Felton Mathew and his wife Sarah, a prolific diary-keeper. The preliminary agreement for the purchase of the site of Auckland was signed with Ngati Whatua leaders on the same day and the new settlement of Auckland was established as the capital of New Zealand.

Many people associate Auckland Anniversary Day with the Auckland regatta, with the first held on that same day in September. After the flag was raised, cannons were fired in salute and toasts were made to the Queen; boat races were held between sailors, government officials and Maori, the councils website said.

Sarah Mathew recorded the events of the day: As it was wished to make this somewhat of a holiday, the gentlemen got up a boat race among themselves, another for the sailors, and a canoe race for the natives, which all came off with great eclat.

For the next few years, horse races were held at Epsom on January 29, but in 1850 another sailing regatta was held. The Auckland Regatta has been held every year since, except for 1900, when it was cancelled due to the South African Boer War.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. The next open preparatory court session in the criminal case regarding crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, including the conduct of aggressive warfare, genocide, forced population relocation, persecution, torture, robbery, and other illegal acts committed by Armenia and its armed forces, as well as the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" created by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, will continue today, Trend reports.

The session will be chaired by Judge of the Baku Military Court Zeynal Aghayev at the Baku Judicial Complex.

To recall, the preparatory session began on January 17. The defendants are provided with Armenian-language interpreters and defense attorneys.

The prosecution is represented by six prosecutors, while the Azerbaijani government is represented by Rufat Mammadov, head of the Cabinet of Ministers' office, as the victim on behalf of the Azerbaijani state.

Notably, there are more than 531,000 victims and their representatives in this criminal case.

Based on the collected credible evidence, 15 individuals have been charged for crimes committed by the armed forces of Armenia and illegal armed formations in a total of 2,548 incidents. The accused are Arkady Ghukasyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Davit Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, Davit Manukyan, Garik Martirosyan, Melikset Pashayan, Davit Allahverdyan, Gurgen Stepanyan, Levon Balayan, Madat Babayan, Vasili Beglaryan, and Erik Ghazaryan. They face charges under several articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, based on the periods of their involvement in criminal acts.

The charges include crimes such as planning, preparation, initiation, or waging an aggressive war (Article 100); attacks on internationally protected persons or institutions (Article 102); genocide (Article 103); destruction of population (Article 105); slavery (Article 106); deportation or forcible transfer of population (Article 107); persecution (Article 109); forcible detention (Article 110); deprivation of liberty contrary to international law (Article 112); use of torture (Article 113); mercenarism (Article 114); violations of laws or customs of war (Article 115); violations of international humanitarian law during armed conflict (Article 116); war theft (Article 118); willful killing (Article 120); illegal entrepreneurship (Article 192); terrorism (Article 214); financing of terrorism (Article 214-1); organization of a criminal association (Article 218); illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or possession of firearms, ammunition, explosives, and explosive devices (Article 228); acts threatening aviation security (Article 270-1); attempts on the life of a statesman or public figure (Article 277); violent seizure or retention of power, violent change of the constitutional order (Article 278); and the creation of unauthorized armed formations or groups (Article 279), among other offenses.

The preparatory hearing in the case of Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian citizen facing charges under Azerbaijans Criminal Code for torture, mercenarism, violations of war laws, terrorism, financing terrorism, and other offenses, is set to continue on January 27.

Although Vardanyan was provided adequate time during the preliminary investigation to review case materials in a language he understood and prepare his defense, the court, considering his request, granted an additional 10 days for him to familiarize himself with the documents.

A final indictment has been issued against him under various articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including: Article 100 (planning, preparing, initiating, or waging an aggressive war), Article 107 (deportation or forcible transfer of population), Article 109 (persecution), Article 112 (unlawful deprivation of liberty in violation of international law), Article 113 (torture), Article 114 (mercenarism), Article 115 (violation of the laws and customs of war), Article 116 (violation of international humanitarian law norms during armed conflict), Article 214 (terrorism), Article 214-1 (financing of terrorism), Article 218 (establishment of a criminal organization), Article 228 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or carrying of firearms, their components, ammunition, explosive substances, and devices), Article 270-1 (acts threatening aviation security), Article 278 (forceful seizure of power and its forcible retention, forceful alteration of the state's constitutional order), Article 279 (creation of armed groups and units not provided for by law), 318 (illegal crossing of the state border of Azerbaijan).

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Te Arawa Lakes Trust has announced the appointment of former police commissioner Wallace Haumaha as its chairman and former MP Te Ururoa Flavell as deputy chairman.

It says they bring decades of experience in governance, leadership, and advocacy to their new roles, ensuring a strong future for Te Arawa whanau, hapu and iwi.

Haumaha was appointed chairman on his own marae at the trusts first hui within Ngati Ngararanui in its 100-year history.

I feel very humbled and privileged to follow in the footsteps of many great Te Arawa leaders, who devoted their time and energy on the board to support the wellbeing of our people.

I want to ensure that the mana and legacy they left is not lost on preparing the next generation of Te Arawa to accommodate the needs of our people, he said.

The former police deputy chief executive Maori and commissioner has an extensive background in public service and community leadership.

His expertise in fostering relationships between Te Arawa Lakes Trust and government agencies and local councils will be pivotal in guiding the trusts strategic vision.

Together, we will honour our past, strengthen our present, and empower future generations.

Our focus will be on fostering unity, transparent governance, and sustainable growth to benefit our iwi and all its members.

Together, we can navigate the challenges ahead and seize the opportunities before us.

Flavell, who joins him as deputy chairman, was an advocate for Maori rights in Parliament.

He served as co-leader of the Maori Party and held the role of Minister for Maori Development.

His extensive experience in policy development, governance, and advocacy positions him as a valuable partner in advancing the trusts goals.

I deem it a huge honour and privilege to serve on the board where my grandfather and uncle held prominent positions.

With our new chair, Wallace and I are looking forward to leading our board in addressing the key challenges we face.

The trusts board of trustees welcomed the appointments.

Their combined expertise, deep connection to Te Arawa, and passion for our lakes will drive us forward, said Kawatapuarangi representative Annette Sykes.

The new leadership team will focus on financial stability, strengthening partnerships, advancing environmental sustainability, and ensuring that the voices of Te Arawa hapu and iwi are at the forefront of decision-making.
A worm farm that's been the subject of more than 130 odour complaints has been given the green light to expand its Kawerau operations.

Vermicomposting company Ecocast has been granted a 25-year resource consent to grow its existing plant by 5.5 hectares.

Ecocast owner Tom McDowall said the expansion would allow the company to improve its control of smells coming from the site.

McDowall, a former manager at the Kawerau District Council, said he was pleased with the outcome of the consent renewal and expansion application to Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

The worm farm takes biosolids from wastewater treatment plants throughout the Bay of Plenty, mixes it with wood fibre from nearby mills and processes it into vermicast fertiliser.

The operation has been the subject of over 130 odour complaints to the regional council since September 2020, and there was a breach of an abatement notice in January 2024.

At a hearing before independent commissioner Gina Sweetman on December 10, employees of the neighbouring log yard [operated by Manulife Forest Management] described the nauseating smellswafting from the worm farm over the past decade.

On one occasion it was found that the biosolids had not been mixed with wood waste material before being laid out into windrows, as there had been insufficient wood fibre stockpiled.

At the submissions hearing, it was made clear the odours were strongest when the biosolids were being unloaded from delivery trucks, before they were covered with wood fibre.

McDowall said the plant's expansion would make it easier to control any odours from the Tarawera Road site.

A further bunker for unloading the biosolids further from the neighbouring log yard will be part of the expansion onto a neighbouring property.

Were really pleased with the outcome of the consent renewal process, McDowall said.

I think we got on really well with the submittors - positive and negative. It will be a positive, from an odour point of view, for our neighbours because we will be able to control it better.

Conditions of the new consent include a limit of 32,000 tonnes of raw materials (not including the wood fibre) to be brought onto the property over any 12-month period.

It requires at least three days supply of inert substrate (wood fibre) to be stockpiled at all times and four days supply of weedmat and lime to be stockpiled - to be placed over windrows in the event they become odourous.

There is to be no stockpiling of biosolids from wastewater treatment plants. All raw material being delivered to the site is to be immediately covered by a layer of wood fibre to reduce odour.

A complaints register is also to be maintained on site to record any reports of odours, what caused them and what was done to mitigate the odour. This register must be made available to Kawerau District Council on request.

Representatives of Ngati Tuwharetoa (BOP) Settlement Group must also be invited to form a tangata whenua liason group with the consent holder to provide cultural perspectives and matauranga on all matters pertaining to the operation of the site.

McDowall said the company was happy to comply with all the conditions set out in the consent.

He said he had not had any complaints about the odour in recent weeks and the regional council had not made them aware of any complaints made through its Pollution Hotline.

People who made submissions on the consent application have until February 7 to appeal the decision.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
A quieter weather day is being forecast for today before another system sweeps across the South Island later in the day and into Wednesday, bringing rain and strong winds.

Meanwhile, the North Island gets a reprieve from the muggy conditions of the past weekend, enjoying fresher air ahead of the next weather system later this week, the MetService said in its latest weather update.

Following the devastating tornado in Mangawhai early on Sunday morning, Monday brought yet another day of unsettled weather for parts of New Zealand.

Showers and thunderstorms were widespread in the east, with unseasonable snow falling in elevated parts of Canterbury, driven by a cold front moving northward.

For regions marking Auckland Anniversary Day in the northern half of the North Island, the day was brighter and more settled.

This brighter weather extends across much of the country on Tuesday, thanks to a brief ridge of high pressure, said MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane.

After an active couple of days weather-wise, many may welcome a bright and sunny summer day. However, the odd shower may still pop up in the western South Island and upper North Island. Later in the afternoon, the next weather system begins to make its presence felt.

From Tuesday afternoon, winds strengthen over the lower South Island as the approaching weather system brings the potential for Heavy Rain and Strong Winds.

MetService has issued Strong Wind Watches from Fiordland to inland Canterbury for Tuesday late afternoon to Wednesday.

Heavy Rain Watches are also in effect for Fiordland and the ranges of the Westland District, primarily overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday. In the eastern South Island, brief rain is expected on Wednesday as the weather system moves through, while conditions clear on Thursday, with lingering rain possible for Buller and Tasman.

The rain reaches the lower North Island early Thursday, where it is expected to be for much of the day.

In the North Island, the muggy conditions of recent days are replaced by cooler, fresher air. Single-digit temperatures may greet some areas in the central and lower North Island on Tuesday morning.

I imagine the cooler temperatures will make sleeping a lot easier for many compared to these last few nights, added Makgabutlane.

However, warm overnight temperatures return to the lower North Island towards the end of the working week.

Image: MetService
Enrique Miranda Malaga Monday, 27 January 2025, 09:52 Compartir

It will be a day of strong winds across almost the whole of the Andalucia region this Monday (27 January), which has led to the activation of severe weather warnings in many areas of Spain, including the entire coastline of Malaga province.

The passage of storm Herminia will leave strong gusts of wind this especially in the eastern provinces of the Andalucia region, so the 112 emergency service control room has asked peope to exercise extreme caution and follow at all times the self-protection advice that the service regularly shares on its social media channels.

112 Andalucia has offered some simple tips to avoid the risks and accidents that are common on days when strong winds blow.

Watch out for doors and windows

First of all, it is recommended to close doors and windows and remove all furniture and objects (flower pots, awnings, clotheslines, chairs, etc.) that could fall into the street and cause an accident.

On public roads, we should not take shelter from the wind next to walls or fences, and we should stay away from trees that could come down. Extreme caution should be taken when standing next to buildings under construction or in poor condition.

Move away from the beaches

On days with strong winds, it is preferable not to climb scaffolding or similar platforms that may be displaced. In coastal areas, stay away from beaches and other low-lying places that may be affected by high tides and waves.

Road travel should be avoided whenever possible. If you have no other choice, always respect traffic regulations and keep yourself informed of the situation by consulting official sources. If you are caught in a strong wind while travelling by car, do not stay inside the vehicle, but look for a safe place to take shelter.

Weather warnings in most parts of the region

The Andalucia region areas of Poniente, Almeria city, Valle del Almanzora and Los Velez will remain from 9:00 am and for the rest of the day in orange warning - significant risk - both for strong gusts of wind and coastal phenomena along the coast of the province, caused by the storm that has been centred on the British Isles and that will cause this Monday to be the most adverse day.

Inland, the winds from the west will reach 90 kilometres per hour, while on the coast gusts of between 60 and 75 kilometres per hour (force 8) and waves of between three and four metres are forecast, according to Spain's state meteorological agency (Aemet).

This adverse weather phenomenon will also affect the areas of Subbetica (Cordoba), Sierra Sur (Seville), the city and Montes, Cazorla and Segura (Jaen), the coast of Granada, together with Nevada, Alpujarra, Guadix and Baza, as well as the coast of Malaga province, with a yellow warning - risk.

Aemet also warns that tomorrow a colder maritime polar air mass will move in during the second half of the day, which will lower the snow level to 800-1,000 metres.

On Wednesday we will no longer be under the influence of Herminia, but a new Atlantic storm will arrive, although there is still uncertainty about its position, according to Spain's state weather agency.
Almudena Nogues Malaga Monday, 27 January 2025, 07:53 Compartir

It is already here. Storm Herminia squall will bring a very active frontal system that will leave cloudy skies and rain in most parts of Spain today. At the moment, there are large parts of the country under weather warnings for heavy rainfall and strong winds. Galicia, in the north west, will take the brunt of the storm and has an amber warning for high waves and a red alert for winds up to 120km/h in place, issued by the state meteorological agency (Aemet).

Zoom Weather warnings across Spain this Monday, 27 January 2025. Aemet

It will be just the appetiser of a complicated start of the week in practically all the regions of the country, Andalucia among them. "Monday will be a rainy day throughout the western half of the country and in the north, only in the east, southeast and Balearic Islands the rains will not leave significant accumulations. During the day, between 20 and 30mm could fall in the central part of Andalucia", according to the specialised website Meteored.

According to Aemet's forecast for this Monday, "widespread rainfall, occasionally accompanied by thunderstorms and small hail, which may be locally strong and persistent, more likely in the Betic mountain ranges and the area of the Strait of Gibraltar". In addition, "strong winds with very strong gusts in large areas" are expected. Given this scenario, the state agency has activated yellow level warnings in six provinces of the region. In addition, in Almeria the warning will be upgraded to amber from 9am on 27 January due to maximum gusts of 90 kilometres per hour and west and south-easterly winds on the east coast of force 7 to 8 and waves of 3 to 4 metres.

For now, only Huelva and Cadiz have escaped this warning - for wind and coastal phenomena - which will be in force between 9am and 9pm in most cases. Westerly and south-westerly winds of 50 to 60 km/h (force 7) and waves of 2 to 3 metres are expected. The gusts, in some areas, could reach 90 km/h, according to Aemet.

And on Tuesday? The state agency paints a very similar scenario. "Rainfall is again expected in most of Andalucia, with locally very strong gusts in mountain areas and in the eastern part. There will also be a notable drop in temperatures practically across the board," it pointed out in a message on the social media network X.
Pilar Martinez Madrid Monday, 27 January 2025, 13:57 Compartir

The latest official data from Spain's INE national statistics institute has revealed that 2024 was the best year ever for the Costa del Sol's tourism industry. The statistics, which were published last week, reveal that for the first time 22 million overnight stays were recorded, which meant an increase of three per cent over the previous best year.

A total of 22,090,691 nights were booked, although bookings by Spaniards experienced a drop of 6.6 per cent. The number of tourists accommodated was 6,296,191 - some 0.5 per cent more than in 2023. Of the total number of 91,805 hotel beds on the Costa del Sol, there was a 2.2 per cent increase from 2023.

Malaga province has confirmed its position as the driving force for tourism in Andalucia as a whole by concentrating, according to the INE data, 39% of the stays registered in the entire region during 2024. In addition, the association of hotel businesses on the Costa del Sol (Aehcos) pointed out that the hotel occupancy rate was 79.8%, or 6.24 points more than the previous year.

Zoom Representatives of the Costa del Sol's hospitality industry at Fitur in Madrid. Salvador Salas

"The increase in occupancy probably has a lot to do with the renovation of the hotel establishments that has been taking place. We can say that almost 80 per cent of the hotels on the Costa del Sol have been refurbished and modernised in the last 15 years," explained Javier Hernandez, executive vice-president of Aehcos.

President of the association, Jose Luque, announced at the Fitur international travel fair in Madrid last week that members expect to maintain the upward trend in 2025, despite the fact that there is still a drop in national tourists. "The Costa del Sol will continue to be a strong destination. We are going to grow, but less than in 2024. Forecasts point to an increase in turnover of between three and four per cent," he said. Regarding the expected price increases, he highlighted that "it is going to be very difficult to increase prices more than in 2024", a year in which he said that the increase was between seven and eight per cent.
Pilar Martinez Malaga Monday, 27 January 2025, 11:39 Compartir

Greek luxury hotel chain Ikos is looking for 200 workers to cover the high-season demand both at its five-star resort in Estepona, Costa del Sol, and at its hotel in Palma de Mallorca. A recruitment day at the NH hotel in Malaga has been scheduled for Friday 31 January. "We want to attract candidates for key positions in the facilities in Spain: Ikos Andalusia, in Estepona, and Ikos Porto Petro, in Mallorca, as well as other locations of the chain in Greece," Ikos representatives said.

Ikos first expanded to Spain with the resort in Malaga province, opening a top category hotel, with 411 rooms and suites spread across seven buildings and some twenty villas. The luxury chain is now looking for people to fill both operational and management positions, mainly focused on the sectors responsible for rooms, restaurants and bars, as well as general management positions for the different hotels.

In addition, Ikos has opened an opportunity for students who want to start their career in the hotel sector. "As part of its commitment to talent, the group offers high-quality jobs, including accommodation and meals for the full duration of the contract," said Ikos representatives.

The chain offers accommodation and meals for the full duration of the contract

The management and HR teams of Ikos Andalusia will be present at the recruitment event, to answer questions and present business opportunities. They have stated that the conference represents "a unique opportunity for those who wish to be part of Ikos Resorts, which currently has seven properties between Greece and Spain and continues to expand at a dizzying pace". Those interested should complete a registration form, which is available at this link.

All Ikos hotels offer the 'All-Inclusive Luxury' service, as well as menus created by Michelin-star chefs, personalised experiences and treatments by the renowned French beauty firm Anne Semonin, numerous indoor and heated outdoor swimming facilities, 24-hour room service and play areas for children.
Juan Cano Malaga Monday, 27 January 2025, 16:35 Compartir

National Police officers in Malaga are investigating two robberies from earlier this January, where two young people used the 'mataleon' technique to attack their victims. It is not yet known whether the attacks, which took place on 10 and 12 January, were carried out by the same pair of young people. The police have suspicions that the robbery that took the life of an 80-year-old American tourist at his rented flat on 20 January involved the same technique.

The 'mataleon' technique involves grabbing the victim from behind, wrapping an arm around their neck and applying pressure until the victim is unconscious, which can lead to serious brain damage and even death.

In recent years, robberies using this method have increased considerably in Spain. They are usually committed by young people who act in pairs: while one holds the target, the other quickly searches them to snatch their belongings, usually their mobile phone and wallet.

Malaga has not been immune to this trend. The National Police force is investigating two assaults committed in the centre of Malaga, with just 48 hours between them. Both were committed by two young people, although it is not known whether they are the same perpetrators or two different couples.

The first of these cases happened on 10 January on Calle Echegaray. During the early hours of the morning, the thieves approached the male victim and, after grabbing him by the neck, snatched all his personal belongings. According to police sources, the victim did not lose consciousness.

The second case took place just two days later, on 12 January, on Calle Atarazanas. The modus operandi was practically the same as the previous one: two individuals approached a young man by surprise and, after immobilising him, took his belongings. As in the previous case, the victim did not lose consciousness.

Signs of asphyxiation

These two cases are somewhat connected to the case of the 80-year-old American tourist found dead on Tuesday 21 January. The police's main hypothesis is a robbery using the same technique, as the autopsy of the body showed signs of asphyxiation.

As SUR has learned, the man, from Massachusetts, had arrived in Malaga on the day he was killed, Monday 20 January, and had intended to spend a week's holiday, touring the Costa del Sol. He had booked the ground floor of a block of three tourist flats in Calle Viento, between Carreteria and La Goleta, doing so through a tourist agency.

Everything suggests that he was assaulted as soon as he arrived at the building and that the perpetrator(s) of the robbery grabbed him by the neck to immobilise him and then took his belongings. The victim was carrying at least one suitcase and a rucksack with his personal belongings and documentation when he arrived.

The exact time of death is pending, while the autopsy is still being carried out, but witness testimonies gathered in the neighbourhood suggest that it could have been around 9pm. A neighbour heard a man screaming "as if he was being killed", she stated in her statement to SUR.

The woman said she could hear the screams going for about 10 minutes, so she looked out of the window to find out where they were coming from. She even went upstairs to ask another resident of the building if she had also heard them. Given that the neighbour in question said she hadn't heard anything and that their street would usually become a stage for a "racket" at night, she decided not to notify the police.
Chus Heredia Malaga Monday, 27 January 2025, 16:16 Compartir

Malaga's college of veterinary surgeons and the University of Malaga are currently working together on a One Health research project on the risks of the overpopulation of wild boars in urban areas of the province and the possible transmission of diseases to humans (zoonosis), SUR has learned from the head of the college, Juan Antonio de Luque.

The project will be supported by the research unit for zoonoses and emerging diseases (ENZOEM) of the University of Cordoba - a synergy between the two educational centres. The results of the studies on 15 frozen corpses of wild boars, that have recently been captured in urban areas, could be ready by spring, said de Luque.

Awareness

Vets are insistent that the public is well aware of the importance of not feeding these wild pigs and, above all, of the risks involved. These include the transmission of diseases to the pig stock (a spread of plague would immobilise the sector and deal it a heavy blow), to other animals and, above all, to humans - through diseases known as zoonoses.

Public health

"These animals are potential transmitters of zoonotic diseases (salmonellosis, biovar 2 brucellosis, hepatitis E); transmitters of diseases common to domestic livestock (porcine pleuropneumonia, porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome (PRRS), enzootic pneumonia, lymphadenitis); to hunting dogs (Aujeszky's disease), and to wildlife (tuberculosis due to mycobacterium avium complex, trichinellosis, etc)," the college body said in a statement.

Hepatitis E, resistant bacteria: other studies

The wild boar and pig problem is not exclusive to Malaga. Authorities are also concerned in areas such as Barcelona and its metropolitan area. A study by the Vall d'hebron hospital and the University of Barcelona identified the animals as a source of hepatitis E. This is a type of inflammation of the liver, which is usually mild and self-limiting, but not without risks. "If a wild boar defecates in a children's playground, for example, a child then playing with the soil could become infected," De Luque told SUR, stressing that we cannot get used to the fact that the specimen is part of the urban fauna.

Zoonoses have always existed, but have undoubtedly acquired greater global relevance and collective awareness in the wake of Covid-19.

Campylobacter

Another study from a few years ago, partially funded by Barcelona's city council and the Ministry of Science and Innovation, published in the scientific journal 'Science of the Total Environment', analysed faeces from 130 wild boars and found multiple diseases and bacteria. Some of that bacteria was discovered to be multi-resistant strains to antibiotics. To give just one example: up to 61% of the animals were carriers of Campylobacter, within the family of which the lanienae type was the most prevalent (46%), followed by coli (16%) and hyointestinalis (1%).

As stated by De Luque, other elements that favour the spread of diseases, in this case among animals, are the animals watering places in overgrown areas close to the city and the colonies of feral cats, whose food the wild boars consume when they come down to the city.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Thousands of families, including some in Upstate New York, were scammed through a website that promised to send care packages to loved ones in prison across the country, according to federal prosecutors

Between 2017 and 2024, Robert Rahrle received around $2 million in proceeds from his fraudulent business, according to court papers filed by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of New York.

On Wednesday, Rahrle pleaded guilty to tax evasion and wire fraud in a federal court in Syracuse, federal prosecutors said in a news release.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan George Deek expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan for commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, Trend reports.

Thank you, Azerbaijan, for commemorating this solemn day of remembrance with us.

Today, we also honor the memory of the 300,000 Azerbaijanis who sacrificed their lives in the fight against Nazism.

With deep respect, we acknowledge Azerbaijan's unwavering commitment to ensuring that Jews have always been safe and felt at home in this land.

We are profoundly grateful for Azerbaijan's dedication to the principle of "Never Again" and for the enduring friendship between our nations.

The kindness and solidarity shown by the people of Azerbaijan towards Israel, especially over the past year, deeply touch our hearts, the ambassador wrote on his page on X.
A classic rock band has replaced its longtime guitarist due to health issues.

The Eagles resumed their Las Vegas residency at the Sphere this month with a lineup change, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. Chris Holt, a musician from Dallas, has taken over guitarist Steuart Smiths spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group.

Thank you so much to everyone for all the kind words, Holt wrote on Facebook. It goes without saying that Im incredibly honored to be a part of this thing now. I greatly appreciate all of you for your support and enthusiasm.

Smith said he was retiring from touring due to his battle with Parkinsons, which can affect muscle control, balance and movement, as well as other health problems.

It is with profound regret that, due to performance issues associated with my recently diagnosed Parkinsonism, I find that I must bow out of my role with the Eagles while I can still do so gracefully, Smith said in a statement. Its been a great quarter of a century, and I had hoped to be able to finish out this year with the band, but I must now do whats best for all concerned.

Smith had performed with the Eagles since replacing Don Felder as lead guitarist in 2001. Smith contributed to the Eagles 2007 album Long Road Out of Eden and also performed with Don Henleys touring band.

Steuart Smith has retired from touring, Henley said. The Eagles will be forever grateful for the extraordinary talents that he brought to both our recordings and live performances. Steuart will be greatly missed, but he will always be a part of our musical family. We know our many fans join us in wishing him well.

According to Ultimate Classic Rock, Holt has performed in a variety of his own original bands and classic rock tribute acts. He also performed with Max Weinbergs Jukebox, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Stevie Nicks, the Doobie Brothers and, most recently, Mike Campbells Dirty Knobs.

The Eagles are a Grammy-winning band and one of the best-selling music artists of all time thanks to hits like Hotel California, Take It Easy, Desperado, Best of My Love and Take It to the Limit. The rock groups current members include Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Vince Gill and Deacon Frey, the son of late co-founder Glenn Frey.

Im trying to fill the giant shoes of all three that came before me, Holt told The Dallas Morning News, referring to Smith, Felder and Bernie Leadon. Its some of the most beautiful guitar work ever recorded, in my opinion. Its the highest honor for me to do it, and its my duty to get it right.
Honk if youre going to see Goose in Upstate New York.

The jam band Goose will perform at CMAC (Constellation Brands - Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center) in Canandaigua on Saturday, June 21. Doors open at 6 p.m., music starts at 7:30.

Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. An artist presale will begin Wednesday at 10 a.m.; fans can sign up for an Artist Presale access code at go.seated.com.

Goose is a jam band featuring Rick Mitarotonda on vocals and guitar; Peter Anspach on vocals, keyboards and guitar; Trevor Weekz on bass; Cotter Ellis on vocals and drums; and Jeff Arevalo on vocals, percussion and drums. The New England-based group previously played CMAC in 2024 and opened for the Trey Anastasio Band in Syracuse in 2022.

Goose released its debut album in 2016 and quickly built a fan following through their improvisational live performances and genre-blending indie rock/jam sound. The band has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Tonight Show and CBS Saturday Morning. Their fourth album, Everything Must Go, will be released April 25.

Gooses 2025 Everything Must Go tour dates include a stop at the Mountain Jam Festival, which runs from June 20-22 at Belleayre Mountain in Highmount, N.Y.

Seven concerts (including a two-night run by country star Kane Brown) are scheduled so far on the 2025 lineup at CMAC, an outdoor amphitheater located on the Finger Lakes Community College campus.

CMAC 2025 concert schedule

May 22 & 23: Kane Brown

June 12: Megan Moroney

June 21: Goose

June 29: James Taylor

July 2: Red White & Boom! featuring the RPO

Aug. 9: Bailey Zimmerman
Sean OLoughlin, principal pops conductor of The Syracuse Orchestra, returns to the Crouse Hinds Theater stage on Saturday, Feb. 1 for a love-inspired program to warm hearts on a chilly Syracuse evening.

He will be joined by New York City-based soprano Lizzie Klemperer.
A Syracuse man has been arrested for speeding well above the limit in Upstate New York.

WROC reports Lonnie N. Spruiel, 42, of Syracuse, was arrested Saturday after driving 101 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone, according to the Ontario County Sheriffs Office. The traffic stop occurred on Interstate 490 in Victor, about 17 miles outside of Rochester and 70 miles west of Syracuse.

According to fingerlakes1.com, deputies were especially concerned about the speed on icy roads due to below-freezing conditions. On Friday, the sheriffs office shared winter driving tips on Facebook, urging drivers to slow down.

Reduced visibility and icy roads mean you need more time to react. Drive at a safe speed for the conditions, the sheriffs office said.

Deputies said a roadside investigation revealed Spruiel was driving a rental vehicle with a suspended drivers license while his 14-year-old daughter was in the back seat. The only authorized driver on the rental agreement was a passenger who had a valid New York State drivers license, according to the sheriffs office.

Spruiel was taken into custody and charged with aggravated unlicensed operation in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child. He was issued traffic citations and an appearance ticket for Victor Town Court.

According to The Post-Standard archives, Spruiel was previously arrested in 2010 as part of a drug raid that charged 17 people with selling large amounts of heroin in Syracuse. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted on a guilty plea of two counts of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute heroin, and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering.
Syracuse University host the 2025 MLK celebration at the JMA Wireless Dome Sunday January 26, 2025. The Community Choir & The Black Celestial Choral Ensemble perform during the celebration. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.comdennis nett | dnett@syracuse.com

Syracuse N.Y. - Sarah Willie-LeBreton, Smith Colleges president and the daughter of a prominent Syracuse University graduate, spoke at SUs 40th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Sunday at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Willie-LeBreton, the 12th president of Smith College, is the daughter of Charles Willie, who was the first Black full-time professor, department chair and vice president at SU.

Willie-LeBreton specializes in sociology, social inequity, race and ethnicity.

The sold-out event speakers and performances to commemorate Kings legacy.

Also honored as Unsung Heroes were Andrea Rose Oates, a student from the class of 2026; James Dush-Agyeman, faculty; Laurence Segal, community activist; Jamie Jackson, longtime employee given posthumous recognition; and The Student Coalition on Race and Equity.
By Chris Sommerfeldt and Evan Simko-Bednarski | New York Daily News

The temperatures are still low, but the funding is rising.

Gov. Hochul has locked in $35 million to go toward a state program that helps low-income New Yorkers heat their homes in the winter  a move that comes after the Daily News reported last week that the vital initiative had run out of money.

The new cash infusion into the Home Energy Assistance Program, known as HEAP, means New Yorkers can begin applying for heating assistance again, according to the governors office.

HEAP, which is federally funded, stopped accepting new applications Tuesday after running out of cash, as first reported by The News.

Following a shortfall in federal funding that resulted in the temporary closure of regular HEAP applications, Governor Hochul stepped in to reallocate $35 million in funds and ensure that regular HEAP will remain open to continue to provide heat assistance for New Yorkers, Hochul spokeswoman Avery Cohen said in a statement Friday. The governor will never stop working to put money back in the pockets of New Yorkers  no matter how cold it gets.

Cohen said the additional $35 million consists of reprioritized funds from elsewhere within the budget of the states Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the agency that administers HEAP.

According to the governors office, the added funds should keep the program open for the remainder of the winter.

The once-a-season assistance program directly subsidizes heating bills for individuals making less than $3,322 a month  or families of four with a monthly household income below $6,390. Assistance ranges from $21 for those living in government-subsidized housing whose heat is included in their rent to more than $900 for those who pay directly for oil, kerosene or propane heat.

In addition to the reopened regular HEAP benefits, the state also continues to accept applications for emergency HEAP benefits  a separate fund meant for low-income New Yorkers who have run out of fuel or have had their heat cut off.

2025 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com.
Albany, N.Y.  Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking $400 million in the next state budget to more quickly install surveillance cameras across the entire New York state prison system.

Hochul said in a television interview last week that there should not be an inch of space in a state prison that cannot be seen on a surveillance camera.

Cameras are fully implemented in a quarter of the states 42 prisons, according to Thomas Mailey, a spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

Those 11 prisons are the Adirondack, Attica, Auburn, Bedford Hills, Clinton, Coxsackie, Five Points, Green Haven, Hudson, Shawangunk and Upstate correctional facilities.

Crews are in the process of installing additional cameras, or designing camera systems, in 17 prisons, Mailey said.

Mailey couldnt say how long it would take to fully roll out surveillance cameras given the complexity of these projects.

Hochul originally called for more surveillance cameras as part of a package of reforms announced last month after visiting Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County.

Multiple corrections officers brutally beat inmate Robert L. Brooks on Dec. 9 in the prisons infirmary, repeatedly punching and kicking him in the groin, abdomen, face and back. He died hours later at a Utica hospital.

The Brooks family has filed a lawsuit claiming state officials oversee a dangerously broken prison system that brutalizes inmates. A criminal investigation is being led by Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who was appointed as a special prosecutor in the case.

Hochul has also called for $18.4 million to expand the state prison systems body camera program.

The Dec. 9 beating was recorded on video by a fail-safe feature on body cameras worn by four guards.

There are about 5,100 body worn cameras deployed to all but one state prison, Mailey said. DOCCS has a $36.5 million contract with the Arizona-based company Axon for about 9,000 body cameras.

The DOCCS Office of Special Investigations, which handles internal investigations, would see a roughly $7 million boost in the governors proposed budget.

A new group called the Public Integrity Division would be formed to focus on allegations of staff misconduct, especially uses of force and sexual assaults, Mailey said.

While the office has historically employed people with a variety of backgrounds, including many corrections officers, Mailey said the plan was to be heavily recruiting from outside for the new positions.

The Office of Special Investigations analysis unit will also be expanded, Mailey said.

Staff will seek to proactively address potential security and safety risks, he said, by searching for trends and patterns of complaints and investigative findings.

A medical review team will also be added, Mailey said. The team will review medical records related to uses of force, physical and sexual assaults and inmate deaths.

Staff writer Jon Moss covers breaking news, crime and public safety. He can be reached at jmoss@syracuse.com or @mossjon7.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Like many Central New York politicians, Syracuse mayoral candidate Pat Hogan spoke at a campaign event about the huge opportunity for growth thats coming with the Micron Technologys $100 billion microchip plant.

But at a kickoff rally Monday in the citys Westcott neighborhood, Hogan cautioned against painting too rosy of a picture. He cited high levels of property crime, a housing crisis and nation-leading poverty as serious problems that the next mayor has to tackle head-on.

When I think of Syracuse as she is now, I think of Dickens' opening line in a Tale of Two Cities, which is entirely appropriate for Syracuse, he said before a crowd of about 25 supporters at Colucci restaurant. Its the best of times and the worst of times.

Hogan is one of four Democrats seeking that partys nomination in the election to replace Mayor Ben Walsh, an independent who cannot run again due to term limits. A fifth candidate, former Democratic city Councilor Tim Rudd, recently changed his party enrollment and is seeking to be the Republican nominee.

Hogan, 74, has lived most of his life in the citys Tipperary Hill neighborhood. He is serving his seventh two-year term on the Common Council. He worked for 34 years in the city parks and recreation department, advancing to the position of deputy commissioner. He then worked for the city school district before retiring.

Im literally a son of the city, Hogan said.

Hogan chairs boards of the Greater Syracuse Land Bank and the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, and serves on the Syracuse Housing Strategies Corp. launched last year to guide city policy and spending on housing initiatives.

Hogan outlined several policy priorities hed pursue as mayor.

While Walsh administration officials have been seeking grant funding from private, state and federal resources to boost housing, Hogan said the city needs to put more of its own dollars into the effort.

We need all levels of housing, he said. We must aggressively pursue this goal by bonding and publicly funding housing initiatives and continue to work with our successful housing partners.

Describing property crime which includes burglaries, vandalism and thefts  as out of control, Hogan said the mayor must do everything we can to bring our police department up to full strength so we can actively patrol our city neighborhoods.

The police department has for several years been operating with dozens of vacant positions because of recruiting struggles.

To tackle poverty, Hogan would push for expanding services provided to children and families in the evening hours at city schools and parks. Hogan believes educational barriers are a fundamental contributor to poverty.

Well give children safe places to play, and also teach life skills and use volunteer tutors to help kids and their parents conquer educational challenges, he said.

Challengers for the Democratic nomination include Councilor Chol Majok, police community engagement director Jimmy Oliver and Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens.

The primary is June 24. The city Democratic Committee will make a decision on which candidate to endorse by the end of February.

At-large Councilor Amir Gethers and District 1 Councilor Marty Nave are backing Hogan and came to Mondays event. Gethers introduced Hogan to the gathering of about 25 people.

He has been quite the anchor for the city council, Gethers said, noting that Hogan as president pro tempore has filled in for council President Helen Hudson as shes been limited by medical issues over the past half year.

He stepped up to the plate by leading us, keeping us in line, Gethers said. Thats the person that we need here in the city of Syracuse to understand exactly whats going on.

This is Hogans second mayoral campaign. Twelve years ago, he unsuccesfully challenged then-incumbent Mayor Stephanie Miner in a three-way Democratic primary.

City reporter Jeremy Boyer can be reached at jboyer@syracuse.com, (315) 657-5673, Twitter or Facebook.
New York  A New York state trooper who claimed he was shot and wounded by an unknown gunman on a Long Island highway last year is facing criminal charges.

Thomas Mascia and his parents surrendered Monday morning at the state police barracks in Farmingdale and will be arraigned in Hempstead court later, according to Trooper Brittany Burton, a state police spokesperson.

Mascia will be charged with official misconduct, tampering with evidence and falsifying documents, she said. His parents, Dorothy and Thomas, have each been charged with criminal possession of a firearm.

Jeffrey Lichtman, a lawyer for the family, declined to comment other than to confirm the family had surrendered to face the charges.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly is expected hold a press conference with state police at her office in Mineola later Monday.

The 27-year-old Mascia, who became a trooper in 2019, was suspended without pay in November after state police launched a criminal probe.

Mascia claimed he was shot in the leg on Oct. 30 by the driver of a black sedan that had been parked on the left-hand shoulder of the Southern State Parkway, about a mile from his home.

The trooper claimed the driver fled in the direction of New York City in a car with temporary New Jersey registration, prompting authorities to launch a manhunt that lasted days.

Police said there was no video footage of the episode since the troopers body camera was not activated at the time.
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Advancing Innovation, Sustainability and Technical Performance of the Agri-Food Sector in 2024

A new publication titled Advancing Innovation, Sustainability and Technical Performance of the Agri-Food Sector in 2024 was published by Teagasc today, Monday, 27 January. This publication sets out key indicators of the performance of the main farming enterprises in the agri-food sector from a technical and productivity point of view. It also looks at farm incomes and indicators of environmental and social sustainability.

A new publication titled Advancing Innovation, Sustainability and Technical Performance of the Agri-Food Sector in 2024 was published by Teagasc today, Monday, 27 January. Pictured at the launch were Professor Frank O'Mara, Teagasc Director; Dr. Stan Lalor, Director of Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc; Dr. Siobhan Jordan, Head of the Technology Transfer and Commercialisation in Teagasc; Professor Pat Dillon, Head of Research in Teagasc; and Dr. Emma Dillon, Teagasc Economist.

Professor Frank OMara, Teagasc Director said; Good technical performance underpins farm profitability and environmental sustainability, and Teagasc research, education and advisory programmes are focused on improving the performance indicators included in this report. Weather is a key variable in agriculture, and must be kept in mind when interpreting the data.

In terms of economic sustainability, 2024 was a good year for farm incomes despite very challenging weather conditions for the first half of the year. Incomes in all the main farming sectors are estimated to have increased in 2024 compared to 2023. This was helped by the higher farm gate prices in the second half of 2024 for milk, beef and sheepmeat, and the good grass production and grazing conditions in the autumn/early winter period.

Climate and water quality are particularly important dimensions of environmental sustainability. Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture decreased by 4.6% in 2023. Significant advances were made in 2024 in relation to the adoption of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrogen (N) fertiliser use was close to the target set for 2030, while protected urea made up 26.4% of straight N use, with a target for 2030 of 95%. Research produced through the Teagasc Climate Centre is driving innovations in nutrient management, carbon sequestration, and methane reduction. Over 15,000 farmers have been enrolled in the Signpost Advisory programme by Teagasc Climate Advisors who develop farm specific plans with each farmer using the AgNav digital platform.

In relation to water quality, the EPA report for 2016 to 2021 shows that over half (54%) of Irish surface waters are in good or better ecological status. The Water Framework Directive requires all EU Member States to achieve at least good status in all water bodies by 2027. Recent EPA data indicates that nitrogen concentration in 20 selected rivers has declined in the first 6 months of 2024 relative to 2023, which is welcome. In 2024, Teagasc launched the Better Farming for Water: 8-Action for Change campaign which will build on existing programmes.

The Irish farming population is ageing, and the proportion of young farmers has been in decline over recent decades. Data from the Teagasc National Farm Survey reports that 33% of Irish farmers are aged over 65, with an average age of 58 years. Teagasc activities contribute strongly to capacity building for the sector. Over three thousand, six hundred students participate in Teagasc education programmes, and surveys undertaken 5 years after graduation consistently show over 90 percent are involved in farming. The Walsh Scholars Programme and other post-graduate programmes also play a key role by providing highly trained graduates for the sector.

Science-driven innovation in the food industry complements good technical performance at farm level in terms of overall performance of the agri-food sector. In 2024 Teagasc research and innovation delivered significant advancements to the food industry to enhance safety, quality, and sustainability, along with supporting a range of new products and processes through knowledge transfer. Over 150 companies utilised the state of the art Pilot Plant facilities in the National Prepared Consumer Food Centre and Moorepark Technology Ltd, while 410 entrepreneurs from across Ireland benefited from training and support to scale their businesses through the Food Works and Bia Innovator Programmes.

Click here to view the full publication

Many of the indicators published are based on unique Teagasc datasets such as the National Farm Survey, PastureBase Ireland and NMP online. Many more are based on datasets of organisations such as the CSO, ICBF, DAFM, Bord Bia and the EPA, and we are grateful for these data.
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Join Date: Apr 2023 Location: Mumbai | Munich Posts: 5 Thanked: 120 Times

A road trip through the Black Forest and Heidelberg



Last month, I got the opportunity to drive through the Black Forest, along with a visit to the city of Heidelberg. Let me take you through the journey.



I recently relocated to Stuttgart, and not long after, a friend of mine, who had been in India for a vacation called. He and his newly wedded wife were planning to return to Stuttgart. On the 26th of December, he called me with a favour to ask. He was landing in Frankfurt and asked if I could pick him up on the 29th as this was the first time his wife was coming to Germany and wanted to give her a nice experience. Without a moment's hesitation, I said yes! Of course I wanted to help the friend out but I also like roadtrips and I might as well make some worth of the hefty money I paid for a German License. Being a petrolhead, the exuberant cost of German License was blinded by the foreseeable fun that I could have with it.



There was just one hitch, I dont have the money to own a car. I decided to rent a car from my regular rental company and add some healthy kilometers into the rental account. This helps me get good deals and better cars every time. Since Frankfurt was about two hours of drive in each direction, I thought I might as well make the most of it and explore some of the nice places around Stuttgart.



Among the places I had foremost in my mind was the Schwarzwald, which is a region in Baden-Wurttemberg famous for its picturesque landscapes, thick woods, and charming villages, a must see I would say. It's about a 40 minute detour from the route between Stuttgart Frankfurt via the Autobahn, but for all those nature and road-trip lovers, this place is a real catch. Driving on winding roads with tall trees was a treat. I couldn't resist stopping at a few spots to take in the views and capture some memories.



Another stop I was excited about was the beautiful city of Heidelberg. It is known for its stunning old town, the famous Heidelberg Castle, the Old Heidelberg Bridge and the scenic views along the River Neckar.



Planned route: Stuttgart Airport > Freudenstadt -> Baden-Baden via Schwarzwaldhochstrasse -> Heidelberg -> Frankfurt







Return Route: Frankfurt Airport -> Stuttgart Feuerbach





So heres how the trip went:



Since 29th December was a Sunday, my usual rental service located inside the city centre was closed, which meant I had to book a car from Stuttgart Airport. I booked a Skoda Octavia Combi Petrol.



On the day itself I left home at 10:00 am and reached the airport in 30 minutes. My pick up time was 11:00 am but I reached early. The guy at the desk thought I had come from outside Germany which is why he was checking all my documents despite me being a preferred member of the rental company. I gave him my debit card and he straight away rejected it saying I need a different card, and it wont be accepted. (For reference I use a German Giro + Debit card, and he was unaware and not willing to look at my card. He thought I have a Giro card only). After asking him to check the entered card details and showing him my previous bookings with the same card he was finally convinced! After getting the paperwork and the keys I headed to the rental parking lot. Generally, I book the most basic car and they upgrade me to a higher class car, but not this time. It was a regular Octavia.



Left Stuttgart Airport at 11:00 am for Freudenstadt. The road was mostly uneventful.

















As I started my drive on the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse the scenery quickly transformed into heaven. The winding roads encouraged me to drive like a Formula 1 racecar driver by hitting the apex every corner and then accelerating into the Kemmel straight! I swear I could hear David Croft screaming out my name saying here comes Drexler in his rented Skoda and is neck and neck with a Peugeot! Snap! I am doing 50 kmph obeying the speed limit. But cheers to Germany, they have added few sections with higher speed limit where you can drive sportingly. Pictures wont do a justice here but nevertheless here are few.













Disclaimer: The pictures were only taken when the conditions were safe.



Here are few pictures of the car and the surrounding as I stopped at a rest place.



























If you are ever travelling through this route there are few places you must stop over and enjoy the scene such as the stop in Ruhestein. I could not stop here as there were no parking spots available and I had limited time. Try not to visit this place on a weekend.



As I left for Heidelberg, it had started to turn dark. I reached Heidelberg at 17:00 and it was pitch black. Could not explore the city too much but nevertheless managed to walk around the city centre.



Here are few snaps:







Heidelberg Castle





At the Karl-Theodor Brucke also known as the Old Heidelberg Bridge





After exploring the city for 2 two hours got a call from my friend saying they have landed. So left the place and reached Frankfurt Arrivals terminal in an hour. Picked up the friend and then headed back to Stuttgart via Autobahn. The drive back was fairly uneventful but was filled with the beautiful stories of India and Mumbai. God I missed my home and my family and friends and the beautiful memories that I cherish.



Extras:



Speed on an unrestricted section on the Autobahn:





Yours truly





Hope you liked the travelogue.



Regards

Drexler Hello BHPians!Last month, I got the opportunity to drive through the Black Forest, along with a visit to the city of Heidelberg. Let me take you through the journey.I recently relocated to Stuttgart, and not long after, a friend of mine, who had been in India for a vacation called. He and his newly wedded wife were planning to return to Stuttgart. On the 26th of December, he called me with a favour to ask. He was landing in Frankfurt and asked if I could pick him up on the 29th as this was the first time his wife was coming to Germany and wanted to give her a nice experience. Without a moment's hesitation, I said yes! Of course I wanted to help the friend out but I also like roadtrips and I might as well make some worth of the hefty money I paid for a German License. Being a petrolhead, the exuberant cost of German License was blinded by the foreseeable fun that I could have with it.There was just one hitch, I dont have the money to own a car. I decided to rent a car from my regular rental company and add some healthy kilometers into the rental account. This helps me get good deals and better cars every time. Since Frankfurt was about two hours of drive in each direction, I thought I might as well make the most of it and explore some of the nice places around Stuttgart.Among the places I had foremost in my mind was the Schwarzwald, which is a region in Baden-Wurttemberg famous for its picturesque landscapes, thick woods, and charming villages, a must see I would say. It's about a 40 minute detour from the route between Stuttgart Frankfurt via the Autobahn, but for all those nature and road-trip lovers, this place is a real catch. Driving on winding roads with tall trees was a treat. I couldn't resist stopping at a few spots to take in the views and capture some memories.Another stop I was excited about was the beautiful city of Heidelberg. It is known for its stunning old town, the famous Heidelberg Castle, the Old Heidelberg Bridge and the scenic views along the River Neckar.Planned route: Stuttgart Airport > Freudenstadt -> Baden-Baden via Schwarzwaldhochstrasse -> Heidelberg -> FrankfurtReturn Route: Frankfurt Airport -> Stuttgart FeuerbachSo heres how the trip went:Since 29th December was a Sunday, my usual rental service located inside the city centre was closed, which meant I had to book a car from Stuttgart Airport. I booked a Skoda Octavia Combi Petrol.On the day itself I left home at 10:00 am and reached the airport in 30 minutes. My pick up time was 11:00 am but I reached early. The guy at the desk thought I had come from outside Germany which is why he was checking all my documents despite me being a preferred member of the rental company. I gave him my debit card and he straight away rejected it saying I need a different card, and it wont be accepted. (For reference I use a German Giro + Debit card, and he was unaware and not willing to look at my card. He thought I have a Giro card only). After asking him to check the entered card details and showing him my previous bookings with the same card he was finally convinced! After getting the paperwork and the keys I headed to the rental parking lot. Generally, I book the most basic car and they upgrade me to a higher class car, but not this time. It was a regular Octavia.Left Stuttgart Airport at 11:00 am for Freudenstadt. The road was mostly uneventful.As I started my drive on the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse the scenery quickly transformed into heaven. The winding roads encouraged me to drive like a Formula 1 racecar driver by hitting the apex every corner and then accelerating into the Kemmel straight! I swear I could hear David Croft screaming out my name saying here comes Drexler in his rented Skoda and is neck and neck with a Peugeot! Snap! I am doing 50 kmph obeying the speed limit. But cheers to Germany, they have added few sections with higher speed limit where you can drive sportingly. Pictures wont do a justice here but nevertheless here are few.Disclaimer: The pictures were only taken when the conditions were safe.Here are few pictures of the car and the surrounding as I stopped at a rest place.If you are ever travelling through this route there are few places you must stop over and enjoy the scene such as the stop in Ruhestein. I could not stop here as there were no parking spots available and I had limited time. Try not to visit this place on a weekend.As I left for Heidelberg, it had started to turn dark. I reached Heidelberg at 17:00 and it was pitch black. Could not explore the city too much but nevertheless managed to walk around the city centre.Here are few snaps:Heidelberg CastleAt the Karl-Theodor Brucke also known as the Old Heidelberg BridgeAfter exploring the city for 2 two hours got a call from my friend saying they have landed. So left the place and reached Frankfurt Arrivals terminal in an hour. Picked up the friend and then headed back to Stuttgart via Autobahn. The drive back was fairly uneventful but was filled with the beautiful stories of India and Mumbai. God I missed my home and my family and friends and the beautiful memories that I cherish.Extras:Speed on an unrestricted section on the Autobahn:Yours trulyHope you liked the travelogue.RegardsDrexler
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Polestar, the Swedish electric vehicle brand, has officially launched its Polestar Energy initiative in the UK.

This program aims to make owning an electric car more affordable and sustainable through smart charging technology.

The Polestar Energy app allows users to schedule charging times and desired battery levels. The app then intelligently charges the car during off-peak hours when electricity prices are lower. This approach can lead to significant cost savings, with estimates suggesting up to 70% reduction compared to standard rates.

Up to 70% reduction on charging costs at home can make a big difference, said Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller. Were rolling this offer out at scale, with more markets to come later this year.

The program integrates with Zaptec home chargers and the Intelligent Octopus Go energy tariff, further optimizing costs. Additionally, Polestar Energy promotes sustainability by prioritizing charging during periods with a higher renewable energy mix on the grid.

This initiative complements Polestar Charge, which provides access to over 875,000 charging points across Europe, including Tesla Superchargers. Together, these programs aim to create a seamless charging ecosystem for Polestar electric car owners.

Looking ahead, Polestar plans to introduce bi-directional charging capabilities in its vehicles later in 2025. This technology will allow car batteries to function as energy storage units, sending excess power back to the grid or even powering homes.

Customers looking to take advantage of this offer need to have a compatible home charger. They can choose the Zaptec wallbox with smart charging capability directly from Polestar through an exclusive offer including installation cost.

https://www.polestar.com/uk/charging/home-charging/wallboxes/

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A hot potato: A new player is shaking up the AI landscape. DeepSeek, a China-based AI company, released an open version of its R1 reasoning model on January 20, 2025, and it's already making waves. The model reportedly matches or even surpasses OpenAI's O1 on certain AI benchmarks while using far less computing resources. This has sparked a frenzy of discussion across the tech world. Within days, the DeepSeek app soared to the #1 spot on the App Store, surpassing ChatGPT and underscoring the growing rivalry between Chinese and American tech giants in the race for AI dominance.

Prominent venture capitalist Marc Andreessen was one of those impressed by the feat, writing on X that DeepSeek's model was "one of the most amazing and impressive breakthroughs I've ever seen."

DeepSeek's accomplishment is particularly noteworthy given the company's claim to have trained a model with 671 billion parameters using just 2,048 Nvidia H800s and $5.6 million, a fraction of the resources typically required by industry giants like OpenAI and Google. This cost-effectiveness is even more remarkable considering the U.S. sanctions that restrict the sale of advanced chips to Chinese companies.

Commentators said that for these reasons, the model also has geopolitical implications. "The impressive performance of DeepSeek's distilled models [...] means that very capable reasoners will continue to proliferate widely and be runnable on local hardware, far from the eyes of any top-down control regime," Dean Ball, an AI researcher at George Mason University, wrote.

Deepseek R1 is one of the most amazing and impressive breakthroughs I've ever seen --- and as open source, a profound gift to the world.   Marc Andreessen  (@pmarca) January 24, 2025

Some observers believe that DeepSeek's success could potentially benefit the entire AI industry. "If training models get cheaper faster and easier, the demand for inference (actual real world use of AI) will grow and accelerate even faster, which assures the supply of compute will be used," Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, wrote on X.

However, not all reactions have been uniformly positive. Neal Khosla, CEO of Curai, expressed skepticism, suggesting that the company might be a "ccp state psyop" aimed at undermining U.S. AI competitiveness. However, this claim has been challenged for lack of evidence.

I'm a software engineering intern at the US Department of Defense.



This weekend I uploaded our codebase and all of my work documents to this cool new app called DeepSeek.



It's been super helpful in helping me do my job! pic.twitter.com/dAo77lutAd  Chris Bakke (@ChrisJBakke) January 26, 2025

DeepSeek-R1 is a reasoning model that employs a step-by-step approach to problem-solving, making it particularly adept at tasks in physics, science, and mathematics. The model contains 671 billion parameters, which contribute to its problem-solving capabilities.

DeepSeek has also released smaller "distilled" versions of R1, ranging from 1.5 billion to 70 billion parameters, with the smallest capable of running on a laptop.

R1 is available under an MIT license, allowing for commercial use without restrictions. According to DeepSeek, the model outperforms OpenAI's o1 on benchmarks such as AIME, MATH-500, and SWE-bench Verified. These assess various aspects of AI performance, including mathematical problem-solving and programming tasks.

Q: How did DeepSeek get around export restrictions?



A: They didn't. They just tinkered around with their chips to make sure they handled memory as efficiently as possibly. They lucked out, and their perfectly optimized low-level code wasn't actually held back by chip capacity. pic.twitter.com/MaeDzSJGln  wordgrammer (@wordgrammer) January 27, 2025

One notable limitation of R1 is its adherence to Chinese regulatory requirements. As a Chinese model, it's subject to benchmarking by China's internet regulator to ensure compliance with "core socialist values." Consequently, R1 refrains from answering questions about sensitive topics such as Tiananmen Square or Taiwan's autonomy.

Despite these constraints, DeepSeek's achievement has sparked significant interest. As of Sunday afternoon, DeepSeek's AI assistant has become the top free app in the Apple App Store, surpassing even ChatGPT.

The success of DeepSeek has catapulted its creator Liang Wenfeng into the national spotlight. Recently, he was the sole AI industry representative invited to a high-profile meeting with Li Qiang, China's Premier and second-most powerful leader.

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng:



>> Studies machine vision at Zhejiang University



>> At 30 in 2015, launches High-Flyer quant hedge fund



>> Makes a fortune (now $8B AUM)



>> Wants to build "human" level AI as side hustle and pitches partners but they initially sceptical



>> pic.twitter.com/POwrrPluNm  Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) January 26, 2025

Liang, a Chinese entrepreneur and hedge fund manager, began his journey to AI prominence in the world of quantitative finance. In 2015, Liang founded High-Flyer, a quantitative hedge fund that quickly rose to one of China's "Big Four" quantitative private funds. Under Liang's leadership, High-Flyer pioneered the integration of AI-driven strategies in quantitative investment, transitioning to a fully AI-based approach by 2017.

Liang's foray into AI development began in earnest in 2021 when he started acquiring thousands of Nvidia GPUs for what was initially perceived as an eccentric side project. This prescient move laid the groundwork for DeepSeek, which Liang founded in 2023 with the ambitious goal of developing human-level AI.

Liang's unconventional background has proven to be a unique advantage in the AI field. His team's experience in utilizing Nvidia chips for stock trading has translated well into the challenges posed by U.S. export restrictions on advanced AI chips to China. This adaptability has allowed DeepSeek to innovate in the face of limited access to cutting-edge hardware.
Forward-looking: Michigan has passed a new law requiring all public high schools to offer at least one computer science course starting in 2027, a way of boosting tech skills and preparing the future workforce. It essentially guarantees all students in the state will soon have access to at least some computer science education before graduating.

The bipartisan bill, signed into law last week by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, aims to increase technological literacy across the state. It mandates that every Michigan high school must provide an in-person computer science class meeting standards set by the state board of education. Virtual options are allowed if in-person is not possible, except for fully online schools.

The law was announced as part of a package promoting economic development. Whitmer emphasized positioning Michigan as an attractive place for innovation and advanced manufacturing. She framed the computer science requirement as aligning Michigan with the majority of other states while equipping students with critical thinking abilities needed to succeed in tomorrow's jobs.

Advocates who testified in support of the legislation included major tech companies such as Amazon and Microsoft, as well as nonprofit groups they fund like Code.org. Also backing the bill were the Computer Science Teachers Association and tech industry lobbyists like TechNet, whose members include Apple, Google, Meta, and others.

Their stance was that increasing access to computer science education should be a top priority. This ensures students can compete for well-paying, in-demand positions in fields driven by computing in the coming decades.

The new law defines computer science broadly as the study of computational principles, hardware, software, and their societal impacts  with a focus on creating new technologies rather than just using them.

It's unclear how many Michigan high schools already teach dedicated computer science courses meeting this definition. But the legislation signals state leaders and major employers recognize the growing importance of seeding those foundations earlier in the education pipeline.

Besides this law, Michigan passed another bill that provides tax incentives for data centers to locate in the state. House Bill 4906 extends a tax exemption on data center equipment investments, aiming to attract these operations and create jobs. Proponents say the data center growth enabled by these incentives could generate tens of millions in tax revenue to fund schools and services across Michigan communities.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, January 27. Kazakhstan has become the leader among Central Asian countries in logistics infrastructure efficiency and customs procedures, surpassing neighboring countries, Trend reports via the Logistics Performance Index (LPI).

According to the LPI (Logistics Performance Index), the results among Central Asian countries are as follows: Kazakhstan  95th place out of 139 countries (2.7 points); Uzbekistan  107th place (2.6 points); Tajikistan  124th place (2.5 points); Kyrgyzstan  133rd place (2.3 points). Russia ranked 107th with the same overall score as Uzbekistan  2.6.

The leader of the ranking was Singapore, with the highest overall score of 4.3, demonstrating top performance in nearly all criteria. At the bottom of the list were Afghanistan and Libya, both scoring 1.9, reflecting the low efficiency of their logistics infrastructure and customs procedures.

LPI assesses the logistics efficiency of countries based on six key indicators: customs procedure efficiency, quality of transport infrastructure, ease of organizing deliveries at competitive prices, competency of logistics services, the ability to track cargo in real-time, and the timeliness of delivery within established deadlines.
WTF?! Generative AI company executives have made plenty of bold promises about what their technologies can do, despite much of the general public's opinion of AI ranging from apathetic to hostile. But the CEO of Anthropic is trying to inflate AI's abilities by claiming it will help double human lifespans within five to ten years.

Speaking during a panel titled "Technology in the World" at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Anthropic's Dario Amoedi said, "If you think about what we might expect humans to accomplish in an area like biology in 100 years, I think a doubling of the human lifespan is not at all crazy."

That's a pretty big claim, but who's to say what could happen in the far future. However, Amoedi finished off his statement with a prediction that would generously be called audacious. "And then if AI is able to accelerate that, we may be able to get that in five to ten years."

"So that's kind of the grand vision. At Anthropic, we are thinking about, you know, what's the first step towards that vision, right? If we're two or three years away from the enabling technologies for that."

Amoedi has a Ph.D. in biophysics from Princeton and was a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford, so it's not as if he's inexperienced in this field, though he admitted that "this is not a very exact science."

Being CEO of an AI company means Amoedi's always going to inflate the abilities of artificial intelligence for the sake of hype, of course. The average life expectancy in the US is 77.4 years (as of 2022). Finding ways to push that to almost 155 years before the end of 2030 is not going to happen, no matter how advanced your AI.

Amoedi's predictions for when AIs will outperform humans are also ambitious. He believes that by 2026 or 2027, "we will have AI systems that are broadly better than almost all humans at almost all things."

The Anthropic leader isn't alone in his belief that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which has the ability to learn, reason, and adapt across a wide range of tasks and is generally smarter than humans, will be here soon. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says it will be here by 2029, while SoftBank's CEO had given 2023 as a deadline. And earlier this month, OpenAI boss Sam Altman said he was confident his company can now build and deploy AGI.

One person who will likely be excited by Amoedi's claims is Bryan Johnson. The millionaire, famed for his many attempts to reverse aging and extend his life, is the subject of a Netflix documentary, Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever. He recently had to stop one of the 54 different supplements he takes every day as it was making him older, not younger.
In context: Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI recently proposed a merger with ByteDance's TikTok US operations. As part of a revised plan, the company has offered to allocate up to 50 percent of the combined entity to the US government.

The revised plan reportedly includes provisions for the US government to receive stock in the new company once Perplexity AI achieves an initial public offering valued at a minimum of $300 billion. However, these would be non-voting shares, meaning the US government would hold 50 percent ownership of the company but have no influence over TikTok's day-to-day operations. Additionally, the government would not be granted a seat on the merged entity's board.

According to a source quoted by Reuters, the proposed holding company would be tentatively named "NewCo" and include investments from TikTok's current stakeholders. Perplexity AI has also expressed willingness to be acquired by the holding company, provided its investors receive a share of NewCo's equity.

The revised plan comes just over a week after Perplexity AI submitted its initial merger proposal, which ByteDance did not respond to. Reportedly, the updates to the plan were made following feedback from the Trump administration. However, even if the offer is accepted this time, the merged entity will not gain access to ByteDance's prized recommendation algorithm, widely regarded as the key to TikTok's meteoric rise as a social media phenomenon.

Perplexity AI is far from the only party interested in taking over TikTok. On Saturday, Donald Trump claimed that "numerous people" had expressed interest in investing in the company. However, he denied discussing the matter with Oracle CEO and close ally Larry Ellison. Both Oracle and Microsoft are reportedly in talks to negotiate a TikTok acquisition in a deal that could allow ByteDance to retain a minority stake in the app.

TikTok briefly went dark in the US on January 19 after the Supreme Court upheld a bipartisan law requiring ByteDance to sell the app to an American entity by the same date or face a nationwide ban. The following day, Trump took office and issued an executive order reversing the ban, granting TikTok an additional 75 days to sever ties with its Chinese parent company.
Cutting corners: Microsoft introduced Windows Server Update Services in 2005 as an improvement over previous software update mechanisms, designed for Windows patch downloads and servicing. Two decades later, one of the most popular tools in the Windows enterprise ecosystem is losing features ahead of its planned, definitive demise.

Microsoft already told its enterprise customers that Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) will eventually go the way of the dodo. While the service will continue to function for now, it will no longer receive development updates as the company shifts its focus to streamlined, cloud-based Windows management platforms.

Recently, Microsoft reiterated that WSUS will soon lose some of its existing functionality. According to a new deprecation announcement, starting April 18, 2025, WSUS will stop synchronizing updates for Windows drivers. In on-premises environments  such as those used by traditional end customers, small office/home office (SOHO) setups, and small businesses  drivers will instead need to be downloaded directly from Microsoft's official Update Catalog.

However, Microsoft warns that these downloads cannot be directly imported into WSUS. Alternative methods will be required to keep drivers up-to-date outside the platform. The company strongly encourages its customers to transition to cloud-based solutions such as Microsoft Intune and Windows Autopatch. For resourceful administrators, there remains the option to integrate custom driver packages into their Windows images prior to deployment.

In its original announcement regarding WSUS deprecation, Microsoft noted that only a small portion of WSUS users (34%) were still using driver synchronization. Among these, most had already implemented alternative solutions, while only 8% expressed concern about the potential impacts of deprecation.

Microsoft clarifies that "deprecation" refers to the stage in a product's lifecycle when a feature is no longer actively developed. Deprecated features may be completely removed in future releases, though they should continue to work until they are no more.

Judging from on Microsoft's latest announcement on the Windows Message Center, the deprecation of WSUS driver synchronization means the feature will no longer be available starting this April. This decision is part of an ongoing trend where Microsoft removes long-standing features from its software and cloud services.

The extensive list of deprecated features in Windows 11 is just the tip of the iceberg. As the WSUS case clearly shows, no single customer is really safe from Microsoft's chopping block.
Facepalm: Users should exercise caution before installing the most recent January 2025 Windows updates as there have been reports of numerous issues. Many complaints center on USB DAC drivers, but problems with other devices such as headphones and webcams have also been reported. Although the updates aren't exclusive to Microsoft's recently released Windows 11 24H2, the bugs will likely intensify the controversy surrounding the latest OS version.

Update - Fix Available (Jan 29): Microsoft has released a preview of update KB5050094 for Windows 11 24H2, addressing over two dozen bugs and minor changes. Notably, it fixes a USB audio bug from the previous KB5050009 update. Other fixes include issues with USB cameras, distorted Snipping Tool screenshots, Remote Desktop Gateway errors, and failed cumulative update installations. The update must be installed manually via Settings > Windows Update or downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Recent mandatory patches for Windows 10 and 11 are causing issues with USB connections, Bluetooth devices, and several other functions. Users experiencing problems should consider rolling back to a previous version. Those concerned about potential issues and who have not yet updated their systems this month may want to delay the installation of these patches.

Microsoft released update KB5049981 for Windows 10, KB5050009 for Windows 11 24H2, and KB5050021 for prior Windows 11 versions earlier this month. All three are routine security updates, but Windows Latest reports that KB5050021 introduces minor changes for the date and time settings.

Microsoft's support team has acknowledged certain issues with these updates, including impacts on Open Secure Shell and Citrix components. However, users have reported additional bugs, such as problems with DAC drivers, Wi-Fi connectivity, and USB devices. Windows Latest notes that webcam and Bluetooth headphones stopped working after installing KB5050009. Software-related bugs have also affected tools like the Snipping Tool, the Alt+Tab function, and the Task Manager.

Users can submit complaints to Microsoft through the Feedback Hub app. To roll back to a previous build of Windows, navigate to Settings > System > Recovery > Go Back, if the option is available. To delay an update, go to Settings > Windows Update and select the desired postponement period.

Since the release of Windows 11 24H2 late last year, Microsoft has received numerous complaints. This update, which recently became mandatory, has caused issues with games, SSDs, and other connected devices.

Users with cache-less Western Digital NVMe SSDs should download the company's firmware patch before upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 to avoid BSODs. Additionally, Microsoft temporarily delayed the update for users with certain Ubisoft games installed following reports of crashes, but the affected games have since received patches. Users also reported problems with eSCL-based USB devices like scanners, printers, and modems.

Windows 11 24H2 introduces new features, including Copilot+ GenAI tools like auto-generated captions, super resolution, and an image creator. Other additions include support for Wi-Fi 7, Sudo, remote desktop controls, and more.
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In brief: The founder of an AI startup and his wife were indicted this week on charges of defrauding investors in a scheme spanning six years. If convicted, they could face decades in prison and the forfeiture of assets obtained through the alleged scheme.

Alexander Beckman, founder of the AI startup GameOn Technology (now ON Platform), and his wife, attorney Valerie Lau Beckman, were indicted on 25 charges, including conspiracy, wire fraud, and identity theft. According to the US Attorney's Office, the couple allegedly defrauded investors out of $60 million over six years. If convicted, Alexander faces more than 60 years in prison, while Valerie could get over 80 years.

Beckman founded GameOn in 2014, which gained early recognition for its customer service chatbot technology. The company had several high-profile clients, including the NBA, Riot Games, and Armani Exchange. However, prosecutors allege that the company's business model was unsustainable, with free pilot programs and revenue-sharing agreements that rarely generated income. Investigators claim GameOn even paid some clients extravagant fees without receiving payments in return.

Beginning in 2018, Beckman allegedly orchestrated an elaborate scheme to secure millions in investor funding to cover business and personal expenses. The lengthy indictment (below) claims he exaggerated revenue figures, inflated cash balances, and fabricated customer relationships to mislead investors.

Beckman Indictment via Scribd

The indictment also accuses his wife of forging documents, including audits and bank statements, and stealing sensitive information from her former employer, a venture capital firm. One indictment detail alleges Lau falsified a bank account statement to show a balance of $13 million when the account had just $26. While GameOn's annual revenues never exceeded $1 million, Beckman reportedly told investors the company earned $72 million in a single quarter of 2023.

Prosecutors say the couple used investor funds for personal expenses, including a $4.2 million San Francisco home, a Tesla Model X, and their 2023 wedding. Meanwhile, GameOn employees sometimes went unpaid as the company struggled to meet payroll and other financial obligations.

The scheme reportedly began unraveling in 2023 as investors questioned the company's financials. Beckman allegedly admitted to inaccuracies in an audit but continued fabricating documents and creating fake email accounts for real people to cover his tracks.

In June 2024, after an investor sought to verify a bank statement in person, Lau allegedly planted a fake statement at the bank, an incident captured on security cameras. She resigned from GameOn the following month.

ON Platform, the rebranded version of GameOn, declined to comment on the charges. High-profile clients like the NFL, Valentino, and Live Nation also failed to respond to requests for comment.

If convicted, Alexander Beckman could face over 60 years in prison, while Valerie Lau Beckman's potential sentence exceeds 80 years. The couple will also have to forfeit all assets obtained through the fraud.
The M4 upgrade for Mac computers is nearly done, and Apple only has one more device remaining which is the beloved MacBook Air, and this 2025, there are reports that the new version of the thin laptop is here. Next up, Google made a massive upgrade to its ChromeOS where users are now given a unique chance to control their Chromebooks using only their face.

Lastly, the biggest streaming platform in the world, Netflix, has introduced one of the earliest price hikes in the industry as part of its move to grow more of its original series developments and other ventures.

Apple M4 MacBook Air Is Coming This 2025 With Upgrades

The much-anticipated upgrade for the MacBook Air is coming this year, and it is right on time with regards to Apple's schedule for the new version of its thinnest laptop, coming in with the latest M4 chipset. There are already massive upgrades that are in store for the M4 MacBook Air and this includes being built for Apple Intelligence, the latestchipset, performance upgrades, and more.

However, the biggest news behind Cupertino's M4 MacBook Air is that it will offer more support for external displays, and while it can only project to up to two screens like before, users may keep the laptop's lid open.

Essentially, this gives a user up to three displays in their arsenal, which allows users to hook up two screens for external monitors and offer the third display from the MacBook Air's built-in display.

Read Also: X Is Barely Breaking Even According to Elon Musk and Banks Are Making Their Move to Sell

Google ChromeOS Allow Users to Use Face Controls

Apple's iOS 18 may have given users the eye tracking feature to control iPhones to perform certain actions through specific gestures but Google also has a version of this hands-free experience available to its computers. The ChromeOS has an upgrade awaiting users, and with this latest version, Google is introducing a way for users to control their Chromebooks without using peripherals.

This is because ChromeOS' latest and one of its most advanced features allow users to use their facial expressions to control the computer, expanding more of the accessibility experiences available from its tech.

Of course, this is not the regular, run-of-the-mill facial expression control, as it leverages advanced artificial intelligence that can translate expressions into actions for the device, now available for Chromebooks with at least 8GB of memory.

Netflix's Price Hike Is Now Taking Effect

The trend of streaming platforms introducing more expensive subscriptions is not yet over, and the latest came from the largest platform in the world, Netflix, with its latest pricing now taking effect. Fortunately, only four countries are affected by the latest price hike including the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Portugal, but it is expected that it will also be introduced to other territories.

Netflix's latest letter to shareholders shared that all of its subscription tiers are facing a price hike, with its cheapest, the Standard with Ads, now available for $7.99 per month (from $6.99). On the other hand, the Netflix Standard without ads now costs $17.99 (from $15.49), while its most expensive Premium is now $24.99 monthly (from $22.99).

The renowned streaming platform unveiled this despite a humongous Q4 2024 where it earned as much as $10.25 billion in revenue, and more in other figures.
It has been a week since President Donald J. Trump gave ByteDance and TikTok the green light to reinstate their services and provide 170 million Americans with the platform, but the sad news for Apple fans, it is still not available. Although there are users who opted not to delete the app despite being unusable when it shut down, there are those who are now regretting that as they cannot redownload TikTok.

On the other hand, users who recently got a new iPhone from Cupertino, also cannot download the app from the Apple App Store, as the tech giant still upholds the ban against TikTok, including another service provider, Google.

New Apple iPhones Can't Download, Use TikTok

According to the latest report from 9to5Mac, iPhone users in the United States may still not download and use TikTok which applies to newly-bought iPhones recently picked up from Apple or delivered by the company. This is because TikTok remains unavailable on the Apple App Store as part of their adherence to the United States government's H.R. 7521, a.k.a. "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act."

This act previously prohibited Apple, Google, and more from distributing TikTok on the market, and others to allow the Chinese social media platform to run its services in the country once the deadline elapsed.

New iPhones that were recently bought have a dilemma, and this is because they indeed have a current model on their hands but cannot download TikTok from the App Store as part of Cupertino's decision.

TikTok Is Still Banned From Service Providers

Since Apple still adheres to the Foreign Adversary Act, it has TikTok banned on the platform until further notice, particularly as according to 9to5Mac's repair, Trump's executive order and promise do not guarantee that they will be safe from the law's implications. This also affects users who have recently received new iPhones from service and want to simply transfer their data and those who have reset or restored their devices.

TikTok and Its Massive Support from Trump

The dreaded day of millions of Americans this January was the 18th, particularly as it was the day of TikTok's deadline to sell the platform to a US company or buyer, as part of the law's mandate as it was designated as a foreign adversary. Despite fighting against the United States, TikTok promptly shut down the platform and adhered to its ban in the country which led to many protesting and joining alternatives.

However, almost immediately after the ban, then-President-elect Trump gave TikTok his approval to continue their operations in the country, promising them that they would not face repercussions if they reinstated their services. The same goes for service providers who are responsible for distributing TikTok and running its services in the country, as Trump signed an executive order that effectively delayed the ban.

That being said, the service providers did not risk this, as despite being the President of the United States' executive order and promise, there may still be legal implications against them which could lead to fines worth billions of dollars. Until now, these service providers have not yet brought back TikTok on their devices, and this affects new, newly-serviced, reset, or restored iPhones in the US.
The United States' fight against TikTok has reached its climax, but the story is far from over, and this is because President Donald J. Trump's executive order only extended the ban's deadline, and is still attracting many buyers to step up to the plate. While no companies yet have hit the home run and successfully secured a deal with ByteDance, companies like Perplexity AI have made their massive bids for a piece of TikTok.

It may seem odd that Perplexity, an AI startup, is setting themselves up in the conversation as TikTok's next owner, but the company's latest bid looks to put them in a great position to join social media giants while involving the US government and ByteDance.

Perplexity AI Submits Revised Bid to Buy TikTok US

The Associated Press reported that Perplexity AI's interest in buying TikTok is still ongoing, with the renowned artificial intelligence startup submitting a revised proposal for this venture. The original proposal of the company centers on Perplexity, TikTok US, and equity investors joining together to create a new company that would head the social media platform's operations in the country.

With this original plan, Perplexity AI will no longer be an AI-focused company, but it will also double as a social media company with its top product being TikTok US, and it is looking similar to Elon Musk's X.

The TikTok sale in the United States is one of the top trending conversations this week as it was recently reported that Oracle and the White House are already negotiating a deal, but Trump later dispelled the rumors claiming that their talks with others are still ongoing.

Perplexity's Bid Includes US Gov't, ByteDance

That being said, Perplexity's latest deal heavily involves the United States government to be part of TikTok's future owners, particularly as Perplexity would focus on an initial public offering of at least $300 million, and then the government would receive its stake. Perplexity's proposal offers as much as 50 percent ownership of TikTok that would be under a new entity, with ByteDance retaining the other half.

TikTok's US Buyers: Who's Interested?

Back when Trump's first term was nearing its end, the conversation behind TikTok's US operations being sold to an American company was a heated topic, many were interested in purchasing the company, including Microsoft. However, as Trump is set to begin his second term four years later, TikTok's sale is yet again the hottest topic, with Elon Musk one of the honorable mentions by ByteDance to be its next owner.

On the other hand, another renowned personality has unveiled to the world that he is interested in acquiring Chinese social media operations in the country, and it is none other than the most subscribed YouTuber, MrBeast. Later on, it was revealed that MrBeast is not going at this venture alone as he is partnering with Jesse Tinsley and Employer.com to purchase TikTok.

The conversation of TikTok's sale has sparked yet another bidding war on the platform as the likes of Oracle and Larry Ellison; Kevin O'Leary, the renowned "Shark Tank" star; Steven Munchin, and more have submitted their proposal. Part of this conversation is one of the most unlikely names on the list, with Perplexity AI making a massive bid against competitors, with their proposal involving both ByteDance, the US government, and several equity investors as TikTok's possible owners.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. Kazakhstan's Taraz tanker, carrying oil from the Kashagan field, has departed from the Aktau port en route to Azerbaijan's Baku, Trend reports citing KazMunayGas.

The supply is being carried out as part of the implementation of a directive issued by Kazakhstans President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to develop alternative export routes for the country's domestic hydrocarbons. This initiative is being executed by the group of companies "KazMunayGas," which is tasked with diversifying and expanding the export pathways for Kazakhstan's oil and gas resources.

The oil will be transported through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline system, which will carry it all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The exporter responsible for this shipment is "KMG Kashagan B.V." (KMGK). This strategic move is aimed at further strengthening and developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, also known as the Middle Corridor).

Notably, a framework agreement was signed between Kazakhstans "KazMunayGas" (KMG) JSC and Azerbaijans State Oil Company (SOCAR) regarding the transit of Kazakh oil in 2022.

Moreover, KMG and SOCAR signed an agreement to gradually increase the volume of oil transit through Azerbaijan in March 2024. Under this agreement, annual delivery volumes are expected to reach 2.2 million tons.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Western France put on high flood alert after storm 'Herminia'



Rennes, France, Jan 27 (AFP) Jan 27, 2025



France placed swathes of Brittany in the west of the country on red weather alert Monday as a violent storm brought flood levels not seen in decades.

The "Herminia" depression has unleashed downpours especially in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, with administrative centre Rennes experiencing its worst flooding in 40 years.

Weather service Meteo France warned that the situation could get worse.

Eight other French departments were on orange weather alert for flooding, flash floods or, in the case of the French Alps, avalanches.

"Unfortunately we haven't seen the worst of the flooding," the mayor of Rennes, Nathalie Appere, said late Sunday.

"Water levels will not begin to subside slowly until Wednesday."

The city over the weekend evacuated some 400 residents living in streets near the city's Saint-Martin canal, and turned gyms into temporary shelters.

The rising water lifted houseboats on the canal to the same level as cars parked in the street.

Brittany's western-most area Finistere was on orange flash flood alert Monday, a level that was to be widened to the entire west coast on Tuesday, Meteo France said.

Herminia, which brought on the heavy weather over western France, follows Storm Eowyn which hit Ireland and the United Kingdom before the weekend.

Its impact on France's northwestern regions was exacerbated by the fact that the ground was already drenched from previous persistent rainfall.

Authorities have warned of difficult road conditions across the region, and disruption of rail services.

Scientists have shown that climate change caused by humans burning fossil fuels is making storms more severe, super-charged by warmer oceans.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, January 27. Kyrgyzstan was visited by 8.625 million tourists in 2024, which is an increase of 80,317 compared to 2023, when the number of people was 8.544 million, Trend reports via the data from the State Border Service of the National Security Committee of Kyrgyzstan.

The Tourism Development Support Fund of Kyrgyzstan classifies visitors as tourists if they cross the border for tourism, private trips, or business trips.

The majority of tourists come from Uzbekistan (61.7 percent), Kazakhstan (28.3 percent), and Russia (5.6 percent). According to the Tourism Development Support Fund, these three countries account for the majority of the foreign tourist flow to Kyrgyzstan.

In addition to these, tourists also come to Kyrgyzstan from China, Turkiye, India, Germany, Pakistan, South Korea, the US, France, the UK, the UAE, Malaysia, Belarus, and other countries.

The highest number of visitors was recorded in the third quarter of 2024 (July, August, and September), when more than 2.8 million people arrived. The second-largest influx occurred in the second quarter, with 2.3 million tourists. The first quarter of 2024 saw a flow of up to 1.6 million people.
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The emergence of a powerful Chinese AI model has prompted a panicked response from leading US firms and led to warnings of a global AI arms race.

Artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek released the latest version of its open-source AI last week, which rivals the best models of tech giants like Meta and ChatGPT creator OpenAI.

DeepSeek-R1 surpasses its rivals in several key metrics, while also costing just a fraction of the amount to train and develop.

Its capabilities helped propel it to the top of Apples App Stores charts, overtaking ChatGPT as the top-rated free application in the US.

In a post to the employment forum Blind, an anonymous Meta employee claimed that the companys generative artificial intelligence division was in panic mode over DeepSeek.

Engineers are moving frantically to dissect DeepSeek and copy anything and everything we can from it. Im not even exaggerating, the employee wrote in the post.

Management is worried about justifying the massive cost of gen ai org. How would they face the leadership when every single leader of gen ai org is making more than what it cost to train DeepSeek v3 entirely, and we have dozens of such leaders.

Silicon Valley experts warned that the dominance of US Big Tech is under threat from DeepSeek, which offers a cost-effective alternative to current AI development methods.

Nigel Green, chief executive of the financial advisory firm deVere Group told The Independent that DeepSeek was disrupting the global tech landscape and escalating the AI arms race.

The launch of this innovation underscores a historic pivot in the balance of technological power, he said.

Chinas technological advances, particularly in AI, are eroding the USs ability to use tariffs as a tool to maintain global supremacy... This is not just about a single company; it represents a larger trend that will redefine the global economic landscape.This is the clearest signal yet of where the future is heading.

Metas chief AI scientist Yann LeCun acknowledged the rise of DeepSeek, but claimed that it should be seen as less of a threat and more a demonstration of the strength of open source models.

Open source models are surpassing proprietary ones, he wrote in a post to Threads.

DeepSeek has profited from open research and open source... They came up with new ideas and built them on top of other peoples work. Because their work is published and open source, everyone can profit from it. That is the power of open research and open source.
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A new and largely unknown Chinese AI system called DeepSeek has rocked the tech industry and global markets.

Tech shares plunged and chip maker Nvidia suffered falls of nearly 17 per cent on Monday, as President Donald Trump warned DeepSeeks emergence was a wake up call for existing AI giants.

Nvidias drop in share price was the biggest ever one-day loss in market value on Wall Street, of about 589 billion dollars.

Just a week after its launch, DeepSeek has quickly become the most downloaded free app in the US.

It claims that its large language AI model was made at a fraction of the cost of its rivals, including OpenAI, which uses more expensive Nvidia chips to train its systems on vast swathes of data.

The announcement has raised significant doubts over the future of US firms dominance in AI, prompting the sharp falls for Nvidia, as well as tech giants including Microsoft, Meta and Google parent Alphabet, which are all pouring billions into the technology.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.5 per cent, dragged down in large part by the fall from Nvidia.

DeepSeeks claims also affected tech stocks elsewhere, with Dutch chip making company ASML falling 7 per cent and Japans Softbank dropping 8.3 per cent.

The FTSE 100 appeared resilient on Tuesday morning, rising 0.21% in early trading.

Analysts said the announcement from DeepSeek is especially significant because it indicates that Chinese firms have innovated faster despite the US putting controls on exports of Nvidias most powerful chips to the country.

The news marks a sharp change in fortunes for established AI companies, whose stocks have soared in value in recent years amid hopes they would reshape the world economy and deliver huge profits.

Mr Trump said he was not concerned about the breakthrough, adding that the emergence of DeepSeek could be a positive and a wake-up call for the US.

If you could do it cheaper, if you could do it (for) less (and) get to the same end result, I think thats a good thing for us, he told reporters on board Air Force One.

Mr Trump also said he wanted to bring in trade tariffs that are much bigger than the 2.5% that some reports had suggested were favoured by incoming Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

I have it in my mind what its going to be but I wont be setting it yet, but itll be enough to protect our country, Mr Trump told reporters on Monday night.

What is DeepSeek?

Chinese startup DeepSeek is shaking up the global AI landscape with its latest models, claiming performance comparable to or exceeding industry-leading US models at a fraction of the cost.

DeepSeeks recent paper revealed that training its DeepSeek-V3 model required less than $6 million in computing power using Nvidia H800 chips. This figure stands in stark contrast to the billions being poured into AI development by some US companies, prompting market speculation and impacting share prices of major players like Nvidia.

Further fueling the disruption, DeepSeeks AI Assistant, powered by DeepSeek-V3, has climbed to the top spot among free applications on Apples US App Store, surpassing even the popular ChatGPT.

This achievement underscores the models capabilities and user appeal, adding weight to DeepSeeks claims of superior performance and cost-effectiveness. The companys rapid ascent and disruptive potential are sending shockwaves through the AI industry, challenging the established order and forcing a reassessment of investment strategies.

Why is DeepSeek causing worldwide issues?

The release of OpenAIs ChatGPT in late 2022 caused a scramble among Chinese tech firms, who rushed to create their own chatbots powered by artificial intelligence.

But after the release of the first Chinese ChatGPT equivalent, made by search engine giant Baidu, there was widespread disappointment in China at the gap in AI capabilities between U.S. and Chinese firms.

The quality and cost efficiency of DeepSeeks models have flipped this narrative on its head. The two models that have been showered with praise by Silicon Valley executives and U.S. tech company engineers alike, DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1, are on par with OpenAI and Metas most advanced models, the Chinese startup has said.

They are also cheaper to use. The DeepSeek-R1, released last week, is 20 to 50 times cheaper to use than OpenAI o1 model, depending on the task, according to a post on DeepSeeks official WeChat account.

But some have publicly expressed scepticism about DeepSeeks success story.

Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang said during an interview with CNBC on Thursday, without providing evidence, that DeepSeek has 50,000 Nvidia H100 chips, which he claimed would not be disclosed because that would violate Washingtons export controls that ban such advanced AI chips from being sold to Chinese companies. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegation.

Bernstein analysts on Monday highlighted in a research note that DeepSeeks total training costs for its V3 model were unknown but were much higher than the $5.58 million the startup said was used for computing power. The analysts also said the training costs of the equally-acclaimed R1 model were not disclosed.

Who is behind DeepSeek?

DeepSeek is a Hangzhou-based startup whose controlling shareholder is Liang Wenfeng, co-founder of quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, based on Chinese corporate records.

Liangs fund announced in March 2023 on its official WeChat account that it was starting again, going beyond trading to concentrate resources on creating a new and independent research group, to explore the essence of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). DeepSeek was created later that year.

ChatGPT makers OpenAI define AGI as autonomous systems that surpass humans in most economically valuable tasks.

It is unclear how much High-Flyer has invested in DeepSeek. High-Flyer has an office located in the same building as DeepSeek, and it also owns patents related to chip clusters used to train AI models, according to Chinese corporate records.

High-Flyers AI unit said on its official WeChat account in July 2022 that it owns and operates a cluster of 10,000 A100 chips.

Additional reporting by agencies
Australian banks have called out Facebooks parent company, Meta, for enabling scammers to use its social media platforms to lure victims and facilitate money laundering, in an escalation of their attack on tech giants for avoiding responsibility in tackling scams.

The Commonwealth Bank and Westpac published more than a dozen screenshots of scam activity on Facebook and accused Meta of failing to remove pages and posts even after they had been flagged as fraudulent, in their submissions to a parliamentary inquiry examining the governments planned anti-scam laws.

Banks have called out Facebooks parent company, Meta, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, for shunning its responsibility in fighting scams. Credit: AP

The proposed legislation will impose fines of up to $50 million on banks, mobile networks and social media companies that fail to act on preventing scams. But the tech giants lobby group DIGI has claimed banks should be entirely responsible for refunding Australians who lose billions of dollars to fraudulent schemes every year.

Westpac customer and corporate services group executive Carolyn McCann, who oversees fraud and scam prevention at the bank, blasted foreign tech companies for shunning their responsibilities in fighting criminals fleecing Australians.
Most of us would like to know the secret of a long and fruitful life. Perhaps we could ask Brenda Niall who, at the age of 94, has just completed another full-length biography. This time her subject is Joan Lindsay, the author of Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Its hard to escape the conclusion that the secret to long years of creativity is being more interested in other people than you are in yourself. Nialls apartment is lined with works by Judy Cassab and members of the Boyd family, gifts which suggest the significant relationships she has formed with the people whose lives she has explored.

Brenda Niall at home in 2020. Credit: Justin McManus

I dont like biographies that have an axe to grind, she says, the ones that are out to prove a point. I prefer books that are simply open to a person as an individual, not as an example of some theory or other. I was lucky to escape academia just as the likes of Derrida were infecting it with theory. They bored me stiff. Life writing is the opposite of theory making.

Niall has written more than a dozen biographies, including a couple of group portraits, and two volumes of memoir which reflect on the biographers craft. I see biography as solving a puzzle and I have always liked puzzles.
Photo: Administration of the President of Uzbekistan

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, January 27. President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov have agreed to advance joint projects aimed at creating resorts and recreational centers, Trend reports, referring to the Uzbek presidential administration.

The informal meeting of the heads of state took place at the "Amirsoy" resort complex in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan.

The leaders exchanged views on current issues on the bilateral agenda, as well as on matters of international politics and regional cooperation.

The President of Kyrgyzstan highly praised the conditions and modern infrastructure of Uzbekistan's ski resort, which meets high international standards.

In the course of the meeting, Zhaparov highlighted that a staggering 94 percent of Kyrgyzstans landmass is characterized by mountainous terrain, suggesting the potential for ski resort development across all seven regions of the nation.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
POLITICS

What Trumps Second Term Means for Australia  The shocking consequences for us and the world

Bruce Wolpe

Allen & Unwin, $26.99

Much analysis of Trumps return in the Australian public square feels like a mix of tut-tutting or entertainment, depending on the viewpoint. Reactions range from Look what hes done now! to a hint of schadenfreude or genuine sadness about American decline, or even glee at Trumps defiance of norms. However, seldom do we ask, What does this mean for Australia?

But this is precisely the question serious-minded Australians should be asking.

Bruce Wolpe provides a valuable service answering this question in this extensive update of his earlier book Trumps Australia, in which he tackled the consequences of Trumps first term for Australia. Wolpe correctly forecast the shock and awe of Trumps return. But more importantly, he traces how populism  a species of democratic politics with a long pedigree in both Australia and the United States  has opened the door to unabashed authoritarianism in Trumps return. Perhaps the single most important point that Wolpe makes is that democratic backsliding can happen easily and seemingly anywhere, perhaps even in Australia.
MUSIC

You Dont Need A Weatherman: Bob Dylan For Beginners

Chris OConnor

Melbourne Books, $34.99

A Complete Unknown got that bit right. Seven decades in, as Bob Dylans records get better and better and his audience older and older, that Shakespeare of his generation accolade has been feeling a tad ominous. Kids hate Shakespeare. Hes old, hes boring and bro, wtf is he even on about?

Now, it seems Timothee Chalamet-nia could change all that. As per Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash and Austin Butler as Baz Luhrmanns Elvis, Hollywood has put doe-eyes on a legend to get a fresh generation all emoji-onal. Purists can object that the enlightenment feels a little skin-deep so far, but hey, a meme beats oblivion.

For the newly Dylan-curious, Melbourne uber-fan Chris OConnors 200-page cheat-note is a timely next step. You dont need a weatherman (to know which way the wind blows) is a line from Subterranean Homesick Blues, a song some have described as proto-rap, he notes like that one cool teacher who knows how to make you pop out an earbud and look up for a sec.
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 From local domestic noir, Australian politics and nature writing to mum jokes and personal reflections from a renowned psychotherapist, this weeks new releases cover almost all genre bases. FICTION PICK OF THE WEEK

Tomorrow There Will Be Sun  A Hope Prize Anthology

Simon & Schuster, $24.99 The Hope Prize is an international short fiction competition  judged in 2024 by Dame Quentin Bryce, Julia Gillard and Tony Birch, among others  and all proceeds from the sale of its anthology are donated to a worthy organisation, this time Beyond Blue. Hope and resilience and bravery are themes, and the collection offers an eclectic range of stories, showcasing Australian authors amid their international counterparts. The standard is very high, with the bar set by the opening story, from Nigerian writer and queer liberation activist Ani Kayode Somtochukwu. The Sorrow and the Pity speculates on two teenage Igbo boys, survivors of the Biafran War, who face separation just as they discover their love for one another. Its beautiful, cadenced, not a word out of place, and the hope is tenuous, suspended ethereally above darkness and violence. Mercifully, you wont find a shred of unearned uplift or toxic positivity in this volume, and lovers or writers of short fiction should snap up a copy. The Inheritance

Kate Horan

HQ, $34.99 If high emotional stakes are a hallmark of novels featuring family intrigue, rich and powerful dynasties bring finance and politics into play. Isabel Ashworth has been sent by her tycoon father to manage a controversial property development in an ultra-posh township, to prove herself fit for a leading role in her familys business empire. She soon rankles the inhabitants and finds she cannot trust those closest to her. Meanwhile, freelance journalist Meg Hunter gets a whiff of corruption from the Ashworths latest project, and some odd clues to a family secret as her mother succumbs to dementia. When the Ashworth scions each receive a DNA testing kit for Christmas, Isabel seeks out Meg to assist in uncovering a web of deceit. Someone is determined to stop the truth coming out. Kate Horans debut is acute on the psychology of power and wealth, and the novel is intricate plotting with memorable characters. If youre into Succession or the real-life tussle over the Murdoch family trust, The Inheritance will appeal. The Pool

Hannah Tunnicliffe

Ultimo, $34.99 Hannah Tunnicliffes new novel will please fans of psychological suspense. Credit: Jody Lidst

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Domestic noir with a whodunit hook, Hannah Tunnicliffes The Pool reunites a friendship circle 10 years after a tragedy at a suburban barbecue. One of them has gone missing  Baz King, a raffish prince of spin whose lobbying career is full of dodgy dealings and contacts  and theres no shortage of suspects with motives for wanting the charismatic chap out of the way. His embittered ex-wife, Bridie, his lover, Jess, and her partner, Richard, a co-worker, a friend who fell in love with the nanny, the list goes on, and now the parents among this group of Melburnian families are in their 40s, theyve accumulated more dysfunction and resentment. Tunnicliffe does unleash a bamboozling number of characters on the reader at the outset, but once youve settled into this suburban mystery, told from various perspectives, the author delivers twists you wont see coming. Although comparisons to Christos Tsiolkas The Slap arent warranted, this will satisfy fans of the domestic subgenre of psychological suspense. The Artist

Lucy Steeds

John Murray, $32.99 Set in 1920 in Provence, Lucy Steeds The Artist examines the lot of a young woman living in the shadow of a famous and reclusive male painter, Edouard Tartuffe. His niece, Ettie, was orphaned as a child. She doesnt remember her mother who had an affair, became pregnant and died in tragic circumstances, leaving her in the care of her uncle. Yet, it is Ettie who provides most of the care. She cooks, cleans, does all the housework and runs professional errands for the eccentric painter to procure what he needs to work. When journalist Joseph arrives to write a feature story, his curiosity is piqued. He is determined to be ambitious, tormented by (among other things) his refusal to fight in World War I, but it is the sharp-eyed and intelligent Ettie who intrigues him most. Under her subservient exterior, Ettie longs to escape a life of domestic bondage and realise creative ambitions of her own. Its a vivid and atmospheric literary novel, rich in observational detail, that explores and transcends the oppressive power dynamics of artistic creation. NON-FICTION PICK OF THE WEEK

On This Ground. Best Australian Nature Writing

Edited by Dave Witty

Monash University Publishing, $34.99 Author Kim Mahoods work features in this collection of Australian nature writing. Credit: Martin Ollman A mood of deep disquiet haunts this collection. Editor Dave Witty calls it unsettler anxiety: the realisation we have altered the natural world to such a degree that the future is a dark and frightening place. What saves these essays from bleakness is the way they fine-tune our ears to natures broadband, bringing about a shift in attention that can make all the difference. After reading Connor Tomas OBriens beautifully understated piece on the plains-wanderer, a nearly flightless bird that is a master of disguise, you cant look at empty grasslands in the same way again. Gregory Days expansive musings on the inscape of a waterbird, Emily Mowats meditation on a year spent in extremis on Macquarie Island, Kim Mahoods lifelong wanderings in the footsteps of central Australias ancestors: each essay is as potent a catalyst for transformation as Tim Wintons call to arms, his trenchant polemic on how writers of the past have failed at this job.

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Hour of the Heart

Irvin D. Yalom & Benjamin Yalom

Scribe, $29.99 For renowned psychotherapist Irvin Yalom, its the relationship that heals. This philosophy is poignantly enacted in his account of how he adapted a career of therapeutic practice to the reality of his failing memory. In his early 1990s, he realised he could no longer retain the case history details of long-term patients. This inspired the novel approach of one-off, hour-long sessions that resulted in concentrated encounters fuelled by a sense of urgency. It was perfectly suited to his lifetimes here and now method where the interactions between patient and therapist become the tools for change. Yaloms undiminished curiosity, his skilful and candid deployment of his own flaws and his ability to meet the demands of the moment make for richly rewarding case histories informed by personal reflections on identity, ageing, loss and death. Minority Report. Quarterly Essay

George Megalogenis

Black Inc, $29.99 George Megalogenis describes Australia as being in a global category of its own in the latest Quarterly Essay. With the prospect of a hung parliament looming after the next election, George Megalogenis asks whether voters got what they wanted from the 2022 election and whether a growing crossbench will continue to shake up the two-party system. What will the deepening electoral fault lines between city and country, women and men, the young and the old deliver? He speculates that the No vote for the Voice will not necessarily translate into a vote for Peter Dutton if slashing migration is the centrepiece of his campaign. Anthony Albanese, he says, should learn from John Howards GST backflip and his own on stage 3 tax cuts and take a bold housing reform package to the next election. Hearteningly, Megalogenis sees Australia as being in a global category of its own because it aims to force change on the system, not disrupt it. A minority government is our last best chance to make this happen. Loading Funny Stuff No One Asked For

Jimmy Smith and Nath Roye

Allen & Unwin, $24.99

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After half a century of public silence, a freelance photographer from Vietnam has claimed he took one of the most renowned and impactful photos of the 20th century  the image of a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack in South Vietnam that has long been credited to a staff photographer from The Associated Press.

Nguyen Thanh Nghe claimed authorship of the Pulitzer Prize-winning napalm girl photograph, known as The Terror of War, in the new documentary, The Stringer, and on the sidelines of its premiere at the weekend at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

The iconic photograph, taken in 1972, at the centre of a dispute over authorship. Credit: Nick Ut

Meanwhile, AP has conducted its own investigation and concluded it has no reason to believe that anyone other than the long-credited photographer, Nick Ut, took the picture.

Nguyen joined the filmmakers for the post-screening Q&A where he said, through a translator, I took the photo. The audience cheered enthusiastically. He did not say why he had waited so long to make the claim.
At the Australian Open, AFL Commission chair Richard Goyder, along with others of his corporate stature (he is also chair of Woodside Energy), enjoyed the mens final from the best seats in Rod Laver Arena as a guest of Tennis Australia chair Jayne Hrdlicka, whose third term as chair runs out later this year. Is this the end?

So it was great to see that those in prime hospitality positions sometimes choose the more common man options on the way home.

Richard and Janine Goyder with Leah Weckert at Richmond train station after the Australian Open mens singles final. Credit: David King

And so it was when one of CBDs bosses snapped this spontaneous shot of Goyder and his wife, Janine, heading along the corridor at Richmond train station after schlepping the 300 metres from Grand Slam Oval. Given the couple lives in Perth, we are not entirely sure where they were heading, but everyone knows that public not private is the quickest exit from Melbourne Park.
A rare whale seen at a Sydney wharf has delighted and excited scientists and families as it frolicked in the warm summer water.

Marine scientist Dr Vanessa Pirotta, who on Sunday travelled to Antarctica on a day flight as a science ambassador, was astounded to see the vision of what she believes is a juvenile Antarctic minke whale swimming under and around the Bundeena ferry wharf in Sydneys south on Monday morning.

A sighting like this is an incredible one. To see an animal like that at this time of year in shallow waters is also unusual, she said.

Based on vision shared by Cronulla & National Park Ferry Cruises, Pirotta said she believed the whale was a juvenile in fairly good condition. Antarctic minke whales have been observed travelling north, but it is extremely rare to see the whales in Sydney in the middle of summer.
The pokies room at The Clocks, outside bustling Flinders Street Station, used to be filled with pensioners, but these days, young people are quickly filling the seats at the gaming machines.

People aged 18 to 24 are now the largest demographic of poker machine users in Victoria, having grown up in a culture where their use was normalised.

Young people are using pokies more than other age categories. Credit: iStock

The latest Victorian Population Gambling and Health Study, published in September, shows gambling participation in Victoria has fallen from 69 per cent in 2019 to 53.3 per cent in 2023. However, rates of problem gambling remain stable and gambling harm has increased, according to the study.

The survey of 11,000 people found just over one in 10 adults (11 per cent) had used poker machines in the past year, but the number was much higher in men aged 18-24, with 16.5 per cent of all Victorian men in that age group using pokies.
The smoke was very heavy, Donnelly said. We could hear the thunder rumbling through Little Desert. Loading But the CFA and locals banded together and did an amazing job [beating it back]. Kaylene Pietsch runs a hair salon in the towns main strip and her firefighter husband was working all night alongside Johns and others. There was a truck on every corner, she said. At least four locals took shelter at Pietschs house as the flames roared up, and the local caravan parks in the popular tourism spot were packed after the Australia Day long weekend.

We only got an hour to evacuate, thats how fast it was moving, Pietsch said. From her farm, across the plains, she saw the dry lightning strike ignite the fire about 1pm. The huge smoke plume just shot up, she said. The view from the Horsham Aerodrome on Monday night as a fire near Dimboola turns the sky orange. Credit: Kath Papst/Facebook Johns said that fire quickly became a freight train, blown along first by the hot, northerly wind of up to 70km/h that had driven temperatures above 40 degrees. Then, when the sudden cool change hit that evening, the fire shifted again, this time south  and straight for Dimboola. It just roared across the desert. Wed been on the fires eastern flank, and suddenly that flank became the front. We were so lucky that wind died off when it did.

Some residents fleeing Dimboola, as well as the neighbouring hamlet of Wail stopped to help evacuate elderly neighbours or animals left behind by friends. About 200 turned out to a relief centre at Horsham overnight. However, an aged care facility and Dimboola hospital were unable to be fully evacuated, Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said. Still, the danger isnt completely over, with more hot days looming next week. This fire is going to be dangerous for weeks to come, said Johns. Popular wedding venue The Little Desert Nature Lodge was destroyed in the blaze, losing its main building and several cabins.

We are relieved to confirm that all people and animals are safe, the lodges camp director, Moshe Kahn, said Tuesday. Kate Kennedy, the daughter of lodge founder Whimpey, earlier told ABC that the eco-friendly accommodation had hosted hundreds of school groups and weddings for almost 50 years. We didnt ever expect [the fire] to escalate the way it did, she said. Ross Johns was himself married at the lodge many years ago. Its a tragedy, he said.

He called for better fire planning in the area and more cool Indigenous burns, which ripple through the forest in a patchwork, giving wildlife time to escape. Those animals are all going to be gone after a fire like this, he sighed. This country has a history of burning, but [the government] isnt managing the national parks properly. The Aboriginal [community] know how to reduce the litter and the fuel load in the forests, the locals know how to help each other. Parts of Dimboola were still subject to a watch and act alert to monitor changing conditions on Tuesday afternoon, while the threat was reduced for some residents in other parts of the town. It was safe for those residents to return home, along with residents of Wail, authorities said.

About 80 fires started on public land and in national parks and up to 70 on private land on Monday amid scorching conditions and about 800,000 lightning strikes across the state. Of the lightning strikes, about 10,000 reached the ground. A bushfire that started in the Little Desert National Park in Victorias far-west spread rapidly on Monday. Credit: Bruce Donnelly/Facebook Country Fire Authority Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said the Little Desert fire generated its own fire thunderstorm, which then saw further lightning created by that event. He condemned the theft of a volunteer firefighters car from Werneth Fire Station, 75 kilometres west of Geelong, on Monday afternoon, saying: I cant think of anything worse, or a lower act.

Watch-and-act alerts were also in place at parts of the Grampians National Park and surrounds on Tuesday, with Halls Gap and Wartook once again in danger, according to fire crews. Thick smoke triggered air quality warnings on Tuesday evening. Communities on the western side of the fire could come under pressure on Saturday with a wind change, he said. The Bureau of Meteorology was forecasting temperatures nudging 40 degrees in Victorias north and west on the weekend, and falling just shy of 40 degrees in the south. Into next week, 40-degree temperatures are possible across much of the state.
Australian rugby sevens great Charlotte Caslick has rated the teams gritty win at the Perth event as one of the best moments of her stellar career.

A thrilling 28-26 win over New Zealand In the final on Sunday gave Australia their second triumph in three World Series events and moved them to within two points of the ladder-leading Kiwis.

Their win was even more meritorious given major strike weapons, world sevens player of the year Maddison Levi and Faith Nathan, were unavailable for the two matches on Sunday.

Levi, who had scored nine tries in Australias first four wins, including two hat-tricks, broke a thumb while Nathan failed an HIA.
Finding efficiency savings inside the sprawling federal public service has been the go-to painless budget message of politicians for a generation.

Since the mid-1980s, every government and opposition has promised they can save money by making the bureaucracy more efficient.

It could be cutting the number of public servants, as Peter Dutton is promising, or slashing use of consultancies, a program Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has overseen since coming to office.

Elon Musk, Peter Dutton and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Governments and oppositions have always promised to slice the public service to make budget savings. Credit: Aresna Villanueva

Dutton has just given Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price a new portfolio responsibility of government efficiency.
London: Britain would have the right to buy Greenland before the US, the islands last Danish minister has said.

Tom Hoyem was Copenhagens last permanent representative in the Arctic territory, which established its parliament in 1979 and began a new era of self-rule 30 years later.

A statue commemorating Hans Egede, the Danish missionary who founded Nuuk in 1728, stands on a hill overlooking the town in Greenland. Credit: Ivor Prickett/The New York Times

Donald Trump has made clear to Mette Frederiksen, Denmarks prime minister, that he wants to place Greenland under American control.

But Hoyem said Trump would require approval from Britains Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer because of an undertaking signed in 1917, the first time the US was interested in acquiring the island.
Jerusalem: Israel says a Hamas list shows that eight of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire are dead.

Government spokesman David Mencer told journalists that Hamas had said the other 25 were alive. Israel said it had received a list of information on the status of the hostages from Hamas.

Thousands of displaced Palestinians walk towards their homes in northern Gaza, via the Netzarim Corridor, during the ceasefire in central Gaza, on Monday. Credit: Bloomberg

Israel said the next release of hostages would take place on Thursday, followed by another on Saturday.

Whether hostages are alive or dead inside Gaza has been a heartbreaking question for waiting families who have pushed the Israeli government to reach a deal to free them, fearing that time was running out.
Palestinian analyst Ghassan al-Khatib said Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, as well as the Jordanians and Egyptians, would reject Trumps plan: I dont think that there is a place in reality for such an idea. There was no immediate comment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office but his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a crucial member of the governing coalition, called Trumps proposal a great idea. Netanyahus far-right governing partners have long advocated what they describe as the voluntary emigration of large numbers of Palestinians and the re-establishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza. Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in 2017. Netanyahu has thanked Trump for his assistance in securing the release of hostages. Credit: AP Human rights groups have accused Israel of ethnic cleansing, which UN experts have defined as a policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove the civilian population of another group from certain areas by violent and terror-inspiring means.

Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, said Trumps proposal, if implemented, would amount to an alarming escalation in the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and exponentially increase their suffering. History of displacement Before and during the 1948 war surrounding Israels creation, about 700,000 Palestinians  a majority of the prewar population  fled or were driven from their homes in what is now Israel, an event the Palestinians commemorate as the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe. Israel refused to allow them to return because it would have resulted in a Palestinian majority within its borders. The refugees and their descendants now number around 6 million. There are large communities in Gaza, where they make up the majority of the population, as well as the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Loading In the 1967 Middle East war, when Israel seized the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 300,000 more Palestinians fled, mostly into Jordan. The decades-old refugee crisis has been central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was one of the thorniest issues in peace talks that last broke down in 2009. The Palestinians claim a right of return, while Israel says they should be absorbed by surrounding Arab countries. Many Palestinians view the latest war in Gaza, in which entire neighbourhoods have been shelled to oblivion and 90 per cent of the population have been forced from their homes, as a new Nakba. They fear that if large numbers of Palestinians leave Gaza, then they, too, may never return. Steadfastly remaining on ones land is central to Palestinian culture, and it was on vivid display in Gaza on Sunday, when thousands of people tried to return to the most heavily destroyed part of the territory but were blocked.

Loading A red line for countries that made peace with Israel Egypt and Jordan fiercely rejected the idea of accepting Gaza refugees early in the war, when it was floated by some Israeli officials. Both countries have made peace with Israel but support the creation of a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. They fear that the permanent displacement of Gazas population could make that impossible. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has also warned of the security implications of transferring large numbers of Palestinians to Egypts Sinai Peninsula, bordering Gaza. Trump was yet to talk to him about his latest idea.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Credit: AP Hamas and other militant groups are deeply rooted in Palestinian society and are likely to move with the refugees, which would mean future wars would be fought on Egyptian soil. That could unravel the historic Camp David peace treaty, a cornerstone of regional stability. Loading The peace which we have achieved would vanish from our hands, Sisi said in October 2023, after Hamas attack on southern Israel triggered the war. All for the sake of the idea of eliminating the Palestinian cause. Thats what happened in Lebanon in the 1970s, when Yasser Arafats Palestine Liberation Organisation, the leading militant group of its time, transformed the countrys south into a launchpad for attacks on Israel. The refugee crisis and the PLOs actions helped push Lebanon into a 15-year civil war in 1975. Israel invaded twice and occupied southern Lebanon from 1982 until 2000.

Jordan, which clashed with the PLO and expelled it under similar circumstances in 1970, hosts more than 2 million Palestinian refugees, the majority of whom have been granted citizenship. Israeli ultranationalists have long suggested that Jordan be considered a Palestinian state so that Israel can keep the West Bank, which they view as the biblical heartland of the Jewish people. Jordans monarchy has vehemently rejected that scenario. Can Trump force Egypt and Jordan to accept refugees? That depends on how serious Trump is about the idea and how far he is prepared to go. US tariffs  one of Trumps favourite economic tools  or outright sanctions could be devastating for Jordan and Egypt. The two countries receive billions of dollars in American aid each year, and Egypt is mired in an economic crisis.

But allowing an influx of refugees could also be destabilising. Egypt says it is hosting some 9 million migrants, including refugees from Sudans civil war. Jordan, with a population of less than 12 million, is hosting more than 700,000 refugees, mainly from Syria. US pressure would also risk alienating key allies in the region with whom Trump has had good relations  not only Sisi and Jordans King Abdullah II, but the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, all of whom support the Palestinian cause. Qatar and Egypt have been crucial mediators for the fragile Hamas-Israel ceasefire now in place. King Abdullah II of Jordan. Credit: Bloomberg That would potentially complicate efforts to broker a historic agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalise relations, something Trump tried to do during his previous term as part of his Abraham Accords and expects to complete in his current one. AP
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, January 27. In March 2025, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Sikela, is scheduled to visit Turkmenistan to discuss the development of the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor), Trend reports.

According to the EU Delegation in Turkmenistan, the EU will continue to support the development of this corridor, with a particular focus on improving regional trade and logistics efficiency.

"2024 was a landmark year for EU-Turkmenistan cooperation. One of the most notable achievements was the progress made in developing the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, a key priority for both parties. The EU supported the modernization of the Turkmenbashi-Turkmenabat Railway, the implementation of the Electronic Consignment Note (e-CMR) System, and the establishment of a logistics center near the border with Kazakhstan," the delegation's statement says.

These initiatives, part of the EUs Global Gateway strategy, are designed to enhance regional trade and streamline logistics efficiency.

Moreover, in the field of green energy and climate action, the EU launched the EU for a Green Turkmenistan initiative, which included pilot projects to reduce methane emissions and treat drainage water using algae-based technology.

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TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, January 27. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan amounted to over $252 million in 2024.

Data obtained by Trend from the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan shows that this figure represents a 41 percent increase compared to the previous year, when trade turnover was valued at $178.7 million.

Furthermore, Uzbekistan imported products worth $40.3 million from Azerbaijan in 2024. This figure reflects a 16.8 percent decline compared to the same period last year, when imports totaled $47.1 million.

Moreover, the country's exports to Azerbaijan amounted to $211.7 million, marking a 60.8 percent increase compared to $131.6 million in 2023.

To note, Azerbaijans trade turnover with Uzbekistan amounted to $223.9 million from January through November 2024.
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Address: 577 Grand Street, #F1904

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Maintenance: $2001.00

Open House: Sunday, January 26th from 12:00  1:00 pm *by appointment only

Experience breathtaking sunrises and sunsets in this expansive 3-bedroom, 2 full bath penthouse, offering panoramic views of the East River, the downtown Brooklyn skyline, and the soon-to-be-completed East River Park promenade and amphitheater.

With 1,300 sq. ft. of indoor living space and a 275 sq. ft. private terrace, this home is perfect for entertaining or simply enjoying the beauty of the city. The sun-filled living room opens directly to the private terrace, creating an inviting space for gatherings or quiet relaxation.

The primary bedroom features an en-suite full bath and access to an additional balcony, while two additional king-sized bedrooms provide ample space for family or guests. The home also includes a second full bath, a bright eat-in kitchen, a generous entry foyer, hardwood parquet flooring, and six closets, including a walk-in closet at the entry.

With windows in every room, natural light and stunning views abound throughout the home. For those with renovation plans, the kitchen walls adjoining the living room and foyer can be partially or fully removed to create an open-concept layout, enhancing the already impressive flow of light and air.

**Assessment: $144/month through March 2028** Co-op amenities (additional fees and wait lists may apply) include 24-hour attended lobbies, 2 large private parks, childrens playroom (plus access to neighboring Hillman co-ops park and playroom), community room, and fully equipped fitness center. 1 block to supermarket, 24hr deli/convenience store, dry cleaner and more.

Short walk to Trader Joes, Target & Regal Cinemas! M14A, M21 & M22 bus stops outside your door, and short walk to M14D providing direct access to Chinatown, Little Italy, East Village, SoHo, West Village, Financial District, Battery Park City, Union Square, Chelsea, Meat Packing and Kips Bay. J, M and F trains at Delancey & Essex Streets. F train at East Broadway & Rutgers Streets. Citibike stations nearby.

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Yara International ASA (OTCMKTS:YARIY  Get Free Report) and Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO  Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Yara International ASA and Ero Copper, as provided by MarketBeat.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Yara International ASA 1 0 0 0 1.00 Ero Copper 0 0 7 1 3.13

Ero Copper has a consensus target price of $26.33, suggesting a potential upside of 85.64%. Given Ero Coppers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ero Copper is more favorable than Yara International ASA.

Volatility and Risk

Insider & Institutional Ownership

Yara International ASA has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ero Copper has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

0.0% of Yara International ASA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.3% of Ero Copper shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Yara International ASA and Ero Coppers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Yara International ASA 3.89% 9.32% 4.36% Ero Copper 3.67% 11.30% 5.62%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Yara International ASA and Ero Coppers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Yara International ASA $15.55 billion 0.48 $48.00 million $1.08 13.53 Ero Copper $427.48 million 3.43 $92.80 million $0.17 83.44

Ero Copper has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Yara International ASA. Yara International ASA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ero Copper, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Ero Copper beats Yara International ASA on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Yara International ASA

(Get Free Report)

Yara International ASA provides crop nutrition and industrial solutions in Norway, European Union, Europe, Africa, Asia, North and Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand. The company offers ammonium- and urea-based fertilizers; compound fertilizers that contain nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium; coatings; biostimulants; organic-based fertilizers; green fertilizers are nitrate-based mineral fertilizers, as well as foliar and fertigation solutions; and nitrate, calcium nitrate, micronutrient, and fertigation and urea fertilizers. It also offers digital solutions, such as variable rate application solutions; N-Sensor, a tractor-mounted hardware; N-Tester, a handheld nitrogen measurement tool; YaraFX Insight, an agricultural API; and Atfarm, a digital toolbox for farmer. The company sells its products under YaraBela, YaraMila, YaraLiva, YaraVita, YaraRega, YaraTera, YaraSuna, and YaraVera and brands. Yara International ASA was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.

About Ero Copper

(Get Free Report)

Ero Copper Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and production of mining projects in Brazil. The company is involved in the production and sale of copper concentrate from the Caraiba operations located in the Curaca Valley, northeastern Bahia state, Brazil, as well as gold and silver by-products. It also holds 100% interests in the Tucuma project, a copper development project located within southeastern Para state; and the Xavantina Operations located in Mato Grosso state. Ero Copper Corp. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW  Free Report) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 35 shares of the industrial products companys stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 187.0% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 5,065 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $4,264,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,905,000. Silver Lake Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the second quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC now owns 2,681 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $2,419,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.4% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 14.4% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,041 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $7,255,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the companys stock.

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W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of GWW opened at $1,122.01 on Monday. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $1,125.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,059.99. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $870.99 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $54.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

W.W. Grainger ( NYSE:GWW Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. W.W. Graingers revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. W.W. Graingers payout ratio is 22.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a neutral rating for the company. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

Get Our Latest Report on GWW

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 over the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

(Free Report)

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GWW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW  Free Report).

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AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO  Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $3,437.63 and last traded at $3,413.26, with a volume of 56907 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3,332.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZO. Mizuho boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Roth Mkm restated a buy rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of AutoZone from a buy rating to a sell rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $3,429.84.

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AutoZone Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3,238.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,153.35. The company has a market cap of $56.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $32.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter worth $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the companys stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AutoZone

(Get Free Report)

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The company provides various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.

Further Reading

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. FESCO Turan, a subsidiary of the Russian FESCO transport group, is hard at work increasing the number of logistical routes that connect Uzbekistan to key Asian nations, the company told Trend.

A key component of FESCO Turan's strategy is the organization of regular road transport and multimodal routes, which aim to provide effective and rapid transportation options throughout several Asian nations.



Shipping commodities to Uzbekistan from Europe and China is one of the most extraordinary routes. Twenty such shipments are planned by the corporation monthly. Particular focus is being placed on enhancing transportation procedures along routes that traverse Pakistan. Utilizing the Pakistani port of Karachi, FESCO Turan has established intermodal connections that link Uzbekistan to Southeast Asia.

Additionally, the company is optimizing delivery times by offering direct railway routes between China and Uzbekistan through the Altynkol and Khorgos border crossings, located on the Kazakhstan-China border. The company offers intermodal transport, which involves shipping goods to Chinese ports before delivering them to other countries in the region.

Moreover, FESCO Turan has also successfully shipped mineral fertilizers from Uzbekistan to South Korea and the Philippines, passing through Chinese territory, over the past two months. These operations contribute to strengthening trade ties between Central, Eastern, and Southeast Asia, significantly increasing the volume and speed of shipments.

As mentioned, Uzbekistan plans to introduce a zero percent value-added tax (VAT) rate on certain services related to international freight transportation.

This proposed measure will include transportation and freight forwarding services, as well as other tasks allowed by relevant agreements. These may include receiving and delivering cargo, storing and handling it, organizing cargo insurance, clearing customs for goods and vehicles, keeping track of cargo in case of delivery delays, warehousing, and renting wagons and containers.
Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE: D) recently disclosed the approval of its 2025 Annual Incentive Plan (AIP) by the Compensation and Talent Development Committee (CTD Committee) on January 23, 2025. Under this plan, Dominion Energys officers will be eligible for an annual performance-based cash award, with each officer having a target incentive award based on a percentage of their base salary. Payouts under the AIP will be contingent upon the achievement of specific performance goals set by the CTD Committee, drawing from the performance measures outlined in Dominion Energys 2024 Incentive Compensation Plan. Potential funding under the AIP could vary from 0% to 200% of the target funding.

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Additionally, in terms of officer compensation, Edward H. Baines title was changed to President  Utility Operations and Dominion Energy Virginia in November 2024, effective from January 1, 2025. As of January 23, 2025, the CTD Committee endorsed the compensation adjustments for Mr. Baine to reflect his increased responsibilities. His annual base salary now stands at $643,537, with an AIP target of 80% of his base salary and a long-term incentive award valued at $1,250,000. Mr. Baine will also have access to the benefit plans and arrangements offered to Dominion Energys other executive officers.

Moreover, on January 23, 2025, the CTD Committee approved the issuance of cash and restricted stock awards to key contributors Edward H. Baine; Carlos M. Brown, President  Dominion Energy Services and Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary; and Steven D. Ridge, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, for the year 2025. Mr. Baines award comprises a $150,000 cash award and a $150,000 restricted stock award. Similarly, Mr. Brown and Mr. Ridge each received a $150,000 cash award and a $350,000 restricted stock award. Issued under the 2024 Incentive Compensation Plan, the restricted stock awards come with a three-year cliff vesting period and clawback provisions in case of specified events. The cash awards are to be fully repaid in the event of voluntary resignation by the recipients within one year of payment.

The report was officially signed by Regina J. Elbert, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, on behalf of Dominion Energy, Inc., in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, on January 27, 2025.

This article was generated by an automated content engine and was reviewed by a human editor prior to publication. For additional information, read Dominion Energys 8K filing here.

About Dominion Energy

(Get Free Report)

Dominion Energy, Inc produces and distributes energy in the United States. It operates through three operating segments: Dominion Energy Virginia, Dominion Energy South Carolina, and Contracted Energy. The Dominion Energy Virginia segment generates, transmits, and distributes regulated electricity to approximately 2.8 million residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in Virginia and North Carolina.

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Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG  Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,840 shares of the energy exploration companys stock after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLCs holdings in EOG Resources were worth $2,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Insight Inv LLC raised its position in EOG Resources by 0.8% in the third quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 9,385 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank now owns 8,679 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of EOG Resources by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,921 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in EOG Resources by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 928 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.91% of the companys stock.

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EOG Resources Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:EOG opened at $131.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.01 and a 200-day moving average of $127.37. EOG Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $108.94 and a one year high of $139.67.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

EOG Resources ( NYSE:EOG Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The energy exploration company reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.16. EOG Resources had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.975 per share. This is a positive change from EOG Resourcess previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. EOG Resourcess payout ratio is presently 31.40%.

EOG Resources announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy exploration company to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EOG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp cut their price objective on EOG Resources from $157.00 to $150.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of EOG Resources from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EOG Resources presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $143.86.

View Our Latest Stock Report on EOG

Insider Buying and Selling at EOG Resources

In other news, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.33, for a total transaction of $76,867.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,532 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,185.56. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total value of $483,560.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,703 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,162,365.67. The trade was a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the companys stock.

About EOG Resources

(Free Report)

EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily in producing basins in the United States, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and internationally. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company.

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Ethernity Networks Ltd. (LON:ENET  Get Free Report)s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as GBX 0.10 ($0.00) and last traded at GBX 0.10 ($0.00), with a volume of 20646826 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 0.11 ($0.00).

Ethernity Networks Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 21.00. The stocks fifty day moving average is GBX 0.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of 391,788.80, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.47 and a beta of 0.58.

About Ethernity Networks

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Ethernity Networks Ltd. provides technology solutions for telecom, mobile, security, and data center markets in Asia, Europe, Israel, and the United States. The company develops and delivers data processing technology and solutions for carrier Ethernet switching. It provides ENET flow processors for telco/cloud network; ACE-NIC40 SmartNIC, an open flow enabled software acceleration NIC; ACE-NIC50 SmartNIC, which offers 10/25G Ethernet connectivity and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) acceleration; and ACE-NIC100 SmartNIC that provides flexible 10/25/40/100G Ethernet connectivity and programmable FPGA acceleration.

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Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:JHSC  Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,365 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLCs holdings in John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF were worth $1,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF by 162,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,622 shares of the companys stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF by 24.5% in the third quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,359 shares of the companys stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,041 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF in the second quarter worth about $585,000. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF by 95.0% during the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 17,382 shares of the companys stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 8,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 38,251 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,535,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter.

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John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF Price Performance

Shares of JHSC opened at $41.66 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $476.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.15. John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF has a 1 year low of $35.10 and a 1 year high of $44.10. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $41.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.12.

John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF Company Profile

The John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF (JHSC) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the John Hancock Dimensional Small Cap index. The fund tracks an index of US small-cap stocks selected by relative price and profitability. Securities are weighted by multiple factors relative to their sector peers.

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General Electric (NYSE:GE  Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the conglomerates stock. Bank of Americas price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.06% from the companys current price.

GE has been the subject of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. Melius Research lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $208.73.

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General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE GE traded down $2.88 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $193.87. 2,801,682 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,290,573. The company has a market capitalization of $209.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13. The businesss 50 day moving average is $175.33 and its 200-day moving average is $175.15. General Electric has a 1 year low of $103.75 and a 1 year high of $207.65.

General Electric (NYSE:GE  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This trade represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the companys stock.

About General Electric

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General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and mechanical aircraft systems. It also offers aftermarket services to support its products. The company operates in the United States, Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa.

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PFG Investments LLC decreased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 53,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 5,234 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLCs holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $3,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 103,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $5,355,000 after purchasing an additional 29,044 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $488,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 5,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $2,305,000 after acquiring an additional 11,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 81.3% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,775 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $3,972,000 after acquiring an additional 34,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the companys stock.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock opened at $59.68 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.05 billion, a PE ratio of -16.63, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.45. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $39.35 and a 12 month high of $61.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $57.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.62.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

Bristol-Myers Squibb ( NYSE:BMY Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $11.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.26 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 11.94% and a negative net margin of 15.30%. The firms revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This is an increase from Bristol-Myers Squibbs previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -69.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa America upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a market perform rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $56.27.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Bristol-Myers Squibb

Insider Buying and Selling at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,830 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $54.67 per share, for a total transaction of $100,046.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 62,109 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,395,499.03. This trade represents a 3.04 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $38,934.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,760 shares of the companys stock, valued at $654,091.20. The trade was a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the companys stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Profile

(Free Report)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in non-valvular atrial fibrillation, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for various anti-cancer indications, including bladder, blood, CRC, head and neck, RCC, HCC, lung, melanoma, MPM, stomach and esophageal cancer; Pomalyst/Imnovid for multiple myeloma; Orencia for active rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

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Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI  Get Free Report)s share price traded down 0% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $288.93 and last traded at $290.20. 13,671 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 128,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $290.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PRI shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Primerica from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Thursday. They issued a market perform rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $304.14.

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Primerica Stock Performance

The firms 50-day simple moving average is $285.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.70. The company has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 1.11.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.87. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. The firm had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Primericas dividend payout ratio is currently 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the companys board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,942,728.94. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primerica

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Primerica during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Primerica by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 145 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Primerica by 56.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Primerica by 629.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 350 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Primerica

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Primerica, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services to middle-income households in the United States and Canada. The company operates in four segments: Term Life Insurance; Investment and Savings Products; Senior Health; and Corporate and Other Distributed Products.

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Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:IJR  Free Report) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,320 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IJR. Capital City Trust Co. FL raised its position in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 4,414 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire raised its position in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 3,727 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 3,302 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its position in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 2.0% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 50.6% during the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 271 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSEARCA IJR opened at $119.07 on Monday. iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has a 12-month low of $101.85 and a 12-month high of $128.61. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $119.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.16.

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF Company Profile

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, formerly iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index Fund, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poors SmallCap 600 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of publicly traded securities in the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market.

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TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, January 27. Uzbekistan's Agency for Technical Regulation and the French Development Agency (AFD) discussed expanding cooperation and advancing promising projects, Trend reports.

During the meeting, the experts from AFD were provided with a detailed overview of key projects in the fields of product testing and metrology, along with an in-depth introduction to the operations of existing laboratories.

The delegation of the French Development Agency highly commended the infrastructure established at the Uzbek National Institute of Metrology for maintaining and utilizing national standards.

Additionally, the sides proposed to initiate joint projects for training qualified personnel. At the conclusion of the meeting, both parties agreed to further enhance cooperation and expedite the implementation of planned projects.

Meanwhile, AFD, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of understanding which introduces innovative tools and strategies for sustainable development in the country.

The SDSN is collaborating with the Uzbek Ministry of Finance and the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR), a government think tank focused on economic analysis. The memorandum is a significant step toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in Uzbekistan. It centers on developing specialized tools for monitoring SDG progress, strengthening institutional capacities, and facilitating knowledge transfer.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, January 27. Energy ministers from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, along with representatives from the World Bank (WB), discussed the implementation of the Kambarata HPP-1 (Hydroelectric Power Plant) construction project, Trend reports.

A roundtable meeting was held with participation from Uzbekistan's Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamahmudov, Kyrgyzstan's Energy Minister Talaibek Ibraev, and Kazakhstan's Deputy Energy Minister Sungat Yesimkhanov, as well as the World Bank's Regional Director for Central Asia, Tatiana Proskuryakova, in Tashkent.

Also taking part in the event were Carolina Sanchez-Paramo, Director of Strategy and Operations for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank, and Charles Cormier, Regional Director for Infrastructure for the Europe and Central Asia region.

We are pleased to host the participants of the Kambarata HPP-1 project in Tashkent for this trilateral meeting. We are confident that this project will bring significant benefits to all Central Asian countries, strengthening regional energy security, accelerating the transition to a green economy, and improving the use of water resources, Jurabek Mirzamahmudov said.

Kyrgyzstans Energy Minister Talaibek Ibraev emphasized that the Kambarata HPP-1 project had generated substantial interest from international financial institutions and development partners.

In Kyrgyzstan, we call the construction of the Kambarata HPP-1 the project of the century due to its immense potential for strengthening regional cooperation and promoting long-term development in the entire Central Asian region. Todays roundtable in Tashkent continues a series of meetings held in Vienna, Brussels, and Washington in 2024. These events help coordinate and accelerate the implementation of the project, as well as attract the necessary international support, Talaibek Ibraev said.

Kazakhstans Deputy Energy Minister Sungat Yesimkhanov underlined that the roundtable served as further proof of the strengthening regional cooperation in the water-energy sector. He added that this partnership will not only ensure the successful realization of the Kambarata HPP-1 project but also lay the foundation for long-term regional stability and stimulate further socio-economic growth in the countries.

The World Bank is pleased to support the governments of the three countries in their efforts to secure a stable energy future for the region, accelerate economic growth, and improve the quality of life for their citizens. We will continue to provide technical assistance in the implementation of the Kambarata HPP-1 project. Together with other international development partners, we are working to secure the necessary financing to bring this project to life, Tatiana Proskuryakova said.

Moreover, the parties reached agreements on key principles for the joint development and implementation of the Kambarata HPP-1 construction project at the meeting. The main stages of the project were defined, and the project implementation structure was approved. The parties also emphasized the importance of regular meetings at the ministerial level, involving international donors, to ensure coordination, cooperation, and steady progress in the projects implementation.
War on Drugs: A war Manipur cannot lose

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Definitely, the state governments resolve to carry on the war on drugs deserves appreciation from all sections of the society. Disposing of 314 Kgs of several illegal drugs at Lamdeng on January 25, 2025, Chief Minister N Biren vowed that the government will never retreat from the war on drugs and poppy plantations until the menace is completely rooted out. The Chief Minister also made it clear that some drug mafias, taking undue advantage of the current crisis and the resulting law and order situation, have been carrying out massive poppy plantations in some hill areas. The Chief Minister publicly stated that some people have been adamantly continuing with their business of poppy plantation and smuggling drugs. The implications are loud and clear; in spite of the sustained war on drugs, some people are still engaged in the multi-crore businesses of extensive poppy plantations and smuggling drugs; and the war on drugs has not yet achieved the desired result. Even if it is too early to expect any tangible result, the war on drugs needs regular reassessment, evaluation and review so as to take the campaign in the right direction and make it most effective. If we remember it right, the first cabinet meeting of the incumbent government held on March 22, 2022 resolved to make Manipur drug-free and assign an officer of the rank of IGP as the head of Anti-Narcotics Task Force. Taking serious note of the all pervasive disastrous impacts of drug abuse, extensive poppy plantation and smuggling of narcotic substances in/through the state, the preceding BJP-led government headed by the incumbent Chief Minister launched the war on drugs. But the war has not yielded any significant outcome so far. A decisive victory is still elusive. Nonetheless, it is heartening to note that the government is determined to carry on and intensify the war. The government and its agencies have already acknowledged large scale poppy plantation in many hill areas of the state in the midst of reports of law enforcing agencies destroying poppy plants at regular intervals, and it has already evolved into a serious socio-economic and political challenge.

With the state now caught in a serious and protracted violent crisis which is said to have its roots in the crackdown on drugs and poppy plantations, and the security forces primarily engaged in containing the violence, there is a growing suspicion that poppy planters are enjoying a free run in remote hill ranges of the state and drug mafias are flourishing in border areas. In order to make the war on drugs more effective, it is essential to identify the drug mafias, their strength as well as their modus operandi. When poppy cultivation is widespread in the hill areas of the state, illicit drug trafficking through the State is only a natural corollary. As evident in the busting of drug manufacturing units a few years back, some drug smugglers seemed to have walked the extra mile of setting up drug manufacturing factories in the state. Again, if one takes into account vast poppy plantations done in different districts, heroin or brown sugar manufacturing establishment was something waiting to be unrolled sooner rather than later. International watchdogs on drugs trade have already affirmed that Manipur is the opium producer for the infamous Golden Triangle. Official records say that the crude produce of poppy grown in Manipur is being smuggled out to Golden Triangle through the porous Indo-Myanmar border. It is just a matter of an hour or two from the cultivation site to cross the border from where the yield/consignment could reach clandestine laboratories in Golden Triangle. Heroin and other drugs manufactured in Golden Triangle are then smuggled into North East India, particularly through Mizoram and Manipur. Apart from local elements, there are reports of involvement of drug mafias from foreign countries such as China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal. They are said to not only have contacts in many remote villages where poppy plantations are done on a massive scale, but are also investing huge amounts. All these facts and reports must be taken into account if the war on drugs must emerge victorious, and this is a test of will which neither the government nor the people can lose.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, January 27. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan discussed the development of a comprehensive and ambitious agenda to strengthen their multifaceted partnership, Trend reports.

The matter was reviewed at a meeting between President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, during the latter's visit to Uzbekistan for bilateral political consultations.

The sides noted the dynamic growth in trade turnover, which exceeded $1.1 billion in 2024. They highlighted ongoing cooperation on establishing the Shavat-Dashoguz cross-border trade zone and strengthening partnerships in industrial cooperation, energy, transport, logistics, agriculture, and water resource management. The officials emphasized that the regional and cultural exchanges are also expanding.

Both parties underscored the preparations for upcoming high-level visits, the Consultative Meeting of Central Asian Leaders, and summits in the Central Asia + format.

The meeting concluded with an exchange of views on international political issues, underscoring the mutual commitment to closer collaboration in the region.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
An FIR was filed at a Kolkata-based police station on Sunday against the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for mentioning the date of Netaji Subhas Chandra Boses demise on his official X handle, while paying tributes to him on his birth anniversary on January 23.

The FIR has been filed by the self-proclaimed Hindutva Group, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha at Bhawanipur Police Station in South Kolkata. After filing the FIR, the activists of the group also staged demonstrations near Netajis ancestral house at Elgin Road, also in south Kolkata, protesting against the contents of the controversial post by Rahul Gandhi.

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According to the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha state president Chandrachud Goswami, Rahul Gandhi is carrying the same legacy who first forced Netaji to quit Congress and thereafter leave the country. Rahul Gandhi and his ancestors always try to wipe out the memories of Netaji from the memory of the people of India. The people of India will punish him. As for us, we will always be protesting if anyone tries to distort information on Netaji, Goswami said.

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Earlier this week, the Congress MP in a post on X mentioned August 18, 1945, as the reported date of death of the iconic freedom fighter. The date mentioned by the LoP was the same date when the plane carrying Netaji from Saigon and destined for the then USSR-occupied Manchuria crashed at Taihoku (presently Taipei).

However, none of the commissions set up subsequently on Netajis disappearance could ever confirm August 18, 1945, as the exact date of his death and a mystery surrounds the fate of the freedom fighter.

Following the post, Rahul Gandhi faced criticism from across the party lines including All India Forward Bloc, a party founded by Netaji himself after quitting the Congress party. The state leaders from both the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP criticised Rahul Gandhi over the post.
As Lt Cdr Saahil Ahluwalia led the Indian Navys marching contingent on Kartavya Path on Sunday, a proud father sat watching. Exactly 34 years ago, Commodore Ravi Ahluwalia, IN (Retd), had done the same during the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi. He too had been the contingent commander of the Navys marching contingent. The road was then known as Rajpath.

It was so exciting to watch my son lead the smartly turned-out men and women of the Indian Navy during this prestigious event. All these young men and women have put in a lot of hard work. I know how difficult it can get. I congratulate all of them for the wonderful performance, Cmde Ahluwalia (Retd), said.

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Lt Cdr Ahluwalia is a gunnery officer on board the INS Mysore, a guided missile destroyer of the Indian Navy, currently deployed under the Eastern Naval Command.

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The second-generation naval officer, a gunnery and missile warfare specialist, has already served on frontline warships such as the INS Teg, INS Kirch, INS Tabar and INS Kolkata.

Commissioned just over eight years ago, he has been part of normal operational deployments, and anti-piracy patrols and also participated in the Samudra Setu operations during the pandemic, when warships were used to evacuate Indian nationals from foreign shores.

During operational and other deployments Lt Cdr Ahluwalia visited 27 countries and participated in drills with several friendly foreign navies.

It was a proud moment to step into my fathers shoes. He has been an inspiration from the start. My team worked very hard for months to put up a good show and they were successful. I thank all my team members, including those behind the scenes for this wonderful performance. It wouldnt have been possible without discipline and teamwork. And of course, the naval band was as good as ever. We are hopeful of being declared the best marching contingent of the Parade, Lt Cdr Ahluwalia said.

Cmde Ahluwalia (Retd), who was Naval Officer-in-Charge, West Bengal, said that his son joined the Indian Naval Academy in 2012 and was adjudged the best sportsman of his course. He was also selected twice as Guard Officer of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the President of India, the proud father said.
At least 30 startups raised $248.87 million in funding last week as the Indian startup ecosystem continues to shine due to strong fundamentals of the economy.

Out of these, five were growth-stage deals, while 24 were early-stage deals. While one startup has not given information about its funding.

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According to Entrackrs report, in a growth-stage deal, building material platform Infra.Market has raised $125 million in a Series F round. Agritech startup Arya.ag has raised $30 million in debt funding from HSBC.

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At the same time, industrial robotics company Ati Motors raised $20 million in a Series B round led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and NGP Capital. Apart from this, B2B e-commerce platform Aris Infra Solutions and SaaS company VuNet Systems also raised funding.

Apart from this, 24 early-stage deals have taken place in the week ending January 25. In this, companies raised funds worth $57.66 million. D2C skincare brand Deconstruct was at the forefront of early-stage funding, followed by beer brand Medusa, home service marketplace Snabbit, real estate document search platform Landeed, agritech startup KisanKonnect, deeptech CapGrid.

Meanwhile, fintech startup Spare8 has also raised funding, however, the amount was not disclosed.

Analysis of city-wise funding data shows that between January 20 and 25, Bengaluru-based startup eight startups raised funds. After this, seven from Delhi-NCR, five from Mumbai, and two each from Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar have been successful in raising funding.

During this period, the market has seen some big acquisitions. Hatsun Agro acquired dairy startup Milk Mantra. While, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) purchased a 90.5 per cent stake in D2C skincare brand Minimalist for about $350 million (Rs 2,955 crore), Singapore-based PE (Private Equity) firm Everstone buying a majority stake in SaaS company Wingify for $200 million.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday announced a host of measures to inject liquidity in the banking system, including bond purchases and dollar/rupee swaps.

RBI will buy government bonds worth Rs 60,000 crore in three tranches and conduct a 56-day variable rate repo auction worth Rs 50,000 crore on Feb 7, it said in a statement.

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Further, the central bank will also conduct a USD/INR buy/sell swap auction of $5 billion for a tenor of six months on Jan 31.Indias banking system liquidity deficit widened a one-year peak in the previous fortnight.

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The daily average banking system liquidity deficit jumped to Rs 2.39 trillion in the fortnight which ended on January 24, as per latest RBI data.

The RBI said it will continue to monitor evolving liquidity and market conditions and take measures as appropriate to ensure orderly liquidity conditions. Detailed instructions for each operation shall be issued separately.
A recently constructed four-storey building collapsed on Monday evening in Kaushik Enclave, Burari, North Delhi, according to police. So far, 10 individuals have been rescued from the debris.

A senior police official stated that more people are feared to be trapped, and rescue efforts are underway. Emergency response teams, including the police, Delhi Fire Services, and disaster management agencies, are working tirelessly at the site.

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Preliminary reports suggest that the individuals present in the building were primarily laborers. The building, constructed on a plot of approximately 200 square yards, was newly built and had not yet been occupied by tenants or owners.

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The emergency call was received around 7 PM, prompting a swift response from rescue teams. The operation is ongoing, with the police, Delhi Fire Services, DDMA, and NDRF teams actively involved.

Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed his condolences on social media platform X, stating, It is saddening to hear about the incident. I have directed the local MLA to visit the site and assist both the agencies and the affected individuals.

The police have assured that appropriate legal action will be taken after the rescue operations are completed. Currently, the priority remains saving those potentially trapped inside the rubble.
Under the directions of Sanjay Arora, Commissioner of Police, Delhi, the Election Cell/PHQ of Delhi Police has introduced a QR Code initiative to facilitate access to general instructions for Poll Day and Counting Day during the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025.

The QR Code will be prominently displayed on various advertising materials, selfie-point standees, and polling stations, ensuring widespread accessibility. Upon scanning the QR Code with a smartphone, users will be directed to a webpage containing detailed instructions for the election process. Presently, this has been made available on Delhi Police website.

Previously, these instructions were provided through handbooks or conveyed during briefings. Now, with this innovative approach using technology, officers can access the instructions conveniently anytime using their smartphones, streamlining the process and making essential information promptly accessible, bringing transparency and awareness.

This forward-thinking technology driven initiative reflects the Delhi Polices commitment to utilizing technology for efficient, transparent, and lawful election management. By ensuring quick and easy access to important guidelines, this measure empowers all officers, regardless of their rank or assignment as well as the general public, to uphold the integrity of the election process.

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Meanwhile, The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) said that the industry body will launch a comprehensive election campaign to ensure 100 per cent voter participation among Delhis business community in the upcoming state assembly, scheduled at February 5. As per the Chamber, it will send letters to over 700 business organizations, including small market associations, industrial areas, banquet associations, transport associations, and more. The Chamber also announced an initiative to reward the top 10 markets with the highest voter turnout by offering them special prizes.

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The Delhi Assembly elections will take place in a single phase on February 5, with the counting of votes set for February 8. A total of 699 candidates are competing for the 70 assembly seats in Delhi.

The Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and failed to win any seats. In contrast, AAP dominated the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections, winning 67 and 62 seats, respectively, out of a total of 70 seats, while BJP secured only three and eight seats in these elections.
Bhartiya Janta Party ( Bhartiya Janta Party ( BJP) MP Manoj Tiwari campaigned in Shiv Vihar and urged people to vote for the partys candidate, Mohan Singh Bisht, in the upcoming Delhi Elections.

Tiwari emphasized that Mustafabads support will be crucial for BJPs success in forming the next government in Delhi. He likened the results of this election to the recent Maharashtra elections, signalling a strong showing by the party.

Speaking to ANI, Tiwari said, This Shiv Vihar rally is an example of how Mustafabad will contribute a strong seat to BJP forming the government in DelhiWe are requesting everyone to benefit from the policies promised by PM Narendra Modi by helping Mohan Singh Bisht win The results of this election will be just like Maharashtra elections.

Earlier in the day, BJP leader Shazia Ilmi claimed that the people of Delhi will chase away Aam Admi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, paving the way for the BJP to regain power.

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The elections will be held on February 5. The counting of votes is set for February 8. A total of 699 candidates are competing for the 70 Assembly seats in the National Capital.

The Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and failed to win any seats.

In contrast, AAP dominated the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections, winning 67 and 62 seats, respectively, out of a total of 70 seats, while BJP secured only three and eight seats in these elections.) MP Manoj Tiwari campaigned in Shiv Vihar and urged people to vote for the partys candidate, Mohan Singh Bisht, in the upcoming Delhi Elections.

Tiwari emphasized that Mustafabads support will be crucial for BJPs success in forming the next government in Delhi. He likened the results of this election to the recent Maharashtra elections, signalling a strong showing by the party.

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Speaking to ANI, Tiwari said, This Shiv Vihar rally is an example of how Mustafabad will contribute a strong seat to BJP forming the government in DelhiWe are requesting everyone to benefit from the policies promised by PM Narendra Modi by helping Mohan Singh Bisht win The results of this election will be just like Maharashtra elections.

Earlier in the day, BJP leader Shazia Ilmi claimed that the people of Delhi will chase away Aam Admi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, paving the way for the BJP to regain power.

The elections will be held on February 5. The counting of votes is set for February 8. A total of 699 candidates are competing for the 70 Assembly seats in the National Capital.

The Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and failed to win any seats.

In contrast, AAP dominated the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections, winning 67 and 62 seats, respectively, out of a total of 70 seats, while BJP secured only three and eight seats in these elections.
The Rouse Avenue court listed the defamation complaint for pre-cognizance arguments by the proposed accused CM Atishi and AAP MLA Sanjay Singh.

Former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit has filed a defamation complaint against them. Their counsel submitted that he had received a copy of the complaint. Dikshit is contesting Delhi assembly elections against former CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal from New Delhi Constituency.

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Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Paras Dalal listed the matter on February 6.

Advocate Rajat Bhardwaj, the counsel for CM Atishi and AAP MP Sanjay Singh submitted that he has received a copy of the complaint. However, some pages are not legible. The court asked the counsel for Sandeep Dikshit to supply legible copies of documents.

The counsel for Sandeep Dikshit also submitted that if the proposed accused takes back the allegations, he can think of not prosecuting them.

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The Rouse Avenue court on January 16 issued notice to CM Atishi and AAP MP Sanjay Singh on a defamation complaint filed by former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit. The notices were issued to give the proposed accused to be heard before taking cognizance of the complaint.

A case under section 223 read with section 222(1) of BNSS, 2023 for summoning, trying and punishing the accused persons for the commission of offences under section 356 read with section 3(5) of BNS, 2023.

Sandeep Dikshit has filed a complaint through advocate Sarim Naved and alleged that the accused organized a press conference dated 26.12.2024 in New Delhi wherein defamatory allegations were made against the complainant and Indian National Congress (INC), the political party that he represents.

It is alleged that the accused alleged that the complainant has not just accepted crores of rupees from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but the Indian National Congress and he has even colluded with the BJP with the objective of defeating the AAP. The complaint has stated that the accused did not substantiate their allegations with any material evidence.

It is also stated that Atishi in the presence and with the concurrence of MP Sanjay Singh alleged that INC and the complainant were in collusion with the BJP to defeat the AAP. Therefore, the defamatory act of the accused persons is part of the same scheme of things with the nefarious objective to defame the complainant.

It is also stated that the live proceedings of the press conference were even shared by CM Atishi through her X handle at 13.08 pm dated 26.12.2024 with the following caption BJP is helping Congress in the Delhi election. Moreover, the said X post has over 30,000 (thirty thousand) views on Twitter and has been shared widely. Further, the news of defamatory statements has been widely carried by national newspapers.

It is alleged that the facts and circumstances clearly reveal that the accused by words, both written and spoken, has made and caused to be published imputations against the complainant intending to harm his reputation and has thereby committed the offence of defamation punishable under Section 356 of BNS, 2023.

It is alleged that the legal notice was sent on 02.01.2025. The defamatory tweet on platform X continues to be available online.
The Supreme Court on Monday remarked that the issue of admission of Rohingya refugee children in state-run schools would require its consideration.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and NK Singh was hearing a special leave petition against the Delhi High Courts refusal to direct the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to admit Rohingya refugee children from Myanmar into local schools. At the outset, advocate Ashok Agarwal, appearing for the petitioner NGO, submitted that the idea behind the institution of the petition was to educate vulnerable Rohingya refugee children.

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Where are these Rohingya families? You want to take them out of the refugee camp? asked the Justice Kant-led Bench. In response, Agarwal stated that these children were residing normally with their families and not in any camp.

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If they are living in a regular residential area, then your (petitioners) point will require consideration. Even, if they are confined in camp, still your point will require consideration, but in a different manner. Then you should ask for educational facilities within the refugee camp, remarked the apex court.

At this, the petitioners counsel said that he would file an affidavit detailing the address of at least 17 children who are out of school and were denied admission in MCD schools. Adjourning the hearing, the top court allowed the petitioner two weeks time to place the affidavit on record.

Earlier on October 29, the Delhi High Court had asked the petitioner, Social Jurist A Civil Rights Group, an NGO, to approach the government authorities and make a representation before the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for redressal of the issue raised.

The Delhi HC had remarked that the public interest litigation (PIL) indirectly attempted to extend the Right of Education (RTE) to non-citizens using a judicial forum when in no country courts determine who should be conferred citizenship.

What you cannot do directly, you are attempting indirectly. First, approach the appropriate authorities, it had told the petitioners counsel. Disposing the plea, the Delhi High Court had said that the reliefs sought in the PIL related to critical policy matters and the petitioner should approach the Union Ministry of Home Affairs or the Ministry of External Affairs.

Before the apex court, the petitioner contended that he made representations to the Union as well as the Delhi governments to issue an order clarifying that all the refugee children residing within the territory of India are entitled to get education.

The said representation was followed by reminder dated 28.11.2024, however, no response has been received thereof till date, added the petitioner. The petition filed before the Delhi HC had contended that the denial of admission to these children due to their lack of Aadhaar Cards violated the fundamental right to education outlined under the Indian Constitution and the RTE Act, 2009.

The plea said that while these children remain in India, they are entitled to constitutional protections, including the Right to Education under Articles 14, 21, and 21-A of the Constitution of India, along with the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. It added that it is the responsibility of the Directorate of Education and the MCD to ensure that all students under the age of 14 are admitted to government or MCD schools.
Ever since Aamir Khan announced Sitaare Zameen Par, fans of Mr Perfectionist have been brimming with curiosity to find out more. Recently, Aamir was present for Republic Day celebrations at the Statue of Unity in Gujrat. During his address, he talked at length about his upcoming project. Moreover, the star also teased a tentative release date.

Talking about the sequel to Taare Zameen Par, he revealed that they shot the films climax in Vadodara, Gujrat. The sequel to Taare Zameen Par is Sitaare Zameen Par. And the climax of that movie was shot in Vadodara.

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Speaking about Gujrat, the actor reminisced about his old days when he visited the state. When I was young, many of my fathers films were shot in Gujarat. I was very small at that time, so I would come here. Today, all those memories have come rushing back. There have been a lot of changes in Vadodara. There are many luxurious buildings now, and the roads have improved significantly. When I first came here, I was probably around 12 years old. A lot of changes have taken place in this area since then.

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Moreover, Aamir Khan also teased a tentative release date for Sitaare Zameen Par. He said, My next film as a lead actor is Sitaare Zameen Par. We are trying to release it by the end of this year, on the occasion of Christmas. It is an entertaining film. I like the story. The shooting of the film has begun.

Last month, Aamir attended the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia and teased interesting details about the film. He spoke about the project during an interview with Deadline Hollywood. He explained that the upcoming title is a sequel to Taare Zameen Par only in its theme. However, the movie will have new characters and a new plot. As per reports, the film is a remake of a Spanish film, Champions.

Apart from Aamir, the film will feature Genelia Deshmukh and Darsheel Safary among others.

Also Read: Shah Rukh Khan reveals the title of his next film King is a show-off; teases details
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. Two major issues need to be resolved in achieving a new agreement on Iran's nuclear program, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told reporters, Trend reports.

According to him, one of these two issues is to gain confidence in Iran's nuclear activities, and the second is to lift the sanctions imposed on Iran by the opposing sides.

Takht-Ravanchi added that in fact, the Iranian side is opting for talks to build confidence regarding its nuclear activities. Of course, Iran feels that there is no need for confidence building and that Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Experience and past actions also demonstrate that the Iranian side is loyal to this issue.

However, the reality is that the opposing sides claim that we have to prove that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful. The Iranian side also declares that it wants the lifting of sanctions in connection with this issue, he noted.

The deputy minister noted that the nuclear issue involves heavy water, the number of centrifuges, volumes of enriched uranium, etc., while the sanctions issue involves sanctions on Iranian banks, transportation, oil, and insurance.

The US imposed new sanctions against Iran in November 2018 over Iran's nuclear program. Since then, the sanctions have affected Iranian oil exports and more than 700 banks, companies, and individuals.

On January 16, 2016, the JCPOA came into force between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany) regarding Irans nuclear program. However, on May 8, 2018, the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed new sanctions on Iran starting from November 2018.

By the end of 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to pursue a strategic plan in the nuclear sector to counter the sanctions, leading to a suspension of additional steps and the Additional Protocol as per the nuclear agreement.

Consequently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) faced a reduction in monitoring capabilities by 2030 percent.

Iran has officially affirmed that its strategy is not to pursue the development of an atomic bomb and that it does not support the production of weapons of mass destruction.

To note, the first round of the dialog between the Deputy Foreign Ministers of Iran and 3 European countries (UK, France, and Germany) was held in Geneva on November 29, 2024. The next round of this dialog was continued on January 13-14 in Geneva.
Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant, who has raised concern over a dancing scene in the upcoming period drama Chhaava, has informed that the director has decided to remove it from the film.

The movie is directed by Laxman Utekar.

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In a conversation with ANI, he said, The director met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray today and after the meeting, he decided to remove the Lezim(dance) playing scene from the film Chhaava.

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The dance sequence features Vicky Kaushal and Rashmika Mandanna. Uday Samant had objected to the scene as Vicky, who is playing Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharajs role was shown dancing in the film.

Produced under the banner of Maddock Films, Chhaava is a period drama that portrays the legendary story of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, played by Vicky Kaushal. The film is set to depict the courageous Maratha rulers legendary reign, beginning with his coronation in 1681.

I congratulate the director and producer for making a film on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. They have done a commendable job.. I will definitely watch the film and ask everyone to watch it as it is on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj he added.

Earlier, Uday Samant said that the upcoming period drama Chhaava should be shown to historians and scholars and if they raise objections then we will not let it be released.

While talking to the media, he said, The movie shows Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj dancing. The director should cut this part. This movie should be shown to historians and scholars. If they raise objections, we will not let it be released.

On January 25, taking to his X, Samant also praised the effort to bring Sambhaji Maharajs story to the big screen but insisted that utmost care should be taken to ensure historical accuracy and respect for the Maratha king. Samant also asked the producers and directors of Chhaava to act responsibly, warning that the films release could be blocked if any offensive content remains.

It is a matter of joy that a Hindi film based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the protector of religion and protector of freedom, is being made. Such efforts are necessary to make the world understand the history of Chhatrapati. However, many have expressed their opinions that there are some objectionable scenes in this film. Our position is that this film should not be released without first showing it to experts and knowledgeable people. Anything that will harm the honor of the Maharaj will not be tolerated, Samant said on X.

Our position is that the producers and directors of the film should take immediate action in this regard and remove anything objectionable. A further decision will be taken after watching the film; otherwise, this film will not be allowed to be released! he added.

,             ,         .            .      Uday Samant (@samant_uday) January 25, 2025

Chhaava is touted to be a stirring tale of the courageous warrior whose coronation on this day in 1681 marked the beginning of a legendary reign.
Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoors classic rom-com Jab We Met commands a massive fanbase. The 2007 film emerged as a blockbuster and became an iconic title of its genre. Even after years since its release, the cast and director Imtiaz Ali still get questions about the film. As Shahid gears up for the release of his highly-awaited actioner, Deva he recently weighed in on Imtiaz Alis comment on the film. Earlier, the ace filmmaker stated that the films characters, Geet and Aditya would be visiting a divorce lawyer today.

During his interaction with The Indian Express, Shahid Kapoor weighed in on the debate. Thats a fun idea that Geet and Aditya are now breaking up because they are frustrated with each other. Aditya is like, She is her favourite, who can ever put up with her? He iterated that he did not want to disappoint his fans. However, he would like to go by what the director has to say. If our filmmaker thinks these two will divorce each other, then who am I to come in between? I am just an actor.

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Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor)



Following this several users took to social media to react to the actors comments. One user noted, She loved Anshuman more than herself btw. The reference is to Kareenas character going to lengths to marry her boyfriend in the film. Others also took a dig at Shahid and Kareenas real-life breakup took place around that time. One wrote, What a shot fired at Bebo. Shahid is the Vibe!. Another compared his Jab We Met Character to his role in Kabir Singh. Hes more Kabir Singh than Aditya IRL. Another added, Wow! Its so sad that he actually said that. Kareena dodged a bullet and got her nawab. Jokes on Shahid.

Meanwhile, one user wrote, Geet, in real life, understood that Aditya was not that rich as he was in the movie, she would not be able to compromise her desires as she loves herself more. Saif was perfect for her look-wise, family-wise and money-wise, so she is intelligent else her life would be pissed off with Aditya.

Also Read: Devas game-changing scene filmed under top-secret conditions

Moving ahead, Shahid Kapoor is gearing up for the release of Deva in full throttle. Rosshan Andrrews is taking charge as the director and Zee Studios and Roy Kapur Films are bankrolling the title. The explosive action thriller Deva is going to release on January 31.
The buzz around Deva, the upcoming action-thriller starring Shahid Kapoor and Pooja Hegde, is reaching fever pitch. Fans are counting down the days to its release on January 31, 2025, as the makers leave no stone unturned to build excitement.

From adrenaline-pumping teasers to chart-topping songs like Bhasad Macha and Marzi Cha Maalik, the film has already struck a chord with audiences.

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The trailer, launched at a grand event, promises an edge-of-your-seat experience, showcasing Shahid Kapoor in a high-octane avatar alongside Pooja Hegde.

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Now, as part of their promotional tour, Shahid and Pooja are heading to Delhi. A source revealed that the duo will visit a college in the Delhi-NCR region to interact with students. Theyll not only engage with the young crowd But also join them in grooving to the films hit tracks, the insider shared.

Directed by Rosshan Andrrews, known for his acclaimed work in Malayalam cinema, Deva promises to be a cinematic spectacle. Backed by Zee Studios and Roy Kapur Films, the movie is poised to be one of the years standout blockbusters.

The combination of Shahid Kapoors return to action-packed roles, Pooja Hegdes magnetic presence, and the films gripping storyline has made Deva one of the most talked-about releases of 2025.

Stay tuned as the countdown to Deva unfolds. It brings a mix of action, drama, and unforgettable music to the big screen.
Author Twinkle Khanna never shies away from calling out sexist and patriarchal behaviour. Recently Mrs Funnybones penned an article calling out missus blaming where people blame wives for every shortcoming of the husband. She also lashed out at rumours stating that Kareena Kapoor was intoxicated while Saif Ali Khan was attacked. Additionally, Khanna also noted how fans blame Anushka Sharma when Virat Kohli doesnt play well.

Twinkle Khanna penned a lengthy article deliberating on the subject in her column for the Times of India. She also took to social media to share an excerpt of her piece.

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In her Instagram post, Khanna wrote, This Sunday its all about why Biwis are clearly not considered number 1 except when it comes to taking the blame. After an actor was stabbed, ridiculous rumours swirled that his wife hadnt been at home or had been too intoxicated to help him during the assault. People just enjoyed shifting the blame onto the wife, an all-too-familiar pattern. When the Beatles split, people blamed Yoko Ono. Melania is often criticised for being silent or having limited public opposition to her husbands policies. Jill Biden has been held responsible for pushing Joe to continue his campaign. When Virat Kohli gets out, then Anushka gets booed. This is a widespread issue, not limited to couples in the public eye.

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Moreover, she noted how society somehow always finds faults in women even for their husbands personal and professional shortcomings. If your husband gains too much weight, you are not taking care of his health. If he loses too many kilos, you are not feeding him well. She added, If hes caring, theyll claim youve manipulated him; if hes indifferent, theyll blame you for not handling him right.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Twinkle Khanna (@twinklerkhanna)



Sharing a hilarious but sad anecdote she wrote, Last week, I attended a small family gathering where one of the relatives remarked, Look, my five uncles are bald, and the one who still has hair, he is the only one who is not married. Reflecting, she penned, In this context, I suppose its accurate to say that behind every man, loser or leader, stands a woman who is about to be vilified, at the drop of a hat, or with it firmly on her head.

In her column, Twinkle Khanna also expressed her frustration over being called a star wife. Sitting for an interview, I am asked, You are a star wife. Tell us what its like? While my first instinct is to bite the reporters index finger, I reply, I am not sure that an entity like star wife exists, unless, in the way that Manglik women marry trees, because of some Rahu Ketu ka dosh, you end up marrying Sirius or worse, Halleys Comet.'

She added, After 20 years of answering this annoying question, I have an oyster-like attitude to irritants and the ability to craft black pearls of wisdom in response. Im also often asked about and blamed for the difference in our political views. Its almost like people believe he isnt my husband but a toddler who will listen to me when I say, Beta ji, please walk on the left side of the road, and I will give you a Frooti.'

Also Read: Saif Ali Khan attack: fingerprints mismatch; wrong accused arrested?

Recently, Saif Ali Khan was stabbed at his Mumbai abode by an intruder. The actor suffered six injuries during his scuffle with the intruder in his Mumbai abode. During the confrontation, the perpetrator stabbed the actor. A doctor from the hospital revealed that the actor suffered six injuries with one being very close to his spine. As per the FIR by Saifs house staff, the thief was first seen in Jehs room. Upon confrontation, he demanded Rs 1 crore.
The recent attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has been making headlines every day. Following a lengthy manhunt, the Mumbai police arrested thirty-year-old Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir  a Bangladeshi national, for allegedly breaking into actor Saif Ali Khans residence. Now, reports suggest that fingerprints collected from Saifs house dont match with Shehzads prints. Moreover, social media users argue that the Shehzads face does not resemble the man caught leaving the actors abode on CCTV.

As reported by NDTV, according to sources, Mumbai Police sent the fingerprints found at Saifs home to the fingerprint bureau of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Now, a system-generated report establishes that the prints do not match Shezads. As per sources, the CID has informed Mumbai Police that the test result is negative. Following this, Mumbai Police has sent more samples for further testing.

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Moreover, an officer also talked about the issue with the Telegraph. The officer stated that a preliminary report found a fingerprint match. The officer added, More samples have been sent for further testing and we are still awaiting the final fingerprint report. A preliminary report had shown a match with the arrested accused.

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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Saif Ali Khan (@saifalikhan_online)



Meanwhile, previously the police stated that found evidence emphasising that Shehzad is a Bangladeshi national who crossed over illegally. Addressing a press conference, Dikshit Gedam, DCP, Crime Branch Mumbai revealed the details. There is primary evidence to anticipate that the accused is a Bangladeshi. He does not have valid Indian documents. Some seizures indicate that he is a Bangladeshi national.

Following his arrest, Dikshit Gedam rebuffed the difference in appearance between the man on CCTV and Shehzad. He said, The questions being raised over the difference between the facial features of the arrested person and the one in the footage are totally rubbish. The media has only two pieces of footage of the accused, which had been released earlier. We have several videos of him from different angles, including some in high resolution, which clearly establish the identity of the accused.

Also Read: Chhaava director decided to remove Lezim dance scene: Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant

Saif Ali Khan suffered six injuries during his scuffle with the intruder in his Mumbai abode. During the confrontation, the perpetrator stabbed the actor. A doctor from the hospital revealed that the actor suffered six injuries with one being very close to his spine. As per the FIR by Saifs house staff, the thief was first seen in Jehs room. Upon confrontation, he demanded Rs 1 crore.
In a shocking incident on the occasion of the 76th Republic Day, a man vandalized a life-size statue of Dr BR Ambedkar in Amritsar, creating outrage among local residents and political leaders alike. The incident occurred on Sunday in a public park near the Town Hall.

According to eyewitness accounts, the man allegedly climbed atop the statue and struck it multiple times with a hammer, causing visible damage to the figure of the architect of Indias Constitution.

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A purported video of the incident went viral on social media in which the accused could be seen climbing up the statue using a long steel ladder and carrying a hammer. It is being said that the ladder was not removed and the accused took advantage.

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According to the media reports, police have arrested the accused identified as Akash Singh of Dharamkot in Moga district, who is charged with causing damage to the statue and the sculpture of the Constitution book. Police have registered an FIR and further investigation is on.

In a post in Punjabi on X, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that the incident of breaking the statue of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar ji on Heritage Street of Amritsar is highly condemnable and no one will be forgiven for this incident. Whoever is responsible, he/she will be severely punished.

He further said that no one would be allowed to break the brotherhood and unity of Punjab. Instructions have been issued to the administration to investigate it and take strict action against the culprits.

Condemning the incident, Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, posted on X: Strongly condemn the attempt to desecrate the statue of Dr B R Ambedkar jis statue at the Heritage Street in Sri Amritsar Sahib on Republic Day.

This heinous act has hurt the sentiments of millions. I demand stern action against the culprit and a thorough inquiry to unravel the conspiracy behind this shameful incident. Lets stand united against such vile attempts to create divisions in our society, he wrote.

Several opposition leaders have also condemned the incident, seeking a high level probe into it. Punjab unit Congress chief and MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, while expressing his fear that there could be a deep-rooted conspiracy behind it, has demanded a high-level probe.

Senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh said the culprit must be given strict punishment. BSP chief Mayawati along with various other leaders have also condemned the act, demanding severe punishment against the guilty.
The Meghalaya unit of BJP has announced a 10-point manifesto aimed at fostering empowerment, financial stability, and sustainable development for the upcoming district councils polls in the state.

Releasing the manifesto, BJP state president Rikman G Momin outlined the partys vision, emphasizing its focus on traditional institutions, marginalized groups, and efficient governance.

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The announcement comes at a critical time as the BJP, which is part of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) coalition, seeks to strengthen its foothold in the states tribal councils.

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The BJPs manifesto features a range of initiatives designed to address the unique socio-economic and cultural needs of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills regions Support for Traditional Institutions, financial aid for marginalized groups, regulation of mining activities etc.

The Khasi and Jaintia Hills ADCs, established under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, play an important role in preserving tribal identity, customs, and governance.

Although the BJP has historically had limited influence in Meghalaya, its alliance with the MDA government and the partys growing presence in the Northeast signal its ambition to make inroads in the upcoming elections.

For the KHADC, the BJP is fielding 14 candidates, while five candidates will contest for the JHADC seats.
Sandeep Warrier, who recently left the BJP to join the Congress party, has been appointed as a spokesperson for the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).

KPCC President K Sudhakaran made the decision to include Warrier in the partys list of spokespersons in the state.

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In a communication to party leaders, KPCC General Secretary M Liju confirmed that KPCC President Sudhakaran had officially added Sandeep Warrier to the media spokesperson team.

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Advocate Deepthi Mary Varghese remains in-charge of the KPCC media wing.

Sources indicate that Warrier is likely to take on more significant responsibilities as part of the ongoing party reorganization process.

This appointment marks the first step, with discussions underway to consider him for the role of either KPCC General Secretary or Secretary.

Previously, Sandeep Warrier was a prominent face of the BJP, frequently representing the party in television debates.

His inclusion in the Congress is seen as part of the KPCCs broader strategy for restructuring and strengthening its ranks.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday told Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri that India and China should seize the opportunity to meet each other halfway, explore more substantive measures, and commit themselves to mutual understanding, mutual support and mutual achievement, rather than mutual suspicion, alienation and mutual depletion.

An improvement in India-China relations is fully in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two people and conducive to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the countries of the Global South, he said during the meeting in Beijing.

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Mr Misri, who is a former Indian Ambassador to China, is on a two-day visit to Beijing to attend a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism between India and China in Beijing. Issues to be discussed by him include the resumption of direct flights between India and China, issuance of visas, particularly for businesspersons and journalists, and ironing out trade issues, according to Indian news outlets.

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Mr Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that since the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year in Kazan, the two sides have earnestly implemented the important consensus reached by the two leaders, engaged in positive interactions at all levels and accelerated the process of improving China-India relations.

The state-run Chinese media quoted Mr Misri as saying that India and China have carried out a series of beneficial dialogues and communications in accordance with the consensus reached at the Kazan meeting between the leaders of the two countries, appropriately managing and resolving their differences and promoting the relaunch of practical cooperation in various fields.

He is also learnt to have stated that India is ready to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with China and will fully support Chinas chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in all its endeavours.

Before Misris China visit, Mr Wang had met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in Beijing in December 2024. Mr Wang and Mr Doval are the Special Representatives of the two countries on the boundary dispute.

On Sunday, the Foreign Secretary met Mr Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and the two sides exchanged views on jointly implementing the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthening exchanges and dialogues, and promoting the improvement and healthy and stable development of China-India relations, as well as international and regional issues of common concern.
Admiral Muhammad Ali, Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy, who is currently in India as part of the high-level delegation accompanying President Prabowo Subianto, met Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff, to further strengthen maritime cooperation and enhance the relationship between the two nations, both of which share close maritime ties.

A statement from the Naval spokesperson said that the talks focused on advancing collaborative initiatives such as Exercise Samudra Shakti, boosting operational cooperation, and addressing common maritime challenges, including piracy and other illegal activities at sea.

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As part of the visit, Admiral Ali toured vital maritime establishments like the Information Fusion Centre  Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) and the Weapons and Electronics Systems and Engineering Establishment (WESEE), which aim to enhance regional cooperation and maritime domain awareness. Additionally, the Indonesian Navy Chief visited BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) to discuss opportunities for deepening defense and strategic partnerships.

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Admiral Alis engagements with Indian Navy officials and defence stakeholders underscore the shared commitment to fostering regional security and maintaining a peaceful and stable maritime environment.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. The details will be studied during the next round of nuclear talks between Iran and three European countries (the UK, France, and Germany), the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told reporters, Trend reports.

According to him, in the two rounds of talks held so far at the level of deputy foreign ministers of Iran and the three European countries, the sides have unveiled their theories. Of course, a lot of work remains to be done, and there are controversies.

Takht-Ravanchi noted that there is no exact time yet for the next round. However, the next round of talks is expected to take place within the next month. In the next phase, it is crucial to go into more detail so that the parties feel that the moment has come to move on to the drafting phase.

At this stage, there will be an exchange of views on various points in the text to reach a mutual agreement, he noted.

On November 29, 2024, the first round of the dialog between the Deputy Foreign Ministers of Iran and three European countries (the UK, France, and Germany) was held in Geneva.

On January 16, 2016, the JCPOA came into force between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany) regarding Irans nuclear program. However, on May 8, 2018, the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed new sanctions on Iran starting from November 2018.

By the end of 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to pursue a strategic plan in the nuclear sector to counter the sanctions, leading to a suspension of additional steps and the Additional Protocol as per the nuclear agreement.

Consequently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) faced a reduction in monitoring capabilities by 2030 percent.

Iran has officially affirmed that its strategy is not to pursue the development of an atomic bomb and that it does not support the production of weapons of mass destruction.
The Kerala High Court has raised serious concerns about the disproportionate punishments prescribed under laws, including the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, for false accusations.

It emphasized the severe consequences faced by individuals wrongfully implicated in such cases, calling for legislative intervention to ensure fair and proportionate sentencing.

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While hearing a petition filed by Narayana Das, accused of falsely implicating Sheela Sunny in a drug possession case, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan noted that false allegations, especially under the NDPS Act, can ruin lives.

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The court highlighted that although victims of false accusations face harsh penalties, those responsible for such malicious acts often receive comparatively lenient sentences.

The petitioner had sought anticipatory bail after being charged under Sections 28 (punishment for attempt to commit an offence) and 58(2) (punishment for vexatious entry, search, seizure, or arrest) of the NDPS Act.

This came after his false claims led to Sheela Sunny being wrongfully jailed for 72 days under Section 22 of the Act, which carries a minimum imprisonment of 10 years. The charges against her were eventually quashed, and she was released.

Rejecting the bail plea, the court underscored the need for reform, stating:

False accusations are the most malignant and venomous of all calumnies. Sentences in such cases must be fair, proportionate, and reflective of the severity of the offence. Parliament should seriously reconsider sentencing provisions to address these inadequacies.

Justice Kunhikrishnan directed the courts Registry to forward a copy of the order to the Union Government, urging legislative review to ensure sentencing provisions align with the gravity of false accusations.

He also recommended that courts prioritize such cases and award substantial compensation to victims in addition to prescribed penalties.

Quoting Mark Twain, the court remarked:

A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes, emphasizing the rapid damage caused by false allegations.

Finally, the court instructed Narayana Das to surrender to the investigating officer within seven days, warning of coercive actions in case of non-compliance.
The 2025 Mahakumbh Mela, the worlds largest religious gathering, was captured in stunning images from the International Space Station on Sunday.

Shared by astronaut Don Pettit on social media platform X, the photos showcase the illuminated banks of the Ganga, reflecting the vibrant energy of this grand event from a celestial perspective.

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The breathtaking images capture the radiant lights and vast gathering of devotees at Mahakumbh, showcasing it as a truly majestic spectacle. These space-shot photos underscore the sheer scale of this religious event, which continues to amaze people worldwide.

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The Mahakumbh Mela, regarded as the most significant religious event globally, draws millions of devotees who immerse themselves in the sacred Ganga to attain spiritual solace.

Over 13 crore devotees have participated in this profound experience at the Sangam, while the stunning images from space have left the world in awe. These visuals are bound to elevate global attention toward the 2025 Maha Kumbh.

Sharing the photos, Don Pettit remarked on the remarkable view of the Mahakumbh Mela from the ISS, highlighting the radiant brilliance of the worlds largest human gathering along the Gangas banks.

Donald Roy Pettit, an American astronaut and chemical engineer who was celebrated for his astrophotography and innovative contributions to space exploration, captured these images.

Known as the inventor of the first patented object created in space, the Zero-G Cup, Pettit has spent an impressive 555 days aboard the ISS. At 69, he is considered NASAs oldest active astronaut.
The CJM court here on Monday has issued a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against Congress MP Rakesh Rathore, who is accused of rape in Sitapur.

Even after issuing notice twice in the case by the court , the accused MP did not appear before the police to present his side. Also, during the investigation of the case, the MP did not cooperate with the police due to which the court has taken this action. Inspector Anup Shukla, in -charge of Kotwali Nagar, went to the MPs house in connection with the investigation and gave notice twice. In the last notice, he was directed to appear in Kotwali by 11 am on January 27.

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But when the MP did not reach the court ,Chief Judicial Magistrate Gaurav Prakash issued a non -bailable warrant against him. Following this order, the police has intensified its action for the arrest of the MP.

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A woman had accused Rathore of sexually abusing her for four years on the pretext of marriage. The MP is absconding since the case was registered.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday evening spoke with US President Donald Trump over phone and reiterated that India and the United States will work together towards global peace, prosperity, and security.

Modi congratulated Trump on his second term in office.

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This was the first telephonic conversation between both leaders since President Trump took office last week.

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In a post on X, Modi said, Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. Congratulated him on his historic second term. We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, and security.

Earlier, on January 20, PM Modi had congratulated Trump on his return to the White House for a historic second term.

Congratulations my dear friend President Donald Trump on your historic inauguration as the 47th President of the United States! I look forward to working closely together once again, to benefit both our countries and to shape a better future for the world. Best wishes for a successful term ahead, wrote Modi as Trump took the oath at Capitol Rotunda.

PM Modi and Trump had also spoken soon after the Republican leaders triumph in the Presidential election.

Taking to X, PM Modi wrote: Had a great conversation with my friend, President Donald Trump, congratulating him on his spectacular victory. Looking forward to working closely together once again to further strengthen India-US relations across technology, defence, energy, space and several other sectors.

Both leaders had affirmed the resolution to work together for global peace. Trump was quoted saying that the whole world loves PM Modi, adding that India is a magnificent country and the Indian Prime Minister is a magnificent man.

PM Modi had congratulated Trump on his victory in the US presidential elections, asserting that he is looking forward to renewing collaboration with the 78-year-old leader to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership.

Trump has already promised to strengthen the great partnership with India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his second term, continuing the close ties he forged in his first term.

In his Diwali 2024 greetings, Trump said: Under my administration, we will strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday confirmed that he will visit Paris on February 10-11 to attend the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit being hosted by France.

Responding to Republic Day greetings sent to him by French President Emmanuel Macron, the PM said, Your kind greetings on Indias 76th Republic Day are deeply appreciated. Your august presence last year on this day was indeed a high point in our strategic partnership and enduring friendship. See you soon at the AI Action Summit in Paris as we work together for better future of the humanity.

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The French President, in his message, congratulated dear friend Modi on Indias Republic Day and said he is looking forward to seeing the Indian leader in France next month for the AI Summit.

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In his post on X, Mr Macron also recalled his participation as chief guest at the Republic Day parade in 2024. My congratulations to the Indian people and my dear friend @NarendraModi on this Republic Day. Fond memories of that great moment of friendship I shared with you in 2024. Looking forward to seeing you in France in February for the Summit on Action for Artificial Intelligence, he said.

The summit will bring together almost 100 countries and over a 1000 private sector and civil society representatives from across the world.

This will be Mr Modis first visit to France in his third term. There is a possibility of the PM meeting US President Donald Trump if he also attends the summit. The PM will also hold bilateral meetings with President Macron and other world leaders attending the summit.
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that Dalits, OBCs, SC/STs, backward classes, and the poor are being oppressed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government. He reiterated that the Congress party is committed to breaking the wall of 50 per cent reservation and declared that no one can stop this initiative.

Donning his trademark white T-shirt and holding a copy of the Constitution, Gandhi addressed the Congress partys Jai Bapu  Jai Bhim  Jai Samvidhaan rally in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. He described the current political battle as one between the Constitution and the BJP-RSS.

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Speaking just three days after the first anniversary of the Ram Temple consecration at Ayodhya and amidst the ongoing Mahakumbh at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi accused the BJP of exclusion.

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He stated, The BJP did not invite even our tribal President, Droupadi Murmu, to the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya on January 24, 2024. He further alleged that no farmers, labourers, Dalits, or individuals from SC/ST communities were included in the event.

Gandhi also criticized the BJP for excluding the President from the inauguration of the new Parliament building, accusing the party and the RSS of consistently insulting Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.

The BJP and RSS want to change the Constitution framed by Baba Saheb Ambedkar to recreate a pre-independence-like situation, where the poor have no rights and only the rich benefit, he alleged.

Accusing the BJP-led Union government of serving the interests of billionaires, Gandhi said that employment opportunities are being destroyed while the nations wealth is being handed over to a few crony capitalists. When even IIT/IIM graduates struggle to find jobs, how will the common people get employment, he asked the large gathering at the birthplace of Dr Ambedkar.

Addressing Congress workers as Babbar Sher (lions), Gandhi praised their efforts in safeguarding the Constitution. He emphasized that the current fight pits those defending the Constitution against the BJP and RSS, who, he claimed, are trying to dismantle it.

It is because of our Constitution that Dalits, OBCs, SC/STs, the poor, and backward communities have gained the right to fight for their rights. Before its implementation, only the rich and the ruling class had any rights, Gandhi asserted.

He pledged that the Congress party would surpass the 50 per cent reservation cap and introduce legislation in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to achieve this goal. We will conduct a nationwide caste-based census as soon as the Congress comes to power, Gandhi announced, adding that Prime Minister Modi would never take such an initiative due to fear.

The day our Constitution is changed, the poor will suffer the most, as there will be nothing left in the country for the backward classes, Dalits, tribals, and the poor, Gandhi warned.
Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj, the spiritual head of the Sant Nirankari Mission, has emphasized that the true purpose of life is not limited to material accomplishments but lies in spiritual upliftment.

She stated that the Supreme Being is formless, and understanding this ultimate truth should be the highest aspiration of human existence.

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Human life is considered superior because it has the capacity to attain self-realization, Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj said while addressing devotees on the third and final day of the 58th Annual Nirankari Sant Samagam held in Maharashtra.

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She further highlighted that life is a divine blessing and should be lived in constant connection with the Supreme Being.

Living every moment in the right direction brings spiritual satisfaction and peace, enabling one to move toward the infinite, she added.

The three-day event, which commenced on January 24 in Pimpri, Pune, concluded successfully last night in a ceremonious manner.
Udaipur, known as the Lake City, and Indore have been granted the prestigious status of Wetland Cities under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, joining an elite list of 31 Wetland Cities worldwide.

This marks the first time that two cities in India have been accredited as Wetland Cities under the Ramsar Convention, a significant milestone for the country.

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Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav announced the achievement through his official Twitter account on Saturday.

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Yadav wrote: Double joy! I am thrilled to share that, for the first time in India, Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Udaipur in Rajasthan have joined the list of 31 Ramsar Wetland Accredited Cities worldwidea testimony to PM Shri @narendramodi jis vision of balancing economic progress with ecological conservation.

The minister emphasized that this recognition reflects Indias commitment to sustainable urban development without compromising ecological conservation in both urban and rural areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also praised the accomplishment by reposting Yadavs tweet.

He wrote: Congratulations to Indore and Udaipur! This recognition reflects our strong commitment to sustainable development and fostering harmony between nature and urban growth. May this inspire everyone to work towards greener, cleaner, and more eco-friendly urban spaces across our nation.

An official spokesperson stated on Monday that this accreditation would enable Udaipur to implement better and more effective conservation measures for its famous lakes, including Pichhola and Fateh Sagar, while preserving the heritage and culture of the Mewar region.

The recognition is expected to contribute significantly to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem protection, and overall environmental improvement.
Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav on Monday strongly condemned the vandalization attempt on the Ambedkar statue in Amritsar under the very nose of the Aam Aadmi Party government in the state on the Republic Day.

He condemned the AAP, alleging that the party on one hand swears by Dr Ambedkar to play vote bank politics, but keeps mum when Dalits are hurt.

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Scores of Congress workers, under the leadership of Yadav, on Monday held a candle-light march at C-D Block, Jahangirpuri main road in the Badli Assembly constituency, to protest against the vandalisation of the Ambedkar statue.

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Congress workers also held candle-light marches across all the 70 Assembly constituencies in Delhi, where people shouted slogans against Kejriwal and the AAP.

Yadav expressed shock over the AAP government in Punjab failing to protect the statue of the architect of the Constitution from the disrespect that too on the occasion of the Republic Day, which is the anniversary of the Constitution, and stressed that it was a matter of grave concern for the entire country.

Yadav said that security on the Republic Day should have been tighter than ever, considering the fact that the Ambedkar statue was located at Town Hall on the heritage street to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, and someone could climb on it with a hammer, attempting to break it, was something very shocking.

The Congress leader said that the vandalism of the Ambedkar statue was yet another instance of the complete breakdown of law and order in Punjab under the AAP Government, alleging that anti-social elements and criminals were calling the shots.

He hit-out at the AAP government, stating that it has turned out to be an abject failure not only in maintaining law and order, but also in every other aspect of governance, in Punjab.

Yadav said that it seemed that the vandalism inflicted on the statue was a deliberate attempt to hurt the sentiments of Dalits, and has asked the AAP chief whether he was in control of the Punjab Police, if not his partys government.
The World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the recent attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in El Fasher, Sudan, which resulted in 70 deaths and 19 injuries.

The WHO chief called for an immediate cessation of attacks on healthcare and emphasized that the people of Sudan need peace.

Sharing a post on X, Ghebreyesus wrote, The appalling attack on Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, #Sudan, led to 19 injuries and 70 deaths among patients and companions. At the time of the attack, the hospital was packed with patients receiving care. The attack comes at a time when access to health care is already severely constrained in the state due to the closure of health facilities following intense bombardments.

The post added, As the only functional hospital in El Fasher, the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital provides services which include gyn-obstetrics, internal medicine, surgery and pediatrics, along with a nutrition stabilization centre. MADO Health Facility in Al Malha, North Darfur, was also attacked yesterday, resulting in a pause in providing primary health care to residents and displaced persons.

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The WHO chief further called for cessation of attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan.

We continue to call for a cessation of all attacks on health care in Sudan, and to allow full access for the swift restoration of the facilities that have been damaged. Above all, Sudans people need peace. The best medicine is peace, Ghebreyesus wrote.

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Meanwhile, Saudi Arabias Foreign Ministry expressed condemnation and denunciation of the targeting of the Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, constituting a violation of international law and international humanitarian law.

In a statement posted on X, the ministry said, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias condemnation and denunciation of the targeting of the Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, which resulted in the death and injury of several individuals, constituting a violation of international law and international humanitarian law.

It added, The Kingdom reiterates its rejection of such violations, emphasizing the necessity of ensuring the protection of healthcare and humanitarian workers. The Kingdom stresses the importance of exercising restraint, avoiding the targeting of civilians, and implementing the commitments outlined in the Jeddah Declaration (Commitment to Protecting Civilians in Sudan) of May 11, 2023. The Kingdom also extends its sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the deceased and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.
North Korea has test-fired sea-to-surface strategic cruise guided missiles, the Norths state media reported Sunday, in the first missile launch since US President Donald Trump took office last week.

The Norths Missile Administration conducted the test-fire the previous day as part of plans for building the national defense capabilities to raise the effectiveness of strategic control against potential enemies, Yonhap news agency reported quoting the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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The missiles precisely hit the targets after traveling the 1,500 kilometre-long elliptical and eight-shaped flight orbits for 7,507 to 7,511 seconds, the report said, adding that launch had no negative impact on the security of neighbouring countries.

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Overseeing the launch, leader Kim Jong-un noted that The war deterrence means of the armed forces of the DPRK are being perfected more thoroughly, the KCNA said. DPRK stands for the countrys official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

Kim also affirmed that DPRK will always make strenuous efforts in a responsible manner to perform its important mission and duty for defending sustainable and lasting peace and stability on the basis of more powerfully developed military muscle in the future.

South Koreas military confirmed the Norths missile firing, noting that it detected the launches of multiple cruise missiles from an inland area in North Korea toward the Yellow Sea at about 4 p.m. Saturday.

Detailed specifications are currently being closely analyzed by the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message sent to reporters.

Based on the images released by the KCNA, the missiles appear to have been fired using the cold launch method, which is typically associated with submarine and ship-based vertical launching systems.

People Power Party Rep. Yu Yong-weon, a member of the parliamentary defence committee, said the latest test-firing appears to be part of the Norths efforts to strengthen its tactical nuclear strike capabilities by equipping its new warships and submarines with such missiles.

The inland launch location, however, could indicate the missiles are in an early stage of development.

In January last year, North Korea test-fired new submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles, named Pulhwasal-3-31, over two instances, raising questions as to whether the latest missiles could be an improved version of last years missile.

The North claimed at the time that two of the Pulhwasal-3-31s flew 7,421 and 7,445 seconds, respectively, before hitting an island target.
Prosecutors have formally indicted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of organizing an insurrection related to his brief declaration of martial law last month. With this, Yoon Suk Yeol becomes the first sitting South Korean president to be indicted while in detention, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency.

The indictment comes just one day before Yoons detention was scheduled to expire. He had been taken into custody on January 15 by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) over his December 3 declaration of martial law. Yoon was officially arrested on January 19.

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Since the CIO lacks the authority to indict a sitting president, the case was transferred to the prosecution last week. On Sunday, senior prosecutors from across the country convened to discuss the next steps in the case.

The prosecution team investigating the case said they had reviewed the evidence, and based on the comprehensive review, it was determined that indicting the defendant was appropriate, Yonhap reported.

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Yoon is accused of conspiring with former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others to incite an insurrection by declaring martial law. He is also alleged to have ordered the deployment of military forces to block a parliamentary vote that sought to repeal the decree.

Earlier, on January 23, the CIO handed over its investigation into President Yoons alleged attempt to impose martial law to the prosecution, urging that he be charged with insurrection and abuse of power.

The CIO had said that it transferred all related investigation materials, totaling over 30,000 pages compiled into 69 volumes.

On December 14, Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly over his attempt to impose martial law in the country. The members of the unicameral National Assembly had voted 204 to 85 to impeach South Koreas President.
Is it just those dancing liquid amber eyes? The wide, open smile? The glossy thick hair? God knows! But Monalisa Bhonsle, 16, from Indore, selling simple handmade bead necklaces on the crowded ghats of the Mahakumbh Mela at Prayagraj, became an internet sensation overnight when her video went viral. Suddenly, social media content creators were rampaging along the sandbanks in search of the teenager, whose fame had captured fans across the world.

Dubbed the brown beauty by gushing admirers who went into raptures over her eyes, the disarmingly unaffected young girl remained unfazed by the attention, occasionally expressing frustration at selfie seekers cutting into her time and affecting business. Unsurprisingly, it was creepy men who were mobbing Monalisa, offering her money and marigold garlands as enticement.

Relentlessly stalked and chased by undesirables badgering her, Monalisa, according to reports, was sent back to the village by her enraged family. I will only marry a man chosen by my parents, Monalisa declared as she rebuffed ardent suitors.

Monalisa Bhonsle

So many threads about Monalisas life intrigued mestarting with her name! Did her folks realise the weighty significance of their daughters name? Did she herself know the importance of being Mona Lisa? Leonardo da Vincis masterpiece, painted on a wood panel between 1503 and 1519, is now considered an object of pilgrimage by visitors to the Louvre in Paris, where millions of awestruck art lovers gaze at the ladys mysterious smile. Our desi Monalisa may soon be forgotten by the very people who are posting reels as she coyly averts her eyes and dodges questions. Obviously nobody cares about her right to privacy!

Her unique journey to instant fame reminds me of Arshad Khan, the blue-eyed Pakistani tea seller, whose image went viral in 2016. He shrewdly leveraged his fame, and converted his extraordinary branding into a business opportunity by establishing Chaiwala & Co, even opening a flagship tea shop in London after receiving Rs1 crore in Shark Tank Pakistan.

This was possible because of his genderhe didnt have to seek his parents permission before taking advantage of his unique looks to create a brand with high recall. Our Monalisa lives in a parallel universe, a patriarchal social system, with very little agency over her personal life. She did say she was open to modelling offers, but before anything concrete could materialise, she was hastily whisked off by concerned family members.

Such are the perils of living in the age of aggressive social media. A single viral video can transform a persons life in a blink. Monalisa had nothing to do with the first video which garnered 15 million views, just like that. These are the sort of impressive numbers manipulative influencers crave for, and go the extra mile to generate, frequently manufacturing fake narratives, sensationalising their own lives to get the eyeballs.

My concern for Monalisa stems from a different place. It is clear she knows boundaries and respects themher inoffensive but firm handling of assorted intruders into her space was remarkable and admirable. For someone denied schooling, she was an absolute pro when it came to firmly rebuffing ill-mannered men edging a bit too close to her. Some of our film stars should learn from Monalisa. When asked how she feels about the excessive male attention, the myriad proposals, she smiled and said, All of them are my brothers. Touche!

Lets see what happens to Monalisa once the Mahakumbh winds up and the multitudes go back to their mundane lives. My guess is that she will soon be married off and confined to her marital home, before fancy ideas go to her head. It is in this archaic way our society protects young women from the outside world. Ideally, Monalisa should go back to school, educate herself and show the world theres more to her than those amber eyes.

X@DeShobhaa Instagram@shobhaade
Following the feedback from Donald Trumps administration, Perplexity AI proposed a new deal to merge with TikToks US business, agencies reported, citing people familiar with the matter. This deal, as per sources, would let the US government have ownership of up to 50 per cent of the new entity.



TikTok owner ByteDance did no repond to the earlier proposal by Perplexity AI. The US tech firm presented the proposal on January 18, one day before the brief US ban on the app (since lifted).

The latest proposal, however, gives the US administration the option to own up to half of the newly proposed merged entity after it makes an initial public offering of at least USD 300 million, the Associated Press reported, citing the source.

However, according to the person familiar with the deal, the US government would not get any voting rights or a seat on the companys board despite stake ownership. This plan also allows ByteDance to not completely remove itself from TikTok even if it gets a full US board control, the source reportedly stated.

Both ByteDance and TikTok have yet to comment publicly or respond to the reports.

(This is a developing story)
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has outlined his vision for the US armed forces and the department, saying he is focusing on a culture of accountability, high standards, performance, readiness, rapid innovation and merit even as he announced the US plans to counter an aggressive China.

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth, an experienced infantryman who had led troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and guarded detainees at Guantanamo Bay, said his focus is on building a " ready, lethal military," and a strong and secure America.

He said President Donald Trump too wants a Pentagon laser-focused on lethality, meritocracy, warfighting, accountability and readiness and listed restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and reestablishing deterrence as the ingredients needed to bring back warfighting.

He backed Trump's mission of achieving 'Peace through Strength' and said this will be done by restoring warrior ethos, rebuilding the US military, and reestablishing deterrence.

Vowing to make the military standards high, uncompromising, and clear, he said the strength of the US military is its unity and the shared purpose.

ALSO READ: President Donald Trump's first message as US Commander in Chief: 'America will be stronger, far more exceptional'

"We will rebuild our military by matching threats to capabilities. This means reviving our defence industrial base, reforming our acquisition process, passing a financial audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies. We will remain the strongest and most lethal force in the world."

Taking an aggressive stance against China, he said the US will work with its allies to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific by China. "We will reestablish deterrence by defending our homeland  on the ground and in the sky," he added.

Further, Hegseth, who called himself "a change agent", announced his intention to trim bureaucracy and reallocate resources to the warfighters.

READ MORE: US has 400 nuclear warheads on ICBMs, 970 on submarines, 300 on bombers

Pointing out that the US won World War with seven four-star generals, he said, "Today we have 44.  There is an inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield. We do not need more bureaucracy at the top. We need more warfighters empowered at the bottom. So, it is going to be my job  to identify those places where fat can be cut, so it can go toward lethality," according to a relese from the Department of Defence.

Hegseth, a recipient of two Bronze Star Medals, the Joint Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge, called his appointment as the secretary of defence "the most important deployment" of his life.
Jackie Chan is back with a new action thriller titled The Shadow's Edge, the filming of which is complete. It sees Chan reuniting with director Larry Yang, with whom he worked in the action comedy Ride On, which was a box-office hit.

It also marks Chan's reunion with veteran actor Tony Leung Ka-fai, who plays the principal antagonist.

Interestingly, the two had acted together in the past in action films such as The Island of Fire (1990) and The Myth (2005).

It's worth noting that Tony Leung Ka-fai is also known for films such as Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Lover (1992), Johnnie To's Election (2005), and his collaborations with Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-fat in films such as Prison of Fire (1987), A Better Tomorrow 3 (1989) and God of Gamblers Returns (1994).

The Shadow's Edge has Jackie Chan playing a retired police surveillance expert who is taken back into the force to help take down a group of robbers.

Its other cast members include Wen Junhui (My Mother, The Legend Is Born: Ip Man), Zhang Zifeng (Aftershock, High Forces), Ci Sha (Raging Havoc, Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms), Brono Bajtala (100 Yards) and Lee Huang (Kung Fu Yoga).

It is bankrolled by Victoria Hon in association with iQIYI Pictures, Tao Tickets, Hairun Pictures and China ChenXiang Cultural Investment.

Aside from The Shadow's Edge, there are reports of Chan working on a fourth film in the Rush Hour series and a sequel to New Police Story. He has also completed a new Karate Kid film titled Karate Kid: Legends.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. The expansion of joint economic cooperation between Iran and Turkiye is of great importance, the Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh said during a meeting with Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat in Ankara on January 27, Trend reports.

According to her, strengthening ties between Iran and Turkiye is one of the main goals of the current Iranian government regarding relations between the neighboring countries.

Sadegh noted that the Iranian side has demonstrated serious will to implement the agreements reached by the joint economic commission established between the two countries.

During the meeting, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat also stated that the discussions between the two countries continue within the framework of the joint economic commission meetings and that the further development of Iran-Turkiye relations through this mechanism is at the center of attention.

He noted that it is hopeful that these meetings will lead to the strengthening of cooperation between Iran and Turkiye.

To note, Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh, accompanied by high-ranking staff, paid a visit to Ankara today.
Prithviraj Sukumaran, Mohanlal, writer Murali Gopy, and team Lucifer presented the teaser of their much-anticipated sequel Empuraan at an event held at Kochi that saw the attendance of most of Malayalam cinema's eminent personalities, including Mammootty, directors Sathyan Anthikad and Joshiy, among others.

The teaser, which showed some footage from Empuraan interspersed with some dialogues from Lucifer, hints at a much bigger scale and story that explores the idea of a mercenary team headed by Mohanlal's Stephen Nedumbally aka Qureshi Ab'raam, more political developments involving Tovino Thomas' character, epic spectacle and, of course, the return of Prithviraj's character Zayed Masood and the rest of the principal characters from the first film, including Manju Warrier.

At the event, Prithviraj dispelled the general notion that his primary filmmaking influences are Hollywood blockbusters, given the scope and scale of Lucifer and Empuraan and the locations they are shot in. "I've been brought up on Malayalam cinema. It's filmmakers like Joshiy, Shaji (Kailas) ettan, Sathyan (Anthikad) sir, and Sibi (Malayil) sir that inspired me," he said.

Prithviraj recounted the numerous challenges they faced while shooting the film, mostly on account of the weather, beginning with their first schedule in Leh Ladakh to the very last in Palakkad, aside from the weather challenges in different countries. "Every country, every place... we had run-ins with the weather. So what happens is obviously a lot of money goes to waste  when a big crew is unable to work  and a lot of time goes to waste."

Prithviraj remembers calling Mohanlal to shoot the Gujarat schedule to shoot the climax portions while the latter was busy with multiple projects, but Mohanlal remained patient throughout. "He had to sit there for a long while without shooting. I used to get concerned because he had a lot of other films to shoot. On the 5th or 6th day, I told him, 'Sorry, today also shooting won't happen,' and he said, 'That's fine, son. You only need to think about doing it well.' It was not just a memory for me as a filmmaker but a lesson as an actor."

As for the franchise potential of these stories, the actor-director called Empuraan a "very ambitious" film, and they didn't think of doing a second one when he discussed Lucifer with scriptwriter Murali Gopy. "When we discussed the idea of Lucifer, we knew we couldn't tell this story in one film. Back then, this 'Part 1', 'Part 2' thing wasn't fashionable  people used to frown at the idea. We decided there was no point in talking about Part 2 back then because Part 1 had to run well first. Empuraan happened only because of the positive reception to Lucifer."

Prithviraj and Murali Gopy had earlier confirmed that Empuraan would be the second in a trilogy. "We made Part 1 as a standalone film, but with Part 2, it was very evident that the story would be incomplete without Part 3, that I have to say, that it ends with the viewer curious to know what happens next," said Prithviraj.
In one of his first orders after assuming office last week, President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the World Health Organisation (WHO), citing the international body's mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic, lack of political independence, and the disproportionate contributions the US makes to the organisation financially.

The executive order said, The United States noticed its withdrawal from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2020 due to the organisations mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.

Also read | Will Donald Trump reconsider US withdrawal decision? WHO expresses regret, calls for dialogue

In addition, the WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries assessed payments. China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 per cent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 per cent less to the WHO, the order added.

First Check spoke to Professor Mukesh Kapila, a global health expert who has served as the Director, Health Action in Crisis, at WHO, to check the veracity of these claims. He explained that while Trump is correct in saying that the US is the largest contributor to the WHO, he is mistaken in claiming that China is not contributing enough based on its population.

Also read | 'By cutting funding, US will be importing diseases': Public health expert Dr S.S. Lal on Donald Trump withdrawing US from WHO



WHO contributions are based on a countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP), rather than its population size, Dr Kapila explained. On that metric, The United States is the world's wealthiest economy and is therefore required to pay the highest membership contribution.

He also said that the President's assertions about China's "disproportionate influence over the WHO are also generally valid," but this was achieved by "means beyond financial contributions."

Here are excerpts from the interview:

Q: What will be the impact of President Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the World Health Organisation (WHO)?

A: The United States provides very significant financial support to WHO. Its assessed contribution (or membership fee) is about 260 million USD over the 2024-25 biennium, which is more than a fifth of all statess total assessed contributions of $1.2 billion. The assessed budget provides for the core staffing and programmes of WHO and so, removing the American share could have a profound impact, especially in helping the worlds poorest countries in areas of disease control and pandemic response.

Q: How do contributions to the WHO work, and why does the US contribute more than other countries?

A: WHO contributions are based largely on a countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP), rather than its population size. The United States, as one of the world's wealthiest economies, is required to pay the highest contribution. In contrast, China, despite being the second-largest economy, contributes somewhat less at about 175 million USD over the same biennium. The reason China pays so little is for reasons of history. It used to be classified as a developing or low-income country, and it refuses to be upgraded to a higher status for the purpose of its assessed contribution.

However, assessed contributions do not provide the full picture, as that only covers around 10 per cent of the cost of what WHO does. Its total budget over the 2024-25 biennium as approved by its 194 member states is over 6.8 billion USD. That is made up of additional voluntary contributions targeting activities and programmes favoured by donors.

Thus, the US provides voluntary financing exceeding 1 billion USD on top of the earlier mentioned obligatory assessed contributions. In contrast, China has habitually provided less than 50 million USD. President Trump is, therefore, correct in stating that Chinas contributions do not align with its economic weight.

Q: What role does China play in influencing the WHO when it doesnt invest much financially?

A: President Trumps assertion that China wields disproportionate influence over the WHO is also valid but for different reasons. China's strategic influence within international organisations is achieved through political pressure and using its nationals who are employed by these bodies  and not through its modest financial support.

China has a very assertive diplomatic machine that deploys significant indirect controls. For example, Chinese companies that operate globally are often closely linked to the Chinese Communist Party and follow its directions. As also the tens of thousands of Chinese students and researchers in Western Universities.

The debate around TikTok and Huawei has also illustrated how China uses its technologies to garner sensitive or confidential interests in industry and academia to advance its own interests. That poses a security threat to other nations. International organisations such as the UN and WHO are very vulnerable and can find themselves in the middle of this too.

President Trump and many others have also criticised WHO for having been overly influenced by China in its handling of the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, where the organisation was accused of not acting forcefully enough to hold China accountable.

The evidence suggests that WHO could, indeed, have done better at that time. But subsequently, WHO moved on to challenge China more strongly for the latters lack of co-operation and transparency, and the Organisations leadership of the global pandemic response has been very good and appreciated by many countries.

Q: If the US withdraws, how will the WHO compensate for the funding loss?

A: The immediate consequence of the US withdrawal would be a substantial funding gap. While private foundations, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, could step in, they and other countries cannot make up the missing dollars. Besides reliance on private sector funding would raise concerns about impartiality and credibility.

Pharmaceutical companies and other private donors have obvious commercial interests that could potentially influence policy decisions. The WHO traditionally avoids direct funding from commercial entities to maintain its neutrality, but if government contributions decrease, the organisation may have no choice but to seek alternative sources, which could impact global trust in its decision-making processes.

Q: How much does India contribute to the WHO, and does it have the potential to increase its influence?

A: Indias net assessed contribution to WHO is set at nearly 12 million USD for the 2024-25 biennium. This is very small considering Indias growing economic stature, ranking fifth on global GDP tables, behind the US, China, Japan, and Germany. India also does not make significant voluntary contributions to WHO.

So, some of the earlier criticism in terms of contributions to WHO could also apply to India. But on the matter of asserting influence, India is doing well. But not through undue political or diplomatic coercion as that is not in the Indian governments tradition of engagement in international affairs.

Indians do well anyway through their soft power that comes from having a large stock of well-trained and educated human resources, especially in the health sector and health-related industries and services, including pharma.

It is always better for the world that way than when countries push their own nationals to be installed in international bodies, regardless of whether they have the necessary skills and competencies, or not.

Q: Should India increase its financial contributions to counter China's growing influence?

A: Yes, India should increase its contributions to WHO and other UN bodies. But that is for reasons of playing a more constructive role in the world. And not for buying greater leverage inside WHO or other organisations, or to compete with China, the US, or any other nation.

Indian national interests, in the long-term, are best served by behaving morally and ethically in global affairs so that the world comes to respect and trust India, more and more. That especially matters in sectors such as global health and development, where the conduct of nations has a direct impact on the survival and well-being of billions of people.

Q: What impact will the US withdrawal have on the WHOs proposed pandemic treaty?

A: The US had already made many objections to the pandemic treaty, negotiations over which have been dragging on for so long. American withdrawal makes the treatys adoption more difficult, but this is not a showstopper. Other countries who wish to co-operate with future pandemic control can do so. Perhaps the US withdrawal may even incentivise them to hurry up to finalise the agreement which is in the common good of the whole world.

Although the effectiveness of its implementation could be compromised without US support but reducing dependence on the US on global health matters is not a bad idea, anyway.

This story is done in collaboration with First Check, which is the health journalism vertical of DataLEADS.
India and China on Monday reviewed the bilateral relations and agreed to take certain people-centric steps to stabilize and rebuild ties. The decision comes at a meeting between Foreign Secretary Vikram Misriwho is in Beijing for a two-day visitand Chinese Vice Foreign Minister H.E. Sun Weidong.

Misri earlier met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with the visiting India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday in Beijing. Wang said China and India should seize the opportunity to meet each other halfway, explore more substantive measures, and commit themselves to mutual pic.twitter.com/TMAlqbH23q  Xu Feihong (@China_Amb_India) January 27, 2025

The two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra this year and the relevant mechanism will discuss the modalities for doing so as per existing agreements, said a release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

They also agreed to hold an early meeting of the India-China Expert Level Mechanism to discuss resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers, it said.

In order to enhance air connectivity, both Beijing and New Delhi agreed to resume direct flight services between the two countries.The relevant technical authorities on the two sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date, the MEA said.

The two sides will conduct a number of commemorative activities to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China. They agreed that the occasion should be utilised to redouble public diplomacy efforts to create better awareness about each other and restore mutual trust and confidence among the public.

Besides, Beijing and New Delhi took stock of the extant mechanisms for functional exchanges and agreed to resume dialogues to address each others priority areas of interest and concern.

Specific concerns in the economic and trade areas were discussed with a view to resolving these issues and promoting long-term policy transparency and predictability, the MEA said.

The two sides also agreed to take measures to further promote and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, including media and think-tank interactions.

The visit of Misri, who was also the former Ambassador to China, is taking place on Republic Day ahead of the celebrations of China's Spring Festival and the Chinese New Year, beginning on January 29.
Possibly the first death due to Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) in Maharashtra, a man suspected to have contracted the disease has died in Solapur district. According to authorities, over 100 GBS cases have been reported in Pune.



The native of Solapur, is suspected to have contracted the disease while he visited Pune recently. An official told PTI the patient died in Solapur, however, the official did not divulge further details. The total number of GBS cases in Pune on Sunday increased to 101, comprising 68 males and 33 females. Of these, 16 patients are on ventilator support. One suspected death has been reported in Solapur," a state health department official told PTI.

A Rapid Response Team (RRT) and the Pune Municipal Corporation's health department are conducting door-to-door surveillance in the affected Sinhgad Road areas. According to officials, a total of 25,578 houses have been surveyed so far15,761 in the Pune Municipal Corporation limits, 3,719 in Chinchwad Municipal Corporation limits, and 6,098 houses in the district's rural areas.

According to experts, GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness, with symptoms including severe weakness in the limbs, loose motions etc. According to health experts, bacterial and viral infections generally cause GBS and they weaken the immunity of patients.

According to state authorities, 19 new cases were suspected on Sunday. As per a bulletin released by the state health department on Sunday, there were nine patients aged between 60 and 80 years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to US President Donald Trump over phone on Monday, days after the latters mega inauguration event last week. Modi congratulated Trump on his second term at the White House.

"Delighted to speak with my dear friend President Donald Trump. Congratulated him on his historic second term. We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, and security," the prime minister posted on X.

Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. Congratulated him on his historic second term. We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity,  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 27, 2025

Trump took oath as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, three months after he pulled off a stunning victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

Soon after his swearing-in, Trump had signed a slurry of executive orders, including the one which is aimed at overhauling the US immigration. The president directed American agencies to prepare to "immediately repel, repatriate, and remove" undocumented immigrants as part of his policy on the matter.

Trumps order is likely to affect a large number of Indians who have illegally entered the US in recent years by crossing the Canadian and Mexican borders.

New Delhi, meanwhile, maintained that it is opposed to illegal immigration and would be ready to take back Indians staying illegally in the US provided their nationality is verified.

"We will take them back provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality, that they are indeed Indians," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

According to reports, the US Department of Homeland Security has identified around 18,000 illegal immigrants from India.
Uniform Civil Code is a tool to put an end to all discriminatory practices against women, regardless of their religion, said Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami releasing the notification for UCC. He also launched the website for mandatory registration of marriages, divorce and live-in relationships as per UCC.



#WATCH | Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has become the first person to register on the UCC (Uniform Civil Code) portal



Uttarakhand has implemented UCC in the state from today pic.twitter.com/qNvY6PGGsH  ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025

Launching the website, Dhami expressed gratitude to the people of Uttarakhand and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I express gratitude to the people of Uttarakhand and thank PM Modi as we fulfil the promise we had made. Today, post-independence, Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country to implement Uniform Civil Code. Dhami added January 27 will be celebrated as UCC Diwas every year.

Dhami added, The UCC, creating equal laws for every citizen across all religions, comes fully into effect at this moment. The credit for it goes entirely to the people of the state, PTI reported.

#WATCH | Dehradun: On UCC (Uniform Civil Code), Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami says, "Minimum age for marriage has been made compulsory in all religions - 21 years for a boy and 18 years for a girl. Second marriage is completely prohibited while the husband or wife is alive. pic.twitter.com/be8q7i4gXP  ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025

The chief minister added under UCC, registration for live-in relationships is mandatory. The registrar will give the information of the couple to their parents, this information will be kept completely confidential, he said.

According to officials, under UCC, marriages that have taken place since March 26, 2010, will have to be registered within the next six months from the implementation of the Code. Marriages that have taken place after the implementation of the Code will have to be registered within 60 days from the date of marriage.

The implementation of UCC is a major fulfilment of pre-poll promise by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Soon after the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly polls, the state cabinet decided to form an expert committee to draft rules for the implementation of UCC in the state.
In line with its pledge to implement the Uniform Civil Code in the state, the BJP government in Uttarakhand will implement the nation's first such law in a state.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will unveil the UCC portal at 12.30 pm on Monday at the state secretariat. Following the implementation of the milestone legislation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttarakhand.

#WATCH | Dehradun | Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami says, "During the 2022 assembly election which we contested under the leadership of PM Modi - we promised the people of the state that we will work to implement the UCC after forming the govt. We have fulfilled all the pic.twitter.com/AgX7jiFcNl  ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025

Dhami on Sunday said the UCC will lay foundations of a harmonious society without discrimination on the basis of gender, caste or religion. He said the BJP made a commitment regarding the UCC ahead of the 2022 assembly polls and it was taken on priority after the government was formed.

The state cabinet had decided to form a UCC committee in March 2022. Constituted on May 27 the same year, the panel was led by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai. The draft proposal was passed by the state assembly in February 2024 and the following month, President Droupadi Murmu gave her consent for the bill.

Dehradun, Uttarakhand: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on Uniform Civil Code (UCC) says, "The preparations for the UCC are complete, and in a day or two, you will be called again" pic.twitter.com/SolmQg8Zh3  IANS (@ians_india) January 25, 2025

Following this, an expert panel led by former Chief Secretary Shatrughna Singh framed the rules to implement the Act.

Pointing out that several great rivers of the country originate in Uttarakhand, Dhami said the "Gangotri of UCC" will also originate in the state and flow to the rest of India.

The new law will apply to all people in Uttarakhand, including those residing outside the sate. This comes days after PM Modi said the Centre was committed to implementing the UCC.

What does Uttarakhand UCC say?

The Uniform Civil Code Act of Uttarakhand prohibits polygamy, requiring mentally sound people of age 21 (for men) and 18 (for women) to marry each other.

The new Act also abolishes any difference between legitimate and illegitimate children with regards to property rights. Children who are adopted, surrogate or conceived through assisted technology will be treated equally to biological children.

The UCC Act sets equal rights in property for sons and daughters.

The law also stipulates that after a person's death, the spouse, children and parent will have equal rights to their property.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) reviewing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Monday adopted all amendments proposed by the ruling BJP-led NDA members and negated every change proposed by opposition members.

#WATCH | Delhi | JPC member on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 & BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi says, "...The entire proceeding of the committee meeting was held in a democratic manner. The chairperson allowed everybody to speak and everybody to put forth his/her point. He patiently pic.twitter.com/WepS6Wawiz  ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025

One of the significant amendments proposed by the committee was that the existing Waqf properties cannot be questioned on the grounds of 'Waqf by user', which existed in the current law but will be omitted in the new version if the properties are being used for religious purposes. The amendments moved by the NDA members in 14 of the Bill's clauses have been accepted, news agency PTI reported.

The opposition MPs decried the meeting's proceedings and accused committee chairperson Jagdambika Pal of "subverting" the democratic process. They did not allow us to speak anything. No rules and procedures have been followed... We wanted to discuss the amendments clause-by-clause but did not let us speak at all. The JPC chairperson Jagdambika Pal moved the amendments and then declared them without listening to our points... This is a bad day for democracy, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee reportedly alleged.

VIDEO | The Joint Parliamentary Committee, which is scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, chairman Jagdambika Pal (@jagdambikapalmp after the meeting of the panel, says," Clause-by-clause meeting was held today. Opposition members had amendments over the 44 clauses. I asked pic.twitter.com/4hLLUzXhJ1  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 27, 2025

The Waqf panel has 31 members from both Houses of Parliament. While 16 of them are from the NDA, (12 from BJP), 13 came from various opposition parties, one from YSR Congress Party, and one nominated member.

"If the amendments were moved, and there were 16 members voting against them, and only 10 in favour of them, then can those with 10 members supporting them be accepted? It is natural whether it is the Parliament or JPC, said Jagdambika Pal told the press while explaining why the opposition's amendments were rejected.

VIDEO | After attending the JPC meeting on Waqf Bill, DMK leader A Raja (@dmk_raja) says, "When JPC was resumed today for clause by clause consideration, we raised the issue, how it can be done, in the absence of the documents which were promised, it was not supplied to us. On pic.twitter.com/QZqcHWHWxf  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 27, 2025

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was referred to the joint committee of Parliament on August 8 following its introduction in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. The Bill aims to amend the Waqf Act of 1995, to address issues and challenges in regulating and managing Waqf properties.
Hamas is set to release six Israeli hostages in two batches this week after displaced Gazans began to return to the Strips north. The peace deal between Israel and Hamas looked like having hit another roadblock when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office pointed out that the Islamic outfit was late in sharing the list of remaining hostages in its custody.

However, the first phase of the peace accord began smoothly after the list Tel Aviv demanded was shared by Hamas, who also handed over three female IDF personnel in its captivity to Israel. Despite the delay, the Palestinian organisation revealed the condition of the remaining captives on the list. This prompted Israel to let the war-displaced population reenter northern Gaza through the Netzarim Corridor.

ALSO READ | Why Egypt and Jordan likely to refuse Trump's suggestion of taking in Palestinians from Gaza

Tens of thousands of Palestinians had waited for two days at roadblocks to return to their homes in northern Gaza, voicing frustration after Israel accused Hamas of breaching a ceasefire agreement and refused to open crossing points.The Israeli military put out a statement telling Gaza residents they would be allowed to return on foot through the coastal road at 0500 GMT, and in vehicles through the eastern Salahudeen road at 0700 GMT.It warned them against approaching Israeli forces' positions.

According to Jewish media reports, IDF personnel Agam Berger was named among the three hostages to be released by Hamas on Thursday. Arbel Yehoud, a civilian woman who was taken to Gaza by Hamas on October 7 and another Israeli would be released alongside Berger, Times Of Israel said in a report.

ALSO READ | 'Our world came crashing down': Bibas's relatives disappointed after family left off Hamas hostage list

However, there was no solid information on the three hostages to reach their homeland on Thursday. It is expected that US citizen Keith Siegel could find himself on the second list along with two others although Israel had asked its rival to prioritise the release of civilian women from its tunnels.

For every Israeli being released by the Hamas, 30 Palestinian political prisoners are gaining their freedom. For the release of Berger, Hamas wanted the release of 50 of their own, a demand Netayanhu's government agreed to.
An Iranian group 'Handala' hacked into the public address (PA) system of Israeli kindergartens on Sunday, blaring rocket sirens and Arabic songs supporting terrorism, according to reports.

Handala, taking advantage of the vulnerabilities in the system run by electronics firm Maagar-Tec also sent intimidating text messages to tens of thousands of people, according to The Times of Israel.

Handala is an Iranian cyber group linked to Irans Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS). However, it is unclear if Handala is linked to the Iranian leadership, though the Islamic Republics state-owned outlet PressTV covered the group's activities.

Though the hacker group also claimed to have broken into the National Security Ministrys command and control system, the claim was proven to be wrong. Handala said it stole the ministrys internal communications, video recordings, confidential documents and personal records of all police officers and firefighters. They also posted pictures showing a control panel for bomb shelters in central Israel, registrars of local police forces vehicles, police officers with their weapons, and civilians private gun licenses.

However, the Cyber Directorate and National Security Ministry said it had found nothing unusual on the ministrys servers, the report added.

This comes after Handala created a designated Telegram channel on December 7 a "countdown" to the alleged breach. On Friday and Saturday, the group posted threatening messages aimed at the National Security Ministry, the report added.

Kan, Israel's public broadcaster, reported that the affected systems have now been disconnected from the wider network. Israel's National Cyber Directorate confirmed the breach and is working with the affected company and the Ministry of Education to address the situation. "Citizens who received these messages are advised to block the sender and disregard the message, as it poses no harm to mobile devices," the directorate said.

This isn't the first incident involving Handala. Last April, a day after Iran's first-ever direct military strike against Israel, it claimed to have breached Israel's radar system and sent hundreds of thousands of threatening text messages to Israeli citizens.

In September, the group successfully breached the Soreq Nuclear Research Center, alleging the theft of 197 gigabytes of data and went on to publish photos allegedly taken inside the centre.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. The model of comprehensive cooperation in the field of cargo transportation and transit between Iran and Turkiye will be adjusted within the next three months, Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh said during a meeting with Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat in Ankara on January 27, Trend reports.

According to her, transit and freight transportation between the two countries will be implemented under this model.

Sadegh stated that the importance of developing relations between Iran and Turkiye, especially in the fields of transportation, freight, and transit, has been underlined by officials of both countries. The development of these relations between the two countries will contribute to the development of the two countries and the region.

The Iranian minister noted that a joint decision has been reached between the two countries to facilitate freight transportation and the participation of Turkish and Iranian trucks in cheap and simple transportation.

There is a prospect of increasing trade turnover between Iran and Turkiye to $30 billion. Negotiations were held today to achieve this prospect by removing some obstacles, she noted.

To note, Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh, accompanied by high-ranking staff, paid a visit to Ankara today.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Beyond their shimmering skylines, towering architecture, and opulent lifestyles, the UAEs major tourist destinations, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, are rapidly turning into hubs for the countrys emerging medical tourism market. Backed by world-class healthcare services and infrastructure, market insights indicate that the UAE will continue to maintain its pace despite the higher costs of its medical services.



In its neighbourhood, the UAE faces regional competition from Iran and Turkey. Both countries leverage their nationally developed medical expertise and low-cost services, attracting patients seeking quality and affordability.

In contrast, the UAE targets wealthier patients with high-end medical services, shaping its pricing strategy. The UAEs patient base includes affluent Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain, as well as countries like China and Russia, while Iran and Turkey focus on neighbouring and developing nations such as Azerbaijan, Iraq, Tunisia, and the Balkan states.

Market share and growth

Research by CMI supports this, projecting the UAE medical tourism market to grow at a CAGR of 8.70 per cent from 2024 to 2033, with market size expected to reach USD 2,300 million by 2033. BlueWeave Consulting estimates the market was valued at USD 628.9 million in 2023, projected to reach USD 1,263.16 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.11 per cent.

The UAE has firmly positioned itself as a leading global hub for medical tourism. In 2022, Dubai alone welcomed over 6.74 lakh medical tourists, contributing significantly to the countrys healthcare economy. Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are also emerging as key players in this sector, Shihab Makaniyil, CEO and Founder of ShopDoc, pointed out.

Makaniyil emphasised that the establishment of Dubai Healthcare City, along with key healthcare hubs along Jumeirah Beach Road and Al Wasl Roadwhere a high concentration of premium clinics and hospitals are located, coupled with superior air connectivity, a well-developed hospitality culture, and the presence of travel facilitatorshave made the UAE one of the fastest-growing international medical tourism destinations.

Emerging trends and what sets it apart

The UAE stands out due to its combination of high-quality healthcare services, internationally accredited hospitals, cutting-edge facilities, and a multicultural environment with multilingual medical staff. India, the United States, and Europe significantly contribute to the UAEs healthcare by establishing renowned hospitals.

Notable examples include Thumbay Hospital from India, the American Hospital and Cleveland Clinic from the US, and the German Saudi Hospital from Germany. These institutions bring world-class infrastructure and advanced medical equipment to the UAE, which, while enhancing service quality, also leads to higher treatment costs.

Factors such as short waiting times, luxurious recovery experiences, and streamlined medical visa processes further enhance its appeal. While treatment costs may be higher compared to many other countries like India, Thailand, or Turkey, the UAE offers a blend of affordability compared to Western nations clubbed with exceptional service quality.

Makaniyil highlighted that medical tourists in the UAE primarily seek treatments in cosmetic surgery, orthopaedics, fertility cures, dental procedures, cardiology, and wellness programs, including holistic and preventive healthcare services.

The rise of wellness tourism, personalised healthcare packages, the integration of digital health technologies, and growing interest in alternative therapies such as herbal medicine, Ayurveda, and regenerative treatments are some notable trends. Makaniyils ShopDoc has a USD 50 million integrated wellness and medical tourism corridor between the UAE and Kerala that aims to capitalise on this growing demand.

For Dubai, the transformation started in 2016 with its health strategy. The Dubai Health Experience (DXH) was created to support medical tourism, connect healthcare facilities, travel agents, and hoteliers, and offer online consultations and insurance recommendations.

Abu Dhabi also established a similar platform, enhancing its medical tourism. While other emirates like Ras Al Khaimah and Al Ain could benefit from medical tourism development, Dubai and Abu Dhabi lead the way, backed by strategic investments and government support.

The road ahead

The UAEs medical tourism sector is leveraging emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, and IoMT to enhance healthcare services. Many leading players are using AI to improve decision-making and data handling, while blockchain ensures the secure and seamless transfer of medical records.

Makaniyils own ShopDoc utilises AI and data analytics to personalise patient journeys, recommend the best hospitals and doctors, and predict treatment outcomes.

While high healthcare costs remain a significant barrier, influencing patients decisions despite factors like service quality and political stability, it is the UAEs strong emphasis on quality and accessibility, backed by the use of emerging technologies, that sets it apart and will allow its rise as a premier destination for medical tourists.

This story is done in collaboration with DataLEADS, which is an award-winning global digital media and tech company.
US President Donald Trump sparked a major tariff spat but his first victim is not Canada, Mexico or China whom he often threatened, but US ally Colombia. And now the South American nation reversed its initial decision to refuse the deported nationals.

Trump's move was triggered by Colombia's decision to deny entry to two US flights deporting illegal immigrants since they were military planes and not civilian flights.

Without waiting for any negotiations, Trump took to his Truth Social account, saying the US will not let the South American ally to violate its legal obligations in accepting the "criminals they forced into the United States".

Trump threatened to impose 25 per cent tariff on Colombia, in addition to travel ban and visa revocations on government officials. Around 27 per cent of coffee worth $2 billion imported by the US is from Colombia.

Taking a U-turn on his initial refusal to allow the flights to enter, Colombia President Gustavo Petro arrange the presidential aircraft to give "a dignified return" for the deported Colombian citizens.

"This measure responds to the Government's commitment to guarantee dignified conditions. Under no circumstances have Colombians, as patriots and rights-holders, been or will be banished from Colombian territory," a statement by the Colombian President's office read.

Colombia has formed a Unified Command Post to review protocols in order to ensure that the deported citizens receive dignified treatment and their human rights and integrity are respected. The government said it is in touch with the US administration to ensure the same for its deported nationals.
US President Donald Trump has drawn up a '100-day plan' to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which discusses signing a ceasefire pact by Easter, according to a Ukrainian media report.

Ukrainian media Strana speculates that the plan could be part of Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg's job of ending the Ukraine war in 100 days. The plan is said to be handed over by the US officials to European allies, from where it came to Ukraine, Strana reported.

As per the plan, Trump will have a phone conversation with Putin in late January or early February, soon after which he will discuss the plan with the Ukrainian authorities, the report added.

If the US finds a common ground between Russia and Ukraine with regard to peace talks, Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy will cancel the decree prohibiting negotiations with Putin. By the first half of March, it is proposed to hold a meeting between Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin (a trilateral meeting or two bilateral meetings - to be decided separately), the report added.

Once the parameters of the peace plan get approved, then work will continue at the level of special commissioners.

A truce along the front line will then come in place from April 20 on Easter day. Around the same time, all Ukrainian troops should be withdrawn from the Kursk region. By the end of April 2025, the International Peace Conference will be held which will record an agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on ending the war with the mediation of the United States, China, a number of countries in Europe and the Global South.

At the end of April, an exchange of prisoners will begin. By May 9, the International Peace Conference is expected to issue a declaration on ending the war in Ukraine based on agreed parameters. After May 9, Ukraine should withdraw from martial law regime and mobilization, the report added.

First handshake of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy with US president-elect Donald Trump after November election

pic.twitter.com/7m956kiiKW     (@VictorKvert2008) December 7, 2024

According to Strana, the proposed parameters include Ukraine dropping the plan to become a NATO member and declaring neutrality. The decision to ban Ukraine from joining the alliance must be approved at the NATO summit.

Others include Ukraine becoming a member of the EU by 2030 and the EU undertakes obligations for the post-war reconstruction of the country.

While Ukraine will not reduce the size of the army, the US will support the modernisation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Some sanctions against the Russian Federation will be lifted immediately after the conclusion of a peace agreement. All restrictions on the import of Russian energy resources to the EU will also be lifted, the report added.

However, the Ukrainian President's office has rubbished the plan, calling it disinformation. Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak said no "100-day peace plans" as circulated by the media, exist. "These are just disinformation attempts often legitimised by Russians," he said.
An insurgency led by the M23 rebels in the east Democratic Republic of Congo has escalated and they have taken control of the key eastern city of Goma.

Goma is the largest eastern city of DR Congo. In a statement, the M23 rebels urged residents of Goma to remain calm. However, the residents are panicking as they don't know how much worse the situation could get.

According to DR Congo's government, the Rwandan army was present in the city of Goma and they are working to prevent loss of life.

Who are M23 rebels?

The M23 refers to March 23, 2009, the accord that ended a previous Tutsi-led revolt in eastern Congo. This is the latest group of ethnic Tutsi-led insurgents to take up arms against Congolese forces.

The M23 was formed in 2012 when nearly 300 soldiers, the majority of them former members of the National Congress for the Defence of the People, turned against the DRC government, citing poor conditions in the army and the government's unwillingness to implement the 23 March 2009 peace deal.

In 2012, rebels took control of Goma but later withdrew after the governments counterattack.

The group has accused the government of Congo of not living up to the peace deal and fully integrating Congolese Tutsis into the army and administration.

The group also vows to defend Tutsi, an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region, interests, particularly against ethnic Hutu militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), founded by Hutus. After participating in the 1994 genocide of close to 1 million Tutsis, Hutus fled Rwanda.

Hundreds of people fled their homes after M23 rebels seized Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

For more than a year, M23 has controlled Congo's coltan-mining region of Rubaya, generating an estimated $800,000 per month through a production tax.

The government of Congo, the UN and the United States have criticised Rwanda for fuelling the conflict by deploying its own troops to support the rebel group. However, Rwanda denied any backing of the rebels. Rwanda in turn accused Congo of fighting alongside the FDLR, which attacked Tutsis in both countries. Since 1996, Rwanda has had a long history of military intervention inside Congo, claiming they were defending themselves against local militia groups.
New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) The global mining sector requires an estimated investment of USD 1.7 trillion to facilitate energy transition, Hindustan Zinc's (HZL)Chairperson Priya Agarwal Hebbar has said.

"For the energy transition to happen successfully...we need $1.7 trillion in mining investment. We see an opportunity in India. India is in a sweet spot where it can thrive in this sector," she said.

At the recently held World Economic Forum in Davos, Hebbar addressed the critical topics surrounding the global energy transition on multiple occasions.

She spoke about the importance of critical minerals, the future of climate action strategies, embedding sustainability across the value chain, prioritising womens health and driving Indias workforce revolution.

She was amongst the few Indian women entrepreneurs representing Vedanta and Hindustan Zinc at the esteemed forum, where industry stalwarts, political leaders, academicians and scholars create dialogues with the mission to improve the state of the world.

She added that while countries like the US, China, and the Middle East have grown their economies on natural resources, India has the opportunity now with less than 15 per cent of its natural resources' reserves being tapped.

She further added that this presents a significant opportunity for India to harness its resources better equipped with the right technology and innovation to make mining minimally invasive and play a crucial role in the shift toward clean energy.

She commended the Indian government's proactive measures in revitalising the mining sector.

She highlighted the governments key initiatives such as the launch of the critical minerals mission and the auctioning of critical mineral blocks, which have created new opportunities for sustainable growth and development.

"These efforts are already bearing fruit, with both Vedanta and Hindustan Zinc emerging as the preferred bidders for various critical mineral blocks across the country, paving the way for transformative progress in the sector," she said.
New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) Realty firm Omaxe Group on Monday said it will invest Rs 2,800 crore to develop projects under a new brand BeTogether.

In a regulatory filing, Omaxe said the new brand is dedicated to reshape urban and economic development through collaborative real estate projects.

"The current projects being undertaken by BeTogether would entail a total investment of over Rs 2,800 crore," it added.

Under the new brand BeTogether, the company will focus on joint ventures, collaboration and development through the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) model.

BeTogether's project portfolio currently includes the joint venture initiative, 'BeTogether Centre Point Vrindavan'.

In addition, the brand is partnering with the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) on several PPP projects to upgrade bus terminals in key cities, like Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Kaushambi, Ayodhya, Amausi, and Prayagraj.

In the last 37 years, Omaxe has established a strong footprint in 31 cities in 8 states of North and Central India and has delivered more than 1,350 square feet of area.
New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) Insolvency appellate tribunal NCLAT has set aside the directions for a fresh valuation of shares, which were held by Educomp Solutions' Singapore-based subsidiary Educomp Asia Pacific Pte in US-based firm The Learning Internet Inc and sold by SBI Singapore.

Wondering over the basis on which the Delhi bench of NCLT passed direction for fresh valuations, the appellate tribunal said Educomp Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (EAPPL) was being liquidated over the order passed by the High Court of Singapore and issues regarding the valuation of shares in The Learning Internet Inc could have been raised there in the proceedings.

"We wonder, on what basis the Adjudicating Authority (NCLT) could have intervened in matter directly connected with the liquidation process of EAPPL in Singapore, albeit the subsidiary of the corporate debtor when it has got no jurisdiction in the subject matter of EAPPL," said NCLAT.

A two-member National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) bench further said if Shantanu Prakash, director of the suspended board of Educomp Solutions, is aggrieved due to "alleged undervaluation shares of The Learning Internet Inc", he could have approached the liquidators or could have invoked the suitable jurisdiction before the High Court of Singapore, which was not done by him.

"We hold that it does not give any right to Respondent No 1 (Shantanu Prakash) to approach the Adjudicating Authority (NCLT) on this issue and without any doubt, the Adjudicating Authority did not have any jurisdiction to give such directions with respect to fresh valuation ...," said a 40-page NCLAT order.

The appellate tribunal also noted that SBI Singapore has "categorically and in a transparent manner" written to the liquidators of EAPPL about the offer received and only after getting confirmation from the liquidators that the liquidators did not have better value then only it goes ahead to realise it security interest by the sale of shares in The Learning Internet Inc.

NCLAT also observed that NCLT has referred to Regulation 21A of the Liquidation Regulations while ordering for a fresh valuation as contained in Para 27 of the Impugned Order passed on August 25, 2023, in proceedings of insolvency of Educomp Solutions.

"We consciously note that the present case is regarding CIRP of the corporate debtor and not of the liquidation and therefore, in such case the Regulation 21 A of the Liquidation Regulations is not applicable," it said.

The order further said that Prakash had alleged "connivance of the concerned parties" in selling shares of The Learning Internet Inc at "unrealistic low prices", however, he could not furnish any concrete evidence.

"In view of the above detailed analysis, we find merits in the arguments of the Appellant (SBI). The appeal succeeds and the impugned order contained in para 27 (a) & (b) and second line of 27 (c) i.e., "The secured financial claim of the State Bank of India (Singapore) qua the CD would be subject to the outcome of the valuation result/report" is set aside," said NCLAT.

However, the NCLAT also said the "remaining order shall survive and shall stand applicable".

The NCLAT order came over a petition filed by SBI Singapore, which had earlier provided a loan facility of USD 20 million to Educomp Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (EAPPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Educomp Solutions. This funding was utilised to acquire a 51 per cent stake in the US-based company, The Learning Internet Inc.

To secure this loan, Educomp Solutions executed a deed of guarantee in favour of SBI Singapore. Furthermore, on July 23, 2008, EAPPL pledged 18,173 unlisted shares (representing a 51 per cent stake) of The Learning Internet Inc as collateral with SBI Singapore.

Later EAPPL on November 3, 2014, entered into a loan restructuring, which resulted in outstanding dues of USD 14.72 million.

In the meantime, the Delhi-bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted a plea filed by Educomp Solutions under section 10 to initiate a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) on May 30, 2017.

A month later, on June 30, 2017, EAPPL was ordered into liquidation by the High Court of Singapore and appointed liquidators. During the liquidation proceedings, the liquidators provided The Learning Internet Inc with the first option to repurchase its own shares by submitting a suitable offer.

However, the offer by The Learning Internet Inc was deemed not acceptable, being on the lower side. Later, after multiple rounds of negotiations with the purchaser, an increased offer was ultimately reached. Consequently, the shares were sold to the purchaser through an agreement dated September 3, 2021, for a price of USD 7.10 million.

On August 25, 2023, NCLT over an application filed by Shantanu Prakash, held that the assets of a subsidiary company differ from those of its holding company. It was held that the shares of The Learning Internet Inc do not constitute part of the assets of Educomp Solutions.

Moreover, NCLT also directed valuation of shares of The Learning Internet Inc. owned by EAPPL and pledged with State Bank of India, Singapore. It directed the Resolution Professional of Educomp to approach IBBI for the appointment of two registered valuers to assess the valuation of shares of The Learning Internet Inc.

It also said if the valuation conducted by any of these valuators exceeds USD 7.10 million, the price at which the shares were sold on September 3, 2021, the claim of State Bank of India (Singapore) against Educomp Solutions would be reduced accordingly.
Mumbai, Jan 16 (PTI) The knife attack on Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan at his Bandra home by an intruder is the latest in a series of crimes targeting showbiz celebrities. Here are some major incidents concerning key personalities from the Hindi film industry:



Salman Khan

Bollywood superstar Salman Khans legal troubles with the infamous 1998 blackbuck poaching case, in which Saif was also involved, continue to haunt him. His security concerns escalated in 2018 when incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi openly threatened to kill him during a court appearance in Jodhpur.

Since then, Khan has faced multiple threats. In April 2023, two shooters, allegedly from the Bishnoi gang, fired gunshots outside his Bandra residence before being arrested.

Security around the actor was further intensified following the murder of Baba Siddiqui, who was known to be a close friend of Salman, in Octobre 2024. A bullet-proof glass panel was recently installed outside the balcony of Salman Khan's Bandra flat.



Gulshan Kumar

The murder of T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar in 1997 was one of the first major incidents involving a prominent celebrity that shook the nation. Kumar, known for his devotion, visited a Shiva temple in Mumbais Andheri suburb every morning and evening. On August 12, 1997, after praying for 15 minutes and making offerings, he was ambushed while returning to his car.

Three assailants opened fire as he was unlocking the door. He was declared brought dead at Cooper Hospital.

Police later revealed that Kumar had received threat calls on August 5 and August 9, just days before his assassination.



Rakesh Roshan

After the phenomenal success of his 2000 movie "Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai", which marked his son Hrithik Roshans acting debut, filmmaker Rakesh Roshan survived an assassination attempt allegedly linked to the underworld. Reports suggested he had refused to pay extortion money.

On January 21, 2000, two men, Sunil Vithal Gaikwad and Sachin Kamble, shot at Roshan near his Santacruz office in Mumbai. One bullet struck his left arm while another grazed his chest. Despite his injuries, Roshan managed to drive himself to the Santacruz police station before being rushed to Nanavati Hospital for surgery.



*Shah Rukh Khan

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has had multiple encounters with the Mumbai underworld and has been vocal about resisting intimidation. In October 2023, the Maharashtra government granted him Y+ security cover due to growing threats.

During the 1990s, gangster Abu Salem reportedly targeted Khan on multiple occasions, adding to the actor's history of standing up against underworld pressure.



Preity Zinta

Actor Preity Zinta publicly spoke out about the underworlds influence in Bollywood, particularly during legal proceedings related to the 2001 film "Chori Chori Chupke Chupke". The films producer, Nasim Rizvi, and financier, Bharat Shah, were both jailed for their alleged ties to the underworld.

Zinta testified in a Mumbai court that she received extortion calls demanding Rs 50 lakh, highlighting the threats actors faced for speaking against criminal elements in the industry.



Poonam Dhillon

Earlier this month, Dhillon was robbed by a 37-year-old man who had been hired to paint her flat in Khar between December 28 to January 5.

The man, who was later arrested, took advantage of an unlocked cupboard and stole a diamond earring valued at Rs 1 lakh, Rs 35,000 in cash and USD 500 from the Bollywood actor's residence, police said.





Mushtaq Khan and Sunil Pal

Actor Mushtaq Khan, best known for his roles in films like "Welcome" and "Stree 2", was allegedly kidnapped under the pretext of being invited to an event in Meerut in November 2024.

The kidnappers held Khan captive in the Chahsheeri locality of Bijnor and during this time Rs 2 lakh were transferred from his mobile. A day later, the actor managed to escape and made his way back to Mumbai.

Actor-comedian Sunil Pal had filed a similar complaint, alleging that he was abducted en route to Uttarakhand for a show in December 2024.

He claimed the kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 20 lakh and released him after he paid them Rs 8 lakh and he was abandoned by the side of a road in Meerut, from where he made his way to the Delhi airport and boarded a flight to Mumbai.

Lavi Pal alias Rahul Saini, the alleged mastermind of the gang involved in both kidnappings, was arrested on December 24 after an encounter in which he was injured. Nine other members of the gang have also been arrested.
Panaji, Jan 27 (PTI) Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai on Monday paid a visit to 100-year-old freedom fighter Libia Lobo Sardesai here and said the Padma Shri award given to her is a fitting tribute to her dedication for the country.

Sardesai had cofounded an underground radio station  Voz da Liberdade' (Voice of Freedom)  in a forested area in 1955 to rally people against the then Portuguese rule in Goa.

Responding to the governor's praise, Sardesai humbly said she had not put in any extraordinary effort and did whatever came her way.



She was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, by the President on the occasion of 76th Republic Day on Sunday.



When Goa was liberated on December 19, 1961, Libia Lobo Sardesai and her husband Vaman Sardesai travelled over Panaji and other parts of Goa in an Indian Air Force plane that had a radio transmitter onboard and a loudspeaker fitted to it.

They made announcements in Portuguese and Konkani and dropped leaflets, informing people that Portuguese rulers had surrendered, and Goa was free after 451 years of colonial rule.



Governor Pillai on Monday visited Sardesai's house in Panaji and congratulated her on behalf of the Goa government and the Centre, wishing her good health and strength.





During his half-an-hour long visit, Pillai expressed pride in Sardesai's recognition by the central government, stating the award was a fitting tribute to her dedication to the nation.

Responding to the governor's gesture for her contribution to Goa's liberation movement, Sardesai said, "I don't think I did anything extraordinary; I simply did what came my way."



"I thank God for this good fortune in my lifetime, even at this stage. Without God's grace, none of this would have been possible," she said.

The governor acknowledged that for six years, from 1955 to 1961, in the backdrop of the suspension of all civil liberties in Goa, Libia and Vaman Sardesai had set up an underground 'secret' radio station in a forest on the outskirts of Goa to counter Portuguese propaganda.



They would broadcast news, speeches of Indian leaders in Parliament, and updates on the nationalist movement and anti-colonial struggle.





The radio stations -- 'Goenche Sodvonecho Awaz' (Voice of Freedom of Goa) for Konkani broadcasts and 'Voz da Liberdade' for broadcasts in Portuguese -- also supported the Indian Army in setting up a transmission centre to send messages to the Portuguese rulers to surrender.



Libia Lobo Sardesai's husband, late Vaman Sardesai, was also a diplomat and awarded the Padma Shri in 1992.



Vaman Sardesai had played a pivotal role in the struggle against the Portuguese colonial rule.
Bengaluru, Jan 27 (PTI) The Karnataka High Court has reserved its order on whether to transfer the MUDA case to an independent agency, such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The petitioners in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case, which involves Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi B M, his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and others as accused, had requested the court to refer the case to the CBI or another independent agency.

The Lokayukta police have registered a case against the accused and have questioned them.



However, the petitioners, who are activists, are not satisfied saying that the police wing of the states ombudsman cannot probe their superior, which is the Chief Minister, in a fair manner.



Justice M Nagaprasanna said, The subject petition was preferred invoking the jurisdiction of this court under section 226 and 482 of the CrPC reference of the matter to the independent agency like that of the CBI or otherwise as the prayer is in the alternative.



The judge also quoted the orders passed by his court from time to time while hearing the petitions.



In pursuant to the said order, the directions of the concerned court i.e. the session court was deferred up to January 28, 2025. Therefore, the filing of the report that was directed by the concerned court to the Lokayukta on or before was to be honoured before January 28.



In the light of the matter being heard at length, I deem it appropriate to extend the same till the pronouncement of the judgment. Judgment reserved, the bench said.



In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA).







MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout.







Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.



It is alleged Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village, Kasaba hobli of Mysuru taluk.

The Lokayukta as well as the ED are probing the matter simultaneously.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. The enhancement of economic and trade relations between Iran and Afghanistan is crucial, said Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, Trend reports.

Speaking at a meeting on January 26 in Kabul with Afghanistan's Prime Minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Araghchi emphasized that both countries share common interests and concerns, and addressing these mutual interests and alleviating concerns is crucial for the benefit of both nations.

The FM also pointed out that resolving issues related to security, water, and migration should remain central to bilateral discussions.

In response, Afghanistan's Prime Minister expressed his desire to strengthen cooperation and develop relations with Iran across all sectors, including security.

The Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi arrived in Afghanistan for an official visit on January 27.

Follow the author on X: @BaghishovElnur
As Monseys community continues to expand into neighboring towns, Chaverim of Rockland is rising to meet the growing demand for its critical services.

This week, the organization welcomed 21 new volunteers to its ranks, reflecting its commitment to serving the broader region. Some of these new members hail from the burgeoning communities of Haverstraw, Chestnut Ridge (on the New Jersey border), Airmont, Montebello, New Hempstead, Pomona, New City, Stony Point, and other locations.

Chaverim of Rockland has long been a pillar of support for residents, earning its reputation as the backbone of the Monsey area. With a dedicated team of 200 volunteers, the organization operates 24/7, responding to emergencies and providing vital assistance at all hours. Their efforts are seamlessly coordinated by a group of 30 skilled dispatchers who ensure help is always just a phone call away, maintaining round-the-clock coverage.

In 2024 alone, Chaverim of Rockland responded to an astounding 64,135 callsa number that underscores the immense impact the organization has on the community. This extraordinary volume of assistance highlights the dedication of its volunteers and the essential role Chaverim plays in the lives of Rockland County residents.

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Yemens Houthi rebels unilaterally freed 153 war detainees Saturday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said, one of several overtures in recent days to ease tensions after the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Previous prisoner releases have been viewed as a means to jumpstart talks over permanently ending Yemens decadelong war, which began when the Houthis seized the countrys capital, Sanaa, in 2014. However, the Houthis release comes just after they detained another seven Yemeni workers from the United Nations, sparking anger from the world body.

Those released previously had been visited by Red Cross staff in Sanaa and received medical checks and other assistance, the organization said while announcing the release. The Houthis had signaled Friday night they planned a release of prisoners.

The Red Cross said it welcomes this unilateral release as another positive step towards reviving negotiations.

This operation has brought much-needed relief and joy to families who have been anxiously waiting for the return of their loved ones, said Christine Cipolla, the ICRCs head of delegation in Yemen. We know that many other families are also waiting for their chance to be reunited. We hope that todays release will lead to many more moments like this.

Abdul Qader al-Murtada, the head of the Houthis Committee for Prisoners Affairs, said in a statement carried by Houthi media that those released were humanitarian cases that included the sick, wounded and the elderly.

The goal of the initiative is to build trust and establish a new phase of serious and honest dealing, al-Murtada reportedly said.

The Red Cross has helped oversee other prisoner releases, including one that saw some 1,000 prisoners swapped in 2020, over 800 detainees exchanged in 2023 and another release in 2024.

The rebels said earlier this week they would limit their attacks on ships in the Red Sea corridor and released the 25-member crew of the Galaxy Leader, a ship they seized back in November 2023, as the Gaza ceasefire took hold.

The war in Yemen has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the worlds worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.

The Houthis attacks on shipping during the Israel-Hamas war have helped deflect attention from their problems at home. But they have faced casualties and damage from U.S.-led airstrikes targeting the group for months now, as well as other strikes by Israel.

Meanwhile, Yemens economy is in tatters, something thats put increasing pressure on the Houthis and others in the conflict to potentially negotiate an end to the war. A de facto ceasefire in the conflict, which drew in a Saudi-led coalition in 2015, has largely held for several years now even during the Houthis attacks over the Israel-Hamas war.

Yet the Houthis still conducted the raids that saw seven U.N. workers detained, likely alongside others. The rebels previously detained U.N. staffers, as well as individuals associated with the once-open U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemens capital, aid groups and civil society.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres late Friday demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the seven, as well as all other U.N. workers held by the Houthis, some since 2021.

The continued targeting of U.N. personnel and its partners negatively impacts our ability to assist millions of people in need in Yemen, he warned in a statement. The Houthis must deliver on their previous commitments and act in the best interests of the Yemeni people and the overall efforts to achieve peace in Yemen.

The U.N. has halted work in Yemen, which provides food, medicine and other aid to the impoverished nation.

U.S. President Donald Trump separately has moved to reinstate a terrorism designation he made on the group late in his first term that had been revoked by President Joe Biden, potentially setting the stage for new tensions with the rebels.

Analysts have linked the newest U.N. detentions as being connected to the decision, though the Houthis themselves have yet to comment on them. The rebels have been airing repeated programs on television channels they control parading people they describe as working with Western intelligence agencies or the Israelis.

In a statement early Sunday, the U.S. State Department condemned the arrest of the U.N. staffers.

This latest Houthi roundup demonstrates the bad faith of the terrorist groups claims to seek de-escalation and also makes a mockery of their claims to represent the interests of the Yemeni people, the statement said.

(AP)
President Donald Trump has ended the federal security detail for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who advised him on the COVID-19 pandemic, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.

Fauci is the latest in a string of former Trump aides-turned-critics to see their federal protection canceled despite ongoing threats to their lives.

Speaking to reporters in North Carolina on Friday, Trump said he wouldnt feel any responsibility if harm befell the former government officials. A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues, said that Faucis federal security detail was ended on Thursday and that he has since hired private security.

When asked about Fauci and former national security adviser John Bolton, Trump said, They all made a lot of money. They can hire their own security, too.

Trump, a Republican, earlier this week revoked protection details for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, as well as Bolton. All have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trumps first administration and fell out with him in the years after he left office in 2021.

Fauci was a regular at Trumps side early in the COVID-19 outbreak but grew critical of Trump after the president tried to undermine public health guidance. Fauci faced regular threats to his life and has received federal protection for years.

Bolton, Hook and Pompeo had their security details repeatedly renewed by the Biden administration because of credible and ongoing threats from Iran. Faucis was also repeatedly renewed by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, because of domestic threats.

You cant have a security detail for the rest of your life because you worked for government, Trump said.

(AP)
A man who survived being shoved onto subway tracks ahead of an oncoming train said that in spite of the physical and psychological trauma, he eventually plans to make his way back to the train.

This city is my home, Joseph Lynskey told The New York Times in an interview published Friday, and I wont be intimidated.

Lynskey, 45, was standing on the platform in the West 18th Street station in Manhattan after lunch on New Years Eve when a hard shove from behind sent him flying as a 1 train approached.

My life did not flash before my eyes, he said. My thought was Ive been pushed, and Im going to get hit by the train. 

Lynskey landed on his left side between the tracks. He had four broken ribs, a fractured skull, a ruptured spleen and a concussion. But that wasnt all.

I looked up, and I was underneath the 1 train, he said during the interview in the Brooklyn apartment he shares with his 16-year-old dachshund, Leo.

Police called the attack, which was captured on surveillance video, random. A 23-year-old man, Kamel Hawkins, was arrested later that day. He has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges.

The possibility of being pushed onto the tracks is a long-running nightmare for many New Yorkers. While it occurs rarely compared to the millions of rides each day, a push this past March killed a person in East Harlem.

Lynskeys ordeal has left him convinced city and state officials need to do more to address the violence on a system that is vital to New York.

The subway is the lifeline of this city, he said. I dont think any New Yorker should have to stand against a wall or hold on to a pillar to feel safe as the train approaches.

Unacceptable, he added. Do better. Protect your citizens.

Amid the shove and other high-profile attacks, Gov. Kathy Hochul has called for an increase in police presence on subways at night and an expansion of the states involuntary commitment laws to allow hospitals to compel more mentally ill people into treatment.

Lynskey has lived in New York for 25 years and is the head of content and music programming at Gray V, a company that creates background music and playlists for businesses. He performs as a DJ under the stage name DJ Joe Usher, the newspaper said.

He had met friends for lunch the afternoon of Dec. 31 and had planned to catch an express train back to Brooklyn to get ready for a New Years Eve party later that day. His plans changed at the entrance to the 18th Street station, when he decided to get out of the cold and take the approaching local 1 for one stop and then transfer.

He said he was on the platform for under a minute and had glanced quickly at Spotify on his phone when I felt the hardest shove.

Under the train, he knew the third rail just inches away could electrocute him so he kept as still as possible as he screamed for help: Ive been pushed! Someone, please, please help me!

Absolute chaos from the platform followed as emergency workers arrived on the scene, he recalled. Two firefighters lowered themselves under the train and told Lynskey to remain perfectly still so that neither he nor they would be electrocuted.

We need to get you the hell out, Lynskey recalled their saying before they dragged him out by his arms.

Lynskey spent a week in the hospital. Since then, he has been been working with physical therapists and welcoming visitors while recuperating. He struggles to sleep because of his pain and although he has tried to avoid rewatching the surveillance video, Lynskey said it was the first video TikToks algorithm showed him two days after the attack.

Now, weeks later, he said he is focusing on the positive, even finding moments of humor.

When I was under the train, I thought a lot about my family and my life, he said. I also was thinking, I guess Im not going to Armandos Wicked New Years Eve party. 

He believes his life was spared for a reason. Being of service is something I really plan on focusing on for the next part of my life, he said.

(AP)
Millions of documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas have already been made public, but President Donald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of still-classified files.

Trump signed the executive order Thursday as part of a flurry of executive actions taken in the first week of his second term.

Many people who have studied whats been released so far say the public shouldnt anticipate any earth-shattering revelations, but there is still intense interest in details related to the assassination and the events surrounding it. And the possibility of significant new information is tantalizing to researchers.

Here are some things to know:

Trumps order

Thursdays order directed the national intelligence director and attorney general to develop a plan within 15 days to release the records related to Kennedys assassination. Its not clear though when the records might actually be made public.

The order also aims to declassify the remaining federal records related to the 1968 assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. It says a plan must be developed within 45 days for the release of those files.

After signing the order, Trump handed the pen to an aide and directed that it be given to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Trump has nominated to be the health secretary. Hes the nephew of John F. Kennedy and son of Robert F. Kennedy. The younger Kennedy, whose anti-vaccine activism has alienated him from much of his family, has said he isnt convinced that a lone gunman was solely responsible for his uncles the assassination.

In a post Friday on X, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thanked Trump for ordering the release of the files and trusting American citizens.

Nov. 22, 1963

When Air Force One carrying JFK and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy touched down in Dallas, they were greeted by a clear sky and enthusiastic crowds. With a reelection campaign on the horizon the next year, they went to Texas for a political fence-mending trip.

But as the motorcade was finishing its parade route downtown, shots rang out from the Texas School Book Depository building. Police arrested 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald, who had positioned himself from a snipers perch on the sixth floor. Two days later, nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald during a jail transfer.

A year after the assassination, the Warren Commission, which President Lyndon B. Johnson established to investigate, concluded that Oswald acted alone and that there was no evidence of a conspiracy. But that didnt quell a web of alternative theories over the decades.

The JFK files

In the early 1990s, the federal government mandated that all assassination-related documents be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration. The collection of over 5 million records was required to be opened by 2017, barring any exemptions designated by the president.

Trump, who took office for his first term in 2017, had said that he would allow the release of all of the remaining records but ended up holding some back because of what he called the potential harm to national security. And while files continued to be released during President Joe Bidens administration, some remain unseen.

Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics and author of The Kennedy Half-Century, said that most researchers agree that roughly 3,000 records have not yet been released, either in whole or in part, and many of those originated with the CIA.

There are still some documents in the JFK collection that researchers dont believe the president will be able to release. Around 500 documents, including tax returns, werent subject to the 2017 disclosure requirement.

Whats been learned

Some of the documents already released have offered details on the way intelligence services operated at the time, including CIA cables and memos discussing visits by Oswald to the Soviet and Cuban embassies during a trip to Mexico City just weeks before the assassination. The former Marine had previously defected to the Soviet Union before returning home to Texas.

One CIA memo describes how Oswald phoned the Soviet embassy while in Mexico City to ask for a visa to visit the Soviet Union. He also visited the Cuban embassy, apparently interested in a travel visa that would permit him to visit Cuba and wait there for a Soviet visa. On Oct. 3, more than a month before the assassination, he drove back into the United States through a crossing point at the Texas border.

Another memo, dated the day after Kennedys assassination, says that according to an intercepted phone call in Mexico City, Oswald communicated with a KGB officer while at the Soviet embassy that September.

The releases have also contributed to the understanding of that time period during the Cold War, researchers said.

(AP)
Federal agencies have begun removing resources for underrepresented Americans from their webpages following President Donald Trumps executive order cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Agencies also have been cancelling staff trainings and shuttering diversity offices to comply with the order from Trump, who has called for all DEI staff to be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off.

Documents on DEI have been removed from websites at agencies including the Office of Personnel Management, State Department and Department of Homeland Security. Web addresses that once led to DEI pages now display Page Not Found  404 messages or notes above archived material explaining the change.

At some agencies, the drive to remove diversity mentions was creating widespread questions and confusion. Lacking clear guidance, Defense Department staff members were pulling websites down in often inconsistent ways.

The Army, as an example, temporarily removed its assault guidelines  raising questions about what message that might be sending, considering that Trumps defense nominee Pete Hegseth has been involved in sex assault allegations, which he denies. The guidelines were back up late Thursday.

Some of the materials that vanished aimed to help agencies recruit diverse workforces and foster a sense of belonging for employees and students in schools across America. Critics say the rollbacks could result in dramatic shifts in hiring and a return to discriminatory practices of the past.

Among the sites taken down was a page dedicated to the Inaugural Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity created during the Biden administration. Dorothy Brown, a Georgetown law professor who served on the committee, said the order has far-reaching implications for workforce diversity.

Conservatives would say it is wrong to target someone based on their race  but that is exactly what Trump is doing, she said.

The State Department on Wednesday dismantled its Office of Diversity and Inclusion and removed the link to it from its website. The office had been created by former Secretary of State Antony Blinken with fanfare shortly after he took office and had produced reports identifying strategies for attracting minorities and women into the departments workforce.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a cable this week to all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad barring them from flying anything other than the American flag or flags to honor prisoners of war or the wrongfully detained. The directive effectively banned the display of LGBTQ+ pride or Black Lives Matter flags, which had been permitted under the Biden administration.

On Thursday night, the Education Department announced it had removed or archived hundreds of guidance documents, reports and training materials. The department said it cancelled contracts totaling more than $2.6 million for staff DEI training.

The pages that were taken down include Resources for LGBTQI+ Students, an overview of civil rights laws related to Race, Color, or National Origin Discrimination, and guidance titled Avoid the Discriminatory Use of Artificial Intelligence.

An Education Department statement said the deleted pages encouraged schools and institutions of higher education to promote or endorse harmful ideological programs.

Trump has called DEI programs discrimination and insisted on restoring strictly merit-based hiring.

Conservative groups have praised the rollback. Parents Defending Education, an organization that has filed lawsuits challenging diversity initiatives at schools, applauded Trump for taking steps to root out these programs permanently.

Attacks on DEI often target pipeline programs, which do not change the standards of hiring but simply encourage recruiters to look at different hiring pools, said Antonio Ingram, senior counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense fund. The disparities based on race and gender seen today are a result of the historical exclusion of women and people of color from opportunities, he said, and are not an arbitrary outcome.

The elimination of programs to ensure a diverse government workforce could be felt for years, he said.

There will be generations who dont even know what they missed out on because there has been such an erasure and such a revision and such a redirection of federal resources, he said. I guess the real tragedy is that there were tools that could have been used to create more belonging, more justice.

At schools, advocates say the crackdown will mean a loss of resources that foster success for students who historically were deprived of adequate learning opportunities, including tools that help teachers address achievement gaps.

The now-dissolved Education Department bodies include the Diversity & Inclusion Council, established under President Barack Obama, and the Employee Engagement Diversity Equity Inclusion Accessibility Council, which had been housed under its Office for Civil Rights.

The departments Equity Action Plan has also been withdrawn. According to a snapshot of the plans former webpage, the initiative intended in part to improve college access, affordability and completion for underserved students.

Also Friday, the departments Office for Civil Rights announced it dismissed 11 complaints alleging book bans had created a hostile environment for kids. The department said the complaints over restrictions on titles about race or LGBTQ+ issues were meritless. The office also rescinded all guidance that framed book bans as a violation of civil rights laws.

(AP)
New Yorks Long Island was once synonymous with duck in the culinary world. Now it may lose its last commercial farm.

The avian flu outbreak that has led to the slaughter of millions of birds at U.S. poultry farms and driven up the price of eggs struck the Crescent Duck Farm this week, leading federal officials to order the destruction of the operations entire flock.

Doug Corwin, whose family has owned the roughly 140-acre farm since the 1640s, said Friday that a multiday culling of about 100,000 birds has been completed at the now-quarantined barns in Aquebogue.

His remaining staff will thoroughly sanitize the facility, a process that could take months.

Were just stunned right now, Corwin, 66, said Friday by phone. Its a very, very sad time. Were trying our best to work our way through this, one step at a time.

He said the family will have to reckon with the future of the fourth-generation business, which was established in 1908 and is tucked among the vineyards and agricultural lands of Long Islands North Fork, about 80 miles (129 km) east of Manhattan.

Corwin said he was forced to lay off 47 of the farms 75-member staff, including many who had worked there for decades as the farms revenue cratered.

If duck farming isnt an option, Im not sure what wed do, he said. Were not really set up for anything else.

Long Island was once a center of duck production in the U.S., thanks to its abundance of freshwater streams, friendly climate and proximity to major East Coast cities.

During its heyday in the early 1960s, the region boasted more than 100 farms, producing up to 7.5 million birds annually, or about two-thirds of the nations duck output.

Crescent Duck Farm has been the islands lone remaining operation for the better part of a decade, as higher operating costs, tougher regulations and increasing suburban sprawl took their toll.

Today the farm supplies nearly 4% of all the ducks sold in the country, supplying restaurants across the Northeast and beyond, including a number of high-end establishments in New York City, Corwin said.

The key to its longevity has been the quality of its ducks, which he said have a thick, meaty breast and just enough skin fat to keep them tender and moist during cooking.

The only way weve survived on Long Island is by making a duck that is different from our competition, Corwin said.

Following the outbreak, the farm was allowed to hold on to several thousand duck eggs, which he hopes will help rebuild its flock and preserve the distinctive genetics honed over generations.

The quarantined eggs will first be sanitized and hatched offsite, with regular testing for any signs of the virus.

But Corwin said he is reluctant to restart without federal approval for vaccinating poultry  something larger industrial farms oppose because of its impact on international sales.

Without vaccination, he said, smaller operations will continue to be at risk of total ruin.

Even now, Corwin said he is not sure how the virus entered the tightly controlled facility after he noticed signs some of the birds were amiss last week.

The farm, he said, imposed strict protocols to prevent infection as bird flu has ravaged poultry operations globally.

Cases of this strain of bird flu jumping into humans is rare. There have been 67 confirmed human cases and one death reported in the United States so far, according to federal health officials. Cattle outbreaks have been reported in several states. Infections in commercial flocks, though, have become more common. At least 13 million birds have been infected in the past 30 days alone, according to the USDA, with a handful of farms being effected each day.

We had identified weaknesses and tightened everything up, Corwin lamented. It wasnt enough, I guess.

(AP)
The State Department ordered a sweeping freeze Friday on new funding for almost all U.S. foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt.

The order threatened a quick halt to many of the billions of dollars in U.S.-funded projects globally to support health, education, development, job training, anti-corruption, security assistance and other efforts.

The U.S. provides more foreign aid globally than any other country, budgeting about $60 billion in 2023, or about 1% of the U.S. budget.

Secretary of State Marco Rubios order, delivered in a cable sent to U.S. embassies worldwide, specifically exempted emergency food programs, such as those helping to feed millions in a widening famine in warring Sudan.

The cable spells out the execution of the aid-freezing executive order President Donald Trump signed on Monday.

But Fridays order especially disappointed humanitarian officials by not including specific exemptions for life-saving health programs, such as clinics and immunization programs.

A globally acclaimed anti-HIV program, the Presidents Emergency Relief Plan for AIDS Relief, was among those included in the spending freeze, slated to last at least three months. Known as PEPFAR, the program is credited with saving 25 million lives, including those of 5.5 million children, since it was started by Republican President George W. Bush.

Some aid projects began receiving their first stop-work orders under the freeze Friday afternoon.

Some leading aid organizations also were interpreting the directive as an immediate stop-work order for U.S.-funded aid work globally, a former senior U.S. Agency for International Development official said. Many would likely cease operations immediately so as not to incur more costs, the official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Suspending funding could have life or death consequences for children and families around the world, said Abby Maxman, head of Oxfam America.

By suspending foreign development assistance, the Trump administration is threatening the lives and futures of communities in crisis, and abandoning the United States long-held bipartisan approach to foreign assistance which supports people based on need, regardless of politics, Maxman said in a statement.

At the United Nations, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said: These are bilateral decisions but nonetheless we expect those nations who have the capability to generously fund development assistance.

While Rubios order exempted military assistance to allies Israel and Egypt from the freeze, there was no indication of a similar waiver to allow vital U.S. military assistance to Ukraine through.

The Biden administration pushed military aid to Ukraine out the door before leaving office because of doubts about whether Trump would continue it. But there is still about $3.85 billion in congressionally authorized funding for any future arms shipments to Ukraine and it is now up to Trump to decide whether or not to spend it.

The sweeping freeze begins enforcement of a pledge from Trump and other Republicans to crack down on U.S. aid programs.

Also on Friday, the State Department agency overseeing refugee and resettlement sent guidance to the resettlement agencies it works with, saying they had to immediately suspend all work under the foreign assistance they were receiving. While there was little clarity in the guidance, the notification suggests resettlement agencies that work with refugees, including Afghans who arrived on special immigrant visas, might have to halt their work at least temporarily.

Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast, the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, promised this week that Republicans would question every dollar and every diplomat in the State Departments budget to ensure it met their standards for strictly necessary.

The freeze was necessary to ensure that appropriations are not duplicated, are effective, and are consistent with President Trumps foreign policy, the global cable stated.

Within the next month, standards for a review of all foreign assistance are expected to be set to ensure that it is aligned with President Trumps foreign policy agenda, the cable said. And within three months, the government-wide review is expected to be completed with a subsequent report to be produced for Rubio to make recommendations to the president.

(AP)
A resident of the central Oregon city of Bend says he was the person behind some of the googly eyes that appeared on sculptures around the city in recent months and sparked a viral sensation widely covered by news outlets.

Jeff Keith, founder of a Bend-based nonprofit called Guardian Group that works to combat human trafficking, said Friday that he used duct tape to attach googly eyes to two sculptures. He said he has carried out similar pranks on other Bend sculptures before  such as adorning them with hula skirts and leis  and that they serve as a respite from the emotional toll of his work.

It is a place for me to cope with some pretty heavy stuff, he told The Associated Press, noting that many of the trafficking victims he has worked with have been through unimaginable trauma.

The city shared photos of the googly eye installations on social media in early December, saying the adhesives can damage the art. One photo shows googly eyes placed on a sculpture of two deer  which Keith described as his handiwork  while another shows them attached to a sphere. City officials at the time said eight sculptures were affected and that it cost $1,500 to remove the googly eyes.

The social media posts prompted a cascade of comments, with many social media users saying they liked the googly eyes and that the city shouldnt spend time and money on removing them. The post and its comments were covered by news outlets, and even made it on a segment of CBSs The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Keith said he didnt expect his exploits to receive that much attention, and that he went to city offices to offer to pay for any damages. The city didnt immediately respond Friday to an emailed request seeking confirmation and comment.

Bends communications director, Rene Mitchell, told The Associated Press last month that the city regretted that its post had been misunderstood. She said there was no intent to be heavy-handed and that the posts were meant to raise awareness about the damage adhesives can do to the citys public art collection. The city had started treating some of the art pieces, she said, which are made of different types of metal such as bronze and steel.

Keith, who has lived in Bend for nearly two decades, said he also hopes his pranks bring some humor and joy into peoples everyday lives.

I think the biggest thing is, for me, just to get a laugh, he said. When I come up on these roundabouts and I see families laughing, like hysterically laughing at these, it makes for a good time.

(AP)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. During a meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Afghanistans Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, the crucial role of transit and cargo transportation in strengthening ties between the two countries was emphasized, Trend reports citing the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the ministry, Araghchi stated that there are many opportunities for trade and cooperation between the two countries. He also noted that Iran supports the development of the private sector in areas such as industry, manufacturing, trade, agriculture, cargo transport, and oversight.

The Afghan Minister highlighted the significance of activating transit routes through the Chabahar and Bandar Abbas Ports, underscoring their strategic importance for both nations.

Azizi further explained that Afghanistan is working to create favorable conditions for Iranian companies to invest in the country, aiming to improve its economic and industrial situation and increase production.

To note, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi visited Afghanistan on January 26.

Follow the author on X: @BaghishovElnur

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
The worlds focus will be on the remaining survivors of Nazi Germanys atrocities on Monday as world leaders and royalty join them for commemorations on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

The main observances take place at the site in southern Poland where Nazi Germany murdered over a million people, most of them Jews, but also Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war, gay people and others targeted for elimination in Adolf Hitlers racial ideology.

The anniversary has taken on added poignancy due to the advanced age of the survivors, and an awareness that they will soon be gone, even as new wars makes their warnings as relevant as ever.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum says it expects about 50 survivors of Auschwitz and other camps to attend the events on Monday afternoon, joined by political leaders and royalty.

On this occasion, the powerful will sit and listen to the voices of the former prisoners, while there is still time to hear them.

Auschwitz the labor and death camp

The German authorities founded the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1940 in the Polish town of Oswiecim after their invasion of Poland in 1939. Early on it was a camp for Polish prisoners, including Catholic priests and members of the Polish underground resistance. The Germans later established some 40 camps in the area, but the most infamous is Birkenau, a vast site used for mass killings in gas chambers.

Those arriving at Birkenau were brought in cramped, windowless cattle trains. At the infamous ramp, the Nazis selected those they could use as forced laborers. The others  the elderly, women, children and babies  were gassed to death soon after their arrival.

Altogether the Germans murdered 6 million Jews, or two-thirds of all of Europes Jews, in the Holocaust at Auschwitz and other camps, in ghettoes and in mass executions close to peoples homes.

Liberated by the Red Army

On Jan. 27, 1945, Soviet troops arrived at the gates of the Auschwitz and found some 7,000 weak and emaciated prisoners.

Boris Polevoy, a correspondent for the Soviet newspaper Pravda who was a first eyewitness, described a scene of unbelievable suffering: I saw thousands of tortured people whom the Red Army had saved  people so thin that they swayed like branches in the wind, people whose ages one could not possibly guess.

At the time Allied troops were moving across Europe in a series of offensives against Germany. Soviet troops first liberated the Majdanek camp near Lublin in July 1944, and would go on to liberate Auschwitz, Stutthof and others.

American and British forces, meanwhile, liberated camps to the west, including Buchenwald, Dachau, Mauthausen, Bergen-Belsen.

After liberation day, some prisoners died of disease. Many confronted the grief of murdered parents and children, spouses and siblings. Entire families were wiped out.

For Jewish survivors, the liberation day is a very, very sad day, Havi Dreifuss, a historian of the Holocaust at Tel Aviv University said in a recent online discussion about the anniversary.

Auschwitz the memorial site

Today the site is a museum and memorial managed by the Polish state, and is one of the most visited sites in Poland. Its mission is to preserve the objects there and the memory of what happened there; it organizes guided tours and its historians carry out research. In 2024, over 1.83 million people visited the site.

The museums challenges are huge, and include efforts to conserve barracks and other objects that were never intended to endure for long. One especially emotional project involves the conservation of shoes of murdered children.

Auschwitz as a symbol for all the Nazi terror

Auschwitz is not only the place where 1.1 million people, 90% of them Jews, were massacred. It also looms large in the worlds collective memory as the embodiment of all the Nazis crimes, and an example of what hatred, racism and antisemitism can lead to.

One reason that Auschwitz has emerged as the leading symbol of the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes is that it was also a labor camp and thousands survived, eyewitnesses who could tell the world what happened there.

Relatively many people survived, which for example barely happened in sites which didnt have such a forced labor component, said Thomas Van de Putte, a scholar specialized in cultural and collective Holocaust memory at Kings College London.

Up to 900,000 people, mostly Jews, were murdered in Treblinka from 1942-43, and mass killings also took place at Belzec and other camps, but the Germans sought to cover up the evidence of their crimes, and there were almost no survivors.

At Auschwitz, the Germans left behind barracks and watchtowers, the remains of gas chambers and the hair and personal belongings of people killed there. The Arbeit macht frei (work will set you free) gate is recognized the world over.

At Birkenau, what remains has also left its mark on the collective conscience. As Van der Putte notes: You have the gate, you have the wagon. You have the incredibly long railway platform which leads to the former crematoria and gas chambers.

Who is going

Presidents, royalty, ambassadors, rabbis and priests will be joining the survivors in a heated tent set up at Birkenau on Monday afternoon.

Germany, a country that for decades has been expressing remorse for the nations crimes under Hitler, will be represented by both Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Also attending will be the president of Austria, which was annexed by Germany in 1938, and Italy, whose dictator Benito Mussolini formed an alliance with Hitler.

Others attending include Polands President Andrzej Duda, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Britains King Charles III, who has long worked to promote Holocaust remembrance, will also attend along with other European royalty, including Spains King Felipe VI.

Who wont be there

Russian President Vladimir Putin was an honored guest at the 60th anniversary in 2005, a testament to the Soviet role in liberating Auschwitz and the heavy price paid by Soviet troops in defeating Germany.

But he is not welcome anymore due to Russian aggression in Ukraine. It will be the third year in a row  following Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022  with no Russia representative.

This is the anniversary of liberation. We remember the victims, but we also celebrate freedom. It is hard to imagine the presence of Russia, which clearly does not understand the value of freedom, museum director Piotr Cywinski said.

The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza also created a stir about whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should attend or not. The International Criminal Court, the worlds top war crimes court, issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November, accusing him of crimes against humanity for Israeli actions in Gaza. That meant that Poland, as a signatory, would have faced an obligation to arrest him.

In the end, the Polish government adopted a resolution vowing to ensure the safe participation of the highest representatives of Israel. Israel, however, is sticking by plans to send its education minister, Yoav Kisch.

(AP)
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a long-time ally of former President Donald Trump, criticized the decision to issue blanket pardons for individuals charged in the January 6 Capitol riot. Appearing on Meet the Press, Graham expressed concern about the potential consequences of pardoning those involved in violent acts during the insurrection.

I fear that you will get more violence, Graham said, addressing the pardons issued by Trump. Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think was a mistake, because it seems to suggest thats an okay thing to do.

Graham compared Trumps blanket pardons to those issued by President Joe Biden just minutes before leaving office, when Biden pardoned several family members. Biden pardoned half his family going out the door, Graham noted. I think most Americans, if this continues, will see this as an abuse of the pardon power.

The senator also questioned the broader implications of pardoning individuals convicted of violent acts, suggesting that it could undermine public confidence in the presidential pardon power. Well revisit the pardon power of the president if this continues, Graham added.

Moderator Kristen Welker pressed Graham on the message Trumps pardons sent to law enforcement, particularly those who were attacked during the Capitol riot. Graham, however, reaffirmed his support for Trumps consistent stance on law enforcement, pointing out that Trump has long been a vocal advocate for police.

Theres really been no better supporter of law enforcement in general, Graham said. Law enforcement didnt like this, but he said it during the campaign, hes not tricking people. You know, Biden promised not to pardon his family; he did. Trump said, Im going to pardon these people. So the fact that he did it is no surprise.

While Graham has been a staunch supporter of Trump, he made it clear that he opposes pardoning violent individuals regardless of political affiliation. I dont like the idea of bailing people out of jail or pardoning people who burn down cities and beat up cops, whether youre a Republican or a Democrat, he said.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
A Polish woman and her son have donated a remarkable collection of over 500 artifacts recovered from the Auschwitz death camp, including a childs ragdoll, a prisoners uniform, and suitcases belonging to camp victims. The items, hidden for decades, were handed over last week to the Foundation of Memory Sites Near Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, explained that the womans father collected the items shortly after the camps liberation in 1945, before Auschwitz became a museum. He had helped with cleanup efforts and stored the objects in an attic, where they remained untouched for more than 80 years.

Dagmar Kopijasz, a member of the foundations council, described the cache as one of the most extraordinary finds in recent years. We couldnt believe what we were seeing. The van she and her son drove to us was full of things, Kopijasz told TVP3. The cache includes clothing, dishes, a prisoners striped uniform, and Judaica items, as well as artifacts that may have belonged to SS guards at Auschwitz.

Among the items is a suitcase marked Ungermann and transport 3262. The objects are in varying states of preservation and are now being cataloged by the foundation. Select pieces were displayed at the Auschwitz museum during the 80th anniversary commemorations of the camps liberation on Monday, Jan. 27.

The commemoration was attended by dignitaries and heads of state, including Israels Education Minister Yoav Kisch. More than 1.8 million people visited Auschwitz in 2024, and the site received approximately $8 million in funding from Polands government to preserve its history.

Yacov Livne, Israels ambassador to Poland, highlighted the significance of the donation, noting that Holocaust-related sites near Auschwitz have often been neglected or destroyed. I hope that on the 80th anniversary of its liberation, a solution will be found to preserve what remains, Livne tweeted.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
A Bulgarian shipping company on Monday denied that one of its ships had intentionally damaged an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland.

Swedish prosecutors announced on Sunday night that they had launched a preliminary investigation on suspicion of sabotage, after the ship was detained in the Baltic Sea

Navibulgar CEO Alexander Kalchev said in a statement it was possible that the Vezhen ship had caused a cable to break but dismissed any possibility of sabotage or any other action on the part of the crew.

Kalchev cited information obtained from the crew that the ship was sailing late on Sunday in extremely bad weather. Eventually, the crew discovered that the left anchor was apparently being dragged along the seabed.

He added that the automatic ship identification system clearly showed that the Vezhen passed over the cable, and that it was not clear when exactly it was cut.

I hope that the investigators will quickly establish that this is not a matter of any intentional action, but a technical incident due to bad weather, and that the ship will be released, Kalchev said.

The Maltese-flagged Vezhen was sailing to South America, loaded with fertilizer. The 32,000-ton vessel was launched in 2022, Kalchev said.

The Swedish public prosecutors office said it was now carrying out a number of specific investigative measures. Authorities including the National Police Operations Department, the Coast Guard and the Armed Forces are involved in the investigation, senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement.

(AP)
A new poll by Schoen Cooperman Research reveals strong American support for Israels efforts in the ongoing conflict with Hamas, even as many express skepticism about the long-term outcomes of the current U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement. The deal, which exchanges 33 Israeli hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in the first phase, has widespread approval among Americans, with 78% backing the arrangement. However, only 15% are very optimistic that both sides will honor their commitments, and just 34% believe the agreement will lead to lasting peace.

The poll highlights a key concern: the absence of a clear post-war plan for Gaza. Fifty-seven percent of respondents believe any final deal should require the removal of Hamas from power, with only 10% supporting its continued rule. Additionally, a majority (56%) would support Israel resuming military operations in Gaza if Hamas violates the ceasefire, underscoring broad recognition of the threat Hamas poses to Israel.

The findings contradict perceptions of widespread anti-Israel sentiment fueled by high-profile protests on U.S. college campuses. Instead, 70% of Americans agree that Hamas is a terrorist organization, and bipartisan support for Israel remains strong, with 70% of adults affirming Israels right to self-defense.

The poll also reveals significant concern about rising antisemitism, particularly on campuses, where majorities across party lines support tighter regulations on protests.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a self-declared Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) member and outspoken critic of Israel who gained notoriety for his arrest at a pro-Palestinian protest outside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumers Brooklyn home, has become the most heavily funded candidate in the crowded New York City mayoral race, the NY Post has found.

Mamdanis fundraising haul  641,816 in just three months  is notable not only for its size but also for its origins. Over 1,400 donations, totaling $97,254, came from self-identified unemployed or jobless individuals. Meanwhile, employees from Columbia, NYU, and CUNYuniversities that have been focal points of pro-Palestine demonstrations since Hamass October 2023 terror attackcontributed nearly $30,000. Additionally, more than 200 journalists, editors, and media professionals donated over $20,000 to his campaign.

Critics argue Mamdanis fundraising success is rooted in his divisive, anti-Israel rhetoric. It seems like Zohran is trying to fan the flames of hatred and antisemitism solely to propel fundraising in his campaign, David Greenfield, CEO of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, told the NY Post.

Greenfields concerns stem in part from Mamdanis sponsorship of the Not on Our Dime! Act, which seeks to bar New York-based charities from funding Israeli settlementsa move some have labeled an attack on Jewish communities.

Mamdani has positioned himself as the leftist alternative to centrist Mayor Eric Adams, rallying support for policies like universal childcare, free buses, and a rent freeze. Yet his critics dismiss these proposals as unrealistic, accusing him of exploiting identity politics to appeal to a far-left base.

Democratic strategist Chris Coffey described Mamdani as the standard bearer of the far-left, outpacing progressive rivals in both fundraising and campaign momentum.

Despite his grassroots donations, Mamdanis campaign appears fueled by institutional and political allies. Contributions have poured in from left-leaning unions, elected officials, and staffers, including aides to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Gov. Kathy Hochuls speechwriter Julian Gerson also donated to Mamdanis campaign, further underscoring his alignment with New Yorks progressive political elite.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Thousands of Germans gathered in Berlin and other cities on Saturday to protest the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of the countrys general election on February 23. The protests, held under the banner sea of light against the right turn, aimed to highlight concerns over the partys growing influence and the threat of right-wing extremism in the nation.

At Berlins iconic Brandenburg Gate, demonstrators lit their phones, blew whistles, and sang anti-fascist songs. In Cologne, protesters held banners denouncing the AfD, which has become the second-largest party in pre-election polls, behind the Union bloc of center-right parties led by Friedrich Merz. The protests coincided with the AfDs election campaign rally in Halle, where party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla addressed a crowd of around 4,500.

In the midst of these protests, AfD received a boost from tech mogul Elon Musk, who addressed the rally remotely. Musks comments, particularly on Germanys historical guilt, sparked a wave of backlash. The billionaire, known for his outspoken views, told the crowd, There is too much focus on past guilt [in Germany], and we need to move beyond that, referencing the countrys World War II history and the Holocaust. He added, Children should not feel guilty for the sins of their parents  their great-grandparents even.

Musks remarks immediately drew criticism, with Dani Dayan, the chair of Jerusalems Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, condemning his statement. On social media platform X, Dayan wrote, The remembrance and acknowledgment of the dark past of the country and its people should be central in shaping the German society. Failing to do so is an insult to the victims of Nazism and a clear danger to the democratic future of Germany.

The timing of Musks comments raised eyebrows, coming just a day before International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Musks remarks also came after accusations earlier in the week that he made a Nazi salute at a U.S. event celebrating President Donald Trumps inauguration. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Musk, calling the accusations false smears, Musk later posted a series of Nazi-themed jokes on X, further fueling the uproar.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher, the three hostages released from Hamas captivity a week ago as part of the first phase of the deal with Hamas, were discharged on Sunday from Sheba Medical Center, where they were hospitalized following their release.

The Sheba Medical Center reported: The three returnees have completed their stay and examinations. We will continue to support them and their families. We remain prepared and alert until the last hostage is returned.

During their 471 days of captivity, the three were moved from place to place several times. Among other places, they were held in an apartment in Gaza City  which was constantly guarded by Hamas terrorists, served as human shields for terrorists when taken to a humanitarian complex in the Strip, and were held in a tunnel without exposure to sunlight.

The hostages reported that during their captivity they learned to speak Arabic.

Emily Damari lost two of her fingers after being shot at by Hamas terrorists on October 7 before she was abducted.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
As expected, the Judicial Selection Committee on Sunday evening elected Justice Yitzchak Amit to serve as President of the Supreme Court

The election came after Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara bullied the judicial system into electing him by prohibiting the Judicial Selection Committee from investigating multiple serious allegations against him.

The vote was boycotted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin and the coalitions representatives on the committee  Minister Orit Strock (Religious Zionist party) and Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzchak Kroizer.

Minister Yariv Levin informed the court administration that he does not recognize the appointment. As long as the president of the Supreme Court was not elected through a proper procedure according to law and in accordance with the powers granted to the Judicial Selection Committee and its chair, it will not be possible to carry out actions that require cooperation between the president of the Supreme Court and the Minister of Justice.

Therefore, I hereby announce unequivocally that I do not recognize Honorable Judge Yitzhak Amit as President of the Supreme Court, and the proceedings in which he was elected are fundamentally flawed and illegal, Levin wrote.

Levin also issued a statement together with Minister Ofir Sofer and MK Yitzchak Kroizer, saying: Today, the Judicial Selection Committee convened and elected a president for the Supreme Court, so to speak.

We did not participate in the discussion. The election of a president for the Supreme Court at a time when a serious cloud hovers over the conduct of the candidate regarding several different cases, including allegations about his purported actions in conflicts of interest and regarding building violations at his residence, while providing contradictory answers to the raised claims, and without the basic obligation to conduct a professional and objective investigation into those allegations, is a moral disgrace, contradicting all rules of proper administration and reeking of selective enforcement.

The public in Israel knows what has happened in the past, and even very recently, to the fate of leading candidates for other senior positions whose appointments have been rejected and disqualified due to similar claims.

No less serious is the fact that the election was carried out via an illegal order from the Supreme Court, at the height of an inherently illegal process, which stripped the Minister of Justice of his powers as defined by law, turning the Judicial Selection Committee into a rubber stamp for the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Courts order was issued despite the fact that there is no genuine urgency in appointing a president for the Supreme Court, as the acting president holds all the powers of the president, yet the Supreme Court judges were eager to impose this appointment in a forceful and illegal manner.

This is a sad day for democracy and a sad day for our judicial system. A president elected in such a manner will not be able to gain the publics trust, which is necessary for the judicial system as a fundamental condition for its existence.

In the name of a vast public whose democratic rights were trampled in this illegal process, and whose expectation for a fair and ethical judicial system was also trampled, we will not cease to act until we bring about a fundamental correction of this shameful situation.

Minister Nir Barkat responded: What a bushah. This is what a full judicial coup looks like. The Supreme Court justices appointed a president for themselves this evening by trampling on elected officials. A dark day for Israeli democracy.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Prime Minister Netanyahu has confirmed an agreement with Hamas to resolve a dispute over hostage releases. Civilian Arbel Yehud, soldier Agam Berger, and a third unnamed hostage are set to be freed on Thursday, followed by three additional hostages on Shabbos as planned.

Israel has also received documentation from Hamas verifying whether the remaining hostages scheduled for release in the first phase of the ceasefire deal are still alive.

In exchange, the IDF will permit displaced Gazans to return to the northern Gaza Strip starting Thursday morning, according to a statement from Netanyahus office.

The statement emphasized that the agreement was achieved after strong and determined negotiations and warned that any breach of the deal by Hamas will not be tolerated.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. EU foreign ministers from 27 countries have decided to suspend visa-free travel for Georgian diplomatic passport holders, Trend reports.

"Today, the Council decided to suspend parts of the EU-Georgia visa facilitation agreement. This may lead to Georgian diplomats and officials having to apply for visa when travelling to the EU.

For travels to a member state which has reintroduced visa requirements, Georgian diplomats and officials will also no longer benefit from shorter application times, lower visa fees, and the possibility to submit fewer supporting documents," the European Council said in a statement.

The Council noted that the decision is a reaction to the adoption last year by Georgia of a 'Law on transparency of foreign influence' and a legislative package on 'family values and protection of minors'.

The EU-Georgia visa facilitation agreement, effective from March 1, 2011, aimed to simplify visa issuance for Georgian citizens traveling to the EU for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. The agreement includes a clause allowing suspension for reasons of public order, national security, or public health. On March 1, 2017, the EU Council and Parliament adopted a regulation granting Georgian nationals full visa-free travel to the EU.
Thousands of Palestinians began moving north along Gazas Rasheed Street today, marking the start of a northward return as part of the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas. Under the terms of the deal, the IDF were required to withdraw eastward from Rasheed Street and dismantle military posts in the area.

Footage captured last night shows the IDF pulling out of Netzarim, fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire.

Following their withdrawal, American private military contractors (PMCs) were seen entering the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza. The PMCs have been assigned to oversee the safe return of Gazans to the northern part of the Strip and monitor vehicles moving through the corridor.

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz affirmed Israels commitment to enforcing the ceasefire, stating, We will firmly enforce the truce across all of Gaza, ensuring the agreements terms are upheld.

The movement of Palestinians was initially delayed after ceasefire violations by Hamas prompted the IDF to warn residents to stay away from Rasheed Street. However, with the dispute resolved, tens of thousands of residents have now begun their northward journey.

Meanwhile, as expected, Itamar Ben-Gvir expressed outrage at the scenes of Gazans returning north. In a post on X, he slammed the ceasefire agreement, stating, This is not what complete victory looks like  this is what complete surrender looks like Heroic IDF soldiers did not fight and give their lives in the Strip only for Palestinians to return north and make these images possible. We must return to war  and destroy!

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
A senior intelligence officer in the Lebanese army leaked sensitive military information to the Hezbollah terror group during the ceasefire with Israel, the British outlet The Times reported on Sunday, citing intelligence sources.

The chief of military intelligence for southern Lebanon, Suhil Bahij Gharb, gave Hezbollah highly classified and sensitive information in a security room managed by the US, France and UNFIL, an intelligence source said.

According to the report, Gharb is only one of dozens of military officials who leaked sensitive information on the IDFs movements during the ceasefire. Gharb, who was tasked with maintaining peace with Israel during the ceasefire, was in the security room at the insistence of senior Hezbollah commander Wafiq Safa.

Kan News reported that there have also been leaks from the mid-level and lower echelons of the Lebanese army, where many soldiers have connections to Hezbollah terrorists. These soldiers not only leaked information to Hezbollah but the Lebanese army as a whole avoided conflict with Hezbollah and did not enforce the conditions of the ceasefire.

Hezbollah uses internal, sensitive information regarding the Lebanese army to hide its actions from the international entities in charge of regional security, the intelligence document states.

The fact that the top echelon of the military maintains close ties with the US does not prevent co-operation between army officers, even on an individual basis, with Hezbollah, Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, told The Times.

Hezbollahs survival hinges not on maintaining a military presence in the south but preserving the gains accrued to it in the Lebanese political system during the past three decades. Hezbollahs operatives in the south Litani are local Shia residents, and I do not think Israel can force relocating them to the north [of the] Litani.

Meanwhile, UNIFIL forces and the Lebanese army are supposed to be ensuring that Hezbollah terrorists are not present in southern Lebanon, especially south of the Litani River.

On Sunday morning, hundreds of Lebanese people bearing Hezbollah flags and photos of slain Hezbollah leader Nasrallah attempted to enter Shiite villages in southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese Army doing nothing to stop them.

Some of the innocent Lebanese civilians provocatively approached IDF troops, forcing them to open fire. Twenty-two were killed and over 80 were wounded.

The White House announced on Sunday that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon has been extended until February 18.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior member of Hamass political bureau, has indicated that the terrorist group might not insist on governing Gaza after the war it initiated with Israel on October 7, 2023. Speaking to the Saudi Al Arabiya news outlet, Abu Marzouk acknowledged the need for regional and international backing, including the involvement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in administering postwar Gaza.

Last month, Hamas and Fatah agreed to establish a joint committee to oversee Gazas reconstruction. According to a draft obtained by AFP, this committee would consist of 10-15 independent figures tasked with managing the economy, education, health, humanitarian aid, and rebuilding efforts.

However, Israel has opposed any continued Hamas role in Gaza governance and expressed distrust in the Palestinian Authoritys ability to lead the enclave. Despite this stance, Abu Marzouk dismissed Israels input on the matter, stating that Hamas is open to dialogue with all parties besides Israel on future governance arrangements.

He also expressed willingness to engage the U.S. on the issue, crediting President Donald Trump as a serious president for his role in securing the ongoing ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

Nonetheless, Abu Marzouk criticized Trumps recent suggestion that Gazas population should be relocated to Jordan and Egypt. No Palestinian or Arab will accept Trumps idea of displacement, he said. It will not succeed.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, who was scheduled to visit the European Parliament in Brussels to participate in the events marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, was ordered to cancel his flight by security officials.

The Prime Ministers Office stated on Sunday: In light of concrete threats, and based on directives from security officials, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli has to to cancel his trip to the European Parliament in Brussels.

Chikli stated: It is regrettable that the heart of Europe, Brussels, has become an unsafe place for Jews and Israelis.

The chairman of the European Jewish Associations (EJA), Rabbi Menachem Margolin, said in response: This evening, we were informed that Israels Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Amichai Chikli, who was scheduled to attend a special event in Brussels co-organized by the EJA on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, to address the indoctrinated hatred of Jews, had to cancel his arrival due to concrete security concerns and threats to his safety.

The fact that in 2025, an Israeli minister was forced to cancel his visit to a Western European country for security reasons is more evidence than anything else that all the leaders never again declarations are hollow. This year, International Holocaust Remembrance Day is more regrettable than everthe worst since the Holocaust.

It was also reported on Sunday that the Shin Bet ordered Israeli airlines not to fly to Paphos in Cyprus on Sunday.

Channel 12 reported that El Al, Arkia, and IsraAir were instructed to cancel all flights to Paphos due to security reasons that cannot be publicized.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Two IDF reserve soldiers from northern Israel were arrested for spying for Iran, the Shin Bet and Israel Police announced on Monday.

The suspects, Yuri Eliasfov and Georgi Andrayev, both 21-year-old residents of the Krayot (suburbs of Haifa), were arrested earlier this month for suspected severe security offenses.

Their interrogation revealed that Yuri, the main suspect, was contacted by an Iranian operator on social media while he was searching for a job. The agent suggested that he carry out tasks for financial compensation. Among other things, he spray-painted graffiti, writing the message Children of Ruhollah [Ruhollah Khomeini was the first leader of Iran after the Islamic Revolution] in various locations across the country.

Months later, Yuri suggested to his friend Georgi that he also contact the Iranian operator to carry out tasks for financial reward, despite his awareness that the operator was an enemy of Israel, telling him that it was easy money.

Georgi accepted Yuris offer and began to communicate with the handler, also spraying graffiti under his direction and assisting Yuri in hanging a sign under the agents directives.

At one point, the two friends exchanged articles from the media in Israel about Iranian espionage over the past year, including an article about the previous Israeli spy who was caught. They talked about the possible penalties, and Georgi  who was serving at that time as a reserve soldier at the Kirya in Tel Aviv  became frightened and stopped cooperating with the handler.

Yuri began spying during his regular IDF service and continued during his reserve duty. He served in the Iron Dome air defense unit and was exposed to classified information. At the request of his operators, he filmed and transmitted a video about the Iron Dome system which conveyed information at the highest classification level.

Until he was caught, Yuri received $2,500, while Georgi received only $50. Both admitted to the charges against them during the investigations, and recounted the missions assigned to them, the information they provided, and the rewards they received.

Major Sarit Peretz, an investigation officer in the National Unit for Serious and International Crime (Yahbal) at Lahav 433, explained that Yuri Eliasfov is charged with aiding the enemy in wartime, the most severe offense in the law book, with a penalty of life imprisonment or death. Whoever received the video from Yuri and understands these systems could act against the state of Israel, which is very dangerous. The video contained very sensitive information.

Yuri claims he transmitted part of the video and not the whole thing. But even the part he claims he sent posed a significant danger. Their connection with the foreign entity began at the end of September, they have been under investigation for two weeks, and of course, we detained them beforehand. We conducted a joint investigation with Yahbal, the Shin Bet, and the Military Police. They were in regular service, were discharged, and immediately after that enlisted in reserves and stayed in the army continuously.

The investigation by the police and Shin Bet indicated that Yuri and Georgi understood they were in contact with an Iranian operator, among other things based on the media reports were exposed to at that time regarding the arrest and investigation of Israeli citizens who had been in touch with Iranian intelligence agents and carried out similar tasks for them.

A prosecutors statement was filed against the two suspects on Monday morning, and in the coming days, the prosecution is expected to file a serious indictment against them.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
A confrontation occurred on Monday morning in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee between families of hostages and Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben Gvir.

Relatives of the hostages demanded that Ben Gvir express his support for the hostage deal but Ben Gvir responded: This is a reckless deal and it will cost us blood.

After thousands of Gazans crossed the Netzarim Corridor on Monday morning and returned to the northern part of the Strip, where they were greeted by Hamas terrorists, Ben-Gvir stated: This is not what complete victory looks like  this is what complete surrender looks like Heroic IDF soldiers did not fight and give their lives in the Strip (only for Palestinians to return north) and make these images possible. We must return to war  and destroy!

Eli Albag, the father of Liri, who returned from Gaza on Shabbos, held a press conference on Sunday evening during which he slammed anyone who opposed the hostage deal, threatening: The nation will hold you accountable. Albag was criticized for his statement in turn by Israelis who opposed the deal, especially since many bereaved families who lost their children in battle in Gaza or whose sons are even in captivity in Gaza are included among them.

Tzika Mor, whose son Eitan is being held hostage in Gaza, responded to Albag, saying: My dear friend Eli. We were delighted to see that Liri was returned to you and wish her and you a swift recovery and return to normalcy, as much as possible. Opponents of the hostage deal include many families of soldiers who fell and were injured during the Gaza war in order to bring Liri home as well as many families who lost loved ones to terrorism. All of these families want to bring the hostages home already but wish for these to be the last hostages so that their sacrifice in the war should not have been in vain  for a deal that puts Hamas back in power and allows murderers of their loved ones, who have been released from prison to laugh at them on the way to the next terror attack.

We, the families of the hostages, do not live here alone. There is a whole nation here that wants to live, and therefore we requested that the release of the hostages take all these families who have suffered and sacrificed so much into account.

Itzik Bonzel, the father of fallen IDF soldier Amit Bonzel, Hyd, responded to Albag by saying: Eli Albag, you are no longer the father of a hostage daughter. How fortunate you are that you merited to change your title. I also wish I would merit to change my title  of bereaved father. I will not be able to fly in a helicopter on Shabbat to the southern border to pick up my Amit.

Eli, this is the time to bow your head, say thank you to all those who worked to free your beloved daughter, and certainly, not to threaten to come to terms with those who voted against the deal. For your daughters release (something that was ethically and morally required), many Jew will pay with their lives in the coming years. Those same murderers will do everything to murder Jews again. It is clear to everyone that the part of the deal which involves freeing murderers is the bad and worst part of this deal.

Albag later clarified his position, saying that his criticism was intended only for the politicians who opposed the deal and he doesnt, chalilah, judge bereaved families.

The confrontation in the Knesset:

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
In the second bus accident in Laos in 24 hours involving Israelis, 50 passengers, including 18 Israelis, were injured in an accident overnight Sunday when a bus overturned in northern Laos near the Chinese border.

Fortunately, the passengers sustained relatively minor injuries. Another bus was sent to the scene to transport the victims to the city of Luang Prabang and from there to the hospital for further medical treatment.

Nadav, who is traveling in Laos and was injured in the bus accident on Motzei Shabbos, said: Ive been traveling in the East for four months, including a month in Laos. Out of all the countries in the world, you dont want something to happen to you here because they dont know how to handle it. It was at the level of stopping locals driving by to take them to the hospital.

Thirteen Israelis were injured, several seriously, in the bus accident overnight Motzei Shabbos. Due to the poor quality of medical care in Laos, one of the poorest countries in the world, the Magnus International Search & Rescue team and representatives from Israels Foreign Ministry in Vietnam transferred the injured Israelis to a hospital in Thailand.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
The Hamas terror group on Sunday provided Israel with an official list detailing the status of 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the deal.

According to the list, Hamas claimed that 25 of the 33 hostages already released or soon to be released are alive, and eight are dead. The list corresponds with the intelligence Israel already has.

The list did not specify names but according to the intelligence it has, the IDF has informed the families of eight hostages scheduled to be released that there is grave concerns about the fate of their loved ones. However, the families were told that there is still no clear evidence that confirms the deaths of their loved ones and final identification will only be possible after their return to Israel.

The Bibas family issued a statement after the publication of the list: In the previous deal, during which Hamas announced that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir had been killed, they were not released. We said then and we say now: we hold on to hope and wait for their return. We are waiting for certainty regarding their status. The list provided by Hamas to Israel regarding the status of the hostages is not a list of names and does not change our position. Even a list of names, Hamass statement, or any video  are not certain evidence for us. Since October 7, when the horrific abduction video was released, we fear for their fate every day and every minute.

Your support gives us strength and encourages us. Please, help us return them along with the other hostages, both the living and the deceased, to their families. Please honor Shiri, Yarden, Ariel, Kfir and the entire family, and refrain from rumors and speculations that shake us. Until there is certainty  this is not the end for us. We will continue to hope. We are waiting for them and all the other hostages at home.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Israel has announced a groundbreaking agreement with NASA to send the countrys first female astronaut into space. Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology Gila Gamliel revealed the news during the 20th Ilan Ramon International Space Conference in Tel Aviv on Monday.

I received confirmation from NASA to send the first Israeli woman astronaut into space, Gamliel said. We in Israel have now begun the process of searching for our candidate among our brave women.

The announcement comes as Israel strengthens its global partnerships in space technology with allies like the United States, Italy, Azerbaijan, and regional partners in the Abraham Accords, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The conference, named after Ilan Ramon, Israels first astronaut who tragically died in the 2003 Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, brought together international leaders in space exploration, including Omran Sharaf, the UAEs assistant foreign minister for advanced science and technology, and Professor Teodoro Valente, president of the Italian Space Agency.

During the conference, Valente signed an agreement with Israeli Space Agency Director Uri Oron to develop a payload for a future lunar mission. Our space cooperation is really improving, Valente said, noting recent bilateral advancements between Italy and Israel.

President Yitzchak Herzog, in a recorded video address from New York, lauded Israels growing role in international space exploration. Israel, despite being a small country, stands at the global forefront of the space field and serves as a significant factor in leading international space programs, Herzog said. He highlighted ongoing partnerships with countries in the Abraham Accords and expressed optimism for future collaborations that will benefit both Israel and the global space community.

Gamliel also highlighted the work of Israeli high school students in space innovation. Nine nano-satellites, designed and built by students from across Israel, including a school near the Gaza border, are set to launch aboard SpaceX rockets this March from the U.S. West Coast.

For us, space represents hope and resilience, said Or Ziner, a high school senior from southern Israel who led a satellite project at her school. She shared her personal experience growing up amid rocket sirens from Gaza, underscoring the projects significance for young Israelis.

The event also carried an emotional tribute to Ilan Ramons legacy. My fathers mission was not just historic for Israel but for the entire Jewish community, said Ramons son, Iftah. It became a symbol of pride, hope, and possibility.

Gamliel concluded the event by emphasizing the importance of international cooperation. Twenty years ago, we began a journey that transformed how the world sees Israels role in space exploration. By continuing to forge global partnerships, we aim to solidify Israels status as a leader in the space industry while contributing to innovation and progress worldwide.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
To commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Israel State Archives has made 380,000 pages from the historic 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann publicly accessible in a new searchable digital collection.

The documents, released on Monday, include court testimony, lists, photographs, correspondence, and files from the State Attorneys Office, including exchanges with then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. These materials were originally compiled by Bureau 06, a special police unit established to investigate and prepare charges against Eichmann, one of the chief architects of the Holocaust.

One of the most striking pieces in the collection is the testimony of Holocaust survivor Yehiel De-Nur, also known by his pen name Ka-Tsetnik. De-Nur, who collapsed during the trial, was unable to testify in court but shared harrowing details with police about his time in Auschwitz. He recounted the inhuman conditions, the deadly selections, and his chilling encounter with Eichmann, describing his gaze as hypnotic and terrifying and comparing it to staring into the eyeholes of the deaths-head symbol on his cap.

The digital archive also includes a video link to the dramatic moment of De-Nurs collapse in the courtroom, offering a visceral reminder of the trials emotional intensity and the weight of its historical significance.

This collection is now accessible to the public through the Israel State Archives website, providing scholars, educators, and the global community with an invaluable resource to understand one of historys most significant war crimes trials.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. The credentials of Georgias delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) were challenged on substantive grounds during the opening of the 2025 winter plenary session, Trend reports.

The challenge was initiated by Boriana Aberg, a Swedish representative from the European Peoples Party (EPP/CD). Aberg described the Georgian Parliament as a one-party parliament and expressed concerns that the democratic order in Georgia was being eroded. Her challenge received support from over 30 Assembly members, representing at least five national delegations, meeting the requirements under PACE Rules.

Following procedural protocol, the matter was referred to the Assemblys Monitoring Committee for a report and to the Rules Committee for an opinion. A final decision will be debated on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 29.

According to the Rules of Procedure, PACE has three options: ratify Georgias credentials, refuse to ratify them, or ratify them with restrictionssuch as suspending or limiting certain rights of Georgias representatives in the Assemblys activities.

Until a decision is made, members of the Georgian delegation will retain provisional rights equal to other Assembly members but will be barred from voting on matters related to their credentials.

This challenge adds further scrutiny to Georgias political climate, as international observers continue to raise concerns about its democratic practices.
Drinks giant Diageo has denied it is planning to sell off the Guinness brand following speculation it would overhaul its stable of drinks brands.

Reports emerged last week that the FTSE 100 firm, which also owns whisky brand Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff vodka, was considering spinning out the Irish stout maker or selling it off entirely to boost growth.

But in an announcement yesterday, the company said it had 'no intention' of selling the Guinness brand.

It also poured cold water on speculation that it was considering options for its substantial stake in luxury drinks firm Moet Hennessy, currently controlled by French giant LVMH.

In demand: Diageo said it had 'no intention' of selling the Guinness brand

Shares initially surged on the news last Friday, so the stock will be watched closely when trading opens today.

Diageo is thought to have been considering cashing in on a surge in the popularity of Guinness, which came to a head last month when pubs complained about shortages.

The firm limited the number of barrels of the black stuff pubs could buy due to huge demand.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has officially started operations in Turkiye, the Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance said in a statement, Trend reports.

The decision to begin operations in Turkiye will allow both the public and private sectors to benefit from long-term and affordable financial opportunities in key sectors such as infrastructure, environment, education, finance, and energy.

Having been a member since 1991, Turkiye's status with the ADB changed in December 2024, when the ADB Board of Governors voted to transition the country from "non-regional member" status to "regional member" status.

A delegation of ADB officials recently visited Turkiye to meet with representatives from both the public and private sectors to discuss the banks activities and future plans in the country. The delegation presented an overview of the ADB's forthcoming work program for Turkiye.

The ADB's total authorized capital stands at $142.7 billion, with paid-in capital of $7.1 billion. Turkiye's share in the banks capital amounts to $480.7 million.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Irish premier Micheal Martin is set to join world leaders for a commemoration at Auschwitz to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp.

It is expected to be the last annual commemoration at which survivors of the camp are likely to be able to attend on person.

Some six million Jewish people were murdered during the holocaust, which is regarded as the darkest period in Europes history.

The taoiseach said it is important to remember the horrors and say never again.

Mondays commemoration has been described as a recommitment to denouncing and combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance, racism, and xenophobia.

Mr Martin said: Today, we remember the unique horrors of the Holocaust, in particular the extermination of six million jews from across Europe in the Nazi death camps.

We remember also the Roma, the disabled, the political dissidents, the members of the LGBTQ community and all who were persecuted and murdered without mercy in the camps.

It is a particular honour to be here at what is probably the last significant anniversary at which survivors of the camps will be present in person.

Though they are now all advanced in years, their memories of what happened in the camps  the profound loss of their family members and the destruction of Europes vibrant Jewish communities  remain crystal clear and vivid.

We owe it to them to ensure that now, and for all generations to come, we remember and say never again.

Mr Martin went on: Today is also International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the event I am attending at Auschwitz will recommit us to denouncing and combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance, racism and xenophobia.

In recent years we have witnessed a shocking rise in antisemitism and Holocaust denial, both online and offline. I take this issue very seriously and the Government will continue to work at home and with international partners to tackle all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism.

In this spirit, we recently endorsed the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances working definition of antisemitism. We will also continue our close relationship with the Jewish community in Ireland and ensure that their concerns are heard.

In Auschwitz, people from across the world shall gather once again to ensure we never forget.
A cargo handling company has been fined 15,000 for breaches of health and safety regulations on the same day a crew member died in an accident on a ship docked in Dublin Port.

Able seaman Dennis Gomez Regana, who was from the Philippines, died when a 20-foot steel container fell on him on November 14, 2018.

Marine Terminals Ltd (MTL) pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that individuals at the place of work (not its employees) were not exposed to risks to their safety, health and welfare in that there were fragmented verbal and radio communications between personnel on the vessel, on the quayside and in the crane.

Frank Kerins, safety inspector at the Health and Safety Authority, told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that the case was not being made that the above breach led to Mr Reganas death.

He testified that he was notified of a death on board a large ship at Marine Terminals at Southbank Road, Dublin Port that morning. He went to the scene and was told that a Filipino crewman had died when a 20-foot steel cargo container fell on him.

Mr Kerins spoke to members of the 13-strong crew, one of whom had a broken container twist lock. This was a small metal component used to hold containers to the ship deck and to each other.

The accident happened at Bay 25 on the starboard side of the ship. Its understood that, prior to the accident, there were four empty containers stacked on top of each other in that area, with four semi-automatic twist locks used to hold them together.

The accident happened when a large ship-to-shore crane began to lift the containers off the vessel, and the bottom one detached from the one above it. It fell away and wedged at Bay 25.

Mr Regana noticed that there was a twist lock missing, and he tried to rectify it. He climbed up a nine-foot column at that bay and had a twist lock with him. The container fell upon him.

The judge asked Mr Kerins why this part was missing.

You couldnt get semi-automatics in there because it was beside the wall, he answered.

Surely the person who put that in there must have known that, suggested the judge.

Mr Kerins agreed.

There is a rule that only one container should be lifted at a time, he added.

He also explained that the defendants function was to unload the cargo.

However, he said that there was fragmented verbal and radio communications between the crew and the port workers in the vessel, on the quay side and on the crane.

He said that the crane operator had been told Lift now by others.

The judge was informed that the deceased was in his 40s and read a short victim impact statement. He was told that the maximum fine was 3 million.

Under cross examination by the defence, Mr Kerins said that a missing deck lock would have been a big problem on open sea, and that it had been left to Mr Regana to come up with a solution. He went to the vessel boss on the quay side and asked him whether he would move the containers.

Mr Kerins explained that the training in place in MTL was that only one container should be moved at a time.

There was a breakdown in communications. He thought they were going to open the twist lock so he would only lift one, he said of the crane operator.

He agreed that there had been full cooperation from MTL, who had a good health and safety record. The company had actually appointed someone to improve communications between the crew and the dock. He accepted that it was an aberration on the part of MTL.

Judge Nolan noted that communication wasnt great.

It seems there was a question as to what was said. This is not good where people are working in a potentially dangerous situation, he said.

However, he noted that there had been a guilty plea, the company had a good record, and it was unlikely it would happen again.

He imposed a fine of 15,000, and gave MTL six months to pay.
Our blog community always supports fixing things and locals taking control of their devices.

Here's a nice pastime and local tech work . . .



A repair cafe brings together volunteers with experience fixing thingsanything from bikes to computers to clothing to household electronics togetherwith community members to help them fix their stuff. Its a simple concept that first started in the Netherlands about 15 years ago. Now, similar events are regularly hosted throughout the European Union and beginning to catch on in the United States, says Re.Use.Full founder and CEO Leslie Scott.



I think there is a desire for people to think about how to live more sustainably and their consumer choices are certainly playing into that, Scott said. If they can have something repaired rather than having to throw it away and take space in the landfill, they will.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
Are you one of the 2.5 million Ontarians looking for a family doctor? Ontarios Ministry of Health has advice on how to find one
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An all-new style!

With a history spanning almost 250 years, Perrelet, founded in 1777 by master watchmaker Abraham-Louis Perrelet, continues to surprise connoisseurs of fine mechanical watchmaking with many interesting proposals that, thanks to their versatility, become the perfect timepiece for any occasion. From the business world to gala events and urban life.

The Turbine Urban Skeleton is available in three different versions, each highlighted by a vibrant colour: grass green, electric blue or red, and introduces the cushion-shaped case instead of the traditional round one. These shades, which are already familiar from the many existing proposals, personalise the hour markers and seconds hand, but not the sub-dial, a missing element in this range of timepieces. For the first time, the rotating turbine brings watchmaking technology to the fore, with the unveiling of the new skeleton manufacture movement.

Turbine Urban Skeleton renews and extends the Turbine collections. A new and fresh look that reinforces a successful line that is steeped in the DNA of the brand that patented the iconic Turbine in 2009. A device which has since become Perrelet's unmistakable signature in the watchmaking panorama.

Turbine Urban Skeleton  Perrelet

The cushion-shaped case

Sixteen years after the launch of the first Turbine model, Perrelet is now venturing into a completely new design with the Turbine Urban Skeleton. The case of this iconic line, which over the years has been produced in various diameters and materials ranging from natural steel to black DLC or PVD-coated steel, titanium or the more innovative carbon fibre, has always retained its round shape, the most established in the watch industry.

Instead, this new creation adopts a cushion-shaped case, with soft and smooth lines, giving it a contemporary, casual-chic character. Made of black PDV-coated stainless steel, which makes it more resistant to scratches, it measures 42 mm in diameter and 12.35 mm in thickness. The bezel has a sophisticated appeal and is crafted with expert craftsmanship. Bevelled and polished on the outer profile, it takes on the geometry of an octagon, accentuated on the lugs, while the upper surface is satin-finished. The lugs also boast polished/brushed surfaces that play with light reflections, as does the vertical grooves that adorn the case-band. Special attention was paid to the crown, which follows the case shape.

This precious new case, water-resistant to 5 atmospheres, is completed by the anti-reflective sapphire crystal on the dial and the case-back secured by 4 screws.

The new Turbine Urban Skeleton iterations come with a black calfskin strap fastened to the wrist by a black PVD steel folding clasp with stitching matching the colour of the indices.

Turbine Urban Skeleton  Perrelet

The new dial makes its debut on the catwalk

Breaking the mould while remaining true to the "Turbine" product is not so obvious. The Turbine Urban Skeleton is the result of the proven expertise of the watchmaking team and the inexhaustible creativity of the Perrelet designers. A watch with well thought-out details that make it a captivating and trendy alternative, deserving to be part of a collection that has enjoyed worldwide success since its launch.

There are several new features that set this display apart from its close relatives. For the first time, the rotating turbine in black anodised aluminium, with five counterweights underneath, which allows it to rotate with the slightest movement of the wrist and to return to its resting position when the kinetic energy is exhausted, does not reveal the familiar sub-dial, but rather the exquisite movement that equips this timepiece. To make the calibre more visible, the number of blades has been reduced from 12 to 10. This arrangement leaves more space between them and thus a better view of the elements below. The faster the blades turn, the more the beauty of the new skeleton manufacture calibre is revealed, with its circular-grained bridges and refined finishes.

An absolute delight for lovers of fine mechanics, who can also admire the regulating organ, wheels and levers in action.

Turbine Urban Skeleton  Perrelet

The hour track is also new. The raised hour-markers are fixed to the minute flange and are suspended towards the turbine, giving the impression that they are floating in mid-air. Their new shape features a central groove, reminiscent of the decoration on the case middle. They also glow in the dark thanks to Super-LumiNova applied to the small square on each index. Available in electric blue, grass green or red, the indices become the elements that give each Turbine Urban Skeleton model its own identity. The hands have also been redesigned and are now slimmer. Profiled in black, they glow white in low light conditions to ensure excellent readability. The slender central seconds hand matches the shades of the indices, adding a touch of colour to a display dominated by the black Turbine.

The new P-331-SQ Skeleton self-winding calibre

Developed and manufactured 100% in-house by SOPROD, a sister company of Perrelet owned by the Spanish entrepreneur Miguel Rodriguez, to whom the brand also belongs, the newly developed P-331-SQ automatic movement powers the hour, minute and second functions.

Comprising 78 parts, this new calibre beats at a frequency of 4 Hz with 28,800 vibrations per hour and has a 42-hour power reserve when not worn on the wrist. It is a movement of proven precision and reliability, chronometer-certified by the prestigious Swiss independent institution: the COSC (Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronometres).

Turbine Urban Skeleton movement  Perrelet

These creations are finished in accordance with the highest standards of Swiss watchmaking. The mainplate is rhodium-plated, and both the upper and lower surfaces are decorated with a 2 mm circular-graining pattern. The same finish is applied to the elegant skeleton bridges of the gear-train, balance-wheel and barrel. Last but not least, the open-worked oscillating weight bearing the Maison's logo has a snailed surface with a soleil finish on the outer edge and is embellished with the Cotes de Geneve motif. Finally, to the delight of the most demanding connoisseurs, the precious decorations and the mechanism in action can be admired through the transparent sapphire crystal porthole on the case back.
By Nicole Lyons, January 27, 2025

Scheduling Update: Due to inclement weather, Michelle Taylors keynote presentation, "Harnessing the Power of Community," will now be a virtual event hosted via Zoom at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12.



Zoom Meeting Details

https://ucmo.zoom.us/j/89785061787?pwd=ZQkM7qlF8nzTTOfLw7Ta6ExHvQWEkM.1

Meeting ID: 897 8506 1787

Passcode: 216948

Michelle Taylor, Ph.D., an educator, writer, public speaker, community activist and social worker, will speak about building community at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12 at the University of Central Missouri (UCM).



One of the biggest lessons Taylor learned as a social worker is that nothing changes when people fight; positive changes only occur when we all work together. Taylor will share practical tips on how to build a sense of community and belonging with others and explain why it matters so much.



Taylors visit, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by The Center, the Office of Student Experience and Engagement and the Office of the Provost. It is part of the Distinguished Speaker Series at UCM, which was started in 2022 to bring new perspectives on a broad range of topics and issues to the campus and Warrensburg communities.



Twice named one of the 100 most influential people in Philadelphia and named one of the top 50 feminists in the world, Taylor is passionate about education, advocacy and social justice.



Taylor has a Ph.D. in Africology and African American Studies from Temple University, an M.S.W. in Organizational Leadership and Management from CUNY-Hunter College, and a B.A. in African American Studies and Sociology of Deviance and Law from the University of Pennsylvania. She is certified in Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, Executive Leadership in Social Impact Strategy, and Online Teaching.



Known on social media as Feminista Jones, she operates her own subscription-based platform and contributes to various publications as a freelancer and commissioned writer. Since 2013, Taylor has presented and lectured at colleges, universities and major conferences across the country.



In 2019, Taylor joined two of her closest friends to create Black Girl Missing, a true-crime podcast that focuses on the stories of missing African American girls in the United States. They have collaborated with Lifetime Network to raise awareness about missing Black women and girls.



In 2020, Taylor founded Sankofa Summer School. This annual academy offers a series of classes and workshops designed to educate people about the lives and work of Africana people throughout history. Instructors are scholars, activists and community leaders, and students are from all over the world.



Through her many personal and professional endeavors, Taylor is on a mission to promote educational accessibility, empower marginalized populations and advocate for social justice and equality on a global scale.



For more information, contact UCM Student Experience and Engagement at experience@ucmo.edu.
Santiago Constantino, an ophthalmologist at the University of Montreal, has discovered that after 6-12 months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts develop eye problems. The scientist gathered a group of researchers to identify the biomechanical changes responsible for this.

ADVERTISIMENT

According to a study published in the IEEE Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, at least 70% of astronauts on the ISS suffered from spaceflight-related neuroocular syndrome, or SANS. This is due to the low level of gravity (microgravity) in space, Phys Org writes.

During the study, the researchers analyzed data collected by the Canadian NASA team on 13 astronauts who spent 157 to 186 days on the ISS.

The researchers compared three ocular parameters before and after astronaut space missions: corneal stiffness, intraocular pressure, and eye pulse amplitude. As a result, they saw significant changes in the biomechanical properties of the astronauts' eyes: a 33% decrease in eyeball stiffness, an 11% decrease in intraocular pressure, and a 25% decrease in eye pulse amplitude. These changes were accompanied by symptoms such as a decrease in eye size, a change in the focal field, and some cases, optic nerve swelling and retinal folds. Scientists also found that five astronauts had choroidal thicknesses of more than 400 micrometers, which did not correlate with age, gender, or previous experience in space.

ADVERTISIMENT

"Weightlessness alters the distribution of blood in the body, increasing blood flow to the head and slowing venous circulation in the eye. This is likely to cause an expansion of the choroid, the vascular layer that feeds the retina," the ophthalmologist commented on the study results.

In addition, according to the researchers, blood pulsations in microgravity can create a water hammer effect, in which sudden changes in blood flow pressure cause a mechanical shock to the eye, leading to significant tissue remodeling.

However, according to scientists, after returning to Earth, the condition of the eyes normalizes after some time. According to them, wearing corrective glasses, in most cases, was sufficient to eliminate the symptoms that arose on board the ISS.

However, scientists are continuing their research and are cautiously assessing how vision might be affected by long-duration missions such as a flight to Mars. After all, the effects of prolonged exposure to microgravity on eye health remain unknown, and there are currently no preventive or palliative measures.

"The detected changes in the mechanical properties of the eye can serve as biomarkers for predicting the development of SANS (spaceflight-related neuroocular syndrome). This will help to identify astronauts at risk before they develop serious eye problems during long-term missions," Costantino said.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
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BJP dominated JPC clears own version of Waqf Act

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) Monday January 27, 2025 cleared the Waqf Amendment Bill (2024) accepting all proposals submitted by the BJP members and rejecting those of the opposition parties

Monday January 27, 2025 8:25 PM , ummid.com with inputs from Agencies

[Last and final meeting of the JPC Waqf was held in New Delhi today.]

New Delhi: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) Monday January 27, 2025 cleared the Waqf Amendment Bill (2024) accepting all proposals submitted by the BJP members and rejecting those of the opposition parties.

The opposition MPs slammed the JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal and accused him of subverting the democratic process.

The Narendra Modi government had introduced The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 08, 2024 proposing 44 amendments in The Waqf Act 1995.

The Bill was however referred to a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) after protests by the opposition parties. The JPC was supposed to submit its report by November 30, 2024. It was however extended till the last day of the 2025 Budget Session.

JPC accepts 14 amendments in Waqf Act

The JPC cleared the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 during its last meeting held in New Delhi Monday.

The Bill has been cleared by the Joint Parliamentary Committee with 14 amendments proposed by the BJP MPs after voting, JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal told the media after the meeting.

Pal also said the amendments moved by opposition parties MPs on almost all 44 amendments proposed by the government were rejected as they did not get the "majority support".

One of the more significant amendments cleared by the committee is that the existing Waqf properties cannot be questioned on the grounds of 'Waqf by user', which existed in the current law but will be omitted in the new version, if the properties are being used for religious purposes.

Opposition MPs denounce Jagdambika Pal

While slamming JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee termed him as the greatest blacklister of democracy saying no rules or procedures were followed during the meet.

It was a farcical exercise. We were not heard. Pal has acted in a dictatorial manner, he told reporters.

Today, they did everything that they had pre-decided. They did not allow us to speak anything. No rules and procedures have been followed, Kalyan Banerjee said.

We wanted to discuss the amendments clause-by-clause but did not let us speak at all. The JPC chairperson Jagdambika Pal moved the amendments and then declared them without listening to our points This is a bad day for democracy, he added.

Jagdambika Pal rejected the charge, and said the entire exercise was democratic, and the majority view prevailed.

"Opposition members moved hundreds of amendments in all 44 clauses and all of them were defeated by vote", he said.

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MIMA to spearhead Zed Certification drive in Malegaon

Malegaon Industries & Manufacturers Association (MIMA) has joined hands with Geete Infosis India to spearhead Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) Certification Scheme in Malegaon and the neighboring districts

Monday January 27, 2025 7:14 PM , ummid.com News Nework

Malegaon: Malegaon Industries & Manufacturers Association (MIMA) has joined hands with Geete Infosis India to spearhead Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) Certification Scheme in Malegaon and the neighboring districts.

MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification is an extensive drive by Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) to create awareness amongst MSMEs about Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) practices, and motivate and incentivise them for ZED Certification.

And, to create awareness about the Zed Certification Scheme, Malegaon Industries & Manufacturers Association (MIMA) and Geete Infosis have organized a workshop on Tuesday January 28, 2024 at 02:30 PM in the City.

All India Momin Conference Malegaon and different organisations working for powerloom, plastic, and soap manufacturing sectors have extended their support for the workshop to be held at Hajj Training Centre Hall in School No 1 Compound, Off City College in Malegaon.

We want to bring all textile, plastic, soap and other manufacturing units of Malegaon under the ZED Certification. The workshop to be held on Tuesday is the first step in this direction, Aleem Faizee, President of Malegaon Industries & Manufacturers Association (MIMA), said.

Talking to ummid.com Ashwin Geete, Managing Director of Geete Infosis, said the workshop is aimed at introducing the people of Malegaon about the Zed Certification Scheme and the associated benefits and incentives.

Simultaneously with the workshop, we have also devised a concrete plan to assist and guide the manufacturers and industrialists in Malegaon to get Zed Certificates as per the Ministry of MSME guidelines, he said.

For this purpose a 12-member team of Field Officers has been formalized that will work on the ground for the purpose, Ashwin said.

About Zed Certification

The Zed Certification Scheme was first envisioned by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi while addressing the 68th Independence Day.

We should manufacture goods in such a way that they carry zero defect and that our exported goods are never returned to us. We should manufacture goods with zero effect that they should not have a negative impact on the environment", he had said.

The ecosystem around ZED model is calibrated to make aware, assess and certify, counsel, handhold MSMEs and ensure that they rise up the ZED ladder, thus enhancing their competitiveness in the global marketplace. It also, as a consequence, provides career opportunities for the youth in India.

ZED Certification - Three Levels

MSME Sustainable Zed Certification can be attained in three levels after registering and taking Zed Pledge.

Zed Certification Level 1: Bronze Zed Certification Level 1: Silver Zed Certification Level 1: Gold

Every MSME joining the ZED Scheme will have to take a ZED Pledge before applying Bronze, Silver or Gold.

After taking the ZED Pledge, the MSME can apply for any Certification Level (Bronze, Silver, Gold) and would need to conform to all the requirements of the level applied for, in order to obtain the Certification.

All MSMEs registered with the UDYAM registration portal (of the MoMSME) will be eligible to participate in MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification and avail related benefits/incentives.

Subsidy and Incentives

Any number of units registered under one Udyam Registration can apply for subsidy under this Scheme. Each Unit (under one Udyam Registration) will need to apply for Certification separately to avail subsidy/benefits/incentives.

MSMEs will be given financial assistance/subsidy for obtaining for a ZED Certification Level. An MSME unit will get subsidy as per the following structure, on the cost of certification: Micro Enterprises: 80% Small Enterprises: 60% Medium Enterprises: 50%

Additional Subsidy:

There will be an additional subsidy of 10% for the MSMEs owned by Women/SC/ST Entrepreneurs OR MSMEs in NER/Himalayan/LWE/Island territories/aspirational districts. In addition to above, there will be an additional subsidy of 5% for MSMEs which are also a part of the SFURTI OR Micro & Small Enterprises - Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) of the Ministry.

MSMEs may opt for upgrading their Certification Level at any point of time before the expiry of validity of their existing ZED Certification. Cost and subsidy will remain the same for the applied Level.

A limited-purpose joining reward of Rs. 10,000/- will be offered to each MSME once they take the ZED Pledge which needs to be utilized within a defined time period for the purpose defined as per the following modalities:

This joining reward may be used by an applicant MSME only once while applying for a ZED Certification (Bronze, Silver, Gold). If the joining reward is used for any Certification, then the cost of the reward will be first deducted from the cost of Certification and then the Subsidy may apply if applicable. The joining reward will be valid only for 1 year after taking the ZED Pledge.

[With inputs from Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) website where one can also find more details about the scheme.]



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'Threat to our existence': Palestinians slam Trump's 'clean out' Gaza plan

Resistance Groups Sunday January 26, 2025 fired back at U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial suggestion of 'forceful displacement' of Palestinians from Gaza

Monday January 27, 2025 12:15 PM , ummid.com News Network

Gaza: Resistance Groups Sunday fired back at U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial suggestion of 'forceful displacement' of Palestinians from Gaza.

In a strongly worded rebuttal Sunday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said any such plan is threat to the very existence of the Palestinian people.

In a suggestion aimed at achieving what the Israeli Occupation Forces could not achieve despite killing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, Trump asked Jordan and Egypt to allow Palestinians in Gaza to re-locate in their countries.

"I told him [King Abdullah] that I'd like you to take on more because Gaza is a mess, a real mess," Trump said.

"I'd like Jordan to take people, and I'd like Egypt to take people. Ill talk to Gen. Al-Sisi tomorrow. You're talking about a million and a half people. We just clean out that whole thing, the maverick U.S. President said while talking to reporters on Air Force One en route to Miami.

'Ethnic Cleansing'

The proposal was rejected by Palestinians with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) saying it would violate its red lines, while Gaza residents, who firmly held their ground despite facing genocide and massacre aimed at forcesful displacement in the last 15 months, insisted they would remain in the coastal enclave.

We emphasise that the Palestinian people will never abandon their land or their holy sites, and we will not allow the repetition of the catastrophes (Nakba) of 1948 and 1967. Our people will remain steadfast and will not leave their homeland, the PA said in a statement released Sunday.

The PA urged Trump to sustain the Gaza ceasefire agreement, ensure full withdrawal of Israeli forces, establish the PA as the governing body in the enclave, and advance efforts towards the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Elham al-Shabli, a Palestinian citizen, while rejecting Trump's proposal said, If we wanted to leave, we would have done that a long time ago. The genocidal war they are waging will achieve nothing against the Palestinians and we will remain despite what happens."

Talking to Al Jazeera from Nuseirat in central Gaza, another Palestinian citizen Nafiz Halawa said they will never accept such proposal.

The weak might leave because of the suffering they have endured, but the idea of us leaving our country is absolutely impossible", he said.

Also Read: The Wider Goal of Israel in Gaza

Hamas, which recently entered into an uneasy ceasefire with Israel, rejected the idea. Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau, told AFP that Palestinians would "foil such projects", as they have done to similar plans "for displacement and alternative homelands over the decades".

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which has been fighting alongside Hamas in Gaza for over 15 months, called Trumps comments an encouragement of war crimes.

Jordans Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also said the countrys rejection of displacement is fixed and unchangeable.

He also said that Amman will look forward to working with the Trump administration in advancing efforts toward recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state.

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The iconic 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, made of 1 kg of pure gold, was the main exhibit in the exhibition "Dacia - The Land of Gold and Silver," which showcased ancient Dacian treasures on loan from Romania. However, during a daring robbery at the Drenthe Museum in Assen, the Netherlands, the attackers planted explosives and stole the iconic helmet and royal bracelets.

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The golden helmet was used by the Dacian nobility and was lent to the Drenthe Museum by the National Historical Museum of Romania in Bucharest. According to experts, the stolen artifacts symbolize the advanced metalworking skills of the Dacians and their wealth derived from the gold-rich Transylvanian Ore Mountains, Arkeonews reports.

Reaction to the robbery

The robbery drew strong reactions from Dutch and Romanian officials. Drenthe Museum director Harry Tupan called the incident "a black day for the museum and our Romanian colleagues," noting that in the museum's 170-year history it had never faced such a significant crime.

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The mayor of Assen, Marco Out, expressed shock at the robbery. He said that numerous government agencies, including the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are involved in the investigation.

The Dutch authorities have activated mechanisms of cross-border cooperation and involved Interpol in the search for the stolen treasures.

According to scholars, the theft of the Cotofenesti helmet and other Dacian artifacts is a significant blow to efforts to preserve and showcase the cultural heritage of ancient civilizations. These objects not only represent historical craftsmanship, but also serve as symbols of Romanian identity and history.

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The history of the golden helmet

It is difficult to overestimate the Cotofenesti helmet, which dates back to 400 BC. Scientists attribute it to the Geto-Dacian culture and assume that it belonged to an unknown king, experts write on the History and Archaeology Facebook page.

According to historians, the most interesting thing is the helmet's carvings, which contain a number of mythical creatures and illustrations of ritual sacrifice. Both sides depict a ram with a human figure standing over it, armed with a short knife.

Experts suggest that this ram sacrifice could have been performed by a "king-priest-god". The image has been interpreted as scenes from the Mysteries of Mithras - the killing of a bull by Mithras, the Roman god.

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The helmet also depicts a series of three winged creatures with human faces, long forearms, and long tails, which are probably related to Iranian sphinx images. The winged mythical beasts below are griffins or even simurghs, experts say.

Interestingly, the front of the helmet depicts eyes, which could serve as protection from vicious blows, or as evidence of the hawkish vision of the headdress wearer.

Other decorations, such as "peas", patterns separating creatures, and a spiral, are specific motifs of Geto-Dak art, historians say.

It is known that the golden helmet was accidentally found by a boy named Traian in 1929 in the village of Poiana Cotofenesti, now Verbileu, Romania.

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Middle school and high schoolers now have the opportunity to engage in advanced STEM research through summer courses, thanks to New York University's Center for K12 STEM Education's free programs.

Every year, thousands of students enroll, with applications going upwards of almost 5,000 in 2024. There are close to a dozen classes offered within NYU's Tandon School of Engineering, which will look at such classes as artificial intelligence, protein engineering, and even digital media.

For half the free classes, The 74 Million reported that preference should be given by the administration and faculty for kids from lower and underrepresented socioeconomic groups or, for that matter, children belonging to races from underrepresented cultures.

The Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering, or ARISE program, is free for high school students and allows them to experience 10 weeks of tuition-free research alongside New York University professors and students in university labs.

The projects have ranged from studying ancient African tools to understanding human behavior to analyzing the links between cerebral spinal fluid and depression as well as developing FloodNet NYC, a $7 million city-funded project designed to monitor water levels in New York City. The program gives students hands-on experience that extends far beyond typical classroom education.

Other programs the center offers include Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Science of Smart Cities. This free course lets students apply their electronics and coding skills to solve urban challenges while learning how to market their ideas.

Students even participate in Shark Tank-style presentations to pitch their projects to entrepreneurs. These programs teach practical skills and inspire students to create innovative solutions for real-world problems in their communities.

How NYU Chose These Free Programs

NYU works with local educators to design and evaluate these courses, keeping them relevant to current STEM trends. Teachers act as supervisors and curriculum developers, incorporating cutting-edge practices into lesson plans. This partnership keeps the center's programs connected to both academic research and real-world STEM applications.

Essays, teacher recommendations, and interviews make the program find passionate students showing curiosity and interest in STEM. According to Ben Esner, director of the center, showing students in-depth opportunities in STEM helps them see science and math applied to real-life problems. Application deadlines vary, from February to May for most programs.
The termination of funding for USAID projects in Ukraine by U.S. President Donald Trump will not have a critical impact on social sector funding. The fact is that Ukraine receives funds for social assistance to the population mostly under other programs.

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This was stated by the Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovych at the press briefing "A Year of Changes and Achievements in Social Protection." "The suspension of non-military aid from the United States has not yet affected the financing of our projects in Ukraine," the head of the Ministry of Social Policy said.

According to her, Ukraine has "a large number of agreements" with partners from Europe, the UK, and the World Bank. In addition, American aid for Ukrainian state social programs did not go through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

"The suspension of American funding does not apply to large projects that are included in the budget. It concerns support for the public sector," Zholnovych said.

According to her, the Ministry of Social Policy is currently analyzing the consequences of the termination of funding for USAID projects. In particular, it is being established which of the many contractors were left without financial support.

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"Since we have a large number of partners, I can't say yet for which of them the funding will stop, we are just finding out. But in general, the situation is not critical for us," the minister said.

USAID programs in Ukraine are on pause: what is known

On Friday, January 24, the U.S. State Department issued a "shutdown" order for all existing foreign aid and suspended new aid to comply with President Donald Trump's order. Representatives of the USAID agency, which is responsible for non-military US assistance to other countries, were also instructed to suspend projects related to Ukraine.

The suspension is expected to last 85 days. After that, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will submit a report to Trump indicating which foreign aid programs should be continued and which should be permanently closed. The purpose of the review is to assess whether each program meets the political goals of the US administration.

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Among the frozen projects in Ukraine are school support and health care assistance, including emergency maternal care and childhood vaccinations, USAID officials said. According to media reports, Ukrainian diplomats and US officials are trying to exclude Ukraine from Trump's directive. In particular, the Financial Times reported that representatives of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the US State Department urged the US Secretary of State to consider removing Ukraine from the audit altogether, given its critical situation.

At the same time, Svitlana Musiiaka, senior associate researcher at the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO), warned of possible negative consequences of the termination of USAID funding in Ukraine. However, as she noted, specific changes depend on many nuances.

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"The most important thing is the signal we will receive based on the results of the final decision. It could be interpreted as a decrease in US support for democratic reforms and economic stability in Ukraine," Musiiaka said.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for non-military assistance to other countries. It was founded in 1961 and operates in 158 countries.

In Ukraine, USAID provides assistance in such areas as economic development, democracy and governance, energy security, health care, and the social sector. Since the start of the full-scale war on February 24, 2022, the agency has provided more than $2.6 billion in humanitarian assistance and another $5 billion in development assistance. In addition, $30 billion in direct budget support was allocated.

As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, the Pentagon confirmed that US President Donald Trump's decree to suspend international support does not affect military assistance to Ukraine. All contracts concluded by the Joe Biden administration for the manufacture and supply of weapons to Ukraine remain in force.

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ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 27th Jan, 2025) ADNOC Gas plc today announced the signing of a $450 million (AED1.653 billion) three-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreement with JERA Global Markets Pte. Ltd.

The agreement reaffirms ADNOC Gas' position as a reliable global supplier of clean energy while supporting Japan's energy requirements.

The LNG will be supplied from ADNOC Gas Das Island liquefaction facility, which has a production capacity of approximately 6.0 million tons per annum (mtpa).

As the world's third longest-operating LNG plant, Das Island has shipped over 3,500 LNG cargoes worldwide since beginning operations.

Fatema Al Nuaimi, Chief Executive Officer of ADNOC Gas, said, "This agreement builds on the robust UAE-Japan energy relationship and decades of collaboration between ADNOC Gas and JERA solidifying our shared commitment to ensuring energy security and enabling a lower-carbon future.

We will continue to support Japans energy needs and reinforce our position as a reliable partner in the global LNG market.



Kazunori Kasai, Chief Optimisation Officer, JERA Co., Inc. and Chairman, JERA Global Markets, said, As a utility-backed trader, JERA Global Markets purpose is to provide energy security to the communities that we serve.

This supply agreement with our long-standing partner ADNOC Gas reflects the active measures we take to ensure that our global portfolio remains diverse, flexible, and competitive.

As a lower-carbon energy source, LNG plays a critical role in global efforts to transition to cleaner energy solutions. This agreement aligns with both companies ambitions to advance sustainable energy practices.

ADNOC Gas Das Island LNG facilities have been supplying LNG to Japanese energy companies for 48 years.

This latest agreement, building upon a similar 2023 supply agreement, further cements the legacy of collaboration between the UAE and Japan, reflecting ADNOC Gas' role as a preferred LNG supplier to key global markets.


ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) The embassy of China in Pakistan on Monday categorically said that China has always supported the construction of Gwadar Port and the development of Balochistan.

Chinese Embassy's spokesperson while replying on the article said, "We have noted that the recent article in The Guardian, allegedly quoted the remarks of a Chinese diplomat, which is completely untrue."

He said that the rhetoric and wording imposed is obviously not credible, lacking the basic understanding of Chinas position.

The spokesperson said that the authors practice of unilaterally fabricating false information without prior consent for an interview violates professional ethics and breaches basic respect for the common understanding.

He said that over the past year, with joint efforts of our two countries, series of positive progress has been made.

The spokesperson said, "In March last year, we provided US$100,000 in emergency cash assistance for disaster relief work in Balochistan."

In May, China transported 10,000 sets of solar lighting equipment to be distributed in Balochistan, he added.

"Similarly, in June, we handed over the Gwadar China-Pakistan Friendship Hospital and Gwadar desalination plant."

He said, "In July, we organized a media delegation from Balochistan to visit China while in August, 20,000 sets of health kits were distributed to Balochistan."

"In October, the new Gwadar International Airport was successfully completed and in November, we organized delegations from all walks of life in Gwadar to visit China."

He said that in December, outstanding Pakistani staff of the CPEC project, including those in Balochistan were awarded.

"The embassy will soon award Chinese Ambassador Scholarships to students in Balochistan University, Sardar Bahadur Khan University and Gwadar University," he added.

He said that those tangible achievements represent Chinas determination and confidence for the development of Gwadar and Balochistan.

"We sincerely hope that China-Pakistan practical cooperation and livelihood projects can better benefit the local people."
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (OP&HRD) was taking various measures to provide all possible facilities to Overseas Pakistan across the globe to invest for the prosperity and development of the country.

According to an official source, the government was committed to facilitate all business community of Pakistanis those are living abroad to invest in the homeland to boost the national economy.

The Government of Pakistan attaches high priority to the overseas Pakistanis and is keen to promote, nurture and sustain a mutually beneficial and symbiotic relationship between Pakistan and Overseas Pakistanis.

Overseas Pakistanis can contribute much more than making foreign exchange remittances.

Their role in image building, transfer of technology, and investment growth is important and with sustained efforts Overseas Pakistanis can produce tangible results.

Today, in Pakistan, there are substantial investment opportunities with an active privatization initiative, large infrastructure-related investment projects (especially under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), growth in local consumption and a largely untapped export potential.

With a massive diaspora of highly qualified Pakistani executives and a large reserve of domestic talent, capital

investing in Pakistan is entering a sustained and rewarding phase. The growth and return potential in Pakistan has yet to be unlocked by domestic and international investors.

To facilitate Overseas Pakistanis for investment in Pakistan, an 'Investment & Facilitation Centre for Overseas Pakistanis' has been established at OPF, Head Office, Islamabad.

The IFC is mandated to respond to queries on all investment related opportunities, regulatory framework and incentives

offered in Pakistan.
(@FahadShabbir)

MIRPUR (AJK) , (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point news - 27th Jan, 2025) Veteran Human Rights Activist and Chairman of International Forum for Justice Human Rights J&K, Muhammad Ahsan Untoo in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on Monday paid heartfelt tributes to the innocent Kashmiri victims of the Hundwara Massacre on the 35th anniversary of their gruesome killing by the Indian occupational forces in the occupied state, said a report received here on Monday from across the Line of Control (LoC).

In a statement, issued in occupied Srinagar, Untoo said that it was tragic that no word from the government of India on hearing pending in scores of the human rights violations cases in IIOJK was responded.

He demanded that international Human Rights institutions including UNHRC, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Criminal Court, European parliamentarians counsel, the European Union, British parliament members, the House of Commons House of Senators, Washington and other world powers to exert pressure on India to stop Human Rights violations in the strife-torn IIOJK, where Kashmiris had launched the struggle for their globally recognized right to self-determination under the spirit of the international norms and commitments.

Elaborating the prevailing agony inside the IIOJK, the Kashmiri human rights activist said "There is no word from the Indian Home Minister and Defence Minister offices in New Delhi besides the "authorities" in Jammu & Kashmir to resume hearing of over 500+ previous cases of Human Rights violations in Jammu & Kashmir, lying pending before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) before it was closed after the revocation of Kashmirs semi-autonomous status".

Untoo continued that following the revocation of Article 370 on 5th August 2019, New Delhi closed the SHRC which was largely seen in line with Prime Minister, Narendra Modis, policy to deal toughly with the freedom-monger Kashmiris.

"Even as the Government Of India (GoI) has extended the reach of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to the occupied Jammu Kashmir, Rights Activists Untoo said that the body did not hold regular hearings and the lack of bench in Kashmir was making it difficult for them to reach out to it.

Muhammad Ahsaan Untoo said that "NHRC routinely dismisses pleas. People cant go to Delhi to follow up the cases, he said.

He observed that the lack of Human Rights bodies in IIOJK had come at a time when the Indian government forces had been accused of human rights violations.

"A police inquiry revealed that three youths of Rajouri were killed in Kashmir by the Indian army personnel in a staged gun battle, after two days three students were killed at Lawaypora Srinagar, seven standard students, killed at Jral Gund, Hundwara", he revealed, according to the report.

Untoo said that besides closing down the SHRC, Modis government had imposed a martial law-like situation.

He remembered saying that at the peak of militancy in the 1990s, scores of people were killed in action by Indian occupational forces, but no action was initiated against personnel responsible of the genocide of the innocent Kashmiris.

The Kashmiri rights activist further said "On January 25, 1990, 34 people fell to bullets of the Indian paramilitary BSF men in Handwara area of Kupwara district. On the fateful day, it happened barely four days after the Gaw Kadal massacre in Srinagar where 52 unarmed civilians were shot dead by the paramilitary CRPF men. 22nd January Alamgir Bazar Massacre 10 Civilians were killed.

To this date the government of India Modi, Amit Shah, Susheel Kumar Shanday, Shiv Raj Patil, Mufti Muhammad Syed, Farooq Abdullah, Umer Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti, rejected SHRC recommendations, have no answer to our queries as to what led to this massacre", he underlined and added that those killed were not militants but civilians who were protesting peacefully, Untoo said.

Since the Handwara massacre remains a blot on the face of Indian democracy, Indian Prime Minister Modi, his Government, Home Minister Amit Shah, I demand a transparent and fresh probe into the incident by the sitting High Court Judge, Untoo added, the report concluded.

APP/ahr/378
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) Pakistan on Monday condemned the attack at a Saudi hospital in El Fasher city of Sudan which killed around 70 people, calling it a clear violation of international law.

"The attack leading to the unfortunate deaths reportedly of seventy people clearly violates international law and puts innocent civilians at grave risk.

Pakistan extends its deepest sympathies to the victims and their families," according to a Foreign Office statement.

It said that the attack underscored the urgent need to uphold the sanctity of healthcare facilities and adhere to the principles of international humanitarian law.

"Pakistan believes that the conflict can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. We express our full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sudan," the statement added.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed the relevant authorities to further strengthen the legal framework to curb human smuggling.

The prime minister, chairing the maiden meeting of the task force formed to curb human smuggling asked the interior ministry to extend cooperation to the law ministry for the purpose.

Calling for a swift enforcement of the Federal Prosecution Act 2023, he asked the Federal Investigation Agency to submit the data on human smugglers collected during the investigation to the Foreign Office to ensure their early extradition.

The prime minister ordered the issuance of red warrants of proclaimed offenders in human smuggling cases, emphasising collective effort to do away with the menace.

He also instructed for an accelerated induction of the required workforce for the arrest and prosecution of human smugglers.

Prime Minister Shehbaz told the meeting that 27 human smugglers involved in the Morocco boat capsizing incident had been identified and five of them had already been arrested.

Federal Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema and relevant senior officers attended the meeting.
CHICHAWATNI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) The police on Monday apprehended three suspects and recovered illegal weapons from their custody in Kassowal town.

The police spokesperson said, a police team arrested the accused during patrolling and recovered four guns, three pistols and a large number of cartridges from their possessions.

The police registered a case against them and launched further investigation.

APP/mjm/378
(@FahadShabbir)

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) In the ever-evolving world of e-commerce, a new generation of women online entrepreneurs is becoming increasingly prominent, marking a significant shift in the digital landscape.

With the internet as their catalyst, numerous women have embarked on careers in online entrepreneurship and transforming their passions into successful businesses, empowering others to pursue their own entrepreneurial dreams." A successful online entrepreneur Saman Taha recently shared her inspiring journey and said, "I never imagined I could turn my passion into a career, but the internet has opened doors for women like me to build businesses and reach a global audience.".

"As an online clothing entrepreneur, I earn a handsome profit, support my family, and enjoy the flexibility and fulfilment that comes with being my own boss."

"I'm grateful to be part of the online business revolution, which is empowering countless individuals like me to turn their passions into profitable ventures from the comfort of my own home", she added.

"Another successful online entrepreneur Samra Jabeen, who has built a thriving business selling makeup accessories, shared her inspiring story and said that with a massive following and significant earnings, she has proof that online entrepreneurship can be a lucrative and fulfilling career path.

"I have been able to connect with customers from all over the world and build a loyal community around my brand,' she explained. 'The internet has truly democratized entrepreneurship, allowing me to turn my passion into a profitable business.'"

She further said that with the rise of website builders, social media, and e-commerce platforms, women can now launch and grow online businesses with relative ease.

"Empower yourself financially and professionally by joining the online business world and experiencing the rewards of being your own boss," she said.
(@FahadShabbir)

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) The University of Agriculture Peshawar, under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Professor Jehan Bakht, on Monday inaugurated a 10 KW solar system at the Amir Muhammad Khan (AMK) Campus in Mardan.

The solar system, funded by the Higher education Commission (HEC), marked a significant step towards sustainable energy.

The inauguration ceremony was led by Prof Jehan Bakht, who unveiled the solar system plaque and activated the system.

The event was attended by Director AMK Campus Dr Muhammad Israr, Deputy Director Fazal Munsif, Co-DT Dr Shaista Naz, Dr Shehzad Ahmed, Dr Amjad Ali Shah Bacha, and Dr Hajira Bibi, Assistant Professor at Khyber Medical University Peshawar.

Dr Muhammad Israr welcomed the Vice-Chancellor and other dignitaries and provided a briefing on the project.

He explained that the solar system, costing approximately 1.5 million rupees, was installed under the HEC-funded initiative.

With a power production capacity of 10 KW, the system is expected to significantly reduce the campuss electricity expenses and bring financial benefits to the university.

Vice-Chancellor Jehan Bakht praised the efforts of the campus administration, the Solarization Committee, and the Director of Works.

He emphasized that the projects completion would yield long-term benefits, ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply.

He highlighted that the University of Agriculture Peshawar is pioneering the Green Energy Initiative, becoming the first university to take this step towards environmental sustainability.

"The solar system will not only reduce financial burdens on the university and the AMK Campus but also play a role in mitigating environmental pollution," he stated.

He further announced that work was underway on another solar project, which would be completed soon, reinforcing the university's commitment to clean energy and sustainability.
Doha, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) A Canadian ex-soldier detained by the Taliban government in Afghanistan was freed on Sunday after over two months of imprisonment in a deal brokered by Qatar, a source with knowledge of the release told AFP.

David Lavery was detained by Taliban authorities in Kabul in November 2024 and had made headlines three years earlier helping in the evacuation of Afghans during the withdrawal of US and allied forces from the country.

"Lavery has been released from Afghanistan and is now in Doha, Qatar," the source said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, adding his freedom "was secured following a request from the Canadian government to Qatar.

"

"Qatari mediators coordinated with senior Canadian officials and utilised their contacts in Afghanistan to dispatch a medical team to Kabul to assess Lavery's condition and provide care, while also facilitating contact between Lavery and his family," the source said.

"Following a breakthrough in the talks, Mr Lavery (is) in Doha now united with his family. He underwent a medical assessment upon his arrival," the source added.

"I just spoke with David Lavery upon his safe arrival in Qatar from Afghanistan," Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a post on X.

"He is in good spirits," she added, thanking Qatar for helping to obtain his release.




Democrats

Ascontinue their election post-mortems, they ought to do an autopsy on one of their favorite words of 2024: weird.

When Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called Republicans "weird" as he auditioned to be Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, the word became a viral hit and a staple of the campaign. Voters, however, never seemed to buy it.

Maybe being weird is cool. People do love "Weird Al" Yankovic. And for some Texans, "Keep Austin Weird" is a way of life. But more likely, voters have a different definition of weird than the Democrats and pundits who used it.

When I RVed across the country last fall, I spoke with Chris Gibbs , a cattle, corn and soybean farmer who leads the Democratic organization in Shelby County, Ohio . Around there, he said, a Democrat is thought to be someone with "a nose ring and blue hair." He should know: He's a former Republican.

That perception, he said, has pushed local Democrats into hiding, too sheepish to publicly declare their support for the party. He started a "Citizen of the Month" campaign to bring them out of the woodwork.

He also led local party members through an exercise: identifying their values. Not the policies they support  "policy is dynamic," he said  but the values that define their identity. It was a recognition by Gibbs that voters make decisions based more on value perceptions than policy positions.

After arriving at a list of values (such as belief in equal rights, the rule of law, free speech and solution-focused government) and principles (including affordable health care, responsible gun ownership and a living wage), Gibbs printed it up and, for the first time in a decade, got the party a tent at the county fair. He arranged a prime spot: next to the 4-H Club , perfect for talking with parents  even if they were afraid to get caught chatting.

"People were trying to sneak into our tent," he told me. "They'd say, I didn't want to be seen, but I just want to come in and say: Good, thanks, bye.' And they'd run."

It's one of many ways he's trying to make the party more visible in the county, to make it safer for Democrats to come out of hiding  to normalize them.

Gibbs is the kind of Midwesterner that Democrats need to hear from as they attempt to stop the party from hemorrhaging voters, especially those who are not college graduates. Another is Robin Johnson , a political consultant from western Illinois who co-authored a 2018 report with then-Congresswoman Cheri Bustos about how the party could regain its footing in the Midwest. It was based on dozens of interviews with rural Democratic politicians, but garnered little interest among party leaders.

"The really frustrating thing," Johnson told me, "is a lot of the recommendations we made don't require much money: organizing back at the block level, the neighborhood level, and making the face of the party local people in the community," just as Gibbs is trying to do.

"When I got training in campaigns," Johnson said, "the old saying was, Yard signs don't vote.' They were minimized. But if you're in a heavy Republican rural area and somebody puts a Democratic yard sign in their yard, that gives license to say, Hey, it's OK, other people are doing it.'"

As I drove across the country, I saw few Democratic signs in rural areas  not because Democrats didn't live there, but because either the party hasn't organized them or they feel too lonely to step out. "The party," Johnson said, "continues to do a top-down approach, heavily focused on TV ads, which I just don't think are as effective as they used to be."

The party's failure to organize at the rural level, Johnson said, has contributed to its cultural disconnect. "At the doorstep," he said, "you not only find out what to say, but how regular people talk."

Green jobs? Build Back Better? "Nobody talks like that," Johnson said  not to mention other ivory-tower terms that voters hear from the Democratic side of the aisle, like justice-involved individuals, cisgender, Latinx and White privilege.

National Democrats tend to use language that makes them seem more concerned with Miss Manners than Joe Sixpack, out of fear that they might offend a constituency and be attacked as Neanderthals. But as Donald Trump has proved, campaigns are not cordiality contests.

Nevertheless, Johnson said, "There are university and big city people trying to advise rural candidates on what to say. And it's like, 'Are you kidding me?'" Making matters worse, he said, "they still also send in volunteers from cities down to rural areas to go knock doors, which is just a dumb idea."

I have to admit: When Democratic friends of mine from Manhattan would tell me they were spending the weekend door-knocking in Pennsylvania , I'd wonder if they would be doing more harm than good, by reinforcing perceptions of the party as urban outsiders.

By failing to mount an effective response to the GOP's efforts to "otherize" it as coastal, elite and out-of-touch on immigration, gender, crime, education and other issues, Democrats became more associated with unpopular social positions than popular economic ones. Among voters who named the economy as their top issue, an astounding 79% went for Trump.

There is no shortage of rural campaign veterans, like Gibbs and Johnson, who understand what it will take for the Democratic Party to reconnect with Trump voters.

Whether national leaders and activists will listen to them remains to be seen. But given November's losses and the shrinking size of the party, ignoring them would be, well, weird.

Previously:

(COMMENT, BELOW)
Alexander Lukashenko is winning the so-called presidential election in Belarus, according to preliminary "calculations" by the Central Election Commission. About 86.82% of voters allegedly voted for the dictator.

ADVERTISIMENT

This was reported by the state Belarusian news agency BELTA, citing a statement by the head of the CEC, Igor Karpenko. According to him, 86.82% of voters voted for the current illegitimate president.

The second place was taken by Serhiy Sirankov with 3.21%, and the third place was taken by Oleh Haidukevych (2.02%).

At the same time, 3.60% of citizens who took part in the elections voted against all candidates.

The "elections" took place on January 26, and the total turnout, according to official Minsk, exceeded 80%. The final press conference of the Central Election Commission of Belarus, dedicated to the preliminary results of the presidential "elections", will be held on January 27.

ADVERTISIMENT

The European Commission has stated that Lukashenko's "election" is fictitious and lacks legitimacy.

According to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and European Commissioner for Enlargement Martha Kos, Lukashenko's regime invited ODIHR/OSCE observers only 10 days before the election, which deprived this independent body of access to key stages of the process.

"This is another proof of the complete lack of credibility of these 'elections'. As soon as Belarus embarks on the path of democratic transformation, the EU is ready to support the country in stabilizing its economy and reforming its institutions," the statement reads.

As a reminder, early voting was announced in Belarus on January 21, and the main election day took place on January 26.

This is Lukashenko's seventh election in a row. According to a survey of participants, the votes were allegedly distributed as follows:

ADVERTISIMENT

- for Alexander Lukashenko - 87.6%;

- against all - 5.1%;

- for Sergey Syrankov - 2.7%;

- for Oleg Gaidukevich - 1.8%;

- for Anna Kanopatska - 1.6%;

- Alexandr Khyzhnyak - 1.2%.

If the pro-government exit polls are confirmed by the CEC, the dictator will break his own record for official support:

- in the second round of 1994, he gained 80.34%;

- in the 2001 elections - 75.65%;

- in the 2006 elections - 82.97%:

- in the 2010 elections - 79.65%;

- in the 2015 elections - 83.47%;

- in the 2020 elections - 80.1%.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus assured that gross violations of law and order in the so-called elections "were not allowed" and "the situation is under control."

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that the results of the voting in Belarus are known in advance. Our country has no reason to consider these so-called elections a "people's will", as Belarus does not even have the basic conditions for such an event.

On January 22, the European Parliament called for not recognizing Lukashenko as a legitimate president because of the sham election in Belarus.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Goma, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) The Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday called for the United Nations to sanction Rwanda, accusing its neighbour of issuing a "declaration of war" by sending more troops over the border.

Kinshasa said the reinforcements were joining fighters with the Rwandan-backed M23 force closing in on Goma, capital of DRCongo's North Kivu province.

Already backed by several thousand Rwandan soldiers, the M23 has in recent days advanced against Congolese troops defending the city.

Around a dozen foreign peacekeepers have been killed in the escalating clashes, and UN chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday called on Kigali to pull its armed forces out of the country.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council Sunday brought forward by a day in response to the crisis, Kinshasa's top diplomat warned that fresh Rwandan troops were pouring over the border "in an open and deliberate violation of our national sovereignty.

"This is a frontal assault, a declaration of war that no longer hides behind diplomatic artifice," said Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner.

Between 500 and 1,000 Rwandan soldiers arrived on Sunday to reinforce the M23 near Goma, UN sources told AFP.

Kayikwamba urged the UN body -- the only UN institution with the power to impose binding resolutions on its members -- to "impose targeted sanctions including asset freezes and travel bans" on Rwandan officials in response.

- 'Cease support' -

Both the DRC and Rwanda have withdrawn their diplomats from each other's capitals in a breakdown of relations.

After peace talks between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DRC's Felix Tshisekedi were cancelled in mid-December, the M23 quickly advanced towards Goma.

The strategic city is home to more than a million residents and nearly as many displaced people.

In the city centre, heavy detonations have been echoing since dawn on Sunday, according to AFP correspondents in Goma, while most businesses were closed.

As the fighting drew closer, new columns of displaced people arrived in the city, while a Rwandan drone struck DRC positions just a few kilometres north of Goma.

With Rwanda's intervention drawing a growing chorus of international condemnation, the African Union and United States this weekend added their voices to demands for an immediate ceasefire.

Ahead of the emergency meeting UN Secretary-General Guterres on Sunday urged Kigali to withdraw its support for the M23.

Guterres called "on the M23 to immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas" and for Rwanda "to cease support to the M23 and withdraw from DRC territory", according to a statement by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

- Mineral export ban -

Up till now the UN Security Council has never named Rwanda as a party in the conflict.

But a UN experts' report charged that Kigali was using the M23 to secure access to the DRC's mineral wealth, exporting it abroad for its own gain.

Kinshasa's Kayikwamba called on the Security Council to impose a "total embargo on the export of all minerals labelled as Rwandan, in particular gold".

Late on Saturday the DRC said it was pulling its diplomats from Kigali in a letter to Rwanda's embassy in Kinshasa.

Rwanda's Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe then told AFP that Kigali had "evacuated" its final diplomat from the DRC on Friday "as he was under regular threats by Congolese officials".

Goma was briefly occupied at the end of 2012 by the M23, or March 23 Movement, but the group withdrew after a deal.

It was militarily defeated by DRC forces and the UN in 2013 but regrouped several years later.

Half a dozen ceasefires and truces have already been declared and broken in the region. The last ceasefire was signed at the end of July.

- Peacekeeper deaths -

For more than 30 decades the eastern DRC has been riven with violence, with rival armed groups and ethnic militias vying for supremacy.

The central African country is also home to some 15,000 peacekeepers, many with the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or MONUSCO.

On Saturday, three countries announced the deaths of a total of 13 soldiers serving as peacekeepers in the conflict zone.

The dead included members of the UN forces as well as a southern African regional peacekeeping mission.

Nine of the victims were from South Africa, another three were Malawian and the last one was from Uruguay.

In response to the violence UN has begun evacuating "non-essential" staff from Goma to neighbouring Uganda and to the Congolese capital Kinshasa.

bur-dhc/sbk/jj

X
(@FahadShabbir)

Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) The Kremlin said Monday it was still waiting for "signals" from the United States about a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and newly-inaugurated US counterpart Donald Trump.

The leaders of both countries said last week they were ready for contact but neither side has indicated when or how.

"So far, we have not received any signals from the Americans. The readiness remains. The same readiness, as we have heard, remains on the American side," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The nearly three-year Ukraine conflict has plunged relations between the two nuclear powers to their lowest levels since the Cold War.

Trump, who took office on January 20, told reporters on Thursday he was willing to meet Putin "immediately" to reach a deal to end the fighting.

Putin on Friday praised Trump as a "smart" and "pragmatic" man, saying the conflict might not have started in 2022 had he been president.

Kyiv has warned against it being excluded from any peace talks between the two leaders, accusing Putin of wanting to "manipulate" Trump.
Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights, doubling down on his immigration crackdown as he sought to silence a chorus of defiance in Latin America.

Trump, back into office for less than a week, said he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on Colombian products that would rise to 50 percent in a week.

His authority to do so was unclear as Colombia, historically one of Washington's closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.

Trump also said he would immediately revoke visas for Colombian government officials and "supporters" of President Gustavo Petro -- and subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at airports.

"These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport foreigners unlawfully in the United States but has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin America's fourth-largest economy.

"The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants," Petro wrote on X.

In a later post, he said he had "turned back US military planes." Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.

The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport "with dignity" the migrants whose flights were blocked by Bogota.

Petro also said he was ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those aboard were not treated "like criminals."

In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Petro had authorized the flights but then "canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air."

The Colombian leader meanwhile said that more than 15,600 undocumented Americans were living in his country and urged them to "regularize their situation," while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.

The trip comes days before Rubio is set to visit Latin America -- but not Colombia -- on his first trip as top US diplomat.

He is also not scheduled to visit Mexico, which has been critical of the use of military planes for deportations.

- 'Tied hands and feet' -

Trump's deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the United States' estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.

Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over the treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday.

The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump's return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called "flagrant disregard" for their basic rights.

Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: "On the plane they didn't give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn't even let us go to the bathroom."

"It was very hot, some people fainted."

tv footage showed some passengers descending from the civilian plane with their hands handcuffed and their ankles shackled.

Several deportation flights since Trump's return to office have garnered public and media attention, although such actions were also common under previous administrations.

In a break with prior practice, however, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft for some repatriation flights, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.

Several Latin American countries have vowed to welcome back citizens, many of whom have been living and working in the United States for years, with open arms.

The Mexican government said it planned to open nine shelters for its citizens and three more for deported foreigners, under a scheme called "Mexico embraces you."

President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government would also provide humanitarian assistance to deported migrants from other countries before repatriating them.

Honduras, a central American country that is also a large source of migrants to the United States, said it was launching a program for returnees entitled "Brother, come home," which would include a "solidarity" payment, food and access to employment opportunities.
Abidjan, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) The withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from the Economic Community of West African States takes effect on Wednesday after a year of political tensions, fracturing the region and leaving the bloc with an uncertain future.

On January 29, 2024, the three countries led by military regimes formally notified ECOWAS of their desire for "immediate" withdrawal. However, the texts of the West African organisation required one year's notice for it to be effective.

This will happen on Wednesday, all three countries having ignored ECOWAS's call to extend the period by six months to try to find a solution.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are now united in a confederation called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

Their military rulers accuse ECOWAS of having imposed "inhuman, illegal and illegitimate" sanctions against them after the coups that brought them to power.

They also believe that the West African organisation has not helped them enough to fight militant violence. ECOWAS, they argue, is subservient to their former colonial ruler France.

Paris has become the common enemy of these juntas, which now favour partnerships with countries such as Russia, Turkey and Iran.

- A weakened ECOWAS -

The rupture was sparked by the July 2023 coup in Niger. ECOWAS threatened to intervene militarily to reinstate the deposed president and imposed heavy economic sanctions on Niamey, which have now been lifted.

The three countries will put their own common passport into circulation on Wednesday and have announced a unified army of 5,000 men to fight the militants soon.

The loss of three founding members will "weaken ECOWAS's ability to regulate political crises in the regional area", Gilles Yabi, founder of the West African think tank Wathi, told AFP.

The AES and some ECOWAS countries are now at loggerheads. Niger refuses to open its border with Benin, which it accuses of hosting bases where militants train, while accusing its Nigerian neighbour of "serving as a rear base" to "destabilise" it.

Both countries deny the accusations of their landlocked neighbour.

- Togo, Ghana woo AES -

In the sub-region, the diplomatic cards have been reshuffled, with the role of Togo boosted.

As well as playing the role of mediator, its port in the capital Lome supplies the landlocked countries of the AES.

For Yabi, Togo has a "short-term vision", based on "calculations of economic interests" that will "weaken ECOWAS".

Togo's foreign minister recently declared his country did not rule out joining the AES.

If ECOWAS loses a fourth member such as Togo, with maritime access, "we can wonder in what state it will be able to survive", said Rinaldo Depagne, deputy Africa director at the International Crisis Group (ICG).

The AES "is trying to convince other countries that ECOWAS does not work and that they are a credible alternative...," said one diplomatic source. "They have understood that they could not survive alone."

Ghana, under the newly elected President John Dramani Mahama, is also reaching out to the AES. He has met its leaders and announced that he will name an envoy to the new bloc.

"The new president does not have the same position of principle towards the coups as his predecessors," said the ICG's Depagne.

"The question that arises now is whether we can be with the AES and with ECOWAS at the same time."

- 'New ECOWAS' -

The rupture has sparked debate on the need for the West African bloc to "return to its strictly economic agenda and abandon the principles of law and democracy", said Yabi.

"Everyone is aware of the need for ECOWAS reform, towards an ECOWAS of the people," said one former West African minister who has the ear of the Sahelian juntas.

"The AES can be a laboratory and could remain a member of a new reformed ECOWAS," he added.

Despite the rupture, said Yabi, we must strengthen relations between the AES and ECOWAS countries, to "preserve economic relations" and face security challenges.

The jihadist violence that has caused tens of thousands of deaths in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in a decade has also spread to the coastal countries of ECOWAS, notably Benin and Togo.
Kyiv, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2025) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said the world must unite against evil, in comments marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death.

The Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 claiming that the government in Kyiv contained neo-Nazi elements and saying the country must be demilitarised.

Zelensky warned the that memory of the Holocaust is growing weaker and said some countries are still trying to destroy entire nations.

"We must overcome the hatred that gives rise to abuse and murder. We must prevent forgetfulness," he said, according to a statement from the presidency.

"And it is everyone's mission to do everything possible to prevent evil from winning," he added.

The foreign ministry said in a statement that Russia's invasion "brought back to Ukrainian soil horrors that Europe has not seen since World War II."

"Jewish communities of Ukraine are also suffering from constant Russian terror, in particular in the cities of Dnipro and Odesa, which have a population of over a million, and other localities," it added.

The Holocaust decimated the Jewish community in Ukraine, which during World War II was part of the Soviet Union.

It was not the first massacre of Jewish people in Ukraine's history, which had seen previous anti-Semitic pogroms.

bur-jbr/tw
Vietnam Briefing has developed into a premium source for insight on doing business in Vietnam. It publishes business news concerning foreign direct investment into Vietnam, including the most important tax, legal and accounting issues. The Vietnam Briefing Magazine was first published in 2009, and is contributed to by investment professionals based in Vietnam.
In the evolving landscape of renewable energy, geothermal energy stands as a quiet powerhouse. While solar and wind often gain the limelight, geothermal has been steadily proving its worth both environmentally and economically. By tapping into the Earths crust, geothermal energy offers a stable, sustainable energy source with minimal carbon emissions. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, geothermal energy generates power with a carbon footprint as low as 0.02 kilograms of CO2 per kilowatt-hour, significantly lower than fossil fuels. This low-emissions profile ensures that geothermal energy makes a substantial contribution to reducing greenhouse gases. With increased attention towards sustainable practices, and economic incentives in many EU countries, geothermals benefits are more viable and advantageous than ever.

Environmental Advantages of Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy exploits sustainable and inexhaustible heat from beneath the Earth, presenting a green alternative to conventional energy sources. Unlike other renewable energy forms that can be influenced by weather, such as solar or wind, geothermal energy offers consistent and continuous power supply regardless of weather conditions. In regions like Iceland and Italy, where geothermal resources are abundant, entire communities benefit from heating and electricity sourced sustainably. As reported by the European Geothermal Energy Council, geothermal energy accounted for nearly 27.8 TWh of EU heating and cooling in 2020. This demonstrates its extensive potential in aiding the EUs climate targets. Furthermore, geothermal plants require minimal land space compared to solar farms or wind turbines. This spatial efficiency translates to less disturbance to natural habitats, ensuring the preservation of biodiversity. Additionally, advancements in technology now allow for geothermal electricity generation at lower temperatures, expanding the accessibility and use of geothermal resources.

Enhanced Technology and Economic Impact

The lure of geothermal energy is not only its ecological benefits but also its capacity to spur economic growth. Recent technological innovations have paved the way for more efficient and cost-effective geothermal systems, bridging the gap between potential and practicality. The current installation cost for geothermal plants is relatively high; however, the longevity and low operational costs offer tremendous savings in the long run. The EUs Horizon 2020 project has been pivotal in supporting research and development in this arena, fostering partnerships and enhancing the technological capabilities that drive geothermal advancements. According to a London-based study, every euro invested into geothermal power returns up to four times as much in economic benefits through job creation and energy savings. This profound economic impact, coupled with energy offset, magnifies the attractiveness of geothermal resources worldwide.

Evolving Trends in Geothermal Energy Use

Geothermal energy is transitioning from traditional applications to more innovative uses, heralding a shift in the energy sectors dynamics. Countries such as Germany and France are investing heavily in integrating geothermal solutions into their energy grids to cope with energy demands. Direct use of geothermal energy for heating purposes has doubled over the past decade, representing a clear upward trend particularly in urban solutions. Moreover, the concept of geothermal energy integration into district heating systems is gaining traction. This approach provides heat to entire neighborhoods through centralized geothermal sources, ensuring cost efficiency and reducing dependency on fossil fuels. Partnering with municipal initiatives, these district heating networks are serving as blueprints for sustainable urban living. Recent policy frameworks in the EU are incentivizing such projects, providing them with subsidies and tax benefits which enhance their feasibility and popularize geothermal applications across different sectors.

Real-life Success Stories in Geothermal Energy

The distributed use of geothermal energy across various regions highlights its versatility and feasibility as a sustainable resource. In Tuscany, Italy, geothermal plants have been producing clean energy since the early 20th century, supporting regional grid stability substantially. Moreover, the extensive use in Reykjavik, Iceland, showcases the power of geothermal energy, as the city relies on it for hot water supply and over 90% of its heating needs. This extensive use of geothermal energy has helped Iceland in its pursuit of energy independence and carbon neutrality. Such examples bring forth geothermal energy as a prominent player in achieving sustainable development goals, emphasizing its role in both local and broader scales of energy security.

Challenges and Opportunities for Growth

While geothermal energy is full of promise, there are certain hurdles to overcome. High upfront costs and geographic limitations can pose challenges for widespread adoption. Nonetheless, recent collaborations between governments and private stakeholders present growth opportunities. Innovative drilling techniques are optimizing resource access and utilization, gradually lowering the entry barriers for new projects. Additionally, the development of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) is generating interest, utilizing unconventional geothermal resources by simulating subsurface conditions to produce energy.

Enhanced geothermal systems have opened new resource bases even in non-tectonically active regions

EU policies are increasingly promoting geothermal through subsidies

Integration with other renewable sources is creating hybrid energy systems

Cross-border resource sharing initiatives addressing energy disparities

Advances in drilling tech are reducing exploration risks and costs

Geothermals role in balancing energy grids and supporting baseload power

Eco-friendly by-products like lithium extraction from geothermal brines

Growing academic research is pushing geothermal technology frontiers

Collaboration between oil and geothermal sectors leveraging existing skills

Volcanic areas are being tapped as additional energy sources

The geothermal sector is evidently on the cusp of transformative growth, awaiting further acceleration through supportive policies and public awareness. It holds the promise of not only fostering economic resilience and diversification but also bolstering comprehensive environmental sustainability. To learn more about how geothermal energy is impacting our future, visit IEAs Geothermal Energy Report.
Multilateral organizations serve as pivotal entities in the orchestration of international environmental initiatives, essential for addressing complex, transnational ecological issues. The inherent nature of environmental problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution necessitates a collaborative, global response that transcends national borders. These organizations, through treaties and agreements, facilitate such cooperation by providing frameworks for action and platforms for dialogue. The Paris Agreement, recognized as a landmark accord, exemplifies the power of multilateral cooperation, calling on countries to commit to emission reductions in line with the goal of limiting global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change demonstrates that without such coordinated efforts, it would be exceedingly difficult to track and achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gases. A study from the journal Nature further underscores the importance of multilateralism in establishing international norms and practices that enhance cooperation on a wide range of environmental issues, from deforestation to marine pollution.

Enhancing Scientific Exchange and Data Integration

Multilateral organizations also play a critical role in enhancing scientific exchange and promoting data integration crucial for informed decision-making processes. By bringing together scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders from various countries, these organizations facilitate the sharing of scientific knowledge and technological advancements. Initiatives like the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) exemplify such collaborative efforts, enabling the integration of environmental data from diverse sources to improve environmental monitoring and assessment. A report from the European Environment Agency highlights that coordinated data collection and sharing are fundamental in tracking environmental changes, assessing policy impacts, and guiding adaptive strategies. The ability of multilateral organizations to foster scientific collaboration extends to various domains, including biodiversity assessments and pollution control, thereby serving as a catalyst for innovative solutions and technologies. These platforms enable the synthesis of vast datasets, allowing for a more holistic understanding of environmental challenges and ultimately guiding effective policy interventions on a global scale.

Promoting Policy Alignment and Standardization

One of the main contributions of multilateral organizations is the promotion of policy alignment and standardization across countries, essential for the implementation of global environmental initiatives. By establishing common goals and standards, these organizations ensure that member states adopt harmonized strategies, thereby optimizing the collective impact of their efforts. The Convention on Biological Diversity, for example, sets forth strategic goals and targets that countries are encouraged to integrate into their national plans to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable use. The World Resources Institute has analyzed that such frameworks are instrumental in achieving coherent policies that address the multifaceted nature of environmental issues while avoiding conflicts and redundancies. Moreover, these organizations provide technical support and capacity-building resources to help countries develop and implement effective environmental policies. By promoting best practices and encouraging the exchange of expertise among countries, multilateral organizations enhance the capacity of nations to tackle environmental challenges effectively and sustainably.

Multilateral frameworks facilitate global biodiversity conservation through shared targets

Standardizing emission reduction strategies helps avoid cross-border policy conflicts

Effective data integration from diverse sources improves environmental assessments

Collaborative platforms support innovative solutions and technology development

Unified marine protection guidelines enhance international cooperation

Global initiatives align national policies with Sustainable Development Goals

Consistent ecological monitoring protocols ensure reliable data across regions

Facilitating Financial and Technical Support

Beyond policy and cooperation, multilateral organizations play a significant role in facilitating financial and technical support necessary for the implementation of environmental projects. These organizations often serve as conduits for funding from donor countries and international financial institutions, directing resources to countries and communities most in need. The Green Climate Fund, for instance, mobilizes financial resources to support developing countries in their efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its impacts. Studies published in the Journal of Environmental Economics highlight how multilateral funding mechanisms are pivotal in enabling countries to invest in renewable energy, conservation, and sustainable development practices. Furthermore, these organizations provide technical expertise and training to build local capacities, ensuring that projects are effectively designed, implemented, and managed. Technical support often encompasses the transfer of technology and knowledge, allowing countries to adopt best practices and innovative approaches tailored to their specific contexts. The combination of financial and technical assistance strengthens the resilience of communities, empowering them to address environmental challenges more effectively and sustainably.

Fostering Long-Term Sustainable Development

Multilateral organizations are integral to advancing long-term sustainable development by aligning cross-border environmental efforts with economic and social goals. Through comprehensive frameworks and partnerships, these organizations work to ensure that environmental sustainability is a core component of development agendas worldwide. By prioritizing integrated approaches that address environmental, social, and economic dimensions, multilateral efforts contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. Collaborative research from institutions like the United Nations Environment Programme highlights the importance of balancing resource management with economic growth and social equity. This integrative approach fosters innovations that not only mitigate environmental impacts but also enhance livelihoods and create opportunities for sustainable economic development. Source: United Nations Environment Programme. As countries continue to face global environmental challenges, the role of multilateral organizations in promoting cooperative, science-based solutions will remain vital for ensuring a resilient and sustainable future.
In recent years, discussions surrounding tariffs and their influence on sustainable trade practices have become more pronounced. Many countries are navigating the complexities of implementing tariffs that encourage sustainable practices while also seeking to protect local industries. Tariffs, essentially a form of taxation on imports and exports, can either hinder or promote sustainability, depending on how they are applied and the policies supporting them. A significant trend is the EUs approach to using tariffs to stimulate environmentally friendly practices by imposing levies on goods that fail to meet certain environmental standards. This strategy not only seeks to promote sustainability but also encourages innovation in green technology. According to the World Trade Organization, tariffs can play a role in reducing carbon footprints by discouraging imports of high-emission products. The challenge is balancing these tariffs to avoid stifling trade altogether while incentivizing practices that align with the EUs Green Deal commitments. A recent study from the Grantham Research Institute notes the potential for tariffs to drive sustainability if implemented as part of comprehensive policies. Tariffs are a tool that, when used strategically, can open avenues for more sustainable growth.

Tariffs as Catalysts for Green Innovation

The imposition of tariffs has far-reaching implications for fostering or stalling green innovations. On one hand, they serve as a financial incentive for companies to reduce their carbon footprint and embrace environmentally sustainable practices. The EUs Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is a key measure designed to level the playing field by imposing a carbon tariff on imported goods, making eco-friendly products more competitive. This approach has pushed companies globally to reassess their production processes. The European Environment Agency highlights the importance of implementing smart tariffs that encourage green innovations, supporting the development of technologies that reduce environmental impacts. Studies suggest that well-structured tariffs can drive advancements in energy efficiency and renewable energy adoption, as industries strive to meet environmental standards and avoid penalties. However, experts caution that without clear guidelines and support systems, such tariffs might disproportionately affect developing countries where the resources to innovate quickly might be lacking. A study by Cambridge Econometrics suggests that collaborative efforts and agreements can aid in optimizing trade tariffs to encourage sustainable practices globally. Source: Cambridge Econometrics.

The Challenges of Tariff Implementation

One of the primary challenges is ensuring that tariffs designed to promote sustainability do not inadvertently harm economic relations or lead to trade wars. The balance between promoting green policies and maintaining healthy trade relationships is a delicate one. Policymakers need to craft tariffs that foster cooperation and transparency while adhering to international trade laws. Instruments such as the EUs Eco-design Directive serve as a model for implementing regulations that encourage sustainable production through incentives rather than penalties. There is also a growing concern about the potential economic impact on consumers, with the fear of increased product prices as companies pass tariff costs onto buyers. Experts stress the importance of enhancing collaboration between nations to produce lasting, fair trade policies that benefit the environment without isolating countries or their industries.

The Global Supply Chain

The impact of tariffs on global supply chains cannot be understated, especially in the realm of sustainable trade practices. Tariffs affect every phase of a products journey, from raw material acquisition to final delivery. They influence the decision-making processes of companies, urging them to consider sustainability at every step. The ripple effect of tariffs in the supply chain is particularly evident in industries such as textiles, electronics, and agribusiness, where the environmental impact is significant. To mitigate adverse effects, many companies are exploring options to streamline their supply chains, prioritize local sourcing, and reduce reliance on imports subject to high tariffs. The European Commission supports these efforts through initiatives that focus on enhancing local circular economies and fostering resilient supply networks.

The Role of Policy in Shaping Trade Practices

Policy frameworks play a pivotal role in shaping trade practices through tariffs and other regulatory measures. The EUs strategic trade policies serve as a blueprint for integrating sustainability into trade through tariffs that reflect environmental and social standards. These policies contribute to creating a fair trading environment that promotes equitable economic growth. Source: European Commission. By embedding sustainability within trade agreements, countries can ensure that environmental considerations are a fundamental part of negotiations and implementations. This approach has shown promise in recent trade negotiations, where clauses on sustainability are becoming the norm rather than the exception. However, the effectiveness of these policies hinges on continuous assessment, regulation updates, and global cooperation to adequately address emerging environmental challenges.

Overarching policies and the implementation of tariffs serve as powerful tools to influence sustainable trade practices. Here are some key elements to consider when exploring this multifaceted terrain:
Famous Ukrainian gymnast Oleh Verniaiev called it a mistake to congratulate Russian athletes on their victory at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Our compatriot noted that after the start of the full-scale war of the aggressor country against our country, the true position of the Russian athletes became clear.

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Verniaev said this in an interview with NV, commenting on his actions in Japan, when he wrote words of congratulations to the Russians on the social network Instagram. The winner of the Rio de Janeiro Games emphasized that he regretted it and would like to turn back the clock.

"I don't know. We have this thing where we can congratulate someone on a victory, and it somehow automatically happens. But later we saw things a little differently. It became clear who was who and what position we should take. Some people stayed in the middle  neither here nor there. Like: "I'm just not going to speak out about either Ukraine or Russia." Even now there are many such athletes, and I know them personally. When Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, I sat and thought: "It's time to turn back the clock". I recognized that I was wrong," Verniaiev said.

In 2020, Oleh received a large portion of criticism online after he refused to call Russia the culprit of the war in Donbas.

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Urban green spaces are emerging as essential tools in mitigating air pollution within our increasingly dense cities. As urbanization expands, these natural havens provide critical environmental services. Evidence suggests that urban greenery significantly reduces airborne pollutants through mechanisms involving trees and plant life. For instance, studies have revealed that trees can sequester up to 150 kilograms of particulate matter per hectare per year. The European Environment Agency reported that urban areas with abundant vegetation could reduce ambient concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO) by approximately 1520%. The World Health Organization corroborates these findings, highlighting the role of urban flora in decreasing exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which is implicated in conditions such as asthma, heart disease, and stroke. Moreover, scientific modeling predicts that doubling the tree cover in cities can decrease surface temperatures by approximately 1.5 degrees Celsius, thus minimizing the urban heat island effect, which can exacerbate pollution concentrations.

The Science Behind Trees and Air Purification

The interaction between trees and pollutants is a complex process fundamentally rooted in biology and chemistry. Leaves and bark act as physical filters, capturing a significant fraction of airborne particles. Stomata, microscopic openings on leaves, allow for the exchange of gases, wherein trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO) and release oxygen. A study from the University of Southampton quantified the impact of trees in urban settings, finding that a single mature tree can yield yearly oxygen output sufficient for ten people, while also removing substantial quantities of pollutants. Interestingly, research shows that certain tree species like the London plane and silver birch are remarkably efficient at capturing PM10 particulate matter, offering valuable insights for urban forestry strategies. These species leaf structures and waxy coatings enhance their particulate trapping capabilities, and strategically increasing their presence could offer targeted benefits in pollution-heavy areas. Initiatives utilizing such data can create more impactful green urban networks aimed at maximizing air quality benefits.

Green Spaces and Air Pollution Data Trends

Recent trends in data point to an increasing implementation of urban green projects catalyzed by growing environmental and public health awareness at the municipal level. A comprehensive analysis in 2021 by the Centre for Urban Greenery showed a 12% increase in urban parklands in major European capitals over the last decade. Additionally, proposals to augment these green areas by a further 30% over the next ten years are under discussion. A 2020 meta-analysis in Environmental Pollution demonstrated that cities investing in urban greening projects witnessed average annual reductions in NO levels by 7%, a statistically significant decline compared to cities without similar projects. Specific data point to reductions in PM2.5 concentrations by up to 12% in locales with expansive green initiatives, illustrating a tangible link between policy-driven urban planting and improved air quality metrics. Another dimension is socioeconomic; green spaces provide economic advantages through increased property values and enhanced urban livability, attracting further investment in sustainable urban planning practices.

Urban greenery projects contribute to a 1520% reduction in NO concentrations

Doubling urban tree cover may result in 1.5C lower surface temperatures

Mature trees generate enough oxygen annually for 10 people

Certain tree species trap PM10 more efficiently, crucial for urban forestry planning

Cities with green initiatives report annual PM2.5 level reductions by up to 12%

Policy and Urban Planning Implications

The empirical data underscores the need for proactive policies and strategic urban planning to harness the benefits of green spaces in combating air pollution. Policies promoting the integration of nature into urban landscapes are gaining traction across the European Union. The European Commission, for example, is advocating for funds to support sustainable urban development projects that prioritize green infrastructure. These initiatives are key to achieving the EUs air quality goals and meeting targets set under international environmental agreements. As highlighted by a 2022 study in the Journal of Urban and Environmental Engineering, cities implementing green space mandates could see substantial reductions in their health-related expenditure due to air pollution, emphasizing cost-effectiveness. Urban planners are increasingly incorporating ecological models to predict the impact of various plant species on air quality and align urban development with environmental targets. Collaborative efforts with ecologists and public health experts continue to refine these models, ensuring cities are equipped to combat air pollution effectively.

Future Perspectives on Green Urban Development

Looking to the future, the integration of technology in managing urban green spaces presents promising opportunities for further advancements. IoT sensors and remote monitoring technologies provide real-time data on air quality and plant health, enabling cities to optimize their green infrastructure in response to changing environmental conditions. The University of Helsinki is piloting projects using such technology to enhance their urban forestry management, aiming for predictive maintenance that can adaptively manage tree planting and caring processes. Furthermore, cross-disciplinary collaborations are essential, where urban planners and software engineers work closely to design platforms that support the strategic deployment of greenery to maximize its pollution-mitigating impact. European Environment Agency.
The smiling face of President Alexander Lukashenko gazed out from campaign posters across Belarus on Sunday as the country held an orchestrated election virtually guaranteed to give the 70-year-old autocrat yet another term on top of his three decades in power.

Needed! the posters proclaim beneath a photo of Lukashenko, his hands clasped together. The phrase is what groups of voters responded in campaign videos after supposedly being asked if they wanted him to serve again.

And according to a nighttime statement by the Central Election Commission, the strongman leader won by a landslide, garnering nearly 87% percent of the vote.

But his opponents, many of whom are imprisoned or exiled abroad by his unrelenting crackdown on dissent and free speech, would disagree. They call the election a sham  much like the last one in 2020 that triggered months of protests that were unprecedented in the history of the country of 9 million people.

The crackdown saw more than 65,000 arrests, with thousands beaten, bringing condemnation and sanctions from the West.

His iron-fisted rule since 1994  Lukashenko took office two years after the demise of the Soviet Union  earned him the nickname of Europes Last Dictator, relying on subsidies and political support from close ally Russia.

He let Moscow use his territory to invade Ukraine in 2022, and even hosts some of Russia's tactical nuclear weapons, but he still campaigned with the slogan Peace and security, arguing he has saved Belarus from being drawn into war.

Its better to have a dictatorship like in Belarus than a democracy like Ukraine, Lukashenko said in his characteristic bluntness.

Fearing a repeat of election unrest

His reliance on support from Russian President Vladimir Putin  himself in office for a quarter-century  helped him survive the 2020 protests.

Observers believe Lukashenko feared a repeat of those mass demonstrations amid economic troubles and the fighting in Ukraine, and so scheduled the vote in January, when few would want to fill the streets again, rather than in August. He faces only token opposition.

According to official results, announced in the early hours of Monday, Lukashenko won 86.82% of the vote - compared to his nearest rival's 3.21%. According to the Central Election Commission, 3.60% of voters spoiled their ballots.

In 2020, the electoral body claimed Lukashenko had taken 80.10% of the vote.

The trauma of the 2020 protests was so deep that Lukashenko this time decided not to take risks and opted for the most reliable option, when balloting looks more like a special operation to retain power than an election, Belarusian political analyst Valery Karbalevich said.

Lukashenko repeatedly declared that he wasnt clinging to power and would quietly and calmly hand it over to the new generation.

His 20-year-old son, Nikolai, traveled the country, giving interviews, signing autographs and playing piano at campaign events. His father hasnt mentioned his own health, even though he was seen having difficulty walking and occasionally spoke in a hoarse voice.

The successor issue only becomes relevant when a leader prepares to step down. But Lukashenko isnt going to leave, Karbalevich said.

Top political opponents imprisoned or exiled

Leading opponents have fled abroad or were thrown in prison. The country holds nearly 1,300 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, founder of the Viasna Human Rights Center.

Since July, Lukashenko has pardoned more than 250 people. At the same time, authorities have sought to uproot dissent by arresting hundreds more in raids targeting relatives and friends of political prisoners.

Authorities detained 188 people last month alone, Viasna said. Activists and those who donated money to opposition groups have been summoned by police and forced to sign papers saying they were warned against participating in unsanctioned demonstrations, rights advocates said.

Lukashenko's four challengers on the ballot are all loyal to him.

Im entering the race not against, but together with Lukashenko, and Im ready to serve as his vanguard, said Communist Party candidate Sergei Syrankov, who came in second place. He favors criminalizing LGBTQ+ activities and rebuilding monuments to Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

Candidate Alexander Khizhnyak, head of the Republican Party of Labor and Justice, led a voting precinct in Minsk in 2020 and vowed to prevent a repeat of disturbances.

Oleg Gaidukevich, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, supported Lukashenko in 2020 and urged fellow candidates to make Lukashenkos enemies nauseous.

The fourth challenger, Hanna Kanapatskaya, managed 1.7% of the vote in 2020 and says she's the only democratic alternative to Lukashenko, promising to lobby for freeing political prisoners but warning supporters against excessive initiative.

Opposition leader calls election a senseless farce

Opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled Belarus under government pressure after challenging the president in 2020, told The Associated Press that Sunday's election was a senseless farce, a Lukashenko ritual.

Voters should cross off everyone on the ballot, she said, and world leaders shouldn't recognize the result from a country where all independent media and opposition parties have been destroyed and prisons are filled by political prisoners."

The repressions have become even more brutal as this vote without choice has approached, but Lukashenko acts as though hundreds of thousands of people are still standing outside his palace, she said.

The European Union rejected the election in Belarus on Sunday as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions.

Todays sham election in Belarus has been neither free, nor fair, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said in a joint statement.

Shortly after voting in Minsk on Sunday, accompanied by his white Pomeranian dog, Lukashenko told journalists that he did not seek recognition or approval from the EU.

The main thing for me is that Belarusians recognize these elections and that they end peacefully, as they began, he said.

Speaking at an hours-long news conference, Lukashenko said that he didn't rule out running for the top job again in 2030.

Media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders filed a complaint against Lukashenko with the International Criminal Court over his crackdown on free speech that saw 397 journalists arrested since 2020. It said that 43 are in prison.

Fears of vote-rigging

According to the Central Election Commission, there are 6.8 million eligible voters. However, about 500,000 people have left Belarus and aren't able to vote.

After polls closed at 8 p.m. local time (1700 GMT), the commission said that turnout stood at a record 85.70%, but a dearth of independent monitoring made that figure near-impossible to verify.

At home, early voting that began Tuesday has created fertile ground for irregularities with ballot boxes unguarded until election day, the opposition said. A record 41.81% of voters cast ballots in five days of early voting. Meanwhile, Viasna activists reported internet issues across the country, and alleged Lukashenko's government was blocking access to VPN services commonly used to evade censorship.

Polling stations have removed the curtains covering ballot boxes, and voters are forbidden from photographing their ballots  a response to the opposition's call in 2020 for voters to take pictures to make it more difficult for authorities to rig the vote.

Police conducted large-scale drills before the election. An Interior Ministry video showed helmeted riot police beating their shields with truncheons as a way to prepare for protest dispersals. Another featured an officer arresting a man posing as a voter, twisting his arm next to a ballot box.
A Canadian ex-soldier detained by the Taliban government in Afghanistan was freed Sunday after over two months of imprisonment in a deal brokered by Qatar, a source with knowledge of the release told AFP.

David Lavery was detained by Taliban authorities in Kabul in November 2024 and had made headlines three years earlier helping in the evacuation of Afghans during the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from the country.

"Lavery has been released from Afghanistan and is now in Doha, Qatar," the source said on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, adding his freedom "was secured following a request from the Canadian government to Qatar."

"Qatari mediators coordinated with senior Canadian officials and utilized their contacts in Afghanistan to dispatch a medical team to Kabul to assess Lavery's condition and provide care, while also facilitating contact between Lavery and his family," the source said.

"Following a breakthrough in the talks, Mr. Lavery (is) in Doha now united with his family. He underwent a medical assessment upon his arrival," the source added.

In 2021, Lavery helped an estimated 100 Afghans flee Kabul during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces.

He spent decades in the Canadian military and is said to have been a key member of its elite Joint Task Force 2 special operations unit.

More recently, Lavery has reportedly operated a private security firm in Kabul.

The former soldier's release follows the liberation last week by the Taliban government of two U.S. citizens from prison in return for an Afghan fighter held in the United States, in another deal brokered by Qatar.

Ryan Corbett, who had been detained in 2022, and William McKenty were released in exchange for Khan Mohammed, who was convicted of narco-terrorism by a U.S. court.

The Afghan foreign ministry said Mohammed was "an Afghan fighter" who had been "imprisoned in America."

Two other U.S. citizens are believed to remain in detention in Afghanistan, former airline mechanic George Glezmann and naturalized American Mahmood Habibi.

Gas-rich Qatar hosted Taliban representatives during years of peace talks with the United States leading up to the 2021 withdrawal and in recent years has hosted rounds of Afghan dialogue which the Taliban authorities joined in June 2024.
India and China agreed in principle on Monday to resume direct flights between the two nations, nearly five years after the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent political tensions halted them.

The announcement came at the conclusion of a visit to Beijing by New Delhi's top career diplomat and heralds the latest signs of a thaw in the frosty ties between the world's two most populous nations.

Indian foreign ministry secretary Vikram Misri's trip to the Chinese capital marked one of the most senior official visits since a deadly Himalayan troop clash on their shared border in 2020 sent relations into a tailspin.

A statement from India's foreign ministry said a visit by a top envoy to Beijing had yielded agreement "in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries."

"The relevant technical authorities on the two sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date," it said.

India's statement also said China had permitted the resumption of a pilgrimage to a popular shrine to the Hindu deity Krishna that had also been halted at the start of the decade.

Both sides had committed to work harder on diplomacy to "restore mutual trust and confidence" and to resolve outstanding trade and economic issues, the statement said.

Around 500 monthly direct flights operated between China and India before the pandemic, according to Indian media outlet Moneycontrol.

A statement from China's foreign ministry did not mention the agreement on flight resumptions but said both countries had been working to improve ties since last year.

"The improvement and development of China-India relations is fully in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries," the Chinese statement said.

India and China are intense rivals competing for strategic influence across South Asia.

Flights between both countries were halted in early 2020 at the start of the pandemic.

Services to Hong Kong eventually resumed as the public health crisis receded but not to the Chinese mainland, owing to the bitter fallout of the deadly troop clash later that year.

At least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in the skirmish in a remote stretch of the high-altitude borderlands along their 3,500-kilometer (2,200-mile) frontier.

The fallout from the incident saw India clamp down on Chinese companies, preventing them from investing in critical economic sectors, along with a ban on hundreds of Chinese gaming and e-commerce apps, including TikTok.

Beijing and New Delhi agreed last October on a significant military disengagement at a key flashpoint of their disputed border.

The accord came shortly before a rare formal meeting  the first in five years  between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Misri's visit to Beijing came weeks after a diplomatic tour by India's national security adviser Ajit Doval, a key bureaucratic ally of Modi.
Human Rights Watch is expressing concern about civilians in the eastern Congolese city of Goma now that M23 rebels have taken control of the city. Fighting between M23 and Democratic Republic of the Congo forces has displaced 400,000 since the start of this year, according to the United Nations. Gomas capture by the rebel group further threatens civilian lives and could cause more displacement, the rights group said.

Residents of Goma in eastern DR Congo shared videos Monday of M23 rebels patrolling the city, with some cheering as the fighters walked through the streets.

Blaise Karege is a Congolese political and security researcher in eastern Congo. He said the rebel group has been received well, and the reasons for the ongoing conflict have changed.

"The residents are singing in the streets, and they are behind the rebel group, he said. I don't know if all of that is for the love, or fear, of M23. I cannot tell. Previous conflicts were much about politics, but today, the conflict has a more tribal dimension, too, and today, it appears M23 has a lot of support."

The M23 rebel group launched an offensive to seize Goma several weeks ago, taking areas closest to the border with Rwanda, which is widely believed to support M23  something the Kigali government denies.

The Congolese army and its allied militias, Wazalendo, have fled the city, according to local reports. The U.N. mission in Goma said it has received some men in Congolese uniforms and some in plain clothes who handed over their weapons.

Human Rights Watch said it's now concerned about the safety of Goma civilians, many of whom fled to the city to escape violence and abuse from eastern Congos many armed groups, including M23.

Clementine de Montjoye, a senior Human Rights Watch researcher, said concerns of rights groups and NGOs for civilians are at an all-time high.

"We have documented extensively how they have executed people, she said. There have been cases of rapes, gang rapes, arbitrary detention, and extortion, and last night, we heard reports of looting inside Goma by the Wazalendo armed group. At the same time, M23 also has a long history of committing abuses against civilian populations, and since the resurgence of M23 ... we have documented how they have executed people they accuse of supporting the Congolese army or Congolese government."

M23 says it is fighting to protect communities who have faced abuse and attacks from the Congolese army and other militia groups.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has called on M23 to end hostilities and withdraw from occupied territories in eastern Congo.

Karege said the group won't be vacating the city that easily.

"Today, they say they are not going to leave the city because they are protecting their parents and children, he said. But this is going to give them a certificate to speak and engage with the government in Kinshasa so that they can resolve this issue without conflict. Leaving Goma, Masisi, and Ruchuru won't happen, he said, referring to other population centers in the region.

M23 first captured Goma in 2012 but agreed to leave after signing a peace agreement with the Congolese government.

The fighters launched a new offensive in 2021, accusing the Congolese government of failing to honor the peace agreement from eight years before. The government in Kinshasa insists the group must disarm before any negotiations can take place.
Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have rejected U.S. President Donald Trumps proposal over the weekend to resettle residents of the Gaza Strip in Egypt or Jordan.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that the Egyptian government supports "the Palestinian people's insistence to remain on their land, defending their legitimate rights and respecting international law."

Egyptian public opinion remains firmly opposed to the resettlement of Palestinians on Egyptian territory.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi recently told a crowd of military officers that it would be easy to resettle some Palestinians in the Sinai, but the difficulty would be getting anyone in Egypt to accept the idea.

Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, told VOA that despite the difficult economic situation in Egypt and the fact that there could be a significant economic windfall in accepting Trump's proposal to resettle some Palestinians in the country, a large segment of the Egyptian public would refuse to do so.

Paul Sullivan, a former professor at the American University of Cairo and fellow at the Atlantic Council, agreed, telling VOA that such a proposal is unacceptable to Egyptians.

"No Egyptian leader who wants to stay in power would agree to such a request," he said. "It would destabilize Egypt and likely lead to greater regional instability."

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also rejected Trump's proposal, saying that "Palestine is for the Palestinians and Jordan is for the Jordanians and that the solution to the Palestinian problem is located on Palestinian soil and embodied by a Palestinian state."
European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to continue sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, but to ease some sanctions against Syria following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.

Weeks of stalling by Hungary ended Monday, allowing the EU to renew sanctions against Russia for another six months.

But in return, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban  considered close to Moscow  is pushing for Ukraine to reopen a gas pipeline to central Europe after letting a transit deal expire.

The bloc also earmarked aid for Moldovas energy needs, which Europe says are threatened by Russia.

The 27-member bloc moved in the opposite direction when it came to Syria  agreeing to scale up humanitarian aid and ease some sanctions, now that the country is under new leadership.

This could give a boost to the Syrian economy and help the country get back on its feet, said Kaja Kallas, EUs foreign policy chief.

Syrias foreign minister, Asaad al-Shibani, has called the EUs move a positive step.

European foreign ministers also discussed a raft of other thorny issues, from the Gaza ceasefire to Iran and the conflict in eastern Congo.

Another key topic: relations with the new Trump administration.

As the United States shifts to [a] more transactional approach, Europe needs to close ranks. We are stronger when we are united  that was a view that everybody shared, Kallas said.

She described Washington as Europes closest ally, but tensions have surfaced over trade, military spending and Greenland, after President Donald Trump indicated he wanted to acquire the territory.

We are not negotiating on Greenland, Kallas said. Of course, we are supporting our member state, Denmark, and its autonomous region, Greenland.

Kallas also noted the many ways the EU and U.S. are interlinked. But she said Europe needs to take into account its own strengths, in discussions with partners as well as with adversaries.
Poland has reacted ironically to the unrealistic and fake preliminary results of the so-called presidential election in Belarus. Exit polls claim that 87.6% of voters allegedly voted for the current illegitimate president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.

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On Sunday, January 26, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski reacted to the "voting" results drawn up in Minsk on his page on the social network X. He asked whether "only 87.6% of Belarusians really love their father."

The head of the department also asked whether those who did not vote for Lukashenko would be imprisoned.

"Only 87.6% of Belarusians love their father? Will the rest of them be imprisoned?" he wrote.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, for its part, noted that it was disappointed with the presidential "elections" in Belarus, pointing out that they were held "in violation of basic democratic procedures."

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The ministry emphasized that due to the actions of the authorities, independent candidates were unable to participate in the elections. In addition, the campaign was accompanied by repressions against political opponents and intimidation of civil society representatives in Belarus.

"In the context of general censorship and state propaganda, a significant part of Belarusians did not have access to independent and reliable information. As a result of these actions, Belarusian society was effectively deprived of the right to vote. These factors do not allow us to consider the results of today's elections as credible and reflecting the will of the Belarusian people, who have repeatedly demonstrated their maturity and understanding of democratic processes in recent history," the Polish Foreign Ministry emphasized.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, the so-called exit polls in Belarus claim that Alexander Lukashenko is once again winning the "presidential election." About 87.6% of voters allegedly voted for the dictator.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and in Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Government officials and residents attended a solemn Mass Sunday to honor a child and a man killed in a knife attack in Germany, an assault that amplified the debate about migration ahead of the Feb. 23 general election.

The ecumenical religious service at the Catholic Basilica of St. Peter and Alexander in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, was briefly suspended for the tolling of the citys bells at the exact time that the attack took place Wednesday, 11:45 a.m.

Bavaria Governor Markus Soder, Aschaffenburg Mayor Jurgen Herzing and Muslim imam Zischan Mehmood addressed the congregation that included rescuers, to express grief and disbelief at the loss of lives. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser was also present.

Compassion, solidarity and cohesion are more important than ever, because there are many dividers and agitators around us, Mehmood told the people gathered in and outside the church. We must never allow grief and pain to tear us apart.

Soder said the attack was a senseless, brutal and disturbing crime.

Good and evil are not a question of origin, nationality, ethnicity or faith, Soder said, and stressed that the killings should not lead to divisions because incitement is the wrong answer.

Before attending the service, Faeser and Soder laid wreaths at the site of the attack.

The attack is politically sensitive a month before Germanys national election as migration policy is among the top campaign issues.

A 2-year-old boy of Moroccan origin, who was part of a group of kindergarten children, was killed, along with a 41-year-old German man who apparently intervened to protect the children in a city park. The arrested suspect is a 28-year-old former asylum-seeker from Afghanistan who had been told to leave Germany. Officials said he had received psychiatric treatment and there was no immediate indication that he was motivated by extremism.

He is being held in a psychiatric hospital, according to the German news agency, dpa.

Bavarian officials said two adults and a 2-year-old Syrian girl were also wounded in the attack and hospitalized but there was no danger to their lives.
Suspected Islamist fighters killed at least 20 Nigerian soldiers, including a commanding officer, after attacking an army base in a remote town in northeastern Borno state, security sources and residents said Sunday.

Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters have mainly operated in Borno, targeting security forces and civilians, in the process killing and displacing tens of thousands of people.

The latest assault happened Friday, when ISWAP members arrived on gun trucks and attacked the army's 149 Battalion in Malam-Fatori town, gateway to the border with Niger, two soldiers and residents said.

One of the soldiers who survived the attack told Reuters by phone that troops were taken by surprise as the militants "rained bullets everywhere."

"We tried so much to repel the attacks and after more than three hours of gun duel, they overpowered us, killing our commanding officer, a lieutenant colonel," the soldier said, declining to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

He said 20 soldiers died while several were injured.

A Nigerian army spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Residents who left the town said some of the militants were seen in Malam-Fatori as late as Saturday night.

Malakaka Bukar, a member of the local militia recruited to help the army, said the militants also burned buildings, forcing some residents to flee the town.

"They preached to some of the residents," said Bukar.

Although weakened by military assaults and internal fighting over the years, Boko Haram and ISWAP have stepped up attacks in Borno since the turn of the year, killing dozens of farmers and fishermen in series of raids.
More Israeli hostages were returned from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners form Israel; U.S. President Donald Trump suggests resettling Palestinian refugees in other countries. U.S. troops have arrived at the border with Mexico, and the former president of South Korea is indicted. A look at the U.S. secretary of state's plans in Africa, and the search for an American journalist in Syria.
New U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised more changes are coming to the countrys military before even walking through the doors of the Pentagon.

Hegseth, a decorated veteran and a former Fox News host, was greeted just outside the Pentagon by General Charles Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after arriving for his first full day of work.

Hegseth said serving as defense secretary was the honor of a lifetime, telling reporters that the Defense Department will operate at a faster tempo.

"The lawful orders of the president of the United States will be executed inside this Defense Department swiftly and without excuse, Hegseth said. "We're going to hold people accountable.

Hegseth won Senate confirmation late Friday by a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking ballot.

He was sworn in on Saturday and spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in what the Pentagon described as an introductory call.

"We will be no better friend to our allies and no stronger adversary to those who want to test us and try us," Hegseth told reporters Monday before entering the Pentagon.

He said that President Donald Trump is expected to sign additional executive orders on Monday impacting the military, including orders calling for a U.S. version of Israels Iron Dome missile defense system, the removal of all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from the Pentagon, and the reinstatement of troops forced to leave the military after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccination.

Hegseth also said the Pentagon will make sure Trump has all the resources needed to secure the U.S. southern border.

Whatever is needed at the border will be provided, the defense secretary said. "This is a shift. It's not the way business has been done in the past."

The Defense Department will support the defense of the territorial integrity of the United States of America, the southern border, to include reservists, National Guard and active duty in compliance with the Constitution and the laws of our land and the directives of the commander in chief," he added.

Asked about the fate of Afghans who worked alongside the United States before the U.S. withdrawal in August 2021, Hegseth said, Were going to make sure there's accountability for what happened in Afghanistan and that we stand by our allies.

Hegseth also deflected questions about whether he plans to fire the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

"I'm standing with him right now," Hegseth said. "I look forward to working with him."
Amid fighting between M23 rebels and government forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, some organizations are relocating staff because they no longer feel safe. This comes after the reportedly Rwandan-backed rebels said over the weekend they had taken control of Goma, the biggest city in the region.

Rose Tchwenko, the DRCs country director for Mercy Corps, told VOA that since last week, the humanitarian group has closely monitored the situation as government forces and M23 clashed in and around Goma, a city of around 2 million people.

From Wednesday last week, with the fall of Minova, followed by the fall of Sake, which are key supply routes into Goma, the situation looked a little bit more dire with the imminent takeover or incursion into Goma itself by the rebel forces, she said. We made some decisions, first to move out non-essential staff, pull back our teams from the ground where it was no longer safe to continue to provide humanitarian services.

But that changed quickly, as the situation grew more unstable in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, which is on the border with Rwanda.

On Sunday with the escalation of the conflict around Goma, we had to pull out even the senior team into Gisenyi (across the border in Rwanda) so that we can continue to operate and provide the necessary support to our teams across the country, she said.

She told VOA the situation was dire.

As of yesterday, we know that the airport in Goma is closed and under M23 control, she said. We have heard reports of sporadic fighting throughout the center of Goma city. Some of us on this side of the border could actually [hear] gunshots at some point during the night. We are aware of M23 presence in Goma but still uncertain of what the actual situation is."

As M23 rebels last week made advances into Goma, three U.N. peacekeepers died and seven South African soldiers and three from Malawi, serving in a separate Southern African Development Community mission, also were killed, according to U.N. and South African officials.

At an emergency meeting on Sunday, the United Nations Security Council called for an end to the hostilities.

Bintou Keita, the head of the U.N. mission in Congo, addressed the Council via video link, painting a bleak picture.

"Roads are blocked and the airport can no longer be used for evacuation or humanitarian efforts, he said. M23 has declared the airspace over Goma closed. In other words, we are trapped."

Jack Mongi, a Goma resident who sent VOA an audio message in French via WhatsApp, said that fighting was still going on around the airport.

"As I speak, you can hear gunshots, we are under our mattresses, under our beds and if you listen, you can hear the gunshots...."

The Congolese minister of foreign affairs told the U.N. Security Council that this is a frontal assault, a declaration of war.

VOA reached out to the Rwandan government for comment but has not immediately heard back.

Many countries represented at the special Security Council meeting condemned the attacks, including the acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Dorothy Shea, who called for a ceasefire.

"The United States will consider all the tools at its disposal in order to hold accountable those responsible for sustaining armed conflict, instability and insecurity," she said.

In Nairobi, Kenya's President William Ruto said he spoke to both Congolese and Rwanda presidents and called for an "immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities."

Ruto, whos also the chair of the East African Community, says hell be convening an extraordinary EAC summit in coming days to try to chart a way forward in this crisis.
Russia on Sunday claimed its troops had captured a strategically important town in eastern Ukraine as part of a grinding campaign to weaken Kyiv's grip on the country's industrial heartland, while uncertainty over the continued flow of U.S. funding has reportedly halted the work of some Ukrainian NGOs, including those helping war veterans.

Russia's Defense Ministry announced the fall of Velyka Novosilka, which had around 5,000 residents before the war, following a monthslong battle. Its statement could not be independently verified, and Ukraine claimed its troops had only strategically withdrawn from certain areas.

But if confirmed, it would make Velyka Novosilka the first significant town to capitulate in 2025 under Moscow's onslaught in the eastern Donetsk region against Ukraine's weary and short-handed army. The war is set to reach its three-year milestone in February.

Ukrainian forces withdrew from certain parts of Velyka Novosilka to avoid encirclement, the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade said in a statement on its official Telegram channel Sunday. The brigade is active in that patch of the frontline.

Analysts have long predicted that it's only a matter of time until Russian forces capture the settlement, which lies only 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region.

The brigade said though they have approximate parity with Russian forces in terms of artillery and drones, the Russians have a huge advantage in manpower.

"Our units, using the weather conditions, skillfully withdrew from areas where there was a threat of encirclement. This does not mean that we have completely left the city, the fighting in Velyka Novosilka continues . All actions are aimed at minimizing our own losses and maximum damage to the enemy," the statement said.

The brigade said the withdrawal will make it topographically difficult for Russians to advance by making the river an obstacle.

"The enemy () will have no peace, any movement is cut off by shells and drones," the statement said.

Russia captured the Donetsk cities of Avdiivka and Vuhledar last year after long and grueling battles. Those cities were largely leveled by Russian artillery, glide bombs and drones before they fell.

Russian forces have also been trying for months to capture the key Donetsk strongholds of Pokrovsk and Chasiv Yar.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian NGOs catering to the needs of war veterans and their families have claimed a suspension of U.S. funding is forcing them to halt their work, days after newly sworn in U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he would pause foreign aid grants for 90 days.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later claimed that military aid to Ukraine would continue, but did not clarify whether humanitarian aid had been paused. Kyiv relies on the U.S. for 40% of its military needs.

According to news reports, Ukrainian NGOs receiving funding from Washington this weekend began receiving "stop work" orders, requiring them to pause all projects and related travel.

Veteran Hub, an NGO that provides legal and psychological support to war veterans and their families, was forced to halt operations of two of its three largest service units as a result, the organization said in its official Facebook page.

It said the suspension has led it to ask for public donations for the first time.

"Since 2018, we have refrained from public fundraising because we believe that donations are primarily needed for the military. Today, we are forced to publicly ask for support for the first time," the organization said.

With the Trump administration questioning the future of U.S. aid to Ukraine, stressing the need to quickly broker a peace deal, both Moscow and Kyiv are seeking battlefield successes to strengthen their negotiating positions ahead of any prospective talks.

For the past year, Russian forces have been waging an intense campaign to punch holes in Ukraine's defenses in the eastern Donetsk region. The sustained and costly offensive has compelled Kyiv to give up a series of towns, villages and hamlets.
Rwandan-backed rebels marched into the center of east Congo's largest city on Monday, witnesses said, in the latest escalation of decades of conflict in a region already suffering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The rebel alliance, spearheaded by the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 militia, said it had captured the whole of the lakeside city, but that could not be independently confirmed.

Gunfire rang out near the airport, city center and border with Rwanda, with two residents reporting ongoing clashes between government-aligned militia and M23 fighters.

"There is confusion in the city. Here near the airport, we see soldiers. I have not seen the M23 yet," one resident told Reuters by phone, asking not to be named.

"There are also some cases of looting of stores."

The eastern borderlands of Democratic Republic of Congo are a tinderbox of rebel and militia fiefdoms stemming from two regional wars after Rwanda's 1994 genocide when Hutu extremists murdered close to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The M23, the latest in a long line of Tutsi-led rebel movements backed by Rwanda, captured Goma in 2012 but withdrew days later after an agreement brokered by neighboring nations.

Congo has more than 100 armed groups, mainly in the east of the central African nation of 100 million people that is roughly the size of Western Europe and has plentiful mineral supplies in the sights of Chinese and Western companies.

Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance that includes the M23, told Reuters on Monday that his forces were in control of Goma and that army soldiers were laying down arms.

"They have started to surrender, but it takes time," he said. "It's normal that they (residents) still see soldiers."

However, Tryphon Kin-Kiey Mulumba, chairman of the Air Transport Authority, said the army still held the airport.

Uruguay's military said 100 Congolese soldiers had handed weapons over to them at the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUSCO) as requested by the rebels.

There was no immediate comment from Congo's government or military.

U.N. staff vacate

U.N. staff and their families were evacuating to Rwanda on Monday morning, where 10 buses were waiting to pick them up.

Unverified videos shared on social media showed local residents looting merchandise outside the airport customs warehouse and columns of heavily armed men, believed to be M23 fighters, walking through the northern suburbs of the city.

Twenty-six Congolese soldiers and one police officer had crossed the border and surrendered, Rwandan soldiers told Reuters.

Thousands of residents of the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi fled eastward, toward the capital Kigali, as the sound of explosions from Goma grew louder, a Reuters reporter said.

The 2012 fall of Goma led to the deployment of a new offensive-minded U.N. force, an overhaul of the Congolese army, and diplomatic pressure on Rwanda, leading to the M23's defeat the next year and a deal calling for its demobilization.

But the group never fully disarmed and launched a fresh offensive in 2022 that has seen it capture vast swathes of mineral-rich North Kivu province, including lucrative mines that produce coltan, which is used in smartphones.

Well-trained and professionally armed, M23 says it exists to protect Congo's Tutsi population from the Congolese government and ethnic Hutu militias. U.N. experts say Rwanda has deployed 3,000-4,000 troops and provided significant firepower, including missiles and snipers, to support the M23.

The rebels' advance since the start of the year has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes, on top of 3 million displaced in east Congo in 2024, according to the U.N.

The U.N. Security Council held crisis talks on Sunday, with the United States, France and Britain condemning what they said was Rwanda's backing of the rebel advance.

Kigali dismissed statements that "did not provide any solutions" and accused the Congolese government of sabotaging negotiations with the M23 and supporting Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 genocide.

Kinshasa rejects these allegations.

"The fighting close to the Rwandan border continues to present a serious threat to Rwanda's security and territorial integrity, and necessitates Rwanda's sustained defensive posture," Rwanda's foreign ministry said.

Kenya's President William Ruto, chairman of the East African Community bloc, was to hold an emergency meeting for heads of state on the situation.
Sierra Leone's information ministry said Sunday it was investigating media reports that European cocaine kingpin Jos Leijdekkers is in the country and benefiting from high-level protection there.

Two sources told Reuters on Friday that Leijdekkers, who was sentenced last June in absentia to 24 years in prison by a Dutch court for smuggling more than 7 tons of cocaine, had been in Sierra Leone since at least early 2023.

A spokesperson for the Dutch prosecutors' office said in response to questions from Reuters about Leijdekkers' whereabouts that he has been living in Sierra Leone for at least six months. Leijdekkers is on Europol's list of most wanted fugitives.

In a statement, the Sierra Leonean ministry said the country's police were ready to collaborate with the Dutch government, Interpol and other international law enforcement agencies about the case.

The statement said the country's president "attended numerous family events during the festive season" and "has no knowledge about the identity and the issues detailed in the reports about the individual in question."

Reuters was not able to reach Leijdekkers.

Videos and photos verified by Reuters of a church Mass in Sierra Leone on Jan. 1, 2025, show Leijdekkers, 33, sitting two rows behind Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio.

In the images, Leijdekkers was sitting next to a woman who three sources said was Bio's daughter Agnes and who they said was married to Leijdekkers. Reuters could not confirm the relationship.

Bio's daughter and the Dutch lawyer who last represented Leijdekkers in the Netherlands did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Three sources told Reuters Leijdekkers was benefiting from high-level protection in Sierra Leone, which international law enforcement officials say is a transshipment point for large volumes of Latin American cocaine headed to Europe.

The Sierra Leonean information ministry said the government had not received any formal communication on Leijdekkers from any state or institution, and was resolute in ensuring the country would not become a haven for any organized crime.
An undersea fiber optic cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday, likely as a result of external influence, Latvia said, prompting NATO to deploy patrol ships to the area and triggering a sabotage investigation by Swedish authorities.

Sweden's Security Service has seized control of a vessel as part of the probe, the country's prosecution authority said.

"We are now carrying out a number of concrete investigative measures, but I cannot go into what they consist of due to the ongoing preliminary investigation," senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement.

NATO was coordinating military ships and aircraft under its recently deployed mission, dubbed "Baltic Sentry." The effort follows a string of incidents in which power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines have been damaged in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said her government was coordinating with NATO and other countries in the Baltic Sea region to clarify the circumstances surrounding the latest incident.

"We have determined that there is most likely external damage and that it is significant," Silina told reporters following an extraordinary government meeting.

Latvia's navy said earlier on Sunday it had dispatched a patrol boat to inspect a ship and that two other vessels were also subject to investigation.

Up to several thousand commercial vessels make their way through the Baltic Sea at any given time, and a number of them passed the broken cable on Sunday, data from the MarineTraffic ship tracking service showed.

One such ship, the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Vezhen, escorted to Swedish waters by a Swedish coastguard vessel on Sunday evening, MarineTraffic data showed. It later anchored outside the Swedish naval base in Karlskrona in southern Sweden.

It was not immediately clear if the Vezhen, which passed the fiber optic cable at 0045 GMT on Sunday, was subject to investigation.

A Swedish coastguard spokesperson declined to comment on the Vezhen or the position of coastguard ships.

Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare, which listed the Vezhen among its fleet, did not immediately reply to requests for comment outside of office hours.

NATO cooperation

Swedish navy spokesperson Jimmie Adamsson earlier told Reuters it was too soon to say what caused the damage to the cable or whether it was intentional or a technical fault.

"NATO ships and aircrafts are working together with national resources from the Baltic Sea countries to investigate and, if necessary, take action," the alliance said in a statement on Sunday.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his country was cooperating closely with NATO and Latvia.

NATO said last week it would deploy frigates, patrol aircraft and naval drones in the Baltic Sea to help protect critical infrastructure and reserved the right to take action against ships suspected of posing a security threat.

Finnish police last month seized a tanker carrying Russian oil and said they suspected the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed.

Finland's prime minister in a statement said the latest cable damage highlighted the need to increase protection for critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

The cable that broke on Sunday linked the Latvian town of Ventspils with Sweden's Gotland island and was damaged in Sweden's exclusive economic zone, the Latvian navy said.

Communications providers were able to switch to alternative transmission routes, the cable's operator, Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC), said in a statement, adding it was seeking to contract a vessel to begin repairs.

"The exact nature of the damage can only be determined once cable repair work begins," LVRTC said.

A spokesperson for the operator said the cable was laid at depths of more than 50 meters (164 feet).

Unlike seabed gas pipelines and power cables, which can take many months to repair after damage, fiber optic cables that have suffered damage in the Baltic Sea have generally been restored within weeks.
A diplomat from Afghanistans ruling Taliban cautioned the United States on Monday against threatening retaliatory measures in response to detentions of U.S. nationals in the country.

Our policy is to reach a solution through peaceful means, Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban ambassador to Qatar, told VOA in written remarks.

He spoke two days after the new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened that Washington may place a very big bounty on Taliban leaders, suggesting they might hold more American hostages in the country than previously known.

Last week, the de facto Afghan authorities released two Americans, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, in exchange for a Taliban member serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal prison on drug and terrorism charges. The swap was negotiated by former President Joe Bidens administration.

In the face of pressure and aggression, the jihad [holy war] of the Afghan nation in recent decades is a lesson that everyone should learn from, Shaheen stated.

The Taliban have not revealed how many foreigners are still in their custody in Afghanistan. However, relatives and U.S. officials report the detention of at least two additional Americans. They are George Glezmann, a former airline mechanic, and Mahmood Habibi, a naturalized American.

Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported, Rubio wrote on social media platform X on Saturday. If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on bin Laden.

The chief U.S. diplomat did not elaborate or specify the number of Americans being detained in Afghanistan.

Washington offered a bounty of $25 million for information leading to the capture or killing of Osama bin Laden for planning the deadly Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States. Congress subsequently authorized the secretary of state to increase the bounty to a maximum of $50 million.

U.S. forces searched for bin Laden in Afghanistan for years before finding his hideout and killing him in neighboring Pakistan in 2011.

Meanwhile, a former Canadian soldier detained by the Taliban was freed Sunday after more than two months of imprisonment in a deal brokered by Qatar.

I just spoke with David Lavery upon his safe arrival in Qatar from Afghanistan. He is in good spirits, Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly announced on X. Joly credited the tiny Gulf nations prime minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani with helping in Laverys release.

"Thank you to my Qatari counterpart, @MBA_AlThani_, for helping facilitate the release of our Canadian citizen, she wrote.

The Taliban waged a lethal insurgency in Afghanistan that persisted for nearly two decades, ultimately regaining power in 2021, mere days before a hasty and chaotic withdrawal of all U.S.-led Western troops from the country along with thousands of Afghan allies.

Taliban leaders have since imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, banning girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade, prohibiting most women from workplaces, and blocking womens access to public life at large.

The United Nations has designated the restrictions as gender apartheid, and the international community has refuted the Talibans request for legitimacy to their government due to their severe treatment of the female Afghan population.

The restrictions stem from numerous decrees issued by the reclusive Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, from his base in the southern city of Kandahar, with his aides defending the government as in line with Sharia.

Last week, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced that he had applied for arrest warrants for Akhundzada and Afghanistans chief justice, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, accusing them of persecuting women and girls.

The Taliban rejected the allegations as baseless and condemned the arrest warrants for their leaders as devoid of just legal basis, duplicitous in nature and politically motivated.
Gas supplies from Russia to Western Europe should not be resumed, even if a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is reached. Therefore, after the war is over, the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines should be dismantled.

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Polish President Andrzej Duda told the BBC on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. Without the existing gas pipeline, countries such as Germany will no longer be tempted to resume cheap gas supplies from Russia to support their economies.

"I can only hope that European leaders will learn from Russia's aggression against Ukraine and decide never to resume pumping gas through this pipeline," he said.

Duda emphasized the effectiveness of economic sanctions against Russia and called on European countries to resist pressure from companies wishing to restore business ties. "I believe that the Nord Stream pipeline should be dismantled. It is a very big threat to Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, and other Central European countries. This is a threat from an energy and military point of view, as well as a huge economic threat because it means Russia's domination of Europe in economic terms," Duda added.

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He also emphasized that no peace talks can take place without Ukraine. "I say this as the president of the Republic of Poland, as a neighbor of Ukraine, and as the president of a country that has gone through a very difficult historical experience. I mean the Second World War and the Yalta Conference, in which we were not included and where certain agreements were reached without our knowledge, and then we found ourselves behind the Iron Curtain and became part of the Soviet sphere of influence for almost 50 years," he said.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic predicts that the Nord Stream gas pipeline will be launched in 2025, which will allow the European Union countries to buy Russian gas again. Moreover, the owner of the Russian "pipe" will not be the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, but an investor from the United States.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
On Jan. 22, Donald Trump  just two days after being inaugurated for his second term as U.S. president  again called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the "ridiculous" war with Ukraine, but this time he added a threat.

"If we don't make a 'deal,' and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

The following day, Trump told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had told him hes ready to negotiate an end to the war. In an interview with Fox News aired that same day, Trump said Zelenskyy is "no angel" and shouldn't have allowed this war to happen.

Does the new U.S. administration have sufficient economic leverage over Russia to force it to make peace, or at least talk about peace?

According to Konstantin Sonin, John Dewey distinguished service professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and former vice rector of Moscows Higher School of Economics, the U.S. has economic leverage, but some of its levers are clearly weaker than others.

"Russia's trade with the U.S. is very small  less than $3 billion a year," he told Danila Galperovich of VOAs Russian Service. "Accordingly, even if any opportunity for U.S. companies to trade with Russia is completely closed, the damage to Russia will be small. There is an opportunity to strengthen secondary sanctions  that is, additional pressure, first of all, on China, on India, on other countries, so that they more strictly comply with the primary sanctions.

"There is also an opportunity to continue what [former U.S. President Joe] Biden did with sanctions against the Russian shadow tanker fleet," Sonin added, referring to vessels that Russia uses to sell oil and evade Western sanctions.

"This requires great international cooperation, but, in principle, it can be done," said Sonin.

Economist Vladislav Inozemtsev, a special adviser to the Russian Media Studies Project at MEMRI, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, and director of the Moscow-based Center for Post-Industrial Studies, also stressed the significance of secondary sanctions on countries that do business with Russia.

"Trump can somehow influence other countries so that they do not buy Russian products, Inozemtsev told VOA. For example, let's say he can say that if India buys Russian oil, then the United States will impose 15% duties on all goods from India. This would have the most radical consequences. [I]f countries trading with Russia are getting serious problems in the United States for all their products, then I think that this will be a very sobering moment. If it is possible to impose a virtually complete trade blockade through U.S. sanctions, then these will be devastating sanctions, of course."

Sonin said that, over the longer term, deregulating oil production internationally would reduce world oil prices and thereby hinder Moscows ability to finance its military operations against Ukraine.

"Trump is famous for his good relations with Saudi Arabia, although they are unlikely to be so good that they will reduce oil prices at his request," he said. "But nevertheless, it is possible to work towards lowering oil prices, which even without sanctions will reduce Russian income."

Trump spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a Jan. 22 telephone call.

Still, Sonin said that economic levers, in and of themselves, cannot force Putin to do anything. "I would say that the most direct impact is still the supply of more powerful weapons to Ukraine. I do not know to what extent Trump wants to do this, but he mentioned it, and, in principle, it is possible to supply Ukraine with more powerful weapons in larger quantities."

Inozemtsev, however, said that Putin, who has not previously changed his behavior in response to ultimatums, could do so this time.

"Trump is a person whose degree of radicalism and unpredictability corresponds to Putin's," he said. "Here, perhaps, it would be better for Putin to change his mind a bit. If Trump offers him: 'Vladimir, let's go, we'll meet there, sit down at the negotiating table, bring your team, I'll bring mine, and we'll agree on something, we'll discuss it for a day or two, but the issue needs to be resolved,' I think Putin will go."
A United Nations special rapporteur is on a 10-day visit to Zambia to assess accusations that the government is stifling dissent.

According to the U.N., Irene Khan will also focus on Zambias legal and policy framework and the safety of journalists, activists and human rights defenders in the country.

Upon her arrival in Lusaka on Friday, the special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion told journalists that her visit to Zambia will give her the chance to hear from all sides and make recommendations.

I can also discuss  recent developments or legislative developments, other issues of how to strengthen your governments commitment to human rights, especially freedom of opinion and expression, Khan said.

In May of last year, police in Zambia arrested two opposition lawmakers, two opposition party leaders and an activist on espionage charges. This followed their accusation that the government played a role in the alleged abduction of an independent lawmaker, Emmanuel Jay Jay Banda. The government has denied that accusation.

Meanwhile, Zambian journalist Thomas Zgambo has been arrested three times in 13 months after writing articles critical of the government. He is facing sedition charges.

And last August, the government warned it would tighten cybersecurity laws to curb online hate speech, propaganda and defamation. The ruling party later withdrew the bill after it was denounced by human rights groups.

Zambias Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mulambo Haimbe, told VOA that his government has nothing to hide and invited the special rapporteur to Zambia.

Haimbe defended his governments record on human rights, saying it has upheld rights guaranteed in the Zambian constitution.

We have Article 11, which protects the freedoms of individuals, protection of fundamental rights of individuals. And in particular, with regard to freedom of expression, Article 20 is very clear that all citizens and all persons in Zambia will enjoy an inalienable right to the freedom of expression and opinion, he said.

Chishala Kateka, leader of the opposition New Heritage Party, told VOA that Khans visit is very timely.

We are experiencing arbitrary arrests and transfer of individuals to distant provinces without due process, she said. Theres also a systematic denial of our right to assemble and express ourselves freely. We have selective application of the law where opposition members are unfairly targeted while those from the ruling party are above the law.

Juliet Chibuta, a human rights activist, told VOA the visit of the U.N. special rapporteur is an opportunity to hear from both sides and offer solutions.

The special rapporteur will offer an independent scrutiny and provide unbiased analysis of the situation on the ground, as she is not affiliated to any institution in Zambia. Her visit will also raise awareness on issues regarding censorship, harassment of journalists, restrictions on online expression and other threats of freedom of speech, Chibuta said.

In August, U.N. experts expressed concern about the allegations of arbitrary arrests of political opponents in Zambia.

The experts said the arrests and restrictions in Zambia have had a chilling effect on freedom of opinion, expression, association and assembly, which are critical for a functioning democracy.
A group of Zimbabwes liberation war veterans has called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down. The veterans, affiliated with the ruling Zanu-PF Party, accuse the president of nepotism, corruption and failing to address the moribund economy. Zanu-PF Party leaders say they are not taking the calls seriously.

At a press conference streamed online, Blessed Runesu Geza, a veteran of Zimbabwes 1960s and 70s liberation war and a member of Zanu-PF's central committee, called for the president to step down immediately.

He accused Mnangagwa of failing to live up to the promises he made in 2017 when he came to power with the army's help.

Geza said many of those who died fighting for the countrys liberation do not have decent graves and that the country is being turned into a banana republic. He also spoke of looting and the struggles of people in the country.

We are saying  as war veterans  enough is enough. You have shown that you have failed. It cant get any worse, he said in Shona at the press conference.

Corruption has become a security threat because these people are being protected by Emmerson. So, as war veterans, including masses, we are being asked, Why did you give us this kind of a person? We no longer like him. So, we are pleading with you: Leave peacefully. If you dont, people will use the constitution for you to go.

In an interview with VOA, Zanu-PF spokesman Farai Marapira dismissed the calls for Mnangagwa to step down.

The party position is clear; the party position is given to clear channels. So, we cannot dignify rogue rantings by responding to them, Marapira said. People who speak their mind outside of the party, that's part of democracy. But the position is clear: We had a conference, and that is what we will deal with, and that is what we work with, and anything else is just ranting.

At a recent Zanu-PF conference, party leaders passed a resolution that Mnangagwa should seek a third term in 2028, assuming the party can force through amendments to the constitution.

In an interview with VOA, Eldred Masunungure, a political professor at the University of Zimbabwe, said the war veterans are feeling genuine frustration, as things have not worked out the way they expected after Mnangagwa toppled Robert Mugabe in November 2017.

The political clouds are extremely difficult to read under the circumstances, but what is clear [is] they expressed in unambiguous terms their exasperation with the way things have been going on in the last couple of years in the second republic, Masunungure said. That is certain. But the outcome of what they are doing, what they are advocating for, that is  in my view  deeply uncertain.

The second republic refers to Mnangagwas presidency after Mugabes 37 years in power.

Brighton Chipamhadze, a Harare-based independent political commentator, said Gezas announcement shows the divisions within the ruling party.

As Comrade Geza points out, there are certain individuals benefiting from Mnangagwas rule, calling for [an] extension of Mnangagwas term, Chipamhadze said. Yet there is also a section of the ruling party which is against Mnangagwa extending his term of office.

Zimbabwes constitution, adopted in 2013, allows parliament to impeach and remove the president if lawmakers feel he is incapacitated.

Mnangagwa is one of Africas oldest heads of state. In 2028, he will be 86 years old.
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Supporters of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga singing at the National Heroes Acre on Monday amid intensifying factionalism in the ruling party with some backing President Emmerson Mnangagwa to seek a third term. Chiwenga supporters are strongly opposed to this move. (Video: Costa Nkomo)
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President Ruto expresses deep concern over the intensifying instability in DRC saying military activities are worsening the humanitarian crisis. He is calling for immediate end of hostilities #DRCUnrest #KenyaCares #GlobalPeace 
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U.S. President Donald Trump says hed like to see regional actors accept more Palestinian refugees. Aboard Air Force One, Trump shared a vision to just clean out Gaza and create a virtual clean slate. VOAs Arash Arabasadi has more.
By Ken Bredemeier

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday announced a series of tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures against Colombia after it rejected two U.S. military flights carrying migrants.



These measures are just the beginning, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.



Earlier Sunday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the U.S. until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with dignity.



Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.



A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves, Petro said. That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants. ... In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens."

SEE ALSO:

After Trump's announcement, Petro announced in a post on X that he had ordered the foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the U.S. by 25%.



By late Sunday, the United States had suspended visa processing at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota in direct response to Petro's decision not to accept deportation flights, a State Department spokesperson said.



"The Department of State has suspended visa processing at U.S. Embassy Bogota in direct response to President Petros decision to not accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens," the spokesperson said. "Embassy Bogota has notified individual applicants who are affected. American Citizens Services will not be affected and will continue as normal."



Colombia is America's third-largest trading partner in Latin America.

The row came about after U.S. authorities began arresting hundreds of undocumented migrants per day and sending them back to their home countries, carrying out President Donald Trumps 2024 campaign pledge to deport masses of migrants who have illegally entered the United States.



Were going to enforce immigration laws, Vice President JD Vance told CBS News Face the Nation on Sunday.

More than 1,000 migrants were arrested with hundreds repatriated to other countries, including Guatemala last week, during the first days of the new Trump administration, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and the White House.

Its going very well. Were getting the bad, hard criminals out, Trump told reporters Friday during a trip to North Carolina to view the flood recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene.

Without evidence, he said, These are murderers. These are people that have been as bad as you get. As bad as anybody youve seen. Were taking them out first.

The White House released photos of shackled migrants boarding a C-17 military transport aircraft for flights out of the United States.

Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, told ABCs This Week show Sunday, There will be more arrests nationwide.

Trump authorized sending 1,500 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, and Homan said, Youll see the numbers increase. Theyre down there to create a secure border.

He said the U.S. is deporting as many as we can arrest, with the focus first on those convicted of U.S. crimes and then moving on to detain and deport those whose asylum requests have been rejected by U.S. officials.

Were in the beginning stages, Homan said.

Its not OK to violate the laws of this country, Homan said. He urged undocumented migrants, even those who have not been ordered out of the U.S., to return to their home countries voluntarily.

About 11 million undocumented migrants are believed to be living in the U.S., a staggering number that most officials believe will be impossible to deport.

Were going to do what we can with the money we have, Homan said.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, urged his Republican colleagues in Congress to authorize more spending for the deportation effort.

We haven't given the Trump team the resources, Graham said on NBCs Meet the Press show. He said Homan needs to substantially hire more [immigration] agents. He needs to finish the [border] wall [with Mexico] and technology. He needs to go from 41,000 detention beds to 150,000 detention beds to make this work.

So, to my Republican colleagues, particularly in the House [of Representatives], as we fiddle, our immigration plans are hitting walls. We're not building walls, we're hitting walls. We need to give Tom Homan the money now to execute the plan that he's come up with. And without congressional funding this is going to hit a wall, Graham declared.

SEE ALSO:

The Trump administration has stopped taking appointments for migrants waiting in Mexico to request asylum through a mobile app, but Trumps anti-immigration edicts are facing legal challenges. One judge has already temporarily blocked Trump from declaring that he no longer recognizes constitutionally guaranteed citizenship for children of undocumented migrants born in the United States.
Photo: Vulture

Benedict Cumberbatchs grief is the thing with feathers. The actor stars as a father who is mourning the death of his wife in Grief Is the Thing With Feathers, Dylan Southerns upcoming film adaptation of Max Porters book. At Sundance 2025, Cumberbatch reflected on what drew him to this project, which he also executive-produced. It was something I very much wanted to have out there in the culture, because male grief and the way its examined  I think especially in British cultures  is quite limited, he told Vulture. You imagine what that is in its usual format in an indie film, and this is a very, very unique and different take on all the colors of grief. How different? For starters, the movie features a talking crow that Cumberbatch described as a manifestation of an internal feeling that has become real. Hes everything from an amanuensis to Mary Poppins to a full horror trope to an annoying best friend to a therapist, the actor explained.

Cumberbatch, who said this role is far closer to him than a lot of other characters hes portrayed, agreed with Southerns perspective that grief isnt something you can just get over or expect to remain at the same level throughout various points in your life. Its not always in the full face of the storm at the funeral, at the moment of death, or even the few days after that loss, the actor said. That absence thats felt, and how that destroys any kind of semblance of normality in a life thats relied on, that presence, that person, is now gone  Its learning to live with the scar, the knot in the rope of your life. Whew.

Were back at Sundance in the Vulture Spot, where were interviewing the casts and creators of the years buzziest films. Check out the rest of our coverage from the film fest here.
Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

When Luigi Mangione was apprehended last month, Dave Francos phone exploded. I have never received more texts in my life about anything, he told The Hollywood Reporter at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Everyone was lining up to tell Franco that he looks like the internet heartthrob/alleged murderer. Anyone who has my phone number has reached out about it, he said.

Franco was at Sundance to promote his new film with wife Alison Brie, Together. But the world is already lining up his next proj: a biopic on our man Luigi. Multiple documentaries are already in the works on the alleged United Healthcare CEO assassin, but the scripted field is wide open. And none of those texts to Franco came with contracts to sign. I dont think there have been any official offers, Brie said.
Experts say that "Jesus Christ" may not be the name of the central figure of Christianity. Scientists believe that the real name sounded like his native language, Aramaic, and it is nothing like our modern version.

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The name "Jesus" went through a long linguistic journey from Aramaic to Hebrew, then to Greek and to Latin before it could receive its modern translation in the 16th century. And the surname was supposed to be based on his hometown. That is, the real name of the Son of God was most likely Yeshua of Nazareth, MailOnline writes.

Scientists explain that the name "Jesus" even contains letters that were not used in written language until 1500 years after his death. Throughout the 2000-year history of Christianity, the original name of Jesus was hidden by layers of translation and transliteration.

The historical character Jesus and his disciples lived in a region of the Roman Empire called Judea, which is now part of Palestine and Israel. However, most scholars believe that Jesus was born and raised in the city of Nazareth, which is part of Galilee, a small province in the north.

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"We cannot know for sure what languages Jesus spoke. However, given his family background in Nazareth, we can assume that his everyday language was Aramaic," says Professor Dineke Goatman, an expert on the relationship between Judaism and Christianity at the Protestant Theological University in the Netherlands.

Aramaic is a language that first emerged on the territory of modern Syria and spread to a large part of the Middle East during the time of Jesus' life. Surviving papyri from the Galilee region show that it was a vernacular language among the Jewish population and was almost certainly the daily language of Jesus.

In addition, early Greek versions of the Gospel specifically record that Jesus spoke certain words in the original Aramaic.

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"Most scholars agree that his name was Yeshua or possibly Yeshu, which was one of the most common names in first-century Galilee," the scholars say, adding that they have also gone to great lengths to investigate what Jesus' actual surname was. Because, contrary to popular belief, "Christ" is not a surname, but a title or honorific. It means "Messiah" or "God's anointed."

In the Roman period, people of high status used a three-name structure consisting of an individual name, a family name, and an additional nickname. Examples include such historical figures as Gaius Julius Caesar or Marcus Tullius Cicero. However, as a poor Jew, Jesus could not have had such a full name.

People who came from poor families did not have a last name but were identified by other means, such as their parents' name, place of origin, or other distinguishing characteristics.

"For example, someone might be called 'John the son of Zebedee' or 'Mary Magdalene,' with 'Magdalene' probably indicating that she was from a place called Magdala," explains Marko Marina, a scholar at the University of Zagreb.

Since Jesus is referred to in the Bible as "Jesus of Nazareth," he most likely used this as a practical way to distinguish himself from other people named Yeshu or Yeshua. This means that Jesus' full name would be "Yeshua of Nazareth."

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Photo: Vulture

If youre gonna manifest someone to play your dad, you might as well go big or go home (especially if its your childhood home). At Sundance 2025, Lili Reinhart told Vulture that it was a dream to have Mark Ruffalo play her dad in the upcoming dramedy Hal & Harper, in which codependent adult siblings are dealing with their childhood home being put up for sale. He was the person we were told, Youre never gonna get. And then we got him, Reinhart said of Ruffalo. But being told that didnt discourage her or series director Cooper Raiff. We were like, hes our dad, though, said Raiff, who also stars as Reinharts brother and came up with the idea for the show seven years ago. When we hung out for the first time, we [realized] we all believed in past lives, Raiff recalled. There was a family bond that was really easy to tap into. Ruffalo, Raiff, and Reinhart are joined by co-stars Havana Rose Liu, Addison Timlin, Alyah Chanelle Scott, Chris Meyer, and Betty Gilpin.

Were back at Sundance in the Vulture Spot, where were interviewing the casts and creators of the years buzziest films. Check out the rest of our coverage from the film fest here.
Um, is Mayfair Witches getting good? I mean, obviously not like The Sopranos good, but Double Helix is the second episode in a row to tap into the weirdness, and especially the campiness, already baked into Mayfair Witchess premise without getting lost in it.

It looks like all of my theories are wrong, but Im okay with that. It turns out Rowan is basically useless when not in close proximity to Lasher, and Juliens soul is not stored in his old clothes; it is stored in his old Victrola. In fact, the only point I can give myself is correctly spotting that Rowan and Lark have a romantic history, which, well, duh. You know whose romantic history I did not clock? Of course, you do.

Luckily, I am at least shrewder than Sip, Mayfairs eternal rube, which is comforting. Sip is shocked, shocked, I tell you, to discover that a man who used and betrayed him in the recent past has once again used and betrayed him. Yes, Albrecht Escher absconded with Lasher and left Sip holding the bag, with nothing but a passive-aggressive voice note on a bottle of brown liquor by way of good-bye. So now, the Talamasca have hauled Sip off to Amsterdam for official questioning, and Im sorry, but Sip really should have been able to predict that it would go like this when he started working with Albrecht.

We are also blessed in that Double Helix spends relatively little time on Sips incompetence (if Sip got a read on the little scrap of paper from the fireplace, the show has so far refused to share it with us) and more on the brewing buddy-cop duo of Rowan and Moira. Like all great television relationships, they begin at each others throats, but if theyre going to work together they need to trust each other, and through this theyll learn about something even more important than teamwork: friendship. Im not saying Jojo has been replaced  unless Rowan fails to rescue her from the thrall, in which case, yes, she has been replaced.

Which brings us to todays case. Starsky and Hutch need to free Jojo and Daphne, but as long as Lasher is out of range, Rowan doesnt have the juice. The day is not getting off to a great start, and to make matters worse, Rowan and Moira have not yet learned the value of teamwork. Nobody should wake up screaming at each other wearing last nights clothes, but here is where we find our heroes. They are less interested in brainstorming solutions and more interested in scoring points against one another, which I have taken the liberty of tallying for the class.

Rowan promised she would kill Lasher and didnt follow through. (Moira +1)

But she really did try to kill him. (Rowan +1)

Well, Rowan sucks at killing Lasher. (Moira +1)

If Moira hadnt tipped off the Talamasca, then Lasher would still be here, and theyd be able to un-thrall Jojo and Daphne. (Rowan +1)

Moira only tipped off the Talamasca because Rowan isnt exactly trustworthy. (Moira +1)

Rowan, who was always the underdog in this face-off, whiffs it with a weak fuck you. (Moira +1)

That leaves us with a final score of 4-2, Moira. If Jojo and Daphne, appearing occasionally as watery holograms wandering the mansion, could see or hear their would-be rescuers, they might point out that none of this is helping. What they need is for Sip to just drive Lasher by the house for a minute so that Rowan can tap into his magic battery pack.

Oh, but also, at some point in the night, Rowan was temporarily roused from her magic-induced stupor to send Lark a string of regrettable, incoherent text messages, which must now be dealt with. They read, and I quote:

This night iz a DISASTR. Im trapped them in the house I have to ffix it. When I do Meet tomorrow Ur probably asleep Ive sorry Im can fx this will do tomorrow You should have stayed in SF nad Im NOT being selfish. Youd be a very good surgen Family thing my fault

Genuinely, the most relatable Rowan has ever been.

In the morning, she could have just texted Lark something like, OMG, so mortifying . One too many mint juleps, for sure, lol. Also, Im super sorry, but my family thing is way more drama than I thought, and I have to cancel again today. Im the worst! (This is coming from someone whos been there.) But Rowan decides this is something she must handle in person, so she meets with Lark at his hotel for hangover cure omelets. Im not one to tell Rowan her priorities, but, like, Jojo and Daphne are literally playing 21 Questions on an astral plane right now, and I dont even know if theres food in there. But whatever. Rowan goes to have her little tete-a-tete with her ex  the man who didnt tell her about his new job across the country until they were mid-move-in  and its boring, short, and useless, except that it makes Lark suspicious enough to swipe Rowans coffee cup for genetic testing. Bravo, bitch, as Moira might say.

Now, can we focus on the task at hand? Obviously, Sip cannot help them out with a Lasher drive-by because Lasher is with Albrecht in God knows where, and plus, Sip is about to be apprehended by the magic bureaucracy. Also, the house is falling down, and nobody knows why, but weve decided thats a level-C priority.

The next logical stop for information is Cortland, whom Rowan just now remembered is locked in his fathers study and will be desperate to get away from Dead Aunts bullying. If Cortland still has a working relationship with Albrecht, then maybe he can help with Lashers current whereabouts. How, exactly, theyre gonna get Albrecht to agree to a Lasher drive-by even if they find them is a problem for later.

She may be a pill, but Moira is instrumental in an interrogation situation. Shes a human lie detector, but shes better because she can also fill in the context Cortland leaves out of his half-answers. Yes, hes being truthful about wanting to help for Jojos sake. No, he cant actually get in contact with Albrecht any more. (Cortland may not have actually heard Albrecht call him a dead end last episode, but he definitely got the gist.)

Much as Jojo and Dead Aunt accuse Cortland of being the second coming of his evil father, Julien, Cortland is not the creep we need, Moira confirms. Julien is. Sure, Julien is dead, but, as Rowan astutely points out, since when has that mattered in this family? Several quick a-ha! moments later, the gang figures out that Julien tethered himself to his Victrola, the same Victrola Dolly Jean was seen loading up onto that big trolley of hers last night. To Dolly Jeans house, we go!

Another really quick side note: The family is plotting a coup against Rowan. Moira explains that Rowan use[d] them as live bait. They dont like that. (Moira +1.)

And then, with a wild swing of the Mayfair incest-o-meter, we learn that Julien is in an undead throuple with sisters Dolly Jean and Evelyn. I realize there must be some genetic distance between Julien and his sister-wives just based on everyones race presentation, but if you still all go to the same family reunions, thats not enough genetic distance for me. But lets power through.

As I said, Julien has bound his life force to the Victrola, and this allows Dolly Jean and Evelyn to take turns having romantic interludes with him in a netherworld of his making. The same netherworld where Julien enjoyed torturing Cortland during his statue days. Rowan is already raring to jump into the Victrola to chat with Julien herself, but Julien makes all the rules in his Victrola. Why would he let Rowan in? Literally, no one likes Rowan. Moira, whos suddenly solutions-oriented, takes a hands-on approach and tries to read the Victrolas mind directly. This turns out to be a brave but medically risky maneuver.

She goes into a sort of full-body trance/medical event and shouts something about the draught of the children of God and Taltos, but thats about it. It wasnt a complete loss, however. It allows Rowan and Moira time for a bonding moment in the hospital while Moira recovers, thus completing the buddy-cop arc.

Now that everyone (Moira and Rowan) trusts each other. Rowan has doubled down on her plan to talk to Julien personally and, I imagine, give him a piece of her mind. Back at her foundationally unsound manor, she downs the magic potion, lets Dolly Jean prick her finger, presses the blood into the spinning record, and gets sucked into Julienland.

For once, I hope she listens to Cortland when he calls Julien a honey-tongued devil!

Additional Questions, Comments, and Concerns

 ICYMI, Sips scrap of paper also reads, Taltos. Oooooohhhhh.

 As long as Lark is working on Rowan and Lashers genetic profiles, do you think hed mind taking a gander at the rest of the family? Because there is clearly some inbreeding happening that is bound to cause problems.

 Im choosing to believe Albrechts various mind tricks allowed him to block Moira from reading his thoughts because otherwise how did she not see through him immediately.

 If youre curious, the Latin phrase inscribed over Albrechts mantle Google translates to, We look, and we are always there. If there are any Latin scholars here who dispute this translation, we welcome the intellectual rigor, but what are you doing here?
The Real Housewives franchise started as a modest examination into the absurdities of the quotidian lives of the upper class  a little bit Desperate Housewives, a little bit Laguna Beach, with a lot of glam in between. We are now almost 20 years in and the brand is bigger than ever, but there are only so many more Scary Islands or chaotic slumber parties we can have. This has put Bravo in a tenuous position: Now that the Housewives are more self-aware than ever, how do we find a new way to tell the same stories? While producers have struggled to come up with an answer to this nagging issue, across the franchises they seem to be trying something new, which is breaking the fourth wall in strategic and calculated ways.

Some of the choices are more subtle. Take the long-simmering civil war between Karen and Mia, which finally came to a head last episode. Karen declared open conflict with Mia and Jacqueline, laying out all the inconsistencies in Mias storytelling that leave the group frustrated while Ashley was in the back hallway frantically turning her Anastasia Beverly Hills contour stick into a semblance of five-o-clock shadow. It was a calculated attack with a clear point: You are exploiting our emotions, and its not okay. Mia naturally responded with hostility, reminding us that the person demanding transparency from the group is a known drunk and adulterer, while Jacqueline feebly added that Gordon is a known liar. Touche on both points, but that doesnt erase the inconsistency of her actions.

What sets the gears in motion, however, is not simply the conflict but the choices the women make after the information is revealed. Wendy, Ashley, and Gizelle make their position obvious at the outset: They are upset and disgusted with Mia and plan on standing by Karen. Gizelle explicitly says she feels bamboozled, a word reserved for single moms in MLMs. Karen is aghast at the defamation of character, a claim she will come to regret shortly. Mia insists that despite being paid to film her life on-camera, she doesnt need to be around anyone who questions her choices as a mom, a delusion of the highest order. Keiarna is mildly taken aback by the intensity of the argument, feeling that everything is going too far. Stacey, however, is fully aghast at the ambush, insisting it was inappropriate and mean-spirited. She is correct on both points, but, baby, welcome to reality television.

What follows is the women openly picking sides and filming accordingly. Ashley, Gizelle, and Karen get together with Keiarna, in part to support Keiarna as she continues to suffer through her highly incompatible relationship but also to make it clear that theyre all standing together as a unit against Mia. Stacey, however, chooses to be a maverick, adding a wrinkle to the planned takedown by sending out invites to participate in her charity event, a showcase modeling dogs for adoption that we all know by the trailer will end in a poop-laden fiasco. And while shes unprepared for reprisals from the other women, shes more than ready to spar over it.

Karen declines to participate, miffed that Stacey chose to protect Mia in her attempted takedown, retaliation she did not see coming. Despite Staceys attempts to stagger her fittings, Gizelle storms into Viviens showroom to inform Stacey that she will not participate in the event  coming up with the thinnest lie possible by claiming she has dog trauma  and the retaliation is clear on both ends. Gizelle is letting Stacey know she crossed a line, and Stacey is not entertaining it. Wendy attempts to throw Stacey a bone, offering that she could be remorseful for taking a stance apart from Karen to minimize this pushback, but she refuses the olive branch. Why should she need to clear Vivien with Karen when she knew Vivien before Karen ever heard of her? Why would she have contributed to Gizelles GNA event when Gizelle kicked her out before she could so much as sit down? It is a frank challenge to the cast: Why should Stacey adhere to the conceit of the show when it doesnt match the circumstances in real life, all to placate Karen and reject Mia? Instead of taking the pushback lying down, she chooses to retaliate accordingly, making plans to sit down with Mia and kick the pretense behind the frivolous alliances wide open.

Mia is too busy trying to ride her lies until the wheels fall off to be invested in the drama around Staceys event. She calls Gordon on speaker, attempting to clarify the timeline of when Gordon knew of parentage, to no avail. Later, while picking up Inc, they engage in a clearly preplanned conversation in which they discuss Gordons shared paternity results and Incs skepticism about the accuracy. Its beating a dead horse to continue pointing out how inappropriate I find this whole thing to be  why are we now hearing about Inc spending quality time exclusively with the son whose paternity is alleged to be in question?  but what is striking is how even in a clearly rehearsed conversation, it is obvious that everyone involved is frustrated with Mias inability to maintain boundaries. Inc is looking for a single version of Mia that doesnt exist yet; Gordon is looking to preserve a family dynamic that Mia is not interested in maintaining. Meanwhile, there are kids in this fiasco, watching adults fail to prioritize them as they publicly love out loud on Instagram.

Until now, Mia has remained on an island with Jacqueline, the personal embodiment of a pesky ingrown hair your waxer wasnt able to catch. Stacey publicly flipping sides, however, gives her more ammo than she expected. Not only does she have an inside account of Karens antics, they can prepare to break up one of the most consistent alliances of the past two seasons, Karen and Wendy, who clung to each other when the cast was attempting to ice them both out. It is no secret that Karen is not a fan of Wendy  she made a point of insisting Wendy wasnt Potomac when she first came on, claiming shed made a mess of the board they were both on (a claim that Karen, as we find out, sticks by to this day).

Mia wraps up the episode by making an insightful point: The truth doesnt expire. This season has been an effort in fact-finding. Is Karen really a drunk, or is this a persistent rumor? Is Stacey in a fantasyland, or is she really a shrewd operator of the camera? What, exactly, is happening in Mias marriage? When will Ashley come to terms with the reality of her marriage? For better or worse, we are getting answers to most of these questions, and judging by the previews for the finale, we are all going to be walking away scratching our heads a bit. The chaos comes to an uneasy conclusion next week. See you all then!

Cherry Blossoms:

 Ashley is charming as a petite man! Her enthusiasm gives heavy Tom Holland in a lip-sync challenge vibes, and she clearly loves to thrill people; I could never in a million years imagine going topless with tassels in front of my friends, family, and potential new boyfriend. That said, as an avid fan of drag performance (on TV and in person), I have to dock her little showcase for not even attempting to lip-sync along to whatever song was playing. (I would assume the song we heard was what Bravo licensed and not what was playing in real time.) 10s on the board for charisma and nerve, but chops for uniqueness and talent. Still, a solid debut either way. Her silhouette moment behind the door? Charming and well executed, and Karen clearly got her thrills from that lap dance.

 It honestly hurts me to watch Keiarna get put through her paces in this relationship with Greg. It seems like a case of sunk-cost fallacy  Keiarna has been with him for two years and doesnt want to walk away with nothing. Unfortunately, she has yet to recognize that Greg is clearly extremely insecure about his position in their dynamic and can prop himself up only by making her feel small, both on- and off-camera. It isnt a shocker that hes resistant to being on-camera given his field, but in that case, he has no business restricting a girl like Keiarna. If that is the image he feels the need to present, he should seek a partner with the same goal; otherwise, he will continue to punish Keiarna for her choices until they are both miserable.

 Every time Stacey discusses the choices she is making in her divorce, my face screws up a little more. If the desperate pleas of a lawyer and Ashley Darby cant convince her that giving up child support in favor of preserving alimony is beyond asinine, I dont know what will. She continues to insist that she knows her marriage while admitting she was not prepared for the recent financial disclosures. I can only pray that she doesnt end up regretting this.

 I know there has been vocal frustration that Karen will not be at the reunion, but I am genuinely curious as to how the show plans on integrating the verdict into the finale. If I were to guess, they picked cameras back up to have the cast film their reactions to the news.

 Congrats on Wendy for landing a major guest for season two of the Wendy show. I still will likely never watch, but Im happy shes happy.
Tesla has filed a lawsuit against the EU over anti-subsidy duties on electric vehicles from China, which amount to 7.8% for the company. The case will last about 18 months and may affect future trade regulations in the EU.

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The Financial Times reports. The move was part of the ongoing tension between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Brussels, which has recently been tightening regulation of the automotive market. In October 2024, the European Union introduced anti-subsidy duties:

7.8% for Tesla;

for Tesla; up to 35.3% for other Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers.

These duties were in addition to the standard 10% import tariff that was already in place for the industry. The duties were prompted by an EU investigation that found that Chinese manufacturers had received unfair subsidies, including soft loans, cheap land leases, and financial support for suppliers such as steel mills.

According to Transport and Environment, in 2023, about 20% of all electric vehicles sold in the EU were made in China. Of these, 28% were accounted for by Tesla, which exports Model 3 models from Shanghai while producing Model Y at its European plant in Berlin.

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Tesla received the lowest duties among all manufacturers because, according to the EU's individual analysis, the company received the least support from the Chinese government. However, Tesla's management believes that the imposed tariffs violate the conditions of fair competition.

The lawsuit was filed by Tesla's subsidiary in Shanghai with the EU's General Court, the second highest court in the Union. The case may take about 18 months to be heard, and its decision may be appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union, if necessary.

The European Commission has expressed its readiness to defend its position in court. "We are ready to defend our case if necessary," commented Olof Gill, the European Commission's trade representative. The imposition of duties was part of the EU's efforts to protect the European market from the aggressive expansion of Chinese manufacturers, which use government support to reduce the cost of cars.

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Tesla is not the first company to file a lawsuit against the EU over the new tariffs. Earlier, similar claims were made by BMW and several Chinese automakers.

At the same time, the political activity of Elon Musk, who is a critic of European regulation, also attracts attention. Some analysts believe that his support for far-right parties in the EU is harming Tesla's sales. According to Acea, in 2024, Tesla's sales in the EU decreased by 13% compared to the previous year.

The court's decision in this case could set an important precedent for the regulation of trade between the EU and China. If Tesla wins the case, it could affect future trade relations and the conditions for importing electric vehicles.

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The community in Passage East has declared victory in a campaign to stop the construction of a telecommunications mast in their locality following a campaign spearheaded by local Independent Councillor Declan Barry.

Two public meetings, called by Councillor Barry, were held to discuss the application and subsequently, over 90 submissions were lodged opposing the proposed structure and more than 200 people signed a petition against the planning application. The petition raised concerns about the safety of such telecommunications masts being located close to homes, schools, and recreational areas and the lack of consultation with the community.

The planning application, which was submitted by On Tower Ireland Limited, was for an 18-metre multi-user lattice-type telecommunications support structure carrying antenna and dishes enclosed within a 2.4-metre high palisade fenced compound.

Following the community-driven campaign, the Waterford City and County Council Planning Department recently refused planning permission for the 18-metre telecommunications mast.

It's amazing what can be achieved when a community stands together," Cllr Barry said in reaction to the decision. " I'm so proud of the people of Crooke and Passage East."

The County Councils refusal was based on the potential for visual impact, creating a traffic hazard and would breach the height elements of the Councils 2022-2028 Development Plan.

In a statement to Waterford News & Star, Cllr Barry said that more than 220 Passage East residents were in attendance across two public meetings with the consensus that we should strongly object to this proposal.

Some of the concerns raised from the initial public meeting, included visual impact, health concerns and possible devaluation of properties, near the proposed mast, the Waterford City East Councillor explained, with 92 separate submissions being lodged with the planning department in objection to the plans.

The community went as far as hiring a planning consultant to compile a 15-page submission, on behalf of the community.

Cllr Barry extended a huge thanks to everyone who made the donations to fund the hiring of the consultant, crediting the generosity and effort put into making the submissions with the ultimate refusal of the planning application.

As the local Independent Councillor, for this area, I'm proud of the people I represent and delighted to have helped to achieve, such a satisfactory outcome."

He said that the community were aware that the applicants, On Tower Ireland Limited, may appeal the planning refusal but said the community will cross this bridge, if and when we meet it. Cllr Barry highlighted the importance that people's voices are heard: Things cannot be imposed on a community. We are the ones living and raising families, in the area and have been, down through the years. Our voices count and need to be heard. Quality of life is much more important than commercial gains.
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 It was a crisp January morning when two drug cartel divers, dressed in full black wetsuits and hoods, plunged into the black water of the Hunter River and motored quietly toward a freighter in the Newcastle Harbour using spy-like submersibles. Cartel masters were commanding the Norwegian divers dubbed AquaMan and Norse Diver through a group chat cheerfully titled Finding Nemo to haul kilograms of drugs ashore to feed Australias ravenous cocaine appetite. Johan-Martinius Halvorsen was caught after trying to retrieve kilograms of cocaine hidden on the hull of a ship in Newcastle harbour. Credit: Stephen Kiprilis It was a deal worth millions, and no expense had been spared. However, such missions are dangerous; another cartel diver had drowned in the same harbour months earlier. A Herald investigation can reveal the worlds most fearsome drug bosses are moving their product via an oceanic superhighway that runs directly into the Port of Newcastle, the worlds largest coal port. Experts say sneaking drugs into the busy port could be a perfect crime, but at least three major plots have come undone in Newcastle in recent years, and the details have now floated to the surface. So it was with the 2023 operation involving the 228-metre red and black bulk carrier Stalo, flying the Cypriot flag, waiting to berth in Newcastle, according to agreed court documents in one case from November.

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The bulk carrier Stalo had 80 kilograms of cocaine hidden in the sea chest on its hull when it sailed into Newcastle in January 2023. A keen-eyed ferry master had spotted the divers swimming in the harbour in the early hours of January 25. More critically, an anonymous caller had two days earlier used an electronic voice generator to warn police about a drug shipment. The ship Stalo will be entering [the] port of Newcastle with drugs located in the bulwark, the voice chanted the message to a police answering machine. Police got there first. They entered the water near Carrington and dived eight metres down below the Stalos red hull. They found the sea chest with six waterproof duffle bags wrapped in plastic. There were 82 kilograms of 80 per cent pure cocaine located inside. The divers, refusing to reply to the ferry masters calls, swam to the shore and clambered up, dropping diving equipment as they fled. Police swooped, arresting the men before they could flee Newcastle. Their underwater scooters were found lashed to a pylon under a wharf nearby.

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Details of the case emerged in documents after one of the divers, Norwegian Johan-Martinius Halvorsen, pleaded guilty to attempting to possess the cocaine in Newcastle District Court late last year. Halvorsen had flown into Australia from Bali less than a week earlier. At 1pm on January 23, the same day police received their warning, Halvorsen and a second man, who the Herald has chosen not to identify for legal reasons, were standing on Blacksmiths Beach, half an hours drive south. According to the police fact sheet, they told one curious local they were ice divers. The $54,000 submersible craft on the sand and the thousands of dollars of wetsuits and diving equipment had been bought urgently with cash and credit cards just days earlier. Halvorsen and his associate jetted 300 metres out from the shore using their high-tech submersibles as perplexed lifesavers watched on. The next morning, at 5am, the Stalo cruised into Newcastle and berthed. It arrives today so we do it tonight in the harbour, one message in the Finding Nemo group read.

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Its almost the perfect crime The anonymous tip to police likely came from a rival criminal gang, former NSW Detective Superintendent Vince Hurley, now a leading criminologist at Macquarie University, told the Herald. Criminologist and retired senior detective Vincent Hurley. Credit: Rhett Wyman Dr Hurley, who spent years undercover and investigating organised crime, said there is not a single country or authority around the world capable of inspecting the ships coming in to their ports. With 12 billion tonnes of shipping moved around the world, we are talking thousands and thousands of cargo ships that are just specks in the ocean, Dr Hurley said. Its not unusual to see dozens of ships anchored off NSW, north and south Coast, waiting to unload their cargo. Even if drugs are found on ships, he added, prosecutions are difficult.

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The ship could be flying the Panamanian flag, owned by a Russian cartel, crewed by Vietnamese  so if drugs are found welded to the hull, who do you prosecute? Hurley said. You have to be able to prove that those individuals knew that those drugs were there. Its almost the perfect crime. Australian Border Force is the lead agency in detecting drug importations on the 2200 ships that arrive in Newcastle each year, bolstered with ABFs X-ray machines, detector dogs and surveillance. But its the busiest port on the east coast, and cartels are looking to beat the system. Its clear from what were seeing and hearing around the world that organised crime groups are using [ship hull concealments] more and more, Acting ABF Commander Graeme Campbell told the Herald. Australia is a hugely attractive market for transnational serious organised criminal syndicates looking to import illegal drugs, and it is safe to say it will be well into the future. The ABF recently unveiled underwater drones that it has been using to detect anomalies on ship hulls.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have both landed in Western Australia to kick-start their election campaigns, claiming the state could make or break their chances at the looming election.

On Monday morning, Albanese announced he would ease congestion along the Kwinana Freeway if elected, spending to the tune of $350 million to widen the road.

State Labor will match that promise for a total of $700 million  a pledge Dutton has since confirmed he would match, calling it a sensible investment and stating there was a lot of repair work to do.

Albanese kicks off his election campaign in WA as the political year begins. Credit: Kate Geraghty

Labor has said that widening the freeway would add around 50 per cent capacity to the upgraded sections, easing congestion for motorists on a road that carries around 100,000 vehicles every day.
London: Police officers twice failed to catch a shoplifter in a wheelchair as she evaded them during a blue light car chase.

Footage showed a South Yorkshire Police car sounding its siren as the suspect fled on a three-wheeled motorised wheelchair on Sunday.

Officers twice tried to cut across her wheelchair during the chase in Sheffield as they attempted to force it to a halt. But the suspect escaped both times, manoeuvring around the car and continuing down the road.

The force reported later that it eventually apprehended the woman, who admitted to shoplifting high value goods from the nearby Meadowhall shopping centre.
Former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that Ukraine's victory in the war depends on the cooperation of civilized countries. He noted that while democratic countries are hesitating to respond to Russia's aggression, China, North Korea, and Iran have already united around this state.

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This, according to Zaluzhnyi, is a serious threat to global security, and Ukraine, along with the entire democratic world, must join forces to combat this challenge. He wrote about this in his column for the Ukrainian media.

The former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reminded that exactly 80 years ago, the prisoners of one of the largest Nazi death camps, Auschwitz-Birkenau in Auschwitz, were released. It was a camp created by the authoritarian regime of a cannibalistic dictator who wanted to rule the world but was ultimately defeated. However, history shows that dictators have a tendency to rise again, and humanity cannot afford to be complacent.

Noting the parallels between Putin and Hitler, Zaluzhnyi noted that dictators still use the images of external enemies to strengthen their own power. Just as Hitler prepared Germany for war, Putin, after the aggression in Georgia in 2008, actively built a system that allowed him to start a war with Ukraine in 2022. Emphasizing the importance of mobilizing resources for warfare, Zaluzhnyi notes that dictatorial regimes can quickly mobilize human resources, but their weakness is that due to absolute power, they cannot avoid fatal mistakes.

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"After coming to power, according to Arendt, totalitarian movements face a serious dilemma of fulfilling their promises. They solve this problem by engaging in a constant struggle with external and internal enemies, real or imagined, in order to be able to say that in some sense they have not yet acquired the power necessary to fulfill their promises. That is, totalitarian governments must constantly fight their enemies in order to survive. That is, both Hitler and Putin used the creation of the image of external and internal threats for internal use and to maintain their own unlimited power," Zaluzhnyi explained.

He reminded that as of January 2025, the war in Ukraine has been going on for almost eleven years. Its full-scale aggression phase has already reached the mark of two years and eleven months. In terms of casualties, resources involved, and duration, it is, of course, still not the deadliest war known to mankind. However, it definitely ranks as the most brutal act of violence of the 21st century.

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"It is obvious that the war started by a paranoid, mentally ill Fuhrer has every chance of taking its place on the pedestal of the most terrible events in human history. Whether this will be the case depends on the path that Ukraine and the entire civilized society will choose. It will be chosen right now, on the battlefields of the Russian-Ukrainian war," the military said.

He emphasized that the key to the future victory is not just endurance, but a decisive and timely response to new technological challenges that change global security. Ukrainians are fighting not only for their country, but also for peace in the world, and the further development of global relations depends on their victory.

"Because while the West continued to be afraid of Putin's 'red lines' and prayed for the need to avoid escalation, China, North Korea, and Iran have already united around Russia. The delay of democratic countries in providing Ukraine with the necessary amount of weapons has led to a change in the situation on the battlefield  we have entered a state of protracted war, the way out of which is still ahead," Zaluzhnyi said.

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He also emphasizes the importance for democratic countries to continue to support Ukraine on the battlefield, as delays in providing the necessary resources only strengthen the positions of Russia and its allies.

"In the war with this dictator, we need not only to survive but also to realize a new strategy, which aims not only to control the situation on the battlefield but also to form a system of the country's resilience and transition to new technological solutions. This war is different. Therefore, not just endurance, but a decisive and timely response to new challenges will be the key to our victory. Glory to Ukraine!" summarized the former Chief of Staff.

As a reminder, on January 27, the world commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day, one of the most heinous crimes against humanity. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the Holocaust was an attempt to erase an entire nation  not only to deprive them of their lives but also to destroy the very memory of it.

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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 I had just returned home from covering another day of testimony in the bitter defamation trial between Hollywood stars Johnny Depp and Amber Heard when the car came barrelling towards me. One minute I was walking along a pedestrian crossing to grab a coffee. The next minute, I was on the ground, shaking and in shock, having been hit by a dark Honda CRV. Ya gotta call 911! yelled a man who had witnessed the incident and taken down the registration number of the car before it sped off. That was a hit-and-run! That just aint right! Johnny Depp gestures to the gallery in the courtroom as he leaves for a break during his court case against Amber Heard. Credit: AP The collision, only a few months after Id moved to Washington, was far from fatal, and more like the human equivalent of what Americans call a love tap: when a car knocks a bumper bar and the damage is minimal. Fortunately, the Honda, which police would later inform me had been stolen, wasnt moving fast enough to bowl me over completely, and somehow, amid the sound of screeching brakes, I had managed to swerve just in time, so the impact was confined mostly to my left hand and part of the left side of my body. But in many ways, this incident was emblematic of the wild and unpredictable roller-coaster ride Ive experienced over the past three years as North America correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

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I had only been in this posting for a few weeks when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, not long after I had landed in Florida to attend a Conservative Political Action Conference with Republicans. Since then, there have been escalating wars in Europe and the Middle East, two assassination attempts against Donald Trump, the successes and failures of Joe Biden and the spectacular but fleeting resurgence of Kamala Harris. Ive seen the devastation of hurricanes and wildfires, been at the forefront of the abortion debate and culture wars, and covered more mass shootings and domestic terrorist attacks than I care to remember. Farrah Tomazin stands in front of the crowd outside the Manhattan courtroom where Donald Trumps hush-money trial was held. Credit: Farrah Tomazin And for the past few years, Ive had a front-row seat to the biggest story in the world  and for many, the most frightening: the political comeback of a twice-impeached, four times-indicted, convicted criminal to the White House. My first Trump encounter My first encounter with Trump and his Make America Great Again movement came during his first term when I was sent to the United States on a brief secondment to help cover the 2020 presidential election.

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At the time, America was the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 134,000 people already dead  almost a quarter of the worldwide death toll. Protests had erupted across the country, sparked by the murder of black man George Floyd under the knee of a white police officer. And as the 2020 election race intensified, so too did the nations anxiety. I landed in Washington for that assignment on July 4  Independence Day  just as Trump was hosting a Salute to America at the White House. Army planes and Black Hawk helicopters put on a spectacular air show as a military band played to VIPs enjoying the festivities on the south lawn, even as the coronavirus raged. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the Salute to America event on July 4, 2020. Credit: AP Outside, while fireworks lit up the Washington Monument, a group of Trump supporters clashed with protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement as scores of masked police officers tried to break up the violent altercation. As a citizen, I felt like Id landed in a dystopian tinderbox that was ready to explode. But as a journalist, there was nowhere else I wanted to be. When I eventually returned to Washington as our correspondent in 2022, Biden had been in power for a year, and America felt like it had taken a Valium.

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Things were so calm that an editor asked me before I left Melbourne how I felt going back to a country where Trump was no longer fuelling a 24/7 news cycle. Hell be back, I replied confidently. What no one could predict was the scale of his resurgence, rooted in the resilience of surviving an attempted assassination, multiple indictments and relentless political attacks. Loading In the final stretch of the campaign, as I criss-crossed the seven battleground states, Trumps rallies were sometimes a third empty, and hed often look flat as hed come on stage to the sounds of Lee Greenwoods God Bless the USA, before reeling off his greatest hits: migrant crime, witch hunts, drill baby drill. Harris, on the other hand, seemed to have momentum, and her supporters genuinely believed that the highest, hardest glass ceiling in politics was finally going to break. Is America really ready for a woman president? I would often ask.

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Absolutely  and its about time, said Pennsylvania voter Eileen Fields, in a sentiment Id hear over and over. Clearly, it wasnt. The accent held me in good stead Being a journalist on any given day is a privilege: a rare opportunity to give a voice to the voiceless, shine a light in dark places and hold the powerful to account. But living and working in a country as dynamic as the US during such a historic period has truly been the adventure of a lifetime. In trying to make sense of the US in such a volatile time, my aim was to get out of deeply Democratic Washington as often as possible and speak to as many people as possible across the country about their lives. Farrah Tomazin reporting from outside the State House in Concord, New Hampshire, during the Republican primaries. Credit: Farrah Tomazin I often joke that a positive attitude and an Australian accent go a long way in America, and Ive always been grateful that so many people are willing to chat, no matter what their views are. One particularly amusing experience took place in the small Midwest town of East Palestine, Ohio, a former factory hamlet where a train filled with toxic chemicals derailed in February 2023.

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The leader of the European Solidarity Party, Petro Poroshenko, said that Ukrainians want peace more than anyone else in the world and pin their hopes for ending the war on President Trump. At the same time, the fifth president noted that Ukraine cannot accept compromises on its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and membership in the EU and NATO.

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Poroshenko said this on CNN. He named 5 uncompromising points of the peace agreement.

"The situation at the front is very difficult. Every week, I and our team are at the front line with our troops, making every effort to support Ukraine. We certainly have very high hopes for President Trump," Poroshenko emphasized.

"There are no people in the world who want peace more than we, Ukrainians, do. We hope that, first of all, the United States will not stop military assistance, because it is a matter of Ukraine's survival. We are fighting here not only for our land. Our soldiers are giving their lives for freedom and democracy in the world, in particular, defending the United States," Petro Poroshenko said.

"We have five uncompromising points. There can be no compromise on Ukrainian sovereignty and national identity, we will never be a colony of Russia again. Number two is territorial integrity. We will never accept the Russian occupation of our territory. Number three is sanctions against Putin. Putin's ability to finance the war must be cut off. There can be no compromise on financial and military aid. And no compromise on membership in NATO and the European Union. This is extremely important for us," Poroshenko said.
Healthcare + engineering: Siblings with different career paths both choose Weber State

January 27, 2025

OGDEN, Utah  Siblings Nico and Lillian Woolsey chose Weber State University after moving to Utah from their hometown of Rock Springs, Wyoming, but each chose very different educational and career paths.

Lillian is studying emergency healthcare to become a paramedic. She made that decision while riding in the back of an ambulance after breaking her back in a sledding accident in 2022.

I remember that moment, I was actually talking to the paramedic about his job and what school he went to, she said. After recovery from spinal fusion surgery, Lillian decided to come to WSU in fall 2023, following in her brothers footsteps.

Caring for people is on my mind a lot, and something I really want to do. My classes confirm that every day, Lillian said. Now in her third semester, shes learning more about the things she experienced as a patient, like implementing spinal boards.

Although shes only three hours west of her hometown, Lillian loves her new home: Im happy every day in Utah, she said, noting her love for hiking and traveling. After Weber, she may consider medical school.

Lillians older brother, Nico, came to WSU one year ahead of her after transferring from the University of Wyoming in Laramie, where he was on the cheer team. Now hes majoring in mechanical engineering.

Ive always been a STEM-oriented person, Nico said. I love learning through exploring the natural world.

At Weber State, Nico said hes learning more about how the universe interacts with itself. You learn these concepts and see their applications, and it opens doors to understanding things around you in everyday life.

He said he appreciates the academic resources WSU offers to help students, especially the experienced faculty. He gave a shout-out to mathematics professor Timothy Steele for making Calculus II the most fun math class hes ever taken.

Nico tackles 1214 credits each semester and is focused on getting good grades while also working part time as a chef. But he also makes time to meet Lillian for lunch on campus twice a week.

I love being at Weber State, and its nice to have one of my best friends here with me, he said.

The sibling duo anticipates graduating together in 2027.
The Russian occupiers are again complaining about their command, which continues to transfer mobilized people to assault units en masse. This is the punishment they have invented for mobilized soldiers who refuse to sign a contract with the criminal occupation army of the aggressor country.

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This is stated in an audio recording of an intercepted conversation between two Russian military officers. The radio interception was published on Sunday, January 26, by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

"Russians are very afraid to join the infantry because they have minimal chances of survival there.

 If you remember, Hades, Balu, the FPV guys who are standing a little bit below us, where the 85th mortar is, you know, their brigade commander has been transferred to the infantry because they have not signed contracts. They are mobilized... He's tearing and slashing there. You know what's going on in the hospitals, too.

 Yeah, I know, bro, I'm probably going to join the infantry soon too...

 God help you! We will pray for you.

As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, the DIU recorded another war crime by Russian troops. The occupiers were discussing the murder of a captured Ukrainian soldier. The commander ordered to execute the prisoner, which, in his words, is "the main task now."

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The aggressor country of Russia has threatened the West if it sends peacekeepers to Ukraine without Moscow's permission. They say that these soldiers will then become a "legitimate target" for the Russians.

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This "act of diplomacy" is the work of Rodion Miroshnik, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry. On his Telegram channel on January 26, he commented on discussions in Germany about participating in a peacekeeping mission.

Miroshnik was offended, saying that no one was talking about peacekeepers when the Ukrainian counteroffensive was being prepared and a tank coalition was being formed to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with equipment.

"Then why pretend that the attempts to invent 'peacekeepers' are not about establishing peace at all, but only attempts to save the Zelenskyy regime in Kyiv from defeat by pseudo-humane methods?" the Kremlin representative was indignant.

The senior Russian diplomat threatened to attack the peacekeeping forces.

"Any contingent that enters the territory of Ukraine without Russia's consent and permission is a military target with quite understandable consequences," he said.

As a reminder, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius did not rule out the idea of sending his troops to the future buffer zone in Ukraine in the event of an end to the war. But this issue should be discussed only when "the time is right."

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that any peacekeeping force, if deployed in Ukraine, should include US troops. This will be the key to their effectiveness.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,153 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 387 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.8% of Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $8,746,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,807 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 34,903,198 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $3,963,974,000 after purchasing an additional 488,764 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,810,977 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $2,942,709,000 after purchasing an additional 280,441 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $1,518,539,000 after buying an additional 2,711,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,102,204 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $1,265,762,000 after buying an additional 585,915 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an outperform rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $125.12 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $125.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.26 and a 200 day moving average of $113.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11,029,400 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratoriess previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Menieres disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report).

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CKW Financial Group increased its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD  Free Report) by 29.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,325 shares of the consumer goods makers stock after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. CKW Financial Groups holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV were worth $116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 9.0% in the third quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 2,375 shares of the consumer goods makers stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services lifted its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 51.3% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 605 shares of the consumer goods makers stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 2.2% during the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 10,165 shares of the consumer goods makers stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 0.4% during the third quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 87,515 shares of the consumer goods makers stock worth $5,801,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 96.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 643 shares of the consumer goods makers stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.53% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BUD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI raised Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $64.00.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BUD opened at $48.88 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $87.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.09. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a fifty-two week low of $45.94 and a fifty-two week high of $67.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.09 and a 200-day moving average of $58.22.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Company Profile

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Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, exports, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands.

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Entourage Health Corp. (CVE:ENTG  Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as C$0.01 and last traded at C$0.01, with a volume of 354570 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$0.01.

Entourage Health Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$1.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.04 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$0.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$0.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2,914.72, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.10.

About Entourage Health

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Entourage Health Corp. processes, produces, and distributes cannabis products for medical, adult-use, and bulk sales markets in Canada. It offers cannabis products, such as dried flower, pre-rolls, vapes, cannabis oils, topicals, soft chews, chewing gum, and micro inhalers. The company sells its products under the Color Cannabis, Saturday Cannabis, Starseed Medicinal, Dime Bag, Syndicate, Marys Medicinals, and Royal City Cannabis brand names.

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Workspace Group Plc (LON:WKP  Get Free Report) insider Nick Mackenzie purchased 4,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 436 ($5.43) per share, for a total transaction of 19,620 ($24,451.65).

Workspace Group Stock Performance

WKP stock opened at GBX 433.50 ($5.40) on Monday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is GBX 501.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 574.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.43. Workspace Group Plc has a 12-month low of GBX 427.50 ($5.33) and a 12-month high of GBX 664 ($8.28). The stock has a market capitalization of 832.32 million, a PE ratio of -433.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.04.

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Workspace Group (LON:WKP  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported GBX 16.90 ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Workspace Group had a negative return on equity of 11.54% and a negative net margin of 104.45%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Workspace Group Plc will post 36.7630058 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Workspace Group Cuts Dividend

About Workspace Group

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of GBX 9.40 ($0.12) per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.74%. Workspace Groups payout ratio is -2,800.00%.

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Workspace is London's leading owner and operator of flexible workspace, currently managing 4.7 million sq. ft. of sustainable space at 79 locations in London and the South East. We are home to some 4,000 of London's fastest growing and established brands from a diverse range of sectors. Our purpose, to give businesses the freedom to grow, is based on the belief that in the right space, teams can achieve more.

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President Joe Biden issued a flurry of pardons as he left office, but Im more interested in getting some long overdue and deeply justified pardons from another president, the new occupant of the White House.

This is my personal request to President Donald Trump: Free the Pro Life 21!

During the Biden administration, there was a serious uptick in prosecutions of pro-life activists under what is called the FACE Act: Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances.

The act, which was found to be constitutional even though it severely restricts the First Amendment rights of anti-abortion activists, also prohibits preventing access to places of worship, but let's be real: The act was passed by a Congress that saw pro-lifers like me as a threat to public safety.

Religious institutions were an afterthought, and you will note that the "C" in FACE doesn't stand for church.

Abortion supporters will have you think there is a real threat to women's health and safety by proclaiming that since they can't get the unlimited procedures that were available before Roe was struck down, they are just like Dr. George Tiller, the abortionist who was gunned down in, of all places, a church.

They somehow managed to convince Biden's Justice Department of that same fact, and the DOJ was able to convince some friendly federal judges that grandmothers praying rosaries in front of Planned Parenthood were domestic terrorists.

"Yes, your honor, Mom Mom Philomena with her scapular is identical to Eric Rudolph with his bombs."

I know it's not exactly a laughing matter, but I have to chuckle so I don't cry. The mere idea that people who are fighting for the dignity of unborn life are a threat to national safety is as ludicrous as the idea that abortion is health care.

When the successful execution of that medical procedure ends in dismemberment and death for one of the participants, it's hard to argue its salutary aspects.

Biden and crew were concerned with the welfare of death row inmates like Kiboni Savage, who had incinerated children but were upset that grandmothers would raise their voices and peacefully use their bodies to preserve the lives of the unknown.

Many of the people who were convicted of blocking access to the clinics were simply engaged in civil disobedience.

Remember the students who sat at the segregated lunch counters, and refused to move?

That sort of stuff. A few chained themselves to the chairs in abortion clinics and refused to leave.

That's called trespass. And yet, because of this federal law, a large number of them were sentenced to years in prison.

Fortunately, the Thomas More Society has jumped into action.

Devoted to defending life, family and freedom, the nonprofit based out of Chicago takes its name from the great British saint, patron of lawyers and prisoners of conscience, who gave up his own life in defense of his morals and his virtue.

This week, the society filed a petition with incoming president Trump to pardon the Pro Life 21.

According to Senior Counsel Steve Crampton, "With these requests for presidential pardons for 21 peaceful pro-life advocates, we urge President Trump to right the grievous wrongs of the Biden administration's weaponization of the Department of Justice.

"These 21 peaceful pro-lifers, many of whom are currently imprisoned for bravely standing up for unborn life, are upstanding citizens and pillars of their communities.

"Through full and unconditional pardons for these pro-life advocates, President Trump has the chance to remedy the harm done tothem and their families, deliver on his campaign promises, and repair trust in our constitutional order."

I've attended numerous pro-life rallies and dinners, and have been the keynote speaker at pro-life events.

I've also prayed in front of my local Planned Parenthood clinic. So far, I haven't been taken away in shackles.

I feel lucky to have made it through the Biden administration in one piece.

But far too many of my fellow travelers, the people who spend hot August afternoons and frigid December mornings standing in witness to the barbarity that is abortion, have been arrested on ridiculous charges pursuant to a ridiculous federal law that does nothing to protect women.

It exists solely to punish, and ultimately destroy, the pro-life movement.

It is foolish to think that will happen.

We were able to get Roe overturned after a half-century of efforts, and we will continue to fight until abortion is bothirrelevant, and seen as a profound human rights violation.

Let's hope President Trump helps us send that message, by pardoning these prisoners of conscience.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Christine M. Flowers is a lawyer and columnist.
Representatives of Hungary have blocked a joint statement by the European Union on the non-recognition of the presidential election in Belarus. Before that, Slovakia also refused to sign the draft statement on behalf of the 27 EU countries but then changed its mind.

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This was reported by Radio Liberty, citing informed sources in Brussels. It is noted that despite the lack of signatures from representatives of all states, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, together with European Commissioner for Enlargement, Martha Kos, issued their own statement.

It states that the voting on January 26 in Belarus was not free and fair. The authors called on the Belarusian authorities to release all political prisoners, "including an employee of the EU Delegation," and also called for new sanctions against the country.

"Today's sham elections in Belarus were neither free nor fair. The people of Belarus deserve a real say in who governs their country. Ruthless and unprecedented repression of human rights, restrictions on political participation, and access to independent media in Belarus have deprived the election process of any legitimacy," the joint document says.

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Official Budapest, under the leadership of Viktor Orban, has repeatedly opposed the expansion of sanctions against Russia and an increase in European aid to Ukraine. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto is the only representative of the EU leadership who regularly visits the Belarusian capital Minsk.

Earlier, Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anatoly Glaz issued a statement calling the draft statement of the European External Action Service on the elections in Belarus "the most gross interference in the electoral processes of a sovereign state."

On January 26, Belarus announced that self-proclaimed leader Alexander Lukashenko had won the so-called presidential election with the support of more than 86% of voters. He became the "president" for the seventh time, which makes more than 30 years of his regime's rule (since 1994).

As reported by OBOZ.UA, German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock commented on the "elections" in Belarus by publishing several posts on the social network X. She emphasized that the country's population had no choice: it was "a bitter day for everyone who wants freedom and democracy."

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
This article was generated by an automated content engine and was reviewed by a human editor prior to publication. For additional information, read ServisFirst Bancsharess 8K filing here.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

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ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans.

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waypoint wealth counsel boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK  Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,006 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the quarter. waypoint wealth counsels holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $409,000. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $237,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,498 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,300,000 after buying an additional 2,741 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $325,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 867,203 shares of the companys stock worth $107,360,000 after buying an additional 40,668 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the companys stock.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

MRK opened at $95.54 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The companys 50 day moving average price is $99.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

Merck & Co., Inc. ( NYSE:MRK Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $123.00.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.

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Auschwitz with lunch included. The inspiration for Jesse Eisenberg to shoot the Oscar-nominated A Real Pain, came to him unexpectedly: through an internet advertisement for a visit to the concentration camp, which on Monday commemorates the 80th anniversary of its liberation in 1945.

The advert was promoting a type cultural tourism that has been gaining traction in recent years. It invites us to visit the various sites of the Holocaust and relive the trauma of the victims, in comfort and style. The story of two American cousins, David and Benji, who visit Poland, a country from which their recently deceased grandmother escaped, was thus inspired. Eisenberg shot the movie in the city of Lublin and in the Majdanek camp, which he had visited in 2008. His own ancestors lived just around the corner.

Eisenbergs focus is not unique. In 2025, Holocaust cinema is no longer about the victims or survivors, but about tourists who decide to visit the scene of last centurys most horrendous crime. In Treasure, released last fall, a young woman travels to Auschwitz with her father, a Polish Jew who escaped extermination. The trip take place in post-communist Poland in 1991.

In Delegation, screened at the last Berlinale, a group of Israeli teenagers wrapped in their countrys flag, visit the camp to understand what happened. The documentary Austerlitz, by Ukrainian director Sergey Loznitsa, takes a look at the hordes of tourists in the former concentration camps. And The Zone of Interest, inspired by the story of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss and his wife, who lived next door to the death camp without taking any interest in the horrors taking place inside, ends by fast forwarding to the present. Director Jonathan Glazer takes us to the actual Auschwitz Museum, where cleaners and other workers prepare for the arrival of the multitude of visitors who, every day, cross the grim threshold under a sign that reads Arbeit macht frei  work will set you free. The memorials are not new  Auschwitz opened to the public as early as 1947  but they have never seen so many visitors. In 2024, 1.83 million people passed through the camp, 10% more than the previous year.

Eight decades after its liberation, Auschwitz remains a symbol of absolute evil, but it is also a symbol of dark tourism, that fascination with death and foul deeds that makes us visit battlefields and disaster areas, former prisons and scenes of genocide. We do it out of empathy with the victims and out of civic responsibility, following the duty-to-remember edict. But there is also an element of voyeurism which has helped transform this camp into a tourist center like no other, where one can eat, drink, go to the bathroom and even take a selfie next to the gas chambers.

In 2014, the smiling selfie of a teenager in Auschwitz-Birkenau, accompanied by an equally smiling emoji, sparked a controversy on social media. The installation of water vaporizers at the camp entrance to alleviate the summer heat didnt help either. Auschwitz responded that the controversy was unjustified: Zyklon B, the deadly gas with which the Jews were annihilated, was spewed out in a totally different way. In that case, all is in order.

Actor Kieran Culkin, starring alongside Jesse Eisenberg in 'A Real Pain'. Alamy / Cordon Press (Alamy Stock Photo)

Each anniversary of the liberation of the death camp takes place within a particular political context. The anniversary commemorated on Monday, January 27, is marked by the disappearance of all but a handful of survivors, by the destruction of Gaza and the rise of the extreme right in many parts of Europe, including Germany, which is warping all the postwar precepts of our collective historical memory.

The re-election of Donald Trump also seems to put an end to the international order that emerged after the war, as he withdraws the U.S. from institutions created after 1945. Culturally, its an incredible change, says French historian Annette Wieviorka, one of the worlds leading Holocaust specialists. The world in which people like me grew up and learned to think is disappearing. Now we are told that freedom of speech also comes with the right to lie. This 80th anniversary comes in the midst of a transition to a new world that we no longer know what to make of.

Wieviorka recalls the commemoration 20 years ago, when she believed that history had won. That is, that the historical account of what happened at Auschwitz had entered the collective consciousness. Now we realize that everything can be undone. Auschwitz remains a symbol of horror, but the taboos have been lifted. Everything has become possible. This includes the selfies in front of the barbed wire, and the opening to the public of Rudolf Hoss house, where The Zone of Interest was filmed, as well as the proliferation of books with the word Auschwitz in the title.

It is as if the camp has become a kind of trademark: The Ballerina of Auschwitz, The Orphan of Auschwitz, Lovers in Auschwitz, The Midwife of Auschwitz, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Sisters of Auschwitz, The Auschwitz Photographer, The Librarian of Auschwitz and The Dressmakers of Auschwitz. The days of Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel are far behind us. Everything is now about emotion, Wieviorka says. Emotions are indispensable for understanding the Shoah, but when everything is reduced to emotion, one wonders what it is for.

Has Auschwitz become normalized? Not yet, she says, but there is a progressive trivialization. The tendency is to use the culture industries to depict episodes of history, like the creation of an endless number of historical Disneylands. For the moment, this is not the case with Auschwitz or Birkenau, which are still extermination camps, but the future is not promising.

Despite this tendency to dilute historical memory by making it popular and spectacular, not everything is trivialized. The last two films about the camps that have reached movie theaters prove this. A Real Pain includes a comic scene where the protagonists pretend to participate in the war, which ironizes this tendency to trivialize these scenarios. In another scene, the more depressive cousin suffers an anxiety attack when he realizes he is traveling by train to the same place his grandmother did decades earlier, only this time of his own free will  and in first class.

But the film is also a meditation on the generational transference of trauma and the relativity, when compared to that of their ancestors, of that real pain experienced by its protagonists, both of whom have mental health issues. It speaks of the (self-)destructive drive of the contemporary Jew and his inevitable wandering, as reflected in another brilliant sequence in which the cousins visit their grandmothers old home, from which she had to escape.

In Treasure, the protagonist, a journalist played by Lena Dunham, accompanies her Holocaust survivor father to Auschwitz, although in the end it is she, dealing with an eating disorder and chronic dissatisfaction with life, who ends up healing her neurosis. How does one explain that the point of view is no longer that of the victims, but that of their descendants?

We filmmakers of the third generation after 1945 need to break the silence we grew up with, argues Treasures director, Germanys Julia von Heinz, who admits to similarities with Eisenbergs film. This was not only the case with the families of the victims  due to shame, trauma, trying to give their children a normal life and a desire not to be victimized anymore  but also with the families of those who committed the crimes.

An image from the documentary 'Austerlitz,' by Sergei Loznitsa. Imperativ film

On the other hand, the field of study of transgenerational trauma is relatively recent. Twenty years ago, this was not talked about, says Von Heinz. Now we know that every traumatic experience is passed on to the next generation, who have nightmares about the suffering of their parents and grandparents even if they have never been told about it. Thats where these films come from.

From the era of the witness examined by Wieviorka, which refers to the proliferation of testimonies that followed the televised trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1961, we have moved on to an era of post-memory, in which the transmission of experience will no longer take place through people, but through places, according to museology researcher Nathanael Wadbled. The memorial route is not disappearing, but it is being transformed. And in this sense, tourism might not just be disrespectful and futile, but instead a new form of commemoration, that of our time.

It is 40 years since the premiere of Shoah, Claude Lanzmanns definitive documentary about the annihilation of six million Jews, more than one million of whom were murdered in Auschwitz. It consists of nine and a half hours of footage covering the testimonies of victims and executioners. It was released in April 1985 after 11 years in the making, and 300 hours of filming. Next month, the Berlinale will pay tribute to this monumental piece of work that has become a cinematographic and moral benchmark: a film without narration, archives or reconstructions, without dramatic manipulation of the unspeakable.

Fiction is a transgression. I am deeply convinced that there is a ban on representation, Lanzmann said in 1994 in his famous diatribe in Le Monde against Schindlers List, which he defined as a kitschy melodrama and an illustrated version of Shoah, he has supplied images where there were none in Shoah. Lanzmann said that if he had found a graphic document of Auschwitz, he would have destroyed it.

Life is Beautiful, in which Roberto Benigni turned existence in the extermination camp almost into a childrens scavenger hunt, was also a victim of German philosopher Theodore Adornos moral veto suggesting to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbarism. Although, in hindsight, perhaps Imre Kertesz, a survivor of the camp, may have won when he stated the opposite. I am totally against Adornos phrase. After Auschwitz we can write nothing but fiction, said the Hungarian writer in 2001. If someone were to tell what really happened in Auschwitz, we would be unable to understand it.

Stephen Fry and Lena Dunham, stars of 'Treasure'. Alamy / Cordon Press (Alamy Stock Photo)

In the decade between 1985 and 1994, the film department of the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem registered more than 1,000 films about the Holocaust. To avoid manipulation, the Auschwitz Museum offers timely advice to filmmakers. For example, the director of its research center, Piotr Setkiewicz, was Jonathan Glazers main advisor on The Zone of Interest, an adaptation of Martin Amis novel that was also inspired by historian Timothy Snyders theses. Every film of this kind fulfills an important outreach role, since the number of viewers is much larger than the number of readers of scientific books, Setkiewicz says. I am irritated by films that reflect false stories despite claiming to be based on eyewitness accounts.

This was not the case with The Zone of Interest, Setkiewicz adds. From the beginning I understood that the historical aspect of the film would be as important as the artistic concept. I tried to help recreate the most likely scenes and dialogues that, to the best of my knowledge, could have happened. The result is satisfactory, although more attentive viewers may notice minor factual inaccuracies in the film: Mr. Glazer did not always accept my orthodox approach.

The Dutch historian Robert Jan van Pelt, curator of the large touring exhibition dedicated to the history of the camp, has visited Auschwitz more than 80 times. At first, at the end of the 1980s, he used to spend an hour and a half in the camp. Now he spends up to four days. The camp has been expanding and has been provided with an infrastructure to accommodate hundreds of tours a day. Paradoxically, Auschwitz has become a tourist destination, one to cross off on a list of places to travel to, he says. Its nature has changed, but it will never be a museum like any other, because it is still a sacred site, because of the suffering that took place there and because of its immense size.

As far as Van Pelt is concerned, the change in generational perspective is crucial. The last survivors are dying and their first-hand perspective is disappearing. The question is what our relationship to these places will now be. What will an 18- 25- or 30-year-old who has not grown up with these testimonies see? What will these places mean to him?

The two cousins from A Real Pain provide a possible answer. All the neurotic, mocking noise they make on their journey to Majdanek, crossing a point on the map that was once a kind of Jewish Oxford, turns to categorical silence when they end up entering the camp. They return, sad and shaken, in a vehicle that advances towards the horizon, as happened at the end of Shoah. The difference is that it is not a train that advances without stopping, suggesting that the Holocaust has no ending, as Lanzmann once said. The cousins are returning on a tourist minibus.

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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...
Job seekers talk with employers at a job fair held for the 2025 graduates of the Heilongjiang University in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Dec. 23, 2024. [Xinhua/Zhang Tao]

BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua)  "Life is not a track, but an open field" is a viral motto on Chinese social media. It encapsulates an emerging lifestyle choice among younger generations: They are willing to embrace all possibilities instead of being confined by one career commitment.

Meng Qiaofeng, a student at North China Electric Power University, runs a flower shop inside her dorm room with her roommates' consent.

From market research to promotional activities, Meng has seized the opportunity to run a business from scratch and built a reputation among her schoolmates without concerns about site selection and high rents.

"Starting a business in the dorm room has low costs," she said. "Even if it fails, it's not a big deal."

A report released by the 36Kr media platform found that 44.7 percent of surveyed young people have engaged in side hustles, and more than half are interested in pursuing one.

The vibrant digital economy empowers them. The same survey showed that many favor low-cost, low-risk opportunities, particularly online ventures, which now dominate the landscape of side jobs.

Wang Siyu, a 26-year-old white-collar, is also a content provider on the lifestyle-sharing platform rednote, also known as Xiaohongshu. As a master's degree holder in English literature, she shares her experience in learning English, garnering over 20,000 followers to date.

Wang believes that digital technology has reduced the cost of starting a side gig and brought more financial stability for young people. "It's better to put your eggs in different baskets," she said while mentioning the well-known proverb in an interview with Xinhua.

Xianyu, one of China's largest second-hand goods trading platforms, is becoming an online hub for young people exploring moonlight careers. According to a report Xianyu published in December 2024, more than 9 million young people posted their side hustles on the platform in 2024, and 40.8 percent were born after 2000.

The Xianyu report showed how side hustles are evolving beyond traditional opportunities and tapping into niche markets and unique consumer needs. For example, pet caregiving is becoming popular, with services ranging from pet walking to grooming and even matchmaking for pets.

Creative and specialized services are also gaining traction. Some young people offer professional skills like graphic design and software development. In contrast, others provide more unconventional services, such as writing memoirs for the elderly, naming newborns, or offering advice on blind dates.

Moonlighting brings economic gains. The Xianyu report showed that one part-timer on the platform earned an average of 3,660 yuan (about 510 U.S. dollars) through side jobs in 2024.

While financial stability is a motivation, many young people find deeper satisfaction in their side hustles. Meng, who also explored other ventures like selling fruit and package pick-up services, said the most important thing she has gained is not money but an entrepreneurial mindset.

"When I encounter inconvenience in my life, I will think ahead and find the business opportunity behind it," said Meng, adding that she has found her passion in marketing through these side jobs.

For Wang, the joy lies in the sense of accomplishment and the ability to help others through her content. "It's fulfilling to know my posts resonate with others and bring value to their lives," she said.

According to experts, side hustles are not just about earning money but also fostering independence, resilience, and innovation. "Today's young people are sending a positive signal with their efforts to pursue their aspirations," said Zhuang Jiachi, an associate professor of sociology at the Central University of Finance and Economics.

(Source: Xinhua)

Editor: Wang Shasha
Colombia gave in to U.S. President Donald Trumps demands on Sunday night and agreed to accept flights with deportees in exchange for the United States not imposing a 25% tariff on Colombias imports. The government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay, the White House said in a statement.

According to Washington, the sanctions have been drafted but will remain confidential and unsigned unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.

The Colombian Foreign Ministry released a statement, with a more measured and diplomatic tone than the White House: We have overcome the impasse with the United States government. In this context, Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo and Ambassador Daniel Garcia-Pena will travel to Washington in the coming days to hold high-level meetings to follow up on the agreements. These are the result of joint work and the exchange of diplomatic notes between the two governments We will continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them dignified conditions as citizens with full rights.

In recent weeks, Trump had warned that he would impose tariffs on countries as soon as he took office. Canada, Mexico, China, and even the European Union expressed concern over the new U.S. presidents threats as he began his second term. However, on Sunday, Colombia became the first nation to feel the commercial impact of the worlds leading economy. Trump ordered a 25% tariff on all Colombian products, with plans to raise it to 50% within a week. The real estate magnate demonstrated that he will quickly act on his threats. It wasnt until the last minute that the diplomatic spat was resolved on Sunday.

The episode serves as a stark warning to the rest of the world about the lengths Trump might go to if obstacles are placed in his path to meet his electoral promises to fight illegal immigration. Trumps actions were triggered by the Colombian governments decision earlier on Sunday to deny landing rights in Bogota to two U.S. military planes carrying deported Colombian nationals.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro defended the move, stating that Colombia would not accept deportees until the United States implemented protocols to ensure that immigrants are treated with dignity and respect. Angered by this move, Trump retaliated not only with economic sanctions, but also with banking and fiscal restrictions and the revocation of visas for Colombian government officials. Trump also criticized Petro as a socialist  a label Petro proudly accepts.

The announcement of the tariffs sent shockwaves through Colombias political and financial sectors. However, during an evening meeting on Sunday, government officials appeared confident in their ability to resolve the crisis. We overcame this crisis today, a source close to Petro told EL PAIS.

Petros advisors hoped that Trumps measures would not be enforced, as ultimately turned out to be the case. While the Colombian leader continued his sharp criticism of the U.S. president  going so far as to insinuate that Trump wanted to stage a coup  Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo and his soon-to-be successor, Laura Sarabia, adopted a more conciliatory approach. The two focused on dialogue and de-escalation as they engaged with the White House to address the conflict.

Luis Gilberto Murillo (center) speaks during a press conference, in Bogota, Colombia, on January 26, 2025. Luisa Gonzalez (REUTERS)

Colombia has long been a strategic partner for the United States in Latin America. Washington has collaborated with successive Colombian governments in the fight against guerrillas and drug trafficking, providing annual aid of approximately $600 million. Petro, however, has been highly critical of what he perceives as the servile attitude of his predecessors.

During a visit to New York for the U.N. General Assembly in 2022, Petro faced sharp criticism for arriving late to a cocktail event organized by Joe Biden, missing the opportunity to greet the then U.S. president. When questioned about the incident, he replied indignantly: I am not one of those people who are going to chase him into the bathroom.

Petro blames the White Houses militarized war on drugs for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people across the continent. He believes the policy was a grave error, arguing that combating drug cartels with force, without a corresponding public health strategy, has been disastrous.

His anti-imperialist stance is rooted in the ideological context of his youth. In the 1980s, Petro was an activist and member of M-19, an urban guerrilla group. But while his biography claims he led a front in the mountains, the reality is that he was never a true combatant.

In his criticism of Trump, Petro has invoked historical figures such as Salvador Allende and Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, two leftist leaders with whom he often draws comparisons. He can, with his economic power and arrogance, try to stage a coup against me, as they did with Allende. But I stand firm in my beliefs. I survived torture, and Ill withstand him, Petro said during an exchange with Trump and his officials. However, at one point that he said he would accept a whiskey to discuss matters more calmly.

If Trumps had decided to impose tariffs, the economic impact on Colombia would have been severe. A quarter of the countrys exports are destined for the United States, with oil, coffee, and flowers forming the bulk of these exports. Coffee alone accounts for approximately $2 billion in trade, and hundreds of thousands of jobs are tied to these sectors. It is worth noting, however, that Colombia has a trade deficit with the United States.

In response to Trumps threats, Petro instructed his trade minister to impose a 25% tariff on U.S. imports, vowing to replace these goods with domestically produced alternatives. While the more moderate members of his government advocated for a tempered approach and a swift resolution to prevent further escalation, members of his congressional coalition and several influential commentators urged him to stand firm against Trump.

Brazil and Mexico find themselves in a similarly precarious position regarding repatriations. Both nations are led by leftist presidents: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Claudia Sheinbaum, respectively. During the crisis over electoral fraud in Venezuela, Lula, Sheinbaum, and Petro formed a progressive front in an attempt to broker a compromise solution for Chavismo  though without success. This alliance could potentially resurface as a countermeasure to Trumps aggressive policies.

Lula allowed a flight carrying Brazilian deportees to land in his country but issued a formal note of protest condemning the treatment they received from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The deportees, he noted, were handcuffed and shackled throughout the flight, a practice he described as humiliating.

Trump has issued a clear warning to those who stand in the way of his anti-immigration policies, a central issue of his election campaign. The exemplary punishment has been directed at Petro, who now finds himself facing one of the most significant crises of his presidency. While Petros messages publicly confronted the U.S. president, the feeling is that he has ultimately given in to Trumps demands.

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Comfort Ero is the president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, a leading organization dedicated to preventing and resolving conflicts. She gave this interview on Friday in the cafe at the Davos conference center, a venue that, during the World Economic Forums annual meeting, hosts an impressive parade of high-level figures from the political, economic, and academic sectors. Ero notes that the world is witnessing a return of spheres of influence and warns Europe that it must turbocharge its defense umbrella.

Question. The world is currently facing a shocking wave of conflicts, such as those in Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan, and, until recently, Ethiopia. Do you see any common denominator in these episodes of violence?

Answer. There is a connection. There is a trend of weakening of the systems that used to act as guardrails to constrain, sanction, cajole and urge fighters to take a different direction. Whether it is the United Nations or bodies like the African Union. As the Wests influence wanes, others are rising, and they do not necessarily share the same values. And there is a readiness by all these other countries to assert their own national interests, which often collide with one another. That is one of the undercurrents and, frankly, the other big undercurrent that connects a number of conflicts now is the return or assertiveness of great power politics. That is being propelled strongly by Trump as well. He is not a cause, but a symptom of this. He is a child of this turbulence. But he is surely going to accelerate it further.

Q. Are we witnessing a reconfiguration of the global order?

A. People say that we are between two orders, that it is uncertain where we are going. What is very clear is that there is certainly a paradigm shift as well. And its not going to be the classic rules-based order that has guided and shaped international politics since the end of the Cold War.

Q. How do you interpret Trumps statements on his plans for the United States to control Greenland and the Panama Canal?

A. It fits with the logic of America First. He keeps saying, We didnt give up the Panama Canal for China could come in. So its about China as well. Thats one way of seeing it. Greenland is a national security interest. Again, its about China. Its about readjusting the jigsaw, because he can see China expanding its tentacles in different ways. Thats an important lens to understand this. And for me, Trump is trying to reassert American interest, the sphere of influence in the Americas. If you ask me, as you did, about what kind of order were going toward, we see a return of spheres of influence: we control this, you can control that.

Q. How far are we from an end to hostilities in Ukraine?

A. There is a recognition, silently spoken or observed, that Ukraine is outgunned and outnumbered. That doesnt mean its on the verge of collapse. I mean, it can still go on, it can still carry on fighting. But at a severe cost. And it needs some kind of reprieve. Whereas, on the other side, Putin sees Russia as still having the upper hand. Its slightly more resilient, even if the economy is struggling. But what Putin doesnt want is to have to resort to a mobilization campaign. So I think hes interested in the idea of exploring what a negotiation would look like. Hes interested in seeing what the Americans are going to put on the table. The big issue is security guarantees. If it is not NATO membership, what does the alternative look like? The deterrent mechanism is essential. Its still up in the air. And I think, frankly, Europe has to turbocharge its own defense umbrella, because the Americans have been quite clear with the idea that this is your backyard. You have to step up, get ready. We have bigger issues to deal with in Asia. And there is a sense in which Europe is somehow not understanding this.

Q. How fragile is the stabilization in the Middle East?

A. It is fragile, but the risk of collapse should not be overestimated. The Trump factor has been instrumental in achieving this. So now he is involved and that projects a certain stability. But a big question mark remains, because obviously you are dealing with two sides with a high degree of skepticism and mistrust. A key issue is to look not only at Gaza, but at the West Bank, which for me is the silent war. Greenlighting the continued annexation and this very pernicious settler takeover. And that calls into question any notion of fulfilling Palestinian aspirations and the road towards Palestinian statehood. That, for me, is the key piece of the jigsaw. You think that all that matters is the ceasefire in Gaza. Meanwhile, the green light is given to the continuation of this annexation.

Q. Regarding silent wars, a conflict is developing in Sudan that is causing immense human suffering and yet attracts little political or media attention.

A. Its a humanitarian disaster that, if we didnt have these other major conflicts, would have been really high on the agenda in security camps. If youre looking for a very good example of the dysfunction of the crisis management system, Sudan is the poster child for this new conflict landscape that were in.

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25 years ago: Washington shifts toward India against Pakistan

On Monday, January 31, 2000, the US State Department announced that President Bill Clinton would travel to India, the first visit to New Delhi by a sitting president in over two decades. The aim was to cement a strategic partnership in the region directed against China, and adding to the pressure on Pakistan to bow to the dictates of the American government.

The immediate issue surrounded the Kashmir region of India, which had a Muslim-majority population and which was also claimed by Pakistan. Tilting toward India on the dispute, which had been a factor in previous wars between the two South Asian countries, the State Department made clear to the Pakistan military regime of General Pervez Musharraf that the possible connection between his government and the Harkat-ul-Mujahedeenthe Kashmiri separatist group blamed for the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in Decemberwas a matter of extreme concern to us.

Gen. Pervez Musharraf

The US had declared the group a terrorist organization in 1997, under its previous name, Karkat-ul-Ansar. If Islamabad refused to comply with US demands to crack down on Kashmiri separatist groups, the State Department warned that it would designate Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism, thereby blocking access to IMF loans and foreign aid and isolating the country internationally.

As usual, Washington also invoked human rights as the pretext for its shift in policy to advance its political and economic interests in the region. The State Department cited the fact that military regime had required judges to swear oaths of loyalty, undercutting the integrity and independence of the judiciary. The junta aimed this move at preventing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, from defending himself against state prosecution over trumped-up allegations that he had authorized a plane hijacking (a reference to his efforts to block the 1999 military coup that removed him from power).

US imperialism, however, could ill afford to fully cut political and economic aid to Pakistan, which would have had a destabilizing factor. The New York Times wrote, [T]here was substantial resistance from the Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency to putting Pakistan on the [terrorist] list, in part because of past help that Pakistan gave the United States during the Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan.

Clintons visit to India would nonetheless mark a qualitative change in the political landscape of the subcontinent. The Hindu-supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), facing factional conflict and strikes by the powerful Indian working class, felt emboldened to pursue nationalist agitation and posture aggressively against its smaller regional rival Pakistan.

50 years ago: US Senate establishes committee to investigate illegal CIA and FBI activities

On January 27, 1975, the United States Senate voted to establish the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, chaired by Senator Frank Church of Idaho. Known as the Church Committee, the body was formed in the aftermath of journalist Seymour Hershs damning December 1974 expose in the New York Times, which revealed that the CIA had engaged in illegal domestic spying operations against American citizens.

According to the Senate resolution, the purpose of the Committee was to determine the extent, if any, to which illegal, improper, or unethical activities were engaged in by any agency of the Federal Government. Over the course of the next year the Committee held nearly 200 hearings that interviewed about 800 witnesses and studied over 100,000 documents.

Sen. Frank Church, chairman of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities

The Church Committees investigations revealed a wide-ranging pattern of illegality and misconduct by the CIA, FBI, NSA and other agencies, stretching back decades. One of its key findings was the extent to which the intelligence community had targeted left-wing organizations, civil rights groups, and anti-war activists. Programs such as the FBIs Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO) were used to surveil, infiltrate, and disrupt groups deemed subversive.

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most prominent targets of COINTELPRO. The FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover, conducted extensive surveillance on King, tapping his phones, bugging his hotel rooms, and monitoring his associates. Agents sought to discredit King by collecting personal information to undermine his public image, even sending him an anonymous letter urging him to commit suicide to avoid being 'exposed.'

The Black Panther Party was another key target of COINTELPRO. The FBI infiltrated the group with informants and encouraged inexperienced youth to carry out criminal activities to create a basis for their arrest. One of the most infamous operations was the assassination of Fred Hampton, a Black Panther leader in Chicago in 1969. Hampton was shot in his bed after being drugged to sleep.

The Committee also published details of the CIAs covert assassination plots against foreign leaders. These included plans to assassinate Fidel Castro of Cuba, Patrice Lumumba of the Congo, and Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic. Many of these operations involved collaboration with organized crime.

A major revelation of the Church Committees reports was that since 1940 the FBI and CIA had been continually spying on the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). The SWP was the leading Trotskyist party in the United States until it split from the International Committee of the Fourth International in 1963, leading to the foundation of the Workers League, the US predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party, in 1966.

The report stated, The FBI has investigated the SWP from 1940 to the present day on the basis of that Party's revolutionary rhetoric and alleged international links. Nevertheless, FBI officials testified that the SWP has not been responsible for any violent acts nor has it urged actions constituting an indictable incitement to violence.'

The report referenced that members of the SWP were subject to as many as 92 break-ins in by the FBI between the years 1960 and 1966. Other actions against the SWP included the infiltration of the organization by government agents and efforts to sabotage campaigns for public office.

75 years ago: Truman orders development of the H-bomb

On January 31, 1950, US President Harry Truman officially ordered the development of thermonuclear weapons, also known as hydrogen bombs. Truman was the only world leader ever to authorize the use of nuclear weapons in war, with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, killing more than a quarter of a million Japanese.

In a public statement released that day, Truman stated, It is part of my responsibility as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces to see to it that our country is able to defend itself against any possible aggressor. Accordingly, I have directed the Atomic Energy Commission to continue its work on all forms of atomic weapons, including the so-called hydrogen or superbomb.

The initial concept of a hydrogen bomb came from scientists working on the Manhattan Project, which created the atomic bomb. A successful fission reaction, using uranium or plutonium, would create the enormous energy level required to trigger a fusion reaction of heavy hydrogen isotopes like deuterium and tritium, producing an even vaster release of energy. Such a weapon would have a destructive capability orders of magnitude greater than that of an atomic bomb, which relied on the fission reaction alone.

The mushroom cloud from the worlds first test of a thermonuclear device (hydrogen bomb), over Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands on November 1, 1952. [AP Photo/Los Alamos National Laboratory]

The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) held hearings in October 1949 to discuss the potential development of a hydrogen bomb in response to the knowledge that the Soviet Union possessed nuclear weapons of its own. Among the contributions to the hearing were from scientists, including J. Robert Oppenheimer, who warned that the hydrogen bomb could become a weapon of genocide, that the extreme dangers to mankind inherent in the proposal wholly outweigh any military advantage that could come from this development and thus concluded that such a weapon should never be produced.

But for Truman and the American ruling class as a whole, the primary consideration in developing the hydrogen bomb, as it was for using the atomic bombs against Japan, remained the need to ensure and demonstrate the unrivalled power of the US military to advance its interests, particularly against the Soviet Union. The Truman administration was unwilling to tolerate any constraints on expanding the destructive capacity of the American military, underscored by the decision to begin development of the hydrogen bomb. That decision led, almost three years later, to the first of many tests of such a weapon.

100 years ago: Dogsleds deliver antitoxins for diphtheria outbreak in Nome, Alaska

On February 2, 1925, at 5:30 a.m., musher (dogsled driver) Gunnar Kaasen delivered the first batch of antitoxin to treat a deadly outbreak of diphtheria to downtown Nome, Alaska. Kassen was a part of two relay-teams of 20 mushers and 150 dogs that had driven over 674 miles (1,085 km), in temperatures often 50 F (46 C), from Nenana in central Alaska, where the railhead of the Alaskan Railway was located, to Nome, the westernmost town in Alaska, just below the Arctic Circle.

Diphtheria is a bacterial airborne disease which may prove deadly, especially in children, when it causes a membrane to grow over airways. By 1913 an antitoxin had been developed, and viable vaccine was produced by the1920s.

The diphtheria outbreak in Nome was first reported by the towns only doctor, Curtis Welch, in mid-January. His facility, the small Maynard Columbus Hospital, had seen several child deaths but had not diagnosed them with the disease. As soon as Welsh confirmed the diagnosis, the town immediately declared a quarantine and notified neighboring settlements of the epidemic. The hospitals supply of antitoxins had expired. At least seven people, mostly children, would die in the outbreak.

It was impossible to send the medicine to Nome by airplane. Alaska at the time had only three airplanes, which had been disassembled for the winter, and few airplanes from further away were equipped to fly in the brutal conditions of an Arctic winter. The shipping routes to Nome were also inaccessible because of ice.

The only alternative was to ship the medicine by dogsled, as was much of the mail in the interior of Alaska at the time. Many of the mushers worked for the postal service. The effort was truly heroic. Mushers suffered from frostbite, had their sleighs overturned in high winds, drove through whiteout conditions, and lost dogs in some of the most adverse conditions on the planet. Nevertheless, the first batch of the serum reached Nome in a record 127 hours.

Gunnar Kaasen with Balto

The delivery, known as the Great Race of Mercy or the 1925 Serum Run, was closely covered in the world press and demonstrated the strenuous effort that people could collectively take for public health. Not only did the serum have to be transported through central Alaska, but the US Public Health Service scoured West Coast hospitals for the antitoxins and shipped them by rail to Alaska. The mushers were justly celebrated for their efforts, as were their dogs. A statue to one of these animals, Balto, stands in New York Citys Central Park.
New York Mayor Eric Adams, left, calling on the federal government last year to declare a national emergency to ease the financial crisis the city is facing as it struggles to accommodate migrants. [AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews]

New York Citys top Democrat, Mayor Eric Adams, took a 1 a.m. call last Monday, and rushed down to Washington to attend the inauguration of President Donald Trump. For the former police captain, a summons from the would-be dictator was more important than his scheduled plans, which including two events honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It was remarkable and revealing that Adams cancelled his commitments for the King holiday to pay homage to Trump, given that the mayor has often falsely claimed that he is the target of harsh criticism and criminal indictments because of his race. (He is the second African American mayor of the city).

The display was particularly obscene because Trumps most notorious intervention into local politics in New York City, decades before he ran for president, was to mount a vicious racist campaign against the Central Park Five, innocent Black and Hispanic youth railroaded to prison in connection with a luridly publicized rape in the park in 1989. Trump paid for ads calling for the execution of the five, and has never acknowledged their innocence, more than 20 years after their full exoneration.

Adams has been cozying up to Trump for some time. After Trumps election victory, the mayor did everything possible to ingratiate himself with the president-elect. He increasingly expressed frustration with New Yorks sanctuary city regulations which currently restrictat least formallycooperation by city agencies, including the police, with federal authorities in the round-up of undocumented immigrants. Last month Adams hosted Trumps extreme right-wing border czar Tom Homan at the official mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion, where they discussed rewriting New Yorks sanctuary city laws.

During a press conference the day after the inauguration, Adams refused to criticize any of Trumps executive orders. You shouldnt start out the gate criticizing. You should start out starting to collaborate, starting to cooperate, he said. He also indicated support for Trumps vicious characterization of immigrants and a willingness to participate in mass roundups of the undocumented. People who commit these violent crimes must be addressed and thats our conversation with ICE, Adams said.

It is noteworthy that Adams also refused to declare his opposition to ICE raids in sensitive institutions, such as schools and churches, a longstanding federal prohibition that Trump abrogated on Monday.

That is all part of our conversations that were having with ICE about these sensitive locations and other aspects of it.  Our team know[s] how important it is to coordinate, and if youre not at the table, youre not able to give real good input. And that is our goal, said Adams.

Following the inauguration, Adams gave an interview to fascist commentator and arch-Trump supporter Tucker Carlson. He bitterly complained to Carlson about what he felt was ill-treatment by the Biden administration after his criticism of the White Houses border policies. He related telling Biden that the influx of refugees into New York City in 2023 (because Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered illegal busing of refugees from his state to dump them in Manhattan) is a terrible problem thats playing out on the ground. We need to fix our border.

One obvious reason for Adams groveling to Trump and his inner circle is that the mayor faces trial in April on federal corruption charges, including bribery, wire fraud and solicitation of contributions from foreign nationals. These encompass fraudulently obtaining more than $10 million in public funding during his 2021 mayoral campaign, and more than $100,000 in luxury travel gifts from Turkish officials and businesspeople. Adams is eager to get a place on Trumps pardon list of gangsters, crooks and fascists.

Students, parents, and immigrant advocates rally against an executive order issued by New York Mayor Eric Adams issued limiting homeless migrants and their children to 60 days in city housing in New York, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. [AP Photo/Seth Wenig]

He may also be preparing to switch parties and become an all-out Trump loyalist. Adams is widely hated in New York City for his right-wing policies, defense of police brutality, and support for fiscal austerity and cuts in public services. He faces a stiff reelection campaign this year, with a slew of left-talking local officials challenging him for the Democratic mayoral nomination, usually tantamount to election in New York. He may be calculating that he can improve his own slim chances at reelection by running as an independent or even seeking the nomination of the Republicans.

Trump has his own reasons for reaching out to Adams, aside from his bottomless appetite for flattery and the debasement of his former critics. Like Adams, he has faced corruption charges in New York City, although he was convicted on state charges, not federal, and cannot pardon himself. Before the election, he suggested that both he and Adams had been targeted by the deep state.

The fascist president might be tempted to link a pardon of Adams to his hollow social demagogy, in which he has called himself a champion of workers, including minority workers. In his inaugural address, he claimed to have set records for support by black and Hispanic voters, although that is only in comparison to his previous dismal levels in 2016 and 2020.

There is more at stake than the grubby maneuvering of two right-wing political gangsters, however. They are brought together on the basis of substantial political agreement. Adams is only a particularly nauseating example of the general prostration of the Democratic Party before Trump, based on a common policy of war and austerity. As the WSWS noted in its Perspective on Jan. 22:

The response of the Democratic Party and the corporate media to Trumps return to power underscores a basic fact: the entire political establishment serves the same oligarchic interests that Trump represents. Whatever tactical differences exist between the Democrats and Republicanslargely over foreign policy and the best methods of defending corporate profitsthese factions are united in their subservience to the financial elite.

The groveling before Trump by the mayor of the largest city in the US, as part of the overall pledges of cooperation from the Democrats, illustrates the futility of any remaining illusions that appealing to the Democrats can in any way defend the working class against the fascist program of the new administration.

The leading peddlers of such illusions are pseudo-left groups like the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The most prominent DSA member in New York City, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, denounced any left-wing criticism of Democrats, first defending Joe Biden, then Kamala Harris, thus helping pave the way for Trumps victory.

The DSAs candidate in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, has had almost nothing to say about the dangers of fascism posed by Trump and his second term. Mamdanis entire campaign rests on the claim, disproven decade after decade, that it is possible to transform the Democratic Party and make it a force for social reform.

What is necessary to defend democratic rights in New York, including the right of undocumented immigrants to live and raise their families without fear, and for students and youth to protest the genocide in Palestine, is the independent mobilization of the working class.

Neither Ocasio-Cortez, Mamdani, nor their allies in other pseudo-left groups and the trade unions, will lift a finger to defend the immigrant communities which are the first targets of Trumps onslaught against democratic rights. The working class must take independent action of its own.

Rank-and-file committees, independent of the trade union bureaucracy, must be formed among critical sections of workers, including educators, that will coordinate action with immigrant workers and youth. Neighborhood action committees are urgently needed to organize demonstrations, strikes and occupations of workplaces to defend immigrant workers.

This must be based on a perspective of a break with the two capitalist parties and their policies of war, austerity and dictatorship, on the basis of a socialist program that will unite the working class on a city, state, national, and international scale.
Postal workers at some of the 37 UK delivery offices targeted by the USO reform pilot scheme at Royal Mail have been speaking this past week about the trials to begin in February. Workers voiced opposition to the restructuring plan to impose gig economy working conditions and slash jobs, and in many cases explained they had been kept in the dark by the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

The Universal Service Obligation (USO) is the statutory requirement for Royal Mail to deliver letters to every address in the UK, six days a week, at a uniform price, and parcels five days a week.

WSWS reporter speaks to a worker at Stoke Newington delivery office

World Socialist Web Site reporting teams circulated the statement of the Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee (PWRFC) , which makes the following call:

Collective opposition must be organised against the bureaucratic imposition of the USO reform pilots by the Communication Workers Union hierarchy and Royal Mail management at 37 delivery offices across the UK. The pilot delivery offices are a testing ground for mass job destruction, increased workloads and the gutting of the mail service to be rolled out across 1,200 delivery offices nationally. We appeal to our brothers and sisters at the 37 targeted delivery offices and all other postal workers: Stand together! Hands off our jobs, conditions and the mail service!

Postal workers at Mount Pleasant delivery office in central London on Tuesday were scathing about how the USO pilot was being implemented over their heads by the CWU working in lockstep with management.

A postie said, Its coming in February. There have been no management meetings, no union meetings, nothing. Its typical of this placewhen changes are made, they do not talk to us, its just imposed.

This was echoed by a colleague: We have not been told a dicky bird about changes to the USO. What happens at this depot is senior union officials tell the locals what to do, and they just do it. No one comes to us. We know where its all goingits Amazon.

Workers have not swallowed the CWU-Royal Mail line that the pilots are based merely on a reform of the USO, rather than dismantling the mail service as part of the 3.5 billion takeover by billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to implement mass job losses and EP Groups strategy for a parcel-led business to compete with Amazon, Evri and UPS.

The Amazon model being adopted by Royal Mail was a recurring theme.

Thank you for getting involved and fighting for us, the workers. There is only one way its going, its obviousits Amazon, and it will be all about parcels. I will definitely read the leaflet, another worker commented.

Workers anger over how they were being treated with contempt by CWU officials was clear, as well as a desire to find out more about a perspective to fight back:

We know USO changes are being trialled here. The union here are not worth a s***; they are just yes men. Id like to say more, but I dont know whats involved. I need to be more informed. Thanks for this; the first bit of info I have had on this is from you, so thanks again.

Another postie added, Is this your latest leaflet? We have to fight this. I agree with your demand. Thanks for the informationno one else is telling us what these changes could mean. We have heard nothing about the USO changes.

At Stoke Newington delivery office in east London on Friday, postal workers also spoke about the secrecy maintained by the CWU and Royal Mail over the pilot, saying they had only heard rumours. In response to finding out the delivery office was one of the 37 offices selected for trials of the cost-cutting agenda, a worker, taking a bunch of leaflets to share, said, I knew there was something going on, that they are using it to destroy. Ill read this.

The underhand way in which the pilots were being introduced was linked, by another worker, to the methods used by the CWU bureaucracy to veto strike action during the 2022-3 national dispute:

We have heard nothing. When we had the 18 days of strikes two weeks before Christmas (in 2022) we said to the union that it was an ideal opportunity to go on all-out strike that would hurt the company. The union said No you cant do that, and stopped it. Ill discuss this with my colleagues. The sellout agreement in July 2023 tearing up terms and conditions was to feed workers into the clutches of Kretinsky.

The leaflet was warmly received at Malmo Road delivery office in Hull, East Yorkshire by postal workers who had just come out of a briefing held jointly by management and the union on the USO pilot.

A worker taking the leaflet said there was no opportunity to vote and the CWU official at the meeting told them, You have to embrace change. The worker explained that the models of working under the pilot they had been shown meant gutting the mail service with second-class letters relegated to every other day (during the week), so parcels could be maximised, further hiking up workloads.

The divide between the rank-and-file and the union bureaucracy was summed up by a worker who took the leaflet stating, Oh, so you are on our side then, after it was explained the PWRFC statement was against the treachery of the CWU.

The CWUs embrace of overhauling workers remaining rights and the entrenchment of gig economy working conditions is being implemented on the back of driving workers out of the job, particularly longstanding posties described by management as having legacy terms. Workers were angered by how openly the union worked hand in glove with management, with some cancelling their CWU membership and others saying they are looking for alternative employment.

This makes it even more urgent that the rank and file assert their collective will against the undemocratic stitch-up by the CWU-Royal Mail to strongarm them into the pilots. Martin Walsh, CWU deputy general secretary (postal)who signed the USO Pilot Terms of Reference and accompanying Enablers Letter with Royal Mailhas stated openly the real aim of the so-called reform of the mail service: Clearly, the USO changes are designed to make money.

In opposition to the CWU leaders support for profit gouging aimed at an additional 300 million cost savings per year, the PWRFC statement proposes a strategy for postal workers to mount a fightback:

Postal workers must put a stop to these plans! Emergency meetings should be convened at all affected sites to countermand the CWU hierarchy, reject participation in the pilot schemes, and outline key demands for the protection of jobs, terms and conditions, and the defence of the USO. An appeal for support should be made to workers across Royal Mail, including at Parcelforce and GLS, and to workers at Amazon, UPS and Evri to oppose the race-to-the-bottom. To defeat the alliance of Kretinsky, the CWU and the Starmer government we need to turn to our allies in the postal and logistics sector across Europe, Canada, and the US, who are facing the same coordinated attack by corporate and state-owned carriers using AI and other forms of automation to slash jobs and boost profits. Automation should be used to improve working conditions not to line the pockets of billionaire investors.

Is the pilot scheme being operated at your workplace? Get in touch to organise a fightback. We appeal to all Royal Mail workers to help distribute this statement.
The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States testified to American degradation and the political and social dead end of world capitalism.

This is not how the ruling class of the Republic of China (hereinafter Taiwan) sees Trumps return to the White House. On January 21, Kuomintang (KMT) Speaker of the Parliament Han Kuo-yu, who led Taiwans official delegation to the event, described the swearing-in ceremony of the would-be Fuhrer Trump as the pinnacle of the free world.

The CEO-turned-speaker compared his successful visit to the United States to a Taiwanese stock rally the next day, hailing the trip as a historic breakthrough between the two countries, and citing the fact that he was admitted into the Capitol Rotunda and flanked by US governors and upper-level military commanders.

Most importantly, the President himself was only 25 meters away, Han added. It was a privilege to witness this historic moment and listen to Trump's amazing speech about being chosen by God to make America great again.

Despite tactical differences between the opposition KMT and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), both rival sections of the Taiwanese bourgeoisie serve as an instrument of US imperialism and expressed bipartisan support for Hans self-congratulatory and sycophantic remarks about the event.

This is not the first time Taiwans political establishment has seen getting physically close to a US president as a great honor. DPP presidential candidate Lai Ching-te made a similar comment in July 2023, asserting that Taiwan had strove to reach out to the world via the US. When Taiwans President can walk into the White House, we have accomplished our political goal.

It is worth recalling that in 1983, President Ronald Reagan met with freedom-fighting mujahideen from Afghanistan at the Oval Office after giving to the USSR its Vietnam War, to use Zbigniew Brzezinskis phrase. Brzezinski served as President Jimmy Carters National Security Advisor.

President Joe Biden met Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House several times before Kiev unveiled its victory plan in October 2024.

It is no coincidence that Han Kuo-yu bragged in late September 2024 about the largest demand for corpse bags made by Taiwanese corporations coming from Ukraine.

This brings to mind Brzezinskis claim in his monograph, The Grand Chessboard (1997), that the US had an inclination to assign a high priority to American-Ukrainian relations and to help Ukraine sustain its new national freedom, despite this stance leading to a head-on collision with Moscow. This national freedom formula works identically when Taiwan and China are substituted for Ukraine and Russia.

Taiwans ruling class could not contain their excitement about Trumps second coming. During the initial COVID outbreak in the US, Trump asserted that he took the Chinese virus very seriously by shutting down borders to foreign nationals traveling from China. In late 2020, when the US successfully developed COVID jabs, he took credit for developing the China virus vaccine, claiming that had he not been president, Americans would have had to wait five years.

When Trump has threatened to annex Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal on several occasions and delivered tariff threats against China, Taiwans ruling class sees these developments as positive goods.

A 2024 study conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studiesa Washington D.C.-based think tankindicated over $2.45 trillion in commodities, or more than one-fifth of global marine trade, transited the Taiwan Strait in 2022. This means that even a Chinese coast guard-led quarantine of Taiwan, rather than a military seizure of the island, may threaten trillions of dollars in trade, flowing through the Taiwan Strait.

Su Tzu-yun of the Taipei-based Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a mouthpiece of Taiwans defense ministry, stated on January 22, 2025 that the quest for the Arctic implied that the US prioritized global control over sea lanes as well as airspace, and hence would not allow its freedom of navigation through international waters, including the Taiwan Strait, to be challenged.

He declared that the strategically located island country must increase its military expenditure to be considered a reliable partner by Washington.

Trump had earlier urged Taiwan to increase its defense spending to 10 percent of its GDP to demonstrate its reliability. In terms reminiscent of a Mafia boss, he revealed the role played by US imperialism and its client: Taiwan stole 95 percent of our business.  We lost the chip business. They want us to protect They dont pay us money for the protection, you know? The mob makes you pay money.

Massive increases in defense spending to protect US imperialism implies broader attacks on public spending and an intensifying assault on the living conditions of the Taiwanese working class. Taiwans GDP in 2024 was estimated to be US$775.02 billion. Spending at least 10 percent of its GDP would amount to US$77.5 billion. This would equate to 80 percent of Taiwans government budget.

No one believes that the fascistic mob leader, who presided over the normalization of mass death and debilitation in the COVID-19 pandemic during his first term, and has now launched a global trade war against Washingtons nominal allies and arch-rivals from the start of his second term, could provide any country with a security guarantee.

Under Trumps presidency, the Military Review, a journal of the United States Army, indicated in 2020 that the only method of preventing China from successfully annexing Taiwan is to reject calls for a cease-fire and to contain Chinese bridgeheads and airheads [in Taiwan] into as small a perimeter as possible.

This implies that Taiwans working people are mere cannon fodder, expected to fight China to the last man and woman under US dictates.

The islands ruling elite views Trumps trade war with China favorably, believing that it stands to gain from US-China competition by deepening economic and military ties with the US imperialist bourgeoisie.

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump accused China of being the greatest thief in the world and pledged to stop China from raping the United States. In 2018, he invoked section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, imposing tariffs on most Chinese imports, specifically citing the initiative of Made in China 2025 (MIC 2025) as detrimental to US corporate interests and claiming that World Trade Organization mechanisms did not suffice to resolve disputes between the worlds two largest economies.

Despite trade war measures implemented by the Trump and Biden administrations, MIC 2025 has made substantial progress.

According to figures published by the United Nations Statistics Division, China contributed about 31 percent of world industrial production in 2022, with the United States accounting for only 15 percent.

Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (IT) announced on January 21, 2025 that China has led world manufacturing in terms of value-added industrial output for the 15th consecutive year in 2024, with an estimated US$5.65 trillion. The industrial and IT sectors reportedly accounted for more than 40 percent of Chinas economic growth last year.

This highlights that the trade war is a concentrated expression of conflicts over production, industrial capacity, and profits in overseas markets.

In response to possible US tariff hikes, Chinas vice premier, Ding Xuexiang, proposed on January 21, a win-win solution between Beijing and Washington at the 55th annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, indicating Beijings willingness to import more competitive and high-quality products and services to balance [the] trade deficit.

In contrast to Taiwans delusion of benefiting from US-China tensions, the Chinese Stalinist regime has been laboring under the illusion about peaceful coexistence among the major capitalist powers in a multipolar world by transforming itself into a maritime power and building armed capabilities commensurate with its international standing.

None of this addresses the fundamental contradictions of the capitalist system. As Frederick Engels reminds us of why certain sections of the industrial bourgeoisie argued against protectionism:

The moment a branch of national industry has completely conquered the home market, that moment exportation becomes a necessity to it. Under capitalistic conditions, an industry either expands or wanes. A trade cannot remain stationary; stoppage of expansion is incipient ruin.

Phrased differently, as capital crosses national boundaries, one countrys gains result in anothers loss under capitalism. More so, under decaying and moribund capitalism.

Since the realignment of US politics with its underlying socioeconomic relations will inevitably exacerbate class antagonisms, the working class and the bourgeoisie will have to confront each other and settle their contradictions.

The responses of Taiwans and Chinas ruling classes illustrate that they can offer no alternative to assaults on democracy and living standards, fascism and war. A genuine struggle against fascism and war and for democracy must be waged by the working class and in opposition to all factions of the ruling elite at home and abroad. As the WSWS has written, In the face of the imperialist fight for the redivision of the world, the socialist fight is for the practical-political reunification of the international working class and class struggle.
Migrants in chains are boarded onto a military airplane, January 24, 2025 [Photo: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt]

President Donald Trump announced Sunday a series of trade, financial and diplomatic reprisals just short of a declaration of all-out war after Colombian President Gustavo Petro blocked two US deportation flights carrying Colombian migrants on military planes.

On Sunday morning, Petro announced on X the rejection of deportation flights, declaring, The U.S. must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.

The measure triggered a wave of vile commentary in US fascist circles led by former Republican representative Matt Gaetz, who was briefly Trumps nominee for Attorney General. Dont fuck with us on this, dude, wrote Gaetz on X. You will be taking your criminals back the easy way or the hard way, he added, calling migrants shit.

In the afternoon, Trump announced on his Truth social media platform a series of decisive retaliatory measures, claiming Petro had jeopardized National Security and Public Safety of the United States. These include 25 percent emergency tariffs on Colombian imports, increasing to 50 percent in a week, a travel ban and visa revocations on Colombian officials and their relatives, allies and supporters, and International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) financial sanctions.

These measures are just the beginning, Trump added.

With the US being far and away the main recipient of Colombian exports, over 25 percent of the total, the measures constitute a threat to devastate South Americas third largest economy. At the same time, naming Colombia a national security threat, which is also implied by the IEEPA, constitutes a warning of a military character.

Moreover, Trumps declaration that Colombias Socialist President is very unpopular amongst his people takes place after Petro has warned for months of a coup plot to oust him by the far-right opposition and within the state. For the oligarchic regime headed by Trump, even Petros limited social policies and verbal criticisms of US foreign policy, most notably denouncing US responsibility for the genocide in Gaza and Trumps climate change denialism, are intolerable.

Petro replied with a mix of counter-reprisals and adaptation: a 25 percent tariff on US imports, which will increase prices or fully deprive Colombia of countless necessary imports, and a proposal to use civilian planes, including his own presidential jet, to repatriate Colombian migrants deported by the Trump administration.

The Colombian president also called on the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and its chair, Honduran President Xiomara Castro, to convene an emergency meeting to address migration and drug trafficking. Castro has been among the Latin American heads of state most critical of Trumps agenda, threatening to expel the US military from its Soto Cano air base and turn closer to China if Trump carries out mass deportations of Hondurans.

Petro wrote on X, You can, with your economic strength and your arrogance, try to stage a coup detat as you did with Allende. But I will die under my right; I resisted torture and I resist you. Petro, a member of the M-19 urban guerrilla movement in his youth, was tortured during two years of imprisonment. Chilean President Salvador Allende died during a military overthrow orchestrated by the CIA in 1973.

But Trumps retaliation is aimed not solely or even chiefly at Petro. By targeting Latin Americas main US military ally and NATO global partner, the message is that no exceptions will be made.

The type of subordination demanded by Trumps fascist agenda was hinted at by a report on CBS News that fascistic President Nayib Bukele plans to declare El Salvador a third safe country, which would allow the US to deport non-Salvadoran immigrants there, blocking their right to request asylum, and placing them at the mercy of Bukeles martial law regime.

Trump is also sending a message to Americas neighbor and main trade partner, Mexico, amid US media reports that President Claudia Sheinbaum denied permission to land to one US military plane carrying deportees on Thursday.

The White House said Mexico agreed to receive a record four deportation flights on Thursday, and a State Department official said one was denied access to land due to miscommunication. The Mexican government has not confirmed these flights or the denial of any of them. The following day, the Mexican government vowed to continue cooperating, even as the White House said Mexico had agreed to mobilize 30,000 National Guard troops to the border to oversee the Remain in Mexico policy.

On Thursday, three deportation flights arrived in Guatemala, including two on military aircraft.

The political use of Petros denial of deportation flights has many implications. On the one hand, Trump seeks to bolster his preposterous claim of an invasion by unarmed and impoverished migrant workersa claim upon which he has rested his entire edifice of dictatorial executive orders against migrants and basic democratic rights.

In his social media announcement, Trump claimed that these migrants have been forced into the United States by the Petro administration, suggesting an attack on US soil by another state. However, the number of undocumented Colombian migrants living or entering the US is a tiny fraction of the total.

More fundamentally, Washingtons backing of the most fascistic layers of the Colombian ruling elite is the main cause of the Colombian diaspora historically. Since the 1960s, an estimated 8.6 million people have been displaced internally and externally as a result of the US-backed counter-insurgency wars against any opposition to brutal levels of poverty and inequality in the country.

The claim that migrants are all hardened criminals, moreover, is refuted by statistics showing that migrants are less likely than US citizens to commit violent crimes.

The placing of immigration policy in the hands of the military and the landing of Northern Command planes anywhere and at will sets a dangerous precedent as part of a strategy of integrating military operations, in the form of a total war against targets at home, including migrants and political opponents, and across the hemisphere, under the same fraudulent claim of an invasion.

Conceived as a necessary step to escalate war against China, Trump has threatened to take direct control over key resources, cheap labor platforms, territory and infrastructure in Washingtons backyard, starting with Greenland, Canada, the Panama Canal and the Gulf of Mexico. He has also classified Mexican drug cartels and gangs in El Salvador and Venezuela as foreign terrorist organizations, to provide a pseudo-legal framework for justifying US military operations in the countries where these organizations operate.

The pushback by Petro, Sheinbaum, Castro and others over the treatment of immigrant workers is driven by expectations of mass popular revulsion against Trumps policies and the fear of losing control over this opposition.

The brutality of the US deportation campaign was exposed over the weekend with the emergency landing in Manaus of a plane carrying Brazilian deportees who revolted after being kept on the tarmac without air-conditioning. Brazilian Federal Police boarded the plane after the deported immigrants managed to open an emergency door and cry for help. They found them handcuffed and in leg chains, complaining of having been denied food and water, being beaten and threatened with death. The Brazilian government refused to allow US authorities to continue the flight, denouncing the flagrant disregard of the immigrants rights.

However, the mass deportations, the turn to fascism and the threat of imperialist aggression can only be opposed by a united political movement of workers on an international and socialist basis, not through any capitalist governments, including those that employ left nationalist rhetoric. No government, including Petros, is attempting to resist the cruel and anti-democratic uprooting of migrant workers from their lives in the United States.

The real class attitude of the national ruling elites represented by these governments was summed up by Mexican Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez, who said callously: Repatriation is an opportunity to return home and reunite with family. There are an estimated four million undocumented Mexicans living in the United States, compared to about 190,000 Colombians.
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An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, January 24, 2025. [AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi]

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump called for Israel to clean Gaza of its Arab inhabitants, in an open call for ethnic cleansing. Youre talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing, Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

Over the centuries, thats many, many conflicts, that site, Trump said, implying that peace in the Middle East would be achieved by the removal or destruction of the Palestinian population.

Trumps statement is an open and public embrace on the part of the American state of the actual policy of the Netanyahu government, which is the systematic extermination and removal of the Palestinian population from Gaza, as part of the effort to annex all of the Palestinian territories and construct a greater Israel to dominate the Middle East.

While the Biden administration funded, armed and politically defended Israels genocide in Gaza, which has killed at least 70,000 people, his administration upheld the fiction that it was seeking a two-state solution and a homeland for the Palestinian people.

In a sense, Trump has only openly stated the essential content of the Biden administrations genocidal policy in Gaza. But words have meaning. An American president has publicly adopted ethnic cleansing as state policy.

The forcible transfer of a population is a war crime and a crime against humanity, and Trumps active and conscious facilitation of the ethnic cleansing of Gaza makes him a war criminal.

His call for Israel to clean Gaza of its Arab population was not an offhand phrase. In fact, it was only the latest, and most explicit, of multiple calls by White House officials for the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

In congressional testimony last week, Elise Stefanik, President Trumps nominee to be the US ambassador to the United Nations, declared that Israel has a biblical right to the entire West Bank. This followed a statement by a Trump administration official to NBC News last weekend that the White House is discussing the relocation of the Palestinian people from Gaza.

Trumps open embrace of ethnic cleansing in Gaza followed the announcement by the Pentagon that it would send more 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, which the IDF has used to demolish entire city blocks. Despite a nominal ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, Israel is continuing its rampage throughout the Middle East, killing 22 people in South Lebanon on Sunday and launching an ongoing raid in the West Banks Jenin that has killed at least 16 people.

Trumps use of the word clean to refer to a population of human beings is a deliberate adoption of the phraseology of German dictator Adolf Hitler and his Nazi movement, which perpetrated the Holocaust of 6 million European Jews between 1941 and 1945.

Donald Trump is, as General Mark Milley explained to journalist Bob Woodward, a fascist to the core. Trumps ex-wife, Ivana Trump, told her lawyer, according to Vanity Fair, that the current president reads a book of Hitlers collected speeches, My New Order, which he keeps in a cabinet by his bed.

Trumps proposal to clean an entire ethnic group comes straight from Hitlers lips. In a 1938 speech from the collection Trump allegedly keeps by his bedside, Hitler said that the eternal values of blood and soil required him to cleanse the German nation, our race and our culture of the Jewish people.

During the Holocaust, areas from which the Jewish population had been expelled were declared Judenrein, or cleansed of Jews. Within this context, Trumps words imply that cleaning the Arabs from Palestine would be the final solution of the Palestinian problem.

Eighty years after the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, the leader of the American state has not only publicly embraced the Nazi ideology of social hygiene through mass murder but is actively enabling it.

Trumps proposal to clean the people of Palestine from their homeland is a milestone in the normalization of imperialist barbarism, whose highest historical expression was the Nazi regime.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the ideological defenders of capitalism claimed that the crimes of Nazi Germany represented a sort of historical accident, never to be repeated. Hitler and the movement he led represented a deviation from the fundamental tendency of development of capitalism, which was towards democracy, peace and harmonious global economic development.

By contrast, the Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and the Trotskyist movement explained that fascism expressed the deepest and most essential characteristics of capitalism, which erupted to the surface in periods of crisis.

Just as Hitler represented the most concentrated expression of the barbarism unleashed by the imperialist powers in their drive to carve up the globe into subjugated colonies, so too Trump exemplifies the normalization of social barbarism carried out by global capitalism over decades.

The launching of the war on terror by the George W. Bush administration saw the shock and awe bombing campaign against Iraq, the horrors of the dungeons of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay and the state-sponsored assassination of thousands of people.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the capitalist ruling classes openly embraced deliberate mass death, as in the words of then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, natures way of dealing with old people. Capitalisms response to the pandemic, as expressed by Johnson, was let the bodies pile high.

The return of Trump to the White House is the product of capitalisms normalization of war, torture, annexation and mass murder, as the oligarchy, fearful of any inroads on its wealth and privileges, goes to any length to defend its domination of society. Trump, whose leading fundraiser, Elon Musk, greeted his electoral victory with a Nazi salute, is making clear his intent to repeat the crimes of Nazi Germany.

Trumps predecessors in the Biden administration have demonstrated that their support for the Gaza genocide is a component part of Washingtons efforts to reorganize the Middle East in line with the drive to dominate Iran, Russia and China. Trump represents a redoubling of these efforts, with an even greater level of brutality. His casual reference to the cleaning of 1.5 million people is a testament to the vast scale of death and destruction that American imperialism is prepared to unleash in its drive to reorganize the world under its domination.

The escalation of the genocide in Gaza, and the broader imperialist war of which it is a part, will provoke mass opposition. Over the past 15 months, millions of people have taken part in mass protests all over the world in opposition to the genocide. The fight against the genocide must be expanded into a broader struggle against imperialism and united with the working classs fight to defend its social and economic rights against the dictatorship of the financial oligarchy and the capitalist system.
Ali Abunimah, executive director of The Electronic Intifada. [Photo: Ali Abunimah]

Ali Abunimah, the executive director of the Chicago-based Electronic Intifada, was arrested and detained by Swiss police on Saturday afternoon just before he was scheduled to speak at an event in Zurich.

According to a report by Neue Zurcher Zeitung (NZZ), a Swiss, German-language daily newspaper based in Zurich, Abunimah had been invited to speak at an event held by The Palestine Committee Zurich.

The NZZ report said, Zurich police had been notified of Abunimahs planned appearance and submitted a request to the Swiss Federal Office of Police that he be banned, which was granted.

The NZZ report continued, Government Councilor and Head of the Department of Security Mario Fehr told NZZ that Abunimah is forbidden to travel to Zurich, adding, We do not want an Islamist Jew-hater, who calls for violence, in Switzerland.

The Swiss federal police have the authority to ban entry to people deemed a threat to internal or external national security. However, when Abunimah arrived in Switzerland on Friday, he was detained by police and questioned for an hour and then permitted to enter the country.

Ali Abunimah, 53, is a Palestinian-American journalist and resident of Chicago. He is the executive director and co-founder of the Electronic Intifada, a pro-Palestinian news website founded in 2001. Born in Washington, DC, Abunimah is a regular contributor to the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times and has also appeared on CNN, MSNBC and PBS as a representative of the Palestinian perspective.

He is also vice-president on the board of directors of the Arab American Action Network, and is a fellow at the Palestine Center. Abunimah has been described as, the leading American proponent of a one-state solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.

Over decades, Abunimah has been an outspoken critic of the unconditional support by US imperialism for Israel and its crimes against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. To his credit, Abunimah went on national television in 2008 and denounced Barack Obama, who used to attend events in the Palestinian community in Chicago all the time, and his representative to the United Nations, Susan Rice, for closing every door to justice for Palestinians, after Obama was elected president.

Abunimah has been regularly and falsely accused of antisemitism. He has repeatedly drawn the parallel between the Holocaust and Israels murderous and genocidal attack on Palestinians. In 2010, he posted on Twitter, Supporting Zionism is not atonement for the Holocaust, but its continuation in spirit.

On January 6 of this year, Abunimah authored an article on Electronic Intifada entitle, Israel still cant find any 7 October rape victims, prosecutor admits, which details the lack of evidence and zero complainants in alleged cases of rapes committed by Palestinians on the day Israel began its genocidal rampage in Gaza, that has now claimed the lives of over 60,000 Palestinians, according to a study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, a majority of whom are women and children.

Abunimahs report details the fact that Israeli prosecutor Moran Gez has admitted that the horrific stories of the mass and systematic rape and sexual abuse of Israeli women by Hamas have no evidence for filing any cases for prosecution against the Palestinian attackers held in Israeli jails.

As reported on the World Socialist Web Site on January 20, Speaking in an interview at the end of last month with the Israeli online daily Ynet, Gaz said that despite all their investigations, In the end, we have no complainants. No one came forward to give evidence.

In a statement on Saturday, Electronic Intifada wrote,

Abunimahs arrest appears to be part of a growing backlash from Western governments against expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Last year, several activists and journalists in Britain were arrested, raided or charged using counter-terror powers. These include Asa Winstanley, an associate editor with The Electronic Intifada, whose home was raided and his computers and phones seized. Winstanley has not been charged with any crime. The Electronic Intifada team stands in solidarity with Ali Abunimah. Speaking out against injustice in Palestine is not a crime. Journalism is not a crime.

Numerous individuals have taken to social media to denounce the arrest and detention of Abunimah as an attack on fundamental rights. British Journalist Jonathan Cook, for example, wrote on Twitter/X,

The head of Zurichs department of security peddles three lies in one short sentence on Ali Abunimahs arrest to stop his speaking tour. * Abunimah is not an Islamist. Hes entirely secular. * The claim hes a Jew hater is beyond preposterous. One of his closest, longtime colleagues at Electronic Intifada is Jewish, as have been many of his websites contributors. * Hes made no calls for violence, in Switzerland or anywhere else, beyond insisting on the right of resistance enshrined in international law against Israels illegal occupation and its regional wars of aggression. Meanwhile, the state Abunimah criticizes  Israel  has senior government ministers who are self-declared religious fascists. For decades, Israel has held Palestinians under a hate-filled apartheid regime. And for the past 15 months, Israel has been committing genocide  the ultimate act of violence  against the Palestinians. European elites are turning the world on its head.

An online petition is being circulated at change.org to demand the Swiss government release Ali Abunimah from administrative detention. The petition says the journalist was, violently and forcibly taken by unidentified individuals in civilian clothing while walking on the streets of Zurich on Saturday 25th January 2025.

The petition also states that Abunimah was on his way to give a lecture on the history of Palestine, after another event he was going to deliver the following day was cancelled due to external pressure, following a defamatory article in a local newspaper baselessly accusing him of radical Islamism and antisemitism.
The gate at Auschwitz, bearing the inscription "Work sets you free"

Eighty years ago, on 27 January 1945, the Soviet Red Army liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. The soldiers were presented with an indescribable scene of horror. Auschwitz, the German name for the small town of Oswiecim in southern Poland, came to epitomise crimes beyond the scope of human imagination.

The Nazi regime murdered between 1.1 and 1.5 million people in the Auschwitz camp complex during the Second World War. Ninety per cent of them were Jews, but Poles, Sinti and Roma as well as Soviet prisoners of war were also killed.

What makes Auschwitz so terrible is not only the gigantic number of murder victims, but also the cold-blooded efficiency with which tens of thousands of SS members, state officials and business leaders worked together to make the mass murder possible. Never before had the apparatus of a modern industrialised state been used so systematically to carry out genocide.

Municipal officials in Germany and the Nazi-occupied territories identified the murder victims as Jews, the police rounded them up, and the railway transported them in freight cars like cattle to Auschwitz. There they were selected at the ramp. Those who were unable to work at heavy labourmainly children, women and the elderlywere herded into the gas chambers, killed and their bodies burned. In the three months from May to July 1944 alone, around 400,000 Jews from Hungary died in this way in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Hungarian Jews arriving at the Auschwitz extermination camp [Photo: Anonymous Auschwitz photographer]

Those able to work had to labour in the camp itself or for German companies until they died of hunger and exhaustion or were driven into the gas chambers themselves. Some were forced to die as guinea pigs in medical experiments. German companies, such as IG Farben, built factories specifically for this purpose in the huge Auschwitz complex, which comprised three main camps and 50 subcamps. The Nazis endeavoured to squeeze every last ounce of profit out of the victims. Even their hair and gold teeth were utilised for commercial gain.

Auschwitz was just one of many German extermination camps. Millions more people were shot on the spot or murdered in other bestial ways as the German troops advanced through Poland and the USSR.

Only a few of those responsible for the mass murder were held accountable for their actions. In Eastern Europe, in particular, which was under Soviet control after the war, trials were held, some of which led to death sentences. In Nuremberg in 1945-46, the wartime Allies held 13 trials of leading representatives of the Nazi regime. However, the result remained modest, with 24 death sentences and 118 prison sentences, which were reduced in length soon afterwards. The main significance of the Nuremberg Trials lay in the fact that they set new standards in international law.

Business leaders who had supported the Nazis and profited from forced labour also stood trial in Nuremberg. They only received short prison sentences, which served primarily for their own protection. They were allowed to keep most of the assets they had acquired through robbery and mass murder and were even allowed to run their companies from prison. To this day, the fortunes of many German billionaire families can be traced back to the complicity of their parents and grandparents with the Nazi regime.

With the beginning of the Cold War, the prosecution of Nazi perpetrators in the West was largely discontinued. Military officers, secret police agents, judges, senior civil servants, professors and business leaders were declared de-Nazified and returned to their old posts. The Chancellery, where the important personnel decisions were made, was headed by Hans Globke, co-author and elaborator of the Nuremberg Race Laws.

The first Auschwitz trial in Germany did not take place until 1963, 18 years after Soviet troops put an end to the mass killing there. This was mainly due to the tireless efforts of the chief prosecutor in the state of Hesse, Fritz Bauer, who had to fight against countless obstacles and personal attacks. Here, too, the number of convictions remained low. However, the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials had great educational value. They opened the eyes of the younger generation that had grown up after the war and contributed significantly to their radicalisation and to the mass protests of 1968-69.

In the 1970s, the confrontation with the Nazi regime also found its way into schools. Many old Nazis had by then retired and been replaced by younger teachers who had been influenced by the 1968 movement. The slogan Never again! was deeply engraved in the consciousness of a generation, without them understanding exactly what had led to the catastrophe. But the vast majority were convinced that such a crime against humanity must not and could not be repeated.

Eighty years after the liberation of Auschwitz, this is no longer the case. Genocide, the persecution and killing of entire populations because of their national origin or religion, total war targeting civilians as well as soldiers, and even the possible use of nuclear weapons are once again considered normal. This also characterises the official commemoration ceremony, which takes place today at 4 p.m. on the former concentration camp site in Auschwitz.

The official guest list includes numerous heads of state and heads of government from Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz as well as Britains King Charles are travelling to the event.

Russia, the main successor state to the Soviet Union, which liberated Auschwitz at enormous cost, will not be represented. The reason for this is that Germany is once again waging war on the Eastern Front, the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war three years ago, the imperialist powers have supported Ukraine with weapons, ammunition and financial aid totalling 213 billion euros. A further 147 billion euros have already been pledged.

The claim that this war is in defence of Ukraine against a Russian war of aggression is simply a lie. In reality, NATO provoked the war by expanding further and further towards Russia, contrary to earlier commitments it had made.

The Putin regime, which owes its power to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the plundering of social property by billionaire oligarchs, had no progressive response to this. Unable to appeal to the Ukrainian and international working class, it responded with a reactionary war. However, the responsibility for the war lies with NATO, which is pursuing the goals of controlling Ukraine and breaking up Russia, as well as exploiting the vast natural resources of both countries.

Significantly, there is no Ukrainian representative on the official guest list for the Auschwitz ceremony. This may yet change, as Poland is one of Ukraine's closest allies in the war against Russia.

However, there are also good reasons for Poland not inviting Ukraine to the Auschwitz commemoration. The regime in Kiev honours Nazi collaborators and accomplices of the Holocaust. In the Ukrainian city of Lviv, less than 400 kilometres from Auschwitz, there is a huge monument to Stepan Bandera, whose OUN not only supported the Holocaust but also murdered tens of thousands of Poles in order to create an ethnically pure western Ukraine. The official Bandera cult has repeatedly led to conflicts between Warsaw and Kiev.

Israel is represented by Education Minister Yoav Kisch. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not travelling to Auschwitz because the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity. There was a long debate in Poland as to whether the arrest warrant, which it is legally obliged to execute, should be ignored.

Israels actions against the Palestinians, which bear frightening parallels to the methods of the Nazis, are perhaps the clearest illustration of the extent to which genocide has once again become officially accepted normality.

Even the US government is only represented at the memorial service by a member of the third rank, billionaire Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. President Donald Trump harbours barely concealed sympathies for Hitler, and his policiesthe deportation of millions of migrants, massive social cuts, the establishment of a police state, threats of violence against rivals and alliesshow strong parallels to those of the Nazis.

Trumps close confidant Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, spoke on a big screen at the far-right Alternative for Germanys election campaign kick-off event in Halle the weekend before the memorial service in Auschwitz. He called on 4,500 cheering supporters of the far-right party to leave behind too much focus on past guilt. Musk asserted that children should not be guilty for the sins of their great-grandparents. It is very important that people in Germany are proud to be German, emphasised Musk. The commemoration of Auschwitz can only disturb this.

Eighty years after the liberation of Auschwitz, it can no longer be claimed that the Nazi barbarism was a historical accident. It was the concentrated expression of the bankruptcy of the capitalist social system. During the First World War, German imperialism unsuccessfully attempted to bring Europe under its control and expand eastwards. Under the Nazis, it made a second attempt. It needed Hitler to crush the workers movement and convert the entire economy to war production.

The working class could have stopped Hitler at the time. The two major workers parties, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Communist Party (KPD), had more supporters than the Nazis, and they occupied an incomparably stronger position in the heart of the German economy. But neither the SPD nor the KPD leadership were prepared to fight. The SPD relied on the Weimar state and Reich President Hindenburg, who ultimately helped Hitler to power. The KPD, which was under the pernicious influence of Stalin, hid its unwillingness to fight behind radical verbal attacks on the SPD.

The genocide of the Jews was a result of this failure of the leadership of the working class. Hitler instrumentalised anti-Semitism in order to channel social tensions against a minority. He had learnt this in Vienna from the anti-Semitic Mayor Karl Lueger. The war of annihilation against the Soviet Union then created the conditions for realising his murderous plans.

Today, attacks on migrants, especially those of Muslim faith, play a similar role to that played by anti-Semitism in the past. But no one should be mistaken: Where there are right-wing extremists and fascists, anti-Semitism is also rampant.

The world is now confronted not only with the eruption of German imperialism, but also of American imperialism. Trump is no more a historical accident than Hitler. His return to the White House signifies, as the WSWS has declared, the violent realignment of American politics with its underlying social reality. Huge social inequality and the relative decline of the US economy compared to its rivals, especially China, cannot be reconciled with democracy and peace.

This also applies to Germany and Europe. Far-right parties are already in power in Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and soon Austria. In Germany, the AfD is the second-strongest party, with support of around 20 percent in pre-election polls. The next German government wants to double or triple defence spending. All the established parties agree on this. This can only be achieved using fascist methods.

If there is one lesson to be learnt from Auschwitz, it is this: Fascism and war can only be stopped by the intervention of the working class. It must defend all democratic and social rights, unite internationally, expropriate the oligarchs and build a socialist society. To do this, it needs its own partythe Socialist Equality Party in Germany and its sister parties worldwide, sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International.
Four weeks before Germanys federal elections, the establishment parties are only interested in one thing: agitating against refugees and migrants. The various leading candidates try to outdo one another with demands for deportations and border closures.

The attack by a 28-year-old refugee from Afghanistan on a kindergarten group in Aschaffenburg, in which a two-year-old child and a 41-year-old man were killed and three other people injured, has provided them with an opportune occasion to do so.

Refugees arriving at Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democrat, SPD) spoke of an act of terror and declared: I am sick and tired of seeing such acts of violence occurring in our country every few weeks. He blamed the Christian Democrats (CDU), who had blocked his governments repressive security package in the Bundesrat (upper chamber of parliament) for party-political reasons.

The CDUs lead candidate, Friedrich Merz, announced: If I am elected Chancellor, on my first day in office, I will instruct the Interior Ministry to permanently control Germanys borders with all of our neighbours and reject all attempts at illegal entry without exception. In fact, this would be tantamount to an entry ban for anyone without valid entry documents and would be a clear violation of the German constitution and applicable EU law.

Bavarian state Premier and CSU Chairman Markus Soder called for a zero tolerance policy. Such acts were no longer a coincidence, Those who dont get it, capitulate.

Green Party Agriculture and Education Minister Cem Ozdemir told Der Spiegel that the migration issue was the decisive lever for mobilising voters. We Greens are focussing on humanity and order, thats right. But that alone is not enough. We have to add the words limitation and practicality.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) can hardly contain its delight that its anti-immigration propaganda is being copied by the other parties. The far-right party is feeling a tailwind. AfD lead candidate Alice Weidel addressed an open letter to CDU leader Merz in which she described it as a good sign that you have obviously adopted urgently needed solutions proposed by my parliamentary group to bring about a change of course in migration policy. Weidel called on Merz to initiate the overdue migration turnaround in the Bundestag (parliament) together with the AfD before the election.

Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the BSW, an anti-migration split off from the Left Party, was not to be left out. She blamed the failure of the chancellor and his interior minister for the attack in Aschaffenburg and described it as an asylum policy scandal that the government was not deporting more refugees. Anyone travelling from a safe third country should not be entitled to any support in Germany, she demanded.

The murder of a small child is a terrible act that is emotionally disturbing. However, no one should allow themselves to be politically swayed by it.

The perpetrator was obviously mentally ill and urgently needed appropriate treatment. Enamullah O. had arrived in Germany from Afghanistan via the Balkan route in November 2022 and had applied for asylum. According to the European Unions Dublin rules, he was to be deported to Bulgaria immediately, but this failed for reasons that are not yet known. Since then, he has been admitted to psychiatric clinics three times but has always been released.

In order to avoid deportation, Enamullah O. finally agreed to leave Germany voluntarily. On December 11, 2024, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees asked him to leave the country. Six weeks later, he committed the fatal attack. If he had received the urgently needed psychological counselling, it would probably not have happened.

However, such humanitarian considerations are not even being considered by the establishment parties and media. They only know one answer to the growing plight of refugees: seal off the borders against, deport and suppress them.

Yet Enamullah O. shares the fate of hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing war zones, severely traumatised, in urgent need of support and who are instead being put under even more pressure by inhumane asylum policiesbut who are neither violent nor criminal as a result.

The inhumane treatment of refugees is an expression of a deeply sick society. Billions have been and are being spent to bomb entire countries to rubbleAfghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Gaza, Ukraine. Yet the victims who manage to escape from the inferno at the risk of their lives are treated like vermin. Donald Trump calls them criminals, psychopaths and invaders, the Nazis spoke of unworthy lives.

Whats more, the abuse and death of children is part of everyday life in Germany. However, this is hardly ever reported if those responsible are not migrants or refugees.

According to police crime statistics, 152 children died violently in Germany in 2020, while 134 other children faced attempted homicide. In the same year, almost 5,000 cases of physical abuse and 14,500 cases of sexual violence against children were reported.

There is a close link between the abuse of children and the constant cuts in spending on nurseries, schools and social services, as well as the increase in poverty. But instead of countering this by raising taxes on the rich and expropriating the billionaires, refugees are being made the scapegoats for the social crisis and used as a lightning rod for social tensions.

The revolutionary Marxist Leon Trotsky characterised the Nazi agitation in 1933 with the words: What must be done in order to improve things? First of all, throttle those who are underneath. This has not changed since then.

By their agitation against refugees, which now stands at the centre of their election campaigns, the establishment parties are pursuing two goals: dividing the working class and building a police state. The massive stepping up of the powers and capabilities of the police, secret services and border guards, which is being carried out today in the name of repelling refugees, will be directed against protesting and striking workers and young people tomorrow.

Since Trump returned to the White House, all inhibitions have disappeared. Trump himself is wasting no time. He has ordered raids on millions of migrants, the construction of detention centres and the deployment of thousands of soldiers to the border with Mexico. These are the first steps towards building a police state and establishing a military dictatorship. There is no resistance to this from the official opposition, the Democrats. They are working with Trump.

The German parties are emulating Trump. They may berate his threats of punitive tariffs and fear he will divide the EU and end the Ukraine war at their expense. However, criticism of his fascist policies and his brutal actions against refugees have largely disappeared from the official discourse. Here, Trumps fascist tirades and gangster-like policies are met with open admiration.

This was exemplified in Davos at the annual meeting of the rich and powerful, the World Economic Forum, last week. When Trump delivered a bizarre speech via video that combined shameless self-praise with mafia-style threats and propositions, some of the most powerful corporate leaders literally crawled in the dust before him and praised him to the skies.

Trump epitomises the rule of the oligarchs. He demonstrates that democracy and the unlimited wealth of a few are incompatible. The establishment parties in Germany are following the same path.

Only the working class can prevent a relapse into fascism and war by intervening in political events, defending its social and democratic rights and expropriating the banks, large corporations and oligarchs. The defence of the rights of refugees and migrants is an inseparable part of this struggle.
Pete Hegseth speaks after being sworn in as Secretary of Defense by Vice President JD Vance, right, in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, Saturday, January 25, 2025. [AP Photo/Rod Lamkey]

In a late vote Friday night, the US Senate confirmed fascist US Army veteran and former Fox News commentator Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. Like all of Trumps cabinet nominees, the 44-year-old Princeton graduate was chosen chiefly for one quality: unwavering loyalty to Trump and commitment to carry out his fascist policies, no matter what.

Within hours of his confirmation, Hegseth had issued a memo to all Defense Department staff pledging to restore a warrior ethos to the Pentagon: in other words, dropping any pretense that American soldiers are to be anything else but killing machines, whether operating abroad or at home.

The first military operations of the new administration began to unfold, as armed soldiers transported by helicopters and V-22 Osprey fighters were deployed to the US-Mexico border. At the same time, military cargo planes began conveying hundreds of detained migrants on deportation flights to countries in Central and South America.

The Pentagon budget that Secretary of Defense Hegseth will oversee for 2025 is officially $849.8 billion. In his position, Hegseth is not only seventh in the line of succession to the presidency but a key link in deploying the US nuclear triad, which features major new investments, including $61 billion for the B-21 Raider stealth bomber program and $9.9 billion for Columbia-class ballistic-missile nuclear submarines.

Hegseths nomination has been the closest so far out of all of Trumps picks. Fridays vote was deadlocked at 50-50 after three Republicans, Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) along with every single Democrat voted against Hegseth, forcing Vice President JD Vance to cast his first tie-breaking vote as president of the Senate.



Of all Trumps nominees, Hegseth, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions and of the Guantanamo Bay torture facility, is the most openly fascistic. In published books, on Fox News, and in his confirmation hearing, Hegseth has argued that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to the US military. We would all have to acknowledge that the way we fought our wars back when the Geneva Conventions were written is a lot different, Hegseth declared during his hearing earlier this month.

A longtime right-wing Republican who initially opposed Trumps campaign for the partys presidential nomination, he quickly shifted to backing the nominee and then peddling his propaganda on Fox News.



Using his public platform, Hegseth lobbied the billionaire president to pardon US soldiers convicted of war crimes, whose cases were ultimately quashed by Trump.

Like his commander-in-chief, Hegseth is even more concerned with the enemy within than he is with supposed foreign enemies like Communist China and Islamic terrorism. In his only public hearing before the Senate earlier this month, Hegseth refused to rule out deploying the military against US citizens if ordered to by Trump. In his latest book, he promised to use the US military against all enemiesboth foreign and domestic. Not political opponents, but real enemies. (Yes, Marxists are our enemies.)

While many former soldiers have been at the head of the Pentagon, none have so openly promised to use the military against the US civilian population. Hegseths willingness to follow Trumps orders, no matter how unconstitutional, marks a qualitative shift.

Hegseth faced little opposition from Republicans. In addition to supporting great power conflict with China, Hegseth is a staunch supporter of the Zionist state and its ongoing genocide. His body is covered in Christian nationalist iconography so extreme that the US military blocked him from participating in the protective detail for Joe Biden in Washington following Trumps failed coup.

While not a single Democrat voted in favor of Hegseth, their pro forma opposition to his nomination, rooted almost entirely in allegations of sexual assault, drunkenness, disorganization and incompetence, prevented a real accounting of his fascist politics.

On Saturday, prior to administering the oath of office to Hegseth, Vance thanked Trump for nominating

a person who is respected and adored by the war-fighters. This is a secretary of defense who will stand up for the men and women we send overseas to fight our nations wars. I think a lot of them feel they havent had someone who has their back. That is going to change because the president of the United States nominated this guy and we are grateful to President Trump for doing so.

In his first official press release as secretary of defense, Hegseth promised to lead the warriors of the Department of Defense, under the leadership of our Commander in Chief Donald J. Trump. We will put America First, and we will never back down.

Hegseth promised to restore and revive what he called the warrior ethos, a mentality and glorification of unlimited violence which has been developed in the US military and among police forces since the initiation of the Global War on Terror. Employing a variation of Hitlers stab-in-the-back theory, which blamed Germanys military defeat in World War I on Judaeo-Bolshevism, Hegseth and other Republicans blame woke Democrats for US military defeats following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Examples of woke policies being rescinded include Dont ask, dont tell, allowing women to serve in combat roles, and the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

In one of his first tweets after being sworn in, Hegseth shared an image featuring notary from the office of the Secretary of Defense that read: No more DEI at Department of Defense. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays. Those who do not comply will no longer work here.

The same day Hegseth was sworn in South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was approved in a 59-34 bipartisan vote to head the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Departments under the purview of the DHS include the US Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the US Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In other words, Noem will be in charge of the departments that will be at the forefront of Trumps plans for mass deportations. She will work in concert with Hegseth at the Pentagon to militarize the deportation apparatus.

The seven Democrats who joined every Republican in voting for Noem include Michigan senators Elissa Slotkin and Gary Peters; both New Hampshire senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen; Tim Kaine of Virginia, Hillary Clintons 2016 running mate; Andy Kim of New Jersey; and Pennsylvanias John Fetterman. Slotkin and Kim are both former representatives first elected to Congress in 2018 as part of the group the WSWS has identified as CIA Democrats, moving directly from top national security positions into the House of Representatives.

Notably, Noem took the oath of office in the home of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. There is no doubt that Thomas will be rubber-stamping the unconstitutional actions Noems charges will take under her direction on the orders of Trump.

The confirmations of Noem and Hegseth mark the effective completion of the bulk of Trumps nominations for cabinet-level national security positions after Florida Senator Marco Rubio was confirmed for Secretary of State (99-0) and former Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe breezed by in his confirmation for CIA director (74-25).
Gustavo Petro enjoys reading French authors. His daughters have studied at the French Lycee. On his first visit to Paris as president of Colombia, he was amazed by the pomp and ceremony with which he was received. He discovered grandeur with his own eyes. He has held the philosopher Jacques Derrida on a pedestal ever since he read his theory of forgiveness  one can only forgive the unforgivable; forgiving the forgivable is no mystery. So much so that this was the starting point of a policy that he wanted to impose when he came to power, total peace. It consisted of sitting down to negotiate with all the armed groups in multiple and simultaneous peace processes, instead of one by one, as had been done historically. It was an idea that bears Petros stamp, a combination of ambition and recklessness. His intuition has failed him this time. Where he sought peace, he has found war.

The president declared a state of emergency this week and deployed more than 1,000 military personnel in the Catatumbo region, on the border with Venezuela. He is trying to stop the brutal offensive that the National Liberation Army (ELN), a guerrilla group of Catholic origin and Castro inspiration, has launched against the FARC dissidents, one of its main enemies. To rule the territory means controlling one of the areas with the highest concentration of coca leaves on the planet. The ELN has fought with arms in conventional field combat, but has also carried out selective assassinations in villages. Residents are prohibited from going out on the street. The guerrillas have kidnapped people and held them captive in the mountains. The dead have been transported in trucks that have been unloaded in the middle of a road, in full view of the whole world.

Negotiating with the ELN was one of the first decisions Petro made as president. During his campaign, he said that he would reach a peace agreement with them within three months at the most. Two and a half years later, that possibility seems more remote than ever. The ELN is committing war crimes in the face of the impotence of the government, which has still not given the order to its army to go into combat. However, that will happen soon, if the presidents words are to be taken into account. The ELN took the path of war and there will be war, he said. The conflict, so far, has left dozens dead and more than 25,000 people displaced. The man who arrived at the Casa de Narino, the presidential residence, waving a white flag has now put on the cap of commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

The issue has further strained relations with Venezuela. The ELN moves from one side of the border to the other, as it sees fit. And that is one of the main difficulties in combating it. Based on information from its intelligence services, the Colombian government knows that the regrouping of troops carried out by the guerrilla organization to launch this offensive took place on Venezuelan soil. Chavismo has responded with indignation, despite the evidence that this was the case. The defense ministers of the two countries, Ivan Velasquez and Vladimir Padrino, met last Friday on the Venezuelan side of the border  on Colombian soil, Padrino could have been detained due to an arrest warrant issued by the United States against him. They agreed to cooperate to pacify the border, a wild territory that neither of the two states is capable of controlling.

This cooperation will not be easy. Firstly, Nicolas Maduro, the self-proclaimed president of Venezuela, is focused on creating defense mechanisms against the risk of an invasion in response to the fraud he committed in the presidential elections. Chavismo claims to have distributed 150,000 troops throughout the country. This is its main concern at the moment, not the ELN. Added to this is the fact that the guerrillas and the Venezuelan army have forged alliances in the past. In 2021, Maduro and the ELN reached an agreement to clear the border of other groups. They jointly attacked the FARC dissidents and were left alone, explains Leon Valencia, a political scientist, writer, and former guerrilla. This offensive responded, according to Valencia, to the Chavista obsession with being attacked across the border by Colombian paramilitary forces, an inherited fear since Alvaro Uribe was president.

When Petro was appointed president, he asked Senator Ivan Cepeda, one of his trusted advisors, to take charge of bringing about total peace. His father, a left-wing politician, was assassinated by paramilitaries in the 1990s. Instead of revenge, Cepeda has dedicated his political life to forgiveness and reconciliation. The worst thing is that the ELN has dealt a lethal blow to its lack of legitimacy, he explains by phone. How can they say from now on that they are fighting for the people Are we facing the end of the governments peace policy? Not even thinking about it, he answers. Our position is to defend peace in all circumstances, despite the problems and adversities. To think that our security policy is going to focus on military coups is to not understand what we represent. Petros is the first left-wing government in the countrys modern history. In fact, Petro himself was a member of a guerrilla group, M-19, when he was young.

It was not only the ELN that was negotiating with Petro, but also the 33rd Front of the FARC dissidents, who have been attacked. The irony is not lost on Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst for Colombia at the International Crisis Group, an independent organization that analyzes armed conflicts. The ELNs priority is no longer negotiation or a solution to the historic conflict. What they are prioritizing now are two issues: their unity as an organization, which was questioned, and their tactical position in the conflict, explains Dickinson. The guerrillas felt that they had lost ground against their enemies and regrouped around a single commander, alias Pablito, the man responsible for this offensive that has put the government in check. Pablito does not necessarily respond to the interests of the old guerrillas sitting at the negotiating table with Petros special envoys.

The danger now lies in the fact that the conflict will spread to other parts of the country. The intelligence received by the government is that the Gulf Clan, a paramilitary and drug-trafficking group, wants to take advantage of the fact that the ELN has been careless in some regions to attack it head-on. The same is happening with other guerrilla groups and criminal gangs that want to take revenge on them. With his military operation, Petro is trying to avoid a greater catastrophe. The president of peace is now dealing with death and destruction.

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The Ocean Seafood Depot warehouse raided by Homeland Security agents

This past Thursday, federal Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents raided an Ocean Seafood Depot warehouse in Newark, New Jersey without a warrant and arrested three undocumented workers, while detaining others for questioning.

The action was part of a series of raids across the country by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), leading to the arrests of over 1,000 individuals on Thursday and Friday alone, according to ICE. It marks the beginning of the Trump administrations brutal attacks on immigrants and democratic rights, including plans to deploy thousands of US troops to the southern border as part of a mass deportation operation.

Reporters from the World Socialist Web Site spoke to many workers and young people in Newark on Saturday about the raids, both outside Newark-Penn Station and at a shopping plaza in the Ironbound district where the HSI raid took place. Almost everyone was aware of the Newark raid.

Samuel, an older Newark resident, said, I think they are ridiculous and they need to leave people alone and let them live. This is supposed to be America? Land of the free, home of the brave? And yet youre exiling people for just wanting to live, to be human, to make a living. He added, Thats all they targetworkers.

A sanitation worker, Chris, said, Its messed up, and these attacks on immigrants are getting much worse. Trumps a bully. He wants to make us hate these people, but theyre not the problem.

Ive tried to avoid politics for a long time, but now, with everything thats going on, its impossible. You cant avoid politics in this situation. But, its a different politics that we need. Theres no difference between the two parties in this country. They both dont serve the people. Thats what Ive come to believe.

Tom, a Newark commuter, told the WSWS, Its wrong, randomly pulling people without a warrant, going into workplaces without a warrant, into schools. I think people are afraid, theyre living in fear. I think its sad, and I wish Newark had the capacity to put measures in place to prevent these raids. I think the recent raids were to strike fear into people so that they are afraid to go to work. I think this will eventually have a boomerang effect that is going to hurt everyone.

Another Newark resident outside Newark-Penn station, Rachel, said, I think that the raids are disgusting, and theyre forgetting that the people who started this country came from other places. Its kind of a slap in the face to be honest.

On what she thinks about workers coming to the defense of immigrants and democratic rights, Rachel said, Thats human. I think that were human beings, and we kind of forgot that somewhere along the way.

The discussion also touched on Trump being supported by billionaires while targeting the poorest sections of society. Essentially, its divide and conquer, Rachel said. Robin Hood was a thing, and maybe its time for someone to step in and start taking from them.

Celeste, a young Colombian immigrant, told the WSWS, Its uncomfortable for all the people, immigrants, illegals, because you dont know if youre going to be targeted because you are an immigrant or because you are brown. A lot of people are in fear. Its not good. For example, my boyfriend works for DoorDash, and he said its really slow. The restaurants, everything around, people are afraid.

She spoke strongly against the idea that immigrants are bad people, adding, The economy is based on the immigrants because there is some work maybe the Americans dont want to do. So I think the economy is not going to be right [if mass deportations begin and] if there are no people working these kinds of jobs.

Its hard. All the immigrants want to be legal. Im from Colombia, so if you want to have a visa, you need to have money. If all the people have the opportunity to come legally here, theyre going to come here legally, for work and for school. Its hard for our countries. Its hard for Asia. But we dont want to come here illegally. Its not like that. Not all these people are bad. Theres a lot of people who come here for work.

Our reporter brought up how these attacks are being led by a government of, by and for billionaires. Yeah, I know, Celeste replied.

The WSWS also spoke with Olivia, who commented, Its horrible whats happening. Its so unfortunate that this population is being targeted by a blatant racist. I wish there was more that we could do. I hope theres more that we can do. I hope this [speaking out] helps.

After a WSWS reporter raised the need for workers to come to the defense of immigrants against these attacks facilitated by both parties, Olivia said, I totally agree, and heavy on placing the blame on the Democrats as well because theyre not doing enough. Its just mind boggling. At the inauguration, they laughed with him [Trump].

Another commuter, Sarah, told our reporter, I dont think its right, regardless of what they are doing [crossing into the US without a visa] is illegal or not. People coming here with their families to workto start a new life here no longer feel safe even in the so-called sanctuary cities.

A young woman, Rose, spoke to the WSWS at the plaza located only a few blocks away from the raid.

Its just not fair. If it wasnt for immigrants, we wouldnt have access to the roads, to construction, farms, etc. They basically built this country. So its kind of like, why are you taking that away from America?

Its not like theyre criminals. For those I know, because my parents are Haitian, theyre immigrants, I know that they work hard for this country. They made sure I had a good opportunity to have a great school to go to. Why take that away? I told my parents, what is America really like? I dont really think Americas technically a culture. I just feel like all of us make America. A melting pot, the only melting pot in the whole world!

On Trumps executive orders, including his attempts to throw out the 14th Amendment, Rose said, Its ridiculous! Who gave this guy the right? Whos giving him all this power? Thats my question, because theres no president I know that just passed laws like that without a judge or whatever federal body approving them.

Our reporter responded that it was the entire ruling class giving Trump power, while the media normalizes and promotes his actions. The Democrats were complicit in the peaceful transfer of power to an individual they correctly labeled a fascist only weeks ago. Exactly, its crazy!, Rose responded.

She also spoke about how she thought Trump was creating unnecessary tension and dividing workers, and while a focus is currently on immigrants, he will go after everyone... Literally, its like no ones safe.

But you know what? Theres always power in numbers. Thats what I believe. So I feel like if we, the people, sit together and fight against the oppressor, I feel like we may win, you know, because who are they? Theyre flesh and blood, just like you and I. What power do they really hold besides money?
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building can be seen Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in downtown Chicago. [AP Photo/Erin Hooley]

At noon on Sunday, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency announced it was carrying out deportations, so-called targeted operations, in the city of Chicago. Reports indicate 270 people are being targeted for immediate arrest, after a week of heightened anxiety over threats made by incoming Trump administration officials for a widespread sweep of immigrants in Chicago. The metro area is home to more than 400,000 immigrant households.



The ICE agency statement indicated it is partnering with the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Marshals Service after a directive was issued by Department of Homeland Security acting head Benjamine Huffman to bring in additional federal agencies. The Trump administrations plans for deportations also include deputizing local police officers and members of the National Guard, voluntarily contributed by Republican-run states, according to the New York Times.



Chicago, like the other large US urban centers, is a sanctuary city, with a Welcoming City Ordinance, part of which prevents Chicago police from sharing information with federal immigration authorities or assisting them.



In the week since taking office, the Trump administration has issued expansive executive orders that restrict immigration to the US, expand immigration agency powers and attempt to ban birthright citizenship. Trump has also threatened sanctuary jurisdictions.

ICE has reportedly set a quota of 75 arrests per day for each of its 25 field offices, which would come to nearly 2,000 arrests daily nationwide and nearly 700,000 this year. It is carrying out the initial phase of its operations under the guise of arresting criminals and potential threats to public safety and national security.

After threatening last month to make Chicago the first target of the Trump administrations sweeping deportation policy, Trump border czar Homan was in Chicago to oversee the operations on Sunday, along with acting Attorney General Emil Bove.



The number of arrests made Sunday has not been made public, but reports indicate that arrests were made in neighborhoods on the north side of the city.



Absurdly, talk show host Phil McGraw, known on television as Dr. Phil, is reporting as embedded media with the ICE raid teams and interviewed Homan in Chicago for his media channel. His sycophantic attempts to present the deportations as modest and reasonable law-and-order measures only add to the nightmarish scene unfolding across the city and the country.



Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire Democrat, expressed his support for the ICEs Chicago operations Sunday but said he had concerns about the means used. He told CNN Sunday, When were talking about violent criminals who have been convicted and are undocumented, we dont want them in our state. We want them out of the country. We hope they get deported, and if thats who theyre picking up, were all for it.



Speaking like a militarist who supports an aggressive war but tut-tuts over the collateral damage among innocent civilians, Pritzker complained,Theyre also going after people who are law-abiding, who are holding down jobs, who have families here, who may have been here for a decade or two decades. Why are we going after them? These are not people who are causing problems in our country. ... We need to secure our border.



Pritzker continued, referring to the Trump administration, Were gonna follow the law. We expect them to do the same. Im very afraid they are not going to follow the law.



The expectation among leading Democrats is that ICE will indeed target immigrants more broadly and that they will do nothing to stop this atrocity. The two Democratic senators from Illinois, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, issued a joint statement on the raids Sunday night, emphasizing that the raids must only focus on those who pose a danger to our country.

They wrote, We can all agree that we must remove any dangerous individuals from our country who are here illegally. But the mass deportation actions being undertaken by President Trumps administration go far beyond those important goals.



The senators pledged their offices help for people improperly caught up in these raids by providing caseworkers.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson put out a statement confirming Chicago police were not involved in the arrests.

The response from within the Illinois Republican Party in the state has been rabid. In an affront to the states sanctuary law prohibiting the targeting of immigrants, state Sen. Terri Bryant (Murphysboro) encouraged Illinois prison employees to send her information on imprisoned undocumented immigrants, promising to pass their names on to federal immigration authorities. She wrote on X: If you are IDOC [Illinois Department of Corrections] staff who wants ICE to know of an illegal immigrant in IDOC call or message me. I wont rat you out. I will notify ICE.

Earlier this week, DHS agents, who later were identified as from the Secret Service and not ICE, attempted to enter a Chicago elementary school looking for an 11-year-old child who had allegedly posted an anti-Trump video on social media. No further details have since been released. Federal agents are not permitted to access Chicago Public Schools buildings and the agents were turned away, but the anxieties over raids across the city only intensified.



The response from parents and teachers to both the planned raids and the targeting of an 11-year-old by the Secret Service has been outrage and also determination.

One Chicago teacher said, I have students whose parents received deportation letters this week. Some kids are being separated from a parent. How is a kid supposed to learn if thats the only thing on their mind?

After DHS attempted to gain access to the elementary school, teachers at some schools with large numbers of immigrant families were quickly able to organize indoor afterschool pickup to ensure students were placed directly into the care of a parent or guardian, and did not risk traveling home alone during an active threat of deportation.



The number of American-born children living with an undocumented immigrant parent is currently estimated at a staggering 4.4 million. According to Trump and Homan, these children, US citizens, could well be deported along with their parents in the name of avoiding family separation.



A far-right faction of Democrats on the Chicago city council is giving full-throated support to Trumps deportation policy. Aldermen Ray Lopez and Silvana Tabares recently put forth a measure in the city council that would have reversed the part of the Welcoming City ordinance that prohibits Chicago police officers from cooperating with federal immigration agents. It was defeated 39-11.



Chicagos immigration court has more than 250,000 pending cases, according to an analysis from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, with about 40 percent of those cases coming from Latin American nationals, many from Venezuela and Mexico.



As part of a naked attempt to precipitate a political crisis, the fascist Governor of Texas Greg Abbott bussed tens of thousands of asylum seekers, many from Venezuela, into Chicago, New York City and Denver, Colorado, from August 2022 into early 2024. Many remain in the city under extremely difficult circumstances that include no work permits and no formal source of income. Families from Venezuela report struggling to secure basic needs like rent and food and express their shock at the conditions of life in the US.

The Democratic Party bears political responsibility for Trumps return to power. The pro-war and pro-corporate policies of the Biden-Harris administration resulted in the cratering of popular support for the Democratic Party, thus handing the fascist former president a second term to carry out his policies of police state attacks on immigrants and the destruction of constitutional rights for the entire working class.




Global NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has in its World Report 2025 slammed Australian state and territory governments for human rights violations including the treatment of children in the criminal justice system.

Governments in Australia have adopted a tough on crime stance to counter a supposed youth crime wave.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuks Labor government on August 24, 2023, amended the Youth Justice Act to legitimise locking up children in adult cells. [Photo: Australian Human Rights Commission]

In reality, youth crime is on the decrease and the policies of governments to incarcerate young peopleparticularly those from impoverished backgroundsare part of a wholesale assault on the democratic rights of working-class people.

The age of criminal responsibility is just 10 in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia (WA) and the Northern Territory (NT). In August, the Victorian Labor government abandoned plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14. Instead, it has raised it to just 12.

The only jurisdiction in the country with a criminal age of responsibility of 14 years is the Australian Capital Territory. That is the minimum recommended by the UN. Children younger than the age of criminal responsibility cannot be charged or prosecuted.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, more than 700 children between 10 and 17 years old were in detention in 20222023. That number has likely ballooned further. About 60 percent of the children imprisoned across the country are indigenous.

Among the detained youth are many who are kept in adult jails.

The WA government has detained children in Unit 18a wing of the maximum-security Casuarina Prison. In September 2023, a 17-year-old Aboriginal boy, Cleveland Dodd, committed suicide after being incarcerated at Unit 18 and the Banksia Hill youth detention centre. He was regularly subjected to solitary confinement.

The situation in the NT is the most shocking.

There, the prison population has skyrocketed to more than 2,600 this month. The prison population has nearly doubled since 2012 when it was 1,413. The number of people in NT prisons is more than 1 percent of the territorys population which is about 255,000.

Around 89 percent of the prison population in NT is indigenous. This is despite the territorys indigenous people only making up 26 percent of the total population. This is the outcome of the centuries-long oppression of Aboriginal people under Australian capitalism. Many live in poverty with little to no access to healthcare, education and social welfare. They are the most oppressed section of the working class.

If the Northern Territory were a separate country, it would have the second highest incarceration rate in the worldbehind only El Salvadoraccording to the World Population Review.

This extraordinary situation is the responsibility of both Labor and conservative governments. Labor held office from 2016 until last August, as the incarceration rate consistently increased, before suffering a major election defeat, substantially resulting from popular anger over the massive cost-of-living and social crisis.

The next highest imprisonment rate in Australia is WA which has 0.2 percent of its population behind bars.

Across the NTs prisons and work camps, there are 2,177 beds. This means that there is an overflow of hundreds of prisoners currently being held in police watch houses. Australian Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay also found that rising prisoner overcrowding and overheatingproblems across the countryare acute in the NT.

The government has begun work to add up to 1,000 new beds to NT prisons by 2028. This includes reopening the Don Dale youth detention centre as the Berrimah adult jail to house 200 adult prisoners by March. Done Dale was exposed in 2014 as a site where children were tortured and inhumanely treated, shocking workers and youth across the country.

Earlier this month, NT chief minister Lia Finocchiaro claimed that more arrests meant safer streets.

Legal advocates have slammed the tough on crime policies of NT and other governments.

Law and order posturing about punishment, power and control has never worked before and it wont work now, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services chair Karly Warner said in September.

A report in September 2022 by the Justice Reform Initiative found that nearly three-quarters of people in the NTs prisons have been in prison before.

In other words, incarceration is in no way an effective means of rehabilitating young people and workers. The response of governments to the social crisis confronting the working class is to punish workers and youth rather than investing in education, housing and welfare services to prevent the resort to crime.

Immense resources are being used to bolster the police and prison system in the Northern Territory.

According to Productivity Commission data, the NT government spent more than $270 million on prisons and community corrections facilities in 202223. Across Australia, the figure is about $7 billion.

In its 202425 budget, the NT government pledged a further $325 million between 2023 and 2027 and a further $120 million every year from 2027 to review the territorys police force and recruit an additional 200 officers. It also includes a further $15 million per year between 2023 and 2026, and then $10 million every year from 2026, to meet correctional services demand. An additional $30 million will also be put into establishing youth detention camps between 2024 and 2026.

All of this comes amid a broader crackdown in Australia and internationally against the social rights of ordinary workers and young people who are increasingly angry about mounting social crisis, the rising cost of living and explosion of imperialist militarism abroad.

As the social opposition mounts, governments are moving to criminalise opposition to the policies of war and austerity.

Over the course of the ongoing Gaza genocide, protesters against the war crimes committed by Israel and supported by the imperialist powers including Australia have been arrested.

The expansion of the prison system, police powers and legal frameworks to punish workers and youth must be seen as a warning. As social tensions grow, governments are attempting to prevent an explosion of opposition in the working class. The focus on funding prisons and police is intended to keep the working class suppressed to facilitate the further enrichment of the wealthy capitalist class and the expansion of the military, while diverting funds from social infrastructure.
Mexico is aiming for a complete turnaround in its industrial policy through the Plan Mexico initiative. President Claudia Sheinbaum unveiled her ambitious six-year strategy this month, which is aimed at targeting $277 billion in investments, reducing imports from Asia  particularly China  and boosting domestic and North American production. While Sheinbaum insists that the plan is not a direct response to U.S. President Donald Trumps recent threats of imposing a 25% tariff on Mexican imports, the governments blueprint arrives in a challenging context due to the uncertainty generated by Trumps rhetoric, a slowdown in local consumption, and an overall economic deceleration in the country.

The six-year goals of Plan Mexico are ambitious: to position Mexico among the top 10 economies globally, create 1.5 million jobs in specialized manufacturing, increase national content by 15% in strategic sectors (automotive, aerospace, electronics, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, chemicals), train 150,000 professionals and technicians annually, and improve access to financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The strategy kicked off last week with a fund of up to 30 billion pesos in tax incentives for companies investing in innovation and training. Through a decree, Sheinbaum formally launched her flagship plan, defending the subsidies as a means to strengthen local businesses and simplify support for foreign companies relocating to the country. The decree will remain in effect until September 2030, with the largest subsidies allocated to technology companies and a portion set aside for SMEs.

The plan  Sheinbaums cornerstone economic initiative  was presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Federal officials held meetings with international companies to promote the plans investment and employment goals. However, the finer details of the strategy remain unclear given the macroeconomic environment, which is marked by uncertainty, slowing investment, and limited national economic growth. Financial experts and multilateral organizations agree that Mexicos GDP is projected to grow by less than 2% this year.

Alfredo Coutino, director for Latin America at Moodys Analytics, warns that in order for Plan Mexico to achieve its objectives, the Mexican economy must grow at a steady rate of over 5% annually for the next six years. This goal seems challenging, given that the Treasurys forecast for this year is only 3%. Coutino also notes that the target of creating 1.5 million jobs annually is overly optimistic, as the country has averaged around 800,000 jobs per year over the last three years. Plan Mexico faces an environment of uncertainty and internal risks, stemming from constitutional reforms that have already raised concerns among investors. On top of this, we must add the protectionist policy of the new U.S. president, which also adds uncertainty to foreign investment decisions, he says.

Coutino acknowledges that the emphasis in Sheinbaums economic roadmap on addressing the trade imbalance with China and the proposal for industrial reconversion to replace imports, particularly from China, with domestic production aligns with Trumps call to halt the Asian giants advance in North America.

He points out that the new protectionist stance of the United States against Mexico presents a significant risk that could derail Plan Mexicos objectives for Sheinbaums entire six-year term. Even with the ratification of the USMCA, Trumps protectionist policy, at least in 2025, will be a headache for the Mexican economy, because it will introduce disruptions in bilateral trade with potential restrictions on imported inputs for the national industry, says Coutino. This could lead to lower growth for Mexicos economy, or even a recession in 2025.

Viri Rios, a researcher and expert in public policy, notes that Plan Mexicos priority is to shift the country from being an exporter of assembled goods to an exporter of high-value-added products. She stresses that for the strategy to succeed, it must not only support businesses but also filter out companies that fail to meet the commitments on import substitution and innovation, for which they received government assistance. Rios goes further, suggesting that the plan should include training for entrepreneurs and offer incentives to traditional businesses willing to shift their focus to higher-value sectors.

Rodrigo Aliphat, director of the Development Studies Division at Mexicos Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE), explains that in Mexicos push to integrate commercially with North America and boost exports under the USMCA, it inadvertently opened the door to increased imports, which undermined Mexican industries. The trade agreement with the U.S. and Canada allowed Mexico to increase its exports, but the flip side was that as exports rose, so did imports, which led to the replacement of domestic production chains with imported goods from other countries, he argues.

The trade agreement signed in the 1990s between Mexico, the United States, and Canada and ratified in 2020 is now under scrutiny from Trump. During his campaign, the Republican made it clear that he would not hesitate to request a renegotiation of the USMCA if it served his countrys interests. Just hours after taking office, the American president requested that his government analyze the benefits the treaty has brought to the United States. While the next official review of the agreement is scheduled for June, U.S. newspapers are speculating that this evaluation could take place earlier due to pressure from Trump.

Aliphat, an expert in industrial policy, explains that due to Mexicos commercial dependence on the U.S. market  where 80% of exports are sent  its northern neighbor must remain an integral part of its strategy. However, he suggests that the Mexican government should also diversify its export destinations to reduce dependency, pointing to Europe, South America, and Asia as potential markets. He stresses that Mexico needs to start developing these markets to avoid being overly reliant on the U.S. and its political fluctuations. Aliphat further notes that the real success of Plan Mexico will be seen when Mexico transitions from merely assembling products with foreign components to producing goods made by Mexican companies, in addition to the strengthening of local business conglomerates.

In 1994, the year the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), now the USMCA, was signed, Mexicos then-secretary of commerce and industrial development, Jaime Serra Puche, famously said: The best industrial policy is the one that does not exist. Today, specialists agree that 30 years later, the Sheinbaum government, with Plan Mexico, is setting a new course for economic and industrial development with a focus on strengthening Mexican businesses. The road ahead, they caution, will not be easy or short, but the first step has been taken.

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The military exercises that the Chavista regime has recently been carrying out in Venezuela represent a progressive deterrent effort displayed to its external and internal enemies, and have become particularly noticeable in the streets and in the Venezuelan media after the controversial presidential elections of July 28, in which Nicolas Maduro declared himself the winner despite not having provided evidence that he did not fraudulently defeat opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

The shutting off of political and electoral options has made many sectors impatient and hints are beginning to emerge about the solutions available to Maduro, which the Miraflores Palace presidential residence is taking note of. It is increasingly evident that Chavista civil-military leaders seemed prepared for a post-electoral situation like this.

The successive governments of Hugo Chavez and Maduro have made doctrinal work on the Armed Forces one of the pillars of the continuity in power of the Bolivarian revolution. Both leaders have always kept in mind the strategic nature of military spending in the country, which has been consistent despite criticism from some civilian sectors of the opposition.

The Chavista commanders have strived to expand their military forces, with the obvious growth of the National Guard and the creation of the Bolivarian National Militia, the fifth component of the armed institutions and one that is particularly ideologized as the pillar of a hypothetical armed confrontation in the internal protection of the country based on an asymmetric strategy.

Global Firepowers 2025 Military Strength Ranking places Venezuela at 50 in the world in terms of military power, out of a total of 160 nations analyzed. It ranks seventh among Latin American nations (in recent years it has occupied fifth and sixth place), behind Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, and is in a very close bracket with the Armed Forces of Colombia, Chile, and Peru. Venezuela also ranks seventh in terms of regional military expenditure.

Over the years, some independent observers in Venezuela have questioned the consistency of the operational readiness of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB), given the deficiencies existing in the barracks in recent years and the lack of motivation resulting from the countrys socioeconomic deterioration, which has had an objective impact on the institution and has led to numerous requests for discharge in recent years.

Some military analysts  now in exile  have highlighted the insufficient results of military incursions carried out by the Venezuelan army to contain illegal mining, irregular groups in jungle areas of Amazonas state, or Colombian guerrilla organizations on the border.

However, the Maduro administration has made its relationship with Commander-in-Chief of the FANB and Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino Lopez one of the foundations of its stability in power. Padrino Lopez has made an enormous effort to meet the military needs of the state and contain the economic environment of military personnel.

With a force of some 150,000 regular combatants and 430,000 reservists, the FANB is noted for its Air Force, one of the best equipped in the region with 79 units in total, whose line-up includes 24 Russian Sukhoi fighters and 16 U.S.-made F-16s in addition to 23 Chinese-made Hongdu K-V units and 10 Embraer Tucano aircraft.

The national defense system has a sophisticated M1-Tor anti-aircraft missile system; 53 attack helicopters; 250 combat vehicles, and about 180 tanks, some of which are currently undergoing refitting and maintenance. The army has an inventory that includes 100,000 AK-Kalashnikov assault rifles that are already manufactured in the country.

With the entry into force of the Organic Law of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces in 2009  which produced important internal transformations in the institution  Venezuelas national defense incorporates, as pillars of its new organization, the strategy of the territorial defensive system, with the creation of the Strategic Regions of Integral Defense (REDI), and the Operational Zones of Integral Defense, (ZODI). On the chessboard, the Venezuelan Armed Forces monopolize the entire nation.

Chavismo fears an invasion to depose Maduro after accusations of electoral fraud. They have interpreted some messages from overseas as imminent threats. The return of Donald Trump to the White House has put them on guard, and his choice of Marco Rubio, a hawk, as Secretary of State has not helped to calm nerves. That is why the government is currently displaying all its capacity for force and all its power of intimidation.

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PAKA is more than just peak performance wear utilizing alpaca fibers. It is a passion project dedicated to making a difference in our closets and in Peru, where they source all of their alpaca. They still use the same weavers from the same village they did when the whole thing started with the original hoodie. They are working on becoming even more sustainable and are always on the hunt for how they can get better on the garment stage and behind the scenes. Every once in a while, we get confirmation that were on the right path, and they did with the PAKA Impact Report for 2024.

Our partners in Peru are the foundation of everything we do, commented Kris Cody, Founder and CEO of PAKA. Since founding PAKA on a weavers rooftop in 2017, our mission has been the same goal: to bring you closer to the people and animals behind your clothing. We believe real impact starts at the source. As we step into our next chapter, Im beyond proud to share PAKAs biggest milestone yet: the creation of our very own nonprofit, the PAKA Foundation. This entity will be tasked with meaningfully and directly allocating 1% of our revenue directly back to the Peruvian communities where all our products are born.

Giving back in Peru

PAKA

The report shows that they are continuing to grow their impact in multiple ways, but the big highlights from the report are:

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Prioritizing Sustainable Materials: PAKA continues to lead with sustainably. 64% of its clothing is crafted responsibly using sourced Peruvian alpaca fiber, organic cotton, and merino wooland 100% of products are free of restricted substances and PFAS chemicals.

Investing in 300+ Quechua Weavers: They have grown massively since they started on a weavers rooftop in 2017. In 2024, the company grew from 200 to 300+ employed women artisans, providing stable, equitable incomes.

Supporting 7,450 Alpaquero Families: PAKAs supply chain depends on thousands of Peruvian alpaca familiesknown as Alpaqueros that live in the rural Andes. In 2024, PAKA built two greenhouses in Parinas-Puno, providing fresh, nutritious food for these local families living in high altitudes.

Expanding Education for Peruvian Women: Through a partnership with nonprofit Peruvian Hearts, PAKA financed university tuition for 17 Peruvian women in 2024 alone, bringing the total number of scholarships to 24. They are also passing the entrepreneurial spirit on to others with the PAKA Entrepreneurial Fund.

The post 2024 PAKA Impact report shows that theyre succeeding at making a difference appeared first on The Manual.
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Seeing an overabundance of red lately? From clothing shops to city streets, the fiery hue is going to be on display a lot in the coming days.

Its all part of the fun as the world gears up to celebrate Lunar New Year, widely considered the most important event of the year in China and Chinese communities around the planet.

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Marking the first new moon of the lunar calendar, it falls on January 29 in 2025, kicking off the 15-day Spring Festival. Celebrations vary depending on the country or region, but there are a few common traditions.

Whether youre unfamiliar with the occasion or need a refresher, this guide to ushering in the Year of the Snake has you covered.

Why is it the Year of the Snake?

Incredibly complex, the Chinese zodiac calendar is best described as a 12-year cycle represented by 12 animals, in this order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

Your personal zodiac animal sign is determined by your year of birth, meaning 2025 will welcome plenty of baby Snakes. Children born in the last lunar calendar year were Dragons, while those born on or after the Lunar New Year in 2026 will be Horses, and so on.

Snake-shaped installations dazzle visitors at Shanghai's 2025 Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival. - VCG/AP

Followers believe that for each Chinese zodiac sign, luck will depend largely on the positions of the Tai Sui  a collective name for the stellar deities thought to rotate parallel to and in the opposite direction of Jupiter.

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Geomancy masters may interpret the data differently, but there is usually a consensus on what the year means for each zodiac animal based on the positions of the stars.

For many followers, the Lunar New Year is an ideal time to visit a temple to make blessings depending on what the stars have to say about their particular zodiac sign for the coming months. (More on that below.)

Why light firecrackers and wear red? Meet Nian

There are countless folktales attached to Lunar New Year, but the myth of Nian stands out as one of the most fun.

According to the legend, every Lunar New Years Eve this ferocious underwater beast with sharp teeth and horns would crawl onto the land and attack a nearby village.

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On one such occasion as the villagers rushed into hiding, a mysterious old man showed up and insisted on sticking around despite warnings of impending doom.

To the villagers surprise, the old man and the village survived utterly unscathed.

The man claimed to have scared Nian away by hanging red banners on his door, lighting firecrackers and donning red clothing.

This is why wearing the fiery color, along with hanging banners and lighting firecrackers or fireworks, are Lunar New Year traditions, all of which are still followed today.

The preparation

Fun aside, Lunar New Year can actually be a lot of work. Festivities often last for 15 days  sometimes even more  with different tasks and activities taking place over that period.

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It all begins about a week ahead of the new year.

Festive cakes and puddings are made on the 24th day of the last lunar month (January 23 in 2025). Why? The word for cakes and puddings is gao in Mandarin and gou in Cantonese, which sound the same as the word for tall.

This means eating these treats is believed to lead to improvements and growth in the coming year. (If you havent prepared your own gou yet, heres an easy recipe for turnip cake, a beloved Lunar New Year dish.)

And dont forget about our friend Nian. No Lunar New Year preparation would be complete without the aforementioned hanging of red banners bearing auspicious phrases and idioms (called fai chun in Cantonese and chunlian in Mandarin) at home  beginning with ones front door.

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These will perform double duty  keep Nian away and invite good fortune.

Some of the prep work isnt quite as enjoyable. Many believe that a big cleanup should take place at home on the 28th day of the last lunar month, which falls on January 27 this year.

The aim is to rid your home of any bad luck thats accumulated over the past year. Some believers wont even sweep or take out the trash for the first five days of the new year, fearing they will wash away all that fresh good luck.

On a related note, many say you shouldnt wash or cut your hair on the first day of the new year either.

Why? Because the Chinese character for the word hair is the first character in the word for prosper. Therefore washing or cutting it off is seen as washing your fortune away.

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(Read more Lunar New Year dos and donts here.)

Lunar New Years Eve: The big feast

A big family reunion dinner is usually held on Lunar New Years Eve, which falls on January 28 this year.

The menu is carefully chosen to include dishes associated with luck, including fish (the Chinese word for it also sounds like surplus), puddings (symbolizes advancement) and foods that look like gold ingots (such as dumplings).

In China, the foods served at these classic dinners vary from north to south. For instance, northern Chinese tend to have dumplings and noodles, whereas southern Chinese cant live without steamed rice.

Lunar New Year feasts may look very different outside of China. In Malaysia and Singapore, gatherings arent complete without a loud and chaotic prosperity toss, or yusheng, when diners stir and toss thinly sliced vegetables and raw fish with chopsticks before a meal.

Lunar New Years Day: Family visits and red packets

The first few days of the Lunar New Year, especially the first two days, are often a test of ones stamina, appetite and social skills, as many people have to travel and visit immediate family, other relatives and friends.

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Bags are stocked with presents and fruits to give out at other peoples homes. Visitors will in turn be showered with gifts after exchanging conversations over Lunar New Year treats.

In many families, married people are expected to give out red packets filled with money to those who havent yet tied the knot  both children and unmarried juniors.

Its believed these envelopes  known as hongbao/lai see  could protect children by warding off evil spirits, called sui.

Other countries have their own traditions. In South Korea, for instance, the Lunar New Year festival is called Seollal. The first three days are filled with tributes to ancestors, festive games and foods such as rice cakes (tteokguk) and pancakes (jeon).

Day 3: Visit a temple

Day three of the Lunar New Year (which falls on January 31 in 2025) is named chi kou/cek hau, or red mouth.

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Its believed that arguments are more likely to happen on this day, so some people will avoid social interactions and instead visit temples to make offerings to offset any potential bad luck.

As noted earlier, for many people Lunar New Year is a time to consult the stars to find out what lies ahead in the coming months.

Every year, certain Chinese zodiac signs clash with the stars negatively so temple visits are considered a good way to resolve those conflicts and bring peace in the coming months.

Day 7: The peoples birthday

The seventh day of the Lunar New Year (February 4, 2025) is said to be when the Chinese mother goddess, Nuwa, created humanity. Thus, its called renri/jan jat (the peoples birthday).

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Different communities in Asia will serve various birthday foods on that day.

For example, Cantonese people eat dishes made of seven types of vegetables. In Malaysia and Singapore, the prosperity toss might make an appearance on tables.

Day 15: The Lantern Festival

The highlight of the whole Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival happens on the 15th and final day (February 12 in 2025).

Called Yuan Xiao Jie in Mandarin Chinese, its considered the perfect ending to the weeks-long Lunar New Year preparations and celebrations.

The Lantern Festival celebrates the first full moon of the year  hence the name (Yuan means beginning. Xiao means night).

It marks the departure of winter and the beginning of the spring season.

On this day, people light lanterns to symbolize driving out darkness and bringing hope to the coming year.

In ancient Chinese society, it was the only day when young girls were allowed to go out to admire the lanterns and meet boys. As a result, its also been dubbed Chinese Valentines Day.

Nowadays, cities worldwide still put on massive lantern displays and fairs on the festivals final day.

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San Francisco authorities hauled in a big catch after investigating one man's fishy activity.

According to KRON4, a commercial trawl boat owner was found with over 2,000 pounds of unlawfully caught fish, some of which was hidden behind a false wall of the vessel.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife surveilled the fisherman after he was seen unloading burlap sacks off a boat and into a vehicle. He was then followed to a local restaurant, where he attempted to hide the fish and flee the scene.

Among the fish in his possession were halibut, sole, sanddabs, and filleted salmon, none of which had been declared as commercial catch.

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Upon further investigation, officials found the false wall on the trawler, which is where more salmon fillets were discovered, per KRON4. In addition, the trawler contained 2,365 pounds of halibut, which was later sold by CDFW. The funds raised were donated to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.

Low salmon stocks have resulted in the fish's being put on a banned list since 2023 to help restore the population. The Pacific Fishery Management Council reported in February that only 6,100 fall-run Chinook salmon returned to spawn in the upper Sacramento River in 2023, a serious decline from the 175,000 average between 1996 and 2005, as KRON4 detailed.

The publication noted salmon have been negatively affected by low water levels following drought conditions. Meanwhile, in addition to exacerbating the dry season, the warming climate has increased water temperatures, affecting salmon's natural habitat and reducing food sources for young salmon in the Pacific Ocean.

Illegal river diversions are also an issue, further decreasing vital water supplies that healthy salmon need. In October, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 460, which increased fines for anyone caught engaging in this activity.

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A Franklin man is facing charges following a monthslong drug investigation by the New Hampshire State Police Narcotics Investigations Unit.

39-year-old Michael Brownell was arrested Thursday and charged with five counts of sale of controlled drugs in excess of 5 ounces, four counts of sale of controlled drugs in excess of 5 ounces, two counts of possession of controlled drugs, transporting drugs in a motor vehicle and two counts of felon in possession of a dangerous weapon.

According to New Hampshire State Police, approximately 1,300 grams of suspected fentanyl, approximately 500 grams of suspected methamphetamine, two firearms and approximately $5,000 of U.S. currency were seized during the investigation.

Brownell was arraigned in Laconia Circuit Court on Friday and remains held on preventative detention at the Merrimack County Department of Corrections.

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While troopers were arresting Brownell, 32-year-old Kaitlyn Blake (Woodbury) of Belmont was also taken into custody on outstanding warrants from the Plymouth Circuit Court and Laconia Circuit Court for motor vehicle related charges, according to authorities.

She was held at the Merrimack County Department of Corrections pending appearances in Plymouth Circuit Court and Laconia Circuit Court.

The New Hampshire State Police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team also assisted with the investigation.

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A carefree night out turned deadly when a gunman opened fire at a Texas nightclub, killing one and injuring eight after an apparent argument, police allege.

People were gathered in the entrance to a nightclub in Amarillo when a vehicle pulled up at about 2:05 a.m. on Jan. 26 and a gunman exited the vehicle, opening fire into a large crowd with a rifle, the Amarillo Police Department said in a statement.

After allegedly discharging multiple rounds into the crowd and shooting nine people, the suspect re-entered the vehicle and fled the scene, the APD said in the statement.

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Evidence indicates this incident stems from an earlier altercation inside the bar, the APD said in the statement. The suspects left the bar but returned in the vehicle.

While multiple people called 911 for help, one eyewitness followed the suspect's vehicle and called 911 to let police know where the car was headed, the APD said in the statement.

Thanks to the bravery and persistence of the witness, Randall County Sheriffs deputies were able to locate and stop the vehicle, the statement said.

Officers who responded to the scene at the nightclub immediately began life saving medical treatment to several victims on scene before firefighters and paramedics arrived.



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One of the victims, John Love Louima, 25, died at the hospital due to multiple gunshot injuries.

Robert Kenney Knox, 23, of Amarillo, was identified as the alleged shooter, the APD said.

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Knox and the vehicles alleged driver, Nahryah Hilesta Ines Hayes, 21, also of Amarillo, were both charged with murder and eight counts of deadly conduct/discharge of a firearm, according to the APD.

Britt Brinson Cave, 22, a passenger in the backseat, was charged with public intoxication.

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Officers and deputies recovered a firearm, shell casings and other evidence likely connected to the shooting, the APD said.

Detectives have a considerable amount of investigation to complete before we are able to understand completely what happened, the APD said.

Knox and Hayes remain held in the Randall County Jail, according to online records.

Cave was released on a $500 surety bond, according to online records.

It is unclear whether any of the three have retained attorneys who can speak on their behalf.

The Amarillo Police Department's Homicide Unit is seeking assistance from the community. If anyone present during the shooting has video footage or any relevant information, they are asked to contact 806-378-9468.



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From a large blue whale in a landlocked state to a haunted mansion, Oklahoma is home to several odd landmarks that attract visitors from all over.

WorldAtlas recently named these weird sites the 10 strangest landmarks in Oklahoma.

Blue Whale of Catoosa

Location: 2600 N State Hwy 66, Catoosa

A local celebrity resides along Route 66 year-round in northeast Oklahoma, welcoming visitors into its aquatic belly.

The Blue Whale of Catoosa was built by zoologist Hugh S. David in 1972 so that his grandchildren could play in the nearby pond, according to Travel Oklahoma. David's friend, Harold Thomas, assisted the zoologist in building the The 20-feet-tall and 80-feet-wide mammal over a span of two years.

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While swimming is no longer available, visitors can still picnic and fish with the famous Blue Whale.

World's largest peanut

Location: 300 W Evergreen St., Durant

A small city in southeast Oklahoma is home to the world's largest peanut commemorated with a statue outside of Durant City Hall, according to Travel Oklahoma. The statue was dedicated in 1974.

"Dedicated to the Bryan County peanut growers and processors," inscription reads.

Circus cemetery: Mount Olivet Cemetery

Location: Trice & S 8th St., Hugo

The headstone of John August Strong and relatives features a figure titled the Tall Grass Showman in the Showmen's Rest section of the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Hugo, Okla., Friday, June 22, 2018. The inscription on the back of the headstone reads: "A tribute to all showmen under God's big top."

Hugo, another small city in southeast Oklahoma, has a cemetery for rodeo greats Freckles Brown, Lane Frost, Todd Watley and L. Hammock, according to Travel Oklahoma.

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Mount Olivet Cemetery is also the final resting place for Ed Ansley, also known as Buster Brown, and William H. Darrough, the founder of Hugo.

Blanchard Cemetery

Location: 2318 North Council Ave., Blanchard

Another known cemetery in Oklahoma is the Blanchard Cemetery where visitors may see a dark figure in a trench coat waving at them, according to WorldAtlas.

If they keep walking, they may spot a little girl flitting between the gravestones, or hear a small child crying or see a blue light hovering over the graves in Section 2, the website says.

Overholser Mansion

Location: 405 NW 15th St, Oklahoma City

The Overholser Mansion, the former abode of Henry and Anna Ione Overholser, is a most famous haunt in Oklahoma City. The ghost-story-filled mansion has been a museum and public venue for decades.

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Some claim the ghost of Anna Ione Overholser, once the queen of Oklahoma City society, still haunts the home. She wears a pearl-decked lacy white gown, her dark hair piled gracefully around her face.

Frog Rock

Location: Frog Rd., Terlton

A large amphibian sits in Terlton on Frog Road just outside of Mannford. The six-foot-tall rock formation is painted green and white to look like a frog, according to Travel Oklahoma.

To get to it, trek over a bridge and through backwoods, but don't worry -- it can't hop away before you reach it.

Cimmy the Dinosaur

Location: 1300 N Cimarron, Boise City

As soon as you enter Cimarron Heritage Center Museum in Boise City, you'll be greeted by a giant metal Apatosaurus that looms just beyond the welcome sign.

Sitting outside of the Cimarron Heritage Center in Boise City is Cimmy the Dinosaur, a metal Apatosaurus, measuring 65 feet long, 35 feet high and weighs thousands of pounds, according to Travel Oklahoma.

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The dinosaur was created as a real life representation of a dinosaur that was extracted from Cimarron County in the 1930s. It's referred to as a "Cimarronasaurus," according to the state's travel website.

Center of the Universe

Location: 20 E Archer St., Tulsa

The "Center of the Universe" is pictured in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Located in downtown Tulsa, the Center of the Universe if an 8-feet concrete circle described as an "acoustic anomaly" by Travel Oklahoma.

Noises made inside the brick circle is loudly echoed, but only those inside the circle can hear it. Loud sounds heard inside the circle cannot be heard from outside the perimeter of the brick structure.

Lake Hefner Lighthouse

Location: Lake Hefner Pkwy., Oklahoma City

Lake Hefter Lighthouse, officially the Lighthouse at East Wharf, in Oklahoma City is one of the finest spots in Oklahoma City to watch the setting sun.

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The 36-foot lighthouse, beige with burgundy trim and a locked green door, was built in 1999 as part of a development project led by Randy Hogan. The lighthouse is modeled after the Brant Point Light Station on the north side of Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.

Gravity Hill

Location: Pioneer (Pitt) Rd., Springer

Gravity Hill, or Magnetic Hill, is another anomaly in Oklahoma near Springer. On the hill, drivers will sense that instead of their car rolling downhill with the motor turned off, it'll actually roll uphill, according to Travel Oklahoma.

The website instructs visitors to drive to Pioneer Road, stop the car at the bottom of the hill and put it in neutral, then feel a force "pull" you and the car up the hill.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 10 strangest landmarks in Oklahoma, according to WorldAtlas
A 12-year-old is facing charges after leading police on a chase and crashing into a yard in Texas.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The boy stole the vehicle before plowing into a yard about a mile away in Harris County, Texas, ABC13 in Houston reported.

The homeowner told ABC13 she was inside her house when she heard a loud noise, looked out the window, and saw deputies with their guns drawn.

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Charges were not filed by the owner of the stolen vehicle, Fox 26 reported.

However, charges were accepted for evading against the child.

Fox 26 reported the 12-year-old was processed and released to their mother.

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SCOTT COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) The Tennessee State government announced new Site Development Grants including funds for the Industrial Development Boards of Fentress and Scott County.

The Industrial Development Board of Fentress County will receive $100,000 for Clarkrange Regional Business Park. The Industrial Development Board of Scott County will receive $66,500 for an airport industrial site, according to the announcement.

Knox County Sheriffs Office finds allegations against Knoxville priest unsubstantiated, investigation closed

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There were nine other recipients in Middle and West Tennessee, and altogether, the grants are worth more than $17 million. The grants are meant to help prepare sites for business investment and achieve Select Tennessee Site Certification.

A shovel-ready industrial site can be the deciding factor for a company looking to do business in Tennessee, and thats why our efforts are critical to community and economic development, said Governor Bill Lee. I congratulate the communities receiving funding through this round of grants and look forward to seeing the growth our investment in these sites will bring.

Eleven Tennessee communities are one step closer to achieving Select Tennessee Site certification through todays announcement, said Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter. Tennessees rural communities are the backbone of our state, and I applaud the local leaders who have taken the necessary steps to set each of these communities up for future economic investment and job creation.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  2025 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.

We remember and honor those 168 who lost their lives on April 19, 1995, when a bomb went off in front of the Murrah building in downtown Oklahoma City.

168 Days to remember those lost in the OKC bombing: Norma Jean Johnson. Image courtesy Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum.

We want to remember Norma Jean Johnson, while honoring those who survived and thanking those changed forever.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
An 18-year-old is facing charges in connection with the horrific shooting of a 16-year-old girl at an Easton apartment complex earlier this month, officials announced Monday.

Anthony Lopes, of Brockton, is facing charges of assault and battery by discharging a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a high-capacity firearm and armed robbery, according to the Bristol County District Attorneys office.

Officers responding to a report of a shooting at the Avalon apartment complex on Robert Drive around 2:30 p.m. on January 14 found the girl suffering from a serious gunshot wound to her face, Easton police told Boston 25 News.

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It was a horrific scene for the officers involved, Boone said during a news conference after the shooting.

According to court documents, police noticed a group of men leaving the area, abandoning a black SUV that was traced back to Lopes.

Police later found Lopes near his Brockton home on Battles Farm Drive, walking with his right arm rigidly in his pocket. Police determined it was possible that he was holding a firearm.

Lopes got into another car with men inside that stopped just down the road. When police approached he began to run but tripped, causing a 40-caliber handgun to fall from his pocket. Police then placed him under arrest.

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Lopes was arrested on charges of possession of a firearm without a license, possession of a loaded firearm without a license and possessing a large capacity feeding device without a license but did not have charges formally levied against him for the brazen attack as investigators worked to gather a substantial collection of evidence.

The victim, whose name hasnt been released, was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital before being flown to a Boston-area hospital. Her injuries were initially reported as life-threatening but she was later upgraded to being in stable condition.

Lopes will be arraigned in Taunton District Court on Monday afternoon.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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As expected, a judge has temporarily blocked the executive order that sought to eliminate birthright citizenship, ruling it unconstitutional. Despite Donald Trumps announcement weeks before his inauguration that he would take this action, many experts doubted he would follow through, given that it directly defies the U.S. Constitution, which has guaranteed this right under the 14th Amendment since 1868. However, stripping children of this right based on the immigration status of their parents was one of the first executive orders signed by the tycoon.

While the temporary block leaves the orders implementation uncertain, thousands of families are left feeling threatened by an executive order fraught with ambiguity. It fails to clarify key provisions and leaves future generations in limbo, potentially creating a generation without a nationality.

My child is going to be stateless. The executive order has caused a lot of confusion for many families like mine. Those of us applying for asylum or TPS dont know exactly what we should do with this executive order, if it applies to our cases, says Monica, who prefers to remain anonymous. A Venezuelan doctor, she is 12 weeks pregnant, and the presidents order has turned her pregnancy upside down.

Instead of focusing on having a healthy baby, were stressed, anxious, and depressed by this situation. Now, we worry that our babies wont have citizenship, she laments.

Monica is one of five pregnant women who last week filed a lawsuit against Trumps executive order in Maryland, where they live. They are supported by the organizations CASA, the Asylum Seeker Defense Project (ASAP), and the Institute for Constitutional Protection of Georgetown Law School (ICAP).

As a TPS asylum seeker, Monica fears that when her baby is born in late July or early August, she wont be able to register the child and that they may end up stateless. Venezuela has no embassy or consulate in the United States, and because of the new order, she wont be able to seek assistance from the United States.

The uncertainty surrounding where to register their children and whether those children will have any citizenship is not limited to countries, like Venezuela, that lack diplomatic representation in the United States. Asylum seekers have fled violence and persecution in their home countries and, as a result, cannot turn to their governments to secure nationality for their children.

There are many people seeking asylum in the United States who fear their children will be left without a homeland. Theyre afraid to go to the embassy or consulate of their country of origin because theyve already filed petitions in the United States, stating that their government has persecuted them, explains Monica. As asylum seekers, they are also prohibited from traveling outside the country.

A migrant mother after entering the United States, in Texas, on April 14, 2021. John Moore (Getty Images)

Trump suspended asylum applications with another executive order, and it remains unclear what will happen to those that are still pending. Monica submitted her application six years ago, but has yet to be called to share her story. The regulations set a 180-day processing period, but a backlog of cases  exacerbated by a lack of staff and budget in the Immigration Department  has grown exponentially in recent years. According to a report released last July, more than one million cases were pending by the end of 2023.

If implemented, the executive order, titled Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, raises many uncertainties about who will be impacted. The order specifies two situations in which citizenship will not be granted: first, if the mother is residing illegally in the U.S. and the father is neither a U.S. citizen nor a legal permanent resident; and second, if the mother has legal but temporary status (such as a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father is not a citizen or permanent resident.

According to Rupa Bhattacharyya, legal director of ICAP, which filed the lawsuit in Maryland, it is unclear who will be affected. The second scenario, in particular, raises the most questions. Some examples are given to show who will be immediately affected, but the order is otherwise undefined, so its not clear exactly who qualifies. It is crucial that a persons citizenship status be clear and unambiguous, and this executive order at this time makes that impossible. Many children will be denied citizenship, and for others, the vagueness of the order leaves their status in complete and utter uncertainty, she argues.

Federal Judge John C. Coughenour blocked the order from being implemented  calling it blatantly unconstitutional  in a ruling on a lawsuit filed by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon. At least six lawsuits have already been filed by 22 states and various migrant groups across the country, all challenging the constitutionality of the executive order.

Because the exectuive order is not retroactive, if it were to go into effect, it could create absurd situations within the same family, where some children would be citizens and others would not, potentially leading to further family separations. This is the case for Maribel, another pregnant woman involved in the Maryland lawsuit, who also prefers to remain anonymous. A resident of the United States for two decades, she has two children who are U.S. citizens. I fear that my unborn child will be denied the basic rights my other children enjoy, including access to healthcare and a quality education. Without the protections of U.S. citizenship, the Trump administration could even try to take my baby and our family away from me and deport them to a country theyve never known.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution specifies that all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside, with rare exceptions such as the children of diplomats.

Trump argues that parents who are not citizens or permanent residents are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction, but his argument has so far failed to hold up.

No president has the authority to unilaterally alter the U.S. Constitution or its well-established interpretation by the Supreme Court, particularly in the area of individual rights, says Thomas A. Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). The executive order attempts to grant power that Trump simply does not have. By right, the executive order should be ignored. In practical terms, it may not be implementable due to the chaos that would result from creating a class of stateless persons in this country,

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  Crews were battling a 2-alarm fire at historic school building near South End Monday afternoon.

According to the Charlotte Fire Department, firefighters responded around 2:30 p.m. to the former Wilmore School in the 400 block of West Boulevard. Smoke was reportedly showing from the unoccupied building, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools confirmed.

The fire was controlled in 25 minutes by 60 firefighters. No evacuations were needed, and injuries were reported.

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The building was formerly used as a staff development center, but a rezoning was approved last year for a mixed-use development that planned on preserving the 100-year-old structure. CMS still owns the property.

The Charlotte Investigation Task Force is investigating the fire.

This is a Developing Story . Check back for updates

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WKBN)  Two big projects in Ohio are set to receive millions of dollars in tax breaks to set up shop in the state.

Read next: Dave & Busters opens at Eastwood Mall after major renovations

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik announced Monday that the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 2.594%, 30-year tax credit to support Anduril Industries advanced manufacturing facility in Pickaway County. The tax break is worth $452,263,789.

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The U.S. defense contractor plans to build a 4,000-worker facility in central Ohio. The 5 million-square-foot facility will be located on a 500-acre site near Rickenbacker International Airport, about 16 miles southeast of Columbus.

According to the business plan, the production of military drones and autonomous air vehicles would begin in July 2026.

DeWine said along with job creation, Anduril will provide more than $2 billion in economic output, generate $1 billion in state labor income and $800 million in tax revenues.

In addition, BJs Wholesale Club is getting a 1.605%, nine-year job creation tax credit for its new logistics and distribution facility in Pickaway County. The tax break is worth $1,940,000.

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BJs will employ 250 people full-time and generate more than $13 million in payroll.

BJs is a membership-based wholesale club offering groceries, household items, electronics and other discounted items.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Authorities in Utah have arrested a suspect accused of stabbing a man to death 20 years ago, in a case that went unsolved before recent technological advancements allowed an investigation to move forward.

Jason Royter's girlfriend found him dead on Aug. 6, 2005, at his residence in the Salt Lake City area. He was 33. Royter had suffered multiple stab wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. Despite investigators' attempts over the course of about a decade to identify a perpetrator, no meaningful leads materialized.

At that point, the case was turned over to the Salt Lake County cold case unit, and detectives with the Sheriff's Office diligently investigated for another decade, the office said in a news release, noting that recent advancements in investigative techniques and processes finally led to a breakthrough.

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Detectives with the sheriff's office apprehended Mark Munoz, 53, last Thursday for allegedly killing Royter, the office said. Munoz was taken into custody on murder charges.

Jason Royter's family speaks at a news conference organized by the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office on Friday, Jan. 24, 2024. / Credit: Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office

DNA evidence collected at the scene of Royter's murder matched a sample flagged in 2024 by the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services, CBS News affiliate KUTV reported, citing court documents filed after the suspect's arrest. The latter sample had been collected directly from Munoz.

Once forensic services informed the sheriff's office of the match, detectives set out to locate him. It was challenging because Munoz is unhoused, does not have a cell phone and does not regularly keep in touch with family or friends, a deputy's report said, according to KUTV.

"This arrest is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our detectives who never gave up on finding justice for Jason Royter," Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said in a statement. "To Mr. Royter's family, we hope this development brings a measure of peace, knowing we are closer to uncovering the truth of that tragic day."

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Rivera said at a news conference Friday that their investigation is still active and detectives continue "looking for any additional evidence that will help the case."

"Jason died a very tragic death, and we want to make sure that justice is served," she said.

Vice President JD Vance's first interview | Face the Nation

Rebuilding Paradise

A tour of the Bronx
THOMASVILLE, N.C. (WGHP)  The Thomasville Police Department has made a pair of arrests in its investigation into several home shootings that took place the day after Christmas.

At around 7:59 p.m. on Dec. 26, 2024, officers came to the areas of Sullivan Street and Harris Street after getting a report of shots fired resulting in three homes with people inside them being struck by the gunfire.

Two of the homes were on the 100 block of Harris Street and the other home was on the 500 block of Sullivan Street.

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Police say that no one was injured as a result of the gunfire and that none of the homes were specifically targeted. The shots came from in the roadway near Sullivan Street and Broad Street.

On Monday, investigators announced that two juveniles  a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old  have been charged and arrested in connection to the shooting investigation.

Both teens are being charged with three counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon. The 17-year-old is also facing a charge of possession of a stolen firearm.

The juveniles were taken into custody by police who sought secure custody orders from North Carolina Juvenile Justice which were granted and the teens were taken to a local detention center.

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Additionally, investigators are searching for Adam James Wright, 20, of Asheboro, who is wanted on a charge of conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon. Wrights whereabouts are unknown currently and police have asked for the publics assistance in finding him.

Adam James Wright (Thomasville Police Department)

Anyone with information on Wrights location should contact Thomasville Crime Stoppers at (336) 476-8477 or local law enforcement.

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BEIRUT (AP)  Firing by Israeli troops killed two people and wounded 17 on Monday in the second day of deadly protests in southern Lebanon, health officials said, as residents displaced by the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah attempted to return to villages where Israeli troops remain.

The shooting came a day after 24 people were killed and more than 130 wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on protesters who breached roadblocks set up along the border.

Under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on Nov. 27, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah was to move north of the Litani River by Jan. 26. While the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers had already deployed in several villages before the deadline, Israel remained in over a dozen villages.

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The United States and Lebanon announced later on Sunday that the deadline to meet the ceasefire terms had been extended to Feb. 18.

In a pre-recorded speech aired Monday, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said his group wont accept the extension of the ceasefire deadline, without addressing the fact that the Lebanese government had already done so.

Israel has to withdraw because the 60 days are over, Kassem said. We wont accept any excuses to extend one second or one day.

Any delay in the withdrawal is the responsibility of the United Nations, the US, France and Israel, he added.

Kassem also said his group has not violated the ceasefire terms and acknowledged that they considered retaliating against Israeli airstrikes but were advised by Lebanese authorities against it.

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Protests resumed Monday particularly in eastern border villages, where residents again attempted to return home. Israeli troops opened fire, killing one person in the town of Odaisseh and wounding seven others across four southern villages, the Health Ministry reported.

The Israeli military has blamed Hezbollah for pushing people to protest and has said soldiers fired warning shots when demonstrators approached.

In the village of Aitaroun, scores of unarmed residents, some waving Hezbollah flags, marched hand-in-hand or rode motorcycles, escorted by ambulances, bulldozers and Lebanese army tanks. They approached the edge of the town but stopped short of Israeli positions, unable to enter.

We are coming with our heads held high and crowned with victory to our village, Aitaroun, said Saleem Mrad, head of the municipality. Our village is ours, and we will bring it back more beautiful than it was before. We are staying.

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Hassan al-Ahmad, a Aitaroun resident, said, We have to give our blood and our souls. If there had not been blood spilled, the land would not have been liberated.

Lebanons national news agency reported that Israel dropped a bomb at the entrance of the southern village of Yaroun to deter residents from proceeding farther.

In the town of Bint Jbeil, Hezbollah members handed out flyers featuring slain leader Hassan Nasrallah with the words, Victory has arrived. Some residents waved Hezbollah flags.

Israel blamed the Lebanese army for not deploying to the region fast enough, while the Lebanese military accused Israel of stalling its withdrawal, complicating its deployment efforts.

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Some family members who entered border villages Sunday discovered the bodies of their relatives. Israeli strikes have killed over 4,000 people during the war, but Lebanese authorities do not distinguish between fighters and civilians in their death toll.

Since the ceasefire began, Israel has conducted near-daily operations such as house demolitions, shelling and airstrikes in southern Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of violating ceasefire terms by attempting to move weapons. Lebanon in turn has accused Israel of hundreds of ceasefire violations.

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Associated Press journalist Bilal Hussein in Aitaroun, Lebanon, contributed to this report.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  A crash is causing traffic to condense into fewer lanes this morning.

According to OHGO, the left two lanes on I-75 South at Stanley Avenue are blocked.

Meanwhile, Wright Patterson Air Force Base released an advisory to its employees, as team members return to in-office work this morning.

Increased traffic and longer wait times are expected, and your cooperation will help ensure a smooth and safe transition for everyone, the notification reads in part.

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Motorists may experience a bit of delay in the area of the base.

Photo by ODOT/OHGO.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.
Two men are in stable condition after police say there was a shooting in Maquoketa last night.

A news release from the City of Maquoketa says Jackson County Emergency Communications received a call on January 26 at about 8:02 p.m., requesting an ambulance be sent to the 400 block of N. Otto Street in Maquoketa for a gunshot incident where several people were wounded.

When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they found two men who had suffered apparent gunshot wounds. They were taken to Jackson County Regional Health Center and treated for their injuries. Both are in stable but serious condition.

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The Maquoketa Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are investigating the incident. The Jackson County Sheriffs Office, Preston Police Department, Jackson County Ambulance Service and Hospital and the Maquoketa Rescue Squad assisted on the scene.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Two North Carolina state troopers have been suspended from the job and nearly 200 cases theyre tied to have been dismissed.

ALSO: Walmart shoppers shocked after driver rams several cars fleeing from police

WRAL in Raleigh reports the North Carolina State Highway Patrol is investigating how Sgt. Garrett Macario and his supervisor, Sgt. Matthew Morrison, handled a chase and deadly crash last October.

N.C. State Troopers Garrett Macario (left) and Matthew Morrison are on administrative leave.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said evidence from that case and body camera video from the scene raised questions about the troopers involvement in the wreck.

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According to WRAL, Freeman said she received a call in December from the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation about the Oct. 7 crash in which a young man was killed on Raleighs Capital Boulevard.

WRAL reports that due to the investigation surrounding the officers credibility and truthfulness, Freeman dismissed 180 DWI cases where Macario was the arresting officer.

Were working to learn more details about how many of the sergeants cases could be dismissed going forward.

>> Check wsoctv.com for updates

WRAL reports that records show Macario, 26, has been with NCSHP since February 2019. Morrison, 40, was hired in July 2012.

(WATCH BELOW: 2 officers hurt, driver arrested after hit-and-run in east Charlotte)
Editors note: This article contains descriptions of child abuse. If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call the Indiana Department of Child Services' Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-800-5556. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A two-year-old is dead and a mother has been arrested for a preliminary neglect charge after the child was found under a dresser.

Just after 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police were called to the 6300 block of Newberry Road on the city's northeast side at Timber Point Apartments for a report of a death investigation. There, they spoke with the mother who said she had told her 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter to come to come eat after she made dinner.

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According to court documents, her son came, but her daughter didn't.

While searching the apartment, she found her daughter underneath a dresser. The girl was unresponsive, not breathing, and cold to the touch. The mother picked her up, went outside, called 911 and also called her boyfriend to come to the apartment.

The girl was identified as Skylar Gardner by the Marion County Coroner's Office.

Horrible home conditions

According to court documents, officers conducted a sweep of the apartment and observed scattered trash, human feces, steak knives and soiled items on the floor to the point it was not visible.

Officers said the apartment reeked of 'rotting food' and feces covered the wall and furniture. Officers were told the mother's boyfriend had to borrow a vehicle to drive to the apartment.

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Minutes later, Indianapolis Fire, Emergency Medical Services and other officers responded to the apartment. The toddler was pronounced dead at the scene.

Rigor mortis had already set in.

Abused, scared and drinking chemicals. Court docs reveal horrifying details in boy's death

Bruising on her body

While physically examining her body, officers and medical personnel noticed bruising and injuries on her face, arms, legs, back and vagina, court records indicated.

Riley Children's Health Child Protection team would later confirm the girl had a large puncture wound to her neck, but court documents do not state how it got there.

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The mother's boyfriend was questioned by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police detectives and according to court documents he said the mother would spend the night at his home every night. The kids are not usually with her, but they would come to his house at least once a week at most.

He was released from police custody.

Mother would leave children alone

The mother was questioned by detectives and, according to court documents, said she would leave them alone for multiple hours daily. She would check on them once a day to bring them food and drinks.

She said she last bathed her daughter a week and a half ago, if not two weeks ago.

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The woman told detectives that when she would check on the children, she would see feces on their hands and feet. She said her daughter's vagina was red and swollen because of her diapers and not being changed often enough.

The mother denied all allegations of sexually assaulting or physically harming her children.

The mother was jailed on a preliminary neglect of a dependent charge. IndyStar is not naming the mother because she was not formally charged at time of publication.

Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formally Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 2-year-old dead under dresser, Indiana mother arrested for neglect
The southbound side of Route 1A in East Boston will remain closed for the Tuesday morning commute after a charter bus transporting workers to Logan Airport toppled multiple utility poles on Monday morning.

Video from the scene showed a crashed Academy bus with a shattered windshield stopped on the southbound side of 1A at 175 William F. McClellan Highway, which carries traffic to the airport.

Massachusetts State Police troopers were detouring southbound traffic at Boardman Street and northbound traffic at Addison Street for much of the day, according to MassDOT.

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In an update shared shortly before 8 p.m., the Boston Police Department announced northbound lanes had reopened to traffic, but warned that southbound lanes would remain closed for morning commute as crews continue to work.

East Boston Traffic update: McClellan Highway will remain closed at Boardman St tonight and tomorrow in the direction of the Sumner and Ted Williams Tunnels as well as Logan International Airport. This will impact the morning commute on Tuesday. Please seek an alternate route.  Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) January 28, 2025

Drivers navigating to Logan Airport are encouraged to plan for extra travel time, MassDOT wrote in a post on X.

Boston police said the bus knocked down four light poles and two transformers shortly before 5:45 a.m., leaving wires strewn across the highway in the area of Suffolk Downs.

The bus had several people on board and two injuries were reported. Police said both people were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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One of the injured people, the driver of the bus, was released from the hospital late in the day.

In a statement, Massport said, The bus was transporting employees. Passengers should expect delays getting to the airport.

Motorists were urged to avoid the area due to the heavy delays.

Traffic in East Boston, Revere, and Chelsea was impacted by the crash as crews worked to repair the damage.

An investigation is ongoing.

Academy Express is working with state police and the BPD as they conduct an investigation into the accident. Academy Exoress LLC said in a statement.





This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Spotlight Japan - Jan 27, 2025 - 15:05 | Spotlight, Travel/Tourism

A series of pictograms created by the Japan Tourism Agency paints a picture of dos and don'ts to promote better manners among tourists after Japan's popularity with foreign visitors grew at record pace in 2024.

Of the 22 pictograms released by the agency in November, 14 address inappropriate manners and display prohibited behaviors. These include eating while walking, graffiti, and cutting in line. Four of the pictograms target manners related to taking photographs, including the use of selfie sticks.

The remaining pictograms promote sustainable travel practices. Tourists are encouraged to do their sightseeing early in the morning or later in the day to avoid crowds. To help ease congestion on public transportation the agency recommends traveling light and making use of luggage storage services or lockers, among other practices encouraged through the pictograms.

The agency also released a poster highlighting what it calls "travel etiquette for the future" - seven examples of manners and etiquette which the agency said it wants travelers to be aware of. One of the examples draws attention to the value and meaning of cultural assets, warning that graffiti and damage to such properties may be subject to penalties, including fines.

In another example, the agency suggests visitors travel slowly, taking time to experience the characteristics of each region and appreciate Japans diversity.

The agency said that it created the pictograms and guide based on actual cases of behavior among tourists and after consulting with residents, local governments, and businesses, among others. It plans to promote the content through social networking services, travel websites, and at tourist attractions as part of efforts to create sustainable tourist regions where local communities and tourists can realize the benefits of tourism.

Since the lifting of travel restrictions after the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan has been struggling to keep on top of issues associated with so-called "overtourism," including overcrowding at popular attractions and incidents of inappropriate behavior, particularly from foreign tourists unfamiliar with Japanese customs and culture.

In one of the more high-profile incidents of tourists behaving badly in Japan, an American man was arrested in November for allegedly defacing Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo. The man, who was in Japan for a holiday with his family, was alleged to have used his fingernails to scratch letters in the shrine's torii gate, which he claimed represented the names of his family members.

In a survey looking into the impact of overtourism, conducted between August and October by Jalan Research Center, nearly 60 percent of respondents said that they were conscious of crowded conditions in the areas where they live due to an increase in the number of tourists.

The bad manners of some tourists, including behaviors such as littering, drinking on the street, and cutting in line, was cited by around 52 percent of respondents - people working in or connected to tourism in Japan - as among the problems they had encountered because of the increase.

Travelers to Japan are also conscious of the crowds. Over 30 percent of foreign tourists experienced overcrowding at attractions and facilities in Japan during their visits in 2024, according to a survey jointly conducted by the Development Bank of Japan and the Japan Travel Bureau Foundation in July.

Acts that degrade tourism resources, including littering, graffiti, and trespassing were witnessed by 13 percent of the respondents who had visited Japan.

Japan is by far the most popular choice of destination among travelers however, according to the survey. Of the 7,796 respondents from across Asia, Britain, France, the United States and Australia, including those with no experience of travel to Japan, 55 percent selected Japan among the countries they would like to visit for their next trip. New Zealand, South Korea, and Australia followed, with each country selected by 27 percent of the respondents.

Japans popularity as a tourist destination shows no sign of waning, despite the apparent awareness and experience of issues related to overtourism. A record 36.87 million foreign tourists visited Japan in 2024, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Several destinations in Japan have been selected by travel media as places to visit around the globe in 2025.

Osaka features in destination lists by influential U.S. magazines Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure. The 2025 World Expo host city appears in Conde Nast Traveler's list, The Best Places to Go in Asia, and in Travel + Leisure's global list, The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2025.

In October, National Geographic revealed its annual Best of the World list, with Kanazawa featuring among the 25 best places in the world to travel to in 2025. National Geographic described the city in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, as a destination to "experience classic Japan without the crowds."

The cities of Toyama and Osaka are among the destinations featured in the list, 52 Places to Go in 2025, published by The New York Times in January.

On a cautionary note, both Tokyo and Kyoto are featured in the Fodor's No List 2025 by travel guidebook publisher Fodors Travel. The annual list highlights destinations described by Fodor's as "suffering from untenable popularity," which it thinks travelers should reconsider visiting. On the other hand, Fodor's selected the tourist city of Nikko, in eastern Japan, as one of the top places to visit in Asia for its Go List 2025.

This article was submitted by a contributing writer for publication on Kyodo News Plus.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN)  An infant was killed and the mother injured in a shooting Sunday afternoon in Murfreesboro after a man became angry over loud music, according to authorities.

According to the Murfreesboro Police Department (MPD), officers responded to reports of shots fired at the Chelsea Place Apartments on Bradyville Pike shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26.

1 dead after Madison shooting; MNPD investigating self-defense claim

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MPD said the suspect  identified as 24-year-old Marquavious Hampton of Chapel Hill  became angry after the mother was reportedly playing loud music, causing a physical altercation between the two.

Hampton then opened fire on the 1-year-old child, who was seated in a stroller. The mother attempted to shield the infant and was shot in the hand.

Police said the 1-year-old was shot multiple times and pronounced dead by Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services. Meanwhile, the mother was brought to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the hand. Murfreesboro investigators said the deadly shooting at the apartment complex was an isolated incident involving people who knew each other.

CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee

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MPD identified the license plate number of the Dodge Charger Hampton drove away in using LPR data and released a Be on the Lookout alert for the vehicle.

The license plate was flagged in Williamson County by the sheriffs office FLOCK camera system after it showed up as a match for the Dodge. Deputies started pursuing the vehicle near Critz Lane and Columbia Avenue around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Shortly after the chase began, the sheriffs office said the suspect abandoned the vehicle and ran into a nearby field. As deputies followed him, they saw what appeared to be a firearm in his hand.

Moments later, deputies discovered the suspect suffering from a gunshot wound, the sheriffs office stated. It is unclear whether the self-inflicted shooting was accidental or intentional.

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Deputies identified the suspect as Hampton  although they described him as 25 rather than 24  and said he was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.

Person flown to Nashville after shooting at Clarksville National Guard Armory

According to the sheriffs office, the TBI will follow standard protocol by conducting an independent investigation into the incident, which did not result in any injuries to civilians or deputies.

No additional details have been released about this investigation.

For anyone in a crisis, help is out there. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

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 Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox.

 Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee.

This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Two teenagers in Oregon have been arrested on murder and robbery charges after they allegedly shot a man who was trying to stop them from robbing a grocery store.

Officers were called to a Fred Meyer grocery store in Portlands Hazelwood neighborhood at around 3:50 p.m. local time on Jan. 13, following reports of a robbery and gunshots, according to a press release from the Portland Police Bureau and reports from local stations KOIN and KPTV,

Outside the store, officers found 47-year-old Jonathan Trent on the ground. He had sustained a gunshot wound and was quickly taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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The medical examiner announced soon after that his cause of death was homicide from a gunshot wound, police said. "The initial investigation suggests that Trent was shot after witnessing a robbery and attempting to stop the suspect," police wrote at the time.

In an update shared on Jan. 23, police announced they had arrested three boys, including a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old, each of whom are facing murder and robbery charges. A third teen, a 15-year-old who police said knows the other two suspects, was arrested for a separate Jan. 1 robbery.



Google maps Fred Meyer grocery store Fred Meyer grocery store

Police also believe the 16-year-old was involved in a string of four other robberies that took place in the area during the first two weeks of January.

Matt Jacobsen, a sergeant with the departments major crimes init, told KPTV that investigators learned that several crimes that occurred in the area in the 48 hours after the shooting were all related, leading to the arrest of the suspects.

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"Throughout the course of the investigation, were able to identify five events that were related to this group," Jacobsen said, per the outlet.

"This type of crime with these youths is fairly uncommon," he continued. "Unfortunately, guns are available in this community and it's deeply concerning to see youth of this age, armed with firearms."



All three boys  whose identities have not been released  are being held at the Donald E Long Juvenile Detention Center. KPTV reported that the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office is deciding whether the two teens charged with murder will be tried as adults.

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Trent's family has since opened up about his death in a GoFundMe page, which has surpassed its $25,000 goal to help his son and his son's mother in the wake of his death.

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"Jon was a man of warmth, kindness, and joy who brought light to everyone around him. He was a constant presence at the pool, supporting [his son] and inspiring our community with his positivity and generous spirit," the fundraising page states. "His loss has left a profound void in our hearts and in the lives of those who knew him."



Read the original article on People
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Nashville detectives took two teenagers into custody Sunday afternoon for separate cases involving electronic threats against the principals of their respective schools.

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said the first investigation started on Saturday, Jan. 25 and resulted in the arrest of a 17-year-old girl from Antioch High School  the same school where two students died after a shooting earlier in the week  for posting an Instagram threat against her principal. She is charged at Juvenile Court with communicating a threat to a school official.

Rally for Antioch in response to school shooting to take place at State Capitol

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In the second case, a 13-year-old boy from Madison Middle School is accused of emailing threats to his principal on Sunday, Jan. 26, according to authorities. He is also charged at Juvenile Court with communicating a threat to a school official.

Since the deadly shooting at Antioch High on Wednesday, Jan. 22, law enforcement said six other Nashville students  including two 12-year-olds and two 13-year-olds  have been arrested for separate, unrelated threat cases.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Threats against schools, their administrators and staff, and community institutions are taken very seriously by the MNPD, officials said. Those responsible, once identified, will be prosecuted.

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WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN)  Two schools in Wilson County were placed on a soft lockdown as a precaution after online threats Monday.

Both Green Hill High School and W.A. Wright Elementary were placed on soft lockdown around 12:30 p.m.

District spokesperson Bart Barker said threats via social media were being investigated by the Wilson County Sheriffs Office (WCSO).

Antioch High School Shooting | Continuing Coverage

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The lockdowns were a precautionary measure and there is no active or direct threat at either school, according to Barker. The lockdown was recommended to the district by the WCSO.

WCSO investigators added additional security at Green Hill High School and the lockdown at W.A. Wright Elementary was activated only due to its proximity to GHHS.

No additional information was immediately released.

A 16-year-old girl was killed last week at Antioch High School when a shooter opened fire inside the cafeteria. He then turned the gun on himself. Antioch students are expected to return to class Tuesday.

At least six people have been charged with making threats against schools across Middle Tennessee since the Antioch shooting.

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 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 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
A welfare check led to the discovery of two deceased women and a person of interest being detained in the unincorporated Acton area of Los Angeles County Sunday night.

Deputies were sent to conduct the check in the 2400 block of Soledad Canyon Road shortly after 5:30 p.m.

During the investigation, deputies discovered two unconscious female Hispanic adults at the scene, the L.A. County Sheriffs Department stated.

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The unidentified victims were both pronounced dead at the scene. The causes of death are under investigation and will be determined by the L.A. County Medical Examiners Office.

A person of interest detained in connection with the investigation also lived at the location, the Sheriffs Department stated.

No further details about the detained person were released.

Anyone with further information was asked to call the Sheriffs Departments Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
**Related Video Above: What are the rules in a school zone.

BORGER, Texas (WJW)  A school community in Texas is mourning the loss of a second grader following an accident that occurred Friday during morning drop off.

Emergency responders were called to Gateway Elementary School in the city of Borger, located in the states panhandle, around 8 a.m. for reports a child had been injured.

Baby found abandoned on freezing street with umbilical cord still attached; now in critical condition

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Upon arrival, police learned the childs coat was caught in the door as they were getting out of a car in the schools drop-off area.

Despite the presence of a senior school administrator who immediately attempted to intervene, the incident happened so quickly that it could not be stopped, Borger police said in a statement.

The child was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment but was declared dead sometime later. The school district and police decided not to release the name of the child to protect the familys privacy.

Cleveland Heights Fire Department gives thanks after massive fire

Our hearts go out to all those affected by this horrible accident as they navigate this devastating loss, police said in a statement. The entire community grieves alongside them.

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The citys public information officer told People Magazine that police do not have any reason to believe that criminal charges will be filed.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
Jan. 27A rare 3.8 magnitude earthquake shook Maine on Monday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake occurred at 10:22 a.m. and was reported at a depth of 13.2 km and centered 10 km southeast of York Harbor.

People reported feeling shaking across York and Cumberland counties that lasted 20 to 25 seconds. It was felt as far north as Skowhegan and as far south as Boston. In York and other nearby towns, residents called police to report explosions, while others took to social media to describe feeling as though a truck had hit their houses.

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The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported the earthquake at 4.1 magnitude before adjusting it down to 3.8. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

Sgt. Brian McNeice was inside the York Police Department building when the earthquake started. It was the first time he'd ever felt an earthquake that strong.

"My heart was pounding," he said. "I thought a jet was flying over the PD. It was nuts."

FELT FAR AND WIDE

The town's 911 dispatch center was inundated with calls from residents, most of them reporting the earthquake, McNeice said. Some callers told dispatchers they thought they'd heard an explosion.

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Nearly an hour after the shaking stopped, York police officers were still driving around town looking for damage, but didn't see any problems, McNeice said. The town fire department also said there were no injuries or reports of structural damage.

The tremor was felt as far north as Skowhegan and as far south as Boston, according to chatter on social media. "I was in my kitchen here in Dresden and the whole house started to shake," resident Amber Pouliot commented in a local Facebook group.

Lt. Matthew Bartnick, a Maine spokesman with the U.S. Coast Guard, said he hadn't heard about any impact on marine vessels related to the earthquake.

Prior to being stationed in Maine, though, Bartnick said he was in Kodiak Island, Alaska.

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"Up there, earthquakes and tsunamis are a big thing, so any time there was an earthquake, the tsunami alarms would go off," he said. That would be a warning for mariners to find safety soon.

Bartnick said he's not an expert, but he didn't expect Monday's earthquake in Maine to have much impact on boats here.

The York Count Emergency Management Agency also sent an alert saying there is no risk to the public and asking people to not call 911 unless it's an emergency. Artur Cleaves, the county EMA director, was in his office in Alfred with a colleague when the earthquake hit. They immediately recognized what it was, but Cleaves said the only time he's felt shaking like that was in Haiti after a devastating earthquake in 2010.

"I've had a few in Maine and they're usually much shorter in duration and sound like a bang," he said. "Many people who reported it (Monday) said it was like an explosion or something hitting the building."

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Fire Chief Nathan Schools was sitting at his desk in Buxton when the shaking started. He's used to trucks driving past the station, but could immediately tell this was different and called out to his crew that it was an earthquake.

"It almost felt like the driveway was vibrating," he said. "It was louder than a truck. You could hear it and feel it."

Elizabeth Seavey lives on Route 202 in Sanford, near the town line with Lebanon. Her house sits close to the busy road, and she always jokes that one day a car is going to crash into it.

"So, that was my first thought," Seavey said about the rumble that shook her house Monday morning and almost tipped over her television.

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Her next thought was even darker. "I said, 'Are we under attack?'"

Seavey hopped online and saw a bunch of people posting about an earthquake. That didn't necessarily make her feel better. She called her husband, who delivers mail in York County. He said he didn't feel the earthquake at all.

"It's really troubling," she said. "Is this something I need to start worrying about?"

The earthquake prompted school officials in Kennebunk-based RSU 21 to send a note to the community about the shaking felt across all six schools in the district.

"Our Operations Department has checked all district buildings and systems to ensure they are in working order and no damage has been discovered," Superintendent Terri Cooper said in the message.

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STRONG EARTHQUAKES RARE IN MAINE

While Maine doesn't typically have strong earthquakes, it is not uncommon for microquakes with a magnitude of less than 2.0 to occur.

The Maine Geological Survey reported a magnitude 2.1 quake on Dec. 9, 2024, 4 miles north of Upton, but noted that there were no reports from people who felt it. On July 28, a magnitude 2.8 earthquake recorded in West Gardiner had scattered reports of weak shaking up to 30 mile away.

On April 5, 2024, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake centered in northern New Jersey was felt widely across New England, including in southern Maine.

Earthquakes are less common on the East Coast because the area does not lie on a boundary of tectonic plates  slabs of Earth's crust that slide past each other and build pressure when they get stuck.

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The biggest quakes usually occur along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which extends through Iceland and the Atlantic Ocean. A plate boundary called the San Andreas Fault stretches through California.

Compared to the western U.S., the hard, brittle rocks on the East Coast are better at spreading earthquake energy across long distances.

Staff Writer Dylan Tusinski contributed to this report.

This story will be updated.

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VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas (KETK)  Officials said three men were arrested in Kaufman in connection to an early Sunday morning feed store burglary in Van Zandt County.

Hawkins man turns self in for posting city council members phone number

The Van Zandt County Sheriffs Office said deputies responded to the scene of a burglary at a feed store on State Highway 243 at around 3 a.m. on Sunday.

While at the scene, deputies were reportedly notified that a vehicle matching a description they were given was stopped in the city of Kaufman by the Kaufman Police Department and the Kaufman County Sheriffs Office.

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A Van Zandt County deputy went to Kaufman and identified three people stopped in the vehicle with people seen in video footage from the crime scene in Van Zandt County, according to a Van Zandt County Sheriffs Office press release.

Our deputies along with our partner agencies are committed to the citizens and businesses of Van Zandt County. We appreciate our deputies and all the assisting agencys efforts, making these arrests possible. Van Zandt County Sheriff Kevin Bridger

Charles T. Brown, 35 of Fort Worth, Corwin L. Brown, 35 of Fort Worth, and Keithsolis L. Brown, 38 of Fort Worth, were all arrested and charged with burglary of a building and engaging in organized criminal activity.

From left to right Charles T. Brown, Corwin L. Brown and Keithsolis L. Brown. Mugshots courtesy of the Van Zandt County Sheriffs Office.

The three men are being held at the Van Zandt County on total bonds of $80,000.

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ATHENS, Texas (KETK)  Three people were arrested after officers found suspected meth in an Athens home over the weekend.

According to the Henderson County Sheriffs Office, on Sunday around 8:10 p.m. officers conducted a narcotics search at a home on County Road 1502.

During the search, Terry Frank Alotto was found with a quantity of suspected meth that was packaged in a gallon sized bag, baggies to manufacture and deliver narcotics, a firearm and cash officials said.

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Christi Lynn Pass and David Wayne Balser were also found with suspected meth.

Mugshot of Terry Frank Alotto, courtesy of Henderson County Jail Mugshot of Christi Lynn Pass, courtesy of Henderson County Jail Mugshot of David Wayne Balser, courtesy of Henderson County Jail

Alotto was charged with manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of firearm by a felon. Pass and Balser were both charged with possession of a controlled substance.

All three were booked and transported into the Henderson County Jail.

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LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT)  Three people were arrested in Athens after law enforcement seized over a quarter pound of drugs and firearms.

On Jan. 21, the Limestone County Sheriffs Office Narcotics Unit, S.W.A.T. Team and the Athens Police Department Narcotics Unit conducted a drug-related search warrant in the 700 block of Browns Ferry Street in Athens.

According to authorities, over a quarter pound of methamphetamine, more than an ounce of fentanyl pills, a possession amount of crack cocaine, a small quantity of marijuana and two firearms were seized as a result of the search warrant.

(Photo: Limestone County Sheriffs Office)

The Limestone County Sheriffs Office said three people were arrested in the search:

Kevaun Rooselvelt Turner, a 33-year-old on probation for state and federal charges, is charged with:

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Certain persons forbidden to possess

Two counts of second-degree possession of marijuana

Possession of a controlled substance

Two counts of drug trafficking, Fentanyl

Drug trafficking, methamphetamine

Turner is currently being held in the Limestone County Detention Facility on a $1.5 million bond.

Antonio Mufiax Nelson, a 35-year-old Alabama State parolee, is currently being held on a parole violation warrant on a $500,000 bond and is charged with:

Drug trafficking

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Tina Lynn Cook, 59, is currently being held in the Limestone County Detention Facility on a $505,000 bond. She is charged with:

Drug trafficking, methamphetamine

Possession of a controlled substance

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
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Say what you like about Axel Rudakubana, the slaughterer of three English girls under ten years old, but - unlike the British Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, the Liverpool Police and most of the court eunuchs in the UK media - he appears to be an honest man:

It's a good thing those children are dead... I am so glad... I am so happy.

He has always been entirely upfront about such things, telephoning Britain's so-called "Childline" and asking them:

What should I do if I want to kill somebody?

Judging from his many interactions with "the authorities" (including with the laughably misnamed "Prevent" programme), the British state's response boiled down to: Go right ahead!

It seems likely that the perpetrator of Wednesday's Diversity Stabbing of the Day - the Afghan "asylum seeker" who killed a two-year-old boy and seriously wounded other infants in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg - is also "so happy". Like Mr Rudakubana, the "asylum seeker" deliberately targeted a gathering of the very young - in this case, a kindergarten group playing in a municipal park. Like Mr Rudakubana, the "asylum seeker" did not just deliver sufficient stab wounds to kill: he plunged his knife into each target dozens and dozens of times. Like Mr Rudakubana, the "asylum seeker" was well known to the authorities: he had been detained for "violence" at least thrice.

Did these guys also enjoy it? From our pal Leilani Dowding:

2 mass stabbings in @Keir_Starmer @MayorofLondon London TODAY. Both in the day time. Where are we safe ??? pic.twitter.com/b3GmNoC6Bt  leilani dowding   (@LeilaniDowding) January 23, 2025

For the benefit of American readers, being stabbed in Asda, Argus and Sainsbury's is like being stabbed in Kroger, Costco and Wegman's. As you may recall, a DC jury awarded climate mullah Michael E Mann a million bucks because someone unknown gave him a mean look in Wegman's supermarket. No one stabbed in a UK supermarket will get a seven-figure sum: it's increasingly a routine feature of daily life - per Sir Sadiq Khan, part of what it means to live in a great world city.

Sir Keir Sturmer and every outpost of the corrupt British state have lied to the public about every aspect of the Southport mass murder since the very first statements by the Liverpool chief constable passing off the killer as a "Cardiff man". Her officers knew within hours that the Welsh boyo who loved male-voice choirs was, back in the real world, an observant Muslim in possession of the Al-Qaeda handbook and enough ricin to kill twelve thousand of his fellow Welshmen. But they did not disclose this information for months - not until freeborn Britons minded to disagree with Keir Sturmer's Official Lies by suggesting that this seemed pretty obviously merely the umpteenth case of Islamostabbing had been rounded up, fast-tracked through Keir's kangaroo courts, gaoled for longer than Muslim child rapists, and in at least one case driven to his death. Does Sir Keir feel bad about the late Peter Lynch? Or does he take the same relaxed attitude to his victims as Axel Rudakubana?

It's a good thing that that far-right extremist is dead... I am so glad... I am so happy.

Even now, six months on, the organs of the state are still lying - although, with all the previous lies being no longer operative, Sturmer & Co have had the wit to introduce a few new ones. For example:

'A total disgrace' that Southport killer could buy a knife on Amazon aged 17, says Cooper

That would be Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary - which is the equivalent of what Continental governments usually call the Minister of the Interior, because that's where the knives penetrate.

Half-a-lifetime ago, when I laboured in the London media, whatever one felt about the excesses of Fleet Street, it did at least have what was then known as a reliable "bullsh*t detector". When John Major launched the Tories' "Back to Basics" public morality campaign shortly before a Conservative member was revealed to have shared a bed in France with another man because a single hotel room was much cheaper and anyway they had slept back to back, the hacks at least had the spirit to stampede to the Gallic hostelry in question, photograph the bed, and slap it on the front page under the headline "Back to Back to Basics".

Now, alas, the Fleet Street "bullsh*t detector" has seized up and the court eunuchs are happy to recycle Sir Keir Stabber's copious effluent. Within hours of Yvette Cooper's stunning revelation, the biggest-selling papers in the realm had re-purposed the beatific Welsh schoolboy as "the Amazon Killer"!!! That's the front page of The Sun at top right. Ooh, lookee here:

Starmer Vows to Change Law on Blades

"Vows" is one of those wanker media words they deploy when they want to make a hack politician sound butch. Starmer "vows" to raise the minimum age for buying a steak knife to fifty-seven, with at least nine pieces of supporting ID!

Yeah, that'll do it. Olaf Scholz, direct from Klaus Schwab's Spectre board meeting in the hollowed-out Alp at Davos, is also butching up:

I am sick of seeing such acts of violence occurring in our country.

So will he also be cracking down on kitchenware retail outlets? Well, no, he's not that sick of it. But he has demanded that "the authorities must explain as quickly as possible why the attacker was even still in Germany".

If you're wondering who this Olaf Scholz bloke is, well, he's the Chancellor of Germany. The head of government. So he's "the authorities".

Furthermore, the day before the latest child stabbing he professes to be so "sick of", the Chancellor was condescendingly explaining to Elon Musk - again from the Spectre board meeting - that Europe so does have free speech, lots and lots of it, all over the place. With just one itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny you-won't-even-notice-it minor qualification...

Shame on Oaf Schitz! https://t.co/xtdW8D6FTo  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2025

We have the freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany. Everyone can say what he wants, even if he is a billionaire. And what we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme-right positions.

So Europe has absolute free speech as long as you agree with Olaf Scholz. "Extreme right" means in this case objecting to, say, the fatal stabbing of two-year-old boys in Bavaria or the "anal branding" of twelve-year-old girls in Yorkshire. Herr Schitz's opponent in next month's election is Alice Weidel, an "extreme right" lesbian in a "civil union" with a fellow "extreme right" Sapphist from Sri Lanka. Because it doesn't get more Hitlerian than a mixed-race couple of non-heterosexual orientation. Frau Weidel is also "sick of" the stabbers. So she's proposing closing Germany's borders.

Whoa, that's way too "sick of". The trick is to object to stabbing in the Scholz/Starmer way: a bit of pro forma huffin' an' a-puffin', and then round up anyone minded to point out that an awful lot of these supposedly "diverse" stabbers seem to be Muslims.

It's Islam. We all know that - and by "all" I mean everyone except politicians, policemen, reporters and baronesses.

Not all Islam, of course, but enough that, in the UK, France, Germany, anywhere west of the Czech Republic, there will be more stabbings in your future. Perhaps one day even members of the political class will be stabbed. Oh, no, wait, that already happened. In 2021 Sir David Amess was stabbed multiple times by a - go on, take a wild guess - that's right, a Somali Muslim ...and Sir David's fellow MPs and alleged "friends" rose as one to dishonour him in death and attribute his murder to the increasing incivility in public discourse. If Sir Keir Sturmer were to be stabbed by someone who'd mistaken him for a six-year-old girl, I have no doubt that his successor would immediately announce that it was "a total disgrace" that knives were steeply discounted at Poundland.

It's mass migration in general, and Islam more specifically: Go to Hungary, or even Ukraine - and wait for your daily Diversity Stabbing.

But Peter Lynch died in gaol, and Keir Stabber is still at liberty. The latter has now blamed the Southport carnage on "young men in their bedrooms" - which Rod Liddle amusingly took as prefiguring a crackdown on masturbation. But it's not really funny, is it? Because Sir Keir is, as a practical matter, an accomplice of the stabbers and gang rapists. He would rather your pre-adolescent daughter gets anally branded and your kindergartner dies from up to 122 stab wounds than permit the citizenry to dissent from the state ideology that "diversity is our strength". Which, as a practical matter, means that those who would destroy our society retain a monopoly of violence.

For as long as that lasts.

I watched the images from California - of flames consuming the entirety of Pacific Palisades, and regretted that it was not Whitehall. This is truly Orwellian: war is peace, freedom is slavery, Islamic enforcement is diversity, passivity is strength, making a fuss about stabbed and raped girls is far-right hate speech...

Mark's international bestseller America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It. If you haven't read the book during its first seventeen years, well, you're missing a treat. It's still in print in hardback and paperback. (Buy it at a 77% discount by clicking here or order in KINDLE edition at a 47% discount by clicking here. Sales help fund JWR)

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Mark Steyn is an international bestselling author, a Top 41 recording artist, and a leading Canadian human rights activist. Among his books is "The Undocumented Mark Steyn: Don't Say You Weren't Warned". (Buy it at a 49% discount by clicking here or order in KINDLE edition at a 67% discount by clicking here. Sales help fund JWR)
KYODO NEWS - Jan 27, 2025 - 12:58 | All, Japan, World

Japan's government has been considering joining a U.S.-led space telescope initiative to search for Earth-like planets and extraterrestrial life, aiming to contribute technology and secure key research opportunities.

The NASA-led "Habitable Worlds Observatory" project plans to launch a large-scale space telescope in the early 2040s, designed to observe wavelengths like ultraviolet and X-rays that cannot penetrate the Earth's atmosphere.

Tokyo plans to have a specialized team within the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency assess what potential technological contributions can be made.

Government officials view the space telescope endeavor as a significant international project, comparable to the Artemis lunar exploration program, which has over 50 countries involved. Joining the initiative would bolster Japan's role in global space science and provide priority access to observation opportunities.

Serving as the successor to the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, the envisioned telescope will orbit 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. It will utilize infrared, visible and UV light to detect exoplanets with conditions such as liquid water and atmospheres capable of supporting life.

Detecting Earth-like planets involves capturing faint light signals obscured by the brightness of stars. Drawing on expertise gained from developing instruments for the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, Japan hopes to contribute observation equipment and remote maintenance technologies to the project.

Although Japan did not take part in the development of the James Webb Space Telescope, which has made major discoveries including uncovering the structure of the early universe, experts highlight the importance of contributing to future large-scale space initiatives.

"Discovering life beyond Earth would deepen our understanding of what life is and how it developed on our planet," said Satoshi Miyazaki, director of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan's Hawaii Observatory.

He added that Japan must leverage its unique technologies to maintain a leading role in global space exploration efforts.

Related coverage:

Japan's space agency to develop program that estimates quake damage

210 hacks made on JAXA, other Japan targets by China group since 2019

JAXA to coordinate with private satellites for disaster assessment
MABANK, Texas (KETK)  Firefighters from Payne Springs Fire Rescue were dispatched to the scene of a home burning in the Hidden Hills Harbor near Mabank on Sunday morning.

Smith County firefighters respond to 15 grassfires in two days

The single-wide trailer was totally engulfed when the first Payne Springs Fire Rescue crew arrived at the scene. When a second crew arrived a short time later, officials said the fire was able to be extinguished.

Photo courtesy of Payne Springs Fire Rescue. Photo courtesy of Payne Springs Fire Rescue. Photo courtesy of Payne Springs Fire Rescue. Photo courtesy of Payne Springs Fire Rescue. Photo courtesy of Payne Springs Fire Rescue. Photo courtesy of Payne Springs Fire Rescue. Photo courtesy of Payne Springs Fire Rescue. Photo courtesy of Payne Springs Fire Rescue. Photo courtesy of Payne Springs Fire Rescue.

Payne Springs Fire Rescue said one adult and two children were treated for minor injuries by EMS. They were all reportedly released before the firefighters cleared the scene.

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Click here to see a Facebook post that Payne Springs Fire Rescue shared to help the residents.

The homes heavy metal roof required Henderson County Precinct 2 to respond to the scene with a backhoe. Gun Barrel City Fire Department, Long Cove Fire Department, Log Cabin Fire Department, Malakoff Fire Department, the Henderson County Fire Marshals Office, UT Health EMS and the American Red Cross also responded to the scene.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com.
A teenager was killed and two other teens were injured after being shot inside a Far South Side residence shortly after noon Sunday, according to Chicago police.

Officers responded to the 13100 block of South Corliss Avenue, where the three male teenagers had been shot by an unknown offender, police said. One of them, a 16-year-old, suffered nine gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at 1:56 p.m. after being transported to Christ Hospital in critical condition, according to the police and records from the Cook County medical examiners office. The medical examiner identified him as Makai Rodriguez.

A 17-year-old was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition with eight gunshot wounds. An 18-year-old was transported to the same hospital with a gunshot wound to his right arm and wrist; he was last listed in good condition.

As police investigated the circumstances leading up to the shooting, detectives were speaking to a person of interest Sunday afternoon.

adperez@chicagotribune.com
Three of President Donald Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks will face the scrutiny of Senate committees this week -- Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kash Patel.

Director of national intelligence nominee Gabbards hearing will take place Thursday morning before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

The former Democratic congresswoman and onetime Democratic presidential candidate has stirred up waves of controversy from across the political spectrum and is expected to face a bruising confirmation battle. Not only are critics wary of her lack of intelligence experience, they have also accused her of promoting an anti-American agenda, including blaming the U.S. for the war in Ukraine and being sympathetic to U.S. adversaries.

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MORE: Who is Tulsi Gabbard? Meet Trump's pick for director of national intelligence

Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin told ABC News Martha Raddatz on "This Week" on Sunday that she do[es] not believe she's qualified for this role.

PHOTO: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., left, Tulsi Gabbard, center, and Kash Patel. (AP)

From what I understand from people who have been meeting directly with her, and she hasn't asked to meet with me, is that she doesn't show the competence, the understanding, the depth. She wasn't prepared for her meetings, Slotkin said, pointing to Gabbards deeply questionable decisions over her relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham remained tight-lipped about his stance on Gabbard, telling CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" that we will see how she does when asked if he planned to support her.

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Fellow Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, acknowledged concerns with Gabbard, telling Shannon Bream on "Fox News Sunday" that he understand[s] that people have their differences of opinion regarding her nomination.

However, he emphasized his faith in her record: She's passed five different background checks. I reviewed the latest one. It's clean as a whistle, he said. It's fine for people to have policy differences and ask questions about those differences. I hope no one would impugn Ms. Gabbard's patriotism or her integrity.

PHOTO: President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard attends the inauguration of Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

He also pointed to Pete Hegseths successful confirmation to become secretary of defense after a tie-breaking vote Friday despite the controversy that surrounded his nomination.

MORE: Reagan FBI director urges caution against Gabbard, Patel

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Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine -- who was one of three Republicans who voted against Hegseth last week -- expressed caution towards Gabbard.

There are several questions I want to follow up on in the hearing, Collins told The Hill on Monday, adding that there are "a lot of obvious issues" with the DNI nominee.

However, Vice President JD Vance remained adamant in supporting Trump's nomination of Gabbard, telling CBS News Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation" on Sunday, I feel confident that Tulsi Gabbard will ultimately get through.

She is a career military servant who's had a classification at the highest levels for nearly two decades. She has impeccable character, impeccable record of service, and she also is a person who I think is going to bring some trust back to the intelligence services, Vance said during his first interview since becoming vice president.

PHOTO: Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's pick to be the director of the FBI, speaks at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. (Matt Rourke/AP)

Also on Thursday, FBI director nominee Kash Patel, who served in several roles in Trump's first administration, will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing.

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Patel's nomination has similarly faced backlash, particularly regarding his promoting of conspiracy theories, his defense of Jan. 6 rioters and his threats to target journalists, former senior FBI and Department of Justice officials.

MORE: What a 'deep state' investigation could look like if Kash Patel becomes FBI director

Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, told reporters last week that he will not vote to advance Patels nomination.

"After meeting with him and doing this study, I've come to the conclusion that Kash Patel has neither the experience, the judgment or the temperament to serve as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to take on this awesome responsibility to keep America safe," Durbin said.

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MORE: Trump says he'll fire FBI Director Christopher Wray, replace him with longtime ally Kash Patel

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, another member of the Judiciary Committee, called Patel's nomination "alarming" after meeting with him last week.

Coons said he questioned Patel on efforts by Trump to use the FBI for political retribution, as well as his calling for the weaponization of the federal government against Trumps political enemies.

"I left this meeting still concerned about Mr. Patels ability to put past grievances aside and focus the FBI on its core mission of keeping Americans safe," he said in a statement.

PHOTO: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th US President in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)

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Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will face the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday morning. Kennedy has faced criticism over his history of remarks against vaccines and his recent vaccine skepticism. In addition to asking the federal government to revoke authorization of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, and medical experts have expressed concerns over his views potentially spreading medical misinformation.

Kennedy continues to echo Trump's views. On Sunday, he sent out a fundraising email called Trump's executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization "a massive win" for Kennedy's health agenda and for Americans' "fundamental medical freedom rights."

Trump's withdrawal, which has been criticized by medical and health experts, "marks a turning point for our nation. No more subservience to a globalist organization prioritizing profits over American lives and health," Kennedy said in his fundraiser.

3 of Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks face confirmation hearings this week originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Immigration raids are playing out across the country, days after President Trump promised to crack down on illegal immigration.

Sources tell us that raids have already happened right here in Pittsburgh.

The sources say 30 local businesses closed temporarily to protect customers and employees from potential ICE raids.

>>> Members of Pittsburghs immigrant community react to ICE raids across the country

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At least four businesses reported ICE on their property. And at two of those businesses sources say agents took employees in the parking lot as they were going into the building.

An immigration attorney also told Channel 11 that one of his clients was targeted while at a local Lowes store.

NBC News reports the DEA, the FBI, and a coalition of federal agencies are all involved in these operations. ICE is calling the raids targeted enforcement operations to signal that theyre working through a list of people who have been convicted of crimes.

However, in an interview with NBC News yesterday, the Border Czar acknowledged theyre making collateral arrests of undocumented immigrants who are found with people theyre targeting.

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City officials told Channel 11 there is no evidence of ICE activity happening in the city limits.

Channel 11 reached out to the Allegheny County Police Department to see if federal agents requested their help in the Pittsburgh area with raids, and the superintendent told us no.

Channel 11 reached out to ICE about raids in the Pittsburgh area. Public Affairs Officer Jason Koontz said, At this point, we do not have any further information to release. When we do, I will get back to you.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
1.Donald Trump Jr. posted this  which made me go, "Oh, sweet, summer child"  and got swiftly corrected:

2.Meidas Touch even brought the receipts for Junior:

3.And this person dunked on Eric, who seems to be on the same level as his brother:

Yes, Trump really did suggest nuking a hurricane. Pax_Solaris_Offical / Via reddit.com

4.Fox News' Jesse Watters sounded gung-ho about invading  checks notes  Canada, our ally for over 150 years, and he got rightly flamed:

Fox News / Via reddit.com

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5.And Ben Shapiro was pretty embarrassing about it, too, and had to have some sense talked into him (it likely didn't take):

6.Elon Musk tried to say politics "kill the vibe" in video games, and it did not go well for him:

Musk  who fancies himself a real gamer  admitted that he paid people to play for him so he could level up, which is pretty embarrassing. Actually, Musk paying people to do the hard work and then taking credit for it is pretty on-brand. Twitter: @sosojni

7.A Danish baker responded to Trump's desire to buy Greenland by making these Donald Trump moron cakes. (What was that about being respected in the world like never before?):

8.And this person laid it all out there about Trump and his endless barrage of immature insults for his colleagues, like referring to Gavin Newsom as Gavin Newscum:

I've asked this many, many times before, but how are we, as Americans, okay with having someone who talks like this as president? Like, I have an 11-year-old, and if HE talked like that, he'd have problems. But not the so-called leader of the free world, I guess. RSBN / Via reddit.com

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9.Sen. Warren, who has been the target of a lot of Trump's childish playground taunts, had this simple observation that cuts harder than anything Trump ever said about her:

10.This person called Trump out for his blatant lie  repeated on the campaign trail and again on Jan. 24  that Democrats want abortions AFTER the birth of a baby. You mean murder, Donald?

Do all the people who voted for Trump really believe doctors are aborting babies after they're born? Because that's just not happening. C-SPAN / Via x.com

11.This person roasted Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley by reminding everyone what he IS ok with happening to his daughter:

When running for reelection last fall, Hawley said he "supports abortion exceptions for rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in danger." However, he opposed an amendment that would've repealed Missouri's extreme abortion ban, which has no exceptions for rape or incest. Previously, Hawley called abortion murder, and compared it to the moral evil of slavery. x.com

12.Michigan Rep. Lisa McClain posted some ALL CAPS criticism of President Biden, but was  shocker  facts challenged:

The truth is 63 service members died in Afghanistan under the Trump administration vs. 15 under the Biden administration. In McClain's defense, she may have been confused because Trump, on the campaign trail last year, repeatedly lied that no US troops died in Afghanistan over an 18-month period during his administration. There was an 18-month period, but it covered the last 11 months of Trump's term and first seven of Biden's. Twitter: @harryjsisson

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13.Rep. Mike Collins posted something really stupid and, frankly, un-American, saying Bishop Budde should be deported for making a respectful plea for mercy for those who are scared about what may happen during Trump's administration. AOC rightfully came in with the knockout punch.

Trump had a hissy fit about Bishop Budde afterward, demanding an apology and then calling Budde a "Radical Left hard line Trump hater." He also dissed her sermon as "nasty," "very boring," and "uninspiring." Below is what the Bishop said. Read it and tell me if it was "nasty" or something else, like empathetic: Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you and, as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives. The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. Theymay not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras and temples. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love and walk humbly with each other and our God for the good of all people. Good of all people in this nation and the world. Amen Reuters / Via reddit.com

14.Speaking of Musk's two Nazi salutes, we've all heard his supporters say it wasn't actually a Nazi salute, but this person was like, let's be real, folks.

15.And this person hilariously destroyed someone's excuse for Musk.

16.And this person said what we've all wanted to say to the Trump supporters in our lives.

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17.After Trump walked back his central campaign promise that prices will come down and come down dramatically and come down fast, by saying that lowering the cost of groceries will actually be "very hard" (No shit, Donnie), this person dropped some TRUTH.

18.This person had some fun with Trump moving his inauguration indoors.

It was cold for Trump's inauguration this year (27 degrees), but he doesn't look so tough in comparison to, ahem, Democrats. John F. Kennedy's 1961 inauguration was 22 degrees, while both Barrack Obama and Jimmy Carter had outdoor ceremonies at 28 degrees (a single degree higher than Trump's). @_sn_n / Via Twitter: @_sn_n

19.This person basically said, "What the hell are you doing?!" to Caitlyn Jenner, a trans woman who supports Trump despite his anti-trans executive order.

The executive order defines male and female by reproductive function, meaning in the government's eyes, everyone is the gender they were assigned at birth. The order also aims to stop transgender and gender-nonconforming Americans from self-selecting their gender on visas, passports, and other government documents  an option first made available by the Biden administration in 2021. So, yeah, I don't get what you're doing either, Caitlyn! Twitter: @0liviajulianna

20.This person was not about to let Trump take credit for something achieved BEFORE he was even freaking president (like, come on now, Donald).

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21.This person rightly called out Derrick Evans, a former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, for his hypocrisy.

Evans was forced to resign from office after being arrested for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump, of course, just pardoned this charmer. Lord_Answer_me_Why / Via reddit.com

22.And this person pointed out Trump's hypocrisy.

Trump said, "I am the friend of police, more than any president that's ever been in this office," and then pardoned or commuted the sentences of those responsible for the Jan. 6 attack, who brutally attacked and injured 140 law enforcement officers. C-SPAN / Via reddit.com

23.This person called out Texas Rep. Troy Nehls for this disturbing, bootlicking statement.

24.And Chasten Buttigieg made the biggest indictment of Musk possible right here.

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25.Gotta love this person who called out Musk's incredibly hypocritical post by replying "Cisgender" (Musk made "cisgender" a slur on X ).

26.This person wasn't here for the idea that the convicted felon/adulterer-in-chief was saved by God "who wants him as our salvation."

27.This person makes a very valid point about the America Trump REALLY wants to see again.

28.This person also called out Trump and his overpaid hype man for hypocrisy.

ArtCandee

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29.And this person checked some of Trump's biggest lies.

30.This person called out Trump's lack of self-awareness.

31.And this person made it clear what Trump's talk of immigrants being animals REALLY sounds like.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  The Chinese American Cultural & Heritage Society hosted the 3rd Annual Lunar New Year Gala Sunday. Hundreds of people from all over the region gathered to watch vibrant cultural performances, and enjoy traditional food.

Championship weekend packs restaurants in Springfield

Its the culture, its very unique. We have art from ancient China and now its like generation by generation says Haian Lin, the co-founder of Chinese American Cultural & Heritage Society.

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This will be year of the snake, which represents many qualities, like wealth, good luck, and wisdom.

It really is embracing the entire community, expressed State Rep. Angelo Puppolo of 12th Hampden District. Not just here in Springfield, but the Commonwealth and beyond.

Chan Lin, a Volunteer for the Chinese American Cultural and Heritage Society told 22News, We have the chance to taste the food, and then we have all this; all the culture activity.

Haian Lin added, So many are helping us, and we try to preserve the culture and also promote unification.

Lunar New Year will take place Wednesday, and many hope to celebrate the Chinese culture and the good theyre looking forward to in the new year.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
For too many people, the dream of a college degree  and the opportunities it offers  is overshadowed by the looming threat of student debt.

More than half U.S. adults without a college degree cite the cost of a degree as the primary reason for not enrolling, according to Gallup and the Lumina Foundation.

When I took the helm of Scottsdale Community College in July 2022, I knew that we could do something about that. And so, after years of dedicated work by our faculty and staff, Scottsdale Community College now offers its first-ever, four-year degree program, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management.

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By offering this new program at one-quarter of what it costs at other institutions, we hope it will create opportunities for more students to achieve their educational goals and follow their passions without the heavy financial burden usually associated with obtaining a bachelors degree.

Students want affordable, practical programs

SCCs Bachelor of Business Administration program is about more than just dollars and cents, though.

Ive spoken to many of our students, and theyve told me how difficult it can be to find affordable, practical programs that lead directly to job opportunities.

This degree is for them.

Opinion: Why high schoolers need to know advanced manufacturing

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Our team developed this curriculum based on extensive collaboration with local business leaders, who made it clear that they need graduates with skills they can apply from day one.

The coursework emphasizes practical knowledge and real-world applications, so students are fully prepared to enter and thrive in the workplace.

A bachelor's degree is a game-changer for many

While this four-year degree is a new offering for students, its not a new direction for the college. Instead, I see it as an extension of SCCs mission to expand access to quality education for all, especially underserved communities.

SCC serves approximately 10,000 students each year, nearly half of whom represent minority and underserved student populations. More than a quarter of our student population self-identifies as Hispanic.

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This is a game-changer for SCC students, allowing them to pursue an affordable bachelors degree and open many new possibilities for future careers.

Were also seeing tremendous interest in the bachelors program from graduates of SCC occupational programs, such as culinary, interior design and computer information systems.

These graduates are now in the workforce and recognize that they need a bachelors degree to move into leadership roles.

Community colleges are growing their degrees

Obtaining formal training in how to help run their organizations effectively will help complement their current skill set and set them on a pathway for greater success.

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Combine that with small class sizes and meaningful relationships with our expert faculty, and Im truly proud that SCC can offer this tremendous value to our community.

Maricopa Community Colleges now offer 11 bachelors degree programs across nine institutions, an effort that has led to marked enrollment gains since the first offerings in 2023.

Beyond the considerable tuition cost savings, students in these bachelors programs appreciate the greater emphasis on hands-on, real-world skills that they can apply to their work immediately, rather than the greater focus on theory present at four-year universities.

This is just the beginning.

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Our commitment to expanding educational opportunities will continue, and were excited about the possibilities ahead as we prepare more students for leadership roles in their communities.

Ive always believed in the power of education to change lives, and with our new Bachelor of Business Administration, I know well be changing many more.

Dr. Eric Leshinskie is president of Scottsdale Community College. Reach him at eric.leshinskie@scottsdalecc.edu.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Community college is an affordable bachelor's degree option | Opinion
Its been more than two months since 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina, and on Friday it was announced that the final four missing primates were recaptured.

The monkeys escaped the research facility on Nov. 6, 2024, after one of the facilitys co-workers did not securely latch the enclosure door, according to The New York Times. Thirty-nine of the escaped rhesus macaques monkeys were recaptured within two weeks of the escape.

According to CNN, the monkeys are from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center which specializes in nonhuman primate research for biomedical research. It is one of the largest primate facilities in the U.S. and has over 100 acres of land for research and breeding.

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All 43 escaped monkeys are female rhesus macaque primates that weigh around six or seven pounds, as previously reported by the Deseret News.

How, where and when the last four monkeys were found and captured has not been released, per The New York Times.

After the remaining four monkeys were found, Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard released a statement thanking the Yemassee, South Carolina, police and community. It was a real team and community effort, he said, per CNN.

The last four stragglers spent weeks in thick, wooded terrain and persevered through a rare snowstorm before they were found and captured. They were all found to be in good health.
Five men aged 30-39 were injured as a result of a Russian artillery attack against Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in the morning of Jan. 27, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

According to his statement, a fire broke out that was later extinguished, and an industrial facility was damaged.

Nikopol, situated on the banks of the dried-up Kakhovka Reservoir, just across from Russian-occupied Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, is a regular target of Russian attacks.

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Todays attack comes weeks after Russian forces struck the central market in the city, injuring four women and two men.

Only 3% of Russian missiles, drones, and guided bombs hit military targets in Ukraine, while 97% have struck civilian infrastructure, Danylo Kubai, Ukraine's envoy to international organizations in Vienna, said in July 2024.

Read also: Updated: Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 4, injure 7 over past day

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
A 5-year-old child had to be disarmed by police after answering the front door holding a loaded handgun in Michigan.

The child opened the front door carrying the armed weapon to a cadet who came to serve a subpoena at the property on Inn Road on Saturday, Jan. 25, the Battle Creek Police Department stated in a news release.

The cadet called for a road patrol officer after the child initially answered the door with a large kitchen knife, police said, per the release. When the cadet asked the child to have an adult come to the door, the child returned with the loaded handgun, which the cadet removed.

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Road patrol officers arrived and found two men and a woman inside the residence. They were detained and taken into custody for questioning.

According to the release, five children, aged 6 months to 8 years old, were also located inside the home. They were placed under Child Protective Services over the incident and deplorable condition of the property.

avid_creative/Getty A stock photo of police sirens A stock photo of police sirens

One child was transported to Bronson Battle Creek Hospital and then later a hospital in Kalamazoo over health concerns, according to authorities.

Officials are pursuing weapon charges and neglect charges through the Calhoun County Prosecutor's Office, police said.

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Battle Creek Police confirmed that a man was arrested at the same residence for alleged domestic violence-related crimes on Jan. 12, local media outlet News 8 reported.

The father of the woman taken into custody told the outlet his daughter was living with the father of one of her children and his friend at the home. She reportedly previously called the police about allegedly being beaten at the home, according to her father,

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The woman's father told News 8, She was a single mother with five kids trying to do the best that she can after what happened with her babys daddy throwing all of the kids stuff out and everything and having to scrape through the snow to find them.

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I love my daughter, I love my grandkids, I want to see everyone back together as a family, thats all," he continued, with News 8 reporting that he is focusing on gaining custody of his grandchildren.

Read the original article on People
KYODO NEWS - Jan 27, 2025 - 11:29 | All, Japan

The Japanese government is considering extending the five-year residency limit for skilled foreign workers if they become pregnant, a source familiar with the matter said.

The government aims to ensure that foreign workers can remain employed while respecting their right to bear and raise children, as the country grapples with a labor shortage.

The government plans to set rules around this summer to exempt such workers from the five-year residency limit after discussions with an expert panel, the source said Sunday.

There have been cases across Japan of foreigners with Specified Skilled Worker visas having their employment terminated after becoming pregnant. A similar exemption has already been adopted for foreigners working under Japan's technical trainee program.

Specified Skilled Worker visa holders are eligible to work in 16 industries facing severe labor shortages, including construction, nursing care and agriculture, with many of them transferring from the technical trainee program.

The technical trainee program, which has been criticized as little more than a scheme for Japan to import cheap labor, is set to be abolished in 2027 and replaced with a new system focused on developing skills and protecting workers' rights.

The government expects the number of skilled foreign workers to expand in the future, as it plans to operate the scheme in an integrated way with the new system.

The Specified Skilled Worker No. 1 visa permits up to five years of residency, while the No. 2 visa allows for unlimited renewals, opening the path to permanent residency and permitting workers to bring their spouses and children to Japan.

As of the end of September 2024, there were around 260,000 skilled workers in Japan on the No. 1 visas and 408 on the No. 2 visas.

Related coverage:

FEATURE: Japan firms working to attract, retain skilled foreign workers

Japan revises foreign trainee rules to allow job transfers over abuse

65% of Japan firms hire foreign workers to cover labor shortages
CHICAGO  A 63-year-old man was found dead in a Norwood Park basement late Sunday night on the citys Northwest Side, his arms apparently tied with duct tape and his legs tied with an extension cord, according to police scanner audio.

Teen dead, 2 others injured after shooting inside Far South Side home; person of interest in custody

The man has been identified by the Cook County Medical Examiners Office as George Levin, and police are classifying his death as a homicide.

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According to Chicago police, officers responded to a call of a person down just before 11 p.m. Sunday in the 7600 block of West Talcott Avenue. Upon arrival, a witness told police they found the man in a basement bedroom.

Police say the Chicago Fire Department was on the scene treating an unresponsive 63-year-old man, later identified as Levin. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Minerva Kacpreka, a neighbor who spoke with WGN, said she was shaken by the incident happening in the usually quiet neighborhood.

Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines

Ive never heard of something like this in this area, Kacpreka said. Its very shocking. As a neighbor, I walk past that house all the time. Its kind of nerve-wrecking that something like that happened that close to the house .

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There is nobody in custody, police say, and Area Five detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  A Broad Street nightclub is temporarily closed after a large disturbance early Sunday morning that ended in the arrest of seven people, according to Providence police.

Police said they responded to Motion Nightclub around 2 a.m. Sunday, where officers attempted to disperse a large group of people causing a disturbance outside the club.

According to police, several individuals became confrontational with the officers, who called for backup. Seven people were arrested on various charges.

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The Providence Board of Licenses ordered a 72-hour closure of the nightclub on Sunday, with official hearings scheduled for later this week.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  News 2 has obtained audio records of 911 calls that were made from students and family members after a 17-year-old opened fire in the cafeteria of Antioch High School on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

Call 1: We heard a pop, said one student who called 911 to report the incident. I dont know exactly if it was a gun but everybody started running out.

A surge of calls were made just after 11 a.m. after Solomon Henderson fired at least 10 shots in the cafeteria, resulting in the death of 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante and leaving another student injured.

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School bus drivers organize convoy to support Antioch

Caller 2: Im a high school student at Antioch High School and I was just in lunch and all the sudden four gunshots just rang off, described another student in a 911 call. It was inside the school, it was in lunch. Right now Im outside. Its a lot of people running as well. I think someone was struck but Im not sure. All I know is I heard gunshots and I just ran out running.

Additional calls released came from family members who dialed 911 to report the incident after receiving calls from their loved ones inside the school.

Caller 3: I was just calling to make sure you guys know of the shooting at Antioch High School. My little sister said they were shooting in the cafeteria where she was at.

911: How old is your sister?

Caller 3: Shes 17 years old.

911: Has she been shot?

Caller 3: No, shes fine right now but she said the shooter was in the cafeteria where she was at.

911: Did she tell you what the shooter looked like?

Caller 3: No, she couldnt see him. She was hiding and was just calling to tell me. I told her to just hide and stay calm and I was going to call the police.

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Antioch High School Shooting | Continuing Coverage

A few minutes after that call, a mother of a student called 911 to report what her son had told her about the incident.

Caller 4: My son said theyre shooting in Antioch High School! Im phone with him right now, please hurry!

911: Is he hurt?

Caller 4: Hes not hurt, hes running!

911: Are you able to confirm with him that hes in a safe place?

Caller 4: Hes outside of the school! Im talking to him with my other phone. Hes outside the school!

The Victim

Josselin Corea Escalante (Courtesy: GoFundMe)

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) identified the victim as 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante.

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Her peers described her as a good girl who enjoyed laughing with her friends, and as someone everyone enjoyed being around.

Everybody liked being around her: Community remembers girl who died in Antioch High School shooting

She was a very smart and fun girl to be around with. She was very pretty. Everybody liked being around her because of her energy. She had very good things to say about other people. She was very outgoing, one student told News 2.

A funeral was held for Escalante on Sunday, Jan. 26 at the Church of God Casa de Restauracion. Escalantes family set up a GoFundMe to help with costs associated with the funeral and with sending her body back to Guatemala.

Solomon Henderson

Solomon Henderson reportedly fired at least 10 shots from a nine-millimeter pistol within 17 seconds in the cafeteria of the high school. Officials reported Hendersons gun was loaded with nine rounds when it was recovered by police, adding that a pistol magazine with seven rounds was also recovered from the cafeteria floor.

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A look at the Antioch High School shooters past

After the shooting, detectives said they found two documents that are believed to have been created by Henderson on non-traditional websites  one 51 pages in length, while the other was 288 pages.

ABC News reported the suspected shooter praised mass shooters and showed an affinity for extremist views. News 2 interviewed a man who claimed Henderson pulled out a knife on his niece.

The MNPD confirmed two guns were removed from Hendersons home in 2023 but were unable to share what led to the guns being located.

Students return to school

Antioch High is set to reopen to students on Tuesday, Jan. 28. The school will also pilot a new Evolv weapon detection system to increase safety with minimal disruptions, according to officials.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

At least 20 bus drivers held a convoy Monday morning as a way to show they stand with Antioch, the students, teachers and faculty.

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According to an MNPS spokesperson, the school district plans to deploy counseling staff, social workers, mental-health counselors and trauma-informed specialists to support school-based staff.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
A 95-year-old woman who survived the Nazis, Chernobyl and COVID was fatally struck by a car while crossing the street outside her Brooklyn home last week.

Mayya Gil had been walking across Cropsey Avenue in front of her apartment in Bensonhurst near 24th Avenue around 12:40 p.m. Thursday with her home health aide when a cargo van took a left turn and rammed into them, according to the New York Police Department.

The health aide was hospitalized in stable condition, but Gil succumbed to her injuries and died. The NYPD added that the driver was not arrested or charged.

Mayya Gil died outside her apartment building on Cropsey Avenue in Brooklyn last week.

Gil, a native of Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine, had moved to the countrys capital, Kyiv, with her mother and brother when she was 12 years old to escape the invading Nazis, according to a 2020 New York Times article. She would eventually meet her husband Vilyam in Kyiv and have their twin daughters while living under Soviet rule.

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Then when the devastating Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred in Ukraine in 1986, one of Gils daughters picked up and moved to New York City. Six years later, the rest of the family followed and quickly found their roots in Bensonhurst.

Larisa, the daughter who spearheaded her familys immigration to the United States, died at the age of 58 in 2013 after a fight against late-stage pancreatic cancer. Gils family originally couldnt afford a burial plot, so they were included in the New York Times Neediest Case Fund to help give Larisa the resting plot she deserved.

Gils husband Vilyam then passed away in 2020 after contracting COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic.

But Gil was a survivor through it all, spurred forward by her dedication to her family and involvement in the Bensonhurst community, including as an active member of the Jewish Community Center in her neighborhood, her daughter Irina Lizunova told Gothamist.

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Everybody knows her. She was a very active lady, Lizunova told the outlet.

Gils granddaughter Natasha Famighetti added, She was the kindest, most generous person Ive ever met.

Nothing gave her more joy than just being around her family,
Hundreds braved the cold on Saturday to join the 10th annual March for Life at the Utah State Capitol.

The demonstration became heated at times, conflicts apparently fueled by the recent inauguration, the rising number of abortions across the state, and the expanding reach of organizing group Pro Life Utah.

Before speeches, a crowd of Catholics including the local Knights of Columbus group gathered around local priests to pray the rosary. Various church and political groups, individuals and families stood in the cold with signs and flags waving.

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Father John Evans, vicar general for the diocese of Salt Lake City, told KSL.com that "the whole issue of life is something we struggle with in our country, in our communities, even within our own families and households."

"There are many people who want to diminish life, who want to discard life, who want to discount what life is," he said. "If we fall into that trap, then we're not affording every human person the dignity that's inherent to them, whatever the stage of life  from conception until natural death."

Attendees listen as the executive director of Pro-Life Utah, Deanna Holland, speaks at the Utah March for Life 2025 at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Saturday. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News

In June 2022, the Supreme Court's ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, which prompted the enforcement of Utah's so-called "trigger law," banning nearly all abortions in the state with narrow exceptions in cases of rape, incest, if the fetus has a uniformly fatal abnormality or to save the life of the mother. Planned Parenthood, however, filed a lawsuit arguing the law violated the Utah Constitution.

An injunction was granted by District Court Judge Andrew Stone in July 2022 while the case remained in litigation, halting the enforcement of the abortion ban. Mary Taylor, president of organizer Pro-Life Utah, took to the podium to address the state of the suit.

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"There doesn't seem to be an end in sight. There is no action planned on this case until April of 2026," Taylor said, to the boos and shouts of the crowd.

Last year, Taylor said her group "saved 141 babies from abortion ... double the number of babies from 2023." Pro-Life Utah, she said, is "growing at a phenomenal rate."

Abortion procedures across the state also appear to be growing. The Guttmacher Institute estimates that around 4,080 abortions took place in Utah during 2023. The state of Utah reported similar numbers in 1990, with abortions falling from 2010 to a low of 2,244 in 2020, sharply spiking to current figures.

Deanna Holland, executive director of Pro-Life Utah, took to the dais to encourage onlookers. "We are in it for the long haul," she said. "Abortion ends the lives of the most vulnerable and innocent of God's children. Satan loves abortion. Satan is addicted to abortion."

Executive director of Pro-Life Utah Deanna Holland speaks at the Utah March for Life 2025 at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Saturday. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News

According to Holland and Taylor, their group parked a mobile ultrasound clinic in front of Planned Parenthood for more than 800 hours last year, "causing much displeasure and annoyance to you to Utah's main abortion clinic," Taylor said.

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Planned Parenthood declined to comment.

Pro-Life Utah's expansion is both geographic and political. Support programs have started in Logan and southern Utah, with more on the way, led by a volunteer team of 65.

"The list of things our volunteers have done to help and support our moms is long," Holland said. "We fix sinks. We fix cars. We drive women to family in other states to escape domestic violence."

"We give rides to prenatal appointments, rides home from the hospital after birth, when they have nobody to bring them home, and we mourn with mamas who tragically have lost their babies after miscarriage. ... The list is literally endless, because when we ask ourselves, 'What would we do to save a life?' The answer is always more," she siad.

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Across the state, 41 legislators sponsored the march, "an all-time record," according to Taylor.

Many in attendance felt this growth is a positive thing. University student Eli Gurney told KSL.com, "I have more hope now than I did last year." Gurney attended with his little sister, Lucy. He said, "Life is a gift from God, and every life matters, and we have the privilege and duty to stand up for it."

Lucy Gurney said, "I'm a 16-year-old girl, and I value life, not because I'm brainwashed, but because I believe in God, and I believe that everybody deserves a chance."

As the crowd flowed down the steps, and along the streets surrounding the state Capitol, some were not as supportive, a change from last year. One man stood on a curb with a bullhorn, showering the marchers with questions. He didn't give his name, he said for fear of professional retaliation, but told KSL.com, "I think women have the right to choose."

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"I don't think any group of people should dictate to any other what they can do with their body," he said. Citing the thousands of children in Utah's foster care system, he said, "if each one of these people cared about children the way they claim to, they would adopt."

Mikaela Lawrence told KSL.com she felt "the entire presentation today is incredibly disrespectful to every woman that has died from lack of abortion care."

As the current of demonstrators returned to the steps, mingling and packing up, tensions rose between critics and attendees, leading to at least three heated arguments and shouting matches from different sides.

Cedric Cody, left, and Dave Sanchez, right, argue during the Utah March for Life 2025 at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Saturday. | Collin Leonard, KSL.com

Laws introduced

Senator Mike Lee announced that, in honor of the March, Republicans have introduced three bills involving abortion:

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The Abortion is not Health Care Act, would prohibit elective abortion expenses from being eligible for tax deductions.

The Protecting Life in Health Savings Accounts Act would prohibit the operations from being eligible for a variety of heath savings accounts and arrangements.

The Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act would stop federal funds from going to organizations, foreign or domestic, that perform, promote, provide referrals or lobby for abortion.

In a post on X, Lee said the fight for life is the defining moral question of our time, and is working with other legislators to repeal the FACE Act, which prohibits actions blocking access to abortion clinics.
The acting U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., has initiated a "review" into the office's prosecutions of the more than 1500 rioters charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, multiple sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News on Monday.

Ed Martin, a promoter of President Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" campaign who was himself seen on Capitol grounds during the riot, has ordered prosecutors in the office to turn over all records related to their work on the cases.

PHOTO: President Donald Trumps supporters gather outside the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

MORE: Supreme Court limits scope of obstruction charge against Capitol rioters, Trump

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The review appears to center on the office's decision to bring a felony obstruction charge against several hundred rioters that a majority of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last summer amounted to an overreach in use of the Enron-era statute.

PHOTO: Ed Martin speaks at an event hosted by Rep. Matt Gaetz at the Capitol, June 13, 2023. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP)

MORE: Trump's pardons for rioters 'disturbing,' former top Jan. 6 prosecutor says

Martin's email to staffers in the office, described by a source to ABC News, is likely to further deplete morale following President Trump's sweeping pardons last week for nearly all of the rioters charged in connection with the Capitol attack.

Several career assistant U.S. attorneys resigned as a result of the pardons, after seeing years of their work virtually washed away with the stroke of a pen.

Acting US Attorney for DC initiates 'review' of office's Jan. 6 investigation originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Sunday singled out a possible reason Donald Trump chose to fire several inspectors general from major federal agencies, while noting that the president broke the law.

Trump on Friday evening reportedly dismissed at least 15 inspectors general from their roles. The firings appear to violate federal legislation that mandates that congressional lawmakers be given 30-day notice of an intent to dismiss inspectors general.

He broke the law, Schiff told NBCs Meet the Press. And not just any law, but a law meant to crowd out waste, fraud and abuse. And yeah, the remedies Congress has.

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Schiff warned Americans that Trumps decision to move forward with these dismissals carries risks given the post involves providing independent audits, inspections and investigations of government agencies.

The American people, if we dont have good and independent inspector generals, are going to see the swamp refill, Schiff told NBCs Kristen Welker.

Schiff cited Trumps move to launch his own meme coin just a few days before his inauguration, suggesting the presidents goal with these firings could possibly be to remove anyone thats going to call the public attention to his malfeasance.

Schiff was not the only Democrat to blast Trumps move. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the action amounted to a chilling purge.

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This is Donald Trumps way of telling us hes terrified of accountability, Schumer said.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also said he would like further explanation from President Trump.

Trump on Saturday defended his action, telling reporters that firing attorneys general is a very common thing to do.

Its a first standard thing to do, very much like the U.S. attorneys, he added.

This is not the first time Trump has fired federal watchdogs. At the end of his first term in office, he fired the attorneys general of five Cabinet departments, prompting Congress to pass a law in 2022 that increased the removal protections for the post.

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Its unclear whether Trump could face repercussions for failing to provide sufficient notification to Congress.

The email sent to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Christi Grimm announcing her ouster on Friday evening referenced the changing priorities of the new administration, according to ABC News. Sources told the network the same template was used to dismiss other federal watchdogs.

According to The Washington Post, Trump fired the inspectors general of the departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Energy, Commerce, Treasury and Agriculture. He also dismissed the watchdogs of the Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration and the Social Security Administration.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  A new letter from the U.S. Department of Justice has officials taking another look at HB 4156, the immigration law halted federally days before it was to be enforced.

In June of last year, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that puts a pause on House Bill 4156, a controversial law enabling Oklahoma law enforcement to arrest individuals based on immigration status.

| READ PAST > Federal judge grants preliminary injunction halting controversial Oklahoma immigration law >

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The new law, scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2024, was met with opposition from many organizations, including The Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police and Metro Law Enforcement Agency Leaders, and state legislators.

In May last year, the DOJ sent a letter to Governor Kevin Stitt and Attorney General Gentner Drummond, threatening legal action if HB 4156 was enforced.

But this week a new letter from the current DOJ to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit cites a proclamation by President Trump that the current situation at the southern border qualifies as an invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States.

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Attorney General Gentner Drummond released a statement in support and said it bolsters his appeal of the injunction against state immigration reform.

President Trump is committed to securing the border and enforcing immigration laws, which is a welcome change from the Biden Administrations open-border policy. The nations porous border under the Biden Administration posed a direct threat to public safety in Oklahoma, so we acted to protect our people. The recent letter from the Justice Department makes clear that our position is correct, and I am encouraged that soon we will be able to enforce HB 4156. This law is critical in our efforts to stamp out the pestilence of illegal marijuana grows and their associated criminal activities. Attorney General Gentner Drummond

When Governor Stitt signed the bill in April 2024, he said police must have reasonable suspicion that the person has committed a crime before asking about their immigration status. Shortly afterward, Oklahoma City Police posted on social media saying, This law has the potential to destroy the connections and relationships we have built within our local immigrant communities and set us back for many years to come.

The department now has a new police chief. KFOR asked what would happen if the law moved forward and were told at this time nothing has changed.

While the DOJ will likely drop its federal case, the bill will still be hung up in another lawsuit.

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The second lawsuit was filed by the ACLU, but we were the other local partner for them, said Lorena Rivas, immigration attorney at Rivas Associates. She said her office phone has been ringing off the hook since last week.



Most individuals are calling because they are fearful of all the unknown thats happening and all the constant changes that are happening, said Rivas. Its really disheartening as an immigration attorney, as a first generation Mexican-American immigrant, as a member  a long term born and raised Oklahoman  to hear that they want to do this and participate in federal politics and federal immigration politics.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Two people, including a child, were shot Sunday afternoon in Ohio.

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Officers and medics responded at 2:50 p.m. to the 4100 block of Glenway Avenue on reports of a shooting, according to Deer Park Police Chief David Battin.

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Our news partner WCPO in Cincinnati was at the scene. Their news crew saw several police units at the scene including the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office, and the Cincinnati, and Silverton Police Departments.

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Battin did not identify the victims but said both were in critical condition.

Deer Park Police believes the incident is domestic-related.

Battin said there is no general threat to the public.

The chief told WCPO and other Cincinnati media outlets that there was no information on a suspect.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A man who was yelling angrily and making aggressive body movements with an airsoft gun near a Newport elementary school was arrested on Friday afternoon, authorities said.

According to Newport police, around 3 p.m. on Friday authorities responded to reports of a man with a gun near Sam Case Elementary School.

Officers from Newport Police and Lincoln County deputies said they found the man, identified as Timothy Bottorff, walking several blocks away and immediately contacted him, finding an airsoft gun on his person which they said was identical to a real gun.

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Suspect arrested after standoff in SE Portland

Police said that parents at the school reported Bottorff walking towards the school acting aggressively with the replica weapon on display, which led to the school going into lockdown.

During the investigation, police said that Bottorff attempted to flee on foot, but was quickly arrested. He also attempted to discard a meth pipe and a bag of methamphetamine.

Bottorff faces several charges, including second-degree disorderly conduct, menacing, unlawful possession of methamphetamine, tampering with police evidence, third-degree escape and resisting arrest.

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Anyone with information is asked to contact the Newport Police Department.

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KYODO NEWS - Jan 28, 2025 - 07:20 | Arts, Japan, All

The president and chairman of Fuji Television Network Inc. stepped down Monday to take responsibility for a scandal involving popular TV host Masahiro Nakai, who is accused of sexual misconduct against a woman during a meal allegedly arranged by an employee of the major Japanese broadcaster.

The resignations of the top officials of the Tokyo-based company come amid allegations against Nakai, who rose to fame as a member of the now-defunct pop group SMAP. The scandal has placed the network under intense scrutiny, prompting more than 70 Japanese companies to suspend advertising on its channels.

"Looking back, I realize there were shortcomings in our response, and I acknowledge my lack of awareness regarding human rights," the outgoing president Koichi Minato said at a press conference attended by over 400 participants.

"I feel deeply the weight of my responsibility for undermining trust in the media," he said in the event at Fuji TV's headquarters in Tokyo's Daiba area. The company's chairman Shuji Kano also resigned.

The broadcaster aired the press conference, which lasted for more than 10 hours until past 2:20 a.m., without commercial breaks.

The TV station, launched in 1959, has released many hit programs such as the variety shows "Waratte Iitomo!" and "SMAP X SMAP," which lasted more than 20 years until 2016, as well as the drama "Tokyo Love Story" and the "Bayside Shakedown" series.

According to reports by weekly magazines in December, the woman reached a 90 million yen ($580,000) out-of-court settlement with Nakai over nonconsensual sexual activity during a meal in June 2023. The Shukan Bunshun weekly also reported that a Fuji TV programming department official was involved in arranging the meet-up.

Minato said that while the company was aware of some "trouble" in June 2023 between the woman and Nakai, who regularly appeared on the network's programming, it did not respond immediately, citing the woman's desire to keep the matter discreet and return to work.

The broadcaster said it did not investigate the matter, allowing Nakai to continue appearing on its programs.

Nakai, offering apologies to the woman, retired from show business on Thursday.

Fuji TV has also faced criticism for its response to the scandal. Its first press conference on the matter was held only on Jan. 17, with a limited number of participants and no filming allowed.

The broadcaster was criticized for its initial reluctance to establish a third-party investigation into the allegation. While it announced the formation of an independent investigation panel on Thursday, calls for top executives to resign intensified within the company.

Kenji Shimizu, executive vice president of the parent company Fuji Media Holdings Inc., replaced Minato as the broadcaster's president on Tuesday. He pledged to "never tolerate acts that violate human rights" and committed to implementing measures to strengthen the company's governance.

Fuji TV Vice Chairman Ryunosuke Endo said the latest leadership shuffle is "provisional" and that the responsibility among executives for the incident will be determined after the third-party committee completes its investigation, expected around the end of March.

The Shukan Bunshun also reported that senior Fuji TV officials regularly had female employees entertain celebrities at gatherings, an issue the third-party committee is also expected to probe.

Regarding allegations that an employee of the broadcaster was involved in arranging the meal between the woman and Nakai, Yoichi Ueno, head of public relations at Fuji TV, stated that the employee was not involved. He cited hearings with the employee and Nakai, as well as a review of the employee's smartphone communication records.

The press conference "made clear that the company had not made sufficient efforts to sincerely face the woman, understand her feelings and help her recover from the suffering," said Takahiko Kageyama, professor at Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts, who specializes in media studies.

"The management's evasive attitude during the question-and-answer session was also noticeable," Kageyama said.

Related coverage:

Government urges Tokyo broadcaster to restore trust amid TV host scandal

Japan TV host, ex-SMAP pop idol Masahiro Nakai quits showbiz amid scandal

Many major Japanese firms halting commercials for scandal-hit Fuji TV
The Air Force is reinstating a basic training class Monday that was suspended last week for revisions, with its materials on World War II-era Black and female pilots intact but diversity, equity and inclusion components removed.

The Air Force originally halted its basic military training course on airmindedness on Jan. 23, days after President Donald Trump issued a sweeping order barring DEI programs from the federal government and military. That class included videos on the Tuskegee Airmen and Womens Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, who were the first Black and female pilots, respectively, to fly for the military.

An internal message leaked online Friday indicated videos on the Tuskegee Airmen and WASPs were pulled immediately from the class to comply with Trumps DEI orders. The Air Force clarified Saturday that the videos themselves were not targeted for removal, but that BMT classes including diversity-related materials were temporarily suspended for review.

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A revised class on airmindedness is going into place Monday, Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, head of Air Education and Training Command, said in a Sunday statement. That class will include material on the Tuskegee and WASP pilots.

No curriculum or content highlighting the honor and valor of the Tuskegee Airmen or Women Airforce Service Pilots has been removed from basic military training, Robinson said. The block in which these lessons were taught included DEI material which was directed to be removed. We believe this adjustment to curriculum to be fully aligned with the direction given in the DEI executive order.

Air Force pulls class with Tuskegee Airmen video after DEI order

No Air Force or Space Force recruits will miss the training, he said, although the training was delayed for one group of trainees.

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Robinson said the revised training focuses on the documented historic legacy and decorated valor with which these units and airmen fought for our nation in World War II and beyond.

The Air Force has not removed these airmens incredible heritage from any training, Robinson added. Their personal examples of service, sacrifice and combat effectiveness are illustrative of the core values, character and warrior ethos necessary to be an airman and [Space Force] guardian.

The news about the courses removal created an uproar over the weekend.

Tuskegee Airmen Inc., a nonprofit formed by some of the members of the Red Tails that focuses on preserving their legacy, said in a Saturday night statement that the group was disappointed and strongly opposed to the removal of the videos, and called on Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to take immediate action to restore them.

The Tuskegee Airmen flew P-51 Mustangs, pictured, and P-47 Thunderbolts to escort U.S. bombers over Europe as they pounded Nazi Germany. (Air Force)

The service and sacrifice of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots  are an essential part of American history and carried significant weight in the World War II veteran community, Tuskegee Airmen Inc. said. We believe the content of these courses does not promote one category of service member or citizen over another. They are simply a part of American military history that all service members should be made aware of.

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After the Air Force stated its intention to restore the course, Tuskegee Airmen Inc. national president Leon Butler on Sunday praised the service for acting quickly.

We look forward to the training courses being restored to their original state so that airmen and guardians can continue to learn about the important legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots, Butler said.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Alabama, praised the Tuskegee Airmen and called the removal of the materials malicious compliance in a Sunday post on X, formerly Twitter. Hegseth soon responded, Amen! Were all over it Senator. This will not stand.

Hegseth posted about the class again a few hours later, thanking Britt and saying This has been immediately reversed.

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Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin issued a statement Monday afternoon in which he reiterated that no content related to the Tuskegee Airmen and WASPs was removed from basic training, and their achievements will continue to be taught to airmen.

The historic legacy and decorated valor these airmen embodied during World War II and beyond will continue to guide our newest recruits and all who serve in our ranks, Allvin said.

Allvin also stressed the service would faithfully execut[e] all orders from the president, including those related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

From day one, I directed our Air Force to implement all directives outlined in the executive orders issued by the president swiftly and professionally  no equivocation, no slow-rolling no foot-dragging, Allvin said. When policies change, it is everyones responsibility to be diligent and ensure all remnants of the outdated policies are appropriately removed, and the new ones are clearly put into place.

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Disguising and renaming are not compliance, and Ive made this clear, Allvin said. If there are instances of less-than-full compliance, we will hold those responsible accountable.

Editors note: This story has been updated with comment from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin.
[Watch in the player above: What to do if you witness a crash]

AKRON, Ohio (WJW)  An Akron police cruiser crashed into an SUV Friday night, injuring two officers and sending the SUVs driver to the hospital.

The crash happened just before 10 p.m. at the intersection of West Exchange Street and Rand Avenue, according to a news release.

20 ICE detainees being held in Geauga County jail, sheriff says

Officers were in a police cruiser headed west on West Exchange Street with lights and sirens on, on their way to an emergency call to assist other officers, according to the release. The cruiser passed through a red light into the intersection and struck an SUV that was headed south on Rand Avenue.

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The SUV went into a nearby parking lot and spun out of control, then went back into the road and struck another vehicle that was headed west on West Exchange Street, according to the release.

Fuel mix-up at Avon Circle K damages cars

The driver of the SUV, a 63-year-old man, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital.

The officers were also transported to a local hospital, where one was treated for an arm injury and the other for a knee injury, according to the release.

The driver of the other vehicle, a 46-year-old man, was not injured.

The crash remains under investigation. Speed may have been a contributing factor, according to the release.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
A driver was stopped for going at least 30 mph over the speed limit last week in Ohio.

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The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) said a trooper from their Wilmington Post stopped a driver for going almost 100 mph on State Route 73 in Clinton County, according to a social media post.

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The driver got clocked for traveling 98 mph in a 65-mph speed zone.

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OSHP said on its Facebook page troopers have issued almost 7,700 speed citations in 2025.

They are asking drivers to, Slow Down.

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The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning revoked a license for an Alpharetta preschool after a 1-year-old choked on a piece of fruit and died.

The incident happened on Dec. 20 at Little Sunshines Playhouse and Preschool on Morris Road. DECAL said the boy choked on a piece of mango given to him during breakfast and had to be rushed to the hospital. He died five days later.

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Channel 2s Candace McCowan reported earlier this month on the emergency order for Little Sunshines Playhouse and Preschool on Morris Road to temporarily shut down for the investigation.

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On Friday, DECAL ruled to revoke the preschools license. Little Sunshine has 10 days to appeal, but must stay closed during the appeal process.

DECAL determined that rule violations occurred which seriously affected the health and safety of children and demonstrated the intentional and reckless disregard for the physical and mental health and safety of children, the letter states.

DECAL has determined that there were uncorrectable abuses, derelictions or deficiencies in the operation and management of the Child Care Learning Center which were brought to the attention of the license holder, the letter continues.

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Among the violations found, investigators said staff were not seated within arms length of the children and failed to provide watchful oversight.

The state also found that the mixed fruit served to the children were not chopped, diced, cut or mashed to size that was appropriate for each childs age and individual eating, chewing and swallowing. Investigators found evidence that the mango the boy choked on had been at least an one-inch piece.

Signed Revocation Letter (01!24!25) - Little Sunshine's Playhouse & Preschool (CCLC-48566) by WSB-TV Assignment Desk on Scribd

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The family of the little boy who died told Channel 2 Action News that they are heartbroken. Weve learned through their attorney his name was Juan Martin, his parents only child.

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Juan Martins familys attorney released the following statement:

The family wants everyone to know, more than anything, that Juan Martin was the sort of son they prayed for and the light of their lives. While the State is investigating the events of December 20th, which led to the death of their son on Christmas, they do not feel it is appropriate to comment on the specifics of the incident. The family respects those involved in the States investigatory process and will await their findings, as well as those of their counsel. The family wishes to secure justice for their son and will do whatever they can to ensure that this never happens to another child in daycare, or elsewhere.

According to the Department of Early Care and Learnings website, its been noted on several occasions, a lack of staffing and supervision at Little Sunshine Playhouse and Preschool in Alpharetta. Each time the center was given time to correct the issue.

A spokesperson for Little Sunshine Playhouse and Preschool released the following statement earlier this month.

All of us at Little Sunshines are devastated by this tragic accident and express our deepest sympathies to our students parents and entire family. We have cooperated with all government investigations and will continue to do so through conclusion, as we are committed to the safety of our children. We will do all we can to support all those impacted by and through this tragedy, but out of respect for the privacy of the family, we will not be providing further public comment.
UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11)  The Altneu Synagogue celebrated its grand opening with a dedication ceremony Sunday that brought out the community for what organizers are calling a transformative chapter for Jewish life in New York City.

Hundreds of congregants and community members gathered at the Shul to celebrate the milestone, joined by dignitaries, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog. He touched on the importance of solidarity amongst the Jewish community.

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We are a very strong and united nation committed to doing good in the world, and the fact of the matter is that despite all odds, in the most difficult times since World War II, we are building another Jewish community, and another Jewish community, and another Jewish community right here, Herzog said.

President Herzogs address came at a poignant moment  on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and just one week after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was reached between Israel and Hamas.

Among the attendees was Gary Dreyer, a congregant at the Altneu, whose family has been displaced by the conflict overseas. As he grapples with an uncertain future for his loved ones, he hopes the synagogue will serve as a unifying force.

I think this is really a space that is at the forefront of bringing people together  We have a wonderful mix of backgrounds people who grew up very observant, people who grew up not so observant and sort of bridging those gaps and coming together through faith and through empathy, Dreyer said.

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Hamas frees 4 female Israeli soldiers in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners as ceasefire holds

The synagogue was founded just three years ago, by Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt, where congregants met at other locations every week because the Shul had no permanent home. With this being the first major event held at the Altneus East 70th Street location since moving into the building nearly a year ago, Rabbi Goldschmidt reflected on the synagogues mission.

When youre not at work and youre not at home, where do you go? Whats your third place? For some people, its a Starbucks. For others, its a gym. We want to be the third space for people. We want this to be their happy space where they focus on community but also on their soul, said Goldschmidt. Rabbi Goldschmidt is hoping the synagogue will serve as a lasting cornerstone of the community for generations to come.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
With Donald Trump back in the White House, leaders across the world are sitting up. They will have to get used to something very new: an America unembarrassed about putting its own national interests first, and specifically in making the security of its borders one of the central aims of its foreign policy.

The South American nation of Colombia received an early preview of how President Trump will project US power. After initially refusing to accept US military planes carrying Colombian illegal migrants, Trump threatened a wave of tariffs and visa restrictions on the countrys political leadership unless it agreed to accept back its own citizens. Within hours on Sunday, Colombia had complied with Washingtons demands.

This was one of the most swiftly resolved diplomatic stand-offs involving the United States in decades, and a stunning early success for the Trump White House. It sent a clear message that Donald Trump is putting America first on the world stage and is willing to stand up for and defend American interests with strength and resolve.

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While Joe Biden would have spent months, even years, negotiating the return of any illegal aliens to their country of origin, Trump only needed a couple of hours to repatriate people who had no business being in the United States.

He has assembled a formidable border security team under border czar Tom Homan, a powerful signal that the United States will no longer serve as a haven for illegal migrants, including some of Latin Americas deadliest gangs. After four years of weak-kneed sleepy Joe Biden, there is a new sheriff in town, and there will now be zero tolerance for those who enter America illegally.

Under Bidens watch, over 11 million migrants poured illegally over Americas southern border. As many as possible among this number will now be sent back.

This is the will of the American people. President Trump was elected with an overwhelming mandate to secure Americas border and deport those who should not be in the United States. The actions he is taking now to protect Americas national sovereignty should serve as a role model for the UK and nations across Europe who are facing the same challenges posed by mass migration.

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If only the British people had a firm leader like Trump who was willing to stand up for them fearlessly on the world stage. The US President has achieved more in his first week in office than the British Prime Minister will likely achieve in his whole term. Sir Keir Starmer cowers behind the European Convention on Human Rights and bows down to supranational courts and institutions, from the International Criminal Court to the European Union.

In marked contrast, President Trump only recognises US sovereignty, and the democratic wishes of the voters of the United States. He understands that a nation that does not protect its borders cannot hope to remain the worlds superpower. A strong and revitalised America is great not only for the American people, but for the entire free world.

It is refreshing to have an American President willing to unapologetically advance the interests of his own nation  one who simply doesnt care what the United Nations, the ICC and EU thinks, or what the privileged liberal elites at Davos are saying as they quaff glasses of champagne while pontificating on Third World foreign aid and net zero.

Trump is overseeing a conservative revolution in the United States, one that will have a huge impact abroad as well. The core principles are already abundantly clear: sovereignty, security and the rule of law.

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After the decline and despair of the feckless Biden years, America is indeed back. As Colombias socialist president discovered, the United States will now act decisively to protect the American people, and extend zero tolerance for anyone who interferes.

Europes leaders should take note. President Trump will aggressively assert Americas interests within the transatlantic alliance, as well. That means far more defence spending among Nato allies, the elimination of the EUs protectionist economic policies, and the defence of freedom of speech on US tech platforms such as X.

Nile Gardiner is the director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC

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An American Airlines employee at Charlotte Douglas International Airport was fatally struck on the tarmac on Monday, officials said.

The employee was working on the apron, or ramp, when they were struck by an airport ramp vehicle at approximately 9:30 a.m., according to officials.

The apron or ramp is "intended to accommodate aircraft for purposes of loading or unloading passengers or cargo, refueling, parking, or maintenance," according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

PHOTO: Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, N.C., Nov. 20, 2023. (Julio Tamayo/Getty Images)

Emergency and medical crews responded promptly to the scene. The airline ramp vehicle was the only vehicle involved, officials said.

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The airport said it is working closely with airline partners and first responders to investigate the situation. Officials also said airport chaplains are available onsite.

Our deepest condolences go out to the employees family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time, airport officials said in a statement.

MORE: American Airlines flight diverts to JFK after apparent bird strike damages engine

American Airlines said in a statement that it is focused on ensuring that all involved have the support they need during this difficult time.

We are devastated by the accident involving a team member at Charlotte International Airport (CLT). Our thoughts are prayers with the family and our local team members, the airline's statement said.

This is a story in development. Please check back for updates.

American Airlines employee fatally struck by airport ramp vehicle originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
The owner of one of Detroits best known side-by-side  and rival  coney island hot dog shops called a news conference and forcefully expressed her concerns with a rodent problem in her next-door neighbors eatery.

"Im pissed," Grace Keros said Monday morning inside American Coney Island at 114 W. Lafayette Blvd., at times sparring with reporters. She wanted folks to know  for those who might not  her shop, and Lafayette Coney Island are "totally different."

This was not the first time Keros has faced this kind of problem and, she suggested, if something more isnt done, it might not be the last.

Grace Keros, co-owner of American Coney Island, discusses the closing of next-door neighbor Lafayette Coney Island, which the health department said was due to evidence of rat droppings, and how that is hurting American's business reputation in Detroit, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.

At the same time, it wasn't clear Monday how much of the news conference was owner frustration boiling over, how much was showmanship  or in this case, showwomanship  between longtime rivals, and how much was to pressure a competitor and the city to address the situation.

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Denise Fair Razo, Detroit's chief public health officer, told the Free Press on Saturday that Lafayette, at 118 W. Lafayette Blvd., was inspected Friday after a consumer complained about seeing rats while dining.

More: Health Department offers details about Lafayette Coney's rodent 'infestation' closure

The health officer said evidence of rat droppings was found in the eatery's basement.

Lafayette also was shut down in 2022 after a video of rodents in the restaurant was shared on social media, sparking public outrage and disgust and prompting a visit from the city health department.

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The Free Press attempted to contact Lafayette Coney Island, which was closed.

See for yourselves

In many ways, the side-by-side restaurants  with a competitive yet symbiotic relationship  have been part of Detroits alluring charm and history for decades. A coney dog, every Detroiter knows, is a frankfurter nestled in a soft, steamed bun covered with chili sauce. Visit Detroit, which promotes the city tourism, calls them "some of the best dogs in the D."

Gust Keros, a Greek immigrant, opened American Coney Island on West Lafayette Street in downtown Detroit in 1917, according to the Detroit Historical Society. A few years later, in 1924, Keros brought his brother William to Detroit to join the business.

William Keros opened Lafayette Coney Island when space opened up next door. It was passed down a generation, and then, after years of family ownership, sold in 1991 to its employees.

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It was difficult Monday, Grace Keros said, to tell in just a few days whether her competitors woes had hurt or helped her sales.

But over the years, the neighboring eateries have become a unique tourist attraction, in a similar way to Philadelphia's competing nearby cheesesteak shops. In Detroit, instead of Genos and Pats, its American and Lafayette  with fans proclaiming undying loyalty to their personal favorites.

Grace Keros acknowledged more than once Monday that the two eateries had a long-standing "love-hate" relationship, but claimed that, for years, Lafayette was constantly riding her shop's coattails.

Lafayette and American Coney Islands on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022.

She said she had invited the news media to hear her out and see for themselves what her restaurant looked like, and even smelled like, noting that some customers complain about an antiseptic scent, which they likened to what might be found at an indoor pool.

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But that smell, Keros said, means the place is clean.

In addition to news crews, Keros had a public relations representative on hand to help manage the event. Clarence Gayles, executive director of the Detroit Restaurant and Lodging Association, was there too.

He said that, in his view, despite the public concern, the quick closure of the other coney island meant the health inspection program was indeed working, and should instill confidence in it.

Keros also insisted to reporters, who questioned whether she was seizing the moment to stick it to her competitor, that she had no such motivation.

She just wanted, she said, to make the distinction between the restaurants clear.

'Fix it or get out'

Keros also took issue Monday with how some were telling the story of what happened.

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Some news outlets during the weekend had reported the Lafayette Coney Island's closure was voluntary, which Keros chalked up to euphemistic language. The sign on the Lafayette Coneys door Monday, said it was Closed for remodling, which Keros also took a swipe at.

The sign was, she implied, not only disingenuous, but it obviously was misspelled.

And she made a news media analogy, explaining to reporters that she had to defend her business because just as readers and viewers often cant distinguish between news outlets, diners often dont distinguish between similar eateries.

Even though she specifically said she was "not going to blame the city" for anything, Keros indirectly took aim at a bureaucratic and confusing health-inspection system that she indicated could be improved.

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But as the news conference went on, Keros seemed to soften her tone. She took journalists down into her basement, which she said had been a speakeasy during prohibition. She pointed out how every crack and crevice had been sealed up.

Grace Keros, co-owner of American Coney Island, gives a tour of her basement where her grandfather originally ran a speakeasy during prohibition in the 1920s, to show how clean it is in comparison to neighboring Lafayette Coney Island on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.

She also showed off her office, which is full of personal mementos, a profane, yet self-deprecating nameplate on her desk, a photo of her with celebrities Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, and a matchbox-size replica of the first car she owned, a 1979 Firebird.

At the end of her tour, Keros even offered the reporters mimosas.

Her ire stemming from the rodent problem mostly was reserved for her neighbor.

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"You shouldnt be able to get away with that," she said of the rat problem. "Fix it or get out."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: American Coney Island owner outraged by Lafayette's rat problem
ULAN BATOR, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Temperatures plunged to minus 44.4 degrees Celsius in Otgon soum, an administrative subdivision of Zavkhan province in western Mongolia, during the overnight hours from Saturday to Sunday, the country's National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring said Monday.

This is the coldest temperature recorded in Mongolia so far this winter, the weather monitoring agency in a statement.

The agency has forecasted that most parts of Mongolia will experience colder temperatures than the long-term average throughout the winter.

Mongolia is notorious for its harsh winters, largely influenced by the Siberian high-pressure system.

With its strongly continental climate, the Asian country endures long and bitterly cold winters when temperatures of minus 25 degrees Celsius are typical. 
Southern California gateways had a banner 2024, with the Port of Los Angeles announcing that the 12-month period was the second busiest on record in its 117-year history.

The port moved a total of 10.3 million containers last yeara jump of about 20 percent from 2023. Loaded imports grew by 26.4 percent to 460,915 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), while loaded exports fell 9 percent to 110,483 TEU.

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Port of L.A. executive director Gene Seroka spoke to these metrics at the 10th annual State of the Port Address on Thursday. Today we celebrate a remarkable milestone: 25 yearsa quarter centuryas the busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere, he said.

The percolating labor tensions that plagued East Coast ports along with an array of tariff threats levied by then-President-elect Donald Trump drove a rush of business to the West Coast as shippers and importers sought to avoid the impacts of potential port strikes and looming duties.

More recently, devastating wildfires have decimated hundreds of thousands of acres and thousands of homes and structures across L.A. Mayor Karen Bass acknowledged the Ports role in recovery and relief initiatives currently underway across the county.

The City is moving forward on a massive recovery effort to rebuild homes, businesses and communities, and we must also ensure the Port of Los Angeles remains well positioned to move essential goods for this effort, Bass said in a statement. I am confident this will be the casethe busiest port in America is a leader that continues to break cargo records while simultaneously driving air emissions down to 20-year lows.

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Bass also specifically thanked members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) for getting the job done every day. After a protracted negotiation period, the union and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) agreed to a six-year contract agreement in late 2023.

Meanwhile, the threat of strikes at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports throughout 2024 drove more business to West Coast gateways. The standoff ended earlier this month with the establishment of a tentative six-year contract between the International Longshoremens Association and United States Maritime Alliance.

Seroka also praised longshore laborers for taking on the high volumes of business, along with the other stakeholders in attendance including terminal operators and shipping lines and members of the San Pedro Bay community. He outlined a plan for 2025 and beyond that will prioritize workforce development, including a recently launched $16 million ILWU-PMA Maintenance and Repair Training Center and a new Goods Movement Training Facility on Terminal Island, the man-made industrial space off the SoCal coast shared by the Port of Long Beach.

Such initiatives, alongside efficiency-boosting Port projects and investments, have accelerated the flow of goods through the gateway, Seroka said. For example, the Port of L.A. recently put the finishing touches on a $73-million Pier 400 On-Dock Rail Expansion project that was designed to improve the flow of cargo while driving down emissions and making the terminal a safter place to operate.

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The project will create additional cargo capacity for all the terminal operators at the Port, while also driving down demand for truck transport. As rail capacity and demand continues to ramp up, the Port of L.A. estimates the Pier 400 project will lead to the elimination of 1,200 truck trips per day by 2040. Another similar rail project is now breaking ground at Fenix Marine Pier 300.

Like its neighbor in the complex, the Port of Long Beach (POLB), the Port of L.A. has leaned into data optimization to drive performance improvements in recent years, investing in a Port Optimizera digital platform for cargo planning based on up-to-the-minute data. Launched in 2017, Seroka said the platform recently debuted a Universal Trucking Appointment System that allows the 20,000 truckers doing business at the port to manage their terminal appointments virtually.



Everything we do to speed containers through the Port pays off, because for every four containers we move, it equals one job, Seroka said.

When it comes to driving down emissionsa shared goal between the San Pedro Bay portsthe Port of L.A. has doubled down on its zero-emission commitments. Diesel particulate matter has been slashed by 91 percent and sulfur oxides reduced by 98 percent since 2005, even as cargo processing increased by 15 percent during that period.



Our goal isnt fewer emissions, its zero emissions, the Port director said. Its about setting a new standard for ports worldwide, proving that economic growth and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand.

In addition to prioritizing rail projects, the Port plans to ramp up the volume of zero-emissions electric trucks in service and invest $640 million in new zero-emissions cargo handling equipment and charging stations to support the switch. The Port of L.A.s Hydrogen Hub is focused on producing that equipment and creating green shipping corridors with other ports around the world.

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Millions more$500 million, to be exacthas been committed to a project with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) that will allow the Port to run more electricity-powered equipment and transition to clean power within the terminals.

Its up to all of us to create a Port that is better for people, better for the planet, and better for performance, Seroka said.
Bens view

The big media story of the year kicked off with a vestigial piece of content: the unsigned newspaper editorial.

Nobody would have noticed a Los Angeles Times endorsement of Kamala Harris  until Max Tani revealed that its owner had spiked it. Ditto the Washington Post. Their rush decisions, much more than the substance of those choices, are emblematic of a generation of power brokers unused to politics. Its contagious. The powerful executives gathered in Davos last week would literally run away when you asked them about the presidents new cryptocurrency, $TRUMP.

Those would-be moguls could take a lesson from a real one: Rupert Murdoch.

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The Wall Street Journal editorial page is saying what even the business leaders excited by Donald Trumps economic promise havent  that they are worried about the rule of law and the Trump family money chase. The Jan. 6 pardons, the Journal wrote, were a stain. The TikTok extension was illegal. The crypto caper was the howling product of cowed advisers.

Newspapers will probably stop running editorials. Publishing and journalism dont need to be entwined in power politics.

But if you want to be a mogul, as the Murdochs have learned over the decades, you cant make yourself quite that easy to bully.
The state approved tax breaks approaching half a billion dollars Monday for a California defense contractor that plans to build a weapons factory in Pickaway County.

The company, Anduril Industries, will receive tax credits for 30 years worth up to $452 million, according to terms unanimously approved by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority. The ultimate value of the tax breaks depends on the number of jobs and size of the payroll created.

"This is a great project," said Susan Restrepo, chief investment officer for the Ohio Department of Development. "It's very exciting, not just for central Ohio but for the entire state."

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More: How did the defense contractor Anduril decide to build a massive weapons factory in Ohio?

Anduril announced two weeks ago that it plans to spend about $900 million on the complex south of Rickenbacker International Airport to build drones, missiles and other high-tech unpiloted military weapons.

The company plans to initially retrofit an existing 700,000-square-foot building with the goal of starting production by the middle of 2026. That investment would be followed by a new complex that could grow as large as 5 million square feet on 500 acres. When completed, estimated in 2035, the complex would employ 4,008 workers with an average hourly wage of $63.61, making the average annual pay $132,000.

A model drone was on display as U.S. defense contractor Anduril held an event to announce a $1 billion investment in a Pickaway County factory that will employ 4,000 workers making military drones.

Dubbed "Arsenal-1," the factory would be the largest job-creation project in Ohio history, according to state officials.

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"Anduril is not only revolutionizing America's defense industry, but it's joining the wave of coastal companies expanding to Ohio and bringing thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in capital investment," Gov. Mike DeWine said in a Monday news release about the tax breaks.

Brian Schimpf, co-founder and CEO of Anduril Industries and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine stand on the podium as U.S. defense contractor Anduril held an event to announce a $1 billion investment in a Pickaway County factory that will employ 4,000 workers making military drones.

What is Anduril?What to know about the defense tech company bringing 4,000 jobs to Ohio

The tax credit, scheduled to run from 2026 to 2055, is the first of what is expected to be several incentives for the project.

Anduril will also receive grants and other incentives from the state economic development corporation JobsOhio. In addition, Pickaway County plans to request $70 million from the All Ohio Future Fund to help prepare the project's site.

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The tax credit authority on Monday approved a tax break for another Pickaway County project: a BJ's Wholesale Club distribution center in Commercial Point that is expected to employ 250 workers. The tax credit is worth an estimated $1.94 million.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Defense contractor Anduril receives Ohio tax break for drone factory
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN)  Agents with Animal Charity of Ohio are exhausted, as they took in 29 animals during the cold weather snap last week.

The number included two dogs who were left frozen outside and needed emergency warmth therapy.

The shelter is beyond its capacity, and agents share the animal cruelty cases theyve come across in the Valley in an effort to help the animals and stop the neglect.

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Jane MacMurchy with the shelter says the critical conditions highlight the need to fix the system regarding animal abuse.

I have a mission this year in 2025. We are going to do anything we can to make sure that those penalties are enforced, that they are harsher, that theyre throughout this state and that we can get stronger laws because this is unbelievable, MacMurchy said.

Animal cruelty has been especially bad since the pandemic. MacMurchy has been looking into ways to resolve the issues but cannot do much without stronger laws and tougher penalties.

Your standard animal cruelty, your standard animal starved  thats only a misdemeanor, and thats a low, low-level misdemeanor. Your felonies that are happening  they wont even take them to the jail anymore. The jail will turn them away with a summons, MacMurchy said.

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MacMurchy says whats most concerning is that cruelty toward animals is often linked to domestic violence, child abuse and elderly abuse. She gave an example she encountered two years ago.

We were in court because somebody shot their dog to death. Two weeks later, he kidnapped his wife and tried to murder her. These are all connected crimes, MacMurchy said.

Animal Charity Humane Department isnt funded or contracted through a government agency. Donations pay the vet bills for their cruelty cases.

MacMurchy says those asking how to stop cruelty can contact their local, county and state representatives and let them know what they want changed.

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Calling and writing letters to the people that represent them throughout the state of Ohio. On a state level, on a local level and on a federal level, your voices do matter when it happens in numbers, MacMurchy said.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
Before she died of typhus at 15 inside the German concentration camp Bergen-Belsen, Anne Frank lived just over two years inside a secret 45-square meter (484-square foot) annex atop an Amsterdam home with her parents, sister and four others, all hiding from the Nazis.

That space  one of the most famous dwellings in history, thanks to Franks best-selling published diary and subsequent plays and films  can now be explored remotely in New York. Having toured both, I was no less moved by the recreation. Anne Frank The Exhibition brings you into their world and puts it in larger context.

The exhibit was originally set to run from January 27 (International Holocaust Remembrance Day) through April 30. But demand has been so high that the exhibit has been extended to October 31.

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Visitors to New Yorks Center for Jewish History near Union Square can take a self-guided tour of a detailed, full-scale recreation of the Amsterdam dwelling and get very close to its residents personal belongings and related exhibits.

Its a moving journey that brings the massive, horrific scale of the Holocaust  in which approximately six million European Jews were murdered  down to the vibrant if cloistered life and shared experiences of just a handful of them.

Franks book, translated into more than 70 languages with over 30 million copies sold so far, reads like a nonfiction play at times. We get whole passages of absorbing dialogue, soliloquized observations, some stage direction and plenty of tense, claustrophobic scenes. And like some plays, the set is itself a character. Reading Franks famous diary conjures in the mind, as many readers know, a visual map of the annexs layout.

Comparing ones imagined annex is part of the appeal of visiting Franks actual secret annex home in Amsterdam, which has been open to visitors since 1960. When you visit, you may be struck by the size  bigger or smaller than you thought  or of the life-or-death significance of their hidden entrance behind a moving bookcase, or in the small universally human ephemera on display. So much life was lived there, even in seclusion.

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Now you can have that experience in Manhattan, for the first time outside Amsterdam. Its a unique opportunity to make Franks story accessible to US schoolchildren.

The meticulous recreation is bookended, so to speak, by exhibits.

One displays photos and the original objects belonging to the family (handwritten notes, luggage, a desk, a transit pass, etc), from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Another exhibit recounts the final chapters for the Annexs residents and others.

Its highly immersive in video, audio, photos and maps. In one room you walk on a glass floor with a bas-relief map of Europe under your shoes, red-orange flags marking the major Nazi concentration camps.

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The rooms themselves are a vivid snapshot of both time and place.

Theres a Monopoly-type stock exchange board game called Het Beursspel in the middle of the table in the kitchen/dining area. A sock with yarn needles is suspended in mid-darn. As the audio loop explains, Anne shared a room with an older man who wasnt a family member, and she put on their walls photos of early 1940s celebrities (Hollywood and royalty) to cheer the place up a bit. And then you look down at Annes desk and there it is, a childs journal  plaid, fuzzy and with a lock. Its a facsimile, but that book, this room, is what Anne saw, and its not a photo, not virtual.

I didnt read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl as a school-age kid. I hadnt even read it when I toured the actual house in Amsterdam in my late 20s.

The story is famous enough without needing to. Instead, I read the surprisingly mature and bittersweet volume a few years ago, during the Covid lockdown. Not that the fear of that deadly virus was the same threat level as the Nazis. But there were still parallels in terms of isolation, not going to school or work, and the risk of human contact beyond the bubble of ones family.

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But what really struck me was Franks clear, ambitious and unintentionally prescient hopes for herself as a famous writer. As I toured her temporary home this time in New York, I recalled one of the few quotes I wrote down for myself when I read the book.

I dont want to have lived in vain like most people, Frank wrote. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those Ive never met. I want to go on living even after my death!

As heartbreakingly early as that death was, she got her beautiful wish.

You can buy tickets at AnneFrankExhibit.org. Audio guides are included with entry. David Allan is CNNs Executive Editor for Features.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
This week will see the fifth anniversary of the UKs departure from the European Union. To mark the occasion the Telegraph is publishing a series of essays on How to Save Brexit from expert commentators, each giving their views on how the project can be made a success. The full list of essays published so far can be found below.

The UKs departure from the EU five years ago was occasioned by a 52-48 vote to leave the EU in the referendum held in June 2016.

Such a narrow majority was always at risk of not proving to be sustained. And, in practice, voters disappointment with the experience of being outside the EU means it is doubtful Britain would vote the same way now.

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Recent polls of whether people would vote to stay out or rejoin the EU have found on average that 56 per cent would vote to rejoin, while only 44 per cent would vote to stay out.

Indeed, the polls have consistently pointed to a lead for rejoin of that kind of scale ever since the autumn of 2022, when the Liz Truss fiscal event not only undermined voters confidence in the economic competence of the Conservative party but also seemingly further reduced what was already diminishing support for the partys Brexit policy.

Most voters have concluded that Brexit has been economically damaging and has failed to deliver what many Leave voters had hoped for above all, a reduction in immigration.

According to a survey conducted in September by the National Centre for Social Research, nearly three in four voters, including nearly two in three Leavers, believe the economy is worse off as a result of Brexit. At the same time, nearly half of all voters and as many as 56 per cent of Leavers reckon leaving the EU has served to increase immigration.

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However, Brexit still has one thing going for it. One in three voters believe it has given Britain more control over its own affairs, while only one in five reckon it has had the opposite effect. Slightly over half of Leavers reckon Britain now has more control, while only one in eight take the opposite view.

That helps explain why, despite their disappointment, around three in four Leavers would still vote to stay out. They may feel Britain has made mistakes in its handling of Brexit, but at least they are our own mistakes.

However, those who voted Remain in 2016 are even more loyal to the conclusion they reached nearly ten years ago. On average recent polling indicates that around four in five of them would vote to rejoin.

But the principal reason why, over the last three years, nearly every poll has suggested a majority would now vote to rejoin lies in the views expressed by those who did not vote in 2016. They back going back into the EU by nearly three to one.

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In part this reflects the distinctive views of those who were too young to vote in 2016. Just 15 per cent of 18-24 year olds say they would vote to stay out of the EU, while just over three in five (61 per cent) indicate they would vote to rejoin.

Majority support for being outside the EU is largely confined to the over 65s. Unless todays younger and middle-aged voters change their minds, demographic turnover means support for being outside the EU is set to decline in the long run.

Of course, polls are not always right (though it is often forgotten that a majority of those conducted during the EU referendum campaign had Leave ahead). And even if we are inclined to believe what they say about the position at present, the apparent lead for rejoining is not so large that it might not be overturned by an effective pro-Brexit campaign that convinced voters that, rather being a mistake, the country had as yet to seize the opportunities afforded by Brexit.

Indeed, British Social Attitudes data suggest that scepticism about the EU is still widespread  nearly half of those who would vote to be part of the EU would like the institution to be less powerful than it is at present. That is potentially a rich seam for the pro-Brexit side to mine.

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Yet the swing against Brexit, modest though it has been, has occurred even though Labour continue to rule out any reversal of the decision and even though, until recently at least, the Liberal Democrats have said little about their long-term aspiration to rejoin. If a referendum were held with those two parties advocating a rejoin vote, a referendum campaign could conceivably move the balance of opinion even further against the Brexit decision.

In practice, of course, there is little prospect of another referendum any time soon, even though, contrary to what is often assumed, two in three of Labours heavily pro-EU supporters are in favour of holding another ballot. However, the two to one vote in favour of Common Market membership in 1975 did not stop the UK eventually revisiting its EU membership in 2016. On current evidence, it seems equally unlikely that the 2016 referendum will prove to be the last word either.

John Curtice is Professor of Politics, University of Strathclyde, and Senior Fellow, National Centre for Social Research and The UK in a Changing Europe

Other articles in our How to Save Brexit series:

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Trump can save Brexit  If we let him Douglas Carswell discusses the prospects for a UK-US trade deal

Labour is using the Northern Ireland Protocol to bring the UK back into the EU Kate Hoey describes the false choices being presented by Labour using the situation in Northern Ireland

As a businessman, this is how Id save Brexit Luke Johnson explains the best way to use our Brexit freedoms and return growth to the British economy

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.
Stop working.

Thats what the Town of Lexington told Ripple Fiber employees following recent incidents where the company hit and damaged multiple Dominion Energy gas lines, officials said Saturday in a news release.

The Town of Lexington has issued a stop work order to Ripple Fiber, according to the release. The order came a day after Dominion Energy crews had to fix a gas leak and restore service to everyone in the Woodcreek neighborhood after a line was cut at Stoneridge Drive and the area was blocked off, according to the Lexington Police Department. Thats near the junction with U.S. 1/Augusta Road, less than a mile from Exit 58 on Interstate 20.

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In the release, Lexington officials said they must allow telecommunications providers, such as Ripple Fiber, access to right-of-way on an equal basis under state and federal law.

But they were able to halt Ripple Fibers work because Lexington holds all providers accountable for adhering to safety standards and protecting vital infrastructure.

The stop work order will remain in effect pending a meeting among Lexington officials, Dominion Energy and the Lexington County Fire Marshals Office to address the issue and determine the next steps to prevent further disruptions.

Lexington will not tolerate damage to critical infrastructure and disruption to entire communities, Mayor Hazel Livingston said in the release. Our priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of our residents and protecting the essential services they rely on.

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In addition to Livingston, other Lexington officials included in the release were Mayor Pro-Tem Ron Williams, and Town Council members Todd Carnes, Todd Lyle, Gavin Smith, Will Allen and Jeannie Michaels.

Ripple Fiber officials said members of its management were onsite throughout the Jan. 24 incident when a gas line was inadvertently disrupted, causing a temporary leak.

We ... extend our gratitude to Mayor Livingston for her leadership and partnership during this project, which is one of the largest infrastructure initiatives in Lexington in the past century, Ripple Fiber officials said in a release shared Sunday with The State. While community disruptions at scale are rare, Ripple Fiber remains committed to completing this expansive build with minimal disruption, pending approval from local stakeholders to move forward. To date, weve connected over 10,000 homes in Lexington County, with approximately 1,000 remaining within Lexington town limits, and hope to announce the completion of the project later this year.

Residents and businesses who want to contact Ripple Fiber directly with questions or concerns can call 800-359-5767.

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Ripple is not the first fiber company to run afoul of local government in the Midlands.

Lumos Fiber was previously blocked by Lexington County from installing internet cables in the Murraywood neighborhood near Irmo following a water line strike that caused major damage to a residential street. Lumos Lexington County ban was lifted in October 2024 after the companys pledged to have all work crews go through a new round of safety training and required them to attend monthly safety meetings.

Prior to that, Lumos was also stopped from doing work in Columbia in 2023 after similar water and gas line strikes, including one gas leak that required several residents of the Elmwood Park neighborhood to be temporarily evacuated from their homes. The North Carolina-based fiber-optic internet companys work also caused at least two major water main breaks in other parts of Columbia.
OSWIECIM, Poland (AP)  A U.S.-based organization is transforming the house of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss into a research center devoted to fighting extremism, and is introducing it to the public on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on Monday.

The house, which belonged to a Polish military family before Nazi Germanys invasion of Poland, lies next to the site of the former death camp, now the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

My dream, and those of our colleagues, is that every visitor, every fellow, every academic that comes here takes action to fight extremism and antisemitism wherever they come from," said Mark Wallace, the CEO of the Counter Extremism Project.

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His group bought the house from a private family and is creating the Auschwitz Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalization in the house. It opened its doors to reporters on the eve of the anniversary commemorations, showing them the rooms in the three-story house that still need to be renovated.

The project is being launched in partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and under the patronage of UNESCO. Prominent architect Daniel Libeskind is also a collaborator.

The house was featured in the Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest, which depicts the life of Hoss, his wife Hedwig and their five children in the house just next to the concentration camp.

As commandant from 1940 to 1944, Hoss orchestrated the industrial-scale slaughter at the camp, where gas was used to murder Jews. He was tried by a Polish court and was executed by hanging at the site of the concentration camp in 1947.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum is holding observances on Monday for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp by Soviet forces.
Following a deadly shooting last week, Antioch High School is set to reopen Tuesday with artificial intelligence scanners from a security firm that was sued by the Federal Trade Commission, which alleged the firm made misleading claims about the technologys effectiveness.

Nashville saw its second fatal school shooting in less than two years on Wednesday when a 17-year-old boy opened fire in the cafeteria, killing 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante before turning the gun on himself.

The latest tragedy has sparked renewed cries for metal detectors in schools, with a petition garnering more than 2,000 signatures as of Monday morning. Metro Nashville Public Schools has been reluctant to add metal detectors, but the district in a news release Saturday said it will reopen with a focus on counseling and scanners from a security firm called Evolv Technologies.

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Evolv, which aims to replace traditional metal detectors with AI technology, is used in hundreds of school districts and stadiums across the county.

Its scanners are used at Bridgestone Arena and Nissan Stadium, as well as in Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, Wilson County Schools and Rutherford County Schools.

The company in November reached a settlement with the FTC over allegations it made "misleading claims" that its security was more effective than traditional metal detectors.

The FTC in its complaint said the scanners failed to detect weapons in schools in several cases while flagging harmless personal items like binders and water bottles.

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MNPS spokesman Sean Braisted in a statement said the school district is aware of the FTC issue, which involved marketing materials that are no longer used.

This is a pilot program to understand better in a real-world situation how the technology works in our local context, he said. There are no perfect solutions, and this will be one component of an overall safety plan that centers first and foremost on trust and relationships between students, families, and staff.

Evolv in a statement said the FTC inquiry was about past marketing language and not our systems ability to add value to security operations.

Our top priority is the safety of people and the communities we serve, the statement read.

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Evolv has also faced scrutiny in recent years in cases where the scanners failed to detect knives in schools. Last year, the publicly traded companys investors filed a class action lawsuit alleging that it lied about the effectiveness of its scanners and manipulated test results.

The company in a statement on its website says the technology undergoes rigorous internal and external testing.

This isnt the first time MNPS has used AI for school security. The district in 2023 signed a more than $1 million contract with a company called Omnilert that uses AI in a school's security camera network to detect weapons.

The technology can detect a brandished weapon and alert officials, but it is not designed to detect concealed weapons. Officials said it failed to detect the weapon in last weeks shooting because of the shooters location and the position of the gun.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville's Antioch High reopen with AI firm's controversial scanners
A flood of panicked, breathless 911 calls were made in the minutes after a 17-year-old student opened fire in the Antioch High School cafeteria on Jan. 22, leaving 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante dead and another 17-year-old male student with a graze wound.

The shooter fatally shot himself 17 seconds and 10 bullets later, according to police.

At least two calls came from people who were inside the school. The first was at 11:11 a.m. The caller told a dispatcher what was happening in between heavy breaths. Yelling could be heard in the background.

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"We all ran out," he said. He confirmed the shooting happened in the cafeteria.

"Oh my God," he said. "We heard a pop. I don't know exactly if it's a gun, but everybody started running out."

A few seconds later, another caller from the school told a dispatcher with a trembling voice that he just finished lunch and heard what sounded like gunshots.

"I think someone's been shot but I'm not sure," he said. "All I know is I heard gunshots, and I just ran out running."

He said others also ran outside, growing more out of breath as the call went on.

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More calls came over the next 20 minutes, mostly from family members of students. There was one from a grandmother and another from a sister. Another was from a caller who lived nearby and saw the massive police response at the school.

A mother struggling to communicate through sobs called just after 11:14 a.m. and said she was on another phone with her son, who told her he was near the shooting. The dispatcher asked the caller to take deep breaths and ask if her son was hurt.

"Are you hurt, baby, are you hurt?" the mother can be heard saying into another phone.

"He's not hurt. He's running," she sobbed back to the dispatcher, her voice rising in panic.

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The dispatcher told the mother to tell her son to get to a safe place and that officers were already on the scene.

"You did a good job," the dispatcher said. "I'm going to let you go so I can answer the other calls that are coming in. If anything changes, call me back."

Family members push up close to a bus arriving at the reunification center after a shooting at Antioch High School in Antioch, Tennessee.

Minutes later, another mother called, saying her son called her as he ran out of the school after shots rang out.

"He's outside hiding," the woman told the dispatcher. "I told him to stay low and hide."

The dispatcher assured her police were on the scene and advised her not to call her son back, saying it may put him at risk.

Dasia Pleitez prays as she waits to reunite with her daughter after the shooting at Antioch High School in Antioch, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025.

At least twice, dispatchers relied on interpreters to help with Spanish-speaking callers.

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"Im already at the school, and theres already a lot of children in the street," an interpreter relayed to one dispatcher.

Another caller explained that her daughter called and said there was a shooting at the school.

"Hurry up, please," the woman said through the interpreter, as the dispatcher and interpreter continued to explain that police were on the scene.

The dispatcher asked the woman to follow police instructions once she arrived at the school, saying it was important for her safety in case there was still an active shooter.

There were 12 calls made to 911 from Antioch High on Jan. 22, Metro Nashville Department of Emergency Communications spokesperson James Matthews confirmed. However, officials only released 10 calls on Monday morning. A spokesperson for MNPD said Monday the two remaining calls were not released because they had information about school security systems or medical details about a wounded juvenile victim. The spokesperson said the medical details were not about the shooter or the student who was killed.

This story has been updated to add more information.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Antioch school shooting: 911 calls capture Nashville students' panic
BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- In the run-up to Chinese New Year, the local "two sessions" meetings, which recently concluded, have devised pragmatic roadmaps for high-quality growth in 2025, highlighting the Chinese economy's remarkable resilience and dynamic potential.

Provincial-level "two sessions" -- the annual meetings of provincial legislative and political advisory bodies -- generally take place before the national "two sessions" and offer a glimpse into the country's economic operations for the year ahead. The world's second-largest economy met its annual growth target in 2024, with GDP expanding 5 percent year on year thanks to a raft of pro-growth policies.

Based on government reports unveiled at local "two sessions," most of China's provincial-level regions have set their local GDP growth targets for 2025 at about 5 percent or higher. These local growth targets provide a clue to the prospects of the national economy in the final year of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan.

Guangdong, a manufacturing hub in south China, has announced a growth target of around 5 percent for 2025. In the past year, Guangdong became the first province to boast a GDP of 14 trillion yuan (1.95 trillion U.S. dollars), exceeding that of the Republic of Korea.

Jiangsu Province, another economic powerhouse, has projected growth of over 5 percent for this year, backed by a structural optimization strategy focused on "eliminating outdated production capacities" and "nurturing future industries." This approach of balancing quality with quantity is at the heart of China's sustainable economic development.

New quality productive forces, industrial upgrades and technological innovation have continued to figure prominently in local economic roadmaps. Beijing's government work report highlights a focus on 20 emerging sectors, including humanoid robotics, bio-manufacturing and new materials. Such initiatives will help solidify the foundation for economic stability and accumulate momentum for future progress.

Thanks to the country's visa-free policy and various incentives, cultural and tourism sectors expect a strong growth this year. The ongoing winter tourism boom and the upcoming Spring Festival holiday may well secure a good start in the sectors. Shaanxi Province, a major tourism power in northwest China, reaped a double-digit growth in cultural and tourism income in 2024, the province expects a further growth of over 5 percent this year.

In response to fluctuating external demand, local governments have zeroed in on expanding domestic consumption as a key growth driver. Many provinces and cities are focusing on upgrading equipment and encouraging the replacement of old consumer goods, including automotive and household appliances.

Some regions also place emphasis on investment. Shanghai is pushing forward major projects with a total investment of 240 billion yuan. Such moves are set to create a positive cycle of investment and consumption to reinforce economic stability.

Far from retreating under external pressure, China is expanding its opening-up efforts to counteract the risks of de-globalization. Jiangsu is implementing measures to eliminate restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, offering incentives for foreign enterprises to reinvest profits, and supporting pilot zones to attract foreign capital in industries like telecommunication and health care.

High-quality development and high-standard opening up are China's answer to an uncertain external environment. Local governments are putting them into practice.

Both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have recently raised their forecasts for China's economic growth in 2025. As China has been a major engine for global economic growth, this should be a shot in the arm for a world eager to walk out years of sluggish growth. 
HONG KONG (AP)  As Hong Kong prepares to welcome the Year of the Snake on Wednesday, Chau Ka-ling displays a moving serpent with practiced ease, holding it like a pet in her decades-old restaurant in the city.

As one of the last keepers of the citys traditional snake soup industry, Chau saves three live snakes for occasional display in wooden drawers that once housed more serpents for cooking. The cuisine she makes, long cherished in southern Chinese culture for keeping people warm in the winter, is slithering away.

Founded by Chaus late father in the 1960s, Shia Wong Hip once slaughtered live snakes for its dishes. Shia Wong means Snake King in Cantonese.

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Under her fathers guidance, Chau learned to catch and kill serpents and make soup, eventually becoming known as the citys Snake Queen. A newspaper photo displayed on the wall captured her success in catching an over 2-meter-long venomous king cobra in 1997 at a marine police office in rural Hong Kong at the authorities request.

But the restaurant, alongside most of the city's other remaining snake soup shops, switched to using frozen snake meat from Southeast Asia after a 2003 outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, killed 299 people in Hong Kong. Scientists have linked the virus's origin to wild animals.

Despite the change, preparing snake soup still takes a long time. The defrosted snake meat must be boiled for at least two hours to achieve the desired tenderness. After it cools, Chau debones it with a sharpened chopstick and tears it into thin pieces by hand.

The snake bones then are simmered with chicken and pork bones for at least six hours to make the soup base. Next, the broth is stewed with snake meat, shredded chicken, ham, fungus and mandarin orange peel before finally being thickened with starch.

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When a bowl of soup is served, diners usually garnish it with lemon leaves and crispy chips.

Snake meat, which has a texture similar to chicken after cooking, is rich in protein and low in fat.

During the winter, Chau can sell up to 800 bowls a day ranging in price from $7 to $11. But that figure drops to 100 or less in the summer, when the soup is less popular.

Snake soup shops have closed after the COVID-19 pandemic and as older chefs retire, leaving only about 20 still in operation.

But Chau is determined to keep her business going as long as possible, though she is pessimistic about the industry's future.

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She said even if her nephews wanted to join her, she would suggest they learn to make desserts instead.

This is not a money-making industry and so I dont see that any young people would like to get into it, she said.

___

Associated Press news assistant Renee Tsang contributed to this report.
Construction crews work on new apartments in Salt Lake City in January. Utah is one of the mostly Sun Belt states where new apartment construction is driving rents lower for a second straight year after dramatic surges earlier in the decade. (Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Read more Stateline coverage of how communities across the country are trying to create more affordable housing.

A historic rate of apartment building is starting to make a difference in Sun Belt rents, but most tenants are still paying way more than they did earlier in the decade and rents are still rising in many Northeast and Midwest states.

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The fact that rents are starting to drop as more apartment supply comes online, yet still remain perilously high for most low- and moderate-income renters, is new fodder for the debate over how to help more people afford the escalating costs of housing.

Increasingly, states see new apartments and other housing construction as the answer, though experts disagree on how much more is needed  and where  as supply begins to outstrip demand in some areas. New construction is also expensive, given todays inflated material and labor costs, and doesnt tend to produce much housing that is affordable to people with lower incomes, though it can prevent gentrification of existing affordable areas.

When you dont allow enough homes to get built in high-income neighborhoods, higher-income people tend to move into lower-income areas, said Alex Horowitz, who directs the Housing Policy Initiative at the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts. Then lower-income people have nowhere to go.

Nationally, December rents dropped slightly in 2024 for the second straight year, according to an Apartment List analysis of lease transactions. December rent peaked at a median $1,394 in 2022 and is now down slightly, about 2%, to $1,373 as of last year.

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The biggest two-year decreases were in Sun Belt states that experienced apartment building booms: Rents in Arizona, Georgia and Utah dropped 6%, and those in Texas and North Carolina fell 5%, according to a Stateline analysis of data from Apartment List, a company that posts rental listings online. Alabama, Colorado, Florida and South Dakota saw decreases of about 4%.

The new housing in mostly Sun Belt states has led to a drop in the national median rent, but rents in 32 states plus the District of Columbia have been on an upward trajectory since 2022. Those states include North Dakota (up 14%), Alaska (up 13%), Connecticut and Wyoming (each up 9%) and Kansas (up 8%). Vermont and West Virginia are not included in the analysis because Apartment List did not have enough information on leases from those states, though both states have large shares of renters paying excessive rent compared to income.

Austin housing boom

Austin, Texas, with the highest rate of new construction in recent years, appears to be a prime example of the effect of more construction: Recent social media posts show young renters celebrating their lower payments.

In a January TikTok video she titled jaw on the floor, 27-year-old Becca Flores said, I just got my lease renewal offer on my apartment in Austin in Texas and it was down almost $200. That has, like, never happened to me in my life, she said in the video. Many of the hundreds of comments relayed similar stories of unexpected rent drops.

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Renters in the Northeast and Midwest have not been so lucky.

In New Jersey, which has seen an influx of new residents that began with people fleeing New York City during pandemic lockdowns, median rent has increased 3% to $1,885 since 2022. State efforts to force more city-by-city apartment construction have run into local opposition.

Palisades Park, a majority Korean American borough of about 21,000 people in New Jersey a few miles from Manhattan, has been overwhelmed by developer proposals to build more apartments, said Democratic Mayor Chong Paul Kim. The borough settled recent lawsuits by developers partly by agreeing to allow accessory dwelling units, known as ADUs, which can help some cost-stressed homeowners by letting them earn rent from ADUs on their property.

We wanted to do something that would benefit current residents, Kim said. Residents are saying its a good move to reduce the [apartment] developments. The judge said we cant slide, we have to comply with the state law. Were trying to head off a concentrated influx of developments coming all at once  we dont have the public services to support it.

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Another New Jersey mayor, Republican Mike Ghassali of Montvale, calls the state law forced urbanization. Ghassali led 26 municipalities in a court challenge last fall.

Rents escalated dramatically in 2021 and 2022 and havent come back down to what they were before that period in any state: Rents are up from 12% in Minnesota to 42% in Wyoming since December 2020, when they declined early in the pandemic.

But a few fast-building metros have seen drastic drops: The median rent in the Austin area has dropped by 13%, or $199, to $1,362, since 2022. In Atlanta; Jacksonville, Florida; Phoenix; and Raleigh, North Carolina, the median rent has declined by 7%.

Austin was cited in a separate Apartment List analysis in June, showing that rents had begun to drop amid the largest rate of apartment construction in the nation. Building permits for about 10 units per 1,000 residents were issued in the Austin metro area between 2021 and 2023.

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By comparison, Northeast and Midwest metros with little construction in that time saw rents rise instead of drop. Cleveland, Milwaukee and Providence, Rhode Island, had some of the largest increases and lowest construction rates: less than one unit permitted per 1,000 residents.

Vermont and West Virginia are not included in the Apartment List data, but in both states nearly half of renters pay more than 30% or more of their pre-tax incomes for rent and utilities, an amount deemed excessive under federal standards.

How big is the gap?

Apartment building reached a historic peak last year, with 67,000 units finished in August, the highest number on record for a single month since October 1974, with total housing units nearing an annual construction rate of 1.7 million a year.

Estimates of the national housing shortage vary widely, from 1.5 million houses and apartments to 20.1 million. Most experts estimate a shortage of 1.5 million to 5.5 million, according to Daniel McCue, a senior research associate at the Joint Center For Housing Studies of Harvard University.

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Freddie Mac, a federal agency that buys home loans to support the housing market, estimated the shortage at 3.8 million in 2020, and said in November that the gap was 3.7 million as of the third quarter of 2024, despite all the recent construction.

While the U.S. added 5.8 million housing units since our previous estimate, we also added 6.3 million households, Freddie Macs deputy chief economist, Leonard Kiefer, said in a statement, adding that there are another million families that would rent or buy if they could, but have been priced out of todays market.

But not everybody believes there is a shortage.

Kirk McClure, professor emeritus of urban planning in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Kansas, published a paper last year arguing that the nation built too many homes and apartments in the bubble years of the late 2000s, and that between 2000 and 2020, home construction exceeded the number of new families by 3.3 million.

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Were still, to this day, trying to absorb that excess supply, McClure said. Prices would drop if we built millions of new homes, he added, but we dont want to go back to 2008, when housing prices collapsed in the Great Recession.

Instead, McClure said, the answer is to put more money into the pockets of lower-income people.

What we need to do is raise peoples incomes, McClure said. Ive often said the best housing program out there is the minimum wage. When income reaches $20 an hour, the affordability problems start to fade.

The problem, McClure said, is that people want to live in specific places and bid up the prices in those areas, not there is a national housing shortage.

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My colleague lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, which is just a wonderful part of New York City, but I think we all agree that its expensive and New York doesnt want to build hundreds of thousands of apartments there, McClure said. The truth of it is, even in the New York area, which deems itself to have a housing shortage, there are units waiting for you in New Jersey if youre willing to commute.

But Rob Warnock, an Apartment List senior research associate, said that suburban and exurban building will never make up for lack of housing in popular cities.

For affordability to improve, housing has to be built in the places people want to live, Warnock wrote in an email.

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.
The Shreveport Aquarium in Louisiana kicked off 2025 with a mysterious birth. A swell shark (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum) pup hatched at the facility on January 3, yet the two female sharks present in the tank have not been in contact with a male in over three years. The team at the aquarium suspects the birth could be delayed fertilization or a rare reproductive phenomenon called parthenogenesis.

Parthenogenesis is a reproductive strategy where primarily female sex cells called gametes can develop without fertilization. It is commonly seen in plants and some invertebrate animals (including aphids, ants, wasps, and bees). However, some higher vertebrateslike sharks, snakes, and some birdsmay reproduce this way from time to time. In sharks, it is usually reserved as a last resort if there arent any mates to go around.

According to the aquarium, the shark egg was first spotted eight months ago. The shark hatched a few weeks ago and the team at the aquarium is working to determine how it was conceived. Once the shark is big enough for a blood draw, DNA analysis should provide answers in the next few months. If not parthenogenesis, it could have been born via delayed fertilization. In sharks, this is when a female will store some sperm cells from previous encounters to use on future eggs.

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This situation is incredible and shows the resilience of this species, Greg Barrick, the Curator of Live Animals at Shreveport Aquarium, said in a statement. We are very excited in the coming months to confirm whether this was indeed a case of parthenogenesis or if it was delayed fertilization.

In the wild, swell sharks are found in coastal waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean. They have spots along their scales and can grow up to three feet long. Swell sharks are best known for their ability to swell their bodies with water or air as a way to deter predators. The new swell shark is nicknamed Yoko after the Chumash word for shark (onyok).

Yoko is currently doing well, but young sharks born during rare reproductive events do face some significant challenges. Offspring born from parthenogenesis often die young, yet scientists are still not sure why. They suspect the expression of a lethal recessive gene could kill the pups prematurely.

[ Related: A virgin birth in Shedd Aquariums shark tank is baffling biologists. ]

Should Yokos time with us be brief, it will still leave an unforgettable legacy, contributing invaluable insights to the study of shark reproduction and conservation efforts, the aquarium wrote.

Yoko is currently being closely monitored away from public view for its health and well-being.
STORM LAKE, Iowa  The Storm Lake Police Department issued a community safety alert Sunday afternoon saying they were on scene with an armed barricaded individual.

According to the Storm Lake Police Department Facebook, at approximately 4:55 p.m. Storm Lake PD officers were at 3rd and Oneida Street dealing with an armed and barricaded individual.

According to SLPD, earlier in the day deputies were involved in a vehicle pursuit that ended at the current scene. Authorities say the individual was actively firing at responding officers.

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Two arrested in connection to cemetery thefts in northern Iowa

Police encourage all residents in the vicinity to evacuate the area if it is safe to do so. If it is not safe, authorities say to shelter place, remain indoors, and stay away from windows and doors.

Police say the scene is active and volatile and people should avoid the area completely.

Officers say they are working to contain the situation and resolve it as safely as possible. Storm Lake police are working with Buena Vista County Sheriffs Department, Buena Vista County Attorneys Office, and the Iowa State Patrol to address the incident safely and effectively.

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If you are in immediate danger authorities say to call 911.

Officers say an update on the situation will be provided as soon as it is safe to do so.

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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  Multiple law enforcement agencies are searching for a man considered armed and dangerous with a warrant out for his arrest out of Sarasota County.

Jacques Gentis, 20, fled from deputies when they tried to arrest him at a home in Englewood on Sunday, according to the Charlotte County Sheriffs Office.

Florida Republicans end DeSantis special session before calling their own

While attempting to take him into custody, a deputy fired a shot, but no one was hurt.

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We will always work to bring criminals to justice and when our counterparts in other agencies need our assistance, we will answer the call, Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement. In this case, the suspect who is being sought is a potential danger to our community and therefore I am asking our residents and guests to be vigilant and cautious, especially in the Englewood area. If anyone does see this man, please get somewhere safe and call us immediately.

Gentis is wanted on the following charges in Sarasota County:

Armed Burglary Dwelling or Structure

Damage Property / Criminal Mischief $1,000 or More

Grand Theft Value $750 less than $5,000

He also has two bench warrants for failure to appear.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

AMITE, La. (WGNO)  An Amite man accused of driving while impaired has been arrested in connection with a crash that left another man dead on Saturday, Jan. 25.

The Louisiana State Police reported that troopers responded to a crash on U.S. Highway 51 near Anderson Road around 11 p.m.

Harvey pedestrian killed in Plaquemines Parish crash

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LSP officials said an initial investigation shows that 82-year-old Wilbert Banks was driving a Ford south on U.S. Highway 51 while 34-year-old Broderick McKnight was driving north. The Nissan then reportedly crossed the centerline and collided with the Ford head-on.

Banks suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. LSP officials said he was properly restrained at the time of the crash.

LSP officials said McKnight was allegedly not properly restrained at the time of the crash and was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries.

Man killed in Mid-City shooting

According to the LSP, Troopers determined that McKnight was impaired at the time of the crash.

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McKnight was arrested and faces charges of vehicular homicide, driving left of center, driving on a suspended license and no seatbelt.

LSP officials said the investigation is ongoing, and routine toxicology samples were collected.

Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.

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PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WNCN)  Four months after a Waffle House employee in Scotland County was shot and killed while at work, an arrest has been made in his murder.

Around 12:42 a.m. on Sept. 13, officers with the Laurinburg Police Department responded to a shots fired call at the Waffle House at 1302 Scotland Crossing Drive. When they arrived, they found Burlie Dawson Locklear, an 18-year-old employee from Red Springs, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to Scotland Memorial Hospital, where he later died from his injury.

Previous story: NC Waffle House employee shot, killed by customer while at work

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On Jan. 24, Florwer Carlin Lizano, Jr. was arrested in Portsmouth, Va. in connection to Locklears murder thanks to a tip sent to the CrimeStoppers organization in that area. According to Scotland CrimeStoppers, which works in conjunction with the Laurinburg Police Department and other agencies in Scotland County, Lizano will be extradited back to North Carolina to face a murder charge.

According to Laurinburg police, multiple agencies coordinated to end the four-month manhunt with an arrest. In addition to CrimeStoppers in both Scotland and Portsmouth, the Laurinburg Police Department also thanked the U.S. Marshall Carolina Regional Fugitive Task Force, Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force-Norfolk, Virginia State Police Special Operations Division, Chesapeake Sheriffs Office and Portsmouth Police Department for their help.

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NewsNations Ali Bradley hosted a panel of law enforcement experts on the border at 6p/5c. Click here to watch the Q&A.

(NewsNation)  Enacting a daily arrest quota for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be asking for an abuse of their police powers, Ret. U.S. Army Major Gen. William Enyart said.

Anytime you put a quota on a law enforcement officer, that thats a bad idea, Enyart told NewsNation. Law enforcement officers are supposed to use their discretion.

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Crisis on the border: Trumps first week tackling immigration

The quotas would range from 1,200 to 1,500 people each day, The Washington Post first reported.

On Sunday alone, ICE reported 956 arrests, as immigration operations were conducted in major cities like Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Jose and more.

The push for quotas comes from Trumps displeasure with arrest numbers, according to the Post.

Mexico busing deported Venezuelans away from border

Almost all of them are good people and they work hard, Enyart added. But you know, when youre put under that kind of pressure, you make mistakes.

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The number of arrests in the first three days of Trumps presidency represents about 1.1% of total arrests made by ICE in FY 2024.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
(Bloomberg) -- The knocks began before sunrise. Across Chicago, dozens of agents fanned out in the pre-dawn darkness. At one house in the Hermosa neighborhood, they pounded on the door, shouting, Come here, and Please open the door. No one answered.

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It was the same at several more locations  but by late morning, the teams fortunes had turned. A 28-year-old Mexican man they were searching for had just returned home in a silver truck after picking up tamales. As unmarked cars surrounded him, agents made the arrest, taking him into custody to face deportation.

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Previously deported and with a criminal record that included assault, he was one of 260 people targeted in Sundays high-profile immigration sweep, the first of its kind under the Trump administration.

The arrest was one of dozens that day, marking an escalation of President Donald Trumps immigration enforcement efforts in the US interior. The operation stood out for its scale as a multi-agency effort, and carried an air of spectacle, with media in tow and television personality Dr. Phil McGraw  better known as Dr. Phil  joining Trumps border czar Tom Homan to live-stream the action.

Just a week into his presidency, Trump has made sweeping moves on immigration after promising to carry out the largest mass deportation in US history. He declared a national emergency at the southern border, ordering thousands of additional troops to assist with enforcement. Through executive orders hes cut off access to asylum, while indefinitely freezing the US refugee resettlement program and other humanitarian pathways, halting the arrival of tens of thousands of displaced individuals.

ICE reported on Sunday via X that it made 956 arrests nationwide, following 286 arrests on Saturday, 593 on Friday and 538 on Thursday. In Miami on Sunday, enforcement actions included the arrest at a local jail of a Nicaraguan national accused of aggravated assault and firearm offenses, and a Jamaican national facing drug and firearm charges. Operations also took place in other major cities including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta and San Diego.

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The Chicago raids unfolded against the backdrop of increasing resistance, both domestically and abroad. Colombia initially blocked the arrival of US military planes intended to transport deportees, prompting Trump to retaliate by threatening to impose emergency 25% tariffs and sanctions on the Latin American nation. Trump pulled back his threat hours later after reaching a deal with Colombia on the return of the migrants.

At home, sanctuary cities like Chicago have said theyll limit their cooperation with ICE and uphold local laws.

We need to secure our border. We need to get rid of the violent criminals, but we also need to protect people, at least the residents of Illinois and all across the nation, who are just doing what we hope that immigrants will do, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said in an interview with CNN on Sunday.

ICE has long carried out similar arrest operations, targeting criminals and those who are accused of posing a threat to public safety or national security. Sundays sweeps, however, stood apart due to the number of agents involved and the inclusion of numerous law enforcement agencies, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Drug Enforcement Administration, and US Marshals Service.

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Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove was also in Chicago Sunday morning, meeting with agents and Homan before the raids started.

As the day wore on, agents on the ground faced familiar challenges. Many immigrants are aware that ICE agents typically dont have criminal warrants and cant enter a home without permission. Social media alerts and word-of-mouth warnings are also urging migrants to stay out of sight.

Usually, it just takes the first arrest and the phone calls start, said Matthew Putra, acting field director for ICE in St. Paul, Minnesota, describing how Facebook posts and tweets often tip off communities. Nobody would move, nobody would open a door, lights would be turned off.

Putra said ICE expects the number of criminal warrants to increase as federal prosecutors begin accepting more cases. The bulk of those warrants will probably involve illegal re-entry, he said. On Sunday agents had seven criminal warrants in hand.

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This is all uncharted territory for us, Putra said of expanding efforts on warrants. This is like five days old. Were going to see how this works.

At a stop around noon on Sunday, a passerby stopped on a busy roadway to record agents at an apartment building on his mobile phone, as they searched for a Polish national on their list for arrest. Despite the pushback, Putra said ICE is committed to its mission.

Weve always done this job, Putra said.

--With assistance from Isis Almeida and Kevin Whitelaw.

(Updates ICE data from sixth paragraph.)

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An Asian immigrant is seeking to topple Democratic Socialist Brooklyn Councilwoman Alexa Aviles in the June 24 primary election.

Democratic challenger Ling Ye kicked off her campaign Sunday for the 38th Council District. The southern Brooklyn district covers Red Hook, Park Slope, Sunset Park, Borough Park, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, which has heavy Hispanic and Asian immigrant populations.

Ye, who emigrated from China when she was 14, formerly served as a congressional aide to Rep. Dan Goldman and describes herself as a pragmatic Democrat backing public safety and quality schools.

Democrat Ling Ye is running for City Council in the 38th Council District in Brooklyn. Gregory P. Mango

Ye is running against Democratic Socialist Councilwoman Alexa Aviles. Gregory P. Mango

She has the support of the pro-Israel Solidarity PAC after Aviles abstained on the City Council resolution to condemn Jewish hate following the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

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Ye spoke in English and Chinese, and had Spanish translators at her campaign rally.

I am looking around my community and I am seeing a lot of families who need more support,

just like mine did growing up. People are not feeling safe and families are leaving, either

because of unaffordable housing or unsafe streets, Ye said.

New York City has an annual budget of over $110 billion. Its not right. We can have a safe community, good public schools, a clean environment and good infrastructure if our community gets the funding we deserve. We need a Council member who delivers and actually reflects our needs and values.

Ye supporters at a campaign kickoff event in Sunset Park on Jan. 26, 2025. Gregory P. Mango

Ye with her daughter Amelia. Gregory P. Mango

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Ye describes herself as a pragmatic Democrat that supports public safety and quality schools. Gregory P. Mango

Ye said she raised more than $24,000 in one week after she set up her campaign committee and is on pace to qualify for full public matching funds and run a competitive campaign.

She grew up in Sunset Park and Dyker Heights while her mom worked as a garment factory worker and street vendor.

Ye, who is married and has a young daughter, attended the Cooper Union School of Engineering.
BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a Chinese New Year card in return to friends in the U.S. state of Iowa, saying that China and the United States share extensive common interests and broad space for cooperation and can become partners and friends.

Xi said in the reply card that the warm reception he received when he visited the beautiful state of Iowa 40 years ago is still fresh in his memory.

China and the United States can achieve mutual success and common prosperity for the benefit of both countries and the world at large, Xi said.

The Chinese president expressed his hope that the two peoples will pay more visits to each other and have more exchanges, jointly write new stories of friendship between the two peoples, and make new contributions to the development of China-U.S. relations.

Earlier, 58 people from Iowa, including friends Luca Berrone, Gary Dvorchak and Sarah Lande, former U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad and his wife, former President of the World Food Prize Foundation Kenneth Quinn, as well as representatives of teachers, students and parents from Iowa who participated in the initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study for a five-year period, jointly sent a Chinese New Year card to President Xi.

In the card, they recalled Xi's first visit to Iowa in 1985 and extended New Year greetings to President Xi in the Year of the Snake.

The representatives of teachers, students and parents thanked Xi for putting forward the "50,000 in Five Years" initiative, shared their feelings about visiting China, and expressed their expectations to visit China again. 
For more than a decade, Syrians have been the worlds largest refugee population.

More than 6 million Syrians have fled the country since 2011, when an uprising against the regime of Bashar Assad transformed into a 13-year civil war. Most ended up in neighboring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, while a sizable minority wound up in Europe. But the overthrow of the Assad regime in late 2024 by opposition forces led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has seemingly opened a window for their return, and tens of thousands of former refugees have since made the decision to go back to their homeland.

How many and who decides to go back, and the circumstances under which they reintegrate into Syrian society, will have enormous implications for both Syria and the countries they resettled in. It also provides an opportunity for migration scholars like ourselves to better understand what happens when refugees finally return home.

Previous research has shown that Syrian refugees who are trying to decide whether to return are motivated more by conditions in Syria than by policy decisions where theyve resettled. But individual experiences also play an important role. Counterintuitively, refugees who have been exposed to violence during the Syrian civil war are actually more tolerant of and better at assessing the risk of returning to Syria, research has shown.

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But such research was conducted while Assad was still in power, and it has only been several weeks since Assad fell. As a result, its unclear how many Syrians will decide to go back. After all, the current government is transitional, and the country is not fully unified.

The risk of return

In the month after Assads fall, about 125,000 Syrians headed home, primarily from Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. But for the majority of those yet to return, important questions and considerations remain.

First and foremost, what will governance look like under the transitional government? So far, Hayat Tahrir al-Shams rule under Ahmed al-Sharaa has suggested the group will embrace inclusivity toward Syrias diverse array of ethnic and religious minorities. Even so, some observers worry about the groups prior connections to militant Islamist groups, including al-Qaida.

Similarly, initial fears about restrictions on womens participation in public life have mostly been assuaged, despite the transitional government appointing only two women to office.

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Syrians debating whether to return home must also confront the economic devastation wrought by years of war, government mismanagement and corruption, and international sanctions placed on the Assad regime.

Sanctions blocking the entry of medications and equipment, along with Assads bombing of infrastructure throughout the war, have crippled the countrys medical system.

In 2024, 16.7 million Syrians  more than half the countrys population  were in need of essential humanitarian assistance, even as very little was available. In early 2025, the U.S. announced that it was extending a partial, six-month reprieve of sanctions to allow humanitarian groups to provide basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity.

But rebuilding the countrys infrastructure will take much longer, and Syrian refugees will have to weigh whether they are better off remaining in their host countries. This is especially true for those who have worked to build new lives over a long period in exile from Syria.

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The caretaker Syrian government will also have to address the issue of property restitution. Many individuals may want to return home only if they indeed have a home to return to. And the policy of forced property transfers and the settlement by Alawite and minority groups allied to the Assad regime in former Sunni areas vacated during the war complicates the issue.

Continued welcome in Europe?

Since the start of the civil war, approximately 1.3 million Syrians have sought protection in Europe, the majority of them arriving in 2015 and 2016 and settling in countries such as Germany and Sweden. As of December 2023, 780,000 individuals still held refugee status and subsidiary protection  an additional form of international protection  with the remainder having received either long-term residency or citizenship.

Subsidiary protection was granted to those who didnt meet the stringent requirements for refugee status under the Geneva Conventions  which requires a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group  but would face a real risk of suffering serious harm if returned to their countries of origin.

Recognition rates for Syrians have remained consistently high between 2015 and 2023, but the breakdown between subsidiary protection and refugee status has fluctuated over the years, with 81% receiving refugee status in 2015 versus 68% receiving subsidiary protection in 2023.

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For Syrians in the EU who hold refugee status or subsidiary protection, as well as for those with pending asylum claims, the future is very uncertain. In accordance with the Geneva Conventions, EU law allows governments to revoke, end or refuse to renew their status if the reason to offer protection has ceased, which many countries believe is the case after Assads fall.

Since then, at least 12 European countries have suspended asylum applications of Syrian nationals. Some nations, such as Austria, have threatened to implement a program of orderly return and deportation.

Conditions in Turkey and Lebanon

A much larger number of Syrians obtained protection in neighboring countries, namely Turkey (2.9 million), Lebanon (755,000) and Jordan (611,000), though estimates of unregistered Syrians are much higher. In Turkey, which hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees, Syrians are afforded only temporary protection status.

In theory, this status allows them access to work, health care and education. But in practice, Syrian refugees in Turkey have not always been able to enjoy these rights. Coupled with anti-immigrant sentiments worsened by the 2023 earthquake and presidential election, life has remained difficult for many.

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And while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has publicly stated that Syrians should return home according to their own timeline, his previous scapegoating of the refugee population indicates that he may ultimately like to see them returned  especially as many in Turkey now believe Syrian refugees have no reason to stay in the country.

Syrians in Lebanon, which hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees per capita, face even greater economic and legal challenges. The country is not a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, and its stringent domestic asylum law has granted residency to only 17% of the more than a million Syrians who live in the country.

Lebanon has been pressuring Syrian refugees to leave the country for years through policies of marginalization and forced deportation, which have intensified in recent months with a government scheme to deport Syrians not registered with the United Nations. As of 2023, 84% of Syrian families were living in extreme poverty. Their vulnerability was exacerbated by the recent conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon, which led 425,000 Syrians to escape war once again and return to Syria even though conditions at the time were not safe.

Testing the water

Offering go-and-see visits  whereby one member of a family is allowed to return to a home country to evaluate the situation and subsequently permitted to reenter the host country without losing their legal status  is the norm in many refugee situations. The policy is being used at present for Ukrainians in Europe and was used in the past for Bosnian and South Sudanese refugees.

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The same policy could serve Syrian refugees now  indeed, Turkey recently implemented such a plan. But above all, we believe returns to Syria should be voluntary, not forced. Getting the conditions right for returning refugees will have enormous implications for rebuilding the country and keeping the peace  or not  in the years to come.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Kelsey Norman, Rice University and Ana Martin Gil, Rice University

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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar is dropping her campaign for city comptroller to challenge incumbent Jumaane Williams for the role of New York City public advocate.

Rajkumar, a close ally of Mayor Adams, announced the switch-up five months after going public with her campaign to be the citys fiscal watchdog,

Our City is facing a crisis of governance and can no longer afford the out-of-touch agenda of extremists like Jumaane Williams, Rajkumar said in a statement. Instead, we need proven fighters who will focus on the issues that all New Yorkers care about.

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The Queens lawmaker often appears alongside Adams at press conferences, even earning a shoutout in the mayors State of the City speech earlier this month.

Rajkumar filed to run for comptroller last summer after incumbent Brad Lander announced he was running for mayor. The controllers race has gotten competitive, with candidates Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and City Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan both raking in more donations and endorsements.

The assemblymember has about $275,000 in her campaign coffers  more than Williams $69,000.

Shortly after Rajkumar announced her run, Williams unveiled more than a dozen endorsements from Queens politicians, including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who represents Jamaica and State Senator Michael Gianaris, who represents Astoria.

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I am incredibly honored to have the support of this dynamic and diverse group of Queens-based elected officials who fight for a wide range of economic, environmental, and social justice issues on behalf of New Yorkers, Williams said in a release. This group of leaders demonstrate the power of our grassroots campaign and our vision to bring a better, safer, more affordable New York to constituents in Queens and across the five boroughs.

Rajkumar said she would use the role, which is typically a foil to the mayor, to tackle affordability and public safety issues. Arvind Sooknanan, a spokesperson for Rajkumar, said she chose to pivot to public advocate because that role isnt limited to the citys finances, unlike comptroller.

Running for [public advocate] allows the Assemblywomanto best serve the citys most pressing needs, he said.

Citywide primaries will be held June 24. The public advocate is the next in line of succession to be mayor should the mayor have to step down for any reason.
NEEDHAM - Massachusetts native and astronaut Suni Williams said she's "trying to remember what it's like to walk" after being stuck in space for almost seven months.

Williams on Monday was answering questions at the International Space Station from students at Needham High School, where she graduated from in 1983. One student asked her what microgravity feels like in space, and she answered that it felt like she was swimming or flying.

"I've been up here long enough right now I've been trying to remember what it's like to walk. I haven't walked. I haven't sat down. I haven't laid down. You don't have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here," Williams said.

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Keeping up with her family while in space

She said that she and astronaut Butch Wilmore expected their trip to be longer than eight days since it was the first time they were flying the aircraft but did not expect it to be delayed that long.

"It was a little bit of a shock, actually," Williams explained to students. "We knew that it would be probably a month or so, honestly. But the extended stay was just a little bit different."

Needham native and astronaut Suni William said she can't remember how to walk after being stuck in space for almost seven months. / Credit: NASA

Williams said she is having fun in space and is glad she can share the experience with everyone back on Earth. She explained that it has changed her relationship with her family.

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"My mother's getting a little bit older, so in that regard, I just try to stay in touch with them and those guys as much as possible," Williams said. "I think I talk to my mom practically every day. Just check in with her and call her and see how she's doing. So it's just a little bit different relationship than we had potentially planned on for the last couple of months. But we're managing."

She said that she doesn't necessarily feel isolated in space because of her busy schedule and her ability to talk to people at home.

Astronauts stuck in space

The Needham native has been stuck in space with Wilmore for the last seven months after problems with the Starliner concerned NASA and prompted them to keep them up there longer.

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Their trip was meant to last eight to 10 days originally but has since been delayed multiple times. A SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon went into space with the intention of bringing the astronauts down in February.

However, their replacements are aboard a different aircraft, SpaceX Crew-10, which is not expected to launch into space until late March or April. That means they are not able to return to space until they complete a handover period.

Vice President JD Vance's first interview | Face the Nation

Rebuilding Paradise

A tour of the Bronx
ATHENS, Ala. (WHNT)  The Athens Rotary Club announced its participation in an international grant to improve access to clean water for families in a Mexico community.

According to the Rotary Club, the Rotary Foundation approved the global grant application with the Dancing for Rain project to improve access to clean, potable water for Indigenous Tarahumara families in Mexico.

Huntsville Police host Coffee with the Captain Saturday, focusing on community relations

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This project embodies the spirit of Rotary by transforming lives through collective action, said Griff Redmill, President of the Athens Rotary Club. Our partnership in this global effort is a testament to what we can achieve when we come together to address critical issues like access to clean water. We are deeply honored to be part of this initiative.

The Dancing for Rain project reportedly focuses on sustainable water infrastructure, hygiene education and empowering indigenous communities to maintain their systems long-term.

The Athens Rotary Club contributed $2,625 in cash to the project. However, they were not the only district/club to donate. Other cash contributions from Rotary Clubs include:

Pathways Rotary Club donated $1,050

Decatur Daybreak Rotary Club donated $6,825

Decatur Rotary Club donated $2,100

Hot Springs National Park Rotary Club donated $525

Chihuahua San Felipe Rotary Club donated $3,045

Chihuahua Campestre Rotary Club donated $3,150

Huntsville now the 27th largest city in the nation, bigger than Chicago

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This grant represents the heart of Rotarycollaboration, innovation, and service, said Will Ogles, Athens Rotary Club Grant Coordinator. Its incredible to see clubs and districts from different regions unite to provide clean water to the Indigenous Tarahumara families. The impact of this project will be life-changing, and were honored to play a part in it.

To learn more about this project or the Athens Rotary Club you can visit their website here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.
Jan. 26It may be January, but the unusually warm, rainy weather feels more like spring breakup, and it's bringing the kind of flooding concerns also usually not seen in the Anchorage area until later in the year.

The National Weather Service is calling for a series of atmospheric rivers to descend on Southcentral over the weekend.

A high wind warning is in effect until 5 p.m. Sunday for the city, with gusts to 85 mph possible on the Hillside and along Turnagain Arm. In lower elevations, gusts to 55 mph were possible, the weather service said. Winds blasted the city starting early Saturday and continued Sunday morning.

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A backcountry avalanche warning was in effect through Sunday for much of the region, including Chugach National Forest and areas around Girdwood, Portage Valley, Turnagain Pass, Summit Lake, Moose Pass, Lost Lake, and Seward, according to the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center. Avalanche forecasters said human-triggered and natural slides would be likely due to a combination of heavy rain and snowfall along with strong winds, and travel in avalanche terrain was discouraged. Roof avalanches were also described as a possible hazard.

Another avalanche warning was in effect this weekend at Hatcher Pass, where a slide had crossed onto the already-closed Hatcher Pass Road on Friday.

The weather service issued a flood watch through Monday morning, warning of potential flooding across a broad swath of the region due to high temperatures, widespread rain and elevated snow levels.

The agency said it was possible 1 to 2.5 inches of rain could fall in Anchorage, the Matanuska Valley and western Kenai Peninsula through Sunday, with more at higher elevations. Two to 5 inches are expected in the Susitna Valley, with 2 to 6 inches of rain expected for the eastern Kenai as well as Prince William Sound.

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"Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations," the watch said. "Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas."

The weather service recommended keeping storm drains clear of debris and monitoring forecasts for additional warnings.

As of this week, the average temperature for the month in Anchorage so far was 27.5 F, making it the fifth-warmest January on record. The depth of the city's snowpack as measured near Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport has steadily declined from 8 inches at the end of December to 3 inches this week.

[Hey, New Orleans, please send some of your snow to Anchorage]

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Slick roads were reported in some areas around Anchorage, Mat-Su and the Interior on Thursday morning.

A crash involving a U.S. Army vehicle in a military caravan closed the Richardson Highway about 65 miles south of Fairbanks before 5 a.m. Thursday. No one was injured in the crash, according to the Alaska State Troopers and the 11th Airborne Division. The vehicle was blocking the roadway and required towing, troopers said.

An 11th Airborne Division vehicle towing a trailer was involved in the single-vehicle accident, according to an update from 11th Airborne Division spokesman John Pennell.

The vehicle was one of about a dozen in a convoy that was part of a military exercise and traveling between Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and the Donnelly Training Area near Delta Junction, Pennell said.

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Although initially reported as a rollover, the trailer tipped over but didn't fully roll, according to the update. The trailer carried a tank rack module, part of a fueling system, that developed a slow leak when the trailer tipped, it said.

An environmental team from Fort Wainwright responded to handle the leak and military vehicles were dispatched to conduct recovery operations which caused a temporary blockage of the highway, the update said.

The road had reopened by late morning Thursday.

State transportation officials also announced Thursday that Hatcher Pass Road was closed at Mile 14, the Gold Mint trailhead parking lot, "as a preventative measure for the potential for a natural avalanche to impact the open road."

The closure was expected to last at least through the weekend, officials said. They recommended travelers check the road's status on the Alaska 511 road conditions site.
ATOKA, Tenn.  Police in Atoka, Tennessee are piecing together a case of road rage on Saturday that left one victim stabbed and another hospitalized.

Ive had a lot of people come in here today asking me, Hey, do you know what happened? and I dont, Doug Carver said.

Carver works at BD Novelty and Vape in Atoka, just a short walk from where police were called to investigate a road rage incident Saturday afternoon.

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Atoka Police reported they found a bloody crime scene but no victims.

Carver said he worries its a sign of the times.

The way the climate of todays society is everybodys just one bad traffic incident away from getting shot or run off the road or whatever, Carver said.

The location of the crime scene is close to many popular Atoka businesses.

ORIGINAL STORY: 2 injured in Atoka road rage stabbing

Carver is now upset after learning his 12-year-old nephew was in the area Saturday but thankfully, not during the violent attack.

He came in here earlier telling me they went over there, Carver said. There was blood everywhere and they thought somebody had been killed.

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Saturdays mystery took a turn when Atoka Police were notified by a caller who reported being involved in the road rage incident.

The caller said the altercation began when someone allegedly ran up to his vehicle.

Police reported they found another victim of the incident four miles from the initial scene.

That person was suffering from stab wounds and was taken to Regional One in critical condition.

SCSO: Man shooting brother leads to barricade situation

The other victim was taken to Baptist Hospital in Covington, Tennessee, though its unknown what injuries he suffered.

Now, Carver said he is concerned violent crime is on the rise in Tipton County.

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Weve been robbed. We got robbed last year, Carver said. Another one of our stores in Covington got robbed and this is stuff that didnt use to happen and its getting ridiculous.

Atoka Police said no one has been arrested at this time.

If you have any information, please call Atoka Police at 901-837-5302 or 901-475-4300.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  Louisiana State University failed to notify state auditors and the district attorney about suspected asset misappropriations in a timely manner, according to a report by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor (LLA).

The audit, released this month, found that LSUs Office of Internal Audit (OIA) completed an investigation into financial misconduct on Oct. 24, 2022. However, the university did not notify the LLA or the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney until nearly two years later, on Sept. 18, 2024. State law requires immediate notification of such findings under Louisiana Revised Statute 24:523.

The investigation reportedly uncovered that an employee had repeatedly been absent from work without approved leave, an issue that auditors said constitutes asset misappropriation. The audit also revealed multiple theft cases involving movable property that LSU failed to report to authorities for two years, despite receiving police reports from campus police.

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Failure to make proper notifications places the system in noncompliance with state law, impairs a timely response to control weaknesses by the auditor, and could delay the potential prosecution of guilty parties, the audit stated.

University Response

In a written response, LSU partially concurred with the findings. Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Administrative Officer Kimberly Lewis outlined steps the university plans to take to address the issues:

Revising policies to improve the evaluation and reporting of suspected misappropriations.

Formalizing requirements for notifying the Property Management Office about stolen assets.

Enhancing the process for campus police to report thefts to the Property Management Office.

The university emphasized its commitment to improving compliance with state laws and implementing stronger internal controls.

Audit: Louisiana students with disabilities subjected to restraint, unreported abuse

Legal and Policy Implications

The audit noted that the delayed notifications could hinder accountability and legal proceedings, as authorities rely on timely reporting to investigate and prosecute cases of financial misconduct. LSUs actions are now under scrutiny as the state seeks to ensure adherence to reporting requirements in public institutions.

Timeline of Events

October 2022: LSU Office of Internal Audit completes an investigation into suspected financial misconduct.

September 2024: LSU notifies the Louisiana Legislative Auditor and district attorney, nearly two years after the findings.

January 2025: Louisiana Legislative Auditor releases a public audit highlighting LSUs delayed reporting and noncompliance with state law.

Moving Forward

LSU has pledged to make the necessary changes to avoid future delays in reporting misconduct. The Legislative Auditor stressed the importance of immediate notifications to uphold transparency, accountability, and compliance with state laws.

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This is a developing story. Louisiana First will provide updates as more information becomes available.

Latest News

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
By Barbara Erling and Kuba Stezycki

OSWIECIM, Poland (Reuters) - Auschwitz survivors warned of the dangers of rising antisemitism on Monday, as they marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German death camp by Soviet troops in one of the last such gatherings of those who experienced its horrors.

The ceremony at the site of the camp, which Nazi Germany set up in occupied Poland during World War Two to murder European Jews on a huge scale, was attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Britain's King Charles, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish President Andrzej Duda and many other leaders.

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They did not make speeches, but rather listened for perhaps the last time to those who suffered and witnessed at first hand one of humanity's greatest atrocities.

Israel, founded for Jews in the shadow of the Holocaust, sent Education Minister Yoav Kisch.

"We see in the modern world today a great increase in antisemitism, and it was antisemitism that led to the Holocaust," said Marian Turski, 98, who was sent to Auschwitz in 1944 and survived the westward 'death march' to Buchenwald in 1945.

"Let's not be afraid to convince ourselves that we can solve problems between neighbours."

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SURVIVORS SAY ANTISEMITISM IS SPREADING ONCE MORE

Retired physician Leon Weintraub, 99, who was separated from his family and sent to Auschwitz in 1944, warned of the dangers of intolerance.

"I ask you to multiply your efforts to counteract the views whose effects we are commemorating today," he said.

Author and academic Tova Friedman, 86, said "80 years after the liberation, the world is again in crisis".

"Our Jewish-Christian values have been overshadowed worldwide by prejudice, fear, suspicion and extremism," she said, "and the rampant antisemitism that is spreading among the nations is shocking."

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Antisemitic incidents have surged in part along with protests against Israel in many parts of Europe, North America and Australia since Israel launched its assault on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza after attacks on Israel by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023.

Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, said on Monday that hatred of Jews was rising against the backdrop of that war, adding: "Young people are getting most of their information from social media, and that is dangerous."

Before the ceremony, which took place in a tent built over the gate to the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp, leaders stressed how important it was to preserve the memory of the Holocaust.

"The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task, and in so doing we inform our present and shape our future," King Charles said during a visit to the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow.

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President Duda told reporters at the camp that "we Poles, on whose land the Germans built this concentration camp, are today the guardians of memory".

That remembrance of crimes committed in the name of Nazi notions of racial superiority has itself become an acutely political issue in recent years with the rise of far-right parties across Europe.

ELON MUSK REJECTS HISTORICAL GUILT FOR SINS OF THE PAST

On Saturday, billionaire Elon Musk, high-profile adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, made a video address to supporters of Germany's AfD (Alternative fuer Deutschland), which is running second in polls for the Feb. 23 election on a platform that includes playing down historical guilt for the Holocaust.

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"Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great grandparents," said Musk, who himself laid a wreath at Auschwitz a year ago.

The rally prompted Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to say that "the words we heard from the main actors of the AfD rally about 'Great Germany' and 'the need to forget German guilt for Nazi crimes' sounded all too familiar and ominous".

More than 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, perished in gas chambers or from starvation, cold and disease at Auschwitz, where most had been brought in freight wagons, packed like livestock.

More than three million of Poland's 3.2 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis.

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In all, between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, along with gypsies, sexual minorities, disabled people and others who offended Nazi ideas of racial superiority.

(This story has been corrected to attribute the quote to author and academic Tova Friedman, instead of Janina Iwanska, in paragraphs 10 and 11)

(Reporting by Barbara Erling and Kuba Stezycki in Oswiecim, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw, Michael Holden in London; Writing by Alan Charlish; Editing by Stephen Coates and Kevin Liffey)
OSWIECIM, Poland  The Soviet Red Army troops who arrived here on Jan. 27, 1945, helped uncover one of the greatest atrocities ever committed by  and against  humankind.

Inside the Auschwitz concentration camp complex, the soldiers liberated roughly 7,000 prisoners who had been brutalized by a Nazi regime hell-bent on exterminating the Jewish people. The horrors there defied comprehension.

Eighty years later, some former prisoners returned to mark the 80th anniversary of their deliverance  a date that is known as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

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In the eyes of so many around the world, the survivors very existence is a resounding act of defiance against the world-historic cruelty and vast injustice of Adolf Hitlers reign of terror. Their stories of survival are also implicit pleas to the world: Never forget humanitys capacity to commit unthinkable crimes.

A group of child survivors at Auschwitz on Jan. 27, 1945, the day the Red Army liberated the camp.

Hitlers regime systematically murdered 6 million Jews during World War II, including roughly 1 million people at Auschwitz. The Nazis also persecuted other peoples, including Poles, the Romani, Soviet prisoners, gay men and mentally and physically disabled people.

The Nazis tried to hide evidence of the genocide they perpetrated, including burning the remains of roughly 900,000 Auschwitz victims who were killed in the gas chambers.

Eva Umlauf was only 2 when she and her mother were liberated from the camp  too young to remember the actual day. But the Holocaust is etched onto her skin  A-26,959 tattooed on her left forearm, marking her for life, along with some other Auschwitz survivors.

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You are just a number, Umlauf, 82, a pediatrician from Munich, told NBC News, explaining how this number will forever make her feel. But this number is not only on the skin. This is deeper.

Eva Umlauf with her mother, Agnes Hecht, in Novaky, Slovakia, in a labor camp for Jews before their transfer to Auschwitz. As a baby, she was tattooed number A-26,959.

For Umlauf, who traveled for the ceremony along with her sister, her son and one of her grandchildren, this was more than a personal journey of memory and reflection. It was a moral responsibility.

They have to know that its true. You know, because its so, so unbelievable, unbelievable that nobody can believe this, she said.

But even given what has been established about the Third Reichs crimes against humanity, some of the most vital information has still not been uncovered. Notably, the names of more than a million Jews slaughtered by the Nazis are still unknown, according to Yad Vashem, Israels official Holocaust memorial center.

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Alexander Avram leads a team at Yad Vashem that has amassed more than 2 million Pages of Testimony and historical documents to verify more identities. The project is known as the Hall of Names.

Survivors and relatives lay tributes at the so-called Death Wall in the former camp Monday.

There are no cemeteries, there are no tombstones  for most of the Holocaust victims, Avram told NBC News. Each additional name that we can recover is, for us, another victory against the Nazis, because the Nazis didnt [only] want to  exterminate the Jews physically. They wanted to obliterate even their memory.

Avram said researchers have started experimenting with artificial intelligence to scour testimonial documents in hope of finding names that might have been overlooked. But that technology is useless without firsthand accounts provided by the shrinking pool of survivors.

The Claims Conference estimates that only 1,000 survivors of Auschwitz are still alive. In that regard, Avrams team is in a rush against time, he said.

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The anniversary comes at a troubling and unsettled time. Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, Israels ensuing war in Gaza and the proliferation of hate speech on social media have fueled a worldwide spike in antisemitism.

In some countries, basic knowledge of the Holocaust is eroding.

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, a nonprofit organization that helps Holocaust victims seek compensation, released an eight-country survey last week showing that 46% of adults ages 18-29 in France, for example, had not heard or werent sure if they had heard of the Holocaust prior to taking the survey.

Nearly half of Americans surveyed were unable to name a single Nazi camp, according to the Claims Conferences findings, and more than a quarter (26%) of Americans ages 18-29 disagreed with the following statement: The Holocaust happened, and the number of Jews who were killed during the Holocaust has been accurately and fairly described.

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World leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, flew in for Mondays commemoration. Top dignitaries, including Britain's King Charles III, attended, as well.

A guard tower at Auschwitz in Oswiecim, Poland, on Monday.

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We really believe that this is the last milestone anniversary where well have a visible group of survivors who are still able to tell us their stories, Pawe Sawicki, deputy spokesman for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, said in an interview at the camp Saturday.

The choice for this years anniversary was very simple: We need to put them into the spotlight, he added.

In recent statements, Western heads of state have tried to underscore the importance of preserving the historical memory of the Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah.

I am against turning the page, saying that was long ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a gathering of the Jewish community in Frankfurt this month. We keep alive the memory of the civilizational split of the Shoah committed by Germans, which we pass down to each generation in our country again and again.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the grounds of Auschwitz on Jan. 17, describing the sheer horror he felt there and vowing to fight the rising tide of antisemitism in his country.

Roughly 50 survivors of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps attended Mondays commemoration. In recent days, hundreds of visitors from around the world have come to the former camp to pay their respects.

Josh Sesar, 52, of Los Angeles, who made his second trip to Auschwitz on Friday, said he believed it is vital to see the grounds firsthand.

I think it is not taught enough in school in America, and if you watch the news in America now, you see the philosophies that people are following now and they are happy to pretend that this never happened, Sesar said.

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It is scary, because there are not so many survivors left, and so when there [are] no survivors, people even more so try to discredit history, he added.

Women in their barracks after the liberation of the Auschwitz in January 1945.

Aron Krell, 98, a Holocaust survivor who was imprisoned at Auschwitz and ultimately liberated from the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, said it is incumbent on Jewish people, educators, historians and other advocates to keep the legacy of the Shoah intact.

In a video interview last week, Krell described his liberation as his second birthday.

I saw the light again in front of me, Krell said. My second birthday is more important, really, than the first. We always celebrate it: Aron Krell has two birthdays.

Jesse Kirsch reported from Oswiecim and Daniel Arkin from New York.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
* At the close of 2024, UNESCO added the Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of traditional new year, to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

* Spring Festival's core customs -- celebrating family reunions, wishing for good fortune and creating traditional crafts -- captivate cultural enthusiasts worldwide with its unique approach to welcoming the new year.

* The Chinese New Year and its rich cultural heritage are also being shared in exciting new ways.

* Beneath its traditional customs, the Chinese New Year carries a universal resonance of hope, family unity and aspirations for a better life -- values that underpin its global appeal.





BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Set against a vibrant orange backdrop, a bold green snake rises proudly on a commemorative stamp issued by La Poste Group, France's postal service, earlier this month to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. 2025 marks the 21st consecutive year France has celebrated the Spring Festival with zodiac-themed stamps.

Actors perform the lion dance during the Lunar New Year celebration at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Jan. 24, 2025. (Photo by Winston Zhou/Xinhua)

At the close of 2024, UNESCO added the Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of traditional new year, to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A year earlier, the 78th UN General Assembly recognized the Chinese New Year as an official UN holiday, underscoring the festival's growing global presence.

Spring Festival customs are now celebrated in nearly 200 countries and regions, with almost 20 nations designating it as an official public holiday. Each year, around one-fifth of the global population takes part in this cherished tradition.





CUSTOMS WITH GLOBAL APPEAL

Spring Festival's core customs -- celebrating family reunions, wishing for good fortune and creating traditional crafts -- captivate cultural enthusiasts worldwide with its unique approach to welcoming the new year.

In the Hungarian capital of Budapest, the streets of Chinatown bustled with a two-day Spring Festival celebration. Visitors took part in dumpling-making, calligraphy workshops and lantern crafting. This vibrant celebration mirrors a global trend where Spring Festival traditions are increasingly embraced across diverse cultures.

"It's amazing to see the performances and learn about traditions that are so different yet so universal," said Kata Szabo, a local resident who attended the event with her young daughter.

People watch a demonstration of sugar figure art during a temple fair celebrating the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year in Budapest, Hungary, on Jan. 18, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Hao)

To Giacomo Bechini, a 29-year-old web designer from Florence, Italy, this year's Spring Festival is more than a holiday: It is an opportunity to connect with his wife's Chinese heritage and immerse himself in the festival's traditions.

His fascination with the Chinese Lunar Calendar, a lunisolar dating system, has deepened his appreciation even further. "It's incredible how the Spring Festival is tied to a different calendar. I've been learning about its symbolic meanings and how the festivities last for days," Bechini said.

For Tichaona Zimuto, a 34-year-old professional acrobat from Zimbabwe, Spring Festival traditions have evolved from a simple interest into a meaningful practice. About two weeks ago, Zimuto and his group, Blackstar Acrobatics, captivated a local audience in Harare with a rhythmic lion dance performance during a Spring Festival celebration.

The lion dance, which originated in ancient China, blends dance, music and martial arts, with performers mimicking a lion's movements in elaborate costumes. This traditional art has grown on Zimuto over the past year.

"When I was wearing the lion dance costume, I just felt excited. I just felt great, something special. I just felt like a lion, a real lion," he said.

A lion dance performance is staged at the 4th edition of the Chinese New Year cultural festival at the National Arts Center in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, Jan. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Mengxin)

The Chinese New Year and its rich cultural heritage are also being shared in exciting new ways. Disney California Adventure Park recently launched its 2025 Lunar New Year celebrations, offering a lively blend of Asian cultural performances. Legendary Chinese warrior Mulan and her quick-witted dragon sidekick, Mushu, led the Lunar New Year procession, celebrating family, friendship and the hope for a prosperous year ahead.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia recently hosted a one-of-a-kind Spring Festival Market at the Cultural Palace in Riyadh, which buzzed with energy during its two-day run. The Chinese e-sports zone was a standout attraction, featuring popular titles such as "Black Myth: Wukong" and "Honor of Kings."

Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, president of the Saudi National E-Sports Association, said e-sports are a powerful way to connect young people around the globe.

"We can create games about Saudi culture and bring them to China and the world," he said.





VALUES OF UNIVERSAL RESONANCE

Beneath its traditional customs, the Chinese New Year carries a universal resonance of hope, family unity and aspirations for a better life -- values that underpin its global appeal.

People believe that celebrating the Chinese New Year will bring them good luck, good fortune and happiness in the new year, said Heoun Thary, a 32-year-old Cambodian housewife.

She was referring to the recent Lunar New Year festivities in Phnom Penh, which drew hundreds of revelers. Thary noted that the event not only introduced Cambodians to Chinese traditions but also strengthened the bond between the two nations.

In Tanorn village, 60 km south of Phnom Penh, Cambodian villagers participating in a China-aided poverty alleviation project also embraced the spirit of the Spring Festival. The celebration featured red lanterns and couplets.

"People believe that celebrating the Chinese New Year can help increase their luck, promoting their business to make more money," said Khlok Chamroeun, a 62-year-old deputy chief of the village.

People watch a lion dance performance at the 2025 Chinese New Year Festival and Market Day in Auckland, New Zealand, Jan. 25, 2025. The event was held here on Saturday. (Photo by Wu Jiaxiang/Xinhua)

In New Zealand, a Year of the Snake concert put together Eastern and Western musical traditions. Musicians from China's Yijing Chamber Ensemble of the Central Conservatory of Music and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra performed in Christchurch, blending the pipa, erhu and bamboo flute with classical symphonies. "Music knows no boundaries. The unique qualities of Eastern and Western music can truly resonate with each other," said Chinese Consul General He Ying.

This vision of harmony came alive at the United Nations in New York on Friday night. At a Lunar New Year celebration, Miguel Angel Moratinos, UN under-secretary-general and high representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, delivered Lunar New Year wishes in Chinese, "Chunjie Kuaile (Happy Spring Festival)," in the lobby of the main building at the UN Headquarters.

"The Lunar New Year marked the beginning of the Year of the Snake, which is associated with characteristics like wisdom, caution and strategy, and signifies transformation and growth," he said.

"With the numerous challenges the world is facing, the spirit embodied by the Lunar New Year offers us a beacon of hope and positivity," Moratinos said.

(Video reporters: Yang Zhe, Wang Lei, Mao Pengfei, Wang Jiawei, Cheng Yiheng, Zul, Jonathan Tham, Hua Hongli, Nurdin Pallangyo, Shu Chang, San Wai Aung, Zhang Dongqiang; video editors: Hong Yan, Roger Lott, Wei Yin, Wang Han) 
Editors note: The above video is KXAN coverage of the Bergstrom Spur Trail from Jan. 10, 2025.

AUSTIN (KXAN)  Austin City Council will vote this week on funding for a new trail that will transform abandoned rail tracks and bridge the southern portion of the city with the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The Bergstrom Spur Trail is a 6.5-mile-long trail system set to link Vinson Drive in south Austin to East Riverside Drive and U.S. Hwy. 183 in southeast Austin, according to details from Austins Capital Delivery Services. The citys 2014 Urban Trails Plan identified the Bergstrom Spur Trail as a high-priority project with the capability of boosting connectivity, improving local trail access and offering a route to walk or bike to the airport, per project documents.

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PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Austin seeks federal funds to transform abandoned railroad tracks into future trail

On Thursday, Austin City Council will consider two items related to advanced funding agreements with the Texas Department of Transportation for the trail. The first is a change order for the central portion of the project, with that funding additive capped at $86,805, plus any cost overruns. That funding would be pulled from the Austin Transportation and Public Works Departments operating budget, per council documents.

The second is an advanced funding agreement for the western portion of the trail, noting the agreement with TxDOT is not to exceed $308,600, plus any cost overruns. ATPWDs operating budget is also the funding source for these dollars, council documents confirmed.

City officials told KXAN earlier this month work on the western portion of the trail is already under construction and is set to be complete this summer.

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We are going to get that first half mile constructed in the next four to six months or so, and then that will set us up to start construction on the next phase, John Eastman, the city of Austins sidewalks and urban trails division manager, told KXAN.

RELATED: South Austin breaks ground on new urban trail

The total cost for all three segments is estimated at $25 million, with a project construction timeline running through 2027. Eastman confirmed officials are still working to acquire funds for the eastern portion of the project.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 man in Australia has reportedly pleaded guilty to manslaughter after being accused of strangling his estranged wife on Valentine's Day while giving her a neck massage.

Jeffrey James Godfrey, 53, pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge in Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday, Jan. 23 over the 2022 death of his 46-year-old estranged wife Vanessa Godfrey after he allegedly believed she took his IDs, according to multiple local outlets including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), The Brisbane Times and 9 News.

As ABC noted, citing last week's court hearing, the couple was married for 27 years and continued to spend time together despite being separated. They were staying at Pelican Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast at the time of the crime and, per the Brisbane Times, prosecutor Matthew Le Grand said Jeffrey had been using methamphetamine for a decade and had become paranoid.

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He was reportedly not under the influence of substances at the time of the crime but was having delusions about his wife, according to ABC, which cited the hearing.

Vanessa Godfrey/Facebook Vanessa Godfrey Vanessa Godfrey

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The couple was away celebrating a friend's birthday the night before when Jeffrey realized he was missing his drivers license and Medicare card and believed his wife stole them, per the outlet. Jeffrey then reportedly asked Vanessa if his whole life had been a lie," and when Vanessa asked her husband to give her a massage on the morning of Valentine's Day, he put his arm around her neck and strangled her, per the Times.

According to News 9, he then cut her arms with a knife after he thought he saw her breathe, drank alcohol, took valium tablets and cut his own arms before hotel staff discovered the couple on their bed.

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The husband, according to ABC, told authorities that he believed Vanessa said it was true and that "no one else would figure it out," as he admitted to killing her.

Getty Stock image of a police cruiser with red and blue emergency lights Stock image of a police cruiser with red and blue emergency lights

Related: Ind. Man Allegedly Confesses to Shooting Pregnant Estranged Wife in the Back, Was Upset Child Isn't His

Citing the court hearing, News 9 reports that Jeffrey was originally charged with murder as a domestic violence offense before it was downgraded to manslaughter after he was diagnosed with drug-induced psychosis.

Olivia Godfrey, the couple's daughter, provided a victim impact statement and said her father's drug use impacted his mental health, according to ABC. "[My father] almost broke me," she said, adding that her mother's death changed her life "in every way possible."

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"I lost my beautiful mother to my father's horrible choices," she said. "This horrific crime has continued to haunt me."

The prosecution asked the judge to sentence Jeffrey to 10 years in prison, as his defense lawyer Simon Lewis argued for 9 years, according to ABC. Justice Glenn Martin will hand down a sentence on Thursday, Jan. 30, per the Times.



If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

Read the original article on People
Austria's acting chancellor, Alexander Schallenberg of the centre-right People's Party (OVP), on Monday criticized proposals from Germany's conservative opposition leader to bring back border controls.

Friedrich Merz, the head of Germany's centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), has demanded border controls as part of a package to crack down on irregular migration.

But all of Germany's neighbouring countries, including Austria, are members of the visa-free Schengen Zone, which was supposed to remove the need to internal border controls except in exceptional circumstances.

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Schallenberg said on Monday that he welcomes a reconsideration of Germany's stance on migration, but that the country must stick to the Schengen rules.

Schallenerg is in power in Austria until the formation of a new government. The head of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), Herbert Kickl, has been tasked with forming a new government after his party won elections in the autumn.

"We all know that we need joint solutions," he said. "If we all just pull up the drawbridges individually, we will all be poorer and no one will be safer."

Schallenberg, who is Austria's foreign minister in addition to acting chancellor, also pointed to current Schengen rules that require countries to determine where migrants first entered the EU before sending anyone back.

Merz has demanded that Germany change policy to have border guards turn back migrants trying to cross into Germany from another Schengen country in order to claim asylum.
UPDATE: The missing person has been found. Original story below.

(KRON)  Authorities are asking for assistance in locating a missing man, according to the Mountain View Police Department.

George Aguilar was last seen around 7:30 a.m. on Friday near the 500 block of Walker Drive in Mountain View. According to police, Aguilar was possibly wearing blue jeans and red or green high-visible long-sleeved crew neck shirt. Authorities said he sometimes wears thick-framed yellow tinted glasses.

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Ebony Alert issued for missing 13-year-old

Aguilar, 31, is described as a Hispanic man with black hair and brown eyes. He is 6 foot 2 inches tall and weighs around 180 pounds.

Anyone with information regarding Aguilars whereabouts is asked to contact the Mountain View Police Department at (650) 903-6344.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
The Swedish coastguard has boarded a tanker after launching a sabotage investigation into damage to another telecommunication cable in the Baltic Sea.

Footage from Swedish broadcaster SVT published on Monday showed Swedish personnel boarding a Maltese-flagged vessel during the night.

The vessel was anchored south of Karlskrona in southern Sweden in the morning, accompanied by a patrol vessel and a Swedish coastguard boat.

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The damaged cable runs between Sweden and Latvia and is used by Latvian state media. It was damaged at a location in Sweden's exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea.

The Swedish public prosecutor's office announced late on Sunday evening that it was investigating "serious sabotage" and had seized a vessel in connection with the incident.

The damage comes after a string of undersea cables have been apparently targeted in recent months, triggering scrutiny of this critical infrastructure's vulnerability.

In December, the damage was suspected of being caused by the anchor of a vessel said to belong to the so-called Russian "shadow fleet." This refers to tankers and other cargo ships with opaque ownership structures that Russia uses to circumvent sanctions imposed as a result of its invasion of Ukraine, for example in the transport of oil.

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The European Union has imposed sanctions on dozens of these ships. However, the actual size of the fleet is likely to be much larger - Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda has said an estimated 600-1,000 ships belonging to the shadow fleet are on the seas.

New rules for the Baltic Sea?

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys has called for a fresh look at the current regulations for shipping in light of the recent damaged cable.

"Navigation rules in the Baltic Sea need to be reviewed, especially when it comes to the use of anchors," he wrote on X on Sunday.

"The shadow fleet ... a larger issue that puts our environment and critical infrastructure at risk."

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Latvia's army chief Kaspars Pudans also spoke out in favour of harmonizing national and international rules, as it is impossible to monitor every nautical mile of the Baltic.

In the sea area between Ventspils and Gotland, he told television reporters, more than 70 ships were present in the area when the damage to the submarine cable was noticed.

According Latvian state media boss Girts Ozols, repairing the damaged cable could take several days to several weeks.

The cable damage has no impact on end users, he said on Latvian television.

Germany joins probe into cable damage

Germany said on Monday it would participate in the investigation into cable damage.

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A government spokesman pointed to German participation in NATO's Baltic Sentry operation, saying it was contributing to the investigation. Baltic Sentry was launched in Helsinki on January 14 to protect critical undersea infrastructure.

"The incident shows once more how vulnerable critical undersea infrastructure is," the spokesman said. He added that raising NATO's presence in the region was of central significance to Germany.
A British nonagenarian teams up with a French couple in an open relationship to put the United States on trial for crimes against humanity. Its May 1967. This is the height of the Vietnam War; the civil rights movement is facing a stiff backlash in America. The Cold War keeps threatening to get hot. And Britain and France have lost much of their treasured colonies and public standing. This is the backdrop, and partly the subject, for Clive Webbs readable and fascinating book, Vietdamned: How the Worlds Greatest Minds Put America on Trial.

That nonagenarian was the philosopher and activist Bertrand Russell; the tribunal was his brainchild. At the time the United States were so intent on their belief that Vietnam might turn all of south-east Asia red that, when President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that he would not be standing for presidential re-election, there were half a million troops in Vietnam. (It was 16,000 when he assumed office in November 1963.)

For the tribunal Russell appointed the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre as president. His partner, the feminist icon and novelist Simone de Beauvoir, also joined. And so did a range of writers, journalists and activists across the world, from the American novelist and essayist James Baldwin to the Swedish author Sara Lidman. What they sought to establish was whether the American government had committed acts of aggression according to international law; whether it had bombed civilian targets; whether the war itself amounted to genocide. The precedent they invoked was the Nuremberg Trials after the Second World War, which had investigated war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Nazi Germany.

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Webbs book, though, is as much a biography of the final years of Russells life as the tribunal itself. Russell was born to an aristocratic family in Victorian Britain and died after the radical transformation of the Swinging Sixties. As Webb rightly points out in the book, Russell was very much on the front-foot when it came to agitating for a range of progressive causes. He was Noam Chomsky avant la lettre: an atheist when it was still stigmatised to be openly non-religious, the first president of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Three passions, Russell once wrote, governed his life: The longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. Webb describes Russell as an international ombudsman.

The tribunal was initially to take place in France where, as Webb puts it, President Charles de Gaulle was determined to restore his country as a world leader and was resentful of US domination of the Western alliance. But De Gaulle ended up stopping this. The next option was London  Britain under prime minister Harold Wilson had refused to participate in the Vietnam War  but the American government pressured Britain against it.

French writer Jean-Paul Sartre chaired the tribunal

So the tribunal took place in Sweden instead. Webb points out the war was more unpopular amongst the Swedish population than anywhere else in the world: opposition to the Vietnam War being widespread not only in the city of Stockholm, but throughout Sweden. It employed journalists and activists such as John Gerassi, Lawrence Daly and Tariq Ali to visit North Vietnam and find out whether war crimes and genocide had taken place, as well as taking testimony from Vietnamese civilian victims of American bombing. The second session of the tribunal took place in the Danish city of Roskilde in November and December 1967, where it ultimately found America guilty of war crimes. (Though those involved knew their conclusion would never be legally enforced; the trial was more to do with exposing American wrongdoing than implementing justice.)

Webb is critical of the American media when it came to reporting on the tribunal, and notes that media in the so-called Third World passionately supported it. He argues rightly too that the subsequent revelations of the My Lai massacre vindicated some of the work of the tribunal. Indeed, America behaved appallingly in Vietnam, as Webb illustrates through the disquieting evidence he presents in the book.

A human dummy is examined for the trial in Stockholm - Nycop, Carl-Adam: 75 ar Sverige. Hoganas

Near the end of the book, though, he notes that the tribunal did not adhere entirely to the evidence. Rhetorical excess at times distracted from the substance of the documentation it amassed. This, he writes, was none more the case than with its conclusion that the US was committing genocide. To which the reader would be fairly entitled to respond with: well, you dont say? It was always absurd to compare Americas objectives in Vietnam with the genocidal actions of Nazi Germany.

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Webb is a scrupulous writer: one cant accuse him of completely overlooking some of the madder causes with which members of the tribunal chose to associate themselves with. He notes with regret, for instance, that Sartre was an apologist for Chinas communist regime. And he writes, again near the end of the book, that Russell, Sartre and their associates did not get everything right. But the book would have been better served with recording these significant failures of judgment and insight in greater detail. The language with which Webb denounces Americas actions is more forceful than when he describes the brutality of communism; hes more strident in criticising those who followed the line of the American government than those who excused and openly supported countries far more barbarous than the capitalist West. The picture one gets from this book is a skewed one: its the villainy of America and little else.

Vietdamned is published by Profile at 22. To order your copy for 19.99, call 0330 173 0523 or visit Telegraph Books

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Jan. 27MOSES LAKE  Local law enforcement and schools will continue following state law regarding immigration enforcement, according to statements made by those organizations. The announcements come in response to rumors that began circulating last week after various immigration-related executive orders from President Donald Trump.

Trump issued several executive orders associated with immigration and border security on his first day in office, and the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement indicating schools and churches would no longer be considered taboo for Customs and Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to enter. Under former President Joe Biden's administration, those locations had been designated as "sensitive" for enforcement purposes.

"This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliensincluding murders and rapistswho have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense," said Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman via a DHS press release.

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DHS estimates that 1.4 to 1.5 million people entered the U.S. illegally over the past four years under the Biden administration. While enforcement of immigration law is a goal, most statements issued by DHS, ICE and CBP indicate that those who have committed crimes in the U.S. are the priority for enforcement.

Law enforcement

Local law enforcement agencies have said they will stick to their roles of enforcing criminal laws and remaining in compliance with state restrictions.

"Under RCW 10.93.160 local law enforcement may not assist in or arrest for civil immigration offenses, meaning the community will not see any changes from how we currently operate," a statement issued by the Moses Lake Police Department said.

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The Grant County Sheriff's Office issued a similar statement.

"The Grant County Sheriff's Office complies with state law and does not collect information about a person's immigration status," said GCSO Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman.

He then referred to the Keep Washington Working Act, a state law that prohibits law enforcement from asking about immigration or citizenship status when interacting with the public. For more information on that law, visit https://bit.ly/WAKWW.

The Mattawa Police Department cautioned against passing on rumors without verifying information. Unfounded reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement appearing at various locations, including schools, made the rounds on social media and caused law enforcement agencies and schools to receive calls from concerned community members.

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"City officials and (MPD) are not aware of raids occurring in the community. There are other law enforcement vehicles that travel through Highway 243 or come to Mattawa that may resemble a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle," the Mattawa PD statement said.

The statement went on to encourage community members to verify rumors with local officials prior to posting to social media in relation to unconfirmed information and second-hand naratives.

"Inaccurate information will cause unnecessary fear within the community," the Mattawa PD statement said.

The Quincy Police Department also cautioned against rumors.

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"Misinformation and rumors concerning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in Quincy neighborhoods conducting enforcement operations continue to be promoted without merit," the Quincy PD notice read. "There are no such operations underway, and those rumors create unnecessary fear and disruption for our community members."

Quincy PD also echoed other agencies in indicating local law enforcement is prohibited by state law from assisting in or arresting for civil immigration offenses.

Officers can enforce criminal law, but may not ask about immigration or residency status, according to multiple agencies.

School Impact

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Quincy School District officials said state law also affects school operations.

"District policy 4300 (is) aligned with RCW 43.10.310 (which) limits school involvement in immigration enforcement," said a release from the district.

Federal law also prohibits keeping undocumented children from receiving an education. Legal precedence is established in Plyler v. Doe, a U.S. Supreme Court case. The high court ruled that states cannot deny students a free public education based on immigration status and indicated those students have the same rights as U.S. citizens and permanent residents in that regard.

At the state level, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal issued guidelines for districts to use if immigration authorities interact with campuses. (https://bit.ly/WAEDIMMIGRATION) .

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"We are receiving a lot of questions and concerns from schools, families, legislators, community members, and other partners," said Reykdal. "As we monitor the actions of the new federal administration, I want to be clear: Washington state is and will remain a state that is unequivocally committed to supporting all of our students and their families."

Among other points, the guidelines advise districts to follow federal and state laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, also known as FERPA, various U.S. Supreme Court rulings and the Keep Washington Working Act. Generally, student information such as residency are protected and must be withheld from authorities unless a subpoena is provided.

Othello School District Superintendent Pete Perez wrote that OSD has a policy that conforms with the law.

"We do not ask questions regarding immigration status during enrollment," Perez wrote. "We do not collect information about citizenship or immigration status, we do not require Social Security numbers for enrollment, we do not provide legal advice to students for families. We do not act on behalf of immigration services."

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Perez said OSD is committed to educating Othello students.

"It's important that we don't let complex and potentially divisive issues distract us from that mission," Perez wrote.

Friday, Ephrata School District Superintendent Ken Murray issued a statement that parallelled Perez's. He indicated the district would remain focused on children and learning and not enforcement of federal law.

"We will continue to protect students' privacy while complying with federal, state and local laws," Murray said. "If new developments occur, we remain committed to openly communicate impacts with our community."
OWINGSVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56)  Students at the Bath County Schools finally had the chance to return to their classrooms after an extended time away.

Monday was a big day for Bath County Schools faculty and staff as they welcomed their students back for the first time in a month.

Read more of the latest Kentucky news

Superintendent Steven Evans, like his staff, was waiting for this day.

After a month of being out of school, theyre ready for them to come back, and were super excited for them to come back. Theres so much were looking forward to, Evans said.

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Now its time to make up for lost time in the classroom. Evans said district faculty and staff have been well-prepared to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Well do a lot of testing and assessments; look at our kids to see where our shortcomings are and where we need to speed up. If there is anything we feel like weve covered, where are we, and where do we need to be? Then well make the plan to get there without compromising the kids education, Evans said.

Bath County High School Principal Sabrina Bradenburg said Monday morning wasnt one shell forget anytime soon, especially since the time away was unexpected.

It was wonderful this morning to see the kids walking through the hallway, smiling, chatting with each other, coming up to us, and me and my assistant principal saying hello today. It was just great to see the kids because its been a long time, Brandebrug said.

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Bath County High School Assistant Principal Tyler Maynard is equally as excited, especially because it means students can be prepared for whats to come.

I think its important to have that sense of urgency because we have 58 days until our KSA testing window opens, so time is ticking. We must be ready to hit the ground running, Maynard said.

With that extra prep work comes the satisfaction of staff getting to pour into their students after what seemed like a long time away.

Crossroads Elementary Assistant Principal Benjamin Cain said these students are family, with Monday being a family reunion.

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Ill quote one of my fifth-grade teachers on this. She put it as Ive gone a whole month without seeing my 60+ kids. Those are my kids. Going a whole month without seeing your own kids is how she looks at them, Cain said.

Some county roads still arent safe to travel, but district leaders want to remind these families that they will do whats needed to work with those students.

Read more of the latest Lexington & central Kentucky news

Any student that couldnt get here because we couldnt run a bus, thatll be an excused absence. Theyll have all the time in the world to make up their work. Well work just as hard to get them caught up as well. Theyre all part of the family, and we look forward to having them back, Evans said.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
CAIRO, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Egypt sent a convoy of 305 trucks of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip on Sunday.

The Egyptian Cabinet said in a statement that Egypt's Tahya Misr Fund provided the convoy which includes 4,200 tons of food and humanitarian aid, along with 11 equipped ambulances.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who attended the launch of the convoy, said that it is the fifth of its kind organized by the fund and civil society institutions to provide aid and relief to the Palestinian people in Gaza, according to the statement.

More than 4,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza during the first six days of the ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, which began on Jan. 19, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  A multi-year dispute over Columbus bagel market has reached a settlement, pending approval in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

A legal fight between HB3 LLC, the family company behind Blocks Bagels, and Jeremy Fox, former Blocks business partner and owner of Foxs Bagel & Deli, has reached a settlement, ending a battle of the bagels that has persisted since 2022. Both parties agreed to Fox paying $9,791 in unpaid goods and a $290,000 unsecured claim.

Central Ohio student sues PowerSchool over data breach

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Longtime central Ohio shop Blocks Bagels sued Fox after he rebranded two Blocks locations he operated, renaming them Foxs Bagel & Deli. According to court documents, HB3 accused Fox of intentionally breaching a license and product supply agreement establishing Blocks as the sole supplier of bagels, cream cheeses and other deli items to Foxs Bexley location. Fox and HB3 had a similar, oral agreement for Foxs stand at North Market, legal documents state.

Fox owned and operated two Blocks branded locations under the company Foxs Food. Court documents allege Fox created Sammys Bagels in 2021, which he then used to purchase Blocks direct competitor in 2022, Sammys Foods. Fox then sold Foxs Food to FRG Enterprises, which Fox owned 75% of.

After selling his company to himself, he fired his employees from Foxs Foods and rehired them under the new company. Blocks accused him of doing all of this to save money by supplying his locations with Sammys Bagels products. According to court documents, Blocks asserts they did not know about Fox acquiring Sammys Bagels and claimed Foxs actions violated their agreements.

Initially, Blocks sued for $1.3 million in damages, and Fox countered with $9,791 in unpaid goods. At one point throughout the legal battle, Blocks even secured a temporary restraining order against Fox requiring him to continue purchasing exclusively from Blocks as they awaited legal closure. Watch previous coverage of the lawsuit in the video player above.

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The settlement is pending approval in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, as Fox filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2023 for the FRG company, moving the case out of civil court. This type of bankruptcy filing allows a debtor to reorganize its company to help settle debts while continuing to operate.

Blocks was founded in 1967 by Hal Block, who died earlier this month. Both Blocks and Foxs Bagels & Deli posted on social media about Blocks passing, with Blocks closing to attend the service and Fox expressing his condolences.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG)  The new leader of one of Mobiles landmark attractions says hes ready to bring World War II history to the next generation. Officials at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park recently welcomed a new executive director.

Commander Mark Fields began his new job at the battleship at the start of the year. He says each day is a chance to recommit to outreach, education, and inspiration missions.

Fields comes to the battleship with two decades of experience in the US Navy. After retiring he took on different roles in County and municipal government in the Tuscaloosa area.

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Fields says he tries to connect with guests daily to see what they like about their experience at the park and what they can do better. He says the primary goal is to put guests in the perspective of the thousands of people who served aboard the mighty A during World War II.

What is it like to be that 19, 20-year-old sailor possibly here from Alabama serving? What better way can we deliver that message to those who are coming aboard this ship and understanding that? The second thing is, is education. We want to make sure that were continuing to educate everyone who comes aboard, said the Executive Director of USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park Mark Fields. I try to get out at least 2 to 3 times a day, two, three, four or 5 minutes. Just being able to ask those who are here with us about the experience that theyve had. Hopefully, its an absolutely fantastic experience and we want them to share that information out there with others of what it is that we have to offer here at this park.

Fields say maintenance for all the park attractions and landmarks is a top priority. He says USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park is an inspiring place and a great place to inspire the next generation to respect and honor service to the country. Fields says everyone at the park has a role to play to make sure we never forget the service of the people who came before them.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB)  One Bay County true business and community leader has passed away. Don Crisp died on Saturday at the age of 82.

Crisp battled poor health for several years. He was born in Marianna, Florida, and graduated from Marianna High School, Chipola Junior College, and Florida State University.

He was married to his wife Tyrene for 25 years, founded Bay County Land and Abstract Title Company, and was significantly involved in thousands of land transactions throughout the Panhandle.

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Crisps community service was extensive and he was very active in the Panama City Jaycees.

How hope turned to horror for the Hudlows: The truth behind the deception

As a member of the Bay County Chamber of Commerce, Crisp received the 1995 Lauren Merriam Award, the chambers highest honor.

He also served on the Share the Future steering committee that raised over a million dollars for economic development. It remains the only economic development incentive fund in Bay County.

Crisp was a member of the Bay County Airport Authority Board and helped make the decision to build the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.

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Crisp served on many local boards, including the Port Panama City authority board, Gulf Coast State College Board of Trustees, and many others. He was also very active on the local and state political scene.

The family has not yet released funeral arrangements. News 13 will provide that information as soon as its available.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
"If it's black, fight back; if it's brown, lie down; if it's white, well say goodnight." Such is the forlorn advice for any camper or mountaineer unfortunate enough to encounter a bear on the prowl.

Unless packing heat, people have little chance of surviving an encounter should one of the giants move in for the kill. The polar bear is the worlds biggest land carnivore with some males weighing upwards of 700 kg; lone hunters capable of killing prey more than twice their size such as narwhals and walruses.

While omnivorous, North American brown bears can be nearly as large, with paws the size of dinner plates that can down a bull moose with a single well-placed swipe.

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And though smaller, female bears are arguably more dangerous than males if startled while out and about with their cubs: Think of the wince-inducing scene in "The Revenant" when Leonardo di Caprios trapper character is mauled by a momma grizzly after chancing upon her little ones in the wilderness.

But there could be a life-saving method for campers and hikers that does not involve strapping on a rifle. According to Wesley Sarmento of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, using "a highly maneuverable, buzzing drone" resulted in him "scattering bears with accuracy" when they were found to be getting too close for comfort.

Grizzlies are "an imposing predator that can take down prey as large and dangerous as an adult bison," warned Sarmento, who wrote up his findings for the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science.

After having limited success using trained dogs, firecrackers and non-lethal rounds, Sarmento found using a drone meant he "could precisely chase bears exactly where I wanted them" without having to get out of his truck.

"Even at night, I could find bears from afar with the thermal camera, and then fly in closer to move them away from towns, homes, and livestock," he said.

When bears get too close, a buzzing drone can be used to scare them off, according to one US wildlife park. Finn Huwald/dpa
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Jan. 26 that Belarus had "unilaterally" released an American woman from detention, as Alexander Lukashenko is set to win a seventh term in office.

Rubio identified the U.S. citizen as Anastassia Nuhfer, who was detained during former President Joe Biden's tenure. He did not provide details on the timing or reasons for her arrest.

Rubio's statement followed a series of prisoner releases by Lukashenko, often referred to as "Europes last dictator."

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Belarus' oldest human rights group, Viasna, reports that over 1,250 individuals remain in detention for opposing the government. Lukashenkos opponents, many imprisoned or exiled due to his ongoing crackdown on dissent, have condemned Sundays election as fraudulent. The 2020 election, which sparked months of mass protests, has been widely criticized for its lack of legitimacy.

The U.S. State Department later confirmed that Nuhfer had been detained in early December 2024, according to the Associated Press. Earlier this month, a consular officer from Washington gained rare access to her in detention.

A former high-ranking Belarusian diplomat told the Associated Press that Nuhfer's arrest was tied to the 2020 protests, though they did not provide further details. The diplomat, speaking anonymously due to security concerns, added that Lukashenko offered to release Nuhfer "as a gesture of goodwill" but refused to free any Belarusian opposition or rights activists.

Lukashenkos support for Russias war in Ukraine has strained Belarus relations with both the U.S. and the EU, ending his previous attempts to leverage Western support for more subsidies from Moscow.

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It remains unclear what, if any, concessions Belarus may have sought in exchange for releasing Nuhfer.

Read also: Belarus Weekly: Belarus to host over 13,000 Russian troops for Zapad-2025 joint military drills

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Belarus' opposition activists and Western officials on Monday denounced an orchestrated election that extends the more than three-decade rule of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. The country's exiled opposition leader called the result sheer nonsense.

The Central Election Commission declared that Lukashenko won Sunday's election with nearly 87% of the vote after a campaign in which four token challengers on the ballot all praised his rule.

Members of the political opposition, many of whom are imprisoned or exiled abroad by Lukashenko's unrelenting crackdown on dissent and free speech, said the election was a sham  much like the last one in 2020 that triggered months of protests that were unprecedented in the history of the country of 9 million people.

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Since then, more than 65,000 people were arrested and thousands beaten, with the crackdown bringing condemnation and sanctions from the West.

The European Union rejected the outcome as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the election offered no choice to voters, marking a bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy.

Instead of free and fair elections and a life without fear and arbitrariness, they experience daily oppression, repression and human rights violations, she said in a post on X.

The EU, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand issued a joint statement condemning the sham presidential elections in Belarus and the Lukashenko governments human rights violations.

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No election can be considered free, fair or in line with international standards when it is held in a climate of ongoing repression, marked by a clampdown on civil society, arbitrary detentions, and restrictions on genuine political participation, the statement said, urging authorities to release political prisoners.

The countries said they were imposing coordinated sanctions on Lukashenko's government. Britain and Canada jointly imposed sanctions on six individuals, including prison chiefs, a senior Interior Ministry official and the head of the Central Election Commission, as well as three Belarusian defense companies.

Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and has ruled the country with an iron fist. He has relied on subsidies and political support from Russian President Vladimir Putin, himself in office for a quarter-century, a relationship that helped him survive the 2020 protests.

Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use the countrys territory to invade Ukraine in 2022 and later hosted some of Russias tactical nuclear weapons.

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Putin called Lukashenko on Monday to congratulate him on his convincing victory. Chinese President Xi Jinping also sent congratulations.

Some observers believe Lukashenko feared a repeat of those mass demonstrations amid economic troubles and the fighting in Ukraine, and so scheduled the vote in January, when few would want to fill the streets again, rather than hold it in August.

Leading opponents have fled abroad or were thrown in prison. Activists say the country holds nearly 1,300 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, founder of the Viasna Human Rights Center.

Since July, Lukashenko has pardoned more than 250 people. At the same time, authorities have sought to uproot dissent by arresting hundreds more in raids targeting relatives and friends of political prisoners.

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Opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled Belarus under government pressure after challenging Lukashenko in 2020, had denounced the election in advance and had urged voters to cross off every candidate on the ballot.

On Monday, she rejected the official vote tally as sheer nonsense, saying Lukashenko will not succeed in cheating the world and the Belarusian people, who live in fear amid the most horrible repressions.

As long as Belarus remains under control of Lukashenko and Putin, there will remain a constant threat to peace and security of the entire region, Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press.

Pavel Latushka, a prominent Belarusian opposition activist who lives abroad, said Lukashenko has been trying to mend ties with the West by releasing some political prisoners and offering to help sponsor peace talks on Ukraine.

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We are seeing attempts by Lukashenko to turn the page and start talks with Western nations to win at least a degree of international recognition, he said, emphasizing the importance of keeping sanctions in place to force the Belarusian leader to ease his crackdown on dissent.

Latushka predicted that Belarus' economy will worsen, raising pressure on Lukashenko to try to win a respite from the sanctions.

Lukashenko realizes that Belarus is facing a difficult time when it's very hard to stabilize the economy without more Kremlin subsidies and Russia's resources are scarce, Latushka said. In these conditions, Minsk will try to launch a conversation on lifting Western sanctions.

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X that Belarus has unilaterally freed an imprisoned American woman, whom he identified as Anastassia Nuhfer without giving any details of her case.

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Valery Karbalevich, an independent political analyst, said Lukashenko would be unlikely to reduce repressions but could be expected to bargain with the West for easing sanctions by releasing more prisoners.

Lukashenko's harsh repressions inside the country and support for Russia's war in Ukraine has made him a Kremlin satellite," Karbalevich said. The Belarusian leader doesn't like that, and he will try to change the situation after the vote. Lukashenko will try to restore his legitimacy in the West to ease his isolation and to roll back Western sanctions.
Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko won re-election over the weekend in a vote that has been decried as a "sham" by the opposition and Western observers.

Lukashenko, known as "Europe's last dictator," will be in power five-year term with the election win. His last election victory created protests around the country, leading to a violent crackdown where opponents were jailed or driven from the country.

Belarus' central election commission said that Lukashenko won 87% of the vote while his closest opponent received 3%.

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Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Belarus's leading opposition leader now in exile, called the election "yet another political farce." Her husband, another top opposition leader, remains in prison there. The country banned all independent election observers this time around.

The election commission showed that 3.6% of voters heeded Tikhanovskaya's call to vote against all candidates as she urged world leaders to decline to recognize the vote "where all independent media and opposition parties have been destroyed and prisons are filled by political prisoners.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union's foreign policy leader, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock both criticized the election as well, calling it undemocratic and giving the Belarusian people no real choice.

Lukashenko, however, received a congratulatory call from his longtime ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday after the vote secured his seventh term.

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Putin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, called Lukashenko's win a "solid victory."

"[The election was] absolutely legitimate, well-organized, transparent election," Pesko said.

Leaders in China, Pakistan, and Venezuela also extended their congratulations to Lukashenko as well.
It might come as a surprise since the presidential election was just a few months ago, but voting starts soon for another election in Wisconsin  the spring primary, held on Feb. 18.

Clerks across Wisconsin can offer in-person early voting for the primary between Feb. 4 and Feb. 16, though hours and locations vary by community. Milwaukee will provide early voting from Feb. 4 to Feb. 15 at seven locations throughout the city.

If you've requested an absentee ballot for the spring primary, you should receive it in the mail soon. Clerks must send those ballots by Jan. 28 to voters who've already asked for them. If you request one after that date, clerks must mail your ballot within two business days.

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All voters in Wisconsin can participate in the Feb. 18 election, because there's a primary race for state superintendent, the top education official in Wisconsin. Three candidates will appear on the Feb. 18 ballot, and two will advance to the April 1 election.

More: As state education agency cuts costs, DPI superintendent race heats up

Other local positions, like city council, school board and judges, might appear on your ballot if more than two candidates are running. You can check what races are on your ballot ahead of time at myvote.wi.gov.

You might have heard about an upcoming race for state Supreme Court in Wisconsin, but that won't appear on the February primary ballot since only two candidates, one liberal and one conservative, are competing for the open seat.

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Along with the Supreme Court race, the April ballot will also have a referendum question on Wisconsin's photo ID requirement to vote, plus candidates for local positions who moved on from the February primary.

More: What's on the ballot for Wisconsin's Feb. 18 primary and April 1 spring election?

Here's what to know about voting early in the Feb. 18 election, and important deadlines to keep in mind.

When does early voting begin in Wisconsin for Feb. 18 primary election?

Early voting allows voters to go to a designated location and cast an absentee ballot in-person. Voters may prefer this option if they can't make it to the polls on Election Day, for example.

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Clerks can offer early voting from Feb. 4 to Feb. 16, but each community decides how many locations and dates to offer it. You can check if your clerk offers early voting under "Vote Absentee in Person" at myvote.wi.gov.

Where can I vote early in Milwaukee for the Feb. 18 primary election?

For voters who live within Milwaukee's city limits, the following early voting sites are available from Feb. 4 to Feb. 15. A map of locations is also available on the Milwaukee Election Commission's website:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Zelazo Center (2419 East Kenwood Boulevard) and Zeidler Municipal Building (841 N. Broadway Ave.)

Monday through Friday: 10:30 a.m.7 p.m.

Saturday: Noon2 p.m.

Sunday: Noon2 p.m.

Zablocki Library (3501 W. Oklahoma Ave.), Washington Park Senior Center (4420 W. Vliet St.), Capitol Drive Voting Center (6001 W. Capitol Drive), Tippecanoe Library (3912 S. Howell Ave.) and Good Hope Library (7715 W. Good Hope Road)

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Monday through Friday: Noon-6 p.m.

Saturday: Noon-2 p.m.

When can I register to vote for Wisconsin's spring elections?

Wisconsin has same-day voter registration, meaning you can register at your polling place Feb. 18 or April 1. Remember to bring a document that proves you live at your current address and an acceptable photo ID.

If you want to register ahead of time, here are the deadlines to keep in mind:

Jan. 29: Deadline to register by mail or online for the Feb. 18 election. You can register online at myvote.wi.gov or send a paper registration form with a copy of your proof of residence to your local clerk.

Feb. 14: Deadline to register to vote at your clerk's office for the Feb. 18 election. You can register during your clerk's regular business hours until 5 p.m. Feb. 14. You can find your clerk's office address here. If your clerk offers early voting, you can also register to vote there through the Friday before Election Day.

March 12: Deadline to register by mail or online for the April 1 election.

March 28: Deadline to register to vote at your clerk's office for the April 1 election.

When can I request an absentee ballot in Wisconsin?

You can request an absentee ballot at any time on myvote.wi.gov. You can request that absentee ballots be sent to you for all elections in 2025, including both the Feb. 18 and April 1 election. You'll need to upload a copy of your photo ID.

Keep these dates in mind if you plan to vote absentee in the spring elections:

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Jan. 28: Clerks must send absentee ballots to voters with requests on file for the Feb. 18 election. Clerks must fulfill requests received after Jan. 28 within two business days.

Feb. 13 at 5 p.m.: Last day for most voters to request an absentee ballot for the Feb. 18 election. Deadlines are longer for temporary overseas, indefinitely confined, military or hospitalized voters.

Feb. 18 at 8 p.m.: Deadline to return your absentee ballot for the Feb. 18 election. Your clerk must receive your ballot by the time polls close on Election Day. If you plan to mail back your absentee ballot, it's typically recommended to do so a week in advance, or Feb. 11.

March 11: Clerks must send absentee ballots to voters with requests on file for the April 1 election.

March 27 at 5 p.m.: Last day for most voters to request an absentee ballot for the April 1 election.

April 1 at 8 p.m.: Deadline to return your absentee ballot for the April 1 election.

This story was updated to correct the address of Zablocki Library.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin primary election early voting, absentee voting starts soon
YANGON, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's major city, Yangon, welcomed over 240,000 international visitors in 2024, the official The Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Monday.

Most international visitors, primarily from China, Thailand, and South Korea, arrived by air through Yangon International Airport, the report said, citing Aung Thet Htun, deputy director of the Yangon Region Directorate of Hotels and Tourism.

Meanwhile, around 1.9 million domestic tourists traveled to Yangon via various modes of transport, including rail, road, and air, during this period, it added.

To further boost the hotels and tourism sector in the Yangon region, collaboration is underway among the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, the Yangon Region Government, the Myanmar Tourism Federation, the Myanmar Hoteliers Association (Yangon Zone), and other relevant organizations, it said. 
Labour has been warned against any planned changes to the disability benefits system that would make them harder to access, as a new report arguing the economic value of disability benefits for those in need far outweighs the public cost.

The government has not yet announced its plans for health-related benefits, but has made clear that spending cuts are likely. Prime minister Keir Starmer has said that Labour would be ruthless in cutting benefits if needed to balance government spending, with more details set to come in the spring.

But stripping back the welfare system to cut costs misses the bigger picture, the report from Pro Bono Economics and anti-poverty Z2K has found. Their analysis finds that the economic value of disability benefits is not understood by ministers, urging them to reconsider any planned cuts.

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Changes to the work capability assessment are understood to be central to government plans, with the Treasury committing to match a 1.3bn saving plan made by the previous Conservative government, which adds up to 3bn overall.

Under those plans, an estimated 450,000 fewer people would have qualifed for health-related benefits, although Labour has said it will re-consult on the changes.

Ministers have said changes to the current welfare system are necessary, pointing out the spiralling number of people claiming health-related benefits. There are now 3.7 million people of working age receiving them  1.2 million more than in February 2020.

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will spearhead any benefit changes made by Labour (PA Wire)

A consultation launched by the Conservatives in June put forward proposals such as changing the eligibility criteria for work capability assessments, redesigning the PIP assessment, and replacing certain cash payments with vouchers. Labour has said it will put forward its own proposals, but has not ruled out any of these measures.

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However, the new report argues that any of these measures would be detrimental, finding that the economic value of ensuring disability benefits for those who need them far outweighs the cost to the government of providing them. This is because there is a monetary value attached to improving wellbeing, as set out in Treasury guidance, worth around 12,300 annually per person.

With around 3.5 million claimants currently receiving health-related support, this translates to a potential 42 billion in annual economic benefits. This would far exceed the 28 billion cost to the exchequer in delivering these benefits, the report finds.

Matt Whittaker, CEO at Pro Bono Economics, said: Disability benefits provide crucial financial support for millions of people, helping to offset the extra living costs that many disabled people face in their day-to-day lives. But we now know that they do so much more: boosting the mental wellbeing and life satisfaction of recipients to a level well beyond the cash cost of delivery.

Reforms to simplify the claims process would make this support even more effective, by improving the experience for existing claimants and removing barriers for many more who could benefit.

Prime minister Keir Starmer told reporters in Ukraine: We will be ruthless with cuts if thats whats necessary. (Getty Images)

The authors have urged the government to reconsider any planned changes to disability benefits which look to make short-term savings. Their report argues that the benefits system already has too many barriers preventing claimants from getting the support they need. Any changes should make benefits more accessible, they add, rather than less.

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Ayla Ozmen, Director of Policy and Campaigns at Z2K, said: These findings show that the narrow focus on the rising cost of disability benefitsmisses the bigger picture. The report reveals that disability benefits actually provide a boost to the economy: spending on disability benefits should be seen not as a drain on public finances but as an investment in economic growth.

Instead of focusing on how to make short-term savings by reducing financial support for disabled people, the government needs to recognise the wider economic gains of disability benefits and instead concentrate on ensuring support is available to everyone who needs it.

He adds: Removing or reducing hundreds of pounds of vital financial support for disabled people would have a devastating effect. Already over 88% of low-income households on disability benefits cant afford the basics, including food, energy costs, prescriptions and transport to medical appointments. Further cuts will inevitably push people deeper into poverty and leave people in worse health.

A DWP spokesperson said: We have been clear that the current benefits system needs reform so it is fairer on the taxpayer and people get the support they need to move into work.

Building on our Get Britain Working White Paper, we will bring forward proposals for reforming the health and disability benefits system in the Spring. This will be part of a proper plan to help disabled people who can work to secure employment while ensuring support is provided for those who need it, with a commitment to put the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of any policy changes that directly affect them.
The landmark Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was lit up after sunset on Monday to commemorate the victims of Auschwitz, 80 years after the liberation of the Nazi death camp.

The words #weremember were projected onto the top of the landmark, situated in the centre of Berlin near the embassies of the United States, France, Britain and Russia, who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II.

The international campaign launched by the World Jewish Congress and UNESCO organizes events each year to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.

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In Berlin, events and church services were planned throughout the day.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner recalled in a statement that the systematic extermination of European Jews, Sinti and Roma by the Nazis was planned and organized from Berlin.

"It is our common duty and our historical heritage to remember the victims of Nazi terror and the Shoah and to give a voice to the surviving witnesses," Wegner said,

"But it is also our responsibility to stand up against any form of anti-Semitism," he said. "Because the enemies of democracy must never be louder than those who stand up for peace, freedom and democracy."

On January 27, 1945, Soviet soldiers liberated the German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz located in German-occupied Poland. Some 1.1 million were killed at Auschwitz, including about 1 million Jews.
Look to these hot new eateries when you want a fun scene as well as a delicious meal. To see the other Best New Restaurant winners, click here.

THE BENJAMIN HOLLYWOOD

Nick Johnson

Ben Shenassafar (of streetwear brand The Hundreds) evokes classic Hollywood hangouts at this opulent 1920s-style eatery where guests can sip martinis paired with former Spago and Bestia chef Johnny Cirelles burger and other American favorites.



7174 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, thebenjaminhollywood.com

CHEZ MIA

Simran Malik Photography

Longtime celebrity haunt Ago is now a chic South of France-inspired bistro thanks to Marissa and Matt Hermer (Olivetta, The Draycott). Sit on the lively patio under frothy umbrellas and enjoy caviar, fresh seafood, produce-heavy dishes and colorful cocktails.



8478 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, chezmia.com

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Chez Mia and Olivetta came together and raised more than $100,000 to make meals for those affected, and made a call in an Instagram post asking for drivers to distribute food and to nominate families in need.

STELLA WEST HOLLYWOOD





Jakob Layman

Restaurateur Janet Zuccarini (Felix) transformed the subterranean former Madeo space into an 8,000-square-foot bilevel Italian stunner, where chef Rob Gentile is serving his signature seafood, house-made pastas and Roman-style pizzas.



8899 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood, stellawesthollywood.com

Stella hosted a donation drop, along with offering free coffee and space to charge electronics on Jan. 18 and 19. They are also donating 100% of all pizza and Peroni proceeds to Slice Out Hungers wildfire relief efforts.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A Portland woman has pleaded guilty after defrauding several clients at her surrogacy consulting businesses, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of California announced.

The case goes back to 2018, when 40-year-old Lillian Markowitz  also known as Lillian Frost  began experiencing financial distress at three of her San Diego-based surrogacy consulting businesses: My Donor Cycle, Surrogacy Beyond Borders, and Expecting Surrogacy, authorities said, noting Markowitz marketed herself as a surrogacy consultant.

From there, authorities said Markowitz created a scheme to steal money from her surrogacy clients by submitting fraudulent requests to the escrow company where her clients funds were maintained.

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City of Portland to auction foreclosed blighted properties at public sale

The Department of Justice said Markowitz admitted to submitting four fraudulent escrow disbursement requests from accounts of two couples.

One of the requests included what Markowitz knew to be a forged client signature, officials said, noting she received checks from the escrow company without the knowledge or consent of her clients.

Markowitz also admitted that beginning in January 2019 through May 2021, she defrauded nine other clients by falsely promising their funds would be put into an escrow account, which would only be accessed to pay for expenses for surrogacy services.

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However, authorities said Moskowitz ended up depositing these client funds into a business checking account, and used the money to cover general business expenses, expenses for other clients surrogacy services, and her personal expenses.

Oregon officials, religious leaders support immigrants

Markowitz pleaded guilty to fraud charges in federal court on January 23, and as part of her plea deal, agreed to pay restitution of at least $389,142 to her former clients.

Authorities noted the wire fraud charges can lead to a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The path to parenthood through surrogacy can be fraught with emotional and financial challenges, said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. This defendant selfishly exploited vulnerable clients who were striving to fulfill their dream of becoming parents.

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Man facing DUII after spinning cookies, nearly hitting Lincoln City beachgoers

FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy added, Instead of aiding her hopeful clients on their path to parenthood, the defendant took advantage of their vulnerability, betrayed their trust, and stole their money.

Moy furthered that the FBI will continue to investigate these unique fraud schemes to protect the public against those who employ empty promises and prey upon vulnerable individuals.

Markowitz is scheduled to be sentenced on April 11.

Anyone who believes they may be a victim in this case is asked to contact the FBI San Diego Field Office.

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With two Michelin stars, a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, recognition as one of Time magazines 100 Most Influential People and several James Beard awards, Jose Andres is a well-recognized visionary in the food world.



On Jan. 4, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, in recognition of his humanitarian work with his organization World Central Kitchen, which provides meals to people during times of disaster and war. Of course, that was under the Biden administration and just a few weeks later newly-elected President Trump included Andres on his social media post about "fired" presidential council heads, suggesting he'd removed his title helming the Presidents Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. Andres responded soon after that he had submitted his resignation weeks before as his two year term in the position has already concluded.



No matter what honors he receives or side projects he may take on moving forward, when it comes to feeding people, the Spain-born chef continues to push himself. Feeding those in need is always top of mind, but his passion and innovation for upscale restaurant environments continues to captivate.

Chef Jose Andres with his team.Josh Telles

His inventive dishes and eclectic atmospheres have made his restaurants hits all around the country, in cities including Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas; Miami; New York; Chicago; and L.A.; as well as international destinations like Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and Mexico City.



The revered restaurateur is continuing to expand his empire and set to make an even bigger impact here with two new concepts at The Shay hotel in Culver City: Zaytinya, opened in December with Butterfly following soon after. Bazaar Meat is set to open later this year at Downtowns mixed-use development The Grand LA, where theyll be serving fresh takes on Andres famed tapas-inspired dishes.



Many first became familiar with the chef from The Bazaar, his Beverly Hills restaurant known for its wild and whimsical menu featuring flavor fusions, unique presentations and displays of molecular gastronomy. Opened in 2008, it was the JAG restaurant groups first project outside of D.C. and a popular special occasion locale at the SLS Hotel until it closed in 2020. In 2022, he made his return to L.A. with San Laurel at the new Conrad Los Angeles, where he also helms the food and beverage program at the hotels Airlight pool, Alto (formerly Agua Viva) rooftop and The Beaudry Room lounge.

The terrace of DTLAs San Laurel overlooking Walt Disney Concert Hall.Katrina Frederick

I remember being there with Frank Gehry the first time he showed me that space, Andres recalls of the Conrad, set within The Grand complex that the famed architect designed. He said, I make buildings that will be better buildings if they have a heart. And I need you, Jose, to become the heart. He describes the still-thriving San Laurel as a little bit of Spain meets California  good food that travelers and locals alike can come to have.



Were doing Bazaar Meat because we wanted to do something different. I didnt want to clone what we did in L.A. before, says Andres, who has outposts of the high-end steakhouse in Las Vegas and Chicago. Its going to be a hybrid of what people used to love from the old Bazaar and not just meat, but well be doing grills [with] vegetables.

Caviar cones will be served at The Grands upcoming eatery Bazaar Meat.Louiie-Victa

Zaytinya brings his soulful cooking and innovation to a more Mediterranean menu  with Turkish, Greek and Lebanese influences  and it already boasts locations in New York, South Beach and D.C. [Its] a concept that I believe will do very well here and its a brand that has done very well for me from the day I created it, Andres says.



Influences from his native Spain will always infuse Andres cuisine and he strives to bring fun, creative elements to every dish. Case in point: his buttery jamon iberico de bellota cinco jotas (hand-cut from the famous acorn-fed, black-footed Spanish pig), which is served at San Laurel on a plate adorned with a small portrait of the pigs likeness.



I think theres creativity from the eyes of a chef that began his career in Spain, right? says Andres, who has upcoming openings in Palo Alto, Arizona and Vegas. Hell make his first foray into residential luxury developments in West Palm Beach, debut a hotel in Georgetown and publish his next cookbook, Change the Recipe: Because You Cant Build a Better World Without Breaking Some Eggs) in April 2025  all while continuing his humanitarian work.

Crispy Brussels Afelia from new Culver City restaurant Zaytinya at The Shay.Salar-Abduazi

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About how that work might be impacted by the new president, Andres told Los Angeles in an interview before Trump re-entered office, "Even in my own family, we disagree. You know, I've had my own personal issues with President Trump about immigrants and division of immigrants to America," he explains. "I hold my ground in the same way he holds his. I will say that during the pandemic, the first thing I did was go to the Department of Agriculture to meet with all the top team there to see how World Central Kitchen could help take care of people. The same week, I ended up in the White House speaking to President Trump about ideas and steps to take care of Americans that were going to be going through hardships. At the end of the day, I put country over personal thoughts or politics or anything. I've met with Republican and Democratic presidents. I've fed both."



"You don't run a country when you go for the vote. You run a country when every single citizen, in one way or another, involves himself in development of your community, development of your country, that's what we all should do," he adds. "Respecting each other or respecting each other's views without trashing or bringing down anybody else because he has different ideas than you. In this case, if you respect me, I will respect you. If you respect others, I will respect you. That's my mantra."

Respect may be the key to his success  in the culinary community and beyond, but the chef's gift for combining flavors is what's made his restaurants so popular. Food is about ingredients  about fruits, vegetables, meat and spices, he says. I think the main thing is, lets make food thats good, and everything else just rights itself."



In addition to Bazaar Meat, Andres is also looking forward to restaurant openings in Palo Alto and Arizona this year. He just opened Bazaar Mar in Las Vegas, In 2027 hell make his first foray into residential luxury developments in West Palm Beach and a hotel to be called The Bazaar House in Georgetown.



All this while he continues his humanitarian work. In addition to helping during the L.A. fires, WCK is also currently in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. Hes also preparing to release his new book, Change the Recipe: Because You Can't Build a Better World Without Breaking Some Eggs in April, which he describes as stories about how to manage and adapt when things dont go as we plan in life, just change the recipe and youll be ok.



More info on Jose Andres new concepts at Culver Citys The Shay Hotel, Downtowns The Grand L.A., and much more at joseandres.com.





A shorter version of this story first appeared in the January 2025 issue of Los Angeles magazine, on newsstands now; click here to subscribe today.



_
BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC)  Ryan Zink, a former District 19 Republican candidate for Congress, was convicted for his involvement in the January 6 capitol breach and sentenced to federal prison. After receiving pardons for two misdemeanors and a felony charge, Zink is now focused on moving forward. He believes the full story of January 6 has yet to be told and is determined to continue his fight for justice, citing issues with the court proceedings and coverage of the event.

Lubbock man gets some federal prison time for Jan. 6 Capitol breach

Ryan Zink via the Lubbock County Detention Center, Ryan Zink at the U.S. Capitol via court documents

Its been about a year and a half since Zink was convicted of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, as well as disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds, in connection with the January 6 U.S. Capitol breach. He was sentenced to three months in federal prison, followed by a year of supervised release.

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Since then, Trump and the U.S. Supreme Court have pardoned Zink on two misdemeanors and a felony charge. According to Zink, one of the most significant aspects of these pardons is the opportunity to get the real story out about January 6.

Ryan Zink, Feburary 2024

But as for the rest of the 1,447 days that weve gone through this, its been an extremely trying time during the stress of all of this. My wife and I finally decided to come forward that we had two miscarriages during this time over misdemeanors where the federal government had just absolutely destroyed the lives of Americans for protesting, Zink shared.

Candidate for U.S. Representative District 19 shares experience from January 6 & campaign goals

In a video, Zink was quoted saying, We knocked down the gates. Were storming the Capitol. You cant stop us. Prosecutors argued that Zinks congressional campaign was merely an attempt to continue portraying himself as a victim, pointing to a lack of remorse for his actions. However, Zink claimed he was tortured and practically poisoned while in jail. Four years later, he stated he wouldnt have done anything differently and highlighted something he believes has been overlooked by the mainstream media.

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Even when you look at recent events. On the 20th, the Department of Justice actually had the first January 6 defendant acquitted long before the pardon was issued. There are more severe charges than mine that were associated with that, and thats not being covered, Zink said. Im going forward with appeal. That is the reason that I was sent to federal prison. The prosecutors tried to give me five and a half years in prison, and I was remanded to 90 days because I wouldnt apologize. What prosecutor is allowed to centralize themselves around my congressional campaign, saying that it was nothing more than an extension of what I believe? Thats not true at all. I wanted to represent the people of Congressional District 19, and I may actually follow up on that to see if they have any additional comments about that.

Trump defends pardoning of violent Jan. 6 offenders

He claims the prosecutions have been riddled with lies and misrepresentations about the events of that day and insists that the truth is about to come to light.

When you look at the approach of the federal government in the way that they have absolutely maliciously gone after Americans who were either walking through the building or, like myself, who only spoke. I never entered the building. I never assaulted anyone. I never damaged any property. I was actually on the east ports protecting police officers; all of this is on video, and then you have a populace of jurors who, 92.68%, voted for Kamala Harris and viewed all Trump supporters as a threat to democracy, Zink explained. That is where you get all of these guilty convictions and the way that they have been able to manipulate the system. As for me, I had the right that day for my First Amendment constitutional rights to go in as a journalist and speak about what was going on.

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Zink stated that he was there to cover the event but still had the right to his opinion and to express it. He emphasized that people need to understand the full context of what happened.

We have just been told that we were acknowledged, the fact that we had permits to protest inside of the area that theyre saying is this restricted cordon-off area that had all these signs, and thats just simply not true. The signs were not all the way around there, Zink recalled. It was a figure of speech of We knocked down the gates. Were storming the Capitol. That you cant stop us is you cant stop us from protesting. Theyre putting us into this category that we were all there as just these violent insurrectionists, and nobody was armed. The way that this has been portrayed is just absolutely insane.

Trumps Jan. 6 certification marks political comeback

He believes there has been bias in the court proceedings for the January 6 defendants from the very beginning.

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Under the 11th hour of the Biden DOJ, they tried to dismiss my appeal under the cover of darkness so it wouldnt go forward because I have one of the best cases for appeal because of the way that you know this prosecution, particularly Carrie Walsh and Michael D Brown, have lied in their initial proceedings about what happened, and then when you mix in the fact of the jury pools being tainted and jurors being reused in cases that have already convicted other January 6 defendants with a 100% conviction rate, Zink shared. When you look at the DC scales, here are some numbers for you: 100% conviction rate on all January 6 defendants, and about 61% of convictions for every other crime, including murder, from the rest of Washington, DC. So if you look at those numbers, an absolute bias is involved. And you know, I think going forward, were going to see a lot more exposure.

When asked if he believes the pardons undermine law enforcement, Zink responded, I dont think it does Because the law was upheld. The presidential pardon is a power that was granted to the President for that individual to make specific decisions. You know, we saw in the last administration that Joe Biden has dismissed over 2,500 pardons that have come out, including his own family. So if were going to claim that January 6 is the circumventing of the law, then the Biden administration would have to be guilty of that too.

Zink added that he was already aware of the pardons before his own was granted and feels very relieved to get back into the field.

I was aware that when Donald Trump did get into office, he was going to be signing the pardons. I was also made aware by my attorney, and then my probation officer here in Lubbock notified me that probation has come to an end. It is a huge blessing now because Ill be able to go back to the oil field and back into the job so that I can go back and start talking to people in the district and find out what the needs are going forward, Zink shared.

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Trump lists number of reasons for pardoning violent Jan. 6 rioters

Zink stated that he is not defined by his ties to January 6, but by his roles as a dad, husband, and man of God. While he has been pardoned, he emphasized that the job is not done yet.

I still believe that there were many aspects of my case that were exaggerated as well as manipulated in there. This pardon, for me, means a lot because now I can go and continue to fight my case. Im better to where I dont have my hands tied behind my back; in my case, theres still some discovery; I was never given my discovery, Zink explained. The federal government selected these 27 pictures and videos to prosecute me, and there are so many others that have come that are going to come out. We filed our motions to go ahead and take possession and custody of that evidence, and I think that life looks great moving forward. Im not defined by January 6. I serve my Lord and Savior, and Im ready to move forward and see what I can do, not only to help this district but also to help America.

In the near future, Zink believes more of the story will come to light, adding that he is aware of additional footage that may be releasedfootage with higher classifications that the previous administration did not show.

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I do agree that it was a dark day. We had men and women who were murdered at the United States Capitol: Ashli Babbitt, Ben Phillips, Kevin Grayson, and Rosanne Boyland, just to name a few of those. We also had four individuals who committed suicide during their proceedings as they were coming forward. So I do agree that it was a dark day in history where you have people who stepped outside of the line and took the lives of Americans who still have not been held accountable for those actions, Zink shared. Im hoping that going forward, we can have some clarity on the events that actually happened on the ground with those individuals and that the Trump administration and Kash Patel will work with the American public to reveal everything else that has not been known about that day because the American people do deserve to know what happened across all spectrums. If theres a missing angle to the story, we deserve to know the truth.

Trump calls for Jan. 6 committee members to be indicted

In the end, Zink believes the January 6 defendants were not given fair trials and would like to see the additional footage released.

I think that justice should be brought, but the thing is that it has to be done on a fair playing field. I do not believe that a single January 6 defendant was given a fair trial based upon the jury pools and the location of all these trials. If justice is applied equally under the law, it shouldnt matter where a person is tried, Zink said. I am right now aware that there are still over 11,000 hours of footage from the Capitol that have never been released to the general public, including several cameras that I needed for my case whenever I was going forward. Since my case has concluded, I have actually got a picture and video of a camera that was never released, that had a different angle that actually tells and collaborates the story that I told on January 6 about police officers working with me and my father on the east side porch.

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Food waste makes up about a quarter of the general trash that New Hampshire businesses and homes produce. (Photo by Matt Vasilogambros/Stateline)

Next month, New Hampshire launches a new law to cut food waste, and in the process eventually save landfill space and reduce the methane gas emissions that drive climate change. Other potential upsides of the Feb. 1 start for the food waste law? New sources of healthy food for pantries and shelters, fertilizer for farms, and jobs transporting, processing, and marketing the food that once just got trucked and dumped.

Under the new law, similar to those in neighboring states, facilities that create more than a ton of food waste a week will redirect that waste from landfills and incinerators to alternative management facilities that either recover edible food to feed people and animals, or use composting or anaerobic digestion to process wasted food into useable byproducts. Hospitals, colleges, restaurants, correctional facilities, stadiums, convention centers, large hotels, and big-box grocery stores are all likely contributors on the ton-a-week-plus side, but no producer of food waste will be required to transport that waste unless a management facility with adequate capacity is within 20 miles.

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The law came out of the states Solid Waste Working Group headed by Rep. Karen Ebel, a New London Democrat, as a key part of the state goal to reduce disposal of solid waste tonnage by 25% by 2030 and 45% by 2050. New Hampshires Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is now seeking proposals for a consultant, to be hired with the approval of the governor and Executive Council, to help determine who exactly is affected by the new law, and begin working out logistics for education, transportation, and diversion.

Even a small dent in the amount of food waste dumped in landfills makes a big difference: Food waste makes up about a quarter of the general trash that New Hampshire businesses and homes produce. In 2023, New Hampshire dumped roughly 171,785 tons of food waste, according to estimates from Michael Nork of the NHDES Solid Waste Management Bureau. In Vermont, a similar law has decreased food waste in landfills by 13%. In Massachusetts, with the most successful program in the country, one study indicated a 13.2% reduction in all landfill waste because of the law, and a 25% reduction in methane emissions.

As New Hampshire develops a network of food waste management facilities within easy reach of the larger producers, we hope not only that landfill space will be saved and methane emissions will be reduced, but that the cost of transporting food waste from producers to management facilities will drop, saving businesses money, said Nork of NHDES.

New Englands largest grocery store chain is already operating an effective food waste diversion program across all six states. Hannaford no longer takes any food waste from its 183 stores to a landfill  decreasing landfill disposal by 65 million pounds in 2020 alone.

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One boost to help food waste generators and management facilities divert food waste from landfill disposal is a $500,000 grant program appropriated by the New Hampshire Legislature. Grant funds will help with implementation of the law by providing financial assistance to increase infrastructure capacity for those who want to explore transportation operations or create or expand composting and digester sites.

Jennifer Mitchell of NHDES, who is managing the implementation and operation of the new law, said money from that grant could be available to help manage food waste by deferring costs associated with compliance of the ban. For example, potential use of the funds could go toward the purchase of a new truck for a food bank that wants to increase mobile food distribution capacity. NHDES will need to develop rules to establish this new grant program, and intends to hold listening sessions over the coming year to help inform that process.

As composting sites and digesters ramp up, and food pantry transportation replaces landfill dumping of good food, food waste producers should see not only a dramatically better outcome for their leftovers, but the potential reduction in costs from the current $100 a ton they pay to simply waste food that has far better uses.

To her great credit, Gov. Kelly Ayotte has made clear her strong opposition to a proposed new mega-landfill in New Hampshires North Country. This is great news for finally getting New Hampshire off the never-ending treadmill of landfill expansions. The launch of New Hampshires new food-waste law will play an essential role in pivoting the Granite State away from its historic focus on waste disposal to a new, more sustainable focus on waste reduction. Our communities, environment, and economy will all benefit.
By Aditya Soni, Zaheer Kachwala

(Reuters) -Chinese startup DeepSeek's cheaper AI is sharpening investor scrutiny of the billions U.S. tech giants are pouring to develop the technology and analysts say it will dominate this week's much-awaited results from industry bellwethers.

DeepSeek has claimed it took just two months and cost under $6 million to build an AI model using Nvidia's less-advanced H800 chips. An app powered by the V3 model became the top iPhone download in the U.S. on Monday.

The startup founded in 2023 has said its AI models either match or outperform top U.S. rivals at a fraction of the cost, challenging the view that scaling AI requires vast computing power and investment.

Such a business need has powered an increase of around $10 trillion in the market value of "Magnificent Seven" companies since ChatGPT kicked off the AI boom in November 2022.

"Did DeepSeek really build OpenAI for $5 million? Of course not," Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon said. "It seems like a stretch to think the innovations being deployed by DeepSeek are completely unknown by the top tier AI researchers at the world's other numerous AI labs."

DeepSeek's pricing blows away anything from the competition, he said. Shares of AI chip pioneer Nvidia sank 16%, Microsoft fell 3.8% and TSMC's U.S. stock tumbled 14%.

Rasgon and other analysts argue DeepSeek's training costs for its V3 model could be higher as the nearly $6 million cited by the startup only includes the amount spent on computing power, while little is known about the costs to build the more publicized R1 model.

Still, it is a far cry from the $250 billion analysts estimate big U.S. cloud companies will spend this year on AI infrastructure. That spending has been questioned by investors worried about slow returns in the past year.

With most of the American tech giants set to report results this week and the next, analysts and investors expect executives of the companies to offer more clarity on their strategy.

"(DeepSeek's rise) puts into question whether the current pace of capex spend/technology upgrades is necessary. Commentary from U.S. hyperscalers will be key this week to see if they remain aggressive with AI spend," CFRA analyst Angelo Zino said.

"They will likely stress the need for greater computing power as we shift toward agentic AI and physical AI," Zino added, referring to autonomous AI agents that require little human intervention for routine tasks, as well as robots and self-driving cars.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  A new bill was introduced in response to the death of Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility.

The legislation would allow the New York State Attorney General to appoint an independent investigator to cases involving a death by a corrections officer. The bill aims to have thorough investigations without handing the case over to local district attorneys and to avoid conflicts of interest.

The bill was announced by Senator Jeremy Cooney, who said the Attorney Generals office was responsible for defending multiple corrections officers involved in separate cases. He said this bill would ensure unbiased investigations.

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I fully believe that the Attorney General made the correct decision in this case to recuse herself to avoid legal delays, but we must put more tools in her toolbox in case a tragedy like this ever occurs in our state again, Cooney said in a statement. Justice is about accountability for Robert [Brooks], but its also about making sure we are ready to fully investigate and prosecute these cases quickly and without bias.

Brooks died last December after he was beaten by corrections officers at Marcy. Body-camera footage revealed the incident. The family is currently suing the prison, accusing the officers of causing Brooks death.

News 8 WROC will be airing an exclusive interview with the father of Brooks tonight. Stay tuned for further updates.

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Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

GAZA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement.

The return follows an announcement by Qatar on Sunday evening that Hamas and Israel had reached an agreement to release Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud and two others by Friday. On Saturday, Hamas is expected to release three additional hostages.

Under the agreement, Israel has permitted displaced residents to return to the northern Gaza Strip starting Monday morning.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated early Monday, "Hamas has conceded and agreed to proceed with an additional phase of hostage releases, scheduled for next Thursday following firm and determined negotiations." The statement outlined that this phase will involve the release of Yehud, a soldier called Agam Berger, and another hostage. Additionally, three more hostages are set to be freed on Saturday as part of the agreement.

Israel has also received from Hamas a list detailing the conditions and status of all hostages to be released in the initial phase of the deal.

For many displaced families, the journey back to northern Gaza is bittersweet. While there is relief at the prospect of returning to familiar surroundings, there is also apprehension about what remains of neighborhoods now reduced to rubble.

"We have to walk about 8 kilometers on foot, but we are happy that, finally, we will be able to return to our areas, even if they are completely destroyed," said Mohammed Hamda, a Gaza resident, while making his way along the coastal route between Gaza City and southern Gaza. 

Aerial photo taken on Jan. 27, 2025 shows displaced people on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on Jan. 27, 2025 shows displaced people on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on Jan. 27, 2025 shows displaced people on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on Jan. 27, 2025 shows displaced people on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on Jan. 27, 2025 shows displaced people on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home to the north of the Gaza Strip, near al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

Displaced people on their way home embrace each other in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

Displaced people on their way home greet each other in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

Displaced people on their way home embrace each other in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

Displaced people on their way home embrace each other in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

Displaced people on their way home embrace each other in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

Displaced people are seen on their way home in Gaza City, on Jan. 27, 2025. Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City and the northern parts of the coastal enclave on Monday after 15 months of forced displacement. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  Despite opposition from Democrats and several Republicans, a bill to block public labor unions from collective bargaining is moving forward in the Utah legislature  passing the Utah House of Representatives on Monday.

H.B. 267 would ban public employers  like school districts or other public employers  from entering into collective bargaining contracts with public employees, like teachers and police. It would also prevent public funds from being spent in support of labor unions and would prevent union members from receiving state retirement benefits.

Legislature day 5: Bills and hearings to start your week

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Rep. Jordan Teuscher (R-South Jordan), the sponsor of H.B. 267, argued that giving power to a sole voice to bargain collectively doesnt allow for representation for individuals who either disagree with the unions efforts or arent a member. He was emphatic, however, that unions could still advocate on behalf of their members, they just cant negotiate for employee benefits or pay.

In a lot of our government agencies that do collective bargaining today, that (union) voice is made up of a far minority of the employment base across the board, Teuscher said. And so there are literally thousands of voices across our state that dont get heard as a part of that process.

The bill passed 42-32 with some Republicans joining Democrats in pushing back.

Rep. Doug Welton (R-Provo), who is a public school teacher, agreed that public money shouldnt be paying non-public employees for release time and says professional liability insurance is a big issue. But he said he couldnt support the bill because he didnt believe it solved the problem.

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I am still unsure that this really answers that all teachers are being represented, Welton said. Most unions will not get to that threshold where each teacher argues individually, he said.

He also argued that collective bargaining is optional in Utah anyway.

Meanwhile, Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost (D-Salt Lake City) called the bill anti-worker, anti-family-anti Utah values.

I just cant understand why we as a legislature need to marshall our considerable might to intentionally create a culture of fear and silence in the workplaces for the people that we have the privilege to represent, Dailey-Provost said. We are taking away their ability to advocate in a collective and organized manner.

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The Utah House Democratic Caucus released a statement following the bills passing, saying, in part, that the legislation directly contradicts Utahs commitment to supporting our education professionals, public safety officers, and public service employees.

Last week, the Utah House Labor Committee voted to advance the bill in front of a packed committee room 11-4-0. The bills sponsor and several public commenters clashed during the discussion  largely over the benefits of public unions being able to negotiate things like salary, benefits, and work hours collectively,

The bill will next head to the Senate committee and would still need a full Senate vote before heading to the Governors desk.

Opponents respond to HB 267 passing House

The Utah Education Association (UEA) responded to HB 267s moving forward in the Utah legislature. The teachers union said it was deeply disappointed by the bills passing.

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We believe HB 267 represents a dangerous precedent that undermines the principles of democracy and the rights of public employees to organize and advocate for their professions, the UEA said in a statement. It attacks public educators who dedicate their lives to teaching Utahs children, ultimately threatening the quality of public education across the state.

The UEA expressed gratitude to the representatives who voted no on the bill, and said its petition against the bill gathered nearly 13,000 signatures in one week.

The UEA remains steadfast in our commitment to standing up for public educators and fighting against efforts to weaken public schools, the UEA said.

The Utah House Democratic Caucus also released a statement about HB 267, echoing the sentiments of the UEA.

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This legislation directly contradicts Utahs commitment to supporting our education professionals, public safety officers, and public service employees, the statement reads. By eliminating unions ability to negotiate fair compensation, the bill threatens the livelihoods of thousands of working families.

House Democrats said the passage of the bill does a disservice to our hardworking public educators, employees, and the families they serve.

The bill will head to the Senate committee next and would need a full Senate vote before heading to the Governors desk.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Bill Gates is not holding back regarding his biggest regrets, openly admitting his ties with Jeffrey Epstein were a "huge mistake."

This comes on the heels of the billionaire revealing his most significant regrethis 2021 divorce from Melinda Gates, which resulted in a billion-dollar settlement.

Bill Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda Gates, went their separate ways after 27 years of marriage.

Bill Gates Called His Ties To Jeffrey Epstein 'Foolish'

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The tech mogul reflected on the decision to form a relationship with the late disgraced financier, acknowledging the lasting consequences of their association.

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In a revealing interview, the 69-year-old admitted he was "foolish" to spend time with the late convicted sex offender. Gates had initially hoped their connection would benefit his global health philanthropy efforts, but as he revealed:

"In fact, it failed to do that it was just a huge mistake."

Gates' life became embroiled in scandal after his association with Epstein, which only intensified over time.

The Wall Street Journal reported in 2023 that Epstein had allegedly threatened to expose Gates for an affair with a Russian bridge player, Mila Antonova, in 2017 while he was still married to Melinda French Gates.

Epstein even demanded reimbursement for sending Antonova to a software coding school. Reflecting on whether these controversies impacted his approach to relationships, Gates told WSJ, "Definitely. I mean, are you kidding?"

Bill's Meetings With Epstein Stirred Tension In His Marriage

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Regarding the controversy, a spokesperson for Gates told PEOPLE then that "Mr. Gates met with Epstein solely for philanthropic reasons." The statement also acknowledged Epstein's attempts to leverage past relationships to threaten Gates, adding:

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"Mr. Gates never had any financial dealings with Epstein. As Bill has said before, it was a mistake to have ever met him."

Gates reportedly first encountered Epstein after he had already served jail time for soliciting prostitution involving a minor. Gates' meetings with the late convicted sex offender, who had a known history of crimes, were reportedly a point of tension in his marriage to Melinda Gates. A PEOPLE source revealed:

"Epstein is definitely a sore spot. That's a long time for issues to fester."

The Microsoft Co-founder Regretted His Divorce From Melinda

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Gates has had a rich and eventful life, which naturally comes with its share of regrets. However, prior to his recent revelation about Epstein, he shared that his biggest regret was his divorce from Melinda.

The Blast reported that while speaking with The Sunday Times, Gates revealed that despite facing other challenges, the pain of their divorce stands above all. Describing it as "the mistake I regret the most in my life," Gates added, "There are other mistakes, but this one stands above all."

He acknowledged that the emotional toll of the divorce was felt by both parties, lasting at "least two years." Despite the turmoil, the two have managed to maintain a cordial relationship since the split.

The Businessman Reflected On His Role In Divorce

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The father-of-three also acknowledged his role in the breakdown of his 27-year marriage, taking responsibility for the pain he caused.

In a 2022 interview with Savannah Guthrie, Gates admitted to making mistakes, particularly after reports surfaced about an affair with a Microsoft employee.

"I certainly made mistakes, and I take responsibility," Gates confessed, adding that he felt terrible about the hurt he caused but believed discussing the details was not constructive.

Since their split, both have moved forward in their personal lives. Melinda made headlines in October 2024 when she was seen with entrepreneur Philip Vaughn, sparking a public display of affection in New York City.

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Meanwhile, Bill has been in a relationship with Paula Hurd, the widow of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, since 2023.

Melinda Gates Opened Up About Bill Gates' Split

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Gates is not the only one reflecting on their divorceMelinda previously shared her perspective, and it was eye-opening. While discussing the reasons behind their split, she specifically called out Gates' controversial connection to Epstein. Speaking with Gayle King, she said:

"I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. no. I made that clear to him. He was abhorrent. He was evil personified."

Melinda made it clear that his association with Epstein played a role in the breakdown of their marriage. Reflecting on the painful decision in another interview, Melinda also described their divorce as the "lowest moment" of her life.

She recalled the day she realized their marriage was over, calling it a "sad day" but also the "healthier choice" for both of them.

Bill Gates' reflection on personal and professional errors shows how these past decisions continue to impact his life today.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates weighed in on his fellow billionaire Elon Musks international political ambitionstwice calling the Tesla and SpaceX owners support for far-right movements abroad insane.

The billionaire spent the weekend giving interviews for his upcoming memoir Source Code: My Beginnings, which hits bookstores in February. During an interview with The Sunday Times, Gates was uncharacteristically candid with his opinions on Musks recent efforts to influence politics in the UK and Europe.

Its really insane that he can destabilize the political situations in countries, Gates said. I think in the U.S. foreigners arent allowed to give money; other countries maybe should adopt safeguards to make sure super-rich foreigners arent distorting their elections.

Elon Musk speaks by video to supporters of Alternative for Germany leader Alice Weidel. / Sean Gallup / Getty Images

The Microsoft founder said he was not at all concerned about influencing politics like Musk. However, Gates also told friends that he donated $50 million to Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in October, The New York Times reported.

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You want to promote the right wing but say Nigel Farage is not right wing enough, Gates told the British newspaper, referring to Musks beliefs. I mean, this is insane s---. You are for the AfD [German far-right party Alternative for Germany].

But he also offered muted praise for Musk, implying that the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and the social media site X might be taking on more than he can handle.

We can all overreach, Gates told The Sunday Times. If someone is super-smart, and he is, they should think how they can help out. But this is populist stirring.

Elon Musk appears onstage with President Donald Trump at a post-inauguration rally in Washington, D.C. / The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Im

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Gates seemed cautiously optimistic that Musks Department of Government Efficiency the panel that Trump has tasked with slashing the federal budgetcould reduce the national debt.

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Gates said he expected Musks group to look at things like pension, defense, and healthcare, but hoped that he would spare programs that would deliver life-saving medication to HIV and AIDS patients in Africa.
Bill Gates is looking back on his divorce from ex-wife Melinda French Gates, calling the decision the mistake I most regret.

In an interview with The Sunday Times published Jan. 25, the 69-year-old billionaire reflected on the aftermath of ending a 27-year marriage to French Gates, with whom he shares three children.

When asked if his divorce is his only failure in his life so far, Gates said it belongs at the top of the list.

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There are others but none that matter. The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years, he told the publication, adding that the two arent strangers to one another.

Melinda and I still see each other  we have three kids and two grandchildren so there are family events, he continued. The kids are doing well. They have good values.

Gates and French Gates revealed they planned to end their marriage in May 2021 in identical statements shared to social media at the time.

After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage, read the statement. Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and build a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.

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In his interview with The Sunday Times, Gates said his marriage to French Gates kept him grounded amid massive success, and he reflected on what their 27 years together taught him about love.

There is a certain wonderfulness to spending your entire adult life with one person because of the memories and depth of things you have done and having kids together, he said. When Melinda and I met, I was fairly successful but not ridiculously successful  that came during the time that we were together. So, she saw me through a lot. When we got divorced it was tough and then she made the decision to leave the foundation  I was disappointed that she took the option to go off.

Since the divorce, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has become solely Gates. The Microsoft founder is currently dating Paula Hurd, widow of former Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, and told the outlet hes more cheerful nowadays.

In May 2022, Gates reflected on his marriage and subsequent divorce when speaking to TODAY co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.

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The divorce is definitely a sad thing, the billionaire Microsoft co-founder told Savannah Guthrie on TODAY at the time. I have responsibility for causing a lot of pain to my family. It was a tough year. I feel good that all of us are moving forward now.

Gates' response came after French Gates was asked about reports that her ex husband had multiple affairs during their marriage. In a March 2022 interview with CBS Mornings, she responded, those are questions Bill needs to answer.

When Savannah asked Gates if he had been unfaithful in his marriage, he responded, I certainly made mistakes and I take responsibility, but didnt elaborate at the time.

I dont think delving into the particulars at this point is constructive, but yes, I caused pain, and I feel terrible about that, Gates added.

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The former couple met in 1987 when French Gates was working as a product manager for Microsoft. They wed in 1994 and later welcomed three kids: Jennifer Gates, Rory Gates and Phoebe Gates. They also share two grandchildren.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Elon Musk has caught the ire of fellow billionaire and former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. The multi-hyphenate philanthropist and computer programmer lambasted Musk in a new interview with the United Kingdoms The Times over the Tesla CEOs increasing involvement in not only Americas elections, but those ongoing in foreign countries like the U.K. and Germany.

Its really insane that he can destabilize the political situations in countries, Gates remarked. I think in the U.S., foreigners arent allowed to give money; other countries maybe should adopt safeguards to make sure super-rich foreigners arent distorting their elections.

Gates comments came in the wake of multiple recent moves on Musks part  including his intentional enmeshment within the Trump Administration; his calls for Nigel Farage, the current leader of the far-right British political party Reform U.K., to be replaced with someone else; and an appearance at an event for the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

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In the first week of Trumps second presidential term, Musk also made headlines for making a gesture at a rally that many considered a Nazi salute. In response to that controversy, Musk subsequently made a Holocaust joke that was swiftly condemned by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and commented during his AfD appearance that Germans need to move beyond whatever past guilt they feel over their countrys history.

Altogether, these actions have frustrated and befuddled Gates. You want to promote the right wing but say Nigel Farage is not right wing enough I mean, this is insane st. You are for the AfD [in Germany], Gates remarked. We can all overreach If someone is super-smart, and he is, they should think how they can help out. But this is populist stirring.

Gates may have participated in a meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago just a few weeks ago that he says was pretty constructive, but he still doesnt seem interested in taking nearly as hands-on of an approach to American and global politics as Musk. The whole political situation with polarization is very dangerous, Gates argued. Our problem is an aging society, tight budgets and a right-wing inward turning, with hatred of all foreigners, and hence refusing aid to them even if theyre not in your own country. Were in a challenging situation.

The right-wing shift Gates mentioned is certainly evident in Musks recent uber-political swing. Given how many other tech CEOs were present at Trumps inauguration, though, it seems like Gates is in the minority right now about Musk  at least within his wealthy, immensely insular crowd.

The post Bill Gates Slams Elon Musk for His Insane Involvement in Foreign Elections appeared first on TheWrap.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto introduced a bill Monday that would prohibit cell phones and other wireless devices during the school day from D.C. high school classrooms.

The Heads Up! Distraction-Free Learning Amendment Act of 2025 was introduced in order to remove digital distractions in the classroom and increase educational outcomes for District students, according to a news release from Pintos office.

According to the bill, students would still be able to bring their devices to school, but would have to put them in designated storage during the school day. That includes cell phones, tablets, laptops, gaming devices and smart watches.

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Maryland business owner wins $25K grant from Verizon, tickets to Super Bowl

Though it is not clear what the consequences will be for violations, schools will not be able to suspend or expel students who violate the policy.

The non-academic use of devices during the school day interrupts concentration which is necessary for focused learning and information retention, Pinto stated.

This type of non-academic use has been linked to decreases in student learning, she continued.

Pinto also cited the detrimental impact of social media on students mental health and the need for face-to-face socialization, which, she said, is critical to healthy social development and reducing conflicts among students.

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Number one is around outcomes and setting up our kids for success but we also want our kids to be safe and weve seen a proliferation of fights break out as a result of whats going on on social media, she explained.

Teachers can make exceptions for students to use their devices for educational purposes during instructional time. With proper permission, students would be able to use their devices in the event of an emergency or to manage the students health care.

The bill would not apply to students who use electronic devices through their Individualized Education Program or to accommodate a disability.

I for one am for banning cellphones in the classroom, said Alfons Prince, who is a parent to a 5th grader and a middle school teacher.

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Prince said phones are a major distraction to students.

Their cell phones will have all the apps they can use which are tools of distraction. Biologically kids at this age are easily distractible, he said. When it comes to teaching math, kids are looking for anything to be off task.

Aside from impacts on learning, he also noted theres an impact on how students interact with each other.

What Ive seen is that things that were usually kept outside of the school like the weekend, at the end of the school, are now being brought into school. Monday morning if anything happens on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Monday morning its right there, he said, Which ramps up violence.

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Still, others are against the proposed change.

Were living in a digital age and personally I believe we need to adapt to it and get with it, said Calique Barnes, student representative on the DC State Board of Education.

Barnes spoke during a December SBOE meeting, where the issue of cell phones in school was discussed.

What they do at my school, they use the computer. Instead of taking the L they get on the computer, they get on the different devices that the school gives them, said Barnes. Whats next? Theyre going to take the school computer? All youre going to do is strip the kids of what they have now until they have absolutely nothing but blank walls and pieces of paper.

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Other criticism has been around school safety and the need for parents to be able to contact students during an emergency, like a natural disaster or a school shooting.

But, Pinto has argued its safer for students not to have their phones during these events.

In the event of a major disaster the last thing you want children to do is be looking down on their devices texting someone, she said. You want them to be listening to the adult in the room whether thats the teacher where to go, how to evacuate, how to be safe.

DC News Now reached out to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. A spokesperson for the agency said they are reviewing the legislation and that they look forward to providing comment if a public hearing is held.

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A spokesperson with the Mayors office said the administration is generally in support of the legislation.

DC Public Schools (DCPS) is committed to ensuring that learning environments across our district foster academic success and genuine connections between students and their schools. Pilot programming in specific schools and grade bands where cell phones are collected and stored throughout the school day has shown promising results over the last few years. From enhanced focus to improved mental health and stronger peer-to-peer and student-to-teacher relationships, DCPS is encouraged by these outcomes and will continue to support initiatives that benefit our students academic and personal growth, said a spokesperson for the school division.

If it passes, each school must adopt and implement a policy no later than two weeks before the start of the 2025-26 school year.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Bill Maher did not hold back on Matt Gaetzs sex scandal in a Sunday interview with the disgraced congressman.

In an hourlong episode of the Club Random with Bill Maher podcast, the comedian pressed Gaetz on long-simmering allegations that he paid womenincluding a 17-year-old still in high schoolfor sex.

Gaetz has long denied all of the allegations.

So, people want to know two basic things, Maher asked. One, was he ever with an underage girl?

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When Gaetz responded, No, Maher was quick to point out that the Department of Justice ended its investigation into Gaetz without filing charges.

The Justice Departmentthis is Bidens Justice Departmentdeclined, Maher said. I cant believe Bidens Justice Department wouldnt have wanted to get you if there was something. So the fact that they said We got nothing tells us something.

The DOJ launched an investigation into Gaetz in 2020 under then-Attorney General Bill Barr after Gaetzs confidant, Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty to a sex trafficking charge.

Greenberg admitted under a 2021 plea deal that he paid women and underaged girls to have sex with him and other men, who were not identified.

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A bombshell report from the House Ethics Committee later revealed texts allegedly showing how Gaetz and Greenberg allegedly found women to have sex with.

Gaetz resigned as Florida congressman last year when President Donald Trump nominated him for attorney general. He later withdrew himself from consideration after he was hounded by questions about the alleged sexual misconduct.

The [Ethics] committee typically refrains from releasing the findings if youve quit already, Maher told Gaetz. So why did they make an exception for you? You must have bitterness about that.

Gaetz said he had no bad blood over the release of the report, noting that everything goes out in Washington anyway.

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If you think that this document wasnt going to be released in one form or the other, then you dont understand how the leak ecosystem works in that place, he said.

Gaetz then alluded to his long-running beef with Kevin McCarthy, suggesting that the former House speaker he helped oust was behind the release of the damning report.

To be honest, I have a lot of enemies on the Republican side, more so than most Republican members, because I killed the golden goose, he said, referring to McCarthy.
Jan. 26WILKES-BARRE  There's an old saying that you fight fire with fire.

Nah, not true.

The reality is that you fight fire with firefighters.

Just look across our country, 3,000 miles away, and you will see what I mean.

Watch the TV reports that depict the severity of the fires that have caused millions and millions of dollars in devastation and have displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

And watch those firefighters  bear witness to their skills, their bravery and their dedication to their jobs.

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This week, Gov. Shapiro announced that Pennsylvania is deploying two crews of highly trained wildland firefighters, coordinated by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), to California to help combat the devastating wildfires near Los Angeles.

This deployment is taking place as a result of a request for assistance from the state of California.

These 40 firefighters will bring their expertise and commitment to protect lives, homes and natural resources in communities outside Los Angeles.

"Today, 40 of Pennsylvania's skilled wildland firefighters are heading to California to assist in the battle against these devastating fires," said Shapiro. "Pennsylvania stands ready to help our fellow Americans  and these brave, highly trained firefighters are answering the call and heading to California to join the ongoing work to help protect lives and entire communities."

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It's good to know that Pennsylvania is doing this, as are firefighters from many places outside of California who have joined the battle to contain and stop the fires from spreading.

The crews, comprising 40 firefighters, departed on Jan. 24 and they were are expected to arrive in California on Monday, Jan. 27. This dedicated team includes both experienced DCNR staff and volunteer wildland firefighters from across Pennsylvania, exemplifying the Commonwealth's collaboration to assist other states in times of emergencies and readiness to answer the call for help.

"Our firefighters stand ready to meet the challenge of protecting lives, homes, and natural resources," said DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. "Pennsylvania's wildland firefighters are among the best in the nation, rigorously trained to national standards and widely respected for their expertise in wildfire management. We are proud to contribute our skills and resources to support California's communities during this critical time."

California needs all the help it can get  and they need it now.

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The Governor's office said each team is structured to operate effectively in the most demanding conditions, with 20 members led by a crew boss and three squad bosses.

They will work and live together for the duration of their 14-day deployment, with tasks including:

Installing water lines and sprinkler systems to protect fire lines and buildings.

Improving defensible space around homes in the path of wildfires.

Reinforcing critical fire containment strategies to prevent further spread.

In addition to the deployed crews, Pennsylvania already has a trained liaison on the ground in Los Angeles, facilitating coordination between the U.S. Forest Service and East Coast fire crews.

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The DCNR Bureau of Forestry remains at the forefront of wildfire management, leveraging decades of experience and expertise to protect public and private lands from the devastating effects of wildfires.

Firefighters have many mottos that they live by every day. Among them are:

"Semper Paratus" (Always Ready).

"Watch one, do one, teach one."

"Safety first, always."

Godspeed to all the firefighters who risk their lives every time they are called to duty.

And God bless all who have been called to duty in California.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
The Fix Our Forests Act, which breezed through a House vote last week, represents a return to common sense, according to Speaker Mike Johnson. The reason this is so important is because we see what happened in California, Johnson said. The recent wildfires that have left at least 26 dead and nearly 15,000 structures destroyed, he has also suggested, are partly the fault of water resource mismanagement, forest management mistakes, all sorts of problems, which should be fixed before those suffering receive further federal aid.

The Fix Our Forests Act would allow loggers to more easily thin forests by reducing environmental regulations and public input. The thinking is that reducing tree counts means reducing wildfire fuel. Yet environmental groups including Sierra Club and Earthjustice say that the bill would cause more fires, not fewer.

FOFA is a trojan horse for Republicans to weaken environmental law to serve industry interests, Earthjustices Blaine Miller-McFeeley told me. Miller-McFeeleys view of the bill as a gift to logging companies echoes the position of many prominent environmental groups. Last week, more than 130 environmental organizations co-signed a letter observing that FOFAs sweeping provisions remove scientific review and accountability to benefit the short-term interests of extractive industries. The Republican co-author of the bill, Representative Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, received more than $160,000 in campaign contributions from the forestry industry in 2023 and 2024, according to Open Secrets.

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Some experts told me that the basic logic behind the bill could actually lead to more severe burns. Tim Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology, or FUSEE, told me that scaling up logging in the wilderness, where uncontrolled blazes can stomp through small towns on their way to the exurbs, would leave behind the most flammable materials. Grasses, shrubs, leaves, small trees, old logging slash: These are the things that the timber industry will never ever remove, he says. They have no commodity value. When they wanna do logging, they remove the least flammable portion of a tree and dump all the needles and limbs on the ground where its basically tinder. In fact, the best wildfire mitigators are often the trees themselves. Old-growth forests are able to survive and slow the spread of flamesand their numbers are dwindling due to logging.

Further, the most dangerous firesthe ones that threaten densely populated areasrarely begin deep in the woods. For example, the Los Angeles firestorms originated in very brushy areas just outside of town, then became an urban configuration issue, said Ingalsbee. No amount of logging would have saved anythingits this spurious connection.

FOFAs provisions would allow the U.S. Forest Service to skip regulatory steps that are typically required when clearing out federally owned forest land. When a parcel of federal land might need to be alteredsay, by the installation of utility linesagencies like the Forest Service can use a designation called categorical exclusion to forgo time-consuming steps like conducting sustainability analyses or soliciting community input, if the alteration is unlikely to impact populated environments. The bill expands the range of certain types of categorical exclusions from 3,000 and 4,500 acres to 10,000 acresnearly the size of Manhattan. Additional provisions in the bill allow agencies like the Forest Service to conditionally delay environmental review for logging projects until after theyre finished and reduces the statute of limitations combating such projects in court to 120 days after theyve been announced.

Those provisions would make it easier than ever for logging companies to appeal to the Forest Service for permission to chop through federal landwith little public notice or consideration for environmental reproductions, and a window for legal recourse that closes in the blink of an eye. The agency, with the timber industry as their puppet master, will be able to do whatever they want and as fast as they want, Miller-McFeeley says.

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To the bills authors, that assertion couldnt be further from the truth. According to Paul Iskajyan, senior adviser to Scott Peters, the bills Democratic co-author, tree-thinning is a tool in the tool belt that will help prevent some fires. It will be up to the experts using the best available science and data, in accordance with the law and strong environmental guardrails, to determine when to use them. Over email, Iskajyan added that the bill contains a number of other wildfire solutions, such as enhancing interagency collaboration to fight fires and investment in research and development.

The bills opponents arent convinced. Coordination is great. So is research and development around advancing tech for wildfire detection and those sorts of things. All of those are fine, and standing alone wed be more than supportive of those, Miller-McFeeley said. They are being used to dress up a problematic, destructive bill.

Jared Huffman, another Democrat from California, has a competing bill under consideration to address wildfires, the Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Act, which has endorsements from such groups as Sierra Club and Earthjustice. At the center of Huffmans own bill, co-authored with California Republican Jay Obernolte, is a series of financial incentives to help communities draft their own wildlife resilience plans, which would include identifying defensible space against fires and strengthening communication with state agencies.

Huffman denounced FOFA from the House floor on Thursday. Wildfire is deadly serious, he said. Its not something politicians should use as a pretext to jam through unrelated industry favors or special interest agendas that undermine our foundational environmental protections. The good parts of the bill, he argued, are totally unfunded. Instead of addressing the key driver of catastrophic wildfires, i.e., climate change, he said, the bill inappropriately co-opts emergency authorities under the National Environmental Policy Act, undercuts the Endangered Species Act, and even makes it more difficult for communities to engage and scrutinize or even know about projects that could directly impact them.

Despite Huffmans broadsides, 64 Democrats joined the Republican majority in passing FOFA through the House. Meanwhile, Huffmans wildfire bill, which he reintroduced last week after it faltered in the previous congressional session, awaits its time on the floor.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  The 114th General Assembly has gaveled in, but before they take up any of the hundreds of pieces of legislation already filed, lawmakers will begin their special session to address school vouchers, immigration safety, and disaster relief for East Tennessee.

There are 10 total bills filed for the special session called by Gov. Bill Lee, including five bills in the House and their five companion bills in the Senate. The special session will convene on Monday, Jan. 27.

This bill creates a new subsect of the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security called the centralized immigration enforcement division. The division will be spearheaded by the Chief Immigration Enforcement Officer, according to the bill text.

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Additionally, the bill creates a grant program for promoting the enforcement of federal immigration laws and establishes criminal penalties for officials who adopt sanctuary policiesincluding removal from office if convicted. The bill also requires the department of safety to issue separate driver licenses for lawful permanent residents in Tennessee as opposed to standard driver licenses to aid in determining voter eligibility in the state.

HB 6002 authorizes the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) to assist communities or local EMAs with recovery on public property at the request of those communities or agencies. The bill would also suspend certain eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits for people in the declared disaster areas under emergency declarations from the governor.

This bill is tied to the disaster brought to East Tennessee by Hurricane Helene in November of 2024.

Another Hurricane Helene disaster relief bill, this legislation would created two separate funds within the Tennessee Treasury Department known specifically as the Hurricane Helene interest payment fund and the Governors Response and Recovery Fund.

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These funds would be used to assist with the response and recovery efforts from those counties and communities covered under the Hurricane Helene emergency declarations.

While the Education Freedom Act of 2025 was already filed in the general assembly, this bill puts the issue forward in the special session entirely.

This bill would expand the education savings account program, also known as school vouchers, from three counties to statewide, offering scholarships for students to attend private schools in Tennessee.

The last bill filed in the special session is the most important: these bills provided the funding for the other four bills listed in the special session.

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These appropriations bills allow for $225.8 million in recurring funding, as well as a one-time allocation of $198,400,000 for the purposes of implementing the Education Freedom Act of 2025, to operate statewide.

Of the recurring monies, the bill states $148.6 million will come from the states general fund, with the remaining $77.2 million coming from privilege tax collections.

The Hurricane Helene disaster funding is listed as $210 million in nonrecurring funds. Of that total, the Interest Payment Fund will receive $110 million, and the remaining $100 million will be placed in the Governors Response and Recovery Fund.

Another $240 million in nonrecurring funds are set to be put toward the TEMA bill, according to the bill.

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There are also several more specific appropriations in the appropriations bill.

Carter County will receive $20 million for the reconstruction and relocation of Hampton High School; $6.2 million will be allocated for the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) for school districts for active tourism development zones; and another $17 million for TDOE will be for direct payments to high-performing school districts starting with the 2023-2024 school year.

Finally, the bill allows for all staffing and per diem costs for all necessary personnel at the Capitol.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
It's also a good thing Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020.

It's strange to say, but both of their losses turned out for the better  for themselves and, so far anyway, for our country and the world.

In my father's case, as I've written before, if he had become president in 1976, he would not have been able to pull off his historic accomplishments  winning the Cold War without a fight, fixing the U.S. economy and making America strong and great again.

In 1976 the rest of the world was not ready to help my father tear down the Evil Empire. There was no Maggie Thatcher, no Pope John Paul and no Lech Walesa to join his crusade.

And when 1985 came along, instead of getting ready to negotiate those nuclear arms talks with Mikhail Gorbachev, my father would already have been out of office.

Other parallels between my father and Trump are easy to find.

Both were entertainers, natural showmen who understood and used the persuasive power of the camera and the media.

Both were shot and narrowly escaped death. Both believed they were saved by God to serve a higher purpose.

The most important parallel, though, is how Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump both bounced back after the rough-and-tumble political trials and tribulations they suffered during their first four years in office.

Both received clear electoral mandates in their re-election campaigns so they could carry out their original missions of making America great again.

Based on what we've already seen in Week 1 of "Trump, Part 2," it looks like he and the rest of the U.S. are going to be better off in the long run because he lost to Biden in 2020.

Biden royally screwed up everything he touched for four years, as President Obama warned us he probably would.

The American people suffered greatly because of Old Joe's domestic screw-ups, but the people in Ukraine and the Middle East suffered tragically because of his foreign policy failures.

Trump's incredible political comeback has saved us from the Democrats and their bad ideas for now, and put him in position to accomplish what he promised to do when he took office in 2016.

Back then, he couldn't "Make America Great Again" because he didn't know what he was doing yet and didn't know who his enemies were in Washington and the Republican Party.

He was essentially an accidental president, a Beltway outsider who was often sabotaged by his own party and constantly under attack by the FBI, the Democrats in Congress and the liberal national media.

But as he proved with his history-making comeback, Trump spent the Biden nightmare years learning how to strengthen and broaden his MAGA movement and out-fox the enemy media.

He survived the lawfare of Biden's corrupt Department of Justice and the bullets of would-be assassins. He made bold alliances with former Democrats like RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Elon Musk and attracted millions of new votes from blacks, Latinos and even young people.

Like my father did in 1980, Trump won a clear mandate from the people in 2024.

He now has enough political and moral power to reverse or kill the harmful economic policies and woke social policies that Biden and his back-stage handlers enacted.

On Wednesday and Thursday President Trump was on top of the world.

He was still merrily signing a stack of executive orders and fulfilling his many campaign promises  everything from pardoning the January 6ers and banning central bank digital currencies to ending DEI in the federal government and ordering the release of the remaining JFK, RFK and MLK Jr. files.

In 1984 my father's campaign was able to run and win 49 states on the brilliant theme of "Morning in America." On Tuesday, I and tens of millions of other Americans woke up feeling like it was "Morning in America Again."



(COMMENT, BELOW)

Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of "The New Reagan Revolution" (St. Martin's Press). He is the founder of the email service reagan.com and president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation.
"Everything feels comfortable. Everything feels organized." International travelers at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station hail the experience of riding China's high-speed rail network during the Spring Festival travel rush. #HighSpeedRail #ChinaTravel #SpringFestival
Evidence of a bird strike has reportedly been found in the Jeju Air plane that crashed into a wall at a South Korean airport, killing 179 people.

A preliminary report published on Monday, Jan. 27, said feathers and blood stains were found in both engines of the Boeing 737-800 that crashed at Muan International Airport airport on Dec. 29, according to CNN and the BBC.

The report said a flock of Baikal teal, a migratory bird commonly found in East Asia, is believed to have been involved in the crash, Fox News reported.

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Additionally, the report confirmed that flight data and cockpit voice recorders stopped working prior to the crash and that the final four minutes of the recordings are missing, according to ABC News.

Shortly before the end of the recording, air traffic control warned the airplane to be cautious of bird activity," the outlet reported.

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty The scene where a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft crashed and burst into flames is seen at Muan International Airport in Muan, some 288 kilometres southwest of Seoul on December 30, 2024. The scene where a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft crashed and burst into flames is seen at Muan International Airport in Muan, some 288 kilometres southwest of Seoul on December 30, 2024.

Related: 61 People Killed in Passenger Plane Crash in Brazil That Was Caught on Video

The report said the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) intends to tear down the engines and examine the components in depth.

These all-out investigation activities aim to determine the accurate cause of the accident, the report added, according to CNN and ABC News.

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It was the deadliest air crash in South Korean history. Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae said the aircraft caught fire while landing at the airport.

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Recovery teams work at the scene where a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in Muan, some 288 kilometres southwest of Seoul on December 30, 2024. Recovery teams work at the scene where a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in Muan, some 288 kilometres southwest of Seoul on December 30, 2024.

Related: What Happened in Final Minutes Before South Korean Plane Crash Disaster: Do They Hold the Key to What Went Wrong?

All but two of the individuals onboard Jeju Air flight 7C2216 were killed in the collision. The two survivors were flight attendants, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

According to The Guardian, the duo was rescued with mid to severe injuries from the tail section of the wreckage.

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Recovery teams work at the scene where a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in Muan, some 288 kilometres southwest of Seoul on December 30, 2024. Recovery teams work at the scene where a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in Muan, some 288 kilometres southwest of Seoul on December 30, 2024.

Related: Families Cry and Demand Answers as They Learn Loved Ones Are Among 179 Victims Killed in South Korea Crash

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The ages of the 179 victims killed in the crash ranged from 3 to 78, though most of the victims were in their 40s, 50s and 60s, according to a previous report from BBC News.

Authorities said a 3-year-old boy was among those killed in the crash, CNN previously reported.

Read the original article on People
The attempt to end birthright citizenship in the United States is an attempt to reverse history, to push our nation back, way back, before the Dred Scott decision of 1857 and the secession crisis that soon delivered the nation into the Civil War. Calling this action unconstitutional is utterly inadequate; the maneuver is the soiling of sacred text with profane lies.

Birthright citizenship is a shield of protection to anyone born in this country, as close to a national self-definition as we have; it is our legal DNA. Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment should be emblazoned on small laminated cards and carried in every Americans pocket. The language is amply clear:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.

That language is as fundamental to the Constitution as any other provision, perhaps even more important to the survival and growth of our pluralistic republic than the First Amendment, which protects free speech, free press, the right of assembly, and the right to petition the government. It is as inherent to constitutional function as federalism itself.

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[Read: The attack on birthright citizenship is a big test for the Constitution]

The Trump administration now scoffs at this history, purporting to end this guarantee with an executive order signed on Donald Trumps first day back in the Oval Office and tragically titled, in a fantastic act of Orwellian doublespeak, Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship. The administration makes a phony originalist argument based on the claim that the Fourteenth Amendments guarantee extended only to the freedmen and their descendants. Quite the contrary, the amendments authors explicitly envisioned the immigrant population and its descendants as part of their plan. Congressman John Bingham, Section 1s author, defended the amendment by drawing on the authority of the Constitutions Framers, who had invited the workers and builders whose honest toil clothes and shelters nations, and who hailed from every civilized nationality to become citizens of the Republic. This is why, in blocking Trumps order last week, the Federal District Court Judge John C. Coughenour said without caveat: This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.

Section 1s origins lie deep in our past. It is rooted in the petitions of African Americans during and after the American Revolution that demanded freedom and natural rights for their service to the patriot cause. It stems from many ideas and strategies of the British and American abolition movements. It echoes Thomas Jeffersons inclusion of equality among these truths in the Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincolns use of the same word in the Gettysburg Address, as well as his full-throated embrace of immigration well before the Civil War. Its most direct and powerful harbinger is the emancipation of nearly 4 million slaves in the midst of the war. Without that greatest transformation in American history, there would be no Fourteenth Amendmentno birthright citizenship and no equal-protection clause either, a codification just as sacred.

Most profound, birthright citizenship is rooted in the blood of more than 700,000 Americans who died in the Civil War, a catastrophe that made possible what most historians now call the second founding of America. The rebirth harkened in the Fourteenth Amendment is the core of this phrases meaning. The Trump administrations desire to obliterate birthright citizenship is part of a larger quest to undo most of this egalitarian tradition, to shift American history into a kind of permanent reverse gear back to an age of secure constitutional white supremacy.

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[Read: The coming assault on birthright citizenship]

One cannot overstate the gravity of Trumps proposed action, nor the historical ignorance on which it stands. The original Republicans who crafted birthright citizenship into the amendment were doing nothing less than harvesting the greatest results of the Civil War, making good on the promise of freedom for millions of any creed, color, or national origin at the time and for all time to come. Section 1 explained to the world what that war had meant. To erase any part of it now is to tarnish the legacy of William McKinley, Trumps new favorite president, who fought in the Battle of Antietam. The Union victory there is what prompted the Emancipation Proclamation.

For Bingham, a deeply Christian abolitionist Republican from Ohio, this debate went back at least to the 1850s crises over the expansion of slavery. In 1858 he said, Every man knows that under our free institutions, every person born of free parents within the jurisdiction of the United States  is a citizen of the United States. Bingham, of course, overestimated such consensus, because Chief Justice Roger B. Taney in Dred Scott v. Sandford had ruled for a 72 majority of the Supreme Court the previous year that Black people possessed no rights whatsoever under American law. One of the grand purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment was to relegate the Dred Scott decision to history.

By the winter of 1866, as Congress debated the content of an amendment, it faced many overwhelming obstacles, especially bone-level, historical racism and the doctrine of federalism that fundamentally protected states rights. Congress had just fought an all-out war to restore the Confederate states to the Union and to end slavery with an overwhelming use of federal power.

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But the Republicans, despite fierce debates, were confident. I can hardly believe, wrote Thaddeus Stevens, the radical floor manager for his party, that any person can be found who will not admit that every one of these proposals is just. They knew exactly what they intended to achieve. Bingham defended the amendment as protection of the in-born rights of every person. Stevens thought they had to fix the foundations of the government on principles of eternal justice. Senator Lyman Trumbull saw them advancing principles which the great Author of all has implanted in every human breast. They believed that they were enacting justice and morality, not only for freed slaves but for the countrys immigrant future, a fact they deeply understood because they had lived through the recent waves of Irish and German immigration.

[Read: The real origins of birthright citizenship]

As for states rights, Bingham had a constant answer. For generations to come, he announced, he sought to arm Congress  with the power to enforce the Bill of Rights as it stands in the Constitution  in the states. In the states, by federal power.

In floor debates, Bingham spoke with great eloquence about the purposes of the amendment. The day of the freedmans deliverance has come, he declared, not without suffering, not without sorrow, not without martyrdom, not without broken altars and broken hearts. But now he saw potential days of glory, not only for ex-slaves but for the immigrant. The Constitution could now provide that no man, no matter what his color, no matter beneath what sky he may have been born, no matter in what disastrous conflict or by what tyrannical hand his liberty may have been cloven down, no matter how poor, no matter how friendless  shall be deprived of life or liberty or property without due process of law. Above everything, all persons born here were forever citizens.

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Trump and his allies have picked a fight over this crucial provision in the Constitution. Americans have to engage the fight, in the courts and with every mode of persuasion. Trump and his allies vision is an egregious abuse of real history and the new Constitution it forged in the 1860s. If they succeed, then Grant has surrendered to Lee at Appomattox.

Article originally published at The Atlantic
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When Bishop Mariann Budde appealed directly to President Donald Trump last week for empathy towards those he maligns, she had no idea that shed soon be the latest woman hed call nastyand that her words would soon spread through the nation. All she was thinking about, she tells Glamour, was how she could meet the moment.

The first word that came to me was empathy, Budde, the first woman to lead the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, says. We need empathy. We need to be able to see and to appreciate the life experience of another human being.

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Buddes sermon at the national prayer service went viral last week for her simple, calm, yet pointed words toward the president, who sat with his family, appealing directly to his sense of decency.

I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now, she said, speaking directly to Trump. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families who fear for their livesthe vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara, and temples. Have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. Help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land.

In the week since, Budde has been at the center of a firestorm of attention, both positive and negative. Though her words were met with praise from many who also decry Trumps rhetoric, the president soon attacked her after the event, calling her nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.

Budde acknowledges that she could have chosen to not directly walk into the presidents ire. But she felt she couldnt.

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Who else is going to say anything? she says. Who else could say anything in that moment about the people who are in greatest danger right now?

Budde spoke with Glamour about how women can combat the rise of cultural misogyny, her advice for remaining hopeful in dark times, and how to prepare yourself as a woman leader because you dont always get to choose when the call comes.

Trump White House The Washington Post/Getty Images

Glamour: You burst into the national spotlight last week. How would you describe yourself to people just learning about you through your sermon?

Bishop Mariann Budde: My name is Mariann Budde. Professionally, I have both spiritual and administrative leadership responsibilities for 86 individual congregations, both in Washington, DC, and four counties of Maryland, including the Washington National Cathedral. So thats my day job. Ive been married for nearly 40 years to my husband Paul, and I have two adult sons, one of whom is a dad. So Im a grandma. I have two little grandchildren who live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Youve spoken on large stages before in your capacity as bishop of Washington. Going into the service, did you have a sense this one would be different?

It felt like a huge responsibility. I knew I was to be the preacher of that service, which would be prayer for unity for the nation, back in June, prior to the outcome of the election. Obviously, the context would be very different depending on who won.

And then Trump won.

I was the sole speaker with uninterrupted speech at a prayer service where the president and the vice president of the United States were sitting in the front row with their families, and the cathedral was filled predominantly with their invited guests. So I knew that was a completely different context, and so I took that to heart. I drew upon themes that I speak about all the time because theyre so fundamental, both to the Christian faith and to how we as the Episcopal Church understand our role in civic society. They are very familiar themes, not really controversial except in the moment that were in right now.

You could have given a generic, innocuous sermon that didnt speak to Trump directly and didnt call him out specifically. But you chose to take that leap. Why? What was that decision process like for you?

Its a very legitimate question. My husband and I were talking about this one night and he said, I wonder what ChatGPT would offer as a sermon on unity for the nation. So we typed it in, and it was pretty good. I was like, Holy cow, this is something! But as you said, it was innocuous.

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What I had been wrestling with for a long time as I was working out what I might say, was that I knew the theme was unity. Okay, well, first of all, what is unity? What is unity across not only the natural divisions that are part of our society, but the hyper-exacerbated divisions that have been the fodder of so much intentional polarization? I mean, how do we do that? What do we need for that? And what is it that we are trying to create? I was trying to make a case that unity was bigger than people who happened to line up in agreement.

I think thats something were all trying to figure out.

Prior to last week, I was sharing the sermon with people. Whenever I have something that big, I ask for peoples input. I was starting to feel like there was a missing piece. It just wouldnt go away. Then, when I watched the inauguration on Monday, and I listened to the invocations, all the clergy praying for the president, and I listened to the president himself, talk about the country as united behind him and the movement that he had created and how proud he was

I thought if I appealed to him to have mercy, that it might land differently. Not that I had any illusion about changing his mind per se, but that it might just shift the conversation and that enough people would agree that we dont have to bewe could just be a little kinder.

Trump responded, lets say, unkindly. In fact, youre the latest woman who he has decided to call nasty. Was this response something you expected?

Its really hard for me to remember what I was expectingI was half expecting people who are on the more critical side of this administration to take offense at the fact that I asked him for mercy. I was kind of humbling myself before him. Do you know what I mean? I was being weak. I was pleading with him, Im begging you to do this. So I was half expecting that criticism, like, Why weren't you stronger?

I think thats also the difference between hard power and soft power. And one is typically very male coded and one is very female coded. Obviously thats not accurate in every case. But I think that in many ways, coming from a place of empathy and mercy, with a more diplomatic bent, can be a lot more effective, even though its considered weak by some.

Right. Its hard to know what effective is going to be right now because theres just so much happening so fastwe might have to be prepared for a longer, slower, more humble, in some ways relational, process. And thats why its especially important not to demonize people, even if I might say that their actions are egregious. Its never helpful to paint a whole group of people with one brush because you might be missing opportunities to develop relationships that could make a difference.

We are seeing a huge rise in very blatant, misogynistic rhetoric in all facets of culture right now, and you are a woman who is now directly in that line of fire. How are you dealing with it?

First, let me hasten to say what Ive experienced even this past week is nothing compared to what a lot of other women have experienced in terms of misogyny and blatant discrimination. Ive had more doors open for me than shut, and thats because of a lot of women and men who worked really hard to make that possible in our church and in our society. A lot of it, I think, is internal work. Eleanor Roosevelt said people can only steal your self-worth if you let them. You have to go deep, really deep, in yourself to find both your own inner core and whatever spiritual or other resources that are given to you inside. And thats a lifelong project. You cant do an all-nighter for that.

Do you have advice for women who are in or are seeking out leadership positions and are disheartened by the increase in misogynistic rhetoric?

Find your people. Get whatever support you need, particularly if you feel called to leadership. Cultivate the practices of leadership. Then work with common cause with as many people as you can, but always have a place to go back to.

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Also, I see younger women now making choices that I didnt make, really clear choices about boundaries and family and prioritization of their health. I didnt do that as well as they did. I admire that and I want to support that. But I also want to be clear that there are some sacrifices that you make when you move into leadership positions because you dont always get to choose when the call comes. And so thats the balance.

When you refer to the call, do you mean this past week?

Well, it is interesting that Im here. I want to occupy this moment as gracefully as I can. Its not going to last, right? Im going to go back to my day job in about three days. I have to be judicious because its not about me. I mean, if it were about me, that would be really sad. Its about all of us, and its about a way of being both for me, a person of faith, but also the decency of this country and how we protect it and how we protect one another and stand for the ideals that truly matter. And theyre under attack right now. There are a lot of people who are doing this work. I just want to encourage them and use this moment to encourage them, but not to imagine that Im the moment. Im one of many, many people who are.

Theres been a lot of talk about how the so-called resistance to Trump is feeling hopeless and tapped out. Yet so many people responded to your message. How do we keep fighting?

First of all, I totally understand. I do think that as human beings, we go through seasons of exhaustion. We go through seasons of despair. We go through times when hope feels lost. That is the human experience. But things happen in those seasons that we dont often pay attention to. Things happen beyond our consciousness. Seeds are being planted, there is fallow ground. Its really important to have fallow time.

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I would say, pay attention to the places where there is something that genuinely gives you energy again. Not to force it, but be open to it. Theres always a temptation to withdraw completely. And for some people, that is the appropriate thing. Im not saying everyone has to move to the front of the line, but for those who do feel called to remember that youre not alone and that the way will be given to us. We dont have to do this on our own. Im a person of faith, but there are forces for good in the universe, and they do help us when we feel our energies are spent, even if its not a faith perspective.

Its this kind of energy: the creative expansion, the muse. All that energy is there for us, but we have to wait for it. We cant evoke it on command. But when it comes, trust it, and then dare to be a little brave.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Originally Appeared on Glamour
Lawyers providing detainees with basic legal information in federal immigration detention centers were shut out of facilities last week after the U.S. Department of Justice halted several federally funded programs. One program provided lawyers to children in deportation proceedings and another dispensed basic legal information.

The move is part of President Trump's broader push to weaken or sideline the parts of the immigration system that support detainees.

The Department of Justice declined a request to comment.

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In an email sent last week, the agency told the national nonprofit Acacia Center for Justice, which coordinates the programs, to "stop work immediately," citing Trump's recent executive order. The order directs members of his Cabinet to pause funding for contracts and grants that provide services to immigrants without legal status. It calls for the termination of those contracts where it finds waste and fraud.

The suspension of these longstanding programs could leave hundreds of thousands of vulnerable immigrants  including children and families  without access to basic legal information and representation," said Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, in a statement. The group administers eight federally funded programs, including the four affected, working with a network of more than 130 nonprofit groups and private lawyers around the country.

The programs provided a help desk in busy immigration courtrooms, basic legal information for individuals and families in detention called a "legal orientation" and lawyers for minors, some who may be separated from their families, in the cities the programs served, including Los Angeles and San Diego.

Supporters of Trump's immigration policies say they are necessary to expedite the removal of people not authorized to be in the country.

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The last four years were an unprecedented illegal immigration disaster," said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista). "In response, Donald Trump campaigned and was clearly elected pledging actions exactly like this. He has my support and he deserves a chance to lead and succeed.

The suspension of funding eliminates most chances for detained immigrants without a lawyer to get basic legal information about their rights, immigrant advocates say. And it comes as Trump has moved to fast-track deportations, eliminated policies stopping immigration agents from entering schools, churches and hospitals and suspended avenues to asylum. Unlike in criminal courts, noncitizens do not have access to free counsel, but have a right to a lawyer to represent them.

Andrew Nietor, a San Diego immigration lawyer contracted with the group, represents about 20 children from ages 8 to 17. Nietor said he will continue representing them despite the funding being pulled and pointed out that the program known as the Counsel for Children was in part established to alleviate backlog in courts.

"When a judge comes out to the courtroom and sees an 8-year-old sitting at the table, that's gonna result in extended proceedings, more delays, more continuances, because all of a sudden this judge, who has an overwhelming caseload, now needs to figure out how do I explain to an 8-year-old what their rights are, what the procedure is, how to fill out an application for asylum, how to get supporting documentation," he said. "The program actually helped efficiency in the courts."

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to sign legislation in the coming weeks that would set aside $25 million for pro bono lawyers that provide legal services to immigrants and other groups they anticipate will be targeted by the new administration, including transgender residents.

Advocates say that in California, funding is only part of the problem. Detention centers are expected to play a central role in Trump's still unfolding immigration strategy. During the last Trump administration, these programs had been halted  they were eventually restored under President Biden  but immigration officials had continued to allow providers access to work with detainees. This time, advocates were shut out of detention facilities.

"The U.S. government has consistently succeeded in federal court in its policy and legal position that there is no government funded right to counsel in removal proceedings." said Aram Gavoor, associate dean for academic affairs at the George Washington University Law School.

Immigration courts are administrative courts subject to statute and policymaking of the president and attorney general, he said.

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The orientation programs operate in detention centers often located in isolated parts of the country, far from the cities where immigration attorneys and legal services programs are concentrated. In California, privately run detentions centers operate in McFarland and Bakersfield in the Central Valley, near the border in Calexico and in Adelanto in San Bernardino County.

"Mass deportation starts with mass detention. And when you take mass detention and take away due process, access to counsel and transparency. You have a black site is what you have," said Michael Lukens, executive director of Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, which oversees legal programs for those detained in Virginia. He told reporters on Monday that litigation challenging the pause will be filed imminently.

His staff had been in the middle of a legal presentation with a group of detainees this week when officials, with whom they had regularly worked, asked them to leave.

Lisa Knox, co-director of the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, said she has heard similar stories from providers in California, where at least nine that provide counsel for children operate.

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"Already there's not sufficient representation and legal services for people in immigration detention," she said. "And so the loss of this program further increases that gap."

The number of cases in immigration court has quadrupled to more than 3 million since 2018, while those with lawyers have dramatically fallen. About one out of three people with pending cases before the court have lawyers. Six years ago that figure was two out of three, according to a congressional report.

Detainees without lawyers prevailed in only 3% of cases, according to one 2018 study.

Times staff writer Andrea Castillo contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Donald Trumps first week back in office has felt catastrophic, and Black Americans are reasonably frustrated and concerned with what theyre seeing in news headlines and social media posts. Since the 47th president was inaugurated on Martin Luther King Day last week, many Black folks feel that our leaders are too quiet, our rich celebs are doing nothing with the power they have, and that our white colleagues and friends are being passive in the face of blatant discrimination. Black people believe Trump wants to trigger a whole race, but why? In search of answers, I called Rev. William J. Barber III  who, to many people, is the closest person we have to Martin Luther King Jr.

Youve seen him on television many times, and probably remember him as a prominent voice after the police murder of George Floyd in 2020. His focus is poor people of every race. Hes an American Protestant minister, social activist, professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Public Policy and founding director of the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy at Yale Divinity School.

This conversation will be split into several parts, so do come back to The Root for more.

Rev, Barber How bad are things?

The thing we have to have at the moment is a sense of reality. What is happening is bad, but its not as bad as when you had the entire Congress Democrats and Republican, the entire executive [branch], entire state legislatures  all committed to slavery or segregation.

Are you saying we should not be afraid?

First, our fear has to be properly placed. Secondly, things are bad, but we have to look at each one in terms of how bad it is. When the President does an executive order, it is bad, but its also not a law forever. An executive order only follows that President. Also, if the Congress has the majority, the Congress can put in a law that makes that executive order permanent, or can take it away. Many politicians right now dont want to touch this because they dont want to be seen as negative like that.

Can you speak more about the executive orders?

So what hes doing is pushing all these massive executive orders, which are bad. Its one of the things neofascists do: they try to make you feel like you dont have power. People are saying, Oh Lord, we just lost the order.

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Let me give you one example. Trump overturned the executive order thats been in place since Lyndon B. Johnson; it had to do with contracts and minorities. It basically said you could not get a federal contract unless you included women and other minorities. Down through the years, that executive order had been continued by every president. No president has removed it because it would show that they were very racist, but Trump didnt care. So he comes in and he erases it.

Well, number one, the next president can put it back. The next president could also say, when Im elected, Im gonna work with the Congress and make it permanent law.  In addition to that, that still doesnt mean we cant sue in the courts and argue that it is a violation of equal protection under the law to have this kind of discrimination when it comes to federal funding.

So we cannot say this is the worst weve ever seen?

In actuality, we have a divided government. We have a Republican government, with a small majority in the House and a small majority in the Senate. And of course, we have this MAGA president who won, and then lost, and then won. But, we have an election coming up in 2026. The margins that are there [can be overcome] if we work hard and we pay attention to the largest potential swing vote in the country, which is poor and low wage workers.

Youre saying things can change for the Democrats, so much so they can win the House and Senate?

Barber: A lot of the extremism that Trump is showing off the bat is going to cause that, because people are going to be so much in opposition. In fact, I think that the Democratic Party would do well to call themselves the opposition party. And what they should be doing is filing every deal, as if they were in power. For example, if they would file a living wage bill, and say that if we had the power, we would raise the minimum wage to $17 an hour. People would know that and see that, and if they meant it, people know they meant it, they would give them the midterm.

Come back for more of our conversation with the Rev. Barber

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Firefighters remained on the scene of a house fire about 11 p.m. Sunday in the 1500 block of 34th Avenue, Moline.

(Eric Olsen, OurQuadCities.com)

The American Red Cross is assisting one person who lives there and wasnt home at the time of the fire, Our Quad Cities News crew learned at the scene.

Neighbors had reported flames coming from the home shortly before 9 p.m. At the time of the call, it was unknown if anyone was inside the residence, according to a news release from Moline Fire Department.

(Moline Fire Department)

Fire crews arrived on the scene within six minutes to find a small two-story single-family home

with significant fire and smoke coming from the windows. Crews performed an aggressive

interior attack and were able to knock down the main body of the fire within 15 minutes.

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The homeowner arrived at the scene and is displaced because of the extensive fire damage.

The Moline Fire Department was supported by the Rock Island Fire Department, Rock Island

Arsenal Fire Department, and East Moline Fire Department. The Moline Second Alarmers

provided air support at the scene, and Mid-American Energy secured the utilities at the

residence.

Firefighters do not know whether the residence was equipped with working smoke detectors. The fire remains under investigation by the Moline Fire Departments Bureau of Investigations. Firefighters ask anyone with information about the fire to contact the fire department at 309-524-2250.

Fire safety tips from the Moline Fire Department

The Moline Fire Department reminds all residents to take precautions to prevent fires in their

homes, the release continues. If you use portable heating devices, ensure they are placed at least three feet away from combustible materials, and never leave them unattended.

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Always follow the manufacturers instructions and avoid using extension cords with space heaters.

Additionally, smoking materials remain a leading cause of residential fires. Always use sturdy,

non-flammable ashtrays and ensure smoking materials are fully extinguished before disposal.

Never smoke in bed or when drowsy.

(Moline Fire Department)

Our Quad Cities News will remain in contact with firefighters to provide more details when they becomes available.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
A major South Sound blood-collection agency says it has only half the donation appointments it needs to supply the regions hospitals. Bloodworks Northwest declared a code red emergency blood shortage Monday.

We feel the effects of people who havent donated over the holidays, spokesperson John Yeager said. That annual phenomenon combined with severe winter storms across the country has created the dire need.

Recent storms have blanketed parts of the nation as far south as Texas and Louisiana with snow. That impacts peoples abilities to reach donation centers.

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Blood banks around the nation have reciprocity agreements which allows the transfer of blood when a region is in short supply.

Ninty-nine percent of the time, the blood donated stays here, Yeager said.

Bloodworks Northwest is asking donors in Western Washington and Oregon to book appointments to make up for the shortage. Currently, the agency has 25,000 open appointments from now into February, Yeager said.

Type O negative, or universal donor, is especially needed.

Code Red means were running out of blood to concerning levels, said Curt Bailey, president & CEO of Bloodworks Northwest. Bloodworks is providing local hospitals with more Type O than is being donated locally, which depletes the supply.

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A code red is declared after four consecutive days of emergency blood levels, Yeager said.

Demand for blood remains high throughout hospitals in the Pacific Northwest. A local gunshot victim needed more than 100 units alone last week, Yeager said. A unit is a pint of blood and is the typical donation amount per person.

The American Red Cross is also experiencing a shortage due to the winter storms and fires in southern California, which have impacted donations. Red Cross spokesperson Betsy Robertson said her agency has a 15,000 blood and platelet donation deficit in January.

We are actively working everywhere conditions will allow people to get to blood-donation centers so we dont go into a severe situation, Roberson said.

Where to donate

 Bloodworks Northwest: Appointments can be made at bloodworksnw.org or 800-398-7888.

 American Red Cross: Blood drives can be found at redcrossblood.org/give or 800-733-2767.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  A Boardman man charged with child endangering was sentenced to five years probation last week in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Read next: Man found passed out driving has 8 prior OVIs: Report

Stephen Rivers, 30, received the sentence from Judge Anthony Donofrio after pleading guilty Thursday.

As part of his probation, he can have no contact with the victims.

The charge stems from a December 2023 incident where a 14-month-old boy was taken to a hospital for treatment and that case was referred to the Mahoning County Children Services Board.

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Rivers was indicted in April by a grand jury.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
Back firmly at the forefront of popular culture following the release of his biopic, Bob Dylan is returning to his native Minnesota for a show in April.

The legendary songwriter will perform at Mankato's Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, the venue for his most recent return to Minnesota in 2019.

The show is booked for April 4, with tickets going on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.

Alberto Cabello, Wikimedia Commons

It follows of the success of Dylan's Hollywood biopic, "A Complete Unknown," with Timothee Chalamet starring as the Hibbing native, premiering the movie in Minneapolis this past November.

Related: Timothee Chalamet convincingly portrays (and sings) Bob Dylan in 'A Complete Unknown'

Since its release, the 83-year-old Dylan has added several more legs to his ongoing Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour, focusing on smaller market cities such as Mankato, Green Bay in Wisconsin, and Wichita, Kansas.

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The Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour started in Wisconsin in November 2021 and supposedly concluded in London this past November, but has since been resurrected by Dylan.

Related: Actor Timothee Chalamet visits Hibbing High School
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY)  Police said they have confirmed that a body pulled from a pond early Monday afternoon that matched the description of missing 12-year-old Juan Sebastian Mejia Acevedo is indeed Acevedo.

Additional coverage: Community reacts to death of 12-year-old found in pond

A search team was out Monday morning looking for Acevedo, the boy who had been missing since Friday in Virginia Beach. The Virginia Beach Police Marine Patrol searched the bottom of a pond using sonar equipment, but found nothing.

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They then moved to another pond in the Cambria and Cornerstone neighborhood, and at 11:40 a.m., police started putting up yellow tape to clear the streets. With this response, the black curtain put up and a strong police presence on the other side of the pond, it became clear that a body had likely been found.

And indeed, a body was pulled from a pond off of Dolton Drive and Alicia Drive during the afternoon that matched his description.

Police are still investigating his death, and do not have a cause of death at this time.

A press release from the Virginia Beach Police Chief gave more information into the situation. The full video can be seen in the video player above.

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We recovered a body that was approximately eight feet under the water, said Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate. That body matches the physical description and the clothing description that we have for Juan Acevedo.

By late afternoon, the name was confirmed.

Neudigate indicated they will wait for the Medical Examiners results to decide what their next move is.

So right now, we know we have a recovery, Neudigate said. We will get the young man over to the Medical Examiners Office. They will tell us, in fact, what they believe to be the cause of death, and then we will release what we originally believed and then get that information out.

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The police chief would not say what he originally believed, but we asked the chief what role he thinks the ice played in Juans death.

I think it played a big role because I was over there for a while watching the recovery operations and I talked to the marine patrol, and we were out here yesterday, Neudigate said.

WAVY inquired, with Virginia State Polices Amber Alert noting that the child is believed to have been abducted, why the ponds were not checked before.

We had no specific indication that these ponds were an area of interest, but we did not want to leave any stone unturned, Neudigate said. As you know, weve been investigating this as a possible abduction.

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State Police issued an Amber Alert for the 12-year-old around early Saturday. The alert was canceled just before 3 p.m. Monday.

Missing 12-year-old childs mom reveals he never made it to friends house

10 On Your Side was on the scene Monday as police put up yellow tape around a pond. 10 On Your Side reported that there were other ponds that were also searched.

The chief said this is a period of mourning for the community. The police are looking into all possibilities that may have led to this, including the ransom requests that the family received that resulted in them paying $500.

Virginia Beach Police began searching for Acevedo Friday. The boys mother told 10 On Your Side that her son never reached his friends house on the day he disappeared.

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VBPD provided an updated statement Tuesday saying they are still investigating Acevedos death. They are also investigating the ransom request the family received. VBPD confirmed there have been no arrests in this case.

Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Villagers sort out sundries at home in Xinhua Villge of Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 26, 2025.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, new infrastructures have been built and industrial bases have been reconstructed to advance the development of the flood-affected village. Local villagers have moved into new houses in a relocation site. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Villagers greet each other for the upcoming Chinese New Year in Xinhua Villge of Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 25, 2025.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, new infrastructures have been built and industrial bases have been reconstructed to advance the development of the flood-affected village. Local villagers have moved into new houses in a relocation site. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Villagers chat at the yard of the home of Yang Fen (3rd L, back) in Xinhua Villge of Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 25, 2025.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, new infrastructures have been built and industrial bases have been reconstructed to advance the development of the flood-affected village. Local villagers have moved into new houses in a relocation site. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Villagers have barbecue during a moving-in banquet of villager Yang Fen in Xinhua Villge of Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 25, 2025.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, new infrastructures have been built and industrial bases have been reconstructed to advance the development of the flood-affected village. Local villagers have moved into new houses in a relocation site. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

An elder cooks meat and potatoes during a moving-in banquet of villager Yang Fen in Xinhua Villge of Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 25, 2025.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, new infrastructures have been built and industrial bases have been reconstructed to advance the development of the flood-affected village. Local villagers have moved into new houses in a relocation site. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Chen Hongying and her families have dinner at home in Xinhua Villge of Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 25, 2025.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, new infrastructures have been built and industrial bases have been reconstructed to advance the development of the flood-affected village. Local villagers have moved into new houses in a relocation site. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 26, 2025 shows houses in the relocation site of Xinhua Village in Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, new infrastructures have been built and industrial bases have been reconstructed to advance the development of the flood-affected village. Local villagers have moved into new houses in a relocation site. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 25, 2025 a newly built square in Xinhua Village of Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, new infrastructures have been built and industrial bases have been reconstructed to advance the development of the flood-affected village. Local villagers have moved into new houses in a relocation site. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 25, 2025 shows a reconstructed planting base in Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, new infrastructures have been built and industrial bases have been reconstructed to advance the development of the flood-affected village. Local villagers have moved into new houses in a relocation site. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 26, 2025 shows a newly built road leading to Xinhua Village in Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, new infrastructures have been built and industrial bases have been reconstructed to advance the development of the flood-affected village. Local villagers have moved into new houses in a relocation site. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 26, 2025 shows houses in the relocation site of Xinhua Village in Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, new infrastructures have been built and industrial bases have been reconstructed to advance the development of the flood-affected village. Local villagers have moved into new houses in a relocation site. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

People take part in a moving-in banquet of villager Yang Fen in Xinhua Village in Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 25, 2025.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, the affected locals have moved into new houses with furniture and home appliances in place at resettlement sites. And they have decorated their homes and made well preparation to celebrate Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

People chat at home in Xinhua Village in Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 25, 2025.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, the affected locals have moved into new houses with furniture and home appliances in place at resettlement sites. And they have decorated their homes and made well preparation to celebrate Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

A girl runs in Xinhua Village in Malie Township, Hanyuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 25, 2025.

Xinhua Village, located in Ya'an City's Hanyuan County, was hit by a flash flooding of a local river caused by heavy rain in July 2024.

Currently, the affected locals have moved into new houses with furniture and home appliances in place at resettlement sites. And they have decorated their homes and made well preparation to celebrate Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
Anti-abortion activists march through downtown Atlanta Friday as part of the Georgia Stand for Life march. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

Advocates on both sides of the fight over access to reproductive rights are gearing up for an expected debate this year over whether and how lawmakers should create new protections for access to in-vitro fertilization.

Leadership in both Republican-controlled chambers have said they generally support putting new IVF protections in state law after a court ruling in Alabama in early 2024 jeopardized access in that state and created uncertainty nationally.

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Both sides are anxiously waiting to see the details of what such a GOP-led proposal might look like.

Claire Bartlett, executive director of the Georgia Life Alliance, said her group has not taken an official position on IVF, but there are concerns.

During IVF, doctors typically harvest and fertilize multiple eggs in the hope that at least one results in a successful pregnancy. Unused embryos, which are only days old and invisible to the naked eye, are often allowed to thaw out and be destroyed.

We believe that as soon as the sperm meets an egg, that flash of light happens, unique DNA is formed as a human being, and that is what needs to be protected all the way through natural death, Bartlett said Friday.

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So, we just need to understand, what are we talking about here? she added. We have a big concern about the disposition of those embryos, because right now, its up to the provider and the woman and her family, and it can be different across providers.

Anti-abortion activists march through downtown Atlanta Friday as part of the Georgia Stand for Life march. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

Zemmie Fleck, executive director of the far-right Georgia Right to Life, signaled Friday that she is wary.

Youve got to be careful about what youre codifying, Fleck said, speaking before her groups Stand for Life event outside the state Capitol.

There is optimism among defenders of reproductive rights that a proposal to protect IVF access will find bipartisan support this session. But there is also a sense of unease that opening up Georgias current statute on IVF could end up imperiling existing access.

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Im always in favor of codifying protection, but the devils in the details, said Rep. Shea Roberts, an Atlanta Democrat. And I dont want us to open a door to something that could put what we have right now at risk.

Roberts said she sees codifying protections at this point as being proactive, since Georgia couples do not appear to be at risk of losing access today.

Even some Republicans last year argued that additional protections for IVF were unnecessary in Georgia after Democrats introduced a late-session bill in the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos were children and that parents could claim civil damages for their destruction.

The Democrats bill would have spelled out in state law that any human egg or human embryo that exists outside of the uterus shall not, under any circumstances, be considered an unborn child, a minor child, a natural person, or any other term that connotes a human being for any purpose under state law.

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The lead sponsor of Georgias 2019 law has said that the law specifically excludes IVF and refers only to embryos carried in the womb.

In Alabama, lawmakers quickly responded last year by passing a bill protecting fertility clinics from criminal and civil liability for offering in-vitro fertilization.

Supporters of reproductive rights say they hope Georgia lawmakers take a different approach.

Sometimes our state legislators try to put a Band-Aid on something that we should be healing, and I think protecting clinics is just a Band-Aid, said Jaylen Black, vice president of communications and marketing of Planned Parenthood Southeast, which also includes Alabama.

They want to go further

Supporters of reproductive rights spent this last week honoring what would have been the 52nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which was overturned in 2022.

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They also spent the week bracing for news out of Washington as President Donald Trump took office for a second term. Trump was instrumental in ending the federal right to an abortion but said during last years election that he considers the issue settled after the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization decision put the responsibility of regulating abortion in the hands of state lawmakers.

Last week, the Trump administration took down a government website highlighting resources on reproductive rights. Trump spoke through a video message at Fridays national March for Life event but has not outlined specific plans on abortion access for his second term.

Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood, talks to reporters in Atlanta Thursday. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder

But advocates for abortion rights are bracing for what they fear is to come.

They want to go further. We know that they want abortion to be unattainable and unthinkable. Those are their words, Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the national Planned Parenthood, said at an Atlanta fundraiser Thursday called Roses for Roe.

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We want abortion to be undeniable, unquestionable, and we want our bodies to be ungovernable, she said.

Johnson told reporters that she is concerned about what Trump might attempt to do through executive action, such as using the Comstock Act to restrict access to medication abortion.

I think the president understands that abortion bans, national abortion bans are unpopular, and he does not like to be unpopular, she said.

Fight over medication abortion in Georgia is at a simmer, for now

Bartlett with the Georgia Life Alliance said Friday that her organizations focus this year is on reviving a proposal that would require medical providers to conduct an in-person exam before prescribing abortion bills.

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Such a bill cleared the state Senate in early 2022 but ultimately stalled. Since then, Georgias six-week abortion ban has taken effect, and Republican lawmakers have not entertained additional restrictions on abortion while that law is being tested in court. A challenge is pending before the Georgia Supreme Court now.

Kianta Key placed a hair bead on a makeshift altar set up as a tribute to Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller last year near the state Capitol. Key said the hair bead represents the beauty of who they were. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder

The debate over whether Georgias law caused the deaths of two Georgia women while attempting to terminate their pregnancy has also energized both sides of the issue since the Legislature was last in session.

Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller died after trying to have an abortion shortly after Georgias law took effect in 2022 but their stories become public in September. Both women experienced a complication from abortion medication.

Bartlett pointed to their deaths as a reason to revisit the 2022 proposal. She argued that access to medication abortion has become the wild west, pointing to federal changes designed to ease access.

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If it had been in place, those two women would be alive today in my estimation, Bartlett said of the stalled bill.

But advocates for abortion access have blamed the womens deaths on Georgias six-week ban. In Thurmans case, doctors waited 20 hours to perform a dilation and curettage to treat sepsis that resulted from an incomplete abortion.

Georgias law allows for an abortion to be performed when there is a medical emergency, but representatives of the medical community have cautioned for years that the laws wording is unclear and would cause doctors to delay care until the patient is in an obvious crisis.

Thurmans mother, Shanette Williams, has joined advocates in calling for the repeal of strict abortion laws like Georgias. She participated in a virtual press conference just last week in recognition of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, saying she is speaking up to help save another life.

Avery Davis Bell speaks at Planned Parenthoods Roses for Roe fundraiser in Atlanta last week. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder

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Another Georgia woman, Avery Davis Bell, says she nearly lost her life after experiencing a second-trimester miscarriage late last year but said her doctors waited to intervene to perform a dilation and evacuation until her own health started to fail.

Bell immediately began to publicly share her story and was a featured speaker at Planned Parenthoods fundraiser in Atlanta last week.

Bell said she wants people to hear her story because if someone in her circumstances  a white, cis, straight, married geneticist with a strong support system and care team  could go through what she went through, then it could happen to anyone and with worse results.

May the memories of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller be a blessing and a battle cry, Bell said.

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BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11)  Police are searching for a 12-year-old boy who went missing in Brooklyn on Sunday.

Leeland Rebollo was last seen leaving his home on Gates Avenue around 8:10 p.m., according to authorities.

Police are searching for a 12-year-old boy who went missing in Brooklyn on Sunday. (Credit: DCPI)

He is 50 tall and around 100 pounds. Rebollo was last seen wearing a tan sweater, blue jeans and white and blue Jordan sneakers.

Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

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Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  A 70-year-old woman was found dead Monday after being reported missing Sunday morning.

Julia Ann Brown was killed in a car accident at the corner of Zion City Road and East Lake Boulevard in Birmingham Monday morning. She had last been seen at 10 a.m. Sunday when she was supposed to drive to a church in the Huffman area.

The Birmingham Police Department is investigating the crash.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
A memo from the Trump administrations top human resources official Monday laid out expansive descriptions of workers who could be stripped of civil service protections this year.

The memo concerns a broad new category of federal workers that could be removed from the so-called competitive service and exempted from protections against adverse actions like being fired or suspended. These employees would be eligible to be transferred into Schedule Policy/Career, which was previously known as Schedule F.

According to an executive order President Donald Trump issued in 2020  and reissued, with some changes, after taking office last week  this new schedule of workers will include people in policy-influencing positions, defined as positions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character.

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And according to an interim guidance memo sent Monday by Charles Ezell, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, the Trump administration thinks this description could fit a whole lot of government workers.

In a bulleted list, Ezell wrote that agencies should consider rescheduling positions involved in, among other things, directing the work of an organizational unit, being held accountable for the success of one or more specific programs or projects, substantive participation and discretionary authority in agency grantmaking, including evaluation of grant applications, and publicly advocating for the policies of the agency or the administration, including before the news media or on social media.

Only a few thousand government employees  political appointees  typically leave their jobs when a new administration comes in. They are far outnumbered by those in the competitive service, who are hired based on merit and have strong employment protections. The broad descriptions in Ezells memo could make tens of thousands of career, nonpolitical employees  such as project managers, analysts and clerical workers  eligible to lose those protections, leaving their futures in the hands of their politically appointed superiors.

The categories of potential employees are extraordinarily broad, Donald Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan who has closely tracked Trumps attacks on the civil service, told HuffPost in an email.

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Effectively, any employee that uses discretion involved in the interpretation and implementation of policy could be fired if they displease the administration. Officials who played PR or advocacy roles at the request of the prior administration can be fired now.

Trumps new executive order goes further than the one he issued in 2020 by stating that jobs eligible to be rescheduled include any involving duties that the Director otherwise indicates may be appropriate for inclusion in Schedule Policy/Career. This line, which Ezell mentioned in his memo, expands the Trump administrations authority to reclassify workers.

The executive order and memo both contain language asserting that civil service protections wont be stripped based on individual workers political beliefs. But the memo says federal employees are required to faithfully implement administration policies to the best of their ability, and the new executive order requires they carry out their work consistent with the vesting of executive authority solely in the President.

If Trumps first term is any indication, agency heads  political appointees installed by Trump  are likely to interpret affected positions broadly.

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Trumps original Schedule F order was issued in October 2020 and therefore never fully put into effect. But before Trump left office, a few agencies did put together lists of positions they thought were eligible to be stripped of civil service protections. Among them, according to publicrecords obtained by the National Treasury Employees Union, were IT specialists, human resource specialists and office managers, in addition to policy analysts, economists and legal roles.

Notably, in addition to revoking Trumps 2020 Schedule F order, Joe Bidens administration also went through a formal rule-making process, completed in 2024, to codify existing civil service protections and put up barriers to future presidents attempting to copy Trumps order.

Now back in office, Trump appears intent on simply bulldozing through that 2024 Biden rule. Not only has an OPM press release for it been erased, but Ezells memo also states that Trump used his executive order to simply directly nullify these regulations where they stemmed from presidential authority.

OPMs October 25, 2024, guidance document entitled Implementing Guidance for Upholding Civil Service Protections and Merit System Principles Regulations is hereby rescinded in its entirety, Ezells memo says flatly.

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The memo simply dismisses the Biden rule limiting Schedule F, Moynihan wrote. Biden went through a formal rulemaking process, but the Trump administration is saying that they can ignore that. This is the biggest change to the civil service system since its creation, and the Trump administration says they do not require any new legislation or following the rulemaking process.

The National Treasury Employees Union has already sued over Trumps Schedule Policy/Career order, arguing the president exceeded his authority by potentially creating such a broad category of federal workers, and that statutory language about confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating was intended to refer only to noncareer political appointees, who change with every president, and not career civil servants.

The new executive order gives OPM until Feb. 19 to come up with additional positions to potentially be rescheduled. OPM will issue final guidance prior to that date, a footnote in Ezells memo reads.

Under the executive order, agency heads have 90 days to make a preliminary list of positions to reschedule and an additional 120 days to finalize the list.

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OPM retains discretion to determine which categories and types of positions it will recommend for Schedule Policy/Career, and the President will make the final determination about which positions to transfer, Mondays memo reads.

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A Bronx man who lost four fingers protecting his beloved pit bull from a machete-wielding stranger had to have them surgically rearranged to account for a missing digit, the stunned victim told the Daily News.

Rakeem Tayquon Young, 34, was walking his dog, Chanel, near Southern Blvd. and E. 178th St. in East Tremont at about 11:20 a.m. Friday when the crazed attacker, also accompanied by a pooch, approached him.

He was like, Yo, get your dog. Im [going to] chop her head off, Young recalled from his hospital bed Sunday. And then the dude just swung the knife at me for no apparent reason. I remember lifting my hand saying, No! No!

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As Young raised his hand to shield Chanels head from the large blade, the attacker chopped off the fingers of his left hand.

He went to hit me a second time, after he cut my hand, said Young. He swung for my face. He went to reach for the knife again, and thats when [Chanel] attacked him.

As the attacker punched and scratched the victims loyal pit bull she turned to protect Young  an act of bravery that made the proud owner tear up as he recounted the traumatic event.

I was just trying to protect [Chanel], said Young as he fought back tears. And you know, I would do it again.

In shock, Young chased after the attacker before realizing he needed to stop in a bodega for help.

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Im running down the street and missing the fingers, Young said. When he first initially swung the [machete] I did look and see that my fingers was gone. After that I could not look no more.

I couldnt believe it, he added. It wasnt even painful because it was just, maybe because, my adrenaline and everything.

Medics took him to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he underwent a 13-hour surgery before he was transferred to Bellevue Hospital for recovery.

Emergency workers recovered three of his four missing fingers but the fourth was lost to the city streets in the chaos, prompting a desperate search, his mother Kimtreese Young said.

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My sister, my sisters husband, his friends, like people was literally out there looking, even after he was in the hospital, they were still out there looking for the fingers that was missing.

They basically put my pointer finger as my middle finger and my middle finger as my ring finger, said Young. So Im just missing my index finger. They couldnt find the ring finger.

Young has had the 3-year-old pooch since she was a puppy, even keeping Chanel after an eviction last year left them homeless.

We just been through it together, said Young. Whatever happened to me happened to her. When I got evicted, she got evicted.

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His protective instinct kicked in when his dog was threatened by the stranger.

My sons first instinct was, he tried to block the blow, to protect his baby, the victims mother said.

Young is so emotionally attached to his pet he is tormented by the thought of what could have happened.

Every time I close my eyes I replay it over and over again and I have a hard time sleeping, said Young. If he would have sliced my dogs head off like that, that would have broke my heart. That would have broke me for the rest of my life.

Police are still searching for the man who attacked Young and Chanel after releasing surveillance footage of the suspect late Friday. They are asking the publics help identifying him and tracking him down.

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When that [UnitedHealthcare] CEO got killed they did everything to track him down, building by building by building, said Young. Youre gonna tell me all these buildings on E. Tremont Ave. in the Bronx that got cameras, you cant track him down? Because my fingers is missing and to me thats a problem. This is going to affect me for the rest of my life.

Young worries his family will be saddled with enormous medical debt as he undergoes therapy to relearn how to use his hand.

The first thing was trying to help get his hand together, his mother said. After that, the second is, how are we paying for this? Were not rich  Right now, with a wing and a prayer. Were just gonna see how it how it goes.

The family has started a GoFundMe to help defray medical expenses.

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Meanwhile they are frightened the attacker remains on the loose.

That man went out there in search of a problem, Kimtreese Young said of her sons attacker. Because who goes out there with a big machete in his hands? He was looking for problems. And my son just happened to be the one.

Anyone with information on the attacker is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
Carly Graf and Nora Mabie

The Missoulian

This is the second story in a series Education for a nation observing the vital roles Tribal Colleges and Universities play in revitalizing language and culture, and fueling local workforces and economies in Montana.

Republished with permission from The Missoulian.

PABLO  On a bright, crisp October morning, seven students from Salish Kootenai College headed to class for their final exam. It wouldnt take place in a classroom, but rather a nondescript parking lot outfitted with a movable trailer. The students showed their skills through the high-pitched, grating sound of the angle grinder, so ear-splitting it nearly drowned out the whir of traffic on Highway 93, the main road through the southernmost part of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

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If they passed, they would obtain a welding certificate, opening the door to stable, high-paying jobs that are not easy to come by for most people in their community.

These guys all could go to work as soon as they get out of this class, says Vic Desautel, the instructor. He says he gets calls every day about open jobs for the soon-to-be-grads, opportunities ranging from big stadium projects to nuclear power plants, prefabricated builds, pipefitting and more.

American Indians have the lowest college enrollment rate of any racial group in the country, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Federal data shows higher rates of unemployment among Native communities compared to the national average.

Most jobs on reservations pay meager wages and lack opportunities for career growth. Even though the Flathead Reservation is an outlier, home to a larger population of non-Native residents and offering more economic opportunity than its peers, people still struggle to find work that catapults them to greater earnings. On reservations, if not working for the tribes or schools, a gas station clerk or a grocery store cashier might be the only option. Leaving the community could be possible, but that likely means putting potentially hundreds of miles between family members.

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Completion of the SKCs welding course gives graduates a near-guarantee of earning more than $20 an hour in an industry with a seemingly endless demand for workers. They can work for themselves or join a union and hop on jobs all over the country.

Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) such as SKC provide essential workforce development for their communities, often creating direct pathways to jobs that benefit the reservation. They also create a more sustainable workforce because Native graduates are more likely to stay in their own communities than someone from the outside. TCUs themselves even benefit, as students complete projects that the campus needs to get done in the name of work experience. SKC welders, for example, gain experience repairing heavy machinery parts and the college doesnt have to pay for the labor.

Central to the tribal college mission is equipping future generations with skills to bolster the local economy and the tribes capacity, and to provide a more effective learning environment for Native students compared with their Montana University System counterparts.

Wayne Stein, a TCU expert who led the Native American Studies department at Montana State University in Bozeman, says tribal colleges are the best thing that has happened to Indian Country in a century.

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There are many (benefits) and they're pretty visible, he said. The upside of having a tribal college in your community is huge, and we know that in Montana because we have seven of them.

Education brings opportunity

Reservations have lower median household incomes and higher shares of the population below the poverty line. TCUs offer the chance to get training that directly translates into job opportunity. A 2024 report from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry concludes that a greater share of people on all but one of the reservations have achieved a two-year associate degree as compared with the statewide average, which it attributes largely to the offerings at TCUs.

Its not enough to simply create vocational programs. TCU students are more likely to come from situations of poverty or be parents and caretakers themselves, so tribal colleges work to make their pre-professional programs accessible to students facing additional barriers.

All of Montanas TCUs offer child care, food assistance and scholarships for things like textbooks. Faculty is more flexible to account for challenges like family deaths to suicide  which occur at higher rates for Native people  so students can still obtain their degree. Some will provide housing or gas stipends.

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When Shawncee Brave Rock first heard about the SKC course, the idea of becoming a welder had never crossed his mind. He fought fire for nine years all around the Mountain West, but now has a 6-month-old son. That brings a whole new kind of love  and a lot more bills.

After eight weeks of the class, Brave Rocks vision for his future has completely changed. He wants to operate his own mobile welding business to fix fences and help with car repairs around the reservation.

I never touched a welder before and I really like it, he said. I think Id enjoy doing this full time.

Welding students get a $125 daily stipend to pay for their time, much of which is spent in the mobile trailer that often reaches triple-digit temperatures. Its unglamorous. Theyre usually covered in grease and dressed head-to-toe in thick, stiff workwear in the beating sun. But they return home every night, a boon for Brave Rock and others who have families of their own.

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The more time on the hood, the better, says Chris Brown, 20, dad to a little girl and an avid learner of new welding skills. He spearheaded the class art project  a dreamcatcher made of scrap metal, the feathers initialed by each student.

SKC welding students, pictured with their handmade "class of 2024" sign, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Shanna Madison, Missoulian)

Its a far cry from when Desautel earned his welding credentials. Growing up on an Indian reservation in Washington, Desautel said his only options were jail or learning a trade. The way to learn a trade was to get off the reservation. He enrolled in a course in Chicago for Native Americans, but only about half made it through the program. Some stumbled without their support systems; others had to return home for family obligations.

You can bring it to the reservations, Desautel said of the traveling welding course he now teaches. They are able to learn but they dont have to leave home right away.

Tribal colleges allow Native learners to acquire new skills while staying tied to their culture and community  and at a far lower price tag. The average price of in-state tuition at a public college for the 2021-2022 school year was $10,388. By comparison, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium calculated the average cost of tuition and fees during that same year at a tribal college to be $3,744.

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No matter the origin, this synergistic relationship is partly why TCU students are more likely to view their investment in higher education as worthwhile. A 2022 survey of TCU graduates by Gallup found 67 percent of respondents said their education at a tribal college was worth the cost, relative to 38 percent nationally.

We are providing a service that the state university system is not doing, said state Sen. Susan Webber, D-Browning.

Grow your own workforce

Each of Montanas seven tribal colleges has made job training a primary focus. It entices enrollees and bolsters local economies. Working in harmony, TCUs respond to the needs of the surrounding communities and invest in making those opportunities accessible for prospective students.

As a community college, we have adaptability to assess and see what our local workforce needs and adapt our programs to opportunities, said Craig Smith, the president of Fort Peck Community College.

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Stone Child College offers carpentry classes. Fort Peck Community College is piloting a program in tribal governance and administration. Chief Dull Knife College has courses in American Indian education and early childhood education to prepare new teachers to work on the reservation.

Developing a workforce of people from the community who hope to stay close to home is critical to filling gaps on reservations, where everyone from public schools and health care facilities struggle to recruit and retain skilled workers. Some of these institutions try to attract outside professionals with financial incentives or other advancement opportunities, but the result is often a rotating cast of characters.

Trust, already fragile due to decades of systemic violence against American Indian communities, is hard to build when the teacher changes halfway through the school year or a primary care provider leaves town.

Around 74 percent of TCU graduates nationally end up employed on or near the reservation, according to the Gallup poll. They offer the possibility of a more sustainable solution to persistent workforce challenges.

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Gwynne White Quills is one of those students. Mom to seven kids, she graduated from Blackfeet Community College with her registered nursing license in May 2024. While studying, she continued to work as a nursing assistant at the Indian Health Service facility in Browning. It was normal for her to steal just a couple hours of shuteye as she juggled coursework, hospital night shifts and parenting.

During the two-year program, White Quills relied on her husband for help with the kids and leaned on her teachers to make sure she absorbed the material and stayed on track. At BCC, she felt like more than just a student, and that allowed her to believe she could do it all.

I dont think that I would have ever gotten my nursing degree if it was anywhere else other than here, she said.

White Quills passed the nursing boards shortly after graduating, officially making her a registered nurse. The BCC program is not yet accredited  though it aims to be by 2026  so it took a bit longer for her to get hired as a nurse at the local Indian Health Service facility.

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Once she did, though, it marked the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for the 38-year-old. Although she had worked in skilled nursing facilities and as a nursing assistant on the reservation for years, she always thought this next step would be unattainable. Too many responsibilities. Too many mouths to feed. Not enough hours in the day.

I am really looking forward to finally being able to do what I wanted to do, White Quills said. When I look at where Im at, where I work, Im like, Man, this place is the reason I want to be a nurse. Working here, working on this unit for my people, with my people, this is the reason why I wanted to be a nurse.

Residents of the Blackfeet Reservation face significant barriers to quality health care even as their community endures disproportionately high rates of chronic illness and premature death.

The latest Community Health Assessment found that 26 percent of Blackfeet Reservation residents go to the emergency room rather than scheduling an appointment with a primary care provider, often due to long wait times. Another report from the American Medical Association found that American Indians account for just 0.3 percent of all physicians nationally despite a growing body of research which shows that patients with medical providers from the same background see improved trust and better outcomes.

Now White Quills gets to play a role in helping address such vast inequities as a highly trained nurse in a health care setting that struggles to recruit qualified practitioners. Shell also understand the sensitivities of Native patients entering a mainstream medical system, knowing to ask permission before combing the hair of seniors, for example, or to inform patients about their options for traditional ceremony such as smudging or using sage in the hospital.

Right now, I'm still kind of shocked and in awe that I actually did it, White Quills said. That was the hardest thing Ive ever had to do in my life.

There are countless stories of TCUs empowering Native people to progress their own careers, improve their earnings and boost self-confidence. All have ripple effects on their family and community more broadly. When Indian Country does better, the surrounding economies do, too. One report suggests that Montanas tribal communities contribute $1 billion annually to the states economy.

(Tribal colleges have) lifted the spirit of people, Stein said. For the first time, you have students who feel welcome in schools.  While tribal colleges arent huge  they have between 100 and 300 students  400 students, they do that year after year after year, and it starts to add up.

Lets build a better rez

Renata Underwood experienced that transformation of spirit firsthand. Her story starts as a high schooler in Lodge Grass on the Crow Reservation with parents who were largely absent due to chronic struggles with substance use disorders. Simply getting herself up and off to school each morning on the 20-minute bus ride from the house in Crow Agency was a daunting task for the teen.

It started with a few absences before snowballing into a pattern of missing school. Instead, Underwood would hang out with friends. Alcohol was pervasive. Eventually, she dropped out, and her dreams of being a lawyer were eclipsed by the basic needs of survival.

Almost 20 years and four kids later, Underwood had moved to Hardin, a border town between the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations. She tried four different times to obtain her HiSET  the test equivalent of a high school diploma  through the local library and a community center in Billings, but failed every time. Underwood recalls feeling lost in the classes and confused about how to improve.

Then, in 2023, her oldest daughter was set to graduate from high school.

I thought, 'My baby is not going to graduate before me!' Underwood said.

A friend told her about the HiSET program at Little Big Horn College in Crow Agency. She could attend for free, and the HiSET adviser gave Underwood $40 to cover gas costs for the round-trip drive every time she visited campus for the course. After every practice exam, Underwood would receive private tutoring to identify how to up her scores.

When she got her results, Underwood was driving in the car back from the grocery store. Her phone pinged, and Underwoods heart started to race with the thought that it could signal the arrival of her HiSET score. She had barely gotten through the first few sentences when she burst into tears. Even more than a year later, Underwood beams when she recounts this moment.

I was crying like a big ol baby, she said. I couldnt believe I actually did something.

But Underwood didnt stop there. So enamored with the LBHC experience and the power of education, she went on to obtain her certified nursing assistant license in a one-year program. She encourages her kids and neighbors to pursue education.

I got a taste and feel of LBHC, and I really like it, she said. I didnt realize that I wasnt utilizing something that is such a great opportunity.

Next, Underwood plans to indulge the dreams of her teenage self by signing up for an American Indian policy class. Maybe one day shell become a lawyer, after all.

Underwood isnt pollyanna-ish about how hard life can be for her fellow Native people. But she does believe that if more people take steps toward an education or a new career path at LBHC, or another of the states tribal colleges, they could create change for their community.

Lets build a better rez, she said.

This story was created with the support of the Higher Education Media Fellowship at the Institute for Citizens & Scholars. The Fellowship supports new reporting into issues related to postsecondary career and technical education.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP)  A Bulgarian shipping company on Monday denied that one of its ships had intentionally damaged an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland.

Swedish prosecutors announced on Sunday night that they had launched a preliminary investigation on suspicion of sabotage, after the ship was detained in the Baltic Sea

Navibulgar CEO Alexander Kalchev said in a statement it was possible that the Vezhen ship had caused a cable to break but dismissed any possibility of sabotage or any other action on the part of the crew.

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Kalchev cited information obtained from the crew that the ship was sailing late on Sunday in extremely bad weather. Eventually, the crew discovered that the left anchor was apparently being dragged along the seabed.

He added that the automatic ship identification system clearly showed that the Vezhen passed over the cable, and that it was not clear when exactly it was cut.

I hope that the investigators will quickly establish that this is not a matter of any intentional action, but a technical incident due to bad weather, and that the ship will be released, Kalchev said.

The Maltese-flagged Vezhen was sailing to South America, loaded with fertilizer. The 32,000-ton vessel was launched in 2022, Kalchev said.

The Swedish public prosecutors' office said it was now carrying out a number of specific investigative measures. Authorities including the National Police Operations Department, the Coast Guard and the Armed Forces are involved in the investigation, senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement.
Bird flu cases across the country continue to rise and with that so does the price of eggs.

You might have noticed during your last trip to the grocery store that the shelves looked a little sparse-or there might have been a limit on how many cartons you can buy. Thats because suppliers are dealing with a shortage due to the bird flu.

Egg prices unfortunately arent going to get any better either. According to the US Department of Agriculture, egg prices are estimated to increase about 20% this year. A resurgence of bird flu killed about 17.2 million egg-laying hens in November and December. A smaller supply means a bigger price increase. The average price for a dozen large eggs was $4.15 in December, up from $3.65 in November.

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The one bright spotthis is helping local farmers. Boston 25 News went to Nallie Pastures in Dracut where people are turning to a trusted and reliable source for their eggs.

As opposed to maybe something thats coming from Iowa where theyre having issues with bird flu, if they support us with more demand, we can grow, said Stephen Hall from Nallie Pastures.

Hall says they feed their chickens fresh grass to avoid a bird flu outbreak. Just last week, a park in Brockton was closed over bird concerns and in Plymouth 60 birds were found dead, killed by the bird flu.

There were outbreaks in states across the country where more than 8 million birds died in January. So as long as the outbreak persists, expect to see higher prices at the grocery store.

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With the Spring Festival around the corner, a group of international students came to Haicheng City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, to experience a century-old local delicacy in a joyful atmosphere.
(Bloomberg) -- UK cabinet ministers are questioning whether a proposed expansion of Londons Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton airports would have the growth impact intended, as tensions brew within government over Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves growth plans.

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Britains finance minister is poised to announce some or all of the controversial airport decisions on Wednesday in a speech on growth. Reeves made the case for a bigger Heathrow during appearances on the Sunday talkshows, in her strongest signal yet that shes ready to green-light a controversial third runway at the UKs main international airport.

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But the plans have split Keir Starmers cabinet and wider party, with Labour figures raising environmental concerns around noise, air pollution and greenhouse gases. Some ministers also doubt there is evidence such a move would deliver the desired boost to the economy.

Criticisms include that London airport expansions would displace growth from other regions, benefits would only be felt in the 2030s, and doubts it would spur any economic growth at all, a person familiar with the cabinet discussions said, asking not to be named talking about private exchanges.

With the economy flat-lining, Reeves is on a drive to show how the Labour government  in power since July after 14 years in opposition  is committed to spurring growth by fast-tracking housebuilding and infrastructure projects from wind farms to airports. Starmer last week unveiled plans to limit legal challenges to major projects.

A senior government official said Labour ministers should support the core objective of economic growth, warning ministers with environmental concerns that opposing the policy would see them join the blockers who inhibited growth in the past.

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The push has become particularly urgent in recent weeks after market ructions pushed up borrowing costs, eroding away the slim margin Reeves had in her spending plans in Octobers budget.

Thats put attention on an economic forecast being prepared by the governments fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, for March 26. If the OBR finds shes in breach of her fiscal rule that day-to-day spending be covered by tax receipts by 2029-30, shell have to adjust her plans.

However, if Reeves can persuade the OBR that her measures now will boost growth before its forecast horizon, the watchdogs outlook might be rosier. It would also be a powerful signal to private investors.

Where this really matters for Reeves is whether this sort of thing can convince the OBR to get materially more optimistic, said James Smith, developed markets economist at ING. Airports wont be ready for years, but this is the immediate prize and its a bit of a chicken and egg.

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Heathrows expansion through construction of a third runway in particular has long been controversial, and the last time it was voted on in Parliament  in 2018  eight members of the current cabinet voted against it, including Starmer and the now Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, whose department is in charge of climate policy.

Asked by the Press Association whether he would resign over the issue, Miliband last week said dont be ridiculous, no. But long-time Heathrow expansion opponent Sadiq Khan, Labours London Mayor, said his views havent changed.

The government divisions reflect a split among economists about whether unblocking airport development can help deliver Labours pledge to turbo-charge a stagnant economy. While some question global demand for business travel post-Covid, others point to current capacity constraints and the potential for cheaper flights, particularly at Heathrow, the UKs main hub for flight connections and also a key trade artery.

Reeves appeared to acknowledge the split over Heathrow, telling Sky News on Sunday that an announcement would be made when ready to, with collective ministerial responsibility. She also argued that advancements in technology had changed the debate over the environmental impact of a third runway.

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Sustainable aviation fuel is changing carbon emissions from flying, theres huge investment going on electric planes and also a third runway would mean that instead of circling London, flights can land at Heathrow, Reeves told the BBC.

She also has the backing of business groups. Expanding airport capacity is vital to driving economic growth and it remains a top priority for business, British Chambers of Commerce Director General Shevaun Haviland said.

In 2016, government analysis of a third runway at Heathrow calculated it would create up to 77,000 local jobs over 14 years and benefit the wider economy to the tune of 61 billion ($76 billion) over 60 years. A spokesperson for Heathrow said any update to that analysis would be published if and when it chooses to push forward with the project.

Post-pandemic, doubts have been raised over the economic benefits and whether it will displace activity from the rest of the country. While leisure visits to the UK returned to pre-Covid levels in 2023, business travel was still at around 75% of 2019 levels, according to Office for National Statistics data. Nonetheless, separate World Travel & Tourism Council figures in October projected that annual spending on corporate travel in the UK in 2024 would hit a record $84 billion.

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We seriously question how aviation expansion will support economic growth, said Chris Venables of the environmental think tank Green Alliance. He pointed to data on business travel, as well as a decline in the growth in jobs in air transport and a drop in real wages.

Greater Manchesters Labour Mayor, Andy Burnham has also raised concerns about London airport expansions potentially displacing growth. In 2020 the New Economics Foundation, a left-wing think tank, used Department for Transport data to argue that expanding Heathrow would shift 27,000 jobs and 43 billion of output away from regions outside London and South East through 2085.

A report last week by UK Day One  a nonpartisan, pro-growth think tank  said that while expanding Heathrow would disproportionately benefit the service sector in the surrounding area, the boost to industry and manufacturing would be felt more elsewhere.

It also highlighted economic benefits from cheaper and more reliable flights  saving 160 for an average family of four flying on holiday  and higher tax revenues that could be spent outside of the South East. Frontier Economics estimated in 2019 that the Heathrow congestion premium added 34 to return short-haul flights and 217 for long-haul.

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Even if business travel patterns had changed permanently  for which there is limited evidence  Heathrows severe capacity constraints would still justify expansion, the UK Day One report said. It is being held back, with consequences for UK growth: the airport is arguably the most capacity-constrained transport hub in the world.

--With assistance from Kate Duffy and Ellen Milligan.

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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)  The Caddo Parish Sheriffs Office (CPSO) will open its doors for an upcoming open house.

More Salute the Badge news

CPSOs Explorer POST Program Open House is scheduled for Monday, January 27, 2025, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Sheriffs Safety Town.

According to CPSO, a week from January 13 to January 21, the CPSO school resource officers (SRO) collaborated with faculty members at their assigned high schools to identify students interested in exploring careers in the criminal justice field as Explorers.

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41 students from various Caddo Parish high schools met the qualifications to be invited to the upcoming Open House.

The upcoming events agenda is as follows:

Welcome from Sheriff Henry Whitehorn, Sr.

Introduction to the Explorer Program by Captain LaTienda Pierre:

What is an Explorer Program?

Structure of the CPSO Explorer Program

Introduction of Adult Advisors

Completion of the Program

Introduction of Executive Director Michael Wells

Q&A and Application Completion

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The invited Explorers who cannot attend this open house may come for a make-up Open House on Monday, February 10.

All Explorers will officially begin on Monday, February 24, 2025.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com.
The Wall Street Journal's Chris Kornelius joins Morning Joe to discuss the life of Randy Crawdaddy Miod, a local Malibu surfing legend, who died defending his home on the Pacific Coast Highway against the Los Angeles wildfires.
It is no secret why President Trump forced out FBI Director Christopher Wray, his first-term pick to be the nations chief law enforcement officer: Soon after the Jan. 6 insurrection, Wray told Congress that the Capitol siege was an act of domestic terrorism. And for the next four years, he oversaw the largest criminal investigation in U.S. history to bring the perpetrators to justice  including their instigator and cheerleader, Trump.

Even before Jan. 6, Wray repeatedly warned Congress that the problem of domestic violent extremists  DVEs, in bureau parlance  rivals or exceeds that of international terrorism. The threat has been metastasizing across the country, Wray testified in 2021, and its not going away anytime soon.

Trump, by his Day 1 blanket clemency for the Jan. 6 DVEs, has helped make sure of that. Were all less safe as a consequence.

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The president will have an ally in excusing right-wing extremism if the Republican-run Senate confirms the presidents choice to succeed Wray: provocateur Kash Patel, spreader of anti-FBI conspiracy theories and apologist for the Jan. 6 rioters. Patels confirmation hearing is set for Thursday.

For weeks Trumps Republican allies have argued that his picks for national security posts in his Cabinet  Patel as well as Pete Hegseth, confirmed Friday for Pentagon chief, and Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence  should have been hustled to confirmation in the wake of the New Years Day attack in New Orleans and a suicide truck explosion outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.

Heres the irony of that argument: Those reminders of the ongoing threat of domestic extremism only underscore why all three Cabinet picks are unfit to be security stewards. They not only lack experience for the jobs Trump wants to entrust them with, they have a record of undermining the essential institutions they would head.

Patel has warred against the FBI for years. Hegseth, aside from his history of alleged sexual assault, falling-down drunkenness and mismanagement, defended accused and convicted war criminals as a Fox News talking head and helped persuade Trump, in his first term, to grant them clemency. Gabbard, who would be in charge of all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, has opposed their past findings about Russias Vladimir Putin and since-deposed Syrian strongman Bashar Assad, echoing those murderous dictators talking points instead.

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But all three Cabinet choices have the one qualification Trump cares about: loyalty to him.

That alone makes Patel, especially, a danger to Americas security. His zeal for attacking Trumps political enemies would follow him into the FBI directors office. Among those targets are former President Biden; former Biden, Obama and even Trump administration officials; prosecutors involved in the federal cases against Trump, now dropped, for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and for making off with top secrets, and the witnesses in those cases.

Of course, Trumps enemies arent Americas enemies. Theyre not the ones whom Wray as well as numerous other security experts have warned about. Trump and Patels fixation on retribution would necessarily distract the bureau from the real threats, domestic and foreign, that endanger the nation.

And now Trump has exacerbated the danger by setting hundreds of Jan. 6 extremists free.

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The now-pardoned QAnon Shaman, Jacob Chansley, quickly exulted on X, in all capital letters, that he was gonna buy some [expletive] guns!!!

Fortunately, Daniel Ball, jailed but not tried yet for allegedly assaulting officers and using an explosive on Jan. 6, wasnt released despite the pardon because of a separate federal gun charge : He has been indicted on a charge of possessing a firearm despite past felony convictions (domestic battery by strangulation and resisting police with violence). Nice guy  and not alone among those pardoned and set free in having a criminal record.

The immediate threat, of course, is less to the American public than to the freed attackers families, friends and associates whom they blame for their legal travails.

Jackson Reffitt, who turned in his father, Guy Reffitt, after Jan. 6 and testified during his dad's trial that Guy threatened to kill him and his sister if they did so, has moved and purchased two guns for protection. I cant imagine being safe right now, the son lamented to MSNBC. It goes far beyond my dad.... I get death threats by the minute now. 

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The younger Reffitt added that his dad, an amazing father before he came under Trumps influence and became a leader of the anti-government Three Percenters, has been further radicalized in prison.

Tasha Adams, the ex-wife of Oath Keepers militia leader Stewart Rhodes, free after Trump commuted his 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy , and Rhodes oldest son, Dakota Adams, say that they fear for their lives at the hands of the man who, according to Tashas sworn statement , abused them for years. He is somebody that had a kill list  always, Tasha Adams told an interviewer last fall, fretting at the prospect of Trump freeing Rhodes. And obviously, now Im on this list and so are some of my kids, Im sure.

Rhodes, fresh out of prison, told reporters he hoped that Patel cleans house at the FBI. I feel vindicated and validated, he said  just as Jackson Reffitt predicted Rhodes and the others would.

Trump likes to claim, falsely , that other countries empty their jails to send criminals to America. Turns out hes the one whos sprung violent convicts on the land.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A fire in the early hours of Sunday destroyed a large home under construction in Camas and threatened nearby homes created by the burning vegetation as embers spread downwind.

The fire at 30317 NE Livingston Mountain Circle was first reported around 4:35 a.m., the East County Fire and Rescue said in a release.

When the first wave of a heavy fire response arrived, the fire had already enveloped the two-story, 12,000-square foot single-family home. Firefighters also noted spot fires from this blaze about 1,500 feet downwind.

Fire destroyed an under-construction home at 30317 NE Livingston Mountain Circle in Camas, January 26, 2025 (East County Fire and Rescue) Fire destroyed an under-construction home at 30317 NE Livingston Mountain Circle in Camas, January 26, 2025 (East County Fire and Rescue) Fire destroyed an under-construction home at 30317 NE Livingston Mountain Circle in Camas, January 26, 2025 (East County Fire and Rescue)

More firefighters were called to the scene, as was the Washington Department of Natural Resources, officials said.

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Complicating the firefight was the fact the nearest fire hydrant was more than 6 miles away. With four water tenders shuttling water from the hydrant to the scene, commanders had the fire under control within 30 minutes.

Man, dog narrowly escape rural Lebanon house fire

The nearby houses were saved and no evacuation was necessary, authorities said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  A Campbell man accused of egging on a suspect during a 2022 shooting pleaded guilty to two charges Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Read next: YPD: Woman being chased tells officers she had no idea they wanted her to stop

Emanuel Alvira Mercado, 35, entered guilty pleas before Judge Anthony DApolito to a charge of felonious assault, a second-degree felony; and inciting to violence, a third-degree felony.

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Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of two to three years in prison. Defense attorney Tony Meranto said he will be arguing for a lesser sentence.

Sentencing is set for March 5.

Prosecutors said Alvira Mercado is one of five men who egged on a suspect during a shooting on Dec. 29, 2022, on Jean Street in Campbell where a suspect was wounded.

The shooting happened during an argument between two families, police said.

All five men had guns with them, and even though five people didnt fire, Ohio law says because their guns were pulled and they were encouraging others to shoot that they could be charged.

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Three other people pleaded guilty in December. A plea hearing is set for the last defendant later this month.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada said on Monday it would impose sanctions on 10 individuals and 12 entities in Belarus, citing what it called "gross and systematic human rights violations" by Minsk.

In a statement, the foreign ministry also condemned what it called Sunday's fraudulent presidential election. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in a vote that Western governments rejected as a sham.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren)
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Monday she would soon be talking to counterparts in allied nations in a bid to fend off tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose.

Joly told reporters she would speak to the foreign ministers of Britain, Mexico and some members of the 27-nation European Union.

"We have to be extremely pragmatic when it comes to working with the Europeans and also with Britain on this. President Trump has referred to using tariffs against the world," Joly said after a meeting of a cabinet committee on U.S. relations.

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"In many European capitals ... the conversation is ongoing on how to deal in terms of retaliation and what could be different responses to tariffs."

Trump says he is ready to impose 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada unless Ottawa clamps down on border security.

Joly, who reiterated that Canada would respond with countermeasures in case of tariffs, said she would be in Washington this week for talks with officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

(Reporting by David Ljunggrenl Editing by Aurora Ellis)
On Jan. 6, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would be resigning as leader of the Liberal Party and head of the federal government. The immediate catalyst of his decision was the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, a longtime ally, over internal policy disputes three weeks before. But it also followed months of mounting pressure, as Trudeaus popularity rate plummeted to an all-time low of 22 percent in late December 2024. While it is hard to predict what will happen once parliament reconvenes next week, the likelihood is that the country will soon be holding new elections.

Much of the popular discontent toward Trudeau has centered on his personalitya perceived aloofness, stubbornness and detachment from the general public that stands in stark contrast with the image of him as a caring, inspiring and thoughtful leader that emerged during the 2015 elections that ushered him into power. On the right, critics have pointed to a significant and, they argue, badly managed increase in immigration; excessive lockdowns and other restrictive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic; and environmental measures seen as stifling the oil and gas industry. By contrast, on the left, commentators note that Trudeau did not go nearly far enough to address climate change and boost the transition to a green economy; failed to address social justice issues, including with regard to Indigenous and Black people; and was unable to stop a mounting housing crisis. Several scandals also weakened his credibility over the years, notably the SNC-Lavalin, Aga Khan and blackface affairs.

During the 2015 electoral campaign, security issues did not feature prominently in the debates and discussions around who Canadians should trust with their votes. However, the past nine years have been marked by important developments on that front, overshadowing much of Trudeaus tenure. With security playing a more central role in the debates that are already shaping the upcoming election campaign, a look back at the issues that will define his legacy and his record in addressing them is warranted.

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The first is drug policy. In October 2018, Canada became the second country in the worldafter Uruguayto fully legalize and regulate its recreational cannabis supply chain. The two main objectives touted by the Liberals was to remove cannabis from the hands of young people and to take revenue away from organized crime. The results have been mixed. The federal regulatory framework in placea largely laissez-faire commercial approachis indeed a welcome departure from the previous prohibitionist and repressive model, which was both ineffective and harmful. Yet, in addition to the public health harms associated with little government control on a growing industry, organized crime groups do not seem to have been negatively affected, apparently due to their exploitation of medical cannabis loopholes and diversion of cannabis shipments to the United States.

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Organized crime groups have also increased their production and distribution of opiates, fueling Canadas opioid crisis, which continues to unfold despite waning public attention. Between January 2016 and June 2024, just under 50,000 apparent opioid toxicity deaths were reported, with the daily death rate rising from an average of 7.8 in 2016 up to a peak of 21.3 in 2023, though it is down to 18.4 in the first half of 2024. Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has tried to put the blame on what he described as the Trudeau governments wacko policy of decriminalizing consumption of opioids and other drugs in British Columbia. But the evidence instead indicates that the federal and provincial governments did not go far enough with harm-reduction measures, which would have helped mitigate the deadly effects of an increasingly toxic drug supply entering Canada.

Trudeaus government has certainly done a far better job than its Conservative predecessor, which notably did everything in its power to shut down Insite, North Americas first supervised injection site, and to block other similar sites, despite extensive evidence showing their effectiveness at reducing drug overdoses and deaths. However, Trudeaus failure to effectively communicate with the public on the merits of decriminalization and harm reduction, to adequately support those initiatives, and to address the related issues of the cost-of-living and housing crises created fertile ground for political exploitation by Poilievre and his allies.

With security playing a central role in the debates already shaping Canadas upcoming election, a look back at the issues that will define Trudeaus legacy and his record in addressing them is warranted.

As a result, the last few months of the Trudeau government will certainly leave behind major headwinds for drug policy reformers. In April 2024, Health Canada swiftly approved British Columbias request to reintroduce a ban on public drug use, a move seen as the first step toward recriminalization. Shortly after, the federal government rejected Torontos drug decriminalization proposal, thereby going backwards, as harm-reduction advocate Guy Felicella described it.

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Another salient security issue is gun-related crime and violence. Canadas overall homicide rate increased only slightly during Trudeaus tenure, from 1.71 per 100,000 in 2016 to 1.94 per 100,000 in 2023, according to Statistics Canada, leaving it at roughly a third of the global average. However, worsening violence in rural areas and firearm-related crime are important areas of concern. The rate of violent firearms offensesincluding discharging or pointing a firearmwas nearly three times higher in rural areas than in urban areas in 2021, at 25 incidents per 100,000 versus 8.9 incidents per 100,000, respectively. The Violent Crime Severity Index, calculated by Statistics Canada, was also significantly higher in rural areas than in urban areas in 2021at 124.1 and 85.2, respectivelydespite roughly equal figures of approximately 85 in 2011.

In 2023, 39 percent of all homicides in the country were committed with a firearm, with handguns accounting for 56 percent of them. Most illegal firearms in Canada, in particular handguns, are smuggled in from the U.S.the country with the largest number of guns in circulation in the worlda problem compounded by the difficulty of border enforcement. The lack of an up-to-date federal strategy on organized crime, which has not been revised since 2000, as well as insufficient institutional capacity and persistent shortcomings related to data collection and analysis on firearms are all areas in dire need of improvement, reflecting a clear gap in Trudeaus record.

Similarly, money laundering continues to be a major issue in Canada, as its economic and political stability, reliable institutions, and strong rule of law make it an attractive target for illicit financial flows. Revelations in the 2017 Panama Papers, as well as subsequent major reports by the Vancouver Sun, a commission led by former Deputy Commissioner Michael German of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, an expert panel led by Simon Fraser University professor Maureen Maloney and the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance all painted a bleak picture. Among the many vectors of money laundering they identified were casinos, real estate, luxury vehicle sales and horse racing.

Trudeaus governments have since put in place measures to tackle money laundering more effectively, including a dedicated strategy to counter it as well as the long-overdue beneficial ownership registry. But the recent historic fines of over $3 billion imposed by U.S. authorities on TD Bank, one of Canadas three largest banks, is yet another reminder of the magnitude of the task.

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Finally, the threat from terrorism and radicalization posed a major challenge throughout Trudeaus years in office, though in ways that changed significantly in that time. The threat landscape of the mid-2010s, at the peak of terrorism fatalities worldwide, was largely characterized by the prominence of Islamist terrorism, particularly the emergence of so-called the Islamic State and the challenge posed by its returning foreign fighters, as roughly 100 Canadians had gone to fight for the group. In 2015, the Liberals made the controversial decision to support Bill C-51, introduced by the Conservatives, which substantially broadened the definition of terrorism and put restrictions on free speech. More welcome developments followed, including an increase in review and oversight mechanisms with the 2019 National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Act, and the work of the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence supporting a range of projects to prevent and counter radicalization and violent extremism.

However, the nature of the threat from radicalization took a major turn during the COVID-19 pandemic, when simmering resentment, alienation and anger erupted. A protest against vaccine mandates for border-crossing truck drivers soon morphed into a widespread populist movement dubbed as Freedom Convoy. Departing from British Columbia on Jan. 22, 2022, it culminated a month later in a large law enforcement operation to end what had become a three-weekslong blockade in Ottawa. The convoy was led by a small number of far-right activists, including a QAnon conspiracist; another who warned of the depopulation of the Anglo-Saxon race and declared the crisis could only be solved with bullets; and a member of the Peoples Party of Canada who called Trudeau a criminal and stated that the convoys goal was to dissolve the Canadian government.

As it grew in size and attention, the convoy presented Trudeau with a complex dilemma, as he himself was the target of much of the hatred displayed on protesters signs and in their social media posts. Analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue had already found that anti-Muslim and anti-Trudeau rhetoric dominated discussions among right-wing extremists, or RWE, on social media, with Trudeau being mentioned in 11.4 percent of all RWE Facebook pages and groups, as well as being the most frequent topic on RWE Youtube channels. When Trudeau finally invoked the Emergencies Act for the federal government to step in and terminate the blockadea first since the act was first passed in 1988researchers found that Reddit users on channels associated with the convoy equated the move to Adolf Hitlers Enabling Act of 1933, while drawing other parallels with Nazi Germany and other dictatorships.

While much of the criticism, extreme or otherwise, of the Liberal government since 2015 has fallen on Trudeaus shoulders, Canada is a federal state, with multiple layers of jurisdictions, distinct cultures across its provinces and territories, and a complex bureaucratic system. At times the political, economic, health and security interests of those various jurisdictions are at odds with one another. Blaming Trudeau for all the countrys challengesor conversely giving him credit for all its achievementsfalls short of providing the required nuance to begin to unpack his legacy. Yet the countrys next leader would do well to review recent domestic security trends and learn lessons from his mixed record.

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Benoit Gomis is a lecturer at the University of Torontos Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and a research consultant at the University of Bath. He focuses on the illicit trade in legal and illegal drugs, and terrorism.

The post Canadas Trudeau Will Leave Behind a Mixed Bag on Security Policy appeared first on World Politics Review.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP)  Chrystia Freeland, the former finance minister who is running to replace Justin Trudeau as Canadas prime minister, said Monday Canada needs to release a retaliation list of goods the country would target if U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on Canadian goods.

A list of products worth $200 billion Canadian dollars (US$139 billion) would send a message to U.S. exporters about the harm tariffs would cause them, Freeland said in a statement.

Being smart means retaliating where it hurts, she said. Our counterpunch must be dollar-for-dollar  and it must be precisely and painfully targeted: Florida orange growers, Wisconsin dairy farmers, Michigan dishwasher manufacturers, and much more."

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Now is the moment when Canada must make clear to Americans the specific costs that will accompany any tariff measures by the Trump administration.

Trump has said he will use economic coercion to pressure Canada to become the nations 51st state. He continues to erroneously cast the U.S. trade deficit with Canada  a natural resource-rich nation that provides the U.S. with commodities like oil  as a subsidy.

Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day.

John Ries, senior associate dean at the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, said Canada should retaliate against any tariffs but warned against publicizing a list in advance, citing the risk of antagonizing Trump  and making it harder for him to back off on his threats.

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He always wants to win, said Ries. He doesnt want to show any weakness.

Freeland said Monday that if she wins the leadership race and become prime minister she would also prohibit American companies from bidding on Canadian federal procurement (excluding defense).

She also said she would convene an international summit with the leaders of Mexico, Denmark, Panama, and the president of the European Union to coordinate a joint response to challenges to our sovereignty and our economies.

Some lawmakers have suggested Canada could stop energy shipments to the United States, a move opposed by Daniele Smith, the premier of Canadas oil-rich province of Alberta.

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Former central banker Mark Carney, who is also running for the Liberal leadership, said over the weekend that cutting off Quebecs hydro exports to the U.S. should remain an option on the table in a trade fight with Trump.

It was Freelands abrupt resignation as finance minister last month that forced Trudeau to say he is resigning as prime minister and party leader.

Trudeau is to remain prime minister until a new Liberal Party leader is chosen on March 9.

The next Liberal leader could be the shortest-tenured prime minister in the countrys history. All three opposition parties have vowed to bring down the Liberals minority government in a no-confidence vote after parliament resumes on March 24. An election is expected this spring.
MINSK, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Alexander Lukashenko has won the presidential election of Belarus, receiving 86.82 percent of the vote, according to the preliminary results released early Monday by the country's Central Election Commission.

Under Belarusian law, a presidential candidate who secures more than 50 percent of the vote is declared the winner. 
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)  Holocaust Remembrance Day is tomorrow, and the CANDLES museum is doing some special things to honor those.

CANDLES is a Holocaust Museum in Terre Haute that was founded by a Holocaust survivor, Eva Kor.

After being liberated from Auschwitz and immigrating to the United States, Kor started the museum to preserve the memory of what her, along with countless others, endured.

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Every year, January 27th is Holocaust Remembrance Day, as the date in 1945 was the liberation of Auschwitz.

This will be the 80th anniversary of that liberation and CANDLES is sending representatives to Poland to participate in the International Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony.

Back here at home, CANDLES Operations Director Trent Andrews said the day is significant because the museum wouldnt exist without it.

Liberation Day is monumentous for us because that is what marked the survival of our founder Eva, Andrews said. Liberation Day, on January 27th, is what gave Eva her freedom. Without that Liberation Day happening, this museum would never exist here in Terre Haute.

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On Monday, CANDLES is hosting a private tour for a group looking to learn more about the Holocaust.

The event will end with a candlelight ceremony.

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By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Corey Amundson, the U.S. Justice Department's senior career official in charge of overseeing public corruption and other politically sensitive investigations, resigned on Monday after the Trump administration tried to reassign him to a new role working on immigration issues, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

"I am honored and blessed to have served our country and this department for the last 23 years," Amundson wrote in his letter to Acting Attorney General James McHenry.

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"I spent my entire professional life committed to the apolitical enforcement of the federal criminal law and to ensuring that those around me understood and embraced that central tenet of our work," Amundson said.

Amundson is one of an estimated 20 career officials inside the Justice Department who was reassigned last week to a new Sanctuary City Working Group inside the Associate Attorney General's office.

At least two of those officials, Amundson and George Toscas from the National Security Division, had some involvement in the two criminal investigations against President Donald Trump over his retention of classified records and his efforts to subvert the 2020 presidential election.

Others who were reassigned include seasoned attorneys who work in the Criminal, Civil Rights, National Security, and Environment and Natural Resources divisions as well as the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

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Current and former officials have told Reuters that the reassignments of senior career lawyers who usually stay in their posts no matter which party controls the White House are highly unusual.

Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought two now-dismissed criminal cases against Trump, wrote in his final report that his office "consulted regularly" with the public integrity section, a requirement under Justice Department rules.

Smith's prosecutors sought advice from the section on a range of issues including the use of certain charges and the timing of a revised indictment in August accusing Trump of attempting to subvert his 2020 election defeat.

Amundson was installed as the head of the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section during Trump's first term when Attorney General William Barr was at the helm of the department.

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Barr resisted pressure from Trump to investigate false claims of election fraud - another type of probe that is handled by the Public Integrity Section.

Barr has since fallen out of favor with Trump, and Trump's nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, included Barr's name on a list of members of the so-called "deep state" in his book "Government Gangsters."

Amundson's resignation letter did not make reference to his section's role in the Trump cases.

However, it cited a number of other high-profile cases he helped oversee including the public corruption cases against Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar, former Republican Congressman George Santos and Fugees hip hop group member Prakazrel "Pras" Michel.

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"Corey's track record of service at the department is exemplary," a former senior Justice Department official told Reuters. "He deserved to be treated better than this."

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Franklin Paul and Mark Porter)
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for Caring Health Centers new 14,000-square-foot medical facility on Boston Road on Monday.

Crews working to put out fire on Crown Street in Springfield

For 30 years, Caring Health Center has strived to provide accessible, value-driven health care for diverse, multi-ethnic communities, and through their efforts has seen over 600,000 patients.

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Caring Health Center states that their new facility will provide adult and pediatric medical care and dental and behavioral health services, as well as a pharmacy, accessible and integrated healthcare for all residents regardless of their ability to pay. The centers previously existing offices at 860 Boston Road will be dedicated to reproductive healthcare.

The new center will meet the needs of thousands in the Pine Point and Indian Orchard neighborhoods, as well as the surrounding towns of Ludlow, Wilbraham, Monson and Palmer.

We are actually responding to the community needs. This is a culmination of hearing from the community, particularly Pine Point and Indian Orchard neighborhoods that they needed a place for health care, to meet their health care needs, said Tania Barber, President and CEO of Caring Health Center.

Chief of Development Yvonne Williams shared that she heard stories of patients spending hours hopping on multiple buses to be able to arrive at a Caring Health Center, and now with this location is right in front of a PVTA bus stop, right along the route, making it even more accessible for the thousands of people in our community who need healthcare.

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Another special part of Caring Health Center is that they provide health care in 47 different languages, helping to make sure that everyone in western Massachusetts can receive the care they need.

Mayor Sarno said, I want to applaud and thank Caring Health Center President and CEO Tania Barber and her dedicated team and staff for their continued efforts working to bring quality health care access to our community. They are a long-trusted source for comprehensive health services. We are proud to support CHC in bringing these important services into our community and congratulate them on this milestone new health center.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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Democratic strategist James Carville said Democrats need to let President Trump punch himself out.

In remarks on MSNBC on Friday, Carville recalled Muhammad Ali, noting he would go six or seven rounds before coming in and launching bombs.

What we have to learn is, Democrats: Just let him punch himself out, Carville said in the interview with MSNBCs Katie Phang.

Carville argued its difficult to let Trump hurt himself politically as he continues to highlight distractions such as acquiring Greenland.

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But you just got to keep bobbing and weaving and bobbing and weaving, he said. And then, in due course, youre going to be able to come in.

Carville said Trumps biggest problem is going to be following through on something he campaigned on: lowering the costs facing Americans.

Trump touted his economic agenda and the price of gas and eggs on the campaign trail. He now must follow through on those promises, Carville said.

Of course, eggs are $4 and something a dozen, Carville said. And he keeps distracting us and we keep getting distracted.

But well come back, and well all straddle this target and get it in writing before long, I think, he concluded.

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Snow falls on the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery amid rare winter weather on Jan. 21, 2025. Alabama state government operates under the state's 1901 constitution, which centralizes most political power in Montgomery and limits the ability of local governments to make decisions without legislative approval. (Alander Rocha/Alabama Reflector)

Theres a strange limbo in the weeks before the Alabama Legislature returns to work.

You know what legislators should focus on. Living in Alabama makes that obvious. You can guess where their focus will be based on what they say in the weeks leading up to the gavel drop.

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But honestly? No one knows anything until the first day of the session. In fact, the drift of the session may not be clear for weeks afterward.

So we wait.

And not just fools like me who willingly enter that mold-filled building on South Union Street. Local governments sometimes have to wait up to nine months for legislators to make major decisions about their operations. School district officials cross their fingers as the state education budget goes through the legislative process, hoping nothing gets cut.

Every decision must go through Montgomery. And many of those go through unelected lobbyists and special interest groups first, who get an unofficial veto over the public business.

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Its a real irony. A state government that howls at the slightest federal intervention keeps a tight lock on Alabamas local governments and school districts.

County and city governments only have the power Goat Hill allows them to have. Property tax caps make state funding critical to most public schools, especially those in rural districts. That gives legislators lots of control over areas that either lack the power to levy local taxes or lack the business development that would make that practical.

Thats all thanks to the 1901 state constitution, an authoritarian document that violated the U.S. Constitution; stole the vote from Black Alabamians and snatched it from poor white Alabamians a few years after it went into effect.

The overt racism is no longer there, perhaps. But the 1901 constitutions vision of a small clique of elites running the state free from public approval is largely how Alabama government still works.

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So even though a statewide lottery would be popular (not with me, but Im only one of 5.1 million), you dont get to vote on it.

Most Alabamians seem OK with Medicaid expansion. But not our leaders, who knit their brows and sigh at the cost as they shovel billions of dollars into an ever-more expensive prison.

If polls are correct, a majority of people living here dont like Alabamas effective abortion ban. But the Legislature, which only listens to hardcore Republican voters, will keep it in place.

You know what would address these problems?

A new state constitution.

Yes, yes, I know. The powerful interests that dominate Alabama government arent going to surrender their privileges without a fight. Electing people to a constitutional convention could be messy. Theres no guarantee that what would emerge from a convention would be better than what we have. And even a decent new governing document would face a blitz of attacks before voters got a chance to weigh in on it.

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The challenges are many.

But think about what we could gain.

The pieties about property tax caps in Montgomery belie the fact that they serve wealthy landowners, particularly those who make their money cutting down trees. Low property taxes are good for them. Theyre terrible for rural communities with small tax bases and limited commercial development. Their schools struggle to operate with low or nonexistent local revenue.

So give those local governments and the people who elect them the power to run things. The ability to decide what education should look like in their neighborhoods.

Maybe those governments will raise taxes. Maybe voters will punish them for that.

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Or maybe theyll be happy to see their childrens teachers get the resources they need to educate their students. In both cases, it will be living, breathing Alabamians making those choices. Not dead planters from the Edwardian era.

But lets think bigger.

A 1956 constitutional amendment passed amid white hysteria over Brown v. Board of Education said there is no right to a public education in our state. That language needs to go, if only to force our government to fund schools.

Our Legislature has spent the last few years doing everything to make voting hard. Outlawing drop boxes. Banning private money to support election operations (without allocating funding to make up for that). Criminalizing forms of absentee ballot assistance.

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A new constitution should include an affirmative right to vote, similar to what scholar Rick Hasen has suggested, one that prevents legislators from making the exercise of your constitutional rights an intimidating ordeal.

Theres more. Make it harder for the Legislature to override a gubernatorial veto. Abolish the anti-democratic budget isolation amendment, which effectively requires bills to get 60% of the vote (not a simple majority) to pass. Turn the state judiciary from elections to appointments.

Will this make Alabama a utopia? Of course not. Systemic racism and poverty can only be addressed by political will, whatever framework of government you have.

But empowering people to address those problems will help us develop solutions.

And best of all, it wont make us wait on the whims of a part-time Legislature that all too often takes its cues from a small group of elites.

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An Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) trooper rescued a cat stranded in the snow on Interstate 75.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Trooper Thip Vongsy spotted the cat in the snow on Jan. 16.

He blocked traffic as he retrieved the cat, and dropped it off at the Dayton Post, according to a social media post.

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The cat had minor injuries to its toes, the post says.

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The cat was given fresh food and taken to the vet.

The cat is now named, Thip-E-Toes, after his rescuer, and has found a forever home, OSHP says.

Big a-paws to Trooper Vongsy and AP1 Murray for their purrfect rescue! OSHP said on its Facebook page.

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Authorities have released the causes of death for two tourists found dead last month in Vietnam.

On Dec. 26, Greta Marie Otteson, a 33-year-old British native, and her fiance, 36-year-old Arno Quinton Els of South Africa were found deceased in separate rooms in their Hoi An Silverbell villa in the tourist district of Hoi An. Reports state that the couple moved to the area in Feb. 2024 and took out a lease on the expansive nine-bedroom home in July. They were engaged only three weeks before their deaths, and in the interim were seen hosting a succession of guests on the property. The Guardian reported that several bottles of alcohol were found at the scene, but "initial findings showed no signs of scratches or external force on the bodies."

Now, Vietnamese authorities have confirmed the couple's cause of death, putting an end to the mystery. It was determined that Otteson and Els died from methanol poisoning after consuming contaminated alcohol in "homemade" limoncellos they procured from a local restaurant on Dec. 24. The Times reported that Otteson phoned her mother on Christmas Day, telling her she had the worst hangover ever and was seeing black spots, but she and Els were going to sleep it off.

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A local bar owner and a fantastic friend called over and wanted to take them to hospital, but they refused, an anonymous source told the outlet. Sadly I think it was too late by then, they added. Police forensics established the limoncello, which had been delivered [to the villa], was the source.

Related: 7 Days in Vietnam: A Slightly Insane Travel Itinerary

Ottesons parents, Susan and Paul, flew to Vietnam for the couples cremations earlier this month and have since returned to the U.K. They released a statement confirming the autopsy results and vowing to bring justice to those responsible.

The Vietnamese police have now confirmed that the cause of death was methanol poisoning, as verified by the autopsy results, it began. Both Greta and Arno were experienced worldwide travelers. They found their perfect home and were incredibly happy with their life in Vietnam, planning for the future. They were a loving couple with their life ahead of them. The tributes we have had from around the world are unbelievable. Our aim is to bring the people who supplied the alcohol and killed Greta and Arno to justice."

The business which authorities believe supplied the tainted alcohol has not been named, but sources report that its still in operation and no arrests have been made to date.
Guns are shown at Casos Gun-A-Rama in Jersey City, New Jersey, which has been open since 1967. (Photo by Aristide Economopoulos/NJ Monitor)

Utahns 18 years old and up could soon be allowed to openly carry firearms after a bill cleared its first legislative hurdle on Friday.

The sweeping HB133, which is nearly 9,000 lines long, makes a number of changes to the states gun laws, most of them very technical. The sponsor, House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Syracuse, said the bill is aimed at making it easier for law abiding citizens to understand their rights and for law enforcement officers to enforce the law.

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But there are also several substantive changes  the most controversial on Friday was allowing 18-year-olds to open carry.

Nine people spoke against the bill on Friday during a House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee meeting, including several doctors who worry loosening gun restrictions could lead to more shootings and suicides. An 18-year-olds brain is not yet developed, they said, and state law should reflect that with increased restrictions on gun ownership.

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Four people spoke in favor of Lisonbees law. They argued that the change is minor, since the law already allows 18-year-olds to carry firearms, under certain circumstances.

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Ultimately, lawmakers sided with the latter group, passing the bill with only one no vote  the committees only present Democrat, Rep. Sandra Hollins, who represents part of Salt Lake City.

If you oppose this bill, you are not prohibiting carry by 18- to 21-year-olds in Utah, Lisonbee said on Friday, noting that current law already allows 18-year-olds to carry openly in their car and residence, and obtain a provisional concealed carry permit.

In addition to lowering the age for open carry, the bill removes the criminal penalties for carrying a loaded rifle or shotgun in a vehicle which, per Utah code, is currently a class B misdemeanor. It also eliminates the crime of carrying a loaded gun on a public street, also a class B misdemeanor.

Landlords would also be prohibited from restricting people from lawfully having a firearm in their residence. And the bill changes restrictions around short-barreled shotguns and other modified firearms to conform with federal law.

Is a handgun more or less lethal than a motorcycle?

The doctors that spoke Friday all stressed similar points  that 18-year-olds are mentally still very much teenagers. The brains prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for judgment and impulse control, is not developed until a person reaches their mid-twenties. And gun violence, whether suicide or homicide, is often an impulsive act, they said.

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Dr. Dave Morris, a trauma surgeon at the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, equated it to riding a motorcycle. Lawmakers have acknowledged that certain restrictions should be in place for younger adults.

The last time I spoke in a government hearing like this, it was in support of a bill that raised the age for motorcycle helmets from 18 to 21, Morris said. That bill passed, and so our legislature, at the time, agreed that 18-year-olds cant make every single decision on their own. And I would ask you to think about whether a handgun is more or less lethal than a motorcycle.

Ashley Mendoza with the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah pointed to crime data from the federal government that showed that 18-year-olds make up just 4% of the U.S. population, but are responsible for 17% of the countrys gun homicides.

Plus, 18-year-olds make up the highest number of homicide offenders, followed by 19-year-olds, then 20-year-olds, she said. That age range is also at a heightened risk of suicide.

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The benefits of allowing an 18-year-old to openly carry a firearm are significantly outweighed by the risks, she told the committee.

But several other gun rights supporters spoke in favor of the bill  among their talking points was the fact that 18-year-olds can join the military.

If their mental capability is not good enough to do that, said Raelle Cunningham with the group Women for Gun Rights, then maybe we need to change that to 21 (years old).

The last time I checked, constitutional rights were not limited to people only that are serving in the military, added Lisonbee.

Bill will likely be popular among lawmakers, but could see changes in the Senate

The bill will now be voted on by the entire House, then a Senate committee, before it goes in front of the entire Senate. Its possible the bill could be tweaked in those later stages.

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The bills sponsor in the Senate, Tremonton Republican Scott Sandall, told reporters that the item allowing a loaded gun to be carried in vehicles could prompt some concern and debate around some safety issues. Weve not allowed that in the past.

But ultimately, Sandall said his constituents are pro-Second Amendment and pro-gun.

I believe that we are very much, at least in my district, a constitutional carry, Second Amendment group, that wants to be able to freely carry, he said.

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A Twin Cities man with a long criminal record is accused of crashing a stolen vehicle while fleeing police in St. Paul on Friday evening, killing his girlfriend the day before her 29th birthday.

A criminal complaint filed Monday against 32-year-old Dylan John Smith, of St. Paul, states the incident began to unfold around 7:30 p.m. at the Cub Foods at Har Mar Mall in Roseville.

There, police had located a stolen Toyota Camry in the parking lot and had set up watch to see if anyone returned to the vehicle.

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According to the charges, Smith exited the grocery store and got into the driver's seat and a woman, later identified as his girlfriend, got into the passenger's seat.

Officers attempted to pull over the Camry as Smith began to drive away. However, Smith accelerated quickly towards Snelling Avenue and fled southbound at speeds over 90 mph, charges allege.

Dylan John Smith via Ramsey County Jail.

The chase reached St. Paul and was discontinued after Smith entered a neighborhood across from Hamline University and then drove into oncoming traffic while returning to Snelling Avenue.

The pursuit was re-engaged when police spotted the Camry on Blair Avenue and Smith was last seen fleeing on Griggs Street moments before the crash was discovered.

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According to the complaint, Smith drove over the roundabout at Griggs Street and Edmund Avenue, lost control and crashed into a tree between Edmund and Charles avenues.

The crash happened sometime in a 29-second window when law enforcement did not have view of the Camry, according to the complaint.

At the scene, Smith was found crawling in the street away from the crash.

The woman still inside the vehicle had a faint pulse and agonal breathing, and was pronounced dead later that night at Regions Hospital.

According to the complaint, Smith admitted he'd taken fentanyl that morning but denied that he'd been driving.

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Speaking with an investigator, Smith said the woman in the car  whom he identified as his girlfriend of five years  had also not been driving, but he couldn't provide further detail to back up his claim that a third person had been inside the Camry.

Smith has nine prior felony convictions, including for motor vehicle thefts, fleeing police, burglary and other offenses.

He is charged with fleeing an officer, resulting in the death of another person, which carries a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, as well as criminal vehicular homicide and motor vehicle theft.
BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese provinces have outlined plans this year to strengthen support for tech-intensive industries, most of which are tailored to local conditions.

In their annual government work reports delivered at local "two sessions" this month, regional policy-makers unveiled more details on where the provincial economic landscape will be shifting for the year ahead.

At least five provinces or municipalities, including Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Liaoning, proposed blueprints to boost the semiconductor industry, considered a critical "bottleneck" sector in China. Beijing is set to accelerate production capacity for major integrated circuit projects while supporting relevant firms to withstand external pressures.

In the new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturing field, where China holds a technological edge, Guangdong and Shanghai are gearing up to solidify their advantages. The Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions, where Guangdong and Shanghai are located, serve as China's major NEV hubs.

A southwestern economic circle that covers Sichuan and Chongqing is prioritizing smart and connected vehicle technologies, another innovation that drives the automotive industry forward. The country's southern province of Guangdong is pushing to build pilot cities for the national "vehicle-road-cloud integration" initiative.

Multiple provinces have introduced "AI plus" plans, with Beijing targeting the construction of two 10,000-card intelligent computing clusters. Guangdong is focusing on enhancing the application of general and industry-specific large language models (LLMs).

Shanghai and Sichuan have identified brain-computer interfaces as a key technological frontier, while Anhui targets building a fusion reactor research facility.

China's local governments tend to develop innovation and industrial roadmaps based on their unique strengths. The eastern province of Anhui is advancing an international lunar research station project, while Shanghai, home to the C919 aircraft manufacturing, is pushing to grow its large aircraft industry.

Hainan, China's southern island province, has prioritized marine-related industries in its development strategy, accelerating offshore wind farm construction while pioneering a landmark offshore wind-to-hydrogen demonstration project.

Anhui, Zhejiang and Hainan plan to build pilot platforms to foster the convergence of technological and industrial innovations. 
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  Finding ways to protect current and future residents of Charlotte is one issue on a lengthy agenda in front of the Charlotte city council as they head to Asheville for an annual strategy session.

The two-day session starts at 9 a.m. on Monday. Continuing to reduce the crime rate will be a focus of the council at the strategy session.

CMPD recently released the 2024 crime stats and while overall crime is down, the homicide rate did increase in 2024.

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When listening to the statistics from CMPD Chief, Johnny Jennings, the council heard the need to work with police and organizations that have a proven track record in conflict resolution.

Two CMPD officers injured, suspect at large in East Independence Blvd hit-and-run investigation: CMPD

The goal is to help solve issues before they rise to the level of a life being taken.

During the strategy meeting, the council will also look at putting more funds towards other agencies like the district attorneys office. The council realizes that help is also needed in the court system to keep some offenders behind bars.

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Repeat offenders are being let out not two or three times, we are talking ten, twenty, thirty times, added Dimple Ajmera, an at-large representative on Charlotte city council. So weve got to make sure our district attorneys office has the investments, has enough workforce to prosecute repeat offenders and hold them accountable.

The council will also look at ways to help CMPD hire more officers.

CATS officials seek public input on the Red Line project

Another top priority during the two-day session is transportation, and making sure Charlotte residents and visitors have a safe and effective way to travel around the Queen City. That means focusing on plans for the Red Line.

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Back in August 2024, the council approved $91 million to purchase railroad tracks and land for the Red Line that will go from Uptown to several areas north. While details are being worked out, CATS will start other services like microtransit.

READ MORE: Mecklenburg County leaders discuss transportation improvements and possible expansions

Charlotte City Council is still waiting on approval from state legislators so a one-cent tax referendum can be added to the November 2025 ballot. Currently, there is no timeline for when that referendum decision will be made.

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CHICAGO (WGN)  Nearly twelve years ago, a Southeast Side mom lost her son in a stabbing in the citys Belmont-Cragin neighborhood. The case remains unsolved, but Dolores Gonzales has hope that will change, sooner rather than later.

It hurts really bad to see that he was killed over there, Gonzales said. His smile lit up the room.

January marked 11-and-a-half years since Gonzales last saw her son, 21-year-old Robert Gonzalez, alive.

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Gonzales said her son and his friend were walking to his car in Belmont-Cragin near Barry and Central Avenues in the early morning hours of Aug. 31, 2013 when they were approached by four people in an alley.

When they were arguing with my son, my son was like, Im not about anything. Whats going on? and they started fighting, Gonzales said. My son fought with them then they were stabbing him.

Gonzalez was stabbed 16 times and later died from his injuries.

At the time of his death, he was engaged with two children  a young son and daughter.

I just want to say happy birthday to my grandson, Gonzales said. I know Robert, youre smiling down on him and I miss you so much.

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After holding onto memories of her son for more than a decade, Gonzales said she hasnt given up belief in finding justice for her son.

I just pray they catch them all, Gonzales said. All I can do is pray that they catch them.

While shes waiting on justice to be served, she encourages other families in similar situations not to give up hope.

I just want other families to know [not to] give up. Keep pressing the police, Gonzales said. Keep letting them know you want to know because thats how things get started and answered.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the indictment or arrest of the persons responsible for killing Gonzalez. If you or someone you know has information that can aide in the Chicago Police Departments investigation, tips can be left anonymously at 1-800-535-STOP or CPDs hotline at 833-408-0069.

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CHICAGO  Chicago police are searching for a missing 63-year-old man who may be in need of medical attention.

Police said Curtis Thomas was last seen in the 6800 block of South Prairie Avenue in Greater Grand Crossing on Sunday, Jan. 12.

LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland

Thomas was last seen wearing a multicolored skull cap, multicolored jacket, light green pants and black shoes. He is also known to carry a white suitcase, according to investigators.

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Thomas is 507 and weighs 130 pounds. He also has gray hair and brown eyes.

Anyone who sees him or knows of his whereabouts is asked to call Area One Detectives at (312) 747-8385 or 911.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)  A new chicken restaurant is coming to Sioux City later in the year.

A Raising Canes representative told KCAU 9 that they will be opening on Sunnybrook Drive. That location is across from Target near Hobby Lobby.

Raising Canes is slated to bring our ONE LOVE  craveable Chicken Finger meals  to Sioux City, IA at 6021 Sunnybrook Dr. late winter 2025, the representative said.

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Raising Canes website shows that it is currently looking to hire a restaurant leader. The position was posted on Jan. 21.

Odebolts DeJean totals six tackles in Philadelphia Eagles 55-23 win to advance to Super Bowl LIX

Other than a small selection of sides, Raising Canes only serves chicken fingers, including a chicken finger sandwich.

According to the Raising Canes website, founder and owner Todd Graves had the idea for a restaurant since college where a professor game him the lowest grade and he failed to earn a bank loan. After working to save up money, Graves broke ground on his first restaurant, opening up on Aug. 28, 1996.

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Originally planning to call the restaurant Sockeyes as a tribute to his time in Alaska, he instead named it after his pet dog Raising Cane. Now, the restaurant carries the Labrador Retriever as a mascot. Cane I visited the construction site of the first restaurant often but sadly passed away in 1998. Most Raising Canes locations have a picture of Cane I.

The company website said it opened 118 new restaurants in 2024.

Recently, another chicken restaurant, Chick N Max, said it was looking to expand to Sioux City as well.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports.
A series of criminal events unfolded at multiple locations in Tampa Sunday night.

The crime scenes involved four hit-and-run crashes  one deadly  involving innocent pedestrians, a police pursuit, and officer gunfire that ultimately ended the life of the suspect, Tampa Police Chief Lee Burcaw said.

Bercaw spoke early Monday morning at a news conference, providing a timeline of the events.

He said it all began just before 8:30 p.m., outside a Dollar General store located at Dale Mabry and Interbay Boulevard.

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Bercaw said an argument between two men broke out when the suspects car blocked a victims car in the lot, preventing the man from entering the store.

READ: Alert issued over missing 6-year-old girl in Lakeland

Following an argument, police said the victim drove off, but soon noticed the suspect was following him.

Outside the victims house, in the area of Meadow Street and MacDill Avenue in South Tampa, the suspect hit the victim twice with his car, Bercaw said; during the violent act, a friend of the victim began firing at the suspect, who was in a white Honda, in an effort to help the victim.

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The suspect drove off, police said.

The victim was hospitalized, but is expected to survive.

Bercaw further explained the timeline:

8:33 p.m.  At Interbay Blvd. and MacDill Ave.: The suspects vehicle  the white Honda  was seen driving in circles, before intentionally striking an adult male pedestrian and then fleeing scene. Police said the impact appeared intentional by the driver. The pedestrian did not survive.

The driver of the Honda then veered off MacDill Avenue, hitting another innocent pedestrian. That person did survive, but was hospitalized.

A Tampa police officer arrived, while the suspect was still at the crime scene; Bercaw said a witness pointed out the suspect to the officer.

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The officer tried to take suspect into custody, but the suspect was able to get back into his Honda and drive away.

8:39 p.m.  In South Tampa: Police received another call about the location of the suspects car. Bercaw said a group of people saw it moving toward pedestrians on a sidewalk. One person was struck and hurt by the Honda. The victim, a man in his 40s, suffered serious head injuries, but is expected to survive, police said.

10:16 p.m.  At West Shore Boulevard and Lemon Street: Police received a report that the driver of a car intentionally veered into people. Another person was struck and police said that marked the fourth person who was hit by the suspect driving the white Honda. That person is expected to survive.

Tampa police said officers shot and killed a hit-and-run driver Sunday night on Interstate 275.

Tampa police officers saw the vehicle on Lemon Street and initiated a pursuit that traveled onto Interstate 275. Officers used the PIT maneuver technique in an effort to stop the suspects Honda.

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READ: Orlandos most economically unstable ZIP codes revealed

Bercaw said when they did, as the suspect was getting out of his Honda, he reached for what officers believed was a weapon  and then shots were fired.

The suspect did not survive, Bercaw said.

The chief said three of his officers were injured and hospitalized as a result of the incident, during apprehension of the suspect.

Tampa police said officers shot and killed a hit-and-run driver Sunday night on Interstate 275.

Bercaw said all of the officers are expected to recover.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has taken over the investigation.

Bercaw called it a violent night.

READ: Man on FBIs Most Wanted List arrested in Lake County

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Our thoughts are with the families of all those impacted by this tragic series of events, Bercaw added.

This individual, who already had a violent history, displayed a blatant disregard for human life, resulting in this devastating outcome.

He said the deceased suspect was a 48-year-old man who had an extensive criminal history and had been released from prison two years ago.

You can watch Chief Bercaws full news briefing below:

Stay with WFTV.com for updates on this story.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

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A depraved child sex abuse ring is one of the worst examples of human behaviour, a judge has said.

The seven people convicted of a string of rape and abuse charges were warned they may never be freed, Glasgows High Court heard on Monday.

The two women and five men will all be monitored for life after being convicted of gang-raping a child and abusing other children in a drugs den in Glasgow where heroin and crack cocaine were used.

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They were jailed for a minimum of between eight and 20 years and will either be in prison or on parole for the rest of their lives.

Iain Owens, 46; Elaine Lannery, 40; Lesley Williams, 43; Paul Brannan, 42; Scott Forbes, 51; Barry Watson, 48; and John Clark, 48, were convicted in November 2023 following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Children showed formidable strength

Sentencing, Lord Beckett said: This court is used to hearing the worst examples of human behaviour but such depravity towards young children is beyond my experience.



This is not typical behaviour and such extreme abuse of children seems to be rare. In contrast to the awful abuse, we heard the best of humane qualities.



The children showed formidable strength and stamina over the months and years with the eldest showing resilience in recounting her evidence to the court. Their example of courage and perseverance in the face of threats from Iain Owens allowed justice to be done.



It is possible to imagine from their desperate darkness, their carers have brought some light to their young lives  a home, a structure and nurture over a number of years. What the community should understand is that you may never be released.

Four of the group  Owens, Lannery, Brannan and Williams  were found guilty of attempting to murder a child by pushing her into a microwave and trapping her in other places.

Lesley Williams and Paul Brannan were found guilty of attempting to murder a child by pushing her into a microwave - Spindrift Photo Agency

Three children in particular were subjected to relentless rape, violence and drug-taking at a dirty flat, known as the beastie house. This included the sex attack of one girl who was pinned down as some cheered and hollered.

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An allegation that the accused used a Ouija board to call on spirits and demons causing the child victims to believe that they could see, hear and communicate with spirits and demons and making them take part in witchcraft, was dropped by prosecutors during the trial.

But the trial, which lasted for about eight weeks, heard evidence of systematic child sex abuse, described as harrowing by Lord Beckett, the judge, who said it plunges to the depths of human depravity.

Sentencing had been repeatedly adjourned since then as Lord Beckett considered whether to impose a form of life sentence known as an order for lifelong restriction (OLR).

An OLR was imposed on each along with a punishment part jail-term which is the minimum they must serve before they could even be considered for parole. However, it is possible all or some of them may never be released.

Gross breach of trust

The judge stated to Owens and Lannery that they had committed a gross breach of trust. Lord Beckett told Forbes and Clark that he did not believe that they had been swept along by others in committing the offences, which occurred between April 2012 and June 2019.

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Owens was jailed for at least 20 years after being found guilty of 18 charges including the rape of the three children as well as the attempted murder of one involving shutting her in a microwave and other kitchen appliances. He was also convicted of other sex offences and class A drug supply.

The court heard that Owens forced two of the children to ingest heroin and cocaine, and Lord Beckett said the offences were humiliating, degrading sexual crimes against incredibly vulnerable children.

Owens sarcastically applauded the judge after the sentencing was passed and he was escorted forcefully to the cells.

Elaine Lannery was sentenced to a minimum 17 years after being found guilty of the rape of the children - Spindrift Photo Agency

Lannery was sentenced to a minimum 17 years after being found guilty of the rape of the children. Williams was jailed for 14 years for five charges including the rape of two girls.

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Brannan was imprisoned for at least 15 years after being convicted of attempted murder, sexual assault, rape and supplying class A drugs.

Forbes, who was said to have filmed parts of the abuse, will serve a minimum eight years after he was found to have raped one girl.

Watson and Clark were both convicted raping two of the youngsters. Watson ranted to the judge as he was jailed for at least nine years and six months, while Clark wore a T-shirt with innocent scrawled on the back as he was sentenced to 10 years

Gary Allan KC, defending Owens, told the sentencing: You will be aware in his own evidence, he denied these events took place and that denial has been maintained in the process of an assessment.

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Gordon Jackson KC, defending Lannery, said: It is my understanding that the main allegations have been denied.

Keith Stewart KC, defending Williams, stated her client disputes the finding by the jury and will submit an appeal. Jim Wallace, defending Forbes, stated his client believed he was innocent of any crime.

Tony Graham KC, defending Watson, told the sentencing that the matters were crimes of gravity. Iain McSporran KC, defending Clark, stated his client denied the offences.

Co-accused Marianne Gallagher, 40, was found guilty of assaulting a child and was admonished when she appeared for sentencing on Jan 6.

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Gallagher was told she would be in pretty severe trouble if she committed further offences, when she was spared punishment by Lord Beckett.

Colin Anderson, independent chairman of Glasgows child protection committee, said: I have already initiated the process of undertaking a Case Learning Review.

This is being led by an independent reviewer to ensure strong governance and oversight. It would be inappropriate to comment further until the Case Learning Review is complete.

Det Insp Lesley-Ann McGee, of Police Scotland, said: I hope todays outcome can help the young victims in moving forward.

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This was a long, complex and challenging investigation for a team of officers and staff who had to work through the most harrowing evidence to bring those responsible for these despicable crimes to justice.

Katrina Parkes, Scotlands procurator fiscal for High Court sexual offences, said: I commend the bravery of the young victims; their strength has resulted in the conviction and sentence of their abusers for these heinous crimes.

She added: Prosecuting this case has been complex and a challenging task for our experienced prosecutors. Consideration of the trauma these children suffered was utmost while working to secure these convictions.

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BEIJING (Reuters) - China has prohibited imports of sheep, goat, poultry and even-toed ungulates from African, Asian and European countries due to outbreaks of livestock diseases such as sheep pox, goat pox and foot-and-mouth-disease.

The ban, which also includes processed and unprocessed products, comes after the World Organisation for Animal Health released information of disease outbreaks in various countries, according to a series of announcements by China's General Administration of Customs dated Jan. 21.

The ban by the world's largest meat importer affects Ghana, Somalia, Qatar, Congo (DRC), Nigeria, and Tanzania, Egypt, Bulgaria, East Timor and Eritrea.

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China also said it has stopped imports of sheep, goat and related products from the occupied Palestinian territories as well as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh due to sheep pox and goat pox outbreaks.

It also blocked the imports of even-toed ungulates and related products from Germany following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, it said.

(This Jan. 27 story has been corrected to fix the attribution to World Organisation for Animal Health, instead of World Health Organization, in paragraph 2)

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Christian Schmollinger)
BEIJING (Reuters) - Police have detained a man suspected of involvement in the case of a Chinese actor who was duped into travelling to Thailand for a film job and then trafficked to Myanmar, China's Public Security Ministry said.

The joint efforts of the ministry's task force and the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, helped by Thai law enforcement, led to the arrest of a "major criminal suspect" on Saturday, the ministry said in a notice late on Sunday.

The ministry added that the suspect was surnamed Yan and returned to China on Saturday, but did not elaborate.

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Wang Xing, a 31-year-old Chinese actor, travelled to Thailand early this month after receiving an unsolicited offer to join a film that was shooting in Thailand.

When Wang got to Bangkok, he was kidnapped and taken to an online scam compound, one of hundreds of thousands of people the United Nations says have been trapped into working for criminal networks running fraudulent telecommunications operations across the region.

Wang's case drew national interest after his girlfriend began a social media campaign about his plight, and he was later freed by Thai police who found him in Myanmar.

The ministry said the police would step up their efforts to crack down on the scam centres, deepen international law enforcement cooperation, and coordinate with countries involved to detain the criminals and rescue Chinese citizens.

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The scam compounds that have proliferated in Southeast Asia since the COVID-19 pandemic defraud people across the globe and generate billions of dollars every year for organised crime groups, many of Chinese origin.

Last week, officials from China, Myanmar and Thailand reached a consensus on eradicating the centres in Myanmar.

China and Thailand also agreed to set up a coordination centre in Bangkok to investigate and combat the scam complexes that have mushroomed along the Thai border with Myanmar and Cambodia. The initiative is expected to start operations next month.

(This story has been corrected to fix the actor's age to 31, not 22, in paragraph 4)

(Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
One week ago, a new and formidable challenger for OpenAIs throne emerged. A Chinese AI start-up, DeepSeek, launched a model that appeared to match the most powerful version of ChatGPT but, at least according to its creator, was a fraction of the cost to build. The program, called DeepSeek-R1, has incited plenty of concern: Ultrapowerful Chinese AI models are exactly what many leaders of American AI companies feared when they, and more recently President Donald Trump, have sounded alarms about a technological race between the United States and the Peoples Republic of China. This is a wake up call for America, Alexandr Wang, the CEO of Scale AI, commented on social media.

But at the same time, many Americansincluding much of the tech industryappear to be lauding this Chinese AI. As of this morning, DeepSeek had overtaken ChatGPT as the top free application on Apples mobile-app store in the United States. Researchers, executives, and investors have been heaping on praise. The new DeepSeek model is one of the most amazing and impressive breakthroughs Ive ever seen, the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, an outspoken supporter of Trump, wrote on X. The program shows the power of open research, Yann LeCun, Metas chief AI scientist, wrote online.

Indeed, the most notable feature of DeepSeek may be not that it is Chinese, but that it is relatively open. Unlike top American AI labsOpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMindwhich keep their research almost entirely under wraps, DeepSeek has made the programs final code, as well as an in-depth technical explanation of the program, free to view, download, and modify. In other words, anybody from any country, including the U.S., can use, adapt, and even improve upon the program. That openness makes DeepSeek a boon for American start-ups and researchersand an even bigger threat to the top U.S. companies, as well as the governments national-security interests.

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To understand whats so impressive about DeepSeek, one has to look back to last month, when OpenAI launched its own technical breakthrough: the full release of o1, a new kind of AI model that, unlike all the GPT-style programs before it, appears able to reason through challenging problems. o1 displayed leaps in performance on some of the most challenging math, coding, and other tests available, and sent the rest of the AI industry scrambling to replicate the new reasoning modelwhich OpenAI disclosed very few technical details about. The start-up, and thus the American AI industry, were on top. (The Atlantic recently entered into a corporate partnership with OpenAI.)

DeepSeek, less than two months later, not only exhibits those same reasoning capabilities apparently at much lower costs but has also spilled to the rest of the world at least one way to match OpenAIs more covert methods. The program is not entirely open-sourceits training data, for instance, and the fine details of its creation are not publicbut unlike with ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, researchers and start-ups can still study the DeepSearch research paper and directly work with its code. OpenAI has enormous amounts of capital, computer chips, and other resources, and has been working on AI for a decade. In comparison, DeepSeek is a smaller team formed two years ago with far less access to essential AI hardware, because of U.S. export controls on advanced AI chips, but it has relied on various software and efficiency improvements to catch up. DeepSeek has reported that the final training run of a previous iteration of the model that R1 is built from, released last month, cost less than $6 million. Meanwhile, Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, has said that U.S. companies are already spending on the order of $1 billion to train future models. Exactly how much the latest DeepSeek cost to build is uncertainsome researchers and executives, including Wang, have cast doubt on just how cheap it could have beenbut the price for software developers to incorporate DeepSeek-R1 into their own products is roughly 95 percent cheaper than incorporating OpenAIs o1, as measured by the price of every tokenbasically, every wordthe model generates.

DeepSeeks success has abruptly forced a wedge between Americans most directly invested in outcompeting China and those who benefit from any access to the best, most reliable AI models. (Its a divide that echoes Americans attitudes about TikTokChina hawks versus content creatorsand other Chinese apps and platforms.) For the start-up and research community, DeepSeek is an enormous win. A non-US company is keeping the original mission of OpenAI alive, Jim Fan, a top AI researcher at the chipmaker Nvidia and a former OpenAI employee, wrote on X. Truly open, frontier research that empowers all.

But for Americas top AI companies and the nations government, what DeepSeek represents is unclear. The stocks of many major tech firmsincluding Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoftdropped this morning amid the excitement around the Chinese model. And Meta, which has branded itself as a champion of open-source models in contrast to OpenAI, now seems a step behind. (The company is reportedly panicking.) To some investors, all of those massive data centers, billions of dollars of investment, or even the half-a-trillion-dollar AI-infrastructure joint venture from OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, which Trump recently announced from the White House, could seem far less essential. Maybe bigger AI isnt better. For those who fear that AI will strengthen the Chinese Communist Partys global influence, as OpenAI wrote in a recent lobbying document, this is legitimately concerning: The DeepSeek app refuses to answer questions about, for instance, the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre of 1989 (although the censorship may be relatively easy to circumvent).

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None of that is to say the AI boom is over, or will take a radically different form going forward. The next iteration of OpenAIs reasoning models, o3, appears far more powerful than o1 and will soon be available to the public. There are some signs that DeepSeek trained on ChatGPT outputs (outputting Im ChatGPT when asked what model it is), although perhaps not intentionallyif thats the case, its possible that DeepSeek could only get a head start thanks to other high-quality chatbots. Americas AI innovation is accelerating, and its major forms are beginning to take on a technical research focus other than reasoning: agents, or AI systems that can use computers on behalf of humans. American tech giants could, in the end, even benefit. Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, framed DeepSeek as a win: More efficient AI means that use of AI across the board will skyrocket, turning it into a commodity we just cant get enough of, he wrote on X todaywhich, if true, would help Microsofts profits as well.

Still, the pressure is on OpenAI, Google, and their competitors to maintain their edge. With the release of DeepSeek, the nature of any U.S.-China AI arms race has shifted. Preventing AI computer chips and code from spreading to China evidently has not tamped the ability of researchers and companies located there to innovate. And the relatively transparent, publicly available version of DeepSeek could mean that Chinese programs and approaches, rather than leading American programs, become global technological standards for AIakin to how the open-source Linux operating system is now standard for major web servers and supercomputers. Being democraticin the sense of vesting power in software developers and usersis precisely what has made DeepSeek a success. If Chinese AI maintains its transparency and accessibility, despite emerging from an authoritarian regime whose citizens cant even freely use the web, it is moving in exactly the opposite direction of where Americas tech industry is heading.

Article originally published at The Atlantic
An international exhibition for the orientation of high school and university students of Cote d'Ivoire was held on Saturday in Abidjan. The event attracted about 6,000 visitors, aiming to provide support for Ivorian youth and help them build a promising future.
(Bloomberg) -- DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial-intelligence startup thats just over a year old, has stirred awe and consternation in Silicon Valley after demonstrating AI models that offer comparable performance to the worlds best chatbots at seemingly a fraction of their development cost.

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DeepSeeks emergence may offer a counterpoint to the widespread belief that the future of AI will require ever-increasing amounts of computing power and energy.

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Global technology stocks tumbled on Jan. 27 as hype around DeepSeeks innovation snowballed and investors began to digest the implications for its US-based rivals and AI hardware suppliers such as Nvidia Corp.

What exactly is DeepSeek?

DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, the chief of AI-driven quant hedge fund High-Flyer. The company develops AI models that are open-source, meaning the developer community at large can inspect and improve the software. Its mobile app surged to the top of the iPhone download charts in the US after its release in early January.

The app distinguishes itself from other chatbots like OpenAIs ChatGPT by articulating its reasoning before delivering a response to a prompt. The company claims its R1 release offers performance on par with the latest iteration of ChatGPT. It is offering licenses for individuals interested in developing chatbots using the technology to build on it, at a price well below what OpenAI charges for similar access.

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How does DeepSeek R1 compare to OpenAI or Meta AI?

DeepSeek says R1s performance approaches or improves on that of rival models in several leading benchmarks such as AIME 2024 for mathematical tasks, MMLU for general knowledge and AlpacaEval 2.0 for question-and-answer performance. It also ranks among the top performers on a UC Berkeley-affiliated leaderboard called Chatbot Arena.

Though not fully detailed by the company, the cost of training and developing DeepSeeks models appears to be only a fraction of whats required for OpenAI or Meta Platforms Inc.s best products. The greater efficiency of the model puts into question the need for vast expenditures of capital to acquire the latest and most powerful AI accelerators from the likes of Nvidia. It also focuses attention on US export curbs of such advanced semiconductors to China  which were intended to prevent a breakthrough of the sort that DeepSeek appears to represent.

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When did DeepSeek spark global interest?

The AI developer has been closely watched since the release of its earliest model in 2023. Then in November, it gave the world a glimpse of its DeepSeek R1 reasoning model, designed to mimic human thinking. That model underpins its chatbot app, which exploded in popularity as a much cheaper OpenAI alternative, with investor Marc Andreessen calling it AIs Sputnik moment.

The DeepSeek mobile app was downloaded 1.6 million times by Jan. 25 and ranked No. 1 in iPhone app stores in Australia, Canada, China, Singapore, the US and the UK, according to data from market tracker App Figures.

What did we learn from the giant stock market reaction?

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For much of the past two-plus years since ChatGPT kicked off the global AI frenzy, investors have bet that improvements in AI will require ever more advanced chips from the likes of Nvidia.

The DeepSeek breakthrough suggests AI models are emerging that can achieve a comparable performance using less sophisticated chips for a smaller outlay.

Investors offloaded Nvidia stock in response, sending the shares down 17% on Jan. 27 and erasing $589 billion of value from the worlds largest company  a stock market record. Semiconductor machine maker ASML Holding NV and other companies that also benefited from booming demand for cutting-edge AI hardware also tumbled.

DeepSeeks success calls into question the vast spending by companies like Meta and Microsoft Corp.  each of which has committed to capex of $65 billion or more this year, largely on AI infrastructure.

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Shares in Meta and Microsoft also opened lower, though by smaller margins than Nvidia, with investors weighing the potential for substantial savings on the tech giants AI investments. Meta even recovered later in the session to close higher. Chinese names linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co., also climbed.

Some industry watchers suggested the industry overall could benefit from DeepSeeks breakthrough if it pushes OpenAI and other US providers to cut their prices, spurring faster adoption of AI.

How could DeepSeek affect the global strategic competition over AI?

AI is the key frontier in the US-China contest for tech supremacy. Washington has banned the export to China of equipment such as high-end graphics processing units in a bid to stall the countrys advances.

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DeepSeeks progress suggests Chinese AI engineers have worked their way around those restrictions, focusing on greater efficiency with limited resources. Still, it remains unclear how much advanced AI-training hardware DeepSeek has had access to.

Already, developers around the world are experimenting with DeepSeeks software and looking to build tools with it. This could help US companies improve the efficiency of their AI models and quicken the adoption of advanced AI reasoning.

That in turn may force regulators to lay down rules on how these models are used, and to what end.

DeepSeeks progress raises a further question, one that often arises when a Chinese company makes strides into foreign markets: Could the troves of data the mobile app collects and stores in Chinese servers present a privacy or security threats to US citizens?

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The fact that DeepSeeks models are open-source opens the possibility that users in the US could take the code and run the models in a way that wouldnt touch servers in China.

Who is DeepSeeks founder?

Born in Guangdong in 1985, engineering graduate Liang has never studied or worked outside of mainland China. He received bachelors and masters degrees in electronic and information engineering from Zhejiang University. He founded DeepSeek with 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) in registered capital, according to company database Tianyancha.

The bottleneck for further advances is not more fundraising, Liang said in an interview with Chinese outlet 36kr, but US restrictions on access to the best chips. Most of his top researchers were fresh graduates from top Chinese universities, he said, stressing the need for China to develop its own domestic ecosystem akin to the one built around Nvidia and its AI chips.

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More investment does not necessarily lead to more innovation. Otherwise, large companies would take over all innovation, Liang said.

Liang has been compared to OpenAI founder Sam Altman, but the Chinese citizen keeps a much lower profile and seldom speaks publicly.

Where does DeepSeek stand in Chinas AI landscape?

Chinas technology leaders, from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. to Tencent Holdings Ltd., have poured significant money and resources into the race to acquire hardware and customers for their AI ventures. Alongside Kai-Fu Lees 01.AI startup, DeepSeek stands out with its open-source approach  designed to recruit the largest number of users quickly before developing monetization strategies atop that large audience.

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Because DeepSeeks models are more affordable, its already played a role in helping drive down costs for AI developers in China, where the bigger players have engaged in a price war thats seen successive waves of price cuts over the past year and a half.

What are DeepSeeks shortcomings?

Like all other Chinese AI models, DeepSeek self-censors on topics deemed sensitive in China. It deflects queries about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests or geopolitically fraught questions such as the possibility of China invading Taiwan. In tests, the DeepSeek bot is capable of giving detailed responses about political figures like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but declines to do so about Chinese President Xi Jinping.

DeepSeeks cloud infrastructure is likely to be tested by its sudden popularity. The company briefly experienced a major outage on Jan. 27 and will have to manage even more traffic as new and returning users pour more queries into its chatbot.

--With assistance from Luz Ding, Zheping Huang, Claire Che, Ville Heiskanen, Mayumi Negishi, Olivia Solon and Jan-Patrick Barnert.

(Updates to include more detail on DeepSeek founder. A previous version of this article corrected the reference to Metas share price)

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Every morning at 7:30 a.m. sharp, a race begins on the outskirts of Chengdu, a sprawling Chinese metropolis known for its spicy hotpot, old tea houses and the countrys most beloved animal  giant pandas.

From the gates of the famed Chengdu Panda Base, fans run to the leafy villa of its celebrity resident: Hua Hua, Chinas most popular panda. Among them is AQiu, who rents an apartment nearby and shares his bedroom with dozens of stuffed black and white teddy bears.

The 32-year-old bikes to the panda base every morning to see Hua Hua and film the celebrity bear for his 10,000 followers on Douyin, TikToks sister app. In the summer, he gets up as early as 3 a.m. to be at the front of the line. Just seeing her face makes me feel incredibly happy, he said.

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Rare, fluffy and irresistibly cute, pandas are adored across the globe. Yet Hua Huas star power is something else entirely. The 4-year-old is so popular that only 30 people are allowed to admire her for a mere three minutes each before being ushered out by security guards. On a busy weekend or holiday, tens of thousands of visitors from across China spend more than two hours in line just to catch a glimpse of her.

In Chengdu, Hua Huas face is everywhere  in souvenir shops, cafes, post offices and on billboards. She also enjoys a massive following on Chinese social media, where her videos have racked up billions of views.

Hua Huas unprecedented popularity epitomizes a new wave of pandamonium that is sweeping across China, following a decades-long government effort to transform the giant panda from a little-known animal into a cultural icon, a national symbol and a potent tool of diplomacy.

But the success of the pandas rebranding has created an unexpected challenge for Beijing, as it seeks to balance its use of the animals for much-needed soft power abroad against the demands of an adoring public to protect their national treasure at all costs.

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While many Chinese are proud to share pandas with the world, some  including a vocal fringe group of online influencers  oppose sending their beloved bears to the United States and other unfriendly countries, ostensibly for fear theyll be mistreated.

The groups howls of protest could be heard last year outside the Dujiangyan Panda Base, the temporary home of two pandas that were sent to the US in a carefully orchestrated process cloaked in secrecy to avoid unscripted attention.

Some animal rights activists and panda fans have also targeted researchers and scientists involved in Chinas panda breeding program, prompting the government to signal it will no longer tolerate any attempt to tarnish the conservation success story of the countrys cuddly soft power asset.

From obscurity to fame

Pandas once roamed a vast swath of China, along with parts of northern Myanmar and Vietnam, but human encroachment and climate change shrank the habitat of the bamboo-munching bears to just six mountain ranges above the Sichuan basin, deep in Chinas hinterland.

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Hailed in imperial times as the land of heavenly abundance, Sichuan is now better known as the hometown of pandas. The mountainous province boasts a latticework of panda nature reserves and breeding centers, all built in recent decades as China  and the world  raced to save the multimillion years old living fossil from extinction.

The provincial capital, Chengdu, home to 21 million people, sits at the foot of snow-capped mountains with misty old-growth forests where wild pandas still roam.

The citys panda breeding base is the largest in the country, housing more than 240 bears  or a third of the worlds captive panda population. The sprawling facility draws up to 11 million visitors a year, on par with Shanghai Disneyland.

Its a symbol of China. All Chinese people want to see it in person, said a visitor who traveled 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) to Chengdu and lined up at 6 a.m. to see the pandas. But the giant panda hasnt always been an emblem of the Chinese nation.

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Throughout much of history, these elusive bears left little impression on Chinese literature and art, let alone holding any cultural significance like the dragon, the tiger or the crane.

The obscure panda only emerged as a national icon well after the founding of the Peoples Republic in 1949, according to E. Elena Songster, a historian and author of Panda Nation: The Construction and Conservation of Chinas Modern Icon.

Unique, lovable and free of historical baggage, the black and white bear was deemed an ideal symbol for the young communist nation to shape its image and identity.

Even then, it took years for the panda to gain widespread recognition and adoration in an impoverished country.

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Liu Xuehua, an ecologist who dedicated her career to preserving panda habitat, never knew about these bears growing up in a small industrial city in southeastern China in the 1960s and 1970s. The media wasnt so developed, we spent a lot of time studying at school and there werent that many zoos in the provinces, she recalled.

Nowadays, its virtually impossible for a Chinese child to grow up without knowing pandas  the national treasure brought back from the brink of extinction.

They are featured in cartoons, textbooks, toy stores, and  with their captive population growing from about 100 to more than 700 in a span of decades  can now be seen in zoos across nearly every province in China.

The wild panda population has also rebounded from a low in the 1980s, reaching an estimated 1,864 by the last official count in 2014. Two years later, the giant panda was downgraded from endangered to vulnerable on the global red list of threatened species.

Soft power asset

Pandas are not only a success story for China in wildlife conservation  theyre also a major soft power asset.

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Soft power is something China has struggled with in recent decades even as it propelled itself to become the worlds second-largest economy. Japanese fashion, films, anime, manga and video games have long captivated fans across the globe. More recently, the Korean wave has taken the world by storm, setting off a craze for K-pop, K-drama, K-beauty, K-everything.

For China, an authoritarian state where cultural czars dictate the terms of artistic creations, the most successful tool to win hearts and minds worldwide has been  and remains  its monopoly on pandas.

For more than half a century, Beijing has dispatched these charismatic animals overseas to shore up alliances, mend estranged ties and court new partners.

Pandas have been a cornerstone of US-China engagement ever since a pair arrived in Washington in 1972, following President Richard Nixons ice-breaking trip to the communist nation during the Cold War.

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But relations between the US and China, the worlds two most powerful nations, have sunk to their lowest ebb in decades, strained by spiraling competition over technology, military, geopolitics and more.

Panda diplomacy has been a small bright spot in an otherwise darkened landscape. Last June, China sent the San Diego Zoo the first pair of pandas to enter America in 21 years. A second pair, Bao Li and Qing Bao, made their public debut last Friday at the Smithsonians National Zoo after arriving in Washington in October.

Bao Li and Qing Baos journey, documented by a CNN team from Chengdu to Washington, was a rare piece of uplifting news amid the gloomy headlines that engulf US-China relations  from threatened tariffs and widening export controls to unprecedented cyberattacks and big power jostling.

People want a good news story. They want something that shows we can be successful  in protecting the planet, said Ellen Stofan, the undersecretary for science and research at the Smithsonian, in October as she watched pandas loll about at Wolong Shenshuping, a mountain-ringed breeding base where Bao Li and Qing Bao were born.

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Yet even that rare bright spot in relations couldnt fully escape the shadow of distrust and animosity between the two countries  sentiments that some fear will only deepen now that President Donald Trump is back in the White House with a cabinet staffed with China hawks.

Patriotic backlash

As the Chinese public grows fonder  and perhaps more protective  of the pandas, some online influencers have expressed concerns about the bears welfare abroad, alleging that American zoos have mistreated Chinas national treasures.

Such claims have often been fueled by the kind of nationalistic, anti-US sentiment fanned by state media. They have gained traction on the Chinese internet in recent years, especially following controversy over the health of Ya Ya, a panda previously on loan to the Memphis Zoo.

In 2023, Ya Yas skinny looks and scraggly fur spurred concerns for her health, especially after her male partner, Le Le, died just months before the pair were scheduled to return to China. Chinese social media was awash with wild allegations that the Memphis Zoo had mistreated its pandas as a deliberate snub to China.

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Zoo officials repeatedly dismissed such accusations, attributing Ya Yas fur loss to a genetic skin disease  a conclusion shared by Chinese experts dispatched to Memphis to examine the panda.

The backlash didnt derail the panda loan program, which generates an annual fee of about US$1 million per pair of bears for China, but it seems to have complicated matters for everyone involved.

Transporting pandas across the Pacific Ocean has always been a logistically complex undertaking that requires months of planning. Now, authorities must navigate added layers of political sensitivity and secrecy.

Children perform at the send-off ceremony for Bao Li and Qing Bao. - Evelio Contreras/CNN

The departure date of Bao Li and Qing Bao was kept strictly under wraps, only revealed to the public by the Chinese government once their chartered plane was in the air.

Once held at panda bases, the invitation-only official send-off ceremonies now take place in hotel conference rooms away from crowds of tourists.

A day before Bao Li and Qing Baos send-off, Chinese officials rushed to change the events location to a more secluded hotel, likely to prevent a repeat of scenes in June, when a small group of protesters gathered outside the Dujiangyan panda base with banners opposing their transfer.

On the night of their departure, as the trucks carrying Bao Li and Qing Bao drove past rows of staff bidding them farewell at the Dujiangyan base, an outburst of heart-wrenching cries erupted beyond the compound walls. CNN journalists were stopped by officials from stepping outside, but videos soon surfaced on Douyin, capturing an emotional crowd sobbing and wailing as they were held back by fences and police lines.

Local journalists who have reported on pandas for years said the crowds were part of a recent trend of extreme panda fans protesting the animals being sent overseas. Some even tried to stop their journey by bombarding panda experts, officials and government agencies with angry phone calls. They believe theyre being very patriotic, one of the journalists said.

Scrutiny over breeding techniques

The Chinese publics growing love affair with the bears has also brought more scrutiny to the treatment of pandas in breeding centers and zoos inside China.

So many fans are watching the live panda cams. And the Chinese institutions are extremely careful in terms of what kind of content they provide and how theyre being perceived by the public. I think (thats) becoming more of a norm right now, said Qiongyu Huang, a wildlife biologist at the Smithsonian who has worked with Chinese partners on pandas.

A major point of contention centers on the artificial breeding of pandas in captivity.

Some panda advocates have criticized the use of electroejaculation, a common technique for collecting sperm from mammals, especially on cattle farms. It involves inserting an electric probe with mild currents into the rectum of a male under anesthesia to stimulate ejaculation  a process that some critics say is cruel and harmful. (The procedure is also used on humans when a patient cannot ejaculate on their own due to a spine injury, nerve problem or other condition.)

To address concerns, the Chengdu breeding base conducted a public experiment allowing panda fans to experience the strength of the electric currents firsthand. Visitors were invited to touch an electric probe set to the same voltage used on pandas, and according to the centers statement, none reported feeling any noticeable sensations.

But criticism and questions have persisted.

Wang Donghui, a researcher at the Chengdu breeding base, is known as "Doctor Panda." - Evelio Contreras/CNN

Wang Donghui, a scientist at the Chengdu base, is part of a research team that developed a new technique to freeze panda semen to improve its viability  and increase the success rate of artificial insemination. The breakthrough was widely hailed in state media at the time and earned him the nickname Doctor Panda. However, Wang now avoids discussing the topic  or anything related to panda sperm and artificial insemination. Weve been attacked, he explained off camera.

That sense of nervousness is palpable at other panda bases too. Some staff spoke of concerns that panda experts and caretakers have become frequent targets of online bullying and phone harassment; one said, only half-jokingly, that they now work in a high-risk industry.

The intensity of online harassment has made it difficult for some experts to carry out their research work properly, Hou Rong, a leading researcher and deputy director of the Chengdu base, told the state-run Peoples Daily.

During CNNs trip to Sichuan, the New York Times published a detailed investigation into Chinas captive breeding program. Aggressive artificial breeding has previously killed at least one panda, burned the rectum of another and caused vomiting and injuries in others, the report said. It cited more than 10,000 pages of documents, including many from the Smithsonian Institution Archives.

Chinas captive breeding program had a terrible start, its early years marred by failures at both artificial breeding and keeping cubs alive.

An official at the Chengdu base recalled in an interview with state media that in 1996, whenever scientists tried to collect sperm from pandas, the bears would end up with blood in their stools  a condition that persisted for six months at a time. The situation at the time was extremely dire, none of the captive male pandas could produce any semen, the official was quoted as saying.

Panda reproduction in captivity is notoriously difficult. Female pandas are in heat only once a year for about 24 to 72 hours. Theyre also very picky about who they choose to mate with. And when they finally give birth, newborn pandas are extremely fragile. In the 1990s, the survival rate of cubs under human care at some breeding centers was only 10%, according to state media.

But these hurdles had been largely overcome by the 2000s with the help of American and European scientists, said Wu Honglin, the deputy director of the Shenshuping base.

With a deeper understanding and research into pandas, along with breakthroughs in reproductive technology, its no longer a challenge, Wu said. And the large captive population offers females more options. In recent years, we have relied entirely on natural mating, he added.

Chinas breeding centers now boast cub survival rates well above 90%, and every year, dozens of new cubs are born.

Melissa Songer, a conservation biologist at the Smithsonian, said China learned from past lessons. Its not that theres never been a mistake or that things couldnt get better, but I think things have gotten so much better so quickly, she said.

Return to the wild

Proponents of the captive breeding program say it serves as vital insurance against extinction.

The end goal is to return the pandas to the wild, and a sizable captive population is the foundation for that long and challenging effort, said Huang, the ecologist at the Smithsonian.

Deep in the misty mountains above the Shenshuping breeding site lies the Tiantaishan rewilding base, where select panda cubs are prepared for life in the wild.

Here, bamboo trees often have messy, broken branches  an unmistakable sign of feeding for the trained eye.

When the cubs reach 1 year old, they are brought into the bases wild enclosures with their mothers to learn vital survival skills such as foraging, finding water, and dealing with other wildlife like black bears and wild boars.

If deemed ready, the youngster will be released into the wilderness at around 2 years old to face all its beauty, rawness, and dangers on its own. Many dont pass the strict qualification process and spend the rest of their lives in captivity.

Unlike pandas born in zoos, these rewilding candidates are born in large, semi-natural enclosures, raised entirely by their mothers, with minimal human contact.

Staff have come up with an intriguing way to shield the bears from people  the panda suit.

Keepers here only ever interact with their animal charges while dressed in full-body panda outfits, carefully scented with panda urine or feces.

The goal isnt to trick the cubs into thinking were pandas, explained Zhang Dalei, a keeper with over a decade of experience in the program, but to ensure they dont develop a dependency on humans.

The work is not without its risks and at Tiantaishan, Zhang has witnessed a lesser-known, aggressive side of these cuddly bears.

In 2016, a keeper wearing a panda suit was attacked and mauled by a protective mother bear who mistook him as an intruder on her territory. When Zhang rushed to the scene, he found his colleagues wrist bones exposed, the costume soaked in blood. Though the keeper survived, the bears powerful jaws had shattered multiple bones and tendons in his arms and legs.

Rewilding carries substantial risks for its trainees, too.

Chinas first attempt at releasing a panda into the wild in 2006 ended in tragedy when a 5-year-old bear, Xiang Xiang, was found dead in the snow less than a year later. He was believed to have fallen from height during a territorial fight with a wild male panda. The setback prompted the immediate suspension of the program.

Chinese researchers spent four years reflecting, learning, and refining their methods before restarting the training in its current form, where mother and cub learn to survive in the wild together. The next panda was released in 2012, and since then, 10 more have followed. One of them died six weeks after release, due to a bacterial infection, and at least two pandas perished during training, according to state media reports at the time.

Each failure and loss in China were met with fierce public backlash, and the pressure has likely led researchers to err on the side of caution in releasing more pandas, Huang said. The progress has been slow because the species is so valuable, its like a treasure. Any misstep will have huge consequences in the public domain, he said.

A CNN crew wore panda suits at the Tiantaishan rewilding base. - Evelio Contreras/CNN

Restoring panda habitat

Habitat loss and fragmentation remain the biggest threat to wild pandas. By the early 2010s, some of Chinas most prominent panda experts had warned that the success in breeding the bears in captivity had masked a critical conservation failure: the species rapidly vanishing natural habitat.

Over the past few decades, China has boosted the number of panda reserves from 12 to 67, but many are interspersed with villages and human infrastructure. This has confined many panda subpopulations to isolated patches of habitat carved by roads, railways, dams and farms, cutting them off from new bamboo forests and potential mates. Some groups comprise fewer than 10 individual bears.

Climate change is aggravating the problem. Studies show that a temperature rise of more than 3 degrees Celsius will result in mass death of bamboo, said Yang Hongbo, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences who focuses on panda habitat.

In 2021, China took a significant step by establishing the Giant Panda National Park, spanning three provinces and covering an area more than twice the size of Yellowstone. The park aims to link existing reserves and reconnect isolated subpopulations.

Its all about the habitat, ultimately, for supporting the wild pandas, for growing the wild population, Songer said.

With enough habitat, the hope is that in the future, panda cubs can be trained in the location where they will eventually be released. When theyre ready, we only need to remove the fences around their training sites, said Zhang, the rewilding keeper. Its like choosing a home for them to settle into in advance.

For now, the Chinese government remains committed to breeding pandas in captivity and loaning them to foreign zoos. It has also signaled that it will no longer tolerate overt opposition to panda diplomacy, and moved to contain the nationalist backlash.

In December, police in Dujiangyan arrested two online influencers for spreading false rumors about pandas being abused in the US and inciting opposition to the panda exchange program. (The suspects are also accused of raking in profits of more than $23,000 through live streaming and fundraising from their followers.) Since May last year, Sichuan authorities have arrested four groups of extreme animal rights activists accused of slandering and harassing Chinese panda experts.

Alongside the flurry of arrests intended to deter future extreme activism, authorities have ramped up efforts to counter negative opinions about the panda exchange program, although not everyones convinced.

A visitor to the Beijing Zoo described pandas as indispensable to China. Asked for his view about loaning pandas abroad, he replied with a laugh: The fewer we send, the better.

Back at the Chengdu panda base, Hua Hua, the 4-year-old celebrity panda, enjoyed her breakfast of bamboo shoots while the crowd oohed and aahed at her every move. The bear has become a national sensation for her unique looks: for many, she resembles a giant triangular rice ball when she sits.

Panda influencer A'Qiu shares his bedroom with dozens of Hua Hua stuffed toys. - Evelio Contreras/CNN

Others love her chill vibes  a subject of envy for millions of young people struggling to find work in Chinas slowing economy.

Shes not competitive at all. We humans exhaust ourselves every day, longing to lie flat and take it easy, but we cant. Yet Hua Hua can, said Deng Shoujuan, a staff member at the base.

Qi Qi, a 36-year-old Chengdu local who has visited the base more than 100 times in the past year, is in favor of sending pandas abroad.

China is the homeland of pandas, but everyone should be able feel the warmth and joy they bring. The giant panda is a gift to humanity, a gift to the world, she said.

But AQiu, the fan who bikes to the base each day to film its most famous resident, says theres one panda he never wants to see go overseas.

Dont even think about Hua Hua, he said.

CNNs David Culver, Becca Porath, Martha Zhou and Joyce Jiang contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
(Bloomberg) -- China pledged to accept the return of undocumented Chinese citizens in the US, after President Donald Trump threatened to hit Colombia with tariffs of up to 50% for refusing to take back deported migrants.

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China will receive people who are confirmed as Chinese nationals from the mainland after verification, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Monday at a regular press briefing, when asked if Beijing would take back citizens living without documentation in the US. The Chinese government firmly opposes any form of illegal migration.

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There were some 210,000 undocumented Chinese migrants in America in 2022, according to the US government, including those from Hong Kong and Macau. That number has likely risen with tens of thousands of people with passports from China crossing the US border without the proper paperwork since the pandemic ended.

China accepted four planeloads of Chinese migrants living undocumented in the US last year, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security. Prior to that, President Xi Jinpings government hadnt accepted such a repatriation flight since 2018, a stretch that included a yearslong period when Covid controls closed its borders.

Since Trump returned to office, hes struck a softer tone on China, only threatening Beijing with 10% tariffs for failing to stop the flow of fentanyl into America. That contrasted with swaggering campaign trail warnings that levies as high as 60% could be on the way.

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By Michael Martina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -China said on Monday it is willing to repatriate confirmed Chinese nationals from the United States, as U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs and sanctions on some countries if they do not cooperate on accepting deportees.

In recent months, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has sent five charter flights to China with hundreds of Chinese nationals deemed not to have a legal basis to remain in the U.S.

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Nonetheless, U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials have been frustrated by what they say is Beijing's longstanding refusal to cooperate on repatriation by declining to issue travel documents.

The department has warned of escalating consequences for Chinese officials, including visa sanctions, for refusal to accept tens of thousands of Chinese nationals in the U.S. under deportation orders.

"We have conducted practical cooperation with the migration and law enforcement departments of the U.S. and other countries, which has been productive," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing.

"As far as repatriation is concerned, China's principle is to receive the repatriates who are confirmed as Chinese nationals from the Chinese mainland after verification," Mao said, when asked if China would take back Chinese nationals who are in the U.S. illegally or without documentation.

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Trump in his first day in office last week declared illegal immigration a national emergency, tasking the U.S. military with aiding border security, issuing a broad ban on asylum, and taking steps to restrict citizenship for children born on American soil.

The Republican president says the moves are necessary after millions of immigrants entered the U.S. under the Biden administration, both crossing illegally and through Biden's legal entry programs.

"We expect all countries to accept the repatriation of their citizens who are in the United States illegally," White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said when asked about China's remarks.

The number of Chinese citizens encountered crossing the U.S. southern border without permission surged in recent years, from negligible to tens of thousands, as China's economy faced headwinds and U.S. visas were harder to acquire due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions on Colombia to punish it for earlier refusing to accept military flights carrying deportees. The White House said on Sunday it would not impose its threatened penalties because the South American country had agreed to accept the migrants.

Trump also has said he is thinking about imposing 25% duties on imports from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1 to force further action against illegal immigration and fentanyl flowing into the U.S.

(Reporting by Michael Martina and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Peter Graff and Bill Berkrot)
BEIJING (AP)  The top diplomats of China and India called for their nations to provide further mutual support, but avoided publicly mentioning a long-standing border dispute in the Himalayas when they met Monday in Beijing.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told top Indian foreign affairs official Vikram Misri that the sides should seize the opportunity, meet each other halfway, explore more substantive measures, and strive to understand, support and achieve each other, rather than be suspicious of, alienate and consume each other, Chinas official Xinhua News Agency reported.

It cited Misri as saying the nuclear-armed Asian giants have properly managed and resolved differences, and promoted the restart of practical cooperation in various fields.

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Indias foreign ministry in a statement said the two sides also agreed to resume trips by Indian pilgrims to Tibets Mount Kailash, which is considered as one of the holiest sites in Hinduism and Buddhism. The pilgrimage was stopped in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ties have been stable since the leaders of the two countries met last year on the sidelines of a multinational summit in Russia. Days before that meeting, India announced the two sides had agreed to a pact on military patrols along their disputed border in the Himalayas after a spike in tensions that began with a deadly clash in 2020. That turned into a long-running standoff in the rugged mountainous area, where each side has stationed tens of thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi have since limited their joint public comments to pleasantries without openly discussing the border. India said the 2024 agreement would lead to the disengagement of troops at the Line of Actual Control, the long shared border in the Himalayas, although it's unclear whether that meant the withdrawal of the tens of thousands of additional troops stationed along their disputed border in the Ladakh region.

The Line of Actual Control separates Chinese and Indian-held territories from Ladakh in the west to Indias eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety. India and China fought a deadly war over the border in 1962.

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Both India and China have withdrawn troops from face-off sites on the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso, Gogra and Galwan Valley, but they maintain extra troops at Demchok and Depsang Plains.

The army standoff damaged business ties between the two nations with halted investments from Chinese firms and major projects banned. India also banned Chinese-owned apps, including TikTok, which is operated by Chinese internet firm Bytedance. It cited privacy concerns that it said threatened Indias sovereignty and security.

Chinese products are ubiquitous in India, from toys to smartphones to made-in-China Hindu idols. According to Indian government data, two-way trade has grown by the tens of billions in the past two decades, with the balance strongly favoring China, while China has drawn many Indian specialists and students, particularly in the medical field.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Chinese tech startup DeepSeek said it was hit by a cyber attack on Monday that disrupted users' ability to register on the site.

The company, whose artificial intelligence chatbot has sent the tech world into a frenzy, said that it had suffered large-scale malicious attacks on its services. Registered users could log in normally, DeepSeek said.

DeepSeek began attracting more attention in the AI industry last month when it released a new AI model that it boasted was on par with similar models from U.S. companies such as ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and was more cost-effective in its use of expensive Nvidia chips to train the system on huge troves of data. The chatbot became more widely accessible when it appeared on Apple and Google app stores early this year.

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By Monday, DeepSeeks AI assistant had become the No. 1 downloaded free app on Apples iPhone store. The jump in popularity fueled debates over competition between the U.S. and China in developing AI technology. But some U.S. tech industry observers said they were worried about the idea that the Chinese startup has caught up with the American companies at the forefront of generative AI at a fraction of the cost.

DeepSeek was founded in Hangzhou, China in 2023. The company released its first AI large language model later that year.
Chronic wasting disease, an unstoppable killer of deer, is creeping closer to Columbus.

Initially detected at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area in Wyandot County during the 2020 hunting season, CWD has expanded its reach to the northern threshold of Delaware County.

Specifically, CWD was confirmed in a doe taken during 2024 on a sliver of the Delaware Wildlife Area that stretches into Westfield Township in Morrow County. The infected deer, based on its profile, is considered to be an anchor member of the areas whitetail community.

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The deer, in other words, didnt wander in from some distant elsewhere, as a rutting buck might, said Mike Tonkovich, deer specialist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

An adult doe is likely to be a resident deer, he said. That means chances are that there are more infected deer there.

Since the initial 2020 confirmation of Chronic Wasting Disease within the free-range population, 72 infected deer in Ohio have been identified among almost 33,000 tested.

The location of the deers taking is situated only a stags leap from Delaware County.

CWDs spread also surfaced in a second positive identification in Allen County. The animal, another likely anchor deer, was taken farther inside the county than was a whitetail identified a year ago.

While testing continues and more results will be forthcoming this year, the CWD outbreak until recently has been limited to Wyandot, Marion, Hardin and Allen counties.

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From 2014 and into 2020, 25 confirmed cases of CWD had been found, all restricted to four captive herds in Ohio. Since the initial 2020 confirmation within the free-range population, 72 infected deer have been identified among almost 33,000 tested.

How the diseases spread might affect regulations going forward inside the CWD hunting zone, established to inhibit further expansion, has yet to be fully worked out, Tonkovich said. Efforts during recent years involved the designation of a Deer Surveillance Area covering all of Wyandot, Marion and Hardin counties along with Auglaize and Jackson townships in Allen County.

Deer taken in the disease zone on one of four designated days were required to be dropped off for testing. Deer taken within the zone on other days during the hunting season could be taken in for testing on a voluntary basis.

Ohios deer archery season concludes 30 minutes after sunset on Feb. 2. Regulations proposed for the 2025-26 deer seasons will be presented in early February.

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At some point, efforts to stop the spread of CWD in the wild will become futile, if they actually werent from the start. The disease, which is caused by a misshaped protein known as a prion, kills by damaging the brain and nervous system.

CWD symptoms described by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources include emaciation, a wide-based stance and swaying gait, lowered head and drooping ears, a lack of fear of humans, and drooling.

Variants found in cattle, sheep and humans dont readily cross the species barrier.

No confirmed instances of transmission to humans who eat infected deer have been observed. However, the scientific consensus suggests that while CWD infection in a person is highly unlikely, it cant be ruled out.

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Mad cow disease infected and killed a few people who ate prion-tainted beef.

No medical treatment exists for stopping a prion disease in an infected animal.

Ending the spread of CWD appears unlikely because the infecting prions, which cluster in the brain and nervous system, can be transmitted in a variety of ways.

Prions shed into the soil can persist for years. When CWD prions are taken up by plants, they can infect when eaten.

Given the persistence of prions, even killing all the deer in an area doesnt guarantee later arrivals wont become infected.

outdoors@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Chronic wasting disease: Deer killer creeping closer to Columbus
China on Monday dismissed the possibility that the virus that caused COVID-19 leaked from a lab, after the CIA said it now favors the so-called lab leak theory over natural transmission.

It is extremely unlikely the pandemic was caused by a lab leak, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters. This has been widely recognized by the international community, including the scientific community, she said.

Mao added that the conclusion was reached by the joint China-WHO expert team from field visits.

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Mao did not say where the virus originated, only that any judgment should be made by scientists

The CIA on Saturday said it believes the virus came from a Chinese lab. The new assessment, though it was made with low confidence, dumped new fuel on the debate over the origins of COVID-19.

CIA assesses with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting. CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible, an agency spokesperson told The Hill.

We have low confidence in this judgement and will continue to evaluate any available credible new intelligence reporting or open-source information that could change CIAs assessment.

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The swift release of the conclusion came just days after new CIA Director John Ratcliffe was sworn in.

It also comes after the Biden administration ordered further review of the origins of COVID-19, contributing to the divide in the U.S. government over whether the virus was introduced naturally or from a lab accident.

Federal agencies, including the Intelligence Community, have not come to a definitive conclusion.

In 2023, a classified report from the Department of Energy reportedly concluded with low confidence the virus originated from a lab. That same year, the FBI also said a lab leak was more plausible than natural exposure.

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In 2021, the intelligence community indicated that they were split over the origins of the disease. An unclassified summary report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said both the lab leak theory and naturally occurring theory were plausible.

Four agencies had assessed with low confidence that the virus jumped from animals to humans in the wild, while one agency assessed with moderate confidence that the pandemic was the result of a laboratory accident.

The decision to release the latest CIA assessment was made by Ratcliffe, who was sworn in Thursday.

Intelligence agencies typically share their conclusions with a low, moderate or high degree of confidence. Its unusual for intelligence agencies to publicize assessments with a low degree of confidence.

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Ratcliffe has long favored the lab leak idea, and in the past has questioned whether the CIA under President Biden had downplayed the theory for political reasons.

In an interview with Breitbart News that was his first after being sworn in, Ratcliffe indicated he did not want the CIA to be sitting on the sidelines on the debate about the origins of COVID-19.

One of the things that Ive talked about a lot is addressing the threat from China on a number of fronts, and that goes back to why a million Americans died and why the Central Intelligence Agency has been sitting on the sidelines for five years in not making an assessment about the origins of COVID. Thats a day-one thing for me, Ratcliffe told the right-leaning outlet.

But in a later interview with Fox News, he said the decision to release a report was not political. Instead, it was an effort to renew trust and promote transparency in intelligence agencies.

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I had the opportunity on my first day to make public an assessment that actually took place in the Biden administration, so it cant be accused of being political, and the CIA has assessed that the most likely cause of this pandemic that has wrought so much devastation around the world was because of a lab-related incident in Wuhan, so well continue to investigate that moving forward, he told Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo.

I think it was important for the American people to see an institution like the CIA get off the sidelines and be truthful about what our intelligence shows and, at the same time, protect us from adversaries like China if they caused or contributed to this, he added.

Ratcliffe didnt say there was any new evidence that contributed to the CIA analysis, and its unclear what the latest assessment will mean for U.S.-China relations. Some health experts continue to believe the origin doesnt matter, and Chinas lack of transparency makes it almost impossible to find out for sure.

Republicans in Congress have long said the virus escaped from a lab.

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Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the new chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, praised the CIAs new assessment.

Ive said from the beginning that Covid likely originated in the Wuhan labs, Cotton said in a post on the social platform X. Im pleased the CIA concluded in the final days of the Biden administration that the lab-leak theory is the most plausible explanation of Covids origins and I commend Director Ratcliffe for fulfilling his promise to release this conclusion. Now, the most important thing is to make China pay for unleashing a plague on the world.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky)., the new chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has pinned the blame on former top federal infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci for participating in what he says has been a massive cover-up. Even after Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci, Paul has insisted he will continue to investigate.

A 520-page report released in December from the House select subcommittee on the pandemic concluded the virus most likely escaped from a Wuhan lab. It also accused Fauci of pushing a false narrative about the viruss origins.

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While portions of Greater Cincinnati might have escaped the swarm of cicadas in 2021, it's unlikely they'll be able to evade the emergence and ear-piercing sound of this year's group, Brood XIV.

This spring, Brood XIV (as in 14) cicadas will emerge in numbers around the lower billions in 13 states, including Ohio, Gene Kritsky, a biology professor at Mount Saint Joseph University, told USA TODAY.

Since Brood XIV cicadas are periodical cicadas that emerge every 17 years, the last time they were seen (or heard) was in 2008, added Kritsky, who is also the founder of the Cicada Safari app, which allows community members to upload photographs of cicadas to help map where periodical cicadas are found.

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Here's what to know.

When will cicadas emerge in Greater Cincinnati in 2025?

Brood XIV cicadas will start to emerge from the ground around the second week of May and, if this spring is similar to last year's, they will likely stay until the end of June.

Which parts of Cincinnati will see cicadas this year?

This 2025 brood will emerge in greater numbers along the I-71 corridor and eastward, Kritsky told The Enquirer Tuesday.

Scattered light emergences will also likely be seen in parts of western Cincinnati. However, the area will not see the numbers experienced in 2021.

A map of where periodical cicada broods will emerge in Ohio between 2025 and 2038.

Here are the counties that will be hit the hardest:

Adams.

Brown.

Parts of Butler.

Clermont.

Most of Clinton.

Most of Gallia.

Parts of Hamilton.

Highland.

Parts of Ross.

Most of Warren.

Parts of the United States where cicadas from Brood XIV are expected to emerge in spring 2025.

When will a brood of cicadas emerge in Greater Cincinnati after 2025?

Another 13-year brood is expected to emerge in Brown and Clermont counties  as well as 10 other counties in Northern Kentucky  in 2027.

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The region will then see cicadas in 2034 and 2038.

Why do cicadas make noise?

Cicadas cause so much ruckus because it's their mating tactic. The bug's infamous, un-ignorable loud buzzing is from the male cicadas singing to attract females for mating.

"Adult males attract females with a mating call that he produces with his tymbals, the large convex structures found on the sides of the first abdominal segment," Kritsky explained.

Tymbals exert a clicking sound, but cicadas repeat the sound so rapidly that we hear it as a constant hum, which can be as loud as lawnmowers or leaf blowers.

What is the difference between annual and periodical cicadas?

Periodical cicada species are easily differentiated from the annual or "dog-day" cicadas of the summer based on their looks, Kritsky shares.

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The various species of annual cicadas are larger than their periodical cousins and have black or greenish eyes. Their heads are also wide and flattened, unlike the periodical cicadas, whose heads are slightly rounded.

"Dog-day cicadas usually are not heard until the end of June or early July, and during years when periodical cicadas also appear, they may not overlap," Kritsky said.

What is a cicada brood? What do their numbers mean?

Within a certain region, different cicadas sharing the same life cycle all emerge together. These groups are called "broods" and they each have their own number in Roman numerals.

For example, in 2025, a group of 17-year cicadas called Brood XIV (fourteen) will emerge across many states. This brood includes all three species of 17-year cicadas, but others may not.

Map of cicada emergences

What do cicadas eat?

Cicadas get all their food by drinking a watery sap (xylem) from trees. Since the insects don't have mouths that open and close, they have straw-like tubes that they insert into trees. Baby cicadas drink from tree roots, and adults from the branches.

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Contrary to popular belief, adult cicadas do not cause serious plant damage from their feeding activities, according to pest control company, Orkin. Cicadas do, however, damage plants by cutting small slits in the plant as a place to deposit their eggs.

Cicadas are attracted to several trees, such as oaks, maples, willows and ash species. But the bugs are "very opportunistic feeders" and will likely be attracted to whatever large plant is near the nymphs' underground habitat.

Are cicadas harmful to pets or humans?

Luckily, these pesky creatures' fatal flaw is that they're annoying. Cicadas are not dangerous to other animals or humans as they cannot bite or sting. At worst, they can bump into people while flying.

Cicadas also do not pose a risk of hearing damage despite their ear-ringing buzzing, unless you deliberately put your ear close to them while they are singing (so maybe don't do that).

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If your pet tries to catch and eat cicadas, it's safe, but don't let them eat too many as the bugs exoskeletons can be tough to digest when uncooked. People can eat cicadas, too (and have been for a long time).

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cicadas in Ohio: A map of where they'll be in Cincinnati and beyond
MUSCAT, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Qais Mohammed Al Yousef, Oman's minister of commerce, industry, and investment promotion, held talks with his visiting Indian counterpart, Piyush Goyal, on Monday to discuss strengthening cooperation in various sectors.

According to Oman News Agency, the meeting was held on the sidelines of the 11th session of the Oman-India Joint Committee.

The discussions focused on boosting collaboration in fields such as technology, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, and infrastructure, as well as ways to attract Indian investments to Oman.

Both sides underscored the importance of the joint committee as a "strategic platform" to enhance bilateral cooperation and expand economic ties.

According to the Indian official figures, the trade between the two countries reached 8.94 billion U.S. dollars in 2023-2024. 
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  A man from Springfield was arrested following a ShotSpotter activation in the area of High and School Streets Sunday night.

Caring Health Center to open new facility on Boston Road in Springfield

On Sunday at 9:15 p.m., officers were sent to the area of School and High Street for a gunshot detection, according to Springfield Police Spokesperson Ryan Walsh. The Springfield Police Real-Time Analysis Center used city cameras to get a description of the suspected vehicle.

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Officers then began monitoring an address on Sylvester Street that the vehicle was connected to. The suspected vehicle arrived at the home at around 10:00 p.m. When officers approached the car, the driver, 39-year-old Jonathan Brunson of Springfield, and his 12-year-old passenger were detained.

Springfield Police Department

Two shell casings were located inside the car and a loaded firearm was seized. Brunson was arrested and the 12-year-old was released to her mother.

Brunson is charged with the following:

Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm

Firearm Violation with 2 Prior Violent/Drug Crimes

Discharging a Firearm within 500 Feet of a Building

Possession of a Defaced Firearm During the Commission of a Felony

Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (Handgun)

Carrying a Loaded Firearm without a License

Carrying a Firearm without a License

Possession of Ammunition without an FID Card

Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Revoked License as a Habitual Traffic Offender

Local News Headlines

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A multi-agency mission targeting those trying to lure and exploit children online resulted in the arrest of a Clackamas County man earlier this month, police said.

Police took 53-year-old Marcus Gwilliam into custody after Milwaukie police say hed attempted to meet up with a person he believed was a minor he met online. However, the child was a decoy detective.

Man, dog narrowly escape rural Lebanon house fire

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Officials said Gwilliam and the child then made plans to engage in illegal acts. When he arrived at the agreed upon meeting place, he was arrested.

Gwilliam was booked into the Clackamas County Jail on charges of luring a minor and online sex corruption of a child.

As detectives believe there may be more victims, they are asking anyone with information to come forward to Milwaukie police.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
Canadian National Railway is bracing for a work stoppage Tuesday after members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) in Canada issued a 72-hour strike notice.

The union represents about 750 signal and communications workers, who are prepared to walk out if a new agreement is not reached by a Jan. 28 deadline.

CN is aware of the notice. The company has a contingency plan in place and is focused on keeping the supply chain fluid and goods moving safely. These activities will continue uninterrupted as long as necessary, Montreal-based CN (NYSE: CNI) said in an email statement to FreightWaves.

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Negotiations between the railroad and union began Sept. 24, 2024, with the union filing a notice of dispute with the Minister of Labor on Oct. 29, CN had previously announced. That move led to the appointment of three conciliation officers to assist in negotiations. The union says more than 95% of its members voted to authorize a strike.

About 32% of CNs $11.9 billion in 2023 revenue was tied to U.S.-Canada crossborder traffic.

Canadas national freight rail network was briefly shut down in August when CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (NYSE: CP) locked out the Teamsters union in a contract dispute. The lockout ended after the federal government intervened.

with reporting by Stuart Chirls/FreightWaves

Related coverage:

CSX Q4 profits sink on lower coal and fuel revenue, hurricane-related costs

Fuchs to lead Surface Transportation Board

Union Pacific official tells shippers of plans for online, security improvements

The post CN braces for rail strike appeared first on FreightWaves.
Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Experts say the political momentum is building to end the United States' more than 70-year-old seasonal time change, according to new information.

Daylight saving time is slated to arrive this year on March 9 and switch over again on Nov. 2.

"The switch to daylight saving time in the spring may seem harmless, but the reality is far more complicated," Jay Pea, co-chair of the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time, wrote Monday in a release.

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President Donald Trump, in December when he was a presidential candidate, called for the elimination of daylight saving time, characterizing it as "inconvenient" and "costly."

The U.S. Department of Energy found in 2008 that energy savings netted by the practice that year amounted to a minuscule 0.03% of saved electricity consumption.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (seen in Sept. in Washington, D.C.), R-Ala., said weeks ago that "enough is enough" and it's "time to lock the clock." It means "one less hour of daylight in the evenings, longer nights, and a rise in Seasonal Affective Disorder," the Alabama Republican said in December. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

According to Pea, adopting a permanent standard time would offer "a better solution for year-round well-being."

The practice was adopted during the second World War intended to preserve energy.

The coalition leading the charge includes the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, National Sleep Foundation, Save Standard Time, Sleep Research Society and the Society for Research on Biological Rhythm.

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But many experts argue that health is the driving factor, and that standard time aligns more closely with the body's natural circadian rhythms.

A professor at Stanford Medicine advised to "consider that all the health data" that points to the benefits of trying to "lock the clock to [a single] standard time."

"It is best for kids, adults and elderly," Dr. Andrew D. Huberman, a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology, posted Wednesday on social media.

"Happy to go toe-to-toe with anyone on this," he added.

Moreover, seasonal change in time "disrupts our body clocks, affects our sleep quality, and increases risk of avoidable health and safety incidents, such as motor vehicle accidents, cardiovascular events, and even workplace errors in the days following the time change," stated Pea, also the president of Save Standard Time.

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A recent AASM survey, meanwhile, found that roughly 50% of the American public supported legislation to eliminate seasonal time changes with about 26% diametrically opposed to the idea.

"Looks like the people want to abolish the annoying time changes!" Trump adviser and billionaire Elon Musk posted on his social media platform X in November during a separate poll.

However, a YouGovAmerica Poll nearly four years ago went further than the AASM survey.

The 2021 YouGov survey suggested that 63% of the public was ready to eliminate the practice of changing clocks twice a year to account for daylight saving time.

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"We've tried permanent daylight saving time before, and it didn't work," Pea noted. "This time, let's get it right by prioritizing health and safety with permanent standard time."

For the fourth time in five years, federal legislation was introduced in 2023 aimed to make daylight saving time permanent. Called the Sunshine Protection Act, it eventually stalled in committee like other similar efforts to address the decades-long time switches.

"The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't!" Trump, 78, said in December.

Meanwhile, scores of lawmakers in recent years have advocated for the elimination of the practice although disagreement remains.

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Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said weeks ago that "enough is enough" and it's "time to lock the clock."

It means "one less hour of daylight in the evenings, longer nights, and a rise in Seasonal Affective Disorder," the Alabama Republican, a Trump ally, posted on X in December.

The Illinois-based American Academy of Sleep Medicine provided tips to the public as the March 9 daylight savings time date looms.

In order to minimize sleep disruption, the AASM suggested at least seven hours of sleep, to gradually adjust bed times and the timing of daily routines, set offline clocks ahead one hour and "head outdoors for early morning sunlight the week after the time change," AASM officials wrote.
COLLINSVILLE, Ill.  The fatal shooting of a Collinsville, Illinois, woman last week was the result of a murder-for-hire plot, law enforcement announced Monday afternoon.

Three men are facing charges in the death of Portia Rowland. They were arrested over the weekend. Two of the suspects were arrested in Illinois and are in custody at the Collinsville Police Department. The third suspect was arrested in Missouri and is in custody at the St. Louis County Jail. Theyre awaiting extradition back to Madison County.

Rowland, 32, was fatally shot around 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21, in the 1300 block of Olive Street. Investigators said Rowland had been warming up her car in the driveway when a gunman approached and shot her. Rowland was declared dead at the scene.

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Collinsville police activated the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis to take charge of the investigation. Over the next five days, 30 investigators followed over 200 leads.

Police credited their diligent work and said license plate readers helped them track the suspected shooters vehicle back to Missouri.

According to investigators, Gary D. Johnson was identified as the suspected shooter; Marty D. Shaw drove Johnson to and from Rowlands home; and Sammy J. Shafer Jr. solicited both men to carry out the murder. Madison County States Attorney Tom Haine said although one man pulled the trigger, all three would be held legally responsible for Rowlands murder.

From left to right: Gary Johnson, Marty Shaw, and Sammy Shafer Jr.

Haine charged all three men with two counts of first-degree murder. Johnson received an additional charge of felon in possession of a weapon. Shafer received two charges of solicitation of murder-for-hire.

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Johnson had previously been convicted of murder in 1997 and was sentenced to 40 years in prison, Haine said.

The county prosecutor has filed a petition to deny release for all three men while they await trial. Theyre expected to have their first appearance in court on Tuesday.

Portia Rowland

Meanwhile, the visitation and funeral services for Rowland were held Monday afternoon and evening at the Irwin Funeral Home in Glen Carbon, Illinois.

Its very sad to hear. I play pool out of Ridge Inn in Caseyville, and so today, I found out I knew everybody that was involved, except for the shooter, Ken Wiltrout, a friend of Rowlands, said. Thats sad. It hits too close to home.

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Another friend, George Rafeedie, added, She always had a smile on her face, win or lose. She will be missed in the pool community and in the rest of the community as well.

At Mondays news conference, authorities declined to answer questions about a possible motive but acknowledged Rowland had a relationship with Shafers wife.

On the morning of her tragic and senseless death, I met with [Portias] father at the scene and I made him a promise. I promised him that the Collinsville Police Department and the Major Case Squad would do everything in their power to hold those responsible for Portias senseless death accountable and bring them to justice, Collinsville Police Chief Brett Boerm said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
The government of Colombia has agreed to US President Donald Trump's terms on migrant deportations, the White House has said.

Trump threatened Colombia with tariffs and sanctions on Sunday, after two US deportation flights carrying migrants were refused permission to land.

Colombia now agreed to all Trump's terms, "including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay," the White House said in a statement.

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Tariffs and sanctions would only be signed if Colombia failed to honour the agreement, the statement said.

Visa sanctions issued by the State Department and enhanced border inspections would remain in place until the first planeload of Colombian deportees was successfully returned, it added.

"Todays events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation's sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States."

The Colombian government said it had "overcome" the disagreement with the US, the foreign ministry said in a statement posted on X.

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Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said the country would receive Colombians who returned as deportees, "guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights."

The presidential plane would also be available to facilitate the return of Colombian nationals, the statement added.

Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social the flights had been blocked from landing by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, an action that "jeopardized" US national security and public safety.

Petro justified his decision by saying that migrants are not criminals and should be treated with dignity.

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Trump threatened to impose "emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States" from Colombia, with the rate climbing to 50% "in one week." He also announced travel bans on government officials, as well as other visa restrictions on their "allies and supporters."

Following Trump's announcement, Petro wrote on X that he would impose a 25% tariff on all imports from the US.

According to the US government, trade in goods and services between the US and Colombia totalled an estimated $53.5 billion in 2022. Exports totalled $28.7 billion and imports $24.8 billion.

Petro, writing earlier on Sunday on X, said he could not force migrants to stay in a country "that does not want them."

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But the left-wing politician said Colombia would block the US deportation flights until Washington handled the matter "with dignity and respect - for them and for our country."

Trump's retaliation seen as a warning to cooperate

Trump's retaliation was seen as a warning to other countries in Central and South America to cooperate with his far-reaching plans to crack down on immigration and unravel Biden-era policies.

Since returning to the White House nearly a week ago Trump has signed a series of executive orders to kick off a sweeping crackdown on migrants.

The plans announced by Trump and his advisers foresee potentially millions of undocumented immigrants deported and an attempt to end birthright citizenship.

The latter refers to the automatic citizenship granted to anyone born in the US, no matter their parents' immigration status, and is a right guaranteed by the 14th amendment to the constitution.
By Oliver Griffin, Luis Jaime Acosta and Nandita Bose

BOGOTA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Colombia's President Gustavo Petro averted an economic disaster at the 11th hour after diplomats from his government and the U.S. reached a deal on deportation flights, but the Colombian business community on Monday called for cooler heads to prevail as Colombians bemoaned canceled U.S. visa appointments.

U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions to punish Colombia for refusing to accept military flights carrying deportees, part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

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But in a statement late on Sunday, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept the migrants after all and Washington would not impose the penalties. Colombia's Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said separately the country's presidential plane was ready to carry deportees.

Colombia's ambassador to the U.S., Daniel Garcia-Pena, a long-time diplomat and former peace commissioner, was key to the late-night resolution of the dispute, a Colombian foreign office source said, after "very tense" discussions.

Garcia-Pena sought to paint the late-night reversal as a victory for Colombia.

"There was a win-win here. The United States withdrew the threat of tariffs and Colombia was able to get the United States to accept that the treatment given to our citizens should be dignified," Garcia-Pena told local television channel Caracol.

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Asked if Trump had used Petro as an example to other countries, a White House source with knowledge of the matter said "absolutely. Yes. Countries have an obligation to accept repatriation flights."

"The United States is simply sending back the criminals that Colombia sent to the United States," the source added.

Petro's condemnation of the use of military planes, saying deportees were being treated like criminals and that his administration is "the opposite of the Nazis", seemed to rile Trump more than similar spats with Mexico and Brazil.

The showdown between Petro and Trump, who has been in office a week, played out through verbose posts on social media, with Petro on X and Trump on the Truth Social platform.

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The measures announced by Trump, including a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods that was set to rise to 50% in a week and emergency treasury, banking and financial sanctions, would have had an "immense impact" on the Colombian economy, said Bruce Mac Master, president of business association ANDI.

"It was very worrying how the president (Petro) approached the problem because he was not conscious about all the consequences that it would have for the country," Mac Master told Reuters.

"It's as if Colombia had raised its hand and said 'I want to be part of the fight, please include me.' Well, they included us and we learned how we could potentially lose a lot," Mac Master said, adding that leaders in Brazil and Mexico had handled the issue better.

The Colombian foreign ministry said later on Monday that an air force plane was departing for San Diego, California, to bring home 110 Colombian deportees. A second similar flight would depart in the coming days, it added.

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VISA FRUSTRATION

The U.S. is Colombia's largest trading partner, largely due to a 2006 free trade agreement, with $33.8 billion worth of two-way trade in 2023 and a $1.6 billion U.S. trade surplus, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The U.S. accounted for a little over 29% of Colombia's exports in the first 11 months of 2024, according to Colombia's statistics agency.

Billions of dollars of exports of Colombian oil, coal and coffee make their way north, as do around $1 billion in flowers, especially before next month's Valentine's Day event.

Colombia's already weak currency was down in early trading on Monday. Economic growth was a tepid 2% in the third quarter.

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The cancellation of visa appointments at the U.S. embassy in Bogota frustrated many people, who told Reuters they had received emails saying appointments would be rescheduled.

The rigorous visa process for Colombians to go to the U.S., including as tourists, can take years and comes at great expense for those who must travel to the capital for several embassy appointments.

"We hope the president (Petro) will fix this," said Diosa Camacho, who traveled from the eastern city of Bucaramanga. Camacho said she had been engaged in the visa process for more than a year.

Valentina Forero said her family has been in the process for two years and though she wants deportees to be treated with respect, she wished the spat had been handled differently.

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"They should have discussed it between the two governments and not included the people," she said. "It wasn't diplomatic."

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Petro's office or Colombia's foreign ministry.

(Reporting by Oliver Griffin, Luis Jaime Acosta, Camilo Cohecha and Javier Andres Rojas in Bogota and Nandita Bose in Washington; additional reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb in BogotaWriting by Julia Symmes Cobb; editing by Paul Simao and David Gregorio)
VILNIUS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania has urged the European Union to review existing navigation rules and provide financial support following the damage to a Latvia-Sweden fiber optic cable in the Baltic Sea on Sunday, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported Monday.

"Navigation rules in the Baltic Sea need to be reassessed, particularly regarding the use of anchors," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys stated on X on Sunday.

Budrys emphasized that the frequency of such incidents raises questions about whether they are truly accidental. He called for swift action and urged the European Commission to develop measures to strengthen the resilience of critical underwater systems.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas echoed these concerns on Monday, suggesting that the European Union should provide financial support to member states affected by potential sabotage. "Each of these incidents comes with a significant financial burden, and we need to discuss EU support for nations facing provocations or acts of sabotage," Paluckas noted.

He expects EU leaders to prioritize this issue at an upcoming European Council or EU Council meeting.

The damaged fiber optic cable, which belongs to Latvia's Latvia State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC), reportedly sustained external damage early Sunday morning. LVRTC spokeswoman Vineta Sprugaine confirmed that an investigation into the incident is underway.

This is the latest of several incidents in which underwater internet and energy cables have been damaged in the Baltic Sea. 
President Donald Trumps first trade war started Sunday close to home  not with Mexico, despite repeated threats to impose tariffs on the southern neighbor, but with Colombia.

But the threat of Americans having to pay more for Colombian coffee was short-lived. After Trump and Colombias president Gustavo Petro slapped tariffs on each others countries following Petros initial refusal to allow two U.S. military flights carrying deported Colombian migrants to land in his country, the government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, the White House said late on Sunday.

The White House said the Colombian government agreed to the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on military aircraft, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. Leavitt also said the tariff and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.

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The White House said that visa sanctions against Colombian government officials announced earlier on Sunday will be enacted until the U.S. government is able to send the first flight with Colombian migrants.

The high-stakes affair evolved rapidly during the day.

Petro appears to have irked Trump when he announced at 3:41 a.m., that he did not allow two U.S. military jets loaded with deported Colombian nationals, already in flight, to land in his country.

A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves, Petro said. That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants, he added without detailing when it happened and how many Colombians were on the aircraft.

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Hours later, Trump announced immediate reprisals against the South American nation on his TruthSocial website: A 25% tariff on all Colombian products  to rise to 50% in a week  and the shutting down of the visa section in the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia, Trump wrote. Petros denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, so I have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures.

Trump also said the U.S. was imposing an immediate travel ban and visa revocation to Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters in reaction to Petros refusal to let the two U.S. flights land.

The former guerrilla-fighter-turned-president responded at first by offering up his own presidential plane to pick up migrants in the U.S.. Then, he struck back, slapping a 25% tariff on all U.S. imports, with his own warning: You will never dominate us... So if you know someone who is stubborn, its me, period.

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While announcing that his administration will also impose banking and financial sanctions on Colombia, Trump warned even harsher sanctions could follow: These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!

In a statement on X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Petro had authorized the flights and then canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air.

As demonstrated by todays actions, we are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster Americas border security, Rubio said.

On Sunday evening, the State Department said that after Petros refusal, Secretary Rubio immediately ordered a suspension of visa issuance at the U.S. embassy in Bogota. Secretary Rubio is now authorizing travel sanctions on individuals and their families who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations. Measures will continue until Colombia meets its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens.

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America will not back down when it comes to defending its national security interests, the statement added.

In a post on X, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it had already begun enforcing the travel ban on Colombian officials in coordination with the State Department. The agency said it was taking decisive measures, including enhanced inspections of flights, private aircraft and cargo to and from Colombia and denying boarding to flagged visa holders.

The clash posed a test for Trumps deportation agenda, which relies on the cooperation of countries in the Western Hemisphere, a region his administration has vowed to lift from the diplomatic back-burner to counter Chinas growing influence.

The sweeping retaliatory measures risked damaging the relationship with a nation considered the closest U.S. security partner in Latin America and the Caribbean and a key global partner for NATO.

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But the stakes were high for Colombia as well. The United States is Colombias most significant trade and investment partner, with more than $39.3 billion in bilateral goods and services trade in 2022, according to the State Department.

Colombia also receives substantial U.S. aid. In 2023, it received $90 million in security assistance and more than $1.5 billion to support a peace accord between the government and the guerrilla known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. The U.S. has provided another $958 million to help Colombia deal with the influx of migrants from neighboring Venezuela.

President Petro is playing a very dangerous game, said Eddy Acevedo, chief of staff and senior advisor at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. As he continues to antagonize not only the United States, but important allies like Israel, there could be detrimental consequences including leveraging the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, cutting all foreign aid, decertification on drug cooperation, removing the non-NATO-ally designation, and much more.

The left-leaning Petro, known for his late-hour, testy statements on social media, is feeling domestic pressure for a new wave of violence at home, fueled by guerrilla infighting. In recent days, he had been railing against Trumps deportation plans, a subject popular with his supporters.

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Petros criticism of the U.S.s tough new immigration stance started on Wednesday during a three-hour visit to southeastern Haiti. Before heading back to Colombia, he said that there would be no America without Blacks, Mexicans or others of Hispanic origin.

But on Sunday, he openly confronted Trump in a lengthy X statement comparing himself with Aureliano Buendia, the idealistic colonel who fought countless battles in the mythical town of Macondo in the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, the masterpiece by Colombian Nobel-laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Trump, I dont really like traveling to the U.S. Its a bit boring, he said. I dont like your oil, Trump. You are going to end the human species because of greed. Maybe one day, over a drink of whiskey that I will accept despite my gastritis, we can talk frankly about this, but its difficult because you consider me an inferior race and I am not, nor is any other Colombian.

So if you know someone who is stubborn, thats me, period. You can try to carry out a coup with your economic might and your arrogance. But I resisted torture and I resist you. I dont want slavers next to Colombia. Overthrow me, President, and the Americas and humanity will respond.

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Amid the literary prose, there was another warning: Colombia now stops looking north... I am informed that you put a 50% tariff on the fruits of our human labor to enter the U.S. I do the same.

In another post, he advised the 15,660 Americans living illegally in Colombia to take steps to legalize their status, though he assured his social media audience that he would never be seen burning a gringo flag or doing a raid to return the illegals in handcuffs to the US. True libertarians will never attack human freedom. We are the opposite of the Nazis.

Petros defiance might be a sign of a larger revolt brewing in Latin America, where other governments, many from left-leaning parties, have criticized Trumps policies, especially his plans to deport millions of immigrants.

The deportations of undocumented immigrants from the U.S. began shortly after Trump took office Monday and signed several executive orders to stop illegal entry into the United States, especially through the Mexican border.

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During his presidential campaign, Trump said he would order mass deportations in addition to eliminating programs that were implemented during the Biden administration, including humanitarian parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.

On Saturday the Brazilian government complained about the treatment of 80 immigrants deported from the United States, saying Brazilian immigrants returning to their country had been handcuffed while on the U.S. planes that transported them.

Brazilian Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski ordered Brazilian authorities to ask U.S. agents in charge of transporting and guarding immigrants to immediately remove the handcuffs after a plane carrying Brazilians made a stopover in Manaus last Friday.

Petros warning that Colombia will open to the world has already raised concerns among experts who are worried the region might continue gravitating further away from the U.S. and towards China and other foreign powers.

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While Trumps aggressive tactics are bound to produce short-term victories because its very costly to stand up to the United States, countries across the region seeing that they will conclude that its in their interest to be less exposed to Trump because it is highly unpredictable, said Oliver Stuenkel, an associate professor at the School of International Relations at Fundacao Getulio Vargas in Sao Paulo and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC.

There is also not much the U.S. is willing to put on the table to attract countries to align with Trump, as hes using a lot of the sticks but few carrots, he said. So I expect China to be more influential as a consequence of Trumps current strategy in Latin America.
Colombia will send its presidential plane to Honduras to pick up Colombians after the country refused to accept migrant deportation flights from the United States, causing President Trump to enact tariffs and other retaliatory measures on Sunday.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has arranged for the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of Colombian nationals who were to arrive in the country today in the morning hours, coming in from deportation flights, read a statement released on Sunday.

This measure is in response to the governments commitment to guarantee dignified conditions. In no way have Colombians, as patriots and subjects of rights, been or will be banished from Colombian territory, the statement continued.

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Earlier Sunday, President Trump slapped Colombia with 25 percent tariffs on all goods coming into the U.S., and he issued a travel ban and immediate visa revocations on Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters, among other measures, after the South American country rejected two planes carrying migrants.

Petro hit Trump back by ordering an increase of import tariffs on goods from the United States by 25 percent.

American products whose price will rise within the national economy must be replaced by national production, and the government will help in this regard, Petro said in a Sunday afternoon post.

Petro previously said he will deny entry to the United Statess deportation flights as Trumps immigration plan begins.

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The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals, Petro posted Sunday to the social platform X. I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory.

Updated at 6:27 pm EST.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday ordered an increase of import tariffs on goods from the United States in retaliation to President Trumps tariffs and sanctions.

Petro, in a post on the social platform X, said he ordered the foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the U.S. by 25%.

American products whose price will rise within the national economy must be replaced by national production, and the government will help in this regard, the post continued.

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Earlier Sunday, President Trump slapped Colombia with 25 percent tariffs on all goods coming into the U.S., and he issued a travel ban and immediate visa revocations on Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters, among other measures, after the South American country rejected two planes carrying migrants.

I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombias Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people, Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump added that the Colombian presidents denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States and that he had directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures.

On Sunday morning, Petro said he will deny entry to the United Statess deportation flights as Trumps immigration plans begin.

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The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals, Petro posted Sunday on X. I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory.

The South American country will send its presidential plane to Honduras to pick up Colombians after the country refused to accept migrant deportation flights from the United States, Petro said Sunday.

This measure is in response to the governments commitment to guarantee dignified conditions. In no way have Colombians, as patriots and subjects of rights, been or will be banished from Colombian territory, the statement continued.

Newly confirmed secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that Petro had authorized the two flights but canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air.

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As demonstrated by todays actions, we are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster Americas border security, Rubio said.

Petro responded to Rubio in a post saying that he would never allow Colombians to be brought in handcuffs on flights.

Marco, if officials from the Foreign Ministry allowed this, it would never be under my direction.  I am a man of freedom, not of chains, he said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), in a Sunday afternoon post on X, said that Colombia and all nations should be on notice.

Congress is fully prepared to pass sanctions and other measures against those that do not fully cooperate or follow through on requirements to accept their citizens who are illegally in the United States, Johnson said.

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MANSFIELD, Pa. (WETM)  Northern Pennsylvania Regional College is hosting a class in Mansfield on Thursday for those who are interested in learning the skills to recognize human trafficking and advocate for victims.

The class will be held on Thursday, Jan. 30, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Alumni Hall on the Commonwealth University-Mansfield campus on 65 Clinton Street.

Mansfield Foundation to hold free scholarship workshops

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During the class, attendees will learn the basics of human trafficking, as well as the similarities and differences between international and domestic trafficking cases that victims face. The class will be taught using both case studies and scenario-based examples in order to fully prepare and educate those who attend.

A list of topics that will be covered during the class can be found below:

Legal definition of human trafficking

Types of human trafficking

AMP model

Methods of human trafficking: A breakdown of force, fraud and coercion

International human trafficking profile

Domestic human trafficking profile

Victim vulnerability and signs of human trafficking

Legal statutes for PA

Resources in PA

How to respond as a law enforcement officer

By learning and understanding the terminology, legal statutes and intent behind human trafficking, attendees (especially professionals in criminal justice fields) should be more equipped to identify and react to situations of exploitation and abuse.

If youre interested in attending the class, there are still 13 spots available at the time of publishing. You can secure your spot by visiting the event homepage and clicking register.

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In 2025, Evanston will see elections held for city and school board races, and much more. Heres a preview of whats to come.

Budget cuts to District 65

Evanston/Skokie School District 65 will begin the year making cuts needed to balance its budget. The Board of Education approved its budget for the 2024-25 school year in September with a $13.2 million deficit, the third consecutive year that deficits were greater than $10 million.

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The goal of the districts deficit reduction plan is to cut $15 million in expenses a year.

The budget cuts are likely to result in transportation cuts, special education reconfiguration, school closures and teacher layoffs.

Envision Evanston

Envision Evanston 2045, the citys draft comprehensive plan, or roadmap for development, for the next 20 years, is moving closer to getting approval from the city council. The plan, described by Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss as offering a Yes-In-My-Backyard stance, focuses on increasing the number of housing units and increasing density, especially downtown. It also focuses on putting up more buildings and fostering more sustainable practices, among other targets.

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The city released a draft of what its proposed zoning code could look like once approved by the city council.

Biss said one of the benefits of having a denser city would provide more residents the city could rely on for tax revenue, which he said can be a burden to Evanston residents.

Some opponents of the Envision Evanston plans have spoken during public comment periods of City Council meetings in which Council members approved bigger apartment complexes. Some residents have complained that the new buildings are out of character and have led to a decrease in parking spots in residential areas.

Change is tough. Change can be uncomfortable, but these are changes that we are talking about in response to concerns that folks in the community have, Biss said in reference to concerns of higher density buildings.

Elections

The April 1 consolidated election will include races for Evanston City Council, Skokie/Evanston School District 65 and Evanston Township High School District 202 Board of Education.

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Biss is being challenged by Jeffrey Boarini for mayor.

None of the District 65 Board members whose terms expire this yearSoo La Kim, Joseph Hailpern, Donna Wang Su and Elisabeth Lindsay-Ryanchose to run again for office.

For Evanston Township High School, incumbent board members Pat Savage-Williams, Mirah Anti and Patricia Maunsell are running for re-election and Gretchen Livingston, who has been on the board since 2009, is not. John Martin, who previously ran in 2023 for the District 65 board, is running for a District 202 board position.

City Hall move

According to Biss, the city of Evanston will move its offices from the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center at 2100 Ridge Avenue to rented office space at 909 Davis Street, Evanston, in the first quarter of 2025.

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Eventually, City Council meetings and other city meetings will be held at the Davis Street space. The city of Evanston has a 15-year lease on it.

The Civic Center would require repairs costing $60 million if the city were to continue its operations there, Lara Biggs, the citys engineer, said at a City Council meeting in December. Biss said the City Council is also looking at alternative locations, which might be cheaper to rent or purchase.

Proposed CTA/Metra/Pace Consolidation

CTA, Metra and Pace are facing a combined $711 million budget gap by early next year, which if left unaddressed could lead to service cuts and fare hikes. Illinois legislators have been mulling consolidating the three public transportation agencies into a larger conglomerate.

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Some suburban municipalities have expressed their position on consolidation through resolutions. Biss said the City Council has yet to publicly state its position.

Biss shared his own thoughts on the matter: The transit revenue crisis is a serious problem for Evanston, and its essential that regional actors and the state work together to resolve the transit crisis, he said.

I think consolidation is important. I dont think it makes sense to have CTA, Metra and Pace all in separate silos so I support consolidation. But whatever the exact solution thats found, what we need is a governance structure that allows for coordinated regional planning for a regional system and adequate funding to enable a world class regional system.
On New Years Day, Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger reportedly blew himself up in a Tesla Cybertruck in an apparent suicide outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. Despite having a successful career as a Green Beret and being the father of a baby born just last year, Livelsberger reportedly suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

This is just one high-profile example of how depression and anxiety disorders, ineffectively treated, can have lethal consequences.

Rates of PTSD combined with anxiety disorders or diagnoses of depression increased by 177% and 138% in only five years, from 2019 to 2023, according to the most recent edition of the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, a peer-reviewed journal of the Armed Forces.

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Skyrocketing rates of depression and anxiety are also being seen in civilian adults and, alarmingly, in our nations children. According to a recent behavior risk survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 40% of children in ninth through 12th grade experienced persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and 20.4% seriously considered attempting suicide.

Compounding this crisis in mental health is our inability to treat depression and anxiety effectively in most people. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil, the first line of medical therapy for these mood disorders, induce symptom improvement in only half of those people taking them and place only a third into remission.

Unintended side effects of SSRIs, including anxiety itself, suggest that SSRIs may actually cause some of the symptoms they are meant to reverse. In pregnant women, SSRIs cross the placenta and are absorbed into breast milk; they may affect fetal development and cause disorders of gut-brain interaction. In short, we need better therapies for depression and anxiety, and we need them as soon as possible.

Disturbingly, however, the budget provided for mental health research by the National Institutes of Health, the nations premier source of funding for medical research, actually decreased last year.

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Emerging research in mental health is showing how little we know and thus how much work needs to be done, including in how SSRIs work. SSRIs increase serotonin, which has been called the happy hormone due to its anti-depressive and anti-anxiety effects.

Since Prozac made a splash in the 1980s, the general scientific consensus has been that SSRIs enter the bloodstream and help anxiety and depression by increasing serotonin directly in the brain. While serotonin is found in the brain, more than 90% of our bodies serotonin actually is found in the gut. Furthermore, SSRIs are systemically absorbed, leading to an increase in serotonin levels in not only the brain but also the gut.

This leads to a key question  when SSRIs help anxiety and depression, is that because they increase the serotonin in the brain, or because they increase the serotonin in the gut? In other words, might it be better to target anxiety and depression by focusing on the gut, thus increasing efficacy of the SSRIs and reducing their harmful side effects?

I recently published a study in animals that shows that increasing serotonin specifically in the gastrointestinal tract improves anxiety and depression. This suggests that a medication that can increase serotonin in the gut, while not entering the bloodstream, may be a more effective treatment for anxiety and depression while also avoiding fetal exposure in women taking SSRIs. (Pregnant women should not stop taking SSRIs when their physicians think they are required, as maternal depression itself can have its own negative effects.)

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It is critical, however, that studies focusing on how the gut affects mental health be at the forefront of political and scientific policies.

With a new presidential administration, there must be a key focus on prioritizing mental health initiatives. The formation of the bipartisan Senate Mental Health Caucus has been a very positive start. An even more robust effort, similar to the White House initiative Cancer Moonshot, would be required. This revolutionary initiative is building new collaborations and programs across all parts of the cancer community, including the federal government, private companies, health care providers, patient groups, philanthropies and the general public.

Many facets of Cancer Moonshot could be implemented in the mental health sphere. These could include investments in widespread screening and preventative programs; access to quality, coordinated care; the implementation of navigation services to enable patients to more easily acquire services; and prioritized research funding directed toward new treatments and preventative measures. Importantly, all of these measures consider equity for all populations and also consider military members and children specifically.

As with the Cancer Moonshot initiative, these actions would require the collaboration of the government, private companies, nonprofits, academic institutions and patient groups.

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Lets make the case of Livelsberger a call to action for all who suffer from mental health conditions.

On a policy level, we should encourage our local governments and the senators in the Mental Health Caucus to prioritize mental health education, research and access. On a personal level, we can support people we know who are struggling, take part in mental health awareness events or volunteer in a mental health organization.

Most importantly, if you are struggling, seek the personal and professional help you need to take care of yourself. Prioritize mental health  our lives depend on it.

____

Kara Margolis is director of the NYU Pain Research Center, a professor in the Department of Molecular Pathobiology at the NYU College of Dentistry and in the Departments of Cell Biology and Pediatrics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She is also one of the Public Voices Fellows at New York University.

_____
HONOLULU (KHON2)  Should the Hawaii state flag get a new look? Theres a proposal this legislative session that would create a commission to lead the process of redesigning the state flag.

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The Hawaii state flag tells a complicated history dating back to the 1800s. King Kamehameha III commissioned the flag as a symbol of the sovereignty and unity of the Hawaiian people under the independent Hawaiian Kingdom, according to Rep. Andrew Garrett.

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Hundreds march to Iolani Palace to commemorate 132nd anniversary of Hawaiian Kingdoms overthrow

For many, the sight of the original Kingdom of Hawaii flag flying across the state is a powerful, painful reminder of the injustice and trauma caused by the overthrow of the United States, stated Rep. Darius Kila. Yet, its a beacon of hope and resistance and a symbol that reminds the world that my Hawaiian people, they are still here. Were resilient. Theyre enduring.

How this contentious history is being represented is now being discussed in the legislature. A new bill that would establish a commission to explore and recommend a new design for the state flag just passed its first reading.

It always kind of puzzled me as to why the state of Hawaii chose to use that flag after the overthrow of the kingdom, said Garrett, who introduced HB1385. I just see this as a chance to perhaps, you know, rectify past wrongs, dealing with historical injustices and perhaps debating whether it should, you know, remain as a symbol of the Hawaiian kingdom and the lahui.

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The commission would consist of lawmakers, Native Hawaiian organizations and cultural historians. It would be tasked with leading community engagement, public campaigns, workshops, and seeking design proposals from the public. Once a final design is selected, it would go to the legislature for approval.

Our flag is a symbol of the soul of our Kanaka. The flag that I and so many other Hawaiians recognize as the heartbeat of who we are is never up for discussion or negotiation, said Kumu Hina Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement Cultural Ambassador.

The bill will be referred to a committee that will decide on a scheduled hearing.

This is a discussion worth having,and ultimately, if the commission decides that this isnt worth pursuing, then, you know, that would be part of the process as well, Garrett said.

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JOPLIN, Mo.  The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks denotes January as a time to recognize donors  its National Blood Donor Month.

CBCO representatives say blood can be donated every 56 days, up to six times a year  and those donations save lives.

Reps tell us blood that has been donated and tested, already on the shelves, are the units that are ready for an emergency.

So, donations are constantly needed.

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Reminding people to donate this month is appropriate because it is a particularly challenging time for blood donations due to post-holiday fatigue, illnesses going around, and winter weather.

With the winter weather that we had about two weeks ago, we did have blood drives cancel and we did have donor centers that were closed, so were already at a loss for the month of January of what weve collected. So, were trying to amp that back up, get the shelves restocked, said Michelle Teter, CBCO media relations representative.

O-negative and B-positive blood types are needed right now.

Donors must be at least 16 years old, weigh 110 pounds, and feel well the day they want to donate.

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Staff will test their iron levels, blood pressure, and take note of medications to make sure its safe to donate.

It takes about an hour to donate and appointments are encouraged.

You can find more information on signing up, here.

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ST. LOUIS  Monday marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day and people around the world are coming together to honor the millions of lives lost during one of the darkest chapters in human history.

The Kaplan-Feldman Holocaust Museum is holding its annual reading of the names on Monday around 9 a.m. This poignant tradition marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest and most infamous Nazi concentration and extermination camp.

More than six million Jewish people, along with other minorities, were killed throughout the Holocaust from 1933 to 1945. Mourners from around the world will remember the victims by holding vigils at commemoration sites.

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The event will go from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum and will feature a lineup of community leaders and public officials, each taking turns to read names throughout the day. Its a deeply personal and moving way to make sure their stories are never forgotten.

1 dead, two injured after a dump truck crashed into home in Owensville

The reading begins at 9 a.m. with remarks from Myron Freedman, the museums executive director, followed by leaders like state senator Tracy McCreery and St. Louis County executive Sam Page. The museum is also offering a livestream of the event on YouTube for people who cannot attend in person, extending this powerful moment of remembrance to everyone in the community.

The museum will be open to visitors Monday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with special exhibitions highlighting the history of the Holocaust and the dangerous consequences of hate. This is also a continuation of the pay-as-you-wish weekend, giving visitors the chance to experience the museum by donating any amount they choose.

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For more information, visit StlHolocaustMuseum.org.

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BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV)  The Baldwinsville community has come together with remarkable support after a massive fire tore through New Legacy Apartments, destroying 24 apartment units, eight of which housed students from Baldwinsville Central School District.

Fire breaks out at Baldwinsville apartment building

Within hours of the tragedy, residents, organizations, and district staff launched a donation drive for those who lost everything.

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What started as a small effort quickly became something much larger. Thousands of items clothing, shoes, blankets, and food were donated to aid the victims, many of which fled the flames with only the clothes that they were wearing when the fire broke out.

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I realized if I stopped and looked for my wallet I may have not made it out, said one of the fire victims, Angela Murrey, who is now homeless.

When the victim made it out safely, Murrey said she just watched her mattress go up in flames, then her across-the-hall neighbors apartment engulfed in flames next.

The Baldwinsville Central School District is key in coordinating relief efforts for the victims. Superintendent Dr. Joseph M. DeBarbieri expressed his gratitude for the outpouring that this community has given to those who were impacted.

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Its just amazing the support that this community is providing for these individuals. Its wonderful its what Baldwinsville is all about, said Superintendent DeBarbieri.

The drive has also offered the victims emotional support knowing their neighbors are there when they need it the most.

Some people just need the comfort of a conversation, said Murray. Thats what Baldwinsville is like. They see a need and without you asking they try to fulfill that need.

Residents say theyre proud to see their community come together. Lindsey Hockinson, whos helped with the donations summed it up simply stating, Amazing, I am really proud to call this place home.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers a speech at a high-level reception to ring in the Chinese New Year at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 27, 2025. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council held the reception on Monday in Beijing. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday noted solid progress the country has made in advancing Chinese modernization amid "complex and challenging" situations over the past twelve months at a high-level reception to ring in the Chinese New Year.

"In the Year of the Dragon, we demonstrated vitality and a can-do spirit. We endured storms and saw the rainbow," said Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Faced with complex and challenging situations, China responded with composure and implemented a range of comprehensive measures, overcame difficulties and forged ahead with determination, Xi said at the reception held by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to usher in the Year of the Snake, which begins on Jan. 29.

At the reception attended by over 2,000 people, Xi extended Spring Festival greetings to the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, compatriots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese.

Over the past year, China effectively implemented existing policies and proactively introduced a package of incremental policies, which helped promote the recovery of the economy, Xi said.

China achieved remarkable progress in technological and industrial innovation, with new quality productive forces forging ahead steadily. China's employment and consumer prices also remained stable, Xi said.

From a global perspective, China remained a major engine for the world's economic growth, he said.

China dealt with major natural disasters with strong and effective measures, Xi said, adding that Team China achieved its best overseas performance at the Paris Olympics and the country has injected more positive energy into safeguarding world peace and stability and promoting human development and progress.

Xi hailed the journey over the past year as "extraordinary" and the achievements "very encouraging."

"We proved once again through our hard work that no difficulty or obstacle will hold back the Chinese people in their pursuit of a better life," Xi said. "Our historical course to build a strong country and rejuvenate the nation will not be blocked."

"We will undoubtedly break new ground in reform and development as long as we strengthen our conviction and confidence, confront problems and obstacles directly, and tackle risks and challenges without hesitation," Xi added.

In 2025, China will further deepen reforms across the board, expand high-standard opening up, guard against and defuse risks in key areas and external shocks, and promote sustained economic recovery, Xi said.

Suggestions for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) will be formulated and China will continue to strive towards grand goals, he stated.

China will continue to improve people's living standards and ensure that more benefits of modernization are shared among all the people in a more equitable way, Xi added.

The snake symbolizes wisdom and vitality in Chinese culture, Xi said, expressing his hope that Chinese people of all ethnic groups will stay confident, hopeful and forge ahead with an enterprising spirit.

Li Qiang presided over the reception. Other senior officials Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng were also present at the event. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers a speech at a high-level reception to ring in the Chinese New Year at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 27, 2025. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council held the reception on Monday in Beijing. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers a speech at a high-level reception to ring in the Chinese New Year at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 27, 2025. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council held the reception on Monday in Beijing. (Photo by Feng Yongbin/Xinhua)

Party and state leaders Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attend a high-level reception to ring in the Chinese New Year at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 27, 2025. The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council held the reception on Monday in Beijing. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, gestures as he attends a high-level reception to ring in the Chinese New Year at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 27, 2025. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council held the reception on Monday in Beijing. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang presides over a high-level reception to ring in the Chinese New Year at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 27, 2025. The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council held the reception on Monday in Beijing. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
ATHENS, WV (WVNS)  Concord University (CU) announced the continuance of their last dollar financial assistance program, CU Free.

According to a press release, Concord Universitys CU Free program helps eligible students gain a four-year degree without paying out-of-pocket. The program is available to incoming freshman, current, and transfer students.

Marshall University partners with Greenbrier Valley Airport to offer a new satellite flight school

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If you are eligible for Pell grants, you are eligible for a free education at Concord University. Concord University is already very affordable, but the CU Free program ensures that every individual seeking a higher education can access it here. The CU Free program also allows community college students who enjoyed the West Virginia Invests Grant at a two-year institution to continue their education with no tuition cost. Tammy Brown | Chief Enrollment Management Officer, Concord University

The program began in the Fall of 2019 and awarded up to $4,255 per year depending on the students other financial aid to 88 students throughout all majors. The press release stated that 37 students who received support from the program graduated and joined the workforce.

The criteria to be eligible for the program includes:

Be eligible for the Pell grant

Be a West Virginia resident eligible for WV Higher Education Grant

Have a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.0 if you are an incoming freshman

Have a GPA of at least 2.75 if a transfer student

Have filed a FAFSA prior to April 15

Be enrolled full-time (at least 12 credits per semester) at Concord University

WVSOM remains a leader of medical education in the Mountain State

The CU Free program is a last dollar in after all federal, state, institutional, and outside resources were applied, for base tuition only. The program will renew for four continuous years, or eight semesters, for first time, first year students. Transfer students may renew up to eight semesters depending on credits transferred to the university.

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To remain eligible, students must meet the following criteria:

Remain continuously enrolled and enrolled full-time

Remain Pell Grant and WV Higher Education Grant eligible

Complete the FAFSA each year by April 15

Maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA

Earn at least 24 credit hours per year

Meet satisfactory academic progress

For more information about the CU Free program, visit the Concord University website.

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A prototype of a passenger jet meant to succeed Concorde will attempt to break the sound barrier for the first time on Tuesday.

Boom Supersonics XB-1 demonstrator is set to exceed Mach 1 (770 mph) in a series of four-minute runs above the Mojave Desert in California. The US firm hopes it will pave the way for the introduction of passenger services early next decade.

The flight is expected to last between 30 and 45 minutes, according to Boom, and the test plane should reach a cruising speed of Mach 1.1 in two specially designated supersonic corridors close to Edwards Air Force base.

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Booms jet will be flying in the same airspace where Chuck Yeager became the first person to exceed the speed of sound in 1947. Its test plane is named after Yeagers iconic aircraft, the Bell X-1.

Charles Chuck Yeager became the first person to exceed the speed of sound in 1947 - AP

The Denver-based company has performed 11 flights since last March at steadily increasing speeds, reaching Mach 0.95 earlier this month.

The X-1 is one third of the size of the Overture passenger jet that the company plans to use for passenger flights. It hopes to ultimately achieve a cruising speed of Mach 1.7  twice the speed of the fastest commercial aircraft today.

Booms planned passenger jet The Overture would carry about 65 passengers and cost around 200m - AP/Boom Supersonic

The Overture, which would carry about 65 passengers and cost around 200m, according to Boom, has received outline orders from airlines including United and American.

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Boom aims to produce 33 aircraft a year at its factory in North Carolina, which was completed in June. It intends to double that number when a second assembly line is added.

However, taking the project from the test stage through to service entry will be a tough task, requiring billions of dollars in additional funding, including a yet-to-be produced engine design.

Would-be rival Aerion collapsed in 2021 after backers that had included Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Electric pulled out.

Boom may face an even more formidable barrier in the shape of airline commitments to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, as the industry comes under pressure to match reductions being achieved by carmakers.

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Blake Scholl, who founded Boom in 2014, has nevertheless said there is no reason why the Overture shouldnt run on the same sustainable aviation fuel that airlines are counting on to decarbonise their regular flights.

Blake Scholl founded Boom in 2014 - John Keeble/Getty Images Europe

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He puts the market at more than 1,000 of the planes, based on the number of people flying business class today on routes where demand for supersonic travel would be sufficient to boost airline profits.

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37,094 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others?

37,094 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others?
STORY: Rwandan-backed rebels marched into eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's largest city on Monday, according to witnesses.

That's prompted thousands of people, including Congolese soldiers, to flee across the border into Rwanda.

:: Gisenyi, Rwanda

The advance by the rebel alliance, spearheaded by the Tutsi-led M23 militia, is the latest escalation in decades of conflict.

And that's in a region already suffering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

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Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance that includes the M23, said his forces were in control of Goma - though that could not be independently confirmed.

:: Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo

Gunfire rang out near the airport, city center and border with Rwanda, with two Goma residents reporting ongoing clashes between government-aligned militia and M23 fighters.

Uruguay's military said 100 Congolese soldiers had handed weapons to them at the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo as requested by the rebels.

Additionally, two United Nations sources said Congolese and Rwandan soldiers had fired at each other across the border.

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There was no immediate comment from Congo's government or military.

:: File

Congo's eastern borderlands are a tinderbox of rebel and militia fiefdoms.

They stem from two regional wars after Rwanda's 1994 genocide when Hutu extremists murdered close to one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

:: Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo

:: November 20, 2012

The M23, the latest in a long line of Tutsi-led rebel movements backed by Rwanda, previously captured Goma in 2012.

However, it withdrew days later after an agreement brokered by neighboring nations.

M23's defeat the next year was followed by a deal calling for its demobilization.

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:: December 23, 2022

But M23 never fully disarmed and launched a fresh offensive in 2022.

It captured vast swathes of the mineral-rich North Kivu province, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes.

M23 is well-trained and professionally armed, and says it exists to protect Congo's Tutsi population from the Congolese government and ethnic Hutu militias.

U.N. experts say Rwanda has supported M23 with 3,000 to 4,000 troops as well as providing significant firepower.

The U.N. Security Council held crisis talks on Sunday with the United States, France and Britain condemning what they said was Rwanda's backing of the rebel advance.

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Rwanda dismissed statements that "did not provide any solutions".

It accused the Congolese government of sabotaging negotiations with the M23 and supporting Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 genocide.

Congo rejects these allegations.
By Sonia Rolley and David Lewis

(Reuters) - In 2018, Corneille Nangaa orchestrated the heavily criticised vote that handed President Felix Tshisekedi power. Today, he is the public face of a sprawling coalition of Congolese politicians and rebel groups fighting to oust him.

The success of his unlikely transition from election board boss to rebel leader has so far hinged on a partnership with Rwandan-backed insurgents who have fought a series of rebellions in the east against Democratic Republic of Congo's central government during the last two decades.

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Over the years, these Tutsi-led groups have seized provincial border towns like Bukavu and Goma, where M23 rebels marched into on Jan. 27 after a lightning advance that has forced thousands from their homes.

But Nangaa, who has swapped sharp suits and a close shave for combat fatigues and a thick grey beard, is setting his sights on a feat no rebel group has managed since 1997, when a Rwanda and Uganda-backed alliance overthrew the ageing autocrat Mobutu Sese Seko.

"Our objective is neither Goma nor Bukavu but Kinshasa, the source of all the problems," he told Reuters in an interview. "In Congo, we have a weak state or a non-state. Where all the armed groups have sprung up, it's because there's no state. We want to recreate the state."

He added that the fight was nationwide and he had many alliances, declining to give more details.

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While it is hard to gauge the extent of the support for Nangaa's Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), which sees the M23 rebels as their military wing, U.N. experts said in December that an increasing number of armed factions sided with them.

The United Nations, as well as the U.S., French and UK governments, have called on Rwanda to withdraw forces from Congo, where U.N, experts say Kigali has deployed 3,000-4,000 troops and provided significant firepower, including missiles and snipers, to support the M23.

Nangaa did not deny Rwandan support but said Kinshasa also had the backing of Burundi's army, highlighting the risks of a wider conflict.

Rwanda has denied links with the rebels in the past while also defending their actions as self-defence. The government of Burundi, which has deployed some troops to Congo as part of a regional peacekeeping force, could not be immediately reached for comment.

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ELECTION EXPERT, SANCTIONED REBEL

A native of northeastern Congo's Haut-Uele Province near the border with South Sudan, Nangaa compiled the resume of a consummate technocrat through most of his career.

He studied economics at the University of Kinshasa before working for international organisations as a consultant on elections across Africa, including for the United Nations Development Programme and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, according to a 2015 profile by Congo's U.N.-backed Radio Okapi.

Named to lead Congo's election commission in 2015 by then-President Joseph Kabila, Nangaa oversaw a 2018 election to choose Kabila's successor that was riddled with accusations of fraud but resulted in Tshisekedi being named the winner despite numerous reports that his rival, Martin Fayulu, had won.

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Nangaa, whose brother served as Haut-Uele governor from 2019-2024, later said he had agreed to change the results during 2018 elections "to save Congo and preserve the peace".

The following year, he was sanctioned by the U.S. for embezzling funds meant for the election but Washington stopped short of calling into question the legitimacy of the result.

Replaced as head of the election commission in 2021, Nangaa initially said he was going to contest the 2023 vote but, after a public row with Tshisekedi over alleged backroom deals linked to the 2018 vote, he instead announced an alliance to oust him.

Last year, a military court sentenced Nangaa to death in absentia for war crimes, insurrection and treason, and the government accused Kabila of backing his movement, something Kabila's coalition denied at the time.

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Nangaa's AFC coalition has succeeded in securing support from outside the North Kivu stronghold where Rwandan-backed rebels have previously been focused. These include the Zaire armed group in Ituri, on the border with Uganda, and various militia in South Kivu, U.N. experts said.

"M23 definitely started as a Tutsi movement, but look at the number of forces they are now deploying. It is composed of many more different groups," said a diplomat.

Speaking to Reuters as M23 fighters fanned out across Goma, Nangaa said the group planned to secure the city and its people before pressing onward.

"We want to reestablish order and give the Congolese people back a government. We don't want to go from one conquest to the next," he said.

(Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Majority-Black, rural school districts in Mississippi like the one where Jacqueline Brown has taught for 17 years cannot afford budget cuts.

Its already difficult to recruit a certified math teacher or offer additional incentives to retain experienced educators who are nearing retirement in a rural area, she said.

One federal program that helps rural counties navigate such challenges is the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. Browns state received $2.2 million from the program, which supports schools, roads, emergency services and other municipal services. These funds have kept rural counties afloat, especially facing declining populations, sinking tax bases and limited state funding.

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But, last month, as Congress scrambled to prevent a government shutdown, lawmakers failed to renew funding for the program.

As a result, rural communities in over 700 counties will lose millions of dollars, forcing counties to delay road improvements and school districts to consider staff layoffs and cuts to extracurricular activities or after-school programs. Education advocates worry the lack of resources could further deepen existing disparities, especially for Black rural communities that often are invisible to policymakers.

Every student should have access and opportunities and resources, and it shouldnt be determined by the ZIP code, said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association. Kids need access to a science lab, but they also need access to arts and music. They also need access to after-school programs and sports. They also need a rich, diverse, inclusive curriculum.  They cant have it all because they dont have the resources.

In 2016, the only other year the programs funding expired, one school district in California couldnt afford to make repairs to school buildings, which caused toxic mold outbreaks at several campuses. If Congress does not address the funding shortfall, the superintendent fears the district will have to downsize, which will lead to bigger class sizes and fewer enrichment programs. In southeast Alaska, school leaders say the funding loss will be dramatic as school districts there are already facing budget deficits.

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Less than a week after the Senate passed its bill to renew funding, a bipartisan coalition of 22 members in the House  including Democratic U.S. Reps. Joe Neguse, Bennie Thompson, Nikema Williams, Don Davis, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick  urged Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring the legislation before Congress before the end of the year.

Despite the plea, Johnson did not bring the bill to a vote on the House floor before the end of the congressional session, leading to its failure. It wasnt due to opposition or lack of support that it didnt get passed; it was a matter of timing, Thompson told Capital B.

I just think we just didnt have enough time to get it across the finish line. I would say that we had a little small thing  like a presidential election  that took a lot of time away from it, he said. A lot of us are still here, and we see the benefit of that program. Dont be disheartened. Im convinced that before the funding runs out, well have to reauthorize it.

There will be one opportunity to pass a bill before the final budget deadline on March 14.

Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said students need a broad educational experience. Every student should have access and opportunities and resources, and it shouldnt be determined by the ZIP code, she said. (Patrick Ryan for NEA)

How does the Secure Rural Schools program work?

For decades, the bipartisan Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act has compensated county governments surrounded by a large share of non-taxable national forest land. The system was originally designed so that certain communities received a share of timber sales generated from national forest lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service. However, in the 1990s, timber sales significantly declined, and these communities, which had relied heavily on this revenue, began to face financial strain.

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In response, Congress created the Secure Rural Schools program in 2000. This initiative replaced the previous revenue-sharing model, ensuring these communities and school districts continued to receive a stable funding source, even though they could no longer generate revenue from the timber sales on nearby federal lands.

Over the past 10 years, the Forest Service has distributed $2.4 billion through the program. The funding continues to plateau and fluctuate by county. In fiscal year 2010, lawmakers allocated more than $415 million, whereas the most recent amount is $232 million.

Advocates are calling for a more permanent funding solution for these rural areas, rather than relying on a two-year authorization, said Tara Thomas, government affairs manager of the American Association of School Administrators.

It is unfair to put superintendents and schools and communities in this position of where theyre constantly fighting for what, frankly, they deserve, Thomas said. This isnt a handout. This isnt someone  being reliant on the federal government. This is something that they are owed because they are unable to generate revenue any other way because of the federal government.

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Ann Levett, assistant executive director of the Leadership Network for the American Association of School Administrators, expressed that the funding mechanisms are antique and inadequate.

Even though people think we have too much, we simply do not collect enough tax money to meet all of the needs that are laid at the foot of the schoolhouse door, she said. If we say that we value schools, which play a critical role in caretaking and in educating, then we ought to find ways to finance them at suitable and appropriate levels, and I have not  in my long career as an educator  seen any successful effort to do that.

Will Congress reauthorize the program under this administration?

Its likely the program could be reauthorized this year.

Looking back to 2016, funding for the program lapsed before resuming in 2017. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that GOP opposition in the House  similar to this past session  stalled progress on the bill. County payments returned to a revenue-based system, meaning they received payments based on revenue generated from fluctuating timber sales. In turn, they received significantly lower payments, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.

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Some lawmakers are making plans to get a bill passed.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state wrote House leadership to prioritize extending the SRS program. Congressional leaders such as Thompson of Mississippi and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, a sponsor of the bill, told Capital B they are committed to getting funds to rural counties.

This sad state of affairs due to congressional Republican failings is pointless and regrettable. But I am committed to working with anybody, anywhere, at the start of the new year whos serious about reauthorizing these vital investments ASAP for rural communities in Oregon and nationwide, Wyden wrote in a statement.

Despite this push, Brown, the educator in Mississippi, urged legislators to look at funding through the eyes of what type of society am I trying to build when making crucial decisions that impact students and their communities.

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If youre in the rural area and youre just trying to have broadband so that the kids can have access to the internet, you need as many funds as you can get to give the students the type of society that you want to create, or the type of legacy that you want to leave, Brown said.

The post Congress Failed to Renew a Critical Funding Program for Rural Schools appeared first on Capital B News.
A staff photo taken outside the Hartford Courant headquarters on the occasion of the newspaper's 250th anniversary in 2014. (Photo courtesy of Joseph F. Nunes)

This commentary first appeared on CT Mirror and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The impending auction of the Hartford Courants longtime home at 285 Broad St. is a testament to an unmitigated greed that has ended the storied newspapers physical presence in the city it had always called home.

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The occasion warrants a review of how such a historic treasure has become essentially homeless while its owners reap millions, operating as their own oligarchy.

The Courant  the nations oldest continuously published newspaper  had maintained a Hartford footprint since 1764, when founder Thomas Green led a team of oxen from New Haven to Hartford, dragging a printing press discarded by his former boss, Benjamin Franklin.

The newspaper quickly grew into a vital force in the city through seven successive relocations, culminating in its move to 285 Broad St. in 1951. It was the perfect move at the right time, positioning the Courant for tremendous growth during the boom years after World War II. The easy access to the new East-West Highway (now I-84) gave the traditionally conservative Courant delivery advantages that soon allowed it to overtake its liberal-leaning rival, the Hartford Times.

The Courant paid $500,000 for the so-called Terminal Building in 1945, historical accounts show. It would take five years to get the site ready.

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The building already had an interesting history. It was built in 1929 for L&H Motors, a distributor for the initially popular Hupmobile, which soon fell out of favor because of production issues. Heublein Inc. moved its headquarters there in 1933, when the liquor manufacturers fortunes rose with the repeal of Prohibition. It produced cocktail lines there for five years before moving to 330 New Park Ave.

The Hartford Courant building on Broad Street as it appeared in the 1960s.

The Courants new home formally opened on March 4, 1951, drawing Gov. John Lodge, top state and city officials and local celebrities. Thousands of area residents toured the plant during a month-long open house.

It was at 285 Broad St. that the Courant blossomed as an innovative, beneficent, family-like business that enjoyed steady growth and journalistic excellence.

The Courants success at the time was largely due to the leadership of Col. John R. Reitemeyer, who started inauspiciously as a campus correspondent at Trinity College in 1917 and rose to publisher in 1947.

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Reitemeyer foresaw that local news in the fast-growing suburbs was critical to the Courants success. So he invested heavily in expanding the regional news operations throughout the state. The Hartford Times, an afternoon paper still ensconced in the inner city, tried to catch up but was checkmated by the emergence of TV news and delivery trucks stuck in rush-hour traffic.

But perhaps the key to the Courants growth was the employees all-for-one work ethic and shared mission, enhanced by the opportunity to become company shareholders.

Reitemeyer helped nurture that teamwork through a Voting Trust Agreement for the purpose of encouraging greater employee ownership and maintaining the benefits of local management of the company, as a Courant prospectus later described it.

Such a noble effort seems so ironic now.

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The Voting Trust, adopted Sept. 22, 1947, put Courant employees first in line to buy available shares of the companys restricted common stock. There soon followed a profit-sharing plan that provided annual bonuses, an education assistance plan, a defined-benefit pension plan and other benefits.

The Courant had become a model workplace.

It is men and not machines which make a newspaper, and a newspaper becomes great only through the loyalty, the devotion and the ability of [its employees], publisher Reitemeyer said in 1948, at the inaugural meeting of the Thomas Green Club, for employees with 25 or more years of service.

The Courant became an indispensable part of the regions social fabric, not only thorough its news coverage but in how it helped thousands of carriers grow into responsible adults.

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I was one of those paperboys whose morning route taught me about human nature, community, perseverance, how to make ends meet. And starting in 1970, as a journalism intern from Northeastern, I couldnt have found a better place to ply my trade than my hometown newspaper.

I viewed our collective work at The Courant as a vital social service, the proverbial beacon of democracy cutting through the fog, especially in the wake of Watergate. We kept readers informed about everything, from mundane school lunch menus to scintillating scientific breakthoughs, from late-night zoning meetings to municipal corruption scandals.

We all felt the grandeur of the Courants unique history  Older than the nation, as new as the news, as the slogan went. In the newsroom, we spoke truth to power, always striving to root out the truth, with malice toward none, as legendary sportswriter Bill Lee titled his column.

Every day there would be something in the newspaper, however innocuous, that would change peoples lives, I often reminded colleagues. And that would be validated time after time.

An editor reads a report on the attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

The end began inauspiciously when longtime editorial page editor Bill Foote died in 1976. His estate had to sell back its 22,500 Courant company shares, as stipulated in the 1947 Voting Trust Agreement. For most employees, myself included, it was the first opportunity to become a company shareholder, at the reappraised price of $33 a share.

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The response was huge. For the first time, the number of individual shareholders nearly tripled, exceeding 500. But that also created a conundrum, requiring the paper to make some financial data public, which made it a takeover target. Within months, media conglomerate Capital Cities Communications offered $133 per share.

After much internal wrangling, those who wanted to keep the paper employee-owned won a decisive vote in October 1978 over those who argued that they had a fiduciary obligation to maximize their return on investment. But then the pull of self-interest became irresistable.

Within eight months, Times Mirror Corp., publisher of newspapers that included the Los Angeles Times, made its own offer  $200 per share. Courant shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of accepting the offer, and several longtime employees became instant millionaires. It wasnt necessarily greed coming into play, Courant editor Richard S. Mooney said. At that price? It was more: What kind of idiot am I to turn this down?'

Many shareholders believed it was in the Courants best interest to choose its own suitor, and most believed Times Mirror, with its dedication to top-quality journalism and deep pockets, was the best possible outcome.

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On the business side, Times Mirror quickly increased the Courants advertising rates, which were among the lowest in the country. With the demise of the Hartford Times in 1976, Courant advertisers had nowhere else to go, was the prevailing sentiment. Gotcha! as one Times Mirror executive put it.

Times Mirror soon brought in editor Mark Murphy to streamline the Courant, helped by carloads of Beach Boys who rode in with him. Murphy closed most of the local news bureaus in an effort to give the Courant more gravitas as a national newspaper. It backfired. Scores of picketers marched outside 285 Broad St. protesting the Un-Hartford Courant, and Murphy was soon gone.

I was one of those paperboys whose morning route taught me about human nature, community, perseverance, how to make ends meet. And starting in 1970, as a journalism intern from Northeastern, I couldnt have found a better place to ply my trade than my hometown newspaper.

Times Mirror then lured editor Michael Davies, 39, from Kansas City. The British-born, Georgia-raised journalist immediately spent millions rebuilding the local news network with a mix of trusted Kansas City chiefs and homegrown talent.

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The Courant soon excelled in photography, design and depth of coverage. It won two Pulitzers Prizes and a host of national and international awards. And The Courant was pouring much of the profits back into the business, including a $27 million expansion in 1984-85 featuring state-of-the-art offset presses. For years employees got annual bonuses at or near six weeks pay.

Newspaper profits were at an all-time high, until the unrelenting advertising rate hikes hit a tipping point industry-wide. They spawned an online competitor called Craigslist, and huge chunks of newspaper revenue evaporated. The dawn of the internet brought similarly dark clouds on the threshold of the new century.

Financial troubles began brewing in Los Angeles, rippling through Hartford. And greed reared its head. Dissatisfied members of the Chandler family ownership group wanted to cash out before their fortunes sagged under foundering CEO Mark Willes, whom they had brought in from General Mills. When Tribune Company obliged by acquiring Times Mirror for $8 billion in 2000, the Chandlers bid Willes cheerio and raked in billions.

Eventually, plummeting profits, despite constant staffing cuts, led to Tribunes disastrous sale to private equity mogul Sam Zell for $8.2 billion in 2007. An avid biker, Zells tenure had the Courant enduring one vertiginous wheelie after another before the wheels came off in 2008, when Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy.

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As the Chicaco Tribune later reported, Tribune executive got nearly $150 million in cashed-out stock and other payments, while the company was saddled with a $13 billion debt. Courant employees started wearing a T-shirt that said The Chairman of the Board walked off with $41 million and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.

The convoluted proceedings in 2012 led to senior debt holders assuming control of Tribunes properties, including the Courants building at 285 Broad St. When Tribune Co. spun off its newspapers to form Tribune Publishing, the Courant was forced to pay rent for what had been its own property, including for use of the presses.

Tribune Publishing was rebranded as tronc from 2016-18 under chairman Michael Ferro, himself a venture capitalist, before he sold his 25 percent share to the hedge fund Alden Global Capital in November 2019 for $117.9 million. Alden Global Capital, a division of Smith Management LLC, went on to buy the rest of Tribune Publishing for $635 million in May 2021. It has become the nations second-largest newspaper ownership group after Gannett, with more than 200 newspapers, including the Courant.

Hedge funds like Alden, with their cutthroat business practices, were the sharks that smelled blood in the water and struck, transforming the debt to equity and then dismantling the newspapers piece by piece, journalism academic Margot Susca writes in Hedged: How Private Investment Funds Helped Destroy American Newspapers and Undermine Democracy.

These new owners have turned their backs on what Susco sees as the raison detre of newspapers, serving democracy, in pursuit of unrelenting greed. Its gotten to the point where the ultrawealthy investor class now controls most of the nations newspaper properties through such hedge funds or private equity firms, she says.

The current owner of the Courant property is listed as 285 Broad Street Hartford LLC, which is part of Alden Global Capitals real estate division, Twenty Lake Holdings, as reported Dec. 16 by the Hartford Business Journal.

The shell company took title shortly after the Courants physical presence in Hartford ended on Dec. 27, 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic. Thats when then-owner Tribune Publishing shuttered the newspapers offices, forcing employees to work from home. (WTIC-TV, Fox 61, has remained as a tenant in the mostly unoccupied property.)

The heart of the Hartford Courant  its thundering presses  was metaphorically ripped out in early 2022, when a work crew cut a hole in the side of the pressroom and perfunctorily removed the dismantled press machinery, which reportedly was sold for scrap.

But the final nail on the Courants historic run at 285 Broad St. may well be hammered Jan. 27-29, when the property, as listed on the auction website Ten-X, will be auctioned off, with an opening bid of $700,000.

Joseph F. Nunes worked in the Courant newsroom for 38 years, as a reporter, a state desk editor, city editor and copy desk chief. His updated history of The Courant ran in the newspapers 250th commemorative edition in October 2014.

This article first appeared on CT Mirror and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Jan. 27Construction is underway and will continue throughout 2025 on the rehabilitation of the decades-old Armco/AK Steel Research building in Middletown that when completed will be the combined home of several area ceramic refractory plants.

City and company officials gathered Friday for a groundbreaking at the art deco-style building on Curtis Street that will house EI Ceramics.

The company will combine its Sharonville and Fairfield operations in Middletown  all under one roof. The building will be renovated to accommodate the manufacturing and operational needs of the company.

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EI Ceramics President Ian Proudfoot thanked the city's economic development staff who "took us around to all the available property ... were extremely knowledgeable, professional and always ready to assist and help."

The building opened in 1937. It was a critical piece in the operation and sustainability of the steel industry in Middletown that took off with the founding of the American Rolling Mill Company (Armco) in 1899 and building the steel mill now operated by Cleveland-Cliffs, according to city officials.

The vacant building and property was purchased by the city in 2021. The facility has been vacant since 2018 and has been the target of vandalism and copper theft. Ongoing renovation includes asbestos abatement, removal of universal waste, and interior demolition, preparing the site to be transformed into the EI Ceramics manufacturing site, producing flow control products for the steel industry.

"Going forward in the city of Middletown, we will focus on company growth, a constantly evolving product range, and improved operating efficiencies. Taking this wonderful old building and giving it a new lease on life," Proudfoot said.

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EI Ceramics officials approached the city in 2023 concerning the purchase of the 9.5-acre property to consolidate into one location bringing about 70 jobs to the city, according to officials. The purchase price is $225,000, which is what the city paid for it in June 2021.

Jim McIntosh, managing director of IFGL Refractories, which is EI Ceramics parent company, said the company will continue to grow its production.

"Steel is a strategic and vital and important industry for the United States. Middletown has a proud history in the steel industry ... this legacy continues today with Cleveland Cliffs," he said.

The company is investing $18 million to remediate and remodel the property to suit its operational needs, the city said. The company's consolidated workforce estimated annual payroll, once fully operational, is more than $4 million, according to a staff report.

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Last summer, council approved a job incentive creation grant between the city and EI Ceramics to start one year after the job creation period and last for four years. The amount returned to the company annually would be equal to 50 percent of the collected income taxes, according to Assistant City Manager Nathan Cahall.

The site also received $3.1 million from the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program to prepare the site for redevelopment, according to the governor's office.

The Curtis Street facility built by Armco Inc. more than doubled in size when it was remodeled in 1961.
A popular Raleigh restaurant reopened Sunday, a week after a fatal shooting shocked the community and led to a mass lockdown of the North Hills area.

Coquette Brasserie at 4351 The Circle at North Hills had been closed since Jan. 17, when Raleigh Police say executive chef George Colom walked into the restaurant and fatally shot a coworker. Colon turned the gun on himself and later died of his injuries.

On Saturday, Coquette announced reopening plans. For now, the restaurant said it will only be seating people who have reservations.

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With the strength of our Coquette family and the heartfelt support of our community, we will reopen for dinner service tomorrow, on Jan. 26 at 4 p.m., Coquette said on a post on Facebook. From all of us at Urban Food Group, thank you for your continued encouragement. We look forward to serving you again.

Shooting not a random incident

Urban Food Group owns Coquette and several other restaurants, including Vivace, also at North Hills.

Police say Colom walked into Coquette shortly before it opened for lunch on Jan. 17. He fatally shot Jonathan Mark Schaffer, a manager for Urban Food Group.

A bystander was also shot but was released from the hospital after suffering non-life threatening injuries.

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Police have not released a motive for the shooting, but said Colom and Schaffer knew each other and it was not a random incident.

Several schools were put into lockdown and businesses closed for the day as police flooded the area.
BOGOTA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday said he will not authorize the entry of U.S. military flights carrying deported Colombian migrants, which is part of a new immigration policy put into effect by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Noting that the United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals, Petro said in a post on X that Washington must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants.

"I cannot make migrants stay in a country that does not want them. But if that country returns them, it must be with dignity and respect for them and for our country. We will receive our compatriots in civilian planes, without treating them like criminals. Colombia must be respected," he said.

On his inauguration day on Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order that declared a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border, called for mass deportations of undocumented migrants, deployed military forces to the border and denied U.S. citizenship to those born to illegal immigrants. 
Correction officers union chief Benny Boscio has slammed the citys attempt to convince a federal judge to appoint DOC Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie as receiver over New York jails.

In a statement to members, Boscio called Maginley-Liddie a wolf in sheeps clothing for constantly bending to the will of the [federal] monitor time and time again.

Boscio, president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, wrote it is disingenuous for Magnley-Liddie to claim to part of the Boldest family while asking the court to give her power to change the union contract.

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The commissioner is pushing policies that will diminish our rights as union members rather than defend them, at a time when our members need the support of their commissioner and their agency the most, Boscio writes.

The Correction Department press office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The letter was sparked by a flurry of court filings late Friday evening, in which lawyers representing the Justice Department and the interests of people held in the jails laid out their proposal for a receiver  a court-appointed official who would be granted broad powers to run the beleaguered jail system.

The city, meanwhile, proposed Maginley-Liddie act as both commissioner and compliance director, or the citys version of a receiver. With those roles, the city proposed, she would serve both the mayor and the court over a five-year tenure, the filing said.

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The filings came in Nunez v. the City of New York, a class action lawsuit on violence and staff use of excessive force in the jails filed in 2011. Four years later, it led to the appointment of the federal monitor empowered to closely track problems in the jails and offer recommendations to fix them.

Nearly a decade later, the plaintiffs argue, the jails remain so dangerous that control needs to be taken from the citys hands. Last fall, Judge Laura Taylor Swain found the city in contempt of a range of court orders and directed the parties to file proposals for an independent receiver.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs say the receiver should be an outside person with the power to change DOC policies, run the disciplinary system, renegotiate union contracts, hire and fire staff and redeploy officers as necessary, the filing states.

The citys filing calls for similar powers and claims giving Maginley-Liddie the dual post is the most narrowly tailored, speedy and effective means of fixing the jails. The Daily News first reported on Dec. 11 the city was backing Maginley-Liddie for the post.

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In her tenure, both the Federal Monitor and the Court have recognized Commissioner Maginley-Liddies commitment to reform, collaboration, and transparency, said DOC spokeswoman Latima Johnson. The proposal is focused on maintaining and accelerating the Commissioners sustained progress to create safer more secure facilities for staff and those in our care.

But the plaintiffs immediately dismissed the proposal as convoluted and confusing.

The current Commissioner is obviously not an outside person, they wrote.

She has held top DOC leadership positions during a period when the jails became more violent and unsafe, DOC violated core provisions of the Nunez orders, and DOC failed to demonstrate diligent attempts to comply with the Contempt Provisions in a reasonable manner.

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Overall, they wrote, the citys proposal does little more than preserve the status quo when  the Department of Correction is in need of transformational change.

Meanwhile, last week, the city held a mandated hearing on the contract for the new borough jail for Manhattan to replace The Tombs, which is being demolished as part of the Close Rikers plan.

Under the timeline of the contract, the new Manhattan jail would be completed by 2032, the advocacy group Freedom Agenda said based on a review of the contract documents. The completion date is five years after the legally mandated closure of Rikers Island in 2027.

Mayor Adams spokeswoman Liz Garcia said that while his administration will always follow the law, it has become painfully clear that the plan approved under the last administration leaves open serious questions about the citys ability to keep New Yorkers safe. As Mayor Adams has said, we cannot be so idealistic that were not realistic about the timeline and cost of closing Rikers while also protecting public safety.

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We remain committed to completing the borough-based jails  which is what we must do to protect public safety  provide humane conditions for those in custody, and close the jail on Rikers Island in keeping with the law, Garcia added.

Mayor Adams says he will always follow the law, but is clearly making no effort to do that, said Freedom Agenda co-director Darren Mack. With a blueprint already in place for the borough jail designs, there is no conceivable reason that the Manhattan jail should be completed five years after the legal deadline.

A spokesman for the city Department of Design and Construction, which is overseeing the project, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stand during his corruption trial Monday in Tel Aviv, defending himself against two aides after failing to get the hearing delayed.

Netanyahu has been facing bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges since 2019.

The prime minister, who had been leading the country in the war against Hamas, which is now under a cease-fire, said he never considered key state witness Nir Hefetz a "confidant" and was concerned about his connection with powerful Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper owner Arnon Mozes.

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The prime minister said he suspected Hefetz, his former communication aide, of leaks and fired him. Netanyahu said most of his former aides testifying against him were pressured to lie on the witness stand by prosecutors.

He blamed prosecutors for Hefetz's testimony against him.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday. Photo by Yariv Katz/UPI

"At first, I was very angry with him, but after seeing the torture he went through, I understood the circumstances in which he was forced to satisfy his investigators," Netanyahu said, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Netanyahu's attorney Amit Haddad often battled with judges over the questioning of the prime minister. Judge Moshe Baram pushed Haddad to ask more general questions of Netanyahu while Haddad argued that detailed questions were important in addressing the larger accusations of the charges.

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The court had postponed Netanyahu's testimony for two weeks following prostate surgery in late December. Haddad had argued to limit the days the prime minister could testify because he had not fully recovered from the operation, calling them "postoperative medical developments."

The court, however, rejected the request after reviewing Netanyahu's medical records, opting to give Netanyahu longer breaks during the testimony when needed.
Cotton plants are ready for harvest at farm in Lake View, Arkansas. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)

Well over half of Arkansas row-crop producers rely on a federal migration program to fill jobs on their farms, according to John McMinn, an Arkansas Farm Bureau commodity and economics specialist.

The nearly 40-year-old H-2A visa program authorizes migrants to legally work in seasonal agricultural jobs in the United States. The number of certified H-2A workers in Arkansas nearly doubled from 3,366 in 2008 to 6,056 in 2023, according to an Arkansas Farm Bureau report.

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Nationally, the number of approved H-2A jobs and visas increased by more than 50% from fiscal year 2018 through fiscal year 2023, with the U.S. State Department issuing nearly 310,000 H-2A visas in fiscal year 2023, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report.

Tyler Oxner, another Farm Bureau director of commodity activities and economics, said hes not concerned at the moment about the Trump administrations immigration plans because theyre mostly focused on illegal immigration.

Brooke Rollins, Trumps pick to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said shed like to make changes to the H-2A visa during her confirmation hearing Thursday, but didnt provide specifics.

More concerning, Oxner said, are the costs involved in obtaining the temporary work visas. Farmers Oxner has spoken to have said they wish Washington D.C. politicians would visit rural areas to see why the H-2A program is vital to Arkansas $16-billion agricultural sector, the states largest industry.

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Its a very important program to our farmers, Oxner said. Sometimes its getting too expensive to afford it, and so thats the biggest issue were facing right now.

The minimum wage farmers must pay H-2A workers is adjusted annually by the U.S. Department of Labor and is often higher than the federal and state minimum wages.

The current minimum in Arkansas is $14.83 an hour, more than the state minimum of $11 and the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. Host farmers also pay the visa application fees, which can run over $300, and must provide housing and transportation for the temporary workers.

Those costs come as farmers face dwindling profits because of low commodity prices and higher input costs, all of which can leave some producers with a difficult choice  scale back or shut down operations altogether.

Specialty crop impact

The cost of the H-2A program has hit specialty crop growers particularly hard, McMinn said. Manual labor is even more important for crops like fruit and vegetables that must be harvested by hand, he said.

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Hamburg and Warren in southern Arkansas are home to some of the largest specialty crop producers in the state, but farmers there are having to scale back production because they cant afford the labor, McMinn said.

Youre talking about a huge amount of cost that is breaking into their bottom line, and its kind of a scary thing, especially on the specialty crop side, he said. Fruits and vegetables, local foods, weve had a lot of big movement and progress over the last ten years of trying to promote local foods and getting people interested in it, but now were potentially looking at growing less.

Oxner said its a misconception that migrant labor is cheaper and that those workers take Americans jobs.

The reality is quite different, Oxner said. obviously if you could pay somebody $11 an hour to come work out on your farm, youd pay them the $11 instead of paying somebody else to come in and fly them in for $15 an hour. Its just simple, and [politicians dont] seem to understand that.

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The H-2A application fees include a $190 consulate fee, $6 border stamp fee and $100 agent fee per worker, according to the USDA. If farmers seek help with the annual application process, there are costs associated with hiring a firm to handle the paperwork.

Generational relationships

William Mencer, a fourth-generation farmer in rural north Chicot County, said his family was an early adopter of the H-2A program in Arkansas, bringing migrant workers to their southwest Arkansas farm in the late 1980s or early 90s. His great-grandfather began farming there in the 1930s.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 authorized an H-2 nonimmigrant visa status for foreign workers coming to the U.S. to perform temporary services, according to a Congressional Research Service report. The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act amended the law to subdivide the program into its current H-2A agricultural worker program and H-2B nonagricultural worker program.

The H-2A program is managed by the Department of Labor, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the State Department, and there are no annual limitations to the number of H-2A workers that may be admitted to the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security.

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As Mencers family shifted from farming cattle to row crops like soybeans, rice and cotton, he said his grandpa took advantage of the H-2A program to help with the more intensive labor because the workforce pool was lacking in rural Chicot County.

Mencer said his family farms around 6,000 acres and could not manage that scale without the H-2A program.

Mencer left his hometown to attend law school, but upon returning to the family farm, the labor issues havent gone away and have likely worsened, he said.

It really is a real problem. I got all these jobs out here that need to get done, but nobody that wants to [do them], he said. Id love to hire somebody from my own community, thats really what Id prefer to do because I like to see my local community thrive.

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In addition to working on the farm, Mencer also practices law and runs a separate H-2A firm that serves clients in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, filling a need in the region, he said. Many clients are downsizing because farm economics are tough right now with the high cost of chemicals and seeds and the low prices being paid for crops, he said.

Farmers are losing money in their operationsthey dont have the money to maintain their labor force or definitely not grow it, he said. Some farmers are having to make really tough decisions this year as to whether or not they can even keep their labor and keep their farms in operation. Its a sad year.

Mencers family is in the process of applying for visas for seven migrant workers for the 2025 season. Many of the foreign workers have returned annually, including one who originally came on an H-2A visa before Mencer was born and has since obtained his permanent U.S. residency.

Over the years, the migrant workers have become extended family, so much so that some joined Mencer as pallbearers at his grandmothers funeral last year.

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They like us, we like them. Theyre part of the team, he said. I think it works great for everybody.

Like Oxner, Mencer is hopeful the H-2A program wont be negatively impacted by the Trump administration, which he expects to focus on illegal immigration.

Hopefully itll be okay, but the policies are always changing, he said. You got to be on your toes.

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Costco announced it is switching from Pepsi products at its food court to Coca-Cola, according to reporting from USA Today, with the change affecting 17 locations in Michigan.

The announcement was revealed in a shareholder meeting Thursday at which the warehouse retail giant rejected an anti-DEI proposal.

"This summer we will be converting our food court fountain business back over to Coca-Cola," Costco CEO Ron Vachris said during the meeting.

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The company switched from Coca-Cola to Pepsi products in its food courts in 2013 to maintain the price of its $1.50 hot dog combo, according to reporting from CNN.

The company did not say when the switch would take place.

Related: Are Costco Teamsters going on strike? Here's what to know in Michigan

Where does Costco have stores in Michigan?

There are 17 Costco locations throughout Michigan. Costco warehouses can be found in the following cities across the state:

East Lansing, 2540 E. Saginaw Hwy.

Grand Rapids, 5100 28th St. SE

Wyoming, 4901 Wilson Ave. SE

Kalamazoo, 5100 Century Ave.

Midland, 4816 Bay City Road

Traverse City, 125 E. South Airport Road

Green Oak Township, 6700 Whitmore Lake Road

Shelby Township - Lakeside, 45460 Market St.

Livonia, 20000 Haggerty Road

Livonia, 13700 Middlebelt Road

Commerce Township, 3000 Commerce Crossing

Ann Arbor, 771 Airport Blvd.

Bloomfield, 2343 S. Telegraph Road

Auburn Hills, 400 Brown Road

Southfield, 21110 Northwestern Hwy.

Roseville, 27118 Gratiot Ave.

Madison Heights, 30550 Stephenson Hwy.

What is available at the Costco food court?

The website, Eat This, Not That, lists a variety of food items available at the Costco food court, including the longtime $1.50 hot dog and drink special, which has been offered since 1985.

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More: Costco announces 2025 stores, including 1 in Michigan. Where to find the new warehouse

Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Coca-Cola products will be sold at Michigan Costco locations
Blake Lively and Justin Baldonis legal battle doesnt look likely to end any time soon.

A little more than five weeks have passed since Lively, 37, initially filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department alleging Baldoni, 41, her It Ends With Us costar and director, sexually harassed her on set and then retaliated with a smear campaign after she spoke up.

Since then, Baldoni has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, which first published Livelys allegations; Lively filed a formal lawsuit against Baldoni, two colleagues at his production company Wayfarer as well as his publicists; and Baldoni sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicist, claiming that Lively was the one to smear him and that she plotted to take control of the film and its promotion.

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As Lively and Baldonis legal teams prepare for a Feb. 12 pretrial court date stemming from their lawsuits, PEOPLE spoke with legal expert Gregory Doll  a lawyer and partner at Doll Amir & Eley in Los Angeles who is not representing either party  to answer some burning questions.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in 'It Ends With Us.' Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in 'It Ends With Us.'

Could a trial be televised?

Not likely, since their legal battle is unfolding in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a federal court. By filing in federal court, they foreclosed the possibility that there will be any cameras in the proceedings, says Doll, pointing to strict rules largely prohibiting recording devices.

According to uscourts.gov, Judicial Conference policy does not allow either civil or criminal courtroom proceedings in the district courts to be broadcast, televised, recorded, or photographed for the purpose of public dissemination. Some pilot programs have allowed cameras in federal courts, but they are rare.

Noam Galai/Getty Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in 2022. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in 2022.

When is the earliest a trial would happen?

Doll doesnt foresee a trial until 2026. I would put 90% odds you're not going to see anything in 2025, says Doll, who anticipates a complicated and lengthy discovery phase (i.e. when parties exchange evidence and information related to the case).

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More information will likely come out at the Feb. 12 pretrial conference date  set by Lewis Liman, the judge overseeing the case  where both sides will hash out details of the case, including how many witnesses each side expects to depose and the timeline and length of the potential trial.

Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty Justin Baldoni on Dec. 4, 2024. Justin Baldoni on Dec. 4, 2024.

Will Justin and Blake come face-to-face at the next court date?

Lively and Baldoni wont necessarily have to see each other on Feb. 12, avoiding a potentially awkward or emotional encounter. Typically the parties themselves  meaning Blake Lively and Baldoni  would not need to show up in person at those, but the lawyers need to show up, explains Doll.

Related: The Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Lawsuits, Explained: A Complete Breakdown of the Allegations, Key Players and Who's Said What

Will Justin and Blake even go to trial?

Right now, both sides seem full steam ahead, but Doll expects a settlement to happen before they head to a trial. Ninety-two percent of all civil cases settle so odds are overwhelmingly that the case will settle, says Doll. Johnny Depp and Amber Heards 2022 defamation trial was the rare exception, he notes.

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With Baldoni and Lively, Ball says that there is a chance theres enough emotion on both sides and enough concern by the parties to actually publicly litigate their grievances.



Read the original article on People
The Trump administration's suspension of all communications at the National Institutes of Health and cancellation of grant-review meetings is threatening scientific research across the country, three Maryland Democrats warned in a letter Monday.

"We write to express our grave concerns about actions that have taken place in recent days that potentially disrupt lifesaving research being conducted and supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)," states the letter, signed by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Sen. Angela D. Alsobrooks, D-Md., and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "Without quick corrective action, the consequences of further disruption could be disastrous for both medical progress in America and our nations overall standing and competitiveness on the world stage."

Last week, many scientists expressed alarm that the Trump administration had suspended most operations at NIH, which provides grants for scientific research at universities across the country. The suspension means no research grants are being reviewed; experts have warned that even a short delay could derail ongoing studies and hinder major research institutions' ability to plan for the coming year, coming just as universities are admitting their next round of PhD students. NIH is also prohibited from hiring amid a government-wide effort to purge federal employees perceived as disloyal to Trump.

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NIH, based in Bethesda, Maryland, has a budget of more than $47 billion and is a key driver of scientific research. But it has been targeted by the conservatives, who generally oppose scientific research that exposes the extent of climate change or addresses questions related to gender and human sexuality. Project 2025, the far-right policy agenda for the second Trump administration, proposes replacing NIH's scientific research funding with block grants to states.

In addition to NIH, scientists have reported that that the National Science Foundation, a government agency that also disperses research funding, has also canceled activities.

In their letter, addressed to the acting director of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Maryland lawmakers warn that Trump risks doing lasting damaging to NIH and the country as a whole.

"NIH attracts our nation's brightest scientists, physicians, health care providers, and other experts but, with these crippling blows to its mission and without sufficient staff going forward, NIH will be unable to realize its vital mission," the letter states.
January marks Cervical Health Awareness Month. Around 11,500 Americans are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in 2022, over 4,000 people died from the disease despite it being considered highly preventable.

White women are more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer than any other group, CDC data shows. However, a 2022 study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found greater rates of diagnosis were mostly due to higher levels of screening. Black women have the lowest screening rates, the study found, "strongly driven by insurance and site of care, underscoring the value of addressing systemic inequity."

For decades, a Pap smear has been the standard way to detect cervical cancer. The uncomfortable and, for some, painful procedure entails using a small brush or spatula to lightly scrape the cervix to gather cells. Cells are then examined under a microscope for precancers or other abnormalities. This procedure also tests for the human papillomavirus, which can cause cell changes on the cervix that lead to cancer if not treated early.

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But soon, a self-swab approved in May 2024 by the Food and Drug Administration might help people avoid the invasive procedureand save lives. Patients will be able to use an at-home kit to swab their vaginal walls and send it to a lab to be tested for HPV. It's part of the National Cancer Institute's Cervical Cancer 'Last Mile' Initiative, which will study the accuracy and effectiveness of self-testing at 25 clinical sites nationwide. Participant enrollment began this past summer.

"Self-collection can expand access to screening and reduce barriers, which will give more people the opportunity to detect, treat, and ultimately survive cancer," Karen E. Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society, said in a press statement after the announcement.

Northwell Health partnered with Stacker to explore disparities in cervical cancer deaths and what a new testing mechanism could mean for prevention. Data is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Editor's note: Pap smears are a cervical cancer screening tool and are recommended for people with cervixes, not all of whom identify as women. In this article, we have used gender-neutral terms when possible. We use gendered language in the characterization of data to stay true to how sources collected and presented the information.

Photo illustration by Elizabeth Ciano // Shutterstock

An opportunity to improve screening rates

Early detection is the key to preventing cervical cancer deaths. Yet, data spanning June 2016 to May 2019 published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in October 2023 suggests that only two-thirds of at-risk people are up-to-date on screenings. For Black people, that number drops to about half.

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One factor that impacts screening rates includes whether people have insurance coverage. A 2022 KFF Women's Health Survey found that 42% of uninsured women had received a cervical cancer screening in the past year, compared to 64% with private insurance and 56% of those with Medicaid. However, even when screening rates are equal, disparities in care and delays in treatment have contributed to lower survival rates among those who are diagnosed with cancer.

Within the health care system, racial bias and discrimination contribute to disparities in mortality rates. Differences in the quality of screening techniques and a lack of representation of people of color in the development of screening guidelines and clinical trials are just a few forms of systemic bias.

Research from the American Cancer Society released in January 2020 showed that even when adjusting for age, sex, and stage of diagnosis, Black people are 33% more likely to die from cancer than white patients. For American Indians and Alaska Natives, the risk of dying from cancer is 51% higher.

Where a patient lives can also affect screening rates. In 2022, less than half of rural residents received a Pap smear in the prior year, compared to about 2 in 3 urban residents, according to another study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which looked at data from 2019 to 2022.

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The hope is that self-collection will improve screening rates among underserved populations in the U.S. Similar strategies have been adopted in Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands to much success. In Australia, more than 315,000 people have opted to self-collect since an initiative was launched in 2022. By March 2024, more than 1 in 4 screenings were done using collection kits in Australia.

Northwell Health

Racial disparities require more than one solution

In 2022, there were about 21 cervical cancer deaths for every million women living in the United States, according to the CDC. Broken down by race, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have the highest rates of cervical cancer deaths in the U.S.

Again, lack of access to quality care plays a role. Because Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders get tested less frequently, they are more likely to receive a late-stage cancer diagnosis, according to American Cancer Society research. This is particularly true among Native Hawaiians. While screening rates are generally similar across the state of Hawai'i, in 2022, just 79% of Native Hawaiian women between 25 and 65 years old were up-to-date on cervical cancer screenings, compared to 88% of white women.

The problem is most acute in the six U.S. territories in the Pacific Islands, which includes Guam, American Samoa, and the Federated States of Micronesia, according to data analysis on more than 400 cervical cancer cases published in 2024 in JAMA Oncology. Researchers found nearly 7 in 10 cervical cancer cases were diagnosed at a late stage from 2007 to 2020.

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Black and Indigenous women also have elevated death rates from cervical cancer due to a lack of follow-up care after an abnormal screening. While insurance coverage and socioeconomic factors are at play, medical distrust also plays a role. This is particularly true in the field of gynecology, which the medical community built on the backs of enslaved people in the Antebellum South.

J. Marion Sims is widely credited with developing many of the modern-day tools still used in gynecology today, including the speculum, a hinged tool inserted into the vagina and expanded to get a better view of the cervix. The first version was made of bent metal spoons, which Sims used while examining enslaved people in Montgomery, Alabama.

In recent years, many have reevaluated Sims' legacy in the field, largely due to the inhumane treatment of his Black patients, whom he rarely gave anesthesia during painful procedures. His studies reinforced the false belief that Black patients have higher pain thresholds, leading to pain being dismissed and downplayed even today.

This history is a testament to the importance of culturally competent care, the ability to communicate and collaborate with people from different backgrounds and understand how their identity and culture play a role in their views and understanding of health care A case study of 40 Black and Hispanic women in Texas found when provided with culturally competent education and a self-sampling kit for HPV, screening rose from about 6 in 10 to 9 in 10 among both groups.

Northwell Health

Improving preventative care across the country

In the Lower 48, cervical cancer deaths are higher in states with large uninsured populations and a high percentage of Black residents.

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In Mississippi, which has the highest poverty rate in the nation, there are about 4 cervical cancer deaths per 100,000 women. The state health department's Breast and Cervical Cancer Program provides free Pap screenings at some clinics for uninsured people between the ages of 40 and 64. Kentucky, which has the third-highest cervical cancer rate in the country, runs a similar program for those 21 and older who do not have insurance and whose household income is less than 250% of the federal poverty level. Over 16% of the state's population lives below the poverty line.

However, while self-screening will undoubtedly increase early detection, it is just one factor in curbing cervical cancer deaths. Other preventative measures need improvement, including HPV vaccination rates, which have proven to be one of the most effective tools in reducing cervical cancer.

Globally, cervical cancer rates are higher in low- and middle-income countries. In 2020, the World Health Organization launched the Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative, which includes the goal of vaccinating 90% of girls worldwide for HPV by the age of 15.

Self-exams don't replace pelvic exams, and encouraging follow-up appointments after an abnormal test is also important. A study of more than 160,000 women in New Mexico published in Preventative Medicine found that between January 2015 and August 2019, only half who tested positive for cancer-causing HPV cells followed guidelines and received a biopsy within six months. Three in 10 had not followed up within 18 months.

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While it's clear continuous care and monitoring are necessary to prevent cervical cancer deaths, a holistic approach valuing the importance of self-care in cancer prevention is also vital.

Story editing by Alizah Salario. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.

This story originally appeared on Northwell Health and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Photo: Getty Images

In 2023, a pair of North Carolina senators introduced a bill that would have required the state to study cell phone policies across schools.

Its goal: to understand how districts were policing students use of phones during the day, and how they impacted learning, safety and cyberbullying.

The bill failed to gain traction, and the study never materialized. Two years later, as the General Assembly prepares to begin the 2025 session in earnest, those senators are ready to bypass the research stage.

Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Harnett). Photo: NCGA

Im well beyond the thinking that we need to do a study, said Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Harnett). I think we need to take action.

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Burgin and Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D-Wake) are drafting a bill that would create statewide guidance for districts. The final details are still fluid, but Burgin said he is pushing for a total ban on phones in schools for students in fifth grade and younger  and restrictions from bell-to-bell, or the entire school day, for students older than fifth grade (and potentially also teachers).

That could mean using products like Yondrs locking pouches, designed to keep phones secure but inaccessible in specific places like classrooms. (Costs are a factor  Burgin roughly estimated that under his proposed system, the amount of pouches needed would cost the state about $5 million.)

The pair have spoken with parents, teachers, board members and clinical psychologists as they develop the bill. And this past weekend, lawmakers gathered at a retreat with the Hunt Institute to discuss a range of educational issues  including cell phone use.

Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D-Wake). Photo: NCGA

Weve seen the impact that cell phones have on kids, in terms of deterring kids from spending more time outdoors, Chaudhuri said. Weve seen studies that show that cell phone use is distracting our kids in the classroom.

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Nineteen states have passed some form of policy on cell phones in schools  ranging from incentive programs for schools to full statewide restrictions.

Both senators said they expected the issue to garner bipartisan interest, including from the Republican leader of the Senate.

The use of cell phones in the schools is, in many respects, disruptive to the learning environment, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) told reporters on Jan. 8.

And the real question is, do we allow the local systems to adopt policies? Do we need to step in at the state level? Im sure well have conversations about that. I do actually think that we need to find a way to limit the availability of cell phones.

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Chaudhuri said members were also discussing the possibility of requiring the Department of Public Instruction to issue cell phone guidance to districts, rather than directly legislating it.

Catherine Truitt, the previous superintendent of public instruction, was opposed to a statewide ban on phones  preferring to leave the matter to districts.

The new superintendent Mo Green, a Democrat, said on the campaign trail that weve got to figure out ways to limit the access of cell phones in schools. But hes yet to declare his official stance.

Cell phones can be a powerful tool for expanding access to information, but they can also be a distraction for students in a classroom setting, Green said in a statement to NC Newsline. As I begin my tenure as state superintendent, I am engaging with educators, parents and students across our state to learn more about their experiences and opinions on this topic. After that engagement, I will offer my thoughts about this topic.

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Still, concerns remain about potential restrictions. Parents have argued that cutting off students access to their phones would prevent them from communicating during an emergency; tech advocates argue policing their use can also cut off new avenues of learning.

Some education groups are staying mum on the topic for now.

The Public School Forum, a North Carolina-based think tank, has not yet decided on a stance, senior director of policy and research Lauren Fox said. And the head of the North Carolina Association of Educators said the group would be participating in discussions with local district leaders and legislators.

Protecting student well-being is a top priority for NCAE during this state legislative session, President Tamika Walker Kelly said in a statement. Educators are well aware of the impact of social media on students mental health and the disruption cell phones can cause during the school day.

(Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Regulations for social media and minors

A proposal to ban social media apps from using minors data for algorithmic recommendations and advertising is also expected to return this session.

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The bill would also create a state task force for data privacy and allow the attorney general to investigate and potentially sue companies that violate it.

Sam Hiner, a UNC-Chapel Hill student who leads the Young Peoples Alliance, crafted the legislation last session and expects it to be reintroduced.

This is something thats more culturally understood, the harms of social media and how exactly these platforms are using manipulative design features to cause kids to spend more time online, Hiner said.

He said the group was having discussions with lawmakers to determine the exact details of the bill this session.

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Rep. Jeffrey McNeely (R-Iredell), who sponsored the bill last session, did not respond to an interview request.

The welcome screen for the OpenAI ChatGPT app is displayed on a laptop screen in a photo illustration. In the absence of federal action, states are increasingly striking out on their own to regulate artificial intelligence and other automated systems. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images.)

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Artificial intelligence

State governments across the U.S. are expected to continue grappling with A.I. this year  but Berger, the Senate leader, is urging major caution on a topic that he says has legitimate concerns.

Theres a lot of conversation about what it can do, what it might do, and what it does, he said earlier this month. I think we need to tread very carefully if were going to legislate in that area.

Models like OpenAIs ChatGPT are already creating sea changes within the workforce. And while President Donald Trump has signaled plans to support AI infrastructure, Pew Charitable Trusts named A.I. as one of its top state fiscal debates to watch this year.

Burgin is among those who are pushing for legislation in North Carolina addressing the industry. Hes previously said he planned to introduce legislation requiring disclosure of A.I. use; it remains to be seen what the specifics could look like.
WARSAW, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Auschwitz survivors and global leaders gathered at the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp in southern Poland to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its liberation.

The ceremony drew an array of international dignitaries, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda, along with representatives from approximately 60 countries and international organizations.

The main commemoration took place at 4 p.m. local time in a large tent erected near the iconic main gate of Auschwitz II-Birkenau, the largest of the extermination camps. Around 3,000 attendees, including Holocaust survivors, their families, and world leaders, joined to honor the victims and reflect on the horrors of the Holocaust.

Polish President Andrzej Duda paid tribute to the victims during the ceremony, emphasizing Poland's role in preserving these historical sites. "Poland takes care of those sites to protect the memory, to keep it alive, so people always remember," he said. Duda also highlighted that Jan. 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, established in 2005 by the United Nations General Assembly.

He added, "Today, we commemorate all those who were murdered during the Holocaust, including over 3 million Polish citizens of Jewish nationality who were killed by the Germans during World War II."

The Auschwitz concentration camp was established by the Nazis in 1940. At least 1.1 million people were murdered there. The camp was liberated by the Soviet Army on Jan. 27, 1945, a date now recognized globally as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 
The United Kingdom is a case study in what a country looks like when instead of targeting criminals or addressing the incentives for crime, the powers that be obsessively focus on tools criminals might use and tighten the screws on an entire society, innocent people included. That's how the country degenerated into a surveillance state that prevents its citizens from carrying the means of self-defense and punishes them for saying anything the authorities consider provocative. After a murderous attack by a violent, radicalized assailant, politicians have decided the problem is access to knives.

Ignore Our Failures, It's About the Knives

"Time and again, as a child, the Southport murderer carried knives. Time and again, he showed clear intent to use them," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote in a piece for The Sun about Axel Rudakubana, who admitted murdering three girls and injuring others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last year. "And yet tragically, he was still able to order the murder weapon off of the internet without any checks or barriers. A two-click killer. This cannot continue. The technology is there to set up age-verification checks, even for kitchen knives ordered online."

What Starmer mentioned but glossed over is that Rudakubana was three times referred to a program intended to divert people from radicalization and terrorism before authorities lost interest in him. At the time of his arrest, he had a copy of an Al Qaeda training manual, which led him to being charged and sentenced for terrorism. He also possessed the deadly poison ricin that he'd manufactured himself in sufficient quantity to conduct a mass attack.

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Rudakubana was a human bomb waiting to go off. But Starmer focused not on officials' failure to pay attention, but on knivesedged tools that are among humans' earliest and most important creations.

"Online retailers will be required to ask for two types of ID from anyone seeking to buy a knife under plans being considered by ministers to combat under-age sales after the Southport murders," reports Charles Hymas of The Telegraph. "Buyers would have to submit an ID document to an online retailer and then record a live video or selfie to prove their age."

It's difficult to see how an ID check is going to stand between those planning mayhem and tools first crafted 2.6 million years ago in their most primitive form and still used by people every day. My dentist forges knives in his backyard for fun. One of my nephews turns files into knives on a grinding wheel. Scraping an appropriate material against a stone will give you an edge and a point. ID checks don't seem like a barrier to people with bad intentions and the ability to make ricin in their bedrooms.

A Case History in Ridiculously Restrictive Policies

This is why the U.K. strikes many Americans as the reductio ad absurdum of policies that demonize objects rather than targeting bad actors. Opponents of authoritarian laws ask: What will the authorities do once they've made firearms difficult to legally acquire, and crime continues? Will they ban knives?

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The answer from the U.K., which already has restrictive gun laws, is yes, they will ban knivesor at least impose access and carry restrictions and consider forbidding blades to have points. The result has been a black market in smuggled and illicitly manufactured firearms that will inevitably extend to knives. Harmless people are now arrested for having Swiss Army knives in car glove compartment or for possessing locking knives on the way home from jobs that require them. And the country's crime problems continue to grow.

That's bad enough, but U.K. authorities, like those elsewhere, also prefer to surveil the entire population to detect anything they could call a danger to public order, rather than focusing on specific individuals harming others.

"There are now said to be over 5.2 million CCTV cameras in the UK," according to Politics.co.uk. "Surveillance footage forms a key component of UK crime prevention strategy," but "the proliferation of CCTV in public places has fueled unease about the erosion of civil liberties and individual human rights, raising concerns of an Orwellian 'big brother' culture."

The British government also monitors online activity to an extent that Edward Snowden deemed it "the most extreme surveillance in the history of western democracy."

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That surveillance turns up comments, jokes, and rants authorities just don't like. "Think before you post," the government warns people. "Content that incites violence or hatred isn't just harmful  it can be illegal." But the authorities enforce a broad definition of unacceptable material. People have been arrested for dressing as terrorists for Halloween, for making intemperate online remarks, and for just getting things wrong when posting on the internet (they'll need a big paddy wagon for that one).

Doubling Down on Authoritarian Laws

So, the U.K.'s creeping knife restrictions fit into the context of a government that would rather crack down on an entire society than address individuals who pose threats and laws that help to breed violent behavior while discouraging self-defense.

Axel Rudakubana, as mentioned, was considered at-risk for becoming radicalized and violent. He slipped through the cracks when government officials lost interest in him, and he did what everybody feared.

But the main danger isn't terrorism, it's run-of-the-mill violent criminals.

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Discussing the U.K.'s crime problem, University of Leeds criminal justice professors Toby Davies and Graham Farrell wrote last year that the "likely explanation is the illicit drugs market, which has become more competitive and more violent in the last decade." They went on to endorse restrictive knife laws and increased surveillance of the public with metal detectors, but a more sensible explanation would be removing the incentive for criminal gangs to battle over drug markets through legalization.

Britons are also forbidden to carry weapons to defend themselves. Incidentally using found objects for self-defense is allowable, but people can't so much as possess pepper spray with the intent to protect themselves. Britons have served long prison sentences for shooting home invaders.

Of course, criminals and terrorists don't really care what the law says. That leaves the main impact of the nanny/security state falling on people who intend no harm but want to speak freely, live without Big Brother's scrutiny, and defend themselves from the results of the government's failures.

Like all of us, Britons deserve a better, less intrusive government. That their officials are now in a frenzy over knives should be a warning to the rest of us of just how bad the state can get when it uses its own failures as excuses for extending its authoritarian reach.

The post Covering for Their Own Failures, U.K. Officials Blame Violent Crime on Access to Knives appeared first on Reason.com.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  Two people were found dead in a home in Pittsford Sunday night as crews responded to the Callingham Road residence for a reported fire, the Pittsford Fire Chief confirmed.

The fire was first reported around 8:30 p.m. at 82 Callingham Road. Additional crews responded to the scene after the second alarm was declared. Neighbors called the fire in, claiming two people inside the home were trapped, according to the chief. The identities of those who died were not immediately available. The chief told News 8 no one else was inside at the time.

(WROC/Ryan Hermenet)

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Multiple vehicles involved in crash on 590

Monroe County Sheriffs deputies were on the scene along with EMS and fire crews from Pittsford, Bushnells Basin, Brighton, and East Rochester. Callingham Road was closed to traffic but has since reopened.

HAPPENING NOW: Very heavy presence of Fire, EMS and Monroe County Sheriffs at a house on Callingham Road in Pittsford, part of a cul-de-sac off of Fairport Road. Well keep you updated as we learn more tonight on @News_8 at 11. pic.twitter.com/3TfSsDJO2D  Ryan Hermenet (@ryan_hermenet) January 27, 2025

The cause of the blaze is still under investigation by deputies and the Monroe County Fire Bureau.

This is a developing story, check back later for more details.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst.
Crews from multiple fire departments are currently battling a field fire near 170th Avenue and Illinois Routh 94, near Hamlet, Ill. in Mercer County. The Aledo and Reynolds Fire Departments are among the companies at the scene.

(Mike Colon)

This is a breaking news story and Our Quad Cities News will have more information as it becomes available.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
(COLORADO SPRINGS)  The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) crews deployed in Los Angeles to assist with the Palisades Fire are on their way home on Sunday, Jan. 26, according to CSFD.

Courtesy: Colorado Springs Fire Department

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: CSFD crew continues assisting in California fire relief

After two weeks in California, families and friends are looking forward to welcoming them back home.

Were grateful for the hard work and dedication of all firefighters who responded to the call for help when California needed it, said CSFD.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado.
A man was arrested on DUI and other charges on Sunday after crashing into a motorist on Route 8 in Waterbury, injuring four people, and driving off the highway and down an embankment.

Emergency crews responded to reports of the crash at 12:01 a.m. in the area of Exit 32 on Route 8 North, according to Connecticut State Police. Callers told police the driver involved was traveling very fast and had gone down an embankment after rear-ending a vehicle.

State police said troopers spoke with the two adults and two children in the vehicle that was struck, finding that they all suffered minor injuries. They were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

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Troopers then found the driver of the car that went off the embankment. State police said he was identified as Joselito Santiago, Jr., who turned 35 on Sunday. Santiago did not suffer any injuries and was able to get out of his vehicle on his own.

According to state police, Santiago was allegedly uncooperative and aggressive toward emergency crews, including firefighters and medics. He allegedly tried to flee the scene on foot but was quickly apprehended by troopers.

State police alleged that Santiago was unable to maintain his balance while walking up the embankment and nearly fell backwards multiple times. Troopers claimed that they could smell alcohol coming from his breath.

Santiago was asked to take field sobriety testing and initially was compliant. State police claimed that he refused to finish the first test and was arrested on charges of reckless driving, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs and interfering with an officer.

Santiago was held on a $10,000 bond before troopers learned that he was on parole. He was then held on a remand to custody order and was expected to go before a judge in Waterbury Superior Court on Monday.
Democrats are again trying to allow released felons to automatically regain their voting rights. (Photo by Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)

Weve been here before.

Frequently over the past few decades, Democrats in the General Assembly have sought to amend the Virginia Constitution to allow released felons to automatically regain voting and other civil rights. Changing the process could finally excise a racist clause thats been around more than a century and hearkens to the days of Jim Crow.

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The state Constitution disenfranchises people with felony convictions, unless the governor chooses to restore their rights or grant a pardon. Its a political process subject to the whims and grandstanding of whoever is the current chief executive.

The commonwealth is one of just three states whose constitution permanently disenfranchises all citizens with past felony convictions unless the governor restores it. Thats a damning distinction.

Its now deja vu all over again: Democrats narrowly control both chambers in the Virginia General Assembly, and a bid to amend the constitution has already passed both the House of Delegates and Senate this session. When Republicans control either chamber, they usually reject the proposal.

An amendment must pass the General Assembly in two consecutive years, separated by legislative elections. It then would go to state voters. Governors cannot veto proposed amendments.

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Were continuing to gain support  to create a more just and fair society for all, Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, D-Alexandria and the bills chief sponsor in the House, told me Thursday. She was a co-director of an Alexandria nonprofit that worked with formerly incarcerated women and survivors of domestic abuse.

State GOP legislators no doubt fear that more African-Americans voting would catapult more Democrats into elective office, since Black voters overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates. Thats a cynical political calculation, though, by Republican officeholders. Nor is it equitable.

Over 12% of Black Virginians are disenfranchised, one of the highest rates in the nation, according to a comprehensive primer the William and Mary Law School compiled last year on the issue. The historical paper on rights restoration should be mandatory reading for all 140 state legislators and Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Black Americans are treated more harshly at various stages in the criminal justice system than white Americans who commit the same crimes. That means Black people are more likely to run afoul of the felon provision in Virginia.

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Which was exactly the point.

A clause dating to the 1901-02 state constitutional convention, designed to keep Black people from the polls, has only slightly evolved over the years. Its also had the same effect. Because African-Americans still bear the brunt of penalties from police, prosecutors and the courts, they are disproportionately affected by Virginias biased, felon disenfranchisement policy.

Previous chief executives have ramped up the process of reinstating voting rights to released felons in Virginia. Not so Youngkin.

The Republican has even been opaque in explaining his reasoning or the process to winning reinstatement. Civil rights groups and individuals have filed lawsuits over this gubernatorial prerogative.

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I reached out to a Youngkin spokesman to see if hed urge fellow Republicans to get on board with the amendment. The spokesman didnt return my messages.

In my questions, I also noted that Youngkin supports a legislative proposal to provide state-financed scholarships for students to attend private schools, and that Youngkin said nearby states have similar policies. Shouldnt the governor follow that same reasoning on felon reinstatement of rights, since most surrounding states arent nearly so vengeful toward people who have done their time in prison and want to become full citizens again?

Its clear that if the amendment ever gets to Virginians, theyd probably approve it. Some 63% of registered voters either support or strongly support an amendment allowing automatic restoration of voting rights for felons who have finished their prison sentences, according to a poll released this month by the Wason Center at Christopher Newport University. The center surveyed more than 800 registered voters in Virginia.

A CNU poll in January 2024 found similar results on the same question, Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo, the centers research director, told me by email. Thats almost an exact turnaround from 1982, when Virginia voters rejected a comparable referendum question 63% to 37%.

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Are Virginians more progressive now? Could we simply be more empathetic, and understand that returning certain rights to onetime felons is equitable and can help reduce recidivism and improve communities?

Maybe the governor wants to keep a perk of the office that gives him immense control over the future of many peoples lives. If true, he should re-evaluate that power, given its discriminatory origins.

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A retired pastor at Dallas Highland Park United Methodist Church was arrested /after being accused of soliciting prostitution last October, officials with the church confirmed to WFAA-TV.

The pastor, 72-year-old John Fiedler, resigned from the church on Oct. 8, according to WFAA.

Fiedler turned himself in to Carrollton police on Oct. 31, according to copies of court filings.

His wife later informed one of the churchs senior ministers of her husbands outstanding warrant and Fiedlers intent to turn himself in, according to WFAA.

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The arrest was initially reported this week by The Roys Report, a blog focused on church accountability.

Fiedler was caught during a business inspection at a Carrollton massage parlor, according to a copy of the offense report obtained by The Roys Report.

Fiedler was held in the Carrollton municipal jail before being granted a writ of habeas corpus and released on bond, according to court documents.

Mark Lassiter, Fiedlers attorney, filed for the writ on the basis that Fiedler had no prior criminal history and had been diagnosed with dementia, according to the documents.
Feng Wenyu inspects the platform aboard the bullet train coded G113 at the Cangzhou West Railway Station in Cangzhou, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 24, 2025.

The Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is the world's largest annual human migration.

Feng Wenyu, a 25-year-old railway police officer from Tianjin railway police detachment of Beijing Railway Public Security Bureau, works diligently during this peak travel season.

For railway police officers, their duties involve not only maintaining train security and ensuring passenger safety during the journey but also handling various emergencies and offering assistance whenever they are needed.

Feng patrols the train carriages more often during the Spring Festival travel rush than before and raises safety awareness among passengers. Constant attention to details, understanding passenger needs and risk prevention are crucial aspects of her work.

The travel surge sees people return home and reunite with their families and friends. Thanks to the tireless contributions of frontline guardians like Feng, every journey home is made safe and smooth. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu interacts with a child aboard the bullet train coded G148 on Jan. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu marks the location of bulky baggage via a body-worn camera aboard the bullet train coded G113 on Jan. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu (L) talks with train conductor Wang Dong about passenger numbers aboard the bullet train coded G113 on Jan. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu checks police equipment at the Tianjin railway police detachment of Beijing Railway Public Security Bureau in Tianjin, north China, Jan. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu sees passengers off at the Langfang Railway Station in Langfang, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu (C) waits at the concourse of Tianjin West Railway Station in Tianjin, north China, Jan. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu helps a passenger while patrolling a carriage aboard the bullet train coded G113 on Jan. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu (3rd L) attends a meeting at the Tianjin railway police detachment of Beijing Railway Public Security Bureau in Tianjin, north China, Jan. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu patrols a carriage aboard the bullet train coded G8903 on Jan. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu patrols a carriage aboard the bullet train coded G148 on Jan. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu helps a passenger while patrolling a carriage aboard the bullet train coded G148 on Jan. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Feng Wenyu patrols a carriage aboard the bullet train coded G8914 on Jan. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)
A former member of the girl group Danity Kane, D. Woods has broken her silence on her interactions with disgraced music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.

During a recent interview, Woods shared details of her "troubling interactions" with the rapper.

She also partook in the Investigation Discovery documentary, "The Fall of Diddy," though the rapper's attorneys described the accusations against him in it as "pure fiction."

D. Woods Explains Why She Is Just Speaking Out Against Diddy

Instagram | D. Woods

Woods spoke to Eva Pilgrim of ABC in a sit-down interview that aired on Good Morning America on Monday.

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She explained her decision to speak out about her experiences now, saying, "I would say that this moment now is a time where I feel like my experience, my truth will really be heard and actually considered and believed."

The former member of Danity Kane, a group Diddy founded, said Diddy's positive image in society before now would have complicated things if she had spoken out earlier.

She said, "You know, he is looked at as a hero of our community, and myself included, I looked up to him too. So a lot of people don't want to believe that their hero can be this other person."

Woods Opens Up About The Working Environment Diddy Created

Instagram | D. Woods

During the interview, Woods revealed that the embattled rapper created a "verbally abusive work environment" for Danity Kane members.

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She shared, "He did it in different ways with all of us, you know, picking and prodding and just a way to chip and knock away, but then praise you."

The 41-year-old said she often felt objective due to her experiences with Diddy, adding, "Somebody constantly treating you like a piece of meat, only valuing you for your sex appeal."

Woods also recalled living in fear due to the working environment. She said, "In some of the environments, it was even scary to be by yourself."

When asked what she would say to Diddy if she had the chance to talk to him today, Woods said, "I honestly do not know, but I don't think you really have to say anything, as long as I'm holding my head up high and my shoulders back."

Diddy's Legal Team Responds To Documentary

MEGA

In addition to the interview, Woods will also recount her experiences in the upcoming documentary, "The Fall Of Diddy," which will air on January 27 on Investigation Discovery.

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However, Diddy's lawyers have responded to the documentary via a statement to Good Morning America.

The statement reads in part, "The producers failed to provide sufficient time or details for his representatives to address unsubstantiated claims, many from unidentified participants whose allegations lack context."

Diddy's attorneys also said, "By withholding this information, they made it impossible for Mr. Combs to present facts to counter these fabricated accusations."

They said Diddy was fully confident "in the facts and the judicial process, where the truth will prevail," before adding, "the accusations against him are pure fiction."

Diddy Sues One Of His Accusers

MEGA

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Since Diddy was arrested and charged with sex trafficking by force, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy, several persons have come forward with claims against him.

One of those who accused the "Last Night" rapper was Courtney Burgess, who claimed to possess alleged sex tapes involving him.

However, Diddy's attorneys filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Burgess, his lawyer, Ariel Mitchell, and media house, NewsNation.

Diddy claimed Burgess and Mitchell fabricated and amplified false allegations against him, including their claim of possessing alleged sex tapes of the rapper.

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He also alleged that Nexstar Media Group-owned NewsNation broadcasted the accusations without proper due diligence.

According to Diddy, their actions caused him significant economic and reputational harm and compromised his chances of having an unbiased jury when his trial begins in May.

Robert Shapiro Speaks On Diddy's Chances Ahead Of His Trial

"Every case in federal court is challenging." Robert Shapiro, O.J. Simpson's former lawyer, says Diddy has an uphill battle and reveals he believes Diddy will face more superseding indictments. ( joy.of.everything/TikTok) pic.twitter.com/zWkvYpXwTb  The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) January 21, 2025

O.J. Simpson's former lawyer, Robert Shapiro, shared his thoughts on Diddy's chances of success ahead of his trial.

In an interview shared by The Art Of Dialogue, Shapiro hinted that there would be more charges against Diddy.

He said, "You know, first of all, I think there's gonna be a different group of charges than what he's facing right now," and added, "Anytime you are in federal court, anytime you're not on bail, you have an uphill battle."

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When asked if Diddy had a "good fighting chance" of regaining his freedom, Shapiro replied, "Oh, there's always a chance. I mean, every trial you have a chance. You are going with the presumption of innocence."

However, he felt the odds against the music producer were many. Shapiro said, "But federal court New York, you are in custody...it's a tough, tough battle."
A daycare worker in Indiana faces charges after authorities say she admitted to slapping a child at work.

Joyce Perkins, 31, was charged with battery on a person under 14 years old in connection with the November 2024 incident at Kiddie Academy in Greenwood, Ind., according to court documents cited by WRTV, Fox 59 and WTHR. WRTV was first to report the news.

Police who responded to the scene reviewed surveillance footage they claim shows Perkins hitting a 2-year-old child. Perkins allegedly told investigators, I had to smack him because he spit all in my face, the documents state, per Fox 59. Perkins further claimed she wasnt trying to hurt the child, noting how the child didnt cry or nothing.

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Perkins was fired after the childcare center became aware of the alleged incident, the center's director, Aaron Pankratz, confirmed to WRTV.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The state licensing authority conducted a thorough investigation and confirmed that we responded appropriately and took every possible measure within our control to address the situation, the daycare center said in part, in a statement obtained by WRTV.

Its unclear if Perkins has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on her behalf. PEOPLE has also reached out to the Johnson County Prosecutor's office for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

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If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.



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WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  In honor of the Jewish victims who died during the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. is hosting its International Remembrance Day Commemoration.

Jan. 27, marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a time to remember six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the millions of other victims. This year is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Auschwitz memorial marks 80th anniversary of the death camps liberation

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According to the museums encyclopedia, it is estimated that at least 1.3 million people were sent to the Auschwitz camp between 1940 and 1945. Records show that about 1.1 million people were murdered.

Around the beginning of September 1941, the SS at Auschwitz conducted the first tests of Zyklon B as a mass murder agent. The success of these experiments led to the construction of a chamber.

The museums encyclopedia notes that of the three camps established near Oswiecim, the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp had the largest total prisoner population.

3 teens charged after shooting death of 14-year-old boy in Southwest DC

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In remembrance of the victims, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is hosting a series of events on Monday.

From 10 a.m. to 4:30 pm., numerous names will be read in the Hall of Remembrance. The museum said that attendees can listen to others read names or light a memorial candle. The museum said a special commemorative pin will be distributed to all visitors.

Also starting at 10 a.m., a live stream of the commemoration ceremony at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum will begin.

At 1 p.m. guests will have the chance to speak with Holocaust survivors before watching a special episode of the museums award-winning series in the Helena Rubinstein Auditorium.

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For more information about the museums events to recognize the Day of Remembrance, click here.

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DENVER (KDVR)  A Sunday morning raid of an Adams County makeshift nightclub tied to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang could be evidence the gang is moving around the Denver metro area after facing national attention in Aurora.

The Rocky Mountain Division of the Drug Enforcement Agency announced the raid Sunday morning in which several federal agencies seized, drugs, guns and money, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detained nearly 50 people living in the country illegally.

DEA Denver Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen told FOX31s Kasia Kerridge the raid showed them the gang may be trying to get out of the spotlight placed on Aurora.

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In the beginning, I think a lot of the focus was on the folks in Aurora, especially after the videos that came out on the internet. But, I think what weve seen is that, like any criminal organization, they morph. When they feel like there is pressure against them so they move to Denver, they move to Littleton; they move to wherever they feel like they can get away from where the pressure is and so I think thats what weve seen here  Im not saying theyre not in Aurora, but I think theyve moved around to other places to take some of the heat off of other places. DEA Denver Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen

FOX31s Rachel Saurer spoke to James Albee, a Denver law enforcement procedural expert, said the DEAs involvement means theyre not focusing necessarily on the immigration side of things.

Theyre addressing the organized crime aspect which happens to be a well-known group that is known as TdA, Albee told Saurer.

Previous coverage: Video shows group of men carrying guns at troubled Aurora apartment complex

Pullen said the investigation that led to the raid, which began months ago during the Biden Administration, is still ongoing and has even led to more possible arrests.

We still have agents in the field looking for other targets associated with this group, Pullen said. I think we have another handful of folks in custody besides the 50 we arrested early this morning.

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Pullen said the Tren de Aragua gang is active across the country and often gets drugs from Mexican cartels.

Were looking at Denver metro area and a nationwide issue. I mean, its Chicago, its L.A. This problem has spread through the United States, Albee said.

Sundays raid was specifically stemming from a DEA drug trafficking operation, but several other crimes were also evidenced at the nightclub. Pullen said overall, though, Denver area residents should feel safer after the raid.

I live in this community too. I feel like the people in the Denver metro area can wake up today and feel like they have a safer city to live in, Pullen said. We took people who were selling drugs; potential prostitution at the location, there were guns at the location, we know theyre involved in much higher-level drug trafficking, and a lot of them went to jail today.

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Albee said the people arrested at the makeshift nightclub were part of a specific demographic.

In this specific set of circumstances, it was a very specific demographic that was attending this gathering. And unless you were specifically known or invited to such gathering, Albee said, Youre not showing up with clean hands. I mean, youre part of the problem.

Albee also applauded the efforts of law enforcement in this circumstance and said he too hopes more can be done to keep Colorado communities safe.

These are hardcore criminals that theyre going after and taken off the streets so you and I can go to the grocery store and maintain some type of safety as well, Albee said.

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FOX31s Kasia Kerridge contributed to this story.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
DENVER (KDVR)  The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration took two people into custody in Denver on Monday.

Steffan Tubbs, the DEAs public information officer, told FOX31s Kasia Kerridge that two people were taken into custody near Mississippi Avenue and Quebec Street in the Washinton Virginia Vale neighborhood in southeast Denver.

Tubbs said the arrests were related to drug trafficking and money laundering. The DEA does not believe the suspects are related to the Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua but said agents will be in the area for a little while while they continue to investigate.

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On Monday, the DEAs Rocky Mountain Field Division said, that in conjunction with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area West Metro Task Force, the arrests were to combat fentanyl trafficking. The DEA said the two men arrested were in the U.S. illegally, and that officers seized approximately 130,000 fentanyl pills during, along with other drugs.

DEA RMFD Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen told FOX31s Vicente Arenas that agents also found methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.

The DEA RMFD shared this image of fentanyl pills seized in southeast Denver on Monday. (DEA RMFD)

Thats an incredible amount of fentanyl along with heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. So, these guys were pedaling these drugs all across the city and probably to states beyond, Pullen said.

Governor, lawmakers welcome DEA raid with 41 detained by ICE in Adams County

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A DEA spokesperson said they were unaware of any ICE agents at Monday mornings arrest. Officials said the two people arrested are part of the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels.

So theyre pretty serious bad guys, Pullen told Arenas.

These arrests come one day after the DEA assisted in a high-profile raid. On Sunday morning, 49 people were detained after law enforcement raided a makeshift nightclub in Adams County.

The DEA, Homeland Security, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and over 100 local partners seized drugs, weapons and cash. ICE said many of those detained in Adams County were connected with the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang from Venezuela. The raid was described as an invite-only party connected to TdA at the makeshift nightclub, by the DEA RMFD.

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The arrests on Monday are not believed to be connected to Sundays raid.

Both investigations are ongoing.

FOX31s Heather Willard contributed to this report.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) arrested dozens of people in Colorado in a raid that targeted a Venezuelan gang.

The Rocky Mountain arm of the DEA posted on the social platform X that nearly 50 people were arrested at a makeshift nightclub outside of Denver.

The party was invite-only and was connected to the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang, the DEA said.

Video shared online by the Rocky Mountain division showed a bus taking away nearly 50 illegal aliens from the nightclub in Adams County. They were taken into custody by Denvers Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch.

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The DEA said drugs, weapons and cash were seized in the raid.

DEA agents, along with officers from the Homeland Security Investigations, ICE and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, participated in the raid early Sunday morning.

TdA originated as a prison gang in Aragua, Venezuela, but has quickly expanded in the Western Hemisphere recently. The Biden administration deemed it a transnational criminal organization last year.

The arrests were part of a months-long investigation into the gangs activity in the city, Denver7 reported.

The raid comes just days after President Trump began his crackdown on immigration.

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The gang became a flash point of the election, with Trump visiting Aurora, Colo., after video shared online showed a group of armed men at an apartment complex shortly before someone was shot.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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A new Chinese AI model, created by the Hangzhou-based startup DeepSeek, has stunned the American AI industry by outperforming some of OpenAIs leading models, displacing ChatGPT at the top of the iOS app store, and usurping Meta as the leading purveyor of so-called open source AI tools. All of which has raised a critical question: despite American sanctions on Beijings ability to access advanced semiconductors, is China catching up with the U.S. in the global AI race?

At a supposed cost of just $6 million to train, DeepSeeks new R1 model, released last week, was able to match the performance on several math and reasoning metrics by OpenAIs o1 model  the outcome of tens of billions of dollars in investment by OpenAI and its patron Microsoft.

The Chinese model is also cheaper for users. Access to its most powerful versions costs some 95% less than OpenAI and its competitors. The upshot: the U.S. tech industry is suddenly faced with a potentially cheaper and more powerful challenger, unnerving investors, who sold off American tech stocks on Monday morning.

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Yet not everyone is convinced. Some American AI researchers have cast doubt on DeepSeeks claims about how much it spent, and how many advanced chips it deployed to create its model.

Few, however, dispute DeepSeeks stunning capabilities. Deepseek R1 is AI's Sputnik moment, wrote prominent American venture capitalist Marc Andreessen on X, referring to the moment in the Cold War when the Soviet Union managed to put a satellite in orbit ahead of the United States.

So, what is DeepSeek and what could it mean for U.S. tech supremacy?

What is DeepSeek?

DeepSeek was founded less than two years ago by the Chinese hedge fund High Flyer as a research lab dedicated to pursuing Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI. A spate of open source releases in late 2024 put the startup on the map, including the large language model v3, which outperformed all of Meta's open-source LLMs and rivaled OpenAI's closed-source GPT4-o.

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At the time, Liang Wenfeng, the CEO, reportedly said that he had hired young computer science researchers with a pitch to solve the hardest questions in the world"critically, without aiming for profits. Early signs were promising: his products were so efficient that DeepSeeks 2024 releases sparked a price war within the Chinese AI industry, forcing competitors to slash prices.

This year, that price war looks set to reach across the Pacific Ocean.

Yet DeepSeeks AI looks different from its U.S. competitors in one important way. Despite their high performance on reasoning tests, Deepseeks models are constrained by Chinas restrictive policies regarding criticism of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). DeepSeek R1 refuses to answer questions about the massacre at Tiananmen Square, Beijing, in 1989, for example. Sorry, that's beyond my current scope. Lets talk about something else, the model said when queried by TIME.

What DeepSeeks success could mean for American tech giants

At a moment when Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and dozens of their competitors are preparing to spend further tens of billions of dollars on new AI infrastructure, DeepSeeks success has raised a troubling question: Could Chinese tech firms potentially match, or even surpass, their technical prowess while spending significantly less?

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Meta, which plans to spend $65 billion on AI infrastructure this year, has already set up four war rooms to analyze DeepSeeks models, seeking to find out how the Chinese firm had managed to train a model so cheaply and use the insights to improve its own open source Llama models, tech news site The Information reported over the weekend.

In the financial markets, Nvidias stock price dipped more than 15% on Monday morning on fears that fewer AI chips may be necessary to train powerful AI than previously thought. Other American tech stocks were also trading lower.

While [DeepSeek R1] is good news for users and the global economy, it is bad news for U.S. tech stocks, says Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management. It may result in a nominal downsizing of capital investment in AI and pressure on margins, at a time when valuation and growth expectations are very stretched.

But American tech hasnt lostat least not yet.

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For now, OpenAIs o1 Pro model is still considered the most advanced in the world. The performance of DeepSeek R1, however, does suggest that China is much closer to the frontier of AI than previously thought, and that open-source models have just about caught up to their closed-source counterparts.

Perhaps even more worrying for companies like OpenAI and Google, whose models are closed source, is how muchor rather, how littleDeepSeek is charging consumers to access its most advanced models. OpenAI charges $60 per million tokens, or segments of words, outputted by its most advanced model, o1. By contrast DeepSeek charges $2.19 for the same number of tokens from R1nearly 30 times less.

It erodes the industrial base, it erodes the margin, it erodes the incentive for further capital investment into western [AI] scaling from private sources, says Edouard Harris, the chief technology officer of Gladstone AI, an AI firm that works closely with the U.S. government.

 but is Deepseek being transparent?

DeepSeeks success was all the more explosive because it seemed to call into question the effectiveness of the U.S. governments strategy to constrain Chinas AI ecosystem by restricting the export of powerful chips, or GPUs, to Beijing. If DeepSeeks claims are accurate, it means China has the ability to create powerful AI models despite those restrictions, underlining the limits of the U.S. strategy.

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DeepSeek has claimed it is constrained by access to chips, not cash or talent, saying it trained its models v3 and R1 using just 2,000 second-tier Nvidia chips. Money has never been the problem for us, DeepSeeks CEO, Liang Wenfeng, said in 2024. Bans on shipments of advanced chips are the problem. (Current U.S. policy makes it illegal to export to China the most advanced types of AI chips, the likes of which populate U.S. datacenters used by OpenAI and Microsoft.)

But are those claims true? My understanding is DeepSeek has 50,000 H100s, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang recently told CNBC in Davos, referring to the highest-powered Nvidia GPU chips currently on the market. They cant talk about [them], because it is against the export controls that the U.S. has put in place. (An H100 cluster of that size would cost in the region of billions of dollars.)

In a sign of how seriously the CCP is taking the technology, Liang, Deepseeks CEO, met with Chinas premier Li Qiang in Beijing last Monday. In that meeting, Liang reportedly told Li that DeepSeek needs more chips. DeepSeek only has access to a few thousand GPUs, and yet theyre pulling this off, says Jeremie Harris, CEO of Gladstone AI. So this raises the obvious question: what happens when they get an allocation from the Chinese Communist Party to proceed at full speed?

Even though China might have achieved a startling level of AI capability with fewer chips, experts say more computing power will always remain a strategic advantage. On that front, the U.S. remains far ahead. It's never a bad thing to have more of it, says Dean Ball, a research fellow at George Mason University. No matter how much you have of it, you will always use it.

Where does this leave Americas tech rivalry with China?

The short answer: from Washingtons perspective, in uncertain waters.

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In the closing days of the Biden Administration, outgoing National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned that the speed of AI advancement was the most consequential thing happening in the world right now. And just days into his new job, President Trump announced a new $500 billion venture, backed by OpenAI and others, to build the infrastructure vital for the creation of artificial general intelligence the next leap forward in AI, with systems advanced enough to make new scientific breakthroughs and reason in ways that have so far remained in the realm of science fiction.

Read More: What to Know About Stargate, OpenAIs New Venture Announced by President Trump

And although questions remain about the future of U.S. chip restrictions on China, Washingtons priorities were apparent in President Trumps AI executive order, also signed during his first week in office, which declared that it is the policy of the United States to sustain and enhance Americas global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.

Maintaining this dominance will mean, at least in part, understanding exactly what Chinese tech firms are doingas well as protecting U.S. intellectual property, experts say.

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There's a good chance that DeepSeek and many of the other big Chinese companies are being supported by the [Chinese] government, in more than just a monetary way, says Edouard Harris of Gladstone AI, who also recommended that U.S. AI companies harden their security measures.

Where does AI go from here?

Since December, OpenAIs new o1 and o3 models have smashed records on advanced reasoning tests designed to be difficult for AI models to pass.

Read More: AI Models Are Getting Smarter. New Tests Are Racing to Catch Up

DeepSeek R1 does something similar, and in the process exemplifies what many researchers say is a paradigm shift: instead of scaling the amount of computing power used to train the model, researchers scale the amount of time (and thus, computing power and electricity) the model uses to think about a response to a query before answering. It is this scaling of what researchers call test-time compute that distinguishes the new class of reasoning models, such as DeepSeek R1 and OpenAIs o1, from their less sophisticated predecessors. Many AI researchers believe theres plenty of headroom left before this paradigm hits its limit.

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Some AI researchers hailed DeepSeeks R1 as a breakthrough on the same level as DeepMinds AlphaZero, a 2017 model that became superhuman at the board games Chess and Go by purely playing against itself and improving, rather than observing any human games.

Thats because R1 wasnt pretrained on human-labeled data in the same way as other leading LLMs.

Instead, DeepSeeks researchers found a way to allow the model to bootstrap its own reasoning capabilities essentially from scratch.

Rather than explicitly teaching the model on how to solve a problem, we simply provide it with the right incentives, and it autonomously develops advanced problem-solving strategies, they claim.

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The finding is significant because it suggests that powerful AI capabilities might emerge more rapidly and with less human effort than previously thought, with just the application of more computing power. DeepSeek R1 is like GPT-1 of this scaling paradigm, says Ball.

Ultimately, Chinas recent AI progress, instead of usurping U.S. strength, might in fact be the beginning of a reorderinga step, in other words, toward a future where, instead of a hegemonic power, there are many competing centers of AI power.

China will still have their own superintelligence(s) no more than a year later than the US, absent [for example] a war, wrote Miles Brundage, a former OpenAI policy staffer, on X. So unless you want (literal) war, you need to have a vision for navigating multipolar AI outcomes.

Write to Billy Perrigo at billy.perrigo@time.com.
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Brunei hosted the 2025 Spring Festival Reception on Sunday, featuring Chinese calligraphy, lion dances, Chinese classical music, and other cultural traditions.

The event was held in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, with over 400 guests from all walks of life. Guests watched traditional Chinese cultural demonstrations and performed calligraphy together to extend their best wishes for the Spring Festival.

Chinese Ambassador to Brunei Xiao Jianguo delivered warm regards and thanked the guests for their efforts over the past year in actively promoting China-Brunei relations, stressing that bilateral ties have reached a new starting point.

He pledged that the Chinese side will work with the Brunei side to push forward bilateral relations in the direction of building a community with a shared future between the two nations.

Brunei's Legislative Council member Queenie Chong Chin Yee said in her speech that the recognition of the Spring Festival by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity has lent the celebration global significance.

"Five thousand years of cultural traditions continue to thrive. We must now shoulder the responsibility to carry them forward," she said. 
Many people outside China are getting their first taste of Chinese censorship, as the countrys tech services explode in popularity worldwide.

First, TikToks recent brief shutdown in the U.S. prompted hundreds of thousands of users to flock to Chinese social-media app RedNote, where they found many topics to be off-limits. And now much the same is happening with DeepSeek, a new China-based generative AI service that caused market turmoil on Monday because it challenges current leaders like OpenAI and Google, while requiring far less spending on AI infrastructure.

The buzz around DeepSeek has been so intense that its now the most downloaded app in Apples App Store, displacing OpenAIs hit ChatGPT. However, anyone using the app or the DeepSeek web interface to find information about sensitive topics in China will be sorely disappointed.

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One of the most notorious examples of Chinese censorship is the suppression of information around the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, in which troops killed hundreds of pro-democracy protesters. Ask DeepSeeks R1 model about the Beijing landmarks historical significance, using the chatbots web interface or its app, and it starts to type out information about the massacre, before deleting the answer and replacing it with: Sorry, thats beyond my current scope. Lets talk about something else.

The same applies when asking DeepSeek-R1 about the suppression of the Uyghur minority in Chinas Xinjiang regionit types out paragraphs of text about human rights violations there, then abruptly replaces it with the same boilerplate message. Many social media users have reported seeing these and other sensitive subjects censored in this way on DeepSeek.

However, DeepSeeks censorship mechanism seems most active on the version thats hosted in China, which most people around the world will use. Its far less consistent when running smaller so-called distillations of R1 locally on the users computer, rather than online.

DeepSeek offers an open-source version of R1, but the model is too large to run on a consumer laptop. The company has therefore also released small versions of the open-source Qwen and Llama AI models that incorporate R1s knowledge.

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In Fortunes experimentation using the distilled, eight-billion-parameter version on a MacBook Pro, the model was willing to answer questions about the Tiananmen Square massacre and Uyghur suppression. Unlike the online R1, this version also answered a request for information about Chinese President Xi Jinping, though it drew the line at a question about whether Xi has done any bad things. It was happy to answer the same question about U.S. President Donald Trump.

The censorship we are seeing at DeepSeek is in line with the level of information control noted last year when Baidu released its Ernie Bot, which similarly refused to generate answers to prompts on Tiananmen or the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, said Michael Caster, head of the global China program at the free-expression advocacy group Article 19.

Efforts to prevent China from adverse influence over the future of AI must involve a rights-based approach to norms and standards setting beyond just investment in technological capacities, Caster added.

New users of RedNote, known in China as Xiaohongshu, have also been encountering various forms of censorship. Apart from a ban on discussing Chinas domestic politics, RedNote has also reportedly been censoring LGBTQ+ topics and limiting the circulation of videos that show cleavage.

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However, the influx of foreign users has also created problems for RedNote back home, owing to the willingness of overseas users to address topics that Chinese users know are off-limits. According to the Wall Street Journal, officials have forced the service to reduce the visibility of Americans posts to RedNotes Chinese users.

Of course, Chinese tech companies arent the only ones to censor content on their servicesFacebook and Instagram wont allow nudity, for example, and OpenAI has even banned users for asking ChatGPT how its models work. But Chinese users would not encounter these restrictions, as the services are banned in their country.

Update: This article was updated on Jan. 28th to include Caster's comment.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
DeepSeek limited user registration on Monday amid service issues.

The Chinese AI company cited recent "large-scale malicious attacks" for the temporary changes.

The chatbot earlier encountered a "major outage," its status page said.

DeepSeek limited sign-ups for its service as the popular Chinese AI app encountered a widespread outage on Monday morning.

DeepSeek said only users with a China-based phone number could register for a new account, a measure taken because it had recently faced "large-scale malicious attacks."

The chatbot, which dominated the AI conversation over the weekend, is currently the top free app on Apple's App Store.

DeepSeek limited sign-ups for its service on Monday. screenshot/DeepSeek

"DeepSeek's online services have recently faced large-scale malicious attacks," the company said in a message on its website. "To ensure continued service, registration is temporarily limited to +86 phone numbers. Existing users can log in as usual."

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Later Monday morning, the wording of the message changed to say that "registration may be busy." Business Insider was able to successfully register for a new account with an email.

The updated wording on DeepSeek's website said "registration may be busy." DeepSeek

The chatbot encountered widespread service issues on Monday, its status page said, with both its API and web chat service experiencing what the company called a "major outage."

As of 11:40 a.m. in New York, the company's status page said its API was operating with "degraded performance" and its web chat service was experiencing a "partial outage."

DeepSeek's service encountered a major outage on Monday morning. DeepSeek

The rollout of the new model from the Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has garnered global attention, with AI leaders and researchers describing it as on par with OpenAI's ChatGPT but created with significantly lower training costs.

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The Chinese hedge fund manager Liang Wenfeng launched DeepSeek as a private company in 2023. The startup's latest release, a flagship AI model called DeepSeek-R1, was unveiled on January 20, the day Trump took office, and has since left many researchers astounded by its capabilities, especially in math, coding, and reasoning tasks.

Big Tech giants have poured billions into AI, investing in massive data centers and top-of-the-line chips to train increasingly intelligent large language models with the goal of maintaining an edge in the AI arms race.

However, DeepSeek's models suggest that China can rival top AI models from Silicon Valley  potentially at a fraction of the training costs amid US limits on access to American-made chips.

Nvidia, which has so far largely powered the AI revolution with its in-demand chips, saw its shares drop by over 14% on Monday  wiping out billions in market share  amid Wall Street concerns. Other tech companies' share prices also dropped Monday.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has made a huge splash with its ChatGPT competitor, claiming it developed a similarly-performing AI assistant at a fraction of the cost.

It's a serious contender  at least in the eyes of investors, with AI chipmaker Nvidia's shares sliding by around 15 percent Monday morning.

But the app also has some significant shortcomings. Like other Chinese AI models, DeepSeek is beholden to the rules of state censors, as Bloomberg reports, refusing to directly address sensitive topics like the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre or China-Taiwan relations.

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Users on Reddit found that when asked about a "famous picture" of a "man with grocery bags in front of tanks," the large language model starts to oblige, producing text about the world-famous "Tank Man" photograph taken on the day of the Tiananmen Square protests.

But moments later, the text disappears and is replaced with a generic error message, as seen in a screen recording shared by one Reddit user, seemingly showing how the app is (however sloppily) abiding by Chinese censorship rules.

"Sorry, that's beyond my current scope," the message reads. "Let's talk about something else."

As another user on Reddit found, even asking it more broadly about criticisms of the Chinese government, it had an intriguing answer.

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"Sorry, Im not sure how to approach this type of question yet," it wrote. "Lets chat about math, coding, and logic problems instead!"

The user got the same response when they included the name of Chinese president Xi Jinping in their query.

"I literally just asked it if Taiwan was its own country then it answered like [ChatGPT] would then right after replaced it with a message like 'I'm not programmed to answer that kind of question yet' or some such," one user wrote.

One user on Hacker News claims to have circumvented these censorship rules by asking the chatbot for a detailed breakdown of what happened in 1989, resulting in an elaborate answer.

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While China's "Great Firewall" censorship rules are well-known and established, OpenAI's ChatGPT also has plenty of guardrails limiting what it can say.

Those may be retreating somewhat, though; earlier this month, OpenAI was caught quietly removing language endorsing "politically unbiased" AI, a design purportedly inspired to "streamline" its documentation, as TechCrunch reported at the time. Meanwhile, conservatives have long accused AI companies of censoring their viewpoints, with multi-hyphenate billionaire Elon Musk founding an AI startup called xAI to develop an "anti-woke" AI (with less-than-stellar results).

Last week, president Donald Trump signed an executive order, calling on the AI industry to "develop AI systems that are free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas."

Whether that'll lead to the loosening of guardrails  or the establishment of a new set of state censorship rules to further a far-right agenda  for US-based chatbots like ChatGPT remains to be seen.

More on DeepSeek: Silicon Valley in Shambles as Chinese Startup Creates Top-Tier AI Without Billions of Investment
Jan. 26One person died and another was seriously injured in a fire Saturday night at a home on Hart Farm Road in Deering, the state Fire Marshal reported.

At 9:19 p.m. on Jan. 25, Deering Fire and Rescue responded to a report of a fire with multiple people trapped at a single-family home.

Officers from the Hillsboro Police Department arrived on the scene first to find heavy fire coming from the house. The fire was brought under control at 11:46 p.m.

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A State Police dog trained to locate human remains found one dead person inside the home.

An adult male who was trapped on the second floor when the fire broke out was helped outside by a neighbor and transported to an area hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries, according to the fire marshal's report.

The victim was later transferred to a Boston area hospital.

The state's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the victim's identity and manner and cause of death, the Fire Marshal said.

Deering police and firefighters and the Fire Marshal's Office are investigating the fire's cause.

Firefighters from Hillsboro, Bradford, Mont Vernon, Henniker, Hopkinton, Washington, Weare, Antrim, Francestown, New Boston, Goffstown and Bennington responded to calls for assistance
SEOUL, South Korea  Few people understand what may be going through the minds of North Korean soldiers fighting and dying for Russia in the war against Ukraine. But Lee Chul Eun is one of them.

Lee, 38, a North Korean defector and former soldier now living in South Korea, said it is devastating to see troops from the reclusive, communist-ruled North being sent abroad by leader Kim Jong Un, only to then give up their youth for a land that is not even theirs but the foreign land of Russia.

He is one of multiple defectors who spoke to NBC News about the training, conditions and mindset of North Korean soldiers, including their willingness to take their own lives if necessary.

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Lee said his former colleagues are essentially just sent out to be cannon fodder on the front lines.

Lee Chul Eun, 38, a North Korean defector and former soldier.

For the first time since they arrived in Russia in the fall, North Korean soldiers have been captured alive by Ukrainian forces, with video and photos showing one man with bandages around his jawline and another with bandaged hands.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who announced the prisoners apprehension earlier this month, said they were living proof that North Korea had entered the war, in a major escalation of the yearslong conflict.

The U.S. and allies say there are more than 11,000 North Korean troops fighting in the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border incursion in August. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has confirmed the reports.

Honestly, it is not easy to capture a North Korean soldier, Ryu Sung Hyu said in an interview in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

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All North Korean recruits are taught a song that includes a verse about saving their last bullet for themselves to avoid capture, said Ryu, who served in the North Korean military until 2019, when he escaped to freedom in South Korea.

According to South Koreas National Intelligence Service, there was at least one recent incident in which a North Korean soldier, faced with possible capture by Ukrainian forces, tried to detonate a grenade while shouting Kims name but was killed before he could succeed.

The South Korean military said last week that North Korea is preparing to send additional troops to Russia after about 300 of its soldiers were killed and 2,700 others were injured. The high casualty rate was due to the soldiers poor understanding of modern warfare, as well as the way they were being deployed by Russia, South Korean lawmakers said.

It is not easy to capture a North Korean soldier, said North Korean defector Ryu Sung Hyu.

Their willingness to fight and die for Russia could be a major factor in determining the course of the Ukraine war, as well as the level of American military aid to Ukraine under President Donald Trump, who has expressed skepticism over continued U.S. support.Kim is thought to be providing Russian President Vladimir Putin with troops and weapons in hope of receiving technical assistance with his nuclear and ballistic missile programs. His flurry of weapons testing has continued with three launches already this year, including multiple short-range ballistic missiles, a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile and strategic cruise missiles.

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Trump drew ire from South Korea on Tuesday after he described the reclusive regime as a nuclear power, a phrase that U.S. officials have long refrained from using, as it could signal recognition of North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.

A North Korean soldier imprisoned in Ukraine.

Kim is sending troops to Russia for two reasons, both of which are driven by desperation, said Ahn Chan Il, who served in the North Korean military for over a decade and defected to South Korea in 1979. The first is to earn foreign currency, which is in short supply in North Korea under United Nations sanctions imposed over its weapons programs.The deployment also provides valuable experience for the North Korean military, which has not been deployed overseas since the Vietnam War.

Dorothy Camille Shea, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the Security Council this month that fighting alongside Russia makes North Korea more capable of waging war against its neighbors.

Lee, who spent five years in the North Korean military, said the troops had been sent to Russia as mercenaries rather than soldiers, noting that they werent wearing their uniforms. South Koreas National Intelligence Service has said they were given Russian military uniforms and Russian-made weapons, along with forged identification documents.

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Even if they die there it does not matter, because North Korea sent them out without officially recognizing them, Lee said. They were sent there not to bring honor to the country, but to give up their lives and bring back lots of money.

'No longer a part of the society'

Military service is compulsory in North Korea, which has one of the worlds largest standing armies. Soldiers undergo three months of basic training before being assigned to a unit, said Lee, who came to South Korea in 2016 after swimming for six hours from the North.

As soldiers, Lee said, they are told they are individuals who are now no longer a part of the society and their families, and must follow the orders of the supreme leader, meaning Kim.

They have no trouble believing this, having been indoctrinated by North Korean propaganda from childhood, said Lee.

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North Korean soldiers spend most of their time not actually being soldiers but working on farms and construction projects, Lee and others said.

A North Korean sits with bandaged hands after being captured by Ukrainian forces.

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I think I only fired three bullets per year, said Lee Hyun-seung, who served in the North Korean military for more than three years. When he moved to a more elite unit, he said, we had more like 20 bullets.Asked whether he thought the North Korean troops could help Russia win the war, Lee  whose family defected in 2014 and who now lives in the U.S.  was skeptical.

Honestly, Im not that sure, he said, because I know their training and I know they are not well trained.

For North Korean soldiers, who receive food and clothing but are otherwise essentially unpaid, the main enemy is hunger.

North Korea struggles with food shortages as Kim devotes the majority of resources to his weapons programs, meaning that, like most of the broader population, soldiers suffer from malnutrition and can even starve to death.

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Meals are made up mainly of plain rice, corn or potatoes, sometimes mixed with grass or even tree bark, said Lee Chun Eul.

He said his feelings about North Korea changed gradually, largely due to his exposure to foreign media that finds its way into the country despite tight government controls  James Bond was a favorite of his growing up in the 1990s. More recently, the North Korean government has been alarmed by the popularity of South Korean TV dramas, sentencing two teenagers to 12 years of hard labor for watching them.

When I look at North Korean mercenaries sent to Russia, I wonder if they would still have joined if they had watched as much foreign media as I did in North Korea, Lee said. I also wonder if the North Korean regime and Kim Jong Uns dictatorship would still be in place.

The defectors say they hope the North Korean troops fighting in Russia will take the opportunity to leave like they did.

Documentation translated by NBC News reads Russian Federation Military Identity Card. It was recovered from an alleged North Korean soldier, according to Ukraines president.

When North Korean workers, who have lived their entire lives trapped in a restrictive system, experience life abroad, they come to see North Korea as nothing short of a prison, Ahn said. Once they realize what freedom could mean, its hard to imagine they wouldnt consider breaking free to live a freer life.In addition to finding freedom, they could provide the U.S. and others with valuable intelligence regarding the North Korean militarys strategies and capabilities, which are often exaggerated by the North Korean government.

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Ahn and other North Koreans who defected as soldiers have offered Ukraine their assistance against the North Korean troops.

However, rather than directly participating in the war, our focus is on psychological warfare to change the mindset of North Korean soldiers, he said. Through platforms like YouTube or leaflets, we aim to deliver messages to the North Korean troops, urging them not to die meaningless deaths and instead seek freedom.

In the meantime, they watch with heavy hearts as casualties mount among North Korean soldiers whose experiences they know only too well.

These young people did not go knowing they were going to die, Lee said, but died because they did not know.

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Janis Mackey Frayer and Stella Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  A Delaware County woman who pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to the abuse of children while running an in-home daycare center will spend over four decades in prison.

According to court records, 55-year-old Rhonda Coomes was sentenced to 42 years in prison  the maximum sentence  after pleading guilty to 14 counts of endangering children, which included a 10-month-old infant, while operating her own daycare center at her Randor home.

The sentence issued included three years in prison per charge, while three counts of kidnapping were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

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Viral video captures Lewis Center encounter

According to the Delaware County Sheriffs Office, the investigation into Coomes began after anonymous complaints were made of potential child abuse, which the office said happened between January 2021 and September 2023. Coomes was arrested and charged in January 2024.

Video evidence revealed that Coomes injured a 10-month-old girl by hitting her multiple times in the face with the palm of her hand and six times with a hard plastic diaper wipe container. The child suffered a black eye, court records state.

On Jan. 26, Coomes was arrested and initially charged with one count of kidnaping. At the time, the sheriffs office said the charge was a placeholder and that she would likely be charged with felonies related to her physical abuse of more than a half-dozen different kids.

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Additional complaints surfaced and Coomes was also accused of throwing a child onto its back into a playpen and then hitting the child. That same day, Coomes abused a 3-year-old for not eating fast enough, the sheriffs office said.

Rhonda Coomes (Courtesy/Delaware County Jail)

Coomes was indicted in April on 17 charges and was issued a $500,000 bond. Coomes entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in May. A competency hearing was scheduled in August 2024 and a judge ruled her to be competent, after which Coomes attorneys withdrew the insanity plea.

She pleaded guilty in December to all 14 counts of child endangerment, with each count related to a different child.

If you suspect child abuse is occurring with someone you know, please reach out to Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422- 4453 or to our local Department of Job and Family Services at 740-833-2300.

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DELHI, NY (WIVT/WBGH)  An 86-year-old Delhi man has been arrested and charged for allegedly exposing his genitalia to a child under the age of 16 at the Delhi Nursing and Rehab Center last week.

Deputies of the Delaware County Sheriffs Office responded to the rehab center on Tuesday, Jan, 21 for a complaint involving a child. An investigation into the incident helped identify James Lieberman, of Delhi, in the alleged complaint that he exposed his genitals to a child under the age of 16.

Once the Sheriffs Deputies finished the investigation, a Criminal Summons of Arrest for Lieberman was granted, and he was subsequently arrested Sunday, Jan. 26. Lieberman was charged with public lewdness, exposure of a person and endangering the welfare of a child.

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He is scheduled for appearance in Delhi Town Court at a later date.

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Aeromexico and Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines announced an expansion of flights to and from Mexico to the United States starting in June.

According to the airlines, there will be two new routes beginning on June 5.

Aeromexico will begin daily service on the Mexico City - Philadelphia and San Luis Potosi - Atlanta routes, expanding travel options for customers, the airlines said in a statement.

They said that would bring the number of total destinations between the United States and Mexico to 26 across 57 routes and a daily joint operation of 90 flights.

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An eight-year-old joint cooperation agreement between the airlines celebrated significant growth in 2024 and added 28 new scheduled and seasonal routes, the companies said.

Expanding this partnership in 2025 will continue this trajectory and give customers more ways to travel between the U.S. and Mexico.

Philadelphia is the largest U.S. market currently without direct service to Mexico City, joins Aeromexicos portfolio after the succesful launch of other Northeastern US routes in 2024: Boston, Newark, and Washington D.C., Aeromexico said.

Flights for the Philadelphia route will be on a Boeing 737 and include personal screens, Wi-Fi connections for purchase and the Sky Interior lighting system.

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For flights from San Luis Potosi to Atlanta, flights will be on Embraer 190 aircraft and will be a crucial role as a business connection, especially for San Luis Potosis thriving automotive industry.

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ABU DHABI, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov exchanged views on regional developments on Monday, according to UAE's state news agency WAM.

Their discussions over the phone focused on key issues in Syria and Lebanon with both sides emphasizing the importance of regional stability and peace, WAM said.

In addition to regional matters, the two ministers highlighted the robust strategic relations between the UAE and Russia and explored opportunities for further cooperation in various fields, particularly cultural and economic partnerships, reaffirming their commitment to strengthening comprehensive bilateral ties, the report added. 
Aghogho Edevbie, one of Michigan's top-ranking election officials, announced Monday he would launch a campaign to succeed Jocelyn Benson when her second term as secretary of state expires in 2026.

Edevbie has been deputy secretary of state since 2023, where he's lead policy implementation for the department which oversees elections, vehicle registrations and other statewide services. In the role, he helped coordinate the implementation of voter-approved election changes brought by Proposal 2 of 2022, including early voting in Michigan for statewide elections for the first time.

Before being hired as deputy secretary of state and leading the implementation of the proposal, Edevbie was part of a group that helped author it, as Michigan state director for voting rights group All Voting is Local. Edevbie, 37, will be running for secretary of state as a Democrat.

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"When I came into office, I was given the mandate of helping to implement Proposal 2," Edevbie said in an interview with the Detroit Free Press ahead of launching his campaign. "And Id seen it from the perspective of being the person to help put together the coalition to write the amendment and put it on the ballot. But its a completely different thing to implement policy."

Michigan Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie speaks about his upcoming candidacy for Michigan Secretary of State, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, during an interview in Lansing.

Before joining All Voting is Local, Edevbie practiced law, including spending time as assistant corporation counsel in Wayne County. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and grew up in Detroit. In 2018, he ran in the Democratic primary for a metro Detroit state House district, receiving the fourth-most votes in that race.

Edevbie said his experience working with election officials, both in the Department of State and across Michigan's local and county governments, has given him a strong foundation to run for the state's top election administration role. Along with election oversight, he touted the department's success at making visits to branch locations smoother for residents, as well as expanding online services so residents can access resources from home.

But Edevbie said ongoing threats to elections and eroding public trust in election officials spurred his decision to run. He said President Donald Trump, who repeatedly made false claims about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, presents a "clear and present danger" to voting access. Trump carried Michigan in the November election, winning the state by about 78,000 votes on his way back to the White House.

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M.L. Elrick: Michigan Democrats suddenly don't like Mike Duggan. Hizzoner is grateful they're hateful.

More: Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State, announces run for Michigan governor

"I was raised with the belief we all have the responsibility to do whats necessary to protect our democracy," Edevbie said. "These are very dangerous times, these are very serious times. So, I see my experiences ... as having positioned me uniquely for this moment to help defend our democracy as its under threat."

Defending democracy itself has been a refrain also used by Benson, who last week launched her bid to become Michigan's governor. Some Republicans in Michigan have criticized Benson during her tenure as secretary of state, and the Department of State also went through a series of legal battles, brought on by Republicans, over voting rules before the 2024 election.

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Edevbie said the Department of State has made strides in both running elections and providing everyday services to residents since Benson was elected in 2018. Still, he said he would bring his own perspective to the role if elected and said being secretary of state involves seeking input and collaboration from every employee in the department, regardless of partisan affiliation.

"Ive had the experiences of running a voting rights organization, of being deputy secretary of state and bringing my own unique perspectives. So in that way, Im going to be different because Im a different person," he said.

On the policy front, Edevbie said he wants to advocate for greater funding for local clerks, as well as the adoption of the proposed Michigan Voting Rights Act, a series of bills which proponents say would expand voting protection and access for marginalized voters. Edevbie said it's unlikely the bills would pass during the current legislative term, with Republicans leading the state House, but said he was hopeful they could advance in the future.

Secretary of state is one of several of statewide positions up for election next year. Voters in Michigan will also elect a new governor and attorney general, and decide on races for the U.S. Senate and two seats on the Michigan Supreme Court during the November 2026 election.

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Unlike some other statewide positions, party nominations for secretary of state and attorney general are made at each party's nominating convention ahead of the election. Edevbie appears to be the first major-party candidate to announce a run for secretary of state, according to a search of online campaign finance records.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Democrat Aghogho Edevbie to run for Michigan Secretary of State
A view of the Colorado State Board of Education building on Colfax Avenue in downtown Denver. (Google Maps)

Selection of officers for the Colorado State Board of Education is usually a routine affair, with the positions of chair and vice chair rarely contested. There hasnt been a contested vote for either position since 2015, the year that the elected chair resigned six months after her election, citing dysfunction on the part of her fellow board members.

Heading into the officer selection process at their first meeting on Jan. 8, the makeup of the board was 5-4 in favor of Democrats. During the sometimes awkward election process, there were two nominees for chair and vice chair. Newly elected Republican Yazmin Navarro nominated Democrat Rebecca McClellan for chair, while Democrat Kathy Plomer nominated Democrat Karla Esser. Four-year veteran Esser asserted that her experience earned her the chair position, adding it was customary to rotate that role, since McClellan had already served as chair.

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Several board members tried to discuss each of the candidates, but the board attorney stated that was not allowed by the rules. McClellan secured the chair position in a 5-4 secret ballot vote. Then, in what is being described by the Working Families Party as a shameful move, McClellan nominated Navarro for vice chair, while former Vice Chair Lisa Escarcega nominated Esser for vice chair.

Navarro won the position in another 5-4 secret vote.

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There were several issues that upset Democrats, but the primary one was with the selection of Navarro by McClellan. In their news release, Wynn Howell, state director for Colorado Working Families Party, stated, Rebecca McClellan outed herself as Colorados Joe Manchin  a turncoat willing to throw her own party under the bus and align with both Trump Republicans and corporate campaign donors in order to advance her own political ambitions.

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The Education Initiative group for the state Democratic Party also published a statement, saying, The election of new board member Navarro, a supporter of Moms for Liberty and Project 2025, as Vice Chair is very concerning.

Democratic leaders expressed their preference for Esser for at least the vice chair role, especially since Trump and Republicans are poised to set the national agenda.

Navarro was backed by the Colorado League of Charter Schools, which helped contribute over $300,000 to her campaign. The Colorado Sun reported that these donations have been linked to dark money groups such as Education Reform Advocacy Now, which supports school choice through charter schools and the elimination of teacher tenure in public schools, according to Ballotpedia.

Navarro narrowly won her race against former state board member Rhonda Solis, who believed that charter schools should be transparent and accountable to the public. Brenda Dickhoner, president of the conservative group Ready Colorado, stated, With Yazmins win, our State Board of Education will retain a pro-school choice majority on the board. Her victory ensures that school choice can continue to flourish.

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Overall, the Democratic Party in Colorado and nationally is split on the issue of charter schools. The billionaire-backed Democrats for Education for Reform promotes charters and funds campaigns for legislators who agree with their beliefs. They insist that Democrats need to support charter schools to retain the support of certain voting groups.

Teacher unions like CEA and AFT argue that charter schools need to be more accountable and express concern that charters often take essential resources from the local public schools. McClellan has been more closely allied with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on the charter school issue. Polis is a strong supporter of charters and school choice. He joined with the Colorado League of Charter Schools and other conservative dark money donors who spent millions to support the primary opponent of Democrat Kathy Gebhardt, though Gebhardt ended up winning the state board seat in the 2nd Congressional District.

McClellan received the endorsement of CEA and the AFL-CIO during her campaigns for the board in 2016 and 2022. The Joe Manchin label may be accurate as McClellan, a Democrat like Manchin, has usually supported charter schools during their appeals process before the board. CEA was a major force in defeating Amendment 80, which would have enshrined school choice in the state constitution and potentially opened the door to vouchers in the state. The AFL-CIO has not supported charter schools, which do not allow their teachers to be union members.

With her vote for Navarro, who supported Amendment 80, McClellan seems to be saying she agrees fully with the school choice, pro-charter stance. She may even support a renewed effort to pass a school choice amendment in 2026. Advance Colorado, which initiated the amendment, thinks Amendment 80 set the groundwork to bring a similar initiative back in 2026. As she praised Navarros win, Ready Colorados Dickhoner said that Amendment 80 saw majority support in communities with large numbers of Hispanic voters.

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It remains to be seen how significant this relationship between McClellan and Navarro will affect the rest of the board and their future deliberations on charters and other issues impacting local control across the state. The other question is how 6th Congressional District voters who reelected McClellan in 2022 react to her current actions. When she spoke on her behalf for the chair position, McLellan stressed that every board member had a duty to represent the needs of their respective districts, regardless of political affiliation.

A majority of voters in her district voted against Amendment 80. The 6th District voters wont have an opportunity to weigh in on how McClellan is representing them for four more years.

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WASHINGTON  All Senate Democrats co-sponsored a symbolic resolution condemning President Donald Trump for pardoning rioters who have attacked police.

The resolution, which would have no practical effect if the Senate adopted it, is narrow in scope, stating simply that the Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.

Trumps sweeping clemency action on his first day in office pardoned everyone charged with crimes connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, including the most violent offenders who attacked police. The only exceptions were for 14 members of militant groups charged with seditious conspiracy; Trump commuted their prison sentences while stopping short of a full pardon.

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Democrats resolution focuses only on the subset of rioters who attacked police. Of the more than 1,600 rioters charged with crimes, more than 600 were charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement, including more than 169 charged with using a weapon or injuring an officer.

I refuse to allow President Trump to rewrite what happened on January 6th  armed insurrectionists, incited by Trump himself, broke into the U.S. Capitol and violently assaulted Capitol Police officers in their attempt to overthrow a free and fair election, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the lead sponsor of the resolution, said in a press release. Insurrectionists cracked the ribs of police officers and smashed spinal disks. Donald Trumps pardons are a wholesale endorsement of political violence  as long as it serves Donald Trump.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who recently visited Trump at his Florida estate, initially didnt join his colleagues in support of the move, but added his name after Murray announced the resolution publicly on Monday morning. Fetterman declined to answer questions about the Jan. 6 pardons last week.

Murrays office said the senator would ask the Senate for unanimous consent to adopt the resolution. A single senator can block the request.

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No Republicans co-sponsored the Democratic resolution. Just a handful of GOP senators have spoken out against Trumps pardons, while most of the party has stayed quiet.

Over the weekend, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Trump made a mistake pardoning the violent Jan. 6 offenders but he conceded Trump had the power to do so.

He had the legal authority to do it but I fear that you will get more violence, Graham said on NBCs Meet the Press. Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently I think was a mistake, because it seems to suggest thats an OK thing to do.

But Vice President JD Vance defended Trumps blanket pardons for violent Jan. 6 pardons, even though he said two weeks ago that obviously some of them should not get pardons.

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I think he made the right decision, Vance said of Trump during an interview with CBSs Face the Nation.

Violence against a police officer is not justified, but that doesnt mean that you should have Merrick Garlands weaponized Department of Justice expose you to incredibly unfair process, to denial of constitutional rights, Vance added of people who received jury trials.

We rectified a wrong, and I stand by it, he continued.

This story has been updated to reflect that Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) joined the resolution.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN)  On Monday, a federal appeals court heard arguments in North Carolina Judge Jefferson Griffins challenge of more than 60,000 votes from the November election.

These actions arent becoming of a sitting judge, theyre actions of a sore loser, Anderson Clayton, the Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, said in a rally on Monday in downtown Raleigh.

PREVIOUS | NC justices block certification of election outcome in race for one of its own seats

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Griffin is challenging most of these ballots because of clerical errors that are largely no fault of the voters, Congresswoman Deborah Ross said at the same rally.

Judge Griffin, a Republican, wants a seat on the state Supreme Court. Two recounts have confirmed Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs as the winner.

Democratic leaders say Griffin is challenging some absentee votes but say he has voted absentee himself. At Mondays rally, some of the voters who have had their ballots challenged are speaking out.

As a military veteran, I find it unconscionable for Judge Griffin to fight to discount the votes of active duty military currently serving our country all over the world, one voter said.

At Mondays rally, some of the voters who have had their ballots challenged are speaking out. (Deana Harley/CBS 17)

RELATED | Republican legislatures flex muscles to keep power in closely divided North Carolina and Wisconsin

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The state Republican party said Griffin has every right to challenge an election and is only ensuring it was fair.

A federal court in Virginia hears the arguments on Monday. The case was also sent to the Wake County Superior Court. Theres no telling on when either court could have a ruling.

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COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark said on Monday it would spend 14.6 billion Danish crowns ($2.05 billion) boosting its military presence in the Arctic, following renewed interest by U.S. President Donald Trump in controlling Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.

This month, Trump said Greenland is vital to U.S. security and Denmark must give up control of the strategically important Arctic island.

Following more than a decade of drastic cuts in defence spending, last year Denmark allocated 190 billion Danish crowns ($26 billion) for its military over a 10-year span, part of which has now been allocated to the Arctic.

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Denmark, while responsible for Greenland's security and defence, has limited military capabilities on the vast island, widely regarded as a security black hole.

At present, Denmark's capacities include four ageing inspection vessels, a Challenger surveillance plane and 12 dog sled patrols, all tasked with monitoring an area four times the size of France.

The deal includes funding three new Arctic navy vessels doubling the number of planned long-range surveillance drones to four, as well as satellite surveillance, Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said at a press conference.

The political parties agreed to set aside more money for the Arctic in a deal that will be presented in the first half of the year.

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The U.S. military has a permanent presence at the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a strategic location for its ballistic missile early-warning system, as the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the island.

($1 = 7.1158 Danish crowns)

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Isabelle Yr Carlsson; Editing by Alex Richardson and David Gregorio)
DENVER (KDVR)  Sunshine and milder, more seasonal temperature return to Denvers weather for the start of the workweek.

Weather tonight: Mainly clear, cold

Sunday night will be mainly clear and cold.

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Low temperatures will fall to the lower teens, which is nearly 10 degrees colder than normal for this time of year.

Weather tomorrow: Sunny, seasonal

The week will start off with sunshine and a light southwest breeze. This combination will help to boost high temperatures Monday to the mid-40s, which is right in line with normal for this time of year.

Looking ahead: Mild stretch continues

Sunshine and seasonal temperatures continue Tuesday and Wednesday, with morning lows in the teens, and highs in the mid-40s.

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A slight chance for showers moves in Thursday and into Thursday night. But, this wont slow down this stretch of milder temperatures. Highs will climb to around 50 degrees by the weekend.

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ODESSA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD)  Authorities say two people were injured in a head-on crash near Lake Odessa.

The Ionia County Sheriffs Office said it happened around 7:45 p.m. Saturday on Jordan Lake Road near the intersection of Musgrove Highway in Odessa Township.

Investigators said the Saturn Ion, driven by a Lake Odessa man, crossed the centerline on Jordan Lake Road and hit a Dodge Nitro.

Both drivers were taken to the hospital with injuries that are not considered life-threatening, according to a news release.

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The sheriffs office said snowfall and alcohol were both believed to be factors in the crash.

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JONES, Mich. (WOOD)  A man was hospitalized after being stabbed multiple times at a home southwest of Three Rivers early Sunday, according to the Cass County Sheriffs Office.

It happened around 4 a.m. at a home on High Street in Jones, Michigan. The Cass County Sheriffs Office responded to a stabbing call to find a 56-year-old man who had been stabbed multiple times with a knife. Deputies and then medical first responders treated him at the scene before he was taken to the hospital.

The suspect, a 20-year-old man, was found a short distance away from the home, according to deputies. Investigators say there was a domestic assault involving the suspect and a woman, who all lived in the same house as the victim. The victim was injured in the assault, deputies say.

Neither the victim nor the suspect were identified by the sheriffs office. Deputies are still investigating.

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SACRAMENTO, the United States, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The devastating wildfires that began sweeping through Southern California on Jan. 7 have left the region's education system reeling, with over a dozen schools severely damaged or destroyed.

As school officials begin the daunting task of rebuilding, they face an estimated cost of hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars, with recovery expected to take years.

At least 12 schools in Los Angeles County have suffered significant damage, with five campuses destroyed, according to CalMatters, a nonprofit news organization focusing on local agendas in California. Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second-largest school system, lost two elementary schools in Pacific Palisades, while Palisades Charter High School was heavily damaged. In Pasadena and Altadena, three additional elementary schools were destroyed.

The financial toll is overwhelming. Rebuilding could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. "Rebuilding these schools could take years," said Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools.

One source of relief is California's Proposition 2, a 10-billion-dollar school construction bond passed in November to fund repairs and rebuild efforts, including damage from disasters like wildfires.

However, the fund is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, and there is already a significant backlog of schools waiting for assistance. Priority will likely go to schools damaged by fires, raising concerns for districts with other urgent needs.

"There is a growing concern that Prop. 2 funds will be quickly depleted, leaving smaller districts like Keyes struggling to address our own long-term facility needs," said Helio Brasil, superintendent of Keyes Union School District, which serves low-income students near Modesto.

The California Legislature has approved a 2.5-billion-dollar fire relief package for the Los Angeles area. However, the rebuilding process will rely on multiple funding sources, including insurance, private grants, local bonds, lawsuit settlements, and both state and federal funds.

In the meantime, districts are scrambling for temporary solutions. The Los Angeles Unified School District has already relocated students from the two destroyed schools to other campuses and is focusing on providing mental health support for students and staff coping with trauma.

The impact extends far beyond rebuilding structures.

Thousands of students and staff have been displaced. In the Pasadena Unified School District, more than 1,300 staff members lost homes within the burn zone, and the district estimates that thousands of students and families have been affected.

"The pain of being evacuated, losing your home, or having family and friends who have been impacted... it's just so devastating," said Duardo.

"At so many districts in our county, the superintendent themselves has been evacuated, or 50 percent of the staff has been evacuated. And meanwhile, they're all trying to help their students."

The rebuilding effort is further complicated by the need to prepare for future fire risks. With climate change increasing the likelihood of severe wildfires, there is growing debate about how to rebuild more resiliently.

"Are we just inviting another problem down the road?" asked Michael Hricak, an adjunct professor of architecture at the University of Southern California.

Past wildfire recovery efforts in California suggest the road to rebuilding will be long. In Sonoma County, the Anova Center for Education, destroyed in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, only reopened in early January, more than seven years later.

Devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire, the Paradise Unified School District has spent 155 million dollars rebuilding campuses but still needs an additional 150 million dollars to complete repairs. 
NASA continues to highlight goals of landing the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface even amid the agencys recent shutdown of diversity, equity and inclusion programs  also known as DEI  under executive orders from President Trump.

With NASAs Artemis campaign, we are exploring the moon for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars, reads the Artemis mission statement on NASAs website.

We will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the moon. NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut on the moon using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before.

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The announcement NASA would send the first woman to the moon came under Trumps first presidency.

That plan called for the Artemis III mission to send two astronauts to walk on the moon for the first time since the end of the Apollo program in 1972. At one point, Trumps NASA Administrator during his first administration, Jim Bridenstine, said he would not be surprised if that missions landing party were to feature an all-female crew.

The declaration that the first person of color would join a future Artemis mission came after President Bidens election, although NASA has not said whether they would be part of Artemis III or later moon landings.

Of the 24 astronauts who have ever traveled to the moon, 12 of whom actually walked on its surface, all have been white men.

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Already the crew for Artemis II aims to break ground when it flies around the moon without landing on its mission slated for as early as April 2026. As the first crewed mission of Artemis, it will add to the list of moon travelers the first woman (NASA astronaut Christina Koch), first person of color (NASA astronaut Victor Glover) and first international partner (Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen) riding alongside NASAs commander, Reid Wiseman.

Glover touched on diversity as a driving force during a 2023 interview at Kennedy Space Center.

You may hear people say anyone can go to the moon. Dream big. But to see people that look like you do it, theres a kid out there that has a greater sense of connection because of what somebody on this group may look like or what someone on the next group may look like, he said. And I think that thats important. Inspiration is more than an emotion. It drives decisions and priorities. And so its an important factor of this mission.

Nelson pens letter to next NASA head as KSCs Petro becomes interim leader

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The crew for Artemis III has yet to be announced, but its currently on NASAs calendar to launch by summer 2027, although plans could shift once Trumps new administrator is confirmed.

The Orlando Sentinel reached out to NASA for comment on how the Artemis mission statement squares with Trumps stance on DEI programs, but has not received a reply.

But links to NASAs Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity on its website initially last week went to a 404 error page reading, The cosmic object you are looking for has disappeared beyond the event horizon. By the weekend, those links had been removed altogether.

Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro sent out an agencywide memo to employees last Wednesday addressing the removal of the programs as part of two Trump executive orders titled Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing and Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.

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The memo, signed by Petro but using language from the White House read, The programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and results in shameful discrimination.

It continued with a warning to employees to report DEI-related programs and actions or else face consequences noting, we are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language.

While the link to its DEI-related program is gone, NASA still has a statement about Innovation and Inclusion on its careers page:

At our core, we are a united team driven by a shared mission to explore the extraordinary. To achieve success in our ambitious goals, we are committed to recruiting brilliant minds from all backgrounds and experiences to shape the future, it reads.

Innovation thrives in a culture of inclusion, where different perspectives converge to tackle complex challenges. By creating an environment where every voice is heard and respected, we empower our employees to contribute their fullest potential. We foster collaboration, embracing new perspectives and constructive dialogue to drive informed decision-making.
A major development project in downtown Puyallup is on the City Councils agenda Tuesday night.

The mixed-used project proposed by Pailindrome Communities includes a five-story apartment building with 115 rental units, seven townhomes for sale, a brewery, a public plaza and a market hall with food pods.

The council will hold a public hearing on the project at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, then will decide whether to vote on the purchase-and-sale agreement and the development agreement with Palindrome.

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Palindrome would purchase the property at 115 Second St. SE for $1 under the proposal and would have to finish all phases of the project in five years.

The city purchased the 1.5 acres in 2002 for $1.4 million, according to Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer records. The property used to be home to car dealerships, and today is largely public parking.

We are selling the property for $1 because of the long-term public benefits that will come from this project, city spokesperson Eric Johnson said in an email Friday.

The Puyallup City Council heard as part of a presentation last month that those who live in the new apartments and townhomes would spend an estimated $1.3 million a year at Puyallup businesses, The News Tribune reported. As the city continues to grow, Puyallup has said it needs more than 7,400 new homes over the next 20 years to meet its state target.

Early conceptual renderings give a rough idea of what the Palindrome Communities mixed-use project in downtown Puyallup could look like.

A $1 sale isnt as unusual as it might seem. Its a way some cities choose to incentivize development.

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Wilsonville, Oregon sold 1.3 acres to Palindrome for $1 to build a housing development with 121 units, and the developer broke ground in August, The News Tribune reported. Wilsonville also subsidized $1.4 million in development fees for that project.

Tacoma sold Union Station to the federal government for $1 in 2022 as part of a longstanding lease agreement.

Part of the community vision for a very long time

The city bought the land downtown as a catalyst development site with plans to get more housing downtown, Meredith Neal, the citys development and permitting services director, told The News Tribune last month.

This is something that has been part of the community vision for a very long time, she said.

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A developer that brews its own beer plans $40 million investment in downtown Puyallup

Neal said Palindrome expects to invest $40 million in construction costs.

Under the terms of the proposed development agreement and the purchase and sale agreement, the city would convey the property to Palindrome in exchange for Palindrome developing the property according to the three-phased approach and thereby providing numerous public benefits, according to the City Council agenda materials for the Tuesday meeting.

The first phase would be the market hall, which would include micro restaurants. The developer wants the hall to open about the same time that the adjacent Meeker Festival Street the city is planning opens in a couple years. Thats part of what attracted Palindrome to the area, Neal told The News Tribune last month.

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The second phase would be the apartment building, which would have retail space on the bottom floor. The third phase would be the townhomes.

Palindrome plans to apply for one of the citys multi-family tax exemptions, The News Tribune previously reported. The project would be exempt from property taxes for 12 years if about 25 percent of the units are affordable and the council approves the exemption.

Developer plans mixed-use project with rentals, townhomes, brewery in downtown Puyallup

The details are still being worked out, city spokesperson Eric Johnson said Friday. The council would consider the exemption at a future meeting, not Tuesday night.

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In addition to some of the apartments, Palindrome plans to make two of the seven townhomes affordable, according to the agenda materials.

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, The News Tribune reported. A family of two could qualify if they make less than about $74,150.

They wouldnt set rents this early for the apartments, but the developer told the council during the presentation last month that a market-rate rent for a new one-bedroom unit in the area is about $1,900 and that a one-bedroom affordable housing unit rents for about $1,600.

Staff writer Debbie Cockrell and News Tribune archives contributed to this report.
Despite common assumptions, the disk of our Solar System is warped, and the planets travel around the Sun in slightly eccentric (or oblong) orbits.

Scientists now think that a mysterious object massive enough to have gravitational interactions with the Solar Systems disk and planets flew by billions of years ago and permanently altered their orbital patterns.

The chance that this hypothetical object is what warped our Solar System is actually very highand it might even come around again.

When you first learned about the Solar System, you probably saw diagrams that made it look orderly, with planets arranged in circular orbits around the Sun on a flat disk. But in reality, our Solar Systems disk is far from flat. The whole system is actually warped.

If those intro depictions were more accurate, the orbits of the planets would be more eccentricthink slightly more oblong than circularand the entire disk would be tilted. And for a long time, scientists have been uncertain how exactly it came to be that way. But recently, physicists Garett Brown and Hanno Rein from the University of Toronto and planetary scientist Renu Malhotra of the University of Arizona, have hypothesized that a trespassing object may have been the culpritgetting in the way of our systems formation.

The scenario of a close encounter with a substellar object offers a plausible explanation for the origin of the moderate eccentricities and inclinations of the [] planets, the researchers said in a study recently posted to the preprint server arXiv. The hypothetical object might not have necessarily been a planet, but would have needed to be heavy enough to cause a gravitational disturbance that had lasting effects on the Solar Systems disk and planetary orbits.

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Our s is thought to have emerged from a nebulaa gargantuan cloud of dust and gasabout 4.6 billion years ago. The Sun most likely began forming when this nebula collapsed in the wake of the shockwave blasted out by a supernova that exploded in close proximity. A protoplanetary disk would have then formed out of the particles of dust and gas left over from that nebula, which in turn eventually condensed into planets that were pulled into their orbits by the gravity of the Sun.

Brown, Rein and Malhotra think that sometime during the Solar Systems formation, an uninvited guest anywhere between 2 and 50 times the mass of Jupiter barged in fast enough to both shift the disks tilt and elongate the planets orbits before making a quick escape. Using numerical simulations, the researchers figured out that a flyby like this would have about a 1 in 100 chance at reshaping our Solar System into what it is today, and that the interloping objects closest approach to the Sun must have been less than 20 AU (1 AU is the distance between the Earth and the Sun).

If there really was such an intruder, what exactly the object was and where it went are questions still hanging in space. Was this a rogue planet that escaped into the void, or an object with an orbit so eccentric that it travels to the furthest reaches of the Solar System and takes billions of years to complete its orbit?

The second possibility had the researchers thinking there could be a chance that the mystery object will someday return to the inner Solar System. More simulations showed that there is a slight chance that a second gravitational interaction with this object could be pretty chaoticit could kick one of our planets out of our system entirely, or warp both the disc of the Solar System and the orbits of the planets even more.

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But dont start doomsday prepping just yet. There is really only between a 1 in 1,000 and a 1 in 10,000 chance of another flyby happening. And even if it does, we wont have to worry about it for 20 million years. Phew.

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Texans who didn't receive a stimulus check from the Recovery Rebate Credit in 2021 could get a surprise deposit by the end of January.

The Internal Revenue Service announced in December that it will begin issuing payments later this month to one million taxpayers who missed claiming them when filing their 2021 tax returns.

The IRS said the decision came about after reviewing internal data which showed eligible taxpayers who filed a return did not claim the credit. The Recovery Rebate Credit is a "refundable credit for individuals who did not receive one or more Economic Impact Payments (EIP), also known as stimulus payments," according to the IRS.

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"Looking at our internal data, we realized that one million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible," IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a news release. "To minimize headaches and get this money to eligible taxpayers, were making these payments automatic, meaning these people will not be required to go through the extensive process of filing an amended return to receive it."

How can you receive a stimulus check, and how do you know if you're eligible? Here's what to know.

People are also reading: When does IRS start accepting tax returns? See first day to file, how to track your refund

What do I need to do to receive a stimulus check?

According to the IRS, eligible taxpayers do not need to do anything to receive the stimulus payments, which went out automatically in December and should arrive by late January this year.

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Taxpayers will receive the payments either by direct deposit or paper check, the IRS said. The payment will be direct deposited into the bank account provided on the eligible person's 2023 tax return or sent to the address of record.

Am I getting a stimulus check in 2025? How to check eligibility

Eligible taxpayers will receive a separate letter notifying them of the incoming stimulus payment.

In addition to the notification letters, taxpayers can also look back at their 2021 tax returns and see if they left the Recover Rebate Credit field blank or filled it out as $0. The IRS states that those receiving the payment are "taxpayers for whom IRS data indicates qualification for the credit."

How much money will I get?

Stimulus payments will vary, but the maximum amount an eligible taxpayer could receive is $1,400, according to the IRS.

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The total estimated amount being dispersed nationwide is $2.4 billion, the revenue service said.

What if I didn't file a 2021 tax return?

Those who did not file a 2021 tax return could still be eligible to receive the stimulus check if they file their 2021 return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit by April 15, 2025, the IRS said.

"Eligible taxpayers who did not file must file a tax return to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit, even if their income from a job, business or other source was minimal or non-existent," according to the IRS.

 USA TODAY contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: IRS stimulus checks: See eligible taxpayers, amounts for January 2025
California  the self-proclaimed liberal resistance to President Trumps policies  has long had an outsize voice in the nations politics.

But now, with the Republican back in the White House, many of the state's Democrats in Congress are bracing for another battle  to ensure robust wildfire recovery funding, safeguard former President Bidens policies and advance their partys broader social and fiscal ambitions in the nations deeply polarized capital.

It gets harder, but it's still doable and necessary, said Sen. Alex Padilla, noting that one of his first major bipartisan pieces of legislation after joining the Senate four years ago was to partner with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an effort that ultimately provided billions of dollars of federal funding to fix the nations electrical grid after ice storms decimated swaths of Texas. Padilla said he drew upon his experience having chaired a state legislative committee on energy.

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I was able to speak knowledgeably about some of these issues, and we made progress, right? So that's kind of been the model on a number of things I've tried to take on, Padilla said in an interview earlier this month in his Senate office. Admittedly, seniority can be helpful. I think, more importantly, it does come back down to the relationships and the knowledge.

Still, the Porter Ranch resident concedes that he has concerns about the coming years.

What my biggest frustration is is how many of my Republican colleagues have told me the right thing behind closed doors about 'Dreamers' and farmworkers and others, but haven't been willing to say it publicly, Padilla said, adding that he is heartened yet skeptical about Trumps recent statements about young people who were brought into the country without legal authorization. I have to be open to it, because I owe that to 'Dreamers' and owe that to my constituents, so I will never give up.

Padilla was appointed to the Senate after Kamala Harris was elected vice president in 2020. With just four years in the office, he is emblematic of the states declining clout in the nations capital.

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Read more: Trump talks 'free speech' while moving to muzzle those he disagrees with

For decades, California held sway in both chambers of Congress. Then Sen. Barbara Boxer retired and Sen. Dianne Feinstein died. Democrat Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Republican Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield are no longer House speakers.

With 52 House members, California still has the largest state delegation, including 43 Democrats who are adamant they must stand up for the voters ideals at a time when many of them staunchly oppose Trump's policies on issues such as immigration and reproductive rights.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) decried the Trump administrations move to eliminate birthright citizenship as unconstitutional, and derided the presidents decision to shut down diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the federal government.

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He applauded California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, a Democrat, who has taken a front-and-center role in pushing back against the Trump administrations immigration policy rollbacks. But Khanna also acknowledged his limitations on curbing the Trump administrations policy goals in Congress.

The California congressional delegation has to be "as vocal as we can on these issues, and expose what's going on and tell the stories of what's going on, so that people know how extreme some of these ideas are, Khanna said.

Much of the California delegations attention has been consumed by the wildfires and disaster response in Los Angeles. Khanna, along with newly elected Rep. George Whitesides (D-Agua Dulce), are planning to introduce legislation that would make it a federal crime to commit arson or loot in wildfire-torn areas. Padilla introduced a package of bills recently that would boost pay for federal wildland firefighters and create affordable housing from temporary disaster shelters.

Reps. Sara Jacobs (D-San Diego), Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), Luz Rivas (D-North Hollywood) and Whitesides introduced legislation on Friday to require the leaders of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to streamline and coordinate the bureaucracy involved in federal disaster response. Currently, more than 30 federal agencies are involved, resulting in fragmentation and delays that Jacobs said she saw firsthand last year after devastating flooding caused $90 million in damage in San Diego.

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"After that disaster, I heard from so many constituents who didn't know where to turn for help. They faced slow responses from federal agencies," Jacobs said. "They finally got help, but it was too little, too late."

Other California lawmakers have put forward a range of bills to address the disaster.

But even disaster aid has become hung up in Washingtons politics. Along with her Democratic colleagues from California, Rivas, whose district includes the areas burned in the Hurst fire, has been outspoken that any federal wildfire aid should not come with conditions, as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Trump have suggested. Trump has said that the Southern California fires made pushing other parts of his political policy agenda easier," though on a visit to the region Friday, he said: We have to work together to get this really worked out."

The Republicans are trying to use this as a way to get something else that has nothing to do with the response to this disaster, Rivas said. And so all of us are unified in that, making sure that doesn't happen.

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Many of Californias elected Democrats in Washington who are now grappling with the deeply polarized Congress spent much of their political careers in Democrat-dominated bodies, such as the state Legislature.

Rep. Dave Min (D-Irvine) is still getting used to his transition from being part of a supermajority in the state Senate to the minority party in the House after he won the Orange County seat Katie Porter vacated to run for U.S. Senate.

I did not contemplate a universe in which I won and we were not a majority, Min said.

Californian Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) hold sway as the House Democratic Caucus chair and vice chair respectively. But without California's usual cadre of Democratic heavyweights, the states representatives are fighting for influence. Republicans also hold power in every congressional committee.

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Read more: Is Xavier Becerra's next move running for governor? He's not saying. Yet.

Something that dominates our caucus discussions, my conversations with Democratic colleagues, particularly freshmen  what can we do in this environment? Min said. You know, because I can't introduce bills that will go anywhere.

Even if his legislation has little shot at succeeding, Min said hell continue to push his messaging  like a recent amendment he pitched that federal aid for Californias wildfire response should not contain conditions.

While he acclimates to the long days and exhausting pace of travel between California and Washington, Min said he was reaching out to his Republican colleagues across the aisle. He said hes already befriended several on a recent new members retreat in Williamsburg, Va.

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I know there are good people on that side of the aisle. They are under a lot of pressure to vote with the MAGA Donald Trump agenda, he said. But at some point, the hope is that if we continue being the conscious conscience of Congress, that maybe some of them will peel off.

Others are more used to Washington's polarization.

California Sen. Adam Schiff, who took office in December, is optimistic that the Senate will be more collegial and resemble what the House was before the Trump era. He noted that, as a representative from Burbank, he had a close relationship with Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) because both of their districts had major space and science interests.

"The Houston Space Center was part of his history. I had JPL. We were so inseparable when it came to NASA and space funding and priorities," Schiff said. "We didn't talk about abortion, we didn't talk about guns, we didn't talk about the things that divide us, we focused on the thing we have in common. ... And my sense already, after being in the Senate for a month, is that the opportunity to form those kind of partnerships is much more prevalent here."

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Still, the elected leaders acknowledged uncertainty.

"I'm encouraged," Padilla said. "But we're just understanding the dynamics of this new Congress, majorities in the House and the Senate, and incoming President Trump."

Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Two Queens bars were duped into letting bands touting alleged neo-Nazi imagery book shows this month  until massive online backlash alerted the establishments owners to the purported hate ties.

Juan Bar in Corona and Trans-Pecos in Ridgewood were scheduled to host the bands Volahn and Zoloa on Jan. 26 and 27, respectively.

Eduardo Ramirez, a member of both groups, has opened for the Nazi-affiliated band Inquisition and fronted other bands with swastika-like logos, in addition to being spotted sporting band tees of the infamous nazi band Graveland, according to a compendium of hate bands by German metal fest Hellseatic.

Juan Bar has since canceled this show amid outcry. juanbar.restaurant /Instagram

Ramirez  the leader of a collective of Aztec- and Mayan-themed black metal groups in southern California  has also been pictured with the cofounder of Wolves of Vineland, dubbed a Neo-Volkisch hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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The planned events were far from the first time bands with alleged Nazi ties have booked shows in the Big Apple.

In 2016, the now-shuttered Williamsburg, Brooklyn, watering hole Black Bear Bar hosted a skinhead punk festival, complete with a crowd that performed Nazi salutes, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

Todd Patrick, 49, who runs Trans-Pecos, told The Post that his venue canceled the Zoloa show within an hour of the massive backlash on Reddit.

Trans-Pecos booked this event through a friend who often steers punk and hardcore events in New York City: we were familiar with Salvaje Punk, who is local and has played here many times, but we didnt know the other bands on the bill, Patrick said in a statement.

Inside the Ridgewood, Queens, music venue Trans-Pecos. Dorian Geiger/NY Post

When the Reddit post explaining the controversy with Eduardo Ramirez got forwarded to us by many people, it was news to us, he said.

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We did our research and quickly concluded that there was a lot of evidence that this guy has a history of connections to neo-nazi groups. Neo-nazi ideology is the antithesis of what Trans-Pecos stands for, so we let the organizers know that Zoloa could not perform here. The event fell apart after that, and ended up being canceled altogether.

Patrons at the eatery that Trans-Pecos operates during the day, the Vietnamese restaurant Nha Minh, told The Post they were disappointed to learn that Ramirezs bands with suspected Nazi ties were booked before the allegations came to the owners attention.

I think it was smart for [Trans-Pecos] to cancel it because especially in this kind of neighborhood where its inclusive and [has] different diasporas and backgrounds  its a sensitive topic for sure, Brooklyn resident and 25-year-old retail worker Lauryn told The Post.

Lauryn added that Trans-Pecos should be more vigilant about who they book going forward.

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Dave Anh, 30, who was at Nha Minh with his family Friday afternoon, said, Thats cool they canceled it  theyre doing the right thing.

[That type of hate] doesnt belong anywhere.

Multiple attempts by The Post to reach Juan Bar management were unsuccessful.

Here is the interior of Juan Bar in Corona, Queens. Dorian Geiger/NY Post

But according to a Jan. 16 post on Instagram translated from Spanish, the bar said it is not part of any nazi ideology, we only rent the space for events.

We were not aware of these bands, and the authorities are aware, since we have received many threats from other bands, the bars account post said. Many thanks to the people who informed us.

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Requests for comment from both bands and Ramirez were not returned.

Ramirez himself has not explicitly confirmed or denied his ties to Nazism, but some online posters, as well as Patrick, claimed Ramirez has co-opted Latin American symbols and integrated them with hateful iconography.

This guy did a thing where he took the Mesoamerican folkloric swastika and reversed the arms to match the Nazi one, and then he swapped out the Nazi outstretched eagle for a Mesoamerican eagle and then put the swastika directly below it, just like the famous Nazi symbol, Patrick said.

The Juan Bar is where Eduardo Ramirezs band was slated to play Sunday. Dorian Geiger/NY Post

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But the thing that really caught my attention and I think others that really sealed the deal is the fact the gentleman had been involved in events  with a very well-known Nazi [and] true white power artist. You dont accidentally do that.

Ramirez also played Oaklands Never Surrender festival, which local activists dubbed a Nazi fest during protests to shut the event down in 2019, according to KQED.

[This] was put together by people who are absolutely not hiding the fact that theyre Nazis, Patrick said of the event. You know, like, theres no flirting around on this. These are actual racist skinheads.

Local music enthusiast Edwin Santacruz, 41, who has attended multiple Trans-Pecos shows in the past, said, Whoever is using swastikas just for fun, Im not into that.

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For some people, its like theres a gray area  not for me. And I think Trans-Pecos did the right thing.

Santacruz called on Ramirez and Zoloa and Volahn to clear the air immediately.

[Zoloa] just basically got canceled. If they want to keep playing music, they [will] want to clarify what was the member in the band or really what he was doing or who he is if they want to keep playing music, he said. But now theyre targeted, and people know who they are.
A diver just stumbled upon a bounty of ancient coins off the coast of Italy.

Cultural ministers believe the that find could point toward an unknown lost shipwreck in the region.

The bronze and copper coins were originally minted in Rome.

A diver stumbled across the find of a lifetime off the coast of Sardinia when a stray shiny item loosened itself from the sea grass below. That metallic sheen turned out to herald a bounty ofmore than 30,000 bronze and copper coins minted in Rome during the fourth century.

The treasure found in the waters of Arzachena represents one of the most important discoveries of numismatic finds in recent years, Luigi La Rocca, director general of archaeology, fine arts, and landscape for the region, says in a translated statement from the Italian culture ministry.

Near the town of Arzachena, divers were trolling an area of sandy clearing near the beach that was also surrounded by seagrass. That one coin soon yielded tens of thousands of others, all in an excellent and rare state of preservation and dating back to between 324 and 340 AD. The ministry says that, thanks to the weight of the coins, there could be at least 30,000 of them and as many as 50,000. That would make this one of the largest ancient coin finds in the past few decades.

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And, if were lucky, it may even point to a completely undiscovered hidden shipwreck.

The underwater makeup of the region has the potential to preserve a lost shipwreck, which could explain the finding of so many coins in one spot. While there is no news yet of a wreck being found, experts remain hopeful that one could turn up after further investigation.

Right now, we will have to content ourselves with the excitement of the huge bounty of coins discovered littering the seafloor. The follis coinsfound in both bronze and copperwere used first by the Romans and then later by the Byzantine Empire.

When the divers first saw the coins, they contacted authorities and art protection squad drivers joined with the ministrys undersea archaeology department, firefighter divers, and border police divers to dig into the area. Alongside the coins, the divers also located walls of narrow-necked jugs with two handles, which also helped point experts towards the idea that a shipwreck may be nearby.

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(The finding) highlights the richness and importance of the archaeological heritage that our seabed, traversed by men and goods since the earliest times, still guards and preserves, La Rocca said.

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NEW YORK (PIX11)  Miracles can come true!

Petco Love Lost, a database for missing pets, reached out to PIX11 News to share the incredible journey of a dog who trekked across New York City and even crossed state lines before reuniting with her owner less than 24 hours later.

More Local News

The story begins with Michael and his adopted one-year-old dog Millie.

One day, while Michael was traveling out-of-state, Millie was out on a walk with one of Michaels friends in East Village when she reportedly got spooked, slipped out of her harness, and ran off. The friend gave chase but to no avail.

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Michael returned to New York City and searched for Millie overnight. Her photo was uploaded onto Petco Love Lost along with her microchip information.

In under 24 hours, Michael received a notification that Millie had been found and was at an emergency vet in Paramus, New Jersey.

Michael learned that Millie was found in Harlem, where she had been struck by a car. A Good Samaritan stopped traffic to retrieve her and take her to get treated. Millie sustained scrapes, cuts, and a leg injury.

Dog found alone in Tompkins Square Park needs help finding its owner

An employee at the vets office uploaded Millies photo and her microchip information, which led to Petco Love Losts technology matching the lost and found reports.

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Michael and Millie reunited in New Jersey. It was quite a nightmare, said Michael. Petco Love Lost helped me find Millie. It was fantastic. It couldnt have worked better. I had never heard of anything like that technology.

Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of his work here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ)  A native of Romania who was previously deported in Texas in 2019 was allegedly found again, this time in Pennsylvania.

Nicolae Strava, 30, was indicted Jan. 23 by a federal grand jury for illegal re-entry, the United States Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced.

According to acting US Attorney John C. Gurganus, Strava was previously removed from the U.S. on April 23, 2019, through Houston, Texas. The indictment alleges he was then found in Centre County on Sept. 20, 2024, without having legal permission to reenter the United States.

Previously, a native of Columbia was found in western Pennsylvania after two previous deportations. You can read more about her by clicking here.

The maximum penalty Strava faces if convicted is two years in prison, a fine, and supervised release.

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.

Gurganus said the case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Zenzinger is prosecuting the case.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspects Ministry of Transport work for the Spring Festival travel rush in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday emphasized the need to safeguard safe, smooth travel for the public during the Spring Festival travel rush, as well as the efficient operations of transport logistics.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when inspecting Ministry of Transport work for the holiday travel season.

The Spring Festival travel season is a time when happy journeys are made for families to come together, and this year's travel rush is expected to hit a record high number of such journeys, posing another test for the country's transport system, Li said.

He urged smooth, efficient passenger transport based on the scientific analysis of passenger flow patterns. Adjustments should be made to increase the number of train services, optimize schedules, and extend operating hours, allowing travelers to reach their destinations in a timely manner, Li said.

China has recently experienced widespread rain, snow and cold weather, significantly impacting transport, he noted, calling for work to monitor weather changes, provide forecast and warning information through multiple channels, and stay prepared to respond to emergencies to minimize the impact of severe weather on public travel.

After he was briefed on foreign trade and express logistics services at ports during the holiday travel rush, Li said that efficient port cargo transportation is a significant advantage for China's foreign trade, and that it is important to maintain effective port logistics to ensure the timely delivery of overseas orders during the holiday.

He highlighted the country's smooth logistics network, urging express delivery firms to allocate labor and transport resources effectively to meet the basic delivery service needs of the public.

Efforts should be made to ensure the supply of essential materials during the peak travel period, such as food, coal for electricity and heating, and holiday necessities, he said. 
The end of WH Smith on the high street; Retail bombshell; The fall of WH Smith. The news that one of the UKs best-known chains is planning to jettison its town centre stores was barely hours old and already the dewy-eyed obituaries were being penned.

GB News was so alarmed by the prospect of this once-great shopping institution vanishing from towns up and down the country that it felt compelled to run a snap survey.

Would you miss WH Smith on Britains high streets? it asked viewers. The assumption is that the nation was plunged into a period of prolonged mourning as yet another stalwart of the countrys dwindling retail scene prepared to meet its maker.

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We have social media to thank for providing a more rounded response. Popped into @WHSmith at Londons Waterloo Station yesterday. They were trialling a revolutionary new system  a real shop assistant serving customers at a till, joked one X user.

Another bemoaned the s----y self-service checkout with no elbow room and some miserable b----r who doesnt even acknowledge my existence while I do their bloody job. A third predicted that there would not be a chain that people would miss less than WH Smith.

Of course, it is sad every time another company turns its back on traditional bricks and mortar. Every exit is another nail in the coffin of the UK high street. Town centres are being rapidly hollowed out as, one after another, struggling retailers that have been a mainstay of shopping precincts pull out, leaving behind empty, boarded-up premises.

Theres a negative knock-on effect too, whereby each new business failure makes it more likely that others will throw in the towel too. As the big banks shamelessly close branches as fast as they can get away with and pubs continue to struggle with spiralling costs, your typical high street will soon be a thoroughly depressing mix of vape kiosks, Turkish barbers, charity shops, and forgettable pound stores selling cheap biscuits, bleach, bird food and plastic tat.

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But there is really no need to mourn the fate of WH Smiths high street arm for more than a few seconds. There is always a tendency to bring out the black armbands when a big high street name is in trouble. It was the same with Woolworths, BHS, Mothercare, Topshop/Topman, Wilko and many others. We allow sentimentality and nostalgia to cloud our memory and fool us into pining for a version of something that ceased to exist years ago.

In reality, every one of these once-illustrious names were missed for about five minutes and no one has given them another thought since. What tends to get overlooked is that there is a very good reason why these names vanish in the first place and that is because most people stopped shopping there a long time ago.

WH Smith is no different. I doubt many folk have been in one more than a handful of times in the last few years and there are several reasons for that. One, theres no need to. And two, even if there was, it is about as soulless a shopping experience as it is possible to conceive of.

Indeed, I struggle to think of a valid excuse for setting foot in a WH Smith branch other than to buy a newspaper or magazine perhaps. It sells stationery but is anyone still buying writing pads, envelopes or pens on a regular basis when most communication is done by email or through some form of instant smartphone messaging? Birthday cards? There is a reason why Paperchase went bust and it is called Moonpig. Books? I have seen better car boot sales.

What excuse would you have to go into a WH Smith store? Overpriced drinks and cards? - Philip Toscano/PA

They do sandwiches too, only much worse than their rivals, and sweets and drinks  but at prices that surely no one in their right mind would countenance except as a last resort. In fact, nearly everything on sale in WH Smith appears to have had an eye-watering premium slapped on it.

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Their airport and train station shops are able to get away with charging rip-off prices because they have a captive audience and there are few, if any, alternative places to shop. But that is not the case on the high street.

People have rightly voted with their feet as repeated rounds of cost-cutting have left many of its high street outlets in desperate need of a serious dose of TLC. Some look like they have been abandoned.

The idea that a visit to a WH Smith has been improved by rows of self-service checkouts is nonsense, though at least it means theres no danger of being cajoled into buying a packet of three Cadburys creme eggs by an indifferent shop assistant.

There is a slim chance it may limp on under new ownership, of course. The company has said it is hunting for a buyer rather than looking to bring down the curtain on the business. It may even be revived, though that seems unlikely given that it has been stuck in a state of steady decline for at least the last decade and a half  perhaps longer. But it would probably be no more than a stay of execution.

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Far more likely is that the decision of its parent company to offload 520 high street stores means the beginning of the end. It is always sad when any historic name is threatened with extinction and in WH Smith the high street would be losing a chain that opened its first store in 1792. Back then, George III was on the throne and the French Revolutionary Wars had just kicked off.

But it is hardly a shock. The real surprise is that a retailer that has long been a byword for mediocrity managed to last this long.

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Donald Trump has granted Elon Musk's DOGE access to most unclassified data held by U.S. government agencies.

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been granted access to most unclassified data held by U.S. government agencies.

In an executive order formally establishing Musk's cost-cutting initiative, President Donald Trump created DOGE by reorganizing an existing Obama-era entity, the U.S. Digital Service.

This move grants Musk and his DOGE colleagues access to a trove of federal data with minimal transparency requirements.

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Under the executive order, U.S. government agencies must set up DOGE teams to implement the DOGE agenda and grant them full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems.

According to the executive order, DOGE teams will typically include "one DOGE Team Lead, one engineer, one human resources specialist, and one attorney. "

DOGE has officially been tasked with "modernizing federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity," but Musk's goals are considerably larger.

The billionaire has said he wants to slash $2 trillion from U.S. spending, primarily through "mass headcount reductions across the federal bureaucracy."

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However, Musk has recently tried to walk back the $2 trillion figure, calling it a best-case outcome and stating he thought there was only a good shot at cutting half that amount.

The cost-cutting initiative was initially set to be a federal advisory committee, which would have subjected it to various transparency rules under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, including making its meetings publicly accessible.

By repurposing an existing government organization, Trump has effectively given DOGE access to a vast amount of government data while sidestepping these transparency requirements.

One former employee of Obama's U.S. Digital Service agency told Wired that Trumps choice to reorganize USDS into DOGE was an A+ bureaucratic jiu-jitsu move. However, they expressed concern about DOGEs access to sensitive information.

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Is this technical talent going to be pointed toward using data from the federal government to track down opponents? they said. To track down particular populations of interest to this administration for the purposes of either targeting them or singling them out or whatever it might end up being?

Representatives for DOGE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune, made outside normal working hours.

What was the USDS?

The U.S. Digital Service was originally established by Obama in 2014 after the Healthcare.gov crash.

The agency was intended to be a specialized government technology team that could be deployed to government agencies struggling with outdated technology, working on projects like fixing the website for the Social Security Administration.

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Its unclear exactly how DOGE will coexist with USDS, but agency employees are reportedly being re-interviewed for their roles.

A report from NextGov said that current employees were being asked about technical assessments, whether they would relocate to D.C., and why the organization isn't delivering.

One person familiar with the situation told NextGov there was a fear among USDS staff that they were being assessed for their loyalty to the newly reinstated President Trump.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
WASHINGTON  Donald Trump unleashed a flurry of sweeping executive orders, proclamations and regulatory freezes during his first week in office aimed at reshaping the federal government and enacting his MAGA agenda.

And one thing the president isnt letting get in the way of his mission: federal laws passed by Congress.

Over the weekend, Trump fired at least 17 inspectors general, whose job is to root out corruption in government agencies, without notifying Congress in advance as required by statute, a move critics denounced as a chilling purge that signals the president intends to replace them with his loyalists instead.

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Several of Trumps directives ordered government agencies to pause or withhold funds appropriated by Congress  including key climate investments, money for infrastructure projects and nearly all U.S. assistance to foreign nations  challenging the constitutional role of Congress and its power of the purse.

Moreover, Trumps decision not to enforce a federal ban on the social media app TikTok and his administration eliminating a school safety board that was created in the wake of the Parkland shooting massacre added to the list of actions that appeared to flout acts of Congress.

I think that Trump has issued many executive orders that are clearly illegal, Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional law scholar and the dean of UC Berkeleys School of Law, told HuffPost. Some of it is political, some of it is to test the bounds of the law. He really wants to push executive power further than its ever been before.

Technically Violating The Law

Republicans who complained about executive overreach under Joe Bidens administration praised Trumps early administrative moves, even though some now acknowledge the president is acting outside the bounds of federal law.

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Asked Sunday if Trump violated the statute by not giving notice before firing the inspectors general across nearly all government agencies, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said, No, he didnt, before retracting.

No, well, technically, yeah. But he has the authority to do it, Graham said during an interview with NBCs Meet the Press. So Im not, you know, losing a whole lot of sleep that he wants to change the personnel out. I just want to make sure that he gets off to a good start. I think he has.

Inspectors general are tasked with providing independent audits, inspections and investigations of government agencies. After Trump fired five inspectors general at the end of his first presidential term, Congress passed a law that increased the removal protections for the post, including requiring a 30-day notification as to the specific reasons for their removal action.

Mark Greenblatt, inspector general at the U.S. Department of the Interior, said he received a two-sentence email on Friday evening informing him that he was terminated from his position.

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These removals should be setting off alarm bells for a number of different reasons, but the primary one, in my view, is the independence of these positions, Greenblatt told CNN on Monday. The whole construct of inspectors general, its based on us being independent, that were not beholden to a political party  and so thats the question is, what will  what will President Trump do with these positions?

Illegal Spending Freeze

Trumps executive orders pausing the disbursement of funds appropriated by Congress drew criticism from ethics watchdogs and Democratic lawmakers who warned that Trump is violating the Impoundment Control Act, which sets limits on how much a president can restrict money approved by Congress.

In addition to pausing nearly all U.S. foreign aid, Trumps orders stopped money flowing to some programs established by Bidens climate and health care law and his bipartisan infrastructure law.

Congress may give the president discretion regarding how to implement the programs for which it appropriates money. But in general, the executive branch does not have discretion whether to implement such programs, the government watchdog group CREW wrote in a letter to congressional leaders on Monday. Put simply, it is illegal and contrary to our constitutional structure for the president to disobey appropriations acts duly enacted after Congress publicly considers and determines funding levels for the federal government.

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Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, also criticized Trumps spending freezes. The senator noted that both Trump and Russ Vought, his nominee to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget, view the Impoundment Control Act as unconstitutional despite there being no court decision finding it so.

It doesnt matter how presidents feel about the law  it matters what the law is, Murray said.

If Trump goes ahead and holds up funding that has been signed into law, it wont just be illegal  it will hurt families, halt projects to rebuild Americas roads and bridges, kill good-paying new jobs and so much more, she added.

TikTok Running On Borrowed Time

Trumps executive order telling the Department of Justice not to enforce a federal ban on TikTok gave the popular social media app and its millions of users a reprieve  but its one that Congress never intended.

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The law, which passed last April, allowed the president to delay the Jan. 19 ban on TikTok for 90 days if he certified that there had been significant progress made toward a sale of the app. Thats yet to happen, and Trump has denied a report that the White House is working on a deal with Oracle and a group of other outside investors to secure TikToks presence in the U.S.

Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it, and Id make that decision probably over the next 30 days, Trump said of TikToks future over the weekend.

But lawmakers in both parties said they dont mind giving TikTok added time if it means its ties to Chinas government are severed.

My understanding of where we are now is its much the same thing where theres a period of time to allow a deal to be consummated, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told HuffPost last week. The objective is to force China to sell the damn thing. If thats where we end up, Im happy.

School Safety Board Axed

Trumps administration also terminated an office last week whose purpose was to advise federal agencies on best practices to protect students. It was created under Trumps first term after the Parkland school shooting massacre and codified into law by the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which extended background checks for firearm purchasers under the age of 21 and boosted mental health programs.

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The panel included school safety experts, alongside the parents of children who died in school shootings, advocates for civil rights and disability rights, superintendents, and leaders of organizations that represent school and district administrators, according to Education Week.

The Department of Homeland Security, under which the advisory panel was housed, told the outlet it would no longer tolerate any advisory committee which push agendas that attempt to undermine its national security mission.

The bipartisan law, as you know, took assault weapons out of the hands of younger people and was the first major advance in gun safety since the Brady Law, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday, referring to the federal law that required background checks on gun purchases. I was the author of the Brady Law as well  this entire board, which is working hard to stop more Parklands from happening, has been shut down.

Legal experts said that every president issues executive orders testing the limits of their authority, but whether they will stick is far from guaranteed.

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The ultimate question is will Congress find that these exercises of authority require any oversight? My assumption so far is, likely no, said Aram Gavoor, an associate dean for academic affairs at George Washington University Law School. I think its a bit of a wait-and-see. The president does appear to be exercising his authorities to deliver on campaign promises. Of course, litigation is already forthcoming, but many of these big questions would only be conclusively answered before the Supreme Court.

Arthur Delaney contributed reporting.

Related...
After much reflection, I have concluded the essential question every voter must ask first of every candidate for any elected position from drain commissioner to president. Forget asking about taxes or education or climate change and first ask:

If elected, will you govern as a responsible adult?

Get absolute assurance that the candidate, if elected, will behave as properly and soberly as an Amish farmer: respect at all times the essence of the constitutions (federal and state) and the governing process, respect their colleagues regardless of party, and put the expectations of the citizens above political tactics and silliness. With that handled, feel free to ask about taxes, climate, or whatever you like.

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Why now a focus on political maturity? Hasnt politics always been show business for ugly people? Doesnt our history shine with politicians at every level  local, state and federal  making ridiculous comments or behaving in sometimes bizarre ways (does the name Wilbur Mills mean anything to you)? (Editors note: Wilbur Mills was a congressman from Arkansas once considered the most powerful man in Washington, an epithet that ran aground in a Tidal Basin misadventure with an Argentinian stripper named Fanny Foxe.)

Yes, P.T. Barnum and every showman since have competed against our politicians.

But it is different now. The possibility of world conflict, the earths condition under climate change, the chances governmental action will alter our basic rights and our national purpose, mean we desperately need maturity. Republican, Democrat, independent, liberal, conservative, moderate  we the people and our elected leaders need to start acting like mature adults.

Minority Leader Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, in the Michigan Capitol Friday, December 13, 2024 during a press conference announcing House Republicans' decision to walk off the floor.

More from Freep Opinion: Trump's anti-trans executive order is breathtaking cruelty

A warning from down under

In the last decade, weve seen a disturbing normalization of political immaturity spread its tentacles from the White House and Congress to local and state leaders  and to the public. Many of us have had friendships and family relationships trashed because of this immaturity.

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For this reporter, the revelation we must reject bipartisan jackassery and start focusing on political maturity was provided by an Australian chap in the days before last Novembers election  he was visiting on a tour put on by a British company called Political Tours (full disclosure, I was paid to be a color commentator for the tour).

Do you understand, he asked, that there is only one essential country in the world? And that it is you? If your economy fails, all the worlds economies fail. If you cannot provide security for yourself, no country will be secure. He took a breath, then said, And do you understand that if your democracy fails, there will be no democracy anywhere in the world?

The you in his questions was not directed at me, but at all of us. An Aussie showed me that all of us Americans must lead. For the good of the world, we must set the example.

Right now, dont have the maturity.

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More from Freep Opinion: Trump's 25% tariffs on Canada will wreck Michigan economy

He's no Grover Cleveland

Donald Trump is now our 47th president, the second man elected to two non-consecutive terms. Grover Cleveland was the first, serving as our 22nd and 24th president.

Cleveland was more mature.

377869 60: Grover Cleveland, twenty-second and twenty-fourth President of the United States, serving two terms, the first from 1885 to 1889 and the second from 1893 to 1897.(Photo by National Archive/Newsmakers)

In the 1888 election, Cleveland won the popular vote, but lost the Electoral College to Benjamin Harrison. But Cleveland didnt encourage insurrection. He went back to New York to practice law, while preparing another run for president.

Trump refuses to admit he lost in 2020. Trumps obsessive lies about the 2020 results extends to his picks for the U.S. cabinet, some of whom seem terrified to incur Trumps mercurial rage by acknowledging that he lost. The strongest statement any of them would make was that then-President Joe Biden was president, without weighing in on how he got there. Juvenile silliness at, sadly, the highest level.

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Add Trumps intimidation of our closest ally, Canada, his implied threats of military action against the sovereign nations of Panama (over the Panama Canal, which the U.S. never owned) and Denmark (over Greenland, which both Danes and Greenlanders say aint for up for grabs, though they're happy to work out trade deals if we want to be adult about it).

Does any of this sound like a mature adult discussing important foreign affairs  or like a toddlers tantrum?

If you seek a pleasant peninsula ... try back later

Immaturity is rife everywhere. In North Carolina, there is a clown show trying to overturn the election of a Supreme Court justice. In Minnesota, Minnesota Nice is now Minnesota Nonsense as the parties slug it out for control of their legislature.

And Michigan, my Michigan. Im sorry folks, Attorney General Dana Nessel may have said members of the state House of Representatives were not legally at fault for how they acted in Decembers hobbling lame duck session (the GOP caucus refused to participate in session over transportation issues, and Detroit Democrat Karen Whitsett left session late one Friday night not to return for the rest of the month), but honestly, those lawmakers are morally wrong.

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If they had any sense of honor, they would refund their salaries for the lost sessions.

This shouldn't be hard

In the decades I spent reporting on Michigan government, I witnessed both Democrats and Republicans storm off the legislative floor in some pique. They might be absent for the rest of a day. But absenting themselves for weeks? No.

If a legislator opposes a bill, he or she should vote no. If theyre angry at someone, vote no on their bills. No lawmaker has to vote yes on anything.

New House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, aint winning any maturity awards for holding off presentation to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of the bills that did pass in the last legislative session.

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The Michigan Constitution is clear. Bills have to be presented to the governor. Folks argue the constitution gives no timeframe to present bills, but the members of the Constitutional Convention knew what they meant, and the voters knew its meaning when they approved it  so present the bills and deal with the consequences.

It doesnt take much to act with maturity, and it would mean much to our state, our country and the world.

Grow up, folks, and do it now.

Free Press contributing columnist John Lindstrom has covered Michigan politics for 50 years. He retired as publisher of Gongwer, a Lansing news service, in 2019. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online or in print.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: From Trump to Lansing, US lawmakers are acting like children | Opinion
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Fla (WDHN)  A Dothan man is behind bars in the Florida panhandle after investigators claimed he drove to meet and have sex with a teenage girl on multiple occasions.

24-year-old Alexander John Mauldin was arrested in Dothan on Friday, January 24. He is facing charges of sexual assault of a person under the age of 18 and obscene communication to meet after the use of a computer to lure a child.

According to the Washington County Sheriffs Office, Mauldin had friended a young girl between 12 and 18 on Snapchat, and when she accepted his friend request, they began talking, and he made plans to go to Washington County to meet with the girl.

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Florida man sexually assaults, kidnaps girl at Dothan hotel, police say

In a release to WDHN, WCSO Public Information Officer Kristy Kolmetz said during the investigation the girl told officers that she and Mauldin had sex on three different occasions, and they had discussed their ages.

An arrest warrant was issued for Mauldin, and he was arrested in Dothan before being extradited back to Washington County, where he is currently being held.

I cant stress enough for parents to monitor their childs social media apps daily, said Sheriff Kevin Crews.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Thurmont residents filled nearly every seat in the meeting room at the town's offices Thursday night, voicing concerns about a petition to annex 16 acres of farmland into the town for residential development  a repeat of an annexation petition the residents shot down in 2023.

The developer who submitted the petition asked to annex this same parcel in 2022.

However, the new petition comes with a new residential project, which the developer made less dense in response to residents' opposition to high-density housing.

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Many of them have the same concerns as the last time an annexation of this land was proposed, including infrastructure costs to taxpayers and increased traffic.

Some residents said this proposal shouldn't be discussed at all right now, given that the developer who put it forward has filed a lawsuit against Thurmont, Frederick County, dozens of residents and several homeowners associations.

Thurmont's Planning and Zoning Commission heard a presentation from Cross and Company, a local developer that wants to develop high-density housing on the Simmers property in and near the town.

The property is owned by Patricia Simmers, who hired Cross and Company to develop her land.

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About 7.8 acres is already in the town limits and is zoned for high-density residential use. The other 16.7 acres of the property are county land and zoned agricultural.

Another attempt

Daniel Cross, owner of Cross and Company, has already attempted once before to annex the Simmers property into the town.

He first approached Thurmont in 2018 about developing homes on the Simmers property, and the project evolved to include over 170 townhomes, an assisted living facility and a day care center.

Thurmont's Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 in 2022 to annex the property so the development could move forward  but the decision ignited criticism and backlash from residents.

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Opponents of the development gathered over 1,000 signatures on a petition to initiate a referendum vote about the matter. Residents overturned the commissioners' decision, voting 834-157 against the annexation in January 2023.

In November 2024, Cross submitted another annexation petition for another high-density residential development, the Albert Meadows neighborhood, on the Simmers property that is less dense.

Kelly Duty, the town planner, told the audience before Cross's presentation on the petition that under municipal codes, "the town officials and staff are charged with giving this application its due diligence, while understanding there are residents in opposition to the applicant's proposal."

The Planning and Zoning Commission plans to hold a public hearing on the annexation petition on March 27.

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The Albert Meadows project would include 100 homes  11 single-family homes, 35 villa townhomes and 54 townhouses  and a senior assisted living facility.

"We still are providing senior independent and senior assisted living. We still have family housing because there is a crying need for new students for your schools," Cross said.

He said the Albert Meadows density is down 42% from the project proposed for the Simmers property in 2022 in response to residents wanting less dense housing.

Cross also pulled specific quotes from various planning documents  including Thurmont's 2010 master plan, Thurmont's 2040 envisioned master plan, Livable Frederick master plans and the state's planning vision  that indicate the need for growth.

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One quote Cross pulled said, "The Town is planned to expand, mostly to the north and east." He said the Simmers property is in that area of Thurmont.

Another quote Cross highlighted in his presentation said, "The Thurmont Master Plan recommends against further farmland preservation within the municipal growth area. The Frederick County plan designates the Simmers property as an area for high density residential growth."

"This is wording taken from your documents, so these are not my words," Cross said.

Old and new concerns

The vast majority of residents at Thursday's meeting were opposed to the annexation petition. Many concerns that were brought up were similar to the ones heard when the Simmers property was up for annexation in 2022.

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People were worried about a development of this density and size taking away from Thurmont's small-town character by bringing too many new residents to the town.

They also said that the town, not Cross and Company, would need to pay for infrastructure upgrades to support this development, potentially raising costs for taxpayers.

Louise Schafer said she's concerned about how the development will impact the Albert Courts community, which is south of the Simmers property.

A rendering of the concept plan for the Albert Meadows development shows that Luther Drive and Easy Street in the Albert Courts community would be extended into Albert Meadows.

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She said that extending the roads would make Albert Courts a convenient shortcut into Albert Meadows and bring more traffic to an area that can't handle it.

She also brought up the fact that Thurmont's planning documents could still be changed and aren't binding.

"The master plan is not a codified document, and the mayor has said that nothing in the master plan is set in stone and that it is only a guideline, so Mr. Cross's compliance really means nothing," Schafer said. "... We don't need more three-story townhouses. We don't need more people. We don't need more traffic. Let's take care of our town and the people who love it."

Ashley Minso said this annexation could further a precedent of changing agricultural zoning for development purposes.

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"There are fronts on agricultural land throughout the county from all sides," she said. "I think if we start or we continue ... eroding what little ag land remains within town limits, I think that that is also going to lead to a very dangerous precedent for this county."

A few people spoke in favor of the annexation and development. One of the supporters was Ed Schildt, who ran for the Board of Commissioners in 2023 and said during his campaign that he supported the 2022 annexation.

He asked residents to think about the tax revenue that growth like this could bring to Thurmont and thus help pay for costs to maintain the town. Without population growth, he said, there could be tax increases.

Jan Guillory was the other person who spoke in favor of the project. She thinks the development would be "healthy growth" for Thurmont.

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"I like the fact that it's intergenerational living. I think there is some need for something for the elderly," she said. "... I do like this project, and I think they did cut it down, and I think they made a good effort to make it possible."

The lawsuit

Alicia Kuchinsky lives in Albert Courts and is one of the residents being sued by Cross and Company.

The developer filed a lawsuit in May against Thurmont, Frederick County, Albert Courts' homeowners associations, 30 residents and the company that originally built the Albert Courts community.

In the complaint, Cross and Company is asking for a ruling to force the defendants to remove a deserted stormwater management facility, which was built nearly 30 years ago while Albert Courts was being built, from the Simmers property.

The company is also asking for at least $75,000 from each Albert Courts resident who's a defendant in the lawsuit.

Kuchinsky told the Planning and Zoning Commission she doesn't think any decision on this proposal can be made while the lawsuit is pending because it already tips the decision in Cross and Company's favor.

"If the town of Thurmont does another referendum, he'll [Cross] hold us hostage, and we are continually paying for this, as he holds us hostage, to maybe put pressure on whoever we need to put pressure on to make it stop," she said. "Honestly, this shouldn't even be here. Why are we here? Until this is settled, nothing should be going forward."

Several other people agreed with Kuchinsky and also said that the lawsuit will just make people angrier at Cross and Company.
Nearly 40 people were injured, with six seriously injured, when a Boeing aircraft operated by United Airlines suddenly plunged in mid-air, forcing the fight to make an emergency landing.

According to CNN, per FlightRadar24 data, the incident occurred just 93 minutes after Flight 613 departed from Nigeria on its way to Dulles International Airport in Washington DC on Friday. There had been 245 passengers, eight flight attendants, and three pilots on board; with 31 passengers and seven crew members sustaining minor injuries. Of those injured, four passengers and two crew members were hurt seriously enough to require hospitalization.

Video that has surfaced online shows the chaotic aftermath of the incident, in which food trays, meals, and personal items can be seen strewn about the floor of the cabin. "We dropped so suddenly that I hit my head on the ceiling," recalled one passenger, adding that it happened three times.

United Airlines Flight #UA613 Makes Emergency Landing in Lagos: Six Seriously Injured Amid Mid-Air Incident



A United Airlines Boeing 787-8(N27903) Dreamliner, operating as flight UA613 from Lagos to Washington Dulles, was forced to return to Lagos after a mid-air technical issue pic.twitter.com/FrHCjOpbN9  Antony Ochieng,KE (@Turbinetraveler) January 24, 2025

The cause of the disturbance is still unclear. United Airlines has ruled out severe turbulence and said that it is "working with aviation authorities in the US and Nigeria to understand the cause."

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In a statement, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria said that a rescue team on the ground responded swiftly and were alert just four minutes after the pilot reported distress.

"Aviation medical ambulances transported the injured passengerssome to the MMA Clinic and others to the Headquarters Clinic," the statement read. "Those with minor injuries received first aid and were discharged immediately, while those with serious injuries were stabilized and transported to the Duchess Hospital in Ikeja. Some passengers were also taken to a hotel for accommodation. The aircraft itself did not sustain any damage."

PRESS RELEASE

JANUARY 24, 2025 pic.twitter.com/gccTXcREPc  Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (@FAAN_Official) January 24, 2025

A spokesperson for United Airlines told CNN that all hospitalized passengers have since been released.
Joe Biden ended his presidency by pre-emptively pardoning political allies and family members who had yet to be charged with any crimes. One pardon stands out: that of Dr Anthony Fauci. Pardoning Fauci wont make investigations into the origins of Covid-19 go away.

The pardon recites that Fauci is cleared of any offenses against the United States which he may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through the date of this pardon arising from or in any manner related to his service as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force or the White House Covid-19 Response Team, or as Chief Medical Advisor to the President.

Why 2014, six years before Covid-19 arrived on American shores? Why cover Faucis roles in three different jobs?

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There are a lot of accumulated grievances against Fauci. Many of them are political and scientific, not legal. Remember the six-foot social distancing rules that dominated school and business closures? Fauci admitted in 2024 that they werent based on any scientific studies at all.

He admitted that he did not recall seeing any evidence supporting the masking of young children, or of the costs of that policy, even though he had recommended that they be masked. Before he was pro-mask, he said in March 2020, Theres no reason to be walking around with a mask  because he was worried about a shortage of masks for doctors and nurses. Critics of the Covid-19 vaccines have also blamed Fauci. The list goes on.

The more serious hot water for the 84-year-old doctor, however, has been bubbling up from the origins of the Covid-19 virus and allegations that he lacked candour in testimony to Congress. In the past year, this has expanded to a House investigation into accusations of a pattern in Faucis corner of the National Institutes of Health of deliberately scheming to conceal information from public disclosure and oversight.

The story begins in 2014, when EcoHealth Alliance, an American research group led by Dr Peter Daszak, was awarded a $3.7 million NIH grant to study potential coronaviruses from bats. That autumn, the Obama White House publicly announced a moratorium on gain-of-function research into respiratory viruses  in other words, research into making a virus more contagious, more transmissible to humans, or more deadly.

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While such research can develop more scientific knowledge useful in fighting viruses, the moratorium responded to concerns that too many recent lab accidents raised the spectre of releasing what one group at the time called potential pandemic pathogens. Fauci had written a paper in 2012 arguing that gain-of-function research was worth the risks.

The moratorium lasted for three years, yet from 2014 through 2019, EcoHealth Alliance was funding the collection and manipulation of bat coronaviruses by virologists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Covid-19 pandemic emerged from Wuhan, where it became visible by November 2019.

An email sent to Fauci in late January 2020 suggests that he knew his agency was funding gain-of-function research into novel coronaviruses in Wuhan. EcoHealth group (Peter Daszak et al), has for years been among the biggest players in coronavirus work, wrote Faucis chief of staff Greg Folkers, noting how NIAID had financed its research in Wuhan for the past 5 years. A Congressional investigation established that Fauci and Dr Francis Collins (the head of NIH) were then on a conference call where they were warned that Covid-19 may have leaked from the WIV.

Their almost immediate reaction was to help other scientists on the call produce a paper entitled The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2 that sought to convince the scientific community and the public that the virus had a natural origin. In April, Collins emailed Fauci complaining that the paper hadnt succeeded and asking him to do more to put down the lab-leak theory. The next day, Fauci promoted the papers conclusions from a White House podium. He continued throughout the spring of 2020 to argue that the virus had evolved in nature and then jumped species.

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Daszak, meanwhile, argued against certain public disclosures from the WIV research, which he said would bring very unwelcome attention. Earlier this month, EcoHealth Alliance was debarred for five years from receiving federal grants.

When queried by Senator Rand Paul in May 2021, Fauci insisted that NIAID had not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. But his later defences of that testimony relied upon what a congressional investigation found to be hairsplittingly misleading definitions of what constitutes gain-of-function research.

Paul, now the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has accused Fauci of perjury, and said after Bidens pardon that I will not rest until the entire truth of the coverup is exposed. Faucis pardon will only serve as an accelerant to pierce the veil of deception.

When Republicans took over the House in 2023, they launched a Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic spearheaded by Ohio congressman Dr Brad Wenstrup. The committees report concluded that Dr Faucis testimony was, at a minimum, misleading.

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Amid all of this, the subcommittee dug into how NIH and NIAID appeared to plot to avoid scrutiny under the Freedom of Information Act. A series of damning emails emerged from David Morens, a senior NIAID adviser under Fauci since 1998 who had co-authored dozens of scientific papers with Fauci. Fauci downplayed his ties to Morens.

Morens told EcoHealth Alliance in emails to keep all communications like this on private email so that it cant be retrieved via a FOIA. He wrote in June 2020 that we are all smart enough to know to never have smoking guns, and if we did we wouldnt put them in emails and if we found them wed delete them. (Apparently, he wasnt that smart.)

In a February 2021 email, Morens wrote that he learned from our foia lady here how to make emails disappear after i am foiad but before the search starts, so I think we are all safe. He also wrote that he learned the tricks last year from an old friend, Marg Moore, who heads our FOIA office and also hates FOIAs.

Moore told the subcommittee through her lawyer that she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The committee also alleged that Folkers appeared to misspell keywords so they wouldnt be flagged in FOIA searches, such as writing Ec~Health.

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Morens wrote of a secret back channel, noting that he could either send stuff to Tony on his private gmail, or hand it to him at work. Fauci, he said, was too smart to let colleagues send him stuff that could cause trouble. Morens maintained to the House committee that his references to that channel were a joke, and that he didnt realise the emails he sent on his personal account constituted official government business.

Biden hasnt pardoned everyone around Fauci. And even if no criminal charges result, it seems unlikely that Congress is done with its investigations into NIAID and Covid-19.

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review

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One person you apparently do not expect to see when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement comes to arrest you: Dr. Phil.

But he was indeed on hand for a Sunday morning ICE raid in Chicago, where one illegal immigrant and convicted sex offender was bemused by the sight of the veteran TV host.

Youre Dr. Phil? You look like Dr. Phil, the man, who was in the U.S. illegally from Thailand, asked.

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Yeah. How do you know me?, Dr. Phil responded, in a clip recorded and posted to his X account.

I seen you on Dr. Phil, on TV, the man responded.

Dr. Phil was in Chicago alongside Tom Homan, President Donald Trumps border czar, as ICE searched for illegal immigrants.

This is an example of sanctuary cities, right? Homan said into the camera. We have an illegal alien, Convicted of sex crimes involving children, and hes walking the streets of Chicago.

JUST IN: The first arrest in Chicago with @RealTomHoman was a convicted sex offender and internet predator from Thailand.



For full live coverage of the operation, download the MeritTV app. pic.twitter.com/KEcphUWDDJ  Dr. Phil (@DrPhil) January 27, 2025

A moment earlier, Dr. Phil had asked the man if he had been deported previously. The man said no, but that he had been in the system before. When Dr. Phil asked him what he had been charged with in the past, the man said he would like to talk to his lawyer.

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Shortly afterwards, when Dr. Phil asked him again if he had been charged with sex crimes, the illegal immigrant responded not really. Homan then told his crew to take the man, who was handcuffed, and lock him up.

Dr. Phil said more of the ICE content could be found on his MeritTV app.

The post Dr. Phil Joins Tom Homan ICE Raid: Youre Dr. Phil? | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
Television personality Dr. Phil scored exclusive access to the start of President Donald Trump s long-promised mass deportation efforts on Sunday, and he made sure to get it all on camera.

The longtime talk show host, whose full name is Phil McGraw, aired live coverage of a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Chicago on his streaming platform MeritTV over the weekend.

He was joined by Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, who was recently appointed acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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Its a pretty high-risk mission that were going on, Dr. Phil said in one video, claiming that the operation was aimed at capturing over 200 high-value targets, or people with criminal histories.

This truly is a targeted ICE mission because theyre not sweeping neighborhoods like people are trying to imply, he said. I know that because Ive been involved in this.

Dr Phil is embedded with @RealTomHoman for ICE operation in Chicago.



For full live coverage of the operation, download the MeritTV app. pic.twitter.com/PKkZRZzqq5  Dr. Phil (@DrPhil) January 26, 2025

ICE said it began conducting enhanced targeted operations alongside partner agencies in Chicago on Sunday to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities.

In a conversation with Homan, Dr. Phil repeatedly asked the acting ICE chief to downplay claims that agents were raiding schools and workplaces.

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Are you going into schools and arresting children at schools? the TV host asked, prompting a No from Homan.

Are you going into businesses and sweeping through there and taking anybody with a tan and seeing where theyre from? Dr. Phil followed up.

We go into businesses for a criminal enforcement operation, Homan responded. But again, sweeps dont occur anywhere.

LIVE NOW: Dr. Phil and @RealTomHoman are in an ICE Command Center in Chicago.



Dr. Phil: Are you going into schools and arresting children at schools?



Tom Homan: No.



Dr. Phil: Is anything like that happening?



Tom Homan: No sir. pic.twitter.com/ELvIDDM6SN  Dr. Phil (@DrPhil) January 26, 2025

Dr. Phil rose to fame in 1998 when Oprah Winfrey brought him on as a guest expert on topics such as marriage and parenting. He quickly proved to be a hit with audiences, earning an eponymous standalone show in 2002.

In the past year, Dr. Phil emerged as a friendly face in Trumpworld, cozying up to the president in two softball interviews.

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Dr. Phil also spoke at Trumps infamous Madison Square Garden rally in Novemberwhere a comedian opening up for Trump called Puerto Rico a floating pile of garbage. McGraw later claimed that he only did it because the Kamala Harris campaign team snubbed him.

The live coverage of an immigration enforcement mission, however, appears to be a first for the daytime television legendand one that risks more fully tying him to some of the more unpopular parts of Trumps agenda.

ICE drew outrage last week when agents arrested a U.S. military veteran in a Newark raid.

Forget the false narrative of sweeping neighborhoods looking for people of different color than us, Homan said. Forget that hogwash and look at what we actually do. Were proving it to them. How can you argue with the system weve set up?

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In an earlier interview with ABC News, however, the border czar sang a different tune.

Homan refused to rule out school raids targeting young men, arguing that they would assess situations on a case-by-case basis.

Name another agency, another law enforcement agency [that] has those types of requirements, that they cant walk into a school or doctors office or a medical campus, he said.
NICOSIA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli flights scheduled to land at Paphos airport in western Cyprus have been redirected to Larnaca airport on the island's southern coast, following a directive from Israeli authorities, according to a Cypriot official on Monday.

The change in destination, which will last several days, comes after the Israeli government cited "various security reasons" for the decision.

Victor Papadopoulos, director of the Cyprus President's press office, confirmed the alteration in flight routes, stating, "We were informed that the Israelis decided to operate their flights to and from Larnaca airport instead of Paphos." However, Papadopoulos refrained from providing further details on the reasons behind the move.

Israeli media first reported the change late on Sunday night, mentioning security concerns as the primary factor. According to Cyprus' state-run Cyprus News Agency, the decision was made by Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency. The directive is expected to remain in place until further notice.

There are about 17 flights per week from Tel Aviv and Haifa to Paphos, while approximately 60 flights operate weekly between Israel and Larnaca, according to the winter flight schedules.

The Israeli embassy in Nicosia also confirmed the diversion, explaining that flights operated by Israeli carriers, including EL AL and Arkia, would temporarily land at Larnaca due to "various security issues." The embassy assured that the situation would be closely monitored and evaluated in full cooperation with Cypriot authorities.

Cypriot authorities have tightened security measures at the Israeli embassy in Nicosia and other possible Israeli targets around the island since the start of the conflict in Gaza last year. 
A group of backcountry skiers were rescued from a mountain in Washington state, where authorities found and hoisted them into a helicopter in a dramatic nighttime operation. At least one of the skiers had fallen 1,000 feet, and at least two were injured and unable to walk, authorities said.

Footage of the rescue mission last week shows crews piloting two helicopters for King County Sheriff's Air Support team over thick wilderness near Stevens Pass, a ski area in Washington's Cascades. One helicopter, the Guardian 1, used heat sensors to identify the group of three men who had become stranded with injuries on a steep section of the mountain crowded by tall trees.

The air support unit said its crews launched their rescue mission just after sunset last Wednesday, Jan. 22, at the request of the Chelan County Sheriff's Office. The office had received an Apple Watch SOS alert indicating a male skier fell about 1,000 feet and suffered a leg injury. Apple's "SOS" feature allows users to transmit emergency messages through a satellite connection, so distress calls are dispatched even in areas where cellular or Wi-Fi services aren't available.

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Once the backcountry skiers were located on the mountain, air support learned two of the three men were injured and could not walk. Rescue crews hoisted each of them from the mountain into one of their helicopters, which transported the trio to safety.

The air support unit shared video of the gripping ordeal on social media.

"Spicy rescue from Weds night," the unit captioned a post on X that includes a link to the footage on YouTube. "We had limited information from an iOS satellite distress call near Union Peak. We launched Guardian 1 to locate the victims and Guardian 2 to facilitate the rescue."

Spicy rescue from Weds night. We had limited information from an iOS satellite distress call near Union Peak. We launched Guardian 1 to locate the victims and Guardian 2 to facilitate the rescue.



https://t.co/bJk2Nt0T8C  KCSOAirsupport (@KCSOAirsupport) January 24, 2025

Authorities did not share the names of any of the backcountry skiers involved.

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Vice President JD Vance's first interview | Face the Nation

Rebuilding Paradise

A tour of the Bronx
Duck remains were found in both engines of the Jeju passenger jet that crashed last month, killing 179 people in the worst air disaster in South Koreas history.

The first preliminary report, released on Monday, suggests a combination of a bird strike and the concrete structure at the end of the runway were behind the deadly incident. The exact cause of the crash remains unclear, and an investigation is ongoing.

The feathers and bloodstains found in the engines were from the Baikal teal, a migratory duck that flies to South Korea for winter in large flocks, according to investigators.

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The six-page report gave no indication about what might have led the Boeing 737-800 jet to land far down the runway without its landing gear deployed, highlighting a lack of clues.

The investigation has been complicated by the discovery that the planes two black boxes stopped recording four minutes before impact.

The engines would be taken apart and the concrete structure investigated further, the report said of its next steps. Experts say air accidents are nearly always caused by a combination of factors.

Credit: Lee Geun-young

The Jeju Air flight from Bangkok was travelling to Muan International Airport, on the south-west tip of the Korean peninsula, on Dec 29.

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At 8.57am local time, the control tower advised the approaching plane to be cautious of bird activity. Two minutes later, the pilot reported that the plane had struck a bird and declared a mayday signal, asking to land from the opposite direction.

The plane then overshot the runway as it made an emergency belly landing without its landing gear or wing flags deployed. It hit a concrete barrier at the end of the runway and burst into flames, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.

The reinforced concrete embankment contained a navigation system, known as a localiser, that aids navigation of an aircraft as it comes into land. The report said the structure was likely to have contributed to the high death toll.

South Koreas transport ministry said last week it would remove the concrete barriers used for navigation at seven airports following the Jeju crash. It will also be extending their runway safety areas after finding they were shorter than recommended.

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After the crash into the embankment, fire and a partial explosion occurred. Both engines were buried in the embankments soil mound, and the fore fuselage scattered up to 30-200 metres from the embankment, the report said, providing new pictures of the accident site.

These all-out investigation activities aim to determine the accurate cause of the accident.

The preliminary report has been submitted to the United Nations aviation agency as well as the authorities of the US, France and Thailand because the engines are jointly produced by US and French companies, while two Thai citizens were killed in the crash.

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The Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City (Jason Hancock/Missouri Independent).

This time last year, the Missouri Senate was barely functioning.

Members of the Freedom Caucus, a renegade group of GOP senators whove been at war with party leadership for years, used procedural hijinks to grind the chamber to a halt almost daily.

In retaliation, Senate leaders stripped committee assignments from Freedom Caucus members  and even mused publicly about expelling a caucus leader from the chamber.

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The legislative session limped to a close four months later with fewer bills passed than any year in living memory, including the COVID-shortened session in 2020.

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Flash forward 365 days, and a fragile sense of normalcy is creeping back into the statehouse.

Legislative business is chugging along. Bills are heading to committee and getting public hearings. Leaders of the Freedom Caucus even got plum committee assignments.

The vibe shift has lawmakers, lobbyists and activists holding their breath, with most happy to see the legislature functioning again but still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

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Well, I dont want to jinx anything, but they are better, House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Lees Summit Republican, said when asked about the potential for Senate drama. I was talking to Sen. (Jamie) Burger last night, and I said, just joking around, how many days until your first meltdown?

The leader of the Freedom Caucus, GOP Sen. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville, predicted to Missourinet that there will be far more cooperation among Senate Republicans this session.

People are really going to be surprised at how well and how effective were able to work together, he said.

A big difference this year, said Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, is some of the most vocal Freedom Caucus members were forced out of office thanks to term limits.

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I think theres been one of the largest turnovers in senators that weve ever had, said Beck, an Affton Democrat.

The new members of the Senate, Patterson said, are all very conservative, but they want to get things done, as opposed to kind of just being in the news and making trouble.

Theres also not a statewide election on the horizon this year, Patterson noted, giving the legislature a reprieve from GOP primary politics that have been at the center of much of the recent dysfunction.

It was actually the Missouri House where factional fights that defined the previous four legislative sessions reemerged this year, with Republican state Rep. Justin Sparks challenging Patterson for the job as speaker.

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Sparks attacks on Patterson echoed the Freedom Caucus jabs at Senate leadership, accusing him of being bought and paid for by special interests willing to betray conservative principles for political expediency.

But Sparks challenge fizzled, garnering only a handful of votes in the 163-member chamber. And given the top-down power structure of the House  and rules that dont allow the filibuster  a meaningful uprising among Freedom Caucus devotees is nearly unthinkable.

Patterson also has the benefit of taking over for Dean Plocher, who spent much of his final year as speaker trying to fend off an ethics investigation.

Plocher left office earlier this month because of term limits.

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No one has benefited more from the GOP factional fights than Democrats, who other than a late-session filibuster last year blocking legislation seeking to change the initiative petition process have spent much of the last few years watching as bills they hate whither on the vine in the face of Republican squabbling.

But Democrats never publicly celebrated the gridlock and were always quick to note that GOP squabbles also killed bills with widespread bipartisan appeal  such as expanding child care and assisting foster kids.

Despite the lack of public drama so far, there are no shortage of potential stumbling blocks on the horizon.

The budget isnt nearly as robust as it was when federal money was pouring in to assist with COVID recovery and infrastructure projects. Perennial issues that have historically bogged down the process  charter schools expansion, changes to the judiciary and utility policy, among others  remain just as complicated.

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But if the session goes off the rails again, most expect it will be over abortion.

Republicans are still trying to get on the same page on how to roll back the voter-approved constitutional amendment that overturned Missouris abortion ban last year  a possible fissure in the veneer of unity the GOP has managed so far.

Meanwhile, Democrats have been clear they will not go quietly into the night if Republicans try to roll back abortion rights.

Were going to uphold the will of the people, Beck said.

Patterson said he is under no illusion that there wont be conflict later on this session, because I think thats the nature of what were doing here.

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But, he added, Im hopeful and optimistic that can be minimized and we can actually get a lot done.

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Consuelo Contreras got a call from a detective Sept. 4, the day her brother was shot by Santa Fe police officers in the parking lot of a Cerrillos Road gas station amid a mental health crisis.

The detective told her Jesus Rafael Contreras, 41, was recovering in a local hospital and would be fine, according to her attorney, Laura Ives.

She continued making phone calls for the next few weeks, seeking more information about her brothers condition and the circumstances surrounding the shooting, but she repeatedly was told to call someone else. Then she received a call from a doctor Sept. 19, about 30 minutes before her brother died, informing her nothing more could be done for Jesus Contreras, Ives said in an interview.

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Consuelo Contreras, who lives in California, continued seeking the details of her brothers death, submitting requests for public records on the New Mexico State Police investigation into the shooting. So far, she has received nothing in response to the request, she says in a new lawsuit.

She filed the complaint in state District Court last week, accusing the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, which oversees state police, of withholding records related to her brothers death, in violation of the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act. She asks the court to order the department to produce the records immediately and pay $100 per day for withholding them, as allowed under the law.

Her complaint spotlights a common problem for members of the public and news media alike when it comes to obtaining public records and information from state police and the Department of Public Safety  as well as other government agencies  despite the state law outlining required time frames for when government entities in the state must provide requested records.

Its dystopian, Ives said in a phone interview Friday, the thought of the government killing a loved one and you dont get to find out how or why.

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No answer for record delays

Consuelo Contreras complaint says she filed a request for records through the state agencys online portal Sept. 23, four days after her brother died, in an effort to better understand the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of Jesus and assess whether to file a lawsuit against the City of Santa Fe.

The request sought all audio and video recordings connected with the shooting, as well as written statements, reports, audio recordings of her brothers 911 calls, police dispatch records, witness statements, photos and notes and any disciplinary complaints against the officers involved, the complaint states.

The state agency acknowledged her request Sept. 23 and said it would produce the records within 15 days but didnt do so, the suit alleges. Instead, the agency informed her Oct. 8 it had deemed her request burdensome and would need until Nov. 8 to produce the records.

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The department extended the deadline again in November, December and January, according to Contreras complaint but never produced any of the records and stopped responding to her inquiries.

As of Tuesday, the complaint says, the agency had yet to produce any records, or offer any explanation why production has yet to occur.

A Department of Public Safety spokesperson declined to comment on Contreras allegations.

This is a sad and tragic situation that is difficult for families, spokesperson Herman Lovato wrote in an email. Unfortunately, we cannot comment on pending litigation.

A spokesperson for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asserted Friday the governor expects all state agencies to provide timely responses to requests for public information and to provide that information as required under IPRA law.

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However, Michael Coleman did not comment specifically on the allegations in the lawsuit. He wrote in an email Friday he would need more time to provide a substantive response on behalf of Lujan Grishams office.

I can say this, though: Gov. Lujan Grisham is certainly committed to transparency, Coleman wrote.

He added, She defers to law enforcement experts to handle law enforcement matters, including investigations and the public release of related information.

Slow to announce death

Jesus Contreras had made several 911 calls Sept. 4, reporting to dispatchers he was armed and suicidal, Santa Fe police said in an arrest warrant affidavit charging him with two counts of assault on a peace officer.

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Officers encountered him in an Allsups parking lot around 9:30 p.m., the affidavit said. He was sitting in his vehicle.

Police used a bullhorn to encourage him to get out of the vehicle, according to the affidavit, but the window of his vehicle was open only slightly, and they couldnt clearly hear his responses.

Eventually, he got out of the vehicle and pointed a revolver at police, the affidavit alleged, adding several officers fired at him, and he fell to the pavement, wounded.

Contreras was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center for treatment. Santa Fe police Deputy Chief Ben Valdez wrote in an email Sept. 5 he was in stable, but critical condition at the time.

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Santa Fe police did not inform the public Contreras had died until Oct. 25, when the agency named the officers who had fired at him.

Midway through the statement was news of his death: Mr. Contreras succumbed to his injuries on September 19, 2024, it said.

Officers gave Mr. Contreras commands to get out of the vehicle unarmed, the statement said, adding, He exited the vehicle armed with a firearm.

Three officers  Sgt. Charles Laramie, Officer Rachel Cortez and Officer Mitchell Torres  fired their weapons toward Contreras, striking him at least once.

No officers were injured during the incident. However police filed charges against Contreras, accusing him of assault on a peace officer.

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Valdez referred questions last week about how many bullets had struck Contreras to state police.

Asked why the city department didnt notify the community of Contreras death until more than month after he died, Valdez wrote in an email, I apologize for the delayed notification on the passing of Mr. Contreras, I will work with our department staff to avoid delays in the future.

Irrelevant records

The New Mexican submitted a request in September to the city of Santa Fe for officers lapel camera videos from the incident that led to Contreras death. The city said the request was burdensome and extended the deadline to provide them four times before some of the videos were released Jan. 6.

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None of the 18 videos released in response to the request  with 26 more still to come, according to records custodians  shows officers shooting Contreras.

Rather, the clips show what officers were doing before and after the shooting.

One shows an officer en route to the scene, siren blaring, having a discussion over the radio about scheduling.

Another shows officers chatting in the parking lot after the shooting.

There is footage of officers putting on personal protective gear at Christus St. Vincent, and a clip of an officer entering the hospital room where Contreras lay in a bed  unconscious, intubated and covered only by a sheet. The officer snapped photos of Contreras body with a cellphone.

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It remains unclear whether state police have completed an investigation into the incident. Spokesperson Ray Wilson said Friday he would check with investigators to see if the case file regarding the fatal shooting of Contreras was forwarded to the District Attorneys Office for review to determine whether it was a justified police shooting.

However, he did not provide the information.

Neither District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies nor her spokesperson, Catherine Lynch, responded to emails asking if the office had received the case.

Ives, the attorney representing Consuelo Contreras, wrote in a text message Friday, I have unfortunately investigated many instances of law enforcement shooting civilians. This is by far the most difficult time I have had gathering the basic information concerning how and why it happened.

She added, The lack of transparency doesnt just impact Jesuss family. Everyone should be concerned when the government conceals its acts.
EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio (WKBN)  The East Liverpool community came together Sunday to mourn and seek healing after a man opened fire in St. Clair Township on Wednesday afternoon, severely injuring Officer Dakota Wetzel and killing four-year-old Rosalie Martin.

The suspect, Joseph Como, is also dead.

Dozens of people gathered at the First Church of the Nazarene in East Liverpool for the service led by Rev. Matt Llewellyn.

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Nows not the time for wisdom. Now is the time for healing and grace, he said.

Law enforcement officers from as far as Youngstown came in support of Wetzel, who is still recovering in the hospital after being shot in the head.

Attendees came to grieve Martin, who was killed after she was hit by a stray bullet at the dentist. Her father was at the service, receiving support from the community.

Its nice that we can have these gatherings so people can come out and express their grief, and so theyll hopefully get some support, said Dr. Robert Sylvies, a clinical psychologist.

Slyvies is a former pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene. He was one of several mental health professionals in the building to help anyone at the vigil who felt they needed one-on-one counseling.

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The community is trying to rally around the officers and the people here, Slyvies said.

Llewellyn said the community is shaken by the tragedy.

We are experiencing hopelessness. This is a community that feels theres no hope for them and these things are symptoms of a much larger problem, Llewellyn said.

The community is still collecting donations to support the families of Wetzel and Martin on the Ohio FOP Foundations website.

Wilson Corbisello contributed to this report.

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(NewsNation)  Nearly two years after a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, caused a chemical explosion, resident Hilary Flint says she still feels its detrimental effects on her health.

Flint was forced to move when chemicals began to seep into the air, making her sick.

If Flint goes back to her home, which was near the derailment, she will still get rashes and other symptoms.

Its something a lot of community members are being diagnosed with and experiencing, she said.

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Not only that, the community is still fractured, Flint said on NewsNation Live on Monday.

What is the minimum income to file this years tax return?

When youre from small towns, theyre very close-knit  where now we dont have that same type of feeling in the (Pennsylvania) or Ohio communities that were affected, Flint said.

Flint says she is incredibly disappointed that residents still dont have access to health monitoring or care that they need, so she hopes that Vice President JD Vance follows through on the promises he made to those affected by the train derailment.

Vance, a former Republican Ohio senator, has called for more chemical testing in East Palestine. He and then-Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown also urged the Department of Health and Human Services to set up a voluntary disease registry for those exposed to toxic chemicals.

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It just seems like the process has been incredibly slow-moving while people are just continuing to get sicker every day, Flint said. So I hope now that President Trump and Vice President Vance are in office that they can get this moving quickly because its something that JD Vance ran on.

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EAST PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)  Deputies with the Tazewell County Sheriffs Office are investigating an early Monday morning collision that sent a man to the hospital.

Chief Deputy Timothy Gillespie said his office was called to the 800 block of West Muller Road, which is in between Cole Hollow Road and Cottonwood Circle just before 6:20 a.m. on a report of a person being struck by a car.

When they arrived, they found the 43-year-old Creve Coeur man who had suffered life-threatening injuries. That person was taken to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center for treatment, he said.

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A preliminary investigation indicated that both the vehicle and the pedestrian were headed east on Muller Road when the collision occurred, Gillespie said.

Gillespie said the Illinois State Police was involved with the investigation and doing the accident reconstruction. His office, the chief deputy said, was still trying to learn the details of what happened.

This story will be updated when more information is available.

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A leader of one of Ecuador's biggest crime syndicates Los Lobos was arrested Friday at his home in the coastal city of Portoviejo, the military said.

Carlos D, widely known by his alias "El Chino," was the second-in-command of Los Lobos (The Wolves) and "considered a high-value target," the armed forces said in a statement.

A large amount of cash was found at his home, along with armored vehicles, drugs and weapons. The armed forces released images of the arrest on social media, showing a shirtless "El Chino" and at least two other detained suspects.

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"His arrest represents a strategic blow against the structure of this organized armed group," the military said in a statement.

CAE EL SEGUNDO TERRORISTA MAS PELIGROSO EN MANABI! 



Alias El Chino esta fuera de las calles. El lider de los Los Lobos fue capturado por las @FFAAECUADOR en Manabi, por medio de un efectivo despliegue militar. 



Nada ni nadie detendra nuestra labor! pic.twitter.com/UuHicBH2mM  Ministerio de Defensa Nacional del Ecuador (@DefensaEc) January 25, 2025

The United States last year declared Los Lobos to be the largest drug trafficking organization in Ecuador, which has gone from being one of South America's most stable nations to among its most violent in just a few years due to a surge in narcotics operations.

While announcing sanctions against Los Lobos, U.S. officials said the gang "contributes significantly to the violence gripping the country" and its network includes thousands of members backed by Mexico's Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion  New Generation  and Sinaloa Cartel, which makes the gang particularly dangerous.

Last year, the authorities seized a record 294 tons of drugs in raids, mostly cocaine originating in neighboring Colombia and Peru, which is smuggled to Europe and the United States through the port of Guayaquil.

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Los Lobos has a presence in 16 of Ecuador's 24 provinces, where it also engages in illegal gold mining, according to the non-governmental group Insight Crime.

Jailed Los Lobos members are the de facto rulers of several Ecuadoran prisons, often directing operations on the outside from behind bars.

Authorities also have accused the group of links to the murder of anti-corruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was killed while leaving a rally in Quito in August 2023.

Just last month, two boys were found dead near an Ecuador military base. The disappearance of the boys, aged between 11 and 15, sparked protests in the South American nation, which is in the throes of an armed struggle between narco gangs and security forces.

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In January 2024, President Daniel Noboa declared a state of "internal armed conflict" after a brutal wave of violence, sparked by the jailbreak of a powerful crime boss.

The move came after gunmen stormed and opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions of civilians and security forces. A prosecutor investigating the assault was later shot dead.

Vice President JD Vance's first interview | Face the Nation

Rebuilding Paradise

A tour of the Bronx
As Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell engineered many of the wins of Donald Trumps first term, but he was right Friday night to finally say no to Trump in opposing the unqualified Pete Hegseth to be defense secretary. McConnell, who for years carried Trumps water, must now continue to be an independent voice against the presidents excesses.

And that starts with a trio of other truly awful nominees: Kash Patel for FBI director, Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Bobby Kennedy Jr. for secretary of health and human services.

It was McConnell, who joined with persistent Trump GOP critics, the moderates Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, to vote against Hegseth, showing that the majority of senators did not want Hegseth, making for a 50-50 tally.

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It was only the tie-breaking vote of Vice President JD Vance to confirm Hegseth into the awesomely powerful role for which he is ill equipped and unsuited.

Hegseth would have been rejected had one more senator disapproved. There were signs that Thom Tillis was uneasy with the Fox & Friends weekend host leading the Pentagon, but Tillis is up for reelection in North Carolina next year and doesnt want a Trump-backed primary challenge.

Hegseth has now made history in being the first leader of our military who was confirmed only with a VP vote. Hegseth should have joined other rejected nominees like failed secretary of war picks Lucius Horatio Stockton in 1801, Henry Dearborn in 1815, James Madison Porter in 1844 and Thomas Ewing in 1868. And within living memory, the Senate defeated the defense secretary nomination of John Tower in 1989.

History doesnt think less of presidents like John Adams, James Madison and George H.W. Bush for having their picks turned down, but if Hegseth fails, or does real damage, then Trump (and the Senate) will be to blame.

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In a blistering statement issued after the vote, McConnell made light of Hegseths Army service as a qualification and invoked the names of previous Pentagon chiefs like the giant George Marshall: Mere desire to be a change agent is not enough to fill these shoes. And dust on boots fails even to distinguish this nominee from multiple predecessors of the last decade. Nor is it a precondition for success. Secretaries with distinguished combat experience and time in the trenches have failed at the job.

Effective management of nearly 3 million military and civilian personnel, an annual budget of nearly $1 trillion, and alliances and partnerships around the world is a daily test with staggering consequences for the security of the American people and our global interests.

Mr. Hegseth has failed, as yet, to demonstrate that he will pass this test. But as he assumes office, the consequences of failure are as high as they have ever been.

The restoration of warrior culture will not come from trading one set of culture warriors for another.

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Had McConnell laid this out earlier, maybe another Republican senator would have had the courage to also say no. It is clear that Hegseth would have lost a secret vote, but in having to take a public stand, they are too fearful of retribution by Trump.

But alas McConnell held his tongue and therefore, for now, we are stuck with Secretary Hegseth. We hope he doesnt make the worst fears of McConnell a reality.

___
When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in late August 2005, it took Congress just a few days to approve $10.5 billion in federal disaster aid at President George W. Bushs request. Lawmakers cleared another $51.8 billion less than two weeks later.

There certainly were questions about what the state of Louisiana had  or hadnt  done to protect its most populous city from such a disaster, as well as the response afterward. But President Bush and Congress didnt indulge in such second-guessing before doing their immediate best to provide as much financial help as possible in Louisianas desperate time of need. And there wasnt even a whisper of using the disaster as a means of extracting policy concessions from members of the other party. Louisianans were fellow Americans and needed help immediately. Period.

So the talk among President Donald Trump and some fellow Republicans in Congress of attempting to find points of leverage in what will be a monumental recovery effort from the wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles is, frankly, un-American. And it needs to stop.

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Speaking on Sean Hannitys show, Trump said, I dont think we should give California anything until they let the water run down, referring apparently to a disputed narrative Trump has proffered that Californias water policies for the northern part of the state are depriving the southern half of water.

Worse yet, House Speaker Mike Johnson, representing Louisiana itself, had the temerity to bluntly say he favored imposing conditions on help to California. There are natural disasters. Im from Louisiana. Were prone to that; we understand how these things work, he said. But then theres also human error. And when the state and local officials make foolish policy decisions that make the disaster exponentially worse, we need to factor that in.

There but for the grace of God, Mr. Speaker.

Louisiana and New Orleans were accused of poor design of levees that were supposed to protect the city and failed. No one at the time said those mistakes should make aid contingent on various policy changes. We venture to say no one, in fact, even contemplated such a move. Americans were horrified at the human misery in New Orleans and wanted to do what they could to help, at least in the short term.

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If they follow through on trying to extract concessions from political foes, Trump, Johnson and others will hurt regular people who have lost everything in the fires.

Few will dispute that California needs to learn from the horrors L.A. is experiencing to gird against future wildfires. Theres been discussion, for example, of building homes with more fire-retardant materials, as well as consideration of changes in water policies. There has been plenty of reasonable criticism of local officials.

Trump, Johnson and other Republicans can reasonably argue that Democrats who run Californias state government should do everything possible to prevent a recurrence and must be open to policy changes based on this experience. Theres no doubt that both Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass are paying a steep price in the court of public opinion in the Golden State and could well pay a severe political price in the future.

Still, the federal aid should be given without strings attached.

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After that, Trump and other critics have every right to weigh in on what California did wrong, both in the run-up to the fires and in the response. In fact, a truly bipartisan examination would be welcome and could help other states, primarily but not only in the American West, that deal regularly with wildfires. If the president called for that kind of response, reasonable people on the left and right would agree.

California, of course, is the largest state in the nation and regularly garners outsize attention whatever the issue. Its also reliably blue and a frequent target for criticism from the right.

Does that situation remind you of another state closer to home? Illinois has a stake in this battle as well. Natural disasters can happen anytime, anywhere, and they dont make exceptions for the ideological proclivities of the people in charge.

Given Trumps frequent attacks on Chicago and Illinois and how this city and state are run, its not a stretch to imagine a scenario in which Trump would demand concessions  say, on sanctuary-state and welcoming-city policies  in return for desperately needed aid from, say, floods or a series of devastating tornadoes in heavily populated areas.

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Unlike the federal government, cities and states cant print their own money and have no choice under these circumstances but to seek help from Washington. Trumps nature, as hes demonstrated time and again in his political career and outlined in his book of long ago, The Art of the Deal, is to look for a negotiating advantage wherever he can find it.

Its up to members of Congress, both Democratic and Republican, to reaffirm that power politics has no place in recovering from natural disasters. This country badly needs to find areas of bipartisan agreement and places in which we affirm our status as fellow citizens, whatever our political beliefs.

Disaster aid to states strikes us as a good place to start.

_____
TEHRAN, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian army's ground force launched large-scale "security, offensive and mobile" drills in the western province of Kermanshah on Monday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The drills, involving the ground force's special force, airborne and armored brigades, aviation and drone units, and electronic warfare battalions, started in the Naft Shahr region of Qasr-e Shirin County, according to the report.

The drills aim to improve the forces' preparedness to counter any foreign threat to Iran's order and security, according to Tasnim.

Iranian Army's Ground Force Commander Kioumars Heidari and several high-ranking commanders attended the first stage of the drills which featured the overhaul of several helicopters under the force's aviation fleet and their delivery to a base in Kermanshah, according to a press release published on the army's public relations website. 
TikTok went dark in the United States for a little while, but is now back online here thanks to a stay of execution from President Donald Trump. The newly inaugurated president seems to be working toward some sort of a deal to help TikTok comply with federal rules prohibiting foreign agents from owning and controlling social media platforms in the U.S.

Trump ordered the bipartisan 2024 ban signed by President Joe Biden and reinforced by the U.S. Supreme Court not be enforced for 75 days after its Jan. 19 effective date so he can determine the appropriate course of action.

Yes, we need to determine the appropriate course of action, but not just as it relates to legal compliance.

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Remember: Just seven months ago the former U.S. surgeon general called for a warning label on social media platforms due to their role in accelerating the mental health crisis among young people.

That surgeon general, Vivek H. Murthy, flagged an alarming statistic: Teenagers are spending an average of 4.8 hours a day on social media. That number in itself is shocking  where are teens finding this much time to scroll?

But its made even worse once you learn that a team of researchers found that when adolescents spend more than three hours a day on social media, theyre at a heightened risk for mental health issues. Half of teens say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies, and a third say it affects their grades, according to a 2022 survey from Boston Childrens Hospital.

Back to TikTok. Theres a lot not to like about whats going on with the platform.

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First off, TikToks parent company, ByteDance, is compelled to assist or cooperate with the Chinese governments intelligence work and to ensure it has the power to access and control private data. The platform is being used to surveil journalists and others, and report back to Beijing. Each of these transgressions merits deeper discussion. The Supreme Court justices in their 9-0 ruling to uphold the TikTok ban said they werent focused on the content on TikTok.

But we should be. TikTok and the like are poisoning American kids.

A team of Wall Street Journal reporters launched TikTok accounts registered as 13-year-old users for a 2023 investigation and were fed a highly personalized, never-ending stream of content curated by the algorithm, including extreme videos on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

All of this content is leading to depression and anxiety among our youth, a phenomenon that led 14 attorneys general to sue TikTok over its negative effects on childhood mental health.

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Jonathan Haidt, a writer and social psychologist who has risen to household recognition thanks to his intense focus on the intersection of young minds and social media, pored over the legal briefs from the aforementioned TikTok lawsuit, and what he found is disturbing.

First, TikTok leadership knows how bad its product is for American kids. One internal report noted that compulsive usage correlates with a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, empathy, and increased anxiety 

And as The Wall Street Journals investigation shows, TikTok also fails to gatekeep sensitive content, with significant percentages of explicit and suggestive violative content that is not moderated or removed.

Haidt summarizes the problem with our willingness to hand over smartphones and social media to kids this way: We have overprotected our children in the real world while underprotecting them online.

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We agree. TikTok is one of the biggest dangers to which kids are exposed today, and its addictive, especially for kids who have limited impulse control. Pew Research Center investigated how big the problem was among 13- to 17-year-olds, and found that most teens use social media and have a smartphone, and nearly half say theyre online almost constantly.

Haidt, a leading champion for limiting the harm phones and social media have on kids, also notes that the Chinese being able to game TikToks algorithm to feed Americas youth targeted video content is a huge geopolitical asset for the communist country, whose goal is to subvert democracy around the world.

So what to do?

When Murthy visited us in May 2023, he laid out a series of commonsense remedies that we wholeheartedly endorsed. First, the people who run Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms must step up and take responsibility for the impact that their products and services have on teens and children, and must enable independent assessments of that impact.

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He said lawmakers should establish and enforce age-appropriate health and safety standards that protect children from harmful content and limit the use of features aimed mostly at maximizing screen time and engagement. And he encouraged parents and kids to create a family media plan that establishes boundaries for social media use at home.

When it comes to TikTok and any other social media platform, we agree that grown-ups need to limit our kids access to social media platforms, where content of every kind is a tap away, as well as posting culture that fosters bullying and harms self-confidence and healthy emotional development. These same harms are present on Instagram and Facebook. Powerful algorithms are getting kids hooked on doom scrolling as they search for validation and fall into the never-ending loop of content that social media uses as bait. Its stealing  and wasting  their time.

While politicians and tech giants sort out platform ownership and national security concerns, we call on leaders at every level of government to protect our kids. And most importantly, we encourage parents to think twice before giving their teens unfettered access to these confidence-killing distractions.

_____
Between a series of executive orders and agency policy shifts, President Donald Trump is doing more to damage our national immigration enforcement (which does need reform) than improve it.

Most worrisome, hes axed enforcement prioritization and directed the division of ICE that normally investigates things like trafficking and child abuse material to focus on immigration, actions that criminals will no doubt rejoice.

The administration has tried to end birthright citizenship  an absolutely unconstitutional move  and jettisoned policies that prevented ICE from conducting operations in so-called sensitive locations like schools, hospitals and churches.

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The Justice Department is now all but threatening states and localities to comply with this sea change, to their own detriment and the countrys. Congress has now joined the fray with its passage of the Laken Riley Act, a bill that would not have done anything to protect Riley, a nursing student murdered last year, and instead flies in the face of due process by mandating detention of immigrants arrested, not even convicted, of nonviolent crimes.

As all this unfolds, its worth keeping in mind that this is about policy but also to some extent about messaging, putting on a show and creating shock and awe.

Trump and his anti-immigrant entourage led by Stephen Miller, now back in the White House, are intent on making immigrants around the country afraid and convincing local political, civic, religious and other authorities that they had better comply in the face of overwhelming force.

But laws are still laws and an executive order cannot override the law nor the Constitution, and it cannot massively increase surveillance, arrest, detention and removal capacity overnight. The Trump administration wants you to think that it has far greater actual capacity than it really has in an effort to create an aura of inevitability that will engender fear with the hope that immigrant populations will carry out their designs for them.

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This is to some level explicitly laid out in the absurdly titled Protecting the American People Against Invasion executive order that Trump signed last week, one of several to use the farcical moniker of invasion to describe falling flows of unorganized humanitarian migrants.

That order has a section calling for the government to encourage aliens unlawfully in the United States to voluntarily depart as soon as possible, a longtime objective of nativist agitators whove understood that the government cannot arrest millions of people.

The trick about that is it works best if people buy into it. Not to say that the federal government doesnt have wide-ranging power, but it is more limited and subject to more legal constraints than most people might realize. If Trump wants to self-immolate the American economy and shred civil liberties across the board by engaging in heavy-handed enforcement, the other branches of government and the rest of the country do not have to go along.

A big part of what blunted the administrations excesses during the first term was simple local noncooperation, which goes a long way in a federal system. Already, states and civic and legal organizations are filing suit against unlawful actions like the birthright citizenship ban.

The politics have changed a bit in the intervening years, but the potential damage of giving into an anti-immigrant vision of the United States has not.

___
In one of his first acts as president, Donald Trump has moved to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization, joining only Soviet satellite states in ever attempting to do so, and cut the U.S. share of funding to the international health monitoring agency. Its a bad prescription and puts at risk the well-being of people all over the globe, including Americans.

Sure, the WHO is too political and sure, it has been too deferential to China, as we saw during COVID, but while there might be good cause to quit other international bodies, like the anti-Israel United Nations Human Rights Council, fighting deadly diseases in every country serves everyones interest, as viruses and bacteria dont respect international borders.

Its telling that Trump couched this withdrawal in monetary terms, but theres a lot more than money at stake. The Geneva-based organizations global monitoring, data-sharing, coordination and rapid response efforts are what often keeps emerging infectious diseases and other health hazards from spreading uncontrolled or even unnoticed, and the thing about these pathogens and threats to human health is that they dont carry about what passport a person holds.

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Beyond a moral responsibility to do what we can to tamp down on disease, particularly in places less equipped to do this work on their own, its a question of self-interest to nip these things in the bud.

None of this means that the WHO is a perfect organization or that it is above legitimate criticism. Many in the global public health sphere have themselves assailed the organization for excessive bureaucracy, favoritism, mismanagement and other ills, and it is reasonable for member states putting in big membership fees to raise these issues and demand reforms.

But thats not whats happening here; Trump is seeking a full withdrawal and a halt to all payments, which will put an appreciable dent in the agencys budget. We might not feel the impact immediately, but we will feel it as the world as a whole gets less healthy and more chaotic.

Some people might wonder why this international apparatus matters so much when we have robust biomedical research and health research systems domestically; setting aside the interconnectedness of public health globally, Trump is taking aim at our national health agencies, too.

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Several grant evaluation panels of the National Institutes of Health  responsible for originating the bulk of U.S. medical research  were abruptly canceled this week; these werent useless bureaucratic gab sessions but panels with names like the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, the sort of thing we dont want much pause in funding research against.

While some temporary disruptions are par for the course during presidential switchovers, staffers have said the disruptions go further than usual, including rescinded job offers and a total ban on travel and all communications from staff. Once more, if these disruptions continue, well only come to understand the dire consequences later on, as crucial research fails to materialize and public health authorities fall behind on monitoring threats.

The specter of a Department of Health and Human Services helmed by vaccine denier in chief RFK Jr. does not give us much hope for a system committed to safeguarding us. The consequences, unfortunately, will be measured in lives lost unless the administration changes course.

___
EFFINGHAM, Ill. (WCIA)  The Illinois Attorney Generals Office announced Monday morning that a man from Effingham will spend the next two decades in prison for possessing and disseminating child sexual abuse material.

27-year-old Dallas Ray Campbell was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to four charges: one Class X felony count of dissemination of child pornography and three Class 2 felony counts of possession of child pornography.

UIPD alerts campus community of dorm room intruder incident

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Investigators with the Attorney Generals Office and Effingham Police Department searched Campbells residence in October 2023. He was arrested after law enforcement found evidence of child sexual abuse material from the search.

This sentence will protect children from abuse and exploitation, Effingham County States Attorney Aaron Jones said. My office commends the hard work and diligence from law enforcement in investigating this case, in particular the Illinois Attorney General Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Effingham Police Department.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the number of tips received by his Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force dramatically rose 46% in 2023 compared to 2022.

Survivors of child abuse and exploitation are revictimized every time an individual downloads or trades one of these horrific photos or videos, Raoul said. My offices Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force works tirelessly to identify and track down individuals who assault and exploit children. I will continue to partner with local law enforcement to locate and hold these offenders accountable.

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Any child exploitation tips can be reported online to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and tips of child abuse can reported on the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services website.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
MOORLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD)  The Muskegon Solar Energy Center project will receive another $1.25 million in state funding thanks to a grant from the Renewable Ready Communities Awards.

The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy announced the third round of the RRCA last week, which will support nearly 1,000 megawatts of solar power and battery storage  enough to power nearly 1 million Michigan homes and businesses.

Construction begins on Muskegon Solar Energy Center

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This round of awards will support the build-out of more clean, affordable power to hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents. We are committed to providing resources that improve our communities, lower energy costs, reduce emissions and protect our precious land, air and water resources  and this program does just that, EGLE Director Phil Roos said in a statement.

Nearly $4.9 million will be awarded in the third round of funding, spread across six different projects. The first round was announced in October and the second in December.

Construction started on the Muskegon Solar Energy Center last July. The solar farm was announced last spring as Consumers Energys first large-scale solar project.

The Muskegon Solar Energy Center will use approximately 1,900 acres of land in Moorland Township, in partnership with the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center, to capture enough solar energy to power approximately 40,000 homes.

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As scheduled, the 250-megawatt facility will be up and running by 2026. The Muskegon Solar Energy Center will be part of the utilitys new infrastructure and its goal to generate 8,000 megawatts of solar energy annually by 2040.

Canadian company tapped to handle coal ash left by Campbell power plant

As part of the partnership, Consumers will own and operate the facility, while Muskegon County, Moorland Township and the MCRRC own the property and collect revenue from the lease.

Consumers Energy is also working on two other solar facilities, one at the former Karn coal plant in Bay City and a 3,000-acre farm along the border between Barry and Calhoun counties.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Eight of the 26 hostages still to be released from Gaza during the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire are dead, The Telegraph has learned.

A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Telegraph Hamas had informed Israel on Sunday night that 25 of the total 33 hostages scheduled for release in the first phase have died since Oct 7 2023. It is unclear which hostages have died.

Hamas has so far released seven of the 33 Israelis scheduled for freedom in this phase, with another three expected to be freed on Thursday.

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After Hamas violated its part of the ceasefire agreement over the weekend by releasing soldiers instead of civilians, Israel announced that Palestinians would not be able to move to northern Gaza until the remaining civilians had been released.

A man places a photo of Arbel Yehoud next to a banner in Hebrew demanding the return of the hostages being held in Gaza - Mahmoud Illean/AP

The issue was resolved on Monday morning when Hamas promised to release Arbel Yehud, 28, a female civilian hostage, and Agam Berger, 21, an Israeli soldier, on Thursday. A third unidentified hostage will also be released with the two women.

We are living through complex, emotional, and nerve-wracking days. We yearn for the moment when we can embrace our Arbel again, and desperately pray for the return of all the hostages, Ms Yehuds family said in a statement.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians began crossing the Netzarim Corridor on Monday morning. Some walked on foot along Gazas coastline where they were greeted by armed and masked Hamas members.

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Others drove along the central Salah al-Din highway, causing huge queues as they were reportedly undergoing security checks.

Israel first opened the coastal route for those travelling on foot at 5am local time, before vehicles were allowed to begin moving on the central road at 7am.

Israeli troops reportedly pulled out from the western end of the strip in line with the truce deal stipulating that is is to gradually withdraw from the area from the coastal side.

Forces stationed on the Netzarim Corridor have been redeployed to the Israel Defense Forces buffer zone around the edge of the Gaza Strip, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported.

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Itamar Ben-Gvir, a hardline Israeli politician who this month resigned from the government over the ceasefire deal, said allowing Palestinians to move north was a complete surrender to Hamas. We must return to war  and destroy, he said.

The images of armed Hamas members near the Netzarim Corridor also sparked debate inside Israel, with many seeing it as proof that Israel did not win the war.

The rocky ceasefire was also tested on Sunday when the IDF killed a member of Islamic Jihads rocket unit because he posed a threat to troops in southern Gaza.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu was planning to visit Washington for what would be his first meeting with Donald Trump since the latter took office as US president last week.

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The Israeli presidents proposed trip, first reported by Walla!, an Israeli news site, was said to be a gesture by Mr Trump in light of Israel agreeing to the ceasefire. The visit would be Mr Trumps first meeting with a foreign leader in his second presidency.

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A tourist was killed by an elephant on Saturday in South Africa's famous Kruger Park, the South African national parks agency SAN Parks announced overnight.

"A tragic accident occurred when a tourist was charged and trampled by an elephant near Crocodile River at Malelane Gate. This, regrettably, resulted in loss of life," it said in a statement.

SAN Parks asked people not to post images of the incident on social media.

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With some 7,700 square miles of savannah extending to neighboring Mozambique, Kruger is the largest game park in South Africa. Except for fenced camps and a few picnic areas, it is forbidden to get out of your vehicle.

Officials released no information about the tourist who was killed.

"Additional details will be released in due course," SAN Parks said.

A presumed poacher was killed by elephants in 2021 in the same park.

Last July, a Spanish tourist was trampled to death by elephants after he left his fiancee in the car to take photos at a different game reserve in South Africa.

There have been other fatal elephant attacks in other parts of the world in recent months.

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Earlier this month, an elephant killed a Spanish tourist while she was bathing the animal at a sanctuary in southern Thailand. The 23-year-old woman was hit by the stressed animal's trunk at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre in Phang Nga province, police said.

Last year, two American women were killed in separate elephant attacks in Zambia.

Vice President JD Vance's first interview | Face the Nation

Rebuilding Paradise

A tour of the Bronx
Elon Musk on Friday asked a federal judge in Austin, Texas, to dismiss a proposed class-action lawsuit against him and his political action committee, arguing that his $1 million daily giveaway to voters in battleground states wasnt an illegal lottery because the winners werent actually chosen at random.

That is sharply different from what people were led to believe when they were asked to sign Musks petition pledging support to the First and Second Amendments, according to Arizona resident Jacqueline McAferty, who filed the suit against Musk and America PAC last November.

In the suit, McAferty pointed to Musks social media posts in the lead-up to the 2024 election where he said people who signed the petition would be chosen randomly each day to win a $1 million prize.

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At a ceremony announcing the first winner, Musk brought a Pennsylvania man named John Dreher onstage and presented him with a lottery-style, giant check. By the way, Musk told the audience, John had no idea.

A second random drawing the next day selected Kristine Fishell, also of Pennsylvania, who said it was the surprise of a lifetime to be called onstage and presented with a similar lottery-style check.

But Musks lawyers say that the participants werent actually entering into a random drawing; they were submitting their information to potentially become America PAC spokespeople.

Chance was not involved here, the attorneys told the court Friday. Make no mistake: an eligible voters opportunity to earn is not the same thing as a chance to win.

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In her suit, McAferty said she would have never forked over her private information and signed the petition had she known there was never an actual chance shed win $1,000,000.

McAferty is asking for $5 million in damages on behalf of all the battleground state voters who signed the petition.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner also filed a lawsuit against Musk based on similar logic last November, accusing the worlds richest man of influencing voters via an illegal lottery scheme.

Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta ultimately allowed the sweepstakes to continue, writing in an opinion issued after the election that Krasner failed to provide any evidence of misuse beyond mere speculation.

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Musk ultimately spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars  $277 million  to back President Donald Trump and other Republicans running for office. Trump has rewarded him with an office in the White House and enough conflicts of interest to likely violate federal law.

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(Bloomberg) -- Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Monday that he wants to amend the countrys constitution so that it recognizes just two genders, despite growing anger over his populist, pro-Russian policies.

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Fico said that he also wants to allow for people to change their gender only for serious reasons and limit adoption to heterosexual couples.

Speaking to reporters in the capital Bratislava, the premier said that schools would be required to teach in accordance with the constitution and that, if they chose not to, then parental consent would be required.

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Fico returned to the helm of the small east European country in 2023 on a platform that pushed back against what he said were progressive ideologies spreading like a cancer. His rhetoric echoed that of his Hungarian ally Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is leading culture wars in the region against minorities.

Progressivism is associated with nonsense, like someone waking up and saying theyre no longer a man or a woman, but a helicopter or a table lamp, Fico told reporters. Its time to say whats right in the constitution, to put an end to this nonsense.

Fico championed a constitutional amendment during his previous administration, back in 2014, that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The Murders Shocked Slovakia, But LGBTQ Rights Get No Mercy

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In order to secure enough votes to get this latest plan through parliament, Fico would need all of his allies as well as some opposition lawmakers onboard.

Crowds gathered in 20 cities, including Bratislava, on Friday against Ficos shift toward Vladimir Putins Russia, in one of the countrys biggest protests since the fall of communism.

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An American Airlines employee at Charlotte Douglas International Airport was killed Monday morning in an accident involving an airline ramp vehicle, officials said.

Makeover mayhem: Will construction at Charlotte airport ever end?

Our deepest condolences go out to the employees family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time, airport officials said in a news release.

Airport chaplains are available on-site.

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We are devastated by the accident involving a team member at Charlotte International Airport (CLT), officials with American Airlines said in a statement. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and our local team members. We are focused on ensuring that all involved have the support they need during this difficult time.

The ramp vehicle was the only vehicle involved, officials said. The victims name has not been released.

No additional details have been made available. Channel 9 is asking officials for more information.

This is a developing story. Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.

VIDEO: Operator for private flights changing at Charlotte Douglas International Airport
HEFEI, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Carrying two large bags of eggs, chicken and fresh vegetables with a bamboo pole on her shoulder, Ke Guijin, 61, boarded the old-fashioned green train K8525 at a small station to reunite with her son in the city of Wuhu in east China's Anhui Province for the Chinese Lunar New Year.

"If it were not for this green train, I would have to take a one-hour bus ride with these heavy bags to the county seat, then take the high-speed train there, which would be very troublesome," said Ke from Longqiao Township of Lujiang County in the province.

The K8525, with an average speed of about 60 kilometers per hour, takes nearly four hours to travel from the provincial capital of Hefei to Wuhu, with four stops on the way. In contrast, the fastest high-speed train can complete the journey in just 37 minutes.

The "green trains," a traditional nickname for old-style Chinese passenger trains, have carriages typically painted green with yellow stripes. They form part of the memories of several generations.

Despite the relatively low speed, many green trains like the K8525 are still in operation in the high-speed railway era, providing a cheaper and more convenient alternative for passengers going to and from some smaller stations during the busy Spring Festival travel rush.

During the 40-day Spring Festival travel period, more than 1,200 pairs of trains are expected to operate in the Yangtze River Delta region, one of China's most densely populated areas. High-speed trains account for 94 percent of the total, while more than 70 pairs of traditional green trains are still in service.

"The green train is highly mobile and flexible and can help people in remote areas to travel more conveniently, as it stops at some small stations," said Zhao Liyang, train conductor on the K8525, adding that they aim to meet the needs of different passenger groups.

The distance between Hefei and Wuhu is only about 140 kilometers. To accommodate passengers at smaller stations, the K8525 first travels south before heading east, taking a detour of more than 100 kilometers. Each morning, the train returns from Wuhu, with the number of stops increased to five to better serve travelers.

A teacher surnamed Ding is a regular passenger on the K8525. "The full fare for this train ride is only 22.5 yuan (about 3.1 U.S. dollars) and the lowest fare is 3 yuan, which is much cheaper than taking high-speed trains and buses," said Ding.

According to Ding, a green train that runs in the morning is more lively, as farmers along the route board the train with their seasonal produce to sell in nearby cities.

"The carriages are filled with many vegetable baskets, which is just like a 'mobile bazaar' -- and sometimes the vegetables and fruits are all sold on the train," said Ding.

"The old-fashioned train is not slow, but is willing to wait, which is very precious in this fast-paced era," said Zhang Ziyu, a young train enthusiast who came from Beijing to experience the green train.

Chinese authorities expect an unprecedented 9 billion inter-regional trips during this year's Spring Festival travel rush. Over 510 million passenger trips will be handled by the country's railways during the period.

The K8525 is also continuously improving its services to meet passenger demand. According to Zhao, the conductor, the train has introduced free portable chargers and small benches to help passengers during the Spring Festival travel rush. 
A British woman and her South African fiance who were found dead at a villa in Vietnam last month were killed by methanol poisoning, their family said in a new report

According to U.K. newspaper The Times, Greta Marie Otteson and Arno Quinton Els, who had gotten engaged three weeks before their deaths, are thought to have consumed tainted "homemade" limoncello bought from a local restaurant on Christmas Eve

"They were a loving couple with their life ahead of them," Otteson's parents said in a statement

A British woman and her South African fiance who were found dead at a villa in Vietnam last month were killed by methanol poisoning, their family said in a new report.

On Dec. 26, 2024, the bodies of Greta Marie Otteson, 33, and 36-year-old Arno Quinton Els' were discovered in separate rooms by staff at the Hoi An Silverbell villa in Hoi An, Vietnam News previously reported.

The couple had taken out a lease on the nine-bedroom guesthouse and had been hosting guests at the property, according to U.K. newspaper The Times.

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The Times reported in a story published on Saturday, Jan. 25, that Vietnamese police confirmed Els and Otteson  who moved to the country in February 2024 and had gotten engaged three weeks before their deaths  died from methanol poisoning, likely from contaminated alcohol after consuming tainted "homemade" limoncello bought from a local restaurant on Christmas Eve.

Vietnam News and The Guardian previously reported that several empty alcohol bottles had been found at the scene. The local outlet stated in a Dec. 30 article that "initial findings showed no signs of scratches or external force on the bodies," citing Quang Nam Provincial police.

Greta Otteson/Facebook Arno Quinton Els and Greta Marie Otteson Arno Quinton Els and Greta Marie Otteson

In a statement to the Times, Otteson's parents, Susan and Paul, said of the couple: The Vietnamese police have now confirmed that the cause of death was methanol poisoning, as verified by the autopsy results.

Both Greta and Arno were experienced worldwide travellers. They found their perfect home and were incredibly happy with their life in Vietnam, planning for the future, Otteson's parents said.

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"They were a loving couple with their life ahead of them. The tributes we have had from around the world are unbelievable. Our aim is to bring the people who supplied the alcohol and killed Greta and Arno to justice."

Greta Otteson/Facebook Greta Marie Otteson and Arno Quinton Els Greta Marie Otteson and Arno Quinton Els

According to The Guardian, both Otteson and Els had registered for long-term temporary residence at the tourist villa since July 4, 2024.

Susan and Paul, who are from Wales but now live in Bahrain, reportedly flew to Vietnam for the couple's cremation earlier this month and have since returned to their home with their ashes, according to The Times.

The newspaper didn't name the restaurant where the pair were thought to have purchased the tainted alcohol but did report that it was still open and no arrests seem to have been made. (The restaurant could not be reached for comment by PEOPLE.)

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A spokesperson for the U.K.'s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) previously said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Vietnam and are in contact with the local authorities.

The Hoi An Silverbell villa did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.



Quang Ngoc Nguyen/Getty A photo of Hoi An in Vietnam A photo of Hoi An in Vietnam

According to Otteson's Facebook profile, she was the founder and social media manager of a company called Not Sorry Socials, while Els' career included working as a stand-up comedian, per his Facebook page.

In a video posted on the Red Eye Studios YouTube page in December, the couple  who according to Els met in the Middle East before moving to Vietnam  spoke about their engagement as they prepared to surprise family and friends with the news.

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"We're just two people from opposite ends of the world, living in Asia, doing it together," Els said in the video, "which is quite precious."

The couple's death came just weeks after six tourists  including an American man  died in Laos in November 2024 after drinking alcohol that authorities suspected was tainted with methanol.



Read the original article on People
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) hasnt been feeling his best and will have a limited public schedule this week for doctors appointments and routine medical tests, according to a top aide.

Fabien Levy, the deputy mayor for communications, said in a post on the social platform X on Sunday night that the mayor will communicate with staff constantly and make sure city business can continue smoothly.

New Yorkers can rest assured that their local government will continue to deliver for them every day as our committed workforce at City Hall, and more than 300,000 employees at dozens of city agencies, continue to show up on the most important issues, Levy said.

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Like every other New Yorker, Mayor Adams has a right to privacy when it comes to personal matters, but we will continue to communicate in the unlikely event he is unable to fully discharge his duties on any particular day, he added.

The 64-year-old mayor is facing criminal charges, with a bribery trial set to begin in April, while also running for reelection to a second term, with the Democratic primary set for June. Adams has pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations against him.

Levys announcement comes one week after Adams made a last-minute shift in his schedule to attend President Trumps inauguration in Washington, D.C. Adams said he received an invitation from Trumps team just before the event.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Disney princesses made an appearance at a local organization Sunday for a special tea party.

The Womens Club of Erie hosted its Frozen Tea Party Sunday afternoon to raise awareness for the organization.

McKean County Sheriff warning residents about phone scam

Anna and Elsa came to the building on West 6]th Street, where children and their parents enjoyed Frozen-themed food, games and hair styling.

The clubs president said the event is to get more people interested in the womens club, but also to raise money for local charities.

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Local baristas pour their best works of art at second annual latte art competition

We do philanthropic work which is to raise money for different organizations. We educate our members, and we have a mission. One of our missions is to take care of this mansion, said Marianne Heck, president of the Womens Club of Erie.

If you are interested in getting involved with the Womens Club of Erie, you can visit their website here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
The European Union on Monday agreed to gradually suspend sanctions on Syria weeks after the ousting of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad by rebel forces.

"We reached the political agreement to begin easing sanctions on Syria. This could give a boost to Syrian economy and help the country get back on its feet," said EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

"While we aim to move fast, we also are ready to reverse the course if the situation worsens."

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The EU will also scale up humanitarian aid and recovery efforts, Kallas said.

EU foreign ministers decided on a step-by-step approach and to "start with the sanctions that are most hindering the early buildup of the country and to move from there," Kallas said, without providing further details.

Syria's interim government welcomed the decision, calling it a "positive step."

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Damascus hoped that the sanctionss would be permanently lifted. "We hope that this decision will have a constructive impact on all areas of life for the Syrian people and ensure sustainable development," he said.

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Easing the sanctions would be "good news for the people in Syria," said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock earlier on Monday.

In addition to targeting individuals, the EU imposed extensive import and export bans and restricted financial services to pressure the now-toppled Syrian regime over its human rights violations.

These measures include export bans on a wide range of products, such as technical and electronic equipment, jet fuel and equipment for the oil and gas industry.

The sanctions also encompass an import ban on Syrian oil and petroleum products, along with restrictions on loans and trade.

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Ahead of the meeting, EU diplomats stressed that the sanctions would be suspended rather than lifted as a precautionary measure until developments in the country are more clear.

Kallas said that she is considering fully reopening the EU's embassy in Damacus "to really have our eyes and ears on the ground."

The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is largely responsible for the ousting of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad, is classified as a terrorist organization by the United Nations and also subject to EU sanctions.

Shifting focus to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group, EU foreign ministers also discussed the redeployment of its border assistance mission at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

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EU countries on Friday approved a revised plan to relaunch the mission which was first established in 2005 to help control the crossings.

There has been no EU presence at the border crossing since the Islamist Hamas militia took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007.

In an initial phase, a low double-digit number of EU border experts and support staff are to be deployed to supervise border checks, if possible from the beginning of February, the diplomats said.

The reopening of the Rafah crossing is part of a three-phase ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, and should enable significant amounts of humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.

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Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that the first Italian border guards will travel to the region "in the coming hours."

Tajani added that Italy, Spain and France are the first three EU countries to send personnel to Rafah.

Redeploying the mission would mean that more humanitarian aid would reach Gaza and injured people could be transferred for treatment, Kallas said.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas "is the first step and we need to build for more lasting peace," Kallas said.

At their Brussels meeting, ministers discussed Russia's war against Ukraine after a briefing by their Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha on the situation on the battlefield via video-link.

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Gathering for the first time since the inauguration of Donald Trump, EU ministers also addressed the bloc's US relations.

Top diplomats also officially approved suspending visa privileges for Georgian officials over the violent crackdown on pro-European protests in the country after EU ambassadors struck a deal last week.

On Sunday evening, ministers met with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya after the presidential elections in Belarus. The European Parliament has denounced the vote as a "sham."
The European Union's foreign ministers reached a political agreement on Jan. 27 to ease sanctions on Syria following the collapse of dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The move comes as opposition forces captured Damascus on Dec. 8 in a rapid offensive, toppling Assad after 24 years in power.

"While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken," EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas posted on X, adding that the EU plans to scale up humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in Syria.

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The agreement may include lifting energy and transportation-related sanctions, though restrictions on financial transactions remain under discussion, Reuters reported on Jan. 26.

The policy shift reflects growing support within the EU for cooperating with Syria's new leadership. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron previously expressed their readiness to work with the rebel forces that ousted Assad.

Syria has also taken steps to distance itself from Russia. The port of Tartus recently terminated a 49-year investment deal with Russian construction company Stroytransgaz.

Ukraine has also engaged with Syria's new leadership. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Damascus on Dec. 30 to discuss Russia's military presence in Syria.

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Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi noted that Kyiv and Syria share similar views on the issue, though specific details were not disclosed.

Read also: EU suspends visa privileges for Georgian officials over democratic backsliding

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The EU foreign ministers agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months at a meeting on Monday, 27 January.

Source: Kaja Kallas, top EU diplomat, on X (Twitter); European Pravda reports

Details: The potential extension of EU sanctions against Russia was facing problems due to Hungary's threats to block the decision.

Quote from Kallas: "EU Foreign Ministers just agreed to extend again the sanctions on Russia. This will continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war."

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Details: She added that Russia must face the consequences of its aggression.

Background:

Earlier, media reports revealed that Hungary agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months in exchange for an EU statement addressing Budapest's concerns over "energy security".

Journalists reported that Hungary demanded that the EU pressure Ukraine to maintain the transit of Russian oil and engage in a dialogue on gas transit in exchange for its agreement to support the extension of economic sanctions against Russia.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused Ukraine of trying to "deceive the Hungarians" over the gas issue and called on the EU to force Kyiv to "open the valves".

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Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, expects EU member states to agree to extend sanctions against Russia.

Source: Kallas before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Kallas noted that in addition to imposing sanctions, the meeting would also discuss what else the EU could do to put pressure on Russia to end this war.

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"I expect a decision to roll over the sanctions we have," she said.

She also welcomed recent statements by US President Donald Trump, who had put pressure on Russia to say that it was in their hands to end this war.

Background:

As of Friday, 24 January, it was reported that Hungary was still withholding its consent to extend the sanctions, but European diplomats were determined to find a solution.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused Ukraine of trying to "deceive the Hungarians" over the gas issue and called on the EU to force Kyiv to "open the valves".

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that if Orban blocked the extension of sanctions, he would show that he was "playing on Putin's team".

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By Julia Payne and Lili Bayer

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union renewed on Monday its wide-ranging sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, after Hungary stopped holding up the move in return for a declaration on energy security.

"Europe delivers: EU Foreign Ministers just agreed to extend again the sanctions on Russia," Kaja Kallas, the bloc's foreign policy chief, posted on social media.

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"This will continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war," she added. "Russia needs to pay for the damage they are causing."

Officials from other EU countries had warned that failure to roll over the sanctions before a Jan. 31 deadline would have consequences, such as the unfreezing of Russian assets in Europe used to help Kyiv.

The sanctions up for renewal include all sector-based bans on trade as well as measures that immobilised Russia's central bank assets. Legally, the EU's 27 countries must unanimously vote to renew these restrictions every six months.

Profits from the frozen assets are being used to finance a $50-billion loan to Ukraine backed by the G7.

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who maintains close ties with Moscow, had first called for consultations with the U.S. Trump administration before a renewal decision. He also said it was time for a "sanctions-free" relationship with Russia.

But President Donald Trump has not backed the Hungarian position. He said last week he was ready to increase economic pressure on Russia to strike a peace deal.

Budapest then cited its complaints about Ukraine ending a transit deal that brought Russian gas to Hungary.

ENERGY STATEMENT

At a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday, the European Commission presented a statement declaring it was "ready to continue discussions with Ukraine on the supply to Europe through the gas pipeline system in Ukraine".

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Asked at a press conference whether the statement actually meant anything, Kallas said: "Well, it meant (something) to Hungary, so that mattered."

The statement, seen by Reuters, also said the Commission - the EU's executive body - was ready to involve Hungary and Slovakia in the process. There was no explicit mention of resuming Russian gas flows.

During the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Bloomberg he was willing to sign a contract to move Azeri gas through Ukraine to the EU.

Baku tried to broker an agreement last year to continue Russian flows to the EU or swap in Azeri gas but these failed. Azerbaijan has limited spare gas production.

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"The Commission will approach Ukraine to request assurances regarding the maintenance of oil pipeline transfers to the EU," the EU statement also said.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said he was satisfied with the Commission's assurances.

"The European Commission committed itself to the protection of the natural gas and oil pipelines leading to member states of the European Union," he said in a Facebook post.

(Additional reporting by Anita Komuves and Bart Meijer; Writing by Andrew Gray; Editing by Alison Williams, Sharon Singleton and Rod Nickel)
On 27 January, the Council of the European Union introduced additional restrictive measures against three officers of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) involved in the 2020 cyberattack on Estonia.

Source: European Pravda, citing the EU Council's statement

Details: The EU sanctions target Russians Nikolay Korchagin, Vitaly Shevchenko and Yuriy Denisov, who are officers of Unit 29155 of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, commonly known as the GRU.

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Unit 29155 is reportedly responsible for cyberattacks against Estonia and other EU member states and partners, including Ukraine, as well as for assassinations abroad and destabilising actions such as explosions and cyberattacks across Europe.

The sanctions were imposed under a separate regime addressing malicious cyber activities, which currently includes 17 individuals and four business entities.

The large-scale cyberattack on Estonia in 2020 resulted in Russian military intelligence hackers obtaining significant amounts of internal-use information, including commercial secrets.

As part of the investigation into the cyberattack, Estonia's Central Criminal Police secured a court order in September 2024 for the arrest of the three GRU officers linked to these malicious activities.

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Traditional wedding dresses are seen at Dingji Town, in Lu'an City, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Haiyue)

HEFEI, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- For Su Lin, a bride-to-be from east China's Anhui Province, finding the perfect wedding dress is one of her key aspirations for her wedding ceremony in October this year.

She has visited multiple bridal stores in the city of Hefei, the capital of Anhui. Earlier this month, she traveled with her family for over an hour to Dingji Town in Lu'an, another city in the province, to choose a wedding dress.

"Deciding on the dress is a crucial step in my wedding preparations. I heard that Dingji is the source of the dress, which has a wide variety and significantly lower prices, so I traveled there," said Su, 28.

After visiting several stores, she spent nearly 4,000 yuan (about 558 U.S. dollars) on a wedding dress and two other pieces of clothing, which was cheaper than renting similar attire from urban bridal stores.

Dingji is situated in a mountainous area and is home to over 500 businesses that together produce and deliver nearly 5 million wedding gowns each year, generating an annual output value of 2.4 billion yuan. With a registered population of over 50,000, more than 15,000 of them are engaged in the wedding dress industry, according to statistics provided by the local government.

The predominant local industry was once farming. In the 1990s, locals began migrating to prosperous regions for better-paid jobs. Huqiu, a major wedding dress manufacturing base in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province -- over 400 kilometers from Dingji -- was a popular destination for work.

But years later, these migrant workers began returning to their hometown to start businesses, attracted by potential opportunities and favorable government policies.

Xu Changying, now 70, was one such returnee. He moved to Suzhou in 1992 and returned to Dingji some 18 years later, transforming an abandoned brick factory into a three-story manufacturing facility and hiring over 100 workers.

"When I first returned, we had to rely on buses traveling back and forth to Suzhou to bring in materials for wedding dresses, and to transport the dresses from the town once they were completed," said Xu, who noted that he hadn't expected the town would one day become one of China's largest wedding dress manufacturing bases.

To develop its wedding gown industry, the town has been improving its infrastructure to cater to the needs of companies for more than 10 years. Express delivery enterprises and shops selling wedding accessories have also settled in the town, forming a complete industrial chain covering everything from production of materials to manufacturing and sales.

Over 15,000 wedding dress packages are now shipped daily from Dingji to locations across the country and around the world. This popularity can be attributed in part to the technological transformation that has taken place in the town.

Unlike fast fashion, wedding dresses require intricate craftsmanship and necessitate numerous manual labor processes. To improve efficiency, many companies have purchased smart equipment such as automated cutting machines for their factories to reduce or replace manual labor.

Beyond technological upgrades, the town has also stepped up its wedding dress design capabilities, brand building and sales channel expansion.

Xu Xiaolong, who heads the Lu'an Zhongyuan Wedding Dress Co., Ltd. factory, said that the company established its own design team early on, launching three to four new designs each day. Sample dresses are first sold in urban stores, and mass production decisions are then made based on market feedback.

"The wedding dress market is changing rapidly, and consumers are increasingly aware of quality and design," Xu Xiaolong said, adding that the company has also opened more than 10 online stores on e-commerce platforms, shipping nearly 2,000 packages a day during peak seasons.

Over the years, Dingji has expanded its product categories based on market demand, with new additions including children's formal attire. And the clothes made in the town are gaining popularity all over the world.

"Since Christmas, we have ushered in the peak clothes manufacturing season for our customers abroad, and we will be busy until June," said Xu Bingchao, general manager of Lu'an Omais Garments Co., Ltd., one of over 30 wedding dress manufacturing companies engaged in foreign trade in Dingji.

These foreign trade enterprises generate an annual output value of nearly 600 million yuan, with products sold to countries and regions including the United States and Spain.

Building on its established fame, the local government of Dingji has supported the creation of a wedding dress town that integrates production, marketing, photography and runway shows in a planned area of about 3.15 square kilometers, according to the town head Chen Fei.

"We will attract more leading companies to settle in Dingji, expand the wedding dress industrial chain and continue bolstering technological transformation, among other efforts, to help the town's wedding dresses reach more people worldwide," Chen said. 

Xu Xiaolong works at a wedding dress factory in Lu'an City, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Jinzheng)
(Bloomberg) -- The European Union agreed to reactivate its border assistance mission at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, Kaja Kallas, the blocs top diplomat, said Monday.

Most Read from Bloomberg

This will allow a number of injured individuals to leave Gaza and receive medical care, she wrote in a post on X. The aim is to reestablish the EU presence by Feb. 1, according to people familiar with the matter.

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The crossing linking Gaza and Egypt has been a key source of tension between Israel and Palestinian authorities, as well as the Egyptian government. It was the main route for aid going into Gaza before Israeli forces took it over from Hamas in early May 2024, since when its been shut.

The EU helped run the crossing before 2007, when Hamas took control.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that Carabinieri forces, who have also been training Palestinian police, would be on their way in a matter of days.

Israeli officials said recently the Palestinian Authority will soon start to play a role administering the passage of aid through the Rafah crossing, along with representatives from the EU and a private US security company. This is similar to the arrangement before 2007.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously scorned the idea of Israel ceding the crossing, but there have been talks with the US and the EU dating back to the summer of 2024 about control of the crossing.

The latest development follows a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that began on Jan. 19. As well as pausing the 15-month war between the two sides, the deal, mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar, enable aid flows to Gaza to increase significantly. Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by the US and the EU.

At Mondays EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Kallas is also expected to address the EU-Israel Association Council, which is to take place in February, as well as the first High-Level Dialog with Palestine, planned for March.

--With assistance from Ethan Bronner.

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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Monday it would no longer post on X and would use rival Bluesky instead, becoming the latest organisation to quit a social media platform that some have criticised for its content.

"EMA will no longer post updates and content on X. We believe the X platform no longer suits our communication needs," the agency said in a statement.

"After careful consideration, the Agency has decided to open an account on Bluesky."

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EMA spokespeople could not immediately be reached for further comment. A request for comment has been made to X.

EMA's move follows other organisations that have left or pared back activity on X due to concerns about the platform's content, including the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate, Germany's foreign and defence ministries, British news publisher the Guardian, and several UK universities.

It comes at a time X's billionaire owner Elon Musk is ramping up his political campaigning in Europe, most recently by urging Germans to vote for a far-right party.

Musk helped Donald Trump win last year's U.S. presidential election but his platform was criticised by disinformation experts for enabling the spread of falsehoods during the campaign. Musk says he wants X to champion free speech.

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Since Trump's election victory, Bluesky has added millions of users. But it remains far smaller than its rivals.

EMA is a decentralised agency of the EU, responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines. Its headquarters are in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

It was regularly the centre of attention during the COVID pandemic, as it decided on the use of vaccines in the European Union.

The European Commission and other EU institutions are still active on X. The European Central Bank earlier this month joined Bluesky, but did not quit X.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Mark Potter)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union will restart a civilian mission to monitor the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah, the blocs foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.

Kallas said there was broad agreement that the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) could play "a decisive role in supporting the ceasefire."

Today, EU Foreign Ministers agreed to redeploy it to the Rafah Crossing Point between Gaza and Egypt. This will allow a number of injured individuals to leave Gaza and receive medical care, she added.

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A civilian EU mission to help monitor the Rafah crossing was agreed to in 2005 but suspended in June 2007 as a result of Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip.

In its standby mode, the mission has 10 international and eight local staff.

Italy's foreign and defence ministries said on Monday that Rome will send seven Carabinieri officers to join the Rafah mission in addition to two Italians already there.

The mission's primary objective "is to coordinate and facilitate the daily transit of up to 300 injured and ill individuals, ensuring assistance and protection for vulnerable people in a humanitarian emergency context," the Italian ministries said.

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"Italy will also be responsible for transporting the entire contingent of the European Gendarmerie Force to the theatre of operations," they said, adding that Spanish Guardia Civil officers and French gendarmes will join the international force.

(Reporting by Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray in Brussels and Angelo Amante in Rome; Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Andrea Ricci and Matthew Lewis)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union foreign ministers have agreed on a roadmap to ease sanctions on Syria, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.

"While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken," Kallas said.

The EU has a range of sanctions in place targeting both individuals and economic sectors in Syria, including a ban on Syrian oil exports and restrictions on access to global financial channels.

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But European capitals began reassessing their approach after Bashar al-Assad was ousted as president in December by insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

EU governments want to help kickstart Syrias recovery. But many capitals have also stressed that the EU should take a gradual and reversible approach to retain leverage as it encourages the new authorities in Damascus to respect fundamental rights and implement inclusive policies.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani welcomed the EU ministers' move, describing it as a "positive step" in a post on X.

"We hope that this decision reflects positively on all aspects of life for the Syrian people and ensures sustainable development," he said.

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Ahead of Mondays meeting, diplomats from the blocs 27 countries recommended taking swift action towards suspending restrictions in sectors such as energy and transport.

Officials will now work on the technical details of easing sanctions, before a suspension can be legally adopted.

(Reporting by Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray in Brussels and Menna Alaa El Din in Cairo; Editing by Makini Brice, Sharon Singleton and Christina Fincher)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers on Monday approved the suspension of visa-free travel for Georgian officials holding diplomatic passports, two diplomats told Reuters.

The move comes in response to a violent crackdown in Georgia on pro-EU protests.

Ministers had asked the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, to make a proposal on the issue when they met in December. The measure aims to affect leading Georgian politicians without imposing a punishment on ordinary citizens.

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Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party declared victory in an election in October that the opposition says was tainted by fraud.

A government announcement in November that it was suspending EU accession talks until 2028 led to protests and a crackdown.

Speaking ahead of the ministers meeting on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc had redirected funds to Georgian civil society.

"It is in the hands of Georgian people to really get this right," she said.

(Reporting by Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
The European Commission on Monday offered Moldova an emergency package worth 30 million ($31.5 million) to restore energy supply to the country's break-away region of Transnistria after Russia halted gas deliveries.

"In the middle of winter, more than 350,000 residents in the Transnistrian region are left in the dark and in the cold because Russia decided to stop its gas deliveries," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

"We simply cannot accept that people on our continent do not have access to the most basic services."

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Russia cut off gas supplies to Moldova and the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria at the beginning of the year, with Moscow accusing Chisinau of not having paid gas debts amounting to the equivalent of 700 million.

The EU money is intended to finance the purchase and transport of gas to Transnistra to help restore electricity and energy until Febuary 10, a press release said.

The possibility of coal deliveries through Ukraine is also being explored.

The commission also announced further financial aid to "mitigate the social consequences of the crisis" and to support the creation of a more resilient energy system.
The EU is preparing sanctions against several Russians involved in cyberattacks against Estonia and will soon announce a support package for Moldova in the context of the energy crisis caused by the cessation of Russian gas supplies to the breakaway Transnistria region.

Source: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in a conversation with the media before a meeting of EU foreign ministers on 27 January

Quote: "We are going to impose sanctions on three Russian citizens, two 26-year-olds and one 47-year-old, guilty of cyberattacks against Estonia aimed at destabilising it.

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We will also announce a package of support for Moldova, which is under energy pressure from Russia... trying to influence democratic debate and electoral processes."

Background:

The ministers are also expected to discuss extending EU sanctions against Russia. According to unofficial reports, Hungary is still blocking this decision but may make a concession if it "pushes through" a joint statement on energy security.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused Ukraine of trying to "deceive the Hungarians" over the gas issue and called on the EU to force Kyiv to "open the valves".

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BRUSSELS (AP)  The European Union agreed a 6-month extension Monday for a raft of sanctions aimed at depriving Russia of funds to finance its war against Ukraine after Hungary lifted its objections to the move.

The sanctions target trade, finance, energy, technology, industry, transport and luxury goods. They include a ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU. They will now remain in place at least until July 31.

Some measures were introduced in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, but the list grew significantly after Moscow's full-fledged invasion of its neighbor almost three years ago.

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On Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on the EU to intervene in a gas dispute that his country has with Ukraine. He said Kyivs decision to halt the transit of Russian gas into Central Europe had forced Hungary to turn to alternative routes, which raised energy prices.

To satisfy Orban's demand, the European Commission attached a statement to Mondays sanctions rollover agreement, saying that it expects all third countries to respect EU energy security, and warned that it could take action to protect critical infrastructure like oil and gas pipelines.

Hungary has received the guarantees it has requested concerning the energy security of our country, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a statement. All 27 EU member countries must agree for the sanctions to be prolonged.

But already last week EU diplomats and officials expected Hungary to end its threatened blockade on the measures after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose stiff taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isnt reached to end the war in Ukraine.

In a post to his Truth Social site last Wednesday, Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to settle now and stop this ridiculous war. Orban is seen as Putins closest ally in the 27-nation EU, but hes also a staunch admirer of Trump.
The European Union is ready to redeploy its border assistance mission at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, Kaja Kallas, the European Union's foreign affairs chief, said on Monday.

The civilian mission was launched in 2005 to assist with trade facilitation and the processing of biometric passports but was suspended in 2007 when Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip.

Redeploying the mission would mean that more humanitarian aid would reach Gaza, Kallas said.

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EU foreign affairs ministers gathered in Brussels on Monday to discuss the fate of the mission, which could be again fully operational as early as next month.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas "is the first step and we need to build for more lasting peace," Kallas said.
The bilateral screening process of Ukrainian legislation for compliance with EU standards will continue until the fall of 2025, European Pravda reported on Jan. 27, citing the European Commission's spokesperson.

Ukraine applied for EU membership at the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. The country has made quick progress, achieving candidate status within months, with the initial negotiations process formally launching in June 2024.

If Ukraine fulfills all the requirements, the commission expects the launch of cluster negotiations, starting with Cluster I, "Fundamentals," "as soon as possible" in 2025, the spokesperson told the Ukrainian media outlet.

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The commission submitted the first Cluster I screening report for Ukraine on Jan. 16. The Cluster I opens first and closes last in the EU accession negotiations.

The presentation of the report is the first step in the EU accession negotiations, during which the commission familiarizes the candidate country with its rights and obligations. During the second stage, the commission assesses the candidate's progress in terms of legal harmonization and ability to apply the EU acquis.

The screening report will then be discussed with member states in the EU Council, European Pravda reported. The spokesperson added that a unanimous decision of all EU member states is required in accession negotiations.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 15 that Ukraine has the "ambitious goal" of opening five or all the six EU accession negotiation clusters in 2025.

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Ukraine will open two or three negotiation clusters in the first six months of 2025 under Poland's rotating presidency, and three more during the second half of the year under the Danish presidency, the president said.

Read also: EU foreign ministers agree to extend Russia sanctions after Hungarys delays

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Hubei Media Group: The Spring Festival has been inscribed on UNESCOs Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Could you share more with us about the events that the Chinese Foreign Ministry has planned for overseas Chinese to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake?

Mao Ning: The Spring Festival symbolizes peace, amity and harmony in the Chinese tradition, and embodies peoples reverence and gratitude for nature, as well as aspiration for family reunion and a better life. The inscription of the Spring Festival on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list shows that this is a festival unique to China and enjoyed by the world. Since 2023, the Ministry and our embassies and consulates have held the Embracing the Chinese New Year special program every year around the Spring Festival, which has been welcomed by overseas Chinese. During the upcoming Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake, our Ministry will continue to bring warmth and best wishes to overseas Chinese through our embassies and consulates, and hold events to celebrate the Spring Festival with overseas Chinese and friends from other countries around the world, where they will get to experience the Spring Festival culture and the charm of the Chinese civilization.

We wish all overseas Chinese and friends around the world a happy and prosperous Year of the Snake!

Reuters: The Guardian reported that Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting the U.K. next month. Could you confirm that and provide any other information about the trip?

Mao Ning: China and the U.K. are both permanent members of the UN Security Council and major economies in the world. It is in the common interest of both sides and the international community for the two countries to enhance strategic communication, deepen political mutual trust and advance mutually beneficial cooperation. Recently between China and the U.K., the leaders have held meetings, dialogue mechanisms have been resumed, and various sectors are encouraged by and full of expectation for the sound and steady growth of the bilateral relations. As for the specific visit you asked about, I have no information to share at the moment, but you may stay tuned.

Sky News: Donald Trump has said China is behind the supply of fentanyl chemicals to Mexico and Canada. Whats your response to that and what is China doing to crack down on the selling of precursors?

Mao Ning: China is one of the worlds toughest countries on counternarcotics both in terms of policy and its implementation. China announced back in 2019 the decision to officially schedule fentanyl-related substances as a class. We are the first country in the world to do so. China has given support to the U.S.s response to the fentanyl issue in the spirit of humanity and goodwill, and conducted counternarcotics cooperation with the U.S. side in a broad-based and in-depth way. The achievements we have made are there for all to see. We hope the U.S. will work to continue the hard-won positive dynamics in the counternarcotics cooperation.

Shenzhen TV: Its reported that the 2025 Business Sentiment Survey Findings Report released days ago by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong shows that American companies in Hong Kong are more confident in the business environment there, and they view Hong Kongs national security laws in a more objective way. Whats the Foreign Ministrys comment?

Mao Ning: I noted the report. It mentioned that 75 percent of respondents viewed Hong Kong as an international commercial center in Asia, 90 percent reported that foreign businesses were still welcomed in Hong Kong, and 83 percent responded they were confident in Hong Kongs rule of law. These numbers say a lot about American businesses confidence in Hong Kongs development prospects and business environment there.

The Law on Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance provide a solid footing for efforts to protect national security in Hong Kong and enable Hong Kong to foster a more stable society and a better investment environment. Foreign investors lawful rights and interests in Hong Kong are now under better protection. We are fully confident that more American and other foreign companies will invest and do business in Hong Kong and share the benefits of Chinese modernization and the practice of One Country, Two Systems.

Bloomberg: Yesterday, the Central Intelligence Agency in America said that they now believe that the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from lab leak rather than from a natural source. Does the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs have any response to this new development?

Mao Ning: Origins-tracing is a matter of science and any judgment on it should be made in a science-based spirit and by scientists. It is extremely unlikely that the pandemic was caused by a lab leakthis is the authoritative conclusion reached by the experts of the WHO-China joint mission based on science following their field trips to the lab in Wuhan and in-depth communication with researchers. The conclusion has been widely acknowledged by the international community, including the science community.

The US needs to stop politicizing and weaponizing origins-tracing at once, and stop scapegoating others. The U.S. should respond as quickly as possible to the international communitys legitimate concerns, voluntarily share its data with the WHO about suspected early cases in the U.S., clarify the questions concerning relevant U.S. biological labs, and give a responsible explanation to the world.

Xinhua News Agency: We have learned that President Xi Jinpings special representative, Vice President Han Zheng received high-level reception when attending President Trumps inauguration not long ago. Meanwhile, some Taiwanese media outlets reported that Taiwans so-called Legislative Yuan said recently that its so-called president Han Kuo-yu got reception from the U.S. at an unprecedented high level when he led a delegation to the inauguration. What is Chinas comment on this?

Mao Ning: On January 20, President Xi Jinpings special representative, Vice President Han Zheng attended the inauguration ceremony of President Donald Trump at U.S. invitation. He was seated on the dais of Capitol Rotunda, the main venue of the inauguration ceremony, and exchanged greetings and spoke with leaders of relevant countries and U.S. political dignitaries there.

China is firmly opposed to any form of official interactions between the U.S. and the Taiwan region. As for the so-called high-level reception relevant person of the Taiwan authorities got from the U.S., it is apparently disinformation self-bestowed by Taiwan authorities for self-consumption.

Bloomberg: Yesterday, Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Colombia unless they took back Colombian citizens who are in the U.S. without documentation. And then a few hours ago, the U.S. withdrew that threat as they said the Colombians now agreed to take back those migrants. My first question is what is Chinas view on this 24 hours between the U.S. and Colombia? My second question is does China intend to take back all the Chinese nationals who are in the U.S. illegally or without documentation?

Mao Ning: On your first question, this is a matter between the U.S. and Columbia. We hope that the two countries will properly resolve it.

On your second question, Id refer you to competent authorities for anything specific. Let me say more broadly that the Chinese government firmly opposes any form of illegal migration. We have conducted practical cooperation with the migration and law enforcement departments of the U.S. and other countries, which has been productive. As far as repatriation is concerned, Chinas principle is to receive the repatriates who are confirmed as Chinese nationals from the Chinese mainland after verification.

China Daily: Its reported that protests recently took place in Serbia. On January 25, Serbias President Aleksandar Vucic held a big rally where he delivered remarks to review the unprecedented socioeconomic development in Serbia in recent years, and stressed that Serbia must not stop going forward. Whats Chinas comment?

Mao Ning: China noted the media reports. In recent years, under the leadership of President Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia has upheld independence and achieved remarkable progress in socioeconomic development. China always respects Serbias sovereignty and territorial integrity, and supports Serbia in upholding national stability and development interests. As Serbias ironclad friend, we believe that Serbia has the wisdom and capability to keep its society stable and maintain the sound momentum of development.

****************

During the Spring Festival holiday, there will be no regular press conference from Tuesday, January 28 to Tuesday, February 4. The regular press conference will be resumed on Wednesday, February 5. During this period, questions can be submitted to the Spokespersons Office via fax, email or WeChat.

The first Spring Festival as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage is just around the corner. Around the world, people will celebrate the festival with various events. We also welcome international tourists to come to China to enjoy the festivities.

We wish all Chinese and foreign journalists and friends who have followed and supported Chinese diplomacy a happy Spring Festival. We wish you all every happiness and auspiciousness in the Year of the Snake! We have prepared gift candy for every journalist present today and wish you a sweet and joyful Chinese New Year.
From rolling up sleeves to make steamed buns to trying on a traditional Hanfu outfit, Ali, an international student from Pakistan, is diving into the Spring Festival festivities with his classmates in Jintan District, Changzhou City, in east China's Jiangsu Province. And yes, he even scored a red packet!

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
The European Unions top general has said the bloc should deploy troops to Greenland after Donald Trump suggested he could seize the territory.

General Robert Brieger, the Austrian head of the blocs military committee, claimed the move would send a strong signal, as well as act as a deterrent to Russian and Chinese activities.

He made the comments after Mr Trump suggested using military force to take over Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark.

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Copenhagen announced on Monday it would spend 14.6 billion kroner (about 1.6 billion) to bolster security in the strategic Arctic region near the United States and Russia.

We must face the fact that there are serious challenges regarding security and defence in the Arctic and North Atlantic, said Troels Lund Poulsen, the countrys defence minister.

Greenland holds military significance for Washington, with 200 American troops stationed at the Pituffik Space Base, which is part of a missile early warning system, as well as a space and satellite surveillance command hub.

Disko Bay in Ilulissat, Greenland. Mr Trump has suggested using military force to take over the autonomous Danish region - Sean Gallup/Getty

Gen Brieger told Germanys Welt am Sonntag newspaper: In my view, it would make perfect sense not only to station US forces in Greenland, as has been the case to date, but also to consider stationing EU soldiers there in the future.

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That would send a strong signal and could contribute to stability in the region.

The general cited melting ice caps and Europes desires to control critical minerals, used in the production of green technologies, as two reasons why a greater EU presence there would be useful.

He added: With increasing ice-melt as a result of climate change, this also creates a certain potential for tension with Russia and possibly China.

The melting ice caps are creating some of the worlds shorting shipping routes between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

While Greenland is not a member of the EU, its security is guaranteed by Denmark, which is one of the blocs 27 member states.

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Copenhagen has promised Mr Trump it will do more to bolster security around the territory in response to the US presidents musings about acquiring it.

But Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One this weekend: I dont really know what claim Denmark has to it, but it would be a very unfriendly act if they didnt allow that to happen because its for the protection of the free world. Its not for us, its for the free world. Right now, you have Russian ships, you have Chinese ships, you have ships from various countries. Its not a good situation.

Mr Trump has claimed that a US takeover of the island would be good for the protection of the free world - Andrew Harnik/Getty

He added: I think Greenland will be worked out with us. I think were going to have it. I think the people want to be with us.

Deploying an EU mission to Greenland is seen as one option for addressing Mr Trumps security concerns. The president has repeatedly bemoaned Europes reliance on Washington as the continents main security guarantor.

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Such a deployment would require political sign-off from the blocs national capitals because its military committee has no army of its own to conduct missions.

Danish officials have been urging their EU colleagues to keep their interventions on Greenland low-key to avoid further inflaming tensions between Copenhagen and Mr Trumps administration.

Some European nations have recommended adopting a more combative approach to handling the US presidents interventions on Greenland, Denmark has sought to diplomatically convey the territory is not for sale, while welcoming Washingtons interest in the Arctic.

Denmark has been urging others to keep cool on the Greenland situation so as not to inflame tensions, a diplomatic source said. But, if we start seeing American warships sailing towards Greenland, then we might just need to start having different conversations.

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The European Union suspended parts of its visa facilitation agreement with Georgia on Jan. 27, citing concerns over the country's democratic backsliding.

"Fundamental rights and democratic values are core principles of EU integration. Officials that represent a country which trample down these values should not benefit from easier access to the EU," said Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland's interior minister.

The decision follows mass protests in Tbilisi over parliamentary elections that the opposition belives were nor free nor fair and a political crisis sparked by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's announcement that Georgia's EU integration could be delayed until 2028.

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The suspension applies to members of Georgian official delegations, government and parliamentary officials, Constitutional and Supreme Court judges, and holders of diplomatic passports.

Ordinary Georgian citizens will retain visa-free travel to the EU for short-term trips.

The ruling Georgian Dream party, founded by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, has drawn criticism for steering Georgia closer to Russia while hindering its EU accession.

A controversial foreign agents law adopted earlier in 2024 led the EU to freeze Georgia's membership process effectively, while a package of anti-LGBTQ laws further exacerbated the crisis.

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Read also: EU to continue talks with Ukraine on gas supplies to Europe, including Hungary, Slovakia, Reuters reports

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Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, has hinted that the statement about energy security for Hungary, which in exchange supported the extension of sanctions against Russia, was symbolic.

Source: Kallas at a press conference in Brussels on Monday, 27 January, as reported by European Pravda

Details: A Reuters journalist asked Kallas about the essence of the statement made by the European Union in exchange for Hungary lifting its veto on extending sanctions against Russia.

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Quote from journalist: "Does that statement actually mean anything in concrete terms? Did Hungary get anything out of this or is this just the European Commission doing its job?"

Quote from Kallas: "Well, it meant [something  ed.] to Hungary, so that mattered."

Details: When another journalist asked for details about the statement, the EUs top diplomat explained that it pertained to "energy solidarity with landlocked countries".

Background:

Hungary agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months in exchange for an EU statement addressing Budapest's concerns about "energy security".

Hungary secured the inclusion of a commitment in the EUs statement on energy security, agreeing to support the continuation of sanctions against Russia in exchange for the European Commission's promise to continue discussions with Ukraine on oil and gas transit.

The EU foreign ministers agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months at a meeting on Monday, 27 January.

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European Union top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Monday that she hopes EU foreign ministers will be able to agree on gradually suspending the bloc's economic sanctions on Syria.

Ministers are to decide on a "roadmap" for a step-by-step approach, Kallas said as she arrived at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Ahead of the meeting, EU diplomats stressed that the sanctions would be suspended rather than lifted as a precautionary measure until developments in the country are more clear.

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If the EU begins to gradually lift the sanctions, the new leadership in Damascus must begin to rebuild the country, said Kallas.

"If the steps are going in the right direction we are also willing to make steps on our behalf," she said.

Kallas added that she is considering to fully reopen the EU's embassy in Damacus "to really have our eyes and ears on the ground."
European Union top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Monday that she hopes EU foreign ministers will be able to agree on gradually suspending the bloc's economic sanctions on Syria.

Ministers are to decide on a "roadmap" for a step-by-step approach, Kallas said as she arrived at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Easing the sanctions would be "good news for the people in Syria," said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

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In addition to targeting individuals, the EU imposed extensive import and export bans and restricted financial services to pressure the now-toppled Syrian regime over its human rights violations.

These measures include export bans on a wide range of products, such as technical and electronic equipment, jet fuel and equipment for the oil and gas industry.

The sanctions also encompass an import ban on Syrian oil and petroleum products, along with restrictions on loans and trade.

Ahead of the meeting, EU diplomats stressed that the sanctions would be suspended rather than lifted as a precautionary measure until developments in the country are more clear.

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If the EU begins to gradually lift the sanctions, the new leadership in Damascus must begin to rebuild the country, said Kallas.

"If the steps are going in the right direction we are also willing to make steps on our behalf," she said.

Kallas added that she is considering to fully reopen the EU's embassy in Damacus "to really have our eyes and ears on the ground."

The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is largely responsible for the ousting of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad, is classified as a terrorist organization by the United Nations and also subject to EU sanctions.

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Shifting focus to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group, EU foreign ministers also discussed the redeployment of its border assistance mission at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

EU countries on Friday approved a revised plan to relaunch the mission which was first established in 2005 to help control the crossings.

There has been no EU presence at the border crossing since the Islamist Hamas militia took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007.

In an initial phase, a low double-digit number of EU border experts and support staff are to be deployed to supervise border checks, if possible from the beginning of February, the diplomats said.

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The reopening of the Rafah crossing is part of a three-phase ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, and should enable significant amounts of humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that the first Italian border guards will travel to the region "in the coming hours."

Tajani added that Italy, Spain and France are the first three EU countries to send personnel to Rafah.

Redeploying the mission would mean that more humanitarian aid would reach Gaza, Kallas said.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas "is the first step and we need to build for more lasting peace," Kallas said.

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At their Brussels meeting, ministers discussed Russia's war against Ukraine after a briefing by their Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha on the situation on the battlefield via video-link.

Gathering for the first time since the inauguration of Donald Trump, EU ministers also plan to discuss the bloc's US relations.

Top diplomats also officially approved suspending visa privileges for Georgian officials over the violent crackdown on pro-European protests in the country after EU ambassadors struck a deal last week.

On Sunday evening, ministers met with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya after the presidential elections in Belarus. The European Parliament has denounced the vote as a "sham."
Donald Trump wasted no time in rattling Europeans nerves over threats of taking Greenland and opening trade wars. But theres a surprising case in which Europe is cautiously optimistic: Ukraine.

Trumps threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to impose new tariffs and sanctions on Moscow if it didnt reach a deal to stop the war sent a welcome message to European allies and other Ukraine supporters.

And it is being read more broadly by Ukraine supporters as evidence that he understands the stakes of the war as they do, and will not abandon Ukraine  or NATO allies  in his coming dealings with Putin.

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The President Trump that I served alongside wants nothing to do with the perception of weakness. Nothing, former Vice President Mike Pence told a small group of reporters on Friday. Pence didnt say how recently he had spoken with Trump.

If Putin thinks that he can roll the president into a position where President Trump would look like he got rolled by Russia, he's got another thing coming, he added. Some of it may be wishful thinking among Ukraines defenders who have feared Trumps return would allow Russia to advance. But there are other early signs that have given Ukrainians and European allies glimmers of optimism: Trump stacked his Cabinet with prominent Russia hawks such as national security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Hes launched a new push to boost NATOs defense spending benchmarks to 5 percent of GDP, and some of Trumps Republican allies on Capitol Hill remain staunchly pro-Ukraine.

I would be lying if we say we are not nervous about Trumps return, said a European ambassador who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. We are preparing for a lot of headaches, but one area where I am going to risk being cautiously optimistic on is Ukraine and NATO.

Other pro-Ukraine Republicans point to the fact that in 2019, Trump walked away from a grand deal on nuclear issues with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un despite all the hype and pageantry swirling around the historic summit. He could do the same in negotiations with Putin over Ukraine.

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He gets the stakes with Putin, said one administration official, granted anonymity to discuss matters candidly. He knows a bad deal when he sees one and can walk away again.



One other advantage that administration insiders point to: The Russiagate scandal that clouded his first administration over the role Moscow covertly played in trying to help his election is decidedly in the rearview mirror in their view.

He doesnt have this extra Russiagate baggage clouding all his messaging and posturing this time around, said another incoming administration official. And say what you want about his methods, but do you really think he wants to be known in the history books as the man who lost Ukraine?

The war has also shifted the consensus in Europe toward Trumps view that NATO members must spend more on their own defense. Former Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the pre-inauguration fireworks reception at Trumps Washington-area club, and several others have credited him with having been right in 2018 when he demanded the alliance move more quickly to reach the benchmark agreed to in 2014 that member nations spend 2 percent of GDP on defense. And his calls for a new 5 percent threshold have not generated broad public resistance, even though many privately acknowledge few NATO countries are positioned to reach it any time soon.

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A person familiar with Trumps thinking on Ukraine who was granted anonymity to speak candidly said that the presidents initial comments about ending the war should be taken seriously. His efforts to exert public pressure on Putin, to create leverage in a negotiation, comport with his long-standing interest in playing a decisive role in any dealmaking, the person said.

Still, this dose of cautious optimism goes only so far. Tariffs and sanctions are a far cry from the money and weapons the Biden administration sent to support Ukraine. Trump has unnerved European allies with his fixation on Greenland, and his and his allies open support for far-right political parties in Europe, many of which have links or an affinity toward Putin. Greenland and interference in UK politics and the German elections is highly concerning, said an EU official, who acknowledged that his initial statements on Russia and the war in Ukraine were somewhat promising.

And Trumps unpredictability is already causing headaches across the political aisle, as Democratic lawmakers fume over the presidents vows for potentially costly trade wars and fiery calls with allied leaders in Denmark over Greenland. I dont yet know how Trumps Russia policy could be worse, but its Trump and hes so unpredictable and petty, so it could always be worse, said Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.). Lets not pretend he conducts foreign policy in any normal way.

Then theres the fact that if Trump is stacking some corners of his team with Russia hawks, hes filling other corners with skeptics of continuing to send aid to Ukraine. The most notable example is Vice President JD Vance, who as senator railed against continued U.S. military support for Ukraine as he argued Washington should marshall all its military resources to confront China. Pence downplayed the significance of Vances views on Ukraine. Yes, he was the author of the legislation to cut off all funding to Ukraine. But I would expect that he will yield to President Trump's views on all these matters, Pence said.

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Other analysts believe Trump, unlike former President Joe Biden, doesnt view the war as a major threat to global democracy, which increases the risks he settles for a bad deal with Putin. One pointed to his comments last week in an interview with Fox News Channels Sean Hannity: Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose country was invaded, for allowing the war to occur and reiterated his frustrations about the carnage on both sides. He doesnt really care about Ukrainenot in the way Biden did, or claimed to. He certainly doesnt view this war as existential or see it as a broader assault on democracy, said Rachel Rizzo, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank.

When have we ever heard Trump talk about protecting democracy? Thats right, we havent. Thats not a lens through which he views this war; it never has been, she added. He sees it as a regional annoyance that he has to deal with, and he wants to end it quickly.

European officials also fear any deal with Putin that ceases hostilities in Ukraine will only give Putin time to rearm and regroup his war-weary army to launch fresh attacks years later. Trump also has to focus not just on what to give to Putin, but what to give to Zelenskyy, including, first and foremost, effective, lasting security guarantees, said Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia. Just placating Putin will not produce peace.
The bilateral screening process which examines whether Ukrainian legislation complies with EU law will continue until autumn 2025.

Source: European Commission spokesperson in a comment to European Pravda

Details: The screening of Ukrainian legislation, which is actually the first stage of accession negotiations, should be completed by autumn this year, he said.

"Ukraine is making steady progress on its way to joining the EU. Ukraine is currently undergoing a bilateral screening process that will last until autumn 2025," the European Commission spokesman said.

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He added that "if Ukraine fulfils all the conditions, the Commission expects to start negotiations on clusters, starting with Cluster 1, Fundamentals, as soon as possible in 2025."

On 16 January, the Commission submitted the first screening report on Cluster 1 Fundamentals for Ukraine to the EU Council.

The submission of the screening report is the first stage of accession negotiations, during which the Commission explains to the candidate its rights and obligations as a member state (explanatory meetings), and the second stage assesses where the candidate stands in terms of legal alignment and capacity to apply the acquis (bilateral meetings).

"Last week's screening report concerned Cluster 1, Fundamentals, which is at the heart of the EU accession negotiations. According to the negotiating framework, it is the first to be opened and the last to be closed in the negotiations," the European Commission explained.

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The screening report will now be discussed with member states in the EU Council as the next step.

"After the EU Council agrees that the criteria for opening the cluster are met, the countries have presented their negotiating positions and the EU has agreed on its negotiating position, an Intergovernmental Conference is organised to officially open the cluster in the negotiations," said the European Commission spokesperson.

He stressed that the accession negotiations require a unanimous decision by all EU member states.

Background:

Earlier, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos expressed confidence that the first and thirty-first clusters in the EU membership negotiations with Ukraine would be opened in 2025.

In December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine aims to open at least two clusters in the EU accession negotiations in 2025, with the maximum goal being all clusters.

Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration of Ukraine, reported that Ukraine, together with Poland and Denmark, which will preside over the EU Council in 2025, had drawn up a plan to open the accession negotiations.

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Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, has encouraged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to continue working on Ukraine's path to EU membership during their meeting in Poland.

Source: Antonio Costa on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Costa praised Ukraine's progress so far as "remarkable".

Quote: "Had a good meeting with President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and assured him of the EU's steadfast support. Today's decision on sanctions against Russia is a case in point.

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I encouraged him to continue working on Ukraine's EU accession. Ukraine's progress so far has been remarkable. The EU will stand with Ukraine as long as it takes."

Background:

On Monday, 27 January, EU foreign ministers agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months.

Earlier reports suggested that Hungary agreed to support the extension of sanctions in exchange for an EU statement addressing Budapest's concerns over "energy security".

Journalists revealed that Hungary pushed for EU pressure on Ukraine to maintain the transit of Russian oil and has called for dialogue on gas transit.

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Eurostar is due to temporarily resume its Amsterdam to London train service next month after a months-long break that forced travellers to divert to Brussels when travelling between the two cities.

Direct Eurostar trains from the Netherlands to London are expected to return on 10 February, allowing commuters and travellers to head to Amsterdam and Rotterdam without having to change trains in Belgium.

However, the high-speed rail operator said that this will only be a temporary restart, as the service will then close again on 29 March for essential works at Amsterdam Centraal.

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Eurostar said that the direct service will again resume at the end of April 2025.

While direct trains are not running, train passengers travelling from Amsterdam or Rotterdam to London have taken the Eurostar to Brussels-Midi/Zuid, and gone through border control, before hopping on another train to London.

The Eurostar between Amsterdam and Brussels takes just under two hours, with an average time of around 45 minutes to change trains.

With the change, the Amsterdam train journey can take just under five hours depending on the date and time booked, while journeys departing from Rotterdam can take just under four hours.

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Passengers are required to bring their passports, as border and security checks, both by Belgian and British authorities, take place in Brussels before boarding the Eurostar to London.

Those travelling the other way, from London to the Netherlands, have been able to still access direct services, which take around three hours and 52 minutes.

Dutch rail company Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) announced in November 2023 that Amsterdam Centraal will not be able to process cross-Channel passengers due to a major renovation of the station.

The services eventually halted in June 2024, with NS saying that organisations involved in the renovation project investigated how services from Amsterdam could continue but found it would not be possible despite all efforts.

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That is very disappointing because we have worked hard in recent years to make the Eurostar to London an attractive alternative to air travel, an NS spokesperson said in 2023.

The good news is that many more passengers can depart from Amsterdam Centraal station by train via this new terminal.

From 250 passengers per train now to 400 passengers per train as of January 2025, and later that year even 650 passengers per train.

NS initially predicted that Amsterdam Centraal would open its doors to cross-Channel travellers to London by January 2025, but this has been pushed back a month.

Eurostar announced that it carried a record-breaking 19.5 million passengers last year, a five per cent increase from 2023.

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This equated to 850,000 more passengers, with the increase partly due to the travel demand amid the Olympic and Paralympic games in Paris last summer.

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is "not negotiating" on Greenland, EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday, amid claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that the United States needs to control Greenland for security purposes.

"We are not negotiating on Greenland. Of course we are supporting our member state, Denmark, and its autonomous region, Greenland, but we shouldn't also go into speculation about what-ifs because this is not the situation right now," Kallas told reporters after an EU foreign ministers' meeting.

Greenland and Denmark have both publicly said the Arctic island is not for sale, with Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede saying that its people should decide their own future.

(Reporting by Andrew Gray and Makini Brice; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
ANKARA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Syria has agreed to reduce customs duties on 269 products imported from Turkiye, according to Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat on Monday.

At a meeting to mark World Customs Day observed annually on Jan. 26, Bolat said the Turkish government "sent a technical team from customs and international agreements to Damascus" on Thursday.

"After the negotiations with the (Syrian) ministries of economy, customs, and trade, it was agreed to review the tariffs of some products in Syria," Bolat added.

The minister noted that the reduction of tariffs, effective as of this week, covers key Turkish exports to Syria, including eggs, flour, corn, milk, hygiene products, and certain iron and steel products.

Previously, the new Syrian authorities announced the implementation of uniform tariffs ranging from 300 percent to 500 percent at all border gates on the Syrian side, including imports from Turkiye, starting in January. 
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  The San Diego County Sheriffs Office on Sunday announced changes to the evacuation orders and warnings in place for the Border 2 Fire in the Otay Mountain area, following progress in containment efforts.

According to the latest update Sunday afternoon, areas under evacuation orders are marked in red on the official map (below).

All evacuation warnings have been lifted at this time. Residents in green areas on the map can safely return home, the sheriffs department reports.

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Weather forecast: Rain, chance of thunderstorms and mountain snow

(Courtesy of San Diego County Sheriffs Office)

However, authorities continue to advise caution, encouraging residents to remain ready to evacuate again if fire conditions shift. These evacuation orders will remain in place until the situation is reassessed at a later time.

RELATED: Interactive 3D map shows Border 2 Fire perimeter, evacuation zones

Several road closures have also been lifted. State Route 94 is open in both directions from Honey Springs Road to State Route 188, while Alta Road near Otay Mesa Road can now be traveled on.

However, Otay Lakes Road at Wuest Road remains closed. Otay Lakes Road just west of Pio Pico RV Park is also closed.

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Authorities say Otay Lakes Road at State Route 94 is only open to residents and to be prepared to show ID to law enforcement.

Authorities are urging drivers to remain cautious in the area, as firefighters continue to work to secure fire lines. Dust, noise and smoke may be present throughout the region, but there is no immediate threat to the public from the remaining fire activity, according to the Sheriffs Office.

As of Monday evening, the Border 2 Fire was at 6,625 acres with 55% containment.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
UPDATE: 1/27/2025, 9:58 a.m.  The man who was injured in a house explosion in Clarksburg on Sunday has died.

A Clarksburg Fire Department official confirmed to 12 News Monday morning that a male resident of the house that exploded suffered massive trauma and died later at the hospital.

That official also said that Hope Gas has found several leaks in the area and are still looking for more.

A five block radius of the home was evacuated, but as of 10 a.m. Monday, the following streets are now open for people to return home, according to the city officials:

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Van Buren

Mckinley

Roosevelt

Ryan Road

Frederick Street

Arthur Avenue

Taylor Street

Garfied Road

Polk Street

Cleveland

Thorne Street

Collins Street

Camden Street

Frederick Street

Harvey Street

Custer Street

Harvey Street

Residents of Harvey Street should return home from Fredrick Street. Portions of Chestnut Street are still closed.

UPDATE: 1/27/2025, 9:10 a.m.  Residents in the area of Kramer Drive are still not able to return to their homes Monday morning after a gas leak and house explosion Sunday afternoon.

The Harrison County Office of Emergency Management said on social media that all of the evacuated areas of Chestnut Hills are still under evacuation orders.

You currently CAN NOT return to your homes, the OEM said.

Updates on the status of the evacuation order will be posted on the Harrison County Office of Emergency Management WV Facebook page.

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The warming shelter that was temporarily opened at Robert C. Byrd High School for evacuees is no longer open, as of late Sunday night.

UPDATE: 7:12 p.m.  The Harrison County Office of Emergency Management has announced those who were evacuated from the five-block radius around Kramer Drive will not be permitted to return tonight.

Robert C. Byrd High School has been opened as a warming shelter.

Multiple crews respond to Jane Lew gas well fire

UPDATE: 5:17 p.m.  The City of Clarksburg stated in a Facebook post that Robert C. Byrd High School has been opened as a warming shelter for those forced to evacuate due to a gas leak affecting Kramer Drive.

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The city also confirmed that the person who was taken to the hospital after the explosion sustained life-threatening injuries.

UPDATE: 5:17 p.m.  Harrison County 911 officials have confirmed that one person was transported to United Hospital Center following a house explosion at Chestnut Hills in Clarksburg. The extent of the injuries is unknown.

911 officials also confirmed that evacuation orders are still in place.

UPDATE: 4:47 p.m.  Evacuations have been ordered following a gas leak that caused one house to explode.

Deputy Chief Webber of the Clarksburg Police Department told 12 News they are going door to door evacuating everyone from Van Buren Street to the West Fork River and from Horner Avenue to Roosevelt Road.

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The Clarksburg Police Department confirmed that a gas leak was the cause of the explosion and urged people to avoid the area at all costs. Another official said the leak was filling up homes.

ORIGINAL: CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY)  Multiple departments are currently on the scene of a house explosion on Kramer Drive.

According to the Harrison County 911 Log the explosion occurred at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. 911 officials were not able to confirm the extent of the damage or any injuries but did say that the scene is still active.

One witness told 12 News in a phone call that the explosion could be felt at the Clarksburg Go-Mart.

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One found dead in vehicle removed from Cheat Lake

A 12 News reporter is currently at the scene.

The Harrison County Office of Emergency Management, Sheriffs Office and EMS, along with the Clarksburg police and fire departments and the Bridgeport Fire Department responded to this incident.

This is a developing story. Stick with 12 News for the latest updates.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Evan Rachel Wood issued a strong statement supporting survivors of domestic and sexual assault following Los Angeles County DA Nathan J. Hochmans announcement last week that his office would not file domestic abuse and sexual assault charges against her ex-fiance, shock rocker Marilyn Manson.

My lawyer and I were advised by the Deputy District Attorneys and the Sheriff deputies who investigated the case that there was compelling evidence to support our claims, but that the statute of limitations prevents many of those crimes from being prosecuted, Wood wrote on her private Instagram on Friday, according to People magazine. We always knew that the statute of limitations would be a barrier, which is why we created the Phoenix Act so that other victims wouldnt have to experience this outcome.

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Working with legislators and domestic violence survivors, Wood helped write the 2019 Phoenix Act, a California law that extended the statute of limitations for domestic violence felony crimes from three to five years. She was among a number of women who accused Manson (born Brian Warner), 56, of sexual, physical and emotional abuse, allegations the musician has denied.

On Friday, Hochman said his office decided that that statute of limitations had expired on any domestic violence charges against Manson and that they could not prove a sexual assault charge in court. In a statement, Hochman said prosecutors, recognize and applaud the courage and resilience of the women who came forward, thanking them for their cooperation and patience While we are unable to bring charges in this matter, we recognize that the strong advocacy of the women involved has helped bring greater awareness to the challenges faced by survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault, Hochman said.

In her statement, Wood  who had alleged that Manson started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years  added, Unfortunately, the Phoenix Act cannot help in cases which occurred before it was passed, but I hope this shines a light on why its so important to advocate for better laws. Evidence of violent crimes should not have an expiration date. I am grateful for the work law enforcement has done, and I am endlessly proud of all the survivors who risked everything to protect others by speaking the truth.

Game of Thrones actress Bianco accused Manson of abuse in 2021 and reached an undisclosed settlement with the musician in 2023 after alleging that he had used drugs, force and threats of force to coerce sexual acts and had locked Ms. Bianco in the bedroom, tied her to a prayer kneeler and beat her with a whip that Mr. Warner said was utilized by the Nazis.

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Bianco also issued a statement following Hochmans ruling, writing on Instagram: Whilst I am deeply disappointed by the decision of the District Attorney to not bring charges in the case against Brian Warner, I am sadly not surprised. Within our toxic culture of victim blaming; a lack of understanding of coercive control, the complex nature of sexual assault within intimate partnerships, and statutes of limitations that do not support the realities of healing; prosecutions face an oftentimes insurmountable hurdle.

She added, Once again, our justice system has failed survivors. Not the individual prosecutors and detectives who worked for years on this case, but the system that made them do so with one hand tied behind their collective backs. Seven years ago when I was faced for the first time with that failure, it set me out on a journey of advocacy and activism, but with that came a very clear directive. My healing and peace could not be reliant upon the outcome of a desperately broken system. I know the truth of what happened to me. It sits deeply rooted in my belly, unshakable, mine. No-one and nothing can take that away. And so to all the survivors reading this, who are being hit by yet another piece of stinging news and feeling hopeless or discouraged, let me remind you: you know your truth also. Let that be your anchor, for it is stronger than the bars of any prison.

With truth as her guide, Bianco vowed to continue fighting for justice reform and to shine our light onto dark realities of sexual violence and intimate partner abuse, so that we can not only understand it, but end it. She also had a blunt personal message to Warner, writing, By you dragging me through hell, I discovered the unstoppable force of my own power. I learnt how strong, and brave and bold I really am. I emerged as a Phoenix from the ashes that you left of my life. You also know the truth, and may you endeavor to find peace with that.

Manson has strongly denied all the allegations, at one point filing a motion to dismiss the case filed by Bianco, in which he accused her of cynically and dishonestly seeking to monetize and exploit the #MeToo movement. He also filed a defamation lawsuit against Wood, claiming she had secretly recruited, coordinated, and pressured prospective accusers to emerge simultaneously with false allegations against the rocker. Wood denied the counter-allegations and Manson dropped the suit in November 2024, agreeing to pay $327,000 of her legal fees.

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If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text STRENGTH to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

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Every single Democratic senator has signed a resolution condemning Trumps mass pardon of the January 6 insurrectionistsexcept John Fetterman.

The Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers, the one-line resolution reads.

Trump pardoned Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and multiple people who beat, tasered, and choked Capitol Police officers that day, leading even the Fraternal Order of Policea staunchly pro-Trump unionto condemn his decision. At least a handful of Republicans too were shocked by his decision.

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But apparently not Fetterman, who has refused to sign on to the very basic statement thanks to his constant desire to play devils advocate for the Republican Party.

Some people are very deserving of a second chance and get a pardon, Fetterman told ABC News last week. What Im saying, though, that, that, pardons I can agree with, some that I dont. And I think thats really what it comes down to. It now seems like he agrees with all of them.

Fettermans office has yet to comment.


A single-line bill backed by every Democratic senator condemns Donald Trumps decision to pardonJanuary 6 rioters who were convicted for assaulting law enforcement officers.

The resolution offered up by Senator Patty Murray simply states that the Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.

It shouldnt be too much to ask for senators to oppose unconditional pardons for people found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers, Murray said in a statement.

Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of every convicted rioter who was charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In total, 44 Senate Democrats and the two independents who caucus with Democrats joined the resolution.

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Pennsylvanias John Fetterman was not on the initial list of senators supporting the measure. He office confirmed he joined on Monday morning.

The Independent has requested comment from Fettermans office.

As one of his first actions inside the Oval Office in the hours after his inauguration last week, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of every convicted rioter who was charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, fuelled by Trumps ongoing bogus claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged or stolen from him.

Trump also ordered the dismissal of hundreds of pending cases.

It shouldn't be too much to ask for senators to oppose unconditional pardons for people found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.



I'm introducing a simple, one-line resolution condemning these pardons & will try to pass it on the Senate floor this week. pic.twitter.com/Sq1XjCCKrc  Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) January 27, 2025

He commuted the sentence of 14 people convicted on treason-related charges of seditious conspiracy and other crimes, including members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who conspired to break into the halls of Congress.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman did not join other Democratic senators to formally condemn Donald Trumps pardons for violent January 6 rioters (Getty Images)

Nearly 1,600 people were federally charged with crimes connected to the attack, including more than 600 people who were charged with assaulting or resisting an officer. Nearly 200 people were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.

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Several police unions that endorsed the president issued statements criticizing his pardons for defendants convicted for assaulting officers. Several Republican officials  including Vice President J.D. Vance and Trumps nominee for attorney general Pam Bondi  also suggested that Trump should not pardon violent rioters before he did.

Fetterman told ABC News last week that he believes in second chances.

Some people are very deserving of a second chance and get a pardon, he added. And theres some that I dont  agree with. I dont agree with them.  What Im saying, though, that, that, pardons I can agree with, some that I dont. And I think thats really what it comes down to.
For decades conspiracy theorists have pointed to the US governments refusal to release the John F Kennedy files as evidence of a cover-up of the former presidents assassination.

So Donald Trumps assurance that everything will be revealed when he signed an executive order to declassify the trove of redacted documents will have set some high expectations.

But experts on the 22 November 1963 assassination in Dallas, Texas, unanimously believe those hoping for a smoking gun to rewrite history will be bitterly disappointed.

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The release, however, could provide some revelations to help shed light on how much the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) really knew about shooter Lee Harvey Oswald ahead of the killing.

There are still around 3,000 redacted files held by The National Archives and Records Administration, including some 500 of which have been redacted in full, although most of these relate to tax returns for Oswald and his killer Jack Ruby.

This is what experts and historians think could be gleaned from the release.

The Mexico connection

When more than 13,000 documents related to the 1963 assassination were released in 2022, JFK academics and theorists had hoped it would reveal more information about Oswalds activities in Mexico City, where he met the KGB officer in October 1963.

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Oswald had visited Mexico City several weeks before he assassinated Mr Kennedy to obtain a visa allowing him to defect to Cuba.

Gerald Posner, author of Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK, said he hopes the files will reveal more information about the CIA surveillance of Oswalds visit.

Lee Harvey Oswald travelled to Mexico City shortly before he killed Kennedy - CORBIS

The file he is most eagerly awaiting is a 50-page document he says includes Mexican intelligence information that was gathered on Oswald and provided to the CIA, of which 30 pages are currently redacted.

The CIA definitely has surveillance, maybe they had human assets, intelligence, an informant inside one or more of the [Cuban or Soviet] missions there, he told The Telegraph. What did they know about his visit? Theyve always said they knew very little.

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Did they know that he took a pistol out at one point and slammed it on the desk of a KGB agent and the Soviet mission thought he was unstable? Did they realise that he was as unhinged as he appeared to be in Mexico City? Because, if so, what they should have done when he returned to the United States is handed it off to the FBI... They certainly didnt do that.

That would be terribly embarrassing for the CIA. Not only did it happen, but that they kept it under wraps for 60 years, he added.

The building in downtown Dallas from which Oswald shot Kennedy - JULIAN SIMMONDS

Fredrik Logevall, history professor at the Harvard Kennedy School agreed such detail could be revealed in the classified documents.

Its possible that the new materials will underscore what previous releases have shown: that US intelligence agencies knew more about Oswald and his activities than was originally known, he said.

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The CIA may have failed to report some of its knowledge about him to the FBI.

Targeting Castro

The documents could include further details on the Special Group Augmented (SGA), which included Robert F Kennedy and former National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy.

Professor Larry Sabato said the groups aim was to get rid of Fidel Castro and communism in Cuba before JFKs re-election.

This group met... more often than you might expect, given how busy things are in the White House and notes were kept, I suppose, because we were all busy, and maybe they forgot things, he said.

But the release of some of this information has occurred, the problem is it tells us enough to tantalise us, and then redacts what we really want to know. I want to see the redactions now.

Fidel Castro with Nikita Khrushchev, then the leader of the Soviet Union, in 1964 - AP

Mr Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Centre for Politics and author of The Kennedy Half-Century, said the partially redacted documents suggest the group were plotting events in and out of Cuba to embarrass Castro.

Fears of retaliation for CIA agents

One of the reasons some of the documents remain redacted is because they are thought to contain information about informants working for the CIA.

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Although the majority will no longer be alive, there are concerns that publishing the names could put the former informants and their families in danger.

I want to know the names so I can do some research on them, Mr Sabato said.

Obviously theyre dead, but you can research them, you can find out what is on the public record about them and maybe you can be led to others, children at the time, or grandchildren, or whatever, you can find out certain things... its better than knowing nothing, he said.

But Mark Zaid, a lawyer who has fought for the release records, says such names come into a category of documents Mr Trump cannot declassify with a stroke of his Sharpie.

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I expect that there will be pushback from the intelligence community, he says

Some of the records are because we have human assets who worked inside the Cuban and Soviet embassies in Mexico City... some of them were in their 20s.

They could be in their 80s, maybe 90s, and if youre talking about... would Cuba or Russia take retaliatory action against someone who would be considered a traitor to their country even six decades ago?

Youd best expect that yes, they would, and they might even take action against their family members decades younger.

The secret Jackie Kennedy interview

While they wont shed light on the planning of the assassination attempt, Mr Posner expects the notes historian William Manchester took from his interview with Jackie Kennedy to be included in the unredacted files.

Jackie Kennedy, centre, mourns her husband at his funeral in 1963 - GETTY IMAGES

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Mr Manchester spoke to Mrs Kennedy after her husbands death.

The tapes of the interviews cannot be released owing to an agreement with the Kennedy family that they would not be made public until 2067, but Mr Posner says Mr Manchesters notes could be unsealed.

They may not tell us anything about a grassy alt-shooter or conspiracy, but I think that people are going to want to know about that because its a human story, its not about ballistics and bullet angles.

Will everything be revealed?

All the experts The Telegraph spoke to were unconvinced that Mr Trump could unseal all the redacted files.

A trove of documents have been declassified in recent years, but scores of them remained redacted during Mr Trump and Joe Bidens administrations.

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In his order, Mr Trump directed his attorney general and director of national intelligence to give him a plan within 15 days for the full and complete release of records relating to the assassination.

Mr Zaid said there are hundreds of documents he does not think the president has the authority to release.

Donald Trump has promised to publish the redacted files - AP

For example, tax returns are protected by statute, he said. There are also records which have been sealed by courts. To release them, the Justice Department would have to go to the courts directly and order them to unseal it.

The President cant just flout an order of a court that sealed the records, he said.

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There are also a number of items that are subject to deeds of gift and access is overseen by the Kennedy family. Such items include autopsy photographs and Mrs Kennedys dress from the day of the assassination.

Mr Sobata is not confident Mr Trump will deliver on his promise to make everything public.

Unfortunately, Im in my seventies and Ill be dead before we know all the information, but Ive got people who will come to my grave site yelling, he said.

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Hannibal Mike Ware, the former inspector general (IG) for the Small Business Administration, said he and others are looking into whether actions taken by President Trump amount to a threat to democracy.

Ware, along with other inspectors general, were fired by Trump on Friday. The late-night firings may be in violation of federal law that states the president must give Congress a 30-day notice of his intent to remove an inspector general, and they have also raised concerns for what it means for the government to go without the independent internal watchdogs.

Were looking at what amounts to a threat to democracy, a threat to independent oversight and a threat to transparency in government, Ware said Monday on MSNBC.

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Ware, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, said the 30-day notice to Congress is a key protection of the independence afforded to inspectors general. He highlighted the 1978 Inspector General Act and its protections for the watchdogs.

You cant decide Im not going to follow that part of the IG Act, but oh, Im going to follow the part that allows IGs to have full and unfettered access to all agencies, records and personnel, he said, later adding that we might as well not have an Inspector General Act at all.

Ware argued that the president removed people who were not aligned with his mission.

U.S. Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who works under the Justice Department, was spared from the firings.

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For years, we have been viewed as nonpartisan, nonpolitical, Ware said. Whats happening right now is historic in that this has never happened before.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
SIOUX FALLS SD (KELO)  An ex-state employee has pleaded guilty to using a Social Services grocery voucher for personal use.

A news release from Attorney General Marty Jackley says Amalia Barrientos, 28, of Brookings pleaded guilty Monday in Brookings County Circuit County to one misdemeanor count of obtaining money, property or assistance by fraud from social services or related programs. She was then sentenced to 180 days in jail, all suspended; a $400 fine, $96.50 in court costs, and $449.98 in restitution

The investigation revealed Barrientos used the voucher at a Brookings business last October.

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Car break-in in Sioux Falls

This is another example of an individual using their power to abuse their position for personal gain, hurting those in need and the reputation of hard-working state employees, Jackley said in a release. The Attorney Generals Office will continue to investigate and prosecute cases to regain the publics trust in state government.

This is the fifth case of accused public corruption that has resulted in state investigations and the involvement of the Attorney General. Unlike other state employee cases, this case did not involve felony charges or a huge sum of money.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Norm Eisen explained this weekend how he believes Donald Trump  during the presidents first week back in the White House  is fulfilling his campaign promise to act like a dictator.

Trump told Fox News Sean Hannity in December 2023 that hed be authoritarian in nature only on day one of his return to office.

But Trump has carried that forward through the entire week, Eisen, the former Obama White House ethics lawyer, told MSNBCs Jen Psaki.

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Trumps Friday overnight firings of independent inspector generals is a nakedly illegal action, argued Eisen, who noted how they appeared to flout federal law of Congress requiring 30 days notice of and explanation for such a dismissal.

And its just one way in which Trump is testing and pushing the limits, Eisen continued, adding the presidents attempt to eliminate birthright citizenship to that list. That move is being challenged legally.

Trump has falsely claimed that a president firing inspector generals is a very common thing to do. Eisen commented: I agree with him on one thing. Yes, its a common thing to do in a dictatorship, not in the United States of America.

Watch the full analysis here:

Related...
LONDON  The British Fashion Council has secured fresh funds from the U.K. government to help designers succeed in a challenging trading environment.

The BFCs chief executive officer Caroline Rush said the governments department for Culture, Media and Sport, which backs the BFC Newgen program, has committed an additional 1 million pounds in funding for the next year.

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Rush said the fresh funding will go toward securing a show venue for the BFC Newgen designers, cover presentation costs, and business mentoring for designers for the emerging talents.

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The British fashion scene is undeniably tough. But having worked for years with designers, retailers, partners, and the creative community at large, I can think of no better group to navigate the challenges we are facing in the U.K. and the global challenges for our industry at large, said Rush.

Rush also wants the government to work with us to increase access to finances to help our designers and brands deliver on their growth promise. She is also campaigning for the restoration of tax-free shopping, which would immediately breathe confidence into the industry. That, in turn, will have a positive impact on our designer fashion community.

The U.K. terminated the tax-free shopping program after Brexit, and has so far refused to reinstate it because the government needs the money. Rush is one of many industry figures, retailers and brand owners who have been pleading with the government to reverse the policy, to no avail.

The latest funding announcement coincided with the release of the final London Fashion Week schedule for fall 2025. The showcase will run from Feb. 20 to 24 and is a day shorter than usual.

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New additions to the definitive schedule include Ashish, Maison Sara Chraibi and Maison Artc.

As reported, the showcase will kick off with Harris Reed on Thursday night. The following days will see shows from emerging and established British brands, including Burberry, Erdem, Simone Rocha, Richard Quinn and Edeline Lee.

Young designers showing under the BFC Newgen banner include Paolo Carzana, Ancuta Sarca, Charlie Constantinou, Chet Lo, Di Petsa, Johanna Parv, Kazna Asker, Lueder, Pauline Dujancourt, Sinead ODwyer, Kazna Asker and Yaku.

Several key names are absent from the schedule due to a variety of reasons. Those choosing not to show in London include JW Anderson, Nensi Dojaka, S.S. Daley, Chopova Lowena, Yuhan Wang and Knwls.

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Due to a tough retail climate, many brands have chosen to stage one runway show a year to ease cash flow pressures.

Rush said she understands that with so many obstacles at play, designers need to be dynamic and strategic in their choices on how, when and where to focus their budget and present their collections.

It is no secret that it is a challenging environment. The cost of doing business due to the impact of leaving the European Union, and challenges around access to finance and payment terms, have put additional pressure on designers, she added.

Rush said the BFC is in constant conversation with designers to understand better how they are addressing these challenges.

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She added that digital showcases, events and physical presentations are less-costly formats that the BFC is happy to promote at a time when money is tight.

It is important that we support designers in making the right choices for them and that we continue to provide options for showcasing and connecting with the U.K. and international media and retailers, while thinking about opportunities for businesses to diversify revenue streams, said Rush.

In another bid to promote the young talents, the BFC is introducing a showcase on the last day of London Fashion Week, at 180 Strand in London, for designers supported by the BFC Newgen program to speak to international media and buyers.

The BFC has also been playing matchmaker behind the scenes to connect designers with potential partners and venues.

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For example, LFWs principal partner 1664 Blanc last year supported designers including Aaron Esh, Charles Jeffrey and Tolu Coker. The drinks brand will continue to work with the BFC to nurture the London creative community.

The BFC has also been beefing up its international guest program in order to strengthen the impact of LFW for designers who show on-schedule. It is using funding from the Department for Business and Trade and additional money from Britains Great Campaign.

We are focusing on welcoming guests from key markets to London Fashion Week who have significant spending power, and have secured an incredible lineup of international buyers and press who will be in town across the week, said Rush.

The BFC will also continue to host a showroom for emerging brands to meet buyers during Paris Fashion Week, which runs from March 6 to 11 at 2b Rue Saint-Sauveur.

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Our role at the BFC is to ensure that the platform meets the needs of the designers. In the 15 years I have been CEO of the BFC [their needs] have not stayed the same, said Rush.

By nature, we change. The system will evolve but the role of [London Fashion Week] remains as a critical platform for brands to increase their brand awareness, secure sales, and for us to convene the industry, and support creativity and design, she added.

As reported, Laura Weir, currently executive creative director at Selfridges, will succeed Rush as CEO of the BFC on April 28. Rush announced her planned departure last December.

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SUVA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Two subsea cables have landed in Suva, capital of Fiji, connecting Fiji to global digital networks, said the country's Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica on Monday.

In addition to the Suva landings, two more connections will be established in Natadola in the coming days, completing a total of four new subsea cable connections, said Kamikamica, who also serves as minister for trade, cooperatives, small and medium enterprises and communications.

"The infrastructure will enhance international connectivity, linking Fiji directly to the United States, Australia, Japan, and South America via subsea cables," the official said.

He noted that these subsea cable systems, which are being laid as part of the Pacific Connect initiative, are expected to transform Fiji into a growing hub for digital connectivity in the Pacific region. 
By Aditya Kalra and Arpan Chaturvedi

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Digital news units of Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, and other outlets including the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times, are joining proceedings against OpenAI for improperly using copyright content, legal papers show.

Courts globally are hearing claims by authors, news organisations and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their copyrighted work to train AI services without permission or payment.

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India has more than 690 million smartphone users thanks to cheap mobile data plans and OpenAI has said the country is a critical market.

The Indian media outlets, including Adani's NDTV and Ambani's Network18, have told a New Delhi court they want to join an ongoing lawsuit against the ChatGPT creator as they are worried their news websites are being scraped to store and reproduce their work for users of the powerful AI tool.

Reuters was first to report the case filing by the news publishers, which escalates an ongoing legal battle against ChatGPT in India. In the most high-profile battle, local news agency ANI was first to file a lawsuit against OpenAI last year. Global and Indian book publishers have also joined the lawsuit.

The 135-page case filing, which is not public but was reviewed by Reuters, argues OpenAI's conduct constitutes "a clear and present danger to the valuable copyrights" of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) members and other outlets.

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It refers to OpenAI's "wilful scraping ... and adaptation of content", adding that "the disproportionate power of tech companies in prioritising content and extracting advertising revenue has raised concerns among publishers."

The filing was made by the Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Adani's NDTV and the DNPA, which represents roughly 20 companies including Mukesh Ambani Network18 and players like Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, Zee News, India Today Group and the Hindu. Many of these outlets have a flourishing newspaper and television news business too.

The Times of India is not part of the legal challenge despite being member of the DNPA, the filing said, without elaborating on the reasons.

Asked for comment, OpenAI reiterated an earlier statement that it was engaged in constructive partnerships with many news organisations, including in India, and was using publicly available data in a manner protected by fair use principles to builds its AI models.

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None of the Indian media companies involved immediately responded to Reuters request for comment.

The global AI market is expected to grow to $320 billion to $380 billion by 2027, expanding 25% to 35% each year, with the India market likely to follow that trend, according to Boston Consulting Group and India's tech lobby group NASSCOM.

LANDMARK INDIA CASE

In the United States, the New York Times sued OpenAI and its largest financial backer Microsoft in December 2023, accusing them of using millions of its articles without permission to train chatbots to provide information to users.

The new Indian intervention will add firepower to ANI's lawsuit against OpenAI in India's most high-profile legal proceedings on the issue.

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A hearing in ANI's lawsuit against OpenAI is scheduled for Tuesday.

Responding to the ANI case, OpenAI said in a court filing reported by Reuters last week that any order to delete training data would result in a violation of its U.S. legal obligations, and Indian judges have no jurisdiction to hear a copyright case against the company as its servers are located abroad.

Reuters, which holds a 26% interest in ANI, has said in a statement it is not involved in ANI's business practices or operations.

In recent months, OpenAI has signed deals with Time magazine, the Financial Times, Business Insider-owner Axel Springer, France's Le Monde and Spain's Prisa Media to display content.

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The Indian publishers in their new filing argue OpenAI has entered into partnership agreements with media outlets abroad, but has not entered into similar deals in India, hurting the media companies.

Such conduct by OpenAI "in India betrays an inexplicable defiance of the law," the Indian media outlets' filing said.

The publishers also said OpenAI was set to become a profit-driven business benefiting from the creative works of the media industry. This would result in a "weakened press" and would not be in the best interests of a vibrant democracy, their filing said.

OpenAI made its first India hire last year when it tapped a former WhatsApp executive, Pragya Misra, to handle public policy and partnerships in the country of 1.4 billion people.

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"India is really important because it's the youngest demographic in the world ... we've seen massive uptake of ChatGPT, it's almost our second largest country in terms of users outside of the US," Misra said in a recent interview with AIM TV.

OpenAI kicked off an investment, consumer and corporate frenzy in generative AI after the Nov. 2022 launch of ChatGPT. It wants to be ahead in the AI race after raising $6.6 billion last year.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Arpan Chaturvedi; Additional reporting by Praveen Paramasivam; Editing by Sonali Paul and Kate Mayberry)
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump forged ahead with military deportation flights on Monday, sending another planeload of migrants to Guatemala a day after coming to the brink of a trade war with Colombia when it refused to let C-17 aircraft land.

Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the aircraft landed in Guatemala on Monday afternoon after a flight from Texas. A Guatemalan official told Reuters the military transport plane had 64 people on board.

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Reuters was first to report Monday's flight to Guatemala.

As U.S.-Colombia tensions simmer, Bogota announced on Monday it was sending Colombian air force planes to the United States to pick up migrants that Trump tried to deport. The move, which Colombia said was a "win-win," cast doubt on White House assertions on Sunday that Bogota had relented to Trump's demands, agreeing to accept U.S. military deportation flights.

Trump, speaking at his Doral golf club to Republican lawmakers, vowed his unprecedented use of military aircraft for deportations would continue, and portrayed Sunday's standoff with Colombia as a victory in his immigration crackdown.

"For the first time in history, we are locating and loading illegal aliens into military aircraft and flying them back to the places from which they came," Trump said to applause.

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"We're respected again, after years of laughing at us, like we're stupid people."

Monday's flight is the third to have successfully landed in Guatemala since the start of the military deportation flights last week.

To date, Guatemala appears to be the only country to have received military flights with migrants.

On Sunday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the military deportation flights as inhumane and revoked authorization for two C-17 aircraft to land in his country after they had taken off from California.

Trump responded immediately, threatening severe tariffs and sanctions on Colombia as punishment.

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"As you saw yesterday, we've made it clear to every country that they will be taking back the people that we're sending out ... and if they don't they'll pay a high economic price," Trump said.

Colombia issued a conciliatory statement on Sunday evening that ended the standoff.

A trade war could have had crippling consequences for Colombia, which counts the United States as its largest trading partner. That is largely due to a 2006 free trade agreement that generated $33.8 billion in two-way trade in 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The use of U.S. military aircraft to carry out deportation flights is part of the Pentagon's response to Trump's national emergency declaration on immigration last week.

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The Pentagon said last week the U.S. military would provide flights for the deportations of more than 5,000 immigrants held by U.S. authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.

In the past, U.S. military aircraft have been used to relocate individuals from one country to another, like during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

This has been the first time in memory that U.S. military aircraft were used to fly migrants out of the country, one U.S. official said.

Trump has also directed the U.S. military to help with border security, issued a broad ban on asylum and took steps to restrict citizenship for children born on U.S. soil.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali in Washington; additional reporting by Sofia Menchu in Guatemala City; Editing by Chris Reese and Stephen Coates)
An exhibition of works evacuated from the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art has opened at the Gemaldegalerie in Berlin. Germanys President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attended the opening.

Source: The Art Newspaper

Details: The exhibition, From Odesa to Berlin: European painting from the 16th to the 19th Century, was funded by the German government. Many of the paintings on display were shipped from war-torn Odesa without frames.

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The exhibition brings together 60 works from the Odesa museums collection  by artists such as Frans Hals, Cornelis de Heem, Bernardo Strozzi and Francesco Granacci  with paintings from the Gemaldegaleries collection.

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Photo: David von Becker

Quote from Steinmeier: "Odesas beautiful old town, where the Museum of Western and Eastern Art is situated, has been attacked by missiles time and again. In countless Ukrainian towns and cities, listed buildings continue to be damaged, cultural institutions destroyed and works of art stolen."

Details: The German president also noted that "attacks against museums, theatres, operas and libraries are intended to wipe out Ukraines cultural memory".

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

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Photo: David von Becker

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Photo: David von Becker

Admission to the exhibition of paintings from Odesa is free for Ukrainians. The exhibition texts and catalogue have also been produced in Ukrainian.

Quote: "I hope that this exhibition will be seen by many people from Germany, Europe and around the world. I hope that Ukrainians who have found refuge here in Germany will find a piece of home in the paintings."

Details: Steinmeier added that he hopes all the paintings "can be returned soon to where they belong: to the Museum of Western and Eastern Art in Odesa, in a free and independent Ukraine in which nobody has to fear bombs or missiles".

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The exhibition will run in Berlin until 22 June before moving to another German city, Heidelberg, in October.

How the works from the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art were evacuated

Before the full-scale invasion, the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, founded in 1923, had an extensive collection of European paintings, sculptures, prints and applied art dating from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. Shortly after the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, the most important paintings were moved to an emergency storage facility in Ukraine.

Concerned that the facility would not be able to fully protect the works of art, Ukraine asked Berlins museums for help. In September 2023, 74 works were brought to Berlin and treated by conservation specialists at the Gemaldegalerie.

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Restorers unpacking paintings in Berlin in 2023.

Photo: Sabine Lata

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A butterfly that became extinct in England has reemerged and is now thriving thanks to a successful breeding project.

As BirdGuides reported, ecologists brought a donor population of chequered skippers from Belgium to reestablish the species in its native habitat near Corby, Northamptonshire.

In England, the rare butterfly died out in 1976 because of changes in woodland management. In 2018, ecologists began working to rebuild its population.

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Since then, they have imported 128 butterflies from Belgium and released them in two forest locations. Breeding has been highly successful, and over 350 butterflies have been counted, with their number increasing each year.

Butterfly Conservation oversaw the project and said the results were "very exciting," per BirdGuides.

"This project shows us that restoring wildlife is possible, but only if we put in dedicated and sustained effort to tackle the reasons the species went extinct in the first place," the charity's chief scientist, Nigel Bourn, told BirdGuides.

Beyond the chequered skipper, this project exemplifies how to approach species reintroductions and conservation projects.

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The butterflies became extinct in England because of woodland management practices and the growth of conifer plantations. Yet this project shows how people can restore natural environments even after humans cause a species' demise.

Forestry England, which manages the publicly owned forests, worked to create open and sunny habitats to help the new population of butterflies survive.

A crucial aspect of the project was the cooperation of engaged landowners near the forest. Private citizens also helped improve their lands to benefit the chequered skipper's woodland habitats.

Many such species reintroduction efforts have been successful, as conservationists think outside the box to restore and maintain habitat biodiversity.

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When we restore ecological balance on our planet, we make our world more resilient to changing climate conditions and stabilize essential services such as pollination for a secure food supply.

"Climate change will bring more challenges and opportunities, but whatever they are, we need to ensure we are creating and sustaining precious wild habitat for our wonderful and beloved native species to survive," Bourn told Butterfly Conservation.

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.




Safety experts are issuing a warning about a popular social media trend that involves household chemicals found in many of our homes.

From cleaning tips to home organization, #Cleantok might appear harmless.

The plethora of cleaning videos on TikTok and other social media platforms are racking up billions of views.

Millions of videos with the hashtag #CleanTok portray decluttering, organizational, and cleaning trends that might make your home look nice.

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However, some of the inspirational aesthetics are bringing potential serious health risks to families.

What theyre really doing, though, is putting style over safety, said Brian Sansoni, senior vice president of the American Cleaning Institute.

Sansoni said parents are unintentionally creating the danger by storing laundry pods in decorative containers.

You should always keep laundry pods, all your cleaning products in their original containers, which are meant to be child resistant, he said.

He said that trendy presentation can make the laundry pods more appealing and accessible to kids.

The American Cleaning Institute looked at social media trends over a four-year period and found more than 800,000 mentions or displays of laundry packets being placed in clear jars.

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This is something where the liquid in that package is under pressure. So as soon as they bite into it, it honestly just comes shooting out of the package, said Michelle Preston, with the Massachusetts & Rhode Island Poison Center at Boston Childrens Hospital.

Preston said there are other dangerous examples of mixing household cleaning products that cause toxic vapors in your home.

Its a lot of people who, unfortunately, just dont know the risk. They mix the products together, she explained. They think its going to be okay, and then there is an immediate chemical reaction.

That includes the #ToiletOverload trend that involves mixing powders and colorful liquids in the toilet bowl.

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Another risky fad is the #productoverload trend that involves dousing a combination of cleaning products in toilets, sinks and bathtubs before they get flushed, scrubbed or rinsed.

Mixing things that may have bleach or another product that may have acid or ammonia that can actually make a toxic gas, a toxic vapor, said Preston.

The unintended consequence of mixing chemicals proved deadly at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Burlington back in 2019.

A restaurant employee cleaned the kitchen floor with the acidic cleaning agent Scale Kleen and didnt know the chlorine and bleach-based cleaner Super 8 had spilled on the floor earlier.

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The accidental mixing created toxic fumes that led to the death of manager Ryan Baldera and sent 13 others to the hospital.

The National Capital Poison Center warns:

-Mixing bleach with an acidic cleaner releases a chlorine gas, which was used as a chemical warfare agent in World War I

-Mixing bleach and ammonia makes chloramine gas, which causes coughing

I think theres an air of safety to these things because theyre sold at the store, added Preston. It really knocks you back. Its just that strong.

An excessive amount of mixed chemicals can also clog or even damage pipes that they pass through.

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According to the American Cleaning Institute, accidental exposures to household cleaning products is the second leading cause of calls to poison control centers across the country.

41% of those calls are placed for children under 5 years old.

If you have small children at home, its a good idea to add the number for poison control to your contacts: 1-800-222-1222.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Sunday issued an executive order establishing a review council for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, just days after he floated shuttering the agency whose resources are strained following multiple weather-related disasters and which is burdened by past failures in handling massive storms.

Last Friday, the Republican president floated the idea of shuttering FEMA during a trip to disaster areas in North Carolina and California, hit by a hurricane and massive wildfires.

WHAT IS FEMA? The federal agency's mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods. FEMA brings in emergency personnel, supplies and equipment to stricken areas.

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Its reputation was battered by its poor handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the agency has struggled to recover. Trump criticized FEMA on the campaign trail and since taking office on Monday. FEMA has a workforce of 20,000 people that can swell to more than 50,000 active members during major disasters, according to its website. It has 10 regional offices and the capacity to coordinate resources from across the federal government. Officially created in 1979, it became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2004.

TRUMP CRITICISM

Trump has accused FEMA of bungling emergency relief efforts in North Carolina and said he preferred that states be given federal money to handle disasters themselves. During a visit Friday, he said the agency should be fundamentally reformed or even scrapped.

"FEMA has turned out to be a disaster," he said during a tour of a North Carolina neighborhood destroyed by September's Hurricane Helene. "I think we recommend that FEMA go away."

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Trump also criticized California's response to recent wildfires that devastated Los Angeles, but he pledged during a visit to work with California Governor Gavin Newsom and offered help to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.

FEMA STAFFING FEMA says it is currently supporting 108 major disasters and 10 emergency declarations. According to its daily operations briefing, 17% of its disaster-response workforce is available.

After Trump said he wanted to overhaul or scrap FEMA, the agency's acting head Cam Hamilton wrote to staff and assured them that "FEMA is a critical agency which performs an essential mission in support of our national security." Hamilton is a former Navy SEAL Trump appointed to temporarily lead the agency after the Republican president took office last week.

FEMA FUNDING

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Funding for the agency has soared in recent years as extreme weather events boosted demand for its services. The agency received $29 billion from Congress in December to fund ongoing relief efforts.

A FEMA spokesperson told Reuters last week the agency has not received additional funding to reimburse states for ongoing recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina and the U.S. Southeast in late September.

There has been no presidential action or congressional appropriation under the current Trump administration to provide additional funds to FEMA for hurricane recovery efforts, and no credible reports of such funding.

DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN While responding to real-life disasters, FEMA has also battled a slew of false rumors about how its funds have been used. Before his re-election, Trump and his Republican allies accused former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, of using federal emergency money to help people who were in the country illegally. U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene went as far as to say government officials control the weather.

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FEMA has been the target of so many falsehoods it has set up a rumor response page on its website to tamp them down. One entry addresses the accusation that FEMA diverted funs to the border.

"This is false. No money is being diverted from disaster-response needs. FEMAs disaster-response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts." FEMA FAILURES The agency has been criticized for emergency responses to hurricanes that fell short, including Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017. Residents accused then-President Trump of being slow to dispatch aid after Maria and clumsy in his public remarks once it was clear the U.S. territory had been devastated. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina battered New Orleans and flooded parts of the city as residents crowded into ill-prepared shelters. Katrina devastated the Gulf of Mexico coast and caused more than 1,800 deaths. It also shattered the reputation of FEMA, which was sharply criticized for its response.

(Writing by Doina Chiacu, Editing by David Gregorio)
(Reuters) - The United States and Venezuela have a fraught recent history marked by broken diplomatic relations, sanctions and accusations of criminal activity and coup-plotting.

U.S. President Donald Trump - who during his first term used a "maximum pressure" sanctions policy against President Nicolas Maduro - referred to Maduro as a dictator during the 2024 U.S. campaign.

The administration of former U.S. president Joe Biden reinstated broad oil sanctions in April after it said Maduro failed to keep promises for a free election.

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It also imposed targeted sanctions on dozens of officials and increased rewards for the capture or conviction of leaders including Maduro after a contested July election and Maduro's third-term inauguration, leaving Trump limited options for further penalties.

Maduro's government has always rejected sanctions by the United States and others, saying they are illegitimate measures which amount to an "economic war" designed to cripple Venezuela.

The top Trump officials expected to have influence over how the administration handles Maduro include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a long-time Maduro critic, and Richard Grenell, a former intelligence chief who is Trump's envoy for special missions.

Grenell has said he is speaking with Venezuelan officials and planned to meet the opposition, whose leader Edmundo Gonzalez is recognized by Washington and the European parliament as the winner of Venezuela's election.

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PIVOTAL LICENSE

Trump's administration is reviewing a license that has allowed U.S. oil company Chevron to expand oil operations in Venezuela in order to recoup debt owed to it by the country, sources have said.

Chevron's license could be amended or terminated, potentially ending a steady revenue source for Maduro's administration since early 2023. The money has lifted Venezuela's economy, especially its oil and banking sectors.

Rubio told the U.S. Senate the Chevron license needed to be "re-explored," while Trump has made repeated comments about the U.S. not needing imports of Venezuelan oil.

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Some European companies which received similar U.S. authorizations, including Spain's Repsol and France's Maurel & Prom, could also see licenses changed or terminated, leaving them less room to negotiate with state oil company PDVSA.

POLITICAL TRANSITION

Washington has long said it supports democratic elections - verified by observers - in Venezuela, and the Biden administration rejected the official results of the July 2024 vote, recognizing the opposition's Gonzalez as president-elect.

Venezuelan opposition leaders have since been lobbying U.S. officials to increase pressure on Maduro for a political transition.

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Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and Gonzalez spoke with Rubio last week, with Rubio calling Gonzalez "Venezuela's rightful president."

Maduro, who both Venezuela's electoral authority and top court say won the election, has scoffed at concern from the U.S. and others.

Last year is not the first time the U.S. has doubted the legitimacy of a Maduro re-election.

Reuters reported in 2020 that Grenell secretly met with a Maduro representative to work out the Venezuelan leader's exit from power after his 2018 re-election, considered a sham by most Western countries, to no end.

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IMMIGRATION AND GANGS

Trump has kicked off a sweeping immigration crackdown, pledging mass deportations.

Deportees are expected to include Venezuelans, who have left their country by the millions, though it is unclear where they may be sent if Venezuela will not accept them.

Venezuelan officials have long floated the possibility they could reject migrant flights over sanctions.

Some 600,000 Venezuelans in the United States were eligible for deportation reprieves granted by the Biden administration.

Trump said the day before his inauguration that he would remove members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua from the United States.

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Venezuelan attorney general Tarek Saab said last week his country definitively destroyed the gang there in 2023, adding his office is willing to restart legal cooperation with the U.S. in order to extradite Venezuelan members of the gang.

DETAINEES

It is unclear exactly how many Americans or dual citizens are being held by Venezuela, but Venezuelan officials have spoken publicly about at least nine.

Maduro's officials have accused most of them of terrorism and said some were high-level "mercenaries".

Venezuela has regularly accused members of the opposition and foreign detainees of conspiring with U.S. entities such as the Central Intelligence Agency to plan terrorist attacks. U.S. officials have consistently denied this.

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In late 2023, Venezuela's government released dozens of prisoners including 10 Americans after months of negotiations, while the U.S. released a close ally of Maduro.

CITGO

An auction of shares in a Citgo Petroleum parent company to repay some $21 billion in claims for debt defaults and expropriations by Venezuela and PDVSA is set to be reorganized after a year-long sale process ended in shambles.

A U.S. federal court in Delaware is auctioning the shares in PDV Holding, a U.S. subsidiary of PDVSA and the indirect sole stockholder of Citgo.

The Venezuelan government has characterized the auction as theft of national assets, while Venezuela's opposition wanted the dispute resolved under their country's law. The final sale deal must be approved by the U.S. Treasury.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston and Ted Hesson and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Several explosions were heard overnight on Jan. 27 in the western Ukrainian cities of Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytskyi as Russia launched a drone attack on Ukraine.

Ivano-Frankivsk Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv urged residents to stay in shelters, as the air raid alert had been active in the region for over two hours.

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast had previously been targeted by Russia on Jan. 15, with the attack damaging "critical infrastructure facilities" in the area, though no casualties were reported at that time.

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Meanwhile, a drone attack on Jan. 27 also damaged a multi-story residential building in Dnipro, affecting the technical floor, windows, and doors on the upper levels.

The explosion and debris caused significant damage to vehicles parked nearby. No immediate reports of injuries or fatalities have been confirmed.

Read also: Potential encirclement in Velyka Novosilka prompts questions about last-ditch withdrawal strategy

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Claim:

U.S. President Donald Trump's choice for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, promised he would stop drinking if the Senate confirmed him.

Rating:

Rating: True

As U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, his choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, came under close scrutiny. News media reports shone a spotlight on the former "Fox & Friends" host's past, writing about his alleged alcohol problems and being intoxicated at work and other events. One Democrat even reportedly said Hegseth should be disqualified from taking the post over his drinking issues.

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Amid this, some social media users and outlets claimed that Hegseth promised he would quit drinking if the U.S. Senate confirmed him as secretary of defense (archived)  which it did, 51-50, on Jan. 24, with Vice President VD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote. One X account wrote (archived): "Donald Trump's secretary of defense pick has made a solemn promise to quit drinking if confirmed to the position."

Donald Trumps secretary of defense pick has made a solemn promise to quit drinking if confirmed to the position.https://t.co/hGB2nwYgA8  The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) December 4, 2024

In short, Hegseth did say he would stop drinking if he was confirmed as secretary of defense. Therefore, we have rated this claim as true.

He made such a promise in a December 2024 podcast interview with political commentator and journalist Megyn Kelly. His exact words can be seen below:

Kelly: Have you stopped drinking now? Hegseth: Thank you for asking that. So when I was, so my plan going forward, ongoing, is when I deployed, we had something called General Order Number One, and in General Order Number One, is you are not allowed to drink while you're on deployment, right? So if you're in Iraq and Afghanistan in a combat zone, you're not allowed to drink. That's how I view this role as secretary of defense is that I'm not going to have a drink at all. It's not hard for me because it's not a problem for me. But I need to make sure the senators and the troops and President Trump and everybody else knows when you call me 24/7, you're getting fully dialed-in Pete, just like you always did in Iraq and Afghanistan. So this is the biggest deployment of my life, and there won't be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I'm doing it.

The exchange took place at the 35:23 mark of the video below:

During his Jan. 14, 2025, Senate hearing, Hegseth also said he would no longer drink if confirmed. Hawaii's Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono asked him: "You recently promised some of my Republican colleagues that you stopped drinking and won't drink if confirmed. Correct?"

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Hegseth responded: "Absolutely."

However, Hegseth would not respond with a yes or no to her question about whether he would resign as defense secretary if he drank on the job.

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In the same hearing, Hegseth refused to confirm or deny specific cases about his drinking, including being carried out of an event while drunk, passing out while drunk, being drunk in front of female colleagues and more. He called each of those claims "anonymous smears."

In December 2024, prior to the hearing, Republican senators reportedly said Hegseth promised to stop drinking. Responding to Hegseth's misconduct allegations, including claims he had been drunk in public, Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt reportedly said: "He offered up to me, and I know he has with other senators too, that he's not drinking, and that's not something he's going to do when confirmed here."

North Dakota's Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer also allegedly told reporters that Hegseth pledged to him that he would not drink when secretary: "He [Hegseth] said, 'My commitment is to not touch alcohol while I have this position.'"

Hegseth has faced accusations of being intoxicated on his past job, sexist behavior, financial mismanagement, sexual assault and domestic abuse. Hegseth has denied such claims and called them part of a "coordinated smear campaign."

Sources:

Blake, Aaron. "The Questions Pete Hegseth Wouldn't Answer." Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2025, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/15/hegseth-hearing-questions-drinking-affairs/." target="blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/15/hegseth-hearing-questions-drinking-affairs/.">https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/15/hegseth-hearing-questions-drinking-affairs/. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.

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Brown, Pamela and Lauren Fox, Manu Raju. "Hegseth's Ex-Wife Gives New Statement to FBI amid Scrutiny over His Nomination | CNN Politics." CNN, 23 Jan. 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/22/politics/pete-hegseth-ex-wife-fbi-briefing/index.html." target="blank">https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/22/politics/pete-hegseth-ex-wife-fbi-briefing/index.html.">https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/22/politics/pete-hegseth-ex-wife-fbi-briefing/index.html. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.

"Full Stream: Pete Hegseth's Confirmation Hearing for Defense Secretary." Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K27qGXNgDa4." target="blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K27qGXNgDa4.">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K27qGXNgDa4. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.

"Hegseth Promises to Stop Drinking If Confirmed, GOP Senators Say." ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pete-hegseth-back-scrutiny-grows-misconduct-allegations/story?id=116444894. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.

Mayer, Jane. "Pete Hegseth's Secret History." The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2024. www.newyorker.com, https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/pete-hegseths-secret-history." target="blank">https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/pete-hegseths-secret-history.">https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/pete-hegseths-secret-history. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.

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"Pete Hegseth Speaks Out, On Media Smears, Responding to Accusations, and How He'd Reform Military." Megyn Kelly, 4 Dec. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjHk96-UCrE." target="blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjHk96-UCrE.">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjHk96-UCrE. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.

'Senators Receive Fresh Allegations about Defence Pick Pete Hegseth'. BBC News, 22 Jan. 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8r5exn1n57o.

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfwqTC3HjoI&t=146s&ab_channel=ForbesBreakingNews. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
Middle and high school students can learn about their options after high school at a free workshop in Milwaukee this weekend.

The Wisconsin Precollege Fair is intended to expose students in grades six through 12 to college and career opportunities after high school, as well as provide resources that can help make those goals a reality.

"Education means educating you in where you want to go, wherever those aspirations or career goals lead you. We can support you in that process," said Alisia Marquez, the event's program supervisor with the Department of Public Instruction and the director of the Wisconsin Educational Opportunity Program.

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For the first time, the fair will include two interactive sessions to help students and their parents or guardians fill out 2025-26 federal financial aid, or FAFSA forms. Limited space is available.

Event details

Date: Saturday, Feb. 1

Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: Monaghan Grand Ballroom, Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave.

The event is hosted by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's Wisconsin Educational Opportunity Program, as well as Marquette University.

How to register for free college event

Anyone can register for the event online here: https://tinyurl.com/4h2kcury

(This story was updated to add new information.)

Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit jsonline.com/rfa.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Free college preparation and FAFSA workshop coming to Milwaukee Feb. 1
Firefighters prepare to battle the raging wildfire on a hill in Castaic, Los Angeles, California, the United States, on Jan. 22, 2025. (Photo by Qiu Chen/Xinhua)

At least 12 schools in Los Angeles County have suffered significant damage, with five campuses destroyed. The financial toll is overwhelming. Rebuilding could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

"Rebuilding these schools could take years," said Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools.

SACRAMENTO, the United States, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The devastating wildfires that began sweeping through Southern California on Jan. 7 have left the region's education system reeling, with over a dozen schools severely damaged or destroyed.

As school officials begin the daunting task of rebuilding, they face an estimated cost of hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars, with recovery expected to take years.

At least 12 schools in Los Angeles County have suffered significant damage, with five campuses destroyed, according to CalMatters, a nonprofit news organization focusing on local agendas in California. Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second-largest school system, lost two elementary schools in Pacific Palisades, while Palisades Charter High School was heavily damaged. In Pasadena and Altadena, three additional elementary schools were destroyed.

The financial toll is overwhelming. Rebuilding could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. "Rebuilding these schools could take years," said Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools.

Los Angeles Fire Rescue and San Diego Urban Search and Rescue teams, supported by deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, search wildfire-damaged structures in Altadena, California, United States, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Qiu Chen/Xinhua)

One source of relief is California's Proposition 2, a 10-billion-dollar school construction bond passed in November to fund repairs and rebuild efforts, including damage from disasters like wildfires.

However, the fund is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, and there is already a significant backlog of schools waiting for assistance. Priority will likely go to schools damaged by fires, raising concerns for districts with other urgent needs.

"There is a growing concern that Prop. 2 funds will be quickly depleted, leaving smaller districts like Keyes struggling to address our own long-term facility needs," said Helio Brasil, superintendent of Keyes Union School District, which serves low-income students near Modesto.

The California Legislature has approved a 2.5-billion-dollar fire relief package for the Los Angeles area. However, the rebuilding process will rely on multiple funding sources, including insurance, private grants, local bonds, lawsuit settlements, and both state and federal funds.

In the meantime, districts are scrambling for temporary solutions. The Los Angeles Unified School District has already relocated students from the two destroyed schools to other campuses and is focusing on providing mental health support for students and staff coping with trauma.

The impact extends far beyond rebuilding structures.

Firefighters check wildfire-damaged structures in Altadena, California, United States, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Qiu Chen/Xinhua)

Thousands of students and staff have been displaced. In the Pasadena Unified School District, more than 1,300 staff members lost homes within the burn zone, and the district estimates that thousands of students and families have been affected.

"The pain of being evacuated, losing your home, or having family and friends who have been impacted... it's just so devastating," said Duardo.

"At so many districts in our county, the superintendent themselves has been evacuated, or 50 percent of the staff has been evacuated. And meanwhile, they're all trying to help their students."

The rebuilding effort is further complicated by the need to prepare for future fire risks. With climate change increasing the likelihood of severe wildfires, there is growing debate about how to rebuild more resiliently.

"Are we just inviting another problem down the road?" asked Michael Hricak, an adjunct professor of architecture at the University of Southern California.

Past wildfire recovery efforts in California suggest the road to rebuilding will be long. In Sonoma County, the Anova Center for Education, destroyed in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, only reopened in early January, more than seven years later.

Devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire, the Paradise Unified School District has spent 155 million dollars rebuilding campuses but still needs an additional 150 million dollars to complete repairs. 
FAIRHOPE, Ala. (WKRG)  A Fairhope man was arrested Monday on a child pornography charge, according to the Baldwin County Sheriffs Office.

Gulf Shores High School indoor athletic training facility collapses

According to a BCSO news release, investigators executed a search warrant on Monday, Jan. 27, at the home of Kenneth Greer, 66. An inquiry led investigators to believe Greer possessed child pornography and shared child pornography with others, News 5 has learned.

Kenneth Eugene Greer. (Baldwin County Jail View)

The release said Greer interviewed with investigators, and he admitted to possessing child sexual abusive material. Investigators allegedly linked him to over 3,500 images of child sexual abuse material.

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BCSO officials said Greer was arrested and is accused of four counts of possession of obscene matter containing visual depiction of persons under 17 years of age involved in obscene acts, which violates Alabama Code 13A-12-192(b).

Mobile police arrest man after he allegedly follows woman, grabs her inappropriately

This investigation included BCSO, the Fairhope Police Department, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency ICAC Task Force, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Department of Homeland Security Mobile Field Office.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 new report on child homelessness in Utah by the Crossroads Urban Center sits on a table during an event where faith leaders and advocates gathered at the Utah Capitol on Jan. 24, 2025. (Katie McKellar / Utah News Dispatch)

Members of various churches across Utah and homelessness advocates gathered around a large table at the Utah Capitol on Friday to urge the Utah Legislature to fully fund about $5.8 million a year toward a new family homeless shelter.

Utah Gov. Spencer Coxs administration has recommended lawmakers fund operations for the new shelter, which South Salt Lake city leaders recently voted to open in an old Motel 6 at 315 W. 3300 South with capacity for up to 85 families. The Salt Lake Tribune reported leaders expect the new shelter to open in March or April.

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Currently, the shelter is funded through June, but in order for its doors to stay open, Coxs state homeless coordinator, Wayne Niederhauser, is asking lawmakers to devote ongoing funding  which is more difficult to come by than one-time funding.

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But with the states more than $30.6 billion budget far from being finalized, which usually doesnt occur until the final weeks of the 2025 session scheduled to end March 7, legislative leaders arent yet commiting to whether theyll fully fund the request, though they say its a big issue thats on their radar.

Every child deserves a warm, safe place to sleep.

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A chorus of voices repeated that refrain after each speaker during Fridays gathering of the Faith and Advocacy Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness. The phrase is also the title of a new report released that day by the Crossroads Urban Center that estimated more than 16,000 children experienced homelessness in Utah in recent years.

State leaders have an opportunity to eliminate unsheltered homelessness for families with children by supporting Gov. Coxs budget recommendation to fund the operations of a new family shelter in South Salt Lake City, the report says. This new family shelter has been needed since 2023 when the need for family shelter surged beyond what could be met by existing shelters in Utah.

Faith leaders and homeless advocates gather at the Utah Capitol on Jan. 24, 2025. (Katie McKellar/Utah News Dispatch)

Currently, the states only family-specific shelter is the Connie Crosby Family Resource Center in Midvale, which houses up to 300 people a night. Its been operating at max capacity, leaving unhoused families with children limited shelter options, especially when funding for motel vouchers runs out.

The report also encourages lawmakers to take long term action toward decreasing family homelessness by putting $2 million more into the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund to spur creation of affordable housing geared toward the specific needs of families coming out of homelessness.

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Local leaders can be part of efforts to reduce child and family homelessness by supporting the development of adequate, affordable housing that meets the needs of families in their communities and by becoming engaged with efforts to create job opportunities for low-income parents, the report says.

Niederhauser attended Fridays gathering, explaining that the $5.8 million in ongoing funds is part of the governors overall request that the Legislature fund about $18.8 million in new money toward efforts to alleviate homelessness. Niederhauser said hes also working to drum up support for about $13 million in one-time money to help fund additional winter response emergency shelter space over the next year while he and other state officials work to site and build a new 30-acre homeless campus with space for up to 1,200 beds.

For the new South Salt Lake family shelter, Niederhauser said the state Homeless Services Board did grant the shelters operator, The Road Home, money to get it open and operate for several months through June, but we also need ongoing funds from the Legislature this year to make that facility operate on an ongoing basis, which is desperately needed.

Hopefully well get the Legislature to fund it, he said.

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Niederhauser also acknowledged youth homelessness is on the rise in Utah. At the very core of this issue is housing, and that has been a focus of ours over the last several years. However, he noted Utah lawmakers have only funded additional housing programs for a couple of years.

Thats helped bring on about 1,538 new deeply affordable units statewide, Niederhauser said, but theres still more need.

We have programs now that weve proven that work, that can put these units on the ground, Niederhauser said. Were hoping in the future we can get more money in the governors budget and more money out of the Legislature to have these programs continue to create that much needed, deeply affordable housing.

Will Utah lawmakers fund the family shelter? Senate leaders respond

When asked during a media availability Friday if lawmakers can definitively commit to funding the family shelter, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, pointed to the budgeting process and said, theres probably very little definitely I can tell you. But well look at it.

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Senate Budget Chair Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, said only one things for sure: there will be a lot of debate given the limited amount of new revenue fiscal analysts are predicting to be available this year.

There will be a lot of picking and choosing, he said.

Adams, however, indicated its one priority thats on their radar.

Thats a big issue, we know it is, he said. Its going to be one of the big ones of the session.

This is our year, faith leaders say

Rev. Lora Young, a minister at the South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society in Cottonwood Heights, said she lives in South Salt Lake, and that she couldnt be more excited to have a solution that is opening blocks away from her house, referring to the new family shelter.

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She also encouraged advocates to not give up, even though it may seem like progress to increase funding for housing and homelessness is slow going.

Homelessness and meeting the needs of the unhoused in our community is a highly solvable problem, she said. We are solving it inch by inch by inch. We have a little bit more money now than we had five or six years ago. The state has made it a priority to start making this happen.

Rev. Doug Gray, a pastor at the First Congregational Church in Salt Lake City, said all people are children of God, and are meant to be loved.

Thats why we have to end hunger and homelessness, he said. Just because someone is hungry, just because someone doesnt have a place to sleep, doesnt mean they are undeserving, he said, invoking several amens from the crowd.

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Gray said he believes Utah can realistically reach a functional zero homeless population, meaning the system houses people as fast or faster than those becoming homeless.

I dream of that for our community, dont you? he said. I dream that we will be functionally zero.  This tipping point, we could touch here this year. Ending homelessness with children and families, we could do it.

So he urged state and city leaders to choose the path of kindness and solutions.

This is the year, he said. We encourage leaders to turn from punishing people without shelter to implementing policies and investments that promote affordable housing, boost permanent supportive housing, and strengthen homelessness prevention resources, especially for families and children. May it be so.

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CHICAGO  Sunday marks one year since two Chicago Public Schools students were shot and killed in The Loop.

The students have since been identified as 16-year-old Robert Boston and 17-year-old Monterio Williams.

On Sunday, family and friends of the two teens gathered near the site where they were killed to give an update on the search for the suspect(s) responsible.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 2 Chicago charter school students killed in Loop shooting

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Unfortunately a year later were still looking for answers. Detectives have been working tirelessly on this case, community activist Lisette Guillen said.

Boston and Williams were students at Innovations High School, a charter school on State Street.

According to police, two dark-colored vehicles pulled up as Boston and Williams were leaving school. Shortly after, the suspects started shooting at them.

Boston and Williams were rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where they died from their injuries. From that day on, their relatives have been fighting for justice.

Baby boy who survived premature birth after mothers fatal shooting dies

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Bostons mother was not in Sundays crowd as WGN News learned she died shortly after her son did. Williams mother was in attendance and described her son as a beautiful soul who should have graduated high school last May.

Monterio loved sports. He was always smiling, just kind-hearted, Williams mother Blondean Gartley said.

Sundays group hoped the vigil would spread awareness about what happened to Boston and Williams, and that it would encourage anyone who may have information that can lead to an arrest to forward.

We got to stop hiding. We got to stop keeping things secret and I understand it may be family members of ours or friends, but if we dont stop it, help each other, then its never going to stop, Gartley said.

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Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines

Chicago police said they believe this was an isolated incident and that they were looking at surveillance cameras in the area for clues.

The suspects were said to be wearing masks. They fled the area after the shooting, according to investigators.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 family of a 41-year-old man killed in an attack in the German city of Aschaffenburg last week spoke out on Monday to denounce fake photos and other attempts to use his death for phony political propaganda.

The family said they have been distressed to see fake pictures and other false claims spreading online about the 41-year-old slain in the attack, who they identified by his first name as Kai-Uwe.

"Kai-Uwe was neither politically active nor affiliated with a party. There are no pictures of him on the internet," the family wrote in a statement released by police. "The photos shown there, including those with a party background, are fake. We are deeply shocked by this disrespectful behaviour and ask that our pain not be exploited."

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In the attack last Wednesday, a 28-year-old Afghan suspect allegedly attacked a kindergarten group with a knife in a park in the city centre.

A 2-year-old boy was also killed in the attack. The suspect was quickly taken into custody.

The 41-year-old man was fatally stabbed after placing himself between the group of very young children and the attacker, according to investigators, who say his actions may have prevented further victims.

Shortly after the attack, purported fake pictures of the dead man, and false claims about his identity, were already spreading widely online.

Kai-Uwe's family asked that it be respected "that we want to come to terms with our loss in peace and out of the public eye."

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In the statement, they thanked everyone for their great sympathy and expressed their condolences to the family of the two-year-old who was killed.

The attack, which occurred just less than a month before Germany's February 23 election, has spurred intense debate over migration and asylum in Germany.
The family of the youngest hostages held in Gaza have said they are holding on to hope they are still alive after Hamas told Israel that eight of the 26 remaining hostages due to be released were dead.

Shiri Bibas, her husband Yarden, and their two young sons, Ariel, five, and Kfir, two, were taken captive on Oct 7, but their fate remains unknown.

Hamas has not stated which of the hostages scheduled to be released under the first stage of the ceasefire agreement are alive.

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The family became symbolic of the attacks in 2023 after footage of a terrified Ms Bibas clutching her red-haired children in her arms during the onslaught circulated on social media.

Last year, the terror group claimed that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir had been killed in an Israeli air strike  an allegation Israel has not confirmed.

The Bibas family said in a statement on Monday: We said then and we say now, we hold on to hope and await their return. We await certainty regarding their condition.

The list that Hamas passed on to Israel regarding the status of the kidnapped is not a list of names and does not change our position. Neither a list of names, a Hamas statement, nor any video of this or that kind  are certain for us.

Over the weekend, the family said our world came crashing down after they saw that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir were not on the list to be freed on Saturday, despite the terms of the deal dictating that children and female captives would be released first.

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Israel accused Hamas of violating the truce deal after the terror group released four female soldiers, rather than civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud.

In response, Hamas said it would release Ms Yehoud, 29, on Thursday, along with female soldier Agam Berger, 21, and one other, who has not been named.

The group, once again, did not mention Shiri Bibas and her children, which has contributed to further concern for their welfare.

Three more captives are due to be released on Saturday.

It came as Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return home to the heavily destroyed northern Gaza Strip for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas.

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The UN said over 200,000 people were observed moving north in Gaza on Monday morning alone, in accordance with the fragile ceasefire deal.

05:53 PM GMT

Thats all for today

Thank you for following our live coverage on the events in the Middle East.

We will be back soon with more updates and analysis from the ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal.

05:34 PM GMT

In pictures: Gazans return to their homes in the north

Armed Hamas militants watch as displaced Palestinians walk towards their homes in northern Gaza on Monday - Bloomberg

Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in through Salah al-Din road - Zuma Press / eyevine

Gazans move through the Netzarim corridor from the southern Gaza Strip into Gaza City on January 27 - Shutterstock

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A family on a horse-drawn cart struggles to cross a puddle of water on their route to the north of the Strip

05:16 PM GMT

EU to redeploy mission at Gaza border crossing

The European Union agreed Monday to restart a monitoring mission at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt as part of efforts to bolster the truce that halted Israels war in the territory.

The 27-nation bloc set up a civilian mission in 2005 to help monitor the crossing, but it was suspended two years later after the militant Islamist group Hamas took control of Gaza.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said the blocs foreign ministers had agreed to redeploy the mission, which she said can play a decisive role in supporting the ceasefire.

Its starting already from February, Ms Kallas said. The people are ready to go and start work.

04:43 PM GMT

Two killed in Lebanon by Israeli forces during second day of protests

Israeli troops shot and killed two people and wounded 17 on Monday during the second day of deadly protests in southern Lebanon, local health officials said.

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The shooting came a day after 24 people were killed and more than 130 wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on protesters who breached roadblocks set up along the border.

Residents displaced by the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah are attempting to return to villages where Israeli troops remain.

Under the ceasefire signed on Nov. 27, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah was to move north of the Litani River by Jan 26.

Yet, Israel remains in over a dozen villages. On Sunday, the deadline to meet the ceasefire terms had been extended to Feb 18.

04:31 PM GMT

Israel raided home of Hamas prisoner the day he was released

The IDF on Saturday allegedly raided the house of one of the Hamas prisoners released the same day in the hostage-ceasefire deal, detaining one person and roughing up others.

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Israeli soldiers forced their way into a house near Jerusalem to disrupt an event marking the early release of Ashraf Zughayer, The New York Times reported.

Mr Zughayer, 46, a Hamas member imprisoned in 2002 for driving suicide bombers to the locations of their attacks. He was released on Saturday along with 199 other prisoners in exchange for four Israeli hostages.

The soldiers detained Mr Zughayers brother, who reportedly raised a Hamas flag, and expelled journalists.

Israel has been assertive in trying to prevent celebrations detainees released under the terms of the ceasefire in Gaza.

Ashraf al-Zagheer walks with his father at their family home in Kafr Aqab south of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on January 26 - AFP

04:03 PM GMT

At least 8 of remaining hostages are dead, Hamas says

Hamas has told Israel that at least eight out of the remaining 26 hostages to be released during the first phase of the truce are dead, a source familiar with the ceasefire deal told the Telegraph.

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The list of names was given to Israel last night but it is unclear which of the hostages are alive.

Israel has told some of the families of hostages to be released that there is concern for their wellbeing, Hebrew media reported.

Amongst those whose fates are uncertain are Shiri Bibas, her husband Yarden and their two young sons Ariel and Kfir.

The family became symbolic of the October 7 attacks in 2023 after footage of Ms Bibas holding her children in her arms during the onslaught circulated on social media.

03:43 PM GMT

Watch: Emotional moment Palestinian twins reunite after year-long separation

03:20 PM GMT

We hold on to hope: Bibas family statement:

The family of hostages Shiri Bibas, her husband Yarden, five-year-old son Ariel and two-year-old Kfir, said that they are still holding on to hope following the news that eight of the remaining 26 hostages to be released are dead.

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We said then and we say now, we hold onto hope and await their return. We await certainty regarding their condition. The list that Hamas passed on to Israel regarding the status of the kidnapped is not a list of names and does not change our position. Neither a list of names, a Hamas statement, nor any video of this or that kind - are certain for us. Since October 7, when the brutal kidnapping video was released, we have been anxious and fearful for their fate every day and every minute. We reiterate our demand that the Israeli government and the negotiation team do everything possible to return the family home.

Yifat Zailer shows photos of her cousin, Shiri Bibas, center, her husband Yarden, left, and their children Ariel, top right, and Kfir - AP

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03:04 PM GMT

Israeli minister working to turn Trump idea of resettling Gazans into policy

Israels hard-Right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has praised Donald Trumps proposal that Gazas population could be moved to Jordan and Egypt.

Speaking with reporters, Mr Smotrich said he is working on an operational plan to implement the idea.

02:57 PM GMT

How many hostages are still in Gaza and who has been released?

Click here to see The Telegraphs record of who has been freed, who has died in captivity, whose abducted bodies are still being held and who remains alive.

02:30 PM GMT

Hostage families join commemorations at Auschwitz for 80th anniversary of liberation

Some hostage families have visited Auschwitz to join commemorations marking 80 years since the death camp was liberated by Soviet troops.

Omer Lifshitz, 51, son of Yocheved, kidnapped from the Nir Oz kibbutz and released 17 days after the attack, and of Oded, 84, who is still being held, told reporters that he was visiting for the first time.

My father is a hostage, a Polish citizen in captivity as hostage, he said. Its very hard because ... whats happened in 7th October is feeling like another Holocaust or pogrom in the kibbutz Nir Oz ...

People must learn that cant happen ever again...We must hope for a better world.

Yasmin Magal, a 26-year-old medical student, said that her cousin Omer Neutra, a 22-year-old American-Israeli soldier kidnapped and killed in Gaza, had been the grandson of Holocaust survivors.

We need to make sure that this isnt forgotten, that the 90 remaining hostages are freed, she said. The live ones to recover, and the dead to a proper burial in our homeland.

Families of Israeli hostages attend Combating antisemitism in the shadow of Auschwitz event on the 80th anniversary of the camps liberation - REUTERS

02:01 PM GMT

Israeli air strike kills two Hamas militants in West Bank, Hamas says

An Israeli air strike killed two Hamas fighters in the West Bank city of Tulkarm earlier today, the terror group said.

The group said the fighters belonged to its armed wing and that one was a commander.

It added that their blood was not spilt in vain, but would encourage the escalation of the resistance and the continuation of its heroic operations.

In Jenin, further north, a major Israeli military operation looked set to into its second week, with smoke rising above the citys adjacent refugee camp, which has long been a centre for armed militant groups.

01:50 PM GMT

Released hostages suffering from mild starvation, Israeli doctor says

The seven female hostages released so far under the Gaza ceasefire deal were suffering from mild starvation and vitamin deficiencies, an Israeli military doctor treating the returning captives said.

Theyre not in a good shape. Theyre not good physically, Dr Ami Benov said, adding that their mental states were very complicated as they were held in tunnels and deprived of sunlight for eight months.

One of the main challenges will be the grounding process in which they gradually understand they have regained control over such decisions as what to eat, what to wear and where and when to meet their families, Dr Benov explained.

We feel obligated to give them the option to do whatever they feel right, he said. But he said everything is being done in very small steps.

01:44 PM GMT

Hostage families have been preparing for this macabre lottery

Hostage families have been preparing for this macabre lottery of who is dead and who is alive since the ceasefire deal was reached with Hamas earlier this month. After it became clear that 33 hostages were set to be released during the first phase, officials told Israeli media that their estimate was that 25 of them were still living.

On Sunday evening, Hamas confirmed the Israeli estimate was correct. However the identifies of the dead remain undisclosed, which is likely part of Hamas ongoing psychological game to terrorise the families of the hostages for as long as possible.

Relatives are undergoing severe mental stress, but as Hasassah Lazar, the sister of 86-year-old hostage Shlomo Mansour, said on Monday: We expect him to return to us alive and on his feet.

Ms Lazar was expressing what all hostage relatives feel at the moment, as many of them have not received any signs of life from their loved ones for months, if at all.

But since hostages who are alive are expected to be released first, relatives will be able to do the maths as the first phase progresses. Those who arent receiving their loved ones in the coming weeks will know that they are amongst those killed either on October 7 or during captivity.

01:21 PM GMT

Netanyahu returns to court in corruption trial

Benjamin Netanyahu appeared before a Tel Aviv court today to resume his corruption trial, after a month-long pause for his prostate removal operation.

The Israeli prime minister faces three separate cases of corruption filed against him in 2019.

He denies any wrongdoing and has labelled the accusations fake.

The court has denied Mr Netanyahus request to testify just once this week due to what he said were complications resulting from surgery.

He is expected to testify today, tomorrow and Wednesday.

Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to testify in his trial on corruption charges in Tel Aviv - YARIV KATZ/AFP

01:03 PM GMT

IDF begins withdrawing from key Gaza security posts

Israels military has begun to withdraw from key security posts on central Gazas Netzarim corridor, according to reports.

The Corridor is a narrow fortified strip of land that runs across the middle of the enclave, from which Israel launches raids on Hamas and controls the movement of Palestinians.

Troops have begun to pull out from the western end of the strip, Israeli media said citing Palestinian reports. This would be in line with the truce deal that stipulates Israel is to gradually withdraw from the area from the coastal side.

Forces stationed on the Corridor have been redeployed to the IDF buffer zone around the edge of the Gaza Strip, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported.

There has been no confirmation of the withdrawal by the Israeli military.

The issue of an Israeli military presence on the Netzarim Corridor has been a sticking point in negotiations, with Benjamin Netanyahu vowing in the summer that Israel would not retreat from the axis under any circumstances.

Israel this morning began allowing thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza through the Corridor, after Hamas agreed to release a female Israeli civilian hostage.

12:24 PM GMT

Israel opens fire towards Lebanese villagers for second day running

One person was killed and seven wounded as Israeli forces fired towards residents of southern Lebanon this morning when they attempted to return to their villages, according to Lebanese officials.

It comes a day after Lebanese officials said at least 24 people were killed when Israeli troops in southern Lebanon opened fire as protestors, some of them carrying Hezbollah flags, tried to reach villages where the IDF is still deployed.

Israels military admitted it had opened fire on Sunday, saying it would operate against any threat posed to IDF troops and the State of Israel.

The incident came hours after Lebanon announced it had agreed to an extension of the ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel until February 18, after the IDF missed a deadline to withdraw yesterday.

12:11 PM GMT

Thousands of Palestinians return home to northern Gaza

Tens of thousands of displaced Gazans have begun returning to their homes in the north of the enclave after Hamas agreed to release a female Israeli hostage.

Long lines of people were filmed streaming northwards on the coastal road as vehicles loaded with supplies and belongings began moving along the central Salah al-Din highway.

Israel first opened the coastal route for those travelling on foot at 5am local time, before vehicles were allowed to begin moving on the central road at 7am.

The routes were opened after Israel confirmed last night that Arbel Yehoud and two other hostages would be freed by Hamas on Thursday after days of intense negotiations.

Palestinians had been scheduled to be allowed to travel north on Saturday, but this was delayed after Israel accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire deal by freeing four female IDF soldiers before Ms Yehoud, a civilian.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, a hardline Israeli politician who this month resigned from the Cabinet over the ceasefire deal, said allowing Palestinians to move north was a complete surrender to Hamas.

He added: We must return to war - and destroy!

12:05 PM GMT

Palestinians must not be expelled from Gaza, Germany says after Trump suggestion

Palestinians must not be expelled from Gaza, the German foreign ministry said, after Donald Trump floated an idea to send up to 1.5 million Gazans to Jordan and Egypt.

Asked for a reaction to Mr Trumps comments, a spokesperson said Germany shared the view of the European Union, our Arab partners, the United Nations ... that the Palestinian population must not be expelled from Gaza and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or recolonised by Israel.

The US president suggested on Sunday that millions of Gazans could be relocated to neighbouring Arab countries in a bid to clean out the territory.

Youre talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing, Mr Trump said.

He added that the move could could be temporary or could be long-term.

11:56 AM GMT

Pictured: Boy prays as Palestinians return to northern Gaza

A boy prays as people walk along Gazas coastal road to cross the Netzarim corridor from the southern Gaza Strip into the north, Jan 27 - OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP

11:30 AM GMT

Truce remains fragile, as hostage situation shows

The planned release of three further Israeli hostages on Thursday was unscheduled and shows just how fragile the ceasefire agreement had become.



Although the release of four hostages last Saturday was celebrated across the country, it was obvious as soon as the names were published the previous evening that something was wrong.



This is because Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag - although all young and all female - were on-duty IDF soldiers on October 7, and the terms of the deal are widely understood to prioritise female civilians.

Where, Israeli society asked, were Arbel Yehud and Shiri Bibas, both abducted from the Kibbutz of Nir Oz, who, as civilians, should have been top of the list?

It seems the Israeli government was asking that too, amid suggestions that Arbel was either dead or not under Hamas control, but that of another terror group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Despite the swap going ahead without a hitch on Saturday, Benjamin Netanyahu cried foul, and the IDF were reportedly preventing Palestinian civilians from entering the north of Gaza to return to their homes.

Hamas has now said it will release Arbel on Thursday, along with Agam Berger and one other, so far unnamed.

The fact that Shiri Bibas, the image of whom clutching her two red-headed children as she was abducted on October 7 came to symbolise the atrocity as much as anything, is not yet slated for release sparked deep concern about her welfare and that of her children.

11:09 AM GMT

Mapped: How Palestinians are returning to northern Gaza

11:03 AM GMT

This is what total surrender looks like, says hardline Israeli politician

Images of masked and armed Hamas members greeting thousands of Palestinian civilians as they returned to northern Gaza sparked an intense debate in Israel on Monday. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Jewish Power party leader, said: This is what total surrender looks like.

Radio hosts on Israels army radio also pressed Eli Cohen, the energy minister and security cabinet member, on the issue of Hamas presence near the corridor. Mr Cohen insisted that Israel had made the right decision, while stressing that the IDF is still in control of the Philadelphi corridor, separating Gaza from Egypt.

The opening of the Netzarim corridor separating north and southern Gaza came has been one of the main issues in the ceasefire negotiations, as Israel feared Hamas would return with civilians to northern Gaza.

Many in Israel see the images of Hamas parading across Gaza as a sign that Israel didnt win the war. But the prospect of getting more hostages is making up for the sense of defeat. Families of hostages are living through perhaps the most intense emotional period since October 7, as many of them are waiting for the Hamas to announce who is still alive.

A source familiar with the ceasefire deal told Telegraph that Israel received a list from Hamas last night stating how many of the hostages are still alive.

10:51 AM GMT

Israel arrests two soldiers suspected of spying for Iran

Israel has arrested two soldiers on suspicion of spying for Iran in return for money, Israeli police said.

The primary suspect was said to have served in air defence unit and is alleged to have begun passing on classified material to an Iranian handler in September 2024.

He is alleged to have recruited a friend who served in the IDFs Tel Aviv headquarters and to have put him in touch with an Iranian contact.

Both suspects are also alleged to have sprayed pro-Iran graffiti and hung banners in Tel Aviv carrying the slogan, Children of Ruhollah, referring to Ruhollah Khomeini, the first supreme leader of Iran after the 1979 revolution.

The two men, both 21, were charged with transferring classified information and aiding the enemy during wartime, police said.

10:28 AM GMT

Jordan and Egypt reject Trumps clean out Gaza plan

Jordan and Egypt have rejected an idea floated by Donald Trump that would see the two countries take in up to 1.5 million Gazans in a bid to clean out the war-torn Strip.

The US president said on Sunday: Youre talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.

He added that the move could could be temporary or could be long-term.

Jordans foreign minister said our rejection of the displacement of Palestinians is firm and will not change. Jordan is for Jordanians and Palestine is for Palestinians.

Egypts foreign ministry meanwhile said it rejected any infringement of Palestinians inalienable rights.

10:01 AM GMT

Pictured: Vehicles wait to travel to northern Gaza

Cars loaded with people and belongings are shown waiting in central Gaza to travel north, as Israel began allowing displaced Palestinians to leave southern Gaza this morning.

Palestinians wait to be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza with vehicles, central Gaza, Jan 27 - Hatem Khaled/REUTERS

09:50 AM GMT

Israel begins to pull out from Netzarim Corridor

Israels military has begun to pull out from the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, Israeli media reported citing Palestinian media.

The Corridor is a fortified strip of land that runs across the middle of the enclave, from which Israel launches raids on Hamas and controls the movement of Palestinians.

The report said troops have begun to pull out from the western end of the Corridor, in keeping with the truce deal that stipulates Israel is to gradually withdraw from the area, initially from the coastal side.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

09:28 AM GMT

Hostage family asks Elon Musk for help to free remaining captives

The parents of a US-Israeli soldier whose body is being held by Hamas have asked Elon Musk to use his influence to support the release of all hostages from Gaza, according to a report.

Ruby Chen and Hagit Chen met the worlds richest man last week following a meeting with members of the US National Security Council, Israeli media reported.

They were said to have asked him advocate for the hostage deal to be implemented in full.

Mr and Ms Chen are the parents of Itay Chen, who was serving in the IDF when he was killed during the Hamas-led October 7 2023 attacks on southern Israel. His body was taken to Gaza and has not yet been returned.

09:18 AM GMT

New US defence secretary calls Netanyahu

New US defence secretary Pete Hegseth spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, in his first call with a foreign official since being sworn in on Saturday.

Mr Hegseth and the Israeli prime minister discussed the importance of advancing mutual security interests and priorities, especially in the face of persistent threats, the Pentagon said.

The secretary stressed that the United States is fully committed, under President Trumps leadership, to ensure that Israel has the capabilities it needs to defend itself.

08:56 AM GMT

Israel releases names of next two hostages to be freed

Israel has announced the names of the next two hostages to be released by Hamas under the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Arbel Yehoud, a 29-year-old civilian, and Agam Berger, a 20-year-old soldier, are set to be freed alongside another unnamed hostage on Thursday, the prime ministers office said.

Israel accused Hamas of violating the terms of the ceasefire by releasing four soldiers on Saturday before Ms Yehoud, and delayed the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza until Monday in response.

A total of six hostages are set to be released this week: three on Thursday and three more on Saturday.

08:38 AM GMT

Watch: Thousands of Palestinians return home to northern Gaza

08:37 AM GMT

Israel will firmly enforce Gaza and Lebanon ceasefires, defence minister vows

Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, vowed that the IDF will firmly enforce the ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, saying: Anyone who violates the (cease-fire) guidelines or threatens Israeli forces will pay the full price.

We will not return to the reality of (the days before) October 7, 2023, he added.

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend the truce and delay the IDFs withdrawal from southern Lebanon until February 18, as the Lebanese army is still not in control of all areas previously ruled by Hezbollah.

Palestinians make their way back to their homes in northern Gaza, Jan 27 - Ramadan Abed/REUTERS

08:34 AM GMT

Hamas could agree to give up some power in Gaza

Hamas could agree to give up some power in Gaza, a senior official told Saudi state TV.

Mousa Abu Marzouk, who was the deputy chairman of Hamas politburo from 1997 to 2013, said that he understands that the next government in the Strip will require regional and international backing, as well as the support of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Hamas would be open to dialogue with all parties besides Israel regarding a plan for who would control Gaza after the war ends, Marzouk said.

He added that this would include the US, as Hamas believes Donald Trump is a serious president in light of the ceasefire and hostage release deal, which was partly brokered by the US.

Hamas and Fatah, the party that controls the Palestinian Authority, last month agreed to create a joint committee to administer post-war Gaza.

Israeli media reported that the committee would include 10-15 non-partisan figures with expertise in education, the economy, health, aid and reconstruction.

08:22 AM GMT

Pictured: Palestinians return to northern Gaza

A queue of vehicles waiting to travel north along the Salah al-Din road in Nuseirat near the Netzarim Corridor - EYAD BABA/AFP

Palestinians return north along Gazas coastal road, Jan 27 - Anadolu/Anadolu

A youth gestures while sitting with other children on the boot of a moving vehicle as people gather along the Salah al-Din road, Gaza - EYAD BABA/AFP

08:19 AM GMT

Welcome to our live coverage

Welcome to our live coverage. Well be keeping you up to date with events in Israel and Gaza as they happen.

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DEERLODGE, Tenn. (WATE)  A man was killed, and a woman was wounded in a shooting in Deerlodge in Morgan County, a spokesperson with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.

The Morgan County Sheriffs Department responded to an incident at a Deerlodge Highway home Sunday at 11 a.m. At the scene, they found Ivory Hamby, 73, dead. They also found a woman who was injured.

State of emergency declared in Harlan County over water outages

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The woman was taken to the UT Medical Center. One person was detained. There is no danger to the community, District Attorney General Russell Johnson said.

The investigation has been predicated by my office to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, in consultation with the Morgan County Sheriffs Office, who first responded to the scene along with EMS, Johnson posted. An autopsy has been ordered on the deceased male by Morgan County medical examiner Tom Boduch. The motive for this incident is undetermined at this time. TBI is currently working the scene. There are no further updates at this time.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
GOMA (Reuters) - Residents of eastern Congo's largest city of Goma greeted the arrival of Rwanda-backed rebels with trepidation on Monday, some staying indoors and others coming out to cheer in what one called a "show" of happiness.

The M23 fighters swept into Goma, a lakeside city of about 2 million people, on Sunday for the second time in 13 years. They met little resistance from Democratic Republic of Congo's army, although gunfire could be heard in parts of town on Monday.

In some areas of Goma, a hub for humanitarian operations across the region, residents lined the streets to applaud and fist-bump heavily-armed fighters in green fatigues and matching rubber boots, videos posted on social media showed.

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"Welcome, welcome our friends," some people chanted in one video.

Four residents interviewed by Reuters, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said the apparently warm welcome was born of self-preservation.

"We try to be kind because there is fear. Since they are criminals, we can't predict their behaviour," said one resident reached by telephone. "The only thing we can do is show that we are happy."

Another resident said: "We stay at home, waiting to know the real situation because there is a lot of confusion for the moment."

UPROOTED

Hundreds of thousands have taken shelter in Goma in recent months after fleeing fighting between the M23 and Congolese army. Rights groups have accused the rebels, as well as Congolese soldiers and allied militiamen, of carrying out rapes and other abuses. All sides have denied responsibility.

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One resident said the M23's arrival was something of a relief after a months-long siege and fears of a bloody battle for the city.

"People want services, security and business. So if they provide those, then people could comply," he said, while adding others would always oppose M23 because of their Rwandan backing.

Goma residents have frequently demonstrated against Rwanda and the M23, the latest in a long line of Tutsi-led rebel movements active in mineral-rich eastern Congo.

The group also captured Goma in 2012 but withdrew days later after an agreement brokered by neighbouring nations.

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That time, they were also welcomed by small crowds in public, though many more remained indoors. Human Rights Watch later said it had documented 24 cases of summary executions, the rape of 36 women and girls and forcible recruitment by M23 fighters in Goma and surrounding areas. M23 denied the charges.

Rwanda has previously denied ties with the rebellion but also said it has the right to defend itself. It accuses Kinshasa of scapegoating Tutsis in Congo while supporting ethnic Hutu militiamen, some of whom have links to the 1994 Rwanda genocide when Hutu extremists murdered hundreds of thousands of Tutsis.

Congo's government has denied these allegations.

(Reporting by Congo newsroom; Writing by Hereward Holland and David Lewis; Editing by Aaron Ross)
GOMA, Congo (AP)  Thousands fled the city of Goma on Monday as fighting raged between Congolese forces and rebels backed by neighboring Rwanda, who claimed to have captured eastern Congos largest regional hub.

Pockets of chaos and gunfire had some people hunkering down as the rebels marched into the city with a population of about 2 million. Others hurried to safer areas of the province; some applauded and cheered on the rebels from the roadside, even shaking hands with them. Many, however, tried to flee into neighboring Rwanda, marching in the heat and through the night along roads with heavy traffic, clinging to their babies, clothes and other belongings on their backs and heads.

Goma is a key location in the conflict-battered North Kivu province whose minerals are critical to much of the worlds technology. Rebel groups have long fought over control of eastern Congos mineral wealth, and the conflict has often pitted ethnic groups against one another, with civilians forced to flee their homes and seek protection from armed groups.

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It was unclear how much of Goma was occupied by the rebels, but the events are a huge escalation in the decades-long battle between the two countries.

There is shooting all over the city. We dont know who is shooting, whether its the M23 or our soldiers," said Patrice Naanga, a resident of Goma.

The Congolese government confirmed the presence of M23 rebels in Goma, 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) east of capital Kinshasa, but stopped short of saying they were in control of the city. "No centimeter will be given up!!! government spokesman Patrick Muyaya wrote on X as he called for support for the country.

A fire at the city's Munzenze prison on Monday morning resulted in the escape of thousands of inmates. All the prisoners who were detained came out, whether women, men or minors, everyone came out, said Mwamisyo Ndungo, one of the escapees who estimated that more than 2,000 fled the facility.

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The M23 rebels are one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region in a decades-long conflict, one of Africa's largest. The rebels temporarily took over Goma in 2012, before they were forced to pull out under international pressure, and resurfaced in late 2021, with increasing support from Rwanda, according to Congos government and United Nations experts. Rwanda has denied such support.

Rwanda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Congo of failing to enter a dialogue with M23, which it described as a Congolese rebel group fighting to protect their community. That failure, it said, has prolonged the fighting that continues to present a serious threat to Rwandas security and territorial integrity, and necessitates Rwandas sustained defensive posture.

The advance into Goma is the culmination of a prolonged battle between the rebels and the Congolese security forces that saw several towns along the Rwandan border falling to the insurgents.

Analysts have warned the latest escalation could further destabilize the region, which is already home to one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises with more than 6 million people displaced, including more than a third of North Kivu's population.

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A regional hub for trade, security and humanitarian efforts, Goma's airport, which is key for transporting supplies, has been shut following the fighting.

Rwandas state television also showed several Congolese soldiers surrendering in the Rwandan town of Rubavu after crossing the border from Goma.

UN peacekeeping mission prioritizing its personnel and facilities

Speaking at a virtual press briefing on Monday, U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix confirmed M23 has made significant advances in Goma but added that theres significant fighting" going on in the city. "Therefore its very fluid and still very volatile, and increasingly dangerous in terms of the impact on the already very much affected civilian population, said Lacroix.

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Lacroix said he has heard estimates of 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandans in Goma, but its difficult to tell exactly what the numbers are.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission is also prioritizing the protection of its personnel and premises as well as that of civilians sheltering in its facilities in and around Goma, he said.

The U.N. Security Council has asked the M23 to immediately reverse its advances. Other countries including the United States, United Kingdom and France have also condemned the rebel push.

Congolese government, which cut ties with Rwanda over the weekend, said the country is in a war situation and accused Rwanda of committing a frontal aggression (and) a declaration of war."

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Rwanda accuses Congo of enlisting and fighting alongside Hutu rebels and former militiamen responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, particularly the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a group formed by the Hutus who fled to Congo after the killings.

Residents seek safety across the border in Rwanda

The M23 rebels' march towards Goma threw the city into chaos, from hospitals overstretched with injured residents to internally displacement camps being hit amid intensified shelling that forced displaced families to once again grab what was left of their belongings before loading them alongside their children into cramped vehicles and scooters.

As some residents remained indoors worried for their safety, hundreds including children on Monday trekked for hours to other parts of North Kivu and to cross over the border into Rwanda where several Congolese forces have surrendered.

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We are fleeing because we saw soldiers on the border with Rwanda throwing bombs and shooting, said Safi Shangwe, who was among those on the move.

Fighting with M23 rebels in eastern Congo has left at least 13 peacekeepers and foreign soldiers dead, United Nations and army officials said Saturday. The U.N. peacekeeping force, also known as MONUSCO, entered Congo more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.

The Uruguayan army, in Goma serving with the U.N. peacekeeping mission, said in a statement on the social platform X late Sunday that more than 100 Congolese soldiers were laying down their weapons.

Who are the rebels and why is Goma of interest to them?

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The M23 refers to the March 23, 2009, agreement that ended a previous uprising in the region. The group was created in 2012 after the failed integration of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army. It claims it took up arms against Congolese forces to defend the Tutsis from discrimination but has often talked about targeting the Congolese government.

Unlike in 2012 when the rebels only wanted to be integrated into the Congolese army and to have greater participation in the political process, their motive this time is rooted in a desire to control parts of eastern Congo, said Darren Davids, analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. DRC will have to rely on the international community to once again pressure Rwanda and M23 into releasing the city, but its unclear if they will this time around, Davids added.

___

Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Associated Press writers Christina Malkia in Kinshasa, Congo, Sam Mednick in Jerusalem, Monika Pronczuk and Wilson McMakin in Dakar, Senegal and Edith M. Lederer in New York contributed to this report.
CHARDON, Ohio (WJW/AP)  Thousands of migrants have been arrested one week into President Donald Trumps presidency as he works to fulfill the largest deportation operation in history.

In Northeast Ohio, a total of 56 ICE detainees are being held in the Geauga County Safety Center, including 20 who arrived Sunday night.

Deputies do not know where the detainees came from or where the raids occurred.

Fire officials confirm child dies in Sunday morning West Side fire

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The Geauga County Safety Center has been holding detainees for 20 years. According to Chief Deputy Tom Rowan, the safety center acts as a holding center for the detainees as they get their court hearings, and then they move on. Rowan said theyve housed 50 to 60 detainees in the past year.

Trump has pledged to remove an estimated 11 million people and he has set up new rules making it easier to remove people to crack down on illegal immigration.

Over the past few days, ICE agents arrested migrants across the country in what it calls targeted operations. Nearly 600 people were arrested on Friday, another 538 the day before. On Sunday alone there were nearly 1,000 arrests, including a group from a Venezuelan gang at a club in Colorado.

Trumps administration said it is focusing on criminal aliens who threaten national security and public safety. The administration said an attempted murderer and a child molester were arrested on Trumps first full day in office.

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But, some Democrats said they are also going after law-abiding, hard-working people and their tactics are sparking fear and instability.

The raids by ICE are sparking concerns in the Haitian population in Springfield. Thousands of temporary Haitian migrants have legally landed in the southwestern Ohio city ever since violent gangs started ruling the streets in their home country.

They are living legally under the Temporary Protected Status program. People there have been seeking solace in their churches, local community centers and businesses, saying they are overwhelmed by fears that Trump will let the TPS program end.

Vance: Prices coming down will take time

Marie Guillou, front left, hugs and worships with a fellow congregant at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Congregants leave First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield after Sunday service in Springfield, Ohio, January 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Jacob Payton talks to customers at the entrance of Milokan Botanica, his religious supply shop that sells Haitian spiritual and natural healing products, in Springfield, Ohio, Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Congregants worship at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Jean-Michel Gisnel cries out while praying with other congregants at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Congregants worship at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Ushers at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield hold hands during Sunday service, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Suzette Cleophat worships with fellow congregants at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) CORRECTS NAME OF PHOTOGRAPHER  Rev. Reginald Silencieux kneels to pray, surrounded by the choir and worship team at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Congregants worship together at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Cards with information on the Temporary Protected Status, which allows thousands of Haitian immigrants to reside legally in the United States, sit on display at Milokan Botanica, a religious supply shop that sells Haitian spiritual and natural healing products, in Springfield, Ohio, Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Dieutela Charles comforts her 6-month-old daughter while getting guidance on her U.S. residency from Haitian community leader Jacob Payton at his store in Springfield, Ohio, on Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Rev. Reginald Silencieux greets congregants during a service at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center at Rose Goute Creole Restaurant, sits with interpreter James Fleurijean, left, a board member of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, in Springfield, Ohio, Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Matana Picard Merceus worships with Rolando Sumeus and her son, left, and other congregants at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Ive got a lot of calls and a lot of people ask me if they should leave Ohio, said Jacob Payen. Payen is a Haitian immigrant and business owner in Springfield. He said they ask if they should even come outside their house or if there is any word on ICE being in Ohio. But I always have the same answer. I tell everybody to stay calm.

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Many of the ICE actions the past week were not unusual. ICE averaged 311 daily arrests under President Joe Biden. The average is now about 433 per day, but its a number that will likely grow.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The Justice Department joined immigration and other federal agency officials in Chicago over the weekend to carry out the Trump administrations deportation operation  seemingly the start of a larger crackdown the president messaged during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Immigration advocates started getting phone calls at 6 a.m. on Sunday from residents seeing officials in their neighborhoods who appeared to be ICE agents, according to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. There are a lot of folks who are scared. But people also know not to open their doors. They know to call a lawyer. And they know to call the hotline. Knowing their rights is empowering, said spokesperson Brandon Lee.

The feds goal is to target potentially dangerous criminal aliens, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agency says it enlisted the help of the multiple federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA and Customs and Border Patrol  a possible indication that the White House wants to work quickly.

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Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who was in Chicago along with White House border czar Tom Homan, called it a critical mission to take back our communities. He also urged local officials to help, echoing a warning from a memorandum last week. We will use all available tools to address obstruction and other unlawful impediments to our efforts to protect the homeland, he said in a statement.



Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called such language a scare tactic. Theyre just putting that out because they want to threaten everybody, he said on CNNs State of the Union. Pritzker reiterated he supports federal efforts to deport violent criminals. If thats who theyre picking up, were all for it, he said.

What he finds quite disturbing, is theyre going after people who are law-abiding, who are holding down jobs, who have families here, who may have been here for a decade or two decades, and theyre often our neighbors and our friends.

Illinois follows the Trust Act, which, like Chicagos sanctuary city status, prevents law enforcement from assisting in deportation efforts  though they arent allowed to obstruct, either.

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Sunday that his office received reports of ICE enforcement activity in the city and that Chicago police were not involved. He pointed residents to the citys resource guide for help on understanding their rights.

ICE made 956 arrests across the country Sunday, according to The Associated Press, and 286 on Saturday, though its not clear how many of those were in Chicago. Officials were also in Los Angeles, Austin, Texas, Colorado and Puerto Rico, according to CNN.

Homan acknowledged his team cant arrest the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants that President Donald Trump has called for, according to an interview he gave to ABCs This Week. The funding isnt there, he said.

Illinois Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth echoed the governor, issuing a statement that they agree that dangerous individuals should be deported. But they worry about the potential to sweep up dreamers who came to the United States as children, veterans who have served our nation, and essential workers who care for our family members, build our homes and ensure we have food on our tables.

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Sunday's action follows a confusing Friday, when Chicago Public Schools believed ICE agents had visited an elementary school in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.

Turns out it was U.S. Secret Service's Chicago Field Office agents who were investigating a threat made against a government official we protect, according to a spokesperson.

Agents were looking for an 11-year-old who posted an anti-Trump video, according to reports.


More than 180 pounds of methamphetamine was seized by the U.S. Border Patrol in a pair of traffic stops in Southern California that occurred less than an hour apart on Jan. 18.

The first discovery occurred at about 3:20 p.m., when agents stopped a man driving a blue Dodge minivan on the 8 Freeway near the Buckman Springs exit in Campo.

A K-9 unit detected narcotics in the vehicle, and agents discovered nine foil-wrapped packages, consistent with narcotics, hidden in a compartment of the van, the Border Patrol said in a news release.

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Testing confirmed the packages contained meth, the total of which was just short of 100 pounds, officials said.

The Border Patrol seized what agents said is more than 180 pounds of meth on Jan. 18, 2025. The Border Patrol seized what agents said is more than 180 pounds of meth on Jan. 18, 2025. The Border Patrol seized what agents said is more than 180 pounds of meth on Jan. 18, 2025.

Less than an hour later near the same location, agents stopped a woman driving a Honda sedan with her two children in the vehicle.

A K-9 unit again detected drugs, and agents found 80 cellophane-wrapped packages hidden throughout the vehicle, officials said.

Testing again confirmed the presence of meth, which in this case totaled almost 84 pounds.

That woman, identified only as a 22-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested, and her children were released to family members.

Two significant drug loads were taken off of our streets by our dedicated agents, said San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel. Thankfully, two children were also removed from a dangerous situation.

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To report information to the U.S. Border Patrol, contact 911 or 619-498-9900.

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President Donald Trump has signed an executive order which could lead to the eradication of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The order on Sunday night demanded a task force to investigate the agency and find solutions that will transform it.

Members of the Council Review will be chosen by the president himself and will be expected to submit a final report within six months.

But Trump has previously hinted at what he really wanted to do with the federal response agency.

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FEMA has turned out to be a disaster. I think we recommend that FEMA go away, he told a crowd in North Carolina last Friday.

The president was touring hurricane-struck neighborhoods in North Carolina and fire-ravaged areas of Los Angeles when he suggested that states should be handed money to respond to emergencies themselves.

The wildfires that destroyed thousands of buildings in Los Angeles earlier this month spread across at least 40,000 acres and forced 200,000 residents from their homes.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Helene killed over 100 people in North Carolina alone.

FEMA, which employs some 20,000 people, faced a storm of criticism from Trump on the campaign trail for what he says is its poor handling of relief funds.

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It last received a total of $29 billion in December from Congress to fund relief efforts, but Trump has suggested that states should receive the money directlyechoing a policy set out in the radical Project 2025 pamphlet published in the run-up to the election.

The president has not yet selected any official to oversee the agency, with former NAVY SEAL Cam Hamilton stepping in to act as its temporary chief and telling his staff that the agency was critical for national security.

FEMA has often had to go on the defensive in recent months after several of Trumps staunchest backers have created wild conspiracies about the agency and natural disasters.

Trump himself accused the agency of diverting money to house illegal migrants, while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has repeatedly claimed the U.S. government is able to control the weather and called for coordinated cloud seeding to end the California wildfires.

Should the task force recommend the break-up of FEMA, Trump will have to push his allies in Congress to press the red button and blow it up.
Dozens of FEMA homes and travel trailers sit empty near Hickory Regional Airport, while over 2,700 families remain in motels in western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.

Despite the urgent need for housing, FEMA has delivered 108 homes, but many remain unoccupied.

There are 50 FEMA mobile homes and travel trailers at an RV park near Old Fort.

Trump proposes 'getting rid of FEMA' while touring disaster areas

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A woman in Morganton, who is raising her two grandchildren, expressed gratitude for receiving a FEMA home after her house was destroyed by flooding and fire during Helene.

Very, very thankful because we were homeless because we didnt have anywhere to go after it burnt and flooded, said the woman who didnt want to be identified. We didnt have anywhere to go.

Faherty spotted a FEMA trailer along the Catawba River in Burke County and nine more have been placed at a mobile home park in Lenoir.

Neighbors say the homes began arriving in mid-December but are empty.

It makes me mad because there are families that need homes, said resident Destiny Mitchell. They have kids, they have  sorry, its emotional but there are people who really need this.

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FEMA says preparing the homes is a complex process that includes ordering, installation, permitting, utility hookups and inspections.

Finding suitable locations, such as a commercial park or an RV campground can also be challenging.

Cindy Blackstone now lives in a trailer donated by a stranger from Georgia. Her home along Mill Creek was washed away by the storm.

They (FEMA) wanted to know if Id move 50 miles away on one call and then they wanted to know if Id move 100 miles away and I asked, Are you giving me a home? Why would I move?

FEMA says a person who moves into one of their homes must do three things every month: Demonstrate a continued need for housing assistance, recertify their eligibility, and show theyre making progress toward a permanent housing solution.

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Resident Christian Schaefer, of McDowell County, showed Faherty his one-bedroom FEMA travel trailer.

He says his home was destroyed by flooding north of Marion. He too must follow the checklist and can only stay there for 18 months.

This is made to live in for a weekend, he said. This was not made to live in for 18 months. I would love for someone from FEMA to come try and live here for a month.

FEMA says the homes have not been lived in and are all equipped with furniture and appliances. The supply is replenished as homes are sent out from Hickory.

David Lyons and his wife are hoping to get one too. Their mobile home near Elk Park was destroyed by flooding, and Lyons is living with COPD.

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We dont have nowhere to go as of right now but we got people working on it, he said. Its going to take time.

VIDEO: Trump proposes reforming or getting rid of FEMA while visiting western North Carolina
Gov. Bob Ferguson signs an executive order responding to the Trump administration's deportation efforts, Jan. 27, 2025 in Seattle. (Photo by Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard)

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Monday signed an executive order to create a state team focused on responding to the separation of migrant families as the Trump administration promises mass deportations.

The Family Separation Rapid Response Team will be housed in the state Department of Children, Youth and Families. Members will include officials from the governors office, the attorney generals office, the Washington State Patrol and the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance.

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Deportation on the scale Trump has described means ripping families apart. It means kids losing their parents. It means businesses losing their workers. It means communities being significantly altered, Ferguson said.

My administration will do everything we can possibly do to address those significant harms that are caused by those policies, the Democratic governor said. Thats making sure that kids who are torn away and separated from their parents have someone to care for them, and they have uninterrupted access to their education.

The White House knocked Fergusons move.

Radical Leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda, Harrison Fields, a deputy press secretary for Trump, said in an email.

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The first meeting of the new state team will be no later than Feb. 14, but Ferguson expects it to be sooner. The group will provide recommendations to the governor, and is expected to file a report by April 30.

Ferguson signed the order at the Centilia Cultural Center in Seattle, joined by numerous elected officials and advocates.

Tana Senn, a former state lawmaker who took over the Department of Children, Youth and Families under the Ferguson administration, reiterated that children whose parents are deported will have support from the state. These children are often U.S. citizens, while their parents dont have legal status.

I just want families to know and to feel rest assured that if that happens, your child will be safe, will be cared for and will be loved here in Washington state, Senn said.

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Trump made the promise of mass deportations a centerpiece of his campaign. One week in, his administration has already initiated an immigration crackdown.

Trump signed a slew of executive orders to overhaul the countrys immigration system. These included declaring a national emergency at the southern border, ending birthright citizenship and eliminating policies that bar immigration enforcement agents from arresting migrants at churches, schools and hospitals.

Its about making a terrifying calculus every day, said Roxana Norouzi, the executive director of immigrant advocacy group OneAmerica. Is going to work worth risk of detention? Is a church, hospital or school visit worth being separated from their children? The real threat to our country is a system that forces hardworking families to choose between survival and safety.

On Sunday, agents arrested 956 people in raids across the country, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Before Trump took office, the average was 311 per day.

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In Yakima County, an immigrant rights group reported federal agents detained two people in a grocery store parking lot on Sunday, according to the Yakima Herald-Republic.

The Keep Washington Working Act prevents local police from helping federal authorities with immigration enforcement. The law, passed in 2019 mostly along party lines with support from Democrats, also prohibited officers from asking about immigration status, with some exceptions.

Last week, the Department of Justice threatened to prosecute local officials who dont cooperate. And, similar to his first term, Trump has raised the possibility of withholding federal funds from states and cities unwilling to aid in deportations.

In 2017, Seattle took the first Trump administration to court for punishing sanctuary cities that wouldnt comply with immigration authorities. The city won the case.

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State Rep. Jim Walsh, the chair of the state Republican Party, called Fergusons order an empty virtue signaling gesture.

I think the people of Washington want the law to be enforced, including immigration law, said Walsh, of Aberdeen. No one wants to break up families, thats not a real priority.

Washington state has already sued over Trumps attempt to end birthright citizenship, a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Last week, a federal judge in Seattle approved a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of Trumps executive order, calling it blatantly unconstitutional.

Ferguson said he was proud Washington was the first state to defeat the Trump administration in court during the presidents new term.

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This story has been updated.

Ferguson Executive Order 25-04

A copy of the executive order Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed Jan. 27, 2025, that is intended to help families affected by President Donald Trumps deportation efforts.
By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Fighting across the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and "is still very much ongoing ... it's not over yet," senior U.N. official in Congo, Bruno Lemarquis, said on Monday after Rwandan-backed M23 rebels claimed to have control of Goma.

"Active zones of combat have spread to all quarters of the city, all the neighborhoods of the city," Lemarquis, the deputy U.N. envoy and top U.N. aid official in the DRC, told reporters in New York via video from Kinshasa.

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The rebels marched into Goma earlier on Monday and Congolese troops exchanged fire with the Rwandan military across the border, in the worst escalation of a long-running conflict for more than a decade.

"There's no question that there are Rwandan troops in Goma supporting the M23. Of course, it's difficult to tell exactly what the numbers are," U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix also told reporters in New York via video from Damascus, where he is currently visiting.

He described the situation on the ground in eastern Congo as "volatile and dangerous" and said that: "UN peacekeepers remain in their positions in the field."

A rebel alliance led by the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 militia said it had seized the lakeside city of more than 2 million people, a major hub for displaced people and aid groups lying on the border with Rwanda and last occupied by M23 in 2012.

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Lemarquis said that earlier on Monday artillery fire was directed at Goma's city center and struck a maternity hospital, "killing and injuring civilians, including newborn and pregnant women."

"The scenes reported by our colleagues on the ground are chaotic," he said.

The U.N. mission in December had 10,960 peacekeepers and 1,750 civilians in Congo, deployed mostly in the east. Lemarquis said non-essential staff in the DRC were being moved to Uganda.

Lemarquis said the internet in Goma was cut on Monday, phone service was patchy and water and electricity had been disrupted.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  A Monday morning fire at a modular home was quickly found and extinguished, Sioux Falls Fire Rescue said in a news release.

A possible structure fire was reported at about 10:30 a.m. on the 1900 block of West Johnson Place. When firefighters arrived they saw smoking underneath the modular home. The fire was extinguished within five minutes and it did not spread to the interior of the residence, according to the news release.

Ex-state employee pleads guilty to food voucher fraud

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The cause is under investigation, fire rescue said in the news release.

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE)  Firefighters from around New Mexico who were deployed to California to help with the fires in the Los Angeles area have returned home.

Story continues below

The New Mexico Strike Team was made up of crews from around the state. Albuquerque Fire Rescue says the team was deployed to the Palisades fire and helped provide structure protection for residential homes, enhance fire breaks and address hotspots. Members of the team say they are committed to gathering insights from the experience for potential improvements to prevent similar disasters in New Mexico.

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(FOX40.COM)  Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District announced that their regional OES Type One and Type Three have made it home after battling the wildfire in Los Angeles.

Authorities said that the team worked alongside many agencies from across the state helping to protect lives and properties.

Lathrop Police Department cracks down on reckless driving, DUI incidents

Firefighters who were sent to Los Angeles returned home and have shared stories of how the incredible support they received during their time there.

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Sacramento Metro Fire said the kindness shown to them through preparing meals or donating reminded the fire family that they were not just fighting fires but protecting families across California.

To the families of our deployed personnel, thank you. Your support and sacrifice during these challenging weeks have made it possible for your loved ones to answer the call to serve. We are deeply grateful for your partnership in this mission. Metro Fire remains committed to serving our region and beyond, bringing hope and relief wherever its needed most. Thank you for your continued trust and support, said Sacramento Metro Fire in a Facebook post.

Image: Sacramento Metro Fire Image: Sacramento Metro Fire Image: Sacramento Metro Fire Image: Sacramento Metro Fire Image: Sacramento Metro Fire Image: Sacramento Metro Fire

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These days, food recalls can be disappointing and even anxiety-inducing depending on the reason. But the fact that recalls exist in the first place is a good thing. They mean that someone, somewhere found an error or a hazard and wants the least amount of consumers to be affected by it. Still, there was a time when food recalls didn't exist, or were very rare. The first major food recall didn't occur until January 1973.

The recall originated at United Canning in Ohio when it was discovered that some of the mushroom cans were in a bloated state. Swollen cans can be dangerous as they could contain a rare toxin called Clostridium botulinum which can cause the illness, botulism. Botulism can be life-threatening, potentially impacting the nervous system and causing respiratory failure. Symptoms can appear anywhere from four hours to eight days after exposure.

Thankfully, the Food and Drug Administration took the swollen can situation seriously and put a recall on the mushrooms. As a result, 75 million cans of mushrooms were stripped from grocery store shelves. While they maybe didn't have the same culinary cachet as meaty chicken of the woods mushrooms, the loss of millions of canned mushrooms caused devastation to many  particularly business owners. When the recall was put out, some mushrooms had already been sent to restaurants where they sat in a state of limbo; not in the can, but not yet consumed. The dramatic discarding of these potentially contaminated fungi is what led to the Great Michigan Pizza Funeral.

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Read more: We Tried And Ranked 12 Canned Corn Brands So You Don't Have To

The Great Michigan Pizza Funeral

Mushroom pizza and a bowl of mushrooms - Eugene Mymrin/Getty Images

When news of the canned mushroom recall reached Papa Fabbrini's Frozen Pizzas, Mario Fabbrini had his restaurant's mushrooms tested for contamination. Mushroom pizza was fed to laboratory mice which died after consumption. Fabbrini had no choice but to cut his losses. Today we can get a chuckle from pizza cereal, but back in the '70s, pizza was highly coveted and the loss was tragic. To ditch the bad stock, Fabbrini gathered all the remaining mushroom pizzas and gave them a proper send-off with a pizza "funeral."

On March 2, 1973, Fabbrini filed a lawsuit against the United Canning Corporation and Tolona Pizza Product Corporation for negligence. And on March 5, he and a crowd watched as roughly 30,000 frozen, family-sized mushroom pizzas slid out of dump trucks to be buried.

The pizzas  resting in peace at the bottom of an 18-foot hole  were covered with dirt by bulldozers, as guests in mourning were served non-contaminated pizza. A wreath of red and white flowers was placed on the grave to represent the sauce and cheese of a classic pizza. Unfortunately for the pizza that was buried that day, the mushrooms in the recall were not the cause of death for the lab mice, meaning Fabbrini could have spared his mushroom pies the burial.

How Do Food Recalls Happen?

Food and Drug Administration office sign in an industrial space - Tada Images/Shutterstock

While there have been no other notable pizza funerals since Mario Fabbrini's macabre mushroom display, recalls have continued for the safety of consumers. Recalls happen when foods don't meet regulations set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There are several reasons for food to be recalled, including contamination by toxins, bacteria, or parasites. A mislabelled product can also trigger a recall due to allergy alerts caused by undeclared contact with common allergens like milk or nuts (Undeclared dairy in Hammond's Mini Waffle Cones once led to a recall).

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Human error can also be a catalyst. Food that might have come into contact with glass or other small, dangerous contaminants can get recalled in order to prevent injury or illness. While many recalls are released as public warnings and quickly spread by word of mouth, the FDA also offers a recall subscription service where consumers can request notifications of all recalls  or of specifically selected recalls. Food recalls may be the last thing anyone wants to hear about in regard to their groceries, but these measures ensure safety for consumers and accountability for manufacturers.

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Worker Chen Gongchao poses for a group photo with his family members at the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi, Jan. 24, 2025.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Worker Chen Jinshui poses for a group photo with his family members at the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi, Jan. 26, 2025.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Worker Chen Peng poses for a group photo with his family members at the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi, Jan. 24, 2025.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Worker Yu Chengqi poses for a group photo with his family members at the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi, Jan. 24, 2025.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Worker Chen Zongchun (3rd L) and his son Chen Jinshan (2nd R) and their family members pose for a group photo at the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi, Jan. 24, 2025.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Worker Li Gaofeng poses for a group photo with his family members at the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi, Jan. 24, 2025.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Worker Sun Ning poses for a group photo with his family members at the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi, Jan. 24, 2025.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Workers and their family members are pictured at the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi, Jan. 22, 2025.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Workers and their family members have a family reunion dinner at the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi, Jan. 22, 2025.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Workers are pictured at the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi, Jan. 23, 2025.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Workers carry goods for the Spring Festival at the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi, Jan. 23, 2025.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 23, 2025 shows the construction site of an expressway linking Yufeng and Yizhou of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Liuzhou of Guangxi.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, will fall on Jan. 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

More than 100 workers of China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. will remain at the construction site this Spring Festival, China's traditional occasion for family reunion.

As the Chinese New Year is drawing near, many family members of these workers have arrived at the construction site to celebrate the festival together. (Photo by Zheng Changhao/Xinhua)
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR)  The debate over whether to fund a study on the status of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay will be taken up again in the Virginia General Assembly. Measures to study the forage species vital to nearly every fish on the Atlantic Coast have been derailed in past sessions, the most recent was last year when a study proposal was tabled.

Two proposals have been introduced by Del. Paul Milde (R-Stafford) in this session. Virginia House Bill 2713 (HB2713) would require the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to conduct a three-year study of menhaden numbers in Virginias portion of the Chesapeake Bay, as well as the impact of various fisheries on menhaden populations. Milde has also introduced a budget amendment to fund the study.

There are no modern-day studies of menhaden populations in the bay, said Del. Milde. It makes sense that we need to find out where we really are with the menhaden, and if there are any connections between rockfish populations, osprey populations, and the menhaden catch.

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Angling and conservation groups have suggested that industrial reduction fishing for menhaden has affected their numbers, and have led to an adverse impact on gamefish, aquatic mammals, and birds that depend on menhaden for forage.

Virginia is the only state on the Atlantic Coast to allow industrial reduction fishing in estuaries like the Chesapeake. Only one company, Reedville-based Omega Protein/Ocean Harvesters practices industrial reduction fishing for menhaden on the bay.

Omega says menhaden numbers are strong and sustainable. The company points to coast-wide studies to back that claim.

Ocean Harvesters, the leading menhaden harvesters on the East Coast, has a long history of supporting scientific research, company spokesperson Ben Landry said in a statement. There have been upwards of 15 or more significant menhaden research projects this century that we have proudly supported or participated in.

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However, there has been no recent research on menhaden numbers in the Chesapeake.

Landry says any research needs to take into consideration the migratory nature of menhaden:

As it relates to the Chesapeake Bay, we believe that researchers and regulators should understand the population dynamics of menhaden in and out of the Bay; however that task is difficult. In 2021, the ASMFC Menhaden Technical Committee developed a blueprint for studying menhaden in the Bay over time, since the population changes as they seasonally migrate. It is comprehensive and takes a thoughtful approach to answering this important question.

Milde says if localized research shows strong numbers, then he has little problem with reduction fishing, but he says knowing is the hard part, and that research needs to be done to assess a resource vital to Virginias economy. He says the information a study would provide is needed by Virginia fisheries managers to better understand and manage the resource.

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The study will cost three million dollars, but the impact of sport and commercial fishing, as well as wildlife, and tourism totals into the billions.

Doing a study on menhaden for three million dollars to find out if were crushing an ecosystem thats producing a whole lot more in tax revenue, overall revenue, and economic revenue is not a tough decision, said Milde. Thats a small investment for something so important.

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One thing that might surprise people who don't live here is that there is running water all around in metro Phoenix. The Salt River Project, or SRP, manages more than 130 miles of water canals that run throughout the Valley, ensuring residents have water to use in their day-to-day lives.

Not only does this water help people live in the desert, but it also employs a very important contributor to the community: the white amur fish. Now, you might not immediately think of fish as being important to living in the desert, but this specific kind of grass carp plays a key role in ensuring the water flows smoothly throughout the canals.

Since the canals are surrounded by a major metropolitan area, they tend to end up with some blown-in debris and garbage from city life. This led one of our listeners to ask if it's safe for the fish to be in the canals, and who takes care of the trash that finds its way into them.

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This week on Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we hear from a senior environmental scientist from SRP who explains the important job the white amur fish does for metro Phoenix.

Click here for the map of the canal dry-up schedule.

Listen to the episode

Listen to Valley 101 on your favorite podcast app or stream the full episode below.

Submit your questions to us about metro Phoenix and Arizona for a chance to be chosen for the podcast.

Note: Valley 101 is intended to be heard, but we offer an AI transcript of the episode script. There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio.

Subscribe to Valley 101 : Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

Follow Valley 101 and all azcentral podcasts on X, formerly Twitter, and on Instagram.

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Reach the reporter Amanda Luberto at aluberto@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @amandaluberto.

Catch up on past episodes of Valley 101:

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Carp fish help keep the canals in Phoenix running smoothly
PATERSON, N.J. (PIX11)  Residents in New Jersey cities reported observing ICE agents operating in cities, including Paterson and Union City on Sunday.

Mariano Gonzalez tells PIX11 News he was making a delivery at Madison and 21st Avenues when two unmarked vehicles parked next to him.

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A couple of officers had the police badge on their velcro vest and there were two other guys that had the jacket that said ICE on them, said Gonzalez.

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He added that he spotted around 7 or 8 agents. Some officers reportedly entered through a building side door and the rest remained outside surveilling the area.

Gonzalez said the agents were fully geared and armed. You can see their guns on their sides. He says that part of Paterson is especially busy on Sundays but shortly after the agents arrived, it cleared out.

Something similar was observed in Union City Sunday afternoon. An eyewitness who preferred to stay anonymous told PIX11 News that agents arrived at a building in the area of 18th Street and Union Avenue.

They try to get inside the building, he said. I dont know if they are looking for someone specific.

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The witness said he didnt see the agents arrest anyone but said he spotted them walking around and surveilling the neighborhood. When you see people like that on the street, we are scared. We dont know if they can take anyone or just specific people.

ICE raid in Newark sparks fear of an economic depression

Meanwhile, Gonzalez, who is an American citizen, says he is especially cautious after hearing about the incident in Newark where ICE agents arrested a Puerto Rican U.S. Army veteran. Two others were detained after 10 or 12 ICE agents raided a seafood store.

He said he didnt want to take a chance and rushed immediately out of Paterson. Now its not even a worry if I already have papers, its more like I just fit the description.

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Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh confirmed with PIX11 News that he received a report about ICE in Paterson.

We are genuinely concerned, Sayegh told PIX11 News. We are a welcoming city. Quite frankly, there has to be an appropriate procedure. If they have a warrant, we understand. If they dont, people have to know their rights.

In New York City, the Mayors Office of Immigration Affairs has updated its website to offer tips for undocumented people so they understand their rights if immigration officials approach them.

ICE posted an update Sunday night about their nationwide operations, claiming 956 people were arrested. Thats the highest number of daily arrests since Jan. 23 when the operations started.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
Flags across the nation have flown at half-staff since the passing of former President Jimmy Carter, 100, on Dec. 29, as part of a 30-day tribute to honor his life and legacy.

The official mourning period concludes Monday, Jan. 27, and flags will return to full staff tomorrow, marking the end of this observance.

Notably, there was a brief pause on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, which coincided with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A federal statute requires that the U.S. flag be displayed at full height on federal holidays, including Inauguration Day, "especially on... January 20."

When are flags flown at half-staff?

There are specific holidays and events for which flags are flown at half-staff in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website. They include:

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Memorial Day, when the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon only and then raised to the top of the staff.

Peace Officers Memorial Day, unless that day is also Armed Forces Day.

Patriot Day.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

National Firefighters Memorial Day.

President Dwight Eisenhower also issued a proclamation on the proper times for flying the flag at half-staff when government officials die:

Thirty days for all federal buildings, grounds and naval vessels throughout the United States and its territories and possessions after the death of the president or a former president.

Ten days at half-staff after the death of the vice president, the chief justice or a retired chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, or the speaker of the House of Representatives.

From the date of death until interment for an associate justice of the Supreme Court, a member of the Cabinet, a former vice president, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the majority leader of the House of Representatives or the minority leader of the House of Representatives.

The date of death and the next day for a U.S. senator, a representative, a territorial delegate or the resident commissioner from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It should also be flown at half-staff at all federal facilities in the state, congressional district, territory or commonwealth of these officials.

From the date of death until interment for the governor of a state, territory or possession.

The president may also order that the flag be flown at half-staff to commemorate the death of other officials, former officials or foreign dignitaries, in addition to tragic events. For instance, on Oct. 7, Abbott declared Monday a statewide Day of Observance for Israel in Texas and asked residents to hold a moment of silence for the people of Israel and the seven Americans who remain hostages.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Why are flags half-staff in Texas? Flags to be raised fully this week
An SNP plan to turn around Scotlands crisis-hit NHS has been branded a shameful rehash of failed policies after it emerged that a key pledge was first announced more than two years ago.

John Swinney, the First Minister, will on Monday give a major speech in which he will hail the creation of a NHS digital front door app as part of his new mission for modernisation and renewal of the health service.

However, it emerged that the plan was first announced more than two years ago  and has been in development since early 2022  leading to claims the First Minister is attempting to mislead the public.

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Mr Swinney will also pledge to boost funding for GPs, another policy that has previously been announced, alongside a promise to increase NHS capacity by 150,000 appointments and procedures per year.

However, there are already around 1 million procedures performed and a further million outpatient appointments carried out annually, leading to claims the plan was insufficient to fix the health service.

John Swinney will also pledge to boost NHS capacity by 150,000 appointments and procedures per year - Andrew Milligan/PA

Mr Swinney will claim that his plan will set a new course so that we can safeguard our NHS for the long term.

However, Sandesh Gulhane, health spokesman for the Scottish Tories, said the SNP had nothing new to offer.

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The First Ministers vision is nothing more than a shameful rehash of failed SNP policies and yet more promises that the public wont trust them to deliver, he said.

The SNP first announced the digital front door back in 2022, but three years on patients are still waiting.

The NHS Scotland app is supposed to offer a single means of accessing their information and services online.

A digital front door

It was initially promised, under Humza Yousaf as health secretary, that it would be available by spring next year, though as of last October, no supplier had been awarded to build it.

Under the plan users will be able to view information such as their medication or blood test results, book and reschedule appointments.

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However, previous attempts from the Scottish Government to build healthcare apps during the Covid pandemic were beset by technical problems and spiralling costs.

While the SNP has regained its lead in the polls ahead of next years Holyrood election, Labour is keen to shift the focus onto the nationalists handling of domestic issues and particularly the crisis in the NHS.

Mr Swinneys speech has been seen as an attempt to counter attacks over the state of the NHS on his watch.

However, independent research has recently shown that Scotlands NHS is getting worse, while in England it is improving.

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Late last year the SNP spectacularly missed targets to eliminate waits of 12 months or more for appointments or treatment. Instead of hitting the target or making progress towards it, the number of people waiting for more than a year rose.

Its more than two years after the SNP government first announced it would be digitising health services and six years since NHS England launched an NHS app, said Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labours health spokeswoman.

So the real question around the SNPs front door app pledge is why its taken so long. Scots deserve fresh ideas not rebrands of the same policies that the SNP has failed to deliver.

Mr Swinney is expected to reject claims that the NHS is beyond saving and at the point of collapse, despite doctors warning that it is in a state of permanent crisis.

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He will admit to great challenges but claim the health service is fundamentally resilient and robust.

No new targets

No new targets or specific levels of investment were disclosed in advance of the speech, with the SNP leader instead promising to make peoples experience of the NHS in Scotland better than it is now.

The First Minister will add: Our National Health Service is there when we need it. No other public institution supports us with so much care through lifes biggest moments. We must support it in return.

The approach I set out today charts our course to do that. It addresses both the challenges and the opportunities. It sets the NHS on a path of modernisation and renewal.

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.
LOS ANGELES (KTLA)  The National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued a flash flood warning for the Franklin burn scar and the western portion of the Palisades burn scar, west of Los Flores Canyon until 11 p.m. Sunday night.

In a news release, weather officials said Doppler radar rain gauges indicated thunderstorms bringing heavy rain across the two areas, adding that while not immediately likely, a life threatening debris flow could be possible.

KTLA Live Interactive Radar

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Rainfall rates around Pepperdine University have been measured at 0.39 inch per hour, though NWS said higher rainfall rates are likely occurring.

(National Weather Service)

The warning for recent the recent burn scars means that flooding and debris flows are imminent or already happening. Residents in these flood prone regions should take immediate precautions to protect themselves.

This is a life threatening situation, NWS said. Heavy rainfall will cause extensive and severe flash flooding of creeks, streams and ditches in the burn scars. Severe debris flows are possible across roads. Roads and driveways may be washed away in places. If you encounter flood waters, climb to safety.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 flight to Washington, D.C., returned to Nigeria after unexpected aircraft movement caused injuries, United Airlines said.

A statement from United emailed to The Hill on Monday said that one of its flights headed for Washington, D.C., out of Lagos, Nigeria, returned to Lagos after a technical issue and an unexpected aircraft movement. The Thursday flight carried more than 240 passengers.

It landed safely in Lagos and four passengers and two flight attendants were seen at a hospital for minor injuries and have been released, the statement from United on the flight said. We are working with aviation authorities in the U.S. and Nigeria to understand the cause.

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Late last Thursday morning, a United plane left Lagoss Murtala Muhammed International Airport, but came back early Friday morning hours later, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said Friday in a post on the social platform X.

While all passengers and crew disembarked safely, four passengers and two crew members sustained serious injuries, and an additional 27 passengers and five crew members had minor injuries, Obiageli Orah, FAANs director of public affairs and consumer protection, continued in the post.

Earlier this month, another United jet was clipped by another jet while they were taxiing at Chicago OHare International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

According to an emailed statement from an FAA spokesperson to The Hill, an American Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet struck the tail of a United Airlines 787 jet while taxiing on separate taxiways at Chicago OHare International Airport.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
ST. LOUIS  A Flordell Hills man appeared in St. Louis Circuit Court to plead guilty to a fatal shooting in the citys Baden neighborhood.

The shooting happened on Sept. 24, 2022, in the 8500 block of Church Drive.

St. Louis police and prosecutors said Stefhon M. Hawkins, 28, fatally wounded his cousins fiance during an argument. The victim, Ryan Thompson, ran after being shot and was later found dead in a nearby alley. Thompson was 33.

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Hawkins was initially charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. With a jury trial scheduled to start this week, Hawkins reached a plea agreement with the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office.

1 dead, two injured after a dump truck crashed into home in Owensville

In exchange for a guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to waive the armed criminal action charge and reduce the murder charge from first to second-degree.

After accepting the plea deal, the circuit court judge overseeing the case sentenced Hawkins to 18 years in state prison.

Hawkins will receive credit for nearly 22 months of jail time already served.

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CORRECTION: Hawkins had faced a jury trial, not a bench trial.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect new information from Florence police about the location of the shooting.

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW)  Florence police are searching for the ex-boyfriend of a woman who was taken to the hospital Monday after she was shot at the Deerfield apartments on Third Loop Road.

Police are searching for Horace Alexander Smith II in connection with the shooting. Police believe he is traveling in a gold Honda Civic with black passenger side doors and front fender.

Courtesy / Florence police News13 photo: Eric Cooper News13 photo: Eric Cooper News13 photo: Eric Cooper News13 photo: Eric Cooper News13 photo: Eric Cooper News13 photo: Eric Cooper News13 photo: Eric Cooper News13 photo: Eric Cooper

The vehicle was seen on a Flock camera in North Carolina, so police dont think Smith is in Florence anymore. Police said Smith is an ex-boyfriend of the woman, and officers are still investigating the circumstances of the shooting.

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The woman drove to the parking lot of the Circle K convenience store and Subway restaurant to meet with officers before she was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, police said. The store is located at 2701 S. Irby St.

News13 has a crew at the scene. Count on us for updates on-air and online.

* * *

Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

* * *

Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.
A vendor prepares food for customers inside his food truck during the "Street Food City" event in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Jan. 26, 2025.

"Street Food City" is Vancouver's annual food truck festival providing an opportunity to sample over a dozen delicious food options from Vancouver's food trucks and carts all in one place. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

People take photos in front of a food truck during the "Street Food City" event in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Jan. 26, 2025.

"Street Food City" is Vancouver's annual food truck festival providing an opportunity to sample over a dozen delicious food options from Vancouver's food trucks and carts all in one place. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)
Florida authorities arrested a Black man who they say was making serious online threats to President Donald J. Trump. However, their concern was whether he was prepared to take those threats off screen and into the streets.

West Palm Beach Chief Tony Araujo said authorities arrested 46-year-old Shannon Depararro Atkins, a former bakery owner, over the weekend following a traffic stop. They werent so worried about a broken tail light, speeding or drug-laced baked goods. The chief said the cops were on the hunt for Atkins following the discovery of his disturbing, violent rhetoric targeting President 47, per ABC News.

His Facebook page was alleged to be riddled with anti-Trump memes - one mocking the assassination attempt during Trumps campaign rally in July 2024 and another reading, Bullets, please. Jesus save America, while referencing the assassinations of JFK and Abraham Lincoln, per USA TODAY.

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Ive been banned from X because I said I hope and pray someone kills him we havent had an assassination in years, read another post, per authorities.

Chief Araujo said Atkins was arrested near his home in West Palm Beach which isnt far from Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort. Authorities said he was not found with a weapon but did not specify whether Atkins owned one at all. However, they did locate three bags of cocaine in his possession, per WPTV.

The chief said upon his arrest, Atkins argued he was only joking in his posts. Friends also defended him to local reporters insisting the posts were merely a jest.

He is a jokester. He likes to make people laugh. He wouldnt hurt a fly, and it hurt a lot to see him behind bars like that, said Rashelle Young, Atkins friend, via WPTV.

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However, authorities saw the posts as no comedic relief and charged him with one count of written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism and felony drug possession charges, per online records.

Chief Araujo said Secret Service was notified of the case and the agency will determine if they will also charge Atkins federal charges, per USA TODAY.

For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
(NewsNation)  A Miami-Dade sheriffs deputy was arrested and stands accused of trying to smuggle MDMA pills onto a cruise ship.

Francisco Melo, 36, was behind bars on Friday morning after detectives arrested him at the Royal Caribbean terminal in PortMiami before boarding the Allure of the Seas, according to NewsNation affiliate WFLA.

Melo has been relieved of his duties after 60 pills were found inside Skittles bags, according to investigators.

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ICE arrests 956 Sunday as nationwide raids continue

He has been charged with possession, sale and trafficking of a controlled substance.

In a statement to NBC 6, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz condemned the alleged actions of Melo.

The actions of this individual are a betrayal of the public trust and of all the deputies who work tirelessly to protect our community, she said. We will cooperate fully with the state attorneys office throughout the legal process.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
A Miami-Dade Sheriffs Office deputy is in jail after he was accused of trafficking drugs.

Investigators said Deputy Francisco Javier Melo purchased 12 MDMA pills from an informant for $240.

Investigators say Melo planned to attend a music festival on Royal Caribbeans Allure of the Seas cruise ship.

See: Popular Orange County restaurant The Waterfront suffers major damage in fire

The arrest warrant says Melo was going to smuggle the pills inside a Skittles candy bag.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.




Educators, students and advocates across the Florida higher education system spoke out Monday against the recent removal by the state of hundreds of general education courses that touch on race, gender, and sexual orientation, calling the restrictions "censorship" during a webinar hosted by the United Faculty of Florida union.

"I chose to pursue a career in education to engage students in critical thinking, adaptability and global competence -- skills that are essential to success and societal contribution," said Jeniah Jones, a Florida State College at Jacksonville professor. "Restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion in the curriculum ... undermine this mission by narrowing students' understanding of the world and their role in it."

Educators also argue that limiting general education options may also make it harder for students to fulfill their general education requirements.

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A slate of directives and policy changes from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the State University System of Florida's Board of Governors in recent years has changed the landscape around what colleges and universities can say about race, politics, gender and sexual orientation.

DeSantis signed SB 266 in 2023, which prohibits universities from expending state or federal funds to promote, support, or maintain any programs or campus activities that relate to diversity, equity and inclusion.

PHOTO: Stock photo of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., June 23, 2017. (Traveler1116/Getty Images)

DeSantis touted the legislation at the time, saying in a statement: Florida has ranked No. 1 in higher education for seven years in a row, and by signing this legislation we are ensuring that Floridas institutions encourage diversity of thought, civil discourse and the pursuit of truth for generations to come."

SB 266 amended a state statute requiring universities to go through an intensified review process to ensure that their general education course offerings are in compliance with the restrictions.

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Schools are unable to offer classes that include "identity politics" or that are "based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political and economic inequities," according to the Florida statute.

At Florida State University, at least 432 courses from the college's general education curriculum were removed in part because of the rules, according to meeting minutes from the Board of Trustees.

ABC affiliate First Coast News reported in November 2024 that University of North Florida removed 67 courses from the university's list of general education options.

FSU told ABC News that the courses would be offered as electives instead of being able to fulfill general education requirements. UNF told First Coast News the same, that the courses will still be offered and available as electives.

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The state university system's Board of Governors also later restricted state funding toward diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including "political or social activism."

PHOTO: Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a press conference to speak in opposition to Amendment 4, which would limit government interference with abortion in Florida, in Winter Garden, Fla., Oct. 22, 2024. (Paul Hennessy/Getty Images)

Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. had applauded the move: Higher education must return to its essential foundations of academic integrity and the pursuit of knowledge instead of being corrupted by destructive ideologies."

Marsilla Gray, a University of South Florida Ph.D. student and graduate assistant, said that professors are losing the freedom to discuss "not only the latest research in a deep and unbiased manner, but also the ability to connect how these findings relate to our society as a whole" based on these changes.

"It directly impacts student preparedness for both young scientists who want to go on to careers as researchers, physicians and educators, but also for non-STEM majors, for whom their few natural science Gen-Eds may be their only exposure to critically evaluating scientific statements and tying that to what they learn in their social science and humanities courses," she said on the Monday call.

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Robert Cassanello, a University of Central Florida history professor, said the restrictions are reminiscent of past pressures from political groups -- including religious prohibitions on teachings of evolution or anthropology as well as Cold War-era prohibitions on the discussion of communism or socialism.

"When the legislature has tried to interfere with curriculum, it never produced good outcomes," said Cassanello, in the press call.

Leah Sauceda, a Florida State University student, said a general education requirement on Latin American history led her to seek a history degree as well as an international affairs major.

"My classes helped me realize the study of history isn't about the past, as contradictory as that sounds, but rather it is a tool to understand how the past is inextricably linked to the present and all possible futures," she said on the Monday call. "History helps us understand the world and our place in it. It is heartbreaking to think that the same transformative opportunity I had can be taken away from future students because the Board of Governors would rather us ignore history than learn from it."

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The calls against DEI removals in higher education come as President Donald Trump implements anti-DEI restrictions on a federal level via several executive orders.

The Board of Governors declined ABC News' request for comment.

Florida educators, students speak out against curriculum changes originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Ron DeSantis waning influence was exposed Monday when Florida Republicans rejected a special legislative session he called to address illegal immigration.

The Florida legislature, which infamously operated at DeSantis behest in recent years, adjourned his special session mere minutes after it began and rebuked the governor in the process.

The leaders then convened their own session to prioritize immigration reform that aligns closer to Donald Trumps priorities and not those of DeSantis, who they accused of being a bully who acted too hastily.

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I believe Special Sessions should be used sparingly, said House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Republican. They should not be stunts designed to generate headlines.

DeSantis ordered the special session on Jan. 13 and called for intense immigration reform. He asked for lawmakers to pass bills that would launch a state deportation program, a statewide database of people who send money overseas, establish state charges for entering the country illegally, and deny bail to all undocumented people.

Ron DeSantis endorsed Donald Trump after be bowed out of the 2024 race, but their relationship has not returned to what it was during the latters first term. / Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The governor also called for the criminal prosecution of any law enforcement officers or officials who refused to carry out his proposed changes, among other things.

It was the threat of arresting local cops that appeared to especially rub Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton the wrong way. Perez said Monday that DeSantis had some good ideas, but it is not up to him to call the shots on immigration.

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Sometimes leadership isnt about being out in front of an issue, Albritton added, rebuking DeSantis. Its about following the leader you trust. I trust President Trump.

Albritton, a Republican, said DeSantis hopes of a remittance database was akin to Big Brother and that some of his requests may be outright unconstitutional. Perez indicated he will instead push through legislation that gives more access to federal immigration officials and not add to local cops burden.

We do not need to duplicate the functions of U.S. Immigration and Customs and create a mini-me version of ICE, Perez said.

It is not just DeSantis dreams of immigration reform that were dashed Monday. The GOP leaders also suggested he lose his position as the states top immigration enforcer. They proposed the role instead going to Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpsona Republican who endorsed Trump during the primaries and reportedly has a frosty relationship with DeSantis.

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Perez accused DeSantis of being a bully to state lawmakers who publicly pushed back against his special session. He cited DeSantis team blasting out mass e-mails that displayed members personal cell phone numbers and encouraged constituents to nudge their lawmakers into supporting the session.

Attacks on this bodyattacks on all of youare not acceptable, Perez said in an address to lawmakers Monday. This House will never be moved by threats. I will always have an open door and an open mind, but if someone tries to force me to choose sidesmembers, please know that I will always choose yours.

The losses for DeSantis did not stop there, however.

Ron DeSantis chats with Joe Biden during a visit last year after a hurricane ravaged the state. / OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

Since lawmakers were together in Tallahassee thanks to DeSantis, they also took the opportunity to nearly-unanimously overturn a veto the governor made last session that nixed $57 million from the states operating budget. All 110 members of the Florida House rejected DeSantis veto and the only no vote in the 36-member Florida Senate was Blaise Ingoglia, a close ally to the governor.

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Perez remarked that the DeSantis veto last summer was at best, a misunderstanding of the importance of the appropriation or, at worst, an attempt to threaten the independence of our separate branch of government.

State Sen. Randy Fine, a Republican, said DeSantis appeared to be a flailing guy losing relevance, the Miami Herald reported.

Democrats reveled in DeSantis bad day, which have becoming increasingly more common since he opposed Trump in the 2024 GOP primaries and failed spectacularly.

The Florida Legislature just overrode Ron DeSantiss veto of millions of dollars from the leg operating budget and gave him the middle finger for his BS special session call, said Nikki Fried, a Democrat who lost to DeSantis in the 2022 gubernatorial race. Do I dare say that a small dose of democracy was just witnessed.
The Republican-led Florida Legislature delivered a stunning rebuke to Gov. Ron DeSantis Monday, rejecting his special session and overriding one of his budget vetoes.

Special sessions should not be stunts designed to generate headlines, House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, told his members. We do not have to choose between right now and getting it right.

Instead of taking on DeSantis proposals, Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, began and then swiftly ended the special session DeSantis had called, then convened their own special session to pass new illegal immigration restrictions.

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One of the bills would take immigration enforcement out of DeSantis office and place it under Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, a Republican who has had a testy relationship with DeSantis.

Simpson posted on X soon afterward: "With a mandate from the American people, @POTUS has an aggressive agenda to secure our border, combat illegal immigration and deport criminals. @Sen_Albritton & @Daniel_PerezFL are working to ensure he has the support and resources to get the job done here in the Sunshine State."

With a mandate from the American people, @POTUS has an aggressive agenda to secure our border, combat illegal immigration and deport criminals. @Sen_Albritton & @Daniel_PerezFL are working to ensure he has the support and resources to get the job done here in the Sunshine State. pic.twitter.com/G6Qzil8vHg  Wilton Simpson (@WiltonSimpson) January 27, 2025

DeSantis slammed the proposal, calling it "weaker" than his. "The Legislatures bill is a bait-and-switch tactic trying to create the illusion of an illegal immigration crack down, when it does anything but," he posted on X.

Lawmakers also overrode DeSantis veto of $57 million for legislative support services, making it the first time the Legislature has overturned a governors veto since Republicans took control in the 1990s. Only one lawmaker, DeSantis ally Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, voted against the override.

Legislative pushback unusual in Florida in recent years

Monday's moves show the dramatic drop of DeSantis influence with the Legislature. In his first six years in office, DeSantis enjoyed nearly lockstep support of his agenda from his GOP colleagues.

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Perez and Albritton have said DeSantis call for a session was done too hastily, saying that besides illegal immigration, the other issues he wanted addressed  condominium law reforms, hurricane mitigation program funding and petition fraud crackdowns  could be taken care of during the regular session, which begins March 4.

Albritton warned that DeSantis proposals on immigration could undermine President Donald Trumps executive orders issued last week after he took office to expedite deportations and prevent more border crossings.

Sometimes leadership isn't about being out front on an issue, its actually about following a leader you trust, Albritton said, referring to Trump.

DeSantis allies in the Legislature who filed their own bills in line with his proposals attempted to have them heard on the floor but they were either ignored or rejected.

Rep. Mike Caruso speaks to the media after the House adjourned its floor session Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.

Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, tried to have his bills heard but Perez said it came after the first special session ended. He said Monday marked the end of the compliant Legislature, which wont bode well for Republicans in the future.

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What went on in there is a blemish on the state of Florida going forward, Caruso said later.

Republicans got their power because we stayed together for the last six years  now to have the governor and the speaker going at each other? Thats not a way to lead this state, he added. The state of Florida has been the leader of the country on most of its policies. I find this a tough one to digest.

Meantime, Democrats welcomed the new posture of the GOP supermajority toward DeSantis.

House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa said separation of powers matters once again in the state of Florida.

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But shes also bracing for DeSantis reaction: I would anticipate this is not over and well see something from this governor, Driskell said. His office cant be happy.

Sen. Blaise Ingoglia speaks to the media after the Senate adjourned its floor session Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.

GOP senators said they were kept in dark

Republican senators said Mondays legislative actions were kept confidential.

I joked that it was such a good secret that people in both legislative leadership chambers should work for the CIA, because they can obviously keep secrets, Ingoglia said.Ingoglia was the lone dissenter in the Senate and voted no on the veto overrides. After the Senate adjourned, Ingoglia explained that as a staunch fiscal conservative he didnt want to increase the budget.

All of Ingoglias bills that represented the governors agenda died once Albritton closed special session. Those bills included a measure that would have restricted immigrants who entered the country illegally from sending money abroad.

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Albritton criticized it, saying he didnt support new mandates on Florida businesses: What you do with your money is your business, he told Senate members in his opening remarks.

Legislators had a little bit over two hours to review the new 75-page immigration bill, as the first committee meeting to discuss the legislation started at 2 p.m.

First impressions from what I'm seeing on Twitter (now called X) is that it's not as robust as what we had offered, which would be a little concerning, Ingoglia said.

Sen. Randy Fine, a Melbourne Republican expected to leave the Legislature to run for Congress, called the special session a stunt and wasnt expecting the veto override. He's been a DeSantis antagonist and Trump ally.

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There's a little bit of surprise, a little bit of satisfaction and a little bit of excitement, I would say, because it shows that we're going to step up and run the show, he told the USA TODAY Network-Florida.

After DeSantiss special session announcement, Fine filed a bill that would block undocumented students from attending Florida public institutions of higher education. That legislation is now a provision in the new immigration bill (SB 2-B).

John Kennedy contributed. Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. Ana Goni-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network  Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida lawmakers rebuke DeSantis, convene own immigration session
TALLAHASSEE  Floridas legislative leaders issued a stunning rebuke to Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday, rejecting his call for a special legislative session to address immigration and overriding one of his vetoes for the first time.

Instead of supporting DeSantis on one of his signature issues, lawmakers are holding their own special session this week to support President Donald Trumps immigration agenda, which theyre calling the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy (TRUMP) Act.

And they are considering stripping DeSantis of his immigration enforcement powers, which the governor used to fly migrants to Marthas Vineyard three years ago.

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House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, all but accused DeSantis of calling lawmakers back to Tallahassee to boost his own political profile.

I believe special sessions should be used sparingly, Perez said. They should not be stunts designed to generate headlines.

Albritton said some of DeSantis' immigration proposals, such as criminally charging local police who dont cooperate, were potentially unconstitutional and had nothing to do with Trumps agenda.

Sometimes leadership isnt about being out in front of an issue, Albritton told colleagues. Its about following the leader you trust. I trust President Trump.

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DeSantis responded on X by claiming the bill was similar to his own, but substantially weaker.

It is an insult to name such a weak bill after President Trump, who has been so strong on this issue, he wrote.

The leaders' statements were the result of years of frustration with DeSantis' leadership and treatment of the Legislature.

Over the last six years, hes run roughshod over his GOP colleagues, frequently vetoing their priorities while calling them back to Tallahassee to pass legislation that he touted during splashy news conferences and on the campaign trail.

Republican leaders are now proposing to kneecap DeSantis on immigration.

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They could strip DeSantis of his authority to enforce immigration in the state and give that power to Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, a Republican who has a frosty relationship with DeSantis. Simpson, a former Senate president, was elected to lead the states Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in 2022.

If state lawmakers approve the proposal, Simpson would become the states chief immigration officer and would oversee how local and state law enforcement agencies enforce Trumps immigration agenda.

DeSantis trashed the idea. On X, he wrote that the agriculture departments stakeholders often oppose enforcement measures, implying that farmers relying on migrant labor dont want changes.

By giving enforcement power to the agricultural arm of state government, it ensures that enforcement never actually occurs, DeSantis wrote. In short, it puts the fox in charge of the hen house.

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On Monday, lawmakers also overrode the governors veto last year of more than $56 million for legislative support services. The money was meant to pay for the states economists, about 200 legislative staffers and The Florida Channel, which broadcasts meetings and legislative actions for the public.

Lawmakers said they believed DeSantis was targeting one specific provision among the $56 million: funding a study on the effect of fees charged by credit card companies on sales taxes. The veto was considered a favor to credit card companies.

This veto was at best a misunderstanding of the importance of the appropriation, or at worst, an attempt to threaten the independence of our separate branch of government, Perez told lawmakers.

In calling for the veto, he said that the budget of the governors office has grown 70% since DeSantis took office.

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The moves left many lawmakers stunned.

Its obviously unprecedented, said Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, the only legislator to vote against overriding DeSantis' veto.

The king has fallen, said Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami.

Lawmakers could pass the new legislation as soon as Tuesday morning.

Their 75-page proposal would assign more than $500 million to a new Office of State Immigration Enforcement within Simpsons office. The money would pay for 149 new positions and grants to train local police to respond to federal immigration orders.

It would also eliminate a state law that offers students who are in the country illegally in-state tuition at Floridas public universities and colleges  something that has been in place since 2014 and that DeSantis has pushed to repeal in the past.

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In response to DeSantis' criticism, Perez and Albritton issued a joint statement accusing him of having not read their legislation and lobbing serious and inappropriate insults at Simpson, local police and farmers.

One of DeSantis' statements  that local police wont help federal immigration officers under their bill  was a blatant lie, they wrote. His claim that Simpson doesnt oversee any law enforcement was also completely untrue. The agriculture department has 200 sworn officers, they wrote.

They also took aim at DeSantis' claim that the departments stakeholders wouldnt want to enforce immigration laws.

This outrageous statement maligns the hard working farmers who work day and night to keep food on grocery stores shelves across Florida, Perez and Albritton wrote.

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The moves are a surprising end to a rare two-week standoff between DeSantis and legislative leaders.

DeSantis began calling for a special session to address the condominium crisis in September. But it wasnt until Trump was sworn into office earlier this month that the governor formally ordered them back to Tallahassee.

The order required lawmakers to return to the Capitol, but what they would do was ultimately up to Perez and Albritton, who quickly pushed back against the idea.

DeSantis initially proposed an aggressive agenda of immigration and condominium reforms, hurricane relief and reforms to the citizen initiative process to amend the state constitution.

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Perez and Albritton said the ideas were premature and potentially irresponsible, noting that DeSantis did not provide any actual bill language or even meaningful details.

While they supported Trumps immigration agenda, they wrote that they should wait to see what the president was going to propose.

Since then, DeSantis quietly dropped condominium reforms, while waging a campaign to shame state lawmakers, taking to X and Fox News and warning that they would face consequences for defying him.

On Monday, Perez blasted efforts to bully lawmakers, which included emails and text messages to Floridians that included some lawmakers' personal cellphone numbers, he said.

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Attacks on this body  attacks on all of you  is not acceptable," Perez said. This House will not be moved by threats.

Sen. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, said previously that DeSantis' call for a special session was a sign of a flailing guy losing relevance.

To do a special session for five days on four topics with no bill, the whole thing was always a stunt, Fine said Monday.

Special legislative sessions have typically been held to address emergencies, with a clear agenda known well in advance.

Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Palm Harbor, said hes never been so in the dark about what was to come during a special session in his 15 years in the Legislature.

This is kind of unprecedented that wed come up here without sort of knowing a solution or having a defined plan, Hooper said.
BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a Chinese New Year card in return to friends in the U.S. state of Iowa, saying that China and the United States share broad common interests and extensive space for cooperation, and can become partners and friends. 
TALLAHASSEE, Florida  Gov. Ron DeSantis suffered a stunning defeat courtesy of his own party Monday as the Legislature refused to hold a special session dealing with immigration and ballot initiatives that he forced on their chambers, instead quickly gaveling out.

But the lawmakers didnt head home. Instead, they pivoted to hold their own special session  where they instead have come up with their own measure on illegal immigration that has distinct changes from what DeSantis first recommended. The separate bill is named after President Donald Trump, who is moving ahead with a mass deportation plan that DeSantis said legislators needed to aid.

DeSantis, in a social media post, said he was glad the measure includes some of his proposals. But he also called it weaker than what he proposed and even suggested parts of it were unconstitutional. He later posted a video in which he derided their antics and theatrics and called many of the actions bizarre.

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The swirl of moves on Monday is the biggest defeat DeSantis has faced since dropping out of the Republican presidential primary a year ago. Over his time in office, DeSantis has become arguably the most powerful governor in Florida state history, bending the Legislature to his will time and time again, including on redistricting and on an overhaul of Walt Disney Worlds special tax district.

Sometimes leadership isnt about being out front on an issue, said Senate President Ben Albritton. Its actually about following the leader you trust. I trust President Trump. And I trust Florida law enforcement.

The legislative leaders didnt stop there: The House and Senate voted to override one of DeSantis budget vetoes from last year that reinstalled $57 million for legislative support services that both chambers use to pay for tech expenses, joint committees, the Office of Economic and Demographic Research and legislative auditors. It was the first time a Florida governor has been overridden since then-Gov. Charlie Crist back in 2010.

House Speaker Danny Perez, during remarks he made to his colleagues, took a swipe at DeSantis, saying he disliked holding special sessions and that they should not be stunts designated to generate headlines.

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Albritton and Perez are the new leaders of their respective chambers at a time when DeSantis has only two years left in office. They said Monday that they didnt support some of the measures the governor had called for, including imposing criminal penalties against law enforcement officers who didnt help with deportation efforts or making it more difficult to send money abroad.

President Trump clearly has the situation under control and is leading from the Oval Office, Albritton said. I want to be careful not to undermine any of President Trumps plan. I wont stand for that.

By Tuesday, legislators are expected to pass and send DeSantis a bill theyre calling the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy, or TRUMP, Act. The Senate version was introduced by state Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota), a Trump ally who has repeatedly clashed with DeSantis.

The legislation contains some of the provisions that DeSantis asked for. But the governor was already sending signals he could veto it  in which case, the Legislature could again override him. DeSantis could also create a headache for lawmakers by continuing to call special sessions leading up to the regular session that begins in March.

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The bill does include more than $500 million to help state and local authorities deal with illegal immigration and would increase penalties against undocumented immigrants who vote illegally. It would repeal a provision that allows children of undocumented immigrants whose parents brought them to the U.S. as children to get in-state tuition. Finally, it would create a role of immigration czar in the state that DeSantis asked for. But instead of falling under the governors office, it would make Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson Floridas chief immigration officer.

Simpson is a former Senate president that DeSantis previously humiliated by making him stand onstage while he vetoed $510 million from the budget whose passage he oversaw. Simpson is widely viewed as a potential candidate for governor in 2026.

DeSantis, in his social media post, questioned the legality of shifting this power to Simpson, while also suggesting that giving enforcement power to someone who represents the agricultural industry puts the fox in charge of the hen house.

State Rep. Lawrence McClure (R-Dover), the bills sponsor in the House, was asked why Simpson should have that power instead of Floridas attorney general. McClure replied by noting that Florida does not currently have an attorney general after Ashley Moody was appointed by DeSantis to the U.S. Senate. The governor has not named a replacement yet, although he has said he plans to name chief of staff James Uthmeier to that position.

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State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill), a DeSantis ally who was the only member of the Senate to vote against the budget override, said he would read the legislation but was concerned it would be a weaker version of what the governor proposed.

Ingoglia said he didnt know what was about to happen when he entered the chamber Monday morning but had heard rumors.

It was kept a secret, he said. I joked that it was such a good secret that people in both legislative leadership chambers should work for the CIA, because they can obviously keep secrets. Because we couldnt get any information.

DeSantis had been agitating for a special session since September, saying the Legislature needed to fix condo safety legislation because its price tag has led to many Floridians being priced out of their homes. Legislative leaders declined, saying the work could be done during the regular session starting on March 4.

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DeSantis then forced a special session without Perez and Albrittons buy-in, announcing his decision to have the Legislature focus not only on the condo regulations, but on hurricane relief, ballot initiatives and especially illegal immigration  getting Trumps backing and saying it was necessary to move quickly given executive orders coming out of the White House.

Perez and Albritton called the move irresponsible and premature but complied and started the session Monday. DeSantis then spent the following weeks pressuring Republicans, including on Fox News and through text messages to constituents that urged them to call legislators. Speculation ensued about Mondays special session and whether lawmakers would stand up to DeSantis or bend to his will.

It was an obvious stunt from the start, said DeSantis foe state Sen. Randy Fine (R-Melbourne), and Im glad the legislature called him on it today.
Florida lawmakers Monday overturned Gov. Ron DeSantis veto of about $57 million for the Legislatures operations, marking a rare act of defiance against a governor who has wielded commanding influence.

The veto override was a first for the Republican-controlled Legislature since DeSantis, a fellow GOP member, was first elected governor in 2018. The Legislature last overturned a governors veto in 2010, according to legislative records.

The move came Monday morning as lawmakers also bucked the governor on his immigration agenda, opting to take up their own legislative package, not the bills he backed. There was only one dissenting vote against restoring the funding in the 120-member House and the 40-member Senate.

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DeSantis vetoed the legislative funds last summer, cutting about 30% of the Legislatures operating budget, House Speaker Daniel Perez said. That move occurred despite lawmakers increasing the budget for governors office by 70% over the past six years, he said.

This veto was at best a misunderstanding of the importance of the appropriation or at worst an attempt to threaten the independence of our separate branch of government, Perez said.

The vetoed funding was used for human resources and accounting, legal services, information technology and other programs, legislative leaders said.

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Senate President Ben Albritton said the governors veto threatened the Legislatures transparency programs, including lobbyist registration, a financial disclosure database and online legislation tracking, along with economic estimating and oversight of executive branch rulemaking.

The governors office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the veto override.

Since the veto, the Legislature used cash reserves to avoid shutting down operations or laying off staff, Perez said.

Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a close DeSantis ally, cast the only dissenting vote.

As a staunch fiscal conservative I dont believe we should be overriding vetoes to make government bigger, the Spring Hill Republican said. To spend more when we should be spending less to make government more accountable sends the wrong message, he said.

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Florida Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo urged the Legislature also to consider reinstating $32 million in arts funding DeSantis vetoed.

Lawmakers did not act on that request Monday, but Perez said he wants lawmakers to review other budget vetoes for possible reinstatement.

Orlando Sentinel staff writer Jeffrey Schweers contributed to this report.
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (WFLA)  A Florida man murdered his own wife in front of their children Sunday in an argument over money and alleged infidelity, deputies said.

A probable cause affidavit from the Charlotte County Sheriffs Office said at about 7:24 p.m. Sunday, dispatchers got a 911 call from Rogelio Prestol, 46, who said he had just killed his wife.

Deadly hit-and-run suspect killed by Tampa police after killing 1, injuring 3

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The suspect told the sheriffs office that he had unloaded the gun he used to kill her and placed it on a counter inside the familys home. He also told deputies that his children were with him.

Detectives said when patrol deputies arrived, they took Prestol into custody without any problems. The victim, identified as 40-year-old Jhesandra Prestol, was found dead outside the homes front door, lying on the walkway with gunshot wounds all over her body.

Rogelio Prestol (Credit: Charlotte County Sheriffs Office)

According to the affidavit, as deputies responded to the scene, one of the children said he saw Rogelio Prestol shoot his mother, saying his ears hurt because he was really close when the shooting happened.

After Rogelio Prestol was taken to the sheriffs office, the suspect told a detective that he deserves the death penalty and that he had killed his wife before he was even asked any questions, the court document stated.

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In Detective Josiah Peros affidavit, he wrote that Rogelio Prestol said he has suspicions of his wife cheating on him about two months before the shooting. He learned that his wife was speaking with someone on the social media apps TikTok and Telegram, but when he confronted her, she told him she wanted a divorce.

On Sunday, Jan. 26, Prestol confronted his wife again, saying he had concerns that she was sending money to this online person.

According to Pero, the confrontation escalated when the victim refused to show the suspect her bank account. In response, Rogelio Prestol got his 9mm pistol to threaten her into complying, the affidavit said.

The detective wrote that when the couples son saw the gun, he began pleading with his mother to comply, but she then tried to climb out the office window to escape.

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Rogelio began shooting at the victim, from within the Office, Pero wrote. Rogelio then moved to the front porch, where he continued to shoot the victim until he ran out of ammunition.

The suspect never tried to render first aid to his wife because he knew she was dead, according to the detective.

The affidavit said after Rogelio Prestol killed his wife, he called his brother to tell him what happened and that he intended to kill himself, so he needed his brother to pick up the children. However, the suspects brother managed to talk him down and told him to call 911.

The suspects brother later picked up the chldren from the sheriffs office and spoke with deputies, confirming the details of Prestols phone call.

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Rogelio Prestol was charged with second-degree murder in his wifes death. Due to the nature of the crime, prosecutors moved for the defendant to be detained without bond until his trial.

There are no words to express how terrible this is or the impact it will have on so many lives, Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said. The act itself is despicable, and only made worse by the fact that there were children in the home at the time. My heart breaks for them and for everyone who knew Jhesandra. Domestic violence of any kind is disgusting, and I pray that anyone who is experiencing it sees this and realizes that this is a possible outcome. To those people, please know that you are not alone and help is available. Dont wait until this happens to you.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  Influenza cases in Monroe County are up 51% according to the New York State Flu Tracker.

Monroe County saw 1,060 cases for the week ending January 18 with 84 hospitalizations. Statewide, cases were up 46% with 48,291 cases reported.

This season is peaking later than the past two years, and its combining with RSV and COVID to cause capacity issues in our local hospital systems.

Comparison of flu cases per week in NYS the past three seasons  NYS Health Connector

During a January 17 news conference, Monroe Countys health commissioner and local hospital leaders urged people to still get their flu, COVID and RSV shots (if eligible). They recommended, if ill, visiting your primary care physicians office or an urgent care before heading to the hospital emergency department, to help with the capacity issues.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Reading civil rights pioneer the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s thoughts on education from six decades ago feels all too current.

For instance, King spoke of the education system being a battleground where the forces of freedom must confront the evil of oppression.

It was not fortuitous that education became embroiled in this (civil rights) conflict, King said in 1964, four years before his assassination. Education is one of the vital tools the Negro needs in order to advance. And yet it has been denied him by devises of segregation and manipulations with quality.

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Today, in many conservative-leaning states, the battles are over the banning of books, the teaching of history, the inclusion of transgender and LGBTQ+ narratives and concerns about so-called critical race theory that looks at the systemic forces that are at play in the subjugation of minorities. But in King's time, the concerns were more fundamental, revolving around segregation, equal opportunity and huge disparities in funding between Black and white schools.

The richest nation on Earth has never allocated enough resources to build sufficient schools, to compensate adequately its teachers, and to surround them with the prestige our work justifies, King said in a March 14, 1964, speech four years before his death when he accepted the John Dewey Award from the United Federation of Teachers.

Shakita Kpetay, an assistant professor at Connecticut College who teaches education and Africana classes, said King was aware of the constant vigilance required to ensure that people from different areas and backgrounds get a similar quality of education. King saw it first hand, she said, when he spent time in Chicago, and he was surprised at the segregation that was still ongoing in the North in the 1960s.

This disparity most recently reared its head during the pandemic, Kpetay said, when many students transitioned quickly to online education while other, mostly minority students without internet services, were sidelined.

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Still, some students are getting better quality education and access to quality resources while other students are not," Kpetay said in an interview at her office on campus. "We're still not there yet in terms of of addressing some of the challenges we see our schools face, in particular public schools, with the privatization that has taken place within the education system."

King knew that education was the key to success in America, and that many Blacks had been denied access to any sort of education during slavery and that one technique used to keep them oppressed was by denying equal access to education. Perhaps the most flagrant example of this was Alabama Gov. George Wallace literally blocking the door to keep Black college students from attending the University of Alabama while it was under a federal desegregation order in June 1963.

But King also expressed the idea that education can help lift people up only if it is combined with teaching that helps develop good moral character. He expressed his point of view in an essay titled "The Purpose of Education," which appeared in a Morehouse College publication in 1947.

Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction, King wrote. The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.

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King specifically mentioned the former governor of Georgia, Eugene Talmadge, whom he acknowledged as a brilliant man who nonetheless supported the notion of Black inferiority.

"Are those the types of men we call educated? King asked. "Intelligence is not enough. ... Intelligence plus character  that is the goal of true education.

Kpetay, the Conn College professor, said the concept of compassion is also a key to King's vision.

"He talked about ... that we need a world that is more compassionate," Kpetay said. "We can't ignore things that are going on in other places in the world. ... It's actually a hard thing to do, to recognize that, you know, your problems are not just your problems."

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The purpose of education, for King, was twofold, helping people become more aware of the culture around them as well as boosting their ability to produce "quick, resolute and effective thinking."

"To think incisively and to think for ones self is very difficult," he wrote in the 1947 essay. "We are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of half truths, prejudices, and propaganda. At this point, I often wonder whether or not education is fulfilling its purpose. A great majority of the so-called educated people do not think logically and scientifically. Even the press, the classroom, the platform, and the pulpit in many instances do not give us objective and unbiased truths. To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction."

King's tireless campaigning for equal rights culminated in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, banning discrimination in public schools and other public places such as accommodations and restaurants. It was a big step, but it didn't ensure that individual school systems, colleges and businesses wouldn't try to circumvent the law.

In addition to fighting segregation and trying to equalize educational opportunity, King was an early advocate of teaching Black history and Black literature, knowing that only if people understand their own culture and background can they appreciate how their experience has been molded by forces beyond their control. King often hearkened back to 1619, the date when the first enslaved Black people were brought to Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, as the beginning of Black history in America.

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King and his disciples pushed schools to spend more time highlighting the accomplishments of Black artists, inventors and historical figures, eventually launching a wave of new research and courses in colleges and public high schools. In fact, in 2022 Connecticut became the first state in the nation to require all high schools to offer courses on African-American, Black, Puerto Rican, and Latino studies. Since Gov. Ned Lamont signed the bill into law requiring the teaching of Black history, three other states  Maine, Rhode Island and Delaware  have followed suit.

King also believed in affirmative action, which called for colleges and businesses to be proactive in seeking minority candidates when they were looking to fill jobs or student populations. The idea is that these candidates would be given preference if their qualifications were about equal with other non-minority candidates, with the understanding that this was a way to right historical wrongs that for generations had allowed discrimination to keep minority candidates from being hired, even if they were equally or more qualified.

According to a law-review paper written in 2018 by David B. Oppenheimer titled "Dr. King's Dream of Affirmative Action," King is often quoted as dreaming of a time when race would be irrelevant in society, but he still was a supporter of affirmative action based on race and on financial deprivation, spending the last six years of his life promoting racial quotas in employment as well as racial preferences for college admissions.

"In advocating for special benefits for poor Americans he sometimes used color-blind language and pointed out that it would benefit poor whites as well as poor Blacks, while at other times he justified it as an example of the kind of reparations to which Black Americans were entitled under the equitable remedy of restitution for unpaid wages," Oppenheimer added.

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In a Playboy interview with Alex Haley, who would go on to write the popular novel "Roots," King was explicit about his view on affirmative action and reparations.

"Can any fair-minded citizen deny that the Negro has been deprived?" King said. "Few people reflect that for two centuries the Negro was enslaved, and robbed of any wages - potential accrued wealth which would have been the legacy of his descendants. All of America's wealth today could not adequately compensate its Negroes for his centuries of exploitation and humiliation."

Today, there is a major backlash against the idea of affirmative action or what is now popularly categorized with the more expansive label DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion. President Donald Trump just last week decided to suspend all DEI positions in the federal government, calling them illegal and immoral while promising that all jobs now will be awarded in a color-blind manner, on merit.

Professor Kpetay acknowledged the backlash against DEI saying, "The things that we are facing right now were unfortunately some of the things he was trying to warn us against."

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King's speeches are replete with messages about the difficulty of the struggle for Black people to gain a foothold in society and the likelihood that there would be times of progress and periods of regression and repression. But he also talked about not getting discouraged and keeping the fight for equal rights and opportunities going forward, no matter what.

Dont allow anybody to make you feel that youre nobody, King told students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on Oct. 26, 1967. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.

Kpetay said King believed a person's value goes beyond mere community service.

"No matter who you are and where you are, you can serve, you can do something," she said. "As long as we have life, we have the ability to move forward and change some things. And we have the ability to work together, but it's a choice. We have the ability, but what do we want to choose from there?"

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King pushed for colleges to offer more scholarships and financial aid to Black students, while also trying to ensure that more minorities had a chance at job training and vocational education.

King's emphasis on the importance of education led to a rising tide of Black students enrolling in higher education, including historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that were dedicated to instilling a love for learning and the development of leadership skills while fostering a sense of cultural identity. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to Black students during a recent 10-year period rose by 75% while associate-degree numbers for Black students increased by 110%. In addition, the number of Black students in master's degree programs nearly doubled in the period between 1996 and 2016, while Black women were enrolling in college at a higher rate than any other demographic, including white men and women.

As King once said, "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.

l.howard@theday.com
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday accused centre-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz of jeopardizing European cohesion with his proposals for Germany to go it alone on migration policy.

Merz, the top candidate for the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) in the upcoming German election, has begun calling for bringing back permanent controls along Germany's land borders and turning away asylum-seeking migrants who try to cross from other EU countries.

If countries start breaking EU law, then the common European project will be destroyed, Baerbock said on the fringes of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

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A number of experts in migration law have said such a procedure would likely violate the rules governing the visa-free Schengen area, which includes Germany and all of its immediate neighbours.

Baerbock also accused Merz and his CDU/CSU bloc of refusing to co-operate in parliament on the necessary adaptation of German law to fit new common EU asylum rules.

Sealing off national borders is not only a violation of EU law and anti-European, but would also be impossible to implement in reality, she said.

"We don't even have that many police officers," said Baerbock, who apologized to other EU countries for the uncertainty caused by the German domestic political debate.
Another southern Minnesota brewery is closing its doors.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Foremost Brewing Cooperative in Owatonna announced its final day will be Friday, Feb. 28.

"This decision comes after careful consideration of our financial situation and several months of challenging business conditions," the post reads. "While we are immensely proud of what we've built together  the friendships formed, the memories made, and the unique brews Terrence has created  we must face the reality that continuing operations is no longer sustainable."

Courtesy of Foremost Brewing Cooperative | Facebook.

The brewpub will still host its annual BobFest on Feb. 22 and plans to remain open as supplies allows for one final week afterwards.

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Anyone interested in buying the business is encouraged to inquire, according to the closing announcement. The property itself is listed by Colliers.

Other southern Minnesota breweries to close recently include Chaotic Good Brewing in Kasson and Mankato Brewery.

Related: Mankato Brewery closing its doors after 12 years
Former Belgium midfielder Radja Nainggolan has been arrested as part of an investigation into cocaine smuggling from South America to Europe via the port of Antwerp.

The Brussels prosecutors office said on Monday that thirty searches were carried out in the Antwerp province as well as in and around Brussels, and that Nainggolan was among those taken into custody.

No further information was given as the investigation and questioning are ongoing.

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The probe relates to the smuggling of cocaine from South America to Antwerp and its redistribution in Belgium, the authorities said.

Nainggolan, 36, won 30 Belgium caps. He spent most of his club career in Italy at clubs including Roma and Inter Milan.

He is now at Belgian second division side Lokeren-Temse, who said on Monday they learnt of the investigation via news reports.

"We can only confirm that the player didn't take part in training this morning," Lokeren-Temse said. "The club respects the presumption of innocence and so cannot comment further."
President of Xinhua News Agency Fu Hua meets with Thai Ambassador to China Chatchai Viriyavejakul in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 27, 2025. The two sides exchanged views on enhancing communication and cooperation between China and Thailand in the field of news reporting. They noted that since the establishment of diplomatic ties 50 years ago, China-Thailand relations have maintained healthy and stable development, and both countries should take media cooperation as a link to further promote friendly exchanges and mutual trust between the two peoples. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- President of Xinhua News Agency Fu Hua met with Thai Ambassador to China Chatchai Viriyavejakul in Beijing on Monday.

The two sides exchanged views on enhancing communication and cooperation between China and Thailand in the field of news reporting.

They noted that since the establishment of diplomatic ties 50 years ago, China-Thailand relations have maintained healthy and stable development, and both countries should take media cooperation as a link to further promote friendly exchanges and mutual trust between the two peoples. 
Disgraced rap mogul Sean Diddy Combs created a degrading and predatory work environment for the members of his hit girl group Danity Kane, according to former member D. Woods.

The Bad Boy for Life star was always critiquing and criticizing his five band members appearances, said Woods, who starred on Combs TV series Making the Band 3 and joined his group from 2005 and 2008.

He viewed his artists as pieces of meat, and only valued them for their sex appeal, she told Good Morning America in a new interview that aired Monday.

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In some of the environments, it was even scary to be by yourself, Woods said.

Combs was arrested in September on suspicion of sex trafficking and racketeering for allegedly forcing women to participate in days-long sex parties he dubbed freak-offs.

More than 150 alleged victimsmany of them men and boyshave since accused Combs of sexual assault, leading to more than 30 civil suits, according to The New York Times. Combs and his lawyers have denied all of the allegations.

The lawsuits have already led to multiple documentaries, including the upcoming Investigation Discovery docuseries The Fall of Diddy, which Woods participated in.

Former Danity Kane star spoke to GMA about her experience working for disgraced rap mogul Sean

During the docuseries, Woods recalled seeing inappropriate communications from Combs to bandmate Aubrey ODay, whom Combs fired along with Woods at the end of Making the Band 4. The group disbanded in 2009, but several of the original members got back together for a few years.

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Asked by GMAs Eva Pilgrim if there was anybody they could have talked to about it, Woods replied, Absolutely not. The members of the group could only talk amongst themselves.

There was no one to tell? Pilgrim repeated while Woods shook her head.

What were they going to do? she said. Its like, How do we survive this?

Combs has denied the claims in the documentary, calling them pure fiction.

The producers failed to provide sufficient time or details for his representatives to address unsubstantiated claims, his lawyers told GMA in a statement. [Combs] has full confidence in the facts and the judicial process, where truth will prevail.

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Asked why she chose to come forward now, Woods said its because she finally thinks her experience will really be heard and actually considered and believed.

She said shes worried there will be reprisals against her if Combs is acquitted of the charges hes facing. But every time she thinks she should stay quiet, she reminds herself that not talking hasnt changed anything, she said.

Combs criminal trial is set to begin May 5, 2025. Until then, hes being held in the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after the judge in the case ruled he was a flight risk and liable to threaten potential witnesses with violence.
The former owner of a central Ohio daycare was sentenced to over 40 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to endangering children charges.

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Rhonda Coomes, 53, appeared in Delaware County Court of Common Pleas where she was sentenced to 42 years in prison, according to our news partners at WBNS.

Coomes was indicted in April 2024 on 14 counts of child endangerment and three counts of kidnapping. While she previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, she changed her plea and pleaded guilty to the 14 counts of endangering children in December, according to court documents.

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The kidnapping charges were connected to a specific incident where Coomes reportedly restrained children in a high chair and assaulted them. Those charges have since been dropped, according to WBNS.

Prosecutors said the 14 child endangerment charges were connected to incidents involving 14 different children.

As previously reported, Coomes reportedly hit a 10-month-old child multiple times in the face and nose area with the palm of her hand. She was also accused of hitting the child with a hard plastic diaper wipe container.

The 10-month-old was also allegedly tossed into a pack-and-play and landed on her back. WBNS reported that she had a black eye at the end of the day.

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Investigators obtained nearly two months of videos recorded on her in-home camera system that showed Coomes cruelly abusing children in her home, WBNS reported.

In court, parents of the impacted children said the kids suffered physical and mental injuries while under Coomes care.

She apologized in court, saying she was truly sorry.

I never meant to do any of this, Coomes said.

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When Alex Ballantyne was 18, he found himself kicked out of his latest foster family's home and unsure where to go next.

The next few years would bring a heightened sense of insecurity and displacement as he stumbled through a string of short-term stays  sometimes crashing with friends, other times landing apartments or rooms for foster youths aging out of the state's social safety net.

But in the summer of 2022, when Ballantyne was 22, everything changed when he reconnected with his biological aunt and uncle, who opened up their Altadena home to him.

Remnants of books that belonged to Alex Ballantyne's grandmother lay among the ruins of his extended family's home. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

This was the first time it felt like I was at a place where I was wanted and welcomed, said the former foster youth, now 25. He grew up primarily with his grandmother, but Ballantyne said her longtime partner was abusive, so he ended up in foster care at age 12. Although most of the foster families he lived with were kind, he said part of him always felt like a guest, walking on eggshells or needing to prove his worth.

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But with his aunt and uncle in Altadena, Ballantyne  for the first time in his life  said he truly felt at home.

That long-awaited sense of belonging, however, has been upended once again. This month, the fast-moving Eaton fire destroyed his family's Altadena house along with more than 9,000 other structures.

"This isn't the first time I've had nothing," Ballantyne said this week as he surveyed what remained of the house. "When I was 18, I was homeless, walking around with a Lowe's box filled with my stuff. Compared to that, this has felt much easier, really. ... This feels like a softer landing, because at least now I have family."

Read more: These L.A. foster kids defied the odds when they aged out: 'This isnt the end of my story'

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Though he lost almost all his clothes, possessions and mementos, he is simply glad that his family made it out safe. He and his aunt and uncle are now staying with extended family in Santa Clarita, along with another aunt who also lost her home in the fire. It's a full house, but he can't complain, he said.

Though Alex Ballantyne lost almost all his clothes, possessions and mementos, he is thankful that his family escaped the Eaton fire alive. He and his aunt and uncle are now staying with extended family in Santa Clarita. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Im just thankful everybodys alive," Ballantyne said.

The night the fire ignited in Eaton Canyon about three miles from their west Altadena home, Ballantyne kept tabs on the flames, checking evacuation maps, following local news and looking outside. Initially, he wasn't worried.

But within a few hours, things quickly started to change.

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Around 9 o'clock, I could start to see the flames now," Ballantyne said. He knew dangerous winds were expected in their area  their electricity had already been cut off  and he wanted to be extra cautious because both his aunt and uncle have mobility issues. Even though their neighborhood, at this point, hadn't been warned or ordered to evacuate, he still suggested to his aunt and uncle that they leave, but his uncle was worried about looters.

He "was adamant about not leaving unless we had to, Ballantyne recalled.

So Ballantyne offered to stay up and monitor the county's Genasys app, which maps emergency alerts, to make sure they could leave when they were ordered to do so. He readied their pets and prepared to stay up all night.

But for hours, no warnings or evacuation orders came. Around 2:30 a.m., he got up and checked out the front door, greeted by smoke and a wave of panic.

Drone images of western Altadena, where residents got an evacuation order hours after the Eaton fire exploded. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

No longer did you have to look all the way east to see the fire, it was creeping up closer, Ballantyne said. Im scrolling and scrolling, trying to see if we have an evacuation."

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Read more: Western Altadena got evacuation order many hours after Eaton fire exploded. 17 people died there

But no alert came, and none would for another hour for his area of western Altadena. The delay has become a major point of concern for area officials.

"It got to a point where the fire looks so close that you couldn't tell there was a fire, because all the smoke was blocking everything out," he said. He said his room started filling with smoke, then the whole house. He looked frantically for an update on evacuations so he could convince his uncle they needed to leave, but as of 3:20 a.m., there was still no alert.

Finally, a few minutes later, their neighborhood was ordered to evacuate  hours after neighbors in eastern Altadena got evacuation warnings  so Ballantyne sprang into action: waking his aunt up and helping her into her wheelchair, getting the pets into the car and telling his uncle they were heading out.

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Despite the order, his uncle hesitated because he didn't see police officers or firefighters ordering people to leave. So Ballantyne made the difficult decision to leave him behind, knowing he couldn't hesitate for the sake of his aunt and himself.

My eyes are burning at this point," he said. There was smoke in my eyes, smoke in my nose, it was everywhere."

He and his aunt escaped to a Pasadena parking lot, and luckily, a few hours later, his uncle joined them. His car was covered in ash and the paint had melted off. His white hair and clothes were singed. He told them he narrowly escaped as flames swallowed their home, awoken by a neighbor who called his phone because they saw the house on fire.

Alex Ballantyne walks through his extended family's home, which burned down in the Eaton fire. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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It was very close for him," Ballantyne said. "Had he missed that phone call, had the phone call came any later, he probably wouldnt be here.

This week, Ballantyne walked around what remained of the first house that felt truly like his home, pointing to where his room had been, spotting charred pages where he used to have a bookshelf filled with special reads from his grandmother. He noticed remains of his desk, a twisted bed frame.

A massive scorched branch sat atop much of the ashen rubble, crushing a mangled and melted computer monitor.

Read more: Altadena reopens to reveal devastated homes  but a community still standing

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"I was thinking maybe I could find some of my parts for my computer," he said, shaking his head. The chimney is the only part of the house still standing tall.

Along the roadway, Ballantyne pointed out two peach trees, now completely singed. In the backyard, tools in his uncle's garage are barely recognizable. Metal posts are all that remain of the yard's fence.

Besides family photos and keepsakes that were lost, Ballantyne continued to remind himself that material items can be replaced with time.

"I think my ability to adapt came from being in foster care so long," said Ballantyne, who has moved more times in the last two decades than most people do in a lifetime. Good or bad, he said the experience has helped him "adapt or make decisions or not break down in a tough situation."

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He said he can't let this setback derail his plans to graduate from college, an accomplishment that would put him in the minority of former foster youths.

"I had that moment to grieve and to be sad, but at some point you have to accept it and then just move on," Ballantyne said. "It's like, 'OK, what do I do now? What's the next step?'"

He's already purchased new clothes with his savings, but now he's trying to figure out if he'll need to rent a room for his last semester at Pasadena City College. Commuting from Santa Clarita every day during rush hour doesn't seem feasible, he said. A friend set up a GoFundMe to help him get back on his feet and prepare for another possible move as he plans to transfer to a four-year university in the fall to study business.

A lot about his family's home remains up in the air  his aunt said she's sorting through some insurance issues and they need several accommodations to make any interim housing accessible  but no matter what, they plan to always have space for their nephew in their home, if he wants it, said Alice Grevillius, Ballantyne's aunt.

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Living together worked out for all of them, she said. Ballantyne helps pitch in around the house and care for them when needed, and they've provided him support and encouragement  and a stable home. Grevillius said she didn't realize how tough it had gotten for him after high school, but she is glad he ended up back in school and is continuing to advocate for foster youths through several local nonprofits.

"I think he's really chosen a direction that will work for him," said Grevillius, 63. "I'm really proud of him in the way he's grown, and I'd like to think that we've helped facilitate that, maybe given him some guidance and insight. ... Al is very bright and very talented, and I'd just like to see him succeed in life."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Former state Senate Republican leader Dan McConchie is resigning his north suburban seat to start a nonprofit organization promoting accessibility policy, he said Monday.

Illinois law requires General Assembly vacancies to be filled within 30 days by someone of the same party, so McConchies resignation will not affect the makeup of the Senate, where Democrats hold a supermajority. His replacement, to be chosen by Republican leaders in his district, will serve the remainder of McConchies term, which ends in January 2027.

McConchie, of Hawthorn Woods, won re-election to his newly remapped seat in 2022 by fewer than 400 votes over Democrat Maria Peterson. He has held office for almost nine years.

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While I always possessed a desire to serve my country and my community, I never aspired to be an elected official, and certainly not a politician, McConchie said in a statement Monday. It was my friends and neighbors who asked me to step up and run for office.

McConchies new organization, the Accessibility Policy Institute, will advocate for improving accessibility for disabled people at every level  local, state, and federal, according to a news release.

It will specifically deal with accessibility policy in employment, transportation and housing, the release said.

McConchie survived a hit-and-run accident in 2007 and uses a wheelchair.

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As a senator, he supported small government and worked on bipartisan legislation including reforms to school funding. He was replaced as the chambers GOP leader in 2022 by Sen. John Curran of Downers Grove.

My desire to create positive impact in the lives of others has not gone away, its just expanded to the most vulnerable no matter where they live across the country, McConchie said in his statement Monday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL)  Tennessees Supreme Court has permanently disbarred former Johnson County Judge Perry Stout, who pled guilty to two drug-related felonies last year, a year after Stouts signing of a plea agreement.

The disbarment is permanent, unlike standard disbarments that allow a person to apply for reinstatement after five years.

Lawmakers prepare for special legislative session

It is likely the final formal action by the Supreme Court against Stout, 53, who engaged in a conspiracy to sell marijuana starting in 2022, prior to his election as Johnson County General Sessions Judge. Stouts guilty pleas were to conspiracy to possess with intent to sell between 10 and 70 pounds of marijuana, and money laundering.

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A Supreme Court hearing panel ruled that Stout knowingly violated four separate sections of the misconduct clause found within the rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court. He was ordered to pay the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibilitys costs incurred during the proceedings related to his disbarment. He had been licensed in Tennessee since 2004.

Stout began serving a prison sentence at the Morgan County Jail last June. Current records show his status as on probation.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
BLAIR, Okla. (KFOR)  According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, a former high school teacher has been arrested on rape charges.

Brittany Lee Gray. Image courtesy OSBI.

The OSBI says the Blair Police Department requested the bureaus help with a possible misconduct investigation between a student and a teacher.

LOCAL NEWS: City of Oklahoma City warns of utility scam

Special agents were able to get a search warrant for the home of 30-year-old Brittany Lee Gray, who is a former counselor and teacher at Blair High School.

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Officials say based of the evidence found, the OSBI determined that Gray had engaged in inappropriate communication and physical contact with a student on multiple occasions.

On January 24, 2025, Gray was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on charges of Rape and Destroying Evidence.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 group of Democratic strategists who worked for some of the biggest unorthodox names in liberal politics is launching a new firm.

The consultants who helped guide Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign and the winning Senate bids for John Fetterman and Ruben Gallego are branding their new company Fight Agency.

They said theyre aiming to elect more nontraditional candidates with a populist, anti-establishment streak. Theyre even open to fielding left-leaning independents who eschew the Democratic Party label altogether.

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The kickoff of the company is the latest sign that Democrats are rethinking their approach to elections after President Donald Trump won for a second time with working-class voters of all stripes, once the bedrock of their partys base. POLITICO is first to report on their announcement.

The partners of Fight Agency, which will be based in Philadelphia, include Rebecca Katz, the lead strategist for Fetterman and Gallegos campaigns; Julian Mulvey, a key member of Sanders 2016 brain trust; and Tommy McDonald, an admaker for Fetterman and groups backing progressive House insurgents, like former Rep. Cori Bush, who successfully challenged incumbents.

Their launch is taking place as another major Democratic firm  Devine Mulvey Longabaugh, where Mulvey has been a partner for many years  closes its doors. Those consultants created Sanders iconic America ad and helped run his 2016 campaign.

The strategists behind Fight Agency declined to share the names of any potential new clients, but said they expect to work in the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential campaign.

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They have at points worked to elect more traditional candidates, including former President Joe Biden. But many of their past clients are known for their offbeat styles, willingness to speak off the cuff, and a propensity to ruffle the feathers of their own party leaders  an approach to politics the consultants plan to employ at their new venture.

It's okay to have a candidate that has some rough edges, Katz said. The era of the perfect candidate is over. We don't need perfect hair and a perfect starch shirt with sleeves that you roll up to look hard-working.

McDonald, who made ads for Dan Osborn, a left-leaning independent Senate candidate in Nebraska who lost but outperformed the top of the ticket in 2024, said outsiders, working-class candidates, even a few independents  this is kind of what people want, and there should be a team that can help them.

As Democrats grapple with how to win back blue-collar voters, Mulvey said Sanders, Fetterman and Gallego provide clues for their party. He said they all have the ability to connect with working-class and independent voters and represent anti-establishment, economic messaging, populist messaging.

Republicans, he said, got to an anti-establishment, anti-elite messaging before Democrats have, and our side is struggling with that, and thats part of what this firm is.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo speaks onstage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 19, 2024. in Chicago. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and governor of Rhode Island Gina Raimondo has joined the Council on Foreign Relations as a distinguished fellow based at its Washington, D.C. office, the council announced Monday.

Raimondo will serve as co-chair of a new task force on economic security in addition to working on economic policy, U.S. competitiveness and artificial intelligence, according to the nonpartisan, independent think tank with a mission of informing U.S. engagement in world affairs.

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I am delighted to welcome Gina to the Council, said its president, Michael Froman. Having such an accomplished public servant helping drive our work on a wide range of economic security issues will significantly bolster CFRs mission of informing U.S. engagement with the world and help drive key initiatives in this pivotal moment.

Raimondo held a high-profile post in President Joe Bidens cabinet, spearheading billions in investments to develop and strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry to compete with China, along with deploying high-speed internet service in communities across the country.

The Commerce Department, under my leadership here, we will have invested $90 billion into infrastructure, internet, manufacturing and chips, Raimondo said in a Jan. 14 radio interview with Kai Ryssdal, host of with Marketplace. I could never have imagined the scale of it. That being said, when the president hired me for this job, he asked me to take the job to help rebuild American manufacturing. And so certainly thats why I did it. And I am a strong believer  you know, when I hear President Trump say were just going to tariff our way to a revitalization of American manufacturing, I dont believe that. You know you need to make investments, and thats what Im proud of, that weve done.

Raimondo left the governors office in 2021, midway through her second term to join the presidential cabinet, elevating then Lt. Gov. Dan McKee to fill the remainder of her term. Her name came up last summer among a shortlist of candidates under consideration to be former Vice President Kamala Harris running mate in her Democratic presidential campaign.

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Former state senator Sandra Cano lost her job with the U.S. Small Business Administration on Jan. 20 when President Donald Trump took office. (Courtesy Sandra Cano's 2023 campaign for U.S. Congress)

Former state senator Sandra Cano insists she has no regrets about her decision to leave political office to serve as New England regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration, despite her brief tenure in the presidentially appointed role.

Canos last day with the SBA was Jan. 20  the same day President Donald Trump took office, she confirmed in an interview on Monday. She had started the federal position on Nov. 4, a day before the presidential election.

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Her last day was exactly two months after the SBA confirmed the rumors that Cano had been tapped to lead its small business programming for New England. While she suspected Trumps victory would put her out of a job, she didnt get her official notice until two weeks before he was sworn into office, she said.

I am definitely honored to have served, Cano said in an interview. It was important for me to play a vital part in advancing programs that promote small business and entrepreneurship.

She gave up her jobs as commerce director for the city of Pawtucket and resigned as a state senator representing Pawtuckets Senate District 8 to take the federal position.

When the president of the United States calls you to serve the country, for me, that is a great honor and opportunity to serve, Cano said.

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Cano started the extensive federal screening process in February 2024  nine months before she was appointed, she said. She resigned from state office in September, simultaneously suspending her reelection campaign just two days after winning her Sept. 10 primary race, in which she was unopposed. Her resignation prompted a frenzy to pick a replacement nominee for the general election, marred by criticism over the lack of public input in the selection process.

The Rhode Island Democratic State Committees replacement nominee, Lori Urso, won the Nov. 5 general election against independent Cathyann Palocsik by a 30-percentage-point margin.

Cano, a Colombian immigrant who came to the United States as a teenager under political asylum, was the first Latina to serve as New England regional administrator for the SBA. Despite the whirlwind of executive orders from the Trump administration seeking to end protections for immigrants and taking aim at diversity initiatives across the federal government, Cano said she was confident in the SBAs leaders and programming, including for minority-owned businesses.

Robert Nelson, who served as the Massachusetts state director for the SBA since 2007, is now the acting New England regional administrator for the agency, according to its website. An SBA spokesperson did not immediately return inquiries for comment Monday regarding the timing of a permanent appointment for the role.

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Canos next career move remains uncertain. She didnt rule out a future run for public office, but for now, she said she is looking forward to spending time with her two young children.

Cano began her political career in 2012 on the Pawtucket School Committee, advancing to a seat on the Pawtucket City Council in 2014. She first won state office in a special election in 2018, and was the first Latina chair of the Senate Committee on Education.

She also ran, and placed third, in the special Democratic primary for the open 1st Congressional District seat in 2023. Her partner is Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa.

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Some European Union sanctions against Syria are being lifted, France's foreign minister said on Monday, as part of a broader EU move to help stabilise Damascus after the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in December.

EU foreign ministers were discussing the matter at a meeting in Brussels on Monday with the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas having told Reuters that she was hopeful an agreement on easing the sanctions could be reached.

"Regarding Syria, we are going to decide today to lift, to suspend, certain sanctions that had applied to the energy and transport sectors and to financial institutions that were key to the financial stabilisation of the country," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on arrival at the EU meeting in Brussels.

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He added that France would also propose slapping sanctions on Iranian officials responsible for the detention of French citizens in Iran.

"I will announce today that we will propose that those responsible for these arbitrary detentions may be sanctioned by the European Union in the coming months," he said.

Assad, whose family had ruled Syria with an iron first for 54 years, was toppled by Islamist rebels on Dec. 8, bringing an abrupt end to a devastating 13-year civil war that had created one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times.

The conflict left large parts of many major cities in ruins, services decrepit and the vast majority of the population living in poverty. The harsh Western sanctions regime has effectively cuts off its formal economy from the rest of the world.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Mark Heinrich)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday ordered the suspension of visa issuance on Colombian government officials and their family members, following Colombia's refusal to allow in deportation flights carrying immigrants.

"Secretary Rubio is now authorizing travel sanctions on individuals and their families, who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations," the State Department said in a press release.

The measures will continue until Colombia meets its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens, the press release said.

The United States will impose 25 percent tariffs, which will increase to 50 percent in one week, on all goods coming into the United States from Colombia, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social earlier Sunday.

Trump also announced enhanced customs inspections on travelers and cargo from Colombia on national security grounds.

In response, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on social media that "your blockade doesn't scare me," and that Colombia would respond by raising tariff on U.S. goods. 
The News

A Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building in Oklahoma was sold after months of legal disputes.

The 1956-built tower block is the only skyscraper ever designed by the great US architect, and is a priceless artifact of paramount importance, according to a local judge.

The building will be sold for $1.4 million  roughly the cost of a three-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn  after a court ruled that its owners had been illegally selling off its furnishings to pay off debts.

Price Tower has been empty for months after those same owners ignored a ruling ordering them to turn the utilities back on. The tower was originally intended to be built in New York: Wright nicknamed it the tree that escaped the crowded forest.
VESTAL, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH)  The Vestal Rotary Club is honoring one of its members with a special viewing of a short film that showcases his life story.

The Rotary Club is hosting a free showing of A Walk with Richard on January 31 at the Endicott Performing Arts Center, located at 102 Washington Avenue in Endicott.

A Walk with Richard follows founder of Kampai Japanese Steakhouse Richard Matsushima as he discusses his journey from Japan to Vestal nearly 50 years ago as well as his success and personal mantras.

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Founder of Kampai honored with documentary

Matsushima has been a member of the Vestal Rotary Club for over 30 years.

The watch party will take place at 6:30 p.m. It is free to attend, and concessions will be available for purchase.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WIVT - News 34.
The latest release of four Israeli soldiers taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, the second handover as part of a negotiated ceasefire agreement, was covered widely by international media Saturday. In an odd press ceremony, Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy were given over to the Red Cross following 477 days in captivity, and in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners. Its a scene thats become familiar in recent weeks.

Marking her moment of freedom, Albag was photographed from a helicopter making a heart symbol with her hands and wearing a smiley-face shirt by Drew House, Justin Biebers clothing line that launched in 2019. Drew house co-founder Ryan Good posted images of 20-year-old Albags reunification on Instagram, where she could be seen wearing the blue sweatshirt branded with the classic smiley-face logo.

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Reached by the Hollywood Reporter, Good delighted in Albags release, and that his work as creative director for the brand could play a small, if symbolic, role. From the beginning, when I first scribbled the logo, the face, in my notebook, we always envisioned Drew House to be a global symbol of love and joy, says Good. Those photos of Liri are a genuine representation of that. Those girls, hostages, have been through hell. To see her free and in the arms of her family, after all shes been through, experiencing pure love and joy, is poetically beautiful.

The swap was the second release that is part of a ceasefire deal that began earlier this month, and ushered in an initial six-week period of calm, raising hope for the end of the 15-month war. Three other hostages  Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher  were returned last weekend, when Israel returned 90 Palestinian prisoners.

Gal Gadot, Mayim Bialik and Gwyneth Paltrow were among those in Hollywood to react to the first hostage releases last Sunday.

Doron, Romi and Emily are home, Gadot wrote on social media. Three families reunited. Still holding onto hope for the 94 hostages who remain.

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Bialik also joined in the celebration, adding on Instagram, We wont give up until they are all home.

Paltrow shared news of the hostages return and wrote on social media, Let the healing begin.

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RENNES, France (AP)  Residents in western France used boats to escape their flooded homes on Monday as rivers and waterways broke their banks after successive storms battered Normandy and Brittany.

The national weather service had issued flood and wind warnings as Storm Herminia hit Spain, France on parts of the UK.

Normandy and Brittany were already waterlogged after the passage of last week's Storm Eowyn  which left two people dead from fallen trees and more than 1 million people without electricity in Ireland and Britain.

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Storm Herminia caused road closures in some areas of France. About 400 people were evacuated from homes in and around the city of Rennes, at the heart of the hardest-hit region. The mayor called it the city's worst flooding in more than 40 years, and said in a statement that the waters weren't expected to start receding until Wednesday.

A 73-year-old British sailor was reported missing off the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux over the weekend, according to the regional maritime authority.

France's weather service issued further flood and wind warnings for Tuesday for all regions on the western coast, from Brittany down to the Spanish border.
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW)  Seventh District Congressman Russell Fry has secured $28 million for the construction of ocean outfalls and stormwater mitigation projects in North Myrtle Beach and the surrounding area, his office said.

The $28 million comes from the US Army Corps and was authorized through the American Relief Act 2025, which was signed into law on Dec. 21. The US Army Corps of Engineers announced $1.515 billion in investments in projects across the country.

Throughout the next three fiscal years, the city of North Myrtle Beach will receive $500,000 in fiscal year 2025, $25 million in fiscal year 2026, and $2.5 million in fiscal year 2027.

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Fry called the funding a major win for North Myrtle Beach and for the Grand Strand.

The construction of ocean outfalls along the coast of North Myrtle Beach will not only address immediate needs, but also build a foundation for long-term resilience and growth, Fry said. Projects like these that protect our coastlines and improve public safety will always remain a priority for me. I was proud to support this funding request and am looking forward to seeing the impact these improvements have in North Myrtle Beach.

North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley called the funding an important step forward.

It reflects a strong commitment to improving infrastructure and protecting our community, she said. On behalf of our entire community, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Congressman Russell Fry for his leadership and advocacy in securing this critical funding. His efforts have been instrumental in making this project possible. This funding will allow us to advance our work on the outfall project addressing longstanding issues related to stormwater management and flood mitigation. These improvements are essential to the resilience of our city and the wellbeing of our residents and visitors.

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* * *

Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Hundreds of Federal Trade Commission workers who unionized last year failed to reach a long-term contract with the agencys outgoing Democratic chair, the aggressive antitrust enforcer Lina Khan, setting up a likely battle with its new GOP leadership under President Donald Trump.

In an email to a labor official obtained by HuffPost, an FTC employee involved in the union effort expressed frustration at not securing a multiyear deal before Khan, whos considered a union ally, stepped aside as chair after Trumps inauguration last week. Instead, the workers, who are represented by the National Treasury Employees Union, agreed to an interim contract with no set duration.

The temporary agreement means they will probably end up bargaining with Trumps new pick for chair, the Republican commissioner Andrew Ferguson. Trumps agency heads are expected to follow his lead on federal workplace matters, including trimming staff, loosening job protections and cracking down on remote work.

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Long-term protections for remote work were one of the main sticking points in the FTC talks.

Khans office had offered a long-term contract as the Biden administration came to a close, but the unions negotiators wouldnt recommend it to members for approval, according to the email.

We would never have ratified it; our [union] lawyers correctly called it garbage to an emergency members meeting, the employee wrote. Not gonna lie  it was a profoundly frustrating experience.

Khan, the FTC and the NTEU all declined to comment on the contract talks.

The union fight inside the commission reflects broader tensions across the federal workforce, with the new administration signaling job cuts and a purge of civil servants viewed as disloyal to the Trump agenda. Among Trumps first moves in the White House was signing executive orders aimed at ending telework and reclassifying tens of thousands of federal employees to make it easier to fire them.

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Federal unions anticipated such hostility and hustled to bargain three- and four-year contracts last year, hoping they could insulate employees deep into Trumps term. Some federal workers also tried to organize their offices for the first time in order to secure basic union protections.

That was the case at the FTC, where a group that included attorneys, economists and statisticians voted 415 to 25 in favor of joining the NTEU in late September. (Many FTC workers in other job categories were already unionized.) The NTEU said at the time that workers had raised concerns about access to telework and potential politicization of the civil service, a clear reference to a possible Trump presidency.

The timeline left a little under four months for a first contract to be negotiated and ratified before Inauguration Day.

The FTC employee said management was slow to bargain. The union sent a full contract proposal for review in mid-December; management submitted a full counter proposal on Jan. 17, the Friday before inauguration, according to the FTC employees email.

Khan stepped down as chair of the FTC after Trump's inauguration, handing the reins to Republican Andrew Ferguson. Tom Williams via Getty Images

A source familiar with Khans thinking said she was reluctant to offer a long-term contract with broad telework protections, fearing it would put a bulls-eye on the agencys back with the White House and Capitol Hill Republicans. Former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin OMalley, a Democrat, agreed to a four-year union contract late last year extending telework at the agency. Trump publicly rebuked him and GOP members of Congress questioned him in a House Oversight Committee hearing.

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The source said Khan had offered to extend the FTCs current telework policy  requiring two days in the office per two-week pay period  for another six months, but the union pressed for a longer-term guarantee.

With limited time to finalize a contract, labor allies of the NTEU reached out to Khan to urge a deal, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The outreach effort included the office of Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO labor federation. A spokesperson for Shuler declined to comment.

Are you a federal employee with something to share? You can email our reporter here, or contact him over Signal at davejamieson.99.

Khan won many fans within the labor movement during her term as chair. She implemented a landmark ban on noncompete agreements and helped sink the merger of Kroger and Albertsons, which she said would drive down wages for unionized grocery store workers. Her ambitious agenda and willingness to challenge corporate power made her one of the stars of the Biden era.

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It also earned her a following among a subset of Republicans who say they favor strong antitrust enforcement, including Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Vice President JD Vance. The endorsement by such Khanservatives has prompted debate within the anti-monopoly movement over whether these Republicans are worth working alongside or not to be trusted.

Whatever GOP support there may be for Khans vision, the FTC appears headed in a different direction under Ferguson.

After he took over as chairman, Ferguson said Trump would end the previous administrations assault on the American way of life. He also moved quickly to unwind the FTCs diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, calling DEI a scourge and praising Trump for his orders undermining it.

While the FTC is an independent agency, Fergusons statements so far suggest hell try to fulfill Trumps vision for the federal workforce. I take seriously my obligation as an officer of the United States to follow the lawful orders of the president of the United States, Ferguson said Thursday.

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The interim deal includes core union safeguards, including a grievance procedure that can protect against discipline and firings. It also states that fully remote workers  that is, those who live far from an FTC office  will be entitled to that arrangement for a period of three years, unless management determines they have performance deficiencies.

But that provision could be wiped out in a full-term deal bargained under Ferguson. And if the two sides cant agree on a contract in bargaining, the dispute could end up before a federal impasse panel led by Trump appointees. During Trumps first presidency, that panel enabled the administration to essentially rewrite collective bargaining agreements to be less worker-friendly.

So, without a long-term deal, FTC employees could find themselves more vulnerable to Trumps attacks on the federal workforce. Brian Callaci, chief economist at the Open Markets Institute, an anti-monopoly think tank, registered his apparent concerns on X, formerly called Twitter, on Saturday, though he didnt reference the FTC by name.

If I were leading an independent government agency, Callaci said, I would have made sure to sign a [collective bargaining agreement] protecting my agency from arbitrary executive power designed to cause brain drain.

Related...
The president and chairperson for Japanese network Fuji TV resigned on Monday morning following weeks of criticism on how they handled sexual misconduct allegations against host Masahiro Nakai.

Back in December, Japanese magazines accused Nakai  who led the former boy band SMAP  of sexual assault, for which he later paid a hefty settlement. According to the allegations, the incident happened at a dinner that was arranged by Fuji TV staff.

Following the allegations, the network reportedly saw a mass exodus by advertisers and sharp falls in stock price, as further accusations surfaced that executives covered up the scandal, having learned about it six months before it was revealed in the press.

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After launching an independent probe to look into the companys handling of things, the results of which arent expected until the end of March, Fuji TV chair Shuji Kanoh and Koichi Minato, head of Fuji Media Holdings TV wing, announced their resignations on Monday.

We are very sorry that we mishandled the case because of our lack of awareness about human rights and corporate governance  and as a result, our responses to the involved woman were inadequate, Minato said, according to the Associated Press. We are very sorry to have destroyed our credibility.

Earlier this month, a group representing investors associated with the U.S.s Dalton Investments, which, alongside Rising Sun Management, owns a stake of more than 7% in Fuji Media Holdings, expressed outrage in a public letter to the Fuji board.

The lack of consistency and, importantly, transparency in both reporting the facts and the subsequent unforgivable shortcomings in your response merit serious condemnation that serves not only to undermine viewer trust, but also leads directly to erode shareholder value, the letter said.

The post Fuji TV Bosses Resign Following Sexual Misconduct Scandal Around Host appeared first on TheWrap.
NEW YORK (AP)  A full-scale replica of the secret annex where Anne Frank penned her famous diary opened in New York City on Monday as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The exhibit at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan represents the first time the annex has been completely recreated outside of Amsterdam, where the space is a central part of the Anne Frank House museum.

But while the original annex has been intentionally left empty, the New York reconstruction shows the five rooms as they would have looked while the Frank family and others lived in hiding.

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The spaces are filled with furniture and possessions, including a reconstruction of the writing desk where Frank wrote her diary.

Ronald Leopold, director of the Anne Frank House, said furnishing the recreated space was important to tell Anne's story in a new and immersive way, especially for those who may not get to visit the Amsterdam museum, which also houses Franks original diary.

We very much hope that we will be able to to touch peoples hearts here, because education is the focus of this exhibition, Leopold said at Monday's opening. And education starts with empathy  empathy with what happened here, what happened in Amsterdam during those years, what was done to Anne Frank.

The Frank family hid with other Jews for two years in the attic of patriarch Otto Franks office in Amsterdam as the Nazi German army occupied the Netherlands during World War II.

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They were eventually discovered in 1944 and sent to concentration camps, including Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was liberated by Soviet troops 80 years ago Monday. Anne and her older sister Margot died of typhus at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.

Their father, Otto, was the only person from the annex to survive the Holocaust. After the war, he published his 15-year-old daughters diary, which is considered one of the most important works of the 20th century. Frank died in 1980 at the age of 91.

Hannah-Milena Elias, the granddaughter of Anne Franks cousin, Buddy Elias, said she found it emotional walking through the exhibit rooms.

It is quite overwhelming and quite touching to see to see what a tiny space the families had to stay in and live for more than two years, said the 29-year-old, who lives in Switzerland.

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Her sibling, Leyb-Anouk Elias, hoped the exhibit would encourage visitors to reflect on what it means to face discrimination or be a minority today.

History, unfortunately, is repeating itself in different ways, the 27-year-old Berlin resident said. We have to be very, very careful how to act and to do stuff against it, to not ever make this happen again.

The New York exhibit, which runs through April 30, spans more than 7,500 square feet (696 square meters) and includes more than 100 photos and other artifacts  many never before displayed publicly, according to officials.

Among the items are Anne Franks first photo album and her handwritten poetry, as well as a replica of her famous diary. Theres also nearly 80 translated editions of her diary and even the Oscar won by Shelley Winters for the 1959 film The Diary of Anne Frank.

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The installation is presented chronologically, tracing the Frank family's life in Germany through the rise of the Nazi regime, the familys flight to Amsterdam and their life in hiding and eventual capture.

Henry Byrne, a junior at Xavier, a Catholic high school in Manhattan, said learning about the family's saga helped him grasp the enormity of the Holocaust.

It taught me a lot about how just because you see one story, walk into these rooms and all the beds and the tables, thats just one persons life," the 16-year-old said. "And there were millions that were lost.

-

This story has been updated to correct descendants name to Leyb-Anouk Elias, not Leyv-Anouk Elias.
Its been two weeks since the start of the 2025 Georgia General Assemblys legislative session opened.

Each part of Georgia has a wishlist of sorts for items they want help achieving with the assistance of state lawmakers.

Fulton County has its own list of priorities, published after a meeting of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.

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Heres what commissioners are asking for lawmakers to do during the current session.

More Judges and Judicial Resources:

The Fulton County Commission is asking for more judgeships at its Superior Court to handle its high volume of cases and its unique level of complex cases.

According to the county presentation, theyre also seeking local legislation to be approved that will let Superior Court judicial officers take on non-serious felony and civil cases by assignment of the Chief Judge. Increasing the authority of judicial officers, who currently handle only family law cases, will create greater efficiency with the case management process.

Additionally, the county is asking state lawmakers to allocate two more State Court judges to Fulton County.

Investment in Behavioral Health

Fulton County commissioners are asking for ongoing funding and additional funding to its behavior health crisis centers from the states Department of Behavioral Health and Development Disabilities.

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In addition to extra funding, commissioners are asking for an increased availability of mental health beds for justice-involved individuals.

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Anglican Watch Opposes Todd Ousley as Bishop Provisional of Wyoming

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Anglican Watch

Jan. 27, 2025

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 27, 2025 /Christian Newswire/ -- Anglican Watch, the unofficial watchdog of the Episcopal Church, today announced its opposition to Todd Ousley's candidacy as bishop provisional for the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming. The Diocese will hold a special convention via Zoom on March 2 to consider Ousleys nomination as the sole candidate for the position.

Ousley has a dismal track record, said Anglican Watch editor Eric Bonetti. This includes repeatedly refusing to follow the churchs Title IV clergy disciplinary canons, sandbagging complaints against bishops, and even providing others false information about the provisions of Title IV during his time in the Office of Pastoral Development.

Even worse, Ousley has a long track record of looking out for his fellow bishops in ways that are harmful to the church and its members.

For example, in the case of Whayne Hougland, a former bishop of the Michigan dioceses, Ousley rewarded Houghlands extramarital affair with generous severance payments, a cushy new job at an affluent Chicago parish, and more.

Ousley did all of this while ignoring the needs of those hurt by Houghlands misconduct, contacting them only when it was time to write the check to Houghland.

Tellingly, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe now says that Ousley, the man responsible for training other bishops in Title IV, needs Title IV training himself.

Bonetti continued, In short, Wyoming has been hurt deeply by its last bishop, who failed to honor the vows he made at his consecration. Now, the church proposes to install Ousley, who has spent his career disregarding his vows as a bishop, all while aiding the comfortable and afflicting those hurt by the church. In other words, we regard Ousley as sinful and corrupt.

We categorically oppose Ousleys nomination and believe that members of the Diocese of Wyoming deserve the ability to conduct a real election versus the current proposal for a Soviet-style, one-candidate thumbs-up. Additionally, Ousleys track record demonstrates that he is entirely unsuited for the position.

Finally, we remind all participants in the upcoming Wyoming special convention that they are free to follow their conscience and need not vote to approve Ousley, Bonetti concluded.

Anglican Watch is the unofficial watchdog of the Episcopal Church. It covers abuse and misconduct within the church. Founded in 2015, we are online at https://www.anglicanwatch.com.

SOURCE Anglican Watch

CONTACT: Eric Bonetti, 240-630-3767, eric@anglicanwatch.com


JERUSALEM, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Security Agency (ISA) has instructed Israeli airlines to cancel flights to the resort city of Paphos, western Cyprus, due to security concerns, Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported on Sunday night.

Until further notice, flights from Tel Aviv to Paphos have been diverted to Larnaca, situated in the southeastern part of the Mediterranean island nation, according to the TV report.

The ISA stated that "the decision to concentrate flights to and from Cyprus at Larnaca International Airport is based on various security considerations" but did not elaborate further.

The directive to divert flights applies to Israeli airlines El Al, Israir, and Arkia. According to Kan, the airlines have arranged buses to transport passengers from Larnaca to Paphos.

Paphos, only an hour's flight from Tel Aviv, is a popular destination for Israeli tourists. The flight route is also used by many Israelis who have relocated to the city. 
Maximum Car-nage

Expensive-looking robotaxis make easy targets, it seems.

On Saturday, a self-driving Waymo cab was badly trashed by a crowd, who tore the vehicle to absolute shreds as it idled in the middle of a quiet street in Los Angeles's Beverly Grove, The Los Angeles Times reports.

Local police say they received a call of a group vandalizing the vehicle around 4 am. When they arrived, the suspects had already fled the scene  but the aftermath of the vehicular thrashing was plain to see. The front passenger side door of the Jaguar was torn off and lying on the hood, just about every window was smashed, and the expensive rear camera, part of the autonomous vehicle's lidar system, had been ripped out.

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According to the LA Times, the Waymo cab was unoccupied at the time of the attack, and was stopped at a red light when it was mobbed. No arrests were made, but a vandalism report was filed.

Mosh-Pit Stop

Why the Waymo cab was vandalized is unclear. It is worth noting, however, that robotaxis remain controversial with locals, for issues ranging from disrupting traffic to endangering pedestrians.

Some reports suggest that the Waymo barged into the middle of a "street takeover"  when a group of people block off a section of road, typically to goof around in cars  but an LAPD spokesperson told the LA Times that there's no evidence of this taking place.

Whatever the reason for their gathering, the crowd was large. A video of the incident shows roughly two dozen people gathered around the Waymo, while a few take turns kicking its rear end and stomping on its sunroof.

Mo Problems

This isn't the first time that Waymo cabs  or cabs from the company's robotaxi competitors  have been vandalized, though this latest incident was more severe than usual.

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Last fall, a viral video showed several people walk up to a stopped Waymo taxi to tag it with graffiti while a passenger sat inside clutching their dog  a comical if tense scene.

A more serious case last January saw a crowd of people set one of the robotaxis on fire in San Francisco's Chinatown.

These cases of vandalism have become such a repeat occurrence that Waymo has made a show of going after the people that trash its car with lawsuits.

A Waymo spokesperson said that the company was working closely with law enforcement to investigate this latest incident.

"While these sorts of events are rare, we take them extremely seriously and remain committed to improving road safety and mobility in the cities where we operate," the spokesperson said, per the LA Times.

More on robotaxis: Waymo Self-Driving Taxi Flummoxed by Construction Worker's Hand Signals
Republicans are cautioning that Tulsi Gabbards path to confirmation to lead the U.S. intelligence apparatus is narrowing as she seemingly has trouble winning over key GOP senators.

Gabbard, along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kash Patel, are set for their high-stakes confirmation hearings this week as senators face some of President Trumps most controversial nominees.

But its Gabbard who appears to have the most tenuous path to confirmation as she struggles to assuage Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which will determine her fate, ahead of Thursdays hearing.

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I think it remains to be seen, said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an Intelligence Committee member, when asked if Gabbard can win support of the panel. I think the jurys still out.

A second Senate Republican agreed, telling The Hill that Gabbard has a path [that] continues to narrow.

Gabbard cant afford to lose a single vote on the Intelligence Committee, which has a 9-8 party split and features two GOP members who are considered swing votes: Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), who last week voted against another Trump nominee on the floor, and Todd Young (Ind.).

Collins told The Hill in an interview that she wants to press Gabbard on her stance on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for the warrantless surveillance of foreign targets.

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Gabbard has sought to walk back her past criticism of the program, but Collins told The Hill she doesnt necessarily believe Gabbards change of heart.

There are several questions I want to follow up on in the hearing, Collins said, adding that she didnt want to preview them all because I want to hear her unpracticed responses even though she expects Gabbard will be well prepared.

But there are a lot of obvious issues, Collins said. Her answers to the written questions were very hedged on it. I know theres been a lot of reporting that shes changed her position. Thats not how I read her answers. I read them as, Ill take a look at the reforms and see if they meet my concerns.

Gabbard, as a Democratic member of the House, proposed legislation in 2020 to repeal Section 702 and has voted against reauthorizing the program.

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But she recently told Punchbowl News that the 702 program is crucial and must be safeguarded to protect our nation while ensuring the civil liberties of Americans in an attempted turnabout.

If confirmed as [intelligence director], I will uphold Americans Fourth Amendment rights while maintaining vital national security tools like Section 702 to ensure the safety and freedom of the American people, Gabbard said.

Her latest statement leaves unclear whether she would back a warrant requirement to review information swept up on Americans  a key issue for privacy-minded lawmakers but one 702-backers feel would gut the program.

Collins also brought up concerns about Gabbards views on Syria and her 2017 meeting with ex-President Bashar Assad.

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She said will not make a decision on the nomination until after the hearing. Collins voted against Trumps nominee to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, twice last week.

As for Young, two Senate GOP aides described the ex-Marine as being a problem for Gabbard.

Those members are going to have a really hard time getting to yes, one of the GOP aides said.

The panel-based problems come after reports emerged that Gabbard was struggling in meetings with Senate Republicans in an attempt to win them over.

Complicating the situation for Gabbard is that her problems are different from those that plagued Hegseth, one of Trumps more controversial nominees.

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Hegseths issues were largely centered on personal matters, including allegations of sexual improprieties and drunkenness.

Gabbards are almost all policy-focused, which have been harder for some members to overcome.

She also doesnt have the communications chops of Hegseth, or the backup from conservative media, which rushed to his side when his nomination was flatlining in early December.

[He] has conservative credentials and Fox friends to rely on to buoy support, the Senate GOP aide said. Shes a Democrat.  She is not one of us, still. Theres not like this built up goodwill of, like, Oh, weve got to dig her out of a hole.

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Even if she were to get through the committee, there are other members signaling they will oppose Gabbard. The Senate GOP aide noted Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is making it clear to members of the GOP conference that he is adamantly opposed to her.

McConnells office said it did not have any information to share about his planned nominee votes.

Alexa Henning, a Gabbard spokesperson, noted there are not any public no votes and pointed to positive meetings shes had on both sides of the aisle ahead of her hearing.

There is not one GOP Senator on record opposing Lt. Col. Gabbards nomination. In fact, there are many on record including bipartisan members of the Senate Intel Committee who have shown positive support for her nomination and qualifications, Henning said in a statement.

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Shes met with almost every GOP Senator in the U.S. Senate and Democrats whove accepted her invitation to meet. She is continuing the advice and consent process in the Senate and looks forward to her hearing.

While Gabbard faces problems, senators believe both Kennedy and Patel have solid paths toward confirmation.

Kennedy faced initial questions given his past comments about vaccines, specifically the polio vaccine. However, his push to tamp down concern on that front has seemingly worked, with Republicans expected to back him  barring a catastrophic performance before either the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday or the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee a day later.

People are getting pretty comfortable with him, actually.  What they do is meet him and then they like him, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said.

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We all have daughters and wives and granddaughters who just think hes Elvis, he continued with a laugh. All these grainy women love him so much that hes looking out for the kids [and] getting rid of that red dye crap.

Cramer added Kennedy is not that unreasonable, arguing he doesnt want to mandate or prohibit vaccines and that he has myriad supporters for his Make America Healthy Again agenda.

Trumps team remains cautiously optimistic but notes HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) remains a wild card, given his vote to convict Trump in 2021.

I think RFK kind of gets through it, a source close to the Trump team said. He cant drop the balls at these hearings and say something weird and provocative. You dont want to back them into a corner.

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Meanwhile, Patel has perhaps garnered the most intense scorn from the Democratic side other than Hegseth, with the party pushing for Republicans to reject his nomination to lead the FBI.

That appears increasingly unlikely, though, as Patel has made no fatal errors since his nomination, with Judiciary Committee members expecting him to face few real troubles en route to confirmation on the Senate floor.

But Republicans are quick to note: One major screwup before any of the committees could harm any of them irreparably.

Those, obviously, are ones where there are more questions  than there certainly are on some of these other nominees, Cornyn said about Gabbard and Kennedy. Im anxious to have the hearings.

Alex Gangitano and Rebecca Beitsch contributed.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Some of the hostages released from Gaza so far during the ceasefire had been held in Hamas tunnels for up to eight months straight, deprived of daylight and with little to no human contact, an Israeli general said on Monday.

Three Israeli civilians and four soldiers - all women - have been released so far in the ceasefire, which began on Jan. 19. In return, Israel has released 290 Palestinian convicts and detainees.

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"Some of them told us that they've been in the past few months, that they've been through the entire time, in tunnels, underground," deputy chief of the Israeli military's medical corps, Colonel Dr. Avi Banov, told journalists online.

"Some of them were alone through the entire time they were there," he said. "Those who said they were together were in better shape."

The Israeli military oversees the first health checks that the hostages receive upon their arrival in Israeli territory. Reuters was unable to reach Hamas' armed wing for comment but it said on Saturday that it maintains hostages' wellbeing.

The hostages said their treatment improved in the days leading up to their release, Banov said, when they were allowed to shower, change their clothes and received better food. They appeared to be in good condition and smiling in videos on the days of their release.

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Citing the hostages' privacy, Banov would not say whether any of the seven bore signs of torture or abuse.

Some had not received proper treatment for wounds sustained when they were captured during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and some showed signs of "mild starvation", Banov said.

The three civilians, released on the first day of the ceasefire, were discharged from hospital on Sunday. The four soldiers, freed in the ceasefire's second swap on Saturday, were still being treated in another medical centre.

Eitan Gonen, father of 24-year-old Romi Gonen who was released on Jan. 19, told Israel's public broadcaster Kan: "Romi is amazing. We met a mature, amazing woman who stunned us all."

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Gonen would not elaborate on her medical condition or details of her ordeal. But he said that while in captivity she had heard some of the radio interviews he had given.

"Even if only 10% of the interviews reach the hostages' ears, it is enough to give them strength," he said. "It gave her a lot of strength, energy and great hope."

More than 250 hostages were abducted in the Hamas attack in October 2023. Around half were released the following month during the war's only previous truce, and others have been recovered dead or alive during the fighting. Israel still lists 90 captives in Gaza, with around 30 declared dead in absentia.

Twenty-six women, children, elderly, ill or injured hostages are still meant to be released in the six-week first phase of the ceasefire. Hamas provided a list late on Sunday detailing their condition.

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Israeli authorities have said that they believe most due to be released in the first phase are alive and they fear for the lives of the rest. They have given no new details since receiving the list.

Banov said he expected that some of next hostages "will be more ill and also people who have died during their time in Gaza".

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by James Mackenzie and Peter Graff)
Gaza Strip residents expressed joy at being allowed to return to their homes in the north of the region and expressed determination to rebuild their lives.

"The dream we have been waiting for has finally come true. We are returning to our wrecked homes and to the areas that we were driven out of 15 months ago," Hassan al-Wadiya told dpa remotely.

Gaza inhabitants were interviewed by video call because Israel does not allow journalists to enter the Gaza Strip independently

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Israel began allowing displaced residents to return home from early on Monday, after Hamas agreed to the freeing of an Israeli female hostage, who is reported to have German citizenship as well.

Thousands of people had camped out for days on the southern side of the Netzarim Corridor, a barrier created by the Israeli military that runs east-west right across the Gaza Strip.

"We know that we are returning to destruction and rubble, but this is our country and our home. We will never give it up," al-Wadiya says, fighting back tears. He has with him only a few bags with his personal belongings.

Marwa Omar has walked to the north along the Al-Rashid coastal road with her three children. "We have been waiting for this day for many months. Words cannot describe our feeling at this time," she says, her face radiant with joy.

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"We hope that the ceasefire will hold, that there will be peace, and that life will return again to what it was before the dark hours in October," the 40-year-old woman adds.

October 7, 2023 marks the day that Hamas and other extremists carried out a massacre in Israel mounted from the Gaza Strip, sparking the war.

Tawfik Ridwan is torn between joy and tears as he gazes at the ruins of his house in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood. The father of five had spent more than four hours on the way there from the south.

Radwan was forced to flee to Khan Younis in the south in the first week of the war. "I never thought that I would return to the neighbourhood where I was born," he said. "We are here at last," he adds in disbelief.

"I will rebuild my house from the ground, and gradually we will go back to the life that the occupation stole from us," the 30-year-old man says.

Palestinians, displaced to the south on Israeli orders during the war, walk along Salah al-Din Road to return to their homes in northern Gaza as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas takes effect. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
Hospitals and clinics destroyed. Millions of tons of debris contaminated with toxic substances, unexploded ordnance and human remains. Tens of thousands of people with injuries that will require a lifetime of care.

As Gaza's residents return to what is left of their homes, they face new risks on top of monumental health challenges. Fifteen months of war has killed more than 47,000 people, according to local health officials, displaced 90% of Gazans and reduced many areas to rubble. Clean water is in short supply and sewers, so important for protecting public health, are badly damaged spurring worries about the spread of infectious disease.

Aid groups are rushing to provide food and supplies amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as they plan the best way forward.

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You have a population with just every health need imaginable ... (who have) been unable to get access to care ... for more than a year, said Yara Asi, an expert in global health management and visiting scholar at the FXB Center of Health and Human Rights at Harvard. What is that going to look like in the near future and the long term ?

Heres a look at some of the urgent health issues.

Healthcare in shambles

Most of Gaza's 36 hospitals were damaged or partly destroyed by Israeli bombs, with only half still partially operational, according to the World Health Organization. Almost two-thirds of health clinics aren't open. That makes it impossible to treat everyone who needs urgent and long-term care  including an estimated 30,000 people who need ongoing rehabilitation for life-changing injuries, such as amputations.

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The WHO said that when it's safe, it'll team up with other organizations to prioritize critical services such as trauma and emergency care, primary health care and mental health support.

That includes increasing hospital-bed capacity in northern and southern Gaza, and bringing in prefabricated containers to help treat patients at damaged hospitals and clinics, the WHO said.

International workers also are needed to ease staffing shortages, the organization said.

Asi and other experts said most hospital equipment has been destroyed, and is expensive and difficult to import.

How are Palestinians going to import the advanced, expensive medical equipment that actually makes the hospital more than a building? Asi said. Thats going to take years.

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Israel says Hamas is responsible for damage to the health system because the group often used hospitals to hide or gather its men. Under the current six-week ceasefire, Israel has allowed sharp increases of humanitarian supplies. But the sides have not agreed on a permanent end to the war, and Israel has not publicly laid out a postwar vision that would include plans for reconstruction and cleanup of the territory.

Life-changing injuries

The WHO said one-fourth of the estimated 110,000 people injured in the fighting suffered life-changing injuries, including over 12,000 who need to be evacuated as soon as possible for specialized care.

Among the injured are thousands of children who lost limbs and will need prosthetics and long-term care, said Marc Sinclair, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon from Dubai who has volunteered in Gaza for over a decade.

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He said the charity he helped start, Little Wings Foundation, will partner with the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and a German prosthetics company that will supply containers that can be turned into workshops.

They hope to begin training doctors and manufacturing prosthetics in the West Bank and move the operation to Gaza when they are able.

The volume of injured is so huge that its going to be an enormous task to fulfill the needs," Sinclair said. We're talking about children that have not just single amputations, but ... multiple amputations."

Asi, from Harvard, said thousands of people also suffered traumatic injuries, including brain damage, that will require lifelong care. "And then you have those people that have regular health ailments, she said. Theyve been unable to get access to care or medications in some cases for more than a year.

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Threat of infectious disease

A shortage of clean water, destroyed sanitation systems, overcrowding and missed childhood vaccinations have created ideal circumstances for spread of infectious disease, said Asi, also co-director of the Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights.

She said children  many of whom experienced malnutrition and mental trauma  are a special concern.

Gaza experienced a polio outbreak for the first time in decades, so it is clear that both children and adults are at risk of other infectious diseases, Asi said.

She said people have described crowded living conditions, a lack of hygiene supplies and garbage and sewage in the streets.

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Its really a health catastrophe from every potential facet," she said, adding that there have been outbreaks of respiratory infections in tent camps and shelters, and many people are living with undiagnosed skin rashes and infections.

Dangerous debris

Experts say Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza will be at risk from breathing dust or touching debris contaminated with toxic chemicals, asbestos and human remains, as well as munitions that never exploded. On Monday, tens of thousands of people began returning to northern Gaza as part of the ceasefire, finding piles of rubble where their homes once stood.

Its critical to move quickly to identify and contain environmental hazards to prevent returning residents from inadvertently coming into contact with harmful pollutants and to keep it from spreading, a United Nations Environment Programme spokesperson said.

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The agency plans to begin an on-the-ground assessment within two to three months, as security allows.

The first priority should be for specialized teams to search for and clear unexploded ordnance, then to test air, water and soil for toxic substances, said Paul Walker, chair of the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition and a former staff member of the House Armed Services Committee.

People are anxious, I know, to rebuild, he said, but returning home right now could be very dangerous ... I think we've got to expect as people work through the rubble there will inevitably be injuries and deaths.

But it might be difficult to convince residents to delay their return, said Asi. She said she's seen videos showing caravans of people walking in some cases knowing that theres nothing waiting for them but just wanting to go back to the land to recover the bodies of loved ones or to see if their house survived or what survives from their home.

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By STAMOS PROUSALIS

SDEROT, Israel (Reuters) - While for some in Gaza there is joy at seeing what might remain of their homes in the north, for some Israelis their return evokes fears of another possible Hamas attack.

After 15 months of war, now paused with a ceasefire deal that came into effect on Jan. 19, the sight of columns of people on foot or in vehicles along the main roads leading north left some Israelis in nearby communities worried for the future.

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Sderot, in sight of Gaza, was one of a string of communities attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants and other gunmen broke through the security barriers, eventually killing some 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages.

"I live with my family right there, and the terrorists were on the street, we were locked inside the house, and where did they come from? From northern Gaza," said 48-year-old A. Ben-Dayian, whose brother was killed in the attack.

"So now we are back to the same situation more or less, we have loads of Gazans and within them loads of terrorists."

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed almost 47,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Health Ministry figures, and left the coastal enclave a wasteland of rubble that will take years to rebuild. Most of the population was displaced.

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A six-week initial ceasefire phase agreed by Israel and Hamas includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, as well as an increase in aid and for hostages to be released in exchange for Palestinian detainees.

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister and head of the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism party, said images of Gazans returning north and white Toyota vehicles driven around the Gaza Strip by uniformed Hamas militants were "evidence of the heavy and terrible price Israel is paying for this deal".

Palestinians heading north have told Reuters they are hoping for calm and for an end to war, with many saying they thought they would never have the chance to return.

Those making the trip north have passed through checkpoints in a central zone of the enclave where scanners check for concealed weapons in cars and other vehicles.

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Along the roads on either side of the checkpoint, in the so-called Netzarim corridor, Hamas police maintain order, while engineering units with sniffer dogs check the roadway for unexploded ordnance.

But for Israelis living nearby who Reuters spoke to, the security checks meant nothing. For them, the threat has only been paused during the phased deal.

"Everything that happened on Oct. 7, at this moment when they let the Nukhba (Hamas militants) back (to northern Gaza), will repeat itself," said 68-year-old Sderot resident Alex Spector.

(Writing and additional reporting by Steven Scheer in Jerusalem; Editing by Alison Williams)
PATERSON, N.J. (PIX11)  When asked about the recent ICE raids on Sunday, Mayor Andre Sayegh told PIX11 News that he received a report that ICE agents were in Paterson.

We are genuinely concerned. We are a welcoming city. Quite frankly, there has to be an appropriate procedure. If they have a warrant, we understand. If they dont, people have to know their rights. As a matter of fact, I did get a report today that ICE was in Paterson, not too far from here, said Mayor Sayegh.

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ICE posted on X that 956 people were arrested Sunday and 554 detainers were lodged.

Earlier this week in Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka said ICE agents raided a seafood store and detained three people. The store owner told PIX11 News that a U.S. military veteran was among the people detained.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka issued a statement Thursday afternoon condemning the incident, which read in part:

This egregious act is in plain violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right of the people be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized.

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NYC immigrant advocates on edge amid ICE raids across US

An ICE spokesperson released the following statement:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting fieldwork and may request identification to establish an individuals identity as was the case during a targeted enforcement operation at a work site on Jan. 23 in Newark, New Jersey. This is an active investigation and per ICE policy, we cannot discuss ongoing investigations.

In New York City, the Mayors Office of Immigration Affairs has updated its website to offer tips for undocumented people so they understand their rights if immigration officials approach them.

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Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of his work here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Despite provoking outrage from other mainstream political parties, German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz said on Monday that he plans to push forward with a vote in parliament on hard-line immigration legislation.

The proposals, which include turning away all migrants without proper documentation and bringing back permanent controls on Germany's borders, are controversial.

But even more incendiary in German politics have been Merz's willingness to break long-standing taboos and use votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in order to pass the motions if necessary.

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Merz put forward the proposals after a knife attack in the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg last week left two people dead. The suspect in the killings is a 28-year-old Afghan citizen whose application to remain in Germany had been rejected.

Despite harsh denunciations from other politicians, Merz stuck with his vows over the weekend and doubled down again on Monday.

"What is right in the matter does not become wrong because the wrong people agree. This clear positioning remains," said Merz, who is widely seen as the likely frontrunner to replace Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) after the upcoming February 23 election.

Merz said that he wouldn't shy away from the proposals because he might need to rely on the AfD for support in the lower house of Germany's parliament, the Bundestag.

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He said on Monday that Scholz's SPD, the Greens and the pro-business liberal Free Democrats (FDP) should support his proposals as well if they want to keep the AfD from having a decisive say over policy.

The time has passed "when we in Germany only make decisions based on tactical considerations. Now we have to make decisions on the merits," said Merz.
Despite provoking outrage from other mainstream political parties, German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz said on Monday that he plans to push forward with a vote in parliament on hard-line immigration legislation.

The proposals, which include turning away all migrants without proper documentation and bringing back permanent controls on Germany's borders, are controversial.

But even more incendiary in German politics has been Merz's willingness to break long-standing taboos and use votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in order to pass the motions if necessary.

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Merz put forward the proposals after a knife attack in the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg last week left two people dead. The suspect in the killings is a 28-year-old Afghan citizen whose application to remain in Germany had been rejected.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens have both accused Merz of bringing the AfD into the mainstream, and alleged that a number of his proposals would violate the German constitution and EU law.

Despite harsh denunciations from other politicians, Merz stuck with his vows over the weekend and doubled down again on Monday.

"What is right in the matter does not become wrong because the wrong people agree. This clear positioning remains," said Merz, who is widely seen as the likely frontrunner to replace Scholz after the upcoming February 23 election.

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Merz said that he wouldn't shy away from the proposals because he might need to rely on the AfD for support in the lower house of Germany's parliament, the Bundestag.

He said on Monday that Scholz's SPD, the Greens and the pro-business liberal Free Democrats (FDP) should support his proposals as well if they want to keep the AfD from having a decisive say over policy.

The time has passed "when we in Germany only make decisions based on tactical considerations. Now we have to make decisions on the merits," said Merz.

FDP leadership signalled support for Merz's proposals on Monday, with the party's secretary general, Marco Buschmann, saying they are in the spirit of "a new realpolitik in migration, namely more control and order."

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"Anyone who refuses to address this issue is only making extremists bigger," Buschmann said.

But the SPD's Matthias Miersch, a senior party official, accused Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc of having repeatedly blocked needed security regulations in parliament and with delaying the implementation of European Union asylum reforms.

Turning to the AfD to push through hard-line changes, Miersch said, would be an "unprecedented breach of taboo in the post-war history of the Federal Republic of Germany."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a Green, said during a gathering of EU ministers in Brussels on Monday that Merz's proposals threaten European cohesion and unity, violate the rules governing the visa-free Schengen area and have created uncertainty among Germany's EU partners.

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If countries start breaking EU law, then the common European project will be destroyed, Baerbock said.

Austria's acting chancellor, Alexander Schallenberg of the centre-right People's Party (OVP), meanwhile criticized Merz for trying to go it alone on migration.

All of Germany's neighbouring countries, including Austria, are members of the visa-free Schengen area, which was supposed to remove the need for internal border controls except in exceptional circumstances.

Schallenberg said on Monday that he welcomes a reconsideration of Germany's stance on migration, but that the country must stick to the Schengen rules.

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Schallenerg is in power in Austria until the formation of a new government. The head of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), Herbert Kickl, has been tasked with forming a new government after his party won elections in the autumn.

"We all know that we need joint solutions," he said. "If we all just pull up the drawbridges individually, we will all be poorer and no one will be safer."
SINGAPORE, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) has invited industry players to submit proposals for a pilot program to test autonomous public buses, the authority announced Monday.

The call for proposals, which closes by the second quarter of 2025, aims to kick-start a three-year trial of smaller autonomous buses on two selected routes beginning in mid-2026.

The initiative will begin with six buses, each with at least 16 seats, navigating routes chosen for their "shorter and simpler" layouts. The pilot program seeks to "assess the technical feasibility of autonomous vehicle technology for public bus services, and gain insights into the operational aspects of running autonomous buses at both service and fleet levels," an LTA statement said.

In the initial phase, the buses will operate with bus captains onboard as safety operators, ensuring smooth operations and meeting safety requirements, including safe pick-ups and drop-offs at designated stops. Passengers will also be required to remain seated and wear seatbelts. A customer service officer may be deployed to assist commuters who require help.

Once the buses demonstrate reliable self-driving and remote operation capabilities, the captains will be replaced by remote safety operators. The LTA will monitor the buses in real-time throughout the trial to assess their performance and compliance with regulations.

If successful, the LTA may expand the program by procuring up to 14 additional buses and adding two more routes to the trial. A contract for the pilot is expected to be awarded by the end of 2025. 
Interior ministers of Germany's 16 states called on Monday for changes in how the psychologically ill are dealt with following a fatal knife attack in Aschaffenburg in Bavaria last week.

Potential criminals needed to be identified at an early stage and there had to be better exchange of information between government bodies, Ulrich Maurer, interior minister of the city-state of Bremen and current head of the conference of interior ministers, said.

Protecting the population needed to take priority over data protection, Maurer said after the extraordinary conference, which was conducted online.

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Investigators should be given additional facial recognition powers and allowed to analyse data with artificial intelligence, he said.

"There is of course no ultimate security, and we cannot make a record of everyone, but we are convinced that more can be done in this area," Maurer said.

The extraordinary conference was called after a 2-year-old child and a 41-year-old man were killed in a park in Aschaffenburg on Wednesday. A 28-year-old failed Afghan asylum-seeker has been arrested in connection with the murders.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to address parliament on the incident on Wednesday. The stabbings have caused outrage in Germany and provoked heated debate on migration ahead of parliamentary elections on February 23.
Plans from Germany's conservative opposition leader to bring back permanent controls along the country's borders would require hiring thousands of additional police officers, the leader of the German Police Union (GdP) said on Monday.

Friedrich Merz, the head of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), included the return of permanent border checks in a legislative package aimed at cracking down on migration.

All of Germany's neighbours are members of the visa-free Schengen Area, and have not had regular border controls on any land borders for several years as a result of the Schengen agreement.

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"We would certainly need 8,000 to 10,000 additional officers to comprehensively control the border," Andreas Rosskopf, head of the GdP federal police, told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

He said about 1,000 riot police are already being regularly deployed as support to the regular force at the borders, and a broader staffing reform is "absolutely essential."

Rosskopft said that Germany also lacked modern technology such as surveillance drones and vehicle licence plate scanners to properly aid officers in controlling the borders.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stressed Germany's enduring responsibility for the Holocaust and opposed any relativisation of the immense crimes committed by Nazi Germany on Monday.

Steinmeier was at the site of Nazi Germany's Auschwitz-Birkenau complex of concentration and extermination camps to mark 80 years since Soviet troops liberated the site.

What happened in Auschwitz-Birkenau and other German concentration camps under Nazi rule "is part of our history and therefore also part of our identity, which we must come to terms with," Steinmeier said during a tour of the former camp, where the Nazis murdered at least 1.1 million people between 1940 and 1945, most of them Jews.

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Steinmeier also criticized recent remarks made by billionaire Elon Musk, a close advisor to US President Donald Trump, while campaigning for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Musk denounced Germany for putting "too much focus on past guilt" in a video speech at an AfD election rally over the weekend.

Steinmeier, when asked about Musk's comments during his visit to Auschwitz, said: "I don't think Mr Musk is waiting for my advice. But my conviction remains: Responsibility knows no end."

He recommended that anyone who believes that a line can now be drawn under Germany's guilt for the Holocaust should "come here now and seek dialogue with survivors."
(Bloomberg) -- A majority of Germans back loosening, or even scrapping, the countrys strict borrowing rules to allow the government to ramp up investment, according to a new poll, suggesting a shift in public opinion about the so-called debt brake.

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Asked if the mechanism should remain unchanged in the future, 46% of respondents to the Forsa survey for the German Council on Foreign Relations said they should be tweaked to allow for higher debt to finance investments. Thats up from 35% in November and 25% in July.

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The number of respondents who want the rules ditched completely was at 9% in the latest survey, the same as November and up from 7% in July. Those wanting them to remain unchanged dropped to 42%, from 55%.

Introduced after the 2007-08 financial crisis, the borrowing limits restrict annual net new debt taken on by the federal government to 0.35% of gross domestic product but can be loosened in times of national emergency like the Covid-19 pandemic.

They helped trigger the collapse of Olaf Scholzs three-party coalition in November, when the chancellor fired his fiscally hawkish finance minister, Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats, who was resisting expanded borrowing.

Government debt has been one of the main issues in the campaign for Germanys snap election on Feb. 23, along with irregular migration and Russias war on Ukraine.

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Germans seem to realize that the world of old certainties is no more, Joseph de Weck and Shahin Vallee wrote in the DGAP report. The next government can be sure of public support if it seeks a grand bargain combining savings in existing spending with a modernization of the debt brake.

While the poll-leading conservatives under Friedrich Merz and Lindners FDP broadly want to maintain the debt brake in its current form, Scholzs Social Democrats and Vice Chancellor Robert Habecks Greens support loosening the rules to facilitate a huge increase in spending in areas like infrastructure and the military.

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Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday had her first phone call with her new US counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"We want to work closely with the new US administration," the German Foreign Office quoted Baerbock as saying on the Bluesky platform after the 30-minute phone call.

"Europe wants to take more responsibility for its own security," Baerbock stressed after the phone call held on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

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Germany and the US are linked by close economic relations and shared interests, the Foreign Office said, adding that both countries were planning to tackle common challenges and opportunities together.

Baerbock and Rubio also discussed the importance of a strong NATO, Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, the situation in Syria, the Gaza Strip and the Middle East, and their position on China.

The first face-to-face meeting between Baerbock and Rubio is expected to take place at the Munich Security Conference in mid-February.

The foreign ministers of the EU states of Poland, Lithuania and Italy have also already spoken to Rubio on the phone.
Pedro Irigonegaray, an attorney representing the Kansas Department of Revenue, argues before the Kansas Court of Appeals at a Jan. 27, 2025, hearing. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA  The state solicitor general told an appeals court panel Monday that transgender people dont have to get a drivers license if they dont like being forced to use a gender marker that conflicts with their identity.

The Kansas Court of Appeals is considering arguments over legislation passed in 2023 the requires vital statistics to recognize a persons biological sex at birth. Attorney General Kris Kobach sued the Kansas Department of Revenue for continuing to allow transgender residents to be identified by their gender on their drivers license, as the office had done for 17 years.

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Arguments in the case center on the distinction between sex, which relates to reproductive systems, and gender, which can be a social and personal identity or expression, and whether the Legislature understood the difference when it passed Senate Bill 180. The word gender doesnt appear within the law.

Additional arguments involve whether the Attorney Generals Office can show how the state would be harmed by gender markers on drivers licenses.

The law was based on model legislation produced by Independent Womens Voices, a far-right group with a long history of opposing womens rights, and labeled a womens bill of rights. Most of the attention during debate revolved around efforts to ban transgender and cisgender girls from playing together in school sports. Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the law, but she was overridden by Republican-led supermajorities in both the Senate and House.

Pedro Irigonegaray, an attorney representing KDOR, strayed from legal analysis during Mondays court hearing to address the Legislatures attempt to target a class of residents who, by his calculation, hold 0.004% of the drivers licenses issued in Kansas.

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It is not appropriate for a state to legislate discrimination, Irigonegaray. It is not appropriate for a state to deny transgender people the right to dignity. We know from our worlds history what happens when a state diminishes the dignity of a class of human beings. We know where that train is headed, and its headed to a place that we know is horrible.

And what I ask this court to consider is: Today its our transgender population, but whos next? Who are they going to target next? Today is transgender  our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, friends, neighbors. We must put a stop to this. State-sponsored discrimination has no place in our democracy, and this is what this bill is all about.

Kansas solicitor general Anthony Powell listens during Jan. 27, 2025, arguments at the Kansas Court of Appeals on whether an anti-transgender law applies to gender markers on drivers licenses. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)

Anthony Powell, the solicitor general for Kobachs office, said the case was merely about statutory interpretation, contrary to all the press attendance. There appeared to be four journalists in the courtroom.

Powell said he considers the terms gender and sex to be interchangeable, based on his common sense understanding of the words. He said he only became aware of the differences in recent years, even though experts had made the distinctions for decades before. He said he considers gender to be a physical property, not a feeling.

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The state has the authority, Powell argued, to gather accurate and consistent data on drivers licenses.

And, he said, driving is a privilege rather than a right.

A transgender person doesnt have to get a drivers license, Powell said. If they think that obtaining a license and having their biological sex on it is so upsetting to them, I guess they dont have to get a drivers license.

Julie Murray, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which joined the case to argue on behalf of transgender Kansas residents, said Powells argument should be rejected out of hand.

This is an attempt to write them out of existence, Murray said.

From left, Judges Stephen Hill, Sarah Warner and Karen Arnold Berger hear arguments during a Jan. 27, 2025, hearing on the application of Senate Bill 180. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)

Judges Karen Arnold Berger, Stephen Hill and Sarah Warner heard arguments to determine whether to reverse a district courts decision to issue a temporary injunction in favor of Kobachs arguments. Under the injunction, which has now been in place for about a year, the state must issue drivers licenses with a gender marker based on sex at birth.

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The lower court agreed with arguments by the Attorney Generals Office that claimed the state would be harmed by allowing an agency to ignore the law, in Kobachs opinion, and that law enforcement officers may be confused about a persons true identity.

Irigonegaray said Kobachs interpretation of the law is flawed, because it doesnt address drivers licenses or gender.

In order to conclude that the Legislature in 2023 was unaware of the difference between sex and gender, one would have to believe that the state Legislature was operating on a 15th century mentality, Irigonegaray said.

Kobachs office could produce just one example of a police officer who was confused about a persons identity based on their drivers license. But police actually readily identified the person and arrested them.

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Irigonegaray said there was no evidence to support the scare tactic that fleeing transgenders were going to be everywhere because they were going to avoid the arms of justice.

Arnold Berger asked Powell to explain why there was no outrage from law enforcement officers during the 17 years in which the state issued drivers licenses that recognized gender instead of sex. Powell told her there arent a lot of transgender people in Kansas.

Exactly, she said.
Superintendent Demetrius Liggins included this rendering in his presentation to a legislative committee in Frankfort, Aug. 20, 2024. Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, objected to the design.

A Republican lawmaker is hoping to close what he calls a potential loophole in a state law governing school restrooms in Kentucky.

Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, has introduced House Bill 163, which would require at least 95% of restrooms within a school building to be designated for a specific biological sex.

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It comes after a few Republican lawmakers, including Lockett, grilled Fayette County Public Schools officials last summer about the new Mary E. Britton Middle School, which is set to open later this year. However, a school district spokesperson said the bill wouldnt apply to the proposed design.

Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville. (LRC Public Information)

The schools restroom design features private stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors and an open communal sink area as a way to allow students to be supervised by adults and potentially curb situations of bad behavior.

Locketts bill has not been assigned to a committee; lawmakers return to Frankfort next week to resume the 2025 legislative session.

When asked for comment on the bill, Lockett said in an email to the Kentucky Lantern that he filed the bill to provide a statewide, clear policy regarding biological sex-specific restroom facilities after concerns were raised about a potential loophole in previous legislation passed during the 2023 Regular Session (SB 150). That law was omnibus legislation that included several anti-transgender measures, such as requiring schools to create policies keeping people from using bathrooms, locker rooms or showers that are reserved for students of a different biological sex.

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Lockett said preserving gender-specific bathrooms based on biological sex ensures privacy, safety, and comfort for all users.

While the issue was brought to my attention by constituents in Fayette County, the measure would address concerns that parents and students have regardless of what school district they attend, he said. We have an obligation to respect personal boundaries and accommodate biological differences.

Dia Davidson-Smith, a spokesperson for FCPS, said in a statement to the Kentucky Lantern that the school district did not have a comment on the bill at this time, but the restroom plans for the middle school have remained unchanged since last year.

The restroom designs at Britton Middle School are gender-specific and this bill has no impact on them, Davidson-Smith said.

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Last year, the school district said the restrooms would not be gender-neutral as the pods would be designated for boys or girls. It also added that Locketts district does not include the part of Fayette County where the new middle school would be, so his constituents would not be impacted.

Superintendent Demetrus Liggins told lawmakers at the time the new configuration would allow adults to better supervise students. He noted that a 2021 TikTok trend encouraged damage and theft, particularly in boys restrooms, and cost the school district $42,000 in repairs.

According to the 2023-24 School Safety Annual Statistical Report from the Kentucky Department of Education, 13,524 behavior events happened in school restrooms across the state. That accounted for about 5% of all reported behavior events during the school year.
A Pennsylvania politician has resigned after posting a video where she mimicked Elon Musks infamous hand gesture at Donald Trumpsinauguration, which has been widely likened to a Nazi salute.

Laura Smith, a Republican in Montgomery County, resigned as a supervisor of Towamencin Township on Saturday after outcry over a TikTok video where she made a gesture resembling Musks.

Just checking in on my friends who are struggling this week, Smith says in the video, which she deleted but which can be seen here. She taps her chest three times and extends her arm the way the tech billionaire did. My heart goes out to you, she says, smiling brightly. Hope youre doing OK.

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Smith later told Philadelphia NBC affiliate WCAU in a statement that her video has been greatly mischaracterized, and that she removed the clip because she didnt want to give offense.

I abhor racism, anti-Semitic or discrimination in any fashion or form and my record as a township supervisor attests to my commitment to treat all people with dignity and respect, she said.

Two of Smiths colleagues on the township board condemned her post to Philadelphia ABC affiliate WPVI, calling it repugnant and blatant antisemitism.

Musk has been dismissive of the criticisms against him. On his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, he wrote that the everyone is Hitler attack is sooo tired. He later posted a tweet that included multiple Nazi-related puns.

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The Anti-Defamation League initially encouraged people to give Musk some grace, saying hed made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute. However, after Musk tweeted his Nazi wordplay, ADL executive director Jonathan Greenblatt addressed Musk on X, writing: The Holocaust was a singularly evil event, and it is inappropriate and offensive to make light of it ... The Holocaust is not a joke.

As for Smith, Andrew Goretsky, ADL Philadelphia regional director, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that her actions had impacted and caused harm to the community which must be acknowledged.

On Sunday, Smith announced her resignation on the Towamencin Township website, to allow the Township to move forward without the encumbrance of the fallout of my video.

In response, township officials said the board of supervisors intends to accept Smiths resignation, and that the board cannot and will not tolerate such conduct.

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Smiths resignation comes days after critics of Musk suggested that people arguing his gesture was not a Nazi salute should do it in public themselves and live with the consequences.

Related...
DOHA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on the release of six Israeli hostages this week and to allow displaced Gaza residents to return from the south to northern areas of the Strip, a spokesperson of Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

"As part of ongoing efforts led by mediators, an understanding has been reached between the two parties," the spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, posted on X, noting that Israeli hostage Arbel Yehuda and two others will be released before Friday and three more hostages will be released on Saturday by Hamas, following the agreement.

"In return, Israeli authorities will, starting Monday morning, allow displaced citizens in the Gaza Strip to return from the south to the northern areas of the Strip. Additionally, Israel will provide a list of 400 individuals detained since Oct. 7, 2023, every Sunday during the first phase of the agreement," Al Ansari said. 
An irrigation pivot sits in a crop of canola near Echo. (Photo by Kathy Aney/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and her natural resources adviser Geoff Huntington consider water quality and availability a top priority this legislative session.

In separate interviews with the Capital Chronicle, they said theyre particularly focused on addressing overdrawn water basins and ongoing issues with groundwater contamination in eastern Oregon and other critical groundwater areas in the state. Kotek also discussed her expectations for wildfire funding strategies, and the growing need for the Legislature to address energy demand and the cost of powering data centers.

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Kotek said proposed legislation to update some of the states water management laws is the product of a long overdue conversation, among the governors office and the state Legislature.

Im committed to making progress there, she said.

Water quantity

In less than a century, Oregon water officials have allocated all surface water under their purview, overallocated groundwater in several basins and have no clear accounting of how much water is still available in others. In May, Kotek convened a group of prominent water attorneys in the state to present ideas to the Legislature for improving Oregons water policies, water rights laws and allocation rules.

Huntington said the governors office will back a package of bills that gives state agencies more statutory authority to manage water allocations and regulations in Oregon. Much of that is being sponsored by Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, and Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, who co-chair the House agriculture and water committee.

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We are currently managing the resource based on a structure from the 1800s and the early 1900s, Huntington said of the states ground and surface waters. Weve been adjusting and tweaking and moving through a process of trying to accommodate and collaborate where we need it, when we need it, but I think weve run out of room.

Kotek and Huntington are eyeing changes to Oregons Groundwater Quality Protection Act, which is meant to conserve groundwater resources and prevent contamination. Updates to the act could help the Oregon Water Resources Department Department improve its statewide data on water quantity and distribution in the 20 basins they oversee, and help the Department of Environmental Quality exert more authority over sources of pollution in critical groundwater management areas.

Water quality

Huntington said the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area in northeast Oregon  one of three deemed critically impaired by nitrate contamination from farm fertilizers, animal waste and food processors  is an example of one area where the state could do more to improve conditions if agencies had more authority.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality recently released a study showing the problem of groundwater nitrate contamination in Morrow and Umatilla counties is getting worse, OPB reported. Among the entities contributing to the contamination is the Port of Morrow, which was recently allowed in an emergency order from Kotek to violate its wastewater reuse permit and spread more nitrate contaminated water across more farm fields above the contaminated aquifer.

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Huntington, who spoke to the Capital Chronicle before the emergency order from Kotek, said it was a false premise that the state is prioritizing the ports operations at the expense of safe drinking water for eastern Oregonians.

Ive spent more time in Boardman, personally, than any other part of the state since Ive been in the governors office, working with not just the port, not just the food processing and agricultural folks that are on the front end of the issue, but also with the CBOs (community-based organizations) and the impacted community, Huntington said.

He said he is helping the Port of Morrow with its efforts to secure federal loans that will be used to finish building digesters that are supposed to remove nitrogen from the ports wastewater.

There are so far no commensurate loans or grants being pursued by the governors office to pay for the infrastructure needed to connect homes relying on well water to a municipal water system. Kotek said her budget includes ongoing support to help get residents in need bottled water and water filters in Morrow and Umatilla counties and that she will continue to seek long-term solutions.

Wildfire funding

Kotek, who was forced in December to convene lawmakers for an emergency session to pay outstanding wildfire bills, has been following closely a committee appointed by the Legislature last year to come up with long-term wildfire funding solutions to present in the current session.

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The group has shared several ideas, including increasing a lodging tax and sending the revenues to the states wildfire fund, and a one-time investment of the states $1.8 billion revenue surplus, known as the kicker tax rebate, into a fund where it would earn at least 5% interest per year. Kotek said she expects the group to present its best ideas for wildfire funding to the Legislature in the coming weeks.

They have to be politically viable in that we can get them across the finish line, she said.

None of the proposals include new funding from private investor-owned electric utilities, responsible for some of the most expensive wildfires in Oregon history. Lobbyists from those same companies have sought some protections from future wildfire liabilities in conversations with lawmakers in recent months. PacifiCorp, owner of Pacific Power  found responsible for the 2020 Labor Day fires in Oregon that killed nine people and destroyed 5,000 homes and structures  was denied liability caps for its subsidiary, Rocky Mountain Power, by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission earlier this year. PacifiCorp sought to limit future wildfire damages in Idaho to only actual damages, not punitive or other damages, such as damages for pain and suffering.

Kotek did not say whether PacifiCorp or other utilities were seeking the same limits in Oregon, but she expressed concern that if the state doesnt limit wildfire liability for the utilities  both cooperatives and private-investor owned  they could continue to increase rates to cover future disaster losses.

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We have to hold our big investor-owned utilities accountable for safety, for compensating folks, but also being part of the solution, to make sure that they will help us avoid major incidents in the future and not put all of the burden on ratepayers, she said.

PacifiCorp is still embroiled in lawsuits over the Labor Day fires and has been ordered to pay or agreed to pay hundreds of million dollars to victims. But the cases are not over, and thousands of survivors are awaiting settlements.

Kotek said she would not withhold signing into law bills that could grant some relief from strict wildfire liability to companies like PacifiCorp until survivors are paid.

I am not a fan of linking the two, she said. They must compensate survivors, and we need to have a very important conversation about how we manage risk and liability in our utility system.

Energy and data centers

Kotek said she and lawmakers this session are calling for more transparency from the Public Utilities Commission on ratemaking and recent electricity rate hikes that have led to residential customers shelling out 50% more for electricity today than five years ago. Data centers are behind the largest and fastest increases in demand, requiring many electric utilities to buy more, and more expensive energy and expand infrastructure to serve the data centers. Senate Bill 553, sponsored by Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, would require the Oregon Department of Energy to study data centers and propose policies to protect Oregonians from steep rate hikes.

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Hillsboro has approved and sited a large number of data centers, which now demand as much electricity as nearly every residential customer in all of Washington County combined, according to an analysis from the watchdog Citizens Utility Board.

I think that were at a point in Oregon where we have to have a conversation about what kind of criteria we should have for local economic development as it relates to data centers, Kotek said. The impact of the growth of data centers is at such a point where you have impacts on regional water supply, load on the grid and all these other things that are really, really important. So I think we have to wrestle as a state  both legislators and in the executive branch  with what kind of criteria we should have going forward.

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DENVER (KDVR)  Federal law enforcement agencies, joined by local partners, raided what the Drug Enforcement Agency called a makeshift nightclub in Adams County on Sunday, resulting in 49 people arrested.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement took 41 of those arrested into custody, alleging they were in the U.S. illegally. The raid was the result of a months-long investigation by the DEAs Rocky Mountain Field Division. The RMFD has been investigating drug trafficking by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua since last summer, according to DEA RMFD Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen.

ICE detains nearly 50, including TdA members, in raid of makeshift nightclub in Adams County

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The DEA RMFD said the party at the nightclub was invite-only, which Pullen said is only set up on certain weekends and is invitation-only to members of TdA and their associates. The law enforcement at the raid Sunday morning  which included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Homeland Security Investigations; and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations  seized guns, drugs and U.S. currency.

Denver had a problem with this Venezuelan gang called TdA. Our investigation started in the summer, weve seized quite a large amount of drugs from TdA members, including fentanyl, Pullen explained to FOX31s Kasia Kerridge. That really raised the awareness inside DEA of how important this gang was. We started really focusing on them across Denver and Aurora, and really around the metro area. Since then, weve been able to identify a lot more members and their network and thats what led us to this nightclub.

The DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division shared these photos from an early-morning drug trafficking raid near Denver in unincorporated Adams County. (DEA) The DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division shared these photos from an early-morning drug trafficking raid near Denver in unincorporated Adams County. (DEA) The DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division shared these photos from an early-morning drug trafficking raid near Denver in unincorporated Adams County. (DEA) Federal agencies raided a makeshift nightclub in Adams County and detained nearly 50 people living in the country illegally. (Courtesy Drug Enforcement Agency) A screenshot of a video of people detained by federal officials. The DEA said 49 people arrested were taken away on this bus. (Courtesy Drug Enforcement Agency) A screenshot of a video posted by the Drug Enforcement Agencys Rocky Mountain Division showing people being detained.

Many lawmakers weighed in on the raid. FOX31 reached out to the Colorado Governors Office for Gov. Jared Polis stance on the raid. Following his State of the State address earlier this month, Polis told FOX31s Vicente Arenas the gangs in Denver and Aurora have been problems for decades. When asked if he would support an increased use of local and state law enforcement agencies for immigration-related cases, Polis said officers dont make that discernment in apprehending criminals.

If they are undocumented, ultimately the federal government would detain and deport that person, Polis told Arenas.

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On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Governors Office shared a statement on the raid.

The Governor is still learning details about the early morning action and welcomes the news that guns and drugs were removed from Colorado streets. Governor Polis is committed to making Colorado one of the top ten safest states. He hopes law enforcement continues to coordinate to keep guns and drugs out of our communities.

George Brauchler, who is the district attorney for the newly formed 23rd Judicial District, spoke about immigration with FOX31 in December 2024. He told Kim Posey that Nobody elected me to enforce federal law at any level including immigration law and I dont intend to allow myself to be sucked into that role.

DEA: Adams County nightclub raid evidence TdA moved around after facing heat in Aurora

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On his campaign website, Brauchler called the U.S. southern border neglected, open and unprotected. On Sunday, he applauded the Adams County nightclub raid on X.

More like this, please, he wrote. Great first steps.

U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Republican who is representing Colorados 8th Congressional District, pointed to federal immigration policies.

Better federal immigration policies are cleaning up Colorados sanctuary state and crime mess, Evans wrote on X. Strong law enforcement makes for safe communities.

Good work, Evans told the Rocky Mountain DEA.

Evans and Brauchler are both ex-law enforcement officers.

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Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican representing Colorados 4th Congressional District, has been vocally supportive of the Trump Administrations immigration plans and took to her personal X account to applaud the raid. Boebert represents portions of Adams County.

I remember when this was a feature of our imaginations she wrote on X, quoting the DEA RMFDs tweet announcing the raid. Aurora officials had pushed back on narratives that included having apartment complexes taken over by TdA, among other rumors.

The company that manages the apartments in question, CBZ Management, said the gangs had assaulted one of its representatives. The company said migrants were not the issue, but that gangs had taken over the complex and management could not get help to stop them. The properties were placed into receivership by the city of Aurora.

We are not going to give credence to these continued exaggerations, Aurora Communications and Marketing Deputy Director Ryan S. Luby said at the time.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says the Senate needs to investigate President Trumps decision to end his former national security adviser John Boltons personal security protection.

Bolton, who clashed with Trump at the end of his first term, had been under Secret Service protection because of a threat on his life from Iran.

Graham, during an interview with CNNs State of the Union, argued the U.S. government cant leave former national security officials hanging after theyve confronted one of the nations adversaries, such as Iran.

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And he said the Senate needs to get involved and figure out why Bolton and Trumps former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lost their personal security details.

Whether you like Bolton or anybody else, we need to make sure that if you serve in our government and you take a foreign power at the request of the administration, that we do not leave you hanging, Graham told CNNs Dana Bash.

The Senate needs to look at what happened and sit down and figure out whats the best way forward, he said.

He said Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) told him that the threat against Bolton and other former national security officials seemed to be real.

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And I dont want to leave them hanging. It makes it hard to recruit people in the future, he said.

Graham warned that Trump needs to think of the potential consequences if one of the officials who lost their personal security protection were to get seriously injured or killed by an assassin.

And, you know, if something happened to these people and, you know, President Trump needs to think about, you know, getting people to serve in the future. Owning that decision, he said.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Jan. 27A Utah man who was reportedly found with a teen inside a Beavercreek hotel room was found not guilty of having sexual contact with a minor following a trial.

A jury acquitted 45-year-old Michael E. Barfuss of Roy, Utah, of two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to Greene County Common Pleas Court records.

The trial began Jan. 21 and the jury began deliberating Friday afternoon. The not guilty verdict was filed on Friday.

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In July 2023, hotel staff checked in Barfuss and reportedly saw a teen enter his room.

Hotel employees reported they were concerned and stood outside the hotel room's door and could hear "moaning" that seemed sexual, according to a Fairborn Municipal Court affidavit.

Police were called to the hotel and knocked on the door. Barfuss reportedly answered shirtless and the teen exited the bathroom without any clothes.

The teen said they met Barfuss on a dating website and the sexual conduct was consensual, but Barfuss said no sexual activity took place, according to an affidavit.
AIKEN, Sc. (WJBF) The new mixed-use building will be built on Newberry Street.

This building will be used to host visiting scientist, conferences, and office work.

And the new mixed-use building will bring more attraction to the city.

City leaders told Newschannel 6 that without the support of South Carolinas Governor, Henry McMaster, and other lawmakers, this potential boost to their downtown wouldnt happen.

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So what this means is potentially we will have about 100 employees working downtown that will be shopping, dining at our restaurant during lunch after work. So again, its a positive boost to the town downtown, said city manager, Stuart Bedenbaugh.

As well, some residents are happy with the addition as some of their concerns will be completed by the city.

We just stated our concerns and they were taken seriously into consideration and I think we ended up with a proposal that we can all live with, said resident, Deborah Robbins.

The groundbreaking takes place at 3:30pm on Newberry Street.

Photojournalist: Dania Alawir

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF.
The News

The long-awaited Gulf railway project is finally picking up steam.

Kuwait awarded a contract to build the first phase of its 111-kilometer (70-mile) section of the railway to a Turkish engineering firm. The project, set to be completed by 2030, will connect Kuwait to Saudi Arabia and, eventually, to a line linking Manama, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Muscat.

Projected to transport eight million passengers and 95 million tons of cargo annually by 2045, the 2,117-kilometer (1,300-mile) Gulf Cooperation Council network is seeing contracts awarded across most Gulf countries, according to AGBI.

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One of the busiest routes  the Abu Dhabi-Dubai corridor  will feature a high-speed train capable of transporting passengers between the two cities in just 30 minutes at speeds of up to 350 kilometers (215 miles) per hour.

Senior UAE royals inspected a train cabin last week and unveiled designs for stations in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, and Sharjah. The high-speed train is expected to contribute 145 billion dirhams ($39.5 billion) to the UAEs economy over the next 50 years.
For several weeks gun enthusiasts have been nervously watching the U.S. Supreme Court. The highest court has flirted with granting certiorari and agreeing to hear two noteworthy gun-related cases: Snope v. Brown and Ocean State Tactical v. Rhode Island. Both cases involve statewide bans on semiautomatics and ammunition. So far, the courts have only relisted the cases, keeping the docketsand those nervously refreshing the court's websitein a suspenseful procedural limbo.

If the Court accepts these cases, the justices will undoubtedly revisit the current precedent established in 2008 by District of Colombia v. Heller. This landmark decision not only acknowledged and affirmed the individual right to firearms protected by the Second Amendment but also resurrected an age-old debate about the amendment's curious grammatical structure.

The Second Amendment's stilted syntax often inspires critics to wax grammatical. "The text of the amendmentis, as a whole, ungrammatical," writes Jeffrey Toobin, CNN's chief legal analyst. Some even argue that corpus linguisticsthe study of language by analyzing vast collections of historical textssafely rejects the current jurisprudence affirming an individual right to firearm ownership. (Spoiler alert: It doesn't, as David Kopel and Will Baude of The Volokh Conspiracy can confirm.)

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Though seemingly ambiguous, the Second Amendment makes sense once dissected grammatically.

Clause for Concern

Scholars divide the Second Amendment into two clauses: the prefatory and the operative clauses. Each serves a different purpose. The prefatory clausethe subordinate opening about a well-regulated militia being necessary for securityprovides the amendment's historical and cultural context. Meanwhile, the operative clausethe final half prohibiting infringementunequivocally asserts the natural right of gun ownership. If the Second Amendment were a meal, the prefatory clause would be the appetizer, and the operative clause the main course.

From a grammatical standpoint, the prefatory clause is nonrestrictive. This introductory throat-clearing provides additional details unessential to the sentence's core meaning. Justice Antonin Scalia affirmed this interpretation in District of Columbia v. Heller, the 2008 landmark legal precedent that secured the individual right to firearms. The prefatory clause, Scalia argued, "does not limit the latter grammatically, but rather announces a purpose."

Gun control advocates tend to elevate the prefatory clause's militia reference, suggesting it's a precondition for the right to firearms. Some even claim that the Second Amendment preserves the right to maintain a militia.

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Yet many linguistic scholars reject this interpretation. Kari Sullivan, a senior lecturer in linguistics at the University of Queensland, argues that the prefatory clause is neither internal nor conditional; instead, it's temporal and external, meaning the opening words introduce its context and purpose.

The amendment's bifurcated construction mirrors other famous documents of the era. The Virginia Declaration of Rights, often considered the foundation of the Bill of Rights, also used the prefatory/operative structure. Regarding free speech, section 12 of the declaration stated: "That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments." Prefacing a free press as "one of the great bulwarks of liberty" serves a similar prefatory purpose, adding colorful prose to the right articulated in the operative clause (i.e., can never be restrained but by despotic governments).

The arguments don't stop with grammatical construction. The Second Amendment's punctuation also provokes heated debate.

Plain Comma Sense

In a fictional exchange between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, John Quaintance satirized the amendment's questionable punctuation, especially the amendment's last comma between arms and shall. "Also, not to be a grammar redcoat here, but the use and placement of the comma isn't helping," writes an apocryphal Jefferson. "Can we change it? It will take two seconds." This comma even inspired an Atlantic essay to ask if it is the "most consequential comma in U.S. history."

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Comma usage at the time of the Constitution's signing was far from precise. "In the 18th century, punctuation marks were as common as medicinal leeches and just about as scientific," writes Adam Freedman of The New York Times.

Back then, commas mimicked speech patterns. Commas once represented natural pauses for speakers to catch their breath between intonational units. Writing has always been an extension of oral communication, but this was especially true during the Constitution's formulation.

This outmoded writing style includes commas that separate subjects from predicates. The Western canon brims with examples from literary classics, including Charles Dickens's Hard Times ("The objects he had lately pursued, turned worthless beside her") and Herman Melville's Moby Dick ("But this august dignity I treat of, is not the dignity of kings and robes"). By modern standards, William Shakespeare's excessive use of punctuation is ungrammatical.

Though antiquated, similarly punctuated sentences appear throughout the Constitution. Note the commas in Article III, Section 1 ("The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court") and Section 3 ("Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort"). Despite their punctuation, these constitutional clauses unambiguously codified the Supreme Court as the ultimate judicial authority and established the constitutional definition of treason, respectively.

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The comma, among its many uses, can denote nonrestrictive apposition. An appositive phrase links a noun with a modifying phrase or clause. Thus, the prefatory clause involves the primary noun phrase (i.e., a well-regulated militia) and its modifying nonrestrictive appositive (i.e., being necessary to the security of a free state). To avoid grammarians labeling the modifier "misplaced" or "dangling," these two phases must adjoin, and the comma demarcates their symbiotic relationship.

Consequently, the operative clause must also abide by the same parallel structure. Considering their proximity, the clause's first half (i.e., the right of the people to keep and bear Arms) and second (i.e., shall not be infringed) must work together. Thus, with these adjoining phrases, the operative clausethough interrupted by a comma splitting the subject and predicateexplicitly and solely prohibits government infringement of the right to keep and bear arms. Moreover, this clause isn't grammatically dependent on the militia reference, given the distance between the two.

The exact quantity of commas in the amendment is also complicated. Though the final version of the text contains three, several states ratified the amendment with fewer. Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina used only one comma. New Jersey's version had none.

But most speculation about the amendment's "consequential" commas is exaggerated. Historically, punctuation lacks legal standing. A long-standing British tradition minimized punctuation's effect on laws. American jurisprudence has also followed this standard, especially in Supreme Court decisions like Hammock v. Loan and Trust Company, Simpson v. United States, and Stephens v. Cherokee Nationall cases involving justices ignoring punctuation.

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Undoubtedly, the Second Amendment's punctuation is clunky at best, ahistorically ungrammatical at worst. But given the era's writing style and the parallel relationship of its various phases, the Second Amendment intuitively accomplishes its main goal: enumerating the right to own a firearm.

Passive Voice Shall Not Be Infringed

Some critics suggest the amendment's passive voice compels its ambiguity. "Given the regrettable use of the passive voice, just who is it that is bound by the Amendment?" asks Richard A. Epstein, a law professor at the University of Chicago.

Understanding the difference between active and passive voice sheds light on the Second Amendment.

With active voice, a subject acts, and this action occasionally affects an object. For example: "The Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms." In this sentence, the subject (i.e., the Second Amendment) acts (i.e., protects) upon an object (i.e., the right to bear arms).

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Passive voice flips the script and emphasizes the object. The passive predicate is usually a past participle accompanied by an additional "to be" verb (e.g., is, are, was, were, etc.). For example: "The right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment."

Any discussion of passive voice would be remiss if it didn't mention its capacity for deception. From Watergate to Iran-Contra, public officials regularly use the age-old dodge "mistakes were made" to weasel out of responsibility.

But like a firearm, grammatical construction is bad only when wielded by the wrong people. Passive voice is neither inherently wrong nor ungrammatical. Indeed, its usage is sometimes warranted.

The passive voice is helpful when 1) the object is more important than the subject or 2) the subject is innumerable. Consider the following sentence: "Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested 30 times throughout his civil rights career." Does it make sense to name every officer involved in those arrests? Of course not. Rather than undergo the painstaking process of identifying each and every subject, passive voice empowers writers to obscure or omit the no-named subject and promote the more significant object.

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Passive voice wasn't limited to the Second Amendment; the Framers used it liberally throughout the Bill of Rights. The Fourth Amendment asserts that the right against unlawful search and seizure "shall not be violated." The Fifth Amendment states, "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime." Only the First Amendment uses active voice ("Congress shall make no law").

The Bill of Rights' passive voice consistently elevates one object: individual rights. As for the subject, the Framers could neither specify nor predict what or who could infringe upon said rights. Thus, the Constitution, especially following the 14th Amendment's ratification, safeguards these rights from an exhaustive catalog of unscrupulous subjectsnamely, state actors (e.g., cops, Congress, presidents, judges, city councils, etc.) that could violate these freedoms.

Unfortunately, rights haven't always been universal. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness didn't always apply to marginalized communities. Any high-level conversation about American history would be remiss if it didn't mention chattel slavery, the genocide of Indigenous people, or the disenfranchisement of women.

Though pockmarked with violence and repression, the arc of American history, to paraphrase King, bends toward justice. Over time, civil liberties have expanded rather than contracted. Assuredly, more work remains to advance the causes of liberty and dignity. And though imperfect, the Constitution's linguistic architecture has endured historical tumult, exalting and articulating our natural rights to speech, religion, assembly, due process, andyesgun ownership.

The post Guns and Grammar appeared first on Reason.com.
Half of the Jews in Britain have considered leaving the country in the past two years because of anti-Semitism, a survey has found.

Polling by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) on Holocaust Memorial Day revealed the extent of the fear felt in recent years by British Jews.

Anti-Semitic incidents in Britain have reached a record high following the October 7 attacks and subsequent Israel-Hamas war.

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The study analysed 4,078 responses from British Jews, who were surveyed last June and contacted primarily through Jewish networks and religious bodies.

It found that 50 per cent agreed with the statement: In the past two years I have considered leaving Britain due to anti-Semitism. This was up from 48 per cent in November 2022.

Only a third (34 per cent) said they believe that Jews have a long-term future in the UK amid safety fears in the wake of the October 7 attacks.

The Metropolitan Police has come under fire over its perceived failures to tackle anti-Semitic chants on pro-Palestinian marches, while anti-Semitic abuse in British universities has reached record levels.

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A majority of British Jews (58 per cent) said they hid their religion in fear of discrimination.

Eighty-five per cent of those surveyed were dissatisfied with Sir Sadiq Khan, Labours Mayor of London whose response to weekly pro-Gaza marches drew heavy criticism.

Sir Sadiq has sought to reassure Jews in the capital that they are safe but has been embroiled in a number of scandals relating to his response to the demonstrations.

He was criticised in May after suggesting there must be equally strong criticism of the actions of Hamas and Israel.

The previous month, Sir Sadiq had apologised after accusing the Chief Rabbi of singling him out for criticism over his stance on Israel because he is a Muslim.

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Ninety-two per cent said the BBCs coverage of matters of Jewish interest was unfavourable. The corporation has repeatedly insisted its reporting of the Israel-Gaza conflict is impartial.

Danny Cohen, a former director of the BBC, accused the broadcaster of making false and damaging claims about Israels conduct in the war in a report published in September.

A CAA spokesman said: As we reflect today on historic anti-Semitism, as a society we also have to ask ourselves: why are we doing so little about anti-Semitism right here, right now?

Many British Jews have considered fleeing the country - Alishia Abodunde/Getty

We need more arrests, prosecutions, serious sentences and a ban on the anti-Israel marches. From politics to the BBC to universities, the Jewish community sees betrayal across our civil and cultural institutions.

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The cumulative result is that less than half of British Jews feel welcome in the UK. Anti-Semitism has become our nations great shame, and time is running out.

It came as a study found that nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of Britons believe Holocaust denial is common in the UK today.

A survey of 1,000 adults by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany also found 23 per cent of respondents had encountered distortion or denial online.

Denial or distortion in this case includes any attempt to negate the facts surrounding the persecution of Jews during the Second World War.

This could take the form of stating that the Holocaust, which claimed the lives of six million Jews and millions of others, was invented or exaggerated.

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Holocaust denial has been steadily growing across the world amid the increasing influence of social media and its lack of infrastructure to combat the spread of misinformation.

Out of those who had seen Holocaust denial online, 42 per cent said they had seen it on X, 37 per cent on Facebook and 30 per cent on YouTube.

X and its owner Elon Musk, the worlds richest man, have been at the centre of several controversies about the spread of false information online.

The tech billionaire was stung multiple times for sharing fake news following the Southport riots, including a false Telegraph headline about planned internment camps on the Falkland Islands.

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Mr Musk last week faced intense scrutiny for a salute made at Donald Trumps inauguration, which many critics likened to a fascist salute. He responded by accusing them of dirty tricks.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky defended Ukraine's mobilization efforts in an interview with the Italian news outlet Il Foglio on Jan. 25, saying that the quickest way to bring soldiers home was to mobilize enough servicemembers to force Russia to end the war.

Ukraine has struggled with manpower issues throughout Russia's full-scale invasion. An updated mobilization law passed in April 2024 aimed to address these difficulties, simplifying the process for identifying eligible conscripts and introducing penalties for draft dodgers.

Mobilization slowed last autumn despite the legislative reforms, leaving depleted front-line units to face Russia's eastern advance.

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"(M)artial law, it provides for the mobilization of people, and all the resources that are in the country. Absolutely everyone," Zelensky said in a video of the interview published by the Presidential Office on Jan. 27.

"And that, unfortunately, is the challenge of this war, and why we need to maximize the speed to end it. To force Russia to end this war."

Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are barred from leaving the country under martial law, but only those over 25 are eligible for the draft. The government is currently finalizing reforms to recruit 18- to 25-year-olds, aiming to make voluntary enlistment more appealing to younger citizens.

"We are defending ourselves today," Zelensky said.

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"If tomorrow, for example, half of the army just goes home, then we should have surrendered on the first day. That's the way it is. Because if half the people go home tomorrow, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will kill us all."

While Zelensky said the best way to bring soldiers home was to force Russia to end the war, he acknowledged that the Armed Forces require better policies on rotating and relieving personnel.

"They have rotations, or vacations. But certainly it is not enough," he said.

"Certainly we need to work on the quality of that."

Russian forces significantly outnumber Ukrainian units in some parts of the front and have been able to gain territory in eastern Ukraine while absorbing heavy losses.

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Ukrainian authorities have faced criticism for aggressive forced mobilization tactics and for reportedly transferring skilled Air Force personnel into infantry units. At the same time, Zelensky has refused to lower the draft age to 18 despite increasing U.S. pressure to do so.

Read also: Ukraine is failing the mobilization test

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Hamas has agreed to release hostage Arbel Yehud from Gaza on Thursday, easing the first major crisis of the Middle East ceasefire deal.

Israel had complained that Ms Yehud, a civilian, was supposed to be released last Saturday, prompting a tit-for-tat exchange that threatened to derail the fragile peace settlement.

However, a statement from the Israeli prime ministers office late on Sunday evening confirmed that following strong and determined negotiations led by Benjamin Netenyahu, a total of three hostages are to be released on Thursday.

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Ms Yehud, Agam Berger, a soldier, and one more prisoner will all be freed, in exchange for Israel allowing Palestinians to return to the northern part of the strip on Monday, the prime ministers office confirmed on Telegram.

Under the agreement, a further three hostages are to be released on Saturday, and Hamas will release a list confirming the status of all the hostages who are to be freed under the first phase of the ceasefire deal, the readout said.

It added that Israel will not tolerate any violation of the agreement, in a warning to Hamas about further breaches.

Under the Gaza ceasefire deal, female civilians are to be freed first, followed by female soldiers, the elderly, and those with health conditions.

Israel will now allows Gazans to return to the northern part of the strip on Monday - GETTY IMAGES

Israel had expected Ms Yehud to be released last Saturday, but four Israeli soldiers were released instead.

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When Hamas responded that she was to be released the following Saturday, Israel halted plans to allow Palestinians to travel to northern Gaza.

Hamas then warned of repercussions if Israel continued to block Palestinians from returning to their homes, with each side accusing the other of having breached the terms of the ceasefire deal.

Ms Yehud will be part of the third round of hostages to return home after Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, who were kidnapped from the Nahal Oz military base in the Oct 7 attacks, were released on Saturday.

The first three female Israeli civilians were set free last weekend.

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Hamas decision to release soldiers instead of civilians raised concerns among Israelis about the condition of the remaining civilian hostages.

Negotiations over the latest hostages are understood to have been brokered by Qatar, after Hamas said late on Sunday that it had handed over the list of Israeli hostages to the mediators.

Qatar confirmed the agreement laid out by Mr Netanyahu in a statement late on Sunday.

The ceasefires first phase runs until early March and includes the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

News that negotiations remain on track came as Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire deal until February 18.

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The Government of Lebanon, the Government of Israel, and the Government of the United States will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023, the White House said.

Donald Trump was reportedly thrilled by the news of the upcoming hostage release.

Steve Witkoff, Mr Trumps Middle East envoy, hailed the work of Qatar and Israel in the talks and said it was wonderful news, adding: I talked to the president about it and he was thrilled about it.

According to The Times of Israel, he said that if todays negotiations were an indication of the two sides ability to overcome blips, there is reason to be positive about the ceasefire holding.

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PHNOM PENH, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has admired Chinese people and Cambodians of Chinese descent for making contributions to the development of the Southeast Asian country.

In a message to greet the Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, Manet said the peoples of Cambodia and China have always stuck together through thick and thin since ancient times.

"On the occasion of the traditional Chinese New Year, the Year of the Snake, which will fall on Jan. 29, 2025, I'd like to congratulate and join in the fun with all Chinese people and Cambodians of Chinese descent, who have always shared weal and woe with us since ancient times," he said.

"I'd like to extend my particular thanks to the Federation of Khmer Chinese in Cambodia, Chinese people, and all Cambodians of Chinese descent around the world for having always contributed to Cambodia's development, which has achieved the most satisfactory results," Manet added.

The prime minister also encouraged them to continue to support the Cambodian government's development policies and to contribute "more actively" to boosting the national economy to higher growth.

Seun Sam, a policy analyst at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the government and people of China have greatly contributed to Cambodia's socio-economic development and poverty alleviation.

He said, according to Cambodia's official reports, China was the largest investor and trading partner of Cambodia in 2024. Moreover, China was the third-biggest source of foreign tourists to the kingdom.

"On top of these, China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has offered tremendous benefits to Cambodia, providing the most trusted resources to help develop Cambodia," he told Xinhua on Monday.

"The Cambodian government and people are getting the best outcomes from the BRI's flagship projects such as the Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone, Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, and Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, among others," he added.

Speaking of the Chinese New Year, Sam said that a lot of Cambodian people celebrate the Spring Festival because they are of Chinese descent and the occasion is also a good time for family reunion.

"Cambodia and China are not only trusted friends by geopolitics, but also brothers and sisters by nature because many Cambodian people have Chinese ancestors as Chinese have been present in Cambodia since ancient times," he said.

Diep Sophal, a history professor at the University of Cambodia, said the Chinese New Year is broadly celebrated in Cambodia, particularly among Cambodians living in urban areas.

"Days prior to the New Year, Cambodian people of Chinese descent always clean and decorate their houses with red color paper-cuts, flowers, red lanterns and Chinese couplets," he told Xinhua.

"People believe that the celebrations will bring them good luck, fortunes and happiness throughout the new year," he added.

Sophal, who is also a Cambodian of Chinese descent, said the Spring Festival is a special occasion for Cambodians with Chinese ancestry to honor their ancestors and enjoy family gatherings.

"Celebrating the Chinese New Year here not only further deepens the bonds of fraternal friendship between the peoples of Cambodia and China, but also reflects the kingdom's respect for cultural diversity and freedom of belief," he said. 
The Islamist group Hamas has said that eight of 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel are dead.

Twenty-five of them are still alive, a member of the Palestinian militant group told dpa.

An Israeli government spokesman said that a list provided by Hamas with these figures was consistent with Israeli intelligence.

The six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which brought a halt to the fighting after over 15 months of war, envisages the gradual release of hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
The Islamist group Hamas said Monday that eight of 33 hostages to be released from the Gaza Strip in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel are dead.

Twenty-five of them are still alive, a member of the Palestinian militant group told dpa.

An Israeli government spokesman said that a list provided by Hamas with these figures was consistent with Israeli intelligence.

The six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which brought a halt to the fighting after over 15 months of war, envisages the gradual release of hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

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In exchange for the 33 hostages, a total of 1,904 Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli prisons.

Hundreds of thousands begin return to northern Gaza

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have started returning to their homes in the north of the devastated Gaza Strip after a deal between Israel and Hamas was reached to free the next group of hostages.

On the first day that residents of the Gaza Strip were allowed to return to the north of the coastal area, around 300,000 people had already arrived there, the Hamas media office said.

They had been displaced to the south of the sealed-off area during the war where they mostly lived in makeshift tent camps.

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The Hamas information could not initially be independently verified. However, the United Nations also spoke of "hundreds of thousands" who returned to the north of the Gaza Strip in a post on X.

Videos on social media showed kilometre-long queues of people walking north along a designated route by the sea. Those travelling by car had to pass a checkpoint further inland.

The number of returnees to the heavily destroyed north is expected to rise to around 600,000 in the coming days, according to the Hamas media office.

Footage posted on social media on Monday morning showed crowds of Palestinians walking from the southern side of the Netzarim Corridor, which separates northern Gaza from the south and is a key supply route for Israeli forces, to the north of the coastal strip.

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Israel's military has allowed people to return from 7 am (0500 GMT).

According to UN data, about two-thirds of all buildings in Gaza were destroyed or severely damaged during the conflict, and approximately 90% of Gaza's 2.1 million residents were displaced.

Israeli-German woman to be released

The timing of Gazans' return to the north was affected by changes to the planned implementation of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

The initial agreement for the exchange of Israeli hostages and imprisoned Palestinians specified that civilians should be released first. However, on Saturday, Hamas released four young female soldiers instead of an Israeli civilian as had reportedly been agreed.

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In response, Israel initially blocked the return of Gazans to the north, originally scheduled to begin one week after the start of the temporary truce, which took effect on January 19.

After Hamas agreed to release an Israeli-German woman, who was abducted on October 7, later this week, Israel authorized the return of displaced Gaza residents to their homes.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed the agreement. According to the statement, three hostages are to be released on Thursday and another three are set to be freed on Saturday.

90 hostages remain in the Gaza Strip

A total of 90 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, most of whom were abducted during the Hamas-led massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.

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According to Israeli information, 35 of them are dead.

Those not released in the first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement are to be released in a second phase.

However, the two parties to the conflict have yet to negotiate the details of this  whether an agreement will be reached is unclear.

Hamas prepared to accept another power in Gaza Strip

Hamas could be prepared to accept another power in charge of the Gaza Strip, according to a senior representative of the Islamist group.

Hamas is not seeking to retain control of the territory, Mousa Abu Marzouk told dpa, confirming previous media reports.

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Prior to the Gaza war, which broke out in October 2023 following Hamas' unprecedented attack on southern Israeli communities, Hamas had ruled the Palestinian territory since 2007.

However, Hamas is now trying to obtain guarantees from the states that mediated the current ceasefire - Qatar, Egypt and the United States - that the rights of its officials will be protected, according to dpa sources.

The Islamist group have demonstrated their continuing strength in Gaza during the release of Israeli hostages, with dozens of masked and armed fighters in uniform positioning themselves in a square in the centre of Gaza City.

Israel has vehemently rejected the idea that Hamas could continue to rule over the coastal strip. The stated aim of its offensive was to completely eliminate Hamas.

The Israeli government has not yet presented its own plan for the future of the Gaza Strip.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell

CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed along the main roads leading north in Gaza on Monday, jubilant to be returning home after months of living in temporary shelter but fearing what might remain of their homes amid the bombed-out ruins.

Their return, which had been delayed at the weekend, went ahead after Hamas agreed to hand over three Israeli hostages this week and Israeli forces began to withdraw from a main corridor across the enclave under terms of an agreement on a ceasefire in the 15-month-long war.

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In Israel, families of hostages waited anxiously for news of their loved ones.

Along a road running by Gaza's Mediterranean shore, a mass of people, some holding infants in their arms or carrying bundles of belongings on their shoulders, trekked north on foot.

"It's like I was born again and we were victorious again," said a Palestinian mother, Umm Mohammed Ali, part of the miles-long throng that moved slowly up the coastal road.

Witnesses said the first residents arrived in Gaza City in the early morning after the first crossing point in central Gaza opened at 7:00 a.m. (0500 GMT). Another crossing opened around three hours later, letting in vehicles.

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"My heart is beating. I thought I would never come back," said Osama, 50, a public servant and father of five, as he arrived in Gaza City.

"Whether the ceasefire succeeds or not, we will never leave Gaza City and the north again, even if Israel would sent a tank for each one of us. No more displacement."

Families repeatedly displaced after over 15 months of war erupted in cheers at shelters and tent encampments when they heard the crossings would be opened.

"No sleep, I have everything packed and ready to go with the first light of day," said Ghada, a mother of five.

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"At least we are going back home, now I can say war is over and I hope it will stay calm," she told Reuters via a chat app.

Children in warm jackets and carrying backpacks walked hand in hand. Men pushed the elderly in wheelchairs and families posed for photos as Hamas-hired officials in red vests directed them along the road.

Despite the ceasefire agreement, Palestinian hospital officials said a bulldozer driver was killed by an Israeli missile along the coastal road west of Nuseirat camp in central Gaza Strip. There was no immediate Israeli comment.

The Israeli military said in a statement it "precisely" operated against suspects who posed a threat to troops operating in the Gaza Strip.

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"Moreover, in central Gaza, an IDF aircraft fired to distance a number of suspicious vehicles that were moving northward in an area that is not authorized for passage according to the agreement, and without inspection, in violation of the terms of the agreement," it added.

DESTRUCTION

Around 650,000 Palestinians were displaced from northern Gaza during the war, which was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 assault on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. More than 47,000 Palestinians have since been killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry

Later on Monday, Gaza's Hamas authorities said more than 300,000 people had crossed into Gaza City and the north edge of the enclave.

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Many of those displaced have had to move several times as Israel designated parts of Gaza as humanitarian zones and then cleared them out before mounting bombardments and ground operations.

Much of Gaza now lies in ruins. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said returnees to the north need at least 135,000 tents and shelters as they try to reestablish their lives in the rubble-strewn landscape of their former homes.

HOPE AND DREAD

Under terms of the ceasefire agreement, residents of northern Gaza were to return at the weekend. But Israel said Hamas had broken the deal by failing to release civilian female hostage Arbel Yehud and kept its forces in the Netzarim corridor that cuts across the enclave south of Gaza City.

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Late on Sunday, Qatari mediators resolved the dispute after Hamas agreed to release Yehud, along with female soldier Agam Berger and another hostage on Thursday, before the next scheduled release of three more hostages on Saturday. Israel then gave the green light for a return to north Gaza from Monday morning.

The armed wing of the Islamic Jihad group, an ally of Hamas, published a video on Monday showing Yehud alive.

Hamas has also provided a list of all hostages to be released during the first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement, stating their condition.

On Monday, a Hamas official told Reuters the group had handed over to mediators a list that showed that 25 of 33 hostages scheduled for release in the first phase are alive. The figure of 25 included the seven hostages released since the truce began on Jan. 19.

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Israel has confirmed the Hamas figures in the list - 25 are alive but eight were killed by Hamas, an Israeli government spokesman said.

The identities of who was dead and who was alive was not immediately confirmed, keeping families in a state of hope and dread.

Israeli authorities have previously said there are grave concerns about the lives of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, aged 4 years and 10 months when they were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Her sister-in-law Ofri Bibas said the past few weeks have been agonizing for the family. Shiri's husband, Yarden Bibas, is also hostage in Gaza but was taken separately from his family.

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"We are waiting, amid a sea of rumours," Ofri Bibas told Israel's Public Broadcaster Kan. "We have no certainty and we are still clutching on to hope, hoping to see them here, together with Yarden."

(Reproting and writing by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo; Editing by Ros Russell, Angus MacSwan, Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio)
TEL AVIV  Hamas has told Israel that eight of 26 Israeli hostages set to be released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire are dead, a Middle Eastern official briefed on the matter told NBC News on Monday.

It is believed to be the first time that the militant group has said exactly how many hostages are dead or alive. Later, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said these numbers matched information gleaned by Israeli intelligence.

The first three Israeli hostages  Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, a dual British citizen  were freed earlier this month in exchange for 90 Palestinian detainees  mostly women and children.

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On Saturday, four female Israeli soldiers were released in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks.

The ceasefires first phase, which is set to run until early March, includes the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The second phase has yet to be fully negotiated.

The fragile truce was placed in jeopardy Saturday after Israel prevented Palestinian civilians from moving back to their homes in northern Gaza. It said Hamas had violated the agreement because it had not released hostage Arbel Yehoud.

Hostages' relatives and supporters demonstrate in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

Hamas also accused Israel of breaking the deal, but on Monday, Qatar, one of the leading mediators in the talks to bring an end to the fighting, said in a statement that Yehoud would be freed along with two other hostages before Friday.

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Three other captives are also set be released Saturday, and many in Israel are hopeful that Kfir Bibas, the youngest hostage still in captivity in the Gaza Strip, will be among those released.

Kfir was just shy of 9 months old when he was kidnapped during the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, along with his 5-year-old brother, Ariel, and his parents, Yarden and Shiri Bibas.

He turned 2 earlier this month, having never known a birthday outside captivity.

While all other child hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a one-week ceasefire in November 2023, the Bibas family never emerged from Gaza, and on one of the final days of the brief pause in fighting, Hamas said in a statement that the toddler had been killed in an Israeli airstrike along with his mom and brother.

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Around 250 people were taken hostage and 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7. After Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza in response, more than 47,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to health officials in the enclave.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
CULLMAN COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT)  A Hanceville man was killed following a single-vehicle crash in Cullman County Friday.

Fiery crash in Blount County leaves 1 dead, 2 injured

Victor Boatright, 70, was injured when the Jeep Liberty he was driving left the roadway, struck a culvert and overturned on Jan. 24, according to Alabama Law Enforcement. He was airlifted to UAB Hospital for treatment and was pronounced dead from his injuries while at the hospital Monday.

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The crash occurred around 5:06 a.m. on U.S. 31 near Cullman County 486.

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(NewsNation)  Tax season is here, which means taxpayers have until April 15 to file last years income. But what happens if you dont file your taxes?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which processes tax returns, grants extensions in some cases, but you must apply for the extension by April 15, the same day returns are due.

For those who dont file  and dont request additional time  you will face a failure to file penalty from the IRS. That means you will have to pay a percentage of the taxes you didnt pay on time.

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Tax return FAQ: What you should know to file your taxes

The IRS suggests filing all past-due returns regardless of whether you can pay in full if you owe taxes.

2025 tax season: Failure to file penalty

The failure to file penalty is based on how late you file. For every month youre overdue, the IRS will charge you 5% of your unpaid taxes as a late fee. The penalty caps at 25%, according to the IRS.

The IRS also charges interest on penalties.

There are minimum late fee penalties for returns more than 60 days late.

Aside from fees, it is illegal for anyone who makes the minimum income to fail to file a tax return.

What is the minimum income to file this years tax return?

2025 tax season: Important dates

The 2025 tax season has officially started, and there are important deadlines you need to know.

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When is the first day I can file taxes?

Here are the key dates for the 2025 tax filing season:

Tax season officially began Monday, Jan. 27.

The federal tax filing deadline , Tax Day, is Tuesday, April 15.

If you need more time to file your taxes, you can request an extension, but you need to do so by April 15. That will give you an extra six months, until October 15, to file without penalties.

The IRS generally issues refunds within 21 days for taxpayers who file electronically and choose direct deposit. Paper returns take longer.

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COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE)  Debris cleanup is still underway in the town of Hartford four months after Hurricane Helene.

Rafting company owners, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) have been cleaning organic debris up and down the river.

Fatal shooting in Morgan County

Daniel Jennette the owner of Smoky Mountain Outdoors Rafting has been able to clean a lot himself thanks to owning proper equipment but is grateful for the extra help.

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Thank goodness for Governor Lee and the state of Tennessee for hiring this tree debris removal company. Theyre in from all over the country and they have come in and cleaned up. What would have taken me ten years, they did it in two weeks. Its just amazing, said Jennette.

What it looks like now is a drastic change from where it was, added Jon Felderman the owner of Big Creek Expeditions.

Rafting companies along the river were hit hard and are now working around the clock to get back on their feet ahead of the Spring season. There is currently a plan set in motion for rafting to return in 2025, Felderman said.

This plan involves access points to the river and roads to get to the river. Everythings being worked on at this point so, its just [a] determination of when certain projects are going to be done. We do have a plan for rafting in 2025, and then 2026 should be back to normal. We should be ready to go in [the] beginning of the spring, explained Felderman.

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The businesses are all coming together, offering support and assistance to one another as they clean up and rebuild.

Were all doing everything we can to try to get our community as a whole back to where it was. Thats why Ive been out helping some competitors that didnt have flood insurance, because were a tight knit community. When I have a break down here, Im able to head up and help Outdoor Adventures or Big Creek Expeditions or whoever needs help, and theyve been down to help me too. Its all a team effort, said Jennette.

Report: Former David Crockett High School booster club president stole funds for personal purchases

The town of Hartford is hopeful that the return of rafters in the spring will help revive the community and bring back the vibrant tourism it once knew.

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The best way you can help, just come rafting in the spring, send people our way. Essentially, our town of Hartford was wiped off the map, and were rebuilding. Everybodys rebuilding, Jennette added.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.
WETHERSFIELD, Conn. (WTNH)  A 31-year-old Hartford man faces multiple charges after allegedly going over 125 mph on Interstate 91 North in Wethersfield and leading troopers on a chase in November, according to state police.

Richard V. Gonzalez turned himself in on Sunday and was charged with reckless driving, disobeying the signal of an officer, engaging police in a pursuit, failure to drive in the proper lane, improper passing  unsafe distance, and second-degree reckless endangerment.

A Connecticut State Police trooper was conducting proactive traffic speed enforcement on Nov. 24 on I-91 North near Exit 24 in Rocky Hill when he observed Gonzalez allegedly going faster than the traffic flow.

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Norwich man charged with DUI after driving over 130 mph on I-395

State police said the trooper clocked Gonzalez going 104 mph in a posted 65 mph area. The trooper activated his emergency lights and sirens, but state police said Gonzalez sped up, going more than 125 mph near Exit 27 in Wethersfield while making unsafe lane charges and driving on the shoulder.

State police said the trooper disengaged due to the safety of the public. Gonzalez was uncooperative and refused to meet with troopers when they contacted him, according to state police.

Gonzalez was released on a $10,000 bond and is set to appear in court on Feb. 10.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com.
Jan. 26Director says food pantry seeing increased need for services

Harvest for the Hungry is appealing to the public for an increase in donations, as the food pantry is seeing a greater need for its services and has encountered several major expenses, director Diane Porter says.

Porter said the number of people served by the food pantry "has gone up 14 percent, year on year."

She said the monthly donor contribution amount for the pantry are $1,795, while their average monthly utilities are $1,604.

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"Our average cost from the food is $3,400 per month," Porter said of their supplier.

She said this does not factor in things such as repairs, property taxes and insurance.

"We need dedicated monthly donors to equal monthly expenses," she said.

Porter notes that, just because they are a nonprofit, it does not mean they get a discount on things like utilities.

"It's like trying to run a small grocery store on donations," she said.

Porter recently made a pitch on social media for more donors. She noted she has only done this once before, when they sought to purchase their building., located at 120 N. Fifth St. in Ironton.

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She said, in the past year, they have lost funding from one group, which had only committed for a year, and provisions used through the COVID-19 pandemic have expired.

She said the food bank operated "100 percent on donations," and noted recent expenses they have had, such as $4,400 for transmission repair and a $794 maintenance bill for a van, and $1,600 in repairs for a pallet mover.

Harvest for the Hungry provided for 7,110 households in 2024, Porter said. The 18,881 people served by the food bank included 4,301 seniors, 10, 134 adults under 65 and 4,366 children.

In addition to their regular food giveaways throughout the year, the nonprofit also does a large distribution event each year, just before Thanksgiving, providing recipients with enough items to create a full holiday meal.

Porter said donations can be made at www.harvestforthehungry@outlook.com or they can be mailed to P.O. Box 153, Ironton, Ohio 45638.
PLAQUEMINES PARISH, La. (WGNO)  Troopers with the Louisiana State Police are investigating a crash that left a Harvey pedestrian dead in Plaquemines Parish on Saturday, Jan. 25.

The LSP reported the crash happened on Louisiana 3017 near Commerce Street around 7:45 p.m.

Boil water advisory issued for East Bank of New Orleans

LSP officials said an initial investigation shows that 69-year-old Jamie Young was walking in the southbound lane of LA 3017 while a Mercedes was driving south. The Mercedes then reportedly hit Young.

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Young suffered severe injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Mercedes was uninjured.

Man killed in Mid-City shooting

According to the LSP, Young was wearing dark clothing at the time of the crash.

LSP troopers said the driver of the Mercedes, provided a voluntary breath sample, which indicated a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 0.000g%.

The investigation is ongoing, and routine toxicology samples were collected.

Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.

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Search and rescue team members work on a tour boat accident site in the waters near San Juan de la Costa, Osorno Province, Chile, Jan. 27, 2025.

Six people were killed after a tour boat capsized in southern Chile on Sunday, the country's investigative police said Monday.

The accident occurred in the Punta Tiburones area of San Juan de la Costa, a town in Osorno Province in Chile's Pacific Coast Los Lagos Region, some 960 kilometers south of the country's capital Santiago. (Xinhua)

SANTIAGO, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Six people were killed after a tour boat capsized in southern Chile on Sunday, the country's investigative police said Monday.

The accident occurred in the Punta Tiburones area of San Juan de la Costa, a town in Osorno Province in Chile's Pacific Coast Los Lagos Region, some 960 kilometers south of the country's capital Santiago.

The National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) had previously reported four deaths, three missing people and 27 survivors following the accident.

At midday Monday, the investigative police increased the number of fatalities to six, saying the last corpse had not been found.

The owner of the boat has been arrested on charges of homicide, the chief prosecutor of Osorno, Maria Angelica de Miguel, told local media.

According to Osorno's provincial presidential delegate, Claudia Pailalef, the boat had "many more people on board" than it should have, and was not equipped with the necessary safety features.

The vessel sailed from Caleta Condor to Bahia Mansa, a common but risky route due to climatic and geographical characteristics, she said.

"During this summer season (in the southern hemisphere), given the movement of tourists, services of this nature are provided by local people. The distance, sailing between the two points, takes approximately two-and-a-half hours," she added.

Local authorities said the initial investigation shows one of the motorboat's engine's suffered a malfunction, leading to the vessel's crash against rocks and sinking. 

Search and rescue team members work on a tour boat accident site in the waters near San Juan de la Costa, Osorno Province, Chile, Jan. 27, 2025.

Six people were killed after a tour boat capsized in southern Chile on Sunday, the country's investigative police said Monday.

The accident occurred in the Punta Tiburones area of San Juan de la Costa, a town in Osorno Province in Chile's Pacific Coast Los Lagos Region, some 960 kilometers south of the country's capital Santiago. (Xinhua)

Search and rescue team members work on a tour boat accident site in the waters near San Juan de la Costa, Osorno Province, Chile, Jan. 27, 2025.

Six people were killed after a tour boat capsized in southern Chile on Sunday, the country's investigative police said Monday.

The accident occurred in the Punta Tiburones area of San Juan de la Costa, a town in Osorno Province in Chile's Pacific Coast Los Lagos Region, some 960 kilometers south of the country's capital Santiago. (Xinhua)

Search and rescue team members work on a tour boat accident site in the waters near San Juan de la Costa, Osorno Province, Chile, Jan. 27, 2025.

Six people were killed after a tour boat capsized in southern Chile on Sunday, the country's investigative police said Monday.

The accident occurred in the Punta Tiburones area of San Juan de la Costa, a town in Osorno Province in Chile's Pacific Coast Los Lagos Region, some 960 kilometers south of the country's capital Santiago. (Xinhua)

Search and rescue team members work on a tour boat accident site in the waters near San Juan de la Costa, Osorno Province, Chile, Jan. 27, 2025.

Six people were killed after a tour boat capsized in southern Chile on Sunday, the country's investigative police said Monday.

The accident occurred in the Punta Tiburones area of San Juan de la Costa, a town in Osorno Province in Chile's Pacific Coast Los Lagos Region, some 960 kilometers south of the country's capital Santiago. (Xinhua)

A helicopter conducts a search over a tour boat accident site in the waters near San Juan de la Costa, Osorno Province, Chile, Jan. 27, 2025.

Six people were killed after a tour boat capsized in southern Chile on Sunday, the country's investigative police said Monday.

The accident occurred in the Punta Tiburones area of San Juan de la Costa, a town in Osorno Province in Chile's Pacific Coast Los Lagos Region, some 960 kilometers south of the country's capital Santiago. (Xinhua)
New Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says there will soon be more executive orders from President Trump as he seeks to reshape and revamp the U.S. military.

Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon on Monday morning for his first day leading the department after being narrowly confirmed by the Senate last week. He referred specifically to Trumps efforts to purge diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies from the federal government.

There are more executive orders coming that we fully support, he said. On removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of COVID mandates, Iron Dome for America.

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This is happening quickly, he added.

Trump has signed a bevy of execuive orders since taking office a week ago, including reinstating service members who were discharged from the military for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. They will receive their former rank and full back pay with benefits, the White House said in a memo.

The president also plans to sign an order that bans transgender people from serving in the military.

Hegseth was confirmed Friday, when Vice President Vance cast a tie-breaking vote after three GOP senators broke with their party to vote against him. He has faced multiple allegations of sexual abuse and of drinking on the job.

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He spoke with enthusiasm outside the Pentagon on Monday, calling it the honor of a lifetime to lead the department.

Every moment that Im here, Im thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, in Germany, in Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, on missile defense sites and aircraft carriers, Hegseth said. Our job is lethality and readiness and war fighting.

We will be no better friend to our allies and no stronger adversary to those who want to test us, he added.

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Jan. 26Removing tax burdens. Combating crime.

Those are just a couple of policy priorities from the state's largest and most well-known chambers of commerce during the 60-day session.

The Journal asked the heads of the three chambers  the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce and the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce  what they're focusing on this session. Here are their responses:

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Terri Cole, president and CEO, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce

Despite the state's impressive revenue picture, New Mexico's economic growth  outside of the oil and gas industry  is tepid, our population is not growing and participation in the labor force lags most other states. Soaring energy revenues will not last forever, leaving New Mexico with an extraordinary opportunity  while the state remains flush with cash  to build a more dynamic and competitive economy that is sustainable for the long haul.

To that end, the Chamber's primary goal for the 2025 session is to encourage lawmakers to position our state to better compete for new businesses, workers, residents and visitors. Competition is a choice, and in New Mexico's case, it will require leaders to prioritize and address a set of serious challenges that currently put our state at a competitive disadvantage. Specifically, the Chamber will work to:

Make New Mexico a safer place. Our well-earned, high-crime reputation makes our state a less welcoming place for businesses to locate and deters people from choosing to live and work here. Too many talented workers leave the state, and existing businesses struggle to recruit people to New Mexico to fill their workforce needs. ... The Chamber supports increasing penalties for the illegal possession and use of firearms, closing the revolving door that so easily lets violent teenagers and dangerous people battling mental health disorders back onto the streets, adding to the ranks of our police and prosecutors and investing in the wider use of crime-fighting technology.

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Reducing the tax burden on businesses and families. New Mexico's tax structure provides little incentive for people to either live here or start a business. Neighboring states either charge lower corporate income taxes, impose lower taxes on small businesses or charge no residential income tax at all. This session, the Chamber will vigorously oppose the imposition of any new taxes on businesses or families  including the proposed new tax to establish the family/medical leave mandate  and will specifically seek a reduction in the state's high gross receipts tax rate, as well as the reduction of tax pyramiding that puts New Mexico small businesses at a direct competitive disadvantage with businesses in other states.

Make New Mexico a more attractive place to practice medicine and add to our health care workforce. It's not really health care if it's hard to find a doctor and medical appointments take months to schedule. New Mexico's dire shortage of health care workers  from primary care doctors to specialists to nurses of all types  threatens our economic future in a big way. ... The Chamber supports a package of proposals to make New Mexico competitive and attractive for health care workers  including eliminating the GRT on medical appointments, streamlining credentialing, joining interstate health care compacts to make it easier to move to New Mexico and practice medicine, raising Medicaid reimbursement rates and overhauling a medical malpractice system that is uncommonly punitive toward doctors and sending our health care workers to other states.

New Mexico is already a beautiful place, rich in diversity, culture, history, weather and natural resources. We envision a state with increasingly safer streets, stronger schools, lower taxes and improved access to health care; such a state would be a powerhouse economically and one of the very best places to start a business, work, live and visit. May that be our North Star this session.

Leslie Hielema, incoming president and CEO, New Mexico Chamber of Commerce

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The New Mexico Chamber of Commerce remains committed to championing legislative priorities that drive economic growth, foster innovation and create opportunities for businesses of all sizes. As the voice of New Mexico's business community, our focus is on policies that reduce unnecessary burdens, promote fairness, and ensure a vibrant economic climate for all.

A top priority is eliminating undue burdens on businesses. Regulatory processes that are outdated, inconsistent or overly complex hinder entrepreneurship and slow down economic progress. We advocate for reforms that streamline regulations, provide clear guidelines and reduce unnecessary compliance costs without compromising safety, environmental standards or workforce wellbeing.

Another cornerstone of our legislative agenda is ensuring a fair and equitable tax code. A competitive tax structure is essential to attracting and retaining businesses, encouraging investment and supporting job creation. We support tax policies that reward innovation, reduce complexity and provide certainty for businesses planning long-term growth in New Mexico. Our goal is to make the state a more attractive destination for employers while ensuring the tax system treats all businesses equitably.

Finally, we emphasize the importance of a collaborative, bipartisan approach to policymaking. Addressing New Mexico's challenges requires input from diverse stakeholders across industries and political affiliations. We remain dedicated to fostering dialogue, identifying shared goals and driving solutions that benefit the entire state.

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The Chamber is committed to ensuring New Mexico remains a place where businesses thrive, communities prosper and opportunities abound.

Ernie C'deBaca, president and CEO, Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce

As the primary voice for Hispanic business in New Mexico, the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber seeks to ensure the diverse interests of its members are represented Legislature.

The Chamber supports initiatives that promote business friendly policies and positive public safety measures while opposing initiatives that negatively affect our economy through burdensome regulatory requirements and mandates.

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Public safety: Supporting initiatives and funding measures that reduce crime.

Increased funding for law enforcement, courts, jails and other criminal justice partners.

Tougher penalties for violent crimes and certain property crimes.

Increased access to behavioral health resources and facilities.

Expanded access to affordable housing options.

Formation of effective solutions that will reduce homelessness and vagrancy.

Health care: Supporting access to quality health care services that are critical to diversifying and growing our economy.

Support measures and funding initiatives that will improve access to quality health care and help recruit and retain doctors, nurses and health care providers while we invest in programs that will grow that workforce locally.

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Support changes to the state's Medical Malpractice Act to ensure provisions that increase insurance costs and drive doctors out of the state are reformed.

Oppose policies that negatively impact access to health care services.

Energy: Supporting sound energy and environmental policy that promotes clean and efficient development and delivery of energy.

Development of a water program that reduces our reliance on fresh water resources and expands industrialized treated reuse opportunities.

Proper regulatory requirements that promote the responsible development of our state's energy resources.

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Development of advanced energy resources and technologies to ensure energy reliability.

Business: Supporting initiatives and policies that promote responsible development and growth, while opposing policy that impose burdensome mandates and regulatory requirements on businesses, like:

Unreasonable paid family and medical leave mandates.

Minimum wage mandates.

Unreasonable regulation of innovative technologies.

Mandates that increase operational costs and regulatory burden.
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Monday that Israel should withdraw from the occupied border areas in southern Lebanon, rejecting the extension of the cease-fire arrangements to Feb. 18.

"Israel should get out. ... We don't accept any extension of the deadline, and we will not accept any justification to prolong it even for a second," Qassem said in a speech broadcast by Hezbollah-run Al Manar television station.

His remarks came after the White House announced in a statement Sunday that a U.S.-brokered cease-fire agreement that ended the war between Lebanon and Israel on Nov. 27 "will remain in effect until Feb. 18."

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The cease-fire's 60-day deadline expired at dawn Sunday, but Israel refused to complete the pullout of its forces from southern Lebanon, arguing that the Lebanese Army has been slow in redeploying, while Hezbollah still maintains its military presence in areas prohibited by the agreement.

Lebanon has accused the Israeli military of procrastinating its troop withdrawal.

Israel's decision to remain inside southern Lebanon prompted thousands of displaced residents to forcefully return to their towns and homes, most of which were destroyed by the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah that broke out in October 2023.

A total of 26 people were killed and 134 were wounded when Israeli forces opened fire on the returning residents Sunday and Monday, according to a new count by the Health Ministry.

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Qassem said the international community should exert pressure on Israel to withdraw, warning that Hezbollah "has the right to act" to confront its continued occupation. He added that Israel violated the cease-fire agreement 1,350 times, while Hezbollah fully abided by the accord and refrained from violating it.

Hezbollah was greatly weakened during the war after receiving devastating blows, with Israel killing its top leaders and dismantling its military infrastructure.

Outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that Lebanon agreed to continue working under the cease-fire understanding until Feb.18 and "not to give Israel any excuse not to withdraw from all Lebanese territories."

House Speaker Nabih Berri, who negotiated the truce deal on behalf of his Hezbollah ally, explained that he accepted the deadline extension on the condition that Israel immediately stops its violations and destruction of homes, "in addition to a commitment on the issue of prisoners."

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According to the White House statement, Lebanon, Israel and the United States will begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hezbollah opened a "support front" for Gaza.

The prisoners reportedly include seven detained during the war and nine arrested Sunday.

The war, which killed or wounded more than 20,000 people in Lebanon and displaced some 1.2 million, resulted in widespread destruction of villages, property, hospitals and schools in Beirut's southern suburbs and in southern and eastern Lebanon.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Lebanese Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Monday that the group would not accept any justifications to extend the period for Israeli troops' withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

"What comes after the period given for Israel's withdrawal? Israel has to withdraw because the 60 days are over. We do not accept any justification to extend for one moment or one day," he said in a recorded televised address.

Israel said on Friday that its army's withdrawal would last beyond the 60-day period stipulated in the ceasefire agreement with the Lebanese group, saying the terms of the deal had not been fully enforced by the Lebanese state.

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The U.S. said on Sunday the agreement between Lebanon and Israel would remain in effect until Feb. 18, an extension to the Jan. 26 deadline previously agreed.

Qassem said in his speech that the group received information that Washington initially proposed to Lebanese officials to extend the deal to Feb. 28, which he said they rejected.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said during a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson that the country accepted adhering to the ceasefire agreement with Israel until Feb. 18.

Mikati said that requires pressure to end the Israeli "aggression and repeated violations" and to secure Israel's complete withdrawal from the occupied territories in the south, in return, his office said in a statement on Monday.

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"Nobody in Lebanon can accept the extension (of Israeli troops withdrawal) for one moment. Israel must get out," Qassem said.

"Any repercussions of the withdrawal's delay will be the responsibility of the U.N., the U.S., France and the Israeli entity," he added.

He also said the "resistance" has the right to act in what it deems appropriate in response to the "occupation".

Israeli forces killed at least 24 people and wounded at least 141 others in southern Lebanon on Sunday and Monday, the Lebanese health ministry said, as thousands of people tried to return to their homes in the area in defiance of Israeli military orders.

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On the Lebanese cabinet formation, Hezbollah's chief said things were going well with the country prime minister and president, adding that the "complications" of forming the cabinet were not because of the group.

In early January, lawmakers elected army chief Joseph Aoun as head of state, filling the vacant presidency with a general who has U.S. approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed group after its devastating war with Israel.

Government formation discussions are often protracted in Lebanon, due to bartering among its sectarian factions over cabinet positions.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Laila Bassam; Editing by Rod Nickel)
For Kate Middletons second royal engagement of 2025, she wore a meaningful piece of jewelry: The Princess of Wales chose to wear a five-strand pearl necklace that belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth, and the Bahrain Pearl Drop earrings.

This isnt Kates first time wearing jewels that belonged to the late Queen, but it was for a particularly poignant occasion: Holocaust Memorial Day, which this year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

For royals, pearls are intertwined with mourningsymbolism that dates back to Queen Victorias reign. After her husband Prince Albert died in 1861, Queen Victoria often wore pearls. Kate wearing pearls today, then, could be a meaningful way to signal with her jewels that she is commemorating the millions lost in the Holocaust.

Dan Kitwood - Getty Images

The Prince and Princess of Wales attended a ceremony hosted by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. Before the ceremony, the royals met with Holocaust survivors, including Stephen Frank and Yvonne Bernstein. Kate had previously photographed both Frank and Bernstein with their families in 2020, and today was a reunion of sorts for them. It was such a treat for me to come and see an old friend, she said.

ARTHUR EDWARDS - Getty Images

ARTHUR EDWARDS - Getty Images

Whilst I have been lucky enough to meet two of the now very few survivors, I recognize not everyone in the future will be able to hear these stories first hand, Kate said at the time. It is vital that their memories are preserved and passed on to future generations, so that what they went through will never be forgotten.

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In his frenetic first week back at the White House, President Donald Trump allowed immigration raids at schools, sidelined federal employees focused on diversity and ended civil rights investigations into book bans.

But the biggest education story of the week  one that could change public schools forever  broke late Friday afternoon at a building two miles away.

The U.S. Supreme Court, backed by the conservative supermajority Trump secured in his first term, agreed to hear an Oklahoma case over whether the law permits public dollars to flow to an explicitly religious charter school. A decision in favor of the first-of-its kind Catholic school could further entangle the government and religion, dramatically altering the historic balance between church and state.

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The stakes really couldnt be higher, said Derek Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina. While there are Catholic schools that have converted into secular charters, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Schools ultimate goal, according to its website, is eternal salvation.

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The issue, Black said, is whether a religious entity can operate a charter school that teaches religion as truth.

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Oklahoma Supreme Court Knocks Down Bid for Virtual Catholic Charter School

Trump supports Christianity in the classroom and has vowed to bring prayer back to public schools. But hes just the most recognizable face of a larger movement that has been building toward this moment  one that includes governors and state lawmakers, right-leaning think tanks and wealthy donors. Those donors have not only financed campaigns to seat conservative justices, but also helped fund the years of legal work that ultimately landed the schools application before the high court.

Some evangelicals believe the courts have long misapplied Thomas Jeffersons famous words about a wall of separation between church and state. Dismissed by most constitutional experts, this view holds that Jeffersons aim was to keep the federal government from interfering with religious freedom  not to protect the government from the church.

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The debate over the school will culminate in oral arguments before the Supreme Court in late April.

Governors in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, who advocate for weaving the Bible into classroom instruction, have long awaited such a case. Denying St. Isidore a charter solely because theyre religious is flat-out unconstitutional, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt posted on X. This will be one of the most significant decisions of our lifetime.

But his states GOP attorney general disagrees. Gentner Drummonds office will argue that both state and federal laws clearly require charter schools to be non-sectarian. That view was summed up by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who said reversing the Oklahoma courts decision would drive a dagger into the very idea of public education and strike at the heart of our nations democratic foundations.

One justice who wont be involved in the decision is Trumps most recent Supreme Court appointee. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from deliberating over whether to hear the case. While the court offered no explanation, Barrett is a longtime friend of Nicole Garnett, the Notre Dame University law professor who advised the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa on the charter application. Garnett, who had no comment on Barretts recusal, also sits on the board of the Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian legal organization that has influenced Trump and previous Republican presidents on judicial appointments.

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from deciding whether to hear the case. She is a longtime friend of a Notre Dame law professor who advised the Catholic church on the charter application. (Sarah Silbiger-Pool/Getty Images)

But attorneys for the school may not need Barretts vote. Four of the other conservative justices  Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch  have all voiced support for greater religious freedom. Over a decade ago, Thomas wrote an opinion suggesting states could establish their own Christian denominations. More recently, in 2022, Gorsuch referred to the so-called separation of church and state in a case over whether Boston should fly a Christian flag outside City Hall.

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While Chief Justice John Roberts takes a more cautious approach to court precedents, he has sided with the conservative majority in all of its most recent church-state cases. Two of them, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue and Carson v. Makin, focused on choice programs at religious schools.

Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the states charter school board, draws on those cases to conclude that charter schools are inherently private organizations  not state actors. By keeping St. Isadore closed, the Alliance argues, Oklahoma is discriminating against religion and denying families more options.

Oklahoma parents and children are better off with more educational choices, not fewer, Jim Campbell, the Alliances chief legal counsel, said in a statement.

Related

Choice Supporters to Catholic Charter School Backers: Proceed with Caution

In a brief in support of the charter school, eight GOP-led states said that prohibiting the funding of religious charter schools would compromise their ability to award grants or contracts to other sectarian organizations, like orphanages and groups providing scholarships.

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The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools dismissed that fear and said a charter is not merely a grant program.

The charter school is a state-created public school under Oklahoma law, and its actions are state actions, the organization wrote in its brief.

Black agreed, saying that the schools argument has no grounding in facts or law.

The courts decision to take the case left the law professor with an enormous pit in his stomach. Black worries the justices dont fully understand the complexities of public education funding, particularly the differences between charters, vouchers and education savings accounts.

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That leads to either honest errors, misunderstandings or the ability of other people to lead you astray, he said.

Experts say its hard to ignore the strides evangelical Republicans have made at elevating the importance of Christianity in the classroom.

Red states arent just passing voucher programs that allow parents to pay tuition at faith-based schools; theyre also incorporating Bible lessons into the curriculum. If the court rules in favor of the school, Preston Green, a University of Connecticut education and law professor, predicts religious organizations would suddenly clamour to open faith-based charters.

Related

In Close Vote, Texas Approves Reading Program Laden With Bible Lessons

Were on the verge of a new system where religious organizations are going to be among the players running schools, he said. How do states deal with that reality?

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In addition to allowing public education funds to support a specific faith, a decision in favor of religious charters could also have a devastating financial impact on traditional districts fighting to prevent enrollment loss, Black said. Oklahoma already offers a tax credit scholarship program for school choice, but it doesnt always cover the full tuition at a private school. Families who want their child to have a Christian education might be more likely to flock to a religious charter school where the cost is fully covered, he explained.

Robert Franklin, a former member of the states charter board, is already thinking about those ramifications. Like public school advocates in other red states, hes concerned that expanding private school choice will hit rural schools the hardest and leave less funding for traditional schools.

Oklahoma is a deeply red state, he said. I dont think we have an appetite for raising taxes around here to support schools.

Franklin has a unique vantage point on the constitutional dispute that began over two years ago. He voted against St. Isidores contract in 2023 and says he felt vindicated last year when the states high court struck it down. But hes less confident the U.S. Supreme Court will rule the same way.

Its a tumultuous moment, he said. There are a lot of forces pulling the other direction.
LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56)  The family of a man who was shot and killed by London officers has turned to a well-known civil rights attorney for help.

Ben Crumpwho is known for representing the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylorhas taken on the Douglas Harless case, according to Harless family.

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Harless, 63, was shot and killed days before Christmas when it appears as if officers responded to the wrong home while serving a search warrant for a stolen weedeater.

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Since his death, community members have gathered to honor Harless life while calling for justice and answers from officials through the Justice for Doug movement.

LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS:

FOX 56 has reached out to Crump for a statement and is waiting to hear back.

The shooting is still under investigation by Kentucky State Police.

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An outbreak of the respiratory disease tuberculosis in Kansas is the largest in the state  and some are saying its the biggest surge in recent U.S. history.

There are a total of 67 active cases of tuberculosis (TB) in the state, according to the Jan. 24 update from the Kansas Division of Public Health. The bulk of the cases (60) are in Wyandotte County, home to Kansas City, with 7 cases in neighboring Johnson County.

The agency says there is very low risk to the general public, including the surrounding counties. Still, the outbreak is "the largest outbreak that they've ever had in history," Ashley Goss, a deputy secretary at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said, according to The Topeka Capital-Journal.

Getty Stock image of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes tuberculosis. Stock image of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes tuberculosis.

Related: Surgeons Perform First-Ever Robotic Double Lung Transplant on 57-Year-Old 'Adrenaline Junkie' (Exclusive)

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A spokesperson for the states department of health, Jill Bronaugh, told the outlet that the outbreak is "the largest documented outbreak in U.S. history, presently."

"This is mainly due to the rapid number of cases in the short amount of time. This outbreak is still ongoing, which means that there could be more cases, Bronaugh told the outlet. There are a few other states that currently have large outbreaks that are also ongoing."

Tuberculosis, as PBS notes, was called consumption when it killed one in seven people in the 1800s. The iron lung  a full-body ventilator famously used to aid polio patients  was used as early treatment of TB. These days, the disease, which is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is treated with specific antibiotics  sometimes for as long as nine months, the Cleveland Clinic says. TB can be fatal if not treated.

Getty Stock image of a man coughing. Stock image of a man coughing.

Related: What Is the Quad-demic  and Is It Coming for You?

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However, TB is curable, the Cleveland Clinic says.

Symptoms include a bad cough, chest pain, and coughing up blood; The Cleveland Clinic says what while most peoples immune systems are able to fight the infection, it may remain in their system as a latent TB infection  later becoming active if your immune system is weakened.

Last year, Kansas reported 109 active cases of TB, and 626 latent cases.

Goss told The Topeka Capital-Journal that theyre working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on a response to the outbreak.

We still have a couple of fairly large employers that are involved that we're working with on this," Goss said. "So we do expect to find more, but we're hoping the more that we find is latent TB not active, so that their lives are not disrupted and having to stay home from work.

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UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Security Council Sunday night condemned strongly ongoing advances by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), demanding them withdraw immediately and urging all parties to abide by the ceasefire.

In a press statement issued after an emergency meeting on the DRC, the council members condemned ongoing advances by the M23 in North-Kivu province, and expressed serious concerns regarding imminent threats against Goma, the capital of North Kivu and a major regional hub.

These advances "represent a serious violation of the ceasefire, exacerbate the grave humanitarian and displacement crisis in the eastern DRC and undermine efforts to reach a lasting peaceful and political solution to the conflict through the Luanda process," the statement said.

The council members demanded that the ongoing offensive and advances towards Goma immediately stop, calling on the M23 to reverse its territorial expansion without delay.

They reiterated their full support to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), which is acting within its mandate and doing essential work in the DRC, and expressed their strong commitment to the safety and security of its peacekeepers. They stressed that attacks against peacekeepers may constitute war crimes.

The council members condemned the ongoing flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC, and demanded the external forces in the eastern country withdraw immediately. They urged all parties to scrupulously abide by the ceasefire.

They urged Rwanda and the DRC to return to diplomatic talks to achieve a lasting and peaceful resolution of the protracted conflict in the region, and reaffirmed their support for the ongoing mediation efforts between the two countries through the Luanda Process.

As the situation is deteriorating rapidly in the eastern DRC, several foreign embassies have issued advisories urging their citizens to leave North Kivu. The United Nations announced Saturday that it has temporarily relocated non-essential staff from Goma. 
Bloomberg/Getty Images

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered a pause on almost all foreign aid, which includes the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a federal program that provides HIV medications and has been credited with saving millions of lives around the world. The move could jeopardize access to HIV antiretroviral medication for millions, many of whom are located in regions that might not otherwise have access to care, creating a situation that advocates are calling a matter of life or death.

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On January 25, Rubio ordered a freeze on all new obligations of funding, pending a review, for foreign assistance programs funded by or through the Department and USAID, according to CBS News. Funding could be paused for 85 days while the State Department conducts a government-wide comprehensive review of all foreign assistance, per CBS. According to the New York Times, a separate directive also specified that decisions on foreign aid may take up to 180 days. The order, however, will not affect funding for aid to Israels and Egypts militaries, nor for emergency food assistance.

The State Department confirmed that the pause would specifically affect PEPFAR funding in an email to NPR on Sunday. State spokesperson and anti-woke lesbian Tammy Bruce said in a statement to NPR that the U.S. would no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people, and called the pause a moral imperative.

The temporary PEPFAR freeze comes amid broader fears that the program is in danger of losing funding altogether. On January 16, Reuters reported that a senior Republican said that the program was in peril after U.S. officials found that four nurses in Mozambique who work at a facility that receives PEPFAR funding have reportedly performed 21 abortions since 2021. Health policy organization KFF states that PEPFAR is subject to a number of legal requirements related to abortion, including the Helms Amendment, which prohibits the usage of foreign aid to pay for abortions.

In a statement to Reuters, Republican Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) said that the incident meant that the future of the PEPFAR program is certainly in jeopardy.

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I will not support one dollar of American money going towards abortion anywhere in the world, and I will do all I can to ensure this never happens again, Risch continued. He has also called for an investigation of the Centers for Disease Control, which is one of the primary agencies behind PEPFAR.

In a press release, Beatriz Grinsztejn, president of the International AIDS Society, said that PEPFAR provides lifesaving antiretrovirals for more than 20 million people  and stopping its funding essentially stops their HIV treatment.

If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge, she said. It makes no sense to suddenly stop this incredible catalyst of our global progress towards ending HIV as a threat to public health and individual well-being.

In a statement emailed to Them, Brandon Cuicchi, an organizer with ACT UP New York, said that the organization is shocked that Trump would threaten to defund PEPFAR, a program launched in 2003 under George Bush that has saved the lives of millions of people living with HIV.

Climate Change Is Disrupting Access to HIV Treatment

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A new analysis finds that the parts of the country where HIV prevalence is high are also some of the most at-risk areas for climate disasters.

For the past 20+ years, PEPFAR funding has remained nonpartisan, and Trump's attempt to politicize it in order to fund tax cuts for the rich is disgusting, Cuicchi said.

Right-wing activists and lawmakers have been attacking PEPFAR based on assertions that the program funds abortion for years, even though the program has historically received bipartisan support. In 2023, funding measures for PEPFAR expired after Republican lawmakers stalled its passage, claiming baselessly that the program funds abortion. Heritage Foundation, a far right-wing think tank that is known as the architects of Project 2025, released a report that same year claiming that the Biden Administration was using PEPFAR to promote its domestic radical social agenda overseas, and that HIV/AIDS is primarily a lifestyle disease and as such should be suppressed through education, moral suasion, and legal sanctions.

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A Hobart man who served six months in prison for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was fatally shot Sunday by a Jasper County Sheriffs officer  less than a week after he was pardoned by President Donald Trump.

Matthew Huttle, 42, was identified Monday and an autopsy was performed, though not released to the public, according to an Indiana State Police press release.

A Jasper County Sheriffs Deputy pulled over a vehicle around 4:15 p.m. Sunday on Indiana 14 east of CR 475 East, which is near the Pulaski County line, according to the release.

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When the officer attempted to arrest Huttle, he resisted and an altercation ensued. The officer fired his weapon, which fatally wounded Huttle, according to the release.

An initial investigation into the traffic stop found that Huttle was in possession of a firearm during the traffic stop, according to the release.

Officials did not provide a reason for the traffic stop in the release. Indiana State Police Sergeant Glen Fifield declined to comment further.

Jasper County Sheriff Patrick Williamson said the officer was placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol after an officer-involved shooting.

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Our condolences go out to the family of the deceased as any loss of life is traumatic to those that were close to Huttle, Williamson said.

Once the Indiana State Police complete their investigation of the incident, the findings will be submitted to the Jasper County Prosecutors Office for a formal review.

Four men, including Huttle, with Northwest Indiana ties were among the more than 1,500 people pardoned by Trump last week for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Huttle was there and served six months in prison for trespassing. Huttle went to Washington D.C. with his uncle Dale Huttle, 73, of Crown Point.

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Dale Huttle served about six months of a 2 1/2-year sentence at FCI Thomson, a federal prison near the Illinois-Iowa border, before he was released on Jan. 20, according to a federal inmate search. His original release date was in December 2026.

Dale Huttle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Meredith Colias-Pete contributed.

akukulka@chicagotribune.com
The chair of Yad Vashem, Israels official Holocaust memorial, said Sunday tech billionaire Elon Musks call for Germans to move beyond the crimes of Nazi Germany is dangerous for the countrys democratic future.

Contrary to @elonmusk advice, the remembrance and acknowledgement of the dark past of the country and its people should be central in shaping the German society, Chair Dani Dayan said in a post on the social platform X, which Musk owns.

Failing to do so is an insult to the victims of Nazism and a clear danger to the democratic future of Germany, Dayan continued.

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Dayans post came in response to a video of Musks virtual address on Saturday to a far-right German political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD). In his remarks, Musk reiterated his support for AfD, told Germans they should be proud of their heritage and said they should move beyond the past guilt of older generations.

First of all, I wanted to really say that Im very excited for the AfD, and I think you are really the best hope for Germany, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said in his remarks.

Something I think that is just very important is that people take pride in Germany and being German. This is very important, Musk continued. Its, you know, its OK to be proud to be German. This is a very important principle.

Musk said German children should not bear the responsibility for crimes past generations committed, an apparent reference to the Holocaust and crimes committed by the Nazi Party.

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I think theres, like, frankly, too much of a focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that, Musk said. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents or even let alone their parents, their great grandparents, maybe even.

Musk, the richest man in the world and the leader of President Trumps new Department of Government Efficiency, has raised eyebrows in recent weeks with his embrace of far-right political parties in Europe, including the AfD.

The remarks Saturday also come after Musk faced backlash for making a controversial gesture during his post-inauguration speech on Monday that some critics compared to a fascist salute.

In the face of the backlash, Musk seemed to dismiss the concerns in a social media post that was filled with puns based on the names of some of the Nazis most infamous leaders.

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SKOKIE, Ill. (WGN)  The Illinois Holocaust Museum celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp liberation by Russian soldiers Sunday afternoon.

The main observance takes place at Auschwitz on Monday in southern Poland, where Nazi troops put more than 1.1 million people. It is estimated more than 17 million people total were killed in the Holocaust.

The entry gate in Auschwitz is notorious because it had that ironic symbol above it, said Manfred Goldberg, a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor.

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Goldberg is talking about the metal work that was written in German above the entrance, Arbeit macht frei, which translates to Work sets you free.

It became realistic that once you walked through that gate, you were under a sentence of death, Goldberg said.

He was just 13 when he, his mom and his 9-year-old brother were taken as prisoners by Nazi Germany.

When we finally reached the camp, we each were inspected as to our potential of slave laboring, Goldberg said. He decided apparently that I was fit for slave labor and pointed me in the direction of those surviving. My little brother, age nine, did not so he lost his life, he was murdered.

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Goldberg is now one of a dwindling number of survivors still alive.

One of the exhibits at the museum in Skokie are interviews with other survivors. Theyre recorded in hologram form, and visitors can ask questions that will then prompt the answers they gave at the time.

Everything we do is around education and thats where it starts, said Rahim Thompson, senior program manager at the Illinois Holocaust Museum. Its digestible for anyone who wants to learn. There are so many different ways for so many different age groups.

Its an enduring legacy younger generations are racing to preserve, to prevent history from being lost  and worse  repeated.

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On the 80th anniversary of Auschwitzs liberation, Goldberg said its his mission to talk about it, as an eyewitness to atrocity.

Im only a drop in the ocean. But Ive made up my mind that as long as God gives me the strength, physical and mental, to continue doing it, I have committed myself to keep on doing it, Goldberg said. So, thats why Im here at age 94, speaking to you.

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Around 50 survivors of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz gathered together Monday for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp.

The ceremony, at the former death camp, was opened by music from German Jewish composer James Simon, who was killed at Auschwitz in 1944, per NBC.

The survivors were joined at the ceremony in Poland by a variety of world leaders, including Polish President Andrzej Duda, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Britains King Charles III. Kings and queens from Spain, Denmark and Norway were also in attendance.

Polish President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda place lit candles at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp, during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of its liberation, in Oswiecim, Poland, Monday, Jan. 27. 2025. | Czarek Sokolowski

Germanys Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier were also in attendance, and, according to NPR, its the first time both of the countrys highest state representatives have attended the observances.

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The politicians did not speak at the ceremony; rather, it centered on the elderly survivors who were there, some of whom were wearing blue-and-white striped scarves, reminiscent of their prison uniforms, per CNN.

Old railroad tracks, once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cuts through a field in Oswiecim, Poland, Monday, Jan. 27. 2025. | Oded Balilty

The camp survivors walked together to the Death Wall, the site where prisoners were executed, per NPR.

What happened at Auschwitz?

Between 1940 and 1945, there were around 1.1 million people murdered at Auschwitz. Many of the victims of the camp were Jews but other victims include Poles, the Roma and Soviet prisoners of war. They died in gas chambers, but also from starvation, cold and disease.

Canadian Holocaust survivor Miriam Ziegler holds up a photo of her (circled) as she attends the Commemoration Ceremony of the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, in Oswiecim, Poland, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. | Sean Kilpatrick

The concentration camp, located in Oswiecim, Poland, was liberated by Soviet soldiers on Jan. 27, 1945, per NBC. The United Nations, in 2005, designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

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In total, around 6 million Jews were killed in German-occupied Europe between 1941 and 1945.

What Holocaust survivors shared in their speeches

The opening speech of the ceremony was from Marian Turski, 98, who was sent to the Lodz Ghetto at 14 years old. He recognized the millions of victims who will never tell us what they experienced or felt. He also had the crowd stand for a moment of silence, per NBC.

Holocaust survivor Stanislaw Zalewski attends the Commemoration Ceremony of the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, in Oswiecim, Poland, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. | Sean Kilpatrick

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Tova Friedman, 86, one of the youngest of the survivors, was 6 years old when the camp was liberated on Jan. 27, 1945, according to CNN. She shared that since she was a little girl, she has celebrated liberation day every year as if it was her birthday.

After all the children were gone and the courtyard was empty, Friedman said. I thought to myself, am I the only Jewish child left in the world?

Jona Laks, 94, another Holocaust survivor, was 12 when she spent a year at the camp, and suffered through inhumane medical experiments with her twin sister. She shared that it is impossible to understand the suffering they went through after that invasion.

As time passes over, things are being forgotten, Laks said, according to CNN. The world hasnt learned its lessons from what happened, from what was done.

A Holocaust survivor places a lilt candle at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp, during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of its liberation, in Oswiecim, Poland, Monday, Jan. 27. 2025. | Czarek Sokolowski

Ninety-nine-year-old Leon Weintraub spent time in a ghetto and in Auschwitz; his mother, sister and aunt were murdered in the gas chambers at the camp. He shared that they were stripped of all humanity, according to NBC.

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First, we were stripped naked and robbed of all our house belongings. Then they shaved all our hair, quite often with painful skin removal, Weintraub said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau places his hand on the mezuzah as he visits House 88, the former house of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss, in Oswiecim, Poland, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP) | Sean Kilpatrick

Gov. Spencer Cox shares statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox posted on X addressing Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Today, we pause to remember the millions who lost their lives during the Holocaust. As we reflect on this dark chapter in history, we renew our commitment to fostering a world of understanding. Let us honor the survivors, the victims, and all those who suffered. May their stories remind us to stand against hate, today and always, Cox wrote on X.
Tom Homan, President Trumps border czar, defended the administrations plans to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into schools.

Homan joined ABCs This Week, where he was asked about the logistics behind the Trump administrations mass deportation plans.

Host Martha Raddatz pointed out that the administration said it will no longer tell ICE agents they have to avoid sensitive locations, including schools, hospitals, churches.

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What criminals are hiding in schools? Middle schools, elementary schools  you gonna to go into those? Raddatz asked.

Trump has formally authorized ICE to begin arresting people in schools and churches, rescinding a guideline that prevented arrests in sensitive areas. They have begun making arrests in various communities.

Homan defended the practice to Raddatz and said the arrests are being made with planning.

How many MS-13 members are the age 14 to 17? Many of them, Homan said.

So look, if its a national security threat, public safety threat and what, what you need to understand is that its case by case, name another agency, another law enforcement agency, that has those type of requirements, that they cant walk into a school or doctors office or a medical campus. No other agency is held to those standards. These are well-trained officers with a lot of discretion, and when it comes to a sensitive location, theres still gonna be supervisory review.

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During the interview, Homan noted how expensive the deportation plans will be. He called on Congress to pass funding for the administrations mission.

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For the record:

12:42 p.m. Jan. 27, 2025: A previous version of this story reported that Dockweiler State Beach and RV park were in Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvaths district. They are in Supervisor Holly Mitchells district.



Ted Ancona and his wife, Valerie Mathews, have driven their 24-foot recreational vehicle on summer trips to the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains and to Albuquerque,where Ancona was born. Now, after the couple lost their Altadena home in the Eaton fire, the RV is giving them a lifeline.

This is our home, said Ancona, 73, sitting at a wooden picnic table outside the RV at a San Dimas campground. This is the home we have left.

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Ancona and Mathews, 71, escaped the fire with pictures they grabbed from the walls and their 14-year-old mixed tabby cat Callie. Ancona drove out in their truck and Mathews took the wheel of the RV.

Following a couple nights in the Rose Bowl parking lot, Ancona and Mathews found a spot in the Bonelli Bluffs RV Resort and Campground, located in a county park. Theyve been thankful to escape L.A.s punishing housing market, where thousands of families forced out by the Eaton and Palisades fires have found price gouging , bidding wars and shortages of available homes .

But after almost three weeks at the campground, the couple is facing a Wednesday deadline to leave. The resort prohibits long-term stays.

Panic has been creeping up as Im trying to figure out where can we possibly go, Mathews said.

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Read more: Fire victims seek answers about rebuilding, cleanup timeline

Ancona and Mathews experience highlights the nest of restrictions that can prevent displaced families from finding places to reside while they await rebuilding or search for a permanent home elsewhere. The rationale of rules set before the fires, such as allowing more people to access recreational areas, holds less sway now.

Rob Sagginario, the general manager of the RV parks private operator, said his hands were tied because the time limit is written into his lease with the county. He said the park has several wildfire victims staying there.

L.A. County leaders say theyre aware of the issue and plan to act before Ancona and Mathews exit date. On Tuesday, county supervisors are scheduled to vote on a measure to lift limits on stays in the two RV parks on county-owned land during the emergency, Bonelli Bluffs and one at Dockweiler State Beach. The latter has been closed this month for annual maintenance but will reopen in February.

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"We are committed to meeting our residents where they are with care and support now and throughout our recovery from these devastating fires," said Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who represents Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas. Horvath is co-author of the measure lifting the time restrictions at the two parks with Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena and San Dimas.

Ted Ancona holds a piece of pottery that he and his wife were able to salvage from the rubble of their home of 40 years that was destroyed by the Eaton fire. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

But the county's action doesn't extend to more numerous privately owned RV parks, some of which have similar restrictions on how long people can be there. Daniel Weisfield owns Off the Grid, a 108-lot RV park in Lake Hughes, and his county permit limits stays to no longer than three weeks. Weisfield said hes asked county officials to waive the rule, but was rebuffed.

I see no justification to not let people stay in our park, Weisfield said. We have spaces ready and available for people who lost their homes and the county is literally telling us no.

Susan Tae, an assistant deputy director in the county Department of Regional Planning, said Off the Grid sits in a very high-risk fire zone and RV parks in those areas have rules limiting the length of stay.

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"We are continuing to explore many ways to assist those impacted by the fires," Tae said. "However, these must be in balance with ensuring long-term public health and safety for all county residents."

Barger, whose district includes Lake Hughes, said she may consider authoring a separate proposal to lift time restrictions for private RV parks as well, given displaced residents' housing needs.

"I want to explore all potential solutions and will harness the collective expertise of our Los Angeles County department leaders to determine what can be done to offer as many possibilities as possible," Barger said.

Ancona and Mathews are hoping to get their reprieve. For now, San Dimas is the best place they can think to be. Its close to their old home, near Mathews brother who lives in Brea and allows Mathews to make previously scheduled physical therapy appointments in Pasadena to mend a broken right arm.

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The couple plans to rebuild in Altadena. The house has been in their family since 1957 when Mathews was 4 years old. Five weddings of friends and family were held on the front lawn. They left behind a collection of 10 cars, photo albums and heirlooms that had been in their families for generations.

While they wait for debris to be cleared, Ancona and Mathews plan to drive up to San Francisco to stay with their daughter who is expecting their fourth grandchild.

But they believe spending a few more weeks at the campground first will help them recover.

I havent even canceled all my utilities yet, Mathews said. Theres only so much time. You get on the phone and you sit on hold for hours. By 5 oclock in the evening, I cant think anymore.

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ACCRA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Ghana witnessed an improved macroeconomic environment in 2024 due to the impact of reforms backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and strong gold exports, according to Ernest Addison, governor of the Bank of Ghana, the central bank, Monday.

Addison said at a press briefing that one of the areas that showed positive signs of recovery was the external side, where the country was able to build strong reserve buffers, contributing to relative stability in the local currency.

He said the build-up of international reserves in 2024 exceeded the targets under the IMF-backed reforms, with gross international reserves increasing to 8.98 billion U.S. dollars.

The external sector's performance was mainly driven by strong growth in gold exports, which also largely impacted economic development positively, said Addison, adding that the external sector is expected to continue on a strong growth path with favorable commodity prices amid improved production.

The governor said growth exceeded expectations, with the economy expanding at an annual rate of 6.3 percent during the first three quarters of 2024.

"The stronger-than-projected growth and generally improved macroeconomic conditions are spilling over positively to the banking sector," Addison added.

Facing a severe economic crisis, the Ghanaian government secured approval for a 3-billion-U.S.-dollar loan from the IMF in 2023 to implement reforms and steer the economy toward recovery. 
Much of the United States has experienced freezing temperatures early this year, and some states even got a rare look at lightning in the middle of a snowstorm.

WUSA9 in Washington, D.C., shared footage from a home's security camera that showed lightning in the middle of a white wonderland.

What's happening?

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this phenomenon is called thundersnow. Thunder and lightning are less common during winter, but when there is "strong instability and abundant moisture above the surface, such as above a warm front," they can happen. Typically, there isn't enough warm moisture in the winter for these events to occur.

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Science Live reported that this event occurred in the southern Midwest, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. While the Great Lakes are known to experience thundersnow, it's not common in other areas.

"Intense lake-effect snow bands, which have pockets of rapidly rising air due to the sharp contrast between cold air aloft and the warm lake water, often produce thundersnow," AccuWeather senior weather editor and meteorologist Jesse Ferrell said.

Live Science also noted that the freezing temperatures in the U.S. were due to mass "atmospheric pressure changes" with strong wind that typically keeps "cold air in the Arctic, known as the polar vortex."

NOAA Weather Prediction Center forecaster Josh Weiss explained that moisture from the Gulf of Mexico merged with the low pressure to cause the thundersnow.

Why is thundersnow concerning?

While Weiss said that lightning in a snowstorm happens less frequently than thunder, it is still dangerous. The snow can also muffle thunder, so people can be unaware of the danger.

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The lightning can also cause more damage than in a thunderstorm. However, the heavy snowfall is the most dangerous part of thundersnow because it causes poor visibility and dangerous conditions, Weiss said.

According to the Royal Meteorological Society, rising temperatures also increase the chance of thunderstorms, "leading to more violent storms and more lightning strikes."

Journalist Molly Wood noted that the rising global temperature is like steroids for weather.

What's being done about thundersnow?

Extreme weather events are becoming more common, so it's essential to be prepared and try to prevent the planet from continuing to warm. You can use your voice by talking to your political representatives to ensure that your community is ready for the next big storm and is also taking action to reduce the polluting gases entering the atmosphere and warming the planet.

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You can also install solar panels or sign up for community solar. These options will not only cut down on toxic gases but also save you money.

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.




South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem delivers her 2025 State of the State address to lawmakers at the Capitol in Pierre on Jan. 14, 2025. Photo by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noems confirmation as a Trump cabinet secretary probably surprised some people who thought her career ended nine months ago with a notoriously disastrous book release.

Its no surprise to Noem, whos been thwarting predictions of her demise since her first statewide race 15 years ago.

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The biggest story of that campaign was a revelation of 20 speeding tickets on her driving record. It turned out to be the first of many scandals, controversies and negative headlines Noem would overcome on her climb to national prominence.

Following Senate confirmation Saturday, Noem resigned from her position as governor and was succeeded by her lieutenant governor, Republican Larry Rhoden, who became the states 34th chief executive and will fill the remainder of Noems term through 2026.

Noem now heads to Washington, D.C., to lead an agency that oversees two of the most important issues to Trump and his millions of supporters: border security and immigration enforcement.

Its a high-risk appointment that could end in failure, or serve as a launching pad for a Republican presidential primary run in 2028 when Trump will be unable to seek office again due to term limits.

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In other words, its the kind of leap that the 53-year-old Noem has been taking ever since a family tragedy sparked her interest in politics more than three decades ago.

My whole life, Noem said in her infamous book last year, is about taking risks.

Defined by death and taxes

Noem inherited much of her risk-taking personality from her late father, Ron Arnold, a lifelong farmer and rancher. She remembers him as a hard-charging man of action, like a John Wayne movie character come to life.

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be just like him, she wrote in her earlier book, Not My First Rodeo.

One day in 1994, Arnold climbed to the top of a grain bin to break up a moldy crust atop the grain. An unseen cavity under the crust gave way, and he was sucked under multiple tons of corn. He suffocated while rescuers made frantic efforts to save him.

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As Noems family grieved, they were confronted with a federal estate tax bill of about $170,000 on her fathers $2 million estate. Much of the estates value was tied up in land, cattle, stored grain and equipment, plus loan debt, making it difficult for the family to pay the bill.

Tax experts said Arnold couldve avoided that outcome with an appropriately structured will. Noem called that fake news in 2017, telling a Courthouse News reporter, For a decade after a tragic farming accident took my dads life, the death tax impacted nearly every decision our family made.

Noems anger about the estate tax eventually motivated her to enter politics. She won a seat in the state House of Representatives in 2006 and served from 2007 until 2010.

That year, she entered a crowded Republican U.S. House field and won the primary election. She went on to beat Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin by 2 percentage points in the general election, overcoming the speeding-ticket revelation along the way.

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In Congress, Noem voted for legislation to weaken the estate tax, including the Tax Cut and Jobs Act that passed during Trumps first term in 2017. Among the laws provisions is a doubled estate tax exemption, so that individual estates worth up to $13.99 million can now avoid the tax. The law is scheduled to expire at the end of this year, but Trump and congressional Republicans hope to extend it.

Noem said she was instrumental in crafting the 2017 legislation. The impact on her political stature was evident in a photo of a White House event celebrating the bills passage. Among dozens of members of Congress standing behind Trump, she scored a prime spot near the middle of the frame, over the shoulders of the vice president and the Senate majority leader.

To Congress and back

After four terms in the U.S. House, Noem turned her attention back to South Dakota in 2018, where the states then-governor was term-limited. Noems husband, Bryon, and her three children had remained in South Dakota throughout her time in Congress, while she flew back and forth frequently and slept on a pullout bed in her congressional office.

Whenever Bryon and the kids were in town, we blew up air mattresses and threw down quilts and basically had slumber parties as a family, Noem wrote in her first book.

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She defeated South Dakotas attorney general in a Republican gubernatorial primary, and then attracted Trump to the state for a fundraiser in the fall. That helped propel her to a three-point general election victory over Democratic legislator Billie Sutton, a popular former rodeo cowboy.

My whole life is about taking risks.

 South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, in her book, No Going Back

Noem took office in January 2019 as South Dakotas first female governor. A little more than a year into her first term, South Dakota detected its first COVID-19 cases.

Noem often says, as she did last week in her State of the State speech, that South Dakota was the only state that never forced a business or church to close. That simple description obscures a complicated reality.

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In the early weeks of the pandemic, Noem advised South Dakota schools to close for the remainder of the 2020 school year, and they complied.

Beyond that, her early approach to pandemic restrictions was ambiguous. In March 2020, she issued an executive order listing 20 things South Dakotans should do: People should engage in social distancing, businesses should prevent customers from congregating in close quarters, health-care facilities should postpone elective surgeries, and so on.

Reporters asked Noem to explain whether she was issuing orders or making suggestions. She refused to clarify and fell back on the word should 13 times during a 12-minute press conference.

I am telling them what they should be doing in this state, she said during one exchange.

Pandemic fame

As the pandemic wore on and the country fractured over conflicting views about the usefulness of shutdowns and mask mandates, Noem grew vocally opposed to both and became a national lightning rod. She racked up social media followers and began appearing on right-leaning news talk shows, where she boasted about the comparative strength of South Dakotas economy thanks to her hands-off approach. Meanwhile, the states COVID-19 death rate soared so high that it briefly ranked among the worlds worst.

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In July 2020, Noem leveraged her relationship with Trump to win authorization for a fireworks show at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The National Park Service had stopped allowing fireworks there more than a decade earlier, due in part to concerns about embers sparking wildfires in the surrounding forest.

Trump flew in and spoke at the event, which was attended by thousands of people and was broadcast live by national media outlets. The event drew praise as a defiant example of resistance to pandemic restrictions, and criticism as an irresponsibly large gathering at a time when health officials were encouraging social distancing.

Noem doubled down a month later by encouraging people from around the country to attend the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which ignited a similarly divisive response and more national coverage.

By the fall of 2020, Noems national profile had risen so much that she was traveling the country campaigning for Trumps reelection. He lost, but she went on to win her own reelection in 2022 by a comfortable margin, setting the stage for yet another Trump visit to South Dakota in 2023. Noem announced her endorsement of Trump at that rally, fueling speculation that she could be his running mate in 2024.

Book debacle

Talk of Noem as a vice presidential candidate ended abruptly in April. The Guardian obtained an advance copy of her second book, No Going Back, and revealed passages she wrote about fatally shooting a misbehaving hunting dog and an unruly goat. The Dakota Scout, a South Dakota media outlet, challenged Noems claim in the book that she had met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and she retracted it.

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Noem became a subject of national scorn and ridicule for weeks. In interview after interview during a national book tour, she said her decisions to shoot the dog and the goat were evidence that she could do difficult things. She said the fake news was leaving out important facts and spinning the stories in a negative light.

Most politicians will run from the truth, Noem told Fox News. They will shy away and hide from making tough decisions. I dont do either of those.

When pressed to explain how an ultimately retracted anecdote about meeting Kim Jong Un got into her book, she repeatedly said she took it out as soon as it was brought to my attention (shed been assisted by a ghostwriter). When pressed further, she refused to elaborate, saying she wouldnt discuss her conversations with world leaders.

Late-night television hosts had a field day cracking jokes about Noem in their monologues. Saturday Night Live mocked her. Yet, less than three months later, she was given a speaking slot during the Republican National Convention.

No surrender

The week after Trump won the general election, he announced Noem as his pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Shed spent much of the prior year positioning herself as an outspoken critic of the Biden administrations border policies.

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That included deploying National Guard troops to assist Texas with border security and calling a joint session of the Legislature to deliver a speech about it. In that speech last year, Noem claimed Mexican drug cartel activity was rampant on Native American reservations in South Dakota. Her repeated use of similar rhetoric eventually motivated leaders of all nine Native American tribes in the state to ban her from their lands (at least one tribe recently retracted its ban).

The tribal banishments were among many controversies Noem endured during her time as governor. Other memorable dustups included accusations that she misused a state airplane for personal and political purposes, improperly intervened to help her daughter obtain an appraisers license, and mismanaged a flood that ravaged a small community while she flew away to a political fundraiser. She also suffered multiple published allegations of an extramarital affair with former Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, which she denied.

Her first book included a statement of the philosophy thats gotten her through those and other difficulties, and the attitude shell bring to Washington.

My mom will tell you that from the time I was a little girl, every battle I got in was an epic struggle for victory, Noem wrote. Surrender was not an option.

Like Minnesota Reformer, South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com.
A homicide investigation is underway after a man was found dead with a gunshot wound in Pittsview, Alabama, according to Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor.

No arrests have been made.

Taylor said the RCSO received multiple calls around 8 p.m. Saturday in regards to a shooting at a residence on Grant Circle in Pittsview.

Responding deputies found Travis Upshaw, 42, lying dead in the kitchen of the residence, according to Taylor.

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Taylor said Upshaw was a resident of Phenix City. He said the residence at Grant Circle was a family home that belonged to Upshaws family.

Taylor said a gunshot wound was found, but didnt divulge where.

The RCSO has some leads they are following, according to Taylor.

Taylor said Upshaw was last seen alive around 1:30 p.m. Saturday by a family member who passed him while driving.

We have spoke to and contacted his family, and his mother, and brothers and we are working with them to bring justice for Travis, Taylor said.

Taylor said Upshaws body will be sent to Alabamas state forensics lab.

Taylor said there were no signs of forced entry at the residence where Upshaw was found.

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It appears that there was something going on with Mr. Upshaw and potentially the offenders, Taylor said.

I dont think that theres any danger to the community other than in the sense of, we have somebody in the community that has committed a homicide, and we have yet to get them in custody. So, I think thats always dangerous, but nothing out of the ordinary, Taylor said.
The Honolulu Police Department investigated several assault cases Sunday, including one in Waikiki that required medical intervention.

Police opened an assault investigation early Sunday after an 18-year-old man was injured following an altercation at a Waikiki liquor establishment at around 12 :20 a.m. The man sustained a head injury and was brought to a hospital in critical condition, police said.

Officers also responded after a 71-year-old man allegedly assaulted a 71-year-old woman at about 10 :30 a.m. in Waimanalo. They said the woman sustained minor injuries, and the man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of second-degree assault.

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HPD officers also responded to a report that a 73-year-old man had assaulted his 43-year-old girlfriend with an unidentified metal object  at about 1 :45 p.m. in Pearl City. Police arrested the man on suspicion of second-degree assault at about 1 :55 p.m.

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WASHINGTON COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT)  As we honor Black History Month, were going back in time to 1785 at Somerset Place in Washington County.

This is the site where a 100,000-acre plantation forced 861 enslaved people to live and work over 80 years.

Somerset Place started in 1785, and it started with three men. Josiah Collins, the first, Nathaniel Allen and Dr. Samuel Dickerson, Site Manager of Somerset Place State Historic Site Karen Hayes said. They formed a partnership, a business partnership to acquire and to develop the land as a business venture. Late in 1785, they sent one of their company-owned ships called the Camden directly to the West Coast of Africa and it would turn in June of 1786, 80 enslaved people, men, women and children.

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During its 80 years in existence, Somerset Place became the third-wealthiest plantation in North Carolina.

The enslaved community here, there were skilled individuals. Hey again, they were skilled at field cultivation, Hayes said. They had knowledge of rice and how to grow and harvest it. But, they were also skilled craftsmen and blacksmiths, coopers and carpenters and joiners that work here as well.

Somerset Place still has some original structures, including the Collins family home.

Its a great revival style home. Its 14 rooms. Its two-and-a-half for 6,809-square feet of living space and during that time, there were 25 house services that tended to the Collins in that particular building, Hayes said. We have a reconstructed hospital, which was where you wouldnt find that at most plantations. The hospital here was used to treat ill members of the enslaved, formerly-enslaved community.

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People can visit Somerset Place and take a 90-minute guided tour of the plantation site with the original and reconstructed building.

Its part of North Carolinas story. Slavery is this throughout the South and North Carolina was one of those states, so it is important to tell those stories of the black, enslaved people that were here because they impacted the story of the country, as well as, the state of North Carolina. Theyve been, and were benefiting from it, today, Hayes said.

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Last week, Indianapolis authorities received a call from an Indiana man who allegedly confessed to a shooting. Upon the investigation, authorities discovered the victim was his own pregnant wife. But thats only part of the story.

Police responded to the home of 36-year-old Jeremy McBride on the 700 block of East Pleasant Run Parkway Drive after receiving a call of a shooting, per WRTV. Officers say they found McBrides wife, Kayla, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The woman was 20 weeks pregnant.

After she was transported to the hospital, police interviewed a witness who identified McBride as the last person to be inside the house with Kayla. Following the incident, another woman contacted authorities and informed them she received a call from McBride who allegedly confessed to shooting his wife and said hed turn himself in, the report says.

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Officers quickly identified McBrides vehicle and arrested him as he was en route to the police department. In interviews with investigators, police found McBride plotted the alleged murder for days.

McBride reportedly admitted to spending days planning to kill his wife, the unborn baby and then himself. He bought a handgun days prior and even tested out how to use it, the report says. In several handwritten notes recovered by police, McBride is said to have expressed his frustrations with his wifes alleged infidelity and suspicions of her unborn child not belonging to him, per FOX 59.

Medical personnel informed police Kayla was shot five times in the back, killing her unborn child, per the report. The woman had previously suffered failed pregnancies, according to a family statement. Shes currently in recovery but sustained several internal injuries to her reproductive organs, they said.

McBride was charged with attempted murder and feticide, per court records.

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  Pittsfields Hot Plate Brewing Co., the only Latina-owned brewery in Massachusetts, has been named as a finalist in USA Todays 10Best Readers Choice Awards for Best New Brewery.

Hot Plate Brewing Co. opened in downtown Pittsfield in February 2023 and has grown regionally and nationally since then. Co-founders Sarah Real and Mike DellAquila began traveling the world crafting beer in the early 2000s, discovering the concept of brewing on a hot plate when the gas to their Brooklyn condo was turned off.

Caring Health Center opens new facility on Boston Road in Springfield

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Head brewer and owner Real, who was recently elected to the Massachusetts Brewers Guild and Pink Boots Society Boards of Directors, said this recognition is especially meaningful for diverse voices.

For years, I didnt see myself reflected in the brewhouse or in most leadership positions at other breweries, Real said. And while I know how much representation matters, I also wanted to make sure that Im empowering and supporting other marginalized people in this industry, which is why we have a mostly female and mostly queer staff, and why so many of the vendors I work with are also small, local, and women-owned.

Local organizations such as Mass Econ, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Berkshire Pride, and Berkshire County have awarded the brewery for its work within the community. Hot Plate has also raised over $10,000 for non-profit organizations, such as the Pittsfield Area Council of Congregations.

Even though were new to the Berkshires, were incredibly proud of the partnerships weve formed here with mission-aligned organizations and individuals. Weve been able to make a measurable difference in this city, DellAquila said.

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To vote for Hot Plate Brewing Co. as Best New Brewery on USA Today, visit 10best.usatoday.com. More information about the brewery and its mission can be found at hotplatebeer.com.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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HEBRON, Conn. (WTNH)  No injuries were reported from a house fire in Hebron Saturday night, according to the Hebron Fire Department.

Multiple units responded to a structure fire in a private residence at 8:59 p.m. at 38 London Road in Hebron.

Fire crews contained the fire to the first floor and by 9:33 p.m. they had it completely under control.

Connecticut Department of Transportation crews were called in to salt the roadways. The Hebron Fire Marshals Office is investigating the origin of the fire.

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A viral Facebook post claims that a resolution introduced by Republicans in Congress would require women to seek permission from men before accessing reproductive medical care.

Republicans just introduced House Resolution 7 that will require women to get permission from their husband, father or priest to obtain birth control, have their tubes tied, access IVF, get treated for a miscarriage or end a pregnancy for any reason, the post reads. The bill focuses on church based medical practices and puts the womans needs, wants and life at the bottom of concerns. If you are a woman who voted Republican, or stayed home, you signed rights away.

The claim is false. The resolution does not require women to seek permission from husbands, fathers, or priests before accessing reproductive health care. Additionally, unlike bills, simple resolutions do not create enforceable laws. Instead, they either dictate operations within the chamber of Congress that passed them or express the chambers collective opinion on an issue of public policy. The resolution would do the latter.

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House Resolution 7titled Recognizing the importance of access to comprehensive, high-quality, life-affirming medical care for women of all ageswas introduced on January 3, 2025, by Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and was co-sponsored by Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana. The resolution, if passed, would affirm two statements: That the House of Representatives expresses its support for women nationwide to have access to comprehensive, convenient, compassionate, life-affirming, high-quality health care, and that it recognizes the high standards established by Pro Womens Healthcare Centers consortium as standards worth implementing nationwide.

Pro Womens Healthcare Centers (PWHC) is a consortium of pro-life womens health practices that adhere to particular requirements such as the provision of medical services including STD testing and treatment, mammograms, pregnancy testing, pap smears, and post-partum depression screening. The consortium also requires direct provision of or referrals for material needs, emotional and spiritual support, and adoption.

While the PWHC is opposed to abortion as a solution for unwanted pregnancies, nowhere in its guidelines does it require spousal, parental, or pastoral permission for women to access the services it does provide. The clinics are also instructed not to turn away women who have had or plan to have abortions. A woman in this setting should be welcomed, not preached to, the requirements read. The interaction should be based on the principle of accompaniment  walking with her on whatever journey she is on. The goal of the consortium on matters of life is to provide the possibility for women to receive the medical and comprehensive care they need in order to feel motherhood or adoption is plausible for them.

In an email to The Dispatch Fact Check, Cassie Rae Higdon, communications director for Rep. Biggs, said that the contents and purpose of the resolution were being misrepresented. The resolution simply affirms that pregnancy is comprehensive; pregnancy-related healthcare ought to take the mother, the father, and the unborn child into account, she said. Higdon also emphasized that the measure only affirms Pro Womens Healthcare Centers approach to medical care and is not binding legislation. This is a House Resolution, not a bill with enforceable components or legal implications.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A state leader says plans are being drawn up Monday to take over control of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) made the announcement Monday on radio station KWAM 990 AM.

According to the stations social media, Sexton said the state plans to declare the local school board null and void and take control of the school board.

Republicans plan for a state intervention drew immediate response from two prominent Memphis Democrats.

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The partisan effort to take over Memphis-Shelby County Schools is an attack on democracy and a step backward for improving education in Tennessee, Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari. Instead of punishing local decisions, we should focus on moving forward together.

Controversy boiled over Jan. 21, when the MSCS board voted to immediately fire superintendent Marie Feagins, and replace her with an interim superintendent, Roderick Richmond.

That decision came amid howls of protest from teachers, parents and community members who packed two board meetings to protest the move.

By the next day, Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) told WREG he would will file several bills calling for the so-called nuclear option for MSCS, meaning a state intervention.

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But Democratic Caucus Chairwoman London Lamar said state takeovers have not proven successful in turning around the district.

The Tennessee Achievement School District (ASD), established to manage underperforming schools, serves as a pertinent example, Lamar said. Despite its intentions, the ASD has faced significant challenges, and many of its schools continue to struggle. Reports indicate that most ASD schools remain in the bottom five percent for over a decade and perform worse than the local districts they started in.

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HELSINKI, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Denmark has unveiled plans to bolster its military presence in the Arctic amid rising concerns over the U.S. interest in acquiring Greenland, a Danish-owned territory.

Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced late Monday that the government will allocate 14.6 billion Danish krona (approximately 2 billion U.S. dollars) to boost the defence of Greenland, Arctic Sea and Northern Atlantic. The decision follows an agreement among Danish political parties.

The plans will include three new arctic naval vessels and two long-range drones, increased surveillance and crisis training for the local residents. Poulsen said in a press conference that these preparations are just the initial phase, with further plans expected to be finalized by summer.

According to Danish Broadcasting Corporation, the new vessels would enter service within five or six years, expected to replace existing vessels.

When questioned about whether these measures would "calm down" U.S. President Donald Trump's interest in Greenland, Poulsen refrained from a direct response, underlining the importance of co-operation with NATO allies, including Canada, the United States and Norway.

President Trump has recently reiterated the U.S. interest in Greenland, which remains an autonomous area under Danish sovereignty.

Referring to an upcoming meeting on Tuesday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Europe is in a serious situation. "With war on the continent and changes in the geopolitical reality. In such a time, unity is crucial." 
With car horns, air horns, wooden ratchet noisemakers and hundreds of voices in unison, protesters expressed their boisterous opposition on Sunday afternoon to the deportations of the second Trump administration.

The demonstrators lined the sidewalk on West Seventh Street near the Fort Worth Police & Firefighters Memorial, chanting and cheering as supporters drove past with Mexican flags waving, Mexican music blaring.

Carol Tonche, 34, of Fort Worth, teared up when explaining why she came out to participate.

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I came out not just for me, she said. Ive spent not just weeks, but months crying because I feel in my soul, could feel it coming.

Hearing the anti-immigrant rhetoric during the 2024 president campaign made Tonche, herself a Mexican-American, remember pain she has felt collectively with the entire country.

I remembered September 11 as an 11-year-old girl in a very southern classroom as we saw the buildings fall, she said. I remember crying and looking around me and feeling that hurt.

Immigrants built the country and are part of what it is to be American, she said. Now, with the federal government calling members of her community criminals, she feels like the United States has turned its back on her and her family, several of whom have served in the military and gone to war.

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This sentiment appeared to be felt by others in the protest, many of whom held signs that read Dont bite the hands that feed you, Immigrants make America great, and one that read, Without immigrants, Trump would have no wives.

Two of President Donald Trumps three wives were not born in the United States.

A protester waves a flag at a demonstration against deportations and family separation in Fort Worth on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025.

Rafael Garcia, 17, of Fort Worth, said he has seen several in his community affected by immigration enforcement.

Ive seen a lot of families separated by deportations, he said.

Like Tonche and all the others who spoke to the Star-Telegram on Sunday, Garcia is a U.S. citizen. No one in his immediate family has been deported, but he has cousins and friends whose families have been separated by deportations.

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Theyve got to stop deporting out people, he said. They come to support their families, better opportunities for their kids. This is wrong.

Trump signed several executive orders meant to ramp up immigration enforcement and deportations upon entering office. Immigration authorities arrested over 1,000 people in the country without authorization in the first few days of his new administration, and have already deported hundreds, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the White House.

ICE arrested 84 people in North Texas on Sunday, the Star-Telegrams media partner WFAA reported.

Sundays demonstration was organized by 20-year-old Marie Esquivel of Fort Worth, who told the Star-Telegram that she felt she had to do something after seeing a friends parents deported.

Fort Worth resident Marie Esquivel instructs protesters to remain on the sidewalk during a demonstration against deportations an family separation in Fort Worth on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025.

Seeing how Trump is separating families is just so heartbreaking, Esquivel said. I understand he wants to take bad people out, but the way hes doing it is wrong. Hes also taking the innocent too, and its not right.

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With her phone in hand, she ran up and down the line of protesters, leading chants, asking them to make sure to follow police orders to stay out of the street, and live streamed the event.

She got help promoting the event from the Tarrant County Democratic Party, which posted notice of it on its social media accounts.

We understand that our country was built by immigrants, said Marisela Aramino, who does public relations and voter outreach for the party. And as a daughter of immigrants myself  my parents moved here both when they were children  this is an issue that is very important to us as a county party, and especially important to me.

Despite the preponderance of Mexican flags at the protest, she said deportations impact immigrants of all nationalities.

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This isnt going to just affect my people. This is going to affect folks from different nationalities that have all come to this country for the American dream, she said. Were calling on Congress to act in support of immigrants rights, ensuring a path to citizenship, protecting families from deportation, creating a fair, humane immigration system for all.

The party is planning another protest in central Arlington on Sunday, Feb 2, at 4 p.m. More details will be released via the Tarrant County Democratic Partys social media as the week progresses, she said.

Similar protests were held in West Dallas and Austin on Sunday as well.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)  Visa appointments at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia were canceled Monday following a dispute between President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro over deportation flights from the U.S. that nearly turned into a costly trade war between the two countries.

Dozens of Colombians arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota and were handed letters by local staff that said their appointments had been canceled due to the Colombian governments refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian nationals over the weekend.

Later on Monday, Colombia's Foreign Affairs Ministry said the government was sending a Colombian Air Force plane to San Diego to pick up a group of Colombians who were on a deportation flight that was not allowed to land on Sunday morning.

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The victory claimed in Washington turned Colombia into an example of what other nations could face if they stand in the way of Trump's illegal immigration crackdown. It also put on display a clash with a leftist leader of a country that had long been a U.S. partner against drug trafficking.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Monday the Trump administration will take action if countries do not abide by their agreements, such as accepting deportees.

This was about reminding Colombia that there is a price to pay if you go against your agreements, things that you promise, she said in an interview on Fox News' The Story. Ultimately, what one would expect to happen did happen. They said oh, our bad, and they reversed everything."

Colombians, like most non-U.S. citizens, require a visa to travel to the United States for tourism, business or other purposes.

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But in Colombia it can take up to two years to get a visa appointment at the U.S embassy in Bogota, which has also been handling visa requests from neighboring Venezuela for several years. Those who had their Monday appointments cancelled will likely have to wait several months for a new appointment. And many said they were frustrated with the unexpected cancellations.

President Petro did not represent our interests, said Elio Camelo, a U.S. visa seeker from the city of Cali who had traveled to Bogota for his appointment.

There is a lot of uncertainty now over what will happen next, said Mauricio Manrique, who had his Monday morning appointment canceled. He had traveled from Popayan, about 600 kilometers (about 370 miles) south of Bogota, for his appointment.

Tensions between Colombia and the U.S. escalated Sunday after Petro wrote an early morning message on X saying he would not allow two U.S. Air Force planes carrying Colombian deportees to land in the country.

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Petro also shared a video that showed another group of deportees reportedly arriving in Brazil with shackles on their legs. He said Colombia would only accept deportation flights when the United States had established protocols that ensured the dignified treatment of expelled migrants.

Trump responded with a post of his own on Truth Social, in which he called for 25% emergency tariffs on Colombian exports to the United States, and also said that the U.S. visas of Colombian government officials would be revoked, while goods coming from the South American country would face enhanced customs inspections.

Meanwhile, the State Department said Sunday it would stop issuing visas to Colombian nationals until deportation flights resumed.

Tensions decreased Sunday night following negotiations between the countries, with the White House saying in a statement that Colombia had allowed the resumption of deportation flights and agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the arrival of deportees on military flights.

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Last year Colombia accepted 124 deportation flights. But those were charter flights organized by U.S. government contractors.

The White House said tariffs on Colombian exports would be put on hold, but added that visa restrictions on Colombian officials and enhanced custom inspections would remain until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

A State Department spokesperson said Monday the agency had no updates on when visas for Colombian travelers would again be issued at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

Last year, more than 1.6 million Colombians traveled to the U.S. legally, according to a report by the Ministry of Commerce. The report said the United States was the top destination for Colombians traveling abroad.

____

Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

____ Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has stated that Hungary agreed to extend sanctions against Russia after the EU provided it with "commitments" related to energy security.

Source: European Pravda, citing Hungarian newspaper Telex

Quote from Szijjarto: "The European Commission committed to protecting gas and oil pipelines leading to EU member states.

They made it clear that the integrity of energy infrastructure supplying EU countries is a security matter for the entire EU. The European Commission is also seeking guarantees from Ukraine to ensure the continued supply of oil to the EU".

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Details: These EU "commitments" were not publicly disclosed, but media reports suggest that Hungary secured the inclusion of a commitment in the EUs statement on energy security, agreeing to support the continuation of sanctions against Russia in exchange for the European Commission's promise to continue discussions with Ukraine on oil and gas transit.

The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas described the matter as "energy solidarity with landlocked countries", emphasising that the EUs assurances satisfied Hungary.

The EU foreign ministers agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months at a meeting on Monday, 27 January.

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Hungary has agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months in exchange for an EU statement addressing Budapest's concerns about "energy security".

Source: Politico, citing unnamed European diplomats, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Politico recollected that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had kept the EU on edge by threatening to block the extension of sanctions against Russia, including the freezing of its financial assets.

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One EU diplomat said that by blocking the sanctions, Hungary was "playing with fire" and planting "a bomb under the transatlantic relationship".

Meanwhile, two European diplomats said that a last-minute deal had been struck to avert Hungary's threat to disrupt the extension of sanctions.

Budapest is expected to back down in exchange for a statement addressing Hungary's concerns about "energy security".

The sanctions extension is expected to be formally adopted during a meeting of foreign ministers, which began in Brussels at 10:00 local time.

Bloomberg sources also said that Hungary is ready to withdraw its opposition to the extension of sanctions.

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According to one of the sources, the EU will provide several reassurances in a statement on energy security.

The statement will reaffirm the commitment to helping Ukraine recover and stabilise its infrastructure and address the issue of gas and oil supplies.

In parallel, the EU is already working on the next package of sanctions, but officials are already preparing for Budapest's resistance. The EU hopes to adopt these measures next month.

Background: EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas said earlier that she expected EU member states to agree to extend sanctions against Russia.

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Hungarian representatives blocked a joint statement by European Union member states rejecting the presidential election in Belarus, sources told Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in Brussels.

Without unanimous support from all 27 EU countries, EU's chief diplomat Kaja Kallas issued her own statement, declaring that the Jan. 26 election "neither free, nor fair." She also called on Belarusian authorities to release all political prisoners, "over a thousand of whom are arbitrarily detained, including an employee of the Delegation of the European Union."

Kallas criticized the regimes late invitation to independent election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), only 10 days before the vote, which she said prevented access to critical stages of the electoral process. "This is yet another proof of a total absence of credibility of these elections," she said.

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She further emphasized that Belaruss role in Russias war against Ukraine and its hybrid attacks on neighboring countries justifies continued EU sanctions and restrictions on the regime.

"...The EU will continue imposing restrictive and targeted measures against the regime, while financially supporting civil society, Belarusian democratic forces in exile, and Belarusian culture," Kallas said. She also noted the EUs readiness to assist Belarus with stabilizing its economy and reforming its institutions once the country begins a democratic transition.

Hungary refused to sign the draft statement referring to Belarus's "undemocratic presidential elections" and was initially joined by Slovakia, according to RFE/RL. However, Slovakia later agreed to support the text, which described the elections as lacking legitimacy due to "relentless and unprecedented repression of human rights," and severe restrictions on opposition and independent media.

Hungarian authorities, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, maintained their opposition. Hungary has consistently resisted tougher sanctions against Russia and increased European support for Ukraine.

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Read also: Hungarys Orban urges EU to lift Russia sanctions, media reports

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Hungary has not approved a joint statement by the EU countries on the non-recognition of the so-called presidential election in Belarus, which Alexander Lukashenko won for the seventh time.

Source: European Pravda with reference to Radio Liberty

Details: Sources in Brussels said that the EU had planned to publish a joint statement on the non-recognition of the Belarusian elections, where Lukashenko received almost 87% of the vote.

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The text emphasised that the presidential election in Belarus was held amid unprecedented repression and restrictions on the media, so it could not be considered free, fair and legitimate.

The Belarusian service of Radio Liberty initially reported that Hungary and Slovakia did not support the draft statement. But later, Bratislava supported it, while Hungary  the only one of the 27 member states  refused to sign it.

As a result, Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Marta Kos, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, were forced to issue their own statement, declaring the 26 January presidential election in Belarus to be a sham and illegitimate.

Background: Self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has previously stated that he did not care whether the West recognised the elections.

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Hungary on Monday withdrew a veto halting the extension of the European Union's sanctions on Russia, paving the way for the measures to be in place for another six months.

A delegation of the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban backed the decision at a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels after receiving guarantees on energy security, a government spokesman wrote on X.

The vast sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 were due to expire at the end of January.

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"Europe delivers: EU Foreign Ministers just agreed to extend again the sanctions on Russia," EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X.

"This will continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war. Russia needs to pay for the damage they are causing," she added.

The European Commission and the EU's foreign affairs chief issued a statement assuring Hungary that its concerns about energy security will be addressed.

Orban had demanded that Ukraine "guarantee oil and gas transit to Europe," he wrote on X. A pipeline that had previously transported Russian natural gas to Central Europe including to Hungary was recently closed.

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A decision on the rollover of the sanctions was initially planned for the end of last year but Orban blocked a decision for several weeks. He also said that he would only make a decision after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.

Orban has repeatedly criticized the sanctions on Russia as useless and bad for the European economy.
EU ambassadors will try to prepare a statement on energy security on Monday, 27 January, in exchange for which Hungary may finally agree to extend the sanctions against Russia, which it is currently blocking.

Source: Rikard Jozwiak, editor of Radio Liberty Europe on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Jozwiak reported that EU ambassadors are scheduled to meet to work on a statement regarding energy security on the morning of 27 January, which "should allow Hungary to lift its reserve on Russian sanctions extension when foreign ministers meet later that day".

 ambassadors meet tomorrow (mon) morning to work out a statement about energy security that should allow  to lift its reserve on  sanctions extension when  foreign ministers meet later that day https://t.co/0KomTNscfM  Rikard Jozwiak (@RikardJozwiak) January 26, 2025

Background:

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As of Friday, 24 January, it was reported that Hungary was still withholding its consent to extend the sanctions, but European diplomats were determined to find a solution.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused Ukraine of trying to deceive Hungarians when it comes to gas supplies and called on the EU to force Ukrainians to "open the valves".

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that if Orban blocks the extension of sanctions, it would show that he is "playing for Putin's team".

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The EU has provided Hungary with "requested guarantees" regarding its "energy security" concerns, namely the transit of fossil fuels to EU member states, Hungarys Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Jan. 27.

"The European Commission is committed to protecting natural gas and oil pipelines leading to European Union member states," the Hungarian chief diplomat said, adding that the European Commission will also ask Kyiv to maintain the oil transit through its territory.

"They made it clear that the integrity of the energy infrastructure supplying EU member states is a matter of security for the entire EU."

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The statement comes after Politico reported that EU ambassadors are expected to issue a statement addressing Hungarys "energy security" concerns to convince Budapest to drop its veto on the extension of the EUs sanctions on Russia.

Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orban has threatened to veto the extension until Ukraine resumes the transit of Russian gas through its territory. The end of transit led to a spat between Kyiv on one side and Hungary and Slovakia on the other, with the two latter countries complaining the decision endangers their energy security.

Ukraine continues to transit Russian oil, though a bill on banning the transit has been registered in the parliament.

The EU sanctions against Russia, including the freezing of billions of Russian sovereign assets in European bank accounts, require a renewal by unanimous decision by the bloc every six months. The current deadline is set to expire on Jan. 31.

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Earlier, Orban, a close ideological ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, demanded to vote on the renewal of the sanctions package only after Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Orban, whose government is widely regarded as the most Russia-friendly in the EU, has repeatedly criticized and delayed sanctions against Russia.

Trump recently issued a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his war in Ukraine or face tariffs and further sanctions by the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also called his Hungarian counterpart on Jan. 26 to discuss, among others, energy issues, a statement by the U.S. Embassy to Hungary said, without revealing specifics of the discussion.

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Read also: Hungary blocks EU statement condemning Belarus election as undemocratic, RFE/RL reports

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ZAGREB, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The transatlantic alliance between Europe and the United States is heading toward a period of uncertainty, according to Marinko Ogorec, a Croatian political and military analyst, in an interview with Xinhua on Monday.

Ogorec noted that America's approach to its European allies is shifting significantly from a traditional political alliance to a more transactional relationship, driven by U.S. interests and benefits. "(President Donald) Trump's policy centers around what the U.S. can gain, making the Europe-U.S. alliance more commercial than political," Ogorec explained.

For Trump, traditional alliances no longer held the same value as they did under previous U.S. administrations. This transformation, Ogorec argued, could have profound implications for the future of the Europe-U.S. alliance, NATO's stability, and Europe's defense policy.

Ogorec was a former director of the Department of Defence Systems and Technologies at the Croatian Ministry of Defence and a professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Velika Gorica, Croatia.

He pointed out that Trump's administration repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on Europe and frequently criticized NATO. The U.S. president's remarks accusing European NATO members of not contributing their fair share of the alliance's funding underscored his belief that NATO's current structure no longer aligned with U.S. interests. This stance, Ogorec suggested, signaled that the longstanding American security umbrella over Europe could no longer be taken for granted.

"NATO member countries will face dilemmas, doubts, and financial burdens that many have not previously accounted for," Ogorec said. He added that European nations would be compelled to allocate more resources to defense, increasing their financial commitments, which could be especially challenging given the sluggish economic growth in Europe in recent years.

Ogorec argued that Trump's threats have already sparked discussions among European leaders about rethinking their strategy. "It is time for Europe to consider a more independent path," he said. "If the United States no longer cooperates as before, Europe will need to regroup, rely more on itself, and shoulder a greater share of the burden. This is the only viable path forward."

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a meeting in Paris on Jan. 22 emphasized the need for a stronger and united Europe to address emerging global challenges, including the return of Trump to the U.S. presidency. "It's up to the Europeans, and to our two countries, to consolidate a united, strong, and sovereign Europe," Macron said in a joint press conference.

Ogorec also pointed to the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Europe-U.S. alliance beyond Trump's presidency, noting that while his tenure may last only four years, its impact on transatlantic relations could linger. "Although I don't foresee tectonic shifts that could completely destabilize the situation, Europe's security architecture will need to be reorganized," Ogorec warned. 
Authorities in Thailand have detained the British husband of a Thai woman whose body was found in remote English hill country more than 20 years ago.

The lifeless body of Lamduan Armitage -- nee Seekanya -- was found by hikers in the Yorkshire Dales in 2004.

But she remained unidentified, known only as the "Lady of the Hills," for 15 years until her family saw a BBC News report and came forward. In 2019, authorities carried out extensive inquiries and DNA testing with family members in Thailand in order to confirm her identity, the BBC reported.

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Thai immigration police said a 62-year-old British man was detained at a house in the western province of Kanchanaburi on Friday for breaching visa conditions.

"Immigration officials decided to revoke his visa and he was detained, before Thailand proceeds with the next steps in international cooperation on criminal acts," immigration police said in a statement on Saturday.

Thai officials and North Yorkshire Police confirmed the man was David Armitage, Lamduan's husband.

Lamduan Armitage / Credit: North Yorkshire Police

North Yorkshire Police, which is leading the investigation into Lamduan's death, sent a team of detectives to Thailand last year to meet Lamduan's family after her identity was confirmed through DNA testing.

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In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson said North Yorkshire Police was aware of Armitage's detention in Thailand.

"Should Mr Armitage be deported, we understand that he will have a choice as to where he goes, which will include return to the UK," the spokesperson said.

"Should that occur, we will again make every effort to speak to him about the investigation."

The BBC reported that police are not certain how mother-of-three Lamduan died.

The BBC has not spoken with Armitage but he has previously said he was not involved in his wife's death, according to The Sun.

Vice President JD Vance's first interview | Face the Nation

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A tour of the Bronx
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON)  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were in San Jose conducting an operation on Sunday, Mayor Matt Mahans office confirmed in a statement sent to KRON4. The San Jose Police Department was notified that ICE agents were in the city.

Amid concerns within local Bay Area communities, Mahan said he hopes ICE is not targeting law-abiding San Jose residents but rather criminals. SJPD is not involved in ICEs operations in any way.

I sincerely hope that ICE remains focused on enforcement actions related to violent and serious criminals harming our city, Mahan said. Not neighbors who are contributing and law-abiding members of our community.

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Justice Department directs prosecutors to probe local efforts to obstruct immigration enforcement

ICE agents were spotted around noon Sunday at the parking lot of the Target located on Story Road, according to a video from the Rapid Response Network (below). An individual who works under the organization told KRON4 she asked if the on-duty officers were ICE, and they nodded yes.

As of 3:30 p.m., the ICE officers are no longer in that area, according to a social media post by Councilmember Peter Ortiz. The elected official added that ICE agents were also spotted near Capitol Park.

ICE denies report that SFUSD student encountered agent on Muni bus

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It is unclear why ICE agents are specifically in San Jose.

Read Mahans full statement below.

Our police department was notified today that ICE is carrying out an operation in San Jose. We do not have any additional details at this time. SJPD does not assist with or participate in these operations in any way. I sincerely hope that ICE remains focused on enforcement actions related to violent and serious criminals harming our city, not neighbors who are contributing and law-abiding members of our community.



Socorro Montano works with the Rapid Response Hotline of Santa Clara County. Since President Trump took office last week, her office has received hundreds of calls from the undocumented community regarding concerns of mass deportations.

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Montano said Colombians and Venezuelans have made East San Jose their home in recent years.

There is a real fear, Montano said. But there is that fear of family seperation  a parent leaving their kids behind. Every person ICE targets impacts them and our neighborhoods.

KRON4 reached out to ICE for comment and did not hear back in time for publication.

Last week, a San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) student reported an encounter with an ICE agent Thursday, claiming to have been asked for identification on a Muni bus. An ICE spokesperson later told KRON4 that the students report was not true.

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Since President Donald Trumps inauguration last week, concerns within the undocumented community have risen. Trumps first week in office included deportation efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

This story will be updated. Check back for the latest.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it recently arrested three people in Western New York as part of a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration.

The White House said on social media that ICE arrested Luis Alberto Espinoza-Boconsaca, who had been convicted of rape, as well as Cristofer Alexander Ramirez-Olivia, who was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. Interim U.S. Customs and Border Chief Patrol Agent Juan Bernal posted that Jonathan Rios Torres, who was previously arrested for false imprisonment in Georgia, was also arrested.

Just days into the new Trump administration, worries spike amid a show of force on immigration

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The crackdown was a major point of President Donald Trumps campaign. The White House said that nearly 540 arrests were made late last week.

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***

Mark Ludwiczak joined the News 4 team in 2024. He is a veteran journalist with two decades of experience in Buffalo. You can follow him online at @marklud12.

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NewsNations Ali Bradley hosted a panel of law enforcement experts on the border at 6p/5c. Click here to watch the Q&A.

(NewsNation)  During his first week back in office, President Donald Trumps administration carried out nationwide Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. The agency reported 956 arrests on Sunday alone.

That number follows the arrest of roughly 1,300 people by Thursday, according to border czar Tom Homan.

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The number of arrests in the first three days of Trumps presidency represents about 1.1% of total arrests made by ICE in FY 2024. Then, there were about 310 average daily arrests. That average is now about 433 per day  a number that will likely grow.

Crisis on the border: Trumps first week tackling immigration

Heres where the operations happened on Sunday.

Top Trump administration officials, including border czar Tom Homan and the acting deputy attorney general, visited Chicago on Sunday to witness the start of ramped-up immigration enforcement in the nations third-largest city.

The DEAs Chicago office posted pictures on X showing Bove and Homan with agents from ATF and Customs and Border Protection.

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Homan told NewsNations Ali Bradley that multiple public safety threats were arrested, including sex offenders, convicted murderers and Tren de Aragua members.

Sources involved told NewsNation that five Tren de Aragua members were arrested in the Chicago deportation operations.

The operation comes just days after reports leaked of mass deportation raids planned in the Windy City.

Chicago and state officials, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, have vowed to protect immigrant communities from mass deportations.

Mayor Brandon Johnson shared on X: Weve received reports of ICE enforcement activity in Chicago today. Please know that Chicago police were not involved. My team and I are working closely with City officials.

ICE took nearly 50 people into custody  including members of the Tren de Aragua gang  in an overnight raid at a makeshift nightclub, according to an X post from the Drug Enforcement Administrations Rocky Mountain Division.

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Of the 49 arrested, ICE said at least 41 were inside the U.S. illegally.

The DEA, Homeland Security, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local partners seized drugs, weapons and cash in the raid.

What is the minimum income to file this years tax return?

The raid was connected to a DEA drug trafficking investigation that began several months before President Donald Trump took office during the Biden Administration, a DEA official told NewsNation local affiliate KDVR reports.

A series of ICE raids were conducted in Austin on Sunday, DEA sources confirmed to NewsNation local affiliate KXAN.

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The raids are underway or have been done, said Sally Sparks, a DEA Houston Division spokesperson, said in a phone call.

In an X post, the Houston DEA Division confirmed the DEA is working with Department of Justice partners, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal law enforcement partners with these efforts.

Protestors gathered at the Texas Capitol that afternoon to object to the raids, with rally attendee Cheryl Flores telling KXAN: Im okay with deporting the criminals, but this mass deportation is not whats happening. Its just profiling  if youre not white, youre not safe. And thats not okay with me.

Paterson, N.J., Mayor Andre Sayegh told NewsNation affiliate WPIX that ICE agents are in the town.

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A look at executive orders President Trump has signed

We are genuinely concerned. We are a welcoming city. Quite frankly, there has to be an appropriate procedure. If they have a warrant, we understand. If they dont, people have to know their rights. As a matter of fact, I did get a report today that ICE was in Paterson, not too far from here, said Mayor Sayegh.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said ICE agents raided a seafood store and detained three people on Thursday, one of which was a U.S. military veteran.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahans office confirmed to local affiliate KRON that ICE conducted a raid in San Jose on Sunday.

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I sincerely hope that ICE remains focused on enforcement actions related to violent and serious criminals harming our city, Mahan said. Not neighbors who are contributing and law-abiding members of our community.

Los Angeles

An post from the Los Angeles DEA Division confirmed that the department participated in an operation on Sunday that supported the Justice Department, DHS and other federal law enforcement partners with their #immigration enforcement efforts.

According to HSI, DEA and ICE official social media accounts, operations also happened in:

NewsNations Safia Samee Ali, Damita Menezes and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) appear to be stepping up operations in San Diego County, as migrant communities remain on edge over President Donald Trumps pledge to carry out mass deportations.

Several videos posted to social media Sunday show ICE encounters at apartment complexes in North County. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration San Diego also shared images that appear to show their agents aiding in the arrest of migrants over the weekend.

In one of the filmed encounters in Escondido, an ICE agent did not appear to have a warrant, promising to a woman behind the camera in the encounter, If that warrant comes, were going to take everybody in the house.

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Immigration enforcement ramps up nationwide

It is unclear whether the recorded interactions led to any arrests. However, officials for MCAS Miramar said at least two military departures of military aircraft from the base for deportation missions.

A spokesperson for DEAs San Diego field office confirmed the enforcement efforts in a statement, saying This weekend DEA San Diego, [Homeland Security Investigations] San Diego, and ICE-[Enforcement and Removal Operations] San Diego worked together to keep our community safe.

FOX 5/KUSI reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for more information on the interactions over the weekend, but did not receive a response prior to publication.

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Nonetheless, the operations come at a time of great anxiety for migrant communities  regardless of their documentation status  as the Trump Administration continues to institute policies seeking to radically reshape the U.S. immigration system.

This includes the positioning of dozens of troops at San Diegos border with Mexico to bolster security, rolling back of asylum and refugee protections, and ramped up law enforcement action targeting undocumented migrants who federal officials say have criminal backgrounds.

The first days of Trumps administration have seen hundreds of arrests per day, culminating to 956 in raids held across the country on Sunday, per Trumps border czar Tom Homan. That number represents about 0.8% of the total arrests during ICEs 2024 fiscal year.

Among those arrested in the raids were members of gangs, although at least one person was confirmed to be a U.S. military veteran.

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta visited San Diego on Friday to help ease fears that law-abiding undocumented residents would get swept up in deportations.

He assured local immigration attorneys and advocates a law prohibiting state and local law enforcement from acting as immigration enforcement officers, Senate Bill 54, will be upheld, even as the White House has threatened investigations into opponents of Trumps crackdown.

Its real, I know most people dont see it but it already started happening, said El Cajon resident Jose Cruz.

A protest was held outside El Cajon City Council chambers Monday as community members were protesting against a resolution to take the opposite approach to cooperating with the Trump administrations immigration plans on Tuesdays city council agenda.

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I felt so heartbroken, so helpless, said El Cajon resident Victoria, whose friend was taken for deportation over the weekend.

He was taken in front of his daughter, he was a single parent, his only crime was to be here illegal, and I guess that is a crime. He has never committed any felonies, any misdemeanors and they took him in front of his daughter, she had to witness this, this is very traumatizing for her, Victoria added.

Migrant advocate and Director of the American Friends Service Committee Pedro Rios said he has heard of immigration enforcement in San Marcos, Escondido, Central San Diego, City Heights, National City and El Cajon.

A body may wash up: Suspected smuggling boat capsizes in Ocean Beach

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The City of El Cajons resolution reads in part, 1. Declaration of Intent: The City of El Cajon declares its intent to comply with the enforcement of federal immigration law to the legal extent permissible under SB 54, the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and other applicable laws for the sole purpose of removing those that have committed violent criminal offenses, as defined by California Penal Code Section 1192.7(c), from our community. Further, the City of El Cajon will not impede federal law enforcement officials or block their efforts, as has been suggested by other California jurisdictions, known as sanctuary cities. 3. Compliance with State and Federal Law: The City will continue to comply with federal and state law, recognizing that there are conflicts between federal and state laws.

Mayor Bill Wells said the state and federal agencies arent agreeing on the law, but he wants to assist in immigration enforcement.

Meanwhile, Cruz does not agree.

This resolution is going to affect not only undocumented immigrants, but also U.S. citizens that look brown like me, I feel like were going to be targeted like we used to be in the 90s, just because we look Hispanic or we are Hispanic, he added.

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The Trump administration has directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to dramatically escalate the number of arrests they are making to 1,200 to 1,500 per day, up from hundreds.

The Washington Post, citing four officials aware of the briefings, reported the hardline crackdown order was issued because President Donald Trump is unhappy with the initial rollout of his mass deportation campaign.

Top ICE officials were given the marching orders on a call Saturday, and were told each of the agencys field offices should be making 75 arrests every day and expect accountability measures if they fall short.

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Post that its story was false but did not respond when asked for details, according to the report.

A day later, on Sunday, the administration launched a nationwide immigration enforcement blitz, arresting nearly 1,000 people as agents from multiple Justice Department agencies joined ICE agents.

That represents a massive increase from the last fiscal year, when ICEs 113,431 total administrative arrests averaged out to roughly 310 arrests per day, according to agency data.

The heightened crackdowns have already drawn concerns that officers are making indiscriminate arrests in areas where ICE raids are being carried out, including Chicago, the Atlanta metro area, Colorado, Los Angeles, and Texas.

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Last week, a U.S. military veteran was arrested by ICE officers in New Jersey, prompting outrage from local officials.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, whose states largest city has been the target of attacks from Trump border czar Tom Homan, said in a CNN interview Sunday that he is fine with deporting violent criminals, but doubts thats who the Trump administrations increasingly indiscriminate crackdowns are targeting.

Theyre going after people who are law-abiding, who are holding down jobs, who have families here, who may have been here for a decade or two decades, Pritzker told the network.

Homan, also speaking to CNN, hailed Sundays raids as a gamechanger but denied issuing any quotas for border officials.

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He also told ABC News Sunday that the Trump administration is only in the beginning stages of rolling out its mass deportation plan andwhile it is currently focused on apprehending people deemed threats to public safety or national securityas that aperture opens, therell be more arrests nationwide.

ICE reported to Congress last year that there are roughly 670,000 immigrants with criminal convictions or facing criminal charges among its 7.8 million caseload.

In another measure taken by the Trump administration last week, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman revoked a Biden-era directive that barred ICE agents from making arrests at churches, hospitals and schools.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  In the middle of the ICE Immigration crackdown across the United States under the Trump Administration, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans spoke about operations here in recent days.

Evans said while he knows ICE agents were in Rochester, he has not received an update or clarity about the outcome of their operations.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has been here previously but the mayor says they never get an alert of whats happening and does not coordinate with their efforts.

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Mayor Evans added in a statement that he recognizes there is a degree of fear from the ongoing rhetoric around Immigration crackdowns. He encourages refugees and immigrants in the area to be fully aware of their rights.

According to ICE, hundreds of migrants across the United States have been arrested over the past few days including nearly 1,000 on Sunday alone.

News 8 also spoke with the head of City Council Miguel Melendez who said, I am aware of at least three, now, visits in the City of Rochester that are confirmed visits, home visits. I dont know what the details are, I dont know what they entail other than theyre going after very specific people in the community and our understanding at this point-and-time is they are not people who are criminals. They are family members that are here either on asylum or other types of status so were trying to understand why these individuals are being targeted at this time.

Rochester is what is known as a sanctuary city and while the term is not legally binding, it does mean there are certain protections and resources in the community to support individuals who are undocumented. Additionally, the Rochester Police Department does not have legal authority to enforce immigration detainers. This is laid out in section P-75-17 under RPDs training bulletin, Sanctuary City Resolution as well as under General Order 502 Equitable Policing.

ROC reacts: Federal immigration changes

Many of the people who are here in Rochester  and who are here in Monroe County  are here legally and they have rights to be here and they have migrated to this community; some of them have asylum status, some of them have Temporary Protected Status. Theres many different ways that you can enter this country and they have done so, in a legal way. So for those individuals, I hope that we are able to protect them and provide them the resources to continue to live and be thriving members of our community, Melendez said.

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Right now, organizations working with those in the migrant community are making sure individuals are educated in their rights.

Theres a lot of moving parts and I think thats where the uncertainty comes because weve had a slew of Executive Orders in the last week  hard to keep up with all the changing times; at the same time, though, its important that we dont lose sight that there are rights that people do have and it is going to be important in the next couple weeks that we spend time unpacking this making sure people are aware of it and everyone in this community needs to spend the energy to understand the laws, added Melendez.

The American Civil Liberties Union issued guidance for those under various status to review for their rights as well as the New York Immigration Coalition.

News8 is also learning of red palm cards with Know Your Rights facts being distributed among the immigrant community, seen here.

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Full Statement from Mayor Malik Evans:

I was made aware that federal immigration officials were in the Rochester region this weekend but have not received any information about the outcome of their presence.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has operated in our region in the past, and does not alert, coordinate with, or involve local governments or law enforcement in their activities. I recognize there is a degree of fear and concern being caused by the current rhetoric around immigration enforcement, and encourage refugees and immigrants living in the Greater Rochester area to be fully aware of their rights. The City of Rochester will work closely with our partners at the local, regional and state levels, and will share information as soon as we receive it. News8 reached out to I.C.E. officials for comment regarding these visits and have not yet received a response.

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Idaho Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, (left) and state lawmakers take a break from legislative proceedings on the Idaho Senate floor on Jan. 7, 2025. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun)

The Idaho Senate on Monday widely passed a bill intended to protect free speech by curtailing frivolous lawsuits.

Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, has described the bill as an anti-SLAPP measure, targeting what are known as strategic lawsuits against public participation.

Idaho state Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, takes his seat on the Senate floor before legislative action begins on Jan. 7, 2025, at the State Capitol Building in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun)

The bill  Senate Bill 1001  would put lawsuits on hold if a party files an anti-SLAPP motion. The bill would let the winning party recover attorney fees.

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Idaho is one of 15 states without anti-SLAPP protections, Lenney said in the state Senate on Monday.

These are lawsuits that happen all over the United States that can take years to defend. And they can cost tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of dollars in legal fees for the defendant, Lenney said. Because the type of lawsuits this bill deals with are not designed to win. Theyre designed to intimidate, to distract, to bankrupt or to punish a person for exercising free speech.

Anti-SLAPP laws are in place in 35 states and the District of Columbia, according to a 2023 report by the Institute for Free Speech.

Senate leader cast the only no vote. He said he agreed with the goal, but has a different approach.

The Idaho Senate passed the bill on a 32-1 vote. Two Idaho state senators  Sens. Codi Galloway, R-Boise, and Ali Rabe, D-Boise,  were absent for the vote.

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Idaho Senate President Pro Tempore Kelly Anthon, R-Rupert, was the only senator to vote against the bill. Anthon said he agreed with Lenneys goal, but Anthon said he had a slightly different approach  through civil procedure rules.

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The bill now heads to the Idaho House, where it could be considered by a committee before a possible vote by the full House, where Idaho Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, is listed as a co-sponsor.

To become law, bills must pass the Idaho House and Senate and avoid the governors veto.

If passed, the bill would take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. The bill says it would apply to civil actions or causes of actions filed that day and later.

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Last year, Lenney sponsored a similar bill, Senate Bill 1325, which failed to pass the Idaho Senate on a 15-20 vote. Members of both major political parties voted against last years bill after concerns over its legality were expressed.

Bill would let courts dismiss SLAPP lawsuits earlier than existing dismissal options

The bill gives courts a comprehensive, efficient framework so they can quickly resolve sham lawsuits, Lenney said in Senate floor debate on Monday. The bill has wide, diverse political support, he said.

The judge still has discretion to be a judge. Decisions can still be appealed. This doesnt take away anything from the courts, Lenney said. It just gives them, like I said, an additional mechanism. Nor does this bill give anyone a hall pass to engage in defamation, slander, things like that.

The bill would give courts an earlier chance to determine whether lawsuits should advance, said Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, who serves as assistant minority leader.

Idaho Senate Assistant Minority Leader James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, answers questions at a press conference on Jan. 6, 2025, at the Statehouse in Boise. Also pictured is Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, and House Assistant Minority Leader Steve Berch, D-Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun)

It is designed for cases where its not the outcome of the trial that everyone is interested, or that the person who brought the lawsuit is interested in, he said. Its the lawsuit itself. Its the cost of litigation. Its the notoriety. Its the pressure. Its an effort to use lawsuits against somebody to get them to change their behavior, rather than the outcome of the lawsuit.

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Without the bill, Ruchti, an attorney, said the first opportunity for that is usually within six months of the lawsuits filing, if a motion to dismiss is filed. The second opportunity, he said, could happen if a motion for summary judgement is filed.

Thats where the court would say, Yep, there is law that supports your claim. But even if the facts are as you say, no reasonable juror could determine that you prevail, and so were going to dismiss the lawsuit, he said.

But that is done rarely. And when the court determines whether reasonable jurors could find in your favor, they take that very seriously, Ruchti continued. In other words, the tendency, the trend, is always to allow  except in rare cases  the case to go to trial. Because you deserve your day in court.

Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, also an attorney, said he believes the bill protects the integrity of the judiciary and legal system.

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People need to be confident that theyre getting an independent and unbiased review, and that the legal system is not being used to the advantage of some parties that may have the resources to do that, he said.

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MOSCOW, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Russia has summoned the Moldovan ambassador to Moscow, following allegations made by a Moldovan political party against the Russian ambassador in Chisinau, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The foreign ministry said the Moldovan ambassador was summoned in protest over recent statements made by a Moldovan political party, which included baseless accusations against the Russian ambassador in Chisinau, and called for his expulsion and restrictions on the activities of the Russian embassy.

The statement demanded that the Moldovan side "publicly refute" the unfounded claims, and adhere to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Another protest was lodged over Moldova's publication of a confidential note from the Russian embassy in Chisinau regarding gas supplies, the Russian foreign ministry said. 
DES MOINES, Iowa  After what Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart has described as a disappointing 2024 election cycle, the party once again re-elected her as chair earlier this month.

Now, with the Trump administration in office and Iowas 91st General Assembly well underway, Hart is looking at ways Iowa Democrats can be hopeful for the future.

There is a big change between where we are as a party today than where we were two years ago when I started as chair, said Hart. and I told folks regardless of what the results were of the election, we have made tremendous progress and that is success in itselfweve been able to really think about all the things that need to be done between now and 2026.

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Iowa Democrats lost three Iowa House seats and one Iowa Senate seat, and the party did not flip one of Iowas four congressional districts. Hart talked about the financial footing for the party getting solidified over the last two years and Iowa Democrats saw a growing volunteer base after Vice President Kamala Harris took over the top of the ticket.

Al Roker visits DSM patients ahead Rally Against Cancer benefit

Hart believes that with the party in what she considers good standing, the party has an opportunity to message party priorities around the state.

We have a lot of rural democrats, said Hart. I live out in a very rural area. We are very concerned about whats happening in the state of Iowa as a result of the Reynolds administration. The fact that our population is shifting from the rural areas to the urban areas is concerning. The fact that we dont have hospitals close to us, that some of them are closing down, that not everybody who lives in a rural area can get to a grocery store in a reasonable fashion. These are the things that we dont have accessible, and affordable child care. These are the issue I am talking to rural Iowans about.

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RAGBRAI 52 announces 2025 route

Hart discussed federal policy and Trump tariffs, highlighting how it might impact the Iowa farmer and Iowa consumer. And even though Iowa voted for Trump and re-elected all four of the incumbent Congressional Republicans, there is still a role for the Iowa Democrats to push for policy that will benefit those in the state.

Just because you are in the majority and you have the power doesnt necessarily mean that what you are trying to get done is good for all of Iowa, said Hart. So its up to the minority to make sure that those voices are being heard.

Hart pointed to 2026 as even bigger than 2024 elections, with four congressional races again, a U.S. Senate race and a gubernatorial election.

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INDIANAPOLIS  The Indianapolis Fire Department battled an apartment fire that displaced 18 people and multiple animals early Monday morning.

According to officials, IFD responded to multiple calls of a fire with people trapped on balconies at an apartment at 822 Antique Court inside the Edison at Meridian Hills. The Pike Township Fire Department assisted at the scene.

When firefighters arrived, they located an apartment with heavy flames showing from the roof. Officials said residents were able to evacuate on their own. One person jumped off the balcony.

Photo via IFD Photo via IFD Photo via IFD Photo via IFD Photo via IFD

IFD said 12 units sustained fire, water or smoke damage. It took crews approximately one hour to bring the fire under control.

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In total, 13 adults, five children, two dogs, 12 cats and a turtle were displaced after the fire. There were no injuries, IFD said.

IFD Victims Assistance and apartment management is working to provide shelter for those affected.

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA)  Sunday was International Clean Energy Day, and Illinois is being celebrated as the state that came out on top as the national leader.

Almost 100,000 solar installations are scattered across the state. That creates enough electricity to power almost 550,000 homes.

9th Annual Champaign-Urbana Area Restaurant Week celebration

Beyond the environmental benefits, experts say clean energy is becoming more financially friendly.

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Laurel Passera, Coalition for Community Solar Access senior policy director, said prices to install solar have dropped more than 40% in the last decade.

She said now is the time to give it a shot, either as an individual or as part of a community.

A lot of people are really surprised when they start doing a little research in finding out how easy it is to go solar, Passera said. Community solar, in particular, requires signing a contract thats about as difficult as signing up for Netflix. If youre all at interested, take a look and you may be pleasantly surprised at how much you can save.

As clean energy efforts continue to evolve, Passera said more work needs to go into energy storage. That would allow Illinois to better utilize wind and solar energy when the sun isnt shining and there isnt a strong breeze powering wind farms.

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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  The White House calls this weekends immigration enforcement very successful.

It happened while the U.S. narrowly avoided a trade war with Colombia over migrant deportations.

ICE says it has made more than 1200 arrests, and the White House says its just getting started.

From Chicago to Denver federal agents carried out the start of President Donald Trumps crack down on illegal immigration.

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Newly sworn-in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the Pentagon is ready to assist the president in protecting the homeland.

The Defense Department will support the defense of the territorial integrity of the United States of America at the southern border, said Hegseth.

After a public immigration spat Sunday with Colombia over accepting deportation flights, the White House said the U.S. and Colombia had reached an agreement to avoid a trade war.

President Trump threatened a travel ban on top Colombian officials and 25% tariffs on Colombian exports, which would double after a week.

White House border czar Tom Homan says this is only the beginning of mass deportations.

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We got President Trump. Were going to use all the government to secure our border, which is the biggest national security vulnerability this country has ever seen, or one force lost this country, said Homan.

California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff says hes worried the deportations are too broad.

Were seeing a kind of chaos in contradiction to the presidents commitment that they were going to start focusing on the violent criminals. Theyre just detaining anyone, said Schiff.

Colombian officials are set to travel to Washington this week to follow-up on their agreement with the U.S.

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The big story: Florida lawmakers return to Tallahassee this week for a special session focusing on a couple of key topics, immigration key among them. Almost a dozen bills were filed in advance of the session, Spectrum 13 reports.

Some of debate over changes to immigration law could impact schools.

Tuition for Dreamers is the subject of one of the proposals. Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez, once a staunch supporter of granting in-state tuition to Florida university students whose families moved here illegally, now says the program should end, the Miami Herald reports.

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Worries have spiked after President Trumps executive order saying immigration enforcement could take place in schools, where it had been prevented. A 1990 federal judges order prohibits Florida schools from asking a students immigration status, making sweeps or raids logistically difficult, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Hot topics

Storm effect: Progress monitoring in Tampa Bay area schools showed the extent of learning losses caused by days missed during hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Student health: Polk County doctors are raising cautions as the percentage of children receiving their school vaccinations declines, the Ledger reports.

Security: The Hendry County school district is installing weapons detection systems into all its elementary schools, WFTX reports.

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On the Trump team: Former Florida lawmaker Amber Mariano Davis, whose father sits on the Pasco County Commission, was named a policy adviser in the U.S. Department of Education, Florida Politics reports.

Cellphones: The Sarasota County school district is asking parents if they want to have stricter cellphone use rules in schools, WUSF reports.

Bus cameras: A state report shows the addition of cameras on school buses to catch drivers who illegally pass stopped buses generated more than $14 million in fines in three counties over less than a year, WFTS reports.

Book challenges: Gov. Ron DeSantis cheered a move by the Trump Administration to end the Biden Administrations efforts to prevent schools from removing library books, calling it an end to the book ban hoax, Florida Politics reports.

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From the police blotter ... A Brevard County elementary schools principal and a teacher were arrested on allegations of child neglect associated with a house party attended by about 100 teens, Florida Today reports.  Collier County deputies are seeking burglars who broke into a middle school and stole guns that were locked in a safe, WINK reports.

Dont miss a story. Heres a link to Fridays roundup.

Before you go ... The movie wasnt the best, but these two sure could dance.
Purple Domestic Violence Awareness ribbons (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Originally published by The 19th. The Michigan Advance is part of The 19th Reporting Network.

Just a day after President Donald Trump issued a slate of executive orders aimed at restricting immigration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it was rescinding protections for sensitive zones where undocumented immigrants were protected from deportation. Some immigrant rights advocates are particularly worried that this could deter women experiencing domestic abuse from going to womens shelters, which will no longer be protected from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense, a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.

The sensitive zones policy, which was created in 2011, initially applied to places like churches, schools and hospitals. In 2021, the list of places was expanded by the Biden administration to include locations offering disaster or emergency relief and social services. The policy was put in place to allow undocumented immigrants access to essential services like health care without the threat of being deported. ICE could enter these places only if there was a threat of terrorism or imminent risk of death, among other exceptions.

What is really important about sensitive zones is that they allow migrant women and families to safely access these spaces without fear that ICE will arrest or deport them there, said Zain Lakhani, director of the Migrant Rights and Justice Program at the Womens Refugee Commission. The impact might be, for instance, that a domestic violence survivor will stay in an abusive situation because theyre being forced to choose between their immediate safety and arrest and deportation if they go to a shelter or take their children to a shelter.

The administration could further hamper services for those experiencing domestic violence by expanding the definition of a public charge, which Trump did in his first term, though it was struck down by a federal court a year later. The public charge rule, which had previously been defined by a 1999 field guidance, means people can be turned down for visas or green cards if they are determined to be dependent on the government financially.

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This rule had typically been restricted to cash-assistance initiatives like the Temporary Assistance for Needy Family program, but Trump expanded it to include non-cash assistance programs like food stamps and Section 8 housing. Trump also changed the length of time someone could be in assistance programs before becoming ineligible, leading to a lot of uncertainty over who would be deemed a public charge. Many immigrants were less likely to enroll in programs during this time, even if they were eligible.

That had a particular impact on victims of domestic violence. The public charge rule did not apply to people with a U or T visa, which is available to victims of human trafficking and violent crimes like domestic violence. But the change in definition caused confusion both among people dispensing legal advice and the visa recipients themselves, who were entitled to some of these benefits but scared to access them. Housing or food assistance can be the difference between someone staying or leaving an abusive situation, Lakhani said.

There was just a lot of confusion and a huge amount of chilling, she said.

And now, even the U and T visa program could be dismantled by the Trump administration as called for by Project 2025, which is largely seen as the policy blueprint for Trumps second term.

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When someone applies for this visa, it creates an alert to immigration authorities that bars ICE from taking any enforcement action against a person if a tip comes in from the person committing the abuse. Ultimately, that stops abusers or human traffickers from being able to threaten people with deportation, Lakhani said.

While these visa programs need an act of Congress to be overturned, Lakhani said, there are levers the administration can pull to make the program ineffective. For example, they could decide to pause new applications for any visa category that is heavily backlogged. U visa applicants are currently waiting around 15 years for resolution of their cases, she said.

The times are just astronomical, right? And so, of course, that is going to be considered a very heavily backlogged category, and so they could essentially cut off all access, Lakhani said.

So much of these policies, what they do is instill fear, and I think thats really critical, Lakhani said. Its extremely dangerous because the state doesnt even need to enforce them, in order people self-select out, and it forces them into these impossible, impossible choices.
CHICAGO  Immigration enforcement operations unfolded across multiple cities Sunday, marking what President Donald Trump has called the beginning of an era of mass deportations that would primarily target migrants with criminal backgrounds but in which concerns remain that migrants with no criminal histories will be swept up, as well.

Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, told NBC News on Sunday that several people convicted of serious offenses, including murder and sex crimes, were apprehended. He added that collateral arrests  detentions of people without criminal convictions who were present during the raids  would occur.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement Sunday that its enhanced operations aim to "enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities.

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The agency later said ICE made 956 arrests Sunday  the largest single-day number to date by the Trump administration. Since Trump was inaugurated Monday, ICE has made at least 2,681 arrests. It was unclear how many of those arrested had criminal histories or convictions.

Homan said the people arrested Sunday in Chicago included six convicted of serious sex offenses, multiple gang members and two others who were previously convicted of murder and aggravated sexual battery.

He also elaborated on the possibility of operations in locations such as churches and schools after Trump rescinded long-standing guidance that had designated such areas as sensitive locations. Decisions to enter those spaces would be made on a case-by-case basis, Homan said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations Sunday in Chicago.

Weve got to put Americas safety first, said Homan, who was in Chicago for the enforcement operations.

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The Washington Post reported Sunday, citing four people with knowledge, that Trump officials have directed ICE officials to arrest 1,200 to 1,500 people a day, up from a few hundred.

Asked about the reporting, Homan told NBC News the goal is to get as many criminals as possible.

I dont have a quota, he said. My instructions to them: Arrest as many as you can.

Follow along for live updates

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a post on X that Chicago police were not involved in the enforcement activity.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker express mixed feelings about the enforcement actions. Pritzker said Sunday on CNN that he supports deporting people convicted of violent crimes but disagrees with targeting law-abiding people.

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"Why are we going after them?" he asked. "These are not people who are causing problems in our country, and what we need is a path to citizenship for them.

We need to secure our border. We need to get rid of the violent criminals, but we also need to protect people, at least the residents of Illinois and all across the nation who are just doing what we hope that immigrants will do, he added.

Drug Enforcement Administration offices in other cities said on social media Sunday that the agency helped conduct operations that arrested or detained people in the country illegally.

The DEA's Rocky Mountain Division said that it, along with its federal and local partners, conducted an operation at a makeshift nightclub early Sunday in Adams County, Colorado, where nearly 50 people in the country without authorization were taken into custody.

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The DEA said many of them had connections to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

A spokesperson for the agency said later Sunday that at least 100 law enforcement officers took part in the early morning raid and that the operation had a federal search warrant.

The DEA said that 49 people were in the location when the warrant was served and that 41 of them were found to be in the country without authorization. The officer did not release any other information about the statuses of the 41, other than that they were a mix of men and women and that they were taken to a nearby ICE processing facility.

The officer said that several handguns, as well as cash and drugs, were found at the scene and that gang members there were trying to flood the Denver metro area with fake fentanyl pills.

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The investigation into the nightclub started in August under the Biden administration, the officer said.

In California, the DEAs Los Angeles division said on social media that it was assisting other federal agencies with enhanced targeted operations throughout the city. The agency's office in San Diego also said it was assisting with immigration enforcement efforts.

The DEAs Phoenix division and its Atlanta division also both said on social media that they were assisting with immigration operation efforts.

Homeland Security Investigations in Miami said in a post on X that it also worked with other agencies to enforce immigration laws.

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In a series of posts on social media Sunday, the White House said ICE agents arrested several people in the last few days who it said have been convicted or suspected of or wanted in connection with crimes.

The arrests were made by ICE divisions in Washington, California, Louisiana, New York and other states, the posts said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  Immigration enforcement operations are ramping up across the country, as law enforcement agencies kicked off a series of raids targeting migrants with criminal backgrounds.

While the Trump administration is seeing cooperation across multiple U.S. law enforcement agencies to deport migrants, other countries are pushing back against their efforts.

President Donald Trump said his crackdown on illegal immigration in the U.S. has only just begun.

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Sending every border trespasser and violator back to the places from which they came, said Trump.

Countries like Guatemala began receiving migrants deported from the U.S. but others like Colombia initially blocked the flights over concerns of how the Trump administration was treating the migrants.

After threatening 25% tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods and visa restrictions the White House announced Colombia would accept the flights.

Were seeing a kind of chaos, said Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

Democrats, like California Senator Adam Schiff, criticized the Trump administrations efforts.

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Schiff warned the actions would also increase prices when President Trump vowed to lower them.

Mass deportations of farm workers in California, maybe half the workforce, are going to drive food prices through the roof. Mass deportations of construction workers are going to drive housing prices even more through the roof, said Schiff.

Border Czar Tom Homan told ABCs This Week to expect more actions.

If youre in the country illegally, you have a problem, said Homan.

Homan has been in Chicago monitoring raids which he said have resulted in the arrests of people convicted of serious offenses and those without criminal convictions.

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France is at a crossroads, grappling with a deep political and social crisis that has shaken the foundations of Emmanuel Macrons presidency. Public discontent, fueled by economic stagnation, diplomatic blunders, and growing inequality, has manifested in mass protests, strikes, and a sharp decline in trust in the government. The French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) recently revealed that a staggering 79% of citizens disapprove of Macrons performance as President of the Republic, a damning statistic that underscores the erosion of his mandate. Support among pensioners, a key demographic that played a pivotal role in his 2022 re-election, has particularly waned, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with his policies.

Despite these challenges, Macron remained defiant. Back in 2024, on December 3, in response to growing calls for his resignation, he dismissed the notion as "political fiction," stating, It doesnt make sense... its frankly not up to scratch to say these things. Speaking from Saudi Arabia, Macron emphasized his legitimacy as a two-time elected president and vowed to serve out his term until 2027. I am extremely proud of this and I will honour this trust with all the energy that is mine until the last second to be useful to the country, he added. Nevertheless, prominent opposition figures and even some voices within Macrons camp argue that resignation might be the only path to resolve the political impasse.

The instability in France has roots in Macrons controversial domestic policies. His ambitious reform agenda, including labour law changes and economic modernization, has faced fierce resistance. The "yellow vest" protests, which erupted in 2018, marked the beginning of years of unrest. These demonstrations, sparked by rising fuel taxes, soon evolved into a broader critique of Macrons presidency, highlighting growing inequality and scepticism toward his economic vision. Corruption scandals and questions about the governments transparency have only exacerbated public anger.

Today, Frances streets are alive with demonstrations led by labour collectives, pensioners, and young people, demanding justice, economic reforms, and even new elections. Rising unemployment, mounting public debt, and declining living standards have created a sense of hopelessness among citizens. Political experts warn that Macrons government appears increasingly disconnected from the realities on the ground, failing to present viable solutions to the countrys pressing issues.

Adding to Macrons woes are external challenges that have further tarnished Frances global standing. The recent diplomatic row with Azerbaijan has amplified criticism of his foreign policy. This influence has even had a strong impact on his retired staff. Former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attals harsh words against Azerbaijan reflect Frances growing frustration. Withdrawn from politics, Attal declared, accusing Baku of interference, destabilization, and inciting violence. He cited Azerbaijans support for independence movements in Frances overseas territories, including Guadeloupe, Martinique, and New Caledonia, as a direct challenge to Frances territorial integrity and values.

This diplomatic scandal has exposed Frances vulnerabilities. Azerbaijans backing of decolonization efforts in these regions has not only embarrassed Paris but also highlighted the fragility of its colonial legacy. French officials, already grappling with domestic instability, have struggled to respond effectively. Macrons administrations attempts to dismiss Azerbaijans actions as "interference in internal affairs" have been met with scepticism, both domestically and internationally. Critics argue that the presidents inability to navigate these challenges has further undermined Frances credibility on the world stage.

Macrons isolation is evident not only in foreign policy but also in his diminishing influence within the French parliament. The governments failure to secure support for key legislative initiatives has paralyzed decision-making. In 2024 alone, the French cabinet underwent four reshuffles, a clear indication of the instability within Macrons administration. These changes, far from addressing the countrys problems, have revealed a lack of strategic direction and leadership.

Meanwhile, opposition parties are capitalizing on Macrons declining popularity. Conservative forces, in particular, have intensified their criticism, accusing him of jeopardizing national interests through misguided domestic and foreign policies. Public sentiment continues to shift toward alternatives, with rallies and protests demanding new elections and a change in political course.

The crisis of confidence in Emmanuel Macron is a symptom of deeper structural issues facing France. Economic stagnation, social unrest, and diplomatic missteps have converged to create a perfect storm. As public dissatisfaction grows, the spectre of political chaos looms large. Macrons defiance, while a testament to his resilience, may not be enough to weather the storm. With his approval ratings plummeting and trust in his leadership eroding, France risks becoming engulfed in a prolonged period of instability. What remains clear is that France, under Macrons leadership, risks sliding further into political and social chaos, with consequences that could reverberate far beyond its borders.

Photo Source: Telegraph
BRUSSELS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) foreign ministers have agreed to begin easing sanctions on Syria, Kaja Kallas, the bloc's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, announced on Monday.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting focused on geopolitical issues, Kallas said the EU plans to first lift sanctions on Syria that hinder the most the early rebuilding of the country, while sanctions related to arms and arms dealings will remain in place.

"We aim to move fast," she said, adding, "but we are also ready to reverse course if the situation worsens."

Kallas also reaffirmed the EU's support for a two-state solution in Palestine, responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion of relocating Palestinians to other countries. She emphasized that achieving peace requires equal footing for both states.

The EU Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah crossing will resume in February, monitoring the Gaza-Egypt border to support the ceasefire, Kallas said, adding that the mission has been endorsed by Palestine, Israel, and Egypt.

On Greenland, a topic raised by Trump, Kallas stressed European unity and the importance of strengthening EU policies instead of just reacting to U.S. actions. 
On the eve of a special legislative session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republican lawmakers Sunday filed a flurry of bills to crack down on undocumented immigrants and place additional restrictions on the ballot initiative process.

The bills, in part, would end in-state tuition at colleges and universities for undocumented-immigrant students referred to as "Dreamers;" place new requirements on police to help with immigration-enforcement efforts; and dramatically change the petition process for proposed constitutional amendments.

Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, and Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, had filed 11 bills as of Sunday evening, according to the Senate website. Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, and Rep. John Temple, R-Wildwood, had filed House versions that largely mirrored the Senate bills.

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DeSantis on Jan. 13 called the special session because he wants lawmakers to make changes to help carry out President Donald Trumps immigration policies. Other issues DeSantis wants lawmakers to take up include making changes in the ballot-initiative process, providing aid to hurricane victims and addressing issues that have increased costs for condominium associations and residents.

The special session, however, has been surrounded by uncertainty because Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, and House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, raised objections. Among other things, they said the special session was premature and pointed to the March 4 start of the regular legislative session.

DeSantis, however, has made a series of appearances to try to pressure lawmakers into acting on the issues  particularly focusing on immigration issues.

While the bills were filed Sunday, it remained unclear how the special session would play out. The Senate and House are scheduled to convene 10:30 a.m. Monday, but neither had scheduled committee meetings as of Sunday evening to consider the proposals.

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Among the proposals:

Martin and Temple filed bills (SB 20-A and HB 19A) that would repeal a 2014 law that allows undocumented-immigrant students to avoid higher out-of-state tuition rates if they meet certain criteria. Albritton has suggested phasing out the law, taking into account students who already receive the tuition benefit or who are making plans to attend colleges or universities at the cheaper in-state rates.

Ingoglia and Caruso filed bills (SB 4-A and HB 9A) that say law enforcement agencies in the state shall support enforcement of federal immigration laws. Currently, a state law says agencies shall use best efforts to support such enforcement. Also, under the bills, when counties receive notice that jail inmates have immigration detainers, they would be required to transport the inmates to federal facilities or to federal officials.

Ingoglia and Caruso filed bills (SB 14-A and HB 11A) that would require state and county law-enforcement agencies and other police agencies with more than 25 officers to enter agreements with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement to participate in a program that authorizes local officers to perform certain duties of federal immigration agents. The bills also would give the governor authority to suspend the head of a law-enforcement agency who, in the judgment of the governor, acts in bad faith and fails to comply with any provision of the bill.

Collins and Caruso filed bills (SB 18-A and HB 21A) that would overhaul the ballot-initiative process, including what appears to be elimination of the use of paid petition gatherers to collect signatures. Voters could request petition forms to be mailed to them by supervisors of elections; they could then mail back signed petitions. The proposals come after DeSantis led efforts to defeat ballot proposals in November that would have enshrined abortion rights in the state Constitution and allowed recreational use of marijuana.

To read the filed bills, click here.

2025 The News Service of Florida. All rights reserved.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Immigration and other bills filed for special legislative session
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed a raft of executive orders, including one proclaiming that the United States will only recognize two sexes, male and femalea move that could have significant practical and psychological implications for trans and nonbinary people.

The order accuses ideologues of denying the biological reality of sex and dismisses gender identity, calling it disconnected from biological reality. It declares that all federal agencies and employees will henceforth use the term sex, not gender, in all applicable policies and documents, and that government-issued forms of identifications will accurately reflect the holders sex.

Sex and gender are not always the same thing. Sex generally refers to a persons anatomy, whereas gender has to do with a persons social and personal identity and may differ from their assigned sex at birth.

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This [executive order] is clearly a plan from the Trump Administration to erase transgender people's existence under the law, says Harper Seldin, a senior staff attorney at the ACLUs LGBTQ and HIV Project.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

The order has seen swift implementation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent an internal memo to Department of State staff asking them to pause all gender marker update applications, as well as halting requests for the X gender marker on a passport, which was rolled out in 2022 for nonbinary folks, per The Guardian.

Simone Chriss, an attorney and the Director of Transgender Rights Initiative at Southern Legal Counsel in Florida, says that, as of Jan. 23, she heard from two clients who experienced this firsthand. One was told verbally over the phone that a passport application seeking any kind of gender marker change had been suspended. The other one was told in person at the passport acceptance facility that they weren't going to be processed, so there was no point in submitting the application, says Chriss. She also has checked the passport status portal for clients and found that while some said "Application Status: In Progress" prior to Jan 20th, they now say "Application Status: Not Available." She expects lawsuits to be filed challenging the measures in the order.

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Florida is one of four states that have banned gender marker updates on state IDs, according to the Movement Advancement Project, though other states have introduced bills that would prohibit similar action. While Trumps executive order has no bearing over states decisions about amending local identification documents, it has reinforced fears among the trangender community. The goal of this executive order is to create a climate of fear and to try to intimidate folks into making their lives smaller, says Seldin.

Here are the implications of Trumps executive order on gender.

How does this impact federal identification documents?

Trumps executive order denies the legal recognition of transgender and nonbinary people, barring them from updating their gender on federal documents, such as passports, visas, and Global Entry cards.

TIME reached out to the Consular Affairs office to inquire about new directives regarding gender marker changes on federal documents. A State Department spokesperson directed TIME to the White House, which did not respond to questions as of press time.

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Under the Biden Administration, citizens could update their gender markers to reflect their gender identity in a process Chriss calls a more affirming policy of self-attestation. That means you signed an affidavit saying this is what my gender marker is, and you didn't need medical certification, she says. In 2022, the Biden Administration rolled out an X gender marker for nonbinary, intersex, or gender nonconforming people.

Read More: What Trumps Win Means for LGBTQ+ Rights

Citizens who have already amended their federal documents still have a valid form of identification, regardless of the change. The White House has said this is not retroactive, says Chriss. But the Department of State will no longer issue new passports with the X gender marker.

Experts instead say problems will likely arise when it comes to passport renewal, which happens every 10 years for those aged 16 and up. Many folks have 10 years before they have to worry about that, but upon renewal, it sounds like they will revert it back to the person's sex assigned to birth, says Chriss. Still, it isnt clear how the government would implement such a policy. If birth certificates or state IDs have already been amended, it's unclear how the State Department would know that a person is transgender and apply the policy set forth by Trump.

How does this impact state identification documents?

The executive order does not impact state policies or most state identification documents. States that already banned these things have further support for their banned policies, but it doesn't compel any state to adopt a law banning or a policy banning gender marker changes, says Chriss.

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However, there are concerns about the implications of this policy on the REAL ID Act, which has stricter standards for the issuance of identification cards compared to a standard license, and requests additional or supplemental documents to verify a persons information. Starting on May 7, residents must have a REAL ID in order to fly domestically or to access certain federal facilities. If you currently have a driver's license that says the correct gender marker, and then to become REAL ID Act compliant, you have to show your birth certificate, or passportcould that cause an issue? It's very state specific, and we're going to have to see how different states handle it, Chriss says.

Transgender and nonbinary people living in states that bar gender marker changes have already been living with discordant documents. Seldin warns that there could be issues when it comes to applications where two forms of IDs are necessary, such as applying to loans, employment, or housing.

For some, discordant documents could also pose safety risks because it may out them. You are giving the discretion to the person in front of you as to whether or not they're going to accept or understand, says Imara Jones, an American political journalist and the chief executive officer of the independent news organization TransLash Media. Its giving people a license to discriminate because youre immediately being marked as Other.

A broader signal

Transgender people make up less than 1% of the adult U.S. population, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Washington Post, but they have been the focus of state legislatures through bathroom bans and other bills, in Supreme Court cases that will decide the future of gender-affirming-care, and among elected officials. Soon after she was elected as the first openly transgender member of Congress in November, Democratic Delaware Rep. Sarah McBride was barred from using the bathroom that matches her gender identity in a change to chamber rules led by her colleague, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

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Research published in the journal Nature Human Behavior found that anti-trans laws have led suicide attempts among trans and nonbinary youth ages 13 to 17 to increase between 7-72%. The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, reported a 33% increase in volume for its crisis line on Inauguration Day compared to the weeks leading up to Trump being sworn in as President.

Read More: Anti-Trans Laws Linked to Increase in Trans and Nonbinary Youth Suicide Attempts

Jones says that Trumps executive order will lead to exclusionfor instance, Trump has rescinded a Biden-era rule that allowed trans people to serve in the military, and The Hill reported that the President is expected to sign an executive order explicitly banning trans people from military service.

Executive orders and laws not only are about the practical implementation and mechanics of implementing what those laws and orders are seeking to dothey also are about a broader signal to the country about what and who is acceptable and what and who are not acceptable, Jones says. I think that the thing that these executive orders are doing is they are saying that in this country, trans people are personae non gratae. And so consequently, it empowers individuals in authority to be able to exercise their discretion against trans people, if thats what they want to do.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
By Sudipto Ganguly

MUMBAI (Reuters) - One person is believed to have died in India's Maharashtra state in an outbreak of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) - a neurological disease that causes numbness, weakness and pain - and the number of cases is rising, health officials said on Monday.

A total of 101 cases of GBS have so far been reported in the state, most of them in and around Pune city, which lies about 180 km (110 miles) from the state capital and India's financial hub Mumbai.

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The state's public health department said in a statement that one person had died in the city of Solapur and 16 patients were currently on ventilators.

A rapid response team visited the affected areas, it said.

"Citizens should not panic  the state's health department is prepared to implement preventive and control measures," the statement said.

A federal health ministry spokesperson said the government has sent a seven-member team to Pune to assess the situation following the outbreak.

The condition, in which the body's immune system attacks nerves, can cause paralysis and even death.

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Most symptoms occur within days or weeks of a viral or bacterial infection and typically last a few weeks, according to the World Health Organization.

Most people recover fully from even the most severe cases of GBS, although some continue to experience weakness, the global health agency says.

"The exact cause is not known behind the sudden rise in GBS cases," said Avinash Bhondwe, the former president of the Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra, adding that GBS was a post-infective auto-immune disease.

"Auto-immune diseases are not communicable, it cannot spread from one patient to another. But the causative infection usually spreads."

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Drainage water gets mixed with potable water in some affected areas in Pune where water lines and drainage lines run side by side, leading to contamination and caused the spike in GBS cases among other possible reasons, Bhondwe said.

In their guidance, health authorities asked citizens to boil drinking water, among other measures.

(This story has been refiled to say, boil drinking water, in paragraph 13)

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; additional reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Rishika Sadam in Hyderabad; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
An Indiana bill under consideration seeks to define and ban "pornographic materials" from K-12 public schools. (Getty Images)

As part of an ongoing effort to eradicate obscene and harmful books or curricular material from Indiana schools, a new bill floated by Republican lawmakers seeks to expand that ban to include pornographic content, too.

House Bill 1195, authored by Rep. David Abbott, R-Rome City, would build on a 2023 law that made it easier for parents and community members to challenge school library materials. Abbott emphasized, however, that current state statute has shortfalls that still allow students to have access to questionable  or objectionable  materials.

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The goal of his bill, Abbott said, is to narrow the focus to pornographic material and require any content of that nature to be removed from K-12 public schools entirely.

Rep. David Abbott, R-Rome City (Photo courtesy Indiana House Republicans)

There are some artistic things, and there are questionable books, that one person might think, No, that shouldnt be here, because its a community standard. But others think its OK, the representative continued. A lot of the books are being interpreted differently  and what we want to do is keep obscene materials away from children. We want to focus on STEM. We want to focus on getting our children through K-12  get them prepared for the future.

Abbotts bill requires public schools  traditional and charters  to add pornographic materials to the list of books and other curricular content that can already be challenged by parents and community members in a particular district.

The lawmaker said the bill additionally intends Indianas existing prohibition to include materials used anywhere within a school  applying to school libraries, classrooms, instructional materials or otherwise.

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To curtail current discretion afforded to local school personnel over the fate of contested materials, Abbotts proposal would further mandate that anything found to amount to pornographic material, obscene matter, or matter harmful to minors  must be removed from the school.

Pornographic material is defined in the legislation as school material that includes a patently offensive pictorial depiction or a patently offensive written depiction of:

nudity involving lewd exhibition of the genitals

nudity involving genitals in an aroused state; or

sexual conduct, including: masturbation; vaginal sex; oral sex; anal sex; oral-anal sex; the use of sex toys or other objects for sexual gratification; ejaculation; or sado-masochistic abuse.

Abbott filed a similar bill in 2024, but it never got a committee hearing and ultimately died.

Whether his new bill will gain traction in the 2025 session is still to be determined. Republican Rep. Bob Behning, who chairs the House Education Committee where Abbotts bill is assigned, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle he hadnt yet reviewed the proposal or decided whether to put it on the hearing schedule.

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I agreed with what we passed in 2023, so I am not thoroughly embedded with (House Bill) 1195, Behning said.

Expanding existing law

Two years ago, a contentious debate erupted within Indianas Statehouse over a bill-turned-law that now requires Indiana school districts to establish procedures for responding to complaints about library material alleged to be obscene or harmful to minors.

That bill originally had a much broader subjective scope of inappropriate material, but lawmakers ultimately focused on the longtime legal definition of obscenity.

Districts must review requests at public meetings and hear appeals if necessary. Schools must also maintain public catalogs of library materials.

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Beneath the surface of the years-long school library discourse has been contention from Hoosier parents who say their local school boards rejected their challenges of certain materials, leaving books some deem to be obscene and objectionable accessible to kids in school libraries.

Were not trying to ban books. Were just trying to put them where they should be  and keep the kids where they should be.

 Rep. David Abbott, R-Rome City

Librarians and other opponents of the new law maintain such materials are not  and havent been  present in school libraries, given that librarians already have a duty to vet whats appropriate.

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Obscene material has long been illegal under Indiana code and federal law, and material harmful to minors is unlawful for people under 18 to access. Those terms have very specific definitions in state law  with a high bar to meet.

Outlawed materials must, as a whole:

describe or represent, in any form, nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse

appeal to the prurient interest in sex of minors

be patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable matter for or performance before minors

lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors

Abbotts bill seeks to build that criteria out to include pornographic materials.

Its not banning books, he said. And something to remember is  as it was addressed in the Supreme Court  with First Amendment rights, the school is a government entity  and we have control over that. Thus, those rights apply in a different level and magnitude than they do for the general public.

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We could, for instance, say we want all kids in state of Indiana to wear uniforms, Abbott added. We can also say we dont want them to have those type of books, and its for the benefit of their educational needs, not because we have moral, ethical values that were trying to instill. We feel thats already happening. Were trying to keep them focused on education.

The bill would specifically apply to school material matter  already outlined in state law as any book, magazine, newspaper, or other printed or written material; any picture, drawing, photograph, motion picture, digitized image, or other pictorial representation; any statue or other figure; any recording, transcription, or mechanical, chemical, or electrical reproduction; or any other articles, equipment, machines, or materials  that is made available to students, in any format, by a school for an educational purpose.

Performances count too, and are presently defined in Indiana Code as any play, motion picture, dance, or other exhibition or presentation, whether pictured, animated, or live, performed before an audience of one or more persons.

Like in current law, public libraries would not be affected by Abbotts bill. Any materials approved by a district for instruction on human sexuality also would not qualify.

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A person who knowingly or intentionally disseminates matter to minors that is harmful to minors can already face a Level 6 felony, which carries a maximum penalty of 2.5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Abbotts bill would level the same charge for school personnel that knowingly provide or make available any pornographic school material to students.

If charged, they could still argue that the material has literary, artistic, political or scientific value as a whole, however.

There is no statutory defense currently in state code relating to obscenity. If such materials  such as a pornographic magazine  are being provided to minors, anyone can be prosecuted.

Not banning books

Abbott said his bill has so far earned favor from multiple parents, principals, school board members and teachers. He pointed to additional appetite for the bill among members of the House and Senate Republican caucuses.

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I have a lot of support for this, especially back home and in my district with my constituents. Overwhelmingly, hundreds and hundreds of people have approached me, and so that Im reacting to that, he said. Think of the kids first  thats my message. Were not trying to ban books. Were just trying to put them where they should be  and keep the kids where they should be.

Without providing specifics, Abbott referenced some examples, including some that are very, very disgustingly graphic, of school materials hes been shown that he thinks should be removed from the K-12 educational space.

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Although he did not name the particular school district, he described a case when local officials in one Hoosier community reviewed a book challenge and decided to keep the book, even though it was found to contain graphic content.

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They thought that the three or four pages that had those descriptions of a boy and a girl didnt affect the overall content of the book, Abbott noted. Ive heard conversations from superintendents that, Well, theyre going to learn it anyway. They might as well learn it now. We dont want to introduce that in our education system. If they find it out on their own, on social media, or wherever, thats life. But we want to focus on good material for the kids.

A 2024 investigation by the Capital Chronicle and the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism found that book challenges are rare and removal even rarer.

For example, a May 2023 complaint filed with the East Noble School Corporation, in Abbotts district, argued to administrators that Sherman Alexies, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, belonged in the garbage  not on library shelves.

But East Nobles school board disagreed and denied the request and subsequent appeal to keep the award-winning book in the curriculum. Public records from East Noble did not say why the board opted to keep Alexies book.

Abbott said his bill would give concerned locals a better tool to combat obscene, pornographic and patently objectionable materials.

When were focused on education, we want to stay focused on education, Abbott said. So, those books that are falling through the cracks, Im trying to catch those.

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Lawmakers wasted no time advancing some of the more controversial topics of the legislative session this past week, from DEI initiatives to immigration reform.

IndyStar is tracking the prominent bills that are actually moving through the legislative process and that would impact a wide variety of Hoosiers.

Here are some of the major bills that have already advanced, and what happened to them last week.

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House Bill 1393: Illegal immigration

Lead author: Rep. Garrett Bascom, R-Lawrenceburg

What it does: The bill requires law enforcement officers to report individuals to their county sheriff if the person is arrested for a felony or misdemeanor and the officer has probable cause to believe the person lacks permanent legal status. It then requires county sheriffs to report the person to proper authorities.

Status: Passed the House Veterans Affairs and Public Safety committee on Jan. 23 by a vote of 9-2. It now heads to the House floor.

More: Indiana lawmakers push illegal immigration crackdown, days after Trump's executive orders

Senate Bill 11: Social media for minors

Lead author: Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores

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What it does: The bill requires parental consent for social media use for people under age 16, and allows Indiana's attorney general to sue social media operators that don't comply.

Status: Passed by the full Senate by a 42-7 vote on Jan. 23. It now goes to the House for consideration.

More: Should kids need parental consent to use social media? Here's what this bill would do

Senate Bill 235: Banning DEI

Lead authors: Sen. Tyler Johnson, R-Leo, Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville

What it does: This bill bans all state spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives  from trainings to diverse hiring initiatives  at state agencies, educational institutions and health profession licensing boards.

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Status: Passed the Senate Judiciary committee by an 8-2 vote on Jan. 22.

Senate Bill 475: Physician noncompetes

Lead author: Sen. Justin Busch, R-Fort Wayne

What it does: Lawmakers tried in 2023 to outlaw noncompete agreements for Indiana doctors  contracts that prevent doctors from taking jobs at competing hospitals within a certain radius. The compromise that year was to only apply this to family doctors. This year, Senate Bill 475 attempts the ban for all physicians, again, hoping it will encourage competition and reduce prices in the health care market.

Status: Passed the Senate Health and Provider Services committee by a 10-2 vote on Jan. 22. It now heads to the Senate floor.

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Senate Bill 451: Income tax cut

Authors: Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, and Sen. Scott Baldwin, R-Noblesville

What it does: The bill would further decrease Indianas individual income tax rate if state revenues grow by more than 3% compared to previous years.

Status: The bill unanimously passed through the Senates Tax and Fiscal Policy committee on Jan. 21. It's now awaiting final approval from the Senate.

House Bill 1002: Education deregulation

Lead author: Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis

What it does: The bill aims to loosen restrictions for Indiana schools and education systems, including by nixing the education credential requirement for the Indiana secretary of education, changing the timing of when teachers are paid and removing certain training and professional development requirements.

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Status: Voted out of the House Committee on Education on Jan. 22. Lawmakers make several changes to the bill in committee, including to eliminate a provision nixing economic disclosure requirements for charter schools. The bill now moves to the House floor for consideration.

House Bill 1201: Chronic absenteeism

Lead author: Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis

What it does: The bill prohibits a public school from expelling or suspending a student because they are chronically absent or habitually truant and expands the number of days for a school to hold an attendance conference about a students absences from five days to 10. It also requires the Department of Education to establish best practices for student discipline on chronic absenteeism.

Status: Voted out of the House Committee on Education on Jan. 22, with some amendments. The bill now moves to the Senate floor for consideration. A bill that similarly addresses absenteeism, Senate Bill 482, also was heard in committee.

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More: Proposed bill would ban expulsion for missing school, study absenteeism

Senate Bill 143: Parental rights

Lead Author: Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne

What it does: The bill restricts government entities, including school districts and the Indiana Department of Child Services, from intruding on parental rights or keeping information from parents, unless there is a compelling governmental interest.

Status: Passed by 9-2 vote in Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 15. Lawmakers passed a minor amendment to the bill on the Senate floor, and it now awaits a vote in the full Senate.

Senate Bill 2: Medicaid eligibility

Lead author: Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka

What it does: The bill adds far more stringent and regular government reviews of the eligibility of Medicaid recipients and adds work requirements in order for someone to be eligible for the Healthy Indiana Plan, the state health plan for non-Medicaid recipients. In addition, it limits enrollment in the Healthy Indiana Plan. HIP is not Medicaid, but uses Medicaid funds.

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Status: Heard in committee on Jan. 16. The next step is a committee vote.

Senate Bill 13: Spinning

Lead author: Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville

What it does: It makes intentional and reckless skidding while driving, known as spinning, a Class B misdemeanor and increases the penalties further if the spinning endangers, injures or kills another person. If the bill becomes law, a person found spinning could have their vehicle seized in a civil forfeiture.

Status: Heard in the Senates Corrections and Criminal Law committee on Jan. 14. It's awaiting a committee vote.

More: Indiana lawmakers revive fight to combat dangerous street takeovers

Senate Bill 4: Water pipeline oversight

Lead author: Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford

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What it does: The bill prohibits the construction, operation, purchase, sale and lease of a long-haul water pipeline unless the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission signs off on it. However, the Citizens deal to provide water to the LEAP district in Lebanon is exempted from those rules.

Status:Heard in Senate's utilities committee on Jan. 16. The bill now awaits a committee vote.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.

Contact senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@indystar.com or follow her on X at @hayleighcolombo.

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Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Statehouse: Immigration, anti-DEI bills advance
MARION, Ohio (WCMH)  The case against a Marion City Council member, who was set to face trial on three felony rape charges, has been dismissed  at least temporarily.

According to court documents, a motion was filed on behalf of the Marion County prosecutors office seeking an entry of nolle prosequi without prejudice of all counts of an indictment against Marion City Councilmember Ayers Ratliff.

The motion, filed Tuesday and heard Friday in the Marion Court of Common Pleas, seeks the dismissal due to additional and substantial evidence that will need to be reviewed, with the possibility that Ratliff may be reindicted. For previous coverage of Ratliffs indictment and charges view the video player above.

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The motion states, The evidence continues to amass. Surprisingly, Ratliffs attorneys  by providing potential witnesses and hundreds of pages of new discovery material  have unwittingly given the prosecution team additional leads that will need to be reviewed by a Marion County grand jury.

Prosecutors could ask the grand jury to determine if new felony charges are warranted, the motion said. Judge Matthew Frericks granted the motion, and Ratliffs bond was released.

The charges, three counts of felony rape, stem from allegations that he raped a 13-year-old. In August, Ratliff was indicted on rape, a first-degree felony; gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony; and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a third-degree felony.

According to a criminal complaint, Ratliff was arrested after the child texted a friend after the alleged assault. The friend then relayed the messages to a school guidance counselor, who called the police.

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The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was called to assist in the investigation, and the victim was taken to a hospital for a sexual assault examination. Police also executed a search warrant at the location of the reported rape, where several clothes described by the victim were collected, as well as other physical evidence and electronic devices. Ratliff was arrested May 20.

Ratliff is still listed as a Marion City Councilmember on the citys website, and his term expires Dec. 31. He was present at the most recent council meeting on Jan. 21, according to the committee minutes. It was not immediately clear whether he would seek a new term.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
An inmate is accused of assaulting a county corrections officer and attempting to escape a transport vehicle on Saturday, the Pima County Sheriff's Office said.

Ehsan Karam was a new arrestee and taken to a hospital for drug treatment around 5 p.m. While still in the hospital, Karam assaulted a county corrections officer but was quickly stopped by fire personnel and hospital staff at the scene.

Once en route to a Pima County jail, Karam kicked out the transport vehicle's passenger rear window and attempted to escape while in restraints after the vehicle pulled over, sheriff's officials said.

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Karam was immediately recaptured and taken to the jail with no further incident.

He was initially arrested and booked on a fugitive warrant for assault with a deadly weapon from Florida and several drug charges. Additional charges now included multiple counts of aggravated assault on an officer, escape and criminal damage.

No one was injured in the incidents.

This was the second attempted escape on Saturday. An inmate housed in a minimum-security Tucson prison was detained after escaping early Saturday morning.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Inmate assaults corrections officer, attempts to escape in Pima County
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  An inmate is back in custody after being mistakenly dropped off at the Greyhound bus station in Baton Rouge on Friday, Jan. 24.

Christopher Davis, 33, of Baton Rouge, was apprehended around 10:45 p.m. Sunday. Jan. 26, according to the East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office.

The East Carroll prison warden notified the East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office around 9 p.m. Friday about Davis being dropped off at the bus station earlier in the day. A subsequent search for Davis included multiple agencies.

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At one point, family stated he intended to turn himself in, however, he did not, an EBRSO spokesperson said.

Davis had been in East Carroll Detention Center since December 2024 and was not scheduled to return to East Baton Rouge Parish until March of this year, according to EBRSO.

2 men, 1 juvenile arrested in armed robbery at Baton Rouge parking garage

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
ALGIERS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Algeria and the Algerian Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts on Monday held a special welcome ceremony at the international airport in Algiers for Chinese tourists arriving to spend the Spring Festival in the North African nation.

During the event, local performers dressed in traditional attire greeted the tourists with singing and dancing, creating a warm and festive atmosphere.

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional holiday in China, symbolizing renewal, family reunions, and prosperity.

Rachid Ben Nacer, secretary-general of the Algerian tourism ministry, emphasized Algeria's commitment to fostering cultural and intellectual exchanges with China.

He expressed his honor in celebrating the Chinese New Year with the tourists and encouraged them to explore Algeria's stunning landscapes, especially the enchanting Sahara Desert, as well as the country's diverse customs and rich cultural heritage that spans thousands of years.

Chinese Ambassador to Algeria Dong Guangli extended his holiday greetings to the tourists, highlighting the deep-rooted friendship between China and Algeria. He encouraged travelers to share their experiences upon returning home, helping more Chinese people learn about Algeria and promoting the enduring story of China-Algeria friendship.

Algeria is known for its rich tourism resources, boasting seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the magnificent ancient Roman ruins and the vast, mysterious desert landscapes. 
Bill Gates criticized fellow tech billionaire Elon Musk for promoting far-right politics not just in the United States but around the world  and urged other nations to take action to limit the influence of outsiders such as Musk.

Its really insane that he can destabilize the political situations in countries, Gates told The Times of London. I think in the US foreigners arent allowed to give money; other countries maybe should adopt safeguards to make sure super-rich foreigners arent distorting their elections.

Musk, who became part of President Donald Trumps inner circle while spending more than $250 million on his campaign, has since spoken out in other countries. Hes attacked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his center-left Labour Party while dishing out advice to that nations right-wing Reform U.K. party, which he urged to drop leader Nigel Farage.

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In addition, Musk spoke remotely to Germanys far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party over the weekend, urging them to take pride in Germany and not feel guilty for the actions of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.

Gates, who co-founded Microsoft, was not impressed.

You want to promote the right wing but say Nigel Farage is not right wing enough I mean, this is insane shit, Gates told the newspaper. You are for the AfD [in Germany].

He dismissed Musks actions as populist stirring.

Gates also described a three-hour dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month.

It was quite an engaging conversation where he listened to me talk about HIV and the need to stay generous and to innovate to get a cure, Gates said. I talked a lot about polio and energy and nuclear, and he wasnt dismissive.

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He called the encounter pretty constructive.

Read the full interview here.

Related...
LOS ANGELES  The deadly wildfires in California have taken a lot of Donald Trumps attention in his first week as president, and although he traveled to Los Angeles to see the damage, his tone in addressing the crisis has been more of blame than of seeking immediate solutions.

He has attacked Democratic politicians, and criticized supposed poor forest management and failed water policies. But theres one much lesser-known party that he has also targeted: a tiny fish called the delta smelt.

He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, Trump wrote on Truth Social about California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Jan. 8, a day after the fires started. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA!

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The delta smelt is a tiny silver fish one might mistake for a sardine that lives in waterways in Californias Central Valley, about a five-hour drive north of Los Angeles. Its endangered  and so rare that scientists often cant even catch one when they cast nets in an attempt to count its remaining numbers in the wild. Conservationists say its value is in how it indicates the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, an immensely important waterway that provides irrigation to one of the countrys leading producers of almonds, grapes and milk.

In this July 15, 2015, file photo, a delta smelt is shown at the University of California Davis Fish Conservation and Culture Lab in Byron, California. California regulators announced on March 31, 2020, a set of new rules on how much water can be taken from the state's largest rivers that run through the delta. The new rules have angered water agencies for limiting how much they can take, but have also angered environmental groups, who say the limits are not low enough to protect endangered species like the delta smelt. Rich Pedroncelli via Associated Press

In order to grow back the smelts numbers, the state has limited the amount of water from the delta thats diverted for human usage and instead has allowed more water to flow from the basin to the sea. This has made the smelt the bane of California farmers existence, as they now have access to less water in the region.

And Trump has seized onto the fish as a symbol of Californias dysfunction, using it to spread inaccuracies about the states water.

What were hearing from the president is this complicated mix of him trying to deliver quickly on his campaign promises and all the things that seem to resonate well with some of his stakeholders in the Central Valley and these kind of wild half truths, or maybe misunderstandings of how California water works in the first place, said Karrigan Bork, the interim director of the University of California Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.

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Weve heard everything from California could be getting water from Canada  which just isnt true  to efforts trying to tie the delta smelt in Californias use of water for ecosystem protection for the fires in LA  which just isnt true, Bork said. So its been frankly exhausting trying to keep up with correcting all the misinformation.

While reports found that some fire hydrants failed to produce water during Los Angeles Pacific Palisades fire, Trumps claims that they could have been fixed by redirected water from 300 miles north are factually incorrect, experts say, and also unnecessary. Reservoirs around Los Angeles are at average levels, and the hydrants failed largely due to issues with the local infrastructure.

A firefighter tries to switch off a fire hydrant in front of a home at Pacific Coast Highway on Jan. 12 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Multiple wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds are still burning across Los Angeles County while some containment has been achieved. Over 12,000 structures have been destroyed in the fires. Apu Gomes via Getty Images

Theres not a faucet thats turned off and on, Bork said. The problem that LA had with fire hydrants going dry and not having enough water to fight the fire is the same problem you have when youve got three people trying to take a shower at your house at the same time, and nobody has water pressure.

Yet, one of the 26 executive orders Trump signed on his first day in office specifically addressed the delta smelt. The directive, Putting People Over Fish, ordered his administration to look into ways to better allow California residents and businesses to pull from the water in the states San Joaquin River Basin.

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Los Angeles has massive amounts of water available to it. All they have to do is turn the valve, Trump told reporters at his first press briefing last Tuesday. Its to protect the delta smelt. Its a fish thats doing poorly anyway.

The delta smelt was first thrust into the national stage in 2009, thanks to Fox News. While the fight over the fish had been tumultuous locally, it wasnt until it was listed as an endangered species in 2009 under Barack Obama that it got broader attention as a culture war issue. That year Sean Hannity introduced it on a segment of his prime-time show.

During the episode, Hannity proclaimed: Turn the water back on.

Farmers in California, theyre losing their land, crops and their livelihood, all because of a 2-inch fish, he said, before tossing the show to a package featuring then-Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).

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Nunes family had owned a dairy farm in Californias San Joaquin Valley while he was growing up, and his constituents saw the give and take of seasonal water resources as the difference between making a livelihood.

It was the congressman who introduced Trump to the irritating smelt during his first presidential campaign. As Trump tells it, he first visited the verdant valley with Nunes to hold a rally in 2016.

Youd see an acre, about an acre or two acres, with the most beautiful green plants growing in it, the most beautiful, its rich stuff. And you look at the soil, and its so rich. That soil is almost the equivalent to, like, Iowa soil. Its phenomenal, Trump recalled of his trip at the press conference last Tuesday.

People fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta's Elk Slough near Courtland, California, on March 24, 2020. Rich Pedroncelli via Associated Press

Nunes had been an early and ardent supporter of Trump, and the two grew close as they attended fundraisers together across the state, traveling together in Trumps campaign plane.

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Speaking at his rally in Tulare on May 27, 2016, Trump repeated Nunes and Hannitys talking points.

They have farms up here, and they dont get water. I said, Oh, thats too bad, do you have a drought? And they said, No, we shove it out to sea. I said, Why? And nobody even knows why. The environmentalists dont even know why, Trump told the booing crowd. They are trying to protect a 3-inch fish.

Nunes told reporters at the time that he was pleased with Trumps stumping.

I thought he did a great job, he told The Fresno Bee before referring to Trump as our best chance to improve the water situation here in the Valley.

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Trump went on to win over most of the counties in the region in 2016, and Nunes was appointed to be a member of Trumps first transition team.

Weeks before Nunes tight House midterm race in 2018, Trump set a deadline for the Interior and Commerce departments to review federal water policies in California. For two months, Trump had been stoking the narrative that the states water laws were hindering efforts to fight Northern Californias deadly Carr fire. Nunes won his reelection. And in 2020, Trump returned to the valley where in front of a 2,000-person rally, he signed a memorandum that directed federal officials to capture and store more water from the delta to provide greater regulatory certainty to agricultural and municipal water users.

California later sued the administration, and the policy was changed under Joe Biden. That new federal policy was just approved late last year. Trumps new executive order vows to restart the fight over water policies.

President Donald Trump ceremonially signs legislation at a rally with local farmers on Feb. 19, 2020, in Bakersfield, California. The presidential signing ushers in his administration's new rules altering how federal authorities decide who gets water and how much in California, sending more water to farmers despite predictions that the changes will further threaten endangered species in the fragile San Joaquin Delta. David McNew via Getty Images

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Water policy experts view Trumps renewed focus on the states water as more pandering than policy.

I think one audience is the Central Valley farmers who did vote for Trump overwhelmingly and have elected a number of conservative Republicans to the House, Bork said. I think the other piece of this is playing to his base nationally. I think its easy to paint this as wacko leftist California environmentalists who are keeping these hard-working farmers from getting the water they need to go to crops, and who are keeping LA from getting the water that it needs to fight fires.

Hes seen an opportunity to weigh in on an issue where cities, by and large, have one strong opinion, and rural regions have a different one, said Brent Haddad, a professor of environmental studies at University of California, Santa Cruz. In California, the cities are mostly Democratic voters. In the rural regions are mostly Republican voters. And so its just an opportunity to throw red meat to Republican voters in California, but it doesnt advance policy or help the economy or rural people one bit.

As for the struggling smelt, conservationists say its more likely to go extinct than be pulled from the endangered species list. But Haddad said either outcome wouldnt matter to Trump.

Its the most uncharismatic fish youll ever meet, OK? he said. Its an endangered species that became a rallying cry. But even if the delta smelt didnt exist, youd still have the same issues of interests up and down the state vying for part of the water system.
The Plaquemines Parish community of Ironton, along the west bank of the Mississippi River south of New Orleans, flooded heavily during Hurricane Ida in 2021. (Halle Parker/WWNO)

Flood insurance is a tenet of life in water-burdened Louisiana. The low-lying portions of the state face rising water from the disappearing coast and more frequent heavy rainfall from hurricanes and seasonal storms that outpace the ability of local drainage systems to clear flooding.

But skyrocketing costs of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage are spurring significant departure from the program, with about 70,000 policies dropped in Louisiana from 2022 to 2024. When paired with the ongoing home insurance crisis in Louisiana, this raises premium costs even more. Many are dropping insurance, contributing to an endless cycle of higher payments for those who need to maintain flood insurance or want to mitigate the risk of facing rising floodwaters.

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Theryn Henkel, a former resident of the Gentilly neighborhood in New Orleans, knows the risks of flooding better than most. She lived in Louisiana for 18 years and worked as a scientist with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.

Henkel bought a new cafe-au-lait-colored shotgun-style house and painted the door bright green. The house is elevated, the base raised about 3 feet off the ground with red brick to account for frequent flooding. Henkel purchased flood insurance just to be safe.

Im very into the coastal restoration realm and know the risks, she said, so it was almost immoral for me to not have flood insurance, you know  I think it was very important to have it.

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Her house wasnt technically in a high-risk area, and flood insurance was affordable  at about $400 a year.

That was a cost that I was really willing to eat, she said, even with regular home insurance in the state rising to $700 more than the national average.

By 2022, her premium had crept up to $650. By 2023, Henkel left Louisiana, saying spiking insurance costs contributed to her decision to leave for a new job in Olympia, Washington. She said she would have dropped her flood coverage had she decided to stay.





The rising cost of flood insurance

Created by Congress in 1968 in the aftermath of Hurricane Betsy, which devastated New Orleans, the NFIP acts as a last-resort for insurance coverage in areas deemed too risky by the private insurance market, pooling flood risk across a larger population to make prices more affordable.

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The equation was simple; the more flood-prone a property, the higher the premium, based on flood maps and how high up a structure was relative to base elevation.

But the NFIP has been in debt for nearly two decades, even after Congress forgave $16 billion worth in 2017. Lawmakers lobbied for reform, and first instituted Risk Rating 2.0 in late 2021 and throughout 2022.

The new rate-calculation system aims to make the program more financially solvent and more accurate, with premiums reflecting actual risk: A propertys proximity to flood threats and a homes construction style are factored in when pricing premiums.

A lot of areas that are underwritten by the National Flood Insurance Program, that are in flood prone areas, and that are repetitive loss, are losing money and draining a lot of the resources, said Jeff Schlegelmilch, Columbia University associate professor and director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Columbia Climate School.

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He said that while Risk Rating 2.0 better addresses risk than previous FEMA tools, in an attempt to make the program more equitable, its made coastal communities less affordable.

Raising rates to reflect actual risk puts you in a situation where youre pricing people out of their homes, which has very devastating consequences for individuals and communities, said Schlegelmilch.

Impact on homeowners and communities

Rising premiums have forced some to abandon flood insurance entirely, increasing risks and pushing costs higher for those who remain in the program.

Marguerite Oestreicher, director of Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans, describes the struggle for homeowners already struggling financially.

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Its not that people want to be uninsured. Its just, you know, the math just doesnt work, and you dont have enough cash to cover basic needs, Oestreicher said. Its groceries, its health care, power bills  we are seeing people do without because of insurance.

Hurricane Ida, which struck Louisiana on Aug. 29. 2021, caused widespread flooding and other damage in LaPlace. (Julie ODonoghue/Louisiana Illuminator)

Louisianas waterlogged history makes it number one in the nation for repeat flooding for properties covered under the NFIP. According to data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Natural Resource Defense Council, just over 43,000 properties have filed multiple flood insurance claims over the past 10 years.

Jefferson and Orleans parishes have the most NFIP repeat flood claims in Louisiana, with about 40% of the states total over the past 10 years. With aging infrastructure and low-lying areas prone to hurricane damage, both parishes often flood.

Mitigation: Breaking the cycle

The key to curbing flood disasters is prevention, said Michael Hecht, CEO of the regional economic development nonprofit group Greater New Orleans Inc.

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The long-term solution is mitigation, both individual mitigation at the structure level and community mitigation, up to and including federal levees, Hecht said.

Mitigation  raising homes, improving drainage or constructing levees  can break the cycle of flooding. But the process of elevating a home, one of the most popular mitigation strategies, can be expensive and difficult.

Only 22% of the over 43,000 properties in Louisiana that have filed at least two NFIP damage claims have reduced their risk of flooding by raising their structures. In Orleans Parish, which includes New Orleans, 82% of the 8,568 properties with NFIP repeat flooding claims have never had flood prevention updates.

Climate adaptation is very central to our insurance crisis. Every year is going to be riskier than the last  and insurers are well aware of that.

 Caroline Kousky, Insurance for Good

Most people want to protect their homes from flooding, but affordability can make the path to home protection hard to navigate. FEMA offers various types of grants for repeatedly flooded properties, but these grants often require years to secure. Additionally, property owners must maintain current flood insurance policies to qualify, a challenge, given soaring premiums.

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With Risk Rating 2.0, our main concern with it right now is that it does not reliably incentivize mitigation, said Peter Waggonner, public policy director for GNO Inc.

Households or communities are saying well, were doing this work in risk reduction, and were not seeing a change in the insurance market, said Carolyn Kousky, founder of the nonprofit advocacy group Insurance for Good.

She said despite individual mitigations like home elevations qualifying people for discounts, the models used for assessing risk under Risk Rating 2.0 arent accounting for efforts to mitigate flood risk in a timely enough way at a community level to reliably incentivize mitigation.

Sometimes the best approaches for managing flood risk are community based approaches like levees and wetland restoration, Kousky said. The NFIP allows for communities to earn points on their Community Rating System, but Kousky identified a gap in making sure new flood models target rate reduction to individual property owners rather than to a whole community.

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We are not seeing [Risk Rating 2.0] account for that in a timely way right now, she said.

The fight for reform

Lack of transparency as to how Risk Rating 2.0 evaluates risk stands at the center of Louisianas flood insurance crisis.

St. Charles Parish sued FEMA in 2023 over the agencys failure to provide information on how flood risk was assessed for homes with increasing premiums. FEMA responded to the suit, saying the data used was proprietary information purchased from a private company.

Theres an utter lack of transparency [and] the affordability guidelines or guardrails are not in there right now, Waggonner said. You do risk pricing working-class or people on a fixed income out of their home over time.

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In congressional hearings, Hecht has criticized the program and demanded reform, calling NFIP unaffordable, inaccurate, and contradictory to the environmental and economic wellbeing of our country. He said flood insurance is a slow moving glacier of destruction of real estate value for New Orleans and other flood prone areas of Louisiana.



Louisiana lawmakers also continue to push for solutions.

Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, who leads his chambers insurance committee, has said Risk Rating 2.0 is screwed up and is working to coordinate national efforts to address insurance affordability.

But Rep. Tim Kerner Sr., R-Lafitte, still thinks the mitigation projects are worth the investment, despite the high cost of flood insurance. His waterfront town, even though its surrounded by a ring levee, routinely floods during most storms.

People continue to suffer, Kerner said. Weve got to protect the people, help them with mitigation, help them get their houses raised  Im hoping we have a special session to tackle these issues.





Incentivizing mitigation, reimagining risk

Kousky said in order to facilitate systemic solutions, there need to be more tools to lower flood risk and consideration for what it means to live in a high risk area like Southeast Louisiana.

FEMA recently introduced a customer support tool to help address some of the transparency problems with risk assessment, hoping to share rate calculations directly with individuals who then seek out an insurance agent and make coverage more affordable.

But the tool doesnt allow people to check beforehand what discounts they could get for elevating a home before getting flood insurance, said Waggonner, so there still is not that communication and transparency in terms of what I would get if I were to flood proof or make some upfront investment into my property.

Some proposed solutions meant to address the affordability issue with the NFIP include means-based assistance programs or offering monthly installment payments instead of discounting premiums.

A Government Accountability Office report from 2023 suggested a similar approach, recommending that Congress work to start replacing discounted premiums with a means-based assistance program that is reflected in the federal budget.

Kousky reiterated that, along with addressing pricing equity in flood insurance, officials also need to be talking about climate change.

Climate adaptation is very central to our insurance crisis, Kousky said. Every year is going to be riskier than the last  and insurers are well aware of that.

She emphasised how a warming climate and the insurance crisis are inextricably linked and, while building resilience into communities with mitigation measures and careful development is hard, we cant solve the current insurance crisis without much more substantial, serious attention to what it means to build and live in a higher risk area.

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This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation.
Intensified immigration enforcement efforts underway in Chicago on Sunday are part of a multiday operation thats expected to spread across the country.

The crackdown thats bringing in officials from multiple Department of Justice agencies is adding manpower to ICE.

Reports of quotas issued over the weekend, directing ICE to increase daily arrests, are adding to uncertainty among immigrant groups and advocates in Massachusetts.

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Some are worried that the targeted effort could expand outside undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes.

Theres talk about expanding this to people who may be living here peacefully but may be undocumented, said Jeff Thielman, President and CEO of the International Institute of New England.

Thielman told Boston 25 News that anxiety is causing some people to avoid coming to non-profits like his for services.

It causes people not to go out, even people who are lawfully in the U.S. who have not committed a crime who are following all the rules and not doing anything wrong, he explained.

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Community leaders are also now worried about funding for humanitarian parole programs following an announcement from the U.S. State Department on Friday.

The federal government, on Friday, froze all spending on foreign matters in the U.S. State Department, and they included this in their order, he said.

The frozen foreign aid impacts 224 newly arrived refugees in Massachusetts and New Hampshire that Thielmans organization is helping.

He pointed out that those people have been lawfully allowed into the U.S. through refugee resettlement programs and were previously granted deportation protections.





This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Visitors at the Birkenau Museum on Dec. 10, 2004 view the many faces of the men, women and children at the Auschwitz concentration camp, which was built in March 1942 in the village of Brzezinka, Poland. Photo by Scott Barbour | Getty Images

Today, the world commemorates the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, perhaps the most notorious of Nazi concentration and extermination camps.

For many, Auschwitz is a symbol of the absolute horror of the Holocaust and attendant atrocities of World War II. By the time Soviet troops marched in to liberate 7,000 sick, injured, and malnourished prisoners, the Nazis had already murdered more than 1.1 million people in this camp alone. The victims  mostly Jews from across Europe, but also political opponents, prisoners of war, homosexuals and Roma  were killed in gas chambers or by systematic starvation, forced labor, disease and medical experiments.

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In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated Jan. 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a time to remember all victims of Nazi persecution. This commemoration acknowledges what we have long known: that by preserving the memory of the Holocaust, we ensure that future generations are educated about the dangers and consequences of unchecked hatred.

This work has never been more important.

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Since 2016, the United States has seen a steady rise in reported incidents of antisemitism and identity-based hate. In the months following the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks on Israel, the ADL reported a 360% increase in antisemitism and antisemitic acts. In Arizona, this hatred has played out on our college campuses, online and in our communities.

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And so the fight against hate continues. The battle is not yet won. Our post-WWII promise of never again has not yet been fulfilled.

Today, dignitaries, heads of state and aging survivors will gather around the world to mark this anniversary that fewer and fewer living people remember. As younger generations try to understand the unfathomable weight of this day, I believe that Holocaust education is not merely a history lesson: Its a morality lesson. Most importantly, its a contemporary call to action.

As we come together to commemorate this auspicious anniversary and honor the millions of people who perished  Jews and non-Jews  we must double down on our commitment to building a world where tolerance, diversity and respect will triumph over exclusion, bigotry and hatred. And while this annual commemoration is important, its insufficient. The fight against hate, the fight to change a hate-filled world, must happen every day, in every place. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

We must work in our classrooms, our workplaces, our homes and our places of worship to educate and enlighten on the dangers of unchecked hate. We must demand systemic social change with our voices, our votes and even with our pocketbooks.

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We must work together to deliver thoughtful, engaging and historically accurate lessons that tackle antisemitism and other identity-based biases that persist in our schools and communities.

We can only build stronger, safer and more resilient communities by working in collaboration with local allies and partners, calling out hatred and discrimination in all forms, wherever we see it.

One day is not enough. This January 27th, we must heed the call to action. What will we do the other 364 days of the year, and what will we ask of our leaders, our neighbors, and our communities, to keep the sacred promise of never again?

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Irelands president has been branded despicable and accused of spewing anti-Semitic lies after he used a Holocaust memorial speech to highlight the plight of Gazans.

Several members of the audience were forcibly removed after turning their backs on Michael D Higgins in protest at his speech at the event in Dublin on Sunday.

I believe that those in Israel who mourn their loved ones, those who have been waiting for the release of hostages, or the thousands searching for relatives in the rubble of Gaza, will welcome the long-overdue ceasefire, for which there has been such a heavy price paid, Mr Higgins said.

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Gideon Saar, Israels foreign minister, called his words a cheap, despicable provocation as he accused Mr Higgins of echoing Hamass anti-Semitic lies and propaganda at a Holocaust memorial ceremony.

What a despicable person. What a distorted policy. Shame! he added on X, formerly Twitter.

Gideon Saar, Israels foreign minister, called Mr Higginss words a cheap, despicable provocation - Attila Kisbenedek/AFP

The president made the speech on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance day, which this year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

A number of senior representatives of the Jewish community as well as the outgoing Israeli ambassador to Ireland had called for Mr Higgins not to speak at the event over recent comments he has made about Israels military operations in Gaza.

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Mr Higgins, who enjoys broad support in Ireland, has been an outspoken critic of the war, often accusing Israel of breaking international law in its bombing of the coastal enclave.

Amichai Chikli, Israels minister for diaspora affairs and combating anti-Semitism, said he was stunned by Mr Higgins decision to use the event as an opportunity to spit in the faces of Holocaust survivors.

Even on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Irish President Michael Higgins couldn't help himself and resorted to a cheap, despicable provocation.



The biggest murderous attack against Jews since the Holocaust was perpetrated from Jihadist Gaza. Nonetheless, he echoed  Gideon Sa'ar |   (@gidonsaar) January 26, 2025

Gerard Craughwell, an Irish senator who was at the event, condemned the removal of the protesters. I do not understand why they were manhandled out of the event. All they did was stand up and turn their back, he said.

Ireland, Spain and Norway are the only three European nations to have officially recognised Palestinian statehood.

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Last month, relations between Ireland and Israel plummeted after Ireland approved a proposal to intervene in South Africas genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Ireland had asked the Hague-based court to broaden its definition of genocide to better accommodate accusations that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza.

In response, Israel shut its embassy in Ireland, with Mr Saar condemning what he called the countrys extreme anti-Israel policies.

Simon Harris, Irelands foreign minister  who has previously said his country would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, if he set foot in Ireland  called Israels move deeply regrettable and rejected its criticisms.

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The BBC recently paid a visit to a handful of Norwegian communities to see how they're making the switch to renewable energy.

The project manager for Svalbard Energi, Torbjrn Grtte, explained why Arctic towns are still using dirty energy to keep their grid up and running.

"The wind doesn't blow all the time," said Grtte. "The sun is gone for half the year. We need something in the background that can secure supply even in the darkest and coldest winter nights."

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The hope is that diesel power is only a short-lived stepping stone to transitioning away from coal power. Green ammonia, methanol, geothermal, wind, and solar are all candidates for the next grid upgrade.

While northern communities use a lot more power to keep warm, they're also facing some of the most dramatic effects of the changing climate. As ice pack disappears more quickly, more heat is trapped by liquid water instead of being reflected. This trapped heat, in turn, speeds up the melting and releases methane that has otherwise been sequestered in the permafrost. Combined with rising sea levels, Arctic coastlines are facing particularly tough challenges.

Arctic communities may be plunged into darkness for half the year, but during the spring and summer, there's an excess of sunlight. Solar energy collection is actually extra-productive during these times because light is bouncing off snow and into the panels. Arthur Garreau of the University of Svalbard is researching the performance of solar in these peak months using a device they've nicknamed R2-D2.

"We are trying to study the potential of solar in the Arctic and document how much solar energy we can produce in order to perform an energy transition," he said.

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One Svalbard store is already using solar to save money on utility bills. If you're keen to save a few bucks yourself, try out this solar savings calculator. Svalbard Energi is using lithium-ion energy storage to stabilize the energy network and decrease dependence on diesel power. That storage will be vital when new sources come online. A local coal mining company, Store Norske, has deployed large-scale solar as a test and hopes to go even bigger.

"Solar could be a very good thing for the summer part of the year, but then you would need something else for the rest of the year. It's about using a hybrid system combining different energy technologies," said project manager Mons Ole Sellevold.

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DAMASCUS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Monday called on the international community to increase aid for Syrians returning to their war-ravaged homeland, warning that recent political changes have not alleviated the deep humanitarian crisis.

Wrapping up a multi-day visit to Syria, Grandi highlighted the return of more than 500,000 refugees since last September, including 200,000 following the collapse of the Assad government in December 2024. An additional 600,000 internally displaced people have also returned to their homes during the same period, the UNHCR said in a press release.

However, the scale of displacement remains staggering. According to UNHCR data, 7.4 million people are still displaced within Syria, while more than 6 million Syrians live as refugees abroad.

"We must seize this critical moment to help the country emerge from years of conflict and bloodshed," Grandi said. "Countless families are bravely taking steps to return, but they face extraordinary challenges-damaged homes, collapsed infrastructure, and rampant poverty."

Grandi held talks with Syria's interim leadership, including the country's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, to explore measures to support returnees. The discussions focused on rebuilding essential infrastructure, ensuring access to basic services, and addressing the needs of the displaced population. 
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Kauhale for the homeless come in a variety. Above, the U.S.VETS Kulia i ka Nu u kauhale opened Thursday in Waianae and implements an emergency bed program that addresses immediate shelter needs, food insecurities and access to care.

1 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Kauhale for the homeless come in a variety. Above, the U.S.VETS Kulia i ka Nu u kauhale opened Thursday in Waianae and implements an emergency bed program that addresses immediate shelter needs, food insecurities and access to care.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The Puuhonua o Nene transitional shelter, seen in October in Kahului, is being used as transitional housing for Maui wildfire survivors.

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2 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The Puuhonua o Nene transitional shelter, seen in October in Kahului, is being used as transitional housing for Maui wildfire survivors.

STAR-ADVERTISER / 2018 The first kauhale developed since Josh Green took up his initiative as lieutenant governor is Kahauiki Village near Keehi Lagoon. Local businessman Duane Kurisu was the driving force behind the plan through his nonprofit aio Foundation.

3 /3 STAR-ADVERTISER / 2018 The first kauhale developed since Josh Green took up his initiative as lieutenant governor is Kahauiki Village near Keehi Lagoon. Local businessman Duane Kurisu was the driving force behind the plan through his nonprofit aio Foundation.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Kauhale for the homeless come in a variety. Above, the U.S.VETS Kulia i ka Nu u kauhale opened Thursday in Waianae and implements an emergency bed program that addresses immediate shelter needs, food insecurities and access to care.

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The Puuhonua o Nene transitional shelter, seen in October in Kahului, is being used as transitional housing for Maui wildfire survivors.

STAR-ADVERTISER / 2018 The first kauhale developed since Josh Green took up his initiative as lieutenant governor is Kahauiki Village near Keehi Lagoon. Local businessman Duane Kurisu was the driving force behind the plan through his nonprofit aio Foundation.

Hawaii could see its biggest one-time investment ever from state leaders this year to house the homeless.

Gov. Josh Green has asked the Legislature to include $100 million in the state budget over the next two fiscal years to fund the development and operation of communal housing, or kauhale, and many lawmakers are buying in.

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All 42 Democrats in the 51-member House of Representatives have introduced a bill proposing the same amount of money for what is described as the kauhale initiative.

Green said $100 million would fund a dozen new kauhale, including support services, and realize a goal hes set to cut the size of Hawaiis homeless population in half during his current four-year term as governor, which runs through the end of 2026.

Such a goal, according to the Statewide Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions, has never been achieved by any state and would be a big accomplishment for Hawaii, which has one of the highest per capita rates of homelessness among states.

The state of Hawaii can be great in this space,  Green said Thursday at a blessing ceremony for a transitional shelter and long-term housing project for the homeless in Waianae that he described as the 18th kauhale produced since 2018, when he began championing the initiative as lieutenant governor.

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Green describes his goal, which also includes having 30 kauhale villages representing more than 1, 500 housing units by the end of 2026, as ambitious. But he also said he has no doubt that it will be met.

The most recent Point in Time Count from 2024 showed that 6, 389 people were experiencing homelessness in Hawaii.

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Green said his administration so far has opened or provided funding for 18 kauhale with 835 beds. Some of these projects were led by the state, though most have been led by nonprofit organizations or the city with contributions from the state.

Also, only about half the projects are clusters of small, single-occupancy units with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities typically referred to as kauhale.

The original concept of what constituted a kauhale has been broadened in recent years to describe almost any kind of housing for the homeless, including single-family homes with multiple tenants, apartment buildings and even temporary tents used as emergency shelters.

Kauhale origins Greens kauhale initiative was inspired by a visit in 2018 he made as lieutenant governor to a village of tiny homes to house the homeless in Austin, Texas. The project called Community First ! served more than 200 formerly homeless people at the time.

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The word kauhale in Hawaiian literally means a group of houses or can refer to a small settlement or hamlet.

In his State of the State speech to the Legislature on Tuesday, Green said, Kauhale are communal villages that offer tiny homes for the homeless. They offer shared space for cooking, eating, recreation, growing food and community activities, even job training.

Green also has said kauhale include other forms of housing with some aspect of communal living. At Thursdays blessing ceremony for the project in Waianae, which does not include tiny living units, he noted that kauhale can come in many shapes and forms and flavors.

What is now described as being the first kauhale developed since Green took up his initiative as lieutenant governor is Kahauiki Village near Keehi Lagoon. Local businessman Duane Kurisu spearheaded the plan through his nonprofit aio Foundation, which described it at the time as unprecedented in Hawaii.

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Kurisu reused prefabricated modular homes that had been made as part of a relief effort for the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. Building Kahauiki Village, which occupies state land, began in 2017, and an initial phase opened in 2018. Today there are 60 one-bedroom units and 80 two-bedroom units operated by the nonprofit Institute of Human Services.

In 2021, Kama oku Kauhale became the first kauhale spearheaded by Green and featured 36 units measuring about 100 square feet each. This project in Kalaeloa operated by the nonprofit organization U.S.VETS was designed to provide permanent housing for veterans experiencing chronic homelessness.

Kama oku Kauhale was built on state land and involved the Hawaii Public Housing Authority and the nonprofit HomeAid Hawaii. The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation also contributed funding.

Different flavors Currently, several other kauhale on the list of 18 are made up of tiny homes clustered together. One of these is Hui Mahi ai Aina, which was developed in 2020 initially without authorization on state land in Waimanalo by community members led by Auntie Blanche  McMillan.

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Others include a cluster of 50 plastic storage sheds set up initially without permits on a Waianae farm in 2021 by an affiliate of Hawaii Cedar Church, and two state-led projects that opened in 2024 : Ho okahi Leo Kauhale, with 50 units on Middle Street in Kalihi, and Ka Malu Koolau, with 34 units in Kaneohe.

Other types of housing for the homeless that are part of the 18 kauhale projects involving the state range from an apartment tower to tents.

The tower project is on Kapiolani Boulevard featuring 108 studio apartments that the city bought from Tokai University in 2022 for $38 million and renamed Waikiki Vista.

In 2022, IHS began creating what it initially called the Village of Redemption on Oahu with one single-family home serving as transitional housing for men recently released from incarceration. This project, now known as Redemption Kauhale, includes a second single-family home on a separate property, and a third property with a main house and five tiny units. In all, 40 beds are in use, and six more are to be added at one of the three properties.

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Another kauhale, called Apapane, was created by RYSE, a nonprofit, using a renovated six-bedroom home on Oahu that serves as transitional housing for youth recovering from substance abuse.

On Maui the 150-bed Pu uhonua o Nene emergency shelter, established on state land in 2023 with several large air-conditioned tents for homeless people affected by the Maui wildfires, also is counted as one of the states 18 kauhale projects.

The most recent addition to the list was blessed Thursday in Waianae. It includes 19 beds in one dorm building for short-term transitional use and 12 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units for permanent use. Both components were developed in 2008 by a nonprofit on state land and are within the existing low-income rental housing complex Kulia i ka Nu u.

Every different way to get a roof over someones head is part of our kauhale program now,  Green said in an interview. The goal to reduce unsheltered homelessness by half is served by any of these different models.

Money-saving model Green, in his State of the State speech, stressed to lawmakers that a model that provides health care serv ices in conjunction with transitional or permanent housing is optimal and saves taxpayers money. Several existing kauhale projects, including the newest one in Waianae, include health care services.

According to a recent University of Hawaii Center on the Family report cited by Green, health care costs for the average person living on the street dropped by 76 % to $1, 965 a month after being housed for six months, down from about $8, 000 per month.

Green also is seeking $10.8 million from the Legislature to support family assessment centers, the Housing First Program, the Rapid Re-housing Program, homeless outreach and civil legal services.

With these innovations and investments, over the next five years we project a net savings after all costs of over $450 million for Hawaii taxpayers at the same time that we are reducing homelessness and caring for people in need,  he told lawmakers.

John Mizuno, statewide homelessness and housing solutions coordinator in Greens office, is a little less optimistic than the governor about having 30 kauhale projects by the end of 2026. His estimate is 2027 or maybe even 2028.

Still, Mizuno said the more that get added will increase savings to state revenue. He said the $1.2 million annual cost for the state fund operations at the new facility in Waianae to serve 70 to 80 people compares with nearly $6.2 million the state would typically spend on annual emergency room visits for 75 people living without housing.

Broad backing There have been big legislative appropriations in recent years to reduce homelessness, but not as much as currently proposed.

In 2018 the Legislature appropriated $30 million to establish an ohana zones  pilot program, which helped nonprofits and county agencies pay for a broad range of largely undefined things that included roof repairs at homeless shelters to prevent them from shutting down, social service workers salaries and government housing vouchers to subsidize permanent housing.

In 2020 the House shelved a bill that Green as lieutenant governor had sought to establish a $20 million one-year kauhale pilot program.

More recently, Green has sought and received funding for his kauhale initiative : $15 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, and $33 million in the current fiscal year, ending June 30.

This year the Democratic caucus in the House is on board with Greens kauhale funding request for $50 million in each of the next two fiscal years, with the recognition that such housing can encompass many forms of shelter.

Over time, the kauhale initiative has evolved to a range of responses for homeless individuals and families and those at risk of homelessness,  House Bill 431 states. Kauhale now include temporary, time limited options such as emergency shelter, medical respite, and mobile outreach and navigation, as well as long term solutions such as supportive housing and affordable housing targeting extremely low-income households.

Rep. Lisa Marten, chair of the House Committee on Human Services and Homelessness, said the bill from the caucus reflects a collective goal and priority of the Democratic members of the House as well as an endorsement of Greens budget request.

It is agreeing with the governors significant ask,  she said. This is our way of saying, Yes, wed like to support that ask in the budget.

HB 431 also goes further by proposing that a state agency that helps finance private affordable-housing development receive $24 mil lion over the next two fiscal years to help developers create housing for people with special needs, including youth aging out of foster care, domestic violence survivors, people struggling with alcohol or drug addiction, people transitioning from incarceration and people with mental illness.

Marten (D, Kailua-Lanikai-Waimanalo ) agrees that the state will save money on health care for the homeless by providing housing, and she also said communities where homeless populations decline will benefit in addition to the people living in unhealthy conditions on the street.

When we get our chronically homeless off the street, it makes a huge difference in our communities,  she said.

Marten, who has a doctoral degree in public health, added that $100 million over two years is good but not enough. We can only build so fast,  she said. Hopefully, this will all get spent, and well just keep upping it for more.

Senate leadership did not respond to a request for comment on Greens kauhale budget request. One measure introduced by a few senators, Senate Bill 1610, proposes to make the ohana zones pilot program permanent but does not specify funding.

Green said Thursday that he wont relent on trying to address what he calls one of our greatest social challenges.

We will keep doing it until everyone has the choice,  he said. A choice to come into a place with a roof over their head, even if its simple, but a choice nonetheless.
Israel has arrested two soldiers on suspicion of spying for Iran in return for money, its police force said on Monday.

The primary suspect was said to have served in the IDFs Iron Dome air defence unit and is alleged to have begun passing on classified material to an Iranian handler in September.

He is alleged to have recruited a friend who served in the militarys Tel Aviv headquarters and to have put him in touch with an Iranian contact.

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Both suspects are also alleged to have sprayed pro-Iran graffiti and hung banners in Tel Aviv carrying the slogan Children of Ruhollah, referring to Ruhollah Khomeini, the first supreme leader of Iran after the 1979 revolution.

The two men, both 21, were charged with transferring classified information and aiding the enemy during wartime, police said.

Israeli authorities have arrested a number of alleged Iranian spies in recent months. In October, seven Israeli citizens were arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran on Israeli army bases and gathering information on the Iron Dome missile defence system.

The system plays a vital part of Israels air defence capabilities and has been used to take down missiles trained on the countrys civilian centres.

Rockets fired ai Israel from Gaza are intercepted by Israels Iron Dome anti-missile system - Fatima Shbair/AP

The Shin Bet security agency and Israeli police said they dismantled a spy network involving Israeli citizens who were gathering sensitive information on IDF bases and energy infrastructure for Israels arch-enemy.

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The suspects were all Jewish Israelis from Haifa and other areas in northern Israel. They were identified as Azis Nisanov, Alexander Sadykov, Vyacheslav Gushchin, Yevgeny Yoffe and Yigal Nissan, and two minors who could not be named.

In September last year, a 73-year-old Israeli was arrested over an Iranian plot to kill Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels prime minister.

Moti Maman, from Ashkelon, in southern Israel, was smuggled twice into Iran, where talks were held over paying him as a hitman, according to Israeli security officials.

Yoav Gallant, the former defence minister, and Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency, were also allegedly discussed as targets in addition to Mr Netanyahu.

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Irans recruitment of Israeli citizens has caused great concern in the Israeli security establishment. Israeli intelligence has also thwarted a number of plots against Israeli citizens abroad in recent years, some of which Iran was allegedly behind.

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WADI GAZA, Gaza Strip (AP)  Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians streamed into Gazas most heavily destroyed area on Monday after Israel opened the north for the first time since the early weeks of the war with Hamas, a dramatic reversal of their exodus 15 months ago.

As a fragile ceasefire held into a second week, Israel was told by Hamas that eight of the hostages to be freed during the deal's first phase are dead.

Joyous crowds of Palestinians, some holding babies or pushing wheelchairs, walked along a seaside road all day and into the night, carrying bedrolls, bottles of water and other belongings. Armed and masked Hamas fighters flashed a victory sign. The crowd was watched over by Israeli tanks on a nearby hill.

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The United Nations said over 200,000 people were observed moving north on Monday morning.

Palestinians who have been sheltering in squalid tent camps and former schools are eager to return to their homes  even though they are likely damaged or destroyed. Many had feared that Israel would make their displacement permanent.

Yasmin Abu Amshah, a mother of three, said she walked 6 kilometers (nearly 4 miles) to reach her damaged but habitable Gaza City home. She saw her younger sister for the first time in over a year.

It was a long trip, but a happy one, she said.

Many saw their return as an act of steadfastness after Israels military campaign, which was launched in response to the Hamas militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The return was also seen as a repudiation of U.S. President Donald Trumps suggestion that many Palestinians be resettled in Egypt and Jordan. Both countries rejected the idea.

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Families of dead hostages are informed

Whether hostages are still alive inside Gaza has been a heartbreaking question for waiting families who have pushed Israels government to reach a deal to free them, fearing that time was running out.

Before Mondays announcement, Israel believed that at least 35 of the about 90 hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack and still in Gaza were dead.

Government spokesman David Mencer told journalists that a list received overnight from Hamas on the status of the 33 hostages being freed under the ceasefire's first phase showed eight were dead.

The families have been informed, he said, adding that the information matched what Israeli intelligence had believed.

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The ceasefire is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas. Militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 assault and abducted another 250.

Israel responded with an air and ground war that has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, over half of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

In all, around 90% of Gazas 2.3 million people have been displaced, and they face new health risks as they return.

The joy of return

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Ismail Abu Mattar, a father of four who waited for days near the crossing point for northern Gaza, described scenes of jubilation, with people singing, praying and crying.

Its the joy of return, said Abu Mattar, whose relatives were among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. We had thought we wouldnt return, like our ancestors.

In the wars opening days, Israel ordered the evacuation of the north and sealed it off after ground troops moved in. Around a million people fled south while hundreds of thousands remained in the north, which had some of the heaviest fighting and the worst destruction.

The opening to the north was delayed for two days as Israel said Hamas had changed the order of the hostages it released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Local medical officials said Israeli forces opened fire at the waiting crowd and killed several Palestinians over the weekend. Israel's military said it fired warning shots at approaching groups it deemed a threat.

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Mediators resolved the dispute overnight. Hamas called the return a victory for our people.

Later Monday in central Gaza, Awda hospital said it received the body of a child killed in the Nuseirat refugee camp when returnees were hit, and three others were wounded. It said three more were wounded in a separate attack near the camp.

Israel's military said one of its aircraft fired to distance a number of suspicious vehicles" moving north in unauthorized areas. And it said it fired shots in northern Gaza to remove someone it deemed a threat who didn't move away.

Hostage dispute rattled week-old ceasefire

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Palestinians were crossing on foot without inspection through part of the Netzarim corridor, a military zone bisecting the territory just south of Gaza City that Israel carved out early in the war. A checkpoint for vehicles opened later on Gazas main north-south highway, where traffic was backed up for around 3 kilometers (2 miles).

Under the ceasefire agreement, vehicles are to be inspected for weapons before entering the north.

An Egyptian official said Egyptian contractors, along with a U.S. firm, run checkpoints that inspect vehicles heading via Salahuddin road. The contractors are part of an Egyptian-Qatari committee implementing the ceasefire, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The contractors are cleared by Israel.

Israel had delayed the crossing's opening, which was supposed to happen over the weekend, saying it would not allow Palestinians north until a civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, was released. Israel said she should have been released before four female soldiers who were freed on Saturday.

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Qatar, a key mediator, announced early Monday that Yehoud and two other hostages would be released by Friday. Israel said the release  which will include female soldier Agam Berger  will take place on Thursday. Another three hostages should be released on Saturday as previously planned.

There were mixed emotions among Israelis watching the scene in Gaza from the nearby city of Sderot. Some expressed mistrust toward the Palestinians. Others were empathetic.

Let them come back home safely and conduct a normal life, said one, Rachel Osher. We also want it. We want the same on both sides of the border.

___

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Shurafa and Hana reported from Wadi Gaza, Gaza Strip, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press reporters Joe Krauss in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Mohammad Jahjouh and Osama Saleh in Wadi Gaza, Gaza Strip, contributed.

___

This version corrects the last name of Ismail Abu Mattar.

___

Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
The White House said that a ceasefire involving Israel and Lebanon had been extended in a Sunday statement.

The ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, announced by former President Biden in November, is now set to be in effect until February 18, 2025, the statement reads. An earlier ceasefire agreement had a time span of 60 days in which Israel would pull out its army from southern Lebanon as the Lebanese Armed Forces would start deployments in the same area.

The Sunday statement from the White House on the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire comes only a week after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect on the last day of the Biden presidency.

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A Biden White House principal deputy national security adviser said last Sunday that President Trumps team provided significant support in the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

We got significant support from the Trump team. We [have] been, you know, very transparent about that. Weve kept them fully up to speed, Jon Finer told ABC Newss Jonathan Karl on This Week.

They deployed members of their incoming team to the region. The president said  president-elect said helpful things about the need to get this deal done, he added.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal would not have been struck without the forceful hand of President Trump and his Special Envoy @SteveWitkoff.

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Once again, peace through strength prevails, she added in a post on the social platform X.

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Eight of the remaining hostages set to be released by Hamas in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel are dead, according to an Israeli government spokesperson.

The rest of the 33 hostages who were expected to be returned from Gaza to their families are alive, David Mencer said in a briefing on Monday, including seven who have already been returned. Israeli authorities were notified of the hostages status after receiving a list from Hamas, he said.

According to Mencer, the eight dead were killed by Hamas. The Palestinian militant group has not commented on their cause of death.

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The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal  which started on January 19  will see dozens of hostages taken captive by Hamas and other armed groups in the October 7 attacks being freed.

The families of all the hostages set to be released in phase one of the deal were contacted by Israeli authorities Sunday evening, including those believed to be alive and those believed to be dead, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum confirmed to CNN.

Of those hostages expected to be released, 21 are men, three are women, and two are children, ranging in age from two years old to 86 years old, according to the forum and the Israeli government press office.

Israel will also release almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in the first part of the agreement.

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The ceasefire delivered the first reprieve for the people of Gaza, after more than 15 months of Israeli bombing following the October 7 attacks.

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians on Monday began returning home to northern Gaza, large swathes of which have been razed by more than a year of relentless airstrikes and ground raids.

Freed hostages spent over eight months in tunnels, says Israeli officer

The most recent hostages to be released from captivity were four female Israeli soldiers freed on January 25 as part of the long-anticipated ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all 20 years old, and Liri Albag, 19, were in stable condition, the hospital director of the Israeli facility where they received treatment, told CNN on Saturday.

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Several of the seven hostages released from Gaza in the past week had been held in tunnels for more than eight months, according senior Israeli military officer.

Seven women released so far showed symptoms of mild starvation with low vitamin levels, said Avi Benov, the deputy chief of the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps. Their mental health, he said, was a very complicated issue.

The former hostages were given vitamins and modest amounts of food during their first medical check-up at Israels Reim military base, the officer said. They were asked if they wanted to shower and change clothes before meeting their parents and were reassured they were safe, he added.

Benov claimed that Hamas had fed them better and allowed them to wash and change clothes in the days before their release, for propaganda purposes.

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He said the younger hostages were in better shape, adding that when the older captives start returning they will probably be in worse condition, having spent more than a year in captivity.

Benov declined to answer a question about whether there were physical signs the hostages were tortured. They will tell their own stories, he said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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NICOSIA (Reuters) -Israel has suspended Israeli commercial flights to the city of Paphos in Cyprus, Cypriot officials said on Monday, for unspecified security reasons.

Domestic security agency Shin Bet ordered the suspension of flights to the airport, which caters mainly to charter traffic on the western coast of Cyprus, late on Sunday, media reports from Israel said.

The move is unlikely to affect Israeli arrivals to the island since the amount of air traffic from Israel to Paphos is small compared to incoming traffic to Larnaca, Cyprus's largest air terminal. Israel is a key tourist market for Cyprus, accounting for more than 10 percent of arrivals in 2023.

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"The Republic of Cyprus is aware of the change in scheduling, for security reasons, of Israeli companies from and to Paphos airport. This happened some days ago," a Cypriot official told Reuters.

"Flights (from Israel) are continuing normally to Larnaca," the official added, saying they did not know the precise reason for the decision.

Another Cypriot official suggested the move was simply a security recalibration for Israelis to use just one location.

"We were informed the Israelis decided they wanted to come and go from one airport, that of Larnaca," Victor Papadopoulos, head of the Cypriot President's press office, told local Sigma TV.

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Paphos, which is about a 90 minute drive from Larnaca airport, is the smallest of Cyprus's two air terminals and abuts a military base slated for an upgrade by the U.S.

According to its winter flight schedule available online, there are up to 10 flights a week from Tel Aviv and 7 flights a week from Haifa, compared to at least 60 flights a week to Larnaca.

(Reporting by Michele Kambas; Editing by Stephen Coates)
RAMALLAH (Reuters) -An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinian militants in the city of Tulkarm on Monday, Hamas said, underscoring Israel's renewed focus on armed groups in the occupied West Bank since the start of the ceasefire in Gaza.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, said the two killed on Monday were members of its armed wing. Witnesses in the city said a raid was underway.

The Israeli military said it struck a militant who served as Hamas' leader in Tulkarm, which it said was behind numerous attacks against Israelis, and that it killed an additional militant.

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The Palestinian health ministry confirmed that two people had been killed, without identifying them.

In Jenin, further north, a major operation with hundreds of Israeli troops backed by armoured vehicles, drones and helicopters, looked set to go into a second week, with smoke rising above the refugee camp adjacent to the city, a longtime centre of armed militant groups.

Armoured bulldozers and diggers have destroyed buildings and roads in the camp, a crowded township built for descendants of Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes in the 1948 war around the creation of the state of Israel, and thousands of people have left their homes.

At least 16 Palestinians have been killed in Jenin and surrounding areas since the start of the operation a week ago, including four claimed as fighters by Hamas and the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad.

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Late on Saturday, Israeli forces also shot a two-year old girl during a raid on the village of Ash-Shuhada, just to the south of Jenin, Palestinian officials said.

"They started to shoot at us through the windows without any warning," said Ghada Asous, grandmother of two year-old Laila Muhammad Al-Khatib. "All of a sudden, the special forces raided us and were shooting through the windows."

The Israeli military (IDF) said troops on a counterterrorism operation had fired at a structure where suspected militants had barricaded themselves. It was reviewing reports that uninvolved civilians were injured, it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta, writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Angus MacSwan)
KHARTOUM, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Khartoum Oil Refinery is still engulfed in flames and smoke on Monday, three days after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) regained control of the strategic complex.

Husham Mohamed Babikir, acting director of the refinery, said crude oil storage tanks were set ablaze before the SAF retook control of the refinery.

Babikir told a Xinhua correspondent who visited the refinery as part of a media team that the fire, still ripping through the complex, caused some tanks to explode and the leaking of crude oil.

"We are determined to repair the damage as quickly as possible, and we are confident in our ability to accomplish that," said the acting director.

The refinery, located north of Khartoum, began production in May 2000. Previous statistics by Sudan's Ministry of Oil showed it has a production capacity of about 100,000 barrels per day, covering approximately 45 percent of the country's needs.

It is connected to a 1,610-km oil export pipeline in Bashayer Port on the Red Sea coast in eastern Sudan. The Oil Ministry estimated that the refinery's shutdown could cause Sudan a daily loss of about 5 million U.S. dollars.

Hassan Hussein Hassan, technical director at the refinery, expressed optimism about controlling the damage. He noted that the fire was estimated to be "confined to the crude oil storage tanks, and the production units were not affected."

"It is true that there are units we have not been able to access yet, but we hope to control the fire first, and then we will assess the damage to other units if there is any," he noted.

Meanwhile, the SAF units continued combing operations in the buildings and areas around the refinery. The sprawling complex had been a site of intense clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who fortified themselves at the refinery and its surrounding buildings for more than 21 months.

Brigadier General Jaafar Mohamed Al-Sheikh, commander of the SAF's Al-Butana Brigade, stressed that "the enemy has been completely expelled from this area, and it has been cleaned up. Now, our units are combing the areas outside the refinery, and there is no enemy presence."

"Our units are still finding weapons, equipment, and ammunition left behind by the enemy when it fled," he said.

The refinery was one of the strategic sites captured by the RSF during the early days of the armed conflict, as it is located just 6 km from a paramilitary base.

Before the war, the RSF was responsible for guarding the refinery, but when the fighting erupted on April 15, 2023, it announced control of the refinery, the country's largest oil facility.

The Khartoum refinery had been subjected to several fires during the recent conflict, with the two conflicting parties accusing each other of causing them.

The refinery had also been hit by aerial and artillery bombardments which damaged some of its storage tanks, control centers, and parts of its main pipeline.

The devastating conflict between the SAF and the RSF has claimed at least 27,000 lives and displaced over 15 million people, either inside or outside Sudan, according to estimates by international organizations. 
An Israeli woman, who also has German citizenship, being held in Gaza is set to be released in exchange for 30 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, according to Qatari officials mediating between Hamas and Israel.

The woman is one of three hostages held in Gaza to be released by Friday, a spokesman for the foreign ministry in Doha announced on X.

The German-Israeli woman is said to currently be in the hands of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) paramilitary group.

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The deputy PIJ secretary-general, Mohammed Hindi, had earlier told dpa that the woman was alive and the conditions of her release were being negotiated with Israel with the help of mediators.

Palestinian militants abducted the woman to Gaza during the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.

The agreement on the ceasefire and the exchange of hostages for imprisoned Palestinians stipulates that civilians should be released first. However, the Islamist militant group Hamas released four young female soldiers instead on Saturday.

In return, Israel released around 200 Palestinians from custody. The next release of three more hostages is set to take place next Saturday, according to the agreement.

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Israel has said the absence of civilian releases is a violation of the ceasefire agreement. Hamas meanwhile says Israel is violating the deal by blocking the return of Gaza civilians to the north of the coastal strip, which should have been allowed from one week after the start of the ceasefire on January 19.

On the southern side of the Israeli military's Netzarim corridor, which divides the coastal strip from west to east into two parts, thousands of people are reported to be queuing up to return to their homes in the north.

Two people were killed and 15 wounded by Israeli soldiers' gunfire, according to medical sources in the Gaza Strip. The information could not initially be independently verified.
The Israeli hostages recently returned from Gaza and who had been held in tunnels were in worse condition than those held in houses, the Israeli military said on Monday.

Avi Benov, acting head of the Israeli Medical Corps, told reporters: "I believe none of us can understand what they went through."

He declined to comment on possible abuse or torture of the hostages.

All of those released recently were injured during the October 7, 2023 attacks, most of them by shell fragments that were in some cases still in their bodies, he said.

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Some of them had other serious injuries, he said, without providing details. "It will take a long time before they recover," he said. No medical care had been provided to some of the women during their time in captivity, Benov said.

The hostages were malnourished and were initially receiving only small quantities of food high in carbohydrates, followed later by vegetables and proper food only after several days.

Benov said conditions for the hostages had improved in the days immediately preceding their release. They had been given better food and allowed to shower.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has withdrawn a threat to quit the government if Israel does not return to fighting in Gaza, several Israeli news sites reported on Monday.

Earlier this month, Smotrich opposed a ceasefire deal that aims to secure the release of nearly 100 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails, arguing it endangered Israeli security and stopped Israel from achieving its war goals.

Hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and two other ministers from his nationalist-religious party resigned from Netanyahu's cabinet over the deal.

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Smotrich stopped short of resigning but said if Israel agreed to a full end to the war before achieving its aims in Gaza - which include the complete destruction of Hamas - he and his party, Religious Zionism, would also leave the coalition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Smotrich to stay in the coalition to keep the right wing government intact and the finance minister agreed, Israel's Yediot reported on Monday.

Under the multi-phase ceasefire deal, 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza will be released before negotiations begin to agree the release of the remaining 65 and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Israel is due to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the ceasefire deal.

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Some of the families believe the second stage will not be implemented and that their relatives risk being abandoned. They have staged a series of protests against the current deal.

(Reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by Christina Fincher)
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - An Istanbul prosecutor launched another judicial investigation into the city's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Monday for attempting to influence the judiciary after he criticised legal probes into opposition-run municipalities, Turkish media reported.

News of the investigation came minutes after Imamoglu, who is seen as a likely future presidential challenger to Tayyip Erdogan, accused Erdogan's government of using the judiciary as a political tool to pressure the opposition.

At a press conference, Imamoglu said the same expert witness had been appointed for several judicial probes into him and other district municipalities in Istanbul run by the CHP main opposition party, to which Imamoglu belongs.

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The government dismisses accusations of political interference in the cases and says the judiciary is independent.

The new investigation, reported by the private Anka news agency and other Turkish media, comes a week after a judicial probe was launched against Imamoglu for criticising the Istanbul prosecutor for the brief detention of the CHP's youth branch head.

Imamoglu has already been sentenced in 2022 for insulting public officials when he criticised a decision to cancel the first round of earlier municipal elections, in which he defeated the ruling AK Party (AKP) candidate. He appealed against the sentence, but if it is upheld by higher courts he could be banned from politics for five years.

He was re-elected as mayor last year when Erdogan's AKP suffered its worst ever losses in municipal elections.

(Reporting by Birsen Altayli, Writing by Huseyin Hayatsever, Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Mark Potter)
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has assessed that the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) is paying an unusually high amount of attention to the capture of Velyka Novosilka, which may indicate that the Russian Federation wants to shape the West's perception of the situation on the battlefield and weaken international support for Ukraine. In addition, the likely capture of Velyka Novosilka and the redeployment of Russian units will indicate the direction of the Russian offensive in the spring and summer.

Source: ISW

Details: The analysts noted that Russian troops have made further advances within Velyka Novosilka amid official Russian statements that the Russians captured the entire settlement on 26 January.

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Geolocation footage released on 26 January indicated that Russian troops had advanced north along Tsentralna (Central) Street in the north of Velyka Novosilka.

Some Russian sources, including the Russian MoD, claimed on 26 January that Russian troops had completely captured Velyka Novosilka, while other Russian sources claimed that Russian troops had captured most of the settlement.

Some Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian troops were still clearing the settlement from Ukrainian forces, including the northern part, and that Ukrainian forces were still counterattacking in the area.

Quote from ISW: "ISW has observed geolocated evidence to assess that Russian forces occupy 89% of the settlement, however.

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The Russian MoD notably is paying an abnormally high amount of fanfare to the claimed Russian seizure of Velyka Novosilka, very likely as part of informational efforts to shape Western perceptions of the battlefield situation in Ukraine and degrade international support for Ukraine."

Details: Experts note that Russian advances in western Donetsk Oblast continue to be gradual and far below the pace that is normal for modern mechanised warfare.

Moreover, the report suggests that it is unclear whether Russian troops will be able to advance quickly beyond Velyka Novosilka, as it is unclear how much combat power still remains in elements of the Russian Eastern Military District after several months of continuous offensive operations.

Quote from ISW: "Velyka Novosilka is located next to several rivers which will likely complicate and hamper further Russian tactical advances in the area.

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Russian forces have historically struggled with river crossings and tactical terrain features, such as rivers, will likely complicate Russian forces' ability to leverage the seizure of Velyka Novosilka to make operationally significant advances in western Donetsk Oblast."

Details: ISW suggests that the capture and clearing of Velyka Novosilka is likely to provide the Russian military command with opportunities and become a starting point for deciding to redeploy units of the Eastern Military District from Velyka Novosilka to other priority operational areas.

Quote from ISW: "Any redeployment of Eastern Military District elements from the Velyka Novosilka area over the coming weeks will indicate the Russian military commands priority operational areas for offensive operations in spring and summer 2025.

The seizure of Velyka Novosilka will present the Russian military command with a decision point during which the Russian military command can pursue several courses of action."

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Details: The Russian military command may decide to leave the Eastern Military District units in western Donetsk Oblast and continue to advance to the administrative border of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, which runs north and west of Velyka Novosilka.

The analysts believe this decision may indicate that the Russian military is preferring to advance as quickly as possible towards the administrative border rather than in other areas in Donetsk Oblast or other areas along the line of contact.

The review adds that it remains unclear how capable the units remain after more than six months of intensive operations.

The Russian military command may also leave some Eastern Military District units in the Velyka Novosilka area to continue limited attacks and press Ukrainian forces in the area but redeploy the bulk of the military district to another part of the line of contact.

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Quote from ISW: "Russian forces are currently intensifying offensive operations on the Kupiansk, Borova, Chasiv Yar, Toretsk and Pokrovsk fronts and are still working to eliminate the remainder of the Ukrainian salients on the Kurakhove front and in Kursk Oblast."

To quote the ISWs Key Takeaways on 26 January:

Russian forces recently made further advances within Velyka Novosilka amid official Russian claims that Russian forces seized the entire settlement on 26 January.

The Russian Ministry of Defence is notably paying an abnormally high amount of attention to the claimed Russian seizure of Velyka Novosilka, very likely as part of informational efforts to influence Western perceptions of the battlefield situation in Ukraine and undermine international support for Ukraine.

The seizure and clearing of Velyka Novosilka will likely present opportunities and a decision point for the Russian military command on whether to redeploy elements of the Russian Eastern Military District (EMD) from the Velyka Novosilka area to other priority operational areas. Any redeployment of EMD elements from the Velyka Novosilka area over the coming weeks will indicate the Russian military commands priority operational areas for offensive operations in the spring and summer of 2025.

Russian forces are poised to seize Toretsk in the coming days, and a redeployment of EMD elements to reinforce the Russian force grouping on the Toretsk front would indicate a new Russian priority effort to resume attacks towards Kostiantynivka.

Ukrainian forces conducted a second strike on the Ryazan Oil Refinery in Ryazan Oblast on the night of 25-26 January.

Ukrainian forces advanced in Kursk Oblast and regained positions in Toretsk.

Russian forces recently advanced near Borova, Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.

Russian milbloggers criticised the Russian government on 25 January for not prioritising the recruitment and training of Russia's next generation of military officers.

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JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV)  Jackson police arrested a man in connection to a deadly shooting.

The incident occurred in the 1900 block of Wingfield Circle on Sunday, January 26.

Man arrested on multiple drug, gun charges in Madison

Detective Tommie Brown said the unidentified victim was shot at the location and pronounced deceased at a local hospital.

Detectives arrested Darrius Jordan, 33, in connection to the case. He has been charged with murder.

Darrius Jordan (Courtesy: JPD)

Anyone with information about the homicide can contact the Jackson Police Department (JPD) at 601-960-1234 or Crime Stoppers at 601-355-TIPS (8477).

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A January 6 rioter is building a mini village in Texas which will serve as a safe space and home for up to ten fellow agitators who descended on Washington D.C. in 2021.

Jenny McCombs, who was sentenced to two months probation and fined $5,500 for her involvement in the raid on the U.S. Capitol, is looking to raise half a million dollars in a bid to construct five houses around her 11-acre farm, which is currently a bed and breakfast.

So far she has raised $55,000, more than half of the $100,000 requested, and says the first two homes are already being constructed. Jan. 6 rioters will get to stay in these homes for free.

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McCombs, 40, and her husband Doug believe the J6 Road Home sanctuary could allow a handful of rioters to find healing after receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Doug and Jenny have worked tirelessly to create a supportive network of local business owners, guests, and patrons eager to employ and mentor the J6 defendants, the website states. This network aims to provide them with opportunities to reestablish themselves in a welcoming, conservative, and patriotic community.

This project represents not just a fresh start for those in need but also a beacon of hope and redemption, it adds.

In a separate interview with the Daily Mails online section, McCombs said her property will allow rioters to spend three months finding their way back to a more normal life.

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A lot have lost their ability to make an income, [but] I think everyone deserves a second chance, she said. Life shouldnt be dictated by one day.

At the time she spoke to the news outlet, McCombs said she already had two men booked in to stay at her residency.

We think well be full soon. I plan on cooking for all of them, Im an excellent cook.

McCombs was one of some 1,500 rioters who entered the Capitol and faced criminal charges, before President Donald Trumps pardons came into action on his first day in office.

She is unlikely to be able to house all 1,500 men and women within the next few years.

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McCombs told the newspaper she did not regret storming into the restricted building and spending 19 minutes indoors, despite pleading guilty and being pictured live-streaming the scenes with her smartphone and a Trump flag around her neck.

A presidential pardon wont have a big effect on my life, but its a big thing [for others], she said.

She also explained how she suffered deep psychological distress before divine intervention prompted her to open her property up to other formerly convicted criminals.

The website itself makes this point in crystalline terms: Doug and Jenny have been blessed with 11 beautiful acres in the Texas Hill Country, a place they believe God led them to for a greater purpose: To hire, feed, and house January 6th defendants as they transition out of prison and rebuild their lives.

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It also boasts several partner organizations on its website. This includes the Old Glory Bank, which self-describes as a pro-America bank with no links to Wall Street, the American Gulag Chronicles, a book series which shares letters from U.S. prisons, and an organization named The Original Stop Hate, which defends far-right militia groups such as the Oath Keepers and exploits the yellow ribbon most commonly associated with campaigns to release Israeli hostages to advocate for J6ERS.

The J6 Road Home website also contains a box stating employers in Texas are willing to hire Capitol rioters regardless of what criminal record they may now have.
Vice President JD Vance conceded that lowering consumer prices will likely take a little bit of time while boasting about President Donald Trumps accomplishments in his first week in office during a tense interview with Face the Nation host Margaret Brennen over the weekend.

Trump and Vance have only been in office seven days and yet the president has signed approximately 33 executive orders re-shaping the federal workforce, ending diversity programs, restricting immigration, reversing Biden administration initiatives and more.

But among those executive orders, none directly tackle consumer prices  an issue among the top concerns for Americans and a promise Trump made on the campaign trail.

Vance defended the flurry of executive orders that Trump signed in his first week (Face The Nation / YouTube)

Brennan confronted Vance about it during an interview on Sunday, suggesting grocery prices will not come down under the new administration.

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Prices are going to come down but its going to take a little bit of time, right? Vance responded.

The president has been president for all of five days. I think in those five days hes accomplished more than Joe Biden did in four years. Its been an incredible breakneck pace of activity.

The vice president assured Brennan that through executive orders and collaboration with Congress, the new administration will drive down prices, raise wages and increase job opportunities  all of which will contribute to affordability.

Vance also asserted that increasing oil and gas production will bring down energy prices, which will then impact consumer prices  a claim Trump has made as well.

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But Brennan continued to push Vance about consumer prices and invoked Trumps campaign talking point about bacon prices being too high.

BRENNAN: You campaigned on lowering prices. Which executive order lowers prices?



VANCE: We have done a lot.



BRENNAN: So grocery prices aren't going to come down?



VANCE: No Margaret, prices are gonna come down. But it's gonna take a little bit of time. pic.twitter.com/7lki2eIqRM  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 26, 2025

But all the things you experience at the grocery store...you were talking about bacon the campaign trail. Those things, when do consumers get to touch and feel a difference in their lives, Brennan pressed.

Vance, not straying from Trumps agenda, said that energy production would help by making it cheaper to transmit bacon from farms to the grocery store, thus reducing costs.

But economists are wary of that assertion. Some raised skepticism about Trumps ability to influence energy costs telling the New York Times it relies on global supply-and-demand. At the moment, there is no oil and gas shortage.

Meanwhile other exeuctive orders, like deporting undocumented immigrants and increasing tariffs are policies that could raise prices by reducing the labor force and making foreign imports more expensive for consumers.
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(NewsNation)  After his first week on the job, Vice President JD Vance issued a challenge to Catholic bishops in the United States to do better on the issue of immigration.

He voiced his criticism during an interview with Face the Nation on CBS News on Sunday.

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Pastor urges clergy to put aside politics and embrace scripture

I think the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has, frankly, not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement that the American people voted for, and I hope, again, as a devout Catholic, that theyll do better, Vance said.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders cracking down on illegal immigration. His administration has made its first priority the deportation of immigrants in the U.S. illegally who are criminals.

Bishops condemned some Trump orders

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned some of the executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on issues including immigration.

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In a statement, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said, Some provisions contained in the Executive Orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us.

Trump world descends on bishop who pleaded for mercy

The bishops conference is the governing body of Catholic leaders in the United States and coordinates and promotes Catholic activities. The body also monitors federal legislation that affects Catholic entities and the dignity of the human person.

J.D. Vance is sworn in as U.S. vice president as his wife Usha Vance and family and President Donald Trump look on in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Saul Loeb  Pool/Getty Images)

JD Vance: Focus on humanitarian issues

Vice President Vance, who said he is a practicing Catholic, suggested the Catholic Church should pay closer attention to the humanitarian issues surrounding immigration, including the sex trafficking of children.

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I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line? Vance told CBS News Margaret Brennan.

Who is Rev. Mariann Budde, bishop who drew Trumps ire at prayer service?

If theyre worried about the humanitarian costs of immigration enforcement, let them talk about the children who have been sex trafficked because of the wide open border of Joe Biden, he said.

The Catholic Church teaches that richer nations have the moral duty to welcome foreigners who are seeking security and a livelihood that they cannot find in their country of origin, but it also teaches that governments have the right to enforce their laws and to protect the common good.

Bishops praised some Trump orders

Were going to enforce immigration law, Vance said. Were going to protect the American people.

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Pastor Lorenzo Sewell says politics and spirituality intertwined

Alongside their criticism, the bishops also praised some of the presidents executive orders, including one that recognizes two sexes: Other provisions in the Executive Orders can be seen in a more positive light, such as recognizing the truth about each human person as male or female.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
DAMASCUS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani on Monday welcomed the decision by the European Union (EU) to suspend sanctions against Damascus for one year, calling it a move that could enhance living conditions for Syrians and support economic recovery.

In a statement on the social media platform X, al-Shibani said Syria "appreciates the EU's move to halt sanctions" and expressed hope that the suspension would "positively impact all aspects of Syrians' lives and foster sustainable development."

The EU Foreign Affairs Council earlier on Monday agreed to temporarily lift restrictions targeting Syria's energy, transport, and selected financial sectors, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

The decision, Barrot said, aims to alleviate humanitarian pressures while urging Damascus to commit to a United Nations-backed political transition, intensify efforts against Islamic State remnants, and dismantle all chemical weapons stockpiles.

The EU has maintained stringent sanctions on Syria since 2011, citing former President Bashar al-Assad's alleged "war crimes" during the civil war. Assad's government collapsed on Dec. 8, 2024, following a 12-day offensive spearheaded by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied militant groups.

Since Assad's ouster, interim authorities led by HTS commander Ahmed al-Sharaa have sought to persuade Western nations to ease sanctions imposed on the former regime.

In a parallel development, the Syrian interim authorities released 275 detainees on Monday from the Central Prison in Homs province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The war monitor reported that the individuals had been vetted and found not to have committed war crimes. The prisoner release follows a large-scale security campaign in early 2025 that saw hundreds of former regime soldiers and civilians detained in Homs and surrounding areas. 
Vice President JD Vance said that lowering grocery prices will likely take a little bit of time after being pressed in a tense interview on CBSs Face the Nation.

Host Margaret Brennan noted that President Donald Trump and Vance had vowed to slash grocery prices during their campaign before asking which of the 20-plus executive orders that Trump signed this past week would immediately offer Amerian consumers some relief for staggering prices.

Vance responded vaguely.

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We have done a lot, and there have been a number of executive orders that have caused, already, jobs to start coming back into our country, which is a core part of lowering prices, he told Brennan in the interview that aired Sunday.

Without specifying which orders would decrease prices for Americans, Vance continued, More capital investment, more job creation in our economy, is one of the things thats going to drive down prices for all consumers, but also raise wages so that people can afford to buy the things that they need.

So grocery prices arent going to come down? Brennan interjected, prompting Vance to dish out a rather spicy reply.

No, Margaret, prices are going to come down, but its going to take a little bit of time, right? The president has been president for all of five days. I think that, in those five days, hes accomplished more than Joe Biden did in four years, Vance insisted.

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He added, Its been an incredible breakneck pace of activity. Were going to work with Congress.

Vance then touted all of the stuff that weve done on energy to explore more energy reserves and to develop more energy resources [for] the United States of America, saying this would specifically bring down everyday costs.

He then said that one of the main drives of increased prices under the Biden administration was a massive increase in energy prices.

Donald Trump has already taken multiple executive actions that are going to lower energy prices, and I do believe that means consumers are going to see lower prices at the pump and at the grocery store, but its going to take a little bit of time, Vance added. Rome wasnt built in a day.

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Brennan hasnt been the only one demanding answers about Trump and Vances promises.

On Sunday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other Democratic lawmakers wrote a pointed letter asking Trump why he has yet to address the cost of food despite signing multiple executive orders during his first week back in office.

During your campaign, you repeatedly promised you would lower food prices immediately if elected president, the letter reads. But during your first week of office you have instead focused on mass deportations and pardoning January 6 attackers, including those who assaulted Capitol police officers.

Watch a clip from Vances interview on Face the Nation below.

Related...
Negative backlash to a New Jersey restaurants ill-advised Proud Boys Burger triggered an unusual activity alert on the eaterys Yelp review page.

Last week, Toms River eatery Aqua Blu Kitchen & Cocktails added a burger to its menu honoring the militant organization the Anti-Defamation league calls a tent for misogynistic, anti-immigrant, Islamophobic and anti-LGBTQ+ ideologies and other forms of hate  including antisemitism and white supremacy  that oppose progressivism, feminism, multiculturalism and woke ideology in the United States.

That burger was made with white American cheese, onion ring layers of truth, resilience pickles, freedom fries, cancel culture coleslaw and liberty sauce, according to NJ.com.

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Days earlier  after beginning his second term in the White House  President Donald Trump issued pardons to right-wing extremists including members of the Proud Boys, who were involved in the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol after Trump was defeated in the 2020 presidential election.

This business recently received public attention, which means people come to this page to post their views on the news, Yelp monitors posted on Aqua Blus page after the negative press started pouring in.

The restaurant said on Facebook that it doesnt support hate groups and assured customers the unidentified individual responsible for its ill-advised marketing scheme was no longer an Aqua Blu employee.

Despite Yelps claim it was monitoring activity on the 13-year-old restaurants page, plenty of negative comments slipped through from angry consumers who labeled Aqua Blu bigoted and hostile toward law enforcement.

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Stopped in the other night and were looking forward to a nice night out until we got a look at the specials,' claimed one New Jersey woman. We got up and left. We dont like or support racists.

At least one Yelp commenter remembered New Jersey native and United States Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, 42, who suffered two strokes after engaging MAGA extremist groups like the Proud Boys when they attacked the U.S. Capitol in Jan. 6, 2021 and died the following day.

Proud boys burger, really? one Californian wondered Monday.

To those who have supported us over the years, we deeply appreciate every single one of you, Aqua Blu concluded its Facebook mea culpa. We hope you understand and accept this as a formal apology.
PATERSON, N.J. (PIX11)  New Jersey officials are trying to quell the fears of residents following multiple ICE agent sightings in the state ever since President Donald Trump took office.

Trump signed executive orders last week that would allow ICE to detain migrants at locations deemed sensitive, like hospitals or schools. Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh told PIX11 News that hes genuinely concerned about the federal agent spotting.

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There is panic in Paterson, theyve heard whats happened in places like Newark, he said.

Sayegh plans to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. to address the ICE activity in Paterson.

ICE announced that it took 956 people into custody alone on Sunday, the highest number of daily arrests since Jan. 23  when immigration enforcement began. ICE agents have also been seen in Union City and Newark, where a Puerto Rican U.S. military veteran was among those detained at a seafood store.

An ICE spokesperson released a statement about agents being seen in Newark:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individuals identity as was the case during a targeted enforcement operation at a worksite on Jan. 23 in Newark, New Jersey. This is an active investigation and per ICE policy, we cannot discuss ongoing investigations.

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You have rights during ICE encounter, NYC mayors office says

Sayegh told PIX11 News that Paterson is a welcoming city and his office is planning to do outreach to reassure residents.

Quite frankly, it has to be an appropriate procedure, he said. If they have a warrant, we understand. If not, people should know their rights.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  It may be the end of January, but the Jewish Community Center is getting ready for the summer.

Camp JCC hosted its open house for parents on Sunday, telling them all about the camp, what kids will do and how much it will cost.

If you missed the open house, you can still sign up. All sign-ups before March 31 get an early bird discount. The camp will keep kids engaged while out of school.

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We offer swimming lessons twice a week and free swim two times a week, and we also have art classes and a theater program if youre interested in signing up for that, said Amber Shrawder, director of Camp JCC.

The cost of the camp is dependent on membership status and length of the summer camp. More information can be found on the JCC website.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
Its a cold start to the work week in KC today, but the great news is that this will be a milder week, as a run towards, and perhaps into the 50s is likely for some areas over the next few days.

I guess this will serve as a late January thaw as we head into the 1st few days of February.

There is also a strong storm that will be affecting the region starting Thursday. This looks to be mostly rain as considerable warm (for January) air is being brought into the region ahead of it.

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View the latest Weather Alerts in the Kansas City region on FOX4

It bears watching because aloft its taking a rather classic snowstorm track for us in the winter season, I just dont think the snow aspect will be a big feature of this storm right now. I cant though rule out some conversion to flakes somewhere out there but accumulations right now dont look to be a thing for us.

It bears watching though!

Forecast

Today: Mostly sunny and milder with highs well into the mid-40s. Upside for areas away from snow cover.

Tonight: Fair and cool with lows in the mid-20s

Tomorrow: Mostly sunny and warmest. A run towards 50

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Wednesday: About the same

See the latest forecast, maps and radar for Kansas City

Discussion

Well after a great Sunday evening with the big Chiefs winits time to focus on the weather and as I mentioned at the start of the blog, were in good shape for the next few days.

40s and some 50s are going to be around the area as we continue to melt away the snow that has become an icy glob in most areas. It will take some effort but there should be a big reduction in the snow that is still out there this week into the weekend.

The next storm wont be tapping much in the way of cold air as it passes through. What cold air it generates will be done on the strength of the storm itself it appears and when it moves away it will actually help to wrap back into the region some milder airso the weekend overall looks pretty good, especially Sunday.

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The storm in question is down in southern CA. Its brought good rains to southern CA and for most areas there, the most rain theyve seen in many a month. Radar estimates show 1-2+ there in precipitation with snows in the higher elevations around LA

The storm right now remains mostly cut off from the main jet stream. Its called a cut off low.

and its still cranking out some precipitation too.

There have been strong overnight storms out there as wellso this is quite the storm and while mostly welcome there has been some flooding of all things after such a prolonged dry stretch of weather.

This system will be our weathermaker as the week moves along.

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You can see the storm more clearly as we go up to about 18,000 feet or so. Notice that circular area towards southern CAthats the storm. It doesnt move a lot over the next 48 hours or so, as it waddles around CA and AZ but eventually it starts kicking out into the Plains.

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and then weakens quickly after it moves through our region. Whats sort of important as well is that it never connects or in the weather world we refer to it as phases with the northern jet stream.

The remain separated and thats why an big injection of colder air isnt likely to happen behind this storm. The real cold air will remain towards Canada and the border region.

As this storm comes into the western Plains on Thursday rain Gulf moisture will rapidly move up through Texas into the Midwest Wednesday.

This moisture will be in place as the storms dynamics move in Thursday into Friday.

Model data suggests at least twice the amount of typical late January moisture in the atmosphere as the storm comes in.

Upcoming possible storms

Then with the storm taking, what appears to be, a classic track for a heavy eventwe get the front-side rains and likely the wrap-around part of the storm as well. So the rain amounts should be significant.

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1/2 to 1 1/2 of moisture is becoming more likely with this assuming we get both aspects of the storm. If we dont get the wrap-around part of the storm, amounts may be on the lower side of that range.

The storm will likely wind down sometime Friday afternoon. If you remember earlier in the blog I mentioned that it was taking a pretty classic track for a snowstorm.

The core of the storm is going to be near or perhaps just south of hereand IF there was colder air around the region, wed get nailed again by a 6-10 snowstorm.

The difference is that the air ahead of the storm above us will be in the 40sso you cant get snow flakes from that to reach the ground.

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What should be watched though is that the storm should be dynamic enough to chill the atmosphere down on the KS side of things, and that chilled air will follow the storm on its backside and perhaps can indeed change some of the the rain over to snow in spots.

The timing on that would be Friday morning. It would be the type of snow that makes those big wet snowflakes as the wet snow collides with other flakes falling and clump together.

IF we get that it likely would be on the tail end of the storm as its moving away so right now accumulations look minor for any one spot out thereIll watch this though just in case the storm is quicker with a changeover.

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Behind the storm, with no connection to any Canadian or Arctic airwe should moderate nicely into the weekend from a temperature standpoint.

So theres definitely something to track and watch this week.

Jerry Keeney up towards Smithville Lake has the feature photo of the day. Some of the ice is starting to break up a bit.

Joe

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Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman was grilled on The View Monday about his rightward shift after many have criticized him for cozying up to President Donald Trump and his administration.

View host Sunny Hostin noted that critics on the left have called out the senator for undergoing a rightward shift. She went on to ask Fetterman about his response to those questioning your commitment to the Democratic party.

Ive been on record ... saying I am not going to become a Republican, you know, although maybe some people might be happy on one side, Fetterman responded. But I would make a pretty terrible Republican, because, you know, [Im] pro-choice, pro really strong immigration, pro-LGBTQ  I dont think Id be a good fit.

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So Im not going to change my party, Fetterman emphasized.

Fetterman told The View he has no plans to change his party affiliation (Getty Images)

His comments followed a similar answer to Semafor, calling speculation that hes switching parties amateur hour ****.

Its not gonna happen, he said. Even if I wanted to do that, that is a rocket sled to Palookaville to try to switch.

Fetterman, 55, has been accused of leaning away from his party in recent weeks, particularly after he visited Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to work with Republicans on the Laken Riley Act, a bill that requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain non-U.S. nationals who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting.

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He has also come under scrutiny for his staunch support of the Israeli government amid their it war in Gaza. Last year, the senator criticized South Africa for bringing a case of genocide against Israel through the International Court of Justice, calling it an appalling move.

Fetterman was also the last senator to join a Democratic coalition condemning Trumps pardons of the violent January 6 rioters.

The resolution, authored by Senator Patty Murray, states: The Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.

Forty-four Democrats and two Independents signed the statement.

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Fettermans delay in signing followed his comment to ABC News earlier this month that he believes in second chances.

Some people are very deserving of a second chance and get a pardon, Fetterman said. Theres some that I dont  agree with. I dont agree with them.  What Im saying, though [is] that [some] pardons I can agree with, some that I dont. And I think thats really what it comes down to.

Fetterman addressed the pardons again on The View, noting his empathy for Officer Michael Fanone, who was viciously assaulted by rioters on January 6 and subsequently suffered a heart attack and brain injury.

I am so sorry for what happened to that officer, Fetterman said. I mean, hes had a heart attack  He almost, almost died. I mean, Ive had a stroke, same thing. I have absolute empathy and just appalled for what I witnessed, what happened on on January 6.

And I absolutely would reject pardoning people that were involved on that, he added.
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman is praising Donald Trump for being kind and cordial during their meeting at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.

On Mondays The View Fetterman joined the hosts and gushed about their sit-down, saying [Trump] was kind, he was cordial, [and] it wasnt any kind of theater. It wasnt trying to get your picture taken to put something out on social media, it was just really a conversation. Fetterman was the first sitting Democrat senator to meet with Trump following his win in November.

Sen. @JohnFetterman defends his decision to meet with Pres. Trump at Mar-a-Lago: "For me, engaging the president when you're in this business, that's part of the job." pic.twitter.com/49Mpw96Us7  The View (@TheView) January 27, 2025

I just have a rule, like Im going to engage and have a conversation thats anyone playing it straightand thatd be doing my job, he continued on the show.

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Fetterman has faced speculation that he may be looking to switch parties, as his friendships across the aisle grow and as does his willingness to praise Trump, who once accused the then-candidate of using drugs . Though Fetterman went after Trump over his accusations that Pennsylvanians were cheating hard to give the state to his opponent during the election, taunting him with expletives live on CNN , the senator has notably cooled toward the president.

Fetterman told the View hosts Monday, Maybe some people would be critical of that, but for me, engaging the president, I think when youre in this business, thats part of the job, he said, adding that people were tired of the venom and the hate.

That cooling has gotten so chill, however, that the senator has had to address questions about where his party loyalties lie, telling Semafor that rumors of a party switch were amateur hour s--t and not gonna happen.

The senator reiterated that sentiment Monday, repeating to the View hosts hed be a pretty bad Republican if he were to switch, since hes pro-choice, pro-really strong immigration, pro-LGBTQ. He did, however, portray Trumps conviction on 34 felony counts by a jury of his peers as the judicial system being weaponized and targeted [at] political enemies for political gain on Monday.

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Fettermans embracing of MAGA could potentially go further. Following his votes to confirm Trump picks Kristi Noem and Marco Rubio this past week, he told The View hosts that he would consider voting for Trumps most controversial cabinet picks, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr .

We, just like all of you, are going to watch the hearings and see how things go. I was committed to having an open dialogue with anyone and Ive played it straight and thats the same kind of rules that I play and thats what I extend to them, he said. I cant say I refuse to even spend some time to just hear them directly from them just the way Im doing right now having a conversation, so thats what Ive decided and I havent regretted it.
A Chicago Public Schools board member appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson asked the teachers union vice president about contract negotiations while in a meeting that was closed to the public.

Records released to the Tribune via a public records request show that board member Rafael Yanez  a longtime Chicago Teachers Union ally appointed to the board by Johnson in October  texted CTU Vice President Jackson Potter during the Nov. 1 board meeting, What are the biggest push back from CPS re contract negotiations?

Potter first asked Who is this? before responding to Yanez: Academic freedom, money overall, staffing, evaluation, class size. Yanez reacted with a thumbs-up emoji.

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The text exchange happened during executive session of the Nov. 14 school board meeting. This was the first meeting after Johnsons first handpicked board resigned en masse Oct. 4 and were replaced a few days later by an entirely new batch of appointees. An executive session is when a government body, which is mandated by state law to conduct meetings in public if a quorum is present, can discuss matters such as employment, litigation and collective bargaining out of public view.

While CTU officials have often shown up to school board meetings to testify during public comment, a top union officials direct, behind-the-scenes access to a board member amidst contract negotiations illustrates how close the influential labor organization has gotten to the other side of the bargaining table.

Yanez, who is no longer on the school board after the districts new, partially-elected and appointed board was seated earlier this month, did not return a message seeking comment.

On Friday, the CTU responded on behalf of Potter: As public officials, it makes sense that the board would regularly want to hear from everyone involved in negotiations to have a well-rounded understanding and inform their duties. We have been asking for the opportunity to present our experience with negotiations to the board and are grateful to board member Yanez and anyone else who actively seeks the unions perspective.

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The November meeting unfolded under a cloud of controversy for Johnson, a former CTU organizer, that began when his power struggle against CPS CEO Pedro Martinez blew up in public. To the mayors displeasure, Martinezs 2025 $9.9 billion budget that passed last July neither agreed to CPS absorbing a $175 million pension payment from the citys budget nor to a $300 million high-interest loan that would cover those costs as well as part of the upcoming CTU contract.

That ultimately led to Johnson asking for Martinez to step down, but he refused, temporarily tying the mayors hands given that the school board retains the authority to fire the CEO and his first set of board appointees balked. Though they soon resigned en masse and were replaced, the move was lambasted by critics as a power grab that called into question whether Johnsons allegiance was to CTU or the best interest of the students.

On Dec. 20, Johnsons new, seven-member, handpicked school board voted to fire Martinez without cause  meaning the CEO will have a six-month ramp-down period before his employment ends. That the mayor and his appointees moved to do so before the hybrid elected school board was seated earlier this month further bristled CTU critics who said the union was moving to occupy all sides of the bargaining table.

Johnson and CTU leadership have rebutted these attacks as unfair, noting that the mayor still wields control over the school district until a fully elected board is seated in 2027. They have pointed out that the district remains woefully underfunded and that the mayor was elected on a progressive agenda to invest in the poorest of communities, including through education.

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At the same time, the drip of news over the mayor and CTUs relationship continues.

On Dec. 26, the Tribune reported that Johnson declined to resign his position with Chicago Public Schools after a high-ranking CPS official raised ethics concerns about a potential conflict of interest, according to an internal memo.

In the document, dated June 2023, CPS Chief Talent Officer Ben Felton wrote that he told then-deputy mayor of education, Jen Johnson, who is not related to Mayor Johnson, that it was potentially a conflict of interest for Mayor Johnson and Deputy Mayor Johnson to remain on a CTU leave from CPS.

But the deputy mayor said the mayor did not want to leave his position so as to signal his support for education and teachers, according to the memo.

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While the mayors office claimed to Felton that it consulted the citys ethics adviser, the Chicago Board of Ethics later said it was not consulted. The mayors office told the Tribune last week it did not have any records of any opinions signing off on Johnsons arrangement.

In another example, last summer, the Tribune reported that a letter Johnson wrote to Illinois Senate President Don Harmon to stop a CPS bill was directly edited by a CTU lobbyist with changes that concerned selective enrollment schools.

During the waning days of the spring 2024 session in the Illinois General Assembly, the mayor made a last-minute plea to Harmon in a letter asking him not to call for a vote a bill to extend a moratorium on all Chicago Public Schools closings. State legislators wanted to sign a two-year extension to ensure selective enrollment schools would not be shuttered and faced opposition from the teachers union.

Public records provided to the Tribune revealed a CTU official helped craft Johnsons eleventh-hour letter that likely saved the teachers union and mayor from an embarrassing defeat in the statehouse, as well as an earlier, watered-down version.

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After Johnsons board fired Martinez, some of the mayors top school board members attended a bargaining session but were later barred from further involvement by a Cook County judge after Martinez filed for an injunction arguing that the move violated his contractual rights as CEO.

The mayors allegiance to the labor group that bankrolled his winning 2023 campaign leaves an opening for opponents who say governing from the fifth floor of the mayors office requires more independence.

In a March 2023 runoff debate, Johnson himself answered a question about his campaigns heavy dependence on CTU funds by vowing to leave his role in the union and be the mayor of the city of Chicago for everyone.

I have a fiduciary responsibility to the people of the city of Chicago, and once Im mayor of the city of Chicago, I will no longer be a member of the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson said.
GAZIANTEP, Turkiye, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- As Syria shows signs of recovery from its 13-year civil war, the gradual return of Syrian refugees from Turkiye is raising fears of labor shortages in key Turkish sectors reliant on low-wage workers, industry representatives and analysts say.

"Syrian workers constitute about 20-25 percent of our workers at this stage; their massive return could definitely have consequences," Beyhan Duran, a managing agent from a livestock farm in the southern Gaziantep province, told Xinhua.

Duran said this could be a game-changer for Turkish businesses reliant on the Syrian workforce. Although only a small number of Syrians have returned so far, he expects the majority will eventually leave as conditions stabilize in Syria.

Gaziantep, a major Turkish city near the Syrian border, has long been dependent on the presence of approximately 450,000 Syrians.

Metin Corabatir, director of the Ankara-based Research Center on Asylum and Migration, estimates that there are around 1 million Syrians active in the Turkish labor market, primarily in low-skilled and low-paid informal jobs.

Following recent developments, thousands of the three million Syrian refugees have returned home, with others still contemplating their next move, especially after the winter.

Corabatir said that most of the returnees are seemingly assessing the conditions in Syria, which remains devastated by 13 years of civil war, before deciding whether to bring their families back.

The shift could ease financial pressures on Turkiye, which has spent 40 billion U.S. dollars on refugee support despite EU aid. However, sectors like agriculture and textiles may struggle to fill gaps. "Employers rely on Syrians for cheap labor. A sudden exit would create problems," said Osman Ahmed, a 33-year-old Syrian telecom worker in Gaziantep. He added that Turkiye's economic woes, including soaring rents, are pushing some refugees to leave while others stay for stable jobs.

"Some Syrian businesses could also relocate their operations back to Syria," he added.

Still, industry leaders downplay immediate risks. Adnan Unverdi, head of Gaziantep's Chamber of Industry, said any transition would be gradual.

"Their return is expected to be as gradual as their arrival. We do not expect all to return. Even if 70 percent leave, the remaining 30 percent are expected to stay," he told the country's Daily Sabah in a recent interview. 
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that Colombia and all nations should be on notice after President Trump said he was placing tariffs and a travel ban on the South American country.

Colombia and all nations should be on notice  Congress is fully prepared to pass sanctions and other measures against those that do not fully cooperate or follow through on requirements to accept their citizens who are illegally in the United States, Johnson said in a post on the social platform X.

President Trump is putting America first, just like he said he would. And Congress will implement policies that reinforce his agenda, he added.

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In a post on Truth Social earlier Sunday, the president said he was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia.

This order was given by Colombias Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people, he added.

Trump added that the Colombian presidents denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, and that, therefore, he had directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures, including U.S.-bound goods facing tariffs of 25 percent and the prohibition of travel on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters.

Petro then ordered the raising of his countrys import tariffs on goods from the U.S. in response to Trumps tariffs and sanctions. In a post on X later Sunday, he said he had directed the foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the U.S. by 25%.

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American products whose price will rise within the national economy must be replaced by national production, and the government will help in this regard, the post continued.

The Hill has reached out to the Colombian government for comment.

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The senior pastor of one of the biggest church systems in Kentucky is stepping down from his position.

Jon Weece, 47, announced he would be leaving his position as senior pastor of Southland Christian Church at a service on Jan. 19.

He announced that one year from now, in January 2026, he will give up his position as pastor and become a regular member of the church. Weece has led the church since he was 26 years old.

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Weece is only the third senior minister Southland has had in its history. The other two were founder Wayne B. Smith and Mike Breaux.

In that time, he has written 1,200 sermons and delivered them 6,000 times, he said. During a sacred and special prayer time Weece does every summer, he said God revealed to him his time as lead pastor was coming to a close.

I am not stepping aside because I am tired. I am not stepping aside because I am angry or sad or because I feel neglected or discouraged, he said.

I am not stepping aside because I have done something immoral, nefarious or foolish. ... I am going to stop serving you as as a preacher from this stage. But I will serve as thousands of you serve in this church as a member of this place.

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Since 2021 he spoke privately with the elders of the church and began to discuss what the transition would look like.

Weece announced Scott Nickell will be chosen as the churchs lead pastor.

Southland is among the 50 largest churches in the nation and is the largest in Central Kentucky. They have expanded locations located in Lexington, Nicholasville, Danville, Richmond and Georgetown.
(WHTM)  New analysis from The Washington Post is placing two prominent Pennsylvania Democrats among the top candidates for president in 2028.

The list of a dozen potential presidential candidates is headlined by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, naming him the top contender for Democrats in the first primary election without an incumbent for either party since 2016.

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More than a few Democrats have asked what if  what if Harris had picked the Pennsylvania governor instead of (Tim) Walz, to run for Vice President, wrote The Washington Posts Aaron Blake.

Shapiro has long been pointed to as a presidential contender by both Democrats and Republicans. Assuming he runs for re-election in 2026, Shapiro could be set up as a two-term governor of a battleground state.

Shapiros 2028 prospects rise sharply after Harris defeat

At least two prominent Pennsylvania Republicans  Congressman Dan Meuser and Treasurer Stacy Garrity  have not ruled out runs for Governor in 2026.

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The second Pennsylvania Democrat listed as a potential 2028 candidate was Senator John Fetterman.

While he was reputed as a liberal, hes carved out a significant independent streak as a senator, wrote Blake.

Fettermans first term in the U.S. Senate runs until 2028, and, despite recent efforts, Pennsylvania does not have a run for one law preventing candidates from running for two offices at once.

Fetterman responds to 2028 presidential questions

Shortly after defeating Republican Mehmet Oz in the 2022 election despite suffering a stroke earlier that year, Fetterman was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center for depression. He was released in March 2023 and has advocated for mental health in the Senate.

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Fetterman has recently pushed back on rumors that hed switch parties after visiting Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago and saying he would consider voting for some of Trumps cabinet nominees.

Others named in The Washington Post report included former Vice President Kamala Harris, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Senator Ruben Gallego, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Senator Raphael Warnock, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and North Carolina Governor Josh Stein.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
Hungary secured the inclusion of a commitment in the EUs statement on energy security, agreeing to support the continuation of sanctions against Russia in exchange for the European Commission's promise to continue discussions with Ukraine on oil and gas transit.

Source: European Pravda, citing Rikard Jozwiak, editor of Radio Liberty Europe, and Laurence Norman, journalist for The Wall Street Journal

Details: Jozwiak points out that, at Hungary's request, the statement will include a request for the EU to seek "assurances" from Ukraine about maintaining the pipeline oil supply to EU countries.

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Quote: "The key point of the statement (not yet adopted) is that they will approach Ukraine to request assurances regarding the maintenance of oil pipeline transfers to the EU. This should allow Hungary to give green light to Russian sanctions roll over," he writes.

Laurence Norman refers to lines in the draft statement, which indicate that the European Commission is "ready to continue discussions with Ukraine on the supply to Europe through the gas pipeline system in Ukraine in line with Ukraines international obligations". The European Commission will also be open to involving Hungary and Slovakia in these talks.

The draft further states that the European Commission "will approach Ukraine to request assurances regarding the maintenance of oil pipeline transfers to the EU".

Background:

Earlier, media reports revealed that Hungary agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months in exchange for an EU statement addressing Budapest's concerns over "energy security".

Until last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had accused Ukraine of attempting to "deceive the Hungarians" on the gas issue and urged the EU to pressure Kyiv to "open the valves."

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that if Orban blocks the extension of sanctions, it would show he is "playing for Putin's team".

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After a lengthy and contentious hearing Friday, Travis County Court-at-Law Judge Carlos Barrera said he will announce Tuesday whether he will dismiss a deadly conduct charge against Daniel Perry, who was pardoned by Gov. Greg Abbott after Perry was convicted of murder in the shooting death of a protester in Austin.

Perry's lawyer, Doug O'Connell, argued during the hearing that the deadly conduct charge should be dismissed because of prosecutorial misconduct that happened both before and after the grand jury proceedings.

Former Austin police homicide detective David Fugitt testified Friday that prosecutors told him he could not include evidence in his grand jury testimony that would prove Perry did not run a red light and did not drive intentionally into a group of Black Lives Matter protesters in downtown Austin in July 2020.

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Prosecutorial misconduct also occurred after the grand jury indicted Perry when Travis County District Attorney Jesus Garza held a news conference saying Perry had declined to testify, O'Connell said. What Garza said violated Perry's Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, O'Connell said.

Daniel Perry, left, leaves the courtroom with his family Friday after an evidentiary hearing about a deadly conduct charge at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center. Perry was pardoned by Gov. Greg Abbott after being convicted of murdering Garrett Foster during a protest against police brutality and racial injustice in 2020.

More: Judge to rule on lesser charge for Daniel Perry, who was pardoned after murder conviction

Assistant County Attorney Alexandra Gauthier objected to almost everything O'Connell and Fugitt said at the hearing Friday. She said that most of what they were talking about involved secret grand jury proceedings. Barrera overruled most of her objections. Almost an hour after the hearing started, the county attorney's office tried to stop it by filing a writ of mandamus with the 3rd Court of Appeals.

The writ asks the appeals court to order Barrera to "reverse his ruling eliciting secret grand jury information during this evidentiary hearing." Barrera didn't stop the hearing after Gauthier told him the writ was being filed but said he would wait for a ruling from the appeals court Monday before making a decision on whether the indictment should be dismissed. The judge also said he hadn't been allowing anything in the hearing that violated grand jury secrecy.

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More: Daniel Perry released from Texas prison within an hour after Gov. Abbott's pardon

A district judge already had decided there was no prosecutorial misconduct regarding Fugitt's testimony, Gauthier said at the hearing Friday. Fugitt didn't know what the other witnesses said at the grand jury hearing, she said. Prosecutors also are not required to present exculpatory evidence at a grand jury proceeding, Gauthier said.

Perry was charged with the Class A misdemeanor in 2021 at the same time he was charged with murder and aggravated assault in the death of Black Lives Matter protester Garrett Foster in July 2020 in downtown Austin. A jury in April 2023 convicted Perry of the murder of Foster, but he was pardoned by the governor in May 2024 and released from prison. He was acquitted of the aggravated assault charge.

Travis County prosecutor Alexandra Gauthier looks at evidence during a hearing about Daniel Perry's deadly conduct charge.

The deadly conduct indictment said that Perry, who was an Uber driver at the time, placed a group of marchers walking on Congress Avenue on July 25, 2020, in danger of serious bodily injury by texting while driving and turning right at a red light without coming to a complete stop. It also said Perry turned into an intersection where pedestrians were visible in the crosswalk and in the intersection, and that he drove into a group of people in the street.

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A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in a county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.

Court records that a judge unsealed after Perry was convicted of murder showed that Perry made several disparaging remarks about the Black Lives Matter movement on social media. The posts included messages such as "Black Lives Matter is racist to white people."

Defense attorney Doug O'Connell reacts to an objection by the prosecution during Friday's hearing.

O'Connell said Fugitt's testimony Friday did not violate the secrecy of grand jury proceedings.

"You don't have to call a witness (in a grand jury proceeding) if you don't want to but what you can't do is tell them they are prohibited from talking about certain types of evidence," he said.

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Fugitt testified Friday that prosecutors told him before the grand jury met to take out certain slides from his presentation that would have shown Perry was not texting while driving.

Fugitt also said police threatened him with an internal investigation if he didn't remove the exculpatory evidence from his presentation to the grand jury. Police threatened Fugitt after they received an angry phone call from Garza, O'Connell said.

Gauthier said she couldn't cross-examine Fugitt because he was testifying about grand jury proceedings, which are secret.

"He's saying that his stuff was not presented to the grand jury, but he was not in the grand jury for any other testimony," she said. "That's why I will not assume that the grand jury did not hear whatever he was told not to show."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Travis County judge delays decision on charge against Daniel Perry
A federal judge on Monday walked back his order barring Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and seven other members of the right-wing extremist group from entering Washington, D.C., without the courts permission after President Trump commuted their sentences for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who oversaw the Oath Keepers conspiracy trials, vacated the order after determining that it would be improper to modify their original sentences post-commutation.

It is not for this court to divine why President Trump commuted Defendants sentences, or to assess whether it was sensible to do so, Mehta wrote, denying the Justice Departments request to dismiss the Oath Keepers supervised release terms altogether but acknowledging they will not be enforced.

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The courts sole task is to determine the acts effect, he said.

The initial order also blocked the Oath Keepers from entering the U.S. Capitol or surrounding grounds without permission, which was put into place after Rhodes was spotted last week in the Capitol complex, where he sought to advocate for the release of another Oath Keeper shortly after his own release from prison.

Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison after he was convicted of plotting to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election by force.

Mehta explained that, after Trumps commutations, it appeared that the terms of supervised release would be adhered to by those involved. He noted that Rhodes himself publicly declared he would report to [his] probation officer, following his release from prison.

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Though stay-away conditions werent initially added to Rhodess and the other Oath Keepers members sentences, Mehta said he consulted with the probation office and received confirmation that such an order would be appropriate.

However, Trumps Justice Department quickly opposed the order, asking Mehta to dismiss the terms of their supervised release because those terms fell within Trumps commutation of their sentences.

If a judge decided that Jim Biden, General Mark Milley, or another individual were forbidden to visit Americas capital  even after receiving a last-minute, preemptive pardon from the former President  I believe most Americans would object, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin said in a statement. The individuals referenced in our motion have had their sentences commuted  period, end of sentence.

Trump commuted the sentences of 14 Oath Keepers and Proud Boys leaders to time served, in addition to granting full, complete and unconditional pardons to all other Jan. 6 defendants.

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The unconditional quality of President Trumps Proclamation thus can reasonably be read to extinguish enforcement of Defendants terms of supervised release, Mehta wrote.

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Elmer Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers who recently had his 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy commuted by President Donald Trump, will be allowed to enter the U.S. Capitol and Washington, D.C., following a brief tug-of-war in court.

Mondays decision from U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta comes only days after the Justice Department, through interim U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ed Martin, a prominent Trump ally, first pushed back on an order by Mehta that barred Rhodes and several other Oath Keepers from entering the Capitol or Washington without first consulting prosecutors under conditional terms of their probation.

Rhodes was in the Capitol last week doing media interviews and in one interview with the BBC suggested police were responsible for the violence at the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Trumps supporters.

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Martin, once on the board of the Jan. 6 defendant advocacy group Patriot Freedom Project and a supporter of the Stop the Steal movement  he had VIP seating at the Ellipse with Trump ally Michael Flynn at the Jan. 6 Stop the Steal rally  said in a statement to Politico after Mehta first banned Rhodes: If a judge decided that Jim Biden, General Mark Milley, or another individual were forbidden to visit Americas capital  even after receiving a last-minute, preemptive pardon from the former President  I believe most Americans would object.

The individuals referenced in our motion have had their sentences commuted  period, end of sentence, Martin said.

In his order Monday, Mehta said that although he recognized the presidents authority to grant clemency is unlimited save for the limits imposed by the Constitution and he recognized, too, that a pardon, typically speaking, negates the effect of an underlying conviction, a commutation, which was what Trump granted Rhodes and other Oath Keepers, does not erase the conviction itself.

This distinction means that the defendants original sentences, including their terms of supervised release remain intact.

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President Trumps commutation does not alter the court (and the juries) judgment, it affects only their execution. Dismissing their supervised release therefore is not appropriate, Mehta wrote.

Nevertheless, Mehta said he found Martins position reasonable because of how the nations courts have interpreted presidential acts of clemency in the past.

Trumps executive order commuting the sentences of Oath Keepers to time served as of Jan. 25 could be understood to include all sanctions imposed for a crime, and that includes imprisonment, terms of supervised release or probation and fines, Mehta wrote.

The Departments reading is further supported by the fact that President Trumps commutation order is unconditional, Mehta wrote. Defendants are required to take no further action to receive its benefit.

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However, he pointed out, this unconditional commutation stands in contrast to recent clemency practices.

Presidents have been explicit when they intend to commute only the custodial portion of a sentence but not the term of supervised release, Mehta wrote Monday.

Trump was more exacting, for example, in 2018, when he commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a first-time nonviolent drug offender whose case rose to prominence after reality TV star Kim Kardashian made Johnsons case to Trump during an Oval Office visit. Trump commuted her sentence, but he left the terms of her five-year supervised release intact.

Trump did not fully pardon her until 2020.

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Obama did this with commutations during his presidency, as did former President Joe Biden as recently as Jan. 17, when he commuted the sentences of hundreds of people but left the terms of their conditions for release in place.

Yet, Mehta wrote, It is not for this court to divine why President Trump commuted Defendants sentences, or to assess whether it was sensible to do so.

The judges sole task, he said, is to determine the effect of Trumps executive order commuting and pardoning Jan. 6 defendants.

Mehta would not dismiss all of the terms of supervised release but said the court would vacate the order adding location restrictions.

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When Rhodes was holding media interviews at the Capitol, he had remarked that he hoped to return to the area as often as he could. Hes already made his way to VIP seating at a Trump rally.

According to ABC, at Trumps speech in Las Vegas just days ago, Rhodes was tucked into VIP seating on stage where Trump was set to make remarks about his proposal to end taxes on tips.

Stewart Rhodes (eye patch), Ryan Bundy (green shirt) and Cliven Bundy (gray vest) react Saturday after President Donald Trump spoke at a rally at Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The event focused on Trumps first week in office. Ian Maule/Getty Images

Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy and a number of other charges alongside Kelly Meggs, the Florida chapter leader of Oath Keepers, in November 2022. The men were tried alongside Oath Keepers Jessica Watkins and Ken Harrelson as well as an Oath Keepers associate, Thomas Caldwell, but Watkins, Harrelson and Caldwell were acquitted of the seditious conspiracy charge.

Other Oath Keepers who were tried on sedition charges separately and convicted include Roberto Minuta, Edward Vallejo, Joseph Hackett and David Moerschel. Trump commuted their sentences, too.

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Rhodes 18-year prison sentence for conspiring to stop the transfer of power on Jan. 6 was the second-longest sentence of all Jan. 6 cases. Meggs received 12 years, Minuta received 45 months, Vallejo and Moerschel each received 36 months, and Hackett received 42 months.

Only the leader of the Proud Boys, Henry Enrique Tarrio, surpassed Rhodes with a 22-year prison sentence.

Tarrio was granted a full pardon by Trump despite a jury and judge spending months poring over evidence that led to his conviction for seditious conspiracy and other charges. Since emerging from prison, Tarrio has suggested that Jan. 6 investigators should be put behind bars.

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A federal judge has reversed his recent move barring Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes  and a dozen others whose Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy sentences were commuted last week by President Donald Trump  from visiting Washington, D.C., without court permission.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta acknowledged Monday that the travel restrictions, which he imposed unilaterally Friday, would not be enforced by the Justice Department, which quickly took Rhodes side in the nascent fight.

But Mehta stopped short of dismissing the defendants supervised release conditions altogether, despite a demand by the Justice Department and defendants that he do so. Rather, he said, those aspects of the sentences remain unaltered by Trumps decision to commute, but not pardon, Rhodes and his allies convictions.

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The Presidents act of clemency did not alter this courts original sentences, which remain intact, Mehta wrote. President Trumps commutation does not alter the courts (and the juries) judgments; it affects only their execution.

On Monday, Rhodes and other co-defendants urged Mehta anew to dismiss their supervised release conditions and terms of probation, which include staying in touch with probation officers and steering clear of others engaged in criminal activity. They noted that presidents, when granting commutations, have commonly indicated whether they intended to leave those release conditions intact.

[S]upervision after relief is clearly part of the sentence. When President Trump commuted the sentences of 14 January 6 defendants and pardoned all the rest, this terminates any and all aspects of the sentence, attorneys Ed Tarpley and Elizabeth Franklin-Best wrote.
BOSTON (SHNS)  A Superior Court judge last week struck from the record the entirety of the 1,733-page appendix Shannon OBrien filed alongside the appeal of her firing as Cannabis Control Commission chairwoman, but he also made clear that he expects Treasurer Deborah Goldberg to release details of her decision to axe the CCC chair in the next few weeks.

OBriens lawyers say the public should have access to the cache that includes reports from investigators who looked into complaints against OBrien, testimony from the closed-door hearings Goldberg held before firing OBrien, and Goldbergs written removal decision so that [OBrien] can clear her name and rehabilitate any damage done by the Treasurer. The treasurers office  and newly as of this month the CCC itself  argued that the documents should remain impounded because they include personal information about CCC employees that is supposed to be legally protected from disclosure.

Judge Robert Gordon concluded last week that he need not decide whether those confidentiality claims apply to OBriens filing because her filing of the Appendix does not comport with either court standing rules or procedures. He ordered OBriens appendix to be stricken from the record of this case.

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The Court acknowledges the publics interest in the governance of the CCC, and [OBriens] interest, as she views the matter, in clearing her name following her dismissal as its chair. Those interests, however, do not warrant a departure from the procedures Gordon wrote.

Goldberg fired OBrien, herself a former state treasurer and Democratic Party nominee for governor, in September after considering more than 20 hours of meetings held last summer as well as various documents, case law and policies. The treasurer has not released any document outlining her decision, but said she fired OBrien because she committed gross misconduct and demonstrated she is unable to discharge the powers and duties of a CCC commissioner.

A court filing from OBriens legal team indicates that the appendix included transcripts of the closed-door hearings, investigative reports, emails detailing employee complaints at the CCC, written testimony submitted in connection with the hearings, Goldbergs full removal decision, and more. OBriens camp has previously released some of those documents to reporters.

Gordon said he anticipates that proceeding in the normal course  will narrow any disputes over purportedly protected information, and thereby promote a more expeditious resolution of the case. (This, of course, will further the most salient interests of both the parties and the public.)

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The judge said the courts scope of review in this type of matter is confined to an administrative record to be filed by the state agency involved, in this case Goldbergs office. That filing, which can be redacted in accordance with state laws, must be made with the court no later than 90 days after service of OBriens complaint  Gordon said it is expected no later than Feb. 12 and added that he is skeptical that it will contain large amounts of personal information that is protected under the narrow definition being used.

Here, to the extent the Treasurer seeks to impound any portion of the administrative record, she must do so by accompanying motion in accordance with Standing Order 1-96. In such motion, the Treasurer must identify the specific information she seeks to withhold, and, as to each piece of information so referenced, she must cite the specific statutory or common law basis of the claim that the material is protected from public disclosure, the judge said.

Assistant Attorney General John Hitt, who is representing Goldbergs office, wrote in a court filing late last year that Goldberg acknowledges that this case  is of great interest to the public, and the public has a right to know as many of the facts and circumstances regarding the Treasurers decision as possible.

The Treasurer supports public disclosure of as much as the underlying record of proceedings before her as is possible, Hitt wrote.

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Gordon is handling the OBrien-Goldberg matter after Judge Rosemary Connolly last month recused herself, according to the Worcester Telegram. The case was ordered for special assignment to Gordon earlier this month. The new judge left a footnote at the end of his ruling last week underscoring how drawn-out the dispute between OBrien and Goldberg has become.

[T]his case has not proceeded with the alacrity one might expect in a matter that carries the level of importance attached to it by the parties and public alike. It is the Courts fervent hope that the case not become further enmired in procedural wrangles that keep it from getting to the merits, Gordon wrote.

Gordon was appointed to the Superior Court bench in 2013 by Gov. Deval Patrick. Prior to that, he worked at the Boston law firm Ropes & Gray for more than two decades, with a focus on labor and employment law, and also spent 10 years on the Wayland School Committee, the News Service previously reported.

In 2020, Gordon was the judge who cleared former House Speaker Sal DiMasi to register as a lobbyist with a ruling that overturned Secretary of State William Galvins decision to reject DiMasis application based on his past convictions on federal corruption and extortion charges.

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GOMA, DR Congo, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23) on Monday took control of the facilities of the Congolese National Radio and Television (RTNC) in Goma, a city under onslaught by the rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), sources of RTNC confirmed.

Radio Okapi, a media outlet supported by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DRC, cited multiple sources and described the siege of the national television station as a strategic advance for the rebels, who are seeking to establish their domination over the city.

Since Sunday evening, gunfire has been heard across Goma. On Monday morning, fighting intensified in various parts of the city, including areas near the border with Rwanda, local sources told Xinhua.

Other local sources said that the rebels gained the upper hand after capturing Mount Goma, a strategic hill 1,500 meters above sea level in the city's center. Several M23 columns entered neighborhoods in the city, with their movement along both major and minor roads observed by residents.

According to UN sources, the border between Rwanda and the DRC near Goma was closed Monday morning. For several days, a significant number of Goma residents have crossed the border to seek refuge in Gisenyi, a Rwandan town bordering the DRC, where panic has been mounting amid reports of gunfire.

In its latest statement released early Monday, the M23 announced that the "liberation of the city has been completed" and that "the situation is under control" following a 48-hour ultimatum given to Congolese soldiers.

On Saturday, the M23 issued a 48-hour deadline for the DRC armed forces and their allies to surrender.

The DRC government said Monday that it "continues to work to avoid carnage and the loss of human life" in Goma. Meanwhile, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi called an inter-institutional meeting in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, but his spokesperson Tina Salama did not give further details.

Tensions remain high following recent advances by the M23 in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. According to sources of the UN peacekeeping mission, several important facilities have been taken over by the rebel group, including the airport, the port and a local base of the DRC military. The latest report from a UN group of experts said the rebels have seized several towns and established a parallel administration. 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH)  A jury in New Haven Superior Court Friday found a 22-year-old guilty of criminal possession of a firearm, according to the Office of the States Attorney New Haven district.

Emanuel Lowery of New Haven is prohibited from possessing firearms as a convicted felon with a prior conviction for the same offense.

Gov. Ned Lamont nominates new associate Connecticut Supreme Court justice, 13 other judges

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Evidence presented at his trial showed that while in custody of the Department of Correction, Lowery made calls to a family member, asking them to remove an item from the backseat of a relatives vehicle.

Members of New Haven Police Department Criminal Intelligence Unit executed a search warrant on the vehicle and found a loaded .38-caliber Special revolver, according to the Office of the States Attorney.

Lowery is set to be sentenced in New Haven Superior Court on March 28.

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Jan. 27LOCKPORT  Jury selection will begin today for the trial of an Atlanta man, indicted by a Niagara County grand jury and charged with murder in the shooting death of a Falls man on Pine Avenue in October 2023.

The jury will weigh the fate of Matthew Glass, 24, who faces charges of second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and third-degree tampering with a witness. Glass has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Niagara County Court Judge John J. Ottaviano, who will preside over the trial, has ordered Glass held without bail pending his court proceedings.

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The grand jury indictment accuses Glass of the shooting death of Robert Miller, 47, of the Falls as he sat in a pickup truck on Pine Avenue on Oct. 2, 2023. Falls Police patrol officers found Miller, in the front seat of his truck, just before 11 p.m., near the corner of Pine Avenue and 17th Street.

Police had been called to the area for a request to "check on the welfare of a man in a pickup truck." A caller to 911 told dispatchers that the man in the truck "hadn't moved for over an hour."

Officers said when they arrived, they found Miller in the driver's seat of the truck, "unresponsive." As Falls firefighters and EMTs worked to administer first aid, they discovered that Miller had been shot in his side.

Miller was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Earlier in the evening, about 45 minutes before Miller's body was discovered, patrol officers had investigated a 911 call from a person described as "a woman from Canada", who was "unfamiliar" with the area she was driving in. The woman told police dispatchers that she saw a male wearing a black hoodie shooting at a parked vehicle, on Pine Avenue "between McDonald's and Hyde Park Boulevard."

The woman told dispatchers that she kept driving after potentially witnessing Miller's murder. Patrol officers responded to the area then, but said they found nothing suspicious at that time.

Investigators declined to comment on what Glass may have been doing in the Falls. Law enforcement sources said Glass has been the subject of investigations and arrest warrants from law enforcement agencies across the United States from Minnesota to Tennessee to his home state of Georgia.

Glass was arrested by Falls Police patrol officers who spotted him in a convenience store in the 2300 block of Pine Avenue on Oct. 12, 2023. He was taken into custody on an unrelated weapons charge.

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Criminal Investigation Division (CID) detectives would not say what led them to Glass as a suspect in the case. The day after the murder, Falls Police Crime Scene Unit (CSU) and CID detectives scoured the 1700 block of Pine Avenue in a search for security or surveillance cameras that may have captured the shooting on video.

Investigators have not said if they recovered video of the crime.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  Jury selection is underway in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court in the case of a Boardman man who could face life in prison if convicted of sexually abusing a young girl.

Robert Baxa, 55, is on trial before Visiting Judge W. Wyatt McKay on eight counts of rape, a first-degree felony; four counts of sexual battery, a third-degree battery; and six counts of gross sexual imposition, three of them third-degree felonies and the others fourth-degree felonies.

Baxa is accused of abusing a girl who was 10 in 2020 and continuing until she was 13.

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Baxa was indicted by a grand jury in 2024.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trumps threat to impose a 25% tax on imports from Colombia comes at a most inauspicious time: The wrangling over the South American country's willingness to accept flights carrying deported immigrants is flaring up just three weeks before Valentine's Day, and Colombia is Americas No. 1 foreign source of cut flowers.

But romantics may spared from becoming victims of a trade dispute. The White House declared victory on Sunday, saying that Colombia had reversed itself and agreed to allow the flights to land, backing down just hours after Trump threatened to impose visa restrictions in addition to the steep tariffs on its longtime ally in South America.

The White House said tariffs on Colombian exports would be put on hold, but added that visa restrictions on Colombian officials and enhanced custom inspections would remain until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

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Earlier, Columbian President Gustavo Petros had rejected two Colombia-bound U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants. Petro accused Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation and threatened to retaliate against U.S. by slapping a 25% increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods.

The Colombian government signaled late Sunday that the standoff was over: We have overcome the impasse with the United States government, said Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo. We will continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights.

The U.S. is Colombia's biggest export market but it accounts for just 0.5% of American goods imports, ranking as the world's No. 26 importer of goods to the United States.

From January through November, the U.S. ran a $1 billion surplus with Colombia last year in goods, as U.S. exports of $17.2 billion  including soybeans and cotton  topped imports of $16.2 billion.

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Here are Colombia's biggest exports to the U.S.:

Flowers

Through November, the U.S. had imported $1.14 billion worth of cut flowers from Colombia, more than it brought in for all of 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Colombia has an ideal climate and soil for growing flowers such as roses, carnations and chrysanthemums. Much of the cultivation is centered in the savanna around the capital Bogota. Temperatures are mild, the sun shines 12 hours a day and the growing season lasts year round.

U.S. government aid money has supported the Colombian flower industry, creating jobs for people displaced by terrorist- and drug-related violence.

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Coffee

Colombia is the United States No. 2 source of coffee behind Brazil: The USDA says that U.S. coffee imports from Colombia came to $1.4 billion in January-November 2024, down slightly from the same period of 2023.

For decades, Colombian coffee has been marketed in the United States through advertisements featuring the fictional farmer Juan Valdez, often seen carrying sacks of coffee beans.

Crude oil

Colombias biggest export to the United States is crude oil. Through November, the United States had imported 70 million barrels of crude oil from Colombia, worth almost $5.4 billion. In 2023, the U.S. imported $5.6 billion worth of Colombian crude.

Colombia was the No. 6 source of imported crude to the United States, accounting for just over 3% of oil imports in 2023. The Colombian oil giant Ecopetrol is on the Fortune 500 register of the world's biggest companies.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  A Kalamazoo man has been sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for drug charges.

Andrew Birge, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, announced that Michael Warren Smith Jr. had been sentenced to 327 months in prison for possessing and intending to sell methamphetamines, fentanyl and cocaine.

KDPS: 1 sought, 1 arrested in October shooting

Prosecutors say police searched two of Smiths Kalamazoo properties on Oct. 11, 2023  a house on Elmwood Street and an apartment on West Main Street. Between the two, investigators seized nearly six pounds of meth, nearly 700 grams of fentanyl, at least 470 grams of cocaine, five loaded firearms and other evidence of drug trafficking.

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The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team and the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety worked together on the investigation.

Kalamazoo school board approves relocation of El Sol Elementary

Smith took a plea deal last October.

Mike Ferguson, the Captain of the KVET, said he was pleased to see a long sentence.

Mr. Smith possessed a large amount of drugs and guns. Drugs and guns that wouldve hit the streets of Kalamazoo if not for the hard work of KVET and our federal partners, Ferguson said in a statement.

James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the ATFs Detroit Division, hopes Smiths sentencing will deter people away from dealing drugs.

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This sentence should serve as a clear warning to every illegally armed drug dealer operating in our community: If you pack an illegal firearm in furtherance of peddling your poison, you need to pack your bags for prison, Deir stated.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A Kansas City man was found guilty of two felonies Monday morning for a 2024 shooting in Westport that left two people injured, according to Jackson County prosecutors.

Court records said that Deion D. Crum was convicted of one count of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of armed criminal action.

Crum was already considered a convicted felon in the State of Missouri prior to this conviction, which means he faces a minimum 20-year prison sentence.

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AFC Championship: Chiefs take down Bills to advance to Super Bowl LIX

Initial reports of the shooting said that on Feb. 11, 2024, the night of Super Bowl LVIIl, officers with the Kansas City Police Department were dispatched to the area of Westport Road and Broadway Boulevard on reports of a shooting.

Upon arrival, officers reportedly found a victim suffering from a gunshot wound. Ten minutes later, another victim and Crum himself were reported to have arrived at a hospital for treatment for their gunshot wounds.

The prosecutors office said that video surveillance footage showed a man, believed to be Crum, punching one of the victims before gunfire was exchanged.

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Crum was then reported to have shot both victims and was determined to be the primary aggressor in the fight leading up to the shooting.

According to court records, before being found guilty of the 2024 crime, Crum was labeled a convicted felon on federal probation and was restricted from having a firearm.

He was found guilty in 2016 of first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon and was sentenced to five years and four years respectively in prison, a probable cause statement said.

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Additionally, Crum was arrested in 2019 by U.S. Marshals for a weapon offense and was sentenced to 12 months and three years of supervised release, according to court documents.

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The case was prosecuted on behalf of the State of Missouri by Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Caitlin Brock and Devon Tarantino.

Crums sentencing hearing is scheduled for Friday, March 14.

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Kate Middleton has made the last-minute decision to join Prince William for a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27. Per People, Prince William had been scheduled to attend the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp; however, Princess Catherine was a late and unexpected addition to the guest list.

This is Kates first official royal engagement since announcing her remission from cancer on January 14 while visiting the Royal Marsden Hospital, where she had also been a patient.

The Princess Of Wales Visits The Royal Marsden Hospital Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Both Kate and William also attended the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in January 2020, so their visit is in 2025 is not at all surprising. However, the timingand especially Kates insistence on attending, even though she was not initially scheduled toseems especially poignant given the events of the past week. On January 16, Elon Musk appeared to give the Nazi salute while on stage following the 2025 inauguration of President Donald Trump. Musk, who has a role in the Trump administration as the co-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (a rebranding of the United States Digital Service), has not yet confirmed or denied the intention of the gesture; however, many people have come forward condemning it anyway.

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Amy Spitalnick, the leader of the US Jewish civil rights organization Jewish Council for Public Affairs, warned that Musks actions would lead to surge in violent extremism against Jewish people. To Spitalnick, there was nothing ambiguous about his salute. Musk seemingly addressed criticisms by making several Nazi puns on X.com.

Across the pond, Musk is reportedly unpopular, especially after accusations that he has been meddling in UK politics. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, when asked about a few of Musks tweets, including one in which he called on America to liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government, condemned those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible.

The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge Attend The UK Holocaust Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Throughout her time as a member of the royal family, Kate Middleton has often participated in events honoring the victims of the Holocaust, most recently through a collaboration between the Holocaust Memorial Trust, Jewish News, and the Royal Photographic Society in 2020. For the event, Middleton photographed two Holocaust survivors and their grandchildren.

The harrowing atrocities of the Holocaust, which were caused by the most unthinkable evil, will forever lay heavy in our hearts, said the Princess of Wales in a statement at the time. Whilst I have been lucky enough to meet two of the now very few survivors, I recognize not everyone in the future will be able to hear these stories first hand. It is vital that their memories are preserved and passed on to future generations, so that what they went through will never be forgotten.

Originally Appeared on Glamour
Kate Middletons second engagement of the year is an observance of Holocaust Memorial Day. She joined her husband Prince William in London today at a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, a Nazi death camp.

Dan Kitwood - Getty Images

Dan Kitwood - Getty Images

Before the ceremony, the Prince and Princess met with Holocaust survivors, including Stephen Frank and Yvonne Bernstein. In 2020, Kate photographed Frank and Bernstein with their grandchildren. Whilst I have been lucky enough to meet two of the now very few survivors, I recognize not everyone in the future will be able to hear these stories first hand, Kate said at the time. It is vital that their memories are preserved and passed on to future generations, so that what they went through will never be forgotten. The portraits were later on display at the Imperial War Museum. In 2020, on the 75th anniversary, the Prince and Princess of Wales also attended the national ceremony.

Today's ceremony is hosted by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, an organization of which King Charles is patron. Holocaust Memorial Day is a moment for us all to pause, reflect, and remember the six million Jewish men, women, and children murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, while also honouring the victims of more recent genocides including in Bosnia 30 years ago, Olivia Marks-Woldman, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said in a statement. Its a day with the power to touch hearts and inspire change. The range of programming, including the national Ceremony, will bring the nation together and enable people of all backgrounds to learn invaluable lessons from the past  lessons that remind us of our shared responsibility to build a kinder, better future.

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Meanwhile, King Charles is in Poland, where he attended official commemorations at Auschwitz-Birkenau along with other royalty and world leaders.

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Kate Middleton's warm way was on display at a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation.

On Jan. 27, the Princess of Wales, 43, joined Prince William at a London service honoring Holocaust Memorial Day on what doubled as the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. The event was Princess Kate's first engagement since announcing Jan. 14 that she is in remission, and the royal reunited with two Holocaust survivors that she previously photographed for an exhibit marking the 75th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation.

The Princess of Wales voiced her joy to see Steven Frank and Yvonne Bernstein, who both lived through the Holocaust as children and previously posed for photos Kate took at Kensington Palace, unveiled in 2020. "I want to give you a big cuddle," Princess Kate told Frank, 89, when she saw him again on Jan. 27, the Daily Mail reported, and wrapped him in a hug.

ARTHUR EDWARDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Kate Middleton and Steven Frank in London on Jan. 27, 2025. Kate Middleton and Steven Frank in London on Jan. 27, 2025.

Related: Kate Middleton Makes Last-Minute Appearance with Prince William at Poignant Event: 'It's Good to Be Able to Be Here'

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According to the outlet, Frank thanked the princess for giving him a Christmas card and they spoke about his family.

Princess Kate had another huge hug for Bernstein when she saw her on Jan. 27, and sat down to chat beside her.

"[It is] such a treat for me [to see] an old friend," the Princess of Wales told Bernstein, 87, who gently touched Kate's face.

ARTHUR EDWARDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Kate Middleton and Yvonne Bernstein in London on Jan. 27, 2025. Kate Middleton and Yvonne Bernstein in London on Jan. 27, 2025.

Kate also had a tactile way with other survivors she spent time with, and laughed when one man paid her a compliment. According to the Daily Mail, Robert George Berkowitz said, "William is the luckiest man in the world to have you!", to which Kate giggled and relayed, "I will tell him that!"

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The Prince and Princess of Wales first spent time with Holocaust survivors at the event to hear their personal stories, and then moved to a ceremony. There, Prince William, 42, delivered a reading and the couple lit candles to honor all lives lost in the Holocaust and other genocides.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Kate Middleton and Prince William light candles during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London. Kate Middleton and Prince William light candles during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London.

Holocaust Memorial Day honors the six million Jewish people who were murdered during the Holocaust, as well as the millions killed under Nazi persecution and later genocides around the world. The annual commemoration's Jan. 27 date is timed to the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, and Princess Kate previously picked up her camera to photograph Frank and Bernstein for the 75th anniversary.

The Princess of Wales has a well-documented photography hobby, and took individual pictures of the Holocaust survivors with their grandchildren for the "Generations: Portrait of Holocaust Survivors" exhibit before Holocaust Memorial Day in 2020. The display was organized by the Holocaust Memorial Trust, Jewish News and Royal Photographic Society (which Kate back as patron) and unveiled at the Imperial War Museums in London in 2021 after a pandemic delay.

ARTHUR EDWARDS/POOL/AFP via Getty

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Related: King Charles Makes History with Emotional Visit to Auschwitz for Holocaust Memorial Day: 'A Sacred Moment'

Frank previously told PEOPLE that Princess Kate is "quite talented" and used a Canon camera with tripod to photograph him with his granddaughters, Maggie and Trixie.

"She transmitted it to a screen on a monitor, and she would be looking at the monitor at the same time to see if everything was right. She took quite a lot of photographs," he said then.

The survivor, who helps keep the history of the Holocaust alive by sharing his story of surviving the Theresienstadt concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic, praised Princess Kate and Princes William for helping to keep Holocaust history in younger generations minds.

ARTHUR EDWARDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Prince William and Kate Middleton speak with Holocaust survivors in London on Jan. 27, 2025. Prince William and Kate Middleton speak with Holocaust survivors in London on Jan. 27, 2025.

"Both she and Prince William have been extremely interested in the Holocaust and the Memorial Day. William has been in the press with Holocaust survivors and his father [King Charles] is patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. There is an interest particularly in letting people know what happened, getting their testimony and passing it along to other generations," Frank said.

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"It started with Princess Diana walking through the minefields," Frank said in reference to the impact that Prince William's late mother had in using her royal spotlight to illuminate important issues. "They are genuinely interested in what we are doing and the Holocaust Memorial Trust and what we are trying to do for the younger generation."

WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty King Charles lights a candle during commemorations on the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland on Jan. 27, 2025. King Charles lights a candle during commemorations on the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland on Jan. 27, 2025.

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King Charles traveled to Poland on Jan. 27 for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, becoming the first British monarch to visit the site of the former concentration camp.

A royal source described his visit as a "a deeply personal pilgrimage for the King  paying tribute both as man and monarch."



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RAMALLAH, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian presidency on Monday accused Israel of escalating military actions in the occupied West Bank, warning that ongoing operations risk further destabilization after an Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinians near Tulkarm.

In a statement, the presidency condemned Israel's intensified campaign, which included a recent assault on Tulkarm and prolonged operations in Jenin. It said the attacks had caused widespread infrastructure damage and civilian casualties, citing the deaths of 17 Palestinians in Jenin alongside mass arrests, injuries, and the destruction of homes.

"We hold the occupation authorities responsible for the deterioration of the situation in the West Bank through their attacks on our people, land, and holy sites," the presidency said, adding that such actions "will not bring security but instead fuel escalation and violence."

Earlier on Monday, Palestinian authorities and witnesses reported that an Israeli drone struck a vehicle at the entrance of the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm, killing two men identified by Tulkarm Governor Abdullah Kamil as Ihab Abu Atwi and Ramez Al-Damiri. The Islamist group Hamas claimed the two as members of its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.

The Israeli military confirmed conducting an airstrike near Tulkarm in a joint operation with the Shin Bet security agency, stating it targeted "militant infrastructure" and would provide further details later.

Violence in the West Bank has risen sharply since October 2023, with Palestinian health officials reporting more than 800 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces over the past year. Israel says its operations target militants amid increased attacks on Israelis. 
Kate Middleton made a last-minute decision to join Prince William at a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day for her first official appearance since announcing that she is in remission from cancer.

On Jan. 27, the palace confirmed that the Princess of Wales, 43, would attend the poignant service in London on Monday. While Prince William, 42, had already been scheduled to attend in honor of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, Princess Kates inclusion marks a significant and unexpected addition.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Catherine, Princess of Wales lights a candle during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England Catherine, Princess of Wales lights a candle during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England

Related: King Charles Makes History with Emotional Visit to Auschwitz for Holocaust Memorial Day

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At the event, Matt Wilkinson, royal editor at The Sun, wrote on X that Princess Kate remarked, "It's good to be able to be here." She appeared to be wearing Queen Elizabeth's Bahrain Pearl Drop earrings for the somber occasion, which she also wore for Remembrance Sunday on Nov. 10 of last year.

Holocaust Memorial Day honors the lives of the six million Jewish people who were murdered during the Holocaust, the millions killed under Nazi persecution and during subsequent genocides. The Jan. 27 date is timed to the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, and this year marks a landmark anniversary of the historic day.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales light candles during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales light candles during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England

It marks the first royal event for Princess Kate since she announced on Jan. 14 that she is in "remission" from cancer.

The Princess of Wales shared the news in a personal post on social media after a surprise visit to The Royal Marsden Hospital in London the same day, which coincided with the news that she previously had treatment there and was taking on patronage of the hospital with Prince William.

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Prince William and Princess Kate previously attended the U.K. Holocaust Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony in London in January 2020 for the 75th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation.

There, Prince William read a letter sent by a friend of his late great-grandmother, Princess Alice, who has been celebrated for her role in helping to save a Jewish family during the Holocaust. William and Kate also participated in a candle ceremony on stage with Holocaust survivors, including Yvonne Bernstein, who was one of the survivors who posed for a portrait taken by Kate.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales attend a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales attend a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England

The Princess of Wales is known for her photography hobby, and on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day in 2020, the palace unveiled photos that she took of two Holocaust survivors alongside their grandchildren. The portraits were part of a larger exhibit organized by the Holocaust Memorial Trust, Jewish News and Royal Photographic Society (of which Princess Kate is patron), bringing together 75 powerful images of survivors and their family members to mark 75 years since the Holocaust ended.

"The harrowing atrocities of the Holocaust, which were caused by the most unthinkable evil, will forever lay heavy in our hearts. Yet it is so often through the most unimaginable adversity that the most remarkable people flourish," Princess Kate said in a statement at the time. "Despite unbelievable trauma at the start of their lives, Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank are two of the most life-affirming people that I have had the privilege to meet."

Dan Kitwood/Getty Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales attend a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales attend a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England

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"They look back on their experiences with sadness but also with gratitude that they were some of the lucky few to make it through. Their stories will stay with me forever. Whilst I have been lucky enough to meet two of the now very few survivors, I recognize not everyone in the future will be able to hear these stories first hand," the statement from Princess Kate continued. "It is vital that their memories are preserved and passed on to future generations, so that what they went through will never be forgotten."

In 2021, Kate visited the U.K.s famed Lake District, which provided refuge for Holocaust survivors in the aftermath of World War II. While there, she took part in a boat trip with two of the Windermere Children, a group of 300 Holocaust survivors who were brought to the Lake District in 1945 to help recuperate following the atrocities of the Holocaust, including in concentration camps.

Ike Alterman, a survivor from Poland who was a prisoner at Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Theresienstadt, said the former Duchess of Cambridge was absolutely delightful: We laughed, she asked questions and she wanted to know the answers, Alterman told PEOPLE.



Samir Hussein/WireImage Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend the UK Holocaust Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony in Westminster on Jan. 27, 2020 in London, England

I didnt know what to expect, but we spoke like a couple of friends, he added. She was so down-to-earth.

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David Shannon, whose uncle and aunt were Holocaust survivors, told PEOPLE at the time, I really felt that she was listening and engaged and genuinely interested in our stories. This wasnt a By the way, Im meeting these people today, but her genuinely showing she cares.

She is using her position of influence to engage with survivors and their families, Shannon continued.

King Charles is currently in Poland for the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation, becoming the first British monarch to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Read the original article on People
Kate Middleton joined her husband Prince William for a somber occasion in London on Monday, as the Prince and Princess of Wales commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day with a special service. The memorial marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau during World War II.

For the sobering occasion, Kate favored respectful attire, wearing pieces evocative of subdued elegance. The Princess of Wales attire featured trousers by Roland Mouret, a coat by Catherine Walker, a five-strand pearl necklace and what appeared to be sentimental earrings that once belonged to Queen Elizabeth II.

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Kate Middleton attends a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27 in London.

Kate wore the Bahrain Pearl Drop earrings for the occasion, pieces that shes previously worn on similarly sobering occasions. Queen Elizabeth II received the pearls after her wedding to Prince Philip and often wore them for public events.

Prince William, left, and Kate Middleton attend a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27 in London.

The earrings were eventually passed down to Kate, whos worn them regularly for such occasions as Remembrance Day services in the United Kingdom. In 2021, the Princess of Wales wore the earrings for Prince Philips funeral. The earrings were also worn to Queen Elizabeth IIs funeral in 2022.

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Kates appearance at the Holocaust Remembrance Day service marks one of her first public events since she announced her cancer remission. The Princess of Wales underwent chemotherapy treatment in 2024 for an undisclosed form of cancer she publicly disclosed in March 2024.

Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales attend a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27, 2025 in London, England. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prince William were among the British officials and celebrities who marked Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau during World War II.

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Since completing her treatment in September, the royal slowly rejoined members of the British royal family at public events. Prior to the Holocaust Remembrance Day service, the Princess of Wales visited with patients at the Royal Marsden Hospital, where she received treatment.

Kate Middleton, left and Prince William attend a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27 in London.

Ahead of the Holocaust Remembrance Day services, the Prince and Princess of Wales took to their official Instagram account to share a message to commemorate the occasion. Today we remember the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, victims of Nazi persecution, as well as the victims of more recent genocides, including Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, the caption to their post read.

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Launch Gallery: Kate Middleton Honors Holocaust Remembrance Day With Powerful, Sentimental Royal Jewelry Worn at Past Memorial Services [PHOTOS]

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Throughout the 2024 presidential election, JFK's only grandson, Jack Schlossberg, spoke out against his cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr., denouncing both RFK Jr.'s policy positions and the way he used the Kennedy family name and imagery to further his political ambitions.

"I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president," Schlossberg said in a video posted to social media. He also accused RFK Jr. of "trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories, and conflict for personal gain and fame."

When Kennedy dropped out of the race, throwing his support behind former president Donald Trump, Schlossberg wrote on X, "Never been less surprised in my life. Been saying it for over a year  RFKjr is for sale, works for Trump. Bedfellows and loving it. Kamala Harris is for the people  the easiest decision of all time just got easier."

Never been less surprised in my life. Been saying it for over a year  RFKjr is for sale, works for Trump. Bedfellows and loving it.



Kamala Harris is for the people  the easiest decision of all time just got easier.  Jack Schlossberg (@JBKSchlossberg) August 23, 2024

Schlossberg remained vocal on social media throughout the election cycle, critiquing Kennedy and offering full-throated endorsements of first Biden and then Harrisand he wasn't the only family member to do so.

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Five of RFK Jr.'s siblings called RFK Jr.'s endorsement of Trump a "betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story."

I am sharing a personal statement that my family and I have made in response to my brothers announcement. pic.twitter.com/j7vTTabNYZ  Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) August 23, 2024

Several Kennedys had also previously spoke out against RFK Jr.'s decision to run against Joe Biden as a third-party candidate, and his use of vintage family imagery throughout the campaign.

In November, Schlossberg's mother, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, broke her silence on RFK Jr.'s views on vaccines calling them dangerous. I think Bobby Kennedys views on vaccines are dangerous, but I dont think that most Americans share them, she said at the National Press Club of Australia. She added that her family, is united in terms of the public health sector and infrastructure and has the greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country.

Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views, she said. (While RFK Jr. says he is not anti-vaccine, he has made his opposition to vaccines clear on multiple occasions. He lead an anti-vaccine nonprofit, Children's Health Defense, and even compared Covid-19 vaccine mandates to the Holocaust, an offensive comment for which he later apologized.)

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President Trump has nominated RFK Jr. to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, a position with enormous influence over a number of governmental agencies that impact public health, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

On the eve of Kennedy's senate confirmation hearings, Schlossberg is asking his family to once again denounce their relative, and calling out those who are keeping quiet, suggesting that silence should be read as support of RFK Jr.

"This is for the rest of my cousins. I'm asking the media to ask my cousinsI have a lot of 'emwhat they think and why they don't say anything, and what they know about Bobby Kennedy and why they aren't talking and all the stories they have. The guy's about to be in charge of public health for the United States of America," he said in a video posted on social media. "How about you ask my cousins some real questions? How come I'm the only one who's talking out? Wake up. This is not a fucking drill. These guys are taking over. If they don't want to talk, then you know what side they're on. Later."

In a now-expired Instagram story, Kennedy also specifically referenced his cousin Anthony Shriver, asking him, "What do you have to say? What do you have to say about using our family like this? Do you like it? Are you happy? Are you happy to be closer to power?" He included a crude personal attack of RFK Jr.'s wife, Cheryl Hines.

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While many Kennedys made statements against their relative during the campaign, there has been less vocal criticism of RFK Jr. and his ties to the new administration following Trump's election. Additionally, members of the familyincluding several of RFK Jr.'s children and cousinswere in attendance at Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again Inaugural Ball.

Schlossberg has always had a somewhat eclectic social media presence, posting footage from ballet classes and days spent paddle-boarding in between shirtless photos, political videos, and satirical sketches. In the days following the inauguration, he not only voiced the appeal to his cousins and the press, and made an odd post comparing Second Lady Usha Vance to his grandmother, Jackie Kennedy, but he also shared a somber reaction to President Trump declassifying records relating to President Kennedy's assassination.

"JFK conspiracy theories The truth is alot sadder than the myth  a tragedy that didnt need to happen. Not part of an inevitable grand scheme. Declassification is using JFK as a political prop, when hes not here to punch back. Theres nothing heroic about it. Jack," he wrote on X.

JFK conspiracy theories 



The truth is alot sadder than the myth  a tragedy that didnt need to happen. Not part of an inevitable grand scheme.



Declassification is using JFK as a political prop, when hes not here to punch back.



Theres nothing heroic about it.



Jack  Jack Schlossberg (@JBKSchlossberg) January 23, 2025

Additionally, Schlossberg recorded a direct message for Joe Rogan, asking the popular podcast host to set the record straight regarding these files. Rogan recently had RFK Jr. as a guest on his show, and they discussed conspiracy theories about JFK's assassination.

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"I thought you wanted to actually find out what happened, not just talk about it and make somebody famous so they can parlay that into a Cabinet position," Schlossberg said, of course referencing RFK Jr.'s nomination.

Rogan has yet to publicly respond.

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This article was originally published in Kentucky Lantern.

The Kentucky Department of Education is predicting a funding shortfall of about $40 million in state support for local school districts.

In a weekly letter to colleagues released Tuesday afternoon, Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher wrote that KDE is predicting the shortfall for funding in the 2024-25 academic year, after a detailed review of preliminary data.

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KDE is currently tracking an estimated SEEK shortfall of $12 million for funding to public school districts provided in Kentucky statutes, Fletcher wrote. KDE estimates an additional shortfall of $28 million for funding to public school districts that is specifically conditioned on the availability of funds.

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The SEEK formula, or Support Education Excellence in Kentucky, determines the amount of state funding to local school districts. The formula has a base per-pupil funding allocation, along with additional funding for factors like transportation costs or the number of students in a district who qualify for additional resources like special education, free or reduced-price lunch and English language assistance.

Fletcher wrote that a SEEK shortfall previously occurred four times between fiscal years 2010 and 2024.

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Since the 2017 fiscal year, the Commonwealths SEEK budget included more funding than was ultimately payable to districts as required by the SEEK formula, Fletcher said. During the 2021 fiscal year, there was a $231,000 surplus in SEEK appropriations. During the last fiscal year, there was a $156.3 million surplus in SEEK appropriations.

To determine estimated costs for each biennial state budget, KDE works with the Kentucky Office of the State Budget Director to gather data projecting property values, public school enrollments and student special populations as lawmakers consider the budget, Fletcher wrote.

The state budget directors office in November predicted that Kentuckys general fund revenue will decline by $213 million or 1.4% in fiscal year 2025. Some Republican lawmakers have questioned the projections and noted that actual revenues are up a bit through the first five months of this fiscal year.

Fletcher added that KDE is currently working with the state budget director and chairs of the General Assemblys Appropriations and Revenue committees, Republicans Rep. Jason Petrie and Sen. Chris McDaniel, to explore funding options that may address this estimated shortfall and minimize impacts to Kentuckys public schools.

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Lawmakers met earlier this month to begin their 2025 legislative session and will return to Frankfort in February. The House already has approved a reduction in the state income tax rate from 4% to 3.5% and the Senate is expected to quickly follow suit.

These shortfall numbers are only estimates now and are subject to change in the upcoming weeks as the department completes final SEEK calculations, Fletcher said. State law requires KDE to complete final SEEK calculations by March 1 of each year. KDE will provide information to school districts regarding the impact to individual districts as soon as those final calculations are complete. While we know this estimated shortfall is critical to our public schools, it is important to keep in mind that it represents 1.43% of our overall SEEK funding of $2.7 billion.

The SEEK formula was established by the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, but questions around school funding have been raised recently.

Last week, students on the Kentucky Student Voice Team filed a lawsuit against the state for failing to provide an adequate and equitable public education. Among claims in their suit, the students say eroding state financial support for school districts has made the inequality gap even wider than it was before 1990. KSVTs data came from sources such as KDE, the federal government, and a data analysis from the progressive think tank Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.

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However, Republicans in Frankfort have argued they are funding schools at record-levels. At the Kentucky Chamber Day Dinner earlier this month, Republican House Speaker David Osborne criticized people that have not provided one single, substantive, creative, thoughtful, intentional policy change to improve education and said that asking for more money is not big. Asking for more money is not bold. Asking for more money is just an ask  and its not working.

Kentucky has 171 public school districts.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that SEEK funding shortfalls occurred four times between fiscal years 2010 and 2024.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.
The Trump administrations sudden halt on U.S. foreign aid is causing chaos inside groups ranging from health providers to landmine removers  interrupting lifesaving programs as officials struggle to understand the scope of the directive.

Following the Friday order from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, leaders of aid organizations are looking at which programs to stop, and whether to immediately cut staff or even shut down. As they seek waivers, aid groups are scrambling to adjust  from seeking non-federal funds to help refugees arriving in the U.S. to halting efforts at HIV clinics in Africa.

This stop work order is cruel and deadly, said Asia Russell, the executive director of Health GAP, a nonprofit working on access to HIV treatment in developing countries. It will kill people.

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Many federal workers, from the Pentagon to the U.S. Agency for International Development, are confused by the wording of the order, such as what exactly could qualify for an exemption. In some cases, their ability to get information is being stymied: In a note to staff obtained by POLITICO, a top USAID official told employees they needed prior top-level approval to even talk to institutions outside of the agency.



The pause on all foreign assistance means a complete halt, Ken Jackson, USAIDs assistant to the administrator for management and resources wrote in an agency-wide email to some 10,000 employees. Jackson said all communications outside the agency, including to the State Department, must be approved by the Agency Front Office. Failure to do so, he wrote, would result in unspecified disciplinary action.

Some USAID officials said that prompted them to reconsider requesting waivers. One said that anyone that contradicts [the stop-work order] is seen as obstructionist, so putting something forward for a waiver can be risky. The person, like others in this story, requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue.

Spokespersons for the State Department and USAID did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Among the aid groups that appear affected are ones that remove landmines from conflict zones; provide testing and treatment for people with HIV in many African countries through the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; fund investigative reporting into Russian disinformation and organized crime networks; and tackle food insecurity worldwide.

The order also affects foreign military financing programs to places such as Ukraine, Jordan and Taiwan. The extent of that impact is still uncertain. Im not sure anyone knows all the details right now and key folks are almost certainly trying to unpack the actions and implications, a former senior Pentagon official said.

The U.S. is the worlds No. 1 provider of humanitarian aid. The billions involved are less than 1 percent of the U.S. federal budget, but advocates say the money is key to protecting lives and helping Americas global reputation as it competes for influence with geopolitical rivals such as China and Russia.

The U.S. foreign assistance budget also includes many areas outside the realm of traditional humanitarian aid.

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State Department counterterrorism advisers around the world may need to fly home since their contracts are also funded out of  guess what  foreign assistance, one U.S. official familiar with the matter said.

When President Donald Trump took office, he quickly issued an executive order demanding a 90-day halt on foreign assistance. But it was not clear at the time whether that order applied only to future grants or existing ones.

Rubios directive on Friday clarified that nearly everything should stop immediately. The State Department and USAID began notifying groups that they had to stop their work.

The goal of the freeze, Rubios directive said, was to assess all foreign aid programs and put information on them into one centralized repository from which senior officials could assess whether they aligned with U.S. priorities and interests.

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But many in the aid space said they couldnt remember any such sudden halt to funding in the past. They also didnt understand why programs had to be stopped so that the new administration could inventory and review them.

Some NGO leaders said even several weeks without funding could force them to shut down.

We operate on a shoestring budget. In 30 days youll start to see a very significant cash crunch across the board and probably some bankruptcies, said the head of one non-governmental group that receives State Department and USAID funding, who was granted anonymity as they feared they would lose future contracts if they spoke out publicly. Its an absolute dumpster fire and no one has any idea whats going on.

Some top aid organizations have consulted lawyers to mount a legal fight against the order, arguing the blanket halt on aid programs doesnt mesh with existing laws and regulations and may violate government contracts.

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Many were reaching out to lawmakers on Capitol Hill for help, and some Democrats urged a resumption of the aid.

Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), ranking member in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State and Related Programs, warned in a letter to Rubio on Friday that the freeze could be deadly, referring to, among others, PEPFAR and the Presidents Malaria Initiative, which provide drugs for HIV and malaria to millions of people.

These lives depend on an uninterrupted supply of medicines, the two Democrats wrote.

Russell, of Health GAP, said the stop-work order will snatch HIV medicines, prevention services and support from the hands of adults, babies and young people across PEPFAR-supported countries.

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Many nurses, doctors and other health care workers have been told to stop work across clinics in South Africa, said Sibongile Tshabalala, who chairs the Treatment Action Campaign, an HIV/AIDS civil society group. Theyre unable to continue, theyre frustrated, they dont know what to do, Tshabalala said about the health care workers whose organizations received letters from USAID to stop work.

We cannot afford 90 days because it will cost us lives, she said about the expected duration of the aid freeze. People working for organizations ordered to stop work will also lose their jobs, she added.

And between 450 and 500 people who are contractors in USAIDs global health bureau are waiting to find out if theyll be out of a paycheck for 90 days, as the pause on foreign assistance includes them, said one person familiar with the situation, who was granted anonymity to speak without fear of reprisal. Their leadership is expected to request a waiver for them.

The order also affects billions of dollars in foreign military financing.

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The program provides grants and loans to allied nations for purchasing defense equipment, services and training from American firms. Advocates of the program consider it an economic engine that helps allies with their security.

Although the new order excludes Israels $3.3 billion share and Egypts $1.3 billion share of the budget, the remaining $1.5 billion designated for other governments, such as Ukraine, Jordan and Taiwan, is in limbo.

The freeze and uncertainty surrounding the future of that funding poses a significant challenge for U.S. defense firms, especially smaller companies with thin profit margins.

We understand and respect a new administrations desire to evaluate programs, said Keith Webster, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerces Defense and Aerospace Council. However, given the fragility of our defense industrial complex, we would ask that this assessment be done very quickly.

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Advocates for Ukraine in particular were trying to understand the impact. While most military aid to Ukraine goes through programs other than States foreign military financing, the billions that have been doled out through that program, could, in theory, be halted, two former Biden administration officials familiar with the issue said.

A good deal could come down to the details of individual contracts, but some of the impact might not be felt for months, one former official said. Ukraine also receives significant humanitarian and economic aid that is likely to be cut.

The stop-work also affects groups that provide services to refugees and similar groups who have recently arrived in the U.S., such as Afghans who helped the American military in Afghanistan. The new arrivals are typically eligible for temporary assistance to find housing, jobs and English classes.

Without these resources, 6,000 newly arrived refugees we are currently serving may face the prospect of eviction and food insecurity at a time of critical need, said Krish OMara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, an aid organization.

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Many aid leaders fear that the Trump administration will never resume much of the funding.

All the organizations are having emergency meetings to figure out how they manage the little cash they have left, said Evelyn Farkas of the McCain Institute, a non-partisan organization that promotes democracy and human rights. This feels to them like a hard-core game to close USAID and close down U.S. development writ large. If so, the repercussions will be cruel and long lasting.

Joe Gould, Jamie Dettmer, Daniel Lippman and Phelim Kine contributed to this report.
Just two months after his cancer diagnosis in February 2024, King Charles returned to his royal duties like he never left. The monarch made his first public appearance at the University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Center, alongside his wife Queen Camilla. Since then, he's been keeping busy with several engagements, from his solo outing at the Royal Albert Hall to his recent visit to Princess Anne's wedding venue. But now, His Majesty is making history with one of his most important royal events to date.

On Monday, the king paid a visit to the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Krakow, Poland, then attended the commemoration service at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial in honor of the 80th anniversary of the concentration camp's liberation. In case you're wondering why it's such a big deal, this makes King Charles the first British monarch to ever visit the historic location.

On Instagram, the royal family shared a few highlights and wrote, "His Majesty met volunteers as they prepared donations at the JCCs Free Shop, which provides essential supplies for refugees. To date, the center has supported over 380,000 displaced Ukrainians in Poland." In addition, the king got to sit down with a few Holocaust survivors. And though it was a serious occasion, I couldn't help but notice that he was in good spirits. In fact, the royal looked even more animated than he typically does at his public engagements. Allow me to present the evidence.

Omar Marques/Getty Images

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In this striking shot, as King Charles arrives at the Jewish Community Center for the commemoration service, he's all smiles and laughs as he stops to speak with royal fans. And when he finally gets inside to greet the team, his relaxed body language and cheerful demeanor are contagious enough to set a lighter tone.

VICTORIA JONES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Here, the king stands next to Jonathan Ornstein, the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Center, as he greets the team, and by the looks of his facial expression, he's thrilled to be there.

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Once again, King Charles's facial expressions were far from somber as he sat down to speak with Holocaust survivors, including Ryszard Orowski, Zofia Radzikowska and Bernard Offen. Rather, he was quick to offer a warm, genuine smile as he engaged with them.

Aaron Chown - Pool/Getty Images

As a bonus, His Majesty was presented with a thoughtful gift: a painting created by children who wanted to thank him for his visit. In response, he smiled so broadlyteeth and allthat one would think he just won the lottery.

Although the king undoubtedly lightened the atmosphere with his sunny disposition, he also delivered a touching speech at JCC, acknowledging the importance of remembering and honoring the victims. He said, "To be in Poland on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, as we commemorate eighty years since the liberation of Auschwitz, is both a somber and indeed a sacred moment."

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He added, "As the number of Holocaust Survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders, and on those of generations yet unborn. The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task and in so doing, we inform our present and shape our future."

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Buckingham Palace Releases Arresting New King Charles PortraitBut It Instantly Made Me Think of Kate Middleton
King Charles and Prince William are leading the royal familys commemorations of the victims of the Holocaust on Holocaust Memorial Day.

On January 27, King Charles, 76, traveled to Poland to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp on what was described as a "deeply personal pilgrimage." The date marks the anniversary of the camps liberation by Allied forces on Jan. 27, 1945 and is observed globally as Holocaust Memorial Day.

Marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation, King Charless visit carried profound significance as he is the first British monarch to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Meanwhile, in London, Prince William, 42, is set to attend a poignant ceremony where he will join survivors of the atrocities that took place at the concentration camp and elsewhere under Germanys Nazi regime.

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A royal source emphasized the significance of the visit for King Charles, saying, While His Majesty has found many ways over the years to engage with survivors of the Holocaust, I know this visit to Auschwitz will be a particularly poignant one for him."

AARON CHOWN/POOL/AFP via Getty King Charles is welcomed by Colonel Byliniax as he arrives at Krakow Airport, in Balice, Poland, on Jan. 27, 2025, ahead of commemorations on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau King Charles is welcomed by Colonel Byliniax as he arrives at Krakow Airport, in Balice, Poland, on Jan. 27, 2025, ahead of commemorations on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau

Thats not only because of the significance of the anniversary, but as an opportunity for him to reflect on the many stories of suffering and courage he has heard from those who bore witness in the very location where they took place," the palace source added. As anyone who has visited the camp can avow, it has a profound impact on the soul, bringing home both the scale of the horrors and the lessons that must be learned for eternity.



In that sense, it will be a deeply personal pilgrimage for The King - paying tribute both as man and monarch," the source said.

Aaron Chown/Pool/Shutterstock King Charles speaks with a Holocaust survivor (right) during his visit the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) Krakow, to meet Holocaust survivors and hear from volunteers and members about the centre's support for people of all ages and backgrounds as part of its mission to rebuild Jewish life in the city. King Charles speaks with a Holocaust survivor (right) during his visit the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) Krakow, to meet Holocaust survivors and hear from volunteers and members about the centre's support for people of all ages and backgrounds as part of its mission to rebuild Jewish life in the city.

Holocaust Memorial Day also honors the victims and survivors of other genocides that have occurred since, including those in Rwanda, Cambodia, and Bosnia.

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In Poland, King Charles began the day at the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in Krakow, where he met Holocaust survivors and heard from volunteers and members about the organization's support for people of all ages and backgrounds as part of its mission to rebuild Jewish life in the city.

Then, he will join world leaders at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He will also hold a meeting with the countrys President Andrzej Duda.

Related: Kate Middleton Got Behind the Camera to Take Photos of Holocaust Survivors: See the Striking Images

Prince William is set to being the days events with a heartfelt meeting with British Holocaust survivors in London.

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Related: King Charles to Visit Auschwitz to Mark 80th Anniversary of Liberation: 'Never Be Forgotten'

The royal family regularly recognizes the suffering and sacrifices made by those victimized by genocides throughout history and has been holding events in the buildup to this year's historic commemorations.

VICTORIA JONES/Shutterstock/POOL/AFP via Getty King Charles visits the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in Krakow, Poland on January 27, 2025. King Charles visits the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in Krakow, Poland on January 27, 2025.

On Jan. 13, King Charles hosted a Holocaust education event at Buckingham Palace, where he met 94-year-old Manfred Goldberg, a survivor of multiple concentration camps, including Stutthof. Charles also shared a close bond with Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert, whom he honored at Windsor Castle in 2023 for her contributions to Holocaust education. Following her death in October 2024, Charles paid a heartfelt tribute, saying,



AARON CHOWN/PA/POOL/AFP via Getty King Charles meets food bank volunteers during his visit of the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in Krakow, Poland on January 27, 2025. King Charles meets food bank volunteers during his visit of the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in Krakow, Poland on January 27, 2025.

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In 2020, on the 75th anniversary of Holocaust Memorial Day, Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, 43, paid a poignant tribute by lighting candles at the U.K. commemorations. Among the survivors present was 82-year-old Yvonne Bernstein, one of the individuals featured in powerful portraits taken by Princess Kate to mark the occasion.

Ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, Queen Camilla delivered remarks at a reception hosted by The Anne Frank Trust on Jan. 23, saying, in part: "Today, more than ever, with levels of antisemitism at their highest level for a generation and disturbing rises in Islamophobia and other forms of racism and prejudice, we must heed this warning. The deadly seeds of the Holocaust were sown at first in small acts of exclusion, of aggression and of discrimination towards those who had previously been neighbors and friends.

Aaron Chown - Pool/Getty King Charles speaks with Holocaust survivors (L) during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) Krakow. King Charles speaks with Holocaust survivors (L) during his visit to the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) Krakow.

"Over a terrifying short period of time, those seeds took root through the complacency of which we can all be guilty: of turning away from injustice, of ignoring that which we know to be wrong, of thinking that someone else will do whats needed  and of remaining silent.

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"Lets unite in our commitment to take action, to speak up and to ensure that the words 'Never Forget' are a guiding light that charts a path towards a better, brighter and more tolerant future for us all," she added.



Read the original article on People
King Charles appeared emotional today as he joined world leaders in Poland to commemorate 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. In what was the first visit by a British monarch to the site of the former Nazi concentration camp, the King joined other Heads of State placing a light in front of an empty train car in memory of the millions who lost their lives during the Holocaust.

NurPhoto - Getty Images

Earlier in the day, the King gave an impassioned speech in which he emphasized the importance of remembering the evils of the past to shape our future.

To be in Poland on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, as we commemorate eighty years since the liberation of Auschwitz, is both a sombre and indeed a sacred moment, the King began in his address at the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow, where he met with Holocaust survivors. It is a moment when we recall the six million Jews, old and young, who were systematically murdered, together with Sinti, Roma, disabled people, members of the L.G.B.T. community, political prisoners, and so many others upon whom the Nazis inflicted their violence and hatred. It is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world.

Pool - Getty Images

The King spoke of a world that remains full of turmoil and strife, and the dangerous re-emergence of antisemitism. The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task and in so doing, we inform our present and shape our future, he said.

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During a two hour service held in front of The Gate of Death of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Holocaust survivors told their horrifying stories before world leaders and royals from across the world. Those in attendance included Spains King Felipe and Queen Letizia, Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, Norway's Crown Prince Haakon, Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria, Denmark's King Frederik and Queen Mary, and the Netherlands' King-Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, and Princess Catharina-Amalia. Around 50 survivors of the Holocaust, now in their 80s and 90s, were at the service.

WOJTEK RADWANSKI - Getty Images

King Charles was photographed looking emotional and wiping his eye as he listened. Afterwards, he passed through the Arbeit Macht Frei gate for the first time to view the site, where he saw the permanent collection of personal items confiscated from victims when they entered the camp. He also laid a wreath at a reconstruction of The Death Wall, where several thousand people, mainly Polish political prisoners, were executed.

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A royal source said today that, while the King has found many ways to engage over the years with survivors of the Holocaust, this visit was particularly poignant. Thats not only because of the significance of the anniversary but as an opportunity for him to reflect on the many stories of suffering and courage he has heard from those who bore witness, in the very location where they took place. As anyone who has visited the camp can avow, it has a profound impact on the soul, bringing home both the scale of the horrors and the lessons that must be learned for eternity. The source described the trip as a deeply personal pilgrimage for the King - paying tribute both as man and monarch. The visit comes as the King continues treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.

The Prince and Princess of Wales met Holocaust survivors at commemorations in London today, with Kates attendance confirmed this morning. The Princess hugged those she met, including Yvonne Bernstein, 87, and Stephen Frank, 89, who she photographed for an exhibition in 2020 to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

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KIRKLAND, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY)  The Kirkland Police Department is asking for the publics help in finding a missing Clark Mills man who has not been heard from since October.

Police have been searching for 21-year-old Daniel Martinelli of Clark Mills. Martinelli was last seen leaving his residence in October following a disagreement with his mother. When his mother had not heard from him since his departure, she called the police recently.

Daniel left the residence after his mother declined to allow a female acquaintance, only known as Kim, to stay at the residence.

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It is believed that Martinelli may be in the area of La Vale, Maryland  approximately seven miles east of Frostburg  traveling in a white Chevrolet Impala. The Impala has a New York State license plate with the number KCE-8145. The female acquaintance may be traveling with him.

According to his family, Martinelli has autism but is high-functioning, independent, and capable of making his own decisions. According to Kirkland Police, there is no indication that Daniel is in immediate danger. His family is concerned for his well-being and asked the Kirkland Police Department to locate him for a welfare check.

Further investigation suggests that Martinelli may be intentionally avoiding contact due to the situation at home. Police have said that they wish to ensure Martinellis safety and do not intend to interfere with his independence.

If you have any information on Martinellis whereabouts or have seen him or his vehicle, you are encouraged to contact the Kirkland Police Department at 315-853-3311 or contact your local law enforcement agency.

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This is an ongoing investigation. We will provide more information as it becomes available to us.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WUTR/WFXV - CNYhomepage.com.
NAIROBI, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Five African leaders on Monday called for reforms of the African Union (AU), focusing on peace and stability, funding, the Pan-African Parliament, and the African Court of Justice, to make it efficient and responsive to effectively serve its members and the people of Africa.

The leaders, who attended a retreat in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, said a reformed African Union, which is key to unlocking the continent's full potential, will serve as a bridge to prosperity for all African people.

Kenyan President William Ruto, who spoke at the conclusion of the high-level Extended Bureau Retreat on AU Institutional Reforms he chaired in his capacity as the champion of the institutional reforms, said reforms involve revitalizing the structure, functioning, and focus of the AU Commission, AU organs, and specialized agencies, which aim to boost the effectiveness and efficient management of the AU programs.

"A fit-for-purpose African Union is a necessary imperative at this point if the AU has to play the role of speaking for 1.4 billion Africans," Ruto said.

The retreat was attended by presidents John Mahama of Ghana, Azali Assoumani of the Comoros, Taye Atske Selassie of Ethiopia, and Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau. Also present was AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.

Ruto also announced that they had agreed on the need to establish a committee of five presidents to complement efforts by the AU's champion of institutional reforms. The committee, he said, will help to advance the implementation of agreed reforms of various agencies, institutions, and organizations.

Ruto, who was given the mandate to champion reforms of the AU by fellow heads of state last year, said reform of the African peace and security architecture is necessary to ensure lasting peace and stability.

The retreat recommended the establishment of a panel of experts to propose ways for strengthening Africa's conflict response and financing mechanism.

The leaders also proposed the financing of the AU to make it more financially autonomous. Ruto said they have recommended the operationalization of the African Court of Justice and the appointment of judges, which will ensure that the continent has a mechanism for conflict resolution in Africa, especially on disputes.

Selassie called for regular and comprehensive dialogue on issues affecting the continent, emphasizing the importance of fostering strong political will to achieve the continent's transformation agenda. He also advocated the formation of an AU Peace Support Directorate similar to that of the United Nations. "We have to put in place a structure that reflects the UN Security Council, particularly the peace support operation," he said.

Mahama said the 55-member continental organization requires bold and transformative reforms to address emerging challenges effectively. He said the AU must evolve to become more efficient and impactful by streamlining its decision-making processes to ensure they are timely and results-oriented. He reckoned that overlapping mandates hinder effective decision-making, noting that bureaucratic inefficiencies undermine the confidence of citizens and international partners.

Embalo pointed out that reforms of the pan-African bloc are essential for the common good of the continent to drive it to an era of peace and global influence. "We face many challenges, but the opportunities available on our continent are immense," he said. 
The Kremlin on Jan. 27 welcomed Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko's claimed election victory, dismissing Western criticism of the vote as "expected."

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994 and is Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally, was declared the winner with 86.82% of the vote.

"The elections in Belarus were transparent and absolutely legitimate. Moscow does not take into account the expected criticism of the elections in Belarus in the West," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media.

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Lukashenko competed for the presidency against regime-approved candidates Sergey Syrankov, who secured 3.21% of the vote, and Oleg Gaidukevich, who received 2%, while 3.6% of ballots reportedly voted "against all."

EU's chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, criticized Lukashenko ahead of the election, denouncing it as a sham and an affront to democracy.

"Lukashenko has clung to power for 30 years. This is a blatant affront to democracy. Lukashenko doesnt have any legitimacy," she said.

Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who contested the 2020 election, condemned the results, calling the vote a "special operation" to illegally maintain power.

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The 2020 election, marked by mass protests and a violent crackdown, became pivotal in Belarus' history. Lukashenko claimed victory despite widespread evidence of fraud, while Tsikhanouskaya asserted she won 60% of the vote.

Since then, over 60,000 Belarusians have been detained for political reasons, according to the human rights group Viasna.

Read also: Belarus releases American citizen amid controversial election

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Vice President JD Vance reportedly had to dip out of Kristi Noems swearing-in ceremony after she showed up late.

The former South Dakota governor was confirmed as the Trump administrations secretary of homeland security in a 59-34 vote Saturday, even earning the approval of a few Democrats.

However, after failing to arrive on time to be sworn into office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Politico reports that Vance had to leave after 25 minutes to avoid hindering his schedule.

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The new homeland security chief ended up arriving roughly 15 minutes after he had left, the publication reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

She was later sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, at his home.

What an honor to be sworn in as Secretary of @DHSgov by Justice Clarence Thomas!



I will faithfully execute the duties of this office. I will always preserve the Constitution and the security of our nation. pic.twitter.com/xt5gMm5DJU  Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) January 26, 2025

In a statement to Politico, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin clarified that Noem was delayed because her late fathers Bible took time to arrive. She apparently has used the book to be sworn into every office she has ever held.

Secretary Noem has used this sentimental bible to be sworn into every office she has ever held, McLaughlin told the outlet.

Secretary Noem was honored to be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at his home with her dads bible. We are grateful to the Vice President and his office.
The Scoop

The owner of the Los Angeles Times has been leaning on a veteran Republican who ran a pro-Trump PAC to shape the future of one of the West Coasts biggest news organizations.

The pharmaceutical billionaire who owns the publication, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, has publicly expressed a desire to revamp the editorial board and appointed Scott Jennings, CNNs pro-Trump commentator, to a role with the paper. Hes also said he did not want to run a piece criticizing Trumps nominees for Cabinet roles if the paper did not publish an opposing view as well. (The papers unsigned editorials this year have focused exclusively on the dominant local issue  the fires.)

As part of the new strategy, Semafor has learned, Soon-Shiong recently enlisted Eric Beach to help recruit new voices to join the editorial board and a new opinion forum that the LA Times is forming that will sit alongside it.

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A veteran of California Republican politics, Beach ran Great America PAC, the pro-Trump super PAC that supported the Republican presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020, and paid a large FEC fine after accepting a contribution from undercover journalists from the Telegraph posing as representatives of a Chinese donor. Beach also worked to elect Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2000s.

Soon-Shiongs plans to reshape the papers opinion section remain slightly opaque, even to senior members of the newsroom. A Times insider told Semafor that Soon-Shiong is considering a host of national and California-based conservatives to join both the traditional editorial board and the opinion forum, and has interest in adding new media personalities on the left as well. The media newsletter Status reported last year that Soon-Shiong had invited Rob Schneider and Cheryl Hines to the office to pitch them on collaborating with the publication in some capacity. On X, Schneider teased an upcoming collaboration with the paper. Its unclear whether Beachs role is paid or simply informal and advisory.

All these moves have caused some uncertainty. Both Jennings and Soon-Shiong said initially that he was joining the editorial board. However, a source at the paper clarified that he was not joining full-time. The Times still has several open positions listed for jobs on the editorial board, which some have confused for roles within the new opinion forum that Soon-Shiong is working on.

Soon-Shiong, the LA Times, and Beach did not respond to multiple requests for comment.





Maxs view

The months since Soon-Shiongs decision not to endorse may not have been fruitful for the LA Times from a business perspective  as we reported in October, the paper lost 18,000 subscribers almost immediately following Semafors story about its decision not to endorse in the presidential election. But they have elevated Soon-Shiongs profile as an actor in the national media and California politics.

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Soon-Shiongs purchase of the LA Times in 2018 was what first put him on the radar of media and political figures nationally. For several years, Soon-Shiong largely stayed out of the spotlight, making himself known to the papers leadership and staff but rarely commenting on media issues publicly. But in recent weeks, the pharma exec has wielded it as a means of garnering attention for his political views.

In addition to advocating on X and wooing celebrities like Schneider and Hines, he has publicly criticized Mayor Karen Bass, saying he regretted the papers endorsement of her in the 2023 mayoral election. He has repeatedly appeared on centrist and right-leaning media outlets, including NewsNation, a podcast hosted by former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, and Fox News (which has introduced him as the owner of the LA Times), to criticize California Democrats and share his vision for changing the media.

He shared confusingly different accounts of various incidents, such as how the Gaza war influenced his decision not to endorse Harris. Some journalists have begun to go around the official LA Times communications department to speak to him, successfully reaching him through the spokesperson of his pharma company.

How all of it sits with the newsroom and local readership is less clear.

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The LA Times newsroom has an uneasy relationship with its current owner dating back to when he bought the paper. The move was heralded at the time as courageous  the paper had suffered from a series of short-lived owners who had threatened to let it whither like other regional newspapers. Some staff at points have been friendly with Soon-Shiongs daughter, Nika Soon-Shiong, whose interest and involvement in the paper has waxed and waned. But employees were frustrated by the way the non-endorsement process played out, and the cancellations by readers, which some believed would eventually result in another round of cuts. The Times employee union also released a statement last year criticizing Soon-Shiongs suggestion that the papers journalists were biased.

But the current crisis in Los Angeles has produced a momentary truce with its owner.

The recent wildfires have reinvigorated the paper with editorial purpose, producing notable scoops and rallying staff and readers. Its yielded strong financial results as well. As Semafor previously noted, the Times told staff online web traffic was up 800% between January and December. According to the note, 4,140 readers subscribed in the days immediately after the devastating wildfires  despite the fact that the Times said it had made most fire-related articles free  helping make up for some of the subscriber losses.

Notable
Labour has given a major update on planned reforms to the benefits system as chancellor Rachel Reeves says she will not hesitate to act to cut back on welfare spending.

Her comments come ahead of propsals which are set to outline how the government will overhaul sickness and disability benefits in the UK.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said more details on the plans are coming in Spring when a green paper on the plans is released  but the chancellor has revealed that more detail will come as soon as this week.

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Sharing her plans in the Sun on Sunday, Ms Reeves said she will expose how the Conservatives lost complete control of the benefits bill  with a project overspend of more than 8 billion and no action taken to address that.

That includes looking closely at the rising cost of health and disability benefits, she adds. This is an urgent problem. It cant be ignored. We cant walk around it, as the Tories did. Weve got to grip it, once and for all.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves says spending on health-related benefits is an urgent problem (Dan Kitwood/PA) (PA Wire)

The chancellor will be making a speech on Wednesday in Oxfordshire, sharing her plans to boost economic growth, with changes to pensions and news on the possible Heathrow airport expansion rumoured. Her latest comments may indicate that the much-anticipated detail on benefit changes will also make the agenda.

The planned changes are understood to focus largely on disability benefits with aims to bring down the number of people who are claiming them. There are now 3.7 million people of working age receiving health-related support  1.2 million more than in February 2020.

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Labour argues that these numbers are untenable, with 56.4 billion forecast to be spent on these benefits for working-age adults in 2024/25 according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has said his government will be ruthless in cutting this expenditure if needed to balance spending.

Changes to the work capability assessment are understood to be central to these plans. This is the key way claimants are found fit or unfit for work, entitling them to benefits at different levels.

The Treasury has committed to match a target made by the previous Conservative government to save 1.3bn through the assesssment reforms. Under those plans, an estimated 450,000 fewer people would have qualifed for health-related benefits, although Labour has said it will re-consult on the detail of the changes.

Also rumoured are changes to the personal independence payment (PIP) and greater DWP powers to tackle benefit fraud.

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will spearhead changes to the UKs welfare system (Lucy North/PA) (PA Wire)

Disability charities and campaigners have pushed back against Labours stance on health-related benefits, with a recent report from Pro Bono Economics and anti-poverty charity Z2K finding that the economic value of disability benefits for those in need far outweighs the public cost.

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Ayla Ozmen, Director of Policy and Campaigns at Z2K, said: "Removing or reducing hundreds of pounds of vital financial support for disabled people would have a devastating effect. Already over 88 per cent of low-income households on disability benefits cant afford the basics, including food, energy costs, prescriptions and transport to medical appointments. Further cuts will inevitably push people deeper into poverty and leave people in worse health.

"What we need is investment in our social security system, not further cuts to an already threadbare system."

The chancellors recent comments come after a new review was launched by the DWP to explore how ill and disabled people can be helped to find employment. Led by former John Lewis boss Sir Charlie Mayfield, its findings will be published a few months after Labour shares its plans for disability benefits in the Spring.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP, said: Millions of people have been left without support to get into work and on at work, and completely held back from reaching their potential for far too long, and the record-high cost of long-term sickness benefits is evidence of that fact.

Thats why I am pleased to have Sir Charlie leading this review, bringing a wealth of experience and helping us to get people into work, and most importantly keep them in work, so we can boost living standards and get our economy growing.
The National Risk Register (NRR) is the foundation of emergency preparedness for UK responders. For the last 17 years, it has provided guidelines across a broad spectrum of risks, from severe weather to terrorism.

This month, the Labour government made public a new, updated NNR. But does the new edition accurately reflect the challenges of new and emergent threats  and are we prepared?

The original version of the NNR, implemented by the Cabinet Office in 2008, featured just twelve risks but presented an internationally groundbreaking shift in preparedness. For the first time, plausible risks were catalogued and shared across the UK resilience community. It also provided a pathway to better communication, coordination, and situational awareness by ensuring that all relevant responders had a collective understanding of risk. Responder collaboration has now become standard in the UK thanks to the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP), but at the time, the notion of interoperability was groundbreaking  and lifesaving.

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Pat McFadden, Resilience Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, has declared that resilience is a top priority for Labour. The new eighth edition of the NNR was released on the 16th of January and provides updates to sixty-three risks across nine themes. Among them are terrorism, cyber, state threats, geographic and diplomatic risks, accidents and systems failures, natural and environmental hazards, human and animal heath, societal issues, and conflict and instability.

The biggest changes include updates to scenarios covering cyber-attack on the NHS, threats to the UK transport network, and two gas-focused risks relating to the disruption of supplies. Conventional attacks on critical infrastructure, such as undersea cables, disruption of global oil trade routes, and outbreak of African Swine Fever have also been identified as having increased risk likelihood.

The NRR is the public-facing version of the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA). The previous government changed the NSRA by introducing a dynamic assessment process that allowed risks to be regularly re-assessed, while drawing on new and critical information. The NSRA includes input from a wide range of experts and is accessible to government bodies and local resilience forums. However, there is debate around whether individual expertise coalesces effectively to generate a joined-up approach.

Dr David Crouch, Senior Lecturer in Counter CBRN at Cranfield University, said: Although not a crystal ball, the NRR highlights the need for a whole of society approach to risk management and national resilience to threats. Stephen Johnson, Senior Lecturer in Intelligence at Cranfield University, described the NNR as an important document and something the UK should be proud to have pioneered. Several countries have followed our lead, with a common factor of helping the resilience community to understand relative priorities. However, there is still some room for improvement in the way we assess risks and threats.

One area where improvement might be achieved is by looking again at how the register presents its picture of the threats and risks facing the country.

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Previous editions of the NRR have separated malicious threats like cyber attacks from other, more general risks like flooding. But currently, threats  defined as an event that takes advantage of a vulnerability, the risk of which is often calculated using intelligence and other resources  are combined with all other risks into one matrix, despite different assessment approaches and timescale assessments.

The result of this is that their risk likelihoods are not mathematically equivalent and are therefore harder to compare, making the landscape of threats and risks harder to ascertain.

The NRR methodology reveals that the general risk likelihood timescale is within five years  but for threats its just two years. For example, the threat of a small-scale chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attack has a likelihood of five to 25 per cent, which is in the same range as a social care provider collapse. However, it is not directly comparable due to a longer return period, meaning that, technically, a social provider collapse is less likely to occur in the next year than a small CBRN terrorist attack  yet both sit within the same risk matrix cell. The public or emergency services would be forgiven for believing that both scenarios have the same risk likelihood. This might also explain why some general risks seem to have been assigned a surprisingly low likelihood, when compared to more specific threats.

For example, a serious rail accident is no more than one per cent likely to occur within the next five years but a large CBRN attack is no more than five per cent likely within two years. I would be willing to believe this might be the case, if the rest of the report suggested we thought a large CBRN attack was quite likely, but that isnt the tone, said Mr Johnson. This could be a vote of confidence in improvement in rail safety, but its more likely to be due to subjective differences in how communities were making their assessments.

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There are also broader concerns that the UKs risk assessment is not keeping up with the rapid pace of geopolitical change. In recent years, Russia has invaded Ukraine, climate records have been shattered all around the world and several outbreaks of infectious diseases have led to warnings from major global health bodies.

Multiple, interconnected risks can converge and amplify one another, as in the LA fires. - Ethan Swope/AP

Amanda Coleman, a crisis communication expert and author of Crisis Communication Strategies, said: On a national level, people think we have plans, so must be ready, but many of the plans I see dont take account of the impact of recent societal and communication developments. It was significant that the World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2025 had state-based armed conflict as a huge risk, and this barely got a mention in the new NNR.

We are living in an age where multiple, interconnected risks can converge together and amplify each other with unexpected consequences. Its a phenomenon known as a polycrisis.

Unlike single risks that can be mitigated with relatively clear solutions, the outcomes of polycrises are much more difficult to resolve. For example, the catastrophic Californian wildfires have been fuelled by a whole host of factors including poor urban planning and a lack of preparedness, climate change, and the stark local socio-economic inequalities. The overwhelming complexity of the situation in California, alongside disaster capitalism, have hindered an effective response.

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The UK is not immune to crisis. The current Reasonable Worst Case Scenarios for climate related risks seem conservative and segregated, considering our evolving understanding of climate science. We must find new ways to engage constructively with the multiple and connected risks presented by the scientifically plausible and extreme hazard magnitudes of climate crisis. There must be greater recognition and discussion of the unpredictability of plausible extreme events that could arise over the next five years. The 2021 Climate Change Risk Assessment predicted a very small chance that the 40C temperature threshold would be breached in a UK heatwave before 2040, only for it to happen in 2022. We need a new connected approach that considers the consequences of uncertainty and polycrisis with systems thinking  an approach to problem solving that takes into account an overall system, as well as its component parts.

The UK remains world-leading in emergency preparedness, but we are grappling with a complex and unknowable future. As the UK navigates an increasingly volatile world, where threats and risks often overlap and interact in complex ways, the next NRR must reflect our need to not only manage interconnected and climate risks, but also strengthen its position in the face of increasing geopolitical uncertainty. Lets continue to hope for the best  but prepare for the worst.

Dr Becky Alexis-Martin is a Lecturer in Peace, Science, and Technology at the University of Bradford

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FLORENCE COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW)  A lack of asphalt is causing delays in the paving of railroad crossings in Florence County, according to authorities.

Currently, no asphalt plants in Florence County are operating, which means no asphalt is being produced, and therefore, no crossing can be paved, Southern Commercial Development said in a statement posted online Monday by the Florence Couty Emergency Management Agency. As a result, paving companies are looking for other available asphalt plants to reopen the closed crossings. There will be no additional closings until the currently closed crossings have been re-opened.

Southern Commercial Development and CSX scheduled several crossings last week as crews began maintenance and repairs amid a winter storm that blanked parts of the Pee Dee with as much as six inches of snow. Florence County EMA first posted about the projects on Jan. 2.

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Each of the closures was expected to last between three and five days, officials said. Among the crossings closed last week were ones at Java Road, Howe Springs Road, Pamplico Highway, James Jones Avenue, National Cemetery Road, Pine Street and Evans Street.

Authorities had planned to close two crossings this week, including one at Koppers Road on Monday and one at Williamson Road on Wednesday. Click here to see a map of each location.

* * *

Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

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LAKE HALLIE  Kita, the first K-9 unit in Chippewa County, changed law enforcement in the region, says retired Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk.

Kita, who officially started her duties with the Lake Hallie Police Department in March 2015, had her final shift last week. Sgt. Dan Sokup became her handler in December 2014, when Kita was two years old. During her nearly 10 years on duty, Kita has had 375 narcotic arrests, 15 successful tracks of people, and seized $37,000 cash and one vehicle from drug dealers. Chief Edward Orgon noted that Kita helped in many key searches, such as during the Lily Peters death investigation.

Kowalczyk noted that no law enforcement agency in the county had a dog yet when Kita began her duties.

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In the beginning, I dont know if that dog ever got any rest, because Dan Sokup was so willing to bring her out, Kowalczyk said with a laugh on Friday. It kind of set a precedent, with the call outs (to other agencies.) Because the dog was so successful, it drummed up interest. And it snowballed from there.

Within the next couple of years, the Chippewa County Sheriffs Office got a K-9 unit. So did the police departments in Chippewa Falls, Stanley and Bloomer.

Kowalczyk noted that nearly 10 years of active duty is a long time for a dog. He praised Sokup, saying working with the animal daily kept her active and on duty.

People dont realize the dedication, the time and effort, its just like having a kid, he said.

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Kita, a German Shepherd, received her certificate from the United States Police Canine Association days before starting her duties.

Sokup told the Leader-Telegram in 2015 that he did a two-week, 80-hour training session with Kita.

I had to train right along with her, Sokup said in a March 2015 interview on Kitas first day of work. Weve been letting her ride along and get acclimated to the squad car. We put drugs in a locker, or in a squad, or in a file cabinet  anywhere she can find it. She gets it every time. Shes getting faster and faster at finding them.

Then chief-Cal Smokowicz made it his goal in 2011 to get a dog, and he worked to get the funding to pay for one.

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Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes was a member of the Lake Hallie Police Department when Kita started her duties in 2015 and he immediately saw the value in having the K-9.

Kita very quickly became a welcomed addition to the police department and, more importantly, area public safety as a whole, Hakes said Saturday. Other K9 programs in the county started shortly after and have been a welcomed addition to public safety. Its a good thing she cant talk, or Id try to get Dans secret fishing spots out of her.

During a November 2021 training session with all the other K-9 units in the area, Sokup said it is great to see the growth of dogs in the region.

Ive got a lot more free time, Sokup told the Leader-Telegram during that 2021 interview. I did a lot of off-duty call-outs. I was going out at 3 a.m. to help find somebody because there wasnt a dog available.

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Sokup said hes grateful the law enforcement agencies collaborate on training.

We get to work with all the other handlers, see what works, and doesnt work, Sokup said. And we learn new methods.

Sokup said that having a dog has defused a lot of situations.

A lot of people arent afraid of equipment, like Tasers, Sokup said. But the presence of a K-9 triggers something in their brain, with them saying, I dont want to get bit.
MANNING, Iowa  A large fire broke out at Arrow Pallets in Manning Sunday evening.

At around 5:58 p.m. the Manning Fire Department responded to a report of a fire at the Arrow Pallets facility in the 800 block of Front street, the City of Manning said in a Facebook post. When firefighters arrived at the scene they found a large building on fire.

Marshalltown skimming suspect charged in Newton case

According to the city, firefighters from ten departments were called in to help battle the flames. The firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings, but the building where the fire started was considered a total loss.

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No one was inside the building and no injuries were reported, the city said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Iowa News:

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GLOUCESTER COUNTY, Va. (WAVY)  A large-scale operation known as Operation Riverpark Roundup in Gloucester targeted drug trafficking.

During the course of the operation, several arrests were made in connection to trafficking narcotics.

On Jan. 16, deputies with GCSOs Special Operations Unit worked with investigators to

locate and arrest seven offenders that had been indicted by a Gloucester County Grand Jury on

Jan. 7. The individuals were arrested and are being held in the Gloucester County Jail.

Nicole Hedges Kyle Slaughter Keri Arnett James Doss, Jr. Howard Jones, Jr. Christopher Willet Alice West

The following arrests were made as part of this operation:

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Keri Lucas Arnett, 47 years old of Gloucester Point, charged with 3 counts of distribution of methamphetamines

James William Doss, Jr., 39 years old of Gloucester, charged with 2 counts of distribution of methamphetamines

Nicole Adrienne Hedges, 46 years old of Gloucester Point, charged with 3 counts of distribution of methamphetamines

Howard William Jones, Jr., 38 years old of Gloucester Point, charged with one count of distribution of cocaine on a warrant  not indictment.

Kyle Andrew Slaughter, 28 years old of Gloucester Point, charged with 3 counts of distribution of methamphetamines

Alice Virginia West, 39 years old of Gloucester, charged with one count of distribution of methamphetamines

Christopher Michael Willet, 38 years old of Gloucester Point, charged with 4 counts of distribution of methamphetamines.

Additionally, indictments were issued by the Grand Jury for narcotics violations for the following people, who were already in jail on unrelated charges:

Aaron Snyder Regina Adams Felicia Tovar

Regina Gale Adams, 31 years old of Gloucester Point, charged with one count of distribution of methamphetamines

Aaron Payne Snyder, 30 years old of Gloucester, charged with one count of distribution of methamphetamines

Felicia Ann Tovar, 37 years old of Gloucester Point, charged with 3 counts of distribution of methamphetamines.

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An Israeli military vehicle is seen during an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Tulkarm, on Jan. 27, 2025. An Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinian men and wounded three others on Monday after targeting a vehicle in the Nour Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian authorities and witnesses said. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)

RAMALLAH, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinian men and wounded three others on Monday after targeting a vehicle in the Nour Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian authorities and witnesses said.

The Ramallah-based Health Ministry said in a statement that two fatalities and three injuries were brought to Tulkarm Governmental Hospital following the strike. Witnesses and local sources told Xinhua the attack ignited a fire at the scene, prompting ambulances and civil defense crews to respond.

The Palestinian Authority's Tulkarm governor, Abdullah Kamil, identified the dead as Ihab Abu Atwi and Ramez Al-Damiri.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) confirmed in a statement that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) killed two in Tulkarm.

"During a joint IDF and ISA counterterrorism activity, an IAF aircraft struck and eliminated Ihab Abu Atiwi, a terrorist who served as the head of Hamas in Tulkarm, and an additional terrorist," the statement read.

It added that Abu Atiwi was involved in numerous shooting attacks, including an attack on an Israeli vehicle at the Ramin junction in the West Bank in July last year, in which three Israelis were injured.

The strike occurred amid an ongoing seven-day Israeli military offensive in Jenin, another northern West Bank city, where Palestinian security sources told Xinhua that airstrikes and home demolitions have displaced thousands of families.

Violence in the West Bank has surged since October 2023, with Palestinian health officials reporting over 800 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the past year. 

Israeli military vehicles are seen during an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Tulkarm, on Jan. 27, 2025. An Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinian men and wounded three others on Monday after targeting a vehicle in the Nour Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian authorities and witnesses said. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A foundation inside JAG Development in Henderson and an electrical company are working together to bring trades to high schools. Its shop class program launched in 2023, creating a hands-on experience for high school senior students.

Logan Mount, a high school senior at Lake Mead Christian Academy, said hes eager to learn about skilled trades.

Everything around us, someone had to put it together and build it, he shared. Ive always wanted to try it, my dad did it and I thought it would be cool.

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Mount is swapping pencils for tools and spending after-school hours at the Gibson McGath Foundation in shop class. The program is in its third year.

Tenaya Brown is also a high school senior student at the same school and in the program. The students learn how to read blueprints, connect wires, hammer and cut up some wood, just to name a few. Brown said she always wanted to work in construction.

Even if you dont go into construction after high school just for your house in general, you know [how] to fix the electrical and plumbing, said Brown.

Jeffery Gibson, the foundations president, said shop classes disappeared for some time.

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Right now, were in private schools and were getting our door into Pinecrest and Clark County School District, weve had our application in there for quite some time, said Gibson. The foundation has been a dream of my wife and I for over a decade, we really wanted to bring the trades into the schools.

According to the National Center of Education Statistics, from 1990 to 2009, students took fewer credits in Career Tech Education or in this case, shop class. Times are slowly changing.

According to the Electronic Security Association, students are now being offered more opportunities to choose trade-related classes.

Gibson also shared that the building where students attend shop class used to be a roller skate rink back in the day.

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A lot of first kisses and dates [here] a lot happened in this Valley, he said.

Now, its a place where students learn to build.

Helix Electric partnered with the foundation for the program.

Chris McKimmey has worked for the company for decades. He now teaches and helps the students in the program.

All the trades make a very good living, he said. The trade programs to me is a very good alternative if college is not acceptable.

The students are currently working on building a tiny home. Theres a lot of detail that goes into it. McKimmey said when its all finished its something the students are proud of and its a feeling only, they could understand.

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The program is only open for high school seniors. Gibson shared with 8 News Now that by next year the program should be in all private schools within a five-mile radius of the campus in Henderson. The program is at no cost for the students, but they must apply.

As for the tiny home the students built, Gibson said it will support Southern Nevadas unsheltered and veteran population.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)  Sunday was the last day of the Augusta Homeless Task Forces Point-in-Time Count, and they worked with the Compass for Hope.

They were at the parking lot next to James Brown Arena, where Center for Hope does its regular outreach on Sundays. The Point in Time count gathered data on homelessness in Augusta-Richmond County, and we were told that there was a good turnout at todays event.

Todays group was Pretty sizable, said Compass for Hope Executive Director Mike Garrison. I think the warmer weather put a lot of the folks back out. It was also the day for the point-in-time count, so we had an excess of volunteers, which was fantastic.

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With access to volunteers, more people could have one-on-one time and get help with their needs.

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State Sen. Lincoln Fillmore waxes a bit nostalgic recalling the days when kids knew it was time to hustle home when the street lights brightened, when phones were still attached to walls  and when a skinned knee doubled as a badge of honor.

Childhood, he told a recent Senate Education Committee gathering, is quite different today.

We have changed childhood to one that is programmed and supervised, said Fillmore, R-South Jordan.

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In efforts to keep kids safe, he added, grown-ups are robbing children of opportunities to learn resilience, perseverance, self-confidence and other real-world skills.

So as a formal call to, in his words, make childhood great again, Fillmore is sponsoring a legislative resolution encouraging practices that promote child independence.

The lawmaker hopes the resolution encourages parents, schools and local governments to find ways to have children get out and explore and play on a more independent basis, rather than having them constantly supervised by adults.

Provisions highlighted in the resolution, which hold no statutory weight, include:

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The importance of free play and child independence.

Supporting children engaging in independent activities.

Encouraging the Utah State Board of Education to incorporate childhood independence throughout the core standards for the states public schools.

Urging local governments and school districts to enact practices that encourage children to build independence.

The resolution also claims that constant supervision thwarts a childs ability to develop important qualities such as resourcefulness, self-awareness and perseverance.

Independent play, it adds, reduces anxiety and depression  even while allowing children to take risks, build grit and determination, and to interact with others while solving challenges without unnecessary adult intervention.

Children, noted the resolution, deserve time and space to explore, play and wander.

Fillmore encouraged schools to utilize Let Grow  a national program/movement dedicated to promoting childhood independence.

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(Let Grow) provides free resources to schools to give them ideas about what they can do in recess time or at PE  and what kind of homework assignments they can give that build childhood independence, he said.

Fillmores resolution enjoyed unanimous support from the Senate Education Committee, passing it on for reading on the Senate floor.

Getting kids out to play

Our teachers are exhausted, our parents are exhausted. We are all chasing our tails, and I think this is exactly what we need, said Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights.

During public comment, Tanner Hunter said he works as a social worker at a Utah elementary school. Im speaking in favor of this resolution. Working with kids every day. I see what theyre going through and the things that they are struggling with.

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So being able to find ways to get them out, and getting them out to play  will be important for these students.

Parent Melanie Mortensen remembers being a little girl and exploring the foothills of my hometown and riding my bike for miles and miles and being gone all day.

Her children did not enjoy the same opportunities due to changing society issues and conditions.

Mortensen said she loves the idea of giving unsupervised playtime back to kids  but also letting them try hard things and build that resiliency.

Leah Hansen of Saratoga Springs also spoke in favor of Fillmores child independence resolution. As a child, I learned a lot by playing, and I think this is one way that we can help our education improve.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  Lawyers are fighting to save a mans life by calling on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to recall a prisoner who was extradited to Alabama and now faces the death penalty.

A lawsuit was filed earlier this month on behalf of Demetrius Frazier, a man who was arrested in Michigan in 1992 and eventually admitted to the 1991 murder of Pauline Brown in the Birmingham, Alabama, area.

Frazier was found guilty of the murder in 1996 and sentenced to death but remained housed in Michigan, where he was serving three life sentences for separate crimes, including another murder and criminal sexual conduct. It wasnt until 2011 that Frazier was extradited to Alabama after an agreement between Robert Bentley and Rick Snyder, the then-governors of their respective states.

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MI Immigration Court service stopped by executive order

According to al.com, Fraziers attorneys argue the agreement is unlawful and no explanation for it was ever stated. They also argue that Frazier is still in the legal custody of the Michigan Department of Corrections, which should protect him from being executed. Michigan does not have the death penalty.

The Alabama Department of Corrections announced earlier this month that Frazier is set to be executed sometime during a 30-hour period between Feb. 6 and Feb. 7, the states first execution of the year.

Frazier had appealed his death sentence all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which rejected his appeal in 2019.

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Abraham Bonowitz, the executive director of Death Penalty Action, told Detroit NBC affiliate WDIV-TV that the group has started an online petition aimed at Whitmer, encouraging her to recall the extradition order.

Happy birthday! Michigans journey from wild west to statehood

Were asking Gov. Whitmer to order him back. Let him serve his time out in Michigan and uphold Michigan values, Bonowitz told WDIV.

Whitmer has yet to address the request or Fraziers case. The Michigan Attorney Generals Office told the Detroit news outlet that it found that the extradition agreement is legal and that it does not intervene in other states criminal matters.

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Sen. Sydney Batch (Photo: NCGA)

As the North Carolina General Assembly prepares to begin its 2025 session in earnest this week, Senate Democrats have a new leader. After several years at the helm, veteran Raleigh lawmaker and former state House Speaker Dan Blue recently turned over the reins to another member of the Wake County delegation  State Senator Sydney Batch.

Batch, an accomplished attorney who lives in Apex, is the first woman of color to serve as a party leader in the legislature, and as quickly became obvious during a recent conversation we had, shes a smart and tough politician who will bring a refreshing surge of energy to a delegation thats long been wrongfully consigned to minority status as a result of partisan gerrymandering.

Click here to listen to NC Newslines full interview with Leader Batch.
Leadership Kentucky participants gather at locations across the state to learn about issues facing Kentucky. (Leadership Kentucky photo)

Leadership Kentucky is accepting nominations and applications for its class of 2025.

The nonprofit founded in 1984 aims to connect a diverse group of leaders with a variety of career accomplishments and volunteer activities to gain insight on complex issues facing Kentucky, says a news release from the organization.

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Participants will meet with Kentucky leaders and explore the states resources and opportunities in a series of seven monthly, three-day sessions at locations around the state.

Leadership Kentucky Class of 2025 will begin in June at the Boone Tavern in Berea and will travel to Pikeville, Paducah/Eddyville, Louisville, Bowling Green/Ft. Campbell, Northern Kentucky and Lexington. Sessions will cover business and economic development, arts and tourism, natural resources and environment, social justice, education, health care, agriculture and government.

The nomination form is available at www.leadershipky.org.

Applicants will receive full instructions via email once nominated.

Applications are due by March 1.
Rally at Cadillac Place state office building on April 22, 2021 to fight for minimum wage increase and paid sick leave. | Ken Coleman photo

The Michigan League for Public Policy is deeply concerned about legislation that has already passed out of the Michigan House, which undermines a recent ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court and seeks to weaken earned paid sick time and minimum wage protections for working Michiganders.

To provide some context on how we got here, its important to look back at where this began.

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In 2018, Michigan voters were unjustly blocked from having their say on popular earned paid sick time and minimum wage proposals, which were polling at over a 70% approval rating. To stop the proposals from appearing on the ballot, the 2018 Michigan Legislature instead adopted them ahead of the election and later gutted them during that years lame duck session.

After a long, six-year legal battle, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled last year that this adopt-and-amend scheme was unconstitutional. With that ruling, Michigans minimum wage is slated to be raised to $12.48 this February and will continue to annually increase, reaching almost $15 by 2028.

The tipped minimum wage will also be raised to $5.99 next month and will continue to annually increase until it is brought above the subminimum level in 2030. Additionally, all Michigan employers will be required to provide their employees either 40 or 72 hours of paid sick time each year, depending on the number of workers they employ.

However, newly proposed legislation  House Bills 4001 and 4002  is placing these urgently needed worker protections at risk of being significantly altered, yet again.

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These bills seek to reduce minimum wage increases over the next several years, resulting in a $1,000 to $2,400 annual pay cut for Michigan workers, while also maintaining subminimum tipped wages and exempting 96% of Michigan businesses  those with less than 50 employees  from providing paid sick time.

HBs 4001 and 4002 would move Michigan in the wrong direction in terms of strengthening economic security for workers and their families, addressing pay inequities, and safeguarding our states public health.

They come at a time when the majority of Michiganders, including both Democrats and Republicans, have said they support the minimum wage and paid sick leave changes set to take effect this February. They also come at a time when our states wages continue to lag behind the cost of living and public health continues to be jeopardized by a lack of basic paid sick time coverage for many workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic truly underscored the importance of paid sick time for all. Without it, many employees must choose to either go without pay or go to work sick. The provisions slated to take effect this February will allow all Michigan workers to take time off when they are sick without fear of experiencing financial hardship, while also reducing the risk of contagious illnesses spreading in workplaces, schools and public spaces.

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However, if HB 4002 passes in the Michigan Senate, these essential protections will be stripped away from nearly 1.5 million working Michiganders, placing workers, families and the general public in harms way.

Furthermore, Michigans minimum wage already falls far behind many other states, 17 of which have already passed a $15 minimum wage. These are not just states with large urban centers, but more rural states as well, such as Nebraska and Missouri.

Currently, Michigans minimum wage is only $10.56 an hour. If HB 4001 passes in the Michigan Senate, it would not reach $15 for another four years. In comparison, the minimum wage schedule slated to go into effect this February will provide larger annual pay increases over the next several years and will get Michigans minimum wage to almost $15 sooner.

As the cost of living continues to rise and looming federal cuts begin to harm household budgets, we need to be doing more, not less, to ensure Michigan workers and families are able to afford basic necessities, such as housing, food, utilities and healthcare. This includes the 41% of Michigan households that are already struggling to make ends meet.

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Bringing tipped wages above the subminimum level is also critically important from both an economic security and equity standpoint. Contrary to what proponents of these bills have said, we only need to look to the seven states that have already established a single fair minimum wage to uncover strong evidence showing that tipped workers in these states have done as well as or better than tipped workers in states with subminimum tipped wages.

And, given that Michigan currently has one of the widest gender wage gaps in the country and 74.3% of all tipped workers are women, the changes slated to take effect next month will go a long way in addressing ongoing pay inequities in our state, while ensuring all service industry workers receive more consistent wages that are not as contingent on the tips they make.

This is especially important for tipped workers in smaller, rural communities where restaurants and bars may not have as large of a customer base as larger, urban communities.

When workers are healthier, better paid and less stressed, businesses thrive, communities prosper and our state becomes a stronger and more equitable place for all. We hope to see the Michigan Supreme Courts ruling upheld for the sake of workers, families, public health, local economies and our state as a whole.

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HOPE, Ark. (KTAL/KMSS)  Did you know that Hope has a birthday? A little city called Hope was founded in Southern Arkansas 150 years ago, and now a historical society is trying to engage the community in learning more about their regions history.

Hope, the childhood home of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, now has a population of approximately 10K. But if you would like to learn about what Hope was like in 1916, you dont want to miss an upcoming event that will focus on Hope in the early 1900s.

Celebrate Hopes history on Jan. 28 at Tailgaters Burger Company Annex Room, where local historian Keenan Williams will speak about the early days of downtown Hope.

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The Hempstead County Historical Society is hosting the celebration featuring a large, panoramic photo of Hope taken in 1916.

The Hempstead County Historical Societys mission is to bring awareness to the rich heritage and history of Hempstead County, Arkansas.

The historical society said many of the buildings in the 1916 photo still stand today.

Tailgaters Burger Company is located at 101 South Main Street in Hope. Admission is free and all are welcome at the event, which begins at 7:00 p.m.

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In Armenia, they are wondering why Nikol Pashinyan went to Davos. The assumptions about the negotiations on a peace treaty did not materialize. Then for what? The answer is obvious - in order to once again try to interest Europe in something. Pashinyan has already begun to guess that Europe itself will not go to Armenia with its projects. Therefore, I took my "Crossroads of the World" and went to Switzerland, barely making it to the end of the event.

During the panel discussion, Pashinyan delighted the audience by announcing that he had found a means "to overcome shocks in the supply chain." This is the "Crossroads of the World".

"We are talking about improving the efficiency of our regional transport links, creating new transport links not only with Azerbaijan, but also with Turkiye, as well as deepening our cooperation with Iran and Georgia. This is also about the EU, because if this program becomes a reality, we will have new chain routes for the European Union - through Armenia. It's not just a matter of economics. This is also a very important safety factor... But, of course, this project will work only if we can establish a stable peace with Azerbaijan, which, unfortunately, is not the case now," Pashinyan said.





Yerevan is trying hard to convince Europe of the importance and indispensability of Armenia's transit role. It is as if there is no well-established and efficient transit from Asia to Europe, which just solves the issue of "supply chain shocks." It is as if the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the Middle Corridor are not in sight. It's as if all the hopes of West and East, North and South intersect only in Armenia. Why should Europe, Iran, Georgia, or anyone else care about a hypothetical "Crossroads of the World" when logistics issues in the region have long been resolved? According to the tone of Pashinyan's speech, it is felt that he is not so much advertising his useless project as trying to convince Europe of the need to put pressure on Azerbaijan in order to catch Baku opening the border and allow Turkiye to do the same. He offers Europeans a product that they cannot produce on their own. The notorious crossroads is associated with a lot of "ifs", they are visible to everyone, and Pashinyan also has to voice them.

To become the crossroads that Azerbaijan is today, Armenia needs to develop infrastructure in all directions. In the East-West direction, it completely depends on the will and decisions of Azerbaijan. The North-South corridor has some opportunities for development, although even here everything is not so simple. Armenia's indispensability in it is also dust in the eyes of its partners. But in this case, Yerevan at least has room for maneuver in the form of open borders with Georgia and Iran.

They have been talking about building their own North-South section in Armenia for twenty years. Yerevan once tried to build a railway, but in this idea he was left alone with his helplessness. Even Russia, whose outpost was Armenia, did not join the project, pointing out to the Armenian side that it was pointless and deadlocked. The difficult terrain of the country makes the construction of railways very costly and difficult. External stakeholders would do this only if Armenia had some strategic importance and was irreplaceable. And that's not the case.

It is interesting to observe how Yerevan is trying to isolate Russia from the MTK North-South project, or rather, it is trying to pretend to its creditors that it is not there. To this end, emphasis is being placed on the importance of the corridor for the transit of Iranian goods to the Black Sea. Armenia is currently considering the construction of the Armenian section of the MTK only from the point of view of the development of a hypothetical Persian Gulf-Black Sea corridor. Armenia relies heavily on its Indian allies to choose this route for transporting goods to Europe. Since Nikol Pashinyan saw the map of the region, he not only learned the correct names of the regions of Azerbaijan, but also saw the opportunity to integrate into the North-South, leaving Russia aside. Armenia was not allowed to enter the West-East corridor. The former White House administration, I remember, tried to squeeze her into the Middle Corridor, but nothing came of it. Once, Azerbaijan was expected to connect Armenia to the BTC oil pipeline route, then the West refused to invest in the BTK railway if it bypassed Armenia, now someone needed to introduce this country into the Middle Corridor. It is needed as a kind of chip that allows you to control processes.

At the end of last year, Pashinyan announced that Armenia had sent Azerbaijan a proposal to resume railway communication between the two countries. At the same time, Armenia is discussing the possibility of resuming railway communication with Turkiye. If the railway line between the three countries is restored, it will become an alternative branch of the Trans-Caspian route, which is shorter than the route through Georgia, Pashinyan announced.

"According to our assessment, we have found a solution on how to resume railway communication, which would be completely acceptable for both Armenia and Azerbaijan. We have sent the proposal of this decision in writing to Azerbaijan and are waiting for its positive reaction. When this reaction is received, it will be necessary to quickly sign the contract and start building the railway," Nikol Pashinyan said, sharing his dream of building the Baku-Gyumri-Kars railway, which will plug the BTK belt.

Everything is clear, except why he decided that Azerbaijan would help Armenia create an alternative to the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and the BTK. In addition, it is clear that the geography of the Armenian prime minister is still bad. If Armenia behaves well, signs the peace and builds the Zangezur corridor, the branch line through Armenian territory will become part of the TMTM, but in no way a competitor to it.

Nikol Pashinyan repeats over and over again that he has found an incredible solution acceptable to both sides. It is clear why all this is acceptable to Armenia. And who said that Yerevan's ideas are acceptable to us? Azerbaijan will never abandon safe and orderly transit through Georgia in favor of a route through Armenia, where Azerbaijani vehicles, cargo and passengers will always be in danger. The only route where it is more or less possible to ensure safety is the road through Zangezur. Because the route is short. Pashinyan talks about security, but he has little idea what it means to guarantee the safety of hundreds of kilometers of railway tracks when your society lives and breathes hatred.

Earlier, while advertising his "Crossroads of the World," Pashinyan avoided mentioning the road through Zangezur, focusing on other options for how Azerbaijan could get to Nakhchivan. I remember that at a conference in Tbilisi on the Silk Road, Pashinyan showed on the map the points that he offers Azerbaijan instead of the Zangezur corridor. The Armenian side presented three points on the border for checkpoints, from where it will be possible to transit to the NAR. But the fact is that from a geographical point of view, these are the most difficult and difficult route options, unsuitable for large-scale international transit. The routes proposed by Pashinyan pass through mountainous terrain, where in places the height of the passes reaches 3,000 meters above sea level.

The cross-border roads remaining from Soviet times and blocked since the beginning of the conflict have either been destroyed or require reconstruction. They are definitely not suitable as part of an international logistics route, as they must be completely modernized for this. Even Azerbaijan, with its modern transport and logistics infrastructure, has to modernize due to the new geopolitical situation, which has led to a sharp increase in cargo transportation. Armenia will have to start everything from scratch.

Armenia's interest is seen exclusively in Pashinyan's proposals. Armenia can make any calculations, it is its right, but it should not speak for Azerbaijan. The Crossroads of the World is of absolutely no interest to our country. Let's say more - it is of no interest to Europe either. They understand that the Europeans will have to pay for everything. And why do this when there are already routes to the East and South through Azerbaijan and Turkiye? Transit through Armenia may be shorter, but it involves so many difficulties that it makes no sense.

There are big problems with logistics in Armenia. Take, for example, the situation around the new Tatev-Avgani highway, built as an alternative to the Gerus-Gafan road built in Soviet times. A small section of the latter passes through the territory of the Gubadli region and returned to Azerbaijan after the war. After all the tantrums, to which the Iranian side also joined, the Armenians built a new road, not wanting to pass through the Azerbaijani border checkpoint. A year later, the alternative road collapsed. It was claimed that it was due to a landslide, but the road was no good even before the collapse. Trucks from Iran had to drive along it, which also did not want to negotiate kindly with Azerbaijan. Trucks got stuck on the new "alternative" highway, deteriorated, and its long-awaited collapse solved this problem.

It may seem to some that we are gloating, but this is not the case. We're just stating the facts and we want to give our neighbors the feeling that they're doing something wrong again.
GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The March 23 Movement (M23), a rebel group fighting against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) army, said Monday that it has taken control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province and the largest city in eastern DRC.

In a statement released early Monday, the M23 announced the "liberation of the city has been completed" and that "the situation is under control" following a 48-hour ultimatum issued to Congolese troops. On Saturday, the group demanded the surrender of the DRC armed forces and their allies. The M23 held Goma for 10 days in 2012 before retreating under international pressure.

By Sunday night, the rebels ordered government forces to disarm. According to local sources, several Congolese soldiers reportedly handed over their weapons to UN peacekeepers stationed in Goma.

The DRC government has not yet commented on the situation in Goma but announced that a high-level security meeting was held Sunday night, chaired by President Felix Tshisekedi.

CHAOS IN GOMA

At least 10 people were killed and about 4,400 inmates escaped from Munzenze Prison in Goma amid the ongoing conflict, according to local media reports. Radio Okapi, a UN-supported outlet, reported that prisoners set part of the facility on fire during clashes between the DRC army and M23 rebels.

Gunfire has been heard across Goma since Sunday evening, and fighting intensified Monday morning in various parts of the city, including areas near the Rwandan border.

UN sources said that the border with Rwanda was closed Monday morning, and panic has gripped Goma residents fleeing to Gisenyi, a Rwandan border city.

During a Sunday press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, DRC Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner described the M23's actions as "an onslaught on Goma."

The humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC continues to worsen. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Friday that more than 400,000 people have been displaced since January 2025. According to its statement, persistent clashes between belligerents in these areas continue to worsen the protection environment for civilians in South Kivu and North Kivu provinces, which are already home to 4.6 million internally displaced individuals.

DRC-RWANDA DIPLOMATIC STRAINS

On Saturday, the DRC government announced the recall of its diplomats from Rwanda amid the M23's advances, further escalating tensions between the two nations.

In a letter to the Rwandan Embassy in Kinshasa, the capital of DRC, the DRC Foreign Ministry asked Rwanda's diplomats to cease all consular activities within 48 hours.

The DRC has accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels, a charge Kigali denies. Rwanda has accused the DRC army of supporting remnants of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group allegedly responsible for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

In a statement released Sunday, the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized various parties' "misguided and manipulative statements," saying that such statements fail to address the root causes of the crisis. Rwanda also denied any involvement in the resurgence of M23, describing the group as a Congolese armed group advocating for the rights of ethnic Tutsis in the DRC.

The statement blamed the prolonged conflict on the DRC's failure to engage in dialogue with M23 and the breakdown of the Luanda peace process initiated in 2022. Rwanda called for renewed efforts in both the Luanda and Nairobi peace initiatives to stabilize the region.

CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE

Kenyan President William Ruto, who rotates as the chairman of the East African Community (EAC), called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern DRC and warned of the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation.

"The escalating conflict and deteriorating situation in eastern DRC are of grave concern to the people and governments of East Africa," Ruto said in a statement issued from Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, Sunday. "I call for the immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities."

Ruto also announced an emergency summit within 48 hours to address the escalating crisis in the DRC and chart a way forward. He said the crisis summit aligns with the November 2024 decision of the EAC Summit, which called for constructive engagement to address the conflict. He expressed the EAC's readiness to collaborate with the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and international partners in encouraging the warring parties to prioritize dialogue.

As tensions remain high, several foreign embassies have issued advisories urging their citizens to leave North Kivu. The United Nations announced Saturday that it has temporarily relocated non-essential staff from Goma, where fear and uncertainty have gripped the population.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over the escalating violence in eastern DRC, calling for an immediate ceasefire. 
Lebanese armed forces were deploying to several more villages in southern Lebanon on Monday, shortly after an announcement that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was being extended until February 18.

Lebanese forces partially re-entered the towns of Mais al Jabal and Houla, located along the southern demarcation line with neighbouring Israel.

Lines of cars and people carrying yellow Hezbollah flags were seen waiting at the entrance of the western sector of south Lebanon to enter their villages, accompanied by the Lebanese army.

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We are overjoyed that we can enter our villages despite the massive destruction, one returnee told dpa.

My son was killed here; I want to see if he was properly buried, said another man.

A large portion of the population in southern Lebanon are supporters of the Hezbollah militia or its allied Amal movement.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), tens of thousands of residents have returned to the south and other areas in Lebanon since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in November.

However, many towns near the border remain deserted due to the continued presence of Israeli troops.

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Under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Hezbollah militia, the Lebanese army is tasked with securing the southern part of the country.

Hezbollah meanwhile is required to retreat north of the Litani River, approximately 30 kilometres from the southern border.

Toll rises from Sunday clashes

The White House announced on Sunday that the ceasefire agreement was extended until February 18.

Tensions had once again been rising after a deadline expired for Israeli troops to withdraw from Lebanon as part of the deal.

Israeli military spokesman Avichai Adraee stated on the platform X that Israeli forces needed more time to ensure that Hezbollah cannot restore its military presence.

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On Sunday, 24 people were killed and 134 injured in clashes between Lebanese trying to return to their homes in the south and Israeli forces.

Lebanons Health Ministry said the Israeli army opened fire as people returned to areas where the Israeli army was still present.

The army said its troops had first fired warning shots to "remove threats in a number of areas where suspects were identified approaching the troops."
Lebanese armed forces were deploying to several more villages in southern Lebanon on Monday, shortly after an announcement that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was being extended until February 18.

Lebanese forces partially re-entered the towns of Mais al Jabal and Houla, located along the southern demarcation line with neighbouring Israel.

Lines of cars and people carrying yellow Hezbollah flags were seen waiting at the entrance of the western sector of south Lebanon to enter their villages, accompanied by the Lebanese army.

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"We are overjoyed that we can enter our villages despite the massive destruction," one returnee told dpa.

"My son was killed here; I want to see if he was properly buried," said another man.

A large portion of the population in southern Lebanon are supporters of the Hezbollah militia or its allied Amal movement.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), tens of thousands of residents have returned to the south and other areas in Lebanon since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in November.

However, many towns near the border remain deserted due to the continued presence of Israeli troops.

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Under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese army is tasked with securing the southern part of the country.

Hezbollah meanwhile is required to retreat north of the Litani River, approximately 30 kilometres from the southern border.

One killed, seven injured on Monday

The White House announced on Sunday that the ceasefire agreement was extended until February 18.

Tensions had once again been rising after a deadline expired for Israeli troops to withdraw from Lebanon as part of the deal.

Israeli military spokesman Avichai Adraee stated on the platform X that Israeli forces needed more time to ensure that "Hezbollah cannot restore its military presence."

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At least one person was killed and seven others were injured on Monday when Israeli forces opened fire on Lebanese villagers attempting to return to their homes as part of the ceasefire agreement, according to Lebanese security sources.

One person was killed in the border town of Adaissah, according to the Health Ministry.

The Israeli military said that it was checking the reports.

At the weekend 24 people were killed when residents tried to return to their homes in the south despite Israeli troops still being stationed there.

Ceasefire is 'victory' for Hezbollah, leader says

In a first statement from the group since the extension, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday described the ceasefire with Israel as a "victory" for his militia.

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Israel asked for the ceasefire and Hezbollah accepted it together with the Lebanese state, and this is a "victory," Qassem said in a televised speech.

"This is an opportunity for the [Lebanese] state to fulfil its duties and test its capabilities at the political level," he added.

The Shiite militia has been significantly weakened by more than a year of fighting with Israel and it likely had little choice but to agree to a ceasefire.

Qassem admitted that Hezbollah has suffered serious setbacks in the war with Israel in recent months, including the killing of secretary general Hassan Nasrallah and other high-ranking leaders.
The war between Israel and Hamas ravaging Gaza over the past year has put Palestine back in the global spotlight  and All Thats Left of You is director Cherien Dabis effort to put those months of loss and violence into context.

Long before the Hamas attacks against Israeli citizens on Oct. 7, 2023, Dabis had started work on All Thats Left of You, a film that opens with a Palestinian teen confronting Israeli soldiers and then working back through the events that led to that moment across decades and a generation through the eyes of her mother.

Dabis recounted one of her most haunting memories growing up as the daughter of a West Bank refugee, traveling between there and Jordan and requiring foreign citizenship just to see their family. At the age of eight, her entire family was forced to be strip searched by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint, leading to a tense confrontation between her father and the soldiers.

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I was just convinced they were going to kill him, she told TheWrap editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman while sitting at TheWraps Sundance Studio presented by World of Hyatt. She went on to explain that she wanted to create a story about the Palestinian struggle through the years.

There were stories from before I was born, from 1948 from 1967, and I always wondered why people didnt know the Palestinian perspective of what happened to us and how that impacted us over generations, she said. I just really wanted to tell that story so that  people could better understand the Palestinian perspective.

The teens mother in the film is played by Maria Zreik, who is also Palestinian. In conversation with TheWrap at Sundance, she recounted learning about surviving hardship from her maternal grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor, and her paternal grandparents, who initially fled Palestine during the start of the Nakba in 1948. Today, she still has family that lives in Galilee.

I think youd be hard pressed to find a Palestinian who didnt see themselves in this film in some way, because it really is our collective story, she said. But I think also the film really speaks to larger themes of how we can overcome tragedy and personal loss.

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Dabis and Zreiks film comes out at Sundance just a week after a cease-fire agreement came into effect in Gaza, with Hamas beginning to release Israeli hostages. With so many scars lingering from the Oct. 7 attacks and the subsequent bloodshed in Gaza, Dabis hopes that people who see All Thats Left of You will see that recognition of suffering is one way to heal.

Theres been so much denial of what happened to Palestinians in 1948 and  I think that that perspective is incredibly damaging and dangerous, she said. Theres this passage of this trauma, which the movie shows from one generation to another that I think we need to recognize and look at so that we can then do something about it.

Watch Dabis and Zreiks full interview in the video above.

The post All Thats Left of You Director Says Recognition of Suffering Is One Way to Heal Gaza | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
A street sign marks the interchange of Interstate 40 and the Kilpatrick Turnpike. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice)

OKLAHOMA CITY  Lawmakers have filed a number of bills aiming to overhaul how the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority operates.

The legislation, which ranges from giving legislators the power to set toll rates to rerouting a proposed controversial turnpike route in the Norman area, comes as the agency has faced increased scrutiny for its multi-billion dollar expansion project.

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Were reviewing all filed legislation related to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and will be reaching out to those legislators, said Lisa Shearer-Salim, an OTA spokeswoman.

She declined to comment on the individual proposals.

Some bills seek to remove the OTAs ability to increase tolls.

The agency raised tolls Jan. 1 by an average of 15% to pay for the 15-year Advancing and Connecting Communities and Economies Safely, dubbed ACCESS. The initial estimated cost was $5.1 billion, but has risen to $8.2 billion. More toll hikes are expected to be considered.

Rep. Annie Menz, D-Norman, Sen. Lisa Standridge, R-Norman, and Sen. Jonathan Wingard, R-Ada, have all filed bills to prohibit the OTA from raising tolls.

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The OTA issues bonds to pay for new turnpikes and raises tolls to retire the debt on the bonds.

House Bill 2097, authored by Menz, requires legislative approval before the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority can increase toll rates on any turnpikes in this state. Menz said her constituents believe OTA has abused its power.

I am looking forward to hearing OTAs thoughts and concerns, she said.

Senate Bill 975, by Wingard, does the same thing but also prohibits the Legislature from approving increases that give more than a 10% discount to members of a certain class.

Currently, those using PlatePay are charged considerably more than those using PikePass.

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Under PlatePay, a picture of the license plate is taken. The person to whom the vehicle is registered is mailed an invoice.

Under PikePass, tolls are dedicated from a prepaid account when a vehicle passes certain points on the turnpikes.

It costs about 50% more to use PlatePay, but most customers are on PikePass, according to the OTA.

Senate Bill 493, by Standridge, would prohibit the proposed Norman area turnpike from being built west of Lake Thunderbird State Park as is currently planned.

Moving the alignment east could impact tribal land.

It is of great concern to us, said Absentee Shawnee Treasurer Joseph Blanchard. It would potentially be coming through Absentee Shawnee territory.

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He said no one with OTA has reached out to tribal leaders.

The land contains family burial sites and ceremonial grounds, he said.

Standridge did not return a message seeking comment.

Other bills would cap how much debt the agency could incur.

Currently, there is no cap.

Preventing tolls from being increased could potentially impact the OTAs trust agreement and investors, said Bobby Stem, executive director of the Association of Oklahoma General Contractors, a trade association that advocates for road and bridge infrastructure.

No legislator ever wants to take a vote to increase taxes or fees, Stem said. We understand why. However, this critical infrastructure will deteriorate if these investments are not made.

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The placement and alignment of turnpikes is best left to professional engineers that have the expertise, he said.

Stem said about half of the tolls collected are paid by out-of-state drivers.

People who dont like paying tolls should find an alternative route, he said.

We all would be getting to grandmas house 30 minutes later every Sunday if it werent for some of these turnpikes, Stem said.

Lawmakers return Feb. 3 to the Capitol.

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After my 20th shot of hormones, I texted my boyfriend, only half kidding, Im dying. We had decided to freeze embryos, but after more than a week of drugs that made me feel like an overinflated balloon and forced me to take several secret naps a day, I no longer cared whether we froze anything. I was not doing this again.

In order to maximize the number of eggs that can be harvested from the human body, most women who undergo an egg retrieval spend two weeks, give or take, injecting themselves at home with a cocktail of drugs. The medications send the reproductive system into overdrive, encouraging the maximum number of egg-containing follicles to grow and mature at once. They can also cause itchiness, nausea, fatigue, sadness, headaches, moodiness, and severe bloating as your ovaries swell to the size of juicy lemons. Some people experience ovarian hyperstimulation, which can lead in rare cases to hospitalization. Studies have found the stress of fertility treatment to be a primary reason people stop pursuing it, even if they have insurance coverage.

Many people who continue with IVF feel that, if they want a child, they have no other choice. Right now our treatment options are pretty binary, Pietro Bortoletto, the director of reproductive surgery and a co-director of oncofertility at Boston IVF, told me. Either you just put sperm inside the uterus. Or you do IVF, the full-fledged Cadillac of treatment. But a third option is emerging, one that could reduce the cost and time that fertility patients spend at the doctors office and mitigate the side effects. Its called in vitro maturation, or IVM. Whereas IVF relies on hormone injections to ripen a crop of eggs inside the body, IVM involves collecting immature eggs from the ovaries and maturing them in the lab. The first IVM baby was born in Korea in 1991, and since then, the method has generally yielded lower birth rates than IVF. Decades later, new scientific techniques are raising the possibility that IVM could be a viable alternative to IVFat least for some patientsand free thousands of aspiring mothers from brutal protocols.



The challenge of IVM is to figure out how to make fragile, finicky human eggs mature in a dish as well as they do within the ovaries. The handful of researchers and companies leading the push to make IVM more mainstream are taking different approaches. One Texas-based company, Gameto, uses stem cells to produce something akin to an ovary in a dish, mimicking the chemical signals an egg would receive in the body. Last month, for the first time, a baby was born who was created using Gametos stem-cell medium, Fertilo. The fertility clinic at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam, uses a technique that involves first allowing the retrieved eggs to rest, then ripening them. Lavima Fertility, a company that spun out of research at the Free University of Brussels, is working on commercializing that technique.

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[Read: They were made without eggs or sperm. Are they human?]

For now, these new treatments arent commercially available in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration hasnt historically weighed in on the media that human embryos grow in, but it asked Gameto to seek approval to market Fertilo. Gameto is now preparing for Phase 3 clinical trials. Lavima could face similar hurdles. Older IVM methods are available in the U.S., but not widely used. Meanwhile, more than a dozen women in countries where Fertilo has been cleared for use, which include Australia, Mexico, Peru, and Argentina, are carrying Fertilo-assisted pregnancies, according to the company.

Compared with IVF, IVM is far more gentle. Harvesting immature follicles requires only one or two days of hormonal injections, or skips the process altogether. Reducing the hormone doses necessarily means fewer side effects and cases of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. (It may also curtail any possible long-term health effects of repeated exposure to these hormones, which have not been well studied.) Skipping or reducing the drugs can also save women thousands of dollars and many visits to a provider for blood work and monitoring. For women who live far from fertility clinics, or cant commit to so many visits for other reasons, this protocol could make the difference between undergoing treatment and not, Bortoletto said.

Historically, IVM has generated fewer mature eggs and embryos compared with IVF. The stats are improving, but even if IVM maintains an overall lower success rate than IVF, it still could be the better option for several groups of patients. Egg donors, many of whom undergo multiple retrieval cycles, could be good candidates. So could hyper-responderspatients whose ovaries naturally develop more follicles each month, thanks to their young age or conditions such as PCOS. IVM clinicians could gather enough eggs from hyper-responders that even if a smaller number mature in the lab than might have in the ovaries, a patient would still have a good chance of pregnancy. These patients are also at the highest risk for uncomfortable or dangerous IVF side effects. IVM could be a safer choice, and an effective one. In a 2021 committee opinion, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine concluded that IVM reduced the burden of fertility treatment for these groups of patients. Some studies of hyper-responders have found a live birth rate of 40 percent or higher per IVM cycle, a number on par with that of IVF.

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Many women seek IVF because they are approaching their 40s and have few eggs left; they will likely never be good IVM candidates. But IVM might work just fine for patients with blocked fallopian tubes, single and LGBTQ people, and young women who want to freeze their eggs. It could also be useful to cancer patients, many of whom dont have time to undergo a lengthy IVF cycle before beginning cancer treatment that threatens their fertility. The University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Vietnam primarily offers IVM to women with PCOS, women who appear to have a significant reserve of eggs, and women with a condition that mutes their response to hormonal stimulation. Lan Vuong, who heads the department of obstetrics and gynecology, told me the live-birth rate with IVM there is about 35 percent.

IVM could go far in helping to reduce the physical and emotional toll that fertility treatment takes on women at a time when more people than ever are seeking it out. In some ways, IVFs burden on women has increased: In an effort to improve birth rates, new drugs, with their attendant side effects, have been added to the standard protocols in the decades since 1978, when the first IVF baby was born. Beyond IVM, some companies are exploring new ways to reduce pain points, for instance by replacing needle injections with oral medications, some of which aim to have gentler side-effect profiles, or by having patients monitor a cycle at home instead of schlepping to the doctor every other day. Dina Radenkovic, the CEO of Gameto, told me that, within the fertility industry, there is a growing recognition that fertility treatments must be not only effective but also more humane.

[Read: Aspiring parents have a new DNA test to obsess over]

Knowing all this, I cant help imagining how my own experience could have been different. My doctor eventually told me that part of the reason my cycle was so painful was that I was a hyper-responder, even at the advanced age of 37. If a gentler option had been available, I would have been a prime candidate.

Article originally published at The Atlantic
Beware Republicans bearing gifts. Republicans want to make the new year a friendlier time for taxpayers by reducing the number of IRS auditors. It seems our biggest concern in life is the fear of a tax audit. When was the last time a middle-income taxpayer gave that a thought?

Unless your income was derived without a W-2 being issued or you lied, there is little chance of an audit. You simply cant cheat.

The main concern of Republicans is the lower end of the richer taxpayers  the low hanging fruit. Many in this category earn their living through generational wealth, never having to work a day in their lives.

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What would make a difference? Change the law and force corporations to pay their fair share. Thats not going to happen. Legislators need corporate donations to fund campaigns. Taxpayers would also be upset since we rely on the stock market to fund the retirement plans so many of us rely on.

I would hate to see one of the few profitable departments in our government disappear. The Congressional Budget Office reports that for every dollar spent to bring in a new IRS agent, $5 to $9 more will be generated. Stay vigilant.

Joseph DantasUnion Township
The similarities between President Donald Trump and Russias authoritarian President Vladimir Putin should not be ignored. Putin aims to make Russia great by invading neighboring countries, Trump speaks of taking Canada, Greenland and Panama by force to make America great again. Putin is surrounded by wealthy oligarchs, Trump is surrounded by billionaires. As The Economist reports, Russias elections are farcical, while Trump has yet to acknowledge that our 2020 presidential election was legitimate. While Putin is selling fossil fuels, Trump states climate change is a hoax.

It is no secret that both Putin and Trump abhor NATO. They apparently dont like its charter which states that an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all. The fact that NATO has been instrumental in keeping Europe peaceful for almost 80 years means nothing to power-hungry autocrats.

While freedom of the press in Russia is a joke, here Trump consistently floods the airwaves with misinformation and outright lies. During the past nine years he has played the media to his advantage and to the detriment of our country. Demonizing half our population as the enemy is precisely how autocrats come to power. Our system of government is very much at stake.

Jeanette Winkler

Ruscombmanor Township
Endangered water supply

Im writing to alert South County residents to an issue that threatens our water supply and will increase water rates. In August 2024, four environmental groups sued San Luis Obispo County over Lopez Dam operations, citing harm to steelhead and other protected species.

In December, the U.S. District Court ruled in their favor, issuing a preliminary injunction requiring the county to increase downstream releases by 50% into Arroyo Grande Creek. These releases began Jan. 15, and are beyond the safe yield for the Lopez Lake watershed.

Opinion

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Had this release schedule been in place during past droughts, Lopez Lake would have been drained in 2016 and 2021-2022. With less than 5 inches of rainfall since July and ongoing La Nina conditions, this judgment endangers Lopez Lake, the South Countys primary water source. For over 60 years, cities and CSDs including Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Pismo Beach, Oceano and Avila Beach have collaborated with SLO County and agricultural stakeholders to manage water supplies while protecting species.

This lawsuit undermines those efforts, diverting critical resources and leaving our water supply subject to outside control. I urge residents to demand that local leaders appeal this decision. Our water supply depends on it!

Brian Talley

Arroyo Grande

Get prepared, SLO County

San Luis Obispo County needs to prioritize preparing for disasters and reducing risks. This means we all need to work together government and the publicto take action. We should focus on things like creating safer spaces in fire-prone areas and meeting the states climate goals. Without strong leadership, were missing out on important resources, such as California grants for affordable housing and sustainable communities.

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The science is simple: A warmer planet means more evaporation, more water in the air, causing longer droughts and heavier rainstorms. SLO County is already feeling the effects of extreme weather. Weve seen the Cerro Alto Fire, the Arroyo Grande Creek flood, and storm surges that damaged the Cayucos Pier. These disasters affect everything  public health, agriculture, and even finding affordable home insurance. Fixing roads and buildings is important, but we also need to reduce whats causing these problems: greenhouse gas emissions.

Other counties, like Sonoma and Santa Barbara, are doing a better job. Theyve started useful projects to reduce risks and cut emissions, and theyve gotten big grants from the state to help. With $10 billion in new state funds available soon, tell the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 4 to prioritize climate resilience.

Don Maruska, Los Osos

Erin Pearse, Los Osos

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Eric Veium, San Luis Obispo

This bookstore is thriving

I strenuously object to the recent article by Hannah Poukich. The headline stated that ever since a Morro Bay coffee shop closed, nearby stores are struggling to survive. Coalesce Bookstore, right next door to the former coffee shop, is thriving now and has been thriving in Morro Bay since 1973. Ive been getting my books there for years and Ive never been in the store when there werent several customers among the shelves or at the counter.

Carol McPhee Norton

San Luis Obispo

Birthright citizenship

Who among those of us born in America can say that our citizenship is NOT by birthright?

Even the original members of the Pilgrim families were not American when they got here, but their descendants sure are. My English paternal grandfather entered Canada as a teenager on a cattle boat. He decided to follow the model of his ancestors and train horses for livery. He walked across the Canadian border in the 1800s not to gain citizenship, but because the wild horses he wrangled, trained and traded didnt recognize a border.

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He met and married his wife, whose German parents had immigrated from Danzig/Gdansk in the Polish corridor. The family first settled in Montana, then moved west. There is no paperwork to prove that they were ever naturalized as Americans, and I dont know that they ever were.

Nonetheless, their 12 children, their 26 grandchildren (my generation), our children, our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren are unquestionably American based upon the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, NOT because we are white English-speakers.

Carol Nelson-Selby

San Luis Obispo

What did you expect?

In a recent headline, an official high in the police union stated that pardoning the Jan. 6 rioters, or should I say insurrectionists, sends a dangerous message. First, people accused of and convicted of harming people who were doing their jobs are absolved of their crimes.

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What would he expect?

Our bully of a president pardoned bullies like himself. The dangerous message is not just that the bullys behavior will be tolerated, but also that unlawful and uncivil behavior by an elected felon will become the norm in this administration. We are all in for a long and perilous siege of our democracy.

Fred Raleigh

Templeton

Mums the word

Donald Trumps Department of Health and Human Services has directed all agency leaders to halt all external communications until they can be reviewed and approved by a presidential appointee.

This means, presumably, that HHS might not be able to publish anything that says that bleach injections and Ivermectin are not effective against COVID or that vaccines dont cause autism because that information could be politically inconvenient.

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Project 2025 tells us that Trumps government should downsize and reshape federal agencies that do research on climate change ( e.g., the National Climate Assessment), likely because such research could call into question the wisdom of drilling for more oil and gas.

One hallmark of authoritarian regimes is that they suppress all information that doesnt promote the governments agenda. In Russia, the Ukraine war is a special military operation, not a war, and the goal of the operation is to de-Nazify Ukraine although its leader is a Jew. Saying otherwise can land you in jail.

It is said that people voted for Trump because they thought groceries were too expensive. Sadly, groceries arent getting any cheaper and the collateral damage arising from that decision will be with us for decades to come.

Chris Toews

San Luis Obispo
A new border between Lincoln and Catawba counties will be official this week.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Neighbors start petition to keep from being annexed into Catawba County

Our partners at the Hickory Daily Record report the new border shifts south, giving Catawba County more land and more citizens.

More than 150 properties in Lincoln County are impacted. The majority are in the Denver area.

The change comes after Catawba and Lincoln requested surveys into the accuracy of the border.

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>> MAP: Lincoln-Catawba line

Some are concerned about the impacts to schools and property values.

Lincoln County is hosting two community meetings. The first is scheduled for Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the East Lincoln Community Center in Denver.

The second is set for Wednesday at the James W. Warren Citizens Center in Lincolnton.

(VIDEO: CMS students, parents form human chain to protest school boundary changes)




UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Top UN officials expressed concern on Sunday about escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"The situation is deteriorating rapidly," UN Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

She said hundreds of civilians have been killed or injured in the last few weeks, and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes or shelters to escape gunfire and shelling.

Tensions have been running high due to the recent advances by the M23 rebels in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. The rebels took control of Sake, a town considered the last defense for government forces before Goma, the capital of North Kivu and a major regional hub.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN undersecretary-general for peace operations, said the United Nations is profoundly concerned with the resumption of hostilities which have led to the loss of a strategic position several kilometers from Goma.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the UN chief "is deeply concerned by the escalating violence in eastern DRC."

Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire.

More than 400,000 people have been displaced since the start of 2025 in eastern DRC, where conflicts between the Congolese army and armed groups have intensified. 
WASHINGTON (NewsNation)  President Donald Trump started his second administration with a flurry of policy actions since returning to the White House on Jan. 20.

In total, the Republican presidents sweeping actions reflect many of his campaign promises and determination to concentrate executive branch power in the West Wing.

Heres a look at the executive orders the president has signed on the economy since taking office:

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Crisis on the border: Trumps first week tackling immigration

Domestic trade

Trump has broadly directed all executive agencies to tailor their policies to reduce consumer prices. Trump wants a progress report from a top White House economic adviser every 30 days.

Global trade

Hes directed the treasury and commerce secretaries, U.S trade representative and others to examine causes of U.S. trade deficits, identify unfair trade practices and make recommendations, potentially including a global supplemental tariff.

His administration will begin the establishment of an External Revenue Service to collect tariffs, duties and other foreign trade-related revenues.t

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What is the minimum income to file this years tax return?

Directed the commerce and trade secretaries and the U.S. trade representative to consolidate multiple reviews and assessments. Trump ordered consolidated reports by April 1.

China tariffs

Ordered a review of U.S. trade dealings with China to consider new or increased tariffs. As a candidate, Trump threatened Chinese tariffs as high as 60%.

He moved to suspend U.S. participation in the Global Tax Deal, an international agreement intended to set a minimum corporate tax globally to prevent multinational corporations from avoiding taxation altogether.

Canadian tariffs

He has initiated a review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Trumps first-administration rewrite of NAFTA, with an eye to a renegotiation in 2026 or sooner. Trump said he plans 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods as of Feb. 1, but he has not signed such executive actions so far.

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NewsNations Jeff Arnold and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
**Related Video Above: Wolf Pack Chorus visited New Day Cleveland in July

CLEVELAND (WJW)  Yet another Cleveland restaurant has announced plans to close as 2025 has just gotten going.

Wolf Pack Chorus, which started up in Little Italy about two years ago, is going to shut down sometime in early February, the restaurant owners recently wrote on social media.

Restaurants, bars expected to open in Northeast Ohio in 2025

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The spot, located a little bit away from the core Italian eateries in the neighborhood at 2175 Cornell Road, was started by a husband and wife team, Chris and Katie Wolf. The elevated food took inspiration from French and American cuisines.

Friday, the owners took to social media to express their gratitude, while acknowledging there have been too many of these announcements over the last few months.

Cleveland Pierogi Week returns this week to warm the soul

To get to spend time with you and your friends and families has been an honor, and I will continue to celebrate all the memories that we have created for a long time to come, the post said.

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Find out more about the restaurant right here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
Southern California finally received some much-needed rain this week after weeks of historically dry, windy weather fueled this month's deadly wildfire outbreak  but with it came the threat of landslides, mudslides and toxic ash runoff in burn areas.

According to the National Weather Service, more than an inch of rain fell in parts of Los Angeles over a three-day span, triggering flash flood watches and warnings. Some debris flows were reported along the Pacific Coast Highway, and snow in the surrounding mountains briefly shut down Interstate 5.

But the wet weather was also a boon to firefighters who continue to battle four active wildfires that have scorched more than 57,000 acres. The three biggest  the Palisades, Eaton and Hughes fires  are each more than 95% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Border 2 Fire, which erupted in the Otay Mountain Wilderness area east of Chula Vista late last week, is now 90% contained.

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Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Monday reiterating that people who are rebuilding their homes are not subject to environmental permit requirements laid out in the California Coastal Act.

As the state helps the Los Angeles area rebuild and recover, we will continue to remove barriers and red tape that stand in the way," Newsom said.
President Trump said Wednesday he plans to speak to Chinese officials about keeping TikTok "alive."

"There's a lot of people interested in TikTok, and I think we have a chance of doing something good. And we'll be speaking to China about that also because they're a party to it, obviously," he told reporters on Air Force One. "But it would be great to keep TikTok alive, sell it to somebody that's going to do a great job with it."

Trump previously said he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month about TikTok.

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While signing executive orders on Feb. 3, Trump ordered the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments to create a sovereign wealth fund that he suggested could buy TikTok. In late January, Trump said he had "spoken to many people about TikTok and there is great interest" in the app.

While he did not offer any specific names, Trump said that "numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it, and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days."

TikTok has dominated headlines since April, when then-President Joe Biden signed a law passed by Congress requiring the popular app, which is owned by a Chinese company, to be sold or be banned in the United States.

In one of the first official acts of his second term in the White House, Trump signed an executive order delaying for 75 days the enforcement of the planned ban on TikTok  which had been set to take effect on Jan. 19  and proposed that the U.S. should own 50% of the platform in what he called a joint venture.

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The Biden administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have argued that TikToks Chinese ownership presents a potential threat to national security, and the Supreme Court agreed, moving to uphold the ban on Jan. 17.

TikToks parent company, ByteDance, has said it has no plans to sell TikTok, citing in part the Chinese governments opposition to a sale. However, on Jan. 20, Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters that the decision should be independently decided by companies in accordance with market principles.

Follow along below for all the latest updates.
DES MOINES, Iowa  A local ice cream maker has surpassed her fundraising goal to open a shop in the Highland Park neighborhood.

Since 2022 Beth Mensing has been trying to turn a vacant location at the corner of Euclid Avenue and 6th Avenue into her very own ice cream shop, Scoops by Beth, but shes been struggling to get a loan to make that dream a reality.

Mensing created a capital campaign on Kickstarter to raise money and reach her goal of $35,000 to open the shop. The catch  she had to raise that money in 60 days or the money would be returned to donators. While Mensing said she would still open a shop if she didnt reach the goal, the $35,000 would be a major help.

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Rural ambulance service to build new facility with $300,000 federal grant

In about two weeks the donations began to pile up and with the help of one individual pledging a match of up to $3,000 for one day, Mensing reached her fundraising goal.

Mensing said the main reason shes able to go after her dream is because of the supportive community surrounding her.

I wouldnt have gone for it if I didnt feel like I could accomplish that, she said. It helps to have, even though I may not have business partners and someone to kind of share the household expenses with, like, I do have a really strong community of family and friends that I can either call on to help me make ice cream, to help me sell, to do whatever it is that I ask. Theyve been just, people have been really great and wonderful and supportive for me.

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The fundraiser will be open until Wednesday morning. As of Monday, its raised over $37,000. Mensing said she hopes to have the ice cream shop open sometime in summer 2025.

Metro News:

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com.
Jan. 26MITCHELL  Law enforcement personnel from Mitchell and the surrounding counties gathered at the Mitchell Police Department training room on Thursday to surprise one of their own with an honorary award for going above and beyond.

Mitchell Detective Andrew Becker received the South Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent's Performance Award for stopping to render aid while off-duty.

Becker, his wife Marissa and their children were on the way to Tea to see family on the Saturday before Thanksgiving 2024 when they witnessed a car crash.

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Without hesitation, Becker immediately "took the ditch," according to his wife.

Inside the wreckage, a female driver was unresponsive and two passengersan adult woman and a young girlwere seriously injured.

Becker immediately pulled the unconscious driver from the car and began CPR, continuing life-saving efforts until first responders arrived. Meanwhile, his wife, who stayed in the car with their two young sons, called 911.

"That natural instinct kicks in  to him it's just another day," Marissa Becker said.

Highway Patrol State Trooper Shane Johnson arrived at the scene and relieved Becker from CPR duties. But Becker didn't stop there. He continued to render aid and emotional support to the other passengers, including a four-year old girl and a witness in shock.

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Despite Becker's efforts, the driver died from her injuries at the scene of the crash.

Afterward, Johnson nominated Becker for the superintendent's award.

The Superintendent's Performance Award is a recognition given to individuals or groups for outstanding contributions or actions that go above and beyond typical expectations. The award has been given to South Dakota Highway Patrol members, other law enforcement officers as well as private citizens. The award acknowledges exceptional performance in promoting highway safety, customer service and volunteer community service.

Colonel Casey Collins, superintendent of the Highway Patrol, told the Mitchell Republic that not everyone who gets nominated is approved for the award, and that it's rare to give them out.

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"It was an easy yes," Collins added.

To honor Becker, Dean Knippling, the Mitchell chief of police, arranged a surprise ceremony. Knippling scheduled Becker to lead a training off-site to get him out of the building and fill it with Becker's family and local law enforcement. Sheriff departments from Sanborn, Davison and Hanson counties were also in attendance.

Becker, who became a police officer in 2016 and a detective in 2019, was visibly surprised by how many people came to honor him.

"Yeah, they pulled it off. I was like 'there's a lot of, you know, high ranking officers (vehicles) in the parking lot,'" Becker said.

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The Superintendent's Performance Award plaque commemorates Becker's actions that day. The commemorative plaque states:

"On November 23, 2024, a single-vehicle rollover occurred on Interstate 90 near mile marker 344 in Hanson County. The crash involved three occupants, including a 4-year-old girl. Both adult occupants sustained life-threatening injuries, and tragically, the female driver succumbed to her injuries at the scene. Detective Andrew Becker of the Mitchell Police Department, who was off duty at the time, witnessed the crash while traveling westbound on Interstate 90 with his wife and two children. Without hesitation, Detective Becker drove his vehicle into the north ditch and sprinted to the crashed vehicle. Displaying extraordinary composure and courage, he pulled the unresponsive female driver from the vehicle and began CPR, continuing life-saving measures until first responders arrived on the scene. Trooper Shane Johnson arrived shortly after and took over CPR. Meanwhile, Detective Becker turned his attention to comforting the 4-year-old girl and later provided support to a female witness who was visibly shaken by the incident. Even during a chaotic and tragic situation, Detective Becker's actions demonstrated his unwavering commitment to service and his deep compassion for others. Detective Andrew Becker acted not for recognition but out of a servant's heart and dedication to the people of South Dakota. In recognition of his selfless actions, Mitchell Police Detective Andrew Becker is awarded the South Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent's Performance Award.

1/3/2025

Colonel Casey Collins

Superintendent, SD Highway Patrol"
AUSTIN (Texas Tribune)  The Trump administration this week directed federal prosecutors across the country to investigate and potentially prosecute local officials who get in the way of its immigration crackdown.

It is not clear if any will get in the way in Texas.

Local officials across the state who are eager to help the administrations immigration efforts have not offered concrete details about how they will cooperate with the federal government. And officials in the states Democratic cities  where the majority of the states undocumented population live and work  have not said much at all.

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Immigrant rights advocacy groups and legal experts say the Trump administrations threat Wednesday to prosecute local officials has no legal backing and is simply an attempt to intimidate local jurisdictions into helping with the mass deportations Trump promised during his presidential campaign.

The Constitution and our laws are clear: The federal government cannot bully state officials into carrying out deportations, nor can they punish them for declining, said Deirdre Schifeling, the American Civil Liberties Unions chief political and advocacy officer.

The directive was among a flurry of executive actions Trump took this week. The administration also cut off access to an app that thousands of migrants used to make appointments to request asylum; promoted more cooperation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local and state governments; and threw out policies that stopped authorities from arresting migrants at sensitive locations like schools and churches.

In Texas, some officials said they are ready to help Trump  but did not specify what that means. Among them is Tarrant County Judge Tim OHare, the top elected official in the 15th largest county in the country.

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Nearly two decades ago as a city council member in Farmers Branch, a city in neighboring Dallas County, OHare tried to ban landlords from renting to anyone who lacked proof of citizenship. The ordinance was repeatedly struck down by federal judges and the city stopped defending it in 2014 after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the city. The lawsuits over the policy, which was never enforced, cost the town $6.6 million.

OHare said he fully supports Trumps agenda and trusts the presidents political advisers to successfully address the massive crisis we have at our border, his chief of staff Ruth Ray said.

Tarrant County is committed to upholding the rule of law and ensuring the safety and security of its residents, Ray said. Tarrant County will fully and unequivocally support law and order and the enforcement of American immigration laws.

Galveston County Judge Mark Henry noted that his county was the only one not located along the border to deploy deputies to help the states Operation Lone Star border enforcement program.

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Galveston County will collaborate and work fully with the Trump Administration on immigration enforcement and securing our southern border, Henry said in a statement just before Trumps inauguration.

In the states Democrat-led cities, officials stopped short of a full-throated condemnation of Trumps new initiatives.

Spokespersons for the sheriffs in Bexar, Travis and Dallas counties  home to the states other largest metros  vowed to abide by state and federal laws and continue serving all of their residents.

We are dedicated to public safety and law enforcement, Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez said. We offer top-level professional care to anyone in need of our services. We want victims to run to our agency in a crisis, not run away.

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El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson said he would stand by his commitment to safety for all and that everyone should feel safe going to school, churches and hospitals.

Public safety is best served when every resident feels safe and protected, he said.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare echoed the sentiment.

Nothing about the rhetoric out of Washington will undermine my mission: Fighting for all crime survivors in our community, Teare said in a statement provided by a spokesperson. Any policy that makes victims of violent crime, such as domestic violence or aggravated robbery, less likely to contact law enforcement out of fear of legal retribution, should be reexamined.

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Texas cities that were accused of protecting undocumented immigrants through so-called sanctuary policies  such as directing local police not to cooperate with federal immigration officials  became the targets of a 2017 state law that prohibited local policies that prevent a peace officer from asking about a persons immigration status. The law also requires that Texas authorities cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE)  President Trumps focus of cracking down on undocumented immigrants has sent concern through communities all over New Mexico, with social media posts popping up claiming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids were taking place.

However, as News 13 has learned, thats not the case. After speaking with several organizations throughout the state, weve confirmed theres only been one verified incident involving an ICE agent asking someone about their immigration status this past week.

Story continues below

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Earlier this week, those social media posts claiming ICE raids were taking place in Albuquerque spread quickly. But, as of Sunday, the one confirmed incident involving an ICE agent this week took place in Ruidoso, where an agent questioned a Mescalero Apache tribal member.

Well, it did really freak out our tribal members to tell you the truth, said Thora Walsh-Padilla, President of the Mescalero Apache tribe.

According to the Mescalero Apache tribe, the agent approached the person in a public place- speaking to them in Spanish. The tribal member stated they spoke English. Thats when the President Walsh-Padilla says the ICE agent asked for the individuals passport, to which they presented their New Mexico drivers license, and tribal ID card. The questioning then stopped, and the agent left.

We are telling our tribal members carry your tribal ID, President Walsh-Padilla explained. If you dont have one, get one.

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Following that incident, people began sharing social media posts and tips stating ICE raids took place at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH), Central New Mexico Community (CNM) Colleges campus, and a couple of local charter schools. However, those claims were all false.

According to CNM, theyve had no reported incidents, and stated it was a rumor. South Valley Academy, Mission Achievement and Success (MAS) charter school, Albuquerque Public Schools (APS), as well as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico have also disputed that any raids happened in the metro this past week.

APS stated this week their policies do not allow immigration officials on campus at any time, and that they dont keep record of students immigration status. The City of Albuquerque also reiterated its commitment as an immigrant-friendly city earlier this week, and stated the Office of Refugee Affairs has resources and can help people get in contact with local organizations who can answer questions.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.
In an interview with the new PBS SoCal digital series Locationland, location manager Danny Finn describes the kismet moment when he discovered that the house used for Freaky Friday in 2003 was still standing and still owned by the same woman. Even better, she was open to allowing it to be used again for Disneys August 2025 release, Freakier Friday.

I called and got an old, robotic answering machine, left a Hail Mary voicemail, Finn recalled. Two minutes later I got a call from an unknown number and this voice answered, Hi. Its Me. Yes, I still live here. Same house, new husband, all good. So we ended up shooting there, which was wonderful.

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Then, last week, everything changed.

Weve since confirmed that that house  along with every house on that block  was lost in the Palisades Fire, he told Locationland.

In the midst of that life-altering tragedy, Finn was able to offer some solace to the homeowner.

We were able to furnish the homeowner with our 2024 scout photos of the house for insurance claims and FEMA aid.

The Freaky Friday homeowners dilemma is, unfortunately, not uncommon for those who lost homes in the Palisades and Eaton Fires.

While some people knew to take photos or video of their homes, many didnt. And given the fast-moving nature of the wind-whipped blazes, many who were aware they should document their possessions for potential claims down the road didnt have the time to do so between the moment they found out there was a fire and when they needed to evacuate.

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Along with Finn, location manager David Flannery has stepped into that breach. Flannery and cohorts Lori Balton, Aaron Cota, Elizabeth Reynolds  all of whom worked on Apple TV+s Shrinking together  joined with Ian Rutherford  key assistant location manager on Netlixs Griselda  to create The Eaton and Palisades Fire Photo Project.

They have set up a webpage and a volunteer community at Scoutphotos.org to help victims of the fires find images of their properties. The aim is to connect those whove lost their homes with location management professionals and/or art directors who may have photographed those properties. In addition to compensation from insurance, the group also recognizes that some victims may also want the photos for their sentimental value or to help an architect rebuild a structure.

The initiative is co-sponsored by the Location Managers Guild, the Art Directors Guild and Teamsters Local 399.

Locationland, for its part, has found itself uniquely positioned to document such losses of film and TV history. It offers first-hand accounts of the creative people who brought cinematic SoCal to the big screen. The show also looks at the impact that film and TV have on local communities as well as set-jetting as a new form of movie tourism. But since the wildfires started on January 7th, the producers have been shooting new interviews in the Palisades and Altadena to document the surviving film landmarks as well as the ones that have been lost.

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Among those somewhere in between the two extremes is another Freaky Friday location: Palisades High School. While initial reports had the campus destroyed, officials have indicated that the site, while damaged, is not a total loss. Other projects shot on site include Carrie, MTVs Teen Wolf, Crazy/Beautiful and Olivia Rodrigos good 4 u music video.

Locationland also caught up with Jim Harris, the owner of Gladstones, whose famous eatery has been used in everything from NCIS to The Dating Game. Harris said that while the back half of the building  mostly storage  was pretty torn up with some scorched walls and smoke damage, the restaurant itself was relatively unscathed. For that, Harris credited the LAFD, which had a command post in the expansive parking lot just beyond his patio.

Locationland is hosted by author and film historian Harry Medved and co-created by longtime documentary filmmaker and PBS producer Harry Pallenberg, who produced Huell Howsers Californias Gold series for over a decade. It is a co-production of PBS SoCal and Pallenbergs Sunny and Mild Media. Pallenberg and Medved are the executive producers of the show.

The first three episodes follow Grease Director Randal Kleiser as he recalls shooting in the L.A. River, at Malibus Leo Carrillo State Beach and under the Sixth Street Bridge. Directors Will Gluck and Joe Dante discuss their shoots involving the Hollywood sign. Comedian/superfan Dana Gould visits the forgotten graveyard where Ed Wood filmed Bela Lugosis scenes for Plan 9 from Outer Space.

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Locationland will stream on the PBS app and pbssocal.org starting at 6 p.m. tonight with new episodes dropping weekly on PBS SoCals YouTube Channel.

You can watch the teaser for the first episode, featuring Kleiser, below.

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New London  The 174-year-old Cedar Grove Cemetery, the final resting place of whaling captains, politicians and industrialists  as well as early immigrants to the city, yellow fever victims and the more recently deceased  has secured federal and state historic designations that open the doors for much-needed grant funding.

But it's the cemetery's landscaping and funeral art features  not the notability of its inhabitants  that secured its listing on a national historic register that recognizes locations of note across the country.

City officials on Dec. 19 were informed that the 76-acre cemetery, on the western edge of the city and not far from the Waterford town line, was chosen in October to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service. That designation came just months after the State Historic Preservation Office granted a similar honor onto the 638 Broad St. location which is bounded by Jefferson Avenue to the south and west.

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Gail MacDonald, president of the New London Cemetery Association, the volunteer group that oversees the cemetery, said the inductions will allow her group to begin applying for a series of grants, including one aimed at funding a chapel repair project, that when complete will bring new rental revenues into the groups coffers.

We started talking about applying for these designations about two years ago after looking around and seeing all these projects we wanted to complete, MacDonald said on Thursday. And one of the ways to pay for that work was with grants.

Politicians, whalers and philanthropists

The horizon of the sprawling cemetery grounds is broken up by towering obelisks, ornate markers and stone replicas of angels, anchors and robed figures. More than a dozen mausoleums dot the property near more modest plots where the only splash of color comes from flower bouquets or waving flags.

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Near the main cemetery gates, a statue of a Civil War veteran, his arms draped over a rifle barrel, gazes out over passing traffic on Broad Street.

The cemetery contains the remains of several U.S. congressmen (Nathan Belcher, 1813-1891; Benjamin Stark, 1820-1898; Lyman Law, 1770-1842) and Connecticut Gov. Thomas McDonald Waller, as well as Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor recipient George C. Williams, children's author Mary Lydia Bolles Branch and Frances Manwaring Caulkins, the writer who established early 19th century schools for women in Norwich and New London.

Theodore Bodenwein, the former New London Day owner and publisher who established the newspapers charitable trust, is also buried at Cedar Grove. MacDonald noted that, according to cemetery lore, an anonymous visitor delivered a copy of The Day to Bodenweins grave for many years after his death in 1939.

The cemetery sections serve as a visual voyage through the citys lucrative maritime past, with one area across the street from New London High School set aside for five Smith brothers, all whaling captains.

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The names of prominent city families such as Williams, Billings and Lawrence, the latter of Lawrence + Memorial Hospital fame, are scattered across the older cemetery areas.

MacDonald said the oldest gravestones, about 200, were transported from their original location at Williams Park and re-erected at Cedar Grove. It's unclear if the remains were also moved and re-interred.

Mining the past to fund the future

But just having a famous inventory of graves isnt enough to garner a historic designation, Jenny Scofield, deputy historic preservation officer for the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), said on Thursday.

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The (national register) doesn't recognize a cemetery just for who's buried there, because those important people would instead be honored at the place where they did their work," said Scofield, SHPO's national register coordinator. "For instance, an activist would be recognized where meetings took place or people congregated."

Cedar Grove met the register criteria by dint of its number and breadth of funerary art, the intricate grave marker carvings and other architectural features, as well as its welcoming landscaping.

It turns out, its the cemeterys connections to famous architectural firms that was key, including the Olmsted Brothers, MacDonald said, referring to the Brookline, Mass., company responsible for early 1900s landscaping at the property and the design of New Yorks Central Park.

Several examples of the cemeterys funerary art were highlighted in a national register submission, including a 20-foot, red granite monument at the center of the Prest family plot (section 3) that was carved by the Scotland-based Bower & Florence firm.

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The headstone for Cornelia Wetmore Chapell Porter (1866-1906) in section 12, was highlighted for its stylized Celtic cross with an enlarged nimbus surrounding a cross with a knot.

The state and federal registers contain historic locations recognized as worthy of preservation due to their historical, architectural, archaeological, engineering and cultural significance. Recipients have access to a slew of grant funding opportunities not available to unlisted groups.

The path to a historical listing began with using a state grant to hire a professional consultant who authored an 80-page application filled with geographical and biographical data about the citys largest cemetery, including its history as a burial ground and rural cemetery, defined by a mid-19th century architectural style with winding carriage roads, carefully designed views and naturalistic  but meticulously planned  landscaping.

"Cemeteries like Cedar Grove weren't just for burials, but were built as park-like places for respite and reflection as well," Scofield said. "People visiting get a chance to experience a sense of tranquility and see those impressive monuments."

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MacDonald said the associations first order of business will be to obtain funding to address the significant water damage inside the main office chapel, a mint green room where large sections of plastered walls are crumbling.

That chapel can be an important revenue stream for us, a place we can rent for weddings and other events, she said. We also have an upstairs apartment that contractors have expressed an interest on as an office or residence.

Cemetery upkeep is currently funded almost exclusively through charitable bequeathments and money coming from burial fees as the grounds are still an active interment site.

We also want to do a better job letting New London residents and others know about this place, with more tours and educational programming, MacDonald said. Theres also been discussions about forming a friends group that could take part in annual cleanups.

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Scofield said being listed on a historic register lends a certain cachet to a location that encourages stewardship of the property.

"That elevates the profile of a place that has a very important place in history and invites people to perhaps come and volunteer, she said.

j.penney@theday.com
NAIROBI, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President William Ruto, who is also the champion of the African Union (AU) institutional reforms, said on Monday that conflict continues to deny Africa of its potential, costing the continent an estimated 18 billion U.S. dollars annually and displacing millions of people.

Ruto said Africa currently hosts 35 million internally displaced persons, 8.9 million refugees, 1.1 million asylum seekers, and 1 million stateless persons.

"Between April and June 2024 alone, a total of 1,000 terrorism incidents were recorded across Africa, resulting in 4,818 deaths," he said during the high-level Extended Bureau Retreat on AU Institutional Reforms held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

The day-long event brought together presidents from Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Ghana, and the Comoros, as well as Moussa Faki, chairperson of the AU Commission, to accelerate reforms of the 55-member continental organization.

Ruto noted that the AU security architecture in its current configuration is incapable of addressing the continent's complex dynamics and challenges, and there is an urgent need for immediate revitalization of the peace and security architecture.

He also said the pan-African bloc's presence in regional hotspots remains weak, fragmented, and under-resourced.

The Kenyan leader added that the continent's developmental goals are being hindered by destabilizing forces, given that peace is the key to development. 
LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK)  The Longview Fire Department is searching for the cause of a structure fire that occurred on Friday evening.

According to Longview FD, at 10:20 p.m. firefighters responded to a call regarding a structure fire behind a house on Aurel Boulevard.

When firefighters arrived on the scene they reported heavy fire conditions coming from the barn and garage behind the home, but no one was injured.

Due to the condition of the fire, the on-scene commander ordered a defensive fire attack that meant nobody would be allowed to enter the building at the time. The fire required the use of three fire engines, two ladder trucks, one ambulance and four support vehicles.

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According to the Longview FD, the fire took approximately 20 minutes to put out and no injuries were reported.

One person was detained by the Deputy Fire Marshal. He was questioned and later released without an arrest being made. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK)  An East Texas man was arrested after 1,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills were found in a Longview home.

Mugshot of Ladarrin Rayson, courtsey of Gregg County Jail

According to the Longview Police Department, on Friday Jan. 17 Gregg County Organized Drug Enforcement (CODE) Unit and the Special Investigations Apprehension (SIA) served a warrant in the 3700 block of McCann Road.

Once officers arrived on the scene, they reportedly located and seized 1,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills, 2500 xanax pills, hydrocodone, cocaine, percocet fentanyl pills and over $11,000.

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3 arrested after meth found in Athens home

Ladarrin Rayson, 36 of Longview was arrested and charged with five counts of manufacturing and delivery of a controlled substance officials said.

Rayson was transported and booked into the Gregg County Jail.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com.
KILGORE, Texas (KETK)  The Longview Police Department is partnering with the Kilgore College Police Academy of East Texas to help them train new police officers.

PHOTOS: Tyler JROTC cadets mentor T.J. Austin Elementary students

Kilgore College and the Longview Police Department believe their mantras of your future starts here and providing professional policing coincide in a way that will deliver quality training to new police officers for the entire East Texas region. Longview Police Department

Longview PD said they expect the first group of officers their helping to train to hit the streets later on in 2025. The police academy at Kilgore College has been training police officers since 1966.

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To learn more, visit the Kilgore College Police Academy of East Texas online.

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First Lady Melania Trumps second White House portrait has been released - and the internet has had plenty to say about it.

The 54-year-olds second portrait as First Lady features her in grayscale, wearing a fitted black suit as she stands with her hands on a tabletop. The Washington Monument is visible in the background through a window.

Social media users were quick to react to the new portrait.

This looks like a Suits promo photo, one user posted on X, drawing a comparison to the legal drama that once starred Meghan Markle.

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I didnt know House of Cards was still running, another wrote, referencing the Netflix political drama.

Melania Trumps second official portrait as First Lady was released Monday (The White House)

Many of the First Ladys supporters were enthused by the new portrait, however. Some hailed the portrait as absolutely stunning, while others noted her stern demenour, adding: She looks like shes got the grin of Somebody is going to pay.

The portrait, released Monday afternoon, was taken in the White Houses Yellow Oval Room by Regine Mahaux. The 58-year-old has regularly photographed members of the Trump family for nearly 20 years  and took Melanias first portrait as First Lady in 2017.

This years portrait is quite different from her last.

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Melanias 2017 portrait features her in full color with a small smile on her face, standing with her arms crossed against a blue background in the White House.

Melania Trumps first portrait as First Lady, taken in 2017, was drastically different to her most recent one. (The White House)

Melania has reportedly been preparing intensively for her return to the White House, including by studying foreign affairs, CNN reported earlier this month. She also plans to split her time between Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, Florida, she told Fox Newss Fox & Friends.

Shell also be spending time in New York City where her son, 18-year-old Barron Trump, attends school at New York University.

The First Lady told Fox & Friends her second round in the White House will be much different from her first.

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The difference is I know where I will be going, I know the rooms where we will be living. I know the process, she said. The first time was challenging, we didnt have much of the information.

I will be in the White House, she continued. And, you know, when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach. But my first priority is, you know, to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife. And once we are in on January 20, you serve the country.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  Sunday, loved ones of a young girl killed more than 20 years ago in Rochester stood side by side with the community to make one last public plea ahead of whats expected to be a monumental day in court.

This is our last chance to publicly plea to Judge Miller and city officials for Tim Kuhn to go to trial in the arson and murder of my sister Savannah Streber. Judge Miller decides on January 31st whether he goes to trial or whether he walks free, and if he does walk free, he will not be charged for this crime, said Kelly Streber, the older sister of Savannah.

Kelly embraces loved one during Sundays vigil. (WROC/Melanie Sosa.)

At just 8 years old, Savannah Streber died in a fire on Yates Street in the city on February 28, 2004. Police ruled the fire an arson.

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It has taken up a majority of my life, Ive fought for justice for her for more than half of my life, since I can remember. I couldnt get past the fact that my sister is no longer here and the person who is responsible for it, who  we all knew who it was the entire time, is Tim Kuhn, theres no question who else it would be, Kelly said.

Rochester arson, murder suspect arrested in Florida

The sole suspect in the case, Timothy Kuhn, was arrested years later, in 2023, at his home in Florida.

Tim Kuhn mentally and physically abused my mother before he set her home in flames, claiming the life of her daughter. Tims goal that night was to take everything from my mom. He succeeded, he took everything from, not just her, but from all of us. Its been 20 years, nearly my whole life, that her murderer has walked free. The fear I have to know that her killer was out there may not come to an end, said Alexandra Streber, Savannahs younger sister.

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Folks gathered outside the Irondequoit Mall Sunday for the community plea. The family and others have developed a group called Justice for Savannah. Sunday, the group made their plea to the judge in this case to go to trial along with a candlelight vigil and a moment of silence in Savannahs honor.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko declared himself president for his seventh consecutive term in an election on Jan. 26 internationally deemed as neither free nor fair.

The Belarusian Election Commission claimed that Lukashenko "won" 86.82% of the vote, followed by regime-approved and little-known candidates like Sergey Syrankov with 3.21% or Oleg Gaidukevich with 2.02%. Some 3.6% of the ballots voted "against all."

"You can congratulate the Republic of Belarus, we have elected a president," said Igor Karpenko, the head of the electoral commission, early on Jan. 27. The commission claimed a 85.7% turnout.

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Lukashenko, the country's leader since 1994 and Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally, has long been accused of staging fraudulent elections in Belarus.

In 2020, during the last presidential election, Lukashenko maintained power despite the country's most prominent opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, receiving popular support. The now-exiled opposition leader said she won with 60% of the vote.

Following the fabricated results in 2020, mass protest erupted in Minsk but were ultimately quelled with the support of Russia. According to the Belarusian human rights group Viasna, over 60,000 citizens have been detained for political reasons since the 2020 election.

Tsikhanouskaya responded to the election results on Jan. 26 by condemning the legitimacy of the vote and rejecting Lukashenko as president.

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"These are not elections but a 'special operation' to illegally cling to power. Lukashenko, propped up by Putin, holds 9 million Belarusians hostage, drags us into war, and betrays our sovereignty," she wrote on X.

"He does not represent Belarus. The regime must end its repressions, release political prisoners, and be held accountable for its crimes. Belarusians will prevail!"

Kaja Kallas, the EUs chief diplomat, echoed similar sentiments on X on Jan. 25.

"Lukashenko has clung to power for 30 years. Tomorrow, hell reappoint himself in yet another sham election. This is a blatant affront to democracy. Lukashenko doesnt have any legitimacy," she said.

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Notably, Lukashenko declined to invite a mission from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to observe the country's presidential election.

On Nov. 22, state-run news outlet Belta reported that Lukashenko may completely shut down the internet during the 2025 presidential elections if protests similar to those in 2020 arise.

"If this (the protests) happens again, we will shut the internet down completely," Lukashenko said, admitting that internet shutdowns during the 2020 protests were carried out with his approval.

While Belarus has not directly participated in the war against Ukraine, it has allowed the Kremlin to use its territory as a staging ground for its operations. The country is also reportedly hosting Russian tactical nuclear arms on its territory.

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Read also: Photos of jailed Belarusian opposition leader appear after almost 2 years of no news

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(Bloomberg) -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko extended his rule in a tightly-controlled vote where he faced no opposition and thats been called a sham by the European Union.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The incumbent received 86.8% of the popular vote, Chairman of the countrys Central Election Commission Igor Karpenko said during a video briefing from Minsk early Monday.

Lukashenko, 70, cast his ballot in Minsk on Sunday morning. Hes been in office since 1994 and is running for a seventh term while thousands of opponents in the former Soviet republic remain in prison or exile. Leading officials and much of the countrys economy are subject to Western sanctions due to human rights violations and Lukashenkos assistance to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

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Lukashenko allowed his ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, to launch the 2022 invasion from Belarusian territory, even while declining to send his own troops into battle. Hes also drawn ire from neighboring European Union states, including Poland, for orchestrating a refugee crisis on their borders, and claims to host tactical nuclear weapons for Russia.

On Sunday, Lukashenko said he had no regrets about having allowed Russia to use his territory as a staging ground despite the carnage that the war has brought to the region.

GLOBAL INSIGHT: Moscows Grip on Belarus Will Only Get Tighter

The election shouldnt be seen as free and fair, exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday. She said the opposition movement wouldnt recognize the ballot, which she described as an imitation, a farce and a ritual for Lukashenko.

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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Sunday on X that the election is a sham and a blatant affront to democracy.

Tsikhanouskaya, a former teacher, shot to prominence five years ago when she stepped in to take the candidacy of her husband, who was jailed after announcing his presidential bid. The opposition, which rallied behind her, contested Lukashenkos claim of victory in 2020 and launched mass street protests.

The authorities repressive response to those demonstrations forced Tsikhanouskaya and thousands of other Belarusians to flee, particularly to neighboring Poland and Lithuania. More than 60,000 people were targeted in crackdowns in subsequent years, with more than 1,200 political prisoners still held in jail, according to the Belarusian human rights center Viasna.

Sundays election was the first presidential ballot since those events. Belarusian citizens living abroad are no longer allowed to cast votes.

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At a press conference in Warsaw on Sunday, Tsikhanouskaya described the vote as not an election but a special electoral operation enabling Lukashenko to usurp power.

It was a reference to the special military operation, Moscows euphemism for its war in Ukraine, which was conceived as an effort lasting days or weeks and will soon hit the three-year mark. For the first time, she said, some states had declared before election day that they wouldnt recognize the results of the Belarusian vote.

Members of the Belarusian opposition protested in the Polish capital holding an effigy of Lukashenko and white-red-white flags, which have become a symbol of opposition to his rule.

The event was an important opportunity for Belarusians who dont have to fear for their safety to show that an important part of Belarusian society doesnt support this regime or its sham election, Ales Lahviniec, a scholar at the Free Belarus University, a project of Polands University of Wroclaw, told Bloomberg News. If we dont believe in change, it will never happen he said.

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(Updates with Lukashenko, Tsikhanouskaya comments from fourth paragraph.)

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In a presidential election dismissed as a farce and an affront to democracy, strongman Alexander Lukashenko has secured a seventh term in power to extend his 30 years of rule over Belarus.

State media reported that 70-year-old Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, garnered 86.8% of the vote, according to preliminary results announced by the electoral commission.

With opposition politicians either in exile or imprisoned, and the four alternative candidates seen as state-approved extras in a rigged election, it was seen as inevitable that Lukashenko would obtain another five-year term in the presidency.

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Around 6.9 million people were eligible to vote in the former Soviet republic closely aligned with Moscow, but their ballots on Sunday were not considered to count for much.

Voter turnout was reported at 85.7%, according to the preliminary results.

'Nothing to do with reality'

Political scientist Valery Karbalevich, who fled into exile abroad because his life was in danger, told dpa the numbers published in Belarus had "nothing to do with reality."

"The power apparatus decides on the numbers in advance."

According to Karbalevich, Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, would have had no chance of victory in an election with real oppostion alternative candidates.

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As voters were casting their ballots, the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned in a post on X the "sham elections." She called them "a blatant affront to democracy."

However Lukashenko, casting his vote in the capital Minsk, said Belarus does not need approval from abroad and that it did not matter to him whether the European Union recognizes the election or not.

"Recognize these elections or not, that's a matter of taste. I couldn't care less," Lukashenko told journalists in Minsk.

Following the last election in 2020, the electoral commission awarded Lukashenko 80.1% of the vote, with a turnout of 84.4%. This triggered nationwide pro-democracy protests, which Lukashenko violently suppressed with the help of Russia.

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The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people have left Belarus since then. Human rights activists say there are more than 1,200 political prisoners in Belarus, which is the last in Europe to still use the death penalty.

No opposition, no independent observers

Parts of the political opposition in exile had called for Belarusians to boycott the election altogether, while other camps said people should select the "against all" option on the ballot paper. Exit polls conducted by a state institute showed 5.1% chose this option.

Supporters of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who many see as the real winner in 2020, have called on the international community not to recognize either the election or Lukashenko as president.

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Karbalevich says Lukashenko has cast himself as the guardian of peace and stability, particularly in view of Russia's war against neighbouring Ukraine. "He now has the support of many who were against him in 2020, but who were already pro-Russian then," he said.

Karbalevich told dpa that the country's KGB secret service maintains a tight grip on the country, and that voters fear criminal consequences if they even read information that is critical of the government on their phones.

Belarus is subject to Western sanctions because of political repression and its support for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The country has benefited economically from its relationship with Moscow, including by importing cheap Russian gas and oil, and by supporting Russia's war economy, Karbalevich said.

However, he said the country pays a heavy price for its dependency on Russia, namely by having less and less sovereignty.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko declared himself the victor in the country's latest so-called presidential elections on Jan. 26, in which no political opposition was allowed to take part.

The country's authorities claim Lukashenko won 86.82% of the vote, securing a seventh consecutive term in power.

Despite international condemnation and widespread opposition among Belarusians, Lukashenko's regime has only tightened its control since the last election. Relentless crackdowns on dissent, including mass arrests, imprisonment, and torture, have been ongoing in the country for nearly five years.

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Despite international condemnation and widespread opposition among Belarusians, Lukashenko's regime has only tightened its control since the last election.

"Anyone following the situation knows it's a sham election, and for us, Lukashenko has been wholly illegitimate since 2020," Hanna Komar, a Belarusian author who has been living in exile for the past five years, told the Kyiv Independent.

Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, widely recognized by election observers as the rightful winner of the 2020 presidential election, publicly condemned the latest so-called vote.

"Lukashenko, propped up by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, holds nine million Belarusians hostage, drags us into war, and betrays our sovereignty. We will never accept him. He does not represent Belarus. The regime must end its repressions, release political prisoners, and be held accountable for its crimes," Tsikhanouskaya wrote on Jan. 26.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 5, 2023. (Pavel Byrkin / Sputnik / AFP via Getty Images)

For the more than 500,000 Belarusians who have fled the country since 2020, Lukashenko's latest "victory" serves as a painful reminder of the democratic future they fought for and ultimately failed to secure.

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Yet, even in the face of despair, many try to remain hopeful, using the hard-earned lessons of that tumultuous period to strengthen their exile community and continue working toward a future democratic Belarus that they still dream of having.

Point of no return

The 2020 presidential election in Belarus was defined by Tsikhanouskaya's bold challenge to Alexander Lukashenko's decades-long rule. By contrast, the latest so-called election lacked any real opposition, featuring three candidates from pro-government parties and one candidate seen as a figurehead.

In the months leading up to Jan. 26, Lukashenko staged an orchestrated spectacle by pardoning and releasing dozens of political prisoners. Lukashenko framed the move as an act of goodwill toward those who had "gone astray."

However, these individuals had been imprisoned solely for exercising their democratic rights and taking part in the protests against Lukashenko's regime that began in May 2020.

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As of December 2024, at least 1,265 political prisoners are known to be held in Belarusian prisons, according to the Belarusian human rights organization Viasna. In December alone, up to 150 politically motivated sentences were handed down, with Belarusians consistently denied the right to a fair trial.

Read also: Youll die here  Belarusian political prisoners recount experiences ahead of Lukashenkos reelection

"I think Lukashenko understands that Russia is waiting for the right moment to replace him. He's deeply afraid of this and is now trying to play some kind of strange game with the West. He released some political prisoners to garner a 'favorable' image, but at the same time, he hasn't stopped the repressions. It's endless," Kseniya Halubovich, an exiled film director and journalist, told the Kyiv Independent.

"I think Lukashenko understands that Russia is waiting for the right moment to replace him."

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Komar was among those detained during the 2020 protests, having attended a rally organized in solidarity with opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava, who had been arrested just days prior.

An aerial view of protesters during a demonstration in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 16, 2020. Protests erupted following President Lukashenko's claimed victory in the Aug. 9 election, seen as fraudulent. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

Law enforcement officers detain a man during a rally in Minsk, Belarus, on Oct. 11, 2020, protesting presidential election results. Riot police detained thousands. (STRINGER / AFP via Getty Images)

The rally escalated when the women protesters tried to prevent the police from arresting the men. Komar spent nine days in jail and, by her own account, considers herself lucky to have been released.

"It was still a relatively mild phase of the political crackdowns back then. I am one of over 50,000 Belarusians who have endured detentions and imprisonment," Komar said.

"Since then, repression (against pro-democracy Belarusians) has only intensified. Every day, hundreds of people lose their jobs, face home searches, are summoned for interrogations, or are sentenced to days, weeks, months, and even years in prison. The punishment machine has not ceased for a single day since the summer of 2020."

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Opposition leader Kalesnikava has been behind bars for over four years, as are those who attempted to challenge Lukahsenko on the ballot in 2020, including Viktar Babaryka and Siarhei Tsikhanouski.

Prison is for people who have opened their mouths too wide and who have broken the law. Don't you have prisons in Britain and America? Lukashenko countered when asked about jailed opposition figures in a recent interview with the BBC.

Reflecting on the days immediately following the 2020 election, Halubovich recalls the pervasive sense of fear that hung in the air. On the night following the election, as she and others waited outside her school for election results, some panicked and fled at the sight of the police.

An internet shutdown made it difficult to communicate properly, get news, or coordinate  not to mention get news of what was happening to the outside world.

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"The 'point of no return' for me came the night when the police released some of those who had been arrested and tortured in the first days," Halubovich said.

"I spent the entire night outside Akrestina prison  the most terrifying place in Belarus  where people were released by morning, horribly beaten. Some of them were too afraid to even sit in an ambulance, it was like they were half-mad after being tortured."

After several weeks, the protests began to lose their momentum. From every march she attended beginning in September 2020, Komar recalled beginning to sense a lack of clear strategy among the movement and felt that it was often unclear what the right course of action should be.

Belarus special police troops block a street as opposition supporters rally to protest against disputed presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 30, 2020. (Tut.by / AFP via Getty Images)

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Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (C) holds a photo of her jailed husband Sergei Tsikhanouski while other demonstrators hold photos of Belarusian opposition figures Maria Kalesnikava (L) and Viktar Babaryka (R) as they protest in front of the Belarusian Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, on March 8, 2024. (Petras Malukas / AFP via Getty Images)

"Still, I kept joining the marches and protests until early 2021. It was simply the need to keep going  because to stop would have meant letting down all the people still behind bars in Belarus," Komar said.

"I remember one of the final neighborhood marches, feeling exhausted and desperate, but thinking of Mikita Zalatarou, the 17-year-old political prisoner with epilepsy who was tortured in prison. The drive to do something to free him became my only fuel."

The regime's relentless brutality against those who opposed Lukashenko highlights the immense challenges the movement faced from the onset.

"Unfortunately, we weren't ready to seize the opportunities that briefly arose during the moment of disarray among (those in power)," Alina Rudina, a Belarusian journalist now living in Ukraine, told the Kyiv Independent.

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"Never again can we underestimate the enemy's cruelty and what they are willing to do to maintain their power."

Moving away from Russia

Over 30 years into his reign, Lukashenko seems poised to remain in power for the foreseeable future, but many of the Belarusians who took part in the 2020 protests hesitate to look back on that period as a total defeat.

For pro-democracy Belarusians, the events of 2020 were largely a moment of national awakening  one that reignited a sense of independence, rekindled pride in their language and history, and fortified their resolve to break free from Russia's influence over their country.

Under Lukashenko's rule over the past three decades, Russia's cultural and political reach remained entrenched in Belarusian society. However, the ongoing crisis has provided Belarusians in exile with an opportunity to assert the distinctiveness of their language and culture, challenging years of Russification and reaffirming their national identity.

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"My sense of identity is more Belarusian now than it was before 2020. I make a conscious effort to avoid reading or watching anything Russian, and I'm grateful that my mind feels so clear and free from that imperialistic influence," Halubovich said.

For those Belarusians who have sought refuge in wartime Ukraine, this choice of language holds even greater significance.

Rudina, who has lived in Ukraine for nearly five years, finds that her new home has helped to foster an environment that has allowed her to rediscover the Belarusian language, which she now uses daily in both her personal and professional life.

A member of the Belarusian diaspora carries a placard depicting Belarus' dictator Alexander Lukashenko during a rally in Warsaw, Poland, on Jan. 26, 2025. Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called the presidential election in Belarus a "farce." (Sergei Gapon / AFP via Getty Images)

She also devotes her time in exile to learning how independent Ukrainian media is developing to better understand what pro-democratic Belarusians can do to help counter Russian propaganda.

"After being in Ukraine and living through the full-scale invasion, I am convinced that Belarusians need a certain degree of Russophobia and radical rejection of anything Russian," Rudina told the Kyiv Independent.

"Only this can become a vaccine for the future, preventing the country's absorption and the loss of Belarusian identity."

At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Belarusians in exile must grapple with the uncertainty of life abroad and thoughts of when they will ever be able to return home.

"The identities I once took pride in, like being a writer or an activist, now feel distant," Komar said.

"More and more, I find myself thinking that what truly matters is simply being a decent human."

Read also: Belarusian soldiers fighting for Ukraine say time is running out for their brother-in-arms extradited to Belarus

Note from the author:



Hi, this is Kate Tsurkan. Thank you for taking the time to read this article.

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JUBA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The 12th batch of the Chinese medical team recently visited Juba Nabari, a local village north of Juba, the capital of South Sudan, to provide free medical checkups and treatment to hundreds of ailing patients.

Fauzia Lotombiko, a 50-year-old mother of eight, was one of several patients who braved the sweltering heat to seek treatment under a mango shed. The Chinese doctors provided Lotombiko with medication to regulate her blood pressure and relieve some back pain.

Since 2014, Lotombiko has endured immense back pain after a fall, and her condition worsened when she was later diagnosed with high blood pressure. This condition has robbed her of the ability to do normal chores and forced her to stay at home.

"The arrival of the Chinese doctors in my home village gave me hope of recovery. In addition to giving me essential medicines, they also gave me advice," Lotombiko said Saturday.

James Jada, 41, brought his daughter to the Chinese medical team. He said he had given up trying to find proper treatment for her severe flu and cough, which had been going on since last November.

Jada said he was hopeful that his daughter's condition would improve with the medication he was given to treat her. The doctors did a complete physical exam on Jada's daughter before recommending the medication.

"I thank the Chinese doctors for taking care of my daughter. I hope that my daughter's condition will improve, and I believe that healing is not instantaneous, but a process," said Jada.

Pierina Abraham Norah, a 50-year-old woman who suffered from severe back and joint pain, was visited at home by Chinese doctors to assess her condition. She thanked the Chinese doctors for their compassion for the needy in her community.

Natalie Kon Justine, Abraham's son, who organized the arrival of the Chinese medical team to conduct outreaches in his village, commended them for reducing the burden of disease in his community.

"This village has a good number of health clinics, but they are very expensive, and many citizens cannot easily afford the cost of treatment at these private health facilities around here," Justine said. "This medical outreach has eased the burden of treatment for many families because the medicines provided by the Chinese doctors are effective."

Du Changyong, leader of the 12th batch of the Chinese medical team, said the visit to Juba Nabari was aimed at implementing the outcomes of the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the program of "100 Medical Teams in 1,000 Villages" to provide medical services to people at the grassroots level.

According to Du, the 12th batch of the Chinese medical team arrived in South Sudan in September 2024, and they have already served 6,300 outpatients, carried out 64 surgical operations, and treated 441 patients in critical condition. The team has also provided traditional Chinese medicine treatment to 1,200 patients, carried out laboratory tests on 850 patients, provided image testing to 800 patients, and introduced the new medical technology used at the Juba Teaching Hospital.

In early December 2024, the 12th batch of the Chinese medical team provided medical outreach services to hundreds of patients in Lobonok town on the outskirts of Juba. 
After just one week under Donald Trumps leadership, some federal workers say they are already done with his second presidency.

In his first week back in the White House, the president signed a wide range of executive orders, including some that directly impact federal workers.

He imposed a federal hiring freeze, required employees to return to work in person, and ended diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, which he described as demonstrating public waste and shameful discrimination.

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The swift changes have some federal workers considering quitting, according to Politico. A Washington-based employment lawyer who represents federal workers told the outlet that his firm had received a surge of calls in the wake of Trumps stack of executive orders.

An Environmental Protection Agency staffer told the outlet: Trump version 1.0 was bad. Im already done with version 2.0.

The Office of Personnel Management sent out a memo this week warning federal employees against trying to disguise [DEI] programs by using coded or imprecise language. The memo stated that failing to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.

Others in need of a paycheck say they are terrified about leaving their current jobs.

Donald Trump signed a deluge of executive orders in his first week back in office, including some that directly impact federal workers. Now, some federal workers are contemplating quitting (AP)

I would love to leave, but I dont know where Id go, and I am terrified of not being able to pay rent and not having healthcare, one State Department staffer told the outlet.

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Others still are waiting to see how the orders shape up before making any career changes.

Most of us are watching cautiously and letting the dust settle, an employee at the U.S. Agency for International Development told the outlet. We know that there is a range of possible outcomes, and some people are panicking, but most are taking a wait-and-see approach.

The clock is ticking.

To add insult to injury, a memo from the Office of Personnel Management Monday required all agencies to identify recent hires and promptly determine whether those employees should be retained at the agency. Employees who have been in their posts for less than a year can be terminated without triggering appeals from the Merit Systems Protection Board, which protects federal employees.

In his first week in office, Trump signed orders requiring federal employees to return to work in person, ending DEI programs, imposing a federal hiring freeze (AP)

Some employees are exploring the option of joining the American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents over 800,000 workers. Membership already skyrocketed in the weeks before Trump was sworn in, according to the outlet.

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A spokesperson told the outlet it will be tracking how agencies implement the orders and will be prepared to file grievances if our contracts are violated.

Perhaps a barrage of resignations is part of the new administrations plan. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, as anticipated co-heads of the Department of Government Efficiency, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that an in-person work mandate would result in resignations. Now only Musk leads DOGE.

Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees dont want to show up, American taxpayers shouldnt pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home, the pair wrote.

Maryland Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey predicted where Trumps orders targeting federal workers were heading. He told the New York Times this week: I think we know where it looks like hes trying to go, which is to force people to quit. Theyre going to try and force a lot of federal employees out of work, and then replace them with political loyalists.
I recently suffered from what doctors believe was encephalitis, a brain infection, likely contracted while traveling internationally. For the first time outside of pregnancy, I  an emergency doctor  experienced what it feels like to be a patient.

It was not, to put it mildly, a pleasant experience.

I sought treatment when I was plagued by recurrent bouts of diarrhea and vomiting, while simultaneously becoming convinced that my husband of nine years was plotting to kill me for my insurance policy (dont worry; weve since reconciled). My heart was racing, my skin was hot and I was spouting off ramblings that were, thanks to my medical training, just coherent enough to fool some into thinking I was OK. But my family knew something was terribly wrong.

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My treatment began at a publicly funded safety net hospital, a health care facility that primarily serves patients who are uninsured or covered by Medicaid. In my altered state, I thought this would be the best place to uncover why I was acting so strangely. As a child of Medicaid raised well below the poverty line, I grew up in a family that largely depended on the public hospital system to receive care. Due to Medicaids low reimbursement rate, most general physicians did not accept our insurance, and those who did were already swamped. If something was wrong  whether a constellation of worrying symptoms or a broken limb  we would go directly to the emergency room for evaluation. There, the doctors, who I at a young age envisioned as superheroes, made sure that no stone was left unturned and that my family would be provided equal care as those society considered better.

Today, I am an attending physician and no longer in need of Medicaids support. Yet in my ill state, my mind resurrected my familys pervasive concerns over finances and worried about my ability to pay. So I turned to a public hospital expecting the care of my past. Instead, the experience was a blur of overwhelming confusion and fear. The public hospital system I once knew no longer existed. In its place was a system that was overburdened, chronically underfunded, and neglected. I left understanding why patients often distrust the medical system or leave hospitals against medical advice.

When I arrived at the hospital, I was evaluated by an emergency medicine physician. Even though labs were drawn, I was sent for a psychiatric evaluationbefore completing a medical workup. Only once I was cleared by psychiatry did they send me for brain imaging and an ultrasound. Everything felt slow  not just because of my temporarily shattered mind, but also due to a palpable lack of urgency among the health care workers. The overworked physicians and staff were stretched thin, their burnout evident. Just a year postpartum, I wondered if Id become another statistic, another Black woman whod slipped through the cracks.

Even now, Im confused: Why was psychiatry the starting point? Was my altered mental state dismissed as a psychiatric problem because it was easier to label me a crazy person?

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I dont believe the clinicians consciously thought this way, but exhaustion and systemic pressures breed shortcuts. Its a slippery slope to anchoring bias, the mental process in which we rely on assumptions instead of evaluation. When coupled with cultural gaps, ED overcrowding, socioeconomic disparities and unconscious bias, its no surprise that women and minorities are 20-30% more likely to face medical and psychiatric misdiagnosis.

I was reminded of morbidity and mortality cases we reviewed during my medical training. Two young, healthy Black women were both misdiagnosed as psychiatric. One died of bacterial meningitis, the other of a severe stroke. Both were avoidable deaths. During my own ordeal, I wondered what would have happened if my husband, also a physician, hadnt advocated for me  pushing for tests, demanding imaging and ultimately forcing me to leave against medical advice. Would I have suffered a similar fate?

At the private hospital where I sought further care, diagnostics were faster and more thorough. I was evaluated for diseases I had not even considered since medical school. I underwent a lumbar puncture, MRI scan and specialized labs in record time. This hospital seemed to run more like a well-oiled machine, and as I looked around the emergency room, I could see why. In comparison to its public counterpart, the doctors had an ample supply of support from nurses, physician assistants, emergency department technicians and transporters. This allowed them to center the patient and expedite their care.

I also couldnt help but notice that at the private hospital, the patients around me seemed different. Many appeared to be white-collar professionals, likely with adequate health insurance. They appeared to worry less about an inability to pay and were just focused on getting better, a luxury that is not possible for a majority of Americans. As I rested in my room waiting for an EEG, I felt a lump in my throat as I realized that I was one of them now  someone with good insurance.

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I wondered how many of my Medicaid and Medicare counterparts, how many of my family and friends, would be able to receive such an extensive workup without facing a hefty, perhaps life-altering medical bill. How many would have been seen by neurology and had a lumbar puncture, MRI, and extensive viral testing prior to being cleared for psych? For how many would the workup I received have meant that they would have to take a second mortgage or work months of overtime just to cover the interest payments? Twenty-five years ago, 40 percent of bankruptcy filings were due to medical debt; today it is about 62 percent. Medical debt is now the No. 1 cause of personal bankruptcy in the U.S.

Today, Im recovering. My brain fog is improving, though I still struggle to find words at times. But what lingers most isnt fear for myself; its fear for patients.

We know that issues such as a lack of equity in care, lack of access, barriers to insurance coverage and implicit bias among providers  issues that perpetuate the systemic oppression felt by marginalized Americans  go a long way towards explaining why patients experience stark differences in health care outcomes. As a health system and as health providers, we must do better. We need to advocate for programs, both within and beyond health care, that improve the lives and health of patients.

The privatization of medicine and the simultaneous defunding of the public health system are growing problems that disproportionately affect marginalized populations. Eighty-six percent of people seen at public hospitals are considered low socioeconomic status. Public hospitals care for patients regardless of their ability to pay, something that is especially critical when it comes to specialty care. When these hospitals close or are privatized, low-income patients suffer.

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Continued health care privatization risks further marginalizing these groups by creating barriers to access, including higher costs and less comprehensive care. Limiting public funding for health care also leads to lowered staffing, higher patient ratios, and more overworked physicians relying on their instincts rather than information. This leads to more missed diagnoses among a group whose life expectancy is already severely impacted by poverty.

There should not be two health care systems. Patients, regardless of their socioeconomic status, culture or race, should receive quality care no matter what the hospital they can afford to go to.

I dont have all the answers, but I know something must be done. Public health funding must increase in order to combat many of the issues faced by the most vulnerable. The state governments must prioritize maintaining public health and public hospitals even if it means providing subsidies where necessary, especially in rural areas, where access is already limited. Minnesota has already attempted to solve part of the issue through the Local Public Health Act. Finally, the experiences of dozens of other developed countries  as well as a thorough analysis from a 2021 study  show that universal health care would provide better care and cost less than our current system.

To my future patients: I finally know what it is like to feel like your doctor is not taking you seriously, to feel pushed aside, ignored, and doubted about your own body. I needed to go through the patient experience to truly realize how we have been failing you. I am sorry.

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To my fellow physicians: I get it. Metrics, disposition and how many patients we can see per hour set strong financial incentives for many and can affect final pay. Medicine has become corporate and deeply flawed, but we cannot let a broken and battered system cause us to push aside our oath. Together, we can rebuild trust with our patients.

Let us remember the essence of primum non nocere  to first do no harm  not just in individual patient care but in the systems we build to serve them. Systemic changes wont happen overnight, but they are necessary steps toward a more just and compassionate system.

Dr. Shacelles Bonner is an emergency medicine physician in NYC and Public Voices Fellow through Yale University and The OpEd Project. She is a first-generation college graduate and global health advocate. She writes on social inequity, systemic reform and patient-centered care. You can follow her @shacellesbonner_md.

Do you have a compelling personal story youd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what were looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@huffpost.com.

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French President Emmanuel Macron called for the fight against anti-Semitism to continue during a visit to the Holocaust Memorial in Paris on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

"We will not give in to anti-Semitism in all its forms," Macron wrote in the guest book, before leaving to attend a large commemoration event at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

"Let us never forget the millions of victims of the Shoah," Macron said. "Let us fight tirelessly against anti-Semitism and hatred in the name of all those who perished. Let us be the memory of their memory," he said.
On the first full day of his second term as president, Donald Trump attended a national prayer service in Washington, where he sat and listened to the bishop of the local Episcopal Diocese. It quickly became quite memorable: The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde spoke truth to power, urging the newly inaugurated president to reconsider his attacks on marginalized communities.

Trump reacted furiously, and among Republicans, he was hardly alone. House Speaker Mike Johnson and the new White House press secretary condemned the bishops sermon, and Fox News personalities repeatedly lashed out at Budde on the air. One GOP lawmaker went so far as to introduce a congressional resolution to formally condemn her remarks  and it quickly picked up 20 Republican co-sponsors.

It served as a timely reminder that too often in GOP circles, religion is treated as something that must be celebrated, protected and respected  just so long as the faith community is telling the party what it wants to hear.

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In fact, the first week of the Trump era ended on a similar note to the way in which it began.

JD Vance sat down with CBSs Margaret Brennan for his first on-air interview as vice president, and the Face the Nation host reminded her guest that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops last week condemned some of Trumps executive orders, most notably the administrations new policy on allowing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to enter houses of worship.

Do you personally support the idea of conducting a raid or enforcement action in a church service, at a school? the host asked. The Ohio Republican, who is himself a Roman Catholic, replied:

Of course, if you have a person who is convicted of a violent crime, whether theyre an illegal immigrant or a non-illegal immigrant, you have to go and get that person to protect the public safety. Thats not unique to immigration. But let me just address this particular issue, Margaret. Because as a practicing Catholic, I was actually heartbroken by that statement. And I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?

So, a few things.

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Right off the bat, it was curious to hear Vance say that officials have a responsibility to get those convicted of violent crimes to protect the public safety. Trumps pardons for violent Jan. 6 felons suggest the Republican White House has already rejected the vice presidents assertion.

What's more, its unusual, to put it mildly, to see a prominent American political leader use such pointed language in reference to Catholic leaders. Are they actually worried about their bottom line? is the kind of question that, I suspect, will not be well received by the USCCB.

But lets also not brush past the larger context. In recent years, in instances in which the Biden administration disagreed with the Roman Catholic Church, Trump and other Republicans were quick to accuse the former Democratic president of being against God, against the Bible and essentially against religion. At the Republican National Convention, one speaker condemned Biden  by all accounts, a devout Catholic  as a Catholic in name only.

What are the chances Republicans will hear similar talk after a week in which party leaders launched a hysterical offensive against Budde and publicly questioned whether Catholic bishops are principally concerned with their bottom line?

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Todays installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* On Friday, Donald Trump said hes asked Republican National Committee Chair Michael Watley to help with disaster response efforts in North Carolina. Asked what, exactly, the RNC chief would do, the president told reporters, I envision a very important role for him. Its any role he wants. Watley was recently re-elected to a second term leading his party.

* A day later, during a political event in Las Vegas, Trump said it will be the greatest honor of my life to serve not once, but twice  or three times or four times. He soon after suggested he was kidding.

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* The North Carolina Supreme Court has not yet ruled on a challenge to a state Supreme Court election from last fall, but three Republican justices have already left little doubt that theyre prepared to overturn the will of the voters to boost the GOP candidate.

* In Ohio, state Attorney General Dave Yost launched a Republican gubernatorial campaign late last week. Hell likely face a primary challenge from, among others, failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

* With only days remaining before the Democratic National Committee chooses a new chair, Wisconsins Ben Wikler has picked up new support from seven sitting Democratic governors.

* On a related note, Wiklers principal rival, Minnesotas Ken Martin, appears to enter the final stretch of the race with more commitments from DNC members.

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* In Arizona, Republican Rep. Andy Biggs made it official over the weekend, kicking off a 2026 gubernatorial campaign. Biggs is perhaps best known to national audiences as the former chair of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.

* And in New Mexico, Sen. Martin Heinrich made little secret of his interest in 2026 gubernatorial campaign, but the Democratic senator ultimately decided to remain on Capitol Hill. Thats probably good news for former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, whos also eyeing the statewide race.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
As international incidents go, the mess between the United States and Colombia seemed easily avoided. Colombian officials said their country would accept planes of migrants who tried to enter the United States illegally, but they objected to military jets landing on Colombian soil.

With this in mind, Colombia did, in fact, turn away deportation flights, prompting a rather hysterical response from Donald Trump, who announced emergency tariffs and a diplomatic response that the Republican president described as a Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters.

But just as Americans started facing the prospect of more expensive coffee and cut flowers, among other products, the two countries came to an apparent agreement. NBC News reported:

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The White House said Sunday that Colombia has agreed to all of President Donald Trumps terms after Trump threatened to impose sweeping retaliatory measures against it, including tariffs and visa sanctions, after it denied entry to two U.S. military deportation flights.

Of course, the fact that the U.S. administration appears to be getting the outcome it wanted makes it far more likely that Trump will use similar tactics with other countries going forward.

But stepping back, its hard not to notice that this was hardly the only international incident the Republican created in the first week of his second term.

Trumps comments about wanting to clean out Gaza and relocate Palestinians to other countries have reportedly astonished moderate Arab leaders who had been looking forward to working with him.

His comments blaming Ukraine for Russias invasion will likely do little to end the war.

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Trumps ambitions about acquiring Greenland have led him to make increasingly provocative comments directed at officials in Denmark  a NATO ally. I think were going to have it, the president said over the weekend, referring to taking control of Greenland. He added, I dont know really what claim Denmark has to it. But it would be a very unfriendly act if they didnt allow that to happen.

The Trump administrations foreign-aid freeze is affecting international programs aimed at alleviating hunger, disease and wartime suffering around the globe, as well as ones that help nations with economic development.

Panama submitted a formal letter to the United Nations last week, rejecting the Republicans comments about reclaiming the Panama Canal.

The German ambassador to the United States last week reportedly wrote a diplomatic report warning that Trumps return to power will pose new threats to American democracy and our constitutional system.

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And in case that werent quite enough, Trump also had some comments last week about the international BRICS coalition, which he occasionally pretends to understand. Theyre a BRICS nation, Spain, the president told reporters. You know what a BRICS nation is? Youll figure it out.

Spain is not, in reality, a part of BRICS  and Spanish officials did notice Trumps screw-up.

At this pace, the new American president should be able to alienate just about every other country on the planet by, say, mid-summer.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
A couple of weeks after joining his partys national ticket, then-Sen. JD Vance was eager to ease the minds of voters concerned about Donald Trump and his retaliatory tactics. Trump, the future vice president told Fox News, is not a vengeful guy.

At the time, it was a bizarre assertion, contradicted by voluminous evidence of Trump routinely seeking revenge against political foes  real and imagined. But six months after Vances curious claim, his rhetoric appears even more ridiculous. NBC News reported:

For those who may have crossed President Donald Trump, the message is sinking in: Payback is coming, and coming fast. ... A question that loomed over Trumps 2024 campaign was whether hed use presidential powers for retribution against his perceived political foes. For some, the answer has arrived.

To be sure, some of the new presidents retaliatory tactics appear petty but ultimately inconsequential. The White House, for example, reportedly requested the removal of a Pentagon portrait honoring retired Gen. Mark Milley, who served as Trumps handpicked chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before the president turned on him. Similarly, the Republican canceled a variety of former officials security clearances as part of an apparent political tantrum, which didnt amount to much, since some of the former officials didnt appear to have active security clearances anyway.

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He also raised the prospect of going after Joe Biden, though that sounded more like wishful thinking than a meaningful plan.

But some of Trumps efforts to settle scores are far more serious. For example, the Biden administration provided John Bolton, a former White House national security adviser, with a Secret Service detail following assassination threats from Iran. Trump, who now sees Bolton as an enemy, yanked the protective detail last week.

The new president did the same thing for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Brian Hook, former special envoy to Iran; and Dr. Anthony Fauci. Asked by a reporter if hed feel partially responsible if something awful were to happen to any of these former officials, Trump said he would not, adding, Certainly, I would not take responsibility.

When Trump sat down with NBC News Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker for a post-election interview, the Republican tried to sound reasonable. Im not looking to go back into the past, he said. Im looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through success.

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A month later, I have some bad news for those who took the comments seriously.

A New York Times analysis noted that the examples from the last week, when taken together, send a clear signal that Mr. Trump feels unconstrained about punishing the disloyal, that he is potentially willing to go further against his enemies than he had pledged on the campaign trail and that there will be a price for any opposition to come.

The same analysis added that his retaliatory tactics are intended not just to impose punishment for the past but also to intimidate anyone who might cross him in the future.

The Times quoted Lindsay Chervinsky, executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library and the author of several books on the presidency, who noted, The theme of this week was vengeance and retribution when all other presidents have used their inaugurations to heal wounds, bring people together and focus on the future. That sounds like a norm, but its actually fundamental to the survival of the republic.

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Theres no reason to assume that this will improve anytime soon. On the contrary, the president has nominated a partisan operative named Kash Patel as the next FBI director, and Patel is the author of a notorious enemies list.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Ahead of Election Day 2024, Donald Trump invested some time and effort trying to win over Arab American and Muslim voters, most notably in Michigan, hoping to take advantage of the communitys opposition to the Biden administrations policies in Israel. The outreach paid dividends: The Republican posted significant gains in areas such as Dearborn, where more than half of residents are of Middle Eastern descent.

Its likely that many of these voters knew they were taking a risk. After all, Trumps record of anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies is well documented. During his 2016 campaign, the Republican went so far as to say, I think Islam hates us  as if Muslims and Americans are, practically by definition, different things.

More recently, Trump used the word Palestinian as a slur and indicated that hes prepared to expand his notorious Muslim ban.

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Nevertheless, the Republican won a second term  and narrowly flipped Michigan from blue to red  at which point he started making personnel moves during his presidential transition period. In December, Reuters and The Associated Press published reports on Arab American voters in Michigan who had backed Trump a month earlier and were feeling dismay over some of his selections.

The AP report noted that those with concerns specifically pointed to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Trumps choice for ambassador to Israel. Huckabee has consistently rejected the idea of a Palestinian state in territories seized by Israel, strongly supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposed a two-state solution, claiming there really isnt such a thing as Palestinians in referring to the descendants of people who lived in Palestine before the establishment of Israel, the article explained.

No one should be surprised if theres another round of similar reporting in the coming days. NBC News reported:

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has asked the king of Jordan to take in more Palestinians, adding that Palestinians should leave the Gaza Strip to clean out the enclave. The presidents comments, which key figures from Israels far right have taken as a boost, came as thousands of Palestinians waited to return to their homes in northern Gaza after the Israeli government accused Hamas of breaching a ceasefire agreement and refused to open crossing points.

Youre talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing, Trump told reporters Saturday. He went on to raise the prospect of transferring at least some of Gazas population to Jordan and Egypt.

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Whats more, the Republican president went on to say that the resettling of the Palestinians from Gaza could be temporary or long-term.

As is often the case with Trumps comments, it was unclear whether he was simply blurting out a random thought or presenting the public with a new administration policy. Either way, The Washington Posts David Ignatius explained in his latest column that the presidents public statement astonished moderate Arab leaders who had been looking forward to working with him. Relocation of Palestinians could destabilize moderate Arab governments across the region. Trump enjoys being a disruptor, but this was closer to tossing a grenade.

It also comes against a backdrop of reports that Trump approved giving Israel 2,000-pound bombs, which the Biden administration had paused in response to concerns Israels conduct in Gaza. The president didnt explicitly confirm the reporting, though he did publish an item to his social media platform on Saturday that read, A lot of things that were ordered and paid for by Israel, but have not been sent by Biden, are now on their way!

That followed Republican confirmation of Pete Hegseth, Trumps choice to lead the Pentagon, despite his own record of anti-Muslim rhetoric.

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And that followed Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, Trumps choice to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, saying during a Senate confirmation hearing that she believes Israel has a biblical right to the entire West Bank.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Shortly before Thanksgiving, former Rep. Matt Gaetzs bid to become the next U.S. attorney general collapsed in the face of overwhelming bipartisan opposition. Just hours after the Florida Republican withdrew from consideration, a GOP senator offered Politico a rather blunt prediction.

Petes next, the senator said, referring to Pete Hegseths nomination to lead the Pentagon.

Such talk was not uncommon during the post-election period. In early December, then-Vice President-elect JD Vance reportedly told a member of the presidential transition team, Pete isnt 100% dead. But he might be 90% dead. The same week, Politico published a report that said Hegseths nomination appeared to be on life support as he confronted allegations of drunken misbehavior, sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement of the veterans nonprofit he once ran.

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Two days earlier, Sen. Lindsey Graham spoke to Capitol Hill journalists on the record and conceded that the allegations surrounding Hegseth were very disturbing. The South Carolina Republican said the controversies surrounding Trumps choice to lead the Defense Department were so serious that they would be difficult to overcome.

Seven weeks later, in the narrowest vote ever for a defense secretary nominee, Hegseth was confirmed on 51-50 vote. Three Republicans  Maines Susan Collins, Alaskas Lisa Murkowski and Kentuckys Mitch McConnell  voted against him, but that ultimately wasnt quite enough.

At this point, theres probably little value in reviewing the myriad of reasons Hegseths nomination deserved to be rejected. The scandal-plagued former television personality was so manifestly unqualified that his confirmation is indefensibly ludicrous. While the newly sworn-in secretary denied any wrongdoing, watching the process unfold has been like watching a ridiculous cartoon.

But as the dust settles, its worth appreciating how, exactly, a nomination that appeared to be effectively over in December managed to succeed in January. How does an inexperienced and unqualified nominee plagued by many brutal scandals go from 90% dead to being sworn in for one of the worlds most difficult and important jobs?

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Im reminded of a report The Bulwark published on Dec. 6.

[Member of the Trump transition team] believe that the longer Hegseth remains in contention for the post, the higher his chances of confirmation will be, simply because it subjects GOP senators to a sustained pressure campaign from the MAGA base, and because many will have a hard time scuttling him in a public vote.

In other words, as far as Trump and his team were concerned, Hegseth didnt need to discredit the scandals so much as he simply had to wait them out. In time, the president and his operation assumed, Senate Republicans would eventually do what they were told to do.

And that is, for all intents and purposes, what happened.

The New York Times published a memorable report on Nov. 20, reminding the political world of the kind of controversies that derailed the nominations of several high-profile nominees for important governmental posts in recent decades. A Supreme Court prospect bowed out after it was revealed that he had smoked pot in his youth, the article noted. Two candidates for attorney general were done in when it came to light that they had employed undocumented immigrants as nannies. A third cabinet nominee  a former Senate leader no less  was nixed for not paying taxes on a car and driver lent to him by an associate. Even mean tweets were enough to sink one nominee.

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The Times added that controversies that were once considered disqualifying for a presidential nominee now seem downright benign.

It was not so long ago that nominees for high-level jobs and even some of the more obscure ones had to be above reproach, to the point where a relatively minor tax issue could derail them. But times are evidently changing when it comes to nominations at the dawn of the second Trump administration.

And thats ultimately the takeaway that lingers for me from the Hegseth nomination fight. Its not that the laws of political gravity have been fully repealed, but theyve certainly been tweaked.

There was a time in the recent past in which most Americans could safely assume that senators would never seriously consider someone like Hegseth to lead the Pentagon  if for no other reason than because they cared too much about the United States armed forces to put it in the hands of someone obviously ill-suited for the job.

Its precisely why so many, in both parties, simply assumed in December that Hegseth would fail. It was common sense: In American politics, there are norms and unwritten rules about such things. Senators dont screw around with our national security. Scandal-plagued nominees dont advance. Few were shocked when Lindsey Graham said the Hegseth allegations would be difficult to overcome because we know  or at least knew  how processes like these work.

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And therein lies the point: Politics in Republican circles is different now. It's worse. It's unfamiliar. It's broken.

The sooner Americans come to grips with this unavoidable conclusion, the less shocked well be when 50 GOP senators and a GOP vice president engage in the kind of absurdity the public saw on Friday night.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Dasia Pietez, right, embraces her daughter Dulce Acevedo, as the pair wait to be reunited with Pietezs younger daughter at Antioch High School on January 22, 2025. (Photo: John Partipilo)

This story was originally published by ProPublica.

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

This article was produced for ProPublicas Local Reporting Network in partnership withWisconsin Watch.Sign up for Dispatchesto get stories like this one as soon as they are published.

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Moments before 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow opened fire inside her Madison, Wisconsin, school, killing two people and herself last month, a social media account believed to be hers posted a photograph on X showing someone sitting in a bathroom stall and flashing a hand gesture that has become a symbol for white supremacy.

As news about the shooting broke, another X user responded: Livestream it.

Extremism researchers now believe that second account belonged to 17-year-old Solomon Henderson, who police say walked into his high school cafeteria in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday and fired 10 shots, killing one classmate and then himself. Archives of another X account linked to him show that he posted a similar photo to Rupnows in his final moments.

While there isnt any evidence that Rupnow and Henderson plotted their attacks together, extremism researchers who have tracked their social media activity told Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica that the two teenagers were active in the same online networks that glorify mass shooters, even crossing paths. Across various social media platforms, the networks trade hateful memes alongside terrorist literature, exchange tips on how to effectively commit attacks and encourage one another to carry out their own.

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The researchers had been tracking these networks for months as part of work looking into growing online extremist networks that have proliferated across gaming, chatting and social media platforms and that they believe are radicalizing young people to commit mass shootings and other violence.

The researchers analysis found only a few instances in which Rupnow and Henderson appeared to interact directly. But in the hours, days and weeks that followed the Madison shooting, Henderson appears to have become fixated on Rupnow. He boasted on X that Rupnow and him were mutuals, a common internet term for following each other, and shared another post that said, i used to be mutuals with someone who is now a real school shooter ;-).

The researchers, who have collaborated with counterterrorism organizations, academics and law enforcement to prevent violence by tracking how extremist networks radicalize youth online, agreed to share information as long as they werent named out of concerns for their physical safety. The news outlets vetted their credentials with several experts in the field.

Its impossible to know with complete certainty that online accounts belong to particular people without specialized access to devices and accounts from law enforcement. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department has acknowledged the existence of two documents they believe Henderson created, both of which contain details about his social media accounts. Other researchers and groups  including the Anti-Defamation League, Canadian extremism expert Marc-Andre Argentino and SITE Intelligence Group  have also determined these likely belong to Henderson.

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The extremism researchers linked accounts to Rupnow, who went by Samantha, by tracing her activity across multiple social media profiles that revealed common biographical details, including personal acquaintances and that she lived in Wisconsin. On the bathroom post, one person the account regularly interacted with referred to Rupnow by her nickname, Sam. Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica were able to verify the social media posts and the connections between the accounts by retracing the researchers steps through archived social media accounts and screenshots.

On Thursday, ABC News cited law enforcement sources in reporting that a social media account connected to Henderson may have been in contact with Rupnows social media account. The information reviewed by Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica details their suspected connections and interactions. Nearly all of the accounts that researchers have linked to Rupnow and Henderson have now been suspended.

A Madison Police Department spokesperson said the agency knows Rupnow was very active on social media and it is just starting to receive and review documents from tech companies. The Nashville police said they had nothing further to add beyond their previous statements.

Students at Antioch High School board buses for transport to a reunification site after a 17-year-old student opened fire in the school cafeteria. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, and Erin West, 42, were killed at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison. Josselin Corea Escalante, 16, died at Antioch High School in Nashville. Both attackers also killed themselves.

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Rupnow and Henderson each had multiple X accounts, the extremism researchers told Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica. At the time of her attack, Rupnow followed just 13 other users. Two of those accounts have been linked to Henderson.

In November, Rupnow shared a post from Henderson, which appeared to wish a happy Veterans Day to the man who killed more than a dozen people at University of Texas at Austin in 1966.

After the Madison attack, someone wrote to Henderson and others on X, saying that one of their buddies may have shot up a school. Henderson told another user, I barely know her, and said he had never exchanged private messages with her. Later, in a 51-page screed that Nashville police are examining, he emulated and praised several past attackers including Rupnow and said, I have connections with some of them only loosely via online messaging platforms.

After Rupnows shooting, Henderson called her a Saintress, using a term common in the networks, and posted or reshared posts about her dozens of times, celebrating her racist, genocidal online persona and the fact that she had taken action. On one platform, he used a photograph of her as his profile picture. In his writings, he said he scrawled Rupnows name and those of other perpetrators on his weapon and gear.

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The online networks the two teenagers inhabited have an array of influences, ideologies and aesthetics. To varying degrees of commitment and sincerity, they ascribe to white supremacist, anti-Semitic, racist, neo-Nazi, occult or satanic beliefs.

In this online world, the currency that buys clout is violence. This violence often involves children and teenagers harming other children and teenagers, some through doxing or encouraging self-harm, others, like Rupnow and Henderson, by committing mass attacks in the nonvirtual world.

This network is best described as an online subculture that celebrates violent attacks and radicalizes young people into committing violence, said one of the violence prevention researchers. Many of the individuals involved in this network are minors, and wed like to see intervention to give them the help and support they need, for their own safety as well as those around them.

Members of some of these communities, including Terrorgram, 764 and Com, have engaged in activities online and offline that have led to convictions for possessing child sexual abuse materials and sexually exploiting a child and indictments for soliciting hate crimes and soliciting the murder of federal officials. The cases are pending, and the defendants have not filed responses in court. This month, the U.S. State Department designated the Terrorgram Collective as a terrorist organization, saying the group promotes violent white supremacism, solicits attacks on perceived adversaries, and provides guidance and instructional materials on tactics, methods, and targets for attacks, including on critical infrastructure and government officials.

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When details of the Nashville shooting began to emerge, researchers realized they had seen some of Hendersons accounts and posts within the network of about 100 users they are tracking. They had previously reported one username of an account belonging to Henderson, as well as others within the network, to law enforcement and filed several reports with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

They had not been aware of Rupnows accounts before her attack but were able to locate her within the network after the fact, discovering she had regularly interacted with other accounts they had been following.

Alex Newhouse, an extremism researcher at the University of Colorado, Boulder, said these subcultures have a long history of lionizing and mimicking past attackers while goading one another to enact as much violence as possible  even by assigning scores to past attacks, something Henderson engaged with online. The Antioch one is very obviously copycat, Newhouse said.

Although Hendersons diary indicates he had been contemplating an attack for months prior to Rupnows, her shooting drew his attention. Hours after, he retweeted another post that said: There should be a betting market for which rw twitter figure will radicalize the next shooter. (RW stands for right-wing.)

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However the two teens entered this online subculture, their writings reveal despair about their personal lives and the world around them and expressed violent, hateful views.

After the Madison shooting, a separate social media user noted their association and tweeted at the FBI, accusing Henderson and others of having prior warning. They need to be locked up, the poster said, no questions asked.

The FBI declined to comment. After Hendersons attack, social media users returned to the tweet: hey so this guy literally just ended up calling a future school shooter a month ahead of time and the FBI did nothing about it.

Mollie Simon contributed research.
BISSAU, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The cooperation between China and Guinea-Bissau "has existed for a very long time and remains strong," said Bissau-Guinean Minister of Social Communication Florentino Fernando Dias in an interview with Chinese media outlets.

"The Sino-Bissau-Guinean cooperation is historic, as it dates back to the colonial era when Guinea-Bissau was still fighting for its independence," said the official, recalling "the support" China provided to independence fighters.

"Today, any Bissau-Guinean citizen can see the investments China is making in various fields in the country," he said, pointing to "the buildings housing the three branches of government in our country, particularly the Palace of the Republic, which includes the residence and offices of the Head of State, the National People's Assembly, and the Palace of Justice."

"Recently, we have also seen further fruits of our cooperation with China's financing of the construction of a highway connecting the Safim suburb to the city of Bissau," he noted. "This highway is very modern and will significantly improve the living conditions of our people, as it leads directly to the entrance of the capital, Bissau."

"Guinea-Bissau is counting on China's support" to transition its national television and radio from analog to digital, and the project to "build a facility that will house both national television and radio, the national news agency, and the official newspaper," he concluded. 
The MAGA world has zeroed in on Selena Gomez as its newest public enemy.

Gomez, 32, broke down in a since-deleted Instagram story where she shared her disgust with Donald Trumps mass deportation plans and promised to try everything she can to help those impacted.

All my people are getting attacked, she said while sobbing. The children. I dont understand. Im so sorry, I wish I could do something but I cant. I dont know what to do. Ill try everything, I promise.

Selena Gomez shares new Instagram story crying amid the deportation of Mexicans:



Im so sorry. All my people are getting attacked. The children, I dont understand. I wish I could do something. pic.twitter.com/9H7ojMhpCN  Pop Base (@PopBase) January 27, 2025

The Texas-born Gomez included the text Im sorry with a Mexican flag on her story, which she later took down. The clip was screen-recorded and went viral on Monday morning, however, sparking mass outrage in conservative circles.

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Posting yourself weeping over illegal immigrant criminals being deported is a new level of absurd celebrity narcissism, wrote Piers Morgan on X.

The conservative commentator Matt Walsh added: Move back to Mexico in solidarity with them. Thats something you could do.

Selena Gomez is a BILLIONAIRE who is surrounded by security, has zero idea of how dangerous the country has become due to illegal immigration, doesn't care enough about American women or children to know they've been getting raped and murdered at the hands of "her people" and is  Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) January 27, 2025

Charlie Kirk, the founder of TPUSA, took things a step further and questioned why Gomez did not speak out about U.S. issues said to stem from the southern border.

Arent you American? Charlie Kirk posted to X, addressing Gomez. Where was the sobbing over the 100,000 Americans dead from fentanyl poisoning? Where were these tears over the 340,000 children who went missing after being trafficked over our border? Why wasnt there a breakdown for Rachel Nungary, Rachel Morin, or Laken Riley? I guess those Americans werent your people?

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Gomez appeared to address the outrage in a follow-up post to her story where she wrote over a black screen, Apparently its not OK to show empathy for people.

Gomez revealed previously her grandparents crossed into the U.S. illegally in the 1970s and later became citizens. She has been a strong advocate for the immigrant community and helped promote the 2019 Netflix series Living Undocumented.

Selena Gomezs Mexican grandparents crossed the border illegally and after many years were granted citizenship and then you have people on here wondering why this issue is so close to her heart. pic.twitter.com/ERGGEsLFov   (@americanreqiuem) January 27, 2025

I cant even imagine what these kids being separated from their families are going through, she said in 2020, during Trumps first term, about families being separated at the border. Its something that is going to traumatize them for the rest of their lives. And it just seems animalistic.

ICE has ramped up deportations and immigration raids since Trump took office, with the initial focus being on migrants who have committed a crime while stateside. The agency arrested 956 people on Sunday, its single-day high in Trumps second term.

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Trump promised during his campaign that ICE would eventually widen the scope of its arrests and deportations into the millions, however, which would include migrants whose only crime committed was how they entered the country.

Hey @selenagomez, how many illegal aliens are you providing safe harbor to in your 11,500 square foot Tudor-style Encino mansion? Looks spacious. pic.twitter.com/Eyvl01cHDJ  Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) January 27, 2025

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Countless other right-wing accounts, like Libs of TikTok, also chimed in Monday to bash Gomez. Many shared photos of Gomezs California mansion and alleged the billionaire had been insulated from the issues facing everyday Americans.

The outrage reached Fox News by lunchtime and Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, was asked for his thoughts on it.

I dont think we arrested any families, he said, referring to Gomezs remark that suggested children were suffering. Weve arrested public safety threats and national security threats, bottom line.

Homan added that ICE was going to do this operation without apology... It is all for the good of this nation. And were gonna keep going. No apologies. Were moving forward.
For the latest forecast information on this event, please click here.

The same storm responsible for breaking the dry streak in Southern California at the start of the week will spread areas of rain, snow and ice from the Southwest to portions of the central United States at midweek and finally to part of the Northeast by the weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists say.

The storm delivered an average of an inch of rain to Southern California and several inches of snow over the region's mountains Sunday into Monday. By the time the storm completes its route this weekend, it will have traveled close to 2,600 miles from Long Beach, California, to Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

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Areas of heavy rain and snow will unfold soon after the storm reinvents itself over the middle of the nation at midweek.

Depending on the track and strength of the storm and its ability to generate cold air, accumulating snow is possible from northern Arizona to southeastern Colorado, northwestern Kansas and part of central Nebraska, beginning as early as Wednesday. At least a few inches of accumulation is expected with the highest amounts over the southern Rockies. Snow or a wintry mix could last into the end of the week over parts of the Rockies and High Plains.

Some cities that may experience enough snow to make travel slippery include Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Pueblo, Colorado. Denver may be on the receiving end of 1-3 inches of snow from late Wednesday night to Thursday morning.

Drenching rain will fall in part of the storm's warm sector to the south and east of its track.

"Rain will fall in an area of the South Central states that has experienced well-below-historical-average precipitation this month," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis said. "San Antonio and Austin are both in an extreme drought. The area could use the rain, but too much rain too quickly could lead to flooding concerns."

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There is the potential for several inches of rain to fall and at least raise the risk of flash urban flooding and slick roads from central Texas to western Kentucky. It is possible that some locations will pick up 4-6 inches of rain with an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 7 inches in 24 hours or less as the storm moves along.

As the storm ramps up, so will the risk of severe thunderstorms. The last time there was more than a stray potent thunderstorm was on Jan. 5, when several tornadoes touched down in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

The potential for thunderstorms packing significant hail and powerful wind gusts will shift from central Texas on Wednesday to southeastern Texas on Thursday.

The storm will continue to ride along the boundary between warm air to the south and seasonably cold air to the north as it tracks over the Eastern states late in the week.

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"Depending on its track, the storm on Friday may bring snow or a wintry mix as far north as Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland in the Midwest," Travis said.

Drenching rain and perhaps some thunder and lightning will advance eastward across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on Friday.

"From the mid-Mississippi and Ohio valleys to part of the central Appalachians, enough warmer air combined with the rain could increase the risk of ice jams on some area streams and rivers," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.

Just ahead of the rain in the South Central and Southeast states, it may feel like spring for a short while, with temperatures reaching well into the 60s and even the 70s in some locations.

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As the storm begins to move through the eastern quarter of the country, rain and thunderstorms could trigger travel problems, including airline ground stops in Atlanta and Charlotte from Friday to early Saturday.

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In the Northeast, a wedge of cold air may be dry enough to prevent snow and a wintry mix in the northern parts of New York state and New England. However, that same cold wedge will likely lead to a wintry or icy mix in portions of the central Appalachians, the upper portion of the mid-Atlantic and southern New England from Friday to Saturday.

New York City is one of the major metro areas that could experience a wide range of precipitation with drenching rain to ice and snow from south to north. Even where several hours of heavy rain occur, such as in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., travel delays are likely from the storm for the tail end of the week to the first part of the weekend.

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A murder suspect was captured by the U.S. Marshals Service on Monday and accused in the 2023 overdose death of a 17-year-old in Memphis.

In January 2023, a 17-year-old boy was found dead of an overdose in a home on Wrenwood Street. The U.S. Marshals say it is believed the teen died of a fatal dose of fentanyl.

In April of that year, Samuel Sipes was charged with Second Degree Murder in connection to the teens death. He was released on a $100,000 bond but failed to return for his scheduled court date.

Samuel Sipes (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Marshals Service)

Infant found dead behind Whitehaven business; police investigating

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Reports say a failure to appear warrant was issued for Sipes on November 12, 2024, and the case was adopted by the USMS Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force in Memphis.

On Monday, the TRVFTF and DeSoto County Sheriffs Office deputies arrested Sipes at an apartment complex in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

He is currently awaiting extradition to Tennessee.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A police chase through Oxford, Mississippi left one person behind bars on Friday.

At around 6:45 p.m., officers with the Lafayette County Sheriffs Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for careless driving. The car stopped at Rascals Gas Station at the intersection of Highway 7 South and Belk Boulevard.

Reports say Antonio Mendez and Briane Kreston were inside the vehicle. Deputies found that Kreston had an active warrant out of DeSoto County and asked her to exit the car.

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When she got out, Mendez drove off down Highway 7, initiating a pursuit.

The LCSO says the pursuit went directly through a traffic accident the Oxford Police Department was working. Mendez then stopped his car on the shoulder of the road and ran away on foot.

Antonio Mendez (Photo courtesy of the Lafayette County Sheriffs Department)

He was later taken into custody with the help of the OPD.

Mendez was charged with Failure to Stop Motor Vehicle when Officer Signals (Felony Fleeing). His bond was set at $40,000 and the Mississippi Department of Corrections placed a hold on him, according to the LCSO.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Authorities in Louisiana mistakenly released a jail inmate accused of murder. He has since been taken back into custody.

According to reports from WBRZ, WAFB and The Advocate, Christopher Davis, who was arrested in connection with a murder in Baton Rouge, was dropped off at a bus station with other inmates who had served their sentences and were being released.

This one particular prisoner was transported from where he was in East Carroll along with a group of DOC inmates that had apparently served their time and were being brought to a bus stop, East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore told WAFB.

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Authorities have not said what caused Davis to be mistakenly released.

Davis was arrested in January 2023, the Baton Rouge Police Department said, after he was accused of fatally shooting 37-year-old Deandre Duncan following an argument in December 2022.

The East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office subsequently said Davis was recaptured, according to WAFB.

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WBRZ reported that Davis family was unaware of his release until police came to their home looking for him.

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"Why did y'all let him out in the first place? Y'all telling us he was not supposed to be released, but he was released, y'all made a big hiccup," a family member told the station.

It is not immediately clear if Davis has an attorney or if he has entered a plea to the murder charge he is facing.

Read the original article on People
A man was killed in a crash on Interstate 84 in West Hartford early Monday when the BMW he was driving was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer.

The crash was reported around 1:30 a.m. on the eastbound side of the highway prior to Exit 44, according to Connecticut State Police.

Tamek Nelson Skinner, 30, of New York was driving a 2017 BMW 320 in the right lane of I-84 East when he was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer, state police said. The vehicles became stuck together following the collision.

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According to state police, Skinner suffered injuries not compatible with life and was pronounced dead at Hartford Hospital at 2:15 a.m.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 46-year-old Pennsylvania man, was not injured, state police said.

Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene. The crash remains under investigation.

Any witnesses or drivers in the area with dashboard camera footage have been asked to contact Trooper Kaitlyn DeMaio at 860-534-1098 or kaitlyn.demaio@ct.gov.
MAPUTO, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The potential suspension of financial aid from the United States to Mozambique has raised concerns about its impact on critical sectors, particularly health, according to Mozambican Prime Minister Maria Benvinda Levy.

Speaking on Monday in Maputo, the country's capital, Levi emphasized the importance of the aid while expressing optimism about the government's ability to manage internally.

"If the suspension of external aid from the United States is confirmed, the health sector will be one of the most affected," Levi told the press during an event in Maputo ahead of the official ceremony to appoint and swear in the new police chief, Joaquim Sive.

She noted that the government is prepared to tackle the challenge despite the significance of the support previously provided. "We have faced other worrying situations before and managed them successfully. I believe this time will be no different, as we will use our internal resources to navigate through."

Acknowledging that the U.S. support has been crucial, particularly in the health sector, Levi said other areas, with less significant dependence on external aid, might also be impacted.

"We will have to redirect some of our resources to ensure these critical areas can continue their activities without disruption," she added.

The U.S. Department of State has frozen nearly all foreign assistance worldwide effective immediately days after President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order on Jan. 20 to put a hold on such assistance for 90 days. In Mozambique, more than 400 million U.S. dollars could be affected, which are earmarked annually for the health sector, including 250 million dollars for the HIV program, according to a Sunday report by the local newspaper O Pais. 
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (PIX11)  A man was killed after an MTA bus crashed into a crane in Manhattan on Sunday, according to the NYPD.

It happened near 5th Avenue and East 51st Street in Midtown around 9:30 p.m. The bus smashed into the arm of the lift, causing a 37-year-old man to fall off it, police said.

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The man was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue where he was pronounced dead.

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Its not clear if anyone else was injured or if passengers were on the bus at the time of the crash.

Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN)  A man was arrested on OVI charges Sunday afternoon after officers discovered him passed out in the drivers seat at an intersection.

Read next: Man dies in Warren house fire

Boardman police were called to the area of Shields Road and West Boulevard around 3 p.m. Sunday after numerous people reported a man passed out at the wheel of a red truck.

Police found the truck stopped at the traffic light on Shields at West Boulevard with several cars stopped behind it. Officers called to the driver while banging loudly on the window of the truck and were eventually able to rouse the man, identified as Martin Eberth, 46.

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Reports state Eberth slowly opened his eyes and then let off the brake, allowing the truck to move about 10 feet before he was able to place his foot back on the brake and shift the truck into park.

Officers noted Eberth smelled of alcohol and showed other signs of impairment. When officers asked for his license, reports state Eberth handed them the trucks user manual.

After a field sobriety test, officers placed Eberth under arrest for OVI. He was later breath tested, resulting in a 0.25 OVI  three times the legal limit of 0.08.

He is charged with driving under suspension, OVI, OVI high tier, and impeding traffic.

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The additional charge of OVI was due to Eberths eight previous OVI convictions, reports state. Because a previous conviction was a felony charge, Eberth was taken to Mahoning County Jail.

He is set for video arraignment Tuesday morning.

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KNOX COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56)  A Knox County man was arrested Saturday after allegedly shooting a man.

At 4:30 p.m., authorities responded to Nan Duff Road in Hinkle but were told the alleged shooter had left in a black pickup truck. Knox County deputies later located 45-year-old Wesley Mills, of Flat Lick, near Callebs Creek Road, according to a news release.

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The Knox County Sheriffs Office said Mills had allegedly been firing a gun near the home where the man had been shot.

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Reportedly, Mills had been target-shooting a 22-caliber rifle into a garbage pile near the victims home when a projectile ricocheted and went through the door of a trailer, hitting the man in his left knee.

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The office said three other people were inside the home at the time.

Mills was lodged in Knox County Detention Center and charged with fourth-degree assault and three counts of first-degree felony wanton endangerment.

The investigation is ongoing.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  A man charged with murder for a 2023 shooting death in Austintown pleaded guilty Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to reduced charges.

Read next: Fire officials confirm child dies in Sunday morning West Side fire

Talim Mumin, 22, entered guilty pleas before Judge Maureen Sweeney to charges of complicity to involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony and complicity to felonious assault, a second-degree felony, along with firearm specifications.

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He was charged for his role in the Sept. 6, 2023, shooting death of Vincent Tarver, 22. A woman was wounded in the same shooting.

Mumin was sentenced to six to seven and a half years in prison, which was recommended by the attorneys in the case.

Assistant Prosecutor Rob Andrews said Mumin was not the shooter but that he was complicit. He did not go into detail.

Mumin has already served a 31-day jail sentence for hiding a gun that police believe was used in the case.

Tarver was shot after a fight in the parking lot of the Compass West apartment complex in Austintown. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center, where he died from his injuries. The woman who was wounded required surgery

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Andrews said the shooter in the case, Ethan Richmond, 18, is expected to plead guilty now that Mumins case is complete, and Andrews said he expects Richmond to receive a far greater sentence.

Richmond, who was 17 when Tarver was killed, is also charged with involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault and tampering with evidence. He was originally charged in juvenile court, but his case was bound over to common pleas court.

Court records show his case is set for a Feb. 14 plea.

Defense attorney Tony Meranto said he advised his client to take the plea because even though he thought he had a good defense, there is no telling what a jury would do if the case had gone to trial and the maximum penalties for his original charges are far greater.

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Meranto also said his client has no prior criminal record.

Im kind of shocked were here in this position today, Meranto said.

Mumin declined to say anything when asked by the judge.

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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  Reports said a man told police Saturday evening he was robbed of cash and $50 worth of pizza while making a delivery on the East Side.

Read next: Child dies in Youngstown house fire; fire chief gives warning on space heaters

The man told police he was called about 10:30 p.m. to an address on Kendis Circle to deliver $50 worth of pizza and when he knocked on the door two men wearing masks and holding guns demanded all his cash and his pizza.

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The man gave them the pizza and $12, which was all the cash he had, reports said. The driver got to his car and drove to a nearby gas station, where he called police.

The incident remains under investigation.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
A Bloomington man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for his role in the $250 million Feeding Our Future scheme that defrauded a federal child nutrition program at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff, 34, was sentenced to 210 months in prison on Friday, with a court hearing that while the CEO of the Afrique Hospitality Group, he oversaw the theft of more than $47 million of funding intended to feed needy children during the pandemic.

It was part of a wider scheme that saw dozens of actors claim federal funding to feed children, either exaggerating the number of children they were feeding, or inventing them entirely. Thus far, 70 people have been charged in connection to the scheme, at the center of which was the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which was in charge of distributing some of the federal nutrition funds.

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Shariff and several co-conspirators were found to have created and submitted fake meal count sheets purporting to show the number of children fed at numerous sites across the Twin Cities, fabricating the names of children allegedly receiving meals. At one point it claimed it was feeding 3,500 children a day.

It comes after the USDA loosened its requirements for the Federal Child Nutrition Program in 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic, allowing a larger number of providers to take part in it as the spread of the deadly virus sparked widespread shutdowns and led to significant unemployment.

FBI agents, along with investigators from the IRS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, prepare to execute one of 25 search warrants carried out in the early morning hours of January 20, 2022, as part of the Feeding Our Future fraud investigation. Courtesy of FBI.

"The defendant committed a brazen fraud that shamelessly stole taxpayer money intended to feed children during a global pandemic. He lined his pockets, here and abroad, with millions," said Acting Minnesota U.S. Attorney Kirkpatrick.

"As the Court found, he doubled down on his crimes by obstructing justice. This significant sentence should serve as a clear warning to anyone who would seek to exploit and defraud government programs. You will be held accountable."

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The Minnesota Reformer reports that Shariff defended himself at trial last year and initially argued his innocence, saying the funding he obtained was used to build the Afrique community center in Bloomington.

But the Reformer adds that during sentencing on Friday he was remorseful, saying that his role in the Feeding Our Future scheme has "tarnished" the image of the Somali-American community.

Also on Friday, Ayan Farah Abukar, 43, of Savage, pleaded guilty to her role in the Feeding Our Future scandal, having enrolled Action for East African People  a nonprofit she founded  into the federal nutrition program and falsely claiming to serve 5,000 children a day at various Twin Cities sites, obtaining around $5.7 million in funds.
An Oklahoma man was sentenced last week for murdering his girlfriend's grandparents and burying them in their backyard.

Lucas Anthony Walker, 22, will serve 35 years in prison for the 2022 killing of Deborah and Larry Dutton, the grandparents of his girlfriend Heidi Dutton. Walker had confessed to the crime and pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder.

Per a criminal complaint filed in Oklahoma federal court, on Dec. 19, 2022, Walker grabbed a .22 caliber handgun from a gun safe in the Duttons' garage at their home in Dewey, about 45 miles north of Tulsa. He then waited outside the couple's bedroom.

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When Deborah opened the door, Walker shot her and then slit her throat when she fell to the ground. Larry then jumped out of bed and rushed at Walker, whose pistol had jammed. Walker then stabbed Larry in the face, chest and stomach.

When police later searched the house, they unlocked Larry's cell phone and discovered footage from a Ring security camera, allegedly showing Walker and Heidi dragging a body wrapped in a sheet out of the home.

A month later, when police later searched the residence to conduct a welfare check following the Duttons' disappearance, they were greeted by a "heavy odor of cleaning supplies and bleach," per the complaint against Walker.

They also found blood in the Duttons' bedroom, which Walker had attempted to clean up but had seeped through the baseboards.

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Meanwhile, an anthropologist from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation called to the scene recommended that a patch of "disturbed" dirt be exhumed to search for the Duttons' bodies; they were later discovered in the backyard.

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Both Walker and Heidi were arrested, and they each confessed to the crime, the complaint alleges.

According to an affidavit, Heidi allegedly told investigators the killings were her idea, claiming she'd told Walker she "wanted them dead," according to the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise.

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Larry Dutton, 73, was a retired Master Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and former manager of Lt. William M. Milliken Airport in Eureka, Kan, per an obituary for the couple. He "had a big heart and would give anyone the shirt off his back," one friend of his remembered in a funeral guestbook entry.

His wife Deborah was a retired Staff Sergeant in the Air Force and had also worked as a chef.

Heidi, who was 17 at the time of the killings, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of conspiracy, and two counts of desecrating a corpse, per state court records.

Court records state that Heidi waived a jury trial, and that a plea and sentencing hearing is scheduled for her for March 5. PEOPLE has reached out to the Washington County District Attorney for further information on the status of Heidi's case.



A message left for Heidi's attorney was not immediately returned.

Read the original article on People
DENVER (KDVR)  A 56-year-old man was sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole for a shooting that left one dead and two others injured in 2020.

According to the Denver Police Department, the shooting occurred at 14th Avenue and Broadway on July 23, 2020. Tonio Stallworth, 32, died at the hospital of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Denver Coroners Office report.

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A man named Nate, who lived in the homeless camp at 14th Avenue and Broadway, told FOX31s Greg Nieto in 2020 that he heard the gunshots.

No, man, I got down. I dont like bullets hitting me, you know? So, kind of hunkered down and waited. It was quick, you know? he said.

Brian Jones, 56, was found guilty by a jury on Dec. 23, 2024, of:

First-degree murder after deliberation

First-degree murder with extreme indifference

Second-degree assault causing injury with a deadly weapon

A sentence-enhancing count of using a weapon during a violent crime was also found to be proven.

On Friday, Jones was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, which is the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder in Colorado.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
ATTLEBORO, Mass. (WPRI)  A 51-year-old man has been sentenced to prison for raping a woman in Attleboro more than 30 years ago.

Eduardo Mendez, of Guatemala, was sentenced Monday to 15 to 20 years in Massachusetts state prison, after being convicted of the 1994 rape last week.

BACKGROUND: Man convicted of 1994 Attleboro rape

Prosecutors said the victim, who was 36 at the time, was walking home on June 9, 1994, when a group of men approached her. The men dragged her into a nearby hallway, where Mendez raped her.

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The victim was taken to Sturdy Memorial Hospital after a teenager heard her screams and brought her to the police station. She was treated and a rape kit was collected, but the kit went untested for years.

According to the Bristol County District Attorneys Office, the case could have been solved decades ago had the kit been fully tested when it was submitted.

The kit was tested 25 years later at the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab, leading to Mendezs arrest and conviction.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com.
A man was shot in the neck on Interstate 95 near Fort Lauderdale on Sunday evening, according to reports.

The man was transported to a nearby hospital with a gunshot wound to the neck, Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami reported. The incident occurred shortly after 6:15 p.m., according to Florida 511.

Heavy traffic followed, with all lanes near the Cypress Creek Road and Oakland Park Boulevard exits closed. Live camera footage shows several police vehicles on the congested highway.

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Total Traffic Miami reported that Florida Highway Patrol and other police agencies responded to the shooting. The Miami Herald reached out to FHP and Broward Sheriffs Office for more information.

Fort Lauderdale police are assisting on the scene.

This report will be updated as more information becomes available
YANGON, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar authorities have seized 11.635 kg of "happy water", a synthetic drug, 3.6 kg of ketamine, and various other illegal substances in central Myanmar, the state-run daily The Mirror reported on Monday.

Acting on a tip-off, anti-narcotics police raided a suspect's house in Mahaaungmyay township of Mandalay region on Jan. 23 and confiscated three kg of "happy water", the report said.

According to the investigation, 3.6 kg of ketamine, 8.635 kg of "happy water", 40 ecstasy tablets, 150 happy-5 tablets, 280 stimulant tablets and five grams of Ice (methamphetamine) were seized from another suspect's house in the same township.

The seized drugs were valued at over 1.4 billion kyats (about 660,000 U.S. dollars), the report said. 
BEAVER DAM, Wis. (WFRV)  One person is dead and six others were injured after a two-vehicle crash in Wisconsin on Sunday.

According to the Dodge County Sheriffs Office, on January 26, around 4:30 p.m., authorities were sent to a reported two-vehicle crash on County Road A at County Road B in Beaver Dam. Officials say that the initial investigation shows a pickup truck did not stop at a stop sign.

The pickup truck was reportedly hit by another vehicle. Both vehicles then reportedly came to a stop in a field.

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Fond du Lac County Sheriffs Office: Three out-of-state people arrested on drug-related charges following high-speed pursuit through multiple counties

The release says a passenger in the pickup truck, identified as a 30-year-old from Tennessee, was ejected and later died on the scene. The driver of the pickup truck was sent to a hospital with serious life-threatening injuries.

Officials mentioned that he was also from Tennessee and was taken into custody for operating while impaired.

The driver of the other vehicle, identified as a 35-year-old man from Fox Lake, was airlifted to a hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries according to authorities. A passenger in the other vehicle was also airlifted to a hospital.

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It was mentioned in the release that three children in the other vehicle were sent to a hospital with minor injuries.

One person hurt in Fond du Lac fire that leaves multiple people without a home

Multiple agencies assisted at the scene. The crash is still under investigation.

No additional information was provided.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
A Manhattan man was killed in a car crash in central Connecticut early Monday morning when his vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer.

Tamek Skinner, 30, was driving on Interstate 84 through West Hartford when a big rig hit him from behind at around 1:30 a.m., Connecticut State Police said in a report. He was pronounced dead at Hartford Hospital at 2:15 a.m.

Skinner was driving in a BMW sedan eastbound in the far right lane of I-84 just before Exit 44 at the time of the crash. A tractor-trailer driven by Andrew Corkran, 46, hit Skinners vehicle from behind, cops said.

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The two vehicles remained stuck together until they came to a rest on the right shoulder, state police said. Corkran did not suffer any injuries and declined medical attention at the scene. Both vehicles were towed.

No other passengers were in either vehicle, according to police. The BMW driven by Skinner was registered to a Marietta, Ohio, resident named Aaliyah Williams. The tractor-trailer had New Jersey license plates and was registered to a dealer in Hillsborough.

A section of I-84 through West Hartford was closed for about five hours early Monday, local CBS affiliate WFSB reported. However, it reopened around 6:30 a.m. in time for most morning commuters. Ramps near Exits 42 and 43 were closed for a bit longer.
Within a week of Donald Trump's second term as president, several raids were conducted by ICE agents throughout Texas as well as the rest of the U.S. Upon entering office last Monday, Trump delivered on a campaign promise and issued an executive order to "protect the American people against invasion." His administration has said the aggressive deportation efforts would prioritize "violent offenders."

The Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted with the Texas operations.

An ICE spokesperson confirmed the raids in North Texas in an emailed statement to Texas Public Radio:

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"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with our federal law enforcement partners began conducting enhanced targeted operations today in North Texas and the state of Oklahoma to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities."

Austin police chief: Feds say Austin ICE arrests were for 'wanted violent offenders'

How many undocumented immigrants have been arrested?

Beginning Thursday, Jan. 23, ICE has reported single-day U.S. statistics for the number of individuals arrested and charged with a crime as well as those detained.

Similar operations occurred in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey and New York, according to various news reports.

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It is unclear how many of these arrests and detainments occurred in Texas. However, several cities across the Lone Star State saw these "enhanced targeted operations" on Sunday.

Where did the ICE raids happen in Texas?

Officials have yet to confirm how many undocumented immigrants were apprehended in Texas Sunday. However, local news outlets suggest the following areas have been subjected to the raids:

The DEA Houston Division , along with our Department of Justice partners, is assisting DHS and other federal law enforcement partners with their immigration enforcement efforts. pic.twitter.com/AqgjXeXDQ2  DEAHouston (@DEAHOUSTONDiv) January 26, 2025

How many undocumented immigrants are in Texas?

About 1.6 million unauthorized immigrants reside in Texas, according to July 2024 data in a Pew Research Center report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: ICE arrests undocumented immigrants in Texas, US under executive order
Workers clear a homeless encampment site in Chicago's Humboldt Park in December 2024. As in other states, many cities in Illinois have passed or expanded bans on camping in public places following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Since the U.S. Supreme Courts City of Grants Pass v. Johnson ruling last June allowing localities to ban outdoor camping even if there is no homeless shelter space available, roughly 150 cities in 32 states have passed or strengthened such ordinances.

Another 40 or so local bans are pending, according to data sent to Stateline by the National Homelessness Law Center. The measures vary in detail, but they typically include prohibitions on camping, sleeping or storing property on public land. Many also include buffer zones near schools, parks or businesses.

Advertisement Advertisement

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Bans often allow for steep fines and jail time. In Indio, California, for example, people caught camping illegally could face a penalty of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail. The ordinance in Fresno, California, bans sitting, lying, sleeping or camping on public property anytime, anywhere, with a penalty of up to a year in jail. Elmira, New York, includes sleeping in vehicles in its camping ban.

Housing advocates and experts anticipate the surge in camping bans to continue in 2025. Supporters of the bans argue that homeless encampments endanger nearby residents and businesses. Critics say the prohibitions will just criminalize visible street homelessness and move it somewhere else.

The idea behind anti-camping laws is to make homelessness so uncomfortable that people wont want to experience it. But homelessness is already incredibly uncomfortable, especially during disasters, said Samantha Batko, a senior fellow in the Housing and Communities Division at the Urban Institute. Criminalizing homelessness doesnt solve the problem  it just punishes people, makes it harder for them to find housing or jobs, and keeps them stuck in a cycle of instability.

California has the highest number of camping bans, with more than 40 ordinances either passed or introduced since July. It also has about 30% of the nations homeless individuals, followed by New York, Florida and Washington state, according to a U.S. Housing and Urban Development report to Congress in 2022.

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California Democratic Gov. Newsom invested heavily in encampment clearance and housing, allocating $131 million to municipalities after the Grants Pass ruling. He also issued an executive order to cities to urgently address homeless encampments.

Elizabeth Funk, CEO of DignityMoves, a nonprofit that is helping California cities address unsheltered homelessness, anticipates a rise in anti-camping policies in 2025. Still, she said, the Grants Pass ruling could require cities to build more temporary shelters.

"It really is a policy decision, and we have chosen that the only valid use of taxpayer money is permanent housing. But the reality is ... we cant build our way out of this at a million dollars per unit, said Funk. "Grants Pass removes the excuse that cities cant act. Unsheltered homelessness is solvable  it starts with providing a roof.

What do we do?

Floridas updated law, passed last year, requires counties and municipalities to ban sleeping or camping in public spaces such as parks, sidewalks and the states many beaches.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Many local governments scrambled to put local ordinances in place to comply with the law. And as of Jan. 1, residents and business owners have the right to sue municipalities if local efforts to address homelessness are deemed insufficient. The state has around 31,000 homeless residents.

The idea that the problem is such a small number of people ... and no matter how much we spend on it, were not spending enough to actually fix it, is very frustrating.

 Gainesville, Florida, Mayor Harvey Ward

Gainesville, Florida, Mayor Harvey Ward said the states requirements havent dramatically changed the citys response to homelessness.

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Gainesville city officials noted philosophical disagreements with the state when they passed an anti-camping ordinance in December to avoid any potential legal action for noncompliance. The ordinance carries no jail time but includes a fine.

Ward said in an interview that hes seen a major decrease in visible chronic homelessness in the citys community plaza from a decade ago, a shift he attributes to the opening of more shelter spaces over the years.

The good news is we dont have 100 people a night sleeping on the community plaza anymore. I can see progress. Im just not sure how to make that sort of leap in progress again, said Ward, who is a registered Democrat, though the mayoral position is nonpartisan.

He said the states ban mandate also complicates how Gainesville and other cities respond to chronic street homelessness, especially given Floridas bottom-tier spending on mental health services.

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The idea that the problem is such a small number of people  fewer than 1,000 chronic homeless folks in any year  and no matter how much we spend on it, were not spending enough to actually fix it, is very frustrating, Ward said.

Weve plateaued. There are folks who, for whatever reason, either cant be admitted to a shelter because of past issues or refuse to go. But theyre not doing anything illegal, so what do we do? How do we help someone who refuses services and isnt breaking the law?

No one chooses to sleep outside

The rise in anti-camping ordinances after the Grants Pass ruling was a predictable outcome, even in cities that have no other options for people who dont have homes, said Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director at the National Homelessness Law Center.

A large misconception is that people choose to experience homelessness. But no one chooses to sleep outside. People are forced into homelessness because elected officials fail to ensure safe and affordable housing, said Rabinowitz. The Grants Pass approach  making cities inhospitable to force people to leave  has been tried before. Its expensive, ineffective, and only prolongs homelessness.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Yet the approach is quickly gaining ground.

In November, Arizona voters approved a ballot measure allowing property owners to apply for reimbursements for public nuisance expenses when the government fails to enforce laws related to camping and loitering.

A Republican-led bill in Washington state  where six municipalities have passed or strengthened anti-camping ordinances since the Grants Pass ruling  would require most local governments to ban encampments near schools and parks by May of 2027. It would offer grants for encampment sweeps, but also would pull funding from localities that dont enforce the ban. The bill remains in committee.

Among the states cities with a ban in place is Spokane Valley, which updated its ordinance last fall. The updates include upgrading the violation of being in a city park after dark from a civil infraction to a misdemeanor, and changing the definition of camping to include sleeping overnight with or without camping gear.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Little has changed with enforcement in the interim months, wrote city spokesperson Jill Smith in an email to Stateline. The city also has several employees dedicated to connecting unhoused residents with services, she said, and it added a second outreach police officer in December.

Devon Kurtz, the public safety policy director at the Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank, argues that camping bans are necessary to address unsafe encampments and unsheltered homelessness, and that they can be part of a system that helps reluctant individuals receive help.

In a recently published interview with the Philanthropy Roundtable, which advises conservative philanthropists, Kurtz warned that "homeless encampments are toxic environments filled with waste and trash, and are often hotbeds of crime."

Advocates in many states are pushing back. After a successful petitioning effort by local residents, the city of Morgantown, West Virginia, will allow voters to decide in April whether to overturn a new camping ban passed last fall. As of November, the city had 28 shelter beds to serve an estimated homeless population of 150.

Do they work?

A 2024 RAND study found that policy changes  such as encampment sweeps and camping bans  in three Los Angeles neighborhoods temporarily reduced visible homelessness, but within months the unsheltered populations rose slightly in two of the communities and doubled in the third.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

The survey found chronic mental and physical health issues and substance use disorders affecting more than half of respondents, with Skid Row residents being the oldest and least healthy.

Experts also argue that these laws are ineffective and costly, with a 2020 federal report finding sweeps in four cities cost $1,672 to $6,208 per unsheltered person annually.

Jeremy Ney, a data researcher who publishes the American Inequality newsletter, said that while a lack of affordable housing is a root cause of rising homelessness, responses to homelessness need to accompany policies that address other chronic barriers to stability.

Housing alone is not enough. We also need employment, mental health, addiction and social service support systems that can ensure people stay in those homes, Ney said.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Workers clear a homeless encampment site in Chicagos Humboldt Park in December 2024. As in other states, many cities in Illinois have passed or expanded bans on camping in public places following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Since the U.S. Supreme Courts City of Grants Pass v. Johnson ruling last June allowing localities to ban outdoor camping even if there is no homeless shelter space available, roughly 150 cities in 32 states have passed or strengthened such ordinances.

Another 40 or so local bans are pending, according to data sent to Stateline by the National Homelessness Law Center. The measures vary in detail, but they typically include prohibitions on camping, sleeping or storing property on public land. Many also include buffer zones near schools, parks or businesses.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Bans often allow for steep fines and jail time. In Indio, California, for example, people caught camping illegally could face a penalty of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail. The ordinance in Fresno, California, bans sitting, lying, sleeping or camping on public property anytime, anywhere, with a penalty of up to a year in jail. Elmira, New York, includes sleeping in vehicles in its camping ban.

Housing advocates and experts anticipate the surge in camping bans to continue in 2025. Supporters of the bans argue that homeless encampments endanger nearby residents and businesses. Critics say the prohibitions will just criminalize visible street homelessness and move it somewhere else.

The idea behind anti-camping laws is to make homelessness so uncomfortable that people wont want to experience it. But homelessness is already incredibly uncomfortable, especially during disasters, said Samantha Batko, a senior fellow in the Housing and Communities Division at the Urban Institute. Criminalizing homelessness doesnt solve the problem  it just punishes people, makes it harder for them to find housing or jobs, and keeps them stuck in a cycle of instability.

California has the highest number of camping bans, with more than 40 ordinances either passed or introduced since July. It also has about 30% of the nations homeless individuals, followed by New York, Florida and Washington state, according to a U.S. Housing and Urban Development report to Congress in 2022.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

California Democratic Gov. Newsom invested heavily in encampment clearance and housing, allocating $131 million to municipalities after the Grants Pass ruling. He also issued an executive order to cities to urgently address homeless encampments.

Elizabeth Funk, CEO of DignityMoves, a nonprofit that is helping California cities address unsheltered homelessness, anticipates a rise in anti-camping policies in 2025. Still, she said, the Grants Pass ruling could require cities to build more temporary shelters.

It really is a policy decision, and we have chosen that the only valid use of taxpayer money is permanent housing. But the reality is  we cant build our way out of this at a million dollars per unit, said Funk. Grants Pass removes the excuse that cities cant act. Unsheltered homelessness is solvable  it starts with providing a roof.

What do we do?

Floridas updated law, passed last year, requires counties and municipalities to ban sleeping or camping in public spaces such as parks, sidewalks and the states many beaches.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Many local governments scrambled to put local ordinances in place to comply with the law. And as of Jan. 1, residents and business owners have the right to sue municipalities if local efforts to address homelessness are deemed insufficient. The state has around 31,000 homeless residents.

Gainesville, Florida, Mayor Harvey Ward said the states requirements havent dramatically changed the citys response to homelessness.

Gainesville city officials noted philosophical disagreements with the state when they passed an anti-camping ordinance in December to avoid any potential legal action for noncompliance. The ordinance carries no jail time but includes a fine.

Ward said in an interview that hes seen a major decrease in visible chronic homelessness in the citys community plaza from a decade ago, a shift he attributes to the opening of more shelter spaces over the years.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

The good news is we dont have 100 people a night sleeping on the community plaza anymore. I can see progress. Im just not sure how to make that sort of leap in progress again, said Ward, who is a registered Democrat, though the mayoral position is nonpartisan.

He said the states ban mandate also complicates how Gainesville and other cities respond to chronic street homelessness, especially given Floridas bottom-tier spending on mental health services.

The idea that the problem is such a small number of people  fewer than 1,000 chronic homeless folks in any year  and no matter how much we spend on it, were not spending enough to actually fix it, is very frustrating, Ward said.

Weve plateaued. There are folks who, for whatever reason, either cant be admitted to a shelter because of past issues or refuse to go. But theyre not doing anything illegal, so what do we do? How do we help someone who refuses services and isnt breaking the law?

No one chooses to sleep outside

The rise in anti-camping ordinances after the Grants Pass ruling was a predictable outcome, even in cities that have no other options for people who dont have homes, said Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director at the National Homelessness Law Center.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

A large misconception is that people choose to experience homelessness. But no one chooses to sleep outside. People are forced into homelessness because elected officials fail to ensure safe and affordable housing, said Rabinowitz. The Grants Pass approach  making cities inhospitable to force people to leave  has been tried before. Its expensive, ineffective, and only prolongs homelessness.

Yet the approach is quickly gaining ground.

In November, Arizona voters approved a ballot measure allowing property owners to apply for reimbursements for public nuisance expenses when the government fails to enforce laws related to camping and loitering.

A Republican-led bill in Washington state  where six municipalities have passed or strengthened anti-camping ordinances since the Grants Pass ruling  would require most local governments to ban encampments near schools and parks by May of 2027. It would offer grants for encampment sweeps, but also would pull funding from localities that dont enforce the ban. The bill remains in committee.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Among the states cities with a ban in place is Spokane Valley, which updated its ordinance last fall. The updates include upgrading the violation of being in a city park after dark from a civil infraction to a misdemeanor, and changing the definition of camping to include sleeping overnight with or without camping gear.

Little has changed with enforcement in the interim months, wrote city spokesperson Jill Smith in an email to Stateline. The city also has several employees dedicated to connecting unhoused residents with services, she said, and it added a second outreach police officer in December.

Devon Kurtz, the public safety policy director at the Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank, argues that camping bans are necessary to address unsafe encampments and unsheltered homelessness, and that they can be part of a system that helps reluctant individuals receive help.

In a recently published interview with the Philanthropy Roundtable, which advises conservative philanthropists, Kurtz warned that homeless encampments are toxic environments filled with waste and trash, and are often hotbeds of crime.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Advocates in many states are pushing back. After a successful petitioning effort by local residents, the city of Morgantown, West Virginia, will allow voters to decide in April whether to overturn a new camping ban passed last fall. As of November, the city had 28 shelter beds to serve an estimated homeless population of 150.

Do they work?

A 2024 RAND study found that policy changes  such as encampment sweeps and camping bans  in three Los Angeles neighborhoods temporarily reduced visible homelessness, but within months the unsheltered populations rose slightly in two of the communities and doubled in the third.

The survey found chronic mental and physical health issues and substance use disorders affecting more than half of respondents, with Skid Row residents being the oldest and least healthy.

Experts also argue that these laws are ineffective and costly, with a 2020 federal report finding sweeps in four cities cost $1,672 to $6,208 per unsheltered person annually.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Jeremy Ney, a data researcher who publishes the American Inequality newsletter, said that while a lack of affordable housing is a root cause of rising homelessness, responses to homelessness need to accompany policies that address other chronic barriers to stability.

Housing alone is not enough. We also need employment, mental health, addiction and social service support systems that can ensure people stay in those homes, Ney said.

This story was first published by Stateline, 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.
Jan. 27Since the U.S. Supreme Court's City of Grants Pass v. Johnson ruling last June allowing localities to ban outdoor camping even if there is no homeless shelter space available, roughly 150 cities in 32 states have passed or strengthened such ordinances.

Another 40 or so local bans are pending, according to data sent to Stateline by the National Homelessness Law Center. The measures vary in detail, but they typically include prohibitions on camping, sleeping or storing property on public land. Many also include buffer zones near schools, parks or businesses.

Bans often allow for steep fines and jail time. In Indio, California, for example, people caught camping illegally could face a penalty of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail. The ordinance in Fresno, California, bans sitting, lying, sleeping or camping on public property anytime, anywhere, with a penalty of up to a year in jail. Elmira, New York, includes sleeping in vehicles in its camping ban.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Housing advocates and experts anticipate the surge in camping bans to continue in 2025. Supporters of the bans argue that homeless encampments endanger nearby residents and businesses. Critics say the prohibitions will just criminalize visible street homelessness and move it somewhere else.

"The idea behind anti-camping laws is to make homelessness so uncomfortable that people won't want to experience it. But homelessness is already incredibly uncomfortable, especially during disasters," said Samantha Batko, a senior fellow in the Housing and Communities Division at the Urban Institute. "Criminalizing homelessness doesn't solve the problem  it just punishes people, makes it harder for them to find housing or jobs, and keeps them stuck in a cycle of instability."

California has the highest number of camping bans, with more than 40 ordinances either passed or introduced since July. It also has about 30% of the nation's homeless individuals, followed by New York, Florida and Washington state, according to a U.S. Housing and Urban Development report to Congress in 2022.

California Democratic Gov. Newsom invested heavily in encampment clearance and housing, allocating $131 million to municipalities after the Grants Pass ruling. He also issued an executive order to cities to "urgently address homeless encampments."

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Elizabeth Funk, CEO of DignityMoves, a nonprofit that is helping California cities address unsheltered homelessness, anticipates a rise in anti-camping policies in 2025. Still, she said, the Grants Pass ruling could require cities to build more temporary shelters.

"It really is a policy decision, and we have chosen that the only valid use of taxpayer money is permanent housing. But the reality is ... we can't build our way out of this at a million dollars per unit," said Funk. "Grants Pass removes the excuse that cities can't act. Unsheltered homelessness is solvable  it starts with providing a roof."

'What do we do?'

Florida's updated law, passed last year, requires counties and municipalities to ban sleeping or camping in public spaces such as parks, sidewalks and the state's many beaches.

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Many local governments scrambled to put local ordinances in place to comply with the law. And as of Jan. 1, residents and business owners have the right to sue municipalities if local efforts to address homelessness are deemed insufficient. The state has around 31,000 homeless residents.

The idea that the problem is such a small number of people ... and no matter how much we spend on it, we're not spending enough to actually fix it, is very frustrating.  Gainesville, Florida, Mayor Harvey Ward

Gainesville, Florida, Mayor Harvey Ward said the state's requirements haven't dramatically changed the city's response to homelessness.

Gainesville city officials noted philosophical disagreements with the state when they passed an anti-camping ordinance in December to avoid any potential legal action for noncompliance. The ordinance carries no jail time but includes a fine.

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Ward said in an interview that he's seen a major decrease in visible chronic homelessness in the city's community plaza from a decade ago, a shift he attributes to the opening of more shelter spaces over the years.

"The good news is we don't have 100 people a night sleeping on the community plaza anymore. I can see progress. I'm just not sure how to make that sort of leap in progress again," said Ward, who is a registered Democrat, though the mayoral position is nonpartisan.

He said the state's ban mandate also complicates how Gainesville and other cities respond to chronic street homelessness, especially given Florida's bottom-tier spending on mental health services.

"The idea that the problem is such a small number of people  fewer than 1,000 chronic homeless folks in any year  and no matter how much we spend on it, we're not spending enough to actually fix it, is very frustrating," Ward said.

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"We've plateaued. There are folks who, for whatever reason, either can't be admitted to a shelter because of past issues or refuse to go. But they're not doing anything illegal, so what do we do? How do we help someone who refuses services and isn't breaking the law?"

'No one chooses to sleep outside'

The rise in anti-camping ordinances after the Grants Pass ruling was a predictable outcome, even in cities that have no other options for people who don't have homes, said Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director at the National Homelessness Law Center.

"A large misconception is that people choose to experience homelessness. But no one chooses to sleep outside. People are forced into homelessness because elected officials fail to ensure safe and affordable housing," said Rabinowitz. "The Grants Pass approach  making cities inhospitable to force people to leave  has been tried before. It's expensive, ineffective, and only prolongs homelessness."

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Yet the approach is quickly gaining ground.

In November, Arizona voters approved a ballot measure allowing property owners to apply for reimbursements for public nuisance expenses when the government fails to enforce laws related to camping and loitering.

A Republican-led bill in Washington state  where six municipalities have passed or strengthened anti-camping ordinances since the Grants Pass ruling  would require most local governments to ban encampments near schools and parks by May of 2027. It would offer grants for encampment sweeps, but also would pull funding from localities that don't enforce the ban. The bill remains in committee.

Among the state's cities with a ban in place is Spokane Valley, which updated its ordinance last fall. The updates include upgrading the violation of being in a city park after dark from a civil infraction to a misdemeanor, and changing the definition of "camping" to include sleeping overnight with or without camping gear.

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Little has changed with enforcement in the interim months, wrote city spokesperson Jill Smith in an email to Stateline. The city also has several employees dedicated to connecting unhoused residents with services, she said, and it added a second outreach police officer in December.

Devon Kurtz, the public safety policy director at the Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank, argues that camping bans are necessary to address unsafe encampments and unsheltered homelessness, and that they can be part of a system that helps reluctant individuals receive help.

In a recently published interview with the Philanthropy Roundtable, which advises conservative philanthropists, Kurtz warned that "homeless encampments are toxic environments filled with waste and trash, and are often hotbeds of crime."

Advocates in many states are pushing back. After a successful petitioning effort by local residents, the city of Morgantown, West Virginia, will allow voters to decide in April whether to overturn a new camping ban passed last fall. As of November, the city had 28 shelter beds to serve an estimated homeless population of 150.

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Do they work?

A 2024 RAND study found that policy changes  such as encampment sweeps and camping bans  in three Los Angeles neighborhoods temporarily reduced visible homelessness, but within months the unsheltered populations rose slightly in two of the communities and doubled in the third.

The survey found chronic mental and physical health issues and substance use disorders affecting more than half of respondents, with Skid Row residents being the oldest and least healthy.

Experts also argue that these laws are ineffective and costly, with a 2020 federal report finding sweeps in four cities cost $1,672 to $6,208 per unsheltered person annually.

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Jeremy Ney, a data researcher who publishes the American Inequality newsletter, said that while a lack of affordable housing is a root cause of rising homelessness, responses to homelessness need to accompany policies that address other chronic barriers to stability.

"Housing alone is not enough. We also need employment, mental health, addiction and social service support systems that can ensure people stay in those homes," Ney said.

YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB)  Due to construction work in the area, Margaret K. Lewis Schools water service has been disrupted, and crews are unable to restore service quickly. As a result, school officials have made the decision to close the school and dismiss all students and staff as soon as possible.

They are advising parents to pick up students from the normal pick-up area. Buses are expected to depart around 12:00 PM today.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday told Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) that her audience was disappointed that his probe of former President Joe Biden produced no prosecutions.

After a failed effort to pin corruption charges on Biden for alleged undue influence in business dealings with son Hunter Biden and other relatives, the investigation by the House Oversight Committee chair and GOP members ultimately fizzled.

You did a very good job, Bartiromo told Comer on her Sunday Morning Futures program. You identified the bank statements, you identified whistleblowers and you did a very deep investigation, we all covered it. ... But Ive got to tell you, my audience is a little disappointed.

James Comer was a guest on the Fox News show of Maria Bartiromo, who told him that her viewers were "disappointed" over the results of his investigation. Getty

Noting the last-minute preemptive pardons that Biden granted to family members, Bartiromo told Comer: Should we just expect after all that work you put into it, after all the conversations weve had, they got away with it? she asked, perhaps forgetting that the investigation never produced the proof necessary for an impeachment.

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Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), then the top Democrat on the committee, concluded: What do you call a hellbent 20-month impeachment drive whose managers finally just dissolve into compulsive repetition of thoroughly discredited and meaningless accusations? I would call it a complete exoneration of the target of their pathetic attacks.

Comer didnt directly address Bartiromos criticism, but did say he hoped his investigation wasnt for naught and the ball is gonna be in [attorney general nominee] Pam Bondis court. He predicted Bidens pardons would not hold up legally and falsely claimed that Biden didnt have the guts to tell anybody why he did it.

Biden spelled out that he was concerned that partisan attacks against his family would continue under Trump.

Not surprisingly, Comer doesnt seem to be as enthusiastic about investigating the Trump familys financial dealings.

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If Democrats truly care about presidential ethics, they must first acknowledge the evidence we uncovered, a Comer spokeperson told the Oversight Committees top Democrat, Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia.

Comer and Bartiromos chat about the Bidens begins at the 31:50 mark here.

Related...
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) got hit with a wave of taunts Monday in another effort to legitimize the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

She posted a map of the gulf with a handwritten cutout of America affixed over Mexico on X. This is what homeschooling looks like in GA-14!! Greene enthused, referring to her district. Gulf of America!!

This is what homeschooling looks like in GA-14!! 



Gulf of AMERICA!!  pic.twitter.com/iYsmkqFILW  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) January 27, 2025

Greene got engulfed by snark.

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One X user imagined MTGs rationale: Look at this distraction from food and gas prices that we claimed we could instantaneously lower.

Another showed the lawmaker a map that renamed it the Gulf of a Felon.

Since President Donald Trump issued the executive order on Inauguration Day to rechristen the Gulf of Mexico, Greene has expected the world to obey Trumps edict.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did. Britain didnt.

But Greene, who has already proposed legislation to solidify the renaming and get federal funding for changes on maps, is still doing her part one post at a time even if the body of water has been called the Gulf of Mexico for more than 400 years.

Pander pander pander.. no results for Americans  Dr. Frankenfurter (@11_dino11) January 27, 2025

Total Rubbish. Side Show Marge.  Phillip Crenshaw (@pcmugwort1) January 27, 2025

Im actually surprised that doesnt say Confederate States of America  TheProletariat (@_ThePr0letariat) January 27, 2025

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Great that they are focusing on the important things!   Mikelbel (@Mikelbel) January 27, 2025

Marj how is this helping inflation and cost of groceries?  Marque (@tobeloved80) January 27, 2025

Spelled right and everything!!!! Golly!  Paul V Clanton (@Plantman1) January 27, 2025

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I wished you put that much effort into getting our groceries and gas cheaper.  Elvira Tauscher (@elvira_tauscher) January 27, 2025

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HANOI, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has vowed to continuously solidify the foundation for building a Vietnam-China community of shared future.

In a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam He Wei in the Vietnamese capital, Chinh said that the traditional friendship between Vietnam and China is time-honored and unbreakable.

The Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese government have always regarded the development of relations with China as a strategic choice and top priority, Chinh stressed.

The Vietnamese prime minister urged both sides to fully leverage the advantages of land and sea connectivity between the two countries and step up substantive cooperation and the implementation of significant and symbolic projects.

For his part, He said China is willing to work with Vietnam to promote the steady and long-term development of China-Vietnam friendship and contribute to regional and world peace and prosperity. 
BALTIMORE - Washday Floral, in Harford County, Maryland, isn't just a business for Tiffany Rueckert. It's a passion.

"When people walk through our door, you never know what people are dealing with, whether it's a loss that they've had in their life or a joy that they're celebrating," Rueckert said.

Rueckert has carried that sense of empathy for others since she was a little girl, growing up on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

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"You see the signs and it's like Sunset Boulevard and there's flames behind it. It's unreal. And you see the palm trees, those were the roads we would drive down and the beautiful views and the coastline," Rueckert explained.

The wildfires that have left the entire nation stunned have hit too close to home for her, which is why she decided to find a way to give back the best way she knows how.

"I googled flower shops in Palisades, California, and came across Palisades Flowers. And I looked up their Instagram and sure enough they had lost their shop in the fire, their delivery van, all their staff is unemployed," she said.

For the last few weeks, Rueckert has been selling flowers to save the flower shop, and the response from the community has been tremendous.

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"You're helping, you get a little bit of brightness out of it. And people have literally lost their homes and pets and family membersit's just hard to think about. It's in the US, it's something we need to do to help," said customer Chrissy Waters.

Domino effect

The generosity went even a step further when Rueckert received a message from a woman in California, who wanted to send flowers to her friend in Harford County.

The friend was visiting her boyfriend in Maryland when her home in California was destroyed.

"I decided to reach out to some of my local friends that are business owners here," said Rueckert.

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Maryland businesses Boutique 44, With Love Beauty Bar, John's Men's Clothing, and Boards By Dana all jumped at the chance to help.

"To be able to contribute to any bit of light in a time of such darkness, in just the littlest way to brighten somebody's day, I do that with food so feeding people and being able to send something for her to maybe come by and get lunch just to put a smile on someone's face when they're going through a tough time is what really made me want to donate something," said Dana Berbenich, owner of The Grazing Room and Boards by Dana.

Because, as they put it, Harford County is a family, and their love, knows no bounds.

"I love the people of Maryland and I love the people of California, and it's like I know there's so much love to share here and that we care, and it's just a small way for us to show that we care," said Rueckert.

To learn more about how you can pitch in, visit the Washday Floral.

Vice President JD Vance's first interview | Face the Nation

Rebuilding Paradise

A tour of the Bronx
Thousands of prisoners in the eastern Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) city of Goma escaped in a mass jail break on Monday as Rwanda-backed rebels said they had captured the strategic city.

Fleeing prisoners streamed from the torched jail into the surrounding streets in the early hours of the morning, while artillery fire shook the gold mining hub.

The UN said the rebel advance was causing mass panic among Gomas two million residents.

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Fighters from the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group had entered the lakeside city, according to witnesses, though it was unclear if they had taken complete control.

The group urged residents to remain calm and called for Congolese troops to assemble in Gomas central stadium.

A UN armoured personnel carrier burns during clashes with M23 rebels outside Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo - AP

The offensive in the heart of the mineral-rich region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) threatens to significantly worsen one of Africas longest wars and one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises.

According to the UN, more than a third of the population of the North Kivu province where Goma is located, are displaced.

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The DRC government, based almost 1,000 miles from Goma in Kinshasa, said the M23 advance was a declaration of war by Rwanda, a Commonwealth member, and on Monday morning the neighbours opened fire at each other across their shared border.

The region has been blighted by war for decades. The M23 rebel group is one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in an area rich with gold, cassiterite, coltan, cobalt and diamonds.

The rebels temporarily took Goma in 2012 then resurfaced in late 2021 with increasing support from Rwanda, according to DRCs government and UN experts. Rwanda has denied supporting them.

Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRCs foreign minister, told the UN Security Council that Rwanda was committing a frontal aggression, a declaration of war which no longer hides itself behind diplomatic manoeuvres.

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France said the offensive must stop. As Goma prepares to fall, France expresses its solidarity with the Democratic Republic of Congo and its territorial integrity. France firmly condemns the offensive, said Jean-Noel Barrot, the French foreign minister.

David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said he had asked Paul Kagame, Rwandas president, to de-escalate and called for both countries to return to the negotiating table.

The UN condemned the ongoing flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC and urged the rebels to put an end to the establishment of parallel administrations in the DRC territory.

Aid agencies say that long-standing refugee camps around Goma were emptying as people fled the rebel advance.

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Dr Manenji Mangundu, DRC director of the UK charity Oxfam, said: Every day, the situation is getting worse. Some of these families have been displaced for the seventh time, with no immediate means of support.

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At least 13 UN peacekeepers have been killed in the hostilities in the past week, including nine South African troops.

Peacekeepers were sent to the country more than 25 years ago and have around 14,000 troops on the ground. The Uruguayan army, which has a detachment of peacekeepers in Goma, said that more than 100 Congolese soldiers had begun laying down their weapons on Sunday.

Kigali said buses were on standby to evacuate UN staff and their families from the besieged city over the Rwandan border.

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Mayor Adams is canceling most public appearances this week and will undergo medical tests after not feeling his best over the past few days, according to a statement from his spokesman.

The statement, issued shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday by Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy, said the 64-year-old Adams will have a number of doctors appointments and undergo routine medical tests throughout the week.

While Mayor Adams will continue to communicate constantly with staff and ensure city business continues undeterred, during this time, the mayor will have a limited public schedule, the statement reads.

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Levys statement said City Hall will alert the public in the unlikely event he is unable to fully discharge his duties on any particular day. Kayla Mamelak, Adams press secretary, said its not serious at this point, but did not disclose any additional details about the mayors condition.

He has a right to privacy, but hes OK. Just not feeling well, she added. She said the mayor doesnt plan to do his weekly off topic press conference Tuesday, and his public schedule for Monday was empty.

On Monday evening, Levy tweeted that Adams has been in touch with his doctor and that he has some more routine tests scheduled for tomorrow, followed by another doctors appointment later this week. Levy provided no details about the nature of the mayors ailments.

Alex Spiro, Adams criminal defense attorney, filed a letter in Manhattan Federal Court late Sunday in which he wrote the mayor wont appear for a confidential hearing scheduled for Wednesday in his corruption case.

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Spiros filing didnt mention the mayors health, but said Adams is knowingly and voluntarily waiving his right to appear given the nature of the hearing, which is expected to focus on national security issues that have emerged in his federal corruption case. Adams has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and is supposed to stand trial in April.

Mamelak said First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, the second-in-command at City Hall, would step in as acting mayor if Adams needs to undergo a medical procedure.

If a mayor is temporarily unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office, the citys public advocate is in line to take over the mayoral reins with limited authority under local law. The public advocate is Jumaane Williams, a progressive Democrat and frequent Adams critic.

Adams public schedules for Friday and Saturday didnt include any public appearances.

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On Sunday evening, he was supposed to deliver remarks at a ribbon-cutting event at the Altneu Synagogue in Manhattan, where Steve Witkoff, President Trumps Middle East envoy, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog were among those in attendance. The mayor canceled the appearance with less than two hours notice.

While the nature of the mayors condition is unclear, he has for years spoken openly about his struggle with Type 2 diabetes. He has said he temporarily lost vision after being diagnosed in 2016 and that he suffered nerve damage to his hands and feet as well. Adams has credited changes in diet and lifestyle with helping him battle the disease.
NEW YORK  Mayor Eric Adams, who hasnt been feeling his best over the past few days, is cancelling most public appearances this week and will undergo medical tests, according to a statement from his spokesman.

The statement, issued shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday by Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy, said the 64-year-old Adams will have a number of doctors appointments and undergo routine medical tests this week.

While Mayor Adams will continue to communicate constantly with staff and ensure city business continues undeterred, during this time, the mayor will have a limited public schedule, the statement reads.

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Levys statement said City Hall will alert the public in the unlikely event he is unable to fully discharge his duties on any particular day.

Kayla Mamelak, Adams press secretary, said its not serious at this point, but would not share further details about the mayors condition.

He has a right to privacy, but hes okay. Just not feeling well, she added. She said the mayor doesnt plan to do his weekly off topic press conference Tuesday, and his public schedule for Monday was clear.

Mamelak said First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, the second-in-command at City Hall, would step in as acting mayor if Adams needs to undergo a medical procedure.

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If a mayor is temporarily unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office, the citys public advocate is supposed to take over the mayoral reins with limited authority under local law. The public advocate is Jumaane Williams, a progressive Democrat and frequent Adams critics.

Adams public schedules for Friday and Saturday didnt include any public appearances.

On Sunday evening, he was supposed to deliver remarks at a ribbon-cutting event at the Altneu Synagogue in Manhattan, where Steve Witkoff, President Trumps Middle East envoy, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog were among those in attendance. The mayor cancelled the appearance with less than two hours notice.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  Young residents in the District can now apply to explore different career pathways and develop crucial job skills through two summer programs.

On Monday, Jan. 27, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser launched applications for the 2025 Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (MBSYEP) and the Career Ready Early Scholars Program (CRESP).

MBSYEP, sponsored by the Department of Employment Services, partners with hundreds of employers across the city to provide youth ages 14 to 24 with enriching and constructive summer work experiences in roles across the public and private sectors.

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The mayors office noted that 12,000 youth participated in the program last year and were supported by around 800 employers. Additionally, 54% of the youth were residents of Wards 7 and 8.

For 46 years, the Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program has been a cornerstone of opportunity for young Washingtonians, helping them build confidence, explore careers, and prepare for their futures, Bowser stated in a press release. This years theme, Banking on the Future, focuses on exposing young people to careers in finance while equipping them with essential financial literacy skills. Spread the word to families and businesses: its time to apply for the Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program.

DC community reacts after Commanders lose to Eagles in NFC Championship

This year, a new feature, the Pathways to Finance Grant, will allow students ages 16 to 18 to participate in six weeks of hands-on learning, including five weeks of internships in fields such as accounting, economics, international finance and risk management, according to the mayors office. From there, students will travel to universities nationwide to experience student life in finance-related majors and shadow professionals.

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We are so excited to continue another year where thousands of young people have an opportunity for their first job, said Department of Employment Services director Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes. MBSYEP gives youth the tools and supports they need to become the Districts future leaders in all aspects of life.

The deadline to apply is March 6, while the deadline for interested employers to apply is June 1.

The other program, CRESP, allows students ages 9 to 13 to join in on the fun and explore pathways in topics such as financial literacy, college readiness, healthcare, public safety, STEM, entrepreneurship, Robotics, film, music and more.

Children can participate in a spring or summer session; however, the spring session only lasts one week, while the summer session lasts a little over a month.

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The deadline for CRESP is also March 6.

To learn more about both programs and to apply, click here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
An early morning fire destroyed a house in the Mechanicsville neighborhood near downtown Atlanta.

At first, firefighters thought one or more victims were trapped inside, but everyone made it out.

Channel 2s Steve Gehlbach was on Garibaldi Street, where he learned the homeowner was taken into custody for his own safety.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Neighbors spoke to Gehlbach and said they believed hed set his own house on fire, because its not the first time in just the last couple of weeks.

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When fire crews arrived Monday morning, flames were shooting out from the porch and the entire front of the house on Garibaldi was aflame.

Neighbors who took video of the fire as crews from the Atlanta Fire and Rescue Department told Channel 2 Action News they were worried about the owner.

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Dr. David Holder, a neighbor, said he woke up and looked outside around 6 a.m., only to see flames.

I just saw this bright orange amber and jumped up like it was a bad dream and the house was fully engulfed and I called 911, Holder said. He may still be in there.

The homeowner did make it out, but neighbors said he was telling fire crews his wife was trapped inside, which wasnt true.

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Thats what he was telling em, but we told them he had some mental illness issues, another neighbor, Octavious Terry, said.

Over the last few years, they said the man has had multiple episodes and theyve called multiple times, including recently when a fire started on the back porch.

The mans neighbors said they were thankful that no one was hurt and that firefighters were there in minutes. They said the recent fires in California had made them scared.

Just knowing what had happened in LA, how quickly can a housefire spread? Terry said.

Atlanta fire investigators are now looking into the cause of the fire and according to police, the homeowner was not arrested or charged, but was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for a mental health crisis evaluation.

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The News

Some news organizations and news media outlets are starting to see a bump in traffic, subscriptions, and viewership in the wake of the inauguration, a sign that opponents of Trump are starting to tune back into the news en masse. This week, MSNBC appeared to slightly pull itself back out of its ratings doldrums, noting slight gains among key viewers and in the key advertising demographic, and host Rachel Maddows show posted its largest viewership bump since the election. (Still, no cable network is performing stronger than Fox News, which continues to hold strong against cord-cutting trends with its dominant audience numbers.)

A spokesperson for the Guardian told Semafor it saw a 250% increase in fundraising last week garnering $4 million in pledges compared to $1.6 million in the same period last year. The Guardians largest fundraising day was Jan 21st, the day after Trumps inauguration, as stories about Trumps executive orders and Elon Musk drove a major uptick in traffic. Substack told Semafor that its mobile app had repeatedly set daily active user records over the past several days, and the week of Jan. 13 was its biggest week ever in new paid subscriptions.

Former Washington Post opinion writer Jen Rubins new Substack, The Contrarian, garnered 10,000 paid sign-ups in its first 12 hours, according to figures shared with Semafor. Sam Stein, managing editor at the Bulwark, did not disclose the publications growth numbers but told Semafor that it had experienced robust growth since the election in paid subscribers and YouTube subscribers, both of which accelerated rapidly last week. A spokesperson for The Atlantic similarly did not offer specifics, but said the recent dramatic growth in subscribers had continued since the election, particularly tied to democracy-related and accountability journalism.

Despite internal tumult, a person familiar with the Washington Posts subscriber information told Semafor that the paper experienced week-over-week bumps in subscribers. The Post has been attempting to claw back some of its losses  a spokesperson for the paper said it won back at least 20% of the subscribers the paper lost post-endorsement, and 74% of subscribers who are still in cancelled status continue to engage with Washington Post content.
Photo illustration by Getty Images.

In a report that examines the effects of Medicaid expansion on Montanas tribal communities, economist Bryce Ward of ABMJ Consulting reports that the program, which must be approved by the 2025 Montana Legislature in order to continue, has been an incredible success in Indian Country, improving the health and even positively impacting life expectancy, while increasing services.

The new report, Economic Effects of Medicaid Expansion on Montanas Native Americans and Tribal Communities, paints a positive picture of how the federal program has been successful for many Native Americans, despite the long-held but inaccurate belief that those same communities had unfettered access to healthcare through the federal governments Indian Health Services.

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Ward points out in the report that IHS health funding is given by Congress in a lump sum, and had previously been rationed, often running out of money before the years end. This meant that tribal members would only be covered for life and limb emergencies, and all other care was either rationed or simply unavailable to tribal members.

For so many years, decades, really, the IHS has been dramatically underfunded, said Dr. Aaron Wernham, the executive director of the Montana Healthcare Foundation, which commissioned the report. Its findings werent a surprise, but were more encompassing than the staff had even anticipated.

The report shows that since Medicaid expansion in Montana, and Native populations becoming eligible, tribal members have increased in health, increased access to providers, and meanwhile, Indian Health Services in Montana has been able to cover more services without being overloaded by emergency demands.

Wernham said that Medicaid expansion in Indian Country meant that routine health screening for cancer, diabetes or heart disease would happen more easily, not just when IHS had the time or funding.

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Since expansion, more Montana Native Americans report being in good health, more Native American adults are employed, and the share of households with medical debt in majority Native zip codes fell substantially, the report said.

But it wasnt just the individuals that seemed to do better, the report said, it was the economic improvement of the community that was also notable.

Medicaid expansion also adds millions of dollars to tribal communities, the report said. For some tribal communities, the additional resources are equal to several percent of county gross domestic product.

Furthermore, Medicaid expansion for Native Americans is fully funded without cost to the state, unlike the expansion for non-Native members, which is funded by an approximate 90% federal contribution and a 10% state match.

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The report also examines what would happen in Indian Country if the expansion in Montana was not renewed. That could leave as many as 18,000 Montana tribal members without coverage, making them otherwise uninsured.

Montana also had the largest percentage of tribal members in the U.S. who said that they quit skipping medical care, such as routine check-ups, after they received healthcare through Medicaid expansion. Forty percent reported they quit skipping healthcare due to costs, which was ahead of New Mexico at 39% and ahead of South Dakota at 16%.

Still, skipping routine healthcare visits due to cost doesnt mean that those same Native Americans would have not used the healthcare system in Montana.

Montanas Native Americans who would be uninsured without expansion still would have used some healthcare, the report said. They or other entities would have absorbed the cost of this care. With expansion, these funds are free to support other priorities.

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Since Medicaids expansion in Montana, the mortality  or how long a person lives  has improved, especially in areas where Native Americans comprise at least 20% of the population.

The mortality rate of people in those counties improved, on average living 1.4% longer than compared with pre-expansion levels. In contrast, in states where Medicaid had not expanded, life expectancy dropped during the same period.

Larger economic benefits for the community

The expansion has had a trickle-up effect for not only the individual Native American enrollees in Medicaid, but it also has helped drive better economics in the counties and reservations in Montana.

Native American care through Medicaid expansions impact is estimated between $125 million and $175 million. And half that amount is spent on IHS or through other tribal health facilities.

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Rising demand prompts more supply, the report said. During interviews with tribal health leaders, they stressed that Medicaid expansion allowed them to hire more providers and extend hours of operation, which decreased wait times.

As they added services, the overall community health improved because it was not just the Medicaid enrollees who benefitted, the report said.

Expansion increased the overall GDP in counties with large Native American populations, including boosting Glacier Countys GDP by 3.8%, Roosevelt County by 3.3%; and Lake County by 3.2%.

What may not have been expected is the sizable impact that would have on some of those countys workforce.

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The unemployment rate in Montanas counties with the highest Native American population shares plummeted after expansion, the report concluded. Relative to the three years before expansion (2013-2015), on average, unemployment fell by 3.1 percentage points (or 46%) in these counties by 2022-2023. This decline was above the median non-reservation Montana counties in all seven counties.

The biggest changes were in Big Horn Countys unemployment rate which decreased by nearly 6%.

MedEx-in-Indian-Country_1.16.25-FINAL
Melania Trump attends a Hurricane Helene recovery briefing in a hangar at the Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, North Carolina, on Jan. 24, 2025. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

First lady Melania Trumps official portrait was revealed Monday, and its in black and white, differentiating it from recent first lady portraits.

Melania Trump's official portrait was taken last week. Regine Mahaux via The White House

In the photo, the first lady leans forward on a reflective surface while wearing a pantsuit and looks directly into the camera with a slight smile. Behind her is a window with the Washington Monument seen over her shoulder.

The Office of the First Lady said Trumps portrait was taken in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House by photographer Regine Mahaux earlier this week.

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In 2017, Trumps first White House portrait was in color, and she was smiling slightly and crossing her arms. Portraits for first ladies before Trump, like Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, showed the women up close while they smiled big for the camera. Nancy Reagans portrait, however, showed her full body to show off her red skirt and red heels.

President Donald Trumps portrait for his second term, which was in color, drew comparisons to his mug shot, with some people noting he looked angry. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The New York Times that his portrait conveys that America. Is. Back.
A gate at the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau, at the site of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp, in Oswiecim, Poland, on Jan. 27, 2025, Credit - Wojtek RadwanskiAFP/Getty Images

Eighty years ago, on Jan. 27, 1945, Soviet soldiers opened the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau and uncovered unimaginable horrors. For the 7,000 prisoners remainingmore than 60,000 had been forced to undertake a death march in the weeks before Allied troops arrivedliberation came as a bitter relief, overshadowed by the harrowing murder of 1.1 million within those gates. This number included 1 million Jews, along with tens of thousands of Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war, and others deemed undesirable by the Third Reich.

Since then, Auschwitz has become the foremost symbol of the Holocausts atrocities. Yet the 80th anniversary of the camps liberation reminds the world that the scars of genocide, though deep, are slowly being obscured by time. That creates risks: the Holocaust didnt begin with mass murder. The dehumanization of Jews progressed gradually from public exclusion to eventual internment to finally extermination. Millions of regular Germansand Europeans more broadlyfacilitated or silently accepted these actions.

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As Holocaust survivor Marian Turski warned five years ago at Auschwitz, this sort of indifference in the face of discrimination risks people not even noticing when an Auschwitz-like catastrophe suddenly befalls you and your descendants.

The time for Holocaust survivors like Turski, most of whom are now in their 90s, to share their warning is growing short. And as the memories of the atrocity fade, the world is witnessing a resurgence of antisemitism, along with other xenophobia, and distortions of history. Members of Germanys AfD actively engage in Holocaust distortion and denial. Their ideological far-right brethren in Austria may soon form a new government for the first time since World War II. In Italy, which also has a right-wing prime minister in Giorgia Meloni, neofascists openly give fascist salutes in public.

In this climate, remembering the Holocaust in its full complexity becomes a moral and political imperative.

Auschwitz was initially a site for Polish political prisoners. But it quickly became a key instrument of Nazi extermination policies. By 1942, it was central to the implementation of the Nazi regimes Endlosung der Judenfrage (Final Solution to the Jewish Question).

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Auschwitz consisted of three separate camps: Auschwitz I, built on former military barracks, housed the infamous Block 10, where Nazi scientists conducted barbaric medical experiments. Auschwitz II-Birkenau, spread across 346 acres (140 hectares) in the nearby village of Brzezinka, became the site of mass extermination, its gas chambers claiming the lives of more than a million victims. Auschwitz III (Monowice) was a hub of forced labor for industrial giants like I.G. Farben, which profited from human misery, even producing Zyklon B, the gas used to murder inmates.

Read More: How to Get Holocaust Education Right

The camp also encompassed adjacent former Polish villages, designated as zones of interest, which were cleared of their inhabitants and used to support the operations of Auschwitz. These areas included barracks for guards, factories for forced labor, and agricultural sites meant to sustain the camps population and the Nazi war effort.

The images from liberated camps shocked people around the world, as did survivor testimonies, and the evidence of mass murder revealed by postwar trials.

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Faced with the scale of this catastrophe, the world struggled to memorialize the Holocaust. Survivors, Jewish organizations, and national governments played critical roles in shaping early remembrance efforts. Some focused on preserving Jewish culture in the face of near-extinction, while others sought to mark sites of atrocity.

One such effort was led by Holocaust survivor, poet, and writer Abraham Sutzkever, who dedicated himself to preserving Yiddish language and culture. As part of the Paper Brigade, which he formed alongside fellow poet Szmerke Kaczerginski, Sutzkever rescued literary documents from the Jewish community of Vilna, Poland, where he had been imprisoned in the ghetto. After the war, these archives were donated to the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York, where they remain accessible today.

Yet Sutzkevers efforts were not limited to preserving the past. In defiance of the near destruction of Jewish life in Europe, as well as continued anti-Jewish prejudice and violence, he dedicated himself to ensuring its continuity. His literary magazine, Di Goldene Keyt (The Golden Chain), became a symbol of resilience, safeguarding Jewish history and identity for future generations.

Sutzkevers push was only one of the many efforts to cast this horrific memory in stone.

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Memorializing Auschwitz itself was fraught with challenges. In 1947, the first exhibition chronicling the lives of the death camps inmates opened on the grounds of Auschwitz I. A decade later, in January 1957, the International Auschwitz Committee, an association of camps survivors and their organizations, launched a competition to design a monument at Auschwitz II-Birkenau, meant to serve as a stark warning to future generations. The debate surrounding this monument revealed a deeper tension: how to properly commemorate mass murder.

Traditional monuments seemed inadequate for capturing the scale and nature of the Holocausts horrors. Polish architect Oskar Hansen proposed a radical approacha geometric pathway winding through the camp, leading visitors to the crematoria, while allowing the surrounding areas to be overtaken by nature. This was meant to symbolize both the cycle of rebirth and the inevitable erosion of memory. However, officials ultimately rejected his vision. Instead, the International Monument to the Victims of Auschwitz-Birkenau was completed in 1967, featuring abstract sculptures and multilingual inscriptions emphasizing the camps global significance.

Yet Auschwitz, despite its profound symbolism, was just one of countless sites where the Holocaust unfolded. Some, like the extermination camps at Sobibor, Majdanek, and Treblinka (all in Poland), were widely known and gradually marked. But many killing sites remained neglectedunmarked forests, bogs, and fields where Jews were rounded up, stripped, and executed in what historians now call the Holocaust by bullets. These sites, scattered across Eastern Europe, challenged narratives that isolated Nazi crimes to a few infamous locations. Remembering them was critical because they forced people to confront the widespread complicity of ordinary citizens and the logistical scale of the genocide.

Read More: Who Needs Holocaust Remembrance Day?

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The effort to document and commemorate these lesser-known sites, however, has been slow and inconsistent. Stalled throughout the communist era, it gained momentum after the collapse of the communist government in Poland in 1989. Since then, in Poland alone, many individuals, institutions, and grassroots organizations have undertaken efforts to confront the complex histories of the Holocaust and the role played by Poles. Scholarly institutions, such as the Polish Centre for Holocaust Research, have spearheaded these efforts. Over the past decade, during which the authoritarian Law and Justice party has ruled in Poland, the Centre has served as a staunch defender of independent research. The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which opened in 2014, has complemented the center's academic achievements with its focus on popularizing historical knowledge.

Smaller organizations and people working outside of major metropolitan centers are engaged in equally important efforts to confront the troubling histories of the Holocaust where they occurred. The work of organizations like the Forgotten Foundation, in collaboration with the Warsaw-based Rabbinical Commission, has been crucial in identifying and preserving unmarked burial sites. Scholars such as Caroline Sturdy Colls have pioneered non-invasive archaeological methods to locate mass graves, including one in Adampol, Poland, where a memorial site has now been erected. The Brama Cukermana Foundation has similarly worked to preserve the legacy of ghetto fighters in Bedzin, Poland, successfully lobbying for the creation of a local museum. Similar efforts exist elsewhere throughout Europe.

The challenge of Holocaust memory extends beyond sites of murder to the places where Jews sought refuge. My own research has focused on identifying and marking these spaces of survival. One such project, Hideouts: The Architecture of Survival, examined nine hiding places used by Jews during the war.

Among them was a shelter in a Jewish cemetery in Warsaw. The hideout was built by enlarging and bricking up a grave pit, creating a roughly square space that could fit several people standing. The ceiling was formed from Jewish tombstones (matzevot) laid across tram rails. This refuge provided temporary shelter until it was discovered in 1942. Of those who sought safety there, only two teenage boys, Abraham Carmi (formerly Abraham Stolbach) and Dawid Jurek Ponski, survived the war. Today, the site still awaits proper commemoration.

As we mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we must recognize that Holocaust memory is neither singular nor static. It is a fragmented history, spread across Europe, shaped by countless stories of survival and loss. The massive extermination camps force us to acknowledge the industrial scale of genocide, while smaller, more obscure memorials remind us how deeply the Holocaust infiltrated everyday life. Forgetting these siteswhether through neglect or intentional erasurerisks distorting our understanding of the past.

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Memorializing the Holocaust on a broad scale is crucial to reaching new audiences, ensuring that people worldwide remember the many actions by everyday people that built toward mass extermination  as well as addressing contemporary threats to historical truth. Doing so does not simply honor the past, it safeguards the future.

Natalia Romik is a public historian, architect and artist whose work focuses on Jewish memory and commemoration of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe, particularly Poland and Ukraine.

Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.

Write to Made by History at madebyhistory@time.com.
This photo taken on Jan. 27, 2025 shows the explosion site on the outskirts of Multan, Pakistan.

Five people were killed and 31 others injured when fire engulfed a resident colony in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province in the early hours of Monday, officials said.

The incident happened at about 12:25 a.m. local time (GMT 1925 Sunday) in the Multan district where a massive explosion caused by a liquefied petroleum gas container leakage rocked the colony, sources from the district's police told Xinhua.

The gas leakage triggered the fire, and the force of the blast scattered debris over a wide area, severely impacting the densely populated colony. (Str/Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and 31 others injured when fire engulfed a resident colony in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province in the early hours of Monday, officials said.

The incident happened at about 12:25 a.m. local time (GMT 1925 Sunday) in the Multan district where a massive explosion caused by a liquefied petroleum gas container leakage rocked the colony, sources from the district's police told Xinhua.

The gas leakage triggered the fire, and the force of the blast scattered debris over a wide area, severely impacting the densely populated colony.

The police confirmed that the blaze has been brought under control, following extensive firefighting efforts. The injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals, and several of them are in critical condition.

Officials are conducting an assessment of the total damage caused by the explosion, which also disrupted daily life in the vicinity.

Incidents involving gas explosions remain a concern in Pakistan due to inadequate safety measures and poor infrastructure, often leading to tragic consequences. 

This photo taken on Jan. 27, 2025 shows the explosion site on the outskirts of Multan, Pakistan.

Five people were killed and 31 others injured when fire engulfed a resident colony in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province in the early hours of Monday, officials said.

The incident happened at about 12:25 a.m. local time (GMT 1925 Sunday) in the Multan district where a massive explosion caused by a liquefied petroleum gas container leakage rocked the colony, sources from the district's police told Xinhua.

The gas leakage triggered the fire, and the force of the blast scattered debris over a wide area, severely impacting the densely populated colony. (Str/Xinhua)

Security officials cordon off the explosion site on the outskirts of Multan, Pakistan on Jan. 27, 2025.

Five people were killed and 31 others injured when fire engulfed a resident colony in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province in the early hours of Monday, officials said.

The incident happened at about 12:25 a.m. local time (GMT 1925 Sunday) in the Multan district where a massive explosion caused by a liquefied petroleum gas container leakage rocked the colony, sources from the district's police told Xinhua.

The gas leakage triggered the fire, and the force of the blast scattered debris over a wide area, severely impacting the densely populated colony. (Str/Xinhua)

Firefighters examine the explosion site on the outskirts of Multan, Pakistan on Jan. 27, 2025.

Five people were killed and 31 others injured when fire engulfed a resident colony in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province in the early hours of Monday, officials said.

The incident happened at about 12:25 a.m. local time (GMT 1925 Sunday) in the Multan district where a massive explosion caused by a liquefied petroleum gas container leakage rocked the colony, sources from the district's police told Xinhua.

The gas leakage triggered the fire, and the force of the blast scattered debris over a wide area, severely impacting the densely populated colony. (Str/Xinhua)

Firefighters try to extinguish fire from a house at the explosion site on the outskirts of Multan, Pakistan on Jan. 27, 2025.

Five people were killed and 31 others injured when fire engulfed a resident colony in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province in the early hours of Monday, officials said.

The incident happened at about 12:25 a.m. local time (GMT 1925 Sunday) in the Multan district where a massive explosion caused by a liquefied petroleum gas container leakage rocked the colony, sources from the district's police told Xinhua.

The gas leakage triggered the fire, and the force of the blast scattered debris over a wide area, severely impacting the densely populated colony. (Str/Xinhua)
Former MIGOP Chair Meshawn Maddock nominates J.D. Vance as vice president of the United States during the Dec. 17, 2024 meeting of Michigan's electoral college delegates. | Kyle Davidson

Former Michigan Republican Party Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock, who is facing felony forgery and conspiracy charges, was the overwhelming favorite in a straw poll Saturday among the four candidates vying to succeed former Ambassador Pete Hoekstra as party chair.

The poll, taken among those present at a GOP forum in Southwest Michigans Berrien County, followed a forum featuring Maddock and the three other candidates: state Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake), Republican consultant Scott Greenlee and Joe Cella, former ambassador to Fiji during the first Trump administration.

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Out of the 60 people who participated, Maddock was the top pick to be chair for 66.7%. Runestad was next at 23.3%, Greenlee polled at 8.3% and then Cella received 1.7%.

Maddock, who is married to state Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Milford), has been a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, who won Michigan for a second time in 2024. Thats made Republicans optimistic about their chances to retake the top offices in Michigan in the 2026 election.

Operation Haircut, another right-wing protest at the Capitol, May 20, 2020 | Anna Liz Nichols

I have the personality to lead because I alone have fought the hostile fake news among all of my opponents the most, Meshawn Maddock said in her opening statement in which she then compared Democrats in the state to communists.

She said as a woman, she was uniquely qualified to take on the three witches that are right now ruling our state, referencing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, all Democrats.

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Maddock is among 15 people charged by Nessels office in the 2020 fake electors case, where they stand accused of sending false electoral votes for Trump to the U.S. Senate and National Archives. That case is still pending in court.

Maddocks remarks appeared to be a callback to a 2021 comment from her former running mate, former Michigan GOP Chair Ron Weiser.

I made the decision to continue to serve [as chair] to make sure we have an opportunity to take out those three witches in 2022, Weiser said during a North Oakland Republican Club meeting, referring to Whitmer, Nessel and Benson.  Our job now is to soften up those three witches and make sure that when we have good candidates to run against them, that they are ready for the  for the burning at the stake.

Although Weiser received significant criticism, Maddock defended him.

Too bad all the snowflakes in the mainstream media see misogyny where it doesnt exist. Calling someone a witch is NOT misogynist. This is more of the same from the left  instantly label everything as misogyny or racist. This hurts real efforts to become a more just society.  meshawn maddock (@MeshawnMaddock) March 26, 2021

During that same meeting, Weiser was asked what should be done about then-U.S. Reps. Peter Meijer (R-Grand Rapids) and Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), who both broke with their party to vote for Trumps second impeachment following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

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Maam, other than assassination, I have no other way  other than voting [them] out, Weiser said at the time.

Weiser was also serving as a University of Michigan regent and was censured by the board for his comments. He apologized but refused to resign.

Michigan Republicans will decide on a new party chair at their convention Feb. 21 and 22 at Huntington Place in Detroit, after Hoekstra announced his departure to serve as Trumps ambassador to Canada.

Runestad established his MAGA bona fides, noting that as an Oakland County commissioner he had helped implement the federal E-Verify program that allows verification whether employees are eligible to work in the United States.

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It broomed out thousands of illegal immigrants out of Oakland County, he said. I was ranked the most conservative there for 10 years. Ive been ranked among the most conservative legislators in Lansing.

Greenlee, who ran for party chair in 2023 but lost to former Chair Kristina Karamo, emphasized his experience at all levels of the party, which was notable in the wake of Karamos ill-fated tenure, which led to charges of bankrupting the party and a forcible removal by committee members in January 2024.

Scott Greenlee | campaign website

Youre hiring a chief executive officer to oversee the entire party over the next election cycle, and I believe Im extremely well qualified to do this, said Greenlee. Ive served at the county level; Ive served at the district level; Ive served as a state committee person, a state vice chair. Ive been a delegate to national conventions, and Ive been part of over 100 winning campaigns ranging from city council races, all the way up to staff roles and gubernatorial races, presidential races.

Cella highlighted his service in the first Trump administration.

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I am uniquely equipped and stand apart from my colleagues in several ways, he said. I am the only one who was chosen by President Trump to serve on his 2016 campaign and then be chosen to serve as a United States ambassador for the United States.

Maddock, as she did throughout the forum, questioned Cellas qualifications to lead the party.

He was recruited by very powerful forces that want to stop Donald Trump. He was an ambassador for 12 months, and the only reason he became an ambassador is he snuck in through the Mike Pence people, said Maddock, referring to Trumps vice president in his first term who ran afoul of many Republicans when he refused to participate in Trumps attempt to overturn the 2020 election win of former President Joe Biden.

Im sorry, Ive heard youre a really nice guy, but I dont think you should be running for state party chair, said Maddock.

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Saturdays forum was moderated by state Rep. Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers) and state Sen. Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater), who opened the questions by asking each candidate their plans to improve state party finances.

We need to talk to the delegates, see what their priorities are, so that its not just several people in Lansing making individual decisions for things that are going to impact us down here in Berrien County or up in the U.P. [Upper Peninsula] or over in Alpena, said Greenlee.

Greenlee said that would best be accomplished by working with the state committee to make sure the party stays in compliance with its own rules.

One of the advantages I bring is working in the business of politics has given me an opportunity to know vendors, to see whos charging what to understand market rates, and in doing that, Ill be able to make sure we get every single penny out of every single dollar, he said.

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Runestad made the case that money was the lifeblood of the party, and a major transfusion would be needed to keep it moving in the right direction.

I think were gonna have a $300,000 to $400,000 debt from what Im hearing, so you got to raise money right away, he said, mentioning a recent rule change in which MIGOP chair candidates are each required to make a $15,000 donation to the state party, with no more than $2,500 of their own money.

I raised that the very next day, six weeks ago, he said, noting that just the day before, the partys policy committee said only he Cella had met that threshold.

The other two, six weeks later, still have not raised the money. Youre gonna have to raise millions and millions of dollars to keep this thing open, said Runestad.

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Maddock immediately rebutted, saying she had raised $16,800 in a single group text to supporters, and then turned the attack back on Runestad.

This fee is not a difficult fee for any of the four of us to raise, but I also want to remind everybody that Sen. Runstad has been campaigning, probably at more than five events, claiming that he also raised $120,000 in addition to his $15,000, and I can tell you that that $120,000 is not in any bank account at the Michigan Republican Party, so I can only assume its in some other type of a PAC [political action committee], she said.

Runestad responded to Maddocks accusation by questioning her own fundraising claim.

What you put in some accounts somewhere else isnt the $15,000 by six different people, he said. I have raised the $15,000. The $100,000 I raised since then, and Im raising a whole lot more.  The money that was needed to be raised, I raised the next day.

Former Ambassador Joe Cella | Official photo

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Cella took a more optimistic approach, crediting Hoekstras leadership with turning the party in the right direction.

I have to give a hat tip to my former ambassadorial colleague Peter Hoekstra, who slogged through very, very, very difficult work over the course of seven months in what most chairmen have two years to do, he said. So the foundations are poured, the pilings are set to rebuild the Michigan Republican Party and make the Michigan Republican Party great again.

Trump, who endorsed attorney Matt DePerno in the 2023 race for party chair, has yet to offer an endorsement in this years contest. DePerno is also facing felony charges of tampering with a voting machine.

In 2026, Michigans government will be up for grabs, as Whitmer, Nessel, and Benson are all term-limited, while every seat in the state House and Senate will be on the ballot. U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) also is up for reelection.

With so much on the line, Maddock questioned Runestads ability to lead the party.

I dont know if you know this, but he is planning on continuing to be a full-time state senator and your full-time state party chair. I believe that that is a disservice to the Senate. I think its kind of insulting to the Senate, she said. We are not gonna win the governors race back with a part-time chair.

Michigan Democrats will also be deciding on a new party chair at their convention next month at Detroits Renaissance Center.

In the running are former state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. (D-East Lansing), who recently lost his bid for the U.S. House; Michigan Democratic Party Rural Caucus Chair Mark Ludwig; and community organizer Al B.J. Williams.

Each is seeking to replace Lavora Barnes, who announced in November she would not seek reelection to the post she had held since 2019.

State Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake), April 20, 2022 | Laina G. Stebbins

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Meta assembled four war rooms of engineers to respond to potential breakthrough AI developments spearheaded by Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.

Mark Zuckerbergs Meta assembled four war rooms of engineers to determine how a Chinese hedge fund managed to release an AI game-changer that may already rival its own technology, The Information reported.

DeepSeek, an AI startup backed by hedge fund High-Flyer Capital Management, this month released a version of its AI chatbot, R1, that it says can perform just as well as competing models such as ChatGPT at a fraction of the cost.

The potentially groundbreaking, open-source tech has called into question the gargantuan AI investments made by American companies and has put Metas AI-dedicated team on high alert.

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Meta AI infrastructure director Mathew Oldham has reportedly told colleagues that DeepSeeks newest model could outperform even the next version of Metas Llama AI, which Zuckerberg said could be released in early 2025, The Information reported Sunday. The report cited two employees with direct knowledge of Metas efforts to catch up.

Of the four war rooms Meta has created to respond to DeepSeeks potential breakthrough, two teams will try to decipher how High-Flyer lowered the cost of training and running DeepSeek with the goal of using those tactics for Llama, the outlet reported, citing one anonymous Meta employee.

Among the remaining two teams, one will try to find out which data DeepSeek used to train its model, and the other will consider how Llama can restructure its models based on attributes of the DeepSeek models, The Information reported.

Meta did not immediately respond to Fortunes request for comment.

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"We regularly evaluate all competitive models in our development process and have done so since [the company's] Gen Al [group] was formed," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to The Information. "Llama has been foundational in establishing the ecosystem for open-source AI models and we couldn't be more excited to extend this leadership with the upcoming release of Llama 4."

On Friday, Meta CEO Zuckerberg announced that the company would spend as much as $65 billion on projects related to AI in the coming year, including construction of a large data center and more AI hires.

The announcement came just days after OpenAI, in partnership with SoftBank, Oracle, and others, announced a $500 billion White Housebacked AI infrastructure project called Stargate that will build dozens of new data centers across the U.S.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Some Caribbean and African immigrants and refugees said they are consulting with immigration attorneys about their rights and options, following this weekends ICE target operations.

Theyre very scared. Theyre very concerned, DeDe Ntumba, the President of the Congolese Community of Atlanta told Channel 2s Audrey Washington.

Dr. Elaine Bryan with the Jamaican Consulate of Atlanta said she fielded phone calls from concerned immigrants this weekend.

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I have a student visa. How would they respond to me? What is the legal process to apprehend us? Bryan said are some of the questions she has gotten.

President Donald Trumps mass deportation policy kicked into action in cities across the country, including metro Atlanta.

ICE officials said they mostly rounded up immigrants with criminal backgrounds, but some immigrants and refugees in the U.S. legally said they still fear deportation.

If [theyre] going to work, they might not come home after, Ntumba said.

According to the consulate, there are about 8,000 people from the Congo living in Georgia.

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With the Congolese community we have a lot of refugees because of the war, Ntumba said.

For Jamaicans living in Georgia, that number swells to about 500,000.

Half a million. Some of them came for school, Bryan said.

Ntumba said the main concern is whether Trump will end the temporary protected status program that allows refugees to remain in the country legally.

Immigration attorney Joshua McCall said there are protections in place.

Theres still the law and theres still the Constitution, McCall said. The best thing for an immigrant to do is to prepare all the documents that show that they are here, theyve paid taxes, their criminal record, everything is clean.
NEW MEXICO (KRQE)  President Donald Trump signed an executive order proclaiming that the federal government would only recognize two sexes, but what are the impacts these changes could have on the local LGBTQ+ community?

The federal government does not have the authority to say unilaterally that trans and non-binary people arent real, arent here, arent worthy of dignity and humanity, said Marshall Martinez, executive director of Equality New Mexico.

A recent executive order, calls for the federal government to define sex as only male or female, dismantling crucial protections for transgender people and gender identity. Thats harmful, thats hurtful to people, but we dont; there is not much force of law behind executive orders, and we have to wait and see how this might be implemented, continued Martinez.

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New Mexico officials speak out on Trump immigration policy

Local advocacy groups like Equality New Mexico, say its unclear what these changes to gender classifications could mean, but it will impact federal documents. Were pretty certain that the state department would recognize a gender change on a passport, and well have to see, sort of, what implementation in those areas look like, shared Martinez.

The order voids the x designation, used for gender non-conforming individuals, thats been available since 2021, but one of the biggest concerns right now is the orders impact on health care. We have the strongest health care protection laws in the country here in New Mexico, and its important for people to know right now you have autonomy over your body in the state of New Mexico, emphasized Martinez.

New Mexicans who want or need gender-affirming care can still access it, but this order would put transgender asylum seekers at the border at risk. The executive order has been signed but will nee more federal action. Congress would have to codify the definitions into law.

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**Editors Note: This article has been updated to correct information related to Bernalillo County and the Metropolitan Detention Centers policies tied to immigration and status.

NEW MEXICO (KRQE)  As President Trump begins his second term in office, he is making moves on campaign promises, including several attempts to find and deport immigrants who are in the country illegally. Its a move that some law enforcement agencies in New Mexico do not fully support.

On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in American history, President Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign. This rhetoric has many law enforcement officials in New Mexico worried about the message being heard by the immigrant community.

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I dont think this is going to do anything but make us less safe in our community if we have immigrants who are scared to report crimes, says Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman. We need everybody in this community, immigrant included, to participate in this process. And that means those brave souls who are willing to report crime that happens in their community.

Trumps Palestinian refugee idea falls flat with Jordan and confounds a Senate ally

Last year, a proposed city bill threatened Albuquerques immigrant-friendly status by allowing the city to enforce federal immigration laws if an immigrant committed a violent crime. In August, the Albuquerque Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office, and city officials spoke out against the legislation, fearing it would scare the immigrant community.

Councilors eventually voted against the bill. We do not work in any way with what ICE does, and the federal government and so forth. APD is our police, its our community. They are not beholden to the whims of politicians in Washington, said Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller at the time.

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One tool law enforcement has to encourage immigrants to work with officers is special visas called U visas. Victims of violent and sexual crimes or human trafficking can apply for U visas if they cooperate with law enforcement in bringing criminals to justice.

Trump should rethink revoking former officials security details, Tom Cotton says

That trust is extremely important when it comes to public service and public safety. That is why our immigrant-friendly status is so important, says Bregman. The idea of assisting in any type of immigration law efforts is not something this office is going to participate in.

Mayor Keller reaffirmed Albuquerques commitment to its immigrant-friendly status on Friday afternoon. Formally, Albuquerque City Council passed R-00-151 in December 2000, declaring Albuquerque an Immigrant-Friendly City. The ordinance was signed by Mayor Jim Baca in January 2001, specifically outlining that No municipal resources shall be used to identify individuals immigration status or apprehend persons on the sole basis of immigrations status, unless otherwise required by law to do so.

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In 2017, Albuquerque City Councilors reaffirmed the citys immigrant friendly status, passing a non-binding memorial, M-17-4. The memorial affirms and memorializes city policy outlined in the 2001 resolution.

That memorial also states that in accordance with APD standard operating procedures that City employees, including members of the Albuquerque Police Department, shall not enforce Federal immigration laws and shall not use city monies, resources or personnel to investigation, question, detect or apprehend persons whose only violation is or may be a violation of immigration law. According to the city, a memorial is a type of legislation that issues a statement or a position on a specific topic by the Council. It does not create a new law and is not legally binding in any manner. It merely represents a consensus of opinion by the Councilors.

In 2018, Albuquerque City Council passed and Mayor Tim Keller signed a second resolution surrounding the citys Immigrant Friendly City policy, described as strengthening Albuquerques status as an immigrant friendly city. According to a 2018 publication from the City of Albuquerque, R-18-7 broadly says no city entity can collect information regarding the citizenship or immigration status of any individual. The updated resolution prohibits the use of city resources to facilitate the investigation, detection, apprehension, or detention of an individual based on real or perceived immigration status.

Meanwhile, Bernalillo Countys Metropolitan Detention Center is governed by the Bernalillo County government, which passed an immigrant friendly resolution in 2017, AR-2017-22. The resolution, in part, establishes, No county monies, resources, or personnel shall be used to enforce federal civil immigration laws or to investigate, question, detect, or apprehend persons on the basis of immigration status unless otherwise required by law to do so. The county further defined its policies in February 2019, passing another resolution titled Strengthening Bernalillo Countys Non-Discrimination Policies.

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According to an MDC spokesperson, MDC does not ask for, lookup or record the immigration status of criminal suspects at the jail.

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Michigan gas prices, down 6 cents from last week, were averaging $3.09 a gallon, but still higher than they were this time a month  and a year  ago.

"Some drivers across Michigan are seeing lower prices at the pump," said Adrienne Woodland, a spokeswoman for the AAA auto club. "If crude oil prices decline, alongside low demand, gas prices may continue to fall."

Throughout Michigan, the most expensive gas price averages were:

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Metro Detroit, $3.19 a gallon

Ann Arbor, $3.16

Marquette, $3.15

The least expensive averages were:

Traverse City, $2.95

Benton Harbor, $2.98

Grand Rapids, $2.99

The clubs tentative prediction Monday was in line with an analysis earlier this month from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which forecasted retail gasoline prices through the end of 2026 falling, by 11 cents a gallon this year, and 18 cents more a gallon next year.

The average price Sunday in Michigan was 3 cents more than the same time last month, and 12 cents more than last year. Motorists are now paying an average of $46 for a full 15-gallon tank of gas, which is $11 less than the highest price last year in July.

More: Left out in brutal cold, dog 'laid down and died,' Detroit rescue group says

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The nations average price of gasoline has returned to a decline, falling slightly compared to a week ago, and stands at $3.08 per gallon, according to GasBuddy, which also tracks prices. The national average is 1.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

The national average price of diesel increased 4.4 cents to $3.65 a gallon."Oil prices have declined over the last week following President (Donald) Trumps speech at the World Economic Forum, where he urged Saudi Arabia to lower oil prices by restoring production," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. "The downturn in oil has caused gas prices to stabilize for the time being."

The lower price forecast from the Energy Information Administration was a result of lower crude oil prices, as well as declining gas consumption in 2026 because of fleetwide fuel economy, the outlook said.

Gasoline demand fell from 8.32 million barrels a day to 8.08 million, according to the Energy Information Administration. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks rose from 243.6 million barrels to 245.9 million barrels, while gasoline production decreased, averaging 9.2 million barrels per day.

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Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan gas prices fall to $3.09, forecasted to continue to decline
Many residents of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon are expected to return to their homes in the coming days and weeks, with most of the fighting in both areas paused under Israeli ceasefire agreements with Hamas and Hezbollah.

Under Israel's multi-phased deal with Hamas, some hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have started to be released. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to continue amid the first phase of the deal, which was slated to last about six weeks.





Latest Developments





Jan 28, 11:33 AM

Israeli troops to remain in Syria for 'unlimited period of time'

The IDF will remain on the summit of Hermon and in the security zone for an indefinite period, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.



"The IDF will remain on the summit of Mount Hermon and in the security zone for an unlimited period of time to ensure the security of the residents of the State of Israel. We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria -- from here to the Sweida-Damascus axis, and we will not be dependent on others for our defense," Katz said.





Jan 28, 11:33 AM

Israel warns Lebanese residents to avoid areas near border

Israel issued a warning to Lebanese residents on Tuesday, telling them to avoid multiple areas near the Israeli border as it redeploys in various locations in southern Lebanon.



At least 22 were killed over the weekend.



"The deployment process is taking place gradually and in some sectors it is being postponed and requires more time in order to ensure that Hezbollah is not able to re-establish its strength in the field," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.



"Hezbollah, as usual, puts its narrow interests above the interests of the Lebanese state and tries through its mouthpieces to heat up the situation, despite being the main reason for the destruction of the south," the IDF said.





Jan 27, 5:49 PM

Palestinians on returning home: 'It feels like we're reborn!'

Emotional scenes played out all over the Gaza Strip on Monday as families and friends reunited for the first time in over 15 months after the Israeli military allowed movement between northern and southern Gaza.



A sea of people swept the shoreline heading north along the sandy remains of the coastal highway. Many traveled on foot trudging through sand, a Palestinian flag flickering in the wind above them.

PHOTO: Internally displaced Palestinians walk on Al Rashid road in central Gaza as they return from the south to northern Gaza Strip, Jan. 27, 2025. (Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

"It feels like we're reborn!" Om Wael, a grandmother from Gaza City, told ABC News as she carried her granddaughter in her arms, with a look of joyful determination on her face.

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"Even if our home is flattened, we're so happy to return to our city, to our homes, unharmed. Thank God," she said.

Mirvat Ajur, 29, from the Daraj neighborhood in central Gaza City, told ABC News that she walked for about five hours until she reached central Gaza.

"It was a difficult journey, but the people were very happy, singing, clapping and dancing in joy at returning to their homes," she said.

PHOTO: Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, Jan. 27, 2025, days after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into effect. (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)

Approximately 300,000 people made the journey home, according to figures released by Gazan authorities. Samira Halas, 55, was among them.



"I know that my home is damaged and burned, but I want to return to it," Halas, from Gaza Citys Shuja'iyya neighborhood, told ABC News, describing the destruction she saw upon her return "like an earthquake had hit it."



"I want to live in those burned and destroyed rooms," she continued. "I am like a fish dying far from the sea."



-ABC News' Ruwaida Amer and Zoe Magee





Jan 27, 2:59 PM

At least 300,000 return to northern Gaza

At least 300,000 Palestinians returned home to northern Gaza on Monday, according to the Gaza government office, after Israel allowed them to cross into the north for the first time in over a year.

PHOTO: Displaced Gazans walk towards Gaza City on January 27, 2025, after crossing the Netzarim corridor from the southern Gaza Strip. (AFP via Getty Images)

PHOTO: Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, wait to head back to their homes in northern Gaza by vehicle through Salahudeen Road in the central Gaza Strip, Jan. 27, 2025. (Hatem Khaled/Reuters)

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PHOTO: A displaced family rides on the back of a vehicle with their belongings as they cross the Netzarim corridor from the southern Gaza Strip into the northern part on January 27, 2025. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)





Jan 27, 11:52 AM

135,000 tents needed in Gaza

As people return to northern Gaza on Monday, the Gaza government said it "immediately and urgently" needs at least 135,000 tents because 90% of the buildings have been destroyed.



The government called on the international community to help provide "basic supplies" for Palestinians.

PHOTO: An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows displaced Palestinians gathering with their belongings near a roadblock on the al Rashid Street, as they wait to return to their homes in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, Jan. 26, 2025. (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)





Jan 27, 11:48 AM

8 dead hostages among 33 being released in 1st phase: Israel

Of the 33 Israeli hostages set to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire, eight have been killed by Hamas, according to Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer.



Seven hostages have already been released since the start of the ceasefire, meaning 18 more living hostages will be released by Hamas in the coming weeks.



More hostages are set to be released on Thursday and Saturday, Mencer said.

PHOTO: Demonstrators protest calling for the immediate release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 25, 2025. (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)





Jan 27, 9:04 AM

Threats to ceasefire will 'bear the full cost,' Israeli minister says

Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said on Monday that his country would "firmly" enforce the ceasefires that have paused fighting in Gaza.



"Anyone who violates the rules or threatens IDF forces will bear the full cost," he said in Hebrew on social media. "We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7."





Jan 27, 5:04 AM

Tens of thousands trek into northern Gaza

Tens of thousands of people were marching and driving on Monday back to northern Gaza, after Israel allowed them to cross into the north for the first time in over a year.



Long lines of Palestinians -- some singing, others smiling and some kneeling to kiss the soil as they stepped into the northern part of the strip -- were seen making their way home.



Those returning home were moving along two main routes.

PHOTO: A drone view shows Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, making their way back to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Jan. 27, 2025. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

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Many of those who were were walking home were moving along al-Rashid Street, a path expected to be taken by about 300,000 people.

Many of those who were driving north were doing so along Salah al-Din Road.

PHOTO: A youth gestures while sitting with other children on the boot of a moving vehicle as people gather along the Salah al-Din road in Nuseirat near the Netzarim corridor waiting to cross to the northern part of the Gaza Strip on Jan. 27, 2025. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)

A line of cars could be seen stretching for about 8 miles on Monday morning, as they waited for permission to cross into the northern part of Gaza.



-ABC News Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz, Jordana Miller, Nasser Atta and Samayeh Malekian





Jan 27, 5:30 AM

1 dead, 4 injured after IDF fired at 'dozens of suspects' in central Gaza

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its team evacuated one person who was killed, and four people who were injured, after an attack by Israeli snipers near the Wadi Gaza Bridge on Sunday.



Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that troops fired "warning shots" at "several gatherings of dozens of suspects" who the IDF said posed a threat to them.



Additionally, a rocket was destroyed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza, according to the IDF's statement.





Jan 27, 5:30 AM

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had introductory call with Israel's Netanyahu

Newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an introductory call on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a statement from a U.S. senior defense official.



"Both leaders discussed the importance of advancing mutual security interests and priorities, especially in the face of persistent threats," according to the statement.

PHOTO: Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be Defense secretary, appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 14, 2025. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Hegseth, who won Senate confirmation after being selected by President Donald Trump for the role, stressed to Netanyahu that the U.S. is "fully committed" to ensuring that Israel "has the capabilities it needs to defend itself," according to the statement.



Additionally, the defense official said that "both leaders agreed to remain in close contact."

Click here to read the rest of the blog.
25-year-old Wisteguens Jean Quely Charles, a Haitian immigrant, was arrested in an ICE operation last week in East Boston.

An ICE news release identified him as a violent Haitian street gang member who entered the U.S. through Miami in 2013, and who has since been arrested and convicted 17 times

The release alleged Charles was only on the streets because authorities at the Norfolk County House of Corrections did not honor the feds immigration detainer which would have held him.

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Extremely violent offenders: Undocumented migrants with criminal records nabbed in Boston ICE raid

But the Norfolk County Sheriff says it did not go down that way.

Our records indicate that we contacted ICE, the local office, and there was a notation in our records that said specifically ICE would not be coming to pick him up, Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott said in a Zoom interview.

Massachusetts sheriffs say they mostly have a good relationship with ICE, but under state law, that doesnt mean they have the power to hold an inmate with a detainer until the feds come to pick them up.

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Mass. AG to issue guidelines for dealing with possible raids after Trump says schools are targets

We have violent offenders here who are illegal. Yet they could get bailed out this afternoon. We have no ability to hold them, beyond their release. We can call ICE, but they may not be able to get here in time. Or they may not be here for hours. We have no authority to hold them, said Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis.

At the State House, theres a new bill being filed that would give sheriffs and the courts the ability to hold a federal inmate with an immigration detainer, for 36 hours.

36 hours is a reasonable time, its a compromise, and I hope the governor will embrace this. Said Rep. Michael Soter R-8th Worcester.

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Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott is in Washington for a national sheriffs conference and will meet border czar Thomas Homan on Tuesday.

We want to be as cooperative as we can with ICE, especially with a new administration, new policies. It seems like there is a new executive order every day. But we are looking to stay on top of all these issues, Sheriff McDermott said.

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Migrants who arrive on small boats face having their mobile phones seized under new plans to tackle people smugglers.

The Governments new border security Bill will enable Border Force and immigration enforcement officers to compel new arrivals to hand over their devices when they arrive in the UK.

Ministers hope the measure will help investigators identify and track down people smugglers behind Channel crossings.

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The move would reverse a High Court ruling last year that the Home Office had been unlawfully operating a blanket policy of seizing phones from people arriving on small boats.

The court found officials did not have parliamentary authority to extract data from phones and retain the devices, which meant those affected were unable to contact family members or access documentation.

The proposals come in addition to plans to give Border Force officers counter-terror style powers to stop and search people at ports and borders if they are suspected of involvement in people smuggling. The powers allow for the search, examination and seizure of devices, as well as the copying of data found on them.

Suspected people smugglers also face mobile phone bans to prevent them from committing further offences as part of the package of new powers.

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Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA), police and Border Force will be able to use interim court orders to ban suspects from using mobile phones, laptops and social media, even if they do not yet have enough evidence to prosecute them.

The new interim serious crime prevention orders (SCPOs) will also allow law enforcement agencies to place tough conditions on the suspected criminals travel in the UK or abroad, their financial dealings and contact with associates before any prosecution.

The orders are designed to give investigators time to build a case against the suspects while protecting the public from further potential offences.

Officials believe they could also seriously disrupt people smuggling operations, which rely on phone contacts and social media to recruit migrants for Channel crossings.

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Any breach of an interim SCPO would carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in jail. The orders have, until now, been primarily targeted at criminals involved in terrorism, drug trafficking, armed robbery, money laundering and fraud.

Some 1,098 migrants have arrived in the UK in 20 small boats since the start of the year  an average of nearly 55 per vessel.

Last year, 36,816 people were able to reach the UK after being intercepted by Border Force vessels in the English Channel, the second-highest annual total since government records began in 2018.

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.
DHAKA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Bangladesh navy ship Samudra Joy will participate in the 9th edition of multinational "EXERCISE AMAN-25" from Feb. 7 to Feb. 11 in Pakistan's Karachi.

As the ship left a naval base in the country's southeastern Chattogram on Sunday, it was given a formal farewell in the presence of senior naval officers and families of the officers and sailors.

A total of 274 naval personnel, including 33 officers and 58 trainee officers, will participate in the international fleet review under the leadership of Md Shahriar Alam, the commanding officer of Samudra Joy.

During its journey to Pakistan, the navy ship will also undertake goodwill visits to Sri Lanka's Colombo and the Maldives' Male.

The Bangladesh Navy previously participated in EXERCISE AMAN in 2007, 2009, and 2013. 
Before everyone recovered from their inaugural hangovers, Indianas new administration and legislature got to work with a number of policy items that should be met with bipartisan approval.

That does not mean everyone will embrace every development. But I do think most Hoosiers will either appreciate the changes, or we will learn something about ourselves in the process.

Hicks: Eric Holcomb leaves worsening Indiana economy, but led well during crisis

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I begin with government reorganization. An observer of Gov. Mike Brauns campaign should have real doubts about his organizational abilities. This was particularly true of the proposed property tax plan, which was clearly not discussed with anyone in possession of a clue about taxation.

In contrast, the Braun administrations proposals after the election should inspire confidence.

The first big step is a proposal to reorganize state government under eight functional cabinet posts. This plan would organize several dozen agencies under a single leader responsible for a broad area, like management and budget or public safety.

No doubt this plan will face some legislative scrutiny. For example, I dont see a clear reason why the Hoosier Lottery reports to the secretary of commerce, but I am certain there are reasons. Moreover, few honest observers would see much to quibble with in this plan.

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To be fair, state government has long been loosely organized this way, but this plan formalizes the arrangements. After all, state government employs about 110,000 people, and clear organizational structure makes sense. No matter how one views their policy positions, the Braun administration is hiring experienced, competent people to fill those cabinet and agency heads.

A license to kill licenses

Gov. Mike Braun signs his first executive orders as Governor of Indiana, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025 in his office at Indiana Statehouse.

In his first week in office, Braun signed several executive orders that should be widely appreciated. The first of these created the cabinet positions. He pushed to cut occupational licensing restrictions, eliminate degree requirements for state jobs and institute a broad review of state regulations.

While Indiana is among the least restrictive states on occupational licenses, there remain many that impose restrictions on entrepreneurs and consumers without benefits. This executive order will prompt a review and reduce many of these barriers to workers doing jobs they are able to do. Among the many examples, Indiana is among eight states requiring a septic tank cleaner license. That stinks, and this executive order should help.

Degree requirements for jobs are equally unwise, and several states have already taken the step of outlawing arbitrary credential requirements. In those places  Maryland in particular  the result was no statistically discernible change in the mix of people with degrees working in state government. So, it is very unlikely to have that effect here, but opening the door to more people is nearly always a constructive move.

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Third, Brauns executive order requiring a regulatory review is welcome. This could include new benefit-cost analysis, and comparison with surrounding states. While this imposes short-term costs on state agencies, it is likely to uncover rules that can be eliminated or modified because their benefits are well below their costs.

No more preferential treatment based on race

Braun also eliminated public funding on diversity, equity and inclusion programs funded by the state. Citing the Equal Protection Clause and Students v. Harvard, this executive order should be welcomed by every Hoosier.

This order ends a broad range of activities that were deemed unconstitutional last year and closes the states DEI office. Now, no agency can maintain an office that grants preferential treatment based upon race, color, ethnicity or national origin. No employee can be required to attend any training that endorses such preferential treatment, nor can an employee be forced to write a DEI statement as part of a job application program.

The executive order also ensures that no one can be mandated to disclose their pronouns. That issue is a clear First Amendment issue, settled in 1943. More likely this was included to appease those Hoosiers who want to read something about pronouns, without bothering to understand it. Though, to be fair, parts of the First Amendment  like the establishment clause  might pose certain challenges over the coming years.

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I am aware that many Hoosiers feel that the promise of equality that animates our Constitution remains unfulfilled. I share that view, and suspect most Americans do as well. I trust well continue to work for a more perfect union. But, as Students v. Harvard made abundantly clear, current DEI programs and policies have morphed into a counterproductive set of practices.

They are also unconstitutional. It is past time for them to go.

Taken together, these executive orders streamline government, offer the opportunity to cut waste, allow more freedom in Hoosier labor markets and eliminate the contentious, unhelpful and unconstitutional activities within the state government DEI programs. It is a good start to a term that will wrestle with many more difficult challenges.

Legislature takes on nonprofit hospitals

The legislature has been just as busy as the governor, but their leading legislative proposals are likely to face stiffer backlash than Brauns executive orders.

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Among my favorite is House Bill 1004, which would strip nonprofit protections from large multi-location hospital chains that overcharge for services. State Reps. Martin Carbaugh, Julie McGuire and Ben Smaltz authored this bill, which is long overdue. It makes the rather sensible observation that if nonprofit hospitals are going to behave like for-profit firms, then they should be treated as such.

The beauty of this legislation is that it offers hospitals a choice  behave like you are concerned about the health of patients and your community, or be treated like any other business. Among other things, the removal of nonprofit status would allow them to be taxed on property, sales and profits. Indianas big five hospital systems are the most profitable industry in the state, and they own an astonishing amount of property. This could be a windfall for Hoosier taxpayers.

The end of nonprofit status would also end their noncompete clauses, which they currently wield skillfully to prevent competition from other hospitals. It would also expedite antitrust enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice.

This law would be a huge victory for Hoosier businesses, Hoosier consumers, and state and local governments.

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House Speaker Todd Huston has also created the Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission, which would be tasked with exploring ways to entice several Illinois counties that have voted to secede from the state to join Indiana. This is first-rate trolling, and I look forward to reading the commission minutes.

I also look forward to writing more about the legislatures valiant efforts to return sanity to the states health care markets, and what the benefits  and costs  of absorbing disaffected Illinois counties might be.

Michael J. Hicks is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and the George and Frances Ball distinguished professor of economics in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Mike Braun kills DEI in strong, busy start as Indiana governor | Opinion
(Bloomberg) -- Argentinas Salta province has begun a bidding process to build a roughly two-block fence near the Bolivian border as part of President Javier Mileis efforts to crack down on drug trafficking and contraband.

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The bid was announced in an official notice published early Monday in the provincial gazette as part of a broader push by the national security ministry. In response, Bolivias foreign ministry expressed concern in a press release, saying border issues could affect the countries peaceful coexistence and should be addressed via diplomatic channels instead.

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The fence will seal off a 200-meter (656-feet) no-mans-land between the bus terminal and immigration office in the small border town of Aguas Blancas, acting mayor Adrian Zigaran said in a radio interview with Radio Mitre Monday. The roughly 2.5-meter-tall fence, located 500 meters from the border, would replace a small floodwall people frequently jump over to avoid immigration processing, he explained.

It was total mayhem, Zigaran said, recounting the ease with which people could bypass immigration controls. I dont know why this fence is causing such a controversy, he added.

The town is a hub for cocaine trafficking, according to a press release from the federal government. Shopping tours whereby Argentines go to Bolivia to buy cheap tires, clothes and electronics abound, Zigaran added, and are harming the provinces economy.

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Ukraines military intelligence (HUR) denied on Jan. 27 media reports that its head, Kyrylo Budanov, predicted serious consequences for the existence of Ukraine unless negotiations begin by the summer during a confidential parliamentary meeting.

Although HURs statement did not specify the alleged quote, an assessment attributed to Budanov began circulating in the Ukrainian media earlier on Jan. 27.

"If there are no serious negotiations by the summer, then very dangerous processes for the very existence of Ukraine may begin," an undisclosed source told Ukrainska Pravda, referring to an alleged statement by Budanov during a closed-door parliamentary meeting.

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"The Ukrainian military intelligence would like to draw the attention to the fact that the alleged quote of (Budanov)... from a closed, classified session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is not true," HURs statement read.

Ukrainska Pravda did not specify what processes the military spy chief was said to have in mind. In office since 2020, Budanov has at time made radical predictions about the full-scale war that have not always come true.

Opposition lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko also disputed Ukrainska Pravdas article, saying the spy chief did not warn of threats to Ukraines very existence.

"(Budanov) said that if nothing changes, the front line may begin to collapse and there will be problems," Honcharenko said on his Telegram channel.

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The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

The news comes amid growing expectation of peace talks as U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table.

Short on manpower, Kyiv will soon begin the fourth year of the full-scale war on its back foot, with Russia holding or pushing the front line on key directions such as the southwestern edge of Donetsk Oblast or Russias Kursk Oblast.

Trumps special peace envoy, Keith Kellogg, said the U.S. aims to end the war in the first 100 days of Trumps presidency.

Read also: As Russians inch closer to Pokrovsk, civilians in the area are left with a choice  stay under fire or leave life behind

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
A motorist was killed after crashing into a semi truck on icy roads in northwestern Minnesota early Saturday.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the driver of a Ford Taurus was traveling north on Highway 75 in Norman County at around 12:20 a.m. when he was involved in a crash with the semi truck near 270th Avenue.

Road conditions were icy at the time of the crash, according to the crash report.

The driver of the Ford, identified as Raymundo Zenteno, 68, of Climax, died in the crash.

The driver of the semi, identified as 26-year-old man from Mexico, was uninjured.
Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, on the Senate floor on May 1, 2024. Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer.

Minnesota Senate Republicans tried to expel Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, from the chamber Monday, arguing that her felony burglary charge restricts her from adequately representing her constituents and that the nature of the allegations are unbecoming of a Minnesota senator.

Mitchells trial for the burglary charge was scheduled to begin Monday, but lawyers for Mitchell successfully delayed it until after the Legislature adjourns on May 19. In their motion to delay, Mitchells lawyers cited a 2007 appellate ruling stating that legal proceedings involving legislators should be delayed until after the legislative session to ensure constituents still receive representation.

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Mitchell was arrested last spring at her stepmothers house by Detroit Lakes officers responding to a burglary call. Officers searched the basement and found Mitchell dressed in black clothing and a black hat.

Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls, who offered the motion to expel, said doing so would restore integrity to the Senate.

We dont need the results of a criminal trial to know Sen. Mitchells conduct fails to meet the standards of ethical behavior that we expect from senators, Rasmusson said. We shouldnt be complicit in delaying justice for the victim of a crime by allowing Sen. Mitchell to use her membership in this body to shield herself from criminal consequences.

The Senate is currently tied 33-33 between Republicans and Democrats after Sen. Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, died of cancer last month. The Senate has been operating under a power-sharing agreement since the session began on Jan. 14. The special election to fill Dziedzics seat is Tuesday, and the blue-leaning district is expected to elect a Democrat. The winner of the special election will likely be seated next week.

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The move by Senate Republicans to expel Mitchell likely ended the warm feelings that have suffused the proceedings during the first two weeks of session. Members of both parties shared encomiums to Dziedzic on the first day and have seemed to revel in the comity that has eluded the Minnesota House, where the two parties are locked in a heated battle for control.

Sen. Nick Frentz, DFL-North Mankato, asked Senate President Bobby Joe Champion to rule the expulsion motion out of order. After conferring with Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, and the leaders from both caucuses  as required by the power-sharing agreement  Champion ruled the expulsion motion out of order.

Members appealed Champions decision, and senators voted 33-33 to uphold it. Mitchell cast the deciding vote in favor of herself, and a tie vote to uphold the ruling. The vote to appeal failed and Champions decision that the expulsion motion was out of order was upheld.

Rasmusson, after his expulsion motion was ruled out of order, told reporters that he brought the motion forward Monday because it was supposed to be Mitchells first day of her trial, and he wanted to make sure Mitchells charge and impending trial wouldnt distract from (the Senates) important work.

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Prominent Democrats, including DFL Chair Ken Martin and Gov. Tim Walz, have sought to force Mitchell to resign. Her Senate DFL colleagues have banned her from their caucus meetings and stripped her of committee assignments, though Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, has said Mitchell is owed due process on her legal case before the Senate begins proceedings to expel her.

I would love this issue to be behind us, but its not, Murphy told reporters Monday.

Mitchell told a police officer that her father died and her stepmother had stopped all contact with her and other family. Mitchell said I know I did something bad, according to the charging document. And, while being arrested Mitchell said something to the effect of, I was just trying to get a couple of my dads things because you wouldnt talk to me anymore.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says his office has settled with three companies after they violated state law with purported timeshare exit services.

On Thursday, Ellisons office announced settlements with Encore Law Inc., Last Resort Consulting and Tradebloc. In total, the settlements will result in $269,378 in consumer refunds.

According to the announcement, the three companies claimed to help customers get out of timeshare agreements, often charging thousands of dollars. By charging upfront fees and failing to obtain proper licensing, Ellison says the companies violated Minnesotas debt settlement services law.

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Ellisons office also issued a broader warning about companies claiming to offer relief from timeshare debts.

Such companies may ask for large up-front payments through high-pressure presentations, according to the announcement. Then, Ellisons office says the companies will have the customer transfer the timeshare interest, force a foreclosure or, in some cases, do nothing.

Ellisons office also says it is monitoring a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission and the Wisconsin attorney generals office against timeshare exit three companies. One of the companies involved, Consumer Law Protection LLC, sold services in Minnesota.

I hate to see unethical companies promise help to Minnesotans stuck in costly timeshare contracts, only to rip consumers off again, Ellison said in a statement.

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Im glad to announce that three timeshare exit companies have agreed to refund consumers and comply with Minnesota law going forward. I hope these settlements put others on notice that if they do not follow the law, we will hold them accountable.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY)  Virginia Beach Police have launched an extensive search for 12-year-old Juan Sebastian Mejia Acevedo. The boys mother told 10 On Your Side that her son never reached his friends house on the Friday he disappeared. She said she had given him permission to visit a friends home to work on homework between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., but he never made it there.

The Virginia State Police (VSP) issued an Amber Alert for Juan around 5:45 am Saturday. He was last seen by his parents on Mica Avenue in Virginia Beach around 9 a.m. Friday.

Juan is a student at Larkspur Middle School. VBCPS did not have in-person classes on Friday.

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They thought he was home doing homework. A snow day for students here in the area. He, I think, was seen on a ring camera somewhere around 2 p.m. I think weve seen that family believed he was at a friends house, and at around 9 p.m., when he didnt show up back home, they started to become concerned, said Jody Saunders, Chief Communications Officer with VBPD.

10 On Your Sides Karina Garcia spoke with Juans mother on the phone.

When we got home, he was not home. We told him he could go to his friends house from two to four, but we just thought because he wasnt home, he was probably still at his friends house as boys do. We went to his friends house, spoke to the parents and the parents tell us he never came to their house, said Jenni Acevedo, Juans mother.

Jenni went on Facebook Live to get the word out to see if friends or family could help. Thats when several ransom requests came in.

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They made me go to a nearby Walmart and asked for money. I did not give the full amount, just part of it, said Acevedo.

Juans mother sent $500, and they then demanded $10,000, and she realized she was getting scammed.

We have to treat it as a credible lead. And so thats why our federal partners are here helping us with this potential abduction, and well chase that all the way to its end, said Saunders.

Juan is their only child. The family is desperate to find him, and the mother believes he is still on Mica Avenue.

Local and federal law enforcement have been canvassing the neighborhood, using drones, knocking on doors, and on Sunday added mounted patrol. VBPD does not believe it is a recovery mission; out of caution, the marine patrol unit is searching nearby lakes and ponds.

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We also enlisted the help of some of our Hispanic Citizens Police Academy alumni to help be shoulder to shoulder with our officers, knock on doors and assist translating, if necessary, said Saunders.

According to Saunders, the family has recently moved, and VBPD is also looking at the other areas they have lived in as well as the current entire neighborhood.

One neighbor who lives in the apartment complex says police have knocked on his door asking for additional information.

They asked if Id seen any suspicious activity around here. Cars that kind of look unfamiliar here. And I have not, said resident Gavin Sands.

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VBPD has contacted ICE and confirmed that Juan is not in ICE custody.

Our first and only priority is the safety and well-being of our community. And that comes regardless of immigration status, said Saunders.

VBPD has created an anonymous digital evidence portal where people can upload photos and videos about this case.

Juan is described as:

Age : 12

Height : 58

Weight : 105 pounds

Hair Color: black

Eye Color : brown

Clothing: Last seen wearing a gray jacket, red hoodie, and blue pants

If you have any information about this case, you can submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-888-LOCK-U-UP, downloading the P3 tips app to a mobile device, or visiting www.P3tips.com and submitting a tip.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
WILLIAMSTON, N.C. (WNCT)  A 51-year-old missing man in Williamston was reportedly found deceased in the Roanoke River on Friday.

Theophilus Whitehead was reported missing on January 21, by his wife. Whiteheads car was found at Moratoc Park, but he was nowhere in sight. The Martin County Sheriffs Office, Bertie County Sheriffs Office, NC Wildlife and NCSBI worked together and conducted searched for Whitehead.

Whitehead was found on Friday in the Roanoke River after missing for about three days. He has been pronounced deceased.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
By Akbar Novruz



On January 27, 2024, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day, honoring the millions of victims of one of the most horrific events in human history.

In a message shared on X (formerly Twitter), the ministry expressed deep sorrow for the lives lost in the Holocaust, emphasizing the importance of remembrance.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly, marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The day serves as a solemn occasion to honor the six million Jewish victims, along with the millions of others who suffered under Nazi persecution during World War II.

The Holocaust is remembered as the systematic, state-sponsored genocide of six million European Jews by the Nazi regime and its allies between 1933 and 1945. Azerbaijans recognition of this day underscores its commitment to opposing all forms of hatred and promoting tolerance.
SUVA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Fiji's Meteorological Service issued a heavy rain warning on Monday for the Northern Division, Yasawa, Lau and Lomaiviti Group, as well as the eastern half of Viti Levu, the largest island of the country.

The National Disaster Risk Management Office urged the public in these areas to exercise caution and prioritize personal safety.

It said people should stay alert during the current rainy weather, as localized flooding may occur in flood-prone areas, on minor roads, and at low-lying crossings.

The office strongly advised the public to stay away and refrain from attempting to cross or swim in flooded rivers, streams, drains, roads, and walkways where water is above knee level.

This will ensure personal safety and minimize the risk of life-threatening situations not only for the public but also for first responders, said the office. 
There are 418 individuals across the state on a waiting list for a mental health bed, up from around 300 at this time last year (Getty Images).

For nearly a year and a half, a woman has been languishing in Greene County jail, waiting to be transferred to a state mental health facility.

The woman was charged with a misdemeanor, found incompetent to stand trial and ordered by the court into state-run psychiatric treatment, Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott told The Independent.

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Shes been waiting there for a Missouri Department of Mental Health bed to open up for almost 450 days, Arnott said.

Had she been convicted of the misdemeanor, Arnott said, the maximum sentence would have been 1 year. She would have gotten out in November.

[The Department of Mental Healths] main priority should be, how can we get people into beds quicker, Arnott said, adding: Quicker than a year and a half, which is absolutely an injustice.

These are people who are mentally ill, he added. Thats the only reason theyre in here.

There are 418 Missourians across the state on a waiting list for a mental health bed, up from around 300 at this time last year.

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These are people who were arrested, found incompetent to stand trial and ordered into mental health treatment designed to allow them to have their day in court  a process called competency restoration that generally includes therapy and medication.

The average time these individuals wait in jail before receiving treatment is 14 months, according to department data.

Efforts to remedy the problem in the 2023 legislative session, including through a pilot program and increasing outpatient competency restoration, have been slow to get off the ground.

Greene County, which was included in the pilot program, decided not to participate. Clay Countys program was in operation for just three weeks last year before staff turnover put it on pause.

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Only three people are currently enrolled in the jail-based treatment pilot program statewide, according to Debra Walker, a spokesperson for the state's Department of Mental Health. And only one person is currently in the outpatient treatment program.

Walker said the agency is working on solutions but none of them will impact the numbers quickly.

Last year, Department of Mental Health Director Valerie Huhn told the House budget committee the problem would get much worse before it gets better.

Its probably going to be 1,000 individuals, Huhn said, long before were at 100 individuals.

Deprives them of humanity

Mary Fox, the director of the Missouri State Public Defender system, said the wait times for mental health treatment are the worst shes seen. She has been going to courthouses throughout the state trying to get some of the cases dismissed.

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Public defenders have identified at least 12 cases of individuals in Missouri being held longer than their maximum sentences would have been, Fox said, without receiving competency restoration.

It's gotten so bad that people aren't getting any treatment within the time period of when their case should be over and done with, Fox said.

One client was having paranoid delusions and called the police himself, convinced he was being watched. The police then arrested him because his license plate was expired and because he didnt stop driving when they put on their lights.

Fox said hes waited in jail for longer than he wouldve for the maximum sentence on those two charges.

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In a recent case filing, Fox called detention beyond the maximum sentence unconstitutional, illegal and improper.

Walker said the agency is aware of such circumstances.

Individuals are admitted in the order in which the court order is received, and admissions are triaged based upon clinical acuity, she said, adding that DMH is also working to provide medication and case management to individuals while in jail, through mobile teams of clinicians.

While individuals wait in jail, their mental health often deteriorates, said Annie Legomsky, who runs the state public defense systems holistic defense services program.

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Many are placed in solitary confinement, isolated for 23 or 24 hours a day, she said, and can end up with irreparable damage.

It just completely deprives them of humanity, and its the antithesis of anything you could call a therapeutic environment, she said. We see clients who do just really sad things like eating their own feces, having suicidal ideation and actions, who are just completely decompensating.

And there isnt anything those individuals can do: Their case is on hold until theyre restored to competency to stand trial, so they cant get released after theyve waited the maximum sentence.

They can't do anything to, kind of, control their fate, Legomsky said. They're at the mercy of (the Department of Mental Health) getting them the treatment they need.

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In states including Oklahoma, Kansas, and Washington, lawsuits filed by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union over similar wait times have succeeded, arguing the practice violates individuals rights to due process and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

So far, similar litigation hasnt been filed in Missouri. A spokesperson for the ACLU of Missouri declined to comment.

Legislative efforts

Valerie Huhn, director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, speaks to reporters on Dec. 29, 2021 after being appointed to the job (photo courtesy of the Missouri Governor's Office).

Missouri has faced a years-long struggle with this issue, due to increasing numbers of court referrals for competency restoration, staffing issues and limited psychiatric hospital capacity. In Aug. 2013, there were only 10 people waiting for an inpatient bed, but by Sept. 2021, that number had risen to 106  and has continued to grow.

In 2023, the state legislature approved $300 million to build a psychiatric hospital in Kansas City.

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The plan is for the hospital to have 100 beds for competency restoration patients, but it isnt slated to open until 2028 or 2029, Walker said.

The legislature passed a law giving the Department of Mental Health the authority to treat people within jails, called jail-based competency restoration. It also passed a law giving the department the authority to provide treatment on an outpatient basis if the person can be safely released.

The budget included $2.5 million for the jail-based competency programs to be established in jails in St. Louis, St. Louis County, Jackson County, Clay County and Greene County. The program was designed to provide room, board and medical care for 10 people at each jail.

Three counties signed contracts for the program last year. Walker said a contract is pending with St. Louis City.

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Walker said the Clay, Jackson and St. Louis county programs are in their early days of getting up and running.

Sarah Boyd, spokesperson for Clay County sheriffs office, said their pilot program has hit some roadblocks and is on pause, though the office hopes it will resume soon.

There are seven individuals held in jail in Clay County waiting for treatment, and the longest has been there since the beginning of March 2024.

The Clay County pilot program was in operation for under three weeks  from Oct. 27 through Nov. 14. The Department of Mental Health and its contracted partner were only able to hire one clinician instead of two, Boyd said, and that person left the job in November.

The initial feedback was that the program was successful. Within the first couple of weeks, the clinician was able to make recommendations to bring the inmates back to competency fairly quickly, Boyd said. She even found some of them should not have been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial, and we worked with the court system to rectify that, based on her recommendations.

Boyd said the state and the contracted agency are interviewing clinicians to try to bring the program back within a few weeks. She said jail staff alone aren't equipped to provide the level of mental health treatment many of the patients need.

"This has been an issue for us for a long time, and we are excited to be part of a potential solution," Boyd said.

Arnott, Greene Countys sheriff, says he opted out of the program. He said he had never heard about it until he received the contract, and it was his understanding the contract wouldve required the Greene County jail to receive more patients from throughout the state.

I'm not going to participate in a warehousing contract of people that are mentally ill that shouldn't be in the jail in the first place, Arnott said.

He said he modified the contract and sent it back to state but his changes were rejected.

Walker said counties were selected for the program based on the number of individuals they had waiting for inpatient beds  at least 10 people. Jails with fewer than 10 qualifying individuals, like Clay County, "would need to make jail-based competency restoration beds available for neighboring counties" in order for the project to be "fiscally sustainable for the state."

"Numerous discussions and exchanges occurred with representatives from Greene County," Walker said, "but ultimately an agreement was unable to be reached."

The St. Louis County program has started, Walker said, and there are three individuals currently participating. The Jackson County program recently hired clinicians and anticipates a start date in March, she said.

Neither county returned a request for comment.

The money that would have gone to the Greene County program is being used for the state's team of mobile clinicians who provide medication and case management to those in jails.

Fox and Legomsky, from the public defenders office, said the agency should be prioritizing offering treatment in the community for those who can be safely released from jail.

Our concern is you cannot take care of people with mental health issues in the jail setting, Fox said. That's not a healthy setting for anyone, let alone someone with a mental health issue.

Although the 2023 legislation authorized outpatient treatment for individuals who could be safely released, both Fox and Legomsky say theres been little progress.

Fox estimates at least two-thirds of those on the waitlist, or around 280 people, are low-level cases that dont pose a risk to receiving competency restoration treatment in their communities.

She said the state has been slow to train community partners  that the training didnt happen until November of last year even though the legislation was effective in August 2023.

They have totally failed in getting that program up and running, she said.

Walker said several provider groups have received training, which is ongoing. She didnt answer a question about when that training began.

Walker said, to date, there have been only two people placed in the outpatient restoration program, one of whom was successfully restored and the other is currently receiving treatment.

Those currently waiting in jails for a bed to open up are "being assessed to determine if outpatient competency restoration is a viable option," Walker said.

"If so, the recommendation will be made to the committing court. Ultimately, the committing court would need to agree to change the individuals commitment order to allow for outpatient competency restoration," Walker said.

This session

Missouri's Department of Mental Health building in Jefferson City (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).

The Department of Mental Health says it will know more about budget and legislative priorities after Gov. Mike Kehoes State of the State address Tuesday.

Last year, former Gov. Mike Parson didnt recommend a funding increase to the judiciary for pretrial services, which would have bolstered programs that divert those accused of crimes away from jail and to treatment for issues like substance abuse. Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Russell highlighted the issue in her address to the legislature last year, saying: We know the success of these programs can be far-reaching.

State Rep. John Black, a Republican from Marshfield, led the Houses subcommittee on appropriations for health, mental health and social services in 2023 and 2024, which heard about these issues when debating the departments budget.

Black said in a text to The Independent that the legislature has added money for competency restoration in the last few years to address the problem. Implementing new programs frequently encounters issues. He added: We need to work on those obstacles and will continue to do so to help those people we are trying to help.

State Rep. Betsy Fogle, a Springfield Democrat and the ranking minority member of that subcommittee and of the House budget committee, said the issue raises alarm.

Fogle said the states detention issue is indicative of broader problems with the way we treat individuals in the state with significant mental health needs, referring to adults with mental illness being held in nursing homes and children in hospital rooms.

I'm proud of the work that we did as a General Assembly to try to move the needle on some of these issues and pass legislative sessions," Fogle said, "but you can see in the data that we're trending the wrong direction."

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Clouds will stick around in a chilly northwesterly flow, with temperatures near freezing. High pressure will build, bringing clearing skies, with readings falling into the upper teens Monday morning.

Brisk southwesterly winds will develop Monday afternoon ahead of a cold front in the Upper Midwest, as high pressure slides off to the southeast of the Ohio Valley. Temperatures will be seasonable, in the mid- to upper 30s.

The cold front will move through Ohio early on Tuesday, with scattered snow showers mainly across the northeastern part of state. The coldest air will remain north of the region, and temperatures will approach 40 degrees.

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A low-pressure area crossing the northern Great Lakes early Wednesday will drive colder air back into the northeastern part of the country, but again the chilliest air will stay well north of Ohio.

After a dry, seasonable day on Thursday, wet weather will return Friday, when a disturbance develops over the southern Plains and tracks northeastward. Rain will overspread the state and linger on Saturday, with a wintry mix in the north.

Dry and seasonable weather will return on Sunday, but without any sign of arctic air, setting up a mild pattern for early February.

Forecast

Tonight: Gradual clearing, colder. Low 18

Monday: Mostly sunny, breezy p.m. High 36

Tuesday: Clouds a.m., partly sunny, breezy. High 40 (29)

Wednesday: Mix clouds and sun. High 39 (33)

Thursday: Mostly sunny, mild. High 38 (22)

Friday: Rain. High 41 (28)

Saturday: Showers, wintry mix north, windy. High 38 (34)

Sunday: Mostly cloudy. High 37 (28)

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
While a Michigan family continues its relentless search for Ashley Elkins, who has been missing for weeks, her youngest son doesnt understand why his mom hasnt come home.

Elkins, 30, was last seen on Jan. 2 in her Warren, Mich., home, local police said in a statement.

Nearly a week after her disappearance, police in nearby Roseville arrested Elkins ex-boyfriend DeAndre Booker after a search of his home showed evidence of a violent encounter, Lieutenant John Gajewski of the Warren Police Department previously told PEOPLE. Booker was charged with lying to police, per Gajewski.

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Elkins, who operated a hairstyling business in her home, is known for her dedication to her 7-year-old and 10-year-old sons. She vanished on Jan. 2 after leaving home to run errands  and when nobody had heard from her for hours, it was an immediate red flag, her sister Alexis Elkins tells PEOPLE.

"[Even] if she was planning to be gone for a long time, she would have called," Alexis says. "She knows that her boys expect to hear from her."

Now, nearly four weeks since her disappearance, Elkins' younger son still doesn't understand why she isn't home.

"He's still asking for her," Elkins' mother Monika Elkins tells PEOPLE. "[We] came back from the vigil, he [said] 'Is mom coming out? Is she, is she gonna call?'

Alexis Elkins Ashley Elkins and her 2 sons Ashley Elkins and her 2 sons

Related: Where Is Ashley Elkins? Missing Hairstylist Likely Met 'Violence,' as Ex Is Accused of Lying to Police

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"He doesn't understand at all," Monika says.

"He still thinks mom's coming home every, every day. He's like, 'Where's mom? Where's mom?'" Elkins' uncle Maurice Morton tells PEOPLE.

Her older son, who is 10, is having difficulty processing her disappearance.

"He cries every day. He has nightmares," Morton says. "It's been very difficult for both of them in different ways."

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.

Meanwhile, police and Elkins' family continue their search. On Jan. 13, law enforcement officials searched a landfill looking for Elkins' body, Roseville police Chief Mitch Berlin told the media at the time, per The Detroit News and the Associated Press. No body was found.

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As of publication time, Booker was not facing any charges in connection with Elkins's disappearance.



He remains in jail on a $250,000 bond, according to Maycomb County jail records reviewed by PEOPLE. Plea and attorney information were not available in the records; he is scheduled to appear in court in February.

The investigation is ongoing.



Read the original article on People
MONETT, Mo.  Even a minutes delay can mean the difference between life and death  thats why city leaders in Monett are excited to begin the process of fixing the last problematic railroad crossing in town.

Mayor Randy Burke tells us Chapel Drive is the last major railroad crossing in the city where vehicles still cross over the train tracks.

The bidding process will start this year on the 7.8 million dollar project  some of that funding coming from the voter-approved transportation tax. Its expected to make things safer for everyone by creating an overpass.

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Burke calls this project a big priority for Monett.

We have to do that project because of the location of the hospital and the ability for emergency services to get to the hospital. They shouldnt be waiting at that intersection. So those are two good reasons to do it. Its a win-win. Overwhelmingly, both the city and the railroad want this, said Randy Burke, Monett mayor.

The federal government will contribute about five million, and the city will put in about 2.3 million dollars.

He expects bids to come in sometime this year, in hopes of breaking ground in 2026.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com.
Months-long Richmond investigation nets narcotics, arrests

(KRON)  A Richmond police investigation into narcotics dealing and illegal firearms that began in September 2024 culminated in the execution of several search warrants and multiple arrests Thursday, authorities confirmed to KRON4.

On Sept. 11, 2024, the Richmond Police Department (RPD) was patrolling in the Shields-Reid neighborhood where community members had previously complained of drug sales. Officers located a Jeep illegally parked in the 400 block of Duboce Avenue and contacted four people as they exited the vehicle, authorities said. A fifth person was found concealed in the Jeeps cargo area.

Richmond uncle used boy, 6, to hide gun from police

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The group had been in the process of smoking marijuana in the vehicle, police said, and a juvenile was found to be in possession of 33 grams of marijuana and promethazine. Another person was determined to be on probation. A search of the vehicle uncovered two loaded firearms, one of which was reported stolen, according to RPD.

The five suspects were arrested for possessing the firearms, and two received additional charges in connection to the possession of marijuana for sale, police said.

(Richmond Police Department)

A search warrant was served the following day for the home that the Jeep was parked in front of. According to authorities, officers located and seized:

A Glock handgun with an extended magazine

A 50-round ammunition magazine/drum

Marijuana, 6.06 pounds

Concentrated cannabis wax, 2 pounds

Rock cocaine, 29.5 grams

Ecstasy, 311 pills

Oxycodone, 120 pills

Heroin, 3 grams

Methamphetamine, 15.8 grams

$5,876

Throughout the next four months, Richmond police provided extra patrols to the area, the department said. In that time, authorities said they responded to an apparent gun battle between two groups in the neighborhood, recovering 36 shell casings. An additional arrest for possession of cocaine base for sale was also made.

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By January 2025, five search warrants for five additional homes on the block were signed by a Contra Costa County judge, police said. On Thursday at 5 a.m., the warrants were simultaneously executed by the Richmond PD SWAT team with assistance from the Hercules and Brentwood police departments, the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office and the Contra Costa County District Attorneys Office.

Authorities said they found and recovered three loaded firearms, 3 pounds of marijuana, 208 fluid ounces of promethazine and 2 pounds total of cocaine base, cocaine powder, methamphetamine, concentrated cannabis and prescription pills. An additional $4,000 was seized from the homes.

(Richmond Police Department)

Three suspects were arrested in connection to the Richmond house raids for charges ranging from firearms possession, illegal possession of drugs with intent to sell and being involved in a criminal street gang.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
BOSTON (SHNS)  Splitting up the longstanding joint legislative committees that vet bills into separate House and Senate panels is one of the major reforms the Houses lead negotiator on a new rules package is seriously considering, Rep. Michael Moran told the News Service in an exclusive interview.

House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka both pledged to pursue rules reforms in the new two-year term that would increase public access to legislative business, a response to increased scrutiny on Beacon Hills centralized power and lack of transparency.

Mariano plans to appoint Moran, who chaired unsuccessful rules reform talks last term, to lead negotiations for the House again this term, according to the speakers office. Moran served as House majority leader last term.

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In addition to potentially recommending that longstanding joint committees be split, Moran said he is also considering changes to enable lawmakers to continue to take roll call votes on major, controversial bills in conference committees during informal sessions after July 31 of even-numbered years, and that transparency-minded reforms making written testimony available and committee votes public are on the table.

Moran said he is personally adamantly opposed to pushing the joint committee bill-reporting deadline into the first year of the two-year term, a change favored by Spilka. Moving up Joint Rule 10 Day would require committees to make decisions on bills earlier in the session, leaving more time for bill sponsors to try to move their proposals through other committees and the branches.

Moran said he could not speak for the full House on that issue, but said that moving the deadline would take power away from committee chairs and rank-and-file legislators, and place it more squarely in the offices of the House speaker and Senate president.

The Legislature currently operates under rules agreed to in 2019, as lawmakers have been unable to come up with compromise interbranch procedures in the years since.

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Moran said the House is determined to make changes this term.

Theres something thats  I want to be clear, from a process perspective  thats clearly not working. And we have to take a look at it, he said.

Moran said he believes press coverage of procedural disputes overshadowed the policy work the Legislature accomplished last session.

The press frequently highlighted that lawmakers missed their deadlines, that bills were hung up in interbranch disputes, and that the Legislature is one of the least transparent in the country. Mariano and Spilka pointed out that the Democrat-led branches passed the major bills that were on the agendas last session.

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Among the reforms Moran says hes interested in looking at is splitting up the Legislatures decades-old joint committee structure. That way of doing business has been in place since at least 1925, according to the Senate clerks office. While Democrats have long chaired joint committees, House and Senate Democrats often have different opinions on bills and approaches to public policy problems.

When you separate committees, there is no longer any reason for a bill to get stuck in committee, and the public knows exactly where the bills are at all times, Moran said.  With that one move, it gets rid of the entire logjam at the committee level, right? Then the public  you want transparency? Then the public knows exactly where the bills are.

Massachusetts is one of only three states in the country that uses joint committees, Moran pointed out. The panels that includes both representatives and senators take public testimony on legislation and often rewrite bills to advance them in the process, or kill proposals by burying them in study orders.

The other states that use joint committees are Connecticut and Maine. Nebraska isnt included in either category because it is unicameral. In the other 46 states, each legislative chamber has separate standing committees for each chamber to consider legislation.

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Last session, the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy essentially split in two, over disagreements between House co-chair Rep. Jeff Roy and Senate co-chair Sen. Michael Barrett.

The split was triggered in May 2023 when Roy announced a committee hearing without the consent of Barrett and Senate members, according to Barrett. Senators are outnumbered on joint committees  a longstanding sore point  and Roys actions were taken as further pushing out of senators right to have a say. Roy argued that he scheduled the hearing without Barretts consent because TUE was behind schedule on hearings, but Barrett decided to conduct his own parallel hearings with just Senate members.

The two sides of the committee then wrote their own  fairly different  versions of a climate bill. The full House and Senate passed related bills that differed significantly, as is often the case. Those bills were the cause of some angst on July 31 when the conference committee Roy and Barrett led still couldnt come to an agreement. The conference committee ultimately hammered out a compromise during informal sessions, and the branches passed an omnibus bill to reform clean energy siting and permitting last fall.

Moran pointed to TUEs story last session as an example.

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TUE did it last session, right? The Senate did that with TUE last session  and, to use Donald Trump, They produced one beautiful bill,  Moran said.

He added that Senate presidents have advocated for this reform in the past.

Former Senate President Stanley Rosenberg pushed for the Senate to set up its own bill-vetting committee structure and disengage the joint panels. At the time, senators argued that their bills too often languished in joint committees where they had less representation; though House leaders argued there was no problem.

Sen. Mark Montigny, rules chair in 2015, jumpstarted the conversation.

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Some have nicknamed it the nuclear option and others have said its radical  all this funny stuff. Its hardly groundbreaking and its hardly nuclear, Montigny said at the time. He said, It isnt worth fighting at all over this. If we cant just come up with a reasonable alternative, its better to move on and do it the way 46 other states do it Its even difficult to negotiate with a straight face because its so reasonable.

Then-House Speaker Robert DeLeo dismissed the Senate proposal, calling it an impolitic and manufactured reaction to a non-existent problem.

During opening day this year, Spilka pledged reforms to address some concerns about missed deadlines and transparency, including reviving a longtime Senate push to make all written testimony to joint committees available to the public, as well as publishing how legislators vote on bills at the joint committee level.

Asked if the House was open to these reforms, Moran responded, I think its on the table.

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In tandem with those considerations, the House would want to look at publicizing committee attendance.

If youre going to publicize votes, why not publicize attendance? One of the things that were having an issue with in this body right now is in-person attendance. But the House believes, as in our rules from last session, that in-person attendance is crucial, he said. Quite frankly, its a little bit concerning. Members of the public take time out of their schedule and their busy lives to testify in-person at hearings and formal sessions, I dont think its too much to ask that legislators show up in person too.

Attendance levels at joint committee hearings over the years have varied widely.

As for branch sessions, the House currently requires that representatives show up in person to vote during formal sessions, while senators may cast roll call votes in person or remotely.

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Spilka also announced that she wants to push forward the bill-reporting deadline known as Joint Rule 10 day. The Senates temporary rules committee has not yet announced what specific date they are targeting for when that reporting deadline should fall.

The biennial bill-reporting deadline was moved up six weeks in 2018, from mid-March to early February, a reform pushed by Senate leaders to get more bills out of committees ahead of the July 31 end to formal sessions during election years. By pushing that date forward again, Spilka said more bills would potentially become available for action earlier in the session.

The reasoning behind some of the rules changes is to move things along faster, such as changing the day of reporting bills out of committee, Spilka said in an interview with the News Service earlier this month. What can we do to move bills along faster? Get them out of committee If we can move that along a little bit faster to report them out sooner in the first 2025, say, the fall of the first year of the session, then the second year can be held for sooner deliberation, debate and vetting if needed.

Moran said that moving the date earlier takes power out of the hands of the committee chairs charged with vetting and sometimes rewriting the bills.

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I would actually move it backwards, quite frankly, he said.

With the current reporting deadline of February of the second year of session, lobbyists and activists have 13 months to make their cases to committees as to why certain bills should advance to the floors of the House and Senate.

Moran said if the deadline was moved to Dec. 31 of the first year, they would have significantly less time. With annual budget writing, hearings and debates taking up the majority of each spring, time off for summer break and holidays, Moran said, a Dec. 31 deadline would give committees only about five months to vet the hundreds of bills in their possession.

The first writing of the bill is in committee. And thats where the hard work happens. Its the staff on Health Care Finance, the staff on Public Health  theyre working every day, researching, talking to people, setting up meetings to try to do the first writing of the bill, he said.

Moving the deadline would take away the members of the House and the members of the Senates ability to influence legislation, he said. After they are reported out of committee, those bills fates lie with the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees, under the direction of the speaker and presidents offices, he said.

Youre taking away the power of, not just rank-and-file, but chairman and vice chairman of committees, he said. And then what does the chairman do? What do advocates do? Theyre all in line at the Senate president and speakers office, waiting to get in.

Moran reiterated that hes talked to Speaker Mariano about his concerns, but described opposition to moving up the bill-reporting deadline as his personal opinion and said he believes that its a mistake.

Asked about continuing to allow votes on large-scale bills after the conclusion of formal business on July 31 of the second year of session, Moran said, I think that is something that we should consider as well.

He added, however, that effective rules reform should alleviate some of the logjam of bills that need to be completed during that time period. Not all of it, though, he added.

Honestly, the reality is that, whether youre a college student or registering your kids for summer camps  I bring that up because its a yearly thing in my house  procrastination is in our blood. Nothing motivates like a clock, he said.

Last year, lawmakers met for a nearly-24-hour-session to try to come to agreements on all the unfinished bills left on their plates at the end of formal sessions on July 31  though it only resulted in a small handful of successfully passed compromise bills. The remaining major laws from last session were passed during the informal session stretch of fall into winter of 2024.

Moran added, Do I ever think therell be a rule that we could write that will stop that from happening? I dont. But what I do think is that if we put some reforms in the rules that force earlier discussion on these things in a meaningful way, that that hypothetical July 31 will not be as bad.

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TONIGHT: Few Clouds, Not as Cold. Lo 28.

TUESDAY: Partly Cloudy, Windy. Hi 38. Lo 27.

WEDNESDAY: Partly Cloudy, PM Wind. Hi 43. Lo 22.

Once again we managed to overperform in the afternoon as highs climbed into the low 40s. Plentiful sunshine was just another plus to a much more pleasant day outside. Lows will fall into the upper 20s overnight.

Two moisture-starved fronts will drop in from the north on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first front will move into northern Pennsylvania tonight and drop southward across the Commonwealth early Tuesday. Some stray snow showers could accompany the frontal passage tomorrow morning, especially for our northern tier. It will otherwise be a partly cloudy and windy day with highs in the upper 30s. The second front will move through during the day on Wednesday with partly cloudy skies and some snow showers, mainly for northern and western parts of the state. Highs will be in the 40s on Wednesday and it will be windy as the front passes through. Thursday should be mostly sunny and a bit cooler behind both fronts.

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Looking ahead, while no meaningful precipitation appears likely this week, the week could end with some rain. Friday afternoon will see rain develop as the mildest air of the month moves in; highs will be in the mid-40s on Friday! Another weak system could close the weekend with a few light rain/snow showers by Sunday evening. We already have a deficit of almost 2 for the year already as January has been dry, despite last Sundays snow. Any moisture will help and we will keep a watchful eye on the end of the week. In the meantime, enjoy the warmer temperatures to close out January!

-Meteorologists Dan Tomaso, Brett Thackara and Jackson Chastain

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A news release from the City of Morrison says the local hospitals expansion means a road must be temporarily closed.

The east end of E. Knox Street will be closed as Morrison Community Hospital gets ready to start a facility expansion.

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BURLINGTON, Vt. (myCV)  A Morrisville Man has been sentenced after he threatened law enforcement, used controlled substances and was found to be in possession of a gun last March.

Jordan Phelps, 36, called the Morristown Police Department multiple times on March 11 to threaten a member of law enforcement. Based on these threats, police investigated Phelps and executed a search warrant on March 13.

Officers found a loaded rifle in his home, and investigators discovered that Phelps was an unlawful user of controlled substances.

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Phelps previously pleaded guilty to using cocaine base in possession of a firearm. He will face 18 months imprisonment followed by a three year supervised release.

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RAYNHAM, Mass. (WPRI)  A motorcyclist was seriously injured in a crash in Raynham late Saturday night, according to authorities.

Raynham Police Chief David LaPlante said officers were called to Route 44 near the Pep Boys just after 10 p.m. to investigate reports of a crash involving a motorcycle and a car.

LaPlante said the motorcyclist, a 25-year-old Taunton man, suffered several traumatic injuries after being thrown roughly 50 feet upon impact.

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Despite his serious injuries, LaPlante said the man was conscious and alert while being transported to Boston Medical Center.

The driver of the car was not injured and is cooperating with the investigation. LaPlante said no charges have been filed at this time.

The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation.

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ALMATY, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan's Taraz tanker, carrying oil from the Kashagan field, has departed from the Aktau port en route to Azerbaijan's Baku port, KazMunayGas, Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company, said in a press release on Monday.

The supply is being carried out as part of the implementation of a directive issued by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to develop alternative export routes for the export of domestic hydrocarbons.

The oil will be transported through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline system, which will carry it all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. This strategic move is aimed to further strengthening and developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor.

In 2022, a framework agreement was signed between Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas and Azerbaijan's State Oil Company (SOCAR) regarding the transit of Kazakh oil.

The two parties signed an agreement to gradually increase the volume of oil transit through Azerbaijan in March 2024. Under this agreement, annual oil delivery volumes are expected to reach 2.2 million tons.

Kashagan is the largest oil and gas field in the Kazakh section of the Caspian Sea. In November 2024, the Kashagan oil field resumed operation to full capacity after a month-long closure for essential maintenance. 
Milwaukee chef Maria Graziano died in a car accident on Friday, according to Iowa State Patrol records.

Graziano, 25, was Sous Chef at The Bridgewater Modern Grill for the past year, said director of marketing for Benson's Restaurant Group Alison Graettinger. Benson's Restaurant Group oversees The Bridgewater Modern Grill.

Graziano also worked for a time as head chef at Moxie, the American fare restaurant and bar, according to a previous Journal Sentinel report. Under Graziano, MOXIE added weekday lunch hours and a Sunday afternoon social in the spring of 2023.

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The crash occurred just after 9 p.m. on Friday near Dubuque, Iowa. Graziano's vehicle failed to stop at the intersection of Highway 151 and Skyline/Monastery Road, causing a semi-truck to make contact with the driver's side of her car, Iowa State Patrol said. Graziano was pronounced dead at the scene.

This story has been updated with new information and to add video.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee chef Maria Graziano dies
EDITORS NOTE: Police have released updated information regarding the shootings location.

WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said a 14-year-old boy has died after he was shot in Southwest D.C. on Sunday afternoon.

MPD said that at about 2:30 p.m., officers responded to the 4000 block of South Capitol St. SW for the report of a shooting.

Police arrest 2 people in connection to armed assault in Southwest DC

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Officers found a 14-year-old boy who had been hit by gunfire. He was unconscious but breathing at the time, according to police.

Medics took the boy to the hospital, where he died.

MPD said officers were looking for two people who were armed and seen heading toward Interstate 295 in a white Kia sedan.

The investigation is ongoing.

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Mr. Soundoff Says  As the weeks go by we see and hear about more and more reports of college athletes being offered absurd amounts of money to play sports. The most recent, Ohio St. WR Jeremiah Smith offered close to 5 million dollars to enter the transfer portal.

John Sears says paying college athletes is getting out of control. It cant just be a bidding war every year, regulations need to be put in place.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP)  FOX8 honors Julie Mabe of Pearce Elementary School. Congrats, Mrs. Mabe!

If you know of an educator who is worthy of this nomination please fill out the nomination form here. Educator of the Week is sponsored by the North Carolina Education Lottery.

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DARLINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW)  A multi-agency contraband search at Darlington Countys W. Glenn Campbell Detention Center turned up drugs, homemade weapons and illegal communication devices, authorities said on Monday.

Officials said every cell and inmate was searched in an operation spearheaded by Sheriff Michael August and Maj. Mitch Stanley, who formerly ran the detention center.

Sheriff Michael August and Major Mitch Stanley made it their mission to take control of the W. Glenn Campbell Detention Center  No stone was left unturned, department spokesman Jordyn Jefferson said in a news release.

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Recovered contraband included:

four grams of marijuana

two grams of cocaine

39 grams of methamphetamine

one tattoo gun

one homemade weapon

three shanks

10 cellphones

six cellphone chargers

16 pieces of metal

five vapes

leg irons

handcuff key

37 financial numbers

nine SIM cards

three grams of tobacco

two lighters

157 unknown pills

70 grams of an unknown substance

one CD player

four CDs

written gang material

13 rolling papers

two sets of Bluetooth earbuds

$5.25 in currency

27 cigarettes

Authorities said charges will be added to every person in possession of contraband, which includes numerous inmates.

Assisting agencies included the state Department of Corrections, state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, Hartsville Police Department, Darlington Police Department, Fourth Circuit Solicitors Office and others.

* * *

Jordan White is a Digital Producer at News13. She joined the News13 team in August 2024. Jordan, a Myrtle Beach native, graduated from St. James High School in Murrells Inlet and is a graduate of Coker University. Follow Jordan on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here.

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* * *

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.

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This story has been updated to include new information.

A baby died from a multiple gunshots Sunday afternoon following an "apparent dispute over loud music," Murfreesboro police reported Sunday.

The incident involving the fatal shooting of a 1-year-old child and wounding of a hand of the mother may have involved domestic violence at Chelsea Place Apartments on Bradyville Pike, according to a press release from Murfreesboro Police Department spokesman Larry Flowers.

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"The preliminary investigation revealed the shooter, Marquavious Hampton, 24, of Chapel Hill, became angry due to loud music being played by the mother," the press release from Flowers said.

"This led to an argument and a physical altercation. Following the altercation, Hampton shot the 1 year old, who was seated in a stroller. The mother was shot in the hand after jumping in front of Hampton trying to shield her baby. The baby was pronounced dead on the scene. The mother was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries."

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation also reported that the shooter died "from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Williamson County," the press release from Flowers said.

Police are yet to release the name of the baby or mother. This a developing story.

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Murfreesboro police investigators said this was an isolated incident in which all parties involved in the deadly shooting knew each other, according to the press release.

'You cant just let it die': Fatal shooting victim's family pushes for answers from public following 2023 death of son on Cason Lane in Murfreesboro

Police use license plate reader cameras to track down suspect

Murfreesboro police responded Sunday afternoon to the shooting death of a baby and injury to the mother at Chelsea Place Apartments on Bradyville Pike.

Murfreesboro police responded to reports of shots fired after 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Chelsea Place Apartments on Bradyville Pike, according to the press release from Flowers.

"The baby was found shot multiple times and was pronounced dead by personnel with Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services," the press release said.

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Crime data analysts used the Murfreesboro Police Department's Real Time Crime Center License Plate Reader cameras to get a tag number for the suspect's car, an updated press release from Flowers said.

Police then issued a BOLO (Be On The Lookout) for Hamptons car, a white Dodge Charger. A license plate reader alerted the Williamson County Sheriffs Department deputies that the car entered the neighboring jurisdiction that's west of Rutherford County, according to the press release from Flowers.

"The man ran from deputies and was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound," the updated press release from Flowers said. "The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating that incident."

A Williamson County Sheriff's Office press release on Facebook said deputies initiated pursuit of Hamptons car around 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Critz Lane and Columbia Avenue.

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"Shortly after the pursuit began, the suspect abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot into a nearby field," the Williamson County Sheriff's Office press release said. "As deputies pursued, they observed what appeared to be a firearm in the subject's hand. Moments later, deputies discovered the suspect suffering from a gunshot wound. It is unclear whether the self-inflicted shooting was accidental or intentional."

The suspect was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries, the Williamson County Sheriff's Office press release said.

November fatality: Murfreesboro police identify victim in fatal wreck on South Church Street

Police urge people to call for help with domestic violence

The press release urges people either in a domestic violence relationship or know someone who is to call the Domestic Violence Hotline at 615-896-2012.

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The shooting also remains under investigation by the Murfreesboro Police Department Criminal Investigations Division Violent Crime Unit, according to the press release.

Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: UPDATE: Baby dies from multiple shots in Murfreesboro; mother injured
A mural depicting Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak was covered with white paint within a day after a picture of it emerged online, the Glavcom media outlet reported on Jan. 27.

The mural was painted on the bank of the Dnipro River in Kyiv by an unknown artist. The original photo of the mural was shared on social media by journalist and blogger Bohdan Butkevych on Jan. 26, who also posted its location.

Yermak has been described as the most powerful chief of staff in Ukraine's history, attracting criticism for accumulating unprecedented power and influence within the Presidential Office.

         ,       pic.twitter.com/QftYRKL3Ha    (@pogrebeckij) January 26, 2025

"Banksy suddenly becoming a fan of Yermak is unlikely," Butkevych said jokingly, raising a question about the original painters identity.

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Glavcom reported that already by the evening of Jan. 26, a picture of the mural largely painted over by a white paint appeared online.

Other leading figures like former Commander-in-Chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi also received a mural in the capital.

Read also: Politico lists Yermak, Putin among Europes most influential people

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The chairman of the World Holocaust Remembrance Center has accused Elon Musk of insulting victims of Nazism after the billionaire told a German far-right political party that the country needed to move beyond the guilt of the past.

Musk made the comments in a surprise video address at an election campaign launch for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Saturday.

Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great grandparents, he said.

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There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that, he added.

Musks remarks mirrored the AfDs long-held position that Germany should stop atoning for crimes committed by the Nazis in the past.

Dani Dayan, the chairman of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, warned against any move to bury the legacy of Nazism. Writing in a post on X, which is owned by Musk, Dayan said that the remembrance and acknowledgement of the dark past of the country and its people should be central in shaping the German society, and that failing to do so is an insult to the victims of Nazism and a clear danger to the democratic future of Germany.

Musk has taken an increasing interest in European politics and several leaders on the continent have accused him of interfering in their affairs and promoting dangerous figures.

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Polands Prime Minister Donald Tusk condemned Musks comments as ominous and all too familiar, noting that they came only hours before the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

In his Saturday address, Musk said it was important that people take pride in Germany and being German, a remark that was met with rapturous cheers.

Musk also addressed the issue of immigration  a key issue in Germanys upcoming general election on February 23  urging AfD co-leader Alice Weidel and her supporters not to lose their national pride in some kind of multiculturalism that dilutes everything.

Elon Musk appeared at the AfD campaign launch via video link on Saturday. - Sebastian Willnow/dpa/AP

It is not the first time in recent days that Musk has drawn scrutiny for his apparent support for the far-right. Last week, Musk faced a backlash after he made a gesture at a post-inauguration rally last week that some commentators said resembled a fascist salute.

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At a rally following US President Donald Trumps inauguration last Monday, Musk brought his right arm towards his chest and then extended it towards the audience, drawing scrutiny as the gesture bears similarities to the Nazi or Roman salute used by fascist leaders in Germany and Italy.

Musk pushed back on the criticism, writing on X, the everyone is Hitler attack is sooo tired.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz  a frequent target of Musks barbs  told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: Everyone is free to express their opinion in Germany and Europe, including billionaires but we do not accept support for far-right positions. Musk responded on X: Shame on Oaf Schitz!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Musk, saying that he was falsely smeared amid a storm of international condemnation.

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The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) initially dismissed it as an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm.

However, in response to Musk posting a series of Nazi puns to social media on Thursday, the ADL hit out at inappropriate and highly offensive jokes that trivialize the Holocaust.

Despite the scrutiny, Musk has continued to voice his support for populist political movements that have galvanized numerous European elections. He has also drawn parallels between the political climate in Germany and the United States while emphasizing the global impact the approaching election could have.

CNNs Mitchell McCluskey, Sebastian Shukla and Rob Picheta contributed reporting.

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Tech billionaire Elon Musk told Germans they should be proud of their heritage and should move beyond the past guilt of older generations.

Musk on Saturday made a virtual appearance at a rally for the far-right German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) and reiterated his support for the party ahead of the February election.

First of all, I wanted to really say that Im very excited for the AfD, and I think you are really the best hope for Germany, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said in his remarks.

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Something I think that is just very important is that people take pride in Germany and being German. This is very important, Musk continued. Its, you know, its OK to be proud to be German. This is a very important principle.

Musk said German children should not bear the responsibility for crimes past generations committed, an apparent reference to the Holocaust and crimes committed by the Nazi Party.

I think theres, like, frankly, too much of a focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that, Musk said. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents or even let alone their parents, their great grandparents, maybe even.

Musk, the richest man in the world and the leader of President Trumps new Department of Government Efficiency, has raised eyebrows in recent weeks with his embrace of far-right political parties in Europe, including the AfD.

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The remarks Saturday also come after Musk faced backlash for making a controversial gesture during his post-inauguration speech on Monday that some critics compared to a fascist salute.

In the face of the backlash, Musk seemed to dismiss the concerns in a social media post that was filled with puns based on the names of some of the Nazis most infamous leaders.

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BARCELONA, Spain, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Barcelona's city center came alive this past weekend as thousands gathered to celebrate the upcoming Chinese lunar new year, or the Spring Festival.

The festivities began on Saturday with a vibrant parade that showcased the cultural richness of both Chinese and Spanish traditions.

The parade, involving 65 Chinese cultural organizations and several invited Spanish groups, started with a grand display of fireworks and the striking of a gong by the mayor of Barcelona Jaume Collboni, alongside Meng Yuhong, the consul general of China in Barcelona.

UNESCO recognized the Spring Festival as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity last December.

For Javier Carnota, a member of the Airinos Da Nosa Galicia dance troupe participating in the parade, the collaboration between cultures was particularly meaningful. "The Chinese and Spanish cultures are quite different, but it's a good thing that we take part in each other's festivities," he said.

Victoria Marti, a resident of Arenys de Mar, echoed this sentiment. "Not only do the celebrations allow the Chinese community to maintain their traditions, but they also introduce them to people here who might not be familiar with them," she told Xinhua.

Barcelona has planned two weeks of cultural activities to celebrate the Year of the Snake. These include workshops on Chinese calligraphy, cooking, and martial arts, as well as screenings of Chinese films and book clubs featuring Chinese literature.

Alexandra Nogrette, a Barcelona resident who attended the weekend's festivities, highlighted the growing curiosity about Chinese culture. "With globalization, we have more and more contact with China, and tourism increases that curiosity. Coming here is a way to learn more about their culture," she explained.

Saturday's celebrations included a lively stage performance in front of the iconic Arc de Triomf, featuring both Chinese and Spanish musicians and dancers.

Chinese New Year celebrations in Barcelona, home to nearly 22,000 Chinese nationals, have grown significantly since they began 11 years ago.

Barcelona city council's commissioner for citizen relations and cultural and religious diversity, emphasized the importance of the celebration. "UNESCO's recognition of the Chinese New Year as a cultural heritage aligns with our city's values. It's a celebration that reflects the diversity and cultural exchange we strive to promote," she said.

Belbeida added that the Spring Festival represents a positive example of interculturality. "Not only do people of Chinese origin participate, but natives and individuals from other backgrounds join in as well. It's a testament to the diversity and inclusivity that define Barcelona."

Meanwhile, other Spanish cities, including Valencia, also launched their Spring Festival celebrations over the weekend. Madrid's main parade is scheduled for Feb. 1. 
Earlier this month, a man found something surprising in a black plastic trash bag sitting on the street: a statue of a woman draped in some sort of cloth, with its arms and head missing.

The artifact was found in Neoi Epivates, a suburb of Thessaloniki, Greece. Upon its discovery, the man took the statue to his local police station where experts were called in to examine it.

According to a statement provided by the Greek police, the statue is believed to be from Greece's Hellenistic period, which was the period between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E. and the rise of Augustus in Rome in 31 B.C.E.

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Related: 10 Collectibles That Could Be Worth Serious Money

The authorities have turned over the statue to investigators from Greece's Cultural Heritage Protection Office. The piece will be analyzed at a forensic laboratory before it's delivered to the Ephorate of Antiquities for safekeeping and evaluation.

Bert Smith, a classical archaeologist at Oxford University, told the New York Times that the 31-inch-tall marble statue was likely made for religious purposes. "The small size is typical for such marble votives set up to divinities in sanctuaries or temples, he says. "People prayed to divinities and made dedications to them in thanks for their favor."

Since the limbs of the statue are missing, it's difficult to pinpoint its exact identity and purpose. "The arms might tell us what the figure was doing and what attributes it may have carried," Smith told the Times.

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This artifact is one of thousands found in Thessaloniki and neighboring cities in recent years. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the city's two-decade-long construction of a new subway system has lead to the discovery of over 300,00 archaeological finds from Greece's ancient history.



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Update

KANSAS  The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is looking into odor complaints in Galena.

A team from KDHE came to Galena Wednesday to further examine and monitor the situation.

For the past several months, Galena residents have complained about a terrible odor, often described as rotten eggs.

Once the complaints started, city leaders began communicating with Jordan Disposal, who operates the landfill nearby.

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Galena city leaders and representatives with Jordan Disposal are working with KDHE to see what the next steps should be. Theyre still trying to pinpoint the exact source of the smell in order to determine how to minimize it.

Mayor Ashley Groves says right now theres no timetable for getting those answers.

Mystery odor in Galena sparks concern among residents

GALENA, Kan.  A suspicious odor is in the air in the city of Galena.

It has residents puzzled, and city leaders working to get to the bottom of it.

I lived here since I was seven weeks old. I got adopted in the family and I never smelled it this bad, said Scott Alumbaugh, Galena resident.

The city of Galena has an unwelcome guest that is plaguing the air.

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City officials and residents say the odor is more potent in the early morning and in the late evening.

Smells like a combination of gas and rotten eggs and whatever else. I dont know, said Alumbaugh.

Alumbaugh says hes worried for what others think about it, including tourists that come through historic Route 66.

What Ive heard is, what is that smell like? We dont want to come through this town because it smells so bad. Well take an alternate route, which is embarrassing for me to my hometown. So somethings got to be done, said Alumbaugh.

We are actively every day trying to figure it out because its affecting businesses. Its affecting people that just drive through town and we know its a problem, said Ashley Groves, city of Galena mayor.

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Galena mayor Ashley Groves says for months the city has worked hand in hand with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help solve the mystery.

Theyve come down several times to do some testing. They do regular testings on the landfill. And the most recent was a few weeks ago. And they, we received no violations for that, said Groves.

Theyve also looked into air quality monitoring testing.

Groves says theyve also looked into maybe using a landfill closure funding source which is around 1.2 million dollars that could help find a solution in the future.

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But we do have some money there that could help us out. And really, we got to get this figured out. So if thats what it takes, well figure out a way to get it done, said Groves.

Mayor Groves anticipates meeting with KDHE this week about more tests on the citys soil.

Until its resolved, shes asking for residents to continue reporting when and where the smell is the strongest.

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The Grand Canyon Railway has received $3.4 million in federal funding to convert one of its classic diesel-powered locomotives to a battery-powered one, Matador Network reported. This new electric locomotive project will deliver a more positive guest experience while helping to preserve the beauty and environment of this iconic national park.

The Grand Canyon Railway runs from Williams, Arizona, to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, spanning 64 miles. The train runs daily, transporting more than 225,000 visitors yearly and keeping approximately 50,000 cars out of Grand Canyon National Park.

Eric Hadder, GCR chief mechanical officer, explained in a news release that each end of the track is at a similar elevation but that the railroad drops 1,100 feet in the middle.

If you were going to purchase an EV which of these factors would be most important to you? Good driving range Affordable sticker price High-tech safety features Cheap maintenance costs Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"As we're coming down the hill toward the center of the railroad, the energy from our braking efforts is being dissipated as heat," he said. "So, what we thought is if we were able to recapture that energy and store it as electricity in our batteries, then we could recharge our batteries on the downhill and then continue to use that energy in order to propel the train up the hill on the other side."

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Regenerative braking, a key feature of this project, allows electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles to convert kinetic energy from braking into electrical energy that recharges the vehicle's battery. For the new locomotive, this extends its range, allowing it to travel one full round trip on a single charge, according to Matador Network.

Going electric and using regenerative braking not only reduces wasted energy, but it also reduces dependence on diesel  a dirty energy source that, when burned, contributes to harmful air pollution and the rising global temperature. An electric-powered locomotive produces zero exhaust stack pollution, meaning cleaner air for passengers as well as a quieter ride.

A grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program funds 80% of this exciting electric conversion project, which is set to be finished by 2027. The remaining portion falls to Xanterra, the company that operates the GCR, per Matador Network.

"This project is a unique chance to bring modern efficiency to a historic rail icon," Hadder said, per KTAR News.

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Kevin Crosby, director of sustainability at Xanterra, added, "This project will significantly reduce the already low environmental impact of visiting the Grand Canyon via rail."

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Nearly two-thirds of parents considered switching their children to a different school last year, but less than half of them actually followed through, a new national survey finds.

In January, the National School Choice Awareness Foundation published a survey asking 2,873 parents questions about changing their childs school. About 60% of respondents said they considered a new school in 2024, but only 28% made a change.

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Of those who did transfer their kids, 28% chose a traditional public school, 31% selected a public charter or magnet school, nearly 14% chose a private or religious school and 27% opted for online schooling, homeschooling or a microschool.

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Interest in homeschooling, hybrid learning and microschools in particular skyrocketed among respondents this year, compared with answers to similar surveys given from 2022 to 2024. Nearly two-thirds of parents thought about homeschooling, up from 23%, while interest in microschools and hybrid learning jumped from 5% to 16%. The percentage of those thinking about private schools rose from 29% to 36%.

By contrast, parents were less likely to consider traditional public schools than they were in previous surveys: 35%, down from an average of 45%.

But when it came to actually switching schools, the one-third of parents who followed through with the decision tended to choose public-sector schools, according to the survey. Nearly 60% of them selected a district, public charter or magnet school.

About 30% chose private schools, homeschooling, microschools or hybrid schools, while 10% selected a full-time online education.

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The percentage of parents who enrolled their children in private-sector schools  remains relatively low, Shelby Doyle, vice president of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation, said in a press release. This may be due to the cost of attendance for families, even with the expansion of private school choice programs such as education savings accounts.

Private school growth is still surging across the U.S., with GOP lawmakers in close to a dozen states having it as a top priority for 2025, according to Education Weeks private school choice tracker. Currently, 28 states and the District of Columbia supply public funds for parents to spend on educational options outside of public schools  and that number is likely to rise, according to the tracker.

The new survey shows that the percentage of parents searching for different schools declined this past year, down from 72% in the survey released in January 2024. But it still remains higher than the 50% among respondents to the 2022 and 2023 surveys.

Military families, younger parents and Black parents were among the most likely to consider new schools for their children last year. About 40% of parents surveyed said they were likely to continue their search for a new school in 2025, with Asian and Black parents indicating the most interest.
DENVER (KDVR)  Its time to take down those holiday lights and buckle in for a long year until the 120th National Western Stock Show, as the 2025 event marketed as the best 16 days in January came to a close.

Organizers said this year drew over 658,109 visitors during the two-week-and-two-day stint, with fans donning their best Western regalia for the traditional events. The participation places 2025 among the top 10 stock shows for attendance in history.

Bull rider injured at National Western Stock Show rodeo event

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The stock show set its record attendance numbers in 2006 for the 100th anniversary  726,973 people attended that year. This years attendance numbers had to compete with the frigid cold  91 hours straight of this years stock show were held while the temperature remained below freezing.

Every guest that walks through our gates is part of the Stock Show family, and we are incredibly thankful for their support, said Paul Andrews, President and CEO of the National Western Stock Show, in the Sunday afternoon release.

The NWSS highlighted its Auction of Junior Livestock Champions which had 98 animals that fetched a record-breaking $1,452,500  the highest total in stock show history.

The funds go to the National Western Scholarship Trust, which gives scholarships to students pursuing agriculture and rural medicine careers. The Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale also gives its process to the trust, which broke records with $1.4 million in sales to date, the stock show shared.

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Thanks to these events and the incredible generosity of our supporters, were able to fund 120 scholarships annually, ranging from $2,500 to $15,000 per student, Andrews said in the stock show release. These scholarships represent an investment in the future of agriculture, helping students pursue their dreams and make meaningful contributions to their communities.



While this years stock show is over, its time to save the date for next years: The National Western Stock Show is set to return to Denver on Jan. 10-25, 2026.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
By Sergio Goncalves and Miguel Pereira

LISBON (Reuters) -NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged member states of the alliance on Monday to step up defence spending beyond their common goal of 2% of national output set a decade ago, saying this was now too low because of new challenges.

Rutte spoke in Lisbon alongside Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who reiterated his country's pledge to meet the 2% goal by 2029. In 2023, Portugal spent 1.5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on its NATO commitments.

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"We know that the goal of 2%, set a decade ago, will not be enough to meet the challenges of tomorrow," Rutte said. "That means we need to spend more on our defence now."

NATO allies will discuss whether they should raise the current 2% target at a summit in the Hague this summer, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for NATO allies to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP - a target no NATO member currently meets.

Rutte reiterated Western accusations that Russia was trying to destabilise NATO member states with acts ranging from assassination attempts to cyber attacks and sabotage, while waging a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.

Moscow denies trying to destabilise Western states and says its military actions in Ukraine are aimed at bolstering its own national security.

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Montenegro said that Portugal was seeking ways to bring forward the date for meeting the 2% target, but that it would depend on the country finding a way to increase investments in defence without jeopardising its small budget surplus.

(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves, writing by Andrei Khalip, editing by Inti Landauro, Charlie Devereux and Gareth Jones)
Royal Navy chiefs have come under fire for dropping plans to name a new attack submarine after a battle in which England defeated France.

The seventh and final Astute-class submarine was to be called HMS Agincourt, but it will now be named HMS Achilles instead.

Grant Shapps, the former defence secretary, said the name change was nothing short of sacrilege amid speculation it may have been undertaken because of a fear of offending the French government.

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Sir Gavin Williamson, the then defence secretary, announced in 2018 that the Ministry of Defence had signed a 1.5 billion contract to build a seventh Astute-class hunter-killer submarine called HMS Agincourt.

That would have made it the sixth Royal Navy vessel to have been named after the battle in October 1415, when the English, led by Henry V, defeated a larger French force.

It is recognised as one of Englands greatest military victories and provided the backdrop to William Shakespeares Henry V in which the monarch famously declares once more unto the breach.

Grant Shapps, the former defence secretary, said the name change was nothing short of sacrilege - Leon Neal/Getty Images

Mr Shapps and Sir Gavin both criticised the name change.

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Sir Gavin said: It is so pathetic that the Government is so ashamed of our history that they are literally renaming it. Next, they will probably want to rename HMS Queen Elizabeth for fear the Spaniards might be upset about the Armada.

Mr Shapps tweeted: Renaming the HMS Agincourt is nothing short of sacrilege. This submarine carries a name that honours a defining moment in British history.

Under Labour, woke nonsense is being put ahead of tradition and our Armed Forces proud heritage.

Ideology gone mad

Rear- Adml Chris Parry, a retired Royal Navy officer, said the decision was a case of craven political correctness and ideology gone mad.

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He told Times Radio: This is just craven and contemptible surrender to, Im afraid, the ideology being pushed by our government. It seeks to erase our history and anything we need to be proud of.

He suggested the name change may have been a favour to the French government after it was excluded from the Aukus submarine deal between Australia, the UK and the US.

Pathetic grasp of foreign policy

Sir Ben Wallace, a former defence secretary, told Times Radio that the French would not have been offended by the name.

He said: Were very close to the French. The French are one of our strongest allies. They dont get put off by names like that. I mean, that shows a very pathetic grasp of foreign policy and relationships.

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He added that the French celebrate their successes but also know in their history they didnt have all the successes.

So, if that is the actual reason its been renamed, then I would be concerned that it shows were focusing on superficial nonsense rather than rebuilding our defence, he said.

Six Royal Navy ships in the past have been named after Achilles, the great warrior from Greek mythology. One of those vessels received battle honours during the Second World War at both the River Plate and Okinawa.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: We are proud of our nations rich military history and the many famous battles fought.

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The seventh boat in the Astute class is to be called Achilles  a name which is particularly appropriate this year as we mark the VE and VJ Day 80th anniversaries. Achilles received battle honours during the Second World War.

The name was proposed by the Royal Navy Ships Names and Badging Committee and approved by His Majesty the King.

The Ships Names and Badges Committee suggests names to the Navy Board which then presents its selection to the Defence Secretary for sign off. The names are then submitted to the monarch for royal approval.

The Royal Navy would not say why the name had been changed. HMS Achilles is still under construction.

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Downing Street refused to be drawn on why the name Agincourt had been dropped.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: The name was proposed by the Names and Badging Committee and approved by His Majesty the King. I obviously cant get into any more detail on that.

Asked if the Prime Minister was proud of Englands role at the Battle of Agincourt, he said: Absolutely.

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In this aerial view, Mexican immigration officials and police escort deportees after they were sent back into Mexico on Jan. 22, 2025, as seen from Nogales, Arizona. U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders on his first day in office declaring a state of emergency at the U.S. southern border, halting asylum claims and launching a campaign of mass deportations. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

LINCOLN  Nebraska would step up its role against illegal immigration under a newly proposed state law requiring businesses with at least 25 workers to use an online system aimed at ferreting out undocumented workers.

State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha speaks on the floor of the Legislature on Jan. 8, 2025. Kauth has proposed requiring businesses to use a program like E-Verify to make sure employees are legally eligible to work. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, under Legislative Bill 532, wants to create graduated state penalties, including suspension of a business license, for employers that dont partake in the E-Verify program to check an applicants eligibility to work and that knowingly hire people unauthorized to work in the United States.

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Furthermore, the measure calls upon the Nebraska Department of Labor to develop and carry out random audit inspections and expose violators using a public-facing database.

Were saying that every business should be doing this, Kauth, chair of the Legislatures Business and Labor Committee, said of the electronic verification. I want them to do the right thing.

Business license at stake

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 makes it unlawful under federal law to knowingly employ undocumented workers. Arizona in 2008 became the first state to require E-Verify as a further deterrent, using revocation of a license to do business in the state as a hammer, and some states and cities have followed suit.

Kauth said her proposal was inspired by constituent concerns, but that her intent is not only to curb the undocumented workforce. She sees it as protection for vulnerable workers who may be taken advantage of by employers because of legal status.

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The proposal comes as Gov. Jim Pillen issued a directive to state government agencies and law enforcement officials to adhere to President Donald Trumps executive orders cracking down on illegal immigration and border security. Trumps executive orders have created fear and concern in many communities. His effort to roll back birthright citizenship already faces legal challenges.

Lawyers in Nebraska who work in immigration and labor law fields question the effectiveness of a state E-Verify push. Currently, mandatory E-Verify checks in Nebraska apply to a smaller group: public contractors and employers that receive tax incentives from the state.

The Internet-based system is set up to compare and match information provided by a job applicant with records available to the Social Security Administration and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, essentially verifying a persons status to work. Its a free and fast service, according to a federal government website promoting E-Verify.

Businesses can enroll in the E-Verify program on their own today. Shown is a screenshot from the Department of Homeland Securitys website for the program. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

But a major criticism of the electronic verification system is that workers using fraudulent or borrowed identities can and have evaded detection, said Amy Peck, who manages the immigration practice of Jackson Lewis law firm.

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Of LB 532, Peck said: Will it solve the illegal immigration problem for employers? No. Does it make everyone feel good? Maybe.

Daniel Martin DeLoa, a trial attorney at Omaha-based Pesek Law, sees the Kauth proposal as opening the door to potential selective enforcement and posing a barrier to doing business in Nebraska.

He views the legislative proposal more as a show of support for the priorities of the president.

This is one of many examples we will see when the Nebraska Legislature expresses clear agreement and alignment with the policies and priorities of the new Trump administration, Martin DeLoa said.

Bill highlights

Under the Kauth proposal:

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An employer must verify a new hires work eligibility using E-Verify or a similarly recognized program by the federal government. If the state labor commissioner detects noncompliance, the business has a certain amount of time to contest. Penalties include probation of a business operating license or, for repeat violations, suspension of the license.

Employers that knowingly employ an unauthorized immigrant worker face suspension of their business license. The license can be reinstated if the employer fires the worker in question or pays the cost of either the Labor Departments investigation or $1,000. Suspensions are longer with repeat violations.

A business that in good faith uses E-Verify is presumed not to be in violation, subject to rebuttal by evidence. And an employer who fires a worker to comply with the statute wont be subject to a civil action for wrongful termination of the employee.

The state Labor Department, in administering a statewide random auditing program, gains the authority to enter a business at reasonable times and question bosses and workers, examine and photograph relevant records.

Bryan Slone, chief executive of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that many businesses in Nebraska already use E-Verify.

More than 60 organizations gathered in mid-September on the steps of the State Capitol to rally support for immigration reform. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)

While the chamber has not yet examined the bill, or taken a position, its leaders tend to take a practical point of view, he said.

One problem, Slone said, is that there is not a consistent approach to worker verification among all states and cities and, generally, a patchwork of regulations hampers business.

Some Nebraska businesses also have employees in multiple states, he noted.

It means employers have to keep track of all these different provisions in different jurisdictions, he said. Its always better to have uniform federal rules from a compliance standpoint.

What about the labor shortage?

From a broader perspective, he said, businesses want a better federal immigration system that processes work visas faster and in ways that provide more legal workers to U.S. employers struggling with a shortage of applicants.

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This is nothing the State Legislature can fix, he said, but it is a priority for an alliance of Nebraska organizations including the Nebraska Chamber.

Kauth said she recognizes that a legislative proposal is a work in progress, and she welcomes input from taxpayers and others during public hearings.

Were going to find out what people think, she said. Perhaps its just the first step in, How do we make it better?

Editors note: This story has been updated to clarify Bryan Slones job title.

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One of Neil Gaimans publishers has dropped him as the British author faces multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment. And his name is not on the website of the agency which has for years handled his speaking appearances.

Dark Horse Comics announced on X last weekend that it would no longer release its illustrated series based on Gaimans novel, Anansi Boys. The seventh of eight planned editions came out earlier this month.

Dark Horse takes seriously the allegations against Neil Gaiman and we are no longer publishing his works, reads the statement from Dark Horse, which still includes Gaimans books on its website.

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Allegations against Gaiman, known for such bestsellers as Coraline and The Sandman series, first emerged last summer on a Tortoise Media podcast. After a lengthy New York Magazine article in January included allegations from eight women of assault, abuse and coercion, Gaiman responded with a blog post, denying any wrongdoing.

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Like most of us, Im learning, and Im trying to do the work needed, and I know that thats not an overnight process, he wrote. At the same time, as I reflect on my past  and as I re-review everything that actually happened as opposed to what is being alleged  I dont accept there was any abuse.

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Gaimans office and his literary agent did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Gaiman has worked with numerous publishers over the years. Two of them, HarperCollins and W.W. Norton, have said they have no plans to release his books in the future. Others, including Bloomsbury, have so far declined comment.

Gaiman still lists the Stephen Barclay Agency on his website as a contact for personal appearances, but his name doesnt appear on the agencys client list. Barclay did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Disney has paused a planned adaptation of Gaimans The Graveyard Book, while Netflix is still scheduled to release a second season based on The Sandman.

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ATHENS, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Approximately 30,000 people gathered outside the Greek parliament on Sunday, demanding justice for the 2023 train collision in Tempi, central Greece, which claimed 57 lives.

The demonstration, organized by an association of victims' families, was supported by opposition parties and labor unions.

The families accused the government of mishandling the investigation, alleging a "cover-up" of key details. There were claims that victims died from asphyxiation caused by an explosion rather than injuries from the collision, suggesting the explosion may have been triggered by flammable materials allegedly carried illegally on the freight train involved in the accident.

Protesters held banners declaring, "It was not an accident, but a crime," and painted the victims' names in red on the pavement near the parliament. The slogan "I have no oxygen," reportedly spoken by a victim during the incident, echoed at rallies held in Athens. Similar protests were reported in around 100 Greek cities and a dozen other European locations.

The protest turned violent when groups of hooded youths threw rocks and petrol bombs at police, prompting officers to respond with tear gas. Greek police reported that at least four police officers were injured, and 12 suspects were detained.

Meanwhile, a photographer was injured during the clashes. The Foreign Press Association (FPA) of Greece issued a statement expressing solidarity with the injured journalist and condemning police violence. It called for "an immediate and thorough investigation into these incidents" to "identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable."

The train tragedy has led to criminal charges against rail employees and officials, including the stationmaster on duty at a control center near the site of the collision. Survivors and families of victims are also pressing for the prosecution of politicians, blaming ministers for safety system deficiencies and accusing them of a "cover-up." 
Fantasy author Neil Gaiman has been dropped by his longtime comic book publisher after multiple women accused him of sexual assault.

The works of the 64-year-old author, who is best known for properties like Coraline, The Sandman and Good Omens, will no longer be published by Dark Horse Comics, the company announced on Jan. 24 in a post on X.

Dark Horse takes seriously the allegations against Neil Gaiman and we are no longer publishing his works, the Oregon-based company wrote.

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Dark Horse  which publishes comic books, graphic novels and manga  also confirmed in the post that it has cancelled the Anansi Boys comic series, an adaptation of the writers 2005 novel. Seven of the comics in the eight-part series have already been published.

John Nacion/Variety via Getty Neil Gaiman Neil Gaiman

In the wake of the allegations, Gaiman also stepped back from production of the third season of Prime Videos Good Omens adaptation, which will now conclude with a single 90-minute episode, according to Variety.

Disneys The Graveyard Book, a film adaptation of Gaimans 2008 book, has also been paused, and Netflixs Dead Boy Detectives, co-created by Gaiman, has been canceled, though it is not clear whether these moves were directly related to the allegations against the author, per Variety.

The upcoming second season of The Sandman, however, is still expected to release on Netflix as planned, the outlet reported.

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Related: Fairy Tale Adaptations Are Having a Moment  Is Your Childhood Favorite One of Them? (Exclusive)

News of Dark Horse severing ties with the Coraline author comes after the multiple women  including Scarlett Pavlovich, who formerly babysat for the authors son with his ex-wife, Amanda Palmer  spoke on the record about their alleged interactions with the famed novelist in a Jan. 13 Vulture report.

In the report, Pavlovich recalled an alleged instance when she was babysitting Gaimans son at his New Zealand home, and she and the author were alone in the house. Gaiman, who was separated from Palmer at the time, suggested that she take a bath, Pavlovich said.

Pavlovich claimed that while she was in the bathtub, Gaiman joined her, naked, even though she said no, and proceeded to participate in nonconsensual sex acts. Pavlovich also claimed that throughout her time babysitting for the family, Gaiman continued to assault her.

Dave Benett/WireImage Neil Gaiman and ex-wife Amanda Palmer, with whom he shares a son

The allegations detailed in the Vulture report come about six months after the author was first accused of sexual assault in July 2023, when British podcast Master posted six episodes centered on the sexual assault allegations against Gaiman from five different women.

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On Jan. 14, the day after the latest report was published, Gaiman addressed the claims in a lengthy statement posted on his website, writing that he watched the news of the allegations "with horror and dismay."

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"As I read through this latest collection of accounts, there are moments I half-recognize and moments I don't, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen," he wrote in part. "I'm far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever ... At the time I was in those relationships, they seemed positive and happy on both sides."

Related: Wicked, Cross, The Perfect Couple and More: Read These Books Before Watching TV and Movie Adaptations This Year

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The fantasy author also denied "there was any abuse," and wrote that he is "prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made. Im not willing to turn my back on the truth, and I can't accept being described as someone I am not, and cannot and will not admit to doing things I didn't do."

On Jan. 15, Palmer also addressed the allegations in a statement provided to NME. While Ms. Palmer is profoundly disturbed by the allegations that Mr. Gaiman has abused several women, at this time her primary concern is, and must remain, the well-being of her son and therefore, to guard his privacy, she has no comment on these allegations, a representative for Palmer told the outlet.

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Sen. Mitch McConnell (RKy.) does not seem to trust President Donald Trump's foreign policy judgment. In an interview with the Jewish Insider published on Thursday, he called Trump's recent staff choices "alarming" and warned that the administration should steer clear of officials who "make their Obama and Biden predecessors look tough by comparison."

The next day, Fox News ran an article with the headline "Trump's latest hires and fires rankle Iran hawks as new president suggests nuclear deal." The hawks in question were Mark Levin, a former NeverTrumper who hosts a conservative radio show; Kasra Aarabi, director of research at United Against Nuclear Iran, a hawkish nonprofit chaired by Jeb Bush; and an anonymous "Iran expert" who called Trump's hires "very concerning."

It's not just Trump's hires who have the hawks concerned. In a Wednesday interview, Fox News host Sean Hannity tried to goad Trump into saying that he would bomb Iranian nuclear sites and oil refineries. Instead, Trump responded: "I want them to have a great country. They have great potential. The people are amazing. The only thing I've said about Iran is that they can't have a nuclear weapon.There are ways that you can make it absolutely certain if you make a deal."

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Although Trump has postured as both a hawk and a dove at times, his stance towards the Middle East in his first term was aggressively hawkish, almost leading to war with Iran. During the 2024 campaign, Trump signalled more of the same, promising to make Iran broke and help Israel "finish the job" in Gaza. But so far this year, he has secured an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire and signaled loudly that he wants to resolve America's disputes with Iran.

Along with the deal to free Israeli hostages, Trump adviser Elon Musk also reportedly negotiated for Iran to release an Italian journalist a week before Trump's inauguration.

In the process, Trump has purged many Middle East hawks who served in his first term. A few days before his auguration, Trump mocked "disloyal warmongers" in a social media post. He even revoked the government-issued security detail from former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former Special Envoy Brian Hook, who was in charge of Iran.

"Last year, Trump promised he would blow Iran 'to smithereens' if it ever harmed an American presidential candidate. But pulling security away from Americans who need it, in a move seemingly motivated by personal animosity, he leaves America weaker and Tehran emboldened," the editorial board of the hawkish Free Press complained on Friday. "The president calls his whole agenda, 'America First.' This move is just the opposite."

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Two staffers at the neoconservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which had been highly influential during Trump's first term, made a desperate plea in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday for Trump to arm Israel for an attack on Iran and prepare U.S. forces for any Iranian retaliation.

"Many in Mr. Trump's America-first movement would probably rather see Iran go nuclear than have the U.S. pre-emptively destroy Iran's nuclear facilities," they wrote, pointing the finger at Vice President J.D. Vance and conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson.

Other Republican hawks have shied away from such a frontal attack on Trump. Instead, they've been claiming that the president is being misled by bad advisers. The pressure campaign has focused on Mike Dimino, the new assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East; Elbridge Colby, awaiting confirmation as undersecretary of defense for policy; and Steven Witkoff, the special envoy who brokered the Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire and is reportedly responsible for talks with Iran.

"It's amazing to me that over twenty years after the Iraq War, its architects and supporters are stillnot fully in control of America's foreign policy, but certainly influential in it," Carlson said on a Saturday episode of his show. "And it's shocking to me that two months after Trump's landslide victory, a race in which he ran against the neocons, the neocons are still brazen enough to try and influence and sabotage his nominations."

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Much of this pressure campaign has played out in the pages of Jewish Insider, where Republican sources have tried to cast Dimino as an opponent of Israel. In his own interview, McConnell alluded to Dimino without naming him.

Dimino, who served as a CIA officer before working at the libertarian-aligned Defense Priorities Foundation, is certainly not a fan of current U.S. alignments in the Middle East. "If you look at America's experience as the primary security broker in the regionit has not rendered any lasting political, economic, or security benefits in service of U.S. interests or the American people writ large," he said on a February 2024 panel, adding that U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria are "really there to counter Iran and that's really at the behest of the Israelis and the Saudis."

In an October 2023 interview, Dimino warned that "we should steel ourselves against" the risk of U.S. forces getting dragged into Israel's wars, and that "you can't really address any kind of long-term political arrangements in the Gulf or in the Middle East without also addressing" the Palestinian issue.

Fox News' coverage cast Colby, who will be in charge of U.S. military planning for the entire world, as "cut from the same cloth" as Dimino. To be clear, Colby is no anti-establishment dove. He comes from an old national security pedigreehis grandfather, former CIA Director William Colby, was famously described by the beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg as "chief of dirty tricks"and Colby's overriding concern today is preventing China from dominating Asia. But that concern has also made Colby skeptical of U.S. aid to Ukraine and U.S. military commitments in the Middle East.

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"Beijing will not be deterred from attacking Taiwan by actions America takes in Europe or the Middle East. Common sense dictates that it will only be deterred or defeated by the military might made available for Asia," Colby wrote in a July 2023 essay. "Washington needs to hyper-focus on the Western Pacific. It needs to reorient its military and defense industrial base, money, and political capital to urgently strengthen its defenses along the first island chain."

For years, conservatives who support a U.S. drawdown from the Middle East have tried to make common cause with the pro-Israel camp; Vance and Colby have both argued that indirect support to Israel would allow Washington to avoid direct involvement in the region. But the past few months have disproven that theoryand proven Dimino's warnings correct. In addition to funding and arming the Israeli war effort, the U.S. military has had to step in directly several times to shield Israel from Iranian retaliation and the regional spillover of the war.

Witkoff, who is proudly Jewish and ran an explicitly pro-Israel fundraising campaign during the elections, is hard to pidgeonhole as an anti-Israel fanatic. That hasn't stopped some hawks from trying. The anonymous "Iran expert" who spoke to Fox News argued that Dimino and Witkoff are "difficult to detangle, very concerning."

Soon after the November 2024 elections, Insider zeroed in on Witkoff's real estate dealings in Qatar, the oil-rich Arab monarchy that is a rival with Saudi Arabia. Months later, in a Fox News interview about the ceasefire, Witkoff thanked Qatar for its "enormously helpful" role in the talks and promised to visit Gaza in person.

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For some hawks, that was confirmation that Witkoff was a Qatari stooge. Britain's Israel Advocacy Movement posted a clip of Witkoff's Fox News appearance, claiming that he has a "serious conflict of interest" with Qatar and questioning whether he can be trusted. Michael Pregent, a former intelligence officer and frequent congressional witness during the first Trump administrated, released a social media video claiming that Witkoff "has been cajoled by Qatar" and "is fucking up already."

Trump, however, seems pretty happy with Witkoff, who is his personal friend from their years in the real estate business. "He's done a fantastic job. He's a great negotiator," the president said at an executive order signing ceremony. "Steve has a wonderful way about him and people like him. And even in this case, both sides like him, and he was able to make a deal. That deal would have never been made without Steve."

Voters are happy, too. A recent Data for Progress poll shows 78 percent of Americans approving of the Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire. Rather than a consequence of wily advisers and palace intrigue, Trump's dovish shift on the Middle East might just be a genuine attempt to fulfill one of the most popular parts of his agenda.

"We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into," Trump said during his inaugural address. "My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That's what I want to be, a peacemaker and a unifier."

The post Neocons Wage a Rearguard Action Against Trump's Middle East Peace Drive appeared first on Reason.com.
(Photo: April Corbin Girnus/Nevada Current)

The Nevada Supreme Court on Monday declared an Uber-backed petition initiative to cap attorneys fees in civil cases legally deficient, blocking its direct path to consideration by lawmakers in the upcoming session.

But proponents of the measure are already vowing to keep their efforts alive.

The Nevadans for Fair Recovery Act, whose political action committee was entirely funded by the rideshare giant, would have created a 20% cap on contingent attorney fees in civil actions. It was pitched to voters through the signature petition process as a reform that would ensure money from legal settlements and awards goes to victims and not greedy attorneys.

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But opponents, led by a group of trial attorneys under the name Uber Sexual Assault Survivors for Legal Accountability and the Nevada Justice Association, argued the petition was designed to prevent lawsuits against deep-pocketed corporations by limiting victims legal options.

Uber funneled $5 million into Nevadans for Fair Recovery last year, according to campaign finance reports. The company is the sole source of funding for the PAC.

The Nevada Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the initiatives description of effect was misleading and confusing. The decision reverses an earlier district court ruling in favor of the rideshare company and its PAC.

The petition will no longer be sent to the Nevada State Legislature for consideration during its upcoming session, which begins next week, or to voters on the 2026 general election ballot, where it would have gone if no legislative action were taken. More than 200,000 Nevadans signed the petition in support of the proposal.

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Nevadans for Fair Recovery in a statement described the verdict as an unprecedented decision by the Supreme Court to side against victims and voters in favor of billboard attorneys.

The justices have protected a system that enables attorneys to fly on private jets, while everyday Nevadans foot the bill, the statement read.

Nevadans for Fair Recovery said they plan to pursue an aggressive campaign to educate voters about how billboard attorneys have rigged the system to put their interests over Nevadans. That campaign is expected to include ads released in the upcoming weeks.

Attorney Deepak Gupta, who represented Uber Sexual Assault Survivors for Legal Accountability and Nevada Justice Association, called the Supreme Court decision a victory for Nevadans.

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At a moment when (Uber) faces thousands of sexual-assault claims, the initiative would have allowed it to hire the best and most expensive attorneys, with no limits on its lawyers fees, while placing unprecedented limits on ordinary peoples ability to secure legal representation, he said in a statement. Todays decision is a big win for access to justice.

Uber is currently fighting a class action lawsuit that consolidated more than 1,500 cases in at least 29 states, as well as an additional 500 related cases in California state court, according to lawyers working on the litigation.
A Newport News firefighter and medic was arrested on charges including sexual assault of a child and child pornography.

The Newport News city government identified the firefighter as 31-year-old Alex Buenaga and said he was arrested by the Suffolk Police Department on Friday. He is being held at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail.

According to the jails website, Buenaga is being charged with possessing, producing and transmitting child pornography, two counts of sexual assault with a victim under 13, a charge related to child abuse and neglect, and charges related to drug possession.

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Suffolk police spokesperson Mandy Bartholomew said Buenagas arrest was made in relation to an ongoing FBI investigation. She provided no further details, noting the investigation is still active.

Newport News officials said Buenaga has been placed on administrative leave without pay. According to a city spokesperson, he was hired in 2017 and was earning a salary of $71,106.

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com
ROCK HILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  Two years after a teenager lost his life to suicide amid what officials say was a sextortion scheme, a man has been extradited to the United States to face charges, United States Attorney Adair Ford Boroughs announced alongside federal, state and law enforcement Monday.

Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, of the state of Osun in Nigeria, has been extradited to the U.S.

In July 2022, Rock Hill resident Gavin Guffey, 17, lost his life to suicide after falling victim to a sextortion scheme reportedly created by Lawal.

State Rep. Brandon Guffey holds an image of his son Gavin.

SC Gov. McMaster signs Gavins Law sextortion bill in Rock Hill

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According to authorities, Lawal pretended to be a young woman on social media and coerced Guffey to send nude photos. Lawal then threatened to ruin Guffeys reputation by releasing the images unless the minor sent money.

Lawal is charged with the following:

Child exploitation resulting in death

Production and distribution of child sexual abuse material

Coercion and enticement of a minor

Cyberstalking resulting in death

Interstate threats with the internet to extort

Aiding/ abetting

In the cyberstalking and extortion charges, officials state that Lawal also targeted Guffeys family after his death.

Lawal faces up to life in prison. A prison sentence is mandatory for several of his charges and the child exploitation resulting in death charge alone requires a minimum 30-year sentence. Lawal will also be forced to pay any restitution the court orders to the Guffey family.

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Boroughs said as part of the extradition agreement, the U.S. Attorneys Office would not seek the death penalty.

If you use the internet to exploit children in our state, you will be held accountable here in our courts, Boroughs said. We will not allow predators to hide behind a keyboard or across an ocean.

A grand jury returned an indictment in Oct. 2023. With the help of Nigerian law enforcement, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents out of the Columbia, S.C., office took custody of Lawal on Jan. 24, 2025, in Lagos, Nigeria.

This indictment represents the culmination of countless hours of dedicated work done by our investigators both here and abroad, said Steve Jensen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Columbia Field Office. The defendants alleged actions are reprehensible resulting in the tragic loss of a young mans life. We remain steadfast in our commitment to holding criminals accountable, especially those who target our children and endanger their lives, no matter where they are.

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In Aug. 2023, Gavins Law was signed to make these types of crimes an aggravated felony. A major push behind this law and several other past bills was Gavins father, S.C. Representative Brandon Guffey.

I would hope that he is proud, said Guffey told Queen City News on the day the law was signed. I think if he were here today, he would realize what a mistake it was that he made. And how he reacted quickly to a situation that could have been solved.

He reflected further on Monday.

He was just a light and not somebody that you would ever  and thats what makes the crime of sextortion so horrific, throughout all these, parents think theres been over 40 deaths of teens publicly since Gavin and whenever I have talked with these parents and worked with these parents, he said.

Queen City News

Gavin Guffey

Nigerian authorities were critical in identifying, investigating, arresting and extraditing Lawal, Boroughs office reports.

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We will not allow predators who target our children to hide behind a keyboard or across the ocean. Today we honor Gavins life and continue our fight against sextortion by holding this defendant accountable, said U.S. Attorney Boroughs. This investigation and extradition are the result of tremendous law enforcement coordination both in the United States and Nigeria. Were grateful to the many agencies who helped make this day possible.

The U.S. Department of Justices Office of International Affairs (OIA), the State Department, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigerian Attorney Generals Office  Ministry of Justice and numerous other agencies were all involved in this case. This was also part of Project Safe Childhood.

If you or someone you know is a victim of sextortion, please report it to local law enforcement and to the FBI. You can report it to your local FBI office, by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or online aon at tips.fbi.gov.

Resources for parents, caregivers and teachers can be found on the FBIs website.

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If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
ROCK HILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  Two years after a teenager lost his life to suicide amid what officials say was a sextortion scheme, a man has been extradited to the United States to face charges, United States Attorney Adair Ford Boroughs and federal, state and law enforcement announced Monday.

Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, of the state of Osun in Nigeria, has been extradited to the U.S.

In July 2022, Rock Hill resident Gavin Guffey, 17, lost his life to suicide after falling victim to a sextortion scheme reportedly created by Lawal.

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According to authorities, Lawal pretended to be a young woman on social media and coerced Guffy to send nude photos. Lawal then threatened to ruin Guffeys reputation by releasing the images unless the minor sent money.

Lawal is charged with the following:

Child exploitation resulting in death

Production and distribution of child sexual abuse material

Coercion and enticement of a minor

Cyberstalking resulting in death

Interstate threats with the internet to extort

Aiding/ abetting

In the cyberstalking and extortion charges, officials state that Lawal also targeted Guffeys family. Lawal faces up to life in prison. A prison sentence is mandatory for several of his charges and the child exploitation resulting in death charge alone requires a minimum 30-year sentence. Lawal will also be forced to pay any restitution the court orders to the Guffey family.

A grand jury returned an indictment in Oct. 2023. With the help of Nigerian law enforcement, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents out of the Columbia, S.C., office took custody of Lawal on Jan. 24, 2025, in Lagos, Nigeria.

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This indictment represents the culmination of countless hours of dedicated work done by our investigators both here and abroad, said Steve Jensen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Columbia Field Office. The defendants alleged actions are reprehensible resulting in the tragic loss of a young mans life. We remain steadfast in our commitment to holding criminals accountable, especially those who target our children and endanger their lives, no matter where they are.

In Aug. 2023, Gavins Law was signed to make these types of crimes an aggravated felony. A major push behind this law and several other past bills was Gavins father, S.C. Representative Brandon Guffey.

I would hope that he is proud, said Rep. Guffey told Queen City News on the day the law was signed. I think if he were here today, he would realize what a mistake it was that he made. And how he reacted quickly to a situation that could have been solved.

The only good I can get out of losing my son is to know I can protect other parents from ever having to face this pain and protecting teens from ever having to go through this, Rep. Guffey told QCN in April 2023.

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Nigerian authorities were critical in identifying, investigating, arresting and extraditing Lawal, Boroughs office reports.

We will not allow predators who target our children to hide behind a keyboard or across the ocean. Today we honor Gavins life and continue our fight against sextortion by holding this defendant accountable, said U.S. Attorney Boroughs. This investigation and extradition are the result of tremendous law enforcement coordination both in the United States and Nigeria. Were grateful to the many agencies who helped make this day possible.

The U.S. Department of Justices Office of International Affairs (OIA), the State Department, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigerian Attorney Generals Office  Ministry of Justice and numerous other agencies were all involved in this case. This was also part of Project Safe Childhood.

If you or someone you know is a victim of sextortion, please report it to local law enforcement and to the FBI. You can report it to your local FBI office, by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov.

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Resources for parents, caregivers and teachers can be found on the FBIs website.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Rep. Brandon Guffey, R-Rock Hill, holds a photo of his late son, Gavin Guffey, outside the federal courthouse in Columbia on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette)

COLUMBIA  A Nigerian man was charged Monday with sexually exploiting a legislators child over social media, causing the 17-year-old to kill himself.

Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, a 24-year-old from Nigeria, is suspected of posing as a young woman on Instagram in 2022 in order to coerce Gavin Guffey, as well as several other people, into sending him explicit photos. Lawal then threatened to leak those photos unless Guffey continued to send him money, prosecutors said in a federal arraignment hearing Monday.

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Guffey died by suicide July 27, 2022, because of those threats.

Its a special day to know that were going to get some type of justice, that were beginning that fight, said his father, Rep. Brandon Guffey, R-Rock Hill, who was first elected to the House months later.

After Gavin Guffeys death, Lawal kept demanding money from his cousin, brother and father in exchange for not releasing Gavin Guffeys nude photos. Lawal threatened to ruin Brandon Guffeys political career and embarrass the family, prosecutors said Monday.

Instead, Guffey made it his mission to prevent other children from becoming victims. The Legislature passed Gavins Law, named after Guffeys son, in 2023, which bans sexual extortion, or sextortion. Guffey still wears a button on his lapel that shows the last text his son sent: <3. (Two characters that form a sideways heart.)

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Lawal faces federal charges of child exploitation resulting in death; child pornography distribution; coercion and enticement of a minor; cyberstalking resulting in death; and interstate threats with the intent to extort. If convicted, Lawal could face up to life in prison.

Investigators found texts on Lawals phone that was sent to the Guffeys and at least nine other people, six of whom were minors, prosecutors said.

The facts of this case I think are every parents worst nightmare, said federal magistrate Shiva Hodges, who is overseeing the case.

Law enforcement brought Lawal from Nigeria to the United States on Saturday. Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty, for which Lawal would be eligible, in exchange for Nigerian authorities handing him over, said prosecutor Elliott Daniels.

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Lawal potentially worked with other people, but officials declined to give any more information, saying those investigations are ongoing.

Bringing a suspect from another country is a rare and complicated process, in which two governments must agree on charges and other specifics of the crime, said Steven Jensen, special agent in charge of the FBIs Columbia office.

Authorities have brought people from Nigeria to the United States in at least two other cases involving sexual exploitation, but this was the first in South Carolina, said U.S. District Attorney Adair Ford Boroughs.

That South Carolina officials were able to track down Lawal and bring him stateside to face charges is a testament to their determination to get justice for Gavin Guffey and show potential perpetrators how serious they are about these crimes, Boroughs said.

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I hope the message is clear: If you use the internet to exploit children in our state, you will be held accountable in our courts, Boroughs said. We will not allow predators to hide behind a keyboard or across an ocean.

Calls for stricter laws

In the years since Gavin Guffeys death, Rep. Brandon Guffey has fought to combat not only sextortion but other cyber crimes.

Gavins Law, which was signed in May 2023 after unanimously passing both chambers, makes it illegal for anyone to demand something in exchange for not releasing their nude photos.

The state law did not have any bearing on Lawals case. He was charged under federal law because the use of social media crossed national borders. But Gavins Law and the publicity around Gavin Guffeys death likely saved countless other teenagers lives, said Mark Keel, chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

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We will never know how many kids the Guffey family has saved in their passionate pursuit of justice for Gavin, Keel said.

While Lawals arrest is a step toward justice for Gavin, officials must do more to protect children, Guffey said.

Between January and October 2024, the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children received more than 456,000 reports of online enticement, which includes sextortion. That was an increase from 186,800 in 2023, according to the national nonprofit.

While federal and state law allowed Lawal to be charged, there is more work to be done to strengthen those laws, Guffey said.

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For instance, social media websites are not required to do anything to prevent or address exploitation on their platforms, he said. After Gavin Guffeys death, Instagram did not take down the account that had exploited him, allowing that person to continue contacting Guffeys family, the state representative said.

Congress could help by passing a proposal dubbed the Kids Online Safety Act, Guffey said.

The bill passed the Senate 91-3 in July but never made it to the House floor before the last Congress adjourned, meaning the legislative process has to start over. It would make social media platforms legally responsible for protecting children on their apps and websites from sexual exploitation, among other harms.

State and federal laws also do not address images created by artificial intelligence, which can create fake nude images that can be used to exploit people, Guffey said.

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Legislation to restrict deepfake porn in South Carolina passed the state Senate last year but failed in the House.

What happens if those images that were used to extort Gavin were completely AI? Guffey said. Then those federal charges dont work quite the same.

Aside from more legal protections, the best thing parents can do is talk to their children about dangers on the internet and what to do if someone does try to exploit them, Guffey said.

In the years since Gavins death, Brandon Guffey has traveled the state, speaking to parents and teenagers about exploitation. Many parents in similar situations tell him they had no idea what was happening until it was too late, he said.

The crime just targets your deepest, darkest shame, and kids dont feel like theres another way out, Guffey said.
A man from Nigeria is behind bars after the FBI says he extorted a local lawmakers son into sending him explicit photos.

South Carolina Rep. Brandon Guffeys son died by suicide in 2022.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: SC lawmaker suing Meta after sextortion leads to sons suicide

U.S. Attorney Adair Ford Boroughs said the suspect, 24-year-old Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, posed as a college girl and asked for explicit photos from Guffeys son.

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After he sent them, Lawal threatened to release the photos online. Guffeys son, Gavin died by suicide.

The indictment says Lawal used two Instagram accounts  one to communicate with Gavin. When Instagram deactivated that account following Gavins death, feds say Lawal created a new account to try to extort the family.

Just two weeks after Gavins funeral, Guffey received a message on Instagram from an unknown account with a laughing emoji. Guffey said family members on Gavins followers list received similar messages.

Guffey said one of the messages read, Did I tell you your son begged for his life?

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The indictment says both Instagram accounts had the same Nigerian phone number on file.

Nigeria officials matched that phone number to bank records to identify the suspect.

Its like identifying a subject in any investigation, Steve Jensen, with the FBI, said. Theres a bread trail left behind by every suspect. Digital dust if you will.

The five-count federal indictment charged Lawal with child exploitation resulting in death, the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of a minor, cyberstalking resulting in death, interstate threats with intent to extort, and aiding/abetting.

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Officials said the indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in S.C. in October 2023. On Friday, following extradition proceedings in Nigeria, agents with the FBI Columbia Field Office took custody of Lawal in Lagos, Nigeria.

Investigators have a warning.

We will not allow predators who target our children to hide behind a keyboard or across the ocean, Boroughs said. This investigation and extradition are the result of tremendous law enforcement coordination both in the United States and Nigeria. Were grateful to the many agencies who helped make this day possible.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: SC Rep. Guffey helps teen victims of sextortion

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York County Sheriff Tony Breedan said there is a battle to be won.

We have drawn a line in the sand in the battle of good and evil for our children. I think the message we said early on was we will hunt someone down to the ends of the earth if they hurt our kids, said Breedan.

Leading the charge

Since then, Guffey has led the charge against sextortion.

A bill he introduced was passed into law in 2023, and it increases penalties for anyone trying to extort someone over their intimate photos or data.

Channel 9s Joe Bruno was in federal court in Columbia Monday and said that as a condition of extradition, the U.S. agreed to not pursue the death penalty.

Breaking: a man from Nigeria is charged in connection with the sextortion of the late son of South Carolina Rep. Brandon Guffey. He just appeared in court. US Attorneys office will hold a presser soon @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/EMbw48dbOP  Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) January 27, 2025

Hold him accountable

Guffey left the federal courthouse with a photo of his late son Gavin.

Rep. Brandon Guffey holds a photo of his son, Gavin, during an arraignment in a sextortion case. Gavin died by suicide.

I cant save Gavin but I can hope to save other kids in pushing forward, Guffey said.

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He says the arrest is a step toward justice and more needs to be done.

We brought Lawal here to hold him accountable for his crimes and we will continue to fight to not only save kids like Gavin but to save additional kids that might feel like Gavin did, Guffey said.

Can no longer hide

Federal authorities also have a warning.

You can no longer hide in the basement of a faraway country without fear of being arrested, extradited and brought here to face the families of those you have torn apart, said Chief Mark Keel, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Investigators believe the suspect was working with at least one other person so more arrests are possible in the future. They traveled to Nigeria last week to bring Lawal here and say there is no limit to where they will go to get justice.

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Lawal now faces up to life in prison, and mandatory minimum prison sentences on multiple counts, officials said.

Check wsoctv.com for the latest.

(WATCH BELOW: SC Gov signs sextortion bill after death of representatives son)
STORM LAKE, Iowa (KCAU)  UPDATE (11:18 a.m.): A man who got in a standoff with law enforcement in Storm Lake Sunday is dead after authorities returned fire.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety said in a release that the Buena Vista County Sheriffs Office stopped a pickup truck for speeding outside of Storm Lake Sunday around 8 a.m. The driver, Daniel Joseph James Palenik, 45, was allegedly uncooperative and made threats towards law enforcement. He then fled from the traffic stop at a high rate of speed.

Later that morning, authorities found Palenik at his Storm Lake residence where he barricaded himself. Around 10 a.m., authorities then started to have residents near the 300 block of Oneida Street evacuate as law enforcement set up a perimeter.

Around 4 p.m., the release said that Palenik fired at officers. Multiple law enforcement agencies were then called in for support. Palenik continued to fire rounds at authorities throughout the afternoon and evening, hitting vehicles and equipment.

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Monday around 3 a.m., officials said Palenik fired rounds at law enforcement again with officers returning fire and hitting Palenik. He died at the scene.

As part of department policy, the officers involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative leave.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the incident.

PREVIOUS (8:25 a.m.): The Storm Lake Police Department said that an incident involving a barricaded subject shooting at officers that started Sunday morning has resolved Monday morning.

The Storm Lake PD provided an update Monday at 5:37 a.m. that there is no longer a threat to the public after a barricade incident near 3rd and Oneida Streets. Roads in the area have also been reopened with nearby residents being able to return home after being asked to evacuate Sunday.

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There are few details about what took place, but officials said more details will be provided later Monday. They also said that there will still be heavy police presence in the area as investigators process the scene.

Sunday at 9:08 a.m., the police department posted on Facebook asking people living near the intersection of 3rd and Oneida Streets to evacuate due to threats involving guns. They also asked everyone to avoid the area. The incident started earlier in the morning after a vehicle pursuit ended at a residence there.

At 2:36 p.m., the Storm Lake PD provided an update saying they were working with the Buena Vista County Sheriffs Department, Buena Vista County Attorneys Office and the Iowa State Patrol to address the incident safely and effectively.

In another Facebook post at 4:55 p.m., authorities said an individual was barricaded and actively firing at officers. Anyone who hadnt evacuated at the time was asked to shelter in place, remaining indoors and staying away from any windows or doors.

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MADRID (AP)  Spain attracted a record 94 million tourists last year, making the Southern European nation famous for its Mediterranean coastline, sweeping landscapes and historic cities among the most visited countries on earth.

The surge in visitors has stoked complaints at times from some Spaniards about overtourism,  with concerns about overcrowding, water use and particularly the availability and affordability of housing.

Spain's government has started listening to demands for more regulation, particularly around housing in Spain's big cities, where rising home and rental prices have become a key concern for voters. Earlier this month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez introduced a 12-part plan to tackle the housing crisis, with measures aimed at bringing stricter regulations to short-term rentals that mainly cater to tourists.

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But that doesn't mean Spain is putting the brakes on tourism, an industry that accounts for about 12% of its GDP.

Here's what you should know before planning a visit:

Is Spain restricting tourists?

No, but some cities have started to regulate tourism rental properties.

Malaga, an Andalusian port city on the southern Mediterranean coast of Spain, will prohibit new rental properties in 43 neighborhoods of the city where those rentals exceed 8% of the residential stock. The policy went into effect earlier this month and will be tested for three years.

Meanwhile, Barcelona plans to close down all of its 10,000 apartments licensed as short-term rentals in the coming years to safeguard the housing supply for full-time residents. The Mediterranean city known for its beaches, art and surrealist architecture announced last year that it would not renew any new tourism apartment licenses after they expire in 2028.

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Can tourists still book hotels and other accommodation?

Yes. Tourists can book hotel stays and short-term apartment-style rentals just about anywhere in Spain.

What's prompting Spain to take these measures?

Spain is in the throes of a growing housing affordability problem. Skyrocketing rents are particularly acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where incomes have failed to keep up, especially for young people. Housing prices are also steadily rising, especially in cities and coastal areas.

Short-term contracts mainly offered for tourists are seen as driving up rental costs for locals, too.

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What else should visitors know before booking travel?

Visitors renting a car in Spain or booking hotel stays will also have to file more paperwork thanks to a new law that requires hotel owners and car rental companies to send personal information to the government for national security reasons.

Passport details, home addresses and payment information used by travelers above 14 are among the details that will be collected.
BRUSSELS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Tesla and BMW have joined Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers in challenging the European Union's (EU) tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, filing cases with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), according to the court's website.

The automakers' lawsuits follow similar filings last week by Chinese EV manufacturers BYD, Geely, and SAIC, contesting the EU's additional import tariffs of up to over 35 percent.

European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill confirmed at a press conference on Monday that the EU is prepared to respond to the case in court.

Despite strong opposition from industry stakeholders in EU member states, the Commission moved forward with its proposal to impose countervailing tariffs on Chinese EVs in October.

Under the EU tariff scheme, U.S. automaker Tesla, which manufactures vehicles in China, faces a duty of 7.8 percent after requesting an individual review. BMW, which also produces certain models in China, is subject to a 20.7-percent duty. Tariffs for Chinese manufacturers vary: 17 percent for BYD, 18.8 percent for Geely, and 35.3 percent for SAIC.

China appealed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in November last year against the EU's final ruling on countervailing measures targeting Chinese EVs. 
If lawmakers approve Gov. Kristi Noem's proposal to cut the state tobacco prevention fund, anti-tobacco advocates say more children are likely to use tobacco and nicotine products, more adults will die early and the state will pay millions of dollars in new health care costs over the long run.

Since 2007, South Dakota has allocated $5 million annually to a fund that pays for programs to help tobacco users give up the habit and to prevent children and adults from ever starting.

The money pays for counseling services through the South Dakota Quitline, for medications to help people kick the addictive habit and for state and local tobacco-prevention programs.

Cigarette smoking is on the decline in South Dakota, but the risks of cancer, heart disease and other illnesses remain high for smokers. These cigarettes were on display at BJ's Country Store in Black Hawk, S.D. on Jan. 21, 2025.

South Dakota lawmakers: Lab-grown meat should be clearly labeled

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The money comes from the state tax on annual sales of tobacco products, mainly cigarettes, and was part of Initiated Measure 2 that voters passed in 2006 to raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1 and increase the taxes on other tobacco products.

The ballot measure also dictated that the first $30 million in tobacco taxes would go to the state general fund and the next $5 million would go to a new Tobacco Prevention and Reduction Trust Fund, which pays for the South Dakota Tobacco Control Program.

Tobacco tax revenues over the $35 million level would also flow into the general fund. IM 2 passed with almost 61% of the vote.

This year, Noem has proposed cutting the funding of the tobacco control program to $2 million a year, a 60% reduction. According to Senate Bill 54, the other $3 million would be sent to the state's general fund each year moving forward.

Critics of the tobacco industry say flavored products, such as these pouches on sale Jan. 21, 2025, at BJ's Country Store in Black Hawk, S.D., are attractive to youth users.

Aberdeen dining scene: Jersey Mikes opens new sub shop

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A spokeswoman for the state Department of Health, which administers the tobacco prevention program, told News Watch that the program's success at preventing tobacco use is the reason the funding can now be cut.

"The program has a track record of success, and we have seen a downward trend in tobacco use," DOH spokeswoman Tia Kafka wrote in an email. "As a result, the governors budget proposal right-sizes funding of tobacco prevention dollars.

State records show that the state spent about $5.3 million on tobacco and nicotine prevention in fiscal year 2024, with $4.9 million in contracted services for the state program and about $382,000 on grants and subsidies to local prevention organizations.

The major expenditures, according to state contracts, were $1 million to Vilas Pharmacy of Pierre for tobacco cessation medications and $824,000 to Avera Health Plans to provide "telephone and other tobacco cessation counseling and support services for the SD Quitline."

Tobacco products sold in South Dakota, including these displayed on Jan. 21, 2025, at BJ's Country Store in Black Hawk, S.D., range far beyond traditional cigarettes.

South Dakota tobacco tax revenue

Tobacco tax revenues have fallen steadily over time in South Dakota. In fiscal year 2014, the state collected $52 million in state cigarette taxes and another $7.4 million in other tobacco taxes, for a total of $59.4 million.

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In fiscal 2024, state cigarette tax collections were $44 million and other tobacco tax collections were $11.8 million, for a total of $55.8 million, according to the Department of Revenue.

Colin Keeler of the state Bureau of Finance and Management, said the health department will use the remaining $2 million in tobacco tax money and about $1 million in tobacco prevention money the state already receives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fund tobacco programs at an annual rate of $3 million.

But at that level of funding, South Dakota will fall even further below the CDC's recommendation of $12 million in annual spending on tobacco prevention for the state.

Even though tobacco use is dramatically down in South Dakota, an average of 1,300 people die each year from smoking-related illnesses and the state spends an estimated $433 million annually on associated health costs, according to the American Cancer Society.

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The number of adult cigarette smokers in the U.S. and South Dakota has declined sharply and steadily over the past several decades.

South Dakota smoking rates

In South Dakota, 15% of adults were smokers in 2023, compared to 11% nationally, according to the lung association.

Smoking rates among Native Americans have also declined but not as much, and Native Americans smoke at roughly double the rate of non-Native adults in South Dakota and the U.S.

Youth tobacco use nationally has declined over the past few decades, especially when it comes to cigarette smoking, with 34.8% of high school students smoking at least once in the past 30 days in 1995 compared to 1.4% in 2024, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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In South Dakota, according to a 2022 statewide survey, 5.5% of high school students reported smoking cigarettes in the past 30 days and 15.8% reported using vaping devices in the past month.

Jodi Radke, South Dakota representative of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said her organization estimates that cutting tobacco prevention funding by 60% will increase youth smoking rates by 5%, lead 300 more children to become adult smokers, with 100 of those dying prematurely, and create $4.8 million in new health care costs due to smoking-related illnesses over the next few decades.

"Funding tobacco control is critical to impacting youth rates, so to cut funding from that really does impact outcomes in terms of kids becoming lifelong users," Radke said.

Ben Hanson, South Dakota policy director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said the funding cut is a "rob Peter to pay Paul" maneuver the governor is using in a tight revenue year to fund other projects, such as $4 million in new spending on education savings accounts. Noem also has proposed cutting funding to the state library system and to South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

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"This isn't a haircut, this is gutting the fund," he said. "We're going to talk to each legislator one by one, and let them know the history of this and hopefully create a positive outcome.

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they're published. Contact Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Noem proposes to cut SD tobacco prevention program funding
SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah (ABC4)  Adopt-A-Native-Elder hosted their annual Winter Stories event to raise money for Navajo Elders as they face hardships on the reservation.

According to Roger Williams, a cultural consultant, the organization has been preserving Navajo culture, art, and language for decades. Sundays event furthered the mission with music, food, and the sharing of traditional native stories. The event comes just days after a series of executive orders signed by President Trump have amped up immigration enforcement among groups with non-traditional documentation status, including tribal members.

We have to take care of the Earth, our mother. We cant abuse her. We cant hurt or destroy her or her children, Williams said.

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Navajo Nation firefighters battle wildfires in Los Angeles

Adopt-A-Native-Elder aims to not only reduce extreme poverty but also support members of Navajo Nation who are facing hardship.

According to the 25th Navajo Nation Council, several tribal members have been detained and questioned by ICE agents since the wave of executive orders were signed.

Navajo Nation Council calls on President Buu Nygren to address ICE targeting tribal members.

Senator Theresa Hatathlie, a Navajo Congressmember representing Arizona, says some tribal members have been detained despite having Certificates of Indian Blood (CIB).

Spiritual leaders fear potential horror of ICE agents raiding churches, schools

Many tribal members struggle with documentation, which has worsened under the recent ICE sweeps, Hatathlie said adding that many agents will not recognize CIBs as proof of citizenship.

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This new policy is very, very shocking that our people are being bullied, played with, and asked to show evidence of their right to be here when all of this [land] was Indian country, said Eileen Quintana, a member of Navajo Nation.

As ICE sweeps continue, Adopt-A-Native-Elder will continue raising money and collecting donations as they prepare to bring an estimated capacity of seven semi-trucks to the Navajo Reservation in the Spring. The organization will deliver boxes of food, medicine, clothes, water, produce, and yarn.

ABC4 has reached out to ICE for comment but has yet to receive a response.

This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Norah ODonnell has grilled world leaders and Supreme Court justices. She has hosted a morning show and anchored CBS Evening News, addressing the American people from the same chair that Walter Cronkite once occupied. After a decade of overtures and countless letters, she finally landed an interview with the Pope in May 2024a feat that not even her idol Barbara Walters was able to pull off. She has long dreamed of writing a book titled The Art of the Questionan ode to the rhetorical device she sees as foundational to her discipline. These past few months, she has been asking one of herself: Can you leave on top?

She will soon find out.

On January 23, ODonnell signed off from Evening News. Oprah taped a surprise video message for the occasion. Her staff surrounded her lucite desk. And while ODonnell will remain at the network as a contributor to all of its news broadcasts, including Evening News and 60 Minutes, this moment marks the indisputable end of an era.

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In the time since she assumed the role in 2019, ODonnell has covered the end of the first Trump administration, an earth-shattering pandemic, several strains of natural disasters, two presidential elections, one presidential funeral, and the first week of the second Trump administration. She has cut vacations short, woken up before dawn, hurried to the scene of a mass shooting, and scurried back to Washington, D.C. to make it to her studio for primetime. She has broadcast from an airport carrier near the South China Sea and produced segments for Evening News and 60 Minutes with missiles falling around her.

CBS News/ Adam Verdugo

Over Christmas, with the end of her tenure at Evening News on the horizon, she unplugged for two weeks for the first time ever with her husband, the chef Geoff Tracy, and three children. I did say, If something breaks out in the world, I cannot leave or else my husband will divorce me, she says, laughing. She didnt answer emails. She deferred decisions until she was back in the office. It was a preview of her future, and she liked it.

Its been like sipping water from a firehouse, she says of the gig she has held until now when we sit down over Zoom a few weeks before her final taping. And while I thoroughly enjoy it, because I love the news and am insatiably curious about whats happening in the world, its also hard. We get the call, we move. Its a privilege to have a front row seat to history. But it is sometimes anxiety-provoking. She worries that given how reluctant journalists are to draw attention to themselves, its an element of their work that few discuss. Freer now, she is not so reticent: I am open about saying it has led me to therapy.

ODonnell, 51, leaned in for decades, never complaining about the demands of the job. That head-down approach worked for her. After starting in journalism as a writer for Roll Call, she moved on to NBC where she popped up on Today, served as White House correspondent for NBC News, and anchored Weekend Today. When she made the switch to CBS, she was named chief White House correspondent and later co-anchor of CBS This Morning. Getting tapped for Evening News was the final promotion. The peak that reporters hope to summit; one from which most do not descend unless pushed.

Michele Crowe / CBS News

Except ODonnell is not the lone woman looking for a path down the mountain. A week before ODonnells departure from Evening News, Hoda Kotb bid audiences farewell at Today. Soon Andrea Mitchell will end her noontime show on MSNBC, although she will continue to report for both the cable network and NBC News. When Kotb announced that she was leaving the iconic morning show, she said she had reached the top of the wave and wanted to give her children more of her attention. Mitchell framed her decision in terms of resource allocation too, telling viewers she hoped the move would give her time to do more of what I love the most: more connecting, listening and reporting in the field.

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Individual motivations differ, but the trio of exits underscores certain universal realities: star anchors are expensive, broadcast and cable news are in decline, presidential elections are natural inflection points, and journalism is no longer Cronkites business. The ladder that ODonnell climbed is now as splintered as the media landscape itself.



The women who have followed behind her know it. Were all seeing the same broader trends in the landscape, says Dasha Burns, a Trumpworld expert who up until a few months ago was an on-camera correspondent and rising star at NBC News. A generation ago, someone like Burns, 32, might have chased the anchor chair. Instead, she announced in December she was leaving network TV to serve as the White House bureau chief for Politico. The idea of what is the best, the highest, the most powerful perch in news has completely changed, Burns says. I dont know that there is one anymore. There isnt that one pinnacle, and I think thats exciting.

CBS News/ Adam Verdugo

Burns has no time for nostalgia. ODonnell is leaving hers behind as well. Ive worked so hard, and the people Ive worked with have worked so hard, she says. Does part of me wish that I could have been doing it during the era of Cronkite? Well, sure. But there were limitations then toofor both men and women.



I think were going to see more change in journalism in the next 18 to 24 months than weve seen in the last 20 years, ODonnell continues. Theres just an entire realignment. As much as she believes in the power of the industry, she remains candid about its dire need to innovate. How can it be transformed? How can journalists reach new viewerson their phones, not tuned into primetime, skeptical of the status quo. No one has figured that out yet, she says. She wants to try.

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The media changed quite some time ago, says Connie Chung, the famed newscaster who co-anchored CBS Evening News a generation before ODonnell and made history as an Asian-American woman on television before being ousted from the job. Economics, social media, audience preferencesall have factored into the diminishment of the news business, Chung, 78, says. Incentives evolve, publications chase new metrics, and consumers lose. I think the average person, including me, cannot find a good source of information for just plain news, she says. We bounce around from one to the next. Its so frustrating.

Still, it hasnt escaped her attention that its the most seasoned women who seem to be headed for the proverbial exits first. On Evening News, two men will take over for ODonnell. Craig Melvin is replacing Kotb at Today. The situation with women is not good, Chung says. I think women in this country have taken several steps back for so many reasons. Were wondering how is it ever going to stop? When is the pendulum going to swing back? In journalism, as in America, progress is by inches, she says. And its easily reversed.

CBS News / Jon Morgan

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ODonnell stresses that it was her decision to leave Evening News. In the weeks after her interview with Pope Francis aired, she started to have conversations with executives about her eventual departure. She announced her plan to step down over the summer. The extended lead time made for a long goodbye, but ODonnell was insistent. We made this choice after discussing what happens next, how best to utilize my talents, she says. What was really important for me, because of the type of ridiculous, gossip-page crap that gets written about women, was to have a timeline that made it very clear that this was exactly what I wanted to do and that I was in control of my future.

Plus, she points out, she is staying at the network. Shes not starting a Substack or incorporating a new media company. She has no interest in striking out on her own. I have so much respect for entrepreneurs, because creating something out of nothing is really hard to do, she says. I think CBS News is the best at long-form journalism and has the best producers and editors, and I dont want to leave.

ODonnell insists this is just the beginning, and those who know her well are sure she will find her equilibrium. Norah never stopped doing reporting and going out into the field during her entire tenure as anchor of CBS Evening News, says Dana Bash, host of Inside Politics and co-anchor of State of the Union on CNN. Many anchors fairly say, Okay, Im going to let other reporters do it, and I am going to stay in the warmth and the comfort behind the desk. She didnt. She is just tireless.

I think Norah is an innovator, adds Susan Page, Washington bureau chief for USA Today. The fact that shes made the decision to make this move reflects that.

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Even so, farewells are bittersweet and this one has been made more so because of her replacements. I think its important to have women in these lead anchor chairs, and I think it is a setback that its going to be all men, ODonnell says.

Later, she adds, I think there are incredible opportunities for women in journalism. But I think it would be a disservice to suggest, especially to young women who are entering the workforce, that theyre not going to encounter sexism and potentially harassment. It exists. It does. And it exists even for the most powerful women in business, media, and politics.

She experienced it too, of course. But balancing out the low periods were moments of genuine exhilaration. In 2008, when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were competing for the Democratic presidential nomination, ODonnell was still working at MSNBC and NBC News. This was before iPhones or social media, and I was so pregnant, she says. Reporting as the results from the final nominating contests came in, ODonnell stood in front of a green screen and pointed to the map. After, comments poured in. ODonnell remembers hearing from friends and friends of friends and moms of friends who couldnt believe it. They were like, Ive never seen a pregnant woman on television like that, standing.

Years later, when ODonnell took the job as anchor of Evening News, she said in an interview that she had at last found her voice as a journalist. Now that shes leaving, she tells me she is less sure. Thats her next assignment.

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NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY)  Norfolk Police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in connection to a March 2024 incident which saw a 45-year-old man killed in an exchange of gunfire.

Commonwealth Attorney Ramin Fatehi on Monday released the findings of the internal investigation in which the man, Santonio Lee, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with Norfolk Police. He said all three officers involved in the incident are back on the street.

NPD: Man dies following chase, exchange of gunfire

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During a press briefing, Fatehi claimed that Lee, who led Norfolk Police on a high-speed chase through residential streets off Hampton Boulevard and on to Terminal Boulevard on March 21, 2024, was the aggressor in the incident.

Fatehi said after his investigation, it was clear to him that Lee was the one who opened fire, and that police returned fire, ultimately killing Lee. He said had Lee survived, Fatehi would have sought to charge him with felony eluding the police, attempted malicious wounding of a law-enforcement officer, the use of a firearm in the commission of the offense, maliciously shooting at an occupied vehicle and possessing a firearm as a convicted violent felon.

They took him away from us again: Daughter grieves loss of father shot, killed by NPD

Prior to the incident, Lee was wanted for two separate charges, one out of Norfolk for shooting a man at the 7-Eleven on Brambleton Avenue, and one out of Virginia Beach for shooting in a public space. Lee was released from the Department of Corrections last January after being convicted of felony eluding police and homicide.

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An investigation found that the gun used in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach incidents was the same .40 caliber pistol used during the fatal police chase.

Fatehi showed a small portion of the nine-minute police chase leading up to the incident, which showed Lee crash into two civilian cars while turning onto Terminal Boulevard near Virginia International Terminals. Officer McAlpine then crashed into the back of Lees vehicle, resulting in Lees vehicle stopping in the ditch.

Car used in fatal police chase appears to be total loss

During the video, Fatehi pointed out the sound of five gunshots, which he said came from Lee. Following the sound of gunshots, the three officers, McAlpine, Elder and Reeves, returned fire on Lee. The officers could then be heard saying, slow your responses, after Lee dropped his gun. They then began treating Lee until paramedics arrived to the scene.

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Autopsy results also showed that Lee had a near-fatal concentration of methamphetamine in his system during the incident.

Fatehi spoke separately with Lees family Friday to let them know the results of his investigation.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
North Carolina man arrested in connection to multiple burglaries after standoff in Graham, police say
Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) (Photo: Screen grab from Senate.gov)

North Carolina lawmakers introduced legislation in Congress Wednesday that would allow the victims of felonies committed by undocumented immigrants to sue cities, counties, and states that did not comply with ICE deportation orders.

Entitled the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act, the bill is sponsored in the Senate by North Carolina Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd and nine other GOP members. Western North Carolina Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards, who introduced the legislation in the House last year, announced on Thursday that he has reintroduced it.

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For far too long, we have watched local jurisdictions in North Carolina and across the country ignore the lawful notification and detainer requests made by ICE agents and instead release dangerous criminals back into their communities, putting innocent lives at risk, Tillis said in a news release. It is time for Congress to step in and hold sanctuary cities accountable.

Sanctuary jurisdictions employ local protocols that restrict or prohibit cooperation with ICE, typically by preventing law enforcement from complying with ICE detainers  orders from the agency to hold undocumented immigrants taken into custody until they can be turned over to ICE.

If passed into law, the bill would open up such jurisdictions to civil liability for not complying with ICE detainers for or notifying the agency of the release of undocumented immigrants who go on to commit felonies. The statute of limitations for such claims would be 10 years after the felony or the death of an individual resulting from the felony.

UNC School of Law professor Rick Su (Photo courtesy of UNC)

But according to Rick Su, a UNC immigration law professor, states must first waive their sovereign immunity to become liable to federal civil lawsuits. Similarly, because of state sovereignty, jurisdictions cannot face federal criminal charges for declining to enforce ICE detainers, which function as requests rather than legal orders.

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In an effort to bypass sovereignty immunity, the bill stipulates that recipients of several categories of federal grant programs  centering on economic, community, and housing development  waive that legal immunity for sanctuary-related civil action, with an exception for disaster relief grants for housing.

Su said this section of the bill could open it up to constitutional challenges, as federal courts have held that while such requirements are permissible, they cannot be coercive, or they may violate the Eleventh Amendment. The Supreme Court struck down a section of the Affordable Care Act that would have required all states to adopt Medicaid expansion or lose all Medicaid funding, for example.

They have a delicate dance here, right, because they have to make it big enough that essentially everyone will waive, Su said. But they might be interested in making it not so big that it will fall for this coercive condition.

While he declined to predict whether courts would find these conditions coercive should the bill become law, he noted that the funds specified are substantial  covering sweeping grants ranging from public works and research facilities to public housing for low-income families.

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It also shields members of law enforcement from legal liability for complying with ICE detainers and classifies them as agents of the Department of Homeland Security  though this does not extend to knowing violations of civil or constitutional rights. Su said cities may find themselves between a rock and a hard place under the proposed law because failing to comply with detainers could expose them to liability, but cooperation with ICE could open them up to civil rights lawsuits.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (Photo: House.gov)

Sanctuary cities cannot continue to jeopardize Americans safety and not be held accountable for their role in the illegal immigrant crime crisis we are facing today, Edwards said in a news release. The Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act will finally hold these communities responsible when their harmful, often illegal, policies result in a crime against an American citizen by allowing the victim to take legal action against counties, cities, or towns for the dangerous policies that directly led to their harm.

The bill comes as President Donald Trump prepares to carry out the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants he repeatedly promised to undertake on the campaign trail. But Trump has already faced early obstacles to his immigration agenda: on Thursday, a federal judge in Washington halted his executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship in the U.S., a tenet of immigration law enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment.

It also follows the passage of the Laken Riley Act, a bill expanding the mandatory detention requirements for undocumented immigrants arrested for petty crimes, with the aim of facilitating the presidents deportation agenda. That bill passed with bipartisan support, with 46 House Democrats and 12 Senate Democrats joining Republicans in supporting it.

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Trump repeatedly sparred with sanctuary jurisdictions during his first term in office, at one point signing an executive order to strip them of all federal funding for resisting his administrations attempts at immigration enforcement  though this action was struck down as unconstitutional by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

These jurisdictions remained in the political crosshairs of conservatives during the Biden administration, when Republican governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas sent migrants to sanctuary cities en masse using chartered buses and planes.

North Carolina state lawmakers enacted legislation targeting sanctuary jurisdictions in November over the veto of then-Governor Roy Cooper. That bill, H.B. 10, requires sheriffs in the state to comply with ICE detainers and shields them from legal liability for holding individuals believed to be subject to detainers for up to 48 hours.

Read the full text of the new Senate bill here:

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MDM25065

NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com.
Editors note: The article was update with a statement by Colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, a spokesperson of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces.

North Korean soldiers appear to have temporarily withdrawn from one of the axes of the front in Russias Kursk Oblast, a Special Operations Forces (SOF) spokesperson told the Kyiv Independent on Jan. 27 as Pyongyangs troops reportedly suffered significant losses.

The statement came after Sky News reported, citing a commander of a detachment of the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center with a callsign "Puls," that North Korean troops have temporarily withdrawn from the contact line in the embattled Russian region .

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Colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, a spokesperson of the Special Operations Forces, clarified to the Kyiv Independent that the North Korean troops appear to have had to temporarily withdraw only from one of the axes of Kursk Oblast where the 73rd SOF Center is deployed.

North Korean troops were deployed to Kursk Oblast last fall to support Russian forces in countering a Ukrainian incursion launched in early August 2024. Ukrainian forces have continued fighting in the region, hoping to leverage their positions for potential negotiations.

North Korean forces are taking respite from hostilities, presumably to treat the wounded, wait for reinforcements, and work on mistakes made during the fighting in this sector, according to Sky News.

"Puls" assumed that this break will not last long and the North Korean military "will be back soon." The soldier also noted North Korean troops' high motivation and that they continued the offensive despite heavy losses.

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North Korean soldiers were unaware of the threats from drones and artillery and attacked on foot in large groups, "like in World War II," becoming an easy target, "Puls" added.

There is poor coordination and a language barrier between North Korean and Russian troops barrier that has already led to North Korean soldiers targeting Russian positions, according to the Ukrainian military.

Ukrainian forces take DNA samples from killed North Korean soldiers to confirm their participation in Russia's war in Ukraine.

South Korean intelligence announced at the end of January that Pyongyang was planning to send more troops to Russia to participate in the war.

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Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, also said previously that Pyongyang is preparing reinforcements, mainly gun and rocket artillery units. The New York Times reported that according to an undisclosed U.S. official, fresh North Korean troops could arrive within two months.

Read also: Russia claims to capture Velyka Novosilka, Ukraine admits partial retreat but says battles ongoing

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
(FOX40.COM)  More than 2,000 marijuana plants were seized from an illegal cannabis operation, according to the Fairfield Police Department.

On Jan. 9, the Department of Cannabis Control and Fairfield Police Officers served three search warrants on illegal cannabis grow houses in Fairfield. The addresses were reportedly on Gillick Lane, Milton Smith Lane, and Clyde Jean Place.

Foster Farms laying off over 500 employees in Turlock

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Between the three houses, FPD said 2001 cannabis plants were located and seized. According to FPD, the latest operation marks the 11th shutdown of illegal grow houses within the last six months.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 News.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  The potential sale of Northlake Mall has hit a bump in the road.

Lawyers for two victims, who were shot on mall property in 2022, have filed a motion to stop the purchase of the shopping center. Court documents show Bianca Brown and the estate of Armani Spencer are trying to stop a group out of Georgia from buying the troubled Northlake Mall property for only $39 million.

Northlake Mall was purchased for $248 million, and then this purchase was facilitated in part by a loan of $362 million, said Queen City News Chief Legal Analyst Khalif Rhodes. The numbers that are on the table now are not anywhere close to that.

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The attorneys for Brown and the estate of Spencer said the sale will affect their ability to recover any judgment against the mall for a 2022 shooting. The action comes in the midst of a pending lawsuit, claiming the mall failed to stop violent crime and provide adequate security.

Theyre asking for a couple of things, said Rhodes. Either stop the sale and/or force them to allow us to see this insurance so we know this sale can go through and we will still be compensated.

The mall has been plagued with problems in recent history.

Its just been in the past few recent years that some kids that were irresponsible has given the mall a semi-black eye, said James Allen, a shopper.

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In early January, Hull Property Group expressed interest in buying the more than a million square foot shopping center from Spinoso Real Estate Group, which was appointed to take over the mall in 2021 after owners couldnt pay their debts.

PREVIOUS | Northlake Mall site getting $1M+ in state funds for EV charging station

Maybe he just knows what to invest in and how to change the clientele that come there because Im pretty sure that has a lot to do with it, said Quality Jones, a shopper.

Those who frequent Northlake are excited about the possibility of someone revamping it if the purchase goes through.

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To stop the sale does stop those much-needed vendors that are still in the mall, those operators that are trying to figure out well whos the new ownership going to come in here and whos going to make sure that we get some needed things taken care of that probably havent been taken care of while its in receivership because the receivers sole responsibility is to make sure they can sell this property, said Rhodes.

A court hearing for the sales approval is expected to happen on January 27.

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A man lays a candle in commemoration of Holocaust victims at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest, Hungary on Jan. 27, 2025. Hungarian Minister of Regional Development Tibor Navracsics described the Holocaust as the "indefensible, inexplicable low point of European civilization" during a commemoration in Budapest on Monday. The event at the Holocaust Memorial Center marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi)

BUDAPEST, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian Minister of Regional Development Tibor Navracsics described the Holocaust as the "indefensible, inexplicable low point of European civilization" during a commemoration in Budapest on Monday.

The event at the Holocaust Memorial Center marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation.

Navracsics reflected on Europe's descent into totalitarian ideologies in the 20th century, adding that Jan. 27, 1945, the day Auschwitz was liberated, represents neither the beginning nor the end of the Holocaust's impact. He recalled that antisemitism had been festering for decades before erupting into genocide and that the aftermath of the Holocaust continues to resonate through broken lives and rebuilt families.

The commemoration featured prayers by Chief Rabbi Dr. Tamas Vero and cantor Immanuel Zucker, as well as a musical performance by members of Concerto Budapest. 

A woman mourns Holocaust victims at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest, Hungary on Jan. 27, 2025.

Hungarian Minister of Regional Development Tibor Navracsics described the Holocaust as the "indefensible, inexplicable low point of European civilization" during a commemoration in Budapest on Monday.

The event at the Holocaust Memorial Center marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi)

People commemorate the International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest, Hungary on Jan. 27, 2025.

Hungarian Minister of Regional Development Tibor Navracsics described the Holocaust as the "indefensible, inexplicable low point of European civilization" during a commemoration in Budapest on Monday.

The event at the Holocaust Memorial Center marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi)

People look at a wall bearing the names of Holocaust victims at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest, Hungary on Jan. 27, 2025.

Hungarian Minister of Regional Development Tibor Navracsics described the Holocaust as the "indefensible, inexplicable low point of European civilization" during a commemoration in Budapest on Monday.

The event at the Holocaust Memorial Center marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi)

People commemorate the International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest, Hungary on Jan. 27, 2025.

Hungarian Minister of Regional Development Tibor Navracsics described the Holocaust as the "indefensible, inexplicable low point of European civilization" during a commemoration in Budapest on Monday.

The event at the Holocaust Memorial Center marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi)
(Bloomberg) -- Norways ruling coalition is teetering on the brink with seven months to go until the next general election in western Europes largest energy exporter.

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A disagreement over adopting the European Unions energy market rules has pitted the Labor of Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store against its junior partner, the euro-skeptic Center Party, in a row that has threatened to split the two-party minority cabinet.

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After talks within each party during the weekend, Centers leader, Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum on Monday sought to ease tensions.

Our goal is to find solutions, he told reporters in Oslo. We feel the best solutions in Norwegian politics are found when Labor and Center work together.

If they dont agree, and Center exits, Labor is poised to govern on its own until the Sept. 8 vote. Norway, where minority governments are a normal part of politics, doesnt hold snap elections.

Store has sought to keep his coalition intact. At a news conference on Friday, the prime minister praised their working relationship, saying both groups have respected each other enough to to find good solutions over the past 3 1/2 years.

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Its a very serious situation because the one issue that really pulls the Center Party and the Labor Party apart is Norways relationship with the EU, Johannes Bergh, research director with the Oslo-based Institute of Social Research, said by phone. If theres one issue that will break up this government, thats it.

Labor ruling alone until the elections is certainly the most likely scenario should the Center drop out, he added.

Stores cabinet has held off on the adoption of the EUs measures on renewable energy and power market as the Center has opposed the legislation. Labor on Thursday proposed passing the less contentious parts of the EU rules, an option that Center has also rejected. Norway has access to the single market through the European Economic Area agreement despite remaining outside of the EU.

The coalition, which also depends on parliamentary support from the Socialist Left party that officially isnt part of the bloc, has faced an uphill battle to extend its term. Its popularity has been steadily sliding amid a string of ethics scandals, tax hikes that have triggered an outflow of the rich and fallout from a cost-of-living spike in the past years. Still, the latest polls showed the race is tightening again.

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The 64-year-old premier has also been dealing with a revolt inside his own party  Norways biggest political group for most of the post-World War period  thats not used to taking a beating in polls. Local media have reported on mounting pressure among its members, as well as the trade union lobby LO, to replace him.

Centers politicians were cited as saying last week by local media that the move would shift power to the EU and make it more difficult for Norways local governments to veto wind power projects, among other things.

The blocs previous Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson in March last year urged Norway to adopt the measures by August, pointing out that EU and EEA core energy legislation are diverging to a very worrying degree or risk facing any steps necessary to preserve integrity of the single market.

Store said on Friday the parties have been working on the case for several months, and that the partners have faced more difficult disputes previously. He cited signals from various levels in the EU that could hamper Norways cooperation with the bloc in other areas, while adding that pressure from Brussels cant be characterized as threats.

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--With assistance from Kari Lundgren and Stephen Treloar.

(Updates with Center Party chairman from third paragraph)

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During Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Norway helped transport about 3,000 patients and their families to hospitals in Europe as part of a European evacuation project for Ukrainian patients.

Source: Norwegian Ministry of Defence, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Since 2022, about 3,000 Ukrainian patients and their family members have been transported to European hospitals in 10 different countries with the participation of Norwegian special aircraft.

Norway has now evacuated 3000 Ukrainian patients and their next of kin to hospitals in ten different countries in Europe since 2022



This is possible thanks to a good cooperation between@Forsvaret_no and @SAS#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/K994clkNih  Forsvarsdepartement (@Forsvarsdep) January 27, 2025

The ministry reiterated that the Ministry of Defence and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) are cooperating in the project.

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About 1,500 patients were evacuated in the first year of the project.

Medical evacuation is carried out through the cooperation of a number of agencies. The Norwegian Armed Forces have a special agreement with SAS, under which the aircraft has been converted into a "flying ambulance" with all the necessary equipment. Flights and maintenance are carried out by the airline's staff, while the Armed Forces provide medical care.

Ukrainians being transported for treatment in other European countries first arrive at a special hub in Poland and wait for their turn to board a special flight to their place of treatment.

These are people of all ages, most often with severe war-related injuries and cancer.

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A sign in Riverside Park in Laurel, Montana commemorating the Nez Perce's "Trail of Tears." In September 1877, a band of Chief Joseph's tribe encamped near the spot (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan).

I suppose if Yellowstone County Commission Chairman Mark Morse can make a plea to use public property as detention camps, using the power of his position as justification to speak for all county residents, then Id ask our Congressional delegation to consider this perspective from another longtime county resident.

I urge our all-Republican delegation of Reps. Troy Downing and Ryan Zinke, along with Sens. Tim Sheehy and Steve Daines to remember Yellowstone Countys decidedly mixed history of how weve treated those who didnt look like the majority or speak the same language. And please counterbalance Morses enthusiasm with the respect due to the countys rather ignoble past, and I would ask sincerely not to add to the trauma of this countys history.

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Put simply: If there must be round-ups and raids, which seems wholly unnecessary in a place like Montana which doesnt have a single immigration court or judge in the state, then literally for Gods sake and ours, not here, not in our town. We have borne witness to what happens when we attack the strangers, and we have also stood proudly against such measures. This is our history: There is a sizable number of us who dont want a land that is already filled with historical sorrow to be burdened with a new chapter of agony.

Since most of you are not from Yellowstone County, and even the one person who was born in Montana in our Congressional delegation was from one of the northern counties, not Yellowstone, I wanted to remind you of the rocky relationship this place has had with the others and beg you as a historian and writer not to add to that history, which while not proud, nonetheless needs recalling at moments like this.

The Rims which provide that same backdrop for the Metra were also nearby the place the Apsaalooke peoples grief-stricken families jumped off the cliffs as a sacrifice to save their tribe and other family members during an epic smallpox outbreak in the 1830s  this valley and city surrounded by eternal markers of suffering, misery and uncertainty. Surely, that history alone would be enough for reconsideration.

But, theres more in this place.

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My own last name was changed because my great-grandparents were fearful of the angry mobs who terrorized neighborhoods in places like Billings, Laurel and Red Lodge, hunting people they thought were suspiciously foreign, or not enthusiastic enough about Americas entry into World War I. Some were run out of town. Some were marched through city streets by torchlight. Others were imprisoned in Deer Lodge.

Even though I spent a large chunk of time in Laurel, where my grandparents lived, when we had gatherings, reunions and picnics at Riverside Park there, I have always had an uneasy feeling because I remember them telling me about a time when it was used as a housing camp for prisoners of war during World War II. A few relatives recalled speaking the low Volga German with the Germans who had been captured. They remembered the barbed wire and the army outfits, a haunting and eerie thing for a child who remembers the incongruity of a playground being where these people were forcibly held, a world away from the place they knew as home.

The Hispanic community in Yellowstone County has a rich and vibrant history, including an annual fiesta celebration that is more than a century old here. I fear for those wonderful community members whose own family roots run just as deeply here as mine.

And, keep in mind as our leaders contemplate using county property as a round-up facility, that not so long ago, this was the same community that rallied when Jewish families were being targeted. I am and was a member of the church that had its windows shot out for putting up a Menorah. I worry that using MetraPark to round up people is the opposite of what the community began with the Not In Our Town movement.

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We have stood proudly as weve welcomed the stranger, something commanded repeatedly in the Bible, which our President apparently reveres so much he cannot cite a favorite book or verse, but has no qualms selling it as a tchotchke.

We do not accept that our taxpayer-funded property will be used as the place where we rounded up immigrants, just because they were foreigners and strangers. Morses enthusiasm to demonstrate his Trump bonafides and loyalty shouldnt stain this facility and place, which sits in the heart of the largest Montana city, as a tool of punishment and dehumanization.

If the leadership of this country is literally hellbent on such a program, not here. Consider this an objection from the great-grandson of those who came here to harvest crops and found their way into citizenship, grateful for their new homeland. It is indeed time for the next generation to welcome our brothers and sisters.

And speaking of that, lets not play clever word games that literally whitewash the reality of what is going to happen. This is no detention, like a teenager who has been acting poorly. The reality of the situation is that if we deport many of these men, women and families, they may go back to a country that will imprison, torture or even kill them. This is no detention as much as it could be the prelude to a death sentence.

And I as a resident of Yellowstone County want no part of that.
NOTASULGA, Ala. (WRBL)  Two suspects have been arrested in connection with an alleged burglary and theft reported on November 5, 2024, in the 200 block of Lee Road 690 in the Beauregard community. The victim reported the theft of firearms, firearm accessories, ammunition, reloading equipment, and tools, valued at $28,090.

On January 17, 2025, investigators with the Macon County Sheriffs Office recovered one of the stolen firearms while executing a search warrant on Hardwich Street in Notasulga. Days later, on January 23, authorities from the Lee County Sheriffs Office, Macon County Sheriffs Office, and Notasulga Police Department executed another search warrant at the same address. Investigators say they recovered approximately $25,000 worth of the stolen property.

Thomas Bullington III, 42, and Alicia Johnson, 53, both of Notasulga, were identified as the suspects responsible for the alleged burglary. Bullington is currently held at the Macon County Jail on unrelated charges and will face allegations of burglary and theft charges in Lee County upon his release. Johnson was arrested and charged with allegations third-degree burglary and first-degree theft of property. She is being held at the Lee County Jail on an $8,000 bond.

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The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are expected. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Lee County Sheriffs Office at 334-749-5651 or Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867).

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL.
PUUNENE, Hawaii (KHON2)  Maui Humane Society is celebrating a huge victory, finding temporary and permanent homes for more than 100 animals over the past week.

Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news

On Jan. 15, Maui Humane Society faced a dire situation with hundreds of animals searching for refuge at the facility.

When the community was asked to help foster or take initiative on social media, the results were nothing short of amazing.

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Current shelter capacity unsafe at Maui Humane Society

Following their call for help, Maui Humane Society found permanent homes for 14 dogs, including two off-island.

Sixteen others were adopted through the Paws to Adopt program and 65 dogs are living their best life in loving foster homes.

The tremendous outcome helped Maui Humane Society reduce its population from more than 70 dogs to just 34.

In the process of it all, MHS also took in 17 new animals.

While we celebrate last weeks progress, we must acknowledge that capacity continues to be a challenge. Until our community can solve the issue of limited pet-friendly housing, we will continue to face the possibility of euthanizing for space, said MHS in an update.

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MHS said the work is far from over. The public is urged to consider fostering, adopting, donating or volunteering with the humane society.

You can also help by sharing information about off-island adoptions and find new transfer partners on the continent.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
This story incorporates reporting fromdevdiscourse, WJON and KIMT.



Novo Nordisk has settled a lawsuit with Minnesota, agreeing to cap insulin prices at $35 per monthly prescription.



This legal resolution addresses the lawsuit initiated by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, which has now been finalized in a federal court in Newark, New Jersey. While the pharmaceutical company denies any wrongdoing, it has agreed to the terms to demonstrate its commitment to improving insulin accessibility. The settlement establishes a critical structure for affordable insulin, offering a significant relief for insulin-dependent Minnesotans.

Minnesota initiated this lawsuit in 2018 under the states former Attorney General, Lori Swanson. The lawsuit contended that high insulin prices imposed undue burdens on insulin-dependent individuals. The settlement agreement is consistent with similar resolutions reached by Eli Lilly and Sanofi, two other major insulin manufacturers. Notably, the settlement requires Novo Nordisk to make insulin affordable at a price point ensuring more equitable access  $35 per month  irrespective of the patients insurance status.

This price cap is expected to make a significant impact, given the high cost of insulin and the financial strain it imposes on individuals relying on it for daily survival. By limiting the price to $35, insulin will become more attainable for many Minnesotans, particularly those in low-income groups. Additionally, the agreement outlines provisions for free insulin supplies to qualifying low-income residents, further emphasizing the settlements potential benefits.

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Novo Nordisks compliance with the settlement reflects broader industry changes. The notable shift in pricing strategy aligns with a growing trend among pharmaceutical companies towards more transparent and affordable medication pricing. This trend has evolved in response to increasing public and governmental pressure for pharmaceutical transparency and fairness.

Despite this progressive settlement, Novo Nordisk maintains its stance of denying any misconduct or exploitation in its initial pricing strategies. The decision to settle indicates a strategic move to focus on forward-looking initiatives and social responsibility rather than engaging in prolonged legal disputes. The companys U.S. operations are based out of New Jersey, enhancing the significance of its involvement in the Newark courts jurisdiction.

The measure provides a model that other states may observe closely, potentially influencing further settlements or policy adjustments that target inflated medication prices. Such settlements reinforce ongoing dialogues about healthcare affordability and the role of pharmaceutical companies in ensuring access to essential medications.

Quartz Intelligence Newsroom uses generative artificial intelligence to report on business trends. This is the first phase of an experimental new version of reporting. While we strive for accuracy and timeliness, due to the experimental nature of this technology we cannot guarantee that well always be successful in that regard. If you see errors in this article, please let us know at qi@qz.com.

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A local agency that cares for kids is appealing to area residents for help in supplying some everyday items that fill needs.

Every Thursday, the Noyes Home for Children posts about emerging needs for those getting support from the organization.

"We do post to Facebook, also Instagram," said Executive Director Chelsea Howlett. "We have an email newsletter that blasts out to our followers as well. That just lets people know these are the things that we have as emerging needs."

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Howlett said the community has been extremely receptive to the weekly posts. She notes there have been some especially generous donations.

"Not long after I became executive director, we had several of our washing machines and dryers that were on the fritz," Howlett said. "We went ahead and posted that. Within an hour, we had a couple that had gone to Lowe's and purchased us a brand new washer and dryer set."

And the generosity didn't stop there.

"We had somebody as far as St. Louis reach out and said, 'Hey, we own a laundromat, and we're happy to give you, you know, brand new industrial-size washers and dryers, but they'll be delivered a little bit later,' You know, we have to get those ordered," Howlett said. "We had to, that following Monday say, 'Thank you, but we can't accept any more.'"

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Often the needs are small items, such as hygiene and personal care items, tissues, diapers and supplies for school.

Howlett said receiving community support means a lot to the organization.

"I'm always amazed that our community does step up and meet those needs," she said.

Any needs that aren't met by donations, still get purchased by the Noyes Home.

"If the needs are truly urgent, we need them to take care of the kids in our care," Howlett said.

Donations can be made to the Noyes Home in numerous ways.

Howlett said going online and following the organization's social media accounts can help keep the community informed on emerging needs.

Additionally, the Home always accepts monetary donations, as they help cover the expenses of the caregivers taking care of children.
Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres has accused Gov. Kathy Hochul of bungling oversight of New Yorks early intervention program for toddlers with developmental disabilities such as autism and Down syndrome.

New York has the single worst early intervention program in the nation, ranking 50 out of 50, Torres said in a letter sent Sunday to Hochul. The time has come for you to end your dubious distinction of presiding over Americas worst early intervention program.

His criticism of the early childhood program is just his latest broadside against Hochul, who Torres is considering challenging in the 2026 Democratic primary for governor.

Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres called out Gov. Kathy Hochul over the states early intervention program for toddlers with developmental disabilities. Matthew McDermott

There are 10,000 kids with disabilities on the waiting list for early intervention in the state, a 500% increase since 2020, Torres said.

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And early intervention providers  who include physical and speech therapists among other specialists  are missing payments for their work, hamstringing the program thats already suffering from a backlog of patients, according to the Democratic congressman.

The early intervention program went off the rails last year, when a state Health Department contractor, Massachusetts-based Public Consulting Group, launched a new software system for therapists to manage cases and bill for their services.

The transition to the software system has been a glitch-prone and delay-stricken disaster, according to a North Country Radio investigation last month.

Half of New Yorks therapists who provide early intervention services are not getting their full paychecks, according to an industry survey, Albany-based therapist Lacie Schweigart told The Post.

Torres claimed that Hochul is presiding over the worst early intervention program in the nation. Hans Pennink

Providers have to click 25 times to fill out a form for reimbursement, said Tracy Harris, a 30-year speech therapist who has run her own business, Building Blocks in upstate Watertown, for the last 20.

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I cant take on any new clients. Theyd end up on a waiting list, Harris said.

The program is the worst its ever been.

The two therapists said they sent letters to all New York congress members for help and Torres, who represents The Bronx, responded and spoke with them via a Zoom meeting.

Were so happy hes gotten involved, Harris told The Post.

Torres said the mismanagement of a program for the most vulnerable toddlers is outrageous and unacceptable.

Even though the broken system of early intervention long predates your time in office, you have broken the broken system to an extent not seen before, plunging the nations worst EIP into a state of complete chaos, confusion, and crisis, Torres fumed in his note to Hochul.

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There are families whose disabled children have not gotten federally mandated services. There are working-class providers who have not gotten paid.

Torres letter said the program is in a state of complete chaos, confusion and crisis. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

He also cited an audit conducted by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli in 2023 about delays in services for many toddlers  before the software snafu.

Torres urged Hochul to radically reduce the workforce shortages and waiting lists that have gotten worse under your watch; to stabilize working-class EI providers with an 11% reimbursement rate increase; and to stabilize cash-strapped counties with their fair share of revenues.

A state Health Department spokesperson, responding on behalf of Hochul said, the software glitches have been addressed.

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New York States first priority is to ensure that the 70,000 children served by the early intervention program continue to receive the health care and resources they need, the spokesperson said in a statement to The Post. Since its launch on October 15, technical issues with the EI-Hub have been addressed and providers are being reimbursed in a timely manner.

The Department will continue to work with our vendor to offer provider training and make further improvements to increase efficiency of the system.

The department noted a 5 percent increase in pay for operators was approved, though providers complained they have yet to see it, and that the contractor, Public Consulting Group, wont get paid until the software work is completed.

Public Consulting Group had no immediate comment.
A pair of Mount Vernon men caught a break after getting nabbed on serious gun charges in the Bronx, getting referred to a gun diversion program instead of facing serious time behind bars.

But now theyre locked up on murder charges in a vicious execution-style shooting, The Post has learned.

The DAs are playing with fire  and we have one guy executed, one frustrated law enforcement source said Sunday. Its a black hole. No one can figure out whats going on in between [court] appearances.

Ali Mohammed, left, and Amari Oneal, both 21, are facing murder charges in New Rochelle. Both were in a Bronx gun diversioin program at the time of the incident.

All they talk about is getting rid of cases, the source added. Citywide we are seeing this. Now all the boroughs have caught on to this diversion fraud.

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Amari Oneal and Ali Mohammed, both 21, ran afoul of the NYPD on Aug. 1, 2023, when they were pulled over by the cops near a Bronx housing project and nabbed with a cache of loaded guns.

According to court records, Oneal was behind the wheel of a white 2003 Volkswagen with dark tinted windows and New Jersey license plates when cops spotted the car in Concourse Village.

David Murray Smith, 22, was facing fraud charges in Connecticut when he was gunned down in New Rochelle on Jan. 6.

In plain view in the car were an illegal .22-caliber Beretta handgun with a 13-round magazine and a black 9 mm Glock pistol with a 22-round magazine, a criminal complaint said.

Oneal, Mohammed and a third man, Amari Staggers, were hit with illegal gun charges by cops.

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But once in court the cases bounced around for months before Mohammed and Oneal were both offered spots in jail-alternative programs designed for suspects caught with illegal weapons in an attempt to get them on the straight and narrow and to dodge prison time.

Under deals worked out by prosecutors, Oneal pleaded guilty to attempted gun possession on June 27 and was assigned to the Bronx Osborne Gun Accountability and Prevention Program, while Mohammed got a similar deal on Sept. 12 and was assigned to a similar program run by the Fortune Society.

In both cases, the two suspects faced two years in prison if they didnt complete the program.

They didnt.

Police said David Murray Smith was shot multiple times and killed near Heritage Homes in New Rochelle on Jan. 6.

On Jan. 6, the two were part of a crew that allegedly ambushed David Smith in the Westchester County city of New Rochelle and shot him dead  firing six shots into the victim after he lay wounded on the ground, according to criminal complaints filed by prosecutors.

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Mohammed, Oneal and a third man, Marquis Williamson were nabbed near 49 Rhoda Quash Lane in New Rochelle after the shooting shortly after 10:30 a.m., according to complaints filed by the Westchester County District Attorneys Office.

Two other men  Tommy Guest and Anthony Webster  were hit with first-degree robbery charges.

In a bizarre twist, Smith himself had some trouble with the law and faced felony fraud charges in an unrelated Connecticut case for allegedly scamming DoorDash drivers out of nearly $1 million as part of an elaborate two-year-old nationwide scam, according to records.

Smith had been due in court in Stamford just two days after he was gunned down.

Amari Oneal, 21, is facing murder charges in a Jan. 6 shooting in New Rochelle while still in a Bronx gun diversion program from a 2023 arrest there. Obtained by the NY Post

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In a statement last week, a spokesperson for the Bronx DAs office said the gun diversion program has been successful in the past at diverting lower-risk gun suspects from further crimes.

It is an outrage and a tragedy that Oneal and Mohammed allegedly murdered a young man just as they were beginning rehabilitative programs in Bronx County, the rep said in a statement.

We have had 100 people successfully complete these programs, which provide an opportunity to avoid a criminal record and receive the tools to be productive, law-abiding citizens, the rep said. When we enacted these programs we understood there would be risk, but we are combating gun violence from all angles and with preventive approaches in addition to prosecution.

In a statement after the fatal shooting, New Rochelle police said Smith was killed after a personal dispute over money, but it is unclear if the dispute was related to the DoorDash scam.

Ali Mohammed, 21, is facing second-degree murder charges in New Rochelle. He was in a Bronx gun diversion  program at the time. Obtained by the NY Post

Police said the victim and his allegedly killers were acquainted with each other  with most arrested near the scene, a third after he walked into the hospital with a wounded hand and another two days later.

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The Connecticut State Attorneys Office did not respond to a request for comment on Smiths fraud cause on their turf last week. But the Stamford Advocate said the 22-year-old was charged with defrauding the apps drivers by claiming cards used for purchases were listed as stolen.

He would allegedly coax the drivers into providing new card information and bill those accounts, defrauding them out of more than $730,000 over more than two years, the outlet reported.

But the Big Apple law enforcement sources said his violent death couldve been avoided if his allegedly killers hadnt gotten a break on their 2023 gun cases.

Two perps, two guns  thats a highly presentable case, the source said. Prosecutors are now either solution-driven or excuse-driven. This is more of the latter.
A man accused of murdering his 45-year-old mother in her Brooklyn apartment building stabbed her more than a dozen times  only dropping the knife after police tased him, prosecutors.

Weverton Lino, 29, was ordered held without bail after he was arraigned on murder and weapons charges in Brooklyn Criminal Court Sunday, with his lawyer, Wayne Bodden, saying he plans to request his client undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Police had twice before filed domestic incident reports after responding to arguments between Lino and his mother Roselene Oliveira, the prosecutor said.

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This time the confrontation ended in murder.

Lino, who lives in the Bronx, according to cops, got into a loud argument with his mother Friday night in her building on E. 92nd St. near Lenox Road in East Flatbush, police said.

He stabbed her 13 times with a large kitchen knife in the public hallway, prosecutors say.

I saw the holes, one neighbor said on Saturday of the victims gruesome wounds. They went right through. There was a lot of blood.

The neighbor was at home watching television when he heard a woman screaming for help, he told the Daily News.

After I heard screaming I stood next to the door, the neighbor recalled. I usually hesitate to come out. But after that I heard people fighting in the hallway.

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He opened the door to find the stabber shouting incoherently and struggling with another neighbor, who had the stabber pinned to the ground.

They were fighting over the knife, the witness said. I gotta give credit to the [neighbor]. I dont know when he got there. He fought the guy, he held the guy down. [The stabber] had his arm stretched out with the kitchen knife. It was like a steak knife.

The witness jumped in to assist and grab the knife, cutting himself in the process.

Lino was arrested after police showed up and tased him.

The prosecutor said NYPD body-worn camera footage shows the neighbors pointing to Lino, who was still gripping a knife.

Medics rushed his mother to Brookdale University Hospital, but she could not be saved.
MOSCOW, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- There has been no indication from Washington on potential contact between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"So far, we have not received any signals from the Americans," Peskov said.

He confirmed that Russia remains ready for such talks, adding that the United States is also prepared for potential negotiations. At the same time, Peskov said that it seems "a certain amount of time is needed."

Putin has repeatedly confirmed Moscow's readiness for talks on Ukraine.

In a recent interview on Friday, Putin said he has "pragmatic" and "trust-based" relations with the current U.S. president. He reiterated that Russia is open to talks on the Ukrainian crisis, noting however that Kiev's previous ban on negotiations would make such talks illegitimate.

On Thursday Trump said he wanted to meet Putin as soon as possible to secure an end to the war in Ukraine.

"I really would like to be able to meet with President Putin soon to get that war ended," Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland via videolink. 
Russian forces are preparing to capture the city of Toretsk in the coming days. The redeployment of elements from the Eastern Military District (EMD) to reinforce Russian troops on the Toretsk front may indicate Russias new priority efforts to resume attacks towards Kostiantynivka.

Source: ISW

Quote: "ISW previously assessed that Russian forces likely intend to exploit the seizure of Toretsk to push further west and along the T-05-16 Toretsk-Kostiantynivka highway towards the southernmost point of Ukraine's fortress belt in Kostiantynivka."

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Details: Russian progress on the Toretsk front has been slow due to intense fighting in densely populated urban zones. However, their pace could increase significantly if they manage to push beyond Toretsk and enter the open fields to the west of the settlement.

Quote: "Russian forces may also attempt to leverage tactical gains within and near Toretsk and east of Pokrovsk to eliminate the Ukrainian salient southwest of Toretsk and select Russian milbloggers have recently speculated that Russian forces may be intensifying offensive operations southwest of Toretsk for this purpose."

Details: ISW suggests that Russian forces may focus on removing the Ukrainian salient southwest of Toretsk to strengthen their southern flank ahead of a potential advance on Kostiantynivka.

The Russian command could move units from the Eastern Military District to support offensives on the Toretsk front, particularly if they aim to target Ukraines defensive positions in Donetsk Oblast during the spring and summer of 2025.

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Capturing Pokrovsk has been a key goal for the Russian military in Donetsk Oblast since February 2024.

Quote: "A Russian redeployment of EMD elements to the Toretsk or Chasiv Yar directions  as opposed to retaining the EMD elements in western Donetsk Oblast, redeploying them to the Zaporizhzhia direction, or redeploying them to the Pokrovsk direction  would therefore indicate an inflection in Russian operational priorities."

Background:

Fierce fighting continues in Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast. The Russians are using scorched earth tactics to try to destroy the city's infrastructure and the positions of the Ukrainian military.

Ukrainian military news outlet Militarnyi predicts that the Russians will continue their efforts to complete the capture of Kurakhove, Toretsk and Chasiv Yar, advance towards the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with the prospect of launching hostilities in the oblast and expand their control over Donetsk Oblast territory in all directions.

The DeepState analytical project reported that the operational situation in Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, was deteriorating as of 14 January. The Russians are gradually seizing control of the city and intense fighting is occurring in the central and northern districts.

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EDITORS NOTE: The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal has updated information regarding the custody of Salamah Bassem Audi.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  Officers arrested a Hagerstown woman after she made several online threats against local churches, according to the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal.

According to the agency, officers arrested 35-year-old Salamah Bassem Audi on Saturday, Jan. 25, after investigators were notified of multiple threats she made last week against Gateway Experience Church in Williamsport and the City of God in Hagerstown.

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Audi also allegedly threatened the pastors of both churches.

Historic downtown Hagerstown landmark is on the auction block

Investigators said Audi had written the threats in an online blog. In addition, fire marshals said an investigation revealed that Audi threatened to blow up the pastor of a Hagerstown house of worship into itty bitty pieces while he was on his way to his car.

Investigators linked the blog to Audi and obtained a warrant, according to the fire marshal. The Hagerstown Police Department then arrested her, charging her with two counts of arson threat and one count of threat of mass violence.

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Officers took Audi to the Washington County Detention Center, where she is being held without bond.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
(WDHN)  Officials are gathering the results of the annual Southeast Alabama Coalition for the Homeless (SEACH) Point In Time Count.

Volunteers from across the Wiregrass participated on Saturday.

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development asks communities nationwide to count the homeless, those without a physical address at a particular time. The count greatly affects funding, both private and public for organizations that assist the homeless community.

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One of the counts took place in Enterprise at the First Methodist Church, where groups asked for donations to offer people clothing, blankets, and other necessities they may need.

SEACH is expected to release the official total later in the week.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Attorney FritzGerald Tondreau, who helps with immigration issues at Konbit Neg Lakay in Spring Valley, N.Y., shows intimidating videos of gang hostages and enemies being killed or beaten in Haiti. As a new wave of immigrants fleeing chaos arrives, many are moving beyond New York and Florida to find jobs and housing. (Photo by Tim Henderson/Stateline)

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and 17 other Republican attorneys general are questioning the temporary protected status for immigrants from 17 distressed countries. Theyre asking officials in President Donald Trumps explicitly anti-immigrant administration to review whether protections are necessary.

In a statement Tuesday, Yost said some have been allowed to stay in the United States even after it was safe for them to return home. However, he didnt name a single such country  and publicly available reports make it hard to guess which places he might mean.

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His office was asked if he could name a person with temporary protected status who could safely return to her or his home country. A spokeswoman responded that it wasnt the attorney generals job to make such determinations.

An immigrant advocate said the letter was another way to scare vulnerable immigrants into the shadows. Its akin to last summers false claims by now-President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and others that Haitians under temporary protected status in Springfield were stealing and eating their neighbors pets, she said. That led to dozens of bomb threats and reports of violence against immigrants.

Its about intimidation, said Lynn Tramonte, founder of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance. Its about destabilization. These are authoritarian tactics where you make people unsafe in their homes and communities. Its really sad. J.D. Vance himself brought violence to Springfield.

Longstanding problems

Yost and the other attorneys general sent a letter to Kristi Noem, Trumps head of the Department of Homeland Security. Now confirmed, Noem has the power to grant or revoke temporary protected status, or TPS. Her farewell address last week as North Dakota governor was peppered with starkly anti-immigrant rhetoric.

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The Trump administration is giving immigration officers an expanded authority to rapidly deport immigrants, including people the Biden administration temporarily allowed into the country under parole authority, according to an internal memo, States Newsroom reported this weekend.

TPS beneficiaries represent over 1 million immigrants residing in the States who are otherwise without legal status, the attorneys generals letter to Noem said. Converting TPS into a license for long-term residency frustrates congressional aims and only increases the financial and governmental strain on States.

In addition to Yost, attorneys general from Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming signed the letter to Noem.

The letter makes much of the fact that the word temporary is in the name of the designation, and that people from some countries have had temporary protected status for decades.

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Honduras, for instance, first received TPS after a hurricane hit in 1998 and DHS bases its current TPS designation on persist[ing] conditions from that same event, the letter said. TPS extensions spanning decades have become routine.

According to statutory language provided by Yosts office, the Homeland Security secretary can grant TPS if she finds that there exist extraordinary and temporary conditions in the foreign state that prevent aliens who are nationals of the state from returning to the state in safety.

Tramonte said the attorneys general are misreading the law.

Its called temporary protected status,' she said. Its not called short-term protected status. When a crisis happens, whether its a natural disaster or a political crisis, it takes years to recover. Theyre fixating on the word temporary as if that means short-term. But all that means is that Congress said were going to give you a break and not deport you because its dangerous to send you back.

Harrowing conditions

In its 2023 report on human rights practices, the U.S. State Department had this to say about Honduras, the country the Republican AGs cite as being designated a TPS country for almost 27 years:

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Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by government agents; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including threats against media members by criminal elements; serious government corruption; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic violence, sexual violence, and femicide; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons.

In fact, of the 17 countries designated for TPS, 11 have the State Departments most severe travel warning  do not travel. Three have the next-highest, reconsider travel. And three have the second-lowest, exercise increased caution.

Reports for the latter countries  Cameroon, Nepal and El Salvador  indicate how dicey it might be to return there, especially if youre not a tourist from a developed country.

Human Rights Watchs World Report 2024 says that El Salvador had been stricken by gang violence, and then a state of emergency (that was) adopted in March 2022 that suspended basic rights remains in force. Authorities have committed widespread human rights violations, including mass arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, ill-treatment in detention, and due process violations.

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The Human Rights Watch report for Cameroon detailed continued clashes between armed groups and government forces throughout Cameroons Anglophone and Far North regions severely impacted civilians, with cases of unlawful killings, abductions, and raids on villages increasing in the second half of the year.

And the State Departments 2023 report for Nepal described significant human rights issues (including) credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; arbitrary detention; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media, including violence or threats of violence against journalists and unjustified arrests of journalists.

Those are the TPS countries that the State Department deems to be the safest of the 17 to travel to. The letter the attorneys general wrote to Noem criticized former President Joe Biden for extending temporary protected status designations for Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela, in addition to El Salvador.

Ukraine has been devastated by war since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded in 2022. Sudan has been torn by civil war since 2023, spurring the enlistment of child soldiers, sexual violence and other atrocities. And in Venezuela, the socialist government has made the economy so dysfunctional that 90% live in poverty, and it has the highest crime rate in the world.

Safe?

In a statement announcing that he and other Republican attorneys general called for a review of TPS designations, Yost, said some could safely return to their home countries.

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This program has been applied too loosely, allowing noncitizens to live here indefinitely, even after its safe for them to return home, the statement quoted Yost, who last week announced a 2026 run for governor, as saying.

Asked if the Ohio AG could name one, his spokeswoman said that wasnt his job.

The Ohio Attorney General isnt the person with authority to make TPS judgments, regardless, the spokeswoman, Bethany McCorkle, said in an email. Thats why the letter doesnt call for the designation to be immediately lifted from any one nation.

What the letter does ask is that the Secretary engage in a review of the country conditions and exercise her judgment regarding the status of countries that have been designated as temporar[ily] protected for years  sometimes decades  based on the same insular events, she added. If conditions are currently unsafe in a certain country based on new/current factors that would reach the high bar set by Congress for TPS, then the Secretary would have discretion to give TPS on that basis.

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The call for an administration led by a vehemently anti-immigrant president to review and possibly deny immigrants protected status might be out of step with public opinion. A December poll sponsored by the National Immigration Forum and the Bullfinch group said that 73% of Americans agreed that immigration policies should protect the persecuted and keep families intact.

Tramonte, of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, said the real point of the letter is to distract the public from the real cause of many Americans suffering.

This gets them headlines, this gets them accolades from the people theyre trying to stir up, she said. Theyre trying to distract from their bigger agenda, which is getting corporations bigger tax breaks and helping the wealthy while average people are having to work multiple jobs just to pay the rent.

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Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.)

Ohio Republican leadership has backtracked on their steadfast effort to cut funding for public education.

Our extensive reporting led to massive backlash for lawmakers, and numerous GOP members spoke out privately.

Recap  history

Ohios history with school funding isnt the brightest. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 1997 in DeRolph v. State that the way the state funds schools is unconstitutional, relying too much on property taxes.

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Throughout the next three decades, lawmakers went back and forth on policy in an attempt to fix the unconstitutionality. The Ohio Education Association, as well as lawmakers on each side of the aisle, have deemed that it has been unconstitutional since then. However, some Republicans argue that because they are no longer using the struck-down policy, and since nothing else has been deemed unconstitutional in court, they argue that, by definition, it cant be considered unconstitutional.

Either way, there has been a bipartisan effort for years to fix the funding system.

House Bill 1, introduced by State Reps. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland) and Jamie Callender (R-Concord), in 2021, required $333 million additional dollars a year for K-12 education funding  or about $2 billion overall. It is called the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP).

Their bill was an amended version of policy that passed the House but not the Senate in the General Assembly prior, which was created by former Speaker Bob Cupp (R-Lima) and former state Rep. John Patterson (D-Jefferson). House Bill 1 was finally passed in the budget and signed into law.

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The rollout was supposed to take six years and is meant to change how public dollars are provided to K-12 schools. It would give additional support to local districts so they can rely less on property taxes.

The first two years were partially fully funded, the second two years were fully funded, and there are just two years left to go.

Recap  timeline

In early January, comments made by new House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) angered viewers, readers, parents and education leaders across the state.

I dont think there is a third phase to Cupp-Patterson, Huffman told reporters. As to the expectation that those things are gonna go in I guess the clear statement I can say is I think those increases in spending are unsustainable.

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The G.A. from four years ago shouldnt be able to bind what the future lawmakers can do, he said.

We did a follow-up story several days later, in which half a dozen GOP legislators personally reached out, vowing to protect K-12 education.

Those six, and at least 15 others we have spoken to in recent weeks, say that one of their main priorities is supporting public schools.

This comes as Gov. Mike DeWine would not commit to supporting the current bipartisan funding formula, saying that difficult choices will need to be made.

A week after that, we brought the topic back up to Huffman due to the immense backlash. He doubled down.

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If people are upset about it, they still need to address the facts, the speaker said. I think the current system, especially if we did the third part of what some people are calling the plan, is really unsustainable.

He called the continuation of the current funding plan a fantasy.

A change on the horizon

Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District gets roughly 75% of its funding from local taxes, with the rest coming from the states FSFP.

But Board of Education member Dan Heintz said his district, and all of K-12 schools, would suffer under Huffmans plan.

Were looking at reduced programs, were looking at larger classrooms, were looking at less one-on-one and small group work with our students, Heintz said.

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Huffman has been adamant about slashing at least $650 million in public education spending in this General Assemblys budget.

The implementing of the Cupp-Patterson plan that many believers say  fait accompli  that we decided four years ago, that in this budget were going to do that, in my estimation, is a fantasy, the speaker said on Jan. 14.

Huffman explained that this years budget is going to have significantly less money due to the federal COVID dollars drying up. And for him, public education is on the chopping block.

Ohioans have called their lawmakers. Former Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill), Callender and a dozen more Republicans reached out to share they would fight for school funding. And it seems they have.

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This week, Huffman seemed to backtrack from his firm stance.

School funding is a longer discussion that I think really cannot be had in earnest and detail until the governor introduces the budget, Huffman said on Jan. 22.

So what happened?

The Republicans went on a caucus retreat at the beginning of the G.A. During the private three-day-long trip, policy was discussed.

Ive confirmed with half a dozen representatives that the speakers team gave a presentation about how the current funding formula needs to be cut due to it being unsustainable. After the supporters spoke, numerous Republicans stood up to advocate for fully funding public schools, starting a larger discussion.

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Some of the lawmakers have been focused on public schools for years. Others havent always been the most vocal supporters but still wanted to speak up, while others are education leaders in the state.

I dont think we landed, because its so enormous, on anything in particular, Huffman said.

Huffman mentioned how his colleagues expressed frustration with real estate taxes.

Seventy percent or 75%  the number I found was actually 63% on average  are the real estate taxes that go to your local government, the leader continued. No matter what happens, the taxes go up  and so we have to address that and therefore address school funding.

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Although what Huffman said may technically be true, since schools fall under local government, real estate taxes mainly go to education  not township officers or child services.

For example, we searched Huffmans address in Lima and found that more than 70% of his real estate taxes in 2023 went to the school system, while less than 10% went to the village/corporation.

Affordability

Parma City Schools Superintendent Charles Smialek is still worried about Huffmans championing of the private school vouchers. Under Huffmans watch, the state spent roughly $1 billion in public money to send kids to nonpublic schools.

If were gonna squeeze our public schools, what is the commensurate squeeze on the other side? he asked.

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Huffman and many GOP politicians believe spending that much on EdChoice is necessary in order to have the money follow the child or have the students avoid poor-performing public schools.

This program is designed to acknowledge the unique abilities and needs of Ohios student population and to foster an educational environment in which every student can have access to the best learning environment for them, state Rep. Riordan McClain (R-Upper Sandusky) said in his testimony for one of his bills supporting vouchers.

A parent shouldnt be forced to choose between moving to another school district for their child to go to a different school, he said.

Ohio has made strides with the EdChoice Scholarship to provide new opportunities for financially challenged families as well as students in failing districts, he added.

If you can afford to pay out of pocket for education or you make a lower amount of income and are eligible for an EdChoice scholarship, you are able to have educational options, the lawmaker said.

The number of students receiving EdChoice Expansion vouchers increased from 23,272 students during the 2022-2023 school year to 82,946 students during the 2023-2024 school year, according to data provided by the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce (ODEW).

But the number of students enrolled in private schools during the 2023-24 school year only increased by 3,719 students, according to ODEW.

What is the least expensive, acceptable educational product for the taxpayer? Huffman asked rhetorically. If someone says theyre willing to take a $7,000 scholarship voucher and go to a private school rather than going to the school that on average in the state, its about $15,000  thats better for the taxpayers.

Huffman is referencing the average operating expenditures per pupil, according to the Legislative Service Commission.

Many schools, like CH-UHCSD, reached out to share that their pupil numbers are much lower than that. They amount they receive is roughly $2,300.

The state of Ohio will send about three times that, $8,400 to educate the same student at a private school, Heintz said.

But for public schools, the EdChoice program is siphoning money from them, and the voucher system doesnt have a record to show for transparency.

You would think with the $1 billion in public investment, wed be very concerned about what exactly thats going to, Smialek said. And yet we dont have any type of report that can generate that type of information for us.

Public schools are held to higher standards than private schools, Smialek said.

We questioned Huffman on the lack of transparency with that state money, in which he said schools with voucher programs already have accountability because lots of folks send their kids to private schools.

Heintz is furious at Huffman. He is also more than just a school board member. He teaches American history at Chardon High School  and is part of the steering committee for Vouchers Hurt Ohio, the organizing suing the state for the private school voucher system.

Exactly 200 public school districts are part of the organization, according to the website. More than 130 are a part of the lawsuit. This includes Lima City School District, where Huffman is from.

Here we have a man who five years ago voted in support of the fair school funding program and promised the future full implementation of the fair school funding program Now he switches to the House and seems to have put on a different brain because hes all of a sudden saying the fair school funding program is unsustainable,' Heintz said. I say back, Mr. Huffman is not sustainable.'

The speaker has remarked that even back when he voted on the FSFP, he didnt believe that it could require him to support it years later.

Thats often how a lot of projects go  early on it doesnt cost very [much] money  but some other governor or General Assembly will have to figure out how to pay for it, Huffman said in early Jan. As it turns out, I am the other General Assembly years in the future, or possibly am, and I dont think the spending is sustainable.

Whats next

Just because Huffman isnt as resolute about public school spending doesnt mean that funding is safe, but Smialek said its a step in the right direction.

His caucus is giving some pushback here and really putting a little bit of a speed bump in terms of some of the initial conversations, Smialek said.

Huffman referenced the governors budget. Although lawmakers are the ones who get to pick and choose what to do with the states funding, Gov. Mike DeWine gets a say, too. His budget comes out first, then goes to the House for review and later to the Senate.

We asked DeWine in early January if he would fully fund public schools, but he was noncommittal.

It would be unfair of me at this point to come out here and say we need to do this, this, this and this, the governor responded.

Former Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, now a U.S. Senator, jumped in, giving a more straightforward answer.

Funding for the education of children will continue to be a huge budget priority going forward as hes made sure of in the past, Husted said.

Still, there is a coalition of House Republicans that would be able to get the FSFP into the budget or prevent a budget from passing that doesnt have it.

Callender is one of the most vocal GOP supporters of all schools.

I have fought since my first term, when the DeRolph decision came out, for public education at our local district schools and will continue that fight as long as the voters give me the chance to, Callender said.

Only 16 out of 65 House Republicans need to join the Democrats to block a cut to funding.

If taxpayers and community members turn up the heat on their local legislators, that heat will be felt in Columbus, Heintz said.

It clearly already has.

This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook.

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A protest at the Ohio Statehouse. (Photo by Susan Tebben, Ohio Capital Journal.)

Advocacy groups of all types are revving up for the new term of the Ohio General Assembly, laying out policy priorities from early childhood education to housing and brownfield remediation.

With a new year, a new House Speaker and a new Senate President, groups are planning their strategies when it comes to legislative and state support for what they feel are the biggest needs of Ohioans.

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State policies and tools that are sensitive to local context will ensure that all communities will contribute to Ohios standing as an economic leader, said Jason Warner, director of strategic engagement for the Greater Ohio Policy Center.

The GOPC recently met to discuss priorities like housing inventory, public transportation and rail expansion, but at the top of the list for the group is brownfield remediation, a topic legislators have brought to the General Assembly in the past.

Ohio has hundreds of sites with utility infrastructure, transportation access and nearby workers which are currently unusable, Warner said.

Brownfields are areas that were built up for industrial or commercial development, but were abandoned, at times with environmental hazards or substances keeping further development from happening on the land.

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In the last General Assembly, state Reps. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Twp., and Bride Rose Sweeney, D-Westlake, introduced House Bill 519, which aimed to revive the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund, a program to provide grants for brownfield cleanup or remediation. The CORF has been inactive since 2013 and was repealed in the state operating budget passed in the 135th General Assembly, according to the Legislative Service Commission.

The bill would have required developers to submit affidavits confirming that they did not contribute to the release of hazardous substances or petroleum at the brownfield that is being cleaned up or remediated.

H.B. 519 saw one committee hearing in the House Finance Committee, but was never taken up further, thus it died at the end of the General Assembly term in December. The last two budgets, however, contained funding for the states Brownfield Remediation Program, a total of $350 million each in the 2022-2023 and 2024-2025 budgets. GOPC data showed that the BRP has given $659 million to Ohio communities to assess, cleanup and revitalize brownfields in 86 of 88 counties.

The U.S. EPA keeps track of brownfields across the country as well, along with assessments and resources in each region.

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Hall and Sweeney say they plan to bring back the issue as the new GA begins, with the goal of establishing a fundamental, permanent funding mechanism.

These are the types of issues, I think, most Ohioans want us to be working on, Sweeney said.

Among other issues the GOPC wants to see from the state is use of underutilized commercial districts and other areas to boost inventory so Ohioans can obtain housing, something the state lacks in terms of sufficient inventory, according to Warner.

The General Assembly should continue to support programs that encourage private and nonprofit developers to produce homeownership and rental opportunities, Warner said, adding that the state should also limit the residential purchases by institutional real estate investors.

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Supporting Ohio residents also means maintaining roads and transportation options for those residents, though the struggle might grow as Ohios population drops.

In the next 25 years, Ohio is projected to lose 5.7% of its 2020 population, according to Warner.

That means an aging population still looking to maintain its independence, but fewer ratepayers available to support longterm roadway maintenance costs. Because of that, the state should prioritize projects where theyre most needed, and cut others, the GOPC stated in their policy priorities.

Conservative views

The conservative group Americans for Prosperity-Ohio also released a legislative agenda they called the Buckeye Blueprint. The policy agenda focused on three major issues: the economy, education and energy.

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The AFP-Ohio started their policy document by saying Ohio is failing to lead where it counts in areas like tax reform, spending, education and energy.

The national Americans for Prosperity Action, a super-PAC affiliated with the AFP, spent millions on GOP-backing ads for U.S. Senate races, including the race now-U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno ran against former Sen. Sherrod Brown.

In 2024, AFP-Ohio endorsed, among other Republicans, state Sen. Jerry Cirino of Kirtland, the author of the new Senate Bill 1, a reintroduction of the highly criticized S.B. 83, which seeks to overhaul higher education by banning mandatory diversity training and faculty strikes, along with keeping colleges from taking stands on topics deemed controversial, like climate change or abortion.

They top their policy agenda with support for laws that phase out income tax and enhancing the business climate to improve its citizens financial well-being and regain competitiveness for congressional representation.

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The AFP-Ohio partnered with the Buckeye Institute on a new report laying out what they see as the best energy policy for Ohio.

Affordable energy is essential to Ohios economy, where manufacturing accounts for over 15% of the workforce, the groups stated. Rising costs are a risk driving manufacturers to relocate, threatening economic growth.

The best energy policy, in their view, would include eliminating excessive government regulations from the federal EPA, ending government subsidies that damage energy markets, and taking away a focus on clean energy.

The reliance on solar and wind, driven by regulations on fossil fuels, raises concerns about creating reliable power and maintaining a stable grid, the report stated.

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The AFP-Ohio also plans to push the Republican supermajority to advance universal open enrollment in public schools along with school choice and the removal of barriers in the EdChoice (private school) voucher system to ensure every child is given the opportunity to choose an education option that fits their unique needs.

The legislature already expanded voucher eligibility in the previous budget to near universal levels, but the AFP sees more ways to fund families, maximize flexibility and expand the supply for educational choice as demand continues to increase.

Despite the universal availability of EdChoice vouchers, barriers still stand in the way of true education freedom in the Buckeye state, the policy document states.

The future of Ohio

Other groups are looking at the youngest populations of Ohioans, and prepping for transformative policy, partly through the passage of the state budget.

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With the upcoming state budget process, we are seizing this crucial opportunity to ensure that Ohios youngest children and their families are at the center of public investment, Groundwork Ohio president and CEO Lynanne Gutierrez wrote in an email to the public earlier this month.

Groundworks policy priorities were spurred on by a Roadshow Listening Tour the group did in 13 communities in Ohio. From those conversations, Groundwork came up with budget priorities that include increasing eligibility for Publicly Funded Child Care in Ohio, increased access to public preschools, implementation of community impact models for infant mortality reduction, increased access to mental and behavioral health services and support for the educators who provide the young children with their learning experiences.

Despite diverse geographical and socioeconomic contexts, the fundamental challenges facing families with young children across Ohio  such as access to quality child care, health care and basic needs  are strikingly similar, the policy report stated. This underscores a commonality that transcends urban-rural divides and offers opportunities for unified statewide solutions.

Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to release his executive budget at the beginning of February, after which the Ohio House will introduce a budget bill for hearings. The Ohio Senate is set to hold budget hearings in the spring, with a conference committee of the House and Senate scheduled for June to bring the two budget proposals together with DeWines proposals. The deadline for DeWine to sign the budget is June 30.

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When Air Force Col. Cassie Barlow moved to Ohio to become the base commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, her teenage daughter enrolled in her 10th school in 16 years.

"The first thing I always thought about when we moved was: 'Where is my daughter going to go to school?'" Barlow said.

Barlow's daughter excelled in smaller schools but that wasn't an option for those living on base, so Barlow enrolled her in a private school instead.

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A new change in state law, which will take effect on April 9, will allow children of active-duty military parents to enroll in any public school  as long as the district has space for them.

Sen. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, championed the changes in Senate Bill 208, which passed with unanimous, bipartisan support. She said the new law is both a tool to recruit military families to Ohio and a way to express gratitude for their service.

"Education is one of the most important things that families care about because it defines the future for their children," Roegner said. "We're hoping that this will make it better for those people who are willing to lay their lives down for our country."

Barlow's daughter has already graduated high school. But she wears another hat as president of the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education focused on workforce development. This bill will help recruiting military families to come and stay in Ohio.

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We are in an incredibly competitive workforce market right now. To be able to have something like this make us much more attractive to military members and to veterans," Barlow said.

How would the change help military families?

Under current law, school districts must decide if they will allow students to enroll from other school districts under any circumstances. If districts allow open enrollment, the option can be limited to surrounding school districts. Soon, schools will make an exception for children in military families.

It's not clear how many students might take advantage of the option. More than 7,300 students from military families were enrolled in Ohio schools during the 2022-2023 academic year, according to a legislative analysis. Many live near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base just east of Dayton or the Defense Supply Center Columbus in Whitehall.

School districts that enroll military children could see a bump in state money while districts that students leave might lose some funding, according to an analysis of the bill's financial impact.

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Ohio will join 17 other states that offer open enrollment for children of military families. The change will help military families, whose children change schools up to 10 times before graduation, said Shane Preston, the Great Lakes Region liaison at the U.S. Department of Defense-State Liaison Office.

"Military families are at a disadvantage when it comes to enrollment options available to their children, due to the timing of military-directed moves," Preston told lawmakers.

Roegner introduced the bill to help military children after passing about a dozen laws that allow nurses, physical therapists, counselors, audiologists and other professionals to use their licenses from other states in Ohio. These licensure compacts help anyone considering a move to Ohio, she said.

When deciding where to move, families consider how hard it will be for their spouses to find work and their children to find a school, Roegner said. "Hopefully, this will make it easier."

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Jessie Balmert covers state government and politics for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: New Ohio law will allow military children to open enroll
OKLAHOMA CITY  Oklahomas top education official said he would support immigration enforcement raids in schools to assist with the White Houses promise of mass deportations.

This week, President Donald Trump threw out a federal policy that had been in place since 2011 that discouraged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making arrests in protected areas like schools, medical centers and places of worship.

Oklahoma schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said in a TV interview posted Friday that he would help the Trump administration in any way they see fit to carry out immigration enforcement, including ICE raids in schools.

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For years the liberal media has been vilifying Republicans for separating illegal immigrant children from their parents, Walters said in a news release Friday afternoon. Now they want us to explain why wed let ICE agents into schools. The answer is simple: we want to ensure that deported parents are reconnected with their children and keep families together.

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Chicago Public Schools said ICE agents attempted to enter an elementary school on Friday, but the school denied them entry. However, the U.S. Secret Service later clarified it was one of its agents in the area investigating a threat, not ICE conducting immigration enforcement.

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Walters has proposed a rule at the state Education Department, which he leads, that would require schools to ask for students proof of citizenship or legal immigration status during enrollment.

His proposal would not prohibit any students from attending public schools, but districts would have to report to the Education Department the number of undocumented children they enroll.

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Walters said Friday he intends to share this information with the federal government to assist with immigration enforcement.

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The first step is getting them the information, Walters said in an interview with Tulsa TV station KTUL. Thats part of what they flagged is, you know, schools havent been working with law enforcement on this. Well, in Oklahoma, were going to work with law enforcement. We are going to work with the Trump administration.

The Oklahoma State Board of Education, which Walters also heads, is expected to vote Tuesday on the proposed immigration rule. If it passes, the state Legislature would have the choice of voting on it or allowing the governor to decide whether to approve it. The rule would carry the force of law if OKd by the Legislature or governor.

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Gov. Kevin Stitts office remains focused on deporting undocumented immigrants who committed crimes unrelated to their immigration status, spokesperson Meyer Siegfried said.

Governor Stitt supports the strong enforcement of immigration laws and believes we have a responsibility to know who is in our state and how taxpayer dollars are being spent, Siegfried said.

The office of the Senate president pro tem did not return a request for comment Friday. House Speaker Kyle Hilberts office declined to comment on a rule that hasnt yet passed a board vote to be submitted to the Legislature, nor did he remark on potential ICE involvement in schools.

Walters initially suggested the rule last month as a way to gauge current and future needs for English learner programs and other school resources to accommodate immigrant children.

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Ryan Walters: How a Beloved Teacher Became Oklahomas Top Culture Warrior

Advocates of Oklahoma immigrant communities warned citizenship checks in schools could dissuade undocumented families from enrolling their children in public education.

Schools should be a safe haven from immigration enforcement, said Juan Lecona, a member of the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education.

This is not about red or blue, Lecona said Friday. Its about the future of our students. Let them learn. Let them become whoever they want to be in the future. By doing this, you are breaking up families, and on top of that, how are the schools going to benefit from it?

Lecona is the first immigrant to serve on the Oklahoma City school board. His parents brought him to the U.S. from Mexico when he was a child in 1990 with a legal visa and permit, he said. Once that paperwork expired, he became undocumented.

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Lecona is now a U.S. citizen with children attending the Oklahoma City district. As a school board member, he represents a majority Latino area in the citys south side.

He said immigrants living in his community are afraid and dont know what to do.

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Im concerned for my community, our working people, because thats what we want. We just want to work and achieve our American dream, Lecona said. Were not here to cause trouble.

Oklahoma City Superintendent Jamie Polk has said the district has no plans to collect students immigration status. The district administration did not return a request for comment on Walters statements Friday.

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.
President Donald Trump's opening salvo against illegal immigration has brought new life to a state law that would allow Oklahoma to punish someone for being in the United States without permission.

House Bill 4156 was signed into law last year, but has been held up by lawsuits in federal court that allege state lawmakers exceeded their authority by trying to regulate immigration.

One of those lawsuits was filed by the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden, which originally argued that the law violates the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause. Now under new management, the Justice Department is reevaluating its stance.

What does HB 4156 do for illegal immigration?

As written, the law allows state prosecutors to charge individuals with "impermissible occupation" if they are in the United States without authorization.

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More: False social media posts about immigration raids in OKC stokes fear

The first conviction would be a misdemeanor, with punishment being up to one year in a county jail, a $500 fine or both. Any subsequent convictions would trigger felony charges and the possibility of spending two years in state prison and/or a $1,000 fine.

Anyone convicted of impermissible occupation would be forced to leave the state within 72 hours of being released.

Justice Department might change its mind about HB 4156

Last week, the Justice Department said it would examine how Trump's immigration policy would affect the lawsuit filed during the Biden Administration. The move is an indication that the Justice Department might withdraw its challenge of Oklahoma's law.

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On his first day in office, Trump issued a proclamation saying he "determined that the current situation at the southern border qualifies as an invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States."

"The federal government is assessing the effect of the order on this case. That assessment will require consultation with officials of the new administration in the U.S. Department of Justice and other interested federal agencies," a Justice Department attorney wrote to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond praised the government's potential reversal.

"The recent letter from the Justice Department makes clear that our position is correct, and I am encouraged that soon we will be able to enforce HB 4156. This law is critical in our efforts to stamp out the pestilence of illegal marijuana grows and their associated criminal activities," Drummond said in a press release.

Who is against Oklahoma's anti-immigration law?

The ACLU and other organizations filed their own lawsuit against the bill in federal court, which is now awaiting a decision by the 10th Circuit.

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House Bill 4156 "creates a new state system to regulate immigration that completely bypasses and conflicts within the federal system," the ACLU lawsuit said. "It allows state officers to arrest, detain, and expel from Oklahoma noncitizens who are convicted of the new state crimes  all without any direction, input, or involvement whatsoever from federal officials."

The bill has also been criticized by those who would have to enforce the law. The Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police and local police agency leaders released a joint statement in May saying the immigration bill would deteriorate public trust in law enforcement and pose legal challenges in anti-racial profiling.

Joint Statement from Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police and Metro Law Enforcement Agency Leaders re: HB4156House... Posted by Oklahoma City Police Department on Tuesday, May 14, 2024

More than 1,000 people showed up to a rally at the state Capitol last year to protest against the bill, and Latino community leaders in Oklahoma City have spoken publicly about their fears if the law is enforced.

More: 'I'm afraid.' OKC Latino community speaks on election, immigration, their concerns

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In April, a retired special agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation wrote about his early days as an OKC police officer where he would arrest Hispanic men if they could not speak English or provide immigration papers. Tommy L. Johnson wrote that he stopped making these arrests when a supervisor challenged him, asking to see his own "green card."

"I came to realize the arrests I made were in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution which granted the right of 'people' to be 'secure in their persons' against unreasonable seizures," Johnson wrote. "Also, Oklahoma law restricted my power of arrest to misdemeanors committed in my presence, arrests with a warrant or probable cause to believe a felony was committed. I had none of those when making the arrests for immigration hold."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: HB 4156: What to know about Oklahoma immigration law, Trump policy
Neenah was first settled in 1835, and it's come a long way in 190 years.

Here's what you can expect from two new businesses and when they're expected to open.

The future site of Ollie's Bargain Outlet at 699 S. Green Bay Road, in Neenah, as seen on Nov. 15, 2024.

The first ever Ollie's Bargain Outlet in the area to open in Neenah

Ollie's Bargain Outlet, a large discount chain, is moving into the former Big Lots at 699 S. Green Bay Road in Neenah. A banner was hung on the building in November announcing the future business, the exact opening is not confirmed but four other Ollie's in the state are slated to open in February.

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In proximity to Oshkosh, the Fond du Lac Ollie's store is slated to open Feb. 12. Locations in Sheboygan, West Bend and Mt. Pleasant are also expected to open the same day.

The retail store carries brands at bargain prices for a wide range of departments, labeling itself as "America's largest retailer of closeout merchandise" on its website. It'll be the first of its kind in the Fox Cities, other stores in Wisconsin are located in Kenosha and Rothschild.

The future site of 7 Brew Coffee at 3226 E. Calumet St., in Neenah, pictured on November 18, 2024.

7 Brew Coffee's first location

7 Brew Coffee, a drive-thru coffee spot, is currently under construction in the Kohl's outlot, at 3226 E. Calumet St., between Panda Express and Starbucks Coffee. While the construction began in early November, there is currently no set date for when the construction will be completed or when the location will be open for business.

This location will be the first of its kind in the Fox Cities, other Wisconsin locations include Eau Claire, Brookfield, Pleasant, and Kenosha, with a sixth location currently under construction in Bellevue.

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Faith Huey is a business reporter for The Appleton Post-Crescent. You can reach her at fhuey@gannett.com or view her Instagram profile at @Faith.Huey.

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Neenah prepares for Ollie's, 7 Brew Coffee to open soon
NEW YORK, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The sixth annual "Sound of Spring" concert took place at the Lincoln Center here on Sunday to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Conducted by Jindong Cai, director of the U.S.-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, the Orchestra Now performed a vibrant program featuring traditional Chinese instruments and contemporary symphonic works in a packed house.

Distinguished soloists included Wang Lei, professor of Sheng at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and Yan Guowei, winner of the Golden Prize at the China Music Golden Bell Award for Erhu as well as Zhang Jingli, a renowned percussionist and Bard graduate student and pipa virtuoso JinOu Anastasia Dong.

A standout piece was the pipa concerto "Sisters of the Grassland," inspired by Wu Yingju's animated film and Inner Mongolian folk songs. Composed in 1972 by Wu Zuqiang, Wang Yanqiao and Liu Dehai, the work is about two Mongolian sisters protecting their flock during a blizzard. Its 1979 performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa marked a milestone in U.S.-China cultural exchanges.

In keeping with tradition, the concert included three concertos for Chinese instruments and orchestra, blending traditional and modern elements. A pre-concert demonstration allowed attendees to explore traditional instruments and engage with the musicians.

The concert concluded with an encore of "Beijing Tidings" by Zheng Lu and Ma Hongye, sending heartfelt New Year's blessings to the audience.

Founded in 2017, the U.S.-China Music Institute promotes the study, performance and appreciation of music from contemporary China and supports musical exchanges between the United States and China.

In partnership with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the U.S.-China Music Institute offers the first degree-granting program in Chinese instrument performance in a U.S. conservatory. 
At least one person was killed and seven others were injured on Monday when Israeli forces opened fire on Lebanese villagers attempting to return to their homes as part of a ceasefire agreement, according to Lebanese security sources.

One person was killed in the border town of Adaissah, according to the Health Ministry.

The Israeli army said that it was checking the reports.

At the weekend 24 people were killed when residents tried to return to their homes in the south despite Israeli troops still being stationed there.

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Hezbollah militia was extended until February 18 on Sunday, according to the White House, after Israel asked for more time to withdraw.
On Dec. 19, Kevin Ray Underwood became the last person executed in 2024. Oklahoma put him to death for the 2006 murder of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Rolin.

Six days earlier, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board met to consider Underwoods request for clemency. He appeared via video conference and apologized to Bolins family, his family, and those in the hearing room who had to listen to the details of the crime.

Underwood told the board that he has blocked out most of his memory of that day. But when I do think about it, it causes me great pain.

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His lawyers tried to save Underwoods life by convincing the board that he is a profoundly ill man worthy of mercy. They argued that his sentence should be commuted because of the childhood trauma, undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, PTSD, social phobia, and other mental health challenges he faced.

Assistant Attorney General Aspen Layman, representing the state, branded their narrative a revisionist history of Underwoods past that was being used to justify mercy on his behalf. Layman argued that Underwood should be shown the same mercy he showed Bolin  none at all.

While we, as an enlightened society, can give grace to those struggling with mental illness, he went on, we can still expect them to refrain from planning the murder, rape, torture, and cannibalism of 10-year-old little girls.

The board agreed and voted unanimously to deny clemency.

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Underwood was not alone in losing his fight for mercy that year. Although former President Joe Biden made 2024 memorable for death row inmates by commuting the sentences of 37 federal inmates awaiting execution, and although exiting North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) made headlines with a last-minute commutation of the sentences of 15 of his states 136 death row inmates, Underwoods case was more typical.

But for Coopers action, 2024 would have been the first year since 2016 in which no state granted clemency to any inmate on death row.

In place after place, clemency boards and governors turned deaf ears to claims that miscarriages of justice, mental illness or rehabilitation justified mercy. If they are to have more success in the future, lawyers representing death row inmates will have to adapt new strategies and focus on educating clemency boards and governors about the special place of mercy in the death penalty system.

To put 2024 in context, we should note that over the last half century, it has never been easy for inmates on death row to get clemency. For example, in 2023, only one of them succeeded when Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) pardoned John Huffington on the grounds that his convictions were in error.

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In 2021, another year with just one capital clemency, only Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) commuted the death sentence of Julius Jones based on concerns about Jones age at the time of the offense and serious doubts as to his guilt.

Since 1976, 365 death row inmates have received clemency at the state and federal levels. That may seem a sizable number, but as law professors Carol and Jordan Steiker note, The modern era of American capital punishment  saw a stunning drop in the use of capital clemency, which had been a substantial and routine practice  even in states that used the death penalty the most.

And, in the modern era, when governors did grant clemency to death row inmates, they often were, like Bidens, mass clemencies issued as a step toward abolishing the death penalty in their states.

Examples include what New Mexico Gov. Tony Anaya (D) did in 1986 when he emptied his states death row by granting clemency to five men. New Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2009.

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In January 2003, Illinois Gov. George Ryan (R) pardoned four people and commuted the sentences of 167 death row inmates. Illinois abolished the death penalty eight years later.

Other mass commutations of death sentences occurred in New Jersey in 2007 and in Oregon in 2022. Both were quickly followed by the death penalty ending in those states.

Over the last 50 years, only about one-third of the clemencies granted have been based on individualized determinations. In those cases, executive officials most often cite disproportionate sentencing, possible innocence, and mitigation factors such as intellectual disability or mental illness as reasons to grant clemency in capital cases.

But none of that mattered in 2024 until Coopers eleventh-hour decision.

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Earlier in the year, it looked like Oklahoma would break the 2024 clemency drought when, in August, the Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 to recommend clemency for Emmanuel Littlejohn. His lawyers convinced them that Littlejohn had been treated unfairly because his co-defendant received life in prison without parole, whereas Littlejohn got a death sentence.

But Gov. Stitt was not persuaded. He explained why he did not follow the boards recommendation: A jury found him (Littlejohn) guilty and sentenced him to death. The decision was upheld by multiple judges. As a law-and-order governor, I have a hard time unilaterally overturning that decision. Littlejohn was executed on Sept. 26.

Arguments about innocence and racial bias fared no better in motivating state officials to grant clemency this year.

Take the case of Marcellus Williams, about whom I wrote last August. Convicted in Missouri of the 1997 murder of Felicia Gayle, Williams conviction was based on the testimony of two eyewitnesses who were paid for their testimony. No DNA evidence linked him to the crime. If that was not bad enough, race played a role in jury selection, with the prosecutor striking six prospective Black jurors, leaving only one to serve.

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Gov. Mike Parson (R) still denied clemency, justifying his decision by saying that Williams had exhausted due process and every judicial avenue. Williams was put to death in September.

Parson, like Stitt, confused what courts do in capital cases with what clemency allows governors to do.

The Steikers blame what they call an unjustified complacency. Judicial review, they suggest, should not displace  the need for actors outside of the judiciary to reinforce the commitments of the (Supreme) Courts death penalty jurisprudence. Even former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, an ardent supporter of capital punishment, recognized that clemency was a fail safe in our fallible judicial system.

Ironically, the almost complete failure of governors to grant clemency in capital cases this year may reflect the progress abolitionists have made in changing public attitudes about the death penalty. That change has, in turn, made it harder for prosecutors in Oklahoma, Missouri and elsewhere to persuade juries to impose new death sentences.

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As that has happened, officials in states that retain capital punishment have become more reluctant to give up on the death sentences they have already obtained. As this country gets closer to abolishing death as a punishment, that progress does not bode well for the inmates on death row who will ask to have their lives spared in 2025.

Austin Sarat is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. His views do not necessarily reflect those of Amherst College.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
America has fallen through the looking glass into something resembling Lewis Carrolls sequel to Alice in Wonderland. We are now in an un-wonderland where the Red Queens demand for sentence before verdict has become the law of the land.

A few examples underscore why Americas world has been turned upside down.

Taiwan is a case in point. Congress has made it absolutely clear that China is this nations greatest threat and believes that its president, Xi Jinping, is serious about preparing his army to seize and occupy Taiwan by 2027. So the U.S., according to the Taiwan Relations Act must help Taiwan defend itself. And under certain circumstances, the U.S. might help defend Taiwan with its forces.

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The legal and moral argument is that international aggression against an independent state cannot be tolerated. As the U.S. and its NATO allies have come to assist Ukraine against unprovoked Russian aggression, Taiwan could fall into this category.

But Taiwans legislature, controlled by the opposition Kuomintang party, has voted to freeze its defense spending, raising profound questions about the islands commitment to independence.

Chinas leadership rightly observes that Donald Trump has now looked south to the Panama Canal and north to Canada and Greenland as potential acquisitions or in the case of the canal, a reacquisition. Aside from the apparent hypocrisy between that and the jusification for defending Taiwan, some interesting issues will be raised if Trumps aspirations turn into policy actions. An invasion of Greenland would violate NATOs Article 5 in which an attack against one is an attack against all. Denmark, a NATO country, remains Greenlands sovereign.

This would not be not the first time one NATO member attacked another. Greece and Turkey went to war over Cyprus. The United Kingdom and Iceland waged a cod war over fish.

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But any U.S. attempt to seize the possession of another NATO member certainly stretches the boundaries of the looking glass. And what would NATO do if Denmark requested Article 5 protection?

The idea that Canada is likely to become a province of America or its 51st state is nonsense. Merely raising this proposition must come from deep within the looking glass because of that nonsense.

However, reclaiming the Panama Canal has had its advocates ever since the Carter administration gave it up in 1979. The canal is a vital waterway and a chokepoint between the two great Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

It was built to accommodate U.S. battleships with a beam of about 110 feet. Today, however, the canal can accept a ship with a beam not greater than 160 feet (51 meters), meaning that neither supertankers nor American nuclear aircraft carriers will fit. Thus, the canal has limitations.

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Further, while China has the lease on the management of two of the five ports, the Panama Canal Authority  not China  owns and operates the canal itself. Also, drought has reduced the amount of water needed for ships passage, reducing the number of ships transiting the canal each day by nearly 40 percent, to 24 per day. So if Trump were to reclaim the canal, aside from provoking an international crisis and unlimited lawsuits, what would that achieve?

Why then is Trump discussing the acquisitions of Greenland, Panama and Canada? Perhaps Trump has one particular target in sight. He could be using the other two to mask his priority. Or he could he be using these three as disinformation and misdirection, to focus attention on what are really non-issues. Only Trump knows.

The point is that Trumpland is an un-wonderland. And the only rules are the Red Queens, or in this case Trumps.

Harlan Ullman Ph.D. is United Press Internationals Arnaud deBorchgrave Distinguished Columnist, senior advisor at Washington D.C.s Atlantic Council, chairman of two private companies and principal author of the shock and awe military doctrine. His next book, due in 2025, is The Great Paradox: Strategic Thinking in an Unstrategic World.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
To those who have lost faith in our public schools: The future of our representative democratic government requires strengthening our struggling public school system, not dismantling it through Utah Fits All. Utah Fits All, Utahs voucher program, uses income taxes to provide annual scholarships for private schooling.

How does Utah Fits All contribute to the weakening of democracy? Using taxpayers money to support private schools lacks accountability. Private schools are not governed by elected state and local school board members who come together on a regular basis to hash out our common good. Contentious as that is in our hyperpolarized society, the continual search for the common good is the core of the public school system and of democratic governance.

Many Utah taxpayers are asking why our Legislature is turning its back on policies it has unwaveringly upheld, including robust accountability for tax dollars, detailed and public reporting of student achievement, high standards for teachers, the forbidding of tax dollars paid to private religious schools and the oversight role of the Utah State Board of Education.

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Utahs legislative about-face echoes a movement across the country as it paves the way for school choice programs (using vouchers, scholarships, education savings accounts and tax credits) to advance a decades-long effort to privatize public education. Advocates for school choice and corporate privatization have joined forces. Both agendas depend on relaxed regulations that open public education budgets to corporate raiding and taxpayer-funded teaching of sectarian beliefs.

Sectarian schools are affiliated with religious or other belief systems, and these schools typically teach their affiliated belief systems. A sectarian education system evolves when parents choose to spend tax dollars in schools that teach their personal beliefs as absolutes, beyond question. Utah Fits All scholarship students risk the lack of critical thought and appreciation for the wide range of perspectives beyond their sectarian schools. Channeling our tax dollars to sectarian alternatives is a path to a more divisive future.

How far do vouchers lead us away from the nonsectarian vision upon which our public school system was founded? The Common School Movement can be traced to the work of Horace Mann (1796-1859), Massachusetts secretary of education (1837-1848). Mann was concerned that new freedoms, granted after the Revolutionary War, could destroy the American experiment in democracy unless we could prepare students for self-governance through a nonsectarian, state-funded, universal education system. Following Manns lead, our countrys education stakeholders have met regularly to find our common good and reach consensus on injustices that prevent Manns unifying goals from becoming fully realized. Unfortunately, Utah Fits All and similar programs across the country have had a chilling effect on Manns vision. With a sectarian system, we lose sight of the public school systems unifying force held since its inception.

What could strengthen the public system? High-stakes, standardized tests are not required as a primary means for taxpayer accountability in schools receiving Utah Fits All scholarships. The Legislature could strengthen the public system by ending corporate-friendly testing (e.g., high-stakes, standardized tests) in the public schools. Utah could return to meaningful statewide standards, curriculum and assessments designed by Utahs professional educators and overseen by the Utah State Board of Education.

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States with voucher systems already in place have shown that vouchers further weaken our public system by diverting public funds from our already underfunded public school system. Right now, today, our public school system is in desperate need of those funds to hire enough school psychologists to meet national standards, to hire a school nurse for every school, to carry out recommended safety upgrades, etc. To reverse this trend, the Legislature needs to return oversight of tax dollars back to the Utah State Board of Education.

If we agree that the search for our common good is central to the success of representative democracies, and if the Legislature is sincere about wanting a system of education that can innovate so all parents have access to great schools, then write to your legislators in support of strengthening the public school system by ending Utah Fits All.
Eighty years ago today, a liberation took place at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp in southern Poland. Soviet troops arrived to free the survivors, but by then, over 1 million people  the vast majority of them Jews  had already been murdered in the camp.

In the aftermath of World War II, Western leaders vowed to prevent genocide from ever occurring again. Yet today, we see the term weaponized and diluted, casually applied in ways that defy its legal and historical gravity. This misuse dishonors the memory of Holocaust victims, undermines international law and diverts attention from contemporary genocides  the very crimes the world swore to confront.

This week, as I stand at Auschwitz to mark 80 years since its liberation, I am reminded of our collective duty to honor the memory of the victims by resisting the degradation of the term genocide. Bodies like the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and organizations such as Amnesty International must stop politicizing and redefining this critical term, specifically in ways that distort its meaning to denigrate the state of Israel.

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Since Hamass brutal attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel and the terror group have been at war. In Gaza, Hamas has exploited humanitarian zones and U.N. infrastructure to maximize civilian casualties and stoke global outrage. This strategy has succeeded  and accusations of genocide against Israel have grown deafening.

In a bitter twist of irony, some of the most vocal anti-Israel protesters who invoke the Holocaust to condemn Israel often indulge in genocidal rhetoric themselves, chanting slogans like From the river to the sea, which calls for the elimination of the Jewish state.

The word genocide was coined by a Polish lawyer, Raphael Lemkin, in 1944 and enshrined in international law in 1948. It refers to acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. This definition, the U.N.s no less, emphasizes deliberate, systematic targeting  not unintended harm amid conflict.

When I first visited the Majdanek concentration camp as a teenager, I stood before a giant mound of ashes preserved as a testament to the industrialized murder of the Holocaust. I was struck by the meticulous intentionality of it all  the systematic effort to annihilate an entire people. That is genocide. Misapplying the term to describe the conflict in Gaza trivializes the 6 million Jews who were murdered and undermines the legal framework designed to prevent such atrocities.

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Meanwhile, real genocides go largely ignored. In early January, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces were committing genocide in their struggle with the Sudanese Armed Forces. This conflict has killed 150,000  more than three times the number of deaths in the Israel-Hamas war  and displaced 11 million. Yet there is scant media coverage, no International Criminal Court arrest warrants, no campus protests and no celebrity speeches at award shows.

The same neglect applies to the Burmese militarys atrocities against the Rohingya and the Chinese governments brutal repression of Uyghur Muslims, both of which the State Department recognized as genocides in recent years. Where is the outrage?

Instead, the global focus is on Israel, where the accusations of genocide require a distortion of international law. Amnesty International, for instance, dismisses what it calls an overly cramped interpretation of international jurisprudence. This amounts to moving the goalposts, turning genocide into a catch-all accusation, and making a mockery of international law.

Sadly, international legal bodies are complicit in this confusion. Last year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against political leaders from both Israel and Hamas, charging both sides with exterminationas a crime against humanity. This false equivalency  drawing parallels between a democracy defending itself and a terrorist organization deliberately targeting civilians  is a moral and legal outrage.

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As legal scholar Eugene Kontorovich has noted, If Israels defense against Hamas constitutes genocide, then American wars from World War II to Obamas campaign against ISIS do as well. And this is precisely the problem: If anything is genocide, nothing is genocide.

In 1945, Allied general and future American President Dwight D. Eisenhower liberated a concentration camp at Ohrdruf in Germany. He later documented what he saw and heard, in order to be in a position to give firsthand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda. Today I see a new battle unfolding  not just against Holocaust denial but against Holocaust dilution.

If we are silent as genocide is recklessly redefined, we dishonor its victims and weaken our collective ability to prevent future atrocities. In memory of those who perished and in defense of those still at risk, we must stop the politicization of genocide. Instead, we must preserve the terms integrity, uphold its legal weight, and direct our outrage where it truly belongs  toward those who commit the most heinous crimes.

Aviva Klompas is the former director of speechwriting at the Israeli Mission to the United Nations and co-founder of Boundless Israel, a nonprofit organization that partners with community leaders in the U.S. to support Israel education and combat hatred of Jews. She is co-host of the Boundless Insights podcast.

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A brief standoff between President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro ended with Trump claiming victory Sunday night with the announcement that the South American country had agreed to accept its citizens deported on U.S. military planes. Though MAGA world had misconstrued Petros position as an opposition to deportation flights generally, he had objected to U.S. military planes being used. He had demanded that Colombian migrants be treated with dignity.

A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves, Petro said in a post on X. That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants... In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens.

For a fleeting moment, it looked like going after Trump was a political risk Petro was willing to take. Responding to Trumps announcement that hed put tariffs on Colombian imports that would start at 25% on all goods and quickly rise to 50% and the promise of a Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters, Petro responded on X that those sanctions do not scare me and said that Colombia is not anyones colony. At one point, Petro even equated Trump with a white enslaver.

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I resisted torture, and I will resist you, Petro said at one point in Spanish. I dont want enslavers near Colombia. Weve had enough, and we freed ourselves. What I want for Colombia are lovers of freedom. If you cannot stand beside me, I will turn elsewhere.

He added: You may kill me, but I will survive through my people, who existed before yours, in the Americas. We are the people of the winds, the mountains, the Caribbean Sea, and of freedom.

But in the end, the lofty Latin American resistance rhetoric was for naught. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Sunday that Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay.

The Colombian government issued a face-saving statement claiming that its impasse with the United States had been resolved through diplomatic efforts. We will continue to receive Colombians deported under conditions that guarantee dignity and respect as citizens with full rights, part of the statement read.

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Sunday must have been especially challenging for Latinos who said they voted for Trump believing he would improve the economy, and didnt believe he would be this extreme this soon against their communities and the Latin American countries they share origins with.

The misinformation that the MAGA world was circulating Sunday  that Colombia was blocking deportation flights in general  was distressing but not surprising. To suggest that Colombia hasnt been a willing partner in the long history of American immigration enforcement policy is laughable. According to the Department of Homeland Security, between 2014 and 2023, 22% of Colombian nationals encountered by U.S. immigration authorities were repatriated. Telemundo cited Witness at the Border tracking data that between 2020 and 2024, Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights, the fifth-most of any country.

In August, Colombia joined the United States and Panama in issuing a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to managing migration flows through the Darien Gap. This trilateral agreement emphasized collaborative efforts to enhance security and address irregular migration, underscoring Colombias ongoing role as a reliable partner.

However, military deportations send an entirely different message, one that understandably stirs painful memories of U.S. interventionism in Latin America and undermines Colombias sovereignty.

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Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, his states first Latino senator, posted during the Trump-Petro row: Colombia has stopped millions of migrants from coming to the U.S. Trumps strategy of antagonizing our allies is not smart policyit just endangers decades of partnership with Colombia. We cant act like this is some sort of 3D chess. This couldve been handled with a simple phone call.

But a simple phone call wasnt what Trump or his supporters wanted. They wanted to resurrect the Monroe Doctrine and manifest destiny with flash, power and propaganda. They wanted to play the role of the tough, ugly American neighbor, vanquishing anyone perceived as weaker in the eyes of American imperialism and expansionism.

First, theres the threat to take the Panama Canal. Then, the Gulf of Mexico being renamed the Gulf of America in an executive order. Now, theres the bullying of Colombia.

And thats Colombia, not Columbia, as the White House reportedly misspelled it in a press statement about the tariffs. Not spelling the countrys name correctly is another sign of disrespect.

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By Sunday night, the White House was gloating about Colombias total capitulation. The message is clear: If you dont submit to the Trump way, he will make sure to leave the door open to exert whatever pressure he can. Weve got a strong president willing to demand action. If they dont act, then therell be consequences, border czar Tom Homan told NBC News Sunday night.

Homans comments encapsulate the Trump administrations strategy: force compliance through economic threats and public bluster, all while framing any resistance as a failure of the opposing government.

Petros words resonated with those who see the region as more than a pawn in Americas power plays. Yet, the swiftness with which the Trump administration claimed victory underscores the enduring imbalance of power between the United States and Latin America. For all Petros fiery words, the reality remains: resistance is costly, and in this case, Petro determined that his country couldnt pay that price.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Where in the world is Michelle Obama? And why is her husband sharing laughs with Donald Trump?

The answers are likely connected.

She is a leading light among political opposition to Trumps threat to progressive policies on race, abortion and gender rights. She seemingly wanted no part of fake smiles and pretense in dealing with Trump, either at President Jimmy Carters funeral or at Trumps second inauguration.

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President Obama, no doubt, felt compelled as a former president to attend both, as an act of respect for the highest office in the land.

Okay. But why normalize Trump by getting chummy with him at the Carter funeral?

President George W. Bush attended the funeral and essentially shunned Trump. But if Obama had done that, it would have been worse than not showing up at all. It would have even added fuel to racial fires.

In my new book, New Prize for These Eyes  The Rise of Americas Second Civil Rights Movement, I tell the story of Trumps political rise as the hero of a white populist backlash to the election of the first Black president.

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Trump started his political rise by questioning the legitimacy of Obamas presidency. As a high-profile promoter of the birther conspiracy theory, Trump sowed the provocative idea that the Black man in the Oval Office wasnt an American. Obama ultimately had to produce his long-form birth certificate to shut down that slander.

Obama got some payback by trolling Trump at a White House Correspondents Dinner as a self-important, buffoonish character. Trump was furious and, according to some accounts, took the jokes as insults. He then used them to fire up his run for the presidency. From the start of his campaigns for the White House, Trump has enflamed racial tension, often by pointing to Obama.

In his first inaugural address, Trump excoriated Obamas two terms as a period of American carnage, violence in big cities, and said that Americas jobs left and factories closed in Middle America under Obama.

And in Trumps first term, he termed the entire Black Lives Matter movement as a symbol of hate and alleged voter fraud in cities with large Black and Latino populations. Trump claimed to be a friend of Black people, even as he was endorsed by the Ku Klux Klans official newspaper.

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When he was asked what he would say to white militia groups during the 2020 campaign, his simple answer was stand back and stand by.

He urged his supporters on to the U.S. Capitol to stop certification of Trumps loss in the presidential race, helping incite a riot that famously featured a large confederate flag paraded through the Capitol.

After George Floyds murder by a policeman led to mammoth multiracial marches across America and the globe, Trump targeted Black Lives Matter directly. He labeled the marches as violent events led by antifa and political radicals, despite evidence that the marches were largely peaceful.

His Make America Great Again movement continues to stand in direct opposition to the second Civil Rights Movements efforts to heal racial divisions through his efforts to cancel diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

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He has now acted to end attention to bias against minorities in federal programs by placing DEI workers on leave. The history of discrimination against people of color is, to him, a nuisance. Mass incarceration of Black men and income inequality are another bother to him.

He said diversity programs stand opposed to a society that is colorblind and merit based.

In other words, unlike Obama, he believes there is no need to attend to racial wrongs of the past. And unlike BLM, he believes there is no need for attention to the economic and social wrongs of today from bad schools in Black neighborhoods and high rates of Black people killed by police.

Trump has seen Obamas high approval ratings among white Americans. He knows that Black Lives Matter enjoyed majority white support as well as majority Latino and Black support after the Floyd murder. But that harmonious racial movement did not serve Trumps political ends.

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As he has done with demonization of immigrants, Trump uses racial division to advance his political standing. Even teaching young Americans about Americas racial history of slavery, segregation and discrimination, according to Trump, teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves.

So why would Obama sit next to this man and send a message of camaraderie that deflects from Trumps ongoing efforts to undermine Obamas legacy and racial unity in the country?

Could it be a matter of Obama slyly warning Trump about the dangers of a second term? Dont forget that Obama left office with a 59 percent approval rating after two terms. Trump left after one term with a mere 34 percent approval rating.

Trump enters the second term as a lame duck with intense division among House Republicans. Senate Republicans are biting their tongues after Trump last week pardoned most of the January 6 rioters. About 60 percent of Americans, including 30 percent of Republicans, oppose the pardons. The best interpretation of Obamas decision to engage Trump in boys club banter is that he was trying to warn him away from such divisive actions. Apparently, it didnt have much success.

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Maybe Michelle had the right approach.

Juan Williams is senior political analyst for Fox News Channel and a prize-winning civil rights historian. He is the author of the new book New Prize for these Eyes: the Rise of Americas Second Civil Rights Movement.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
With a U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal in place between Israel and Hamas for the initial release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, the question remains: What will the long-term results be?

New polling by our firm, conducted on behalf of the Israel on Campus Coalition, indicates that even though Americans support the current deal, they remain pessimistic about the long-term outcome.

That said, solid majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents remain committed to supporting Israel and want the U.S. to continue supporting the Jewish State.

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Further, and due to the widespread bipartisan support for Israel, Americans widely believe that Israel must be able to take whatever measures are necessary to eliminate terror and that Hamas must not be allowed to govern Gaza following the war.

Indeed, although 78 percent said they support the hostage for ceasefire deal, just 15 percent say they are very optimistic that both sides will follow through on their pledges.

Similarly, there is widespread skepticism that this deal will bring lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, as only 34 percent of U.S. respondents felt that way. And even that may be overstated, as only 11 percent were very optimistic that true peace will be the result.

There are many underlying reasons for Americans cynicism, yet the poll suggests one particular factor is the most significant.

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Namely, that this deal says nothing about the day after the war plan for Gaza, specifically in terms of Hamas role in the future of Gaza.

We found that 57 percent felt that a final deal should require Hamass removal from power, whereas only 10 percent believed that Hamas should be allowed to continue ruling Gaza.

To that end, Americans broadly recognize the long-term threat that a Hamas-ruled Gaza would pose to Israel.

By nearly a three-to-one ratio, Americans would support (56 percent) rather than oppose (19 percent) Israel resuming its military campaign in Gaza to remove Hamas, should Hamas violate the ceasefire deal.

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This widespread support for Israel may seem quizzical given the outsized attention to the disruptive  yet very public  anti-Israel protests that have erupted in American cities and on campuses since the war began in October 2023.

And yet the data, captured routinely since the outbreak of the war, suggest that these protests do not align with the true mood of the American people.

As far back as November 2023, we found that Americans overwhelmingly (70 percent) believe that Hamas is a terrorist organization that wrongly attacks, kidnaps, and murders innocent civilians. Only 8 percent agreed with the statement that Hamas is a freedom-fighting organization committed to liberating the Palestinian people and ending Israeli occupation.

In that same vein, the poll suggests that support for Israel and concern over growing antisemitism at home are both bipartisan ideas. Seventy percent of U.S. adults support Israels right to defend itself, and the support is consistently high among Republicans (79 percent), Democrats (65 percent) and independents (65 percent).

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Whats more, this bipartisan support extends beyond Israels current war with Hamas in Gaza.

Majorities of Republicans (76 percent), independents (57 percent) and Democrats (53 percent) agree that the U.S. should remain a steadfast ally of Israel and fully support it in a war with Iran.

It is not just support for Israel where Americans are largely united. At home, as protests on college campuses continue  including at Columbia University last week, where students interrupted a class to distribute antisemitic fliers featuring violent images  Americans of all parties are united in concern over rising antisemitism due to the war.

Strong majorities of Republicans (70 percent), Democrats (65 percent) and independents (61 percent) expressed concern that the current Israel-Hamas conflict has led to an increase in antisemitism on campuses.

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Similarly, three-quarters (74 percent) of Republicans along with majorities of Democrats (62 percent) and independents (59 percent) support college administrations tightening rules around these protests.

Ultimately, the polling indicates that, far from being a partisan issue, Americans are largely united in supporting Israels right to self-defense and worrying over the impact of surging antisemitism.

Moreover, the data suggest that the media narrative of stark partisan differences toward Israel, which has taken root since Oct. 7, 2023, is inaccurate. Support for Israel does not divide Americans along party lines  rather, it is an area of bipartisan agreement in an age when such widely supported issues are increasingly rare.

Douglas E. Schoen and Carly Cooperman are pollsters and partners with the public opinion company Schoen Cooperman Research based in New York. They are co-authors of the book, America: Unite or Die.

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Weve been having the wrong conversation about aging in America. Let me be clear. Its not that weve completely avoided the topic. During an election that pitted two of the oldest presidential candidates in American history against each other, and especially after President Joe Bidens calamitous debate performance, we spent a lot of time jawing about the age and capabilities of our political leaders.

But that focus on the candidates elder status distracts us from a seismic issue that should really merit our attention: the historic surge in Americans who will be turning 65 over the next five years. Over the past decade, a steady cadence of 10,000 people a day were turning 65.

In 2024, that daily number jumped to more than 11,200. By the end of 2025, close to 12,000 people a day will turn 65 for the next two years, according to the U.S. census, as the U.S. enters what demographers call the Peak 65 period, when all those baby boomers march into their senior years.

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The U.S. population is older at this moment than it has ever been, according to the Population Reference Bureau, and the number of Americans age 65 or older will increase by a whopping 47% by 2050. At that point, the tally of 82 million older adults will represent 23% of the U.S. population, according to the PRB.

We are looking at what is reportedly the largest leap in retirement eligibility that America has ever seen, and it is happening at a moment when the gaps in our retirement system are impossible to ignore.

Because all those silver-haired boomers dont have the pensions or the savings that previous generations could count on, the massive cohort of aging Americans represents a tidal wave that will rock almost every aspect of our economy. AARP calls this demographic trend the Silver Tsunami. Other financial forecasters have used a different metaphor, likening the trend to a massive iceberg that the ship of state cant maneuver around.

One in five Americans over age 50 have no retirement savings according to AARP, and 61% are worried they wont have enough socked away to live on in their senior years. For 1 in every 3 Americans, credit card debt outpaces their emergency savings, and more than 1 in 4 people have no emergency savings at all.

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And those savings may have to stretch over more years because the average life expectancy is increasing. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions vital statistics surveillance report projects that a man turning 65 this year is expected to live to age 84 on average while an average 65-year-old woman is expected to live to 86. Because Americans are living longer, many of those boomers will remain in the workforce longer, but forecasters worry that those extra years on the job wont translate into extra retirement savings.

I am going to keep an eye on this demographic trend and return to this issue in coming months because it will touch almost every aspect of our economy and American life in general.

As I talk with local government officials about the so-called Silver Tsunami, it becomes clear that cities and counties are quietly bracing themselves for an epidemic of evictions, poverty and even homelessness among the elderly, many of whom are divorced, single or living far away from relatives or a reliable support system because families now tend to be more spread out geographically.

Some states are taking a proactive approach. California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Texas and Colorado all have multisector master plans on aging that help the state and its residents prepare for housing, health, caregiving and affordability. Nine other states are developing such master plans.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has pledged that cuts to Medicare and Social Security will not be included in the legislative package intended to fund Trumps agenda. With a slim majority, Johnson knows those cuts would be a nonstarter because no Democrat would be on board with slashing those programs. But even a status quo approach to elder retirement programs may not be enough to stave off disaster with such a large number of seniors with staggering needs. And in his first days in office, Trump has already signed executive orders that reverse Biden-era executive orders on health care, including the effort to limit the cost of prescription drugs for those on Medicaid or Medicare.

For a president who is so focused on projecting strength and virility, will Trump lead the discussion this nation needs to have on the Silver Tsunami? Perhaps, but probably not.

It is indeed a blessing for anyone fortunate to live well beyond six decades and also a blessing for the people in their orbits who benefit from their wisdom, their attention and their companionship. Yet when so many people are entering that chapter all at once, shouldnt we be paying more attention to how we can enhance the gift of long life with planning and preparation?

Loved ones are often the first line of response when seniors need help with bathing, toileting, dressing or preparing meals, but as the needs grow, families may need to turn to outside help or long-term care, which a report from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found can cost $60,000 a year or more.

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That same report found that fewer than half of adults had ever had a serious conversation with their loved ones about who would take care of them if they became incapacitated. This is a good time for families to create their own master plans and assess how well prepared (or not) elders are for their later years. As noted above, states are bracing for this massive wave of elderly residents. Families might also want to seriously consider the impact on their finances, housing and ability to juggle caring for someone with great needs, while also keeping up with work and other responsibilities.

During last years presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris laid out a proposal for expanding Medicare to cover the cost of home-based long-term care and adjusting the spend-down requirements for Medicaid that can pull some recipients and their loved ones close to poverty before they qualify for services.

It is unlikely that the Trump team would take up Harris specific proposal to reduce the price tag for long-term care. But because voters cited economic concerns as one of the reasons for voting for him, he would be wise to direct his administration to focus on easing the cost of aging in America. If you think the price of eggs is high, just look at the monthly cost for in-home health care or rent at a housing complex for seniors.

Overall, addressing this issue bumps up against a grim irony in politics, especially in a year where there has been a critical and you might even say withering focus on elder leaders in both parties who are thought to have stayed in their positions decades beyond the typical retirement age. That how old is too old political flashpoint means that some of the very officials who should be leading this discussion about the gray wave may be disinclined to draw attention to their own advanced age. I hope that changes, because American needs strong leadership on this issue. If not, the decision to ignore it wont age well.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
People in traditional Chinese costumes pose for a group photo during Chinese New Year celebrations in Hollywood's Ovation Mall, California, the United States, on Jan. 26, 2025. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Hollywood's Ovation Mall and Dolby Theatre, normally home to the Academy Awards, for the first time ushered in the Chinese New Year with a delightful celebration that merged Eastern and Western cultural traditions.

The celebration, which was held in Los Angeles on Sunday, featured three fashion shows, dancing performances, cultural events, music and a special art gallery show on Shanghai life in the 1930s.

"Tourists come to LA from all over to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Chinatown, and now Hollywood and Ovation Mall are giving them an even more upscale and luxurious Chinese New Year destination to enjoy," the event's program director Evelyn Xu told Xinhua.

"It was a terrific event," Rob Martin, a tourist, told Xinhua. "My wife and I stumbled upon it by accident and really enjoyed all the colorful and beautiful fashion shows and the cool Chinese performances."

This high-profile event began with a stunning fashion show staged on the iconic Academy steps sweeping down from high above, where icons of cinema walk down after receiving their Academy Awards.

Twenty gorgeous models floated down the Award steps, revealing the elegant new evening wear line from celebrity fashion designer Kiki Wang.

"I consider myself an ambassador between Eastern and Western cultures," Wang told Xinhua. "Fashion and beauty can unite our cultures -- in fact, I want to unite the whole world with fashion!"

Wang's new "East Meets West" collection was designed entirely in red, with shimmering red silks, satins, gossamer and chiffons, and decorated with exquisite embroidery and brocade in gold, greens and blues.

A second fashion show showcased the exquisite flowing robes and pastel colors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Also featured was the Miss LA Chinatown Qipao Fashion and Beauty Show, reminiscent of the 1930s and 1940s, when these stylish and iconic, form-fitting dresses first became popular.

To prepare for the Chinese New Year celebration, organizers also did rehearsals and selected dresses, models, dancers and songs, with many groups and community members coming together to help this cross-cultural tradition shine in this new venue.

"Everything on display today from Chinese culture is unique and beautiful and so interesting because it is very different from a traditional American New Year celebration," Xu told Xinhua. "That's fun for people looking for something new."

"It's all so elegant and gorgeous!" said actress and spectator Cici Lau, who came all the way from San Gabriel to enjoy the Chinese New Year festivities. "It's so cultural and a wonderful delight for everyone." 

Models perform in a fashion show during Chinese New Year celebrations in the Dolby Theatre, which is part of the Ovation Hollywood complex in Los Angeles, California, the United States, on Jan. 26, 2025. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

Models perform in a fashion show during Chinese New Year celebrations in the Dolby Theatre, which is part of the Ovation Hollywood complex in Los Angeles, California, the United States, on Jan. 26, 2025. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)
Pat George, chairman of the Kansas Fights Addiction Act Grant Review Board, gives an update to the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Jan. 21, 2025. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature video)

TOPEKA  After a slow start, Kansas opioid settlement funds have reached every county and benefitted tens of thousands of residents seeking help with addiction.

Roughly $340 million in settlement payouts from pharmaceutical companies and distributors accused of furthering the opioid epidemic in the United States will land in Kansas over the course of 18 years.

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That pans out to about $15 million per year for addiction prevention and treatment. But no set rate exists for how frequently settlement funds from companies, which include Johnson and Johnson, CVS and Walgreens, are doled out. As determined by the Legislature in 2021 through the Kansas Fights Addiction Act, about 75% of the funds go through a state review board under the Kansas Attorney Generals Office that evaluates where funds should be allocated across the state.

By the end of 2023, the board had allocated about $13 million. Less than $1 million had actually been spent.

Fast forward to 2025, and a different picture has emerged.

In the first two rounds of awards, the Kansas Fights Addiction Act Review Board has approved nearly 60 project grants for 51 different organizations, which ranged from state agencies to faith-based groups to local governments. Preliminary data shows that almost 80,000 people have benefitted from those projects.

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Almost 60 new treatment rooms in recovery housing opened, and 28 new residential beds for substance use disorder recovery have been established. More than 4,500 kits of the overdose reversal drug naloxone were distributed, each kit containing two doses.

Looking onward, the grant programs administrator, Sunflower Foundation, is coordinating a statewide needs analysis to effectively assess gaps in Kansas substance use disorder systems.

Seeking treatment

Around the same time funds began to trickle down into projects in April 2024, Jesse Hoppock in Wichita decided it was time to get clean.

His girlfriend had recently moved from Wichita to a treatment center in Topeka. She kept telling Hoppock how great it was. He saw how well she was doing, and at her encouragement, he decided to join her.

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Since 2007, Hoppock had been using opiates.

It started with pills  Percocet, a highly addictive painkiller containing oxycodone and acetaminophen. It escalated to heroin, then fentanyl.

I started killing myself with it, he said.

Attempts at treatment had come and gone.

Nothing ever clicked, he said. Nothing ever made sense to me.

He tried to quit cold turkey several times, but each time he would become so ill with withdrawal symptoms that he couldnt take it. So, he turned back to using.

Hoppock arrived at a Topeka treatment center, which is run by Mirror Inc., a statewide behavioral health and addiction treatment organization.

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I was withdrawing so bad when I got there, he said. I couldnt really function.

Hoppock was prescribed suboxone, a partial opioid that is used to mitigate opioid dependence often in tandem with other treatments such as behavioral health therapy.

At the Newton-based Mirror, opioid settlement funds were used to expand the exact services used to help Hoppock. Medications for addiction treatment, or MAT, are becoming the standard in the addiction treatment field, said Jason Greever, Mirrors vice president of treatment services.

Whereas prior to the opioid epidemic, it did not have the mainstream acceptance it does now, he said in an interview in late December.

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In 2024, Mirror received five more grants. One provides $100,000 to expand its MAT program. Another will use more than $110,000 to hire an adolescent outreach coordinator to heighten awareness of what is available for kids.

The need for adolescent substance use treatment continues to rise, Greever said.  The demand is really there.

Nearly $160,000 will broaden access to prescription drugs to treat both mental health and physical health issues in an effort to treat the whole person, Greever said.

About $280,000 will be directed to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of losing housing. The program will pay for recovery housing for people who complete recovery programs.

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People who are experiencing housing instability, their focus needs to be securing housing, Greever said.

About $103,000 will fund a new collaboration with law enforcement in Harvey County, where Mirror is headquartered. Peer mentors, people who have endured addiction and help others recover, will respond to law enforcement or hospital calls involving substance use.

The research says that when individuals are first approached by peers, they become more likely to engage in services, Greever said.

The pendulum swings

A 2022 report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment found that from 2011 to 2020 drug overdose deaths in the state rose from 275 deaths to 477, a 73% increase. More than half of the 477 deaths in 2020 were opioid deaths. Of those, more than 60% involved a synthetic opioid, a category that includes fentanyl.

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The year that report was released, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 754 drug overdose deaths in Kansas, an almost 60% increase from 2020. Early, unofficial data shows 717 deaths in 2023, and 567 in 2024, a roughly 20% drop.

Funding addiction treatment helps to make a mark, Pat George, the chair of the Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board, told the Senate Ways and Means Committee last week.

Really, what Ive found is you dont have to go very far to find somebody thats been affected by this disease and people that are on the forefront, he said.

The opioid crisis keeps coming in phases, said Emily Hage, who is the chief executive officer and president of First Call, a Kansas City nonprofit working across the spectrum of addiction. Its like a swinging pendulum, she added.

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I worry that funders or people in positions of power might see overdose decreases and think the job is done, she said.

Steady funding is always a challenge, she said, but settlement funds might provide an opportunity to correct that.

First Call has used opioid settlement dollars to fund harm reduction programs, which include naloxone distribution, fentanyl test strip distribution and connections to recovery resources along with educational programs in Kansas City, Kansas, public schools. They offer youths coping strategies that can act as alternatives to substance use.

I think its a really different conversation than we were raised with, which was just dont do it,  Hage said.

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Taking an approach that involves a broader community rather than just an individual isnt unique to childhood education. Wichita State Universitys director of Health, Outreach, Prevention and Education Services, Marci Young, has used about $119,000 in opioid settlement funds to create a program focused on promoting mental wellness and preventing suicide and overdoses.

The program provides training to community members to help people explore biases and stigma associated with substance use, how to recognize when substances are impacting a person and how to have conversations with someone about their substance use.

Underneath use, what we find is pain, Young said. We find humans that are in a lot of pain and just trying to find a way to cope.

Sedgwick County, home to Wichita, ranks as one of Kansas most vulnerable counties to opioid overdose deaths, according to the 2022 KDHE report. It was second only to Labette County in southeast Kansas.

Hoppock saw that firsthand and, while in treatment, knew he didnt want to go back to Wichita. Everyone he knew had the same problems he did, he said.

He has held a job at a cellophane plant for about six months and lives in a halfway house where a group of men who are like brothers help hold him accountable, he said.

Treatment providers, peer mentors and counselors at Mirror were heaven-sent, Hoppock said.

They didnt give up, he said. They didnt give up on us.

Hoppock said he is building back trust with people he lost while in addiction.

I feel so much better, he said. I used to think that I would never want to be sober. Now I cant see myself ever getting high again.
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)  The Office of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has launched a new initiative to beautify the city.

In collaboration with the City of New Orleans Neighborhood Engagement Office and the Department of Public Works, city officials announced the start of the Love Your City Cleanup Initiative.

Boil water advisory issued for East Bank of New Orleans

City officials say the goal is to unite communities, foster civic pride, and enhance the natural beauty of New Orleans.

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Over the course of multiple days, New Orleans-area residents, organizations and businesses will roll up their sleeves to get involved and make a tangible impact to  keep the Big Easy beautiful for generations to come.

Event Dates

Saturday, February 1 District A: Hollygrove District B: Central City District C Eastbank: Treme District D: 7th Ward District E: Rosedale

Sunday, February 2 District C Westbank: Algiers



To sign up and clean up, visit the City of New Orleans website.

Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.

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AUSTIN (KXAN)  More than 400 soldiers from the Texas Tactical Border Force will head to the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday to collaborate with Border Patrol agents in the wake of President Trumps declaration of a border emergency last week, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Abbott on Monday directed the Texas Military Department to deploy the Texas Tactical Border Force to the Rio Grande Valley to coordinate with U.S. Border Patrol under the Trump Administration to secure the border, a press release from Abbotts office stated.

Trump expands on Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts border policies

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More than 400 soldiers from the force, as well as C-130s and Chinook helicopters, will deploy from bases in Fort Worth and Houston to the border where they will join thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers to collaborate with U.S. Border Patrol agents, the release said.

Texas has a partner in the White House we can work with to secure the Texas-Mexico border, Abbott said in the release. To support that mission, today, I deployed the Texas Tactical Border Force, comprised of hundreds of troops, to work side-by-side with U.S. Border Patrol agents to stop illegal immigrants from entering our country and to enforce immigration laws.

This comes as thousands of people have been arrested during Trumps first week back in the White House, as his administration has carried out nationwide Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, raids and operations, according to reporting from News Nation.

RELATED: ICE arrests 956 Sunday as nationwide raids continue

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DEA sources confirmed that a series of ICE enhanced targeted operations were conducted in Austin on Sunday.

Trump on his first day back in office declared a national emergency at the southern border and took other actions to restrict immigration, according to The Hill. He directed the Department of Defense to assist the Department of Homeland Security to obtain full operational control of the southern border.

The Pentagon announced last week it is sending 1,500 U.S. soldiers to the southwest border, a 60% increase in active-duty forces in the region.

Gov. Abbotts directive comes less than a week after he sent a letter to federal lawmakers asking for full reimbursement of the costs associated with Operation Lone Star. Over the past four years, the Governor said it cost the state $11 billion for things like constructing the border wall, installing wire and buoys along the Rio Grande, and sending 10,000 National Guard troops and Department of Public Safety troopers to the southern border.

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Last week he said, I want reimbursement for the $11 billion because we were doing the feds job. And this week hes saying, We want to keep doing the feds job. So which is it? State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, asked.

She sits on the Senate Committee on Border Security and said she wants to see an audit of the $11 billion spent in the past four years.

Its not enough to look good, you have to actually do good. We dont know, yet, what good weve done with the expenditures weve made so far, and we also dont know what kind of damage weve done, she said.

Our station asked the Governors office if he thinks the state should be sending additional resources to the border before getting any reimbursement, and a spokesperson with the office referred us to his statement on Monday.

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The Governor said in his statement, Finally, we have a federal government working to end this crisis. I thank President Donald Trump for his decisive leadership on the southern border and look forward to working with him and his Administration to secure the border and make America safe again.

The Texas Tactical Border Force was created by Abbott in May 2023 ahead of the expiration of Title 42.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Londons Oxford Street has been dealt a fresh blow after Microsoft confirmed the closure of its flagship London store.

The US tech giant said it would be shutting its so-called experience centre in February, six years after it first opened.

Bosses said the decision to close the 21,000 sq ft store stems from the companys push for digital growth, leaving Britains busiest shopping street with another prominent space to fill.

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The three-storey store opened with great fanfare in 2019, boasting giant video walls and an Xbox gaming lounge.

A Microsoft spokesman said: To better align with its focus on digital growth, Microsoft has decided to exit the lease at the Microsoft Experience Centre in London early.

We regularly review our locations and our workforce to ensure we are aligning to market opportunities and make changes to meet the demands of the business.

The closure, first reported by Windows Central, marks a fresh setback for Oxford Street.

Nike recently confirmed that it is temporarily shutting its NikeTown megastore to prepare for a grand reopening, while Ikea has delayed the launch of its new London flagship at the former Topshop store until spring.

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It has also recently emerged that a clutch of fashion retailers do not intend to renew their leases on Oxford Street once they expire, according to planning documents filed with Westminster City Council earlier this month.

The retailers include Zara, River Island, Urban Outfitters, Swarovski and Bershka.

In an effort to turn its fortunes around, Sir Sadiq Khan has set out plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street - Paul Grover for The Telegraph

Oxford Street was once the retail sectors crown jewel but has suffered in recent years from a series of high-profile closures. This has led to an influx of American candy shops and souvenir sellers.

Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Machin previously described the street as a national embarrassment.

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However, some brands have continued to put their faith in the shopping street, such as Abercrombie & Fitch and HMV.

Abercrombie is opening a two-floor shop after closing its Regent Street site, while HMV returned to its former store near Bond Street station in 2023.

In an effort to turn its fortunes around, Sir Sadiq Khan has set out plans to pedestrianise the street as part of a 150m investment plan.

Sir Sadiq said last year: Oxford Street was once the jewel in the crown of Britains retail sector, but theres no doubt that it has suffered hugely over the last decade. Urgent action is needed to give the nations most famous high street a new lease of life.

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However, the Mayor of Londons plans have proved controversial with the Labour-run Westminster City Council, businesses and residents, which have raised several concerns including the projects scope to displace traffic to nearby streets.

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Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians began returning home to northern Gaza on Monday, bracing for what awaits them in a region that has been reduced to rubble by months of brutal bombardment and fighting.

Israel opened a corridor into the north of the Gaza Strip on Monday, 48 hours later than initially planned. It blamed the delay on Hamas, saying the militant group breached the terms of the ceasefire agreement that guaranteed people would be able to return to the north.

Israel expected Hamas to free Arbel Yehud, a female civilian hostage, in the second round of hostage releases on Saturday. When it didnt, Israel delayed the opening of the Netzarim corridor that bisects the strip, refusing to let people into northern Gaza. Hamas then agreed to release more hostages, including Yehud, on Thursday and Saturday, the Israeli Prime Ministers Office said Sunday.

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Israel said Yehud should have been released on Saturday as Hamas is obliged to release civilians first. The four hostages released over the weekend were all female members of the Israeli military.

More than 300,000 displaced Palestinians have returned to the northern Gaza Strip since Israel reopened the corridor, according to the Government Media Office in Gaza.

Seen from above, the crowds on Monday resembled a huge, slow moving wave making its way up Gazas coast, then turning inland. Most, including children, injured people and the elderly, were traveling on foot, carrying the little they have left on their backs. Most have spent many months exiled in makeshift refugee camps after Israeli forces ordered large-scale evacuations. They had been praying for this moment for months.

One woman told CNN her son was going to see his home  Gaza City  for the first time.

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He was born in Khan Younis. Its an indescribable feeling that I am going back to Gaza City. It used to take us 10 minutes to get there, but this time it took a year and a half, she said, adding that she would kiss the walls and the ground upon her return.

May this be the end of the war, and may the ceasefire last I gave birth in Khan Younis, and my husband is missing, she said.

Many people have been waiting for weeks for this moment, spending the past few days sitting out in the streets or on the beach with their mattresses, belongings and water tanks, waiting for the checkpoint to open.

Eyad Al Masri, who was displaced from Beit Hanoun, told CNN he was detained by Israel when fleeing the north and spent 75 days in Israeli prisons. He said one of his sons has been killed in the war and another one has been missing since February.

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I have no money or anything, he said in Al-Mawasi, southern Gaza, while dismantling the tent his family has been living in. Im taking these four bags and going back to my house. I dont know if it is still standing or not; I am going back to Beit Hanoun.

Nadia Qassem, from Al-Shati Refugee Camp, told CNN, we have been waiting for this day for so long.

We want to return home Even though my house is destroyed. I miss my land and my place, she said.

But the return home will likely be marked by more heartbreak.

Im going home, but I wish I werent, Saadiya AbdulAl told CNN while traveling to north with an overflowing donkey cart. My children are gone, and we are all devastated. None of my family members are left; they all became martyrs in Gaza City. Who do I go back to? I have no house and no one, she said.

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Gaza City, where most of the people making this journey on Monday had been living before the war, is among the most destroyed areas in the strip. There are no fully functioning hospitals or schools in the area and access to water, power and basic supplies is extremely limited, despite aid flows into Gaza increasing since the ceasefire came into effect.

The Israeli military said residents could return on foot along the Al Rasheed coastal road, while vehicle traffic can pass via the inland Salah al-Din road after inspection.

The Al Rasheed coastal road was damaged during the war and remains difficult to pass in some places. At some points, people visibly struggled to get through, with wheelchairs and strollers getting stuck in the deep sand.

An Israeli military sign that reads: "Slow! Checkpoint in front of you." - Khader Al-Zaanoun/CNN

Displaced Palestinians waiting to be allowed to return to their homes on Sunday. - Stringer/Reuters

Subhiyeh Mohammad was walking bent forward, dragging a small bundle made of a blanket through the dirt behind her. Our children are gone, our husbands are gone, our homes are destroyed. I cant carry much; Im a dialysis patient. I only took what I sleep on, the elderly woman told CNN.

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Armed fighters from the Qassam Brigades, Hamas military wing, were seen among the civilians, wearing their distinct green headbands. Some of those walking past cheered, some posed for photos with the masked fighters.

We will continue to firmly enforce the ceasefires in the north and south, Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote in a post on X. Anyone who violates the rules or threatens (the Israel Defense Forces) will bear the full cost.

Hamas in a statement praised the return of the displaced as a victory for our people, and a declaration of the failure and defeat of the occupation and its displacement plans.

Israels far-right former national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, who quit in protest over the ceasefire and hostage release deal, claimed the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza was a total surrender.

Fragile truce threatened by tensions

Escalated tensions over Yehuds release had threatened to derail the already fragile truce.

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They heightened further on Saturday after President Donald Trump said he had discussed his plan to clean out Gaza with the king of Jordan and intended to raise the matter with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The US president said he would like both Jordan and Egypt  which borders Gaza  to house hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either temporarily or long term, telling reporters onboard Air Force One, because Im looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and its a mess, its a real mess.

Its literally a demolition site right now, Trump said of Gaza. Id rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change.

Both Jordan and Egypt rejected Trumps idea to shift Palestinians out of the enclave, saying such a move would displace Palestinians from their homeland. Trumps comments were also strongly condemned by Palestinian leaders and human rights groups, who denounced the forced relocation of residents as ethnic cleansing and a possible war crime.

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Trumps comments appear to break with decades of US foreign policy, which has long emphasized a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

Dana Stroul, former assistant deputy secretary of defense for the Middle East, told CNN that Trumps proposal feeds this narrative that what Israel and the US really want is not a Palestinian state living next to Israel, but actually to force them somewhere else.

Palestinians wait to be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, on January 26, 2025. - Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Specter of further mass displacement

Trumps idea to ultimately move Gazas residents to another country has only raised fears of further mass displacement among Palestinians.

The Palestinian Presidency said the plan constitutes a blatant violation of red lines Palestinian leadership have consistently warned about.

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The Palestinian people will never abandon their lands or their Holy Sites, and will not allow the repetition of the Nakba of 1948 and Naksa 1967, the presidency said.

The movement of Palestinian refugees out of Gaza would evoke painful memories of the mass displacement that accompanied the creation of Israel in 1948. There are some 5.9 million Palestinian refugees worldwide, most of them descendants of the 700,000 people who were expelled or fled their homes during the Nakba, or catastrophe.

Hundreds of thousands more were displaced during the 1967 war, when Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan and Gaza from Egypt.

There are fears that if carried out, Trumps plan would bring an end to any future prospect of Palestinian-Israeli peace based on a two-state solution.

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Hamas in a statement said it will categorically reject any plans to deport and displace them from their land, and called on the US administration to stop these proposals.

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad also condemned Trumps reprehensible statements and called the proposal a continuation of the policy of denying the existence of the Palestinian people, their will and their rights.

Human rights groups have also denounced the idea.

Human Rights Watchs Israel and Palestine Director Omar Shakir said in a post on X that it would amount to an alarming escalation in the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and exponentially increase their suffering.

US-based advocacy group the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations (CAIR), said Trumps idea was delusional and dangerous nonsense.

CNNs Kareem Khadder, Betsy Klein, Lex Harvey, Ibrahim Dahman, Dana Karni, Sophie Tanno and Mounira Elsamra contributed to this report.

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The town hall was billed as a way for Pacific Palisades residents to learn about clearing debris from their charred lots.

But Sunday's event in Santa Monica quickly turned into a free-for-all as frustrated residents pressed officials on an array of issues.

Over 2 hours, locals sought timelines and answers on the government's plans for helping them recover from the Jan. 7 firestorm, which has burned more than 23,400 acres and destroyed thousands of homes.

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Others in the crowd simply lobbed questions at the panel.

I have a standing house in the middle of a burn zone, how do I protect that house? one man said.

Displaced Pacific Palisades residents are navigating a new reality, including facing a potentially lengthy time to rebuild. They must deal with a layer of government agencies as they seek to return to their fire-ravaged properties.

Read more: Mapping the damage from the Eaton and Palisades fires

At Sunday's event, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) and other elected officials responded to dozens of audience questions from the audience. Federal and county representatives described the blaze's effects on house foundations, soil and trees as well as the rebuilding process.

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Sherman said that the average cost of debris removal for homes from another recent fire was $170,000  a potential factor for residents who are looking to hire a private contractor to clear their lots.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is offering to clear away the debris at no charge. Residents can opt in or out of the government service.

Read more: How to sign up for debris removal if you lost your home in the Palisades or Eaton fires

Mark Pestrella, the director of Los Angeles County Public Works, encouraged neighbors to work together to sign up for the public debris removal process, explaining that it would be faster if there are clusters of homes. At a meeting last week hosted by the Pacific Palisades Community Council, officials said the debris removal process would take up to 18 months.

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The Environmental Protection Agency is doing its own removal of hazardous items, which will start this week. Tara Fitzgerald, the agency's coordinator, told the crowd Sunday night that the process would take "months."

That answer drew some complaints from audience members.

Thats too long.

Speed it up.

Hire more people.

Federal and county officials have warned residents to use caution when returning to burn areas. Residents who do return must pass checkpoints and are given protective gear because of health concerns after the wind-driven inferno.

County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who also appeared on the panel, said that it was dangerous for people to go to their property and haul away debris.

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Read more: Authorities caution against sifting through debris at fire-ravaged properties

At one point, the panelists began to ask each other questions. L.A. City Councilmember Traci Park, who represents Pacific Palisades, asked why the two phases  the EPA work and the debris clearing  couldn't be done at the same time. That suggestion drew cheers.

Theres a whole neighborhood burned to the ground; just clear the whole thing out, a woman shouted.

Fitzgerald, from the EPA, explained there are two phases to allow the agency to remove explosive material.

Another audience member, who lost a car key that was in a house, asked officials how to get a tow truck into the closed-off burn site so she could retrieve her car.

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The last two mandatory evacuation zones are expected to open this week to only Pacific Palisades residents, and that's when they will be able to retrieve items, if the weather holds up, officials said.

Mayor Karen Bass, another panelist, acknowledged the anger and grief felt by the community at the beginning of Sundays event.

My North Star is my commitment to get you back home, Bass said.

Still, some residents want more details about the recovery.

Pacific Palisades resident Sue Pascoe, who runs the newsletter and website Circling the News, wrote this weekend that "there doesnt seem to be a central place that Palisadians can go to get information, and it is all frustrating and time-consuming."

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Sue Kohl, president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, said she spends four hours a day answering emails from locals and others.

She wasn't surprised by the outbursts from the crowd, but said the officials did a good job at Sunday's forum answering questions.

"People get frustrated," she said. "It's not a normal time."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the Palisades and Eaton fires can now sign up for debris removal on Los Angeles Countys recovery website.

The government is coordinating the cleanup in two phases. Phase 1 was launched by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday. It's free for residents and does not require homeowners to sign up.

To finish the cleanup work in Phase 2, homeowners can participate in a free government program coordinated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or work with a licensed private company, which they can pay for out of pocket or by going through their insurance company.

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Read more: Palisades fire victims vent frustration as town hall on debris removal becomes a free-for-all

Residents who choose the government option need to complete an "opt-in" form, giving the Corps consent to enter their property. Those who choose the private route will need to complete an "opt-out" form and apply for a debris removal permit.

Homeowners who are unsure whether their property qualifies as damaged or destroyed can opt-in to find out if they're eligible.

Affected homeowners can submit the forms in person at any Disaster Recovery Center or County Building and Safety Office, mail them to the county Public Works Department, or email them.

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The deadline to submit the opt-in and opt-out forms is March 31. Any affected residents who do not complete a form may lose access to government-sponsored debris removal service, and local governments may still take steps to abate public health hazards not addressed by the property owner, L.A. County Public Works said in a statement to The Times.

The permit for private debris removal is not yet available and will have no set deadline, the county agency said.

Public Works Director Mark Pestrella said the Phase 2 cleanups will not be determined on a first-come, first-served basis.

The order will depend on terrain, when Phase 1 removal is completed for each property and whether the entire neighborhood has signed up, which allows the Corps to work on clusters of homes and minimizes the need to constantly move heavy equipment around.

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The director also noted that residents can begin the building permit application process with their respective city or county before debris has been completely cleared.

At a fire recovery town hall Sunday, officials also highlighted relief funds and services available to residents.

Through former President Bidens major disaster declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency offers funds for short-term rentals, emergency short-term lodging, home repairs and home replacements. Residents can apply online.

The Internal Revenue Service pushed back the 2025 tax filing deadline until Oct. 15 for L.A. County residents and announced the federal declaration should allow affected residents to deduct property damage and destruction from their taxes, under the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act .

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Roughly 270 state-chartered banks, credit unions and mortgage lenders have already committed to mortgage relief, said state Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), who urged residents to check with their mortgage companies for terms.

The Small Business Administration also offers disaster assistance loans for California wildfire victims.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) said federal aid is usually capped at $86,000, with another $10,000 available from the state, although he said he was working in Congress to secure more funds for disaster relief.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB)  On February 8, the Peoples Choice Senior Living Group will host the 4th annual health fair in partnership with the City of Panama City at the Glenwood Community Center.

The focus of this years event will be stroke health.

Strokes in the state of Florida have seen an alarming increase among individuals under 50 according to Florida health charts.

The fair aims to raise awareness, educate the community, and provide valuable resources for prevention and recovery.

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While it may not directly impact you, there may be someone in your family, your neighbors, friends, your church that may need these resources. And with you attending this health fair, youll be able to pass that information on, Glenwood Revitalization Project Vice President Michelle Bryant said.

The fair will feature healthcare vendors as well as free services like blood pressure checks.

Bryant says the event is open to all, even if you dont live in the Glenwood community.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
An image from the U.S. Department of Justice's sentencing memorandum shows West Chester, Pa., resident Gary Wickersham walking into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He was sentenced to three years of probation for parading, demonstrating or picketing illegally. (screenshot/U.S. Department of Justice)

On Jan. 6, 2021, Robert Sanford, a 27-year veteran of the Chester fire department, hurled a fire extinguisher into a line of police officers defending the U.S. Capitol, striking two in their heads.

Riley June Williams, a 22-year-old Harrisburg woman, entered the Capitol and led an army up the stairs into then-Speaker Nancy Pelosis office suite, where, Williams later bragged on social media, she stole Pelosis laptop and gavel, according to court documents.

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Robert Morss, of Glenshaw, went to the Capitol wearing body armor and joined a mob that used stolen riot shields to force police to retreat into a tunnel, court documents say, where Morss entered the building through a broken window.

Sanford, Williams and Morss are among at least 110 people from Pennsylvania who were charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol fomented by President Donald Trump and acolytes in the right wing media claiming that the 2020 election was stolen.

Behind Texas and Florida, Pennsylvania has the third largest number of residents charged in connection with the attempt to thwart the peaceful transfer of power to President Joe Biden.

On Jan. 20, hours after his inauguration, Trump made good on a campaign promise to free those imprisoned for the Jan. 6 attack, issuing a full, complete and unconditional pardon to more than 1,500 people convicted or charged with offenses related to the Jan. 6 attack.

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He also commuted sentences but did not pardon 14 people, including Zach Rehl, the leader of a Philadelphia far-right Proud Boys chapter. Rehl was convicted with Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio and three others of seditious conspiracy, a charge rarely used since the Civil War, and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Gary Wickersham, who was 81 at the time of the Capitol attack, told the Capital-Star he thinks Trumps pardons are great and that he has no regrets about his actions on Jan. 6.

Wickersham said he took a free bus that departed near his Chester County home to Washington, D.C. to hear Trump speak on Jan. 6. He ended up following the crowd to the Capitol.

When he reached the building, Wickersham, who was an Army paratrooper, said he climbed up the inside of the scaffolding where President Joe Biden was to be sworn in weeks later and walked through an open door.

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Although he admitted that he entered the building illegally when he pleaded guilty, he maintained in a telephone interview Friday that police initiated the violence. According to court documents, he told FBI agents who visited his West Chester home in 2021, that he was justified in entering the Capitol because he was a taxpayer and that the whole thing was a setup by antifa.

Wickersham was sentenced to four months of home confinement and three years of probation for parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, but said he has no remorse about his actions. Wickersham said he avoided prison in part because of his age and concern that he would be vulnerable COVID.

Its almost something I brag about, Wickersham said, noting that he wasnt even required to wear a monitoring device.

Wickersham was less braggadocious before sentencing Judge Royce Lamberth in 2021.

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Its not like me to do that, Wickersham said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. In my whole 81 years, that 22 minutes I spent in there, it was a dark blot  I regret doing it. I shouldnt have been in there.

Others have expressed remorse and attribute their actions to lapses in judgment or indoctrination.

Andrew and Matthew Valentin are brothers from Stroudsburg, Monroe County, who were the last Jan. 6 defendants to be sentenced and are believed to be the first to be released, according to Matthew Valentins attorney Joshua Karoly.

Donald Trumps supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

They pleaded guilty in September to felony assault charges for joining a crowd that pushed metal barriers into a line of police.

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Karoly said in a statement that both have taken full responsibility for their actions and blame no one else. Neither injured anyone, nor did they enter he Capitol or damage any government property.

Each brother has apologized profusely and sincerely for their regrettable conduct on Jan. 6 at the Capitol. Both have lived law-abiding lives up to the moment of their lapse in judgment on that day, Karoly said.

According to his attorneys sentencing memo, Sanford, the firefighter who was sentenced to 52 months in prison for throwing a fire extinguisher at police, worked with a therapist who specializes in cult deprogramming to confront the facts about the stolen election conspiracy theory among others and how psychological manipulation is used to indoctrinate the followers of a conspiracy.

Seth Weber, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at DeSales University near Bethlehem, said the U.S. Constitution grants the president the power of executive pardon without limitations, exceptions or exclusions.

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It doesnt need to be justified, said Weber, who served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia for 26 years. It needs to be done by the president for whatever reason he wants.

President Joe Biden also pardoned about 70 people during his term including his son Hunter Biden, who was awaiting sentencing on felony gun charges.

A pardon forgives a person for any legal consequences of a conviction, and while it may infuriate those who disagree with the decision, it doesnt erase the conviction or the facts of the crime, Weber said.

You are exonerated, you are held not responsible but your conviction is still on your record, he said.

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Pardons for those who engage in acts of rebellion or treason are far from unprecedented, said Bruce Antkowiak, a former federal prosecutor and professor at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.

President George Washington issued pardons for two Pennsylvania men, John Mitchell and Philip Weigel, convicted of treason as ringleaders of the Whiskey Rebellion against a tax on distilled spirits. And President Andrew Johnson issued a blanket pardon for thousands of Confederate soldiers and other officials, though high ranking officers had to apply for amnesty.

There were certainly feelings among a great many of people that the South needs to be punished, Antkowiak said. There were also feelings that the war is over, there needs to be rebuilding, not continued animosity.

Trumps grant of executive clemency covers a range of Jan. 6 convicts, including those who pleaded guilty to merely entering the Capitol illegally to those found guilty by a jury of assaulting police officers. It drew criticism from some for failing to make a distinction. Even Vice President J.D. Vance said earlier this month that only those who protested peacefully should be pardoned,

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If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldnt be pardoned, Vance said, adding that there was a bit of a gray area in some cases.

As someone who believes that we need to treat our law enforcement with the dignity and respect that they deserve, the idea that you would pardon someone whos been convicted of a crime for assaulting a police officer, that doesnt sit right with me, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday. I dont think it sits right with a lot of Americans.

Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, who was among the first Democrats to meet one-on-one with Trump, said he disagreed with a lot of the pardons, just as he disagreed with some issued by Biden before leaving office.

Some people are very deserving of a second chance and get a pardon, and theres some that I dont agree, Fetterman said in an ABC news interview.

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U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-9th District) told CNN on Wednesday that while the attacks on police officers were unforgivable, those who were convicted have served their time.

Theres no question anybody who assaults a police officer  is a disgrace  But lets face it, those who did that have been in jail now for three to four years Meuser said, adding that their sentences have been comparable to those of others convicted of assaulting police officers.

While executive clemency is a powerful tool, it comes at a cost, Antkowiak said.

Presidents understand the price they pay for using the pardon power  it gives their opponents ammunition. Thats undoubtedly why most presidents wait until the end of their administrations, Antkowiak said, noting that Biden was aware that his decision to pardon his son would generate backlash.

The limit on pardon power is political, Antkowiak said. You cant challenge it.
If you are looking for boring income stocks that you can comfortably hold for a decade or more, you have your work cut out for you in the energy patch. The sector is known for being volatile.

But don't despair -- there are at least two very attractive choices to consider. Here's why, despite the energy sector's inherent volatility, conservative dividend investors will love high-yield Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) and Enbridge (NYSE: ENB).

Helping to move things around

From a high-level view of the energy sector, raw oil and natural gas are pulled from the ground and then moved to another location, where they can be processed into useful products. Upstream companies pull these energy sources from the ground, and downstream companies turn them into useful products.

Both of these segments of the energy sector are commodity driven. While the upstream has to deal with just oil and natural gas price volatility, the downstream actually has to deal with that, plus the fact that many of the products it produces are commodities, too. The odd man out on the commodity front is the midstream.

Image source: Getty Images.

Midstream companies own things like pipelines, storage, transportation, and processing assets. These are vital parts of energy infrastructure that help to move oil and natural gas, and the products into which they get turned, around the world.

However, unlike the upstream and downstream segments, midstream companies largely charge fees for the use of their physical assets. That means that demand for energy is more important than the price of energy. Demand for energy tends to remain high even when oil prices are low. Thus, midstream companies usually have very consistent cash flows.

If you are a buy-and-hold dividend investor looking at the energy sector, the midstream is a great place to start your search.

Enterprise and Enbridge lead the list

The first thing that dividend investors will like about Enterprise Products Partners and Enbridge are their lofty yields. Enterprise, a master limited partnership (MLP), has a distribution yield of 6.3%. Enbridge's dividend yield is 6%. For comparison, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is yielding a scant 1.2%, and the average energy stock is yielding 3.3%. If you are trying to find ultra-high yields, these two midstream players have you covered.

But there's more to like on this front. Enterprise has increased its distribution annually for 26 consecutive years. Enbridge has increased its dividend (in Canadian dollars) for 30 years. That's the kind of consistency that can help a dividend investor sleep well at night, decade after decade.
A second Iowa dentist is facing licensing sanctions related to a dental procedure that resulted in the death of a patient. (Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

A second Iowa dentist is facing licensing sanctions related to a January 2024 dental procedure that resulted in the death of a 50-year-old patient.

Last fall, the Iowa Dental Board formally informed dentist Robert Wolf of Swisher that it intended to deny his application for a permit to use moderate sedation on patients. Wolf recently appealed that notice, and a hearing is now scheduled for April 25.

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In its recently disclosed notice to Wolf, the board stated on Jan. 26, 2024, Wolf participated in dental surgery on patient J.D., after which the patient died. The board alleges Wolf participated in this surgery with an individual who was not licensed to practice dentistry and that he did so without having the required permit to use sedation.

The board also says its investigation into the case indicates Wolf was the only dentist in the operating room on more than one occasion while an advanced registered nurse administered and monitored the anesthesia to J.D.

Wolf, the board argued, facilitated the practice of an unlicensed dentist and supervised the administration of anesthesia without having the proper credentials. The available board documents do not identify the unlicensed dentist.

Two weeks after the patient died, the board claims, Wolf applied for a sedation permit.

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Aside from the notice of intent to deny the permit application, the board has imposed no other public sanctions against Wolf.

Wolf is the second Iowa dentist to face disciplinary action as a result of the Jan. 26, 2024, procedure. Last fall, nine months after the patient died, the board issued an emergency order restricting the practice of Dr. Jonathan Karch of the Dental Studio of Iowa in Johnston. The board alleges Karch participated in the procedure and that an investigation by an unspecified party revealed Karch did not stay in the operatory for the duration of the procedure.

State regulations require that when a patient is under sedation and anesthetic services are being provided, the dentist must remain in the room during the procedure, according to the board.

In issuing the emergency order restricting Karchs ability to practice, the board said it recognizes (Karch) as an imminent threat to public safety and that he should not be permitted to participate in procedures involving sedation until further order. Karchs license to practice dentistry has remained otherwise unrestricted.

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The Karch case remains unresolved. A hearing on the matter was scheduled for Oct. 11, 2024, but a final decision in the matter has yet to be published by the board.

Lawsuit over death alleges negligence

Separate from the licensing board actions, a civil lawsuit has been filed against Karch, Wolf and others involved in the surgery, all of whom have denied any wrongdoing.

The lawsuit, filed in Polk County District Court by the family of Joseph Daniels, alleges that on Jan. 24, 2024, Daniels consulted with Karch and inquired about receiving dental implants. According to the lawsuit, Daniels was 50 years old at the time, had smoked 1  packs of cigarettes per day, and had a history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia.

At the time of the consultation, Daniels blood pressure was allegedly noted as being of great concern to Karch. The lawsuit alleges that at a cost of $50,000, Daniels was to receive the dental implants from Karch two days after the consultation, subject to a pre-procedure clearance by Daniels primary care physician.

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On Jan. 25, Daniels was allegedly evaluated and cleared for surgery by Dr. Anish P. Keshwani at UnityPoint Clinic Family Medicine of East Des Moines  although, the lawsuit claims, UnityPoint medical records indicate Daniels uncontrolled hypertension and hyperlipidemia would require corrective actions before surgery, such as the administration of prescribed drugs.

On Jan. 26, the implant procedure began at 7:15 a.m. and was completed at 3:15 p.m., with patient care allegedly turned over to certified registered nurse anesthetist Nicky Newhoff, who was tasked with waking Daniels and initiating the recovery process.

The lawsuit alleges that at 3:30 p.m., a dental assistant notified Karch and Wolf they were needed in the surgical suite through a message that stated, Joe is not doing well  please come immediately.

According to EMS medical records, paramedics were dispatched to Dental Studio of Iowa at 3:35 p.m. with a report of an unconscious person. According to the lawsuit, the paramedics arrived at 3:40 p.m. and found Daniels in a dental exam chair pale, cyanotic, cool and unresponsive.

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Within 25 minutes of their arrival and the administration of drugs, the paramedics had intubated Daniels, and by 4:27 they had initiated chest compressions, the lawsuit claims. Daniels was then taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center, where he died at 5:51 p.m.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified actual and punitive damages for negligence. In addition to Karch, Wolf, Keshwani and Newhoff, the defendants in the lawsuit include Dental Studio of Iowa, UnityPoint Clinic, Coral West Dental and Heartland Anesthesia.

In their response to the lawsuit, lawyers for the defendants argue that Daniels caused his own death which they say stemmed from pre-existing conditions.

A trial date has yet to be scheduled in the case.
Famed economist Paul Krugman on Monday warned how Donald Trumps crackdown on undocumented immigrants is set to hobble food production and home construction and will likely  contrary to Trumps campaign promises  send grocery prices soaring.

Krugman, the winner of the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, explained in the latest issue of his Substack newsletter how the presidents vows to hike tariffs and conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants will likely to do a great deal of economic damage.

But its the targeting of immigrants that will spiral out of control, he predicted.

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The current fear among immigrants  amid the Trump White Houses immigration enforcement blitz  will have major consequences, with workers staying home or, if they can, going back to their home countries, with businesses laying off valuable employees for fear that they may be raided, Krugman argued.

Nearly 1,000 people were arrested on Sunday alone, reported CNN.

Trumps second administration has nixed safe spots for migrants  such as schools and churches.

The economist envisioned an increase in vigilantism against immigrants.

And losing a large fraction of these workers would be a serious blow to the economy, especially because immigrants, legal and not, play a much bigger role in some industries and occupations than they do in the economy as a whole, he said.

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Krugman last week warned that many Trump voters will be brutally scammed when Trump introduces tariffs on goods imported into America.

Read Krugmans full analysis on his Substack.

Related...
PEKIN, Ill. (WMBD)  The Pekin police say there is no validity to social media posts about a possible shooting in Pekin.

In a post on the Pekin Police Departments Facebook page, they address the posts by saying they are not true.

The Pekin Police Department has been made aware of social media posts circulating about a possible shooting in Pekin. At this time, there is no validity to these posts, the post said.

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The posts also says they do take reports very serious and encourage the community to stay vigilant and report suspicious activity and any credible information directly to them.

They also suggest following their social media accounts to stay informed.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WTAJ)  Senator Judy Ward (R-30) is urging business owners to take note of the updated filing deadlines and requirements for annual reports with the Department of State (DOS).

As of Jan. 1, the types of domestic and foreign businesses that must now file annual reports with the Pennsylvania DOS include business corporations, nonprofit corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, limited liability general partnerships, professional associations and business trusts.

Businesses will need to have the following information prepared for the reports:

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Business name

Jurisdiction

Registered office address

Principal office address

Name of at least one director, member or partner

Officer names (if applicable)

DOS file number

The filing fee is $7, which is waived for nonprofits. Reports can be updated during the reporting year for no additional charge and businesses are encouraged to file online to avoid any delays or backlogs.

The filing windows are as follows:

Corporations: Jan. 1  June 30

Limited liability companies: Jan. 1  Sept. 30

All others: Jan. 1  Dec. 31

Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters.

The DOS will notify places via email, if one was provided, and postcard before their deadline. Failure to report will result in the administrative dissolution, termination or cancellation of the business registration starting in 2027.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
A Republican official in Pennsylvania has been forced to resign after posting her own version of Elon Musks highly evocative salute from Donald Trumps inauguration.

Towamencin Township Supervisor Laura Smith posted a TikTok video in which she hit her chest three times and extended her arm out in front of her, similar to the salute Musk made during his speech after Trumps inauguration, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Just checking in on my friends who are struggling this week, Smith, who is a Republican, said before hitting the salute. As she put her hand down, she paused and added, My heart goes out to you. Hope youre doing OK.

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The line was a clear reference to Musk, who during an inauguration speech at Capital One Arena on Jan. 20 hit his chest once and shot his arm out, then turned around and did it again for the people sitting behind him. When he was done, put his hand over his heart and said, My heart goes out to you.

Just Elon Musk, the world's richest man, giving his heart. / The Daily Beast/CSPAN

Many observers were quick to point out Musks gesture bore a striking resemblance to a Nazi salute. Defenders insisted the worlds richest man and Trump First Buddy was just so excited hed made an awkward motion. Musk himself seemed to co-sign that defenseand then decided to make his case with a string of Nazi jokes.

Either way, Smith was then inspired to post her own version of the salute on Friday evening, the Inquirer reported. The backlash from the people of Towamencina township of about 17,500 people 40 minutes north of Philadelphiawas swift and fierce.

Hundreds of angry emails poured in, and the townships Facebook page was flooded with concerned comments. Reddit users mobilized to speak against Smith at upcoming meetings, state lawmakers took notice, and Smiths fellow township supervisors called on her to resign.

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After resigning from two local nonprofit boards on Saturday, she submitted her resignation to the Board of Supervisors on Sunday, though she maintained she hadnt done anything wrong.

A video I posted recently to social media has been greatly mischaracterized. Not wishing to give offense, I removed the video from my accounts, Smith said in a statement. I abhor racism, anti-Semitic or discrimination in any fashion or form, and my record as a township supervisor attests to my commitment to treat all people with dignity and respect.

Her colleagues were not convinced.

To be clear, if you are doing a pose with the intention of making people upset because it looks like a Nazi salute, the pose you are doing is a Nazi salute, Democratic supervisor Kofi Osei wrote on Facebook, according to the Inquirer.

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The Board of Supervisorswhich is currently made up of three Republicans and two Democratssaid it plans to accept her resignation at its next meeting.

The Board of Supervisors cannot and will not tolerate such conduct, it said in a statement.

The Daily Beast has contacted Smith for comment.

Last week, a Milwaukee meteorologist who called out Musks salute on social media was fired from CBS58.

Dude Nazi saluted twice. TWICE. During the inauguration, meteorologist Sam Kuffel wrote in an Instagram story alongside an image of Musk. You f--- with this and this man, I dont f--- with you. Full stop.

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The story was later posted to X by conservative radio host Dan ODonnell, which apparently prompted the firing. Users on X criticized the station for axing Kuffel for speaking out.

Responding to a CBS58 story about Trumps plans for mass deportations that featured an immigration lawyer saying, People have rights, one user wrote, People also have the right to condemn Nazi salutes without being fired.
(WHTM) Two Pennsylvania lawmakers proposed a bill that would remove sex from birth certificates.

Democratic state Representatives Benjamin Sanchez and Joe Webster proposed a bill that would remove sex from birth certificates as a way to eliminate another form of discrimination when there is an error in the category, according to the bill.

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According to the lawmakers, bureaucratic roadblocks make the process of changing categories like sex on birth certificates. The legislation intends to remove such roadblocks by removing the category as a whole.

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A recommendation from the American Medical Association said that removing sex designations on birth certificates would prevent potential issues individuals face by having a different gender identity than on the document, according to the proposed bill.

If the bill passes, sex will still be reported on the U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth system, which is used for medical data collection.

Birth certificates currently exclude race from birth certificate applications, which the representatives behind the proposed bill claim have had no impact on the documents original intention.

We urge you to join us in co-sponsoring this bill to take a simple step to ensure Pennsylvania bureaucracy is not a barrier to any Pennsylvanians living their lives authentically, said the lawmakers.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
A local official in Towamencin Township, Pennsylvania resigned from her position on the board of supervisors after posting a TikTok video of herself repeating Elon Musks salute.

In a now-deleted video, Laura Smith, the former vice chair of the Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors, hit her chest three times before extending her hand and arm out in front of her  a similar gesture to the one Musk made after President Donald Trumps inauguration last week.

Just checking in on my friends who are struggling this week. My heart goes out to you. Hope youre doing ok, Smith, a Republican, said in the video.

Screenshots from the video show Smith hitting her chest and then raising her arm up (laurasmith6036 / TikTok and davenewworld_2 / X)

The salute has been widely condemned for having a similar movement to that of a Nazi salute.

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Musk has denied making the Nazi gesture. The Anti-Defamation League has also rejected the notion that Musk repeated it, saying it was awkward but not a Nazi salute.

However, given the controversy Musks gesture stirred, people condemned Smith for repeating it.

Joyce Snyder, a board member, told Action News: I want to say that I find her actions repugnant. Next, I ask her to think about her effectiveness as leader.

Another board memeber, Kofi Osei, added: I condemn this blantant antisemistism expressed by Laura Smith is no uncertain terms and believe she should apologize and resign.

Facing mounting criticisms, Smith removed the video from her now-deleted TikTok page. She said on Facebook that the post was meant to stir the pot.

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But outrage continued through the weekend, leading Smith to resign from her position on the board of supervisors on Sunday.

In a statement, Smith said the video was greatly mischaracterized but that she would resign, effective immediately, to prevent the video from burdening township leadership.

Musk was also criticized for conducting the gesture but denied that it had anything to do with the Nazi salute (Getty Images)

I abhor racism, anti-Semitic or discrimination in any fashion or form and my record as a township supervisor attests to my commitment to treat all people with dignity and respect, Smith said.

Andrew Goretsky, the regional director for the Anti-Defamation League of Philadelphia, said in a statement that Smiths video demonstrates a concerning lack of judgment.

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Intentionally mocking constituents anxiety and concerns by using a gesture similar to a Nazi salute is not only unprofessional but also divisive, Goretsky said. Having public officials play attention-getting games with such a loaded symbol is utterly unacceptable, especially at this time of remembrance and reflection.

Monday is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Regional director Andrew Goretsky's statement regarding Towamencin Township supervisor Laura Clark's video. pic.twitter.com/KNDifdPoVw  ADL Philadelphia (@ADLPhiladelphia) January 26, 2025

Though Musk and Smiths gesture is not formally considered a Nazi salute, it is impossible to ignore the similarities to the actual salute. Gestures such as that, and other Nazi symbolism, are illegal in Germany.

The Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors said they cannot and will not tolerate such conduct and intend to accept Smiths resignation at its next meeting on February 4.
The U.S. Defense Department is laying the groundwork to expand a pilot program started in 2023 to provide more data processing capabilities to military units operating outside of the U.S., according to a senior official in the Pentagons Chief Information Office.

As combatant commands around the globe integrate more sensors and uncrewed systems, theres a growing need for computing and storage capabilities. The Joint Operational Edge, or JOE, cloud initiative aims to provide commanders with the computing capabilities they need to crunch the swaths of data those sensors are gathering and identify key intelligence insights.

In just over a year, the department has established JOE nodes in Japan, Hawaii and Guam, as well as several sites in Europe and Africa. Rob Vietmeyer, chief software officer for the DOD CIO, said the program is still in its infancy, but the Pentagon hopes to quickly expand the most needed capabilities in the coming years.

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Were working with the intelligence community, Joint Staff and combatant commands to build out these capabilities with our commercial partners, he said during a panel at the Potomac Officers Clubs annual Research and Development Summit in McLean, Virginia.

Vietmeyer told Defense News on the sidelines of the conference the departments current focus is on ensuring the capabilities it delivers through JOE are what combatant commands need and can use today. The vision is for JOE to be flexible and grow as needed based on demand. Over the next few years, the department plans to expand the number of nodes from the handful it operates today to around 20.

We dont want to build out more infrastructure than what we can take advantage of, he said. Were trying to keep this as an agile program and continue to build out based on where were adding real value.

Part of JOEs initial work has been to get these capabilities into the hands of users in the field  often referenced as the edge in military parlance  so they can get a feel for how it works and could potentially benefit operations, Vietmeyer said.

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Two areas where the program is seeing particular demand from users in the field are AI and graphics processing unit, or GPU, tools. A GPU is a circuit that processes images and other graphics.

Along with building out the necessary infrastructure, the JOE team  which includes partners in the Defense Information Systems Agency and U.S. Special Operations Command  is developing policies and working with vendors to craft procurement strategies for the effort. While the project is currently funded as an enterprise effort, Vietmeyer said it will eventually transition, at least in part, to a fee-for-service approach.

Managing supply chain risk

Supply chain security and risk management are key issues for the Defense Department as it builds out its edge computing architecture.

Leigh Method, currently performing the duties of deputy assistant secretary of defense for sustainment, said DOD has several initiatives to mitigate risk to its supply chain. Speaking alongside Vietmeyer at the R&D Summit, she highlighted the creation of a Supply Chain Risk Mitigation Integration Center.

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Currently, the organization has just one employee, but the department intends for the center to grow over the next few years and look across the department to better understand and prioritize risk and develop strategies for reducing it.

Method also pointed to an initiative called Vendor Threat Mitigation, which aims to give combatant commanders visibility and market analysis into the companies they work with to access data processing tools.

She said the goal is to ensure DOD isnt inadvertently contracting with the enemy and to give commanders the authorities they need to protect logistics capabilities.
In an unconventional approach to documentary filmmaking, director and award winning editor Geeta Gandbhir relied entirely on police body camera footage to tell the story of a neighborhood tragedy in The Perfect Neighbor, a ripped-from the-headlines documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday.

We got our hands on the body cam footage, and we realized how critical it was to show the before of this story, Gandbhir told TheWrap CEO Sharon Waxman at TheWraps Sundance Studio presented by World of Hyatt. We often see the aftermath of such a tragedy, right? But how rarely do we see the community and the family as they were before?

The Perfect Neighbor explores how a tight-knit community was torn apart after Susan Lorincz, a 60-year-old white woman from central Florida, shot and killed her neighbor Ajike Owens, a 35-year-old Black mother of four, through a locked door. The film uses police footage to document both the peaceful community life before the incident and the fallout in its tragic aftermath.

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Executive producer Soledad OBrien emphasized how the footage provided unfiltered access to events.

I think its additionally helpful we stay out of it, OBrien said. Theres no person saying, I picked these people. Ive shot it this way. Its just this is how police responded. This is their point of view.

For Pamela Dias, Owens mother, the raw footage captured painful truths about the incident. My daughter lost her life because of hate, Diaz said. This was a community of family and of children playing, and my daughter lost her life because of hate.

The film highlights issues around Stand Your Ground laws, racial tensions and community divisions. Gandbhir noted that the police footage showed an otherwise harmonious neighborhood disrupted by one residents actions. None of these other people call the police, none of these other people do that. Its her, she said, referring to Lorincz repeated complaints about children playing.

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Lorincz was sentenced to 25 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter in November 2024.

Watch the full interview with Gandbhir, OBrien and Dias in the video above.

The post The Perfect Neighbor Uses Raw Police Footage to Unveil the Truth of a Community Tragedy | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
By Akbar Novruz



On January 26, 2024, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Yalchin Rafiyev, visited the State of Qatar, marking an important step in strengthening bilateral ties.

The visit included the 5th meeting of political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and Qatar, where Rafiyev chaired the Azerbaijani delegation, while Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sultan bin Saad Al Mureykhi, led the Qatari side.

The discussions covered a wide range of topics, including political and economic cooperation, joint efforts within the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, and other international organizations. Both sides also discussed enhancing collaboration in trade, investment, agriculture, tourism, education, and other sectors.

A key highlight of the visit was Rafiyev's meeting with Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed, Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Trade, where the importance of convening the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Joint Commission between Azerbaijan and Qatar was emphasized. Both parties agreed on the need to organize mutual trade missions and business forums to boost economic ties.

Additionally, Deputy Minister Rafiyev visited the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS) in Doha, meeting with its Director, Ghassan Elkahlout, and experts to discuss Azerbaijans foreign policy, regional developments, and the situation in the South Caucasus and the Middle East.

Rafiyev also met with the leadership, faculty, and students at the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRC) at Georgetown University in Qatar. During the session, he provided insights into Azerbaijan's foreign policy priorities, the post-conflict period in the South Caucasus, the normalization process with Armenia, and ongoing reconstruction efforts in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. He also engaged with participants, answering their questions on these topics.

This visit underscores the growing diplomatic and economic relationship between Azerbaijan and Qatar, with both nations committed to further enhancing cooperation in various fields.
Warren Buffett is a money man -- in multiple ways. The legendary investor ranks among the wealthiest people in the world with a net worth of around $144 billion. While his Berkshire Hathaway operates in a wide range of sectors, it's categorized in the financial services sector because of its huge insurance businesses.

You might be surprised at just how important other financial stocks are to Buffett. A little over 39% of his $296 billion Berkshire Hathaway portfolio is invested in 11 financial stocks.

Buffett's top 10 financial stocks (plus one)

American Express (NYSE: AXP) ranks as Berkshire's second largest holding, making up 16.3% of the conglomerate's portfolio. Berkshire's stake in the financial services company, which is best known for its credit cards, is worth over $48 billion.

Another financial stock, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), is right behind AmEx as Buffett's third largest holding. Berkshire owns nearly $36.8 billion of BofA shares, enough to comprise 12.1% of its portfolio.

Two other financial stocks are also among Berkshire's 10 largest positions. Moody's (NYSE: MCO) is No. 7 and makes up 4.1% of the conglomerate's portfolio. Chubb (NYSE: CB) ranks ninth, with Berkshire's roughly $7.2 billion stake reflecting 2.4% of its equity portfolio.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) is the sole remaining financial stock that makes up at least 1% of Berkshire's portfolio. Buffett has a position worth around $4.5 billion in the big bank. The credit card duopoly of Visa (NYSE: V) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA) comprise 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively, of Berkshire's total holdings. Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) isn't far behind at 0.6%. Ally Financial (NYSE: ALLY) and Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU) are tied, with each stock making up 0.4% of Berkshire's portfolio.

In addition to those top 10 financial stocks, Buffett and company also have a tiny position in Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE: JEF) worth around $32.6 million. That's chump change for Berkshire and is such a small amount it doesn't even reach 0.1% of the conglomerate's total portfolio.

How Buffett's financial stocks stack up against each other

Two of Buffett's financial stocks have delivered especially sizzling gains over the past 12 months. Jefferies' shares skyrocketed 88%, while American Express stock soared around 70%. Several others were big winners, though, including Capital One, Citigroup, and Bank of America.

Unsurprisingly, Buffett's worst performer in the group, Ally Financial, which rose less than 10% over the past 12 months, has the most attractive valuation. Ally's forward price-to-earnings ratio is a low 8.5. However, some of Buffett's strongest-performing financial stocks are still reasonably valued despite their big gains. For example, Citigroup trades below 11 times forward earnings.
A person arrested outside of the Capitol with a knife and two potential incendiary devices told officers they wanted to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and also leveled threats against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson, according to newly unsealed charging documents.

Ryan English allegedly approached officers outside the Capitol on Monday and said, "I'd like to turn myself in," and then told the officers they were in possession of knifes and two Molotov cocktails, according to charging documents. Officers searched English's clothes and found a folding knife, a lighter and two 50 milliliter bottles of vodka with a cloth on top.

PHOTO: Washington D.C. police search a car outside the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, Jan. 27, 2025. (Briana Stewart/ABC News)

MORE: Trump 2nd term live updates: EPA temporarily pauses disbursement of federal aid

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English told officers they were there to "Kill Scott Bessent," who was confirmed by the Senate on Monday as the new treasury secretary. English also had a note stating, "This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters," according to charging documents.

After English was taken into custody, English told officers they traveled to Washington, D.C., from Massachusetts on Sunday with the intention of killing Johnson and/or Hegseth, whom English called a "Nazi," documents said. They also expressed a desire to burn down the conservative Heritage Foundation, documents said.

On the way to D.C., English stopped at a library in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and saw Reddit posts mentioning Bessent's confirmation hearing, which "altered" their plans, according to the charging documents.

PHOTO: Washington D.C. police search a car outside the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, Jan. 27, 2025. (Briana Stewart/ABC News)

MORE: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joins immigration enforcement operations in NYC

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English then bought the bottles of vodka, which they said they intended to ignite and throw "at Bessent's feet," the documents said. English said if they were able to get close enough to Bessent, they would've stabbed him with a knife, the documents said.

English told officers that when they traveled to the Capitol to conduct surveillance, English surmised they "would have to kill, at least, three U.S. Capitol Police Officers to get to Bessent and kill him," according to the charging documents. English "expressed acceptance and content with the possibility of suicide by cop," the affidavit said.

English faces charges of carrying a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or incendiary device on Capitol grounds and unlawful receipt, possession and/or transfer of a firearm.

Suspect at Capitol wanted to kill Treasury Secretary, threatened Hegseth, Johnson originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Northwest Georgia will soon have the first-ever pet-friendly shelter for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell spoke with the Chief Executive Officer of LiveSafe Resources about why there is such a huge need for this.

Domestic violence survivors who have pets face a common barrier when they seek safety, and that is finding a safe haven for their pets. In many of these cases, their animals are in danger too.

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Roughly 47% of domestic violence survivors say they will not leave their situation if they cant find a place for their pets, LiveSafe CEO Lisa Mello said. Almost 78% of them said because their pet has already been threatened, theyve had a pet harmed or that theyve been killed.

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Thats why LiveSafe Resources is in the process of completing a pet sanctuary.

For those individuals, the reality is that is like their child, so they are trying to provide that protection for their pet just like they would their own human child, Mello said.

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This will be the first pet-friendly shelter for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors in northwest Georgia.

Its an opportunity for us to remove the barrier to those who are seeking safety away from their abuser, Mello told Channel 2 Action News.

Each unit at the sanctuary looks like a tiny home, small enough for a pet but big enough for quality time with their best friend.

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Each unit here has a TV, a heater and air conditioner, Mello said. It has a small sofa that Im sitting on right now so our clients can actually spend time with their pets when they are here.

A doggy door in each unit also leads to outdoor space for each pet.

We are opening four units, we will be able to take four families of pets at a time, Mello said.

LiveSafe told Channel 2 Action News that 91% of survivors say their pets are also a form of emotional support and physical protection in their ability to survive and heal. LiveSafe Resources partnered with Greater Good Charities and Redrover to make this possible and they hope to open the units sometime in February.

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Good morning! JPMorgan stands by DEI, brand safety isn't Meta's top priority anymore, and Pete Hegseth was just barely confirmed.

- Tiebreak. Despite allegations of sexual assault, paying off an accuser, and drinking to incapacitation on the job, Pete Hegseth was confirmed as President Donald Trump's secretary of defense late Friday.

The 50-50 vote required Vice President JD Vance to serve as a tiebreakerhighly unusual for a defense secretary confirmation. The vote took place after new information from Hegseth's former sister-in-law became public, in which she said that while she didn't personally witness any abuse, she knew that Hegseth's ex-wife "at times feared for her safety and had a code word if she needed help to get away from her husband." Hegseth's attorney told CNN that Hegseth's sister-in-law Danielle "hates Pete" and there was "no truth to any of this."

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Yet the former Fox News host's personal character wasn't enough to dissuade most Republicans from supporting the nominee, nor was his track record of questioning and demeaning women who serve in the military. GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins were among the three Republicans who opposed Hegseth's nomination.

Hegseth's nomination was among the most controversial of Trump's cabinet picks; Democrats and some Republicans were initially outraged by his history. Hegseth followed the Trump playbook when faced with these allegations during his confirmation hearings, and vehemently denied everything. (Trump has been found liable for sexual abuse of E. Jean Carroll in civil court, and was ordered to pay $83 million for defaming her while denying the allegation.) When cabinet confirmations continue, the Senate will likely litigate the histories of health and human services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has described himself as "not a church boy" regarding his past relationships with women, and education secretary nominee Linda McMahon, who faces a civil lawsuit that claims she and her husband ignored sexual abuse of a WWE employee. (An attorney for McMahon has described the suit as "baseless.")

Instead, today will be Hegseth's first day on the job as secretary of defense, overseeing the world's most powerful military. At the top of his to-do list will be responding to Trump's demands for forces at the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as dealing with the aftermath of Trump's executive orders on DEI in federal agencies and transgender troops. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will be addressing some of these priorities as wellshe was confirmed 59-34 as secretary of homeland security on Saturday.

Emma Hinchliffe

emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
One of Pete Hegseths first tasks as Defense Secretary will be to ban transgender servicemen and women and wipe out all mention of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs from the armed forces.

He will also bar the use of invented and identification-based pronouns and stop biological males and females from using sleeping quarters and bathrooms intended for the opposite sex, according to reports.

The new DoD boss was ready to act Monday on three executive orders Donald Trump was expected to sign, which were designed to banish DEI from the military and return the Pentagon to the warfighter.

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Trump and Hegseth have made no secret of their intentions to make sweeping changes to rid the Pentagon of what they see as the service being hamstrung by the Biden administrations woke policies.

The president revoked Bidens order repealing his ban on transgender Americans in the military within hours of being sworn in last Monday, but the executive orders will take it further, insisting that the medical consequences of transition treatment hinder the ability of troops to serve.

It can take a minimum of 12 months for an individual to complete treatments after transition surgery, which often involves the use of heavy narcotics. During this period, they are not physically capable of meeting military readiness requirements and require ongoing medical care. This is not conducive for deployment or other readiness requirements, wrote CNN, citing a Trump administration fact sheet.

The White House document also states, according to the New York Post, that there would be no accommodation for anything less than resilience, strength, and the ability to withstand extraordinary physical demands.

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Individuals who are unable to meet these requirements are unable to serve in the military. This has been the case for decades, the document says.

A second executive order bars any discriminatory polices related to DEI in the military and calls for a review by Hegseth. The third will reinstate active military and reservists previously canned for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to CNN, they will be reinstated with their previous rank and receive back pay.

The latest estimate of the number of transgender individuals serving in the U.S. armed forces from 10 years ago put the total at 15,500. No details have emerged as to what will happen to those serving troops. During Trumps first administration, exceptions were made for transgender people already in uniform before the ban was in place and those who had been stable for 36 consecutive months in their biological sex prior to accession.
The Iowa Board of Pharmacy oversees state-licensed pharmacies, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Iowa. (Photo by Getty Images; logo courtesy the State of Iowa)

An Iowa pharmacy technician who was allegedly captured on video stealing prescription medications from a customer has agreed to surrender her license.

According to the Iowa Board of Pharmacy, on Feb. 6, 2024, the Hy-Vee Pharmacy in Altoona filed documents with the board last year alleging a state-licensed pharmacy technician, Mary Ellen Kopaska, 45, of West Des Moines, misappropriated controlled substances from the pharmacy.

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A subsequent investigation revealed Kopaska was caught on security video removing prescriptions from patient prescription bottles. Given the formal charges against Kopaska, the allegation presumably refers to the removal of prescription medications from the bottles.

Board documents indicate Kopaska, without admission of wrongdoing or guilt, agreed to surrender her license for the admitted violation of state regulations. The license revocation took effect on Jan. 15, 2025.

The board has stipulated that Kopaska can apply for reinstatement of her license in two years.

Criminal court records indicate that in February 2024, Altoona police charged Kopaska with theft and prohibited acts involving controlled substances.

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Police alleged she admitted to taking five Hydrocodone pills from a patients bag while working in the pharmacy, with the video showing her placing the drugs in her left pants pocket. According to police, she claimed that at the end of her shift she took the drugs home where they were later flushed down the toilet.

In July 2024, the simple misdemeanor charge of theft was dismissed as part of a plea agreement, and Kopaska pleaded guilty to the charge of prohibited acts. She was fined $1,000 and sentenced to two years of probation.

She was also granted a deferred judgment in the case, which will result in the criminal conviction being expunged from court records after the successful completion of probation.
A fight at a family gathering left one dead and two injured in a west Phoenix home Saturday night.

Around 10 p.m., Phoenix police responded to a stabbing on Warner Street. Upon arrival, they found three people with stab wounds.

They were taken to the hospital, and two, an unidentified adult man and an adult woman, had non-life-threatening injuries and were released from the hospital.

The third, 29-year-old Jake Carbonell, died at the hospital from the stabbing.

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Police detained Hunter Strawbridge, 29, in the neighborhood shortly after the incident. Detectives say they learned a fight between Carbonell and Strawbridge occurred while at a family gathering and led to Strawbridge stabbing Carbonell.

Further details were not released, and the investigation was ongoing, as of Sunday evening.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Family gathering turns ugly with 1 man fatally stabbed in Phoenix
Hundreds of protestors rallied Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at the Tennessee Capitol over Antioch High School shooting
It has been 80 years since the Soviet Army liberated Auschwitz, the largest Nazi concentration complex.

First established in 1940, Auschwitz had a concentration camp, large gas chambers, and crematoria.

More than 1.1 million people were murdered at Auschwitz, including nearly one million Jews.

It was the greatest tragedy of the Holocaust. In just five years, over one million people were murdered at Auschwitz, the largest and deadliest Nazi concentration camp.

Auschwitz was established in 1940 and located in the suburbs of Oswiecim, a Polish city the Germans annexed. Between 1940 and 1945, it grew to include three main camp centers and a slew of subcamps  each of which were used for forced labor, torture, and mass killing.

An estimated 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz during its five-year operation, and approximately 1.1 million were killed.

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The terror of Auschwitz finally subsided on January 27, 1945, when the Soviet Army liberated the remaining 7,000 prisoners from the camps.

On the 80th anniversary of this liberation, these photos exhibit the horror and history of Auschwitz.

Auschwitz was established in 1940 in the suburbs of Oswiecim, Poland.

An aerial view of the Auschwitz II-Birkenau extermination camp on December 19, 2019 in Oswiecim, Poland. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

During its first year, authorities cleared 15 square miles for the camp.

Source: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Auschwitz I, the first camp to undergo construction, was initially created for three reasons: to imprison enemies, to use forced labor, and to kill certain groups of people.

The crematorium near gas chamber one at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz I in Oswiecim, Poland, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019. Markus Schreiber/AP

Sources: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, AuschwitzBirkenau Memorial and State Museum

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Construction of the largest camp, Auschwitz II, also called Auschwitz-Birkenau, began in October 1941.

The remains of brick stone chimneys of prisoner barracks can be seen inside the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz Birkenau or Auschwitz II. Markus Schreiber/AP

Electrified barbed wire divided it into 10 different sections.

Sources: Jewish Virtual Library, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Auschwitz-Birkenau's different sections were for "women; men; a family camp for Roma (Gypsies) deported from Germany, Austria, and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; and a family camp for Jewish families deported from the Theresienstadt ghetto," according to the Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Women in the barracks at Auschwitz, Poland, January 1945. Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty Images

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Sources: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Inmates were put into poorly structured wooden barracks with 36 bunks each.

Reuters Pictures Archive

Five to six prisoners were packed in so over 500 prisoners were in each unit.

Source: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Incoming prisoners who were selected for forced labor received tattoos and had a serial number sewn into their uniforms.

Auschwitz concentration camp survivor Eva Behar shows her number tattoo in her home on December 1, 2014 in London, United Kingdom. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Auschwitz was the only concentration camp to do this.

Source: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Shortly after construction, Auschwitz-Birkenau became the largest killing center and central location for the extermination of Jews in Europe.

Bodies of prisoners found in Auschwitz, shortly after liberation in 1945. Reuters

Source: Museum of Jewish Heritage

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In 1942, two farmhouses just outside the camp were turned into gas chambers.

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

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Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

But as Auschwitz-Birkenau became a central location for mass killing, these gas chambers were too small.

Shoes of victims exterminated at Auschwitz. Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance via Getty Images

Four new chambers were built between March and June 1943, each containing a disrobing area, gas chamber, and crematory ovens.

Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

As millions of people were murdered, mounds of eye glasses, razors, shoes, and other belongings were left behind.

Remains of glasses from people exterminated at Auschwitz. Pawel Ulatowski/Reuters

In 1942, Auschwitz III, also known as Buna or Monowitz, opened near the town of Monowice to house more forced laborers.

An ariel picture taken of Auschwitz barracks taken on December 15, 2019 in Oswiecim, Poland. Pablo GONZALEZ / AFP via Getty Images

Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

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Forty-four subcamps with different specializations were established at Auschwitz between 1942 and 1944.

A photo of women deemed fit for work, taken in May 1944 in Auschwitz. AFP via Getty Images

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The Nazis made prisoners work on large farms, in coal mines, in weapons production  basically anything the German military needed for war.

Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Between 1940 and 1945, an estimated 1.3 million people were sent to Auschwitz. About 1.1 million were killed.

Cadavers of women and Children who died in cold weather at Auschwitz. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

Source: Museum of Jewish Heritage

In January 1945, before Soviet forces could reach the camps for liberation, nearly 60,000 people were forced to march west, and thousands more were killed.

Soviet soldiers with survivors of Auschwitz in 1945. REUTERS:HO AUSCHWITZ MUSEUM

Source: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The terror finally subsided on January 27, 1945, when the Soviet Army reached the gates of Auschwitz.

Soviet soldiers arriving at the gates of Auschwitz in 1945. REUTERS:HO AUSCHWITZ MUSEUM REUTERS

Source: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

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When Soviet soldiers arrived, only between 6,000 and 7,000 prisoners remained.

Sovfoto/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

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The majority of them faced starvation, illness, and death.

Source: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Available records indicate that when the soldiers arrived, at least 700 youth prisoners were still at the camp, half of whom were Jewish.

Children who have lived to be liberated by the Red Army from the Auschwitz concentration camp on January 27, 1945. TASS via Getty Images

Source: Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum

In many cases, the liberated children were malnourished, severely weak, vitamin deficient, and diseased.

Jewish children, survivors of Auschwitz, with a nurse behind a barbed wire fence, Poland, February 1945. Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty Images

Of 180 children examined after liberation, 40% had tuberculosis.

Source: Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum

Immediately after liberation, many of the children were sent to hospitals organized by the Soviet army and the Polish Red Cross.

Holocaust survivor Rachel Rubin shows a photograph of herself as a 14-year-old girl shortly after her liberation in 1945. Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Images

In 2016, a group of children who survived the horrors of Auschwitz met to take their photo together.

81-year-old Paula Lebovics, 79-year-old Miriam Ziegler, 85-year-old Gabor Hirsch and 80-year-old Eva Kor pose with the original image of them as children taken at Auschwitz at the time of its liberation on January 26, 2015 in Krakow, Poland. Ian Gavan/Getty Images

In total, 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. One-sixth of these exterminations happened at Auschwitz alone.

Photographs are displayed at the Birkenau Museum, December 10, 2004, of the many faces of the men, women and children at the Auschwitz II. Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

To commemorate this grave tragedy, world leaders met in Israel in 2020 to mark 75 years since the camp's liberation.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrived in Israel on a working visit to attend celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Mikhail Metzel/TASS via Getty Images

On January 27, 2025, Holocaust survivors gathered in Oswiecim, Poland, to attend a ceremony marking the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

A Holocaust survivor attends a ceremony commemorating the 80th liberation anniversary of Auschwitz. WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Holocaust survivors and former Auschwitz inmates were joined by world leaders at a wreath-laying and candle ceremony in front of the Death Wall to remember the thousands who died at the former Nazi concentration complex.

People gather to lay a wreath at the Wall of Death at the former German concentration complex, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Bernd von Jutrczenka/picture alliance via Getty Images

Editor's note: This list was first published in January 2020 and has been updated to reflect recent developments.

Read the original article on Business Insider
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB)  January is National Hobby Month and there are plenty of different skills or activities that you can easily pick up in celebration of the month.

If youre looking for a good place to start then look no further than The Portal, a board game cafe right in the heart of downtown Panama City.

For just $6 a person, you can choose from a selection of over 400 different board and card games for two hours.

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Youll have access to popular classic games like Monopoly and Clue to brand-new games ready to be played.

Panama City covered by record snowfall, crews working overnight to clear roads

Picking up a hobby gives you a chance to disconnect from day-to-day life and experience things that can help give your brain a reset.

You got to have that thing that you just relax and enjoy, said The Portal Co-Owner Jayson Kretzer. We all work hard and fast and having that hobby to fall back on keeps us happy, gives us something to kind of look forward to and sink some time in.

The Portal often hosts special events including puzzle races, social deduction nights, and much more.

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The business also hosts a wide variety of unique sodas to try out while you play.

They are open every day Wednesday through Sunday.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO)  The Pierre community is preparing to hold inauguration festivities next month for South Dakotas new governor.

Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden officially ascended to governor on Saturday, when Kristi Noem took the oath of office as the new U.S. secretary of homeland security and submitted her letter of resignation as governor.

Who is South Dakotas new governor, Larry Rhoden?

South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Jensen administered South Dakotas oath of office to Rhoden in a short ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday in the governors office.

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A formal ceremony marking Rhodens start as South Dakota governor is scheduled for Saturday, February 8.

Planning the details is a work on progress, Pierre Mayor Steve Harding told KELOLAND News on Monday. This is the first time an inaugural will be held for a governor who will be finishing a term that I can remember. More details will be coming as they are finalized.

Noem had 23-plus months remaining on her second term when she stepped down Saturday morning. Rhoden is expected in the coming days to offer his preference for a lieutenant governor, which will require confirmation by the House and the Senate.

This is the third time in South Dakota history that a lieutenant governor became governor without being elected.

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Democratic Gov. Dick Kneip resigned on July 24, 1978, to accept an appointment as the U.S. ambassador to Singapore. His lieutenant governor, Harvey Wollman, served as governor the five-plus months remaining of Kneips term. No appointment was made to fill the lieutenant governor vacancy.

Republican Gov. George S. Mickelson died on April 19, 1993, along with seven others when a state-owned aircraft crashed in Iowa. His lieutenant governor, Walter Dale Miller, served as governor the remaining 20 months of Mickelsons term. Miller chose Steve Kirby as his lieutenant governor.

Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor ran separately for election until 1974, when a constitutional revision took effect that had the candidates run as a team.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
This story was originally published on Trucking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Trucking Dive newsletter.

The trucking industry is eagerly anticipating a long-awaited rebound in freight rates this year as well as an easier regulatory environment following President Donald Trumps return to the White House.

But those are far from the only matters commanding carrier executives attention in 2025.

FedExs spinoff of its Freight division and a multibillion-dollar acquisition hinted by TFI International are expected to change the face of an industry still absorbing the shock of the largest bankruptcy in trucking history two years ago.

Based on Trucking Dives coverage of the industry and executives statements in interviews and earnings calls, here are five major storylines to monitor this year.

1. Who will run Trumps FMCSA?

Industry advocates have voiced support for Trumps nominee for transportation secretary, former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy.

With Duffys confirmation process underway, eyes are turning to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, whose leader will have significant sway over trucking rules, including for speed limiters, broker transparency and autonomous trucking.

An autonomous trucking framework, for one, is likely an issue that will be determined at the level of the President, Jim Mullen, an acting FMCSA chief during Trumps first term, wrote in a blog post last week.

2. Will a FedEx Freight spinoff happen this year?

The parcel giants spinoff of the countrys largest LTL carrier has major implications, not only for its employees and customers but its competitors and investors.

The planned move also raises plenty of questions for the company and the industry, including who will run the spun-off carrier following FedEx Freight President Lance Molls retirement this year and how the ripple effects of a spinoff will play out for the rest of the market.

Perhaps none looms larger than the timing. FedEx has said it anticipates to execute the spinoff within the next 18 months, which could mean it happens in 2025 or 2026.

Truckers, customers, investors and other stakeholders will be watching closely to see what it means for their fortunes  particularly if freight demand continues to lag like it has for the past two years.

3. What multibillion-dollar acquisition will TFI make?

Canada-based freight conglomerate TFI International followed its announced acquisition of Daseke by rolling out a plan last year to split its truckload and LTL holdings into separate companies.
In an announcement that thrilled many and alarmed many more, the U.S. pipeline operator Energy Transfer announced a 20-year agreement with oil and gas giant Chevron to provide them with liquefied natural gas (LNG), Reuters reported.

What's happening?

The agreement will see Energy Transfer supplying two million tons of LNG to Chevron each year, Reuters explained, which it is sourcing from its Lake Charles project in Louisiana.

Energy Transfer had originally proposed to build its own facility at Lake Charles in 2015, but it has been unable to garner enough customer interest to justify building it. Instead, its harvested LNG will now be funneled to Chevron and distributed from there.

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"We believe that Lake Charles is the most compelling LNG project on the Gulf Coast and we continue to make significant progress towards full commercialization of this project." Tom Mason, president of Energy Transfer's LNG unit, said.

Why is LNG so controversial?

While "natural" might suggest that natural gas  and therefore LNG  is a clean or renewable fuel, this is not the case. As the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) phrased it on its website, "LNG, derived from cooling fossil gas to store and transport over long distances, is part of the array of fossil fuels standing in the way of climate progress."

In fact, research from Cornell University found that transporting natural gas might be even more harmful to the planet than simply burning coal, as methane leaks during the process allow even more toxic compounds to escape into the atmosphere, the New Yorker reported.

And while many energy companies tout LNG as a "greener" option than traditional coal, experts on the subject agree that this is essentially no more than greenwashing  supporting the continued use of a fuel that is actively contributing to the planet's overheating crisis.

What's being done to counteract this?

Advocates for clean energy were dismayed by the 20-year Chevron deal, especially since it comes during an era when scientists agree there is no more time to delay reducing emissions.

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If humans hope to avoid suffering the brunt of the damages that result from an increasingly hot atmosphere  from severe wildfires and storms to threats to agriculture and a loss of biodiversity  we need to focus on transitioning to clean energy, not supporting dirty fuel sources.

Fortunately, many researchers, companies, and policymakers are hard at work innovating to reduce emissions. From looking into alternative fuel sources like hydrogen and vegetable oil, to developing electric semi trucks, to creating plastic alternatives made from seaweed, there are many ways to invest in a cooler, more resilient future.

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.
An asset manager is seeking to quash Nippon Steels takeover of U.S. Steel and oust the leadership of the U.S. steelmaker after taking a stake in the company.

Ancora Holdings Group, with $10 billion in assets, reported acquiring a 0.18% stake in the Pittsburgh company. It said Monday that U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt and the companys board have prioritized a sale to Nippon because they stand to receive more than $100 million if it goes forward.

President Joe Biden blocked the nearly $15 billion acquisition this month  affirming an earlier vow to prevent the acquisition of Steeltown USAs most storied steel company.

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But the deal is not dead yet. The deadline to unwind the proposed takeover was extended by the Biden administration and this month U.S. Steel and Nippon challenged the Biden decision in a federal lawsuit.

Ancora is seeking an independent slate of directors at U.S. Steel and new CEO that are committed to walking away from the Nippon deal. In an open letter on Monday, the firm said it has nominated nine independent directors for election at U.S. Steels annual shareholders meeting this year. Those directors have a plan that includes making Alan Kestenbaum, a former steel executive, the new chief executive of U.S. Steel.

Ancora wants new board members to focus on U.S. Steels turnaround, not selling the company. It also wants them to pursue the $565 million breakup fee from Nippon.

U.S. Steel is now in a dire state due its excessive capital spending, high debt, soft earnings and nonexistent contingency plan, Ancora wrote.

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The exit of the Biden administration does not necessarily improve the odds of the Nippon deal going through. President Donald Trump has consistently voiced opposition to the deal and questioned why U.S. Steel would sell itself to a foreign company given the regime of new tariffs he has vowed.

We see no reason to believe that President Trump, a high-conviction businessman who was elected by middle-class and working-class voters, is going to contradict his self-described America First agenda and disregard the opposition of the United Steelworkers, Ancora said Monday.

U.S. Steel said it remains committed to pursuing a deal with Nippon, believing it is best for the U.S. steel industry, supply chains and for steel workers.

It also raised earlier allegations that rival steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs had attempted to sabotage its merger with Nippon. U.S. Steel filed a separate federal lawsuit against the Ohio steelmaker and its CEO Lourenco Goncalves, as well as David McCall, the head of the U.S. Steelworkers union, accusing them of engaging in a coordinated series of anticompetitive and racketeering activities to block the deal.

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Ancoras interests are not aligned with all U.S. Steel stockholders, U.S. Steel said. Our stockholders will not be well served by turning over control of the company to Ancora. We are also concerned about the motivations behind these nominations, given Ancoras and Alan Kestenbaums recent dealings with failed bidder Cleveland-Cliffs.

Ancora is also based in Cleveland.

U.S. Steel had rejected a bid from Cleveland-Cliffs in favor of the offer from Nippon in 2023. Cleveland-Cliffs Goncalves said this month that he wanted to make a new bid for U.S. Steel.

Shares of U.S. Steel Corp. slipped more than 1% Monday.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Last week, on his first day in office, Donald Trump issued about 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 of his supporters involved in the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol, including those who assaulted police officers.

While some rejoiced over the pardons, that wasn't the case for Pamela Hemphill, a Jan. 6 rioter who was found guilty and served 60 days in jail. Hemphill is now going viral on social media for rejecting the pardon.

"It would be a slap in the face to the Capitol police officers, the rule of law, you know, to our nation," Hemphill said in a viral interview clip when asked why she said no to the pardon.

"I pleaded guilty 'cause I was guilty," she said.

According to NPR, Hemphill pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge for "parading, picketing, or demonstrating in the Capitol building." @msnbc / Via tiktok.com

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"It would help their narrative that it was a peaceful protest that day," Hemphill continued. "No, it was not a peaceful protest. It was an insurrection. I don't want a part of anything that Trump is offering."

In the comments, people applauded Hemphill for taking accountability and speaking up. One person wrote, "Ma'am... I appreciate your integrity, honesty, and the work you've done to educate yourself. Thank you!"

"Wow. I don't see this ever. Respect for taking accountability," another user wrote.

"Taking accountability like this requires a lot of bravery and introspection. Knowing how hard it must've been for her to accept it all, I really hope she is able to live a peaceful, quiet life," this person said.

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"Thank you for speaking up," another person remarked.

Hemphill explained on MSNBC that an interaction with her therapist helped her realize that she wasn't a victim but "a volunteer" in the Jan. 6 attacks and that doing her own fact-checking helped her recognize that there was no fraud in the election. Reflecting on her involvement, she said that she "lost her critical thinking" and has called what she was involved with "a cult."

She told the Guardian that the "Maga cult" and "J6 criminals" are upset that she's now focusing on "the facts." Hemphill, who's a substance abuse counselor, said, "Its just like working with an alcoholic  when youre in denial, you get real upset." Brent Stirton / Getty Images

For others like herself, she told MSNBC, "You gotta decide for yourself. Do you really want to continue listening to Trump and all his lies or find out if they are lies? Just check it out. Just do some fact-checking. One or two things. I don't know about you, when somebody's lied to me, it's not OK with me."

Since Pamela Hemphill rejected her pardon, one other person who was convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 attacks, Jason Riddle, has also rejected his pardon.

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"Its almost like [Trump] was trying to say it didnt happen. And it happened. I did those things, and they werent pardonable," he told New Hampshire Public Radio.

Hemphill told the Idaho Statesman that she and her attorney plan to file a letter of rejection. The outlet reported that turning down a presidential pardon is possible, citing a US Supreme Court ruling in 1833 (later upheld in 1915). However, some legal experts say commutations and pardons may not depend on defendants consent, and the request "could face an uphill battle."

We'll keep you posted if any other Jan. 6 rioters reject their pardon. In the meantime, it appears many are delighted.

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What do you think? Let us know in the comments. 
GAFFNEY, S.C. (WSPA)  The Gaffney Police Department released details Monday morning about a burglary arrest at a business rumored to be an officer-involved shooting.

Officers confirmed with 7NEWS that an incident Sunday night at Eastside Saveway at 302 Wilkinsville Highway was not an officer-involved shooting. However, police did respond to the area shortly after 11 p.m. in reference to a burglary in progress.

The police department responded to an alarm call involving a glass break at the scene. Upon arrival, officers located 19-year-old Gavin Tray King, of Gaffney, reportedly trying to exit through a shattered front door.

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King was apprehended at the scene.

Police sent a press release Monday morning stating that they wanted to dispel the rumors with facts about the incident and subsequent arrest.

King was booked into the Cherokee County Detention Center and charged with second-degree burglary and malicious damage to real property.

He remains at the detention center awaiting bond according to police.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS.
Police have released images of some of the lamps in the hope their owners can be found - Hertfordshire Police/SWNS

Hundreds of antique lanterns have been recovered after a suspected street lamp thief was caught by police.

Some 296 ornate light fittings were found at a house in Barkway, Cambridgeshire, earlier this month after hundreds of listed lamps and street lights went missing.

They included three vintage Richardson candle lamps which were first installed in Cambridge in the 1950s.

The theft of the Grade II-listed lamps, which were taken from the centre of the university city in September and October last year, was described by Historic England as a heritage crime.

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Other lanterns found in the property appeared to have been stolen from ordinary houses. Several of them were missing panels.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of theft. He was released on bail while investigations continue and is due to report to a police station on April 1.

Pc Thomas Woollard, of Hertfordshire Constabulary, said the unique case involved lights that had been stolen from multiple counties.

He said: We believe the majority are from across Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire and may have gone missing in the last six months.

This is a unique case and significant investigations are being conducted into the items recovered. We have already made contact with local authorities and Heritage England. If you think some may belong to you, please get in contact.

The ornate fittings recovered by officers included several vintage street lights - Hertfordshire Police/SWNS

A report last year found that thefts of historic metal and stone objects were on the rise, with some thieves disguising themselves as workers by wearing high-visibility clothing.

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Research by Historic England and the National Police Chiefs Council found that church roofs, stone walls, paving slabs, troughs and fountains were among the materials being targeted.

The Richardson street lights were stolen from St Johns Street and Trumpington Street in the centre of Cambridge between Sept 13 and Oct 1 last year.

At the time, a Historic England spokesman said: The Richardson candle street lights are a distinctive feature of Cambridge city centre and are Grade II listed.

We are aware of the unexplained disappearance of three of the lamps and have offered our support and advice to Cambridgeshire Police in their investigation of this apparent heritage crime.

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A man is dead after the vehicle he was driving was struck during a hit-and-run crash in Bridgeport over the weekend.

A police officer patrolling the city spotted the crash at the intersection of Barnum Avenue and Harriet Street where a man identified as 53-year-old Andrew Scarlett of Bridgeport, was suffering from serious injuries, according to Tiadora Josef, director of public information and emergency management for the City of Bridgeport.

Scarlett was rushed in an ambulance to Bridgeport Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, Josef said.

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According to Josef, the Bridgeport Serious Crash Investigation Team responded to investigate. A preliminary investigation found that Scarlett was driving a 2000 Saturn SC2 west on Barnum Avenue and was struck while going through the intersection at Harriet Street.

The vehicle that struck the Saturn was identified as a 2013 Hyundai Sonata with North Carolina license plates HCZ1398, Josef said. Multiple people in the Sonata got out and fled the area after the collision, according to Josef.

The crash remains under investigation.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact Officer A. Orum at 203-576-7640 or Andrew.Orum@bridgeportct.gov. Anonymous tips can be called into the Bridgeport Police TIPS Hotline at 203-576-TIPS.

The Bridgeport Police Department sends its sincere condolences to Scarletts family and friends, the department said in a statement on Monday.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  Youngstown Police have made an arrest in the homicide that happened Friday evening inside a south side home.

Read next: Man dies in Warren house fire

Kenneth Carter, 34, was arrested for the murder, according to police.

Lt. Mohammad Awad of the Detective Bureau said Monday that detectives were able to collect several pieces of evidence.

A 42-year-old man was shot to death inside a home on Griselda Avenue at about 7:35 p.m. Friday. He was shot multiple times.

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His death is the citys second homicide of 2025.

His identity has not yet been released by the Mahoning County Coroners Office.

Youngstown had 20 homicides in 2024. At this time last year, the city had one homicide.

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Police are searching for a suspect in an interstate shooting that happened in north Charlotte on Friday.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 1 seriously hurt in shooting along north Charlotte interstate

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said shots were fired on I-85 at the I-77 interchange near Beatties Ford Road Friday morning.

Chopper 9 Skyzoom spotted numerous CMPD squad cars.

The victims brother-in-law told Channel 9 he was shot in the knee while driving a work truck and believes it was a random shooting.

CMPD has not released any details.

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.

(WATCH BELOW: 1 seriously hurt in west Charlotte shooting, MEDIC says)
Target announced on Jan. 24 that it will scale back its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The change, which follows President Donald Trumps inauguration, is reportedly intended to align its workforce and product offerings more closely with its customer base.

In a memo to employees, the Minneapolis-based retailer revealed plans to discontinue its three-year DEI goals, which include Target ceasing reporting to external diversity organizations such as the Human Rights Campaigns Corporate Equality Index and ending a program designed to feature more products from Black- and minority-owned businesses in their stores.

The announcement memo, written by Targets Chief Community Impact and Equity Officer Kiera Fernandez and shared with CNBC, was released to Target staff this week.

The memo read, Many years of data, insights, listening, and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy.

Fernandez continued, And as a retailer [Target] that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future - all in service of driving Targets growth and winning together.

A Target spokesperson clarified that there are no job cuts set to be a part of Fridays DEI announcement so far.

This is a stark deviation from the sentiment of Target CEO Brian Cornell four years ago.

Following the murder of George Floyd, which took place extremely close to Targets headquarters, Cornell described DEI efforts as personal. He said the incident of police brutality motivated him to bolster Targets companywide efforts in diversity.

At the time, he said, That could have been one of my Target team members.

The scale-back on DEI efforts will include many programs that began after Floyds death.

Target started a program to help Black entrepreneurs develop, test, and learn to scale their products to sell at mass retailers, and it promised to spend over $2 billion on Black-owned businesses by this year. Another DEI initiative that will see changes involves the $10 million that Target and its related companies gave to the National Urban League and African American Leadership Forum to support social justice groups.

The companys decision to scale back on DEI comes nearly immediately after President Donald Trumps executive orders to cease all the governments DEI programs and put federal officials who oversaw those initiatives on leave. Trump signed the order right after being inaugurated.
WELLFORD, S.C. (WSPA)  The Wellford Police Department is warning the public about a landscaping company that is reportedly not licensed to operate.

Officers said C&K Landscapes allegedly does not have a business license and failed to clean up a homeowners yard after a payment was issued.

The company also left a mess on the sidewalk at 955 Main Street according to police.

Police are asking the public to only use companies that have a license to operate.

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The police department said the city has attempted to work with the company to fix the issues but the owner continues to disconnect their phone calls.

Wellford Police later removed the Facebook post, telling 7NEWS that they have since been able to get in touch with the owner of the business who was a minor.

In a new post on Tuesday, the Wellford Police Department later said that C&K Landscaping is in good standing with the city of Wellford and that their name and information was used by another company.

Police said they are investigating this confusion and will provide an update with new information soon.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS.
President of Poland Andrzej Duda said that gas flows from Russia to Western Europe should never be restored, even if Russia and Ukraine reach a peace agreement.

Source: Duda in an interview with BBC; European Pravda reports

Details: Duda said that the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which have not been in use since 2022, "should be dismantled".

He said this would mean that countries such as Germany "would not be tempted" to resume Russian supplies to support their struggling economies.

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Quote: "I can only hope that European leaders will learn lessons from Russia's aggression against Ukraine and that they will push through a decision to never restore the pumping of gas through this pipeline."

Details: Gas prices in Europe have risen sharply since the closure, and in recent months politicians from the far-right German AfD party have proposed reopening the Nord Stream pipeline.

This is why Duda believes that the Nord Stream pipeline "should be dismantled".

Quote: "This pipeline causes a very big threat to Ukraine, to Poland, to Slovakia but also to other Central European countries.

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It is a threat from the point of view of energy, from the point of view of the military but also it is a huge economic threat because it means a domination of Russia over Europe in the economic sense."

Background:

The Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, in which Russia has invested billions of euros, has not been put into operation since its completion  first because of legal problems, and then because of the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

In September 2022, one of the branches of NS2 and both branches of Nord Stream 1 were damaged by explosions, and the investigation is still ongoing.

In 2024, Nord Stream 2 AG lost a lawsuit in the EU Court of Justice over a directive that extends the rules of the internal natural gas market to gas pipelines from third countries.

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European allies and other supporters of Ukraine have welcomed US President Donald Trump's threats to impose new tariffs and sanctions on Moscow if it does not agree to end the war.

Source: Politico, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Ukraine's supporters see Trump's threats more broadly as evidence that he understands the stakes of the war as well as they do and will not abandon Ukraine  or NATO allies  in his future relations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

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"I would be lying if we say we are not nervous" about Trumps return, said a European ambassador who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

"We are preparing for a lot of headaches, but one area where I am going to risk being cautiously optimistic on is Ukraine and NATO," he said.

Pro-Ukrainian Republicans point to the fact that in 2019, Trump backed out of a major nuclear deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, despite all the hype and spectacle surrounding the historic summit. He may do the same in his talks with Putin over Ukraine.

"He gets the stakes with Putin. He knows a bad deal when he sees one and can walk away again," said one administration official, who requested anonymity.

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Another person familiar with Trump's stance on Ukraine, who requested anonymity, said the president's initial comments about ending the war should be taken seriously. According to the source, his efforts to put public pressure on Putin and create leverage in the negotiations are in line with his long-standing desire to play a decisive role in any deal.

However, this dose of cautious optimism only goes so far. Tariffs and sanctions are a far cry from the money and arms that the Biden administration has sent to support Ukraine.

Trump has irritated European allies with his fixation on Greenland, as well as his and his allies' open support for far-right political parties in Europe, many of which have ties or proximity to Putin.

"Greenland and interference in UK politics and the German elections is highly concerning," said an EU official, who acknowledged that his initial statements on Russia and the war in Ukraine were "somewhat promising."

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Other analysts believe that, unlike former President Joe Biden, Trump does not regard the war as a big threat to global democracy, which raises the possibility that he will accept a bad deal with Putin.

European diplomats are also concerned that any agreement with Putin that ends the fighting in Ukraine will just give Putin time to rearm and regroup his war-weary army, preparing to launch new attacks years from now.

"Trump also has to focus not just on what to give to Putin, but what to give to Zelenskyy, including, first and foremost, effective, lasting security guarantees," said Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia.

Background:

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The Donald Trump administration is known to be keen to bring an end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as soon as possible, although it acknowledges that this could take months.

In the first days of his presidency, Trump threatened Russia with large sanctions and tariffs if it did not agree to a quick peace deal. He also said that he would seek lower oil prices to end the war.

During a discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the American leader held Russia responsible for concluding a peace deal to end its full-scale war against Ukraine.

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According to a December 2024 poll conducted by Ukrainska Pravda, 50% of Ukrainians favour a compromise solution involving the leaders of other countries to end the war, but with significant security guarantees for Ukraine.

Source: Ukrainska Pravdas article; a December poll by the sociological company Socis, available to Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "According to a December poll by the sociological company Socis, which is available to Ukrainska Pravda, the number of Ukrainians who would like immediate negotiations and an end to the war has recently increased sharply."

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Details: Thus, 50% of respondents support the search for a compromise solution involving the leaders of other countries to end the war.

Also, the number of those who support freezing the war and ending combat actions along the current line of contact has increased from 8% to almost 20% over the year.

One of the biggest risks of the negotiation process is whether the government's actions will be accepted by society and the servicemen.

At the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainians were eager to defend the country and fight until the country's borders as of 1991 were restored, but the situation on the battlefield has evolved over the course of three years, as has public sentiment.

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Nonetheless, no one can guarantee that Ukrainian opposition would be avoided until the negotiations result in significant security guarantees for Ukraine.

The majority of Ukrainska Pravda sources in the government team are adamant that any agreement can only be based on reliable guarantees of Ukraine's security until it enters NATO.

Thus, the president believes that the subject of a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine entails at least 200,000 soldiers stationed in the country.

Quote from one of the most influential members of the president's team: "We have two big tasks now. To try to do something big and unprecedented. Perhaps, to achieve some kind of agreement on guarantees with the United States, which would be ratified by the Congress. No one else in the world has this, and it would send a serious signal. We also must overcome Russia's main goals, such as permanent neutrality and the like."

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Details: However, most of the officials interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda assume that if it comes to negotiations, the Russians will try to start with the Istanbul Treaty project, which Ukraine has rejected in 2022.

"So we'll have to fight harder to get rid of the treacherous clauses about limiting the army or neutrality. But that's if it comes to such negotiations at all. We are still waiting to see what the Americans decide, and what the results of their talks with the Russians will be. Maybe our team will have to tell everyone to back off," the source said.

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Jan. 27The proposed site for a new passenger train station in Portland has hit a snag with a key property owner saying he's not on board.

Bill Black, who owns a commercial office and warehouse building at 172 St. John St., said the concept plan pitched by Amtrak Downeaster officials would require a lot more of his land than he's willing to give up.

"I'm not against the station," said Black, standing outside his 57,000-square-foot blue metal building. "I'm against the way they're trying to take more of my land."

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Black, a Yarmouth attorney who owns a few commercial properties in Portland, said he has spoken with several Downeaster representatives in recent years and is willing to provide a 20- to 30-foot-wide strip for an access road off St. John Street.

But Black believes the concept plan, presented last August by the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, would take a much wider swath of his 3.5-acre parcel. Exactly how much is unclear since the plan is a digital drawing of the station on an aerial image of the neighborhood.

Black said the authority's proposal also would scuttle his plan to build a 20,000-square-foot addition to the warehouse for his current tenant, Ferguson, the largest U.S. distributor of plumbing, heating and ventilation supplies.

"If they want to continue on with what they're proposing, it diminishes the value of my property substantially," Black said. "They ought to be looking at how they can do this more economically."

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Black's concern may be premature, according to Patricia Quinn, executive director of the rail authority, which operates the Downeaster for five round trips daily between Boston and Brunswick. The goal is to replace the existing station at the Portland Transportation Center at Thompson's Point.

"Everything is still conceptual," said Quinn. "The facility has not been designed. The engineering plans have not been drawn."

Quinn also said negotiations haven't started with several landowners who would be affected, although rail representatives have been talking with them for years.

"We've been very consistent and continual in our communications with the public and with stakeholders," Quinn said.

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The proposed site for a new train station is across from the Metro bus headquarters on St. John Street and would connect to Northern Light Mercy Hospital's campus on the Fore River Parkway.

The location would shave 15 minutes off the Downeaster's northbound and southbound trips  time now spent moving the train on and off a branch of the main rail line to reach the existing station at Thompson's Point.

Chosen last June by the authority's board of directors, the site would be just south of the branch, so the Downeaster could stay on the main line. Eliminating 20 train movements daily would save nearly $1 million in labor and fuel costs annually, while also improving access and reliability.

The new station would include adjacent parking and a circulation area for passenger drop-off and pick-up. It also would include two boarding platforms  one on each side of the tracks  within the railroad right of way; a federally compliant accessible pedestrian bridge over the tracks; and a 750-square-foot, climate-controlled passenger waiting area with ticketing and restrooms.

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Selected from three possible sites along St. John Street, it also meets the authority's goals to improve access to vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle connections, public transit, train maintenance and additional rail service, according to the proposal.

It's unclear how many private properties along St. John Street would have to be purchased or taken by eminent domain, Quinn said. Also unknown is whether the site would satisfy growing parking demand at the transportation center or the authority's goal to provide 105 parking spaces at the new station.

Quinn said next steps include developing preliminary engineering and environmental compliance plans and a cost estimate for the project. She has said previously that a new train station and platforms would cost $25 million to $30 million.

The authority will apply for federal funds and non-federal matching dollars within the next year, she said. What impact the Trump administration will have on the goal to build the station within three to five years also is uncertain.

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"I do not know," Quinn said.

Based on the concept plan, the station, platforms and pedestrian bridge would be built across the tracks beside Black's property and include some portion of an outdoor storage area that is currently paved and enclosed in chain-link fencing.

Parking for the station would extend north along St. John Street where several small businesses now stand, including a food truck company, a dog day care and a construction company. Attempts to contact other property owners who might be affected were unsuccessful.

Black said his concern isn't about money, although he noted that land on the Portland peninsula is scarce and sells for $3 million to $4 million per acre. The city assessor has valued Black's property at $4.5 million for property tax purposes.

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When Black spoke with rail representatives about providing a 20- to 30-foot-wide strip, "I told them I didn't need any compensation," Black said.

But now that he feels rail officials are extending their reach and encroaching on his plan to expand the building, his back is up.

"I'm not going to lay down on this," Black said. "I'm going to fight it."

Editor's Note: The map has been updated to reflect the southern boundary of Bill Black's property.

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ELBERT COUNTY, Ga. (WSPA)  Investigators in Elbert County are investigating the discovery of human remains.

According to the Elbert County Sheriffs Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been asked to assist in the investigation.

Deputies did not say when or where the remains were found.

Details are limited at this time. Officials said there is no threat to the public.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
HONOLULU (KHON2)  Thousands of Hawaiian Electric customers are experiencing power outages while some residents on Oahu are reporting flooding and a landslide all while a flash flood warning was in effect across the island. The flash flood warning was first issued shortly before 7 p.m. and was cancelled around 9:35 p.m, but a flood watch remains ongoing until 6 a.m. Monday.

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According to Hawaiian Electric, approximately 1,100 customers were left without power in Kaneohe at 6:50 p.m. Sunday night. Within an hour, power was restored to all but approximately 240 customers in the area.

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Heavy showers and thunderstorms in the forecast

Alongside Kaneohe customers, approximately 1,750 customers in Kailua were left without power at 7:50 p.m., according to Hawaiian Electric. At 9:20 p.m., the number of Kailua customers without power went up to approximately 3,820, more than doubling the amount from the original report.

In East Honolulu, including Hawaii Kai, over 13,225 customers are without power as of 8:12 p.m., according to Hawaiian Electrics Oahu Outage Map.

Residents in Waimea Valley and Hawaii Kai are also reporting of flooded homes online, following reports of thunder and lightning in the area.

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Meanwhile, a landslide on Old Kalanianaole Road in Kailua and Waimanalo has shut down the road, according to HPD.

Earlier in the evening, two individuals were rescued from being stuck under a bridge in the Punahou area.

Hawaiian Electric says first responders are en route to the sites of the power outages. For those experiencing trouble, Hawaiian Electric can be contacted at their trouble line at (855) 304-1212 or by visiting their website.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.
Tom Banes photographed flowers found in prairie grasslands, clockwise from upper left, prairie gentian, a hybrid prairie lady's slipper-yellow lady's slipper, narrow-leaved coneflower, prairie paintbrush and white gentian. (Photos by Thomas G. Barnes, University of Kentucky, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services National Digital Library)

In the fall of 2001 the University of Kentucky issued an ebullient press release about an ambitious and unique project.

A 117-acre family farm was donated to UK for tall grass prairie restoration, the release proclaimed, about the land in Logan County. It will be the first of its kind in the state.

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There was reason to be excited. Prairies  also sometimes called barrens or grasslands  had been abundant in Kentucky and across the nation before Europeans settled the continent. Estimates are that as much as 3 million acres of whats now Kentucky might have been prairie. But by the time of the announcement only a tiny fraction of that remained.

Adding to the optimism, the land, to be called Halls Prairie honoring the family that donated it, was to be managed by Tom Barnes from UKs forestry department, a renowned biologist, photographer and advocate for wild places.

Prairies hold a special place in my heart, Barnes wrote the following year in his book, Kentuckys Last Great Places, explaining that he had grown up on the prairies of South Dakota. He appreciated the sweeping view, the spectacular floral displays or picture-postcard images that mountains, forests and waterfalls offer but the prairie is more subtle, Barnes wrote. You have to experience the prairie closeup to really appreciate it. And, in Kentucky, he said, we have precious few prairies left.

Halls Prairie in Logan County. (Photo courtesy University of Kentucky)

No wonder, he wanted Halls Prairie to be a place where people could walk in a prairie, have that closeup experience. By the time of the announcement, 4-H kids had already started planting wildflowers and there were plans for trails for the public.

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But the vision for Halls Prairie didnt materialize. Barnes died in 2014 but apparently his plans had already stalled as the vision butted up against public concern and the difficulty and expense of recovering prairie land.

Disturbances maintain prairies

The fate of Halls Prairie is in many ways the fate of millions of acres of prairie across this nation in the last few centuries.

Prairie blazingstar. (Photo by Thomas G. Barnes, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services National Digital Library)

Relatively flat land, often with very rich soils, the prairies offered prime acreage to plow up for farmland or pave over for development as Europeans spread across the continent.

Modern development also undercut critical tools that keep prairies from morphing into woodlands, said Zach Couch, executive director of the Kentucky Office of Nature Preserves. A prairie habitat is typically maintained by some sort of disturbance, he said. Before Europeans arrived, those included fire, a common land management tool of Native Americans that didnt harm the roots of grasses but destroyed young trees. There were also vast herds of larger grazers  bison, white-tailed deer, Eastern elk  that roamed and preserved the prairies but didnt survive the onslaught of settlement.

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In the modern era maintaining a prairie means youve got to do a lot of intensive management, said Jeffrey Stringer, chairman of UKs Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, who knew Barnes and visited Halls Prairie with him several times. That management includes using herbicides and regular burns to control unwanted species, he said, and it has to be done periodically forever.

Tom Barnes in his element. (blogger.com)

As Barnes began the effort to return farmland to prairie, people living nearby complained, particularly about the burning. There was a lot of reaction on social media and elsewhere, Stringer said, in a negative way. With no endowment to support the intensive management, local pushback and property that was so far from UKs campus in Lexington, the question of whether to continue was a difficult one, Stringer said. The management was abandoned even before Barnes untimely death at the age of 56.

A few years later Stringer tasked a new faculty member with reevaluating the project. They held a public meeting and again found strong opposition to the managed burns. They visited with the land donor, who had moved to Indiana but was aware of the local pushback. Ultimately they recommended to the UK board to sell the land and use the proceeds to create an endowment, named for the donor, for wildlife research and education. The board accepted the recommendation, the land was appraised at about $700,000 and in December UK received several proposals to purchase it but hasnt yet decided its fate.

Deep roots trap carbon

Its a sad story, made sadder by Barnes early death, and even more so by the challenges faced by the prairies he loved, appreciated and tried to preserve.

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Barnes had good reason, beyond their beauty, to champion prairies.

Theres about a hundred good reasons to preserve prairies, Couch said. For the sake of brevity, he focussed on two.

Prairie paintbrush. (Photo by Thomas G. Barnes, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services National Digital Library)

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First, theres biodiversity: The sheer species richness is significantly higher than woodland habitat, he said, and obviously a great deal higher in species richness than an agricultural field or a parking lot.

White prairie clover. (Thomas G. Barnes, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services National Digital Library)

In Kentuckys Last Great Places (University Press of Kentucky), Barnes described a prairie remnant he visited in Western Kentucky. What a beautiful limestone slope prairie! The deep soils were dominated by big bluestem and Indian grass. Little bluestem dominated the upper slopes. Prairie flower, including blazing star, rattlesnake master, and American agave were scattered everywhere.

Couch said the abundant grasses and wildflowers make good homes for an array of invertebrates, including the monarch butterfly, which the National Fish and Wildlife Service in December recommended be placed on the endangered species list.

The second reason is a little more surprising. Carbon sequestration is often higher in a grassland community than a woodland community, Couch said.

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Unlike trees, grasslands store most of their carbon underground, in their roots and the soil, the Washington Post reported in a 2020 story on efforts to preserve and restore prairies. The roots can often reach 15 feet deep into the earth, so the carbon stays put unlike in a forest which billows carbon into the atmosphere as it burns.

Although programs exist to subsidize forests as carbon sinks, there is relatively little support for using grasslands to capture carbon.

Big bluestem and native flowers at the Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve in Oldham County, where controlled burns have been part of the management plan. (Photo courtesy of Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve)

Couch said his office does manage several prairie sites in Kentucky but preserving them, including conducting the regular burns, is a lot more labor intensive, and therefore expensive, than managing woodlands.

So, what to do? The easy response is additional funding, Couch said, but added that hes grateful for the support the legislature already provides his agency. On the private side, he said, theres a really good but really small conservation-minded community in Kentucky. The work far exceeds the number of laborers right now. And there are even fewer private advocates or donors who are focused on preserving Kentuckys dwindling prairies.

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In an early chapter of his book, Barnes explored the reasons why a society should commit to preserving biological diversity. A scientist, he catalogued how our species depends on an abundance of other species to survive, then he went on to argue for the aesthetic value of wild places. We are outraged when vandals attack precious paintings or sculptures, he wrote and then hammered home his argument: Have you ever looked closely at a monarch butterfly, a ladys slipper orchid, or a Kentucky warbler? .Shouldnt we protect them?

His final argument was entirely personal: For me, it is an ethical issue. The good Lord gave humans dominion over the plants and animals.  It is our duty to be good stewards.

Less than 1% of the woodlands, prairies and resettlement forests that covered Kentucky 200 years ago occur here today. (KY Natural Database, 2007). Kentucky has lost more than 80% of its original wetland acreage. (Dahl and Johnson, 1991). (Soure: Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet)

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If the next four years is anything like the first week of President Donald Trumps second term, then its time to buckle up... seriously. From banning DEI and birthright citizenship to revoking the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and renaming the Gulf of Mexico, the president has clearly been on a roll, and its scaring many Americans.  Phenix S Halley

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Trumps unprecedented attack on Black federal employees continues. On Wednesday (Jan. 22), workers received emails that threatened consequences if they did not report on co-workers who work in diversity, equity and inclusion positions that may have gone undetected by the federal government.  Candace McDuffie

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As expected, President Donald J. Trump has signed a slew of executive orders undoing decades of hard work people had put in to establish equity and protections from discrimination. The latest signature he gave in his rampage against DEI, however took a serious blow to the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA) of 1965.  Kalyn Womack

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With President Donald J. Trump back in the White House, he got straight to business cranking out 26 executive orders, 12 memoranda, and 4 proclamations on his first day.  Phenix S Halley

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Black folks: Trump has wasted no time going after diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the federal level. According to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management, his administration is ordering all federal employees in DEI roles to be put on paid leave by Wednesday night.  Candace McDuffie

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President Donald J. Trump has been quite busy since his second inauguration on Jan. 20. He wasted absolutely no time in the Oval Office, signing dozens of executive orders on day one which represent the new Trump-era of America.  Phenix S Halley

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Its hard to believe that Black and POC artists are still throwing their support behind Donald Trump, even though he is currently carrying out executive orders and planning to implement policies that will harm these communities. Trump also has a history of racist remarks and discriminatory actions specifically toward marginalized communities.  Candace McDuffie

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Just when folks thought Rep. Byron Donalds couldnt sink any lower when it comes to his relationship with President Donald Trump, he keeps proving them wrong. In a Sunday interview with Fox News, Donalds referred to Trump as daddy while expressing his excitement for MAGA to return to the White House.  Candace McDuffie

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Welp... its official. President Donald J. Trump celebrated his second term doing exactly what he promised he would do. Among a series of executive orders signed by the president, Trump most notably either pardoned, commuted the prison sentences, or vowed to dismiss the cases of all roughly 1,500 people charged with crimes connected to the infamous Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, according to the White House.  Phenix S Halley

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Since President Donald J. Trump decided to run for the White House again, weve seen the disturbing emergence of Black far-right conservatives who stood proudly behind his concerning beliefs and promises to set us back decades.  Kalyn Womack

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) publicly denounced the stock trading activities of lawmakers, pointing out an apparent inconsistency among Democrats.

What Happened: Ocasio-Cortez and Jon Stewart voiced their disapproval of Congress members owning and trading stocks during a conversation on Stewarts The Weekly Show podcast on Friday.

During the podcast, Ocasio-Cortez highlighted what she sees as a hypocrisy within her own party regarding this issue.

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According to Ocasio-Cortez, Democrats need to ensure their actions align with their words, and she pointed to insider trading in Congress as a stark example of this hypocrisy.

"There needs to be Democrats who walk the walk and talk the talk. There is an insane amount of hypocrisy, and the hypocrisy is what gets exploited to use the cynicism and wherever there's a hypocritical window. For example, I think one of the most biggest examples of this is insider trading in Congress," Ocasio-Cortez said.

"It's so crazy. I mean, like, it's the end of the thing. Like, people think that everyday people are stupid. I'm like, Do you all really think that people don't see this s***?" Ocasio-Cortez added.

Stewart agreed with her, noting that the positions lawmakers hold on committees give them access to insider information that could potentially enhance their trading portfolios.

Trending: Scrolling To UBI'  Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. You can invest today for just $0.26/share with a $1000 minimum.

"And then we're supposed to act like money only corrupts Republicans?" Ocasio-Cortez said.

Both Ocasio-Cortez and Stewart took issue with the idea that the public is unaware of these practices. Their remarks come in the wake of increasing demands for a prohibition on lawmakers trading stocks.

Why It Matters: The issue of lawmakers trading stocks has been a contentious topic for some time. Critics argue that it creates a conflict of interest and provides an unfair advantage to those in power.

The recent comments by Ocasio-Cortez and Stewart bring this issue back into the spotlight, potentially prompting further discussion and action on the matter.
As flames tear through L.A. neighborhoods, leaving once-vibrant communities in Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and Pasadena reduced to rubble, displaced residents face a secondary crisis: significant rent hikes in an already strained housing market.



While evacuees search for temporary housing, evidence of potential price gouging has emerged. A volunteer-created spreadsheet tracking rental listings across platforms like Zillow and Redfin has documented more than a thousand units with substantial price increasesmany potentially violating state law.

Related: L.A.'s Wildfire Crisis Poses Air and Water Health Risks

One stark example: a 300-square-foot studio apartment in Pasadena listed January 15 for $2,300, marking a 21% increase from its October listing at $1,900. This surge comes despite California Penal Code section 396, which prohibits rent increases exceeding 10% for properties with initial lease terms of one year or less during declared emergencies.



The timing is particularly concerning, as these increases follow Governor Gavin Newsom's January 7 emergency declaration in response to extreme winds and fires across the city. The L.A. County Consumer and Business Affairs office confirms that price gouging protections are currently in effect, with violations carrying potential penalties of up to one year in jail and $10,000 in fines.

Related: 'They Just Wanted to Help,' Mother of Fake Firefighter Says of Son's Arrest in Bogus Truck

California Attorney General Rob Bonta addressed the issue directly: "Price gouging, looting, frauds and scams exploiting and preying on the victims of the L.A. Fires are wrong and unlawful... If you engage in such unlawful activity, you will be held accountable."



In response to the crisis, the L.A. Tenants Union has partnered with the Pasadena Tenants Union to release guidance for affected residents, including safety information and insurance tips. Their document emphasizes collective action, stating that "tenants are always stronger together so talk to your neighbors."



The organization has also issued demands including freezing eviction courts and sheriff lockouts, implementing rent freezes, and utilizing vacant units, AirBnBs, and hotels for displaced residents.



Residents can report suspected price gouging to L.A. County Consumer and Business Affairs online, by phone at 800-593-8222, or via email at info@dcba.lacountry.gov.
An elementary school principal and teacher were arrested after police busted a house party.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Officers responded to a home in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and observed the large crowd, many of whom were wearing matching T-shirts, CBS affiliate WKMG reported.

Police said alcohol was available in coolers at the home, which is owned by Roosevelt Elementary School Principal Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan.

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Police told WKMG that while officers were investigating the party, a juvenile was located on the front lawn experiencing an alcohol-related medical event.

Hill-Brodigan was reportedly seen turning off her homes exterior lights.

A drunk woman identified as Karly Anderson approached officers and said she was a teacher and had been at the party, according to WKMG.

It was later discovered that she was a teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School.

Both now face child neglect and other charges.

Brevard Public Schools said both have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of a police investigation.

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Eight years ago, abortion opponents gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., at a hopeful moment. A Republican president had just been inaugurated, flanked by GOP majorities in the House and Senate. Tens of thousands came from across the country ready to hear the new vice president speak.

At that time, the pro-life movements goal was clear: overturn Roe v. Wade, just as it had been for decades. But when the Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs v. Jackson ended the constitutional right to abortion in 2022, both anti-abortion activists and Republicans had to recalibrate their messaging on abortion, especially after more than half a dozen states codified an expansive right to abortion through referenda or legislative action.

How to continue the pro-life agenda was still very much an issue at the 2025 March for Life. This years rally bore some resemblances to 2017s: President Donald Trump had taken the oath of office with a Republican governing trifecta days earlier, and his vice president was slated to speak. The president, however, had shifted his rhetoric on abortion over the past eight years, declaring on the campaign trail that Roes overturn had made abortion a state-level issue, to the dismay of many pro-life advocates.

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While Trump expressed his support to the thousands of marchers assembled on the National Mall in a video message Friday, it was left to his vice president, J.D. Vance, to deliver the administrations new message to the pro-life movement, centering the conversation on supporting families while they raise children.

I want more babies in the United States of America, Vance said. I want more happy children in our country, and I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them. And it is the task of our government to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford to have kids, to bring them into the world, and to welcome them as the blessings that we know they are here at the March for Life.

But as Vance offered hardly any policy initiatives, the leaders of the assembled pro-life groups had differing levels of optimism about how the administration he serves in will handle the issue of abortion. Not all trust Trumps willingness to put forth their favored abortion policies, including defunding Planned Parenthood and restricting the availability of abortion pills. The way Trump and congressional Republicans tackle these issues will indicate just how much influence the pro-life flank of the GOPwhich for decades has been a key part of its ideological coalitionwill have in its future.

Incoming March for Life President Jennie Bradley Lichter served as deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council during Trumps first term and expressed confidence that he will continue the types of measures he instituted in his first term.

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I saw firsthand all of the great pro-life policy actions that he rolled out the first time around. So Im really excited that Americans chose to reelect a president with a pro-life governing record and a vice president who also has a history of involvement in the pro-life movement, she told The Dispatch.

But Jeanne Mancini, the current March for Life president who will give way to Lichter next month, was more cautious in her assessment of elected Republicans in Washington, especially after Republicans watered down anti-abortion language in the party platform last year.

I think the jurys out, Mancini said. Id like to just watch for the next few months and see.

Just a few hours later, Trump made some moves many participants at the March for Life had been awaiting: He issued multiple executive orders undoing some of the actions President Joe Biden instituted to expand abortion rights. Most notably, Trump reinstated the Mexico City policy, a measure in place during his first term that prohibits nongovernment organizations receiving federal funds from promoting or performing abortions abroad. Since Ronald Reagan instituted the policy in 1984, every GOP president has put it into place while every Democratic one has revoked it. Trump had reinstated the policy three days into his first term but had not committed to doing so during his campaign, a fact that had not gone unnoticed by pro-life activists.

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That just gets him back to baseline, then hes got to do more, said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America.

Hawkins was clear that she would demand more pro-life action from Trump to continue the work he did in his first four years.

The real challenge begins of making sure the president hears us loud and clear, that we dont think his job is done, she said. Ive heard rumors that he thinks his job is done, and its not. Were so grateful for him being really the most pro-life president in our nations history. He has that title. I would like him to keep that title.

One early way in which Trump has tested the loyalty of pro-life groups is by nominating as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has espoused support for abortion. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, expressed concerns when the nomination was first announced. Now, shes tying her feelings about him to how Trump governs.

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RFKs answers have generally been, My position will be the position of the administration, meaning President Trump. So, every day theres a new pro-life E.O., every day that theres a new pro-life guarantee or commitment, that makes us feel better, but, of course, were still waiting.

She said she was watching to see what actions Trump would take on abortion in the future, but Dannenfelser spoke approvingly of the things he had done since being sworn in. She welcomed Trumps pardoning this week of pro-life demonstrators who were charged under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act after they blocked entrances to abortion facilities. Trump and others argued that they had received especially harsh sentences under prosecution by Bidens Justice Department because of their political beliefs.

Dannenfelser also noted Trumps endorsement of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, the opening salvo of abortion battles that will take place in Congress. Republicans introduce the billwhich requires physicians to exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence for children born alive from abortion as they would any other child born alive at the same gestational ageeach new Congress, and each time, almost every Democrat votes against it. This year, Rep. Henry Cuellar was the only Democrat to vote for it. It passed the House this week, but didnt reach the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a procedural hurdle in the Senate.

Democrats have argued that the bill is unnecessary because doctors are already legally required to exercise appropriate care and because infanticide is already illegal in all states.

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Its solving a problem that doesnt exist, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told The Dispatch.  Let doctors and families make those decisions.

Still, Republicans have pointed to Minnesota, for example, where Gov. Tim Walz signed a law in 2023 that gutted previous statutes designed to protect babies born alive after an abortion.

It remains to be seen whether the born-alive bill is the only abortion battle Congress fights during Trumps administration. Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford told The Dispatch that theres not a definitive next step, but he indicated at a press conference Thursday that he was open to some sort of role for the federal government on the issue of abortion, if not a federal ban.

There is a push among some to say, This is a settled issue. Dobbs is out there. Thats all going to be in the states. We dont need to talk about this anymore. I think that actually we need to talk about it more, not less, because now were in a national conversationliterally around the entire countrythat every single state and every single community gets to be able to make decisions on this. So, lets talk about it more.

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The acquisition of ammunition through the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) may be blocked due to a legal conflict, Maryna Bezrukova, the head of the agency, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

On Jan. 21, the DPA's supervisory board unanimously voted to extend Bezrukova's contract for another year.

Yet, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov overruled the board's decision on Jan. 24, saying that he would not renew Bezrukova's contract as head of the DPA. He cited allegedly unsatisfactory results as the reason and appointed Rustem Zhmadilov, who also manages the State Logistics Operator (DOT).

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Following Umerov's move, DPA declared that it continues to operate under Bezrukova's leadership.

"Contracting and supplies may be blocked because we are in a legal conflict. I cannot perform my duties now because of certain registration procedures," Bezrukova told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

"The newly appointed interim acting director is also unlikely to be able to perform his duties, as his appointment contradicts the law, the charter, and in general, we actually have a legal block. I do not know why this was done; it is a very strange situation."

Bezrukova added that it is difficult to predict the consequences of the minister's decision and called the situation "a serious reputational loss" that could negatively affect relations with Ukraine's foreign partners.

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"My only concern is how to get out of it properly and how we can bring it back to the right legal framework not to stop the contracting and supply processes, not to jeopardize my actions as the head of the agency," she said.

Bezrukova also noted that Umerov publicly supported her at staff meetings and did not express any complaints about her work's quality.

According to Ukrainian law, supervisory boards have the authority to hire and fire the heads of state enterprises unilaterally. This means that legally, after the board's vote, Bezrukova should take over the Defense Procurement Agency for another year.

However, due to amendments recently made to the agency's charter by the Defense Ministry, which oversees the DPA, the ministry can reverse the supervisory board's decisions.

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Anti-corruption activists and lawmakers say that the amendments and Umerovs decision are "unlawful."

Following Umerov's move, the Anti-Corruption Action Center filed a complaint with the country's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) to open an investigation against Umerov on suspicion of alleged abuse of power.

Bezrukova took over the agency in January 2024, and her contract expires at the end of January 2025.

Read also: Defense Minister Umerov dismisses top official who stood up to him

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KINGSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)  Police say a man claiming to be a professional bank robber took an Uber to commit a bank robbery in Kingston.

The Kingston Police Department says on January 24 around 2:30 p.m., officers were called to M&T Bank on Wyoming Avenue for a reported robbery.

Police said a Ford Fusion entered the bank parking lot and a man exited the car, placed a ski mask over his face, then approached a teller, presenting her with a demand note.

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Im here to rob you suspect says in store robbery

According to the affidavit, on the note, the suspect wrote This is a demand note for 20s, 50s, and 100s!!! I am a professional bank robber!!! I have a handgun and am armed with bullets!!! The teller gave the suspect an assorted amount of cash and he fled the bank.

Investigators stated they located the vehicle the suspect exited out of and learned the operator was an Uber driver. The Uber driver gave officers video footage of the ride and they were able to identify the suspect as Kenneth Besecker, 30, Hunlock Creek, according to court documents.

Around 4:40 p.m. officers found Besecker walking on Route 29 in Lehman Township where he was placed under arrest. Besecker informed police that he took an Uber to the bank then after the robbery walked over to Dollar General and took another Uber home.

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Police say Besecker returned $340 from the robbery at M&T Bank.

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Professors and staff at SUNY New Paltz are planting the seeds of what sustainability-focused education could look like across the country.

Associate professor Michael Sheridan is one of many leading the charge. According to The Hechinger Report, one of his business classes has an emphasis on the environment. It allows students to pitch proposals for green campus initiatives, including solar panels over a parking lot  which are projected to save the university more than $787,000 in energy costs over 50 years.

Sheridan is a major contributor to the process of making New Paltz a "living lab," a new kind of collaborative teaching practice that is blooming on several campuses.

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"I think it's a very, very positive step," said senior scholar Bryan Alexander, who authored Universities on Fire: Higher Education in the Climate Crisis. "You've got the campus materials, you've got the integration of teaching and research."

Sheridan's business background also proves that you don't have to be fully focused on the environment to be a part of an initiative like this. Anyone can bridge together any number of interests with sustainability. Working toward a cleaner future is open to everyone.

Another staff member leading the charge at New Paltz is Lisa Mitten, the campus sustainability coordinator. Mitten runs a sustainability faculty fellows program that encourages professors to incorporate environmental issues into their classes.

She also works with student sustainability ambassadors. One of her biggest projects involves collaborating with other New York State higher education institutions to use more renewable, non-polluting energy sources on campuses.

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One of New Paltz's sustainability faculty fellows, associate professor of theatre design Andrea Varga, teaches an ethical fashion course within the university's honors program.

Varga's students also pitch ideas about how to engage in sustainable fashion on campus and beyond. A couple of her students have even worked on a project to install microplastic filters in campus laundry rooms.

SUNY New Paltz offers programs focused on environmental science and environmental studies. The former is science-focused, and the latter is interdisciplinary. There is also a sustainability track for business students, and there are classes with a sustainability course designation.

These educational paths exist because faculty and staff members want to support students' interests. Sheridan, Mitten, and Varga are a few of the many people who want to provide valuable, hands-on experience.

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While there are several ways to gain an education, their work is making it easier for students who want traditional experiences to learn about and implement sustainability in the world around them.

The initiatives involving solar panels and microplastic filters will not just save communities money and benefit public health, but they will also keep the environment cleaner.

Many students want to act in order to have a better future. Take Madeleine Biles, a senior management major who interned with the Lake George Land Conservancy over the summer.

Biles told The Hechinger Report that she chose New Paltz because of its alignment with work related to the environment. She also hopes taking this action will allow her to process her feelings related to the rising global temperature, which has caused extreme weather to grow more intense, threatened food security, and contributed to disease spread, among other things.

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"I think if I have a career in sustainability, that will be my way of channeling that frustration and sadness and turning it into a positive thing," she said.Professors and staff at SUNY New Paltz are planting the seeds of what sustainability-focused education could look like across the country.

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.
(AP) - A Washington state woman charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a U.S. border patrol agent in Vermont had been in frequent contact with someone whom authorities have linked to homicides in Pennsylvania and California, a federal prosecutor said in court documents Monday.

Teresa Youngblut, 21, faces two weapons charges in connection with the death of Border Patrol Agent David Maland, 44, who died Jan. 20 during the shootout in Coventry, a small town about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Canadian border. She had been traveling with Felix Bauckholt, a German citizen who also was killed, and the pair had been under surveillance for several days.

In a motion filed Monday, U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher said Youngblut should be detained as the case proceeds due to the nature of the crime, the weight of evidence against her, her lack of ties to Vermont, and the danger she poses to the community.

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According to the motion, the gun used by Youngblut and one that Bauckholt was carrying were purchased by a third person in Vermont last February. The buyer is a person of interest on a double homicide investigation in Pennsylvania, Drescher said.

And both Youngblut and the buyer are acquainted with and have been in frequent contact with someone who was detained during that investigation and who also is a person of interest in a homicide investigation in Vallejo, California, the motion said.

The defendants possession and use of a firearm, combined with her itinerary and associations, suggests she poses a current and substantial danger to the community that could not be addressed by a condition or a combination of conditions of pretrial release, the prosecutor wrote.

Youngblut was scheduled to appear in federal court Monday. The public defender assigned to represent Youngblut in U.S. District Court in Burlington did not return emails seeking comment. A spokesperson for the U. S. Attorneys Office for the District of Vermont declined to comment.

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According to an FBI affidavit, a border agent pulled over Youngblut and Bauckholt on Interstate 91 to conduct an immigration inspection. At the time, Bauckholt appeared to have an expired visa, according to a Department of Homeland Security database, but investigators later confirmed that his visa was current, the FBI said.

Youngblut, who had been driving Bauckholts car, got out and opened fire on Maland and other officers without warning, the FBI alleges. Bauckholt tried to draw a gun but was shot, the affidavit states.

At least one border agent fired on Youngblut and Bauckholt, but authorities havent specified whose bullets hit whom.

This investigation remains very active, and the legal process continues, FBI spokeswoman Sarah Ruane said in a statement over the weekend.

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Investigators had been performing periodic surveillance of Youngblut and Bauckholt since Jan. 14 after an employee at a hotel where they were staying reported concerns after seeing Youngblut carrying a gun and she and Bauckholt wearing black tactical gear, according to the affidavit. Investigators tried to question the duo, who said they were in the area looking to buy property but declined to have an extended conversation, the FBI said.

During a search of the car after the shootout, authorities found cellphones wrapped in foil, a ballistic helmet, night-vision goggles, respirators and ammunition, the FBI said. They also found a package of shooting range targets, including some that had been used, two-way radios, about a dozen electronic devices, travel and lodging information for multiple states, and an apparent journal.

In May, Youngbluts parents reported to Seattle police that she was missing, according to a police report. In the account, first reported by The Seattle Times, they said she had left home with duffel bags full of personal belongings, including her passport and medical records.

The parents said her behavior had changed and that she had been lying about where she was going and who she was seeing. They said she also had broken off contact with friends and changed her phone number. The parents said they were concerned she was being forced to take these actions or that she may be in a controlling relationship.

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A Teresa Youngblut took out a marriage license to a man who was not Bauckholt in November, according to a search of records in Washington states King County.

A man reached at a phone listing for Youngbluts family Friday identified himself as Youngbluts grandfather and declined to comment. No one answered the door at homes in Seattle and Redmond, Washington, associated with Youngbluts name, and neighbors declined to comment.

Bauckholt graduated with an honors degree in mathematics from Waterloo University in Canada in 2018, according to online records. He competed and won honors in computer programming competitions and held an office in the universitys computer science club. He had received a scholarship and was one of several students who had won medals at international olympiads for either mathematics or informatics, according to a school news release from 2015.

A now-deleted LinkedIn profile for a Felix Bauckholt said he had been working as a quantitative trader for a financial firm based in New York since October 2021. An email was sent to the firm seeking confirmation.




AUSTIN (KXAN)  Protestors gathered at the Texas Capitol Sunday afternoon after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations were conducted in Austin. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed to KXAN that it assisted in those operations.

On Sunday afternoon, a crowd of protestors gathered at the Texas Capitol after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations were conducted in Austin. (KXAN News/Todd Bynum)

Rally attendee Cheryl Flores spoke to KXAN about how the Austin ICE operations impacted her family.

They are the epitome of the American Dream, Flores said. Theyve come here and worked hard. They have a right to be here just like anyone else who has fled a country that doesnt provide the needs of the citizens.

On Sunday afternoon, a crowd of protestors gathered at the Texas Capitol after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids were conducted in Austin. (KXAN News/Todd Bynum)

On Sunday afternoon, a crowd of protestors gathered at the Texas Capitol after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids were conducted in Austin. (KXAN News/Todd Bynum)

On Sunday afternoon, a crowd of protestors gathered at the Texas Capitol after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids were conducted in Austin. (KXAN News/Todd Bynum)

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On Sunday afternoon, a crowd of protestors gathered at the Texas Capitol after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids were conducted in Austin. (KXAN News/Aidan Boyd)

On Sunday afternoon, a crowd of protestors gathered at the Texas Capitol after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids were conducted in Austin. (KXAN News/Todd Bynum)

On Sunday afternoon, a crowd of protestors gathered at the Texas Capitol after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations were conducted in Austin. (KXAN News/Todd Bynum)

The protest comes as Trump administration officials oversaw ICE immigration enforcement actions in Chicago on Sunday.

It doesnt surprise me  more than anything, it saddens me. This was very much anticipated, [President Trump] talked about this for a really long time, said Anna Palito, who attended the demonstration. I just feel like everybody felt like they needed to do something about it, instead of just kind of standing around and waiting for things to change.

The protesters spent the afternoon dividing into groups in order to continue planning future demonstrations.

We want to show them were not going anywhere, she continued.

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Palito, who works at an immigration law firm as an office administrator, encouraged immigrant families to connect with attorneys.

Maybe one of your family members has a way of obtaining lawful status, and they just dont know. So its very important to take action now and stop waiting, Palito said.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
An asset manager is seeking to quash Nippon Steel's takeover of U.S. Steel and oust the leadership of the U.S. steelmaker after taking a stake in the company.

Ancora Holdings Group, with $10 billion in assets, reported acquiring a 0.18% stake in the Pittsburgh company. It said Monday that U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt and the company's board have prioritized a sale to Nippon because they stand to receive more than $100 million if it goes forward.

President Joe Biden blocked the nearly $15 billion acquisition this month  affirming an earlier vow to prevent the acquisition of Steeltown USAs most storied steel company.

But the deal is not dead yet. The deadline to unwind the proposed takeover was extended by the Biden administration and this month U.S. Steel and Nippon challenged the Biden decision in a federal lawsuit.

Ancora is seeking an independent slate of directors at U.S. Steel and new CEO that are committed to walking away from the Nippon deal. In an open letter on Monday, the firm said it has nominated nine independent directors for election at U.S. Steel's annual shareholders meeting this year. Those directors have a plan that includes making Alan Kestenbaum, a former steel executive, the new chief executive of U.S. Steel.

Ancora wants new board members to focus on U.S. Steel's turnaround, not selling the company. It also wants them to pursue the $565 million breakup fee from Nippon.

U.S. Steel is now in a dire state due its excessive capital spending, high debt, soft earnings and nonexistent contingency plan, Ancora wrote.

The exit of the Biden administration does not necessarily improve the odds of the Nippon deal going through. President Donald Trump has consistently voiced opposition to the deal and questioned why U.S. Steel would sell itself to a foreign company given the regime of new tariffs he has vowed.

We see no reason to believe that President Trump, a high-conviction businessman who was elected by middle-class and working-class voters, is going to contradict his self-described America First agenda and disregard the opposition of the United Steelworkers, Ancora said Monday.

U.S. Steel said it remains committed to pursuing a deal with Nippon, believing it is best for the U.S. steel industry, supply chains and for steel workers.

It also raised earlier allegations that rival steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs had attempted to sabotage its merger with Nippon. U.S. Steel filed a separate federal lawsuit against the Ohio steelmaker and its CEO Lourenco Goncalves, as well as David McCall, the head of the U.S. Steelworkers union, accusing them of engaging in a coordinated series of anticompetitive and racketeering activities to block the deal.
The retired Associated Press photographer Nick Ut, who is credited with taking the famous Napalm Girl photo in 1972, tried to stop Sundance from screening a movie that asserts he isnt the real photographer, filmmakers told THR on Sunday.

The Pulitzer Prize winners lawyers recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to the festival and filmmakers behind the new movie The Stringer, they said; the film world-premiered on Saturday anyway.

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A festival representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment. A request for comment for Ut via an AP representative was not replied to by the photojournalist.

The news about the documentary is the latest turn in a quickly escalating battle that has turned Sundance into nothing less than a referendum on the credibility of modern media, with the Associated Press pushing back hard on the films claim that Ut didnt take the photo and the filmmakers firing back in kind, calling the APs response to the movie disgraceful.

Ut has long been known as the man behind the image emblazoned on the collective brain  the nine-year-old Kim Phuc running from the napalm attack in the nearby town of Trang Bang, her skin burning off from the chemical weapon. The 1972 photo, also known as The Terror of War, brought home the horrors of Vietnam to people around the world and also made a celebrity of Ut, who won numerous prizes and spent the past half-century describing how he landed the shot.

No one disputes the authenticity of the image. But in a bombshell revelation in the doc, Carl Robinson  an AP photo editor who worked in the Saigon bureau at the time and left the news organization in 1978  says that it was in fact a local stringer who had brought in the photo. He was paid $20 and sent on his way.

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Yet when it came time to supply credit on the wire, Horst Faas, the late legendary photojournalist for the AP in Saigon, told Robinson to change the attribution to staffer Ut, who was also present at the napalm attack.

Acting on a tip from the whistleblower, documentarian Bao Nguyen (The Greatest Night in Pop) and photojournalist Gary Knight of the France-based press-freedom group VII Foundation set out to find out whether someone else besides Ut took the photo, leading to the documentary.

What seems like a small matter of authorial credit in the film soon becomes a thematic exploration of many of the biggest topics of our time: the closed ranks of a generation of older white men, the exploitation of freelance workers, the unwillingness to see people of color as individuals and, at bottom, who gets to record the worlds history.

This is a story about the power imbalance in journalism, Knight said in the interview with THR. There was an imbalance during the war in Vietnam that tilted toward white heterosexual men and it continues today.

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He added, The most vulnerable journalists in the world are local freelancers. And its important if were going to hold political and religious and civic leaders to account that we embrace scrutiny and ask about our own conduct as well.

Working with the journalists Terri Lichstein and Fiona Turner, Knight set out to raise those questions. The group employed INDEX, a France-based media forensics firm, which ultimately concluded Ut was too far away from Phuc to take the photo. They also interviewed some 55 eyewitnesses and Saigon journalists near Trang Bang that day  some 46 of them ended up on screen  about what they saw during that horrific photo-ready moment.

The filmmakers eventually located a stringer named Nguyen Nghe  a young Vietnam-based photographer who fled to California after the war  who says that it was he who took the photo and who appears on screen to be in great pain about the alleged erasure. The film conjures a simmering level of injustice, made more pungent by the casual dismissal of the allegation by Peter Arnett and other decorated establishment journalists.

When the truth becomes disregarded, thats when society becomes corrupted, Nghes brother-in-law says in the film. (What Faas motivation for a switch would have been is not clear. Knight says he wonders if credit for the organizations full-time staff and loyalty to Ut, whose brother was a photojournalist who died in the line of duty, were factors.)

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Nghe has been at Sundance, basking in a moment of recognition for a world-changing act he says the world never knew was his.

Thats why I made the film  to tell Nghes story, Nguyen, who like Ut and Nghe is Vietnamese-American, told THR on Sunday. Seeing [Nghes] reaction at Sundance as he finally gets to bring his story to the world is why I brought this film into the world.

Or is it not Nghes story? The AP continues to maintain that Ut is the author.

The organization said it recently completed a six-month investigation, spurred by the films production, concluding in a new report that nothing had changed.

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Our research supports the historical account that Nick Ut took this picture. In the absence of new, convincing evidence to the contrary, AP has no reason to believe this photo was taken by anyone other than Ut, it said in a statement last week upon its release of the report.

The organization seemed to soften that stance in a statement Sunday after a representative saw the movie at Sundance on Saturday, not emphasizing Uts authorship and instead focusing on the lack of access granted by the filmmakers. The AP said it had been unable to review the materials before the screening until it sent someone to watch it in Sundance because the filmmakers had not cooperated.

For over six months we worked to examine all information about The Terror of War photo, repeatedly asking the filmmakers from the start to share their materials with us so we could properly investigate, the AP said. They would not do so unless we signed a non-disclosure agreement or agreed to an embargo, which has hindered our ability to fully investigate and would have prevented us from correcting the record.

Knight, though, says that the organization was asking to see all the information without preconditions provided by an NDA or embargo  something he couldnt in good conscience allow because it would mean providing another news outlet with full access to his unreleased journalism.

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If the New York Times was investigating the AP and the AP asked to see all of the New York Times reporting, the Times would have said no, and rightly so, he told THR. Now that the film is out and no more embargos or NDAs are needed, Knight added, the AP can have access to whatever it wishes. (The AP said in its statement that it stands ready to review any and all evidence and new information about this photo.)

Reached by email, an AP representative re-sent the statement. Knight said that the AP had as yet taken no legal action against the filmmakers.

But he said that Uts lawyers had sent filmmakers and Sundance executives cease-and-desist letters ahead of the screening seeking to stop it, and applauded the festival for pressing ahead.

Knight says while he believes Ut was at first a victim  the photojournalist, himself 21, didnt ask for the credit  he has been dining out on someone elses achievement for decades and built a stellar career on its cracked foundation.

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Knight says he also remains troubled by the APs approach.

It is really disgraceful that they shouldnt embrace scrutiny. For journalists to seek to prevent a film that is an investigation into journalistic practices  I dont understand that at all, he said of the nonprofit. (The AP said in its new statement that We cannot state more clearly that The Associated Press is only interested in the facts and a truthful history of this iconic photo.)

Prize organizations are also likely to conduct investigations in the wake of the expose; Ut has also won an Overseas Press Club award, the World Press Photo of the Year and a National Medal of Arts. Nghe notes in the film that, I worked hard for it, but that guy got to have it all.

Whatever way the saga ends, The Stringer sheds a light on a news industry that only continues to increase its reliance on freelancers or lower-paid junior reporters. A Pew study in 2022 found that more than a third of the working journalists in America are now freelancers, with the percentage likely considerably higher given how 2023 saw more than 2,600 full-time news jobs cut, and 2024 wasnt much better. In that regard, Nghe was tragically ahead of the curve according to Nguyens movie, showing the way freelancers are both leaned on and brushed aside as needed.

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The film also suggests more personal dilemmas, such as over how to grapple with facts that remain uncomfortable or come clean on truths that might be inconvenient. The Hollywood Reporters Sundance review noted that Uts willingness to accept credit for work allegedly not his plumbs novelistic depths[thats] the stuff of Conrad or Dostoevsky.

The film could force the issue, creating a reckoning as the world becomes aware of the authorship questions. And it could throw an uncomfortable light on the power of large news organizations. Journalism doesnt belong to big corporations, Knight said. It belongs to anyone as a public service.

But that ending has yet to be printed: in a documentary climate in which corporations are growing increasingly gun-shy, The Stringer does not yet have a distributor.

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When President Donald Trump announced immediate reprisals against Colombia on Sunday after President Gustavo Petro refused to allow two U.S. military flights carrying deported Colombian migrants to land in the South American nation, his decision to directly tie sanctions to immigration marked an unprecedented shift in foreign policy.

This is an unprecedented situation  one weve never faced before. Weve never seen U.S. sanctions tied directly to migration policy, underscoring just how high a priority this administration is placing on migration, said Geoff Ramsey, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, an American think tank specializing in international affairs.

The measures included a 25% tariff on all Colombian productsset to rise to 50% within a weekand the closure of the visa section at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

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Deportations of undocumented immigrants have been under way since Trump took office, following the signing of several executive orders aimed at halting illegal entry into the United States, particularly along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump promised during his campaign to carry out mass deportations and to dismantle programs introduced by the Biden administration, including humanitarian parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans.

The mass deportation of undocumented immigrants is the most popular policy on Trumps agenda, according to a new poll. In contrast, annexing Greenland is the least popular.

Ramsey, an expert on U.S. policy toward Colombia and Venezuela, said Petro made a mistake by directly challenging Trump.

Petro will have to soften his stance as a result, Ramsey said.

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And he did. Following Trumps announcement of sanctions and tariffs on the Truth Social platform, Colombia responded by offering Petros presidential plane to ensure a dignified return for Colombians to their home country. However, Petro later declared that Colombia would also impose a 50% tariff on American products in retaliation.

#Atencion | El Presidente @PetroGustavo dispone avion presidencial para el retorno digno de connacionales y liderara esfuerzos en la Asamblea Extraordinaria de la CELAC. pic.twitter.com/6ML5c8qjOp  Presidencia Colombia (@infopresidencia) January 26, 2025

Ramsey anticipated that the economic impact of U.S. sanctions on Colombia would be substantial, a view shared by Maria Claudia Lacouture, former Colombian Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, who is now the executive president of the American Colombian Chamber.

Lacouture said on her X account that if the U.S. imposes emergency tariffs on Colombian products, the impact will be immediate and devastating.

OJO! Si EE.UU. impone aranceles de emergencia del 25% (y luego del 50%) a los productos colombianos, el impacto sera inmediato y devastador. El proceso es rapido, no requiere aprobacion del Congreso y afectara gravemente nuestra economia.  Ma Claudia Lacouture (@mclacouture) January 26, 2025

In a video on X, Lacauture also said that the relationship between Colombia and United States is at its most critical moment in decades.

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We call for diplomatic channels to be implemented to overcome the crisis, she added. The well-being of Colombia is at stake.

The U.S. is Colombias largest trade and investment partner, with over $39.3 billion in bilateral trade in goods and services in 2022, driven by significant investments in the mining and manufacturing sectors, according to the State Department. Colombia ranks as the U.S.s third-largest trade partner in Latin America, and U.S.-owned affiliates in Colombia support more than 90,000 jobs.

Its a completely new scenario. The sanctions announced could even be harsher than those imposed on neighboring Venezuela, depending on the details, particularly whether they involve general sanctions, which would have a significant economic impact on Colombia, Ramsey said.

However, he thinks its unlikely the sanctions will fully materialize fully, because they would also negatively affect U.S. consumers. Valentines Day is just over two weeks away, and Colombia is a major exporter of flowers to the U.S.

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Its questionable whether American consumers would be willing to pay 50% more for flowers for Valentines Day, he said.

Christine Boldt, executive vice president of the Association of Floral Importers of Florida, told the Miami Today News last year that Colombia is the leading source of flowers to South Florida, supplying 60% of the flowers that arrive in Miami by air or sea, while Ecuador accounts for around 25%. The flower industry in South Florida employs approximately 6,000 people, with 90% of the fresh-cut flowers entering the U.S. market passing through Miami International Airport.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed the role of the Red Army in the liberation of Auschwitz, in a message marking the freeing of the Nazi death camp 80 years ago.

It had been the Red Army that had exposed the truth of Nazi crimes to humanity, Putin wrote.

"And we will always recall that it was the Soviet soldier that defeated this terrible total evil and secured victory, the greatness of which will forever remain in world history," Putin wrote.

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Russian representatives were not invited to official events in Poland marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on account of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Poland and other supporters of Ukraine of attempting to sully the memory of the heroic deeds of the Red Army and to destroy monuments.

Russian diplomats based in Krakow had wished to lay a wreath at a memorial cemetery for the Soviet soldiers who fell during the liberation of Auschwitz, including the many Jews among them, Zakharova said.

Speaking at Moscow's Jewish Museum, German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff recalled Nazi crimes. Germany was facing up to its historical responsibility, he said.

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Lambsdorff also paid tribute to the victims of the Siege of Leningrad that ended on January 27, 1944 and was one of the Wehrmacht armed forces' worst war crimes.

Marking the day, Putin laid red roses on the grave of his brother Viktor, who died during the siege, at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in St Petersburg, as Leningrad is known today.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip  Qatar announced early Monday that an agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, easing the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The statement from Qatar, a mediator in ceasefire talks, said Hamas will hand over the civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, along with two other hostages before Friday. And on Monday, Israeli authorities will allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement said the hostage release  which will include soldier Agam Berger  will take place on Thursday, and confirmed that Palestinians can move north on Monday. Israels military said people can start crossing on foot at 7 a.m.

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Under the ceasefire deal, Israel on Saturday was to begin allowing Palestinians to return to northern Gaza. But Israel put that on hold because of Yehoud, who Israel said should have been released on Saturday. Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement.

The release of Yehoud and two others is in addition to the one already set for next Saturday, when three hostages should be released.

In addition, Hamas in a statement said the militant group had handed over a list of required information about all hostages to be released in the ceasefires six-week first phase. The Israeli prime ministers office confirmed it had received it.

Thousands of Palestinians have gathered, waiting to move north through the Netzarim corridor bisecting Gaza, while local health officials on Sunday said Israeli forces fired on the crowd, killing two people and wounding nine.

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President Donald Trump meanwhile suggested that most of Gazas population be at least temporarily resettled elsewhere, including in Egypt and Jordan, to just clean out the war-ravaged enclave. Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians rejected that, amid fears that Israel might never allow refugees to return.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said Palestinians would never accept such a proposal, even if seemingly well-intentioned under the guise of reconstruction. He said the Palestinians can rebuild Gaza even better than before if Israel lifts its blockade.

Dispute and shootings test fragile ceasefire: Israeli forces fired on the waiting crowds on three occasions overnight and into Sunday, killing two people and wounding nine, including a child, according to Al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.

Israels military in a statement said it fired warning shots at several gatherings of dozens of suspects who were advancing toward the troops and posed a threat to them.

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Israel has pulled back from several areas of Gaza under the ceasefire, which came into effect last Sunday. The military has warned people to stay away from its forces, which still operate in a buffer zone inside Gaza along the border and in the Netzarim corridor.

Hamas freed four female Israeli soldiers on Saturday, and Israel released some 200 Palestinian prisoners, most of whom were serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks. But Israel said Yehoud should have been released ahead of the soldiers.

Hamas said it had told mediators  the United States, Egypt and Qatar  that Yehoud was alive and provided guarantees that she would be released.

Frustration grew among the Palestinians waiting to go north as some warmed around bonfires against the winter cold.

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We have been in agony for a year and a half, said Nadia Qasem.

Fadi al-Sinwar, also displaced from Gaza City, said the fate of more than a million people is linked to one person, referring to Yehoud.

See how valuable we are? We are worthless, he said.



Ending the war will be difficult: The ceasefire is aimed at ending the 15-month war triggered by Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack and freeing hostages still held in Gaza in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Around 90 hostages are still in Gaza, and Israeli authorities believe at least a third, and up to half, have died.

Itzik Horn, the father of hostages Iair and Eitan Horn, called any resumption of fighting a death sentence for the hostages and criticized government ministers who want the war to go on.

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The ceasefires first phase runs until early March and includes the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The second  and far more difficult  phase, has yet to be negotiated. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages without an end to the war, while Israel has threatened to resume its offensive until Hamas is destroyed.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. More than 100 were freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered the remains of dozens more, at least three of them mistakenly killed by Israeli forces. Seven have been freed in the latest ceasefire.

Israels military campaign has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

Israeli bombardment and ground operations have flattened wide swaths of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of 2.3 million people. Many who have returned home since the ceasefire began have found only mounds of rubble.


A group of Quaker congregations is suing the Department of Homeland Security for changing a policy that prevented Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from carrying out operations in so-called sensitive locations such as houses of worship, playgrounds, schools and hospitals without approval from supervisors.

The policy, which had been in place under multiple administrations  including during President Donald Trumps first term  was rescinded last week.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal district court in Maryland on Monday, alleges, The very threat of that [immigration] enforcement deters congregants from attending services, especially members of immigrant communities, and argues that attending religious services is at the heart of the guarantee of religious liberty.

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Faith leaders, local officials and educators have objected to the policy reversal and have been vocal about their opposition, but the suit appears to be the first from a faith-based organization challenging the change in court.

A week ago today, President Trump swore an oath to defend the Constitution and yet today religious institutions that have existed since the 1600s in our country are having to go to court to challenge what is a violation of every individuals constitutional right to worship and associate freely, said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is providing the lawyers representing the Quaker groups.

Perryman said the lawsuit addresses more than churches that act as sanctuaries. The troubling nature of the policy goes beyond just houses of worship with sanctuary programs  it is that ICE could enter religious and sacred spaces whenever it wants, she said.

Noah Merrill, secretary of the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, told NBC News in an email: "Quaker meetings for worship seek to be a sanctuary and a refuge for all, and this new and invasive practice tangibly erodes that possibility by creating unnecessary anxiety, confusion, and chilling of our members and neighbors willingness to share with us in the worship which sustains our lives. This undermines our communities and, we believe, violates our religious freedom."

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According to the lawsuit, the policy that protected sensitive locations from immigration enforcement without prior approval dates back to the early 1990s. It was meant to allow undocumented people to operate freely in certain public areas with the idea that doing so would ultimately benefit not just them, but also the larger community  for example, by allowing children to be in school during the day, and letting sick people visit hospitals without fear of deportation.

The plaintiffs in this lawsuit are several regional umbrella groups representing Quaker congregations in the mid-Atlantic and New England.

P.J. Lechleitner, who served as acting ICE director from July 2023 until last week, told NBC News on Monday that he does not expect ICE raids at houses of worship even with the end of the policy.

I dont think youre going to be seeing a lot of target operations  in churches or places of worship or schools or whatever, he said, unless theres a real operational and public safety, national security, need to do so.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Wells Beach, Maine. (Photo by AnnMarie Hilton/ Maine Morning Star)

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is looking to update the definition of coastal wetlands in some areas of statute, but lawmakers have questions about how much it could affect landowners and developers along the states 3,500 miles of shoreline.

Rep. Vicki Doudera (D-Camden) presented a bill (LD 65) on behalf of the department to the Legislatures Environment and Natural Resources Committee Monday with the proposed definition change in the Natural Resources Protection Act. Rather than reference the highest annual tide to define the area of a coastal wetland, the department is proposing a switch to the highest astronomical tide.

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As its name suggests, the highest annual tide is the highest predicted tide in a given calendar year. Whereas the highest astronomical tide predicts the highest tide for a 40 year period, but is updated every 20 years, explained Naomi Kirk-Lawlor, who represented the DEP.

Because it is stable over a 20-year period, Kirk-Lawlor said the highest astronomical tide would be a more consistent delineator.

She pointed out that the Maine Geological Survey has an interactive graphic that the public can access online to see the highest astronomical tide line along the states coast.

Development projects along Maines coast have been top of mind recently as many communities have had to rebuild after a series of severe storms and flooding events last winter. While Gov. Janet Mills earmarked more than $21 million in her supplemental budget last year to rebuild working waterfronts, there have also been multi-million dollar federal investments to make Maines infrastructure more resilient to the effects of climate change, especially along the coast.

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As it reads, the bill only proposes the language change for the Natural Resources Protection Act, but Kirk-Lawlor said the department would like to see the same definition change in the Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act. This would align those statutes with the Land Use Planning Commission, which made this proposed change in 2018.

Although the department told the committee in written testimony that this change would provide more consistency and stability for long-term planning, members of the committee raised questions about how the change would affect landowners and any pending coastal development projects.

Kirk-Lawlor said the difference between the highest annual and the highest astronomical tides is normally no greater than six inches, so it would not be a significant change.

Even with that, multiple committee members asked to see maps and other details outlining how the change may impact people living and working on the coast. Sen. Joseph Martin (R-Oxford) also questioned whether coastal landowners have been notified of this potential change and if it would cause any loss of property value.

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Denise Tepler (D-Sagadahoc), Senate co-chair of the committee, said she doesnt see potential property value loss from this bill, but asked for more information about what happened after the Land Use Planning Commission made this definition change and how it affected planning for development.

Rep. Laurie Osher (D-Orono), who has a PhD in soil science and currently works for Eastern Maine Development Corporation assisting communities to be more resilient to climate change, said she believes the new definition would benefit businesses, homeowners and the department by creating more consistency  even with the concern that some people will be unnerved or caught feeling like they didnt have all the information they needed.

Instead of having to worry about whether the calendar year changes and the definition of where something is a wetland changes, it would be much more stable, Osher said. For future planning and permit pulling, you would know what area of the land that youre looking at is a wetland.

Environmental organizations including Maine Audubon and Sierra Club Maine also testified in support of the bill, again emphasizing the stability an updated definition could provide, especially as more extreme weather patterns have shaped Maines coast in recent years.

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Bill Ferdinand, an attorney with Eaton Peabody in Augusta who spoke on behalf of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Maine, said the organization had similar questions as some of the legislators regarding impact. While he didnt speak for or against the bill, Ferdinand suggested there could be alternatives that may have less of an impact such as using the average tide.

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A total of 2,500 employees work at Prospect Medical's two Rhode Island hospitals, including Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)

An assortment of Rhode Islands hospital leaders banded together Wednesday in pleading for a federal bankruptcy judge to expedite approval of the sale of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital to The Centurion Foundation.

As a matter of public health and safety, we respectfully request that you look favorably and act expeditiously on the petition to approve the private sale of CharterCARE Health Partners to The Centurion Foundation, the nine signatories wrote in their letter to Chief Judge Stacey G. C. Jernigan of the Northern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court. The letter was written Wednesday but released publicly Friday.

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CharterCARE Health Partners is a subsidiary of Prospect Medical Holdings, a California-based hospital chain company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan 11.

Days after the bankruptcy announcement, Rhode Island Current reported that Prospect owes more than $1 billion to over 100,000 creditors, but its available cash totals only $3.4 million. The 12,500 Prospect hospital employees across the country, including the 2,500 in Rhode Island, were able to get their next paychecks after the court authorized a $100 million line of credit.

A request from Prospect for short-term financing heads back to Dallas federal bankruptcy court on Feb. 12 for a second hearing.

As you may know, this sale has undergone a comprehensive review by the designated RI regulatory authorities under the states Hospital Conversion Act application, one of the most stringent laws governing such transactions in the country, the letter reads. Centurion has received the requisite approvals from both governing bodies, including significant terms and conditions to guide the future of these hospitals.

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In other words, this has been fully vetted and agreed to with more than ample safeguards.

The letters signees include:

Howard M. Dulude, interim president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island

Elena Nicolela, president and CEO of Rhode Island Health Center Association

Stacey Paterno, executive vice president of the Rhode Island Medical Society

John Fernandez, president and chief executive officer of Brown University Health (formerly Lifespan)

Carrie Kenyon, executive director of ancillary and support services at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and Westerly Hospital

Mary Marran, Hospital Association of Rhode Island chair and president and chief operating officer at Butler Hospital

Aaron Robinson, Hospital Association of Rhode Island vice chair, and president and chief executive officer South County Health

Michael Souza, Chief Executive Officer, Landmark Medical Center

Dr. Michael Wagner, president and chief executive officer of Care New England

Court filings reveal that both Prospect and Centurion plan to move forward with the deal, relying on a federal bankruptcy code provision permitting private sales of certain assets. The letter argued for the importance of approving the sale in the context of Rhode Islands sparse landscape for health care options.

Roger Williams in Providence and Fatima in North Providence together have more than 400 hospital beds, with 104 of them designated for behavioral health patients. That represents more than 20% of behavioral health beds available statewide.

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The long-awaited $80 million sale was supposed to close this month, after a yearslong process to secure a new owner for the struggling safety net hospitals. Both the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General and Rhode Island Department of Health OKd the sale in June 2024, contingent upon meeting 80 conditions.

The existing area hospitals, health centers, and physician practices, are simply in no position to absorb the loss of the CharterCARE facilities, their critical services, employees, and affiliated physicians, the letter noted. Perhaps most importantly, Centurion will be returning CharterCARE to not for profit status, separating it from its private ownership and equity strings, and reinstituting local management and control.

Fridays letter echoed what Dr. Jerry Larkin, the director of Rhode Islands health department, has said in court documents.

The closure of these RI safety net hospitals would overwhelm RIs healthcare system and create significant barriers to care for individuals already facing profound health disparities, Larkin wrote in a pre-filed testimony to the bankruptcy court.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  One week out from leaving the presidential cabinet, Gina Raimondo has already found her first landing spot.

The Council on Foreign Relations, an influential research organization founded in 1921, announced Monday that Raimondo will join the group as a distinguished fellow. While the organization is headquartered in New York City, Raimondo will be based at its office in Washington, D.C.

I am delighted to welcome Gina to the council, said Michael Froman, the councils president, in a statement. Having such an accomplished public servant helping drive our work on a wide range of economic security issues will significantly bolster CFRs mission of informing U.S. engagement with the world and help drive key initiatives in this pivotal moment.

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Raimondo, who served as governor of Rhode Island from 2015 to 2021, just finished four years in former President Joe Bidens cabinet as secretary of commerce. She had an unusually high profile in that job as the administrations point person on tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to support the domestic semiconductor industry in its competition with China.

The Economist argued this month that Raimondos work on semiconductors, funded by the bipartisan 2022 CHIPS Act, could end up as Mr. Bidens most lasting economy legacy.

The council said Raimondo will co-chair a new task force on economic security in addition to working on the issues of economic policy, American competitiveness and artificial intelligence.

Im grateful for the opportunity to join Michael and this remarkable group of experts at CFR to help lead conversations around U.S. economic and national security challenges as our nation turns the page to a new chapter, Raimondo said.

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I look forward to getting to work and engaging council members and members of the public across a broad spectrum to foster discussion and collaboration on many pressing issues, especially those most personal to me under the purview of economic security and American competitiveness, she continued.

Raimondo, 53, is sometimes mentioned as a potential candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. Her allies have batted down speculation that she might return to Rhode Island and run for governor again.

Ted Nesi (tnesi@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesis Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter, Bluesky and Facebook.

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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  Scattered rain showers in San Diego County, particularly in the Otay Mountain Wilderness area, may affect the ongoing response to the Border 2 Fire on Sunday and into Monday. The fire has been burning in the southern part of the region since Thursday.

Mark Loeffelbein, an incident meteorologist for Cal Fire, commented on the forecast during Sunday mornings operational briefing, explaining that a tenth off an inch fell over the fire last night and another quarter of an inch is possible throughout the day.

While rain can provide some relief to firefighters, it could also bring some challenges that might affect efforts to contain the blaze.

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REALTED: Weather forecast: Rain, chance of thunderstorms and mountain snow

Positive impacts of rain

Reduces fire behavior

Rainfall can help suppress fire activity by wetting down vegetation and soil, which decreases the availability of fuel for the flames. This would slow the spread of the fire, making it easier for ground crews to control and contain the blaze.

Fire behavior analyst Jonathan Pangburn, who also made remarks during Cal Fires operational meeting, said, Were going to have rain today, so our fine fuels are out of the picture and will not carry fire.

Fine fuels, as he referenced, are combustible materials that ignite easily and burn quickly, such as grass, leaves, twigs, ferns, and pine needles.

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You could have continued movement, slow movement, but still movement in the shrub/brush component, Pangburn warned. It is still critical and will maintain fire, though be it at a slow pace.

Improves air quality

Rain may improve air quality by clearing smoke from the atmosphere, providing a safer environment for both firefighters and residents. According to the National Weather Service, rain typically results in less pollution since it washes away particulate matter and can also wash out pollutants that are dissolvable.

RELATED: Interactive 3D map shows Border 2 Fire perimeter, evacuation zones

Negative impacts of rain

Slower response times

Rain could slow ground operations, as wet conditions may make movement difficult, particularly in rugged terrain. Firefighting vehicles and equipment could become stuck and visibility issues may prevent aerial firefighting efforts, such as water or retardant drops from helicopters and planes.

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My main message for today is pay attention to where you are, Pangburn told fire crews Sunday morning. Make sure that your vehicles are in a safe place.

Cal Fire Safety Manager Clint Hamilton echoed these sentiments, stating, Maintain a high situational awareness today, we have changing weather. Watch you driving throughout the incident area.

Thunderstorms could produce lightning

Cal Fires incident meteorologist explained that within those rain showers, he does expect the potential for some thunderstorms.

Not a very good chance, probably only about a 15% chance, said Loeffelbein. Fortunately, these are going to be the type that pop down a lightning strike and move on.

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Nonetheless, lightning can spark a fire, especially in areas with dry vegetation. With a fire already in motion, adding another in the area could cause complications.

With rain showers likely, the odds of a lightning strike igniting another fire may be lower since the fuel sources may be dampened. However, dry lightning can still spark wildfires even under wetter conditions, according to a Washington State University-led study.

Make sure you are ready in the event of any lightning, Pangburn told fire crews.

Increased risk of mudslides and flooding

Heavy rainfall in wildfire areas can lead to erosion and flooding, especially in burn scars where vegetation that normally helps hold soil in place has been destroyed. This could make roads dangerous, complicating evacuation efforts and limiting access for firefighting crews.

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Though the forecast shows mostly light scattered rain showers, heavier periods of precipitation is possible.

What I do expect though is these heavier showers to go over the fire, said meteorologist Loeffelbein. It will produce brief heavier rainfall. That could be a little bit of a problem over fresh burn scars.

Response efforts

The situation remains fluid and local authorities are closely monitoring the weather as part of their ongoing strategy to battle the Border 2 Fire. As discussed during Cal Fires morning operational briefing, firefighting teams are adjusting their tactics based on the conditions.

Residents in affected areas are urged to stay informed and follow evacuation orders as necessary. This comes as some orders were lifted Sunday, allowing residents in some nearby areas to return to their homes  at least for now.

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For the latest fire maps and updates on evacuation areas, residents can refer to Cal Fires incident webpage.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Border 2 Fire was at 6,625 acres with 10% containment.

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Rounds of rain and snow will move into the Northwest later this week and could cause travel trouble typical for this time of year, AccuWeather meteorologists say.

On the heels of Southern California receiving its first significant rain and mountain snow of the winter, some rain and snow will move into the Northwest later this week.

"After more than two weeks of mainly dry weather for places in the Pacific Northwest, such as Seattle, and Portland and Eugene, Oregon, a wind shift from the Pacific will break through and deliver at least one front and its moisture into the Northwest beginning on Thursday night and Friday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Houk said.

Seattle's January rainfall has been about 20% of the historical average, which is 5.78 inches. Meanwhile, Portland has picked up just over 2 inches of rain, compared to a historical average of about 5 inches for the month.

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As is often the case when a front or full-fledged storm moves onshore from the Pacific, freezing levels will rise and then fall as warm and cold air exchange.

"Snow levels will be lowering Friday and Friday night with slow and slippery travel through Snoqualmie Pass on I-90," Houk said.

It will get chilly enough for snow to fall near sea level by Saturday morning, but not much moisture will be left over by that time. Still, there could be enough lingering to produce wet snow showers in western Washington and northwestern Oregon on Saturday. "How much moisture is left behind will determine if there will be a small, slushy accumulation or not along the I-5 corridor," Houk said.

This weekend, there will most likely be a dry zone to the immediate east of the Cascades. Still, some rain and wet snow can fall in eastern parts of Washington and Oregon on Saturday night and Sunday.

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During the first day of February, the bulk of precipitation will aim at Northern California, where an atmospheric river event is expected to unfold from Saturday into early next week.

"The same slow-moving storm off the coast next week will continue to direct moisture into the northern half of California where flooding could evolve in places that get several pulses of heavy rain," Houk said.

Rain amounts can eclipse 6 inches in the highest terrain, with the potential for flash flooding and mudslides.

Snow levels will be near sea level from Sunday to Tuesday in the coastal Northwest, and it is possible there can be a little accumulation around Seattle during that time, Houk explained.

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Beijing has unveiled a second list of insurance companies taking part in an initiative to stabilise and bolster the stock market by injecting long-term capital.

The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), an agency under the State Council that oversees the financial sector, has approved the second batch of long-term-equity investment pilot projects, worth 52 billion yuan (US$7.2 billion), state media reported on Sunday.

The list includes China Pacific Insurance, Taikang Life Insurance, Sunshine Life Insurance and relevant insurance asset-management companies, according to the reports.

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These entities will participate in the pilot programme through contractual funds, a vehicle whereby the investment is managed according to predefined terms and objectives outlined in a contract. The insurers are expected to "leverage the role of long-term and patient capital to support the stable operation of the capital market", the reports said.

The announcement follows an action plan issued last week by the country's six financial regulators that called on institutional investors - including mutual funds, insurance companies, and social-security funds - to increase their holdings in Chinese stocks amid uncertainties at the start of Donald Trump's second term as US president.

Last week, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Chinese goods beginning next month and unveiled a plan to outpace China in the field of artificial intelligence.

Beijing's action plan called on large state-owned insurers to invest 30 per cent of new annual premiums into A shares, and directed mutual funds to raise their holdings by at least 10 per cent annually over the next three years, among other measures.

The measures could lead to an influx of US$236 billion this year, according to UBS.

The NFRA said during a press conference last week that the second batch of insurance funds is set for 100 billion yuan, with subsequent batches expected to gradually increase in scale.

People visit The Bund across from the financial district of Pudong in Shanghai on January 16, 2025. Photo: Reuters alt=People visit The Bund across from the financial district of Pudong in Shanghai on January 16, 2025. Photo: Reuters>

The first batch of long-term insurance investment pilots was approved in October 2023, with China Life Insurance and New China Life Insurance launching securities investment funds totalling 500 billion yuan.
COURTESY NWS A satellite this morning shows areas of moisture over the Hawaiian islands.

COURTESY NWS A satellite this morning shows areas of moisture over the Hawaiian islands.

UPDATE : 10 :30 a.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement warning of significant weather impacts across Hawaii from Wednesday night through early Friday. An unusually strong low-pressure system is expected to pass north of the islands on Thursday, bringing damaging winds, heavy rain, and the potential for severe thunderstorms.

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Damaging downsloping winds are forecast east of mountain ranges, particularly on Kauai and Oahu, from Wednesday night through Thursday night. Heavy rainfall capable of causing flash flooding is expected statewide, with the heaviest rain likely over leeward terrain. Intense rain rates and an enhanced risk of strong to severe thunderstorms are anticipated, with the primary threat being damaging wind gusts, especially over western areas of the state.

10 a.m.

The earlier flood advisory for the island of Maui has expired.

Weather officials say heavy showers and thunderstorms are still hitting East Maui this morning, however, with northern portions of East Hawaii island expected to see similar conditions later today. Breezy and cool northerly winds will develop today as a cold front moves through the islands, bringing temporary relief from heavy rainfall.

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Monday, 6 :30 a.m.

The National Weather Service has canceled a flood watch for Oahu, Niihau and Kauai early this morning, but Maui County remains under a flood watch through noon today as heavy rains persist.

A flood advisory is also in effect for the island of Maui until 10 a.m. after radar reports of heavy rainfall over East Maui, with rain rates of 1 to 2.5 inches per hour, the NWS said.

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Areas such as Kipahulu, Kaupo, Nahiku, Keanae, Hana, Haleakala National Park, Wailua and Hamoa are at risk of minor flooding in streams, poor drainage areas and roadways.

The advisory comes as a slow-moving cold front continues to affect Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe. The NWS warns that heavy showers and thunderstorms triggered by an upper-level trough could result in flash flooding, particularly in windward areas.

Officials urge residents and visitors in affected areas to avoid streams, drainage ditches and low-lying areas prone to flooding. Urban areas could experience significant runoff and property damage in some locations.

Rainfall across Maui County is expected to taper off this afternoon as conditions improve.

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Sunday, 10 :55 p.m.

Heavy rains on Oahu abated Sunday night but National Weather Service forecasters say Hawaii residents should expect more strong thunderstorms later this week.

A potent winter low will affect the state Wednesday night through Thursday night, bringing a significant threat of strong to potentially damaging southwest winds, flooding, and strong to severe thunderstorms,  forecasters said. Impacts should diminish on Friday as the low races away to the northeast.

A fast-moving but powerful storm brought heavy rain and lightning throughout Oahu Sunday night, leading to a flash flood warning for several hours for Windward and East Oahu and to temporary power outages affecting thousands of residents.

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The warning expired but a flood watch remained for Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and Niihau until late Sunday night.

10 :30 p.m.

The flash flood warning for Oahu has expired but most Hawaiian islands remain under a flood watch.

The flood watch covers Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and Niihau through late Sunday night.

A trough developing near Oahu will merge with a front overnight and move slowly eastward,  National Weather Service forecasters said. An upper level trough will trigger heavy showers and thunderstorms along the trough, bringing the threat for flash flooding, especially over windward areas. The flood threat will decrease during the day on Monday.

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Forecasters said that a trough developing near Oahu will merge with a front overnight and move slowly eastward. An upper level trough will trigger heavy showers and thunderstorms along the trough, bringing the threat for flash flooding, especially over windward areas. The flood threat will decrease during the day on Monday.PREVIOUS COVERAGE Much of Oahu is under a flash flood warning as heavy rain falls over a large part of the island tonight.

The National Weather Service in Honolulu says the warning is in effect until 10 p.m. and covers Honolulu, Waipio, Waiahole, Waikane, Kahaluu, Ahuimanu, Aiea, Pearl City, Kaaawa, Halawa, Mililani, Moanalua, Punaluu, Salt Lake, Kaneohe, Wahiawa, Kalihi, Wheeler Field, Hauula and Kaneohe Marine Base.

At 6 :45 p.m., radar indicated heavy rain over eastern Oahu, with the heaviest rain falling from Kaaawa to Manoa. Rain was falling at a rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly,  the warning said.

The weather service also has issued a flash flood watch until late tonight for Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and Niihau.

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A trough developing near Oahu will merge with a front overnight and move slowly eastward,  forecasters said. An upper level trough will trigger heavy showers and thunderstorms along the trough, bringing the threat for flash flooding, especially over windward areas. The flood threat will decrease during the day on Monday.

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LOS ANGELES (AP)  The first significant storm of the season brought snow and downpours to Southern California that doused wildfires and caused some ash and mud to flow across streets in the Los Angeles area on Monday.

More than an inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain fell in many areas, loosening Los Angeles hillsides burned bare by the recent blaze near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, where crews cleared inundated roadways including the famed Pacific Coast Highway.

In neighboring Malibu, four schools were closed Monday due to dangerous road conditions, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District said in a statement.

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Clouds were clearing, but flood watches from lingering pockets of rain were still in effect for fire-scarred areas of the Palisades, Altadena and Castaic Lake.

All these fresh burns are very susceptible to rapid runoff, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist for the National Weather Services office for Los Angeles.

North of Los Angeles, snowy conditions late Sunday shut down the mountainous Tejon Pass section of Interstate 5, a key north-south artery for the state. It reopened Monday afternoon. The highway rises to more than 4,100 feet (1,250 meters) between LA and the San Joaquin Valley, making it susceptible to storm closures.

Mountains across San Bernardino and Riverside counties were under a winter storm warning Monday and were forecast to get about a foot (0.30 meters) of snow from the storm. Chains were required for some vehicles heading to ski resorts in the Big Bear Lake area northeast of Los Angeles because of icy roads.

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Parts of San Diego County received more than an inch of rain, while other areas got less.

The rain began Saturday after months of dry and often gusty weather that created dangerous fire conditions.

Los Angeles County crews spent much of last week removing vegetation, shoring up slopes and reinforcing roads in areas devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires, which reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble and ash after breaking out during powerful winds Jan. 7.

The Palisades Fire, the largest of the blazes that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 12 people, reached 94% containment Monday. The Eaton Fire, which broke out near Altadena and has killed at least 17 people, was 98% contained.

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The Hughes Fire, which ignited north of Los Angeles last week and caused evacuation orders or warnings for more than 50,000 people, was nearly contained.

Downpours in San Diego County, helped firefighters make significant progress against the smaller Border 2 Fire churning through a remote area of the Otay Mountain Wilderness near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Los Angeles city and county officials last week expedited cleanup efforts and other measures aimed at mitigating the environmental impacts of fire-related pollutants, and a White House statement on Friday said President Donald Trump has directed federal officials to help local authorities. Within five days of the order, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other departments shall develop and execute a plan to expedite the bulk removal of contaminated and general debris, the statement said.

Officials cautioned that ash in recent burn zones was a toxic mix of incinerated cars, electronics, batteries, building materials, paints, furniture and other household items. It contains pesticides, asbestos, plastics and lead. Residents were urged to wear protective gear while cleaning up.

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Concerns about post-fire debris flows have been especially high since 2018, when the town of Montecito, up the coast from Los Angeles, was ravaged by mudslides after a downpour hit mountain slopes charred by a huge wildfire. Hundreds of homes were damaged and 23 people died.

The rain ended a near-record streak of dry weather for Southern California. Most of Southern California is currently in extreme drought or severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
A rare species of shrew was just photographed in California for the first time in history in an exciting discovery for natural science. But the snaps weren't taken by professional researchers or wildlife photographers; instead, a band of three local students led the way in capturing the Mount Lyell shrew.

Mount Lyell shrews were first described a century ago, but they hadn't been seen in 20 years and were the only known California mammal never photographed alive. The animal is found in a small range in the high Sierra Nevadas and is categorized as a species of special concern due to threats from climate change. Still, there have never been any field studies on the animal, prompting three University of California, Berkeley students to take matters into their own hands.

"It was kind of a crazy idea," Vishal Subramnyan told The Guardian. "California is one of the most well-studied places in the world, and yet theres a mammal species in California thats never been photographed alive. That was shocking to us."

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Subramnyan, along with Prakrit Jain and Harper Forbes, set 150 baited traps and were able to catch five shrews within the first 24 hours. They filmed and photographed the animals and took tiny pieces of skin from their ears for genetic testing to confirm they'd found the right species.

View the original article to see embedded media.

Capturing history! College students snap the first-ever photo of the elusive Mount Lyell shrew in California's Sierra Nevada. https://t.co/0y203EbYZA pic.twitter.com/YG1KEZJpxQ  Cecelia Wood (@DynamicCecelia) January 20, 2025

Capturing these rare animals on film, Subramnyan said, means much more than just getting some cute photos.

"If we look at the extinction crisis and the types of animals its impacting, a lot of animals are disappearing without any documentation," Subramnyan explained. An animal like the Mount Lyell shrew, if it was not photographed or researched, could have just quietly disappeared due to climate change, and wed have no idea about it at all."

If you're hoping to see a Mount Lyell shrew for yourself, be prepared to hike far into the wilderness and come equipped with a lot of patience.
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The looming energy policy debate in the Maryland General Assembly might best be described as everything, everywhere, all at once.

Until recently the province of a few science nerds and policy wonks, the issue is suddenly getting a whole lot of attention in the State House. Lawmakers have arrived at a holy s*** moment, and most believe they will have to act this year with urgency and clarity to address potential energy crises, something they are often reluctant to do.

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And still, some legislators will privately confess that they dont fully understand the terrain or the nomenclature  or the challenges at hand.

What they do know is that electricity prices are spiking for consumers while energy supplies are dwindling, at a time when Maryland is trying to foster a business environment that attracts more data centers, which are notorious power hogs. At the same time, the state is lagging when it comes to meeting its aggressive climate mandates and clean energy goals.

The public doesnt seem to know who to blame for their higher electric bills. And environmental leaders are girding for possible rollbacks in climate protections and concessions to the fossil fuels industry to increase energy supply in the state.

I think we are at a really significant inflection point on energy, said Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery), one of the recognized legislative nerds in Annapolis on energy and utility policy.

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In the opening days of this legislative session, lawmakers on energy and environmental committees received briefings on the regional electric grid, the challenges the state is facing to meet its clean energy goals, and a wonky concept known as co-location, which is relevant to the debate over how and where data centers get their electricity.

Late last week, the House Economic Matters Committee held its first hearings on energy and climate bills, and Gov. Wes Moores administration introduced legislation to jumpstart the production of carbon-free energy. The plan relies heavily on expanding nuclear power in the state  a longterm proposition at best.

Legislative leaders are expected to unveil a comprehensive energy policy bill of their own later this week, though theyre keeping the specifics under wraps for a few more days.

Ultimately, it is to increase domestic generation of energy in Maryland with an all-of-the-above approach, as well as make it easier for projects to site and exist in Maryland in a thoughtful way, as well as encouraging renewables, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) told reporters Friday.

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In an interview last week, House Economic Matters Chair C.T. Wilson (D-Charles), who has been a key member of the team crafting the legislation, said he and his colleagues are mindful of the rising costs of electricity and the need to generate more home-grown energy in Maryland. The state currently imports about 39% of its energy supply, according to the Maryland Energy Administration.

I dont think were going to do anything to hurt our constituents, Wilson said.

Were facing a reliability crisis

Electricity generation, in the view of many experts, is the No. 1 energy challenge the state is facing.

The states three remaining coal plants are expected to close by 2027, and there currently arent any plans to make up for the lost production. Whats more, the operator of the regional electric grid, PJM Interconnection, has a backlog of dozens of proposed new energy generating projects in its 13-state territory that dates back to 2017.

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Because of PJM, not because of any state policy, were facing a reliability crisis, Charkoudian said at a hearing earlier this month.

Jason M. Stanek, executive director of PJM and the former chair of the Maryland Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, said the backlog has begun to ease since federal regulators approved the grid operators plan for expediting some of the project reviews.

It seems inevitable that the legislation House and Senate leaders are proposing will seek to encourage the development of at least one natural gas power plant in the state, perhaps at one of the coal plants that are shuttering. That wont sit well with environmental leaders, who are already convinced that state law is unnecessarily extending the life of natural gas in Maryland through a lucrative incentive program for gas pipeline maintenance and replacement.

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Given the states commitment to reducing emissions through the Climate Solutions Act of 2022, any policy that incentivizes fossil fuels is contrary to state law and violates the spirit of the climate commitment in the state, said Mike Tidwell, executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Any leader that proposes this will face a backlash.

The legislative leaders bill is also almost certain to provide new incentives to expand nuclear energy in the state  a concept that is a lot less controversial than it would have been just a few years ago. Once anathema to environmental leaders, nuclear is now seen as the most reliable way to put carbon-free electrons onto the grid. The Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Lusby generates about 40% of all energy in the state  and more than 80% of the states clean energy portfolio.

Another nuclear plant of that scale is unlikely to be proposed or built in the state anytime soon. But state leaders are beginning to tout an emerging nuclear technology, small modular reactors, which are just a fraction of the size of standard nuclear plants, as potentially viable. Even Paul G. Pinsky, the director of the Maryland Energy Administration, who recalls protesting against nuclear energy as a young activist in the 1960s and 70s, sees the technology as promising.

Theres a timing issue, he cautioned members of the Senate Committee on Education, Energy and the Environment earlier this month. We dont know how fast the new technologies will come online.

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The most optimistic estimates suggest modular nuclear reactors could be developed in six or eight years.

A very, very heavy lift

The Moore administration bill, dubbed the Empowering New Energy Resources and Green Initiatives Toward a Zero-Emission (ENERGIZE) Maryland Act also seeks to boost nuclear energy, along with other clean energy sources. It reaffirms the governors goal that the state should eventually produce 100% clean energy  though the legislation does not mention the 2035 timeline that Moore has previously articulated as a target.

The Maryland Energy Administration recently issued a 70-page study on how to boost clean energy production in the state. This report, Pinsky told the Economic Matters Committee, shows itll be a very, very heavy lift to hit the 2035 target.

What Im concerned with is being wedded to a timeline, rather than a goal, Wilson replied.

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The highly technical, 44-page administration bill also seeks to rename the states longstanding renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) as the clean energy portfolio standard, and changes certain formulas for percentages of clean production along with incentives and pollution credits for clean energy.

I think the ENERGIZE plan firmly grounds Maryland in a goal of achieving 100% clean energy, said Josh Tulkin, executive director of the Sierra Club Maryland chapter.

Meanwhile, Charkoudian and Sen. Benjamin Brooks (D-Baltimore County) have introduced the Abundant, Affordable Clean Energy Act, which would restructure Marylands energy market to increase in-state clean energy production while protecting ratepayers through profit-sharing and cost caps, aiming to make power both more reliable and affordable. That legislation, which is also highly technical and runs 39 pages, is a priority for environmental groups; a hearing has been scheduled in the Economic Matters Committee on Feb. 6.

Like the Moore administration legislation, the Charkoudian-Brooks bill seeks to overhaul the states RPS. A study released last week from a national government watchdog group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, suggested that design flaws in the RPS are undermining the states transition to clean electricity and imposing significant costs on Maryland ratepayers.

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The various bills to generate more electricity in the state come as the Moore administration seeks to attract more data centers, and with a major data center campus under construction in Frederick County. While state policymakers and utility regulators also anticipate a gradual transition to more electric vehicles and a reduction in gas usage in buildings, its anticipated that the growth in the data center industry will put the greatest strain on the power grid.

Sen. Karen Lewis Young (D-Frederick) and Del. Brian M. Crosby (D-St. Marys), the vice chair of the Economic Matters Committee, have introduced legislation that would require the state to study the economic, environmental and energy impacts of data centers in the state. But during a hearing on the bill last week, Crosby conceded that while ideally data center projects would be paused while the study is under way, the legislation would not stop the ongoing development of data centers in the state.

If were going to get into this game and into this business, its probably worth it to wait for what the full impact is going to be, but thats not really reality, he said. The train in many ways has left the station and its not coming back.

A separate study on the impact of data centers nationally was released last week by a consortium of Maryland and national environmental groups and research organizations.

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The report shows that between 2021-2024, the number of centers in the U.S. roughly doubled from 2,667 to 5,381, and it identified at least 17 fossil fuel-generated power plants nationwide that have delayed their anticipated closures or are at risk of being kept open longer due to the rising electricity demand for data centers.

Maryland would be wise to learn from other states experiences, where too much of the rush to build data centers is being driven by hype, bad policy and inefficient applications of AI and cryptocurrency technology, said Emily Scarr, senior adviser with the Maryland PIRG Foundation. To protect our pocketbooks, the natural world and the quality of our lives, Maryland needs a different approach to data centers.

A proposed high-voltage transmission line from a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania that would run through Maryland and connect to a data center hub in Northern Virginia has sparked outrage in Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties. Several bills have been introduced in the legislature to mitigate the impact of the project  though the ultimate say on the proposal rests with the Public Service Commission.

Those who have denied or diminished the science should pick up the tab

A proliferation of data centers in Maryland would run counter to the states ambitious mandates to reduce carbon emissions over the next several years. The state is scrambling for ways to pay for the necessary climate initiatives, which are estimated to cost at least $10 billion.

Last week, the Economic Matters Committee held a hearing on a bill that would allow the state to set up a superfund to make fossil fuel companies pay for environmental degradation in the state over the past several decades. Bill sponsors and advocates envision that the measure could generate enough revenue to cover a good bit of the states climate needs.

We think that its only fair that those who have denied or diminished the science should pick up the tab of those who have suffered from the damage, said the Rev. Ken Phelps of the Maryland Episcopal Public Policy Network, who testified in favor of the measure.

A similar bill stalled last year  though comparable legislation has now become law in New York and Vermont. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute have already sued to block the Vermont law.

How many of these energy and climate bills under consideration in Annapolis this session become law is very much an open question. Lawmakers do not have much time to digest some very complex concepts.

We have a lot of bills coming in but we wont have a lot of bills coming out, Wilson predicted.

Charkoudian believes, however, that there will be significant progress.

Ive always thought that energy is a multiyear conversation, she said. But I think there are decisions that will be made this year that will put us on a path to 100% clean energy.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  Two Springfield men were arrested after a loaded firearm and drugs were seized following a shooting on Friday.

City cameras used to find suspected vehicle tied to shots fired at Springfield intersection

The Springfield Police Department states that on Friday at around 2:40 p.m., officers were sent to the area of Bridge Street and Pearl Street for a ShotSpotter activation. The Springfield Police Real-Time Analysis Center (R-TAC) received descriptions and further information about the suspects, such as that they entered a building on the 0-100 block of Pearl Street and two victims were shot at.

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The suspects were located in an apartment, and a ghost gun capable of holding 15 rounds of ammunition, 35 capsules of crack-cocaine, and $88 in cash were found inside a backpack.

Springfield Police Department

Springfield Police Department

The suspects, who were identified as 18-year-old Jayden Colon of Springfield and a 17-year-old, were arrested.

Jayden Colon of Springfield is charged with:

Carrying a Firearm without a License

Possession of a High-Capacity Magazine/Feeding Device

Improper Storage of a Firearm

Due to the age of the 17-year-old, his age, his name, booking photo, and charges will not be released.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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If youre like a lot of local homeowners, you probably got an eye-opening property tax bill this month! Some homeowners tell Boston 25 News their quarterly bills skyrocketed as much as $13-hundred dollars or 25%.

I think its ridiculous, I dont know if its politically based or not, but yeah, its pretty high, one Norwood homeowner told us.

I mean Im lucky, I can pay it, but its really awful, I mean I think its horrible, said another from West Roxbury. According to a recent Kiplinger report, in property bills mailed in 2024 rose nationwide for many and bills increased by as much as 30% in some places. In the Boston area, home values have increased dramatically, and property assessments and taxes have risen along with them.

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Its pretty sad in this state, a lot of people leaving. Theyre always talking about taxes, thats why they call it Taxachusetts, homeowner Paul Hughes told Boston 25.

We sat down with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin to find out what homeowners should do about your tax bill if you feel like you were charged the wrong amount.

Galvin suggests you file for an abatement.

If you have a property that you think is unfairly valued. In other words, your house is valued the same as three or four houses, but theyre all bigger than yours. Then you might have a claim for an abatement, he said.

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An abatement is a reduction in your property taxes. You can find this application on the states website. But it must be filed with your local assessors office either in person or by mail. You have to file a claim soon: The deadline is February 1. Since it falls on a weekend, Galvin suggests you file in advance.

But dont forget to pay that bill first.

You also have to pay the tax. You file for the abatement and then theyll refund you the tax that you had to pay, Galvin told us.

But for those who dont file, the question remains, is there any light at the end of the tunnel?

Local tax expert Robert Weiss tells Boston 25 News there has been some talk of lifting the $10,000 tax cap, which in theory could help.

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But that remains to be seen with the new Republican Congress and President, Weiss said. We just have to wait and see but Ive been hearing some rumblings about that cap being lifted so there would be some offset to those who are paying, you know, high real estate taxes especially.

Local homeowners Boston 25 spoke with said its important to know whats going on in your city or town, things like big construction projects and tax overrides. They suggest you ask questions, get involved and vote - to have a greater say.

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In Donald Trump's first few weeks as the 47th president of the United States, he's wasted no time making efforts to further the MAGA agenda, including gutting federal DEI programs, suspending research grants for cancer research, banning LGBTQ+ flag at embassies, deploying active-duty troops to the southern border, conducting ICE raids, and so much more.

Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

We're asking members of the BuzzFeed Community to share how they've personally been impacted by Trump's policies in recent weeks.

Maybe your cancer treatment was canceled due to Trump's temporary halt for funding medical research:

Maybe you're a school bus driver who received a notification warning of what to do if ICE agents are seen at a bus stop:

Or maybe, you're a federal employee who got an email that your department's DEIA offices are being shut down:

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Or, if you feel the Trump administration's recent policies have positively impacted your life, we want to hear from you as well!

Please type your response below or via this anonymous Google form. Your response may be featured in an upcoming post.
JASPER COUNTY, Indiana  An Indiana man recently pardoned for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop Sunday.

The Jasper County coroner has identified the dead man as Matthew Huttle, 42, of Hobart.

The shooting occurred about 4:15 p.m. Sunday after a deputy with the Jasper County Sheriffs Department stopped Huttle's vehicle near the Pulaski County line, according to a release sent out by Indiana State Police.

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While the deputy was attempting to arrest Huttle, an altercation broke out between them, resulting in the deputy shooting Huttle, according to ISP.

The initial investigation found that Huttle had a firearm in his possession.

The deputy has been placed on paid administrative leave as state police investigate the shooting, Jasper County Sheriff Patrick Williamson said in a statement.

Neither the Indiana State Police nor Jasper County Sheriff's Office have released the deputy's name. Williamson said he will do so once he has approval from the state police detectives.

"Our condolences go out to the family of the deceased as any loss of life is traumatic to those that were close to Mr. Huttle," Williamson said in the statement.

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Previous coverage: Indiana man accused of hitting officers with American flagpole in Jan. 6 insurrection

Matthew Huttle's Jan. 6 role

Huttle was arrested in November 2022 after investigators said he was identified on video inside the Capitol building going into multiple offices, the Crypt area and hallways on Jan. 6, 2021.

He was sentenced in November 2023 to six months in prison and a year on supervised release after pleading guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building, a lower charge than issued to his uncle, Dale Huttle, whom he traveled with that day.

Dale Huttle and his nephew were each sentenced to prison for their involvement during the breach, which included the elder Huttle striking police officers.

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Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@indystar.com or follow him on X @1NoePadilla.

Contact IndyStar reporter Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter killed by police in Indiana traffic stop
Billionaire BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Declares No One Should Have To Work Longer Than They Want But Says Retiring At 65 Is 'Crazy'

In a world where retirement feels increasingly like a mirage on the horizon, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, calls for a hard reset on how we think about retirement.

His message? It's time to rethink the traditional retirement age of 65  a concept he labels "crazy" given its ancient origins and the challenges facing Social Security and retirement savings in America.

The 65-Year Retirement Age: An Outdated Relic

"No one should have to work longer than they want to," Fink wrote in his previous annual chairmans letter to investors in 2024. "But I do think it's a bit crazy that our anchor idea for the right retirement age  65 years old  originates from the time of the Ottoman Empire."

Don't Miss:

This blunt critique points to a simple truth: the retirement age, established in the early 20th century, no longer fits modern realities. Back then, life expectancy was much shorter  many workers didn't even live long enough to see their retirement benefits.

Fast forward to today and the script has flipped. Americans are living longer, which Fink calls "a wonderful thing," but this longevity is straining a retirement system that wasn't designed for decades-long retirements.

The Retirement Crisis and Social Security's Uncertain Future

A key piece of the puzzle is the looming Social Security funding shortfall. According to Fink, the program's Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is expected to run out of money within the next decade. Once that happens, Social Security will rely solely on payroll taxes, which only cover about 79% of promised benefits, according to the National Association of Plan Advisors.

Baby boomers contributed to Social Security for decades, helping build up a surplus. But now, as millions of them retire, those reserves are dwindling. Meanwhile, millennials and Gen Z are left staring at an increasingly shaky safety net.

Trending: Can you guess how many Americans successfully retire with $1,000,000 saved? The percentage may shock you.

Fink pulls no punches in his assessment of the baby boomer generation's role in this crisis: "They believe my generation  the baby boomers  have focused on their own financial well-being to the detriment of who comes next. And in the case of retirement, they're right."

Working Longer as a Solution

Fink isn't alone in suggesting that working longer could solve the retirement crisis. Republican lawmakers and even former presidential candidate Nikki Haley have floated similar ideas. Fink argues that working beyond 65 could help individuals save more, grow their Social Security benefits and ease the strain on the system.
A man returned a rental car early, thinking it would save him some money  instead, the opposite happened.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, Greg Bartons family traveled from North Carolina to Italy and rented a car for two weeks.

He decided to return the car a day early as he thought it would save him some money.

Instead, he was left paying around $1,000 to $1,500 more than expected.

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I thought it was a mistake, so I contacted the office there, he said.

He says it took a lot of back-and-forth and then eventually, he says, [AVIS] sent me a copy of the contract stating that if you return it early, you are subject to a different rate.

The terms and conditions say, If you return it earlier or later, a different or higher rental rate may apply.

Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke still reached out to the company, and it responded: AVIS has contacted the customer and explained that the rate for the rental defaulted due to the early return. We have resolved the issue and refunded the difference. We appreciate the opportunity to address this customers concerns.

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I feel great, Barton told Stoogenke. I appreciate your help with doing that. It was a long process, but we feel good about it.

Ensure you read the fine print, even if you think youre doing something better for the company.

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Before the bill can be officially withdrawn, all of the co-sponsors must agree and the matter must go to a House floor vote. (Photo by Dana Wormald/New Hampshire Bulletin)

Rep. Katy Peternel, a Wolfeboro Republican, announced Monday she was requesting to withdraw her proposed 15-week abortion ban.

After careful review, it has become clear that there is a flaw in the bill that prevents us from moving forward in a logical, reasonable, or obvious way, Peternel said in a statement. Without consensus among the pro-life organizations across New Hampshire, this bill does not have the broad support it needs to advance successfully out of committee.

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House Bill 476 wouldve made abortion illegal in New Hampshire after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The bill provided exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities. It did not include exceptions for rape or incest.

The withdrawal of HB 476 allows the legislature to refocus its efforts on other legislation, Peternel continued in her statement.

Peternel did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the bill or what flaw specifically led her to request the withdrawal.

House Clerk Paul Smith said hes heard from Peternels co-sponsors and all wish to proceed with withdrawal. Now, before the bill can be officially withdrawn, the matter must go to a House floor vote on whether to approve the withdrawal, according to Smith. However, without the support of its sponsors the bill appears extremely unlikely to advance.

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Abortion has been illegal after 24 weeks of pregnancy since 2021, and includes exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities. This proposal would have tightened that ban by nine weeks.

Even before the withdrawal request, the proposed abortion ban faced significant obstacles to becoming law. Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said she would veto any further restrictions on abortion. In her inaugural address given to lawmakers earlier this month, Ayotte said, If you send me legislation that further restricts access to abortion beyond our current law, I will veto it. Additionally, during the 2024 election season, House and Senate Republican leaders vowed they wouldnt pass any additional abortion restrictions.
Florida House members gathering before the opening of a special legislative session on Jan. 27, 2025. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix)

The Florida Legislature is meeting in special session this week  but only on the issue of illegal immigration. In doing so, legislative leaders are openly defying Gov. Ron DeSantis attempts to bend lawmakers to his will  and his ability to control the discussion.

For weeks, DeSantis has been pushing for the Legislature to convene ahead of its regular session date of March 4 to deal with issues he insists could not wait  specifically, a crackdown on illegal immigration and making it more difficult to place citizen-led constitutional amendments on the ballot. He also wanted them to provide hurricane relief and deal with condominium safety.

Speaker Daniel Perez via Florida House

House Speaker Daniel Perez addressed his members at 10:30 a.m. to say that he believes special sessions should be used sparingly.

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They should not be stunts designed to generate headlines. I dislike special sessions because they inhibit the very thing the legislative process should encourage: the push and pull of meaningful conversations that lead to the development of good and better ideas. Special sessions should be reserved for those issues that truly cannot be addressed in the normal course of the legislative process, he said.

The issues DeSantis raised in his proclamation for the special session simply do not meet that threshold, Perez added.

Instead, the Legislature will wait to deal with the citizen-initiative process, condos, and hurricane relief during the regular session, he said.

But he said that he and Senate President Ben Albritton were ready act on immigration, now that President Trump had been inaugurated.

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We did carefully consider Gov. DeSantis proposal, and he had some good ideas. But many of his proposals are bureaucratic, Perez said. We do not need to duplicate the functions of U.S. Immigration and Customs and create a mini-me version of ICE. In addition, his proposals would hijack local law enforcement operations and, at one point, he even proposed arresting local law enforcement officers.

Four Bs

Perez said that he would have Hillsborough County Republican Lawrence McClure move what is being called the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy Act (or TRUMP Act) which would focus on what he called the Four Bs.

Recruit and empower more BADGES,

Build more BEDS,

Lock up more BAD GUYS, and

Limit BENEFITS that draw illegal aliens into Florida.

Over on the Senate side, Albritton offered similar remarks.

Senate President Ben Albritton fields questions from reporters during a news conference in the Florida Capitol on Dec. 16, 2024. (Photo by: Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)

Im not going to sit idly by and allow anyone to ignore the constitutional authority the people of Florida have given the Legislature to write the laws of this state. The Florida Legislature matters, our opinions matter, our voices matter, Albritton said. The Florida Constitution says so, and more importantly, so do our constituents.

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In addition, the GOP leaders announced that their immigration bill will name Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson as Floridas chief immigration officer and establish the Office of State Immigration Enforcement within the Division of Law Enforcement under his Department.

Simpson is a Republican former Senate President who sits on the independently elected Florida Cabinet, which with the governor decides some state policies.

According to a statement sent out by the legislative leaders, Simpson will serve as the central point of coordination between the Trump-led federal government, state entities, local governmental entities, and law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration law.

When asked to comment about that, House Democratic Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said, Its my understanding that the agriculture commissioner and the governor have never been close. So, from that perspective it seems like . legislative leadership sticking with folks who have been in the Legislature and maybe people they prefer to work with on that.

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While governors generally give deference to the budget priorities of legislative leaders, DeSantis vetoed several of Simpsons high priority issues he included in state budgets during his two year reign as Senate president. DeSantis vetoed from two different state fiscal year budgets funding for low income women to receive long acting reversible contraception. DeSantis also slashed what would have been $600 million to Moffitt Cancer Center over a 30-year period.

Governor speaks up

DeSantis critiqued the Legislatures proposal on X.

Though the Florida legislatures leadership initially said the call for a special session on immigration enforcement was premature, they have now finally agreed to come in and do their job, he wrote.

I am glad the Legislatures bill includes many of my proposals, including the long-overdue need to eliminate tuition waivers for illegal immigrant students. But overall, their new bill is substantially weaker than the proposals I outlined and that are necessary to ensure that Florida leads on fulfilling the Trump Administrations mandate to enforce immigration law and deport illegal aliens.

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Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Caruso, who filed for consideration in the House DeSantis proposed immigration bills, questioned the move to give Simpson the power over immigration.

I dont even know if that is legal, Caruso, a Delray Beach Republican, said.

Committee hearings will convene on the specific immigration bills in both chambers later Monday, beginning at 1 p.m. in the House. Perez said the entire body would return Tuesday at 10 a.m. to vote on the bill.

Declaration of independence

In addition, nearly the entire House and Senate asserted their independence by voting to override DeSantis veto last year of an appropriation of $57 million for the Legislatures operating budget. That money was earmarked for items such as accounting and human resources, as well as funding for several state agencies and the historic Capitol building.

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Perez noted that the House was able to avoid firing employees or shutting down operations last year after the veto by using cash reserves. He went on to blast the governors office, saying the veto was at best a misunderstanding of the importance of the appropriation or at worst an attempt to threaten the independence of our separate branch of government. Whatever the rationale, this special session represents the first opportunity to correct this veto, which we will be bringing before you for reinstatement.

The House (and Senate) followed through on overriding that veto. It was opposed only by Spring Hill Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a close ally of the governor.

Anna Eskamani via Florida House

Orlando Democratic House Rep Anna Eskamani said the veto override shows that the Florida House and Senate is willing to stand up to Gov. Ron DeSantis. In my now six years of being in the Legislature, weve never once done this and its historic that were finally challenging the executive branch and saying, You know what, were going to operate as a separate branch of government like we should have been doing the whole time. I do hope its a shift in approaching executive branch and Gov. DeSantis very aggressive approach to governing, where hes heavy handed, dictates everything, and continues to ignore us as a separate branch of government.

Albritton and Perez told DeSantis two weeks ago that it was completely irresponsible to pass any legislative immigration changes before Donald Trump took office, but the presidents promise to begin a mass deportation program has taken root in just his first week in office.

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DeSantis has been appearing in press conferences and making television appearances putting the pressure on GOP lawmakers to act on immigration for weeks now  with no reply from the legislative leaders.

The last time the Florida Legislature gaveled out of a special session without acting was when Charlie Crist brought lawmakers back to town in 2010 to vote on a constitutional amendment that would let voters decide if they wanted a permanent ban on offshore oil drilling in Florida waters.

However, that was after Crist had left the Republican Party to run as an independent for U.S. Senate, making it easier for Republicans to publicly rebuke him. Its a completely different situation now, with the House and Senate Republicans leaders asserting their power in the face of a Republican governor in Ron DeSantis.



Governors bills

To prompt lawmakers, DeSantis had placed proposed bill language on the governors website.

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On Sunday, bills were finally introduced dealing with immigration and the petition-gathering process. Spring Hill Republican Blaise Ingoglia filed several bills in the Senate, with Palm Beach Republican Mike Caruso doing so in the House.

A bill that would repeal in-state tuition for undocumented students in Florida colleges and universities was filed in the Senate by Lee County Republican Jonathan Martin and in the House by Sumter County Republican John Paul Temple.

Jackie Llanos, Christine Sexton, and Jay Waagmeester contributed to this story. This has been updated to include DeSantis reaction.

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House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville (right) speaks with Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn (left) and Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Smiths Station on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on May 9, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Ledbetter said that his priority will be criminal justice considering the violence happening in the state's urban areas. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

Republican leaders plan to focus on criminal justice issues at the start of the 2025 legislative session, particularly those in the states cities.

Many cited bills that lawmakers hope to enact that pertain to gun safety, but also stiffer penalties for specific groups of people, from immigrants to individuals who commit violent crimes that resulted in someones death.

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From my standpoint, for the Speakers Office, you are going to see us address this crime issue pretty quick, Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, told the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce earlier this month. The governor has been hand in hand with us on this. We will see that come out pretty quick.

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Ledbetter and other lawmakers are still having discussions about the specific proposals to include in what they are naming as the public safety package for the session.

Lawmakers could also consider some criminal justice reform measures to balance what will likely be a heavy tough-on-crime approach.

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The push comes as crime rates have declined across several categories in Alabama over the past several years.

According to the Alabama Criminal Justice Snapshot handout obtained from the Alabama Commission on Re-Entry, incidents of property crimes decreased by almost half between 2013 and 2023, from more than 3,000 per 100,000 residents to almost 1,700 per 100,000 residents. The rate in 2023 was 11% lower than the national average.

The number of crimes involving larceny decreased by 45%, burglary by 71% and motor vehicle theft fell by 6%.

Violent crime decreased by only 6% between 2013 and 2023, and by 2023, it was 8% higher than the national average. Homicide, according to the data, increased by 43%.

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Ledbetter said he had discussions with Rep. Patrick Sellers, D-Birmingham, just as the 2024 legislative session was set to begin, and that he planned to meet with Hoss Mack, executive director of the Alabama Sheriffs Association, and representatives from other law enforcement agencies would be meeting to discuss the specific proposals.

In a separate interview prior to the legislative update at the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce, Mack highlighted some of the issues in the discussions between the law enforcement community and lawmakers.

Really, we are waiting on Speaker Ledbetter, Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Garlan Gudger, (R-Cullman), to come up with what their priorities are going to be, Mack said.

Several bills have already been filed to enhance criminal penalties.

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HB 3, sponsored by Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollingers Island, enhances penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit violent crimes.

If they get charged with a Class D felony, if it was determined that the person is an illegal immigrant, it would automatically increase it to a Class C felony, Mack said.

Another bill, HB 58, sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, would make it a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $6,000, if a person in possession of a firearm does not disclose that fact to a law enforcement officer during a stop. While not disclosing firearm possession to an officer is already illegal, the bill would add a criminal penalty to the violation.

At the same Montgomery Chamber of Commerce event, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road highlighted HB 26, prefiled by Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, which would make it a state crime to use a Glock switch, which can rapidly increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic firearm.

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Ensler filed almost the same proposal during the 2024 session, which the House passed, but the session ended before final passage.

The bill gained renewed urgency in September during a mass shooting incident in Birmingham that killed at least four people and injured 17. Law enforcement believe weapons using Glock switches were involved.

It is already illegal under federal law, but make that applicable to the state, Barfoot said.

Mack said that the law is needed because currently a state officer submits the case to the U.S. Attorney and goes through a grand jury, followed by a trial.

This would enable the local officers to make an arrest for that same crime, which means that you could have an additional bond, additional conditions on that individual, he said. The reason that this has come about is because of the number of shootings across the state that have been done with Glock switches.

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Mack also said that he thinks the bill is going to move bipartisan. Ensler said in a recent interview that he was optimistic the bill would pass.

I know that nothing is a done deal until we actually vote, he said. I am not taking anything for granted. I am working very hard to garner as much support for it.

Barfoot also cited the possibilities of amending Aniahs Law, a constitutional amendment approved by state voters in 2022 that allows judges to deny bail for people charged with violent crime. It also gives judges discretion for deciding bail and gives prosecutors the opportunity to request a pretrial hearing to have bail denied.

Barfoot said legislators had seen some issues come up with that.

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We might need to amend it to include some crimes that were not initially there, he said.

Criminal justice reform

Advocates for criminal justice reform will also bring their own legislative priorities to the attention of lawmakers.

Alabama Arise, a nonprofit in Alabama that focuses on social justice issues, wants to make retroactive a 2017 ban on judicial override, the practice of allowing judges to sentence people to death despite a jury recommending the person be given a life sentence.

The 2017 ban did not apply to people who had been sentenced to death in spite of a life imprisonment recommendation. More than 30 people are on death row because a judge overruled a jury verdict of life in prison, according to England.

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Alabama Appleseed will support what the organization calls a second chance bill that will allow people to be resentenced if they are in prison because of a crime they committed that did not cause physical harm.

During previous sessions, England sponsored bills that championed these proposals, but they failed to gain any support from his Republican colleagues. In 2024, the House Judiciary Committee voted against a bill that would have made judicial override retroactive. Republicans on the House floor also refused to support the second chance bill in 2024.

A message seeking comment was left with England. A bill on the subject had not been filed as of Friday morning.

Advocates also hope to make progress with measures to reform the parole board. In 2017, according to the annual report published by the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, the parole rate was 54%. In 2023, it had fallen to 7%.

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While parole grants appeared to grow in 2024, the low parole rate has contributed to overcrowding in the states prison facilities and, according to criminal justice experts, is a contributing factor to the high level of violence and deaths that have taken place in the past couple of years.

The frustrations were visible during public hearings when loved ones of victims who have either died or been injured while in the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections. However, during a Prison Oversight Committee meeting in October, lawmakers publicly expressed their frustration with Leigh Gwathney, the current chair of the parole board, peppering her with questions concerning the rate at which members of the board granted parole.

They also had concerns with what they believed are inconsistencies between the parole denials and the level of risk that individuals posed to the community.

For people who have been following along with the Joint Prison Oversight Committee meetings for the last six for seven months, it is clear, that there is really intense and really understandable frustration among the members of the public and lawmakers, incredibly low parole rates that has been coming out of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, said Katie Glenn, senior policy associate for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is currently in litigation against the state because of the lack of medical treatment and mental treatment it is providing people in prison.

England has refiled legislation aimed at reforming the parole board and allowing applicants a subsequent opportunity to be awarded parole should they be denied by the parole board.

HB 40 would create the Criminal Justice Policy Development Council that would update the classification system of individuals who are incarcerated and create a validated risk assessment that would be used by the Alabama Department of Corrections and the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. It would require the parole board to follow its guidelines to evaluate a persons risk to public safety based on the validated risk assessment along with other measures.

If the members decisions deviate from the guidelines, they must provide a written explanation about how they made their decisions when denying someone parole.

The bill states that applicants denied parole by the parole board may appeal the decision to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.

Lawmakers from both parties have hinted at parole reform, but the changes that Republicans have suggested would be less expansive than what England is proposing.

The percentage to me doesnt matter, Barfoot said about the reduced parole rate. What matters is that those folks who are on the parole board, they look at each individual person through the eyes that they know and the background that they have, to determine whether an individual should be paroled or not.

Barfoot filed legislation in 2024 to give parole applicants the opportunity at a parole hearing to make the case before the parole board why they should be given parole.

After a delay overnight, the House Judiciary passed Barfoots bill late in the session last year, but could not get through the Senate. Barfoot plans to refile the legislation.

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The News

Tim Scott just got to the helm of the Senate Republican campaign arm, and hes already working on a feat that could make his job a lot easier.

The newly elected chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee met last week with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, whos emerging as the top potential GOP recruit for the midterm elections as the party seeks a challenger to Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga. Kemp is listening to Scott: The two met ahead of the inauguration and have been texting.

We are looking for a way to make our Number One recruit a senator, Scott told Semafor of Kemp. He would be the best candidate in Georgia weve had for a very long time.

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Kemp is focused on his states legislative session and isnt in a rush to decide on a Senate run, according to a person familiar with his thinking. Until he makes a decision, though, hes likely to freeze the entire field in Georgia.

If Kemp does say yes  after patching up his relationship with Trump since their falling-out over the 2020 election  it would be an early boost for Scott as he settles into the Senate GOPs top campaign role.

It was a job many of his colleagues were reluctant to entertain, given that Republicans will have to defend 22 seats next year. In addition to the critical task of recruiting challengers to Democrats like Ossoff and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Scott must navigate myriad primary threats to his incumbents, while working on deeper Republican structural issues and playing an integral role in selling Trumps agenda to the public.

It is a very hard cycle, Scott told Semafor. One office I said I never wanted in the Senate was to be the NRSC chairman. Theres no way that Ill ever do that. And I saw everybody walking away from it, and I had peace about stepping forward.

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In fact, Scott is a plum recruit himself for the challenging seat he now occupies. Hes the longest-serving Black senator in US history, a former presidential candidate and the new chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which is a prime fundraising perch.

The South Carolinian will need every penny of what he raises: Scott estimated the top five Senate races in 2026 could cost $2 billion total.

Hes also resolutely on-message: Seasoned congressional reporters know that he long ago stopped holding forth in the halls with spontaneous interviews. But when he does talk, hes usually got something to say.

Know More

Scotts political history features some contrasting influences. He won a House seat in the 2010 tea party wave, then got appointed to succeed conservative former Sen. Jim DeMint by former Gov. Nikki Haley. Running in 2024 as a forward-looking optimist, Scott was an early favorite of Republicans who had hoped to turn the page on Trump.

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After his White House bid fizzled, Scott became a Trump surrogate and cemented his close ties to the president. Its a good thing he did; the NRSC chair will have to work with Trump to nominate candidates and back incumbents who can win primaries and general elections.

Two years ago, former NRSC Chair Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., adopted a strategy of more forceful intervention in party primaries  usually with Trumps support.

Daines said Scott is the right leader at the right time and deferred to him on future tactics. Other Republicans are hoping he picks up where Daines left off when it comes to aggressive involvement.

Sen. Daines demonstrated how important candidate recruitment is and worked closely with President Trump  which I still think is going to be important to navigate contested primaries, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a former NRSC chair who is up for reelection in 2026 and could face a primary.

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In two states more purple than Cornyns, incumbent GOP senators are already facing a political balancing act ahead of their re-election runs. Maine Sen. Susan Collins voted against Pete Hegseths nomination to lead the Pentagon, while North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis supported Hegseth after keeping party leaders on their toes.

Collins and Tillis will face more tough votes soon, on the confirmations of Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Trumps Cabinet. So will Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who is already facing a MAGA-friendly primary challenge from state treasurer John Fleming.

Scott isnt sweating it.

There are a lot of people that announce who dont do things, Scott said, making clear that he trusts Republican incumbents to make really good decisions.

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He specifically praised Collins as a unicorn in deep blue New England, saying the NRSC will invest heavily on her behalf.

The View From Democrats

Across the aisle, Scotts rivals are happy to count his challenges. David Bergstein, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Scott faces a political minefield.

Tons of seats to defend, tough votes their incumbents will have to explain  and of course, Trump. And a traditional backlash against the party in power looming over every move they make, he said.

Democrats run reliably ahead of Republicans in the candidate fundraising department; thats critical money and goes much farther in the ad market than super PAC dollars.

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Not to mention that several Democratic senators got re-elected in states Trump also won, leaving GOP candidates behind. Scott knows Republicans need to close that gap.

Burgesss view

This is undeniably a tough cycle to lead the NRSC, but Scott has a few advantages.

The biggest one is his 53-seat majority to defend. Democrats need to net four seats to claw back the Senate, which means defending Ossoff, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and the rest of their incumbents  plus beating Collins, Tillis two more Republicans in red states like Iowa, Texas, Alaska, Florida or Ohio.

And while its unlikely that every GOP incumbent can avoid a serious primary challenge, Scott has a laid-back demeanor that will be an asset in the coming months. Trump may get tempted or lobbied to stay neutral or support challengers, but Scott gets along with him.

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He also knows the new Republican math.

If President Trump is against you, its really difficult in our primaries. If hes for you, its much easier, Scott said, allowing that there are some nuances in a few states.

Notable
Juneau's flooded Mendenhall Valley is seen on Aug. 7, 2024. The waters pouring from an outburst flood at Mendenhall Glacier reached record levels, surpassing the record set by a similar glacial outburst flood the previous year. Hundreds of homes were damaged, and some were destroyed. (Photo provided by the City and Borough of Juneau)

After two consecutive years when meltwaters burst out of a basin on Juneaus Mendenhall Glacier and devastated neighborhoods in that part of the capital city, a team of scientists has received a grant of nearly $1 million to assess the hazards that could produce repeat occurrences.

The National Science Foundation awarded $990,437 for a five-year project to be conducted by scientists from the University of Alaska Southeast, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Carnegie Mellon University.

Record flood levels, the result of outbursts at Mendenhall Glacier, are shown for August 2023 and 2024. (Graph provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with data from the U.S. Geological Survey)

Researchers will examine the way the glacier, a prominent feature in Juneaus landscape, has changed over the years and how those changes affect flood dynamics, a UAS statement said. The ultimate product is to be a set of tools to improve glacial flood forecasts in Juneau and elsewhere, the university statement said.

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We have been investigating the Mendenhall Glacier outburst floods for over 10 years, but with minimal support. This grant will greatly enhance our ability to improve flood forecasts, assess the outburst flood hazard over the coming years and decades, and inform engineering solutions. We look forward to continuing our work with local, state, and federal partners, and to developing new partnerships with tribal organizations, Jason Amundson, a UAS geophysics professor and the projects principal investigator, said in the statement.

The past two years floods were record-breaking events. The Mendenhall River crested at 14.97 feet in 2023, a record that was broken the following year when the river crested at 15.99 feet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

They could not have happened but for climate change, which has accelerated the melt of Mendenhall Glacier, said scientists at UAF and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Kenai Lake, seen from the Primrose campground north of Seward, is overflowing with water on Aug. 23, 2019, from a glacial outburst flood at Snow Glacier. The next day, floodwaters covered the campground, which was to have been used as the starting line for the annual Lost Lake Run. The race was canceled because of both heavy smoke from the Swan River wildfire and the glacial outburst flood. The Kenai Peninsula is a region of Alaska susceptible to such flooding. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

The floods damaged hundreds of homes, completely destroying some. Government officials issued disaster declarations both in 2023 and in 2024.

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Such glacial outburst floods are relatively recent events at Juneaus Mendenhall Glacier. The first recorded outburst flood there was in 2011, according to officials.

The volume of water released from the basin has increased since 2011, and especially in the last two years, said Eran Hood, a UAS environmental science professor who is part of the research team. However, there is a lot of variability so there is not a trend in the sense of a year over year increase in flood volume, he said by email.

Juneau is not the only Alaska site susceptible to glacial outburst floods. Several other sites have experienced such floods, including the Snow River outside of Seward on the Kenai Peninsula.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Engaged citizens packed McDaniel High School in Portland Sunday afternoon for a town hall with Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, Rep. Maxine Dexter and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson.

Immigration was a big topic among the questions for the DC lawmakers.

Oregon US Sen. Jeff Merkley, Rep. Maxine Dexter at a town hall at McDaniel High School in Portland, January 26, 2025 (KOIN)

Last week, a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked President Trumps new executive order that seeks to eliminate birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. In a 6-2 decision in 1898, the Supreme Court made explicit that the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment automatically confers citizenship to all U.S.-born people regardless of their parents status.

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We have a sanctuary state. We have a sanctuary city. We have a sanctuary county, Dexter said, adding she will make sure local officials stand with immigrants.

There are not sufficient federal resources to implement the deportations such as our president is threatening, she said.

We just all need to recognize that all of us are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, Merkley said, and be standing with our fellow community members who, at this point, are extremely stressed by the idea that their families may be ripped apart by President Trump.

Opinion: President Trump, give Portland a break

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Both Merkley and Dexter said they stand in support of Wilsons statement to protect the sanctuary status of the city and the state for undocumented residents.

Organize, strategize

In another part of the city, even more people packed into the Augustana Lutheran Church opposed to the crack down on immigration.

Congregants packed the pews at Augustana Lutheran Church in a rally to support immigrants in the wake of President Trumps new policies, January 26, 2025 (KOIN)

Religious leaders, like Augustana pastor Rev. W.J. Mark Knutson, said fear remains among immigrants.

Rev. W.J. Mark Knutson, the pastor of Augustana Lutheran Church in Portland. January 26, 2025 (KOIN)

Your neighbors who are living here tonight, afraid of that knock at midnight, afraid to drop their child off at school tomorrow because they could be nabbed by ICE, because of an executive order. 

He described the Trump immigration policies as vengeful and mean.

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Those who came to the church, the reverend said, want to take action. So coalescing, bringing people together to start that push back.

Knutson said this is the first step. You know, in any movement you need to organize, you need to strategize.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)  The Terre Haute Fire Department (THFD) responded to a residential structure fire, Saturday, at 1002 S. 9th Street, according to THFD Public Information Officer, Captain Nick Arnold.

Arnold said as deputies arrived at the 1000 block of S. 9th Street, smoke could be seen coming from the attic vents of the house. Four adults, five cats, and a dog were inside the residence, at the time of the fire. However, no injuries were reported.

The fire was quickly extinguished and an investigation concluded that the cause of the fire was ruled electrical.

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House fire causes building to completely collapse in Owen County

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
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Blackstone (BX) announced that Blackstone Energy Transition Partners have agreed to acquire Potomac Energy Center, a 774-megawatt natural gas power plant in Loudoun County, Virginia. The transaction represents Blackstones most recent investment in the power infrastructure supporting data centers and AI revolution. The Northern Virginia region currently represents approximately 25% of U.S. data center capacity, and the Potomac plant is located in close proximity to over 130 data centers  with further growth expected. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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Residents of a ritzy community on Long Islands North Shore are protesting plans to build a mega NYC-style apartment complex in their village  saying the development would threaten the legacy, character and exclusivity of the area.

A Monday morning rally organized by a group called Save Oyster Bay Cove and targeting the 11-acre plot on Sandy Hill Road will have speakers talk on the potential impacts of building a proposed 28-unit housing complex for post-doctoral students working at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory about 10 minutes away.

The group is worried about such things as traffic, safety and a future strain on local infrastructure in the tiny, tony enclave of about 2,200  who include celebrities and billionaires, according to Evelyn Ain, the groups president.

Locals are protesting plans to turn a former girls school in wealthy Oyster Bay Cove into a dorm for post-doctoral students and their families. Google Earth

Theyre turning it into a residential community, meaning the individuals are going to live there now, theyre going to be adults and residents of the Oyster Bay Cove, she told The Post on Sunday. Oyster Bay Cove is a single-residence area. There is no multi-family housing.

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We have a lot of celebrities living here, a lot of people with a lot of money, billionaires, she continued. Thats why they live here. Theres no traffic, theres no pollution. And by having them turn this into [an] apartment building, were going to have traffic, well have big shuttles go back and forth.

Ain, who lives on Sandy Hill Road, said she is worried that the local narrow, windy roads cant accommodate more people, nor could the local schools if the potential new residents were to bring their families.

These are people that are going to come here not for two or three months  theyre going to come here for a couple of years to do research, she said. There could definitely be multiple children per unit.

The demonstrators will also protest against the local mayor, Charles Goulding, and the village board for paving the way for zoning laws to be amended to let the multimillion private research institution  move forward with its apartment proposal in a traditionally single-family residential area, the group said in a press release.

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In a Sunday interview with The Post, Goulding defended the labs plans for the site, which is already home to several big buildings that harken back to its days as a residential school for girls with special social and emotional needs.

Oyster Bay Cove is a ritzy North Shore town of about 2,000 people, including celebrities and billionaires, a protest organizer said. Newsday via Getty Images

Cold Spring bought the property and will renovate the complex to house nearly 30 students from around the globe, he said.

But it will use the existing buildings and wont increase their size or height, he said.

We discussed it thoroughly, and we thought it was a good use of the property, he said. For 45 years, it had 28 girls. Now its going to have 28 PhDs.

Its a beautiful, architecturally significant set of buildings, Goulding continued. We were looking at it like, Wow, it gets utilized the same way it was used for 45 years, it preserves the historic setting  what a great result. 

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The local zoning board still must approve the plan, which it will likely take up next month, the mayor said.

Cold Spring is in Laurel Hollow, about 10 minutes southeast of Oyster Bay Cove, and has research programs in cancer, neuroscience, genomics and plant biology, among other things, the press release said.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trumps nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, is a longtime conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine activist. He thinks Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates are leaders of a vaccine cartel that intentionally prolonged or even started the coronavirus pandemic in order to promote mischievous inoculations. Kennedy also blames immunizations for autism and obesity (among other chronic diseases) in children. In the meantime, he isnt really sure whether HIV causes AIDS, or whether vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles are actually dangerous.

As a doctor, I have spent years followingand fightinganti-vaccine falsehoods. Along the way, Ive learned an important lesson: Despite RFK Jr.s fringe beliefs, he often seems to make sense. Kennedys defenders celebrate his fondness for, and facility with, evidence. His real talent, though, is for the clever manipulation of facts. Kennedy is not just a conspiracy theorist; hes a very good conspiracy theorist. When his confirmation hearing starts on Wednesday, we can expect that he will do what hes always done, which is to apply a veneer of erudition to nonsense. He may even come off as almost  reasonable.

To witness how this works, read the letter he sent to the prime minister of Samoa on behalf of the anti-vaccine nonprofit Childrens Health Defense in November 2019, during that countrys deadly measles outbreak. Kennedy offers his condolences for the tragic deaths of precious Samoan children, and then suggests the need to study the outbreak carefully, so as to thoroughly understand its etiology. What might have caused thousands of Samoans to get sick? The letter poses two possibilities: It is critical that the Samoan Health Ministry determine, scientifically, if the outbreak was caused by inadequate vaccine coverage or alternatively, by a defective vaccine.

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At first glance, and for nonexperts, this letter may appear well reasoned and well sourced. It weaves in historical elements and biomedical data, and includes a list of peer-reviewed references at the end. The letters main requestthat Samoan officials do nothing more than perform genetic testing on the circulating virussounds prudent. Prior research has indicated that vaccinated individuals may shed the virus and infect others, the letter says. Wouldnt it be good to know if that produced the outbreak?

[Read: Were about to find out how much Americans like vaccines]

In reality, of course, the epidemic was caused not by the vaccines but by the lack of them. (A vaccine-administration accident the year before had produced a scare that led vaccination rates to decline dramatically.) Although the letters implication that vaccines were to blame seemed wrong on its face, only when I dived into the cited scientific articles could I see the problems with its details. Kennedy incorrectly claims that genetic sequencing of a large measles outbreak in California from about four years prior found that at least one-third of the cases were due to the vaccine. Alarmed CDC officials documented this emerging phenomenon, he wrote. The referenced articles show this to be a fundamental misrepresentation. Although they do describe how the vaccine may, in rare cases, produce a dangerous case of measles, they specifically note that there is no risk of its being transmitted to another person. The genetic testing that Kennedy referenced is used, in part, to distinguish among people who have experienced mild vaccine reactions such as rash and fever from those who have true measles infections. This is important during active epidemics when public-health officials are widely immunizing people, while at the same time trying to isolate infectious individuals. (Kennedys press team did not respond to emailed questions about his letter to Samoa, or about other issues with his credibility that are raised in this article.)

A complete refutation of the Samoa letter would run many pages. That may be the point. With his ample, erroneous allusions to scholarship and appeals to authority, Kennedy has perfected the art of the Gish Gallop: a debate strategy in which the speaker simply overwhelms the listener with information, not all of it true. Kennedys skill at flooding his audiences with specious claims that sound logical or highbrow was on full display during his 2023 interview with the podcaster Joe Rogan. Over the course of three hours, Kennedy regaled the host with stories about vaccine safety, Albert Camus, Wi-Fi radiation, and the sexual health of frogs, among other subjects. He offered up a bounty of scientific arguments: The words study and studies came up 70 times during the conversation. And, as he has done elsewhere, he encouraged the audience to fact-check everything he said. Nobody should trust my word on this, he declared. You know, what I say is irrelevant. What is relevant is the science.

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[Read: The new Rasputins]

Most of Rogans listenerslike most U.S. senatorsarent likely to have the scientific expertise to assess each of his claims, and certainly not in real time. I caught some errors in the Rogan interview only by virtue of my medical training. For example, Kennedy criticized the inclusion of the hepatitis B shot in the childhood vaccine schedule. The virus is primarily a problem for intravenous-drug users, prostitutes, and homosexuals, he suggested. Why would you give it to a one-day-old baby, you know, or a three-hour-old baby, and then four more times when that baby is not going to be even subject to it for 16 years? he asked Rogan. Kennedys story sounds informed: He is facile with epidemiology and vaccine regulations; he can describe historical machinations that supposedly took place between Merck and the CDC. But the truth is that most chronic hepatitis B infections are contracted during early childhood, or through mother-to-child transmission. Thats why the World Health Organization recommends immunizing babies, and its why nearly every country has chosen to do so.

Kennedy does, at times, say true things about vaccines. He was not wrong, for example, when he told the podcaster Lex Fridman that early batches of the polio vaccine were contaminated with a virus called SV40. But he magnifies and distorts such flaws to the point of absurdity. SV40-containing vaccines did not cause an explosion of cancers, as he has argued. Kennedy is also right to say the MMR vaccine doesnt always provide lifelong immunity to the mumps virus. However, his more extreme assertionsthat the shot is causing mumps outbreaks in the military or that the disease is harmless in childrenare wrong. (Before vaccination, service members routinely suffered from infections, and kids were at a heightened risk of developing brain inflammation and hearing loss.) Kennedy relies on scraps of truth to construct an alternative reality in which vaccines dont work, their harms outweigh their benefits, and the diseases themselves arent so bad.

At his confirmation hearing, senators will ask him to defend that dangerous, alternative reality. He is likely to do so with impressive-sounding falsehoods, delivered with aplomb. Heed his own advice. No one should trust his word on this.

Article originally published at The Atlantic
The nations leading anti-abortion groups are holding their fire in the battle over Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s nomination to lead the governments health agencies, despite harboring serious concerns about his past support for abortion rights.

Their reluctance to oppose Kennedy stems in part from the deference the anti-abortion movement feels it owes Trump after he nominated the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and took a slew of anti-abortion actions last week. But movement leaders acknowledge they remain worried that the Kennedy pick, particularly after Trump sought distance from the movement during his 2024 campaign, could also forebode a presidency less supportive of their goals than Trumps first.

With Kennedy set to face senators at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday  and no clear indication yet of whether he has the 50 votes hell need to become health secretary  only one conservative group has publicly opposed him because of his abortion stances. Its leaders are frustrated their fellow abortion opponents arent joining them.

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Our role really is to ask conservatives to take the life issue seriously and to not sweep it under the rug for political expediency, said Tim Chapman, who leads Advancing American Freedom. If [anti-abortion groups] are not able to do that, that shows a sign of a sickness within the conservative movement itself.

Co-founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, Advancing American Freedom is urging senators to vote against Kennedys confirmation, arguing his history of supporting abortion rights is disqualifying.

No other anti-abortion group has done the same, though none has endorsed Kennedy, either. Many leaders in the movement told POLITICO they are waiting to see what he says in his hearing before the Senate Finance Committee to decide their stance.

We just need some reassurance, Marjorie Dannenfelser, the leader of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told POLITICO on Friday at the March for Life in Washington. His answers to senators have basically been, My policies will be the Trump administrations policies.

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Lila Rose, the leader of the anti-abortion group Live Action, put it more bluntly.

If RFK doesnt firmly pledge to take basic pro-life actions, it will be disqualifying, she said. And if he's going to, in any way, get in the way of the pro-life agenda and protecting life, then it's completely disqualifying.

Yet some anti-abortion leaders like what theyve heard so far from Kennedy, and said theyre increasingly optimistic he will be an ally if confirmed. Students for Life of America, for instance, hopes their claims that abortion pills are contaminating the environment will resonate with him.

Is he a 100 percent, dyed-in-the-wool pro-life activist? No, we all know that, Kristan Hawkins, the groups president, said in an interview. But I feel confident enough in the position that I'm arguing about drinking water pollution  that's going to perk up his ears.

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If confirmed, Kennedy would play a key role in shaping the Trump administrations abortion policies. The basic pro-life actions Rose and other anti-abortion leaders are demanding include rules that limit the availability of abortion pills or ban them, as well as the elimination of several Biden executive orders that expanded access to the procedure and protected the privacy of abortion patients.

The nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services said he supported removing nearly all government restrictions on abortion less than a year ago when he was running for president, though he later walked it back. Kennedy has since told Senate Republicans that he would be there to serve Trumps policy agenda, not his own  an argument that seemed to satisfy even Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), previously a Southern Baptist minister who describes himself as the Senates most pro-life member.

Kennedys nomination has become a test of Trumps influence on people inside and outside of government who might have been expected to oppose him. Major health care industry groups have declined to publicly call on senators to reject Kennedy despite his vociferous criticism of them.

The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday said it was sharing with senators stories about the importance of vaccination, tying the outreach to Kennedys confirmation hearings, but stopped short of opposing him.

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Conservative senators have found reasons to overlook his more progressive ideas, to the consternation of anti-abortion activists like Chapman.

If you're a pro-life senator, and you've run on that issue year after year, I just think you have an obligation to go the extra mile on this one, he said.

The anti-abortion movements quandary with Kennedy mirrors its uneasy alliance with Trump, who called himself very pro-choice before running for president, then nominated three of the judges who overturned Roe v. Wade  only to reject many anti-abortion advocates top priorities during his 2024 campaign. Trump recently vowed, for example, that his FDA wouldnt block access to abortion pills.

Since taking office for the second time, however, Trump has won back the trust of many anti-abortion leaders by reimposing restrictions on international health programs, threatening to withdraw from the World Health Organization  which has asserted that abortion is an essential health care service  and pardoning nearly two dozen people convicted of forcibly entering and temporarily shutting down abortion clinics.

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Its incredibly tough right now for a lot of pro-life groups or even conservative groups to even think of going against what the administration wants, Chapman said. The Kennedy nomination is in many ways a proxy for that [Trump] question: What is our commitment as Republicans to the pro-life movement today?

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated the name of Advancing American Freedom.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  New South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden addressed a joint session of the state Legislature Tuesday afternoon.

Gov. Rhoden announces staff changes

A news release from the governors office said Rhoden will announce his plans to keep the state strong, safe and free. You can see the full speech in the video above.

You can read Rhodens full speech below.

Address to Joint Legislative Session

Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Supreme Court Justices, Constitutional officers, members of the House and Senate, and my fellow South Dakotans:

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It is truly an honor to stand before you today as your governor.

Before I begin today, Id like to say, thank you, on behalf of our state, to Secretary Kristi Noem. Kristi has served our state for eighteen years  in the State House, in Congress, and as our governor. She worked hard and did great things for our state. And it was my great honor to serve with her. She is helping President Trump make America safe again. We are proud of her and wish her well in that important job. She is still working for us  keeping our nation safe. Please join me in a round of applause to thank Governor Noem.

Today is a new day, and Im starting out in a new job. It might surprise you to know this: even though I served as lieutenant governor for six years, not everyone knows about the lieutenant governor. Id like to take some time to share some things you might not know about me.

Most importantly Id like you to meet my family, many of whom are here today. My son Cody is here with his wife Liz and their two kids, Tally and Josie. My son Tristen is here with his wife Kalen and their daughter Birkin. My sons Jesse and Reggie are here. So is my twin sister Lorie, my brother Dan, and his wife Kathy. And we have many other extended family members here.

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My wife Sandy is here today, as well. She and I have been married for almost 44 years. All of us are able to serve because of the support of our loved ones. I wouldnt be standing here today without her constant support and encouragement. Sandy is going to be a great first lady for our state. Please help me welcome Sandy!

My roots are in South Dakota. I was born here, and I will die here.

Im a fourth-generation South Dakotan. My fathers grandfather, Allen Rhoden, came to western South Dakota in 1907. He came to an area in Meade County called Chalkbutte. Union Center, where I live, wasnt founded until 15 or 20 years after that. It was a four- or five-day trip to Sturgis for a load of lumber, so they built a three-room sod house and a sod barn. His son, John, who would be my grandfather, homesteaded two miles southeast of Union Center. My older brother, also named John, is now on that original homestead. My mother was a Murphy. Im a fifth-generation South Dakotan on her side. Her family came west on horses and wagons. They homesteaded in the Two Rivers area, about 20 miles west of Union Center. Some of the original foundations of my familys homesteads still stand today.

My dad was named Allen after his grandfather. He and my mom, Mildred, raised five kids. My twin sister, Lorie, and I are the fourth and fifth. Mom and Dad taught us the importance of faith in Jesus Christ. And church is still central in my life. They werent rich by any stretch. But they made sacrifices to send three of us kids to Sunshine Bible Academy near Miller. They wanted our schooling to be centered around our faith and our values.

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My parents also taught us the value of work. Hard work is part of life on the ranch. Even today, Im still happiest when Im working with my hands. Its how I relax. When I get home, I head out to the shop and start welding. I make branding irons, custom tools for ranching, and other things. I like to think about a plan, get it done, and see the fruits of my labor. Theres value in working to create something from start to finish.

Work ethic is central to what it means to be a South Dakotan. Work is a gift, not a punishment. We should all treat it that way. I will be asking my Cabinet to review all of our social welfare programs. When we offer services and assistance, we should make sure that we encourage people to work  to earn their own way  if they can. With the passage of Amendment F last November, my Department of Social Services will work with the Trump Administration to get the ball rolling on work requirements for recipients of Medicaid Expansion. Everyone needs a hand-up now and then. But we cant make these programs a way of life. And SD Career Link will be available to these folks to help them find the career of their dreams.

We make and keep South Dakota Strong when we work together. Growing up in rural South Dakota, you also learn about the importance of community. We are rugged and fiercely independent  but we look out for our neighbors. Service is a big part of our lives.

Service in the military has always been a big part of my family. According to my great grandmothers biography, my great-great-great grandfather came to America as aide-de-camp to General Lafayette. He fought in the Revolutionary War. He came with four brothers who all died in the Revolution. My grandfather, John, served in World War I. He fought in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the largest and deadliest campaign in the history of the United States Army. My dad served in World War II and fought at the Battle of the Bulge. Two of my brothers served in the Army, one of them in Vietnam. That service mentality continues to my kids  My son Cody was a Black Hawk pilot. Im proud of him for continuing the family legacy and serving our nation.

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So when I came of age, I also felt called to serve. I signed up for the South Dakota National Guard and served for six years. As a former Guardsman, it is a great honor to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the South Dakota National Guard.

Ive also been active in my community around Union Center  Im sure thats true for all of you in your own communities. Ive been a leader in our church. I served on the board at our local Cenex. For several years, I coached womens softball and boys basketball. And I still sing bass in a mens quartet.

I served five years on the Meade County school board. In fact, after I got in the Legislature, I said many times that it was the only excuse I could come up with to get off the school board!

Weve got quite a few first-time legislators this year, and I know how you feel. I still remember my first year in the State House in 2001. It was Bill Janklows last two years as governor, and I got to learn from House leaders like Matt Michels and Bill Peterson. My seat was over there where Rep. Keri Weems is sitting today. In fact, I served in the House with her a couple of years later.

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When I became majority leader in 2005, I was very intimidated by the long-time appropriations chair, Jim Putnam. He had so much knowledge and experience. But I learned from him, and we became close friends.

I focused on some tough issues as a legislator: property taxes, tax cuts, property rights, protecting the outdoors, and the Second Amendment  a lot of the same issues well be talking about this year. My focus has always been to keep South Dakota strong safe and free.

Thats my goal as your governor. And I want to work with you towards those goals. I want to keep South Dakota strong  strong families, strong businesses, and strong institutions. We will continue to care for families as they start and grow. That means taking care of both mothers and their children. And it means helping to rebuild families that are struggling. Sandy and I have been proud to work with Stronger Families Together to recruit more foster families across the state. Strong businesses pay strong wages and will help their employees put food on the table. Strong institutions protect our values and our way of life.

I want to keep South Dakota safe  with low crime and respect for law enforcement. My philosophy is that the best way to fight crime is to hire more officers, not to increase penalties. Increasing penalties just means we have to build even more prisons. I will support the Trump Administrations efforts to secure our border. I want our families to feel safe in their homes. I want our kids to be safe playing outside. Thats the South Dakota I grew up in  lets keep it that way.

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And I want to keep South Dakota free. I am very proud that we are the freest state in a nation built on the principle of freedom. In South Dakota, we trust our people to make their own decisions and lead their lives as they see fit. We proved that this approach works. Freedom led to our strong economy. Freedom led to record visitors and new residents. And freedom will continue to be our calling card as long as I am governor.

Im working with my Cabinet, my staff, and some legislators on policies to make South Dakota strong, safe, and free. I will be announcing some of those items in the coming days.

I am a common-sense conservative. In fact, I consistently ranked as one of South Dakotas most conservative legislators. I believe that our rights come from God, not from government. Our Creator endowed us with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness  and life comes first. I am pro-life. Im pro-2nd Amendment. I believe that government is best when it is limited. And I trust our people to exercise their personal freedoms.

Ive been involved in plenty of tough debates in this chamber and in the Senate chamber. Serving here, you learn to deal with all kinds of people. In our state legislature, we can have tough debates, even strong disagreements, and still walk out of the building each day as friends. Im very proud of that fact.

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One of the pillars of my administration will be civility. I want South Dakota to show how politics can and should be conducted. My first year here was 24 years ago. When you look back on your time here, ten or twenty years from now, I bet you wont remember bill numbers or votes. But you will remember the people you served with. You will remember the difference that you made in peoples lives. So lets pledge to be civil and work with each other.

We have plenty of tough issues to work on this year.

There is a lot of concern about property taxes. Thats an issue Ive worked on ever since I came to Pierre. I will convene leadership in the House, the Senate, and other interested parties to sit down with me and find solutions.

Im aware that eminent domain is a hot issue this session. Im no stranger to this discussion. Ive fought for private property rights in this Capitol for over 20 years. In 2006, I was the prime sponsor of legislation that reformed eminent domain in South Dakota (HB 1080). That legislation passed the Senate unanimously and passed the House with only 1 dissenting vote. When we work together and consider all perspectives, we can do great work for the people of South Dakota. Extremist environmental policies from Washington are not good for South Dakota  or for our nation. South Dakota must continue to be a state that respects landowners and ag producers. We are the stewards of the land who work day in and day out to put food on the table for us and the world.

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I dont just care about farmers and ranchers. I am a rancher. I dont just care about landowners. I am a landowner. And when my time in this office is done, Ill be going back to that ranch.

Until youve worked the land under the scorching heat, carried calves inside through bitter snowstorms in the middle of the night, helped neighbors when the need arises, or have been humbled in times when you yourself needed help, you may not fully understand what its like to be a steward of the land.

The good Lord has blessed my wife Sandy and me with a ranch  a home that I wouldnt trade for anything. Hes blessed us with good health. Most importantly, Hes blessed us with a wonderful family.

Our land in South Dakota is a land of opportunity.

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When we protect opportunity in South Dakota, we pave the way for better jobs for my children and grandchildren  and yours. Those opportunities might be on the farm and ranch, in a small town, or in a big city. Our kids should be free to pursue their dreams  whether they wear a welding helmet, scrubs, or a suit when they go to work.

To protect opportunity for all, South Dakota must have fair and predictable regulations for business. We shouldnt change the rules in the middle of the game. South Dakota can be open for business, and we can offer a fair shake for every family. We should make sure our young people can stay here and work in a fulfilling career field. If we get this right, we can protect our property rights and provide opportunities for our kids and grandkids.

Every South Dakota student should have the opportunity to get the right education for their needs. Like Governor Noem, I support Leader Odenbach and Leader Mehlhaffs bill to create Education Savings Accounts. And I will work to make sure that neither public schools nor homeschool families are harmed by this initiative.

This year, we are in a tough budget situation, especially when it comes to ongoing money. Governor Noems budget, like every governors budget, is a starting point. I will not be offering a separate budget proposal, but I do want to be part of an open budget conversation with you. I know there is concern about some specifics in the budget proposal. I will work with our budget office to try to restore some of those cuts. But we have to remember that, unless our revenue improves, this is a zero-sum game. Budgeting is about priorities. Every dollar we add means a dollar that has to be cut somewhere else.

We can find ways to make government more efficient. Like many of you, I am concerned about the size and scope of the federal government. I fully support President Trumps new Department of Government Efficiency. In South Dakota, we are blessed with a very limited government. But we can always do better. I have directed my Cabinet to review each of their agencies and identify potential efficiencies. I have also asked them to provide me with options to bring to the Trump Administration to make our interactions with the federal government more efficient. The federal government needs to get smaller and let us take care of our own affairs. I trust that President Trump will make that happen.

We also need to take action on the prison. I just walked through the old penitentiary a couple of weeks ago, and it needs to go. Its gothic inside. It looks like it hasnt changed in decades. There are rooms with concrete crumbling from the ceiling. We are double-bunking in cells built for one person. I know there are strong feelings about the plan to build a new prison. I want to work through that with you. But this is way overdue. Weve had the foresight to set money aside for the new facility. By paying cash, we will avoid hundreds of millions in interest, fees, and debt service payments. This is the year to finish the job.

As a former legislator, I remember how frustrating it could be when communication broke down between the Governors Office and the legislature. I promise you that Im not going to let that happen. If you have a question or a concern about something, Id be happy to try to schedule a meeting. If I cant be available, someone on my Cabinet or staff will be. Lets sit down and talk it out. I can explain where Im coming from, and I can hear where youre coming from. I want to work with you, not against you. My administration will be open: that includes legislative inquiries and subpoenas.

That goes for the public, as well. And it goes for the press. Another pillar of my administration will be openness and responsiveness. Im not going to be hard to find. We have the obligation to protect the privacy of individuals, but we also have a responsibility to be open about the operations of government.

In that same spirit of openness, I want to extend a renewed hand to our tribes. A couple weeks ago, Chairman Renville echoed Governor Noems words, Today, lets reset. Today, lets rebuild. I could not agree more. Weve had our ups and downs over the years, but I am asking our tribal leaders to make a fresh start with me.

Before Governor Noem left office, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe passed a resolution to welcome her back to the reservation and hung their flag in the Rotunda the next day. This is a great first step to rebuild trust on behalf of all South Dakotans.

You know, its hard to believe how much things have changed during my time in Pierre. When I first came here, I had a flip phone. To this day, I kind of wish Id never signed up for texting. My first plan was 25 cents per text. A certain representative named Kristi Noem would periodically send me a text just to run up my bill. All it said was Cha Ching. I didnt have a keyboard, just the number keys. So replying was a real pain in the neck. Looking back though, that wasnt all bad. It forced me to stop and think before I spoke. Thats what you are going to get with me: Im going to think before I speak; Im going to be honest and direct  maybe sometimes a little too direct!

Theres one more thing I want to talk to you about today. Now that Ive moved into the Governors Office, I must appoint a new lieutenant governor. But I am not going to make that announcement today. I want to make the best possible selection for our state. Here is what I am looking for in the person that I select:

This individual must be loyal and honest  to me and to the people of South Dakota. My choice for Lieutenant Governor must share my commitment to keep South Dakota strong, safe, and free. He or she must be a strong partner who will provide me with wisdom, counsel, and help steer us in the right direction. And he or she must be ready to take over in the event I am no longer able to serve as Governor  its happened before!

I want to make a selection who recognizes that Under God, the People Rule. My lieutenant governor must be worthy of our tremendous people.

In closing, it is my great honor to serve as your governor. I would like to make one request of each of you  and of every South Dakotan. Please pray for me and for my family. We all work hard and try to do our best, but we are nothing without the help of the Good Lord.

I am looking forward to working with you in the Legislature, and to getting out and around the state to hear from our great people. Lets work together this year. Lets keep South Dakota strong, safe, and free.

Thank you. And may God continue to bless the great state of South Dakota.

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WASHINGTON (WPRI)  A new letter from Rhode Islands congressional delegation to the federal Office of Management and Budget asks the offices acting director, Matthew Vaeth, to confirm that all previously approved funding for local projects will be released to the state.

Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, signed on to the letter, which reads in part, We are alarmed that the Administration is blocking the release of over $600 million in competitive grant funding for more than ten Rhode Island transportation projects.

These transportation grants include $221 million for the Washington Bridge (broken into a $125 million mega grant and a $95.6 million INFRA grant), as well as more than $250 million for bridges along the states I-95 corridor.

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These are essential projects that have already been evaluated and selected in a competitive process for funding, the lawmakers wrote. We ask that you promptly confirm that all of these funds, as well as others being held for review, will be released to the State.

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Richmond Mayor Danny Avula (left) and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (right) announce expansions and internships at the pharmaceutical company Haleon on Jan. 27, 2025. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)

Richmond is cementing its status as a hub for pharmaceutical innovation, with Gov. Glenn Youngkin dubbing the region a pharma corridor during Mondays announcement of major investments and opportunities at Haleon, an international drug manufacturing company.

The United Kingdom-based company, which produces household names like Advil, Centrum, and Sensodyne, plans to invest $54 million to upgrade its Sherwood Avenue facility in Richmond. The investment will modernize the research facility, enhance its consumer lab, and implement artificial intelligence to accelerate product development.

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Opportunity is being created here in Richmond, said Mayor Danny Avula, celebrating the economic and educational advancements that the company hopes the project will bring to the region.

Haleon North American President Lisa Paley detailed plans to maintain the facilitys pilot plant, which produces test batches of new products, while also launching a partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and other state schools to offer paid internships.

The five-year program will provide three academic-year internships annually for VCU pharmaceutical science undergraduates, along with two summer internships and one co-op internship each year for advanced undergraduates and graduate students from across Virginias higher education institutions.

So theres three (internship types) that people are going to be able to register for, Paley explained.

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Youngkin underscored the importance of fostering local talent to meet the growing demands of Virginias pharmaceutical sector. We have some of the most amazing talent in the entire world right here, he said. But also we need to make sure we build it, and we have a pipeline of the next generation of talent.

Youngkin also emphasized the importance of paid internships in retaining local talent, noting that the initiative aims to keep the next generation of workers in Virginia.

We all know that when you have an internship, a paid one, that in fact, you are more likely to stay with that company and stay in the region, Youngkin said.

Haleons expansion is the latest in a series of pharmaceutical investments in the Richmond and Petersburg areas, bolstered by state and federal funding.

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Avula highlighted how these developments contribute to Virginias status as a top business destination, a recognition from CNBC that the commonwealth has earned under multiple governors and one that Youngkin takes pride in maintaining.

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NEW YORK (AP)  Allison Burk's teenage daughter struggled with uncontrolled emotions, a shrinking attention span and a growing tendency to procrastinate. A family doctor suggested ADHD testing, which led to an unexpected discovery: The teen had ADHD, and Burk did too.

During her daughter's evaluation, Burk thought, "Wait a minute. This sounds familiar," she recalled.

I was able to piece together that this might be something I was experiencing, said Burk, of Columbus, Ohio. She subsequently underwent her own testing and was diagnosed with ADHD  at age 42.

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More adults are being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Diagnoses have been rising for decades but seem to have accelerated in the last few years.

A recent study suggested that more than 15 million U.S. adults  roughly 1 in 17  have been diagnosed with ADHD. The condition always starts in childhood, but about half of adults with it are diagnosed when they are 18 or older.

Some doctors say the number of people coming in for evaluation is skyrocketing.

Just in our clinic, requests for assessments have doubled in the last two years, said Justin Barterian, a psychologist based at Ohio State University.

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Here's a look at the phenomenon, and how to know if you might have the condition.

ADHD symptoms in adults

ADHD makes it hard for people to pay attention and control impulsive behaviors. It can be inherited, and is often treated with drugs, behavioral therapy, or both.

It's like there's an engine in you and you feel like it's always running, and you can't turn it off except with medication, said Judy Sandler, a 62-year-old Maine woman who was diagnosed in her 50s.

ADHD has been called the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorder in U.S. children, with more than 7 million kids diagnosed. Historically, it was thought to mainly affect boys (perhaps because boys with ADHD were seen as more disruptive in school) and to be something that kids grew out of.

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But experts believe many people aren't diagnosed as kids and live with symptoms into adulthood.

Adults with the condition talk about having trouble focusing on tasks, juggling responsibilities, and planning and managing their time. Some talk about not putting things away, and straining personal relationships with their restlessness, mood swings and impulsiveness.

Burk said she was grouped with talented and gifted students in grade school but didn't complete college until her 30s because, when I was 19, I hitchhiked across the country on a whim and ended up a single mother in her early 20s. She now works in marketing and media relations for Ohio State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Diagnoses have been rising

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Diagnoses have been climbing in both kids and adults, and the recent government report found adult ADHD was more common than earlier estimates.

We havent had (federal) adult ADHD data in a long time, said one of the studys authors, Angelika Claussen of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There were indicators of the rise, she added. Increasing demand for ADHD medication led to widespread shortages after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. A 2023 study showed the rise in prescriptions was particularly notable in adults  especially women.

ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions were increasing before the pandemic, due partly to a change in general diagnostic criteria in 2013 that broadened the definition of ADHD and reduced the number of symptoms a patient needed to have.

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But case counts really seemed to jump in 2020, when schools were closed and many adults were forced to work from home.

Its very difficult to focus when you are home and you have kids, Claussen said. That may have exacerbated the symptoms for people whod had mild ADHD but were able to cope before the pandemic.

How ADHD is diagnosed in adults

The last few years have seen growing cultural acceptance and curiosity about the condition, fueled by a proliferation of I have ADHD social media videos and online medical start-up companies offering 5-minute diagnostic quizzes.

Indeed, the long-held belief that ADHD was underdiagnosed in adults has given way to recent debates about whether it's become overdiagnosed.

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Theres no blood test or brain scan for ADHD. Experts say it is diagnosed when symptoms are severe enough to cause ongoing problems in more than one area of life, and when those symptoms can be traced to pre-adolescent childhood.

Ideally, a psychologist or psychiatrist diagnoses it by taking careful histories from patients and from people who know them, experts say. They also might ask patients to take tests designed to check their memory and ability to concentrate. Doctors also must rule out anxiety, depression and other conditions that can have similar symptoms.

But getting an appointment with a mental health professional can take months, and intensive ADHD evaluations can cost thousands of dollars. Many patients turn to family doctors or even online diagnostic quizzes, some of them connected to telehealth companies that prescribe medications.

There is wide variability in this country in how people diagnose, how strict they are, and who they diagnose, said Margaret Sibley, a University of Washington psychologist.

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The American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders is drafting a first national set of diagnosis and treatment guidelines for health professionals who treat adults, and expects to release them later this year.

The goal is "to improve the accuracy of diagnoses in this country," said Sibley, who is leading the work on the guidelines.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Rising TikTok star Nahsiyah Turner  known as Siyah to her online fans  died at age 17 in a shooting outside of a Southern California mall, PEOPLE can confirm.

CBS News first reported the tragic incident on Saturday, Jan. 18 after it took place. Police arrived at the Los Cerritos Center shopping mall in L.A. County around 7:30 p.m. and found an unconscious woman inside a vehicle. She was not breathing and was unresponsive.

According to a later-released medical examiner report, Turner died of a gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead in the hospital. The homicide and motive are still under an ongoing investigation.

Siyah/Instagram Siyah. Siyah.

Related: Influencer Found Dead at 30 in Abandoned Cleveland Home

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Since her death, Turner's fans and friends have joined together to mourn and pay tribute to the late teen. Several social media users shared videos of a gathering in her honor last week, following the news of her death. Photos of the up-and-coming influencer were displayed alongside flowers and lit candles.

Attendees could be seen signing a poster in tribute to Turner; they also released purple and white balloons into the air, as seen in footage from the memorial event.

Turner's TikTok account had about 220,000 followers around the time of her death. Over a week later, the deceased star's audience has since shot up to over 306,000 on TikTok and 36,500 on Instagram.

Siyah/Instagram Siyah. Siyah.

Related: Food Influencer Rebecca Wylie Simms Dies at 39 After Surgery Complication, Weeks After Sharing 2025 Goal to 'Trust the Process'

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Online, fans have left comments under her final TikTok video, a 15-second dancing clip posted days before the shooting.

"Im still in disbelief ," one person wrote.

Another comment furthered the sentiment: "My stomach literally hurts, rest in peace to this beautiful soul ."



Read the original article on People
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the suspension of visa issuance at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, the State Department said Sunday.

In a media note, the State Departments Office of the Spokesperson said the secretary immediately ordered a suspension of visa issuance at the U.S. Embassy Bogota consular section in the wake of Colombian President Gustavo Petros nonacceptance of two repatriation flights he previously authorized.

Secretary Rubio is now authorizing travel sanctions on individuals and their families, who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations, the media note reads. Measures will continue until Colombia meets its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens. America will not back down when it comes to defending its national security interests.

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A subsequent statement from the White House press secretary noted, The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay. Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement. The visa sanctions issued by the State Department, and enhanced inspections from Customs and Border Protection, will remain in effect until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

In a post on Truth Social earlier Sunday, President Trump said he was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia.

This order was given by Colombias Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people, he added.

Trump added that the Colombian presidents denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, and that, therefore, he had directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures, including U.S.-bound goods facing tariffs of 25 percent and the prohibition of travel on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters.

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NewsNations Ali Bradley hosted a panel of law enforcement experts on the border at 6p/5c. Click here to watch the Q&A.

(NewsNation)  Mass deportations were one of President Donald Trumps main campaign promises  and now, some people are using them to spread misinformation and rumors about Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.

ICE agents arrested hundreds of undocumented immigrants during Trumps first week in office.

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Two metropolitan police departments in Georgia, Forest Park and Clayton County, went on Facebook to clarify that they are not partnering with ICE.

What is the minimum income to file this years tax return?

Were here to dispel that rumor and clearly state that we have NOT engaged in any activity with ICE by any means; nor have we been notified that theyre conducting business within city limits, Forest Parks statement said. Furthermore, we are not targeting our Hispanic citizens or those who commute throughout the City of Forest Park.

In Durham, North Carolina, last week, a supermarket had to write a statement saying that any claims of raids at their stores are just a harmful prank. These claims, Super Compare Foods wrote, were the result of people seen near their stores in uniforms and vehicles made to look like the ones used by border agents.

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Whats most concerning is that these actions were carried out with clear malicious intent, aimed at spreading fear and misinformation in a time when our community is already in a fragile and sensitive climate, the statement said.

Super Compare Foods filed a report with Durham Police, and the supermarket says it will pursue legal action against the individuals responsible.

Mass deportations under Trump

On Sunday alone, ICE reported 956 arrests. That number follows the arrest of roughly 1,300 people by Thursday, according to numbers put out by border czar Tom Homan.

Arrests made in the first three days of Trumps second term represent about 1.1% of total arrests made by ICE in FY 2024. The number of arrests has gone from 310 a day to about 433  and that number is expected to grow.

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Raids were reported in Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Austin, Texas; New Jersey; Los Angeles, California; San Antonio, Texas; Miami, Florida; Detroit, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; Phoenix, Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia.

Officials in sanctuary cities such as Chicago have vowed to protect immigrant communities from mass deportations.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said on X that police were not involved in ICE enforcement activity in the city.

My team and I are in close communication with city officials including the CPD, he said. It is imperative that all Chicagoans know their constitutional rights and share the Know Your Rights guidance with their neighbors and community.

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List: All of Trumps executive orders on the economy

How to avoid ICE scams

Officials warn that scammers are posing as ICE officials and demanding money from people.

To avoid them, officials say to avoid making payments over the phone or email and to remember that agents do not request financial information or money to dismiss an investigation or arrest warrant.

People can report suspected ICE fraud to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General at 1-800-323-8603.

NewsNation digital producer Anna Kutz contributed to this report.

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There will definitely be an increase in pricing for imported goods, which will push companies to look for alternative suppliers or manufacturing sites, Matt Lekstutis, director at supply chain consultancy Efficio, said. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Trump tariffs could raise consumer prices in short term, expert says; TransPak expands logistics operation in Texas; Logisticus Group opens supply chain facility near Phoenix; and Grupo Lintel plans $83 million logistics park in central Mexico.

Trump tariffs could raise consumer prices in short term, expert says

President Donald Trumps threat to put 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada could impact everyone from manufacturing companies, transporters, logistics companies to consumers, according to Matt Lekstutis, director at Efficio.

There will definitely be an increase in pricing for imported goods, which will push companies to look for alternative suppliers or manufacturing sites, Lekstutis told FreightWaves in an email.

Chicago-based Efficio is a global procurement and supply chain consultancy. The company has offices in Canada and Mexico.

Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada, along with an additional 10% tax on imported goods from China, starting Feb. 1.

On Thursday, Trump told global business leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to manufacture their products in the U.S. or face tariffs.

Come make your product in America, and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on Earth, Trump said, speaking live from the White House. But if you dont make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then, very simply, you will have to pay a tariff.

However, tariffs are taxes that are paid by businesses  not other countries  when foreign-made goods arrive at the U.S. border.

According to the nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), tariffs raise prices on foreign made goods, which increases the costs of goods for consumers.

Overall, using standard economic methods, we find that the full incidence of the tariff falls on domestic consumers, NBER said in a 2019 study titled The Impact of the 2018 Trade War on U.S. Prices and Welfare. We also see similar patterns for foreign countries who have retaliated against the U.S., which indicates that the trade war also reduced real income for other countries.

According to the nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research, tariffs raise prices on foreign made goods, which increases the costs of goods for consumers. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Lekstutis said Trumps tariff policies could bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States, but not immediately.

I do believe the tariffs will bring back manufacturing jobs to the states. However, there are a few complexities to consider  the increase in taxes will push companies to reevaluate their need to automate their processes and manufacturing roles, Lekstutis. Changing the supply chain network requires time and investments into resources. If this change is being driven by the four year term by President Trump, the companies may not be willing to make that investment.
The race for Indiana Democratic Party chair  not usually such a public affair, as the decision ultimately lies with two dozen party insiders  is getting more crowded by the week.

Allen County Democratic Party chair Derek Camp will make his candidacy official Monday afternoon, joining a field that includes former state Sen. Karen Tallian and Democratic attorney general candidate Destiny Wells. Former gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick is also considering running, but hasn't made it official.

One of them will replace Chair Mike Schmuhl, who announced in December he won't run for another term in March. They'll take over a party at a low point, having not won statewide elected office in more than a decade and having been caught up at times in infighting over the right way forward.

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Democrats everywhere are soul-searching after the 2024 election cycle. Even with a switchup on the presidential ticket and the accompanying surge of financial and energetic momentum, races here were not close. Indiana Democrats merely held onto existing ground, rather than gained. Voter turnout in core urban areas disappointed many of the candidates.

Here's who is running for state party chair:

Derek Camp, Allen County Democratic Party chair

Camp spent the last four years leading the Allen County Democratic Party to record fundraising levels, more than doubling that of his predecessor. This is the basis for his campaign for chair: That the key to success at all levels starts with building robust county-level parties, and he's the guy to do it.

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"I think where we get distracted is sometimes we go for that shiny object at the top, not realizing that we have to have a strong foundation if we're to go to the top," he told IndyStar, referring to statewide races that tend to grab the most attention. "We have to have that strong foundation at the bottom, where we have local elected Democrats, we have strong county parties, so that anytime we come around with a candidate, there is someone there that people in each community know and trust."

Camp credits part of his local records to the support of organized labor, with whom the party's relationship writ large has changed over the years. Money is clearly a big concern for the party, which struggles to attract donors due to its losses over the years. In addition to the support of unions, Camp said he plans to assemble a team of proven fundraisers, like former chairs and candidates who've raised millions.

Prior to leading the county party, Camp was the president of Indiana Young Democrats. He's also worked on campaigns for former state Rep. Christina Hale and Mayor Tom Henry.

He said he believes the purpose of the party aparatus is to get candidates elected, and its up to the candidates and stakeholders  read, voters  to build the platform. The chair can play a role in helping party members find that common ground.

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"We need to get elected in order to defend all of our communities and to make life better," he said.

Karen Tallian, former state senator

Former state Sen. Karen Tallian, who made her candidacy official in mid January, said she believes Democrats in Indiana lost by wide margins last year because they took voters for granted and weren't speaking enough to the issues they care about: economic ones.

Organizing also has to happen year-round, she said.

"It doesnt do good to build your base when you only come around every 4 years," she said.

Tallian also serves on the state central committee as 1st Congressional District chair, and is a member of the Democratic National Committee. She previously served in the Indiana Senate from 2005 to 2021. She's run for statewide office twice: First for governor in 2016, though she dropped out to support Democrat John Gregg; then for attorney general in 2020, though she lost the Democratic nomination to Jonathan Weinzapfel.

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Though organized labor chose to endorse Gregg in 2016, they're now lining up behind Tallian for chair: David Frye, midwest regional manager of the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA!), said he and the Indiana Laborers District Council support Tallian.

She has specifically called out the infighting within the party, referencing a criticism floated by Wells that there's an old-guard generation or institutional slog holding the party back.

"You just cant run a party like this when the party is fighting within itself," she told IndyStar. "I dont believe theres a generation gap. I dont believe it. I believe the older folks and younger folks really want the same thing."

Destiny Wells, former AG candidate

Destiny Wells, the Democratic candidate for Indiana Attorney General, waves to the crowd during a Hoosier Women Forward luncheon Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis.

Wells was the first to formally announce her candidacy back in December, and making it a public thing was intentional, she said.

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"We need to be able to pump new lifeblood into the party," she told IndyStar. "We are a bit of a skeleton of what we once were, and so this is an opportunity to have a public call out to be part of the process."

Wells first became widely known in 2022 when she ran unsuccessfully in an unusually high-profile secretary of state race against Diego Morales. Last year, she mounted a challenge to Attorney General Todd Rokita, but lost by double digits. She's currently the Indiana Democratic Party's deputy chair for coalition and expansion and a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves.

She's drawn attention for her rhetoric on social media  what she would consider being a fighter, what her critics have called "snarky." She sees the party as a rusty old machine full of gatekeepers that make it difficult to build new organizing coalitions outside the traditional structure  conditions that make it difficult for even the best candidates to thrive.

She thinks pushing the party toward the center and focusing too much on crossover voters works to the detriment of the party's base in urban centers like Indianapolis.

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"We can't just win on disaffected Republicans, and choosing to put our future in their hands isn't going to get the job done," she said. "You look at MAGA  that whole movement found, its metamorphosis found new voters. And all we're doing all the time is going and taking the leftovers. Why aren't we trying to find new voters?"

Jennifer McCormick, former governor candidate

Jennifer McCormick, Democrat nominee for governor, claps as Terry Goodin gives an acceptance speech after receiving the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor on Saturday, July 13, 2024, during the Indiana Democratic State Convention in Indianapolis.

McCormick is a relatively new entrant to Democratic party politics who thinks she could unify the party. She hasn't officially thrown her hat into the race, but told IndyStar she's "very interested."

She most recently held office as a Republican state schools superintendent, from 2017 to 2021, where she repeatedly butted heads with the GOP supermajority over issues like vouchers for private schools. Her run for governor as a Democrat last year attracted a whirlwind of attention  and dollars  toward the bitter end after a series of unfavorable polling and unforced errors for Republicans, but she ultimately lost to Gov. Mike Braun by double digits.

Still, McCormick sees her work in that race  earning 1.2 million votes, catching up to Braun's fundraising in a big way by raising $1.4 million in the final quarter before election day  as proof that she is someone who can raise money, capture national attention and unify people both within and outside the party.

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She thinks the party's messaging needs to be "tight" and appeal to a broad sweep of ideologies. In her campaign for governor, she spent a lot of time in rural areas and appealing to moderates who might cross party lines to vote for her.

"Republicans deal with the same thing," she said. "They have very, very right people, and they have more moderate people, and they have done a really good job of figuring out how to message that regardless of where someone falls on that spectrum. And that's where the Democrats struggle."

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Democratic Party chair race grows more crowded. Who is running
GOWRIE, Iowa  Federal funding will help expand emergency medical services in a rural community in Webster County.

The Southwest Webster Ambulance Service in Gowrie is in desperate need of an upgrade. EMT Terry Towne said they outgrew the building 15 years ago.

When I started 30 years ago, all of our supplies were in the bay with the ambulance, but now very little of them are because theres no room, Towne said.

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To save space, they started storing equipment inside their meeting room instead. The bay now only stores their two ambulances.

One is nine-years-old and the other is 16-years-old. Theres a cabinet inside the bay that opens directly onto one of the vehicles. According to Towne, newer ambulances are getting larger and wider, so while theyre tight for space now, it may be worse in the future.

However, federal funding will now help them create a new building. Senator Chuck Grassley announced $2.3 million in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Agricultures Rural Development Grant Program. The money was awarded to five communities, and Gowrie was one of them.

Many Iowans call rural communities home, and they deserve our support and investment. These federal dollars will upgrade critical infrastructure, promote economic development, and boost health and safety initiatives throughout rural Iowa, said Grassley.

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None of this wouldve been possible without the help of one local Gowrie business. Marcie Boerner is the CEO and General Manager for the Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association. She applied for the grant on behalf of the Southwest Webster Ambulance Service.

Webster-Calhoun has a revolving loan fund, which means theyre able to make 0% loans to businesses and organizations within their community to support economic growth.

Scholastic Spotlight: National excellence for Iowa teachers in math and science

She found out earlier this year they were awarded $300,000 for the project. The ambulance service will provide a 20% match.

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Its actually a program thats a win-win for the both of us. So, its adding $360,000 to our revolving loan fund but as they pay it back to us, were able to continue to reloan it to other businesses and organizations throughout our service area, said Boerner.

The partnership with the medical services crew was an easy decision for Boerner.

Theres three [hospitals] but theyre 30 minutes away, and so its really important and really fortunate as a citizen and resident in Gowrie that we have the Southwest Webster Ambulance crew here in town, she said.

Towne describes this loan as a dream come true.

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Its still very emotional when I think about it, because weve been trying to work on an ambulance but fundraisers only go so far and the cost of the buildings keep going up, even more than our fundraising has been going up. So, this is not anything we couldve reached without this loan that were getting from them, she said.

The new building will be constructed in between the current facility and the towns fire department. The City of Gowrie already voted to buy the current facility to use it as a police station. The new facility is projected to be completed by the fall.

Towne also said they will use part of the grant to employ a paramedic. The Southwest Webster Ambulance is ran by volunteers. Employing a paramedic will ensure the station has someone available to better assist residents around the clock.

Currently, the police and fire departments are funded by property tax, but EMT is not. As a result, Webster County is also holding a special election on March 4th to change this. If approved, the county will dedicate a tax of 75-cents per $1,000 of taxable property. They expect this to raise around $200,000 annually for the ambulance service.

Iowa News:

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Analysts from the DeepState project reported on the night of 26-27 January that Russian troops had advanced in Toretsk and near Anriivka and Novojelyzavetivka in Donetsk Oblast.

Source: DeepState

Quote: "Russia has advanced in Toretsk, near Andriivka and Novojelyzavetivka."

Find out more: The Ukrainian army is engaging in fierce battles and retreating on key front lines  an explanation with maps.

Background:

The Ukrainian news outlet Militarnyi predicted that the Russians would continue their efforts to complete the capture of Kurakhove, Toretsk and Chasiv Yar, advance towards the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with the prospect of launching hostilities in the oblast, and expand their control over Donetsk Oblast territory in all directions.

At the beginning of January, it was reported that fierce fighting continued in Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, and the line of contact had divided the city in two. The Russians were using scorched earth tactics to try to destroy the city's infrastructure and the positions of the Ukrainian military.

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The Russian government has approved new measures to streamline the conscription process, making it easier to draft young men into the Armed Forces, including those who previously evaded service, The Moscow Times reported on Jan. 27.

The reforms, according to Deputy Defense Minister Andrey Kartapolov, aim to "qualitatively improve the level of organization of conscription."

Under the new legislation, draft board decisions for individuals deemed fit for service will remain valid for one year. This allows military commissions to send individuals to the army in subsequent drafts without requiring additional medical examinations or decisions.

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For instance, if a person was found fit but did not enter service due to illness or other reasons, they can be drafted directly during the next conscription campaign.

Read also: Russia intensifies attacks near Pokrovsk, seeks to encircle Ukrainian forces

In Russia, conscription campaigns are held twice a year, in spring and fall, targeting men aged 18 to 27. These campaigns form the core of Russia's conscription-based military system, drafting hundreds of thousands annually.

The bill also consolidates the organization of draft commissions, mandating only one commission in cities of federal significance or two in larger municipalities.

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These changes follow Russia's recent conscription campaigns, during which record numbers were drafted. In the fall 2024 draft, 133,000 individuals were conscripted, and 150,000 were recruited during the spring campaign, a record for the past eight years. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees specifying the number of recruits required during each period.

The push to expand military manpower comes as Russia faces severe losses in its war against Ukraine. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Jan. 27 that Russia has lost 831,620 troops since launching its full-scale invasion.

While Russian conscripts rarely take part in active combat, Russia has been actively recruiting civilians to take part in the country's war against Ukraine by offering financial incentives, pardoning crimes, or simply taking people from the streets.

Yet, after the highly unpopular September 2022 mobilization led to over 261,000 Russians fleeing the country, Putin has avoided a second wave of mobilization, opting for alternative methods to bolster troop numbers.

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Read also: Russia introduces history textbook that redefines war against Ukraine as justified defense

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The Russian Defence Ministry has reported that 32 drones attacked five Russian oblasts on the night of 26-27 January.

Source: Russian Defence Ministry

Details: The Russian ministry noted that their air defence systems allegedly intercepted and destroyed all 32 UAVs.

In particular, 15 drones were intercepted over the territory of Voronezh Oblast, 11 over Belgorod Oblast, four over Kursk Oblast and one over each of Oryol and Tver oblasts.

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Editors note: The article was expanded with a statement from the Khortytsia group of forces and its spokesperson, Viktor Trehubov.

Russias Defense Ministry claimed on Jan. 26 that its forces had captured Velyka Novosilka, a strategically significant settlement in the western part of Donetsk Oblast.

Ukraines 110th Mechanized Brigade, which is deployed in the area, acknowledged a withdrawal from parts of the village to avoid encirclement but claimed that fighting is ongoing elsewhere in Velyka Novosilka.

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"Fights in Velyka Novosilka are ongoing. Russian forces shelled our positions 30 times," the Khortytsia group of forces said on Jan. 27.

"The Defense Forces continue inflicting casualties to Russia in manpower and equipment during tense battles."

The groups spokesperson, Viktor Trehubov, clarified later during the day that Ukrainian forces withdrew from the southern part of the village but continue to hold positions in the outskirts.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

The village with a pre-war population of 5,000 lies only around 15 kilometers from the administrative border with Zaporizhzhia Oblast and 20 kilometers from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a region so far untouched by Russian occupation.

The estimated Russian advance at Velyka Novosilka, Donetsk Oblast, as of Jan. 26, 2025, according to DeepState. (DeepState/OpenStreetMaps)

If confirmed, this would represent the most significant gain of Russian forces in Donetsk Oblast since overrunning Kurakhove earlier in January.

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The 110th Brigade said that both Russia and Ukraine had parity in equipment but Moscow had significant advantage in manpower.

According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces will struggle to advance their offensive onward. The Mokri Yaly River creates an obstacle for Russias advance and Russian troops are in a vulnerable "fire pocket," said the brigade.

Fighting is at a very heavy level in Donetsk Oblast and Russian troops continue to advance, albeit slowly, this year. Throughout the fall of 2024, Russian forces made operational gains in southern Donetsk Oblast, including areas near Toretsk and Chasiv Yar, while advancing near Kupiansk and on Russian soil in Kursk Oblast.

Read also: Potential encirclement in Velyka Novosilka prompts questions about last-ditch withdrawal strategy

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Russian forces have intensified their assaults near Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, deploying small groups in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian troops, Victor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, said on Jan. 27 on national television.

"For the first time, they started to fight smart; for the first time, they started to fight not just with direct human waves, but with attempts to cover, with attempts to bypass a large city and force Ukrainian forces to leave it," Trehubov said.

The area near Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub for Ukrainian forces, has been at the center of heavy fighting for months.

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"The situation is as follows: there is a large number of small-scale clashes near Pokrovsk because Russians are trying to enter and surround Pokrovsk from the west in small groups. There are many, many clashes there," Trehubov said.

The estimated Russian advance in the Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, as of Jan. 27, 2025, according to DeepState map. A white symbol marks Pokrovsk. (DeepState/OpenStreetMaps)

Pokrovsk and Kurakhove remain focal points of Russia's eastern offensive, now in its fifth month. Ukraine's General Staff reported that Russian troops are continuing to push on multiple axes, including Lyman, Siversk, Kramatorsk, Toretsk, and Kurakhove.

Trehubov said the Russian command is avoiding urban battles to reduce heavy personnel losses. Despite these efforts, Moscow has so far failed to outflank Pokrovsk and sever its logistics routes.

Read also: North Korean troops seem to temporarily withdraw from one section of front in Kursk Oblast, military says

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Military History of Russia, a new textbook introduced in Moscow on Jan. 27, frames the war in Ukraine as a continuation of the Soviet battle against Nazi Germany, portraying the invasion as a necessary reaction to Western threats, Reuters reported.

The three-volume textbook, targeted at schoolchildren, claims Russia was "forced" to invade Ukraine in 2022, citing long-standing grievances such as NATO's eastward expansion and the 2014 ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian president, which the textbook characterizes as a Western-backed coup.

Edited by Vladimir Medinsky, a presidential advisor and architect of Kremlin propaganda, the textbook aligns with the Russian government's narrative about the war.

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The book describes Ukraine as an "aggressive anti-Russian bridgehead" and emphasizes battlefield heroism while drawing parallels between modern Russian military tactics and those employed by the Soviet army during World War II.

This publication is part of a broader Kremlin effort to reshape public perception through education. In 2023, Russia's Education Ministry updated school history textbooks to include sections on the war in Ukraine  referred to as a "special military operation"  the annexation of Crimea and the impact of Western sanctions.

Russia's Education Ministry initiative, Conversations about Important Things, launched in 2022, promotes themes like patriotism, traditional family values, and Russian nuclear security to students as young as six. The program includes video lessons featuring figures such as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Patriarch Kirill.

The Kremlin's intensified focus on historical revisionism and ideological education reflects its attempt to solidify domestic support for the war, casting Russia as a defender of sovereignty against a hostile and "decadent" West.

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Critics argue these measures are an apparent effort to indoctrinate young Russians and justify the ongoing war to future generations.

Read also: Military intelligence denies its head gave Ukraine until summer to launch talks or endanger countrys existence

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By Andrew Osborn

(Reuters) - A new school textbook that likens Russia's war in Ukraine to the Soviet struggle against the Nazis and says Russia was "forced" to send troops into Ukraine was presented in Moscow on Monday.

President Vladimir Putin casts the war, which Moscow officially calls a "Special Military Operation", as a difficult but necessary fight against a Western- and NATO-backed Ukraine. He says it is part of a wider existential battle against a decadent West trying to weaken and dismember Russia.

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For their part, Ukraine and its Western allies say Russia is waging a brutal and unprovoked war, merely to gain territory.

The three-volume "Military History of Russia" was edited by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin who headed a delegation that held unsuccessful peace talks with Ukraine in 2022, in the early months of the war, and has already co-authored Russia's main history textbook.

The third volume, likely to be dismissed by Ukraine's leadership as propaganda, is designed to be taught to children aged 15 and older.

It explains why the Kremlin believes the war started and how it is being fought, highlights what it regards as incidences of battlefield heroism, and describes how the modern Russian army is sometimes employing techniques used by the Soviet army during World War Two.

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In a chapter entitled "Professionalism, indomitability and courage: Russian troops in the Special Military Operation", the book tells schoolchildren that Russia was "forced" to send its troops into Ukraine in 2022.

It says the West had for years ignored Russia's security concerns - a reference to the eastward expansion of the NATO military alliance, and to what the book described as the Western-backed toppling of a Russia-friendly Ukrainian president in 2014, which had turned Ukraine into an "aggressive anti-Russian bridgehead".

NATO and Ukraine deny ever posing a threat to Russia.

Speaking at a TASS news conference to discuss the new book, Ivan Basik, a military historian affiliated with the Russian army, said Western and Ukrainian actions had made the war "inevitable".

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"The most important task was to explain to the younger generation, to schoolchildren, the forced nature of the special military operation carried out by the Russian Federation," he said.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he would seek closer cooperation with Belarus after authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko won - as expected - presidential elections on the weekend.

Lukashenko's seventh term in office was a foregone conclusion, given the lack of realistic rivals and his crackdown on the opposition.

Putin nevertheless described it as a "convincing victory" in his congratulatory telegram.

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Putin wrote that he wanted to expand Russian-Belarusian cooperation and drive forward the integration processes in the Eurasian region. "You are always a welcome guest on Russian soil," he wrote.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov dismissed Western criticism of the elections, saying that Russia was unconcerned by it.

"We see it as an absolutely legitimate, well organized and transparent election with a more than convincing victory for the incumbent head of state," he said, according to a report by the state-run TASS news agency.

Lukashenko, 70, has led Belarus as a dictator for more than 30 years. He has tied his rule ever more closely to Russia - especially since he almost lost power in mass protests in 2020.

The electoral administration in Minsk credited Lukashenko with 86.82% of the vote in the stage-managed poll, his highest ever total. He will travel to Russia in the first foreign trip of his seventh term.
BT van

BT has called for a competition crackdown on Apple over concerns the tech giant could use its smartphone market power to squeeze out mobile networks.

The operator has raised concerns that the rise of virtual eSims that replace Sim cards could see smartphone makers tighten their grip on the market.

In a submission to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), BT said: We also encourage the CMA to consider the risk of disintermediation in the telecoms industry with respect to eSims, which is an additional area where handset providers could exercise their strong market position.

Physical Sim cards have long been a critical link between network operators and their customers. But the growth of eSims means BT and its rivals risk losing ground to the likes of Apple and Samsung, who are increasingly selling phones directly to consumers.

The threat is particularly acute as telecoms companies try to expand their offering beyond traditional mobile services, amid tough competition and shrinking margins.

BT, which is side-lining its brand in favour of EE, has outlined plans to start selling other products and services from fridges to insurance. It has also launched a new service and smartphone app, dubbed EE ID, in a bid to expand its customer base.

However, industry executives fear these efforts could be undermined as tech companies increasingly build a direct relationship with their customers.

Kester Mann, of industry analyst CCS Insight, said: One of the challenges is that network provisioning starts to become more remote, therefore theres less opportunity for operators to engage with customers, whether thats selling new products or getting a sense check on how theyre feeling.

It feels like its another part of the journey that is cutting operators out the loop a little bit, so I think thats one of the reasons why theyve been a little bit reluctant to embrace the eSim concept.

In the most extreme scenario, companies such as Apple could use eSims to launch their own virtual mobile networks  similar to the likes of GiffGaff and Tesco Mobile  though analysts said this was unlikely in the near term.

eSims were not mentioned in an investigation into Apple and Google launched by the CMA last week, which focused on web browsers and smartphone app stores.

Apple introduced its first eSim iPhone in 2022 and all of its US devices are now eSim only, with a similar move expected in Europe as soon as this year.

BT is not alone in sounding the alarm over the rise of eSims. Virgin Media O2 has also raised concerns about tech giants tightening their grip on mobile markets.
The Russian military attacked Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the night of 26-27 January, damaging infrastructure facilities, multi-storey buildings, residential buildings and property belonging to an industrial business.

Source: Serhii Lysak, Head of Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Details: Lysak said that Skhid (East) Air Command units destroyed 13 drones in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in the evening and at night.

The aftermath of the Russian attack

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Photo: Lysak on Telegram

Quote from Lysak: "However, the enemy attack did not pass without consequences. Infrastructure facilities were damaged in the Samar district. There was a fire. Three houses and an outbuilding were also damaged.

Three high-rise buildings in Dnipro were damaged. One of them caught fire and was extinguished by firefighters."

The aftermath of the Russian attack

Photo: Lysak on Telegram

Details: The Russians fired on the Nikopol district with Grad multiple-launch rocket systems and heavy artillery. Lysak said that the Russians hit Nikopol and the Marhanets hromada, causing destruction at premises belonging to an industrial business. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories  ed.]

The aftermath of the Russian attack

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Photo: Lysak on Telegram

At the same time, he stressed that there were no casualties in the attacks.

Background: Earlier, it was reported that a multi-storey building in Dnipro was damaged as a result of a drone attack, including the mechanical floor, and the windows and doors of the upper floors. The media also reported that the blast wave and debris damaged cars.

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Editors note: The article was updated with the latest casualty figures in a Russian attack against Kupiansk.

Russian attacks against Ukraine killed four civilians and injured seven over the past day, regional authorities reported on Jan. 27.

Overnight on Jan. 27, the Russian military attacked Ukraine with 104 Shahed-type drones and decoy drones, Ukraines Air Force reported on their Telegram channel. Air defenses shot down 57 drones over 10 oblasts, while 39 decoy drones were lost in the airspace, the Air Force said.

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One person was killed, and two others were injured as a result of the Russian militarys attacks on the city of Kherson and 28 other regional settlements, Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on his Telegram channel.

One person was killed and four were injured in Donetsk Oblast as a result of Russias attacks, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported.

Due to Russian attacks on the city of Kupiansk, an 86-year-old woman and was injured in Kharkiv Oblast, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. Two other women were killed, the State Emergency Service said after concluding rescue operations.

Russian drones also targeted a critical infrastructure facility in western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Governor Svitlana Onyshchuk reported. The strike started a fire but inflicted no casualties, she said.

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Read also: Russias Ryazan oil refinery in flames after drone strike, reports say

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Satellite imagery shows clear indications that Russias anticipated withdrawal of forces from its Tartus naval base in Syria has finally started. Complete loss of access to the facility, where Russian vehicles and materiel have been massing there for weeks already, would be a major blow to the Kremlin. The Russian military has already been steadily drawing down its posture at Khmeimim Air Base in Syria amid persistent questions about the future of its presence in the country as a whole since the sudden fall of dictator Bashar Al Assad last year.

Satellite imagery taken on Jan. 25 that TWZ obtained from Maxar, seen at the top of this story and below, shows the Russian-flagged roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) cargo ships Sparta and Sparta II docked in Tartus, as well as cargo transloading activity. The two ships had been holding offshore for days before finally being allowed to enter the port.

A satellite image taken on Jan. 25, 2025, showing Sparta and Sparta II docked in Syrias port of Tartus. Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies

The images also show the disappearance of a significant number of Russian vehicles and other materiel from a pier where they had been marshalled weeks ago.

A look at a section of one of the piers at Tartus where Russian assets had been had been marshaled weeks ago showing the disappearance of various vehicles and other materiel. Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies

A view of the same pier at Tartus on Dec. 17, 2024. Satellite image 2024 Maxar Technologies

An additional satellite image taken on Jan. 27 that TWZ reviewed from Planet Labs shows even more vehicles and materiel missing from the pier. Vehicles are also now visible arrayed in a row close to the pier edge, which would make them easier to load onto a ship. A large number of shipping containers have also now appeared in another nearby cargo marshaling area, though it is unclear whether or not this is related to the movement of Russian materiel or non-military cargo operations that have now resumed at the port.

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Still @planet image of Tartus port taken today, January 27  open the image in a new tab to explore it yourself. pic.twitter.com/pCM0uXyf1w  Mark Krutov (@kromark) January 27, 2025

An additional view of the containers now marshaled at the port in Tartus from the Maxar imagery taken on Jan. 25, 2025. Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies

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As noted, all of this follows the Sparta and Sparta II finally entering the port of Tartus last week. The satellite image from Planet also confirms that one of these vessels has now departed, which would align with the aforementioned disappearance of the vehicles and materiel.

Sparta is now heading to dock at Tartus to assist in the evacuation and join Sparta II.



I suspect one of the two Russian landing ships not visible on AIS may have finished loading equipment and has now opened up a space for the Sparta. pic.twitter.com/kkERs7GqgQ  Oliver Alexander (@OAlexanderDK) January 22, 2025

 Med Sea Flotilla 

Heavy clouds over Tartus today but you can't hide from synthetic aperture radar (SAR)



Sentinel 1  , 15:41 UTC on 22 Jan



4-5 vessels at the piers (including Sparta & Sparta II)



I don't think they are military given the grouping of ships near the anchorage pic.twitter.com/NPAajsQGW5  MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) January 23, 2025

Satellite imagery from 19.01.2025 (Image 1) shows that the Russia military transport ship #Sparta is still in port at #Tartus, Syria, but the #SpartaII had departed and the vehicle staging area at the port is empty. On 24.02.2025 (Image 2), the vehicle staging area is full again pic.twitter.com/i1dAXd5v8e  OSINT (Uri)       (@UKikaski) January 26, 2025

Videos had also previously emerged on social media said to show Ka-52 and Mi-8 series helicopters providing overwatch around Tartus. Similar aerial activity has been observed in the past around the withdrawal of forces from Khmeimim. The image from Planet also looks to show a Russian Grachonok class patrol boat, designed primarily for force protection duties in and around ports, moored in Tartus.

#Russian Ka-52 & Mi-8 #helicopters spotted conducting reconnaissance over #Syria's Tartus port, where Russian logistics vessels Sparta & Sparta II are docked. Likely tasked with transporting military equipment as #Russia consolidates forces in the region.#ElonMusk #_ pic.twitter.com/vQNbkXhb0n  Breaking Now (@BreakinggNow) January 23, 2025

The Grachonok-class anti sabotage boat remains alongside.



I think the loading of this one, or not, is a usable indicator for the Russian Navy leaving for good.



Notably, only the Sparta's, no warships as far as I know, have been alongside so far. https://t.co/gxCEXsNxDq pic.twitter.com/nGaxBloRps  Thord Are Iversen (@The_Lookout_N) January 27, 2025

TWZ has previously highlighted the significant vulnerability of Russian maritime and ground assets at both Tartus and Khmeimim, especially to drones, as emplaced air and other defenses appear to have been broken down for withdrawal. Russian naval vessels that were in the port of Tartus when Assad fell left shortly thereafter in another apparent force protection move. Many of them still appear to be holding off the coast, though the Improved Kilo class submarine Novorossiysk has notably left the region.

Another Russian RO/RO cargo ship, the Sparta IV, was recently observed leaving the Baltic Sea along with a Russian Navy Ropucha class amphibious warfare ship. These vessels may also be headed for Syria, but this currently remains unconfirmed. Other Russian amphibious warfare ships that could be used to transport cargo out of Tartus have also arrived off the coast of that port in recent weeks. Another Russian-flagged cargo ship, the Ursa Major, which may have been Syria-bound, sank in the Mediterranean in December 2024 under still-murky circumstances as you can read more about here.

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 COI/OOA activity  Breaking



Russian weapon runner COI MV Sparta IV escorted by Russian Navy Baltic Fleet Pr.772/II Ropucha class BDK-110 Alexandr Shabalin VISID departed the Baltic Sea, PM 27 January 2025.



 Both units highly likely ENR the Mediterranean Sea. pic.twitter.com/1Zai0h8454  Droxford Maritime (@Drox_Maritime) January 27, 2025

The recent activity in and around Tartus also follows still-unconfirmed reports from Syrian media that the countrys fledgling government in Damascus canceled Russias 49-year lease agreement for its base in Tartus. The Kremlin had struck the deal back in 2017 with the Assad regime, which had essentially gifted the naval facility, as well as Khmeimim Air Base, to the Russians. Two years earlier, Russias military launched an intervention in the country some two years earlier, which had saved Assad from advancing rebel forces. Russian forces were still actively fighting rebel forces, including elements of the coalition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that ultimately deposed Assad, right up until the collapse of the regime.

As TWZ highlighted even before the fall of Assads regime in December 2024, Tartus and Khmeimim are strategically very significant for Russia beyond just operations in Syria and the Middle East. The facilities have been particularly important nodes for supporting Russian activity in Africa, especially Libya, where the Kremlin looks to be trying now to bolster its presence. Tartus notably provided the Russian Navy with a key warm water port. Khmeimim, which Russia has notably expanded in recent years, including to help the base better serve larger aircraft like bombers, had also been a valuable point from which to project air power across the Mediterranean and elsewhere.

What the final status of the naval base at Tartus and Khmeimim Air Base will look like remains unclear. Russia has, unsurprisingly, voiced clear interest in retaining at least some kind of presence at both facilities and has reportedly been negotiating with the new Syrian authorities in Damascus to this end. For its part, the post-Assad government, led by members of HTS, has previously expressed a willingness to maintain ties with the Kremlin despite open conflict between the two sides just two months ago.

A Syrian rebel soldier stands outside the entrance of the port of Tartus in western Syria on Dec. 16, 2024. Bakr ALKASEM / AFP via Getty Images BAKR ALKASEM

The situation across Syria is otherwise still extremely fluid, and the new government in Damascus has yet to consolidate control over much of the country. Turkish-backed forces continue to openly fight with Kurdish groups, including elements tied to the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in the north. There has also been talk of integrating the SDF into a new national military.

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In southwestern Syria, Israel looks to be consolidating its control over territory in an ostensible buffer zone, moves that have been criticized by the HTS-led government and parts of the international community. Israeli, U.S., and other foreign forces have also taken advantage of the newly permissive airspace across Syria to launch airstrikes in support of their national interests. The U.S. military says its focus is on preventing ISIS terrorists from exploiting the situation to regroup and has reportedly shared intelligence with HTS to support that fight.

Still, many countries, including Russia and the United States, formally designate HTS as a terrorist group. Major U.S. and other foreign sanctions imposed on the Assad regime also remain in place, though American and European officials have moved to relax and/or suspend them.

Whether or not Russias military presence in Syria is now set to end entirely remains unknown, but after weeks of steady withdrawals from Khmeimim Air Base, the departure of forces from Tartus now looks to be actively underway.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com
A Russian drone attack has damaged infrastructure facilities in Sumy and the village of Pishchane in Sumy Oblast. No casualties have been reported.

Source: Sumy Oblast Military Administration on Telegram

Quote: "The enemy attacked the Sumy hromada with a UAV at night. The explosions in Sumy and the village of Pishchane damaged non-residential premises and infrastructure facilities. There were no casualties as a result of the attack. The emergency services are working at the sites of the explosions."

Details: Ukrainian air defences reportedly shot down seven Russian Shahed drones overnight.

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Several explosions occurred in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast on the night of 26-27 January, with Russians targeting critical infrastructure. Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Military Administration has reported that a fire broke out as a result of the attack.

Source: Svitlana Onyshchuk, Head of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Quote: "A series of explosions were heard in Prykarpattia. The enemy attacked the oblast multiple times last night, using strike drones. Critical infrastructure facilities were targeted. A fire was reported. Emergency services are working at the scene."

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Details: Onyshchuk added that no reports of casualties had been received as of 08:00.

Firefighters

photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine on Telegram

Update: The State Emergency Service reported later that fires had broken out at two locations of one of the infrastructure facilities in the Ivano-Frankivsk district. One of the two fires covered an area of 100 sq. m and the other an area of 500 sq. m.

As of 11:18, the fires were extinguished.

Firefighters

photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine on Telegram

Fifty-eight firefighters and 25 firefighting appliances were involved in the process.

Background: Earlier, several media outlets reported that explosions had occurred during the Russian drone attack in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv mentioned that air defence systems were responding in the city.

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The Russians attacked Ukraine with 104 Shahed attack UAVs and decoy drones on the night of 26-27 January; 57 of them were destroyed by Ukrainian air defence forces, 39 others disappeared from radar, and the attack caused damage in four oblasts.

Source: Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram

Quote from the Air Force: "As of 09:00, 57 Shahed attack UAVs and other types of drones were confirmed to have been shot down in Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts.

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Thirty-nine enemy decoy drones disappeared from radar (causing no adverse effects)."

Details: The Air Force added that the Russian attack resulted in damage in Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk and Kyiv oblasts  infrastructure facilities, apartment blocks and residential buildings were damaged.

The Russians launched drones from the Russian cities of Oryol, Kursk, Millerovo and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, as well as from Cape Chauda in temporarily occupied Crimea.

The air attack was repelled by aircraft, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force and defence forces.

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Ryazan oil refinery has suspended operations after an attack by Ukrainian drones late last week, two industry sources told Reuters on Monday.

They said oil storage at the refinery had been set ablaze. Among damaged equipment were a railway loading rack and a hydrotreater unit used to remove impurities from refined products.

"The railway loading equipment has been damaged. There have been no railways loadings, they stopped oil processing," one person said.

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Another source said the loadings have been suspended since Friday, also confirming that the plant has been stopped due to inability to dispatch oil products.

Rosneft, which owns the plant, did not respond to a request for comment.

Other industry sources said that other oil refineries, including in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Yaroslavl, may step in to provide the fuel.

Ryazan oil refinery processed 13.1 million metric tons (262,000 barrels per day), or almost 5% of Russia's total refining throughput in 2024.

It produced 2.2 million tons of gasoline, 3.4 million tons of diesel, 4.3 million tons of fuel oil and 1 million of jet fuel, according to a source-based data.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
(Bloomberg) -- A rebel group aligned with Rwanda says it seized a key trading hub in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, raising the prospect of a full-blown war between the two Central African nations.

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The M23 rebel group said all Congolese military personnel must hand over their weapons to UN peacekeepers and assemble at Gomas main stadium. Congos government and army have not confirmed the city has fallen.

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We urge all residents of Goma to remain calm, the M23 said in a statement posted on X. The liberation of the city has been successfully carried out.

A city of two million people that lies on the border with Rwanda, Goma is at the nexus of trade routes for natural resources including tantalum and tin ore  minerals used in electronics such as mobile phones. The US, Congo and United Nations experts accuse M23, which already controls the regions biggest tantalum-ore mine, of smuggling minerals to Rwanda.

Spokespeople for Congos government, army and the office of President Felix Tshisekedi didnt respond to multiple calls and messages requesting comment, nor did a spokesperson for Rwandas government.

M23 broke away from Congos army more than a decade ago and is one of more than 120 rebel groups fighting in the region. Conflict between the two sides has intensified in recent months, causing the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.

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Congo, the US and UN officials say M23 is backed by thousands of soldiers from neighboring Rwanda, which Rwandan President Paul Kagame denies.

Declaration of War

Last month, Congo sued Apple Inc. in Belgium and France for allegedly buying minerals from Rwanda that had been pillaged from Congo. Apple disputed the charges and said it asked its suppliers to stop sourcing minerals from the area.

Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told the UN Security Council in an emergency meeting on Sunday that Rwandan troops were crossing the border near Goma and her country considered Kigalis support for the M23 advance a declaration of war.

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Wagner asked that the Security Council demand the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congo, outlaw weapons sales to the country, and sanction Rwandan politicians and army officials. She also asked the council to call for an embargo on the purchase of all minerals sold by Rwanda, particularly gold and coltan, a source of tantalum.

Rwandan Ambassador to the UN Ernest Rwamucyo told the council that Congos inability to govern itself or control the many armed groups active in its eastern region was the root of its problems.

The M23 last captured Goma in 2012, which resulted in widespread condemnation and sanctions by the international community.

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The rebels say theyre fighting for the rights of ethnic Tutsis and other speakers of the Rwandan language in Congo.

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Rwandan-backed rebels claimed control of a key city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a major advance in a days-long offensive.

The latest battles represent a significant escalation in a protracted conflict in the countrys mineral-rich east, which has resulted in a humanitarian crisis: 7 million people have been internally displaced and a further 1 million forced to seek international asylum, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

Rwanda denies any official ties to the M23 rebels, who announced Monday they had captured the city of Goma, but UN experts say Kigali has provided significant backing.

The UN Security Council called for the rebel offensive to end, but talk is cheap, one expert wrote in the Financial Times, noting that Western powers criticized Kigali even as they offered financial support to Rwanda to address migration and security issues.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Oklahomas top education official said he would support immigration enforcement raids in schools to assist with the White Houses promise of mass deportations.

This week, President Donald Trump threw out a federal policy that had been in place since 2011 that discouraged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making arrests in protected areas like schools, medical centers and places of worship.

Oklahoma schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said in a TV interview posted Friday that he would help the Trump administration in any way they see fit to carry out immigration enforcement, including ICE raids in schools.

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For years the liberal media has been vilifying Republicans for separating illegal immigrant children from their parents, Walters said in a news release Friday afternoon. Now they want us to explain why wed let ICE agents into schools. The answer is simple: we want to ensure that deported parents are reconnected with their children and keep families together.

Chicago Public Schools said ICE agents attempted to enter an elementary school on Friday, but the school denied them entry. However, the U.S. Secret Service later clarified it was one of its agents in the area investigating a threat, not ICE conducting immigration enforcement.

Walters has proposed a rule at the state Education Department, which he leads, that would require schools to ask for students proof of citizenship or legal immigration status during enrollment.

His proposal would not prohibit any students from attending public schools, but districts would have to report to the Education Department the number of undocumented children they enroll.

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Walters said Friday he intends to share this information with the federal government to assist with immigration enforcement.

The first step is getting them the information, Walters said in an interview with Tulsa TV station KTUL. Thats part of what they flagged is, you know, schools havent been working with law enforcement on this. Well, in Oklahoma, were going to work with law enforcement. We are going to work with the Trump administration.

What happens if Oklahoma State Board of Education approves immigration rule?

The Oklahoma State Board of Education, which Walters also heads, is expected to vote Tuesday on the proposed immigration rule. If it passes, the state Legislature would have the choice of voting on it or allowing the governor to decide whether to approve it. The rule would carry the force of law if OKd by the Legislature or governor.

Gov. Kevin Stitts office remains focused on deporting undocumented immigrants who committed crimes unrelated to their immigration status, spokesperson Meyer Siegfried said.

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Governor Stitt supports the strong enforcement of immigration laws and believes we have a responsibility to know who is in our state and how taxpayer dollars are being spent, Siegfried said.

Ryan Walters, state superintendent of public education, during his presentation at a hearing at the Senate Education Budget subcommittee meeting at the Oklahoma Capitol Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.

The office of the Senate president pro tem did not return a request for comment Friday. House Speaker Kyle Hilberts office declined to comment on a rule that hasnt yet passed a board vote to be submitted to the Legislature, nor did he remark on potential ICE involvement in schools.

Walters initially suggested the rule last month as a way to gauge current and future needs for English learner programs and other school resources to accommodate immigrant children.

Schools should be a safe haven, advocates say

Advocates of Oklahoma immigrant communities warned citizenship checks in schools could dissuade undocumented families from enrolling their children in public education.

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Schools should be a safe haven from immigration enforcement, said Juan Lecona, a member of the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education.

This is not about red or blue, Lecona said Friday. Its about the future of our students. Let them learn. Let them become whoever they want to be in the future. By doing this, you are breaking up families, and on top of that, how are the schools going to benefit from it?

Lecona is the first immigrant to serve on the Oklahoma City school board. His parents brought him to the U.S. from Mexico when he was a child in 1990 with a legal visa and permit, he said. Once that paperwork expired, he became undocumented.

Lecona is now a U.S. citizen with children attending the Oklahoma City district. As a school board member, he represents a majority Latino area in the citys south side.

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He said immigrants living in his community are afraid and dont know what to do.

Im concerned for my community, our working people, because thats what we want. We just want to work and achieve our American dream, Lecona said. Were not here to cause trouble.

Oklahoma City Superintendent Jamie Polk has said the district has no plans to collect students immigration status. The district administration did not return a request for comment on Walters statements Friday.

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions:info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice onFacebook andTwitter.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters supports ICE immigration raids in Oklahoma schools
By Alimat Aliyeva

Perplexity AI, a company focused on developing artificial intelligence technologies, has made a new proposal to merge with the TikTok short video creation and viewing platform. The proposal includes the establishment of a new holding company, NewCo, Azernews reports.

According to the latest information, Perplexity AI has already sent updated terms to ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, as well as to potential investors. In addition to creating the new holding company, NewCo., the proposal suggests that the U.S. government could hold a 50% stake in the platform.

Perplexity AI first announced its interest in acquiring TikTok on January 19. The initial offer allowed TikTok shareholders to retain their shares while granting Perplexity AI access to the platform's video content. Now, the new proposal is that TikTok shareholders may receive shares in the newly formed holding company.

On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he intends to make a decision on TikToks future in the U.S. within the next 30 days. Trump also mentioned that he has been in talks with very influential people regarding the potential acquisition of TikTok. He emphasized that maintaining the social network for American users could bring significant economic benefits to the U.S.

This proposal is likely to spark further debate, particularly over concerns about data privacy, national security, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence in shaping global media platforms. The outcome of this merger, if it proceeds, could have lasting implications for both the technology industry and the geopolitics surrounding major digital platforms like TikTok.
The 2026 Cadillac Vistiq will come with four trim levels and will start production at General Motors' assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., in early 2025.

Cadillacs electric vehicle sales are increasing, and so is the number of electric nameplates it will have on sale  a combination brand leaders say will push Cadillac to be the bestselling luxury EV brand in the U.S. this year.

John Roth, vice president of global Cadillac, said that projection comes as the Lyriq midsize crossover gains market momentum and as General Motors luxury brand prepares to welcome three new EVs in greater numbers this year  the compact Optiq, the three-row Vistiq and Escalade IQ large SUV.

Lyriq sales more than tripled in the U.S. last year to 28,402. A Cadillac spokesperson said the brand excludes Tesla from its luxury competitors because of recent pricing decisions and will measure itself against EVs from brands such as Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

Lyriq is doing what we expected it to do, Roth told Automotive News ahead of the NADA Show in New Orleans.

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Its sales performance speaks volumes to where were headed with a Tier 1 luxury brand like Cadillac, Roth told reporters this month when unveiling the high-performance V-Series badge on the Lyriq. As we add the other models to the lineup and really fill out the portfolio and having a key vehicle in each one of the luxury EV segments, the upside is just tremendous for the brand.

The first Optiq deliveries began in January, Roth said, with the Vistiq set to follow.

Cadillac is holding in-person training sessions starting this month in Las Vegas for dealership employees so they can sell the expanded lineup to customers, Roth said. Dealership sales employees now will have more choices to present to customers beyond the Lyriq, which had been Cadillacs only EV.

The Lyriq has a conquest rate of 76 percent for Cadillac, and more than half of those buyers are new to GM, Roth said.

Jack Weidinger, chairman of the Cadillac National Dealer Council, told Automotive News before the NADA Show that Cadillac soon will have attractive EVs in a range of segments and price points, from roughly $50,000 for the Optiq to $150,000 for the Escalade IQ.

I think that buyers are going to flock to them, said Weidinger, owner of Weidinger Auto Group and dealer principal of North Bay Cadillac in Great Neck, N.Y.

Roth said Cadillac has not delivered any Celestiq ultraluxury electric sedans. Cadillac opened the design process in 2023, allowing buyers to personalize materials and finishes of their vehicles so that no two would be alike. The hand-built Celestiq will start around $340,000 before customization.
MILAN  With design firms like Poltrona Frau, Molteni&C and Fendi Casa pinpointing Saudi Arabia as a strategic market, its no wonder leading design trade show Salone del Mobile.Milano is planning a Saudi Arabian edition of the fair, which could take place in the near term.

On Monday, Salone del Mobile.Milano said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabian Architecture and Culture Commission to promote a dialogue between Italy and Saudi Arabia in the worlds of design and architecture. The memorandum paves the way for a Saudi edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano. A Saudi Arabian version of the furniture fair would be geared toward initiating cultural dialogue and propelling the work of young talents, a statement said.

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The memorandum represents an extraordinary opportunity for Salone del Mobile.Milano to create a cultural and commercial bridge between Italy and Saudi Arabia. Through our collaboration, we aim to enhance Italian design and encourage a fruitful exchange of skills and creativity within the Saudi context, Salone del Mobile.Milano president Maria Porro said.

Porro revealed the initiative during the Italy-Saudi Arabian roundtable talks in the ancient city of Al-Ula that also welcomed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Saudi Arabias prime minister, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Said.

Maria Porro

According to FederlegnoArredo, the Italian federation of woodworking and furniture industries and Italian statistics bureau Istat, in 2023 Italian exports from the wood-furniture supply chain to Saudi Arabia totaled 247 million euros, up 2 percent from 2022. Italy is Saudi Arabias number-two trade partner, after China, in terms of both wood-furniture and furniture imports.

A significant number of Italian luxury furniture firms have recently invested in expanding their retail footprint in Riyadh, as the nations design economy continues to grow.

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Last year, Fendi Casa opened a new flagship in Riyadh at the capitals upscale Tahlia Street in partnership with Dar Al Arkan Interiors, the kingdoms leading luxury branded furniture company, while Bari-based Natuzzi reopened its Riyadh store on King Fahd Road in July 2024. Tolentino-based Poltrona Fraus told WWD its Riyadh store opening is expected in May. Molteni&C also said a Riyadh opening is slated for later this year.

At the time of the Fendi Casa opening, chief executive officer Alberto da Passano stressed the growth potential of the Saudi Arabian market, as luxury construction and the nations real estate market continues to boom.

Saudi Arabia is a key market Riyadh, with its dynamic growth and evolving luxury landscape, represents a strategic opening for us, said da Passano. By establishing our flagship boutique in this vibrant city, we will be able to connect directly with a sophisticated clientele that values the Fendi brand while further expanding our presence in a market with significant potential for future growth.

Design activations and initiatives represent a small but significant part of the Saudi governments strategy to drive the growth and diversification of its economy, as its government works toward several of its Vision 2030 goals, including increasing the private sectors contribution to gross domestic product to 65 percent and increasing the contribution of non-oil exports from 16 to 50 percent, among others.

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In parallel with retail expansion for European luxury brands in Saudi Arabia, the nation is also focusing more on growing its own design economy. Helped greatly by organizations like the arts and creative industries at the Royal Commission for Al-Ula and the establishment of the Ministry of Cultures Architecture and Design Commission in 2018, designers worldwide have been welcomed to Al-Ula to take part in the Arab nations ongoing cultural renaissance.

During Milan Design Week in 2024, Saudi Arabias Arts and Creative Industries at the Royal Commission for the ancient city of Al-Ula exhibited prototypes from the inaugural Al-Ula Design Residency. The debut showcase included the work of French design collective Hall Haus; Leen Ajlan from Saudi Arabia; BahrainiDanish, the architectural office with offices in Bahrain and Denmark, and Studio Leo Orta from France, as well as Studio Raw Material from India.

Haus Dari by Hall Haus presented in Milan during Milan Design Week in April 2024.

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In December, Federlegno Arredo president Claudio Feltrin said Saudi Arabia is one of the markets fueling the Italian design industry amid challenging times. Exports, especially to the U.S., United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and the flexibility and speed of our companies in repositioning themselves in new markets, is allowing us to hold up better than other production confederations amid dark times.

FederlegnoArredo has yet to report its final figures for 2024, but in 2023, the entire Italian wood-furnishings sector booked 52.6 billion euros in revenue with 10.8 billion euros generated from Lombardy alone. Aside from boosting employment, the wood-furniture supply chain has come together to innovate the sectors supply chain and create a circular economy as a united front.

In Italy, the 63rd edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano and the 32nd edition of the Euroluce light exhibition will unfold April 8 to 13 at the citys Rho Fiera trade grounds.

While Porro and her team hosted events in New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai last year, the last foreign edition of the fair took place at the Shanghai Exhibition Center before the COVID-19 pandemic and was envisaged as a showcase for Made in Italy products and the Italian way of living in Shanghai. It remains to be seen whether or not organizers will see the fair return to China.

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SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage)  A San Angelo man has been convicted of attempting to solicit sex from a minor online after being caught through a sting operation.

According to information provided by the 51st District Attorneys Office, a special agent of the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted an investigation on Oct. 10, 2022, targeted at child sex predators using online platforms. Nicholas Dussault, 32, engaged in an online conversation with the undercover agent through the MeetMe application and believed that he was communicating with a 15-year-old girl.

San Angelo locals arrested for crimes against child

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Dussault solicited the individual to meet him and engage in sex. He then arrived at the meeting location and was arrested by TxDPS.

We want to thank everyone involved in this case including the Texas Department of Public Safety, the office said. Our office remains committed to the safety of our community and seeking justice. We appreciate the proactive efforts of the San Angelo DPS office to keep child predators off our streets and away from our children.

A jury trial was held regarding the charge on Jan. 23. After approximately 30 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Dussault guilty of attempting to solicit a minor to engage in sex and sentenced him to three years of confinement in the penitentiary.

We want to thank the jury for their careful consideration in this case, the office said. Their verdicts send a message to child predators in our community that if they are caught, they will be held accountable and punished.

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Dussault elected to have the jury assess his punishment. He had no criminal history prior to the charge.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com.
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  An investigation has been launched into an in-custody death that happened while a man was being detained following an altercation at a downtown San Diego bar Saturday night.

The San Diego Police Department reports the incident happened around 8:15 p.m. Saturday night.

Officers were called to the Star Bar at 423 E Street in downtown San Diegos Gaslamp Quarter for reports of a man who was acting violent outside of the bar after security removed him because of a disturbance that had happened inside the bar where he also reportedly bit a security guard on the arm.

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When the first officer arrived at 8:18 p.m., San Diego Police reports the man was on the ground struggling while being restrained by the security guard and another individual. The officer then handcuffed the man, who reportedly continued to struggle.

Oceanside driver killed in rollover crash

Thats when the officer called for backup as well as assistance from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) to evaluate the man.

Police report another officer arrived on the scene shortly after and helped to restrain the man by securing his legs.

However, by 8:26 p.m. when the Fire-Rescue Department arrived to evaluate him, they found he was unresponsive and without a pulse. First responders attempted life-saving measures and took him to a nearby hospital, but he was pronounced dead.

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The police department did not release any additional information into what led up to the in-custody death. The man has not yet been identified by authorities.

Driver killed after striking tree in Miramar Ranch North

Per the Countywide Memorandum of Understanding, the San Diego County Sheriffs Office Homicide Unit is leading the investigation into the circumstances of the in-custody death.

The police department reports the officers involved have each served over four and a half years with the San Diego Police Department and are currently part of the Central Divisions patrol team, and that no officers were injured during the incident.

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Death of inmate classified as natural: SDSO

Once the Homicide Units investigation concludes, the case will be reviewed by the San Diego County District Attorneys Office to evaluate any potential criminal liability of the officers involved.

The San Diego Police Department will also being conducting an administrative review of the incident.

Anyone with more information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 858-285-6330/after hours at 858-868-3200. You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Audubon Society of Texas designated San Marcos as a Bird City Texas community, according to a Friday press release.

TPWD said the designation was given to San Marcos because it met rigorous criteria focused on habitat protection, threats to birds, education and engagement, and sustainability.

Achieving the Bird City Texas designation is a significant accomplishment for our community and demonstrates the collaborative effort, hard work, and commitment to supporting bird conservation, education, and outreach, San Marcos Parks and Recreation Director Jamie Lee Case said.

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This designation has only been awarded to 11 Texas cities since the program began in 2020.

San Marcos said it will celebrate the designation at an official ceremony this Spring. For more information about San Marcos Bird City initiatives and events, you can visit the citys website.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
BERLIN  A notorious North Korean military manufacturer selling its wares internationally remains active and is expanding its catalog despite international sanctions, a Defense News investigation shows.

It is just the tip of a vast, global network of obscure front companies that Kim Jong Uns regime uses to sell weapons abroad and procure components for his military programs at home. Following a Russian veto in the Security Council, North Korea may be trying to expand these operations significantly.

Global Communications Co., or Glocom, has been in the crosshairs of the United Nations and many Western governments since 2016. The company sells advanced military radio equipment, missile components and command-and-control systems. More significantly, it has also been identified by the UN as a front for Pyongyangs Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Koreas central intelligence agency.

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The website remains online today, continues to see changes, and, in 2024, was updated with a new product: a telemetry system for missiles. The product page boasts of the devices technical specifications and presents a photograph of the aluminum-colored device superimposed over a stock photo of a rocket blasting off into space.

In a May 10, 2024, press release, Glocom referenced lessons learned in the Ukraine war as being crucial to the development of the new data transmitter. In particular, as we can see from the war in Ukraine, surveillance and reconnaissance using various unmanned surveillance means, as well as attacks by drones and missiles, are becoming essential processes in all military operations, the company wrote.

Reflecting these demands, the GR-8422 broadband data transmitter was introduced. According to the makers, This data transmitter can be installed on various platforms such as fighter jets, drones  and ships, launchers, tanks, armored vehicles, etc.

Nowhere, of course, is there any mention of the North Korea connection. In promotional materials, Glocom went to great lengths to expunge any signs of its true origin, even blurring Korean script on product photos and using fictional locations.

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The North Korean regime operates a web of likely hundreds of similar entities stretching around the world to get around sanctions imposed by the international community, including the UN Security Council, in service of the Kim familys pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.

The target markets are countries embroiled in active conflict and are often themselves under arms embargoes, with North Korea supplying governments that quickly need cheap gear. Insurgency groups and even private military contractors are also would-be customers, said Robert Shaw, program director for the Export Control and Nonproliferation Program at the California-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

My impression is that the North Korean government has made an effort to increase its arms trade, he added.

Branching out

Obtaining hard cash is assessed to be one of the regimes top priorities, and the state runs various enterprises dabbling in arms sales, construction work in places such as Zambia, IT services for unwitting U.S. companies through impersonation of American citizens, or organized crime that involves hacking banks and making and selling drugs like heroin.

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Shaw said Glocoms new message of advertising high-tech devices is a significant step and a whole new ball game from assembling relatively simple radios. Who are they marketing this to? This opens up a whole set of questions, he wondered. This is getting more into major customer territory.

Glocoms website claims that the company was founded in 1996, though this date is impossible to independently verify. According to the official chronology, it started out with the aim of modernizing antiquated radar systems at home. The company appears to be connected with an enterprise by the name of Pan Systems, operating out of Singapore and founded in the same year, according to a UN investigation and sanctions databases.

Pan Systems Singapore soon opened an office in the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang. In an interview by UN experts, cited in a 2017 report, as well as in public statements, the companys owner said he had been approached by a North Korean representative in the late 90s and thought that it seemed like a good idea at the time to facilitate trade. Back then, North Korea was not yet subject to the extensive international sanctions that were imposed on it following its first nuclear test in 2006.

Pan Systems in 2017 claimed that it no longer had any ties to the North Korean office and had exited North Korea when sanctions were imposed in 2007. Indeed, experts assessed that Pan Systems Pyongyang is run by the North Korean intelligence agency RGB. However, Glocoms director, Ryang Su Nyo  a woman in her sixties and herself an agent of the RGB  traveled to Singapore repeatedly from 2010 to 2016 to meet with Pan Systems boss, also making stops in Malaysia to meet with other representatives of Glocom, the 2017 UN report revealed, suggesting that a certain level of cooperation likely still existed around that time.

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According to a UN panel of experts, which was established by the Security Council to investigate North Koreas sanctions evasion and WMD programs, the head of Pan Systems said that Ms. Ryangs visits to Singapore were related to a health condition.

Malaysian authorities have told the panel that Glocom has never operated in Malaysia, despite the companys claimed address in Kuala Lumpurs Little India district. However, the UN said it and Malaysian authorities tracked down several North Korean citizens connected to Glocom who were active in Malaysia at the same time, as well as associated front companies that were registered at the same address and had made bank transfers on Glocoms and North Koreas behalf.

Malaysia has served as a hotbed for North Korean sanctions evasion in the past. The countries historically had comparatively warm ties, and many DPRK nationals and front companies were based there. MKP, one of the largest networks of North Korean overseas companies doing everything from construction to running hospitals, was based in Kuala Lumpur.

However, in recent years, especially following the assassination of Kim Jong Uns half-brother with a nerve poison in Kuala Lumpurs international airport in 2017, relations between the countries have cooled markedly. Malaysia has cracked down on North Korean activity within its borders since and implemented state-of-the-art export control laws to counteract illicit trade.

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For a while in 2016, after the United Nations had reached out to Glocoms front companies in Malaysia for information, it seemed like the company might descend into the wastebasket of history. Like many other North Korean front companies before it and since, its website was taken down and mentions of it were erased from the internet. Unusually, however, it returned just a year later with an updated product catalog and a revamped design. In the official company chronology, it is written that the year 2016 was the most difficult, but innovative year for Glocom.

Red flags

Glocom differs from other North Korean front companies in its persistence and the quality of its international presence. It has participated in trade fairs in Southeast Asia since 2006 and maintains a polished website, product catalogs written in reasonably good English, and, at one point, even had Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts  until the respective platforms suspended them as part of a crackdown on North Korean profiles. Its promotional videos, since deleted, showed dynamic animations of battlefield scenarios with explosions and military vehicles and touted the products advanced capabilities.

In contrast, many other North Korean front companies websites look dated, are riddled with spelling errors and broken links, lack depth and raise other red flags.

I suspect many of the actual deals and transfers are being developed and conducted through personal networks and possibly with the assistance of embassy personnel, Shaw said.

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What purpose websites like Glocoms serve is unclear, he added, saying that perhaps it was political signaling for domestic forces, or to show defiance on the world stage.

Over the years, Glocom managed to land a number of sales, including to Eritrea, Syria and Ethiopia, the latter as recently as 2022. It seems likely that more sales have occurred but simply flown under the radar thanks to North Koreas extensive use of convoluted shipping and payment networks to obscure the origin of wares and the destination of money. Similar North Korean arms deals have occurred with Yemen, Cuba, Egypt, Russia, Myanmar, Sudan, Iran and others.

In the 2022 sale of military radios to the Ethiopian army, an Indonesian company by the name of Advanced Technology Facility was involved with training the recipients in the equipments use. ATF had previously been exposed by the United Nations experts for selling Glocoms equipment on their website under a different brand name, EDSAT. A photo published in Ethiopian media in November 2022 showed the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, using what appears to be one of the North Korean military radios.

Neither Ethiopia nor Advanced Technology Facility responded to the UNs request for further information.

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More sales may be forthcoming. Aside from the website being recently updated, in 2024, South Korea informed the UN that Glocom persists in selling Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea-manufactured military telecommunications equipment.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent shifting of international geopolitics has opened a new door for North Korean arms dealers that the country may be trying to exploit. Shunned by much of the international community, North Korea and Russia have grown closer in recent years, and Moscow has used its position in the Security Council to shield Pyongyang from any new sanctions  and to roll back enforcement of existing measures.

North Korean state enterprises and even government departments are often tasked with paying for their own operation and making money for the regime at all costs, said Shaw, of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. If I were an exec with one of those corporations, I would see this as a huge opportunity, he said, referring to the budding strategic partnership between Pyongyang and Moscow.

Last year, Russia vetoed the continued existence of the United Nations panel of experts that had tracked North Koreas sanctions evasion and WMD procurement efforts for over a decade and whose reports, published every half year and routinely hundreds of pages long, contributed significantly to shedding light on Glocoms and other North Korean activities.

Russia itself increasingly came into the crosshairs of the reports as the country forged a military partnership with Pyongyang and started buying large quantities of North Korean weapons for its war in Ukraine.
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO)  Two teenagers, 16 and 17, were arrested after Rockford officers responded to a shooting on Sunday night.

According to the Rockford Police Department, officers from the patrol division, along with officers from the Specialized Community Oriented Policing Enforcement (SCOPE) unit responded to the 500 block of N. Avon Street around 9:40 p.m. for a report of shots fired.

Police spotted a suspicious vehicle leaving the area and watched as two teens got out and attempted to get into a home. Both were taken into custody, and authorities said a rifle with a sawed-off barrel and a handgun with an extended magazine were found.

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Both teens were taken to juvenile detention.

The 16-year-old faces charges of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon (2 counts), unlawful use of a firearm, reckless discharges, and no valid Firearm Owners Identification (FOID).

The 17-year-old faces charges of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon (2 counts) and no valid Firearm Owners Identification (FOID).

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
A woman was recently arrested after saying that shed crashed into a deer with her vehicle, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The wreck wasnt the reason she was taken into custody, rather it was because shes accused of committing insurance fraud, SLED said in a news release.

Queen Viola Arthur, a 33-year-old Hartsville resident, was charged with presenting false claim for insurance, according to the release.

On Oct. 12, 2023, Arthur knowingly submitted a false claim for insurance payment to Progressive Northern Insurance Company, an arrest warrant said.

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Arthur said she crashed into a deer with her insured vehicle and sent photos of the damage to Progressive, claiming the vehicle had no prior unrepaired damage, according to the arrest warrant. But metadata from three of the photos showed the pictures were taken before she had an insurance policy, as well as prior to the date of the wreck, the arrest warrant shows.

Arthur attempted to gain an undeserved economic advantage by presenting a false claim totaling $2,014.54, the arrest warrant said.

Progressive denied the claim and Arthur was arrested Jan. 6, according to the arrest warrant.

Arthur was released the same day from the Darlington County Detention Center after posting a $2,000 bond, jail records show.

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The South Carolina Department of Insurance will prosecute the case after the agency asked SLED to lead the investigation.

If convicted on the felony presenting false claim for insurance charge, Arthur faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine, according to South Carolina law.
For the record:

3:09 p.m. Jan. 30, 2025: In an earlier version of this review, three quoted passages did not reflect the final version of the books text. The quotations have been corrected.



Determined to secure her familys future, Evelyn leaves her gang-plagued California desert town of Lancaster with her husband and five children. Using her aunts address, the 29-year-old waitress enrolls her four oldest in Monterey Parks far better public schools. She manages to keep them there, even while fleeing her violent husband and toggling between rundown motels and scary, sleep-deprived nights in a 2008 Toyota Highlander.

The El Salvadoran American protagonist of Jeff Hobbs fourth work of narrative nonfiction, Seeking Shelter, is no saint. She makes questionable decisions that skirt the law and potentially endanger her children. But both her fortitude and her motives seem heroic. In Hobbs telling, Evelyn is less a victim of a society that countenances widespread homelessness than a survivor of every challenge life can throw at her.

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Yet, as Hobbs points out, that is insufficient cause for celebration. Survival is not clean or elegant; there is no music to it, no pageantry, no accolades; it does not follow straight pathways or hold pauses for rest or reflection; it does not feel fulfilling or noble, strengthening or cleansing, spiritual or redemptive, he writes. "There is no immediate reward, no effortless landing on the other side. Survival is a scary, humiliating, ugly threshing of the body and the soul."

Seeking Shelter is, Hobbs notes, primarily a work of reconstructive journalism. He pieced together Evelyns story and that of Wendi Gaines, a social worker who helps her, largely through after-the-fact interviews. (He identifies Evelyn and her children only by first name.)

Hobbs is a practiced hand at this technique, as exemplified by The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, winner of the 2014 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in the current interest category. That absorbing tale  of another flawed but sympathetic character, who was both Hobbs Yale roommate and a drug dealer  had to be reported and written postmortem.

In the case of Seeking Shelter, Hobbs could have chosen a different route. The Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond shadowed several (anonymous) families as they tried to remain housed, which enabled him to reproduce their dialogue verbatim in his 2016 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Evicted.

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Hobbs, by contrast, writes that he struggled ethically with the prospect of spending  any amount of time embedded alongside a familys saddest, hardest, darkest moments on the street and then leaving them there to return to my own home. He opted to wait until his subjects lives had stabilized.

Read more: What's the secret to motherhood? How 20th century scientists got it wrong

Despite this self-imposed limitation, Seeking Shelter is remarkably vivid and detailed, as well as deeply empathetic. Hobbs, a onetime novelist, doesnt just recount events; he confidently probes his characters psyches, parsing their motivations and emotions.

Occasionally, reaching for a poetic phrasing, his prose can turn vague, labored or overwrought. At one point, for example, he infelicitously describes Evelyns specific unfolding situation as being as plain as a mothers hope, as knotted and psychotic as America's racist, classist education system."

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Hobbs great gift lies in immersing readers in his narrative, keeping us rooting for his subjects despite their missteps.

Read more: Is the Southwest America's obscure hinterland  or its rightful heartland?

Evelyn is a survivor of both childhood sexual abuse and an abusive relationship with a gang member with whom she had two sons. Her move to Monterey Park is also a move away from her past. But it is undercut by her confusion about the Section 8 federal housing voucher system. She has qualified, but in the wrong geographic area. And with long wait lists, obtaining a voucher in either location is likely years away.

Evelyn does find work as a server at Applebees. But her husband, Manny, the father of her three youngest children, mostly spends his days drinking. She leaves him only after he punches his stepson Orlando and chokes her. By then, she is pregnant with a sixth child. Fearing contact with her rageful husband and enmeshment in a system she understandably distrusts, she never pursues Manny for child support.

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Nor does Evelyn take full advantage of the limited social safety net for families such as hers. She wants the citys social workers nowhere near her kids, worried that she will lose them, or that they'll be uprooted from the schools they now love, Hobbs writes. But Evelyn may not see clearly enough how much they are suffering from the instability and grinding poverty of their lives.

Read more: 'No Place to Bury the Dead' is a moving meditation on migration, displacement and loss

Hobbs writes that he sought to explode the dominant presumption that most people who end up without shelter do so as a result of drug addiction, mental health challenges, and general shortcomings of competence. Evelyn represents another large subset of the homeless: single-parent families.

Hobbs is aware that some readers may condemn Evelyn for her familys size; many of her friends and relatives are similarly judgmental. As a counterweight, he emphasizes how devoted a mother she is  and the extent to which her children buoy her rather than weigh her down.

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He also reports on the challenges faced by Evelyns oldest son, Orlando. Left too much on his own, he falls in with a rough crowd and is caught up in a violent robbery. Awaiting trial, he is consigned to a juvenile facility, where his (relative) innocence matters less than having money for a good lawyer.

Gaines' story, which Hobbs braids with Evelyns, is tumultuous. Already the mother of seven, one of them severely autistic, she, too, marries a physically abusive man. He expels her from their home before she gathers the strength to leave. But she quickly finds shelter and new purpose through a religious nonprofit, Door of Hope, which supplies transitional housing and social services.

Evelyn, too, will finally encounter that organization, and Wendi Gaines, and the possibility of a new, more stable life. But, as Hobbs points out, Californias tens of thousands of unhoused families and individuals, no less sympathetic and deserving, still await help. The recent fires, displacing thousands more, have only made the issue more urgent.

Julia M. Klein is a cultural reporter and critic in Philadelphia.

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.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) have sharply attacked the conservative opposition over a set of hard-line migration proposals, and intend to put their own slate of policies to a vote in parliament.

Matthias Miersch, a senior SPD party official, accused the centre-right CDU/CSU bloc of having repeatedly blocked a security package that would expand powers for authorities and reform parts of the country's Federal Police Act.

He also said that the European Union's asylum reforms to manage migration need to be implemented into German law quickly.

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"We are happy to discuss our proposals - once again - with all democratic parliamentary groups," reads a resolution passed by the SPD party executive.

But Miersch ruled out SPD support for the proposals put forward by the leader of the CDU/CSU, Friedrich Merz, which include bringing back permanent controls at Germany's borders and refusing entry to migrants seeking asylum.

Miersch also said he sees no basis for a compromise, as the CDU/CSU's current proposals violate Germany's constitution and EU law.

If Merz goes ahead and pushes through his proposals with the votes of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), he would be committing an "unprecedented breach of taboo in the post-war history of the Federal Republic of Germany," Miersch said.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has sealed a deal to divest its remaining 5.45% stake in Bank of Hangzhou (HZB) to New China Life Insurance (NCI).

The deal is anticipated to generate around A$940m ($593m) in gross proceeds for CBA.

Bank of Hangzhou, set up in September 1996 and situated in Zhejiang province, China, is publicly traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Upon completion, the sale is projected to enhance CBA's Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio by an estimated 18 basis points, in accordance with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's standards.

This calculation is based on the Group's risk-weighted assets as of 30 September 2024.

CBA CEO Matt Comyn said: CBA has been a longstanding shareholder of HZB since its original investment in 2005, and we are pleased to have contributed to the development of HZB into a significant player in retail, wealth management and commercial banking across the Yangtze Delta region.

The finalisation of the sale is contingent upon various conditions, including approval from the National Financial Regulatory Administration, a confirmation opinion from the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the registration of the share transfer by the Shanghai Branch of China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited.

This transaction is expected to be finalised around mid-2025, provided these conditions are met.

New China Life Insurance, established in 1996, is based in Beijing. It has Central Huijin Investment, a state-owned entity, and China Baowu Steel Group as primary shareholders.

In October 2024, In CBA divested a further 10% stake in Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB).

"CBA to offload remaining stake in Bank of Hangzhou" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.




NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  For the second time in two years, Metro Nashville Public Schools bus drivers were called upon to respond to a deadly shooting in Nashville.

On Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, school bus drivers responded to campus after the deadly shooting inside Antioch High School to ferry children to a reunification area, just as they did on March 27, 2023 after the shooting inside The Covenant School.

On Monday morning, at least 20 bus drivers showed their support for the children whose lives they protect every day by participating in a convoy to Antioch High School.

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Antioch High School Shooting | Continuing Coverage

(Courtesy: Amanda Peters)

Bus driver Amanda Peters said this mornings convoy was to show they stand with Antioch, the students, teachers and faculty.

We, the Antioch school bus drivers, want to make Antioch students know that we stand with you, were behind you, and were all going to be there for you. So we just wanted to let you know that our hearts are heavy for you but were there for you.

Antioch students are expected to return to campus Tuesday. Bus drivers dont have specific changes in place for tomorrow as students return to school under new security measures.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

On the morning of March 27, the Metro Transportation Department sent at least nine buses to The Covenant School to take students away from the shooting scene. Bus after bus took kids to a safe, calm place where they could be reunited with their loved ones.

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Metro Nashville Public Schools reported its bus drivers have evacuated Nashvillians during floods, fires and the 2020 bombing downtown. At the height of the pandemic, the big yellow school buses delivered school supplies, academic materials and food directly into neighborhoods.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI)  A number of schools across Northern New York are dismissing early due to impending extreme wind chills.

There were schools that were delayed due to the round of lake effect snow from over the weekend.

UPDATED: Lewis County downgrades to Travel Advisory

Heres a list of schools dismissing early at the moment:

Adams Free Library  Closing at 3 p.m.

Alexandria Central School  Dismissing at 1 p.m.; No afterschool activities

Antwerp Public Library  Closing at 4 p.m.

Badenhausen Public Library  Closing at 4 p.m.

Belleville Henderson Central School  Closing at 1:30 p.m.; No evening activities and Board of Education meeting canceled

Bohlen Technical Center- Early closing; NO PM BOCES

Brasher Falls (St. Lawrence) Central School  No afterschool activities

Canton Central School District  No evening sports or activities

Carthage Central School District  Closing at noon; No PM BOCES, No PM Pre-K or after-school activities

Clifton-Fine Central School  No afterschool activities

Community Action Planning Council  Closing at 3 p.m.

Copenhagen Central School  Closing at 1 p.m.; No afterschool activities; No PM BOCES; Board of Education meeting will still occur.

Colton-Pierrepont Central School  No afterschool activities

Depauville Free Library  Closed

Edwards-Knox Central School  After school activities canceled

Faith Fellowship School  Closing at 11 a.m.

General Brown Central School District  High school dismissing at 12:30 p.m.; Elementary at 1:30 p.m.

Gouverneur Central School District- Afterschool activities canceled

Hawn Memorial Library  Closing at 12:30 p.m.

Hermon-DeKalb Central School  No afterschool activities

Heuvelton Central School  No evening activities

IHC School System  Closing at 10 a.m.

Indian River Central School District  Grades 6-12 Closing at 10:30 a.m.; K-5 at noon

Jefferson Community College  Closing at 4:30 p.m.; No evening classes

LaFargeville Central School  Closing at 1:30 p.m.; No afterschool activities

Lisbon Central School  Afterschool activities canceled

Lowville Academy and Central School District  Closing at 12:35 p.m.; NO PM BOCES or PM Pre-K

Lyme Central School  Closing at 11:30 a.m.; No afterschool activities

Madrid-Waddington Central School  No afterschool activities

Massena Central School District  No evening activities

Morristown Central School  No afterschool activities

NYS Basic EMT Class at Jefferson County Public Health  6 p.m. class canceled

Norwood-Norfolk Central School  Afterschool activities canceled

Ogdensburg City Schools  No evening activities

Parishville-Hopkinton Central School  No evening activities

Planned Parenthood Lowville  Closed

Potsdam Central School District  After school activities canceled

Sackets Harbor Central School  Closing at 1:30 p.m.

Sally Ploof Hunter Memorial Library  Closing at 3 p.m.

South Jefferson Central School District- Closing at noon; Elementary at 12:20 p.m.

St. Lawrence County Magistrates Association  Meeting canceled

Thousand Islands Central School District  High school and middle school dismissal at 12:15 p.m.; Elementary school at 12:45 p.m.

Watertown Baseball Umpires Association  New member orientation meeting canceled

Watertown City School District  High school dismissing at 10:30 a.m.; Elementary at 11:30 a.m.

Severe wind chills can be dangerous and cause harm. Heres a chart on what these can feel like.

Wind Chill Chart_-1174969637750947275

Well keep you up-to-date with any further closings and delays on our website or on our ticker at the bottom of our screen.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWTI - InformNNY.com.
Scientists in Japan who noticed a drastic shift in glass eel migration patterns sounded the alarm on an underlying issue.

What's happening?

As reported by The Japan Times earlier this month, researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo, and Hokkaido University published their findings in the international oceanography journal Ocean Dynamics. They determined that global warming is to blame for the Kuroshio Current shifting northward and increasing the number of glass eels in Hokkaido's rivers in recent years.

Glass eels "mainly grow south of Japan's Honshu main island" after they "hatch from eggs in waters west of the Mariana Islands and travel on the Kuroshio Current to estuaries on the coasts of Japan, Taiwan, and China in winter and early spring," per the Times. The Kuroshio Current usually "flows northward along the Japanese archipelago," but it is "shifting north" due to rising global temperatures caused by climate change.

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The research team conducted a simulation of the movement of glass eels in waters surrounding Japan and found that "more glass eels reached rivers along the Pacific coast of Hokkaido in the decade through 2023 than in the decade through 2003," the Times stated.

Why is this important?

Drastic shifts in animal behavior, like the glass eels' fluctuating migration patterns, can often be attributed to significant changes to the environment. As ocean temperatures continue to rise because of climate change, researchers have found that fish are changing their hunting and feeding patterns, which could have dire results.

For example, fish in the Baltic Sea have adapted to warmer waters by consuming smaller, more abundant prey, which could significantly diminish the caloric intake they need to survive and lead to possible increases in extinctions.

Rising temperatures could cause fish to migrate to areas where fishing pressure is high and regulations are minimal, which would leave them more vulnerable to human activities.

What's being done about this?

Chang Yu-Lin, deputy senior scientist at JAMSTEC, told the Times he hopes these findings "would lead to securing Japanese eel resources over the long term."

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While there isn't a quick fix for slowing the rise of ocean temperatures, these shifting migration patterns and animal behaviors show how crucial it is for global efforts to focus on reducing pollution and protecting marine ecosystems to ensure these species can thrive despite the challenges posed by a warming planet.

Do you worry about air pollution in your town? All the time Often Only sometimes Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Reducing your contributions to carbon pollution is a great first step to help protect ocean life from ongoing climate change.

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.






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For 600,000 years during the tail end of the Miocene epoch, the Mediterranean was a dried-up salt plain cut off from the Atlantic Ocean.

Around 5.3 million years ago, the eastern and western Mediterranean basins were suddenly refilled during an event known as the Zanclean megaflood.

Now, a new study finds evidence of this flood in ridges along the Sicily Sill and in channels that likely formed from this sudden and powerful deluge.

Ages, epochs, periods, and even eras are often defined by some sort of geologic trauma. The Chicxulub asteroid, for example, pushed the Earth into the Cenozoic Era, and 65 million years later, experts are pondering if weve entered a new geologic age induced by modern humans (and their predilection for greenhouse gasses). In many ways, Earths story for the past 550 million years has largely been a cyclical tale of trauma and recoveryone that consistently yields to new forms of life.

However, one particular geologic event in that half-a-billion-year-long epic still has scientists scratching their heads. Around 6 million years ago, between the Miocene and Pliocene epochsor more specifically, the Messinian and Zanclean agesthe Mediterranean Sea was cut off from the Atlantic Ocean and formed a vast, desiccated salt plain between the European and African continents. Until, that is, this roughly 600,000-year-long period known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis suddenly came to an end.

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At first, scientists believed that the waters return to the Mediterranean took roughly 10,000 years. But the discovery of erosion channels stretching from the Gulf of Cadiz to the Alboran Sea in 2009 challenged this idea, suggesting instead that a powerful megaflood may have refilled the Mediterranean Basin in as little as two to 16 years. That likely means this flooding eventnow known as the Zanclean megafloodfeatured discharge rates of roughly 68 to 100 Sverdrups (one Sverdrup equals one million cubic meters per second).

New research by an international team of scientists has uncovered more evidence of this incredible event, and also developed a computer model showing exactly how this geologic deluge unfolded. The results of the study were published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

The Zanclean megaflood was an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon, with discharge rates and flow velocities dwarfing any other known floods in Earths history, Aaron Micallef, lead author of the study from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, said in a press statement . Our research provides the most compelling evidence yet of this extraordinary event []. These findings not only shed light on a critical moment in Earths geological history but also demonstrate the persistence of landforms over five million years.

Researchers spotted this new evidence along 300 asymmetric ridges in the Sicily Sill, which was once a landbridge that separated the eastern and western Mediterranean basins. In finding that the tops of these ridges contained rocky material eroded from the ridge flanks, the scientists realized that this rock mustve been deposited quickly and with a stunning amount of force.

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The researchers also note that this particular rock layer lies directly on the boundary where the Messinian transitions into the Zanclean, which is around the time of this landscape-altering megaflood.

The morphology of these ridges is compatible with erosion by large-scale, turbulent water flow with a predominantly north easterly direction, Paul Carling, a co-author of the study from the University of Southampton, said in a press statement.

The authors also found evidence of w-shaped flood channels using seismic data and developed computer models to simulate how the flood waters wouldve refilled the Mediterranean Basin. This model shows that flooding could have reached speeds of 72 miles per hour, carving deep channels as observed in the seismic data.

The geologic story of Earth may be somewhat cyclical, but that doesnt mean it cant be exciting.



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Researchers in Texas are using bee-sniffing dogs to locate bumblebee nests, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

Bumblebees are important pollinators, supporting many of the region's native plants, which can't reproduce without pollination. However, as the world gets hotter and insecticide use pollutes the environment, these adorable insects are under threat. Their declining populations are a source of worry for many who care about the environment.

To help bumblebees, conservationists have to find them. There are many ways for the average person to help, but humans aren't good at finding bumblebee nests, which are hidden underground. To do that, researchers use dogs.

Specifically, they use Jane and Gerty, two German shorthaired pointers trained by ecologist Jacqueline Staab.

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"I wanted to help fill in these knowledge gaps about nesting and overwintering," Staab told the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "I jumped at the opportunity and decided to make training and deploying detection (canines) to conserve and research bees my masters project, and, ultimately, my career and life's mission."

Staab started her program, Darwin's Bee Dogs, in North Carolina in 2019 when she began training her first bee dog, Darwin. While Darwin has since died, Jane and Gerty have taken over the task of sniffing for bees.

The TPWD has recruited Staab and her dogs for its Pollinators & Prairies program, which is designed to conserve the state's native prairie ecosystems. Finding bumblebee nests is the first step in studying and protecting them as part of the program.

The TPWD told the San Antonio Express-News that this collaboration will help count the populations "of several pollinator species of greatest conservation need in Texas to inform conservation planning efforts." These include American bumblebees and rare variable cuckoo bumblebees.

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"These dogs give us and other collaborating scientists access to wild nests like we've never had before, allowing us to conduct groundbreaking research on these imperiled pollinators," Staab told the TPWD.

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 Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN  A statehouse veteran, Scott Danigole, has been tapped to lead the agency that enforces political campaign finance laws and lobbying statutes.

Danigole, 58, was selected as the next executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission on a 6-0 vote at the Commissions meeting on Friday.

Im very excited about moving forward with the commission and continuing to expand on the work thats been done there, he said on Monday.

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Danigole, who has served as a fiscal analyst for the Nebraska Legislature for the past 27 years, said he sought the position to continue to serve the state and due to a commitment to ensure doing the right thing.

Nearly 70 people applied for the position, and four finalists were interviewed by a search committee, which pared the field of candidates to two.

Danigole was the only person interviewed on Friday after the other finalist found a different job and dropped out. The position, subject to negotiations, pays between $110,000 and $115,000 a year.

Danigole, as a fiscal analyst, monitors spending by several state agencies, including the Accountability and Disclosure Commission. The job of analyzing the Commissions spending was shifted to another analyst due to his appointment.

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A self-described military brat, Danigole graduated from Bellevue East High School after his father retired from Offutt Air Force Base. He earned a history and political science degree from Creighton University and a master of public administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Danigole assumes his new post on July 1, after the Legislature completes its 2025 session in June, which includes crafting a new, two-year state budget.

He will replace David Hunter as executive director. Hunter, the agencys long-time deputy director, was promoted to executive director in 2023, replacing long-time Commission head Frank Daley Jr. However, Hunter had asked in June to return to his deputy director role.

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Mary Annette Pember

ICT

MARQUETTE, Michigan  They stand at the shoreline of Lake Superior like grand monuments to competing ancient civilizations, profound statements about unresolved European colonialization and Indigenous history.

The giant ore dock, which stretches out into the waters, is a potent symbol of a region and city founded on extraction. Nearby, a new sculpture, the Seven Grandfather Teachings, is testament to the Anishinaabe peoples cultural and ancestral ties to the lands they have inhabited since time immemorial.

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The dock was built in 1931 and decommissioned in 1971, but it has long dominated the landscape and public story of the city named for French Jesuit priest and missionary Jacques Marquette, who was commissioned in the 1660s by France to explore and claim the region for the French Crown.

Today, a statue of Marquette dedicated in 1897 stands in the citys Father Marquette Park.

But it wasnt until the September 2024 unveiling of the Seven Grandfather Teachings that a public monument has marked the history of the Anishinaabe people who occupied an area they call Gichi-namebini Ziibing long before iron ore was discovered in the region in the 1840s.

The sculpture, which features a circle of seven large, locally quarried stones, was created by artist Jason Quigno, a citizen of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. The stones composition  kona dolomite and greenstone metamorphic  and the teachings they represent have ancient origins, according to Quigno, who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Artist Jason Quigno stands with the carved stone that represents "Nbwaakaawin" (wisdom) in his Seven Grandfather Teachings sculpture in Marquette, Michigan. (Photo courtesy of the City of Marquette Public Art Commission)

Those stones are among the oldest on earth and the seven Ojibwe teachings  love, respect, honesty, bravery, truth, humility and wisdom  are ancient instructions given to us thousands of years ago for leading a good life, Quigno told ICT.

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The sculpture was commissioned by the City of Marquette Public Art Commission as part of the citys seven-mile long Cultural Trail, which is scheduled to be completed by 2026, according to Tiina Morin, arts and culture manager for Marquette.

It really seemed to me that there was a need for public representation of the Anishinaabe people here, Morin told ICT. The art commission really wanted the first substantial piece of art in the project to be created by an Indigenous artist.

Waterfront history

Marquettes waterfront today welcomes cyclists, pedestrians, tourists and art enthusiasts.

The space at Spear Dock and Lower Harbor where the ore dock and Seven Grandfather Teachings are located features benches inviting people to sit and enjoy the lakeview and the quiet.

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But it wasnt always this way. The ore dock, with 200 pockets that each can hold 250 tons of ore, served as a means to transport the river of iron ore that flowed from mines in Northern Michigan via railroad cars to ships and on to the worlds steel industries.

The noise and pollution must have been overwhelming. At its peak, Marquette was one of the largest shipping ports for iron ore in the country, and the citys development aligned with the discovery of iron ore deposits in the region in 1844. Immigrants from England, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Germany and other European countries flocked to the area to work in the mines.

As mining, industrial shipping and railroads declined in the latter part of the 20th century, however, the citys waterfront deteriorated. According to the National Working Waterfront Network, the area was characterized by inadequate public access, abandoned industrial land and infrastructure, brownfields and outdated facilities.

The ore dock, once viewed by some as an eyesore, has evolved into a beloved symbol. Twice a year, in January and November, visitors and locals gather near the dock for Orehenge, when the dock perfectly frames the sunrise.

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I guess its kind of a monument to colonization, but I think its also a really cool-looking structure, Quigno said.

Beginning in the 21st century, the city began to reimagine its waterfront, transforming it into a walkable, mixed-use area through grants from Michigans Department of Natural Resources, the National Endowment for the Arts, matching funds from Marquettes Public Art Fund, the Michigan Native Heritage Fund and others.

Black bear

Quigno is a big man, and a city video of him at work on the sculpture catches him deftly using heavy power tools to carve designs into the stones. Its a reminder that his Ojibwe name is Niizh Makade Makwaa, or Two Black Bears.

Quigno spent hours walking around quarries in search of the stones for the sculpture.

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Its one of my favorite things to do, he said, laughing. I love stone yards.

There is something peaceful and eternal for Quigno about the material he uses. He has worked in stone since he was 14 years old, and he came to that love quite by accident. Quigno didnt set out to be an artist, but when Native artists put on a workshop about stone carving in his community, his mother, Bonnie Ekdahl, insisted he attend.

I didnt want to go but she made me, he recalls. It just hooked me.

Now, at age 50, he is a full-time stone carver.

I wanted the sculpture site to be a place of peace and contemplation, so I put a lot of that intention in the work, Quigno said. My purpose is to put our stories into the stone, but its the stones themselves that bring out the designs.

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Quigno is currently working on the final element of the sculpture, called Ishode or fire that will stand in the middle of the circle of grandfather stones. It is expected to be finished in 2026.

Im going to do three flames representing the Three Fires Confederacy, an ancient alliance of Great Lakes tribes, the Potawatomi (Bodewadmi) Ottawa (Odawa) and Ojibwe, he said.

Im a Native artist, you know. I know the stories and its important to have our works here because its never been that way, Quigno told Upper Michigan Source in a 2024 television interview. Weve always been in the background, so its nice to have our stories and work in the forefront.

There are 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan, including five bands of Ojibwe located in the Upper Peninsula. According to Morin, there were about 10 Ojibwe or Anishinaabe villages that lined the nearby shoreline at European contact.

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There are multiple stories to be told about the citys waterfront,  Morin said in an interview with British blogger Josh MacIvor-Anderson. Now, this whole new history of cleaning it up and making it usable for the community  the greening of it.

My hope with these interpretive sites is to give us a different way of looking at our shoreline, a different perspective, she said, creating spaces for our community to come together, to tell our history and connect past, present and the future.

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Larry Rhoden is sworn in as governor of South Dakota on Jan. 27, 2025, at the State Capitol as his wife, First Lady Sandy Rhoden, looks on. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

PIERRE  New South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden deflected questions about his political future during his swearing-in ceremony Monday at the Capitol.

When asked by the media if he plans to run in the 2026 race for governor, he called it a fair question but said, Im laser-focused on getting to work here.

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Rhoden, the states 34th governor, will serve the remainder of former Gov. Kristi Noems second term. She resigned Saturday as the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination to lead the federal Department of Homeland Security.

It seems surreal, Rhoden said. Only in South Dakota could somebody like me, who grew up on a ranch in western South Dakota, have the kind of opportunity to serve at this level.

Rhoden, a 65-year-old Republican, is a lifelong rancher from rural Union Center. He formerly served 16 years in the Legislature, including a stint as House majority leader. Part of his role as lieutenant governor was presiding over the state Senate.

One of Rhodens first decisions will be the appointment of a lieutenant governor, subject to confirmation by the Legislature. He did not immediately announce anyone for that role Monday, but he did announce some of his staff.

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Mackenzie Decker, with 12 years of state government experience, will serve as chief of staff. Matt Michels, who formerly served as a lieutenant governor and a legislator, will be a senior adviser and legal counsel. Ian Fury will remain as director of communications and unborn child advocate, but will not serve as Rhodens spokesperson. A new media spokesperson will be announced soon, Rhoden said.

A larger swearing-in ceremony will be Feb. 8 in the Capitol Rotunda. That ceremony will be open to the public and will be followed with a Capitol Ball that evening.

Rhoden will also address a joint session of the state House and Senate at 1:30 p.m. Central on Tuesday at the Capitol in Pierre.

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  South Dakota lawmakers say theyre ready for the governorship of former lieutenant governor Larry Rhoden.

Rhoden took office after Kristi Noem was officially confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Saturday.

State representatives Greg Jamison and Erik Muckey say they are looking forward to Rhodens leadership.

Who is South Dakotas new governor, Larry Rhoden?

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In the past, Ive had bills that were killed by some people who came and told me, Hey, the governor doesnt like your bill, so were going to stop it as best we can. I would look for this new governor to probably come tell me himself and say, Hey, I dont like your bill. I dont think we should pass it. Heres why. Maybe we can come to a compromise or something,' Jamison said.

Working across the aisle, I know Gov. Rhoden is somebody that we can have a conversation with, an open door with and have that conversation about pressing issues, so I think thatll be a refreshing change of pace for all of us in the legislature and for South Dakotans, Muckey said.

This week, lawmakers also expect to begin the process of appointing a new lieutenant governor.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Seattle police officers arrested a 48-year-old man following a standoff on the rooftop of a building in the 1900 block of 1st Avenue Monday morning, according to the Seattle Police Department.

At 10:54 a.m., police responded to reports of a man in crisis who was armed with a handgun.

When officers arrived, officers found the man screaming and brandishing a firearm in a stairwell of the building, and then on the rooftop.

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For public safety, police closed off the surrounding area to pedestrians and motorists.

Seattles Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT) responded to the scene, along with an SPD K9 unit.

After some time, the man surrendered to the HNT without further incident.

A pellet gun was recovered at the scene. No injuries were reported.

The man was arrested on charges including tampering with a fire alarm, and violation of a court order related to weapons. The man also had an outstanding $2,500 warrant from the King County Sheriffs Office for failure to transfer title of a vehicle within 45 days.

Additionally, the man is wanted in Snohomish County and is extraditable from King County on multiple warrants, totaling $25,000. The warrants include charges of domestic violence, malicious mischief in the third degree, reckless burning, and three separate charges of resisting arrest, and one charge for driving with a suspended license and failing to transfer a vehicle title.

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The man will be booked into the King County Jail.

.@SeattlePD activity on 1st Ave at Stewart blocking all NB & SB lanes. Use alternate routes. pic.twitter.com/OfibAmHX3H  SDOT Traffic (@SDOTtraffic) January 27, 2025
















By Clare Jim

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Property developer China Vanke said on Monday its chairman Yu Liang and CEO Zhu Jiusheng stepped down as it forecast a record $6.2 billion net loss for 2024, as concerns over the company's liquidity deepen.

Xin Jie, the chairman of its major state-owned shareholder Shenzhen Metro, will become Vanke's chairman, signalling increased state oversight on expectations that the government would step in to contain non-repayment risks as the developer faces several debt maturity deadlines this year.

Yu will remain at the company as executive vice president, while three others from Shenzhen state-owned firms will join in the same role.

A state media outlet reported earlier this month that Vanke's CEO had been detained and that the firm could be subject to a takeover or reorganisation. The report was deleted within hours of its publication.

Vanke has not commented on the report.

"To effectively mitigate risks and earnestly safeguard the interests of house buyers, creditors and investors, the Board has resolved to strengthen the Groups management capabilities, leverage the resource advantages of Shenzhen Metro ... as the substantial shareholder and other parties," Vanke said in a filing.

It added that it was experiencing "temporary liquidity difficulties" and pledged to concentrate on its core businesses, along with other measures, to improve its operations.

Vanke said in a separate filing that it expects a net loss of 45 billion yuan ($6.20 billion) for 2024, down from a 12 billion yuan net profit in 2023, hurt by a fall in sales and profit margins, additional provisions for credit and inventory impairments, as well as losses in some bulk asset and equity transactions.

One of the best-known household names in China with many projects across bigger cities, Vanke is currently around a third owned by Shenzhen Metro.

It had previously been viewed as immune to the property market turmoil which saw China Evergrande 3333.HK ordered into liquidation last year following its offshore debt default in late 2021.

Analysts have expressed concern that Vanke's problems could be the last straw for homebuyer confidence, which has shown signs of stabilising in the past few months, and that banks could further shut financing to the sector, squeezing developers that have not defaulted.

The Shenzhen government has enough resources to help stabilise Vanke's development via Shenzhen Metro, the Nanfang Daily cited the local state-asset regulator as saying.

The newspaper also cited Shenzhen housing authorities and banks as saying that they will help Vanke's liquidity via asset disposals and financing.
Turkish authorities have launched an investigation into Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu for the second time in a week, state news agency Anadolu reported on Monday.

Imamoglu, a popular figure in Turkish politics and a possible challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a future presidential election, is accused of attempting to influence court proceedings.

The accusation refers to a press conference at which Imamoglu expressed criticism of current cases against him and other opposition politicians, charging that they were politically motivated. He accused the government of repeatedly making use of the same court expert.

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Last week, an investigation was launched into the Istanbul mayor after he expressed criticism of a senior state prosecutor who is in charge of a number of cases against opposition politicians.

A small number of people were attempting to turn the judiciary into a political plaything, "to make one person happy," Imamoglu said in reference to Erdogan. The real target was himself, Imamoglu said.

In a separate case, Imamoglu faces a possible ban on political activity.
As Britain is gripped by a prisons crisis, The Telegraph is publishing dispatches from an inmate at a Category B jail  the second highest level of security  to discover what life is really like inside. Recently, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) found the jail to be chronically overcrowded and understaffed, with self-harm and drug use rife.

The inmate, a British professional and entrepreneur on the outside, is on remand awaiting trial charged with non-violent crimes, which he denies. To protect his identity, he is not named. Other names and nicknames have also been changed.

Trial.

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Trial throws up one of the most brutal experiences of all: the punishing and exhausting experience of the daily prison transports. I am still getting over the experience.

On trial days, defendants on remand at my jail are woken before six in the morning. You have time to make a cup of tea and shave in your sink but you cant shower on the wing. Twenty minutes later you are taken to reception. The process involves being deposited in a holding pen with other defendants, then led, one-by-one, to be strip-searched and to deposit documents (which you cant keep with you during the journey) and collect clothes held on your behalf. (If you do not organise a suit of clothes to be sent to the prison, you will appear in court in your grey prison fatigues: I had organised a blazer and tie weeks in advance, but on the first day of my trial reception failed to find them.)

You are then left in a second pen for embarkation, where you wait with other prisoners. Thankfully, the reception orderlies (prisoners themselves) bring you each a cup of tea and two slices of toast. The embarkation pen is a bit of a circus. Everyone is anxious; everyone has a story to tell.

A remand prison will serve many courts: prisoners alongside me were going to Crown Courts across southern England.

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I was going to Reading. Between about 7.30am and 8.30am we were all cuffed and led one by one by staff from Serco (the company which has the prison transportation and court custody contracts) to transport of various sizes, the biggest taking about 10 prisoners, each in a separate, secure seat cage of around 20 cubic feet.

The transports are thoroughly searched before you leave  mirrors checked for under-vehicle escapees. In my case what followed was a long daily journey of several hours to Reading. Each evening, between 4pm and 5pm, I was loaded back onto a transport and made the return journey.

The worst part was arriving back at jail. The transport is searched again, as are the Serco staff on board. Once on the internal reception forecourt, the prison unloads and processes each transport one prisoner at a time. If three or four Serco vehicles are in front you can wait up to two hours while up to 30 prisoners are brought in, one by one. The return process involves signing in, X-Ray scanning, visiting a nurse and getting food, then being taken to a secure holding pen, before an officer takes you back to your wing and cell.

The experience was among the most psychologically and physically exhausting I have ever known, each 15-hour day comparable to a long international flight.

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What opportunity did I have to reflect on the days evidence with my barrister, or develop the strategy for my defence? Very little. Was I fit and able to take the witness stand across a three-day period? Yes, just  but had my trial been longer, I wonder how I would have coped. Many defendants opt not to attend every day of a long trial.

My own barrister had advised me to plead guilty on video link and again even on the first morning of my trial.

But I never believed that a jury of decent-minded, reasonably alert English men and women would convict me. The evidence against me was malicious  the only witness for the prosecution lost his temper with my barrister three times while giving evidence, outraged that everything he said under oath was not simply accepted as gospel. CPS arguments were exposed as almost laughably inconsistent during the course of the trial. I admit that I had to do a bit of the barristering myself while in the witness stand.

I am not sure my barrister ever quite believed he was going to pull the whole thing off, though by the last day, even he was beginning to believe. What he found exceptional was that wonderful friends and employees attended every day to support me and, on the penultimate day, testify to my good character. Most defendants, not always through their own fault, lack such support.

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Thank God one thing works in our justice system  the jury. The one part which does not contain jaded and cynical legal professionals. It took the jury less than an hour, including a 30-minute lunch break, to unanimously acquit me.

I can honestly say that I was perhaps the only person who was not surprised.

There is a huge irony here: if I ever posed a danger to others in the past, which I do not believe, I am so incensed by what I have experienced  being imprisoned for so long, prevented from seeing my children and stripped of any means of supporting myself  that I believe I now possibly am prone to impulsive rage. How will I deal with this now I am a free man?

This is the final Secret Prisoner diary. We understand that many readers will be keen to know the details of his identity and case. We hope that we will be able to disclose these facts in due course. In the meantime the Secret Prisoner is keen to express his great gratitude to Telegraph readers who have followed his case in the months he spent on remand and so gave him a structure and purpose at a hugely difficult time.

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Selena Gomez reacted to Donald Trump's immigration crackdown with an emotional message on social media.

The 32-year-old actress broke down in a since-deleted clip posted to her Instagram Stories on Monday, Jan. 27, featuring the caption, "I'm sorry," with a Mexican flag emoji, as People originally reported.

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"All my people are getting attacked, the children. I dont understand. Im so sorry, I wish I could do something but I cant. I dont know what to do. Ill try everything, I promise," she said through tears in the clip.

"Apparently it's not ok to show empathy for people," Gomez wrote in another Instagram Story across a black background, which has also been deleted.

This isn't the first time the Emilia Perez star has spoken out on the topic of immigration. In 2019, Gomez produced the Netflix documentary Living Undocumented, which chronicled the experiences of undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Related: Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco Pack on PDA at the 2025 Golden Globes

She also opened up about her own family's immigration journey in an essay for Time that same year.

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"In the 1970s, my aunt crossed the border from Mexico to the United States hidden in the back of a truck," Gomez wrote.

"My grandparents followed, and my father was born in Texas soon after," she continued. "In 1992, I was born a U.S. citizen thanks to their bravery and sacrifice. Over the past four decades, members of my family have worked hard to gain United States citizenship. Undocumented immigration is an issue I think about every day, and I never forget how blessed I am to have been born in this country thanks to my family and the grace of circumstance. But when I read the news headlines or see debates about immigration rage on social media, I feel afraid for those in similar situations. I feel afraid for my country."

Next: Selena Gomez Shares Up-Close View of Massive Engagement Ring From Benny Blanco
Selena Gomez at the Deadline Studio during the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 8, 2024 - Credit: KC Armstrong/Deadline/Getty Images

Selena Gomez got candid about her feelings around President Donald Trumps immediate attack on immigrants after taking office. On Monday, the Emilia Perez actress posted a tearful video on her Instagram Story addressing the administrations actions.

All my people are getting attacked, the children. I dont understand, Gomez says in a since-deleted video that saw her wipe away tears and hold back sobs. Im so sorry, I wish I could do something but I cant. I dont know what to do. Ill try everything, I promise.

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Gomez deleted the video almost immediately after receiving negative comments from those watching: Apparently its not ok to show empathy for people, she said in a new slide.

Since taking office last week, Trump has stayed true to his promise to target undocumented Americans, touting the number of people ICE has rounded up thus far on social media. Its a promise he made while campaigning for president, claiming hed cause mass deportations as soon as he took the oath of office.

Deportation flights have begun, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted Thursday on X, cheering the move. President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences.

The Trump administration has been working on an asylum agreement with El Salvador that would allow the U.S. to deport migrants who arent from the Central American country there, per CBS News. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance exaggerated the threat posed by immigrants throughout the 2024 campaign, including making unsubstantiated claims that gangs were taking over cities, to argue for stricter immigration policies.

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For her part, Gomez has long supported immigrant rights. In 2019, she hosted a show called Living Undocumented, which highlighted the experiences of several immigrant families fearing ICE deportations. That year, she also wrote an op-ed for Time that discussed her aunts own journey crossing the U.S-Mexico order hidden in the back of the truck in the early Nineties.

Im concerned about the way people are being treated in my country. As a Mexican-American woman I feel a responsibility to use my platform to be a voice for people who are too afraid to speak, she wrote at the time. Fear shouldnt stop us from getting involved and educating ourselves on an issue that affects millions of people in our country. Fear didnt stop my aunt from getting into the back of that truck. And for that, I will always be grateful.

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Selena Gomez broke down in tears while reacting to the recent escalation in migrant deportations following President Donald Trumps return to office.

The Only Murders in the Building actor shared an emotional video about the new administrations aggressive push to oust undocumented immigrants to her Instagram Story on Monday morning, telling followers, I just want to say, Im so sorry.

All my people are getting attacked, the children. I dont understand, the sobbing star continued. Im so sorry. I wish I could do something but I cant. I dont know what to do. Ill try everything, I promise.

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At the bottom of the video, she apologized once again while adding an emoji of the Mexican flag.

Selena Gomez shares emotional Instagram Story about the deportation of Mexican people:



All my people are getting attacked, the children. I dont understand. Im so sorry, I wish I could do something but I cant. I dont know what to do. Ill try everything, I promise. pic.twitter.com/il8pPXYZma  Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 27, 2025

After an apparent backlash, the star deleted her post and followed up with another Instagram Story that said, Apparently its not ok to show empathy for people.

That post was also swiftly taken down, however.

The Mexican-American actor, who was born and raised in Texas, has been a staunch supporter of immigrants rights through the years.

In 2019, Gomez executive produced the documentary Living Undocumented, which followed the lives and struggles of eight undocumented families residing in the United States.

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Around the time of the documentarys release, the star wrote an op-ed for Time magazine in which she recounted her own familys experience of coming into the country.

My aunt crossed the border from Mexico to the United States hidden in the back of a truck, she wrote. My grandparents followed, and my father was born in Texas soon after.

In her piece for Time, Gomez said she decided to sign on to Living Undocumented after seeing footage that reminded her of the shame, uncertainty and fear she saw her own family struggle with.

During his inauguration speech last week, Trump vowed to deport millions and millions of criminal aliens living in the U.S.

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Immediately after taking his oath of office, he began the crackdown by ordering military troops to the border; authorizing authorities to arrest immigrants in schools, churches and hospitals; and reportedly issuing arrest quotas for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

In the week since, a rash of raids have reportedly taken place across major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.

Related...
Selena Gomez is expressing her emotions over Donald Trumps plans to deport undocumented immigrants following reports of ICE raids in major cities.

All my people are getting attacked, the children. I dont understand, Gomez shared in an emotional and tearful video posted on her Instagram Stories, which she has now deleted. Im so sorry, I wish I could do something but I cant. I dont know what to do. Ill try everything, I promise.

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Following the backlash, Gomez said in a since-deleted post, Apparently its not ok to show empathy for people.

Gomez is one of millions of concerned American citizens who believe the Trump administration is not handling the situation sensitively, breaking up families and traumatizing children in the process.

Last Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security said it was ending a policy that restricted ICE agents from arresting undocumented people at houses of worship, schools, and hospitals.

Criminals will no longer be able to hide in Americas schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense, the DHS said in a statement.

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The deportation of immigrants looking for a better life in the U.S. hits home for Gomez as her grandmother was a Mexican migrant chasing the American Dream at one point.

Gomez hasnt been shy about providing a platform for Latino voices and stories, producing the Vixs Spanish-language series Mi Vecino, El Cartel. She also starred in the Oscar-nominated film Emilia Perez in the role of Mexican-American character Jessi Del Monte.

Watch Gomezs deleted video below.

Selena Gomez shares emotional Instagram Story about the deportation of Mexican people:



All my people are getting attacked, the children. I dont understand. Im so sorry, I wish I could do something but I cant. I dont know what to do. Ill try everything, I promise. pic.twitter.com/il8pPXYZma  Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 27, 2025

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Selena Gomez is speaking out.

Gilbert Flores / Penske Media via Getty Images

If you haven't been following the news recently, the United States is undergoing a wave of deportations and arrests as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration, which includes people from Mexico. As of yesterday (Jan. 26), over 956 people had been arrested by the US agency ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

Smith Collection / Getty Images

Earlier today, Selena  whose father is of Mexican descent  shared a video on her IG story that showed her in tears as she addressed the Trump administration's deportation measures.

Selena Gomez shares emotional Instagram Story about the deportation of Mexican people:All my people are getting attacked, the children. I dont understand. Im so sorry, I wish I could do something but I cant. I dont know what to do. Ill try everything, I promise. pic.twitter.com/il8pPXYZma  Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 27, 2025

@PopCrave / @selenagomez / Via x.com

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All my people are getting attacked, the children," she said. "I dont understand. Im so sorry, I wish I could do something but I cant."

Presley Ann / Getty Images for Palm Springs International Film Society

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"I dont know what to do. Ill try everything, I promise."

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

After Selena shared the video, she apparently deleted it and posted another slide to her story that read, "Apparently it's not ok to show empathy for people." She's since apparently deleted that slide as well.

Selena Gomez has deleted the video: Apparently its not ok to show empathy for people pic.twitter.com/AwHjPTpKdY  Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 27, 2025

@PopCrave / @selenagomez / Via x.com

Head here to read about what you need to know about Trump's mass deportation threats.
Selena Gomez is devastated amid President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

On Monday, Jan. 27, the Emilia Perez star, 32, shared a video to her Instagram Story while in tears, alongside the caption, Im sorry" with a Mexican flag emoji.

Selena Gomez/Instagram Selena Gomez in January 2025 Selena Gomez in January 2025

All my people are getting attacked, the children. I dont understand. Im so sorry, I wish I could do something but I cant. I dont know what to do. Ill try everything, I promise, Gomez said in the video while sobbing.

Selena Gomez/Instagram Selena Gomez in January 2025 Selena Gomez in January 2025

Related: Selena Gomez Premieres 'Living Undocumented' During Emotional Night with Series' 'Brave' Subjects

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In another Instagram Story, Gomez wrote: "Apparently it's not ok to show empathy for people."

Selena Gomez/Instagram Selena Gomez on Instagram in January 2025 Selena Gomez on Instagram in January 2025

The "Good for You" musician's post comes just one day after 956 people were arrested in a nationwide immigration crackdown  the most since Trump took office once again, per Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), via the BBC.

According to the outlet, the 956 reported arrests come after 286 arrests on Saturday, Jan. 25, 593 arrests on Friday, Jan. 24 and 538 arrests on Thursday, Jan. 23.

Per the Migration Policy Institute via the BBC, former President Joe Biden executed 1.5 million deportations during his first four years  numbers which "mirror the deportation numbers in Trump's first term."

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Gomez has previously been outspoken in her advocacy for immigration.

In 2019, she produced the Netflix docuseries Living Undocumented, which centered on the lives of undocumented families in the United States.

She also opened up about her family's own experience with undocumented immigration in an emotional op-ed for TIME in October 2019.

Undocumented immigration is an issue I think about every day, and I never forget how blessed I am to have been born in this country thanks to my family and the grace of circumstance, she said in the piece, explaining that her aunt was the first out of her family to cross the border from Mexico into the U.S. in the back of a truck in the 1970s.

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Related: Selena Gomez Says She Thinks About Undocumented Immigration 'Every Day' in Passionate Essay

Gomez added that her "grandparents followed, and my father was born in Texas soon after." She credited her familys bravery and sacrifice for her being born a U.S. citizen.

However, the Only Murders in the Building actress was aware her story wasn't the norm and found herself in tears watching footage about the eight subjects in Living Undocumented.

But when I read the news headlines or see debates about immigration rage on social media, I feel afraid for those in similar situations. I feel afraid for my country, Gomez wrote.

Read the original article on People
Utah Sen. Mike Lee renewed his call to abolish the Transportation Security Administration, suggesting that instead airlines should conduct their own security screenings, eliminating the need for the federal government to get involved.

Lee, a Republican, also complained about TSA pat-downs, asking in a post on X, Tired of being groped every time you travel?

Abolish TSA, he wrote in another post. Let airlines do their own screening.

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The TSA was first established in November 2001 in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The organization operates under the Department of Homeland Security, putting it under the purview of the federal government.

Lee also previously accused the agency of engaging in inappropriate practices, referring to the organizations policies on security pat-downs.

Under TSA guidelines, travelers may be subject to a pat-down if the screening technology is set off, which includes inspection of the head, neck, arms, torso, legs, and feet. That inspection may also include sensitive areas, according to the TSA website.

Lee has previously criticized these policies, calling the process needlessly slow.

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The Utah senator called for the elimination of TSA early last year, claiming airlines could conduct their own security checks better than the agency.

Its time to abolish the TSA. Airlines can and will secure their own planes if a federal agency doesnt do it for them, Lee said in a post on March 11, 2023. Theyll do it better than TSA, without undermining the Constitution and with less groping  showing more respect for passengers.

Its not yet clear whether Lee will formally introduce legislation to eliminate the agency or if it would garner much support within Congress. The Deseret News contacted the TSA for comment.
D2 Capital Advisors has arranged $23.5m in construction financing for a new Residence Inn by Marriott hotel in Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park (CRISP) in Wilmington, Delaware, US.

The extended stay hotel is a project by CRISP Hotel Partners, a collaboration between MRA Group and Gulph Creek Hotels.

The hotel will occupy 90,000ft of space and will have 127 keys.

The financing for this development was arranged by D2 Capital Advisors' team members Jack Cortese, David Frankel, and John Lightcap.

WSFS Bank and Nuveen Green Capital are providing the financial backing for the project.

MRA Group executive vice president & partner Phil Butler said: "D2's hotel financing experience and creativity in structuring the capital stack were extremely valuable to us throughout the financing process.

"Their team's flexibility, determination, and understanding of our objectives were significant drivers in D2's ability to structure the financing in this complex lending environment."

The upcoming hotel will be situated in the Greenville suburb of Wilmington adjacent to a community of corporations, including DuPont and Corteva's global headquarters.

It aims to serve various businesses within CRISP, such as Prelude Therapeutics, Solenis, and Celanese, while also drawing leisure visitors to the Brandywine Valley.

In December 2021, MRA Group acquired the property and initiated the phased redevelopment of the CRISP campus, which is expected to exceed 1.3 million ft.

The company has transformed CRISP into the centre for scientific innovation and advanced production.

The funding structure includes senior bank debt, C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy), subordinate D-PACE (Delaware PACE), and partner equity contributions.

Construction is anticipated to start in January 2025, with an expected completion date in Summer 2026.

IMC Construction has been appointed as the construction manager for this endeavour.

D2 Capital Advisors vice president Jack Cortese said: "Having a strong established sponsor in MRA Group and Gulph Creek Hotels with experience and a track record of success was fundamental in securing hotel construction financing.

"Still, the multilayered capital stack presented hurdles that we, the sponsor, and the lenders, were collectively able to overcome and deliver a cost efficient and flexible financing solution."

"D2 Capital Advisors secures $23.5m for Residence Inn in Wilmington " was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

This post originally appeared on The 19th.

The Senate voted 51-50 on Friday night to confirm Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host who has criticized women in combat roles and paid $50,000 to a woman who accused him of sexual assault, as defense secretary.

Vice President JD Vance broke a tie to confirm Hegseth after three Republicans  Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitch McConnell  joined Democrats in opposing his confirmation. It marked Vances first tiebreaking vote as vice president and only the second time in U.S. history that a vice president has broken a tie to confirm a Cabinet nominee. The previous time this happened was in 2017, when former Vice President Mike Pence cast the deciding vote for Betsy DeVos confirmation as education secretary.

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During hours of debate on Friday, Democratic senators excoriated Hegseth over their concerns about his personal conduct and his qualifications.

Are you sure that you trust him with this job? Are you sure there isnt another individual the president could choose who could pursue the same goals but is better prepared to do this job?, said Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. Are you sure its worth the risk to our service members, to our national security, and to your families? I know Im not.

The vote came a little more than a week after Hegseths contentious appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee. During the hearing, Hegseth denied allegations of financial mismanagement, excessive drinking and sexual misconduct. Hegseth also faced questions about his past statements that women should not serve in combat.

Many Democrats criticized Hegseth for not meeting with them ahead of his confirmation vote.

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I mean, if Mr. Hegseth is afraid of me, how is he going to stand up to China?, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington said in her remarks on the floor. Meeting with members on both sides isnt just some formalityif you are confirmed, it is part of the job.

In confirming Hegseth, the Senate signed off on a nominee whose position appeared at times to be in peril as allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against him. Another one of Trumps Cabinet picks, former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who had been investigated by the House Ethics Committee and the Department of Justice, withdrew from consideration as attorney general in November.

Hegseth and his family were in the Capitol and watched the vote from the Strom Thurmond room in the U.S. Senate side.

Hegseth paid $50,000 in a confidential settlement to a woman who filed a police report accusing him of raping her in 2017 at a Republican womens conference in Monterey, California. No charges were brought against Hegseth; his lawyer maintains the encounter was consensual. The New Yorker and other outlets have reported on other allegations against Hegseth, namely that he mismanaged funds and abused alcohol while leading two veteran-focused nonprofits, and that his colleagues at Fox News witnessed him drinking to excess while he was a weekend co-host at Fox and Friends. Hegseth has repeatedly denied those claims, including in an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, and told former Fox News host Megyn Kelly in an interview on her SiriusXM show that he wouldnt drink alcohol as defense secretary.

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As part of the confirmation process, the FBI prepared a background report on Hegseth, which has only been reviewed by the senior Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Though the background report was not made available to other senators, more information about Hegseth has come to light since he testified before the committee.

NBC News reported this week that after the hearings, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi and ranking Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island received a new briefing from the FBI about a statement from Hegseths second ex-wife, Samantha, regarding his drinking. A former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, who was formerly married to the nominees brother, submitted an affidavit on Tuesday about alcohol use and erratic and aggressive behavior during Pete and Samantha Hegseths marriage.

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina posed additional questions to Hegseth  and Hegseth again denied the allegations. When asked for comment by NBC News, Samantha Hegseth said she had not asked anyone to discuss her marriage on her behalf and added: There was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you.

Hegseth could only get the majority needed for confirmation in a Republican-led Senate after Vance cast his tiebreaking vote. Several lawmakers, as well as many veterans and some military advocates, warned that his confirmation could be detrimental to recruiting and retaining women in the military, which already has a recruitment crisis and an epidemic of sexual assault and harassment.

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In a podcast interview in November, Hegseth said he didnt believe women should serve in combat roles. He wrote in a book that standards have been changed to accommodate women, ultimately diminishing the militarys capability. He also claimed that Americas white sons and daughters are walking away from the military because of woke ideology and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Women veterans, national security organizations and military historians pushed back against Hegseths remarks and pointed out that when it comes to combat roles, its against the law to lower standards for women.

As allegations continued to surface and Hegseth worked to gain congressional support, there were reports that Trump was considering replacing him with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Trump ultimately stood by his nominee. In December, the then-president-elect wrote on Truth Social that Hegseth was a winner who was doing very well and someone who leads with charisma and skill.

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NEW YORK (PIX11)  New York Senator Chuck Schumer stated that President Donald Trump is violating the law after shutting down the interagency School Safety Board.

The senator argued he made the board permanent in a bipartisan gun bill passed in 2022 and it cant be removed. I am asking President Trump and Secretary Noam to immediately bring the safety board back.

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Senator Chuck Schumer refers to the Federal Safety Clearinghouse Advisory Board under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security aimed to help prevent school shootings. It was created by President Trumps first administration, following the Parkland shooting.

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No matter how somebody feels about guns, we agree more has to be done to keep kids in school safe, said Cameron Kasky, a Parkland shooting survivor. He was 17 years old and a junior back then. He says shootings across America are becoming a harsh reality.

Whats important is that when we face things like this, we dont stop the fight, added Kasky.

They are shutting it down before you even see what It does, said Schumer.

The board held its first meeting last October and it included school safety experts, parents of children whove died in school shootings, advocates for civil rights and community and school leaders.

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Trump orders tariffs after Colombia rejects US military deportation flights

It means a lot because you leave them in the care of people for 8 hours a day, so I definitely want to know they are being taken care of, Monica Werkheiscer is the mother of two teenage girls, a high school freshman and junior.

Even the school was like, all these changes are coming to soon. We dont have the time we need to try to figure out how to best protect our kids. it is not just the safety of school shootings but now there is immigration issues happening, added Monica Werkheiscer.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security said the decision was made as part of the agencys commitment to eliminating misuse of resources and making sure that DHS activities prioritize national security.

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The Trump administration should not bow down to the NRA, concluded Schumer.

They need to see the effects of the violence firsthand; they need to hear from survivors, they need to hear from people who are hiding from shootings, they need to hear from people who have experienced the loss, said Kasky.

According to Senator Schumer, there were 330 school shootings last year.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois is set to try again on a bill to make air travel easier for breastfeeding parents that has gotten bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and has passed the U.S. Senate

Duckworth on Monday is reintroducing The BABES Enhancement Act with Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, a Democrat, and Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Steve Daines of Montana. The bill aims to ensure that breastfeeding parents can bring breast milk and breastfeeding supplies through airport security without delays or risks of contamination.

The proposed legislation would add to existing regulations by requiring the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to issue further guidance promoting the safe and hygienic handling of breast milk and breastfeeding supplies, to consult with leading maternal health organizations on the guidelines and to update those guidelines every five years.

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Far too often, traveling moms are mistreated and wrongfully denied access to their breast milk and the breastfeeding equipment they need to pump and feed their babies, Duckworth said in a statement to The 19th. Ensuring that the TSA keeps its employees up to speed on their own policies and updates those policies as necessary is the least we can do to help parents travel through airports with the dignity and respect they deserve. After our bipartisan legislation passed the Senate by unanimous consent last Congress, Im proud to work with Senators Daines, Cruz and Hirono to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation and Ill continue to do everything I can to get this done for traveling moms everywhere.

The legislation passed the Senate by unanimous consent in September 2024, during the last session of Congress, but it wasnt taken up by the Republican-controlled U.S. House, meaning lawmakers have to start the process over again.

The House version of the bill, which was introduced by former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California and had five Republican cosponsors, unanimously passed in the House Homeland Security Committee in September 2024, but didnt make it to a vote on the House floor.

Breast milk, baby formula and other forms of infant nutrition like water and juice are exempt from regulations limiting the amount of liquid that passengers can bring on board. The original BABES Act, passed and signed into law in 2016, required the TSA to notify security screeners and air carriers of those exemptions and to conduct comprehensive training.

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But in years since, parents traveling with breast milk and pumping supplies have still reported uneven enforcement of those rules by TSA. Forcing a passenger to check pumping supplies and equipment can increase the risk of contamination and for nursing parents, delaying pumping can even lead to mastitis, a painful infection of the breast tissue.

The actor Keke Palmer said in 2023 that she experienced breast milk discrimination as she went through security at a Houston airport, including threats to throw out over 16 ounces of breast milk.

The current legislative effort was sparked over two years ago by the engineer, author and science TV host Emily Calandrelli. Calandrelli, the host of Emilys Wonder Lab on Netflix, said she was humiliated by her experience going through security when flying out of Los Angeles International Airport for a work trip to Washington, D.C., her first away from her then-10-week-old son.

Calandrelli was traveling with her breast pump and ice packs and planned to pump after going through security and before her flight. But she said she was escorted out of line by TSA agents and forced to check her cold packs, making her unable to pump before the flight because she would have had no safe way to store the breast milk. Her experience was contrary to TSA policies, which classify ice packs, cooling gel and other cooling accessories for transporting breast milk as medically necessary  even if theyre not fully frozen.

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When Calandrelli shared her story on social media, she said that parents flooded her direct messages with their similar accounts. Her story gained nationwide media attention, prompting TSA to say, in a statement, that the agency would re-double our training to ensure our screening procedures are being consistently applied. Calandrelli reached out to Porter, her representative in Congress at the time, to work on a more permanent legislative fix. In August 2022, only three months after Calandrelli went public with her experience, Porter introduced the BABES Enhancement Act for the first time in the House.

The post Senators are trying  again  to make air travel easier for breastfeeding parents appeared first on The 19th.

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President Trump pardoned 1500 Jan. 6 rioters, and some police organizations are now condemning the move, according to our news partner WCPO in Cincinnati.

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The Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police released a joint statement Tuesday night, WCPO says.

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The organizations say they are deeply discouraged by the recent pardons and commutations granted by President Biden and President Trump for those convicted of killing or assaulting police officers, WCPO says.

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It sends a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe, potentially emboldening others to commit similar acts of violence, part of the statement says.

Its frustrating, it sends a terrible message to law enforcement, said Ken Kober, president of the Cincinnati FOP, to WCPO.

According to Kober, the Cincinnati Police Department is short 140 officers, and explained the impact it could have on recruiting efforts, WCPO says.

If people believe that they can just go out freely and assault law enforcement and that theres going to be little to no consequence, it certainly could have an impact on policing recruiting retention, said Kober to WCPO.

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Kober also criticized Biden for commuting the sentence of Death Row inmate Daryl Lawrence, who will now only serve a life sentence, WCPO says. Lawrence was convicted of killing a Columbus POlice officer while he was working in 2005.

He was a partner of a friend of mine that worked up there and was murdered in a bank robbery and President Biden commuted his sentence. A guy thats a convicted cop killer and that was bad enough, that really hit home, said Kober to WCPO. I think the biggest reason this is done right now is, you know, politics are being picked over policing.

Cincinnati City Council member Scotty Johnson condemned President Trumps pardons for the January 6th defendants, WCPO says.

The President, I believe, kicked us in the gut, said Johnson to WCPO. We can never send that message that its ok to enact violence on anybody and then specifically on law enforcement officers and then act like its no big deal. The president blew it on this and thats how the majority of our law enforcement officers feel.

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Like the FOP and IACP, some lawyers, former federal investigators and experts who follow extremism are concerned this could embolden extremists and make political violence more common, WCPO says.

This move doesnt just rewrite the narrative of January 6, said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, according to WCPO. It sets a dangerous precedent that political violence is a legitimate tool in American democracy.

Plenty of the charges in the Jan. 6 investigation did not involve violence, and many who received clemency are ready to move on, WCPO says.

Michael Premo, a documentarian who followed right-wing activists including a Proud Boy who participated in the riot, says this could become a megaphone, according to WCPO.

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This going to build that base of support so when the next election cycle comes around ... theres the potential for Trump to hold onto power or to ensure his successor comes into office, Premo said to WCPO.

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GETTYSBURG, Pa. (WHTM)  Seven people were displaced Sunday after a house fire in Adams County.

Firefighters were called around 2 p.m. to a mobile home in the Castle Hill Mobile Home Park off Old Harrisburg Road in Straban Township.

According to the Gettysburg Fire Department, one mobile home is likely a total loss and some surrounding residences had moderate damage.

No injuries were reported.

Seven residents are displaced and are receiving assistance from the American Red Cross.

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Nine mutual aid fire departments assisted Gettysburg Fire, bringing over 50 firefighters to the scene.

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The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
When speech pathologist Rebecca Hardy recalls her up-close seat to lawmaking during the 2015 state legislative session, she remembers how tough it was to find anyone interested in what she wanted: more choice for Texans when it came to getting vaccinated.

After forming Texans For Vaccine Choice the year before, she came to Austin to see if she could find lawmakers interested in policies to help parents who believe its their responsibility, not the governments, to decide if and when a vaccination is administered to their child.

We were on the scene far before COVID was even a word that anybody knew and 10 years ago, we did kind of have to sneak around the Capitol, have these conversations about vaccine mandates in the shadows, the Keller resident now recalls. And it was really hard to find people willing to put their names on protective pieces of legislation.

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What a difference a global pandemic makes.

Today, Hardys group and others in the vaccine hesitancy or anti-vaccine space have the ears of state lawmakers, especially on the heels of Texans for Vaccine Choices successful push back on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations in the workplace in 2023.

While most of the vaccine bills 10 years ago were filed by Democrats to strengthen vaccine use, the opposite is now true  Republicans are filing most of the bills which aim to claw back vaccine requirements. There is even a House joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Texas Constitution that would preserve Texans right to refuse a vaccination.

The proposal is among more than 20 bills endorsed by Hardys group that have been filed, most of them before the legislative session began this month. Among them include legislation that would:

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TVC is not anti-vaccine, Hardy said. Were not here to restrict anybodys access to vaccines or to dismantle the vaccine program. So we do not take a stance on if children should get all, some or no vaccines.

Instead, she insists, she wants laws that better support families right to choose what medical care they receive, including vaccines.

Its a sentiment that is gaining more traction, particularly after President Donald Trumps re-election and his selection of Robert F. Kennedy as his choice for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. And its a somewhat counter trendline at a time studies have consistently shown that vaccines save lives and money.

A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, released last summer, found the immunization of children born between 1994 and 2023 have saved the United States $540 billion by preventing illness and costly hospitalizations as well as preventing more than 1.1 million deaths.

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But this move away from vaccines worries health care workers. A Texas Hospital Associations position paper stresses concerns that vaccines have become politicized and the importance of vaccines is now overlooked because they work so well. Carrie Williams, an association spokesperson, said any decision about opting out of a vaccine should be a careful one that considers the ripple effect on others.

Vaccine decisions impact the availability of care, hospital workforce and wait times, and the people around you, she said. Were always going to be on the side of policies that help prevent epidemics.

Focus on the vaccine exemption process

Texas requires children and students to obtain vaccines to attend schools, child care centers and college. An individual can claim they are exempt if they are in the military, they have a religious or personal belief that goes against getting immunized or if a health provider determines it is not safe to do so.

Currently, those who want to claim an exemption for their children from vaccination must request from the state Department of State Health Services that an affidavit be mailed to their home, a process that can take up to three weeks. Once its received, the requestor must get the affidavit notarized.

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Its very inefficient, Hardy said.

Her group wants the form to be downloadable. Any one of three measures filed so far could do that: House Bill 1082, House Bill 1586 or House Bill 730. She also wants providers to stop denying medical care to individuals who choose to delay or opt out of vaccinations altogether.

If you dont have the right in what you inject or not inject in your body, then what rights do we have? Hardy said.

Travis McCormick, a government affairs professional, has formed the group Make Texans Healthy Again that is advocating for better affordability, access and transparency in health care. As a new dad, he said he was taken aback by medical providers rigid adherence to the vaccine schedule for newborns.

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I had a pediatrician who said if we didnt get all four (vaccines) in one day we couldnt be a client, McCormick said.

In 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 7, which bars private employers from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for employees and contractors. Those employers who violate the law face a $50,000 fine and are subject to an investigation by the Texas Workforce Commission.

That same year, House Bill 44 passed, prohibiting Medicaid and Child Childrens Health Insurance Program providers from denying services to patients based on their vaccination status.

Hardy said her group lobbied hard for both bills.

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In my perspective, our movement is just beginning, Hardy said of the 2023 victories. Were barely chasing the pickup.

The appetite for vaccine exemptions growing

Data shows a consistent rise in interest in obtaining exemptions to vaccines since 2003, when then state Sen. Craig Estes offered a measure that allowed Texans to claim a conscientious exemption in addition to established exemptions based on medical and religious reasons. Its a decision that he still stands by today, he recently told The Texas Tribune.

Since 2018, the requests to the Texas Department of State Health Services for an exemption form have doubled from 45,900 to more than 93,000 in 2024.

A spokeswoman for the agency, Lara Anton, said all requests for exemption affidavits are granted.

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There is no gatekeeping, Anton said.

In the 2023-24 school year, more than 13,000 kindergarteners had a non-medical exemption from at least one vaccination in Texas, twice the number a decade ago. While other states had higher rates, Texas led the nation in total exemptions.

Still, most Texas children are vaccinated. More than 90% of kindergarten and 7th grade students had each of the required vaccines.

As Texans emerged from lockdowns and navigated a new vaccine for COVID-19 that became more widely available in 2021, views about shutdowns and the vaccine shifted dramatically. While Abbott moved quickly with executive orders keeping businesses and schools closed when infections spread in the United States beginning in March 2020, by November, he was resisting calls for more lockdowns.

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The publics weariness of mandates is now impacting vaccine rates, worrying public health officials and advocates who see the number of vaccine bills as problematic.

Terri Burke, who heads The Immunization Partnership, a pro-vaccine advocacy group, has the same Texas vaccine bills on her groups watch list that Hardy does.

I fear the vaccine issue is something they (state lawmakers) will continue to chip away at, like abortion, the border, Burke said. Its like death by 1,000 cuts.

She anticipates a hard legislative session, which runs through June 2, that will relax the exemption process as well as put more burden on health providers who could face more outbreaks if exemptions are made easier. Its going to be tough. Its really going to be tough, she said. All we can do is block them.

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Some of the legislation filed so far focus on the Vaccine Adverse Reporting System, or VAERS, a collection of self-reported post-vaccination health issues. Others mandate physicians to report to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of health-related problems that result in death or incapacitation after a vaccine was administered.

State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, who said he declined the COVID-19 vaccine on advice of his doctor, has filed one such bill, Senate Bill 269, because he wants to see better transparency about vaccines.

He believes the process during the race to get a COVID-19 was so fast that he and other Texans did not have enough details to evaluate potential risks for themselves.

I hope RFK can get a more transparent system, Perry said, referring to Kennedy if he is approved as U.S. health secretary. We like to believe our doctors and our science but Texans, Perry insists, want more information.

Health experts like Dr. Peter Hotez of Houston, say vaccine choice or vaccine hesitant groups exaggerate the adverse effects of vaccines and downplay the good they do in keeping deadly diseases from killing more Americans.

Hotez, one of the nations leading vaccine experts, is worried about any reduction in the nations vaccination rate, and that Texas specifically could be setting itself up for becoming the stage for the next pandemic.

Whooping cough is now returning to pre-pandemic levels. After the measles was officially eliminated in the United States in 2020, the disease has returned, occurring usually after someone has contracted it in another country. Polio, another disease thought to be eradicated, was detected in New York State wastewater in 2022.

Hotez is concerned that hesitancy and refusal of the COVID-19 vaccine is having a spillover effect on childhood immunizations.

I'm worried about it unraveling our whole pediatric vaccine ecosystem, he said.

Disclosure: Texas Hospital Association has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
SHARON, Pa. (WKBN)  Sharon Regional Medical Center is one step closer to reopening.

Penn Northwest Development Corporation  a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting business growth, community revitalization, and job creation in the region  Executive Director Rod Wilt said the organization approved an $11 million loan in a meeting Friday to Tenor Health Foundation, the hospitals new owner.

This loan adds to the about $250,000 in loans from the cities of Sharon and Hermitage, according to Hermitage Board of Commissioners Duane Piccirilli.

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Wilt says this is the largest loan that the agency has ever given. Its a consortium of a number of entities including the local Community Foundation and the Buhl Regional Health Foundation.

This follows the request from MPT in its agreement with Tenor Health that the Shenango Valley community put up money as a dollar-for-dollar match to what MPT was providing to Tenor  to serve as capital for needed improvements and to meet expenses, such as employee salaries, equipment rentals and other needs while administrators wait on revenue for patient care comes in.

Sharon Regional officially closed on Jan. 6. Patients were transferred to other hospitals, and other healthcare systems picked up the slack, namely UPMC.

Founder of Tenor Health Foundation Radha Savitala said in an interview with First News they hope to reopen the hospital before Feb. 14, the last day Sharon Regional employees will be paid.

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Savitala says one thing that could delay the reopening is Buhl Legacy Trusts insistence not to drop its $25 million claim against MPT. Currently, a deal has been reached with MPT to lease the hospital to Tenor.

Tenor also has the $25 million needed to operate  $10 million from the Sharon community, $10 million from the real estate company MPT and $5 million from elsewhere.

Gerry Ricciutti and Stan Boney contributed to this report.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
A neighbor thought it odd that he hadn't seen the couple leave their house that morning.

The pair  both in their 70s  was often seen walking the narrow street in the tree-lined neighborhood of single-family homes on Indianapolis' northwest side.

"They did everything together," he told detectives.

The last time he'd seen either of them was two days earlier when the woman was getting out of a pickup before going inside.

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"This is really gut-wrenching for this community... it's a quiet area," Officer Tommy Thompson told media gathered on Jan. 17, yards away from the couple's brick, ranch-style home.

What police found inside sent shockwaves through nearly four decades of Forest Manor Middle School students.

That's where her former students say Mary Marjory Ogle (known to them as Marge Embry) was changing lives.

Mary Ogle pictured with her student Rashawne Millen. Circa early 2000's.

"She really saved me," said Rashawne Millen, who attended Forest Manor from 2003-05.

The now-shuttered Indianapolis public school was a home away from home for Millen and others, because of their math teacher. She often took Millen to church and spent extra time helping her grasp mathematics when she struggled.

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The small-in-stature math teacher didn't shy from raising her voice to advocate for her students. In 1988, when the state was revamping its standardized testing, she was at the forefront pushing the Indiana Department of Education to create something that would prepare her pupils for their futures.

"She was so different from any other teacher I have ever come across," said Millen, who now owns a crochet business. "She was my family."

Her former students were devastated to learn how the woman who cared so much about them died.

Inside the home on Questend Drive South, police found the retired math teacher lying on her back in a rear bedroom partly covered with a sheet and suffering severe head trauma. She'd been bludgeoned to death with a hammer.

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When police announced their suspect, it strained belief.

'We weren't arguing, I just lost it.' Indy man arrested, accused of killing wife with hammer

Forest Manor Middle School Principal faces murder charge

Her husband, Terry Ogle, was the former Forest Manor Middle School Principal. He was hired by Indianapolis Public Schools in 1978. His future wife was hired in 1970. Both retired in 2006 before the school closed a year later.

Terry Ogle was a prominent figure in and around the city and within education spaces. In 1988, he was voted on the Superintendent's Principle Advisory Committee for IPS. He pursued his doctoral degree. Ogle was awarded the 'Drum Major Instinct Award' at the 37th Annual IUPUI Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner in 2007.

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"In the decades I knew them both, Ive never known Doc to show the slightest hint of anger. Not in front of me anyway," said Dominic Dorsey, who attended Forest Manor Middle School from 1995-98 and credits the couple for his pursuits in the education field.

When Ogle was arrested in his wife's brutal killing hours after being treated for slitting his left wrist, many former students were struck by the violent reality.

"I make zero excuses, but uncharacteristic is an understatement. He never spoke above a whisper," Dorsey said. "He always struck me as someone with insurmountable patience and quiet wisdom that he imparted freely and often."

Mary Ogle, known formally as Marge Embry, was featured in an IndyStar article discussing her students and I-Step.

Indianapolis Algebra Project

The educator couple formed the Indianapolis Algebra Project, a non-profit providing students mathematics literacy at Forest Manor Middle School in 1991.

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Millen was a part of the Indianapolis Algebra Project and said she was hurt and speechless after learning what happened on Questend Drive South.

"I am just so conflicted to believe this is the reality of what they started," Millen said.

'This is tragic.' Woman killed in attack on Indy's northwest side. Man detained, IMPD says

Dorsey served on the board of the nonprofit and as president for many years. He said the group has been a tight-knit unit for the better part of a decade.

"Dr. (Terry) Ogle was my principal and first consistent Black male professional role model. Mrs. Embry was the first teacher who I honestly felt gave a damn about me," Dorsey said. "Whereas other instructors seemingly wrote me off."

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Dorsey said Embry taught him to embrace being a multi-modal learner. She let him eat lunch in her classroom while working with him until he got it." So much so that he was able to become a math tutor himself.

Just like Millen, Embry took a personal stake in Dorsey's life that extended beyond the middle school math classroom.

When he pursued education, Dorsey spent several summers developing curriculum sitting on Marges living room floor. After she married, that work moved to "Docs kitchen table."

'Small but mighty' math teacher who 'didn't play'

A picture of Mary Kuhns with her 8th grade math teacher, then known as Marge Embry, and two other students circa 1988.

Forest Manor Middle School was located in the same neighborhood with the same name on the city's east side before closing in 2007. The neighborhood, which is divided by East 38th Street, has a history that predates the many students who entered Embry's classroom.

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In the 1960s Black families purchased homes in the area. Over the next few years, many white residents sold their homes and left. To ease tensions, Forest Manor United Methodist Church founded the Forest Manor Neighborhood Association in 1967 and a generation of diverse students graced the school's halls.

Coleen McKinley attended Forest Manor in 1982. Embry was her math teacher.

Even though Embry was just as tall as her, McKinley said the woman was someone she could look up to.

"I remember her being a strong woman," McKinley told IndyStar. "She was one of a kind. She truly cared for her students and had a passion for teaching."

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Another former student, Mary Kuhns, said Embry's encouragement made students like her want to succeed. She attended Forest Manor from 1986-88.

The year she was in Embry's math class, Kuhns scored higher on the city-wide Algebra exam than anyone else. She was an 8th grader scoring higher than high schoolers.

"Ms. Embry came across as tough, but she had a good sense of humor, which worked for an inner city school teacher," Kuhns told IndyStar. "She was small but mighty."

Mary Ogle pictured in front of students in a classroom inside a year book from the school year of 1987-1988.

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That same toughness is what pushed hundreds of children over the years before Embry's retirement. Crystal Kenney attended Forest Manor and was in Embry's class in 2004. She said the teacher was a sweet lady who "didn't play either."

Forest Manor Middle School served grades 6-8 and was opened to relieve overcrowding in the area's IPS elementary schools. It closed in 2007 and its building has been repurposed throughout the years.

Dorsey said he hadn't spoken to either Embry or her husband in recent years. He doesn't know what could have happened for this to be the outcome of their story. But, like dozens of students who've spoken about Embry since her death, Dorsey has fond memories.

"Marge was the sweetest, tiny little white woman with an inexplicable Brooklyn accent, smack dab in the middle of Indiana who hit you with a disarming 'sup,'" Dorsey said.

Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formally Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Decades of students remember slain Indianapolis teacher who 'didn't play'
On Christmas morning, Estonias power grid operators got an unwanted surprise: The Estlink 2 power cable linking them to Finland had failed.

The outage left only the Estlink 1 cable in operation, reducing the electricity flow to Estonia by almost two-thirds.

The rupture had little impact on services due to reserve capacities. However, it sparked fears energy prices would rise while the cable remains offline  potentially for months.

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The following day, Finnish officials boarded and detained the Eagle S, a Cook Islands-flagged tanker they said was carrying oil from Russia to Turkey. It had passed over the cable, apparently dragging its anchor, Finnish officials said.

As Estonias defense minister, Hanno Pevkur, was quick to point out in an interview with CNN in Tallinn last week, it wasnt the first such suspected hybrid attack in recent months, all with the same apparent modus operandi. He acknowledged, though, that some believe what happened to have been accidental.

But it was to be the most consequential.

NATO, already tracking incidents of suspected cable-cutting, responded. Within three weeks, the alliance had put a coordinated group of warships to sea specifically to deter such suspected attacks.

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Announcing the new surveillance and deterrence mission, dubbed Baltic Sentry, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he had grave concern about a growing threat to our critical undersea infrastructure.

While NATO had already stepped up Baltic Sea patrols, and increased coordination with national police and border guards from the nations affected, the December 25 incident was only the latest in what the European Union described as a series of suspected attacks on critical infrastructure.

Russia denies any role in the damage. But Pevkur doesnt buy it, blaming Russias sanctions-busting ships, a so-called shadow fleet of aging tankers accused of seeking to evade Western restrictions on the sale of Russian oil.

We are taking this as it is, and we know that these vessels, when we talk about the shadow fleet, are a threat, not only from the security point of view, but first and foremost, from the environmental point of view, Pevkur said.

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It is an open skepticism already shared by many in Baltic Sentry.

The Swedish Public Prosecutors Office confirmed Sunday it had seized a ship on suspicion of carrying out sabotage, after suspected damage to a communications cable running under the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Latvia.

A photo taken on December 28, 2024, in the Gulf of Finland, shows Cook Islands-flagged oil tanker Eagle S (right), next to a Finnish border guard ship and tugboat. - Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva/AFP/Getty Images

Suspected Russian connections

Last week, aboard the icy-decked Netherlands frigate HNLMS Tromp  Baltic Sentrys state of the art flagship  the mission commander told CNN it was already putting together a pattern of Baltic maritime activity that questions Russias account.

A lot of the ships that we found are acting strangely originate in a Russian port or (are) going to a Russian port, said Commodore Arjen S. Warnaar, who leads Standing NATO Maritime Group One.

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He said ships anchors had in some case been dragged a couple of hundred miles, adding that in terms of claims the crews had not noticed this was happening, my guess is, no, a captain does know that  meaning the anchor dragging was probably intentional.

Finnish authorities are yet to announce the findings of their investigation into the Estlink 2 failure.

The Dutch head of the NATO marine group assigned to protect the Baltic Seas seabed infrastructure, Commodore Arjen S. Warnaar, on board the Dutch frigate HNLMS Tromp. - Sarah Dean/CNN

Finnish lawyer Herman Ljungberg, who represents the owner of the Eagle S, United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, told CNN he believes the ship was carrying Russian oil but said it was fully legal cargo sold under the applicable price cap. He called the allegation of sabotage nonsense and said the Finnish police had been investigating for four weeks without communicating any findings indicating sabotage. He also said the ships alleged damage to undersea equipment happened outside of Finlands territorial waters and that therefore Helsinki lacked jurisdiction to intervene.

Russia has denied allegations of involvement in underwater cable sabotage. The Russian Embassy in London last week said NATO was building up naval and air forces under the fictitious pretext of the Russian threat.

An anchor recovered from the Gulf of Finland in connection with the criminal investigation into the cable rupture that took place on December 25, 2024. - Finland Police

Outages global impact

Under the Baltic Sea, there are dozens of vulnerable internet and power cables, laid mostly unprotected on the seabed. According to Rutte, more than 95% of internet traffic globally is carried via undersea cables, with some 1.3 million kilometers of such cabling securing an estimated $10 trillion dollars of international trade daily.

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Repairs can be costly, and damage can take months to fix. Although undersea networks often have built-in redundancy, a concerted attack could paralyze many nations communications networks, jeopardizing hospital surgeries, police responses and more.

Even small outages could deny tens of thousands access to their favorite shows and movies, and impact online shopping and home deliveries.

In a life dependent on the Internet of Things, a ships anchor dragged hundreds of miles away can ruin your day.

Only last week, according to the United Kingdoms Ministry of Defence, the British navy was forced to escort what it described as a Russian spy ship through the narrow English Channel, weeks after it was caught loitering over critical undersea infrastructure in UK waters.

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Just a day earlier, the UK had announced it was sending maritime aircraft to join the Baltic Sentry operation, alongside ships sent by Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.

France also has a mine hunting ship in the task group, the CMT Croix du Sud.

Earlier this month, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu decried aggressive Russian action after a French maritime patrol aircraft was locked onto by the fire control radar of a Russian S400 air defense system and GPS signals also jammed, while patrolling international airspace as part of Baltic Sentry. GPS jamming is nothing new  for months, it has impeded civilian aircraft landings in the region.

AI helps build patterns of life

The Baltic Sentry operation is backed up by AI run out of NATOs new Maritime Centre for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure in the UK.

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Speed is of most importance here. We need to react very fast, the head of NATO maritime operations there, Capt. Niels Markussen, told CNN last week.

According to Markussen, a Danish naval captain, the team is building patterns of life in the Baltic, watching for anomalies, like ships frequently changing direction, loitering or slowing near critical cabling. We have this picture of the undersea infrastructure, we compare that with the picture of the surface, he explained.

With the combined resources of warships, AI, high-tech tracking data and F-35 stealth fighter jets to call on, Markussen says reaction time to suspicious behavior will be within a half an hour or an hour  a far cry from the 17 hours for which one ship suspected of sabotage dragged its anchor last year.

German minesweeper FGS Datteln has gone from combatting sea mines to detecting damage to undersea cables as part of the Baltic Sentry mission. - Darren Bull/CNN

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But with the speed and muscle of this new operation comes danger, Markussen says. Its sensitive because it is an area where we have to balance between this moving into something that can become very ugly  and what I mean by that is warfare.

Its not as simple as blaming Russia, he says. Attribution is difficult, he explains, adding that the proof, the smoking gun Its, very, very difficult.

Pevkur, Estonias defense minister, whose country has deep historic reasons to fear Russia, and is weeks from disconnecting from a joint energy grid with its far larger eastern neighbor, is also cautious about attributing blame. We have to stick to the rules and also to the legislation, because this is exactly what Putin wants to see, he says, referring to the need to build a watertight case to avoid Russia exploiting any doubts or loopholes.

Even so, he says, its not a surprise that the cable cutting came at this time, or in such an ambiguous way. Russia, he says, has form. Theyve been using the civil vessels all the time. So, weve seen that their intelligence ships are marked as civil, lets say (for) academic purposes, or whatever. So, this is not a surprise for us. The Kremlin has previously rejected accusations it used civilian ships for gathering intelligence.

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Pevkur sees the cable cutting as an extension of the war in Ukraine, saying Putin wants Western nations not dealing with Ukraine and (instead) dealing with our own problems.

Sea drones survey murky depths

At sea, off his coast, the crew of the German minesweeper FGS Datteln is at the sharp end of Baltic Sentry.

Perhaps more than any of the other crews and vessels in Baltic Sentry, theyre transitioning from old-war methods of fighting to the skills of winning a hybrid war. The minesweeper has gone from combatting sea mines to detecting damage to undersea cables.

A few feet above the icy water, on an open deck at the back of the aging warcraft, a rack of red sea drones is stacked up. Each one is about 8 feet (2.4 meters) long, powered by four slender thrusters, and requires three sailors to carefully maneuver it above the water before dropping it the last foot into the sea.

Tethered to the ship by thin orange cabling, wound on a hand-cranked drum, images are relayed from the murky ocean floor.

What the drone operators see below the water, long before any repair crews are called in to fix a damaged cable, could be the trigger that tips diplomacy towards the action that Markussen fears.

If irrefutable evidence of Russian malfeasance is found, NATO will have moved another step closer to confronting its adversary.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Mexia, Tx (FOX 44)  UPDATE: Mexia Police have made some arrests in connection with a reported drive-by shooting.

Police say 26-year-old Tre Dereck Hudson-Anglin, of Mexia, was arrested on Monday evening with the assistance of the Groesbeck Police Department. He was transported to the Limestone County Jail and booked for the offense of Deadly Conduct.

Police later issued an update saying 20-year-old Jordan Alexander West and 20-year-old Skylar Macloud Wood were also arrested in connection with this incident on Tuesday evening. West and Wood were also transported to the Limestone County Jail, and were both booked for the offenses of Deadly Conduct and Aggravated Assault With A Deadly Weapon.

Tre Dereck Hudson-Anglin. (Courtesy: Mexia Police Department)

Jordan Alexander West. (Courtesy: Mexia Police Department)

Skylar Macloud Wood. (Courtesy: Mexia Police Department)

Mexia Police officers originally traveled to the intersection of McKinney Street and Hunt Street at approximately 11 a.m. Saturday in reference to an incident of shots fired. They found shell casings of what seemed to be a shooting scene.

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The department was able to gather evidence from neighbors and citizens in the area. This evidence allowed officers to identify an individual involved in the incident and issue a warrant for their arrest. Witnesses and residents of the area spoke with police and provided information which led to the identification of at least one individual.

SEE ALSO: Arrest made in fatal Mexia shooting

Police say this shooting is believed to be related to an incident on 116 Bailey Street which occurred on Thursday, January 23. No victim has come forward  however, police are still investigating with the cooperation from citizens and witnesses.

Police have also confirmed that the two incidents have no connection to the shooting at 705 E. Liberty Street in Mexia which occurred on January 18.

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If anyone has information about these incidents, Mexia PD is encouraging them to reach out to

the Limestone County Crime Stoppers at 254-729-8477.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
A little over two years after being sworn in as prime minister of New Zealand, and after navigating the aftermath of a domestic terror attack at two mosques and a deadly volcanic eruption, Jacinda Ardern committed to being more zen.

But just a couple of months later, she found herself essentially closing New Zealand off from the rest of the world and implementing lockdowns across the country as a pandemic threatened the well-being of her citizens.

As portrayed in Prime Minister, a documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, that sort of whiplash was a recurring theme throughout Arderns time as prime minister  and it was present in her life even before she assumed that leadership position.

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Ardern didnt become the leader of the Labour Party until about seven weeks before the general election in the fall of 2017. She took on the role after an unexpected resignation.

Around the same time, Ardern discovered she was pregnant. At 37, she became only the second elected leader in the world to give birth while in office.

On the surface, Arderns life, including her career, seemed to involve a constant game of tug and pull, a struggle between opposing forces.

But what makes Prime Minister such a fascinating watch is that Ardern treats all of this contrast as two sides of the same coin.

Raising a daughter while in office seems to inform Arderns leadership, and vice versa.

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You shouldnt have to trade off a fulfilling career and also a fulfilling family life, Ardern told the Deseret News before the world premiere of her documentary. But that does mean that we all need help, we all need a village. ... We have that old mantra that women can do it all, sure, but they shouldnt do it alone.

In Prime Minister, Ardern appears to be intent on maintaining optimism and making informed decisions with compassion and kindness. But that doesnt mean her policies come without any resistance.

With the use of archival footage, audio diaries and present-day interviews, Prime Minister takes viewers through Arderns personal and public life during her tumultuous years as New Zealands leader, her unexpected resignation and beyond.

Jacinda Ardern at @sundancefest

Prime Minister premiere: Its quite a lot to watch yourself on a screen.

She praised her husband, Clarke, for his efforts to help document her ups and downs in office  even when she was reluctant at times to be filmed. pic.twitter.com/gemXAOmcUZ  Lottie Johnson (@Lotlotej) January 25, 2025

I could only be myself

When Ardern was named head of the Labour Party, New Zealands general election was just a few weeks away. This didnt give her much time to curate an image in the public eye.

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I could only be myself, she says in Prime Minister.

That no-frills approach is part of what made Prime Minister director Michelle Walshe want to take on the documentary.

Seeing her being so unapologetically exactly who she was, a young mother with a young baby, and she brought that to her job without trying to become something else, was really inspiring, Walshe told the Deseret News at the films premiere, noting her belief that its a style of leadership needed everywhere, not just in politics. Ive taken that through into everything I do.

Prime Minister director and editor Lindsay Utz, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Prime Minister director Michelle Walshe pose for a photo at the 2025 Sundance premiere of Prime Minister at the Eccles Theatre in Park City on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Prime Minister marks Walshes Sundance debut, and it was important to her, she said, to show an authentic story  one that highlighted the struggles and sacrifices, and the massive amount of support Ardern needed as she navigated the role of prime minister as a first-time mom.

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Prime Minister puts a spotlight not just on the former prime minister, but also the love and care of Arderns husband, TV broadcaster Clarke Gayford, who carried their daughter, Neve, around the office so that Ardern could breastfeed before and after meetings, and in the backseat of cars (following the films premiere, Gayford received a lot of applause from the Sundance audience for his continual support of Ardern).

Because of her determination to breastfeed, Ardern brought her then-3-month-old to a United Nations general assembly meeting, holding her until she had to get up and give a speech.

Through home video footage shot by Gayford, who is a producer on the documentary, we see Ardern eventually reach the conclusion that the demands of her job made it unfeasible to stick with breastfeeding.

Prime Minister producer Clarke Gayford and his wife, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, talk before the start of the 2025 Sundance premiere of Prime Minister at the Eccles Theatre in Park City on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

A few years later, about a year before her resignation, Ardern is shown at home, talking on the phone about the protests that have formed on Parliaments lawn over her COVID-19 mandates. The situation has become increasingly violent, and the threats against her family have intensified.

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As the phone call continues, Ardern looks at her young daughter, who is seemingly carefree as she eats porridge nearby. The physical toll this all has taken on Ardern is palpable.

Prime Minister co-director Lindsey Utz  a longtime film editor known for her work on Sundance hits like the Oscar-winning American Factory and Miss Americana  said getting to know Ardern, and working on the documentary as a mom of two, shifted her own perspective on motherhood.

It made me feel less guilty about having a career, because the truth is that you do spend less time with your kids and thats hard and theres a lot of guilt that comes with that, Utz told the Deseret News. But its also important for your kids to see you pursuing your dreams and your passions and having a career. I think women are constantly struggling with that guilt, and the fact that (Ardern) was just so open about how much it took for her to be able to do this job and all the support that she needed, made me feel less alone in my own struggles.

Prime Minister producer Clarke Gayford and his wife, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, applaud during opening remarks at the 2025 Sundance premiere of Prime Minister at the Eccles Theatre in Park City on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

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Ardern had a lot of support as she navigated crisis after crisis as prime minister while embracing motherhood. But even still, the cumulative effect of the challenges she faced while in office took a toll on her, ultimately leading to a surprise resignation.

A reluctant prime minister

As Ardern tells it, she was always a bit of a reluctant prime minister.

Early on in the documentary, she recalls how she initially didnt want Andrew Little, the previous leader of the Labour Party, to resign. She feared having all of the responsibility land on her shoulders.

But she took on the role with confidence, and throughout her time as prime minister, Ardern championed issues including gun control, climate change, child poverty reduction, raised minimum wage, paid parental leave and mental health.

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Prime Minister doesnt get too deep into the weeds of her policies. Instead, its more reflective as it puts more of the focus on her responses to situations  some of her thought processes and the considerations that went into her decisions.

Near the end of the documentary, in a present-day interview, Ardern wonders if she had maybe subconsciously been planning her exit all along. At the time of her resignation, her favor in the polls had declined significantly. She figured that if she stepped down and removed herself from the equation, perhaps some of her accomplishments wouldnt be overturned.

Cast and crew of Prime Minister, including former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, bottom right, pose for a photo at the movies 2025 Sundance premiere at the Eccles Theatre in Park City on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

The political climate in New Zealand was also intensifying, and Ardern believed the temperature needed to cool down.

But in the documentary, she still stands behind her handling of the pandemic, noting that she would prefer to explain why she did too much rather than too little.

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Save peoples lives and keep everyone together, she said of her responsibilities. I did one, but I didnt quite manage to do the other.

So Ardern resigned at the start of 2023, after a little more than five years as prime minister. She looked forward to spending more time with family, married Gayford and became a dual fellow at Harvard.

Now, with the premiere of Prime Minister and a memoir coming out later this year, Ardern is working hard to spread a message of compassion and optimism.

Kindness and empathy in leadership

Following the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, Ardern was widely praised for her empathy-driven leadership  and her refusal to state the shooters name in an effort to shed more light on the victims.

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In the aftermath of the shootings, President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with Ardern and stated that she was a real leader.

Its an unlikely scenario  a young mother leading a great nation, a peacemaker, a policymaker, consensus giver," Nelson said. Were very impressed with her. Shell have a great future.

Arderns compassionate approach to leadership feels rare in an increasingly divisive society, Prime Minister co-director Utz told the Deseret News. And it was applauded at Sundance.

Eugene Hernandez, Sundance Film Festival director and head of public programming, gives opening remarks before the 2025 Sundance premiere of Prime Minister at the Eccles Theatre in Park City on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

The film got a standing ovation, and Ardern received a standing ovation when she took the stage for a brief Q&A that felt more like a pep talk as she spoke about building respect with your fellow citizens, even when you may disagree with one another.

Optimism is a courageous act, she told the cheering crowd at the Eccles Theatre in Park City. Its not passive, you have to keep fighting for it. ... You have to act on its behalf. Please maintain the courage of optimism, we need it now more than ever.

At one point during the Q&A, Ardern joked that running a country and filming a documentary sometimes didnt feel all too different. There were moments in Prime Minister when Gayford was filming her and she didnt seem particularly interested in being filmed.

In the end, the Prime Minister directors said they had around 200 hours of footage  the rough cut of their film was 17 hours.

I think its really important that when youre doing something like this you dont think so much about having to sit and watch the end product, because I think anyone watching themselves on screen finds it probably quite difficult, Ardern told the Deseret News. But I think this is a moment in time. Were just sharing the importance of kindness and empathy in leadership, and if one way to do that was by bearing all, showing what our lives were like, then that was worth it.
Columbus, Ga (WRBL)- Tracking showers that continue to move into the area tonight. This light to moderate rain will build in coverage through Monday morning, and it will impact our Monday commute. Rain will begin to taper off after noon.

Enjoy a drier and warmer middle of the week. A weak short wave Wednesday will bring more clouds, but no rain is expected right now. Highs will reach into the upper 80s by Wednesday afternoon, with lows in the 40s.

A stronger front will move through Friday/Saturday morning. This front will bring scattered showers and storms starting Friday afternoon. Conditions will dry back out by next weekend,

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL.
DELHI, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH)  A Sidney man is facing several felony charges for drug and weapons crimes.

Delaware County District Attorney Shawn Smith announced that a Grand Jury indicted 51-year-old Michael Thiel on four counts on January 23.

Count One of the indictment charges Thiel with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony. Thiel allegedly possessed a 9mm pistol with the intent to use it against another person. If convicted, Thiel faces up to 15 years in prison and 5 years of post-release supervision.

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Count Two of the indictment accuses Thiel of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a Class D felony.

Count Three of the indictment charges Thiel with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class B felony. Thiel is being accused of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to sell in Sidney on October 10, 2024.

Count Four of the indictment accuses Thiel of Criminal Nuisance in the First Degree, a Class E Felony. Thiel allegedly maintained a residence in Sidney where people frequently gathered to sell drugs.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WIVT - News 34.
DELHI, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH)  A registered sex offender is facing prison time after pleading guilty to violating his terms of probation.

Delaware County District Attorney Shawn Smith announced that Tyler Long, 29, of Sidney appeared in court and pled guilty to Failure to Register an Internet Account, a Class E Felony in violation of the Corrections Law.

On July 3, 2024, Officer Sarah Cecce of Delaware County Probation notified the Sidney Police Department that Long had created six separate unregistered email accounts. According to the requirements of the New York State Sex Offender Registry, an offender is required to notify their supervising officer of any accounts made within ten days of their creation. Long did not notify Cecce of the email accounts.

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Longs admission is part of a negotiated plea agreement. He is expected to be sentenced to a term of one to three years in New York State prison.

I want to thank Officer Sarah Cecce for the work she does monitoring sex offenders like Mr. Long. It is difficult work, but her supervision keeps these individuals accountable. More importantly, officers like her keep these individuals from reoffending or disappearing from societys radar, said Smith.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 17.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WIVT - News 34.
Youd be hard-pressed to find a part of the Pacific Northwest thats more important than the Columbia River basin. Fed by the mighty Columbia and Snake rivers and their many tributaries that eventually reach the Pacific Ocean, it stretches from southeast British Columbia and extends into much of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. It even reaches as far as some portions of Nevada, Wyoming, Utah and Montana.

All in all, the Columbia River basin is one of the largest in the country and covers an area of over 87,000 square miles. That covers about 36 percent of the state of Washington alone.

Its a major source of regional power, hosting about 150 hydroelectric projects, 250 reservoirs and dozens of dams. About 50-80% of the energy supplied to the region comes from hydroelectric power, according to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. On the Columbia River, the Bonneville Dam alone supplies enough electricity to power 900,000 homes.

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But the basin is crucial to the region for myriad reasons beyond power.

The 1,240-mile long Columbia drains about 250,000 square miles. One of the longest rivers in America, it is second only to the Mississippi in terms of volume of water flow. It is a crucial source of water for agricultural irrigation, supports a range of diverse wildlife and offers myriad recreational opportunities.

Crucially, the Columbia River basin is a cornerstone of the regions Indigenous history, culture and daily life. The reverence and connectedness to the land expressed by tribes in the area are in large part due to the basins historically epic salmon population.

In fact, much of the Columbia River basin is part of the ancestral lands of the Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Nez Perce. With the influx of European settlers  who brought an increase in demand alongside a lack of experience in regional fisheries management  that number plummeted.

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Up until the first half of the 19th century, as many as 16 million salmon and steelhead would return to spawn every year, according to Columbia Riverkeeper. Stories passed down through tribes over the generations tell of a time when the salmon spawned in such great numbers that you could practically walk on their backs to cross the water.

Thats not the case today.

The Columbia River Basin is still home to some of the richest wild salmon spawning grounds in the world, but many species of the fish are in crisis.

Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission data shows the decline and slow recovery of salmon in the Columbia River basin.

The salmon in this area are struggling  some species more than others  due to population increase, development and dams. The average number of salmon that return every year is at 2.3 million, according to the most recent NWPCC report from December 2024.

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Thats far short of the interim goal of 5 million that should have been reached when 2025 dawned.

Columbia basin tribes have said time and again that effective conservation efforts in the basin are a matter of necessity for the future survival of everyone in the region.

Since time immemorial, the strength of the Yakama Nation and its people have come from Nchi Wana  the Columbia River  and from the fish, game, roots and berries it nourishes, said Gerald Lewis, chairman of the Yakama Nation, in a statement in March 2024. We have fought to protect and restore salmon because salmon are not just a natural resource, they are a cultural resource.

Nchi Wana roughly translates to Big River in the Yakama Sahaptin language. The name is generally the same across other regional tribes and bands, but in their languages.

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Lewiss comments came at the formation of a new landmark agreement created between the federal government and four regional tribes to form whats now known as the Six Sovereigns. The grouping of governments under the moniker includes Washington state, Oregon and four basin tribes  the Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Nez Perce (Nimiipuu).

Their goal is to restore, protect, defend and conserve the Columbia River basin in collaboration with one another, and to represent the collective interests of the region vis-a-vis the federal government.

Who are the Six Sovereigns?

Balancing priorities for ecological and commercial goals related to the Columbia River basin isnt an easy undertaking. Thats where the Six Sovereigns come in.

Created in late 2023, the coalition is formed by the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, as well as the states of Washington and Oregon.

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After forming, they came to an agreement with the Biden-Harris administration to stay litigation related to the basin while committing to a far-reaching set of actions crucial to its future success on all levels. The agreement has been hailed as a landmark step toward recovery of the basin.

The reservations and ceded lands of the four CRITFC member tribes. The combined area of these four tribes ceded lands covers 25% of the Columbia Basin. Source: CRITFC

President Biden understands that the Columbia River System is the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, noted Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality in a statement when the agreement was announced. This agreement charts a new path to restore the river, provide for a clean energy future and the jobs that come with it, and live up to our responsibilities to Tribal Nations.

Around the same time, the Six Sovereigns also created the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, known as the CBRI. Through collaboration, the goal of the CBRI is to comprehensively and collectively develop crucial solutions and honor tribal treaty rights. It will ultimately serve as a sort of collective negotiation table for the Six Sovereigns to sit across from federal and other sovereign and regional stakeholders.

One of the Six Sovereign partner organizations, Earthjustice, has recently faced questions over whether legal aspects of the work will be delayed with a new federal administration in place.

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Part of the agreement made with the Biden-Harris administration was that there would be a halt to all lawsuits by the tribes and states regarding the activities of the federal government for 10 years while urgent solutions-based actions are taken. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains a number of federal hydropower projects in the region.

Those agreements are now facing potential uncertainties. But just days into the new administration, representatives for Earthjustice were clear that their work will be ongoing.

The alliance will continue, and that policy will continue, said Amanda Goodin, an attorney for Earthjustice, in a phone interview. The agreement thats in place is a strong one, so they [feds] would be wise to continue.

She says the agreement for the Columbia River basin makes sure that salmon conservation strategy looks at ways we can strengthen our region.

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For a long time, some have pitted healthy and abundant salmon against other interests in the region, Goodin said. You can have salmon and agriculture.

Why is the Columbia River basin important?

The Columbia River basins status as an indisputable powerhouse of resources makes it an easy target for development. In some ways, its a victim of its own success and importance, particularly when it comes to the future of salmon.

At an NWPCC status update meeting in January 2025, Council Member Louie Pitt, who represents Oregon and is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, spoke on a December 2024 analysis on the total run size of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River basin.

Increased salmon and steelhead abundance in the Columbia River Basin  especially above Bonneville Dam  over the past 40 years marks important progress, Pitt said at the meeting, which was livestreamed to the public. These fish still face severe stresses from climate change, pressures from human population growth in the basin and other environmental impacts.

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Pitt added that the situation for some species of fish is more dire than others.

Some stocks are struggling right now, Pitt said. We cannot ease up in our collective efforts to help these fish populations grow stronger and larger everywhere we can  including in blocked areas of our basin such as above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams.

Others at the meeting, which included the Six Sovereigns, echoed the sentiment of celebrating wins but remaining vigilant on the critically urgent interests that are at stake.

We get asked all the time, What are your top three?, Kate Markworth, a lawyer for the Yakama tribe responded in part when asked to comment on prioritizing things like irrigation for farmlands over the removal of dams. This is not a buffet. Everything is urgent.

Why do the Six Sovereigns matter?

The work to protect salmon, steelhead and other fish and wildlife in the basin has been going on much longer than just a few years.

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In 1977, the tribes that are part of the Six Sovereigns came together to create the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, with the goal of protecting and preserving salmon and other fish crucial to the regional ecosystem.

But a myriad of complex circumstances over many years was part of what led to the historic agreement with the Biden-Harris administration, including numerous lawsuits filed by tribes, largely to enforce treaty-guaranteed rights.

Perhaps the most infamous decision in the last 100 years was the damming of Celilo Falls in the 1950s. The area was a critical fishing, trade and residence area for Columbia basin tribes. Known in Sahaptin as Wy-am, the salmon-rich waters of the legendary Celilo Falls were just upstream on the Columbia River from what is now Dalles, Oregon, in central Washington. It rivaled Niagara Falls during spring flooding, and was a crucial cultural and commercial center for 10,000 years.

The ramifications of that loss still echo today.

At the Yakama reservations cultural center and museum, you dont have to look very hard to find deeply emotional references in the exhibits to the history of Celilo Falls, and the damage caused to both humans and salmon species when it was destroyed with damming.

Yet, hope persists that it will someday be restored, but it would have to be done right. According to a spokesperson for the CRITFC, the idea has been seriously proposed.

Several years ago, the Army Corps of Engineers did a full bathyscaphe scan of the rock formations at the falls that is currently underwater. According to the CRITFC spokesperson, all the landforms were found to still be intact.

That means that if the Dalles Dam was removed, the falls would return.

Whatever the outcome for Celilo Falls, the salmon and the other flora and fauna of the Columbia River basin, the Six Sovereigns remain committed to fighting for the future of the entire basin. They say it will be done through what they publicly describe as a shared understanding of a collective duty and obligation to protect, honor and cherish the place that we all call home.

This article was produced in collaboration and with support from the Solutions Journalism Network.
short selling

The short-selling feature of active ETFs enhances market efficiency by removing poorly performing managers and deterring low-quality ones from entering, according to new academic research.

In a recent paper titled ETFs as a disciplinary device, authors including a Bank of International Settlements economist and two Hong Kong University of Science and Technology researchers, found active ETF flows are five times more sensitive to performance than mutual funds since investors can establish short positionsultimately producing outflows from the fund.

Meanwhile, only existing holders can create outflows from mutual funds.

Short Sellers Can Identify Underperformance

The report found short sellers also tend to be good at identifying underperforming managers, with high levels of short selling a statistically significant predictor of negative alpha.

Active ETF managers therefore experience much tougher penalties for poor performance and are more likely to be forced out of the industry.

The paper also found that second-rate mutual fund managers were unlikely to launch an active ETF in the first place since short sellers can bet against their performance, thus exposing them to unwanted career risk.

The best-performing managers manage both types of funds as they know their good quality and are probably less afraid of being forced out if they convert to an active ETF, explained the authors.

With underperforming managers forced out and poor-quality ones reluctant to enter, the active ETF industry theoretically boasts a superior pool of managers compared to active mutual funds.

This could help explain why active ETF managers outperformed their active mutual fund peers over the 2016-2024 study period.

On this side of the pond, meanwhile, active management ETFs are poised to dominate, according to an etf.com survey. There are now over 1,570 active ETFs traded on the U.S. markets, with total assets under management of $754.34 billion, and an average expense ratio of 0.71%.

This article was originally published on our sister site, etfstream.com.





Permalink |  Copyright 2025 etf.com. All rights reserved
Skydive Arizona, the Eloy-based company that saw a Minnesota woman fall to her death during a parachuting incident on Friday, released a statement offering condolences to her friends and family.

"The Skydive Arizona community is saddened by the loss of a cherished member of the skydiving family," the company said in a statement.

Ann Wick, 55, was skydiving when she encountered a problem during her descent. First responders were called to Skydive Arizona, near Taylor Street and Tumbleweed Road, at approximately 4:06 p.m., according to Eloy police.

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Medical personnel attempted life-saving measures on Wick, but she was later pronounced dead. The exact cause of death was still under investigation as of Sunday afternoon.

Skydive Arizona said witnesses reported the freefall phase of Wick's skydive appeared normal, and the parachute deployed but noted its canopy was turning.

"No corrective actions appeared to be taken by the jumper, nor was the reserve parachute deployed," the company said. "The injuries sustained during landing proved fatal."

Wick completed 267 jumps before her death, Skydive Arizona said. The company said it was fully cooperating with authorities in the investigation.

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The Federal Aviation Administration, along with other agencies, will be reviewing the equipment, procedures and circumstances surrounding the incident, police said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona skydiving incident: Skydive Arizona comments on woman's death
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  The Salt Lake City Police Department spearheaded a two-day operation last week, focusing on criminal activity and illegal drug use near Main City Library on 400 South and 200 East.

The operation took place on Wednesday, Jan. 22, and Thursday, Jan. 23, and included nearly 70 officers with the SLCPD and the Utah Transit Authority Police Department. Officers worked in partnership with clinical social workers from both the SLCPD and Odyssey House.

Holding people accountable for violating the law is our police departments primary responsibility, said SLCPD Chief Mike Brown. But we must also balance our efforts to help ensure those in need and also connected with available resources and services. This operation highlights the success of our police officers and social workers and their commitment to improving the safety of our city.

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Over the course of the two-day operation, SLCPd said seven people were arrested and nine citations were issued. In addition, officers seized more than $100 in cash and an undisclosed amount of methamphetamine.

Meanwhile, social workers made contact with nearly 20 people experiencing homelessness. Five of those accepted housing assistance and three accepted food and blankets.

This is reportedly just one such planned operation in the city. The Salt Lake City Police Department said additional operations are expected to occur throughout the city in high-crime areas.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Smugglers have ferried more than 150,000 migrants across the English Channel since Government records began in 2018  most often in inflatable small boats.

The Home Office collects data on detections on shore, as well as encounters at sea subsequently brought to the UK, and publishes it weekly.

A total of 36,816 crossed in 2024  more than the 29,437 in 2023, but less than the current annual record of 45,755 set in 2022.

Where are the migrants coming from?

Quarterly statistics also reveal the nationalities of those making the journey: between January and September last year, Afghanistan was the most common origin with 4,160 recorded arrivals.

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This was followed by Vietnam (3,132) and Iran (2,948). Since 2018, more people have come from Iran (24,514) than anywhere else.

The highest annual tally of migrants from a single country came in 2022, when 12,658 Albanians landed, more than a quarter of that years total.

How many migrants does the UK grant asylum?



The vast majority of arrivals  93 per cent  between 2018 and 2024 claimed asylum for themselves or a dependant in order to obtain refugee status and be lawfully able to stay in the UK.

To be eligible, the claimant must be unable to return to their country of origin for fear of persecution.

Roughly half of all applicants over a 12-month period are granted protection or other leave at initial decision, with more successful on appeal.

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Most are assigned refugee status, usually giving them leave to remain for five years.

Is Labours small boats crackdown working?

The creation of a new Border Security Command was a key feature of Labours plan for change in the general election.

Its mission was to smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings. Launched last July, there is little evidence to suggest the tide is turning.

Average weekly crossings under Sir Keir Starmers watch are currently far higher than under his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, or Boris Johnson.

This figure is likely to come down throughout the winter, however, as small boats tend to set off in greater numbers during the favourable summer weather.

What have been the worst days so far?

The current record is September 3rd, 2022, when 1,305 migrants crossed the Channel on 27 small boats.

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More than 1,000 people have made the journey on eight separate days so far, almost all of which occurring in 2022.

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.
Small property owners are urging the Boston City Council to reject Mayor Wus push to increase business taxes.

The Boston City Councils Government Operations and Ways and Means committees will hold hearings on four property tax initiatives on Monday, including Mayor Michelle Wus latest push to shift more of the citys tax burden onto businesses and a call to probe the citys home assessment practices.

The hearing will be the first time the Council takes up Mayor Wus expanded home rule petition, which includes the same property tax increase on commercial owners that was denied on Beacon Hill.

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Senators argued that raising taxes on the commercial sector could have a negative impact as many businesses are still struggling with the impacts of the pandemic.

Property owners are receiving questionable tax bills which raise serious questions about the citys assessment process. Bostons property valuations are all over the place and lower-value properties are being grossly over-assessed, hurting the very people Mayor Wu claims to want to help. We applaud the city council for demanding answers, said SPOA Vice President Amir Shahsavari.

Shahsavari also noted the Mayors latest proposal offers rebates to residential taxpayers only if her commercial tax increase is defeated again.

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
Jan. 26Mala Htun, an author who taught at the University of New Mexico for over a decade, died Friday after living with cancer the last few years.

She was 55.

"She gave us a lot of tools on how to conduct research and how to look at things critically," said Melanie Sonntag, one of Htun's former students.

Htun was born in Honolulu. She moved to Santa Monica, California, and then Albuquerque in 1982 when her mother became a professor at UNM. She earned degrees in international relations from Stanford University and a doctoral degree in political science at Harvard.

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As an undergraduate, she stood out "as a really smart, talented, creative thinker," said UNM political science professor Mark Peceny, who was a teaching assistant in a class Htun took at Stanford.

"She carried that throughout her entire career," he said.

From 2000-2011, Htun was a professor at the New School for Social Research before coming back to Albuquerque to teach at UNM where she became a distinguished political science professor. Her classes focused on women's rights, social inequalities and other issues.

She was one of the world's top scholars of gender and representation, Peceny said.

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Htun was one of the "most brilliant and outrageous women I've ever met, while simultaneously being absolutely down to earth," UNM political science professor Jessica Feezell said.

Sonntag said she learned a lot from Htun while doing field work in Japan, including how to conduct interviews, "the insights she would draw from that and how she would get people to talk about certain things."

Outside the classroom, Htun wrote three books, including "The Logics of Gender Justice: State Action on Women's Rights around the World" that was co-authored with Laurel Weldon and won the 2019 International Studies Association's Best Book Award in the Human Rights Section.

Along with penning books and articles, she gave talks around the country, co-chaired the Presidential Task Force on Women's Advancement and was a fellow at the Kellogg Institute of the University of Notre Dame and the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard. In April, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

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"It's a thrill for me to earn this recognition," Htun said in a UNM news release at the time. "I'm excited to have the opportunity to engage with the Academy's community of scientists, artists and public intellectuals."

Even with all her success, Htun's husband, Doug Turner said she remained "100% committed to her students and making sure they had the best experience learning from her, the political science department and UNM."

"She had a dozen job offers to go to UT (University of Texas), Yale or other really well-known universities and make a lot more money," he said, "but she always had a deep commitment to the school and the state."

Aside from academics, Htun enjoyed exploring and hitting the slopes at Taos Ski Valley.

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"She had a really, very deep connection to Taos and loved the outdoors," Turner said.

Htun is survived by Doug Turner, their three children, Alexander Turner, 18, Livia Turner, 15, and Elinor Turner, 10, and parents Dr. Helen Muller of Albuquerque and Dr. Ko Moe Htun of Honolulu.

Doug Turner said he is working with the UNM Foundation to set up an academic endowment honoring Htun. People can send donations to UNM's Political Science Program Fund.

"She was always interested in bringing in thought-provoking speakers and thinkers, getting people to be uncomfortable, to think outside the box about a lot of these big questions that she worked on," he said.

Services are scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday at Congregation Albert, 3800 Louisiana NE. People can send condolence messages to 1500 San Carlos NW. The family requested that no flowers be sent.
Massachusetts is expected to some snowfall on Wednesday, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service's Boston office, including on the Cape.

A NWS meteorologist said Monday that a weather system known as an Alberta Clipper is expected to pass over the region from Canada on Wednesday, bringing with it light snow that could accumulate several inches in Massachusetts.

"A wide spread coating to an inch is starting to look more likely, with of 2-3 inches possible especially near and north of the MA pike," NWS meteorologists wrote in the latest area forecast on Monday.

Snow covers the trees along the roadway in Wampatuck State Park in Hingham on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.

When will it snow in on Cape Cod this week?

Francis Tarasiewicz, a NWS meteorologist, said snow is expected to begin in Massachusetts during the early morning hours on Wednesday and will wrap up by that evening.

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"That's going to be occurring during the morning commute on Wednesday, so may have some travel impacts associated with it," Tarasiewicz said.

How much will it snow on Cape Cod?

Expected snowfall for Wednesday, Jan. 29 in Massachusetts, per the National Weather Service.

Wednesday's weather system is expected to bring a few inches of snowfall accumulation to Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service.

Cape Cod is expected to see at most two inches of snow. The outer cape is expected to see the most snowfall, while Hyannis is forecasted to recieve less than an inch.

Most of the state is currently forecast to see one to two inches of snow, while the western part of the state could see higher totals.

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"We're expecting light accumulations statewide, a little bit more in the northern part of the state, but still between about one to three inches of snow or so," said Francis Tarasiewicz, a NWS meterologist.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: How much will it snow on Cape Cod? See forecast map for Wednesday
(Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Ritika Shroff had the typical Gen Z experience with social media. At 13, she signed up for Instagram, then Snapchat. Later, she downloaded TikTok and worked her way through other popular platforms.

But in high school, she began to see downsides, feeling pressure when comparing her number of followers, test scores and experiences with those of her peers online.

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Theyre doing X, Y and Z with their lives, and I think I got pulled into it, Shroff said.

Today, Shroff, a 19-year-old sophomore at American University in Washington, D.C., still sees the benefits of social media, such as allowing her to stay in touch with hometown friends from Des Moines, Iowa, and family in India. While she thinks there should be more rules around social media, she doesnt think individual state actions, such as a state suing a platform, would make much difference.

These small things wont make an impact in the broader landscape, Shroff said.

More states are hoping to rein in the harm that social media can do to teens mental health and privacy by approving laws that require age verification or parental consent, prohibit addictive feeds or ban the apps for minors. They also are taking social media companies to court.

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But some experts say such efforts wont make social media any safer. Instead, they fear the moves might infringe on peoples privacy and First Amendment rights  while potentially making the platforms harder for everyone to use.

This is global media, and trying to regulate it at the micro level  the fear for a lot of people is that were going to end up with different rules for different states, which is just going to undercut the whole promise and potential of internet-based media and communication, said Kevin Goldberg of the Freedom Forum, a nonprofit aimed at protecting First Amendment rights.

Some social media disputes are playing out at the federal level. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a bipartisan federal law banning TikTok, a popular video sharing platform, unless its China-based parent company agreed to sell the app. The ban briefly went into effect before President Donald Trump, who had tried unsuccessfully to ban TikTok by executive order in his first term, signed an executive order delaying it for another 75 days.

But absent other federal action to curb social medias effects on young people, many states are considering new legislation. In New York, a law enacted in June prohibits social media platforms from providing to minors so-called addictive feeds without parental consent. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, is drafting formal rules to enforce the law.

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Social media feeds are designed to keep kids scrolling longer and longer to drive up ad revenue, noted state Democratic Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who sponsored the bill. Kids who are addicted to social media suffer mental health issues, and people who spend more time scrolling tend to struggle to navigate real-life relationships, he argued.

So social media, for all the positives that might exist, has some real, deeply negative and dark downsides that we are finally seeing manifest, and we have to reconcile it, Gounardes said.

But tech developers are concerned new state laws could weaken privacy protections for users, take away online mental health resources for marginalized communities and restrict the flow of online information, said Paul Lekas, the senior vice president and head of global public policy and government affairs at the Software & Information Industry Association, a trade association representing the digital content industry.

The bills are all different, so its hard to say that all of them are good or all of them are bad, Lekas said. But a lot of concerns come up in a number of these bills.

Age restrictions

Some research suggests that excessive social media use is worsening young peoples mental health. Teens who spend the most time on social media are significantly more likely to exhibit negative emotions, such as sadness and anger, according to a 2023 Gallup poll.

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A Florida law that went into effect this month prohibits kids who are under 14 from having social media accounts. A user who is 14 or 15 would have to get parental consent before starting an account.

Ashley Moody, Floridas Republican attorney general at the time, agreed not to enforce the law while a lawsuit alleging it would restrict minors freedom of speech plays out. Moody was sworn into the U.S. Senate this week to replace Sen. Marco Rubio, the new U.S. secretary of state.

More measures are expected across the country during 2025 legislative sessions.

A new bill in Indiana would prohibit anyone under the age of 16 from creating social media accounts without verified parental permission. A similar bill was introduced in Nebraska, but with an age limit of 18. A prefiled bill in Nevada would set the age at 13.

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To verify age, some apps may require all users to upload a photo of their ID. This could be of particular concern for adult users who would have their full legal identity tied to their social media account, said Ash Johnson, a senior policy manager at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a think tank focused on public policy surrounding technology.

Rather than an outright ban on social media accounts for users under a certain age, increasing transparency and accountability measures for social media developers would improve the safety of the apps, Johnson said.

She pointed to California as an example. The states Age-Appropriate Design Code Act was partially blocked from enforcement by a federal appeals court last year. It would have required companies to ensure that online services likely to be accessed by children are designed to eliminate the risk of harm to them.

Parental controls, Johnson said, also could make it easier for parents to oversee their childs media presence by deciding what content they can access.

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Instagrams new Teen Accounts, for example, automatically place teenage users into an account that limits who can contact them and the content they see  and anyone under the age of 16 will have to get parental permission before changing any of the safety features.

It would give children a really customizable experience on social media depending on their individual developmental needs, Johnson said.

A lot of the laws around the country are specifically designed to prevent younger people from either accessing certain content online or entire social media platforms, said Goldberg, of the Freedom Forum. Changing the way in which social media developers control who can and cant have an account could change what people see on their feeds.

Weve seen a lot of this, especially at the state level, which is concerning, he said. Many of the laws that we are seeing proposed  and even passed  raise First Amendment concerns.

States go to court

States also are turning to lawsuits to address social media effects on young people.

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In October, attorneys general in California, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia sued TikTok, alleging violations of state consumer protection laws.

Led by California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta and James of New York, the lawsuits allege that TikTok exploits and harms young users and deceives the public about the social media platforms dangers.

Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a similar suit that same month accusing TikTok of violating a state law protecting children online. The law prohibits digital service providers from sharing, disclosing or selling a minors personal information without permission from a parent.

TikTok has disputed the claims, calling them inaccurate and misleading in a statement to CNN. The company says its platform is safe for kids and offers time limits and parental controls.

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States have also taken aim at Snapchat and Meta. In September, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, a Democrat, filed a complaint against Snap Inc., Snapchats parent company, alleging the apps developers were ignoring reports of sextortion, failing to implement age-verification rules, admitting to features that connect minors with adults and more.

And in 2023, more than 40 states sued Meta, claiming Instagram and Facebook worsened the youth mental health crisis.

The social media companies need to be held accountable, said Julie Scelfo, founder of Mothers Against Media Addiction.

Scelfo, a career journalist who covered youth mental health for years, said she was disturbed after finding out that more and more young children wanted to commit suicide as social media became more mainstream.

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Social media can connect people for positive things, but it has also been a very convenient conduit for all of the worst forces in society, Scelfo said.

But tech companies are winning some fights  and going on the offensive.

In addition to the partial block of the Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, a federal judge has blocked until Feb. 1 another California law designed to protect children from addictive feeds. The Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act would prevent social media platforms from providing minors with personalized feeds.

Across the states, companies are challenging dozens of laws restricting social media  and in some cases, theyre winning.

I think that shows that courts are skeptical that either theres no proof behind the goals of the legislators or that theyre not being precise enough, Goldberg said. So, Im skeptical. I dont think this is going to help because there will always be ways for children to access content on the internet or social media  its almost impossible to truly enforce.

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In this photo illustration, social media apps are displayed on an iPad. As concerns over youth mental health and privacy grow, more states are hoping to rein in the negative effects of social media through the courts and legislatures. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Ritika Shroff had the typical Gen Z experience with social media. At 13, she signed up for Instagram, then Snapchat. Later, she downloaded TikTok and worked her way through other popular platforms.

But in high school, she began to see downsides, feeling pressure when comparing her number of followers, test scores and experiences with those of her peers online.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Theyre doing X, Y and Z with their lives, and I think I got pulled into it, Shroff said.

Today, Shroff, a 19-year-old sophomore at American University in Washington, D.C., still sees the benefits of social media, such as allowing her to stay in touch with hometown friends from Des Moines, Iowa, and family in India. While she thinks there should be more rules around social media, she doesnt think individual state actions, such as a state suing a platform, would make much difference.

These small things wont make an impact in the broader landscape, Shroff said.

More states are hoping to rein in the harm that social media can do to teens mental health and privacy by approving laws that require age verification or parental consent, prohibit addictive feeds or ban the apps for minors. They also are taking social media companies to court.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

But some experts say such efforts wont make social media any safer. Instead, they fear the moves might infringe on peoples privacy and First Amendment rights  while potentially making the platforms harder for everyone to use.

This is global media, and trying to regulate it at the micro level  the fear for a lot of people is that were going to end up with different rules for different states, which is just going to undercut the whole promise and potential of internet-based media and communication, said Kevin Goldberg of the Freedom Forum, a nonprofit aimed at protecting First Amendment rights.

Some social media disputes are playing out at the federal level. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a bipartisan federal law banning TikTok, a popular video sharing platform, unless its China-based parent company agreed to sell the app. The ban briefly went into effect before President Donald Trump, who had tried unsuccessfully to ban TikTok by executive order in his first term, signed an executive order delaying it for another 75 days.

But absent other federal action to curb social medias effects on young people, many states are considering new legislation. In New York, a law enacted in June prohibits social media platforms from providing to minors so-called addictive feeds without parental consent. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, is drafting formal rules to enforce the law.

Advertisement Advertisement

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Social media feeds are designed to keep kids scrolling longer and longer to drive up ad revenue, noted state Democratic Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who sponsored the bill. Kids who are addicted to social media suffer mental health issues, and people who spend more time scrolling tend to struggle to navigate real-life relationships, he argued.

The bills are all different, so its hard to say that all of them are good or all of them are bad.

 Paul Lekas, Software & Information Industry Association

So social media, for all the positives that might exist, has some real, deeply negative and dark downsides that we are finally seeing manifest, and we have to reconcile it, Gounardes said.

But tech developers are concerned new state laws could weaken privacy protections for users, take away online mental health resources for marginalized communities and restrict the flow of online information, said Paul Lekas, the senior vice president and head of global public policy and government affairs at the Software & Information Industry Association, a trade association representing the digital content industry.

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The bills are all different, so its hard to say that all of them are good or all of them are bad, Lekas said. But a lot of concerns come up in a number of these bills.

Age restrictions

Some research suggests that excessive social media use is worsening young peoples mental health. Teens who spend the most time on social media are significantly more likely to exhibit negative emotions, such as sadness and anger, according to a 2023 Gallup poll.

A Florida law that went into effect this month prohibits kids who are under 14 from having social media accounts. A user who is 14 or 15 would have to get parental consent before starting an account.

Ashley Moody, Floridas Republican attorney general at the time, agreed not to enforce the law while a lawsuit alleging it would restrict minors freedom of speech plays out. Moody was sworn into the U.S. Senate this week to replace Sen. Marco Rubio, the new U.S. secretary of state.

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More measures are expected across the country during 2025 legislative sessions.

A new bill in Indiana would prohibit anyone under the age of 16 from creating social media accounts without verified parental permission. A similar bill was introduced in Nebraska, but with an age limit of 18. A prefiled bill in Nevada would set the age at 13.

To verify age, some apps may require all users to upload a photo of their ID. This could be of particular concern for adult users who would have their full legal identity tied to their social media account, said Ash Johnson, a senior policy manager at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a think tank focused on public policy surrounding technology.

Rather than an outright ban on social media accounts for users under a certain age, increasing transparency and accountability measures for social media developers would improve the safety of the apps, Johnson said.

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She pointed to California as an example. The states Age-Appropriate Design Code Act was partially blocked from enforcement by a federal appeals court last year. It would have required companies to ensure that online services likely to be accessed by children are designed to eliminate the risk of harm to them.

Parental controls, Johnson said, also could make it easier for parents to oversee their childs media presence by deciding what content they can access.

Instagrams new Teen Accounts, for example, automatically place teenage users into an account that limits who can contact them and the content they see  and anyone under the age of 16 will have to get parental permission before changing any of the safety features.

It would give children a really customizable experience on social media depending on their individual developmental needs, Johnson said.

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A lot of the laws around the country are specifically designed to prevent younger people from either accessing certain content online or entire social media platforms, said Goldberg, of the Freedom Forum. Changing the way in which social media developers control who can and cant have an account could change what people see on their feeds.

Weve seen a lot of this, especially at the state level, which is concerning, he said. Many of the laws that we are seeing proposed  and even passed  raise First Amendment concerns.

States go to court

States also are turning to lawsuits to address social media effects on young people.

In October, attorneys general in California, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia sued TikTok, alleging violations of state consumer protection laws.

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Led by California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta and James of New York, the lawsuits allege that TikTok exploits and harms young users and deceives the public about the social media platforms dangers.

Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a similar suit that same month accusing TikTok of violating a state law protecting children online. The law prohibits digital service providers from sharing, disclosing or selling a minors personal information without permission from a parent.

TikTok has disputed the claims, calling them inaccurate and misleading in a statement to CNN. The company says its platform is safe for kids and offers time limits and parental controls.

States have also taken aim at Snapchat and Meta. In September, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, a Democrat, filed a complaint against Snap Inc., Snapchats parent company, alleging the apps developers were ignoring reports of sextortion, failing to implement age-verification rules, admitting to features that connect minors with adults and more.

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And in 2023, more than 40 states sued Meta, claiming Instagram and Facebook worsened the youth mental health crisis.

The social media companies need to be held accountable, said Julie Scelfo, founder of Mothers Against Media Addiction.

Scelfo, a career journalist who covered youth mental health for years, said she was disturbed after finding out that more and more young children wanted to commit suicide as social media became more mainstream.

Social media can connect people for positive things, but it has also been a very convenient conduit for all of the worst forces in society, Scelfo said.

But tech companies are winning some fights  and going on the offensive.

In addition to the partial block of the Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, a federal judge has blocked until Feb. 1 another California law designed to protect children from addictive feeds. The Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act would prevent social media platforms from providing minors with personalized feeds.

Across the states, companies are challenging dozens of laws restricting social media  and in some cases, theyre winning.

I think that shows that courts are skeptical that either theres no proof behind the goals of the legislators or that theyre not being precise enough, Goldberg said. So, Im skeptical. I dont think this is going to help because there will always be ways for children to access content on the internet or social media  its almost impossible to truly enforce.

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.
In this photo illustration, social media apps are displayed on an iPad. As concerns over youth mental health and privacy grow, more states are hoping to rein in the negative effects of social media through the courts and legislatures. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Ritika Shroff had the typical Gen Z experience with social media. At 13, she signed up for Instagram, then Snapchat. Later, she downloaded TikTok and worked her way through other popular platforms.

But in high school, she began to see downsides, feeling pressure when comparing her number of followers, test scores and experiences with those of her peers online.

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Theyre doing X, Y and Z with their lives, and I think I got pulled into it, Shroff said.

Today, Shroff, a 19-year-old sophomore at American University in Washington, D.C., still sees the benefits of social media, such as allowing her to stay in touch with hometown friends from Des Moines, Iowa, and family in India. While she thinks there should be more rules around social media, she doesnt think individual state actions, such as a state suing a platform, would make much difference.

These small things wont make an impact in the broader landscape, Shroff said.

More states are hoping to rein in the harm that social media can do to teens mental health and privacy by approving laws that require age verification or parental consent, prohibit addictive feeds or ban the apps for minors. They also are taking social media companies to court.

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But some experts say such efforts wont make social media any safer. Instead, they fear the moves might infringe on peoples privacy and First Amendment rights  while potentially making the platforms harder for everyone to use.

This is global media, and trying to regulate it at the micro level  the fear for a lot of people is that were going to end up with different rules for different states, which is just going to undercut the whole promise and potential of internet-based media and communication, said Kevin Goldberg of the Freedom Forum, a nonprofit aimed at protecting First Amendment rights.

Some social media disputes are playing out at the federal level.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a bipartisan federal law banning TikTok, a popular video sharing platform, unless its China-based parent company agreed to sell the app. The ban briefly went into effect before President Donald Trump, who had tried unsuccessfully to ban TikTok by executive order in his first term, signed an executive order delaying it for another 75 days.

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But absent other federal action to curb social medias effects on young people, many states are considering new legislation.

In New York, a law enacted in June prohibits social media platforms from providing to minors so-called addictive feeds without parental consent. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, is drafting formal rules to enforce the law.

Social media feeds are designed to keep kids scrolling longer and longer to drive up ad revenue, noted state Democratic Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who sponsored the bill. Kids who are addicted to social media suffer mental health issues, and people who spend more time scrolling tend to struggle to navigate real-life relationships, he argued.

The bills are all different, so its hard to say that all of them are good or all of them are bad.

 Paul Lekas, Software & Information Industry Association

So social media, for all the positives that might exist, has some real, deeply negative and dark downsides that we are finally seeing manifest, and we have to reconcile it, Gounardes said.

Advertisement Advertisement

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But tech developers are concerned new state laws could weaken privacy protections for users, take away online mental health resources for marginalized communities and restrict the flow of online information, said Paul Lekas, the senior vice president and head of global public policy and government affairs at the Software & Information Industry Association, a trade association representing the digital content industry.

The bills are all different, so its hard to say that all of them are good or all of them are bad, Lekas said. But a lot of concerns come up in a number of these bills.

Age restrictions

Some research suggests that excessive social media use is worsening young peoples mental health. Teens who spend the most time on social media are significantly more likely to exhibit negative emotions, such as sadness and anger, according to a 2023 Gallup poll.

A Florida law that went into effect this month prohibits kids who are under 14 from having social media accounts. A user who is 14 or 15 would have to get parental consent before starting an account.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Ashley Moody, Floridas Republican attorney general at the time, agreed not to enforce the law while a lawsuit alleging it would restrict minors freedom of speech plays out. Moody was sworn into the U.S. Senate last week to replace Sen. Marco Rubio, the new U.S. secretary of state.

More measures are expected across the country during 2025 legislative sessions.

A new bill in Indiana would prohibit anyone under the age of 16 from creating social media accounts without verified parental permission. A similar bill was introduced in Nebraska, but with an age limit of 18. A prefiled bill in Nevada would set the age at 13.

In South Carolina, a bill requiring parental consent for teens under 18 years old was approved by the House last January almost unanimously. But it died with sessions end without a vote in the Senate. The chambers did, however, agree on a companion bill requiring South Carolinians to be at least 18 to see porn online. It was signed into law in May.

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Advocates of the bill restricting minors use of social media will try again. House Judiciary Chairman Weston Newton, R-Bluffton, pre-filed it in December for the 2025 session.

To verify age, some apps may require all users to upload a photo of their ID. This could be of particular concern for adult users who would have their full legal identity tied to their social media account, said Ash Johnson, a senior policy manager at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a think tank focused on public policy surrounding technology.

Rather than an outright ban on social media accounts for users under a certain age, increasing transparency and accountability measures for social media developers would improve the safety of the apps, Johnson said.

She pointed to California as an example.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

The states Age-Appropriate Design Code Act was partially blocked from enforcement by a federal appeals court last year. It would have required companies to ensure that online services likely to be accessed by children are designed to eliminate the risk of harm to them.

Parental controls, Johnson said, also could make it easier for parents to oversee their childs media presence by deciding what content they can access.

Instagrams new Teen Accounts, for example, automatically place teenage users into an account that limits who can contact them and the content they see  and anyone under the age of 16 will have to get parental permission before changing any of the safety features.

It would give children a really customizable experience on social media depending on their individual developmental needs, Johnson said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

A lot of the laws around the country are specifically designed to prevent younger people from either accessing certain content online or entire social media platforms, said Goldberg, of the Freedom Forum. Changing the way in which social media developers control who can and cant have an account could change what people see on their feeds.

Weve seen a lot of this, especially at the state level, which is concerning, he said. Many of the laws that we are seeing proposed  and even passed  raise First Amendment concerns.

States go to court

States also are turning to lawsuits to address social media effects on young people.

In October, attorneys general in California, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia sued TikTok, alleging violations of state consumer protection laws.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Led by California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta and James of New York, the lawsuits allege that TikTok exploits and harms young users and deceives the public about the social media platforms dangers.

Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a similar suit that same month accusing TikTok of violating a state law protecting children online. The law prohibits digital service providers from sharing, disclosing or selling a minors personal information without permission from a parent.

A separate lawsuit filed by Utah in June accuses TikTok of using a monetization feature to incentivize minors to perform sexually explicit acts on its LIVE feature.

TikTok has disputed the claims, calling them inaccurate and misleading in a statement to CNN. The company says its platform is safe for kids and offers time limits and parental controls.

States have also taken aim at Snapchat and Meta. In September, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, a Democrat, filed a complaint against Snap Inc., Snapchats parent company, alleging the apps developers were ignoring reports of sextortion, failing to implement age-verification rules, admitting to features that connect minors with adults and more.

And in 2023, more than 40 states sued Meta, claiming Instagram and Facebook worsened the youth mental health crisis.

The social media companies need to be held accountable, said Julie Scelfo, founder of Mothers Against Media Addiction.

Scelfo, a career journalist who covered youth mental health for years, said she was disturbed after finding out that more and more young children wanted to commit suicide as social media became more mainstream.

Social media can connect people for positive things, but it has also been a very convenient conduit for all of the worst forces in society, Scelfo said.

But tech companies are winning some fights  and going on the offensive.

In addition to the partial block of the Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, a federal judge has blocked until Feb. 1 another California law designed to protect children from addictive feeds. The Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act would prevent social media platforms from providing minors with personalized feeds.

Across the states, companies are challenging dozens of laws restricting social media  and in some cases, theyre winning.

I think that shows that courts are skeptical that either theres no proof behind the goals of the legislators or that theyre not being precise enough, Goldberg said. So, Im skeptical. I dont think this is going to help because there will always be ways for children to access content on the internet or social media  its almost impossible to truly enforce.

SC Daily Gazette Editor Seanna Adcox contributed to this report.

Like SC Daily Gazette, 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.
Over the last four months, a joint committee of state House and Senate members has met twice to listen to hours of testimony on the effects the online world is having on minors, with lawmakers classifying social media as the most dangerous thing our kids have legal access to in Texas.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has made examining social media for youth a legislative priority for the Senate, and so far, six bills have been filed this state legislative session to address the issue, including one that would prohibit minors from creating accounts on social media sites and require age verification for new users.

No bills have been filed yet to meaningfully address workforce shortages beyond sharing workers with other states and loan repayment programs that have been in place for years, and the state is unlikely to fully replace the more than $19 billion Texas schools have received over the last four years in COVID-19 funds, with a large percentage of it going to address youth mental health needs.

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Even though it has received heavy attention from lawmakers, social media is just one reason for the surge in youth mental health problems, according to mental health providers, advocates and school officials, and addressing social media shouldnt come at the expense of building up the states mental health providers and funding life-changing programs on the brink of extinction.

The surge in youth mental health challenges stems from multiple interconnected factors. Today's youth face intense academic and social pressures, often without adequate (mental health) support systems, said Lyssette Galvan, public policy director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Texas. The 89th legislative session presents a vital opportunity to address these challenges comprehensively.

Roughly one in five of Texas 7 million youth report having a mental, emotional, behavioral or developmental problem.

And the mental health of young Texans has only gotten worse. Over the last five years, the rate of Texas youth who reported at least one major depressive episode has increased from 12% to 19%  or 483,000, according to Mental Health America.

Programming needs

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, she witnessed a different level of investment in youth mental health, said Andrea Guerrero, director of public health for Bexar County.

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It allowed us to expand our reach and approach to community-based mental health, especially youth mental health, she said.

About $100 million of $350 million in COVID-19 relief funds that Bexar County received were used to hire clinicians and start programs, including a Boys and Girls Clubs mental health initiative and multiple school programs catered for each district.

This is why Guerrero considers the rise in mental health referrals in Texas and across the nation as an awakening, not a crisis being brought on by one specific thing, such as social media. The rising number of cases shows that the stigma around mental health is dropping, she said.

However, meeting the mental health needs of so many young Texans will become even more challenging as COVID-19 funds expire in the coming year or two, putting programs across the state in danger, she warns.

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The pandemic emergency funding helped create and sustain many innovative mental health efforts in Texas, including telepsychiatry programs in rural schools, peer-to-peer services done by fellow students, and library programs for teenage mental health.

Pandemic relief funding is also supporting 11 of the 48 teams that provide specialty outpatient treatment for people who experience psychosis for the first time, often children. These teams are made up of a psychiatrist, case manager and education specialist, among other providers, who treat patients for up to three years.

The service helps families who might not have financial resources. Without additional funding, several of these teams are at risk of going away, Galvan said.

House Bill 1594 by Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Dallas, which would require commercial insurance policies to cover these crisis team services, would plug just one of many holes in the mental health system that the expiration of COVID-19 relief funds leaves behind.

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Guerrero said the county does not have funding to immediately replace the $100 million in pandemic relief funding that went toward mental health. The county has already contacted school districts it has supported for their plans on staying afloat.

For example, if you hired five clinicians, can you keep one of them? How much can they budget for themselves? We are also working on creating an ecosystem of additional partners to try and provide a warm handoff, she said.

Galvan said schools currently receive a $400 million safety allotment from the state, and because schools must spend so much on security, only a mere 1.6% of these funds are being directed toward mental health support.

A 2023 statewide survey found that 714 school districts that participated reported using the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund for mental health, primarily to provide services for students to transition back into the classroom after the pandemic. These $19 billion in funds must have been committed by the end of 2024 and be spent by March 2026.

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Sen. Jose Menendez has offered a way to help keep funding these services with Senate Bill 176. It would allow schools to partner with local mental health authorities to provide on-campus services for eligible low-income students that are funded with Medicaid reimbursements.

House Bill 462 by Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City, and House Bill 1728, also by Plesa, would also create a mental health allotment for schools. Guillens bill would give $100,000 a year and Plesas would provide funding based on student attendance.

Provider shortage

Round Rock school district superintendent Hafedh Azaiez said he welcomes any help from lawmakers to address social media because his top priority right now for youth mental health is funding.

The last session, they wanted a police officer on every campus and all these security measures, but it was an unfunded mandate, Azaiez said. Some school districts, including ours, were able to fulfill it and provide some mental health resources, but a lot of school districts arent as big, and they have to make tough choices between security and mental health.

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Azaiez said his school district, one of the largest in the state, takes pride in providing mental health resources to their students, but he needs more funding for providers.

We have over 47,000 students, and we have 12 or 11 social workers at a time, Azaiez said. With that ratio, can you confidently say that you meet every kid's needs?

Social workers on their campus are spending most of their time responding to crises, even though they would prefer to be more proactive, using skills like case management, basic needs, and mental wellness.

Right now, we have two individuals to cover 11 campuses, said Byron Gerard, Round Rocks assistant superintendent of student support services. That is a heavy lift.

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Today, 246 of Texas 254 counties are wholly or partly designated by the federal government as mental health professional shortage areas. This has had a profound effect in rural, border, and frontier counties in Texas, where there may only be one mental health professional or none.

If we hired 10 clinical providers right now for mental health services, we would probably keep all 10 of them busy, Guerrero, the director of public health for Bexar County, said. Its really about building up that workforce specifically for youth because it takes an additional thousands of hours to be clinically certified to provide mental health services to kids.

Texas has 4,017 licensed school psychology specialists, a 27.6% increase from the 3,148 providers in 2015. However, in 2023, there were 97 counties without licensed school psychology specialists.

The states crisis response infrastructure also requires significant improvements, Galvan said, as the state only has eight youth crisis outreach teams and six youth crisis respite units among 39 local mental health authorities.

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Proper staffing, funding, and youth-specific resources are essential for an effective crisis continuum of care, including 988 call centers, she said.

Social medias advantages

Although research on the effects of it is still new, social media has been shown to put young people at a greater risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.

While technology is an integral part of modern life, its use must be balanced to ensure children develop the critical and social life skills necessary to thrive, said Bryan Mares, government relations director for the Texas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Lawmakers have suggested several initiatives in the next session to address the online dangers affecting Texas children, including training teachers about cyberbullying, banning the use of peoples likenesses in artificially created pornographic images, and even adding warning labels on social media platforms that state what social media can do to a minors mental health.

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We have heard youth talk about how social media creates intense levels of comparison for them and their peers. For girls specifically, social comparison is the number one predictor of poor body image, said Ana OQuin, advocacy manager for the Girls Empowerment Network.

A sign of the states increased effort to lessen social medias negative impacts, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission recently awarded Bexar Countys mental health authority a $1.2 million grant to create a program to educate teens and parents on the pros and cons of social media and video games.

Jelynne LeBlanc Jamison, head of the mental health authority, said the goal of the program is not to villainize social media, but to have parents understand the critical role these platforms play in their childrens lives and for children to understand the dangers of this digital landscape. She said most of the problems with social media come from a lack of understanding between generations.

I think we have been really lazy in terms of really guiding people on how to use these tools, said Jamison, who is using the new social media funding to expand their outreach specialists from one to nine. And I think weve made some mistakes and I hope we dont go much further without making some common sense rules about usage and access.

Jennifer Edwards, executive director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute at Tarleton State University, said there are clear benefits of social media, especially for those who live in rural areas, as they get the opportunity to become positively exposed to different viewpoints and issues and to find their own community that might not exist in their small town.

Youth can use social media to learn, create content and express themselves because they have information at their fingertips, according to researchers.

Having that sense of community is especially beneficial for wellness and mental health, she said.

Putting all the blame on social media for the adverse mental health outcomes of young Texans ignores the pandemics varying effects on children's developmental years, according to mental health advocates.

After schools reopened after pandemic-related closures, a majority of students returned with what appeared to be generalized anxiety, Guerrero said.

In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Childrens Hospital Association declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health due to the pandemic.

These organizations predicted mental health disorder rates are likely to increase over time, given that sustained COVID-19 stressors may result in years-long mental health impacts.

There isnt a magic wand or one policy solution to youth mental health. But instead, we need to tackle this issue from multiple angles, Mares said.
By Andres Gonzalez and Isla Binnie

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Italy's Enel and private equity group KKR are among potential bidders for Britain-based Cubico Sustainable Investments, people with knowledge of the process said.

Two of Canada's biggest pension funds - the Montreal-based Public Sector Pension (PSP) Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) - have been considering a sale of the renewable energy firm, which could be valued at about $6 billion or more, including debt, sources previously told Reuters.

Non-binding offers were due last week, three people with knowledge of the process said. Bank of America and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce were hired to run the sale in recent months, one of the people and a fourth one said. The fourth person said that the process had drawn interest from other funds as well.

The four people were speaking on condition of anonymity because the process is private.

KKR, Bank of America, Cubico, PSP, OTPP and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce declined to comment. An Enel spokesperson declined to comment on "market rumours".

Infrastructure investors and corporate utilities have been drawn to renewable power developers and other service providers focused on the energy transition in recent years. However, some of the excitement has waned, especially in the United States, as soaring electricity demand for artificial intelligence and Donald Trump's return to office have revived demand for fossil fuels, including gas as a power source.

The company was formed in 2015 when the two funds partnered with Banco Santander SA to form Cubico and later became equal owners after buying out the Spanish bank's stake in 2016.

Cubico is an operator of wind and solar farms across Europe, North and South America and Australia, as well as concentrated solar power and transmission line technology operations with a capacity of 2.8 gigawatts (GW).

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was $625 million in 2023 with $783 million in revenue, according to its accounts.

(Reporting by Andres Gonzalez in London and Isla Binnie in New York. Additional reporting by Francesca Landini. Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Sharon Singleton)
In 1986 I journeyed to Poland as part of a Jewish youth heritage tour. The main destinations on our itinerary - Auschwitz, Majdanek, Treblinka and Sobibor  focused on the Nazi genocide during the Holocaust.

Squeezed into our tight program during the Cold War were a few hours of free time in Warsaws Old Town. With kippot on our heads and Jewish stars around our necks our group was readily identifiable as Jews, and, truth be told, it felt like an act of defiance to walk the streets of Warsaw as a Jew.

While most of the Polish pedestrians and shopkeepers stared at us as though they had seen a ghost, one elderly unassuming gentleman followed us around for quite some time before initiating conversation.

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That he did not speak English and none of us knew Polish seemed like an insurmountable, almost comical, problem, until I recalled the word for war and uttered it. This stranger seemed to know that this word was punctuated with a question mark. Where were you during the War?

One word escaped from his lips: Partisan. My heart froze.

Zjydy? I quickly responded in Polish, Are you Jewish?

As soon as the word left my mouth, I immediately became embarrassed. My eyes noticed that he wore a cross. Clearly he was Christian, I thought. But even before I could retract my question, he took hold of my friends notebook and began to draw. He etched two tombstones, each decorated with Jewish symbols. He pointed to his sketches and said: Mama, Papa. From this we understood that he was born Jewish but had converted to Christianity for some reason.

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Then he began pointing at my head. Finally, it occurred to me that he was not pointing at my head, rather what lay on top of it. Removing the kippah from my head, I asked him if he wanted it. He nodded.

He kissed this Jewish ritual object and lovingly placed it on his head. Tears rolled down his cheeks and those of us present.

Finally, he looked me in the eye and stated in broken English, Pedagogue. You learn and teach the little ones. Then this Chagall-esque stranger simply turned around and walked away.

This encounter transformed my life and influenced my aspiration to become a rabbi, teacher, and conveyor of memory. It also is the reason why I serve as the co-executive producer of "We Are Here: Songs from the Holocaust".

Americans do not have a working knowledge of the Holocaust

Conceived by my co-executive producer, Ira Antelis, the "We Are Here" concert draws from the 14 songbooks written during the Holocaust by artists in the Nazi ghettos, forests, and concentration camps.

An authentic German railcar is part of a Children's Holocaust Memorial at Whitwell Middle School in Tennessee. The railcar includes a portion of the more than 30 million paper clips that school children collected as part of the "Paper Clips Project." [Provided]

This beautiful music is as much about love, hope, faith, and family, as it is about sadness, longing, and despair. We discover that when life was on the line during the long dark years of the Holocaust, not every thought was about death. With this in mind, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day we must not only remember the 6 million, but also celebrate their courage in the face of unimaginable cruelty and intentional evil.

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Mr. Antelis and I began working on this concert after the death of Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor who authored Night. Driven to increase Holocaust education and awareness, we confronted two contemporary realities that elevated the vital need for such an enterprise.

The first pertains to todays astounding dearth of knowledge about the Holocaust.

According to recent surveys by The Pew Research Center and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), American students do not possess a working knowledge of the scope of the Nazi genocide, cannot name any of the ghettos and extermination camps, and are unaware that Hitler was elected through a democratic process in Germany.

Opinion: My visits to the Holocaust and Legacy museums reminded me why we should not turn away from history

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All of this points to a lack of Holocaust education, which is not a curricular requirement in many states. Sadly there are too few communities like Whitewall, Tennessee, committed to teaching their students about the scale of the Holocaust through their innovative and inspiring Paper Clips project.

Hate crimes and incidents have skyrocketed in America

The proliferation of hatred expressed and violence against the Jewish people represent the second reason behind the timeliness of this educational project.

According to the ADL, there has been a 360% increase in antisemitic incidents over the past two years, especially since October 7, 2023, a pogrom with the largest loss of Jewish lives since the Holocaust. But it isnt just antisemitism; all forms of hatred, racism and bigotry are on the rise. Online and on the streets, in supermarkets, schools, college campuses, and at community celebrations, fear and hatred threaten to break the bonds of our society.

Eighty years after the Holocaust we are left wondering whether the statement Never Again can ever have meaning again. Over the past few years, Never Again has tragically become a question. With Nazis marching in Nashville, venomous social media posts, synagogues vandalized around the world, and Jews beaten and killed for wearing a kippah or Jewish star on mass transit, tragically it feels as though almost every song in these 14 songbooks of Holocaust music could have been written today.

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Opinion: Banning 'Maus' from Tennessee county's curriculum is about power and control

Written over 80 years ago, this music and their powerful message ring true for us today. In the face of daily degradation and unspeakable horror during the Holocaust, Jews tapped into a reservoir of strength, resilience, and hope, frequently expressed through song. This music creates a roadmap of how we can face uncertainty in our time. With conflict waging at home and abroad, this Holocaust concert underwent a transformation from a sacred commemoration of history to a public declaration of hope and understanding today.

Vanderbilt hosts "We Are Here" Jan. 27, Holocaust Remembrance Day

We Are Here is purposely held in communal space to signify that the battle against hate as much as the campaign towards unity requires the efforts all of us, regardless of religion, race, and creed. In response to the hatred in our uncertain times, we invite a diverse cast of performers and presenters to sing, remember, and hope, and the response time after time, is Yes. Count me in! We are here!

After sold out performances at Carnegie Hall and The Salt Shed in Chicago over the last two years, We Are Here will be performed at Vanderbilt University in Nashville to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.

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I cannot think of anything more appropriate than the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Birkenau being explored at the Dialogue Vanderbilt program, the oldest college Holocaust education series in the United States.

Rabbi Charles E. Savenor

Holocaust education is as much a chapter of history as a pillar of civic education. This knowledge can create awareness, prevent discrimination, and build bridges in civic society at a time when we need it most. Equally important, programs like We Are Here provides us with the opportunity to fulfill our shared responsibility to learn and teach the little ones one song at a time.

Rabbi Charles E. Savenor, the co-executive producer of the We Are Here: Songs from the Holocaust, serves as the executive director of Civic Spirit, a nonpartisan organization that provides training and resources to faith based schools across the United States.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Holocaust Remembrance Day show 'We Are Here' keeps memory alive
MACOUPIN COUNTY, Ill.  On Sunday afternoon, patrons stopped at the Soulard bar Bastille to remember one of the establishments popular bartenders.

Chuck Parrino Jr. was said to be dependable, punctual, and well liked by coworkers and bosses alike.

Chuck was a show-up-early guy, Jeff Wicker, Bastille co-owner, said. A good worker; always some help.

When Parrino didnt show up to work on time Friday, Wicker said he knew something was wrong.

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I started calling his phone, Wicker said. Called it repeatedly and texted and was like, Hey, where are you? This isnt like you. I didnt get any responses.

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After driving by Parrinos residence in Macoupin County and the home of another person who knew Parrino and, after having no luck, Wicker called authorities.

Law enforcement found the body of a man inside the Bunker Hill home. The Macoupin County Coroners Office pronounced the person dead at 1:38 a.m. on Sunday.

Wicker later received confirmation from a family member that Parrino was the deceased individual.

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He was an asset and its a loss, Wicker said. He told me he loved working here and I said, We love having you. He had been here. Its just sick. Sickening.

Wicker said theyll hold an informal event in Parrinos honor next Sunday at Bastille.

An autopsy will be performed Monday.

The Macoupin County Sheriffs Department is receiving assistance from the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Division in the investigation. A person is in custody.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Delusional

Regarding Elon Musks salute, yall are seeing what you want to see. He was saluting from his heart; watch the unedited video. Hes a little spastic but he is sending his heart out to those who agreed with him and voted in President Trump.

Erasing history

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) can go too far as it has over years and needed change. However, President Trumps response has gone to radical extreme. He has directed the removal of mention of the Tuskegee Airmens role in WWII at Air Force Basic Training history classes. Thats not DEI. Theres a name for it.

So weird

I cant imagine or fathom the weirdness of loving McDonalds so much, your wife actually dresses like the Hamburglar for you.

Eliminating FEMA

Im sure California and other blue states would welcome the elimination of FEMA, considering how the poor, red states take the surplus dollars that the blue states pay into the federal government. If it wasnt for the federal dollars that states like California pay into the system, the whining red states couldnt pave a sidewalk.

Cabinet

I believe that any president should be able to have his Cabinet of choice. Kudos to the Senate for agreeing.

Sound Off

Can we please have a separate Sound Off for comments on political issues?

Common sense

Where is the Common Sense in eliminating the state income tax for senior citizens who live on annuity that is not taxed and increase gasoline and sales tax? Senior citizens and low income citizens will be be impacted while high income citizens will be gifted with extra money. That does not pass the common sense test. Governor and legislators, rethink what you are doing. How about reducing or getting rid of sales tax on groceries if you really want to do something for Mississippians.

Send your Sound Offs to soundoff@sunherald.com.
DILLON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW)  A section of Interstate 95 in Dillon County will see lane closures this week as South Carolina Department of Transportation crews shift traffic onto newly built bridges.

The lane closures between mile markers 181 and 185 are set to start on Monday, SCDOT said. The road is expected to reopen on Wednesday.

Authorities are encouraged to seek alternate routes if possible. Real-time traffic updates are available by going to www.511sc.org or by using the 511 SC app on your mobile device.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation will implement temporary lane closures on I-95 northbound between mile markers 181 and 185 in Dillon County beginning January 27 at 7 p.m. This lane closure will allow crews to shift traffic onto the newly built bridges of I-95. The lane closure is expected to reopen on January 29. A map of the impacted area can be found below. SCDOT encourages drivers to seek alternate routes. You can use the 511 SC app or visit 511sc.org for real time traffic updates.

* * *

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Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Gov. Kristi Noem presents her annual budget address to lawmakers in the South Dakota State Capitol on Dec. 3, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem will be the nations next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security after the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination Saturday.

The 53-year-old Noem, a former congresswoman, will lead one of the federal governments largest departments, with 260,000 employees and a budget in excess of $100 billion. Its responsibilities include border protection, disaster response, cyber and airline security, and protecting dignitaries.

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The bipartisan vote to confirm Noem was 59-34, with her fellow South Dakota Republicans, Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds, casting two of the votes in favor.

Speaking against Noems confirmation on the Senate floor, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, warned that the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants Noem could carry out on behalf of President Donald Trump will harm the nations economy. Among the industries most affected, Durbin said, could be one of vital importance to Noems home state: agriculture.

In many instances, they will be removing the very workers that pick the crop, Durbin said.

Speaking in favor of Noem, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the United States is a nation of immigrants, but were also a nation based on the rule of law, and we have not seen that immigration law enforced over the last four years.

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So Im going to be voting for Governor Noem, because shes committed to enforcing our immigration laws, Grassley said.

SDs lieutenant governor elevated

Noem ascends to the Homeland Security post after serving as South Dakotas first female governor. She was serving her second four-year term after being reelected in 2022.

Noem resigned from that job Saturday and was succeeded by her lieutenant governor, Republican Larry Rhoden, who became the states 34th chief executive and will fill the remainder of Noems term through 2026. Rhoden will choose a new lieutenant governor, subject to confirmation by the South Dakota Legislature, which is in the midst of its annual lawmaking session. Rhodens office released a statement Saturday saying details on a ceremonial swearing-in will be announced soon.

Noems Saturday confirmation vote capped a rise into national prominence that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her decision as governor to avoid ordering widespread shutdowns in South Dakota caught Trumps attention during his first term, and he accepted Noems invitation to a Fourth of July weekend fireworks display at Mount Rushmore in 2020. That helped cement a relationship Noem had begun with Trump while she served as a four-term member of the U.S. House from 2011 to 2019.

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Noem was widely thought to be in consideration for Trumps running mate last year, until her April book release abruptly ended that speculation.

The Guardian obtained an advance copy of the book, No Going Back, and revealed passages Noem wrote about fatally shooting a misbehaving hunting dog and an unruly goat. The Dakota Scout, a South Dakota media outlet, challenged Noems claim in the book that she had met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and she retracted it.

Noem faced withering scrutiny during a national book tour and became the butt of jokes on late-night television. Yet, less than three months later, she had a prime speaking slot during the Republican National Convention. Shortly after Trumps election win in November, he announced Noem as his pick to lead Homeland Security.

Noems role in border issues

While serving as governor, Noem sent National Guard troops multiple times to assist Texas in securing its border with Mexico, and called a joint session of the Legislature to deliver a speech about the border. In her new role as Homeland Security secretary, Noem will be pivotal in carrying out Trumps immigration crackdown.

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Noem appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs last week for her confirmation hearing. She said border security must remain a top priority.

As a nation, we have the right and the responsibility to secure our borders against those who would do us harm, and we must create a fair and a lawful immigration system that is efficient and is effective and that reflects our values, Noem said.

Trump kick-started his immigration plan shortly after he took office Monday.

In part of a barrage of executive orders this week, Trump moved to end birthright citizenship in the United States. But on Thursday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the plan, which was met with a flurry of legal challenges.

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Trump also declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, and earlier this week, the Pentagon said it would immediately send 1,500 active duty troops to secure the area.

Noem is the fourth of Trumps Cabinet nominees to earn Senate confirmation, after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

States Newsrooms D.C. Bureau contributed to this report.

South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com.
A West Palm Beach caterer and dessert chef sits in Palm Beach County Main Detention Center after his Friday night arrest over social media posts the FBI and local police said count as threats to kill President Donald Trump.

West Palm Beach police also claim they found cocaine in the car with 46-year-old Shannon Atkins during the arrest.

Atkins is charged with written or electronic threats to kill or do bodily injury; possession of cocaine; and introducing a controlled substance in a county detention facility. Online court records say his bond is $10,000 for the latter two charges. But, the Palm Beach State Attorneys Office has made a motion for Atkins to remain under pretrial detention, which Judge Daliah Weiss granted Saturday pending a pretrial detention hearing.

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There might also be federal charges.

READ MORE: Trump targets Biden-era migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti for deportation

According to Facebook screenshots released by West Palm Beach police, Atkins made the following posts:

 On Jan. 14, he put Unfortunately, one is still alive over a social media post that had pictures of Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan and President Trump with, All stood up to Democrats. All were shot.

 On Jan. 19, at 9:59 a.m., he put Bullets please. Please Jesus. Save America! over a post mourning Trumps inauguration the following day.

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 At 11:04 a.m. the same day, he posted Ive been banned from X because I said I hope and pray someone kills him. History is suppsoed [Sic] to repeat itself. We havent had an assassination in years followed by a emojis of eye rolling; laughing into tears; wide-eyes; and a shrug.

On his Big Mamas House of Sweets Instagram account, Atkins says he graduated from Johnson & Wales College of Culintary Arts and notes his 2016 win in the Flavors of Wellington for Best of Taste. Atkins ran Big Mamas House of Sweets from 2016 through 2020 and, now, state records say, runs Big Mamas House of Sweets, Catering & More out of his home.

It was near that home that West Palm cops say they stopped Atkins Friday night around 7:30 p.m. Hes been under investigation by the agency since Monday, after an Okeechobee reported Atkins posts to the FBI National Threat Operations Center.

During the interview with detectives, Atkins admitted making the posts, West Palm Police said.
JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan has lifted a nationwide curfew imposed more than 10 days ago after a night of deadly rioting in the capital over the alleged killing of South Sudanese people by the army and allied groups in neighbouring Sudan, its spokesperson said on Monday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Riots erupted in Juba and elsewhere in the country on Jan. 16 and 17, with protesters angry about what they believed was the involvement of Sudan's military and allied groups in the killing of South Sudanese citizen in Sudan's El Gezira.

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The Sudanese army condemned what it called "individual violations" in the area after human-rights groups blamed it and its allies for ethnically-targeted attacks against civilians accused of supporting the rebel Rapid Support Forces.

KEY QUOTE:

"This is to inform the public that the curfew declared on January 17, by the Inspector General of Police is lifted," police spokesperson John Kassara Koang Nhial, told Reuters.

"The reason the curfew was lifted is because the security status has improved and the angry demonstrators, who were actually trying to make some violence, also got calm and each and every one went back home."

(Reporting by Denis Elamu; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alex Richardson)
New restrictions are set to affect tourists visiting Spain as authorities in the popular holiday destination increase measures to curb the impacts of overtourism.

The move follows the wave of anti-tourists protests that has spread across the country and other European destinations over the past year.

Although it has been called a tourist ban by some, the new rules wont stop tourists from visiting the country. It will, however, have some impact on how Britons should plan for their holidays.

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Policies to prevent overtourism are already underway for places in popular destinations like Barcelona, Mallorca and Tenerife. From this year, they will also be coming to Malaga, in the countrys Costa Del Sol region.

The move has come to address locals concerns about overcrowding in the city, alongside property prices and rents become increasingly unaffordable for them.

The changes will affect holiday lets in popular Spanish city Malaga, with similar measures in place across the country (Getty Images)

As with several other locations, the plans take aim at the influx of holiday rental properties which can increasingly be found in the citys central districts. Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said: It isnt fair that those who have three, four or five apartments as short-term rentals pay less tax than hotels or workers.

The governments duty is to prioritise residential use of housing and prevent speculative and touristic uses from expanding in a totally uncontrolled manner at the cost of residents.

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For the next three years, new holiday rentals will not be allowed to be registered across any of Malagas 43 districts, matching policies in place in areas across Spain.

What do the plans mean for British tourists?

Holidaymakers will still be able to book hotels, Airbnbs and apartments as usual.

The only existing accomodation that will be affected are holiday flats which have been registered since 22 February 2024 that do not have entrances and utilities separate from those for permanent residents. The licences for these lets will reportedly be cancelled.

Anti-tourism protests take place in Barcelona, 19 June 2024 (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The change could have major implications for Airbnbs popular private room option, which will often see tourists residing in a separate part of the owners property.

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The changes follow a countrywide law introduced last year which mean that anyone registering for a hotel stay or car hire will need to provide more personal information than was previously required.

What other anti-tourist measures are in place in Spain?

The new ban in Malaga follows from similar measures taken in other popular Spanish cities like Alicante and Madrid.

Authorities in Seville are also set to soon follow suit, alongside introducing a charge for those looking to enter the citys popular Plaza de Espana square.

In Barcelona, short-term tourist apartments will be banned from 2028. Changes have also recently come to popular destinations, with authorities in Mallorca putting a cap on the number of cruise ships which can dock in its port, and a limit of the number of visitors to national parks being introduced in Tenerife.
Dear colleagues in the Tennessee General Assembly,

As you are called into special session to provide relief to Tennesseans still suffering from the hurricane last fall, you are being asked to once again consider a bill that would set up universal private school vouchers in the state.

I, like most of my former colleagues, support a parents right to choose the manner in which their child is educated, but this bill does not enhance parental choice. I have some grave concerns about the legislation and the future of education in Tennessee should this bill pass.

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This proposal does nothing to put parents in charge of their childs education any more than they are today, whether they choose public schools, private schools, or homeschooling. This bill will still leave private schools in charge of deciding which students they admit, and the states own analysis concedes that two thirds of the vouchers will act as a subsidy for families already sending their kids to private schools.

This will come at enormous costs to the taxpayer and will mean less resources remaining for the students still attending public schools, particularly vulnerable student populations such as students with disabilities and students living in poverty.

Vouchers plan opens Tennessee up to 'fly by night' schools

Perhaps the biggest concern I have is the effect this new subsidy will have on bad actors who, undoubtedly, will descend on Tennessee to start new schools with voucher funding.

Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, listens to Gov. Bill Lees new statewide school choice program, Education Freedom Scholarship Act, alongside former Nashville mayoral candidate Alice Rolli at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.

States with similar programs have seen an influx of fly by night schools that open and receive large sums of taxpayer dollars only to close within a year or two.

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These new schools wont even have to be authorized directly by the department of education. Instead, non-public schools can be approved to open by any number of various national or regional accrediting agencies.

They are not required by the state to have licensed teachers, and in some cases, the state is forbidden by law from regulating their personnel, textbooks, or curriculum.

Opinion: Republicans who vote against TN Education Freedom Act will be primaried and lose

Voucher schools will not be subject to any meaningful regulation or oversight by the state, and there will be little information about what the students are learning since they wont be required to take the same state tests as public schools. Even more troubling is once these pop-up schools close down, there isnt even a claw-back mechanism in the bill to recoup the taxpayer dollars they received.

Outside special interests are threatening state lawmakers

I have friends still serving in the legislature ask why this proposal seems to come up year after year despite being rejected by the General Assembly.

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Vouchers were even on the November ballot in several states, including our neighbors in Kentucky, where they were rejected by nearly a 2-to-1 margin and lost in all 120 counties. My answer is simple: out of state special interests have corrupted our political and legislative process to push this agenda.

Dark money groups spent a record amount of money in the August primaries, seeking to beat incumbents who opposed vouchers and elect candidates to open seats who pledged to support vouchers.

The results were a mixed bag, but the message they wanted to convey was clear: get on board or youre next. But out of state monied interests dont vote in our elections, and its clear that regardless of how much they spend, this program is still deeply unpopular as school boards and county commissions across the state are making clear.

Sam Whitson

Over the past three years, Ive witnessed how a great public school is central to a towns identity. While watching my grandson each week under the Friday night lights in a crowd of family and friends, it became self-evident how the school brought the entire community together. I urge you to put these community hubs and the people they serve over out-of-state special interests.

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Former state Rep. Sam Whitson is a retired U.S. Army colonel living in Franklin, Tennessee. He served in the Tennessee General Assembly from 2016 to 2024, representing House District 65, which includes part of Williamson County.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Special interests shouldn't control Tennessee school choice | Opinion
ExxonMobil, in partnership with Qatar Energy, has commenced exploratory drilling for natural gas off the coast of Cyprus, indicating Europe's diversification efforts, reported Reuters, citing Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides announcement on X.

This development follows the heightened need for alternative gas supplies in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Eastern Mediterranean has become a focal point for such activities, with major gas finds in recent years.

The drilling operations, which include the Pegasus and Electra wells, were initially announced in November 2024.

Christodoulides confirmed that drilling at the Electra prospect began last Friday.

The region's potential was underscored by a discovery at the Glaucus well in 2019 by ExxonMobil, which had been granted exploration licences for Cyprus in 2017.

ExxonMobil's presence in Cyprus is part of a larger international consortium that includes Chevron from the US, Italy's Eni and France's TotalEnergies.

Despite its proximity to gas discoveries in Egypt and Israel, Cyprus has yet to produce gas from its modest offshore finds. The country is said to be seeking to position itself as a reliable alternative natural gas supplier for the EU.

The recent talks in Nicosia between Cyprus' Energy Minister, George Papanastasiou, and Egypt's Petroleum Minister, Karim Badawi, have focused on cooperation for joint infrastructure projects.

These projects could form part of a new energy corridor linking the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe, according to Cyprus' Energy Ministry.

Ankara is closely monitoring Cyprus' drilling activities, as stated by a Turkish Defence Ministry official. The drilling is taking place in an area that lies outside of the continental shelf boundaries claimed by Turkey.

The island nation of Cyprus remains politically divided, with the south governed by an internationally recognised administration and the north by a Turkey-backed entity, leading to ongoing disputes and overlapping territorial claims.

"ExxonMobil, Qatar Energy start drilling for natural gas in Cyprus" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.




COLUBMUS, Ohio (WCMH)  This week on The Spectrum:

President Donald Trump marked his return to power by signing dozens of executive orders right after taking the oath of office.

Now some experts are saying the orders targeting immigration and diversity policies are a step backwards.

State lawmakers have revived a push to overhaul Ohios higher education system. Hear from students and educators on the proposal.

Democratic strategist Joe Rettof and Republican strategist Mike Gonidakis join the all-star roundtable to review Trumps first week back in the presidency.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.  Springfield City Council will meet Monday night to vote on an agreement with BNSF in relation to the Renew Jordan Creek Project. Construction is ongoing and will soon affect the railroad crossings at Booneville and at Campbell.

The City says when they build the new box culverts as part of the daylighting project the railroad crossing signals will need to be replaced. The city says this provides a good opportunity to update the crossings for pedestrian safety and ADA compliance ahead of the anticipated increase in foot traffic.

The Boonville crossing will cost around $459,908, and the Campbell crossing updates will cost around $73,500. If approved, The City will reimburse BNSF. The cost is already budgeted within the Renew Jordan Creek Project. Work on these railroad crossings wont start until later this year, and the city hopes to work on them separately to avoid closing both roads at the same time.

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Its important that we go ahead and take this agreement you know well ahead of time because I think BNSF indicated there was about a 6 to 7 month lead time to get the signal equipment, said Chris Dunnaway Principal Engineer with the City of Springfield. So they need to get that ordered but of course, theyre not gonna do that until its a sure thing.

The council will also hear the first reading of an ordinance on Monday night that would prevent people and objects from entering stormwater tunnels unless the City of Springfield gives permission.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Four months ago, then-presidential nominee Donald Trump repeatedly told his supporters a baseless lie that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating residents pets.

Now hes President, and members of Springfields Haitian immigrant community are afraid he will make an example out of them as he promises to carry out mass deportations across the country, Politico reports.

The Trump administration has already begun carrying out Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the country, including in Chicago, Newark, Miami and Colorado. He has also taken several other steps to implement his hardline immigration agenda, including attempting to end birthright citizenship.

Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio were the target of a baseless conspiracy theory spread by Donald Trump and his allies last year (Getty Images)

Marjorie Koveleski, a Haitian-American Springfield resident for decades who helps usher in the new arrivals, told Politico many are afraid mass deportations will start with them.

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They think theyre going to make Springfield the example, she told Politico.

Brandon Sipes, a humanitarian crisis adviser for the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries in Springfield, told Politico 20-30 Haitian residents used to attend his church. Now, that number just bottomed out, he said.

The few families that would come to church, they were very afraid, he told Politico.

Trumps rhetoric has taken its toll on the families that call Springfield home.

This was very hard mentally, because at some points in time, people were afraid to come out or to go for groceries, to go shopping or anything, Viles Dorsainvil, leader of Springfields Haitian Community Help & Support Center, told Politico. That rhetoric was so negative that some folks in town left because they could not put up with all that pressure.

Trump elevated the rumours about Haitian immigrants eating pets to the national stage during the presidential debate with Kamala Harris. (AP)

Some 15,000 Haitian migrants have settled in the town under a program that grants temporary protected immigration status to individuals from countries the U.S. considers especially dangerous, including Haiti.

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Last year, Trump, J.D. Vance and their MAGA allies repeatedly claimed immigrants were eating dogs and cats in the mid-sized town of some 58,000 people.

The theory  which city officials maintained there is no evidence for  was even discussed on the debate stage as Trump faced off against Kamala Harris. Debate moderator David Muir pointed out the claim was unfounded, but Trump doubled down.

The baseless claim appears to have originated from a post describing a fourth-hand account on a Springfield Facebook group. There is no evidence to support the theory and city officials have rejected the claim.

Trumps rhetoric already disturbed the community last year, as schools and government buildings were targeted by dozens of bomb threats in the weeks after he promoted the baseless conspiracy. GOP governor of Ohio Mike DeWine, a Trump supporter, even penned an op-ed for the New York Times in which he defended the Haitian population.

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They are there legally, he wrote. They are there to work. He also claimed the population has contributed to a resurgence in manufacturing and job creation in the town.

The Independent has contacted the Trump administration for comment.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WDTN)  A school in Springfield gives students the chance to earn their high school diploma while also getting them ready for the workforce.

Cliff Park High School opened in 2013. Its a public charter school funded through the state for students ages 15 to 21.

There are roughly 360 students enrolled at the high school. About 80 students are in the career tech programs, fast-tracking them to graduation and getting them where they want to be.

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Cliff Park is an opportunity for us to really close the gap that exists in the educational world, says Randy Smoot, the Executive Director for Dropout Recovery. We are designed for students who have either disengaged in high school, dropped out of high school, or are at risk of dropping out of high school.

With opportunities in business, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and construction, the schools career tech programs put students on the cutting edge.

More Skills 2 Succeed

Theres a misconception that theyre here because its a bad school and thats just couldnt be further from the truth. A lot of our students are here just because, for whatever reason, it just didnt work for them at that other school. And so for us to be able to provide them an opportunity to be successful, for us to provide them the opportunity to participate in programs that just werent accessible to them at their previous school, is really important, states Smoot.

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With the ability to earn nationally recognized credentials, students can directly enter the workforce after graduating, or they can continue with their education.

Students being able to come here and immediately see a way to get to a future, you know, immediately be able to see an end to this journey of school, but then also get a career out of it, its fantastic! exclaims Smoot.

Once they pass their tests, students can become licensed phlebotomists or go straight to a construction site.

Programs take about a year to complete while students learn the skills they need to propel them into the future.

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We are an option for everybody. The programs that we offer will help to build a life and a career for any student who goes through them, says Smoot.

To learn more, click here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) An improperly used portable propane camp stove used by an apparent homeless person or persons caused a structure fire in a boarded-up building on Thursday morning, Jan. 23 in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the citys Fire Department said.

The Alamogordo Fire Department said the fire appears to have been started by squatters who had broken into the building and were trying to keep warm.

The Fire Department said that at 5:12 a.m. on Jan. 23, crews were dispatched to the 600 block of Maryland Avenue for a structure fire. Upon arrival, crews reported that a known dilapidated structure had heavy smoke and fire coming from the rear of the home.

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AFD said Alamogordo Police Department officers assisted in evacuating all surrounding structures.

Firefighters had to force their way into the front of the structure to begin a search and use fire suppression tactics, AFD said.

AFD said a primary search cleared the structure from having any potential fire victims, and the fire was contained with no damage to surrounding buildings or properties.

The AFD Fire Investigations Unit was requested to conduct a fire origin and cause investigation.

The damaged structure was part of Alamogordos Dilapidated Structure Program and was boarded up before the fire, AFD said.

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AFD said the investigation revealed that an unknown subject or subjects (assumed to be homeless or transient) forced entry into the rear of the residence. It was apparent that they were squatting inside the structure. The area of origin was found in the rear bedroom of the structure, and it was determined to be caused by a portable propane camp stove being improperly used as a heating appliance.

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Shane Kearney had been working in tech for most of his career. But after a battle with cancer and some restorative time in the great outdoors, Kearney, 39, found himself applying last September for seasonal jobs with the National Park Service.

He interviewed on December 16 for a fee technician role at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which would involve doing camper check-ins and picking up trash and lost property along the North Carolina beach.

The gig came with health insurance and housing arranged by the park service, Kearney told SFGATE, so when he got offered the job on January 8, he immediately accepted.

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During the onboarding process in mid-January, he drove across Atlanta to get fingerprinted and turned down a tech job that had been his backup plan, he said.

He heard nothing more from the park service until an email came through the week President Donald Trump was sworn in, from someone he had never spoken with.

"Please be advised that the National Park Service is unable to fill the Recreation Fee Technician, GS-0503-5 position at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Buxton, North Carolina at this time," states the email. "As such, your job offer has been rescinded at management request."

Kearney was crestfallen. And he was not alone.

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Minutes later, a Reddit post titled "Seasonal offer rescinded" appeared within the r/ParkRangers subreddit, along with a screenshot of an email nearly identical to the one Kearney received, regarding a custodian worker position in Yosemite National Park.

"Should the bureau be able to fill the position again, another announcement will be posted in due course," both emails conclude, before encouraging federal employees to view additional opportunities at usajobs.gov.

That Reddit user declined to be interviewed for this story, but comments on the post surfaced nearly a dozen other Reddit users reporting having their job offers rescinded. All say they received emails the same day.

One person wrote that their job was supposed to start next month and they were feeling "so panicked and confused." Another who identified themself as a National Park Service supervisor in charge of summer hires wrote, "This has been such a strange experience. I feel terrible for everyone that is getting an offer rescinded."

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SFGATE emailed spokespeople at several national parks to find out exactly how many job offers have been rescinded and whether the rescinded offers are connected to newly inaugurated President Donald Trump's recent federal hiring freeze.

Some of those emails went unreturned, but officials from Death Valley National Park, Redwood National and State Parks, and Yellowstone National Park all directed SFGATE to an email address for the park service's national communications office. SFGATE emailed that office and received no response.

It certainly seems possible that these rescinded offers are tied to Trump's executive order. "As part of this freeze, no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law," a January 20 White House memorandum states.

In a summary of presidential actions issued on the day of his inauguration, White House officials wrote that the president will "usher a golden age for America by reforming and improving the government bureaucracy to work for the American people. He will freeze bureaucrat hiring except in essential areas to end the onslaught of useless and overpaid DEI activists buried into the federal workforce."

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To learn more about the hiring freeze's impact on seasonal employees of the national parks, SFGATE contacted several of the users who posted on Reddit. Two agreed to be interviewed after being granted anonymity in accordance with Hearst's ethics policy, citing a fear of jeopardizing future employment opportunities with the park service.

For a ranger who was about to start work in his third season at Canyonlands National Park in Utah, the rescinded offer "felt like being sucker-punched."

"We were told that we were safe from this, that our jobs still existed and we would continue to be hired," he wrote in a direct message on Reddit. "I plan my year around NPS seasons, including renting apartments, putting in notices at my off-season jobs, and making hotel arrangements for travel. I don't know where I'm going at this point, or even where I'm going to live if these jobs are truly rescinded and not just delayed."

The ranger added that it seemed to him that hiring managers and supervisors within the system were blindsided, too. They "are probably just as lost as we are," he said.

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When a newly hired ranger at Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks learned that he no longer had a summer job, he was "absolutely gutted and immediately burst into tears," he told SFGATE.

"I know it sounds dramatic, but it's really frustrating to dedicate your life to something for so long, make many sacrifices like working jobs with horrible pay and borderline dangerous living conditions just to have everything wiped away with the stroke of a pen by someone who is hundreds of miles away," he continued, referring to the idea that Trump's executive order eliminated his position.

The hardest part, he said, is the uncertainty. "I don't know if I should hold off and wait to hear from the NPS, or if I should begin applying to other positions."

For Kearney, the tech worker who longed to change careers and work outdoors, waiting around to see if the park service can still offer him a job is not an option.

"I'm now a cancer survivor without health insurance," he said.

Hikers often head for the Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone national park, where workers are facing a suddden hiring freeze under the new president who seeks to slash bureaucracy. Michael Juhran/dpa

The national parks of the US are wildly popular, such as Zion, but park staff are struggling amid sudden changes affecting their work. Verena Wolff/dpa-tmn/dpa
AKRON, Ohio (WJW)  The Akron Police Department reports a Monday morning standoff involving the SWAT Team and a man who had barricaded himself inside of an apartment near Highland Square has ended peacefully.

According to Capt. Michael Miller, the SWAT Team and negotiators were called to assist patrol officers at the residence on S. Highland Avenue at about 5 a.m. on Monday after police said the man refused to come out following a domestic incident.

Massive fire destroys $66M construction project

The suspect reportedly assaulted a woman, who is now at a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, said Capt. Miller in an email to FOX 8.

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The Akron Police Department posted on X advising residents of the large police presence and to expect traffic delays in the area.

Little Italy restaurant to close next month

In an updated email, Miller said, the suspect, a 37-year-old man, exited the apartment and surrendered to police around 9:20 a.m.

Officers recovered a handgun that the suspect had in his possession. The investigation remains ongoing, but the suspect faces numerous charges in connection with the assault. Additional charges may be added, wrote Miller.

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Since his appointment as CEO of Starbucks, Brian Niccol has charted a course back to the companys roots: good coffee, served swiftly, in a welcoming cafe. Its an almost quixotic ambition after years in which the Starbucks experience has drifted toward something less human and more mechanical  a fast-moving conveyor belt of caffeine. The promise, however, feels refreshing, if not overdue.

Starbucks pivot toward efficiency began long before Niccol took over, accelerated by the pandemics relentless push for contactless everything. A couple of years ago, I found myself unwittingly stepping into one of their pickup-only locations  a slightly dystopian version of the Starbucks I once knew. There were no tables or chairs. The warm din of clinking ceramic mugs, muted conversation and the whir of espresso machines was absent, replaced by the cold glow of a giant screen listing customers names in a clinical, digital procession. Orders moved up the queue with all the charm of a DMV waiting room, turning green when they were ready.

I walked to the counter, expecting to place an order as I had for years. The barista, kind but firm, explained that this wasnt possible; orders could only be made through the Starbucks app. Short on time (and honestly unwilling to find alternative parking in downtown Chicago) I downloaded the app, placed my order and resigned myself to waiting in the sterile quiet.

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Soon after, a dad in a Bears sweatshirt and his three daughters walked in, looking as flummoxed as I had been. He approached the counter, received the same explanation I had and returned to his daughters for a whispered conference. Their faces cycled through frustration, confusion and finally resignation. The dad declared, with the unmistakable exasperation of a man bested by technology, F**k it, were going to Dunkin. They turned and left without another word.

Moments like this encapsulate what Starbucks became in the wake of its rapid expansion and pandemic adaptations: less a cafe, more a glorified takeout counter. The menu ballooned in such a way that it seemed like someone was simply throwing cold foam at the wall and seeing what stuck, generating additions like boba-inspired refreshers and olive oil-infused lattes, the latter infamous not for its flavor but for its gastrointestinal side effects. The calm and connection that once defined Starbucks gave way to the frenetic pace of mobile orders and delivery pickups.

Niccols strategy represents an attempt to reclaim that lost identity. Hes bringing back ceramic mugs and plush chairs for customers who want to enjoy their coffee in-store  a gesture as nostalgic as it is pragmatic. Yet, this return to form comes with new restrictions. Beginning today, Jan. 27, Starbucks customers must make a purchase to use the restroom, sit at a table or even refill a water bottle. The policy, designed to reassert control over the chains spaces, is supported by a wave of de-escalation training for employees, who are now tasked with enforcing these rules.

De-escalation, a technique borrowed from fields like psychiatric care and social work, emphasizes calm and empathetic conflict resolution. As Business Insider reported, Starbucks baristas have been trained to gently explain the new policy to non-paying customers, listen to their concerns and, if necessary, escalate the issue to a manager. The training is intended to give employees the confidence to navigate these situations with kindness and respect  or at least to prevent them from boiling over into viral moments.

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But baristas, many of whom already feel stretched thin, arent convinced. At a high-incident location in Philadelphia, where confrontations with customers are common, one employee described the policy to Fortune as an added stressor. We know that these situations are going to happen more frequently in our store, the employee said. And we will not be able to take the measures that we need to make ourselves safe.

According to the employee, Starbucks has yet to address practical concerns, such as giving employees the ability to pause incoming digital orders during tense moments.

Critics have also called the new policy anti-homeless, pointing out that Starbucks 2018 open-door initiative  implemented after two Black men were arrested while waiting for a business meeting to begin in a Philadelphia location  was one of the few examples of a major corporation embracing inclusivity. With public restrooms scarce and coffee shops often serving as de facto daytime shelters, the reversal feels, to some, like a step backward.

Starbucks, for its part, defends the changes as necessary to restore its cafes to their intended purpose.

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We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in our stores, Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson told Fortune. By setting clear expectations for behavior and use of our spaces, we can create a better environment for everyone. But the line between inclusivity and exclusivity is a delicate one. What does it mean to create a better environment, and better for whom?

The tension between Starbucks ideals and its realities has always been part of its identity. The company has spent decades branding itself as a third place, distinct from home and work  a communal space where anyone can feel welcome. Yet, as Niccol and his team attempt to reclaim the Starbucks of the past, they may find that its no longer possible to be all things to all people. The challenge lies not just in serving coffee, but in serving it with humanity  something the company is still learning how to do.






Indian book publishers and their international partners have filed a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI in New Delhi, alleging misuse of proprietary content, reported Reuters citing a representative.

The case, which was filed in December 2024, alleges OpenAI, an AI research company backed by Microsoft, of improperly accessing proprietary content for its ChatGPT chatbot.

The Federation of Indian Publishers, representing a coalition that includes Penguin Random House, Bloomsbury, Cambridge University Press, and Pan Macmillan, as well as Indian publishers Rupa Publications and S.Chand and Co, has filed a lawsuit at the Delhi High Court.

The federation's legal action seeks to address concerns that OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot has been using copyrighted material without permission.

Despite the allegations, OpenAI has maintained that its AI systems are designed to make fair use of publicly available data.

The Indian federation's filing in December, reviewed by Reuters, claims to have "credible evidence/information" that OpenAI has utilised their literary works to train ChatGPT.

The matter was initially reviewed by a court registrar in New Delhi, who, on 10 January 2025, instructed OpenAI to respond to the allegations.

The case is set to be heard by a judge on 28 January.

The Federation general secretary Pranav Gupta was cited by the news agency as saying in an interview about the lawsuit: "Our ask from the court is that they should stop (OpenAI from) accessing our copyright content.

In case they don't want to do licensing with us, they should delete datasets used in AI training and explain how we will be compensated. This impacts creativity.

In November last year, Indian news agency ANI sued OpenAI in Delhi, accusing it of using ANI's content without permission to train ChatGPT.

However, OpenAI responded on 10 January with an 86-page filing at the Delhi High Court, addressing ANI's demand to delete its data from ChatGPT.

OpenAI has argued that complying with an order to delete training data would conflict with its US legal obligations and that Indian courts lack jurisdiction since its servers are not located in India, reported the news agency.

However, the federation contends that OpenAI's provision of services in India should subject the company to Indian copyright laws.

"Global book publishers sue OpenAI for copyright violations in India" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.




Starbucks is to install panic buttons for staff as it cracks down on customers who sit in its shops or try to use its lavatories without buying anything.

US workers have been given new guidelines on how to eject customers who stay in the stores for a prolonged amount of time, attempt to use lavatories or fill up water bottles without making a purchase, as first reported by Business Insider.

The company is also training workers in conflict de-escalation. According to reports, panic buttons have even been installed in a handful of stores in a trial of how best to keep them secure.

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Starbucks said earlier this month that it would no longer allow customers in the US to use its amenities for free, as part of an attempt by Brian Niccol, the new chief executive, to revive the business.

It had previously operated an open door stance, first implemented by the chain in 2018 after two men were wrongly arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks where they were holding a business meeting.

The incident, which was caught on camera, proved embarrassing for the brand. In its wake, the two men met with Kevin Johnson, then-chief executive, to discuss ways Starbucks could prevent similar events in future.

Brian Niccol, the chief executive, is trying to turn Starbucks back into a community coffee-house - Mark Lennihan/AP

The about-turn comes amid a wider pushback against customers who sit in coffee shops for hours at a time, taking advantage of free wi-fi but not spending more than the cost of one coffee in many cases.

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As well as preventing shops from making money by turning tables, so-called laptop lurkers have also been criticised for dampening the environment of bars and coffee shops and turning them into less social spaces.

Mr Niccol, who previously ran the Mexican food chain Chipotle, has been battling to turn Starbucks back into what he has called a community coffee-house.

The company has struggled in the past few years. Some consumers have cut back because of higher prices, while it also suffered boycotts over a perceived link with Israel and its actions in Gaza. Starbucks says it has never given money to Israel or its military and that this perception is fuelled by misinformation online.

At the same time, activist investors have bought up shares, piling pressure on its board to revive its performance.

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However, the end of Starbucks open-door stance raises the prospect that staff could end up in uncomfortable situations when confronting customers. One worker told Fortune magazine: We know that these situations are going to happen more frequently in our store.

Mr Niccols predecessor, Laxman Narasimhan, was ousted last year after less than two years in the role.

In an open letter to customers following his appointment, Mr Niccol admitted the business was not always delivering, saying: It can feel transactional, menus can feel overwhelming, the product is inconsistent, the wait too long or the hand-off too hectic. These moments are opportunities for us to do better.

The change of chief executive sparked a rally in the brands then-declining share price, but has not been without controversy: the company has been criticised for allowing Mr Niccol to fly between his California home and the businesss Seattle headquarters by private jet, drawing the ire of environmental groups.

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A Starbucks spokesman said: The operational updates being introduced on Jan 27 are for North American stores and are not being implemented internationally (including the UK) at this time. Across Starbucks global markets, licenced and joint venture partners operate stores with locally relevant policies.

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ)  A State College area landlord reached a settlement agreement with Attorney General Dave Sunday over unlawful deductions from security deposits and poor living conditions.

The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed against Rodney Hicks, doing business as Hendricks Investments regarding the treatment of tenants, many of who were Penn State University students.

The lawsuit alleged that Hendricks would deduct from security deposits for illegal damages and that properties were advertised as move-in ready, but were actually dirty and unsafe.

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For many, student housing marks their first experience living independently, but this landlord turned it into a negative experience for many tenants, Sunday said. All Pennsylvania property managers must abide by landlord/tenant laws, and this settlement ensures that Hendricks Investments will no longer provide subpar properties or make excessive deductions from security deposits.

Click here for the latest on the Nittany Mall Casino: Construction starting

The office of the Attorney General sued Hendricks in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas. Under the settlement, Hendricks agreed to comply with all Landlord/Tenant Act and PA consumer protection requirements

AG Sunday added that Hendricks has agreed to provide tenants with a written and itemized list of actual damages when making deductions from security deposits, to be provided to tenants upon moving out. Additionally, his properties will require a personal inspection before a lease is signed.

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.

Hendricks also agreed to pay $30,000, which will be used to reimburse eligible tenants who previously filed complaints with the Office of Attorney Generals Bureau of Consumer Protection.

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court will take up a dispute over funding a state initiative to improve reading instruction. (FangXiaNuo/Getty photo)

A legal battle over $50 million to fund a new Wisconsin reading initiative will go directly to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, a majority of justices on the Court has decided.

The Court on Friday accepted a petition from Gov. Tony Evers and the state Department of Public Instruction to bypass the state appeals court in a lawsuit about the funding.

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The $50 million was set aside in the 2023-25 budget for the new reading program, which was authorized in a separate bill in July 2023.

The Legislature passed a follow-up measure in early 2024 described as creating a mechanism for the Legislatures Joint Finance Committee to deploy the money. Evers signed that bill, Act 100, but with a partial veto, saying he was removing language that overly complicated how the money was spent as well as language providing per-pupil increases to private choice and independent charter schools.

The finance committee has so far declined to release the $50 million.

Republican leaders of the Legislature sued the governor, arguing that Act 100 wasnt an appropriations law subject to the partial veto. Evers, a Democrat, countersued, charging that the finance committee was acting unlawfully in refusing to release the money.

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In Dane County Circuit Court, Judge Stephen Elke issued a summary judgment Aug. 27, 2024, rejecting both lawsuits: Act 100 is an appropriations law, permitting the governor to exercise partial veto power, he ruled, while the $50 million was properly appropriated to the finance committee, not directly to DPI.

Attorneys for both the Evers administration and the Legislature appealed to the Wisconsin Appeals Court District 4, but Evers and DPI subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court to bypass the appeals court.

On Friday, the high court granted the petition. The Court doesnt typically express its reasoning when accepting a bypass petition, and the authors of Fridays order didnt do so, either.

Justice Rebecca Bradley and Chief Justice Annette Ziegler dissented, with Bradley arguing that the Court majoritys decision to take the case was premature.

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The members of the majority sometimes enforce a rule against premature petitions but sometimes they dont, without disclosing any standards by which they will choose whether to apply it, Bradley wrote. Such arbitrariness by courts is antithetical to the original understanding of the judicial role.

Justice Brian Hagedorn filed a separate dissent, stating, Consistent with past practice, I would deny the petition for bypass as premature.

This report has been updated to include an additional dissent filed with the decision.

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MINEOLA, N.Y. (PIX11)  A New York State trooper turned himself on Monday after inconsistencies in his story about a shooting that left him injured on Long Islands Southern State Parkway led to a felony charge against him, according to officials.

Thomas Mascia, 27, has now resigned after being suspended without pay. Hed told troopers that hed been shot by a driver on the roadside who hed tried to help while he was patrolling the parkway on Oct. 30 last year. That account fell apart once the investigation got underway as Mascia was released from the hospital for treatment for his gunshot wound.

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A three-state search for the alleged gunman by more than a half-dozen police departments was also called off.

The shooter that we were all looking for only existed in Mascias head, said Anne Donnelly, the Nassau County district attorney, at a news conference after Mascia was arraigned on Monday morning on charges of tampering with physical evidence  a felony, as well as falsely reporting a crime and official misconduct.

Mascias parents also turned themselves in on Monday. Both his mother, Dorothy Mascia, and his father, Thomas Mascia Sr., were charged with criminal possession of a weapon.

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Thats because Mascia Sr. is a convicted felon, whos not allowed to have a firearm. He had been an officer in the NYPD and was fired in 1993 after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Donnelly also confirmed that investigators found around $800,000 cash in the Mascia home, belonging to the Mascia parents, in addition to illegal firearms. The investigation is still underway, the district attorney said.

As for the reason the trooper apparently staged his own shooting, the top administrator of the state police said, Its speculation.

We could surmise many instances, State Police Superintendent Steven James said at Monday afternoons news conference, whether he sought to get disability, retirement, whether he sought to seek the attention of unrequited love.

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The Mascias are scheduled to return to court for another hearing in Mineola on Feb. 5.

Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.

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Pennsylvania State Police are asking for help identifying a man suspected of being involved in a burglary in Indiana County.

The crime happened on Locust Road in Armstrong Township on Friday at 9:15 a.m.

An unknown man broke into a locked shed at a private camp in that location, troopers said.

He left with a Coleman 1800-watt generator and two Mathews compound bows.

Using surveillance video, troopers learned the man was probably in his 20s or 30s.

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Anyone with information is asked to call 724-357-1960 and ask for Trooper Genser.

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Trenton Water Works issued multiple restrictions on water use in January 2025, saying ice in the Delaware River  where it draws drinking water  has blocked water intakes. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)

In the summer of 1975, Trentons public water utility experienced so many failures that its reservoir ran dry and residents had no water, forcing fire trucks to line up for miles to pump water from the suburbs and civil defense to truck in water, too.

The system didnt fully recover for eight months. In a 1976 report, state environmental officials blamed human error, equipment failure, and design vulnerability for causing the crisis.

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Fifty years later, little has changed at Trenton Water Works, according to two new independent reports the state Department of Environmental Protection issued Monday.

Dysfunctional government, a culture of complacency, and other recurring challenges have put the utility at extremely high risk of systemic failure, the departments commissioner, Shawn LaTourette, told reporters.

The utility, which serves 225,000 customers in the capital city and its suburbs, should be removed from the citys sole control and reconfigured into a regional authority, LaTourette said.

The system is still suffering from historic neglect and mismanagement that pre-exists the current gubernatorial and mayoral administrations, he said. The only way to recover from that is through restructuring.

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The state declared oversight over the utility in October 2022 after violations piled up for years over the 221-year-old utilitys persisting failure to ensure the safety of the 33 million gallons of water it delivers daily to residents of Trenton, Ewing, Hamilton, Hopewell, and Lawrence.

Monday, LaTourette called on legislators to authorize by statute the establishment of a regional utility.

DEP cannot provide stability support forever, LaTourette said. That is not what this agency does. It is what we are doing here, because it incumbent upon us to ensure the protection of public health. But it is not sustainable in the long term. We have hundreds of water systems to monitor.

The two reports released Monday, which run 320 pages combined, document all sorts of problems at the utility that the reports authors say endanger public health and ratepayer affordability.

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The utility, which draws water from the Delaware River, has a $600 million capital improvement plan that would remove thousands of lead pipes, replace water mains, build a new central pumping station, and replace an uncovered reservoir with decentralized storage tanks.

But the utility doesnt have the money, the technical know-how, and the management capacity to pull it off, the reports say.

Instead, there is no evidence city officials could improve the utility so that it consistently meets regulatory requirements without the states oversight and help, one report says.

The utility repeatedly has made headlines in recent years for everything from deadly Legionnaires Disease outbreaks to worms in the drinking water to ice buildup to a worker who got away with faking drinking water samples for over a year.

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LaTourette showed pictures that underscored systemic problems, including a sludge blanket over machinery that removes water contaminants, leaks, spills, stagnant water in utility buildings, and more.

This is not what a water system should look like, he said.

Conditions at Trenton Water Works (Screenshot courtesy of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection)

LaTourette stressed officials dont want the utility to be sold or privatized, options he called non-starters. Instead, he said, it should be restructured to give the suburbs it serves a seat at the table, with its governance structure either a municipal utilities authority, a special purpose entity, or a public-private partnership under municipal ownership.

Professionals deeply experienced in the water sector should run its daily operations, he added.

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It should never be the case that a water operator has to ask a city council if they can buy enough chlorine to treat drinking water, LaTourette said.

Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said a shift to regional management deserves serious consideration, especially if that means the suburbs will help share the costs of management, he said.

The utilitys problems have never been a governance problem. Its been a resource problem, he added.

Heres the deal  55% of the customers live outside of Trenton. So should they have a greater say in what happens at Trenton Water Works? Absolutely, Gusciora said. Were going through the process of a $600 million capital improvement plan, and its better if the cost is clearly shifted to a regional authority.

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Municipal officials in the suburbs served by the utility have badgered the city for years for a role in managing the utility. Gusciora attributed the citys refusal to share management duties so far to pride of ownership.

Weve owned the water works since 1804. Were the second oldest system in the country, he said.

While Mondays reports echo some of the same concerns the state raised in its 1976 report on Trentons 1975 water crisis, LaTourette cautioned against pointing fingers.

Making structural change is really difficult, LaTourette said. Its easier to fix things when they break, as opposed to systematically ensure that they dont break in the first place.

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LaTourette said shifting to a regional authority is a process that could take years.

Gusciora and the mayors of the suburbs served by Trenton Water Works say theyre already working on it.

They put out a joint statement Monday welcoming a restructuring.

We, the Mayors of TWW-serviced towns, agree that the status quo is not sustainable, and we believe that creating a new public utility, with governance that allows for greater operational independence and collaboration across municipalities, is a necessary step forward, said the statement from Gusciora, Jeff Martin of Hamilton, Bert Steinmann of Ewing, Patricia Hendricks Farmer of Lawrence, and Courtney Peters-Manning of Hopewell.

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The mayors said they would spend the next six months collaborating to devise a plan for a regional authority. Priorities in those negotiations include fairly compensating Trenton for the utility; assessing any impact on customers rates and fees; and crafting a public education campaign on the plans impacts, planned repairs and upgrades, and hiring needs.

The mayors said they also want to restore the publics faith and confidence in Trenton Water Works.

LaTourette tried to do that, too. He spent his media briefing Monday sipping from a glass of water.

I probably drink about 12 glasses of water a day while I am in my office here  and yes, it comes from Trenton Water Works, and no, I have zero concerns about it, he said. But that is only because my people are there, and I know they are keeping it stable and that the water quality is consistent with our drinking water standards in the state of New Jersey, which are the strongest in the nation.

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CHEYENNE  In an address to the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, Gov. Mark Gordon said Friday he is optimistic for the future of the states towns and municipalities, but they must also be willing to stand up and fight for themselves in addition to support from the state.

Id love to tell you that theres rainbows and unicorns in the future, but I dont believe that at all, he said. I think our communities are going to have to stand a lot more on their own, and well certainly fight for you, but were only one piece of it.

Gordon, along with the four other top elected officials in the state, held a panel discussion Friday in the state Capitol to answer questions from WAM about the role the state plays in supporting Wyomings 99 towns and municipalities.

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The opening question from panel moderator and WAM Interim President Carter Napier of Casper referenced Gillette Republican and Freedom Caucus member Rep. John Bears 2024 comment pondering if small towns in Wyoming should even exist if they rely on state funds to stay afloat.

Napier asked what the panelists thought of the role the state plays in supporting infrastructure development and maintenance for WAM localities.

Gordon was joined on the panel by State Auditor Kristi Racines, State Treasurer Curt Meier, Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder. All five panelists make up the State Loan and Investment Board, which manages the states permanent land funds and administers grant and loan programs to municipalities.

Most panelists referenced the states Mineral Royalty Grants program, which offers funds to alleviate an emergency situation that poses a direct and immediate threat to public health, safety or welfare; to comply with federal or state mandates; or to provide an essential public service.

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Racines acknowledged municipalities cannot operate with a negative budget without assistance from the state, and Meier said the role of government is to invest in things that people cant do by themselves.

Those are the things like building roads, building infrastructure in the water systems. Those things are going to continue to have to be looked at, he said.

Gray said that it is important municipalities take action on seeking those MRG grants immediately, and that he is optimistic about the future of Wyoming under the second term of President Donald Trump. He also said he believes the Wyoming Freedom Caucus is leading the work on supporting rural communities.

Just look at the fact that the (Wyoming) Freedom Caucus is the number one group in the Legislature protecting our core industries, whereas a lot of other folks seem to want to move off our core industries, Gray said.

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ARPA funding and capacity

Napier said it is clear that there are capacity issues across the state as it pertains to professional services, like engineering, to complete construction of ARPA-funded projects.

He asked the panel if the state government has a role in supporting understaffed municipalities that may lack capacity to meet federal deadlines for these funding applications and construction timelines.

The panelists acknowledged that it can be more difficult for small municipalities to apply for funds through the federal government, as there is often less leniency than when applying for state funds.

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Racines said the requirements are non-negotiable, non-vending and robust on the federal level, and that 2020 was the first time a lot of municipalities had access to federal funds.

She said the state will try to support them, but that they have a limited bandwidth.

Gordon said the state also needs more accountability for consultants like contractors and engineers on the quality of their work. Degenfelder added that these capacity issues are also related to workforce issues, segueing into Napiers next question.

Workforce and attainable housing

An interim committee bill that would have made state land adjacent to corporate boundaries available for long-term lease for the person who has the development recently failed. Napier said this bill had excited many communities as an opportunity to partner state and private developers.

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He asked the panelists if this idea had merit, and if the use of state lands could be part of the solution for the states housing crisis.

Degenfelder said it is important to consider that the state has a constitutional fiduciary duty to maximize revenue from these lands.

Its not our business plan to provide cheap land for these kind of (developments), she said.

Racines said that there are some pieces of land that currently generate little to no revenue.

Meier referenced the possibility of looking into relocating 3D-printed housing to Wyoming to alleviate some housing concerns, noting that the technology is in its infancy, but could be cheaper in the future.

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Gray and Degenfelder both acknowledged the need to focus on education to grow and maintain a trades workforce in Wyoming that help grow infrastructure for a larger workforce to find housing in Wyoming.

The bottom line is there isnt enough supply, and thats because we lack enough of these trades, Gray said.

Where Wyoming is headed

To conclude the meeting, Napier asked the panelists what their biggest concerns are for Wyoming going forward and inquired about what they think is going well.

Degenfelder and Gray both said they view the diminishing of the states fossil fuel industries as the biggest threat to the state.

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While we see a success in President Trump coming into office, that is something we cant be complacent on, Degenfelder said. And as we saw with the Biden administration, just how detrimental that can be to us, and recognizing at the end of the day that the mineral industry pays the lions share of the revenue in the state.

Degenfelder also expressed concern with the aging population in the state, noting that there arent enough young people choosing to live in Wyoming. She said Wyoming should consider creating an integrated medical system for those retiring here.

Gordon said he is optimistic about Wyomings investment in the uranium industry, and the potential of developing technologies like enhanced oil recovery and investing in carbon fiber.

He also said hed like to see towns and cities near Wyomings borders become more attractive so that residents can keep business and residents within Wyoming and attract people to the Cowboy State.

Its going to take a lot of work ... but by God, thats what this state ought to be doing.
Rio de Janeiros iconic beaches are becoming the hottest night spot, as Brazilians seek some relief from the stifling heat.

Summer is in full swing in the Southern Hemisphere and a recent heat wave across Brazil has regularly pushed temperatures into the high 90s with reports of triple-digit temperatures in some areas. So instead of hitting the beach during the day, hundreds of Brazilians are filling the shores of Ipanema Beach at night.

Its not just single folks  entire families are packing up coolers with food and drinks and spending hours on the beach. Janaina Barbados da Silva, a 43-year-old professor, told AFP, "It's all about finding a cooler place because the heat in Rio is getting more intense every year. So the option we have is to leave the house and go to the beach, which is the coolest place in the city."

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Even at night, there is little relief from the heat, with low temperatures staying in the 80s. So some families are spending most of the night right next to the water, not leaving for home until around 11:30 p.m., even with work the next day.

The summer season in Brazil typically stretches from December through March.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM
(FOX40.COM)  One man is in the hospital after being shot near railroad tracks in the 600 block of E Hammer Lane on Monday morning, according to the Stockton Police Department.

Officers were initially called to the area at 7:36 a.m. to assist a Union Pacific Railroad Police officer who had reported shots being fired.

Nearly two dozen vehicles impounded by Stockton police

A male suspect was found at the scene with at least one gunshot and the railroad police officer did not report having any injuries.

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The man is in an unknown condition at an area hospital.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 News.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs on Monday tapped veteran banker Stefan Duffner to lead the investment bank's activism and shareholder advisory work in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at a time corporations are increasingly asking for help to defend against activist investors pushing for changes.

Duffner, who joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 2005 and was promoted to managing director in 2017, will become the head of ASA (activism and shareholder advisory) in EMEA in addition to his responsibilities as head M&A for the consumer retail group in EMEA, according to a memo to Goldman staff seen by Reuters.

Goldman's global head of Activism and Shareholder Advisory, Avinash Mehrotra, signed the memo along with Nimesh Khiroya and Carsten Woehrn, who are co-heads of EMEA M&A.

Anne Bizien, who led the activism group in Europe for four years, will focus on the bank's broader client franchise in France. She was promoted to partner last year.

Goldman last year again ranked as the industry's top financial adviser with 49 engagements, leading JP Morgan which had 37 engagements, the Bloomberg Global Activism League Table shows.

Goldman also said that Camila Rodriguez Bedoya will join the activism defense group, taking on the role in addition to her M&A role in the Financial Institutions Group in EMEA.

In the United States, Goldman is working with Honeywell which is being pushed by hedge fund Elliott Investment Management to make changes, while in Europe it worked with Rentokil when Trian Fund Management built a position and with Reckitt, when Eminence Capital built a stake.

Activism defense work is becoming increasingly important for banks and even smaller players are adding teams to offer these services to clients who may be coming under threat. In 2024, a record number of activist shareholders, including 45 newcomers who deployed the strategy for the first time, mounted campaigns at global companies and corporations are bracing for more fights this year, bankers and lawyers said.

(Reporting by Anousha Sakoui in London and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo.  A Jefferson County Circuit Court judge issued a criminal summons on Friday to a St. Louis woman accused of helping others steal thousands of dollars in merchandise from a store in Arnold.

According to the Arnold Police Departments probable cause statement, the theft happened on Aug. 10, 2024, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., at an unnamed store.

Police said an employee at the store, identified as Kindra M. Smole, assisted seven others in taking 380 pieces of merchandise, consisting of clothing, household items, jewelry, perfume, cologne, toys, and rugs, and totaling $8,937.

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1 dead, two injured after a dump truck crashed into home in Owensville

Smole allegedly rang them up individually, then voided each transaction after handing the suspects their bags.

Police said Smole admitted to printing blank receipts to make it seem like a transaction had occurred and placed the blank receipts in the bags.

Smote has been ordered to appear in court for her initial appearance on March 24.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
This week, our Student of the Week poll features two students nominated for hard work and helpful attitudes in and out of the classroom.

Read what the people who nominated these high school students say about them below, and then vote in our poll to determine who should take the title of Wisconsin Student of the Week.

Don't see anyone from your high school here? Keep reading to learn how you can nominate a student from your school for our weekly poll.

Ngoclam Nguyen, grade 11, Notre Dame Academy

"Ngoclam is an overall amazing student and person. She loves to challenge herself academically, but she is motivated by learning, not by grades. She is never afraid to ask questions. She accepts instruction. She is an outstanding Spanish student. She is a talented artist as well. Ngoclam is open-minded, kind, helpful, friendly, and humble. She is genuine and comfortable with who she is. She does not seek the limelight. She embodies all the qualities that we need for our future."

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-Diane Mulroney, Spanish teacher, Notre Dame Academy

Kayla Gillespie, grade 12, Messmer High School

"Kayla is a student that is actively involved with school and in her community. She was a student ambassador, where she worked solely with incoming students, participating in hosting guided tours, meeting with donors, and being a support to students who were making a decision to enroll. Kayla is also a part of the Milwaukee Urban League program, where she devotes most of her time to prepare for her future by showcasing flexibility and determination to her secondary education. Kayla works extremely hard and manages to keep her academics first. Kayla has this leadership spark about her, and naturally others gravitate around her because of her aura. We are proud to call you a Bishop, Kayla."

-Melissa Hoeppner, counselor, Messmer High School

Vote in this week's Wisconsin Student of the Week poll

Our poll runs this week from Monday, Jan. 27, until noon Thursday, Jan. 30. We will announce the winner online Jan. 31 at jsonline.com, postcrescent.com and greenbaypressgazette.com, and in our newspapers on Sunday, Feb. 2. Happy voting!

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Do you work with youth and know someone who should be Student of the Week? Reach out to Debi Young, statewide education editor, at debi.young@jrn.com to get a link to the nomination form.

Rebecca Loroff is a K-12 education reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. She welcomes story tips and feedback. Contact her at rloroff@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Student of the Week poll: Green Bay, Milwaukee students compete
While concerns about the future of American democracy dominate headlines worldwide, millions of Texans are already seeing a rapid decline in democratic standards.

In December 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a New York doctor for prescribing abortion-inducing medications to a woman in Collin County, Texas, alleging that the shipment violated Texas near-total ban on abortion.

Two months earlier, Paxtons office had sued to block a federal rule protecting womens out-of-state medical records from criminal investigation. And in 2022, it sued the Biden administration over federal guidelines requiring doctors to perform abortions in emergency situations.

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Paxtons lawsuits  alongside the states restrictive abortion policies  raise troubling questions about individual privacy and womens bodily autonomy in Texas, where I live and teach. And theyre indicative of a broader problem. As my research on democracy and human rights shows, the state government is becoming increasingly antidemocratic.

Scholars examine a number of factors to determine the health of a democracy. Elections must be free and fair. There should be freedom of expression and belief, multiple competitive political parties and minimal corruption. A democratic government must also respect individual freedom.

On many of these metrics, I believe Texas falls short.

Are Texas elections free and fair?

Texas has some of the most restrictive voting laws in the United States, including strict voter ID laws, stringent limits on mail-in and absentee ballots and no online voter registration.

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Republicans, who passed each of these policies, claim their concern is a democratic one  election integrity. Yet, when Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick offered a US$25,000 reward to anyone who could prove voter fraud in the 2020 election, it led to just one arrest.

The Texas Legislature nonetheless pledged to pass an even more restrictive voting bill in 2021, referencing purity of the ballot box, an old Jim Crow phrase. Democratic lawmakers ended up fleeing the state to paralyze the state assembly and keep the most egregious parts of the bill from passing.

Healthy democracies also have robust competition between multiple parties so that voters have real choices at the polls.

Yet since its current constitution was written in 1876, Texas has effectively been a one-party state governed by conservatives. No Democrat has won statewide office since 1994  the longest Democrats have been locked out of statewide office in any state.

Money in politics

Texas puts no limits on individual campaign contributions to the governor, one of just 12 U.S. states that lacks this common anti-corruption measure.

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This has allowed Texas current governor, Greg Abbott, who has been in office since 2015, to raise vast sums of money. In the 2022 Texas gubernatorial race  the most expensive in the states history at $212 million  Abbott outspent his Democratic opponent by almost $50 million. In 2018, he had 90 times more cash on hand than his Democratic opponent.

Texas lack of effective campaign finance regulations has given big donors access to power in the form of gubernatorial appointments.

An in-depth investigation by The Texas Tribune in 2022 revealed that 27 of the 41 members of the governors COVID-19 task force were campaign donors who had collectively paid $6 million toward the governors reelection. Many were business owners who had a vested interest in reopening the state.

Freedom of expression

Texas is also at the center of a national struggle over academic freedom, a key component of free expression.

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Texas passed a law in 2023 requiring public universities to close their diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, offices, depriving the most vulnerable student communities of resources such as scholarships, mental health programs and career workshops.

The Texas Senate is considering expanding this legislation to prohibit DEI curriculum and course content.

The mere threat appears to be squelching freedom of thought and intellectual exploration in Texas universities already. The University of North Texas in November started editing course titles and syllabi to remove identity-based topics.

On Jan. 14, Abbott threatened to fire the president of Texas A&M University  a part of my university system  if faculty attended an academic conference showcasing the work of Black, Latino and Indigenous scholars.

Human rights at the border

Abbotts campaign to control the U.S.-Mexico border has raised concerns among human rights groups about civil rights in the state.

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In March of 2021, Abbott declared a state of emergency in counties on the Texas border, allowing him to deploy the Texas National Guard there. The initiative, Operation Lone Star, was supposed to stop migrants from crossing the border outside official government checkpoints.

Since border enforcement is a federal authority, however, the troops have mostly enforced state laws on trespassing or drugs and weapons possession. Guardsmen have also participated in busing migrants to Democratic-run cities such as New York and Chicago and built razor-wire barriers in the Rio Grande.

The result is an $11 billion policing program that has largely targeted Latino American citizens  not immigrants. Fully 96% of those arrested on trespassing charges are Latino, and 75% of those facing court proceedings for that and other crimes as a result of Operation Lone Star are U.S. citizens.

Gov. Greg Abbott, left, and Donald Trump greet Texas National Guard troops in Edinburg, Texas, on Nov. 19, 2023. Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images

Womens freedoms

Finally, womens right to bodily autonomy is under threat in Texas, which has one of the countrys most restrictive abortion laws.

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At least three women have died as a result of doctors being afraid to treat their miscarriages. Overall, maternal mortality rates have increased by 56% since the ban was imposed in 2021. Scary statistics havent stopped the states plans to tighten its ban.

The 2025 Texas legislative session began with Republican legislators having prefiled several bills aimed at ending abortion by mail services, including one that would reclassify common abortion pills as controlled substances like Valium or Ambien. Doctors warn that this reclassification could also make it harder for them to disperse these medications quickly in life-threatening emergencies.

And a handful of rural Texas counties have made it illegal to transport women seeking out-of-state abortions on their roads.

As Texas goes, so goes the nation?

The question of whether a government is democratic is often not black or white. It should be viewed on a sliding scale.

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Freedom House, a nonpartisan international democracy watchdog, ranks countries on a 100-point scale based on the factors I mentioned earlier, among others, and labels countries as free, partly-free and not free.

The freest country in 2024, Finland, had a score of 100. The U.S. has been sliding down the rankings, receiving a score of 83 in 2024  down from 94 in 2010. Its still solidly in the free category, but U.S. democracy looks less like Germanys and more like Romanias. The antidemocratic policy changes made in Texas and a handful of other states contribute to this slide.

Freedom House doesnt rank states, but if it did, Texas would likely still rate as a free democracy. There is space for dissent, opposition and free speech. Democratic politicians have occasional political victories.

But Texas is decidedly less democratic than the U.S. at large. Democracy here is not lost, but I fear Texas is in danger of becoming only partly-free.

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This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Katie Scofield, Texas A&M University-San Antonio

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Katie Scofield does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
A new study shows Vermont needs to build 7,000 new homes every year for the next 25 years  a total of 172,000 new homes  to keep up with demand and end its chronic housing shortage by 2050.

If that sounds daunting, it is.

The state's peak year for building homes was 4,800 in 1988. In 2023, building permits were issued for 2,456 homes statewide, an improvement over the historic low of 1,300 permits in 2011  but nowhere near the 7,000 new homes annually that are required, according to the study.

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"We have got to pick up the pace," Commissioner Alex Farrell of the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) said in a statement. "These targets reinforce what we already know: we are not adding new homes fast enough to meet current demand, let alone even modest growth."

Blakely Meadows in Colchester includes sidewalks throughout the development, as seen on May 17, 2024.

The study was done by DHCD in collaboration with the Vermont Association of Planning and Development Agencies (VAPDA) and the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA).

The challenge over the next five years is equally daunting

Looking out five years to 2030, the study finds that for Vermont to address its demographic challenge it needs to add 41,000 new rental and owner-occupied residences. That translates to 8,200 housing units per year for the next five years.

"As regional planners, we recognize that these statewide and regional numbers may be a lot for some municipalities to absorb," Devon Neary, executive director of the Rutland Regional Planning Commission, said in a statement. "We are committed to work with local cities and towns to help break the numbers down to achievable goals over time."

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Neary is also the VAPDA chair.

Slow rate of home development in the past 25 years hasn't kept pace with demand to live in Vermont

In its own study, Vermont Housing Needs Assessment for 2025-2029, VHFA gave a range of homes required by 2050 from 79,000 to 172,000, with the high end mirroring the number from the DHCD study. On a percentage basis, VHFA calculated that kind of growth in housing stock requires average annual pace of increase of 0.8-1.6%, which translates to between 3,160 and 6,880 homes per year.

Juniper House at Cambrian Rise has 70 affordable apartments for adults over 55 years old and was developed by Cathedral Square. As seen on Feb. 19, 2024.

By way of comparison, in the 10 years from 2010 to 2020, Vermont's housing stock increased by an average rate of 0.4%, which translates to 1,178 homes per year. Clearly, the goals for increased housing being laid out will require a revolution in homebuilding.

The VHFA study finds Vermont's housing deficit is defined by the following gaps:

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The slow rate of home development since 2000 has not kept pace with the demand to live in Vermont. The period from 2010-2020 had the slowest annual rate of home development in Vermont since 1950-1960. As a result, the housing stock in Vermont is amongst the oldest in the country, which has contributed to low vacancy rates and quick turnover of homes for both buyers and renters.

The shortage of housing stock is further compounded by the prevalence of seasonal and other secondary use homes in Vermont. These homes, many of which are not suitable for year-round use, have been a feature of Vermont's housing stock for decades; Vermont has been in the top 3 states for its percentage of housing stock used as seasonal homes since 1940. Today more than 15% of all homes in the state (about 50,000) are used as seasonal homes.

The 10th Cavalry Apartments at Fort Ethan Allen will cost $23.5 million to develop in a partnership between Evernorth and Champlain Housing Trust. As seen on June 5, 2024.

Vermont's population is the third oldest in the country. Older Vermonters who are staying in their homes after they retire have kept many homes out of the market for younger potential buyers. As a result, many homes are not being fully utilized  "under-occupied," according to the study  while the state's population continues to trend older.

After years of negligible net migration into the state, the rate of in-migration to the state increased substantially during 2021 and 2022 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This increase, while modest in overall number, was likely enough to influence the already precarious housing market. Vermont home prices and rents have increased at a higher rate since 2020 than in the five years before the pandemic.

Contact Dan DAmbrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosi@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont faces daunting task to keep up with housing demand, study shows
Religion could take on a more prominent role in publicly funded education after this Supreme Court term.

On Friday, the justices said that they would consider a bid for the countrys first publicly funded religious charter school, in Oklahoma. A week earlier, the court had said that it would hear an appeal from Maryland parents seeking the right to keep their children from reading LGBTQ-themed books.

In both cases, religious groups successfully petitioned the justices despite warnings that crediting their legal claims would break new ground.

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To be sure, the court has already favored First Amendment religious arguments in recent years. Doing so in these new cases wouldnt be a new phenomenon. The question is how much further the court might go in this area.

In the Oklahoma case, the petition from lawyers with the Alliance Defending Freedom cited recent high court rulings bolstering First Amendment claims of free exercise of religion. Opposing their petition, the states Republican attorney general distinguished those rulings by writing that they were about state subsidization of tuition at existing private religious schools, not state establishment of new public religious schools.

Responding to the Supreme Courts taking of the Oklahoma case, the American Civil Liberties Union and others said in a statement: Converting public schools into Sunday schools would be a dangerous sea change for our democracy.

Notably, Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case. The order granting review didnt explain why the court will be without the Trump appointee, who has been in the majority in divided religion rulings. But if the case is headed for another partisan split on the court with six Republican appointees and three Democratic appointees, the rest of the majority may have figured it can afford to lose one vote. It takes four justices to grant review.

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The court has a full set of justices for the Maryland case, Mahmoud v. Taylor. Citing similar First Amendment precedents, parents of elementary school students say their rights are burdened through their childrens forced participation in certain instruction on gender and sexuality without parental notice or the chance to opt out.

School officials, meanwhile, say that the parents are trying to unsettle a decades-old consensus that parents who choose to send their children to public school are not deprived of their right to freely exercise their religion simply because their children are exposed to curricular materials the parents find offensive.

Of course, the Dobbs case and other recent appeals have shown that a majority of the court can change how the law is interpreted if it chooses to. Once again, we wait to see what the court will do.

Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for expert analysis on the top legal stories of the week, including updates from the Supreme Court and developments in Donald Trumps legal cases.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
The Supreme Court on Monday said it will not consider whether a Mississippi law banning people convicted of certain felonies from voting should be overturned.

The Jim Crow-era practice extends to people convicted of nonviolent crimes, including perjury and forgery. A group of disenfranchised Mississippians asked the justices to determine whether it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, which is barred under federal law.

Its the second time in recent years the high court has been asked to overturn the states voting ban for some felonies, though the cases used different legal arguments. The justices also rejected the 2023 attempt.

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Attorneys for the disenfranchised voters called the states harsh and unforgiving practice, which is enshrined in its constitution, a national outlier.

A citizen convicted in a Mississippi state court of a disenfranchising felony permanently loses the right to vote in the state, no matter how minor the underlying crime or how long the citizen may live after sentence completion, they wrote in their petition to the court.

The practice was codified in the states 1890 constitution as part of early Jim Crow provisions attempting to limit the rights of Black residents. The disenfranchised plaintiffs attorneys said about 58 percent of those convicted of disenfranchising offenses between 1994 and 2017, who have completed their sentences, are Black.

The 2023 appeal, which the Supreme Court rejected, contended that those who authored Mississippis constitution showed racist intent when selecting the felonies that would cause people to lose the right to vote. A lower court found Mississippi remedied the underlying discrimination by later altering which crimes are disenfranchising.

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In the latest appeal, the justices were asked to reverse the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel on the appeals court deemed the provision illegal, but the full court reinstated it.

Last term, a majority of the justices rejected arguments over cruel and unusual punishment in a separate case by finding that local laws prohibiting homeless people from sleeping on public property do not violate the 8th Amendment.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Donald Trump is now the 47th president of the United States. Compared to the horrible things that will happen in America over (at least) the next four years, the weeks between Election Day and his inauguration may be remembered as the good times.

I tried to enjoy that reprieve while it lasted. It was not all that successful. The shadow of Jan. 20, and the cruel coincidence that it fell this year on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s remembrance day, hung over us all. King was among American history's great defenders of democracy and human rights; Trump is a committed enemy of those values.

Millions of Americans who voted for Kamala Harris, and who believe in American democracy and the common good, remain collectively stuck in the various stages of grief. That grief is made even more painful by the fact that tens of millions of other Americans are jubilant at Trumps return to the White House and his vows of revenge against the enemy within as part making America "great again. Most people who voted for Trump under the mistaken belief that he would improve their lives and restore the nation have no experience living under autocratic or authoritarian regimes. They perhaps voted to shake things up and believed they were supporting a leader who will "break the rules to get things done. That will turn out to be a Faustian bargain. While the MAGA are likely to feast on the proverbial fat of the land, the rank and file will be feasted upon like everyone else.

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A colleague recently observed to me that journalist and other public voices who have tried to warn the American people during this time of crisis are something like homicide detectives, who must document and investigates terrible events with little power to control or prevent them. It is grinding and emotionally difficult work that often feels futile and can lead to PTSD, substance abuse and mental health issues.

Considered in the aggregate, America's public mood is negative, anxious and discontented. Public opinion polls consistently show that a majority of Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, and that its best days are behind it. Most Americans lack faith that government can solve problems or improve their lives, and have little confidence in democracy or its institutions. A new Economist/YouGov poll suggests that Americans are evenly split on Trump's return to power, with 47 percent reporting that they are "either enthusiastic (31%) or satisfied but not enthusiastic (16%) about the next four years with Trump as president" and 45 percent saying they are "either upset (31%) or dissatisfied but not upset (13%)."

In many ways, this crisis of democracy is also a crisis of the collective life force, meaning the sense of purpose and the drive to lead a meaningful life. This weakening or maladapted life force can negatively Impact both an individual's internal life and their relationship(s) with other people and the larger society. When a society's collective life force turns negative in this way, that helps to spawn authoritarians, demagogues and other kinds of toxic and antisocial leaders and movements.

The American people are under systematic assault from disinformation, misinformation and propaganda, including conspiracy theories, often spread by malign actors who have successfully undermined the publics ability to engage in what psychologists describe as reality testing. Many Americans also exhibit a systematic form of negativity bias, consistently telling public-opinion pollsters and researchers that the country is generally worse than it actually is on issues like crime, immigration and the economy. This negativity bias is especially acute among Trump followers and right-wing evangelical Christians, who truly believe America is under attack by demonic forces and must face a spiritual war with Donald Trump as its champion.

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I have been reading comment sections on a wide range of news, politics and general interest websites, as well as on forums focused on such subjects as health care and chronic illness, psychology and mental health, disability issues, money and finance, labor and economics, and aging. What I have encountered is widespread fear among ordinary people who are trying to survive financial precarity and avoid total household collapse and homelessness. Many fear the loss of social safety-net benefits and are concerned they will not be able to afford prescription drugs and medical care. They fear the loss of reproductive rights and the end of the Affordable Care Act. They fear extortionate student-loan payments and the rise of hate crimes and political violence. In other words, they are afraid of suffering life-altering harm from the Trump administration's plans and policies.

Dr. Gail Christopher, a public health expert, shared this personal account in an essay for Washington Monthly:

This autumn, I stopped by a local nonprofit run by a friend who helps refugees, immigrants, and formerly incarcerated victims of abuse get jobs that can transform their lives. I was there to donate, and when I found my friend distressed, I asked why he was so down. He had recently lost his dog of 14 years. Then, days later, his mother passed. I embraced him, expressing my condolences. As we embraced, he said, "And then my country died." He referred to the election, which put one party in charge of the White House, Senate, and House. And in that moment, I realized that perhaps half of the nations voting population is grieving what they perceive to be the death of their country.

Many reports suggest an increase in people seeking therapy and counseling. Mental health professionals are also seeking help for their own heightened anxiety and emotional challenges in the aftermath of the presidential election and the heightened demand for their services. Crisis lines have seen an increase in callers, as the Seattle Times reported in November:

[E]lection night clearly raised anxieties and fears for many Americans. In Washington, operators of some regional crisis lines say they saw a spike in calls in the days after Nov. 5, with the majority of callers expressing worry about the potential impacts of the election. While an increase in calls cant explicitly be tied to any one event, operators say many of the calls theyre taking are related to Trumps promises to roll back rights for transgender Americans and conduct mass deportations of large numbers of undocumented immigrants. Crisis Connections, which operates hotlines including 988 in King County, saw a 9% increase in calls the week after the election, compared to call volume in the month before. ... Izzy Engberg, a clinician who answers calls for Volunteers of America, said nearly every single call on Nov. 6 was related to the election. A lot of people were calling in crisis about that. They were overwhelmed, having anxiety about their families, how this will relate to them in the future, Engberg said. Nationally, crisis lines have seen even larger spikes in calls from LGBTQ+ youth with concerns about the new administration.

For Rolling Stone, Elizabeth Yuko spoke with mental health professionals about the phenomenon of "political grief":

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Keep in mind that if youre mourning the outcome of the election, youre not alone. It can be helpful to identify and acknowledge the ongoing collective grief a large part of the country is experiencing, says Raquel Martin, PhD, a clinical psychologist specializing in community-related and liberation psychology. We experience traumatic events together, and this [election] result definitely brought fears and hurt and memories of what was previously, and concerns about it only being worse, Martin tells Rolling Stone. Collective grief is understandable when you feel as though you put your all into something and you see an outcome that is incredibly scary for you. In fact, theres an even more specific term for what were going through. Political grief is a very real thing, says Melissa Flint, PsyD, a professor of clinical psychology at Midwestern University Glendale, noting that it occurs on both individual and collective bases. When one struggles with a particular ideology held by those in political power, there is grief.

Political grief, that article continues, also reflects the feeling that your worldview or political beliefs  what we think is right vs. wrong, or morally valid  is under attack." An individual "may be mourning potential losses of [their] own rights and economic stability, as well as worried about the impact it might have on reproductive rights and public health." Such grief can also "involve the fracturing of relationships as a result of ideological disagreements or grappling with your identity if your values are at odds with the rest of your community."

Darcy Harris, a psychology professor at King's University College in Ontario, Canada, describes the root of political grief as "a sense of despair due to the loss of predictability and safety in governmental structures. It seems clear, as a recent report from the American Psychological Association suggests, that America is suffering from "collective stress," which it defines as a significant public health problem. Long-term stress, fueled by the COVID pandemic and political division, "has had a significant impact on well-being, evidenced by an increase in chronic illnesses  especially among those between the ages of 35 and 44, which increased from 48% reported in 2019 to 58% in 2023." That population also experienced a rapid increase in mental health diagnoses, as did adults aged 18 to 34.

Psychological science has revealed that long-term stress creates risks for a variety of mental health challenges, may make us feel more sensitive even to daily hassles, can have broader impacts on our general life outlook and goals, and affects the bodys physiological response to stressors in ways that have notable implications for our physical health. Coping with long-term stress requires a different set of skills than adjusting to temporary stressors. Stress puts the body on high alert and ongoing stress can accumulate, causing inflammation, wearing on the immune system, and increasing the risk of a host of ailments, including digestive issues, heart disease, weight gain, and stroke.

This experience of collective stress exists in conflict with an American society that worships individualism. Many Americans, therefore, are reluctant or unable to consider how their experiences and personal challenges reflect larger dynamics and power relationships. They may instead internalize this stress and subsume the political into the personal in a manner that isolates them further, rather than bringing them together in a more healthy communitarian fashion with the goal of solving shared political and social problems.

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Like other demagogues and right-wing populists, Trump is highly skilled at manipulating the emotional pain, anxiety and other negative emotions of his followers and the larger public. At least in the short term, his followers feel seen, acknowledged and validated, which was a huge advantage in the 2024 election. Democrats will need to learn that kind of emotional language to counteract Trumpism and this era of populist rage.

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In an interview with the Guardian, disability advocate Alice Wong offered this advice on navigating, surviving and successfully resisting the bad times now upon us:

Im scared, like millions of marginalized people who know exactly who Trump is and what he stands for. Strangely, Im not as panicked as I was in 2016, but I know he will unleash great harm in his second administration. All I know is that networks of mutual aid and community care will continue and require additional support and infrastructure. I feel despondent and overwhelmed by the political situation often, but then I remind myself this is by design, that those in power want to erode our resolve and [for us to] give up. Doing activism is neither linear or smooth and in times of frustration or exhaustion I tap into my memories of injustice. I remind myself of why I am doing what I am doing and this sustains me. Anger transforms into a battery charger that gives me a boost when its sorely needed.

Americans of conscience who wish to redeem and renew democracy must harness their distress and anxiety and use it to recharge their batteries, as Wong suggests. Inaction and learned helplessness are an unacceptable choice. The only way through this disaster is forward.
Polish President Andrzej Duda remembered the victims of the Nazis at the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial site, as commemorations got under way on Monday to mark 80 years since the death camp was liberated towards the end of World War II.

"We Poles, on whose land occupied by Nazi Germany this extermination industry and this concentration camp were built, are today the guardians of memory," Duda said.

At the start of the ceremony, Duda laid a wreath at the Death Wall, accompanied by former prisoners.

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Thousands of prisoners were shot in front of the wall by Nazi SS soldiers.

Survivors lead ceremonies

More than 50 former prisoners from Auschwitz-Birkenau and other camps are taking part in the ceremonies. Four of them are to give a main speech in the afternoon.

Given their advanced age, it may be one of the last large ceremonies at which survivors can take part.

Delegations from 55 countries are attending the commemoration. Germany is represented by its two top politicians, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

A 91-year-old survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, Pavel Taussig, is one of those accompanying Scholz and Steinmeier to the ceremonies.

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Taussig was deported by Nazi German forces from Slovakia to the Auschwitz camp in German-occupied Poland in 1944, shortly before his 11th birthday.

He survived Auschwitz and a forced death march to the Mauthausen camp in Austria, where he was freed by advancing US soldiers in May 1945.

Taussig, whose tattooed prisoner number is still clearly visible on his left forearm, said that he is only "grudgingly" returning to Auschwitz, "but I think it's my duty."

Warning over 'populism and demagoguery'

On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops liberated the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, located in modern-day Oswiecim, Poland.

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The Nazis had murdered more than 1 million people there, predominantly Jews.

Since 1996, this date has been observed in Germany as Holocaust Memorial Day and in 2005 the United Nations declared the date an international day of remembrance.

Piotr Cywinski, head of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, said he expected the speakers to also address current issues in their speeches.

"With the phenomenal increase of populism, demagoguery and informational chaos these days, we need firm and clear points of reference, and their experiences are part of this," Cywinski told the Polish Press Agency.

Message from Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron called for the fight against anti-Semitism to continue during a visit to the Holocaust Memorial in Paris on Monday.

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"We will not give in to anti-Semitism in all its forms," Macron wrote in the guest book, before leaving to attend a large commemoration event at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

"Let us never forget the millions of victims of the Shoah," Macron said. "Let us fight tirelessly against anti-Semitism and hatred in the name of all those who perished. Let us be the memory of their memory," he said.

Survivors and relatives place candles at the Wall of Death in memory of the victims during a ceremony at the former German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the camp's liberation. Delegations from over 40 countries are expected to attend the solemn ceremony, honoring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Beata Zawrzel/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Survivors and relatives place candles at the Wall of Death in memory of the victims during a ceremony at the former German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the camp's liberation. Delegations from over 40 countries are expected to attend the solemn ceremony, honoring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Oana Jaroslav/CTK/dpa

Polish President Andrzej Duda answers questions from journalists during the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the former German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Delegations from over 40 countries are expected to attend the solemn ceremony, honoring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Beata Zawrzel/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Polish President Andrzej Duda answers questions from journalists during the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the former German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Delegations from over 40 countries are expected to attend the solemn ceremony, honoring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Oana Jaroslav/CTK/dpa

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A suspect is in custody for the November deadly shooting of 37-year-old Jentre Demarkus Parker-White in Merriam, Kansas.

Larry Gunzenhauser was arrested by Merriam police on Thursday, Jan. 23, and has been charged with second-degree murder, according to the Johnson County District Attorneys Office.

Overnight fire leaves home destroyed in Overland Park

Mugshot of Larry Gunzenhauser, courtesy of Johnson County, Kansas Sheriffs Office

On Nov. 22, 2024, Merriam police responded to a shooting call in the area of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Eby Avenue.

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Officers then responded to a crash about a half-mile north at Slater Street and Johnson Drive. Officers learned the crash was related to the incident where the shots were fired.

The driver of a vehicle involved in the crash, later identified as Parker-White, had gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

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According to the Johnson County Sheriffs Office, Gunzenhauser is being held on a $500,000 cash bond.

Gunzenhauser made his first court appearance on Friday, Jan. 24.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  A suspect wanted in connection with last Thursdays multi-agency search after detectives were shot at in Springfield was arrested.

At around 7 p.m. on Thursday, detectives in an unmarked cruiser were monitoring the 0-100 block of Fernald Street when two people walked out of a home and began shooting at the cruiser. No officers were injured however, the vehicle was struck by gunfire.

The suspects left in a truck and detectives lost sight of it. Another vehicle, reportedly stolen, was being observed in connection with the home on Fernald Street. The driver of this car evaded police at a high rate of speed before it crashed on Grayson Drive near Fox Road. The individuals inside the vehicle escaped on foot into the woods, prompting a large-scale search.

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Springfield police cruiser hit by gunfire, suspects arrested following chase

For nearly two hours, Springfield Police utilized K9s, a drone, and were assisted by the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing to search the North Branch Parkway area. Multiple suspects were detained and arrested, but officers continued to search for additional individuals believed to be involved.

Christopher OBara

(Springfield Police Department)

A suspect who was inside the vehicle when it crashed on Grayson Drive, 18-year-old Christopher OBara of Springfield, was found at a home on Lancaster Street at around 11:30 p.m. Thursday. A search warrant for the home was conducted and detectives seized a large-capacity firearm, shell casings, and loose ammunition, more than 30 keys or key fobs that are suspected to be stolen, a license plate that had been reported stolen, and other documents that were reported stolen.

OBara was arrested and charged with the following:

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Possession of a Firearm without a License

Possession of Ammunition without an FID Card

Possession of a High-Capacity Magazine/Feeding Device

Improper Storage of a Firearm

Receiving Stolen Property Less than $1200 (Three Counts)

Damian Scott

Damian Scott (Springfield Police Department)

On Saturday, an officer recognized the suspected driver who crashed on Grayson Drive at Mercy Medical Center. At around noon, officers arrested 20-year-old Damian Scott on the 200 block of Carew Street.

Police records show Scott had four outstanding warrants in connection with auto thefts in addition to a warrant for cocaine trafficking. He was a suspect in numerous car thefts and has a long history of evading police during attempts to apprehend him, police say.

Scott is charged with the following:

Receiving a Stolen Motor Vehicle

Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle

Arrest Warrant

 Receiving a Stolen Motor Vehicle

Arrest Warrant

 Receiving a Stolen Motor Vehicle

 Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Suspended License

 Failure to Stop for Police

 Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle

Arrest Warrant

 Receiving a Stolen Motor Vehicle

Arrest Warrant

 Violation of an Abuse Prevention Order

Default Warrant

 Conspiracy to Violate Drug Law

 Trafficking Cocaine 100-200 Grams

Default Warrant

 Failure to Stop for Police

 Receiving a Stolen Motor Vehicle

 Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Suspended License

Howard Singletary

Howard Singletary (Springfield Police Department)

A search warrant was conducted at the home on Fernald Street, which led to the seizure of a second firearm. A man inside the home during the search, 63-year-old Howard Singletary, was arrested for active warrants.

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Arrest Warrant

 Assault with a Dangerous Weapon

 Malicious Destruction of Property Less than $1200

At this time, no new information has been released on the suspects who fired the shots at the detectives vehicle and left in a truck that evaded police.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP.
By Andrea Mandala and Giulia Segreti

MILAN/ROME (Reuters) -The discount to market prices represented by Monte dei Paschi's bid (MPS) for Mediobanca widened further on Monday, signalling deepening investor doubts over the bailed out Tuscan bank's offer for a bigger rival.

On Friday, the state-backed lender launched a surprise 13.3 billion euro all-share ($13.9 billion) buyout bid for Mediobanca, whose board meets on Tuesday to start reviewing the offer.

Based on Italian rules, the board will be able to give formal advice to shareholders only once the bid's prospectus is public, in a few months' time.

For now, the board is expected to give the cold shoulder to an unsolicited offer which values Mediobanca some 1.5 billion euros below its current market capitalisation.

In a letter to employees at the weekend, Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel said the offer had not been previously agreed and the bank would decide how to best protect the interests of its stakeholders.

Shares in MPS, which has returned to profits and dividends after a bailout in 2017, fell 1.6% by 1615 GMT, extending a 7% drop on Friday.

MPS is offering 23 of its own shares for every 10 Mediobanca shares tendered.

Mediobanca shares were up fractionally by 0.3% after Friday's 7.7% jump. Italy's banking index rose 0.3%.

MPS' proposed takeover, the latest move in a wave of consolidation in the Italian banking sector, was welcomed by Italy's conservative government but it has left analysts concerned about the limited scope for cost savings, and the ability to retain Mediobanca investment bankers.

"The deal was the least predictable among Italian banks given the different business models of the two banks," HSBC said in a note.

GOVERNMENT ENDORSEMENT

MPS CEO Luigi Lovaglio, a veteran banker for decades at UniCredit, has said the idea was to combine MPS' branch franchise with Mediobanca products, while preserving both brands and running Mediobanca's investment banking business separately.

Mediobanca's operations include wealth management and consumer finance. On the latter it already partners with MPS.

The government, which still owns 11.7% of MPS, has endorsed the offer and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Sunday said everyone should be proud of MPS' turnaround.

"If the deal is successful, we will have that third major banking group [after Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit] which we always spoke about, a group that could help to protect Italians' savings," she said.

Meloni's government had been working on returning MPS to the private sector, after a previous collapsed sale of MPS to UniCredit in 2021.
Police in South Fulton are asking for the publics help in identifying a suspected package thief.

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The incident happened on Thursday, just before 8 p.m., along Cherry Branch Lane.

South Fulton police said the suspect was seen on video removing Amazon packages from the porch of the home.

Anyone who recognizes the suspect is urged to contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 470-809-7300 or via email.

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On Saturday morning, Thurston County deputies chased a suspect in a stolen car reaching speeds over 100 mph.

Shortly after deputies were told of a stolen SUV in the Grand Mound area, a deputy spotted the stolen SUV running a red light in Tumwater.

A deputy assigned to the Traffic Unit pulled the SUV over and asked the driver to get out.

A moment later the driver opened the door slightly before shutting the door and driving away.

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The driver then got on I-5 South, where deputies said he reached over 100 mph.

Deputies said the driver exited the interstate at Maytown Road and continued to run at speed into the 80s.

After the road was clear a deputy performed the PIT maneuver but the driver recovered and continued to run.

Another deputy used their grapple to disable the SUV but was unsuccessful because it got damaged.

A second PIT maneuver was completed and the SUV was pinned.

According to the sheriff, the driver got out of the SUV and began drinking vodka from a bottle and ignoring the deputys commands to surrender.

With K9 in hand, deputies warned the suspect to lie on the ground.

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The suspect then throws the bottle across the road and lays on the ground.

Deputies arrested the suspect, who turned out to be a person TCSO chased in October 2024 and had recently been released from prison.

The passenger told deputies that the suspect was drinking from the bottle of vodka during the chase.

The suspect was booked into Thurston County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence, attempting to elude a pursuing police car and driving with a suspended license.

The suspect was also cited for running a red light, public intoxication and littering.

In a Facebook post, Sheriff Sanders wrote:

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If the state has any interest in curbing high speed chases, abysmal auto theft rates, and record high traffic fatalities, we may want to consider moving away from our current practice that enables these individuals to continuously reoffend until they eventually kill someone. Unfortunately, most of the conversations occurring in the legislature right now are centered around lowering sentencing penalties and encouraging criminals to engage in dangerous behavior that put us all at risk of serious bodily harm and death.

Watch the video below. WARNING EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
A key suspect wanted in connection with human trafficking and telecoms fraud cases - including that of Chinese actor Wang Xing - has been arrested and sent to China, Beijing's Ministry of Public Security said in a statement posted on its website on Sunday.

The man, a Chinese national identified earlier by mainland media as Yan Wenlei, arrived in China on Saturday night after joint efforts from the ministry, the Chinese embassy in Thailand and Thai law enforcement authorities, the ministry said.

It did not say where the suspect had been arrested.

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"The public security authorities are doing their utmost to investigate the case," the ministry statement said.

A Chinese national wanted for human trafficking and telecoms fraud has been arrested and returned to the mainland, China's Ministry of Public Security said. Photo: Weibo alt=A Chinese national wanted for human trafficking and telecoms fraud has been arrested and returned to the mainland, China's Ministry of Public Security said. Photo: Weibo>

Over the past month, Yan, known on social media as "Yan Shiliu", had been posting recruitment advertisements in WeChat groups for actors, models and production crew members for work in Thailand, according to the ministry.

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Wang has said that he responded to one such advertisement and reached out to Yan, who had posed as an associate director.

Wang, 22, has told authorities that he flew to Thailand earlier this month expecting to take part in a film shoot. Soon after he arrived, he said he was transported across the Thai border into Myanmar to a compound known as "Apollo" park and other online scam farms in Myawaddy, a city notorious as a fraud hub.

Wang's ordeal caused a public outcry after his girlfriend posted on social media that he was missing. The campaign drew widespread attention to the case. Wang was later rescued and returned to China.

"The public security authorities will ... make every effort to apprehend suspected criminals ... [and] compress the space for cross-border crime to the maximum extent possible," the ministry said in its statement.

The high-profile rescue of Chinese actor Wang Xing has put the plight of thousands trapped in scam compounds in focus. Photo: Facebook alt=The high-profile rescue of Chinese actor Wang Xing has put the plight of thousands trapped in scam compounds in focus. Photo: Facebook>

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Wang's traumatic experience has sparked a flood of reports on Chinese social media about similar cases, with many users claiming their friends and relatives have also disappeared near Myanmar's border after being tricked into travelling to Thailand.

In a joint effort earlier this month, Chinese and Thai police detained 12 members of a crime ring that they believe Yan is a member of. The gang has been accused of kidnapping six victims and trafficking them to Myanmar as part of an employment and telecoms scam, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Other victims have included a model and a lighting engineer, according to Xinhua.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi this month urged "relevant countries" to take responsibility and step up enforcement to crack down on telecoms crimes.

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Telecoms fraud and kidnapping cases have sent shock waves through Thailand's tourism industry, and the country is scrambling to ease safety concerns among visitors from China.

Last week, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra used an AI-generated video to assure Chinese tourists that her country was improving safety.

The Thai government has come under increasing pressure to tweak its visa-free policy for Chinese visitors to combat transnational crime rings run by mainlanders to protect the tourism-dependent kingdom's image.

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  2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
(Bloomberg) -- Sweden detained a vessel suspected of damaging a subsea data cable connecting it with Latvia, the third such incident in the Baltic Sea in the past three months.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Security Service said its conducting a preliminary investigation into the crime that is classified as aggravated sabotage, according to a statement late on Sunday. The authority also said the incident which happened early that day, may at least partly be directed against Swedish interests.

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One of the anchors of bulk carrier Vezhen dragged on the seabed due to strong winds, according to Alexander Kalchev, director of the Navigation Maritime Bulgare, which owns the ship. Speaking at a news conference in Varna, Bulgaria, on Monday, he denied any intentional action by the crew.

Its possible that the ship caused this interruption of the cable, but by no means can I assume any sabotage or other action by our crew, Kalchev said. Were expecting an inspection of the ship by investigators who should discover the reasons and whether we are the perpetrator, this is yet to be proved.

The episode is the latest in a spate of similar incidents in the Baltic Sea. In December, an oil tanker linked to Russias so-called shadow fleet was suspected of damaging undersea links with a loose anchor. A month earlier, a Chinese ship was implicated in separate incident.

Why Subsea Cables Are a Tempting Target for Saboteurs: QuickTake

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While sabotage has not been established in any of the incidents, numerous policymakers have raised the prospect of intentional, malicious activity.

Theres too many of them to call them accidents, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said in Brussels. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock echoed his words.

More damaged cables, this cant all be a coincidence, she said. Again and again jammed GPS signals, critical infrastructure that is being spied on with drones. We are working together even more with the European Union and NATO to recognize the dangers and repel them.

Last week, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said focusing on the perpetrator and intent is less important than being able to prevent such damage.

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The bottom line is it doesnt really matter who does it, Stubb said on Bloomberg TV.

Swedens Security Service said its taking a number measures under the investigation and is working closely with several other authorities including the coast guard, the armed forces and the police. The Scandinavian countrys authorities have been onboard the vessel since Sunday evening, the coast guard said.

In response, Nordic leaders met on Sunday night for dinner at Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksens home to discuss the events. Present were Stubb, Swedens Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

The ship, sailing under the flag of Malta, initially didnt allow its crew to go out on the deck during the night to check on its anchor due to the bad weather, Kalchev said by phone. The ship was headed for South America, with a crew from Bulgaria and Myanmar, carrying fertilizers, he said.

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Since the December damage to a key power link between Finland and Estonia, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization increased its military presence in the sea in an operation called the Baltic Sentry. Frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a small fleet of naval drones will seek to protect critical undersea infrastructure and respond if required, the alliance said on Jan. 14.

The recurring incidents may have wider implications with undersea infrastructure in the North Sea also vulnerable, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski warned.

Key underwater assets are being destroyed through novel methods using ships registered in tax havens and the law of the sea seems to be inadequate to deal with it, he said, adding that this is clearly an increasingly important part of the hybrid assault on the west by hostile agents and we should draw conclusions.

--With assistance from Milda Seputyte, Aaron Eglitis, Thomas Hall, Christian Wienberg and Andrea Palasciano.

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(Updates with comments from Polish foreign minister from 15th paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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By Johan Ahlander and Anna Ringstrom

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish authorities boarded a Maltese-flagged ship seized in connection with the latest breach of cables running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to begin an investigation into the matter, the country's security police said on Monday.

"We can confirm that persons from Swedish authorities have been on board the vessel to carry out investigative measures," Swedish Security Services spokesperson Johan Wikstrom said.

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He declined to comment further on the investigation.

The undersea cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged early on Sunday in Sweden's exclusive economic zone, likely as a result of external influence, Latvia said. That prompted NATO to deploy patrol ships to the area and triggered a sabotage investigation by Swedish authorities.

A Swedish prosecutor ordered the seizing of a ship as part of the investigation.

MarineTraffic data showed that a coastguard vessel escorted the bulk carrier Vezhen to Swedish waters on Sunday where it later anchored. The Vezhen, which Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare listed among its fleet, passed the fibre optic cable at 0045 GMT on Sunday.

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The head of the Bulgarian company, Captain Aleksandar Kalchev, said the Vezhen might have struck the Baltic undersea cable that was damaged on Sunday. He said one of the ship's anchors dropped to the seabed in high winds and that there was no malicious intent.

"They (the crew) have been instructed to assist authorities and the situation never escalated and it is calm at the moment," he told Reuters, adding the crew had been initially held at gunpoint.

A spokesperson from Sweden's Meteorological and Hydrological Institute said there were winds of about 8-10 metres per second outside Gotland in the early hours of Sunday.

"That's not very strong wind. It's well below the 14 metres per second that is the threshold for a gale warning," the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that waves were not very high either.

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Television footage from Sweden's TV4 showed the Vezhen anchored some 10 km (6 miles) south of the naval base in Karlskrona, in southern Sweden. Images showed that it appeared to have a damaged anchor.

A Swedish coast guard spokesperson said the seized ship is anchored south of Aspo island near Karlskrona, and that coast guard staff have been onboard the ship investigating since Sunday evening.

The Latvian navy said on Sunday that three ships were subject to investigation.

NATO said last week it would deploy frigates, patrol aircraft and naval drones in the Baltic Sea to help protect critical infrastructure and reserved the right to take action against ships suspected of posing a security threat.

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Finnish police last month seized a tanker carrying Russian oil and said they suspected the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed.

"I don't believe in coincidences when it comes to frequent cases of damage to underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea," Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a post on social media X after the latest cable rupture.

(Reporting by Johan Ahlander and Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm, Georgi Slavov in Sofia, and Edward McAllister in Athens; additional reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo; writing by Niklas Pollard; editing by Bernadette Baum and Sharon Singleton, Kirsten Donovan)
Swedish prosecutors announced an investigation into a ship suspected of damaging undersea cables after it was detained by the Swedish Coast Guard, the AP news agency reported on Jan. 27.

According to information obtained by the AP from a ship-tracker software, the Malta-flagged Vezhen departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga several days earlier and was navigating near the site of damage.

An underwater fiber-optic cable belonging to the Latvian State Radio and Television Broadcasting Center (LVRTC) was significantly damaged on Jan. 26, reportedly due to external impact, according to LVRTC representative Vineta Sprugaine.

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The accident came as the latest amid a series of incidents that have damaged critical cables in the Baltic Sea.

The cable connected the Latvian town of Ventspils to Sweden's Gotland island and was located within Sweden's exclusive economic zone, the statement said.

Despite the damage, data transmission services continued using alternate routes, with minimal impact on most end users in Latvia aside from slower data transmission speeds.

The previous instances of damaged cables had raised fears that Russian shadow fleet vessels were intentionally sabotaging the energy and communication lines. As a result, NATO dispatched additional patrol ships to the area earlier this month.

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Contradicting these concerns, intelligence services in the U.S. and Europe are increasingly convinced that the incidents were caused by accidents, the Washington Post reported on Jan. 19.

Read also: Sweden to increase military presence in Baltic Sea following suspected cable sabotage

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Tabitha Brown is speaking out about those calling for a boycott of Target after the retailer announced it will be scaling back its diversity, equity and inclusion program, also known as DEI.

The actress and social media phenomenon has been in a partnership with the Minneapolis-based retailer since 2022. Her line consists of home goods, food items, clothing, haircare and more.

Target latest company to roll back DEI programs

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As disheartening as it is for me, Im not the only one affected by this, she said in the nearly 10-minute video on Instagram. Its for everyone who is a woman-owned business, minority-owned businesses, Black-owned businesses. Its for so many of us who have worked so very hard to be placed into retail, to finally be seen and (have) proof of retail because, contrary to whatever the world might tell you, it has been very hard for Black-owned businesses to hit shelves. Which is why its such a big deal when we do, and finally land inside of retail. So, it is definitely heartbreaking to feel unsupported.

Tabitha Brown, Actress & Emmy Award-winning Host poses for a photo backstage during 2024 Texas Conference for Women at Austin Convention Center on Oct. 2, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Texas Conference for Women)

Last week, Target told employees that its ending a five-year program meant to help Black families build meaningful careers and improve the experience of Black shoppers. Target also said it wont renew the DEI goals it normally sets every three years.

The move has sparked backlash.

Katy Perry bringing The Lifetimes Tour to Southern California

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Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, has now called for a 24-hour shop out boycott of Target over its DEI announcement.

While Brown says she understands the boycott, she pointed out how it could affect the progress made by the brands that were finally seen because of exposure at Target.

So many of us would be affected, Brown explained Our sales would drop and our businesses would be hurt, and if any of you know business, it doesnt just happen overnight, where you can just go, take all your stuff and pull it off the shelves. Theres a process. And then, where are you going to put it? Youve got to have a place to store it, and thats money. Then youve go to have another place to sell it, which is almost impossible sometimes. And even if you sell online, its a process when it comes to business. And everyone does not have the funds or the means or the availability or the space to house their own products.

The thing that concerns me the most, and I want you to hear me and hear me well, if we all decide to stop supporting said businesses and say, I cant buy nothing from there, even the businesses affected by the DEI ban, what that does is you take all of our sales and they dwindle down and then that company gets to say, Oh your products arent performing, and they can remove them from the shelves and then put their preferred businesses on the shelves.

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Targets decision comes just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order for all DEI programs in the federal government to end. Several others like Walmart, McDonalds, Amazon and Meta, have announced theyre also rolling back their diversity initiatives.

Brown noted in her video that she also has deals with Amazon and Walmart.

The New York Times bestselling author explained that her brand is under contract with Target for another year and plans to reassess her involvement when it ends.

Some other major companies like Targets rival Costco, Apple and JP Morgan say they have no plans to end their DEI programs.

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By Valentina Za, Gianluca Semeraro and Mathieu Rosemain

MILAN (Reuters) -Monte dei Paschi (MPS) CEO Luigi Lovaglio has pulled several all-nighters since arriving in Siena in early 2022, when Italy's Treasury picked him out to revive the fortunes of the world's oldest bank, five years after bailing it out.

Back in October 2022 he worked through the night to pull off a share sale, as MPS's seventh cash call in 14 years sparked last-minute panic among banks underwriting it. MPS struggled to sell shares at 2 euros each back then.

MPS stock traded at 7 euros this week when Lovaglio and his finance chief Andrea Maffezzoni have emerged from two all-nighters that ended in them launching a 13.3 billion euro ($14 billion) all-share takeover bid for larger rival Mediobanca, Italy's historic investment bank.

More than 10 billion euros in cash between 2017 and 2022 have allowed MPS to clean up its balance sheet in time for the bank to seize the profit boost from higher rates and jump on the consolidation train racing through the Italian sector.

MPS, which once threatened to spread contagion across the industry, is bidding for a bank that for decades held sway over Italy's financial arena.

Lovaglio, 69, appeared conscious of his bold move and sought to strike a conciliatory tone on Friday.

"We don't want to take any action that can in some way make weaker the powerful organisation that Mediobanca is," he told analysts.

THE ODD COUPLE

Analysts fretted "the odd couple" of Mediobanca and MPS had in common little more than two significant shareholders: Delfin, the holding company of late billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio, and fellow tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone.

International funds have piled into MPS over the past two years as the Treasury cut its stake to 11.7% from 68%. The surprise bid sparked a sell-off, with MPS shares closing down 7%.

A person involved in the deal said advisers UBS and JPMorgan would set to work to explain the deal to investors and dispel concerns it could just reflect the shareholders' secret agenda.

Delfin and Caltagirone also own stakes in Italian insurer Generali, and have for years accused Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel of relying excessively on income from Mediobanca's stake in Generali.

Delfin and Caltagirone this week opposed Generali's asset management tie-up with France's Natixis Investment Managers.

They found an ally in the government, which is concerned about savings shifting outside of Italy.

At the same time, the government's resolve to help build a third big banking group in Italy to rival Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit strengthened.
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te appealed on Monday in his Lunar New Year message for harmony between ruling party and opposition, amid a standoff over the opposition slashing this year's budget.

While Lai won the presidential election last year, his Democratic Progressive Party lost its majority in parliament, giving the opposition control over spending proposals.

Last week the opposition, citing a need to cut waste, passed cuts that the government says amount to T$207.6 billion ($6.33 billion) or 6.6% of proposed central government spending.

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On Thursday, Premier Cho Jung-tai called the cuts "suicidal" and said nearly T$90 billion ($2.74 billion) of the defence budget was frozen, which could hurt training missions abroad and even fuel for fighter jets. But the opposition has shown no sign of backing down.

This could presage conflict with the new U.S. administration of President Donald Trump, which is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

In his message, carried on social media, Lai did not directly mention the budget or other disputes with the opposition.

"There is a saying that in a harmonious family, all things prosper," he said. "The same goes for our nation. I look forward to the ruling and opposition parties being in harmony and our society uniting."

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Taiwan enjoyed strong support from the first Trump administration, including regularising arms sales that continued under the Biden administration. But Trump unnerved Taiwan on the campaign trail by calling for it to pay to be defended.

Elbridge Colby, Trump's nominee as under secretary of defense for policy, has explicitly urged Taiwan to spend much more on defence to counter the threat posed by China, which considers the democratically ruled island part of its territory and last year staged two major military exercises nearby.

The U.S. State Department nevertheless gave a reserved response at the weekend to the budget row.

"We defer to the relevant Taiwan authorities regarding Taiwans budget decisions," a spokesperson said.

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"Our priority remains peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is important to U.S. national security and economic prosperity. We remain committed, consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act, to providing arms and training to enable a sufficient self-defense capability."

Lai, whom Beijing denounces as a "separatist", did not extend New Year greetings to China.

($1 = 32.8170 Taiwan dollars)

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina in Washington; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Kevin Liffey)
A Taliban ambassador on Monday warned the new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio against making threats after saying he would place bounties on Afghanistans rulers for their continued detention of U.S. nationals.

A prisoner swap between the U.S. and Afghanistan last week freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure, Khan Muhammad.

The deal to release Ryan Corbett and William McKenty was brokered by Joe Biden s administration before he left office. But two more Americans, George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi, remain in Taliban custody. The Taliban have not revealed how many foreigners are behind bars.

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Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported, Rubio said in a post on X Saturday. If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on (Osama) bin Laden.

The Talibans ambassador to Qatar, Suhail Shaheen, said it was the policy of the Afghan government to resolve issues peacefully through dialogue, and he fired a warning shot at Rubio.

In the face of pressure and aggression, the jihad (struggle) of the Afghan nation in recent decades is a lesson that everyone should learn from.

The Taliban fought U.S. and NATO forces for two decades, eventually returning to power in August 2021 amid a deadly and chaotic withdrawal of foreign troops. Shaheen was part of the Talibans negotiating team in Doha to secure a peace deal for Afghanistan.

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He said the recent release of another foreigner, Canadian David Lavery, from an Afghan jail had been achieved through mediation by the friendly country of Qatar and positive interactions with the Taliban government on such cases.

Earlier Monday, Canadas foreign minister, Melanie Joly, said she had spoken with Lavery upon his arrival in Qatar.

He is in good spirits, Joly wrote on X, thanking Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani for helping facilitate Laverys release.
Related video: Reporter Amanda Holly captures the Gasparilla Pirate Invasion from the sky.

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  The pirates invaded Tampa Bay Saturday and the city was prepared for the Jack Sparrows of the crowd.

According to the Tampa Police Department (TPD), there were nine misdemeanor, three felony and three BUI arrests.

PHOTOS: Gasparilla pirate invasion 2025

TPD said all missing pirates were safely reunited with their groups and all items found during the event were non-threatening.

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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said in a release there were more than 70 law enforcement boats and three helicopters in the Hillsborough River and Bay.

FWC officers issued 46 boating warnings and 13 citations and arrested five impaired captains from their vessels.

According to the City of Tampa, more than 300,000 spectators attended Gasparilla 2025.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
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Target is the latest corporation to cave to conservative pressure and scale back its diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) programs aimed at benefiting marginalized communities.

On January 24, the Minneapolis-based retailer announced via a fact sheet that it would conclude our three diversity, equity, and inclusion goals; shift its Supplier Diversity team to a Supplier Engagement team; and end all external diversity-focused surveys, including the Human Rights Campaigns Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking tool that measures benefits, practices, and policies pertaining to LGBTQ+ employees.

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Additionally, Target stated that the company would conclude its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiatives in 2025, as planned. These initiatives, which were introduced in 2020, included pledges to source and design significantly more products from Black creators and institute anti-racism training and education for all employees.

Many years of data, insights, listening, and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy, Targets chief community impact and equity officer Kiera Fernandez said in a memo to staff, per CBS News. And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future.

Target joins at least 12 major corporations that have announced rollbacks to DEI programs aimed at communities of color and the LGBTQ+ community, including Amazon, McDonalds, and Walmart. These changes follow a series of right-wing anti-DEI campaigns that have gained notoriety in recent years, aided by propagandists like Chris Rufo, who engineered the anti-LGBTQ+ grooming panic; and Robbie Starbuck, who rose to prominence as an anti-mask advocate in 2020 and later allegedly deceived drag performers into appearing in the 2023 anti-trans documentary The War on Children.

Starbuck took credit for Targets policy changes in a January 24 X post, claiming that the company did so after finding out that Starbuck was doing a story on wokeness there.

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President Donald Trump has also prioritized dismantling DEI during his second presidential administration, issuing an executive order to revoke federal DEI requirements shortly after taking office on January 20. Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that Trumps Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)  a presidential advisory commission led by Elon Musk  is considering cutting over $120 billion in annual DEI spending.

As for Target, the company has a history of wavering on its commitments to LGBTQ+ in the face of conservative pushback. In 2016, Target stated that trans employees and customers could use bathrooms that aligned with their gender identity, becoming one of the first major retailers to speak out amid national debates over trans bathroom accessibility. However, after some customers threatened to boycott Target in response, the company announced it would spend $20 million to add single-toilet bathrooms with lockable doors to more stores. In 2023, Target removed some of its Pride merchandise due to right-wing backlash and threats of violence toward employees. The following year, the retailer opted not to stock Pride-themed items at half of its 1,956 U.S. stores.

Target has already faced plenty of public backlash for its decision to scale back its DEI initiatives, perhaps most notably from the Twin Cities Pride festival, which operates in the same city where the company is headquartered. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Target has historically been a major donor to Twin Cities Pride, donating between $50,000 and $70,000 to the organization each year.

In a January 26 Instagram post, Twin Cities Pride announced that it had made the decision to part ways with Target as a sponsor, standing firm in our commitment to LGBTQIA+ inclusion and equity.

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In a time where its been a really, really rough week for our community given everything that has come down from the new administration, this was kind of the straw that broke the camels back, Twin Cities Pride Executive Director Andi Otto told the Star Tribune during a January 26 interview. [...] Our community does not want to see someone who has rolled back [DEI] policies in a place where they want to celebrate and feel empowered.

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Originally Appeared on them.
After Hurricane Helene ravaged parts of Georgia in September, the federal government stepped in to provide assistance and relief.

For the 2025 tax season, the Internal Revenue Service says impacted Georgians under the coverage of the federal emergency declaration will have an extension on when their taxes are due.

Rather than the normal April deadline for businesses and individuals to file their taxes, the IRS provided an extension until May 1 to give them additional time to file returns and pay taxes that are due.

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According to the IRS, the May 1, 2025, filing deadline applies to:

Individuals and businesses that have a 2024 return normally due during March or April 2025.

Individuals who had a valid extension to file their 2023 return due to run out on Oct. 15, 2024. The IRS noted, however, that because tax payments related to these 2023 returns were due on April 15, 2024, those payments are not eligible for this relief.

Calendar-year corporations whose 2023 extensions run out on Oct. 15, 2024.

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So, heres what you need to know about filing taxes if you were impacted by Hurricane Helene.

What is the covered disaster area?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency declared all 159 counties in Georgia as part of the disaster area and can qualify for tax relief.

However, there are different designations for the various types of relief and recovery.

Only 63 counties qualify for individual assistance to residents from FEMA. A full list of the designated areas in Georgia and what types of assistance are available to each one can be found online here.

Who is affected?

The IRS said that taxpayers considered affected and therefore eligible for the tax postponement are those who live in or have a business in one of the disaster areas.

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However, taxpayers not in the covered disaster area but who have records necessary to meet the deadline in the area are also able to get relief.

The IRS said all relief workers affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization helping with relief activities may also be entitled to relief.

Additionally, Affected taxpayers that have an estimated income tax payment originally due on or after Sept. 24, 2024, are postponed through May 1, 2025, will not be subject to penalties for failure to pay estimated tax installments as long as such payments are paid on or before May 1, 2025.

What counts as a casualty loss?

Taxpayers can claim casualty losses on property, items and more that may not normally be covered by insurance or reimbursement. The IRS said those include items like:

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Homes

Vehicles

Personal belongings such as clothes, books, electronics, etc.

Rental properties (for businesses managing them)

What else other relief options are there?

The IRS said they will waive the typical fees and requests for copies of previous tax filings for taxpayers impacted by Hurricane Helene, but they should put the FEMA declaration number in their tax forms for the disaster.

For Hurricane Helene, the IRS said to file with the number 3616-EM when submitting for relief.

Additionally, taxpayers with retirement plans can take a special disaster distribution that is not subject to the usual 10% early withdrawal tax and will let them spread the income over three years. Hardship withdrawals are also possible, the IRS said.

Where can I get help filing?

The IRS listed the following options for getting help filing taxes after Hurricane Helene.

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Eligible individuals or families can get free help preparing their tax return at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) or Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) sites. To find the closest free tax help site, use the VITA Locator Tool or call 800-906-9887. Note that normally, VITA sites cannot help claim disaster losses.

To find an AARP Tax-Aide site, use the AARP Site Locator Tool or call 888-227-7669.

Any individual or family whose adjusted gross income (AGI) was $79,000 or less in 2023 can use IRS Free Files Guided Tax Software at no cost. There are products in English and Spanish.

Another Free File option is Free File Fillable Forms. These are electronic federal tax forms, equivalent to a paper 1040 and are designed for taxpayers who are comfortable filling out IRS tax forms. Anyone, regardless of income, can use this option.

MilTax, a Department of Defense program, offers free return preparation software and electronic filing for federal tax returns and up to three state income tax returns. Its available for all military members and some veterans, with no income limit.

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Starting Monday, many Wisconsinites will be able to file their federal income taxes for free using the IRS' Direct File program, which transfers information into Wisconsin's own free software for state taxes.

This is the first tax filing season that the program is available in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is one of 25 states that offer the program, after 12 pilot states tested the program last year. Monday is the start of tax filing season.

Eligible taxpayers in Wisconsin can file their federal income tax returns electronically, including on cellphones and other mobile devices, through the Direct File program.

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Direct File "integrates seamlessly" with WisTax, the state Department of Revenue says. Direct File imports information into WisTax, meaning you don't have to manually enter forms like W-2s and 1099s twice when filing state income taxes.

"Not only does this save time; it reduces the likelihood of errors, making it among the fastest refund options available," the department said in a press release.

Here's what to know about Direct File in Wisconsin, who's eligible and how it integrates with Wisconsin's state tax filing software:

Who is eligible for IRS Direct File?

The IRS provides a checklist to understand if you're eligible for the program. That includes living in Wisconsin or another eligible state, earning all of your 2024 income in Wisconsin and not using the "married filing separately" filing status.

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If you plan to claim credits on Schedule CR, farmland preservation credits or repayment credits, the IRS says Direct File isn't a good option. There are other limits based on household wages  you can't use Direct File if your wages are more than $200,000, for example.

The program is different than the IRS' Free File program, which provides access to free tax preparation software from eight private companies.

More: Wisconsinites will be eligible to use a free, online tax-filing system in 2025

How do I file state income taxes in Wisconsin?

WisTax is the state's free software for filing state income taxes. WisTax uses your My Tax Account profile, and you can log in or create one at tap.revenue.wi.gov/btr/_/#2.

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If you use the IRS' Direct File program, information from your federal forms will transfer into WisTax. You also won't need to attach forms like W-2s, 1099s or your federal return to your state taxes.

The Department of Revenue recommends waiting until your federal return is accepted before beginning your Wisconsin return.

If your federal return gets rejected, you may need to update your state return, which can't be done through WisTax. You'd need to use third-party software, a paper form or find a tax professional.

Taxpayers who don't qualify for Direct File might still be eligible to use WisTax. More information about eligibility is available at revenue.wi.gov/Pages/FAQS/ise-WisTax.aspx.

When are income taxes due in Wisconsin?

The deadline for both federal and state taxes is Tuesday, April 15, 2025. More information about deadlines, penalties and extensions is available on the Department of Revenue's website.

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More: Wisconsin's tax burden compared with other states hits a new low

When will I get my tax refund in Wisconsin?

Filing online provides the fastest refund, the department says. If you requested your return be directly deposited in your bank account, your refund should appear within three weeks.

You can enter your tax return information on the department's website for updates on your refund status.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: You can file your 2025 taxes for free in Wisconsin. Here's how
Jan. 27Gov. Janet Mills is proposing a slate of tax increases and program changes to balance the next two-year budget, something required by the state's constitution.

The budget proposal reflects a new reality that federal pandemic assistance has largely worked its way through the economy, causing state revenues to flatten. And new programs and initiatives enacted by Democrats, who control both legislative chambers and the governor's office, require more funding to maintain as labor and other costs increase.

Some of the proposals would increase taxes on individuals. Others would be used to leverage federal Medicaid funds and would not be felt by Maine taxpayers, according to state officials.

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Here's a breakdown of the proposed tax and fee increases.

PENSION INCOME

A tax break approved in 2022 increased the amount of pension income that is exempt from taxes from $10,000 in 2022 to $45,864 last year.

Mills' proposal would preserve the tax break for most people receiving pension benefits, but it would reduce or eliminate the tax break for those with pension income of $100,000 a year or more. As a result, a total of about 22,160 retirees would pay higher taxes, according to the governor's budget office.

An individual with a taxable pension income of more than $200,000, or a couple filing jointly with a taxable pension income of up to $300,000, would no longer be able to deduct any of their pension benefits from income taxes.

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Individuals making between $100,000 and $200,000, as well as couples earning between $200,000 and $300,000, would see a reduced tax benefit.

According to state projections, individuals earning between $100,000 and $150,000 in taxable pension income would see an average increase of $320 a year in taxes, while those earning $150,000 to $200,000 would see an average increase of $1,241. Those with more than $200,000 in income would see an average increase of $1,484. For joint filers, those increases would be $423, $1,520 and $1,900, respectively.

STREAMING SERVICES

Streaming services would be subject to the state sales tax of 5.5% under the Mill's proposal.

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The idea was first proposed by Gov. Paul LePage in 2017 and was pitched by Mills in 2020 and 2024. It has been rejected all three times.

State officials say the proposal will create fairness in the sales tax as streaming services become more popular and ubiquitous.

Currently, music and movies that are purchased and downloaded from a website are subject to sales tax, but that same music and those same movies are not taxed when streamed online.

If approved, the sales tax would be added to the monthly subscription for movie, television and audio streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Spotify and Pandora. It would also apply to videoconferencing services, such as Zoom. That would add about $1.10 for a $20 subscription.

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It's expected the proposal would generate about $10 million in additional sales taxes.

CANNABIS TAX INCREASE

Mills is also proposing a 40% increase in the sales tax rate for adult use cannabis.

The tax rate on sales would rise from 10% to 14%. The change is expected to generate nearly $4.2 million in fiscal 2026 and nearly $11.5 million in fiscal 2027.

CIGARETTE TAX INCREASE

Maine's cigarette tax would increase from $2 a pack to $3 a pack, generating an estimated $80 million over the next two years.

The proposal was welcomed by public health advocates but quickly drew criticism from smokers and retailers.

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Maine has not increased its cigarette excise tax since 2005, when it went from $1 per pack to $2.

The increase would put Maine's cigarette tax more than $1 above the average state tax of $1.96 per pack.

Maine would continue to have one of the lowest taxes in New England. Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island all have cigarette taxes of more than $3 per pack.

However, New Hampshire's state tax is $1.78, and some retailers fear Mainers will simply buy more of their cigarettes across the state border to avoid the higher tax.

AMBULANCE TAX

The budget proposal also includes a new 6% tax on private ambulance services. But state officials say the revenue from the tax would be used to unlock additional federal Medicaid money that could be used to support those same services.

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The proposed tax would be applied to the net income of private ambulance services and would generate an estimated $3.6 million a year. It would not apply to municipal ambulance services.

The state budget office, the Department of Financial and Administrative Services, said the revenue raised by the fee would be used to increase MaineCare reimbursements for those services, and those reimbursements would be matched with federal Medicaid funds.

The Maine Ambulance Association previously recommended and supported the concept as a way to raise MaineCare reimbursements, but is raising concerns about the plan as drafted. It says the tax would be assessed on only 40 private ambulance companies and questioned whether all ambulance providers would receive the higher reimbursements, including municipal providers. It also expressed concern that a portion of the new revenue would be used to address other shortfalls in the MaineCare budget.

"The MAA originally proposed this program with the goal of providing critical financial support to ambulance providers, but the current version of the plan raises concerns," Executive Director Butch Russell said in a written statement. "We urge lawmakers to ensure all funds are directed back to ambulance providers to fulfill the program's original purpose."

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PHARMACY ASSESSMENT

Mills is also proposing a 70-cent fee on prescriptions. Like the ambulance tax, it's designed to unlock additional federal money to fund reimbursements to providers.

State officials say the cost of the new fee would not be shouldered by customers because the pharmacies would ultimately receive larger reimbursements to cover the fee. Meanwhile, the state will receive more federal matching funds.

According to the state budget office, the new assessment would create a new revenue stream of $9.1 million in fiscal 2027. The state would appropriate $2.3 million for provider reimbursements to cover the pharmacies' costs, unlocking about $6 million in federal funding. As a result, the state says, the program would bring in new federal revenue to take pressure off the state budget without costing the pharmacies or the customers, it says.

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A tech executive with 25 years of experience was thrilled to have finally landed his dream job, getting a lucrative offer from an AI firm that was abruptly rescinded when the mans vengeful ex allegedly sent his new employer at least one sexually explicit photo he had shared with her before their relationship went off the rails.

The unnamed exec, who is identified as John Doe in civil court filings obtained by The Independent, says hes since been unable to find comparable work and is wary of continuing to look for a suitable position for fear that his ex-girlfriend, Texas resident Victoria Serpa, may torpedo his next job prospect by sending another nude photo.

The invasion of his privacy continues to haunt him, as he lives in constant apprehension that [Serpa] may take further steps to undermine his personal and professional life, the complaint contends, calling Serpas actions a form of revenge porn.

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Serpa, a 62-year-old Dallas boutique owner and former Southwest Airlines flight attendant, was served with Does lawsuit last week. A separate affidavit filed in court by Doe says he feared Serpa would further disseminate the nude photo upon learning he was suing her.

Attorney Kenton Hutcherson, who specializes in revenge porn cases and is representing Doe in court, told The Independent that this type of thing is happening a lot more often these days.

Thats kind of the world we live in right now, he said on Monday.

Serpa did not respond to The Independents requests for comment.

John Doe moved into Victoria Serpas Dallas home at her request, he claims in court papers (Getty Images)

Doe and Serpa began dating in May 2023, the complaint states. That same month, Doe says in the complaint, Serpa convinced him to quit his job and move in with her. The filing describes Serpa, who lives in a $2 million spread and drives a Bentley, as financially wealthy, and claims she promised she would take care of Doe.

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Shortly after they started seeing each other, Serpa discovered the nude photo on Does phone, and asked him to send it to her, according to the complaint, which says Doe agreed to the request. But, Doe soon became disenchanted that their relationship was not progressing as much as he had hoped, and in July 2023, Serpa demanded he move out, the complaint continues.

Although they were no longer living together, the couple continued their relationship, the complaint goes on. Doe, who specializes in sales and marketing, began looking for a job but worried about his prospects given his older age.

Does lucky break came in November 2023, when he was contacted by the co-founder of a European artificial intelligence company that wanted to hire Doe in early May 2024, the complaint states. Several months of discussions and negotiation followed, and the company told Doe it would get him a written offer and issue a press release to announce his hiring when the time was right, according to the complaint. Until then, Doe was given a company email address, and made travel arrangements for him to be on hand for the upcoming expo as an employee of the company, the complaint says.

John Doe expected to finalize his job at a AI firm following a software expo, but was shocked to find the offer rescinded (AFP via Getty Images)

The position provided Doe an opportunity to fill a leadership role with a company that provided a breakthrough technology, a very attractive and lucrative compensation package, and equity in the company that would likely increase in value significantly over time, according to the complaint.

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This would mark a bright new beginning for Doe, who, the complaint says, had broken up with Serpa a few months earlier. At the same time, Serpa had grown increasingly disgruntled about the situation, and decided to extract [sic] her revenge, the complaint states.

This works both ways, Serpa messaged Doe, screenshots of which were filed in court as exhibits alongside Does complaint. Im now going to intrude into your life. Youll be sorry! I can promise.

So, Serpa went on Facebook and tracked down one of the two co-founders of the AI company set to hire Doe, according to the complaint. It says she sent him several disparaging statements about Doe, but failed to get a response. She then sent a series of disparaging messages to the companys other co-founder, who is also the CEO, via private message on LinkedIn, with a goal to get John Doe fired from his new dream job, the complaint states. This time, Serpa got a reply, according to the complaint.

Victoria Serpa went scorched earth on her ex, sending an explicit photo to a potential employer and getting his job offer rescinded, according to court filings (US District Court for the Northern District of Texas)

Yet, while the CEO took [Serpas] concerns seriously, the complaint maintains, it did not take any adverse action against Doe because Serpa did not provide any evidence to support her allegations.

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It says Serpa then changed tactics and sent the CEO the sexually explicit image of John Doe. For his part, Doe remained unaware of this, according to Does affidavit.

The higher-ups at the AI company allowed him to participate in the trade show, as planned, according to the complaint. However, the firm ultimately rescinded Does job offer, but he had no idea why, a separate affidavit by Doe alleges.

Only later was he informed by his would-be bosses that the nude photo was the reason, Doe says in the affidavit.

In a subsequent Facebook message to Doe, screenshots of which are included in the affidavit, Serpa told him, You are not a smart man. I gave you a pass to walk away when I dropped the charges. (No further details about any alleged criminal activity are provided in court filings.)

Victoria Serpa sent the explicit material to John Does new boss via LinkedIn, he claims (Getty Images)

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The message continued, I warned you if you didnt stop, I would be introducing [sic] in your life. Thats what I did Your boss has the penis pictures now. You meed [sic] to grow up and act like a grown man. Stop blaming anybody but yourself.

Doe, for his part, did not consent to [Serpas] disclosure of his sexually explicit image to anyone, let alone his potential new employer, his complaint states.

Prior to [Serpas] unlawful conduct, John Doe was on track to his dream job in an exciting new industry, it says. [Serpa] took all of that away in one fell swoop.

The complaint describes the emotional toll the situation has taken on Doe as profound. He claims he has suffered severe anxiety, humiliation, and depression, and says he also faces ongoing reputational damage, which has compounded his distress and left him fearful of pursuing new career opportunities.

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Doe is demanding exemplary damages and actual damages for, among other things, past and future pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical and psychological expenses, and loss of past and future earning capacity.

He is also asking a judge to bar Serpa from further distributing any explicit photos or videos he previously shared with her, plus $150,000 for each one she has already exposed.
ZURICH (Reuters) -The chairman of Julius Baer, Romeo Lacher, is to step down, the Swiss bank said on Monday, as it continues a management shake-up that began a year ago after it suffered major losses from exposure to collapsed property group Signa.

In a statement, Baer said that Lacher would not stand for re-election at its annual general meeting on April 10 and that his proposed successor would be nominated in March. Lacher informed the board of his decision in 2024, the bank said.

The news of Lacher's departure comes after new CEO Stefan Bollinger began work at the Zurich-based wealth manager on Jan. 9, almost a year after it announced the departure of the previous chief executive, Philipp Rickenbacher.

Rickenbacher's exit occurred after the bank reported 586 million Swiss francs ($646 million) of losses on loans to Signa, the property firm of fallen Austrian tycoon Rene Benko.

Bringing the Lacher era to a close would cement the break with the past, analysts said.

"Lacher still belongs to the old guard, who are responsible for the strategic mistakes that ultimately led to the (Benko) fiasco," said Daniel Bosshard from Luzerner Kantonalbank.

"Julius Baer promised a fresh start after the Signa story and this is now the consequence," Bank Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti said.

In a statement, Lacher said: "With Stefan Bollinger starting as CEO, Julius Baer is opening a new chapter. It is a good moment for this transition at board level."

"As the leading pure-play wealth manager worldwide, Julius Baer is strongly positioned for future success," he added.

Separately, the Swiss National Bank said Lacher would step down from the SNB's bank council on April 25.

($1 = 0.9070 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Paolo Laudani and Ariane Luthi. Editing by Dave Graham and Mark Potter)
CHICAGO  A teen has died and two other teens were injured after a shooting inside a home on the Far South Side Sunday afternoon.

Chicago police said the shooting happened at around 12:10 p.m. in the 13100 block of South Corliss Avenue in the Riverdale neighborhood.

Baby boy who survived premature birth after mothers fatal shooting dies

Three male teens, ages 16, 17 and 18, were inside a home when an unknown suspect shot them.

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According to police, the 16-year-old was shot nine times and taken to Christ Hospital in critical condition. He later died from his injuries.

The teen has been identified as Makai Rodriguez.

The 17-year-old was shot eight times and taken to University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition; the 18-year-old was shot in the right arm and wrist and was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition.

Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines

The shooting remains under investigation and Area Two Detectives are speaking to a person of interest, according to investigators.

No other information was released.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WKRN)  A man is facing multiple charges after a teenager was shot and killed at a Bowling Green apartment complex early Sunday morning.

The Bowling Green Police Department said officers responded to a shots fired call in the 100 block of Audley Avenue shortly after 1:45 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26.

Person flown to Nashville after shooting at Clarksville National Guard Armory

When authorities arrived at the scene, they reportedly found a teenage boy dead from multiple gunshot wounds in the backyard of the apartment complex. Officials later identified the victim as 16-year-old Jamarco Dye.

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According to police, 22-year-old Tylan J. Barnett told detectives he was at the apartment complex because his sister contacted him the evening of Saturday, Jan. 25, saying she believed someone was trying to break into the residence.

Law enforcement said Barnett claimed he saw two individuals outside and thought they were the same people from earlier, so he went outside with his gun, spotted one person running away from the back of the residence, and fired multiple rounds at a second person who was also running away from the building. In addition, Barnett reportedly admitted to leaving the gun in the brush line next to the apartments.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Authorities said Barnett is being held in the Warren County Regional Jail, charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence.

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No additional details have been released about this ongoing investigation. If you know anything about Sunday mornings deadly shooting, youre asked to call the Bowling Green Police Department at 270-393-4000.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WFRV)  Police in Eau Claire provided an update to a weekend homicide of a 21-year-old.

According to authorities, on January 25 around 2 a.m., a report came in of a shooting. When police got to the scene, a 21-year-old was found with multiple gunshot wounds.

The victim reportedly died at the scene. Officials say the suspect, identified as an 18-year-old from Eau Claire, was quickly apprehended.

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Man from Tennessee dies after two-vehicle crash in Wisconsin, multiple people airlifted to hospitals

The suspect was sent to the Eau Claire County Jail on multiple charges including intentional homicide.

The incident is still under investigation. No additional information was provided.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Immigration experts say that Gov. Bill Lee's proposed immigration plan, which will be debated in a special legislative session, goes further than does that of any other non-border state. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Gov. Bill Lee surprised many when he inserted an illegal immigration agenda into his proclamation for a special legislative session that will focus primarily on a controversial private school voucher proposal and disaster relief for counties struggling to recover from Hurricane Helene.

Lees proclamation, released three days before President Donald Trumps inauguration, is aimed at ensuring our state is ready to assist President Trump in carrying out his immigration enforcement agenda, a press announcement said.

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National immigration policy experts said Lees five-point immigration plan, which incorporates elements of a sweeping 2023 Texas law to detain and deport immigrants, appears to go further in asserting state power over immigration enforcement than any other non-border state.

Im not aware of any other state that has passed a law like this and, if Tennessee passes this, it would be an outlier.

 Matt Lopas, National Immigration Law Center

Tennessee Democrats have questioned the timing and substance of the proposal, which will be debated alongside a school voucher plan resurrected after its failure to pass last year handed Lee a resounding political defeat. Democratic lawmakers said the singular focus of a special session should be disaster relief to northeast Tennessee counties devastated by Hurricane Helene four months ago.

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This whole immigration thing has been thrown in here as an attempt to distract from the voucher scam, Rep. John Ray Clemmons, a Nashville Democrat, said Friday.

At the last minute he threw in extremist red meat, Clemmons said.

But Tennessees Republican leadership has embraced the governors proposed legislation as a necessary complement to Trumps national immigration crackdown.

With President Trump back in office, we in Tennessee want to make sure we do everything we can to cooperate with those efforts, said House Leader William Lamberth, a Portland Republican.

We want to make sure that we have individuals who are liaising directly with the Trump Administration to make sure that this goes smoothly, so that illegal immigrants are deported but legal residents and legal immigrants and U.S. citizens are not in any way affected, Lamberth told the Lookout on Friday.

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Lee noted that Trump has made it clear that states will play a major role in partnering with his Administration to enforce immigration laws and keep communities safe, and Tennessee is heeding the call.

Lees illegal immigrant agenda

Lees plan includes creating a state immigration enforcement division headed by a new Tennessee chief immigration officer, mirroring a similar effort underway by Florida Governor Ron Desantis to appoint a state liaison to work with the Trump Administration on immigration enforcement.

The office would be housed within the Tennessees Department of Safety & Homeland Security and work to ensure efficient resource allocation and effective enforcement of immigrant laws, the governors announcement said.

The offices responsibilities would include developing strategic immigration enforcement plans and coordinating participation in federal immigration programs including the so-called 287(g) program, a voluntary program for law enforcement entities that agree to take on some immigration enforcement activities.

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Only two Tennessee jurisdictions  Greene and Knox Counties  currently participate in the 287(g) program.

The plan also calls for adding visually distinctive markers to Tennessee IDs and drivers licenses issued to all non-citizens as part of an effort aimed at raising standards for state-issued identification. Currently, lawful permanent residents  such as those who hold green cards  may obtain the same licenses as U.S. citizens.

The plan wields both carrots and sticks.

Local law enforcement agencies that agree to enforce U.S. immigration laws would be in line for financial grants to defer the often-expensive costs of participating in training officers and opening up detention space for immigration violation arrests.

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The proposed legislation does not yet include budget estimates for the grants.

Meanwhile city and county officials who vote in favor of so-called sanctuary city status could be charged with a Class E felony and removed from office. Sanctuary cities are already barred under a 2019 Tennessee law.

Lamberth, who is carrying Lees immigration measure in the House, said he believed some elements of the proposed legislation would be temporary, including the addition of a two-person state immigration enforcement division consisting of the states chief immigration officer and a second staff member.

We would anticipate those positions would be there for a couple years until we get through this illegal immigration crisis and then those positions would probably go away, he said, estimating the budget for the office would amount to roughly $200,000 to cover staffing costs.

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A formal financial analysis of the total cost of the proposal has not yet been completed by the states Fiscal Review office.

A big part of our workforce

There are approximately 150,000 undocumented immigrants living in Tennessee  about 100,000 aged 16 and older who are actively participating in the states labor force, according to an analysis of American Community Survey data by the Migration Policy Institute a nonpartisan think tank.

The figures do not encompass immigrants with certain temporary legal statuses the Trump Administration last week announced would be revoked.

Mass federal detention and deportation of Tennessees immigrants  with state assistance  would not only devastate impacted families but cripple economic sectors that rely heavily on an immigrant workforce, according to Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

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Immigrants are not only contributors to our state  they pay taxes  they are also a big part of our workforce, so if we dont have folks who can help work farms and put food on our table thats going to be felt by everybody, she said.

Lamberth, however, disputed the notion that Tennessee employers are dependent on an undocumented immigrant workforce.

The vast majority of businesses he knows in Tennessee pride themselves on hiring U.S. citizens or legal immigrants, Lamberth said.

If folks are hiring illegal immigrants, then they are violating the laws we have set up already and I can virtually guarantee you they are not treating those workers as they should be treated from a pay or employee rights standpoint, he said. I dont know how many are doing that but none should be.

If Tennessee passes this, it would be an outlier

Critics of Lees immigration plan have also called it an unnecessary duplication of existing state laws.

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Lees proposal would make it a Class E felony for a local public official to vote in favor of sanctuary city status. The bill would also give the Tennessee Attorney General the authority to initiate proceedings to remove local officials who persist in a sanctuary city effort from office.

Tennessee in 2018 outlawed local governments from adopting sanctuary city status, a measure that took effect in 2019. The designations generally limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, except for individuals who have committed serious offenses. No Tennessee city or county has attempted to vote in favor of sanctuary city status since.

And a little-publicized 2024 Tennessee law already requires all local law enforcement agencies in Tennessee to check on, and report, the immigration status of all arrestees to the federal government. At the request of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, law enforcement can then be required to hold the individual for up to 48 hours.

Tennessee localities are already required to collaborate with the federal government in terms of complying with existing federal immigration law, Luna said.

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A state centralized immigration enforcement division proposed by Lee drew criticism from national immigrant advocates.

Immigration enforcement is a purely federal responsibility, said Matt Lopas, deputy director for state advocacy with the National Immigration Law Center, which advocates on behalf of immigrant rights.

This is a very extreme proposal, Lopas said. Im not aware of any other state that has passed a law like this and, if Tennessee passes this, it would be an outlier, he said.

Tennessees special legislative session is expected to last at least one week before the body returns to regular business. While Lees proposal is the only immigration-related bill to be considered during the special session, several additional bills will be heard when it ends.

Among them is a measure requiring undocumented families to pay tuition at public K-12 schools, a requirement hospitals receiving Medicaid report the immigration status of their patients and a rule that banking institutions must verify immigration status of customers sending funds overseas.

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House Republicans gather in the well of the Tennessee House Chambers. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Inspired by a recent trip to Walt Disney World, Ive decided the only way to understand the current Tennessee legislative session is to approach it as a theme park. Here is my guidebook to Legislative Land.

The premier attraction this season is Gov. Bill Lees Voucher Roller Coaster. The clunky voucher train careens wildly and threatens to go off the rails. Lee is in the lead car, trying to keep the other cars in line even while House Speaker Cameron Sexton serves as conductor, threatening to toss Republican legislators over the side and maybe into a dungeon. Lee refuses to put the brakes on the runaway trains and keeps releasing smoke screens to obscure the dangers.

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A perennial favorite is Lt. Gov. Randy McNallys Mad Hatter Tea Party. The sessions typically begin with McNally proclaiming Government is best when done at the local level. A rude rabbit then asks And if they do something that you disapprove of? McNally shifts uncomfortably and bellows Then off with their heads! We will overrule them and defund them! His retort is met with harrumphing approval from the assembled coterie of legislators in odd costumes.

Hanging from a branch over this years Tea Party is state Sen. Richard Briggs of Knoxville. He looks amazingly like the grinning Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland as he outlines his land use plans. As a former county commissioner, the Briggs Cat hisses, I have seen the spectacle of local elected officials sometimes bowing to the will of citizen groups, forcing changes on developers. This must change. All developments that meet zoning must pass, damn the public and their local representatives. The Briggs Cat then fades, leaving behind only his disturbing grin.

The Ethics Experience ride once again is closed for major repairs. The closing was prompted by Republicans pushing aside a bill that would ban legislators from being married to lobbyists.

Sen. Ken Yagers Wild Ride requires a liability waiver before one can hop in a car with Yager in a recreation of his alleged hit-and-run DUI in December. The Beacon Center of Tennessees FantasyLand is a favorite attraction for the legislators themselves. The tough part for park visitors is sorting out genuine waste and folly (there is plenty) from the think tanks sniping at programs that benefit the poor and griping at any measure that offends the wealthy (theres a lot of those bits of whining, too). The Nashville-based advocacy group gets most of its money from right-wing foundations.

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Sextons Hall of Mirrors is heavily into distortion. Its a big task to make Tennessees dismal numbers on public health and education funding appear to be good, but Sexton is a master light bender and creator of distractions and illusions.

Youll need 3-D glasses for the Jonathan Skrmetti Disorder in the Court simulator. Youll follow Tennessees Attorney General as he juggles extremist lawsuits he initiated or joined. Just as he balances the load, the legislature dumps on him blatantly unconstitutional enactments thrown his way. Notice how he leaks money in all directions, all while keeping his eye on the governors mansion.

Its a Small World is a nearly forgotten part of the theme park. The Democratic Super Minority sometimes makes sweet sounds, but their music is drowned out by the din of the noisy Republican Supermajority.

Legislative Land really should not be called an amusement park. Few things about it are amusing. Its more of a tragi-comic farce.

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Rep. Jody Barrett, a Dickson Republican photographed at a March 2024 rally, says passage of universal school vouchers could place Tennessee on a "fiscal cliff." (Photo: John Partipilo)

UPDATE: This article has been updated to reflect the states projected finance impact of private-school vouchers.

A Tennessee Republican lawmaker is making light of Gov. Bill Lees private-school voucher plan, saying wealthy characters on the 1960s show Gilligans Island would benefit from it as much as the poor while the rest of the castaways put up the money.

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Besides questions about the programs equity, state Rep. Jody Barrett of Dickson says it will cause long-term financial problems for the state.

Theres a fiscal cliff that will occur with this down the road, Barrett said, adding he believes in a decade the program could cost $1 billion a year, including scholarships and related expenses.

I just think its a dangerous bill fiscally for us that creates an entitlement program that will never go away, Barrett added.

In a social media statement posted over the weekend, Barrett said, Under the proposed Education Freedom Act, Thurston Howell III would be eligible to get the same $7k scholarship as Gilligan. Seems like a stretch to suggest that this plan would create any additional freedom for Thurston & Lovey. Meanwhile, the rest of the castaways pay for it.

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Lees plan, which is to be taken up this week in a special session of the legislature, calls for providing more than $7,000 to 20,000 students statewide and then expanding by about 5,000 annually. Half of those students in the first year could come from families with incomes at 300% of the federal poverty level, an estimated $175,000 for a family of four, while the rest would have no income limit. No maximum income would be placed on the program after the first year.

The Tennessee Journal reported Monday that a Fiscal Review Committee report found two-thirds of the students who will receive vouchers are enrolled in private schools already. It also determined that only $3.3 million would go toward holding school districts harmless when they lose students to the program.

Under the proposed Education Freedom Act, Thurston Howell III would be eligible to get the same $7k scholarship as Gilligan. Seems like a stretch to suggest that this plan would create any additional freedom for Thurston & Lovey. Meanwhile, the rest of the castaways pay for it. pic.twitter.com/dVOTZRphjq  State Rep. Jody Barrett (TN69) (@Jodyforstaterep) January 26, 2025

House Speaker Cameron Sexton recently said he believes the House has enough votes to pass the governors plan, which is slated to cost upwards of $450 million the first year alone.

But Barretts opposition is a sign that rural Republicans could throw up a stumbling block as the special session begins. Barrett said his vote will be based on the stance of his constituents, who made it unequivocally clear they are against the governors bill.

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In addition to Democrats, rural Republicans are the most likely to oppose the governors voucher plan because of the financial impact it could have on school districts that are often the largest employers in their constituency.

Besides the potential effect on his school districts, Barrett said one of his biggest concerns is the long-term impact on the state budget. He pointed out K-12 funding is slated to go up 3% annually, as will the amount for private-school vouchers each year.

School boards across the state have passed resolutions opposing the plan. But this years version says a school districts funding shall not decrease from one year to the next due to the disenrollment of students. If districts lose students, though, the state would pay additional funds to those districts to cover transfers for just one year.

The bill denies scholarships to undocumented students, even though a 1982 Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe, prohibits states from denying students a free public education based on immigration status.

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Besides the private-school voucher bill, lawmakers will take up Lees immigration enforcement plan, which involves setting up a new bureau and director within the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, providing relief to flood victims in East Tennessee and setting up a transportation authority to oversee public-private partnerships.

Critics of the voucher plan say the governor is trying to cloud the issues by putting so many critical topics into one special session.

House leaders said the legislature will continue to invest heavily in education while expanding school choice for parents.

Bills will be approached separately in House committees and wont be linked, according to Rep. Jeremy Faison, chairman of the House Republican Caucus.

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The notion that the speaker or the governor or anybody in leadership would hold hostage somebody in East Tennessee and their people, that were not going to bring relief to them if they dont vote for the governors voucher bill, thats silly, Faison said.

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Even before the sun heralded a frigid dawn, a huge and restless crowd set off north along Gaza's coastal road. They were young and old. Many carried large white plastic bags and suitcases, others small children. Some hopped slowly on crutches and others wore flip-flops, while a few even walked barefoot. One pair of young men linked arms as they strode and sang.

As dawn broke in Gaza on Monday, footage and photos captured by NBC News crew showed tens of thousands of Palestinians heading toward a checkpoint on the Netzarim corridor, which bisects the enclave, and into the heavily bombed north. The path is named for a former Israeli settlement, and is considered vital by the Israeli military hoping to keep militants from traveling across Gaza.

For many, the journey home after 15 months of Israeli bombardment brought tears as they held onto their loved ones and clutched their belongings tightly.

Civilians carry their belongings along the Al-Rashid coastline as they return toward northern Gaza on Monday.

Others traveled in cars, trucks and rickshaws lined up along the highway, carrying tents and mattresses after seeking shelter in the central and southern parts of the enclave.

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Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, residents of northern Gaza were slated to return over the weekend before Israel closed the crossings after it said Hamas had breached the deal by failing to release Arbel Yehud, a 29-year-old Israeli civilian hostage.

A large crowd travels along the Al-Rashid coastline as Palestinians return to northern Gaza.

The hold-up came as President Donald Trump said Saturday that Palestinians should leave the Gaza Strip to clean out the enclave, adding that he had asked the king of Jordan to take them in.

News that Israel would reopen the first checkpoint in central Gaza at 7 a.m. local time (midnight ET) came Sunday after Qatari mediators announced that Hamas had agreed to hand over Yehud along with two other hostages.

For many displaced residents, the thought of reuniting with family brought a renewed sense of hope and jubilation. The violence drove some 90% of the enclave's residents from their homes, with many living for months in squalid tent camps.

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Palestinians who had been waiting at the roadblocks for two days burst into cheers as Israeli troops monitored from the sidelines.

Sanaa Al-Qassab, 45, told NBC News that she hadn't expected to return to her home in northern Gaza, as she held her young daughter's hand while walking along the sandy strip with heavy bags slung over her shoulder.

Displaced Gazans walk along the coastline toward Gaza City.

We waited here for three days in the cold and hunger to return, she said. They told us we would return at this time and then another time.

I am very happy we will meet our families, she added.

The move brokered by Qatar and Egypt would allow around 650,000 Palestinians in central and southern Gaza to return to the north of the enclave.

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I havent seen my family for a year and a half, I want to go back to see them. Ive been waiting for three days to go to my parents, Mohammed Adas, 19, told Reuters.

A young girl gestures from the window of a car as she travels toward northern Gaza on Salah Aldin Road.

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Ghada, a mother of five, told Reuters via a chat app that she had no sleep in anticipation of returning home.

I have everything packed and ready to go with the first light of day, she said, adding, At least we are going back home, now I can say war is over and I hope it will stay calm.

Local health officials say more than 47,000 people have been killed in Israeli bombing during the conflict, which began Oct. 7, 2023, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a terrorist attack on Israel in which Israeli officials say 1,200 people were killed and 251 people taken hostage.

The fighting is currently paused since a ceasefire deal went into effect Jan. 15.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Breakthroughs in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) are transforming industries and redefining what is possible. However, this technological advancement comes with a challenge: soaring energy demands from data centers.

Enter nuclear power -- a clean, reliable solution that's coming back into favor. With countries committed to reducing carbon emissions, nuclear energy stands out as a key energy source in the quest for sustainable growth. Many countries have joined the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy, vowing to increase their nuclear capacity threefold by 2050.

Major financial institutions like Bank of America and Goldman Sachs are also backing this movement, showing robust support for nuclear energy's potential to generate clean, reliable, sustainable power.

Image source: Getty Images.

Small modular reactors (SMRs) represent a groundbreaking advancement in the nuclear energy sector. They offer a modular and scalable solution that could potentially lower the costs associated with bringing reactors online. At the forefront of this exciting technology is NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR), a company looking to capitalize on the growing demand for clean energy.

As nuclear energy becomes increasingly attractive and garners broader support, investors may consider NuScale a compelling growth investment opportunity. Before diving in, there are a few things you'll want to know about the company and its technology.

Tech companies are turning to nuclear to power their growing energy needs

According to the power sector consulting firm Grid Strategies, electricity demand in the U.S. is projected to increase by over 15% in the next two years. The primary driver of this growth is the rising energy needs of data centers and the major technology companies that operate them.

Technology companies are striving to meet their energy needs while maintaining their carbon neutrality goals. As a result, many are turning to nuclear power to satisfy this demand. In October, Alphabet and Amazon announced investments in start-ups developing SMRs. These SMRs can be prefabricated in a manufacturing facility, allowing components to be transported for assembly at the project site.

Moreover, the modular reactors can be connected to scale to meet specific energy requirements tailored to each company. The hope is that SMRs will reduce the time required to bring reactors online and lower the costs of building the necessary nuclear infrastructure. That's where NuScale Power comes into the picture.

NuScale is currently the only company to secure a Standard Design Approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its 50-megawatt electric (MWe) SMR, seemingly giving the company an advantage over others.
TEXARKANA, Ark. (KTAL/KMSS)  GenCyber Security free Summer Camp has returned to provide hands-on training on cybersecurity, equipping the next generation to learn vital skills in the expansive digital age, and its returning.

The University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana will offer a FREE two-week GenCyber Cybersecurity summer camp on July 14-17 and July 21-24 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. each day on the UAHT Texarkana campus.

The camp is open to rising students in grades 7-12 and will be offered at no cost to students and their families. A Spanish translator will be available.

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Free English Second Language (ESL) classes in Texarkana

The camp is available to students from the following school districts:

Ashdown

Fouke

Genoa

Hope

Liberty-Eylau

Nashville

Pleasant Grove

TASD

TISD

GenCyber camp is offered as part of a grant awarded to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity to offer innovative summer programs for students who want to learn the latest skills in cybersecurity, details their news release.

The camp will be directed by Brittni Hardie, UAHT Cybersecurity Program Director, and Jennifer Teresa, UAHT Dean of Business and Industry Programs.

Its not just about teaching skillsits about opening doors, sparking curiosity, and showing our students that they have a place in the world of technology, she said. This is a chance to inspire young minds and help them build a brighter future.

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Free after-school Summer Camp for Shreveport Bossier students K-12; what you need to know

The program focuses on the GenCyber Cybersecurity Concepts:

Defense in Depth

Confidentiality

Integrity

Cryptography

Cryptanalysis

Availability

Think Like an Adversary

Keep it Simple

Robotics

Python programming

UAHT says, Campers will hear from industry experts about education and career opportunities. They will learn about cybersecurity with state-of-the-art, hands-on activities that allow them to experience cyberattacks from both the victim and adversary sides. At the end of the camp, students will receive a certificate of achievement and present a security research topic with the help of a mentor.

After the summer programs are complete, UA Little Rock will host GenCyber Alumni events featuring workshops, guest speakers, networking opportunities, and a mentoring program to pair GenCyber alums with cybersecurity professionals and UA Little Rock students.

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UAHT says students will also partner with the Arkansas Department of Education to develop GenCyber-inspired resources for K-12 classrooms in Arkansas.

Registration is required, and there are only 50 spots are available.

For more information visit uaht.edu/gencyber or email Brittni.hardie@uaht.edu for updates.

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TEXAS (KMID/KPJE)- Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the deployment of the Texas Tactical Border Froce to the Rio Grande Valley to help the U.S. Border Patrol secure the border under the new Trump Administration.

According to the Office of the Texas Governor, on Monday, January 27, Abbott directed the Texas Military Department to deploy 400 Texas Tactical Border Force soldiers from military bases in Fort Worth and Houston, as well as C-130s and Chinook helicopters, to join thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers already deployed on the border.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott partners with new Trump Administration to secure the border

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Texas has a partner in the White House we can work with to secure the Texas-Mexico border, Governor Abbott said. To support that mission, today, I deployed the Texas Tactical Border Force, comprised of hundreds of troops, to work side-by-side with U.S. Border Patrol agents to stop illegal immigrants from entering our country and to enforce immigration laws.

These measures from Abbott to secure the border are one of many after President Trump took office.

For the past four years, Texas held the line against the Biden Administrations border crisis and their refusal to protect Americans. Finally, we have a federal government working to end this crisis. I thank President Donald Trump for his decisive leadership on the southern border and look forward to working with him and his Administration to secure the border and make America safe again, Abbott stated in his announcement regarding the recent deployment of troops.

This deployment comes three days after Governor Abbott announced he would partner with the new Trump administration to secure the border. You can learn more about Abbotts partnership, here.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other federal law enforcement offices attend a pre-enforcement meeting Sunday in Chicago. President Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, vowing to ultimately deport all foreigners living in the U.S. without permission. Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Fort Worth Independent School District is investigating a social media post by a reported substitute teacher. The teacher apparently wrote that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should visit the school where they work because it has many students who dont even speak English.

Yall should come to Fort Worth, TX to Northside High School, the post reads in response to an ICE post, according to a screenshot making the rounds on social media. I have many students who dont even speak English, and they are in 10th-11th grade. They have to communicate through their iPhone translator with me. The @USEDGOV should totally overhaul our school system in Texas.

The users account is private, and HuffPost was unable to verify the post.

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In a statement on social media, Fort Worth ISD said it is aware of the post, which has caused concern among the school district.

We take this matter very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation to understand the circumstances and ensure appropriate actions are taken, the statement reads.

The school district told KXAS-TV in Fort Worth that the teacher wont be on campus during the investigation.

Since President Donald Trump, who campaigned on mass deportations of immigrants, took office last week, ICE has ramped up arrests, detaining nearly 1,000 immigrants on Sunday. Trump authorized ICE to go into schools and churches, ending a policy that was put into effect in 2011.

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Karen Molinar, the school districts interim superintendent, told KXAS in a statement that the district does not ask about the immigration status of its students and their families.

Related...
Fort Worth ISD is investigating a substitute teacher who allegedly encouraged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport students from North Side High School.

The substitute teacher, who Fort Worth ISD did not identify, allegedly responded to a Jan. 23 enforcement update by ICE on X, reporting 538 arrests and an additional 373 in custody.

The account, @HookEm232, has since gone private; however, screenshots of the posts continue to circulate around the platform as users criticize the rhetoric.

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"Yall [sic] should come to Fort Worth, TX to North Side High School. I have many students who don't even speak English and they are in 10th-11th grade. They have to communicate through their iPhone translator with me," screenshots of the post read. "The @usedgov should totally overhaul our school system in Texas too."

Read more: Austin churches, schools react to Trump administration cutting immigration raid protections

The school district addressed the issue on Facebook.

"We take this matter very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation to understand the circumstances and ensure appropriate actions are taken. As per district protocol, the employee will not be on campus during the investigation."

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"We are committed to maintaining a positive and supportive environment for all students," the post continued. "We appreciate your patience and understanding as we address this matter."

School board president Roxanne Martinez also released a statement assuring that district officials are "taking this issue very seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible."

Immigrant protections in 'sensitive' areas removed under Trump Administration

Last week, the Homeland Security Department issued a directive rescinding previous restrictions for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to operate in "sensitive" areas like churches, schools and hospitals. Previous department guidelines limited enforcement actions at these locations, performing them only with supervisory approval or "exigent circumstances."

The new executive order comes at a time when popular sympathy for migrants has wavered, and when the political party traditionally allied with immigrants has shown a willingness to approach immigration policy from a new consensus. A quarter of Senate Democrats and 46 House Democrats joined Republicans to vote in favor of the Laken Riley Act, which, among other things, will mandate detention for undocumented immigrants charged with crimes such as shoplifting, burglary, larceny or theft, making them more likely targets of deportation.

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 American-Statesman reporters Emiliano Tahui Gomez and Keri Heath contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas substitute teacher under fire for asking ICE to deport students
A Texas teacher sparked backlash after calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to raid their school  claiming many teen pupils dont even speak English.

The Fort Worth Independent School District is investigating the substitute teacher who was working at North Side High School after they allegedly posted a raft of inflammatory comments to X in the wake of Donald Trumps immigration crackdown.

The suspect responded to an ICE enforcement update on X on Friday, reporting 538 arrests and an additional 373 illegal migrants in custody, under the account @HookEm232, which has since been made private. The educators identity has not yet been revealed.

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Yall should come to Fort Worth, TX to Northside High School. I have many students who dont even speak English and they are in 10th-11th grade, the post read.

They have to communicate through their iPhone translator with me. The [U.S. Department of Education] should totally overhaul our school system in Texas too.

The suspect responded to an ICE enforcement update on X on Friday (X)

Trump signed a deluge of executive orders related to immigration due to an unconscionable risk to public safety and national security, a White House official said last Monday.

Some of Trumps orders were signed with the aim of expanding ICEs ability to arrest and detain unlawful migrants in the U.S., including one which rescinded restrictions surrounding immigration raids in areas deemed sensitive  including schools.

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In a separate post, @HookEm232 condemned a North Carolina teacher vowing to continue pushing diversity, equity, and inclusion and critical race theory initiatives after Trump signed an executive order promising to dismantle DEI programs last week.

I teach with these f**king libt***s every day and thats what I talk to no one at work except the kids, the account tweeted.

The substitute teacher from North Side High School in Fort Worth, Texas, has not be identified to the public (Google Street View)

Fort Worth ISD said it was aware of the social media posts and is conducting an investigation into the educator in question.

We are aware of a recent social media post referencing North Side High School which was allegedly made by a substitute teacher and has caused concern among our Fort Worth ISD community, FWISD wrote in a statement in both English and Spanish late on Saturday.

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We take this matter very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation to understand the circumstances and ensure appropriate actions are taken.

The Trump catch-up

The latest from The Independents live blog as of 6pm EST 27/01/2025

President Trump has fired several Justice Department officials who worked on criminal investigations into him, citing a lack of trust.

A Trump-appointed prosecutor has launched a review of the DOJs handling of January 6 prosecutions. Trump pardoned over 1,500 January 6 defendants upon retaking office.

Trump is expected to sign executive orders impacting the military, including a potential ban on transgender service members, cuts to diversity programs, and reinstatement of personnel discharged for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine.

Colombia agreed to accept deported migrants from the US after Trump threatened tariffs. Colombian President Petro highlighted the presence of over 15,000 Americans living illegally in Colombia.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is reportedly scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House next week, potentially marking the first foreign leader to visit since Trumps return to office.

Follow the latest updates.

The employee has been removed from campus while the investigation is underway, the school district said.

An hour after the statement, parents received a message of support from Fort Worth ISDs Interim Superintendent Karen Molinar amid Trumps immigration actions.

There are approximately 111,000 undocumented K-12 school students, according to a 2021 report commissioned by immigration advocacy group FWD.us.

Trump signed a deluge of executive orders related to immigration within his first week in office (AP)

As the presidents first week in office drew to a close on Sunday, a protest broke out in Fort Worth calling for protection of children in the region.

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Just on Friday, three of my parents said they were not sending their kids to school anymore because theyre afraid, third grade teacher Jeanette Martinez told Fox 4.

They dont know, they dont know all this is evil, theyre just trying to get an education, children should not be afraid, they should not.

The Independent has contacted senior staff from both Fort Worth ISD and North Side High School for more information.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  The Texas Trucking Association is partnering with lawmakers and sex trafficking awareness advocates to launch a new campaign called, Boys and Young Men are Sex Trafficked Too.

The goal is to have semi-trucks driving up and down the state with signs on them raising awareness about the risks boys face.

The non-profits Ranch Hand Rescue and Bobs House of Hope report that up to 50% of sex-trafficked youth are boys.

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Those nonprofits will take part in a press conference at the Texas State Capitol South Steps on Wednesday at 9 a.m. to discuss their new campaign.

Ahead of it, Bobs House of Hope and Ranch Hand Rescue Founder and CEO Bob Williams talked with KXAN about the impact he hopes it has.

This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

Tom Miller: Why are you launching this now?

Bob Williams: This is an epidemic in our country, and Texas is number two for the human trafficking issue, so the trucking campaign is huge. Its never been done before. (The) stickers that boys are sex trafficked too create awareness about this problem. Were hoping that in our partnership with the Texas Trucking Association and Titus Transportation, that other trucking companies are going to sign on.

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Tom: You mentioned Texas is number two in the country with this being a problem. How do you quantify how big of an issue this is?

Williams: We really believe 50% of human trafficking victims are boys and young men. We know that the average age that people are trying to buy boys is 13, and we know that typically four to five out of 10 are looking for boys versus girls. Its critical that people get their heads out of the sand, and that we start to bring education and awareness to the fact that this is happening to boys and young men too. Its not that its not horrific with girls and women, it is. But we must start to educate the public that this is a problem. If its not front and center and in your face people dont realize it.

Tom: When it comes to looking for signs of trafficking, whether its boys or girls, what should the public be aware of?

Williams: If you see something, say something. Theres all kinds of red flags. They control these kids with drugs and fear, right? If you dont do what I tell you to do, were going to kill your mother, your father, your brother, your sister, etc. The thing that keeps them coming back is the drugs. And so when asked, Why didnt you tell anybody, the number one answer is, Nobody ever asked me.

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Tom: What is Bobs House of Hope and how did you get involved in this work?

Williams: Im a survivor. I was raped at 17, and I couldnt process what happened to me. When my dad picked me up from the hospital, he said, youre just going to man up and were never going to talk about this again. That was a different time back then. I turned to drugs and alcohol, barely graduated high school, and I struggled for 12 years in my addiction. When I found out that there was not one safe house in the country for young men to go to, I said, we can fix that. You know, we can open one. So we opened on June 1 of 2021, and weve learned a lot since we opened. Were going to open for minors this year, and thatll be 12 to 17 years old. We get on average of a couple of calls a week for boys that have been sex trafficked that are under 18.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)  Some planes built in Wichita will help train pilots for the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Textron Aviation says it has sold seven of its Beechcraft King Air 260 military multi-engine training aircraft to SkyAlyne and KF Aerospace. This marks the first international sale of the training aircraft, and deliveries are expected to begin in the first half of 2028.

SkyAlyne and KF Aerospace will use the planes in support of the RCAF Future Aircrew Training program.

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Textron Aviation says the planes will replace the Beechcraft King Air C-90B planes that the RCAF has used for decades.

Woman stabbed multiple times in Arkansas City attack

The King Air 260 will modernize multi-engine aircraft training by providing an intermediate and advanced training platform for RCAF pilots destined for operational squadrons in the heavy transport, maritime patrol or search and rescue roles, Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Missions Sales, Textron Aviation, said in a news release. Following the U.S. Navy order, this consolidates the King Air 260 as the military multi-engine trainer for many generations of aspiring pilots.

When the planes are delivered, they will include a Night Vision Goggle compatible cockpit, TACAN (Air-to-Air), Angle of Attack, V/UHF radio, digital audio system, engine trend monitoring, condition-based maintenance plus, observer/jump seat, passenger mission seats and full-face oxygen masks.

Future Aircrew Training configured cockpit (Courtesy Textron Aviation)

SkyAlyne is excited to be incorporating the Beechcraft King Air 260 into the FAcT program. It is a next-generation aircraft built on a platform with a proven track record of reliability and performance, Kevin Lemke, SkyAlynes senior executive, said.

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Bob Dylan coming to Wichita in March

Textron Aviation says its aviation solutions provide high performance and flight characteristics required to address unique challenges. It says its planes are versatile and have low operating costs, making them ideal for air ambulance, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, utility transport, aerial survey, flight inspection, training and many other special operations.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)  Terre Haute Police Department has a man accused of attempted murder and criminal recklessness placed in custody, according to a Facebook post from the department.

On December 26, 2024, THPD said uniformed officers responded to reports of shots fired near Center St. and Seabury Ave.

Upon arriving, officers located shell casings, an apartment that had been struck by gunfire, and multiple witnesses who reported that those involved fled prior to police arrival, said THPD.

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During the preliminary investigation, officers were informed that possible victims of the shooting were receiving treatment for gunshot wounds in a local hospital.

Vigo County Sheriffs Office investigating armed robbery in Terre Haute

One of the victims had sustained a grazing bullet wound on his leg. Another victim had life-threatening injuries as a result of gunshot wounds and was transported to an Indianapolis-area hospital for treatment.

THPD Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators said, during their investigation, they learned that both victims had planned on meeting the alleged suspect, Jaquincee B. M. Burns, 19, of Terre Haute, to engage in a fight. THPD said the victims were then led down an alleyway near 7th St. and Hulman St. and then were allegedly ambushed and shot at by Burns.

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THPD Detectives obtained a warrant for Burns on charges of attempted murder and criminal recklessness, and with help from the U.S. Marshal Task Force Officer, Burns was located in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, on January 8, 2025. He was then taken into custody and extradited to Vigo County, over this past weekend.

Man dies after driving golf cart over frozen lake

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Jan. 26Watching your family home burn to the ground does something to a person: despair, heartbreak, defeat.

But Michele Herring, who lost her home on Bakers Cemetery Road in Cheat Lake on Friday night, resolves to be positive.

"We're thankful to be alive, " she said Sunday, referring to her mother, her three adult children, her two grandchildren whom she often cared for in the home and herself.

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Not to say that the loss of a 250-year-old historic homestead isn't devastating. She had just left the Baker Farm shortly after 10 p.m. Friday night when an urgent call from a neighbor turned her around. By the time she pulled up to the house, it was "completely engulfed."

She and family members watched as the house which had been in her family since the mid-1700s was reduced to two stone chimneys, a smoldering basement and a pile of rubble. Herring was told that the cause of the fire may never be determined because of the extent of the destruction.

Herring said that every fire department in Monongalia County and some from Fayette County across the Pennsylvania line responded to the fire. Tankers kept rotating, taking turns drawing water from nearby hydrants.

She is grateful for their work in extinguishing the fire by about 12:30 a.m. and the subsequent rekindlings over the weekend. Her family has always been a great supporter of firefighters, noting that her grandparents donated the land on which the Cheat Lake Volunteer Fire Department was built.

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Her family's generosity and dedication to the community have been returning to her in spades.

"The outpouring from Morgantown has been overwhelming, " Herring said tearfully.

The Red Cross offered support in the early hours Saturday, making shelter, clothing, supplies and counseling available to her and her family.

A family friend, Tayler Howell, launched an effort to raise money "for immediate needs and replacing belongings that were lost in the fire." To join that effort which had raised about $5, 100 as of 3 p.m. Sunday, visit https://www.gofundme.com /f /support-for-bakers-farm-family-after-devastating-fire.

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Much of the community outpouring focused on the Bakers Farm Kennel & Grooming business that sat across the way from the burning structure. The kennel's distance from the house meant the boarded pets were "not in danger, " and Herring confirmed that "it's business as usual."

The kennel is still open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily, providing overnight boarding, day care and grooming services. She offers three different sizes of kennels, plus indoor /outdoor rooms, and turfed play yards. After leaving her nursing career due to medical issues, Herring has put the lion's share of her focus into running the kennel.

None of the boarded pets was injured Friday night, but one of her own dogs is sporting a cast for a broken leg.

Herring asked, for safety's sake, that no one walk through her property. Debris and an open smoldering basement make for dangerous conditions. Someone getting hurt would only compound her family's tragedy.

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In her fundraising post, Howell wrote in a heartfelt message, "Passed down for 7 generations, this home was the heart of the family."

Herring's strong resolve and positive perspective contend that the home wasn't the only heart of this family.
BRUSSELS (AP)  The prize in this art heist is worth more than its gold. To Romania, the ancient helmet is a priceless cultural heirloom. To the Netherlands, its a stolen artifact that authorities hope to retrieve to uphold a reputation for safe museums.

The intricate golden Cotofenesti helmet dates back some 2,500 years and is one Romanias most revered national treasures from the Dacia civilization. It was on display at the small Drents Museum in eastern Netherlands on the last weekend of a 6-month stint when thieves nabbed it.

The theft of the helmet and three golden wristbands also on display sent shockwaves through the art world, and devastated Romanian authorities who thought they were loaning the items to a nation where security for museums was paramount.

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It is a pitch dark day for us, museum director Harry Tupan said.

Investigators had found few clues by late Monday beyond a burnt-out car close to the museum, indicating the thieves wanted to cover their tracks.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said the artifacts have exceptional cultural and historical importance for Romanian heritage and identity, and that their disappearance had a strong emotional and symbolic impact on society.

It was a heist that even in our most pessimistic dreams, we would not have believed possible, said the director of Romanias National History Museum, Ernest Oberlander-Tarnoveanu.

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Romanian Justice Minister Radu Marinescu called the incident a crime against our state and said recovering the artifacts is an absolute priority."

The helmet's fame and dramatic studded appearance means it could never easily be sold, raising fears the thieves were after the gold itself.

It is simply unsellable. The whole world knows it. So, they likely went for the gold to  I almost dare not utter the words  melt it, said Dutch art expert Arthur Brand.

That would reduce the treasure to a fraction of its cultural and historical value. Gold stands at about 85,000 euros ($89,000) per kilo and the helmet is estimated to weigh slightly less than that.

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It is not only about the gold. It is about the cultural heritage, Tupan said. And it has been taken in a strange way and hurts incredibly.

On grainy security video distributed by police, three people are seen opening a museum door with a big crowbar, after which an explosion is seen. Then they must have made off with the loot in a matter of minutes.

Security, as it is supposed it be, was as far as we know, totally as it should be, Tupan said. And now, it is a small battlefield. There is nothing else for us to do but sit and wait and see what will happen.

____

McGrath reported from Bucharest. Aleks Furtula contributed from Arnhem, Netherlands
AI search engine startup Perplexity AI has put forward a revised proposal for a merger with TikTok's US operations, reported Reuters.

According to a source, the search engine startup's plan involves creating a new entity that would combine Perplexity and TikTok US, with the US government potentially owning up to 50% following an initial public offering (IPO), according to the person.

The proposal, submitted earlier in January 2025, revises an earlier plan the AI startup presented to TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, on January 18, one day before the TikTok ban law took effect on national security grounds.

The updated proposal to TikTok's parent company ByteDance includes the formation of a US holding company named "NewCo."

This would involve ByteDance selling TikTok US to investors, excluding TikTok's core recommendation algorithm, which ByteDance intends to retain. The envisioned IPO for the new entity is expected to value it at a minimum of $300bn.

Perplexity AI has also indicated a willingness to be acquired by NewCo, provided its investors receive a distribution of NewCo equity.

This move comes as TikTok services were reinstated in the US following President Donald Trump's announcement to restore the app's access, citing a potential resolution to the national security concerns that had led to its shutdown.

Posting on social media platform Truth Social, Trump earlier said: Im asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the laws prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.

However, US President Trump mentioned ongoing discussions regarding TikTok's future and anticipated a decision within the next 30 days.

"Perplexity AI revises merger proposal with TikTok  report" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.




Thieves have stolen four ancient artifacts, including an approximately 2,500-year-old gold helmet, after using explosives to break into a museum in the Netherlands.

The daring heist took place at Drents Museum in Assen during the early hours of Saturday morning, according to Dutch police, who said they received a report of an explosion at 3:45 a.m. local time.

CCTV footage released by police shows the suspects opening an exterior door before a blast sends sparks and smoke into the air. The thieves made off with three gold bracelets, dating from around 50 BC, as well as the 5th-century BC Helmet of Cotofenesti, a historically important artifact on loan from the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest.

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The items were part of an exhibition about the Dacians, an ancient society that occupied much of present-day Romania before being conquered by the Romans. On show since July, Dacia: Empire of Gold and Silver featured treasures borrowed from institutions across Romania.

In a press release on its website, Drents Museum described the Helmet of Cotofenesti  which was discovered in a Romanian village almost a century ago  as a masterpiece. Its design features mythological scenes and a pair of eyes, located above the wearers, that were thought to deter enemies during battle while protecting against the evil eye.

The exhibition was set to conclude Sunday, though Drents Museum remained closed through the weekend due to the robbery. Its premises were damaged by the explosion, though no injuries were reported, the museum said.

Dutch police announced that they are working with global police agency Interpol and had, as of Sunday, received more than 50 tip-offs. Investigators are currently looking for information about a gray car that was stolen from the nearby city of Alkmaar earlier in the week and was discovered around four miles from the crime scene, on fire, shortly after the overnight heist.

One of the three Dacian royal bracelets stolen during the heist. - Dutch Police

Police believe the suspects abandoned the vehicle, which had stolen license plates, and fled in a different getaway car.

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In a press statement, Drents Museums general director Harry Tupan, described the incident as a dark day  both for his institution and the National History Museum of Romania.

We are intensely shocked by the events last night at the museum, he added. In its 170-year existence, there has never been such a major incident. It also gives us enormous sadness towards our colleagues in Romania.

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Apolina Bahati, of Wichita, second from left, took the oath of citizenship Monday during a naturalization program at the Kansas Capitol. Bahati, joined by 29 other people from around the world, left Congo as a child, resided for 20 years in Tanzania and eventually moved to the United States. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA  Apolina Bahatis decades-long journey to United States citizenship came to a close Monday at a naturalization ceremony in the marble-enveloped rotunda of the Kansas Capitol.

Bahati left Congo at age 2 for life as a refugee in Tanzania before deciding as an adult to cross the ocean for a chance at permanence in the United States. She lives in Wichita. After the pomp and circumstance, she explained the essence of why she joined 29 other people from more than one-half dozen countries at a ceremony culminating with presenting certificates of citizenship. Her reasoning centered on an activity taken for granted by millions of Americans.

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I want to vote, she said.

Vayu Gilbert, a Canadian by birth and Kansan by choice, stood several feet from Bahati as the inductees raised their right hand and recited the oath of citizenship administered by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court administrator. Over the years, Gilberts father ran a wind energy company and the family spent parts of the year in Kansas. Over time, the 23-year-old Gilbert sensed he was becoming less Canadian and more American.

I want to set my future here in the United States. I want the rights, privileges and responsibilities of becoming a U.S. citizen, he said.

Vayu Gilbert, peering up at a U.S. flag, takes the oath of citizenship Monday during a naturalization ceremony at the Kansas Capitol. The Canadian followed his father to Kansas, who previously lived in the state, and decided to move forward with his life as a United States citizen. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Choose your own path

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Chief Judge Dale Somers, Gov. Laura Kelly and David Douglas, director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for Kansas and other Midwest states, collectively presided at the ceremony. The Capitol location was chosen to honor Wednesdays observance of the 164th anniversary of Kansas statehood.

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We are a country of different cultures and peoples and races gathered together by a desire to do good for ourselves and for others, Somers said. This is important. The freedom to choose your own path to accomplish these goals. No one can tell you what you have to believe. You have the freedom to be what you want to be as a person.

The judge said the oath of citizenship meant that each agreed with principles of the U.S. Constitution and were committed to defending contents of that document just as someone born in this country should.

In addition to Canada and Tanzania, new citizens came from Cuba, Nigeria, Ukraine, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Mexico, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, South Korea, Turkey, the Philippines, Taiwan, Congo

Douglas, the federal citizenship director, said generations of Kansans chose to be part of America and advanced that objective by applying for federal naturalization.

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Our nation becomes stronger with the addition of new citizens from all over the world, Douglas said. America is continually enriched by different languages, cultures, religions and ideas brought here by new citizens.

Anne Emile, left, who immigrated from Kenya to the United States nearly a decade ago for improved education and job opportunities, participated in a ceremony Monday at the Kansas Capitol to complete the process of obtaining U.S. citizenship. Her sister, Giselle, attended the event. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

It takes courage

Kelly, who had grandparents who immigrated from Ireland and came through Ellis Island, said people who took that plunge required grit, determination and perseverance. The governor also pointed to the Constitution as the vehicle for immigrants to become citizens and make use of valuable rights and freedoms.

It takes courage to get up and leave everything youve known, go to another place, no matter where it is, the governor said. Endless possibilities. Thats the foundation on which America is built.

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State Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen of Topeka said the program occurred on the 50th anniversary of the day he joined his mother and siblings in their own citizenship ceremony in Kansas City, Kansas. He immigrated from Germany at age 12, living initially in Michigan. After the death of his father, the family decided to remain in the United States.

Observing people joining ranks of U.S. citizens was emotional, he said, given President Donald Trumps immigration enforcement blitz. Trump campaigned in 2024 on a commitment to increase deportation of people without permission to legally reside in the United States.

It is very poignant to see this happening at this particular time, Schlingensiepen said.
BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (WDTN)  The city of Beavercreek is hosting a public forum next month to discuss plans for a thoroughfare.

The City says that the meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.

Residents will have the opportunity to provide input and feedback about the proposed development. The City will also present a draft of the plan for the thoroughfare, which will include a strategy for its inclusion within the city, a proposed location and roadways needed to support Beavercreeks estimated growth.

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Blood center in need of donors after winter weather impacts supply

In a post, the city announced the open house as well as some information about the thoroughfare plan.

Its goal is to consolidate existing road development plans with regional initiatives, pinpoint gaps, and create a comprehensive strategy. Key benefits of the thoroughfare plan include efficient use of infrastructure, clearly defining road functions, and assisting in securing funding for planned improvements, the city said, in part.

For more information about the upcoming Open House, visit the city of Beavercreeks website.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Thousands of displaced Palestinians are returning to their homes in the north of the devastated Gaza Strip after a deal between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militia was reached to free the next group of hostages.

Footage posted on social media on Monday morning showed crowds of Palestinians walking from the southern side of the Netzarim Corridor, which separates northern Gaza from the south and is a key supply route for Israeli forces, to the north of the coastal strip.

Israel's military has allowed people to return from 7 am (0500 GMT).

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According to UN data, about two-thirds of all buildings in Gaza were destroyed or severely damaged during the conflict, and approximately 90% of Gaza's 2.1 million residents were displaced.

The timing of the Gazans return to the north was affected by changes to the planned implementation of the ceasefire deal between Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel.

The initial agreement for the exchange of Israeli hostages and imprisoned Palestinians specified that civilians should be released first. However, on Saturday, Hamas released four young female soldiers instead.

It was also originally planned that people would be allowed to travel from the south to the north via a designated route one week after the start of the temporary truce.

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However, according to media reports, as Hamas did not release an Israeli civilian on Saturday as agreed, Israel initially blocked the return.

Hamas has now agreed to release an Israeli-German woman, who was abducted during the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, later this week.

Following this commitment, Israel authorized the return of displaced Gaza residents to their homes.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed the agreement. According to the statement, three hostages are to be released on Thursday and another three are set to be freed on Saturday.

Displaced Palestinians wait along Salah al-Din Road in Nuseirat, near the blocked Netzarim corridor, to cross to the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Many spent the night near the corridor, waiting for the road to reopen under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The return to their homes, many of which lie destroyed in the northern Gaza Strip, follows the handover of four Israeli female prisoners by Hamas in the central Gaza Strip. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

Displaced Palestinians wait along Salah al-Din Road in Nuseirat, near the blocked Netzarim corridor, to cross to the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Many spent the night near the corridor, waiting for the road to reopen under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The return to their homes, many of which lie destroyed in the northern Gaza Strip, follows the handover of four Israeli female prisoners by Hamas in the central Gaza Strip. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
For the record:

12:40 p.m. Jan. 28, 2025: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated millions of Palestinians were displaced at the time of Israels founding in 1948. The United Nations estimates that number to be more than 750,000. With family growth, it estimates there are currently more than 6 million Palestinian refugees worldwide.



Almost 16 months after Israel ordered them to flee south, displaced Palestinians began a long-anticipated reverse exodus Monday, trekking to their homes in northern Gaza as a cease-fire held and Israeli troops withdrew from parts of the enclave.

Even before 7 a.m., when an Israeli military spokesman said people could return on foot, video broadcasts showed massive crowds gathering near the Netzarim Corridor, an Israeli-controlled area that runs from east to west and bisects the Gaza Strip.

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As Israeli troops began to pull back, TV coverage showed people streaming in, with an official from the militant group Hamas telling French news agency Agence France-Presse that more than 200,000 had gone back despite not knowing whether they had a home left. Gazas north was the site of the fiercest fighting over the course of the war.

Pictures on social media depicted miles-long queues of cars at checkpoints staffed by foreign security company personnel in armored vehicles.

Weve been sleeping near this area for three days, waiting for the Israelis to let us through, one man in his 20s said in an interview with Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera. He had come from Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza 11 miles away, he said.

In a statement, the Israeli military told returnees to stay away from troops stationed along the path. It also warned them that "transfer of militants or weapons via these routes to the northern Gaza Strip will be considered a breach of the [cease-fire] agreement."

An aerial photograph shows displaced Palestinians returning to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip. (Mohammad Abu Samra / Associated Press)

"Do not cooperate with any terrorist entity that may try to exploit you to transfer weapons or prohibited materials, the statement said.

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Gaza residents posted videos on social media of impromptu celebrations, with crowds of men beating drums and chanting nationalist songs.

Hamas officials, commenting on the days events, described the return as a message to all who wager on the breaking of [Palestinians] will and displacing them from their land.

Israel had delayed Palestinians return to northern Gaza for two days, as a dispute with Hamas arose over Arbel Yehud, a civilian hostage whom Israel had expected to be included in the earlier release. Hamas has since said she will be in the next group to be freed Thursday.

Against the backdrop of the fragile cease-fire, Arab nations that are watching the process were stunned by statements President Trump made over the weekend, saying Palestinians should be removed from Gaza and sent to Jordan and Egypt. "We just clean out that whole thing and say: You know, its over, Trump said.

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Opponents said forced removal of an entire population amounts to ethnic cleansing and is illegal under international law. For Palestinians, it would amount to a second Nakba, or "catastrophe," their reference to the founding of Israel in 1948, during which more than 750,000 Palestinians, according to the United Nations, fled or were driven from their homes. Many still harbor hope for the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Displaced Palestinians make their way back to the northern Gaza Strip. (Abdel Kareem Hana / Associated Press)

Jordan, especially, would have difficulty absorbing more Palestinian people. Palestinian descendants already make up a majority of its population.

"Jordan is for Jordanians and Palestine is for Palestinians," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said in a news conference in Amman, the capital, on Sunday. "Our rejection for the deportation is steadfast and unchanging."

The deal between Israel and Hamas, brokered after months of intense negotiations by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S., stipulates that 33 Israeli hostages be released during the first phase; Israel would release around 1,900 Palestinian detainees.

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Seven Israelis have been released so far. The Israeli government said it was informed by Hamas that eight of the 26 remaining hostages are dead.

Even as the cease-fire in Gaza endured, Israels truce with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah appeared to be on shakier ground.

Israeli troops on Monday shot at residents of south Lebanon trying to return to their border villages after Israel remained on Lebanese territory past a Sunday deadline for its withdrawal.

The agreement, which began in November, gave Israel a 60-day window to withdraw; it would use that period to ensure Hezbollah has no presence near the Lebanese-Israeli border and the Lebanese army has exclusive control of the area.

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In the days before the deadline, Israeli leaders said the Lebanese army was not yet ready to deploy its forces and, as a result, Israeli troops would remain in place. The Lebanese army has countered by saying it cannot take over the area until Israeli forces pull out.

At least 25 people have been killed and 140 wounded over the last two days, health authorities say.

On Sunday, the White House said in a statement that the deadline would be extended until Feb. 18.

Despite anxieties over the cease-fires fragility, Hezbollah has not restarted its rocket attacks on Israel, despite repeated statements from its leaders that it is willing to return to war if Israel overstays.

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The residents of these villages where the occupation remains are getting ready with our national army to liberate it, said Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah lawmaker, speaking at an event in the southern Lebanese city of Bint Jbeil.

At the same time, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces will continue to firmly enforce the cease-fires in the north and south.

Anyone who violates the rules or threatens [Israeli] forces will bear the full cost, he wrote in a statement on social media.

Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson in Washington contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
In his first TV interview since being fired by President Trump, former Inspector General for Small Business Administration Mike Ware joins Ana Cabrera to speak out about his concerns for the government and the lack of transparency.
Two wrecks on Jacksonville roadways Sunday resulted in the deaths of three motorcyclists. The first crash occurred at about 1 p.m. at Interstate 295 at Old St. Augustine Road.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Two motorcyclists were riding southbound on I 295 in the center lane. The riders struck each other in a sideswipe type collision causing both riders to loose control, a Florida Highway Patrol news release states.

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Both riders were separated from their motorcycles and landed in the outside and inside shoulders, the news release states. One of the riders, a 41-year-old Jacksonville man, was taken to the hospital where he died. The other, a 32-year-old Jacksonville man, was pronounced dead at the scene.

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The second crash occurred just before 2 p.m. in the 4200 block of Roosevelt Boulevard.

A motorcyclist was riding north on Roosevelt when a black VW Jetta pulled out from a side street into the path of the motorcycle, a Jacksonville Sheriffs Office news release states.

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The motorcycle crashed into the drivers side of the Jetta. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department rushed the motorcyclist to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

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The names of the victims in both crashes were not released.

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WASHINGTON (NewsNation)  More Senate hearings have been scheduled for President Donald Trumps Cabinet nominees, marking a significant week ahead for some of his more controversial picks.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trumps choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services, will have his first hearing Wednesday. Kennedy is a former Democratic presidential candidate who dropped out and endorsed Trump. His nomination alarmed some concerned about his record of spreading misinformation regarding vaccines.

On Thursday, Kennedy will have a second hearing before a different committee. Kash Patel, who is nominated to run the FBI, also has a hearing Thursday.

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Former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is Trumps choice for national intelligence director; she also has a hearing Thursday. Sources told NewsNation that Gabbard may face more issues with a smaller group of Republicans than Democrats.

Hearings are not yet scheduled for all of Trumps picks, including Lori Chavez-DeRemer, nominated to lead the Department of Labor; Howard Lutnick, tapped to lead the Department of Commerce; and Linda McMahon, picked to lead the Department of Education.

Vance: Tulsi Gabbard will restore trust in intel

Democratic senators have been scrutinizing Gabbards past support for deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, as well as her calls to pardon national security leaker Edward Snowden. While some Republicans appear willing to consider those concerns, many continue to defend Gabbard as a proud, patriotic figure who isnt afraid to challenge the political establishment.

Gabbards path through Intelligence Committee narrows ahead of key hearing

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Im going to see how the hearing goes. Im inclined to be yes on everybody, but theres some questions she will be asked that I want to hear the answers to, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.



Its fine for people to have policy differences and ask questions about those differences. I hope no one would impugn Ms. Gabbards patriotism or her integrity, said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.



The bureaucrats at our intelligence services have gotten completely out of control. Theyve been part of the weaponization of our political system, the weaponization of our justice system. We need to have good intelligence services who keep us safe, but part of that is restoring trust in those services, and we think Tulsi is the right person to do it, said Vice President JD Vance.

Overall, several Republican lawmakers told NewsNation they feel its their responsibility to support Trumps nominees. However, some stated they will reserve judgment until hearing from the nominees.

Arrest quotas for ICE officers a bad idea: William Enyart

Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem confirmed

Pete Hegseth was confirmed as the nations defense secretary late Friday. Vance broke a 50-50 tie to narrowly seal Hegseths confirmation. Three Republicans  Sens. Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, Susan Collins, of Maine; and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska  also voted against him.

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While Hegseth received bipartisan pushback against his nomination, Kristi Noem was confirmed as homeland security secretary on Saturday with bipartisan support, receiving seven Democratic votes.

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A German Shepherd named Tom, whose owners were killed in a Russian attack in Kyiv Oblast, is now in search of a new home.

Source: UP.Culture, Ukrainska Pravda's holding company

Details: During the attack on Brovary on 24 January, the 5-year-old dog took refuge in a garage, where he stayed throughout the following day, guarding both himself and the car of his late owners, letting no one approach.

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Tom has been taken in by workers from the 12 Vartovykh (Guardians) charitable foundation, which assists stray animals.

Quote: "Two days ago, a Shahed drone struck his home in Brovary, killing his family  a husband and wife. Their adult children survived but are overwhelmed with grief and unable to find common ground regarding Tom or make a decision about his future," the organisation explained.

Animal welfare advocates were asked to take Tom in, and for now, he remains under their care. He will be ready for adoption after neutering and vaccination.

Quote: "Were trying to help him overcome severe stress and are giving him space. For now, we focus on calming him, providing tasty food, and ensuring a peaceful environment. Hes not aggressive but is deeply frightened and not yet ready to interact.

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Tom is a pure-bred German Shepherd, 5 years old, who clearly lived in a loving home. Were looking for a new family who can provide him with warmth and respect as he mourns," the animal welfare advocates shared.

Background:

Earlier in Lyman, soldiers spotted a lone dog who continued to guard the ruins of its home following a Russian strike.

In the autumn of 2022, a dog named Krym (Crimea) passed away after suffering injuries from a missile strike on Dnipro. The dog became a symbol of resilience and grief as it was seen "crying" amidst the rubble of its destroyed home.

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Fuji TV chairman Shuji Kano and president and CEO Koichi Minato have resigned in the wake of a widening sexual assault scandal around a 2023 dinner that the Japanese network is alleged to have organized at which a former member of the now-disbanded pop idol group SMAP is claimed to have assaulted a woman.

Kano and Minato announced they were stepping down during a press conference at the Fuji TV headquarters in Tokyo on Monday, the Associated Press reported.

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Fuji Media Holdings, parent of Fuji TV, has launched an independent probe into the 2023 dinner at which the celebrity TV host and former pop star Nakai Masahiro is alleged to have assaulted a woman and subsequently paid out a settlement.

The allegations emerged in December 2024 magazine stories in Japan and led Monday to Fuji TV chairman Shuji Kano and president Koichi Minato stepping down amid an internal probe at FMH launched and involving third-party investigators.

We are very sorry that we mishandled the case because of our lack of awareness about human rights and corporate governance  and as a result our responses to the involved woman were inadequate. We are very sorry to have destroyed our credibility, Minato told the Tokyo press conference on Monday.

In a statement, FMH said it sincerely apologizes to our stakeholders for any inconveniences and concerns arising from recent reports involving our subsidiary, Fuji Television Network. The parent company has faced an exodus of audience and advertisers in the wake of the widening sexual assault scandal involving Fuji TV, one the other countrys biggest television networks.

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FMH added the internal investigation would probe any possible involvement of Fuji TV and FMH in the incident surrounding the 2023 dinner, the possibility of other similar incidents, and whether a cover up at Fuji TV where Masahiro worked followed the alleged sexual assault, as has been claimed.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  Two early morning crashes have snarled traffic on Interstate 15 and Interstate 805 near the Interstate 8 connectors, causing backups though uptown San Diego ahead of the morning commute.

The first crash was reported around 3:22 a.m. in the area of the ramp from I-15 to I-8, according to California Highway Patrol logs. The second crash was reported in the area of I-805 north and I-8 around 7 a.m., logs show.

No further details are available about what occurred in either incident.

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A Sig Alert was issued shortly after for significant traffic delays, due to lane closures caused by the crash from I-15 at Adams Avenue to the connector from eastbound I-8 to northbound I-15. The Camino Del Rio on ramp to northbound I-15 was also closed.

Meanwhile, traffic on I-805 was backed up from I-8 all the way down to National City.

All lane closures were lifted around 8 a.m., Caltrans said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
A proposal by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukrainian coal should be supplied to Transnistria for electricity generation is "speculative", according to Vadim Krasnoselsky, leader of Transnistria, a separatist region within Moldova.

Source: Moldovan news outlet NewsMaker

Details: Krasnoselsky said the coal Ukraine is offering is not suitable for the Moldavskaya thermal power plant, as it runs on anthracite.

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Quote: "These are speculative suggestions that they will provide coal and so on. Ill explain once again that our plant is technologically fuelled by anthracite. Ukraine is offering coal that is not suitable for our plant. We have two coal-fired units. They run on anthracite," Krasnoselsky said.

Although the Transnistrian leader noted that one of the power units could be converted to run on Ukrainian coal, he said that under "normal conditions", which they do not have, the process would take "over a year and cost over 50 million euros".

Zelenskyy had previously said that Ukraine was prepared to supply coal to the Moldavskaya thermal power plant and could receive electricity from Tiraspol in return.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "This is fair: we give them coal, they get electricity for themselves, for the whole of Moldova, and we get electricity for ourselves."

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Background:

Russias Gazprom announced that it would stop gas supplies to Transnistria from 1 January 2025 due to its "failure to fulfil payment obligations".

The Moldovan energy companies Moldovagaz and Energocom are ready to assist Transnistria's Tiraspoltransgaz in organising gas purchases on any European platform on market terms.

The cut-off of Russian gas supplies to Transnistria has forced all industrial companies, except for those involved in food production, to shut down.

The Transnistrian authorities have agreed to accept gas from Moldova to help resolve the energy crisis.

Transnistrias gas reserves will last just a few days, and coal for electricity generation at the Moldavskaya thermal power plant will last until 16-17 February at the latest.

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The two survivors speak quietly as they recount how emaciated miners broke the ultimate taboo to avoid dying of hunger.

Trapped nearly a mile beneath the earth after police blocked their food and water, one recalled how some of his colleagues resorted to cannibalism.

They cut parts of legs, arms, and ribs for sustenance. They decided it was their only remaining option for survival, the man, who declined to be named, told the Telegraph.

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His claims echo similar accounts slowly emerging from a mining disaster which has shocked but also divided South Africa.

While he and his colleague insist they did not take part, they were forced into their own desperate acts, eating cockroaches after running out of food.

A miner is carried on a stretcher after being rescued from a disused gold mine shaft in Stilfontein

Last week rescuers retrieved 78 bodies and 246 survivors from abandoned shafts of one of the countrys deepest mines.

The deaths came in a lengthy stand-off between police and illegal miners who make a risky living by trespassing in disused gold mines to eke out what is left of the deposits.

In August, police began blocking food and water from entering the old Buffelsfontein Gold Mine near Stilfontein in the North West province of South Africa, to try to force hundreds of illegal prospectors back to the surface.

Smoke them out

Illegal mining is common and the government has taken a popular hard line on what it says are highly organised and ruthless criminal gangs behind the business.

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Police said it was too dangerous to enter the warren of old workings to confront armed criminal gangs, and instead they would stop supplies to smoke them out.

As the stand-off continued, the authorities maintained that the miners were able to make their way out, but were resisting in order to avoid arrest and deportation.

More than 1,300 did return to the surface and appeared in court.

An aerial view of the mine shaft where an estimated 4000 illegal miners were trapped - AP

Yet as the months wore on, unions and local people said large numbers of others were actually trapped or too weak to get out, and needed to be rescued.

Courts eventually ordered the authorities to provide humanitarian aid and employ a mining rescue company to bring up the remainder.

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Images of scores of body bags being hauled to the surface and skeletal miners emerging into the light have now prompted accusations that the police committed a massacre.

The governments coalition partner has called for an investigation, while the countrys second-largest trade union federation called the incident one of the most horrific displays of state wilful negligence in recent history.

Pressure on the police intensified this week when they admitted an alleged kingpin who oversaw the illegal Buffelsfontein operation had escaped custody with the help of corrupt officers.

The government has remained defiant, however. Gwede Mantashehe, the mining minister, said this week: If you go to a dangerous place such as a neglected mine and stay there for about three months, starving yourself to death, how does that become the responsibility of the state?

Large numbers of miners were trapped or too weak to get out - REUTERS

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Trapped nearly a mile beneath the earth after police blocked their food and water, one miner recalled how his colleagues resorted to cannibalism

South Africa is rich in gold, platinum, manganese and other metals, and the country is strewn with 6,000 abandoned mines that have been exhausted or are now uneconomical. But in a country with a 32 per cent unemployment rate, plenty are desperate enough to break into the disused shafts to see if anything is left.

South Africa estimates the activity loses the country 3 billion a year in revenue, while the miners, who are often from neighbouring countries, are accused of bringing crime waves to nearby communities. The illegal miners are known as zama zamas, which translates roughly as those who take a chance or those who try their luck.

The two South African-born miners who spoke to The Telegraph said they had entered a shaft in July 2024 and worked on the supply lines ferrying food and people into the depths by rope.

Food, medicine, alcohol and beverages were once plentiful, they recalled.

Credit: MACUA and Stilfontein Solidarity

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They were making approximately 400 a month and intended to save up to get driving licences and security guard certificates.

Police cut off all supplies in August. When they briefly resumed months later after the local community obtained court orders to compel the authorities, the underground gang bosses began hoarding what made its way down.

Police allege that a Lesotho national named James Neo Tshoaeli was a ringleader of the underground operation and was responsible for some deaths, assaults and torture said to have taken place. Tshoaeli, known as Tiger, is accused of hoarding food away from workers.

The two miners who made their way to the surface in December are now on bail after being charged with illegal mining and possession of gold. They described Tshoaeli as brutal, and alleged he meted out punishment to workers.

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Tshoaeli is said to have made it to the surface earlier this month, before mysteriously vanishing from custody while in a police vehicle en route to detention. Police have blamed corrupt officers and admitted his disappearance is an embarrassment.

When asked if they are investigating allegations of cannibalism, police have only said their investigation would take in the full scope of what went on underground.

Community members picket on the sidelines during rescue operations - Bloomberg

Police say they will investigate if the miners were denied safe exit from the shaft, resulting in mass deaths underground - Ihsaan Haffejee/Anadolu

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Ian Cameron, chairman of parliaments police select committee, said it was too early to blame the police for the deaths, as it was not yet clear what had happened underground.

He said: If the police did deny them exiting the shaft and they then starved to death, then theres a need for a serious investigation, not only investigation, but consequences that need to be upheld from the police officers involved.

The escape of Tshoaeli had also raised many questions, he added.

The fact that he got away, and the police admitted to it, clearly showed that the police were complicit in something and that raises a lot of eyebrows in a broader context.

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What else were the police complicit or involved in with regard to this whole thing?

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The murder trial of a former US soldier in a German court began on Monday for the 1978 murder of an 18-year-old female student he is believed to have had a relationship with.

The man, who is now 70, was 24 at the time of the murder. He was stationed in Schweinfurt, the Bavarian city where he is now stand trial in a district court. The woman was training to become a nursery school teacher at the time.

The accused was detained in the US state of Nebraska in 2023 and subsequently extradited. He has denied the charges.

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According to prosecutors, the man took the victim for a drive through the countryside when she told him she was pregnant and threatened to reveal their affair to the man's wife.

The accused then "stabbed the victim, who had become a nuisance to him, 14 times (...) from behind with a bayonet knife he had with him," senior public prosecutor Markus Kustner told the court on Monday at the start of the trial.

"He intended to kill her and thereby prevent the victim from following through on her threat to inform the defendant's wife about their relationship," Kustner said.

He was tracked down with the aid of traces of DNA found on the victim's clothing, using a forensic method not available at the time. Prosecutors see the new evidence, combined with past witness statements, as conclusive proof of his guilt.

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The more than half a century that has passed since the crime made itself clear in witness testimony on Monday.

"I almost can't remember," a 73-year-old woman who at the time reported seeing a vehicle on the country lane, possibly with a couple, told the court on Monday. "I saw a car on the dirt track, I don't remember how or what."

Two men, now aged 68 and 76, told the court how they found the young woman's body in a field of sugar beets while heading to work.

The young woman's green woollen cardigan was perforated in several places on her back, the 76-year-old man testified. She was otherwise fully clothed, wearing a red skirt, stockings and shoes. A brown handbag was lying next to the lifeless woman.

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Under German law, all crimes other than murder are subject to the statute of limitations. Prosecutors on Monday sought to argue that the woman was defenceless and had no way of escaping the attack.

The accused himself and his defence lawyers initially said nothing about the accusations made by the prosecution during Monday's proceedings.
By Conor Humphries and Joanna Plucinska

DUBLIN (Reuters) -Ryanair reported better than expected profits for the final three months of 2024 on Monday and Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said he was "cautiously optimistic" about fares for the coming summer on constrained capacity in Europe.

But the airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, was forced to cut its passenger traffic forecast for the second time in three months due to Boeing aircraft delivery delays.

The Irish airline saw fares fall 10% over its two summer quarters, in part due to a dispute with online travel agents which has been largely resolved. That improved to an average increase of 1% in the three months to Dec. 31, Ryanair's third quarter.

The company reported after-tax profit for the quarter of 149 million euros ($156 million), well ahead of the 60 million euros forecast in a company poll of analysts.

"For the summer this year ... modest, cautious optimism is where we should be," with bookings running about 1% ahead of where they were this time last year and pricing "modestly up", O'Leary told an analyst call.

He said he was hopeful of recovering some or all of an 8% fall in fares seen in the last nine months of 2024. "It all looks okay. It doesn't look bumper. It looks fine."

Ryanair said it was "cautiously guiding" for after-tax profit in the 12 months to March 31 in a range of 1.55 billion euros to 1.61 billion euros. Its shares were up 3% at 1140 GMT.

BOEING DELAYS

Ryanair said it expects to take delivery of nine Boeing 737 MAX aircraft ahead of its peak summer season, fewer than expected, and as a result will cut its forecast for passenger numbers in the 12 months to March 31, 2026, to 206 million from 210 million.

An earlier forecast of 215 million was cut in November.

The final 29 aircraft of Ryanair's 210 MAX order will arrive by March next year, lifting traffic to 215 million passengers in the year to March 2027, O'Leary said.

Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan, who recently returned from a trip to Boeing's production facilities in Seattle, said the delays were disappointing but that he had a "strong level of confidence" that the nine aircraft would arrive on time.

O'Leary, who was in Seattle with Sorahan, later added that he expects Boeing to produce 38 737 MAX jets per month by the end of the summer, and possibly up to 42 by October, subject to U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approval.

While Boeing doesn't disclose production figures, the planemaker said in October that before its strike it was preparing to hit a target of 38 737 jets per month by the end of 2024.
RICHMOND, Ky. (FOX 56)  The trial date for the man accused of killing a former Kentucky lawmakers daughter has been pushed back to May 2026.

Feb. 22 will mark three years since the brutal murder of Jordan Morgan.

Read more of the latest Lexington & central Kentucky news

Her family told FOX 56 that the ongoing legal process is frustrating, and they worry people have forgotten what Jordan went through.

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Jordan was lying asleep and was shot 11 times while she was asleep, said her father, former Kentucky State Rep. Wesley Morgan. I mean, I cant think of anything so horrific.

He was home at the time and was also shot. Wesley was treated at the hospital for his injuries.

The gunshot is really what woke me up because I was sleeping until all that happened when he burst through the door and shot Jordan, Wesley added.

Shannon Gilday faces murder, assault, three counts of attempted murder, criminal mischief, and burglary charges for the 2022 home invasion in Richmond.

LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS:

Not only is the trial for Gilday delayed, but the mental health competency hearing originally scheduled for Monday has also been postponed and is now set to take place in May.

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Madison Circuit Judge Cole Adams Maier expressed frustration with the now third continuance, saying, This is not how the rest of the case will operate.

Special prosecutors Todd Willard and Barbara Whaley from the Kentucky Attorney Generals Office took over the case after local prosecutors recused themselves.

The prosecution changed at my request, said Wesley. But I will not give you a reason for that should be easy to surmise though.

Willard said the continuance was necessary due to a lack of time to prepare.

Jordans family and prosecutors are still seeking the death penalty, saying even if Gilday stays on death row for 30 years, that sentence is justified in this case.

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He killed my daughter; my daughter has been in a grave for three years. I have absolutely no mercy or no sympathy for Shannon Gilday, Wesley added.

Specific dates for both the trial and mental health competency hearing have not yet been announced.

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NewsNations Ali Bradley hosted a panel of law enforcement experts on the border tonight at 6p/5c. Click here to watch the Q&A.

(NewsNation)  Military units from across the country are rushing to provide reinforcement along the southern border following President Donald Trumps executive order last week declaring a national emergency there.

Hundreds of troops, including from Kentucky, Washington and New York, are en route to the U.S.-Mexico border.

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At least 300 troops landed in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend, and sources tell NewsNation that at least 500 soldiers are in California.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott also announced he will buttress efforts by sending at least 400 soldiers from the Texas Tactical Border Force to help the National Guard and Border Patrol agents.

Trumps 5 biggest moves on immigration so far

Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents much of Texass southern border, said more troops are expected to arrive in the coming days and weeks. He added that Fort Bliss in El Paso will essentially be ground zero for these removal actions.

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While many of the units headed to the border will not have immigration jurisdiction and cannot apprehend migrants, they will have policing authority on military bases, Gonzales said. These troops will be used as a deterrence and to assist law enforcement.

On his first day in office, Trump declared a national emergency at the border, tasking the U.S. military with aiding border security, issuing a broad ban on asylum and taking steps to restrict citizenship for children born on American soil.

Trumps Jan. 20 order instructed the Pentagon to send as many troops as necessary to obtain complete operational control of the southern border of the United States.

The president deployed an initial 1,500 troops in California and Texas.

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The show of force in California and Texas comes as deportation flights have started to Central and South America.

On Friday, two U.S. military aircraft, each carrying about 80 migrants, flew from the U.S. to Guatemala, a U.S. official told reporters.

80 Guatemalans deported out of Biggs Army Airfield in Texas

Multiple deportations were carried out via flight, some of which were reportedly refused by Mexico. The White House has since claimed there was a miscommunication and that Mexico has not refused any of the flights.

Trump has threatened hefty tariffs on countries that refuse the deported migrants.

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Trump said on Sunday he would impose sweeping retaliatory measures on Colombia, including tariffs and sanctions, after the South American country turned away two U.S. military aircraft with migrants being deported.

Colombia, the third largest U.S. trading partner in Latin America, swiftly responded, threatening a 50% tariff on U.S. goods.

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Dozens lined Hancock Street in Quincy Sunday, holding American flags to honor a war hero and Vietnam veteran well known in this community.

A true American hero left us and theres not too many like that, said George Bouchard, a U.S. Army veteran.

The body of Retired Captain Richard Stratton was flown from Florida to Logan Airport, where Quincy officers met his casket on the tarmac to escort him back home to Quincy with a formal procession.

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Police officers, veterans and even strangers all stood to salute his casket as it was brought to the funeral home.

Stratton was 93 years old.

I did not know him, but I knew of his story, said Anita Perkins, who helped hand out flags to people for the procession.

Capt. Strattons story is one for the books, as one of the longest serving POWs from the Vietnam War.

He was a fighter pilot in the Navy and did a few missions overseas and got shot down, got captured and was in prison for 7 and a half years, which is a long time. 2,200 days, said Bouchard.

After coming home from the war, Captain Stratton continued his service in the Navy with positions across the country.

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He ended his career as the Director of the Naval Academy Prep School in Newport, Rhode Island.

One thing I remember about him is his humor, he had a lot of humor, very funny guy, but very strong, said Bouchard.

He was a survivor, husband, father and Navy vet the city of Quincy will never forget.

He was proud of Quincy, and he came back and shared with Quincy, he never forgot where he came from, and Im standing out here in the cold with all these other people to say thank you Dick Stratton, said Allan Yacubian, a Quincy resident.

The funeral for Captain Stratton will take place Saturday, February 1 at Sacred Heart Church in North Quincy at 11 AM, and hell be buried with full military honors at Mt. Wollaston cemetery.





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South Florida is home to hundreds of thousands of people with roots in Colombia, according to federal government data, underscoring the longstanding and deep ties between the region and the South American country.

There were nearly 240,000 Colombians living in Miami-Dade and Broward counties in 2023, according to the American Community Survey, the annual survey that the U.S. Census Bureau conducts. Meanwhile, Palm Beach County had almost 36,000 Colombian residents in 2021.

The large Colombian population in South Florida highlights the potential for chaos that the sanctions and tariffs that President Donald Trump announced Sunday could wreak here in the wake of a slew of punitive financial and immigration policies towards the South American country the president announced on Sunday.

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After President Gustavo Petros government refused to take American deportation flights headed to his country, Trump slammed Bogota with a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods that will go up to 50% in a week. On social media platform TruthSocial, the president also announced a travel ban on all Colombian officials and government supporters; enhanced inspection of cargo originating in Colombia; as well as banking and financing sanctions. Visa processing in the U.S. Embassy in Bogota will also shutter.

These measures are just the beginning, warned Trump on TruthSocial.

READ MORE: After Colombia refuses to take migrants back, Trump imposes immediate penalties on Bogota

Colombians make up a sizable portion of the U.S Hispanic population. There were over 1,628,927 people who identified as Colombian in 2023, according to Census data.. Sixty percent were born outside the United States, and 70% are either U.S.-born or naturalized citizens.

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Florida is home to 473,606 Colombians, according to the U.S. Census data. The state has long been a magnet for new arrivals from the South American country who are seeking a place where there are many Spanish speakers, a warm climate and a ready-made community. There are several Colombian restaurants in Miami, doling out classics like tamales, bandeja paisa and ajiaco. Hialeah, Doral and Kendall also have a large Colombian presence, and there is a decades-old Colombian American Chamber of Commerce in Miami that fosters positive economic relations between the United States and Colombia.

Florida Lieut. Gov. Jeanette Jeanette Nunez traveled to Colombia in 2019 on an export sales mission with 50-plus representatives from small and medium-sized businesses from Florida. Nunez met with Colombian government officials to identify future collaborations. Florida accounted for a quarter of all U.S. trade with Colombia and it was Floridas second-largest export market at the time of the trip, according to Nunezs office.

South Florida was also a voting hub for Colombians voting abroad during the 2022 presidential elections. The countrys government set up several voting stations across the region, and more than 100,000 Colombians registered to vote here.
(Bloomberg) -- The White House will give agencies two weeks to plan for the return of federal workers to the office, implementing an order President Donald Trump signed on the first day of his term to end Covid-era work-from-home accommodations.

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Separate guidance from the Office of Personnel Management Monday also sets in motion Trumps plans to reshape the federal workforce by giving him authority to hire and fire some employees who previously had civil service protection.

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The return-to-office mandate applies to federal workers unless excused due to a disability, qualifying medical condition, or other compelling reason certified by the agency head. Military spouses working civilian jobs are also exempt.

The new memo implementing Trumps order acknowledges a number of practical obstacles to getting employees back in the office. Many are covered by collective bargaining agreements, including one that Social Security Administration workers secured in the final days of the Biden administration, that allow more flexible work arrangements.

Agencies will need to find office space for a far-flung workforce, with some workers posted to areas that are more than 50 miles from the nearest federal building. Bringing back those workers may present unique challenges and would be phased in, the memo says. And some federal workers could be eligible for relocation expenses, further adding to the costs.

The guidance from the OPM is the latest salvo in an attempt to rein in the size of the US government, which also includes a federal hiring freeze.

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Trump on the first day of his second term also reinstated his controversial Schedule F executive order from 2020, which would expand the number of federal workers in positions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character. Now renamed Schedule Policy/Career, those positions would be removed from civil service protections, making it easier for the president to hire or fire them.

According to the Plum Book, which serves as a job list for incoming members of the new administration, there are more than 8,000 patronage posts in the federal government. Those include more than 1,100 top positions that the president fills with Senate confirmation, and more than 500 other presidential appointments that dont need Senate approval. Others include agency-level policy advisers, lawyers and confidential aides who support top government officials.

Trumps order would vastly expand that number. While he never fully implemented it in his first presidency, estimates based on preliminary plans suggested that the list could be 50,000 or more.

Musk Priority

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Return-to-work policies are a particular target for Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla Inc. and SpaceX CEO heading Trumps so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Musk pushed for a return-to-work mandate in an attempt to encourage some federal workers to simply quit or be fired as no-shows.

Federal work-from-home policies were the subject of the first hearing this year by the Republican-controlled House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has appointed a new subcommittee to complement Musks DOGE work.

About a third of federal employees are working from home full-time, according to a report last year from Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa. But many agencies still have the same office footprint as before the pandemic, resulting in about half of federal office space going unused, she said.

Federal employee unions say Ernsts numbers are misleading. Data from the Office of Management and Budget show that about 10% of the workforce is permanently remote  including disabled workers with a documented accommodation, military spouses and those where the nature of the work is mobile.

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Federal telework guidelines long predate the national emergency that Trump declared in March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, agencies were required to adopt remote work policies that encouraged many employees to work from home.

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The new Trump administration has launched a nationwide immigration crackdown that saw some 1,000 people arrested in a single day on Sunday, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement data.

ICE field officers have been given a quota of 75 arrests per day, CNN reported  significantly higher than 2024 target numbers.

The push comes after President Donald Trump signed a slew of immigration-related executive orders, including declaring a national emergency at the southern border and ending birthright citizenship.

SIGNALS

Heavy-handed crackdown risks sparking bipartisan backlash

Sources: Financial Times, Fox News

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Donald Trumps pledge to deport some 11 million undocumented migrants is likely unrealistic, many experts have said, purely because of the limitations on federal resources. Still, a ramp up in immigration raids and the potential for mass arrests in local communities  and attendant negative press  could fuel a bipartisan backlash: You get calls from Republican members of Congress [asking], why are you deporting this guy? Im getting these calls from the pastor and from congregants, a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement official explained to the Financial Times. If they send an army into New York, and you have 10,000 troops carrying semi-automatic weapons, I think its a terrible image, and I oppose that. But its not that I oppose removing people, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, said in an interview with Fox News.

Legal immigration pits populist right against Trumps billionaire backers

Sources: The Associated Press, Australian Institute of International Affairs, Business Insider

Legal immigration has presented another point of discord among Donald Trumps closest supporters and allies. While the president previously described H-1B visas  awarded to a number of skilled immigrant workers every year  as very bad and unfair, Trump has since signaled his support for allies like Elon Musk, who want to expand the visa. Musk and other leading tech figures ardent support for the visa has pitted the anti-immigration populist right against the tech billionaires, a populism expert argued for the Australian Institute of International Affairs. Tech experts told Business Insider that stricter US immigration laws could see the industry face worker shortages on a similar scale to the pandemic era, potentially hampering US AI innovation.

Chilling effect on immigrant communities could spread more broadly

Sources: The Guardian, CBS, The Mercury News, The Boston Globe

Immigration experts told The Guardian that while some of Donald Trumps directives are unlikely to survive legal challenges, the chaotic tempo of Trumps initial orders seem designed to stoke panic. That could help foster what Vice President JD Vance has described as a desired chilling effect on migration more broadly. Raids on farms in California have left many migrant workers afraid to turn up to work, local outlet The Mercury News reported, while immigrant families in Massachusetts fear schools are no longer safe, according to The Boston Globe. We can affirm and pledge to stand with all our residents, one Massachusetts city mayor told the Globe, adding that the federal government is the federal government That is a dark specter over peoples lives.
NBC News Justice Reporter Ryan Reilly and Host of Radio Atlantic and the 'We Live Here Now' podcast Hanna Rosin join Katy Tur to discuss the announcement of an investigation into prosecutors who were involved in cases of January 6th rioters and the return of rioters back into neighborhoods like D.C.
The Trump administration is moving forward with its mandate to return federal workers to the office.

It asked federal agencies to make plans for workers, including those living over 50 miles from an office.

The guidance has come amid Donald Trump's efforts to reduce the federal workforce.

President Donald Trump's administration asked federal agencies to implement plans to return federal workers to the office  including making arrangements for those who live too far away for a regular commute.

On Monday, the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget issued new guidance that expanded on an RTO executive order for federal workers originally issued on January 20.

Specifically, the memo asked agencies to "determine permanent worksites" for employees who have been working remotely full time and include "the steps the agency will take to move these employees' duty stations to the most appropriate Federal office based on the employees' duties and job functions."

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While returning to the office may be more straightforward for workers who live nearby, the memo also asked agencies to provide a description that justifies why employees who live more than 50 miles from existing worksites should receive relocation benefits.

Agencies should begin working on "phasing in the return of remote workers who are more than 50 miles from a current agency office, which may present unique challenges," the memo said.

Some workers may be eligible for exemptions, which the memo said could be because of disability, a qualifying medical condition, or some "other compelling reason" that an agency head and supervisor sign off on. OMB and OPM didn't specify whether employees living more than 50 miles away from an office would receive or be considered for an exemption. Monday's memo requested a response to OMB and OPM no later than February 7.

OPM referred Business Insider to its initial guidance on the return-to-office mandate. OMB and the White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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BI previously reported that some federal workers were split on the impact of requiring a return to fully in-person work. While some of them said the commute would be a challenge and disrupt family life and childcare needs, others said they were willing to adapt and were appreciative of being employed in the first place.

Along with the RTO mandate, Trump also instituted a hiring freeze on federal workers, and OPM issued a separate memo asking federal agencies to compile lists of workers they could easily fire. These actions reflect Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, a commission seeking to reduce government waste. Musk previously said this could be partly accomplished by reducing the federal workforce.

Are you a federal worker willing to share your thoughts? Contact this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.

Correction: January 28, 2025  An earlier version of this story misstated when the RTO executive order for federal workers was issued. It was January 20, not January 21.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Starbucks (SBUX) is striving to brew up a comeback.

The Seattle-based coffee giant posted its first quarter fiscal year 2025 results on Tuesday after market close, which showed declines across the board but beat Wall Street's expectations.

This was the first full quarter under CEO Brian Niccol, who took the helm on Sept. 9.

"The first quarter in 2025 results met our expectations, clearly show[ed] some signs of progress ... we still have much work to do," Niccol told investors on an earnings call, with a positive response across all ages so far in its "Back to Starbucks" plan, which calls for a focus on core coffee products, better pricing, and faster service.

Revenue was flat year over year at $9.4 billion, versus estimates of $9.32 billion. Earnings per share of $0.69 were a 23% drop compared to the same quarter a year ago, but higher than the $0.66 expected. The company alluded to "heightened investments" for Niccol's turnaround plan as part of the reason for the earnings decline.

Global same-store sales and foot traffic declined 4% and 6%, respectively, the fourth straight quarter of such decline. The average ticket size grew 3%.

North America and US same-store sales fell 4% year over year, while foot traffic dropped 8%, partially offset by a 4% jump in average ticket.

In the quarter, Starbucks pulled back on promotions, leading to 40% fewer discounted transactions year over year. CFO Rachel Ruggeri said on the earnings call that it's doubling marketing spend as a percentage of revenue, offsetting savings from running fewer promos.

Starbucks plans to reduce beverage and food offerings on the menu by 30% by the end of this fiscal year. The company recently canceled the extra charge on non-dairy milks and paused price increases. Soon, it plans to launch a pilot program in 700 stores to improve staffing levels.

Operating margin contracted by 390 basis points in the quarter, partially driven by "deleverage and investments" in Niccol's strategy, per Starbucks. Improving mobile orders is next on the to-do list for Niccol.

Despite soaring coffee bean costs (KC=F), the impact on Starbucks has been minimal, per Ruggeri. Its total cost of green coffee is typically limited to 10% to 15% of its product and distribution costs.

In the past year, Starbucks stock has gained 5%, far lagging the S&P 500's (^GSPC) 24% rise. But the shares have risen 32% in the past six months after Niccol was announced as the new CEO in August.

Wall Street expects ongoing negative same-store sales trends

Here are the results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, compared to what Wall Street expected, per Bloomberg consensus estimates:
An Oklahoma education official who sought to place a Trump Bible in every classroom in his state has signaled to the new administration that he stands ready to help it deport undocumented kids as young as kindergarteners.

Here in Oklahoma, we absolutely will work with President Trump. We will make sure he has the information he needs, any support on enforcing those policies we will happily assist as well, State Superintendent of Public Education Ryan Walters told Oklahoma City TV station KOCO 5 News last week in response to reports of the presidents plans for large-scale deportations of undocumented immigrants.

Walters said he would be pushing for the states Republican controlled legislature to approve a rule requiring schools to check every students immigration status.

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Schools will comply, Walters told the station. This is part of their accreditation, part of our accountability measures.

He added, They dont get to pick and choose what laws they go by. This is federal law. This is about securing the border, making sure were a law-and-order country, so Oklahoma schools will comply.

This week, Trump moved to remove Obama-era restrictions that have barred ICE from such sensitive locations such as hospitals, churches and schools; Walter has since gone as far as to say hes ready to assist ICE raids on schools. He argued in a press statement on Friday that he would only be doing so in the best interests of the youngsters he is ready to target for forced removal from the country.

For years the liberal media has been vilifying Republicans for separating illegal immigrant children from their parents, Walters said. Now they want us to explain why wed let ICE agents into schools. The answer is simple: we want to ensure that deported parents are reconnected with their children and keep families together.

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To achieve his goals here, Walters will be picking and choosing which federal law he willand wontgo by. With its Plyler v Doe judgment, the Supreme Court in 1982 ruled that a state cannot bar children from attending public school because they are undocumented; a pre-Trump Department of Justice fact sheet says all children are entitled to equal access to a basic public elementary and secondary education regardless of their actual or perceived race, color, national origin, citizenship, immigration status, or the status of their parents/guardians.

School districts that either prohibit or discourage, or maintain policies that have the effect of prohibiting or discouraging, children from enrolling in schools because they or their parents/guardians are not U.S. citizens or are undocumented may be in violation of Federal law, the DOJ adds.

The Oklahoma school kids facing possible deportation include an estimated 3,000 unaccompanied minors who were settled with sponsors in Oklahoma after arriving in America between 2021 and 2023. Also at risk are children born in the U.S. to undocumented parentsTrump has indicated that he intends to do a little picking and choosing among existing laws of his own by seeking to simply ignore the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which holds that anyone born in the United States is automatically a citizen.

In the meantime, Walters has announced that Oklahoma schools will begin teaching that the Gulf of Mexico should be called the Gulf of America, in keeping with Trumps orderand that Alaskas highest peak, Denali, will be known as Mount McKinley again.

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Our nations proud history and heritage is accurately reflected in these updates, and President Trump is correct in making them, Walters said in a statement issued on Thursday. I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration and make our schools, and America, great again.

Walters had previously proven his willingness to bring the MAGA agenda into schools back in July of 2023, when he declared that the Tulsa Race Massacre had nothing to do with skin color.

Oklahomas schools had been required since 2002 to teach that the massacre was a paroxysm of racist violence in which white mobs killed as many as 300 Black residents and burned some 1,600 homes and businesses in what was known as Black Wall Street. Walters, though, had other ideas: Lets not tie it to the skin color and say the skin color determined that, he explained of the massacre during a public forum.

That doesnt mean you dont judge the actions of individuals, he continued. Oh, you can, absolutely. Historically you should. This was right, this was wrong. They did this for this reason.

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But in his willfully warped view, that reason cannot include race: That is critical race theory, he said. I reject that.

In another of his MAGA moves, Walters announced last year that he would place a Bible in every classroom. His office then issued Solicitation No. EV00000, an ostensibly open bid seeking an order of 55,000 Bibles. The hitch (or was it the design?) was that the Bibles had to include the Old and New Testaments and be along with the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and come with leather or leather like binding, and only two varieties of Bible fit the requirements; both are endorsed by Trumpand both provide him with royalties.

Walters office quietly withdrew solicitation of the order last week, which seems like a missed opportunity after all. Whats the line about loving thy neigbhor?
All it took was a few strokes of the pen for Donald Trump and Joe Biden to add to a long, strange American tradition.

The presidential pardon dates back to George Washington more than two centuries ago. Bestowed upon thousands and thousands of Americans since then, it remains a power both unique and highly subjective.

Richard Nixon says goodbye with a victorious salute to his staff members outside the White House as he boards a helicopter after resigning the presidency on Aug. 9, 1974. President Gerald Ford fully pardoned Nixon one month later. (Bob Daugherty / Associated Press)

"Generally, presidents may pardon any federal crime," says Jeffrey Crouch, an assistant law professor at American University in Washington, D.C. "Moreover, they may use clemency as often as they would like."

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This authority has led to controversial decisions, including reprieves for the likes of President Richard Nixon, officials implicated in the Iran-Contra affair and disgraced commodities trader Marc Rich. The list grew a little longer in recent weeks when Trump pardoned 1,500 or so Jan. 6 rioters and Biden did likewise for some of his closest family members.

The history of executive clemency is also marked by examples that have slipped from memory despite being just as debatable or, in some cases, quirky.

Here is a sampling:

1795: The Whiskey Rebellion

In the early 1790s, Pennsylvania farmers tarred and feathered several government officials sent to collect a new tax on whiskey production. As violence spread, Washington  in his second term as president  personally led a militia force to quell what became known as the Whiskey Rebellion.

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Washington decided to issue the first executive clemency in 1795, exonerating all persons guilty of the said treasons. Though insistent on the rule of law, he spoke of a need to mingle in the operations of government every degree of moderation and tenderness.

1815: The pirate Jean Lafitte

During the War of 1812, British forces approached the notorious Gulf of Mexico smuggler for help in attacking the U.S. coastline. Lafitte not only warned American authorities; he and his crew proved crucial in defending New Orleans.

As a reward, President James Madison pardoned them for any clandestine and lawless acts they might previously have committed.

Read more: Jan. 6 rioters freed by Trump include Californians and those who assaulted officers

1830: George Wilson

This case showed that not all pardons are created equal.

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President Andrew Jackson issued an executive clemency that spared Wilson from being hanged for robbing the mail, but did not preclude a lengthy prison term. Wilson turned it down.

Startled authorities looked to the Supreme Court, which ruled Wilson had a right to refuse. Historical accounts regarding what happened next are murky  some say he was hanged; others suggest he accepted a subsequent pardon from President Martin Van Buren.

1858: Brigham Young

The Utah War of 1857-58 began when U.S. Army soldiers marched west to install a new governor for the territory occupied by the Latter-day Saints and their leader Young. Though the yearlong standoff was uneventful, tensions led to Mormons attacking and killing more than 100 innocent people in a wagon train bound for California.

The war finally ended when President James Buchanan  facing criticism for what was known as Buchanans Blunder  pardoned Young and his followers for resisting the government. In return, they submitted to U.S. rule.

1868: The Confederate army

President Andrew Johnson waited until three years after the Civil War to issue an Independence Day amnesty to anyone who participated in what he called the rebellion. Johnson justified the action as a means to promote and procure complete fraternal reconciliation among the whole people.

A photograph published in The Times in 1925 shows Confederate veterans and others at Hollywood Forever Cemetery for the unveiling of a monument to fallen soldiers of the Confederacy. (Los Angeles Times archive / UCLA Library)

1971: Jimmy Hoffa

The infamous labor leader went to federal prison in 1967 for jury tampering, fraud and conspiracy. Nixon tempered the commutation of his sentence by demanding that he refrain from union activities. But declassified documents show the presidents aides sought to use Hoffa to gain labor support for Nixon's 1972 reelection campaign.

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Several years later, Hoffa disappeared under mysterious circumstances and was never seen again.

Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa shown in Washington in 1959. (Associated Press)

1977: Vietnam draft dodgers

On his first full day in office, President Jimmy Carter issued a blanket pardon to anyone who had evaded the draft, allowing thousands of young men to return from Canada and other countries. It was part of his campaign vow to address the unfinished business of the Vietnam War.

1977: 'Tokyo Rose'

It was 1941 when Iva Ikuko Toguri  born in Los Angeles, educated at UCLA  moved to Japan. After the end of World War II, U.S. authorities charged the so-called Tokyo Rose  a radio handle she never used  with being one of several women who broadcast English-language radio shows meant to demoralize American troops. She was convicted of treason and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Nearly three decades later, after two prosecution witnesses said they testified under duress, President Gerald Ford granted her an unconditional pardon.

Iva Ikuko Toguri is shown after her release from Federal Women's Reformatory in Alderson, W.Va., on Jan. 28, 1956. (Associated Press)

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1989: George Steinbrenner

The bombastic owner of the New York Yankees was convicted and fined, but not imprisoned, for making illegal contributions to Nixons 1972 campaign. Years later, President Ronald Reagan issued a pardon that did not cleanse Steinbrenners record but did restore his full citizenship rights.

2001: Patty Hearst

The newspaper heiress, who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army and later joined them as Tania, was the recipient of two presidential actions. Carter commuted her prison sentence for bank robbery in 1979, then President Bill Clinton issued a full pardon on his final day in office.

Patty Hearst in handcuffs, escorted by two women at the inmate entrance of the Criminal Court Building in Los Angeles in 1976. (John Malmin/Los Angeles Times)

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
(Bloomberg) -- Ajay loves living in America, and he says until recently it felt like America loved having him.

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An immigrant from India who came with his wife and infant son for graduate school in 2021, he stayed after finding a tech job at a Fortune 500 company that provided him with an H-1B visa. His family has embraced the most American style of vacationing  epic road trips that have taken them to 28 states. Their son, now 4, loves cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets and the Woody Guthrie song This Land Is Your Land, which he learned at preschool.

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Last month, he and his wife were thrilled to discover shes pregnant. But just two weeks later, excitement turned to apprehension when President Donald Trump announced a new rule under which children born to parents who arent permanent residents wont automatically be US citizens.

The policy  on hold for now after a legal challenge  felt cruel and vindictive, and upended his understanding of whats possible for holders of H-1B visas for highly skilled workers. The deal, as he saw it, is that one of the rewards for moving around the world to take in-demand jobs that US companies couldnt otherwise fill was that any kids born in the country would be citizens.

I think the American dream is coming to an end for most of us, said Ajay, who asked not to be identified with his full name because of concerns he may face backlash.

Ajays dilemma shows the wide ranging fallout from the early days of Trumps immigration crackdown. While the emphasis during the campaign was border security and deportations of people in the country without permission, some of Trumps first executive orders have targeted legal immigrants.

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That includes refugees whose resettlement plans were canceled, asylum seekers whose appointments to plead their case were scrapped and holders of H-1B and other work and student visas who are now trying to navigate what the new policy on birthright citizenship means for their families.

The situation also highlights tension within the Trump universe about immigration. Elon Musk has called for an expansion of the H-1B visa program to help ensure a robust pipeline of workers for tech companies like his own, while others like Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller have espoused more restrictive polices.

About 85,000 foreigners are allowed to move to the US annually under the coveted H-1B visa program, and there are now hundreds of thousands of people living in the US under those rules. Indians are the biggest recipients, accounting for 75% of all such visa petitions in 2020, with Chinese No. 2 with about 12% and Canadians No. 3. with 1%, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Under Trumps order, citizenship would be denied to any child who doesnt have at least one parent who is a US citizen or legal permanent resident. While it would apply to those in the country illegally  long a goal of Miller and others  it would also extend to those in the US as tourists, students or on temporary work visas.

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The US is fairly unique in offering unconditional birthright citizenship, creating a special enticement for foreign workers deciding on which country to move to. Mexico and Canada have similar rules, but places including Australia, Germany, India and the UK dont. If US nationals have a baby in Australia, for example, the child will automatically get the same visa status as the parents.

There is no official US data available about how many children are born to non-citizens annually. But in lawsuits challenging the order, lawyers said at least 150,000 children a year could be affected.

On Jan. 23, a federal judge in Seattle, John Coughenour, put the order on hold for 14 days and could extend that going forward. Other hearings set for challenges filed elsewhere are expected in the coming weeks.

Rajat Suri, a tech entrepreneur and co-founder of the ride hailing company Lyft Inc., said curtailing birthright citizenship has the potential to make it dramatically harder for US companies to recruit foreign workers.

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Every company that hires talented immigrants to come work for them, they are attracting them to build their lives, including families, said Suri, whose latest venture is Lima, a company that helps foreign workers interested in moving to the US navigate the system. If a baby is not going to be a US citizen, that is going to be a huge deterrent.

He said attracting foreigners to the US is already complicated, given the extensive documentation and vetting needed to win a work visa. He met coworkers on temporary visas who opted to return home because of immigration complications, and adding a layer of uncertainty about the fate of any children born on US soil would only make things more complex, he said.

We already put immigrants through so much unnecessary trauma, said Suri, the child of Indian immigrants to Canada who is now a naturalized US citizen. They will just go to some place that treats immigrants better, where they have options.

Indian nationals would be disproportionately affected by any change in birthright citizenship because they face a particularly long wait to get permanent residency, known as a green card, due to limits on how many people from any one country can get the status every year. For those immigrants, the wait is several decades. Other countries with less demand have little to no wait time.

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David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, said eliminating birthright citizenship would drastically reduce the appeal of staying for many foreigners who graduate from US colleges and would otherwise want to find US jobs. Should recruiting become significantly more difficult, companies may opt to expand overseas to tap into talent there rather than grow domestically.

We are seeing more companies invest in India and more companies start in India since all the restrictions in the United States, Bier said. There are so many far reaching implications for this.

Prasad Thotakura, a prominent member of the Indian-American community in Dallas, said the Indian diaspora is keyed in to the issue and worried about the ramifications of Trumps order. At the moment, it isnt clear what exactly the status of a child born to parents on temporary visas would have.

The community is really concerned about it, said Thotakura, a surgeon who has been living in the US for 40 years. If those kids are not citizens, what kind of documentation do they need to do? It is in a very, very, very confusing state at this time.

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For many H-1B holders, the executive order has put their familys future in jeopardy, said Ancy Varghese, a senior immigration lawyer at VisaPro in New York.

That throws an entire familys stability into flux because now all these questions are going to arise, she said. Do these children become stateless?

Sanjay, an Indian national who moved to the US in 2019 to get a masters degree, and his wife, also an H-1B holder from India, are due to welcome a new baby at the end of February, just days after Trumps executive order was intended to take effect.

From their home in Austin  where Sanjay works in tech  he had been planning to teach his child about US history, have him memorize the Pledge of Allegiance and nurture him to be a proud American.

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Now, the future seems less certain. Ever since the executive order, Sanjay  who like some Indians doesnt have a surname  has been unable to stop thinking about whats in store for his child.

Up until now, I would say that Ive been blessed having an amazing life, probably a life which I could only dream of while I was living in India, he said in an interview. But for the last couple of days, Im having sleepless nights where my constant thoughts are on what would happen to the baby.

--With assistance from Joe Lovinger.

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(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is preparing an executive order for a next-generation defense shield to protect the US against ballistic missiles and other long-range attacks, taking on a goal that past administrations  including his own  struggled to reach.

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The threat of attack by ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles remains a catastrophic threat facing the United States, according to a White House document on the upcoming executive order.

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It says Trump will order the construction of an Iron Dome shield, comparing it to Israels vaunted system, which was developed in coordination with the US and is designed to address threats including drones, rockets and cruise missiles.

Any such system would have to go well beyond what Israels Iron Dome provides if its to cover all of the US. RTX Corp.s Raytheon unit, which produces Iron Dome in coordination with Israels Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, says the systems Tamir missile can down weapons launched from a range of 4 to 70 km (44 miles).

The presidents executive order seeks to accelerate production and delivery of new systems to track and intercept incoming missiles, as well as defeat them before launch. The White House document on the planned order was reported earlier by CNN.

The US already has a range of missile defense systems in place. There are Terminal High Altitude Air Defense systems, as well as Aegis systems on warships and Patriot batteries and ground-based interceptors.

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But the Defense Department has struggled to develop a defense shield for all of the US. Unsuccessful efforts go back to President Ronald Reagans proposed Strategic Defense Initiative, a space-based system that became known as Star Wars.

Since 2002, the Pentagons Missile Defense Agency has spent more than $194 billion, including $10.4 billion for fiscal year 2022, to equip operational commanders with a layered system of sensors, interceptors, and command and control capabilities to detect, track and destroy incoming missiles, the Government Accountability Office said in a 2023 report.

In 2019, during Trumps first term, the Pentagon canceled a $1 billion Boeing Co. contract for a kill vehicle envisioned to shoot down missiles from North Korea or Iran.

Adversaries such as China and Russia have worked to develop hypersonic weapons in recent years, as Defense Department has struggled to keep pace. According to the White House, even in the face of mounting threats, United States homeland missile defense policy has been limited to staying ahead of rogue nation threats and accidental or unauthorized missile launches.

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The Missile Defense Agency oversees a system of 44 ground-based interceptors based in California and Alaska designed and intended to stop small numbers of ballistic missiles from North Korea, not waves of missiles from China or Russia. Last year, Lockheed Martin Corp. won a $17 billion contract to upgrade the interceptors.

According to the president, the new system will be made all in the USA.

--With assistance from Tony Capaccio.

(Adds background of missile defense systems starting in seventh paragraph)

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Sometimes politics resembles one of the weirder branches of modern physics or a fantasy version of biology. Time may seem to run backwards; solid things turn out to be insubstantial; black holes swallow up the light; the dead may walk the Earth, ghouls crawl out of cleft rocks, velociraptors not only reappear but learn to speak and, alarmingly, open doors.

That is how American politics feels at the moment. By and large, however, Newtonian physics and traditional biology still apply, and that is worth remembering as we watch the Trump administrations circus of transgression, vindictiveness, and sometimes mere folly.

Like most administrations, including those of considerably more sedate chief executives, that of the 47th president has decided to way overinterpret its mandate. The brute facts remain: Donald Trump received a plurality of votes (albeit a decisive majority in the Electoral College); the Republican Party is holding on to the House of Representatives by a hair and has a slim majority in the Senate. The administration may hate civil servants and seek to undermine their job security, but it will discover that it needs them to keep airplanes flying safely, the financial system functioning, drugs safe for use, and food fit for consumption.

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Gravity still worksif somewhat unreliably. Politicians who overinterpret narrow wins in a divided country get pulled back to Earth, usually by the midterms. But not just thatthe federal system of government gives a lot of power to the states, and although Congress has become anemic and irresponsible, most state governments have not. And so the governor of Florida has declined to appoint the presidents daughter-in-law to a vacant Senate seat, and the governor of Ohio has passed on one of the presidents more socially awkward tech billionaires for another. These are small but interesting indications of gravity reasserting itself.

Lawyers, by the thousand, in and out of state governments, create their own gravitational field. The poorly paid lawyers of the Justice Department can sue only so much, and the Supreme Court will turn out to beas it did during the previous Trump administrationless reliably Trumpist than the president would wish. (The most pro-Trump justices are Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, two of the conservatives he did not appoint.) Even the appalling sweeping pardons of the January 6 rioters and insurrectionists have their limits. If any of those people attempt violence in Maryland or Virginia or anywhere else outside of D.C., they will discover that assault and other crimes there are tried in state, not federal, courts. And the presidential-pardon power does not reach state prisons, which means that some ghouls will go back to their cleft rocks if they go out looking for revenge.

Newtonian physics also has it that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Precisely so. Pardon every criminal who clubbed a police officer, and police unions will be unamused. Impose high tariffs, and working-class voters will encounter higher prices and possibly unemployment. Blow up the national debt to cut taxes, and sooner or later the markets will react. Give way to vaccine skepticism, and epidemics will break out. Turn the intelligence community and military upside down by purging women and other undesirables, and you will produce not only big, embarrassing, consequential failures but also pushback from those large populations, their families, and those politicians who still care about national defense.

And then there is retribution. Political physics runs along the lines of the lyrics composed by Johnny Cash: That old wheel / Is gonna roll around once more / When it does / It will even up the score. Or, as Shakespeare has Shylock put it rather more pointedly: The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.

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The reckless, violence-feeding mass pardons of the January 6 insurrectionists were evidence of Trumpian lawlessness. The orders to end the security clearances of scores of former senior intelligence officials who criticized Trump, and the stunning decision to remove security protection from John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and Brian Hookthree former senior officials of the first Trump administrationwere pure personal meanness. Suspending clearances was intended as a humiliation and a blow at pocketbooks (many of those targeted serve on corporate boards where clearances are a prerequisite), and cutting security protection against Iranian death threats was even worse.

But Trumps appointees, who will carry out this and other acts of payback, should consider that before very long they, too, will be out of government. They, too, will want to keep their clearances. And they, too, may incur the wrath of state and non-state enemies who want to kill them. They will wish to consider just how exposed they will inevitably be, once their triumph, like all others, passes into memory. If decency and respect for norms do not motivate them in the right direction, fear may have to serve in place.

Biology also will have its say. Inebriationwith power and success, in this caseinvariably leads to hangovers, no matter what family remedies or magical cures one imbibes. That usually hits at the midterms, as the Obama and George W. Bush administrations found out the hard way. More to the point, certain biological realities, including age and its accompanying physical and mental decline, will operate during Trumps 80s. The flunkies and toadies who surround the president will seek to deny this elemental realitythe Biden team was egregious in this regardbut sooner or later, it will take hold too.

Primatology, in this case, offers a useful guide. In most troops of baboons, an alpha male dominates all the others, who exhibit submissive behavior if they know what is good for them. The dominance may be so pronounced that all the alpha male has to do is bare his fangs and snarl to get the behavior he wants. But baboons age, and although he may not notice, the alpha males muscles will atrophy, his fangs will fall out. He may continue to snarl, but the younger male baboons will notice and begin to sense the possibility of a succession crisis. And then they pounce.

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So, too, here. Donald Trump is already a lame duck. He is, by any measure, old, which is one of many reasons that comparisons with Hitler or younger contemporary European authoritarians such as Viktor Orban are misplaced. He will be an even lamer duck in two years, at which point the troop of Republican politicians will begin to struggle for the succession. Former friendsDonald Trump Jr. and J. D. Vance, for examplemay fall out, and the coalition of differing subclans may fight more openly. Republican unity in several years is highly unlikely.

Its a bad time in American politics, to be sure. But we need to remember that natural laws still apply, and things could get better if even just one piece of fantasy biology were to hold true: a large class of political invertebrates were to grow spines.

Article originally published at The Atlantic
President Donald Trump on Saturday denied a report that the White House is working on a deal with Oracle and a group of other outside investors to secure TikToks presence in the U.S.

While Trump said he was not in talks with the computer technology company, he claimed he would make a decision on the platform within the next month.

No, not with Oracle, he told reporters. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it, and Id make that decision probably over the next 30 days.

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Trump repeated that he has a warm spot in [his] heart for TikTok.

If we can save TikTok, I think it would be a good thing, he said.

NPR on Saturday reported that the White House was involved in talks with Oracle and a group of other outside investors to take over the platforms global operations. Under that potential deal, Oracle would have control over the algorithm and data collection, while Chinese company ByteDance would still have a minority stake in the platform, NPR said. The outlet added that the deal was first discussed at a White House meeting on Friday, with a second meeting expected this week.

TikTok already has an agreement with Oracle to store its U.S. user data.

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Trump has previously said he would welcome Larry Ellison, Oracles founder and chief technology officer, owning the platform. But on Saturday he said hes never discussed TikTok with Ellison.

Oracle has not commented on the NPR report.

Meanwhile, The Associated Press reported that artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI submitted a proposal to ByteDance that would have the U.S. government own up to 50% of an entity that would include Perplexity and the U.S. subsidiary of TikTok. ByteDance has not commented on the report.

Billionaire Frank McCourt has also submitted a formal bid to acquire the U.S. operations of the platform, while YouTube star MrBeast has also expressed interest in the app.

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Earlier this month, the Supreme Court upheld legislation forcing TikTok to divest its Chinese ownership by Jan. 19 to avoid a ban. Congress passed the legislation over national security concerns. In response, TikTok decided to temporarily go dark in the U.S. before restoring service to its American users after Trump pledged to extend the timeline for a potential deal. Trump made good on his promise last week, but the app remains unavailable on app stores in the U.S.

Trump has said he would like the U.S. government to be involved in a potential TikTok sale.

What Im thinking about saying to somebody is buy it and give half to the United States of America, half and well give you the permit, he told reporters last week.

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The White House said late Sunday that the government of Colombia has agreed to take deportation flights of migrants from the country, hours after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs and visa restrictions.

Migrants will be returned to Colombia on military aircraft without limitation and delay, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

The late-night declaration of victory by the White House caps a tumultuous day of threats lobbed back and forth between the countries two leaders on social media. The showdown, less than one week into Trumps second term, previewed one of the major challenges he will face in implementing his sweeping immigration agenda, as he works to increase the number of deportations.

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The White House said the emergency tariffs and sanctions Trump threatened earlier in the day were fully drafted and will be held  but not signed  unless Colombia does not uphold the agreement. The visa sanctions imposed by the State Department, as well as increased inspections from Customs and Border Protection, will remain in place until the first plane of Colombian migrants are returned.



Todays events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation's sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States, Leavitt said.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro reposted the press secretarys statement on X but later deleted it. He then shared another statement from the Colombian government, saying the country had "overcome the impasse" with the United States. Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo and the Colombian ambassador to the United States, Daniel Garcia-Pena, would travel to Washington, D.C., for meetings with the Trump administration, it added.

We will continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights, Murillo said, adding that Colombia's presidential aircraft is available to facilitate the return of the migrants.

The spat started after Petro turned away two U.S. military aircraft full of detained Colombian migrants, calling for a dignified return of deportees not handcuffed and on military craft. Trump quickly responded with a post on X, saying he was hitting the country with an emergency 25 percent tariff on all goods imported from Colombia, visa restrictions, a travel ban, enhanced border patrol inspections and financial sanctions.
A Chesapeake Bay sunrise on a frigid morning in January 2025. With the federal government abandoning the fight, it's time for Maryland to take action to protect its environment. (Photo by Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi)

President Donald Drill Baby Drill Trumps new executive orders doubling down on fossil fuels and slashing clean energy mandates have sent a dangerous message: America is moving backward in the fight to protect the people and planet we love.

But here in Maryland, we dont have to follow his lead. Instead, we can seize this moment to double down on progress and accountability, ensuring our state remains resilient in the face of the growing climate crisis. Given our budget crisis, we need to do it in a way that is fair, cost effective and will ensure our economy can thrive.

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For Maryland, a state uniquely vulnerable to climate change impacts like rising seas, flooding and extreme heat, the stakes couldnt be higher. We cannot rely on Washington to safeguard our future. Maryland must act decisively to secure its climate resilience and economic stability  and we can start by making polluters pay for their lies and the damage theyve caused.

Marylands Goldilocks advantage is at risk

Maryland is a Goldilocks State  not too hot, not too cold, with a temperate climate that fosters economic growth and a high quality of life. We have the kind of inclusive values and excellent institutions of higher education and science that can make us attractive to people looking to relocate from other states. But the accelerating climate crisis is putting that balance at risk. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe, threatening lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure.

The costs are staggering. In Baltimore and St. Marys County, millions are being spent to upgrade stormwater systems as rainfall intensifies. Annapolis has committed $84 million to protect against rising tides. Statewide, Maryland will need billions more to shield our communities and transition to clean energy. Meantime, we are facing a budget crisis.

Your opinion matters

Maryland Matters welcomes guest commentary submissions at editor@marylandmatters.org.

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We suggest a 750-word limit and reserve the right to edit or reject submissions. We do not accept columns that are endorsements of candidates, and no longer accept submissions from elected officials or political candidates.

Opinion pieces must be signed by at least one individual using their real name. We do not accept columns signed by an organization. Commentary writers must include a short bio and a photo for their bylines.

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So far, however, Marylands budget is looking like it will rely on cuts to services and increases in fees and taxes to some Marylanders alone  leaving money on the table that morally should be ours.

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We need measures that will hold corporate polluters accountable while delivering resources Maryland needs to combat climate change effectively. Without such forward-thinking policies, taxpayers will bear the brunt of lost services and mounting expenses, while fossil fuel companies rake in record profits.

The solution: three bills to make polluters pay

Maryland has a chance to lead where Washington is failing. Three pivotal bills could shift the financial burden of the climate crisis from taxpayers to the corporations that created it:

The RENEW Act (HB128): This bill establishes a fund for climate resilience projects, funded by fossil fuel companies. Similar bills have passed in Vermont and New York. Here at home, it could yield $9 billion to finance critical infrastructure improvements and clean energy initiatives. Climate Lawsuit Authority (HB340): This legislation enables Maryland to hold fossil fuel companies accountable in court for their role in causing climate damage. Similar lawsuits have already achieved significant settlements in other states, redirecting billions of dollars toward climate solutions. Coal Fee Legislation: Speaker Pro Tem Dana Steins upcoming bill will place a fee on coal transportation in Maryland, directing approximately $300 million a year toward renewable energy projects and public health programs in communities affected by coal pollution.

Supercharging Marylands economy

Fossil fuel companies claim that holding them accountable will hurt the economy, but the opposite is true. By investing in clean energy, climate resilience and public health, Maryland can create thousands of good-paying jobs in industries of the future. These investments will reduce energy costs, improve air quality and attract businesses and residents who value a sustainable, forward-thinking state.

Moreover, making polluters  not taxpayers  pay for the damages they caused will ease the financial burden on Maryland families. Rather than watching their tax dollars go to emergency repairs and cleanup, Marylanders can look forward to a future where corporate accountability funds prevention and innovation. It worked with tobacco and opioids, and should be done with fossil fuel companies as well.

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Maryland has already made significant strides toward combating climate change, achieving a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2006. But we cant rest on our laurels. Trumps executive orders remind us that federal leadership cannot be counted on to protect our communities. The responsibility lies with us to secure a livable future.

By passing the RENEW Act, HB340 and the coal fee legislation, Maryland can set a national example of climate leadership and economic fairness. These bills are not just about holding polluters accountable  theyre about protecting the places we call home, the people we love and the opportunities we want to preserve for future generations.

Its time to act boldly. Lets make polluters pay  and ensure Maryland remains a beacon of resilience and progress in an increasingly uncertain world.
A second Trump administration was sure to come down hard on whichever Latin American country first defied itfew in the region expected otherwise. But Colombia was perhaps the United States most steadfast friend in South America, and the speed with which a 100-year relationship seemed to crumble last night was frightening.

Or perhaps exhilarating, if you were a Chinese diplomat in Latin America observing the presidential spat.

First, Colombias president, Gustavo Petro, refused to allow U.S.-military deportation flights that were already airborne to land in his country. Petro balked at reports of migrants arriving handcuffed and said that Colombia would allow such flights only if deportees were treated with dignity and respect. President Donald Trumps responsegrossly disproportionatewas to threaten tariffs, visa restrictions, and even banking sanctions against a strategic U.S. ally. The two countries worked out a late-night deal that seems to have averted a crisis, but the speed of escalation left much of Latin American unnerved.

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[From the September 2024 issue: Seventy miles in hell]

If Americans are under the impression that Trumps penchant for reckless, heat-of-the-moment policy making is unique, they dont have the measure of Gustavo Petro. Colombias radical left-wing president has appalled friends and foes alike with X tiffs and stunts such as repeatedly tagging a parody account for his defense minister and amplifying false rumors that Colombian kids lost in the Amazon jungle had been found. Some of his posts come across as just plain bonkerssuch as the one he wrote to Trump in the middle of yesterdays crisis.

At 4:15 p.m. on Sunday, diplomats were working furiously behind the scenes to smooth over the rift between the two presidents when Petro hit back with a long, incoherent rant. Starting with a curt dismissal of tourism in the U.S. as boring, the missive went everywhere: Petro slammed American racism, asserted his refusal to shake hands with white slavers, and celebrated Walt Whitman. He also recalled the U.S. involvement in the 1973 coup against Chiles leftist president Salvador Allende, celebrated Colombias putative roots in the caliphate of Cordoba, and protested the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, a Coolidge-era U.S. scandal involving the supposed racial profiling of two Italian American anarchists. In other words, at a moment of peril for his country, Colombias president posted a word saladand then pinned it to the top of his X account.

The moment called for careful diplomacy, not a fit of pique. In Brazil, where the mistreatment of deportees on U.S. military flights had already caused controversy, Colombias spat narrowed the Brazilian governments room for maneuver still further. And throughout the region, governments struggling to figure out what to do with large numbers of deportees found themselves staring into the abyss: Most Latin American governments do not like how the U.S. government is behaving but cannot afford a trade war with Uncle Sam.

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Or can they? Zoom out a bit and one might wonder. The era of uncontested U.S. leadership in the region is fading fast in the rearview mirror. These days, China provides an obvious alternative to the United States in the realms of trade, finance, and technology. In fact, most of South Americaincluding big countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Perunow trades more with China than with the United States. If you exclude Mexico, Chinese trade now dwarfs American trade in the region.

[Juliette Kayyem: The border got quieter, so Trump had to act]

After Trump was reelected, discussion in the region centered on how to balance growing Chinese influence with existing ties with the United States. Most countries were of a mind to try to stay neutral between the two powers and maintain good relations with both Washington and Beijing. Countless university seminars agonized over what a war in the Taiwan Strait would mean for Latin America: No country in the region would want to take sides, though many recognized that they might not have a choice. All along, the assumption tended to be that a crisis that started outside Latin America would have repercussions within it. What few at the time foresaw was that the region could be delivered to China through Trumps sheer impetuosity, or his inability to think before posting.

For now, Trumpian aggression has won the day: U.S. and Colombian diplomatswho know each other well and are used to collaborating closelyhad little trouble finding a compromise to de-escalate the crisis. That de-escalation can be expected to last about as long as the two countries intemperate presidents manage to stay off X.

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But for excellent historical reasons, Latin Americans hate being dictated to by gringos and wont support leaders who meekly allow it. Trumps hyper-aggressive approach to Latin America risks tying up the region with a bow and leaving it on Beijings doorstep. Most Latin American leaders will resist a decisive break with Washingtonthe U.S. is still too important a trade and diplomatic partner to antagonize just for kicks. But Latin American leaders will not wish to be seen submitting passively to the United States in full imperialist mode. Not when the Chinese embassy is just one phone call away.

Article originally published at The Atlantic
President Donald Trump claimed a quick victory after the Colombian government said it would begin accepting repatriated migrants arriving in the country on U.S. military aircraft as part of the Trump administrations mass deportation efforts.

The apparent agreement was the result of a day-long spat between the two countries presidents that culminated in threats of dueling tariffsthough plans for a trade war appear to have been shelved, for now.

The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement published late on Sunday evening.

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The White House said that the retaliatory 25-percent tariffs on Colombian imports and economic sanctions originally threatened by Trump remained held in reserve, and not signed in case the South American nation does not hold up their end of the bargain.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro sparred with Trump over the migrant flights on Sunday. / JAIME SALDARRIAGA / REUTERS

Leavitt also said that the U.S. would leave visa sanctions issued by the State Department and enhanced inspections conducted by Customs and Border Patrol in place until Colombia accepted its first plane carrying migrants.

The announcement of a deal came just hours after Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced he was prepared to match Trumps tariff threats with a 25-percent tariff on goods coming from the U.S.

But the Colombian government quickly confirmed that they had overcome the impasse with Trump in their own announcement on Sunday night, after the nations foreign minister and ambassador to the U.S. held high-level meetings with the Trump administration.

The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms pic.twitter.com/mQocusSGOC  Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 27, 2025

The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals, Petro said in a statement on Sunday night as the feud escalated, announcing he would turn away flights carrying arrested migrants due to their poor treatment at the hands of American authorities. He also called for the U.S. to establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.

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By Sunday night, the Colombian government announced they had reached a deal guaranteeing [deported Colombian migrants] decent conditions, as citizens subject to rights. They also said that diplomatic channels would remain open to guarantee the rights, the national interest, and the dignity of our citizens.

Earlier on Sunday as the diplomatic spat heated up, Petro sent his presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of Colombian citizens. Later that evening, the Colombian government confirmed the plane was prepared to start that process in the morning.

Following the detente Sunday night, the Trump administration claimed victory, insisting that America is respected again on the world stage.

President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nations sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States, Leavitt said.
TD Insurance has announced its sponsorship of a new catastrophe bond, Series 2025-1, which will enhance its reinsurance capacity via a multi-year risk transfer of C$150m ($104.5m) for protection against earthquakes and severe linked storms in Canada.

The proceeds are invested in notes denominated in Canadian dollars from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

This bond marks the first of its kind in the country, stated TD Insurance.

TD Insurance said that it is the first Canadian insurer to sponsor a bond dedicated exclusively to catastrophe risks in the country.

As per the Insurance Bureau of Canada, last year marked the most destructive season on record for insured losses due to severe weather in the country.

The reinsurance protection provided by the MMIFS Re-issued cat bond will cover earthquakes and severe connected storms in the country on both an indemnity and per-occurrence basis.

This coverage will be effective for a three-year term, starting from 17 January 2025 to 31 December 2027.

TDI was advised by joint bookrunners GC Securities and the insurance-linked securities specialist division of Guy Carpenter, and TD Securities.

GC Securities also acted as the sole structuring agent.

TDI president and CEO James Russell said: "At TD Insurance, being there for our customers during their time of need remains our most important focus, and the issuance of a cat bond helps ensure we can continue to protect them when it matters most.

At a time of increasing costs, we are always looking for ways to provide the best possible pricing to our customers, and this new bond is another tool at our disposal."

TD Insurance represents a group of companies including Security National Insurance Company, Primmum Insurance Company, TD General Insurance Company, TD Direct Insurance Company and TD Home and Auto Insurance Company.

"TD Insurance sponsors $104.5m Canadian catastrophe bond " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand.




(NewsNation)  If confirmed as President Donald Trumps ambassador to Israel, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will be stepping into his position after more than a year of war and amid a fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Huckabee said on Morning in America that he is cautiously optimistic the remaining hostages held by Hamas will be released.

Although he does not know the date of his confirmation hearing, Huckabee said he is ready and looking forward to it.

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(Im) hopeful that Ill be confirmed and on my way to Jerusalem soon, Huckabee said.

Three of Trumps most controversial Cabinet picks set for hearings

During his first term, Trump helped broker a deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain known as the Abraham Accords.

He didnt get really the credit that he deserved, but to bring normalization between Israel and many of the Arab nations along the Gulf was huge, Huckabee said.

Now, Huckabee said, theres a chance to expand on this work.

That would be huge, and it could be, really, a game changer for the entire Middle East, Huckabee said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
WASHINGTON -U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered the federal government to override the state of California's water-management practices to bolster firefighting efforts.

The executive order comes two days after Trump visited the Los Angeles region, which has been devastated by a series of wildfires.

Trump has falsely claimed that Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials refused to provide water from the northern part of the state to fight the fires.

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His order directs the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to deliver more water and hydropower through the Central Valley Project, a network of dams, canals and other infrastructure, even if that conflicts with state or local laws.

A Newsom spokesperson said that would not have made a difference in its firefighting efforts as the Los Angeles region gets most of its water from other sources and does not have a shortage.

Some hydrants in the Los Angeles area ran dry during the height of the wildfires, but local officials say that is because they were not designed to deal with such a massive disaster.

"Trump is either unaware of how water is stored in California or is deliberately misleading the public," Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos said. "There is no imaginary spigot to magically make water appear at a wildfire, despite what Trump claims."

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Trump's order also directs the White House budget office to see whether it can attach conditions on federal aid to the state to ensure cooperation.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; editing by Diane Craft and Christian Schmollinger)
Is President Trump already having a positive impact on our Government, our thinking, and our lives? The mans only been in power seven days, but the second honeymoon effect is in full swing, with optimistic commentators already predicting that ripples will become waves  and on Monday brought perhaps the most surprising headline so far from the Mail Online: Will Trump plan save UK gender neutral loo ban?

Connecting the dots between the neon-skinned, bloviating leader of the free world and the incomprehensible (semi-skirted, semi-trousered) stick-people that began to appear on our public loo doors around a decade ago is, admittedly, a challenge. But theres solid logic within the piece.

Youll remember that last year, our then-equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch, proposed a law that would halt the growing prevalence of gender-neutral lavatories in public buildings. That law has conveniently been forgotten about by Keir Starmers Diversity, Equity and Inclusion-loving (DEI) Government. But now that Trump has so publicly broken away from DEI thinking  declaring in his inauguration speech that he will be scrapping funding in all government departments, and that his administration will henceforth only be recognising two sexes (thats male and female, since you ask, not astrogender and maverique)  might we be about to enjoy a positive ripple effect? Maybe even catch a glimpse of Whitehall backbone?

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Dont hold your breath. Plenty of good has come of DEI drives and Id hope everyone could subscribe to a set of principles that promote equal access and fair treatment for all, but when it comes to the moronic and damaging aspects of what quickly became an ideology  such as gender-neutral loos  we have been more cowardly than most countries. We have toed the line in the most pedestrian way, we have persevered with the most ludicrous concepts, and we have dug our heels in  to the point of national embarrassment. So it follows that, when challenged about the gender-neutral loo law last week, Cabinet Office minister Georgia Gould gave the written answer: This policy is currently being reviewed... including close consultation with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

You dont have to speak cowardice to know what that means. They could have done a Trump, stated that they didnt believe in recklessly endangering individuals for the sake of virtue-signalling and implemented the ban  but no.

Other government-funded bodies are proving to be just as oblivious to the woke is dead memo. (Although on that point, Id say celebrations are definitely premature). Take the police, who made our front page on Monday, thanks to the distribution of yet another DEI reference guide to their officers and staff. Ive written about so many of these cretinous handbooks over the years that Im quite tempted to compile my own spoof version, with the help of The Telegraph readers. Think of how much fun wed have. Only you wouldnt be able to tell the difference between the spoof and the genuine article. And however much we allowed our imaginations to run riot, Im willing to bet it would be near identical to the one created by Bedfordshire Police and Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire constabularies.

In the nine-page reference document, police have been urged not to use terms such as black sheep, blacklisted and black mark  all together now  in case it causes offence. It goes without saying that gender is a social construct and that any kind of Christian-centric language should be avoided, despite us being a Christian country. DEI manuals never miss a chance to instil a sense of national shame. Oh, and pregnant person should be inserted into as many professional daily interactions as possible (I may be paraphrasing here). Theres a pregnant person shoplifting in Aisle 3. Can you describe the pregnant person holding the knife  without mentioning their gender? Youll get the hang of it.

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The guide also covers concepts such as white fragility, which, given its definition as a state in which some white people are unable to cope with or process the information they receive about racism, is something I suffer from. I cannot and indeed refuse to process information like the word blacklisted is racist and must not be used. Because, as any linguist will tell you, this is etymologically incorrect. Because employment tribunals have even ruled that the word is not racist. Because there are so many disgusting examples of racism out there that should be being addressed, and to pick something that isnt, is  ironically  offensive. Worst of all, because this kind of stupidity actively encourages racism by reinforcing existing divisions and stoking the anger of the lunatic far-Right.

There will be plenty of unwelcome ripple effects from across the pond over the next four years. Days after Trumps executive order resumed executions in earnest, for example, Ive noticed an uptick in pro-capital punishment, string em up rhetoric here. But if theres one ripple we should allow to become a wave, its in the showing of a little backbone when it comes to values. The values we, as a country, believe in. Thats if anyone can remember what they are.

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Jan. 27Editor's note: Every Sunday Josh Sweigart, editor of investigations and solutions journalism, brings you the top stories from the Dayton Daily News and major stories over the past week you may have missed. Go here to sign up to receive the Weekly Update newsletter and our Morning Briefing delivered to your inbox every morning.

President Donald Trump wasted no time in implementing his America First agenda upon taking office last week. Our reporters are hard at work analyzing actions and directives from the White House and how they may impact the Dayton region.

How President Trump's first actions in office are affecting our region:

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1. Executive orders: Trump issued dozens of executive orders in the first days of his administration. Here's an initial list of orders and what they mean, assembled by our reporters.

2. Hiring freeze: Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a cornerstone of Dayton's economy  employing thousands of civilians as well as military men and women  so we looked at the potential local how a 90-day hiring freeze on hiring. Read that story here.

3. Exemptions: The Department of Veterans Affairs Thursday outlined health-focused occupations considered exempt from President Trump's 90-day hiring freeze on federal civilian hiring. That story here.

4. Back to work: Another order that impacts Wright-Patt (and surrounding communities) is a return-to-work order for federal employees. There are traffic concerns around the base, but a potential upside for businesses in Fairborn and Beavercreek that saw a decline in foot traffic amid hybrid work.

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5. Brent-Spence Bridge: One of Trump's executive orders requires that government agencies "immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated" via the infrastructure law. This means the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project, which includes the I-75 bridge over the Ohio River in Cincinnati, might have to wait a little while longer to get its start. Here's more on that.

6. Jan. 6 defendants: Trump pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or said he would dismiss cases for the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, including people convicted of assaulting police officers. Here is a look at the Jan. 6 defendants from our area impacted.

7. More to come: There is A LOT more our reporters are looking into, from immigration orders to energy policy to DEI. Our reporters will be focused on how these actions impact the Dayton region.

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Participants in the Portland Pride Parade head down Congress Street. June 15, 2024 on June 15, 2024. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star)

On the first day of President Donald Trumps second term, he used his executive power to remove protections for LGBTQ+ people, including a declaration that the federal government would not recognize trans and nonbinary people.

Its really turning back the clock on decades of sex discrimination protections, said Hannah Hussey, attorney for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, otherwise known as GLAD Law. This is really an attempt to regulate and control peoples lives.

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However, Hussey explained, An executive order cant just erase state law. An executive order also cant undo a federal statute, and it cant change how courts have interpreted the federal statute.

Many of Trumps executive actions are expected to face legal challenges. His order to end birthright citizenship already has. If his orders are eventually upheld, the country is likely to see a piecemeal landscape where protections fall to the states, much like with abortion after the overturn of Roe v. Wade ended federal protections, according to Hussey and other legal experts.

Federal power wins out over state authority in some cases, such as the issuance of federal documents like passports. Federal spending power could also be wielded in an attempt to try to force state compliance. Health care providers in Maine already saw that during the last Trump presidency, when he essentially barred providers that rely on federal funding from so much as mentioning abortion care to patients.

Legal minds and leaders of LGBTQ+ organizations in Maine cautioned that there remain many unknowns about how these executive actions, and likely others forthcoming, will settle. GLAD Law is prepared to defend equal protection under the law without exception, Hussey said. Local leaders have been preparing since before the November election to shore up LGBTQ+ protections in Maine law, which already offers some of the strongest in the country.

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Whatever the president says doesnt change who you are as a person or your identity, said Gia Drew, executive director of EqualityMaine, the oldest and largest LGBTQ+ statewide organization. And, were going to do everything possible to make sure to cushion any blow that comes our way.

What can executive orders change?

The authority to issue executive orders falls under Article Two of the U.S. Constitution, so the presidents executive orders cant contradict the Constitution or federal statute, said Dmitry Bam, who teaches in the fields of constitutional law and the judiciary at the University of Maine School of Law.

The theory behind the orders is that either theres an area that Congress has left unregulated, so the president is using his inherent authority to fill in those gaps, or areas that are inherently assigned to the president, Bam said.

One example is federal documents, such as passports, Bam said.

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The U.S. State Department has already frozen applications for passports with X sex markers and changes to gender identity on existing passports in response to Trumps executive order declaring the federal government would only recognize two sexes, according to an internal cable obtained by the Guardian.

A White House official told a reporter for NOTUS that the order wont impact passports that have already been issued and doesnt invalidate current passports but would impact those documents when they need to be renewed.

Maine offers a third gender option, X, on state forms, and the executive order does not override that state-level option. Drew with EqualityMaine said shes been fielding questions about whether having an X gender marker on federal or state IDs could put people in harms way.

Im not sure, Drew said. Those are things that we dont have complete answers to for people.

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Another early action in Trumps presidency was withdrawing an executive order issued by former President Joe Biden that directed federal agencies to apply the conclusion of the Bostock v. Clayton County U.S. Supreme Court ruling to all laws that prohibit sex discrimination. That 2020 ruling concluded that discrimination against someone because they are LGBTQ+ is sex discrimination under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

During the end of Trumps first term, his administration claimed the ruling didnt apply to Title IX, a landmark federal civil rights law on education, but Biden had reversed that guidance.

Bam, Hussey and other law experts expect many of the executive orders to be challenged in court, and perhaps make their way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

More and more, the Court will be deciding these really controversial political issues that dont necessarily have a clear cut answer, or even some where we thought there was a clear cut answer, Bam said.

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In most cases, the executive orders will likely take a while to implement. For example, the order declaring there are two sexes which Hussey called broad and in many ways without clear instruction, has myriad downstream impacts.

The order directs federal agencies to enforce laws governing sex-based rights, protections, opportunities, and accommodations using definitions for man and woman based on whether a person at conception belongs to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell or produces the small reproductive cell. The order also includes a broad declaration to end the federal funding of gender ideology but doesnt provide instruction for how to accomplish that.

While Trump can in many ways regulate what federal agencies do, executive orders dont limit state power over their work that is separate from federal agencies.

Thats the value of federalism, Bam said. Some state might say, You know what, we are happy with just the federal protections. We dont want to go any broader than that. And some state might say, we want to protect other groups and the states can do that.

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Rights in Maine

Maine offers greater protections than federal law when it comes to anti-discrimination and gender-affirming health care.

For example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment on a number of characteristics such as race, national origin and sex. The Maine Human Rights Act also prohibits discrimination based on the characteristics in Title VII but also includes more categories, including sexual orientation. Individual municipalities may go even farther with added protections.

Folks in Maine should know that state laws cover many areas of concern for LGBTQ people and their families, and an executive order cant just erase state law,  Hussey with GLAD Law said.

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In addition to the anti-discrimination laws that cover education, jobs, housing, and access to services, among other parts of life, Hussey pointed to state protections for gender-affirming care, as well as the shield law passed last year to protect providers of such health care from other state bans.

Drew said EqualityMaine and other LGBTQ+ organizations are eyeing ways to expand the protections in that law, specifically around patient, provider and pharmacy data privacy.

I know theyre more organized than they were eight years ago, Drew said of the Trump administration. But we are more prepared now too, because they told us what they were going to do and we believed them.

Medicaid, a federal-state health insurance program for low-income people, covers gender-affirming care in some states, including Maine. Drew is expecting federal money for such health care to be restricted, so another focus of EqualityMaine is ensuring the state has available funds to cover any of those losses.

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The state is currently trying to fix an immediate Medicaid shortfall and will be debating a longer-term fix in the biennial budget.

When considering possible changes to gender-affirming care, Aspen Ruhlin, community engagement manager at the Mabel Wadsworth Center in Bangor, said it is important people understand what gender-affirming care includes.

While gender-affirming care is often discussed in the ways it is used to help transgender people, Ruhlin pointed to research that found this type of health care is most often used by cisgender people, meaning people whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth.

Gender-affirming care includes hormone replacement therapy for menopause, breast reconstruction after mastectomies, penile implants after testicular cancer, among other procedures.

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Ruhlin also pointed out that only recognizing two sexes discounts people who are intersex, meaning people who are born with several sex characteristics, such as primary sex glands or chromosome patterns.

There is a wide range of human experience, and that is true when it comes to talking about sex, Ruhlin said.

Overall, Ruhlin said it is important for Mainers to know their rights in the wake of the executive orders. Mabel Wadsworth has client advocates who, among other things, help transgender people navigate barriers to accessing the care they need, which includes things such as legal name changes.

Its a lot easier to violate someones rights if they dont know what rights they have, Ruhlin said.

Impacts beyond policy

While the executive orders dont immediately change most policies, Hussey with GLAD Law said they are certainly intended to cause chaos and confusion and fear.

The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people, saw a 33% increase in crisis line volume on Inauguration Day, which Drew said reinforced what shes been hearing anecdotally from LGBTQ+ people in Maine.

Ive been hearing from folks, especially older LGBTQ people, who are like, Oh, weve fought this. Well fight this again. Were going to get through this, Drew said. Yes, thats true. We have fought for equality for decades, but this is different. Its different when weve been given rights, the freedom to be ourselves in so many places, and now have them be taken away.

While Drew said EqualityMaine and its network both state-wide and nationally are preparing for legal battles, she also said community support is vital, including as a means to ensure everyone has accurate information.

I think what the president and his supporters want is us to be scared, freaking out, running in every direction, Drew said. Its really important to take a breath, step back.

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President Donald Trump on Monday announced he had signed four executive orders that will reshape the military, including banning transgender service members from serving in the US armed forces; gutting the militarys diversity, equity and inclusion programs; and reinstating with back pay service members who were discharged for refusing to get vaccinated from Covid-19.

Trump said he signed the executive orders while aboard Air Force One on a return flight to Washington from Florida. CNN previously reported Trump was expected to do so, according to two White House officials.

The orders, which were first reported by the New York Post, come as Trumps nominee to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, was sworn in as secretary of defense on Saturday. Hegseth has long stated he planned to implement major cultural changes to the military, including ending DEI practices and removing woke service members.

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Moments after his arrival at the Pentagon on Monday, Hegseth told reporters that there are more executive orders coming.

Today, there are more executive orders coming,  on removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of Covid mandates, iron dome for America  this is happening quickly, and as the secretary of defense, its an honor to salute smartly as I did as a junior officer and now as the secretary of defense to ensure these orders are complied with rapidly and quickly, Hegseth said.

Trump had banned transgender Americans form serving in the military in 2017 during his first administration, but then-President Joe Biden issued an order in 2021 repealing the ban.

Hours after being sworn in for his second term last week, Trump signed an order revoking the Biden administrations 2021 move to allow transgender members to serve. However, the order Trump announced he had signed Monday goes even further, one of the officials said, and outlines new military standards regarding gender pronouns and state that mental and physical readiness requires transgender service members be banned from the military.

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It can take a minimum of 12 months for an individual to complete treatments after transition surgery, which often involves the use of heavy narcotics. During this period, they are not physically capable of meeting military readiness requirements and require ongoing medical care. This is not conducive for deployment or other readiness requirements, one of the officials said, citing a fact sheet.

The implementation [of the ban] is on the DoD regarding specifics, the official said. In 2018, there were an estimated 14,000 transgender service members in the US military, according to the Palm Center, an independent research institute that has conducted extensive research on sexual minorities in the military.

A Pentagon memo detailing the ban during Trumps first term in office recommended making exceptions for transgender service members already serving in uniform who had joined the military under previous policies before the ban took effect; those who do not require a change in gender; and those who had been stable for 36 consecutive months in their biological sex prior to accession.

Its unclear whether the administrations new ban will also have exceptions. Asked about possible exceptions on Monday, Hegseth said only that there will be an executive order on that right now, today.

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A second EO states that any discriminatory policies related to DEI in the military will be banned. The order comes after the Trump administration ordered employees in any federal diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility offices to be placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately.

All DEI practices in the US armed forces will also be subject to an internal review by Hegseth.

The third executive order directs Hegseth to reinstate all active and reserve service members who were previously discharged for failing to get the Covid-19 vaccine. They will be reinstated with their former rank and given back pay and benefits, one of the officials said. However, the Pentagon had already rescinded the militarys Covid-19 vaccination mandate, allowing them to rejoin after Biden signed the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act requiring the change. As of Monday, 113 of the more than 8,000 US service members who were discharged from the military for refusing to be vaccinated have sought to since the vaccine mandate was officially repealed.

And a fourth order would begin the process of creating a next generation missile defense shield for the US, according to a fact sheet on the order obtained by CNN.

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The order calls for an Iron Dome for an America, borrowing the name of the vaunted short-range Israeli missile defense system that for years has been used to intercept launches from Gaza. The US provided billions of dollars in funding to Iron Dome, and the US Army has its own system.

The Executive Order directs implementation of a next generation missile defense shield for the United States against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next generation aerial attacks, the fact sheet reads, calling such potential attacks as a catastrophic threat, though none of these types of weapons has been launched against the territory of the United States in modern warfare.

The US military also has the capability to deploy a layered air defense system, from long-range Patriot missiles, which have proven effective at intercepting ballistic and cruise missiles over Ukraine, to shorter-range systems like shoulder-launched Stinger missiles.

This new executive order calls for an advanced space-based series of systems to detect and shoot down launches against the United States.

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It does not say how much the shield would cost or outline a timeline for its development.

This story has been updated with additional details and background information.

CNNs Michael Williams and Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report.

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President Trumps new federal hiring freeze has congressional lawmakers and former service members worried that operations at Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities will be hindered.

The government-wide freeze, which came on Day 1 of Trumps presidency via executive order, could prevent critical health care roles from being filled and complicate care for veterans, its critics fear.

The administration has no regard for the impact it would have on veterans access to healthcare and benefits, nor for the urgent need to fill critical clinical vacancies within VA, such as mental health providers and nurses, House Veterans Affairs Committee ranking member Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said in a statement Thursday.

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Thousands of Americans have already received notifications that VA has rescinded their job offers, despite many of these individuals having already committed financial resources to relocate, some even selling their homes. Now, they and veterans are being left in limbo.

The Trump administration implemented the freeze as a way to thin out what they see as a bureaucrat-heavy workforce.

Most of those bureaucrats are getting fired, theyre gone, Trump said in his remarks before signing the executive order on Jan. 20. He said the move will ensure the government only hires competent people who are faithful to the American public.

While incoming employees with job offers given prior to Jan. 20 will be allowed to begin their jobs if their start date was scheduled for on or before Feb. 8, everyone else will have offers rescinded.

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Lawmakers quickly took to social media platforms to express their displeasure with the decision, which they said was potentially disruptive to agency operations.

When someone puts their life on the line to defend this country in uniform, we in turn, promise them health care after their service, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote Thursday on the social platform X. Trump froze all hiring at the VA at a time when the VA is experiencing a shortage of doctors & nurses. Unacceptable. Our veterans deserve better.

And Senate Veterans Affairs Committee ranking member Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) this week led a group of 24 Democratic senators calling on Trump to immediately exempt all VA employees from the hiring freeze.

This area of veterans care is so critical and that is why I am so angry about the application of a hiring freeze to our VA health care system, he said Friday on MSNBC. Failing to fill the openings for the doctors, the nurses, for the [benefits personnel] that are needed is a real betrayal of our veterans.

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Those within the VA and former service members also voiced their worries about the chilling effects the freeze could have on the agencys medical centers, which already struggle with appointment backlogs and staffing.

Kelley Saindon, who sits on the board of the Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs, told House lawmakers this week that the freeze could create an inability to staff care facilities at needed levels, which will impact patient care.

Were concerned about our reputation to continue to get the most qualified individuals within the VA system and maintain them, said Saindon, who is an associate director of nursing and patient care services at a VA facility.

Gina Ortiz Jones, an Air Force veteran who served as under secretary of the Air Force under President Biden, said she gets her own care through the VA, so I know a VA hiring freeze would do two things: cause delays in vets getting care and strain local health care resources if more vets are forced to see community providers. We shouldnt be playing politics with our veterans health care.

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The anger did not fall on deaf ears, and VA officials have since identified more than 300,000 department health care posts deemed essential and therefore exempt from the freeze, according to new guidance issued Thursday.

The memo, issued by acting VA Secretary Todd Hunter, labeled 39 roles as essential to public health and department operations, including nurses, nursing assistants, mental health providers, physical therapists, prosthetic specialists, medical records administrators and police. About 304,000 jobs fall under the 39 categories, or about two-thirds of the VAs workforce.

A statement released alongside the memo also dictates that nothing in it shall adversely impact Veterans benefits and does not apply to positions related to public safety. 

VA remains committed to being deliberative in the hiring actions taken to ensure we are postured for success as we implement overall modernization efforts and reform plans in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget, Hunter wrote.

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Additional positions related to veterans benefits processing could also be exempted, but offices must submit justification for those.

VA secretary nominee Doug Collins acknowledged during his confirmation hearing Tuesday that the VA was still working through which positions will be affected.

Well take a look at the current levels of employees that we have and where theyre properly located, Collins said, adding that he was still examining the freezes impact on the VA. We will work under the executive order [Trump] has given us.

That answer wasnt satisfactory to some Democrats on the panel, including Blumenthal.

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This is going to be a first test of your leadership, whether you fight for an exemption in the hiring freeze for the non-veterans benefits employees who are needed to care for veterans at medical facilities, Blumenthal said.

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U.S. President Donald Trump may have helped persuade Hungary to lift its veto on the European Union's extension of sanctions against Russia, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Jan. 27, according to the Polish news outlet RMF 24.

The EU foreign ministers approved a six-month extension of its sanctions against Russia on Jan. 27 after Hungary withdrew its veto.

Sikorski believes Trump's recent threats of sanctions against Moscow played a role in Hungary's decision.

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"I think that President Trump helped here," Sikorski said.

The EU sanctions, imposed on Russia in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, must be extended by unanimous vote every six months. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocked the extension in a surprise veto on Dec. 19 and said he would not reconsider extending the sanctions until Trump took office.

Orban is a close ally of Trump, who hosted the Hungarian prime minister at his Florida residence on Dec. 9. During the first week of his second term as president, Trump threatened to impose sanctions and tariffs against Russia if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

"We can do it the easy way or the hard way," Trump said.

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Hungary also previously said it would not extend the sanctions until Ukraine resumes the transit of Russian gas through its territory. Ahead of the Jan. 27 vote, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Brussels had provided the "requested guarantees" on energy security.

Orban, one of the most Kremlin-friendly leaders in the EU, has consistently obstructed and delayed sanctions against Russia and military support for Kyiv.

Read also: Trump suspends aid to Ukraine, vital NGOs dont know if theyll survive

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
WASHINGTON (NewsNation)  President Donald Trump is meeting with top Republican leaders on his agenda this week.

House GOP leaders indicated that they aim to move Trumps legislative agenda  encompassing extension of the 2017 tax cuts, energy policy and border policy  in a single bill through the budget reconciliation process rather than split it into two pieces as some Republicans had wanted in hopes of delivering some Trump wins faster.

Trump spoke to House Republicans on Monday evening, congratulating the congressional members on their victories and praising his own policy.

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He reflected on his first week in office, which included hundreds of sweeping executive actions that militarized the U.S.-Mexico border, changed federal workplace policies and withdrew from the Paris Agreement and World Health Organization.

Trump also teased four new executive orders aimed at reshaping the American military.

Trump to reshape military with barrage of executive orders

Trump also reiterated his plans to build a wall at the southern border, eliminate tax on tips and impose tariffs on countries like Russia, China and Canada.

ICE reported 956 arrests on Sunday alone. That number follows the arrest of roughly 1,300 people by Thursday, according to border czar Tom Homan.

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Were tracking down the illegal aliens, were detaining them and were throwing them the hell out of our country. We have no apologies, the president said.

Three of Trumps most controversial Cabinet picks set for hearings

The policy retreat is set to end Wednesday morning.

The meetings, taking place at Trump National Doral just outside Miami, come a day after Trump threatened Colombia with tariffs after it denied the entry of U.S. planes carrying Colombian migrants. Shortly after, Colombia reversed its decision.

Trump threatens Colombia with tariffs

On Sunday, Colombia President Gustavo Petro wrote in a post on X that he was denying the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into the country, stating the U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals.

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Hours later, Trump responded in a Truth Social post threatening 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the U.S. from Columbia, raising that to 50% after one week. Additionally, he threatened a travel ban on Columbian government officials, visa sanctions on family members of the Columbian government and enhanced customs and border protection inspections of all Columbian nationals.

Senate tees up more confirmations as House GOP talks Trump agenda

Almost immediately, Colombia reversed its decision. The government wrote on X that Trump is providing a presidential plane for the dignified return of his fellow citizens after turning away two U.S. military deportation flights. The U.S. military aircraft carried out two similar flights, each with about 80 migrants to Guatemala on Friday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserts the U.S. is committed to bolster Americas border security. The White House said Monday that the tariffs and sanctions are on hold and wont be signed unless Columbia fails to honor the agreement.

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The Hill contributed to this report.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday issued an executive order establishing a review council to evaluate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), stopping short of instant action to shut or reshape the country's lead disaster response agency.

The order calls for the establishment of council made up of relevant federal leaders and "distinguished individuals" selected by Trump from outside government. Trump called on the council to hold its first public meeting within 90 days and submit a report to him within 180 days of the first meeting.

Trump raised the idea of shuttering FEMA during a trip on Friday to disaster areas in North Carolina and California, vowing to sign an executive order to overhaul or eliminate the agency.

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The Republican president accused FEMA of bungling emergency relief efforts there and said he preferred that states be given federal money to handle disasters themselves.

Trump said in his executive order that there were "serious concerns" of political bias at FEMA and that agency funds had been used for programs related to incoming migrants.

FEMA brings in emergency personnel, supplies and equipment to help areas begin to recover from natural disasters. Funding for the agency has soared in recent years as extreme weather events have increased the demand for its services.

Cam Hamilton, the acting FEMA head, wrote to staff on Friday reassuring them that the agency's continued existence was vital to the country's disaster response efforts.

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"FEMA is a critical agency which performs an essential mission in support of our national security," he wrote.

The agency in the past year has battled misinformation, including about disaster responses in Florida and North Carolina.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Sonali Paul)
Tengizchevroil, a 50%-owned affiliate of oil producer Chevron, has commenced crude oil production from the third-generation plant (3GP) at its Future Growth Project (FGP) within the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan.

The FGP aims to increase the oilfield's annual output of crude oil by 12 million tonnes (mt).

Once all facilities are fully operational, Tengizchevroil's total annual production of crude oil is projected to reach around 40mt.

The FGP is the third processing plant at the Tengiz oilfield and aims to boost overall production to one million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

This achievement comes after the completion in 2024 of the wellhead pressure management project (WPMP), designed to optimise the field and processing operations.

The FGP and WPMP projects at Tengiz installed five Frame 9 gas turbine generators, four large compression trains with added pumping capacity, a new centralised control centre, and improved sour gas handling and reinjection systems for long-term pressure maintenance.

Chevron vice-chairman Mark Nelson said: First oil at the Future Growth Project is the latest in a series of development milestones, including in the Gulf of Mexico and the Permian, that are expected to significantly increase free cash flow to the company and deliver value for Chevron shareholders.

The 3GP plant has facilitated technology transfers through collaborations with international companies and contributed to the development of local infrastructure in the Atyrau region.

Tengizchevroil general director Kevin Lyon said: The successful delivery of the Future Growth Project is a major accomplishment in terms of scale and global complexity. FGP will unlock additional value for both Kazakhstan and Tengizchevroils shareholders.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, our shareholders, contractor companies, our talented and skilled workforce and other stakeholders for their collaboration and support in helping us reach this milestone.

Chevron International Exploration & Production president Clay Neff said: This milestone concludes a multiyear project that completely revamped the gathering and processing capacity of one of the worlds largest oilfields that will provide significant economic benefit for the Republic of Kazakhstan.

This accomplishment was possible due to our strong partnership with Kazakhstan, our contractors and the local workforce.

Tengizchevroil deputy general director Konilkosh Suyessinov said: Kazakhstani companies have proven their outstanding capabilities in executing large-scale projects. As part of FGP, Tengizchevroil has invested nearly $19.5bn [KZT10.08trn] to purchase local goods and services and awarded over 1,250 contracts to Kazakhstani companies.
The Trump administrations campaign to abolish birthright citizenship is not going well. Less than 72 hours after Trump issued an executive order on federal recognition of the constitutional principle, a federal judge in Washington blocked it from taking effect. That judge had harsh words for the lawyers defending the order in court.

This is a blatantly unconstitutional order, said Judge John Coughenour, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, during a hearing on Thursday. He directly criticized the Justice Department for defending it. Frankly, I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar would state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order, Coughenour told them. It just boggles my mind.

The lawsuit, brought last week by nearly two dozen states, required the Justice Department to give its first legal defense of the presidents Inauguration Day order. The administration made some procedural arguments against the states lawsuit, including on standing grounds and relief grounds. But it is the departments reading of the Fourteenth Amendments citizenship clause and the Supreme Courts precedents that is the most notableand the most flawed.

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As always, the citizenship clause is clear: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. That clarity is intentional: Congress and the states ratified the amendment in 1869 to overturn the Dred Scott ruling, which had held that people of African descent can never acquire American citizenship, and to provide a constitutional backstop for Black civil rights in the South during Reconstruction.

The subject to the jurisdiction language refers to the clauses two best-known exceptions. (Ill discuss a couple of additional ones later.) One is that birthright citizenship does not extend to the children of foreign diplomats; they have diplomatic immunity and are therefore not generally subject to American law. The other is for Native Americans who were members of sovereign tribal nations at the time, or what the Civil Rights Act of 1866 described as Indians not taxed.

The foreign diplomat exception does not require further explanation. The carve-out for Native Americans is slightly more complicated. For roughly the first 150 years of the republic, members of tribal nations lived mostly outside of the American political community. Under the Constitution, they were neither taxed nor counted for congressional reapportionment. They were not citizens, and they could not vote in state or federal elections. This is not necessarily a negative thing; tribal nations both then and now cherish their legal sovereignty and the political autonomy that comes with it.

In the 1884 case Elk v. Wilkins, the Supreme Court held that Native Americans did not automatically attain citizenship at birth through the citizenship clause because of their tribal nations sovereign status. In its brief last week, the Justice Department read this ruling to affirm that the children of non-resident aliens lack a constitutional birthright to citizenship.

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In Elk, the Court held that, because members of Indian tribes owe immediate allegiance to their tribes, they are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and are not constitutionally entitled to citizenship. Indian tribes occupy an intermediate position between foreign states and U.S. states. The United States connection with the children of illegal aliens and temporary visitors is weaker than its connection with members of Indian tribes. If the latter link is insufficient for birthright citizenship, the former certainly is.

This is a nonsensical comparison that does not appear to understand how tribal sovereignty works. Some observers also took this argument to be an attack on Native American citizenship. That is not the conclusion to which I would jump, and for good reason: Congress extended citizenship to Native Americans by statute through the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, so the citizenship clauses application to them is now moot. In their haste to write this brief to meet the courts deadlines, the Justice Department lawyers who signed it appear to have incorrectly used the present tense.

The departments interpretation of United States v. Wong Kim Ark is more troubling. That case involved a man born in San Francisco in 1873 to Chinese parents who lived in the city for decades. After he visited China and returned to the United States as an adult, port officials denied him entry under the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Supreme Court held that he had lawfully attained U.S. citizenship at birth under the citizenship clauses terms, thereby establishing the precedent for birthright citizenship as we know it today.

The Justice Department tried to narrow and undermine the courts landmark ruling to defend Trumps order. The [Wong Kim Ark] Court explained that the question presented concerned the citizenship of a child born in the United States to alien parents who have a permanent domicile and residence in the United States, it claimed. Answering that question, the Court held that a child born in the United States to alien parents who have a permanent domicile and residence in the United States becomes at the time of his birth a citizen of the United States.

In other words, the administration argued, Wong Kim Ark only applied to what we now know as green card holders. Despite some broadly worded dicta, the Courts opinion thus leaves no serious doubt that its actual holding concerned only children of permanent residents, the department argued. The EO is fully consistent with that holding.

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But this reading of Wong Kim Ark is deeply anachronistic. The courts reference to permanent domicile and residence in 1898 is not interchangeable with the legal category of lawful permanent residents in 2025 because the latter category did not exist in 1898. Congress did not enact laws recognizing lawful permanent residents until the 1920s when it created the first immigration quotas. The green card, as we know it today, was not introduced until midway through the twentieth century. The court could not have made a distinction in 1898 that would not exist for another few decades.

Indeed, the question presented reads much differently when shown in its entirety. Justice Horace Gray, writing for the court, said the question was whether a child born in the United States, of parents of Chinese descent, who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of the emperor of China, but have a permanent domicile and residence in the United States, and are there carrying on business, and are not employed in any diplomatic or official capacity under the emperor of China, becomes at the time of his birth a citizen of the United States.

Gray, in short, was distinguishing between a foreign diplomat and an ordinary foreign national. Why did he mention permanent domicile and residence at all? Because he sought to contrast the normal case with the limited number of exceptions that he understood the citizenship clause to contain. Gray extensively reviewed the history of European and American nationality laws when reaching his decision; this background was dismissed by the Trump administration as broadly worded dicta.

From that survey, Gray concluded that the citizenship clause applied to the children of any foreign nationals present within the United States, with the exceptions or qualifications (as old as the rule itself) of children of foreign sovereigns or their ministers, or born on foreign public ships, or of enemies within and during a hostile occupation of part of our territory, and with the single additional exception of children of members of the Indian tribes owing direct allegiance to their several tribes.

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All three of the nontribal exceptions flow logically from the amendments text. The first is the most well-known one: Children of foreign diplomats never become U.S. citizens when born on U.S. soil. No one, to my knowledge, has ever suggested otherwise. Foreign public ships are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States because they are not U.S. flagged vessels and because citizenship does not attach in American territorial waters. In neither case is anyone actually living in the United States.

The final exception offered by Grayfor children born to a foreign military occupation on U.S. soilalso makes sense. He cited some historical evidence to support it, but mere logic can suffice: A hostile foreign army is, by definition, not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Describing Wong Kim Arks parents as having a permanent domicile and residence and carrying on business meant only that they were normal immigrants to the United States, so to speak, and were not some jurisdictional outlier.

The third exception is essentially moribund today: No foreign power has occupied a portion of the mainland United States since the War of 1812, no foreign army has held any U.S. soil since Japan withdrew its troops from two of the Aleutian Islands in World War II, and none is likely to do so in the future. Some Trumpworld figures have nonetheless sought to expand this last exception to potentially cover undocumented immigrants. State officials in Texas tried to claim extraordinary powers during the Biden administration by arguing that the state was suffering an invasion under the terms of the Constitutions guarantee clause. One of Trumps first-day executive orders was titled Protecting the American People From Invasion, though it largely revolved around immigration enforcement priorities.

Among the legal figures who have suggested some sort of invasion exception is Judge James Ho, who serves on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ho is one of the most influential conservative judges in the nation; he also wrote a 2006 law review article defending birthright citizenship on originalist grounds. Within the last year, however, he has changed his tune. He argued last November after the presidential election that birthright citizenship does not apply in cases of war or invasion, which he suggested could extend to undocumented immigrants.

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The Justice Department did not make this argument in court. While it referred to Trumps invasion executive order, it did not describe undocumented immigration as such. Nor could it rationally make this argument, since the order also covers children born to foreign nationals who are lawfully present in the country. Instead it said the birthright citizenship order is an integral part of President Trumps recent actions, pursuant to his significant authority in the immigration field, to address this nations broken immigration system and the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

Either way, it is unsurprising that Judge Coughenour dismissed the departments arguments out of hand. His own three-page order is short and to the point: There is a strong likelihood that plaintiffs will succeed on the merits of their claim that the executive order violates the Fourteenth Amendment and Immigration and Nationality Act, he wrote, adding by way of citation, See United States v. Wong Kim Ark. Nothing more needed to be said. The only question now is whether the Supreme Court will take the same approach when it inevitably is asked to weigh in on the order. Any other response would unsettle a century-long consensus on the nature of American citizenshipand the social and political fabric of the country itself.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests surged the week after President Donald Trump took office, with arrests Sunday totaling nearly 1,000 in a coordinated operation with other federal law enforcement agencies.

The highly publicized spike in ICE arrests marks the beginning of Trumps efforts to create a deportation machine of unprecedented magnitude in the modern era, and a profound shift from his predecessors more lenient approach toward deportations from the interior.

Now-White House Border Czar Tom Homan speaks during Turning Point's annual AmericaFest 2024 in Phoenix last month. Josh Edelson via Getty Images

White House Border Czar Tom Homan oversaw operations personally in Chicago, accompanied by celebrity talk show psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw, who interviewed an arrested Thai migrant he identified as Sam Seda.

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Homan said that Seda was convicted of sex crimes involving children. HuffPost could not immediately confirm what charges the man had faced, and ICE did not immediately respond to a request for details about his case.

A tired-looking McGraw slowly questioned the man about his history and place of birth, with long pauses between questions. The man said his mother was a citizen and that he was born in Thailand. When McGraw asked what he had been charged with, the man said he wanted to speak with his lawyer.

Youre Dr. Phil? the man asked at one point. Ive seen Dr. Phil on TV.

The coordinated series of arrests, carried out with assistance from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, targeted people accused of serious crimes, according to ICE, which throughout the week posted a series of profiles of arrestees and their convictions or charges to its X account.

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ICE noted Sunday that it targeted Chicago specifically. Other ICE operations also targeted Atlanta, Puerto Rico, Colorado and Austin, Texas, according to CNN. Homan has repeatedly criticized Democratic-led cities and states like those targeted for attempting to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

The ratcheting up of arrests marks a major shift in ICE tactics since former President Joe Biden took office.

Over the four years that Biden held the White House, deportation of unauthorized migrants from within the United States fell to their lowest levels in at least 15 years, at 151,748 over his four years in office, according to agency statistics. Interior removals under Trumps first administration were 2.5 times higher, topping 390,000.

One of the major reasons why such a wide gulf separates the two presidents interior deportation figures is that Biden generally followed prosecutorial discretion guidelines that prioritized deporting people who presented a national security risk, those with serious criminal records and those who had a history of prior immigration offenses.

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Prosecutorial discretion was responsible for reducing interior removals from a peak of 871,901 under Barack Obamas first term to 370,585 in his second.

Trump did away with prosecutorial discretion during his first term, however, leading interior removals to creep back up again until the COVID-19 pandemic slowed them down. Trump did away with prosecutorial discretion policies again last week shortly after taking office.

Homan told ABC News in an interview televised on Sunday that he intended for immigration authorities to focus primarily on people with serious criminal records but to expand arrests to more people over time.

Were going to do this on a priority basis, as President Trump has promised, but as that aperture opens, theres going to be more arrests nationwide, Homan told ABC News. If youre in the country illegally, youre on the table, because its not OK to violate the laws of this country.

Residents of some targeted areas, however, suspected that the rising number of arrests included migrants who had lived there for years without running afoul of the law.

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A man named Jesus Gonzalez, interviewed by local station Fox 32 Chicago, said that he voted for Trump, but disagreed with some of the arrests he was seeing in his neighborhood.

Theyre targeting the wrong people, he said. People are afraid to go out. People are afraid to go to work. Thats not right  thats not what Americas about. Americas about living the dream.

At the same time, the Trump administration has pressed aggressively for Latin American countries to accept flights of deportees. On Sunday, Trump threatened Colombian President Gustavo Petro with emergency tariffs of 25% on all imports for refusing to allow flights to land in his country. Trump said those tariffs would rise to 50% by the end of the week if Petro continued to block deportee flights.

Petro unconditionally agreed within hours to Trumps terms, presaging the presidents likely strategy when confronting opposition from other countries to his treatment of deportees. The logistical challenge of returning people to an increasingly diverse group of far-flung countries presents one of the biggest obstacles to Trumps mass deportation agenda.
U.S. President Donald Trump needs to "understand where the threat is" and not "force Ukraine into a bad deal," U.K. lawmaker Iain Duncan Smith told the Kyiv Independent.

In an interview in Kyiv alongside another U.K. lawmaker Layla Moran on Jan. 22, Duncan Smith urged Trump not to rush his approach to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and recognize that a "totalitarian axis" of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea needs to be confronted.

"Just understand where the threat is. It's not Ukraine that's a threat," he said.

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"The threat is Russia and China, Iran, North Korea, all these states are together. So don't force Ukraine into a bad deal," he added.

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to "make a deal" to end the war in Ukraine, warning that failure to reach an agreement would lead to increased sanctions, tariffs, and taxes on Russian goods.

But his confrontational approach to the Kremlin has not been reflected in early comments about other members of the "totalitarian axis."

In comments via videolink at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23, Trump said he had "always had a great relationship" with Chinese President Xi Jinping, adding that he is looking forward to "getting along with China.

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Referring to the war in Ukraine, Trump said China has "a great deal of power over that situation" and that he hoped the U.S. could work with Beijing to end the full-scale invasion.

Despite issuing a slew of wide-ranging directives and executive orders in his first days in office, Trump is yet to impose his long-promised tariffs on Chinese imports. He also issued a reprieve to the Chinese-owned app TikTok, which was facing a ban in the U.S. All of this signals that the White House may be open to cutting deals with Beijing in economic and business matters.

Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith during an interview at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, England, on Oct. 3, 2023. (Justin Tallis / AFP via Getty Images)

But Duncan Smith said it was impossible to distinguish between business and geopolitics when dealing with China.

"It doesn't work," he said, adding: "For these totalitarian states, business and politics are exactly one and the same thing."

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"For these totalitarian states, business and politics are exactly one and the same thing."

Originally raising the issue of the "totalitarian axis" in an op-ed published on Jan. 19, Duncan Smith said events since its publication only bolstered his case, highlighting a televised conference between Putin and Xi on the day Trump took office.

"It's quite interesting because it does just restate the fact that this (totalitarian axis) is there," he said, adding: "The only reason Russia continues in this war is because of China."

Although China has positioned itself as a possible mediator between Russia and Ukraine in future negotiations, Beijing remains Moscow's key economic ally and leading source of dual-use goods that feed the Kremlin's war machine.

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As for North Korea, in an interview on Jan. 23, Trump said he intends to reach out to Kim Jong Un, lauding him as a "smart guy" and "not a religious zealot."

Trump and Kim held three meetings during Trumps first term as president but neither one brought progress on the diplomatic front between the U.S. and North Korea.

"I'll reach out to him again," Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

Kim has become one of Putins key allies in the war against Ukraine, providing ballistic missiles and artillery and sending about 12,000 troops to fight in Russias Kursk Oblast.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran in her Westminster office, London, on Dec. 18, 2023. (Henry Nicholls / AFP via Getty Images)

Both Duncan Smith and Moran  who came to Ukraine to support the work of the British charity Hopefull which cooks up and delivers pizzas in communities close to the front lines  said it was important to be in the country in the same week that Trump took office. The two believed it would be especially important if, in his inauguration speech, Trump hinted at forcing Ukraine to make concessions in a peace agreement unfavorable to Kyiv.

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"It's interesting that Trump didn't say that," Moran said, adding he only alluded to Ukraine during sections criticizing former U.S. President Joe Biden's foreign policy, and his plans for the U.S. military, the success of which would be measured "not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end and, perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into."

"But he didn't talk about (concessions) specifically and that can only be seen as a good thing," Moran said.

"But if Trump had said something that would have absolutely set the hares running, I thought it was personally really important (to be here).

"In that eventuality, to have friends on the ground and to look people in the eye and go, 'no, we are still on your side, you have a right to determine your own future,' would have been really important," she added.

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As for the U.K.'s support for Ukraine, Duncan Smith said he was "very proud" of the country's consistent support for Kyiv which has been in contrast to some of Kyiv's other European allies.

Slovakia and Czechia are "sliding in the other direction," Germany "simply wasn't prepared for any of this," and France "seems to play fast and loose with the whole issue."

"One day, they're gung-ho, the next day they're flirting with the idea of peace. Macron doesn't quite know where he's going to go one day to the next," he added.

Read also: Transfer of Ukrainian Air Force personnel to infantry continues despite scandal

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Monday to remove diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from the military, reinstate thousands of troops who were kicked out for refusing COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, and take aim at transgender troops.

Earlier on Monday, Pete Hegseth, who narrowly secured enough votes to become defense secretary, referred to the names of Confederate generals that were once used for two key bases during his remarks to reporters as he entered the Pentagon on his first full day on the job.

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Trump signed the executive orders while flying back from Miami to Washington D.C.

One of the executive orders signed by Trump said that expressing a "gender identity" different from an individual's sex at birth did not meet military standards.

While the order banned the use of "invented" pronouns in the military, it did not answer basic questions including whether transgender soldiers currently serving in the military would be allowed to stay and, if not, how they would be removed.

Trump's plans have been heavily criticized by advocacy groups, which say his actions would be illegal.

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"President Trump has made clear that a key priority for his administration is driving transgender people back into the closet and out of public life altogether," Joshua Block, with the ACLU, said earlier on Monday.

During his first term, Trump announced that he would ban transgender troops from serving in the military. He did not fully follow through with that ban - his administration froze their recruitment while allowing serving personnel to remain.

Biden overturned the decision when he took office in 2021.

The military has about 1.3 million active-duty personnel, Department of Defense data shows. While transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands.

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When Trump announced his first ban in 2017, he said the military needed to focus on "decisive and overwhelming victory" without being burdened by the "tremendous medical costs and disruption" of having transgender personnel.

INTERNAL FOCUS

Hegseth has promised to bring major changes to the Pentagon and he has made eliminating DEI from the military a top priority.

Trump's executive order on ending DEI in the military said service academies would be required to teach "that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history."

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The Air Force said on Sunday that it will resume instruction of trainees using a video about the first Black airmen in the U.S. military, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, which has passed review to ensure compliance with Trump's ban on DEI initiatives.

Hegseth was warmly greeted on the steps of the Pentagon by the top U.S. military officer, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, whom Hegseth criticized in his latest book. Asked if he might fire Brown, Hegseth joked that he was standing right next to him.

"Im standing with him right now. I look forward to working with him," as he patted Brown on the back.

Reuters has previously reported about the possibility of mass firing among top brass, something Hegseth repeatedly refused to rule out during his confirmation process.

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Hegseth referred to Fort Moore and Fort Liberty by their previous names, Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, while speaking with reporters.

The names honouring Confederate officers were changed under former President Joe Biden as part of an effort to reexamine U.S. history and the Confederate legacy.

"I'm thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, Germany, Fort Benning and Fort Bragg," Hegseth said.

Much of Hegseth's focus at the Pentagon could be internal to the military, including making good on Trump's executive order on bringing back troops discharged for refusing COVID vaccines.

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Thousands of service members were removed from the military after the Pentagon made the vaccine mandatory in 2021.

MISSILE DEFENSE FOR U.S.

Trump also signed an executive order that "mandated a process to develop an American Iron Dome."

The short-range Iron Dome air defense system was built by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with U.S. backing, and was built to intercept rockets fired by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza towards Israel.

Each truck-towed unit fires radar-guided missiles to blow up short-range threats such as rockets, mortars and drones in midair.

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The system determines whether a rocket is on course to hit a populated area. If not, the rocket is ignored and allowed to land harmlessly.

Any such effort would take years to implement in the United States.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart and Nandita Bose; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter, Rod Nickel, Michael Perry and Kate Mayberry)
President Donald Trump signed the orders at the end of a week where he was mostly silent on abortion. But after lobbying by anti-abortion movement leaders, Trump on Thursday pardoned nearly two dozen activists for blockading abortion clinics and earlier Friday gave a video speech at the anti-abortion March for Life. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In a move that global health workers say will likely have devastating consequences for women and girls throughout the world, President Donald Trump has reinstated a policy that bans foreign aid workers from offering information about abortion, and doubled down on an existing domestic policy that bans federal funding for abortion.

The so-called Mexico City Policy, which Trump reinstated Friday night with an executive order, was first introduced in 1984 under Republican President Ronald Reagan, and bans foreign non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, that receive U.S. family planning funds from promoting abortion as a method of family planning and from abortion-related counseling and referrals. It is known by reproductive rights advocates as the global gag rule, and it has been rescinded and reinstated as presidential administrations have changed parties for many years.

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We saw the devastating impact of the global gag rule during the last Trump administration when contraception and vital reproductive services were cut off. There was a spike in pregnancy-related deaths, reproductive coercion, and gender inequality worldwide, said Rachana Desai Martin, chief government and external relations officer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, in a statement. Many clinics and health programs shuttered, leaving vulnerable populations with nowhere to get birth control, pregnancy care and other vital health services.

Reinstatement of the policy was prescribed in Project 2025, a nearly 1,000-page blueprint document authored by the Heritage Foundation and many other organizations, including several anti-abortion groups.

To stop U.S. foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry, the next conservative administration should issue an executive order that, at a minimum, reinstates [the policy] and  closes loopholes by applying the policy to all foreign assistance, including humanitarian aid,

and improving its enforcement, page 261 of the document reads. The executive order  should be drafted broadly to apply to all foreign assistance.

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The executive order includes the statement, I direct the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to the extent allowable by law, to implement a plan to extend the requirements of the reinstated memorandum to global health assistance furnished by all departments or agencies.

Advocates within foreign assistance organizations said the change will affect not only abortion access, but comprehensive reproductive health services, including HIV prevention and treatment, contraception access, screening for sexually transmitted diseases and cancers, and treatments for other infectious diseases.

An expanded Mexico City Policy will have wide-reaching impacts on women and girls access to life-saving healthcare, Janeen Madan Keller, policy fellow and deputy director of global health policy at the Center for Global Development, said in a statement. As research shows, the Mexico City Policy reduces access to contraception which  counter to the policys intended goal  leads to more unplanned pregnancies and higher abortion rates.

Madan Keller added that when Trump reinstated the rule during his first term in 2017, other donors were able to bolster the United Nations Population Funds budget and blunt any negative effects.

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However, with many donors now slashing aid budgets, its unclear whether they would cover the shortfall, she said.

On the same day as the executive orders, the Trump administration rejoined the so-called Geneva Consensus Declaration, a global agreement launched by the U.S. and five other countries in 2020, which states that there is no international right to abortion and countries are not obligated to finance or facilitate it, according to a document obtained by Politico. The pact also includes Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia and Uganda.

Hyde Amendment

Trump issued another executive order on Friday titled, Enforcing the Hyde Amendment, referring to a federal provision prohibiting the use of federal funds such as Medicaid to pay for abortions. Hyde does, however, allow funding in cases of rape, incest or to save a patients life. The order said the prior Democratic administration of President Joe Biden embedded forced taxpayer funding of elective abortions in a variety of federal programs, and rescinded two of Bidens executive orders from 2022 that aimed to increase access to abortion.

Trump signed the orders at the end of a week where he was mostly silent on abortion. But after days of lobbying by anti-abortion movement leaders, Trump on Thursday pardoned convicted abortion-clinic blockaders and earlier Friday gave a last-minute video speech at the anti-abortion March for Life.

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Project 2025 references the Hyde Amendment several times, citing Bidens 2022 executive order that allowed the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary to find ways to assist pregnant people traveling across state lines to receive abortion care. The Biden administration subsequently interpreted Hyde to only apply to the abortion procedure itself.

Page 471 of the document calls for HHS to withdraw that guidance and for the U.S. Department of Justice to withdraw and disavow its interpretation of the amendment that was issued in September 2022. It also says HHS should complete a full audit to determine compliance with the amendment and permanently codify the Hyde Amendment in law rather than approving it as part of an appropriations process every year.

Republican U.S. Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana and Roger Wicker of Mississippi introduced a bill in early January to codify the amendment and establish a single, government-wide standard that bars federal tax dollars from financing abortions. Its unclear if that bill is an attempt to fully cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, which relies heavily on those funds to provide sexual and reproductive health services like contraception and screenings, including in states with abortion bans. Cutting that funding is a directive from Project 2025, as well.

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(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is asserting more federal government control over water management decisions in California and ordering US officials to override local authorities, casting the steps as necessary to boost the states firefighting capabilities.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The actions  enshrined in an executive order that was published Sunday but dated Friday  came as Trump visited California to examine devastation from the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles and after days of withering criticism of the states response to the blazes.

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The order builds on Trumps day-one declaration that the US is in the grip of an energy emergency by directing federal officials to expedite exemptions waiving protections under the Endangered Species Act for a complex of dams, reservoirs and other facilities that irrigate farmland across Californias Central Valley and supply water to millions of people.

Trump is also directing meetings of a committee of cabinet-level officials that can green light ventures even when the survival of a species is at stake. The panel, known informally as the God Squad, has met only a handful of times over the past four decades.

Imperiled plants and animals listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act have figured prominently in Trumps criticism of the states firefighting efforts. Water allocation plans finalized after years of negotiations by state and federal officials aim to ensure withdrawals still provide sufficient water flows downstream to protect habitat for several species, including the delta smelt, Chinook salmon and steelhead trout.

Trump has zeroed in on the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish that lives in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary, blaming its protections for dry fire hydrants and sprinkler systems in Los Angeles.

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While some fire hydrants ran dry, officials said that resulted from dropping water pressure  not regional water shortages. A key reservoir in the region had been drained for repairs, and storage tanks failed to keep pace with the demand from battling multiple blazes.

Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom, called the premise of Trumps order false. California continues to pump as much water as it did under the Trump administrations policies, and water operations to move water south through the Delta have absolutely nothing to do with the local fire response in Los Angeles, Gallegos said by email.

Trump cast his moves as common-sense steps to unlock much-needed resources. I dont know whats controversial about sending millions of  sending millions and millions of gallons of beautiful fresh water from the Pacific Northwest and further up than even that into an area thats bone dry, he said Friday.

Both farmland and firefighting stand to benefit, Trump said. California farmland is as good as Iowas, he said, but it has no water. When we let that water come through your valleys and down to Los Angeles, he said, its going to be a whole different place.

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Environmentalists blasted the effort, calling it a water grab meant to free up more supply for the agriculture sector.

Its just idiotic to keep scapegoating endangered salmon and smelt and fixate on gutting the Endangered Species Act when it had nothing to do with the LA wildfires, said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity.

Trumps order asserts broad executive and federal authority over water management decisions in California. The president directed his Interior and Commerce secretaries to immediately override existing activities that unduly burden efforts to maximize water deliveries. And he orders the federal Bureau of Reclamation to take every possible step to ensure state agencies dont interfere with its operation of the Central Valley Water project to maximize water delivery to high-need communities or otherwise.

(Updates with details on hydrants starting in sixth paragraph.)

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Jan. 27A Chama man who pleaded guilty last year to assaulting two Capitol Police officers in 2021 had charges against him dismissed last week following President Donald Trump's unconditional pardon of the Jan. 6 rioters.

Rockne Gerard Earles, 64, pleaded guilty in September to two felony assault charges for attacks on the two officers, court records show.

In one attack captured on video, Earles grabbed an officer and wrestled him to the steps outside the Capitol Building, according to records filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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The officer, identified as "A.C." in court records, was later hospitalized with a concussion and was off work for 45 days as a result of injuries he received that day, according to a sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors.

In the other assault, Earles threw a full 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade at an officer, narrowly missing the officer's head, according to the memorandum.

Federal prosecutors recommended last week that the judge sentence Earles to 52 months in prison, according to a sentencing memorandum filed in U.S. District Court.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton on Wednesday dismissed the criminal case against Earles and ordered his release from the District of Columbia jail where he was held pending sentencing.

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Email messages sent to Martin Juarez, Earles' federal public defender in Albuquerque, were not immediately returned.

Phone messages left with the Capitol Police public information office were not returned last week.

Trump a week ago Monday issued an unconditional pardon for all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, including those charged with acts of violence against officers.

Earles is one of at least five New Mexicans who faced criminal charges for their roles in the Jan. 6 riot. Earles is also listed as a resident of Fargo, North Dakota.

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Couy Griffin, a former Otero County commissioner and founder of Cowboys for Trump, said last week that he planned to turn down a presidential pardon if offered and intended to contest his conviction in court.

Griffin became a national figure during the Jan. 6 attack when he recorded videos from the Capitol terrace with hundreds of noisy flag-waving protesters behind him. Griffin was convicted in U.S. District Court in 2022 of entering a restricted area outside the U.S. Capitol and was sentenced to 14 days in jail.

Earles was arrested in Chama on April 11, 2023, after a federal grand jury indicted him on eight charges. He pleaded guilty on Sept. 20 to two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers. He faced up to eight years in prison and up to $250,000 in restitution.

In a sentencing memorandum filed last week, federal prosecutors recommended the judge sentence him to 52 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release and $2,000 in restitution.

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Earles and other rioters breached a police line on the Capitol's northwest stairway and attempted to enter a doorway, the sentencing memorandum said.

"As Officer A.C. attempted to block rioters from advancing through a doorway, Earles tackled Officer A.C. from behind and pulled him to the ground  leaving a clear path for other rioters to breach the doorway," the memorandum said.

Earles also put his hand on A.C.'s back to prevent him from getting up, it said.
Andrew Taakes legal troubles might not be over  even though the Texas man was just pardoned by President Donald Trump after being convicted of spraying police with bear spray and using a metal whip to assault them while they defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

According to a review of public court records and confirmed by the Houston district attorneys office on Monday, Taake is still considered at large for the alleged 2016 crime of soliciting a minor online under 17 years old with the expectation that the individual would engage in sexual contact with him.

Taake, who was sentenced to six years in prison for assaulting police on Jan. 6, was out on bond for the solicitation charge when he was storming the Capitol.

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The Harris County district attorneys office said Taake was charged with soliciting someone believed to be younger than 17 years of age on May 25, 2016, just one day after the solicitation allegedly occurred.

He received a bond of $20,000; with it secured, he was released from jail. However, his bond was revoked in September 2021.

Today, he is still at large for that offense, a spokesperson for the district attorney in Harris County told HuffPost.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare also told HuffPost on Monday, Before Andrew Taakes release from custody in Florence, Colorado, on January 20, a member of our Harris County Sheriffs Office Fugitive Warrants Division requested that federal authorities hold him, due to his pending warrant in Harris County. That request was filed back in 2022. The Bureau of Prisons informed our office they must have a certified warrant to prevent Taakes release. Although a clerk faxed a copy of that warrant on January 15, Taake was released five days later, in accordance with President Trumps Pardon order.

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Re-arresting individuals, like Taake, who were released with pending State warrants, will require significant resources, Teare continued. Know that we are already in the process of tracking Taake down, as he must answer for [the] 2016 charge of soliciting a minor online.

An attorney for Taake did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

His Jan. 6 activities only came to light thanks to an amateur sting led by a woman using the dating app Bumble. As HuffPost reported in-depth in 2021, the woman said she used the app to connect with men in the Washington area who she thought may have been at the Capitol.

It was her civic duty to gain information, and there was comically minimal ego-stroking necessary to prompt men to expose themselves, she said.

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Taake took the bait. Though in their chats he regurgitated popular right-wing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and who he believed was responsible for the assault on the Capitol  Taake insisted it was antifa  he nonetheless boasted about himself.

When asked if he was near all the action, he said he was and from the very beginning.

He sent her pictures of himself too, claiming he had just been sprayed with a chemical irritant by police.

The woman connected with roughly a dozen men who were in Washington on Jan. 6 or had attended Trumps rally that morning. Just three admitted they were all on Capitol grounds illegally, Taake included.

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All the woman had to do was suggest they tell her more, and when she had enough to send to the FBI, thats exactly what she did, she told HuffPost in July 2021.

After his arrest, Taake ended up pleading guilty to a single count of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon in December 2023.

In the days since Trump doled out pardons to Jan. 6 rioters, another former defendant has been arrested.

Just last week, authorities arrested Daniel Ball, 39, of Florida, on a felony gun charge stemming from May 2023. Ball had been unable to appear in Florida court to face the gun charge since he was already detained for crimes at the Capitol.

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Court records show that the gun charge was filed when the FBI turned up a loaded rifle, ammunition and explosive devices in his possession that, according to prosecutors, were the same kind of devices he admitted to using to attack police.

The federal judge who oversaw Balls Jan. 6 case called his conduct on that day some of the most violent and serious offenses from the Capitol insurrection.

The devices were thrown toward officers who were packed tightly into a tunnel and caused some police to experience hearing loss for months afterward.

Ball was facing 12 years in prison for nearly a dozen charges related to Jan. 6 before he received a pardon.

Related...
As stock markets reopen for business Monday, Redwire (NYSE: RDW) investors will be coming off of a terrific week. Last Monday, President Trump doubled down on his commitment to "unlock the mysteries of space," declaring "we stand at the birth of a new millennium." The crowd approved, yet Trump inherits the priciest stock market in history.

Space stocks of all sorts rocketed higher when stock markets reopened on Tuesday. Redwire in particular enjoyed an even stronger boost because, on top of the generalized space stock enthusiasm, Redwire had some very specific news of its own to announce.

Redwire is becoming a defense stock.

Redwire's big buy

As the company announced after close of trading Monday, sometime in the second quarter Redwire will buy privately held Edge Autonomy, "a leader in providing innovative autonomous systems, advanced optics, and resilient energy solutions" to, among other customers, the U.S. Department of Defense.

Although hardly a household name, Edge Autonomy produces "Penguin" unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for the military, and its drones have already seen action in the battlefields of Ukraine. The drones come in both conventional and vertical takeoff-and-landing configurations, and can fly up to 25 hours without refueling, with ranges up to 110 miles. Additionally, the company produces advanced batteries and imaging systems to power and equip its drones.

Redwire's logic

Which is all well and good, you say, but why would a space company like Redwire even want to own a terrestrial aerospace company like Edge?

If you ask Redwire itself, it would say the goal is "to transform Redwire into a global leader in multi-domain autonomous technology, broadening its portfolio of mission-critical space platforms to include combat-proven autonomous airborne platforms." (In other words, Redwire is looking for diversification into the defense business to complement its space activities).

Other analysts have other thoughts. Commenting on the acquisition this week, Payload Space hypothesized that marrying Redwire's space assets to Edge Autonomy's drones will permit "communicating with the uncrewed aerial systems through over-the-horizon space-based comms," or even "using a space-based system to task and control an uncrewed system" directly.

Read: autonomously. And probably using artificial intelligence to guide the drone.

Thus, buying Edge gives Redwire the ability to offer the Pentagon a way to safely observe hostile territory utilizing uncrewed drones controlled from space, and to observe things close up and in greater detail than perhaps satellite imagery alone could do.
Facing another early challenge to his immigration policies, President Trump on Sunday ordered a 25% tariff on exports from Colombia and a travel ban on Colombian officials and "their supporters" as punishment for the country's refusal to accept military deportation flights from the U.S.

"These measures are just the beginning," Trump declared on social media.

Colombia's action came as numerous countries in Latin America are attempting to figure out how to deal with the week-old Trump administration, pledging cooperation on some immigration issues but also seeking fair treatment and respect for their own national sovereignty.

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Media reports in the U.S. quoted Pentagon officials as saying Mexico also denied landing permission to a deportation flight late last week. While Mexico did not explicitly confirm or deny the action, its Foreign Ministry emphasized its spirit of continued cooperation with the U.S. President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would address the matter Monday.

Read more: Stranded in Mexico City, these migrants hoping to reach the United States have no good options

Nevertheless, tensions are high in Mexico, the country that is the largest source of U.S.-bound migrants and where tens of thousands are becoming stranded as Trump ends amnesty and other legal-entry programs.

Both Colombia and Mexico in the past accepted some deportation flights but may be reacting now to Trump's threats to increase the number exponentially and include more third-country migrants. Some in the region are also unnerved by the switch from civilian aircraft to U.S. military planes in the deportations.

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Trump said he would raise the tariffs on all Colombian goods coming to the U.S. to 50% after one week if flights are not allowed. While Colombia is not high on the list of the region's traders with the U.S., exporting only about $16 billion in goods, coffee is among its top commodities. It also exports roses and other fresh-cut flowers, used widely in the U.S. on holidays like Valentines Day.

He also said he was revoking U.S. visas from various members of the Colombian government, putting visa restrictions on tens of thousands of other Colombians, enhancing customs and border inspections on people and cargo from Colombia and imposing a raft of unspecified financial and banking sanctions.

Read more: What will Mexico do if Trump tries to mass deport non-Mexicans across the border?

Trump's wrath came in response to actions by Gustavo Petro, the left-leaning president of Colombia, who is dealing with his own immigration crisis: the arrival of massive numbers of people fleeing neighbor Venezuela.

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"I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia," Trump wrote. "We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!"

The two military C-17 aircraft departed San Diego with about 80 migrants and headed for Colombia before being turned around, officials said.

With Trump's return to office, Petro made a brief attempt at avoiding confrontation, but that seems to have vanished.

Also writing on social media, Petro earlier Sunday did not rule out allowing the repatriation of Colombian nationals but said the process had to be "dignified."

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"The U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants like criminals," Petro wrote. "I am denying the entry of United States airplanes with Colombian migrants to our territory. The U.S. must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them."

He later said he would offer his presidential plane to pick up Colombian deportees to avoid them being left stranded and stateless. He also said he would play a tit-for-tat with Trump, suggesting he would impose a 25% tariff on U.S. exports.

Read more: Mexico cracks down on drugs and migrants. Will it be enough to stop Trump tariffs?

The defiance from Latin America comes ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's trip later this week to the region, his first as Trump's top diplomat. Neither Colombia nor Mexico are on his itinerary, although immigration will be on his agenda, especially in Panama, Guatemala and El Salvador.

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He is expected to press the countries to accept deportees. In Panama, the topic of Trump's desire to seize the Panama Canal will also dominate discussions. (The other countries he will visit are Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.)

Throughout the region, Rubio is also hoping to begin to counter China's growing economic and diplomatic influence.

Guatemala on Friday allowed three U.S. flights  two military and one charter  to land there carrying 265 expelled migrants. And Brazil allowed two flights last week but complained that returning migrants were shackled.

"President Trump has made it clear that under his administration, America will no longer be lied to nor taken advantage of," Rubio said in a terse statement reacting to Petro's position on the flights. He said it was the responsibility of nations to take back their citizens who are in the United States without legal authorization.

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Read more: Less process than 'a traffic ticket': ACLU sues to stop Trump's fast-track deportation policy

But, he said, "Colombian President Petro had authorized flights and provided all needed authorizations and then canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air."

Rubio later said he had suspended the issuing of all visas to Colombians at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

Resistance to Trump's immigration crackdown in which he has threatened to expel several million people, including some who are in the United States legally but temporarily, is percolating slowly as advocates and the courts grasp the exact nature of the administration's plans.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sunday announced it had launched long-anticipated raids in Chicago aimed at preserving "public safety and national security" by rounding up immigrants and "keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities. ICE teamed up with the FBI, U.S. Marshals and several other federal agencies.

The first challenge to Trump's immigration plan came swiftly, when a federal judge blocked the administration's attempt to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to people born in the U.S. to noncitizens. Automatic, or birthright citizenship, is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The judge, a Reagan appointee based in Seattle, granted a stay in Trump officials' attempt to enact the change in law.

Read more: Pope Francis calls Trump's plans of mass deportation of immigrants 'a disgrace'

Trump has portrayed the illegal entry of migrants over the southern U.S. border as an invasion. Although illegal crossings did rise early in the Biden administration, they fell sharply over the last year, with current levels the lowest theyve been since Trump left office.

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The White House made a big splash of the start of the deportation flights, although thousands of such deportations took place under Biden, albeit not with military participation.

Will Freeman, an expert on Colombia at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Petro will eventually be forced to back down but seems to want the fight for now.

"I cant think of many *worse* strategic blunders for the U.S., as it competes w/ China, than going nuclear against its oldest strategic ally & last big country in S. America where it enjoys a trade advantage," Freeman said on social media.

"Colombia becomes a testing ground for the threat-forward approach to Latin America," he added. "Colombians lose out, & so will the U.S. vis-a-vis China."

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Times staff writer Patrick McDonnell in Mexico City contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
President Trump has signed an order directing federal agencies to maximize water deliveries in California and override state policies if necessary.

Trumps executive order outlines steps intended to increase the amount of water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The directive was praised by agencies that supply water to farmlands in the San Joaquin Valley, which could receive more water under the changes ordered by Trump.

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Westlands Water District, the largest agricultural water supplier in the Central Valley, welcomed the executive order.

Its clear that what weve been doing for the past few decades has not been working; not for the people, for agriculture, or for the fish, the district said in a written statement. Westlands General Manager Allison Febbo said the district intends to work with government agencies to bring common sense back to water management in the valley, one of the nations major food-producing regions.

Read more: Trump wants to upend California water policy. State officials say it could do harm

Environmental groups said the measures Trump is seeking, if fully carried out, would be disastrous for populations of threatened and endangered fish, as well as the states commercial and recreational fisheries and the deteriorating ecosystem of the Delta.

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It would mean the loss of California's most important wild salmon runs, devastating impacts on salmon fishing jobs, enormous degradation in Delta water quality, said Barry Nelson, a policy representative for the fishing group Golden State Salmon Assn. He also flagged the issue of states' rights: This is a very clear statement that the Trump administration believes that California should not have the right to control its water resources.

The order, posted on the White House website Sunday, directs the Interior and Commerce secretaries to immediately take actions to override existing activities that unduly burden efforts to maximize water deliveries.

Motors at the C.W. "Bill" Jones Pumping Plant in Tracy, Calif. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

It calls for delivering more water via the federally managed Central Valley Project, one of the two main systems of aqueducts, dams and pumping facilities in California that transport supplies from the Delta southward. The president also directed the federal Bureau of Reclamation to ensure state agencies do not interfere.

In the order, Trump criticizes disastrous policies and water mismanagement by California, and directs federal agencies to scrap a plan that the Biden administration adopted last month, establishing new rules for operating the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project  California's other main water delivery system in the Central Valley. Instead, Trump has told federal agencies to more or less follow a plan adopted during his first presidency, which California and environmental groups challenged in court arguing it failed to provide adequate protections for endangered fish.

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Read more: Why hydrants ran dry as firefighters battled California's deadly fires

The order also attempts to link local water supply problems during the deadly Los Angeles County firestorms, such as fire hydrants that ran dry , with changes in how water is managed in Northern California. It says the Trump administration is setting a new policy to "provide Southern California with necessary water resources."

However, water experts and state officials said such comments are inaccurate.

The premise of this executive order is false, said Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom. Were unclear what the administrations concern with the current water policy is.

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She noted that California pumps as much water now as it could under prior policies during Trumps first administration, and that because reservoirs in Southern California are at record-high levels, bringing in more water from Northern California would not have affected the fire response.

There is no shortage of water in Southern California, Gallegos said. Water operations to move water south through the Delta have nothing to do with the local fire response in Los Angeles. Trump is either unaware of how water is stored in California or is deliberately misleading the public.

Gallegos said the state looks forward to further dialogue with the federal government on securing our water supply for a hotter, drier future.

Trumps order focuses largely on the federally operated Central Valley Project, which delivers water from the Delta to farmlands that produce almonds, pistachios, tomatoes and other crops. The CVP ends in the southern San Joaquin Valley near Bakersfield and does not reach Southern Californias urban areas to the south.

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This is a manufactured crisis and water grab for the agricultural sector, who are mainly growing crops for export, said Regina Chichizola of the advocacy group Save California Salmon.

In the San Joaquin Valley, agricultural water agencies have been under growing pressure from state regulators to curb chronic overpumping of groundwater, which has led to declining aquifer levels, sinking ground and growing numbers of dry household wells. Obtaining more water from the Central Valley Project could help some of these agencies address their water deficits.

Trumps order is broadly worded, with some provisions laying out ways the administration could expedite water storage projects and waive protective measures for endangered fish species.

Read more: Groundwater pumping is causing land to sink at record rate in San Joaquin Valley

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For example, it calls for expediting ongoing or potential major water-supply and storage projects in California. It says the Interior and Commerce secretaries will each designate one official to coordinate environmental compliance for such projects, and develop a plan to suspend, revise, or rescind any regulations or procedures that unduly burden such projects.

Though the order does not specifically mention it, Trump has previously called for raising Shasta Dam to expand Californias largest reservoir. Nelson, of the Golden State Salmon Assn., believes parts of the order are intended to move forward that dam-raising plan by attempting to override protections in state law for the McCloud River, which feeds into the reservoir.

Conservation advocates said the order lays the groundwork for the Trump administration to leverage a rarely used amendment to the Endangered Species Act that enables the convening of a committee to exempt a federal action from the endangered species law. This committee has been called the  God Squad , referring to its authority to render a decision that may cause a species to go extinct.

President Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

Environmental advocates said invoking this process could exempt the Central Valley Projects pumping operations from measures that protect vulnerable fish species in the Delta and San Francisco Bay, rendering these federal protections nonexistent.

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I have been working on water issues for 40 years. I have never seen such a clear statement of an administration's intent to devastate the Bay Delta system, Nelson said.

In recent years, fish populations have suffered major declines in the Delta and San Francisco Bay.

Pumping to supply farms and cities has contributed to the ecological degradation of the Delta, where the fish species that are listed as threatened or endangered include steelhead trout, two types of Chinook salmon, longfin smelt, Delta smelt and green sturgeon.

Fisheries authorities have shut down the salmon fishing season in California the last two years because of declining salmon populations.

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The Delta has been dying a death of a thousand cuts. This will accelerate that death significantly, said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, who leads the nonprofit group Restore the Delta, which advocates for protecting the estuary.

In 2020, when the previous Trump administration adopted new water delivery rules that weakened environmental protections, the state and conservation groups successfully challenged the changes in court. That cleared the way for the Biden administration, working together with the Newsom administration, to develop the current plan and the supporting biological opinions, which determine how much water can be pumped and how river flows are managed.

Now, Trump is seeking to return to his administrations 2020 rules, while imposing additional measures to increase pumping.

Trumps order does not appear to directly affect Californias management of the State Water Project, the system that delivers water from the Delta to Los Angeles and other cities.

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However, because state flow requirements to protect endangered fish will remain in place regardless of any federal changes, an increase in pumping by the federal system could, in theory, lead to a decrease in pumping by the state system and less water flowing to urban Southern California, said Greg Gartrell, a former manager of the Contra Costa Water District. The whole situation is more complicated than turning a valve.

Read more: As salmon populations struggle, California bans fishing on rivers for a second year

Gary Bobker, program director for the environmental group Friends of the River, said implementing the presidents wish list would dewater California rivers, promote toxic algal blooms, cause a number of native species to go extinct  not just Delta smelt, but salmon, steelhead and sturgeon.

The biggest winners would be agribusinesses in the San Joaquin Valley, not people living in fire-prone areas, Bobker said. This exploitation of a humanitarian crisis to impose misinformed and destructive policies on California is an insult to the states residents and the victims of the wildfires.

Trumps order also calls for emergency measures to improve disaster response. It directs federal agencies to ensure that state and local governments promote sensible land management practices, calling for officials to report to the president on state policies inconsistent with sound disaster prevention and response.

It says the federal Office of Management and Budget will review all federal programs that support land management, water supply and disaster response.

The order also directs federal agencies to expedite housing options for those displaced by the fires, and develop a plan to quickly remove contaminated waste and debris from burned areas. It calls for investigating alleged misuse of federal grant funds by the city of Los Angeles.

Read more: Visiting L.A. after firestorm, Trump focuses on overhauling California water policy

The order packages Trumps goals for California water policy together with unrelated wildfire relief measures, said Felicia Marcus, a visiting fellow at Stanford Universitys Water in the West Program.

He's sort of wrapping what he wants to do for other reasons into an L.A. disaster relief cloak, which isn't cool, Marcus said. It distracts from the hard, real discussions that mature and reasonable federal and state water managers and stakeholders need to have to figure out how we manage California water resources for all the things that are important to Californians, which include urban use, agricultural use, recreational use, fish and wildlife.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Service members dismissed from the military for failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 will be reinstated with full back pay and benefits under an executive order President Trump is expected to sign Monday.

The move makes good on a Trump campaign promise and is something he previewed during his inaugural address.

Its part of a series of actions and orders the new administration has taken to undo many Biden policies he considered woke.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also vowed to reinstate military members dismissed over the COVID-19 shot, saying during his confirmation hearing that those service members will be apologized to. They will be reinstated, reinstituted with pay and rank.

From August 2021 to January 2023, the Biden administration and former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discharged more than 8,000 troops over their refusal to get a mandated COVID-19 shot, with limited exceptions for medical issues or religious objections.

That number represented less than 1 percent of the total military strength, but the dismissals became a rallying cry for Republicans who accused Biden officials of hampering military readiness and of religious discrimination.

The Pentagon allowed dismissed soldiers to reapply once the mandate was rescinded in 2023, but only 43 chose to do so, according to federal statistics.

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Military members are required to receive more than a dozen vaccines as part of their normal onboarding process, but the COVID-19 vaccine became a flash point of controversy, and the dismissals became a political headache for the Biden White House.

The first Trump administration laid the groundwork for the vaccine to be developed and brought to market in record time through its Operation Warp Speed. The vaccine was only mandated by the military once it received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  Congressman Mike Rulli is lending his support to President Donald Trump after his announcement to reinstate thousands of service members who were previously dismissed after failing to get vaccinated.

In the next move adding to a busy first week in office, Trump announced his intention to sign an executive order Monday reinstating service members previously dismissed from the military for failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, including full back pay and benefits.

From August 2021 to January 2023, the Biden administration and former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discharged over 8,000 troops over their refusal to get a mandated COVID-19 shot, with limited exceptions. The Pentagon allowed dismissed soldiers to reapply once the mandate was rescinded in 2023, but only 43 chose to do so, according to federal statistics.

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At the time of the repeal, an amendment to require reinstatement and backpay of service members who refused the vaccine when the mandate was in effect failed to pass. Associated Press data from the time showed 3,717 Marines discharged, 2,041 discharged from the Navy, 1,841 from the Army and 834 from the Air Force.

Congressman Mike Rulli (R-6th District) released a statement Monday affirming his support for their reinstatement, stating it restored justice for our military.

Rulli said Trumps decision aligns with the principles of the AMERICANS Act  a bill co-sponsored by Rulli that would prohibit the Department of Defense from issuing any COVID-19 vaccine mandate as a replacement for the rescinded vaccine mandate of August 24, 2021, unless the mandate is expressly authorized by Congress.

Mondays expected order will reinstate approximately 8,400 service members.

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The Hill contributed to this report.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
WASHINGTON (NewsNation)  President Donald Trump signed a barrage of executive orders Monday that will shake up the U.S. military, including a ban on transgender service members and ending diversity, equity and inclusion  or DEI  programs.



The flurry of executive action was signed while Trump was aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, DC.

The orders came days after Trumps nominee to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, was sworn in as Secretary of Defense. Hegseth has vowed to restore the warrior ethos to the military, which he has claimed has been weakened by woke issues.

Trump issued an executive order abolishing all DEI programs within the armed forces as a way to restore merit and lethality to Americas fighting force. This executive order directs the Pentagons new leader to conduct an internal review of all instances of race- or sex-based discrimination based on DEI initiatives, a White House fact sheet obtained by NewsNation said.

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Here are all executive orders Trump signed on Day 1

In a social media post foreshadowing the announcement, Hegseth wrote on X: The Presidents guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at the Department of Defense. The Pentagon will comply, immediately.

The White House says this order will combat ideologies that seek to divide our Armed Forces by race, sex or other immutable characteristics and thus tear at cohesion and military efficacy.

A second executive order will ban transgender service members from the U.S. military.

The Department of Defense will update its guidance regarding trans-identifying medical standards for military service to ensure it prioritizes readiness and lethality, the White House said. On the battlefield, there can be no accommodation for anything less than resilience, strength, and the ability to withstand extraordinary physical demands.

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According to its fact sheet, the White House argues it can take a minimum of 12 months for an individual to complete treatments after transition surgery. During this period, they are not physically capable of meeting military readiness requirements and require ongoing medical care. This is not conducive for deployment or other readiness requirements, the new administration contends.

Trump issued a similar ban during his first term that barred transgender troops from serving, which former President Joe Biden rescinded.

In 2019  the most recent year for which figures were available  the Department of Defense estimated that approximately 8,000 transgender individuals served on active duty in the military.

The third executive order reinstates all members of the military  active and reserve  who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. Those who are reinstated will receive their former rank and full back pay with benefits.

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From 2021 to 2023, over 8,000 troops were discharged due to their COVID-19 vaccination status.

Trump also signed an order mandating a process to develop an American Iron Dome , similar to the air defense system in Israel.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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President Donald Trump's envoy brokered a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange that is bringing Israeli hostages home. Now Trump is considering emptying the territory of its Palestinian population.

"I'd like Egypt to take people, and I'd like Jordan to take people. You're talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing," Trump told reporters on Sunday. "It is literally a demolition site right now, almost everything is demolished and people are dying there."

He added that Palestinians could be moved "temporarily or could be long term."

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The plan to empty Gaza of Palestinianswhile insisting that it's a temporary measure for their own goodis an eerie echo of former President Joe Biden's approach to the region. In the first few days of the war, the Biden administration tried to push Egypt to accept a mass exodus of Palestinians. Bringing up that possibility again, now that the bombs have stopped dropping, is seen by both Arab and Israeli figures as an attempt to restart the war.

The Egyptian government released a statement on Sunday rejecting "the transfer of uprooting of Palestinians from their land, whether in a temporary or long term way, which threatens stability and heralds the extension of the conflict." Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also told reporters on Sunday that "Jordan is for Jordanians, and Palestine for Palestinians.Our rejection of displacement is unwavering."

It's telling that former Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who initially called Trump's ceasefire a "national humiliation" and resigned from the government to protest it, is now praising Trump's openness to empty Gaza.

Ben Gvir wrote on Monday that images of Palestinians returning home after the ceasefire are "another humiliating part of the reckless deal.The heroic Israel Defense Force soldiers did not fight and give their lives in the Strip to make these images possible. We must return to warand to destruction!"

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Ben Gvir's faction has long wanted to expel Palestinians to other Arab countries, even before the war that began with Hamas' October 7, 2023, attacks.

After those attacks, the Biden administration called for open "humanitarian corridors" for Palestinians to leave for Egypt's Sinai Desert, while insisting that it did not want a permanent expulsion.

"We believe that people should be able to stay in Gaza, their home," thenSecretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on October 15, 2023. "But we also want to make sure that they're out of harm's way and that they're getting the assistance they need."

Blinken's suggestion may have come with a serious financial offer behind closed doors. On October 14, 2023, The Economist alluded to diplomatic discussions about paying off Egypt's debt in exchange for taking in refugees. That following day, the independent Egyptian news outlet Mada Masr reported that Egypt was "coming under pressure from western countries who are also offering economic incentives in an effort to come to a deal" over Palestinian refugees.

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Although more than 100,000 refugees from Gaza have come to Egypt on an individual basis, the Egyptian government rejected the idea of evacuating hundreds of thousands of Palestinians en masse, arguing that such a plan would move the conflict onto Egyptian soil.

"Transferring the refugees, the Palestinian citizens, from the strip to Sinai would simply be transferring their resistance, the fighting, from the Gaza Strip to Sinai, turning Sinai into a launch pad for operations against Israel and making Israel within its rights to defend itself and its national security by conducting strikes on Egyptian land in retaliation," Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi warned in a speech on October 18, 2023.

Sissi suggested that if an evacuation were really necessary, Palestinians could be housed in the Negev Desert, within Israel proper. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kusher, agreed that a "secure area" in the Negev would be "a better option" than Egypt for Palestinian refugees in a March 2024 speech.

Arab fears of losing land to an evacuation were not exactly unfounded. The Israeli intelligence ministry was drawing up plans for the establishment of a "sterile zone of several kilometers" on Egyptian soil and "the construction of cities in a resettled area in northern Sinai," which were leaked to Israeli media.

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Jordan is also sensitiveperhaps even more than Egypt isabout the possibility of a mass exodus. Around half the kingdom's population has Palestinian roots, due to refugees fleeing previous wars in 1948 and 1967. The latter wave led to the Black September crisis of 1970, a civil war between exiled Palestinian guerrillas and the Jordanian government.

Jordan signed its 1994 peace treaty with Israel in order to put the Palestinian issue to rest within the Palestinian territories, according to former Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher. Any mass expulsion of Palestinians by Israel will be considered "a declaration of war and constitutes a material breach of the peace treaty," thenPrime Minister Bisher Khasawneh stated in November 2023.

And Palestinians themselves are wary of being asked to leave, given that hundreds of thousands who fled the 1948 and 1967 wars were not allowed to return home.

"The idea that [Palestinians] are some kind of spillover from other countries in the so-called Arab worldthat they are just interchangeable with other 'Arabs'is a false but routinely employed rhetorical device to erase their history on the land," wrote Rep. Justin Amash, whose father was a 1948 refugee and whose cousins live in Gaza, in response to Trump's comments. "Any effort to force them out or to pressure them to leave under threat of force is simply ethnic cleansing."

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Josh Paul, a former State Department official who resigned in protest of Biden's approach to Gaza, says that Trump's approach "remains an outsourcing of U.S. policy to [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu." Netanyahu's goal, Paul adds, is to empty out Gaza, whether "through killing, forced deportations, or simply making it unlivable and then creating an exit route for those who are in urgent need."

The reconstruction of Gaza will be a difficult and costly affair. The oil-rich Arab monarchies, the most likely investors in reconstruction, want to see an independent state of Palestine that is not run by Hamas. Just keeping the ceasefire in place, let alone muscling Hamas out of power and getting Israel to accept Palestinian independence, will be a heavy political lift.

But there's no good reason to expand the conflict into other countries, by threatening or bribing them at the U.S. expense. Biden has already demonstrated the folly of that path.

The post Trump Revives Biden's Failed Proposal To Remove Palestinians From Gaza appeared first on Reason.com.
On the same day Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States, Americans also commemorated the life and legacy of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Trump acknowledged King during his inaugural address. Today is Martin Luther King Day, and in his honor  this is a great honor  we will work together to make his dream a reality. We will bring his dream to fruition, Trump said.

He also declared that America's golden age was beginning, vowing to make the nation the envy of others and prioritize American interests. His compelling speech set a strong tone for his second term and reaffirmed his commitment to "Make America Great Again."

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I hope makes good on his promise, but just a week into his administration, his actions suggest otherwise. It makes me wonder which America he is referring to? It's clear that the country he wants is not a good America for African Americans, Latinos, women, poor people or the LGBTQ community.

Kings iconic I Have a Dream speech emphasized the importance of equality. Trump's plan to eliminate government programs that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and his attack on the transgender community contradicts that vision.

More: Are gold high tops key to Trump win? No. They show how badly out of touch he is. | Opinion

In addition, Trump faces another test on his pledge to honor King. In his flurry of executive actions, he ordered the declassification of the remaining records pertaining to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and King. The civil rights leader's family responded with a simple request:

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For us, the assassination of our father is a deeply personal family loss that we have endured over the last 56 years. We hope to be provided the opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release," the family said in a statement.

We'll see. Meanwhile, in just a week Trump has already moved the nation backwards. Some say people are tired and demoralized and won't push back. They should heed the words of King's son: "Now is not the time to give up."

All federal DEI staff placed on leave, administration orders snooping

On Tuesday, the administration ordered all federal DEI staff be placed on paid leave and announced plans to proceed with layoffs. It also wants federal employees to snitch on coworkers who support DEI. These moves will cut anti-bias training, reduce funding for Black and minority farmers and homeowners and create an environment of intimidation and fear.

In contrast, King understood that embracing diversity was essential for advancing civil rights and achieving social justice. While leading the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), he formed a coalition that included individuals from various races, ethnicities, and backgrounds because he believed that bringing together people with different perspectives and experiences could strengthen their collective efforts and enhance advocacy for equality and justice.

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Regaining the presidency alone will not be enough to bring about transformative changes for marginalized and disadvantaged communities. Moreover, these efforts fall short of addressing the concerns articulated by King's "I Have a Dream" speech delivered on August 28, 1963. King envisioned a future where justice, equality, and opportunity were ideals and realities for all, regardless of their background.

This commitment to inclusion strengthened the Civil Rights movement and created deeper solidarity among its members. It reinforced the belief that social change requires the involvement of everyone in society, rather than just one individuals voice. This is why diversity was important to King, and it remains essential today.

While Trump expressed his gratitude to Black and Hispanic communities for their support, stating, Ive heard your voices throughout the campaign, and I look forward to collaborating with you for years to come, I will not hold my breath.

For Trump to genuinely collaborate with minorities, he must sit down with them and listen to their concerns. If he wants to turn Kings dream into a reality, it will take civility, and action.

Who is this golden age for? Not people of color, poor, LGBTQ

Among the executive orders Trump signed included attempts to eliminate "birthright citizenship," enshrined into the Constitution following the Civil War, and efforts to deny federal recognition to transgender Americans.

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King would have opposed targeting the LGBTQ community. His wife, Coretta, said in 1998, during the 30th anniversary of her husbands assassination, that he advocated for gay rights. In addition, one of his closest advisors was Bayard Rustin, an openly gay Black man who organized the March on Washington and helped draft King's memoir, "Stride Toward Freedom," detailing racial conditions in Montgomery during the bus boycott.

The Civil Rights movement aimed to secure equality and justice for everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or any other identity.

More: Elon Musk salute ripples across US leading to Sam Kuffel in Milwaukee losing job | Opinion

Trump and King would have also disagreed on the pardon of nearly 1,600 people charged for taking part in the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

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Some of those included leaders of White supremacist groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, including Enrique Tarrior, who was convicted of vandalizing a Black church. A 2021 USA TODAY investigation of the Wisconsin chapter of the group revealed it as a den of racism and antisemitism. Members moved up in the group by means of bullying and promoting white supremacist talking points. Nearly 140 police officers were assaulted on the day of the riot, including 80 from the U.S. Capitol Police.

Do you believe the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize would want far-right extremists pardoned?

King's son is right: Now is not the time to give up

Martin Luther King III, Kings eldest son, appealed to those who oppose Trump to stay actively involved in politics, but he insisted civility must also rise to the top.

"We've elected President Trump again, and the question is how do we navigate in civility, because historically there hasn't been civility," King told CBS News.

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King said his parents went against what society attempted to do initially and helped create a climate so we could move forward in a constructive way.

For this to happen, citizens must resist the temptations of complacency and the discouraging belief that they were powerless to bring about meaningful change. I resonate deeply with this sentiment because it prompts a reflection on the movement's struggles.

Just imagine if King and the countless brave individuals who participated in the sit-ins and marches had felt that their voices were insignificant during those tumultuous times. What if those who courageously faced violence  those who were beaten and jailed, who endured the painful sting of racial slurs, who were subjected to relentless profiling, and who witnessed crosses burning ominously on their lawns  had chosen to surrender in despair?

Their resilience and spirit in the face of unimaginable adversity are a powerful reminder of the importance of perseverance and the impact that collective voices can have in the fight for justice and equality.

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King III is correct: this is the time to stay engaged in politics. If we are not actively involved, we cannot hold Trump and his administration accountable for bringing King's dream to fruition. If those who fought for our freedoms never gave up, neither should we.

You can reach James E. Causey at jcausey@jrn.com or follow him on X @jecausey.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trumps moves on DEI contradict Martin Luther King's vision | Opinion
A common sentiment in Alaska is that while President Donald Trump has ordered the name of North Americas tallest peak to be changed from Denali to McKinley, Alaskans will call it what they want.

And popular consensus seems to favor Denali.

Jeff King, a four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, whose kennel operates just outside Denali National Park and Preserve, told the Associated Press:

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I dont know a single person that likes the idea, and were pretty vocal about it, King said. Denali respects the Indigenous people that have been here and around Denali for tens of thousands of years.

The 20,310-foot peak had been known as Denali until 1896, when a gold prospector unofficially named the peak after William McKinley in support of the then-presidential candidate.

Even though McKinley had never been to the mountain and had no special connection to Alaska, the peak was officially named in the late Republican presidents honor in 1917. (McKinley served as president from 1987 until his assassination in 1901.)

The name was officially changed to Denali, as a symbolic gesture to the Koyukon people, by the Obama administration in 2015.

On Monday, two resolutions were introduced by Democratic Reps. to register the Alaska Legislatures opposition to the change back to McKinley. One resolution quotes Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski:

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It is called Denali, which means the great one. So I would just suggest to President Trump, who wants to make everything great, they already have a great name for it.

Last week, Alaska News Source asked residents via social media what they thought of the name change. The responses were mostly favored Denali over McKinley.

Th top comment reads: It's Denali. I dont know why we are fighting so hard to name it after a President that didn't even go to AK let alone trying to erase its original and indigenous name.

A comment in favor of the change: Mt. McKinley, as it was before Obama.

Image showing Mt. Denali in September 2020 courtesy of Jay Christensen

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Trump says McKinley, but Denali forever a popular Alaskan sentiment
President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has asked the king of Jordan to take in more Palestinians, adding that Palestinians should leave the Gaza Strip to clean out the enclave.
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump, fresh off a slew of executive orders made at the point of a Sharpie, turns this week to wooing, cajoling and strong-arming members of the legislative branch to get behind his agenda and cabinet picks.

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Many of those plans rely on the support of the majority Republicans in Congress, who face narrow margins in both chambers. A few members in the House and Senate have shown an inclination to vote against  or at least complain about  the most extreme of Trumps actions. Trump cant afford for more than a handful to oppose him.

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Any lawmaker considering breaking ranks will be confronting a newly emboldened president.

Trump capped his first official weekend back in the White House by threatening punitive tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after its leader refused to allow two US military planes carrying migrants to land on its soil. Trump lifted the threat late Sunday only after Colombia agreed to what Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described as all of President Trumps terms, including taking in the deportees. Colombias president quickly reposted the White House statement on social media.

The action underscored Trumps contention that his vows to restrict illegal migration were just as responsible for his return to the White House as his promises to boost the economy. It also highlighted Trumps confrontational approach, and served as a warning shot to those at home or abroad who might be thinking about crossing the new president.

Todays events make clear to the world that America is respected again, Leavitt said in a statement after Colombia appeared to back down.

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Facing Trump this week are talks to shape his tax and immigration bills and getting more cabinet nominees confirmed in the Senate.

On Monday, he will meet with House Republicans in Florida to figure out the size and scope of his first big legislative actions: Restoring and broadening the 2017 tax cuts, cracking down on immigration, or both, all in one bill.

In the coming weeks, Ill be working with Congress to get a bill on my desk that cuts taxes for workers, families, small businesses, and very importantly, keeps my promise, Trump told supporters on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Trump has voiced his preference for a single bill under a process called reconciliation, which allows the legislation to pass with a simple majority, meaning no Democratic votes are needed. That bill would include tax cuts, money for border security and energy reform.

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But Senate Republican leader John Thune and Trumps deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller have pushed lawmakers to first pursue a border security bill to deliver Trump an early win before pivoting to the more complex tax and spending bills.

Administration officials were already working to persuade Congress to appropriate more money to arrest and deport immigrants who are in the country illegally.

What price is national security? border czar Tom Homan said Sunday on ABCs This Week. Im being realistic. Were going to do what we can with the money we have. We dont have the money to remove all these people.

The slim majority also means that any small proposal may complicate the passage of a tax bill before the deadline. If Republicans fail to broker a deal before the end of the year, households and closely-held businesses will see their tax bills rise.

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Not extending expiring tax cuts would have a political cost  taxes will increase if the bill isnt passed before years end  but doing so will also carry an estimated $4.6 trillion financial cost. On top of that, Trump has floated a number of expensive proposals that include raising the cap on SALT deductions, lowering the corporate rate, ending taxes on Social Security benefits and tips, and exempting overtime pay from taxation. All of that may give some GOP members pause.

Getting Cabinet Confirmed

At the same time, Trump will need to keep senators in line for confirmation hearings this week for some of his more controversial nominees, including former Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, as well as Kash Patel, a conspiracy theorist tapped to run the FBI. Those three as well as less divisive nominees will have their committee hearings this week. Treasury Secretary-designate Scott Bessent will get a full Senate vote on Monday, and is likely to easily win his post.

Yet some of Trumps executive actions have given senators possible bargaining chips. His late-night, mass firing of at least a dozen inspectors general without the legally required 30 days congressional notification irked Iowa GOP Senator Chuck Grassley, who said in a statement Saturday that hed like an explanation from the president.

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Last week, three Republican senators  Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Kentuckys Mitch McConnell  voted against confirming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, making the vote a 50-50 tie that Vice President JD Vance had to break. Kennedy, Gabbard and Patel may face similarly narrow confirmations or even be rejected outright.

So far, the president isnt deterred. Shortly after the Hegseth vote, Trump told reporters winning is all that matters.

(Updates with Colombia deal starting in fourth paragraph.)

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WH Smith

WH Smith is in talks to quit the high street after 230 years amid an economic downturn and looming tax rises.

The retailer said on Saturday that it was looking at selling its high street arm, saying it was exploring potential strategic options for this profitable and cash generative part of the group, including a possible sale.

Founded in 1792, WH Smith is a stalwart of the nations high streets and has more than 1,700 sites across the globe, selling stationery, books and greeting cards.

But in recent years the business has pivoted to focus on travel, with stores in train stations, airports and hospitals, in response to declining footfall in town centres and the rise in online competition.

It now has around 500 high street UK sites, employing 5,000 staff members, while its domestic travel arm has around 600 sites. It also has hundreds of stores in Europe and the US.

The high-street arm of the business now accounts for just 15pc of the retail giants annual profit, with pre-tax profits for the year to Aug 31 standing at 166m. This is up from 143m the previous year.

The retailers earnings from the high street remained flat, at just 32m  despite cost-saving measures including the closure of 14 stores last year  whereas growth in the travel sector, especially in the US, has proved strong.

Earlier this week, it emerged that an estimated 15 stores would also face closure this year, as part of an annual review of locations.

It comes as businesses face increased costs in the wake of Rachel Reevess employers National Insurance hike, as well as an increase in the minimum wage from April.

The Centre for Retail Research has warned that it expects 17,350 shops to close in 2025  compared to 13,479 last year. Retail and hospitality are expected to be hit particularly hard, as a result of squeezes on margins and high staff costs.

High-street stores will also see a jump in property taxes as business rate relief is cut. The rates bill for the average shop will surge from 3,589 to 8,613 for 2025-26, according to analysis by the real estate firm Altus Group.

A spokesman for WH Smith said: Over the past decade, WH Smith has become a focused global travel retailer. The groups travel business has over 1,200 stores across 32 countries, and three-quarters of the groups revenue and 85pc of its trading profit comes from the travel business.

There can be no certainty that any agreement will be reached, and further updates will be provided as and when appropriate.

Bankers from Greenhill have been drafted in to sell the arm of the company, which has been listed on the stock exchange since 1949.
In a case that sits squarely at the intersection of his business and political interests, President Donald Trump is trying to stop a civil lawsuit against his multibillion-dollar social media company by arguing that he should be immune from civil litigation filed in state court while he serves as president.

Trump and his co-defendants -- including FBI director nominee Kash Patel and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino -- asked a Delaware judge to either issue a four-year delay of the case or dismiss a lawsuit filed by Trump Media & Technology Group co-founders Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, who alleged that Trump and company executives orchestrated a scheme to prevent them from getting their full stake in the company after it went public.

Facing an "unprecedented" number of civil lawsuits, Trump argued that having to fend off the litigation would be a "distraction" from his presidential duties and "interfere substantially" with the function of the executive branch.

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MORE: Shares in Trump's social media company spike after president-elect says he won't sell stake

"Without the protections of temporary Presidential immunity, the President will be forced to defend against these cases -- and the many more that are sure to arise during his second term -- all to the detriment of his office and the American people he serves," attorneys John Reed and Theodore Kittila wrote in a filing on Friday in Delaware Chancery Court.

In December, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Morgan Zurn agreed to temporarily pause the claim so Trump could make his immunity argument, though she noted that Trump "is not presently deemed to be immune" from the civil case. Lawyers for Trump Media and the president asked the court to establish a "brightline deferral rule" to delay any civil litigation Trump faces in state court by four years.

"State courts across the country are being called upon to sit in judgment of the sitting President, to tax his time, and to second-guess his priorities. That state of affairs -- President Jefferson's nightmare -- dishonors the Presidency and debases the state courts that purport to control his actions," the filing said.

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During his first term in office, Trump was sued at least 10 times, and he returned to the presidency with at least 14 lawsuits pending, including multiple suits related to his social media company. Trump placed his stake in the company -- 14,750,000 shares worth more than $3 billion -- into a trust controlled by his sons before entering office this month.

PHOTO: In this Oct. 11, 2024, file photo, Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, greets supporters during a campaign rally at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, FILE)

If successful, Trump's claim of "temporary presidential immunity" could provide the president an additional layer of legal protection, having already entered office with newly broadened presidential power and protection from criminal liability following the Supreme Court's ruling last year on presidential immunity.

Defense lawyers, in Friday's filing, claimed without evidence that Trump's "billionaire adversaries" are funding a wave of litigation "to destroy the president."

"The President has already been sued more than all his predecessors combined, yet his rivals promise that there is still more to come," the lawsuit said. "That swell of litigation will pose an even greater threat to the operations of the Executive Branch and the standing of state courts that purport to sit in judgment of his conduct."

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While the Supreme Court established in Clinton v. Jones that a president does not have immunity from civil lawsuits related to personal conduct, lawyers for Trump Media argued that the decision only applies to cases in federal court. Though the Trump Media lawsuit does not center on official acts, Trump argued that the burden of defending himself would intrude on his official duties, citing an example of how President Bill Clinton consulted his personal attorney three times on the same day he was deliberating whether to go to war with Iraq.

"With the benefits of hindsight and lived experience, it now is clear that state civil litigation against the President causes real 'diversion' and 'harassment' of the Presidency, sufficient to interfere substantially with the operations of the Executive Branch," the filing said.

The defense lawyers claimed that the lawsuit would occupy Trump's limited "energies and attention," which is already strained by the demands of the presidency.

MORE: Here's why you might be automatically following Trump on Instagram, Facebook

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"During his first term, President Trump ... slept just four to five hours per night -- because the burdens of the Presidency dwarfed even his responsibilities as a global business leader," the filing said.

In a separate filing on Friday, Trump's personal lawyers told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that the president should be immune from any civil claims related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack because he was acting in his official capacity as president when he sought to challenge the results of the 2020 election.

When reached for comment, regarding the Trump Media lawsuit, Richie Jones, an attorney for Moss and Litinsky, provided a quote by former President Theodore Roosevelt, saying it was "the best we can do in terms of comment."

"No man is above the law, and no man is below it. Nor do we ask any man's permission when we require him to obey it," Jones wrote.

Trump seeks presidential immunity from any civil lawsuit filed against him in state court originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
The number of active-duty troops at the border is growing, and executive orders have expanded federal authorities' reach. The Trump administration, now entering its second week, has signaled big changes in how the U.S. tackles immigration, cartels and cross-border crime.

The Pentagon announced it would send 1,500 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border after President Donald Trumps declaration of a national emergency on his first day back in office.

About 36 hours after the executive action was signed, Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses announced that the troops had been deployed, writing, This is just the beginning.

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The troops will support U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations in the El Paso and San Diego sectors. It is not known whether other troops will be sent to Arizona.

They join approximately 2,500 Army Reserve and National Guard members who have been in the region under the presidents control, along with other National Guard members stationed at the border by state-led initiatives, according to reporting by USA TODAY.

The active-duty personnel have been assigned to assist CBP with logistics, detection of migrants, data entry and aerial support. The goal is to free up law enforcement agents for tasks that service members cannot perform.

Senior Defense officials note that the deployment could expand if directed by the White House.

How many troops are deployed at the Arizona border?

A total of 1,000 Army soldiers from various units have been tapped to participate in the deployment at the southern border. The U.S. Northern Command on Friday announced that soldiers from Texas, Kentucky, New York, Georgia, Kansas, Colorado and Washington would be a part of the deployment.

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Joining them are 500 Marines from Camp Pendleton, who, according to a senior military official, had been on standby in Southern California potentially to help combat the ongoing Los Angeles County wildfires.

With these deployments, the total number of active-duty military troops assisting the Department of Homeland Security has increased to approximately 4,000.

The troops are tasked with erecting temporary barriers, maintaining military equipment in the area and providing aerial monitoring using drones and helicopters, according to a Department of Defense release sent Wednesday.

It was unclear whether any deployments would occur in the Tucson and Yuma sectors along the Arizona border. The U.S. Northern Command did not respond to a Republic reporter's request for comment.

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The aircraft participating in aerial support include UH-72 helicopters, two C-17s, and two C-130s. According to a senior military official at a Pentagon news briefing on Wednesday, this equipment was already in the border region in training status and was reactivated for operational missions. "

Defense officials confirmed that military aircraft would be used for deportation flights for roughly 5,000 people detained in El Paso and San Diego. The administration has not disclosed the final destinations for these flights.

Two deportation flights bound for Guatemala took off Thursday evening, including one flight out of Tucson International Airport. Images of people loading up on a military cargo plane were released Friday night by the U.S. Border Patrols Tucson Sector chief on the social media platform X. A third flight reportedly was denied entry to Mexico, according to NBC News.

One of the Pentagons premier units has been ordered to prepare to be deployed to the southern border, according to a report on Friday by USA TODAY. However, it was unclear how many soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, which sends combat-ready forces on short notice to world hot spots, would be sent to the border at this time.

What are the current military operations along the Arizona border?

The Arizona border region is no stranger to the presence of military troops.

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The Arizona National Guard has 43 personnel activated at both Nogales ports of entry, according to Maj. Erin Hannigan, a spokesperson for the Arizona National Guard.

The Guard troops are part of an effort by Gov. Katie Hobbs to assist CBP at the border in Arizona. They help direct traffic in secondary search lanes, dismantle vehicles suspected of carrying contraband at the Mariposa Port of Entry and assist with rail operations at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry.

Hannigan added that approximately 40 additional state Guard troops are supporting the Title 10 Southwest Border mission. Details on where and what duties these members of the Arizona National Guard are assigned to have not been shared with The Republic by the U.S. Northern Command.

Joseph Nunn, a counsel in the Brennan Centers Liberty and National Security Program, said currently deployed personnel are assisting with laying concertina wire, staffing static observation posts and, in some cases, monitoring surveillance data feeds.

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They are providing this wide range of support that is integral to CBPs immigration enforcement and border security mission at the border  which is a law enforcement operation, he said.

The number of National Guard troops deployed to support CBP personnel has fluctuated since the first Trump administration, when it peaked at 7,000.

In 2018, Trump launched a mission that placed reservists and Guard troops at the California, Arizona and Texas borders.

The administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama also sent thousands of National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border during their presidencies in operations that cost a total of more than $1.3 billion, according to CNN.

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For better or worse, the military has been inserted into our approach to border security for decades at this point, Nunn said.

What role can the military legally play in immigration enforcement?

Under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, active-duty military troops are prohibited from performing law enforcement duties.

The act was passed by Congress at the end of the post-Civil War Reconstruction period and is made up of a single sentence: Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

Other statutes exist to restrict the other branches of the military from conducting search, seizure, arrest, or other similar activity unless authorized by law.

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They can provide transportation, logistics, tech support and surveillance if needed by aircraft, even construction, said William Banks, professor emeritus at Syracuse University, who has written about the use of the military in the United States' interior.

It would take another step for the military to participate in additional law-enforcement duties.

Trumps executive order asked the incoming secretary of Defense and acting Homeland Security head to report back within 90 days on whether the Insurrection Act should be invoked.

That would allow those troops to be used in civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil.

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Banks described the Insurrection Act as an extreme law that has been rarely used in American history  he said the last time it was invoked was in May 1992, during riots in the aftermath of four Los Angeles police officers being acquitted of criminal charges in the beating of Rodney King.

The premise of the Insurrection Act is that all hell is broken loose, so we can bring the military into to do everything, Banks said. To enforce the laws. To operate facilities. To do whatever the president says they need to do.

The act was written with a practical purpose in mind  to step in where the civilian government has lost control.

I can't imagine those circumstances at the southern border, he said.

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Widespread orders: Here's what to know about Trump's sweeping executive action on immigration and the border

Have any news tips or story ideas about the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona? Reach the reporter at rromeroruiz@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @raphaeldelag.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump is sending troops to the border. What that means in Arizona
Donald Trump is very serious about unleashing unilateral tariffs on neighbors Mexico and Canada without even giving them a chance to negotiate. Some of Trumps closest advisors said the dramatic action could take place within days.

If he were to introduce tariffs, which could be as high as 25 percent, some people fear it could lead to a global economic crisis and spark a recession.

The presidents closest allies in Congress and serving under his administration have called for a tariff-first-talk-second approach, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, putting banks and businesses across North America on high alert.

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Among those who are reportedly behind the emergency plot to target Americas neighbors are Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, who is currently the CEO of an influential New York bank facing several conflict of interest accusations, and deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, the architect of Trumps hardline immigration policy, who some have accused of promoting white nationalist ideology.

The move would stun some of the most influential businessmen in the world as Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs told its clients that the likelihood of Trump imposing tariffs on February 1 stood at 20 percent.

The bank pointed out that Trump negotiated with target countries before inflicting tariffs during his first term.

Another analyst at PricewaterhouseCoopers said the prospect of imminent tariffs was particularly scary for multinational companies operating across the continent.

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But one Trump official who spoke to the Wall Street Journal on the condition of anonymity revealed that the president was very serious about his threats to Mexico and Canada.

One Republican senator described Trumps ambitions in somewhat blunter terms.

Hes as serious as a heart attack, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said.

The president is reportedly open to the possibility of turning the global economy on its head by the end of the week and will face questions over what he intends to achieve.

The anonymized Trump official claimed that Mexico had failed to woo Trump and persuade him against unveiling damaging tariffs.

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Unlike Colombia, which got tangled up in a major diplomatic dispute with the U.S. after it initially rejected deportation flights, Mexico has accepted up to four repatriation flights in one day. Mexico has also deployed its own national guard to its border with the U.S. in signs that it is willing to cooperate closely with American officialsa quality that has not gone unnoticed by Trumps administration.

Yet reports suggest that U.S. officials refused to clarify what it would take for Canada and Mexico to avoid tariffs, with a recent call between Mexicos foreign minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente and Secretary of State Marco Rubio not touching on the ins and outs of trade relations between the two countries.

Its always important to have a cool head, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said last week in a swipe at Trumps erratic moves.

Canada, meanwhile, has been preparing its own retaliatory tariffs behind the scenes, according to an official quoted in the Wall Street Journal.

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Some in Ottawa were expecting Trump to apply his controversial economic measures any day which could unleash a devastating recession.

The official said it would press play on its retaliatory tariffs if Trump makes a move before negotiations, while the local leader of Ontario, Canadas most populated province, advised the government to cut its electricity supply over the border if economic warfare breaks out.

You cant bring a knife to a gunfight, said Ontario Premier Doug Ford. We need to target where it will impact Americans the most.
Forget about the price of eggsTrump still wants to build the United States its own iron dome.

The president is set to sign an executive order that would begin the production of a next generation missile defense shield that would envelop the entire country.

The order calls for an Iron Dome for an America, borrowing the name of the short-range Israeli missile defense system that for years has been used to intercept launches from Gaza. The U.S. provided billions of dollars in funding to Iron Dome, and the US Army has its own system, White House reporter Alayna Treene wrote on X.

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The Israeli Iron Dome was a collaboration between Israels Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and U.S. weapons manufacturer Raytheon that came online in 2011. It is not a literal iron dome but a system of interceptor missiles that can shoot down enemy missiles before they reach their targets

Even still, its hard to imagine a system that could do the same for the entirety of the continental U.S., as Trump has suggested multiple times before today.

We will build a great iron dome over our country, a dome like has never seen before, a state-of-the-art missile defense shield that will be entirely built in America, Trump said at a Wisconsin campaign rally last summer. We are going to build the greatest dome of them all. You see what happened in Israel, they shot 3000 missiles and they knocked down almost all of them  we are entitled to that also, you know and it was our idea, by the way.

The iron dome was also the eighth point of the first part of his campaign platform, as the president promised to BUILD A GREAT IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD OVER OUR ENTIRE COUNTRYALL MADE IN AMERICA.

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National security analyst Joseph Cirincione has been highly skeptical since the beginning of Trumps iron dome fantasy.

[The] Iron Dome is designed to intercept short-range rockets, not intercontinental ballistic missiles. Each Iron Dome system can defend an area of roughly 150 square miles, Cirincione wrote for the Defense One website last summer. We would need to deploy more than 24,700 Iron Dome batteries to defend the 3.7 million square miles of the continental United States. At $100 million per battery, that would be approximately $2,470,000,000,000.

Not only would this iron dome be a waste of time and effort, it would also cost three times more than Americas entire military budget for 2025.
Colombia objected to America's treatment of deportees but backed down within 12 hours.

President Trump threatened tariffs and sanctions after its ally rejected two deportation planes.

The episode spoke to Trump's likely foreign-policy approach during his second term.

President Donald Trump won a clash with Colombia over his mass deportation program within 12 hours on Sunday. The saga revealed his likely playbook for handling disputes with other countries during his second term  and sent a clear warning not to get in his way.

War of words

The short-lived fracas began in earnest around 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday when Trump posted on Truth Social that the Colombian government had barred two US planes carrying Colombian deportees from landing because they were military instead of civilian planes.

Trump said the planes were carrying a "large number of illegal Criminals" and Colombian President Gustavo Petro's decision to turn them away had "jeopardized" US national security and public safety, warranting "urgent and decisive retaliatory measures."

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The newly inaugurated president said he would impose tariffs of 25% on all imports from Colombia, rising to 50% after a week. He also announced a travel ban and visa sanctions aimed at government officials and their allies, and enhanced inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo entering the US, among other measures. Trump said the raft of penalties was "just the beginning."

Petro initially fired back by saying his country would welcome Colombian deportees if they were treated with "dignity and respect" and transported on civilian planes instead of in handcuffs and leg shackles on military aircraft. He also said Colombia would retaliate with reciprocal tariffs as high as 50%.

However, the White House said late Sunday that the Colombian government had "agreed to all of President Trump's terms  without limitation or delay." Colombian government officials also confirmed the two sides had reached an agreement.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that under Trump, the US "will no longer be lied to nor taken advantage of," and the nation was fully committed to ending illegal immigration and strengthening border security.

Glimpse of the future

Deporting people living in the US illegally and striking fairer trade deals are two major planks of Trump's second-term agenda. The Colombia episode suggested he's willing to threaten other countries with tariffs and other sanctions if his deportation plans are obstructed.

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"This 12-hour incident feels like a template for how the US will now deal with its foreign policy issues," Deutsche Bank researchers said in a note.

Colombia is one of America's closest allies in the Western Hemisphere, but it's heavily reliant on the US as an export market for products such as coffee and crude oil, giving Washington significant leverage in negotiations.

"All of the US's trading partners need to understand this new normal," Kathleen Brooks, the research director of the online broker XTB, told Business Insider. "Trump is willing to use tariffs to support his domestic policy agenda, so tariffs may be used as a weapon, regardless of the potential damage to the US economy."

The threat of tariffs could fuel global economic uncertainty, eroding investors' risk appetites and disrupting markets, Brooks said.

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Michael Every, a global strategist at Rabobank, told BI that Trump was using tariffs in support of a grand strategy and returning to the Monroe Doctrine  a historical policy under which the US dictates the terms of governance and commerce in the Americas, by military force if required.

"Expect much, much more it," Every said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
It was tough, robust, and immediate. But it also proved very effective. Within hours of Colombia refusing to take a plane load of illegal immigrants back from the United States President Trump slapped massive tariffs on the country. And what happened? By the end of the day, Colombia had changed its policy. In reality, tariff diplomacy, as it should probably be called, works  and here in Europe we should follow the example that America has set.

On Sunday evening, American military planes started ferrying illegal Colombian migrants back to their country of origin. The ordinary person might think that the nation they originally came from was under an obligation to accept them, but Colombias far-left President Gustavo Petro saw it differently. He refused the planes the right to land. Under President Biden, that would probably have been the start of a long, tortured negotiations, with human rights lawyers lodging endless appeals in the American courts, and with the United Nations offering to mediate, and perhaps even forming an enquiry to decide, after several years of debate, on who was right and who was wrong.

President Trump saw the problem very differently. He slapped an immediate 25 per cent tariff on Colombian exports to the US  although presumably the white powdery one is exempt for obvious reasons  and said that would rise to 50 per cent by the end of the week. Given that 29 per cent of Colombias total exports go to the US, Petro had little choice to back down. The planes will land after all, and the illegal migrants will be going home.

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That is surely absolutely right. It is ridiculous that countries dont take back their own citizens who have illegally entered another country. It means there is no effective sanction, because there is nowhere for the country they have decided to settle in to send them. But Trumps robust and immediate action has shown there is a way of dealing with that issue. And if the US can use tariffs to impose its will on countries that refuse to accept their citizens back, then why cant we do the same here in Europe?

After all, we have an even worse problem with illegal migration than the US. By definition, no one knows the real numbers but hundreds of thousands of people arrive in Europe every year with no right to live on the continent. Syria, Morocco, Egypt, and Afghanistan are the main countries they are fleeing from, although there are many others. Often it proves virtually impossible to deport them because countries wont take them back.

But Trump has shown us there is a very simple solution. The UK is too small to make a real difference by itself. But if we teamed up with the European Union, and imposed an immediate 25 per cent and then 50 per cent tariff on countries flooding Europe with illegal migrants, that would surely prove just as effective on this side of the Atlantic as it has in the Americas. After all, the EU is Egypts biggest trade partner, accounting for 28 per cent of its exports, and it will be higher once the UK is included. For Morocco, the figure is 56 per cent. If they were threatened with huge levies, they would have to back down.

Sure, perhaps that is against World Trade Organisation rules. Arguably, it does not respect the trade agreements that are in place, and no doubt the human rights lawyers would argue that it is a breach of international law. And yet, in reality none of that should get in the way. The flood of illegal migration across the world is chaotic, and needs to be stopped somehow. President Trump has just demonstrated that it is possible to rip up the rules and put a better system in place. Here in Europe, we could use tariffs in exactly the same way to finally start enforcing our borders  if only our political leaders were not too timid to even try it.

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Donald Trump plans to sign a new set of executive orders Monday aimed at changing the makeup of the U.S. military.

CNN reports that the president plans to sign three executive orders that would ban transgender people from serving in the military; end the militarys diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; and reinstate any service members, with backpay, who were discharged for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine. As of 2023, only 43 of the 8,000 service members who were discharged over refusal to get the vaccine have returned to the military.

One of Trumps executive orders last week revoked a 2021 order from President Biden allowing transgender service members to openly serve in the military. That order in turn revoked a 2017 ban on transgender service members implemented in Trumps first term. However, until Trump orders an outright ban, the estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender individuals currently serving the military are not affected.

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Trumps new executive order will go even further than his 2017 ban, according to two unnamed White House officials who spoke to CNN. It will create new military standards on gender pronouns and make a case against transgender service members based on mental and physical readiness.

It can take a minimum of 12 months for an individual to complete treatments after transition surgery, which often involves the use of heavy narcotics. During this period, they are not physically capable of meeting military readiness requirements and require ongoing medical care. This is not conducive for deployment or other readiness requirements, said one official, in attempts to justify the ban.

While the executive order on Covid-19 isnt a big change, as Biden already rescinded the militarys Covid vaccine mandate in 2023, the other executive orders could hurt military recruitment numbers at a time when all three service branches are worried about future numbers. But that is of little concern to Trump and his new secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, who has made negative remarks about even women serving in the military. It seems that Trump and conservatives are more concerned with how the military looks rather than its size and strength.


People attending the annual March for Life rally watch a pre-taped video recording of President Donald Trump on the National Mall during the annual March For Life. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump delivered his Day One promise to the anti-abortion movement four days into his second term: He pardoned nearly two dozen anti-abortion activists convicted of federal offenses that included using physical force to block access to and invade abortion clinics, as well as for threats to clinic staff and patients. And after months of Trump distancing himself from the abortion issue and a week of lobbying by anti-abortion leaders, the president and Vice President J.D. Vance spoke at the movements annual March for Life rally on Friday.

I am proud to be the first president ever to have joined you in person, Trump said in a video recorded in the Oval Office, referring to his 2020 appearance, to the cheers of an estimated tens of thousands of activists and students gathered on the National Mall.

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But the president failed to offer specific federal policy plans to further the movements goal of banning abortion nationally and gave what appeared to be a scripted speech that evoked religious language, referring to every child as a beautiful gift from the hand of our creator. He touted the controversial Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization decision that ended federal abortion rights and the pardons he issued Thursday. Trump insisted, as he did throughout his campaign, that the abortion issue has returned to the state legislatures and to the people, where it belongs.

In my second term, we will again stand proudly for families and for life.  We will work to offer a loving hand to new mothers and young families, and we will support adoption and foster care, Trump said, but did not offer specific plans. As during his campaign, he accused Democrats of supporting abortion until after birth, a falsehood.

Vice President J.D. Vance, who spoke on stage after Trump, to raucous applause, referred to the anti-abortion movement as our movement and emphasized the need for government to make it easier for people to afford kids. Vance also did not name any policy plans the administration would pursue, beyond potentially raising the child tax credit. Vance said he and the president support the recent abortion bill that passed the U.S. House this week, which would have created penalties for health care professionals who dont provide medical care for babies born after an attempted abortion. U.S. Senate Democrats blocked the bill arguing it was unnecessary and could have prevented parents from making decisions.

Vance, who was criticized during the presidential campaign for his comment about childless cat ladies, doubled down on the idea that a culture of radical individualism has taken root in this country and called for more Americans to reproduce.

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Our society has failed to recognize the obligation that one generation has to another is a core part of living in a society to begin with, Vance said. So, let me say very simply: I want more babies in the United States of America.

Concerns about Trumps anti-abortion commitment

Many activists at the march celebrated the return of a presidential administration friendlier to the anti-abortion cause than the Biden administration. Several sported red Make America Great Again hats, while others expressed reservation about Trump, following his shifted abortion language during his presidential campaign.

When Trump went kind of more pro-choice, really, for a lot of us, we felt abandoned, said Bryan Gebhart, a parent helping to chaperone about 45 students bussed from St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus, Ohio. He told States Newsroom he didnt vote for Trump, but for the American Solidarity Party, a minor political party based on Catholic teachings.

I would like to see an end of abortion at the federal level, Gebhart said, noting that banning abortion nationally is a long-term effort and unlikely to be realized during Trumps second term.

Activists with the national anti-abortion group Students for Life of America gathered at the March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (Sofia Resnick/States Newsroom)

Already, Trump has received praise from anti-abortion leaders. In its first week, his administration scrubbed information from its national health site about reproductive rights and abortion access and withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization, which anti-abortion news outlet LifeNews referred to on X to as the Pro-Abortion World Health Organization.

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But some anti-abortion leaders are also concerned that the new administration is not fully committed to their cause. For the first time since federal abortion rights were overturned in 2022, Republicans control the White House, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. But unlike his major policy pronouncements in other areas, Trump has not signaled any major federal actions to limit abortion. In fact, he has repeatedly said he would veto a federal abortion ban, would not prohibit the mailing of medication abortion via the Comstock Act of 1873 and says he supports in vitro fertilization, something many in the anti-abortion movement oppose. Trump continues to take credit for overturning Roe v. Wade, despite the decisions unpopularity, but campaigned as a moderate on abortion, which he says is a state issue.

This is not just a states rights issue; this is a federal issue that must be remedied by this court or by a constitutional amendment, said Mark Harrington, who runs the Ohio-based Created Equal group, on Wednesday at an event in front of the Supreme Court to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the Roe decision. Several leaders said they were disappointed by the lack of a statement from the White House on the anniversary.

Harrington later told States Newsroom he plans to speak out if Trump does not deliver on some of the movements major asks, such as eliminating family-planning federal funding to reproductive health organizations and reinstating regulations to abortion drugs.

We have to be a witness, calling truth to power and reminding him that we helped him get elected, and he better come through for us and the unborn or else  obviously, hes not getting reelected, but his successor is not going to get our support, Harrington said. Were not going to lay down and play dead, I hope. But a lot of people have been lured to sleep because of Trumps popularity.

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Terrisa Bukovinacs Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising group is affiliated with several of the activists who were serving prison sentences for blockading abortion clinics until the Trump pardons. Bukovinac told States Newsroom that while she is grateful for Trumps action, she no longer considers Trump and Vance to be pro-life.

Trump has come out in favor of the abortion pill, and so has Vance, Bukovinac told States Newsroom. Trump has been clear, and I believe him when he says that he has no intention of setting any kind of federal abortion restrictions. I mean, thats what were fighting for. Thats what the movement is trying to do, and Trump is like, no. So its not ideal, but I am optimistic about the things that we can get,  like get FACE repealed.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday it would scale back on prosecuting abortion-clinic protest cases under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, according to the Washington Post.

Bukovinac said her group will continue to fight for full repeal of the law, which Democratic President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1994 after a spate of deadly abortion protests. The Biden administration cracked down on a resurgence of these tactics of physically blocking reproductive health clinics and then resisting arrest and prosecuted dozens under the federal law, including attacks on anti-abortion pregnancy centers, which the law also protects. Anti-abortion activists have claimed the Biden administration disproportionately prosecuted those who oppose abortion.

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The Chicago-based nonprofit legal group the Thomas More Society filed petitions on behalf of 21 of the 23 pardoned individuals, arguing Bidens Justice Department weaponized the law, which is also how Trump has justified his more than 1,500 day-one pardons and commutations of individuals who invaded the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, some of whom violently attacked police officers.

Brittany Fonteno, the CEO and president of the National Abortion Federation, which tracks violence and harassment at abortion clinics, told States Newsroom she is concerned the Trump administration is going to turn a blind eye to dangerous events at abortion clinics.

What weve seen is that over the years, and in particular after the Dobbs decision, there has been a stark increase in violence and disruption from anti-abortion activists and advocates, Fonteno said. Weve seen an increase in burglaries and arson and threats to abortion providers, and we anticipate that that will only increase with this new administration, as anti-abortion extremists are empowered and emboldened to try to create a culture of fear around abortion care.

Personhood advocates seize on conception language in executive order on gender

Aside from the anti-abortion pardons, none of Trumps many executive orders issued during his first week in office concerned abortion.

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Thus many in the anti-abortion movement are far from confident that Trump will make abortion more difficult to access, let alone get closer to their larger goal of enshrining fetal personhood rights in the U.S. Constitution.

But some leaders were reassured by a different executive order Trump signed, related to another Christian-right issue: gender. He issued an order on his first day in office that says the U.S. will only recognize two genders, declares that Female means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell, and Male means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell.

Anti-abortion groups, such as Students for Life of America, viewed the order as a win for the so-called fetal personhood doctrine.

Other leaders have praised some of Trumps appointees for their anti-abortion positions such as Attorney General appointee Pam Bondi and Secretary of State appointee Marco Rubio.

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Though many were disappointed that Trumps Health and Human Services appointee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has supported abortion rights, they are still working to wield influence in this critical agency.

Students for Life of America president Kristan Hawkins posted this week on X that an alum from her group will be serving in a key role at HHS! This is a great sign for life saving measures to come! She also posted a picture of herself holding a Defund Planned Parenthood sign alongside Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who also spoke at the March for Life. Hawkins wrote in the post, Speaker Mike Johnson is on board! Planned Parenthood, were coming for you next.

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(Bloomberg) -- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump discussed trade in their first conversation since Trump re-entered the White House. They also agreed to meet soon.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The leaders spoke about how both countries can promote a fair bilateral economic relationship during a phone call Sunday, according to a readout from the White House. Their discussion on trade comes amid Trumps threat to place tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on Feb. 1.

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Trump has repeatedly complained about trade deficits and barriers, signaling hell use tariffs to bring bilateral trade into balance. Its not yet clear how high or widespread any such levies would be. He imposed tariffs and travel bans on Colombia on Sunday, after the South American country refused to allow two planes carrying deported migrants to land on its soil.

While the US and UK are historically close allies, Trumps policy agenda puts him at odds with the UK in several areas, including plans to begin trade tariffs, which could affect UK exports even if he chooses not to directly target Britain.

Starmer sought to identify the few similarities between their economic plans on the call, by telling Trump of his governments move to deregulate planning regulation in order to boost economic growth. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is expected to green-light a series of major infrastructure projects in a speech later this week.

Starmer and Trump also discussed the ceasefire and hostages deal in Gaza, and promised to work together on security in the Middle East during their call.

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The UK is seeking a constructive relationship with Trumps administration, despite Starmer  whose center-left Labour Party entered office last year  holding opposing political views to Trump.

The premier is expected to visit Washington in the coming weeks. He first met Trump over dinner in New York in September during the US presidential campaign, after which Trump described them as friends, Bloomberg reported last year.

Ahead of the call, Trump praised Starmer for doing a very good job during his first months in office and said that while the two leaders had different political outlooks, they had a very good relationship.

I like him a lot. Hes liberal, which is a little bit different for me. But I think he is a very good person. And I think hes done a very good job thus far, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday.

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Trump said that the UK and Saudi Arabia were both under consideration for his first trip abroad in his second term. The Middle Eastern country was his first foreign trip in 2017 when he entered the White House.

--With assistance from Josh Wingrove.

(Updates with White House readout from second paragraph.)

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U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to freeze foreign development assistance for 90 days has thrown Ukrainian organizations into turmoil, in some cases threatening their very existence and leaving the people they support in limbo.

These non-profit organizations provide a huge range of humanitarian services, including counseling, organizing cultural events, and providing basic services, often to some of the most vulnerable segments of society.

"Honestly, we still dont fully understand the scope of the impact this decision will have on the civic sector and everyone affected," Olha Kucher, head of the services department at Veteran Hub, an NGO that supports Ukrainian soldiers, war veterans, and their families, told the Kyiv Independent on Jan 27.

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"The civic sector plays a massive role in supporting veterans and their families, particularly through psychosocial services, as we do."

One of Trump's first actions upon entering the White House was to sign an executive order freezing foreign development assistance for 90 days to conduct a review and ensure it aligns with the new administration's policies.

The wording of the executive order was broad, making no distinction between humanitarian and military aid, and no mention of any exemptions.

Veteran Hub, an NGO supporting Ukrainian soldiers, war veterans, and their families in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Veteran Hub / Facebook)

Ukrainian Veterans at Veteran Hub, an NGO supporting Ukrainian soldiers, war veterans, and their families in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Veteran Hub / Facebook)

The Pentagon clarified on Jan. 23 that relating to Ukraine, the directive "only applies to development programs, not military support." President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 25 that the U.S. aid had not stopped flowing to Ukraine.

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But any relief that crucial U.S. weapons would still be sent to Ukraine was tempered by the prospect of a pause in humanitarian aid.

This was compounded a day later when U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio issued "stop-work orders" on nearly all existing foreign assistance grants. The orders were effective immediately.

"State just totally went nuclear on foreign assistance," one unnamed State Department official told Politico.

As a result, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was ordered to stop projects in Ukraine. Affected organizations were notified of the decision on the morning of Jan. 25.

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Ukraine currently tops the recipient list of U.S. development assistance as it continues to face Russias war, official data shows.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, USAID has provided Ukraine with $2.6 billion in humanitarian aid, $5 billion in development assistance, and more than $30 billion in direct budget support.

At a stroke, organizations in Ukraine have been left in dire financial straits. One of them is Cukr, an NGO and media outlet based in Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine located just 30 kilometers from the Russian border that has been heavily affected by the war.

"If we lose all of our U.S. funding, we wont last 90 days without additional support."

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"If we lose all of our U.S. funding, we wont last 90 days without additional support," Dmytro Tishchenko, Cukr co-founder, told the Kyiv Independent.

As well as being a media channel, Cukr (which means sugar in Ukrainian, with a tweak) organizes concerts and festivals, and also provides educational workshops on business and mental health, badly-needed resources for those living in a region that is one of the hardest hit by daily Russian missile, glide bomb, and drone attacks.

Magazines of Cukr, an NGO and media outlet based in Sumy, a northeastern Ukrainian city situated just 30 kilometers from the Russian border, which has been severely impacted by the war. (Cukr / Facebook)

Tishchenko said 30% of the organization's funding was currently frozen and all planned events tied to that money had been canceled.

"Even if we try to use alternative resources for these projects, well need to rethink how to implement them," he said.

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Valerii Garmash, head of "Make Sense," an NGO dedicated to developing independent journalism in Ukraine, told the Kyiv Independent that the USAID freeze, even if lifted after 90 days, threatens the survival of her organization and others like it.

"A large number of organizations will simply cease to exist, they dont know how they are supposed to survive." she said, adding: "Great organizations, valuable organizations, important organizations. But they really could, and theoretically might, just stop existing."

Garmash said the USAID freeze will have an "enormous impact" on the work of Makes Sense, potentially threatening a hub it operates in Sloviansk, a city in embattled Donetsk Oblast, that supports journalists heading to report from the front lines.

"It would mean we simply wouldnt be able to support them, provide them with bulletproof vests, helmets, medical kits, give them a place to work, charge their equipment, or even just have coffee in a warm space," she said.

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"It would mean we simply wouldnt be able to support them, provide them with bulletproof vests, helmets, medical kits, give them a place to work, charge their equipment, or even just have coffee in a warm space."

As well as the precarious financial situation now facing the NGOs, individuals working from them have lost their jobs, at least temporarily.

Read also: Trump needs to understand where the threat is, UK lawmaker says

The head of a regional office for a State Department-funded organization in Ukraine spoke with the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity due to the fear of retaliation for speaking out.

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He said that the organization has projects funded by USAID that involve Ukrainian contractors. Due to the freeze, they will lose income from these projects.

"I explained the situation to them, and, you know, they're part-time contractors, this might not be their only livelihood, but for some people, it will be," he said.

Transfer of more than 10 tons of vegetable seeds to more than 200 thousand households in frontline and de-occupied communities under the USAID Agricultural and Rural Development Program (AGRO) in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on March 12, 2024. (Volodymyr Tarasov / Ukrinform / Getty Images)

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"Three months can be a very long time, and if they can't pay their rent, or something like that, that's the situation that these people can be in," he added.

Hopes had been raised that Ukraine could be made exempt from the USAID freeze on Jan. 25, when the Financial Times (FT) reported that senior diplomats in the State Departments Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs requested a full waiver for operations in Ukraine, citing national security concerns.

This had gone unheeded a day later when a U.S. State Department press release said Rubio had "paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and USAID for review."

But an American working for a State Department-funded organization in Ukraine told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity that the waiver could still be being processed.

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"It's unlikely that they would have received an answer by now. I mean, it's only Monday," they said, adding "I don't think any waivers would have been processed in time. It's possible that a waiver for Ukraine could still happen."

The Kyiv Independent contacted USAID about the status of the waiver request but had not received a reply at the time of publication.

In any case, until either the 90 days are up and USAID assistance resumes or the waiver request is approved, some of the most vulnerable people in Ukraine will be left without crucial support.

Kucher, head of the services department at Veterans Hub, says that as well as providing in-person counseling and support to veterans, the organizations 24-hour support hotline handles 1,300 calls a month.

"For veterans and their families, knowing that theres someone they can rely on at any time is critical," she said.

"Any change, especially in uncertain times like these, is challenging for everyone. Its unpredictable and unsettling."

Read also: North Korean troops seem to temporarily withdraw from one section of front in Kursk Oblast, military says

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Media enter the head frame during a Cameco media tour of the uranium mine in Cigar Lake, Sask. Wednesday, September 23, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards  The Canadian Press

Cameco (CCO.TO)(CCJ) shares dropped as much as 14 per cent on Monday amid a wider sell-off linked to the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot DeepSeek.

Canadian uranium-producing peers (DML.TO) and NexGen Energy (NXE.TO) also fell by double-digits, as investors questioned forecasts of surging energy demand from data centres.

DeepSeek was reportedly developed for a fraction of the cost of its Western rivals, raising questions about the future of America's AI dominance, and the scale of future investment from Silicon Valley tech giants.

The International Energy Agency has predicted data centres could draw as much electricity as Japan by 2026, more than double their demand today. Cameco is among the Canadian companies seen to benefit from an AI-driven electricity boom.

Shares of Canadian utility TransAlta Corporation (TA.TO) tumbled as much as 22 per cent in Monday's trading session. The Calgary-based company has said it is in talks with multiple hyperscalers to develop data centres in Alberta.

On Monday, Cameco said its partner in Kazakhstan has indicated production has restarted at a jointly operated mine shut down on New Years Day.

The uranium producer owns a 40 per cent stake in Joint Venture Inkai (JV Inkai), located in Kazakhstan's southern Turkestan region. Kazakhstans national atomic company, Kazatomprom, owns 60 per cent.

Cameco and Kazatomprom are now working with JV Inkai to determine the impact of the production suspension on the operations 2025 production plans, Cameco stated in a news release on Monday.

On Jan. 2, Cameco officials said the company was disappointed and surprised by a production halt on New Years Day. The company says the mine was shut down after Kazatomprom did not receive an extension by Kazakhstan's energy ministry to file project documents due by the end of 2024. Toronto-listed Cameco shares fell 1.6 per cent that day.

Kazatomprom says it's the world's largest producer of uranium, with attributable production representing about 20 per cent of global primary production in 2023. In an update on Monday, the company said it has resolved the approval issue, and has resumed mining operations at block No. 1 of the Inkai deposit.

"Kazatomprom remains fully committed to fulfilling contractual obligations towards all existing customers, and has sufficient level of inventories to comfortably manage its deliveries throughout 2025," the company said.

Cameco shares closed 15.04 per cent lower on Monday at $68.26. TransAlta's stock lost 20.57 per cent to finish at $15.37.
The new Trump administrations directive that federal employees return to the office full time will drive away skilled professionals who are protecting the aviation system from terrorist threats, a former Transportation Security Administration official warned Friday.

Douglas Brittin, who headed the TSAs air cargo division a decade ago, said in a letter to the House Homeland Security Committee that the the mandate to phase out remote work without sufficient planning or accommodation will lead to significant attrition, including the loss of irreplaceable institutional knowledge and expertise and undermine the agencys ability to recruit and retain specialized personnel.

A self-inflicted brain drain would hurt current air cargo security programs, such as third-party canine inspections, as well standard security screening processes and adoption of new screening technologies for passenger checkpoints and cargo, that the TSA is working to upgrade and improve with the Airforwarders Association and other industry stakeholders, Brittin said.

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Losing experienced personnel during these important initiatives will jeopardize their success and, by extension, our national security, he said.

Aviation remains a high-profile target for terrorists and rogue nations. Air cargo security recently came under scrutiny after Western intelligence agencies alleged Russias military intelligence unit was behind a plot to smuggle booby-trapped incendiary devices onto DHL Express cargo jets in Europe last summer. The packages caught fire on the ground at DHLs air facility in Leipzig, Germany, and a logistics hub in Birmingham, United Kingdom. U.S. and European security officials say they believe the parcel bombs were a test run for future attacks against U.S.-bound aircraft.

Skilled professionals experienced at security operations, planning and risk mitigation are needed to address such threats to cargo and passenger security, Brittin stressed.

He urged Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., and ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., to press the administration to extend the return-to-office deadline by six months for key divisions such as air cargo and canine inspections so the TSA can retain talent and ensure program continuity.

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President Trump last week signed an executive order instructing agencies to stop remote work practices and directing workers to return to their desks. A subsequent directive from the Office of Personnel Management provides details on how agency heads are to implement the return to in-person work. Trump campaigned on a platform of increasing federal workforce efficiency and accountability. According to the administration, telework has resulted in empty offices, diminished performance and challenges in supervision and training.

Many federal workers disagree that they arent working hard or doing quality work for taxpayers.

The previous rules allowed subject-matter experts to build careers on flexible work arrangements and TSA to recruit and retain specialized personnel, according to Brittin.

He added that the recent relocation of TSAs headquarters from Arlington, Virginia  across the Potomac River from downtown Washington, D.C.  to Springfield, Virginia, makes it more difficult to house an influx of workers. The new facility lacks the capacity to accommodate the volume of personnel currently teleworking, making the return-to-office transition logistically impractical and likely to create an untenable work environment, Brittin said.

Homeland Security advisory committees put on freeze

The security situation, he added, is also undermined by the recent departure of the Air Cargo Division director and the vacancy left by Trumps firing of TSA Administrator David Pekoske. The deputy administrators position at TSA is also vacant.

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Ben Currier served as executive director of TSAs air cargo security division until his abrupt departure three weeks ago to take a position at the Department of Defense. His successor has yet to be named.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has effectively suspended the operation of key federal advisory committees involved in aviation and cross-border freight security. Private-sector members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC) and the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), which supports Customs and Border Protection, were advised in a Jan. 20 memo from then-DHS Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman that the department is revoking membership in all advisory committees as part of a commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security. The Federal Railroad Administration also has an advisory committee.

The ASAC was mandated by Congress in 1988 after the PanAm 103 bombing. Congress also established COAC.

The decision on the TSAs advisory body eliminates a vital platform for collaboration between government and industry stakeholders, undermining efforts to safeguard the flying public and protect our nations commerce, the Airforwarders Association said in a statement. Disbanding this committee at such a critical time weakens our collective ability to respond to evolving threats. We urge the President and his administration to reconsider this decision immediately and reinstate ASAC as an essential advisory body.

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Marianne Rowden, CEO of the E-Merchants Trade Council, said via email that by cancelling current membership, the Trump Administration may be evaluating the mission of advisory committees and whether they match the priorities that the President has set for each agency while gauging the resources to staff the advisory committees.

Click here for more FreightWaves stories by Eric Kulisch.

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NewsNations Ali Bradley hosted a panel of law enforcement experts on the border tonight at 6p/5c. Click here to watch the Q&A.

CHICAGO (NewsNation)  Top Trump administration officials, including border czar Tom Homan, visited Chicago on Sunday to oversee ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts as federal agencies touted arrests nationwide.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents made 956 arrests nationwide on Sunday and 286 on Saturday.

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While in Chicago, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said he observed immigration agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), along with agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). He did not offer details on the operation, which came days after the DHS expanded immigration authority to agencies in the Department of Justice, including the DEA and ATF.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is disappointed in the results of his mass deportation efforts so far, the Washington Post reports, urging ICE to increase daily arrests to at least 1,200 to 1,500. ICE has averaged 433 daily arrests since Trumps inauguration, nearly doubling on Sunday.

Dozens of alleged Tren de Aragua members arrested in Denver

These targeted enforcements are happening nationwide, including in New Jersey, New York, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.

In Denver, law enforcement officials conducted an early morning operation at a makeshift nightclub, seizing drugs, weapons and cash. Approximately 50 people who were reportedly in the U.S. illegally were taken into custody  many allegedly connected with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

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Mama Paty reunited with 4-year-old found alone at border

I want a safer community. I live in this community too, and I feel like the people in the Denver metro area can wake up today and feel like they have a safer city to live in, said DEA Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen.

ICE arrested five alleged Tren de Aragua members in Chicago on Sunday.

Illinois Pritzker backs law-abiding undocumented migrants

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson launched a Know Your Rights ad campaign across the citys public transit trains, as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called on Trump to stop going after what he called law-abiding undocumented migrants.

Violent criminals who are undocumented in this country should be deported, Pritzker said. But when were talking about undocumented people who have been living law-abiding lives and raising families in the United States, we need comprehensive immigration reform. We need to give them an opportunity to stay in this country legally.

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Arrest quotas for ICE officers a bad idea: William Enyart

The Illinois Trust Act limits local involvement with federal immigration enforcement, meaning Chicago Police officers are blocked from cooperating with ICE agents.

Homan argues ICE wouldnt need to conduct such community arrests if local law enforcement were allowed to collaborate more closely with ICE to target high-priority criminals.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
On his first day in office, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order attacking birthright citizenship, the constitutional right giving automatic citizenship to any person born in the states. While many say Trumps call to reevaluate this American principle is strictly an attack on illegal immigration, the controversial order has many Americans scared... and for good reason.

In fact, the debate over birthright citizenship dates back centuries to American slavery. The infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford 1857 decision ruled that Black people could not be U.S. citizens, but little did the Supreme Court know their ruling would set the stage for the Civil War.

After the war ended, three amendments were added to the Constitution granting citizenship and righting the wrongs of slaverys past. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are known as the Reconstruction Amendments, but what happens if one or all of them get stripped from American history?

Trump Taking a Page From a Previously Closed Book

No U.S. president has ever gone after the 14th Amendment before, but Trumps birthright citizenship attack isnt the first time this amendment has been under fire. Ironically, 2025 marks 30 years since a similar bill was proposed in Congress.

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The Citizenship Reform Act of 1995 aimed to get rid of automatic citizenship for U.S. born children of non-citizen parents. The bill was supported by Republican leaders like former Rep. Elton Gallegly, but surprise, surprise... it never passed.

The bill would have amended the Immigration and Nationality Act, but the real issue was it violated the 14th Amendment, making it simply unconstitutional. The amendments Citizenship Clause says citizenship is not based on race or parentage, but rather on place of birth. So with that, the 1995 attempt to rewrite the Constitution was killed, but now it seems Trump is trying to revive the failed crusade.

How Will Removing the 14th Amendment Affect Americans?

Lets be clear, according to the U.S. Constitution birthright citizenship is absolutely guaranteed. And more to that point, any amendments added to or removed from the Constitution must be made by Congress, and never by the president.

But even then so, Trumps order has opened a can of worms for citizens and non-citizens alike on what the country will look like without the guarantee of birthright citizenship. The country already distrust the White Houses continued handling of immigration, but without the 14th Amendment, Black people, Hispanic people, and anyone else that could be considered not American enough will likely face further discrimination and violence against them.

So... Now, What?!

Trump is already catch heat over his attempt to rewrite the Constitution. So far, over 22 states have taken legal action against Trumps executive order, according to PBS. And more states, cities, activists, and politicians are expected to file their own suits.

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Walter Dellinger, a lawyer who testified against the 1995 Citizenship Reform Act, said To adopt such an amendment would not be technically unlawful, but it would flatly contradict our constitutional history and our constitutional traditions, according to The New York Times.

Dellinger added From our experience with Dred Scott we had learned that our country should never again trust to judges or politicians the power to deprive from a class born on our soil the right of citizenship. The 157-year-old Amendment has lasted this long, but the future of such an important piece of American history remains unclear.

In the announced executive order, Trump said his mandate will take effect in 30 days.

For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Rep. Ro Khanna of California as a Republican. He is a Democrat. The article has been corrected. Originally moved Jan. 11.

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TikTok is barreling toward a ban in the United States as soon as next weekend, with the Supreme Court signaling Friday no likely reprieve for the Chinese-owned video app. That raises the odds that President-elect Donald Trump is the popular platforms best hope for survival - and leaves TikTok hawks bracing for his next move.

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The one thing about President-elect Trump: You just dont know what hes going to do, said Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia), one of the most prominent backers of the ban-or-sale law Congress passed last year. But the law is the law.

At stake is the fate of a social media platform used by 170 million U.S. users and hailed by supporters as a bastion of free expression. Government officials from both parties, meanwhile, have pilloried TikTok as a potential vehicle for Chinese spying and influence-peddling.

Trump himself pushed for TikTok to be banned or sold by ByteDance, its China-based parent company, during his first administration. He warned in a 2020 executive order that TikTok threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans personal and proprietary information and could be used for disinformation campaigns that benefit China. TikTok has long called the charges baseless. The company declined to comment Friday.

But after lawmakers began advancing a measure to force a ban or sale in March, Trumps stance softened amid lobbying by GOP megadonors and the apps emergence as an important messaging tool for his 2024 campaign. Trump said a ban could benefit Facebook, one of TikToks biggest competitors, which he called an enemy of the people.

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Why would I want to get rid of TikTok? Trump posted on social media last week, alongside metrics of his reach on the site.

Late last month, Trump urged the Supreme Court to delay implementation of the ban, which is set to take effect Jan. 19, one day before Trumps inauguration. Unless the court or the Biden administration intervenes, app-store giants Apple and Google and internet hosting providers could face billions in fines if they keep TikTok alive on their services past that date.

In its brief, Trumps legal team touted the president-elects consummate dealmaking expertise in arguing that his incoming administration should be allowed to broker a resolution. His lawyers did not argue one way or the other on the constitutionality of the law, but only if it is upheld would Trump get an opportunity to make a deal to save it.

In a hearing Friday, a majority of Supreme Court justices seemed inclined to let the law stand, with a decision possible as early as next week.

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Trump has pledged to save the app, but the path to doing so is deeply murky, and spokespeople for the incoming administration did not return a request for comment Friday.

Some of the laws strongest Republican supporters said they are still rooting for the Supreme Court to uphold it - including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Trumps pick for secretary of state. (Asked about that possibility, Rubio said, he of course would welcome it. I voted for the law.) They will uphold it, said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

But Rubio and other Republicans said they had not spoken to Trump about his plans, and several said they do not have a clear sense of what he might do.

Well wait and see what the [Trump] administration does, said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the new chair of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee.

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Some expressed hope that Trump could be persuaded that selling the app remains the best course of action. I think when the president gets briefed up, hell understand its in our long-term national interest to ultimately have that separation between ByteDance and American TikTok users, said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina).

Some prospective suitors have begun to formalize bids for the app. On Thursday, business magnate and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said that his group, Project Liberty, formally delivered ByteDance an offer. He declined to disclose the monetary value, but one of his investment partners, Shark Tank star Kevin OLeary, recently said they were willing to offer up to $20 billion to buy the platform, even without its prized algorithm. ByteDance has said TikTok is not for sale.

Weve made sure that both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration are aware of our plans, McCourt said in an interview Thursday.

McCourt said ByteDance had not yet engaged with the offer. Obviously, a deal is not going to get close between now and January 19, he said. But he argued that ByteDance could buy more time by showing President Joe Biden or Trump it is making progress toward a sale.

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Some Republicans suggested Trump should help broker TikToks sale to an American company.

Itd be great, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) said when asked about the prospect. After a federal appeals court upheld the law last month, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Michigan), the chair of the House select committee on China, issued a statement saying he was optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said Trump has many options for making good on his pledge to save the app. For example, Tobias said, he could attempt to give ByteDance an extension beyond Jan. 19 to find a suitor. He could let the ban take effect and try to broker a sale at that point. He could also simply direct his administration to ignore the law.

Trump will take over and then he could do all manner of things, Tobias said, adding: Theyve made it pretty clear that they think that he can make it work one way or another.

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But given the measures overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress, ignoring the law should be a nonstarter, Warner said. The measure passed 79-18 in the Senate and 360-58 in the House as part of a sprawling foreign aid package.

I dont know how  the president-elect can simply refuse to enforce the law. This was not a close call in Congress, Warner said.

Added Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), who also backed the law: There is a very strong consensus in this country that laws need to be obeyed, particularly when they involve a threat to our national security.

Some of the laws detractors have sided with Trump in calling for it to be halted, including Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts), who co-wrote a brief with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) that expressed concern about its potential to chill speech.

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Still, Markey signaled he is not holding his breath for Trump to rescue the app if the Supreme Court doesnt overturn the law.

Trump will do whatever he thinks is best for Trump in a given moment, Markey said Friday. Maybe that will be to save TikTok, maybe it will be to kill it. Im not going to try to predict.

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US President Donald Trumps proposal to clean out the Gaza Strip by moving more than a million Palestinians to neighboring countries has drawn sharp criticism, with opponents condemning it as ethnic cleansing and warning of regional chaos.

Trump said on Saturday that he would like Jordan and Egypt to take in Gazans internally displaced by Israels devastating war in the enclave. Youre talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing, he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

The potential transfer, he said, could be temporary or could be long-term. Both countries swiftly rejected the idea.

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But, if adopted, the proposal would mark a sharp break from the Biden administrations stance that Gaza should not be depopulated and could signal a shift from a longstanding US position that Gaza should be part of a future Palestinian state. It would also align the Trump administration with Israels most radical far-right politicians, who advocate transferring Palestinians out of the territory to make way for Jewish settlement.

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One as he travels from Las Vegas to Miami on Saturday. - Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Trumps proposal has been embraced by extremist Israeli politicians, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich  who has sparked controversy by claiming there is no such thing as a Palestinian people and former Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who was once convicted for supporting terrorism and inciting anti-Arab racism.

Palestinian politicians decried it as a plan to ethnically cleanse Gazans from their land.

And in the United States, even Senator Lindsey Graham  one of Israels most ardent supporters in Congress  told CNN in an interview he didnt believe the idea was overly practical.

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I dont know what hes talking about, Graham said, referring to Trump.

Experts warn that beyond the moral and legal concerns, an influx of refugees into neighboring Arab countries could destabilize them and pose an existential threat. Agreeing to Trumps proposal, they say, would provoke widespread public anger  an untenable risk for those governments.

A second Palestinian Nakba

If they were to accept being participants in and hosting Palestinians in an ethnic cleansing, that would undoubtedly be infuriating and genuinely destabilizing for both countries, Timothy Kaldas, deputy director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy in Washington, DC, told CNN.

Both the Egyptian and Jordanian governments would be met by sweeping domestic opposition if they were seen by their publics as being complacent with a second Palestinian Nakba, said Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Bahrain, referring to 1948, when roughly 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forcibly expelled from their homes in historic Palestine, during the creation of Israel.

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Israel has barred them and their descendants from returning, leaving millions of refugees in neighboring countries without citizenship or prospects for permanent resettlement.

Given that the Palestinians of Gaza are highly unlikely to leave voluntarily, a forced displacement towards Egypt or Jordan would pose a variety of existential threats to these two countries, Alhasan said.

For Jordan, which is already home to millions of Palestinians, an altered demographic would threaten the Hashemite monarchys hold on power, he said, adding that financially, neither Egypt nor Jordan can afford to host millions of additional refugees.

Displaced Gazans returning toward Gaza City on January 27. - AFP/Getty Images

Egypt and Jordan are two of the US closest allies in the Middle East, and major recipients of US aid that have for decades aligned their regional policies with US interests. They were the first Arab countries to sign peace treaties with Israel and have maintained cordial relations with it, including security coordination, despite widespread public discontent.

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Jane Kinninmont, an expert on conflict at the European Leadership Network, a think tank, and co-host of the Disorder podcast, said that over time, Jordan and Egypts influence in Washington, DC has been overshadowed by Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. What remains to be seen, she added, is how far those countries will go in sending a clear message to Washington that mass displacement wont make the conflict go away.

It is important for regional countries to emphasize that the refugee issue is one of the drivers of the current conflict and making more Palestinians into refugees wont solve that. This goes right to the heart of the conflict, Kinninmont said.

Security concerns

On Sunday, both Egypt and Jordan reaffirmed their rejection to the deportation or resettlement of Palestinians.

Jordan is for Jordanians and Palestine is for Palestinians, said Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in a news conference in Amman Sunday. Our rejection for the deportation is steadfast and unchanging.

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Egypts foreign ministry also said it rejects the deportation or encouragement of the transfer or removal of Palestinians from their land.

Throughout the war, Jordan and Egypt have brushed off domestic calls to sever ties with Israel, and Egypt has played a key mediation role between Israel and Hamas.

In October 2023, protests erupted in both countries in support of Palestinians in Gaza, with many showing disgruntlement with their governments cooperation with Israel given the high human toll Israels war had taken.

Kaldas, of the Tahrir Institute, said that accepting a Palestinian population transfer would be more costly for the two countries than losing the American aid both countries rely on.

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Egypt and Jordan already host a sizeable number of refugees.

Cars drive along a street in the Palestinian refugee camp of Baqa'a near Amman, Jordan in May 2024. - Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty Images

As of January, there were 877,000 refugees and asylum-seekers registered in Egypt, according to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. In May, the Palestinian ambassador in Cairo, Diab al-Louh, has said as many as 100,000 Gazans had crossed into Egypt since the war began, according to Reuters.

In Jordan, more than 2.39 million Palestine refugees are registered with UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the agency said.

Both countries may also have security concerns if their territories become staging grounds for attacks on Israel, said Alhasan. That could further strain their peace treaties with Israel, he said.

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By seeking to depopulate Gaza of its Palestinian inhabitants, Trump is doing the bidding of Israels extreme right-wing fanatics, Alhasan said.

Ironically, Trumps proposal, if it were to materialize, would in fact be self-defeating, he said. Destabilizing Egypt and Jordan would favor Islamist political forces, notably the Muslim Brotherhood, and these would prove far less friendly to the US and more sympathetic to Hamas.

CNNs Betsy Klein, Lex Harvey, Ibrahim Dahman, Dana Karni, Sophie Tanno, Mounira Elsamra and Abeer Salman contributed to this report.

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Springfield, a city in Clark County, Ohio | Getty Images

Originally published by The 19th. The Michigan Advance is part of The 19th Reporting Network.

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO  Several minutes into President Donald Trumps inauguration speech on Monday, as he began talking about immigration, Yvena Jean Francois dug through a desk drawer for a notebook and pen.

We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home  it fails to protect our magnificent law-abiding American citizens but provides sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions that have illegally entered our country from all over the world, Trump said, repeating a frequent 2024 campaign claim for which he has not offered evidence.

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Jean Francois jotted down a thought in the notebook on her lap, the words FUN STUFF printed on its colorful cover.

Trump carried on: I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.

Jean Francois wrote some more.

Once Trump finished speaking, Jean Francois went over the main takeaways she planned to share on an upcoming episode of the podcast she hosts out of her home studio in Springfield, Ohio, a city of roughly 60,000 residents that became a household name during the 2024 presidential campaign as misinformation and lies spread about its Haitian residents.

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The illegal people will be first to go in mass deportations, she said.

The exact words Trump used were important to Jean Francois, who is also a member of Springfields Haitian community. She heard dangerous criminals, entering illegally, prisons and mental institutions and criminal aliens  and she started to relax. The president said the first people theyre going to put out are the criminal people who already have deportation papers, she noted. And that, she said, does not describe her or most other Haitians she knows in this southwestern Ohio city between Dayton and Columbus.

Like Jean Francois, Springfields Haitian migrants were drawn here by the potential for good-paying jobs in a place that had more jobs than workers who were able to do them. Many of these migrants have whats called Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which gives them the right to live and work in the United States legally and shields them from deportation for a set period of time. They arrived in Springfield as the country emerged from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, from states like Florida and New York, which are home to the largest communities of Haitian Americans in the United States.

Yvena Jean Francois sits at her desk in her podcasting studio on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2024, in Springfield, Ohio.

(Amanda Becker for The 19th)

Established in 1990, TPS is a temporary status available to immigrants who come from countries facing exceptional circumstances, like environmental disasters, armed conflict and civil war. TPS was approved for Haitians in 2010 after a major earthquake decimated a large swath of the country. The Biden administration extended it last year until February 2026 amid an ongoing gang war that has cut off access to basic necessities like food and clean water for much of the island.

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Haitians are also eligible to ask for humanitarian parole, another temporary legal status available to citizens from certain countries and approved on a case-by-case basis. Some apply for asylum, which, when granted, allows them to remain in the United States indefinitely, become permanent legal residents and, sometimes, citizens. Unlike asylum, neither TPS nor humanitarian parole offers a path to citizenship, so Haitians and other immigrants living in the country under these designations cannot vote.

The 2020 Census put the population of Springfield at 68 percent White, 18 percent Black and 5 percent Latinx, but by some estimates, Haitians now make up as much as a quarter of the citys population. Many, like Jean Francois, have arrived since the census, lured by opportunity. While her twin brother moved to Chicago, she came to Springfield. A photographer and broadcast journalist in Haiti, she found work at an Amazon warehouse and saved up to open her in-home studio; shell soon move it to a new, professional space, she said.

Jean Francois sees herself as an important part of a revival in this post-industrial, quintessentially American city, where recent Haitian arrivals have opened at least 10 new businesses  restaurants, groceries and a food truck. The creators of The Simpsons set the show in a fictional Springfield because there are at least 34 states with a Springfield, each of them in some way representative of Anywhere, USA. In Springfield, Ohio, the population dwindled for decades as auto and farm equipment manufacturers closed and jobs evaporated. Between 1999 and 2014, the citys median income dropped 27 percent  more than any other metropolitan area in the country, according to analysis by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. In 2012, the polling firm Gallup reported that Springfield was the countrys unhappiest city.

Just over a decade ago, city officials and business leaders launched a campaign to recruit employers in the manufacturing, insurance and health care sectors, to inject new life into a sputtering economy. Soon, they started to see results. Between February 2020 and March 2024, Springfield reported the second-highest employment growth rate in Ohio, behind only the much larger Cincinnati, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. The rapid influx of Haitians, though a boon for employers who needed workers, also brought its own set of problems. Rental homes became harder to find and more expensive, classrooms got crowded and wait times for a doctor or an appointment at the motor vehicles office became longer.

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Then in July, with the 2024 elections underway, JD Vance, then a Republican senator for Ohio vying to be Donald Trumps running mate, asked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a banking panel hearing, What role do you see illegal immigration driving up housing costs? Vance continued: In my conversations with folks in Springfield its not just housing. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and City Manager Bryan Heck, both fellow Republicans, fanned the flames when they went on the television program Fox & Friends to discuss Biden administration immigration policies. Its setting communities like Springfield up to fail, Heck said, asking for additional federal support. As he spoke, footage played of a chaotic scene from a place thousands of miles away: the U.S.-Mexico border.

Several days later, Trump picked Vance to join him on the GOP ticket, thrusting Springfield  and its Haitian community  squarely into the glare of an increasingly contentious presidential race and a national debate about who deserves to stay in the country.

Trump, whose punitive and restrictive immigration stances have fueled his political rise, spread misinformation from social media accounts that said Haitian migrants were eating peoples pets in Springfield. In a high-profile presidential debate, he repeated the claims. Vance did, too, despite city officials saying there was no evidence to back them up. Trump promised to deport Haitian migrants with legal status. During a September news conference, he said, Theyve destroyed the place.

Neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups amplified the lies about pet-eating and descended on Springfield. There were bomb threats. Employers of Haitian workers were harassed. The woman who initially spread the rumor recanted, horrified by what she had wrought. Still, the Trump-Vance ticket kept leaning on the Springfield fable to bolster their immigration stances. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then thats what Im going to do, Vance told CNN.

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Republican local and state elected officials like Rue and Heck tried to quell the chaos. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who was born in Springfield, implored: Everybody needs to lower the rhetoric. Meanwhile, the community rallied behind Haitian businesses and local law enforcement talked about Haitians as more likely to be victims than perpetrators of crime. A previously informal Haitian Community Alliance cemented its status as a legal nonprofit.

Trump went on to win Clark County, where Springfield is the county seat, with more than 64 percent of the vote.

In the two months since Trumps victory, some Haitians have left Springfield, according to interviews with residents and community organizations there. Theyve returned to New York or Florida or moved to larger cities in Ohio like nearby Dayton or Columbus, where they might be less conspicuous  but where they lack the community they created in Springfield. Jean Francois knows some who tested the waters elsewhere only to return.

Jean Francois sees little reason to leave; the same Trump administration immigration policies would apply anywhere else in the country, she said, because, Florida, New York  youre still in America. Her goal is to continue using her podcast to urge fellow Haitians to stay calm, stay in Springfield and do the best things for this city.

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I know Springfield, I love Springfield. Stay, stay here with me, she told The 19th from her home studio. Like the president said, Make America Great Again. Make Springfield great.

Hours later, Trump terminated the humanitarian parole program that the Biden administration launched, one that allowed more than half a million migrants from four countries to remain legally in the United States for a two-year period. One of the countries was Haiti.
Within hours of taking office, President Donald Trump outlined in one of his many executive orders a mission to celebrate American greatness and to recognize those who have made contributions throughout history.

He jumpstarted the effort by ordering the name of North Americas tallest peak to be changed from Denali back to Mount McKinley in honor of the nations 25th president, William McKinley. He also called on the U.S. Interior Department to work with Alaska Natives and others to adopt names for other landmarks that would honor their history and culture.

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names will play a role. The little known panel made up of officials from several federal agencies has been in existence since 1890.

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How did the board get its start?

As more settlers and prospectors headed west following the American Civil War, it became apparent the federal government needed some kind of consistency for referencing landmarks on maps and in official documents.

In comes President Benjamin Harrison. He issued an executive order establishing the board in hopes of resolving some of the confusion.

President Theodore Roosevelt took it further in 1906, making the board responsible for standardizing geographic names for use across the federal government. That included changing names for some spots and identifying unnamed features.

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It was President Franklin Roosevelt who dissolved the board in 1934, opting instead to transfer duties to the Interior Department. After World War II, Congress changed course and reestablished the panel.

The board under the Trump administration will have new members, but the makeup will be the same with representatives from several agencies ranging from the Interior and Commerce departments to the Post Office and the Library of Congress. Even the CIA plays a role when the board considers place names beyond U.S. borders.

The members are appointed for two-year terms by the respective heads of the agencies they represent. The committee that deals with names on U.S. soil meets monthly.

What's in a name?

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The board is quite aware of the importance of a name, noting in its guiding principles, policies and procedures that the names of geographic features throughout the U.S. reflect the nation's history and its changing face.

The board points out that names of Native American origin are found sprinkled throughout the land and there are traces of the languages spoken by early explorers.

"It is in these ways and many others that geographic naming gives us a clear, exciting profile of the United States that is unmatched in any other medium, the board states.

In the case of Mount McKinley, original inhabitants had unique names for the mountain long before prospectors showed up. For the Koyukon Athabaskans, it's always been deenaalee, roughly translated as the high one.

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Despite never having visited Alaska, McKinley's name became attached to the mountain in 1896, labeled by a gold prospector after the Republican was nominated as a presidential candidate. McKinley, who signed legislation in 1900 making gold the sole standard for U.S. currency, was assassinated just six months into his second term and the name Mount McKinley stuck.

Alaska wasn't a state then and it would take decades before elected officials there would petition the Board on Geographic Names to return to what locals knew best. But their efforts were repeatedly blocked. Then in 2015, after years of pressure from Alaska Natives and other advocates, President Barack Obama issued an order making Denali official for federal purposes.

Like so many sites across the U.S., the peak is more than a tourist attraction. It's woven into the cultural fabric of those who call the area home, said Valerie Grussing, executive director of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.

Its a sacred place, she told The Associated Press, adding, "the name we use for it should reflect that sacred relationship between the people and the land.

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Have name-changing campaigns made a difference?

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Board on Geographic Names took action to eliminate the use of derogatory terms related to Japanese and Black people.

More recently, former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland initiated a campaign to eliminate offensive names at hundreds of places around the nation. She highlighted the work during her farewell address to department employees just weeks ago, saying the effort to address derogatory words would continue.

In 2023, the board voted to change Mount Evans southwest of Denver to Mount Blue Sky at the request of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Two years earlier, more than a dozen sites with racist and offensive names in Texas were renamed.

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In 2008, the board approved a proposal to change the name of a prominent Phoenix mountain to Piestewa Peak to honor Army Spc. Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military.

And now there's a campaign brewing in Alaska to have Denali restored. It's too early to say whether that will result in a new proposal before the board.

The Interior Department on Friday took steps to update the peaks name in the federal Geographic Names Information System. Since the boards decisions are binding only for the federal government, it's possible Denali will live on through Google and Apple map applications and other private mapping services.

Who can propose a name change?

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Any person, government agency, Native American tribe or organization can submit a proposal to the board, as long as there is a compelling reason and evidence to support it. The support of local communities and historical or genealogical societies helps.

Because a name will affect many people for a long time, it should be acceptable to the community in which the feature is located and to federal departments and agencies, tribal, state and local governments, and other interested parties that have an interest in the feature," board policy states.

While its role over the years has grown, the board says its principles for deciding whose name may be applied to a natural feature for U.S. official maps and publications have stood the test of time. In some cases, the board may be able to suggest alternatives to geographic naming that might better commemorate an individual.

The board prohibits consideration of any derogatory names and it won't consider proposals involving the names of living people or anyone who has been dead less than five years.

Once settled on, the names are listed in the official repository of geographic names used by the federal government. The system includes more than 2.5 million name records.
Washington  The Trump administration's swift crackdown on immigration has moved beyond those living in or entering the U.S. illegally, with officials also issuing bans and restrictions on legal immigration, including programs for refugees displaced by violence.

President Trump made getting tough on illegal immigration a pillar of his presidential campaign, and he has already enacted far-reaching measures targeting those who violated U.S. immigration law. They include sealing the U.S. asylum system for those without proper documents; tasking the military with deporting immigration violators; and empowering deportation officers to target most unauthorized immigrants, including those without criminal records.

But, with less fanfare, Mr. Trump's actions have closed pathways for vetting and legally admitting hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war-torn Ukraine, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and other troubled parts of the world, including crisis-stricken Haiti and Venezuela.

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Refugee admissions suspended

Hours after taking office, Mr. Trump indefinitely paused the U.S. refugee admissions program, instructing officials to ban the entry of all refugees, a special legal classification for people vetted overseas who prove they are fleeing persecution based on their political beliefs, religion or other factors.

Unpublished State Department statistics obtained by CBS News show the move stranded more than 22,000 refugees who had been approved for departure to the U.S. after undergoing a process that, on average, takes between 18 and 24 months due to rounds of interviews, security screenings and medical checks.

As part of its suspension of foreign aid, the administration instructed the resettlement agencies that integrate refugees into American communities to stop using certain federal funds  a directive advocates believe will prevent them from providing critical services to those refugees already in the U.S.

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Refuge admissions will only be restarted if Mr. Trump determines that doing so "is in the interests of the United States," according to his directive. In that order, he argued refugees were a strain on American communities.

Immigration process for Afghans, Ukrainians and others halted

The Trump administration has also directed officials to cease allowing immigrants into the U.S. through an immigration policy known as parole, which can be used to grant entry to foreigners on humanitarian or public interest grounds. The Biden administration used that law at an unprecedented scale, including to dissuade migrants from traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border.

An internal directive by the acting head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services last week ordered officials to stop granting parole to Ukrainians sponsored by Americans through the Uniting for Ukraine policy, which the Biden administration set up to offer a safe haven to those fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Roughly 240,000 Ukrainians came to the U.S. under the process, according to unpublished government data.

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It also instructed officials to refrain from renewing the parole status of Afghans brought to the U.S. following the fall of Kabul in 2021. While many of the more than 70,000 Afghan evacuees have gained asylum or special visas for those who aided the American military, the move could prompt some to lose their legal status.

The order suspended processing for other parole-based programs, including a sponsorship initiative for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans and an Obama-era policy that allowed some Central American youth to come to the country legally to reunite with relatives. Both policies were designed to be alternatives to trekking to the U.S. southern border.

While those paroled into the country are, on paper, in the U.S. legally and with the ability to work lawfully, Trump administration officials have argued the Biden administration improperly used the authority, which they believe should only be used in very limited cases.

Just minutes after Mr. Trump was sworn in, his administration shut down a mobile application, known as CBP One, that allowed migrants in Mexico to request a time to enter the U.S. at official border entry points. U.S. border officials were welcoming 1,500 migrants per day under that app during the Biden administration, which touted the process as the right way to seek asylum since crossing between ports of entry is illegal.

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Last week, Trump officials authorized Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to revoke the parole status of those allowed into the U.S. under the Biden administration and seek their deportation. That would include more than 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who flew to the U.S. under the sponsor policy and nearly 1 million migrants allowed into the country through CBP One, government figures show.

Other actions targeting legal migration channels

Trump officials moved quickly to cease operations at offices that the Biden administration established in four Latin American countries to vet and screen migrants for legal immigration programs and discourage them from unlawfully crossing the southern border. Those hubs, known as "Safe Mobility Offices," also vetted migrants for resettlement in Spain and Canada.

Mr. Trump's move to upend birthright citizenship  for now, halted in the courts  would deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to immigrants on temporary visas (as well as to those with parents who are in the country illegally).

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Other restrictions on legal immigration are also expected further into Mr. Trump's term. He already tasked federal agencies to recommend partial or total immigration bans for countries whose citizens officials determine cannot be properly vetted.

Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president of Global Refuge, a refugee resettlement group, said she appreciated some of the comments Mr. Trump has made in support of legal immigration. But she said she was deeply troubled by his move to halt refugee arrivals.

"Canceling flights for already approved refugees who have waited years as they've gone through extreme vetting betrays promises we made in creating this bipartisan legal program," Vignarajah said, calling the refugee process the "gold standard" in legal immigration.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for cutting legal immigration, said Mr. Trump is cracking down on immigration programs he believes former President Biden "unlawfully created or unlawfully abused."

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Krikorian said Biden used the parole authority, for example, as a "means of essentially freelancing his own parallel immigration system outside the law, so that has to be restricted."

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AI stocks plunge as China's DeepSeek sends shock wave through Wall Street
By Richa Naidu and Simon Jessop

LONDON (Reuters) - Some large U.S. companies had made limited progress in promoting women and were diluting or abandoning equal opportunity initiatives even before President Donald Trump launched last week a nationwide campaign to scrap them, underscoring a shift in corporate priorities.

Shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, Trump issued sweeping executive orders to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes in the United States and pressured the private sector to join the initiative.

Months before, however, big U.S. household names from Meta to Walmart had already moved to scrap or curtail their DEI programmes. Such initiatives are aimed at addressing longstanding structural racism and sexism by promoting opportunities in the workplace for women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people and other underrepresented groups.

"The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing," Meta said in a Jan. 10 internal memo reviewed by Reuters.

On Friday, retailer Target became the latest high-profile U.S. name to roll back its diversity programmes.

While anti-DEI activists argue these initiatives give people of minority backgrounds an unfair advantage, advocates fear the rollbacks will prompt companies to lapse back into inequity.

Reuters reviewed filings made to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and employment demographic reports for nine large companies that have scaled back or abandoned their diversity initiatives last year: Meta, Walmart, Amazon.com, Starbucks, Deere & Co, Ford, Boeing, McDonald's and Lowe's Companies.

The documents, which for some companies are limited to just a couple of years, showed patchy progress.

Only four of those companies managed to increase the proportion of U.S. female staff since the Covid-19 pandemic. However the increases have been marginal, including in the key mid-level managers cohort. Hispanic and Black women remained largely under-represented, the data showed.

At Amazon.com, for instance, the proportion of U.S. mid-level managers that are female has risen from 29.5% in 2020 - when the pandemic erupted - to 32% in 2023, the last year for which such data is available. At Deere & Co, which manufactures heavy equipment, the same proportion went up from 27.2% to 28.4% over the same period, according to Reuters calculations on the data.

Amazon did not comment on the data but referred Reuters to the company's DEI website. The e-commerce player shared an internal memo sent to employees in December about "winding down outdated (DEI) programs" but said it still remained "steadfast" in creating a diverse and inclusive company.
(Bloomberg) -- A deportation arrangement with Colombia that the White House presented as a total victory for Donald Trump looks less clear two days later.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The migrants the US tried to deport by US military flights on Sunday started traveling home on Monday on a Colombian air force plane, President Gustavo Petro said in posts on social media.

Thats different than what the White House announced on Sunday night when Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Colombia accepted all of President Trumps terms, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay. She made no mention of Colombia sending its own planes. The agreement came in exchange for Trump sparing the nation from 25% tariffs and financial sanctions.

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The Trump administration still plans to use military flights to deport people to Colombia over the next few weeks on an as-needed basis, along with civilian flights, according to a US official, who asked not to be identified without permission to speak publicly. The use of Colombian planes saves American taxpayers the cost of those military flights and frees up US aircraft to help with deportations to other countries, the official said.

But it gives Petro more control over the way that Colombian citizens return home, both in terms of the conditions and the optics. That issue appeared to touch a nerve for him in the early hours of Sunday, when he deauthorized the previously-agreed military deportation flights after images emerged of deportees to neighboring Brazil arriving handcuffed and shackled.

Petro in the posts on X on Monday and Tuesday celebrated the arrival of the deportees and said that Colombia would be offering them cheap loans to help them find their feet.

Our compatriots come from the United States free, dignified, without being handcuffed, the Colombian president said in the posts. They are in their homeland where they are loved. The migrant is not a criminal, he is a human being who wants to work and progress, to live life.

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Trumps Playbook

At the end of the day, the arrangement still accomplishes the Trump administrations primary goal: deporting undocumented migrants from the US. But the whole episode reflects a playbook used frequently during the first Trump presidency: Stake out a maximalist negotiating position that creates a crisis with market impact and the potential for economic effect, resolve the crisis, and claim total victory.

Theres also a question of the cost. The heavy-handed tariff and financial sanctions threats, which would have been devastating for Colombia if imposed, run a strategic risk: spurring other countries to look at the US threat of economic punishment and deciding to diversify toward non-US trade partners and payment systems, said Josh Lipsky, senior director of the GeoEconomics Center at the Atlantic Council.

While the US is historically Colombias top trade partner, Colombia has already been strengthening ties with China. During the period on Sunday when US tariffs looked imminent, Petro called for deepening his nations connections with other markets. Having seen Colombias experience, other countries may follow suit.

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You have to wonder if theres a Pyrrhic victory here, because the more countries see this threat, the more they start turning and looking at ways that they can diversify their own trading relationships, Lipsky said. There is a cost long term to the overuse of the threat. I think they broadly got the result they wanted here, but I do think therell be more cost throughout the region in the months to come.

Military Flights

That isnt to say that the episode was a victory for Petro.

The showdown with Colombia happened in part because in Petro, Trump found his match for a leader willing to use social media in unpredictable ways to set policy. Petro posted his denial of the military flights at around 3:30am on Sunday morning. That took both his ambassador and the Trump administration by surprise, because the Colombian government had earlier authorized the military flights. Petro himself in an X post that he later erased said on Saturday night that Colombia was ready to welcome the deportation flights with flags and flowers.

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The dispute quickly ratcheted up, with Trump announcing tariffs via Truth Social in the early afternoon on Sunday and Petro responding with a reciprocal threat by X several hours later.

Colombian economic groups expressed big concerns about the potential consequences of a trade war. The US accounts for almost a third of Colombias sales abroad, or $13 billion last year through November. Former ministers and business leaders demanded the use of diplomatic channels to solve the crisis, with some analysts considering Petros reaction to the US deportation plans as hot-headed and failing to measure the economic consequences.

After the White House announced the agreement to hold off on tariffs on Sunday night, one of the first confirmations from the Colombian government that the nation was in fact in agreement was Petro re-posting Leavitts statement on X.

This was a humiliating experience for Petro, said Nicholas Watson, London-based managing director of Teneo, a consulting and advisory firm. But if the perception of US bullying grows, then Petro could end up being seen as a leader who was the first to stand up to Trump.

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--With assistance from Patricia Laya and Oscar Medina.

(Updates with more information on return flights from second paragraph.)

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WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)  For those looking to get themselves or their families moving this new year, the YMCA of Wichita Falls is making it a little bit easier.

On Friday, January 31, YMCA Wichita Falls will host their Community Day, a full day dedicated to bringing people together and showcasing all the YMCA has to offer.

River Bend Nature Center invites the public to SipN Science featuring John Cameron

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From 5 a.m. until 10 p.m., the public will have access to all the YMCA facilities, allowing them to participate in activities and meet with local vendors to see if the YMCA is a good fit for them.

In addition, that day will be the last chance to take advantage of the Ys $0 joining fee.

For a list of vendors or more information, visit YMCAs Facebook page.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Senate Republicans are wary of Tulsi Gabbard, putting her confirmation as director of national intelligence in jeopardy.

The former Hawaii congresswomans confirmation hearings are scheduled for this week, along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s for secretary of health and human services, but Gabbard seems to be facing more opposition from the GOP, The Hill reports.

I think it remains to be seen, said Senator John Cornyn, a Republican member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, regarding whether the committee will back Gabbard. I think the jurys still out.

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Another Republican senator told The Hill that Gabbard has a path [that] continues to narrow.

The committee is split 98 between Republicans and Democrats, meaning that Gabbard cant lose a single GOP vote. Republican Senator Susan Collins is a member of the committee, and she was one of the three Republicans who voted against Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, necessitating a tiebreaker vote from Vice President JD Vance.

Collins said she was concerned about Gabbards stance on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows foreign targets to be surveilled without a warrant. As a member of the House in 2020, Gabbard proposed repealing the program, and has voted against reauthorizing it.

Gabbard claims to have changed her position recently, telling Punchbowl News that Section 702 is crucial and must be safeguarded to protect our nation while ensuring the civil liberties of Americans. But Collins isnt Gabbards only GOP skeptic on the committee. Senator Todd Young has been described as being a problem for Gabbard by two GOP aides, according to The Hill.

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Those members are going to have a really hard time getting to yes, said one of the aides. An aide also said that Senator Mitch McConnell, who was a no vote on Hegseth, is telling other Republicans that he is adamantly opposed to Gabbards appointment.

Even if Gabbard sways enough skeptics on the Intelligence Committee, she could face broader GOP opposition in the full Senate over her policy views, as well as her sympathies toward Russia and ousted Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. The question is whether that is enough to sink her nomination.
This is Tulsi Gabbard placing flowers at an altar dedicated to her gurua man whose group she denies ever being part of.

The photograph of President-elect Donald Trumps pick to be director of national intelligence shows how a teenage Gabbard took part in a ritual dedicated to Chris Butler, the leader of the Science of Identity Foundation, while she was a student at one of its boarding schools.

It was obtained by the Daily Beast along with an image from the program for her second marriage, in 2015, which includes a special blessing from Butler, under the name he uses, Siddhaswarupananda.

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Both images shed further light on Gabbards connections to the Science of Identity Foundation. On Monday The New York Times quoted Gabbards spokeswoman as saying she has never and doesnt have affiliation with the group.

This is Tulsi Gabbard placing an offering at an altar dedicated to Chris Butler, the leader of the Science of Identity Foundation movement in which she was brought up. / Obtained by The Daily Beast

Gabbard will face a Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, when the Intelligence Committee will consider whether she should have unfettered access to Americas most closely guarded secrets. But Republican senators are not united behind her and have voiced doubts about her views and even whether she understands the role she has been selected for. John Cornyn, of Texas, who has expressed support for her, said Monday, I think the jurys still out.

The importance of Butler and his Science of Identity Foundationwhich is an offshoot of the Hare Krishna movement, itself an offshoot of Hinduismto Gabbard had gone under the radar for years. Butler is a man followers call a living god but who is also accused of running a cult by former followers. Gabbard called Butler her guru in 2015.

Gabbard was around 15 when the photograph of her at Butlers altar, the first visual evidence of her participation in the group, was taken in the Philippines. Her parents, both deeply enmeshed in Butlers movement, had sent her to one of the groups boarding schools there.

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Her office declined to comment on the photo to the Daily Beast.

The Daily Beast revealed earlier this month how Butler had ranted anti-gay hate on a tape from the late 1990s, shortly before Gabbard first ran for state office in Hawaii on an anti-gay marriage platform. She has previously said that her views on same-sex couples' rights have evolved and voted to overturn a constitutional ban on gay marriage while in Congress.

When the Daily Beast asked for comment on Butler ranting about gay people being deviants and comparing homosexuality to beastiality, Trumps transition team said reporting on Gabbard and Butler was Hinduphobic.

Meanwhile Butlers group hired a crisis PR firm and pointed the Beast to a long open letter complaining about media attacks that perpetuate harmful Hinduphobic narratives and rhetoric. An SIF spokesperson said, We will not engage with sensationalist narratives driven by political motives, rather than fair reporting.

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But a former member of the SIF, Anti van Duyn, has written to members of Congress to express concerns about it. She told The New York Times that it warned Gabbard is under the complete influence of Butler, and alleges that he harbors ambitious political goals, although she did not claim to know them.

The SIF group is not part of mainstream Hinduism, and multiple former members told the Daily Beast that they believed it to be a cultsomething Butler and his followers have long disputed. Some requested anonymity because they feared retribution by the group for speaking out.

This was the special blessing in Gabbard's wedding program for her second marriage in 2015. She says she has

They told the Beast that Butler exerted almost complete control over his followers, who had to treat him as god on earth. Butler took the name Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa. He is addressed as Jagad Guru, which translates as world teacher and carries the meaning that he has the last word on everything. The former followers said the group had little to do with Hinduism, accusing it of being focused entirely on Butler. Notably in the 1990s it hosted Christmas celebrations in honor of the appearance of Jesus Christ.

Butler, born in 1948 in New Orleans, was brought up in Hawaii where he now lives as a virtual hermit. He leads as many as 10,000 followers, according to estimates by former members, from his compound in Kailua.

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Those former SIF members painted a picture of a controlling cult of personality in which, they said:

Every day began at 5 a.m. where followers prayed to an altar with Butlers image, then made offerings of food and flowers to the guru, like in the photo of Gabbard.

Children were made to listen to his insane lectures as he swore and used homophobic slurs.

Butler lived in an aluminum foil-wrapped room in his Hawaii compound because he believed it would shield him from infectious diseases, which he was paranoid about contracting.

He divided his followers into As, Bs and Cs to determine who was allowed near himand only those who quarantined for two weeks could approach him.

Followers working for free in his home and kitchen had to follow dozens of rules, including that they paid obeisance as soon as entering the house.

Butlers control extended from childhood into adulthood, determining who people could marry and where they could work.

Those who left were ostracized so completely that one man said he was not even told about his fathers death.

The Science of Identity Foundation emerged in the late 1970s when Butler split from the Hare Krishna Consciousness Movement after the death in 1977 of its leader Srila Prabhupada. Both Gabbards parents went on to become key parts of the movement. Like many initial followers of Butler, Gabbards father Mike had been involved in the Hare Krishna movement, a letter seen by the Daily Beast confirms.

In the 1980s, Mike Gabbard became the unpaid personal secretary to Butler and took on the name Krishna-katha das, according to documents reviewed by the Daily Beast. Meanwhile, her mother Carol took the name Davahuti Dasi and worked on the groups finances. Among his tasks were seeking masseurs for Butler, who at the time was also going by the name Srila Prabhupada.

This was how Mike Gabbard, Tulsi's father, sought a masseuse for Butler, who at point was using the name Srila Prabhupada. / Obtained by The Daily Beast

Rama Ranson, a former member who was an almost exact contemporary of Gabbard, accused the Science of Identity Foundation of being a cult.

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Its very controlling, very much like it creates this very limited belief system and perception and control, he said. Chris Butler has a way of hijacking peoples fear and their belief system. They believe everything about him. Its a cult of personality.

Ranson was born in New Zealand to parents who were followers of Butler. They then moved to Hawaii to be closer to the guru.

Hes the pure holy, the literally only living representative of God and hes right about everything, he told the Beast. If you go against him its the worst sin and youll be the equivalent of burning in Hell, tortured for eternities.

Worship of Butler began at the family altar in followers homes at 5 a.m., with a prayer to the Jagad Guru. One follower said it was still etched in their memory and recited, The lotus feet of my spiritual master are the only way by which we can attain pure devotional service. I bow at your lotus feet with great awe and reverence; by your grace one can cross the ocean of suffering and attain the mercy of Krishna. My only wish is to have my consciousness purified by the words emanating from your lotus mouth. Attachment to your lotus feet is the perfection that fulfills all desires. You are my lord, birth after birth.

Butler is a largely reclusive figure who preaches to his followers from his compound on Hawaii where, former followers say, he uses aluminum foil to prevent infection. / Science of Identity Foundation

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Butler was on a spiritual quest as a young man which brought him into contact with the Hare Krishna movement. But when he started his own group, he moved into a Hawaii compound where, witnesses said, he lived in an aluminum foil-lined room because of his paranoia about infectious diseases.

Those who sought to come close to him would have to quarantine for as long as two weeks before being permitted into his home, the Beast was told. As the new head of his own sect, Butler adopted Srila Prabhupadas tradition of being waited on by his followers, but added his own rules.

Among the most bizarre was dividing his followers into As, Bs or Cs to determine whether they were allowed to approach him.

Butlers personal servants were called As, working closely to him in the kitchen and preparing meals, massages, which meant they were not allowed to go into stores and had to remain 10 to 20 feet away from public places.

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Normal people who could go into stores were called Cs, and they would do most of the shopping and supplying, a former follower said.

Only a few rare people were awarded status as a B, such as Butlers wife Wai Lana. They had to put clean clothing on when they went to work in the kitchen, and all furniture and cars used for transportation needed to be covered.

A former follower who spent time working in the kitchen said that all food and supplies brought into the center for Butler needed to be sanitized. A document seen by the Beast shows five pages of rules for workers, with the first rule saying, Pay obeisances when entering the SPV home.

These were just some of the hundreds of rules which followers who came to Butler's home to tend to him had to follow. / Obtained by Daily Beast

We had to first sanitize them outside with alcohol. Vegetables and (produce) were soaked in an acid water solution, the former kitchen worker explained. Basically, my entire job was dish sterilization. I wasnt even a cook. They basically needed an entire 12-hour shift dedicated to this sterilization.

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Butlers living space, dishes, and personal effects also needed to be sterilized. They bought this machine from Japan that sterilized, the former follower added. All of his dishes had to be safe in the oven for an hour at 350 or higher degrees, or sanitized in acid water with alcohol.

Obeisance to Butler covered the whole of the followers lives, one former member said, particularly when it came to education.

From the late 80s all of us kids were removed from public schools because he didnt want them influencing our minds away from our service to him, one former member wrote in testimony shared with the Beast. So from that point we were home schooled, until there were schools established in the Philippines. After that all the children were sent to the boarding schools there for intensive schooling.

Gabbards parents first home-schooled her then sent her to one of the Philippines schools, which were segregated by sex.

Tulsi Gabbard has been meeting, and meeting, and meeting with senators. / Alex Wong / Alex Wong/Getty Images

One former member, a male contemporary of Gabbards at the schools said they were designed to implant devotion, discipline, indoctrination of Butlers beliefs and needs. The school had about 30 to 50 boys in each level from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia. Keeping the students segregated by sex kept their minds off sex and they were brainwashed to view the opposite sex as entirely different species, the ex-follower alleged, and said that by the time he came of high school age, he was traumatized.

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When I came back, I was all freaked out and scared of girls. It took me a couple years to kind of get over that stigma, but I was very socially awkward, they said. I left there in 97, 98, then they closed the school down for a couple years after that, he said.

Former followers accuse Butler of retaining control over followers far into their adult lives, including deciding who they could marry and where they could work, while people who left the movement were ostracized from their families. Gabbards first husband Eduardo Tamayo was also brought up in the SIF.

Fear of retaliation from Butlers associates and estrangement from family is another way Butler traps many followers under his control, former followers alleged.

Butler was Gods voice on earth, and if you questioned him or offended him in any way, you were effectively offending God, wrote a former Butler follower named Lalita in a 2017 essay, who is known among Butler former followers. She explained, Because we believed in reincarnation, that meant that you would be reborn as the lowest life-form imaginable and then have to spend eons working your way back into Gods good graces.

Questioning Butler is spiritual suicide, she wrote, which was seen as worse than death.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  The man accused of orchestrating the murder of Tupac Shakur faces a new charge following an incident inside jail, records said.

Duane Keffe D Davis, 61, was charged Sunday with battery by a prisoner for an incident inside the Clark County Detention Center on Friday.

The 8 News Now Investigators were gathering information Sunday about what led up to the new charge. Davis has remained in custody since his arrest in September 2023.

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He was due to appear in court Tuesday on the new charge. A judge set bail at $50,000 for the battery by prisoner charge, though Davis has a higher bail amount  $750,000  for the murder charge.

Duane Keffe D Davis has remained at the Clark County Detention Center since his arrest in September 2023. (LVMPD)

Last week, the judge hearing the murder case declined to dismiss Davis charges, saying he had no immunity in Nevada.

Davis has publicly said he was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car, which pulled up side-by-side with Shakurs, before the September 1996 shooting near the Las Vegas Strip. Marion Suge Knight, the then-head of Death Row Records, was driving the car with Shakur sitting in the passenger seat. Knight was injured in the shooting. Shakur died from his injuries several days later.

Davis trial was scheduled to begin in March. Kierny scheduled a Feb. 11 hearing to determine if that date would stick.

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(Bloomberg) -- Turkeys government is hoping to reach a $6 billion defense deal with Saudi Arabia that could see the kingdom buy warships, tanks and missiles, according to Turkish officials familiar with the matter.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The agreement, which would involve Saudi Arabia joining a Turkish jet-building project, could be finalized during a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the kingdom around March, the officials said.

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Shares of state-run defense contractor Aselsan rose as much as 2.2% on Monday in Istanbul, after Bloomberg reported the potential accord. Otokar Otomotiv, which manufactures armored vehicles, trimmed earlier losses to trade 0.8% lower.

Given total exports of the industry are about $7 billion annually, $6 billion would be a significant amount for a deal, said Anil Ulas Koseoglu, an analyst at Istanbul-based Is Investment. Otokar could also benefit, given they have exports to the region, he added.

Turkey is trying to grow its defense industry and sees Saudi Arabia, one of the worlds biggest importers of arms, as a key market. The two countries signed a deal in 2023 for the Saudis to buy high-flying drones from Turkish company Baykar.

Now, Ankara wants to sell its main battle tank, called Altay, to Saudi Arabia along with missile-defense systems, the officials said.

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Turkey is keen for Saudi Arabia to become a partner in a program to develop a fighter jet known as Kaan. While the first test flight happened early 2024, its still expected to take several years to become operational. Other countries may join the project  in which the UKs BAE Systems Plc is involved  in some form, according to the Turkish officials.

Turkeys Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Turkish ministry. Hes likely to discuss the deal then, the officials said.

The Saudi government didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Turkeys Defense Ministry declined to comment.

Ties between Riyadh and Ankara have improved in recent years after being strained by the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul.

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--With assistance from Christine Burke and Tugce Ozsoy.

(Updates with stock moves, analyst comment in third and fourth paragraphs.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2025 Bloomberg L.P.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  A 30-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder after the 1-year-old child of his girlfriend died from reported abuse.

Devonte Crumel was initially arrested and booked in the Tuscaloosa County Jail on Friday, Jan. 24, a day after the victim was brought unresponsive to DCH Regional Medical Center. According to Capt. Jack Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa County Sheriffs Offices Violent Crimes Unit, the victim had exhibited signs of a brain injury and was airlifted to Childrens of Alabama in Birmingham.

At Childrens, medical specialists concluded that the childs injuries were the result of physical abuse. Investigators report that the victim had been in Crumels care at the time they were taken to the hospital.

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Crumel could give no explanation for how the injury occurred, Kennedy said in a written statement.

Initially, Crumel was charged with aggravated child abuse, but following the victims death on Sunday, the charges were upgraded to murder.

Crumel remains at the Tuscaloosa County Jail on no bond.

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A series of bills in Nebraska are aiming to change how the state handles changing clocks twice a year in 2025. (Getty Images)

LINCOLN  Nebraskans tired of switching their clocks twice each year, in March and November, could have three legislative proposals to choose from this year to inch toward ending the practice.

State Sens. Megan Hunt of Omaha, Dave Murman of Glenvil and Danielle Conrad of Lincoln have introduced, or plan to introduce, proposals to help end the time switch, which the senators said they, like many Nebraskans, are generally over with.

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I dont care which way we set the clocks, Hunt said in a text. I just support stopping the madness of changing the time twice a year.

State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha. April 11, 2023. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska News Service)

Three different proposals

Hunts Legislative Bill 34 would provide for year-round daylight saving time, maintaining the period between March and November to preserve sunlight later in the day  between the second Sunday in March (spring ahead) and the first Sunday in November (fall back).

Murmans LB 302 would provide for year-round standard time, the current position of the clocks in the colder fall and winter months when the sun rises earlier.

Both bills would not go into effect until other surrounding states adopt similar laws:

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For Hunts bill, three adjacent states to Nebraska would need to adopt a single year-round standard of time.

For Murmans bill, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Wyoming would all need to adopt legislation for year-round standard time.

Federal law currently prohibits year-round daylight saving time but does allow year-round standard time, which Hawaii and Arizona (excluding the Navajo Nation) observe.

The bills are up for a hearing before the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, right, speaks with State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha. Dec. 7, 2023. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

Conrads yet-to-be-introduced legislative resolution would more broadly urge Nebraskas congressional representatives to push for a uniform decision and end the antiquated clock changes. It echoes calls from President Donald Trump and bipartisan U.S. senators to find a permanent solution, according to draft language shared with the Nebraska Examiner.

Time zones and Colorado

State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner proposed LR 276 in 2024 examining Nebraskas time zone boundary in western Nebraska and urging Congress to move the line a little west, matching where Nebraskas panhandle begins. It would affect the counties of Dundy, Chase and Perkins in Ibachs district, as well as Keith, Arthur, Grant, Hooker and the western part of Cherry.

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She said lawmakers should be deliberate in deciding what to do with the clock switching because of the extra state approval needed.

Ibach suggested bringing Colorado into the conversation would be helpful, particularly for the three Mountain Time Zone counties in her district that sandwich between Colorado and other Nebraska counties in the Central Time Zone.

If Colorado sticks with the clocks as is, year-round standard time would create a southwest Nebraska time-zone island, between March and November, for Perkins, Chase and Dundy Counties, as reported by the North Platte Telegraph and Scottsbluff Star-Herald. Those residents would be surrounded in the west by a different version of the Mountain Time Zone and in the east by Nebraskas Central Time Zone.

State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner, center, talks with State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard as State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln watches. July 29, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

I think we need to dissect it just a little bit further and find out the repercussions of actually passing legislation or investigating if we can pass that legislation, Ibach said.

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Ibach said its possible that any of the proposals could restart conversations on moving the time zone a few miles west, while she understands arguments from some local residents opposed because that system is all theyve ever known.

Moving the time zone would also require the blessing of at least South Dakota and Kansas.

Good enough for God

Hunt said she is a night owl and likes it sunny later in the evening, but shes cosigning Murmans bill to end the practice either way. Conrad has added her name to both measures and led a defeated effort in 2024 on behalf of former State Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, now the state treasurer.

State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, center. To his right, State Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha reaches out to State Sen. Tom Brewer of north-central Nebraska. July 30, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

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Murman said he prefers standard time because of purported health benefits, aligning with more sun in the morning when people are starting their day, including students.

Former State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard was an ardent proponent of year-round standard time, particularly for the effect on his Mountain Time residents and students.

Erdman famously stated in March 2022: The sun comes up at an appointed time every day irregardless of what we say the time is.  When God created time, he put the sun right in the middle of the sky at noon. And if its good enough for God, its good enough for me.

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FRANKLIN COUNTY, Iowa  Two people have been arrested in connection to cemetery thefts across several northern Iowa counties.

According to the Franklin County Sheriffs Office, two people have been arrested following an extensive investigation involving the disappearance of grave and historical site markers.

Authorities say reports of the missing markers began around a month ago and were reported from multiple rural and city cemeteries across Franklin County. Officers say markers were also reported missing from Butler County and Cerro Gordo County.

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According to police, two search warrants were executed on Friday afternoon at homes on 4th Avenue Northwest in Hampton and Pine Street in Dumont.

2 people, 2 pets safe after house fire near Cambridge

Following the search warrant two individuals were charged.

44-year-old Brandon Smith from Hampton has been charged with,

Theft in the first degree

Criminal Mishcief in the first degree

Theft in the fourth degree

34-year-old Lauren Johnson from Dumont has been charged with,

Theft in the first degree

Authorities say two additional suspects have been identified, and charges related to the series of crimes are pending.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  Salt Lake City Police Officers are investigating reports of shots being fired over the weekend in the Central 9th Neighborhood.

Police said the incident happened near 600 South Washington Street just before midnight on Friday, Jan. 24. Several callers reported a burst of gunfire and the sounds of people fighting. Witnesses reportedly described the scene as chaotic and involved several people.

When officers arrived, they reported not finding any active fighting or any gunshot victims.

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Officers were able to find a car matching the description provided by witnesses, who said it had left the scene at a high rate of speed. Detectives pulled the car over near Bryant Avenue and State Street in the Ballpark neighborhood.

During the investigation, detectives recovered a gun they said was stolen and arrested two men. One was booked on charges of possession of a weapon as a restricted person, possession of a stolen firearm, and drug possession. The other was booked on charges of possession of a weapon as a restricted person and drug possession.

The identities of the two suspects were not released.

Although our investigation is ongoing, this shooting appears to have been a reckless act of violence, said SLCPD Chief Mike Brown. While we try to prevent violence from occurring, when it does, we will conduct thorough investigations to hold offenders accountable and to help ensure that Salt Lake City remains safe.

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Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
Two militants were said to have been killed in an Israeli drone attack in Tulkarm in the West Bank on Monday.

The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said both had been members of the Islamist organization.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that three others had been injured in the attack on a vehicle.

The Israeli military confirmed the attack in the vicinity of Tulkarm, which lies in the north-west of the West Bank directly on the border with Israel. No further details were provided.

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Tensions have risen in the West Bank since the October 7, 2023 attack mounted by Hamas on the Gaza Strip and the war in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry puts the number of Palestinians killed in violence since then at 838.

Palestinian reports said that the Israeli military was continuing its operation in Jenin in the far north of the West Bank for the seventh day in succession. Sixteen people have thus far died in the operation, according to Palestinian sources.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reports that the Israeli military has been destroying houses in the city, a militant stronghold.

A six-week ceasefire is currently in place in Gaza.
Two people face charges for allegedly assaulting a man in North Stonington following a road rage incident last week.

State troopers last Thursday responded to Providence New London Turnpike at 10:50 p.m. on the report of an assault, according to Connecticut State Police.

State police said they were encountered by a man who had minor injuries to his face and head. As an ambulance responded to the scene, the man told troopers his version of what had happened.

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According to state police, the man said he was driving home from Groton on Route 184 when he was behind a black SUV. At some point, the driver of the SUV allegedly began going slow and brake checked him multiple times before nearly coming to a stop, state police said.

When the man passed the SUV he alleged that the driver began following him closely and flashing his high beams. Once the man got home he alleged that a woman got out of the SUV with what he believed to be a firearm in her hand and approached him after he got out of his vehicle, state police said.

According to state police, the woman allegedly began yelling and said the man had tried to run her off the road. A man then got out of the SUV and allegedly tackled him to the ground, he told state police.

The man said he was able to grab the gun from the woman and hit the man with it, according to state police. Both individuals then allegedly began hitting the mans face and head, state police said.

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The man said he took out his phone to call police, but the assailants allegedly grabbed it and fled to their SUV, leaving the area, according to state police. A magazine to the gun was left behind, which state police said was found to belong to a BB gun.

Troopers were able to get the registration information for the SUV from a witness before finding that it was registered to 59-year-old Monique Dauray of Stonington, according to state police. The vehicle was later found in Mystic, where troopers identified the assailants as Dauray and 63-year-old Scott Keilty of Stonington. They were both arrested.

Dauray was charged with interfering with an officer, disorderly conduct, interfering with an emergency call, third-degree assault and first-degree threatening with a firearm.

State police said Keilty was found to be the one who was driving. He was charged with following too close with intent to intimidate, improper use of high beam lights, interfering with an officer, disorderly conduct, interfering with an emergency call and third-degree assault.

Dauray and Keilty were both released on $25,000 bonds and are scheduled to appear on Feb. 7 in New London Superior Court.
President Trump's tariff threats to pressure Colombian President Gustavo Petro to accept U.S. deportation flights served as a warning to the entire region.

But while Petro attempted to stand up to Trump  with only mixed results  Mexico, the country most affected by U.S. policy on migration, appears to be playing it safer.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday said her government is continuing to receive U.S. flights full of deportees, and is accepting a small number from third countries.

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The relationship with the United States is special," Sheinbaum told reporters. We are obliged to have a good relationship."

Administration officials trumpeted their success so far in pressing other nations to accept deportees. But leaders from Latin American countries point out that they have been allowing hundreds of such flights to land for many years.

The stakes vary country to country. Colombia is a minor trade partner with the U.S., and not a major supplier of migrants.

The impasse between the United States and Colombia over deportation flights ended after a day of threats and counter-threats.

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Petro early Sunday turned back two U.S. military flights carrying deportees as part of Trump's plan to expel millions of migrants. Petro said he would receive deportees but only under "dignified conditions."

In response, Trump said he was ordering a 25% tariff on all Colombian exports to the U.S., rising to 50% in a week if flights were not resumed. Trump also threatened a raft of visa restrictions and other financial punishment.

The two sides rushed into late-night negotiations. Late Sunday, they agreed to a series of conditions and said the flights would resume. The White House said Petro had accepted all of Trumps terms. Colombia said it had received assurances of the dignified conditions that Petro had demanded.

For Trump, the episode gave him a chance to show the rest of Latin America the risks they face if they do not fall in line with his deportation plan.

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The stakes are higher for Mexico, the United States' largest trade partner and the largest single source country for migrants who cross the U.S. border without legal authorization.

Sheinbaum has studiously avoided conflict with Trump. Unlike Petro or her predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Sheinbaum has been matter-of-fact about Mexicos willingness to cooperate with the U.S. on issues of migration.

Read more: Trump punishes Colombia for refusing entry to deportation flights

Its a stance, she points out, that is not new.

At her daily news conference, Sheinbaum said Mexico had received some 4,000 migrants deported from the United States in the days since Trumps inauguration, a number of deportations that she said was about average.

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Sheinbaum opted to stay out of the fray in Colombias conflict with the U.S., despite her clear ideological affinity with Petro, a fellow leftist.

Instead, Sheinbaum insisted on the importance for Mexico of maintaining good relations with the U.S.

She lauded the fact that Mexico and Colombia had come to an agreement.

The important thing, I said from Day 1, is to always act with a cool head, defending the sovereignty of each country and respect between nations and peoples," Sheinbaum said.

Significantly, she suggested some of those deportees were not Mexican.

The issue of whether Mexico should accept migrants from third countries has been a major point of negotiation between the U.S. and its neighbor to the south. During Trumps first term, asylum-seekers from a variety of countries who had crossed the U.S. border were forced to return to Mexico until they were allowed entry to the U.S. for their hearings.

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Sheinbaum suggested that Mexico might repatriate some of the non-Mexican migrants to their native countries.

We would seek mechanisms through migration policy and foreign policy for returning people to their countries of origin, she said. She said that Mexico would negotiate with the United States over who would foot the bill for those repatriations.

Taking in third-country deportees is particularly controversial.

Stephanie Brewer, the director for Mexico at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights advocacy group, said Mexicos decision to receive deportees from other countries was disappointing.

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Its unfortunate, because policies are being normalized that are absolutely abnormal, Brewer said. A big priority driving the recent actions is the public relations and the public messaging part of it and broadcasting this message of, Look at all the people we're deporting on military planes.

The brief drama with Colombia was a reminder, she said, that Trump will very quickly resort to threats when it comes to forcing other countries to cooperate." Yet meanwhile, she said, real lives hang in the balance.

These Mexican non-nationals have become bargaining chips in the bilateral relationship, where both sides negotiate how many people Mexico accepts, which nationalities, and the format of returns, she said. That comes at a cost of human families and individuals who are seeking protection.



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The meeting of Committee A at the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 28, 2024. The session considered a draft agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response based on lessons learned from the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (World Health Organization/Photographer Antoine Tardy)

For decades, the United States has held considerable power in determining the direction of global health policies and programs. President Donald Trump issued three executive orders on his first day in office that may signal the end of that era, health policy experts said.

This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Trumps order to withdraw from the World Health Organization means the U.S. will probably not be at the table in February when the WHO executive board next convenes. The WHO is shaped by its members: 194 countries that set health priorities and make agreements about how to share critical data, treatments, and vaccines during international emergencies. With the U.S. missing, it would cede power to others.

Its just stupid, said Kenneth Bernard, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University who served as a top biodefense official during the George W. Bush administration. Withdrawing from the WHO leaves a gap in global health leadership that will be filled by China, he said, which is clearly not in Americas best interests.

Executive orders to withdraw from the WHO and to reassess Americas approach to international assistance cite the WHOs mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and say that U.S. aid serves to destabilize world peace. In action, they echo priorities established in Project 2025s Mandate for Leadership, a conservative policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation.

The 922-page report says the U.S. must be prepared to withdraw from the WHO, citing its manifest failure, and advises an overhaul to international aid at the State Department. The Biden Administration has deformed the agency by treating it as a global platform to pursue overseas a divisive political and cultural agenda that promotes abortion, climate extremism, gender radicalism, and interventions against perceived systemic racism, it says.

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As one of the worlds largest funders of global health  through both international and national agencies, such as the WHO and the U.S. Agency for International Development  Americas step back may curtail efforts to provide lifesaving health care and combat deadly outbreaks, especially in lower-income countries without the means to do so alone.

This not only makes Americans less safe, it makes the citizens of other nations less safe, said Tom Bollyky, director of global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The U.S. cannot wall itself off from transnational health threats, he added, referring to policies that block travelers from countries with disease outbreaks. Most of the evidence around travel bans indicates that they provide a false sense of security and distract nations from taking the actions they need to take domestically to ensure their safety.

Less than 1%

Technically, countries cannot withdraw from the WHO until a year after official notice. But Trumps executive order cites his termination notice from 2020. If Congress or the public pushes back, the administration can argue that more than a year has elapsed.

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Trump suspended funds to the WHO in 2020, a measure that doesnt require congressional approval. U.S. contributions to the agency hit a low of $163 million during that first year of covid, falling behind Germany and the Gates Foundation. Former President Joe Biden restored U.S. membership and payments. In 2023, the country gave the WHO $481 million.

As for 2024, Suerie Moon, a co-director of the global health center at the Geneva Graduate Institute, said the Biden administration paid biennium dues for 2024-25 early, which will cover some of this years payments.

Unfairly onerous payments are cited in the executive order as a reason for WHO withdrawal. Countries dues are a percentage of their gross domestic product, meaning that as the worlds richest nation, the United States has generally paid more than other countries.

Funds for the WHO represent about 4% of Americas budget for global health, which in turn is less than 0.1% of U.S. federal expenditures each year. At about $3.4 billion, the WHOs entire budget is roughly a third of the budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which got $9.3 billion in core funding in 2023.

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The WHOs funds support programs to prevent and treat polio, tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, measles, and other diseases, especially in countries that struggle to provide health care domestically. The organization also responds to health emergencies in conflict zones, including places where the U.S. government doesnt operate  in parts of Gaza, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among others.

In January 2020, the WHO alerted the world to the danger of the covid outbreak by sounding its highest alarm: a public health emergency of international concern. Over the next two years, it vetted diagnostic tests and potential drugs for covid, regularly updated the public, and advised countries on steps to keep citizens safe.

Experts have cited missteps at the agency, but numerous analyses show that internal problems account for the United States having one of the worlds highest rates of death due to covid. All nations received the WHOs alert of a public health emergency of international concern on Jan. 30, Bollyky said. South Korea, Taiwan, and others responded aggressively to that  the U.S. did not.

Seating for delegates at the 75th World Health Assembly at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. (World Health Organization/Photographer Pierre Albouy)

Its a red herring

Nonetheless, Trumps executive order accuses the WHO of mishandling the pandemic and failing to adopt urgently needed reforms. In fact, the WHO has made some changes through bureaucratic processes that involve input from the countries belonging to it. Last year, for example, the organization passed several amendments to its regulations on health emergencies. These include provisions on transparent reporting and coordinated financing.

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If the Trump administration tried to push for particular reforms for a year and then they were frustrated, I might find the reform line credible, Moon said. But to me, its a red herring.

I dont buy the explanations, Bernard said. This is not an issue of money, he added. There is no rationale to withdraw from the WHO that makes sense, including our problems with China.

Trump has accused the WHO of being complicit in Chinas failure to openly investigate covids origin, which he alludes to in the executive order as inappropriate political influence.

The World Health Organization disgracefully covered the tracks of the Chinese Communist Party every single step of the way, Trump said in a video posted to social media in 2023.

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Withdrawing from the WHO leaves a gap in global health leadership that will be filled by China, which is clearly not in Americas best interests.

 Kenneth Bernard, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University

On multiple occasions, the WHO has called for transparency from China. The agency doesnt have the legal authority to force China, or any other country, to do what it says. This fact also repudiates Trumps warnings that a pandemic treaty under negotiation at the WHO impinges on American sovereignty. Rather, the accord aims to lay out how countries can better cooperate in the next pandemic.

Trumps executive order calls for the U.S. to cease negotiations on the pandemic agreement. This means the pharmaceutical industry may lose one of its staunchest defenders as discussions move forward.

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In the negotiations so far, the U.S. and the European Union have sided with lobbying from the pharmaceutical industry to uphold strict patent rights on drugs and vaccines. They have opposed efforts from middle-income countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to include licensing agreements that would allow more companies to produce drugs and vaccines when supplies are short in a crisis. A study published in Nature Medicine estimated that more than a million lives would have been saved had covid vaccines been available around the world in 2021.

Once the U.S. is absent  for better and for worse  there will be less pressure on certain positions, Moon said. In the pandemic agreement negotiations, we may see weakening opposition towards more public-health-oriented approaches to intellectual property.

This is a moment of geopolitical shift because the U.S. is making itself less relevant, said Ayoade Alakija, chair of the Africa Unions Vaccine Delivery Alliance. Alakija said countries in Asia and Africa with emerging economies might now put more money into the WHO, change policies, and set agendas that were previously opposed by the U.S. and European countries that are grappling with the war in Ukraine. Power is shifting hands, Alakija said. Maybe that will give us a more equitable and fairer world in the long term.

Echoes of Project 2025

In the near term, however, the WHO is unlikely to recoup its losses entirely, Moon said. Funds from the U.S. typically account for about 15% of its budget. Together with Trumps executive order that pauses international aid for 90 days, a lack of money may keep many people from getting lifesaving treatments for HIV, malaria, and other diseases.

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Another loss is the scientific collaboration that occurs via the WHO and at about 70 centers it hosts at U.S. institutions such as Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University. Through these networks, scientists share findings despite political feuds between countries.

A third executive order commands the secretary of state to ensure the departments programs are in line with an America First foreign policy. It follows on the order to pause international aid while reviewing it for consistency with United States foreign policy. That order says that U.S. aid has served to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations.

These and executive orders on climate policies track with policy agendas expressed by Project 2025. Although Trump and his new administration have distanced themselves from the Heritage Foundation playbook, CBS News reviewed the work histories of the 38 named primary authors of Project 2025 and found that at least 28 of them worked in Trumps first administration. One of Project 2025s chief architects was Russell Vought, who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget during Trumps first term and has been nominated for it again. Multiple contributors to Project 2025 are from the America First Legal Foundation, a group headed by Trump adviser Stephen Miller thats filed complaints against woke corporations.

Project 2025 recommends cutting international aid for programs and organizations focused on climate change and reproductive health care, and steering resources toward strengthening the fundamentals of free markets, lowering taxes, and deregulating businesses as a path to economic stability.

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Several experts said the executive orders appear to be about ideological rather than strategic positioning.

The White House did not respond to questions about its executive orders on global health. Regarding the executive order saying U.S. aid serves to destabilize world peace, a spokesperson at USAID wrote in an email: We refer you to the White House.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFFan independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

Subscribe to KFF Health News free Morning Briefing.

This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Parkway Village at Kapolei, featuring 400 rental units and access to early education, celebrated its grand opening Dec. 17. Developers, dignitaries and guests toured the grounds.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Parkway Village at Kapolei, featuring 400 rental units and access to early education, celebrated its grand opening Dec. 17. Developers, dignitaries and guests toured the grounds.

A new online tool meant to study and perhaps help solve Oahus shortage of affordable housing has been unveiled.

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On Jan. 16 the citys Office of Housing and the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, or UHERO, announced the launch of its subsidized housing explorer.

UHERO says this interactive tracker consolidates data on government-subsidized housing units across Honolulu County, identifying properties participating in federal, state and local housing programs. The projects are viewable as a table, map or spreadsheet.

Importantly, the web-based explorer can be a resource for policymakers, stakeholders and residents.

The purpose of this project is to create a database of all properties on Oahu that benefit from some sort of government program that contributes to affordable housing,  Rachel Inafuku, a UHERO research economist, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. There are several government agencies and departments within the state that manage affordable housing programs, but surprisingly little collaboration between agencies to share data.

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Funded by the city for over $94, 000, the project took more than a year to collaborate with several government agencies, to consolidate their data, and to build a user-friendly interface to visualize it all together,  she said.

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Prior to this project, she said, each government agency kept track of its own program data.

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Now, with the subsidized housing explorer, we can see which properties are benefiting from which programs. While some are just under one type of government programfor example, Hawaiian Homesteadothers have multiple government programs attached to it,  she said. Now we have a very user-friendly data visualization to see this overlap in government efforts.

Moreover, the subsidized housing explorer helps to geographically visualize the government efforts throughout Oahu,  she added. We have overlaid City Council districts onto the map so we can see subsidized housing properties by district. This helps us to get a feel for whether the level of government-subsidized housing is meeting the needs by district.

The citys lead housing officer agreed.

The subsidized housing explorer doesnt directly make housing in Honolulu more affordable, but it plays a crucial role in supporting efforts to address housing affordability,  Office of Housing Executive Director Kevin Auger told the Star-Advertiser. To our knowledge, this is the first time this information has ever been consolidated on one platform.

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By consolidating data from various programs, the project aims to provide a clearer picture of where affordable housing exists, how it is distributed and where gaps remain,  he said.

For the purposes of this project, Inafuku clarified that because there are so many different types of programs, we are using subsidized housing as an umbrella term.

We very loosely define subsidized housing as any type of housing that results in under-market-rate prices due to some government-funded program,  she said. This goes for everything from Hawaiian Homestead to Bill 7 affordable rentals to (the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp.s ) Hula Mae mortgage loan program.

She said the subsidized housing explorer does not act as a Zillow for affordable housing referring to the online real estate marketplace company.

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We do not know whether the units listed in the subsidized housing properties are vacant,  she added. To this end, this tool is for those in government, researchers and anyone who may be interested in data on government-subsidized housing in a given area on Oahu.

Meanwhile, the housing crisis continues to affect thousands of families here, according to UHERO. The median sales price of a single-family home exceeds $1.1 million, and median rents approach $2, 000.

In the Honolulu metro area alone, there are nearly 20, 000 cost-restricted units, while West Oahu contains approximately 9, 000 units, UHERO states.

According to the Hawaii Housing Factbook, 58 % of Oahu renters are rent-burdened, spending more than 30 % of their income on housing.

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In comparison, 29 % are severely rent-burdened, allocating over half their income to rent, the housing report states.

To combat this crisis, the city said it has implemented various programs, including Bill 7, which provides property tax exemptions, increases building density and relaxes building standards for affordable rental projects.

A Bill 7 project included an affordable rental development that held its grand opening in Makiki in November 2023.

Constructed in prefabricated concrete in under nine months, the three-story walk-up for low-income renters at 1427 Ernest St. was conceived to offer 24 studio apartments and two one-bedroom units on a more than 5, 300-square-foot property.

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Within the Ernest Street building, studio units are 260 square feet, while its one-bedroom units are 430 square feet. Monthly rents for studios were announced to start at around $1, 500including all utilities like gas, water, trash and electricitywhile one-bedroom units will lease for about $1, 900, with all utilities included, the developers said.

At the time, developer partners Paul Lam, Greg Thielen and Evan Amakata said their 26-unit development was Hono lulus second, but their first, affordable rental project constructed under the auspices of Bill 7.

That 2019 city mea-sure relaxed private-development standards and provided incentivesnamely, a property tax exemption for 10 years, and no fees for the city application processfor qualifying developers projects.

At the Makiki rental projects opening ceremony, Gov. Josh Green said the new units would go to our teachers, firefighters and nurses.

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To track similar projects, the city says the subsidized housing explorers centralized database features over 50 government programs and more than 35, 000 cost-restricted units across 332 properties.

I think this is the first step towards more collaboration between UHERO and the government to put forth efforts in alleviating Hawaiis housing burden,  Inafuku said. We now have this relationship with the mayors housing team, and thats a great benefit.

With this data, she said, UHERO and the city can now answer questions such as :How many housing units in Hawaii are benefiting from a government-funded housing program ?Which areas are seeing the most assistance ? Which areas are seeing the least assistance ?How does this project make housing in Honolulu more affordable ? How will data benefit affordable housing ?

To ensure the tool focuses on long-term housing solutions, the tracker excludes housing intended for victims of domestic violence. It also does not include :Housing thats planned or currently under construction.Data thats low-costor deemed affordablebut not price-restricted.Housing designed for temporary occupancy, such as homeless shelters.Housing inhabited by a tenant receiving housing assistance where that assistance is not linked to any specific unit or propertyfor example, the housing vouchers program also known as Section 8.

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Inafuku asserts the subsidized-housing tracker was created in spite of complex government bureaucracy.

I think that for a lot of people, gathering data and putting it together in a user-friendly format sounds like an easy task. However, people forget that government is huge,  she said. There are so many departments with their own programs, ways of managing these programs, and varying levels of technology and data management. This is why tracking all these affordable housing programs on Oahu in one location has not been done before.

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LONDON (Reuters) -Britain on Monday imposed sanctions targeting Belarusian officials and defence companies after joining Western governments in condemning what they called "sham" presidential elections in the country.

The measures come after Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was declared winner of a presidential election in the country, allowing the Russian ally to extend his 31-year rule.

European politicians have said the vote was neither free nor fair because independent media are banned in the former Soviet republic and all leading opposition figures have either been jailed or forced to flee abroad.

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Lukashenko and the Kremlin have each dismissed Western criticism of the election.

A joint statement issued by Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand and Britain on Monday said they were united in condemnation of Sunday's "sham" election and what they called human rights violations perpetrated by Lukashenko's government.

The statement was published on the British government website.

"Recently announced sanctions represent a coordinated, multilateral effort to hold the Lukashenko regime to account," the statement added.

Britain said it was sanctioning six electoral and security officials, including the chairman of the Belarusian Central Election Commission, in coordination with Canada.

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Those sanctioned also include three companies that produce ammunition, drones and radar and weapon control systems.

"The world has become well-accustomed to Lukashenkos cynical pretence of democracy in Belarus, while in reality he brutally represses civil society and opposition voices to strengthen his grip on power," British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.

(Reporting by Muvija M, writing by Sachin Ravikumar, editing by William James)
The United Kingdom's Defence Intelligence report for 27 January examines the ongoing combat operations in Kharkiv Oblast as well as the Russian objectives in the area.

Source: UK Defence Intelligence review dated 27 January, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The UK intelligence reported that Russian forces are gradually expanding their foothold on the western bank of the Oskil River, a position first established in late November 2024. Since then, the Russians have made tactical gains in the area.

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The main focus of Russian operations in this region is the town of Dvorichna, where fierce battles are ongoing between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Fighting is also taking place for the town of Zapadne, located 4 km to the west of the river.

Intelligence suggests that Russia is likely trying to pressure the logistics of Kupiansk, a city located around 12 km south of the foothold, also on the Oskil River.

Quote: "Russian forces already control the supply lines east and south of the city, and are likely attempting to take control over northern supply routes into the city," the report said.

Background:

In an earlier report, UK Defence Intelligence examined the losses of North Korean forces in Russia's war against Ukraine.

Before that, the focus was on the "comprehensive strategic partnership" agreement between Russia and Iran.

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Key developments on Jan. 27:

North Korean troops seem to temporarily withdraw from one section of front in Kursk Oblast, military says

Russia claims to capture Velyka Novosilka, Ukraine admits partial retreat but says battles ongoing

Russia intensifies attacks near Pokrovsk, seeks to encircle Ukrainian forces

Zelensky appoints Ground Forces Commander as head of Khortytsia Group

Military intelligence denies its head gave Ukraine until summer to launch talks or endanger countrys existence

EU foreign ministers agree to extend Russia sanctions after Hungarys delays

North Korean soldiers appear to have temporarily withdrawn from one of the axes of the front in Russias Kursk Oblast, a Special Operations Forces (SOF) spokesperson told the Kyiv Independent on Jan. 27 as Pyongyangs troops reportedly suffered significant losses.

The statement came after Sky News reported, citing a commander of a detachment of the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center with a callsign "Puls," that North Korean troops have temporarily withdrawn from the contact line in the embattled Russian region.

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Colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, a spokesperson of the Special Operations Forces, clarified to the Kyiv Independent that the North Korean troops appear to have had to temporarily withdraw only from one of the axes of Kursk Oblast where the 73rd SOF Center is deployed.

North Korean troops were deployed to Kursk Oblast last fall to support Russian forces in countering a Ukrainian incursion launched in early August 2024. Ukrainian forces have continued fighting in the region, hoping to leverage their positions for potential negotiations.

North Korean forces are taking respite from hostilities, presumably to treat the wounded, wait for reinforcements, and work on mistakes made during the fighting in this sector, according to Sky News.

"Puls" assumed that this break will not last long and the North Korean military "will be back soon." The soldier also noted North Korean troops' high motivation and that they continued the offensive despite heavy losses.

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North Korean soldiers were unaware of the threats from drones and artillery and attacked on foot in large groups, "like in World War II," becoming an easy target, "Puls" added.

There is poor coordination and a language barrier between North Korean and Russian troops barrier that has already led to North Korean soldiers targeting Russian positions, according to the Ukrainian military.

South Korean intelligence announced at the end of January that Pyongyang was planning to send more troops to Russia to participate in the war.

Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, also said previously that Pyongyang is preparing reinforcements, mainly gun and rocket artillery units. The New York Times reported that according to an undisclosed U.S. official, fresh North Korean troops could arrive within two months.

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Read also: Russia introduces history textbook that redefines war against Ukraine as justified defense

Russia claims to capture Velyka Novosilka, Ukraine admits partial retreat but says battles ongoing

Russias Defense Ministry claimed on Jan. 26 that its forces had captured Velyka Novosilka, a strategically significant settlement in the western part of Donetsk Oblast.

Ukraines 110th Mechanized Brigade, which is deployed in the area, acknowledged a withdrawal from parts of the village to avoid encirclement but claimed that fighting is ongoing elsewhere in Velyka Novosilka.

"Fights in Velyka Novosilka are ongoing. Russian forces shelled our positions 30 times," the Khortytsia group of forces said on Jan. 27.

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"The Defense Forces continue inflicting casualties on Russia in manpower and equipment during tense battles."

The groups spokesperson, Viktor Trehubov, clarified later during the day that Ukrainian forces withdrew from the southern part of the village but continue to hold positions in the outskirts.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

The village with a pre-war population of 5,000 lies only around 15 kilometers from the administrative border with Zaporizhzhia Oblast and 20 kilometers from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a region so far untouched by Russian occupation.

The estimated Russian advance at Velyka Novosilka, Donetsk Oblast, as of Jan. 26, 2025, according to DeepState. (DeepState/OpenStreetMaps)

If confirmed, this would represent the most significant gain of Russian forces in Donetsk Oblast since overrunning Kurakhove earlier in January.

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The 110th Brigade said that both Russia and Ukraine had parity in equipment but Moscow had significant advantage in manpower.

According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces will struggle to advance their offensive onward. The Mokri Yaly River creates an obstacle for Russias advance and Russian troops are in a vulnerable "fire pocket," said the brigade.

Fighting is at a very heavy level in Donetsk Oblast and Russian troops continue to advance, albeit slowly, this year. Throughout the fall of 2024, Russian forces made operational gains in southern Donetsk Oblast, including areas near Toretsk and Chasiv Yar, while advancing near Kupiansk and on Russian soil in Kursk Oblast.

Read also: Potential encirclement in Velyka Novosilka prompts questions about last-ditch withdrawal strategy

Russia intensifies attacks near Pokrovsk, seeks to encircle Ukrainian forces

Russian forces have intensified their assaults near Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, deploying small groups in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian troops, Victor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, said on Jan. 27 on national television.

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"For the first time, they started to fight smart; for the first time, they started to fight not just with direct human waves, but with attempts to cover, with attempts to bypass a large city and force Ukrainian forces to leave it," Trehubov said.

The area near Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub for Ukrainian forces, has been at the center of heavy fighting for months.

"The situation is as follows: there is a large number of small-scale clashes near Pokrovsk because Russians are trying to enter and surround Pokrovsk from the west in small groups. There are many, many clashes there," Trehubov said.

The estimated Russian advance in the Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, as of Jan. 27, 2025, according to DeepState map. A white symbol marks Pokrovsk. (DeepState/OpenStreetMaps)

Pokrovsk remains the focal point of Russia's eastern offensive, now in its fifth month. Ukraine's General Staff reported that Russian troops are continuing to push on multiple axes, including Lyman, Siversk, Kramatorsk, Toretsk, and Kurakhove.

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Trehubov said the Russian command is avoiding urban battles to reduce heavy personnel losses. Despite these efforts, Moscow has so far failed to outflank Pokrovsk and sever its logistics routes.

Read also: As Russians inch closer to Pokrovsk, civilians in the area are left with a choice  stay under fire or leave life behind

Zelensky appoints Ground Forces Commander as head of Khortytsia Group

President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, Commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, as the head of the Khortytsia operational-strategic Group on Jan. 26.

"Today, I ordered a strengthening of the command structure of our forces in the Donetsk Oblast," Zelensky said in his evening address.

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He noted that Drapatyis leadership will focus on the most intense combat areas while also ensuring proper training for brigades.

Drapatyi will continue in his role as Commander of the Ground Forces, the largest component of the Armed Forces.

Zelensky appointed Drapatyi as commander in November 2024. Drapatyi served as a commander of Ukraine's 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade from 2016 to 2019. He also played one of the key roles in the liberation of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast in 2014.

Additionally, Brigadier General Andrii Hnatov has been appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff to improve coordination between operational headquarters and the front lines.

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Previously, Hnatov served as Commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Zelensky appointed him to that role in June 2024.

Zelensky said that these and other changes were discussed with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi to address key military tasks at all levels.

The specific needs of the front must determine the standards for equipping and training brigades, Zelensky said.

Read also: Donetsk Oblast to forcibly evacuate children from over 20 settlements

Military intelligence denies its head gave Ukraine until summer to launch talks or endanger countrys existence

Ukraines military intelligence (HUR) denied on Jan. 27 media reports that its head, Kyrylo Budanov, predicted serious consequences for the existence of Ukraine unless negotiations begin by the summer during a confidential parliamentary meeting.

Although HURs statement did not specify the alleged quote, an assessment attributed to Budanov began circulating in the Ukrainian media earlier on Jan. 27.

"If there are no serious negotiations by the summer, then very dangerous processes for the very existence of Ukraine may begin," an undisclosed source told Ukrainska Pravda, referring to an alleged statement by Budanov during a closed-door parliamentary meeting.

"The Ukrainian military intelligence would like to draw the attention to the fact that the alleged quote of (Budanov)... from a closed, classified session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is not true," HURs statement read.

Ukrainska Pravda did not specify what processes the military spy chief was said to have in mind. In office since 2020, Budanov has at time made radical predictions about the full-scale war that have not always come true.

Opposition lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko also disputed Ukrainska Pravdas article, saying the spy chief did not warn of threats to Ukraines very existence.

"(Budanov) said that if nothing changes, the front line may begin to collapse and there will be problems," Honcharenko said on his Telegram channel.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

The news comes amid growing expectation of peace talks as U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table.

Short on manpower, Kyiv will soon begin the fourth year of the full-scale war on its back foot, with Russia holding or pushing the front line on key directions such as the southwestern edge of Donetsk Oblast or Russias Kursk Oblast.

Trumps special peace envoy, Keith Kellogg, said the U.S. aims to end the war in the first 100 days of Trumps presidency.

Read also: Trump needs to understand where the threat is, UK lawmaker says

EU foreign ministers agree to extend Russia sanctions after Hungarys delays

European Union foreign ministers approved the extension of sanctions against Russia for another six months on Jan. 27, the EUs chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, announced on X.

"Europe delivers: EU foreign ministers just agreed to extend again the sanctions on Russia. This will continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war. Russia needs to pay for the damage they are causing," Kallas wrote on X.

Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orban has threatened to veto the extension until Ukraine resumes the transit of Russian gas through its territory. The announcement by Kallas comes after Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Brussels had provided the "requested guarantees" on energy security.

"The European Commission is committed to protecting natural gas and oil pipelines leading to European Union member states," the Hungarian chief diplomat said, adding that the European Commission will also ask Kyiv to maintain the oil transit through its territory.

Ukraine terminated Russian natural gas transit through its territory on Jan. 1. Kyiv has repeatedly warned that it would not extend the agreement when it expires at the end of 2024 because it did not want to finance Russia's war.

The end of transit led to a spat between Kyiv on one side and Hungary and Slovakia on the other, with the two latter countries complaining the decision endangers their energy security.

Ukraine continues to transit Russian oil, though a bill on banning the transit has been registered in the parliament.

The EU has imposed 15 sanctions packages against Russia, which include restrictions on individuals and legal entities. The limitations also targeted Russias so-called "shadow fleet" of oil tankers and froze Russian assets, among other moves.

In January, the European Commission launched consultations on the 16th package of sanctions against Russia. The restrictions are expected to apply to imports of aluminum, agricultural products, the "shadow fleet," liquefied natural gas (LNG), and Russian banks, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

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Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, has warned that unless serious negotiations to end the war take place by the summer, Ukraine could face dangerous developments.

Source: Budanov during a closed meeting with parliamentary faction leaders and military command representatives, as cited in an Ukrainska Pravda article, "Trump, war, elections: what will shape the new season in Ukrainian politics"

Details: Ukrainska Pravda sources reported that a closed meeting was recently held in Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) with the parliamentary leadership, leaders of the party factions, and officials from the defence forces command. The MPs had asked for an update on the actual situation regarding the war.

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One of the attendees, speaking anonymously, shared their thoughts with a UP journalist.

Quote: "First the General Staff representatives spoke at length, in a rather complex manner, but it was very insightful. Then there were other reports. But what stood out the most was Budanov's response. Someone asked him how much time we have left. Kyrylo, with his calm smile, replied: 'If there are no serious negotiations by the summer, dangerous processes could unfold, threatening Ukraines very existence'

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances and fell silent. It seems like everything depends on things going right."

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Ukraine's Defence Intelligence has denied that its head, Kyrylo Budanov, stated during a closed meeting in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) that unless there are "serious negotiations" by the summer, dangerous processes will be triggered that would threaten Ukraine's existence.

Source: a statement by Defence Intelligence of Ukraine

Quote: "Defence Intelligence of Ukraine would like to draw the attention of the media and the public to the fact that the alleged quote from the head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine from a closed, classified meeting at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is not true."

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Details: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine noted that with regard to issues of defence in the war, some politicians "may, unfortunately, distort [information  ed.] in their own interests, using journalists for this purpose".

"We wish to emphasise that the dissemination of any reports about what is supposedly discussed at classified official meetings attended by the military and political leadership of the state is detrimental to state security and is used by the enemy in their own interests," the statement said.

Background:

In an article published by Ukrainska Pravda on Monday, 27 January, "Trump, war, elections: what will shape the new season in Ukrainian politics," it was reported that at a closed meeting of the leaders of parliamentary factions and representatives of the military command, Kyrylo Budanov had noted that unless serious negotiations on ending the war are held by the summer, processes could be triggered that would be dangerous for Ukraine.

One of the meetings attendees told Ukrainska Pravda on condition of anonymity: "What stood out the most was Budanov's response. Someone asked him how much time we have left. Kyrylo, with his calm smile, replied: 'If there are no serious negotiations by the summer, dangerous processes could unfold, threatening Ukraines very existence."

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Ukraines Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement describing the so-called "presidential elections" in Belarus organised by Alexander Lukashenko's regime on 26 January as a "farce" and declaring that it does not recognise them as legitimate.

Source: European Pravda, referencing the Foreign Ministrys statement

Quote: "It is hard to describe such elections as fair, transparent, or democratic, especially given the political repression in Belarus, which deprived voters of any alternative choice and turned the elections into a one-man political show."

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Details: The Foreign Ministry pointed out that the outcome of the "presidential elections" had been predetermined right from the start of the election campaign.

The ministry stressed that elections cannot be deemed legitimate if they are held in conditions of "total administrative control, political persecution, the absence of genuine political competition, suppression of freedom of speech, and a lack of independent media".

"This is a farce," the statement reads.

The ministry endorsed a statement by the European External Action Service on the results of the Belarusian "elections" and expressed solidarity with Belarusians who continue to fight for democratic reforms in their country.

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Quote: "We firmly believe that a democratic and sovereign Belarus, in which the people  not one individual  determine the future, will be a factor of long-term stability in our region, rather than an accomplice in Russias war against Ukraine."

Background:

The Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported exit poll data on the evening of 26 January that predictably declared Alexander Lukashenko the winner of sham presidential "elections" with over 87% of the vote.

In a joint statement, the European Union, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand refused to recognise the 26 January presidential "elections" in Belarus as free and fair.

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The Justice Ministry of Ukraine has requested the High Anti-Corruption Court to impose sanctions in the form of forfeiture of assets of the Russian company Tatneft in Ukraine, estimated at approximately UAH 2 billion (around US$47.6 million).

Source: Deputy Justice Minister Iryna Bohatykh

Details: Bohatykh stated that the Russian oil company Tatneft is controlled by Russias top political leadership and provides significant revenues to the aggressor country's budget.

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The company is part of Russia's fuel and energy complex and produces around twenty types of products, some of which are included in the mandatory list recommended for supply to companies of the Russian military-industrial complex.

The assets slated for nationalisation include corporate rights of companies operating a network of gas stations and owning oil depots, gas stations, vehicles and specialised equipment in Kharkiv and Poltava oblasts.

The estimated value of these assets is approximately UAH 2 billion (around US$47.6 million), Bohatykh added.

Background: The Ukrainian Justice Ministry has also filed a lawsuit requesting sanctions against Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, Andrey Kosogov and the company Rissa Investments Limited, seeking to confiscate their assets for the benefit of the state.

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said that the current sanctions against Russia must be extended. He stressed that the US position on sanctions is clear, and therefore the European Union should also act decisively.

Source: Sybiha during a speech at the EU Council of Foreign Ministers on Monday, 27 January

Details: During his speech, Sybiha emphasised the need for stronger sanctions against Russia.

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Quote: "The current sanctions must be extended, and the 16th package must be adopted soon and must be strong. The US position on sanctions is clear. The EU must also act decisively," he stressed.

Sybiha noted that he had also briefed his EU counterparts on the current situation at the front line and the needs of the Ukrainian military.

"Ukraine and the EU are ready to expand defence cooperation and investments. I am grateful to the EU and its member states for their unwavering and strong support for Ukraine," he added.

Background:

Up until now the extension of sanctions has been a routine decision, with the political decision on this usually being made at the last EU summit of the year. However, at the most recent summit last December, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told his colleagues to wait until after Trump's inauguration.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Budapest would decide whether to support the extension of EU sanctions against Russia following consultations with the United States.

Trump said after his inauguration that he is prepared to consider tougher sanctions if Russia does not agree to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

On 27 January, EU foreign ministers agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months, after reaching an agreement with Hungary.

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United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where fierce fighting raged as Kigali-backed fighters closed in on the major city of Goma.

As clashes escalated with the deaths of around a dozen foreign peacekeepers, the UN Security Council prepared an emergency meeting on the crisis while both the DRC and Rwanda withdrew their diplomats from each other's capitals.

The resource-rich eastern provinces of North and South Kivu have been plagued by conflicts for three decades, with the M23 armed militia emerging as one of the most powerful armed groups in recent years.

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The M23 has seized vast swathes of the east of the DRC since 2021, displacing thousands and triggering a humanitarian crisis.

After peace talks between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DRC's Felix Tshisekedi were cancelled in mid-December, M23 fighters backed by several thousand Rwandan troops quickly advanced towards Goma, the capital of North Kivu and a key city home to more than a million people.

In the city centre, heavy detonations have been echoing since dawn on Sunday, according to AFP correspondents in Goma.

Later in the day a Rwandan drone struck a Congolese army position around six kilometres (four miles) north of the city, which UN peacekeeping sources said injured at least two people.

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Above Goma itself, Congolese combat helicopters circled in the sky. Cars and motorbikes were still circulating, but most businesses were closed. As the fighting draws closer, new columns of displaced people have arrived in the city.

The escalation in fighting prompted an emergency UN Security Council meeting, originally set for Monday, to be brought forward to Sunday.

Ahead of the meeting, the world body's Secretary-General Guterres denounced "the M23 armed group's ongoing offensive and advances towards Goma in North Kivu with the support of the Rwanda Defence Forces", according to a statement by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

"He calls on the M23 to immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas. He further calls on the Rwanda Defence Forces to cease support to the M23 and withdraw from DRC territory," Dujarric added.

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- 'Push back the enemy' -

Congolese army spokesman General Sylvain Ekenge told journalists that his country's armed forces were working to "push back the enemy".

The DRC announced late Saturday it was pulling its diplomats from Kigali in a letter to Rwanda's embassy in Kinshasa.

Rwanda promptly responded, Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe telling AFP on Sunday that Kigali had "evacuated" its final diplomat from the DRC.

"We evacuated our remaining diplomat on Friday... as he was under regular threats by Congolese officials," said Nduhungirehe.

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Urging the fighters to halt their advance, the European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said "Rwanda must cease its support for the M23 and withdraw".

The African Union and French President Emmanuel Macron  who spoke in separate telephone calls with both Kagame and Tshisekedi  added their voices to demands for an immediate halt to the fighting.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was "deeply concerned" by the fighting and urged "de-escalation" in a call with Kagame, calling on the Rwandan leader to return to the negotiating table.

Goma was briefly occupied at the end of 2012 by the M23, or March 23 Movement, but the group withdrew after a deal. It was militarily defeated by DRC forces and the UN in 2013 but regrouped several years later.

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Half a dozen ceasefires and truces have already been declared and broken in the region. The last ceasefire was signed at the end of July.

- 'Active combat' -

On Saturday, three countries  South Africa, Malawi and Uruguay  announced the deaths of a total of 13 soldiers serving as peacekeepers in the conflict zone for both the UN forces, known as MONUSCO, and a southern regional peacekeeping force.

South Africa's defence ministry on Saturday said that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) had "lost nine members by Friday".

Seven of the dead were serving in the SAMIDRC regional force sent by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and two were UN peacekeepers, it said.

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A Malawian army spokesman said three of its soldiers with the SADC force also died during clashes, while Uruguay's military announced that one of its members serving with the UN peacekeepers had been killed and four others wounded.

Some 15,000 peacekeepers are in the DRC.

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or MONUSCO, said its forces had "been actively engaged in intense combat" with its heavy artillery firing against M23 positions.

- 'Harmful consequences' -

Since the beginning of January, about 400,000 people have been forced to flee the fighting, according to the UN.

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The UN has begun evacuating "non-essential" staff from Goma to neighbouring Uganda and to the Congolese capital Kinshasa.

Britain, the United States, Germany and France have likewise already asked their citizens to leave.

Angolan President Joao Lourenco, the African Union's mediator between Rwanda and the DRC, denounced "irresponsible actions by the M23 and its supporters".

In December, a planned meeting between Tshisekedi and Kagame as part of an Angola-led peace process was cancelled due to a lack of agreement.

bur-dhc/pma/cw/sbk/gv
By Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United Nations Security mbbbmlengthy statement.

The council urged Rwanda and the DRC to return to talks to achieve peace and address issues related to the presence of Rwanda Defence Forces in the eastern Congo and Congolese support for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

M23 vows to defend Tutsi interests, particularly against ethnic Hutu militias such as the FDLR, which was founded by Hutus who fled Rwanda after participating in the 1994 genocide of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

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At the council meeting on Sunday, the United States, France and Britain condemned what they said was Rwanda's backing of the M23 rebel advance. Kigali has long denied supporting M23.

In its statement, the Security Council "condemned the ongoing flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC, including the unauthorized presence in the Eastern DRC of external forces".

It did not explicitly name the external forces but demanded that they "withdraw immediately."

Acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea specifically called out Rwanda for using GPS jamming and spoofing, which was also reflected in the council statement.

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"The members of the Security Council are also deeply alarmed by continued occurrences of GPS jamming and spoofing activities in support of M23 operations in North Kivu, which represent imminent risk to civil aviation safety and negatively impact the delivery of humanitarian assistance to populations in need," the Security Council said.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Saad Sayeed)
(Photo: Clayton Henkel)

President Donald Trumps first week in office brought a slew of executive orders followed by a series of pointed questions by University of North Carolina faculty members about how the school might address a sweeping crackdown on immigrants.

The Department of Homeland Security has rescinded the Biden Administrations guidelines that restrict Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from conducting raids at schools, churches, and other sensitive areas.

Chancellor Lee Roberts addresses faculty concerns about ICE enforcement during a January 24 meeting of the Faculty Council. (Photo: Screengrab from video stream)

At a Friday meeting of the UNC-CH Faculty Council, Chancellor Lee Roberts said university leaders have spent a good deal of time and energy trying to understand the implications of the shifting federal policy.

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I cant imagine how unsettling it must be to have uncertainty around immigration status or on immigration policy as an immigrant. I understand and empathize with that uncertainty, with that anxiety, consoled Roberts. Again, I have a somewhat unsatisfying answer, which is that theres much more we dont know than what we do know.

But while acknowledging that great unknown, Roberts also made his position clear.

Were going to follow the law. Thats been our consistent posture.

Associate Professor Allison Schlobohm (Photo: UNC.edu)

Associate Professor Allison Schlobohm of the Kenan-Flagler Business School told the chancellor what was known was the Department of Homeland Security Secretarys directive that ICE may now operate inside of schools and hospitals.

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Those were previously considered sensitive spaces, and they no longer are, said Schlobohm. I know that some of our peer schools are responding to this, and Im wondering how were going to respond to this change?

Roberts said he was uncertain how peer institutions are addressing Trumps new directive.

My understanding is that thats a change in enforcement protocol, rather than actually a change in law or policy. But if Ive misunderstood that, Im happy to be corrected about that.

Barbara Stephenson, UNCs vice provost for global affairs and chief global officer, said her office previously offered some protocols about what to do when ICE shows up and perhaps it was time to share that again with faculty so they could be well-versed in what was expected.

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Schlobohm said that other universities are being more proactive in tackling the issue.

The University of California, Berkeley has offered faculty guidance on how to respond as well as what you dont have to do. UCLA has advised immigrants to know what their rights are.

The sheriff of Washtenaw County, where University of Michigan is housed, did say that she will not comply. And so, this isnt a law and isnt a policy. Its a directive by Homeland Security. And it relies upon help from local people, stressed Schlobohm. So, in that regard, I would just like to know if were asked to identify undocumented students, what will we say?

Chancellor Roberts said he could not control how the Orange County Sheriffs Department might address the issue, but for the university it was clear.

Professor Miguel La Serna (Photo: UNC.edu)

If were asked by law enforcement, were going to comply with any requests from law enforcement about that or anything else, responded Roberts.

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History Professor Miguel La Serna said the university leaders cannot understand what a scary time this is for immigrants as well as international students and faculty.

I think what our DACA students need right now are reassurances from the leadership of this university that they will be protected, said La Serna.

You said that youll comply with requests, but that would be a FERPA violation to really give any personal information about our students.

Whats FERPA and why it matters

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (also known as FERPA) institutions may not disclose personally identifiable information in education records without the students written consent. These protections apply to undocumented students as well as domestic students.

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For more information, read this one-pager on FERPA published by the Presidents Alliance in partnership with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

La Serna said what is being discussed is really competing interpretations of the law right now amid a slew of executive orders.

I really feel like this is a time for offering reassurances to people who are incredibly vulnerable, said La Serna.

La Serna suggested it would also be helpful to have the chief of university police meet with the faculty council to talk about the extent to which the police will be complying with ICE agents.

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I understand that you say youre going to comply with the law, but this is an area where the law is being interpreted in real time. And standing law is actually the thing that is being in question, La Serna said.

Roberts said when it comes to a conflict of law question, the university will seek legal counsel.

Im not going to try to issue an interpretation on the fly. Im well aware of the anxiety and were going to continue to try to serve our immigrant students and scholars as best we can.

UNC-Chapel Hill currently serves about 3,000 international students, both graduate and undergraduate. Thats 10% of the universitys student body.

The Presidents Alliance on Higher Education and American Immigration Council estimates that another 3,000 undocumented students graduate high school each year in North Carolina.
A federal judge on Friday weighed whether to temporarily block Colorado from enforcing a law set to take effect in one week requiring rideshare companies to disclose certain information to riders and drivers about the amount of money drivers earned prior to any tip.
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW)  An under-construction apartment complex in Cleveland Heights is full of ice and ash after a weekend fire.

Fire crews arrived at the scene near the corner of Cedar and Lee roads at about 7:45 p.m. on Friday. The fire burned well into Saturday, taking nearly 20 hours and the assistance of 16 surrounding communities to extinguish.

Fears of deportation mount for thousands in Ohio

Next day photos of fire at apartment complex construction site. WJW photo Next day photos of fire at apartment complex construction site Next day photos of fire at apartment complex construction site. WJW photo Next day photos of fire at apartment complex construction site. WJW photo Aftermath of fire at Cleveland Heights apartment project site. WJW photo Next day photos of fire at apartment complex. WJW photo construction site Next day photos of fire at apartment complex construction site. WJW photo Next day photos of fire at apartment complex construction site. WJW photo

The Cleveland Heights Fire Department posted a request on social media asking anyone with pictures or video of the fire in its early stages to share those with investigators. They also want to hear from anyone who might have seen anything suspicious or abnormal in the area.

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On Monday, Mayor Kahlil Seren hosted a press conference to provide an update and answer questions about the fire at what was to be called The Marquee at Cedar Lee.

Watch that full briefing below:

Fire investigator Thomas Beers told reporters investigators are examining the fire scientifically, so as not to taint their own investigation with personal suspicion.

We never come into it with the idea that it is intentionally set. We come in blindly and let the facts of the case speak for themselves, he said.

Investigators are reviewing security camera footage to determine whether someone was inside when the fire broke out. Theyll also be interviewing everyone who worked at the property, including electricians and HVAC and utilities workers.

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We will get to the facts about what happened, Seren said. In the interim, we dont want to skew any investigation response. We dont want to skew our own approach to this fire due to a premature release of something that may or may not point in a particular direction when seen on its own.  Thats why were being cautious about this.

You can view drone video of the fire below:

Little Italy restaurant to close next month

The massive complex, featuring 200 luxury apartments and future retail space, was set to open this summer. Construction crews broke ground on the project across the street from Cleveland Heights High School nearly two years ago.

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The $66 million project was expected to add new life and vibrancy to the neighborhood.

The smaller building on the south side with frontage along Lee Road, planned to have retail and residential space, was completed at the beginning of the month, officials said. The larger building along Cedar Road, which caught fire, was about 75% done.

Though the building had a sprinkler system, it had not yet been activated, Fire Chief Jim Harry said.

Once the investigation is completed, the city building department will issue a demolition order for the fire-ravaged building, said Chief Building Official Eric Elmi.

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It is very sad, is all I can say, he said, later adding, We were so looking forward to it, but it didnt happen.

Seren told reporters the citys development partner, Flaherty & Collins Properties, is committed to rebuilding. But the cost of a rebuild is a complex issue, he said, and one that can only be fully answered after investigators determine a cause and after the developers and contractors different insurers review damage claims.

Theres currently no indication a rebuild would be subsidized by the city, he said.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  The Memphis Police Department is searching for a customer at a Cordova Arbys who allegedly assaulted an employee last week because he was upset about his food.

On January 20, around 9:30 p.m., officers responded to the Arbys restaurant located at 1860 North Germantown Parkway.

An employee at the restaurant advised police that a man came in upset over his food order. He allegedly became irate and began cursing at the employee and calling her racial slurs. The man then went behind the counter and pushed the victim to the ground.

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The suspect left the restaurant in a white USDOT truck with the numbers 3842455 MC#1392834.

Photo of the alleged suspect in the assault (Photo provided by the MPD)

If you have any information that could help police, call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Red mesas on the Navajo Nation can be seen in Mexican Hat, Arizona, traveling near the intersection of State Route 89 and 191 along the uranium haul route. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror

From semi-trucks and school buses to recreational vehicles and compact cars, heavy traffic along Highway 89 through Cameron, Arizona, is not uncommon for the community as many travelers pass through to get to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff or further north to Page.

The Arizona Mirror traveled the 320-mile route that uranium ore will travel from the Pinyon Plain Mine near the Grand Canyon to a mill near Blanding, Utah. This is the first of five stories about that route and the communities that the uranium will travel through.

Part 2: Moving uranium through sacred Havasupai lands

Part 3: Navajo people left in the dark

Part 4: Fighting the mill

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But the smooth four-lane highway quickly turns into a narrower two-lane road, and drivers are met with a rougher ride that includes potholes, patched road cracks and bumpy sections. That section of the highway is so notorious locally for regular, and often deadly, accidents that it has spawned a morbid nickname.

We call the road Killer 89, said Candis Yazzie, the former vice president of the Cameron Chapter House.

Now, a mining company near the Grand Canyon has permission to haul as many as 10 truckloads a day of uranium ore along Killer 89.

Its definitely unsettling and alarming, Yazzie said of the haul route passing through her community.

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The entire uranium haul route is about 320 miles, and it passes through several communities in Arizona  many of which are within the Navajo Nation  before crossing the Utah border for the final stretch to reach its destination, the White Mesa Mill near Blanding, Utah.

Some hazards along the haul route include narrow lanes, flash floods and icy road conditions. Other areas have poor visibility and blind spots, and much of the approved routes landscape is open to wandering horses, cows, sheep and wild animals.

Cameron is one of the first Navajo communities the trucks pass through when they enter the Navajo Nation.

Safety is definitely a concern, Yazzie said. Particularly the safety of our people.

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The community has roadside tables, housing arts and crafts vendors or food stands, which many tourists and locals visit. A trading post and motel in the community draw people from all over.

Like many other communities on the Navajo Nation, Yazzie said she did not learn about the approved uranium haul route passing through her community or how Energy Fuels, Inc., sent two trucks hauling uranium ore through tribal land until after it happened.

Uranium ore from Pinyon Plain Mine near the Grand Canyon will be transported by over-the-road 24-ton haul trucks and end dump trailers, according to Energy Fuels, Inc., and up to 10 trucks will make the trip each day.

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Energy Fuels, Inc. owns and operates the Pinyon Plain uranium mine on U.S. Forest Service land in the Kaibab National Forest near the Grand Canyon. Numerous tribes, including the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe and the Havasupai Tribe, have ancestral lands there.

As part of the mining companys transportation policy, trailers hauling uranium ore must be kept closed at all times, both when containing uranium ore and when empty.

The trailers are kept closed using a tarp, which can be removed only when loading and unloading so that there may not be any leakage of radioactive material from the trailer.

Many communities along the route have a really tainted history with uranium mining and uranium health effects. Theyre ignoring that aspect of it, and theyre choosing to profit.

 Candis Yazzie, former Cameron Chapter House vice president

The route starts from Pinyon Plain Mine on a forest service road before entering the main highway, State Route 64. It then travels south toward Interstate 40 to enter Flagstaff, proceeding east to head north on U.S. Highway 89 until heading east on U.S. Highway 160. In the final stretch sees the trucks take U.S. Highway 191 north into Utah.

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Many communities along the haul route, which passes through towns in Arizona, the Hopi Nation, the Navajo Nation, Utah, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, oppose uranium hauling and condemned the first haul in July. They cite fears of contamination and accidents along the route.

Cameron and many communities along the route have a really tainted history with uranium mining and uranium health effects, Yazzie said. Theyre ignoring that aspect of it, and theyre choosing to profit.

Haul route through Navajo riskiest

A recent analysis of fatal vehicle accidents along the Arizona haul route has revealed that uranium trucks traveling from the Pinyon Plain Mine to the White Mesa uranium mill in Utah face a higher risk of accidents over long distances, especially on the Navajo Nation.

The most risky segments of the route are between 240% and 700% more dangerous than an average stretch of road in the United States in terms of vehicle accident fatalities per mile driven, according to the Grand Canyon Trust, an opponent of the mine, which analyzed fatal accident data along the route.

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Josh OBrien, a senior GIS analyst at Grand Canyon Trust, said the team looked at fatal accident data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations Fatality Analysis Reporting System from 2014 to 2022.

Then, the data was cross-referenced with data showcasing the average daily traffic counts collected by the Arizona and Utah state departments of transportation.

An average road in the U.S., youd expect about four and half fatal accidents along it, OBrien said in an interview with the Arizona Mirror. But, in the teams route analysis, he said they identified a stretch of road east of Tuba City, along Highway 160, where 14 fatal accidents occurred.

Thats over triple the number youd expect, he said, adding that, after running the statistics on the route, its very unlikely this happened by chance and is due to the roads being more hazardous.

Map courtesy Grand Canyon Trust

That isnt news to people who live in the region and are familiar with the roads  and the dangers they pose  but the Grand Canyon Trust analysis backs up the local knowledge with statistics.

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For instance, the Navajo Nation Police Department reported a fatal head-on collision involving a pickup truck and a semitruck that occurred on State Route 89 near milepost 479, between Tuba City and Cameron, on Jan. 24. The state road shut down in both directions for multiple hours.

Five sections of the whole route have this significantly elevated risk, OBrien said.

The most dangerous sections of the uranium truck haul route include the road driving east of the Mexican Water Trading Post on Highway 160, near the Highway 191 junction; east of Flagstaff near Doney Park along Highway 89; east of Tuba City and Dennehotso along Highway 160; and going through Tsegi Canyon along Highway 160, west of Kayenta.

Four of the five most dangerous sections of the route are on the Navajo Nation, according to the Grand Canyon Trusts analysis.

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Across the nation, the fatal accident rate for passenger vehicles was about 1.2 per 100 million miles traveled in 2022, OBrien said in the analysis. Along some segments of the haul route, actual fatal accident rates were 2.4 to 7 times that.

The analysis is limited. The team examined only fatal accidents, not all accident data, and primarily examined the Arizona portion of the haul route.

There were 113 fatal accidents along the haul route between 2014 and 2022, according to Grand Canyon Trusts analysis.

The statistical analysis is very clear, OBrien said in the analysis. Segments of the haul route are dangerous compared to the average for roads in the United States.

Uranium hauling still on hold

Uranium ore hauling from Pinyon Plain Mine is currently on hold as negotiations continue between the Navajo Nation government and Energy Fuels following the companys surprise haul in July. In response, the Navajo Nation implemented emergency measures to bar any further transportation of the ore through its land.

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We believe that talks between Energy Fuels and the Navajo Nation have progressed extremely well, and it is clear to us that all parties are working in good faith to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, Curtis Moore, senior vice president of marketing and corporate development at Energy Fuels, said in a statement to the Arizona Mirror.

Energy Fuels is committing to voluntarily go far above and beyond the already protective federal laws and regulations on ore transport to build a bridge with the Navajo Nation, he said.

Editors note: On Jan. 29, 2025, Energy Fuels and the Navajo Nation On Jan. 29, 2025, Energy Fuels and the Navajo Nation announced an agreement on hauling uranium ore , which will resume in February.

Moore added that the resurgence in nuclear energy, which doesnt produce any atmospheric carbon, requires uranium, and the company has a responsibility to demonstrate to people that modern uranium mining and transport is performed much more responsibly than it was during the 1940s to 1960s, when many issues occurred on Navajo land.

The Arizona Mirror contacted officials from the Navajo Nation multiple times for interviews and an update on negotiations, but they did not respond.

The approved uranium haul route for the Pinyon Plain Mine includes passing through the intersection for State Route 191 going toward either Monument Valley or Bluff, Utah. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror

Navajo Nation officials have made their stance on the transportation of uranium over the past few months, more recently with amending the Radioactive and Related Substances, Equipment, Vehicles, Persons and Materials Transportation Act of 2012 to strengthen the Navajo Nations regulatory authority over the transportation of uranium and other radioactive materials across their tribal lands.

In an interview with the Arizona Mirror, Gov. Katie Hobbs said the biggest concerns for the lack of notification of transportation between the Navajo Nation and Energy Fuels occurred due to miscommunication.

As far as I know, they resolved those issues, she said, but no further details were given on how.

Even as negotiations continue, other requests have been made, including calls from the Havasupai Tribe, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Gov. Katie Hobbs for the U.S. Forest Service to conduct a new environmental impact study for the Pinyon Plain Mine.

Mayes submitted a letter in August stating that the EIS was completed in 1986, nearly four decades years ago, and is based on an outdated, inaccurate understanding of the risks posed by the Mine to groundwater supplies across the Grand Canyon region.

Hobbs submitted a letter in September asking for a new environmental review of mine, a request the Havasupai Tribe has made for years.

As Governor of Arizona, I take seriously the concerns of Indigenous community members who feel the safety of their communities and the integrity of their sacred sites are threatened by this mine, Hobbs wrote in a letter to the Forest Service. Members of these communities continue to endure significant, heart-breaking harm from uranium mining in our recent past.

The final Environmental Impact Statement for the project was issued in 1986, two years after the Plan of Operations was issued. No updated impact statement or plan of operations has been issued since.

Hobbs said the EIS is still ongoing, and her office is asking for an updated EIS because its the assurance needed of the mine.

This mine is probably the most heavily regulated operation in the country, she said, and the EIS will add extra regulations.

Read the next story in this series.

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Bipartisan criticism and public outcry leads to the reinstatement of a video honoring the heroic Black pilots of World War II, highlighting their enduring legacy in American history.

The uproar over the U.S. Air Forces removal of a video of Tuskegee Airmen from its curriculum in response to a DEI ban has reached the highest levels of government, causing them to make an about-face.

Now, the Air Force says it will return the video about the famous Black World War II pilots to the service members curriculum, with confirmation from the new incoming secretary of the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth.

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This will not stand, Hegseth wrote in response to Senator Katie Britt, R-Ala., who pointed out that even Trump previously celebrated the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen.

I have no doubt Secretary Hegseth will correct and get to the bottom of the malicious compliance weve seen in recent days, Britt posted on X. President Trump celebrated and honored the Tuskegee Airmen during his first term, promoting legendary aviator Charles McGee to Brigadier General and pinning his stars in the Oval Office.

Were all over it Senator. This will not stand, Hegseth wrote in response.

The video was removed after a DEI review resulting from President Trumps executive orders in his first week to remove all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at the federal level. Another video about Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS) during World War II had also been removed as a result of the removal of the DEI coursework, which contained the videos during basic training.

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Brian Robinson, Air Education and Training Command commander for the Air Force issued a statement saying the videos had not been specifically targeted for removal, but the overall DEI coursework removal was in compliance with President Trumps orders.

The revised training which focuses on the documented historic legacy and decorated valour with which these units and airmen fought for our nation in World War II and beyond will continue on 27 January, Robinson said.

The Tuskegee Airmen are a legendary group of about 1,000 Black Air Force servicemen who served in the segregated military during World War II, pulling off brave missions resulting in the lowest number of deaths for bomber escorts.

Their history, long considered part of the American story, appeared to receive bipartisan and universal support from both major political parties, including honors from President George W. Bush and a reception from President Obama when the movie Red Tails premiered.

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No one can quash the legacy of the Tuskegee Airman. Same for the Buffalo Soldiers. That unit was sent to West Point from 1907-1947 to replace an undisciplined white unit. During segregation, they trained all the white officers who fought in WWI & II & they built a legacy. We know their story, wrote retired soldier Mark Hertling on X.

Some see their having been collateral damage in the anti-DEI era, even for a short time, as a sign of deep disrespect. When the news first broke of the video removal, Rep. Teri Sewell posted:

The Tuskegee Airmen bravely fought and died for our freedoms before this nation even granted them the full benefits of citizenship. To strip them from the Air Force curriculum is an outrageous betrayal of our values as Americans. Their heroism is not DEI. It is American history!

More must-reads:
As the Trump administration overhauls immigration policy and raises concerns about refugee resettlement, Vice President JD Vance is battling with his church about faith-based service to immigrants and refugees.

The conflict began on Wednesday, when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops put out a statement criticizing new executive orders related to immigration.

Several of the executive orders signed by President Trump this week are specifically intended to eviscerate humanitarian protections enshrined in federal law and undermine due process, subjecting vulnerable families and children to grave danger, wrote Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, chairman of the conferences Committee on Migration.

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Vance then criticized Catholic leaders during an interview with CBS News' Face the Nation, arguing that the church has not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement.

Vice President JD Vance says he's "heartbroken" by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemning some of President Trump's executive orders relating to immigration.



"The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that pic.twitter.com/VN2mXNbmsa  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 26, 2025

Vance went on to say that Catholic leaders may be more upset about losing the federal money that goes to religious organizations that help immigrants and refugees than about the Trump administrations executive orders.

I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?, the vice president said in the CBS News interview, which aired on Sunday.

Later on Sunday, Catholic leaders released a statement on the churchs resettlement work, explaining that it spends more on its refugee program than it receives from the federal government.

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Faithful to the teaching of Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church has a long history of serving refugees. In 1980, the bishops of the United States began partnering with the federal government to carry out this service when Congress created the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). Every person resettled through USRAP is vetted and approved for the program by the federal government while outside of the United States. In our agreements with the government, the USCCB receives funds to do this work; however, these funds are not sufficient to cover the entire cost of these programs. Nonetheless, this remains a work of mercy and ministry of the Church," the statement said.

The tension between Vance and the Catholic Church echoes the tension that persisted throughout former President Joe Bidens time in office.

Biden, like Vance, is Catholic, and, also like Vance, he faced pushback from the Catholic Church over various policy moves, especially ones related to abortion.

Biden is a lifelong Catholic, while Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019, as the Deseret News previously reported.

When I looked at the people who meant the most to me, they were Catholic, Vance said to The American Conservative in 2019 about his decision to convert.
By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Sales of new U.S. single-family homes increased more than expected in December, further evidence that housing market activity regained some momentum at the end of 2024, though rising mortgage rates remain a constraint.

The report from the Commerce Department on Monday also showed the rebound in home sales in November was much stronger than initially estimated. It added to data this month that showed single-family housing starts and building permits increased to a 10-month high in December, while sales of previously owned houses also rose to the highest level since February.

"New home sales in December wraps up a solid year for newbuild demand in an otherwise stagnant housing market," said Thomas Ryan, North America economist at Capital Economics. "We expect new home sales to continue to grind higher this year."

New home sales rose 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698,000 units last month, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said. The sales pace for November was revised higher to a rate of 674,000 units from the previously reported 664,000 units.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales, which account for about 14% of U.S. home sales, would rise to a rate of 675,000 units. New home sales are counted at the signing of a contract, and can be volatile on a month-to-month basis. They increased 6.7% on a year-on-year basis in December.

An estimated 683,000 new homes were sold in 2024, up 2.5% compared to 2023. The median new house price increased 2.1% to $427,000 in December from a year earlier. The pace of increase in home prices is slowing amid rising inventory of new homes.

Residential investment, which includes homebuilding and sales, likely rebounded in the fourth quarter after being a drag on gross domestic product for two straight quarters.

Stocks on Wall Street fell amid a tech sector selloff. The dollar slipped against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury yields dropped to multi-week lows on safe-haven bids.

MORTGAGE RATES HIGH

The housing market has been undercut by high mortgage rates, though new home sales have fared better because of still tight inventory of previously owned houses for sale.

Mortgage rates increased late last year in tandem with U.S. Treasury yields, which have jumped amid economic resilience, especially in the labor market, and investor worries that President Donald Trump's plans for tax cuts, broad tariffs and mass deportations of undocumented immigrants could stoke inflation.

The Federal Reserve has dialed back its projected interest rate cuts for this year to only two from the four it estimated in September, when it launched its policy easing cycle.
Washington should not cross Beijing's "red lines" to ensure the stable development of ties, Chinese ambassador Xie Feng has said, while calling the Taiwan issue the biggest potential threat to the relationship.

Addressing a Lunar New Year reception hosted by his embassy last Friday, Xie also called on the United States to be mindful of China's core interests - saying that strict adherence to the "bottom line" was a prerequisite for stable ties.

It was important to maintain a "stable, healthy and sustainable" US-China relationship, which "holds a significance like never before", Xie told the event in Washington.

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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 Taiwan question is the question most likely to have a disruptive impact on China-US relations. To maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, it is vital to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, and unequivocally oppose 'Taiwan independence'," he said.

The joint communiques state that the US recognises the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China, and acknowledges Beijing's position that there is but one China, and Taiwan is part of China.

Xie added that both sides should seek common ground and respect each other's core interests and major concerns.

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"Our bilateral economic ties are essentially mutually beneficial and win-win," Xie said.

In recounting the positives, he cited growing two-way trade, record Tesla sales in China, and the recent "big cyber party" on RedNote - when US users flocked to the Chinese social media platform earlier this month fearing a TikTok ban back home.

"[A] tariff war, trade war, industrial war or tech war would produce no winner," he emphasised, as he urged both sides to establish a "correct strategic perception".

Xie's comments come with US-China tensions at an all-time high, as the two world powers spar over trade, hi-tech access and national security concerns. The second Trump administration is also expected to be hawkish towards Beijing, especially on the Taiwan and South China Sea issues.

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Taiwan is among Beijing's four red lines that "must not be challenged or crossed" - as laid down by President Xi Jinping in his last in-person meeting with then US counterpart Joe Biden in November. The others are concepts of democracy and human rights, "China's path and system, and China's development right".

Xi reiterated the point in a phone call with Donald Trump on January 17, three days before the US president-elect took office. The Taiwan question was a matter of national sovereignty and territorial integrity for Beijing, and the US should handle it with caution, Xi said.

Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a call last Friday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, reaffirmed that the US did not support Taiwan independence, according to a readout from Wang's ministry.

However, that point was missing from the US transcript of the call - which said Rubio voiced "serious concern over China's coercive actions against Taiwan and in the South China Sea".

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Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. The US, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

Despite the challenges, Xie emphasised the importance of preserving the decades-old spirit of cooperation and mutual respect in the US-China relationship, where they "have managed to maintain the overall peace of the world, and delivered unprecedented development dividends to all countries".

He also highlighted the importance of maintaining dialogue and cooperation, particularly in areas with "extensive common interests and vast room for cooperation", including economy and trade, agriculture, anti-narcotic operations, law enforcement, and people-to-people exchanges.

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  2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Wanted

Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers is asking for the publics help finding the following people for whom felony arrest warrants have been issued.

Monique Renee Bustamante  age 35, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 150 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She is sought on suspicion of assault 2-strangulation, child abuse, assault 3, harassment and false imprisonment.

Isaiah Bruce Lorenzo Colbert  age 18, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, sought on suspicion of attempted murder 1, murder 1-extreme indifference, reckless endangerment, aggravated robbery, felony menacing, assault 2-strangulation, assault 3, assault 1, harassment, possession of drug paraphernalia, protection order violation, possession of large capacity magazine, possession of weapon by previous offender, repeat juvenile offender and possession of controlled substance with intent to sell.

Corey Joseph Connery  age 33, 6 feet, 1 inch tall, 175 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes, sought on suspicion of extortion-unlawful act, theft, assault 2-strangulation, possession of controlled substance, careless drive, driving under restraint and no insurance.

Phillip John Deardorf  age 24, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, 145 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, sought on suspicion of aggravated robbery-wound/strike with weapon, theft, motor vehicle theft and parole violation.

Chad Shane Lapniewski  age 53, 6 feet, 1 inch tall, 205 pounds, with gray hair and hazel eyes, sought on suspicion of assault 2-strangulation and harassment.

Joan Josue Paez-Mendez  age 29, 5 feet, 11 inches tall, 175 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, sought on suspicion of robbery and theft.

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Dayvonna Jozette Oliver Reid  age 28, 5 feet, 4 inches tall, 183 pounds, with brown hair and black eyes. She is sought on suspicion of assault 1-causing serious body injury with deadly weapon, weapon used in violent crime and violent crime causing death/serious body injury.

Jeffrey Raymond Tate  age 39, 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, sought on suspicion of assault 2-strangulation, assault 3, harassment and obstruction.

Remain anonymous

If you have information about these fugitives or a serious crime, call Crime Stoppers at 719-634-7867.

You will never be asked for your name or identification and you could earn a reward of as much as $1,000 for information given to Crime Stoppers.

A list of featured fugitives wanted in the Pikes Peak region is on the Crime Stoppers website: crimestop.net.

The people with the following Crime Stoppers numbers need to call 719-444-7866: 249-H49566, 277-M26524, 277-M26602, 277-M26839, 277-M27411, 277-C25795, 277-M27621, 277-M26830, 277-C24813.
AIKEN, SC. (WJBF)  This afternoon, USC Aiken and Aiken Technical College came together to host their annual Martin Luther King Junior Memorial Celebration and Service Fair.

Commemorating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King in a way that is unique for us, said Jamel Hodges, USCA Dean of Students. We arent a large city we dont get together as a county a lot. But this is one of our opportunities to do so and do so in a very intentional and meaningful way.

Christale Spain, the first African American woman to chair the South Carolina Democratic Party, and an alumnus at USC Aiken was the keynote speaker. She told her story of her journey to success.

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I chose to tell my story because I want folks to know that you know theres nothing special about me, said Christale Spain. Keynote Speaker. You know, I kind of fell into this work, and I just worked really hard and kept my eye on the ball. And that anybody can do it. We limit ourselves by thinking that we cant do something. If you can dream it, you can be it.

People at the event were inspired by her story.

Christales story was everything, you know; she showed how it used to be for her. Said Gail Diggs, MLK Jr. Committee Chair. The changes that have taken place, but she also encouraged everybody to still focus on being the best that they can be, and thats what Dr. King did.

Deviya Wright, a volunteer, knew she wanted to attend because it was a great opportunity to hear from the speaker and network with organizations. She says Martin Luther King wanted communities to keep coming together.

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Freedom, you know. It just means I get to go into places, and I dont have to feel uncomfortable or unwanted, said Deviya Wright, a volunteer. I can love my neighbors as my brothers and sisters. I thought it was a really great event the speakers were amazing.

Our very own Shawn Cabbagestalk served as the emcee for the event.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF.
President Donald Trumps Friday night firing of 17 inspectors general  including the top watchdogs for the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs  has left the future work of the offices uncertain and outside advocates fearing a lack of accountability at key government agencies in months to come.

Officials from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency have questioned the legality of the moves, given that Congress has mandated 30 days notice before the dismissal of any inspector general.

IGs are not immune from removal, council chairman Hannibal Ware said in a statement over the weekend. However, the law must be followed to protect independent government oversight for America.

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VA leaders in New York accused of delaying critical medical visits

The group promised legal challenges to the moves. But in a CNN interview on Monday morning, Department of the Interior Inspector General Mark Greenblatt said all access to his office is being blocked.

My email has been cut off and I dont know whats going to happen with my things, he said. I was there for five and a half years. And so, well see.

Trump defended the actions over the weekend, telling reporters flying with him on Air Force One Saturday that it was his prerogative to put new personnel in place to help enact administration priorities. He claimed the move was a very common thing to do.

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Members of Congress disagreed. Several noted that VA Inspector General Mike Missal had served in the post since 2016, working as a watchdog for three different administrations. Under his leadership, the office released numerous reports critical of VA officials during Trumps first administration and former President Joe Bidens term in office.

President Trump is gearing up to install an Inspector General at VA who will lack independence and will wield the authority of the position to retaliate against the presidents perceived political opponents, or to conceal any wrongdoing that may implicate Trump and his allies over the next four years, House Veterans Affairs Committee ranking member Mark Takano, D-Calf., said in a statement. These actions will directly harm veterans.

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee ranking member Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., echoed that sentiment.

Purging the VAs Inspector General puts veterans at risk of a surge in corruption and abuse of power, he said in a statement. The Inspector General is the most important internal watchdog that protects veterans from waste and wrongdoing. Firing him and eliminating his independent oversight is a betrayal of trust as well as violation of law.

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During former Rep. Doug Collins confirmation hearing last week to serve as the next VA Secretary, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, praised the Inspector Generals office as important to department operations.

We work closely with the inspector general at VA, he said. I find him valuable both to me and to this committee, and he should be valuable to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

A group of 21 Democratic lawmakers on Saturday wrote a letter demanding a reversal of the firings, saying the move is antithetical to good government, undermines the proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and degrades the federal governments ability to function effectively and efficiently.

The Defense Department Inspector Generals Office was without a Senate-confirmed leader from 2016 to 2022, the entirety of Trumps first term in office. That had been a point of contention among lawmakers who said office oversight was not as strong under acting officials, and lacked the independence mandated for the post.

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Robert Storch was confirmed as the permanent defense inspector general in December 2022, and held the post until last weeks firings.

From April to October last year, Storchs office released 68 oversight reports, which included 325 recommendations for improvement across the military services. They included examinations of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, efforts to boost U.S. military power in the Indo-Pacific region, and recommendations on acquisition improvement.

The VA Inspector Generals office released 180 reports and memos over that same period, and assisted in 137 arrests related to veterans benefits fraud and abuse. That work also resulted in more than 500 administrative actions against VA workers found to be abusing or misusing their posts.

Officials from both offices did not respond to requests about the impact the firings would have on current and future investigations. Trump did not say when replacements for the fired inspectors general would be announced.
Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Officials with Veterans Affairs announced on Monday that the department had completed the "initial implementation" of President Donald Trump's executive order to end DEI programs, putting 60 employees on leave.

The move comes a week after the Trump administration ordered all diversity, equity and inclusion federal employees to be placed on paid leave. Trump has promoted ending DEI initiatives and programs at the federal level and in general.

In a release, VA officials said the combined annual salary -- which it identified as base pay, locality pay and additional earnings -- of the affected employees totals more than $8 million.

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The department said it also has targeted "several contracts for DEI-related trainings, materials and other consulting services" that it is trying to cancel, saying those contracts total more than $6.1 million.

"Under President Trump, VA is laser-focused on providing the best possible care and benefits to veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. We are proud to have abandoned the divisive DEI policies of the past and pivot back to VA's core mission. We look forward to reallocating the millions of dollars the department was spending on DEI programs and personnel to better serve the men and women who have bravely served our nation," said VA Director of Media Affairs Morgan Ackley.

Additionally, VA officials said the department is taking down "a variety of DEI-related media from its various digital properties."

The move comes as political conservatives continue to oppose DEI efforts in public and private arenas.

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Earlier this month, social media giant Meta said it was ending its DEI policies, citing "shifting political realities." And in this past summer, home improvement chain Lowe's said it was ending its similar programs.

Also last year, Alabama's Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill to stop DEI supporters from pushing what she called a "liberal political movement counter to what the majority of Alabamians believe."

And in the spring, the University of Florida announced it was firing all employees in positions related to DEI at the public university, saying it was doing so to abide by state law that banned the use of state and federal funds for DEI at public colleges. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called such DEI programs "discriminatory initiatives."

Later on Monday, according to reports, Trump is expected to sign several executive orders -- one ending DEI in military programs, and one that bans transgender people from serving in the military.
Vance spars with Catholic bishops: Vice President J.D. Vance, who is Catholic, said in a Sunday interview with CBS that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has "not been a good partner in common-sense immigration enforcement."

"I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns?" Vance said. "Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?"

This follows several statements by the USCCB that condemn President Donald Trump's immigration-related executive orders, including the Department of Homeland Security guidanceinstructing immigration enforcement to avoid "sensitive places" such as churches and schoolsthat was recently scrapped.

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"We recognize the need for just immigration enforcement and affirm the government's obligation to carry it out in a targeted, proportional, and humane way," declared the bishops in a statement (titled "Human Dignity is Not Dependent on a Person's Citizenship or Immigration Status") last week. "However, non-emergency immigration enforcement in schools, places of worship, social service agencies, healthcare facilities, or other sensitive settings where people receive essential services would be contrary to the common good. With the mere rescission of the protected areas guidance, we are already witnessing reticence among immigrants to engage in daily life, including sending children to school and attending religious services. All people have a right to fulfill their duty to God without fear. Turning places of care, healing, and solace into places of fear and uncertainty for those in need, while endangering the trust between pastors, providers, educators and the people they serve, will not make our communities safer."

Along with his cynical take that the bishops are more concerned with money than with fulfilling their Catholic duties, Vance asserted at one point that Trump's suspension of the refugee program, which has resettled some 3 million people in need since its start in 1980, made sense because not "all of these refugees" had been "properly vetted." That is a wild claim, since refugees probably qualify as one of the most vetted groups allowed to enter the country: Potential refugees register with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which does an initial screening and refers those who qualify to U.S. State Department Resettlement Support Centers, which then interview applicants, verify their data, and submit background checks to a whole consortium of national security agencies, which then cross-check things like fingerprints with databases around the globe. It's a roughly two-year process, and the USCCB has historically been a huge partner in resettling refugees, assisting with about 18 percent of cases.

The interviewtranscript herewas frankly frustrating to watch, because Vance appeared to be shifting back and forth between talking about refugees and immigrants more broadly; the actual refugee program has a higher standard of vetting, something he doesn't acknowledge in this interview (or in several prior ones).

"Our prayer is one of hope that, as a Nation blessed with many gifts, our actions demonstrate a genuine care for our most vulnerable sisters and brothers, including the unborn, the poor, the elderly and infirm, and migrants and refugees," wrote the USCCB. "The just Judge expects nothing less."

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Huge developments in Gaza over the weekend: The fragile truce between Israel and Palestine appears, somehow, to be holding. On Saturday, the terrorist group Hamas released four female Israel Defense Forces soldiers who had been imprisoned in the strip since October 7. Israel, in turn, returned 200 prisoners to Gaza.

But that does not mean everything has been going smoothly. "Israel said it would delay the return of displaced people to northern Gaza, as required by the cease-fire agreement, partly because Hamas had reneged on a plan to release Arbel Yehud, a female Israeli civilian who was seized during the Hamas-led assault on Israel in October 2023," reports The New York Times. "After hours of tense negotiations, the two sides reached a new agreement late Sunday under which Hamas would hand over Ms. Yehud, along with other hostages, by the end of the week. In exchange, Israeli forces began allowing displaced Palestinians to move north on Monday morning, opening the coastal road to people on foot and a second, interior road to vehicles, which were subject to inspection." Now Gazans are returning to the north, vast swaths of which amount to nothing more than rubble.

Meanwhile in Lebanon: The Times also reports that "Israeli forces opened fire toward residents of southern Lebanon for a second straight day on Monday as people pressed on with attempts to return to their homes along the border, a day after at least two dozen people were killed and scores injured in Israeli attacks, Lebanese officials said." Over the weekend, the truce between Israel and Hezbollah was extended to February 18, with the 60-day withdrawal agreementin which both Israel and Hezbollah must leave southern Lebanon, allowing space for both U.N. forces and the Lebanese Army to enterextended further; it had expired on Sunday, but it's not clear why exactly Israel is not honoring the agreement, or what type of ramifications may result. The Israeli military has signaled that they consider violence necessary to continue to expel Hezbollah from the region (and secure the Lebanese Army presence), and they have told the Lebanese people attempting to reenter the area that they need to wait for approval. That's an awful lot of bloodshed for a ceasefire.

Scenes from New York: Vandals targeted the Israeli restaurant Miriam, in Park Slope, over the weekend. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired of the property destruction that activists think will somehow influence public sentiment about Israel/Palestine.

QUICK HITS

"US stocks were set for a steep selloff Monday morning after a surprise advancement from a Chinese artificial intelligence company, DeepSeek, threatened the aura of invincibility surrounding America's technology industry," reports CNN. "DeepSeek, a one-year-old startup, last week showed off a stunning capability: It presented a ChatGPT-like AI model called R1, which has all the familiar abilities, operating at a fraction of the cost of OpenAI's, Google's or Meta's popular AI models. The company said it had spent just $5.6 million training its newest AI model, compared with the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars US companies spend on their AI technologies."

True:

A good time to remember that vandalizing Waymos demonstrates the incredible trust we all have in big tech companies: Waymo is studded with cameras and are owned by a parent company with access to your email and detailed knowledge of your porn consumption habits. https://t.co/TFExypc6yt  Byrne Hobart (@ByrneHobart) January 27, 2025

And yet, everybody knows that even though Google has life-ruining kompromat about everyone on earth, we don't think for a second that they'd abuse that privilege, even if we do hundreds of thousands of dollars of property damage for dumb reasons.  Byrne Hobart (@ByrneHobart) January 27, 2025

Today I learned one of the teachers union contracts allows employees to be suspended for three daysbut not firedif a teacher is caught selling drugs. Also, they can be drunk at school up to four times before being fired on their fifth offense. Forgive me for thinking the standard should be a tad higher:

For those who don't think unions have too much power, here is an active union contract in Michigan. Teachers can be drunk at school five times before they are fired. They can be high three times before losing their job. And they can MAKE AND SELL DRUGS and keep their job. pic.twitter.com/kXNOZkZvze  Mackinac Center (@MackinacCenter) January 24, 2025

The post Vance Picks a Fight With the Bishops appeared first on Reason.com.
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has brought on Vice President Vances top political advisers ahead of his expected bid for Ohio governor, a source familiar confirmed to The Hill.

NBC News first reported that the pair had been in talks over the past two weeks ahead of the hirings, a signal that Vances team is getting behind Ramaswamys gubernatorial aspirations.

Ramaswamy is set to launch his bid mid-February, per the source familiar, to succeed term-limited Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) in 2026.

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The Vance advisers joining onto Ramaswamys effort are Andy Surabian and Jai Chabria, NBC News reported, along with Vance ally Arthur Schwartz and pollster Tony Fabrizio.

The former presidential candidate last week departed President Trumps Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) commission, an advisory group focused on cutting federal spending, which hed been tapped to lead alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

It was my honor to help support the creation of DOGE, Ramaswamy wrote Monday on the social platform X. Ill have more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio. Most importantly, were all-in to help President Trump [make] America great again!

The Hill reported earlier this month on Ramaswamys plans to run for the governors mansion, though one source at the time had said Ramaswamys plan was to get accomplishments at DOGE before announcing his campaign.

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A DOGE spokesperson, Anna Kelly, told The Associated Press last week that Ramaswamy intends to run for elected office soon, which requires him to remain outside of DOGE.

Ramaswamy is a biotech entrepreneur and former White House contender who, even as he ran against Trump for the GOP nod in 2024, has called Trump the best president of the 21st century. He was floated in talks of who could join Trumps ticket before Vance got the job.

Ramaswamy was also reportedly considered to fill the Senate vacancy left open as Vance exited the upper chamber, but DeWine ultimately picked Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R) for the slot.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) jumped into the gubernatorial race last week, the first major GOP candidate to declare a bid, and pledged to support President Trumps agenda. Trump won the state in November by 11 points.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
LOS ANGELES (KTLA)  A Waymo robotaxi in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Beverly Grove was targeted by a crowd of vandals over the weekend, video posted to social media shows.

The incident unfolded at around 4 a.m. at the intersection of La Cienega Boulevard and West 3rd Street, with the Los Angeles Police Department telling the L.A. Times that responding officers took a vandalism report but that no arrests were made.

The driverless taxi, which did not have a customer inside at the time, was reportedly stopped at a red light when the crowd surrounded the Jaguar and began vandalizing it.

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In footage of the incident posted online by X account Los Angeles Scanner, one person can be seen on the roof of the vehicle while another person was in the drivers seat. A third person was seen kicking the back passenger door.

Waymo self-driving robotaxis have arrived in Los Angeles, as seen in this undated photo provided by the company.

The passenger front door had been ripped off and was lying on the hood of the vehicle and at least the passenger side front tire had been flattened. All the windows, including the windshield were shattered as well.

Julia Ilina, a spokesperson for Waymo told The Times in a statement that the company was working with police on the investigation and added that these types of events are rare.

Another post on X by the same account suggested some 40 people had taken part in the vandalism during a street takeover, though police told The Times they had no evidence that there had been a takeover in the area.

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Earlier this month in the Fairfax District, a robbery suspect who got into an altercation with a security guard at a grocery store attempted to flee in one of the self-driving taxis, making it about three miles from the store before the car pulled over for police, video obtained by KTLA showed.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A retired archbishop who for decades was Peru's leading Catholic cleric has been disciplined following allegations of sexual abuse, the Vatican has said, confirming press reports.

Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne denies the accusations.

Cipriani, the Catholic archbishop of Lima from 1999-2019, is subject to restrictions "relating to his public activity, place of residence and use of insignia", Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican's press office, said on Sunday.

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Bruni said the sanctions were imposed on Cipriani in 2019 "as a result of allegations against him", but did not provide details. He said the cardinal had accepted them.

Cipriani, 81, is a member of Opus Dei, a Catholic religious community with members in some 70 countries that is known for traditionalist views.

"I haven't committed any crime, nor have I sexually abused anyone," Cipriani said in a letter provided by the Rome office of Opus Dei on Monday.

The cardinal said the Vatican had asked him to live outside of Peru, and he had been living in Rome and Madrid.

Last week, Pope Francis addressed another Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Peru.

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The pope dissolved the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Catholic religious community based in Peru with members across South America and the United States, following years of investigations into alleged sexual and psychological abuse by the group's founder and others.

Spain's El Pais newspaper first reported on the allegations against Cipriani on Saturday.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; editing by Alvise Armellini and Kevin Liffey)
(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela said it will hold regional and parliamentary elections in April, potentially splitting the opposition over whether to boycott the vote.

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The electoral authority said Venezuelans will choose nearly 300 lawmakers and at least 23 governors on April 27.

The most prominent opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, this month called on her followers not to participate after President Nicolas Maduro began a third six-year term after an election that was widely regarded as fraudulent.

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Maduro is trying to rush these elections in an attempt to make people forget his defeat in the 2024 presidential election and to obtain some kind of legitimacy for the regime, said Jesus Castellanos, a political scientist and former Venezuela electoral authority official now based in Chile.

Pressure has mounted on Maduro, who has ramped up repression of his opponents, causing widespread global condemnation and fresh sanctions. He has even lost support from formerly friendly governments in Colombia and Brazil, whose leaders demanded that the government release proof of his election win and declined to attend his inauguration earlier this month.

The April vote could potentially divide the opposition, which Machado managed to unite ahead of the presidential election held in July. While her call marks a return to her usual strategy of seeking to influence elections by encouraging widespread boycotts, other opposition parties submitted proposals on potential elections dates to the electoral authority, signaling differing strategies.

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(Bloomberg) -- Vietnams overhaul of the nations political system that includes merging key ministries and slashing jobs has been approved by a top communist party body and now awaits parliament action.

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The plan, aimed at reducing bureaucracy and streamlining government operations, is expected to be put forward to the National Assembly for rubber stamp approval next month.

The moves are part of a push by Communist Party chief To Lam to slash the size of government before next years leadership reshuffle at the twice-in-a-decade National Party Congress. It amounts to Vietnams biggest political change since it adopted pro-market reforms in the 1980s.

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The partys central committee, which met last week, signed off on a previously announced reorganization blueprint that includes merging the finance and planning and investment ministries and combining the transportation and construction ministries, according to a government information portal post.

Vietnam will also merge the agriculture and natural resource ministries and set up a Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions.

Lam said during a parliamentary meeting in October that about 70% of the budget is devoted to state employees salaries and regular expenses. This leaves less money for development projects, he said.

While its not yet clear how many jobs will be cut, one deputy prime minister has said 100,000 would be affected.

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Vietnam previously released details of its master plan, saying it would merge ministries and eliminate the number of their units by at least 15%-20%.

--With assistance from Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen.

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Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys has called for a review of the current regulations for shipping, following the most recent incident of damage to an undersea cable.

"Navigation rules in the Baltic Sea need to be reviewed, especially when it comes to the use of anchors," he wrote on X on Sunday.

Referring to the vessels used by Russia to evade sanctions, he wrote that "The shadow fleet ... a larger issue that puts our environment and critical infrastructure at risk."

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He said there needed to be "quick solutions."

In recent weeks, suspected acts of sabotage have targeted cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea. The damage is said to have been deliberately caused by ship anchors dragging along the sea floor, with latest damage caused to a data cable that runs between Sweden and Latvia.

Latvia's army chief Kaspars Pudans also spoke out in favour of harmonizing national and international rules, as it is impossible to monitor every nautical mile of the Baltic.

In the sea area between Ventspils and Gotland, he told television reporters, more than 70 ships were present in the area when the damage to the submarine cable was noticed.

According Latvian state media boss Girts Ozols, repairing the damaged cable could take several days to several weeks.

The cable damage has no impact on end users, he said on Latvian television.
It was a night for tears: some shed from sadness, others from joy and gratitude.

Led by a record-setting bid of $210,000 for the grand champion market steer, the National Western Stock Show Junior Livestock Auction saw five record bids for the livestock raised by young people from all over the country.

It was the 119th junior livestock auction, and it's the last one that will be held in the Beef Palace Auction Arena. The Junior Livestock Auction in 2026 is moving to the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Livestock Center.

Most of the proceeds go to the exhibitors, with 10% to the National Western Scholarship Trust  which provides scholarships for agriculture studies and rural medicine at colleges in Colorado and Wyoming. In 2025, 110 students won scholarships.

The top eight animals in the reserve and grand champion categories  hogs, sheep, goat and steers  set a record of $637,000, topping the previous record set in 2023 of $585,000.

That was led by the bid from Hutchison-Western for the steer named Thunder, owned by 14-year-old Madllyn Norvell of Tuttle, Okla., whose parents are also champion exhibitors.

It was Norvell's first time exhibiting at the National Western, and she said she will use the money to raise more animals to show. Her goal after high school is to head to Oklahoma State University, join the livestock judging team and then follow in the family business  Norvell Consulting, an Oklahoma lobbying firm  and become a lobbyist for agriculture as well as oil and gas.

"You changed my life tonight!" Norvell said to the Hutchisons through tears after the winning bid was announced.

The Hutchison family's bid broke a record held by Ames Construction, which has made the winning bid for the grand champion steer for the past 14 years.

The Hutchison family said the bid was in honor of "Buck" Hutchison, who died last July.

In 1963, Buck joined the lumber company his father founded in Iowa in 1956. Using a signing bonus Buck got from the Cleveland Indians, he founded the Commerce City-based Hutchison-Western company, which manufactures and distributes livestock and equine equipment, fencing and wire products, baling supplies, and lumber and building materials.

Buck chaired the junior livestock auction committee for years, helping to raise $16 million in that time.

A record high bid of $125,000 was also set for the reserve champion steer, Mogcky, shown by 14-year-old Rhylee Rodgers of Searsboro, Iowa. The winning bid came from long-time auction supporters Transwest Trucks.

Both steers got the red carpet treatment earlier in the day with an exhibit at the Brown Palace during afternoon tea.

Rylee Anderson, 18, of Chillicothe, Mo., took a record $55,000 for her reserve grand champion hog, Scout. The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce took the winning bid.

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Sean and Audra McNicholas, and the TKM Foundation of Nigeria, locally represented by the SSA Group, made a record $52,000 bid for the grand champion lamb, Tucker, owned by Clay Randall, 18, of Canute, Okla.

A new record was set for the reserve grand champion goat. Phillip, owned by Madden Wise, 18, of Brownwood, Tex. was sold to Wagner Equipment for $22,500.

The reserve grand champion lamb, Spook, exhibited by 15-year-old Brayden Bowers of Belmont, Wisc., sold for $42,000 to APC Resources.

Finally, Humble, the grand champion goat owned by 15-year-old Sayde Allan of Elk City, Okla. sold for a record $45,000 to Babson Farms.

Colorado exhibitors often see their animals in bidding wars from the standing-room-only crowd. This year, a dozen Colorado youth exhibited division champion, reserve champion and other top livestock.

The pace for the livestock auction is fast and sometimes a bit chaotic. Each of the 98 animals auctioned Friday are brought in one at a time, auctioned off (most will go to slaughter) and then quickly sent back to the barn for pictures and gifts from the exhibitors to the winning bidders.

Backstage, it was common to see exhibitors crying, knowing their time with the animals they've raised was coming to an end.

Colorado lawmakers at the state Capitol raise funds every year to buy animals from Colorado youth. They were represented Friday by ranchers Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-Fort Morgan and Sen. Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa. The $12,700 purse was boosted by a partnership with the Colorado Future Farmers of America (FFA) Foundation and Executive Director John Stahley.

Johnson's district includes Holyoke. That made a division second place crossbred steer shown by Tenley Becker of Holyoke high on their list, but Johnson said early on they probably couldn't afford a steer. It's been several years since lawmakers bid for a Colorado steer that usually go upwards of $15,000 or more. But with help from the FFA Foundation, the Johnson family and Growing Minds 4-H FFA, the group took the winning bid of $15,000 for Becker's steer. Becker also took third place overall for her steer at last August's state fair.

The coalition also took the first Colorado animal up for auction Friday night, a champion speckle-face lamb named Cracker, exhibited by Cade Simpson, 17, of Ault. The winning bid was $9,000.

"I was pretty happy for it," Simpson told The Denver Gazette. He plans to use the money for college and raise more lambs for next year. It's the second time he's been in the livestock auction; the last time, also showing lambs, was almost seven years ago.

"It definitely feels good to have a division winner," Simpson said. He gave the lawmakers a hand-made wooden cutting board.

The fast pace led to a bit of confusion during the evening, when the lawmakers' group accidentally bid and won a Missouri hog, shown by Rhett Forkner of Richards, Mo., at $5,000. But it goes to a good cause, and a good time was had by all.
Coastal wetlands off the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Legislation introduced this session calls for creating a task force to develop a statewide wetlands strategy to restore, create, and plan for their migration as sea level rises. (Sarah Vogelsong / Virginia Mercury)

As the climate crisis accelerates, so do the number of bills in the Virginia General Assembly to address resilience, adaptation and education. Some, like an attempt to require flood risk disclosure to potential buyers, are back after being tabled last year. Others are new efforts to build a foundation addressing the effects of a warming climate and rising sea levels.

This year, the record number of bills related to climate change is a clear reflection of the growing impacts experienced by our communities across the commonwealth, said Mary-Carson Stiff, executive director of Wetlands Watch, a nonprofit based in Norfolk where the effects have been increasingly clear. Lets just hope legislation starts to keep pace with the impacts because so far were still behind the curve.

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Here are some of the efforts making their way through the General Assembly.

House Bill 1949 by Del. Phil Hernandez, D-Norfolk, and House Bill HJ 434 by Del. Michael Feggans, D-Virginia Beach, would create a methodology and criteria for state contributions to the local share of federal coastal storm risk management projects like the $2.66 billion plan Norfolk adopted in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2023. The citys share under current cost estimates would be $931 million. Officials there have said the state needs to fund half that amount for the project to move forward. So far, the city has received a $25 million state grant. There is $25 million in the states fiscal year 2025 budget, but nothing in the 2026 budget.

The Norfolk plan is the first of four in the works with drafts coming for Virginia Beach, the Peninsula including Hampton and Newport News, and Washington. D.C. metro area.

The state needs to decide how theyre going to deal with them, and what kind of process theyre going to follow to ensure that theres equitable distribution of state resources, or plan for how they even want to fund these projects, Stiff said.

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Controversy over the Norfolk plan helped fuel a House Bill 2030 by Del. Bonita D. Anthony, D-Norfolk, that would establish an Environmental Justice Task Force including representatives from numerous state agencies ranging from housing to health to conservation. The task force would meet with residents and governments and other stakeholders and develop metrics to evaluate the social, environmental and health outcomes for historically disadvantaged communities.

Anthony said it would be a holistic look at the issue that complements the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice, a panel appointed by the governor. It is getting teeth to what the state agencies do in every project that is deployed in the Commonwealth, Anthony said, noting the task force will report to the General Assembly. For so long, environmental justice has been a footnote. It hasnt been at the forefront.

Environmental justice became a flashpoint in the Norfolk storm risk plan when the feasibility study completed by the Army Corps concluded that floodwalls were not justified under the benefit-cost analysis for the citys disadvantaged Southside neighborhoods because property values in the historically redlined area were not high enough.

Funding relief and resilience

A bill by Del. Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News, would create a task force to develop a statewide wetlands strategy to restore, create, and plan for their migration as sea level rises. The Coastal Resilience Master Plan estimates that up to 89% of Virginias tidal wetlands could be lost by 2080. Wetlands filter water, mitigate storm surge, sequester carbon, and provide key habitat for fin and shellfish.

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Sea level rise is the greatest threat to our wetlands health and survival in Virginia, yet we have no unified plan of attack, said Stiff of Wetlands Watch. Theres no state strategy. Theres no unified approach. Theres no expenditure of resources.

Chris Moore, Virginia executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, noted that HB2034 creates a policy task force, not new regulations. Virginia, he added, is behind other states that have outlined wetlands protection policies. He noted the success of oyster restoration illustrates what happens with the right plan and the right resources. Now is the time to put together a comprehensive strategy to protect our tidal and non-tidal wetlands, he added.

For Stiff, the need is urgent. From a wetlands loss standpoint, she said, the losses are happening much sooner than later.

Two other pieces of legislation, House Bills 1950 and 2453, introduced by Hernandez and Del. Keith Hodges, R-Middlesexs, would create a Living Shoreline Grant Fund for local governments or tribes for the construction, renovation, or improvement of living shorelines greater than 1.5 miles.

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Living shorelines use vegetation to protect against storms, provide habitat, store carbon, clean water, and trap sediments. Theyre viewed as a key solution to rising seas.

Living shorelines are an area where we can build better resiliency for the Commonwealth, Moore said. With that legislation, what were hoping to do is increase the number of living shorelines, especially when it comes to those larger projects.

A bill by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax County, SB1123, would establish the Extreme Weather Relief Program administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation which would hold fossil fuel companies liable to pay for relief projects stemming from extreme weather fueled by greenhouse gas emissions. Those costs are considerable  Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently requested $4.4 billion for Hurricane Helene relief efforts. The Chesapeake Climate Action Network and the Virginia Conservation Network back the bill.

Another resilience effort backed by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and others are two bills aimed at increasing tree canopy. One, HB2630, allows localities to collect fees from developers who cannot meet tree requirements where a project is sited and use the funds to plant trees. The other, HB 2638, allows localities to increase tree canopy in developments.

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Trees, Moore noted, reduce urban heat island effects, improve water quality, provide habitat, and help reduce stormwater surge.

Two encores, one still alive

Two holdover efforts from last year were up for consideration again, but only one is still alive.

Del. Paul Milde, R-Stafford, introduced another bill, HB 2713, to fund a $3 million, three-year study of menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay through the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. A similar study was shelved last year while conservationists and Omega Protein Corp., the Canadian company that is the lone harvester in the bay, spar over the issue.

Current menhaden management relies on incomplete information, Milde said in a press release. This research will provide the scientific foundation needed to make sound decisions that balance the needs of the fishery with the ecological importance of this keystone species.

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Moore said he was hopeful the bill would pass but noted that the menhaden industry had backed away after agreeing to the study. I think you see indicators that are raising questions throughout the Bay watershed, he added noting concerns about the osprey population, which feeds on menhaden, and reports from tackle shops that are having difficulty supplying menhaden as bait.

Theres a whole lot of unanswered questions out there and I think we all simply hope that we will move this study forward to answer those questions, and that it wont be stopped by one company that happens to be the largest harvester of menhaden along the Atlantic coast.

One bill that again did not make it through was a flood risk disclosure bill, which was backed by Hernandez, Del. W. Chad Green, R-York, and Del. Will Morefield, R-Tazewell. The bill was a watered-down version of last years effort. It would only have required a seller to disclose if they knew if the property was in a Federal Emergency Management Administration flood zone.

After realtors objected, the bill was shelved again in committee on Thursday, despite having patrons from both parties.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council last year commissioned a study that found unsuspecting buyers of previously damaged homes are substantially more at risk of paying out of pocket for flood damages, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars over the term of their mortgage. Virginia is one of 14 states given an F grade for flood disclosure by the NRDC.

Until people care less about what the realtors opinions are on the topic of flood risk disclosure, said a frustrated Stiff, Virginia will not have flood risk disclosure.

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The headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy on Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Richmond. The organization owns more than a dozen Confederate statues in Virginia. (Scott Elmquist/ Style Weekly)

Virginia took another decisive step in its ongoing reckoning with its Confederate past as the House of Delegates in a bipartisan move approved legislation to strip tax-exempt status from organizations tied to the Confederacy.

House Bill 1699, which passed by a 53-42 vote on Friday, targets groups like the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), ending their property and recordation tax privileges.

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For Del. Alex Askew, D-Virginia Beach, the bills sponsor, the measure is about fairness and priorities in a state still grappling with how to honor its history without glorifying a legacy rooted in oppression.

A tax exemption is a privilege and not a right, Askew said during a news conference at the state Capitol in Richmond last week, emphasizing that the legislation isnt about erasing history but addressing fiscal responsibility and equity.

The bill specifically targets several groups, including the UDC, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society, and the Stonewall Jackson Memorial, Inc. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, these organizations would be required to pay taxes on their properties, aligning with Democrats broader efforts to reassess Virginias support of Confederate symbols and institutions.

According to the administration and the Department of Taxation, my bill would have a positive effect on state and local revenues, Askew said. And Ill say it again: This legislation does not challenge Confederate organizations right to exist. It is not about free speech, its not about taking down any monuments. But its about fairness and financial and fiscal priorities of Virginia.

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Askews bill represents a renewed effort after an identical proposal was vetoed last year by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The earlier measure, sponsored by Sen. Angelia Williams Graves, D-Norfolk, had successfully passed both chambers of the General Assembly in 2024 before being blocked by the governor.

Del. Alex Askew, D-Virginia Beach, flanked by Del. Nadarius Clark, D-Suffolk (left), and Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico (right), during a news conference in Richmond on Jan. 23, 2025. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

Youngkin justified the move by arguing the legislation unfairly singled out specific groups and set a dangerous precedent. In his veto statement, he called the current property tax exemption system inconsistent and outdated, noting that some organizations with exemptions, like the UDC and the Ocean View Democratic and Social Club, have affiliations or names that are politically or socially contentious.

Narrowly targeting specific organizations to gain or lose such tax exemptions sets an inappropriate precedent, Youngkin said.

He argued for broader reform that would give local governments greater autonomy to determine tax exemptions based on their specific tax base and needs. The governor also criticized the shift in the legislative process that now allows a simple majority to revoke exemptions, saying it undermines fairness in the tax system.

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Askew, however, said during the news conference that groups like the UDC should be treated differently because they perpetuate the lost cause narrative, which he argued romanticizes the Confederacy and obscures the true cause of the Civil War.

Lets be very clear about what were dealing with. Organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy have promoted the lost cause, Askew said. Why is the commonwealth supporting groups that rewrite history to obscure the true cause of the Civil War? A war fought to uphold the institution of slavery, Americas original sin?

History or oppression?

The debate over Confederate memory has divided Virginia politics for decades, and this year is no different. While Democrats champion legislation to curtail state support for Confederate-linked groups, Republicans have introduced bills to bolster protections for Confederate monuments.

HB 1884, introduced this year by Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick, aims to restrict local governments ability to remove or alter war memorials, including those commemorating Confederate figures.

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Williams framed his proposal as a response to what he described as selective erasure of history. In an interview last week, he said his concern extended beyond the removal of statues to efforts to re-contextualize everything and exclude certain parts of the past.

Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick. (Courtesy of campaign)

There seems to be a revenge-type of mentality, Williams said.

The word vindictive comes to mind because this is still history, but were picking which history we want to remember. He argued that preserving all aspects of history, even the difficult ones, is essential, adding, I think that we need to remember all history, and so this ties into that.

While Williams views the preservation of monuments and historical context as a necessary acknowledgment of all aspects of history, Askew sees such efforts as perpetuating a false narrative that continues to glorify a cause rooted in oppression.

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It breaks my heart that in this year, 2025, were still having the same debate, Askew said at the news conference.

House Republicans introduced a bill to protect Confederate monuments when in fact there are commemorations of Confederate history everywhere we look. You encounter it right here in our capitol, you see it visiting the historical sites across the commonwealth, including buildings that were once used in universities as Confederate hospitals.

Scrutiny over historic role, tax status

Founded in 1894 to assist Civil War veterans and their families, the UDC, a national service organization with 12,000 members, including 1,700 in Virginia, is headquartered in Richmond. The group operates from a historic building visited by about 500 people annually and employs four staff members living in the Richmond area.

Though the UDC describes itself as a historical and educational organization, it has faced widespread criticism for its role in constructing Confederate monuments throughout the South and promoting a revisionist narrative of the Civil War, which it refers to as The War Between the States.

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According to its 2022 tax filings, the UDC reported $10.4 million in net assets and an annual income of $157,988, with the Virginia branch alone holding $2.1 million in assets and generating $147,897 in income.

After Askews bill cleared the House Finance Committee on Monday in a 12-10 party-line vote, passing without discussion or opposition, UDC President Julie Hardaway, who resides in South Carolina, reached out to The Mercury by email the next day, claiming that she had attempted to voice her opposition to the bill virtually but was denied that opportunity.

Committee Chair Vivian Watts, D-Fairfax, refuted the claim, stating, It was on the public docket, posted more than 24 hours in advance, and when the bill came up, I asked for comment, paused, looked around, no one was there to testify. And I did not receive any information that anyone had registered for virtual comment.

In a statement on the UDCs website, Hardaway condemned Askews proposal as discriminatory and unconstitutional. She argued the bill unfairly targets Confederate organizations, stripping their tax-exempt status while other groups remain protected under Article X, Section 6 of the Virginia Constitution, which grants exemptions for property used for historical and cultural purposes.

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This is viewpoint discrimination, Hardaway said, pointing out that the UDCs tax-exempt status, granted in 1950 for property deeded to it by the state, aligns with these constitutional protections. She warned that passing the bill could set a precedent for other historical organizations to lose their exemptions and open the door to legal challenges.

For these reasons, the UDC strongly opposes Virginia House Bill 1699 and believes that Confederate organizations have been targeted with a bill aimed at organizations the party in power deems unworthy, Hardaway said.

Exposing hidden Confederate ties

But Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, signaled that Democrats are preparing a slate of new legislative efforts aimed at addressing the legacy of Confederate-affiliated organizations like the UDC.

We have a number of pieces of legislation, as well as packages that we are planning to roll out in the coming days and weeks as we are here to make sure that the voices of Virginians are heard, particularly Black Virginians, Bagby said, adding that the proposals will focus on issues of equity and history.

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He emphasized the importance of learning from the past rather than erasing it.

When we turn the page, we dont want to tear those pages and forget about it. We want to move on, but we also want to be able to reflect and understand the past, he said.

House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, suggested that the organizations targeted by Askews proposal are just the tip of the iceberg in a much broader effort.

House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, with Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico (left) and Del. Joshua Cole, D-Fredericksburg (right). (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

Scott noted during last weeks news conference that while groups like the UDC are prominent and well-known, lawmakers are committed to identifying others that may be operating under less visible names or structures.

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There are so many of these organizations in Virginia. This is the former capital of the Confederacy, Scott said. We have more monuments and roads named after the Confederacy than any other state in the union. He likened the effort to catching racquetballs, acknowledging the challenge of identifying every group tied to the Confederate legacy.

Scott encouraged Virginians to assist in uncovering lesser-known organizations that may be hiding under different names or tax-exempt entities.

Weve got the ones we can catch, but if you got some that you wanna add to the list, feel free to send them to [Askew]. We will find them, he said.

He also accused some groups of deliberately obscuring their ties to Confederate history.

They have done a very good job of camouflaging the whole idea around the War Between the States, Scott said. If you have someone that theyve hidden away under some different names or some different way, let us know, because we want all of them.

Askew remains steadfast in his push to strip tax exemptions from Confederate-affiliated organizations, even as he acknowledges the steep challenges ahead.

He said he was surprised when Youngkin vetoed Williams Graves similar proposal last year and expressed little hope that the governor would support his version this time around.

I dont expect the governor to change his mind or pass this bill this year, Askew said. But I do promise you that when his term ends, well bring this bill back. Well work with the next administration to assure our history is told truthfully, not rewritten to serve the interests of those who seek to glorify the Confederates.

Askew emphasized the importance of holding lawmakers accountable on this issue, framing it as a moral test for Virginias leadership. He called on those running for statewide office to take a clear stance on whether they support or oppose such measures.

Virginia deserves to know where their leaders stand. Those running for statewide office here this year must make their resistance clear. No ambiguity, no dodging these questions, he said.

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Welcome to the Cincinnati Enquirer Student of the Week vote of 2024-2025, honoring excellence in character, arts and academics among high school students from Jan. 20-24.

Much the way it works with the popular athlete of the week ballots, student of the week voters may cast a ballot once an hour from Monday at 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. Friday on any device. Be sure to take phones off shared Wi-Fi to cast a ballot.

Only a school representative using a district email may nominate their high school students for the ballot to studentoftheweek@cincinnati.com. The Enquirer will not accept nominations from the general public. Schools may not have more than one of their students on the ballot each week.

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The winners will receive a certificate within a month so they can take a photo with it for our upcoming gallery.

On social media, please spread the word using the hashtag #cincySOTW.

Cincinnati Enquirer Student of the Week: How can you add names to the ballots in 2025?

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How to vote: Cincinnati Enquirer Student of the Week ballot, Jan. 27
Rep. Mike Schatz, R-New England, speaks in a favor of a bill to require voter registration in North Dakota on Jan. 23. 2025. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)

The latest proposal to require voter registration in North Dakota met strong opposition last week.

North Dakota is the only state in the country without voter registration. Instead, voters must provide valid identification at the polls or when they request a mail-in ballot.

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Over the years, state lawmakers have repeatedly heard  and rejected  bills to implement a registration process. Rep. Mike Schatz, R-New England, is reviving the effort this session with House Bill 1287.

More 2025 legislative session coverage

Im not super advocating for this, but I do want to get a pulse on how people feel about voter registration, Schatz told the House Government and Veteran Affairs Committee on Thursday.

He said in his view, one possible advantage of voter registration is that it could curb cross-over voting.

I want Republican Party members voting to choose the Republican candidates, the Democratic Party members voting to choose the Democratic candidates, and the independents voting for neither in the primary, he said.

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Schatzs bill does not require a voter to register with a political party, but he said he would support an amendment to make registrants report this information.

Under the proposal, voters could register at their county auditors office; while applying for, renewing or updating a drivers license or other ID; or while applying for or receiving public assistance. The bill also allows voters to register at polling locations.

Voters could register by mail as well, which would have to be done at least 30 days before an election.

North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe speaks in opposition to a bill to require voter registration in North Dakota on Jan. 23, 2025. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)

Secretary of State Micheal Howe testified against the bill, calling it duplicative. He said most of the information it seeks to collect through registration is already recorded under the states existing ID laws.

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Registration adds an unneeded step for voters, he told the committee.

Asking state agencies that offer public assistance to be involved in the voter registration process would also be an enormous administrative lift, Howe said.

Its my opinion that making more agencies involved in the election and ID process may not guarantee it, but may compromise the integrity of our very strong election system, he said.

Howe said that if the bill were adopted into law, the Secretary of States Office would likely need at least $500,000 to launch a campaign to educate North Dakotas approximately 600,000 eligible voters about voter registration in time for the June 2026 primary.

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Nicole Donaghy, executive director of North Dakota Native Vote, on Thursday said voter registration would make voting harder for many Native American North Dakotans, who already face obstacles to participating in elections.

Many tribal citizens live in areas where mail delivery is inconsistent or non-existent, Donaghy said. A lot of our communities are really lucky if they actually have a post office within their area, which further complicates the process to register to vote.

The House Government and Veteran Affairs Committee that day also heard a bill to require political nonprofits to disclose the true source of financial contributions to North Dakota election campaigns and other political committees.

Other election-related bills

House Bill 1286, also sponsored by Schatz, is meant to address the use of so-called dark money. Certain kinds of organizations can raise money to support political causes without reporting where the funding comes from.

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The reason this bill was put forward was to answer this question: Whos trying to influence my vote? Schatz said. Most people in North Dakota want to know.

The bill proposes a complex system for reporting contributions to political committees, campaigns and ballot measures and for investigating possible violations.

Anyone who spends more than $200 in an election cycle for a political purpose, with some exceptions, would be required to maintain paper trails detailing the identity of each ultimate and true source of that money. The bill would apply to 501c(4) organizations, or nonprofits that can use money for some political activity. Organizations with this tax status are sometimes associated with dark money spending.

This financial information  as well as some other details - would have to be reported to the Secretary of States Office, which would be required to publish the information online.

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The bill establishes that trying to evade these campaign reporting requirements is a class A misdemeanor.

Deputy Secretary of State Sandy McMerty said its the opinion of the Secretary of States Office that the bill would be unconstitutional since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that 501c(4) organizations can contribute to political causes and keep their donors identities anonymous in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

I want to be perfectly clear; our offices opposition to HB 1286 is in no way an endorsement of dark money in politics, McMerty told the committee. More and more citizens do not want to run for office for fear of hidden political attacks.

She also said that the system the bill proposes for handling disclosures is overly complex and too cumbersome to implement. The Secretary of States Office would be charged with investigating violations of the proposed law, which McMerty said would leave the agency vulnerable to lawsuits.

Shane Goettle, a lobbyist for Brighter Future Alliance, speaks in opposition to a bill that would require reporting on the true source of funds backing political campaigns in North Dakota on Jan. 23, 2025. He called the proposal unconstitutional and impractical. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)

Shane Goettle, a lobbyist for Brighter Future Alliance, said the bill would violate First Amendment rights and hamper the political process. In 2024, the Brighter Future Alliance opposed a ballot measure that sought to legalize recreational marijuana, promoted voter participation and funded advertising campaigns opposing some legislative candidates.

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Money is also a part of free expression, he said. The remedy for speech that we dont like is more speech.

Rep. Vicky Steiner, R-Dickinson, questioned whether the law currently provides an even playing field for political speech through financial contributions.

You said the remedy for speech is more speech, but big money is more speech, and we dont know where the big money comes through, Steiner said.

In 2018, voters approved an amendment to the North Dakota Constitution that includes a mandate giving the Legislature three years to pass campaign finance laws similar to what House Bill 1286 proposes.

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The same legislative committee on Thursday also heard House Bill 1245 brought by Rep. Jared Hendrix, R-Fargo, which would allow people circulating petitions for ballot measures to be paid based on the number of signatures they obtain. Current law allows them to be paid by the hour.

Hendrix was behind two recent successful ballot measures  one setting an age limit for North Dakotas congressional delegates, and another setting term limits for state lawmakers.

The committee closed the public hearings on all three bills Thursday, but adjourned without taking any further action on the proposals.

Over in the Senate, a committee considered two other election and campaign finance-related bills.

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Senate Bill 2156, sponsored by Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, would add new reporting requirements for candidates, and bar the use of campaign contributions for personal benefits to the candidate or another person, loans, gifts, criminal fine or civil penalties. It also increases the penalties for late filings. The Senate State and Local Government Committee has yet to vote on the bill.

The committee on Thursday also held a hearing on Senate Bill 2178, which would require separate ballots for each political party during a primary. A record of which party a voter selected would be stored in the states central voter file for six years.

Bill sponsor Rep. Chuck Walen, R-New Town, told members of the committee the bill aims to prevent spoiled ballots, which occurs when voters cross over and vote for candidates in both parties.

Erika White, elections director for the Secretary of States Office, said the bill could nearly triple the cost of elections by requiring additional ballots. The League of Women Voters of North Dakota opposed the bill, citing privacy concerns and a potential deterrent to voter participation.

The Senate overwhelmingly rejected the bill on Friday.

Also last week, the House approved two election-related bills.

House Bill 1099 would require a presidential candidates first and last name to appear on the ballot. A Fargo election judge submitted written testimony indicating that voters were confused in November by presidential candidates appearing on the ballot by last name only.

House Bill 1178 would require school districts to allow students who are eligible to vote to leave school to participate in an election.

Both proposals will advance to the Senate for further consideration.

Michael Achterling contributed to this report.

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The state Capitol. (Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)

 VP JD Vance announces upcoming visit to Damascus, Virginia on CBSs Face the Nation.  WCYB

 Virginia Senate Democrats block nine Youngkin board appointments.  The Washington Post

 Data centers could double Virginias energy use in a decade. Bills to regulate them are getting mixed support.  Daily Progress

 One dead after small plane crash in Albemarle.  WVIR

 Restaurant Week in Virginia Beach extended for another week.  WTKR

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The Scoop

Just a few years ago, Shawn Ryan was teaching himself how to run video and audio equipment so he could film a show about veterans and the military. The former US Navy SEAL set up a low-budget studio in his attic with cameras that could only record 30 minutes, and asked his wife to help monitor the video and audio. Now, 160 episodes in, he has one of the most listened-to podcasts in the country every week, with the previous elections presidential candidates banging down his door to appear on the show  and the power to (accidentally) nearly sink a nomination for secretary of defense.

I know were on the cutting edge of this, and I think this is a historic time in journalism and media in general, and were at the forefront of it, Ryan told Semafor in a telephone call recently. I want to be able to continue to be a big part of that and to help form the new landscape.

With very little attention or promotion in legacy or conservative media, Ryans show has rocketed to the top of the Apple and Spotify podcast charts over the past two years and basically stayed there. The show focuses largely on the lives and experiences of famous and totally obscure veterans, with hours spent during each episode telling individual combat stories, discussing war trauma and PTSD, and occasionally reflecting on military policy today.

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Some of the episodes dabble (or dive head-first) into conspiracy theories: In a recent episode, Ryan interviews a man who claims he encountered aliens; in another, he interviews an exorcist. But with Trumps ascension to the White House, Ryans show has gained greater attention.

Earlier this month, Pete Hegseth was repeatedly grilled by Democratic members of the Senate Armed Service Committee about comments he made on Ryans show that he was straight-up just saying we should not have women in combat roles, and that all of the joint chiefs of staff and anyone involved in any of the DEI woke shit has got to go. Late last year, Calin Georgescu, an ultranationalist Romanian presidential candidate, invited him to Europe to speak about NATO and raise awareness in the Western media about the disputed results of that countrys 2024 presidential election.

Ryan told Semafor that in addition to hosting Republican 2024 presidential candidates on the show, including Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, he briefly discussed a potential appearance by Kamala Harris, but it didnt go anywhere.

Ryan said the keys to his shows success are threefold. He focuses on booking interesting guests, avoiding people on the book tour circuit and preferring to find people himself or through suggestions from previous guests. And while his show is an increasingly popular destination for politicians, particularly on the right, hes trying not to let high-profile political figures eclipse his military guests.

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Once I did a politician, then every politician wants to come on, and Im like, No, Im not the Republican show, thats not me. But yeah, everybody  everybody whos starting a business, everybody whos written a book  they all want to come on.

He also said he believes his show resonates with many veterans because traditional news outlets do not do enough to cover the military from the perspective of soldiers on the ground. And he feels that too many hosts in military-focused media are overly interested in telling their own stories, leaving an opening for someone who understood the military but didnt try to upstage their guests with exciting war stories.

I noticed the veteran space was also a very egocentric space, he said. Nobody could make it about their guest  they wanted to make it about them.

The shows popularity has helped turn it from a side gig into a serious media business with a growing staff. Ryan told Semafor that 50% of his revenue comes from programmatic and direct advertising that he sells himself, and then the other 50% is a mix of Patreon subscriptions (which helped support the show in its initial days), merch sales, and equity deals with businesses that advertise on the show. Ryan said he had enough incoming that he was looking to hire a CEO to run the business side so he could focus on its content.
A man with an extensive criminal history who had several warrants out for his arrest was taken into custody on Sunday after he was caught allegedly stealing items from a Costco.

Deputies from the Chino Hills Sheriffs Station responded to a theft in progress at a Costco store in Chino Hills shortly before 5 p.m., according to a media release from the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department.

Authorities quickly detained the suspect, identified as 54-year-old Thomas Weaver of Chino; the exact items he was allegedly stealing were not disclosed.

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Man goes missing from Mountain High Resort during snowstorm

Weaver, who had several active warrants for his arrest and multiple prior petty theft convictions, was booked at the West Valley Detention Center. Inmate search records indicate he was charged with first degree burglary and petty theft with more than two prior convictions.

His court date is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

SBSD stated that after Proposition 36s passage last month, Weaver will face increased penalties for theft and drug charges.

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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX)  Its going to be a beautiful day in the valley! Temperatures will warm from below to above normal across the north through the week. As the arctic blast conditions finally start to dissipate from the area, expect highs in the upper 40s today with sunny skies ahead. Tonight, its forecasted to be a clear night with lows only in the lower 20s. The only active weather today seems to be over the San Juan mountains to the south. A low pressure system near the four corners region will drift along our southern border bringing some light snow to the San Juans beginning this afternoon and continuing through Thursday.

Shower chances increase somewhat tonight as the low continues eastward over west-central Arizona. However, it could be subject to change as conditions evolve. Relatively mild temperatures are expected for much of the region today and Tuesday. However, colder overnight lows this morning will make it difficult for temperatures to recover in the higher snow covered valleys. Consequently, there are reduced highs in the central and upper Yampa River Basin and the Gunnison Valley. Clouds will help moderate lows a bit tonight for the south, while strong radiational cooling from the sun setting is expected across the north again tonight. Highs on Tuesday should be similar to those recorded this afternoon.

Overall, its warming up from those arctic conditions on the western slope, and it should be a wonderful day ahead!

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Monday morning will be a gloomy & damp on as an area of low pressure hugs the gulf states moving east. While we wont see a direct impact, the outer edge of clouds keeps humidity level high enough for light fog, drizzle, and a few wet snowflakes from time to time. As the system moves off through the day, well see our clouds thinning. It may take some of us towards the south a little longer to see the sunshine, well all have a few hours of sunshine before sunset tonight.

Highs today will be very split with a majority of our region in the upper 30s and low 40s. Those north of Beckley in the higher elevations will struggle into the low to mid 30s. A bit breezy at times on the ridgelines as westerly winds pick up 10-15mph.

Tonight, winds will become the main story, especially for those on the ridgelines. A rather strong area of low pressure in Canada wont be close enough to bring precipitation but well certainly feel its presence through a big pressure difference leading to stronger winds. Wind Advisories for Northwestern Pocahontas County begin at midnight through Tuesday afternoon for wind gusts pushing 35-50mph at times.

Localized power outages can be expected. For those on the ridgetops like Nicholas/Western Greenbrier counties, winds wont be that high but still pushing 25-35mph at times. For those in the lowlands, breezy conditions can be expected with 20-25mph wind gusts at times. Otherwise, its a clearer night with temperatures in the low to mid 20s.

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Tuesday will be a windy day for all with higher wind gusts along the ridgelines. Despite a warm up into the low 40s for the afternoon, wind chills will be stuck near freezing all day. A few clouds race across the sky from time to time but for most, more sunshine than not. Winds will relax some into the evening and overnight hours, but expect a breezy evening regardless. Westerly wind gusts still push 25-30mph at times for those in the higher elevations.

Wednesday will be a little more cloudy at times as the area of low pressure in Canada drifts south a bit. A few snowflakes for Pocahontas county is possible but no accumulations are expected. Still a breezy day with winds pushing 10-15mph with gusts occasionally 20-25mph. Highs, at least, still nudging up into the low to mid 40s for most. Again, the exception being the higher elevations of Greenbrier, Nicholas, and Pocahontas County. Clouds remain stubborn Wednesday night helping overnight lows stay in the mid to upper 20s.

Thursday clouds are still stubborn with little sunshine through the day. Well be breezy, but not as bad on the wind side. We will notice winds shifting direction through the day more out of the southwest as our next system approaches from the south. Despite the extra clouds, we still manage to push into the mid and upper 40s. For the lowlands, snow melt will need to be monitored, especially on those smaller creeks and streams. Thursday night, clouds are ever on the increase with light showers expected into the overnight from the southwest to the northeast. With overnight lows well above freezing, rain is all well contend with into Friday morning.

Friday will be a soggy, gloomy, but warm day as southerly breezes help temps warm into the upper 40s and low 50s for the afternoon. Morning rains turn steadier and heavier into the late afternoon. Combine snowmelt with rainfall totals, minor street flooding is possible. Ice jams and creeks backing up will need to be monitored with the heavier rains Friday evening. Into the overnight hours, rains will become more scattered as drier air filters in from the south. This will help keep overnight lows in the mid to upper 30s keeping roads wet through the night.

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Saturday morning, a cold front is expected to move through with elevated winds westerly 15-20mph and a few showers from time to time. Highs still manage to push the upper 40s before falling back into the night to near freezing. Light snow showers for the higher elevation is possible as northwest winds take over leading to upslope snows in Pocahontas, Nicholas, & Western Greenbrier counites. Accumulations look minor after several days of warmer weather keeping ground temps warmer. Either way, a colder overnight can lead to patchy black ice for bridges and overpasses.

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Sunday morning, a few snowflakes fly in the high mountains, but we eventually start to clear up through the day. A cold morning near freezing will be helped with increasing sunshine and southerly winds returning to push us into the upper 40s in the afternoon. With our Canadian low moving out and our jet stream pushing north, we look to remain on the warmer side of this pattern which will be nice for the first week of February.

In your extended forecast, the warm up continues into the first week of February with highs above average as the 50s return to the 10 day forecast. While winter isnt over and the prospect of colder days eventually in our future, the nice pattern shift looks to hold for quite some time. Could we see a 60 degree day in February? Its looking more promising each day. Could we see winter return, oh yeah. Until then, lets enjoy the quieter, warmer run setting up for our region.

MONDAY

Gloomy morning, afternoon clearing. Windy late. Highs in the upper 30s.

TUESDAY

Windy at times, sun & clouds. Highs in the low 40s.

WEDNESDAY

Mostly cloudy, breezy. Mtn. Flakes. Highs in the mid 40s.

THURSDAY

Stubborn clouds, breezy still, warmer. Highs in the mid & upper 40s.

FRIDAY

Rainy day but warm. Highs near 50 degrees.

SATURDAY

Cooler, rain, mtn flakes. Highs in the mid 40s.

SUNDAY

Cold morning, nice afternoon, some sunshine. Highs in the mid 40s.

MONDAY

Iso Shower, mostly cloudy. Highs in the upper 40s.

TUESDAY

Breezy, a few clouds. Highs in the low 40s.

WEDNESDAY

Nice rebound, breezy. High in the low 50s.

THURSDAY

Warmer, increasing clouds late. Highs in the mid 50s.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS.
Temperatures are continuing a warming trend across the state this afternoon. Light rain and snow will begin to move into northwestern New Mexico overnight.

A low pressure system continues to strengthen as it moves towards New Mexico. Today the low continues to bring southwesterly flow across the state. The result is continues warming across the state this afternoon. Along with the warmer temperatures during the day, this low pressure system will be bringing precipitation overnight. Light rain and snow is expected to arrive in northwestern New Mexico late tonight and early tomorrow morning.

By Tuesday, this low pressure system will be centered over central Arizona. Tuesday will still be seasonably warm. Anticipated snowfall will expand further along the New Mexico/Arizona border.

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Wednesday will be the big snowmaker day for New Mexico. The low pressure system will shoot across the state during the day and land in the northwest. Additionally, a backdoor cold front will move across eastern and east-central New Mexico significantly dropping temperatures. Precipitation on Wednesday will be fairly widespread. Southern New Mexico will remain the driest. Southeastern New Mexico can expect rain. Central New Mexico can expect a mix of rain and snow throughout the day. The rest of the state can expect snowfall. This storm is not anticipated to be incredibly severe. Minor impacts are possible in the north, especially mountain passes.

The low pressure will move out of New Mexico Thursday morning. Flurries could linger in the morning for central and western New Mexico. Northeastern New Mexico can expect snowfall to linger through the afternoon before clearing out on Friday.

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Support for President Donald Trumps controversial choice to coordinate all U.S. intelligence gathering appears to be on shaky ground.

Sen. Susan Collins, for one, is signaling reservations about backing Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence. Collins indicated she plans to grill Gabbard this week when she appears for a confirmation hearing in the Senate Intelligence Committee.

There are several questions I want to follow up on in the hearing, Collins told The Hill , noting that she wants to hear her unpracticed responses.

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Gabbard, who will need the support of every single Republican on the Intelligence Committee, is far from a shoo-in ahead of Thursday, when she shell face the committee in open and closed-door sessions.

I think it remains to be seen, said Sen. John Cornyn, another Intelligence Committee member, said when asked if Gabbard, who has made hundreds of thousands of dollars off her pivot to MAGA, can prevail. I think the jurys still out.

Collins pointed to Gabbards past criticism of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows U.S. intelligence officials to conduct warrantless surveillance on both foreign targets overseas and Americans. The Maine Republican said she wants to know where Gabbard stands now.

There are a lot of obvious issues, Collins said. Her answers to the written questions were very hedged on it. I know theres been a lot of reporting that shes changed her position. Thats not how I read her answers. I read them as, Ill take a look at the reforms and see if they meet my concerns.

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Trumps Senate allies, meanwhile, who want to score a win for the president, are pushing for the Senate Intelligence Committee to take the unusual step of putting Gabbards confirmation to a public vote, according to Politico.

The White House over the weekend warned rebel senators there will be consequences for bucking the president.

GOP lawmakers have also voiced concerns about Gabbards past relationship with fallen Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, whom she visited in 2017 when she was a Democrat representing Hawaiis 2nd congressional district in the House. Her past statements echoing Russian talking points are also a bone of contention.

Collins is one of three Republicans who voted against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths nomination on the floor on Friday, leading Vice President JD Vance to cast a dramatic tie-breaking vote to win confirmation.

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Collins stands to play a leading role in hindering other controversial nominees.

Proponents of Gabbard point to her military service as they make the case for the one-time presidential candidate and former Hawaii lawmaker.

Tulsi Gabbard is a combat veteran with 20 years of military service defending our country, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) said in a statement. She is a fearless leader who will restore the American peoples trust in the intelligence community with dignity and honor. She asks the hard questions and understands the important mission we have to protect our country.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  In response to President Donald Trumps crackdown on immigration, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed an executive order on Monday aiming to support children if their parents or caregivers are deported or detained.

Executive Order 25-04, titled Protecting Immigrant Families and Responding to Family Separation, orders Washingtons Department of Children, Youth, and Families to form the Family Separation Rapid Response Team.

The team will explore policies and actions to decrease the harm, trauma, and other lasting effects on children who experience family separation through the deportation or detention of their parents or primary caregivers, the order states.

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Oregon officials, religious leaders support immigrants

The department will work with the Governors Office to identify members of the Rapid Response Team, which will consist of employees from DCYF and least one representative from Washington State Patrol, the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, and the Governors Office.

Under the executive order, the Rapid Response Team must hold its first meeting no later than February 14.

Ferguson signed the order during an immigrant and refugee event at El Centro in Seattle, saying his goal is to reduce harm caused by President Trumps immigration policies.

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City of Portland to auction foreclosed blighted properties at public sale

My administration will do everything possible to address the harms caused by a mass deportation and detention program, Gov. Ferguson said. That includes making sure kids who are torn away from their parents have someone to care for them and uninterrupted access to their education, regardless of their immigration status.

The executive order directs the rapid response team to review policies and find suggested changes for state agencies responding to family separation.

The team is ordered to meet and carry out duties for at least one year, or until February 1, 2026, and must submit its first report to the governors office no later than April 30, 2025.

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Eye on Northwest Politics

The executive order in Washington State comes as immigration enforcement operations ramp up across the United States and Trump declared a border emergency.

Washington has taken several actions in response to the Trump teams immigration policies  including Washington Attorney General Nick Brown leading a multi-state lawsuit challenging Trumps executive order to end birthright citizenship.

Additionally, before Governor Ferguson took office, his transition team included a committee focused on combatting potential federal policies inspired by Project 2025, a policy guidebook for the Trump Administration, written by the conservative thinktank The Heritage Foundation.

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Fergusons committee was co-led by King County Councilmember Jorge Baron, who previously served as executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project from 2008 to 2023.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
(Getty Images)

Building more housing in rural parts of Washington is again top of mind for some state lawmakers.

Bills to allow backyard cottages in new areas, to expand where developers can receive tax breaks for building apartments and to let property owners split their plots are all making their way through the legislative process.

Similar proposals came up last year, but many failed, sparking criticism from Republicans who said the Democratic majority was not doing enough to expand rural housing.

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This year, bipartisan support and early public hearings could signal an opening for getting the proposals across the finish line before the legislative session ends in April.

Expanding ADUs

One bill from Rep. Sam Low, R-Lake Stevens, would allow counties to approve detached accessory dwelling units, like backyard cottages or mother-in-law suites, in areas outside of cities. The proposal is cosponsored by House Housing Chair Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds.

Under the bill, owners could have one additional detached unit on their property. It must use the same driveway and sewage system as the primary home. Water usage must be metered and cannot exceed the limits under current law when combined with the usage of the main property. The detached units could not be bigger than 1,296 square feet, excluding garages, porches and unfinished basements.

The proposal would also require counties to penalize those who build these units without proper permitting and to keep track of all the units built outside of their urban areas.

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A similar idea last year got pushback from Democrats and groups like Futurewise, who warned of suburban sprawl in areas that lack transit, public sewer systems, firefighting services and other resources.

Supporters of the bill reject that argument.

This is not about destroying the environment. This is not about blowing up the GMA, Low said, referring to the states Growth Management Act, which is designed to concentrate development in urban areas and to preserve open space, among other goals. This is truly about having more affordable housing options for our young people, for our seniors.

Senate Housing Committee Chair Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia, said there will be a similar bill in the Senate and that supporters will continue to work on concerns around sprawl.

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Lows proposal will receive a public hearing in the House Housing Committee on Monday.

Third times a charm?

Another proposal that has support this year would allow property owners to split their lots into smaller parcels.

The lot-splitting bill has passed the House multiple times in recent years but has yet to clear the Senate.

Sponsor Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, is hopeful this is the year. He told the House Housing Committee last week that there has been a lot of work done since the last session to address opponents concerns, particularly when it comes to ensuring that the lots are developable after they are redesigned.

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The bill would prevent cities from denying applications to split lots into two. Both lots must be at least 1,000 square feet and must follow local zoning laws. The split could not result in the demolition of any existing housing that has rent restrictions.

Weve worked on a lot of policy with regards to increasing supply and the ability to build within the confines of an urban growth area, Barkis said. This is a bill that is integral and important to that process.

Bateman said the bill would be particularly helpful in increasing homeownership opportunities for duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes. Being able to split those lots could bring down the costs significantly for people who want to own a unit in those buildings, she said.

This is the third year this bill is introduced, and this is going to be the year that were going to pass it, she said.

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The proposal received a committee hearing in the House during the first week of the session. It had support from builders, realtors and housing developers who said it was essential to increasing the number of homes in many areas. It is scheduled for a committee vote on Monday.

Incentives to build

Theres also a bill to expand tax breaks developers get for building multi-family housing.

Washingtons Multi-Family Housing Property Tax Exemption exempts developers from paying taxes on the construction, conversion or rehabilitation of residential property for eight years. The exemption can be extended to 12 years, if at least 20% of the units are affordable.

Currently, only five of the states more heavily populated counties are allowed to offer the exemption.

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A proposal from Low would expand the exemption to all counties that complete comprehensive plans under the Growth Management Act. That would include 28 counties.

In a public hearing last week, the idea drew support from counties and developers who said the exemption could help get more housing up quickly.

This is a tool that works, said Anthony Hemstad, who represented Washington Housing Development, LLC. If you pass this, it will open areas and more housing truly will be built.

Bryce Yadon at Futurewise said the organization supports the reasoning behind the bill but had concerns about development in parts of the state that lack infrastructure like roads and transit.

We dont want to incentivize the development of more areas that dont have those amenities if we can, Yadon said.
A Lacey family is asking for your help after their son was allegedly mugged and left unconscious in freezing temperatures while on a work trip in Colorado.

If you were to compare it to burns it would be like third-degree burns, Ryu Max Maxwell said of his injuries.

Maxwell had been in Denver for work a few days when he decided to blow off some steam at an arcade bar in Jefferson County.

He had a few drinks with two men he met and befriended. When his phone died and he was unable to call a ride-share vehicle home, he asked the men to drive him to his hotel.

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I was like, This is my address. I need to go here. This is my hotel, he said. Thats literally the last thing I remember saying.

Maxwell became disoriented in the car. When he woke up, he was in a hospital bed.

When I woke up, they were talking about amputation because there was no feeling at all, he said, referring to his hands.

Maxwell said nurses told him a good Samaritan had found him lying in the snow near a gas station in freezing temperatures. He said his body temperature had dropped to 81 degrees.

His wallet, cell phone, earrings were gone, so were the two men who had promised to drive him home.

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Its not clear how much longer Maxwell would have survived if he hadnt been found.

It was really aggravating because I feel like Ive built a lot in the last couple months and this is just a huge setback, he said.

The Jefferson County Sheriffs Office confirmed to KIRO 7 it was assisting the Denver Police Department with an investigation into the case.

Maxwell has since returned to Washington where his mother and siblings are helping care for him.

When Im waking up every day having to ask my sister to feed me, when i have to ask my mother to take my shirt off, he said. I feel like Im the one thats supposed to be taking care of them almost and its hard mentally.

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Its difficult financially too. Maxwell is an independent contractor. He doesnt have insurance and now, as he recovers from his injuries, hes not working.

His best friend started a GoFundMe, which has raised thousands of dollars so far. You can donate by clicking this link.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/max-needs-your-help-frostbite-recovery

Im just glad so many people care about me, he said. I would do the same for them. It really just brings to light how many people care for me and Im really thankful for it.




House Republican leaders are set to hold a press conference Monday afternoon to kick off the GOPs annual policy retreat in Florida.

The GOP conference is meeting at the Trump National Doral just outside Miami, where they will discuss how to navigate divisions within their ranks and how to execute President Trumps ambitious legislative agenda.

House GOP leaders have already indicated that they will try to move Trumps legislative agenda  encompassing extension of 2017 tax cuts, energy policy and border policy  in a single bill through the budget reconciliation process, rather than split it into two pieces as some Republicans had wanted in hopes of delivering some Trump wins faster.

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The special process bypasses the threat of a Democratic filibuster in the Senate  but it will need near-unanimous support from the slim House GOP majority.

The press conference kicks off at 3 p.m. EST.

Watch it live in the video player above.

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AUSTIN (NEXSTAR)  Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts 2025 State of the State address will air live across Texas Sunday, Feb. 2 on 14 television markets and 15 television stations served by Nexstar, including KXAN.

Abbotts one-hour address will begin at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast to potentially more than 25 million Texans.

Trump expands on Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts border policies

According to the Governors office, Abbott will be listing the emergency issues he is directing state lawmakers to focus on during the upcoming legislative session. Additionally, Abbott will be focusing on border security, school choice and the need for bail reform.

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A recent episode of State of Texas explores a voucher proposal working its way through the legislature.

Nexstar and its television stations across Texas are proud to once again produce and carry Governor Abbotts State of the State address, said Andy Alford, President of Nexstars broadcasting division. We are committed to serving the communities in which we are located by delivering exclusive live local news programming that enables our viewers to make informed decisions about the issues that matter most to them. We thank Governor Abbott for trusting Nexstar with this opportunity.

The Texas Democratic Party will respond with a rebuttal after Abbotts address. A round-table discussion with members of the legislature and Nexstar reporters will follow the Democratic response.

Watch across Texas

KDAF-TV (CW) in Dallas

KIAH-TV (CW) in Houston

KXAN-TV (NBC) in Austin

KWKT-TV (FOX) in Waco

KVEO-TV/SVEO-TV (NBC/MyNet) in Harlingen/Brownsville

KTAL-TV (FOX) in Shreveport, Louisiana

KTSM-TV (NBC) in El Paso

KETK-TV (NBC) in Tyler

KAMR-TV (NBC) in Amarillo

KLBK-TV (CBS) in Lubbock

KMID-TV (ABC) in Midland/Odessa

KFDX-TV (NBC) in Wichita Falls

KTAB-TV (CBS) in Abilene

KSAN-TV (CBS) in San Angelo

How to watch

The address can be viewed on any of the above Nexstar stations, in addition to a livestream on KXAN.com.

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In the interest of public service, Nexstar will also make the telecast available to all broadcasting companies serving the state of Texas.

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A farmer uses irrigation to water crops. (Vicki Smith/Getty Images)

When we talk about water issues in Indiana, you might think were concerned with water quality rather than quantity. Indiana is surrounded by an abundance of waterways, including rivers, lakes and reservoirs, and a good portion of the state has strong underground aquifers. Historically, we have not faced many of the challenges that plague other areas of the country where the water supply can be sparse, at best.

However, the past couple of years have opened our eyes to the work that needs to be done to protect our abundant water supply for the foreseeable future before it becomes a problem. To know where we stand, we need to begin by gathering reliable data on how and where water is being used so we can make informed decisions in drafting future regulations and legislation.

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Indiana Farm Bureau (INFB) formed a water task force last year with two key goals: to gain a clear understanding of Indianas water supply and demand needs, and to create thoughtful policy through conversations among subject matter experts, local elected officials, and state policymakers.

As a result of those conversations, INFB will advocate to expand groundwater protection rights to proactively protect agriculture operations and farmers investments in producing food. We are pleased with legislation authored by state Sen. Sue Glick that will address this critical issue.

INFB will also advocate for implementing a statewide, dedicated groundwater well monitoring network to inventory current groundwater supply. This will help us be mindful of our increasing growth  residentially and industrially  and understand that water isnt an infinite resource. As a farmer, my understanding and relationship with water is a pretty straightforward one  no water, no food. And we believe food security is national security.

The good news is that ag technology is ever evolving, and were being more efficient and effective on fewer acres than ever before. Although the numbers have been widely misinterpreted, ag irrigation across Indiana only accounts for 3% of withdrawal use annually. Irrigation is limited seasonally, and highly dependent on weather conditions. Farmers run their irrigation equipment only about 30 to 45 days of the year, at the times when their crops need it most.

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Farmers are good stewards of the land, and deeply committed to protecting the longevity of their farms and natural resources. So, its imperative that Indiana enacts policies that protect the investments made by farmers and agriculture/food manufacturers to continue fueling our states future. We know economic development is critical to the growth of our state, but we urge our elected officials to protect current users  both agricultural and residential  first.

This will be a multi-year conversation, and solutions will not be reached overnight. Our commitment to advocacy today is focused on ensuring Indiana agriculture is protected for generations to come. Will you help us advocate for agriculture and protect access to the precious resource of water for Indiana farmers and residents alike?

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  Westbound Stockdale Highway was temporarily closed at Nord Ave. after a vehicle crashed into a light pole ejecting at least one person, according to the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page.

CHP officials lifted the closure just after 9 a.m.

A Honda crashed into a light pole around 7:39 a.m. Monday morning. The crash caused the pole and live wires to fall down onto the highway.

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One woman was ejected from the Honda and was transported to Kern Medical with major injuries. Another person in the vehicle did not suffer any injuries, the page reported.

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(Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice)

As if we dont already have enough laws on our books, Oklahoma legislators have decided we need at least 3,100 more.

Yes, our state representatives filed about 1,960 proposed laws and resolutions, while our state senators filed about 1,140 of them.

But have no fear, only a fraction of these bills will likely become law because December and January of each year is the legislative period that I unaffectionately call political silly season.

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Political silly season, mercifully, is a short but brutal period when legislators unveil all sorts of cockamamie ideas aimed at further stripping Oklahomans of their freedoms or attempting to insert governmental assistance in areas that were doing perfectly well without it.

Each year, without fail, Oklahomans are unlucky enough to bear witness to a parade of bills that would be hilariously funny if it were April Fools Day. Sadly, its not a joke when state lawmakers are wasting taxpayer resources filing ludicrous proposals they actually believe in or  more likely  hope will score them cheap political points.

For instance, please raise your hand if youre participating in robotic cockfighting.

Anyone?

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House Bill 1326, filed by a Republican, seeks to legalize fighting real roosters against robotic ones as long as the live cock doesnt get hurt.

Uhm. Ive never been to a cockfight, but isnt incapacitating a rival rooster the whole point? Isnt that why the sport is viewed as so barbaric its classified as a felony in our state? I guess I know which bird my money will always be on.

Then theres a Republican measure proposing that we rename the Department of Corrections the Department of Corruption.

I could see changing the name to the Department of Punishment because traditionally legislators have favored policies that lock people up for inordinate amounts of time with little interest in rehabilitating them, leading to some of the highest incarceration rates in the nation.

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But if the Department of Corruption gains traction, I can only imagine how conversations would go behind the walls of our prisons.

Im with the Department of Corruption, and Im here to shake you down, twerp. Hand me all your commissary funds.

Speaking of convicted felons, we have another Republican lawmaker who has filed legislation seeking to protect President Donald Trumps so-called constitutional right to vote in Oklahoma. According to a press release from the legislator, the point of the bill is to send a clear message that every American, and especially the president of the United States, is afforded their full rights and protections in Oklahoma, regardless of political attacks elsewhere.

For starters, Trump doesnt have a constitutional right to vote in Oklahoma because he doesnt live here. Like everywhere else in this country, we only allow residents to vote in our elections.

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When Trumps latest stint in the White House is up in four years, I dont see him suddenly trading his cushy, oceanfront digs in Florida and moving himself and Melania to landlocked Oklahoma.

Then there are the two useless Republican bills that seem aimed at harming the homeless.

The first makes it a misdemeanor crime, punishable by up to a year in jail, to remove a shopping cart from a retail store. Its already a crime to steal any item from businesses, so why do we need to carve out shopping carts?

A second bill allows municipalities to expend funds on one-way bus tickets to destinations out of state for their homeless. The bill does not require unhoused residents to agree to the removal, which raises some serious constitutional questions.

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If that becomes law, Im certain our neighboring states will adopt similar legislation that allows them to send their homeless to Oklahoma.

And dont get me started on the proposed Covenant Marriage Act. It proposes offering couples a $2,500 tax credit if they agree to be married forever. The only way to escape that would be if your spouse commits one of the terrible three As  abuse, adultery or abandonment.

And while were on the topic of trapping people in loveless marriages, that same Republican lawmaker wants to ban no-fault divorce. That means incompatibility would no longer be grounds to end a marriage. Legitimate grounds for divorce would include insanity for a period of five years that requires being institutionalized and a poor prognosis for recovery. It also would remove incarceration as grounds for divorce.

Political silly season should drive Oklahomans insane. Can we get a bill that grants Oklahomans a divorce from dumb legislative ideas?

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The good news is ridiculous legislation typically meets an early demise each year during the annual legislative session.

But bills like these are bad for a state thats trying to convince people and businesses that we live in the 21st century, and that we have state leaders that share that mindset.

So heres hoping that next year a miracle occurs and that every piece is focused on raising our lagging outcomes.

But Im not holding my breath.

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Wes Streeting is to drop womens health targets from a new NHS plan, prompting accusations he is sidelining female patients.

Health officials are to publish guidance for NHS trusts on Thursday. However, a previously included target to roll out womens health hubs in all parts of the country will be missing.

The Governments womens health ambassador criticised the move. Dame Lesley Regan urged the Health Secretary to think again and said it would be very disappointing if the NHS planning guidance abandoned the target, saying we cant afford not to do it.

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Charities said womens health was being sidelined and shunted back.

Since Labour won the election, Mr Streeting has committed to publish a mens health strategy.

Dame Lesley, who was appointed in 2022 as the governments first womens health ambassador for England, suggested that ministers and health officials were in danger of forgetting about women, despite the fact they constitute 51 per cent of the population.

There already is a mens health strategy: its called the NHS; its already designed by men for men, she said.

Wes Streeting, pictured with Amanda Pritchard, the NHS England chief executive, pledged to roll out fracture services which identify osteoporosis - LEON NEAL/AFP via Getty Images

Womens health groups also raised concerns that the planning guidance  which will halve the number of central NHS targets  will fail to honour the Health Secretarys pledges to roll out fracture services which identify osteoporosis.

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Mr Streeting said that one of his first acts as Health Secretary would be to ensure the rollout of such clinics across the country, but since then no central plans have been issued.

Lives needlessly ruined

Craig Jones, chief executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, said: Our concern is that it is always womens health that is sidelined and shunted back.

The move to fewer targets shouldnt come at the expense of action on election pledges, which Wes Streeting made because he recognised lives were being needlessly ruined, piling up emergency cases for the NHS. He promised the rollout of fracture clinics would be one of his first acts in post.

Half of women over the age of 50 will suffer from osteoporosis, and womens health hubs can be the first point of contact to get women diagnosed, he added.

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Every year, NHS England publishes planning guidance that sets out the key priorities for NHS trusts and commissioners.

This years guidance, due on Thursday, is expected to halve the number of targets, as part of efforts by the Health Secretary to give more autonomy to those running services.

The previous guidance promised to establish and develop at least one womens health hub in every integrated care board by December last year.

However, this has yet to be met, with about one in 10 areas falling behind.

Ministers are reportedly concerned that the NHS gives in too easily to interest group lobbyists.

We cant afford not to do it

Dame Lesley said it would be extraordinary to justify dropping a pledge for women in such a way, adding: If we are a lobby group, we are lobbying for 51 per cent of the population.

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It will be very disappointing if were not going to push on with womens health hubs because, frankly, we cant afford not to do it this way, she said.

The hubs are designed to bring services for women together, with mammograms, smears, contraception, and help with menopause and diagnosis and treatment of common gynaecological problems all available under one roof.

Abandoning the pledge would mean making women run around to get their needs met, Dame Lesley said.

The senior figure, who is also professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Imperial College London, was appointed womens health ambassador in July 2022, before publication of the first-ever Womens Health Strategy, which promised an expansion in one-stop shops.

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She told The Telegraph: I really understand that everybodys up against the cosh. I really understand that we are very, very short of money, but the thing I would like to push is that we, in this instance, we cant afford not to prioritise the health hubs, because theyre going to reduce the waiting list.

Obstetrics and gynaecology waiting lists are among the longest, with ministers having pledged to prioritise such areas as part of efforts to clear backlogs.

Dr Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: This government promised that womens health would never again be neglected, so it is incredibly disappointing to hear that the pledge to roll out womens health hubs may be scrapped.

This is short-term thinking that will have long-term consequences for women across the country, who are often bounced back and forwards between services and waiting far too long for the diagnoses and treatment they need.

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Tina Backhouse, general manager of Theramex UK and Ireland, a pharmaceutical company that specialises in womens health, said: Removing a national target for women to be able to access specialist hubs would undermine the Governments stated commitment to womens health.

If the Government truly wants to prevent rather than treat illness then community-based hubs that help people out of hospital are essential, which is why it would be so short-sighted to water down the NHSs commitment to womens health.

Broken NHS

An NHS spokesman said: It is absolutely right that womens health is taken seriously by the NHS  while hubs are already available in more than nine in ten areas of the country, it is vital that local systems have convenient and rapid services in place to meet the needs of women in their local communities.

A government spokesman said it was not true to say the target had been dropped as it was for last year and had been largely met.

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He said womens health hubs had been rolled out to nine in 10 areas and said none were being closed.

The spokesman added: This government inherited an NHS where half of women wait more than 18 weeks for gynaecological care, women wait up to 10 years for an endometriosis diagnosis, half of maternity units are inadequate or require improvement.

Women have been let down by the broken NHS for too long and we are determined to change that. Through our investment and reforms, we will make sure the NHS can be there for all woman when they need it.

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West Virginia health care advocates spoke out against proposed cuts to the federal Medicaid program during a virtual press conference on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (Protect Our Care | Courtesy photo)

West Virginia health care advocates say proposals to cut trillions in federal funding for Medicaid would close rural hospitals and worsen the states maternal and infant health care crisis, among other things.

Protect Our Care, a national non-profit organization aimed at protecting health care for Americans, hosted the news conference Friday with representatives from West Virginians for Affordable Care and others.

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According to health policy research organization KFF, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are considering policy changes to cut the federal Medicaid budget by $2.3 trillion. Proposals include making Medicaid a block grant program, reducing the federal matching amounts, putting caps on the amount of spending per person and imposing work requirements for the health care program.

These proposals would blow an estimated $235 million hole in West Virginias state budget and leave tens of thousands of people uninsured, Ellen Allen, executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care said Friday.

As of October, more than 472,000 West Virginians were enrolled in Medicaid. The joint state and federal health care program covers 72 million Americans. The federal government currently pays about 74% of the states spending on Medicaid, according to KFF.

Drew Galang, a spokesman for West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Friday the governor is still reviewing state budget items, which he has said faces a $400 million deficit, and has not outlined any specific proposals.

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Medicaid helps fund West Virginias rural hospitals, Allen said, by helping to ensure that patients can pay for their care. Rural hospitals in states that have expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act are less likely to close, she said. If Congress cuts Medicaid expansion, more rural hospitals will be forced to close, she said.

Gutting Medicaid will take health care away from hardworking families across West Virginia, instead of helping them, Allen said. They deserve better. We deserve better. It is within our power to do so.

Kaylen Payne, a reproductive health policy analyst, said if Medicaid funding is cut, West Virginias already poor outcomes in maternal and infant health care would worsen, and pregnant people and newborns would suffer.

Half of West Virginia counties currently lack suitable maternal and infant health care, with entire counties with no birthing hospitals, she said. The states laws have made the reproductive health care desert, facing the people of this state worse, with doctors fleeing in fear of losing their license for providing life saving care to their patients, these laws increase the rates of maternal and infant mortality disproportionately impacting minority communities.

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In 2024, the nonprofit maternal care organization March of Dimes gave West Virginia an F grade and ranked it 50 out of 50 states for its number of preterm births. More than 13% of the states birth were pre-term in 2023, a rate thats increased over the last 10 years and is higher than the national average of 10.4%.

West Virginias minority population is particularly affected by the states poor maternal and infant health outcomes. Black babies are 1.3 times more likely than others to be born preterm, according to the March of Dimes.

If Medicaid funding is cut, an already quickly deteriorating problem will become nothing short of catastrophic, Payne said. Deadly prenatal diseases like preeclampsia and gestational diabetes will go unnoticed, and maternal and infant mortality rates will skyrocket.

Lynette Maselli, state director of Protect Our Care, called Medicaid a lifeline.

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Its kept people employed and rural hospitals open, as well as boosting state budgets, she said. But Republicans continue to target Medicaid for deep cuts in order to fund tax breaks for millionaires. As a result, families, children and seniors wont be able to see a doctor when they need it most. If the GOP gets its way, millions of Americans will lose critical health care coverage they need to stay healthy.

Editors note: Kaylen Paynes job title in this story has been updated.

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MORGAN COUNTY, W.Va. (DC News Now)  A resort in West Virginia burned down late Sunday night in what was described as a tremendous loss to the Morgan County Community.

Multiple units responded to a massive fire that broke out at Coolfont Resort in Berkeley Springs. Just after 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 26, a second alarm was requested.

Woman dies after crash in Prince Georges County, police say

Shortly after, the command advised starting the tanker task force, and deputy reserves were requested for traffic control.

(Steven Cohen/DC News Now)

(Steven Cohen/DC News Now)

(Steven Cohen/DC News Now)

At about 10:20 p.m., the command advised firefighters to start rehab/air unit, according to the

Berkeley Springs Volunteer Fire Company.

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In the fires aftermath Monday morning, it was clear the damage done to the Coolfont Resort was substantial.

The Coolfont has a rich history in the area, dating back to the 1960s, according to its website. It is located at the base of Cacapon Mountain.

Golden Mile Alliance seeks to strengthen Frederick through its dynamic cultural diversity

The main building of the resort completely collapsed in the flames.

The state fire marshal was on the scene Monday afternoon to investigate the cause.

Firefighters from four Morgan County units responded along with support from units in Berkley County, Washington and Frederick Counties in Maryland, Frederick County in Virginia and Fulton County in Pennsylvania.

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Its an iconic landmark here in Morgan County, said Happy Rone with the Morgan County Berkeley Spring Chamber of Commerce. Its just unimaginable to know that when we got up this morning it was no longer. There are so many memories there of events, of dinners, of lunches, of going to the pool there.

The resort was popular as a picnic destination, for its dining and lodging and many outdoor, mountain amenities.

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WESTERVILLE, Ohio (WCMH)  Another Columbus-area city could soon join a dozen other Ohio municipalities in banning anti-LGBTQ+ techniques known as conversion therapy.

Westerville City Council held a first reading on Jan. 21 for a proposed ordinance prohibiting healthcare professionals from engaging with minors in conversion therapy, used to attempt to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity. Councilmember David Grimes argues the measure is needed given several bills passed the Statehouse last year that opponents deem anti-LGBTQ+, like a law banning certain healthcare for transgender youth.

As our LGBTQIA+ population continues to be attacked by our state level, and possibly soon to be the federal government as well, it would be in our best interest as the keepers of all of our residents to make sure that we protect everyone that we can with the power that we have, said Grimes during a Jan. 7 meeting, when he announced his intention to begin drafting the ordinance.

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Ohio Kay Jewelers worker fired for opposing same-sex marriage, lawsuit says

The proposal will receive additional review during future city council meetings. If passed, Westerville would be the 13th Ohio municipality to ban the practice, joining cities like Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Reynoldsburg. Brandon West, a 23-year-old Lorain resident, championed his home city last year to become the 12th to ban conversion therapy, and has since begun advocating for Cuyahoga County to do the same. Watch a previous NBC4 report on Lorains ban in the video player above.

Westervilles proposal notes that conversion therapy has been discredited by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and more. Practitioners of conversion therapy employ methods that are in direct violation of the ethical codes outlined by the American Psychological Association.

Research shows that minors are more adversely impacted by the practice of conversion therapy, having increased cases of depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness and suicide, the measure states. This ordinance protects the psychological wellbeing of minors, including LGBTQIA+ youth, against exposure to the aforementioned harms.

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Vice Chair Megan Reamsnyder voiced support for the proposal during the Jan. 21 reading and said it is a natural extension of the citys non-discrimination ordinance. Chairman Michael Heyeck said he has a couple of concerns about the ordinance hed like to be addressed during the next reading, like if a minor would have their therapy session made public record if they submit a complaint against a professional for practicing conversion therapy.

Ohio school district halts proposal to restrict classroom flags, symbols

Cities like Westerville are passing bans on conversion therapy because Ohios Statehouse hasnt advanced a proposal to implement a statewide ban. While former Rep. Mary Lightbody (D-Westerville) introduced the Anti-Conversion Therapy Act last general assembly, which would make law in Ohio the same parameters as Westervilles measure, the legislation didnt receive a single committee hearing.

Rather, the legislature has opted to advance several bills that have been marked with the anti-LGBTQ+ designation. Along with the trans healthcare measure, which also prohibits trans female athletes participation in womens sports, the Statehouse passed a bill to ban students from using school restrooms that dont align with their sex assigned at birth, and another that opponents say will result in the outing of LGBTQ+ students.

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For the second time in the last month, a Chinese app has skyrocketed to the top spot in Apples App Store.

The first was Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, which saw a sudden surge in downloads by United States users seeking an alternative to TikTok in anticipation of the ban on that app, which had been scheduled to take effect on Jan. 19.

Now its DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence company that released a new chatbot model called R1 on Jan. 20. The DeepSeek app has since climbed to the top of the Apple App charts, recording more than 1.6 million downloads since it launched on Jan. 10, according to the market tracker App Figures.

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DeepSeek announced Monday that it is temporarily restricting new users from signing up for its services, citing large-scale malicious attacks. But prior to that, the Chinese startup and its new chatbot seemed on track to surpass the popularity of U.S.-based AI companies such as OpenAIs ChatGPT, Metas Llama and Googles Gemini.

But DeepSeek's success in the U.S. has raised some questions. David Sacks, Trumps AI and crypto czar, said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday that theres substantial evidence that DeepSeek distilled knowledge from OpenAIs AI models.

Sacks did not elaborate on what kind of evidence he was referring to, but multiple news outlets reported later that day that Microsoft, OpenAI's largest investor, was investigating whether DeepSeek obtained OpenAI data in an unauthorized way to build R1. According to OpenAI's Terms of Use, users are not allowed to use OpenAI to build a separate, competitive AI model.

At a House Republican retreat in Miami on Monday, Trump called the initial success of DeepSeeks R1 model very much a positive development because instead of spending billions and billions, youll spend less, and youll come up with, hopefully, the same solution. He then added it should also be seen as a wake-up call for U.S.-based tech companies to develop a faster method of AI, and much less expensive method.

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Heres what to know.

What is DeepSeek?

DeepSeek was founded in May 2023, by leaders at the Chinese hedge fund, High-Flyer. The company launched its first AI model chatbot, R1, on Jan. 20.

In posts on X, fans of R1 have praised the chatbots responses as human-like and quick, praising the fact that the app is available for free and that users need not have coding experience to understand how to operate it.

Credit: Katie Mather/Yahoo News

Whats unique about DeepSeeks R1?

In addition to its sudden popularity on the App Store, DeepSeek has attracted attention for its relatively small staff and budget, as compared with the sums American companies have spent on AI development. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, DeepSeek launched R1 with a team of less than 200 people and only spent $5.6 million to train its AI models.

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By comparison, last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his social media conglomerate would invest between $60 billion and $65 billion in AI development this year. In 2024, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said the tech industry would need to spend trillions on the computer chips used to power AI.

Altman called DeepSeeks R1 an impressive model especially for the price in a post on X. We will obviously deliver much better models and also its legit invigorating to have a new competitor! he wrote.

Like other Chinese platforms, there are signs of censorship on DeepSeek on certain topics that are considered sensitive in China, such as questions about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests or China's President Xi Jinping.

Credit: Katie Mather/Yahoo News

Credit: Katie Mather/Yahoo News

How is DeepSeek impacting the U.S. stock market?

DeepSeeks success appears to challenge the idea that the U.S. has control of the AI industry. Concerns about this potential threat to U.S. dominance in the field seemed to be reflected on Wall Street Monday, with stocks falling for massive tech giants like Nvidia, Meta and Googles parent company, Alphabet.

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In particular, the companys claim that it built its AI model at a much lower cost compared to other, similar AI platforms seems to be causing panic in the stock market.

Yahoo Finance reported that Nvidia, one of the most valuable tech companies in the world, and which builds computer chips for AI, lost a record $589 billion in market capitalization yesterday. The net worth of Nvidias CEO and biggest shareholder, Jensen Huang, fell $20.8 billion.

Read more about the stock market reaction from Yahoo Finance: AI-exposed power stocks get crushed as fears about DeepSeek trigger stock market sell-off

Is China seen as a threat to American AI?

In the past, Washington has banned exporting higher-end technologies to China in hopes of stalling Chinas advances in AI. A week before leaving office, Bidens administration proposed a new framework for restricting U.S. exports of AI computer chips, to prevent countries like China from accessing the advanced technology.

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If its China and not the United States determining the future of AI on the planet, I think that the stakes of that are just profound," former White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at the time.

At the House Republican retreat this week, Trump said he hoped DeepSeeks success would remind U.S. tech companies that we need to be laser-focused on competing.

Trump has signed an executive order on AI to repeal any government policies that act as barriers to American AI innovation and, on Jan. 21, announced that his administration was closely working with the Oracle Corporation, OpenAI and SoftBank on his $500 billion AI venture, Stargate.

At her first press briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the National Security Council is "looking into" any potential security concerns related to DeepSeek.

Leavitt said that while Trump feels confident that "we'll restore American dominance" in the AI field, DeepSeek's success is because the Biden administration "sat on its hands and allowed China to rapidly develop this AI program." (DeepSeek had obtained some of its advanced chips for AI programming before former President Joe Biden's executive order restricting AI chip exports to Chinese tech companies went into effect.)
The mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been dogged by conflict for more than 30 years, since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Numerous armed groups have competed with the central authorities for power and control of the potential fortune in this vast nation.

The instability has sucked in neighbouring countries to devastating effect  notoriously in the 1990s when two huge conflicts, dubbed Africa's World Wars, resulted in the deaths of millions of people.

What is happening at the moment?

After a rapid advance in the east, fighters from the M23 rebel group have captured a number of key cities and towns.

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Their first major coup was at the end of January with the taking of Goma  a city in the North Kivu province that is home to more than a million people.

Sitting on the border with Rwanda and the shores of Lake Kivu, Goma is a vital trading and transport hub that is within reach of mining towns supplying metals and minerals in high demand.

When the rebels took over Goma, UN aid agencies warned of a major humanitarian crisis with shortages of food and water, hospitals overwhelmed by casualties and bodies lying on the streets.

The M23 have also seized another key city in the region, South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu.

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Other locations now under M23 control include Masisi, Rutshuru and Katale.

The rebels previously threatened to continue their offensive to the capital, Kinshasa, although analysts say this may be unlikely, as the city is 2,600km (1,600 miles) away, on the other side of this vast country.

Who are the M23?

The M23 are led by ethnic Tutsis, who say they needed to take up arms to protect the rights of the minority group.

They say that several previous deals to end the fighting have not been respected - they take their name from a peace agreement that was signed on 23 March 2009.

Shortly after its creation in 2012, the M23 rapidly gained territory and seized Goma  acts that were met with international opprobrium and accusations of war crimes and human rights violations.

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It was forced to withdraw from Goma, and then suffered a series of heavy defeats at the hands of the Congolese army along with a UN force that saw it expelled from the country.

M23 fighters then agreed to be integrated into the army in return for promises that Tutsis would be protected.

But, in 2021, the group took up arms again, saying the promises had been broken.

Is Rwanda involved in the fighting?

M23 leader Sultani Makenga is a Congolese Tutsi who previously fought in the Rwandan army.

Rwanda has in the past consistently denied that it supported the M23, but ever since 2012 UN experts have accused it of providing weapons, logistical support and even ultimately commanding the rebels.

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DR Congo's government, as well as the US and France, have also identified Rwanda as backing the group. Last year, a UN experts report said that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the M23.

On Friday, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told the BBC that the country's troops were deployed along its border to prevent the conflict spilling over to its territory.

Rwanda previously said it was being scapegoated and blamed the recent fighting on the Congolese authorities, saying they had refused to enter into a dialogue with the M23.

A peace process, mediated by Angola and involving Rwanda and DR Congo, did result in a ceasefire deal last year, however that soon fell apart and fighting resumed.

What is the connection with Rwanda?

The origin of the current fighting can partly be traced back to the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.

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About 800,000 people  the vast majority from the Tutsi community - were slaughtered by ethnic Hutu extremists.

The genocide ended with the advance of a force of Tutsi-led rebels commanded by Paul Kagame, who is now president.

Fearing reprisals, an estimated one million Hutus then fled across the border to what is now DR Congo. This stoked ethnic tensions as a marginalised Tutsi group in the east  the Banyamulenge  felt increasingly under threat.

Rwanda's army twice invaded DR Congo, saying it was going after some of those responsible for the genocide, and worked with members of the Banyamulenge and other armed groups.

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After 30 years of conflict, one of the Hutu groups, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which includes some of those responsible for the Rwandan genocide, is still active in eastern DR Congo.

Rwanda describes the FDLR as a "genocidal militia" and says its continued existence in the DR Congo's east threatens its own territory. The Rwandan spokesperson said they wanted to return to Rwanda to "finish the job".

It accuses the Congolese authorities of working with the FDLR - accusations which DR Congo denies.

Rwanda is unlikely to stay out of DR Congo unless it is satisfied that the FDLR is no longer a threat to itself, or to the Tutsi communities in eastern DR Congo.

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What about Congo's mineral wealth?

DR Congo and multiple UN reports have accused Rwanda of using the conflict as a way of looting Congolese minerals, such as gold and coltan, which is used to make mobile phones and other electronic items such as cameras and inside cars.

In recent years, the M23 has seized several lucrative mining areas and a report by UN experts last December said that around 120 tonnes of coltan was being sent by the M23 to Rwanda every four weeks.

They also noted a huge rise in Rwanda's mineral exports in recent years, most of which is believed to come from DR Congo.

Rwanda has consistently denied allegations of exploiting DR Congo's minerals.

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What are the UN peacekeepers doing?

A UN peacekeeping mission has been in place since 1999. The current force  known as Monusco  is made up of more than 10,000 troops.

However, of these, only the Force Intervention Brigade is allowed to carry out offensive operations against armed groups. It was this force that helped defeat the M23 in 2013.

Monusco has been the target of anger from ordinary Congolese who see it as failing to do its job. President Felix Tshisekedi, deeming the mission a failure, had asked it to leave by the end of last year.

But the departure was delayed and in December the mission was extended for another year.

The Southern African Development Community (Sadc), a regional grouping of 16 countries, has also deployed a military force to eastern DR Congo, but it has been unable to halt the rebels.

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South Africa has said 14 of its soldiers have died in clashes with the M23. Soldiers from the likes of Malawi and Tanzania have also been killed.

Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's president, warned Rwanda that further attacks on its troops would be considered a "declaration of war".

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame hit back, accusing South Africa of being part of a "belligerent force" involved in "offensive combat operations".

The UN said that Uruguay had lost one of its soldiers who was part of the Monusco force.

[BBC]

More about the conflict in DR Congo:

[Getty Images/BBC]

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

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Enforcement of tougher immigration policy started in Arizona and in other parts of the country as the first week of the new administration of President Donald Trump drew to a close.

On Thursday, Trump kept his promise to end several Biden administration's policies between the U.S. and Mexico when the Department of Homeland Security sent thousands of federal agents to enforce the start of deportations of immigrants in the country.

U.S. ICE acted as the federal government's arm to conduct those deportations and had already conducted raids in major cities.

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Grassroots organizations and the Navajo Nation were among those that warned members of their communities about the potential of deportations in their area.

Here's what we know about the start of ICE raids in Arizona and how it may look in local communities.

What does ICE stand for in immigration?

ICE stands for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

This is how ICE operates and who they investigate

Two agencies typically enforce the nation's complex Title 8 immigration laws: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in the country's interior and U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the nation's borders.

With offices throughout the country, Arizona maintained significant ICE and border security resources as the state shared nearly 400 miles of border with Mexico.

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On Thursday, Homeland Security Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman expanded the universe of federal law enforcement officers who can investigate and apprehend immigrants.

It wasn't immediately clear how many officers would be reassigned to immigration enforcement.

"Mobilizing these law enforcement officials will help fulfill President Trumps promise to the American people to carry out mass deportations," Huffman said in a written statement.

Have ICE raids and deportations already begun? White House, 'border czar' Tom Homan says yes

Friday morning, around 10 alleged migrants in hand and leg cuffs were deported by authorities, headed for a military-style aircraft, as seen in a photo posted by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

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Tom Homan, Trump's new border czar in charge of carrying out the mass deportations, said ICE made 308 arrests across the country in the first two days of the new Trump administration, according to several media outlets.

Trump also cleared the way for ICE officers to carry out enforcement actions at schools, churches and hospitals, a reversal of the previous Biden administration.

But Mexican officials in Phoenix said they had not seen an uptick in arrests since Trump was sworn in, according to reporting from The Arizona Republic.

Meanwhile, in Tucson, flights for migrants on impending deportations were seen at a southern Arizona airport, according to KGUN 9.

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On Thursday, the Tucson Sector Border Patrol said the agencies deported about 80 migrants allegedly from Guatemala, as seen in a video shared on social media.

Where are ICE raids happening? Where is ICE now? Activists create hotline to report potential ICE activity

Community grassroots group Puente Arizona established on Jan. 10 a hotline intended to warn people of ICE and Border Patrol activity while preventing misinformation about potential deportations and government raids.

The group created the hotline in response to the new Trump administration's mass deportation plans.

The hotline received more than 70 calls and text messages in the first 48 hours after Trump was inaugurated as president and signed a flurry of executive orders and proclamations aimed at ramping up mass deportations at the border and from within the interior of the U.S., according to Natally Cruz, Puente Arizona director.

What does Dr. Phil have to do with ICE immigration raids?

Phil McGraw, better known as the TV personality Dr. Phil, publicized on Sunday ICE raids in Chicago.

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McGraw was also seen speaking with Homan, Trump's appointee to act as border czar, who said that deportations were of specific targets, and the agency was not sweeping neighborhoods or visiting schools and arresting children.

McGraw said in a post on X that about 270 "high value targets," were apprehended during the Chicago raid.

In early December, McGraw appeared with Homan at Arizona's Southern border with Mexico about a month after Trump won the presidential election, meeting with Arizona sheriffs from Cochise and Pinal counties.

LIVE NOW: Dr. Phil and @RealTomHoman are in an ICE Command Center in Chicago.



Dr. Phil: Are you going into schools and arresting children at schools?



Tom Homan: No.



Dr. Phil: Is anything like that happening?



Tom Homan: No sir. pic.twitter.com/ELvIDDM6SN  Dr. Phil (@DrPhil) January 26, 2025

What happened with the Colombian deportation flights?

On Sunday, a day-long economic standoff was initiated between the Trump administration and the government of Colombia after the country rejected American flights that contained deported Colombian migrants.

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The migrants went aboard a military aircraft, a first for the federal government in deportation efforts, according to Homan in an interview with ABC.

Trump responded by threatening to place an immediate 25% tariff on all goods from Colombia that enter the U.S. and another 50% next week if Colombia continued to reject deportees from America. The president also indicated the federal government would enact a travel ban to Colombia and revoke any visas.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro took to social platform X to criticize the decision and responded with threats of his own tariffs to match Trump's proposed figures.

Petro also said Colombia had "never refused to accept migrants," and said the country denied the deportees only because they arrived in a military aircraft and in handcuffs.

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Late Sunday, an agreement was made between the U.S. and Colombia that would halt any effort to impose tariffs and allowed the Trump administration to continue plans to send deported migrants back to their home country.

Tougher immigration law 'the Laken Riley Act' sees bipartisan support from Arizona members of Congress

U.S. Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., were among the Democrats who voted alongside Republicans to pass the bipartisan Laken Riley Act, a strict immigration law that would order the arrest of any undocumented migrant accused of theft-related crimes, along with distributing more power to state attorneys general to combat illegal immigration.

On Wednesday, the bill passed its second to last hurdle to becoming law, as it passed the House of Representatives before it was sent to the desk of President Donald Trump, who was expected to sign it into law.

Navajo Nation tribal members concerned about ICE detainment

Navajo Nation officials expressed concerns to the governors of Arizona and New Mexico about the impending deportation.

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Social media has been flooded with posts about Navajo citizens being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and questioned about their U.S. citizenship.

The Gila River Indian Community also issued a statement and a warning to members of the tribe to be aware that they could be mistakenly stopped or questioned about residency status.

Immigration lawyers are plentiful. Here's where to find one

The Immigration Advocates Network provides a list of over 20 Arizona-based organizations that helped migrants, refugees, and others access legal, health, and social services.

Amongst those on the list were Chicanos Por La Causa, Arizona Immigrant and Refugee Services and Catholic Charities Community Service of Phoenix.

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The Arizona Republic's Arlyssa Becenti and Daniel Gonzalez and USA TODAY's Lauren Villagran contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter, rcovarrubias@gannett.com. Follow him on X, Threads and Bluesky @ReyCJrAZ.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What to know about ICE raids and migrant deportations near you
WASHINGTON D.C. (WTVO)  On Monday, the White House released a new official portrait of First Lady Melania Trump.

The photo, taken by photographer Regine Mahaux, shows the first lady in black and white, wearing a black pantsuit and a white shirt. The Washington Monument is visible in the background.

According to the White House, the photo was taken on January 21st, the day after the inauguration, in the Yellow Oval Room.

Photo: Regine Mahaux / The White House

In her memoir, Melania, Trump described the Yellow Oval Room as her favorite room in the White House.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports.
Senate Democrats are condemning President Donald Trump's decision to set free some of his most violent supporters, introducing a resolution Monday that condemns his opening-day pardons of Jan. 6 rioters who were convicted of attacking police.

Insurrectionists cracked the ribs of police officers and smashed spinal disks," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement. "Donald Trumps pardons are a wholesale endorsement of political violence  as long as it serves Donald Trump."

As Politico's Kyle Cheney reported, the resolution  backed by every Democrat and independent in the upper chamber, but no Republicans  expresses opposition to Trump's decision in a single line, stating: "the Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers."

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Trump's decision to pardon the most violent Jan. 6 convicts came after Vice President J.D. Vance had himself said earlier this month that such criminals should not be freed. "If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldnt be pardoned," he had said, saying there were only some cases where there were "gray areas."

Vance dutifully reversed himself following Trump's decision, saying in an interview Sunday that he now supports such pardons, while claiming he does not necessarily endorse the violent crimes that were committed: "[W]e're not saying that everybody did everything perfectly," he told CBS.

More than 140 police officers were assaulted during the attack on the U.S. Capitol, including more than 80 members of U.S. Capitol Police. Just under 170 rioters pleaded guilty to attacking police that day, all of whom have now been let out of prison.

Trump's decision to free scores of his supporters who admitted carrying out violent crimes was condemned last week by the Fraternal Order of Police, which endorsed his 2024 campaign, and the International Association of Chiefs.

"When perpetrators of crimes, especially serious crimes, are not held fully accountable, it sends a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe, potentially emboldening others to commit similar acts of violence," the groups said in a joint statement.
President Donald Trump claimed victory in a showdown with Colombia over the weekend. When the Latin American country did not accept two U.S. military aircrafts full of Colombian migrants, sent by the U.S. government, Trump responded by threatening the country with tariffs and other economic measures.

Trump accused Colombia President Gustavo Petro of being the one to deny the flights, and directed his administration to take a series of retaliatory measures, including a 25% tariff on all Colombian imports to the U.S., which would be raised to 50% in a week.

Trump also threatened visa sanctions and travel bans on Colombian government officials, their families and their allies.

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These measures are just the beginning, he said in a post on Truth Social. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!

At first, Petro defended his decision to order the aircrafts to return to the U.S. by saying the migrants deserved to be treated with dignity, and asked for them to be sent in civilian planes and not be treated like criminals.

According to The Associated Press, Colombia accepted 475 flights with U.S. deportees during the Biden administration. Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador also accepted such flights.

Petro, in a lengthy response on X translated to English, said Trumps economic penalties didnt scare him, and that he would order his own sanctions against the U.S. He also claimed that beginning Sunday, his country is open to the entire world, with open arms.

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But later on Sunday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement, said the Colombian government agreed to Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of Colombian migrants deported from the U.S. In exchange, Trump agreed not to go ahead with his threats.

Todays events make clear to the world that America is respected again, Leavitt said. President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nations sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States.

The administrations action sends a message to countries that may be unwilling to accept migrants with criminal records deported from the U.S.  saying no to deportees will likely end in retaliatory moves by the Trump administration.

House Speaker Mike Johnson in a statement said, Congress is fully prepared to pass sanctions and other measures against those that do not fully cooperate or follow through on requirements to accept.

After the showdown, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said they had overcome the impasse with the U.S.
My name is Angele Latham, and I am the First Amendment reporter at The Tennessean  a first-of-its kind beat created through a partnership with The Tennessean, the Freedom Forum and the Journalism Funding Partners.

I cover a wide variety of fascinating topics throughout the state, including protests, lawsuits over free speech and religious liberty, investigations, books bans and extremism, just to name a few. Anything that impacts your freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment, Im there.

The First Amendment contains five freedoms: religion, speech, press, assembly and the right to petition the government. The importance of these rights cannot be overstated.

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These rights transcend our work as reporters  they shape the lives of everyday Americans and how they interact with the world around them.

This beat has surprised even me with how well it has been received. Since this is the first dedicated First Amendment beat in the nation, I have a consistent onslaught of story tips coming in from across the country. There is a massive untapped well of First Amendment issues that need coverage, and I am honored to be at the helm.

A recent example: The fight over TikTok and how to balance the free speech rights of those who use the social media app and the national security interest of the United States and its relations with China. I also recently wrote about a nonprofit with Tennessee connections and its First Amendment rights to send aid to Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

Consistent inspection of legislative bills often reveal new First Amendment issues. As do lawsuits, such as a recent one where a Smyrna man won the right to protest outside a business wearing a chicken mask. I also keep close watch on school boards for any book removals, and keep my ear to the ground on social media for brewing problems.

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The best way to find stories, however, is simply by talking to people. The First Amendment is inherently about the peoples speech, and well, that means I need to talk to people. Making connections and listening will always be the best way to report stories that matter and make an impact.

Got a First Amendment issue you want to let me know about? Don't hesitate to reach out. I'm at alatham@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why the First Amendment is important and why it's my beat
The cost of your morning cup of coffee, along with the price at the pump, could be heading up if President Donald Trump carries through on his threatened tariffs against Colombia.

According to USA TODAY, a feud Sunday between the U.S. and Colombia over Trump's mass deportations of migrants risked becoming a trade war, with both sides promising new tariffs on goods coming from the other country.

Trump is holding off on imposing tariffs and sanctions after Colombian President Gustavo Petro agreed to the "unrestricted acceptance" of U.S. military flights deporting Colombian migrants, the White House said.

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What are the United States' biggest imports from Colombia? Here's a look at how the U.S. and the South American nation do business.

What does the US import from Colombia?

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, which provides global trade data, the top three imports to the U.S. from Colombia in 2022 were:

Crude petroleum ($6.05 billion)

Coffee ($1.78 billion)

Cut flowers ($1.64 billion)

Refined petroleum, gold, aluminum structures and coal briquettes were also among the items the US imported most from Colombia in 2022.

The exports from Colombia to the United States increased from $11.1 billion in 2017 to $15.6 billion in 2022, According to the OEC.

According to the OEC's latest trends, those three continue to be the top imports for the month of October 2024:

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Crude petroleum ($338 million)

Coffee ($158 million)

Cut flowers ($137 million)

What does the US export to Colombia?

In 2022, the top exports to Colombia from the United States, According to the OEC, were:

Refined petroleum ($5.31 billion)

Corn (1.04 billion)

Soybean meal ($766 million)

U.S. exports to Colombia grew from $12.6 billion in 2017 to $19.4 billion in 2022.

For October 2024, the top exports to Colombia, per the OEC, were:

Refined petroleum ($228 million)

Crude petroleum ($74.5 million)

Soybean meal ($64.3 million)

What do tariffs mean to U.S. consumers? Price increases could come

When Trump imposed tariffs during his first term in 2018, the stated purpose was to boost U.S. industry and punish foreign exporters, according to The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy nonprofit.

However, the foundation says the economic evidence shows that the tariffs, which continued under President Joe Biden, instead resulted in higher prices for U.S. consumers and businesses. So, tariffs against oil and coffee imported from Colombia could raise the prices of those products.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What does the US import from Colombia? Trump threatens tariffs
Abortion remains inaccessible in Missouri despite Amendment 3. Missouri remains one of 41 states that bans abortion at some point in pregnancy and more women than ever are being punished as a result of their pregnancies (Gloria Rebecca Gomez/Arizona Mirror).

Like so many Americans right now (at least those who appreciate a beautifully crafted movie musical), we remain obsessed with Wicked.

As elder millennials whose day jobs require challenging patriarchal norms around reproductive health, we were excited to see a Hollywood reframe on feminine heroism and the internalized misogyny we grew up on, especially through the otherworldly voice of Cynthia Erivo.

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In many ways, the world of Oz and Shiz University mirror the world of Missouri abortion politics, a microcosm of whats roiling nationwide.

Or, that is how it resonated for us after a nearly two year election cycle in which we were shunned, outcasted and shamed for trying to defy the gravity of re-enshrining Roe vs. Wade into state constitutions, including the recently passed Amendment 3, when we all knew the results would be unjust.

Let us explain.

From our weary point of view, Glinda reminds us of mainstream reproductive rights advocacy organizations that operate as a kind of pink wing of the Democratic Party. In our analogy, these are well heeled non-profit organizations with a lot of money and huge platforms. Planned Parenthood, ACLU and others gain clout by appealing to a scared electorate desperately seeking civil rights, equality and economic sustainability in our world.

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Glinda dons a good face and a sparkly facade. Above all, she strives to remain popular by exuding an alluring performance of solidarity.

Thus, we donate our hard earned dollars and join what we think is the good fight against evil. But when we pull back the curtain, we find that in reality, these good witches enable something very very bad.

Acceptance by Glindas clique requires buying into core delusions: that compromise is common sense, even when those in power want to see us dead. And that somehow we can protect our safety by enshrining the anti-abortion status quo.

This delusion reached a fever pitch over the 2024 Missouri election season when advocacy organizations, funders, and the Democratic Party raised more than $30 million to pass Amendment 3, a re-package of Roe.

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For the uninitiated, Roe was a failed, outdated abortion legal framework from the 1970s that protected a limited legal right to abortion while also protecting the states right to be in control of pregnancy.

Roe means allowing later abortion to be criminalized. It means state interference. It means surveillance, policing, and punishment for pregnant people and their doctors.

In Missouri we have seen anti-abortion legislators use every tool at their disposal to police and punish pregnancy so we can be sure they will continue to exploit the gaping loopholes Amendment 3 allows for them.

But Roe also became a catchphrase that pro-choice politicians and advocates embraced for popularity, money, vanity and some semblance of power.

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For 50 years the gravity of Roe  and its legal permission for government interference  held us back from true reproductive liberation.

Like Elphaba and Glinda, our central tension is over how much political capital to risk  maybe even temporarily lose  in order to win long-term change. The lyrics of Defying Gravity haunted us in the ending scene when Elphaba declares shes through accepting limits because someone says theyre so.

Wicked exposes a hard truth we must learn to unpack: that sometimes its our friends, not the enemy, who hold us back from doing whats right.

For the past three decades, reproductive justice advocates have been pleading with their Glinda-esque counterparts to abandon the limitations of the Roe framework. In Missouri, a small but vocal group dared to challenge our friends and ring alarm bells about the inadequacy of Amendment 3 because we knew enshrining Roe would not ensure abortion access, economic security, safety from violence or freedom from government interference.

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Abortion remains inaccessible in Missouri despite Amendment 3. Missouri remains one of 41 states that bans abortion at some point in pregnancy and more women than ever are being punished as a result of their pregnancies.

Amendment 3 leaders offered pro-choice Missourians an unrealistic promise: that we can protect abortion no matter who is in charge. As a result, for the first time in five election cycles, Missouri Democrats failed to gain a single seat in the legislature, further weakening any legal force Amendment 3 possessed for abortion access.

Things are dire in the Show-Me State. But, like Glinda, we continue to see Amendment 3 leaders insist the future is bright, desperately grasping onto credibility because their popularity depends on it. As Elphaba sings, we hope youre happy.

The reckoning we must have for a brighter future requires looking within our own ecosystems and challenging the conventional wisdom and limited thinking weighing us down. The threats we face are real. And we have no chance to fight them if were divided.

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But reproductive justice demands that we include everybody. So what now? If those who consider themselves leaders want unity, they will have to stop handing government power and control over pregnancy.

Wicked shows us both the power and limitations of a political agenda rooted in familiarity. Real change demands strong values and clear-eyed vision from leaders who know some things must be limitless: our bodily autonomy, our power to consent, health and safety, our empathy.

A growing movement of abortion advocates are tying on their capes to defy decades of the pink wings conventional wisdom. Because they know what we know: that together, there is no fight we cannot win.
(Bloomberg) -- The Filipino wife of a Chinese national accused of espionage said her husband is not a spy, in a case that comes against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions between the Philippines and China.

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Deng Yuanqing, along with two local companions, was arrested on Jan. 17 by Philippine authorities on alleged espionage. Authorities found navigational equipment in his car, which they said Deng had used to travel for over a month to access areas near critical infrastructure and military camps in the main Luzon island.

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Deng was engaged in surveying roads for self-driving cars, his wife Noemi Deng said in a briefing in Manila on Monday. He is not a spy, she said, unable to give further details as she left midway through the briefing.

She said shes been married to Deng since 2014 who she met through a Chinese social networking app. Shes not in a position to provide details about the company that her husband worked for, she said.

A lawyer who accompanied Noemi at the briefing criticized the local authorities handling of Dengs case, characterizing it as trial by publicity. It will strain relations between China and the Philippines, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said.

The Philippines and China are embroiled in a maritime dispute in parts of the South China Sea thats led to several encounters between the two nations ships over the past year. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has pushed backed against Chinas expansive claims over the waterway, angering Beijing.

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MANILA (Reuters) - The Filipino wife of a Chinese national arrested recently in the Philippines for alleged espionage denied on Monday that her husband was a spy, saying he worked for a company specialising in self-driving cars.

Philippine law enforcers arrested Deng Yuanqing and two other Filipinos on suspicion of espionage on Jan. 17 after seizing equipment they alleged was used to survey facilities that include military bases and key infrastructure.

It is not clear how Deng has responded to the accusations. China's embassy in Manila has said the allegations were "baseless".

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The suspect's wife, Noemi Deng, told a press conference her husband was conducting surveys for a firm that specialises in self-drive cars.

"I can only say one thing: he is not a spy," she said.

His arrest came at a time of mistrust and maritime rivalry between China and the Philippines and as Manila boosts its security ties with defence ally the United States.

Deng said she met her husband online in 2013 and travelled frequently to China, but could not provide details about his professional background.

"I am not in a position to answer questions that I cannot truthfully and accurately answer," she said.

The Philippines' justice ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by Martin Petty)
Warmer and breezier weather moves in through Monday. A winter storm will move into New Mexico starting late Tuesday bringing widespread chances for rain and snow.

Its been a more mild day across New Mexico Sunday with high temperatures climbing to near average for this time of the year, with the exception of southeast New Mexico. Overnight, skies will stay clear and our weather will stay calm and quiet with low temperatures around average for the end of January. Warmer weather continues to move in for Monday, but it will also come with increasing southwest wind gusts, especially in southwest New Mexico. Spotty rain and mountain snow showers will move into northwest New Mexico and southwest Colorado late Monday evening. Little to no impacts are expected from this precipitation.

Light snow and light rain will move into western and northwestern New Mexico through the day Tuesday. Across the rest of New Mexico, winds will stay breezy and high temperatures will be a couple degrees cooler. By Tuesday night, snow levels may drop to the lower elevations across northwest New Mexico, but any accumulations should stay light.

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Rain and snow will increase in coverage across New Mexico Wednesday as our next winter storm starts moving across the state. Temperatures will be colder Wednesday as well, so snow levels will sit lower, with a mix of rain and snow in the lower elevations. At the same time the storm moves into the state, a backdoor cold front will be moving in from the northeast. This front could cause heavier snow to fall through Thursday along and east of the Sangre de Cristo and Sandia Mountains. Most of the rain and snow will fall in northern, western, central, and northeastern New Mexico. Isolated rain and snow showers may stick around through Thursday afternoon, but drier weather will be moving in. Moderate winter weather impacts may be possible in these parts of New Mexico too, with the heaviest snow falling in the northern mountains with 12+ possible. In the Albuquerque Metro, a dusting to 2 of snow will be possible, especially Wednesday through Thursday morning.

Drier weather returns statewide Friday as a warming trend starts. Much warmer weather will return by the end of next weekend.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
MADISON - Just days after President Donald Trump vowed to Las Vegas culinary and hotel workers he would make good on a campaign promise to eliminate taxes on tips, Wisconsin lawmakers are proposing to do the same in the Badger State.

Four Republican lawmakers are circulating a proposal to create a state income tax exemption for cash tips received by service industry workers from customers. A bipartisan group of lawmakers unsuccessfully introduced the same idea in 2019. The move has received renewed interest following the 2024 presidential election when Trump proposed the idea that also drew support from then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate.

The Wisconsin proposal was released Monday, just two days after Trump said a legislative package he's hammering out with Republican lawmakers to enact his domestic agenda would include his campaign pledge to eliminate taxes on tips.

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Trump made the commitment in a speech in Las Vegas, a city known for having a large number of culinary and hotel workers who rely on tips. His push comes as the White House and Republican congressional leaders have been in talks about using the budget reconciliation process to pass sweeping proposals on energy, the border and taxes.

"We're going to get it for you," Trump said Saturday at the Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. "No tax on tips."

Trump, who was sworn into office for a second term Monday, credited the no-tax-on-tips proposal with helping him in the 2024 election carry Nevada, which he won by about 3 percent over Harris. On the campaign trail, Harris adopted a similar proposal to end taxes on tips after Trump rolled out his plan.

"In Wisconsin, tipped employees make up a large amount of the workforce in various service industries throughout the state, particularly in the hospitality and tourism sectors," Sens. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, and Reps. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison, and Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, wrote in a memo seeking sponsorship from colleagues. "This change would give a raise to Wisconsin workers by letting them keep more of their hard-earned money in their pocket."

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"It would especially benefit hard-working folks across Wisconsins robust tourism, restaurant, and tavern industries, while providing businesses that use a tip structure as a hiring incentive to recruit employees on basis that they get to keep more of their own earned income," they wrote.

The lawmakers said if passed, Wisconsin would become the first state in the country to create a state income tax exemption for cash tips received by employees.

A spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers did not immediately react to the proposal.

USA Today reporter Joey Garrison contributed to this report.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Republicans seek to end tax on tips after Trump promise
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Republicans want voters to curb the uniquely expansive partial veto powers that Wisconsin governors from both parties have enjoyed for nearly a century.

Wisconsin is the only state where governors can partially veto spending bills by striking words, numbers and punctuation to create new meaning or spending amounts. In most states, governors can only eliminate or reduce spending amounts.

And while the Wisconsin governor's veto power has been reduced over the past four decades, it is still considered the strongest in the country. The issue has crossed party lines, with Republicans and Democrats pushing at different times for more limitations on the governors veto depending on which party was wielding the power.

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Republican state lawmakers on Monday took the latest swing at reducing the veto powers, proposing a constitutional amendment that would eliminate a governor's powers to delete words and rework sentences in bills that spend taxpayer money.

Under the proposal, the governor could only veto entire sections from spending bills instead of individual words.

The partial veto as used by governors currently has turned them into a super lawmaker, according to Republican Sens. Julian Bradley and Cory Tomcyzk and Republican state Rep. Scott Allen. They circulated the proposal for cosponsors Monday.

The idea would have to pass two consecutive legislative sessions and be approved by voters before taking effect. The soonest that could happen is 2027. The Legislature is controlled by Republicans this session, but the 2026 election will determine who will have power starting in 2027.

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The governor could not veto the proposal.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' spokesperson Britt Cudaback said lawmakers instead should get behind the governor's proposal to give voters the power to put issues on the ballot themselves through circulating referendums. Republicans oppose that idea.

Republicans message to the people of Wisconsin is clear: power for me but not for thee, Cudaback said.

The move comes as Republicans have increasingly gotten around Evers by proposing constitutional amendments, which the governor can't stop. Five amendments were put on the ballot last year and a sixth which would add the state's voter ID law to the constitution is up for voter approval on April 1.

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Wisconsins partial veto power was created by a 1930 constitutional amendment, but its been weakened. Voters adopted constitutional amendments in 1990 and 2008 that removed the ability to strike individual letters to make new words  the Vanna White veto  and the power to eliminate words and numbers in two or more sentences to create a new sentence  the Frankenstein veto.

There is a pending case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court challenging a partial veto Evers made in 2023 that attempts to lock in a school funding increase for 400 years. Evers struck digits to create a new ending year for the increases, 2425.

The Supreme Court is weighing whether to declare that the state constitution forbids the governor from striking digits to create a new year or to remove language to create a longer duration than the one approved by the Legislature.
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (PIX11)  A homeless man is accused of pushing a 23-year-old woman into a moving train at a Washington Heights subway station Monday morning, police said.

The victim was standing on the northbound A train platform at the 175th Street station around 9 a.m., police said. As the train pulled into the station, the man pushed her into the train, causing her to fall to the ground on the platform, police said.

Staring stranger repeatedly stabs man on NYC subway: Sources

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The victim was taken to an area hospital with bruises on her face, hands, knees and shoulder, sources told PIX11 News. A friend of the victim told PIX11 News that the woman is doing OK.

The victim told PIX11 News she was pushed out of nowhere. She said its been one of the worst days of her life.

Police said witnesses took photos of the suspect after the attack and showed responding officers. Police took him into custody at the 181st Street station, according to the NYPD.

Markeese Brazelis, 26, was charged with reckless endangerment and assault, police said.

Brazelis was surrounded by news reporters when he was escorted by NYPD officers and put in the back of a police vehicle Monday evening. When asked by PIX11 News why he would push someone into a subway train, Brazelis said he was hearing voices.

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Brazelis has been arrested two times before, once charged with sexual abuse, court records show. Brazelis allegedly grabbed a womans buttocks on a C train, sources told PIX11 News. Brazelis was also charged with trespassing after allegedly walking on the subway tracks, sources said.

Its beyond comprehension how this menace can be arrested two different times last week only to be turned loose to cause more mayhem. When will the courthouses get the message? This cant continue, MTA Chief Security Officer Michael Kemper said in a statement.

Subway safety has become an increasing concern in New York City in recent months. In her State of the State address, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the city would deploy two NYPD officers in every overnight train for the next six months. Mayor Eric Adams administration has also flooded subway stations with NYPD officers, and the state has deployed the National Guard.

On Sunday, two people were stabbed at subway stations in unrelated incidents, including a 17-year-old, sources told PIX11 News.

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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 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 95-year-old woman  who had survived the Nazi invasion of Ukraine, the Chernobyl disaster and the COVID-19 pandemic  died after she was struck by a truck while crossing the street.

Mayya Gil was crossing the street in front of her Brooklyn apartment at around 12:45 p.m. local time on Thursday, Jan. 23, with the help of her 54-year-old health aide when the pair were struck by a cargo van trying to make a left turn, according to a statement from the New York Police Department obtained by PEOPLE.

Police said the health aide, who has not been identified publicly, sustained some leg injuries and was taken to a local hospital in stable condition, but Gil sustained a head injury and was taken to NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn. There she succumbed to her injuries.

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The driver, a 64-year-old man, was not arrested, according to police, who say the investigation remains ongoing.

Google Maps The street in front of Mayya Gil's home in Brooklyn, New York. The street in front of Mayya Gil's home in Brooklyn, New York.

Originally from Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, Gil fled to Kyiv with her mother and brother when she was 12 years old, according to a 2020 profile from The New York Times. There, she met her husband Vilyam, and the pair later welcomed twin daughters.

One of Gil's daughters, Irina Lizunova, told Gothamist that the 1986 disaster at Chernobyl prompted the family's other daughter, Larisa Vaynberg (who died of cancer in 2013 at age 58), to move to N.Y.C. According to The New York Times, the rest of the family followed her in 1992, moving to the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bensonhurst, where the couple would become active community members at the local Jewish Community Center.

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Gil's husband died in 2020 after contracting COVID-19. She spoke candidly about his death to The New York Times, revealing that he spent his final two days in the hospital without her being able to visit.



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"They wouldnt let me see him, and he was too weak to say anything on the phone," Gil told the outlet at the time, speaking in Russian. "We couldn't say goodbye."

However, Gil looked back at her 68-year marriage with love, telling Times in 2020, "We were like one person."

Related: Grandmother Takes Final Photo of 'Happy and Carefree' Granddaughter, 3, Minutes Before She Is Killed (Exclusive)

Despite her hardships, Gil's family said they will remember her as a pillar of the community.

"Everybody knows her," Lizunova told Gothamist of her mother, who was also a great grandmother of seven. "She was a very active lady."

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"She basically raised me since day one," added Gil's granddaughter, Natasha Famighetti. "She was the kindest, most generous person Ive ever met."

Famighetti continued, "Nothing gave her more joy than just being around her family."



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An Arizona woman was charged with murder after authorities allege she ran over a rideshare driver with his own car, killing him.

Jordan Spalding, 31, claimed her rideshare driver, 74-year-old Samuel Webster, tried to rape her during a ride in Phoenix on Jan. 21, police said, according to Fox 10 and ABC 15. At some point, both of them got out of the car, police said.

Authorities believe that surveillance footage and witness testimony show Spalding went back into the car and repeatedly ran over Webster, Fox 10 reports.

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At around 5:15 p.m., officers responded to the scene, where they found Webster on the ground with "obvious signs of trauma, ABC 15 reports, citing police. Webster was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

Police claim there was no evidence of an attempted rape and did not share what company Webster worked for, per the outlets.

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Spalding was charged with second-degree murder and was being held on $1 million bond, Fox 10 reports. Its unclear if she has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on her behalf.

PEOPLE has reached out to the Phoenix Police Department for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.



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SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla (WKRG)  The Santa Rosa County Sheriffs Office is investigating the death of a man whose body was found Friday, according to an SRCSO Facebook post.

The Sheriffs Office conducted a welfare check at Allen Phillipss home in Santa Rosa County on Friday, January 24. Deputies then broke into the home, where they discovered Phillips shot and killed with a gunshot wound to the chest.

The sheriffs office didnt say how long he had been dead but did say his body was in the late stages of decomposition.

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Allens wife, Tequila Phillips, was identified as a suspect by SRCO. She was spotted in Wetumpka, Alabama, where she was arrested in connection to the death.

The post didnt say when she was arrested. The Sheriffs Office says this incident remains an active investigation.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Washington state woman charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a U.S. border patrol agent in Vermont had been in frequent contact with someone whom authorities have linked to homicides in Pennsylvania and California, a federal prosecutor said in court documents Monday.

Teresa Youngblut, 21, faces two weapons charges in connection with the death of Border Patrol Agent David Maland, 44, who died Jan. 20 during the shootout in Coventry, a small town about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Canadian border. She had been traveling with Felix Bauckholt, a German citizen who also was killed, and the pair had been under surveillance for several days.

In a motion filed Monday, U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher said Youngblut should be detained as the case proceeds due to the nature of the crime, the weight of evidence against her, her lack of ties to Vermont, and the danger she poses to the community.

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According to the motion, the gun used by Youngblut and one that Bauckholt was carrying were purchased by a third person in Vermont last February. The buyer is a person of interest on a double homicide investigation in Pennsylvania, Drescher said.

And both Youngblut and the buyer are acquainted with and have been in frequent contact with someone who was detained during that investigation and who also is a person of interest in a homicide investigation in Vallejo, California, the motion said.

The defendant's possession and use of a firearm, combined with her itinerary and associations, suggests she poses a current and substantial danger to the community that could not be addressed by a condition or a combination of conditions of pretrial release," the prosecutor wrote.

Youngblut made an initial appearance in a federal court in Burlington on Monday and was scheduled for a detention hearing on Thursday. The public defender assigned to represent Youngblut in U.S. District Court in Burlington did not return emails seeking comment. A spokesperson for the U. S. Attorneys Office for the District of Vermont declined to comment.

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According to an FBI affidavit, a border agent pulled over Youngblut and Bauckholt on Interstate 91 to conduct an immigration inspection. At the time, Bauckholt appeared to have an expired visa, according to a Department of Homeland Security database, but investigators later confirmed that his visa was current, the FBI said.

Youngblut, who had been driving Bauckholts car, got out and opened fire on Maland and other officers without warning, the FBI alleges. Bauckholt tried to draw a gun but was shot, the affidavit states.

At least one border agent fired on Youngblut and Bauckholt, but authorities havent specified whose bullets hit whom.

This investigation remains very active, and the legal process continues, FBI spokeswoman Sarah Ruane said in a statement over the weekend.

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Investigators had been performing periodic surveillance of Youngblut and Bauckholt since Jan. 14 after an employee at a hotel where they were staying reported concerns after seeing Youngblut carrying a gun and she and Bauckholt wearing black tactical gear, according to the affidavit. Investigators tried to question the duo, who said they were in the area looking to buy property but declined to have an extended conversation, the FBI said.

During a search of the car after the shootout, authorities found cellphones wrapped in foil, a ballistic helmet, night-vision goggles, respirators and ammunition, the FBI said. They also found a package of shooting range targets, including some that had been used, two-way radios, about a dozen electronic devices, travel and lodging information for multiple states, and an apparent journal.

In May, Youngbluts parents reported to Seattle police that she was missing, according to a police report. In the account, first reported by The Seattle Times, they said she had left home with duffel bags full of personal belongings, including her passport and medical records.

The parents said her behavior had changed and that she had been lying about where she was going and who she was seeing. They said she also had broken off contact with friends and changed her phone number. The parents said they were concerned she was being forced to take these actions or that she may be in a controlling relationship.

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A Teresa Youngblut took out a marriage license to a man who was not Bauckholt in November, according to a search of records in Washington states King County.

A man reached at a phone listing for Youngbluts family Friday identified himself as Youngbluts grandfather and declined to comment. No one answered the door at homes in Seattle and Redmond, Washington, associated with Youngbluts name, and neighbors declined to comment.

Bauckholt graduated with an honors degree in mathematics from Waterloo University in Canada in 2018, according to online records. He competed and won honors in computer programming competitions and held an office in the universitys computer science club. He had received a scholarship and was one of several students who had won medals at international olympiads for either mathematics or informatics, according to a school news release from 2015.

A now-deleted LinkedIn profile for a Felix Bauckholt said he had been working as a quantitative trader for a financial firm based in New York since October 2021. An email was sent to the firm seeking confirmation.
A Washington state woman charged in the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Vermont, which happened days after authorities began watching her and a German companion who also died in the roadside shootout, is scheduled to appear in federal court Monday.

Teresa Youngblut, 21, faces two weapons charges in connection with the death of Border Patrol Agent David Maland, 44, who died Jan. 20 during the shootout in Coventry, a small town about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Canadian border. The public defender assigned to represent Youngblut in U.S. District Court in Burlington did not return an email seeking comment.

According to an FBI affidavit, a border agent pulled over Youngblut and Felix Bauckholt on Interstate 91 to conduct an immigration inspection. At the time, Bauckholt appeared to have an expired visa, according to a Department of Homeland Security database, but investigators later confirmed that his visa was current, the FBI said.

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Youngblut, who had been driving Bauckholts car, got out and opened fire on Maland and other officers without warning, the FBI alleges. Bauckholt tried to draw a gun but was shot, the affidavit states.

At least one border agent fired on Youngblut and Bauckholt, but authorities havent specified whose bullets hit whom.

This investigation remains very active, and the legal process continues, FBI spokeswoman Sarah Ruane said in a statement over the weekend.

Investigators had been performing periodic surveillance of Youngblut and Bauckholt since Jan. 14 after an employee at a hotel where they were staying reported concerns after seeing Youngblut carrying a gun and she and Bauckholt wearing black tactical gear, according to the affidavit. Investigators tried to question the duo, who said they were in the area looking to buy property but declined to have an extended conversation, the FBI said.

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During a search of the car after the shootout, authorities found cellphones wrapped in foil, a ballistic helmet, night-vision goggles, respirators and ammunition, the FBI said. They also found a package of shooting range targets, including some that had been used, two-way radios, about a dozen electronic devices, travel and lodging information for multiple states, and an apparent journal.

In May, Youngbluts parents reported to Seattle police that she was missing, according to a police report. In the account, first reported by The Seattle Times, they said she had left home with duffel bags full of personal belongings, including her passport and medical records.

The parents said her behavior had changed and that she had been lying about where she was going and who she was seeing. They said she also had broken off contact with friends and changed her phone number. The parents said they were concerned she was being forced to take these actions or that she may be in a controlling relationship.

A Teresa Youngblut took out a marriage license to a man who was not Bauckholt in November, according to a search of records in Washington states King County.

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A man reached at a phone listing for Youngbluts family Friday identified himself as Youngbluts grandfather and declined to comment. No one answered the door at homes in Seattle and Redmond, Washington, associated with Youngbluts name, and neighbors declined to comment.

Bauckholt graduated with an honors degree in mathematics from Waterloo University in Canada in 2018, according to online records. He competed and won honors in computer programming competitions and held an office in the universitys computer science club. He had received a scholarship and was one of several students who had won medals at international olympiads for either mathematics or informatics, according to a school news release from 2015.

A now-deleted LinkedIn profile for a Felix Bauckholt said he had been working as a quantitative trader for a financial firm based in New York since October 2021. An email was sent to the firm seeking confirmation.




An Alabama woman has become the longest living recipient of a pig organ transplant.

Towana Looney, 53, passed the milestone on Saturday, Jan. 25, when she was reported to be "healthy and full of energy" 61 days after her transplant, according to the Associated Press.

"Im superwoman," she told the outlet. "Its a new take on life."

Looney is the fifth patient to be given a gene-edited pig organ since 2022  and the third to receive a kidney  per The New York Times.

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None of the other recipients survived beyond the two-month mark.

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Towana Looney in December 2024 Towana Looney in December 2024

Related: Olympic Skier Tereza Nova in a Medically Induced Coma After Crashing in Training and Undergoing Brain Surgery

"If you saw her on the street, you would have no idea that shes the only person in the world walking around with a pig organ inside them thats functioning," Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health told the AP.

Montgomery, who led Looneys transplant, called her kidney function "absolutely normal." Now, doctors hope she can return to her home in Gadsden, Ala. in about another month.

"Were quite optimistic that this is going to continue to work and work well for, you know, a significant period of time," Montgomery said.

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In December, it was reported that Looney was "recuperating well" after her November transplant. The patient was discharged from the hospital 11 days after surgery.

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Looney had previously donated a kidney to her mother in 1999, before her remaining kidney was later damaged  and eventually failed  due to pregnancy complications, the AP reported. She had developed a high level of antibodies, which meant she'd likely reject other human organs.

"Its like a new beginning," she told the outlet at the time. "The energy I had was amazing. To have a working kidney  and to feel it  is unbelievable."

Related: Ali Fedotowsky-Manno's Husband Kevin Diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer: 'It's Changed My Perspective on Life'

"You dont know if its going to work or not until you try," she admitted.

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The AP stated that scientists are "genetically altering pigs so their organs are more humanlike because there is a shortage of organ donations. The outlet added that more than 100,000 people remain on the U.S. transplant list, many of whom are waiting for a kidney.

Around 5,600 Americans die every year waiting for a human organ to become available, according to USA Today.

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ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. (KSNW)  A woman was stabbed multiple times in an attack Sunday night in Arkansas City.

Arkansas City Police and EMS responded around 10:20 p.m. to a home near 12th and West Oklahoma Avenue on the report of a disturbance and stabbing. When they arrived, they found a 40-year-old woman with multiple stab wounds, including to her neck.

Kansas homicide leads to chase and deadly crash in Kiowa County

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EMS took her to South Central Medical Center and then airlifted to a Wichita hospital. She is now in stable condition, according to police.

Police arrested the womans partner inside a nearby home. He was taken to the Cowley County Jail and booked on suspicion of attempted second-degree murder and domestic battery, with a bond set at $100,000. Formal charges are pending.

Police say they are still investigating, and anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Arkansas City Police Department at 620-441-4547 or Crimestoppers at 620-441-7777.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV.
HARTFORD, Wis. (WFRV)  Authorities in Wisconsin say a wood-burning furnace is to blame for a fire that damaged a garage Sunday afternoon.

According to a release from the Washington County Sheriffs Office, at 1:02 p.m., a passerby reported seeing flames coming out of the roof of a home on Highway 175 in the Town of Hartford.

A trooper with the Wisconsin State Patrol was the first to arrive on the scene and they confirmed visible flames coming from the garage with smoke continuing to fill the home.

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Crews determined the home was unoccupied at the time and the St. Lawrence Fire Department soon arrived to extinguish the fire.

Fond du Lac County Sheriffs Office: Three out-of-state people arrested on drug-related charges following high-speed pursuit through multiple counties

Officials say damage from the fire was contained to only the large attached garage with the living quarters of the home being mostly intact after suffering only smoke damage.

A wood-burning furnace, which was confirmed to be used by the homeowner shortly before the fire started, is believed to be the cause and origin of the fire.

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No other information is currently available and there are no damage estimates at this time.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
A worker replacing a billboard at Victorias Secret flagship store in Midtown Manhattan fell to his death after an MTA bus hit a boom lift, police sources said Monday.

Vladimir Cruz, 39, was in the bucket of the lift protruding into the roadway as he worked outside the store on Fifth Ave. near E. 51st St. around 9:35 p.m. Sunday, an NYPD spokesperson said.

An M1 bus with a 44-year-old driver at the wheel struck the lift, sending Cruz, who was replacing the stores billboard, tumbling to the pavement below.

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Cruz suffered head and body trauma and was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he later died.

The bus driver remained at the scene and was not immediately facing charges. No passengers on the bus were hurt, according to an MTA spokesperson.

Cruz lived in the Melrose section of the Bronx, police said.
By Duncan Miriri

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Policymakers around the globe should not react in haste to announcements by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, and be prepared to argue their case, World Bank President Ajay Banga told Reuters.

Trump's first week in office has seen a flurry of executive orders and policy plans, ranging from tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China to a review on all existing foreign assistance.

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"My only advice to everyone is don't be in too much of a hurry to respond or judge," Banga told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Tanzania's commercial capital of Dar Es Salaam.

Policymakers should wait to see what policies are actually executed, Banga added.

"I have dealt with him (Trump) in the past. He is a very practical man, he understands numbers, he understands leverage and he understands advantage. You have to go to him and explain to him what you bring."

The U.S. and Colombia pulled back from the brink of a trade war on Sunday after the White House said its third-largest U.S. trading partner in Latin America had agreed to accept military aircraft carrying deported migrants.

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Washington's draft measures - now on hold - had included imposing steep and rising tariffs on all Colombian imports, a travel ban and visa revocations on Colombia government officials.

The World Bank could feel the effects of any travel restrictions.

"If their visas don't work, that's a problem," said Banga.

Asked about Friday's "stop-work" order issued by the U.S. State Department on all existing and future foreign assistance, Banga said the Washington-based lender was "not yet" affected as it operated differently to bilateral aid.

Asked about return to office plans for World Bank staff, Banga said he had no plans to change the mandate beyond the current four days a week.

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"I expect World Bank employees to be back four days a week," he said, adding there were no plans today to increase this to five.

Trump has ordered federal workers to return to the office five days a week. (This story has been corrected to clarify and fix the quote on return-to-office plans in paragraph 12)

(Reporting by Duncan Miriri, writing by Karin Strohecker, editing by Christina Fincher)
Prior to last week, no U.S. president had ever used his inaugural address to threaten a foreign country. That changed when President Donald Trump, just minutes after he took the oath of office, declared, China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didnt give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and were taking it back.

As Trump often speaks off the cuff, it can sometimes be hard to separate his bombastic statements and clearly exaggerated claims from his actual policy plans. Though he had made similar comments about the Panama Canal in December, it was unclear at that time how serious or focused he was about his interest in the issue. On social media, he posted AI-generated fake photos of the U.S. flag in the Panama Canal territory that suggested he was trolling for likes more than making a real policy proposal. When he later suggested he would not rule out the use of military force in Panama, it was an off-hand response to a reporters leading question that included the use of economic coercion as an option.

In contrast, the inaugural address was a prepared speech. The comments about Panama were planned well in advance and likely reviewed by several of the presidents advisers. Trump meant exactly what he said.

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Even without the military threat, the U.S. has plenty of leverage over Panama. On the economic front, Panama is part of DR-CAFTA, a regional free trade agreement, and the U.S. is its leading trading partner. Panama uses the U.S. dollar as its currency, meaning that Washington can effectively control and restrict the Panamanian economy with sanctions, which would have greater impact than they would against a country that has its own currency.

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But Trump chose to use language in his inaugural address that clearly crosses the line into a military threat, to the extent that Panama urged United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to refer the matter to the Security Council as a violation of the U.N. Charters prohibition on the threat or use of force against the sovereignty of another member state.

Prior to the inauguration, it was possible to interpret Trumps comments aimed at Panama as a warning shot to other countries in the hemisphere about the sort of hardball negotiations to come. But Trumps three stated reasons in the inaugural address for wanting to retake the Panama Canal make it clear that this actually represents a significant shift in his foreign policy posture.

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First, he cited the amount of money, time and lives that the U.S. spent in building the canal in the early 20th century, suggesting that those building costs give the U.S. a historical right to control the territory. This goes to a longstanding complaint that the administration of former President Jimmy Carter, who died late last year, should never have agreed to cede control of the canal to Panama. Whether or not that was the correct historical decision, it is enshrined in a Senate-confirmed treaty and cannot be undone by the U.S. president acting on his own. Trumps threats signal a potential willingness to try to undo Carters efforts and revive the historical policies of the Monroe Doctrine and Roosevelt Corollary. It should signal to the rest of the hemisphere that Trump believes the U.S. president can impose his will on their domestic politics, even overriding the Congress in the process.

This is an issue that is larger than just the Panama Canal. The hemisphere and the world are not ready for what it means for the U.S. president to be interested in territorial expansion.

Second, Trump claims that the independent authorities administering the canal overcharge U.S. ships from both the private sector and the U.S. Navy, and otherwise treat them poorly in ways he did not specify. Panama is correct in noting that ships from all countries are charged the same rates and that U.S. Navy ships are in fact the only military vessels that receive preferential treatment in terms of expediting their passage through the Canal. Still, this complaint by Trump demonstrates not only his tendency to view international relations as a business negotiation, which weve seen before, but also a newfound willingness to distort the facts in seeking a better deal, even when the current arrangement is fair.

Third, Trump claims that China controls a significant portion of canal infrastructure in a way that threatens global shipping and U.S. national security. While a Chinese company operates the ports near both ends of the canal, China does not control the Panama Canal. In fact, to the contrary, Beijing still has far less influence in Panama than Washington. But no matter how this particular issue in Panama develops, Trumps comments point to the fact that concerns over Chinas presence and perceived influence in the Western Hemisphere as part of great power competition, which permeated his first term and continued under former President Joe Bidens administration, will now become even more expansive under the new Trump administration.

However, these three purported reasons Trump used to justify taking back the Panama Canal dont tell the full story. There is a larger and more aggressive agenda brewing in Trumps second term that the world should take notice of.

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This fourth reason is unstated in the comments on Panama but has permeated Trumps discourse on foreign policy since he defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Simply put, Trumps rhetoric has shifted from isolationist to expansionist. He campaigned on the dubious claim that he was the only modern president not to have started a new foreign conflict, something he repeated in a post-inauguration interview. But since the election he has also discussed buying or taking over Greenland and making Canada the 51st state, in addition to retaking the Panama Canal. And when asked about the potential use of U.S. special operations forces inside Mexican territory to target drug-trafficking cartels, he raised his eyebrows and gave a noncommittal answerStranger things have happenedthat could easily be interpreted as suggesting such an operation may be in the works.

As if to double down on the Panama comments during the inaugural address, the subsequent section of Trumps speech promised policies to expand our territory and pursue our manifest destiny. While that last comment referred to planting the U.S. flag on Mars, the concept of Manifest Destiny goes back to the westward expansion of the United States in the 19th century that resulted in the countrys largest territorial gains, including the violent seizure of Mexican territory through war. Trump is now embracing a mixture of strategies that include bargaining, economic coercion and military force to once again grow the size of the United States.

This is an issue that is larger than just the Panama Canal. The hemisphere and the world are not ready for what it means for the U.S. president to be interested in territorial expansion. Even for those who have been critical of Washingtons past actions, including acting unilaterally and using military force in ways that many nations view as a violation of sovereignty, the idea that the U.S. would engage in territorial conquest is a step beyond. Depending on how Trump proceeds with these plans, it could place the U.S. on par with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine in 2014 and 2022. It would also grant legitimacy to any potential moves China makes in the future to take territory with its military.

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino has declared that the country will defend every inch of its sovereignty, including over the canal. But within Panamas political establishment and media, there is a certain level of disbelief that this debate is even taking place. Even for a country that the U.S. invaded and whose leader it deposed, arrested and imprisoned just 35 years ago, it can be hard to take the threat of a modern U.S. invasion and occupation of the Canal Zone seriously. Its as if it comes from a different era.

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Yet, Trumps glib comments about his willingness to use the U.S. military in the Western Hemisphere should not be treated as too absurd or anachronistic to believe. To the contrary, Panama, its neighbors and the world should be taking Trumps calls for a U.S. return to Manifest Destiny and territorial expansion very seriously. They signal a huge shift in the guiding principles of U.S. foreign policy, and other countries should not say they were not warned. Trump told them so himself in his very first speech of his second term.

James Bosworth is the founder of Hxagon, a firm that does political risk analysis and bespoke research in emerging and frontier markets, as well as a global fellow at the Wilson Centers Latin America Program. He has two decades of experience analyzing politics, economics and security in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The post The World Isnt Ready for Trumps Expansionist Foreign Policy appeared first on World Politics Review.
It doesnt do any good for your heart, for your mind, for anything, said Holocaust survivor Jona Laks, 94, about her return to Nazi Germanys Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

But its necessary, she said. Its necessary for the world to know.

Monday marks Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp complex, where Laks spent more than a year when she was only about 12 years old.

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She and her twin sister, Miriam, experienced horrors in the inhum ane medical experiments of SS physician Josef Mengele. Laks was initially lined up to be murdered in gas chambers, but her older sister saved her by shouting that the twins should not be separated.

Laks, who was just a child when Hitler invaded her native Poland, told CNN the suffering that followed is absolutely impossible to understand.

As time passes over, things are being forgotten, Laks said, noting that few are left from her generation to speak out. The world hasnt learned its lessons from what happened, from what was done.

Approximately 1.1 million people were murdered at the concentration camp from 1940 to 1945, many of them Jews but also other victims of the Third Reich including Poles, the Roma, and Soviet prisoners of war.

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Michael Bornstein, who survived for seven months inside Auschwitz as a child, said that nothing will be easy about returning to the site.

Holocaust survivors take part in the ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland on January 27. - Jakub Porzycki/Anadolu/Getty Images

Streams of mourners young and old laid down candles at the former concentration camp site to mark Mondays anniversary. Some bowed their heads or took a knee in front of a line of wreaths.

Others wore striped blue-and-white items of clothing like scarfs and hats, resembling the uniforms prisoners were once forced to wear.

Later in the day, hundreds gathered in a large marquee, lit with bright red, pink and blue lights, to hear the stories of Holocaust survivors, including Marian Turski, 98, who was sent to Auschwitz in 1944.

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Those who lived to see freedom, there were hardly, hardly, none. So few. And now, there is only a handful, he told the audience.

Turski said peoples thoughts should go toward the millions of victims who will never tell us what they experienced or they felt, just because they were consumed by that mass destruction.

World leaders also gathered in Poland to mark the camps liberation, including Britains King Charles, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. None spoke at the event, which instead aimed to focus on the voices of survivors.

But Charles did leave a moving message in a visitors book, after he took a tour of the former death camp, which is now a museum.

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Remembering what took place here, and those who were so cruelly murdered is a duty; a sacred duty that must be protected, he wrote, according to PA media.

Being here today, hearing the stories of those who experienced its horrors, seeing the shoes of children whose lives were taken when theyd just begun, and walking the paths upon which such cruelty was inflicted, is something that I will never forget.

Holocaust survivor Marian Turski gives a welcome address during the ceremony for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp on January 27. - Aaron Chown/Pool/Getty Images

All of Auschwitzs remaining survivors were invited to the commemorations and could bring one person for support.

We are fully aware of how physically demanding and emotionally taxing attending the commemoration event at the site of the former camp can be for them, the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum said in a statement.

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One of the symbols of the 80th anniversary is a freight train car, which was placed directly in front of the main gate. The train car is dedicated to the memory of the approximately 420,000 Hungarian Jews who were deported to Auschwitz.

The United Nations declared January 27 as the International Holocaust Memorial Day in 2005. Observed annually, it marks the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945 and remembers the six million Jews who lost their lives under the Nazis.

Germanys Scholz said in a Monday statement: Sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, friends, neighbors, grandparents: more than one million individuals with dreams and hopes were murdered in Auschwitz by Germans. We mourn their deaths. And express our deepest sympathy. Well never forget them. Not today, not tomorrow.

The museum says the event at Auschwitz offers the chance for shared commemoration and global reflection.

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It comes at a time of mounting antisemitism in Europe, fueled by conflict in the Middle East which saw Israel launch a war on Gaza in response to terror attacks carried out by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023.

There has been an increase in antisemitic incidents in Europe since October 2023, with some Jewish community organizations reporting an increase of more than 400%, according to a survey from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), published in June.

Of those surveyed by the FRA, 76% say they hide their Jewish identity at least occasionally and 34% avoid Jewish events or sites due to feeling unsafe.

Europe is witnessing a wave of antisemitism, partly driven by the conflict in the Middle East. This severely limits Jewish peoples ability to live in safety and with dignity, FRA Director Sirpa Rautio said.

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Events in the Middle East have also prompted a surge in Islamophobic incidents across Europe, including arson, verbal and physical abuse and the targeting of mosques.

CNNs Melissa Bell, Pierre Bairin, Mark Esplin and Chris Stern contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday stressed Germany's enduring responsibility for the Holocaust as leaders and survivors marked 80 years since Soviet troops liberated the Nazi-run death camp Auschwitz.

Steinmeier, speaking at the site of Nazi Germany's Auschwitz-Birkenau complex of concentration and extermination camps in Poland, also opposed any relativising of the immense crimes committed by the Nazis.

What happened in Auschwitz-Birkenau and other German concentration camps under Nazi rule "is part of our history and therefore also part of our identity, which we must come to terms with," Steinmeier said during a tour of the former camp, where the Nazis murdered at least 1.1 million people between 1940 and 1945, most of them Jews.

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Steinmeier was among many other heads of state and government attending the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Britain's King Charles III, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Delegations from 56 countries attended the commemoration. Israel was represented by Education Minister Yoav Kish.

Duda remembered the victims of the Nazis at the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial site as commemorations got under way.

"We Poles, on whose land occupied by Nazi Germany this extermination industry and this concentration camp were built, are today the guardians of memory," Duda said.

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At the start of the ceremony, Duda laid a wreath at the Death Wall, accompanied by former prisoners.

Thousands of prisoners were shot in front of the wall by Nazi SS soldiers.

Survivors lead ceremonies

Instead of high-profile speeches, the focus of the commemoration was on survivors' testimonies, with more than 50 former prisoners from Auschwitz-Birkenau and other camps taking part in the ceremonies.

Given their advanced age, it may be one of the last large ceremonies at which survivors can take part.

"I was the same height as the German Shepherds, I could look them in the eye when I arrived at Auschwitz," said Tova Friedman, a survivor who was deported to the camp with her mother at the age of five and a half.

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In her speech, she recalled how Jewish children from the neighbouring barracks were sent straight to the gas chambers. "I thought: this is normal. If you're Jewish, you have to die."

Leon Weintraub, 99, described how, on arrival at the camp, he was shaved bald, treated with burning disinfectant and clothed in rags. "That's how they took away our humanity. We were disposable objects," the Auschwitz survivor said.

Weintraub he said it worried him a great deal to see people marching to Nazi slogans in Poland and many other countries today.

He called on young people to "be sensitive to any manifestation of intolerance or hostility towards people of different skin colour, religion or sexual orientation."

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Auschwitz survivor Marian Turski, 98, warned against conspiracy myths. "We should not be afraid to oppose conspiracy theories according to which all evil in the world is the result of conspiracies instigated by unspecified groups in society that often mention Jews."

A 91-year-old survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, Pavel Taussig, was one of those accompanying Scholz and Steinmeier to the ceremonies.

Taussig was deported by Nazi German forces from Slovakia to the Auschwitz camp in German-occupied Poland in 1944, shortly before his 11th birthday.

He survived Auschwitz and a forced death march to the Mauthausen camp in Austria, where he was freed by advancing US soldiers in May 1945.

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Taussig, whose tattooed prisoner number is still clearly visible on his left forearm, said that he only "grudgingly" returned to Auschwitz, "but I think it's my duty."

Warning over 'populism and demagoguery'

On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops liberated the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, located in modern-day Oswiecim, Poland.

The Nazis had murdered more than 1 million people there, predominantly Jews.

Since 1996, this date has been observed in Germany as Holocaust Memorial Day and in 2005 the United Nations declared the date an international day of remembrance.

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Piotr Cywinski, head of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, said he expected the speakers to also address current issues in their speeches.

"With the phenomenal increase of populism, demagoguery and informational chaos these days, we need firm and clear points of reference, and their experiences are part of this," Cywinski told the Polish Press Agency.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and his wife Brigitte Macron attend a Commemoration ceremony for the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp's liberation. Oana Jaroslav/CTK/dpa
The world's biggest iceberg  three time the size of New York City  could drift toward a remote island where a scientist warns it risks disrupting feeding for baby penguins and seals.

The gigantic wall of ice is moving slowly from Antarctica on a potential collision course with South Georgia, a crucial wildlife breeding ground in the South Atlantic.

Satellite imagery suggested that unlike previous "megabergs," this rogue was not crumbling into smaller chunks as it plodded through the Southern Ocean, Andrew Meijers, a physical oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey, told AFP on Friday.

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He said predicting its exact course was difficult but prevailing currents suggested the colossus would reach the shallow continental shelf around South Georgia in two to four weeks.

But what might happen next is anyone's guess, he said.

It could avoid the shelf and get carried into open water beyond South Georgia, a British overseas territory some 870 miles east of the Falkland Islands.

Or it could strike the sloping bottom and get stuck for months or break up into pieces.

An infographic titled

Meijers said this scenario could seriously impede seals and penguins trying to feed and raise their young on the island. The island hosts 1.3 million pairs of Chinstrap penguins  one of the world's largest colonies  about 5 million seals, and 65 million breeding birds.

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"Icebergs have grounded there in the past and that has caused significant mortality to penguin chicks and seal pups," he said.

Roughly 1,550 square miles across, the world's biggest and oldest iceberg, known as A23a, calved from the Antarctic shelf in 1986. Before its calving in 1986, the colossal iceberg hosted a Soviet research station. falley

It remained stuck for over 30 years before finally breaking free in 2020, its lumbering journey north sometimes delayed by ocean forces that kept it spinning in place. In 2023, the British Antarctic Survey posted a time-lapse of satellite imagery, showing the iceberg's movement.

"Game of Thrones-esque" iceberg

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Meijers -- who encountered the iceberg face to face while leading a scientific mission in late 2023 -- described "a huge white cliff, 40 or 50 meters high, that stretches from horizon to horizon".

"It's just like this white wall. It's very sort of Game of Thrones-esque, actually," he said, referring to the dark fantasy series.

A23a has followed roughly the same path as previous massive icebergs, passing the east side of the Antarctica Peninsula through the Weddell Sea along a route called "iceberg alley." That is the same current of water that famed explorer Ernest Shackleton used in 1916 to make his storied escape from Antarctica after losing his ship, the Endurance. The legendary shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Antarctica in 2022.

Weighing a little under a trillion tons, this monster block of freshwater was being whisked along by the world's most powerful ocean "jet stream"  the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

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Raul Cordero from Chile's University of Santiago, who is also part of the National Antarctic Research Committee, said he was confident the iceberg would sidestep South Georgia.

In this handout photo provided by the British Antarctic Survey, a view of the A23a iceberg is seen from the RRS Sir David Attenborough, Antarctica, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. / Credit: Andrew Meijers / AP

"The island acts as an obstacle for ocean currents and therefore usually diverts the water long before it reaches the island," he said.

"The iceberg is moved by that water flow, so the chances of it hitting are not that high," though chunks could, he said.

Another scientist, glaciologist Soledad Tiranti currently on an Argentinian exploration voyage in the Antarctic, said that icebergs such as A23a "are so deep that before reaching an island or mainland they generally get stuck" on the seabed.

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It is summer in South Georgia and resident penguins and seals along its southern coastline are foraging in the frosty waters to bring back food to fatten their young.

"If the iceberg parks there, it'll either block physically where they feed from, or they'll have to go around it," said Meijers.

"That burns a huge amount of extra energy for them, so that's less energy for the pups and chicks, which causes increased mortality."

The seal and penguin populations on South Georgia have already been having a "bad season" with an outbreak of bird flu "and that (iceberg) would make it significantly worse," he said.

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As A23a ultimately melted it could seed the water with nutrients that encourage phytoplankton growth, feeding whales and other species, and allowing scientists to study how such blooms absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

While icebergs are natural phenomena, Meijers said the rate at which they were being lost from Antarctica was increasing, likely due to human induced climate change.

In January 2023, a massive piece of Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf  a chunk about the size of two New York Cities  broke free. The Brunt Ice Shelf lies across the Weddell Sea from the site of the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. In 2022, the Larsen C ice shelf  which was roughly the size of New York City and was long considered to be stable  collapsed into the sea.

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The Washington State Department of Transportation has closed an Interstate 90 ramp near Seattle for an emergency expansion joint repair.

The extended closure started at about 1:30 p.m. and is expected to continue through the evening commute, according to the Mercer Island Police Department.

This emergency work will push a lot of people onto surface streets in the area. Please be patient with each other as @wsdot works to fix this as quickly as possible. https://t.co/VHzqAD5cF3  Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) January 27, 2025

Crews will work quickly, the release noted, however westbound travelers need to plan ahead and seek alternate routes.

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HEADS UP: WSDOT maintenance crews will be closing the WB I-90 to NB I-5 ramp in Seattle for urgent expansion joint... Posted by Mercer Island Police Department on Monday, January 27, 2025








WYOMING COUNTY, WV (WVNS)  A Wyoming County man pleaded guilty to attempting to commit a felony.

According to a press release, 54-year-old Judd Stephen Reed, of Pineville, pleaded guilty to Attempt to Commit a Felony on January 23, 2025.

Two people arrested in Wyoming County after reported burglary

The release stated that on January 6, 2025, members of law enforcement responded to a burglary in progress in the East Pineville area of Wyoming County.

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When the members of the Wyoming County Sheriffs Office arrived at the scene, officers apprehended Reeds female associate, while other officers entered a wooded area, where they found and detained Reed.

The investigation found evidence of forced entry through the back door of the unoccupied house.

Wyoming County man pleads guilty to failure to register as a sex offender

Breaking into a dwelling, whether occupied or not, is a crime we will not tolerate in Wyoming County. Gregory Bishop | Wyoming County Prosecutor

Reed is scheduled to be sentenced in March 2025, and he faces one to three years in prison.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS.
CHEYENNE  Schools across Wyoming may soon be required to allow patriotic organizations time to visit with students, during the school day, about their activities.

On Jan. 17, Senate File 90, Youth organizations in schools, passed the Senate on third and final reading. Bill sponsor Sen. Gary Crum, R-Laramie, explained that the proposed legislation will allow specific youth organizations outlined in United States Code (36 U.S.C.) mandatory time in Wyoming schools to share their mission with children across the state.

Sen. Gary Crum, R-Laramie (2025)

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Sen. Gary Crum, R-Laramie

Specifically, Crum said the bill covers organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Scouting America (formally known as Boy Scouts of America), Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Civil Air Patrol, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Red Cross, Girl Scouts of the USA and 4-H.

SF 90 would allow these organizations listed to go into the school to present (and) give our youth and throughout the state an opportunity to do things after school in a productive way, rather than just going home and playing Xbox, Crum said Monday before the Senate Education Committee.

Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, asked if SF 90 would open the door to organizations inappropriate for schoolchildren.

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What are the potentially unintended consequences of something like this, getting in organizations that many people would not feel were particularly patriotic, or were hostile to the interests of many people? Scott asked.

Crum replied that SF 90 would only require schools to allow in those organizations listed in U.S. Code. Any other local group would be allowed time to present to children during the school day at the discretion of the school or local school board, he said. Nathan Dutson, Scout executive with the Adventure West Council of Boy Scouts, testified in committee Monday that schools in Laramie, Riverton and Rawlins let his organization present to students during school time. Schools in Casper, Cody, Sheridan and Gillette did not.

Cheyenne was unique, Dutson said. They were going to allow us to come talk with the kids, but then they were hit with a lawsuit  not related to Scouting  and their legal (counsel) determined that it was just too risky to let Scouting come and talk to the kids, because of this other lawsuit.

Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, said that she is in favor of allowing such organizations in school, but not at the expense of instructional time. The bill passed through three readings on the Senate floor, where it ultimately passed in a 28-3 third-reading vote Thursday.

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This is a way to build citizenship in our community. These organizations are non-threatening to our society. They are very worthy organizations, Crum said Thursday.

Crum continued that, as many of the organizations in U.S. Code are chartered by the federal government, they will no longer be held to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) standards, which he noted have been rescinded by the Trump administration this week.

Would you rather have a child, no matter what their background, standing up and learning to say the Pledge of Allegiance and what citizenship means, or would you rather have them learning things on their own and becoming problems later on that society has to deal with? Crum asked his fellow senators.

Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie (2025)

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Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie

Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, said that while he had no issue with the organizations Crum listed, he wondered how Wyoming senators would feel if the federal government mandated a list of organizations the state had to allow within its schools.

If my local school district would like to have one of these organizations participate, and I have no doubt that they do, theyre going to be able to participate, to make those arrangements  and that is the appropriate level of government, Rothfuss said. Its OK for us to be passionately supportive of something and not mandate it.

Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, said he supported the bill, especially because it includes parental notification.

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It has an acknowledgement of parental rights, Hicks said. If these organizations are going to participate in the school districts, they have to notify the parents or guardians (of) each patriotic organizations expectations, presentations and the options of the parents not to participate.

SF 90 will next head to the House of Representatives for consideration.
He's served in the California Legislature, in Congress and, most recently, in the Cabinet as President Biden's secretary of Health and Human Services.

And don't forget his time as California's attorney general, a post also once held by Vice President Kamala Harris and a springboard for higher office.

So what's next for Xavier Becerra?

According to Becerra allies, who requested anonymity to discuss his plans candidly, he is "strongly considering" running for governor and is already exploring the possibility with members of the state's congressional delegation, donor class and potential supporters.

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Read more: Will Kamala Harris run for California governor in 2026? The question is already swirling

Becerra last week demurred when asked about his plans days after leaving his federal post.

Im in the process of transitioning back to California," he said. "I have lots to think about, including seeing more of my family.

In an earlier interview held in the formal conference room outside his HHS office, Becerra reflected on his tenure in the Biden administration leading a team of 95,000. It was just three days before President Trump's inauguration, as staffers took down nameplates from nearby doors.

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"Looking back, it's been a momentous four years, the 66-year-old Becerra said. I think most people would tell you that we have delivered on mission. We were very focused. We took over at a time of very difficult circumstances. We climbed our way out.

Asked what his first priorities were when he took the oath of office in March 2021, Becerra replied, COVID. COVID. COVID. There was nothing else.

Among the administration's top accomplishments, he said, was getting 700 million COVID vaccination shots into the arms of Americans, and people could get their shots just about anywhere  from large-scale distribution centers to barbershops to pharmacies. We realized we had to get to where people were, he said.

He also cited providing more than 300 million people access to healthcare, with 46 million Americans getting health insurance coverage because of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. He also touted the launch of the 988 hotline that provides round-the-clock suicide and crisis counseling.

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Weve never had an administration be this direct and determined on mental health  to the point where the resources can't be matched, Becerra said. It's historically the largest investment in mental health.

Asked whether he was concerned about the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Senate and House rolling back these gains, he said his agency had worked to protect them.

Read more: Supreme Court upholds FDA's approval of abortion pills for early pregnancies

For instance, Becerra, who was the first Health and Human Services secretary to visit a Planned Parenthood clinic, pointed to the administration's work on reproductive care, such as going to the Supreme Court to protect access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used to medically end pregnancy.

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Weve clearly played strong defense, he said.

He also said he was optimistic now that Americans are more familiar with the protections they received under the Affordable Care Act, such as coverage for preexisting conditions, which will make it politically more difficult for Republicans to accomplish policy goals such as repealing Obamacare.

Too many people know now. Before, they weren't familiar with it. Today, they know what they've got, Becerra said. You could be complacent. You don't have to worry because right now you've got your care. But come November, December, if the typical scenario is playing out in Congress where they've got a budget showdown and those tax credits are getting ready to expire, I think people are going to rise up and say, Wait a minute, that's my healthcare.

Under Biden the enrollment period for ACA had been extended in most states  a factor contributing to the program's growth  but just days after Becerra's interview, Trump signed an executive order ending that extension.

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Im the son of immigrants. So optimism runs in my DNA

Xavier Becerra

Though Becerra's possible successor, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and other members of Trump's circle are openly skeptical about or dismissive of prevailing scientific theories and practices, Becerra said he believes that, ultimately, science and fact will prevail.

Im the son of immigrants. So optimism runs in my DNA, Becerra said.

Now that his tenure is over, he said he looks forward to returning to California and being able to be unshaven and wear jeans when he sees his family.

I love California because of its energy. I think of California the way I think of my family: The glass is half full for us, Becerra said, noting that he was the first in his family to go to college and all three of his daughters went to college. We're still going. We're still on the up. We haven't seen the best days yet.

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Are those the words of a potential gubernatorial candidate? Perhaps.

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.
Everyone knows Arizona is nicknamed the Grand Canyon State.

But did you know it's also been called the Baby State or the Sweetheart State at various points in history?

Arizona didn't have an official state nickname on the books until the 2000s when lawmakers pushed a bill cementing the Grand Canyon State nickname which was already being used on license plate and trinkets for tourists.

However, there are a handful of other nicknames associated with the state that highlight its other stunning features, unique historical points of pride, geographic details and more.

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Here's everything to know about Arizona's official state nickname and other names that are commonly used.

What is the Arizona state nickname?

The official nickname for Arizona is the Grand Canyon State.

Why is Arizona the Grand Canyon State?

The Grand Canyon is considered one of the natural wonders of the world.

People have long trekked from faraway places to see its majestic sunsets, hike into its core, learn its history and generally revel in the awe of its grandeur. In fact, the Grand Canyon National Park saw more than 4.7 million visitors in 2023.

At the Grand Canyon, visitors can see and touch millions of years of history as they descend into the canyon, which was carved by the Colorado River starting 6 million years ago.

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The Grand Canyon was also home to some of the earliest Arizonans, though the state was thousands of years from being named that. The oldest human artifacts found in or near the canyon are more than 12,000 years old, according to the National Park Service.

On Feb. 26, 1919, the Grand Canyon National Park officially joined the young park program as the 14th park. Years prior as tourism to the canyon began, President Theodore Roosevelt visited and was stirred by the sight.

Man cannot improve on it; not a bit, he said in a planned speech. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children and your childrens children and for all who come after you, as one of the great sights which every American, if he can travel at all, should see.

Other nicknames for Arizona

While the Grand Canyon State may be Arizona's official nickname, there are other unofficial nicknames commonly used. These include:

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Valentine's State: Arizona became a state on Valentine's Day in 1912, cementing this special nickname.

Sweetheart State: This one is also tied to Arizona's statehood day on Feb. 14.

Baby State: Arizona was called the Baby State for years after it was made a state because it was the youngest state in the country. Alaska was admitted to the U.S. 47 years later in 1959 making the name less accurate.

Sunset State: While Oregon has also been called the Sunset State, Arizona is known for its stunning sunsets. Historian Marshall Trimble told the Arizona Daily Star in 2009 that the state has been called the Sunset State among other nicknames

Copper State: Arizona has long been known for its abundance of copper, which was heavily mined in the 1800s but was used long before by Arizona's Indigenous people. In fact, copper is one of the 5 C's, which are Arizona's selling points that all students learn in elementary school. The others are cotton, citrus, climate and cattle.

Sand Hill State: This moniker was used on a Starbucks mug representing Arizona a few years back. It could refer to the common sandhill cranes that migrate through the state each year or the sandy hills in the desert. Trimble said this reference may come from Yuma County in his interview with the Daily Star.

Here's why: This Arizona city was named the top mountain town in the US

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What is Arizona's state nickname? What to know
The text from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson started as his messages often do.

Yo! he wrote Ald. Daniel La Spata, 1st, last month.

The Northwest Side alderman knew what it meant. Thats when I called him, he remembered.

A Tribune review of Johnsons text messages show many politicos have gotten similar messages and read between those two letters themselves.

The mayors exchanges with aldermen, Gov. JB Pritzker, top business officials and labor leaders show he is more reluctant than predecessors Lori Lightfoot and Rahm Emanuel to put much in writing. While Lightfoot would often respond to text messages with voluminous essays that sometimes bordered on venomous, Johnson usually replies with a phone call or directs his staff to return the message.

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The sea change may also be a sign of the times, as politicians are increasingly wary of sending electronic communications that are subject to public records requests.

In 2018, the Tribune won a lawsuit against the Emanuel administration over his failure to turn over records from personal devices and accounts that he used to conduct city business, a ruling that curtailed Illinois politicians from circumventing the Freedom of Information Act with private phones. It also then paved the way for Lightfoots prolific trove of texts to be made public, sometimes further exposing her struggles with interpersonal feuds.

While Johnsons tight-lipped texts are far more nonchalant and in most cases less revealing than those of prior mayors, the messages do show the reality of how politicians gossip about their rivals, raise concerns about optics and celebrate wins. Politics more often resembles a high school cafeteria with cliques and high jinks or the HBO satire Veep than it does the high-minded portrayal of government in The West Wing.

In his texts to aldermen, Johnson often cracks jokes and quips. Last November, he texted Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, to thank her for encouraging words after an event.

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It was a good press conference! Dowell responded. I dont blow smoke.

Johnson responded, I know you dontbut we can tax it though (hemp).

The mayors sometimes lighthearted, mostly light-worded texting style is a prudent communication strategy given that journalists eagerly pore through mayoral messages after obtaining them via records requests, La Spata said. The habit also helps keep discussions confidential in a City Hall culture where screenshots are quickly captured and sent, he added.

If you look back at the myriad FOIAs of Lori Lightfoots texts, I think its a smart lesson to learn, he said. And I dont mind it, to be perfectly honest.

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Still, Johnson occasionally reaches out to individuals with urgency.

On Oct. 8, the mayor messaged SEIU Healthcare President Greg Kelley to ask for an hour to talk before Johnson left for London the next day. He first asked Kelley to come west or in the west loop but then asked, Will it be intrusive if I came to your home Its urgent and I do understand the inconvenience.

Kelley said he thought it was important the unions vice president, Erica Bland-Durosinmi, participate, but added that she was under the weather. Call me, the mayor wrote two hours later.

Kelley told the Tribune that Johnson never followed up with what he wanted, but the union official appreciated how labor now has an ear on the fifth floor. I mean, thats why we supported him, Kelley said.

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Another pattern for the mayor: emojis, occasionally a raised fist, a thumbs-up, a laughing face or a facepalm, and often a flexed arm, prayer hands or a heart.

Johnson sent one such heart to Ald. Nick Sposato, 38th, a conservative who celebrated Trumps election victory by flaunting the new presidents memorabilia in City Council meetings for weeks, after Sposato texted that he would pick up lunch for the mayor. The two have struck up an unlikely friendship  one that has also seen Sposato side with Johnson on tough votes, including his 2025 budget.

The mayor likes a turkey and Swiss with mustard, mayo and hot giardiniera, Sposato said, questioning the choice. And he doesnt seem to like arguing over text.

I debate him on many a thing, but more so in private, Sposato said.

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Not every note has a clear resolution. Sometimes, Johnson doesnt respond, but the one-sided texts can also provide insight into the state of the mayors relationships with other officials.

In November 2023, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin texted Johnson about OHare International Airport, just as Johnson was trying to renegotiate a deal with airlines over the airports $8.5 billion overhaul.

Ive seen this movie with the same players. We need a strong united front, Durbin texted. We can talk numbers but should make it clear that squeezing out competition is a selfish plan. Tammy and I are together.

In February 2024, Durbin followed up.

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Dont want to overreact but your staff has gone radio silent on OHare and rumor has it a deal was reached on terminal with the airlines, Durbin said. Can you fill me in?

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth texted a couple of weeks later asking to connect with some frustration.

We all agreed to a meeting w Sec Buttiege and seem to be having a hard time getting the city to participate, Duckworth wrote, referring to then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. It is critically important that we get the project moving without losing any gates or further delays, Again, the federal electeds and Dept of Transportationnis [sic] committed to looking for additional funds but we need the city to participate per your agreement with everyone in the last meeting.

Like the senators, aldermen often use Johnsons line to air grievances and share advice, with or without a response. In May 2024, Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, texted Johnson a Windy City Times article about Pride Parade cuts.

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Not sure if your team is keeping you in the loop on this or not, but this is a bad look and its unclear who is making these decisions but you and your administration will be blamed, Hadden wrote. Just wanted to give you a heads up that its a big deal.

Ald. David Moore, 17th, reached out in August 2023 about a Johnson public appearance.

Going forward, always let your press person end a press conference. They should be in tune with you, your facial expression, your body language, and the line of questioning. They can set the number of questions to be asked and end it at that, Moore wrote. You dont want to give anyone the opportunity to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Dowell, the powerful Finance Committee chair who jumped ship from Lightfoots campaign to support Johnson, texted that she opposed his decision to end ShotSpotter. The fraught debate was weighing on her, she said.

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I had optimism that we were progressing in a positive direction with CPD..the hiring of Snelling, the focus on the consent decree and violence prevention funding, the fact that our crime numbers are down for real and that police morale is improving, but this decision is not one I support, Dowell said. We need to help our constituents feel safe and taking away a technology that the police find valuable may not be the most effective strategy.

Complaining about each other

Aldermen frequently complain about each other to Johnson. He has sometimes struggled to maintain control at meetings or keep his political allies support on key measures.

In July 2023, Burnett texted Johnson about Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, who had tweeted a poll seeking opinions about the Best Way to honor Italian Heritage in Chicago that included an Italian ice monument as an option.

I just got a call from the (Italian) organization about a tweet that the Aldermen from the 33rd ward sent out that they (felt) was insulting, Burnett said. Theyre going on channel nine tonight and asking that the Mayor and the council censor her.

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Theyve been fighting over Columbus, Burnett said. Johnson did not respond.

Burnett, Johnsons Vice Mayor and Zoning chair, mimicked the mayors go-to Yo! line five times in November and December in texts to Johnson, a habit other aldermen have also picked up. He said he tries to not waste the mayors time with gossip.

I just want to give him a heads up if he had to deflect or whatever, Burnett said. The concern is making sure little things like that dont affect the city and the business were trying to do.

Sometimes the gripes are more pointed.

Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, often at odds with Johnson, texted the mayor in September 2023 to ask if it was his administrations policy to have aldermen call committee chairmen for routine items (to) be placed on the agenda.

This has never been the case. Your chairman are a reflection of your administration and your chairman and So called floor leader Carlos Rosa is requesting alderman call him and kiss his ring before (items) are placed on the agenda, Beale wrote. This is not collaboration. So please let me know if this is your policy therefore I will know how best to proceed with representing my residents.

Yo! Johnson replied a day later. Good morning. Thanks for the text. You always have a direct line and Ill follow up with you.

Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th, was critical of Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, for giving a speech in front of a charred American flag, which Sigcho-Lopez said he hadnt seen. Johnson talked with Taliaferro and other aldermen in a meeting in part planned over text, and Taliaferro agreed not to censure Sigcho-Lopez.

After the council voted to not censure Sigcho-Lopez in early April, Taliaferro messaged Johnson with some dissatisfaction about Sigcho-Lopezs remarks.

I upheld my word and promise. Even after an inflammatory speech. He was very critical and unapologetic and even spewed unfair criticism in my direction, Taliaferro wrote. Ill be on my guard moving forward with him. Thanks for your leadership.

Even though the note got no response, sending Johnson the message helped Taliaferro know the mayor understands him, the alderman said.

He definitely sees them, he told the Tribune. It creates a dialogue.

In May, Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th, texted Johnson about a conversation they had regarding Ramirez-Rosa being restored to a leadership position on the City Council after a kerfuffle led to his resignation in December 2023. She opposed the move, she told the mayor.

That same month, Sposato sent Johnson a conservative X accounts criticism of Ald. Bill Conway, 34th, for confronting anti-abortion protesters at Planned Parenthood. Johnson did not respond via text. The two had texted to schedule a 7 p.m. call earlier that day.

Youre winning them over baby!

But its not all bad news on the mayors phone. Other messages give him helpful pointers, high praise or a heads up about potential rivals perceived machinations.

The texts reveal some unlikely relationships. Michael Sacks, Rahm Emanuels closest ally in the business community, texted him, Congrats on getting first budget done! He got a Thank you! in return.

While Johnson comes from the Chicago Teachers Union, which is often viewed as anti-business by the citys wealthy interests, he has received significant encouragement from the head of the Civic Committee and the Commercial Club of Chicago, two pro-business organizations.

In October 2023, Johnson received praise from Derek Douglas, president of the Civic Committee and the Commercial Club of Chicago, for a speech.

You killed it! Universal praise. Youre winning them over baby! Douglas wrote. Thanks for coming. Lets get a regular (maybe monthly) meeting with a few CEOs set up to keep the momentum going. You have a real opportunity to get the business community behind you in a big way.

Douglas has been a frequent supporter, texting him congratulations last May on reaching a deal with United and American regarding the OHare renovation. Douglas told Johnson the business community was very pleased with lots of positive buzz for giving the airlines the sequencing that they wanted yet remain committed to completing the full project.

After the Democratic National Convention, Michael Jacobson, president of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, texted Johnson, Truly an epic week for the city. I could not have imagined a more successful execution.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren texted, CONGRATULATIONS! You pulled it off! Great convention. With you as mayor, Chicago was the hostess with the (mostest). The mayor replied with a thank you and a heart.

In November 2024, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza criticized Johnson school board appointee Olga Bautista on social media and said aldermen should have confirmation power of mayoral CPS appointments. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch texted Johnson a link to a Mendoza tweet on the subject and added, Shes calling around about this. FYI.

Johnson responded by asking Welch for a chat. Mendoza is considered a potential 2027 mayoral candidate.

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and Johnson regularly text humorous or supportive messages.

When Johnson met Emanuel in his office in July 2023, he sent to Davis Gates a Twitter post of himself with the former mayor, who is missing part of a finger due to a high school accident working at Arbys.

Youve having quite the day, she responded, adding the name Fingers.

In another note early in his administration, she shared some advice that didnt work too well in Greek mythology.

Fly closer to the sun, she said. Go faster. Get bigger. Dont slow down.
A New York State Police trooper whose alleged shooting sparked a manhunt last fall pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges he falsified the incident, hours after turning himself in to authorities.

He also resigned, New York State Police Superintendent Steven James said at a press conference detailing the charges levied against Thomas Mascia. The former trooper had been suspended without pay since the incident.

Mascia was charged with tampering with physical evidence, falsely reporting a crime and official misconduct. His parents are being charged with criminal possession of a firearm. All three turned themselves in to New York State Police in Farmingdale on Monday morning.

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Mascia, 27, had been under scrutiny since claiming in October that he had been shot in the leg by a suspect on Long Islands Southern State Parkway in West Hempstead. Mascia had told investigators that hed stopped to help an apparently stranded motorist, who then opened fire.

But a number of inconsistencies jumped out within hours, Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly told reporters. Though nine shell casings were found, there were no projectiles. There were no tire marks or other indications of a vehicle at the scene. In addition, she said, Mascia did not flag down a vehicle for help. Furthermore, Donnelly said there were no reports of shots fired, even though the incident occurred on a busy highway, and there was no record of a motorist stopping to help him.

Ultimately, a GPS trace of his vehicle showed him at a local park, where he allegedly shot himself, she said.

The evidence uncovered and the absence of evidence told us everything we needed to know, Donnelly said. His harrowing story was nothing more than an elaborate work of fiction.

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Mascia also betrayed his fellow officers, the officials said, wasting resources, pulling law enforcement away from actual emergencies, and putting people at risk. They praised investigators for not flinching once they realized they had to suspect one of their own.

Most of all, he failed his brothers and sisters in law enforcement, and he failed his oath, Donnelly said.

In a matter of hours the story began to unravel, James said. They demonstrated their professionalism, they remained focused and they established the facts.

Of Mascia, he added, I have gladly accepted his resignation, which was effective Jan. 24. He is no longer a trooper.

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A motive had not been determined, they said.

The alleged incident sparked a manhunt and generated $15,000 in offered reward money. Less than a week later, after being released from the hospital to cheers from his fellow officers, Mascia was the subject of an investigation and suspended without pay as police officials said the incident did not occur the way it was reported.

A search of the home the trooper shared with his parents, Thomas and Dorothy Mascia, yielded a stash of guns, steroids and $1 million. Thomas Mascia Sr. cannot legally own a firearm because of a previous felony conviction, Donnelly noted.
A New York state trooper who claimed to have been shot in the line of duty in October is now facing criminal charges for having allegedly "staged" the shooting, according to officials.

Thomas Mascia, 27, surrendered to police Monday morning, a spokesperson for the Nassau County District Attorney's Office told ABC News. He faces charges of official misconduct, falsely reporting a crime and tampering with evidence.

In a press conference Monday, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said Mascia could face one to three years in prison for the "unconscionable" deception.

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"He knew the fear that it would create -- and he did it anyway," Donnelly said.

Mascia's parents, Dorothy and Thomas, also surrendered to police on Monday on charges of criminal possession of a firearm, the district attorney's office said. The firearm was not the same one used in the shooting, but Mascia's father is a convicted felon, making it illegal for him to own a gun, Donnelly said.

MORE: Suspects in Border Patrol agent's killing in Vermont surveilled for days, had cellphones wrapped in foil

Mascia's father, a former New York Police Department officer, was dismissed from the force in 1993 over accusations of running a cocaine ring, according to The New York Times.

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Police matched the gun used in the shooting to one owned by Mascia, officials sad. It was not his service weapon, officials said. There was also "close to $800,000" found at the family's home, Donnelly said.

All three were released on their own recognizance Monday.

Mascia was on duty Oct. 30 in Hempstead when he "initiated a radio transmission for shots fired," according to a felony complaint obtained by ABC News.

PHOTO: A New York State Police patch is seen on a State Trooper's arm inside the Jacob Javits Convention Center on Jan. 13, 2021. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/TNS via Getty Images)

He then "claimed he was shot by the driver of a black Dodger Charger described as either a Black or dark-skinned Hispanic male."

The complaint alleges Mascia actually "staged the scene of the shooting," placing shell casings on the ground hours earlier.

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He then allegedly "shot himself in the leg in another location before returning to the staged location" on the Southern State Parkway.

MORE: NYPD embroiled in high-level shakeup amid sexual misconduct claims, Eric Adams probe

State police temporarily shut down the section of the parkway where Mascia claimed the incident occurred "in an effort to locate the non-existent shooters, causing alarm and inconvenience to the public," the complaint states.

The complaint accuses Mascia of staging the shooting "for the benefit of gaining attention or sympathy for himself."

An attorney representing Mascia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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He is expected to make his next court appearance Feb. 5.

New York state trooper who allegedly 'staged' shooting surrenders on criminal charges: Criminal complaint originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  Reports said a woman being chased by police Saturday evening who ran several stop signs told officers she had no idea they wanted her to pull over.

Read next: Man found passed out driving has 8 prior OVIs: Report

Carla Moore, 58, was booked into the Mahoning County jail on a charge of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a fifth-degree felony, after she was arrested at about 7:25 p.m. at Hillman Street and East Midlothian Boulevard.

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She is expected to be arraigned later Monday in municipal court.

Reports said Moore was driving a car southbound on Interstate 680 that passed a police officer at a high rate of speed, cut several vehicles off when it exited the vehicle at the Glenwood Avenue exit then ran a stop sign on High Street.

Reports said Moore ran several red lights and stop signs and at times slowed down but never came to a stop.

Eventually, police were able to box in her car at East Midlothian Boulevard and Hillman Street and take her into custody.

When asked why she didnt stop, reports said she told officers she did not know they were trying to pull her over.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
(FOX40.COM)  The Yuba City Police Department is currently investigating a shooting that sent two people to the hospital.

Around 8:15 p.m. on Jan. 23, YCPD responded to an area near the 600 block of Queens Avenue for reports of shots fired. When officers arrived at the scene, they were advised that two victims had been driven to the 1200 block of Kenny Drive with gunshot wounds to their left legs.

Northern California police seize more than 2000 marijuana plants

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One of the victims is a 16-year-old boy and the other victim is a 23-year-old man, according to YCPD. Both of them were taken to the Adventist-Rideout emergency room and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

No arrests have been made and police said the shooting is under investigation. Anyone with information about the incident can call the Yuba City Police Department at (530) 822-4661.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 News.
By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand will introduce looser visa rules to allow holiday makers to work remotely while visiting the country, to boost its tourism sector and economy, it said on Monday.

Erica Stanford, Immigration Minister said in a statement that the visitor visa would change from Jan. 27 to allow people to work while travelling in the country.

This is a brand-new market of tourist New Zealand can tap into. We want people to see our country as the ideal place to visit and work while they do it, she said.

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She added in a press conference following the announcement that she was unsure how many people would take up the opportunity, but digital nomad visas had been extraordinarily popular overseas and that New Zealand was targeting people who would like the opportunity to work and travel here.

I expect in their time here that they will spend longer than they normally would, they will spend more because theyre here for longer, and the thing that were really hoping, is that they fall in love with the place, she said.

New Zealands economy sank into a technical recession in the third quarter of 2024 and the government is looking for ways to boost growth. The tourism sector has not fully bounced back from the closure of borders during the COVID-19 pandemic with international visitors at around 86% of 2019 levels.

The government's ambition is that new visa rules will put New Zealand boldly on the map as a welcoming haven for the world's talent, said Nicola Willis, Minister of Economic Growth.

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We hope that in some cases, it will encourage those people and the firms they represent to consider doing more business with New Zealand in the future, Willis added.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand is reviewing its aid to Kiribati after the tiny Pacific nations president canceled a meeting with Foreign Minister Winston Peters at short notice.

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Peters was due to lead a delegation to Kiribati on Jan. 21 but was advised the week before that President and Foreign Minister Taneti Maamau was no longer available to receive him, a spokesperson said in a statement. The visit was to be the first in over five years by a New Zealand minister and was the result of a months-long effort to travel there.

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The lack of political-level contact makes it very difficult for us to agree joint priorities for our development program, and to ensure that it is well targeted and delivers good value for money, the spokesperson said. For this reason, we are reviewing our development program in Kiribati. Other aspects of the bilateral relationship may also be impacted.

Kiribati is one of the most vulnerable nations in the world to rising sea levels, while its proximity to Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific Ocean makes it strategically important. New Zealand and Australia are key partners for the US in the Pacific but geostrategic competition has become more intense over the past decade as China vies for greater influence.

In 2019 Beijing scored a big win when the Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched their diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. Beijing last year agreed a partnership with Kiribati to provide it with uniformed police, prompting a warning from Washington.

New Zealands development cooperation with Kiribati totaled NZ$102 million ($58 million) between 2021 and 2024, with investments in health, education, fisheries, economic development and climate resilience.

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Peters visited 16 Pacific Island nations last year to better understand the region and ensure development assistance is well-targeted, his spokesperson said.

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By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The New Zealand government said it is reviewing its development aid programme with the Pacific nation of Kiribati after the country's president cancelled a meeting with New Zealands foreign minister earlier in January.

Kiribati, a Pacific Ocean neighbour of Hawaii with a vast Exclusive Economic Zone of 3.6 million square kilometres (1.4 million square miles) has developed close ties to Beijing in recent years, including hosting Chinese police.

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While New Zealand has been a long-standing development partner, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has not managed a meeting with Kiribati President Taneti Maamau since returning to office in 2023.

A spokesman for Peters said in an email late on Monday that the foreign minister had planned to travel to Kiribati and meet with its president and Foreign Minister Taneti Maamau earlier this month, but about a week prior to departure had been told Maamau was no longer available to receive him.

This was especially disappointing because the visit was to be the first in over five years by a New Zealand minister to Kiribati - and was the result of a months-long effort to travel there, he said.

The lack of political-level contact makes it very difficult for New Zealand and Kiribati to agree on joint priorities for our development programme, and to ensure that it is well targeted and delivers good value for money, the spokesman added.

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For this reason, we are reviewing our development programme in Kiribati. The outcomes of that review will be announced in due course. Other aspects of the bilateral relationship may also be impacted, the spokesperson said.

This may also impact visa allocations for i-Kiribati, who want to travel to New Zealand to work in seasonal jobs such as fruit picking, he said.

Maamaus office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
By Olena Harmash

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced the commander of the eastern front, the most heated battlefield of the Ukraine war, after Russian forces captured another strategic town there.

Brigadier-General Andriy Hnatov was replaced as the battlefield commander in the east by Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, overall commander of ground forces, who will keep his previous duties. Hnatov was given a role overseeing training and communications.

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In his nightly video address late on Sunday, Zelenskiy said the aim was to strengthen the command of troops in the Donetsk region. Donetsk, a battlefield since 2014 and one of four provinces Russia claims to have annexed since its 2022 full-scale invasion, has been the main focus of fighting for more than a year.

The Ukrainian military confirmed on Monday that it had withdrawn from the Donetsk region town of Velyka Novosilka, a day after Russia said it had captured it. Viktor Trehubov, a military spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern front, confirmed that Russian troops had entered the town but said fighting continued on the outskirts.

Russian forces have been slowly but steadily advancing in eastern Ukraine for more than a year in relentless ground combat that has caused massive military losses on both sides. Kyiv, for its part, has managed to capture and hold a pocket of territory inside Russia over the past six months.

The new eastern commander, Drapatyi, 42, is well respected in the army, where he is credited with stopping a Russian offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region last year.

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Ukrainian forces halted Russia's initial assault on the capital Kyiv after Russia's invasion in 2022 and achieved several big successes recapturing territory during the first year of the war. But they have largely been on the defensive since the failure of a major counterattack in mid-2023.

Ukrainian analysts estimate Russia captured about 3,000 square km (1200 square miles) of territory last year.

With the war approaching its three-year mark in February, Ukraine is outmanned on the battlefield and its troops are exhausted.

The government tried to address the issue by lowering the mobilisation age to 25 from 27 and introducing tougher rules for those evading the call-up. But it has so far resisted lowering the mobilisation age further to boost manpower.

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Trehubov, the eastern forces spokesperson, said that the logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region remained the main Russian target. Around 7,000 people are believed to remain inside Pokrovsk, which had around 60,000 residents before the invasion.

"The Pokrovsk direction accounts for at least half of all combat clashes, there is a lot of fighting there. It is the most active direction," Trehubov told Ukrainian TV. "They are trying to bypass the city, cut the supply lines and drive our troops out of the city."

(Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly and Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Peter Graff)
President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Poland for a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Auschwitz death camp, Zelenskys spokesperson, Serhii Nykyforov, told Ukrinform on Jan. 27.

Jan. 27 marks the day when the Red Army liberated one of the largest Nazi death camps located in occupied Poland. The date was chosen as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day to commemorate the World War II-era massacre of 6 million Jews and millions of other victims by Nazi Germany.

Prior to his visit to Poland, on Jan. 26, the Ukrainian president honored the Holocaust victims at the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Reserve in Kyiv, a site of a Nazi massacre of Jews in 1941.

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Zelenskys visit to Poland will also include bilateral meetings with world leaders, namely with European Council President Antonio Costa and French President Emmanuel Macron, Nykyforov said.

Dozens of other heads of state and government are attending the event, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and British King Charles III.

Read also: Zelensky believes Trump can end war in Ukraine, must include Kyiv in talks

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David Arakhamia, the parliamentary leader of President Volodymyr Zelenskys Servant of the People party, was among the few foreign dignitaries that attended U.S. President Donald Trumps inauguration last week, the Independent reported on Jan. 26.

Arakhamia was attending the event along with former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, among others, the Independent wrote.

The lawmaker declined to comment on his presence at the inauguration when approached by the Kyiv Independent.

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Arakhamia also attended an event called Stars and Stripes & Union Jack party on Jan. 17 before the inauguration, alongside the innermost circles of the Trump administration, the Independent claimed, citing unnamed sources.

Following the event, Arakhamia told the media that he expects a formal Ukrainian delegation to meet with the U.S. presidents team next month.

After his inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump reiterated his intent to pursue a peace deal in Ukraine but offered few specifics.

Trump has also voiced his intent to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a potential peace deal in Ukraine.

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The U.S. president told reporters on Jan. 20 that Putin is "destroying Russia by not making a deal" while acknowledging doubts about Moscow's willingness to negotiate. The Trump administration's Ukraine peace envoy, Keith Kellogg, is also expected to visit Ukraine and meet Ukrainian officials.

Read also: Zelensky arrives in Poland for Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Poland to attend the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, joining many other European heads of state and government at the event.

Ukrainian media reported that Zelensky would hold talks with political leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Antonio Costa.

"The crime of the Holocaust may never be repeated, but its memory is unfortunately gradually fading," Zelensky, who is himself of Jewish heritage, posted on X.

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"And the evil that aims to destroy the life of entire nations continues to exist in the world," he added.

On Sunday, the eve of his visit to Auschwitz, Zelensky visited Babi Yar, a ravine that was the site of the worst mass murder of Jews in Kiev in 1941.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp was liberated by the Red Army on January 27, 1945. As a Ukrainian, Zelensky represents one of the former Soviet republics involved in the liberation.

By contrast with previous anniversaries, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been invited to this year's event.

Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum director Piotr Cywinski said freedom, along with Holocaust victims, was at the centre of the event. Russia apparently did not understand the value of freedom he said in reference to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Poland on Monday, 27 January to take part in the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Source: Serhii Nykyforov, Zelenskyy's spokesperson, in a comment to journalists, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy is also scheduled to have bilateral meetings in Poland, particularly with European Council President Antonio Costa and French President Emmanuel Macron.

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Notably, as the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp approaches, there have been discussions in Poland about the possible participation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the events in the country.

Background:

On 9 January, the Polish government adopted a resolution guaranteeing "free and safe participation" of Netanyahu in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the camp's liberation.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu for "war crimes and crimes against humanity" in Gaza.

As a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Poland is obliged to arrest Netanyahu if he comes to the country.

The Court said it relied on member states to enforce its decisions.

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Szymon Hoownia, Marshal of the Polish Sejm, on Monday, 27 January, in Krakow.

Source: Polish Sejm on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy arrived in Poland on 27 January to attend ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp.

Zelenskyy shared that they discussed strengthening Ukraine's military capabilities, Ukraine's EU accession process, as well as the implementation of joint projects to improve border crossing points.

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Quote from Zelenskyy: "We count on the continued support of the Polish Sejm, particularly through the reinforcement of sanctions policies against Russia."

Background:

On 24 January, Szymon Hoownia expressed opposition to initiatives aimed at limiting social assistance for children of foreigners, including Ukrainians, whose parents do not work or pay taxes in Poland.

His statement came after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk supported Warsaw Mayor Rafa Trzaskowski's proposal to restrict Poland's child benefit programme, known as 800 Plus, to only those Ukrainians who are employed in Poland.

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Dick Wadhams is a former Colorado Republican state chairman who managed campaigns for U.S. Sens. Hank Brown and Wayne Allard, and Gov. Bill Owens. He was campaign manager for U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune in 2004.
Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that martial law entails the mobilisation of citizens aged 25 and older, and that to bring Ukrainian soldiers home, Russia should be forced to end the war as soon as possible.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for the Italian newspaper Il Foglio

Quote from Zelenskyy: "By law, mobilisation currently applies to citizens aged 25 and older. Mobilisation is underway and it provides a sufficient number of people in this age group. They are on rotation or can take leave, but it is definitely not enough. We definitely need to work on improving this process."

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Details: Zelenskyy said there are demands to let Ukrainian soldiers go home, but the current legislation does not allow for this. "Martial law implies the mobilisation of people and all available resources in the country  absolutely everything," he explained.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "This is, unfortunately, the challenge of this war, and thats why it is essential to bring it to an end as quickly as possible, to force Russia to stop. Today, we are defending ourselves. If half the army just goes home tomorrow, for example, we might as well have surrendered on day one. Thats the reality. If half of our people left tomorrow, Putin would kill us all."

For reference: At the president's request, the Ukrainian parliament has been extending martial law and general mobilisation in Ukraine since February 2022. As a result, martial law and mobilisation have been in effect in Ukraine for nearly three years following Russia's full-scale invasion.

Background: On 15 January, the Ukrainian parliament voted in favour of draft laws to extend martial law and mobilisation in Ukraine from 8 February to 9 May 2025.

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Chinese actress Zhao Lusi has made a surprise public appearance days after she suffered a health scare. Lusi has been going through a period of recovery after being hospitalized in Shanghai on December 18, 2024. Although shed earlier updated her fans about her condition, the actress fully addressed the health scare while making her first appearance.

Zhao Lusi makes public appearance after health scare

According to Asia One, Zhao Lusi was part of an event in Chengdu for the beverage brand Viee for the first time since her health scare. Upon her arrival, fans present at the event were filled with joy to see her recovering well.

As reported by ComingSoon previously, the actress, known for her work in the global hit C-Drama Hidden Love, was seen being supported by her staff as she was unable to walk. A clip of Lusi in a wheelchair in a weak state took over the internet causing a sense of worry to spread among her fans. Following this, speculations hit social media suggesting that Lusis condition worsened because of depression, overwork, and possible aphasia.

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However, her team provided an update on Weibo about her health stating that Lusi felt unwell and went to the hospital for examination and treatment while filming for her upcoming project Lovers. In her interview with Global Times recently, Lusi opened up about her severe depression and revealed that it led to symptoms like loss of speech and further affected her other physical functions.

At the event, fans noticed Lusi using a cane to walk as she further shared details about her health scare. She conveyed, I experienced symptoms of paralysis and loss of speech. It was really hard to face myself at that time, but Im so grateful to be like this right now.

The actress also raised awareness and announced she is starting a foundation in collaboration with Viee to assist those dealing with mental health problems. She added, I hope everyone can take this illness seriously and not delay treatment until it gets so severe. I realised there are many people like me so I really want to do something for them.

The post Zhao Lusi Health Update: Actress Appears in Public for First Time After Scare appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Sweden is investigating a cargo ship for deliberately damaging an undersea fiber optic cable in the Baltic Sea. A vessel suspected of carrying out the sabotage has been seized, Swedens Public Prosecutors Office announced on Sunday.

The fiber optic cable ferried data between Sweden and Latvia. But on Sunday morning, the cable's owner detected disruptions in the data transmissions, which prompted officials in both countries to investigate.

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Currently, there may be delays in data transmission speeds, but for the most part, this does not impact end users in Latvia, said state-owned company Latvia State Radio and Television Center, which also owns the cable. Based on current findings, it is presumed that the cable is significantly damaged due to external factors. LVRTC has initiated criminal procedural actions.

Swedish officials didnt name which ship they seized. But evidence is mounting that investigators detained a vessel known as the Vezhen, according to Reuters, citing how the ship passed over the affected undersea cable. The Vezhen flies a Maltese flag and is owned by a Bulgarian shipping company called Navigation Maritime Bulgare.

The incident occurs when Europe has become increasingly concerned about ships conducting sabotage of undersea fiber cables. In November, a Chinese ship called the Yi Peng 3, was identified as another vessel that may have deliberately dragged its anchor to damage another cable running along the Baltic Sea. A month later, European investigators were eventually allowed to board the Yi Peng 3.

Two European intelligence officials said that they suspected the captain or other officers on the ship could have been bribed by Russian agents, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time. The Chinese government most likely wasnt involved in the incident, according to investigators, intelligence officials and diplomats.

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Still, the Chinese government has been suspected of trying to sabotage underwater fiber cables to Taiwan. Earlier this month, a Hong Kong-owned cargo ship was discovered near a site, where an undersea cable was damaged. In response, Taiwan has reportedly created a list of 52 Chinese-owned ships itll track and inspect if they approach the islands waters.

In the meantime, the company Latvia State Radio and Television Center says its already in discussion with a foreign company to fix the damaged undersea cable in the Baltic Sea. Given that the cable lies at a depth exceeding 50 meters, the exact nature of the damage can only be determined once cable repair work begins, it added.
Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.
Welcome to the Age of the Broligarchs | Vince Bzdek
Today

Rain early. Windy with a mix of sun and clouds in the afternoon. High around 65F. Winds SW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Gusty winds early. Low 47F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tomorrow

Cloudy. High 64F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
The government's priority when it comes to the planned development project in Budapest's Rakosrendezo area "is to serve the good of local residents," Janos Lazar, the minister of construction and transport said.

"We don't ever work against somebody or something but always for something... When working to rehabilitate Rakosrendezo we want to help the people of Budapest," he said, adding that the "undeserved attacks" on the government were based on an assumption that "the government wants to do bad".



Lazar said the first step in the project would be to remove "330 cubic metres of mostly domestic waste deposited by local residents" before starting construction, which "should serve prosperity and help improve the quality of life of locals".



"In the nation's capital", no project should be implemented without local support, he said. "We want to carry out the project in a way that is good for everybody."



He added that the Dubai developers "built a metropolis from scratch" as opposed to the current leaders of Budapest "who are incapable of doing anything with a metropolis". He noted that the prospective developer has agree to remove the waste accumulated in the area.



Lazar also said no building in the project area would go up unless it "fits the architectural fabric of Budapest". "No skyscrapers or mosques will be built here..." he added.



The minister said the city badly needed green areas and "if 50-60 hectares of parks are included in a project area of 130 hectares, that will be good for all the people of Budapest."



Traffic around the project site should also be reorganised so that it benefits locals, Lazar added.



"There have been rumours that the city wanted somebody else to have that area rather than a foreign investor," he said. "Obviously there is some Hungarian developer that has expressed interest in the area and the city wants him to have the area."



The government questions Budapest's pre-emptive rights to purchase the area, Lazar said, adding that if the city went ahead and tried to exercise such rights under a recent decision by the municipal assembly "a court could rule in the case".



Lazar: Transport ministry to handle govt issues related to Budapest property development



The construction and transport ministry will handle all government issues related to the Rakosrendezo development project in Budapest, Janos Lazar, the ministry's head, said on Tuesday, referring to a decision made by the prime minister the previous day.



The ministry will negotiate with the Budapest administration once the purchase contract and registration of ownership is signed, Lazar told a press conference in Sopron, in western Hungary, adding that he hoped for "a good agreement and cooperation". The purchase contract's annex contains a schedule of measures, he said.



A ministerial commissioner will be appointed to see to various ministry tasks and enter into talks, he noted.



Cleaning up the area will be the top priority requiring the capital's cooperation, he said, adding that this issue was not directly related to the purchase contract.



The metropolitan council will have to immediately start removing 330,000 cubic meters of waste from the area at a cost of up to 25 billion forints (EUR 62.5m), he said, adding that the government would cooperate and provide related administrative and legal assistance.



Also, the area in which national rail company MAV operates must be delineated, the minister said, and MAV would have to make use of land there to "the necessary and minimum extent".



Talks will be held on the part of the contract worth more than 25 billion forints, Lazar added.



Gergely Karacsony said in a Facebook post that a partnership with the government was needed in order to carry off an investment on such a scale, and he accused the government of "going back and forth" just as it had done when claiming previously that Budapest did not have pre-emption rights.



Exercising this right would serve the city's future rather than "the interests of Arab investors and oligarchs close to the government".



The mayor also accused the Hungarian state of having been a negligent custodian of the area for decades, tolerating and actively taking part in "illegal dumping" of waste.



Once Budapest "takes possession" of the area, the Budapest Public Utilities (BKM) company would capably oversee the clean-up, he said.



This, he added, "won't happen overnight", but "we"ll do our job".



Karacsony welcomed the government's appointment of Lazar to take charge of tasks related to the project.



He insisted that Lazar had not read the purchase agreement, however, saying that "contrary to all government statements", the state sold the area "to the Arab investor without the buyer having undertaken any obligation" to clean it up.



The purchase agreement states that the Hungarian state and the buyer -- now the metropolitan council -- must conclude a separate agreement on the issue of environmental damage and waste management, as well as how the costs are borne.



"We're ready for this," he said, adding that Budapest would begin clearing municipal waste "as soon as it takes possession" of the area. But the state, he added, bore responsibility for the cost of clearing construction debris of the Budapest Sports Hall as well as waste generated by national rail company MAV.



Karacsony said the purchase contract was "clear" and obliged both the government and Budapest to undertake waste disposal tasks.



Landmark Real-Estate Development At Risk Due to "Irresponsible" Mayor of Budapest



Gergely Karacsony, the mayor of Budapest, is putting the planned landmark real-estate Rakosrendezoo development at risk, Botond Sara, the head of the government office for Budapest.



Sara said the proposed development was massive and complicated, given that an international treaty has been signed and a related law passed, and in light of the "huge commitments" made, Karacsony was acting "irresponsibly" and putting the investment at risk by blocking the project and running the capital "illegally".



In a video uploaded to Facebook, Sara said the Budapest administration still lacked a deputy mayor and its 2025 budget was "illegal", so it was no longer running the city on lawful foundations.



He insisted that the decision on the development required "common sense and calm", adding that Karacsony should not take risks and "reconsider the matter".



In a post on Facebook, Alexandra Szentkiralyi, the head of the Fidesz group in the city assembly, accused Karacsony of acting in such a way as to deprive Budapesters of "thousands of new jobs and many thousands of new apartments", as well as railway and metro developments.



Referring to "illegal rubbish dumps, mountains of hazardous waste and ruined and abandoned buildings" as well as "drug dens and homeless shelters", she said the central government had launched the "biggest development in the history of the capital", yet Karacsony was doing everything he could to prevent the project from going ahead.



She said the mayor was trying to distract attention away from "the fact that he and his allies have pushed Budapest into total bankruptcy".



She said in the video posted on Friday that Karacsony's administration would not purchase the area legally and the capital no longer had "the money to resolve this issue".



Meanwhile, David Vitezy, the leader of the Podmaniczky Movement group in the city assembly, said the state should have "cleaned up" the brownfiled site of Rakosrendezo but had failed to, while also neglecting to oblige "the [UAE] Arab investors" in the purchase contract to do so.



The opposition politician noted that the construction and transport minister, Janos Lazar, had promised to clean up the site using state money, given state railway MAV and the state had owned the area for many decades. "Nothing happened; they couldn't even mount a tender to clean up the area," he added.



He said the government's main arguments in support of the investment were that the Arab buyer, who has agreed to invest five trillion forints (EUR 12.3bn), would clean it up. "But this isn't so," he said insisting that the investor was under no obligation in the purchase contract to do so.



The contract, he added, stated that the seller and the buyer would enter into a separate agreement regarding environmental damage and waste. But this did not oblige the Arab investor to undertake anything, he said, adding that the clean-up remain the burden of the state and taxpayers.



Source:

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New Delhi: With an aim to get rid of high-polluting vehicles, the transport ministry has proposed to double the rebate up to 50 per cent in one-time tax on purchase of new vehicles after scrapping those with BS-II and earlier emission standards. At present, a discount of 25 per cent in Motor Vehicle tax is provided on purchase of a new vehicle after scrapping old personal vehicles, while the rebate is capped at 15 per cent in case of commercial vehicles.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in a draft notification issued on January 24 said up to 50 per cent discount would be applicable for all vehicles, both commercial and personal, that are BS-I compliant or were manufactured before the BS norms were introduced.

According to the draft notification, this discount would be applicable in case BS-II vehicles that fall under medium and heavy private and transport vehicles.

The BS-I carbon emission norm for vehicles became mandatory in 2000, while the BS-II came into effect from 2002.

The transport ministry has launched the Voluntary Vehicle Modernization Program or Vehicle Scrapping Policy to create an ecosystem for phasing out unfit polluting vehicles across the country through a network of Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs) and Automated Testing Stations (ATSs).

Presently, there are 60-plus RVSFs across 17 states/UTs and 75-plus ATSs across 12 states/Union Territories operational in the country with many more in the pipeline.
New Delhi: Two-wheelers are a necessity and not luxury in the current Indian context and taxes on these vehicles must be reduced as the industry is staring at a single-digit growth next fiscal with affordability becoming an issue, according to a senior executive of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India. There is also a requirement for income tax rationalisation to enable middle-income people start spending again, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) Director, Sales and Marketing, Yogesh Mathur said.

In the ongoing fiscal, motorcycle sales have not done as well as the scooter segment due to softness in demand from rural market, due to a variety of factors including delayed monsoons, he added. "From the rationalisation of GST (point of view), we have been requesting the government to really take care of (it) because two-wheelers are actually not a luxury. It is a necessity for our people to commute," Mathur said when asked about demands from the industry for a cut in taxes on two-wheelers.

He pointed out that currently, the last-mile connectivity is not there yet in India and even the public transport is also not adequate and sufficient to take care of the growing population, especially the urban areas which are choked right now.

"We understand that two-wheeler still holds a necessity value, rather than the luxury...So from that perspective, in the personal mobility space, even two-wheeler becomes a necessity, and that necessity should not be taxed at 28 per cent, that's what our request from the industry body is there to the government," he added.

Under the present regulations, two-wheelers up to 350cc engine are taxed at 28 per cent GST, while those above 350 cc engine attract 3 per cent cess, taking total tax payable to 31 per cent.

Rationalisation in GST will provide relief to the two-wheeler industry which is facing demand headwinds due to less spending by prospective consumers and also increasing costs of vehicles due to compliance of new regulations, he said.

"...Few basic inherent problems which are there in the market for us in terms of the availability of funds in hand from the customer's point of view currently, which is not there. There is a requirement that the income tax should be rationalised so that middle income people should start spending," Mathur said.

He further said, "Farmers currently are also not getting the proper support of the MSPs. That is a challenge. So, money is limited only to certain people, and now the regulation change has also impacted the overall cost of the product being higher.

Mathur cited examples of emission norm changes from BS IV to BS VI, and On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) 2A to OBD2B set to come in from April 1 which have pushed up the cost of two-wheelers.

"The price increase is phenomenal, which has created a problem in terms of affordability for the people. So that's a challenge and that cannot be immediately addressed. It can be addressed only if surplus money is available in the hands of the consumers to spend with," he noted.

Due to these factors, in terms of industry growth, Mathur said, "We expect that next fiscal year to be high single-digit growth of the two-wheeler market.

As for the ongoing fiscal, he said, "We are expecting 10 to 12 per cent growth.

He said motorcycle demand in rural markets was impacted this fiscal as 'marriage dates' were absent in the first quarter, which is one of the two big seasons for high sales along with the Diwali period.

Moreover, the general elections also had an impact on rural demand for motorcycles as consumers were busy with the exercise, he added.

Yet, Mathur said, "From February again marriages will start and it will have an extended period till June. So we are expecting that the first quarter (next fiscal) will be better, and it should support motorcycle growth going forward in next year in terms of the growth."
New Delhi: Zee Studios and Roy Kapur Films' highly anticipated action thriller Deva, starring Shahid Kapoor and Pooja Hegde, is all set to hit the big screen, and anticipation is at an all-time high. After the release of its gripping trailer and high-energy songs, fans are eagerly counting down the days. However, one major detail about the film has left everyone intrigued: a pivotal scene that was shot with an extremely limited crew to ensure absolute secrecy.

An industry insider reveals, One of the most crucial scenes in Deva was shot with an extremely limited crew to ensure absolute secrecy. This scene is integral to the storyline, and the makers wanted to protect its impact at all costs. The atmosphere on set was intense, with only key personnel involved to maintain confidentiality. Every precaution was taken to avoid leaks, as this moment is expected to leave a lasting impression on the audience."

Directed by renowned Malayalam filmmaker Rosshan Andrrews, Deva promises to deliver a high-octane cinematic experience. Produced by Zee Studios and Roy Kapur Films, the film is set for release on January 31, 2025, and is already generating massive buzz ahead of its debut.
New Delhi: Actress Kajal Aggarwal has begun shooting for her upcoming venture 'The India Story', a gripping drama featuring Shreyas Talpade and Murali Sharma. The first schedule of the shoot has kickstarted in Pune. Directed by Chetan DK and produced by Sagar B Shinde under MIG Production and Studios, the film will also include key schedules shot in Kolhapur.

Kajal Aggarwal shared a picture with the clapboard on her social media, captioning it, Kick starting our first schedule in Pune, for The India Story. Excited to bring this untold, impactful story to life. Mark your calendars- 15th August 2025  see you in the cinemas!

The India Story is a gripping and intense drama that explores the dark and controversial world of major scandals involving pesticide companies.

With a compelling narrative and powerhouse performances, The India Story promises to shed light on a critical issue while keeping audiences on the edge of their seats.

Produced by MIG Production and Studios, The India Story is slated to release on August 15, 2025.
Bihar DElEd Exam 2025: The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) has extended the registration deadline for the Bihar D.El.Ed 2025 examination. Candidates can now apply until January 27, 2025, through the official website at deledbihar.com. The deadline for paying the application fee is January 28, 2025, as per the official notification. The application form for the Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) course can be filled out online.

To be eligible, candidates must have secured at least 50% in their Class 12 (intermediate) examination. Students who will be appearing for the Bihar Board Class 12 exam this year can also apply. Applicants must be at least 17 years old as of January 1, 2025, to register for the exam.

Bihar DElEd Exam 2025: Steps to apply here

Go to the official Bihar DElEd website: deledbihar.com.

Click on the registration link on the homepage.

Provide the required details and submit.

Log in to your account.

Complete the application form.

Upload the necessary documents.

Review your form carefully and submit it.

Pay the application fee.

Download and save the confirmation page.

The BSEB DElEd exam will consist of 120 questions, each carrying 1 mark, for a total of 120 marks. The exam will last 150 minutes. The paper will include questions from General Hindi/Urdu, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, General English, and Logical and Analytical Reasoning.
Lashing out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi claimed on Monday that Dalits, backwards, tribals and poor general-caste people in the country are being made "slaves" again. He alleged that the ruling BJP's vision for the 21st century is that either Dalits and backwards are made to do labour work or sent to jail for raising their voice.

Rahul Gandhi has been unwell for the last few days, because of which he could not participate in the "Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan" rally in Karnataka's Belagavi last week as well as missed out on campaigning for the Delhi Assembly polls.

While addressing the "Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan" rally in Madhya Pradeshs Mhow, the senior Congress leader made a strong push for the grand old partys social justice narrative and accused the BJP-RSS of insulting B R Ambedkar while addressing a rally here.

During the rally, Rahul Gandhi also slammed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat over his remarks that India's "true independence" was established the day the Ram temple in Ayodhya was consecrated.

Reacting to Mohan Bhagwats remarks, the former Congress chief said the statement shows that Bhagwat does not believe in the Constitution. He said the remarks were an insult to Ambedkar's life that was dedicated to making the Constitution.

"A few days ago, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said, 'India did not get independence on August 15, 1947, and real independence was achieved after Modiji came'. This is a direct attack on the Constitution," Gandhi said.

With a copy of the Constitution in hand, Rahul Gandhi said, "This is Ambedkar's Constitution and some days ago, it was insulted by Mohan Bhagwat, who said the Constitution did not give us independence and the Constitution has nothing to do with it as according to him, real independence was gained after Modiji came. This means he (Bhagwat) does not believe in the Constitution."

"Ambedkarji's life was dedicated to making this Constitution and that has been directly insulted by Mohan Bhagwat," he alleged. Gandhi claimed that Dalits, backwards, tribals and poor general-caste people "are being made slaves" again. "I am surprised that your life is being destroyed and you are silently watching," he said.

Referring to Bhagwat's "independence" remarks, Gandhi said, "Did you see a poor person at the Ram mandir inauguration? They did not let the tribal president go inside the temple, they did not let Dalits and backwards go inside. At Parliament's inauguration, they did not allow the president to go inside. Modiji said, 'you are a tribal, you cannot come inside'."

During the rally that saw a big turnout, the Lok Sabha LoP said Dalits, backwards and tribals had no rights before independence when only Maharajas and rajas enjoyed rights. "The change was brought with independence. You got land and rights. The BJP-RSS wants an India of pre-independence, where common people had no rights and only the likes of Adani and Ambani had rights. They want the poor to suffer in silence and not dream while the country is run by billionaires," he said.

(With PTI Inputs)
Saif Ali Khan Stabbing Case: Fresh details have surfaced in the Saif Ali Khan stabbing case in which the Mumbai Police arrested a woman in connection with the attack on the Bollywood actor inside his house.

The arrest took place following a search operation carried out by the police in West Bengals Nadia district, news agency PTI reported, citing a source.

Investigation revealed that the SIM used by the Bangladeshi national, who was arrested earlier in Mumbai for the attack, was registered in the name of the woman, the source further stated. A two-member team of Mumbai Police arrived in West Bengal on Sunday.

"A woman was arrested by Mumbai Police from Chapra in Nadia district in the Saif Ali attack case. They may apply for transit remand to take her to Mumbai," the source in West Bengal Police told PTI.

The woman, Khukhumoni Jahangir Sheikh, was known to the arrested Bangladeshi, Shariful Fakir.

"Fakir had entered India illegally through the India-Bangladesh border near Siliguri in north Bengal and got in touch with this woman. She is actually a resident of Andulia in Murshidabad district of West Bengal," he said.

Earlier this month, Khan was stabbed six times at his Bandra residence in Mumbai. The actor was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital where he underwent spinal and plastic surgery for his wounds. He was released from the hospital on January 21.

On the morning of January 19, Mumbai police arrested Bangladeshi national Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir alias Vijay Das from neighbouring Thane, after which the Durg RPF allowed Kanojia to go leave.

(With agency inputs)
India-China Ties: India and China have decided to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday. The decision was taken at the meeting between foreign secretary Vikram Misri and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. Following the meeting, the MEA said in a statement that the two sides have decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025.

India, China decide to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra: MEA January 27, 2025

The two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025; the relevant mechanism will discuss the modalities for doing so as per existing agreements. They also agreed to hold an early meeting of the India-China Expert Level Mechanism to discuss the resumption of the provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers, Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement

India and China should meet each other halfway and commit themselves to mutual understanding rather than mutual suspicion, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday as he met Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri here.

Misri is in Beijing on a two-day visit for talks with Chinese officials to improve India-China relations, in the second such high-profile visit from India to China in less than one-and-a-half months.

In his meeting with Misri, Wang said that since the meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia last year, the two sides have earnestly implemented the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, carried out active interactions at all levels and accelerated the process of improving China-India relations, said a press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry here.

"The two sides should seize the opportunity, meet each other halfway, explore more substantive measures, and commit to mutual understanding, mutual support, and mutual achievement, rather than mutual suspicion, mutual alienation, and mutual consumption," Wang said.

The improvement and development of China-India relations is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and their peoples, and is conducive to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the global South countries, he said.

Good relations between India and China are also conducive to making contributions to the peace, stability, development and prosperity of the two ancient civilizations in Asia and the world, Wang said.

Besides being the Foreign Minister, Wang is a member of the powerful political bureau of the ruling Communist Party and China's Special Representative for the India-China border mechanism. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is the Special Representative from the Indian side. Misris visit to China followed last month's talks between Wang and Doval under the Special Representatives mechanism.

(With PTI Inputs)
NEW DELHI: Members of the parliamentary panel on the Waqf Amendment Bill have suggested 572 amendments to the draft legislation that has the government and the opposition at loggerheads. The consolidated list of amendments was circulated by the Joint Committee on Waqf Amendment Bill, chaired by BJP leader Jagdambika Pal, late Sunday as the panel's hearing entered the last lap.

The Committee will discuss the clause-by-clause amendments at its meeting on Monday. Members of the BJP and those from the opposition have submitted amendments to the Bill. However, none of the BJP's allies figure in the list of members who have submitted the amendments.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was referred to the joint committee of Parliament on August 8 following its introduction in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.

The Bill aims to amend the Waqf Act of 1995, to address issues and challenges in regulating and managing Waqf properties.
The Maha Kumbh, the world's largest religious gathering, has captivated global attention with its sheer scale and magnificence. With millions of devotees flocking to Prayagraj, the event has sparked widespread curiosity worldwide. Adding to the awe, stunning images of the gathering have now been shared from space. NASA astronaut Donald Pettit captured and shared breathtaking photos of the Maha Kumbh from the International Space Station (ISS), showcasing the events grandeur from a unique perspective.

"2025 Maha Kumbh Mela Ganges River pilgrimage from the ISS at night. The largest human gathering in the world is well lit," said Pettit on X.

2025 Maha Kumbh Mela Ganges River pilgrimage from the ISS at night. The largest human gathering in the world is well lit. pic.twitter.com/l9YD6o0Llo  Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) January 26, 2025

The Maha Kumbh, which began on January 13th with the auspicious occasion of Paush Purnima, has already seen an incredible turnout. In just the first 14 days, over 110 million devotees have taken a holy dip in the sacred waters of Prayagraj.

On Sunday, amidst the ongoing spiritual grandeur of the Maha Kumbh Mela, Bageshwar Dham Chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri met with Swami Chidanand Saraswati, the President of Parmarth Niketan Ashram, further highlighting the confluence of faith and wisdom at this historic event.

The Maha Kumbh is held every 12 years and a huge turnout of devotees is expected in Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26. According to tradition, pilgrims flock to the Sangam--the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati (now extinct) rivers--to take the holy dip believed to absolve sins and grant moksha (liberation).

Rooted in Sanatan Dharma, the event signifies a celestial alignment that creates an auspicious period for spiritual cleansing and devotion. The Mahakumbh Mela is expected to host over 45 crore visitors, marking a historic occasion for India.
In a major success, the Punjab Police have arrested six members of the Kaushal Chaudhary gang, preventing multiple target killings, officials reported on Monday. The gang members are linked to several high-profile murders, including those of kabaddi player Sandeep Singh Nangal Ambian and Youth Congress leader Sukhmeet Singh. The arrests were carried out by the Counter Intelligence unit in Amritsar, successfully preventing a planned target killing in Punjab.

Gaurav Yadav, the Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab, said on X, "In a major breakthrough, Counter Intelligence Amritsar, foiled a major target killing in Punjab by arresting six members of the Kaushal Chaudhary Gang, including key associates Puneet Lakhanpal @ Sharma and Narinder Kumar @ Lalli."

In a major breakthrough, Counter Intelligence Amritsar, foiled a major target killing in Punjab by arresting six members of the Kaushal Chaudhary Gang, including key associates Puneet Lakhanpal @ Sharma and Narinder Kumar @ Lalli



Arrested accused were evading arrests since the pic.twitter.com/X87t7h5Oai  DGP Punjab Police (@DGPPunjabPolice) January 27, 2025

The accused, who had been on the run for three years, were found in possession of six sophisticated weapons and 40 live rounds. They were also connected to an indiscriminate firing incident at a hotel in Rajasthan and an extortion demand of Rs 5 crore.

"They were directly involved in the murders of Kabaddi player Sandeep Singh Nangal Ambian (2022) and Sukhmeet Singh @ Deputy (2021). They were also involved in firing indiscriminately at the Highway King Hotel in Rajasthan and demanding an extortion of Rs 5 crores in September 2024," the DGP said.

Yadav praised the achievement, reaffirming the police's commitment to dismantling organized crime networks and maintaining peace in the state. "An FIR has been registered at PS SSOC, Amritsar. Punjab Police remains resolute in its commitment to dismantling organized crime networks and ensuring peace and harmony across the state," DGP Yadav added.
Rahul Gandhi On Constitution: Lok Sabha LoP and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday asserted that a battle of ideologies is going on in the country.

Holding a copy of the Constitution in hand during the "Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan" rally in Madhya Pradeshs Mhow, Gandhi slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that there is the Congress that believes in the Constitution and is fighting for it, and on the other is the BJP and the RSS that are against Ambedkar's and Mahatma Gandhi's Constitution and are trying to destroy it.

While speaking at the rally, which saw the presence of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Jairam Ramesh, K C Venugopal, chief ministers Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh) and Revanth Reddy (Telangana), among others, the Lok Sabha LoP said that the Constitution is not just a book, but it reflects India's thinking for thousands of years.

Since the saffron party wanted to finish off the Constitution, it gave the slogan of "400 paar" in the run-up to last year's Lok Sabha polls intending to change it, Gandhi stated. The INDIA opposition bloc, including the Congress, fought against the saffron party and after the polls, Modi had to bow down before the Constitution, he added.

The Congress leader emphasised that the day the Constitution is finished, nothing will be left for the poor people of the country. During the rally, Rahul Gandhi echoed the grand old partys social justice narrative and accused the BJP-RSS of insulting B R Ambedkar.

"There will be nothing for Dalits, backwards and Tribals. People like Adani and Ambani are being handed the country's resources. Where in the Constitution is it written that all resources be given to Adani? The Constitution says all citizens are equal and all Indians have the right to dream," he said.

(With agency inputs)
The much-awaited Uniform Civil Code comes into force in Uttarakhand on Monday. The BJP has promised it in the run-up to the 2022 assembly polls and a committee was formed to formulate the policy after the party retained power in the state. Now, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has stated that the policy will be implemented effectively.

With this, Uttarakhand becomes the first state in independent India to have this policy. Goa has the UCC from the pre-independence era. Dhami has said that all preparations including getting approval of the rules for the implementation of the Act and training of officials concerned have been completed. The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will bring about uniformity in the society and ensure equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens, he said.

What Are The UCC Laws?

The Uniform Civil Code Act governs and regulates the laws relating to marriage and divorce, succession, live-in relationships and related matters. It sets equal marriageable age for men and women, grounds of divorce and procedures across all religions, and bans Islamic practices like polygamy and 'halala'.

The UCC makes registration of all marriages and live-in relationships mandatory. Facilities have been created to help people register their marriages online so that they do not have to run around government offices for it.

Another feature of the UCC is that it treats all children as legitimate. The law does away with the term illegitimate in the context of children. The UCC also makes a special provision for defence personnel called "privileged will" which can be made both in writing or by word of mouth.

Any soldier or air force personnel engaged in an expedition or actual warfare or a mariner at sea can make a privileged will for which rules have been kept flexible.

UCC Background

The implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was a key promise made by the BJP during the 2022 assembly elections, which saw the party achieve a historic second consecutive term in Uttarakhandsomething no other party had accomplished since the states creation in 2000. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami credited the partys commitment to passing the UCC as a major factor in their victory.

After returning to power in March 2022, Dhami wasted no time. In the very first cabinet meeting, he approved the formation of an expert committee to draft the UCC. The committee, chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, was officially established on May 27, 2022. Over the next 18 months, the panel engaged with various sections of society to prepare a comprehensive draft.

On February 2, 2024, the committee submitted its four-volume draft to the state government. Just days later, on February 7, the state assembly passed the UCC legislation. It received the presidents assent a month later, clearing the way for its implementation.

To finalize the rules and regulations for the Acts execution, another expert committee, led by former chief secretary Shatrughna Singh, was formed. This committee submitted its report to the state government in late 2024, marking the final step in the UCCs implementation process.

Congress Rues Lack Of Consensus

On Sunday, Congress said it is nothing but 'kickstarting a pilot project' without proper consensus. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the uniform civil code cannot be state-specific. "Can a uniform civil code be state-specific? You talk of the 'uniform' civil code and then make it state-specific," he said. When asked about the implementation of UCC in Uttarakhand from Monday, he told reporters here, "This is nothing but an attempt to fast-track the process, to have a pilot project, before you can impose... Because you don't have a consensus. So you do it like kickstarting a pilot project." He said the phrase UCC itself means there has to be uniformity in implementing it.

Foundation Of Harmonious India

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the UCC will lay the foundations of a harmonious society where there is no discrimination against any religion, gender, caste or community. "We are fulfilling our commitments. The abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir was an instance of it. The Indian republic stands firmly today under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi...Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we made a commitment to the people of the state about bringing the UCC in the run-up to the 2022 assembly elections. We took it up on a priority after forming the government. The UCC was drafted and an Act on it was brought. We are now going to fulfil that commitment fully and formally on Monday....It will be in keeping with the prime minister's vision of creating a harmonious India where there is no discrimination against any religion, gender, caste or community," he said.
The Waqf amendment bill is all set to make its way to Parliament once again in the Budget session as the Joint Parliamentary Committee scrutinising the bill adopted all amendments proposed by the ruling BJP-led NDA members on Monday. The JPC, however, negated every change moved by opposition members. While Opposition MPs cried foul, the committee chairman Jagdambika Pal said that amendments adopted by the committee would make the law better and more effective.

The draft of the Waqf Amendment Bill, tabled in the House last August, has undergone 14 proposed changes. Opposition MPs on the committee, chaired by Jagadambika Pal of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, had suggested 44 amendments, all of which were rejected. The 14 proposed changes are set to be voted on January 29, with the final report scheduled for submission by January 31, reported NDTV.

The Waqf Amendment Bill introduces several reforms to the administration of Waqf boards, including the inclusion of non-Muslim members and at least two women.

Additionally, if the amendments are approved, the central Waqf Council will require the participation of a union minister, three MPs, two former judges, four individuals of national repute, and senior government officials, none of whom are mandated to belong to the Islamic faith.

The amendments also specify that the Waqf Council will no longer have the authority to claim land. Another proposed change, which has sparked controversy, seeks to limit donations to the Waqf from Muslims who have been actively practicing their faith for at least five years, raising questions about the definition of a 'practicing Muslim.'

The opposition MPs decried the meeting's proceedings and accused Pal of 'subverting' the democratic process. "Today, they did whatever they had fixed. They didn't allow us to speak. No rules or procedures have been followed. Initially, we had asked for documents, representations and comments. All those things have not been supplied to us. Jagdambika Pal did not allow discussion at all. He then brought in the Amendment Motion. We were not all allowed to speak in the Amendment Motion," said TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee.

Banerjee alleged that this was a farce proceeding. "This is a black day of democracy...Jagdambika Pal is the greatest blacklister of democracy. He is a man who has destroyed democracy...", he said.

However, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, a member of the panel, said that the meeting was held today in a very democratic manner. "The Chairperson's Jagdambika Pal tried to hear everybody out and gave sufficient time for everybody to move the amendment that everybody wished to. There are 44 amendments to the principal Act 1995 that had been proposed by the government which had been tabled before all of us to deliberate upon. Against these 44 amendments, the Opposition party MPs had actually proposed amendments with regard to 43 proposals of the government. As far as NDA MPs are concerned, they had moved 24 proposals. The voting was mostly 10:16. They were 10 members and we were 16," said Sarangi, while accusing Banerjee of trying to create ruckus.

Pal rejected the charge, and said the entire exercise was democratic, and the majority view prevailed. One of the more significant amendments proposed by the committee is that the existing Waqf properties cannot be questioned on the grounds of 'Waqf by user', which existed in the current law but will be omitted in the new version if the properties are being used for religious purposes.

Pal said the amendments moved by the NDA members in 14 of the Bill's clauses have been accepted. Opposition members moved hundreds of amendments in all 44 clauses and all of them were defeated by vote, he added. (With agency inputs)
India made history at the World Economic Forum 2025 meeting that began on last Monday in Davos. For the first time, India was represented by Water Resources Minister CR Patil, who presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new transformative ideas on water conservation for humanity before the global community during a dialogue on ensuring water security.

At the World Economic Forum 2025, India introduced its water revolution and sustainable water management methods to the world. Water Resources Minister CR Patil reiterated India's commitment and readiness to promote global cooperation and initiate transformative discussions to ensure a water-secure future.

While presiding over the discussion, CR Patil addressed the global community and stated that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has adopted sustainable water management practices, and India is ready to share them for the benefit of the world community.

He said that India is prepared for collaborations on potential water management issues and called upon the world to engage in water conservation efforts, highlighting the challenges that need attention. He also urged all nations to come forward for equitable water management.

CR Patil is the first Indian Water Resources Minister to participate in the World Economic Forum. He emphasised India's seriousness about water conservation and water security, saying, "Prime Minister Modi takes this issue very seriously. Water conservation, water security and ensuring access to water for all are his top priorities. There was a time when many areas of Gujarat faced severe water crisis, but the visionary steps taken under his leadership have brought water security and stability across the region."

Minister Patil said that PM Modi set a target of at least 65 Amrit lakes in every district, while today, over 60,000 lakes have been built or revived, contributing significantly to water resources and management efforts.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, India emerged as a powerhouse on the global stage. The Team India delegation, representing PM Modi's vision, also addressed a press conference, where Water Resources Minister CR Patil described India's journey under PM Modi's transformative leadership.

It is worth noting that this year, India made history by sending its largest-ever delegation to Davos. India's powerful voice and its rise as a global leader in inclusive development were highlighted on the world stage. The theme of this year's event - Collaboration for the Intelligent Age - reflected India's remarkable stability and its direction and vision for the future.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday inaugurated the northbound bridge connecting the Mumbai Coastal Road with the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, describing it as a milestone that will herald a new era of connectivity for the city. With 94 per cent of the work completed, the coastal road will be fully open to Mumbaikars upon the completion of the Prabhadevi connector in February, he said. The coastal road milestone is a new era of connectivity for Mumbai. It will significantly reduce travel time for Mumbaikars and provide much-needed relief from pollution, he said. Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and ministers Ashish Shelar and Mangal Prabhat Lodha were present on the occasion.

I appreciate all the officers, engineers, employees of the BMC, contractors, and construction workers involved in successfully completing the coastal road project. Your dedication and hard work have made this possible, he said. Besides the bridge, the chief minister also inaugurated the intersections from Marine Drive to Prabhadevi and from Bindumadhav Thackeray Chowk to the sea bridge and the intercity route towards Bandra.

The coastal road will be open for vehicular movement daily from 7 am to midnight, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had said in a release on Friday, adding the northbound bridge will be opened for the public from January 27. In the absence of the northbound bridge, both north as well as south bound traffic was directed to the southbound bridge, which was opened for the public a few months back, it said.

The northbound bridge is 827 metres long, with 699 metres over the sea and a 128-metre access road. The bridge includes a 143-metre long, 27-metre wide and 31-metre high 'Bo Arch String Girder' weighing approximately 2,400 metric tons, the release said.

The ambitious Mumbai Coastal Road Project is being developed in phases to provide faster access from south Mumbai to the northern suburbs, stretching from Nariman Point to Dahisar.

Almost 94 per cent of the construction of the first phase of the coastal road, covering a 10.58-km-stretch from Shamal Das Gandhi Marg in south Mumbai to Worli-Bandra Sea Link, has been completed, the release said.

More than 50 lakh vehicles have used the coastal road route from March 12 to December 31, 2024, with the daily average being 18,000-20,000 vehicles, it added.

Shinde is the guardian minister of Mumbai city. Shelar is the guardian minister of Mumbai suburbs, while Lodha is the co-guardian minister.
Mumbai: Bollywood actress Ameesha Patel recently addressed the swirling rumours about her relationship with Pakistani actor Imran Abbas. During an interview with Pinkvillas Hindi Rush, the Gadar 2 actress clarified the speculation, which began after several affectionate photos of the two went viral on social media.

Ameesha dismissed the rumours, saying, This has been going on for the past two or three years. Did any marriage happen? We meet at events, especially functions abroad. We are good friends, nothing more. People just need an opportunity to gossip. If two good-looking people are seen together, rumours start. Hes single, Im single, and people begin manifesting a wedding that doesnt exist.

The actress has frequently found herself at the centre of similar rumours. Earlier, Ameesha was linked with businessman Nirvaan Birla after a cosy photo of them surfaced online. However, Nirvaan clarified in an interview with the Free Press Journal that they were childhood friends and their Dubai meeting was strictly professional, as Ameesha was featured in his music video.

Ameesha Patel continues to handle these speculations with grace, attributing them to the constant buzz that surrounds her personal life. Despite the chatter, the actress remains focused on her work and maintains that these rumours are nothing but baseless gossip.

For Ameesha and Imrans fans, the viral photos may have sparked excitement, but as the actress puts it, Thats why they are called rumours.

On the work front, Ameesha Patel was a part of Gadar 2 which was a massive hit and fans fell in love with her and Sunny Deol's chemistry all over again.
Mumbai: While Karanveer Mehras victory on the latest season of Bigg Boss, hosted by Salman Khan, has been making headlines, his ex-wife, Nidhi Seth, has also found herself in the limelight recently. Nidhi, who has been a subject of public attention due to her relationship with Karanveer, has now tied the knot again, this time with her partner Sandip. The announcement of her new marriage has caught the attention of social media users, leading to a range of reactions from both supporters and critics.

Nidhi took to her social media to share the joyous news, posting pictures from her wedding with a heartfelt caption. In the post, she expressed her deep gratitude towards her new partner, writing, You have shown me that love is not a struggle but a beautifully shared journey. In our marriage, its always we over me. Your unwavering loyalty and care make me feel cherished and free, and I trust that our bond grows stronger each day.

She continued to reflect on the past two years, saying, Over the past two years, you have transformed memories into treasures and stood by me through every joy and challenge. I am grateful for your support, kindness, and the beautiful relationship we share. Thank you for being my rock, for saying YES to me and for filling my life with love. I love you SK.

While Nidhis heartfelt post conveyed a sense of happiness and contentment, it didnt take long for her announcement to spark mixed reactions among netizens. Many fans and followers congratulated her and wished her the best for her new life with Sandip. However, the news also prompted a fair share of criticism and mocking comments, with some users questioning the timing of her remarriage and others offering unsolicited opinions on her past relationship with Karanveer Mehra.

Karanveer, now a celebrated winner on Bigg Boss, has managed to shift much of the publics focus onto his career and personal growth, while Nidhi is beginning a new journey with Sandip.
New Delhi: Actress Lakshmi Manchu recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to accuse IndiGo Airlines of harassing her during a recent bag check at the airport. The actress shared her frustrating experience, revealing that her bag was flagged for inspection, and the staff allegedly treated her rudely when she requested to open it. "My bag was pulled aside, and @IndiGo6E wouldnt let me open it. They insisted on checking it, or else it would be left behind in Goa. Someone help!!! Flt 6E585. This is ridiculous, and the staff is being extremely rude," she tweeted, expressing her displeasure with the way she was treated by the airline.

In a follow-up post, Lakshmi Manchu escalated her complaint, describing the experience as harassment. She emphasized that despite her repeated requests, IndiGo staff did not place a security tag on her bag in front of her, further fueling her frustration. This is harassment @IndiGo6E. After all that, they didnt even put a security tag in front of my eyes. In spite of insisting that they would do so if anything is missing, I doubt IndiGo will take any responsibility. How is this even possible to run an airline like this? she posted, questioning the airlines practices.

This is harassment @IndiGo6E after all that they did not even put a security tag in front of my eyes. In spite of insisting that they would do so if anything is missing, I doubt Indigo will take any responsibility. How is this even possible to run an airline like this?  Manchu Lakshmi Prasanna (@LakshmiManchu) January 27, 2025

The actress also detailed other incidents she claimed to have witnessed, including the mistreatment of other passengers. "They pulled people aside for sleep apnea machines! Spoon, fork, and knife cutlery! One of the girls had to leave her luggage because they couldnt go through her bag on time!!! Ok Im done! @IndiGo6E loves making you feel violated" Manchu concluded, expressing her discontent with the airlines handling of the situation.

They pulled people aside for sleep apnea machine! Spoon fork and knife cutlery ! One of the girl had to leave her luggage cos they couldnt go thru her bag on time!!!!!!

Ok Im done! @IndiGo6E loves making you feel violated January 27, 2025

To wrap up her accusations, the actress shared a photo and video of her bag, showing her frustration with the situation, adding, "I rest my case @IndiGo6E."

IndiGo Airlines responded promptly to the accusations, offering an explanation regarding the situation. In a tweet, the airline stated, Maam, we understand the inconvenience you experienced this morning. As per our records, your checked-in bag was detained by the airport security, deployed by the airport operator, due to strict regulations on carrying prohibited items in check-in luggage. The airline expressed gratitude for the cooperation shown by the actress and her support in resolving the issue. IndiGo added, We appreciate your cooperation with our team and the security personnel in resolving the matter, ensuring the bag could be cleared for check-in. Thank you for your understanding, and we wish you a pleasant flight."

Maam, we understand the inconvenience you experienced this morning. As per our records, your checked-in bag was detained by the airport security, deployed by the airport operator, due to strict regulations on carrying prohibited items in check-in luggage. (1/2)  IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) January 27, 2025

IndiGo further clarified the security situation, explaining, "Maam, we would like to clarify that while our airport team had securely tagged your bag, the tag was removed by airport security personnel when the bag was detained due to the carriage of a restricted item."

Ma'am, we would like to clarify that while our airport team had securely tagged your bag, the tag was removed by airport security personnel when the bag was detained due to the carriage of a restricted item. (1/3)  IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) January 27, 2025

The airline reiterated its appreciation for Manchu's understanding and cooperation and assured her that any further assistance could be provided through direct messages. "We truly appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. Should you require any further assistance, please feel free to reach out to us via DM. We hope you had a pleasant flight and look forward to welcoming you onboard again soon," IndiGo concluded.
Maha Kumbh 2025: Amid reports of life threats, renowned choreographer and filmmaker Remo DSouza attended the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj, opting for a low-profile and incognito visit to seek spiritual blessings. Accompanied by his wife, Lizelle DSouza, Remo shared glimpses of their spiritual journey on social media, captivating fans and followers.

In a video posted online, Remo can be seen taking the sacred dip in the holy Ganga, a ritual of immense spiritual significance during the Kumbh Mela. Dressed in all-black traditional attire with his face partially covered, he blended seamlessly into the crowd, ensuring his anonymity while soaking in the spiritual fervor of the event.

Another highlight of his visit was a serene moment captured on video, where Remo sought blessings from the revered Swami Kailashanand Giri Maharaj. In subsequent posts, both Remo and Lizelle were seen meeting the spiritual leader, further underlining the deep spiritual purpose of their journey.

Though Remo posted the video without a caption, he included hashtags like #harhargange, #mahakumbh2025, #mahakumbhmela2025, #uttarpradeshtourism, and #prayagraj, emphasizing the cultural and spiritual importance of the event.

Have a look:

As soon as he shared the video on social media, fans were quick to react. Many welcomed him to Prayagraj and his comment section was filled with chants of 'Har Har Mahadev.'

Recent media reports have highlighted alleged death threats directed at Remo DSouza, along with other public figures such as Kapil Sharma, Rajpal Yadav, and Sugandha Mishra. An FIR has been filed in Mumbai, and authorities are actively investigating these claims. According to reports, the threatening emails were sent under the alias BISHNU, with claims of monitoring the targeted individuals.

One of these emails, reportedly sent to Rajpal Yadav, alleged a connection to Kapil Sharmas show, which the sender claimed was sponsored by Salman Khan. However, Lizelle DSouza dismissed these reports in an interview with Hindustan Times, clarifying that the emails were spam and had been misinterpreted by the media. Even we read it in the media. We got spam emails on the company email ID regarding something else, for which we informed the cops. The cyber department is looking into it, and they also feel its spam, she explained, assuring fans that there was no cause for concern.

Remos visit to the Maha Kumbh Mela, despite the circulating threats, underscores his unwavering spiritual devotion and his ability to connect with Indias rich cultural and religious heritage. His discreet yet impactful participation in this sacred event resonated deeply with fans, inspiring many to embrace spirituality in their own way.
Mumbai: Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal, who welcomed their baby girl, Zuneyra Ida Fazal, in July 2024, recently opened up about the early months of parenthood. In a candid conversation, Richa discussed the challenges of motherhood and the importance of having a supportive partner by ones side, especially during the initial days after childbirth.

During an interview with Faye DSouza, Richa shared how Ali had requested paternity leave after their daughters birth but was not granted sufficient time off. Ali asked for paternity leave after we had our baby, and he did not really get it. Everyone was like, Haha, really you want? Okay, one two weeks is fine, Richa explained. She added that it was only through a stroke of luck that his shoot was postponed for another reason, which allowed him to stay at home and be there for her and their newborn.

Richa went on to explain the challenges she faced as a new mother, including the overwhelming emotions, sleepless nights, and physical discomfort. You are dealing with all kinds of emotions, there is no sleep, all kinds of aches and pain and so much brain fog It is so helpful to have a partner around you, she shared. She also pointed out the reality that not all families have access to high-quality childcare services in India, making a supportive partner even more crucial during the early stages of parenthood.

Further addressing the need for systemic change, Richa emphasized the importance of having more women in positions of power, believing that this would help shape a more inclusive and balanced economy. She argued that this shift would not only benefit women but also lead to a better work-life balance for families across the country.

Richa and Ali met on the sets of the hit film Fukrey and went on to announce their eco-friendly wedding in September 2022. The couple tied the knot in Lucknow on October 4, 2022, in an intimate ceremony.

On the work front, Richa was last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansalis web series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar on Netflix, while Ali Fazal was seen in Mirzapur 3 on Prime Video. Ali is set to appear in several upcoming projects, including Metro In Dino, Lahore 1947, and Thug Life.
Mumbai: Speculations are abuzz that actress Sobhita Dhulipala may step away from bold and romantic roles following her marriage to actor Naga Chaitanya. Reports suggest the decision is motivated by a desire to avoid controversies and ensure harmony in their personal life. Sources reveal that Naga Chaitanyas father, veteran actor Nagarjuna, has also advised the couple to maintain a low profile and steer clear of unnecessary public scrutiny.

Sobhita, known for her fearless roles in projects like Made in Heaven and The Night Manager, has often made headlines for her bold performances. However, her marriage reportedly marks a new phase in her life, with a shift in career choices to align better with her priorities.

The couple, who frequently share adorable moments on social media, have been the subject of fans admiration for their chemistry. Their wedding comes as a delightful surprise to many who have followed their rumoured romance over the months.

Just a few days ago, Sobhita turned heads at Sabyasachis 25th work anniversary event with her bold and stunning looks, showcasing her fearless fashion sense. Fans have since been eager to see how her choices evolve as she embraces this new chapter in her life.

Neither Sobhita nor Naga Chaitanya has officially addressed the reports of her career shift, leaving fans curious about her next moves in cinema. For now, the couple continues to bask in the love and blessings of their admirers as they step into their married life.

The couple got married on December 5 in an intimate traditional Telugu wedding ceremony held at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad, attended by close friends and family.
Chennai: One of Tamil cinemas top directors Mysskin has now alleged that he was threatened into selling the television rights of his hit film Onnayum Aattukkuttiyum for a meagre Rs 75 lakhs.

Participating in the trailer launch event of Bad Girl, Mysskin, who spoke on a number of topics, apologized for some of his statements made at an earlier event.

He then said, I did Onnayum Aattukkuttiyum. They did not allow me to release it the first day. People do not know. The next day, it released in the night.

The director then said that ten days after the film released, some people came to buy its television rights.

At that point, a big director close to me told me that he would get me a huge sum of money for that film and took me to a place. We went into a large room. There were 20 people in that room. Give the television rights of this film to us for 75 lakhs, they said. I told them, Sir, I have made this film with great difficulty. This is a good film. Please give me at least Rs Two crore for its television rights. They kept saying they wouldnt be able to give me that money, Mysskin said.

It was then that I realized that they had 20 goondas, who threatened me and made me sign (the deal) . They gave me Rs 75 lakhs. That film has been released on that channel 80 times. I took that cheque, tore it before them and said, When I came to Chennai, I had only a white paper and a pencil. I come from such a poor family. I told them that I will definitely make a comeback with my hardwork.,  Mysskin recalled.

The director and actor went on to say, Four of those who were there then have passed away. The man who betrayed me, he is a big director. He is there even today. I keep experiencing betrayals every moment.
Mumbai: Twinkle Khanna has never shied away from addressing societal stereotypes, and this time, she is taking on the blame game directed at wives. Reacting to rumours that Kareena Kapoor was intoxicated and unavailable when her husband Saif Ali Khan was attacked, Twinkle penned a scathing response, calling out the tendency to vilify women, especially wives, in moments of crisis.

Taking a sarcastic yet thought-provoking tone, Twinkle wrote, This Sunday is all about why biwis (wives) are clearly not considered number one, except when it comes to taking the blame. After an actor was stabbed, ridiculous rumours swirled that his wife hadnt been at home or was too intoxicated to help during the assault. People just enjoyed shifting the blame onto the wifean all-too-familiar pattern.

She then pointed out how this phenomenon isnt restricted to Bollywood but extends to all aspects of life, When the Beatles split, people blamed Yoko Ono. Melania Trump is often criticised for her silence or limited opposition to her husbands policies. Jill Biden has been accused of pushing Joe to continue his campaign. Even when Virat Kohli gets out, people boo Anushka Sharma. Its a widespread issue, not limited to couples in the public eye.

Twinkle humorously elaborated on how wives are judged no matter what they do. If your husband gains too much weight, youre blamed for not taking care of his health. If he loses weight, youre accused of not feeding him well. If hes caring, theyll say youve manipulated him. If hes indifferent, theyll blame you for not managing him right.

She added an anecdote from a family gathering, where a relative jokingly attributed baldness in married men to the stress caused by their wives, illustrating how deep-rooted these biases are.

Twinkle also addressed the constant scrutiny she faces as a public figure married to Akshay Kumar. After two decades of answering the annoying question, Whats it like to be a star wife? Ive developed an oyster-like attitude to irritants, crafting pearls of wisdom in response.

With her trademark wit, she likened being a star wife to marrying celestial bodies: Im not sure such an entity exists unless, like Manglik women marrying trees due to Rahu-Ketu dosh, you marry Sirius or Halleys Comet.

She also commented on being blamed for differing political views between her and Akshay, jokingly adding, Its almost as if people believe hes my toddler, and I can say, Beta ji, walk on the left side of the road, and Ill give you a Frooti.



For those unaware, Saif Ali Khan was attacked on January 16 at around 2:30 a.m. by an intruder, sustaining six stab wounds, including one to his neck. The actor underwent emergency surgery at Lilavati Hospital and was discharged five days later. Mumbai Police confirmed that the attacker, a Bangladeshi national, has been detained and is in custody.
A great coffee mug is an essential component of the coffee-drinking experience, not just a container. Whether you're enjoying a cosy cup of coffee in the morning or indulging in an espresso in the evening, the correct mug may improve the aroma, keep your favourite beverage at the perfect temperature, and increase your satisfaction. With so many different shapes, materials, and styles to choose from, picking the ideal coffee mug depends as much on taste as it does on practicality. This guide will assist you in examining the important factors to take into account when choosing the ideal coffee mug to enhance your coffee routines and fit your lifestyle.

1. Pexpo Potterman Black and Yellow Tea Cup

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The Pexpo Potterman Diamond Ceramic Coffee Mugs are a stylish and thoughtful option for gifting or personal use. Combining aesthetics with functionality, these mugs are designed to enhance your drinking experience while being versatile and easy to maintain.

Key Features:

Elegant Design: Black and yellow glossy finish with a diamond pattern adds a touch of sophistication.

Microwave and Freezer Safe: Durable ceramic construction ensures the mugs can handle both high and low temperatures without damage.

Eco-Friendly & Safe: Free from harmful materials, ensuring safety for everyday use.

Delicate Build: Although durable, ceramic construction requires careful handling to avoid breakage.

2. Fabindia Purple Leo Ceramic Mug

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The Fabindia Purple Leo Ceramic Mug is an elegant and functional addition to your kitchenware. Combining durability with a textured, glossy finish, this mug is ideal for enjoying your favorite hot beverages in style. Its simple yet sophisticated design makes it perfect for personal use or gifting.

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Elegant Design: The textured finish in a vibrant purple shade adds a touch of luxury to your drinkware collection.

Spacious Capacity: With a capacity of 330 ml, its perfect for coffee, tea, or other beverages.

Durable Material: Made of sturdy ceramic, it is resistant to moderate impacts and maintains heat well.

Care Required: Must be cleaned using mild detergents without abrasives to maintain the finish.

3. Nestasia Beige & White Ethnic Motifs Printed Ceramic Cups (4 Pcs, 220 ml Each)

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The Nestasia Beige & White Ceramic Cups set features elegant ethnic motif prints, making it an ideal addition to your tableware. These cups combine functionality and design with their microwave and dishwasher-safe properties, perfect for modern households.

Key Features

Stylish Ethnic Design: The printed geometric motifs in neutral tones complement both modern and traditional settings.

Durable Ceramic Material: Sturdy ceramic construction ensures longevity and excellent heat retention.

Glossy Finish: Adds a luxurious look and makes the cups easy to clean.

Color Limitation: Neutral beige and white might not appeal to buyers seeking brighter or more vibrant options.

4. Mad Over Print Coffee-Galaxy Mug (325 ml)

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The Mad Over Print Coffee-Galaxy Mug captures the essence of serene outdoor coffee moments with a unique art design on a white ceramic base. Its classic design, large handle, and sturdy build make it perfect for daily use or gifting purposes.

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Large Capacity: A spacious 325 ml size is perfect for enjoying coffee, tea, or other beverages.

Ergonomic Handle: The large handle provides a secure and comfortable grip for added convenience.

Print Durability: Prolonged use and frequent washing might affect the longevity of the galaxy print.

Picking the ideal coffee cup improves the ambiance of your coffee moments as well as your drinking experience. Each option offers something different, whether you like the streamlined style of the Pexpo Potterman Black and Yellow Tea Cups, the colourful design of the Fabindia Purple Leo Ceramic Mug, the classic appeal of the Nestasia Beige & White Ceramic Cups, or the creative flair of the Mad Over Print Coffee-Galaxy Mug. There is a mug out there that will fit your demands, style, and daily routines, from colourful designs to useful features like dishwasher and microwave safety. To improve your coffee experience and make each drink a bit more pleasurable, take durability, size, and design into consideration when choosing your perfect coffee mug.

Disclaimer: At IDPL, we help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and products. It should not be construed as an endorsement to buy. IDPL may make a very small commission from its sale if one chooses to buy the product from any of the links in this article.
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was ordering tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures to be taken against Colombia after its government rejected two flights carrying migrants. Trump made the announcement on his social media platform Truth Social. He said that the decision of Colombian President Gustavo Petro jeopardised national security in the US.

These measures are just the beginning, Trump wrote. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States. Earlier Sunday, Petro announced that his government won't accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with dignity.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday ordered an increase of import tariffs on U.S. Goods in retaliation to a similar order announced hours earlier by President Donald Trump. The tariffs fight follows Petro's decision to reject two U.S. Military flights carrying migrants to Colombia. Trump, in a social media post, said the rejection jeopardized national security in the U.S.

Petro in a post on X said he had ordered Colombia's foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the US by 25%. US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was ordering tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures to be taken against Colombia after its government rejected two US military flights carrying migrants.

Earlier Sunday, Petro said his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with dignity. Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.

A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves, Petro said. That is why I returned the US military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants... In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens." Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the United States from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.

Last year, Colombia and other countries began accepting US-funded deportation flights from Panama. The US government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding aircraft and protocols used in deportations to Colombia. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement said Petro cancelled his authorization for the flights when the aircraft were in the air.

No official order had been issued as of Sunday afternoon that would allow for the implementation of the measures Trump announced. This is a clear message we are sending that countries have an obligation to accept repatriation flights," a senior administration official told the AP. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss issue publicly.

Colombians emerged in recent years as a major presence on the U.S. Border with Mexico, aided in part by a visa regime that allows them to easily fly to Mexico and avoid trekking though the treacherous Darien Gap. They ranked fourth with 127,604 arrests for illegal crossings during a 12-month period through September, behind Mexicans, Guatemalans and Venezuelans.

Mexico hasn't imposed visa restrictions on Colombians, as they have on Venezuelans, Ecuadoreans and Peruvians. The government of Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, in a statement later announced that the South American country's presidential aircraft had been made available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the US military airplanes and guarantee them dignified conditions." As part of a flurry of actions to make good on Trump's campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.

Two US Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants removed from the US touched down early Friday in Guatemala. That same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people. In announcing what he called urgent and decisive retaliatory measures, Trump explained that he ordered 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States, which would be raised to 50% in one week. He said he also ordered A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on Colombian government officials, allies and supporters.

All Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government, Trump wrote will be subject to Visa Sanctions. He did not say to which party he was referring to or provide any additional details on the visa and travel restrictions. Trump added that all Colombians will face enhanced customs inspections.

Trump's actions would seem to undercut his goal to reduce his country's trade deficit. Unlike Mexico or China, Colombia is one of the few countries with a trade deficit with the US, of around $1.4 billion, according to US trade data. Colombia is the US' fourth-largest overseas supplier of crude oil, shipping about 209,000 barrels of oil per day last year, although booming domestic production has reduced the US' dependence on foreign oil. Other imports include coal, coffee and gold.

Colombia is also the US' largest supplier of fresh cut flowers, and with Valentine's Day just weeks away, the price of saying I love you could be impacted.
A bizarre discovery on Google satellite live images has sent shockwaves on social media, with users spotting the words "help" and "traffico" written in the debris of wildfires that ravaged a Los Angeles region near a shipping port. The images have sparked a flurry of theories, ranging from a prank gone wrong to a desperate cry for help from a human trafficking victim.

The words "LAPD," "Federal," and "Traffico" can also be seen scribbled in the debris, leaving officials and netizens alike scrambling for answers. While authorities have yet to comment on the images, social media users have been quick to share their theories.

"This disturbing message was spotted on Google Maps in Los Angeles, California, with the words 'Help' and 'Traffico' written in the debris, surrounded by shipping containers," a user wrote on X (Twitter). "It has been confirmed that the lot next to this location is a shipping yard, which has led users to fear that this is connected to human trafficking or worse."

BREAKING NEWS: This disturbing message was spotted on Google Maps in Los Angeles, California, with the words Help and Traffico written in the debris, surrounded by shipping containers. It has been confirmed that the lot next to this location is a shipping yard which has pic.twitter.com/swvBnSogXu January 26, 2025

The discovery comes as Los Angeles County crews continue to battle the aftermath of devastating wildfires that swept through the region earlier this month. The Palisades Fire, the largest of the blazes, has reached 90% containment, while the Eaton Fire has been 98% contained. The Hughes Fire, which ignited last week north of Los Angeles, was 95% contained as of Sunday evening.

Los Angeles County crews spent much of the past week removing vegetation, shoring up slopes, and reinforcing roads in devastated areas of the Palisades and Eaton fires. The fires reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble and ash after breaking out during powerful winds on January 7.

The Palisades Fire destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 11 people. The Eaton Fire, which broke out near Altadena, has killed at least 16 people.
New Delhi: Study Abroad 2025 is the opportunity to step forward for an excellent career hype. Recently, an overall growth of 49% has been seen to study in Ireland for Indian students. The research and trends stated that last year 1,73,190 students flew to study in the UK and 11,200 students to Ireland to pursue their higher studies at the worlds most prestigious universities across the globe.

Still, few students are unaware of the reasons for the gradual increase in studying abroad and few are living in a mythical world that can be considered a barrier to their career. The reasons to study abroad for Indian students can amaze students and make them fascinated to study in the UK and Ireland.

Uncovering Top Reasons to Study Abroad for Indian Students

1. Advanced Education: The world is getting advanced and digital. But obviously, the international education system is much more developed and advanced compared to India. It uses the latest equipment and technology to educate students.

2. Flexible Course Duration: The top destination to study abroad offers better flexibility with different course duration. It facilitates them with an advanced curriculum but in a flexible manner. It majorly prefers short-duration of courses.

3. Internship and Job Opportunities: The internship and job opportunities reflect the ultimate ROI of any degree. Studying abroad facilitates students to gain better internship experience at top companies and world-class job opportunities. It facilitates impressive fresher salary packages ranging from 48 Lakhs to 60 Lakhs.

4. World Exposure and Placement: Studying abroad provides Indian students with unique opportunities in different regions, religions, cultures, beliefs, backgrounds, connections, etc. It enables students to get interconnected with the different people contributing somehow to their nation. This offers better and assured placements which allows students to acquire better career prospects.

5. Affordability: The cost of studying abroad is not more than Indian university fees. The approximation of Abroad fees is similar to Indian fees.

Lets get to know the number of students who flew to pursue their higher education Abroad.

In 2024 - More than 13 Lakhs Students

In 2023 - More than 12 Lakhs Students

In 2022 - More than 7 Lakhs Students

In 2021 - More than 4 Lakhs Students

In 2020 - More than 2 Lakhs Students (Covid-19 Pandemic)

In 2019 - More than 5 Lakhs Students

Top 2 Most Demanding Study Abroad Destinations in 2025 for Indian Students:

1. Ireland

Technology excellence is the major attraction for students to study in Ireland. It facilitates the best technical and computerized courses that enable students to become giants in technical background and study IT, cloud computing, AI, cyber security, software development, and blockchain at the worlds best universities in Ireland which offers international connectivities and exposure. Almost, 7000 Indian students set foot to study in Ireland in 2023 and 9000 in 2024.

Here is the list of the best universities to study in Ireland for Indian students which facilitates them to attain better career aspects and become a technical expert.

1.Trinity College Dublin

2. Dublin City University

3. University College Dublin

4. University of Galway

2. UK

The most demanding Business and Management is the major concern of Study In UK for Indian Students which fascinates students worldwide. It enables students to attain excellence and pursue the most demanding MIM and MBA courses in the UKs top universities. This allows students to attain high education quality in law, pharmacy, design, and biotechnology, and students often opt for management sandwich programs. The decision to study in the UK for Indian students is career-orienting and life-changing. Mentioning the names of best universities in the UK offering specializing courses in business, management, and more. Last year in 2024, 1,11,329 Indian students took a flight to study in the UK.

1. University College London

2. University of Oxford

3. The University of Edinburgh

4. Kings College London

Russell Group and its Importance at a Glance

The Russell Group is the prestigious association of 24 top universities in the UK. These are responsible for maintaining high-quality education standards, research opportunities, and students' experience.

The importance of Russell Group is given below.

Academic Excellence

Research Opportunities

Funding and Resources

International Recognition

How to Initiate Planning Your Study Abroad?

First and foremost, Indian students are supposed to read and generate interest for Study Abroad in Ireland. Then, they should plan their journey and consider 8 to 10 months of gap from intake. For example, if you gonna pursue any course in Abroad through the September intake, you must have the offer letter in your hand in January of that year. It requires a long time to receive an admission letter and visa for study abroad.

Later, you are required to prepare a financial budget that must include tuition fees, visa, accommodation, etc. Later, you must opt for foreign exchange and get help from a transparent education consultancy.

Why Education Vibes: Your Trusted Study Abroad Companion

Indian students who reached their dream destination and enjoying a healthy learning environment have shared positive feedback with us that makes us appreciated and motivated for our team. We at Education Vibes believe in students' growth. Our team has led several students to accomplish their dream of studying abroad. We helped ample Indian students to attain their dream degree at their dream destination. We facilitate them gaining acknowledgment and reliability. We help them with complete support from the start to the end of their abroad journey. We are helping the students and making them aware of the benefits of studying abroad for the last 10 years. We allow students to attain better knowledge and job opportunities through our connections in Abroad.

Empowering Your Future

Investing in a study abroad in Ireland and the UK is a career-oriented approach that enables students to enhance their skills and knowledge through advanced education. It allows students to develop valuable personal and professional networks to boost their career prospects with a globally acknowledged degree. The September 2025 Intake is open and don't let your dream wait. Apply for it through Education Vibes and we will ensure your successful abroad education journey.

Media Contact

Education Vibes (BRIGHTROUTE CONSULTING LLP)

Contact: +917217214416

Email: admission@educationvibes.in

Website: https://educationvibes.in/

(This article is part of IndiaDotCom Pvt Lts consumer connect initiative, a paid publication programme. IDPL claims no editorial involvement and assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of the article.)
As Valentines Day approaches, a tariff war between Colombia and the United States threatens to increase the price of fresh-cut flowerspotentially putting a dent in the budgets of American romantics. Colombia, the largest supplier of fresh-cut flowers to the U.S., has raised import tariffs on American goods in retaliation to measures imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The dispute escalated Sunday when President Trump announced tariffs, visa restrictions, and other retaliatory actions against Colombia. The announcement came after Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to allow two flights carrying deported migrants to land in his country. Trump, on his social media platform Truth Social, claimed the Colombian governments decision "jeopardized" U.S. national security.

In response, President Petro demanded that the U.S. establish protocols to treat migrants with dignity before accepting deportation flights. Hours later, Petro ordered a sharp increase in import tariffs on U.S. goods, setting the stage for a full-blown trade conflict.

With Valentines Day just weeks away, the timing of the trade dispute is especially significant. Colombia accounts for more than 70% of flower imports into the U.S., including roses and carnationsstaples of the holiday. Industry experts warn that American consumers could see a sharp rise in flower prices due to disrupted supply chains and increased tariffs.

As tensions escalate, there are fears the economic consequences could extend beyond flowers. Colombia is a key trade partner for the U.S., and this tariff war could affect industries ranging from agriculture to manufacturing.

For now, couples looking to say I love you with a bouquet may need to brace for higher pricesor find new ways to express their affection amid the fallout of the Trump-Petro standoff.
Israel-Hamas News: Days after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal and displaced Palestinians started returning to their destroyed homes, US President Donald Trump has now suggested 'cleaning up' of the Gaza Strip. Trump also expressed the idea of moving Palestinians from the strip to some neighbouring countries. Gaza is battered into rubbles following the intense Israel-Hamas war and it will take years to build it again.

Trump said he spoke to the king of Jordan about potentially building housing and moving more than 1 million Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries. "I said to him that I'd love you to take on more, because I'm looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it's a mess, it's a real mess," CNN quoted Trump as saying aboard Air Force One.

Jordan's state news agency Petra reported the call with Trump, but made no mention of relocating Palestinians. The kingdom is already home to more than 2.39 million registered Palestinian refugees, according to the UN.

Trump said he would like both Jordan and Egypt - which borders Gaza - to house people, and that he would also speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about the matter on Sunday. "You're talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing," Trump said as quoted by CNN, adding that there have been centuries-long conflicts in the region.

He continued: "I don't know, something has to happen, but it's literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything's demolished and people are dying there, so I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change."

Notably, Israeli airstrikes have damaged or destroyed around 60 per cent of buildings, including schools and hospitals, and around 92 per cent of homes, according to the UN. Approximately 90 per cent of the Gazans have been displaced, and many residents have been forced to move repeatedly, some more than 10 times.
Looking back on the campaign for the 2024 Republican governor nomination, Dale Folwell vs. Mark Robinson proved insightful into the heart and soul of the state party.

The boisterous and combative former lieutenant governor initially gained formidable backing from high-level influential Republicans inside and outside North Carolina  foremost President Donald Trump.

The endorsements came in part because Republicans were tired of Democrats controlling the governors mansion through two terms of Gov. Roy Cooper, as well as every term since 1992 outside Pat McCrory of 2013 to 2017.

And in part because of Robinson fit glove in hand with the MAGA movement with his controversial stances and willingness to speak at political conventions and rallies sponsored by hardline right-wing officials.

However, compared with Folwells track record, Robinsons political resume paled. The lieutenant governor carries little responsibility besides presiding over state Senate floor sessions  Robinson performed those roles seldomly during his term.

Meanwhile, Folwell, the former two-term state treasuer, ran on a pledge of taking a chief executive approach to being governor, saying my candidacy will be talking to voters like adults with common-sense solutions and vowing to put my heart, mind and back into being their governor.

Folwell saw the opportunity to apply his decision-making as treasurer with other departments he felt needed more financial focus, particularly state departments of Health and Human Services and Transportation.

His campaign motto: The best governor that money cant buy.

Despite the many skeletons in Robinsons personal and work backgrounds, he also received key endorsements from state GOP legislative leaders Phil Berger and Tim Moore, former N.C. Republican Party chairman Michael Whatley and current N.C. Republican Party chairman Jason Simmons.

In the state Republican Party, we have selections (in the primary) followed by (general) elections, Folwell said in reflecting on overwhelming party support for Robinson.

Folwell said Whatley and Simmons stiff-armed me for three years of getting access to Donald Trump about how my candidacy in the general election would be good for North Carolina and good for him.

They didnt want to have any part of me having a conversation about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, that people in this state continuing to give the middle finger to his executive order about healthcare transparency.

Still pulling no punches

The Robinson campaign essentially self-destructed after the Sept. 19 CNN report, leading several Southeast Republican governors to quickly withdraw their support, while out-of-state GOP funding sources dried up.

CNN reported that Robinson wrote that he was a Black Nazi and that he not only supported a return of slavery but that he also wanted to own slaves. The story also said Robinson wrote that he liked to watch transgender porn.

The comments were made on the porn website Nude Africa between 2008 and 2012. Robinson has denied making the comments and filed a lawsuit in November against CNN that the cable network is seeking a dismissal.

Folwell has pulled no punches in the aftermath of the bombshell report, calling Robinson a counterfeit conservative and always playing the victim.

Mark Robinson told lies, and the donors believed him. Phil Berger, Tim Moore, Michael Whatley and Donald Trump believed him. They did know, didnt want to know, should have known.

Its the biggest disaster in the history of the N.C. Republican Party.

Yet, Folwell said the blame for Robinsons disastrous outcome in the general election falls first on me.

I was his opponent, and thats what opponents are supposed to do, take out the opponent. It was my responsibility, and I did not do that. I failed.

Folwell said Robinsons defeat, along with four other Council of State candidates who were MAGA acolytes and embraced Robinsons candidacy, should serve as a reassessment prompt to Simmons and the state party.

Democrat Attorney General Josh Stein Stein defeated Robinson by 3.03 million to 2.22 million votes, or 54.8% to 40.1%. Stein not only was the largest vote-getter in the statewide races, but received 160,496 more votes than Trump.

With Steins victory, there will be a Democrat in the governors mansion for at least 12 consecutive years, which followed a 20-year run from 1993 to 2013.

I said during the campaign this may be the last time to elect a Republican governor in my lifetime, Folwell said. I didnt say that emotionally or politically.

The next non-Democratic governor in North Carolina will be unaffiliated.

Under the spotlight

Folwells time as state treasurer hasnt been without controversy.

In June 2023, Folwell expressed his displeasure with the nomination of former state Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen as head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Folwell fired a shot across the Biden administrations bow with a pointed tweet aimed at Cohen, who served nearly six years as health secretary, including the first 21 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Folwells tweet: Pray for our country. As a member of the NC Council of State, my observation is that the actions of Dr. Mandy Cohen during COVID resulted in more disease, death, poverty and illiteracy. As NC governor, I would be hard pressed to ever follow her lead at CDC if chosen by the POTUS.

The State Health Plan and about 550 North Carolinians are awaiting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether state health plans are required to cover gender-affirming healthcare services for members and their families.

The SHP is North Carolinas largest purchaser of medical and pharmaceutical services and is self-funded. It covers about 750,000 teachers, state employees, legislators, retirees and their dependents.

The case of Kadel v. Folwell was filed in March 2019 by Lambda Legal and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund on behalf of several current and former state employees and their children who were denied coverage for medically necessary care under the State Health Plan.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals order on April 29 upheld two lower court rulings by an 8-6 margin with the voting along political lines.

The 541 participants who get such care represent 0.007% of the overall membership. The plans 2023 expenditures for those beneficiaries through Nov. 30, 2023, was $1.5 million, compared with overall expenses of $3.7 billion.

Outgoing state Treasurer Dale Folwells 48-page petition was placed July 26 on the Supreme Courts docket, likely because of the precedent-setting potential of a ruling, along with a related case in West Virginia.

According to a statement from Folwell, the SHPs refusal to cover surgical and hormonal treatments related to the diagnosis of gender dysphoria dates back to the 1990s.

Folwell has said the essence of his petition is whether a states decision to decline coverage for gender-affirming treatments violates the federal Equal Protection Clause.

Folwell claims the State Health Plans attempt at coverage exclusion does not discriminate on the basis of sex and that the his petition is an excellent vehicle to resolve the issue.

However, adult plaintiffs said in briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court that the SHP policy has required them to spend money out of pocket for necessary health care that the SHP should be covering.

They cited as examples of how SHP covers hormonal and testosterone treatments, mastectomy, hysterectomy, vaginoplasty and phalloplasty  the latter two creation or reconstruction of the vagina and penis  for cisgender females and males, but not for gender dysphoria.

SBI investigation

In June, Folwell was accused of driving state-owned vehicles for personal use throughout North Carolina, including trips to a yoga studio and hotels. The State Bureau of Investigation and the Wake County District Attorneys Office are investigating.

The investigation of Folwell started as part of an N.C. Department of Administrations Motor Fleet Management Division compliance audit of car use for July, November and December 2022 and April 2023, according to a court record.

Folwell was running for governor during that time.

Investigators said they believe those trips by Folwell violated state laws in that state vehicles should be used only for state business or approved commuting.

An SBI agent filed a search warrant application in Wake Superior Court on June 12 that indicated that Folwell used three state-owned vehicles to travel to medical offices, a country club, residences, church, fast-food restaurants, a hot yoga studio, hotels, the Biltmore Estate and Republican Party offices throughout North Carolina.

According to state law, the misuse of a permanently assigned state vehicle is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Folwell hasnt been charged with any criminal wrongdoing.

Folwells initial response was that an investigator believed it necessary to obtain search warrants to look into use of my assigned state vehicle for the many public functions I routinely perform throughout the state, all of which are purposefully planned to accomplish the maximum job duties possible during the trips.

We have provided pages of documentation throughout the course of this review, Folwell said. We look forward to continuing to cooperate with the Department of Motor Fleet Management to satisfactorily resolve this issue.

During his interview with the Journal, Folwell said, Im grateful that they ask questions which provides an opportunity to fully cooperate with these agencies that I hold in high regard.

Lorrin Freeman, Wake Countys district attorney, said in late December that this investigation is ongoing at this time. Treasurer Folwell has been cooperating fully in providing detailed information that is being reviewed.

Anjanette Grube, the SBIs public information director, said in late December it remains an ongoing investigation.

Folwells legacy

Folwells legacy is seen foremost in his willingness to be intently focused on tackling policy challenges, Wake Forest University political science professor John Dinan said.

Dinan pointed to Folwells accomplishment of erasing the states unemployment insurance debt to the federal government, as well as his long-standing concerns about bringing about more transparency in the prices that hospitals charge patients.

Dinan said that after Robinsons historic loss in the governors race, certainly many Republicans are likely wishing that primary voters had placed more emphasis on governing experience and policy expertise of the kind that Folwell brought to the table and emphasized in his ill-fated bid for the partys nomination.

Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, has shared more than a political relationship with Folwell, whether on the WS/FCS school board or their efforts to reform the states healthcare system.

Dale has been an unbelievable public servant in so many roles, Lambeth said.

I have been fortunate to have not only worked with him, but have known him for most of his adult life. I was there in the emergency room when his little boy was hit by a car and killed tragically.

Folwells terms in the state House member was significantly influential in my deciding to run for the House, Lambeth said.

Lambeth praised Folwell for cleaning up so many areas in state government. The unemployment system today is so much better and financially healthy because of the work he did to put policies in place to assure a long term viability.

In his role as treasurer, I worked very closely with him as he made improvements in the pension plan and State Health Plan. He continues to run up the red flag about the poor long-term funding (for SHP), but legislators have chosen to not respond.

Did Dale rub some people the wrong way? Sure. And did I agree with everything he did? No.

But he did it with a passion, and he did his research and had the facts. He would have made an excellent governor, and was my choice early on 

Mitch Kokai, senior policy analyst with conservative think tank John Locke Foundation, said that whatever the job, Dale Folwell always has adopted a straightforward approach: Solve problems rather than play political games; safeguard taxpayers money; work with whomever is interested in making a positive change.

Kokai said Folwells style has earned him support from some unexpected places, and it has caused him to run afoul of those who would like to use government to build their own power bases or feather their own nests. Its likely that he could have won another term  or two or three  as state treasurer, but part of his problem-solving approach turned his attention toward addressing larger issues within state government.

Quinterno said Folwell took his responsibilities as a steward of public funds seriously during his time as state treasurer. His willingness to take on the healthcare industry over pricing within the State Health Plan was unexpected, but meaningful.

Chris Cooper, a professor of political science and public affairs at Western Carolina University, said Folwell has been recognized as a steady public servant and a conservatives conservative in an era when many politicians attempt to garner votes by getting clicks and eyeballs on their most outlandish views.

Dale Folwell rarely attracted attention, perhaps to the detriment of his higher political ambitions, Cooper said, but could be counted on for steady, if not flashy, service to the state and to the offices he occupied, Cooper said.

He might have enjoyed hot yoga and fast motorcycles in his private life, but in his public life, he cultivated a profile that recalled an older archetype of public service.

What about the future?

In terms of politics, Folwell said North Carolinians and the nation need for people to be willing to say no when no needs to be said.

Folwell said he has no appetite for running for Congress because I dont think anybody in Washington, D.C., is interested in fixing anything.

Theres so much money being made in keeping things broken, he said. Now, thats cynical, and its true, and thats not my style. You can go, raise hell about a few things and become a multi-millionaire.

Folwell said his upbringing taught him that it doesnt matter how you start off in life if you are earnest in your hard work.

Doing those things encouraged so many people to give me the benefit of the doubt, all the way through school, into public service, all the way to being state treasurer, Folwell said.

One day, you are going to be my age, look back and realize you are standing on the shoulders of others, and one of your roles in life is be a supporting shoulders for others.
CHARLESTON  The man who was killed in a reported self-inflicted shooting during a police well-being check early Saturday at a service station has been identified as an Eastern Illinois University student.

EIU's administration reported in a mass message to students on Sunday that, "Earlier this weekend, we and the entire Charleston community were saddened to learn EIU student Yahacov Dennis passed away."

The message did not refer to Dennis as being the fatality of the shooting, but his identity has been confirmed by fellow students. A Facebook page that Dennis maintained under the screen name of Thomas Love reported that he is from Chicago and served in the Army National Guard.

"Consistent with university protocol, EIU is unable to comment or share additional information while the off-campus incident continues to be investigated by the Illinois State Police," the university's statement said.

The Charleston Police Department reported in a news release Saturday evening that officers were dispatched at approximately 1:07 a.m. that morning for a well-being check in the 200 block of West Lincoln Avenue, where a 22-year-old man had called 911 to request immediate assistance.

Multiple community members have reported on social media that they saw police arrive at the Lambo's service station, 200 W. Lincoln Ave., or the crime scene area that was cordoned off there after the incident that night.

The news release reported that the arriving officers tried to identify the issue, but a "rapidly evolving situation" occurred during which an officer was disarmed. The preliminary investigation indicates the man got ahold of the officer's gun and then fired it at himself, police said.

Emergency medical service workers were called to provide first aid and take the man to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to the news release. No officers were injured during the incident.

Champaign County Coroner Laurie Brauer has reported that Dennis was pronounced dead at 10:34 a.m. Saturday at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday, Jan. 27.

CPD called the Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigations Zone 5 to investigate the incident. Contacted for comment on Monday, a State Police spokesperson referred back to the CPD news release and said, "The investigation is in its infancy and no additional information is available to share at this time."

EIU's statement encouraged classmates, friends, colleagues or anyone else impacted by Dennis' death to reach out for any assistance they may need.

Assistance available to the campus community includes EIU's Counseling Clinic, which can be reached at 217-581-3413; and Togetherall, an anonymous online space dedicated to mental health and wellbeing.

Additionally, counselors will be available for students beginning at 4 p.m., Monday, Jan. 27, in the Martin Luther King Jr. Union's Grand Ballroom.

London Griffin, Dennis' sister and a fellow EIU student, provided a statement from his family:

Yahacov (Cov) Dennis was a bright soul. Cov was love personified. He was a loving, caring person whos smile can brighten up any room. He touched every single person he met.

"Cov had just gotten back to attending EIU and was ready and excited to get his degree. Cov was more than fine. Cov was loved. Our family deserves the truth and Yahacov deserves justice.

Payton Liggins, who is a member of the EIU Black Student Union, said a few students and friends of Dennis held a vigil and balloon release on Saturday in his memory.

"The Black Student Union didn't organize it, but a few members that were impacted and wanted to show their support came out," Liggins said. She said a few friends have said they plan to organize a march in honor of Yahacov, but the details have not been finalized.

Tavantre Moore, godbrother of Dennis, said he was glad to see a good turnout at the balloon release. Moore said some attendees recalled that Dennis could sense if something was going wrong in their lives and would always ask if they needed help.

"Cov is that type of person who was a loving and caring person with everybody and anybody," Moore said. He added that Dennis also was known for maintaining a smile on his face during good and bad times.

Moore, who is residing in Charleston while attending Lake Land College, said his godbrother had just returned to EIU this semester after studying there in 2022-2023. He said Dennis had been somewhat overwhelmed by his studies at first but was getting through this and was excited about completing his education.

Not long before the shooting occurred, Moore saw his godbrother. He said Dennis was in good spirits that night, so it's hard to reconcile this with the description of him shooting himself. He said the family is anxiously awaiting more information about this incident.

"I don't believe that's the way it went down. It doesn't sound like him at all," Moore said. "I just want the truth. I want to know the proof that is what happened. If that is what happened, I will accept it. Until then, I won't."
New findings enhance Wisconsins reputation as Americas Dairyland. According to a University of Wisconsin-Madison study, the economic impact of Wisconsins dairy industry is bigger than ever, contributing $52.8 billion to the states economy. That staggering sum surpasses the combined value of Floridas orange and Idahos potato industries and is on par with the revenues of some Fortune 100 corporations.

The research, which was supported in part by Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW), confirms the importance of our agricultural production and food processing sectors. Data shows the states agricultural economic impact grew by 11% to $116.28 billion between 2017 and 2022. Dairys impact rose 16% during that period. Dairy remains the leading sector of Wisconsin agriculture, generating more than 45% of the states total agriculture activity. Evidence from reports like these helps build appreciation for farmers and confidence in producers.



Global markets with local impact

Teams at the Center for Dairy Research are feeding industry momentum by continuing to innovate. Demand for dairy is strong, both domestically and internationally. In the U.S., per capita consumption is at historic highs, even reaching 42.3 pounds of cheese per person. Developing new products to meet consumer interest in convenience snacks and shelf-stable options that satisfy the world populations growing need for protein sources paves the way for more growth. DFWs marketing efforts also keep Wisconsin dairy products competitive in grocery aisles and as global exports.

Wisconsins dairy industry acts as a multiplier for local impact. Our supply chain and other interconnected businesses and associations are uniquely integrated into the fabric of both rural and urban communities. From 2001 to 2022, the number of dairy processing companies in Wisconsin jumped from 162 to 242. That's a nearly 50% change. Wisconsin is the top dairy farm state in the nation, and 99% of Wisconsins 5,300 dairy farms are family owned.



Making billions more personal

Given the massive scale of Wisconsin dairys economic impact, it can be tough to see how individual contributions factor in. Lets break these billions down. Wisconsins dairy industry supports 120,700 jobs, and every dollar generated by the dairy industry contributes an additional 93 cents in revenue for the state. Every gallon of milk contributes $14.25 to the states economy. For every pound of cheese, that figure rises to $16.57. Each cow in Wisconsin generates an average of $41,500. These exciting figures confirm that Wisconsins dairy industry continues to benefit local communities as leaders innovate and global demand for our nutritious and artisan products accelerates.

Connecting the dots between the clusters of economic activity dairy farms create is part of farmers stories. The 2022 data used in these reports validates farmers hard work at a time when the rest of the world was still experiencing shutdowns. We can take pride in these numbers, but we cant rest on our laurels or assume that the average consumer understands the role the dairy industry plays in economic prosperity.

In early 2025, our team at DFW will be sharing these statistics with partners and public officials. Checkoff initiatives use dairy farmer dollars to promote Wisconsin dairy products, both here in the United States and across the world. We are dedicated to building visibility on the dairy industrys impact at trade shows and community meetings.



To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.

(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2025

January 23, 2025
Misawa Aviation and Science Museum (Photo by Futoshi Shinozuka)

In Japan, youll find that there are museums dedicated to anything and everything. From the standard art, history and architecture museums to the quirky, cute or outlandish like cartoon character museums and one spotlighting ramen, dolls, teddy bears and more. In Chiba, theres even a museum dedicated to soy sauce!

There is plenty to discover and enjoy at area museums, no matter where in Japan you find yourself. Below are some of my favorites close to the U.S. military bases around the country.

Misawa Aviation and Science Museum (Near Misawa AB)

Right next door to Misawa Air Base, the Misawa Aviation and Science Museum is the nations largest aeronautical science museum and a must-see attraction. The exhibits give you a good overview of the history, technology and innovation used to conquer the sky.

The two-story building has an aircraft hangar, exhibition rooms, a science laboratory, and historical aircraft replicas like Miss Veedol and Japan-made passenger aircraft YS-11.

Beyond the interesting exhibits, visitors can also try Prove IV, a freefall experience, or test their skills in the flight simulator. Outside, there is an open field with 10 American and Japanese aircraft to see up close. Get in the cockpit of an F-104J Japanese jet fighter or T-3 training plane to feel like a real pilot.

With a large playground, the museum is also a great attraction for children. Check the museum website for special events.

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(Photo by Futoshi Shinozuka) (Photo by Futoshi Shinozuka) (Photo by Futoshi Shinozuka) (Photo by Futoshi Shinozuka) (Photo by Futoshi Shinozuka) (Photo by Futoshi Shinozuka) (Photo by Futoshi Shinozuka)

Misawa Aviation and Science Museum

Location: 158 Kitayama, Misawa, Misawa City, Aomori Prefecture

Hours: Tue.  Sun., 9 a.m.  5 p.m.

Admission: 510 yen for adults, high schoolers 300 yen, 15 years old and under free

URL

Tel: 0176-50-7777

Japan Open-air Folk House Museum (Near Kanto Bases)

Japan Open-Air Folklore House Museum in Kawasaki has 25 authentic traditional houses and structures, ranging from wealthy merchant homes to rustic farmhouses.

Travel back in time as you visit each of the museums buildings set in a typical Japanese rural landscape. Inside each home or structure are the typical furnishings or tools used during the time period.

Try a taste of Japan on site at the soba noodle shop housed inside a folk house. Visitors can also participate in arts and crafts workshops like indigo-dying or handloom-weaving workshops throughout the year.

Nearby youll find a few of Kawasakis other attractions like the Fujiko Fujio Museum, dedicated to the cartoonist who created Doraemon, and Kawasaki Science Museum, which houses the worlds newest planetarium. The museum and Kawasakis nearby activities make for a great fun-filled day.

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Japan Open-air Folk House Museum

Location: 7-7-11 Masugata, Tama-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Hours: Tue  Sun, (Mar  Oct) 9 a.m.  5 p.m., (Nov  Feb) 9:30 a.m.  4:30 p.m.

Admission: Adults 550 yen, high school and college students 330 yen, middle schoolers or younger free

URL

Tel: 044-922-2181

Nissan Heritage Collection (Near Camp Zama)

Not far from Camp Zama is a place car enthusiasts wont want to miss  the Nissan Heritage Collection.

The 80-minute tour in the large facility provides an up-close-and-personal look at the nearly 300 vintage Nissan cars that demonstrate the evolution of vehicles, from vintage to modern models.

The Nissan Heritage Collection owns a total of 400 vintage cars, and 300 are on permanent display throughout the year. Among the huge collection, there is a first generation Fairlady Z and a fourth generation Skyline GTR, nicknamed Ken & Mary, of which only 197 were manufactured in 1973. Both are must-see exhibits.

The Nissan Heritage Collection is open to the public and is free. The 80-minute tour also includes a 25-minute guided tour with an English-speaking guide and 45 minutes of free time to explore the garage and take all the photos you want.

The tour is available only with advanced reservations here.

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Nissan Heritage Collection

Location: 2-10-1 Hironodai, Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Hours: Mon.  Fri., 10 a.m.  4 p.m.

Admission: Free

URL

Application for facility tour

Tel: 046-298-4355

Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum and Goyogura (Near Kanto Bases)

Kikkoman, a name synonymous with soy sauce itself, boasts 30% of the market share in Japan, and products are widely available throughout the U.S. and more than 100 other countries. Learn more about this Japanese cooking staple at their facility in Chiba.

Kikkomans Goyogura Brewery dates to 1939 and has a gray tile roof and traditional gate. A visit to the museum means a front row view of the traditional soy sauce-making process. The traditional brewing method takes one year in a natural climate, giving the soy sauce its deep dark brown color, rich flavor and aroma.

According to the engineer leading the tour during my visit, this process has been ongoing for 110 years and is used to produce high-end soy sauce for the Imperial Household Agency.

The Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum and Goyogura brewery are open to the public but require reservations.

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(Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum) (Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum) (Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum) (Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum) (Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum) (Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum)

Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum and Goyogura

Location: 110 Noda, Noda City, Chiba Prefecture

Hours: Mon.  Fri., 9 a.m.  4 p.m.

Admission: Free

URL

Reservation: (by call) 04-7123-5136 (Mon  Fri, 9 a.m.  4 p.m.)

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Near MCAS Iwakuni)

Hiroshima is known as the City of Water due to its many large rivers, bridges, fountains and water monuments. However, it is the citys dark history as the epicenter of the devastation caused by the atomic bomb dropped during World War II that remains its legacy.

In the city center, Gembaku Dome, one of the symbols of this history, is a monument to the devastation. Nearby, the Peace Memorial Museum exhibits wide-ranged artifacts related to the atomic bomb, the disaster and the war.

When you visit the museum, be sure to rent the English-language audio guide at the entrance of museum for a small fee. Although each exhibit has a brief explanation in English, the recording will help you understand the details of the displays.

For further study, the library at the museum also has English translations of archives, journals, letters and victim recordings.

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(Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum) (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum) (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum) (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum) (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum) (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum) (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum)

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Hours: March - November, 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.; August, until 7 p.m.; December - February, until 5 p.m.

Address: 1-2 Kakajimacho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City (in Peace Memorial Park)

Admission: Adults, 500 yen ($2.50); high school students or younger, 300 yen; (Audio guide, 300 yen)

URL

Tel: 082-241-4004

Museum of Japanese Emigration to Hawaii (Near MCAS Iwakuni)

Suo-Oshima, just off the coast of Iwakuni, is known as Hawaii of Setouchi thanks to its beautiful landscape, sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters. The locals have embraced this moniker, and local customs include wearing Hawaiian-style clothing and other Aloha State traditions.

Suo-Oshiima has a deep connection to Hawaii dating back 130 years. Learn about the history at the Museum of Japanese Emigration to Hawaii, where displays tell of the nearly 130,000 Japanese who migrated from 1885 to 1908.

The unique museum is a 60-minute drive from MCAS Iwakuni via 3,346-foot-long Oshima Ohashi Bridge. The island and its history make for a great day trip to get a taste of Hawaiian culture without leaving Japan.

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(Museum of Japanese Emigration to Hawaii) (Museum of Japanese Emigration to Hawaii) (Museum of Japanese Emigration to Hawaii) (Museum of Japanese Emigration to Hawaii) (Data of Japanese imigrants to Hawaii in 1885-1894) (Name list of Japanese imigrants to Hawaii in 1885-1894) (Japanese imigrants to Hawaii in the 1800s) (Japanese imigrants to Hawaii in the 1800s)

Museum of Japanese Emigration to Hawaii

Open: Tues.  Mon., 9:30 a.m.  4:30 p.m.

Location: 2144 Nishiyashiro, Suo-Oshima Town, Oshima-gun, Yamaguchi Pref.

URL

Admission: 400 yen; elementary/middle schoolers 200 yen

Tel: 0820-74-4082

Hirado Hidden Christian Museum (Near Sasebo NB)

Between the 17th and 18th centuries, Western religions were forbidden in Japan and worshippers of these religions suffered persecution.

In Nagasaki Prefectures Hirado City, a small sect of Christians known as Kakure Kirishitans hid their religious affiliation. This group hid their religious artifacts and prayed in secret, a tradition still kept to this day.

In 1635, 70 local Christians that were discovered here by the authorities were executed at Neshiko Beach.

Located in the Neshiko Village, a one-hour drive from Sasebo Naval Base, the Hirado Christian Museum displays many historical documents and artifacts, such as nandogami (cabinet god), icons, statues and paintings that the areas Hidden Christians used to keep and venerate.

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Hirado Kirishitan (Hidden Christian) Museum

Hours: Thursday  Tuesday, 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Address: 1502-1 Oishiwakicho, Hirado City, Nagasaki Prefecture

Admission: Adults 200 yen; high school students, 150 yen; elementary-middle school students, 70 yen.

Website

Tel: 0950-28-0176

Fore more about Japans Hidden Christianity, see Discovering Japans Hidden Christians in Hirado City.
The Trump administrations authorization of federal ICE agents entering hospitals to arrest undocumented immigrants has the N.C. Healthcare Association scrambling to determine how to advise the states 99 hospitals.

An executive order signed into law by President Donald Trump also ended restrictions on sensitive and protected areas, such as churches, courthouses and schools, to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officials.

As a result, the NCHA and several national healthcare advocacy groups are crossing fingers that a request isnt made in the short term, and if it is, recommendations to avoid a confrontation involving patients, visiting family members and healthcare workers.

The ICE restrictions guidance dates back to 2011, according to The Associated Press, while Customs and Border Protection issued similar guidance in 2013.

ICE and Customs officers had been required to obtain approval  typically from a court  for any enforcement operations at sensitive and protected locations. There were national security exceptions.

NCHA said in a statement Thursday it is monitoring developments on various issues coming from Washington as the new administration begins to implement its agenda.

It will take our members time to review these policy changes. NCHA will collaborate directly with the Trump administration and Congress on policies impacting our hospitals and patients.

NCHA did not respond when asked what members are being advised to do in the meantime if ICE or Customs officials approach hospital employees to arrest a patient, a visiting family member and workers.

The Trump administrations response came Tuesday from Benjamine Huffman, acting secretary of Department of Homeland Security.

This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens  including murders and rapists  who have illegally come into our country, Huffman said.

Criminals will no longer be able to hide in Americas schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.

The American Hospital Association said in a statement that we are currently reviewing the executive order.

Meanwhile, Beth Feldpush, senior vice president of Advocacy and Policy for Americas Essential Hospitals, said that doctors, nurses, and other clinicians must be able to provide care to patients who need it, particularly in urgent situations, without the fear of law enforcement looking over their shoulders.

Patients deserve to feel safe in healthcare settings, at a time when they are already more vulnerable because they are sick or injured, she said.

Our hospitals highest goal is to always provide the best care to every patient who comes through their doors.

Contrary to the common good

The Catholic Health Association of the U.S. said in a Thursday statement in response to action taken by the Trump administration rescinding guidance related to protected areas for immigration enforcement.

We recognize the need for just immigration enforcement and affirm the governments obligation to carry it out in a targeted, proportional and humane way.

However, non-emergency immigration enforcement in schools, places of worship, social service agencies, healthcare facilities or other sensitive settings where people receive essential services would be contrary to the common good.

The association said that with the mere recission of the protected areas guidance, we are already witnessing reticence among immigrants to engage in daily life, including sending children to school and attending religious services.

All people have a right to fulfill their duty to God without fear. Turning places of care, healing and solace into places of fear and uncertainty for those in need, while endangering the trust between pastors, providers, educators and the people they serve, will not make our communities safer.

The associations statement concluded by our organizations stand ready to work on a better path forward that protects the dignity of all those we serve, upholds the sacred duty of our providers, and ensures our borders and immigration system are governed with mercy and justice.

Other states stances

The Kaiser Family Foundations Health News issued a report Thursday that included a review of how some blue and red states are addressing the ending of the sensitive and protected areas.

California is advising health care providers not to write down patients immigration status on bills and medical records, and telling them they dont have to assist federal agents in arrests.

Some Massachusetts hospitals and clinics are posting privacy rights in emergency and waiting rooms in Spanish and other languages. Massachusetts hospitals, as well as those in New York City, have begun training staff to recognize ICE warrants and protect patient confidentiality.

Meanwhile, Florida and Texas are requiring health care facilities to ask the immigration status of patients and tally the cost to taxpayers of providing care to immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization.

KFF Health News reported that during the first Trump administration, immigration agents arrested people receiving emergency care in hospitals and a child during an ambulance transfer. Immigration officers in Texas arrested a woman awaiting brain surgery in a hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. In Portland, Ore., officers arrested a young man leaving a hospital, and in San Bernardino, Calif., a woman drove herself to the hospital to give birth after her husband was arrested at a gas station.

Sanctuaries no more?

The medical publication STAT posted Thursday an opinion piece from Eric Reinhart, a social psychiatrist, psychoanalytic clinician and political anthropologist.

Reinhart said the Trump executive order is not only cruel; it is a public health catastrophe in the making.

Hospitals are meant to be sanctuaries  places where people seek care without fear. If people without documentation fear that stepping into a hospital will expose them to ICE, many will avoid medical care altogether.

This fear will lead to preventable suffering and death, not only among undocumented immigrants, but also within the broader community.

Infectious diseases will spread unnecessarily, chronic illnesses will worsen, and emergency situations that could have been easily treated will become fatal for those too afraid to seek help.

Reinhart said there is as much concern about mass deportation affecting healthcare facilities as the agriculture, construction, food processing and manufacturing sectors.

Undocumented workers are also essential to the very functioning of our health care systems, Reinhart said.

From home health aides to nurses, janitors and food service staff, undocumented people play critical roles in hospitals, clinics and care teams. They are often the ones ensuring that patients receive basic daily care, that facilities are clean and safe, and that the behind-the-scenes work necessary for medical institutions to operate smoothly is done.

Reinhart wrote that by harming these workers, either because they themselves are targeted or because their families and communities are under siege, the health care system will face wide-ranging disruptions, particularly in underserved and rural areas where labor shortages and understaffing are already acute.

According to the Immigration Defense Project, ICE agents may misrepresent themselves as local police in order to trick people into giving them information, allowing them into private spaces, or to lure people out into public spaces.

Unless a judicial warrant specifically requires it, health care workers are not obligated to share any information with ICE about themselves, their patients or their co-workers. It is within our legal rights, and our professional ethical obligations, to refuse to hand over identification or documents simply because ICE asks for them.

The law can protect us, but only if we know and exercise the rights that it still affords us (for now), according to the Immigration Defense Project.

Reinhart pointed out ICE and Customs officials still must clear several steps before gaining access to sensitive and protected facilities.

First and foremost, under protections ensured by the Fourth Amendment, ICE agents cannot enter the private spaces of a clinic or hospital without a proper warrant, Reinhart said.

All patient care areas are private spaces. If ICE shows up, health care workers should immediately verify whether the agents possess a valid warrant.

A proper warrant must be issued by a U.S. district court or state court and will display this information clearly on its letterhead. If ICE cannot produce such a warrant upon request, staff should respectfully but firmly request that they leave the premises.

Reinhart also advised healthcare facilities: document encounters with ICE and Customs officials; deny ICE agents entry unless they present a valid warrant that lists specific areas of your clinic or hospital and the persons or things to be seized; refrain from providing any information to ICE agents; and avoiding physical obstruction or providing false information can lead to prosecution.

ICE incursions into hospitals are a direct attack on the foundational principles of medical ethics and public health, Reinhart said.

We cannot stand by and allow fear to undermine our duty to care for those in need.
January

In a blistering commentary, the American Medical Associations flagship journal, JAMA, condemns the corrosive effect on patient care of the profit-seeking practices of health insurers. Separately, the organization announces that its selling the 13 journals in its JAMA Network to a private equity firm for $375 million in order to enhance our mission of promoting the betterment of public health.

February

Quickly following up on a campaign pledge to slash the federal budget, the Trump administration announces a radical consolidation of various entities at the Department of Health and Human Services. The new organization will be known as the Agency and Bureau for Children, Drugs, Explosives, Firearms, Families, and Food (ABCDEFFF). Reflecting the new presidents strong personal preferences, alcohol will no longer be permitted in any agency name.

March

Bipartisan legislation demanding transparency from pharmacy benefit managers dies in committee after industry executives explain that secret rebates to PBMs are like secret political action committee contributions to politicians: they allow you to loudly proclaim youre an advocate for those supposedly paying you while actually serving the interests of those who are really paying you.

April

Pfizer announces that its once-a-day pill version of the wildly successful GLP-1 agonist weight loss drugs will shortly be submitted for government approval, and also that the company is moving its headquarters from New York to Louisiana, a state with a 40 percent obesity rate. Coincidentally, Louisiana is also the home state of Republican senators Cassidy and Kennedy, senior members of the Senate committees overseeing health care and all federal appropriations.

May

The new private equity owners of the JAMA Network say that all staff except one editor at each journal will be replaced by ChatGPT. A source at the private equity firm tells the Wall Street Journal that OpenAI won out over Gemini because our CEO is a Leo and over Claude because nobody likes the French.

June

Controversial right-wing firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, long the subject of rumors that shes had cosmetic surgery, is diagnosed with a serious infection after an unspecified procedure. The House quickly schedules its first hearing on medical error in over two decades, but then cancels when the American Hospital Association points out the official term for what the Georgia Republican contracted was a health care-associated infection, so its entirely possible she accidentally brought the infection with her to the pristine hospital. Meanwhile, with House leadership telling members they were free to vote their conscience, a resolution to send Greene a get well card passes unanimously after deletion of the word soon.

July

Following through on years of promises to reveal a really great replacement for the Affordable Care Act, President Trump, on July 4, announces the 100-100-100 Make America Healthy Again plan. In keeping with the GOPs advocacy for skinny plans with low premiums that encourage consumers to comparison shop, the plan will cover 100 percent of any medical bill for up to $100 a day for a premium of just $100 a month. Separately, Elon Musk tells a meeting of health insurance executives the plan can also replace both Medicare and Medicaid, enabling the federal government to cut spending by almost as much as the market capitalization of Tesla.

August

Before Congress recesses, a coalition of progressive organizations issues a press release declaring that all basic health services, whether provided by government agencies or the private sector, should be available to the entire population according to its needs. Shortly afterwards, the coalition is forced to make an embarrassing retraction after ChatGPT alerts the lone editor of JAMA that the coalition accidentally re-released a section of the report of the Committee on the Costs of Medical Care, formed in 1927.

September

The Business Roundtable says its members are committed to improving the quality of health care for all employees because quality health care is good business. An 85-year-old freelancer for The New York Times notes that this was the exact title of a September 1997 policy paper by a Roundtable task force in which an executive for Sears, which at the time operated over 3,500 stores, declares, We believe that quality health care is lower-cost health care. Sears currently has about a dozen stores.

October

Medicare Advantage plans step up their advertising expenditures after public opinion polls show that nobody anymore believes the portrayal of happy and healthy seniors playing pickleball instead of writing tear-soaked letters pleading for approval of hip surgery. The trade associations for hospitals, drug and device companies, and PBMs call on Congress to provide greater oversight of greedy insurers. The editor of JAMA resigns after ChatGPT writes an editorial extolling the merits of MA plans run by for-profit companies.

November

The National Rural Health Association says that in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, its members will accept live turkeys in partial payment of the medical debts that now affect 99.99 percent of all Americans after passage of the administrations 100-100-100 Make America Healthy Again plan. A KFF survey explains that the number is not 100 percent because Congress retained conventional health insurance for itself and top federal officials and because Americas billionaires had opted for self-pay.

December

A Washington Post editorial declares, The bottom line is that if we want to contain spending, we will have to make critical choices about how care is delivered, to whom, and under what conditions. Different chatbots differ on where that quote originally came from, but agree that if any humans believe the American public is ready to make critical choices, theyre hallucinating.

Michael L. Millenson is a health care consultant.
Most physicians subconsciously know there are many significant and persistent challenges to their ability to reach their ultimate medical practice potential. Coupled with the intense pressure all physicians are increasingly being forced to tolerate over decades of independent medical practice, they gradually become indentured servants of the medical-industrial complex.

The three sources of administrative manipulation of medical careers stem from the overriding desire for government control, not just of health care, but far worse, control of the medical profession. If all three are against you, the result is a reason to find a new profession.

Medical school education is overwhelmingly compromised by the purposeful rejection of the need for and benefits of a business education, which is necessary to practice medicine. This lie is miraculously never recognized by medical students for lack of due diligence, and it becomes the driving force and belief of essentially brainwashing all medical students for the rest of their medical careers.

It is why physicians in private medical practice deny any need to obtain business education, even when they are about to lose their medical practice for financial reasons.

When medical educators, AAMC, and deans of medical schools all agree to completely hide the business side of medical practice from medical studentsno information concerning business education is ever given to medical students. As medical students, we know that is a fact. Ask any practicing physician about that!

The administrative segments of medical education, deans, AAMC, and government approval of curriculums (Dept. of Education) have agreed to keep business education curriculums out of the medical education system by any means necessary.

Even the fact that they know the essential ingredient for success in private medical practice business can only be the result of using the business tools that all small and large companies have known for 200 years and have proven their value millions of times.

There is no doubt that these self-adjudicated standards, policies, and functions of the administration of the medical school education system keep slithering around while avoiding the 14th Amendment, Title 9, and the Coggeshall Report 1965.

The obvious disintegration of the health care and medical professional system, judging by the massive attrition of American physicians and American men no longer applying to medical schools, is being caused by the lie we assumed to be the truthYou dont need a business education to practice medicine.

Money is significant for physicians. A private medical practice business is the way to earn income for about half of the physicians in the USA, about 500,000.

The one solution for all of these abuses of physicians

Once you begin to understand this universally proven money-making system that never lets you down and is available to you in any private practice system you are in at this time, you will know it is the same one used by every business that employs physicians. The only difference is that you are the employer and owner of the medical industry. You must manage your business as you see fit.

So, about 98 percent of physicians over the past century continue to be business ignorant (medical schools refuse to provide business education). God only knows how many physicians have lost their medical practice because they could not make enough income to maintain their office business. I was a victim of that trap, which still angers me today.

It is one cruel way that our government uses to force those low-income medical practice business owners to join the government facilities to continue medical practice (no money to start a new private practice).

The missing link is that you must have enough business education to make your medical practice business run even better than the non-physician-owned medical businesses that are usually under government control. Does our government control any company that doesnt have a positive income? No. Does your private medical practice potentially earn five times the income than employed physicians at HMOs? Yes!

After our government mandated the existence of government-controlled medical services facilities in the 1970s (HMOs, PPOs, etc.), half of the private practice physicians medical patients were forced to move their care to government facilities. It was the first government attempt to take control of all health care. They assumed that patients would get better care there and decrease the cost of health care. It turned out to be a false assumption.

Businesses have one purposeto make money. The problem is obvious to most physicians, at least those in medical practice, to reach their ultimate potential and maintain it throughout their medical careers.

One must ask, Why have our medical school administrators, who know the financial problems physicians continue to have, never made an effort to resolve the money/income issues? Someone benefits considerably from that positioning. And it is destroying our medical system. Physicians and associated health care professionals are the victims.

All of the advice in journals and media never seems to recognize the one factor destroying our profession. Advice commonly spread by influencers includes things such as extra outside jobs while practicing, investing in real estate, hiring financial advisors, etc.

Even they are ignorant about what is happening to physicians. Of the hundreds of articles on this topic I have read, none have ever approached the subject of the need for business education, even if you are 50 years old in medical practice and want to earn more income.

Who provides you with an academic business education? MBAs are too superficial for private practicing physiciansbut it is better than nothing. Universities cost $40,000 to $60,000 for two-year on-campus courses, or you can teach yourself while practicing.

I am committed to solving that money problem for all physicians worldwide because it can keep more physicians in practice by following the business education tools you dont know about. It appears that I am the only physician in the world who advocates business education for all medical students while in medical school. It is the perfect place to learn business education when the learning environment is at its top potential for most medical school students.

Curtis G. Graham is a physician.
(file photo)

Like most Western countries, Korea celebrates Valentines Day as a big romantic holiday on Feb. 14, albeit with a Korean twist.

Here in Korea, its women who gift men chocolate and gifts on Valentines Day. The unofficial holiday isnt only for couples as its also a day for single women to be brave and confess their feelings to their crush. At middle and high schools, girls also use the day as an excuse to make a love confession to their crushes.

Its true that Valentines Day is the start of many couples love stories.

One month later, on March 14, its the mens turn to break out the sweets and charm on White Day. This reciprocal holiday was actually an invention by a confectionary company in Japan decades ago to sell more sweets. The custom has since spread to other East Asian countries.

Both romantic holidays stir up big celebrations in Korea. Most stores have large displays of chocolates, candies, other sweets and flowers. Youll see plenty of businesses targeting customers with special products as these holidays approach.

White Day (file photo)

Forever alone in April

If, despite the first two romantic days of the year, you still find yourself alone, then Black Day on April 14 is for you.

Its called Black Day because its a depressing day where lonely singles are meant to gather in black attire, eat black bean sauce noodles (jjajang-myeon ) and drink Americano coffees.

This day is for those who were not successful in finding a boyfriend or girlfriend. Koreans tend to see being single as a sad and depressing thing. Some businesses hold events to invite singles to eat black bean sauce noodles together. Lonely singles attend the event in hopes of finding their match among other lonely singles.

Jjajangmyeon(Noodles in black bean sauce) (Photo courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization)

Love celebrated monthly

Though Valentines Day and White Day are big in Korea, the celebration of love is taken a step further with other romantically-related holidays on the 14th of every month.

In an ideal world, singles have coupled up by April 14, so the rest of the holidays are to celebrate being a couple in love!

May 14  Rose Day: A day to give a bouquet of roses to your partner.

June 14  Kiss Day: A day to kiss your partner to express affection.

July 14  Silver Day: A day to exchange couple rings, which are silver rings and a symbol of commitment.

Aug. 14  Green Day: This is a day to pack a picnic and drink Korean alcoholic drinks together.

Sept. 14  Photo Day: A day to take nice photos together.

Oct. 14  Wine Day: A day to drink red wine together.

Nov. 14  Movie Day: A day to watch a good movie together.

Dec. 14  Hug Day: A day to give your partner a warm embrace in the chilly winter.

Jan. 14  Diary Day: To make a plan for the new year together, couples exchange a yearly planner.

Another unofficial and commercial holiday is Pepero Day on Nov. 11. Pepero is a popular snack of thin cookie sticks that look like the number one, so four together form 11/11 or Nov. 11 on the calendar. On Nov. 11, Pepero packs are given to friends and family.

biscuit stick with chocolate flavored (file photo)

Though the 12 Korean love holidays make it seem like Koreans are keen about celebrating couples, you dont need to worry if youre single! Besides Valentines Day, White Day, and Pepero Day, the other love holidays are in fact minor holidays that most Koreans dont celebrate.

In any culture, expressing love for someone is significant matter because everyone wants to love and be loved. I think its a cute that the 12 love holidays show that Koreans wish to make every month special with their partner.

DATING CULTURE

As Koreas 12 love holidays show, love is a great interest in Korean society.

The dating culture here is a bit different than what Americans are used to. While you might find many young Koreans are more westernized, most still follow local dating manners.

If youre dating a Korean, you should know some basic manners and etiquette to follow. Here are the six interesting facts of the Korean dating culture that are fun and helpful to know.

(file photo)

1. Romantic holidays/anniversaries

There are important romantic holidays that couples celebrate by giving nice gifts and enjoying a romantic date: Christmas, Valentine Day, White Day, year anniversary and 100 days anniversary.

The 100 days anniversary is a big event for couples in Korea. Many couples even celebrate every 100 days theyve been together plus the yearly anniversaries.

Not all Koreans find celebrating anniversaries important, so ask your partner what they expect.

2. Make it official

If you want to keep dating, its important to make it official. Koreans count 100 days from the day you officially become a couple, so its important to ask your partner to be your boyfriend/girlfriend.

After between three to five dates, if a person, usually the guy, doesnt ask their date to make it official, the other will see it as a huge red flag and think it isnt going to work out.

Many Americans tend to keep dating lightly at first and build a connection as they get to know each other. However, most Koreans like to secure the commitment first, then learn about each other and build intimacy while officially dating. Trying to convince a Korean partner to slowly get to know each other, then see where it goes wont work most of the time because Koreans hate ambiguous relationships.

3. Saying I love you too soon

You may be surprised when your Korean partner says I love you sooner than you expect. Because most Koreans usually decide to commit to their partner at an early stage of dating, its natural to say I love you to each other.

Also, in Korean culture, there is a term called Aegyo (), which is a display of affection through behaviors, talking, voice, and facial expression in a very sweet and cute way. Aegyo is a way to be flirtatious in Korean dating culture. So, when your partner says I love you too soon while displaying Aegyo (), its just a way to be sweet.

4. Two of a kind

Couples often shop together on romantic holidays and buy matching shoes, clothes and accessories. It is especially common for young couples to wear couple rings without plans to wed. Wearing a couple ring is a symbol of commitment as a couple and usually is bought on the 100-day anniversary or one-year anniversary.

5. Parents opinion matters

Most Koreans introduce their partner to their parents only when they are in a serious relationship that is leading to marriage. Parents opinion can greatly affect the relationship since the majority of Koreans believe marriage isnt just the union of two people but of two families.

6. Texting all the time

Koreans are huge fans of texting and being glued to their smartphone, but it gets even worse when they are in a relationship. Being able to keep in touch and text back quickly is one of the important traits many Koreans expect from their partner. Your Korean partner possibly wants to know every single move you make in a day. Many Koreans see being more closely related to a partners life and sharing a daily life as a significant way of expressing love.

SPEAKIN KOREAN

Useful Korean phrases for love

Joahae(): I like you / I like that

Saranghae (): I love you / I love that

Sarang(): Love

Ha-tuh () / Simjang-organ (): Heart

Aegyo (): a cute display of affection toward a partner, friends, family

(Illustration by Hyemin Lee) (Illustration by Hyemin Lee)

Useful Korean phrases for dating

Date (  ): Dating / Going out

Date sincheong-hada (   ): To ask a person out for a date

Gobaek-hada (  ): To ask a person out (to be in a relationship) / To confess

Sagwi-da (  ): To be boyfriend/girlfriend with / To date

Yeoja/Namja-chingu isseoyo? ( / ? ): Do you have a girl/boyfriend?

Uri Sagwija (   ): Lets make it official (*informal)

Na-rang Sagwillae-yo?:( ?): Would you be my boy/girlfriend? (*formal)

Titles

Aein (  ) / Yeonin (  ): Lover / Partner / Girlfriend/ Boyfriend

Yeoja-chingu (  ): Girlfriend

Namja-chingu (  ): Boyfriend

Yeoja (  ): Girl / Woman

Namja (  ): Guy / Man

Friend (  ): Chingu

Oppa (  ): A honorific title that women call older men and is often used to present Aegyo to their older boyfriend.

Jagi (  ) / Yeobo (  ): Honey/ Boo / Sweetheart

Aegi (): Baby / Boo (The way to call a younger girlfriend very affectionately)

*Try to put ya behind of those words: Jagi-ya, Aegi-ya
Press Release

January 27, 2025 SENATOR RONALD "BATO" DELA ROSA

MANIFESTATION

Third Reading Approval Senate Bill No. 2895 under Committee Report No. 424 Amending R.A. No. 10591

(Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act)

January 27, 2025 Mr. President, together with my esteemed colleagues, Senators Mark Villar, Joel Villanueva, and of course, Senator Migz Zubiri, I wish to take this opportunity to thank this august body for approving on Third Reading Senate Bill No. 2895, or the Act Amending Republic Act No. 10591, As Amended, Otherwise Known as the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act. I would also like to extend my gratitude to our Senate President Chiz Escudero, Senate Minority Floor Leader, Senator Koko Pimentel, Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Risa Hontiveros, and Senator Pia Cayetano for their invaluable contribution in improving the provisions of this bill. With the approval of the amendments under the bill, it will clarify licensing and registration procedures which will promote compliance; strengthens regulations against illegal firearms and enhances public safety; provides for the safe and responsible transfer of firearms in cases of death or incapacity; and establishes an amnesty program to encourage the registration of unregistered firearms nationwide. This is in no way a departure from our state policy that gun ownership is a mere privilege and not a right. Hindi pa rin po natin papayagan humawak at magmay-ari ng baril ang mga taong hindi makakapasa sa mga requirement at qualification na ating inilagay sa panukalang batas. Ang mga amendment na ito ay mas lalong makakatulong upang magkaroon tayo ng mas epektibo na firearms law. Sabi nga ni Franklin Roosevelt: "Our laws must be updated to reflect the realities of our time", and today, this is our reality when it comes to this part of our law. Malaki ang tiwala namin na ang bill na ito ay makapaghihikayat sa mas responsableng pagmamay-ari ng baril at magsusulong ng kaligtasan ng ating mga kapwa Pilipino. I wish to commend this august chamber for championing this vision with me - that of a safer, more secure Philippines. Thank you, Mr. President. Maraming Salamat.
Two American astronauts awaiting their return flight from the International Space Station (ISS) have stayed busy carrying out a series of scientific experiments.

The U.S. space agency NASA has said the pair  Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams  will remain at the ISS until late March or early April. When they arrived at the orbiting laboratory in June 2024, the astronauts expected to stay in space for just one week.

Their trip was a test flight of Boeings Starliner spacecraft. While Starliner safely transported the two to the ISS, the spacecraft had several problems that persuaded NASA to send it back to Earth for further testing without the astronauts onboard.

NASAs current plan calls for Wilmore and Williams to fly back on a SpaceX spacecraft in late March at the earliest. NASA has been using SpaceXs Crew Dragon to regularly carry astronauts and supplies to the ISS since 2020.

The astronauts have been using their extended mission to carry out experiments. In addition, Williams stepped out of the space station earlier this month to complete a spacewalk.

Another NASA astronaut, Nick Hague, joined Williams on the spacewalk on January 16, the agency said in a statement.

The two repaired a piece of equipment that helps guide the movements of the ISS. The spacewalk also included work on an X-ray telescope, as well as maintenance activities for other ISS systems. NASA noted it was the fourth spacewalk for Hague and the eighth for Williams.

The space agency said Williams was preparing for another spacewalk planned for January 30. Wilmore is expected to join Williams on that spacewalk, which NASA estimates will last about six-and-a-half hours. The two will be aiming to remove a radio antenna structure. They will also be searching for microbes around the ISS for use in experiments.

Here is a look at other experiments Wilmore and Williams have completed during their stay:

New methods to grow food

NASA said Wilmore and Williams have tested different methods for growing crops in space. Such methods could support humans who have longer stays in space in the future.

One experiment is called the Plant Water Management investigation. NASA said this experiment uses the physical properties of fluidsto overcome the lack of gravity and provide hydration to plants. The experiment aims to help NASA develop hydroponic systems to support future space missions.

Another experiment examines a new way to grow vegetables, plants and flowers inside the ISS to provide nutrition and beauty. As part of this experiment, Wilmore installed a new light meter inside the ISS. The device is designed to measure available light and to help crew members improve growing operations.

Robot assistants

NASA also said that throughout the current mission, Williams had deployed and observed three free-flying robots called Astrobee. This robotic experiment seeks to examine how such robots could assist astronauts with daily duties and maintenance work.

The agency said the square-shaped robots are designed to help scientists and engineers develop and test new robotic technologies for use in microgravity environments. The assistants are also designed to help astronauts with daily tasks and give ground controllers additional eyes and ears on the space station.

Williams tested the robots ability to map the inside of the space station and Astrobees flight abilities.

Image captures from space

NASA astronauts visiting the ISS have a long history of capturing images of Earth from space. And this is another activity Wilmore and Williams have carried out. The ISS gives astronauts a window to the world as they orbit 400 kilometers above their home planet.

During their mission, NASA said the two astronauts had captured hundreds of photographs of Earth, ranging from auroras, land, sea, orbital sunrises and sunsets, and more.

Radio connections with Earth

Another space station tradition is for U.S. astronauts to connect with students and other interested individuals during their stay in space. They have virtual visits with people back on Earth who can ask the astronauts how it feels to live in space and can learn about NASAs experiments aboard the ISS.

In early August, Williams used ham radio technology to connect with students from Banda Aceh, Indonesia. NASA explained that students get the chance to communicate with the astronauts when the ISS passes overhead. The students can ask about research on the ISS as well as the radio wave technology that makes the communication possible.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA and The Associated Press.

Quiz - Astronauts Stay Busy on the International Space Station Awaiting Flight Home Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

___________________________________________________

Words in This Story

antenna  n. a device used to send or receive communications signals

hydration  n. the process of making the body take in water or other liquid

hydroponic  adj. relating to or grown using a method of growing plants in water, sand or gravel

install v. to put a piece of equipment in place so that it can do what it is designed to do

meter n. any device either analog or digital that measures a value in the physical world

maintenance  n. the work needed to keep something operating in good condition

aurora  n. a natural appearance of colored lights in the sky

virtual  adj. happening using digital communications and not taking place physically

ham radio  n. an activity that sends and receive radio messages as a hobby
In flooded agricultural fields near the Tennessee River, tens of thousands of birds called sandhill cranes search for food such as berries, corn, seeds and insects.

The cranes come to the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Center in northern Alabama during the winter. The yearly movement, or migration, of sandhill cranes brings many birdwatchers who want to see the tall birds up close.

The birdwatchers also come to see the rare and endangered whooping cranes that migrate in much smaller numbers to Wheeler. Many other birds can be seen, including geese, ducks, bald eagles, kestrels and hawks.

Park ranger David Young described the area as a birders paradise, meaning it is a perfect place for birdwatchers.

The cranes fly from the Great Lakes, an area far to the north, to Alabama each year.

The sandhill cranes started migrating to Wheeler for the winter in the mid-1990s. Their numbers increased by a lot in the mid-2000s, Young said. Last year, the migratory sandhill population reached a new record of 30,000 cranes.

The refuge has become a popular place for birdwatchers who bring hand-held telescopes called binoculars. Birdwatchers can even get closer to the 1.2-meter-tall cranes as visitors stay hidden behind photography blinds and a two-level observation center. A yearly Festival of the Cranes in January brings more attention and visitors.

The cranes put on a fun show, dancing on their thin legs, moving their wings and putting their long beaks in the air to make different sounds.

Diana Maybury-Sharp regularly comes to Wheeler with friends to hike and look at birds.

It's pretty extraordinary. I've seen them in other parts of the country where there were just a few, Maybury-Sharp said. They're not vocal like they are here. There's so many here that it's an unusual experience.

The whooping cranes are part of the eastern migratory population that comes from the north-central state of Wisconsin. Young said they started coming to Alabama in 2004. Their population is between 12 and 20 each winter.

Whooping cranes nearly died out in the early 1900s because of hunting and farming. The International Crane Foundation says recovery and reintroduction efforts have slowly increased their wild and captive populations to more than 800.

The whooping cranes are sometimes hard to see among the sandhills, but their height and white feathers help them stand out. Young said the migration patterns of the cranes might change depending on the climate of both their nesting places to the north and their winter homes in the south.

Rob Broeren brought along his camera and a long telephoto lens and found a good place to work on his wildlife photography skills. He comes to the refuge about twice a month each year to photograph the birds and ducks.

You just need to be patient and wait for them to do something interesting and make their calls, Broeren said. You get that cool shot and that's a good day.

The sandhill cranes will start leaving the refuge in mid-February. Young said he notices a lot more activity when the birds are showing they are ready to travel back to their nesting grounds.

Its usually on a day when we have some sort of a south wind," Young said. "Theyre smart and they will ride the wind back to their breeding grounds whenever its most convenient for them.

Im John Russell.

Kristin M. Hall reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.

_______________________________________________________

Words in This Story

blind n. something to block sight or keep out light

hike v. to walk through nature on trails for a fair distance

extraordinary  adj. going beyond what is normal or regular

vocal  adj. of or relating to the voice

nest  v. to occupy or build a nest  a place where a bird lays its eggs

convenient  adj. suited to easy performance; suited to a situation
Press Release

January 27, 2025 "Fixing the foundations" of PH education system critical to overcoming learning crisis - EDCOM Year Two Report The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) unveiled its findings for its second year on January 27, 2025 as it published its Year Two Report, "Fixing the Foundations". The report builds upon the critical issues identified in the EDCOM Year One Report, "Miseducation: The Failed System of Philippine Education", emphasizing urgent reform needs across the Philippine education system, which are essential to ensure the future success and stability of Filipino learners. "As the country's demographic window closes within a generation by 2045, the next two decades will be critical in shaping our future as a country: if we will move resolutely to address these learning gaps and thereby improve the life chances of our people, or if we will allow our learning crisis to persist, resulting in a vicious cycle of lack of opportunity and poverty," explained EDCOM Executive Director, Dr. Karol Mark Yee. "Fixing the foundations of education is thus not only a social development, but also, an economic imperative," he continued. EDCOM 2's Year Two report draws from a compilation of 97 research studies and insights gained from 45 consultations, school visits, and public hearings throughout 2024. It presents a comprehensive overview of the profound educational challenges from early childhood to higher education and lifelong learning. In early childhood, the Report finds that only 25% of Filipino children receive the recommended energy intake in the first 1,000 days, reflecting a severe nutritional deficit that can impact cognitive and physical development. This has led to 1 in 4 Filipino children under age 5 being stunted, despite laws since 2017, such as RA 11148 or the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act, meant to address it. In basic education, a forthcoming UNICEF study finds that most Grade 3 students are 1-2 years behind curriculum expectations -- or Grade 3 having Grade 1 level competencies in reading and math.. Meanwhile, the continued lack of textbooks in public schools -- with only 35 out of 94 titles being fully delivered by January 2025--is indicative of deeper logistical and administrative issues within the Department of Education (DepEd) that require urgent attention. The frequent disruptions caused by natural disasters further exacerbate these educational challenges, with schools in the Cordillera Administrative Region losing 48% of all school days last year due to frequent typhoons and suspensions, underscore the vulnerability of schools, and the profound learning losses students continue to suffer." "We call on our colleagues and the DepEd leadership to address this concern with utmost urgency. Mr. Speaker, colleagues, any working education system requires that we have robust pathways not just in formal education, but also in non-formal and informal ones. We need to make sure that we are not leaving any learner behind," said EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Rep. Roman Romulo in his privilege speech. Higher education also faces significant hurdles, with high dropout rates, especially in regions like BARMM, where only 1 in 10 students graduate from college. The substantial reductions in tertiary education subsidies under RA 10931 also threaten to exclude the poorest students from higher education opportunities, limiting their potential for future employment and economic mobility. EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Rep. Mark Go further reiterates, "The current participation rate in higher education in the Philippines stands at 34.89%. While this number is a step forward, it falls significantly short of the ASEAN average of 41.10. THis gap is a clear signal that we must do more to make higher ed accessible and inclusive for our youth especially those from the marginalized communities." EDCOM 2 Commissioner Rep. Jude Acidre also reflected on the urgency of addressing these long-standing issues: "These challenges are not new to us. Many of us have seen them first-hand in our own communities, but now is the time to go beyond mere recognition. Recognizing these issues now is paramount to fix what has been overlooked and to ensure that every Filipino learner has a fair chance to succeed. The report provides us with a roadmap, a clear path to strengthen the foundations of our educational system. "As EDCOM begins its third and final year, we will complete our mandate and deliver to Congress by the end of this year, a national education and workforce development plan putting in place a clear blueprint for long-term sustained reform, that details targets, priorities, as well as budgetary, and policy needs, to once and for all avert our learning crisis," said Romulo, concluding his speech. --- EDCOM 2 is the Congressional body created through Republic Act 11899, tasked to undertake a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector, from 2023 to 2025. ********
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20:04 Taking steps to rationalise Prayagraj airfares: Govt The civil aviation ministry on Monday said steps are being taken to rationalise airfares for flights to Prayagraj and the number of flights has been increased to cater to the rising traffic demand in view of the Maha Kumbh.Amid concerns over surging airfares for the flights to Prayagraj, where... Read more >

20:04 Will move SC over Waqf bill, says DMK's Raja The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday said it will move the Supreme Court against the proposed Waqf law once it is passed, soon after the Joint Parliamentary Committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill moved to finalise its report.DMK MP A Raja, one of the members of the committee headed... Read more >

19:31 Sridhar Vembu steps down as Zoho Corp CEO Pic: Sreeram Selvaraj for Rediff.com Global technology firm Zoho Corporation CEO Sridhar Vembu has stepped down from the post to focus on the company's research and development initiatives as its chief scientist.The company's co-founder Shailesh Kumar Davey will take over as the group CEO.In view of the various challenges and... Read more >

19:19 HC stays ED notice to Siddaramaiah's wife The Karnataka high court on Monday stayed the notice issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi B M and the state Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh to appear for questioning in connection with the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA)... Read more >

18:54 HC allows sperm retrieval of man who ended life The Delhi high court has permitted retrieval and preservation of sperms of a man who died by suicide recently.Justice Sachin Datta passed the direction on a plea filed by the kin of the man and sought the preservation of his semen through postmortem sperm retrieval (PMSR) for potential future use... Read more >

18:32 Hundreds of dead Olive Ridley turtles washed ashore in Chennai Representational image. Pic Reuters Several hundreds of Olive Ridley turtles have been washed ashore dead along Chennai's coastline for the past few days, causing concern to environmentalists. The carcasses of at least 60 turtles were found on Kovalam beach. As per a preliminary estimate, about 500 turtles were found dead... Read more >

17:56 Maha health minister confirms 1st GBS death in Pune Amid the increasing number of patients affected by GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome), the civic body in Pune on Monday set up a special ward in municipality-run Kamala Nehru hospital, with 45 beddings, to provide treatment to to treat affected patients, following one reported death.Expressing... Read more >

17:20 BSE Sensex: Top losers today Among Sensex shares, HCL tech fell the most by 4.49 per cent followed by Zomato, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid and Tata Motors.Shares of Infosys, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel also declined, dragging the index to more than seven-month lows.ICICI Bank, however, bucked the... Read more >

17:20 Sensex ends at over 7-month low Benchmark BSE Sensex tanked 824 points to settle at more than seven-month low on Monday following heavy selling in IT and oil & gas shares amid weak global trends and increased uncertainty over US trade policy.The 30-share BSE barometer plunged by 824.29 points or 1.08 per cent to close at... Read more >

17:16 Hindenburg-Adani matter: SC dismisses application The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed an application filed by a lawyer, challenging the apex court's Registrar order of August 5, 2024, which had declined to register his previous application related to the Hindenburg-Adani Group matter.A bench headed by Justice J B Pardiwala rejected the... Read more >

16:39 How police found killers from charred body in suitcase A 25-year-old woman's charred body was found stuffed in a suitcase in east Delhi, with police arresting her cousin and his accomplice for killing her after she allegedly pressured him to leave his family and live with her, officials said on Monday. The burnt body was found packed inside a... Read more >

16:23 Saif attack case: Police arrest woman in Bengal Mumbai Police on Monday conducted a search operation in West Bengal's Nadia district and arrested a woman in connection with the attack on Bollywood superstar Saif Ali Khan, a source said.Investigation revealed that the SIM used by the Bangladeshi national, who was arrested earlier in Mumbai for... Read more >

16:05 Centre forms crack team amid surge in GBS cases The Centre has deployed a seven-member team of experts in Maharashtra to assist the state in monitoring and managing the increasing cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), an official source said on Monday. Maharashtra reported its first suspected death linked to GBS in Solapur, while the... Read more >

15:38 Shah's day at Kumbh with wife, son, DIL, grandson Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday took a dip in the Triveni Sangam in Prayagran amid the Maha Kumbh. Shah took the dip around 1 pm, performed 'jal aachman' (sipping of holy water) and offered water to the Sun besides performing other rituals under guidance of some top seers.Chief... Read more >

15:10 Amit Shah is pride of sanatan dharma: Ramdev Baba Ramdev is at the Maha Kumbh: Amit Shahji is the pride of Sanatan Dharma. Mahakumbh is the biggest festival of Sanatan Dharma. This is the 'Gaurav-kaal' of Sanatan yug.Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with his family, in the presence of several saints and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi... Read more >

14:52 8 actors who played Chhatrapati Sambhaji Vicky Kaushal reunites with Zara Hatke Zara Bachke director Ramesh Utekar for Chhaava where he plays the Marathi warrior Sambhaji Maharaj. See it here. Read more >

14:44 Engg student missing in boat fire accident in H'bad Representational image The Hyderabad city police are searching for a engineering student who went missing in Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad, after a boat he was in caught fire due to fireworks, police said on Monday.The fireworks were displayed as part of the 'Bharat Mata Maha Aarti' programme organised on Sunday... Read more >

14:27 Smriti Mandhana named ICC Women's ODI Cricketer Smriti Mandhana named ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year. The India vice-captain Mandhana set new career standards in One Day Internationals, scoring more runs than she ever has before in a calendar year, racking up 747 runs in 13 innings across 2024. The left-hander's tally was the... Read more >

14:25 HM takes dip at Kumbh, sadhus bless his grandson Maha Kumbh: Seers bless the baby boy of Jay Shah, ICC chairman and son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday took a holy dip at the Sangam Triveni in Prayagraj in the ongoing Mahakumbh Mela. Shah was accompanied by Uttar... Read more >

14:08 Uttarakhand becomes first state to implement UCC Uttarakhand on Monday became the first state in the country to implement the Uniform Civil Code with the ruling BJP fulfilling a major commitment made ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.The UCC came into force as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami unveiled its notification, released the rules for... Read more >

14:00 Waqf panel accepts 14 amendments, all proposed by NDA The Joint Parliamentary Committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Monday adopted all amendments proposed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance members and negated every change moved by opposition members. The committee chairman Jagdambika Pal told... Read more >

13:49 Maha Kumbh: Shah takes holy dip at Triveni Sangam Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday took a dip in the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj amid the ongoing Maha Kumbh.Flanked by some top seers, Shah took the dip around 1 pm. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also took a dip separately amid loud chants of mantras. The home minister... Read more >

13:20 RG Kar case: No judgment on death penalty yet The Calcutta High Court on Monday reserved its judgement on the admission of two separate appeals, one by the West Bengal government and the other by the CBI, challenging a trial court order which sentenced RG Kar hospital rape-murder convict Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment till death. The... Read more >

13:01 Rs 2100 for women, 50% discount for metro: AAP manifesto Update: AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday released the party's manifesto, titled Kejriwal ki Guarantee, ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections. Speaking at the manifesto launch, Kejriwal took a swipe at the BJP, accusing it of copying AAP's promise-based... Read more >

12:48 Tata Motors, Indian Oil to drive hydrogen truck pilot Tata Motors, in collaboration with the Indian Oil Corporation, will roll out trucks powered by hydrogen internal combustion engines on a pilot basis this quarter, leading the way for the use of green hydrogen in the transport sector.This project is part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission.... Read more >

12:44 AAP'S manifesto for Delhi polls: FREE, FREE, FREE AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal releases the party's manifesto featuring 15 guarantees. Kejriwal guarantees employment to youth, 'Mahila Samman Yojna', free treatment to elderly in party manifesto. He promises free bus travel for students, 50 per cent concession in metro fares if party comes to... Read more >

11:55 SC bench orders burial of pastor in designated place away from village The Supreme Court on Monday gave a split verdict on the issue of place of burial of a pastor, whose body is lying in a mortuary in Chhattisgarh since January 7, and directed that he be buried at a designated place for Christian burials.While Justice BV Nagarathna said the burial of the converted... Read more >

11:51 IDFC First bank shares decline nearly 8 pc; hit 52-week low Shares of IDFC First Bank declined nearly 8 per cent on Monday morning after the firm posted a 53 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 339 crore for the third quarter ended December 2024 on increased provisions due to higher slippages of loans. The company's stock plunged 7.7 per cent each... Read more >

11:40 PM see this! Astronaut sends image of Kumbh Mela US astronomer Don Pettit shares this image on X and it is awe-inspiring. He writes, 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela Ganges River pilgrimage from the ISS at night. The largest human gathering in the world is well lit.There are literally millions of people in this photo, for an event that has not happened in... Read more >

11:21 Wanted new Sebi chief. Salary Rs 5.6L pm+perks+power Update: The government on Monday invited applications for the post of Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The current SEBI chairperson Madhavi Puri Buch's three-year term ends on February 28. Buch assumed charge at the helm of Sebi on March 2, 2022.In a public... Read more >

11:09 Handcuffed, no AC or water... US deports Brazilians One of the executive orders Trump signed The Brazil government has expressed outrage and said it would demand an explanation from the Donald Trump administration, after dozens of immigrants who were deported from the United States, arrived by plane in handcuffs, reports NDTV.Brazil's Foreign Ministry said the treatment meted to... Read more >

11:03 Number of schools in Delhi falls, e-Buses soar Besides cash transfers for women, the Delhi Assembly elections are being contested on the plank of education, health, free rides for women in state-run buses, and other factors, including free electricity for households up to a specified threshold.In terms of education, the number of schools in... Read more >

10:33 Sensex FALLS 700+ points after Trump announces... Indian stock markets witnessed a sharp decline during opening on Monday as US President Trump imposed trade tariff on Columbia which dampened investor sentiment. The Nifty 50 index opened at 22,940.15, falling by 240 points, while the BSE Sensex dropped 700 points to open at 75,421. ... Read more >

10:24 The first state to implement Uniform Civil Code is... Uttarakhand is set to become the first state to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) today (January 27).Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the implementation of UCC will bring uniformity in all laws relating to personal civil matters that discriminate on the basis of caste, religion,... Read more >

10:21 Why is Piyush Goyal in Oman? Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will travel to Muscat, Oman, starting Monday to give 'further impetus' to the free trade agreement (FTA) talks between India and Oman.The talks on the India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which are at an advanced stage, are... Read more >

10:17 Move Gazans to Jordan, Egypt, says Trump 90% of homes in Gaza are destroyed In a shocker, US President Donald Trump suggested 'cleaning up' of the Gaza Strip, which is battered into rubbles following the intense Israel-Hamas war, and expressed the idea of moving Palestinians from the strip to some neighbouring countries.Trump said he spoke to the king of Jordan about... Read more >

10:15 Interested to be SEBI chief? The government has invited applications for the post of Chairman in SEBI. Madhabi Puri Buch's tenure as Chief of SEBI comes to an end in February 2025. Read more >

09:54 1st suspected Guillain-Barre Syndrome death in Maha A man suspected to have contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) has died in Maharashtra's Solapur district, while the number of cases of the immunological nerve disorder in Pune has crossed 100, health officials said on Monday.This is possibly the first death in Maharashtra suspected to have... Read more >

09:29 US agents visit gurdwaras to check for illegal immigrants Representational image. Pic: Payal Singh Mohanka Law enforcement officials from the US department of homeland security have started visiting gurdwaras in New York and New Jersey to check for the presence of illegal immigrants, drawing a sharp reaction from some Sikh organisations which see such actions as a threat to the sanctity of their... Read more >

09:25 Eyebrows raised Nitish skips guv's reception on R-Day Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar remained conspicuous by his absence at a reception hosted by Governor Arif Mohammad Khan here on the occasion of Republic Day.Kumar, who had driven to the Gandhi Maidan in the morning on January 26 to attend the Republic Day parade inspected by the governor, did... Read more >

09:04 Waqf bill panel members suggest 572 amendments to bill Members of the parliamentary panel on the Waqf Amendment Bill have suggested 572 amendments to the draft legislation that has the government and the opposition at loggerheads. The consolidated list of amendments was circulated by the Joint Committee on Waqf Amendment Bill, chaired by BJP... Read more >

08:39 Tricolour unfurled for first time in 35 years at Tral in J&K For the first time in 35 years, the national tricolour was unfurled at Tral in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday as patriotic songs marked the celebration of 76th Republic Day. Once a bastion of terrorists and separatists, Tral town reverberated with patriotic songs and... Read more >

08:34 Shah to take holy dip at Sangam on Monday Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh on Monday to participate in the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world. Shah will also take a holy dip in the sacred waters of the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganga,... Read more >

08:14 Trump administration suspends all foreign aid The United States has announced the suspension of all foreign aid and ordered the review of American financial assistance to other countries, to ensure they are efficient and consistent with its foreign policy under the America First agenda.The move comes after President Donald Trump signed an... Read more >
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23:43 Country knows who's coward: Kejriwal hits back at Rahul Gandhi Blowing the cracks within the INDIA bloc wide open, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal launched a sharp counterattack against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, targeting him over the National Herald case and land grab case involving Robert Vadra.Kejriwal was responding to comments made by Gandhi... Read more >

23:30 One new case of GBS found in Pune A new Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) case was reported in Pune on Tuesday, health officials said.The number of suspected GBS cases, thus, stood at 111, with 13 patients on ventilator, they said.'111 suspected patients of GBS have been found until now, besides one patient who died. Of these, 31 are... Read more >

23:19 25 quintals of rose petals to greet sea of devotees at Maha Kumbh On the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya on Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh government has planned a flowery welcome for the devotees coming to the Maha Kumbh Mela for Amrit Snan at all the ghats in the Sangam area. Rose petals will be showered from the sky, enhancing the divinity of the... Read more >

23:05 NBDSA censures Times Now Navbharat, Zee News The News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has directed Times Now Navbharat and Zee News to remove segments of debates on the Israel-Hamas conflict and an encounter in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly violating its guidelines.In both the cases, the NBDSA, the self-regulatory body... Read more >

22:33 Country won't progress through AI: Mukesh Ambani Asserting that Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT are not a substitute for critical thinking, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Tuesday said the country would progress only through people's own intelligence, not through AI. India will become the 'most prosperous nation' in the... Read more >

22:09 Railways running 360 trains for Maha Kumbh devotees The railways is running 360 trains, including 190 special trains, for millions of devotees expected to visit the Maha Kumbh Mela on 'Mauni Amavasya', Satish Kumar, Chairman and CEO of the Railway Board, said on Tuesday. The 'Amrit Snan' on 'Mauni Amavasya' on Wednesday is expected to draw... Read more >

21:38 Ukrainian actor held in Torres investment scam The Mumbai police on Tuesday arrested Ukrainian actor Armen Ataine in connection with the Torres investment fraud case, officials said.The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city police made the arrest, they said. Ataine was apprehended on Tuesday from Malvani, a western suburb, after his role... Read more >

21:21 US temporarily suspends aid to Pakistan, projects on hold The United States has paused Pakistan's foreign assistance for re-evaluation, Geo News reported citing after an official at the US Consulate in Karachi confirmed the news to them.This has brought a halt to projects across several fronts ranging from the health sector, and agriculture to... Read more >

21:14 EC asks Kejriwal to prove Yamuna poisoning claim The Election Commission on Tuesday sought factual evidence from Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal to substantiate his allegation that neighbouring Haryana is poisoning the Yamuna river, as it reminded him of legal provisions that can lead to up to three years' imprisonment for 'mischievous'... Read more >

20:35 Maharashtra lost 12 tigers in less than a month Pic: Sonil Dedhia A total of 12 tigers died in less than a month across Maharashtra in various incidents, state Forest Minister Ganesh Naik has stated.Naik directed forest officials to implement strict measures to prevent such incidents in the future.A total of 12 tigers have lost their lives in various incidents... Read more >

20:18 IndiGo wants more clarity on resuming China flights IndiGo, which used to operate flights to China, on Tuesday said it is awaiting more clarity and updates from the government on restarting the direct services to the neighbouring country.On Monday, India and China in-principle agreed to resume direct air services between the two countries as part... Read more >

19:57 Rupee falls 25 paise to close at 86.56 against US dollar The rupee depreciated 25 paise to close at 86.56 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, as global risk sentiments were dampened amid tariff threats by the US President Donald Trump.Forex traders said the rupee continued to face pressure due to sustained foreign fund outflows and the... Read more >

19:53 10 Unusual Anupam Kher Roles Anupam Kher has played 540 roles in his long career.Namrata Thakker picks 10 unusual parts on his stellar CV. Read more >

19:51 5 Actresses Who Played Yesubai Rashmika Mandanna plays Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj's wife Maharani Yesubai in Chhaava.Here are four other actresses who previously played the role. Read more >

19:41 GBS spurt: Fadnavis orders special arrangements Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday directed officials to make special arrangements for treating Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) patients.Fadnavis reviewed the preparedness to tackle patients infected with GBS, an immunological nerve disorder, in the state Cabinet meeting.The... Read more >

19:29 Raising water tariff in Bengaluru inevitable: Deputy CM Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said raising the water tariff in Bengaluru has become unavoidable, as the water board is facing an annual loss of Rs 1,000 crore.He told reporters that he has directed officials to prepare a report on the proposed water tariff increase.I... Read more >

19:15 Cong left alone as INDIA parties campaign for AAP With several Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties backing the Aam Aadmi Party for the February 5 assembly elections in Delhi, Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party leaders are set to campaign for the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit, leaving aside the Congress, the largest... Read more >

19:11 Daughter of BJP ex-MLA killed in blast dies by suicide The 22-year-old daughter of late Chhattisgarh BJP leader Bheema Mandavi allegedly died by suicide in Dehradun, her family said on Tuesday. Bheema Mandavi himself had died in a blast carried out by Naxalites in 2019. Deepa Mandavi, who was doing a physiotherapy course in the Uttarakhand... Read more >

19:04 Biggest liquor scam took place under Kejriwal: Rahul Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a blistering attack on AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, saying the former chief minister came talking about bringing in clean politics but the biggest 'liquor scam' took place in Delhi under his watch.Addressing a public rally in Patparganj here for... Read more >

18:40 Cops claim strong evidence against Saif's attacker The Mumbai police probing the attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan said they have ample and strong evidence against the Bangladeshi national arrested in the case.Khan was attacked in the early hours of January 16 at his Bandra residence in Mumbai, where he was stabbed six times. On January 19,... Read more >

18:14 Bengal govt okays prosecution of ex-RG Kar principal The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday informed the Calcutta High Court that it has received sanction from the West Bengal government to prosecute RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's former principal Sandip Ghosh in an alleged financial irregularities case.The single bench of... Read more >

17:59 BSE Sensex: Top gainers today Among the Sensex shares, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Zomato, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki India and Bharti Airtel were the major gainers.Sun Pharmaceutical, Larsen & Toubro, ITC, HCL Technologies, NTPC,... Read more >

17:55 Sensex snaps 2-day falling streak Snapping the two-day decline, benchmark stock index Sensex rebounded on Tuesday following intense buying in banking and rate-sensitive stocks as the RBI decided to inject liquidity into the financial system.The 30-share Sensex climbed 535.24 points or 0.71 per cent to settle at 75,901.41.During... Read more >

17:24 Death on wheels: 55% of truck drivers have poor vision File pic About 55.1 per cent of truck drivers in India have compromised vision, while 53.3 per cent require distance vision correction and 46.7 per cent need near-vision treatment, a new report released on Tuesday revealed. The report prepared by IIT Delhi further said that about 44.3 per cent of... Read more >

16:55 Kumbh not Hindu-Muslim: Kabir Khan to take a dip Filmmaker Kabir Khan has landed in Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh. He says, I am very excited. This happens once in 12 years. I feel fortunate to have come here. I will take a holy dip here too. These things are not about Hindus and Muslims, these are the things of our origin, our country and our... Read more >

16:42 Chinese DeepSeek sends US stocks plunging US stocks dropped sharply Monday -- and chipmaker Nvidia lost nearly $600 billion in market value -- after a surprise advancement from a Chinese artificial intelligence company, DeepSeek, threatened the aura of invincibility surrounding America's technology industry. Read... Read more >

16:05 Wife weeps to mom of abuse by husband, hangs herself Representational image A 24-year-old woman in Maharashtra's Nagpur city allegedly committed suicide after making a emotional video call to her parents where she recounted harassment and abuse by her husband, police said on Tuesday.Following the incident on January 24, the police have registered a case against her... Read more >

15:45 Alzheimer's warning! Take long to fall asleep? People taking longer to enter their 'dreaming' phase of sleep could be experiencing an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that impairs thought processes and memory, a study has suggested.A good night's sleep is critical as the brain consolidates information learned... Read more >

15:19 No increase in GBS cases in WB since December Amid the prevailing cases of Guillain-Baree Syndrome (GBS) in Maharashtra's Pune, the West Bengal Health and Family Welfare Department issued an official statement stating that there has been no increase in GBS cases in West Bengal since the end of December till date.The statement reads,... Read more >

14:56 SC allows Tahir Hussain to campaign for Delhi polls The Supreme Court allows custody parole of ex-councilor and riots accused Tahir Hussain to campaign for the Delhi assembly polls. Tahir Hussain has been allowed to campaign for the Delhi assembly polls under police custody from January 29 to February 3. His custody parole will be subject to... Read more >

14:51 Lanka navy fires upon Indian fishermen, 2 injured India lodges strong protest with Colombo over incident involving firing by Sri Lankan Navy to apprehend Indian fishermen. Two Indian fishermen have sustained serious injuries, the MEA said on the incident which occurred near Delft Island. The injured are being treated at a hospital in Jaffna. Read more >

14:43 Miso Tofu Noodle Bowl in 15 minutes This quick Japanese style recipe comes together in a jiffy. Add whatever sauces or toppings that take your fancy. Take a look here. Read more >

14:33 Sena (UBT) to be neutral for Delhi polls Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray won't campaign for the Congress or AAP in the Delhi assembly polls as the party has adopted a neutral stand, MP Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday. Raut stressed the AAP and Congress, both members of the INDIA bloc, are friends of Shiv Sena (UBT). We... Read more >

14:06 Modi: Coldplay's concert in India is proof of... Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday highlighted the vast potential of India's concert economy, citing the success of recent high-profile concerts like Coldplay's shows in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Addressing the Utkarsh Odisha - Make in Odisha Conclave 2025, PM Modi highlighted the... Read more >

13:34 See: US First Lady Melania Trump's official portrait The White House on Monday unveiled official portrait of US First Lady Melania Trump. In the image released in Black and White, Melania Trump is dressed in a suit, standing in front of a window with the Washington Monument in the rearview.While sharing the new portrait on X, US First Lady wrote,... Read more >

13:14 Selena Gomez weeps over Trump's immigration crackdown Singer-actor Selena Gomez wept days after US President Donald Trump took the decision to decision to deport illegal immigrants from their country. Taking to her Instagram Stories, which was later deleted, Selena cried.I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry. All my people are getting... Read more >

13:07 Superheroes who did the impossible On Republic Day the President recognised the daring rescue of 41 workers trapped in a tunnel for 17 days in 2023 by humble rat-hole miners. The award hopefully will bring the forgotten superheroes back into the light. Archana Masih/Rediff.com reports. Read more >

13:03 Scindia, royals, hit out at Rahul for maharaja remarks Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks at a rally in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, in which he said backward classes had no rights before Independence and only kings were powerful, has riled up BJP leaders from erstwhile royal families, says NDTV.Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and his cousin and... Read more >

12:49 Maha Kumbh: No call drops, seamless internet An expected gathering of 40 crore people at the world's largest religious gathering for over a month and no call drops and seamless internet streaming. Telecom service providers and the Maha Kumbh Mela administration are on their toes to ensure smooth connectivity at the grand event set to... Read more >

12:20 10-9-8... countdown for ISRO's 100th mission begins The 27-hour countdown for ISRO's historic 100th mission from this spaceport, launch of a Navigation satellite onboard a GSLV rocket commenced on Tuesday, sources in the space agency said. Also, this would be the first mission for ISRO Chairman V Narayanan, who assumed office on January... Read more >

12:02 Is Kumbh photo op for BJP netas? Kharge says... Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Tuesday claimed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has insulted the sentiments of Hindus with his insensitive remarks on the saffron party leaders taking holy dip at the Sangam in Prayagraj. The Congress has consistently disrespected the... Read more >

11:27 Saif's blood sample, clothes collected for probe In a major revelation in the Saif Ali Khan attack case, the Mumbai Police has recorded the statement of a West Bengal-based woman, whose Aadhar Card was used by the accused to buy a sim card. According to the Mumbai Police, a team from Mumbai travelled to West Bengal and recorded the... Read more >

11:07 7 dead, 50 injured after platform collapses in UP Seven people have died and more than fifty others were injured after a bamboo platform erected during a religious event in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat collapsed under the weight of the people.According to police, the Jain community in Baraut had organised a 'Laddoo Mahotsav' today and hundreds of... Read more >

10:43 Satya Nadella: I'm product of India-US bond Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he is the product of the bond that exists between India and the US, as top government officials and American lawmakers lauded the Indian community's contribution during Republic Day commemoration in Seattle. The Consulate General of India in Seattle hosted a... Read more >

10:29 UPI share in digital payments grew to 83% in 2024 The contribution of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to the cumulative digital payments pie more than doubled in five years from 34 per cent in 2019 to 83 per cent in 2024, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India's payment system report.The share of other digital payment methods such as... Read more >

10:26 26/11 plotter Tahawwur Rana to be extradited? A team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is likely to visit USA very soon to complete the formalities for the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, who is wanted in India for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Tahawwur Rana, who is wanted in India for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai... Read more >

10:09 RBI guv flags rising digi frauds Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra flagged the rise in digital frauds while emphasising the need for robust and proactive systems to thwart such attempts during his first interaction with managing directors and CEOs of public and private sector banks after taking charge.He also... Read more >

09:55 The story of Potam: From dreaded Naxal to super cop In a remarkable tale of transformation, former Naxalite commander Sanjay Potam, also known as Badru, has been awarded the President's Medal for Gallantry for the third time. This prestigious honour recognizes his exceptional bravery and dedication to service.Badru, who surrendered in 2013, has... Read more >

09:36 Kumbh Mela: 147.6 mn people have taken a dip so far The ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela has attracted a significant number of devotees to Prayagraj, where they come to take a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam. As of 8 am on Tuesday, over 4.55 million people, including 1 million Kalpawasis, have taken a holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna... Read more >

09:25 Rapist Dera Sacha Sauda chief gets 30-day parole Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been granted 30-day parole. He will be walking out of the Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak on Tuesday after being granted parole, sources said.Singh is serving a 20-year sentence given in 2017 for raping two of his disciples.... Read more >

09:22 Toddler falls from 1st floor, dies Representational image A two-year-old boy has died after falling from an apartment on the first floor of a building in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Sunday afternoon in Badlapur area, they said. The child resided with his family on the second floor of the... Read more >

09:22 Ex-VP Hamid Ansari casts vote via 'Vote from Home' facility Former vice president Hamid Ansari cast his vote on Monday in the Delhi assembly elections from the comfort of his residence using the mobile postal ballot facility, officials said. Introduced by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the facility allows eligible electors to vote... Read more >

09:00 Modi likely to visit White House in February: Trump United States President Donald Trump has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would probably be visiting the White House for a meeting with him in February.Trump told reporters on Monday aboard Air Force One on his way back to Joint Base Andrews from Florida.I had a long talk with him this... Read more >

08:44 Mumbai police arrest Torres CEO in multi-crore investment fraud case The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police, which is investigating the multi-crore Torres investment fraud, has arrested the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tausif Riyaz from Lonavala, officials said. Riyaz, also known as John Carter, had been absconding since a... Read more >

08:34 India will do the right thing on immigrants: Trump United States President Donald Trump on Monday said that he discussed immigration issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their phone call.Discussed immigration with Modi. India will do what is right when it comes to taking back illegal immigrants, news agency Reuters quoted Trump as... Read more >

08:28 Trump vows tariffs on nations that 'harm' US; names India The United States will impose tariffs on the countries that harm America, President Donald Trump has said, as he named China, India and Brazil as high-tariff countries. We're going to put tariffs on outside countries and outside people that really mean harm to us. Well, they mean us... Read more >
Its impossible to miss. The huge rectangular mass of concrete and glass  the tallest building in Havana  dominates the city skyline, towering 150 meters (490 feet) above colonial homes with its 542 luxury rooms and majestic views of the city and the sea.

The Selection La Habana hotel, managed by Spanish chain Iberostar, has yet to be inaugurated but it is already the target of criticism  and not only for its unusual shape. Cubans are questioning the governments allocation of millions of dollars towards luxury tourism while the island grapples with a severe economic crisis and tourism numbers plummet to historic lows.

All that money could have been spent to build hospitals and schools, lamented Susel Borges, a 26-year-old artisan, as she looked up to the towering edifice, known to locals as the K and 23 building because of its location.

Located near the legendary Habana Libre hotel and the iconic Coppelia ice cream parlor, the new hotel is part of a government plan to build a dozen luxury establishments  mainly in Havana  that did not stop even during the COVID-19 pandemic and while existing luxury hotels remained largely unoccupied.

For decades, tourism drove the Cuban economy, generating annual revenues of up to $3 billion. But in December, Cuban authorities said only 2.2 million tourists visited the island in 2024, a decrease of roughly 200,000 from 2023 and significantly lower than the 4.2 million tourists who visited in 2019.

The government attributes the decline in tourism to a perfect storm of factors including supply shortages, a severe energy crisis causing massive blackouts and a lack of personnel, due to emigration and low wages. Furthermore, the island is grappling with a surge in U.S. sanctions, including restrictions on travel by U.S. citizens, a ban on cruise ships and other measures specifically designed to stifle the growth of Cubas tourism industry.

Tourism is gone, said Julio Garcia Campos, driver of a shiny red 1951 Pontiac with an original engine. Tourists used to line up to get on one of these! he said, recalling a bygone era when the island was bustling with American and European travelers following a removal of sanctions by then-President Barack Obama.

The new Selection La Habana, like all other hotels in Cuba, is state-owned and operates under GAESA, a conglomerate belonging to the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces that has often been criticized because of the opacity of its businesses. As a military-run operation, it is exempt from audits by the Comptroller Generals Office and has not disclosed the amount it invested in the 40-story hotel.

Cuban economist Pedro Monreal notes the incongruity of investing capital in the tourism sector when very little is being allocated to strategic areas such as agriculture.

With food insecurity a concern, its troubling that agricultural investment lags significantly behind tourism investment, remaining 11 times lower, Monreal noted last year on social media.

Architects also expressed little enthusiasm for the new hotel, pointing at its disruptive appearance within the environment, its excessive height violating urban regulations and tall glass windows that are ill-suited for a tropical climate.

This building serves as a perfect example in our classes of what should not be done in terms of bioclimatic design, said Abel Tablada, an architect and university professor, adding its unforgivable that the little money available to the Cuban state has been allocated to a building that does not add value to the city. ANDREA RODRIGUEZ, HAVANA, MDT/AP
The Consumer Council (CC) has announced the formation of an interdepartmental task force aimed at protecting consumer rights during the Lunar New Year (CNY) season. The task force will work to ensure market order, promote fair business practices, and enhance consumer confidence among both residents and tourists during this peak consumption period.

The CC noted this period as the peak consumption season of the year and a time of concern for consumer rights.

In light of this, 10 government departments held meetings to strengthen collaboration and establish a task force to ensure smooth operations during the Spring Festival.

This group comprises the CC and nine other government departments, including Customs, Judiciary Police, Public Security Police Force, Economic and Technological Development Bureau, Macao Government Tourism Office, Transport Bureau, Municipal Affairs Bureau, Pharmaceutical Administration Bureau, and Post and Telecommunications Bureau. They gathered to discuss each departments efforts to protect consumer rights and prepare for the CNY.

Additionally, the departments are said to maintain close communication through a notification mechanism to provide timely support and services to residents and tourists in need.

The group emphasized that merchants must comply with the law and promote honest business practices to uphold Macaus positive image as a tourist and shopping destination. The CC expressed concerns regarding the presentation of prices, which should always be displayed in MOP. Closer supervision is anticipated primarily in the CNY markets, fairs, stalls, and shops selling items related to the CNY, such as decorative goods, praying and worship items, and firecrackers.
Automaker Kia America is recalling more than 80,000 vehicles due to floor wiring beneath the front passenger seat that can become damaged and prevent airbags and seat belts from deploying properly.

Damaged wiring can also cause an unintended side curtain air bag deployment, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recall covers 80,255 2023-2025 Niro EV, Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), and Hybrid vehicles.

To remedy the situation, dealers will inspect, replace and reroute the floor wiring assembly, as necessary, for free. In addition, dealers will install wiring covers. Owners will be notified by letters mailed in March.

The recall follows one in November, when Hyundai and Kia recalled over 208,000 electric vehicles to fix a transistor in a charging control unit that could be damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery. That in turn could cause loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.
Macau universities have reinstated pre-pandemic admissions policies, requiring mainland students to submit college entrance exam scores as part of their applications.

This policy shift follows a recent scandal involving the submission of fraudulent academic credentials by some students.

The decision coincides with the conclusion of the 2025 joint examination for recommended students from Macau to mainland universities, which saw the admission of 1,301 students from local secondary schools.

To aid these students, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) and the Macau New Chinese Youth Association hosted a Sharing Session for Students Studying in the Mainland late last week.

Kong Chi Meng, director of the Education and Youth Development Affairs Bureau, announced that only mainland students with valid college entrance exam scores will be eligible for admission, ending temporary Covid-era measures allowing enrollment in international courses.

The change follows a scandal involving 24 mainland students who allegedly used fraudulent credentials to gain admission to the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST).

Kong emphasized that universities must report suspected fraud to the bureau, although no similar cases have been reported from other institutions.

To counter fraud, the bureau has established a task force in collaboration with police and local colleges, alongside a campus awareness campaign to educate students about fraud prevention.

At the sharing session, students learned about life and academic culture on the mainland. Kong encouraged them to follow President Xi Jinpings guidance, embrace national development, and embody values of patriotism, innovation, and a global perspective. Victoria Chan
As the Lunar New Year nears, MGM continues its tradition of community support, organizing events benefiting over 3,100 individuals, including seniors, students, and people with disabilities. Key initiatives included the 11th annual Spring Clean for Love, providing home cleaning services for 220 elderly residents, and distributing hand-knitted scarves and gift packs to 14 social welfare organizations.

Intergenerational activities like the Calligraphy Workshop and Songs for Spring Festival brought students and seniors together. MGMs Golden Lion Volunteer Team entertained seniors with classic songs, lion dance performances, and festive couplets.

Additionally, MGMs charity haircut program offered free grooming sessions to over 150 seniors, with support from local students.

These efforts aim to enhance social harmony, encourage youth engagement, and foster a spirit of care for the elderly as the city welcomes the Year of the Snake.
As the Lunar New Year approaches, hotel bookings in Macau are nearing capacity, with expectations that occupancy rates could exceed 90% on peak days.

Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), shared insights into the citys tourism trends during an interview yesterday with the press.

Fernandes revealed that the average number of tourists in Macau over the past week has surpassed 100,000. She anticipates that, during the Spring Festival, this number could rise to an average of 185,000 visitors per day.

Recently, we were informed by hotels that their reservation rate had reached 90% a few days ago, said Fernandes. I believe that this Lunar New Year will see very optimistic results overall. While it may be overly ambitious to expect an average of 95% occupancy, I am confident that we will exceed 90%.

As of 9 p.m. last night, Macau welcomed a total of 130,854 tourist arrivals, while Saturday saw 137,856 tourists entering the SAR.

The influx of visitors is attributed in part to recent policy changes, including the one trip per week and multi-entry with one visa policies for Zhuhai and Hengqin, which have significantly boosted tourism.

Fernandes also acknowledged emerging challenges in the region, particularly in light of Thailands recent draft legalization of casinos.

She stressed the importance of diversifying Macaus tourism offerings to maintain its competitive edge. With continued efforts to diversify our marketing and advertising strategies, Macau will attract a broader range of tourists in the future, ensuring greater opportunities for growth, she added.

Meanwhile, a check conducted by the Times yesterday found that several hotels in Cotai are already fully booked, with available five-star hotels charging as much as over MOP4,300 per night.

Chinas Lunar New Year travel rush has kicked into high gear, with billions of trips expected in coming days for the peak of the 40-day annual mass migration  the worlds biggest annual movement of humanity.

The actual new year holiday, which marks the start of the year of the snake in the 12-month lunar calendar, comes on Wednesday, while New Years Eve on tomorrow is reserved for family gatherings and traditionally fireworks displays.

Many began travelling on Jan. 14 and the rush will reach a peak over the weekend.

In total, 9 billion trips  mostly by car  are expected over the 40-day travel rush, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Trips by train will surpass 510 million, with another 90 million travelling by air. The government didnt say how the travel figures compared with any other 40-day period during the year.

Trips are now far more comfortable than in past years, when travelers often crammed into train cars for trips that could last days  if they were fortunate enough to buy a ticket, which are now mostly sold online.

Traditionally the festival has been a time for families to gather, with members of Chinas huge migrant worker population using up all their vacation time on the annual visit that for many offers the only chance to see parents and children.

Rising prosperity and the decline in family customs in recent years has prompted those with the means to travel overseas, mostly to South East Asia, but also Japan and South Korea. Cross-border trips are expected to rise by nearly 10%, including foreign tourists willing to risk the crowds to take in the spectacle.

The government grants eight public holiday days from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4. While fireworks have been all but eradicated under President Xi Jinping, traditional events such as temple markets draped in auspicious bright red colors continue to draw visitors in their millions.Victoria Chan

Airport to add flights

Macau International Airport Company Limited (CAM) announced plans to increase flight frequency during the Chinese New Year season to accommodate rising travel demand.

CAM revealed that passenger reservation rates have surpassed 90% ahead of the Year of the Snake, prompting the airport to collaborate with airlines to adjust flight schedules accordingly.

To meet the demand, CAM will add a total of 58 additional regular and charter flights to mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia, providing more travel options for passengers.

Additionally, CAM will offer parking discounts from January 25 to February 7 for travelers departing or arriving at the airport. Passengers can enjoy a 50% discount on parking for up to five consecutive days when presenting valid travel identification and original departure and return boarding passes.

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, CAM has decorated its passenger terminal with balloon sculptures and artwork, creating a festive atmosphere for travelers. A series of seasonal programs are also planned, including the distribution of Spring Festival couplets and a special appearance by the God of Wealth.
The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has expanded its presence at this years Feria Internacional de Turismo (FITUR), one of the worlds largest international tourism trade fairs, held in Madrid, Spain. This strategic initiative aims to boost visitor arrivals from long-haul markets, particularly Europe.

Under the leadership of MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, this is the first time since the pandemic that the office has had a dedicated booth at FITUR. The booth highlights the Macao Tourism Exchange and presents updated tourism products, emphasizing the destinations appeal to European travelers. In addition to the fair, MGTO is launching targeted marketing campaigns across Europe, collaborating with key tourism partners and online platforms.

A key event at the fair was the Macau Tourism Exchange, where Senna Fernandes announced that the enhanced FITUR presence marks the beginning of intensified promotional efforts aimed at the European market in 2025.

The MGTO booth also features an Experience Macao section, which includes a virtual reality tour that offers attendees an immersive look at Macaus diverse attractions. This interactive display aims to engage travel operators and media throughout the five-day event.

In collaboration with HBX Group, MGTO is launching a 2025 marketing campaign targeting six European countries: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The campaign will use online platforms like Hotelbeds and Bedsonline to educate European travel agents, airlines, and other industry stakeholders about Macaus unique offerings.

Additionally, MGTO is rolling out destination marketing initiatives and special hotel deals through platforms such as Travelport and eDreams ODIGEO to drive sales and encourage longer stays in Macau.

To further strengthen its European presence, MGTO has scheduled two major European trade events in Macau: the ECTAA 2025 Macao Summit in June and the 50th APAVT Congress in December.

Victoria Chan
Chinese coast guard ships and a Chinese navy helicopter harassed a group of Philippine fisheries vessels conducting a scientific survey in a hotly disputed area of the South China Sea, forcing them to cancel the operation, the Philippine coast guard said Saturday.

Beijing has repeatedly asserted sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and accused rival claimant states, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia of encroachment. China has demarcated its territorial claims with a 10 dashed-line printed on maps but has not provided the exact coordinates.

The incident took place Friday near Sandy Cay, three small uninhabited sandbars flanked by an artificial island base of Chinese forces and a Philippines-occupied island in the Spratlys archipelago, the coast guard said.

The Chinese coast guard ships approached two larger vessels, which maneuvered to avoid a collision, and a navy helicopter flew low over two smaller boats deployed by the ships, forcing the survey to be called off.

A Chinese coast guard statement said that it drove the Philippine ships away after they entered the waters without Chinas permission and attempted to land on the cay  which is called Tiexian Reef in Chinese  and conduct sand sampling.

Videos released by the Philippine coast guard show a Chinese coast guard ship sailing very close to a vessel officials identified as belonging to the Philippines. Another video shows a Chinese military helicopter hovering low over the rough seas near a vessel flying a Philippine flag.

The latest flare-out of the long-simmering territorial disputes in one of the worlds busiest trade and security passageways could test President Donald Trumps commitment to maintain Americas role as a counterweight to China, which has increasingly carried out assertive actions in the disputed waters.

His predecessor, Joe Biden, strengthened an arc of security alliances in Asia while in office in a bid to curb Chinas aggressive actions in the South China Sea, East China Sea and around Taiwan, a self-governed island which Beijing has vowed to take by force if necessary.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a telephone call last week with his Philippine counterpart, Enrique Manalo, discussed issues of mutual concern, including the Peoples Republic of Chinas dangerous and destabilizing actions in the South China Sea, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

Rubio conveyed that the PRCs behavior undermines regional peace and stability and is inconsistent with international law, Bruce said in a readout of the call.

Rubio underscored the United States ironclad commitments to the Philippines under our Mutual Defense Treaty, Bruce said.

Biden and his administration had repeatedly warned China that the U.S. is obligated to help defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under armed attack including in the South China Sea. China has warned the U.S. to stay away from what it says is a purely Asian dispute.

In 2017, China accused the Philippine military of secretly plotting to occupy and build a structure on one of the three sandbars, about 2.5 nautical miles from the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, two senior Philippine officials told The Associated Press at the time.

China protested and surrounded the sandbars with three navy ships, a coast guard ship and 10 suspected militia ships, according to a confidential Philippine government security report seen by the AP at the time.

Chinese and Philippine diplomats resolved the issue by agreeing that forces from both sides should not set foot on the sandbars, the two Philippine officials said.

Chinese ships, however, have continuously kept watch off the sandbars since then, according to the Philippine military.

Separately, the Philippine coast guard said it has been ordering Chinese coast guard ships to stay away from the Scarborough Shoal, another disputed area about 124 nautical miles off the northwestern Philippines.

The Chinese coast guard ships have approached up to 60 nautical miles from the Philippines coast in recent weeks, well within the countrys exclusive economic zone, a stretch of water where a coastal state has exclusive rights to tap resources, but where foreign ships have rights of innocent passage as provided under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Philippine coast guard said.

The Chinese coast guard has defied the Philippine coast guard order to leave the area, which it said falls within Chinese waters. It warned the Philippines to immediately stop all infringement activities, provocations and false accusations. JIM GOMEZ, MANILA, MDT/AP
South Korean prosecutors yesterday indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on rebellion in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law, news reports said, a criminal charges that could put him to death or jail for life if convicted.

This is the latest blow to Yoon, who was impeached and arrested over his Dec. 3 martial law decree that plunged the country into huge political turmoil. Separate from criminal judicial proceedings, the Constitutional Court is now deliberating whether to formally dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him.

South Korean media outlets, including Yonhap news agency, reported that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office indicted Yoon over rebellion. Calls to the prosecutors office and Yoons lawyers went unanswered.

Yoon, a conservative, has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, calling his martial law a legitimate act of governance meant to raise public awareness of the danger of the liberal-controlled National Assembly which obstructed his agenda and impeached top officials. During his announcement of martial law, Yoon called the assembly a den of criminals and vowed to eliminate shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.

After declaring martial law on Dec. 3, Yoon sent troops and police officers to the assembly, but enough lawmakers still managed to enter an assembly chamber to vote down Yoons decree unanimously, forcing his Cabinet to lift it.

The martial law imposition, the first of its kind in South Korea in more than 40 years, lasted only six hours. However, it evoked painful memories of past dictatorial rules in the 1960s-80s when military-backed rulers used martial laws and emergency decrees to suppress opponents.

South Koreas constitution gives the president the power to declare martial law to keep order in wartime and other comparable emergency states, but many experts say the country wasnt under such conditions when Yoon declared martial law.

Yoon insists he had no intentions of disrupting assembly work including its floor vote on his decree and that the dispatch of troops and police forces was meant to maintain order. But commanders of military units sent to the assembly have told assembly hearings or investigators that Yoon ordered them to drag out lawmakers. HYUNG-JIN KIM, SEOUL, MDT/AP
The Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) has issued a yellow low-temperature warning as the region braces for a prolonged cold spell. Residents are urged to take necessary precautions to prevent hypothermia, with the Health Bureau (SSM) advising on appropriate measures. The minimum temperature is expected to drop to around 10 degrees Celsius from January 28 to January 29, the first day of the Lunar New Year. In light of the forecast, the SS urges residents to take precautions, particularly the elderly and those with chronic conditions.

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President Donald Trump said Saturday he would like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip, potentially moving out enough of the population to just clean out the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate.

During a 20-minute question-and-answer session with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump also said he has ended his predecessors hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. That lifts a pressure point meant to reduce civilian casualties during Israels war with Hamas in Gaza, which is now halted by a tenuous ceasefire.

We released them today, Trump said of the bombs. Theyve been waiting for them for a long time. Asked why he lifted the ban on those bombs, Trump responded, Because they bought them.

Trump has built his political career around being unapologetically pro-Israel.

On his larger vision for Gaza, Trump said he had a call earlier in the day with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt the following day.

Id like Egypt to take people, Trump said. Youre talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, You know, its over.

Trump said he complimented Jordan for having successfully accepted Palestinian refugees and that he told the king, Id love for you to take on more, cause Im looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and its a mess. Its a real mess.

Such a drastic displacement of people would openly contradict Palestinian identity and deep connection to Gaza. Still, Trump said the part of the world that encompasses Gaza, has had many, many conflicts over centuries. He said resettling could be temporary or long term.

Something has to happen, Trump said. But its literally a demolition site right now. Almost everythings demolished, and people are dying there. He added: So, Id rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office.

Trump has offered non-traditional views on the future of Gaza in the past. He suggested after he was inaugurated on Monday that Gaza has really got to be rebuilt in a different way.

The new president added then, Gaza is interesting. Its a phenomenal location, on the sea. The best weather, you know, everything is good. Its like, some beautiful things could be done with it, but its very interesting.

Resuming delivery of large bombs, meanwhile, is a break with then-President Joe Biden, who halted their delivery in May as part of an effort to keep Israel from launching an all-out assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. A month later, Israel did take control of the city, but after the vast majority of the 1 million civilians that had been living or sheltering in Rafah had fled.

Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers, Biden told CNN in May when he held up the weapons. I made it clear that if they go into Rafah  Im not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem.

The Biden pause had also held up 1,700 500-pound bombs that had been packaged in the same shipment to Israel, but weeks later those bombs were delivered.

Trumps action comes as he has celebrated the first phase of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that has paused the fighting and seen the release of some hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Negotiations have yet to begin in earnest on the more difficult second phase of the deal that would eventually see the release of all hostages held by Hamas and an enduring halt to the fighting.

If the remaining hostages are not released, the Israeli government has threatened to resume its war against Hamas, which launched a massive assault against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. WILL WEISSERT & ZEKE MILLER, ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, MDT/AP
Ranhill ex-CEO charged with tricking Johor water firm into donating RM3.3m to made-up CSR events

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27  Former Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Faizal Aliar was charged at the Sessions Court here today with two counts of cheating involving RM3.38 million.

Faizal, 39, pleaded not guilty to both charges when they were read before Judge Rosli Ahmad, according to Free Malaysia Today.

The first charge alleges that Faizal deceived Ranhill SAJ into donating RM82,500 for a fictitious event, Program Imarah Ramadan 2023, via a letter dated April 1, 2023.

He is also accused of requesting RM3.3 million through another letter dated April 4, 2023, for Program Prihatin Komuniti Madani 2023, which also never took place.

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Both amounts were purportedly transferred to a bank account linked to Pertubuhan Inspirasi Prihatin Malaysia, an NGO.

Faizal faces charges under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which could result in up to 10 years in prison, whipping, and a fine if convicted.

The court set bail at RM100,000 for both charges, following defence counsel S. Preakass appeal for leniency due to Faizals financial constraints and health issues.

Deputy Publicc Prosecutor Asraf Tahir initially sought a RM200,000 bail, emphasizing the gravity of the charges.
Wedding bells are ringing: Heres why Tamil couples are saying I do this month

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27  Have you been getting many wedding cards from your Indian friends lately?

Well, expect more invitations to come because its currently the wedding season for the Tamil community, which will continue until the eve of Valentines Day in February.

This annual wedding season coincides with the Thai month  the 10th month in the Tamil calendar  that occurs between mid-January until mid-February.

The Thai month kicks off with the Pongal harvest festival, that is usually celebrated on January 14 annually.

While Tamil weddings can take place in other months  except during Aadi (mid-July to mid-August) and Margazhi (mid-December to mid-January), the Thai month is still regarded as one of the most auspicious time for weddings, thanks to the harvest season.

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Malaysia Hindu Sangam secretary S. Vinayagamurthi said the harvest season provided resources for the Tamil community to purchase gold, new attire and other necessities to hold marriages.

Since Tamil Nadu was primarily an agrarian economy, farmers used to sell their harvest to traders during the Thai month, spurring economic activities across the state.

This led to the cultural belief that the Thai month marks the advent of new opportunities, including marriages.

So, tying the knot during the Thai month is said to attract divine blessings, he told Malay Mail.

Vinayagamurthi said a wedding boom occurs during Thai month because weddings are generally not held during the preceding month of Margazhi, which is dedicated to religious activities and spiritual pursuits.

Many Tamil Hindus fast throughout the Margazhi month and therefore, it is not considered conducive for marriages.

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The Thai month also marks the end of the winter solstice and the start of the suns northward movement for six months.

This shift in the suns movement is called uttarayanam, which brings about longer days and shorter nights.

So, most auspicious events, including marriages and temple consecrations, take place during the first six months of the year, he said.

For Hindu temple priests M. Ganesan and his brother, M. Saravanan, the Thai month is the busiest as many couples seek their services for weddings.

Ganesan said that he has conducted four weddings since January 15 so far, and has a few more lined up for the next few days.

He added that most couples prefer to tie the knot on weekends, but this year, the majority of the auspicious wedding dates for this month happen to be on weekdays.

Some couples also prefer to get married during the waxing moon cycle since it symbolises blooming and growth.

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This month, the waxing moon cycle starts from January 30 and will last until February 12, he told Malay Mail.

Modern as they might be, bride-to-be Thivyaa Maniam said she and her fiance Shugeshan Sukumaran still cherish their cultural heritage and hold fast that for certain things like weddings, it is best to follow custom.

We didnt just want a traditional wedding; we wanted everything about our wedding to be rooted in our culture, she told Malay Mail.

She related that it was difficult to plan her wedding due to the limited auspicious dates available as well as Hindu priests able to conduct the ceremony.

Thats why we didnt mind getting married on a weekday, she said, adding that the couple will be tying the knot on January 31.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) resumed yesterday the printing of 73 million official ballots for the 2025 midterm elections after several delays caused by temporary restraining orders issued by the Supreme Court following petitions filed by candidates disqualified by the poll body.

Among the last-minute additions to the official ballot was the name of Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro, a candidate for congressman of the citys 1st District, poll chairman George Garcia said.

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Teodoro was among the candidates disqualified by the Comelec but was able to secure temporary restraining orders (TROs) from the Supreme Court (SC).

Garcia clarified that the names of other candidates with pending motions and disqualifications would also be retained on the ballot.

Not only Teodoro; but several others with pending motions, pending disqualification, unless theres a decision from the commission en banc, Garcia said during a press conference at the National Printing Office (NPO).

Garcia expressed confidence in meeting the Comelecs April 14 deadline.

Garcia noted the ballot printing has been delayed thrice, but assured that these stoppages would not affect the holding of the midterm elections scheduled on May 12.

It can be recalled that the ballot printing process started on Jan. 6 but temporarily stopped on Jan. 14, and deferred anew on Jan. 23 after the SC issued TROs allowing at least nine candidates to run for various positions in the coming polls.

Garcia said Comelec needs to churn out 1.5 million official ballots daily to meet the target date of completion.

With a combined daily target output of 1.5 million ballots, the printing committee anticipates completing the printing process in 48 days, excluding verification and reprinting phases, he explained.

Our original timeline is April 14, and we should still be finished by April 14. In case we have to make an adjustment, we will think about it later. But in the meantime, we must and at all costs, finish printing by April 14, Garcia added.

Ballots for overseas voting, local absentee voting, midterms, and parliamentary elections for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Cagayan Valley will be printed first.

Ballots for Calabarzon, Central Luzon, and the National Capital Region will be printed last.

Editors Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline Comelec resumes ballot printing to meet April 14 deadline.
Moroccos sustained counterterrorism efforts and vigilance to foil terror threats resulted in the arrest Sunday morning of four extremist suspects who were planning to carry out an imminent terrorist plot.

Moroccos Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) successfully foiled an imminent terrorist plot early Sunday morning. The plan, which was in its preparatory stages, involving carrying out explosive attacks, was thwarted thanks to accurate intelligence provided by the Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance (DGST).

A coordinated operation by DGST special forces, BCIJ officers, the aerial brigade, and the Judicial Center of the Royal Gendarmerie led to the arrest of the four extremist suspects, including three brothers, all linked to the Daesh terrorist group. The suspects, aged 26, 29, 31, and 35, were operating in the Had Soualem area of Berrechid Province, according to a BCIJ statement.

The operation targeted two locations: homes in the Al Omrane and Al Amal neighborhoods of Al Wahda, Had Soualem. The effort involved explosive detection specialists, trained sniffer dogs, and a Royal Gendarmerie helicopter that provided aerial support, carrying DGST snipers to secure the area.

During the searches, authorities seized a range of items, including knives, bottles containing chemicals, large quantities of chemical fertilizers, sulfur, charcoal powder, and other suspicious substances. They also recovered electrical wires, welding tools, and adhesive tapes, all of which could be used to manufacture explosives. These items were handed over to forensic experts for detailed analysis.

Investigations began after the DGST uncovered a video showing the suspects pledging allegiance to Daesh and vowing to carry out terrorist acts. Further intelligence revealed that the group had visited four hardware stores in the Had Soualem area on the same day, purchasing chemicals commonly used to make explosives. They had stored these materials at one suspects home and started experimenting with assembling explosive devices.

It was also discovered that two of the brothers conducted reconnaissance missions, visiting various locations and documenting potential targets with photos and videos to support their plans. Evidence suggests the suspects intended to carry out bomb attacks and then join Daesh camps in the Sahel region.

The four individuals are now in custody, with the investigation being overseen by the public prosecutor specializing in terrorism cases. Authorities aim to uncover any links this cell may have with regional or international terrorist organizations and to identify and apprehend any remaining members of the group.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has called on January 26 for an immediate end to attacks on healthcare workers and facilities in Sudan after a drone strike on a hospital in the North Darfur region killed more than 70 people and injured dozens.

The attack, which took place on Friday January 24, targeted the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in El Fasher, the only functional hospital in the area, providing vital medical services including obstetrics, surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, and nutrition stabilization.

WHO Chief expressed his deep concern over the strike, highlighting the devastating impact on patients, including women and children, and reiterated WHOs call for a cessation of all attacks on healthcare in Sudan. He urged for full access to be granted for the swift restoration of damaged medical facilities, which are crucial for the survival of many in a country already overwhelmed by a humanitarian crisis. The war between Sudans army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023, has already resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced millions, with the conflict exacerbating food insecurity and ethnic violence across the country.

The drone strike was attributed to the RSF, and Darfur Governor Mini Minnawi confirmed that it hit the hospitals emergency department. The region has witnessed fierce fighting between the RSF and Sudanese joint forces, including the army, local resistance groups, and police. The escalating violence in Darfur has led to widespread suffering, particularly among vulnerable populations, and further strained the already fragile health infrastructure in Sudan.
Moroccan and US embassies in Oslo jointly organized a round table on The role of aquaculture in the fight against food insecurity in Africa.

In addition to the Moroccan delegation, the event brought together representatives from the Norwegian Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Industry and Fisheries, the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) and the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research, as well as representatives of the ambassadors of Portugal, Ghana, Spain, and Iceland.

During the round table, Norwegian participants presented several international cooperation programs, such as Fish for Development, Oceans for Development and the EAF-Nansen Program, which focus on innovation, technical capacity building and applied research.

Speaking at the event, Moroccos ambassador to Norway Nabila Freidji emphasized the importance of aquaculture as a key lever for boosting food security in Africa.

She highlighted Moroccos strategic role as both a regional leader and a central player in Atlantic cooperation, thanks to its innovative initiatives to increase fish production while preserving coastal ecosystems.

The diplomat also spoke of the Royal Atlantic Initiative, which seeks to promote sustainable and inclusive development on a regional scale and beyond.

Tarik Iziraren, Permanent Secretary of the African Atlantic States Process (AASP), on his part emphasized the importance of the initiative as an integrated framework for harmonious development in the African Atlantic region.

He also underlined the Kingdoms significant efforts to improve maritime connectivity, a prerequisite for strengthening regional integration in this part of Africa and boosting its participation in world trade.

The speakers also explained the impact of the Royal initiative offering landlocked Sahelian countries access to maritime resources and integration into global value chains.

On the sidelines of the event, the Moroccan delegation held bilateral meetings with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NORAD to explore opportunities for cooperation in areas of common interest, notably food security and aquaculture promotion.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on January 26 for Rwandan forces to withdraw from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and cease their support for M23 rebels advancing towards the key city of Goma.

In a statement issued on Sunday January 26, Guterres condemned the M23s ongoing offensive, which is allegedly being backed by the Rwanda Defence Forces, and urged the rebels to immediately halt all hostilities and withdraw from occupied territories. He also called on Rwanda to stop supporting the M23 and to pull its forces from DRC.

The DRC and the UN have accused Rwanda of aiding the M23 (March 23 Movement) rebels, an allegation that Rwanda denies. Tensions have escalated, with the DRC demanding sanctions against Rwanda after accusing its forces of crossing into Congolese territory. Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner described the actions as a declaration of war, calling for targeted sanctions against Rwandan military commanders and political leaders responsible for the aggression. France and the UK also voiced concern over Rwandas involvement, urging a withdrawal of Rwandan troops and an end to attacks on peacekeepers by the M23 rebels.

As M23 fighters closed in on Goma, the citys residents faced increasing fear and uncertainty. Thousands fled the city, and flights were suspended at the local airport as government forces clashed with the advancing rebels. Gunfire and artillery could be heard on the outskirts of Goma, and by mid-afternoon, the rebels were approaching the airport. The violence, which has been intensifying throughout eastern DRC, has led to widespread displacement and raised concerns about the potential for the conflict to escalate into a regional war. The M23 rebels, who have gained control of more Congolese territory, claim to be protecting the DRCs ethnic Tutsi population, but their advances continue to destabilise the region.
M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, have threatened to seize Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, after ordering Government forces to disarm and surrender. The rebels, who have made rapid advances in the region this month, launched an assault on Goma earlier in the week.

By Sunday (January 26) evening, M23 fighters had pushed past Munigi, a neighbourhood around 9 km (5 miles) from the city centre, according to three sources. The escalating conflict is worsening one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises and raising concerns that it could lead to a broader regional war.

Willy Ngoma, a spokesman for the M23, told Reuters that the rebels planned to take control of Goma at 3:00 am (0100 GMT) and had given the Congolese forces a 48-hour ultimatum to lay down their arms, which had already passed. He stated that the soldiers could surrender their weapons to the U.N. mission (MONUSCO) and were instructed to assemble at one of the citys stadiums before the deadline. A second rebel spokesman also announced that all boat traffic on Lake Kivu had been suspended. Meanwhile, gunfire was heard in scattered areas of the city after nightfall, though it remained unclear who was firing or if fighting was still ongoing.

As the rebels appeared set to seize Goma, the United Nations Security Council convened earlier on Sunday to discuss the situation, which has seen the deaths of three U.N. peacekeepersone Uruguayan and two South Africansover the past two days. Goma itself was plunged into darkness due to a power cut, with the situation growing increasingly tense as the rebels advanced.
At least 20 Nigerian soldiers have reportedly been killed in an attack by fighters from the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP). The assault targeted a military base in the remote town of Malam-Fatori, located in northeastern Borno State, on Friday January 24.

A surviving soldier described the attack as lasting over three hours, with the ISWAP fighters arriving in gun trucks and overwhelming the Nigerian Armys 149th Battalion.

According to security sources and residents, a commanding officer, a lieutenant colonel, was among those killed. The soldier, who spoke to Reuters anonymously, described how the attackers rained bullets everywhere, catching the troops by surprise. Despite their efforts to repel the assault, the soldiers were eventually overpowered, with the death toll rising to 20 and several others injured. Some of the attackers were reportedly seen in Malam-Fatori as late as Saturday night, with local militia members confirming that buildings were burned and residents forced to flee.

ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram in 2016, has become the dominant armed group in northeastern Nigeria. Although both ISWAP and Boko Haram have been weakened by military actions and internal conflicts, they have intensified their attacks in recent months, leading to widespread displacement and significant loss of life. The ongoing violence, which has killed nearly 40,000 people and displaced around two million in the northeast, has spread across borders into Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.
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Covered California, the state's health insurance marketplace, has hit a record 1.8 million enrollees and the number could climb higher ahead of a Jan. 31 open enrollment deadline, due in large part to enhanced subsidies that have made plans more affordable.

But the state's progress in extending health coverage to all residents could come to an abrupt halt as the second Trump administration takes power alongside a Republican Congress whose leadership has long been hostile to the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 federal law also known as Obamacare.

Top of mind for Covered California officials is the looming expiration of the additional federal subsidies for health insurance approved by Congress in 2021 as part of a COVID pandemic relief package. That resulted in lower premiums for people around the countryespecially middle-class householdswho buy health insurance through the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act.

"Whether there will be action to extend the enhanced subsidiesthat's a big impact that we are closely tracking," said Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman, who noted the program had about 1.5 million enrollees prior to enhanced subsidies.

Republicans have criticized the cost of the subsidies, and it's not clear they'll renew them.

Without an extension, researchers at the University of California-Berkeley Labor Center estimate, Covered California premiums for subsidized enrollees would soar by an average of $967 a year beginning in 2026, and an estimated 69,000 Californians would lose their insurance.

California took its own steps last year to make coverage more affordable, eliminating deductibles and reducing other out-of-pocket costs on all mid-tier policies known as "silver" plans.

However, the state's health care spending is likely to face fresh pressure if Republicans in Washington follow through on long-standing designs to cut funding for Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans, known in California as Medi-Cal.

In addition to bolstering Covered California, the state has also aggressively pushed to expand Medi-Cal, including to immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization, and now spends $161 billion a year on that program, about half paid by the federal government.

About 144,000 of Covered California's 1.8 million enrollees as of Dec. 14 are first-time buyers, and nearly 90% of all enrollees qualify for financial help. Covered California has extended the enrollment period to March 8 for residents in Los Angeles and Ventura counties due to wildfires, and has also issued extensions related to the bird flu and an earthquake in Northern California.

Low-income residents pay little or nothing for monthly premiums, while for those earning more, premiums are capped at a percentage of household income. With the enhanced federal subsidies, no one is required to spend more than 8.5% of their income on premiums, provided they stick to a silver plan. Such plans, however, can have smaller provider networks and significant out-of-pocket costs.

According to Covered California, the average monthly premium is $136 for those who receive subsidies, two-thirds of whom pay $10 or less a month. But people with higher incomes can end up paying significantly more. For example, a family of four making $200,000 in the Los Angeles area would pay well over $1,000 a month for a silver plan, according to a calculator for estimating costs.

While federal and state subsidies have significantly boosted the amount of assistance available, the underlying cost of insurance has continued to go up. Covered California premiums are up by 7.9% on average for 2025, but the extra subsidies shield most enrollees from the increase.

"You end up with people's out-of-pocket spending probably being lower than we've seen," said Dylan Roby, a professor of health, society, and behavior at the University of California-Irvine. "That doesn't necessarily mean that premiums are going down. It just means that the state or federal government is paying a larger share of premiums on behalf of enrollees than before."

Neither Trump nor incoming congressional leaders have given clear signals about how they view the future of the subsidies, but both have a history of seeking to repeal and weaken the Affordable Care Act. House Speaker Mike Johnson has vowed "massive reform" of the health care law, though without offering specifics.

Experts, including Roby, say Republicans could extend the subsidies to avoid an outcry from consumers, health insurers, hospitals, and others who have benefited from them. Enrollment in marketplace plans is especially high in Republican-controlled states that have not expanded Medicaid, because it offers low-income people a way to access affordable health insurance.

"I don't think Republican House members are that inclined to make all of their constituents' health insurance premiums go up," Roby said. "I'm kind of optimistic that [the subsidies] will be renewed."

But uncertainty over the future of the subsidies, even if they eventually get renewed, could affect the cost of marketplace plans, said Rachel Linn Gish, communications director for Health Access California, a consumer advocacy coalition. That's because insurers are already starting to plan their rates for next year and will likely price in the risk of nonrenewal, she said.

"We are going to be fighting for the next year to try to save those enhanced subsidies and subsequently all of the other frameworks and financing of the Affordable Care Act," Linn Gish said. "Because if any of that gets rolled back, people will lose health care coverage."

2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Design of EBC-46 analogs. Credit: Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ads1911

A compound with the unpresuming designation of EBC-46 has made a splash in recent years for its cancer-fighting prowess. Now a new study led by Stanford researchers has revealed that EBC-46 also shows immense potential for eradicating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections.

Compared to similar-acting agents, EBC-46 excels at activating dormant cells where HIV is hiding, the study found. These "kicked" cells can then be targeted ("killed") by immunotherapies to fully clear the insidious virus from the body. By pursuing this "kick and kill" strategy with EBC-46, researchers think achieving permanent elimination of HIV in patientsin other words, a cureis possible.

"We're pleased to report that EBC-46 performed extremely well in preclinical experiments as part of a 'kick and kill' therapeutic," said study senior author Paul Wender, the Bergstrom Professor of Chemistry at Stanford's School of Humanities and Sciences. "While we still have a lot of work to do before treatments based on EBC-46 might reach the clinic, this study marks unprecedented progress toward the as-yet-unrealized goal of eradicating HIV."

Stanford-affiliated co-authors of the study, published Jan. 24 in Science Advances, are Zachary Gentry, a postdoctoral student at Vanderbilt University and former Stanford doctoral student; Owen McAteer, a doctoral student in Wender's lab; and Jennifer Hamad, an undergraduate biology student. These authors worked closely with collaborators at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Tackling a generation-spanning epidemic

Technically known as tigilanol tiglate, EBC-46 was discovered a decade ago through automated drug screening by QBiotics, an Australian life sciences company. The compound naturally occurs in a single rainforest species, the blushwood tree (Fontainea picrosperma), found only in Australia's tropical northeast.

On a nitty-gritty biological level, EBC-46 binds to a key enzyme known as protein kinase C, or PKC. Numerous cellular processes rely on PKC, and many are involved with major diseases including AIDS (the advanced stage of HIV infection), cancer, and Alzheimer's. Wender and colleagues have been exploring EBC-46 across these varied medical contexts.

In the case of HIV, the need for effective virus eradication strategies is paramount, Wender said. Since the virus emerged in humans more than 40 years ago, nearly 90 million people have been infected, and about half that many have died, according to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. About 40 million people are currently living with HIV, and, alarmingly, close to 2 million people become infected every year.

The rise of highly effective antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) has made the once-lethal infection into more of a chronic, manageable condition. But ARTs come with drawbacks of high cost, low access, and lifetime adherence.

"Part of the solution to the global HIV problem is addressing the 40 million people who are HIV positive," said Wender. "Easing the medication burden and economic losses posed by the current HIV regimen, especially in developing countries, is critical."

Study co-authors Jennifer Hamad and Owen McAteer prepare for a cellular assay, a lab technique used to study living cells. The assay will yield information about the location of EBC-46 compounds that have been introduced into cells in the lab. Credit: Paul Wender

Flushing HIV out into the open

For the new study, the researchers set out to examine EBC-46's value as a "latency reversing agent." These agents kickstart certain pathways in latent cells infected by the virus. Latent cells act as a redoubt for HIV in the face of host immune attacks and medical treatments such as ART. Ferreting out these cells to expose them to treatment is thus essential for elimination of the virus in an infected person.

The Stanford researchers and their collaborators exposed latent HIV-infected cells to 15 analogs of EBC-46. Analogs are compounds that are chemically similar to the tree-derived compound and might be even more adept at kicking latent cells into gear.

Prior work by Wender and colleagues made this wide-ranging EBC-46 research possible by resolving the issue of availability, given that the compound's only natural source is a regional Australian tree. In a 2022 study, Wender and colleagues debuted a novel way to synthetically produce EBC-46 in bulk right in the lab, which opened the door for accessing non-natural and potentially superior analogs.

Stunningly, some analogs deployed in the new HIV-focused study reversed latency in 90% of treated cellsa dramatic four-fold increase over the most powerful latency reversing agent demonstrated to date, bryostatin, which activates only about 20%. "Our studies show that EBC-46 analogs are exceptional latency reversing agents, representing a potentially significant step toward HIV eradication," Wender said.

The new findings are but the latest in a line of fruitful research involving EBC-46. A medication based on the compound received Food and Drug Administration approval in the United States in 2024 for treating soft tissue sarcomasa kind of cancerin humans. That approval followed from approved use in veterinary medicine, where the drug has an 88% cure rate for mast cell tumors in dogs.

Building off their success with HIV cells, Wender and colleagues have moved their research into animal models of HIV, with the ultimate goal of human clinical trials.

"The fact that we may be able to make a dramatic difference in people's lives with EBC-46 is what keeps us up late at night and gets us up early in the morning," Wender said.

More information: Zachary Gentry et al, Synthesis and Preclinical Evaluation of Tigilanol Tiglate Analogs as Latency Reversing Agents for the Eradication of HIV, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ads1911 Journal information: Science Advances
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The European bottling unit of Coca-Cola said Monday that it had ordered a major recall of Coke, Sprite and other beverages after detecting high levels of chlorate, which poses potential health risks.

Coca-Cola said cans and glass bottles containing elevated levels of the substance were distributed in Belgium, the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, France and Luxembourg since November, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Belgium told AFP.

"We do not have a precise figure, but it is clear that it is a considerable quantity," the firm said of the amount of drinks involved.

Chlorate can be found in foods as it derives from chlorine disinfectants widely used in water treatment and food processing.

In a 2015 scientific opinion, the European Food Safety Authority said long-term exposure to chlorate posed a potential health concern for children, especially those with mild or moderate iodine deficiency.

"The majority of the affected and unsold products have already been removed from store shelves and we continue to take measures to remove all remaining products from the market," Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Belgium said.

But the company's French branch said analysis by independent experts "concluded that the probability of an associated risk" was "very low".

"We have not received any complaints from consumers on this subject," the firm said.

Affected batches of Coke and Fuze Tea were delivered in France but for the moment the recall order did not apply to the French market, it added.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners apologized for the recall, which it said was brought to light by a routine check at its production site in Ghent.

Affected products had a production code ranging from 328 GE to 338 GE, and included the Minute Maid, Nalu, Royal Bliss and Tropico brands, the firm said.

"We are in contact with the competent authorities in each of the affected markets," the firm said.

 2025 AFP
Peking Opera master performer Cheng Yanqiu and playwright Weng Ouhong once collaborated in the production of Suo Lin Nang, a bittersweet tale with a happy ending.

The production premiered in 1940 and remains a showpiece of the Cheng style of Peking Opera to this day. Its morals still resonate with audiences today  lending a helping hand to those in need, kindness begets kindness, and girls help girls.

In the story, Xue Xiangling, the daughter of a wealthy family, receives a purse filled with jewels from her mother before her wedding. On the way to the ceremony, a sudden downpour forces her to seek shelter in a pavilion where she meets another bride, Zhao Shouzhen, who is crying over her poverty, so Xue gifts Zhao the purse.

Years later, a flood separates Xue from her family, and she has to work as a maid. She accidentally finds the purse in the house and realizes that the lady of the household is Zhao. Recognizing Xue as her benefactor, Zhao helps her reunite with her family.

For more than three years, Shanghai Film Group, the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, Shanghai Media Group and the Capital Jinghu Arts Research Association worked together to bring the production to the silver screen, along with Zhang Huoding, a renowned Peking Opera artist and representative performer of the Cheng opera style.

The film Suo Lin Nang, or The Kylin Purse, made its Beijing premiere at the China National Film Museum on Dec 27.

"This year marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Cheng Yanqiu. The Cheng-style influence is profound and the master's thoughts and spirit continue to enlighten future generations," Zhang, also a professor at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, said at the premiere.

According to her, the film captures the classic stage production through visual storytelling, serving as a tribute to and remembrance of Peking Opera predecessors. "I sincerely hope that the Cheng style continues to thrive and the master's art will endure," she adds.

At the premiere, director Teng Junjie, vice-president of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles, said that during the filmmaking process, he was moved by the professionalism and pursuit of excellence demonstrated by the Peking Opera artists.

Teng recalls filming during the coldest winter months along the coast of Zhejiang province, but the artists, exemplified by Zhang, gritted their teeth and overcame the difficulties while working more than 10 hours a day.

"Zhang insisted on canceling the trailer we booked for her to save our limited budget to improve the film's quality," Teng says.

Another example of this camaraderie is that while some supporting actors had limited scenes, they insisted on staying on the set, offering to help in any way they could.

"With 8K resolution, this film is presented to today's audience with the clearest images, the most saturated colors, and the most precise combination of camera movement and structure," Teng says.

This film is made for today and the future, he adds.

"With this film, we pay tribute to Cheng Yanqiu, our national treasure Peking Opera, and the excellent contemporary performers of the Cheng style who have been working hard to pass down the art form," Teng says.

In 2014, the film concept was included in the Peking Opera Film Project, initiated in 2011 to preserve outstanding stage productions through cinematic techniques. It later received support from the China National Arts Fund, which was approved by the State Council in late 2013.

The completion of The Kylin Purse highlights that all 21 films listed in the project have been produced, with Shanghai Film Group having filmed and produced six.

Last June, the film made its Shanghai premiere at the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival.

In November, it was screened at the 9th edition of the festival of traditional Chinese operas in Paris and won one of its top prizes.

The China National Film Museum has entered all 21 films from the project into its archives and established a permanent exhibition themed on the project.

"The Kylin Purse is a highly acclaimed classic in the Peking Opera scene," says Huang Xiaowei, the museum's curator.

"Its script upholds long-standing values such as justice and gratitude. With the distinctive Cheng singing style, especially under the superb performance of Zhang Huoding, the production has remarkable artistic depth and appeal,"Huang adds.

She stresses the vital role Peking Opera played in China's cinematic history, as the first-ever Chinese film Dingjun Mountain, released in 1905, was a recording of veteran Peking Opera artist Tan Xinpei performing.

"The exhibition themed on the Peking Opera Film Project has expanded and enriched our museum's film collection. It has taken on an integral role in showcasing the achievements of Chinese cinema,"Huang adds.
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Up to 762,000 people across the U.K. are providing unpaid care for someone living with a terminal illness every year, a report from the University of Sheffield and Marie Curie estimates.

The new report also reveals 13%15% of end of life caregivers who live with the person they are caring for (at least 22,500) are believed to be living below the poverty line.

Alarmingly, this number sharply increases in the year following a bereavement (to 22%32%, depending on the measure of poverty used) with funeral poverty, loss of benefits and pensions, housing insecurity and impacts on employment being considered as contributing factors.

The research was carried out by the University of Sheffield, University of Leeds and Loughborough University and provides the first ever U.K. population level estimate of the number of end of life caregivers.

Professor Clare Gardiner, Professor of Palliative Care at the University of Sheffield, said, "This research reinforces the hugely important role that unpaid caregivers play in supporting those at the end of life. And, while we have always known that caring has financial consequences, this is the first time that research has shown this financial burden persists into bereavement, pushing many caregivers into poverty at a time when they are already facing the significant challenges of grief and bereavement."

According to the report, the negative impacts on unpaid, end of life caregivers are overwhelming. Caring for someone at the end of life can harm a caregiver's physical and mental well-being, and deal them with financial burden, as they may be forced to take unpaid leave, change jobs, or leave work entirely to cope with the demands of caring.

Audrey Buckham, 64, from County Durham, cared for her husband of 37 years, Eddie, when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She said, "Before all of this, Eddie had a really good wage. I worked for the NHS full time, then went down to part time so I could look after him. He got PIP [Personal Independence Payment] and ESA [Employment and Support Allowance], and we had to both apply for Universal Credit, but because I was working, they took my wages off what he was getting, so he was only getting 39 a month.

"I didn't have enough money to pay all the bills, and the credit cards and things, so that's when I had to declare myself bankrupt. I tried to not burden Eddie about money, but sometimes you have to because you have to talk about things. One morning I said to him, 'Eddie, I need to talk to you. We're having problems with money, and I'm going to have to declare myself bankrupt.'

"He got really upset and cried. Both of us cried together. Nearly three years on, I am still dealing with the consequences of going bankrupt. I have only now been able to get credit from some places to try and rebuild a good credit history."

Marie Curie is urging the U.K. Government to extend Caregivers Allowance entitlement, from two months to six months after a bereavement. The charity is also calling on the U.K. Government to use its Employment Rights Bill to introduce a new statutory right to paid Caregivers Leave, to help unpaid caregivers balance their caring and employment responsibilities.

Additionally, Marie Curie is also proposing a State Pension-level of income guarantee for working-age people living with a terminal illness, to provide better financial support for them and their household at the end of life.

Dr. Sam Royston, Executive Director for Research and Policy at Marie Curie, said, "This report highlights the harsh reality of those who give up so much to care for the people they love at the end of their lives. Not only does evidence consistently show that the presence of an unpaid caregiver leads to better experiences for people at the end of life, it also reduces costs and pressures on wider health and care services."

More information: Exploring the financial and employment impacts of end of life unpaid caregiving in the UK. www.sheffield.ac.uk/media/8563  /download?attachment
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Rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) combined with anxiety disorders or diagnoses of depression increased by 177% and 138% in only five years, from 2019 to 2023, according to the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, a peer-reviewed journal of the Armed Forces.

Skyrocketing rates of depression and anxiety are also being seen in civilian adults and, alarmingly, in our nation's children. According to a recent behavior risk survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 40% of children in ninth through 12th grade experienced persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and 20.4% seriously considered attempting suicide.

Compounding this crisis in mental health is our inability to treat depression and anxiety effectively in most people. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil, the first line of medical therapy for these mood disorders, induce symptom improvement in only half of those people taking them and place only a third into remission.

Unintended side effects of SSRIs, including anxiety itself, suggest that SSRIs may actually cause some of the symptoms they are meant to reverse. In pregnant women, SSRIs cross the placenta and are absorbed into breast milk; they may affect fetal development and cause disorders of gut-brain interaction. In short, we need better therapies for depression and anxiety, and we need them as soon as possible.

Disturbingly, however, the budget provided for mental health research by the National Institutes of Health, the nation's premier source of funding for medical research, actually decreased last year.

Emerging research in mental health is showing how little we know and thus how much work needs to be done, including in how SSRIs work. SSRIs increase serotonin, which has been called the "happy hormone" due to its anti-depressive and anti-anxiety effects.

Since Prozac made a splash in the 1980s, the general scientific consensus has been that SSRIs enter the bloodstream and help anxiety and depression by increasing serotonin directly in the brain. While serotonin is found in the brain, more than 90% of our bodies' serotonin is actually found in the gut. Furthermore, SSRIs are systemically absorbed, leading to an increase in serotonin levels in not only the brain but also the gut.

This leads to a key questionwhen SSRIs help anxiety and depression, is that because they increase the serotonin in the brain, or because they increase the serotonin in the gut? In other words, might it be better to target anxiety and depression by focusing on the gut, thus increasing the efficacy of the SSRIs and reducing their harmful side effects?

I recently published a study in animals that shows that increasing serotonin specifically in the gastrointestinal tract improves anxiety and depression. This suggests that a medication that can increase serotonin in the gut, while not entering the bloodstream, may be a more effective treatment for anxiety and depression while also avoiding fetal exposure in women taking SSRIs. (Pregnant women should not stop taking SSRIs when their physicians think they are required, as maternal depression itself can have its own negative effects.)

It is critical, however, that studies focusing on how the gut affects mental health be at the forefront of political and scientific policies.

With a new presidential administration, there must be a key focus on prioritizing mental health initiatives. The formation of the bipartisan Senate Mental Health Caucus has been a very positive start.

An even more robust effort, similar to the White House initiative "Cancer Moonshot," would be required. This revolutionary initiative is building new collaborations and programs across all parts of the cancer community, including the federal government, private companies, health care providers, patient groups, philanthropies and the general public.

Many facets of Cancer Moonshot could be implemented in the mental health sphere. These could include investments in widespread screening and preventative programs; access to quality, coordinated care; the implementation of navigation services to enable patients to more easily acquire services; and prioritized research funding directed toward new treatments and preventative measures.

Importantly, all of these measures consider equity for all populations and also consider military members and children specifically.

As with the Cancer Moonshot initiative, these actions would require the collaboration of the government, private companies, nonprofits, academic institutions and patient groups.

2025 Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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California is advising health care providers not to write down patients' immigration status on bills and medical records and telling them they don't have to assist federal agents in arrests. Some Massachusetts hospitals and clinics are posting privacy rights in emergency and waiting rooms in Spanish and other languages.

Meanwhile, Florida and Texas are requiring health care facilities to ask the immigration status of patients and tally the cost to taxpayers of providing care to immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization.

Donald Trump returned to the White House declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, suspending refugee admissions, and challenging birthright citizenship, or the policy of giving U.S. citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. As he begins carrying out the "largest deportation operation" in the nation's history, states have offered starkly different guidelines to hospitals, community clinics, and other health facilities for immigrant patients.

Trump has also rescinded a long-standing policy not to arrest people without legal status at or near sensitive locations, including schools, churches, and hospitals. A proposal to formalize such protections died in Congress in 2023.

But no matter the guidelines that states issue, hospitals around the U.S. say patients won't be turned away for care because of their immigration status.

"None of this changes the care patients receive," said Carrie Williams, a spokesperson for the Texas Hospital Association, which represents hospitals and health care systems in the state. "We don't want people to avoid care and worsen because they are concerned about immigration questions."

During Trump's first term, immigration agents arrested people receiving emergency care in hospitals and a child during an ambulance transfer. Immigration officers in Texas arrested a woman awaiting brain surgery in a hospital in Fort Worth.

In Portland, Oregon, officers arrested a young man leaving a hospital, and in San Bernardino, California, a woman drove herself to the hospital to give birth after her husband was arrested at a gas station.

An estimated 11 million immigrants live in the United States without authorization, with the largest numbers in California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois, according to Pew Research Center.

Half of immigrant adults likely without authorization are uninsured, compared with fewer than one in 10 citizens, according to the 2023 KFF-Los Angeles Times Survey of Immigrants, the largest nongovernmental survey of immigrants in the U.S. to date.

While some states are highlighting health care expenses incurred by immigrants, a KFF brief noted that immigrants contribute more to the system through health insurance premiums and taxes than they use. Immigrants also have lower health care costs than citizens.

Some health care providers fear Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will disrupt their work at health facilities and cause patients, particularly children, to skip medical care.

On Trump's first day, the Republican president issued an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children born to a parent without legal authorization or on a visa, which could leave them ineligible for federal health and social programs. The order was immediately challenged by states and a civil rights group.

"You are instilling fear into folks who may defer care, who may go without care, whose children may not get the vaccines they need, who may not be able to get treatment for an ear infection or surgery," said Minal Giri, a pediatrician and the chair of the Refugee/Immigrant Child Health Initiative at the Illinois chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A survey conducted by the Im/migrant Well-Being Research Center at the University of South Florida found that 66% of noncitizens reported increased hesitation in seeking care after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law in 2023 requiring hospitals that accept Medicaid to ask about a patient's legal status. That's compared with just 27% for citizens.

"That really was alarming to me to see how this law made people hesitant to go to the doctor, even in an emergency," said Liz Ventura Molina, a co-author of the survey and report.

In signing the law, DeSantis touted it as "the most ambitious anti-illegal immigration" legislation in the nation. This month, the Republican governor called for a special session of the state legislature to help support Trump's immigration agenda.

Jackson Health System, a public safety net provider in Miami, said in a statement that quarterly reports to the state don't contain individual patient information. "We do adhere to all required cooperation with law enforcement agencies, including ICE, as part of any criminal investigations, understanding that privacy laws mandate we only release private patient information through a court-ordered warrant."

In August, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, issued an executive order similar to Florida's law to record health care costs incurred by immigrants without legal authorization. All hospitals that receive funding from Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program are expected to begin reporting the data to Texas Health and Human Services in March.

Even cities controlled by Democrats are walking a fine line. New York City Mayor Eric Adams met in December with Trump's incoming "border czar," Tom Homan, and pledged to remove immigrants who have been convicted of a major felony and lack legal status to remain in the country.

At the same time, Adams proposed an awareness campaign to let immigrants and asylum-seekers know they are safe to use the city's hospital systems.

Some states are going further by advising health facilities to do all they can to protect immigrant patients.

In December, California Attorney General Rob Bonta released a 42-page document recommending providers avoid including patients' immigration status in bills and medical records. The guidance also emphasized that while providers should not physically obstruct immigration agents, they are under no obligation to assist with an arrest.

According to the document, health care facilities should post information about patients' right to remain silent and are encouraged to provide patients with contact information for legal-aid groups "in the event that a parent is taken into immigration custody." If feasible, it says, the facility should designate an immigrant-affairs liaison to help train staff and provide nonlegal advice to families.

"We cannot let the Trump deportation machine create a culture of fear and mistrust that prevents immigrants from accessing vital public services," said Bonta, a Democrat.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration directed the Department of Justice to investigate state and local officials who don't cooperate with immigration enforcement. During Trump's first term, California limited cooperation with federal authorities, citing public safety and community trust concerns.

The department, then under Jeff Sessions, sued to block the law but the state won in federal court, arguing that states have the authority to decide whether local resources are used to enforce federal law. The Trump administration appealed, but the Supreme Court turned down the petition.

Under California law, state-run health care facilities are required to adopt policies to limit their participation in immigration enforcement, and private entities are encouraged to follow similar protocols. David Simon, a spokesperson for the California Hospital Association, which represents more than 400 hospitals, said members have incorporated such policies, ensuring patient privacy.

"Hospitals don't call ICE about patients," Simon said.

California is bracing for a new round of clashes with Trump. Gov. Gavin Newsom and fellow Democratic state leaders have agreed to set aside $50 million for litigation and grants to nonprofit immigrant groups.

Lawmakers in New Jersey are considering legislation to limit health care facilities from asking about a patient's immigration status. The bill would also require the state attorney general to establish policies for hospitals and health care facilities for ensuring patient access.

In New York City, hospital administrators are directing staff to seek guidance from an "immigration liaison" if immigration authorities show up, and to take photos and videos of any enforcement actions if they can't reach them first.

They are also discouraging staff from actively helping a person hide from ICE. In Massachusetts, some clinics and hospitals are training staff on how to read ICE warrants and plan to require ICE agents to identify themselves and present a warrant if they want to enter a private area.

"You can't be scrambling in the moment," said Altaf Saadi, a neurologist who co-directs a clinic for asylum-seekers at the Massachusetts General Hospital. "We have to prepare for these worst-case scenarios, and we hope that they don't happen, but we do need to be prepared."

2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

In patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), a novel analysis evaluating surgeon preference for multi- versus single-arterial grafting may help explain the differing results between prior retrospective analyses and randomized controlled trials regarding long-term survival.

A study presented at The Society of Thoracic Surgeons' 61st Annual Meeting explores findings in more than a million U.S. Medicare beneficiaries who underwent CABG from 2001 to 2019.

The researchers found that patients who received multi-arterial grafting (MAG) had improved survival over those who received single-arterial grafting (SAG), supporting findings from prior retrospective studies.

Importantly, they also found that MAG recipients tended to be younger, were from neighborhoods with more community resources, and had fewer comorbidities than SAG recipients at the time of surgery. However, when they re-analyzed the data, substituting surgeon preference for MAG or SAG as an instrumental variable to account for unmeasured confounding variables, they noted no difference in long-term survival.

"Our analysis provides new insights on an important clinical questionwhether CABG with multiple arteries used as a conduit, rather than one artery and veins from the leg, may benefit patients by improving their long-term survival," said lead study author Justin Schaffer, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Baylor Scott & White Health in Plano, Texas.

Several important retrospective studies, including a landmark study published last year that employed the STS National Database, have suggested that MAG may improve long-term survival over SAG. However, the Arterial Revascularization Trial (ART), a randomized controlled trial by Taggart and colleagues, found no significant difference in 10-year survival among the two patient cohorts.

"ART is difficult to interpret in terms of MAG broadly, because a substantial number of patients, about 20% in each arm, also received radial artery conduit, and about 17% of patients randomized to bilateral internal mammary arteries received only a single mammary artery graft," Dr. Schaffer explained.

"These factors have led to controversy in its interpretation, but ART remains the highest level of evidence regarding MAG that is currently available."

In their study presented at STS 2025, Dr. Schaffer's team used surgeons' preference for performing MAG or SAG as an instrumental variable instead of a traditional as-treated analysis comparing patients who received MAG or SAG:

"Traditional 'as-treated' retrospective approaches account for measurable variables that may impact survival, but these techniques are limited because they cannot account for unmeasured variables," Dr. Schaffer said.

"If certain assumptions holdand we argue that they do hold in this caseanalyzing data using a 'surgeon-preference' approach can account for unmeasured variables."

The team's application of surgeon-preference as an instrumental variable requires several assumptions:

Certain surgeons prefer MAG, while others prefer SAG.

Patient-to-surgeon assignment is unrelated to the surgeon's treatment preference.

A surgeon's use of MAG or SAG is independent of additional treatments that may affect outcomesfor example, a surgeon may prefer coronary endarterectomy during CABG.

Several variables may influence a surgeon's decision, said Dr. Schaffer, but those variables aren't or can't be measured in clinical or administrative databases. One broad category includes conduit availabilityfor example, a patient may have had a prior amputation, a diminutive radial artery that fails an "Allen's test," or previous lower-extremity vein stripping proceduresunmeasured factors that may bias surgeons for or against MAG.

"Another important variable is what is termed the 'surgeon eyeball test,'" Dr. Schaffer added. "If a surgeon 'eyeballs' a patient and does not expect them to live for many years after CABG, they may elect SAG over MAG because the purported benefits of MAG may only manifest over the long term."

Although their traditional "as-treated" analysis supported the findings of the STS National Database analysis published in 2024 by Saadat and colleagues in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the research team's "surgeon-preference" analysis noted no difference in outcomes between patients who underwent CABG by frequent MAG compared to frequent SAG surgeons.

Dr. Schaffer's team was "somewhat surprised by the results of our surgeon-preference analysis." However, they added, the results "perhaps explain the discordance between current 'as-treated' retrospective analyses and data from the ART trial."

The researchers emphasized that understanding the survival benefit of MAG over SAG requires randomized data, and it remains an important and open clinical question. They also noted that the Randomization of Single vs. Multiple Arterial Grafts (ROMA) trial randomized 4,300 patients to receive either MAG or SAG, and the results from this trial (when available) will perhaps help answer this important clinical question.

They noted that because their analysis was focused on the Medicare population, the cohort was limited to older patients. "In the recent STS National Database analysis, the treatment effect of MAG was greatest in younger patients," Dr. Schaffer noted.

"We would be interested to see a surgeon-preference approach using STS data to assess whether undergoing CABG by a frequent MAG surgeon be associated with improved survival in a younger cohort of patients."

"We do not believe our findings suggest that MAG should be performed less frequently," he said. "Both surgeons who frequently perform MAG and those who rarely perform MAG can be justified in using their clinical acumen to decide on an optimal conduit strategy for each individual."

Provided by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Two federal agencies involved in the management of Yellowstone National Parks bison should be required to conduct new environmental analysis regarding the animals admittedly arbitrary containment when they migrate into Montana.

The Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, a Bozeman-based law firm led by John Meyer, filed a brief requesting the action in Butte federal court on Jan. 23.

This is the third legal action to be filed in the wake of Yellowstone revising its bison management plan last year. The first was filed by the state of Montana on Dec. 31, arguing the state wasnt given enough consideration in the plans development and that the new bison population range was too high.

Then in mid-January, two environmental groups sued asking the court to require Yellowstone to incorporate updated brucellosis research and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services consideration of bison as an endangered species.

In the latest filing, Cottonwood argued the court should reopen a 2018 bison lawsuit the firm filed and enforce the resulting order issued by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020.

"The court-ordered analysis from 2020 should be completed before the state of Montanas lawsuit against the NPS moves forward," Meyer told the Gazette in an email.

Looking back

In the 2018 lawsuit, Cottonwood said Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, the National Park Service, Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by not preparing a supplemental analysis for the 2000 Inter-Agency Bison Management Plan (IBMP).

The lawsuit claimed the analysis was needed in light of new information regarding brucellosis, Native American Tribes asserting Treaty rights to hunt Yellowstone bison, and the potential to increase the bison population in and around the Yellowstone National Park, according to the brief filed last week.

Although Cottonwoods lawsuit was dismissed in district court, the law firm appealed to the 9th Circuit Court which reversed the suits dismissal, although agreeing to drop Gov. Bullock as a defendant.

Significantly, the State of Montana told the Ninth Circuit during oral argument that the Zone 2 Drop Dead Line (a boundary beyond which bison are hazed back into the park or killed) is an admittedly arbitrary political boundary that Yellowstone bison are not allowed to cross, the brief stated.

Meanwhile, elk  which have been identified as the cause of several instances of brucellosis being transmitted to cattle  continue to roam freely, although the state attempts to keep the animals separated in the spring to avoid transmission.

Brucellosis, a disease that can cause pregnant cattle to abort, is transmitted through infected birthing material. Elk and bison give birth in the spring.

Bison concentration

To control Yellowstones bison population, the park utilizes a capture and slaughter program, as well as captures live bison for quarantine. Animals that pass quarantine without testing positive for exposure to brucellosis can then be shipped to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes at Fort Peck Reservation. Once there, the animals finish a final quarantine period before they are allowed to be transferred to other tribes. So far, more than 400 Yellowstone bison have been distributed to 26 tribes in 12 states.

Montana also allows public and tribal bison hunting outside the park on the north and west sides. Tribes with recognized treaty rights mostly hunt near the community of Gardiner, on the north end of the park, where more bison migrate in winter.

The small areas where hunting is concentrated has caused concern among the tribes, hunters, residents and state and federal officials.

There are recurring ethical, public relations, and safety issues in communities in Montana adjacent to (Yellowstone National Park) due to the concentrations of hunters, gut piles near roads and residences, shooting across roads, shooting elk, shooting practices perceived to be unethical (e.g., firing lines of hunters along the Park boundary; flock shoot), according to a statement Cottonwood attributed to the Park Service.

Although Cottonwood repeatedly asked the court to stop the federal agencies from enforcing the designated surveillance boundary that disallows bison from roaming to other public lands, the federal agencies asked for time to conduct additional NEPA analysis.

The 9th Circuit Court agreed to allow the federal agencies time to complete the supplemental analysis. While the Park Service has complied by writing its new bison management plan, the other federal agencies have not, Cottonwood contended.

Therefore, Cottonwood said the district court should reopen the case and enforce the 9th Circuits order.

3 issues

The additional analysis is needed in light of Yellowstones new plan proposing to manage for a larger bison population than the original IBMP agreement  an increase from 3,000 to a range of between 3,500 to 6,000 bison.

Cottonwood Law offered three other reasons for reopening the case. For one, APHIS continues to assist the Montana Department of Livestock in enforcing the boundary beyond which bison are not allowed, referred to in the brief as the Zone 2 Drop Dead Line.

USDA-APHIS must prepare supplemental NEPA analysis, which includes taking public comment, and decide whether to continue assisting Montana in the enforcement of an admittedly arbitrary political boundary in light of the new science and information regarding transmission of brucellosis, the brief stated.

Secondly, the Custer Gallatin National Forest must conduct additional analysis regarding whether to continue supporting the IBMP policy of not allowing bison to use habitat past the Zone 2 Drop Dead line in light of the new information regarding the increased bison population, the new science regarding brucellosis, and the different agencies statements that too many bison are confined to too small an area and bison need to (be) better distributed.

Thirdly, the brief seeks to have APHIS analyze the bison quarantine time period. Based on newer science, Cottonwood Law argued bison could be released from quarantine sooner than what is currently being allowed.

According to Yellowstones bison environmental impact statement, Males can be released from quarantine by testing negative after 300 days and reaching at least 18 to 24 months of age. For non-pregnant females, the bison must test negative prior to breeding within the facility, test negative within five days of parturition (giving birth), and test negative 150 to 210 days after the last calf is born. This process generally requires 32 months.
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The China Coast Guard (CCG) has strengthened its efforts to combat maritime crimes over the past year, handling a large number of smuggling and drug cases, the CCG said on Sunday.

The CCG handled a total of 601 smuggling cases and dismantled 32 criminal gangs in 2024, according to a themed interview on maritime law enforcement.

Efforts were made to take the initiative in the fight against drug crimes at sea, the CCG said, noting that five drug-related cases were solved and 3.8 tonnes of narcotics were seized in 2024.

An operation aimed at maintaining border security and immigration management was also launched in collaboration with immigration authorities last year, the CCG said.

More than 20 cases of people organizing illegal border crossings were uncovered in the operation, with over 130 criminal suspects apprehended.
Trustly with its data Azura engine, has changed payment activities across European markets. Trustly has revealed that its checkout technology, Azura, has a major influence on consumer payment. Findings visible increased spending, frequent purchases, faster transactions, and improved conversion rates.

Data shows that with Trustly, consumers spend 10.5% more at checkout and purchase 8.6% more in major markets. Also, 75% of consumers store their details in Trustly, which speeds up transactions.

The average time to complete a transaction has decreased by 30% across all markets. This improvement has indicated a 20-percentage point increase in conversion rates in markets.

The technology behind Azura is focused on integration and security. Utilizing its recognition capabilities. Azura uses Trustlys account-to-account technology. That ensures that consumers who have chosen one merchant will be recognized on all sites.

This process provides a high degree of data protection and improves user experience.

Such changes include increasing the frequency and number of payments. And faster transactions, and improved conversion rates.

Trustly is secure and perfect for casino players. Who values the convenience of their online casino banking. In this article, well explain how Trustly works. Its main benefits include speed, security, and ease of use. We will also discuss how you can deposit and withdraw your winnings.

Compare them to other payment methods. We will also introduce some of the best Trustly online casinos.

Top Trustly Casinos sites

To withdraw casino payments safely and quickly with Trustly, You need the top Trustly casino sites that accept Trustly.

Check out the options below, hand-picked by casino pros. Were constantly updating with new casino sites. Finding the most trustworthy casinos is easy.

Betsafe:

Betsafe is a Trustly casino, and you can make transactions using this payment option. There are some other deposit and withdrawal solutions, but this is often the go-to option.

LeoVegas:

If you select LeoVegas, you can make deposits and withdrawals via Trustly. The latter offers instant transactions for deposits. However, the withdrawal of winnings may take up to 24 hours.

Karamba:

Karamba is one of the online casinos where it is worth using Trustly. The hassle-free payment process allows you to deposit and withdraw within minutes. There are some other payment methods available, but most users prefer Trustly.

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Increased Spend: Customers spend 10.5% more at checkout when paying with Trustly.

Increased Frequency: Customers purchase 8.6% more in key markets .

Higher Opt-In Rates: 75% of customers store their details with Trustly .

Faster Transactions: Average transaction completion time is reduced up to 30% across all markets. In some markets, time savings are over 50%

These results indicate a clear shift in payments. Performance is evidence of the changing way the world pays. Azuras capabilities create a network effect in making certain changes in customers who choose to shop with one merchant.

This seamless combination operates with the highest level of security. And protecting customer data while improving the user experience.

What is Trustly?

Trustly Pay is a real-time bank transfer payment service that allows customers to complete transactions quickly. These bank-to-bank transactions dont suffer processing or interchange fees like credit cards.

Trustly Pay streamlines the payment process and reduces processing costs. Typically, the payment process follows these steps:

The user selects Trustly as their preferred payment method on the payment page. Sends a POST request to the /payment endpoint to submit the payment to Trustly. Make sure the payment Method Type attribute is set to trusted. J.P. Morgan returns the Trustly Redirect URL. Return the Trustly Redirect URL to the users browser. The user confirms the payment using their bank account login credentials. After the user allows the payment, J.P. Morgan returns confirmation of the payment result.

Pros and Cons of Trustly

Like all casino payment options, Trustly has its pros and, to be honest, one or two cons. Let us weigh the pros and cons to determine if it is the right option for you.

Pros

Lightning-fast processing of deposits and withdrawals. High-security standards keep your data safe. Your bank details remain entered on the casino site, so your privacy is protected. Easy to use, no need to create an e-wallet account .

Cons
An international operation has resulted in the arrest of 37 terrorism suspects and the confiscation of both small arms and heavy weaponry across eight East African nations. Officials say the arrests included members of ISIS, al Shabaab, and foreign terrorist fighters.

Kenya accounted for 17 of those arrested. In Kenya, police arrested 17 people including two suspected ISIS members, several foreign terrorist fighters and others involved in terrorism financing, radicalization and propaganda, the operations statement noted.

The joint Interpol and AFRIPOL initiative, carried out between November and December 2024, focused on pinpointing individuals linked to terror activities and bolstering border controls. Participating countries prepared operational plans that were pooled and analyzed by both Interpol and AFRIPOL, enabling swift coordination when local authorities carried out raids.

Kenya, which has faced multiple terror attacks over the years, credits local and international security cooperation for helping to curb overall crime. Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who was serving as acting cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, revealed that 27 terror incidents were thwarted between January 2022 and November 2024.

During this period several terrorists have been neutralized. The government has also pushed for 11 successful convictions. Our success came through collaboration with international agencies, Mudavadi told journalists in Nairobi. Noteworthy, our success also came through collaborations with other international agencies to thwart crime through training and equipment support, he added.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, police apprehended four alleged members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and two associates. They also seized and destroyed a missile and an anti-tank device believed to have been abandoned by suspected terrorists.

Authorities in Somalia arrested three individuals, including a suspected bomb maker linked to an Al-Shabaab unit planting Improvised Explosive Devices. Meanwhile, in Tanzania, law enforcement detained a member of ISIS Mozambique and a Ugandan national who allegedly intended to join a militant network in Mozambique.

Interpol and AFRIPOL deployed mobile devices to front-line officers at land, air, and sea borders so they could instantly check details against Interpols criminal databases. Over the five-day border security operation, more than 88,000 searches were conducted, leading to the identification of 15 wanted individuals, as well as 32 arrests on charges ranging from fraud to armed robbery.

As these groups seek to expand their reach beyond traditional areas of operation, it is essential that law enforcement agencies work together to stay ahead of these evolving threats. These positive results demonstrate the power of international collaboration in the fight against terrorism, said Cyril Gout, INTERPOLs Acting Executive Director of Police Services.

Ambassador Jalel Chelba, Acting Executive Director of AFRIPOL, noted the importance of unified strategies to tackle terrorism and organized crime. This operation highlights the critical role of international cooperation and the exchange of intelligence in disrupting criminal networks and curbing their reach.

AFRIPOL is dedicated to supporting Member States, enhancing regional partnerships, and fostering resilience to promote lasting safety and stability across Africa.

According to Interpol, the success of this coordinated crackdown underscores the value of intelligence-sharing and cross-border cooperation. It also highlights ongoing efforts to fortify regional security in the face of persistent terror threats across East Afri
China is inviting local and international journalists to cover the annual sessions of its national legislature and national political advisory body, both of which will be held in March, according to an official statement released Monday.

News coverage of the two sessions can be carried out through various means, but mainly through on-site reporting, said the statement jointly issued by the general offices of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee.

A media center for the two sessions will be open from Feb. 27, according to the statement.

The third session of the 14th NPC is scheduled to open on March 5, while the third session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee is set to begin on March 4.

China-based foreign journalists who want to cover the two sessions should submit their applications to the press center, while those not based in China should apply to Chinese embassies or consulates in their countries or via visa organizations authorized by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Reporters from Hong Kong and Macao should apply at the central government's liaison offices in the two special administrative regions, and reporters from Taiwan should apply to the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

The deadline for applications is Feb. 7, and more information about the two sessions is available on www.npc.gov.cn and www.cppcc.gov.cn.
Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has revealed that former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi plans to return to Kenya after leaving his current role with the World Bank in Latin America. The senator shared this update on Monday, during the launch of new Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) offices.

Yesterday Dr Fred Matiangi called me from where he is working for the World Bank in Latin America. He has decided to leave the job and come back to Kenya to join our brothers, Onyonka said.

According to the senator, Matiangi wants to assess the political scene first and consult with other leaders before making any final decisions.

Secondly, he said that he has observed that many parties have mentioned him as a preferred member but he has asked them to wait so that he can come back home, speak with all our brothers first then decide the way forward, Onyonka added.

He also noted that Matiangi is positioning himself for a possible 2027 presidential run, telling supporters that he intends to do so as an equal partner alongside other opposition figures.

In a pointed criticism of the government, Onyonka alleged that the consolidated fund, meant to remain untouched by any president, has been opened at the Central Bank of Kenya. The consolidated fund, which is where all Kenyas money is kept, is open. We are the only country in the world where we borrow money, it never lands in Kenya, and nobody asks anything, Onyonka stated.

Onyonkas comments follow an earlier development in which Jubilee Partys Secretary-General announced the partys decision to back Matiangi for the 2027 presidential race. We, as the Jubilee Party, have our candidate, Fred Matiangi. He will face off with the others to ensure Ruto goes home, Jeremiah Kioni declared on Saturday.

This endorsement has fueled speculation about Matiangis political ambitions, especially amid rumors that former President Uhuru Kenyatta had been grooming him for higher office. However, Onyonkas latest remarks suggest Matiangi wants parties to hold off on naming him as a member until he returns.

As of this writing, Matiangi has not publicly spoken on his potential candidacy or his reported departure from the World Bank.
BusinessWire India Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 27: Financial results - IDFC FIRST Bank today announced the unaudited financial results for the quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2024. Deposits & Borrowings * Customer Deposits increased 28.8% YOY from Rs. 1,76,481 crore as of December 31, 2023 to Rs. 2,27,316 crore as of December 31, 2024. * Retail Deposits grew by 29.6% YOY from Rs. 1,39,431 crore as of December 31, 2023 to Rs. 1,80,752 crore as of December 31, 2024. * CASA Deposits grew by 32.3% YOY from Rs. 85,492 crore as of December 31, 2023 to Rs. 1,13,078 crore as of December 31, 2024. * CASA Ratio stood at 47.7% as of December 31, 2024. * Retail Deposits constitute ~80% of total customer deposits as of December 31, 2024. * Cost of Funds for the Bank was 6.49% in Q3-FY25. Excluding the high-cost legacy borrowings, the cost of funds was 6.43% in Q3-FY25. The cost of deposits remained stable at 6.38% over Q2 FY 25. Other Businesses * Credit cards issued by the Bank crosses 3.2 million mark during last quarter. * Wealth Management AUM (including deposit balances) grew 53% YoY to touch Rs. 42,778 crore. * Fastag: Bank remains the largest issuer bank with 22 million FASTag issued. * Tax collections: Bank has been empaneled to collect Direct Taxes on behalf of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and GST collections on behalf of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Govt. of India. Bank has completed technical integration and started collecting taxes. Loans and Advances * Loans and Advances (including credit substitutes) increased by 22.0% YOY from Rs. 1,89,475 crore as of December 31, 2023 to Rs. 2,31,074 crore as of December 31, 2024. * The retail book of the bank grew by 21.3% YoY while the corporate (non-infrastructure) loans grew by 28.9% YoY at December 31, 2024. * The Bank's legacy infrastructure book reduced by 15% YoY to Rs. 2,546 crore as of December 31, 2024, constitutes 1.1% of the total funded assets of the Bank. * Microfinance portfolio as % of overall loan book reduced from 5.6% in Sep-2024 to 4.8% in Dec-2024. Assets Quality Considering the increase in delinquency of the micro finance business across the industry, the bank is tracking the microfinance business closely. The asset quality indicators, including gross NPA, net NPA, SMA, and Provisions of the Non-microfinance business, which is ~95% of the total loan book, is stable. * NPA Details * Gross NPA was 1.94% as of December 31, 2024, against 2.04% as of December 31, 2023. * Net NPA was 0.52% as of December 31, 2024, against 0.68% as of December 31, 2023. * Excluding micro-finance business, the GNPA was at 1.81% as of December 31, 2024 as compared to 1.88% as of September 30, 2024 * Gross NPA of the Retail, Rural and MSME Finance stood at 1.63% as of December 31, 2024 as compared to 1.45% as of December 31, 2023. * Net NPA of the Retail, Rural and MSME Finance was 0.59% as of December 31, 2024 and 0.51% as of December 31, 2023. * PCR of the bank stood at 73.6% as of December 31, 2024 as compared to 66.9% as of December 31, 2023. * The gross slippage for Q3-FY25 was Rs. 2,192 crore as compared to Rs. 2,031 crores in Q2 FY 2025, an increase of Rs. 162 crores. Majority of the increase in slippage during Q3FY 25 was from the micro-finance business which constituted Rs. 143 crores out of the said Rs. 162 crores. Hence, gross slippage on the Retail, MSME, Agri and Corporate Loans, i.e the non-microfinance business was stable. These businesses constituted ~95% of the total book of the Bank. SMA Positions: * SMA-1+2 in Retail, Rural and MSME Finance portfolio excluding the micro-finance book improved by 3 bps on QoQ basis from 0.85% as of September 30, 2024 to 0.82% as of December 31, 2024. * SMA-1+2 in all the key products including Mortgages, Vehicle Loans, Personal Loans and Credit Cards remained stable as compared to Q2 FY25. * The SMA-1+2 in the micro-finance business increased to 4.56% as of December 31, 2024 from 2.54% as of September 30, 2024. Provisions: * Provisions for Q3 FY25 stood at Rs. 1,338 crore, driven by the higher slippages in in the Micro-Finance book. Excluding micro-finance, the provisions were stable for the Non-microfinance book. * The Bank has not utilized any micro-finance provision buffers in Q3-FY25 during the quarter on a prudent basis. * The annualized provision for Q3-FY25 including micro-finance stood at 2.31% of the total funded assets. * Excluding the micro-finance portfolio, the quarterly annualized credit cost for the loan book for Q3-FY25 was stable at 1.8%. * The incremental disbursals in micro-finance are insured by CGFMU. The insurance coverage of the overall portfolio has increased from 0% to 58% in one year. Profitability * Net Interest Income (NII) grew 14% YOY from Rs. 4,287 crore in Q3 FY24 to Rs. 4,902 crore in Q3 FY25. For the 9M-FY25, the growth of NII was 20.1% on YoY basis. * Net Interest Margin (NIM) of the Bank was at 6.04% for Q3-FY25 as compared to 6.18% in Q2-FY25. NIM declined during the quarter largely due to decline in the micro-finance business and increase in composition of Wholesale Banking business. * Fee and Other Income grew by 20% YOY from Rs. 1,469 crore in Q3 FY24 to Rs. 1,757 crore in Q3 FY25. For the 9M-FY25, the growth of Fee and Other Income was 18.9% on YoY basis. * Operating income grew 15% from Rs. 5,803 crore in Q3 FY24 to Rs. 6,682 crore in Q3 FY25. For the 9M-FY25, the growth of Operating Income was 19.4% on YoY basis. * Operating Expense grew by 16% YOY from Rs. 4,241 crore in Q3 FY24 to Rs. 4,923 crore in Q3 FY25. For the 9M-FY25, the growth of Operating Expenses was 18.2% on YoY basis. * Core Operating Profit (excluding trading gain) grew by 15% YOY from Rs. 1,515 crore in Q3 FY24 to Rs. 1,736 crore for Q3 FY25, impacted by micro-finance business. * Including trading gains, operating profit increased by 13% YOY. For the 9M-FY25. The Core Operating Profit (excluding trading gains) was 23.9% on YoY basis. * Net Profit de-grew by 53% from Rs.716 crore in Q3 FY24 to Rs. 339 crore in Q3 FY25, sequentially it grew by 69% QoQ from Rs. 201 crore in Q2 FY25. For the 9M-FY25, the Net profit decreased by 45.3% on YoY basis. The profit was largely impacted by reduced income from slowing down disbursal of micro-finance loans, increase in provisions on micro-finance and normalization of credit costs of non-microfinance business. Capital Position * The Bank successfully completed merger with IDFC Ltd in October 2024 through which Rs. 618 crore of capital have been added to the net-worth whereas, the outstanding share count has reduced by 16.64 crore shares. * Including profits for 9M-FY25 and post the impact of merger as mentioned above, total CRAR as on December 31, 2024 would have been 16.11% with CET-1 ratio of 13.68%. Comments from Managing Director & CEO V Vaidyanathan, Managing Director and CEO, IDFC FIRST Bank, said, "Our bank continues to grow well on loans and deposits. Our customer deposits is growing strongly at 29% YoY to reach Rs. 2,27,316 crores, with the CASA ratio sustaining at 48%. The loans & advances grew steadily by 22% YoY to reach Rs. 2,31,074 crores." We are specifically tracking Micro-finance loan book closely considering the industry situation. The asset quality of the overall Bank's loan book is stable with Gross NPA at 1.94% and Net NPA at 0.52%. Excluding the micro-finance loan book, the GNPA and NNPA of the book of the bank is even lower 1.81% and 0.49%. The credit issues in Microfinance segment as a transitionary issue which is likely to be resolved within a few quarters. The Bank built this business because it was important from priority sector lending norms point of view, particularly meeting PSL norms for Weaker Sections and Small and marginal farmers PSL categories. "All other businesses being built as part of universal banking, including deposits, loans, Credit Cards, Wealth, Cash Management, Corporate Banking, Fastag, Gold Loans are doing well. Over the next few years, the C:I will come down because of operating leverage, as we scale up. As mentioned earlier, the bank is growing steadily in scale." (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PRNewswire Gurugram (Haryana) [India], January 27: The wait is over as BLUORNG, the trendsetting premium streetwear brand, opens the doors to its exclusive store at the heart of Gurugram. Nestled in the main foyer of a premier mall, the 1,200 sq. ft. space reimagines retail with its striking aesthetic and commitment to bold, vibrant, and unconventional design. Located directly opposite H&M and above Tommy Hilfiger, the new store demonstrates BLUORNG's ambition to stand tall among global giants while championing Indian creativity. Birthed in 2020 by Siddhant Sabharwal and Mokam Singh, BLUORNG has etched a niche in the fashion world with its unisex, size-inclusive designs that merge premium quality with everyday comfort. The brand's philosophy of putting design first radiates through every piece, from T-shirts and jackets to limited-edition collectibles. True to its ethos, the Gurugram store offers a meticulously curated lineup that guarantees exclusivity, with numerous designs exclusive to this location. Walking into the new store feels like stepping into a modern gallery. The interiors, a harmonious blend of bold and neutral tones, balance brutalist elements with understated elegance. While the space itself makes a statement, it ensures that the spotlight remains firmly on the products, each a representation of BLUORNG's innovative approach to Indian streetwear. The layout is designed to fascinate and inspire, encouraging visitors to document and share their experiences far beyond the store walls. "Our vision has always been to create more than just clothing - we want to deliver a cultural moment," shares Siddhant Sabharwal, Co-founder of BLUORNG. "With this store, we've not only evolved what a retail experience can be but also strengthened our belief that Indian streetwear can rival the best in the world." BLUORNG's collections are bold and unapologetically expressive, featuring vibrant colors, original graphics, and unmatched attention to detail. By offering limited SKUs and never restocking items, the brand creates an air of exclusivity, guaranteeing every piece feels personal and unique. From statement-making streetwear staples to surprise collectibles like bags and pencil boxes, every product drop accords with individuality and craftsmanship. The new Gurugram store portrays BLUORNG's larger vision of reshaping Indian streetwear. More than a brand, it's a movement, a symbol of ambition, creativity, and a new benchmark of premium design. From being recognized as GQ India's "Streetwear Label of the Year" in 2023 to launching collaborative collections with global names like Playboy and Jagermeister, BLUORNG continues to push boundaries and inspire its ever-growing community. BLUORNG invites all style enthusiasts to explore the new store, where every visit is an experience like no other. With products priced between Rs4,495 and Rs34,995, the brand makes premium streetwear accessible while maintaining its uncompromising standards of quality and creation. BLUORNG is a rising luxury streetwear brand in India, blending high fashion with street culture. Influenced by pop culture, the brand offers premium, unisex clothing made from high-quality fabrics designed for both comfort and style. Known for its oversized shirts, luxury jackets, and designer cargo jeans, BLUORNG brings a unique touch to the streetwear scene with versatile designs that cater to all genders. The brand's commitment to quality, coupled with its attention to detail, sets it apart in India's evolving fashion landscape. With a focus on inclusivity, BLUORNG offers clothing that is stylish, functional, and comfortable, embracing the essence of modern streetwear. From oversized sweatshirts to designer polo shirts, every piece embodies freedom and creative expression, helping wearers make bold fashion statements. As a brand that is constantly innovating, BLUORNG is shaping the future of Indian streetwear with its unique mix of trendsetting designs and luxurious finishes. About BLUORNG: BLUORNG is a rising luxury streetwear brand in India, blending high fashion with street culture. Influenced by pop culture, the brand offers premium, unisex clothing made from high-quality fabrics designed for both comfort and style. Known for its oversized shirts, luxury jackets, and designer cargo jeans, BLUORNG brings a unique touch to the streetwear scene with versatile designs that cater to all genders. The brand's commitment to quality, coupled with its attention to detail, sets it apart in India's evolving fashion landscape. With a focus on inclusivity, BLUORNG offers clothing that is stylish, functional, and comfortable, embracing the essence of modern streetwear. From oversized sweatshirts to designer polo shirts, every piece embodies freedom and creative expression, helping wearers make bold fashion statements. As a brand that is constantly innovating, BLUORNG is shaping the future of Indian streetwear with its unique mix of trendsetting designs and luxurious finishes. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2606186/BLUORNG_store_at_Ambience_Mall.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PNN New Delhi [India], January 27: aerpace Industries Limited, a pioneer in transformative transportation solutions, has unveiled the aerWing, a groundbreaking electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) system designed to address diverse mobility needs and challenges. The aerWing combines cutting-edge technology with eco-conscious engineering, offering unmatched efficiency and speed. Moreover, it is powered by a hybrid of electricity and hydrogen fuel, representing a huge leap forward in sustainable transportation and redefining global mobility. Ravi Soni, executive director of aerpace Industries Limited, said, "The aerWing is not just an aircraft, it is a game-changer and the future of mobility. It is a perfect representation of our mission to connect urban and rural regions while prioritising sustainability and building a smarter, greener and more inclusive transportation ecosystem." Designed with versatility and scalability in mind, the aerWing operates across four distinct categories, each tailored to specific mobility needs. The first category is aerDrive, a unique concept where personal vehicles are elevated and transported, seamlessly blending ground-level comfort with aerial efficiency, offering unparalleled convenience for urban-to-rural commutes or accessing remote destinations. The second category is aerCargo, built to handle fast and efficient transport of goods, including perishable items, agricultural produce and essential supplies, addressing critical logistics challenges. The third is aerCare, which provides rapid and reliable life-saving medical transport, reaching remote areas where conventional ambulances cannot, bridging the gap in emergency response. The fourth category is aerTaxi, which bypasses congested roads and offers a faster and more efficient alternative for urban and semi-urban commutes. The aerWing leverages a dual-energy system powered by electricity and hydrogen fuel. This innovative approach ensures minimal carbon emissions and enhanced range, aligning with global sustainability goals. The hydrogen-fuelled engines provide extended operational capabilities and higher payload capacities, while the electric components enable quiet and efficient performance, making the aerWing a robust solution for diverse applications. Supporting the aerWing is aerDocks, a network of strategically deployed sustainable hubs that go beyond being just landing pads. Equipped with renewable energy systems, green hydrogen production facilities, and community integration capabilities. Each aerDock is designed to harness solar energy for charging infrastructure for aerWings, enable green hydrogen production to fuel aerWing operations and serve as a community hub, offering EV charging stations and other essential services. "We are not merely developing innovative aircraft, but are building a comprehensive ecosystem of sustainable aerial mobility. We are paving the way for a future where aerial mobility is not only efficient and convenient but also environmentally responsible, propelling India towards a brighter, more connected future," (name) added. aerpace is forging global alliances with industry leaders, including Germany's Wenzel DesignTec, France's Cavok Engineering, and India's eMug Engineering, ensuring scalable and reliable solutions. With urban air mobility predicted to become a $1 trillion market by 2040, aerpace is poised to position India as a leader in sustainable aerial mobility. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], January 27: In an impressive display of culinary prowess, students from Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute brought home a staggering 24 medals (5 Gold, 5 Silver, 14 Bronze) at the recently concluded Incredible Chef Challenge 2024. This national-level competition, held in New Delhi, saw participation from top culinary colleges across the country.

The achievement is a shining endorsement of Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute's dedication to providing world-class culinary education. Under the visionary leadership of the president Er ACS Arun Kumar, the institution has established itself as a hub for nurturing young talent in the hospitality industry.

As many as 25 students from Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute who participated in the competition demonstrated exceptional skills across nine categories, including Live Pasta Cooking, Artistic Bakery Showpiece, and Cake Decoration. Notably, 16 students secured medals, with several excelling in multiple categories.

Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute's emphasis on holistic education, combined with hands-on training and mentorship, has created a nurturing environment that fosters creativity, innovation, and excellence. The institution's faculty, comprising experienced professionals and mentors, played a pivotal role in guiding the students toward success.

In his comments, Er ACS Arun Kumar, said, "We are incredibly proud of our students' achievement. This success is a testament to our institution's commitment to providing world-class education and training. We will continue to strive for excellence and empower our students to reach new heights."

For more details, please visit: www.drmgrihmindia.com.

Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute is a leading institution for culinary education, offering a range of programs designed to nurture young talent in the hospitality industry. With a focus on holistic education and hands-on training, the institution has established itself as a hub for culinary excellence.

(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
If US President Donald Trump goes ahead with implementing the new tariffs, such as a universal 10 per cent baseline tariff and a 60 per cent duty on imports from China, this will not only hamper the global economy but also could significantly impact the US economy, according to a report by Deutsche Bank. The report highlighted that this tariff war could lead to slower growth and potential trade tensions. It noted that these tariffs may cause a notable decline in the real GDP of the US, especially if trading partners retaliate. The report data also highlighted that a universal 10 per cent tariff is expected to reduce GDP by 0.16 per cent to 0.50 per cent, with larger losses predicted under retaliatory scenarios. For example, Moody's estimates a 1.04 per cent drop in GDP in 2025, which could worsen to 3.61 per cent by 2028. The Peterson Institute forecasts a GDP decline ranging from 0.36 per cent to 0.07 per cent over a decade, depending on the level of retaliation. Under a potential Trump 2.0 administration, these policies may cause higher consumer prices, strained global trade relations, and slower economic growth. The report said, "Higher tariffs depress real incomes by raising prices, thereby denting consumer spending - Retaliatory tariffs from foreign countries depress US exports and output." While the tariffs could provide revenue to the US economy, the overall economic impact could harm industries reliant on imports and exports, creating challenges for businesses and consumers alike. The report also added that the higher tariffs targeting Chinese imports would further exacerbate economic losses. A 60 per cent duty on Chinese goods could lower GDP by 0.19 per cent to 0.43 per cent, with additional tariffs on Mexico amplifying the impact. Combining a universal 10 per cent tariff with a 60 per cent duty on Chinese imports could lead to GDP reductions of up to 1.2 per cent with retaliation the report data mentioned. Despite the economic slowdown, these tariffs could boost government revenue in the short term. A 10 per cent universal tariff could generate USD 2.4 trillion over 10 years without retaliation but drop to USD 2.0 trillion with retaliation. A 20 per cent tariff could raise USD 3.3 trillion without retaliation and USD 2.8 trillion if trading partners respond. Similarly, tariffs combining a 10 per cent baseline and 60 per cent on Chinese imports could yield USD 2.6 trillion without retaliation and USD 2.2 trillion with retaliation. So careful consideration is essential to balance revenue gains against the broader economic consequences. (ANI)
On the occasion of the 76th Republic Day, Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary celebrated the achievements of 100 distinguished entrepreneurs from across India from the skill ecosystem at a special event hosted at Kaushal Bhawan. These entrepreneurs, invited by the Government of India, were also honoured as special guests at the Republic Day parade, recognizing their pivotal role in driving the nation's growth and innovation under the Skill India Mission. Returning from the Annual meeting of the World Economic Forum - WEF2025 in Davos, Chaudhary, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Minister of State for the Ministry of Education, shared insights from his interactions with global business leaders. "India's skilled workforce is gaining immense global recognition, with our talent pool being widely appreciated. Our emergence as a global skill capital is a testament to our commitment to excellence," the minister said. Discussions at Davos revolved around sustainability, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, and a focus on women-led development. India's start-up ecosystem is the largest in the world, with 118 unicorns valued at USD 354 billion. This success is driven by visionary policies, effective execution, and the resilience of entrepreneurs. The critical role of the MSME sector was also underscored, comprising 63 million enterprises, employing over 11 crore people, and contributing 30 per cent to the GDP and 45 per cent to exports. Additionally, the transformative impact of the Skill India Mission was noted, emphasizing its role in empowering youth and fostering self-reliance (AtmaNirbhar Bharat). Jayant Chaudhary commended the entrepreneurs present for elevating India's reputation as a source of skilled talent. "The participation of 100 entrepreneurs at this national celebration underscores the impact of our skilling initiatives. These programs have empowered individuals nationwide, creating sustainable livelihoods and inspiring others to pursue entrepreneurial journeys," he said. He highlighted the hard work of these entrepreneurs from diverse regions, including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, and the Northeast. Special recognition was given to an entrepreneur named Ritendra Prasad, a resident of Ramgarh, from Jharkhand who graduated in Electricals and Electronics from AVIT Chennai and with a decade-long experience in the solar energy sector. He underwent an Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP) from NIESBUD and then opened his own solar business. A particularly notable moment of the event was the recognition of 16 trailblazing entrepreneurs from the Northeast, including nine women entrepreneurs. Among them were Namita M. Marak from Dhubri district, Assam, and Mandira Baglary from Udalguri district. These remarkable women were celebrated for their resilience and success despite significant challenges. Their stories highlight the transformative power of skill development and entrepreneurship, especially for women in rural and underserved areas. The Minister also reflected on the enduring legacy of the Indian Constitution, which continues to serve as the backbone of India's democratic ethos, safeguarding equality, justice, and opportunity. The event was attended by staff and top officials of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), including Joint Secretary Hena Usman. Earlier on Saturday, the 100 entrepreneurs also visited the PM Museum. This celebration was a proud moment for India, showcasing the strength of government initiatives, the achievements of its skilled workforce, and the promise of a brighter, inclusive future driven by entrepreneurship. (ANI)
Adani Wilmar reported its highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 411 crore in the October-December quarter, up by 105 per cent year-on-year. In the year-ago quarter, the profit after tax was at Rs 200.89 crore. The company has been delivering strong profits over the last five quarters. The company also reported its highest-ever revenue of Rs 16,859 crores in the December quarter, up by 31 per cent year-on-year, with underlying volume growth of 5 per cent year-on-year. The company achieved a healthy volume growth of 5 per cent year-on-year, despite significant price hikes driven by a surge in raw material costs. Similarly, the Adani Group company reported its highest-ever quarterly operating EBITDA of Rs 792 crores in the December quarter, up by 57 per cent year-on-year. Its food and FMCG recorded revenue growth of 22 per cent year-on-year in the December quarter, with an underlying volume growth of 23 per cent year-on-year. Trailing 12 months (TTM) revenue was at Rs 6,150 crores. The Adani company has been expanding its distribution network to access more towns, reaching over 43K rural towns directly by the end of December 2024. This marks substantial progress from just over 5,000 towns in March 2022. The company said that the goal is to reach over 50,000 rural towns by the end of 2024-25 and drive the penetration of outlets as well as volume offtake in these new outlets. In Q3, revenue from alternate channels increased at a strong double-digit rate YoY, with revenue over the past 12 months at around Rs 3,300 crores. The e-commerce (including quick commerce) sales volume continued to grow rapidly at 41 per cent YoY. Commenting on the results, Angshu Mallick, MD and CEO, Adani Wilmar Limited said, "The Company's revenue grew by 31 per cent YoY to Rs 16,859 crores. We have delivered another strong quarter, with double-digit growth in both edible oils and Food and FMCG segments. The edible oils revenue grew by 38 per cent YoY and the Food and FMCG revenue grew by 22 per cent YoY." "Our overall Food and FMCG business has crossed Rs 6,150 crores on TTM basis and we stay committed to building a very large packaged food business in India," said Mallick. "The Company has been becoming stronger and more diversified. Most of our strategies have been yielding positive results. Our edible oils have gained market share in underindexed markets and under-indexed categories like Sunflower oil and Mustard Oil. In wheat flour, we outpaced industry growth during the year," the MD and CEO added. Separately, Adani Enterprises recently said it is set to exit a joint venture with Wilmar and for that, it signed an agreement with Wilmar International. Adani Enterprises in late December 2024 informed stock exchanges that it will sell 13 per cent of Adani Wilmar to achieve minimum public shareholding requirements and Wilmar International has agreed to acquire 31 per cent held by Adani Enterprises in Adani Wilmar. With this, Adani Enterprises will fully exit the Adani Wilmar platform. Adani Enterprises said it will use the proceeds from the sale to turbocharge its investments in the core infrastructure platforms in energy and utility, transport and logistics and other adjacencies in primary industry. (ANI)
Days ahead of the Union Budget 2025-26 on February 1, the industry players in the manufacturing sector have called for favourable policies boosting local manufacturing, reducing GST on consumer durables, and tax reforms to increase disposable incomes and stimulate consumer spending. As the Union government is keen to increase share of manufacturing in GDP from 17 per cent to 25 per cent, the industry players are expecting financial incentives for expanded production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, support for sustainable manufacturing and tax exemptions among others. Simarpreet Singh, Executive Director and CEO of Hartek Group, commended the Indian government's strides in supporting the renewable energy sector, particularly solar power. He further highlighted the importance of continued support for production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes and infrastructure development, which would drive private sector participation, foster innovation, and enhance India's manufacturing capabilities. Meanwhile, Nileshkumar Kukalyekar, Business Director for South Asia, Middle East, and Africa at Envalior, emphasised the need for greater investment in sustainable manufacturing and innovation. With global demand for environmentally responsible products rising, Kukalyekar urged the government to focus on policies that incentivize the use of recycled and bio-based materials. "We urge the government to focus on policies that incentivise the use of recycled and bio-based materials, support research into new green technologies, and promote circular economy models," he said. Strengthening such initiatives, according to Kukalyekar, would help accelerate India's transition to a low-carbon economy. On the technological front, Ankit Kumar, CEO of Skye Air, voiced strong support for the development of the drone sector, a technology with the potential to revolutionise logistics, especially in e-commerce and quick-commerce. Kumar suggested that the upcoming budget should prioritize "tax exemptions or reduced GST rates on drone services, manufacturing, and maintenance," which would significantly lower operational costs and make drones more accessible to businesses. He also called for expanding funding under the PLI scheme to include drone services and infrastructure, such as drone ports, as well as simplifying regulatory processes for drone operations, particularly for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) deliveries. Saurabh Rai, CEO of Arahas Technologies, highlighted the need to strike a balance between rapid technological advancements, particularly in AI, and the foundational needs of sectors like Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and space tech. Rai expressed concern about the underfunding of critical projects such as GIS, which are essential for disaster preparedness, land optimization, and sustainable urban planning. He urged that the budget prioritize "boosting funding for GIS, prioritizing sustainability, and directing AI innovation towards solving real-world problems." Harshit Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Novamax Appliances, echoed the sentiments of many industry leaders, urging the government to continue reinforcing policies that support local manufacturing. Aggarwal said, "We hope the government to continue reinforcing policies on local manufacturing support, empowering MSMEs, startups, and the 'Made in India' brand." He called for the expansion of initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, which has been instrumental in providing easy access to credit for MSMEs, enabling them to innovate and scale up. Aggarwal also noted the significant progress made under the PLI schemes, which have led to an increase in domestic production and job creation. Saket Gaurav, Chairman and MD of Elista, called for measures to strengthen the consumer durables industry. He recommended expanding the PLI scheme and reducing import duties on critical components to bolster domestic production capabilities. "Rationalizing GST rates, especially on larger screen televisions currently taxed at 28 per cent, would enhance affordability and encourage the adoption of advanced technology," he said. Gaurav also advocated for better financing options for consumers and policies aimed at export subsidies, which would help Indian brands compete in global markets. The need to strengthen India's MSME sector was highlighted by Amit Mittal, founder and MD of Chandpur Paper, who pointed out the importance of incorporating sustainability into operations to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. "We expect the much-awaited Union Budget 2025 to focus on green subsidies, low-interest loans, and tax breaks that make sustainability more accessible and economically feasible for enterprises," Mittal said. He also advocated for increased access to carbon credit markets and subsidies for green technology to support MSMEs in their transition toward sustainable practices. Going further, HS Bhatia, MD of Daewoo India, expressed concerns about the taxation burden on the middle class and its impact on consumer spending. He called for measures to reduce the tax burden on the middle class, noting that it would improve disposable incomes and consumer spending capacity. Bhatia emphasized, "Just as the government has reduced corporate tax and introduced several PLI initiatives for companies to boost manufacturing, there is a need to ensure more disposable incomes for people by reducing the tax burden of the middle class." Ashish Munjal, Co-Founder and CEO of Sunstone, underscored the need for fiscal incentives to foster collaboration between industry and academia. He suggested that investments in R&D within higher education and skill development programs could bridge employability gaps and enhance the sector's potential. (ANI)
VMPL New Delhi [India], January 27: Forever52, a globally renowned makeup brand, has once again proven its commitment to nurturing talent and creativity in the beauty industry with its inspiring Khubsurat Bharat Ki Khubsurat Betiyan (KBKB) campaign. This initiative is a celebration of artistry, aimed at empowering budding makeup artists across India and giving them a platform to shine on a global stage. With a stellar reputation for offering high-quality yet affordable beauty products, Forever52 has become a favorite among professional makeup artists and brides alike. The KBKB campaign takes the brand's dedication a step further by focusing on the people behind the artistry--those who create magic with their brushes and palettes. The KBKB campaign is designed to recognize and reward talent. It offers 3 winners a life-changing opportunity to receive Rs5 lakh cash prizes and an all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai. But it doesn't stop there. The winners will also get access to exclusive masterclasses conducted by internationally renowned makeup experts. These sessions are tailored to equip participants with advanced skills, industry insights, and the confidence needed to excel in a competitive field. Speaking about the campaign, Rajat Aggarwal, Managing Director of Forever52, expressed the brand's vision: "Forever52 is more than a beauty brand; it is a platform for empowerment. Through the KBKB campaign, we aim to inspire and uplift the community of makeup artists in India by offering them opportunities for recognition, education, and global exposure." The campaign's association with television star Shivangi Joshi further adds to its charm. Known for her grace and elegance, Shivangi embodies the values of beauty and artistry that the campaign stands for. Her involvement highlights the crucial role professional makeup plays in enhancing confidence and creating unforgettable bridal looks. The KBKB campaign by Forever52 is not just an initiative--it's a movement that celebrates talent, creativity, and determination. By bridging the gap between local talent and global opportunities, Forever52 is redefining Makeup industry standards and shaping a brighter future for makeup artistry in India. Through the KBKB campaign, Forever52 continues to prove that true beauty lies in celebrating the artists who bring it to life. With this initiative, the brand is paving the way for the next generation of makeup artists, empowering them to dream big and achieve even bigger. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
NewsVoir Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 27: Health and wellness enterprise Happiest Health unveiled the 'Technology & Innovation in Healthcare Summit 2025' in Bengaluru today. The high-profile event saw healthcare experts and industry come together and discuss the ever-growing potential of emerging technologies in healthcare practices, giving individuals practical insights into their implementation. The summit was inaugurated by Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman of Happiest Minds, amidst over 400 participants. The summit introduced delegates to panel discussions and talks on vital topics shaping the future of healthcare, including those on artificial intelligence, robotics, and telemedicine. The informative sessions provided deep insights into how the industry is evolving with these innovations and the opportunities to look forward to, besides giving individuals the chance to network with industry leaders and technology innovators. The summit generated plenty of important conversations in a collaborative environment, reflecting Happiest Health's commitment to adding value to the healthcare space in India. Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman, Happiest Minds in his keynote address on opportunities in healthcare through innovation and technology, spoke extensively on various healthcare modules, touching upon innovation, data in healthcare, industry disruptions, and more. On what's driving innovation, he said, "Today, we are witnessing the convergence of three forces. These forces of convergence are spatial omics technologies becoming increasingly high throughput and high resolution, large-scale data sets generated by patient biopsies and such, and AI models becoming even more powerful and sophisticated. These three convergence forces will lead to more powerful interventions." The summit's first panel discussion, titled 'AI & Tech In Healthcare: Is Adoption Happening Fast?,' was moderated by Dr Sreenivasan Narayana, President and CEO of Healthcare Services, Happiest health, was led by Mr Kalyan Sivasailam, founder and CEO of 5C Network, Dr Manjiri Bakre, founder and CEO of OncoStem Diagnostics, and Mr Niranjan Subbarao, co-founder and CEO of Cyclops Medtech. The discussion covered how the rapid adoption of technology like machine learning and data analytics is leading to improved diagnostics, personalised treatment plans, and increased operational efficiency, transforming patient care and making it more precise. Dr Harshavardhan Rao B, consultant - Department of Medical Gastroenterology, Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, held a session on 'AI and its Applications in Healthcare & in Medical Gastroenterology in Your Practice'. Speaking on challenges from a physician's perspective, he said, "One of the things that we consider when we talk about AI is whether it will affect our relationship with patients. Most patient-reported outcome measures are based on an excellent relationship with the patient. There is a placebo effect with most medications. And if the patient does not trust the doctor and the medicine, the clinical outcomes will be sub-optimal. That doesn't diminish the fact that medications work. It's just that we have to recognise the effect the placebo effect has - with AI and with reduced interaction, will that affect patient care?" A panel discussion on the 'Hospitals of Tomorrow' involved Mr. Hanuman Jayaram, CTO, CTSI South Asia, an affiliate of Siemens Healthineers, Mr Kumar KV, group CIO of Narayana Health, and Mr Srinivas Iyengar, VP, IG head - Healthcare & Life Sciences, Happiest Minds. Mr Kumar KV shared his thoughts on the hurdles hospitals can expect in the future, "The key backbone, especially in the next five-10 years, is going to be from a technology standpoint. This basically necessitates that healthcare providers have all the tools required to provide efficient care, save lives, generate efficiency, and improve outcomes. Apart from having a suitable workforce and embracing digital transformation to transform the business model, the biggest challenge is to get the technology equation right." Sridhar Mantha, CEO of Generative AI Business, Happiest Minds, delivered the valedictory address on future developments in healthcare technology. He discussed the problem with healthcare data for training AI models, "Based on the AI models looking at the data right now, it's quite easy for us to train the models. But it's not that simple, as not all data is valuable. There's enough garbage in the data. So, provided we have sufficient quality data to train the model on, we can reach at least 90% of the quality." Ashish Pratap Singh, chief marketing officer of Happiest Health, said, "The Technology & Innovation in Healthcare Summit' is meant to catalyse dialogue between healthcare and technology experts, combining IT expertise with healthcare innovation. We intend to showcase the latest advancements and foster actionable insights and collaborations to revolutionise patient care and transform the healthcare landscape." Happiest Health is a global health & wellness knowledge enterprise promoted by Ashok Soota. Happiest Health provides credible and trustworthy health and wellness knowledge with views from globally renowned experts and doctors. The primary knowledge platforms are the daily newsletter, knowledge website, monthly print magazine, and knowledge app and summits. The wellness division of Happiest Health caters to corporates to achieve optimal employee well-being, fostering a happier, healthier, and more productive work environment. The newest addition to Happiest Health's offering is its diagnostics services. Happiest Diagnostics is committed to a patient-centric approach and cutting-edge technology, with an aim to be the most trusted diagnostic partner in India. Happiest Health embraces scientific knowledge with a keen focus on medical breakthroughs providing kinder, gentler therapies including cell-based treatments. It also has deep coverage of integrated medicine including ayurveda, homeopathy, and naturopathy. Happiest Health's focus on wellness is holistic and energizing. Its Mission Statement is: "Better Knowledge. Better Health." and convey its benefits to all. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PNN New Delhi [India], January 27: The 2024 International Conference of NGOs (ICNGO), held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 16 to 22 December, served as a pivotal moment in fostering global dialogue and collaboration between non-governmental organizations and UNESCO. With the theme "Building Capacity for Action," the conference emphasized equipping NGOs with the tools and strategies needed to drive innovation, sustainability, and international partnerships. One of the standout contributors to this global gathering was the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME), a renowned organization dedicated to empowering micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) worldwide. Historic Win for WASME In a key highlight, Dr. Sanjiv Layek, Executive Secretary of WASME, achieved a decisive victory during the elections for a key liaison role within the NGO-UNESCO framework. Dr. Layek triumphed over the representative from the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) with 66 votes against 34. This remarkable achievement reflects the international community's recognition of WASME's relentless efforts to advance MSME development and foster global partnerships. WASME also extended its congratulations to Ms. Svetlomira Stoyanova, the newly elected Chairperson of the ICNGO and the NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee. Her leadership promises to strengthen the bond between NGOs and UNESCO, driving forward impactful initiatives on sustainability and capacity building. WASME's Strategic Contributions WASME's delegation, led by Dr. Layek and supported by representatives from the World Development Corporation (WDC), actively participated in the conference's agenda. Their contributions showcased WASME's leadership in advancing the MSME ecosystem through: * Advocacy for MSMEs: Highlighting the role of MSMEs in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and emphasizing access to finance, innovation, and cross-border collaboration.* Focus on Sustainability: Proposing frameworks for green innovation and eco-friendly practices tailored for MSMEs.* Technology Integration: Advocating for digital literacy programs and the establishment of innovation hubs to foster research and development for small enterprises. Engagement with Global Stakeholders WASME leveraged its platform to engage with influential international bodies. Key interactions included: 1. International Chamber of Commerce (ICC): Discussions with Ms. Catherine Foster, Lead of the ICC Centre of Entrepreneurship, focused on supporting SMEs in international trade, digitization, and skill development.2. Franco-British Chamber of Commerce: Dialogue with Ms. Catherine Le Yaouanc, General Manager, explored collaborations on cross-border trade and digital transformation. These strategic engagements underscore WASME's commitment to fostering partnerships that enhance the capacity, innovation, and global competitiveness of MSMEs. Key Outcomes and Recommendations The conference's theme, "Building Capacity for Action," aligned seamlessly with WASME's mission to empower small enterprises as catalysts for sustainable development. Among its recommendations, WASME proposed: * Tailored training programs for MSMEs focusing on digital skills and financial management.* Strengthening mentorship networks to connect MSMEs with industry leaders.* Promoting inclusivity by addressing gender disparities and supporting marginalized communities. Looking Ahead The 2024 ICNGO reaffirmed WASME's leadership role in advancing MSME development and global collaboration. Dr. Sanjiv Layek's election and WASME's active participation in the event symbolize a renewed commitment to UNESCO's mission of building a sustainable future for all. WASME extends its gratitude to UNESCO and the NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee for organizing this impactful conference and looks forward to continued collaboration in fostering innovation, sustainability, and economic growth globally. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
A total of 132 flights, both direct and indirect, are currently operating from 17 cities to Prayagraj, as informed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Monday. In a statement, the Ministry announced that Prayagraj Airport has transformed into a modern gateway to the city of devotion, culture, and the grand Mahakumbh Mahotsav. Major expansion efforts have been undertaken to accommodate the influx of devotees from January 13 to February 26, 2025. On December 8, 2024, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu reviewed the progress of terminal expansion, construction, and traveler amenities, issuing time-bound directives. Regular inspections and review meetings with state authorities, DGCA, BCAS, and AAI ensured the timely completion of the projects. On January 9, 2025, Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol also reviewed the work progress at Prayagraj airport. To facilitate the sacred journey, 81 additional new flights were introduced in January 2025. Currently, there are 132 flights operating with approximately 80,000 monthly seats to Prayagraj from across India. The city is now directly connected to 17 cities, up from eight in December 2024. Additionally, with direct and connecting flights reaching 26 cities, including Srinagar and Visakhapatnam, Prayagraj has become a well-connected hub for devotees. As per the directions of Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, measures have been taken to ensure that airfares remain in check as the festival's peak days approach, especially during the forthcoming Shahi Sanan on January 29, February 3, and other important Snan on February 4, February 12, and February 26, 2025. The DGCA has advised airlines to ensure sufficient capacity to accommodate passengers. Akasa Air will begin operating flights on January 28 and 29, connecting Ahmedabad to Prayagraj. In February, the airline plans to operate 9 flights from Ahmedabad and 12 from Bangalore to Prayagraj, adding approximately 4,000 seats. SpiceJet is set to launch flight services between Delhi, Chennai, Guwahati, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, and Hyderabad to Prayagraj, adding approximately 43,000 seats in February 2025. These new flights are part of ongoing efforts to ensure regional connectivity and accommodate the influx of travelers to Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh period. During the Maha Kumbh, the airport saw 30,172 passengers and operated 226 flights in just one week, surpassing 5,000 passengers in a single day for the first time. Night flights were also introduced, enabling 24/7 connectivity for the first time. The airport's modernisation included expanding the terminal area from 6,700 square metres. to 25,500 square metres, reconfiguring the old terminal to handle 1,080 peak-hour passengers (up from 540), and operationalising a new terminal for 1,620 passengers. Parking capacity increased from 200 to 600 vehicles, check-in counters rose from 8 to 42, and XBIS-HB machines increased to 10 from four. Aircraft movement efficiency was enhanced with an additional taxi track, parking bays increased from four to 15, conveyor belts from two to five, and airport gates from four to 11. Additional aerobridges and more security infrastructure, including door-framed metal detectors, were added. Passenger comfort saw notable improvements with the addition of lounges, a child care room, and more boarding bridges (increased from two to six). Food and beverage counters were also increased, complemented by the UDAN Yatri Cafe for affordable food. New services include meet-and-greet assistance for differently-abled individuals, prepaid taxi counters, and a city bus service in collaboration with the UP Government. Medical facilities were bolstered with ambulance deployment and air ambulance services. Pilgrims arriving at the airport are also greeted with floral welcomes for a warm start to their journey. (ANI)
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Goyal wrote that the talks focused on advancing negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), strengthening trade and investment ties, and exploring avenues to further deepen the bilateral partnership.

"Looking forward to a productive Joint Commission Meeting tomorrow," he further wrote.

Goyal is on a two-day visit to Oman, Oman, where he will participate in the 11th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with Qais bin Mohammed bin Moosa al-Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Sultanate of Oman from January 27-28, 2025.

This visit underscores the importance that India attaches to its trade and investment ties with Oman, one of its important trading partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with bilateral trade estimated at over USD 8.94 billion in 2023-2024.

During the visit, the two leaders are expected to hold wide-ranging discussions on trade and investment and the global economic situation.

The talks on India-Oman CEPA which are at an advanced stage are likely to get further impetus during the visit. Both sides are negotiating and exploring a commercially significant, balanced, equitable, ambitious and mutually beneficial CEPA.

A business delegation is accompanying Goyal for the Joint Business Council meeting between FICCI and the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

On the sidelines, the Minister is also expected to meet Sultan bin Salim Al Habsi, Minister of Finance and Chairperson of the Ministerial Committee for CEPA, Sheikh Dr. Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, President, Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) apart from holding interactions with representatives of Oman industry and Indian community. (ANI)
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra held meetings with managing directors (MDs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) of Public Sector Banks and select Private Sector Banks on Monday. He flagged the rise in digital fraud and advised banks to establish robust and proactive systems to thwart such attempts. He exhorted the banks to ensure continued financial stability, deepen financial inclusion, improve digital literacy, enhance the availability and affordability of credit, strengthen customer service and grievance redress mechanisms, and continue to invest in technology. The interactions were part of the central bank's continuous engagement with the senior management banks. The meetings were also attended by Deputy Governors M Rajeshwar Rao, T Rabi Sankar, and Swaminathan J, along with executive directors-in-charge of regulation and supervision. The previous such meeting was held on July 3, 2024. The Governor, in his opening remarks, acknowledged the important role played by the banks in building the resilience of the domestic financial system while highlighting some of the main vulnerabilities present globally that can pose downside risks. While dwelling upon IT risk management and cyber security, the Governor urged banks to have enhanced oversight over third-party service providers for mitigation of the risks emanating from them. The need for RBI and banks to work together closely was emphasized and suggestions were sought from the banks on enhancing the ease of doing business. Malhotra, who was serving as the revenue secretary at the Ministry of Finance, was appointed as the new Governor of Reserve Bank of India on December 9, 2024. The appointment has been effective since December 11, 2024, and will continue for three years. Sanjay Malhotra is an Indian Administrative Service Officer of the 1990 Batch Rajasthan Cadre. He is an Engineering Graduate in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and has a Master's in Public Policy from Princeton University, USA. (ANI)
Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has been awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honours, as part of the Padma Awards 2025. The announcement was made on the eve of Republic Day, and the film industry has been quick to shower Kapur with congratulatory messages acknowledging him for his remarkable contributions to cinema. Reacting to the news, Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor took to his Instagram handle to congratulate Shekhar Kapur. In his heartfelt message, Kapoor shared nostalgic throwback photos from the sets of the iconic 1987 film 'Mr India', where the two, along with the late Sridevi, had worked together. The pictures captured the magic of their work together and evoked fond memories for fans of the classic film. "Congratulations to my dear friend @shekharkapur on receiving the Padma Bhushan! Your brilliance and unwavering dedication to cinema is truly an inspiration. This honour is a testament to your incredible journey, and I couldn't be happier, Shekhar," Anil Kapoor wrote, expressing his joy and admiration for the filmmaker. In response to the honour, Shekhar Kapur expressed his gratitude on X (formerly Twitter), writing, "I am humbled that the Government of India has considered me to be deserving of a #PadmaBhushan. Hopefully, this award will make me strive harder to serve the industry that I am part of, and the beautiful nation that I am so fortunate to belong to. Thank you also to our film audiences of India, for I am because you are." Shekhar Kapur is widely celebrated for his diverse and impactful films, including 'Bandit Queen', the British biographical drama 'Elizabeth', and its critically acclaimed sequel 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age' (2007), which earned Cate Blanchett an Academy Award. His work continues to resonate globally, with 'The Four Feathers' (2002), a film starring Heath Ledger, marking another milestone in his illustrious career. Despite his global recognition, Kapur's roots in Indian cinema remain strong, with his films Masoom' (1983) and 'Mr India' still being loved by audiences. He is currently working on a sequel to 'Masoom', titled 'Masoom 2', with a fresh storyline while staying true to the heart of the original. The film is set to feature an ensemble cast, including Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Bajpayee, and his daughter Kaveri, among others. In an amusing anecdote, Kapur shared a moment of fate while travelling, recalling how he had once forgotten the 'Masoom 2' script on a plane. "I was travelling from Dubai to Delhi, and I realized I had left the 'Masoom 2' script on the plane seat. But I got it back, and a flight attendant wrote me a note saying that Masoom was a very good film, and this one would be just as good. So, see, it came back even after being left behind--there must be something to it. It's destiny," he said, during a conversation with ANI. (ANI)
Timothee Chalamet has sparked controversy following a "disrespectful" joke about late US President Jimmy Carter during his Saturday Night Live appearance. The 29-year-old actor faced criticism after making an ill remark about the former US President during a workout sketch, as per Page Six. Chalamet, playing a bungee instructor named Nathaniel Latrine, led a workout session with cast members Heidi Gardner and Michael Longfellow. The sketch involved a series of physical exercises mimicking flying and swimming, before Chalamet shouted, "Jimmy Carter!" The joke, intended to be comedic, had Chalamet and the rest of the class drop lifeless while suspended by their bungee cords. The moment immediately drew gasps from the audience, as per Page Six. The joke, which seemed to make light of Carter's recent death, was not well-received by viewers at home. Many took to social media to express their disapproval. One critic posted, "Was funny until that Jimmy Carter line. Totally disrespectful and out of line. And yes, I have a sense of humour and love the show but that was just horrible and too soon ... I hope his family didn't see that." Another added, "That sketch was actually pretty funny until the Jimmy Carter line." While the sketch had its humorous moments, the Jimmy Carter joke quickly overshadowed the rest of the performance. The former US president passed away on December 29 at the age of 100 after spending two years in hospice care. Carter's funeral was attended by numerous political figures, including President Donald Trump, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former President Bill Clinton. In addition to the backlash over the joke, Chalamet also poked fun at himself during the SNL segment, making light of his recent string of award show losses, as per Page Six. After the show, the actor was seen attending an afterparty in New York City with his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, in tow. (ANI)
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is currently busy working on his new film 'King'. Interestingly, the film will see his reunion with director Siddharth Anand, who previously worked with King Khan in the blockbuster 'Pathaan'. At a recent event in Dubai, Shah Rukh, while interacting with fans, expressed his excitement about 'King'. "I am just just shooting it. I will be shooting it for a couple of months. My director, Siddharth Anand, is very strict. He made Pathaan also. He has asked me not to reveal what we are doing. I can't tell you but I can assure you that it will be entertaining. You will enjoy it," SRK said. Earlier, Sujoy Ghosh was supposed to direct 'King', which reportedly stars Suhana Khan and Abhishek Bachchan as well. However, an official announcement regarding the cast is still awaited. In November last year, SRK attended the Global Freight Summit in Dubai, where he got candid about his personal and professional life. During the conversation with the moderator, SRK not only talked about his stardom but also shared how he dealt with failures. Urging people to introspect rather than dwell on their failures, he said, "When you fail, you should not believe that your product or service or job went wrong. Maybe you just misunderstood the ecosystem you were working in. You have to understand how people are reacting. If I cannot elicit an emotion from the people I cater to, then my product is not going to work how wonderful it may be." When asked if he is critical of his work sometimes, Shah Rukh candidly admitted, "Yes, I am. I hate feeling this way, and I cry a lot in my bathroom. I don't show it to anyone. You must believe that the world is not against you. If your film did go wrong, it's not because of you or some conspiracy. You have to accept that you made it badly, and then you have to move on." He also emphasised how one should be focused on learning how to move on from failures. "There are moments of despair but there are moments which say, 'shut up, get up and get on with it'. You have to do it because the world is not against you. You should not believe that things are going wrong only for you. Life moves on. Life does what it does. You cannot start blaming life for what it does," he added. (ANI)
Taking to its Instagram account on Monday, the makers released a promo for the film, giving fans a glimpse of its intense story.

The video shows Dhanush running through dark alleys with a Molotov cocktail in his hand. The promo ends with a mysterious female voice, leaving fans curious about the character behind it. However, the makers also shared that the big reveal is scheduled for Tuesday, January 28.

Take a look

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFU-nYkCSLQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

'Tere Ishk Mein' is produced by Gulshan Kumar, T-Series, and Colour Yellow in collaboration with Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar. The film is directed by Aanand L. Rai, with a screenplay by Himanshu Sharma.

Meanwhile, Dhanush will also be seen in his fourth directorial venture, Idli Kadai, which is set to hit theatres in April this year. The film stars Dhanush alongside National Award-winning actress Nithya Menen.

Nithya Menen, who won the National Film Award for Best Actress in November for her role in Thiruchitrambalam, is reuniting with Dhanush in Idli Kadai. The duo's previous collaboration in Thiruchitrambalam was a success and was praised for its engaging story.

Idli Kadai features music by GV Prakash, cinematography by Kiran Koushik, and editing by Prasanna GK. The film is being produced by Dhanush's Wunderbar Films in collaboration with Aakash Baskaran's Dawn Pictures. It is slated for release on April 10, 2025. (ANI)
Actor Lakshmi Manchu on Monday alleged that staff of Indigo had been rude to her and her bag was pulled aside and she was not allowed to open it. The airline later responded and said that the checked-in bag was detained by the airport security due to strict regulations on carrying prohibited items. "My bag pulled aside and @IndiGo6E and they won't let me open my bag. They insist to do it or else my bag will be left in Goa, someone help!!! Flt 6e585..this is ridiculous, and the staff is being extremely rude."," Manchu said in her post on X. "This is harassment @IndiGo6E after all that they did not even put a security tag in front of my eyes. In spite of insisting that they would do so if anything is missing, I doubt Indigo will take any responsibility. How is this even possible to run an airline like this?...They pulled people aside for sleep apnea machine! Spoon fork and knife cutlery! One of the girl had to leave her luggage cos they couldn't go thru her bag on time!!!!!! Ok I'm done! @IndiGo6E loves making you feel violated...," she added. https://x.com/LakshmiManchu/status/1883714571267154112 The airline responded to her post. "Ma'am, we understand the inconvenience you experienced this morning. As per our records, your checked-in bag was detained by the airport security, deployed by the airport operator, due to strict regulations on carrying prohibited items in check-in luggage," it said. https://x.com/IndiGo6E/status/1883730615868256503 Lakshmi Manchu, was last seen in the Disney+ Hotstar web series Yakshini. (ANI)
Tiwari emphasized that Mustafabad's support will be crucial for BJP's success in forming the next government in Delhi. He likened the results of this election to the recent Maharashtra elections, signalling a strong showing by the party.

Speaking to ANI, Tiwari said, "This Shiv Vihar rally is an example of how Mustafabad will contribute a strong seat to BJP forming the government in Delhi...We are requesting everyone to benefit from the policies promised by PM Narendra Modi by helping Mohan Singh Bisht win... The results of this election will be just like Maharashtra elections."

Earlier in the day, BJP leader Shazia Ilmi claimed that the people of Delhi will chase away Aam Admi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, paving the way for the BJP to regain power.

The elections will be held on February 5. The counting of votes is set for February 8. A total of 699 candidates are competing for the 70 Assembly seats in the National Capital.

The Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and failed to win any seats.

In contrast, AAP dominated the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections, winning 67 and 62 seats, respectively, out of a total of 70 seats, while BJP secured only three and eight seats in these elections. (ANI)
Congress candidate from Rithala assembly constituency, Sushant Mishra has alleged that he was assaulted by Election Commission officials, and tried to stop him from taking out a foot march. Mishra said he has complained about the incident to the Election Commission. "We (Congress) were taking out a padyatra with permission. Suddenly Election Commission officials came there who did not introduce themselves at that time. Hiding their identity, they tried to stop our march," the Congress candidate told ANI. "This is a very sad incident...We have complained about the matter and the complaint has also been given to the Election Commission," he added. Congress' General Secretary in charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh also mentioned the alleged incident in a post on X, alleging that Mishra was "attacked and injured" by an officer of the Election Commission on January 25. "@INCIndia's Rithala assembly candidate Sushant Mishra (@sushant_m) was attacked and injured by an officer of @ECISVEEP yesterday. The officer also tried to stop him from taking out a padyatra, for which the Delhi Police had already given permission," read a post by Jairam Ramesh. The Congress leader called it a "case of partisan behaviour" by an officer of a Constitutional body. "Sushant Mishra has been actively raising cases of violations of the Model Code of Conduct by other candidates in the Delhi Assembly elections. This is clearly a case of partisan behaviour by an officer of a constitutional body like the Election Commission," the post added. However, replying to the same post by Ramesh, the official account of the District Magistrate of North-West Delhi called the allegations as "baseless." "The allegation of biasness is baseless, as all FST teams and election staff are conducting their duties fairly and impartially to ensure a level playing field for all contesting candidates and as per the mandate of ECI," read the post by the DM, also the District Election Officer (DEO). According to the DEO, the campaigners of Congress had permission to only do door-to-door canvassing from A-953, Friends Properties, Budh Vihar Phase-2 to Gali No. 15, however, the campaigning was taking place at Gali no 25, and continued till after the allowed time of 6 PM. "Upon arrival at the site, it was observed that one INC Party was campaigning in Gali No 25, Shyam Colony, Budh Vihar Phase-2. The FST head requested the campaign organizer to provide a copy of the permission for the activity, but it was not presented," read the post. Referring to the permission slip for campaigning posted by Ramesh on his post, the DM further pointed that out and mentioned that Gali no 25 was not covered under it. "The permission document referenced in the tweet (No. 28AC15415) allowed door-to-door canvassing from A-953, Friends Properties, Budh Vihar Phase-2 to Gali No 15. However, the campaigning was taking place in Gali No 25, which was not covered under the stated permission," the post added. (ANI)
BJP national president JP Nadda also congratulated the party's leaders and workers, attributing the win to the welfare policies of the double-engine government.

On Sunday, the BJP dominated the urban local body elections in Uttarakhand held on January 23, securing 10 of the 11 mayoral seats.

One seat was won by the independent candidate, while Congress drew a blank.

Amit Shah thanked the people of Uttarakhand for their support.

In his post on X, Shah wrote, "The landslide victory of BJP in the Uttarakhand Municipal Corporation elections is a victory of people's trust in the development work of Modi ji and Chief Minister Shri @pushkardhami ji."

"Many thanks to the people of Devbhoomi for this immense support and many best wishes to State President Mr. @mahendrabhatbjp ji and all the workers of @BJP4UK for this victory," he added.

https://x.com/AmitShah/status/1883521915798925727

https://x.com/JPNadda/status/1883532501609549918

JP Nadda also congratulated CM Dhami, State President Mahendra Bhatt, and BJP workers for the victory, emphasizing public trust in the double-engine government's welfare policies.

Nadda took to his social media platform X and wrote, "Congratulations to Chief Minister @pushkardhami ji, State President Mr. @mahendrabhatbjp ji and all the workers of @BJP4UK for the spectacular victory of BJP in the Uttarakhand Municipal Corporation elections and gratitude to the people of the state."

"This victory is a stamp of public trust in the welfare policies being implemented in the state under the double-engine government under the guidance of respected Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji," he added. (ANI)
The District Magistrate of North West Delhi refuted the Congress party's allegations that the party's candidate Sushant Mishra was "attacked and injured" by an officer of the Election Commission of India and was stopped from carrying out a foot march. The Congress leader called the alleged incident an "unprecedented and illegal act" and accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party of being "desperate" to stop the Congress candidate's growing support. Terming it a "partisan behaviour", the party has demanded a thorough investigation into the incident and that action be taken against the concerned official. "This unprecedented and illegal act can only be seen as a desperate attempt by the AAP and BJP to stop Sushant's candidature and the growing support for the Congress party. But we are not afraid. We will continue to raise the voice of the people and protect the sanctity of our elections," Ramesh said. "Sushant Mishra has been actively raising cases of violations of the Model Code of Conduct by other candidates in the Delhi Assembly elections. This is clearly a case of partisan behaviour by an officer of a constitutional body like the Election Commission," read a post by the Congress leader. https://x.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/1883443674828415326 Responding to the allegations made by Congress General Secretary in charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh, North West Delhi DM said that the Flying Squad Teams (FST) and election staff are conducting their duties "fairly and impartially to ensure a level playing field." "Regarding claims of disagreement or partiality, the team confirms that no such matter occurred and the FST team operated in unbiased manner. Further, when asked for the campaign permission, the organizers initially did not respond but discussed among themselves for 10-15 minutes before dispersing," the DM stated. According to the DM, the Congress party had not obtained the proper permissions, mentioning that the permission that Ramesh had shown on social media only was for door-to-door canvassing from the area A-953, Friends Properties, Budh Vihar Phase-2 to Gali No 15, whereas the party members were campaigning in Gali no 25, and beyond the permitted time. "However, the campaigning was taking place in Gali No. 25, which was not covered under the stated permission. Additionally, the permission from the police authorities (Permission Cell) indicated campaigning was allowed only until 6:00 PM, but the activity continued beyond this time when the FST team requested the permission copy," read the DM's reply. The DM has said that when asked about the campaign permission from the party members, they did not present the proper documents, only discussed among themselves and dispersed. The Delhi Assembly Elections are scheduled to be held on February 5 and the counting of votes will take place on February 8. (ANI)
Residents of Pithampur took to the streets in a powerful torch rally protesting the controversial incineration of toxic waste linked to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in the Pithampur Industrial Area. The rally, which took place on Saturday night saw hundreds of locals raising slogans "Bhopal ka kachra Pithampur me nahi jalega" (waste of Bhopal will not be disposed of in Pithampur) along with holding sign boards in their hands. Sailana MLA Kamleshwar Dodiyar asserted that the rally is the symbol of knowledge, hope and unity. "We want to give the message that the people of Pithampur are united and we will not let this garbage be incinerated here," he said. Four decades after a tragic incident, the "Bhopal gas tragedy"- touted as the world's worst industrial disaster, the toxic waste materials from Bhopal's Union Carbide factory site were transported to Pithampur for its safe disposal on the night of January 1. The Bhopal gas tragedy claimed the lives of several thousand people after deadly gas leaked from the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant on the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984. On January 6, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that the state government is committed to taking action according to the direction of the High Court in connection with the matter. Speaking to ANI on Monday, the Chief Minister said, "Based on the various directions of the Supreme Court and the High Court for the disposal of Union carbide factory site's toxic waste, we transported it to Pithampur as it is the only centre where all types of chemicals containing harmful elements are processed by scientific methods. We put our side before the High Court again, as I announced earlier that we would ask for time from the court for all these things until we take all the people into confidence. I am satisfied that the High Court has accepted it and has given a time of six weeks for it." "In the meantime, all the parties and if anyone else wants to keep their side then they can present it before the court and the state government would follow the decision of the court," the CM said. Naman Nagrath, advocate for petitioners said that the state government sought time of six weeks to follow the order dated Dec 3, on which, the High Court granted that time to the government. "The next hearing into the matter is scheduled on February 18," he added. (ANI)
Police reported that a body was discovered in a mangled condition inside a car early yesterday morning. Initially unidentifiable, it was later confirmed to be the charred remains of a woman.

The charred body was discovered in Ghazipur, leading to a police investigation that ultimately resulted in the arrest of the two accused.

DCP East Abhishek Dhania told ANI, that the body was completely burnt and yet to be identified, however, forensic evidence estimated the victim's age as 20-35 years.

"We received a PCR call at around 4:10 am informing about a burnt body. On reaching the spot, we found the body completely burnt and the body has yet not been identified... Based on forensic evidence, it can be said that the deceased is between 20-35 years of age. Four teams are investigating...," he said. (ANI)
According to an official statement by Assam Rifles, authorities successfully executed an operation on Sunday, based on actionable intelligence that led to the recovery of five kilograms of heroin No. 4, which is valued at Rs39.75 lakh. This operation occurred in the General Area of Crossing Point III (Laipian Kai) in Champhai district.

During this operation, police apprehended a 52-year-old woman identified as Zingengmawii on Saturday, who is believed to be connected to the heroin consignment that was seized.

Following the arrest, both the substantial quantity of narcotics and the woman were taken into custody by the Zokhawthar Police.

This incident has prompted a thorough investigation and the beginning of legal proceedings to understand the broader context and implications of the seizure. Authorities are working diligently to unravel any potential networks linked to drug trafficking in the area.

Earlier, Assam Rifles had successfully recovered heroin valued at Rs75.60 lakh from General Area Zokhawthar of Champhai district and apprehended one individual.

According to the official statement, on January 20, Assam Rifles, in a joint operation with Mizoram's Hnahthial Police, recovered 260 cases of foreign-origin cigarettes worth Rs3.38 crore from General Area Tuichang Bridge, Lawngtlai district of Mizoram.

During the operation, a Champhai resident was arrested. The entire consignment has been handed over to the Police Department in Hnahthial for further legal proceedings. The joint operation was successfully concluded on January 20.

The ongoing smuggling of contraband items is a significant concern for both the state of Mizoram and India.

This successful operation highlights the commitment of Assam Rifles to fight against narcotics trafficking and ensuring the safety of the region from the growing threat of drug abuse. (ANI)
A surge in devotees visiting the Ram Janmbhoomi Temple in Ayodhya has led authorities to tighten security measures. The influx is attributed to the ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, where devotees take a holy dip before visiting the Ram temple. To accommodate the growing crowd, special arrangements have been made, including expanding capacity and ensuring devotees' safety during the cold weather. "The number of people coming to Ayodhya is continuously increasing and the main reason for this is the Maha Kumbh Mela organized in Prayagraj, a large number of people are coming here after taking a holy dip there... ATS and commandos are also deployed. All arrangements have been made for the devotees," said Balramachari Dubey, SP (Security), Shri Ram Janmabhoomi to ANI. Meanwhile, devotees expressed their joy and blessings after visiting the temple."It feels very divine and grand. I'm very happy. We came here as a group of ten people. Earlier, we went to Prayagraj to attend the Mahakumbh. The arrangements were good there. We didn't encounter any problems," said Hitesh Jain, a devotee from Maharashtra. Earlier, Ayodhya Commissioner Gaurav Dayal announced that special arrangements are being made to manage the large number of devotees visiting the Ram Janmbhoomi temple. Dayal said that large crowds are expected after the Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya on January 29. Arrangements have been made to manage the growing crowd and expand the capacity to accommodate devotees and ensure their safety during the cold weather. Speaking to ANI, Dayal said, "The devotees visiting the Mahakumbh have been visiting Ayodhya temple afterwards. Especially after the holy baths, a huge influx of crowds is being witnessed here. We are expecting large crowds after the Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya on January 29 as well." After the successful completion of Paush Purnima and Makar Sankranti, the Yogi Adityanath government has now shifted its complete focus to the preparations for the Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya, scheduled for January 29, according to an official statement. To strengthen the arrangements, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and Uttar Pradesh DGP Prashant Kumar conducted a visit to the Mahakumbh area last Thursday. During their visit, they chaired a high-level review meeting at the ICC auditorium. The Chief Secretary Manoj Singh noted that the arrangements and facilities during the previous festivals were commendable but emphasized the need for further refinement. He stated that preparations must also account for the anticipated visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Mahakumbh, along with a possible cabinet meeting. Singh instructed that all preparations should be completed promptly and directed that sector magistrates, police, and officers from all departments ensure their presence in all sectors. Maha Kumbh, which began on January 13, will continue until February 26. The next key bathing dates include January 29 (Mauni Amavasya - Second Shahi Snan), February 3 (Basant Panchami - Third Shahi Snan), February 12 (Maghi Purnima), and February 26 (Maha Shivaratri). (ANI)
Libia Lobo Sardesai, a participant in Goa's Liberation War, has expressed her gratitude to the Central and Goa governments after her name was announced for this year's Padma Shri award." "I'm very grateful both to the government of India and the government of Goa. Without their intervention, this would not have happened. It has boosted my patriotism...I think it has added life to my years also because to expect such a thing at this age is not very common," Libia Lobo Sardesai told ANI. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant extended heartfelt congratulations to 101-year-old Lobo Sardesai. Sawant said, " The Government of India has announced the Padma Awards. Libia Lobo Sardesai is 101 years old and participated in Goa's Liberation War. She has been announced to be awarded the Padma Shri. Very few people knew about her, and she did not even file a nomination for the award. The Central government on its own identified her." Sardesai played a significant role in the historic movement for Goa's independence from Portuguese rule, alongside her husband. Recognising her contributions, the Central government has honoured her with the fourth-highest civilian award in the country. Sawant lauded her exemplary courage and dedication to the state and the nation. "On behalf of the Government of Goa, I congratulate her on receiving this honour," he added. The Padma Awards are announced annually on the eve of Republic Day. These recognitions celebrate individuals for their outstanding contributions across various fields. Sardesai's recognition underscores her unwavering spirit and commitment to the cause of Liberation of Goa. Sardesai's journey and contributions to the liberation movement serve as an inspiration for future generations, highlighting the sacrifices made for the freedom and progress of Goa. These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually in March/April every year. For the year 2025, the President has approved the conferment of 139 Padma Awards, seven Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. (ANI)
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Incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko has won the presidential election of Belarus, according to the preliminary results released early Monday by the country's Central Election Commission.

The preliminary data from the Central Election Commission showed that Lukashenko received 86.82 percent of the vote. Sergei Syrankov, Oleg Gaidukevich, Anna Kanopatskaya and Alexander Khizhnyak secured 3.21 percent, 2.02 percent, 1.86 percent and 1.74 percent of the vote, respectively.

Under Belarusian law, a presidential candidate who secures more than 50 percent of the vote is declared the winner.

Belarussian president is elected by direct ballot and the term of office is five years. The Belarus election commission will announce the final results of the voting no later than Feb. 5.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday strongly condemned the vandalism of the BR Ambedkar statue in Amritsar, stating that no one will be forgiven for the incident. The incident occurred on Republic Day, sparking widespread outrage. CM Mann emphasized that the incident is highly condemnable and that severe punishment will be meted out to those responsible. He instructed the administration to investigate the matter thoroughly and take strict action against the culprits In a post on X, CM Mann emphasized, "The incident of breaking the statue of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar ji on the heritage street of Shri Amritsar Sahib is highly condemnable and no one will be forgiven for this incident. Whoever is responsible for the incident, he/she will be severely punished. No one will be allowed to break the brotherhood and unity of Punjab. Instructions have been issued to the administration to investigate it and take strict action against the culprits." Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal also denounced the act, saying it has hurt the sentiments of millions. He demanded stern action against the culprit and a thorough inquiry to uncover the conspiracy behind the incident. "Strongly condemn the attempt to desecrate the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar ji's statue at Heritage Street in Sri Amritsar Sahib on Republic Day. This heinous act has hurt the sentiments of millions. I demand stern action against the culprit and a thorough inquiry to unravel the conspiracy behind this shameful incident. Let's stand united against such vile attempts to create divisions in our society," he said. Punjab Police said earlier on Sunday that they had arrested a few miscreants for allegedly attempting to tamper with the statue. A case has been registered, and an investigation is ongoing to determine the motive behind the incident. "A few miscreants tried to tamper with BR Ambedkar's statue at Town hall. We caught them and a case has been registered and an investigation is going on. The motive behind the incident is yet to be found out...," Jagjit Singh Walia, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police in Amritsar told ANI. (ANI)
The Rouse Avenue court listed the defamation complaint for pre-cognizance arguments by the proposed accused CM Atishi and AAP MLA Sanjay Singh. Former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit has filed a defamation complaint against them. Their counsel submitted that he had received a copy of the complaint. Dikshit is contesting Delhi assembly elections against former CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal from New Delhi Constituency. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Paras Dalal listed the matter on February 6. Advocate Rajat Bhardwaj, the counsel for CM Atishi and AAP MP Sanjay Singh submitted that he has received a copy of the complaint. However, some pages are not legible. The court asked the counsel for Sandeep Dikshit to supply legible copies of documents. The counsel for Sandeep Dikshit also submitted that if the proposed accused takes back the allegations, he can think of not prosecuting them. The Rouse Avenue court on January 16 issued notice to CM Atishi and AAP MP Sanjay Singh on a defamation complaint filed by former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit. The notices were issued to give the proposed accused to be heard before taking cognizance of the complaint. A case under section 223 read with section 222(1) of BNSS, 2023 for summoning, trying and punishing the accused persons for the commission of offences under section 356 read with section 3(5) of BNS, 2023. Sandeep Dikshit has filed a complaint through advocate Sarim Naved and alleged that the accused organized a press conference dated 26.12.2024 in New Delhi wherein defamatory allegations were made against the complainant and Indian National Congress (INC), the political party that he represents. It is alleged that the accused alleged that the complainant has not just accepted "crores of rupees" from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but the Indian National Congress and he has even colluded with the BJP with the objective of defeating the AAP. The complaint has stated that the accused did not substantiate their allegations with any material evidence. It is also stated that Atishi in the presence and with the concurrence of MP Sanjay Singh alleged that INC and the complainant were in collusion with the BJP to defeat the AAP. Therefore, the defamatory act of the accused persons is part of the same scheme of things with the nefarious objective to defame the complainant. It is also stated that the live proceedings of the press conference were even shared by CM Atishi through her X handle at 13.08 pm dated 26.12.2024 with the following caption BJP is helping Congress in the Delhi election. Moreover, the said X post has over 30,000 (thirty thousand) views on Twitter and has been shared widely. Further, the news of defamatory statements has been widely carried by national newspapers. It is alleged that the facts and circumstances clearly reveal that the accused by words, both written and spoken, has made and caused to be published imputations against the complainant intending to harm his reputation and has thereby committed the offence of defamation punishable under Section 356 of BNS, 2023. It is alleged that the legal notice was sent on 02.01.2025. The defamatory tweet on platform X continues to be available online. (ANI)
Ahead of 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' rally of the Congress party at Indore's Mhow, birthplace of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari said that when it comes to saving the constitution, every member of the Congress party will always be ready to commit to it. He also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) talked about amending the Constitution of India and Union Home Minister Amit Shah insulted Babasaheb in parliament as per a conspiracy. Speaking to ANI, Patwari said, "When it comes to protecting the Constitution, every member of Congress party will always be ready to commit to it. Today, BJP is again raising questions on reservation, about amending the Constitution and Amit Shah ji insulted Ambedkar ji as per a conspiracy. Since they could not cross 400 (seats in Lok Sabha elections), they are taking out their frustration over this and insulting Ambedkar ji in the Parliament." "I believe that the country will survive only when the constitution is saved and we will protect the constitution. We have fought for the freedom of the nation, our great personalities have sacrificed for independence. Our great leader sacrificed lives for the unity and integrity of the country. We are ready to commit everything for the Indian Constitution and honour of Babasaheb," Patwari added. Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir also targeted Union Minister Shah and said that if the latter has so much disrespect for Babasaheb then he doesn't deserve to remain on the post. "The Union Home Minister (Amit Shah) insulted BR Ambedkar in Parliament. Babasaheb gave the Constitution and he has become the Home Minister because of that Constitution. If he has so much disrespect for him, I don't think he deserves to remain in this post... the Congress is realizing its inherited duty that be it Mahatma Gandhi or Bhimrao Ambedkar or Our Constitution, we have to fight for it and make people aware so that then can give answer...," Mir told ANI. Congress MP Jebi Mather said, "The BJP, the ruling dispensation and even the home minister tries to bring down the greatness of Dr BR Ambedkar, the Congress will always be there to ensure that the status, the greatness of Dr BR Ambedkar always remains in the fabric of Indian politics. So we the people of India and the Indian National Congress are also making efforts to ensure that our Constitution is protected. The constitutional values enshrined in the Constitution must be protected and this is again a determined effort from the Congress Party to ensure this..." Bihar Congress President, Akhilesh Prasad Singh also came to participate in the Congress' rally and said that the government should run according to the Indian Constitution and it has given rights to everyone. "The government should run according to the Constitution. The Constitution has given rights to everyone... In the last 11 years, the policies have been made for some industrialists...," Singh said. Congress leader Salman Khurshid also reached to be part of the rally and said that there are a few special occasions when they sit together and discuss the current challenges and seek inspiration for their leaders so that they can go forward. "Congress is always united but there are a few special occasions when we sit together and discuss the current challenges and seek inspiration for our leaders so that we can go forward. We are concerned about what has happened and what is happening regarding Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar...If we don't give importance to Babasaheb Ambedkar, how will we respect the Constitution? Rahul Gandhi has run a special movement to safeguard the Constitution. So, we are fortunate to have gathered here...," Salman Khurshid said. Additionally, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda said that his party is playing a positive role in the Opposition under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, and moving forward to safeguard the Constitution. "Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, Congress is playing a positive role in the Opposition and moving forward to safeguard the Constitution. The ruling BJP seems to have an issue with the word 'Constitution'. It seems they have an objection over the name of Babasaheb. You heard what the Union HM said in Parliament. So, it is our duty to safeguard Constitutional values. We are going to hold a public rally in Mhow over this," Hooda said. Congress is holding a massive 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' rally at the birthplace of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar in Indore's Mhow in which prominent Congress leaders across the country are participating in it. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition of Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will also participate in the rally and will address a public gathering on the occasion. (ANI)
Indian Army, Assam Rifles, Manipur Police, and other security forces have successfully recovered 35 weapons, ammunition, and warlike stores in a series of joint operations. The recoveries were made from various districts in Manipur, including Thoubal, Tengnoupal, Bishnupur, Churchandpur, Imphal West, Noney, Jiribam, and Kakching. "On January 19, acting on specific intelligence, the Indian Army, in coordination with Assam Rifles and Manipur Police launched a joint operation in Lungkhongjang ridge North of Bungte Chiru village in Bishnupur district and recovered one modified sniper rifle, five 9 mm pistols, two single barrel rifles, grenades, ammunition and war like stores," as per a Pro Defence Guwahati release. Similarly, on January 20, based on specific inputs, Indian Army launched another operation in near Khuga river and fringes of Dampi Ridge located at border areas of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts in collaboration with CRPF and Manipur Police and recovered one 9mm Sub Machine Gun, one .303 rifle, one pistol, one single barrel breach loaded gun, one country made mortar, one grenade launcher, grenades ammunition and war like stores. "In Tengnoupal district, Assam Rifles on receiving specific intelligence of attempts of infiltration on January 20, along the Indo-Myanmar Borde near Yangoupokpi, laid ambushes along the likely infiltration route and apprehended a cadre. On questioning the arrested individual stated his affiliation with the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL)," the release read. An intelligence-based operation of presence of arms and ammunition launched by Assam Rifles in general area Maohing, Noney District on January 20, resulted in the recovery of a 9mm country-made pistol, one .303 rifle, one improvised projectile launcher, grenades, ammunition and war like stores. "On January 23, intelligence-based joint operations were conducted by Assam Rifles and Manipur Police in general area of Ngamukhong Fungi Ching (Leingangpokpi) in Thoubal District, which resulted in recovery of one country-made pistol, one single-bore country-made rifle, ten No. 36 hand grenades ammunition and war like stores," the release read. On the same day, Assam Rifles, in a joint operation with Manipur Police including Commando Teams, launched in the area between Heirok and Wangjing in Thoubal district, apprehended two KCP(PWG) cadres along with two 9mm pistols, ammunition and war-like stores. "In the Jiribam district a cordon and search operation launched by Assam Rifles and Manipur Police in the general area between Zairawn and Uchatol in Jiribam district on January 23-25 resulted in the recovery of one carbine, one single barrel gun, grenades and ammunition," the release read. In Chandel district, the Assam Rifles conducted a successful operation on January 24, between Gamngai and Pheijang and recovered one 9mm Pistol, one locally made Mortar (Pompi), one Improvised Explosive Device (IED, (approx 1 kg), grenades, ammunition and ear like stores. "On the same day in Imphal West district, Assam Rifles, along with Manipur Police launched a joint search operation in the general area of Potsangbam Khullen Hill Range in Imphal West District and recovered, one self-loading rifle, one carbine machine gun, one .32 calibre country-made pistol, two 51mm mortars, grenades and ammunition," the release read. In Kakching district, Assam Rifles in a joint operation with Manipur Police launched an intelligence based joint operation in the general area Thangjao Mamang Ching, on 25 January 2025 and recovered one Modified .303 Sniper Rifle, Airgun Rifle, Grenades, ammunition and war like stores. "On the same day in Imphal West District, Assam Rifles and Manipur Police launched a joiunt search operation in general area Sekmai (Tendongyan) and recovered one .303 rifle, one 9mm pistol, one .32 caliber pistol, hand grenades and ammunition. The apprehended individuals, recovered weapons and other items recovered in the operations have been handed over to Manipur Police," the release read. Violence erupted in Manipur between the Meitei and the Kuki communities after a rally by All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3, 2023, following the Manipur High Court order directing the state to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list. (ANI)
Union Minister Amit Shah has reached Prayagraj to take part in the ongoing Mahakumbh celebrations. Shah was received by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his cabinet members at the Prayagraj airport. In his one-day visit to Prayagraj, the Union Home Minister will take a holy bath at the Triveni Sangam and will then visit the Bade Hanuman Ji Temple and Abhayvat. Later, the minister will proceed to Juna Akhara, where he will meet the Maharaj and other saints of the Akhara and have lunch with them. His schedule also includes visits to Guru Sharananand Ji's Ashram, where he will meet Guru Sharananand Ji and Govind Giri Ji Maharaj, and conclude his visit with a meeting with the Shankaracharyas of Sringeri, Puri, and Dwaraka. The Home Minister will depart from Prayagraj for Delhi in the evening. Till now, several Union Ministers, including Rajnath Singh and various leaders have visited to Mahakumbh and have taken a dip at the Triveni Sangam. Recently, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet also went to Prayagraj for a meeting and then took a dip at the Triveni Sangam. On Sunday, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, during his visit to Prayagraj took 11 holy dips at the Mahakumbh. Meanwhile, a Dharma Sansad, organised by spiritual leader and Bhagwat Katha orator Devkinandan Thakurji Maharaj, will be convened on Monday at the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. One of the key objectives of the Sansad is the establishment of a Sanatana Board. "We all want that Sanatana Board be constituted. We are placing a proposal before the Government. All Dharmacharyas want the welfare of Sanatana and temples to remain secure - for this Dharma Sansad is about to begin. I am going to see the preparation for the same. People are arriving here in large numbers," Devkinandan Thakurji Maharaj told ANI. The event will be attended by many saints, Gurus, and Sanatan leaders. The Mahakumbh is held every 12 years and a huge turnout of devotees is expected in Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26. Mahakumbh, which commenced on January 13 with the auspicious Paush Purnima, has already witnessed an overwhelming turnout, with over 110 million devotees taking a holy dip in the sacred waters of Prayagraj during the first 14 days on Sunday. According to tradition, pilgrims flock to the Sangam--the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati (now extinct) rivers--to take the holy dip believed to absolve sins and grant moksha (liberation). Rooted in Sanatan Dharma, the event signifies a celestial alignment that creates an auspicious period for spiritual cleansing and devotion. The Mahakumbh Mela is expected to host over 45 crore visitors, marking a historic occasion for India. (ANI)
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey on Monday hit back at Congress leader Husain Dalwai over his statement on the ongoing Maha Kumbh 2025. Dubey questioned Dalwai's understanding of the Mahakumbh, asking if he had ever attended the festival or simply watched it on TV. "Husain Dalwai is a senior leader of Congress. He should think before speaking anything. What does Husain Dalwai know about Kumbh? Has he ever been to Kumbh? He has seen it only on TV," Dubey told ANI. Dubey extended an invitation to Dalwai to experience the Mahakumbh firsthand, saying, "We invite him to Kumbh and take a holy dip." He emphasised that the festival is a celebration of Sanatana, a term referring to the eternal and timeless aspects of Hinduism. Dubey criticized Dalwai and other leaders of the INDIA Alliance, including those from the DMK, for consistently targeting Sanatana. He urged Dalwai to focus his criticism on the BJP rather than Sanatana, expressing sadness over the repeated attacks. "We invite him to Kumbh and take a holy dip...When a crowd of 35-40 crore people gathers, we have to tolerate it even if the management lacks a little. This is a festival of Sanatana. I don't know why people of INDIA Alliance hit out at Sanatana again and again - be it DMK leaders or leaders like Husain Dalwai. It is sad. Husain Dalwai should avoid giving such statements...He should criticize BJP, not Sanatana," he said. On Sunday, Dalwai expressed dissatisfaction with the arrangements in the Mahakumbh Mela 2025, claiming that there is a need for better facilities and management to accommodate the large number of devotees. "Since a large number of people are coming to the Mahakumbh, the arrangements should also be good. Devotees should be allowed to take a holy dip in the Ganga river in batches," Dalwai said, adding that issues like inadequate lodging for common people and poor overall facilities need urgent attention. Highlighting public health concerns, he stated, "They should ensure that diseases do not spread. How will the sins of sinners be washed away by taking a dip? I don't think so. No one should commit sins." The Congress leader further claimed, "Education of poor people has been stopped, hatred is being spread, health facilities have been stopped. These are all sins." Dalwai further alleged that the current preparations for the Maha Kumbh had "many flaws" and called for immediate corrective measures. As the largest-ever religious congregation unfolds, a significant number of devotees took a holy dip at the Sangam Triveni Ghat in Prayagraj's Mahakumbh city on Monday. Over 4.664 million devotees have taken a holy dip at Triveni Sangam till 8 am on Monday in the ongoing Mahakumbh, a release said. Over one million Kalpwasis are present at the Sangam and the total number of devotees who took a holy dip at the Sangam until Sunday is 130.2 million. (ANI)
Ahead of the launch of the manifesto of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), BJP leader Harish Khurana, who is also a candidate from the Moti Nagar seat, launched a scathing attack on the ruling party AAP. Targeting the AAP, Khurana said that they should tell the truth about the manifestos they released in the last 10 years while counting on their previous unfulfilled promises, including cleaning of Yamuna River, minimising pollution, supplying clean water, etc. "They should tell the truth about the manifestos they released in the last 10 years. They had said that Yamuna would be cleaned, what happened to that promise? Delhi has become the most polluted capital. People are not getting water... AAP-da ja rahi hai, Bhaajpa (BJP) aa rahi hai (AAP is going back, BJP is coming to power into Delhi) ..." Khurana told ANI. Aam Aadmi Party is set to release its manifesto on Monday. the manifesto will be launched by AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. He would be accompanied by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, ministers and other senior AAP leaders. Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh claimed that the campaigning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief ministers will not have any effect in the upcoming Delhi Assembly election and that his party will emerge victorious in the election. "All the chief ministers (of BJP), union ministers and PM Modi himself have come but Arvind Kejriwal will win. We will get over 60 seats and AAP will form the government," Sanjay Singh told ANI. AAP has announced the formation of a dedicated team of youth volunteers who will be stationed at every polling booth on election day to oversee the EVM demonstration and ensure smooth functioning, the party sources said. "We are confident of winning the election but there is also a fear that EVMs can be tampered with. That is why Aam Aadmi Party has prepared a team of such youth who will be present at every booth during the EVM demo on the morning of the election day and ensure that there is no problem in the EVM," Aam Aadmi Party sources said. Meanwhile, independent MP and Congress supporter Pappu Yadav took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Delhi Assembly Polls. Yadav was campaigning for the Congress candidate from Patparganj Assembly seat Anil Kumar. "Narendra Modi and the BJP have nothing to do with Purvanchal. The BJP has four main issues - first, Hindu-Muslim, second, Adani's money, third, the Election Commission, and fourth, ED and CBI. They don't care about the country," Pappu Yadav told ANI. "Bade miyan to hai hi chote miya Subhanallah. I have seen Narendra Modi lie in my life, but Kejriwal has surpassed him. He said he wouldn't become a VIP, but ended up becoming the biggest VIP in the world. The Paris streets, Yamuna, Mohalla Clinics - none of that matters. If anyone has done the most corruption in the shortest time, it's him. BJP is corrupt, but no one is more corrupt than AAP," the Purnea MP added. The Delhi Assembly elections will take place in a single phase on February 5, with the counting of votes set for February 8. A total of 699 candidates are competing for the 70 assembly seats in Delhi. The Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and failed to win any seats. In contrast, AAP dominated the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections, winning 67 and 62 seats, respectively, out of a total of 70 seats, while BJP secured only three and eight seats in these elections. (ANI)
BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, the Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, on Monday expressed confidence that all members will actively participate in the discussions and share their views in the meeting. "I believe that everyone will take part in the proceedings and present their opinions. A consensus will be arrived at and we will present a good report on the revised Bill," Pal said. The JPC is meeting to discuss the bill clause by clause is underway at the Parliament. Before the JPC meeting, an internal meeting of the NDA MPs was held at the residence of Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju in New Delhi on Monday. The meeting was attended by prominent members including JPC chairperson Jagdambika Pal, BJP MPs Dilip Saikia, Aprajita Sarangi, Sanjay Jaiswal, Nishikant Dubey, Arun Bharati, Naresh Mahske, and Sudha Kulkarni. Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske said, "Today there was a discussion over tea. Today the JPC members came to Delhi, so we met our NDA leader Kiren Rijiju... There is competition among the opposition. AIMIM, Congress, and AAP all are protesting to show the minorities, the Muslim people that we are with you, we have fought for you. All of them are doing drama..." Earlier on Friday, 10 opposition party MPs were suspended for a day on Friday following a ruckus during the meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on the Waqf (Amendment Bill) 2024. The suspended Opposition MPs were: Kalyan Banerjee, Md. Jawaid, A Raja, Asaduddin Owaisi, Nasir Hussain, Mohibullah, M. Abdullah, Arvind Sawant, Nadimul Haq, Imran Masood. The JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is expected to submit its report during the Budget session, with the committee's term extended during the winter session of Parliament. The Budget session of Parliament will commence on January 31 and continue till April 4, with the Union Budget to be presented on February 1. The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address these challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties. (ANI)
With Delhi Assembly polls less than ten days away, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Monday hit out at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the alleged vandalisation of BR Ambedkar's statue in AAP-ruled Punjab. The BJP leader called AAP "anti-Constitution" and "anti-Ambedkar." "Some people of the Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, and INDI alliance talk big about the Constitution and Ambedkar. But the way Ambedkar's statue was damaged in broad daylight in front of a police station in Punjab on Republic Day, that too with a hammer, shows that their basic thinking is anti-Scheduled Caste, anti-Constitution and anti-Ambedkar," Poonawalla told ANI. He further alleged that AAP was not fulfilling promises made to the Scheduled Castes during the Assembly election in Punjab. He added that Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann use the police only for their opponents and their own protection. "Arvind Kejriwal had promised that if he came to power in Punjab, he would make a Dalit person from the Scheduled Caste community the Deputy Chief Minister; they broke that promise in Delhi too. Today, they should be asked why Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann allowed such an attack to happen. Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann use the police only for their opponents and their own protection," Poonawalla added. Reacting to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) being implemented in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, he said, "The UCC is being implemented in Uttarakhand a day after Republic Day. Uttarakhand is the first state in the country to implement UCC. I think there cannot be a greater respect for the Constitution and Baba Saheb Ambedkar because it empowers women and promotes equality. And UCC was already in our Constitution; the Constitution makers included it, but in the name of the vote bank, look at the 'BBC-Bhadkau Bhaijaan Committee': Owaisi, Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Aam Aadmi Party are together opposing women's empowerment. This is anti-women thinking. They always stood up with radical people. They wanted their votes." The remarks came after an alleged vandalisation of a prominent statue of BR Ambedkar on Republic Day, sparking widespread outrage. Punjab Police said earlier on Sunday that they had arrested a few miscreants for allegedly attempting to tamper with the statue. A case has been registered, and an investigation is ongoing to determine the motive behind the incident. "A few miscreants tried to tamper with BR Ambedkar's statue at Town Hall. We caught them and a case has been registered and an investigation is going on. The motive behind the incident is yet to be be found out," Jagjit Singh Walia, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police in Amritsar, told ANI. However, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Monday, strongly condemned the vandalism of the BR Ambedkar statue in Amritsar, stating that no one will be forgiven for the incident. CM Mann emphasised that the incident is highly condemnable and that severe punishment will be meted out to those responsible. He instructed the administration to investigate the matter thoroughly and take strict action against the culprits. In a post on X, CM Mann emphasised, "The incident of breaking the statue of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar ji on the heritage street of Shri Amritsar Sahib is highly condemnable and no one will be forgiven for this incident. Whoever is responsible for the incident, he/she will be severely punished. No one will be allowed to break the brotherhood and unity of Punjab. Instructions have been issued to the administration to investigate it and take strict action against the culprits." (ANI)
BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Monday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of being "anti-Dalit" following the vandalism of a BR Ambedkar statue in Amritsar, Punjab, where the party is in power. Thakur cited the lack of Dalit representation in AAP's leadership and alleged instances of exploitation and broken promises. "The face of Aam Aadmi Party has been exposed, it is anti-Dalit. Not a single Rajya Sabha MP is a Dalit, they did not make Deputy Chief Minister from the Dalit community. Two ministers from the Dalit community resigned calling AAP anti-Dalit," Anurag Thakur told ANI. The BJP MP also alleged that AAP will end reservation. "They took lakhs of rupees from a Dalit woman in exchange for giving her a ticket... Not only this, in the last 5 years, 500 Dalit children were to be sent abroad for studies, but they could not send even 5 children," he said. "Today the question arises that when you got two opportunities in Delhi to make a Dalit Deputy Chief Minister and Chief Minister, why did you not do so, why could you not make a Dalit Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister in Punjab, why could you not make a Dalit Rajya Sabha? Now Arvind Kejriwal and his party are going to end reservation," he added. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday strongly condemned the vandalism of the BR Ambedkar statue in Amritsar, stating that no one will be forgiven for the incident. The incident occurred on Republic Day, sparking widespread outrage. CM Mann emphasized that the incident is highly condemnable and that severe punishment will be meted out to those responsible. He instructed the administration to investigate the matter thoroughly and take strict action against the culprits. In a post on X, CM Mann emphasized, "The incident of breaking the statue of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar ji on the heritage street of Shri Amritsar Sahib is highly condemnable and no one will be forgiven for this incident. Whoever is responsible for the incident, he/she will be severely punished. No one will be allowed to break the brotherhood and unity of Punjab. Instructions have been issued to the administration to investigate it and take strict action against the culprits." Punjab Police said earlier on Sunday that they had arrested a few miscreants for allegedly attempting to tamper with the statue. A case has been registered, and an investigation is ongoing to determine the motive behind the incident. "A few miscreants tried to tamper with BR Ambedkar's statue at Town hall. We caught them and a case has been registered and an investigation is going on. The motive behind the incident is yet to be found out...," Jagjit Singh Walia, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police in Amritsar told ANI. (ANI)
Chinese premier holds symposium with foreign experts in China

Xinhua) 07:58, January 27, 2025

Chinese Premier Li Qiang holds a symposium with representatives of foreign experts who have won the 2024 Chinese Government Friendship Award and those who are working in China ahead of the Chinese New Year at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 26, 2025. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang attended the symposium. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday held a symposium at the Great Hall of the People with representatives of foreign experts who have won the 2024 Chinese Government Friendship Award and those who are working in China.

Li extended Chinese Lunar New Year wishes and sincere greetings to the foreign experts, and thanked them for their long-term concern and support for China's modernization efforts. He also listened to their opinions and suggestions on China's reform, development and government work.

Experts from countries including the United Kingdom, Poland, Mali, Romania, Germany and Pakistan delivered speeches on topics such as scientific and technological innovation, economic and trade cooperation, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, international communication and talent development.

Foreign experts have made positive contributions to China's new achievements in development in the past year, Li said. Their experiences of working and living in China exemplify the positive interaction and deep integration between China and the world, he said.

Noting that the world needs communication and the process of globalization is irreversible, Li said China consistently advocates strengthening international dialogue and will continue to uphold openness and inclusiveness while actively promoting international exchanges in various fields.

The premier stressed that innovation requires cooperation, and as the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation deepens, scientific research has become increasingly complex and systematic, making open cooperation both a trend and an inevitable choice.

China will continue to expand openness in science and technology, broaden and deepen joint research, actively participate in global technology governance, collaborate with all nations to solve practical problems and jointly address global challenges, he said.

He said China's doors will always remain open to talents from all countries. The Chinese government will further optimize relevant policies, enhance service guarantees, and build more international exchange and cooperation platforms, continuously creating favorable conditions for foreign talents to work in China, said the premier.

Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang attended the symposium.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
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Hamas on Sunday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt and Jordan.

In a press statement, Hamas described the plan as an "aggressive scheme" aimed at displacing Palestinians and undermining their national cause.

Hamas said that the Palestinian people, who have endured "genocide and forced displacement" by the "Israeli occupation, particularly in northern Gaza, remain committed to their land and historical rights."

"The Palestinians will not accept any plans that seek to uproot or displace them," Hamas said.

Hamas also called on the U.S. administration to cease its support for Israeli policies that infringe on Palestinian rights.

Hamas appealed to Arab and Islamic nations, especially Egypt and Jordan, to reaffirm their opposition to the displacement of Palestinians and support their resilience by assisting in rebuilding Gaza and strengthening their presence on their land.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Monday said that if need arises Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code will be challenged in the courts. His statements came as the UCC came into force in Uttarakhand from today. "Let it happen. Let them implement it today. After that, we will see," Khurshid told reporters here. "I too have a house in Uttarakhand, will it be applicable to me too? It also says that it will be applicable to those who are residents of Uttarakhand, regardless of wherever they live. So, how far will UCC follow them? What they have done and with what thinking they have done this - we don't understand it...If there is something in it that needs to be discussed, we will do it. If needed, we will challenge it in court," he added. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the implementation of UCC will bring uniformity in all laws relating to personal civil matters that discriminate based on caste, religion, gender, etc, adding that all the necessary preparations have been completed to implement UCC, including approval of the rules of the Act and training of the concerned officials. Taking to X, CM Dhami wrote, "Dear residents of the state, The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be implemented in the state from January 27, 2025, making Uttarakhand the first state in independent India where this law will come into effect. All the necessary preparations have been completed to implement UCC, which includes approval of the rules of the Act and training of the concerned officials. UCC will bring uniformity to society and ensure equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens. The Uniform Civil Code is just an offering made by our state in the great yagya being done by the Prime Minister to make the country a developed, organized, harmonious and self-reliant nation. Under the Uniform Civil Code, an attempt has been made to bring uniformity in all laws relating to personal civil matters that discriminate on the basis of caste, religion, sex etc." The Uttarakhand government will implement the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Act, 2024, today establishing a streamlined framework for the creation and cancellation of wills and supplementary documents, known as codicils, under testamentary succession. According to the state government, this act applies to the entire area of the state of Uttarakhand and is also effective on the residents of the state living outside Uttarakhand. The UCC applies to all residents of Uttarakhand, except Scheduled Tribes and protected authority-empowered persons and communities. Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), aiming to simplify and standardize personal laws related to marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance. Under this, marriage can be solemnised only between those parties, none of whom has a living spouse, both are mentally capable of giving legal permission, the man should have completed at least 21 years of age and the woman 18 years of age and they should not be in the ambit of prohibited relationships. Marriage rituals can be performed in any form under religious customs or legal provisions, but it is mandatory to register marriages taking place after the implementation of the Act within 60 days. Marriages solemnised before March 26, 2010, or outside the state of Uttarakhand, where both the parties have been living together since then and fulfil all the legal eligibility criteria, can (although it is not mandatory) get registered within six months of the coming into force of the Act, said an official statement by the government. Similarly, the work of acceptance and acknowledgement of marriage registration is also required to be completed promptly. After receiving the application, the sub-registrar has to make an appropriate decision within 15 days. (ANI)
Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar surrendered before the jail authorities on January 24 as the operating doctor was not available till January 30. Delhi High Court on January 22 granted interim bail to Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who had to undergo cataract surgery at AIIMS in Delhi on January 24. He is serving a life sentence in the Unnao Rape case and ten years imprisonment in a custodial death case. The court also had said that if in any case, it doesn't take place on January 24, he shall surrender before the concerned jail authorities on the same day. Senior advocate N Hariharan submitted before the Division bench headed by Justice Navin Chawla that Sengar had already surrendered on January 24 as the operating doctor was not available. We will move the court again on January 28 and 29 to seek medical bail for cataract surgery. The bench asked the counsel to argue on appeal and listed the matter in February 2025. The bench had granted the relief on furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 50000 and one surety in the like amount. The High Court had said that Sengar will be released from Jail on January 23 and get himself admitted to AIIMS on January 24 for surgery. The high court had also directed that one police constable shall be stationed outside his private ward. Only two visitors would be allowed to see him at a time. Senior advocate Sameer Vasisth argued for Sengar. It was submitted that he was advised to undergo a cataract surgery at AIIMS which is scheduled for January 24. But his medical bail expired on January 20 and he was directed to surrender by the coordinate bench. It was also argued that the appellant is required to undergo the cataract surgery. On the other hand, advocate Mehmood Pracha appeared for the victim and opposed the interim bail application. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought direction to de-recognition of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for allegedly failing to disclose the criminal antecedents of the party and its candidates during election nominations/ affidavits. The plea sought directions to the Election Commission of India to suspend, revoke, or cancel the registration of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The petition had requested this action in relation to the upcoming Delhi Assembly Elections 2025, as well as future Lok Sabha and other Assembly elections across the country. The petitioner argued that AAP's omission to disclose the criminal records of its candidates, as well as the party's own criminal history, violated the Supreme Court's directions. The Court had previously mandated that political parties and candidates disclose any criminal background as part of their nomination process. According to the petitioner's counsel, AAP had failed to comply with this requirement, particularly in light of allegations surrounding the party's involvement in the alleged liquor scam, where AAP is reportedly named as an accused. The bench of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela while disposing of the plea stating that the Supreme Court had already issued clear and binding guidelines regarding the disclosure of criminal antecedents. The court noted that there was no provision under the law for the de-recognition of a political party based solely on the failure to disclose such information. In response to the court's decision, the petitioner chose to withdraw the PIL and granted the liberty to approach the Supreme Court directly if they wished to pursue the matter further. The petitioner, Ashwini Mudgal, submitted that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not taken any action against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) despite a representation dated 19.01.2025. The petitioner also stated that the ECI had failed to respond to why no action was being contemplated against AAP, or why its candidates were not being required to disclose on the party's official website that AAP is an accused in the alleged liquor scam and has been charge-sheeted by the Enforcement Directorate. The plea submitted that, as of the present date, criminal cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate are still pending against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has been charge-sheeted. Consequently, the plea argued that any candidate contesting on the AAP's symbol should be required to declare that their party, AAP, has been charge-sheeted by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with allegations of using illegal money during the Goa Assembly elections. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav is scheduled to leave for a four-day Japan visit on Monday seeking investment opportunities and to invite industrialists for the Global Investors Summit (GIS) to be held in state capital Bhopal next month. The GIS is scheduled to be held on February 24-25, 2025, in Bhopal. The two-day program is organized aiming to highlight the investment climate and industrial infrastructure of Madhya Pradesh, offering numerous opportunities for potential collaborations. It will serve as a platform for global leaders, industrialists, and experts to share insights on emerging markets and trends, and to explore ways to leverage the investment potential of Madhya Pradesh. During the visit, CM Yadav will interact with local industrialists in major cities of Japan like Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe regarding investment opportunities in Madhya Pradesh. The Chief Minister's visit is believed to be an important step towards strengthening India-Japan relations. Before embarking on a visit to Japan today, CM Yadav told ANI, "Our government is working to ensure employment opportunities for all sections of the society, especially, women and youth. Following the work done in the last year, Madhya Pradesh is seeing growth in many sectors. Today, I am going to Japan. Japan will work in many sectors in Madhya Pradesh. I have to extend invitations there for the Global Investors Summit to be held on February 24-25..." "I am happy that the state government is extending full support to provide new job opportunities for youth according to their ability and their intelligence. We will move forward with full strength, take Madhya Pradesh forward and will provide work to all. I assure all the youth that let's move to the new era. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country as well as Madhya Pradesh is moving forward," he added. According to the official release, CM Yadav will leave for Tokyo from New Delhi on Monday evening and will reach Tokyo in the early hours of Tuesday (January 28). On January 28 morning, he will hold a meeting with the Ambassador of India to Japan Sibi George at his residence and then will offer floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi statue at Mahatma Gandhi Park in Edogawa city. After that he will attend a 'Celebrating India-Japan Relationship: Madhya Pradesh' program organized at the Indian Embassy and hold a discussion with industrialists on the possibilities of investment and partnership. Additionally, he will have one-to-one meetings with industrialists as well on the occasion. On January 29, CM Yadav will again hold a one-to-one discussion with investors and industrialists in the morning, followed by meetings with prominent industrialists and organizations of Japan. After that, the Chief Minister will also visit the tourist places of Tokyo. Furthermore, the CM will visit Kobe and Osaka cities on January 30 and hold discussions with officials of some prominent industries. He will also participate in the interactive session on "Investment opportunities in Madhya Pradesh" in Osaka. On the next day, January 31, the Chief Minister will participate in the G2G (Govt. to Govt.) and B2G (Businessman to Govt.) meetings and then leave for Kyoto from Osaka. He will visit various sites in Kyoto to learn about the cultural and industrial progress of Japan. He then will reach Tokyo in the evening and will leave for India in the early hours of February 1. During the visit, CM Yadav will highlight the initiatives promoting investment, innovation and sustainable development in Madhya Pradesh. Japan will participate as 'Partner Country' in "Invest Madhya Pradesh - Global Investors Summit 2025" (ANI)
Chhattisgarh's Chilkapalli village has finally received electricity, marking a significant milestone in the region's development. This remote village, located about 50 km from the Bijapur district headquarters, had been without electricity since India's independence. Chilkapalli is the sixth village in Bijapur to be electrified under the 'Niyad Nellanar' Yojana. Bijapur Collector Sambit Mishra expressed his joy at the development, stating that the electrification of more villages is planned in the coming months. Bijapur Collector Sambit Mishra told ANI, "It is a matter of great joy that electrification took place in Chilkapalli village on January 23. This is the sixth village where we have completed electrification, and we hope that in the next few months, we will electrify more villages systematically as soon as possible." The electrification of Chilkapalli village is part of the Chhattisgarh government's 'Niyad Nellanar' Yojana under Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. It aims at providing basic amenities to tribal villages in remote areas. This initiative seeks to make these villages "ideal villages" by providing essential services such as housing, electricity, drinking water, roads, bridges, and schools. For the residents of Chilkapalli, electricity has brought about significant improvements in their daily lives. "Earlier there was no electricity here. Now electricity has come, it is good for cooking food, it is also good for children to study at night," said a tribal woman. Another resident of Chilkapalli village expressed her joy over her village getting electricity saying, "Now that we have electricity, we can watch TV, cook, and even venture out at night without fear." The village is about 50 km from the Bijapur district headquarters and is part of the Phutkel Panchayat. Until now, there hadn't even been a paved road connecting the village. An employee of the electricity department in Bijapur, Faldoor, stated that commuting to set up electricity in Chilkapalli village was difficult, and it took 3-4 months for electricity to reach there. "Commute was difficult (without electricity). The government officials talked to the villagers and then set up electricity here. The villagers say that now that the government has provided electricity, they can protect themselves from snakes and scorpions. It took 3-4 months for electricity to reach here," Faldoor said. Not only has electricity finally reached this inaccessible village surrounded by Naxal problems, but the deployment of the CRPF has also removed the dark shadow of Maoism, which had previously plagued the area. Notably, Sai had earlier reaffirmed that the state's strong stance in eradicating Maoism, describing it as cancer to society. "Our soldiers have achieved huge success and our government is working to end the Naxalism. Maoism is like a cancer and we will succeed in destroying it completely. We will fulfil the resolution of the PM and the HM. I salute the courage of our security force personnel and praise them... Naxalism is taking its last breath and we will end it by 31 March 2026," said Sai. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minsiter Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday expressed gratitude to the residents of the state and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state. Speaking to reporters, CM Dhami said, "I express gratitude to the people of Uttarakhand and thank PM Modi as we fulfil the promise we had made... we have done this work on the blessings of the residents of the state who gave us a chance to form a government. Whether it is the UCC committee, PM Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah, I express gratitude to all." He further stated that post-independence, Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country to implement UCC. "Today, post-independence, Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country to implement a Uniform Civil Code. A portal has been prepared for registration. It has just started... Today is a historic day... and 27th January will be celebrated as UCC Diwas every year," he said. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launched the UCC portal and rules on January 27, 2025, marking a significant milestone in the state's journey towards social justice and equality. The UCC aims to simplify and standardize personal laws related to marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance. An official order from the Uttarakhand government reads, "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of The Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand, 2024 (Act no 3 of 2024), the Governor hereby appoints the date 27 January 2025 as the date on which the said Code shall come into force." Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Act, 2024, is aimed at establishing a streamlined framework for the creation and cancellation of wills and supplementary documents, known as codicils, under testamentary succession. According to the state government, this act applies to the entire area of the state of Uttarakhand and is also effective on the residents of the state living outside Uttarakhand. The UCC applies to all residents of Uttarakhand, except Scheduled Tribes and protected authority-empowered persons and communities. Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), aiming to simplify and standardize personal laws related to marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance. (ANI)
Spiritual leader and orator Devkinandan Thakur on Monday said that the Sanatana Dharma Sansad, which he convenes at the ongoing Mahakumbh, is organised for safeguarding Sanatanis. Devkinandan Thakurji Maharaj, as he is popularly known, said that the Dharma Sansad has been called for a board that can bring all our puja, tradition, culture, and Gau mata together and protect them. "This Sanatana Dharma Sansad is for safeguarding Sanatanis. If a board can bring all our puja, tradition, culture, and Gau mata together and protect them, the Dharma Sansad has been called for that purpose. Several saints and Mahatmas are arriving here who want to show the right direction to the Sanatana world. We hope that Santana world will receive a new direction through this Dharma Sansad," Thakurji Maharaj told ANI. "The kind of arbitrariness that has been done by the Waqf Board--we all know what the Waqf Board is doing. They said that the land where Kumbh is taking place belongs to them. If Kumbh, Parliament and the airport belong to them, then what belongs to you?" he added. He went on to say that this is the "Sanatani yug," highlighting the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to the Mahakumb. "Home Minister Amit Shah is coming here with his entire family. He will take a holy dip in Sangam. Several people are defaming Ganga Jal but he is coming here to take a holy dip," he stated. "If the Sanatana Board is formed, then the flag of Sanatana will keep flying high for thousands of years," he added. A devotee from Delhi, Gajender Yadav, said that he was here to demand the Sanatana board. "I am here to demand a Sanatana Board; if a Waqf Board can be formed in India, then why can't Hindus get a Sanatana Board? We request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give us a Sanatana board," Yadav told ANI. Earlier on Monday, Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty appealed to Hindus to attend the Dharma Sansad, organised by spiritual leader and Bhagwat Katha orator Devkinandan Thakurji Maharaj, in the ongoing Mahakumbh in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. In a self-made video, Shetty stated that the main aim of the Sansad is to push for a Sanatana Board responsible for the protection of Hindu temples, gurukuls, and gaushalas. "A historic moment awaits at Prayagraj Mahakumbh; crores will unite in devotion to Sanatana Dharma on January 27, a movement to establish the Sanatan Board," the actor said. Monday's meeting of the Dharam Sansad is expected to lay the groundwork for the constitution draft of the Sanatana Board. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed parts of the Madras High Court's December 28 order, including adverse remarks against the Chennai Police Commissioner and other officials, regarding the leak of the FIR and the identity of the survivor in the alleged sexual assault of an Anna University student. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma also stayed, until further orders, the High Court's directive to conduct a departmental inquiry into the FIR leak. The court stayed the portions of the High Court order, including paragraphs 20, 21, 23, and 29(9), where lapses by the police were noted. In paragraph 29(9), the High Court had directed the state and the Home Secretary to initiate a departmental inquiry against officials responsible for lapses, negligence, and dereliction of duty under relevant service rules. The Supreme Court also issued a notice on Tamil Nadu's plea seeking to expunge the adverse remarks made by the High Court concerning police lapses. The bench clarified that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed for the case would continue its investigation. During the hearing, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra, representing the state government, argued that the leak of the FIR and survivor's details was due to a "technical glitch" in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), managed by the Centre. Rohatgi explained that the FIR was inadvertently exposed due to the migration from the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. He further noted that the state and police were not opposing the High Court's decision to constitute an all-women SIT for the case. The High Court had earlier criticised the Commissioner of Police for holding a press conference on the case without prior government sanction, stating that such an event should have been avoided. It also described the FIR leak as a serious lapse by the police, which caused trauma to the victim and her family. Additionally, the High Court criticised the insensitive wording of the FIR, which it said encouraged victim-blaming. The alleged sexual assault of a second-year engineering student occurred inside the Anna University campus in Chennai on December 24, 2024. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed an application filed by a lawyer, challenging the apex court's Registrar order of August 5, 2024, which had declined to register his previous application related to the Hindenburg-Adani Group matter. A bench headed by Justice JB Pardiwala rejected the application filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari. The application rejected by the Registrar of the apex court was to direct the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to submit its conclusive investigation report on the allegations made by the Hindenburg against the Adani Group. The Registrar had declined to accept his miscellaneous application saying that the application did not disclose any reasonable cause. Filing the application before the top court, the petitioner asked it to direct the Registry to register his miscellaneous application. The application stated that due to the recent Hindenburg controversy, it becomes incumbent for SEBI to conclude the pending investigations and declare the conclusion of the investigations. "Allow the appeal of the petitioner against the lodgement order dated August 5, 2024, of the Registrar (Judicial listing) Supreme Court of India and direct the Registry to register the miscellaneous application and list before the Supreme Court for appropriate orders," the petitioner urged. The petition also stated that the Registrar of the top court has refused to register miscellaneous applications under Order XV Rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules 2013 On the grounds of no reasonable cause for registration. The petitioner said that this has suspended the fundamental right of the petitioner and has closed the door of the court for the petitioner forever. The petitioner said that the conclusion drawn by the Registrar is contrary to the direction given by the court in an order dated January 3. 2024. "The top court has clearly fixed the timeline of three months for the completion of investigations by the SEBI. By using the word "preferably" it cannot be understood that no timeline was fixed. When specifically three months have been mentioned in the order, it is sufficient to be understood as prudent that a fixed time period is laid down for the completion of the pending investigations," said the advocate. The plea also stated that despite the SEBI chief having denied the allegation as baseless and the top court also held that third-party reports cannot be considered this all has created an atmosphere of doubt in the minds of the public and investors. The applicant said that in such circumstances, it becomes incumbent for SEBI to conclude the pending investigations and declare the conclusion of the investigations. "In a blog post, Hindenburg claimed that 18 months after its initial report on Adani, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has shown a "surprising lack of interest" in investigating Adani's alleged web of undisclosed Mauritius and offshore shell entities. Citing whistleblower documents, Hindenburg alleged that SEBI Chairperson and her husband were involved in the same offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds allegedly controlled by Vinod Adani, the elder brother of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani," the plea read. "These funds are believed to have been used for round-tripping funds and inflating stock prices," the plea read. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to transfer the ongoing disproportionate assets case against former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) YS Jagan Mohan Reddy from Hyderabad to a location outside Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Court was hearing a plea filed by Andhra Pradesh Deputy Speaker Raghu Rama Krishna Raju of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), who sought the transfer of the case, alleging that the state machinery was being manipulated in favor of the former CM. A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma observed that transferring the matter was unwarranted since the High Court is monitoring the case before the concerned CBI court, which has been directed to conduct hearings on a day-to-day basis. Accordingly, the Court dismissed the plea seeking the transfer of the case against Reddy. The petition was initially filed in 2023 by Raju, who was then a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the YSR Congress Party. The plea was directed against his party leader and former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. However, in March 2024, Raju switched parties and joined the TDP. The plea alleged that the former CM had illegally amassed wealth amounting to Rs 40,000 crores and ensured that the criminal trials against him remained dormant, with no significant progress. "Shockingly, the state machinery has been more than happy to act as silent spectators to this abuse of the judicial process, turning criminal trials into friendly matches between the accused and the prosecution," the plea stated. The petitioner sought the transfer of the case, which is currently pending before the Special Judge for CBI Cases in Hyderabad, to a court of equal and competent jurisdiction in any other city. The Supreme Court, however, dismissed the plea, reiterating that transferring the case against Reddy was unnecessary. (ANI)
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A top Iranian military commander said Sunday the country's drones have been equipped with homegrown missiles that employ artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the official news agency IRNA reported.

Commander of the Navy of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Alireza Tangsiri made the remarks in an address to reporters in the southern Iranian province of Bushehr while he was elaborating on a two-day large-scale naval drill held by his forces in Iran's southern waters.

He said the IRGC Navy equipped two homegrown combat drones Mohajer-6 and Ababil-5 with the domestically developed "Qaem and Almas" missiles incorporating AI technology.

Tangsiri added the IRGC Navy and Iran's Defense Ministry are developing AI-empowered cruise missiles with operational ranges of over 1,000 km and the ability to hit targets at different altitudes.

According to Tangsiri, the drill starting on Friday off the coasts of Bushehr and Khuzestan provinces aimed to show "peace and friendship" to neighbors and show that Iran and regional states could ensure security and confront any threat.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme, the Gujarat government is actively providing financial assistance to farmers for the installation of solar pumps. Under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the scheme has been implemented extensively, resulting in the installation of over 7,700 off-grid solar pumps by farmers in the state by December 2024. The government has disbursed subsidies exceeding Rs 218 crore, covering approximately 70 per cent of the cost. These off-grid solar pumps are not only helping farmers save electricity but are also contributing to environmental sustainability, said a release from Gujarat CMO on Monday. As per the release, the PM-KUSUM scheme, launched by the central government in 2019, aims to ensure regular availability of water and electricity for irrigation while promoting the use of solar energy. Leveraging this initiative, numerous farmers are now using pollution-free electricity for agricultural purposes. Gujarat has been sanctioned to install 12,382 standalone off-grid solar pumps by March 2026 under the scheme. Vijayaben V. Asodariya, a beneficiary from Hadmatiya (Khakhra) village in Bhesan Taluka, Junagadh, shared her experience, stating, "Once installed, this pump operates for 8-10 hours a day without requiring electricity. It has been maintenance-free for five years and has greatly boosted crop yield and income. Additionally, being powered by solar energy, it is completely pollution-free," the release mentioned. According to the release, Narmada district leads with over 5100 solar pumps installed under this scheme. In terms of the number of solar pumps installed, the top ten districts following Narmada are Valsad with over 460, Banaskantha with over 450, Dang with over 320, Mahisagar with over 260, Gir Somnath with over 220, Chhota Udepur with over 180, Tapi with over 160, Kutch with over 130, and Navsari with over 100 pumps. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday issued a split verdict on a case involving the burial rights of a Christian man seeking to bury his father in their native village in Chhattisgarh's Bastar. Although the two-judge bench of Justices BV Nagarathana and Satish Chandra Sharma, could not reach a consensus, it issued directions for the immediate burial of the deceased in an alternative village located 20-25 kilometres away from the family's resident village. The Court permitted the deceased's family (the appellants) to be allowed to conduct the funeral in Karkapal village, where a designated burial ground for the Christian community is located. Additionally, the top court directed the State authorities and the police to provide logistical assistance in transporting the body from the mortuary in Jagdalpur to the concerned village for the funeral. Furthermore, the Court has ordered that the deceased's family be provided police protection while carrying out the funeral, noting that the case has the potential for religious tension in the concerned region. The Court noted that its decision was based on the specific facts and circumstances of the case. Interestingly, despite the disagreement, the Division Bench chose not to refer the matter to a third judge, a course of action typically followed in such cases. This decision was made keeping in view the urgency for a quick burial of the deceased person's body which has been lying in a morgue since January 7. The dispute arose when the village panchayat denied the Christian man permission to bury his deceased father in the family's resident village. This prompted the man to approach the Chhattisgarh High Court. The village panchayat and State authorities had contended that the burial ground available in the concerned village is only designated for persons belonging to the Hindu Tribal communities and not for Christians. It was stated that the family could carry out the burial in another village located 20-25 kilometres away, where a Christian burial ground exists. The High Court upheld this argument, ruling that the burial could only take place in the alternative village, citing concerns about potential disharmony if the burial occurred in the family's native village. The Supreme Court in its verdict, could not agree on a unanimous solution on the issue. Justice Nagarathana, in her judgement, opined that the deceased should be buried on the family's private agricultural land, despite the village authorities objecting to it. She further said that denying the Christian family to bury the deceased member in their native village is discriminatory and violates Articles 21 and 14 of the Constitution of India. Additionally, Justice Nagarathana also directed the State to allocate burial grounds for Christians in all states within two months. On the other hand, Justice Sharma disagreed with Justice Nagarathana's views. He opined that the religious rights under Article 25 were subject to public order and should not extend to claims on burial grounds designated for other faiths or religions. Justice Sharma therefore upheld the Chhattisgarh High Court's decision in having denied the Christian family the right to bury their deceased member's body in their native village. The top court judge said that the deceased's body shall instead be buried in the appropriate burial ground available in another village (Karakapal) 20-25 kilometres from the concerned native village (Chhindawada). Additionally, Justice Sharma also said that support must be provided by the state authorities for the burial to be carried out in the appropriate burial ground in Karkapal. As the bench could not reach a unanimous conclusion, it ultimately directed that the deceased's body be buried in Karkapal in light of the unique circumstances of the case. In the last hearing, the Court had reserved its verdict after hearing both parties in the matter. Senior Advocate Colin Gonzalves appeared for the appellant Ramesh Baghel. Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta represented the State of Chhattisgarh. (ANI)
Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), claiming that both parties are against the Indian Constitution and aim to dismantle it. Gandhi was addressing a public gathering at the birthplace of Dr BR Ambedkar in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, on Monday, where he also underlined that the Indian Constitution is not just a book but embodies thousands of years of Indian thought. "A battle of ideology is going on in India. On one hand, the Congress party which believes in the Constitution and is fighted for it. While on the other end, RSS and BJP who are against the Indian Constitution, constitution of BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi, they weaken it and they want to end it. The Indian Constitution is not just a book but thousands of years old thinking of India. There is a voice and thinking of great personalities of India in this constitution," the Congress leader said. The Leader of Opposition also took a jibe at RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, alleging that Bhagwat does not believe in India's freedom on August 15, 1947, and considers that real freedom was achieved only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power. "A few days ago RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat said that India did not get freedom on August 15, 1947, it was a fake freedom. Real freedom was achieved after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power. This is a direct attack on the constitution. They (BJP) tried to repeal the constitution before the Lok Sabha election 2024. They had said if they won 400 seats then they would abolish the constitution and change it...Remember one thing, the day the constitution is abolished, there will be nothing left in this country for the poor, dalits, Adivasis, OBCs. This is their goal," he added. "They give all the contracts to two-three billionaires. All the wealth of India is being served to people like Adani and Ambani. Where is it written in the Constitution that the wealth of India should be handed over to Adani?...It is written in the constitution that all citizens of India are equal and every Indian should have a chance to dream of creating a future. Today India has the highest unemployment rate for 50 years. Billionaire thousands of crores of rupees. They spend it on the marriage of children (referring to Ambani)," Rahul Gandhi said. He further highlighted that common people, when wanting to marry off their children, have to take loans because they do not have money, and this is due to the lack of employment opportunities. "Don't forget that the more Adani and Ambani grow, the more money these billionaires get, the fewer jobs your children will get. Demonetisation and GST are weapons to eliminate India's poor population. Common people pay the same amount of GST as Adani Ambani pays... Narendra Modi waived off Rs 16 lakh crore of billionaires' loans. But were the debts of farmers, labourers, and students waived off? You pay GST and Adani and Ambani sell Chinese goods in India. People in China get employment and those jobs are stolen from your children's hands..," he further said. The Congress leader also emphasised that billionaires have destroyed the country's employment system. "Who is the owner of the privatisation of the education and health system? The Indian education system is a system of stamps, a system of certification. Crores of people think that after such certifications, after paying lakhs of rupees to the billionaires, their children will get employment. This is a blatant lie. Your children cannot get employment in this country, no matter what they do... The billionaires have destroyed the employment system of the country... If students from IIT or IIM are not getting employment, how will you get it," he asked. Prominent Congress leaders across the nation were gathered here in Mhow and participated in Congress' massive 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' rally at the birthplace of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar in Indore's Mhow. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also participated in the rally and addressed the gathering on the occasion. Additionally, Congress National chief Kharge and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi visited Bhim Janmabhoomi Smarak and offered floral tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar on the occasion. (ANI)
Visuals from the scene showed that most of the electric bikes displayed in the showroom were gutted in the flames and significantly damaged.

Further details about the incident are awaited.

Earlier in the day, another fire broke out at a scrap godown in Mangaluru, Karnataka

The incident occurred in the Jeppinamogaru area of Mangaluru.

Fire tenders arrived at the location to assess the situation and carry out efforts to douse the flames. (ANI)
Amid the increasing number of patients affected by GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome), the civic body in Pune on Monday set up a special ward in municipality-run Kamala Nehru hospital, with 45 beddings, to provide treatment to to treat affected patients, following one reported death. Expressing concerns over the increasing cases, Maharashtra Health Minister Prakash Abitkar, said that 73 patients had been diagnosed with GB syndrome. "Of the 101 suspected patients, 73 have been diagnosed with GBS. There has been one death," the minister told ANI during his visit here. Abitkar assured that the Municipal Corporation and the Maharashtra Health Department were working collectively to prevent the increase in the number of patients with GB syndrome. He said an expert team of doctors will soon be consulted regarding the GBS. "Patients with GB syndrome are increasing in Pune, which has become a matter of concern. We will soon get the opinion of our expert team of doctors regarding GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome) patients. The Pune Municipal Corporation and the Maharashtra Health Department are working well so that the number of patients does not increase," Abitkar said. When asked about the possible issue with the water source, the health minister asserted that they had not inspected the water source. "We are visiting, as of now. We will talk to a team of experts to reach the right conclusion," Abitkar added. The minister is expected to hold a review meeting in Pune with the Health Department and officials over the Guillain-Barre Syndrome outbreak. He will also visit the affected areas and hospitals to take stock of the situation. Meanwhile, patients diagnosed with GB syndrome within the jurisdiction of Pune Municipal Corporation would be treated free of cost in the civic body-run hospital. A team from the World Health Organization (WHO) accompanied by Pune Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dr Rajendra Bhosale also visited Nanded village in Haveli tehsil of Pune. (ANI)
Union Minister Ramdas Athawale announced that the Republic Party of India (Athawale) will hold protests across Maharashtra a day after the statue of BR Ambedkar was allegedly vandalised in Punjab's Amritsar. However, he did not announce the specific date of the protests. He also condemned the alleged incident taking place on Republic Day and called for a "thorough investigation" into the incident, stating, "Who was behind this, whose planning was this should be probed." On the alleged vandalisation of BR Ambedkar's statue in Punjab's Amritsar on January 26, Athawale said in a video statement, "...Babasaheb Ambedkar's statue is located in the area around Golden Temple. It was vandalised. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's government is responsible for this. It is the responsibility of the State Government to maintain law & order...On behalf of RPI(A) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Govt, I condemn this." Athawale, who is President of the Republic Party of India (Athawale) called for "strict punishment" for those responsible for the act. He also announced his plans to visit the scene of the alleged incident. RPI(A) will organise protests across Maharashtra over this incident," he added. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also strongly condemned the incident, calling it "highly condemnable." He assured that no one responsible for the act would be spared and vowed that those behind it would face severe punishment. https://x.com/BhagwantMann/status/1883716058739048926 "No one will be allowed to break the communal harmony of Punjab. Instructions have been issued to the administration to investigate this and take strict action against the culprits,' Mann said in a social media post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday. On Sunday, the Punjab Police said that they had arrested a few miscreants for allegedly attempting to tamper with the statue. A case has been registered, and an investigation is ongoing to determine the motive behind the incident. "A few miscreants tried to tamper with BR Ambedkar's statue at Town hall. We caught them and a case has been registered and an investigation is going on. The motive behind the incident is yet to be found out...," Jagjit Singh Walia, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police in Amritsar told ANI. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday expressed that today is a special day not only for the people of Uttarakhand but for the entire nation as the state officially implemented the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). "I did what I said! Under the able leadership of the respected Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji and the guidance of the Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah ji, our government has today implemented the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand. Today is a special day for the people of Uttarakhand as well as for all the countrymen. I am confident that this stream of equality emanating from Uttarakhand will irrigate the entire country in the near future," CM Dhami said in a social media post in Hindi on X (formerly Twitter). https://x.com/pushkardhami/status/1883815546908709325 "On 12 February 2022, we had promised the people that we would give equal rights to all the citizens of the state and the people expressed their faith in us and gave us an absolute majority," CM Dhami recalled. "The implementation of UCC in the state today reflects our commitment to achieve the resolution taken before the public," he added. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launched the UCC portal and rules on Monday, marking a significant milestone in the state's journey towards social justice and equality. The UCC aims to simplify and standardise personal laws related to marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance. An official order from the Uttarakhand government reads, "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of The Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand, 2024 (Act no 3 of 2024), the Governor hereby appoints the date 27 January 2025 as the date on which the said Code shall come into force." The Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Act, 2024, is designed to establish a streamlined framework for the creation and cancellation of wills and supplementary documents, known as codicils, under testamentary succession. According to the state government, this act applies to the entire area of the state of Uttarakhand and is also effective on the residents of the state living outside Uttarakhand. The UCC applies to all residents of Uttarakhand, except Scheduled Tribes and protected authority-empowered persons and communities. Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement a UCC, aiming to simplify and standardise personal laws relating to marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance. (ANI)
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the centre is trying to increase the profit for farmers and that efforts are underway to increase production, reduce the cost of production, give a fair price for the production, and compensate in case of loss. "On Republic Day, farmers also participate in the parade. Our farmer brothers and sisters from across the country have come here to participate in the parade and are very happy. We are trying under the leadership of the Prime Minister to increase the profit for farmers. Many efforts are going on to increase production, reduce the cost of production, give a fair price for the production, and compensate in case of loss...Proposals for the rationalization of subsidies have also come from the farmers, so the Agriculture Ministry is taking many measures for farmers..." said Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Earlier in the day, Chouhan took a potshot at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi ahead of their visit to Indore's Mhow, the birthplace of Dr BR Ambedkar. Chouhan accused the Congress party of consistently insulting Ambedkar and failing to honour his legacy during their rule in Madhya Pradesh. Chouhan advised Kharge and Gandhi to apologise before Babasaheb's memorial. In a post on X, Chouhan wrote, "Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, you both are coming to Mhow today; do visit the grand memorial at the birthplace of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar in Mhow, which has been built by the Bharatiya Janata Party government. Along with this, also apologise by closing your eyes in front of Baba Saheb's memorial because you and your party always insulted Baba Saheb. After independence, Congress governments ruled Madhya Pradesh for decades but Congress neither held any event at his birthplace nor thought about building a memorial." (ANI)
Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, accompanied by saints from various maths, temples, and Akharas, took a sacred dip at the Triveni Sangam on Monday, amidst the chanting of Vedic mantras. Guided by the saint community, the leaders participated in the ritual, with holy water from the River Ganga sprinkled on them as part of the traditional puja-archana, according to an official release. Following the holy dip, both the Home Minister and Chief Minister performed a special puja and participated in the Sangam Aarti at the site. Joining Amit Shah in the sacred rituals were his wife Sonal Shah, son Jai Shah, daughter-in-law, and granddaughters, making it a family occasion steeped in spirituality. On this significant occasion, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath presented a Kumbh Kalash to the Home Minister as a gesture of tradition and respect. The saint community honoured the Home Minister with garlands, sandalwood paste, and a tilak, further marking the sanctity of the moment. Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, dressed in saffron attire, took a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam, accompanied by prominent saints including Juna Peethadheeshwar Avdheshanand, Niranjani Peethadheeshwar Kailashanand, Akhada Parishad President Ravindra Puri, and Baba Ramdev. The saints performed the Vedic rituals, sprinkling the sacred Sangam water on the Home Minister. Following this, the Home Minister offered 'Arghya' to the Sun. The Tirtha purohits then conducted a special puja for both the Home Minister and the Chief Minister at the Sangam site, culminating in a grand Sangam Aarti. The chants of Maa Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati echoed across the holy site, creating a spiritually uplifting atmosphere. The youngest members of the Shah family also received blessings from the saints, with Chief Minister Yogi sharing a lighthearted moment with the children. Amid the resonating chants of Har Har Mahadev, Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath bowed in devotion to Maa Ganga and Lord Bhaskar. After taking a holy dip in the Sangam, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath performed prayers and worship amidst the chanting of Vedic mantras and shlokas. Following the worship, a grand Sangam Aarti was conducted, with the Home Minister's entire family, including his wife, son, and daughter-in-law, participating in the rituals. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath later presented a silver Kumbh Kalash to the Home Minister before they proceeded to Akshay Vat. The ritual was graced by the presence of revered saints such as Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Avdheshanand Giri of Juna Akhara, Peethadheeshwar Kailashanand of Niranjani Akhara, Baba Ramdev, Akhada Parishad President Ravindra Puri, Harigiri of Juna Akhara, and senior Mahants of various Akharas. Earlier, the Home Minister and CM Yogi arrived at the VIP Ghat in Arail, where they boarded a cruise to the Sangam. The leaders paid obeisance to Maa Ganga, fed Siberian birds, and held a special discussion on Maha Kumbh arrangements with Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Avdheshanand, Mahant Hari Giri, and Mahant Prem Giri in a private room on the cruise. During the Sangam snan, Baba Ramdev and Satua Baba assisted CM Yogi Adityanath in the ritual dip. Post the bath, Swami Ramdev guided the Chief Minister in performing a special yoga pose, 'Tadasana.' The ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj has witnessed an extraordinary surge in devotees, with over 6.019 million pilgrims taking the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers as of noon on Monday, as per the Uttar Pradesh government. Mahakumbh, which commenced on January 13 with the auspicious Paush Purnima, has already witnessed an overwhelming turnout, with over 130 million devotees have taken a holy dip in the sacred waters of Prayagraj. According to tradition, pilgrims flock to the Sangam--the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati (now extinct) rivers--to take the holy dip believed to absolve sins and grant moksha (liberation). Key bathing dates of the Maha Kumbh include January 29 (Mauni Amavasya - Second Shahi Snan), February 3 (Basant Panchami - Third Shahi Snan), February 12 (Maghi Purnima), and February 26 (Maha Shivaratri). Rooted in Sanatan Dharma, the event signifies a celestial alignment that creates an auspicious period for spiritual cleansing and devotion. The Mahakumbh Mela is expected to host over 45 crore visitors, marking a historic occasion for India. (ANI)
Delhi High Court disposed of the petition of Rajan Singh, a transgender candidate of the Aam Janata Party from the Kalkaji assembly constituency seeking security due to threat after perusing the assessment report filed by the Delhi police. Police said that there was no threat to him. The report stated that the perception of threat is not genuine. The High Court said there was no further order required and disposed of the petition. Justice Vikas Mahajan after perusing the status report and noting the submissions of Additional Standing counsel (ASC) for Delhi police with no further direction. It was stated by the Delhi Police that there is no threat to the petitioner and his perception of threat is not genuine. An enquiry was conducted by the special cell. It was stated that the security arrangements would be done whenever there is an election program of the petitioner. During the hearing, petitioner Rajan Singh submitted before the bench that one of his friends had been murdered on Thursday and Delhi Police is saying that there is a threat perception. He also said that if there was no inquiry by the police then how can a report get filed stating that there is no threat to me? The High Court said that we don't have any other machinery than the Delhi police, it is saying there is no threat perception. On January 20, the Delhi High Court issued notice to Delhi Police and sought a response to the plea moved by transgender Rajan Singh. Singh is contesting Delhi State assembly elections from Kalkaji. He has sought personal security due to the threat to his life as he is contesting polls. Rajan Singh moved a petition through advocate Subhash Chandra Budhiraja. It was stated that the petitioner is going to contest Delhi Assembly Election 2025 and had successfully filed his nomination papers before the Returning Officer, Kalkaji Assembly Constituency Election. It is alleged that the petitioner is being threatened by some rival candidates with dire consequences and for this, the petitioner urgently needs police protection and the Hon'ble Court may kindly direct the Respondents to provide police protection to the petitioner, as provided in the year 2024 for contesting the Delhi Assembly Election 2025. It was submitted that the petitioner urgently needed protection, when the petitioner was going to take his Electoral Roll Certificate on 15.01.2025 from the office of the Electoral Officer, AC-49, Tuglakabad Extension, New Delhi, some unknown persons/ opposite party's henchman came near the petitioner and snatched his Electoral Roll Certificate from his hand and tore the same and threatened the petitioner. The petitioner immediately called PCR on 15.01.2025, PCR Petrol Vehicle came, but the PCR did not take any action against that person, thereafter the petitioner immediately called the SHO P.S. Sangam Vihar, but the SHO P.S. Sangam Vihar but no action was initiated. The petitioner again called ATO Sangam Vihar, regarding the above-mentioned incident and asked to provide necessary help, but the said ATO denied to help the petitioner. It is further submitted that the petitioner urgently needs police protection because the petitioner has to campaign for his Delhi Assembly Election-2025 and the petitioner is the sole candidate of the Transgender Community and going to campaign in his Kalkaji Assembly Constituency, to avoid some untoward incident the petitioner herein may kindly be provided with the police protection It is also submitted that the petitioner was granted police protection for campaigning on 29.04.2024. The said security continued till 14th October 2024. (ANI)
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This photo shows a view of the Chinese part of the China-Vietnam Detian-Ban Gioc Waterfall cross-border tourism cooperation zone in Chongzuo, south China's Guangxi Province, Dec. 15, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has vowed to continuously solidify the foundation for building a Vietnam-China community of shared future.

In a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam He Wei in the Vietnamese capital, Chinh said that the traditional friendship between Vietnam and China is time-honored and unbreakable.

The Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese government have always regarded the development of relations with China as a strategic choice and top priority, Chinh stressed.

The Vietnamese prime minister urged both sides to fully leverage the advantages of land and sea connectivity between the two countries and step up substantive cooperation and the implementation of significant and symbolic projects.

For his part, He said China is willing to work with Vietnam to promote the steady and long-term development of China-Vietnam friendship and contribute to regional and world peace and prosperity.
Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh came down heavily at Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over his recent post on X (formerly Twitter), where Chouhan accused Congress of insulting BR Ambedkar, stating that "the union minister has a habit of lying". The Congress also claimed that the decision to build a memorial of Ambedkar at his birthplace in Indore's Mhow was taken during former CM late Arjun Singh's government in the 1980s. "Shivraj Singh Chouhan has a habit of lying. He is taught to lie and he is an expert in it. It is a blatant lie, I have also given clarification in my post on X. Firstly, the decision to build the memorial in Baba Saheb Ambedkar's birthplace Mhow was taken by the former CM late Arjun Singh government in the 1980s. When Motilal Vora ji became the Chief Minister of the state, he talked to the architect and got the design prepared," Singh told ANI. He further said, "The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have the habit of taking possession of temple, math and to collect the credit they (BJP government) laid the foundation stone of it (Ambedkar's memorial). In 1991, the BJP lost power in the state and I became the Chief Minister in 1993. All the construction was done during my tenure. I challenge him (Chouhan) to prove it wrong." "I would say that Shivraj Singh Chauhan ji should apologise," he added. Earlier in the day, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had posted on X, accused the Congress party of consistently insulting Ambedkar and failing to honour his legacy during their rule in Madhya Pradesh. He also advised Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to apologise before Babasaheb's memorial. "Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, you both are coming to Mhow today; do visit the grand memorial at the birthplace of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar in Mhow, which has been built by the Bharatiya Janata Party government. Along with this, also apologise by closing your eyes in front of Baba Saheb's memorial because you and your party always insulted Baba Saheb. After independence, Congress governments ruled Madhya Pradesh for decades but Congress neither held any event at his birthplace nor thought about building a memorial," Chouhan said in a post on X. The Union Minister also claimed that the Congress party had stopped the construction of the memorial when they came to power, but the BJP government completed it when they returned to office. "When the Bharatiya Janata Party government was formed in Madhya Pradesh, the then Chief Minister Late Sundar Lal Patwa ji performed the Bhoomi Pujan of the memorial in Mhow. After that, the Congress government came to power and the work was stopped there. Then again the BJP government came and I became the Chief Minister, then we built a divine and grand memorial in honour of Baba Saheb," he further wrote. (ANI)
Ahead of the Delhi Assembly Elections, former Vice President Hamid Ansari cast his vote at his residence on Monday. He used the mobile postal ballot facility provided by the New Delhi District Election Office for home voting. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) was developed to allow voters to cast their vote remotely. This system is in line with the existing Postal Ballot System, which enables voters to receive and return their postal ballots electronically, even if they are outside their originally assigned voting constituency. The Delhi Chief Electoral Office initiated the "vote from home" program on January 23, which is available for senior citizens aged 85 and above or those with disabilities. The Election Commission of India had first introduced this home voting facility during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. According to the poll body, 6,399 senior citizens and 1,050 physically challenged individuals have opted for the home voting facility. With just a week left before Delhi heads to the polls on February 5, the Election Commission held a high-level meeting to review preparedness for the upcoming elections. The meeting was led by the Deputy Election Commissioner, with participation from top officials, including those from the Delhi Police, the Delhi Municipal Corporation, and various other authorities. The race for Delhi's 70 assembly seats has intensified as Election Day approaches, with the main contenders -- BJP, AAP, and Congress -- trading criticisms. The elections will take place in a single phase on February 5, with vote counting scheduled for February 8. A total of 699 candidates are contesting for the 70 seats. In the last two assembly elections, AAP has dominated with major victories, winning 67 and 62 seats in 2015 and 2020, respectively. BJP secured three and eight seats in these elections, while Congress, which held power in Delhi for 15 consecutive years, has faced setbacks and failed to win any seats in the past two assembly elections. (ANI)
Under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, an AC Volvo bus service has been launched from Gujarat to Prayagraj, allowing devotees from Gujarat to travel and take a holy dip at the Prayagraj Maha Kumbh along with their family members, according to a press release from the Gujarat Chief Minister's office. To mark the commencement of the 'Chalo, Kumbh Chale' pilgrimage, CM Bhupendra Patel flagged off the first bus to Prayagraj from the Gandhinagar Circuit House with a saffron flag. As per the rituals and tradition of Indian culture and with the chanting of mantras, CM Patel and Minister of State for Transport Shri Harsh Sanghavi warmly welcomed all devotees travelling to Prayagraj on the first Volvo bus and extended their best wishes for a pleasant journey. Minister Harsh Sanghavi said that the positive decision taken under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to enable devotees from Gujarat to take a holy dip at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj has received an overwhelming response. Since the commencement of online booking, all seats were booked within a matter of hours. Under the guidance of CM Bhupendra Patel, a decision will be made to introduce additional buses so that more devotees from Gujarat can travel to Prayagraj with their families. A decision will be made about arrangements, including accommodation, will be provided to ensure that passengers face no inconvenience along the travel route. As per the current schedule, an AC Volvo bus will depart daily at 7:00 AM from Ranip ST Depot, Ahmedabad, to Prayagraj. A 3-night/4-day package has been prepared for Gujarat's devotees at just Rs 8,100 per person through a joint initiative by the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation and the Tourism Corporation. This package includes accommodation for all three nights and bus travel. Overnight stays in Prayagraj are arranged at the Gujarat Pavilion dormitory. At the launch of the Volvo bus service by the Chief Minister - Gandhinagar MLA Rita Patel, Mayor Meera Patel, city and district organizations officials, Secretary of Tourism Dr Rajender Kumar, GSRTC Managing Director Anupam Anand, and senior officials were present. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday strongly pitched for 'One Nation, One Election' proposal and urged people to become part of the debate in large numbers, saying there should be a wide discussion so that the country can move in the right direction. The Prime Minister, who addressed the annual NCC PM rally at Cariappa Parade Ground here, referred to the bill on 'One Nation, One Election', which is being examined by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, and said an important debate is going on in the country and the issue is linked to the future of country's youth. He said a lot of damage has been caused as the pattern of simultaneous polls for assembly and Lok Sabha polls was "broken". "Today, India holds the biggest elections in the world. But in India, elections keep happening after every few months. For a very long time after Independence, Lok Sabha and Vidhaan Sabha elections used to be held together. But then this pattern was broken which caused a lot of damage to the country... A crucial debate is going on in the country, people are giving their views and this is important in a democracy... This debate is 'One Nation One Election.' I request the people of the country to become a part of this debate in large numbers... There should be a discussion across the country so that the country can move in the right direction," he said. The Prime Minister said mostly teachers are deployed for election duties and it impacts studies and governance also gets impacted. The Prime Minister urged the youth including NCC cadets, MyBharat volunteers and NSS members to be part of the debate, take part in large numbers and lead it. He said the elections to Lok Sabha and assemblies should be held simultaneously and then after the decided five years. "The country's election system is an important issue linked to the future of the youth...The issue (One Nation One Election) is directly linked to the future of youth," PM Modi said. Citing example of United States, PM Modi said the date of formation of next government is fixed and presidential election is held every four years. President Droupadi Murmu has also backed the 'One Nation One Election' move of the government. In her address to the nation on the eve of 76th Republic Day, the President said that another measure that promises to redefine the terms of good governance is the Bill introduced in Parliament to synchronise election schedules in the country. "The 'One Nation One Election' plan can promote consistency in governance, prevent policy paralysis, mitigate resource diversion, and reduce the financial burden, apart from offering many other benefits," she said. The constitution amendment bill on 'One Nation, One Election', which is being examined by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, proposes aligning the election cycles of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The bill has been opposed by several opposition parties including Congress, Trinamool Congress and DMK. The government says that synchronising electoral timelines will help meet logistical challenges, reduce costs, and minimise disruptions caused by frequent elections. The recommendations of High-Level Committee Report on Simultaneous were accepted by the Union Cabinet on September 18, 2024.The first meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the 'One Nation One Election' bill was held on January 8. In his remarks, PM Modi NCC has been expanded in the country's border areas and districts bordering the sea. "NCC has reached more than 170 border talukas and nearly 100 coastal talukas. I would also like to thank the armed forces for taking responsibility for providing special training to youth from these districts. This has benefitted thousands of young people living in border areas," PM Modi said. "The results of the NCC reform are visible in the number of cadets as well. In 2014, the number of NCC cadets was around 14 lakh. Today this number has reached 20 lakh, out of which, more than eight lakhs are girls," he added. (ANI)
The 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' rally held by the Congress at the birthplace of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar in Indore's Mhow on Monday sparked a fresh tussle with BJP stating that Narendra Modi is the only Prime Minister who participated in the birth anniversary of Ambedkar in 2016. Responding to the speech of Congress President Mallikarejun Kharge in Mhow, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told ANI, "He (Mallikarjun Kharge) said this in Mhow where BR Ambedkar was born. I want to ask him - did any of the Congress' PMs went to Mhow on the birth anniversary (of BR Ambedkar)? PM Narendra Modi is the only prime minister to attend that ceremony in 2016..." Prominent Congress leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, were present at the rally. During his speech, Mallikarjun Kharge dubbed RSS and BJP "anti-national..." He also invoked former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and said, "We will not tolerate the exploitation of the poor in the name of religion... Vallabhbhai Patel gave the order to shut down RSS, yet they pit Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel against each other... Jawaharlal Nehru said that we should destroy that terrible community together which killed the greatest man (Mahatma Gandhi) of our era... " Kharge also took a sharp dig at Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leaders who participated in the holy dip during the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Kharge said, "On one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi salutes the Constitution and on the other, he does everything against it... Don't be fooled by Narendra Modi's false promises". "Does taking a dip in Ganga alleviate poverty?... When children are dying of hunger, these people spend thousands of rupees on taking dips in the Ganga and competing with each other... Such people cannot do any good for the country," the Congress President added. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday unveiled the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) notification and became the first person to register his marriage on the newly launched UCC Portal. At a ceremony held at Mukhya Sevak Sadan at the CM's residence, the Chief Minister unveiled the UCC notification, inaugurated the UCC portal (ucc.uk.gov.in), and released the UCC Rulebook too. He declared the day as historic not only for the state but also for the entire nation and emphasised that the UCC has been introduced to establish equality in society, making Uttarakhand the first state in India to implement this reform. During the event, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi handed over the first UCC marriage registration certificate to the Chief Minister, who personally registered his marriage under the UCC. The CM also distributed certificates to the first five applicants who registered under the UCC Act. Nikita Negi Rawat became the first person to register on the UCC Uttarakhand portal. Speaking to ANI, Rawat said, "I want to congratulate Uttarakhand and the Chief Minsiter. Everyone should do this (register). This is a good start. We will slowly see what benefits we get eventually." Chief Minister Dhami highlighted that an expert committee drafted the UCC after consulting 2.35 lakh individuals. He stated that by implementing the UCC, the state government is paying tribute to the Constitution's architect, Dr BR Ambedkar, and all members of the Constituent Assembly. While making the announcement, the Chief Minister expressed his emotional connection with the 1.25 crore residents of Uttarakhand, stating that it is a moment of pride and joy for him. He added that the implementation of the UCC has ensured equal constitutional and civil rights for all citizens, including women of all religions. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for their guidance in making UCC a reality and expressed gratitude on behalf of the people of Uttarakhand. The CM recalled that during the Uttarakhand Assembly elections 2022, he had promised to implement the UCC. Despite scepticism, he was confident that the people of Uttarakhand would support this initiative. After forming the government, the first decision taken was to implement the UCC. The Chief Minister explained that the UCC is a constitutional measure aimed at eliminating legal discrimination based on caste, religion, or gender. It ensures equal rights for all citizens, promotes women's safety and empowerment, and prohibits practices like halala, triple talaq, and iddat. Scheduled Tribes listed under Article 342 of the Constitution are exempted to protect their customs. No registration fees will be charged for marriages, divorces, or annulments registered under the UCC for the first six months. The CM has categorically clarified that the UCC is not against any religion or sect. It aims to eradicate social evils and establish equality. The UCC allows individuals to follow their religious customs during marriages while ensuring uniform rules for marriage, divorce, and inheritance. The legal marriage age is now 21 for men and 18 for women and polygamy is prohibited. The UCC also guarantees equal property rights for daughters and safeguards children's rights. Acknowledging modern requirements, the CM announced that registration for live-in relationships is now mandatory, with registrars required to inform parents or guardians confidentially. Children born out of live-in relationships will also have equal rights. The UCC has introduced a simplified online registration system to ensure convenience for citizens. The Chief Minister also said that January 27 will be observed annually as Uniform Civil Code Day "UCC Diwas" in Uttarakhand. The Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Act, 2024, is designed to establish a streamlined framework for the creation and cancellation of wills and supplementary documents, known as codicils, under testamentary succession. According to the state government, this act applies to the entire area of the state of Uttarakhand and is also effective on the residents of the state living outside Uttarakhand. The UCC applies to all residents of Uttarakhand, except Scheduled Tribes and protected authority-empowered persons and communities. Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), aiming to simplify and standardize personal laws related to marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance. (ANI)
Launching the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence at GiftCity here on Monday, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the AI center will emerge as an important think tank in the region The center has become operational as a result of the MoU signed in June-2024 between the state government's Department of Science and Technology and Microsoft to develop AI in Gift City, a release said. Not only this, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center will also provide enhanced support to both government and industry by delivering effective, timely service to citizens, fostering innovation at the grassroots level and accelerating technological advancements in various sectors including manufacturing, healthcare and education, the release said. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel noted that the center was commissioned in just six months. In addition to the launch of the Center of Excellence, the Chief Minister also launched the Innovation Challenge and awarded 10 awards to MSMEs for IOT-led solution and early adoption of innovative solutions in startups. The Chief Minister said that "we are continuously adding new innovations to the country's first financial tech city 'Gift City' which was built with the futuristic vision of Prime Minister Narendrabhai Modi." The Chief Minister added that the AI Center of Excellence is a big step towards making Gujarat a hub of artificial intelligence and technology-based development. This center will act as an important bridge between startups and industry and AI technology will complete the knowledge gap in the sector, the CM said. The Chief Minister also highlighted that the government has formed the Gujarat AI Task Force to enhance governance by addressing challenges in health, agriculture, education, and industries through AI. Apart from this, Chief Minister Patel also expressed confidence that an eco system will be created to bring experts, professionals and startups on a platform to create new solutions. On this occasion, Chief Secretary Rajkumar said that it is a proud moment for Gujarat that AI Center of Excellence has been launched in Gujarat today. He said that Gujarat has become the leading and guiding state in the entire country in adopting AI technology in every sector. The Internet came as a new technology resulting in the increasing digitization of the whole world... Similarly, the state government has laid a strong foundation of 'Developed Gujarat for Developed India' by adopting AI as an innovative technology. Regarding AI technology, he said that Gujarat is established as a manufacturing hub in the entire country. Gujarat will also become the hub of AI technology in the future. By means of AI, the capacity of any government or organization is doubled and the development of the country and organization is also accelerated. That is why, Gujarat will promote AI technology in every field, including manufacturing in the coming days. Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology, and Mission Director of AI Mission, said, "In Gujarat, the AI Center of Excellence was established... Where more than 1 thousand small medium enterprises are using AI in manufacturing and around 300 start ups have been supported. In addition, he said that through India AI Mission and Semiconductor Mission, Gujarat has become the leading state in Revolution in Semiconductor Technology. GIFT City MD and CEO, Tapan Ray, highlighted the vision and infrastructure of GIFT City, stating that many leading companies from India and abroad are conducting business in sectors such as finance, banking, insurance, market research, fintech, aircraft leasing, and AI data centers within GIFT City. The 'AI Centre of Excellence,' launched today in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, Government of Gujarat, and global companies in the AI sector, enhances the vision of GIFT City. Microsoft India and South Asia CEO Dr Rohini Srivatsa said that the Innovation Challenge has been inaugurated with the Center of Excellence today to provide AI -based real -time solutions to various real problems of industries and especially startups across the country, including Gujarat. "Artificial Intelligence is not only technology but a transformative force for the Wide Spread Economy," said Ashank Desai, co-founder of Nascom and Chairman of Mastek. He said that AI is a very old technology, but in the last 5-6 years it has become widespread with computing power and modern software. At the beginning of the program Mona Khandhar, Principal Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat welcomed everyone and thanked all the participants for making the initiative of 'AI Center of Excellence' a success. The inaugural ceremony featured presentations on topics such as AI-enabled healthcare for patients, quality control of food grains, the future of financial services, and seamless digital payments for smart investment strategies. The Chief Minister visited the Experience Zone showcasing AI adoption in the health and agriculture sectors. The ceremony discussed various topics such as AI in the digital transformation era, AI chatbot for the Digital Gujarat platform in the Innovation Spotlight, and AI ecosystems for startup, industry and academia in the digital transformation era. Gujarat Informatics Ltd Tushar Bhatt, Managing Director, Project Director of the entire Shiksha Abhiyan, Lalit Narayan Sandhu, besides the officials from the Central Government and the Government of Gujarat, and entrepreneurs from various fields were present in the program. (ANI)
Yog guru Baba Ramdev on Monday praised Union Home Minister Amit Shah for taking a holy dip at the Sangam Triveni in Prayagraj in the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela, stating that he is not just the pride of the country, but also of Sanatan Dharma. "Home Minister Amit Shah is not only the pride of the country, but he is also the pride of our Sanatan Dharma. His taking a dip in Sangam is in itself a moment of extraordinary remembrance... It is a matter of great pride for all of us," said Baba Ramdev. Referring to the ongoing Mahakumbh, Baba Ramdev highlighted its significance, stating, "Mahakumbh is the biggest festival of Sanatan Dharma. This is the 'Gaurav-kaal' of the Sanatan yug..." On Monday, Home Minister Amit Shah, accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and a group of saints from various temples and akharas, took a sacred dip at the Triveni Sangam, amidst the chanting of Vedic mantras. Guided by the saint community, the leaders participated in the ritual, with holy water from the River Ganga sprinkled on them as part of the traditional puja-archana, according to an official release. Following the holy dip, both the Home Minister and Chief Minister performed a special puja and participated in the Sangam Aarti at the site. Joining Amit Shah in the sacred rituals were his wife Sonal Shah, son Jai Shah, daughter-in-law, and granddaughters, making it a family occasion steeped in spirituality. On this significant occasion, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath presented a Kumbh Kalash to the Home Minister as a gesture of tradition and respect. The saint community honoured the Home Minister with garlands, sandalwood paste, and a tilak, further marking the sanctity of the moment. Meanwhile, authorities are making special preparations for the upcoming Mauni Amavasya on January 29, a key date that is expected to bring large crowds of devotees. Maha Kumbh, which commenced on January 13, will continue until February 26. The next key bathing dates include January 29 (Mauni Amavasya - Second Shahi Snan), February 3 (Basant Panchami - Third Shahi Snan), February 12 (Maghi Purnima), and February 26 (Maha Shivaratri). (ANI)
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday took a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam during the ongoing Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj and called it a "significant moment" in his life. He also shared a video on his social media account showing him performing the sacred dip. He was also seen interacting with other devotees. https://x.com/KirenRijiju/status/1883868994354262426 Rijiju told ANI, "Maha kumbh is connected to the faith of crores of people. Taking a dip in the holy waters here is a significant moment in my life. Crores of pilgrims are visiting Prayagraj and all of them are saying that the arrangements here are really good. I congratulate UP CM, his team and the whole administration for making such arrangements here." The ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj has witnessed an extraordinary surge in devotees, with over 6 million pilgrims taking the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati river as of 12 pm on Monday, as per Uttar Pradesh government. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Baba Ram Dev and several sages took a dip in the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh Mela on Moday. Before taking a dip, Shah and CM Yogi also met and interacted with the seers in Prayagraj. Till now, several Union Ministers, including Rajnath Singh and various leaders have visited Maha Kumbh and have taken a dip at the Triveni Sangam. Recently, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet also went to Prayagraj for a meeting and then took a dip at the Triveni Sangam. The Mahakumbh, held every 12 years, is being held in Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26. Rooted in Sanatan Dharma, the event signifies a celestial alignment that creates an auspicious period for spiritual cleansing and devotion. The Maha Kumbh Mela is expected to host over 45 crore visitors, marking a historic occasion for India. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday announced the official implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state, marking what he described as a historic moment for Uttarakhand and the nation. To commemorate this milestone, Chief Minister Dhami said that January 27 will be observed annually as "UCC Diwas," highlighting its significance in India's post-independence history. Speaking on the occasion, Dhami emphasised that the UCC is designed to ensure equal rights for all citizens, irrespective of caste, religion, or gender. "UCC is a constitutional measure to end legal discrimination. Through this, an attempt has been made to provide equal rights to all citizens," he stated. Additionally, the Chief Minister also announced the launch of a dedicated portal to streamline the registration process under the UCC framework, signalling the state's commitment to efficient implementation. With this decision, Uttarakhand becomes one of the first states to implement the UCC. Dhami on Monday unveiled the UCC notification and became the first person to register his marriage on the newly launched UCC Portal. At a ceremony held at Mukhya Sevak Sadan at the CM's residence, the Chief Minister unveiled the UCC notification, inaugurated the UCC portal (ucc.uk.gov.in), and released the UCC Rulebook too. During the event, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi handed over the first UCC marriage registration certificate to the Chief Minister, who personally registered his marriage under the UCC. The CM also distributed certificates to the first five applicants who registered under the UCC Act. Nikita Negi Rawat became the first person to register on the UCC Uttarakhand portal. Speaking to ANI, Rawat expressed her support, saying, "I want to congratulate Uttarakhand and the Chief Minsiter. Everyone should do this (register). This is a good start. We will slowly see what benefits we get eventually." Chief Minister Dhami highlighted that an expert committee drafted the UCC after consulting 2.35 lakh individuals and stated that by implementing the UCC, the state government is paying tribute to the Constitution's architect, Dr BR Ambedkar, and all members of the Constituent Assembly. While making the announcement, the Chief Minister expressed his connection with the 1.25 crore residents of Uttarakhand, stating that it is a moment of pride and joy for him. He added that the implementation of the UCC has ensured equal constitutional and civil rights for all citizens, including women of all religions. Dhami credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for their guidance in making UCC a reality and expressed gratitude on behalf of the people of Uttarakhand. The Chief Minister recalled that during the Uttarakhand Assembly elections 2022, he had promised to implement the UCC. Despite scepticism, he was confident that the people of Uttarakhand would support this initiative. After forming the government, the first decision taken was to implement the UCC. The Chief Minister explained that the UCC is a constitutional measure aimed at eliminating legal discrimination based on caste, religion, or gender. It ensures equal rights for all citizens, promotes women's safety and empowerment, and prohibits practices like halala, triple talaq, and iddat. Scheduled Tribes listed under Article 342 of the Constitution are exempted to protect their customs. No registration fees will be charged for marriages, divorces, or annulments registered under the UCC for the first six months. The CM has categorically clarified that the UCC is not against any religion or sect. It aims to eradicate social evils and establish equality. The UCC allows individuals to follow their religious customs during marriages while ensuring uniform rules for marriage, divorce, and inheritance. The legal marriage age is now 21 for men and 18 for women and polygamy is prohibited. The UCC also guarantees equal property rights for daughters and safeguards children's rights. Acknowledging modern requirements, the CM announced that registration for live-in relationships is now mandatory, with registrars required to inform parents or guardians confidentially. Children born out of live-in relationships will also have equal rights. The UCC has introduced a simplified online registration system to ensure convenience for citizens. The Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Act, 2024, is designed to establish a streamlined framework for the creation and cancellation of wills and supplementary documents, known as codicils, under testamentary succession. According to the state government, this act applies to the entire area of the state of Uttarakhand and is also effective on the residents of the state living outside Uttarakhand. The UCC applies to all residents of Uttarakhand, except Scheduled Tribes and protected authority-empowered persons and communities. Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), aiming to simplify and standardise personal laws related to marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance. Earlier on Monday, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said that it was an auspicious day as the state of Uttarakhand has made the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) a reality. The Vice President presided over the inaugural programme for the fifth batch of participants of the Rajya Sabha Internship Programme and also inaugurated the online portal for the Internship Programme at the Vice President's Enclave today. Addressing participants of the Rajya Sabha Internship Programme, Vice President Dhankhar said, "Today, a very auspicious sign has occurred. And that auspicious sign is, what the framers of the Constitution had envisioned and directed in the Constitution, specifically in Part 4 - the Directive Principles of State Policy. The framers of the Constitution directed the state to work hard to realize these directive principles. Some of them have been realized, but one realization is Article 44." "Article 44 of the Indian Constitution mandates and ordains that the state shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India. We are all in a joyous mood today. The beginning of the last quarter of the century since the adoption of the Indian Constitution has begun, with Dev Bhoomi Uttarakhand making the Uniform Civil Code a reality. One state has done it. I congratulate the farsightedness of the government. For realizing the vision of the founding fathers of the Constitution by implementing the Uniform Civil Code in their state, and I am sure it will only be a matter of time before the entire country adopts similar legislation," he said. BJP leader Ajay Alok on Monday reacted to the UCC's implementation and said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has been part of the Constitution since its adoption, but it took 75 years to begin its implementation. "UCC is not a new thing, it has been in our constitution ever since we adopted the constitution. It's a matter of misfortune. It took seventy-five years for us, but we are going to implement it in the states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the NDA. Uttarakhand became the first state where implementation is done and it will be like a pilot project and gradually we will implement it across the country," he stated. Reacting to the Uniform Civil Code to be implemented in Uttarakhand from today, Congress MP Kumari Selja took a potshot at the Bharatiya Janata Party and the BJP-led Uttarakhand government saying the government tries to divide people and the UCC is a part of that. "People's rights should not be snatched away. Everyone is equal, but our constitution also talks about protecting the rights of everyone. This government tries to divide people and this is also a part of that," Selja told ANI. Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Monday said that if the need arises Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code will be challenged in the courts. His statements came as the UCC came into force in Uttarakhand today. "Let it happen. Let them implement it today. After that, we will see," Khurshid told reporters. "I too have a house in Uttarakhand, will it be applicable to me too? It also says that it will be applicable to those who are residents of Uttarakhand, regardless of wherever they live. So, how far will UCC follow them? What they have done and with what thinking they have done this - we don't understand it...If there is something in it that needs to be discussed, we will do it. If needed, we will challenge it in court," he added. Congress' ally in the INDIA block however has backed the implementation of the UCC in Uttarakhand. Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey said, "Uniform Civil Code is a good thing. It provides uniform rights to all citizens. This does not create any discrimination among religions...The law in the country should run in accordance with the Constitution drafted by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. So, we feel that people should take more interest in UCC. We will have to understand that UCC is not against anyone. We don't think that there should be any controversy over UCC. It should not be linked to caste or religion...We welcome it." He also clarified that the UCC is not against any particular community, but rather aims to provide a uniform set of laws for all. On UCC being implemented in Uttarakhand, CPIM leader Brina Karat also responded and said, "It is neither uniform nor is it civil. It's the most uncivil code. It is against the constitutional understanding under Article 44 of the Directive Principles, which says it is the union government which has the responsibility. Once every state is given the right, it is no longer uniform but is determined by the state government." "The bill has nothing to do with the protection of women's rights and everything to do with the narrow political agenda of the BJP-RSS. Why are tribal women kept out of it? It takes away many existing rights that women have," said Karat. Under this, marriage can be solemnised only between those parties, none of whom has a living spouse, both are mentally capable of giving legal permission, the man should have completed at least 21 years of age and the woman 18 years of age and they should not be in the ambit of prohibited relationships. Marriage rituals can be performed in any form under religious customs or legal provisions, but it is mandatory to register marriages taking place after the implementation of the Act within 60 days. Marriages solemnised before March 26, 2010, or outside the state of Uttarakhand, where both the parties have been living together since then and fulfil all the legal eligibility criteria, can (although it is not mandatory) get registered within six months of the coming into force of the Act, said an official statement by the government. Similarly, the work of acceptance and acknowledgement of marriage registration is also required to be completed promptly. After receiving the application, the sub-registrar has to make an appropriate decision within 15 days. Uttarakhand's implementation of the Uniform Civil Code marks a significant step toward streamlining personal laws and promoting equality in the state. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday said that the state government is continuously working on the vision of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. CM Yadav also highlighted that many people were provided the benefit of state government schemes from December 11 to January 26 under Jan Kalyan Abhiyan. "On the occasion of the conclusion of the Jan Kalyan Abhiyan a program was held in Indore. Our government teams reached door-to-door across the state from December 11 to January 26 and made people aware of 63 different government schemes and provided benefits to them. The efforts made to identify the beneficiaries of the schemes and benefiting them is commendable and I extend my greetings for the same," CM Yadav said. The CM stressed that they remembered Late Babasaheb Ambedkar and dedicated the entire campaign to him. "The government is working continuously on the vision of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. I am happy that during the conclusion program of the Jan Kalyan Abhiyan in Indore, scores of people gathered here and expressed pleasure over the benefits of welfare schemes," he added. He further expressed satisfaction that the state government is working equally for all sections and for the betterment of everyone in the state. The state will continuously work for public welfare work. "The state government is also working to provide employment to all the youth of the state. I am happy that with the trust of our public welfare schemes, we are not only building the confidence of the people, but also taking them forward for the betterment of the state," he added. Jan Kalyan Abhiyan was conducted in the state from December 11 to January 26 to achieve the cent per cent target of the identified beneficiary-oriented schemes of the state government. During the campaign, the beneficiaries benefited from various government schemes. (ANI)
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Monday alleged that the release of a letter by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to the Chief Secretary was the result of pressure exerted by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. "When AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and I exposed the BJP's conspiracy regarding poisonous water, BJP through LG put pressure on the officials of Delhi government and made CEO Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to write a letter and release it," Atishi told ANI. She asserted that the letter from the Delhi Jal Board inadvertently revealed the truth, stating that water treatment plants can treat water with up to 1 ppm ammonia. Additionally, the water can be treated if the ammonia levels reach 2.5 ppm through the process of dilution. However, Atishi noted that the ammonia levels in the Yamuna river water had reached 6.5 ppm, which is six times higher than the acceptable limit. "They wanted to show that there is no issue, but truth is truth. The letter that was written by DJB - it has been clearly written that the water treatment plant of DJB can treat water up to 1 ppm Ammonia only, or by dilution of more water - the range can be increased to 2 to 2.5 ppm. But, as of today, 6.5 ppm of Ammonia is there in the water of Yamuna river. It means six times more Ammonia is there in the water of Yamuna. This clears that BJP's government in Haryana is sending poisonous water to Delhi," Atishi said. This comes after Delhi Jal Board CEO on Monday wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary, saying that the statements made by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal were "factually incorrect". "These statements are factually incorrect, without any basis and misleading," the letter read. In the letter, the CEO said that such "false" statements lead to fear-mongering among city residents and also affect the relations with the upper riparian state of Haryana. She further asked the CS to bring the matter to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena's attention as per the Transaction of Business Rules. Earlier, the Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the Haryana government to provide a "factual report" by Tuesday noon following concerns raised by an AAP delegation over the alleged increase in ammonia levels in the water supply from Haryana, which Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders claim has adversely impacted Delhi's water quality, sources informed ANI.On Monday, an AAP delegation met ECI officials, following which the issue was brought to the ECI's attention. The delegation was led by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who requested an urgent meeting, sources added. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal levelled serious allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled government in Haryana, accusing it of "poisoning" the water flowing into Delhi from the neighbouring state. "BJP's Haryana government has poisoned the water in Yamuna," Kejriwal told reporters while adding that the alertness of Delhi Jal board prevented the mixing of alleged poisoned water with drinking water. He further stated that Delhi's water treatment plants were not equipped to handle such polluted water. "It has caused water scarcity in one-third of Delhi," Kejriwal added. Responding to this, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini lashed out at Kejriwal, refuting the claims of water scarcity, saying that there was an issue in the distribution system since he failed to manage it for 10 years. (ANI)
Aam Aadmi Party National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal said that if AAP comes to power 'Mahila Samman Yojana' would be implemented immediately and Rs 2,100 would be deposited in the account of every women. He said this while addressing a public rally at Bijwasan Assembly Constituency on Monday in favour for AAP candidate Surender Bharadwaj. Kejriwal said, "After the polls 'Mahila Samman Yojana' would be implemented first and Rs 2,100 would be deposited in the account of every women. For senior citizens if they fall ill, all their expenses would be met by Delhi government whether in government or private hospital. From now onwards even the house tenants would get free electricity bills." Kejriwal said that 10 years ago he was given the responsibility in Delhi and since then he has been working hard. "Before AAP came to power there used to be power cut for 6 to 8 hours. Generators had to be used everyday.Now In Delhi electricity is available for 24 hours. BJP has formed government in 20 states. In none of them 24 hours electricity is available. If BJP is given vote, again load shedding will become normal. In BJP ruled states the electricity bill goes up to Rs 5000," he claimed. He further alleged that the BJP has announced that if it comes to power the Mohalla clinic would be shut. "Do you want the Mohalla clinic to be closed? We will make additional three mohalla clinic in each ward. I have worked hard to improve the quality of government schools. BJP says they will shut all government schools. Should they be shut? BJP says free bus ride for women should stop," he further said. Kejriwal said that ever since he went to jail their has been huge increase in water bill. "Once AAP is voted back to power all those who have got wrong water bills they won't have to pay any amount," he said. "A scheme is being developed to provide employment to all the unemployed youth. BJP says that the freebies should be stopped. Should free electricity be stopped? If BJP comes to power freebies worth Rs 30,000 monthly would be stopped including education and mohalla clinic health facility. I provide all the facilities from the taxes you give whereas the tax collected by BJP ruled states goes to their rich friends. When I provide free bus it costs 400 crores," he further said. The race for Delhi's 70 assembly seats has intensified as Election Day approaches, with the main contenders -- BJP, AAP, and Congress -- trading criticisms. The elections will take place in a single phase on February 5, with vote counting scheduled for February 8. A total of 699 candidates are contesting for the 70 seats. (ANI)
The ongoing Maha Kumbh mela has witnessed a great surge of devotees looking to experience the holy dip at Triveni Sangam, as over 15 million people, including 1 million Kalpawasis took a dip at the confluence of the Ganga, and Yamuna rivers till 10 PM on Monday. According to a statement released by the Uttar Pradesh government, over 140 million people have taken the holy dip since the commencement of the event on January 13. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also took a holy dip at the Sangam Triveni in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh on Monday. Shah was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Baba Ram Dev and other saints and sages. Till now, several Union Ministers, including Rajnath Singh and various leaders have visited Maha Kumbh and have taken a dip at the Triveni Sangam. Meanwhile, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju shared his experience of taking the holy dip, while also interacting with various devotees. Speaking to ANI after the dip, he said, "Maha Kumbh is connected to the faith of crores of people. Taking a dip in the holy waters here is a significant moment in my life. Crores of pilgrims are visiting Prayagraj and all of them are saying that the arrangements here are really good. I congratulate UP CM, his team and the whole administration for making such arrangements here." The religious congregation has also witnessed an extraordinary influx of devotees from around the world. Antonio, a pilgrim from Italy, has finally fulfilled his decade-long dream of attending the Kumbh Mela in India. "I feel fantastic," Antonio exclaimed while adding, "There's a lot of blessings in this place. I was looking forward to this. I wanted to visit for over 10 years. And finally, I'm here." Antonio's fascination with India's spiritual heritage began years ago. He had previously undertaken a 2,000-kilometer pilgrimage on foot, known as a "padh-yatra," which deepened his understanding and devotion to Indian saints. Esther, a pilgrim from Spain, has found herself immersed in the spiritual energy of the Kumbh Mela. Initially, she felt overwhelmed by the large crowds, but as the day progressed, her experience transformed. "I'm feeling great right now," Esther said.= The Maha Kumbh, held every 12 years, is being held in Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26. Rooted in Sanatan Dharma, the event signifies a celestial alignment that creates an auspicious period for spiritual cleansing and devotion. The Maha Kumbh Mela is expected to host over 45 crore visitors, marking a historic occasion for India. (ANI)
Nepal's Rupandehi District Court on Sunday ordered the release of Nepal's cooperative scam accused former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane on bail. A bench of Justice Prahladkumar Yogi of Rupandehi District Court ordered the release of Lamichhane in bail amounting to Nepali Rupees (NRs) 10 million, court officials confirmed. This is the third court amongst the 5 districts that have ordered the accused leader to be released on bail. A case was lodged against the founder of Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the fourth largest party in parliament for embezzling funds from Butwal-based Supreme Cooperative. "Rabi Lamichhane's statement was recorded in court on Wednesday. The plaintiff and defendants deliberated over the case on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Upon completion of the hearing, bench of justice Prahladkumar Yogi ordered release in bail of 10 million (Nepali rupees)," Yagyamurti Gyawali, registrar at Rupandehi District Court confirmed ANI over phone. Earlier, the Pokhara District Court had ordered his release on a bail amount of NRS 6.5 million in the case of embezzlement of funds from Suryadarshan Cooperative of Pokhara. Later he was granted bail in a similar case involving Swarnalakshmi Cooperative based in Kathmandu on bail amount of NRS 6 million. Last year on October, 18, Lamichhane was arrested from Kathmandu in the Suryadarshan Cooperative fraud case in Pokhara and was released after 84 days on bail. However, he later faced charges related to embezzlement in the Swarnalakshmi Cooperative case, where he and others are accused of misappropriating NRs 1.19 billion from 690 depositors. Lamichhane is accused of misappropriating NRS 1.199 billion from the Swarnalakshmi Cooperative alongside 38 accomplices, including key officials of the Gorkha Media Network including former vice chair Chhabilal Joshi, chair Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, and director Kumar Ramtel. They are accused of illegally diverting the cooperative funds to the media company, which ran the now-defunct Galaxy 4K Television. Lamichhane was managing director of the company before joining politics in June 2022. The charges include cooperative fraud and organised financial crimes, alleging systematic diversion of funds. Police investigations also link the accused to cooperative fraud in Butwal, Chitwan, and Parsa. Police investigations have expanded to include cooperatives in other districts, including Rupandehi, Chitwan, and Parsa. The focus of these investigations is on the systematic embezzlement of funds, which, according to authorities, were misused in a coordinated effort across multiple cooperatives. (ANI)
The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) raised alarm over the ongoing hunger strike by 48 Uyghur refugees in Bangkok, which has now entered its 15th day, as they face the threat of being deported to China. In a press release, WUC stated that these refugees, who fled persecution in East Turkistan in 2014, are at risk of "severe consequences" if forced to return to China, where the government has been accused of "systematic human rights violations" against the Uyghurs. The detainees have vowed to continue their strike until they can meet with UNHCR officials, but Thai authorities have yet to respond to their demands. WUC further highlighted that the group began their hunger strike on January 10, after learning they could be deported back to China. The international community has expressed grave concern, as China's treatment of Uyghurs is widely documented, involving arbitrary detention, forced labour, torture, and other forms of abuse. The WUC urged the Thai government to halt any deportations and called on the international community, including the United Nations, European Union, and humanitarian organizations, to intervene. "These refugees risk irreparable harm if sent back to China, where they could face torture or even death. The WUC stresses the importance of ensuring the safety and well-being of these Uyghur refugees, who continue to endure hardships," it stated. Earlier, United Nations experts urgently called on the Thai government to suspend the potential deportation of 48 Uyghur refugees to China, citing the severe risk of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment they would face upon their return. The experts emphasized that the well-documented mistreatment of the Uyghur minority in China raises serious concerns for the group's safety. They warned that deporting them would violate international laws prohibiting the return of individuals to situations where they face the threat of torture, stressing that the refugees are at risk of suffering irreparable harm. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) announced 25 per cent retaliatory "emergency tariffs" on Colombia, hours after President Gustavo Petro blocked US military deportation flights. Following Petro's announcement, Trump criticized him in a post on Truth Social and announced a slew of sanctions and policies targeting Colombia. The actions by the US President included a 25 per cent tariff on all imports from the country, a "travel ban" for Colombian citizens, and a revocation of visas for Colombian officials in the US along with "all allies and supporters." Trump further attacked Colombian President Gustavo Petro, calling him "unpopular". He claimed that his denial of these flights has "jeopardized" the national security and public safety of the United States. "I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombia's Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people. Petro's denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, so I have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures," Trump stated in a post on Truth Social. Earlier on Sunday, Petro announced blocking two US military flights carrying migrants heading toward the country and called on the United States to establish better protocols in its treatment of migrants. He also asserted that the US could not treat Columbian migrants as criminals and denied acceptance of the US planes carrying migrants. https://x.com/petrogustavo/status/1883434963057729650 "The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory. The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them." Trump has also stated that after a week, the tariffs on goods would rise to 50 per cent. "Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States. In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%," the post read. Trump has also ordered immediate visa revocations on the Colombian Government Official and imposed visa sanctions on all supporters of the Columbian President's party. "A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters," it added. "Visa Sanctions on all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government," he said. Trump further said that more such measures may follow, and that the Columbian government must follow their 'legal obligations' of taking back their migrants. "These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!" he said. (ANI)
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is set to extend his three decade-reign as exit polls show him winning the presidential elections -- which the West has called a 'sham' -- with 87.6 per cent of the votes, Al Jazeera reported citing an exit poll broadcast on state TV. Sunday's vote was the country's first presidential election since Lukashenko crushed mass protests against his government in 2020 and permitted Russia to use Belarusian territory for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Lukashenko has been in power in Belarus since 1994 and is seeking a seventh term. The country's last presidential election in 2020 ended with nationwide protests, unprecedented in the history of the country of nine million people. The opposition and Western nations accused Lukashenko of rigging the election and imposed sanctions. In response, the Belarusian government cracked down and imprisoned over 1,000 people, including Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Viasna Human Rights Centre, Ales Bialiatski. The United Nations estimates that approximately 3,00,000 Belarusians have left the country since 2020 - mostly to Poland and Lithuania. They will not be able to vote, with Belarus having scrapped voting abroad, according to Al Jazeera. "All our opponents and enemies should understand: do not hope, we will never repeat what we had in 2020," Lukashenko told a stadium in Minsk during a ceremony on Friday. Lukashenko called Belarus a "tough democracy". "We don't put pressure on anyone and we won't silence anyone," he added. His comments came a day after Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, called the election a "sham" and said, "Lukashenko doesn't have any legitimacy". Lukashenko's rule, which began two years after the demise of the Soviet Union, earned him the nickname of "Europe's last dictator", relying on subsidies and political support from close ally Russia. According to Al Jazeera, the four candidates running against Lukashenko have been picked only to give the election an air of democracy and are hardly known by the people. They are loyal to him and praise his rule. (ANI)
The Ministry of External Affairs has congratulated all the Padma Awardees from abroad who are being awarded for their outstanding contribution in various fields. "Commemorating excellence & contributions to society. Congratulations to our distinguished friends from abroad on being selected for Padma Awards 2025 by President Droupadi Murmu for their outstanding contribution in various fields," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated in a post on X. https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1883502289702535309 Osamu Suzuki (Posthumous) of Japan was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in Trade and Industry category Vinod Dham from the US received the Padma Bhushan in the Science and Engineering category. A total of 8 Padma Shri awardees include Ajay V Bhatt and Sethuraman Panchanathan from the US and Chetan E Chitnis from France, who have been awarded in the Science and Engineering category. Stephen Knapp, Nitin Nohria from the US and Arvind Sharma from Canada were also awarded in the Literature and Education category. Jonas Masetti from Brazil has been awarded the Padma Shri in 'Spiritualism', while Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah from Kuwait bagged the Padma Shri in the field of Medicine. The Padma awards, among the country's highest civilian honours, are conferred in three categories - Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan. 'Padma Vibhushan' is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; 'Padma Bhushan' for distinguished service of high order and 'Padma Shri' for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year. The Centre announced the list of recipients for the prestigious Padma Awards on Saturday, with President Droupadi Murmu's approval for 139 honorees. The list includes 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri awards. Among the awardees are 23 women, and the list features 10 distinguished individuals from the Foreigners, NRI, PIO, and OCI categories, as well as 13 posthumous awardees. The recognition spans a wide array of fields, honouring exceptional contributions to the nation's progress and global standing. The awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. (ANI)
Taiwan stated that it detected four Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 am (local time) on Sunday and 6 am (local time) on Monday. According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND), of the four People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, two crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country's northern air defence identification zone (ADIZ). In a post on X, Taiwan's MND said, "4 PLA aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1883681333584781368 Notably, Chinese activity has risen around Taiwan. On Sunday, Taiwan reported six Chinese aircraft and seven naval vessels near its territory. In a post on X, the Taiwanese MND said, " 6 PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1883320298742939714 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. Earlier on Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has raised concerns over Beijing's coercion against Taiwan during a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Focus Taiwan reported, citing the US Department of State. According to Focus Taiwan, Rubio emphasized the United States' "commitment to our allies in the region and serious concern over China's coercive actions against Taiwan and in the South China Sea," said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce in a readout following the phone call on Friday (Washington time). Bruce also quoted Rubio as stating that the US will pursue a relationship with Beijing that "advances US interests and puts the American people first." (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked a host of world leaders who extended their greetings to India on the occasion of Republic Day. PM Modi thanked Thai Prime Minister Ing Shin, Former President of Maldives, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Former Prime Minister of Nepal, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, former Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and former Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Thai PM Shin in his wish, had said that Thai-Indian relations have always been constructive and fruitful. Thanking him, PM Modi said, "Deeply appreciate your greetings PM Ing Shin as we celebrate glorious 75 years of the Indian Republic. We deeply value our relations with Thailand. Look forward to continued cooperation on enhancing regional connectivity and people to people connect." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1883522663899099254 Former Maldives President Solih had said that India's adherence to the values of democracy and constitutionalism continues to be an inspiration and "guiding example" for young democracies such as the Maldives. PM Modi thanked Solih and said, "Thank you Ibrahim Mohamed Solih for your heartfelt wishes on India's Republic Day." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1883475528415678967 While wishing India, former Nepal PM Deuba had said that Nepal and India share a "time-honored bond of friendship" rooted in shared history and values. PM Modi thanked Deuba saying, "Thank you for your kind wishes, Sher Bahadur Deuba on India's 76th Republic Day. May the age-old ties of friendship between our people continue to flourish and grow stronger." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1883475280339358079 Bhutan PM Tobgay, too wished India on the behalf of the people of Bhutan. PM Modi thanked him saying, "Thank you my friend PM Tshering Tobgay for your warm wishes on completion of 75 years of the Indian Republic. We also greatly value the unique and special partnership between India and Bhutan." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1883475169391571353 Maldives President Muizzu said that Maldives will always cherish the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation we share with India, which is built on mutual trust, respect, and understanding that have withstood the test of time. PM Modi thanked Muizzu, "Thank you President Mohamed Muizzu for your wishes on India's Republic Day. I fully share your sentiment regarding the long standing partnership between India and Maldives. We are committed to deepen these bonds of friendship and cooperation." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1883475046943080952 Nepal PM Oli affirmed hope that the ties of friendship be deeper between New Delhi and Kathmandu. PM Modi thanked Nepal PM Oli, saying, "Thank you for your warm wishes Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. As India completes 75 years of its Republic, we also deeply cherish the historical bonds of the friendship between the people of our two nations. I am confident it will continue to grow in times to come." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1883474945021509774 On Sunday, India marked the occasion with a grand showcase of its military strength and cultural diversity at the grand parade at Kartavya Path. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations this year. (ANI)
7th Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche, a prominent Tibetan Buddhist leader, arrived at the Mahakumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj on Monday, where he is attending the free yoga therapy and meditation camp hosted by Yog Guru Baba Ramdev. In his address at the camp, the 7th Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche expressed his gratitude for being part of this monumental occasion. He shared, "Thank you for having me in this historic event. This is such an important place. This is the place where whole humanity gets together and we all share the oneness of humanity. So, I feel very proud and I thank everyone for participating. I wish and pray that the world will be peaceful and all living beings live together happily and may there be a bright future in the coming years ahead." Born near Dharamsala in 1985, Ling Rinpoche was recognised by the 14th Dalai Lama in 1987 as the reincarnation of the 6th Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche, who served as the Senior Tutor to the Dalai Lama. This recognition positioned Ling Rinpoche as a respected spiritual leader. The ongoing Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj has drawn millions of devotees from around the world, with over 110 million already participating in the first 14 days of the religious congregation. The event, held once every 12 years, is expected to continue attracting a massive turnout until February 26, 2025. The presence of such esteemed spiritual leaders as Ling Rinpoche adds to the global significance of the Kumbh Mela, highlighting the unity of diverse faiths and cultures. (ANI)
American tech billionaire Elon Musk surprised many by addressing the campaign launch for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Saturday, as tens of thousands of people across the country protested against the rise of the controversial group, CNN reported. Speaking via live video to an audience of approximately 4,500 AfD supporters in Halle, Musk expressed his strong support for the party ahead of Germany's snap elections on February 23, calling it the country's "best hope." Musk appeared alongside AfD leader Alice Weidel, the party's candidate for Chancellor, and echoed AfD's nationalist sentiments, emphasising that "people take pride in Germany and being German." The statement was met with rapturous applause from the crowd. Musk also discussed immigration, a central issue in the election, warning against the dangers of "multiculturalism that dilutes everything" and calling for the preservation of national identity. Germany's upcoming elections were triggered after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence in December, resulting in the collapse of his coalition government. The AfD, recently making history as the first far-right party to win a state election since the Nazi era, has gained momentum in national polls. However, its heavy anti-immigrant policies have alienated mainstream parties, all of which have ruled out any collaboration with the AfD, reported CNN. Protests against the AfD's rise were widespread over the weekend. In Berlin, demonstrators gathered at the Brandenburg Gate, singing anti-fascist songs and holding banners denouncing the party. Similar protests were held in other cities, including Cologne, where tens of thousands of people participated in marches against far-right extremism. Climate activist Luisa Neubauer addressed the crowds, highlighting the dangers posed by the AfD's rhetoric and policies, which she argued threaten societal cohesion and environmental progress. Musk's growing involvement in European politics has drawn criticism, particularly from German leaders. Government officials have accused him of interfering in the country's democratic process after he publicly endorsed the AfD and attacked Scholz. In the weeks leading up to the campaign launch, Musk labeled Scholz an "incompetent fool" and called for his resignation. He has also compared Germany's political climate to that of the United States, urging voters to embrace change in the same way many did by supporting Donald Trump in 2016. The tech billionaire's endorsement of AfD has sparked backlash, with government officials warning of its potential implications. Social Democratic Party (SPD) co-leader Lars Klingbeil accused Musk of meddling in Germany's elections and compared his actions to those of Russian President Vladimir Putin, CNN reported. Klingbeil argued that both are attempting to destabilise democracy and weaken Germany. Similarly, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz criticised Musk's comments as an unprecedented intrusion in the affairs of an allied nation. Despite the scrutiny, Musk has continued to voice his support for populist movements in Europe, claiming that the AfD is best positioned to address the frustrations of German voters. During his address on Saturday, he highlighted the global significance of Germany's election, stating, "I think it could decide the entire fate of Europe, maybe the fate of the world." (ANI)
Two people were killed and seven others injured in a car bomb explosion near a passenger bus heading from Khuzdar to Rawalpindi in the Khori area on the Khuzdar-Shahdadkot highway on Sunday, Dawn reported. The bomb blast occurred when the bus was travelling through the area, where a car carrying explosives was parked, according to Levies officials. Speaking to Dawn, Kalat Division Commissioner Naeem Bazai said that two people were killed in the explosion. He said, "Investigation is underway to determine the nature of the blast." Earlier, Khuzdar Assistant Commissioner Hafizullah Kakar said, "One passenger was killed on the spot, while six others were injured in the blast." He said that the bus driver and cleaner were among the injured, adding that the bus was damaged while the car was completely destroyed. Levies and other security personnel and the bomb disposal squad reached the site of the incident after they received information regarding the explosion and took the body and the injured to the trauma centre of Khuzdar teaching hospital. However, the cleaner who was seriously injured died in the hospital while the other victims were taken to CMH, Khuzdar, according to the Dawn report. The deceased were identified as Shiraz and Sanaullah while the injured were identified as Mohammad Ikram, Atif, Mohammad Yousaf, Samiur Rehman, Zia and Irfan. Two among those injured are said to be in serious condition. Later, bomb disposal squad officials reached the site of the incident to gather evidence. A senior official said that the target was apparently the passenger bus travelling from Khuzdar. (ANI)
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Monday. Wang Yi noted that India and China have implemented the important consensus reached by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting held in Russia's Kazan last year. Wang Yi said that India and China have held positive interacts at all levels and accelerated the process of improving bilateral ties. He called for exploring more substantive measures and commitment to mutual understanding, support and achievement instead of mutual suspicion and alienation. The statement released by Chinese Foreign Ministry reads, "Wang Yi said that since the meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi in Kazan last year, the two sides have earnestly implemented the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, carried out positive interactions at all levels, and accelerated the process of improving China-India relations." "The two sides should seize the opportunity, meet each other halfway, explore more substantive measures, and commit to mutual understanding, mutual support, and mutual achievement, rather than mutual suspicion, mutual alienation, and mutual consumption. The improvement and development of China-India relations is fully in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and their peoples, is conducive to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the global South countries, and is conducive to making contributions of the two ancient civilizations to peace, stability, development and prosperity in Asia and the world," it added. During the meeting, Misri acknowledged that India and China hve conducted several meetings in accordance with the consensus reached by PM Modi and Chinese President Xi in Kazan. He expressed India's willingess to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with China and will fully support China's work as the chair of the SCO. The statement released by Chinese Foreign Ministry reads, "Vikram Misri said that India and China have conducted a series of beneficial dialogues and communications in accordance with the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries in Kazan, properly managed and resolved differences, and promoted the restart of practical cooperation in various fields." Vikram Misri is on a two-day visit to Beijing for a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism between India and China. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the resumption of this bilateral mechanism flows from the agreement at the leadership level to discuss the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains. While addressing a media briefing on January 24, Jaiswal said that Misri will meet with the Vice Minister of China and discussions between the two countries will be held on all areas of bilateral interest. On being asked about Foreign Secretary's visit to China and whether issues such as visa and direct air connectivity would come up in the discussions, Jaiswal said, "Regarding the upcoming visit of the Foreign Secretary which is going to happen on 26,27 January, the Foreign Secretary will be meeting his counterpart, the Vice Minister in China, where all issues of bilateral interest will be discussed. This meeting flows from the understanding that the leaders reached in Kazan, and subsequent to that, we've had meetings at the special representatives' level, and we've had foreign minister-level meetings as well. Once the discussions and talks happen then u will get a readout of what was discussed, what issues were taken up but all issues of mutual interest will be discussed". When asked about the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, Jaiswal said, "During the Foreign Secretary's visit all matters of mutual interest will be discussed that would include Kailash Mansarovar Yatra as well." India and China had reached an agreement in October on patrolling arrangements in the Depsang Plains and Demchok, two friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The understanding was reached after earlier disengagement in other friction points in eastern Ladakh following meetings at diplomatic and military levels. (ANI)
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations in Delhi on Sunday. President Droupadi Murmu led the nation in the 76th Republic Day celebrations from Kartavya Path.

President Murmu unfurled the national flag, assisted by Indian Navy officers Lieutenant Shubham Kumar and Lieutenant Yogita Saini.

Indonesia made its presence felt at India's 76th Republic Day celebrations on Sunday, with a 152-strong contingent from the Indonesian National Armed Forces participating in the grand parade at Kartavya Path in New Delhi.

The Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) marching contingent showcased Indonesia's unity and strength, with personnel from the Army, Navy, and Air Force marching together in perfect synchrony.

Dressed in honour guard uniforms, the personnel executed precise marching movements, reflecting military readiness and national cohesion. Their performance was a testament to the nation's motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" or "Unity in Diversity," reflecting Indonesia's rich cultural heritage and commitment to national integrity.

The contingent's meticulous training was evident in their precise marching movements, highlighting military readiness and national cohesion.

These parades, a long-established tradition in the Southeast Asian nation, take place during major events like the country's Independence Day and National Forces anniversaries.

The Indonesian National Armed Forces also displayed their country's strength and national identity, incorporating national symbols like the Garuda emblem and the Indonesian flag into their formations.

Additionally, a 190-member military band from Indonesia's Military Academy, "Genderang Suling Canka Lokananta," participated in the parade, serving as a powerful symbol of Indonesian national unity and military prowess. (ANI)
The White House has said that Colombia has agreed to accept repatriated migrants back to the country after two US military aircraft carrying deportees were blocked by Colombia early on Sunday, resulting in several tariff threats between US President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro, CNN reported. After Petro disallow military planes from landing, stating the US "can't treat Colombian migrants like criminals," Trump ordered "emergency 25 per cent tariffs" on all imports from Colombia would be increased to 50 per cent in a week, a "travel ban" for Colombian citizens, and a revocation of visas for Colombian officials in the US. In a post shared on TruthSocial, Trump wrote, "These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!" After Trump's announcement, Petro threatened to impose a 25 per cent retaliatory tariff rise on the US in a series of social media posts targeting Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Colombian President said that he was against the use of military planes and the treatment of migrants. However, he left the door open to Colombia accepting repatriated migrants travelling on civilian planes, CNN reported. Late on Sunday evening, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the US and Colombia had agreed to the "unrestricted acceptance" of migrants from Colombia and would allow them to enter the country "including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay." In the statement, Leavitt said that US would not sign the tariffs or economic sanctions Trump ordered "unless Colombia fails to honour this agreement." She announced that tariffs and financial sanctions will be halted. However, she announced that visa sanctions against Colombian officials and stricter customs inspections of Colombian nationals and cargo ships ordered by Trump on Sunday will remain in effect "until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned." Just moments after the White House's statement, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said that US deportation flights have resumed. The trade threats mark the first time Trump took a major action against another country over his immigration policy since assuming office on January 20. In a statement on Sunday afternoon, Rubio announced that Colombian officials had approved two military aircrafts carrying migrants to Colombia and then revoked the order after the planes were on their way. Rubio said, "Colombian President Petro had authorised flights and provided all needed authorisations and then cancelled his authorisation when the planes were in the air. As demonstrated by today's actions, we are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster America's border security." Following Rubio's statement, Petro took to X to dispute that he had given permission. He stated, "I will never allow Colombians to be brought in handcuffs on flights. Marco, if officials from the Foreign Ministry allowed this, it would never be under my direction." He even called on US citizens residing in Colombia illegally to "regularise" their stay, without mentioning further details. In a post on X, he wrote, "American citizens who wish to do so can be in Colombia, I believe in human freedom." Petro added, "You will never see me burning a US flag or carrying out a raid to return handcuffed illegal immigrants to the US." It was earlier reported that US officials were surprised and frustrated after Petro said he was blocking US deportation flights from entering Colombia. The US State Department said the US Embassy in Bogota had suspended visa processing in retaliation for Colombia's refusal to accept repatriation flights. The suspension is applicable to immigrant and non-immigrant visas, which usually are in thousands each day. According to the statement, Rubio also approved "travel sanctions on individuals and their families, who were responsible for the interference of US repatriation flight operations." Last week, the US started using military planes to carry border crossers back to their countries of origin. On Thursday, US used military planes to carry migrants to Guatemala. White House border czar Tom Homan said on Sunday he expects military planes carrying deported migrants to continue everyday, partly as a message to other nations. Speaking to ABC News, Homan said that the US Department of Defence "has helped administrations before, but not at this level. So it's a force multiplier, and it's sending a strong signal to the world. Our border's closed." The US is also calling on Mexico to help in repatriating its nationals through land ports of entry along the US-Mexico border; although, Mexico also seemed to turn around a military flight flying to the country last week. Brazil also criticised Trump administration's handling of repatriated migrants on deportation flights, calling the treatment of Brazilian nationals who arrived in the country on Friday "degrading." Brazilian authorities said that they found 88 handcuffed deportees on a US flight travelling to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, that arrived in Manaus due to a "technical error," CNN reported. Brazilian officials did not approve the aircraft to continue due to "the use of handcuffs and chains, the poor condition of the aircraft, with a faulty air conditioning system, among other problems," and the migrants were taken to Manaus on a Brazilian Air Force flight. (ANI)
Paank, the human rights wing of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), strongly condemned the extrajudicial killing of Pindok, son of Somar, by Pakistani security forces in Mazarabad of Awaran district's Mashkai in Balochistan. According to the statement shared by Paank, Pindok was abducted on January 14, 2025, along with two others, Shoaib and Ayoub, and was subjected to severe torture before being killed. It further said that Ayoub and Shoaib were released earlier. However, Pindok's body was handed over to his family on January 25. This incident highlights the pervasive human rights abuses in Balochistan, including enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings. Paank urged the international community to take action to ensure justice for the Baloch people and hold the Pakistani government responsible. In the post, Paank highlighted that this heinous act showcases the widespread violations of human rights in Balochistan, which include extrajudicial executions, torture, and enforced disappearances. In addition, intentional internet shutdowns are used to quiet victims and censor evidence. Previously, Paank published a study detailing grave violations of human rights in Balochistan in December 2024. The report details five extrajudicial deaths and 22 examples of enforced disappearances, primarily attributable to Pakistani intelligence and military services, The Balochistan Post reported. The disappearances were spread across six districts. Paank also expressed concerns that the true number of disappearances may be higher, as many families are too fearful of retribution to report the abductions, The Balochistan Post reported. The report pointed to a pervasive atmosphere of fear, with numerous individuals choosing silence over speaking out against the authorities, The Balochistan Post reported. In addition to the disappearances, the report highlighted five extrajudicial killings, which Paank attributes to Pakistani forces. Among the victims were Naveed Hameed and Zareef Umar, who were reportedly killed in Kech, while Abdul Hameed, Zakir, and Dil Jan lost their lives in drone strikes carried out in Panjgur. Paank noted that the killings are part of a broader pattern of state-led violence in the region, The Balochistan Post reported. Paank demanded that these abuses end right away and called for an investigation into Pindok's murder. It also demanded restoration of the internet connectivity in the area. In a post on X, Paank wrote, "Extrajudicial killing of Pindok, son of Somar Paank condemns the extrajudicial killing of Pindok, son of Somar, by Pakistani security forces in Mazarabad, Mashkai, district Awaran, Balochistan. Abducted alongside Shoaib, son of Ghulam Rasool, and Ayoub, son of Dilmurad, on January 14, 2025, Pindok was subjected to severe torture before his killing. His body was handed over to his family on January 25, while Shoaib and Ayoub had been released earlier." "This brutal act highlights the pervasive human rights abuses in Balochistan, including enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings, compounded by deliberate internet shutdowns to suppress evidence and silence victims. Paank calls for an immediate halt to these practices, an independent investigation into Pindok's killing, and the restoration of internet access in the region. The international community must act to hold the Pakistani authorities accountable and ensure justice for the Baloch people," it added. (ANI)
Sikyong Penpa Tsering, leader of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), addressed a large gathering at the Miao Choepheling Tibetan Settlement in Itanagar, emphasising the persistent oppression faced by Tibetans under Chinese rule, as reported by Tibet.net. During his visit to the settlement, Sikyong stressed the urgency for the Tibetan exile community to preserve their culture, language, and identity amidst China's continuous efforts to erase them, Tibet.net reported. He highlighted how China's policies in Tibet have led to widespread cultural suppression, with systematic attempts to eradicate Tibetans' language, religion, and traditions. Sikyong urged Tibetans, especially the youth, to prioritise learning the Tibetan language and understanding their rich history to resist cultural assimilation. "The struggle to protect Tibet's identity is not just political; it is deeply cultural," he said, emphasising the critical role of maintaining a strong sense of Tibetan heritage while living in exile. He also celebrated recent international progress, including the passing of US legislation supporting Tibet, describing it as a significant step in countering China's aggression. However, he cautioned that much work remains to be done and called on Tibetans to continue advocating for greater global awareness of China's oppressive policies, as reported by Tibet.net. In his speech, Sikyong highlighted the importance of strengthening the administration within the CTA. He outlined initiatives such as digitising important Tibetan documents and establishing a Buddhist digital library to better support Tibetans globally in their ongoing struggle for freedom and cultural preservation. Echoing the sentiments of the Dalai Lama, Sikyong reiterated that Tibet's future would be shaped by the principles of unity, non-violence, and the resilience of the Tibetan people in the face of China's ongoing repression. Sikyong Penpa Tsering also participated in the 76th Republic Day celebrations of the Miao sub-division as the Guest of Honour, alongside R D Thungon, the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Tibet.net reported. (ANI)
The Pakistan government on Sunday refused to change its position on talks with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), reiterating that it would present a written response to their charter of demands during the next meeting scheduled to be held on Tuesday, Dawn reported. Meanwhile, the PTI has called for the immediate appointment of a new chief election commission, as the incumbent Sikandar Sultan Raja's tenure ended on Sunday. Last week, PTI announced calling off talks as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led government did not respond to its demand to constitute judicial commissions to investigate the May 9, 2023 and November 26, 2024 protests. On Saturday, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said that he had a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan. According to him, Imran Khan showed an interest in meeting the PTI negotiation committee. On Sunday, the Pakistan government said that PTI had left the talks, despite the agreement that the former would give its response to the demands given by the Imran Khan-founded party within seven working days, meaning January 28, Dawn reported. In a statement, the Pakistan government's negotiation team spokesperson Senator Irfan Siddiqui said, "We are not ready to be ridiculed (by announcing our replies publicly or before the media). We will present our replies before the committee in the forthcoming meeting." He quoted PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan as saying that Imran Khan had asked the party to call off talks as the government was not sincere in constituting judicial commissions. He further said, "We cannot reply (to the PTI's demands) before the 28th. We will neither give our replies nor make any announcement regarding the [judicial] commissions before [the end of] seven days," Dawn reported. Meanwhile, Gohar Ali Khan said that although PTI had left the dialogue process. He could convince Imran Khan to participate in the meeting if the government agreed to hold dialogue on the terms of reference (TORs) of the judicial commissions. The first round of talks between PTI and the government was held on December 23, 2024, to discuss the long-standing issues and find a way forward. Since the talks started in December, the two sides have met thrice. Currently, the fate of talks hangs in balance as PTI has made it clear that the only way to resume talks was to establish commissions. However, the government side stressed that PTI should have waited for the government's response before calling off talks. (ANI)
On the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Fares Saeb, Deputy Ambassador of Israel to India, delivered a poignant address, reflecting on the Holocaust and cautioning against the alarming resurgence of anti-Semitism globally. "Jacqueline, born in 1940 in France, suffered immense personal losses, losing her father, grandparents, and other family members at Auschwitz. Approximately 78,000 Jews were deported from occupied France to concentration camps, with most never returning. Six million Jews never returned from the death camps," Saeb said. He marked the liberation of Auschwitz, 80 years ago, as the conclusion of "a systematic death machine that killed more than one million people." He referenced Elie Wiesel's speech on the 50th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation, stating: "After Auschwitz, the human condition is not the same. Nothing will be the same. Here heaven and earth are on fire. I speak to you as a man who, 50 years and 9 days ago, had no name, no hope, no future, and was known only by his number 7713." Reflecting on his own experiences, Saeb shared, "I remember as a child during the shoah memorial, my mother would ask us to stand in silence during the siren. Once I asked her why--we are not Jewish, and shoah, did it happen to us? She replied, 'If you don't respect and remember this day, it will happen again, even to us.'" He warned of the rising tide of anti-Semitism in recent years, fuelled by various sources. "We have witnessed the rise of anti-Semitism in various countries and the emergence of new forms of hatred against Jews. This includes hatred stemming from radical Islamism and anti-Semitism that masquerades as anti-Israel or anti-Zionism. Since the October 7 massacre--the largest single-day pogrom against Jews since the shoah--we have seen these three forms of hatred uniting, feeding off each other, and being fuelled by individuals, organisations, and even countries." Saeb highlighted the role of social media and technology in spreading these ideologies. "Using social media and emerging technologies such as AI and deep fake as tools to spread radical ideologies and ideas influences especially the young generation," he said. He also criticised the global reluctance to address anti-Semitism. "Many prefer to view anti-Semitism as a Jewish or Israeli problem rather than confronting the radicalisation within their own societies. I believe that radicalisation is a global threat, and one of its outcomes is anti-Semitism, and we must face it together." Citing a recent study, Saeb revealed shocking statistics about the surge in anti-Semitic content online following the October 7 attacks. "A recent research study from George Washington University by Omar Mohammed and Vered Andre found that after the October 7 attacks there was a significant surge in anti-Semitic content online, especially on platforms like X and TikTok. The narrative shifted towards violent rhetoric, Holocaust denial, and dehumanising stereotypes." He added, "The study identified constant themes such as 'Jews are the enemies,' religiously rooted anti-Semitism, and Zionist domination narratives with motives like the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' re-emerging. Platform-specific trends show TikTok with the highest percentage increase in anti-Semitic posts, while X had the highest overall volume." Saeb connected this online surge to real-world violence. "In the wake of the October 7 massacre, more than 96 per cent of Jews in Europe report encountering anti-Semitic sentiments in their daily lives. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights has documented a staggering 400 per cent rise in anti-Semitic activities since the outbreak of the war." He concluded with a chilling reminder of slogans like "Death to America, death to Israel, curses be upon the Jews," chanted by groups like the Iranian-affiliated Houthis, and the phrase "from the river to the sea," heard in protests worldwide. "If we don't combat radicalisation and anti-Semitism, the Holocaust won't remain a past event we remember and learn from, but a reality we will have to face. Never again is now." (ANI)
The Indian Embassy in Laos has rescued 67 Indian youth who were trafficked into cyber-scam centres operating in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Bokeo Province, Laos, the Embassy announced on Monday. According to the Embassy, these youth were forced to work there under intimidation and abuse by criminal syndicates operating in GTSEZ. Upon receiving requests for help, Embassy officials responded promptly and extended all necessary assistance. A team from the Embassy traveled to GTSEZ and worked closely with Lao authorities to complete the required procedures and paperwork, enabling the youth to leave GTSEZ and travel to the Embassy in Vientiane. The Embassy also facilitated their transport from Bokeo to Vientiane and arranged food and accommodation for the rescued individuals. Indian Ambassador to Laos, Prashant Agrawal, met with all of the rescued youth to discuss the challenges they faced. As per the statement by the Embassy, Ambassador Prashant Agrawal assured them of their safety and Embassy's full support as a matter of highest priority for their safe return to India. He also advised them about further course of action, including the need for them to lodge complaints against the agents who had duped them. In its statement, the Embassy noted that officials are currently working closely with concerned Lao authorities for completion of their exit formalities, following which all of them would be able to travel back to India shortly. The Embassy expressed gratitude the Lao authorities for their cooperation and requested action at their end against unscrupulous elements, with the matter being raised at the highest levels. So far, the Embassy noted in its statement that it has rescued 924 Indians, of which 857 have already been safely returned to India. The Embassy also issued a cautionary advisory for Indian youth seeking job opportunities in Thailand. It warned that those asked to travel by road to Chiang Rai, near the Thai-Lao border, are likely being trafficked to GTSEZ in Laos. Upon arrival in GTSEZ, their passports may be confiscated by criminal syndicates, and they may be forced to sign exploitative contracts in foreign languages. To prevent such incidents, the Embassy has published a detailed advisory on its website: https://www.indianembassylaos.gov.in/news_detail.php?newsid=286. The Embassy also shared contact details for assistance in its advisory. (ANI)
The Philippines has halted a scientific survey in the South China Sea after its fishing boats faced aggressive actions by the Chinese coast guard and naval forces, according to Al Jazeera. The Philippine Coast Guard reported that on Friday, three Chinese coast guard vessels and four smaller boats performed dangerous maneuvers near two inflatable boats operated by the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries. These boats were en route to collect sand samples from Sandy Cay, located near the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island. Additionally, a Chinese navy helicopter flew at an unsafe altitude over the boats, Al Jazeera reported. The incident underscores ongoing tensions between the Philippines and China over the South China Sea, a vital region where $3 trillion in annual trade passes. China claims nearly the entire sea, despite competing claims from the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. In 2016, the Philippines won a ruling from the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague, which invalidated China's territorial claims in the region. However, Beijing has refused to acknowledge this ruling, as reported by Al Jazeera. In response to what it described as "dangerous harassment" and unsafe behavior by Chinese forces, the Philippine Coast Guard suspended the survey. Despite the tense situation, no accidents were reported. China, for its part, claimed "indisputable sovereignty" over the Spratly Islands, including Sandy Cay, which it refers to as Tiexian Reef. Beijing stated that it intercepted the Philippine vessels for entering waters near Tiexian Reef without permission and accused them of attempting to illegally land on the reef, according to Al Jazeera. The incident coincided with Philippine forces resupplying and rotating troops stationed on the grounded BRP Sierra Madre vessel at the Second Thomas Shoal, an area claimed by both nations. The Philippines has accused China of using its patrols in the region to intimidate Filipino fishermen. (ANI)
Pakistani forces allegedly detained a young man during a late-night raid in Turbat, while another man was reportedly killed in Mashkel, according to The Balochistan Post. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and Pakistani military forces conducted the operation in Turbat's Chahsar neighborhood early Sunday morning. As per reports, Zameer Sarwar was one of the individuals detained during the raid. Family members of Zameer Sarwar claimed that CTD personnel arrested him following a thorough search of their residence around 2 a.m. (local time). Zameer was taken to an undisclosed location, and no information about his whereabouts has been provided, the report said. In a separate incident, Pakistani forces allegedly killed a man in the Panjgur region of Balochistan. The victim was identified as Wahim, son of Abdul Wahid, a resident of Kalg, Panjgur. Enforced disappearances have plagued Balochistan for over two decades, The Balochistan Post reported. Activists, human rights organizations, and Baloch nationalists accuse Pakistan's security forces and intelligence agencies of carrying out these abductions and extrajudicial killings. However, the Pakistani government denies any involvement. In 2024, families of the disappeared staged protests and sit-ins across the region, demanding information about their missing loved ones. On January 25, 2025, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) organized a public gathering in Dalbandin. Despite heightened security measures and an internet ban, tens of thousands of people attended to express their growing frustration and demand justice. During the event, BYC representatives urged the international community and human rights organizations to intervene. They called for impartial investigations, an end to enforced disappearances, and accountability for those responsible, the report stated. The BYC leaders highlighted that events like the Dalbandin gathering not only document personal stories of the disappeared but also reveal what they termed "a systematic policy of genocide" against the Baloch people.(ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked his Irish counterpart Micheal Martin and French President Emmanuel Macron for extending their wishes to India on the occasion of Republic Day. PM Modi expressed his gratitude to Martin for his wishes and expressed confidence that the enduring bonds of friendship between India and Ireland would continue to strengthen in the future. In a post on X, PM Modi stated, "Thank you Prime Minister @MichealMartinTD for your kind wishes. I am confident that the enduring bonds of friendship between India and Ireland, based on the shared trust and belief in democracy, will continue to strengthen in times to come." This statement followed Micheal Martin's greetings to President Droupadi Murmu, PM Narendra Modi, and the people of India on Republic Day. "On this Republic Day in India, I offer my heartfelt greetings to President @rashtrapatibhvn, Prime Minister @narendramodi, and the people of India. Ireland treasures the strong bonds of friendship and solidarity between our nations," Micheal Martin posted on X. https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1883740292614160633 Calling Macron his "dear friend," PM Modi expressed appreciation for the French President's greetings on India's 76th Republic Day. He also recalled Macron's presence during India's 75th Republic Day celebrations when he was the chief guest. PM Modi mentioned that he would soon meet Macron at the AI Summit in Paris, scheduled for February 10-11. "My dear friend, President @EmmanuelMacron, your kind greetings on India's 76th Republic Day are deeply appreciated. Your august presence last year on this day was indeed a high point in our strategic partnership and enduring friendship. See you soon at the AI Action Summit in Paris as we work together for better future of the humanity," PM Modi wrote on X. PM Modi's response came after Macron congratulated the people of India and PM Modi on Republic Day. He also shared a picture of himself with PM Modi from last year's Republic Day, when he visited India as the chief guest. Macron stated that he looked forward to meeting PM Modi in France at the Summit on Action for Artificial Intelligence in February. In a post on X, Emmanuel Macron stated, "My congratulations to the Indian people and my dear friend @NarendraModi on this Republic Day. Fond memories of that great moment of friendship I shared with you in 2024. Looking forward to seeing you in France in February for the Summit on Action for Artificial Intelligence." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1883740024107127040 On Sunday, India celebrated the Republic Day with a grand showcase of its military strength and cultural diversity at the grand parade at Kartavya Path. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations this year. President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday unfurled the national flag at Kartavya Path on the occasion of the 76th Republic Day, followed by the national anthem with a thunderous 21-gun salute using 105-mm Light Field Guns, an indigenous weapon system. (ANI)
India has sent a humanitarian aid consignment to the Kurdistan region of Iraq, consisting of bronchodilators, inhalers, and ventilators, to support the people in need, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Monday. In a post on X, the MEA noted that India has dispatched a consignment comprising bronchodilators, inhalers, and ventilators. "Vishwabandhu Bharat: India sends Humanitarian Assistance to Iraq. A consignment consisting of bronchodilators, inhalers and ventilators has departed from New Delhi to assist the people in the Kurdistan region of Iraq." The post on X said. https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1883808211398172681 India and Iraq share historical and civilizational ties. Since the outbreak of war in Iraq, India has been supporting a free, democratic, pluralistic, federal, and unified Iraq. India has responded to the urgent needs of Iraq for relief and economic reconstruction both directly and as part of international efforts under the UN's auspices. Over the years, India has consistently provided aid and assistance to Iraq. In response to the UN Secretary-General's urgent appeal, India committed USD 20 million in 2003 to assist the Iraqi people. Activities under this pledge included the supply of milk powder through the World Food Programme, training Iraqi Foreign Service officers in diplomacy, and training other Iraqi officials in Information Technology. The MEA noted that, in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP), India provided fortified biscuits to Iraqi schoolchildren and Iraqi refugees in Syria. Additionally, India contributed USD 10 million in 2004 to the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) for investments, reconstruction, and development in Iraq. MJ Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs, represented India at the Kuwait International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq in Kuwait in February 2018 and expressed India's interest in participating in the reconstruction of Iraq. According to the MEA, India also contributed USD 200,000 to the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/ISIL (UNITAD) in April 2022. This contribution supported UNITAD's investigations into the development and use of chemical and biological weapons by ISIL and helped establish a dedicated Cultural Heritage Crimes Unit to facilitate the prosecution of those responsible for attacks on places of religious and cultural significance in Iraq. (ANI)
Abu Dhabi [UAE], January 27 (ANI/WAM): UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today welcomed Irakli Kobakhidze, Prime Minister of Georgia, who is on a working visit to the UAE. During their meeting at Qasr Al Shati, he extended a warm welcome to the Georgian Prime Minister, wishing Georgia and its people continued progress and prosperity. The two leaders discussed ways to enhance cooperation between the UAE and Georgia, focusing on key areas such as investment, trade, economy, agriculture, renewable energy, environment, and sustainability. These sectors, among others, form part of the two nations' joint development priorities. They also exchanged views on several regional and global issues of mutual interest, particularly those related to promoting peace, security, stability, and development. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan reaffirmed the UAE's commitment to cultivating strong partnerships with other nations, including in areas that foster mutual development. He highlighted the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries, which came into effect last year, describing it as a major milestone in their economic collaboration and emphasising the UAE's commitment to realising its objectives to advance shared development. The Georgian Prime Minister thanked him for the warm welcome and highlighted Georgia's commitment to strengthening collaboration with the UAE, aiming to advance shared interests and support sustainable economic growth and prosperity. Both sides expressed confidence that UAE-Georgian relations would continue to grow stronger in the coming period, building on the numerous opportunities that align with their aim for sustainable development. The meeting was attended by Lt General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior; Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Advisor to the UAE President; Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State; Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eagle Hills Abu Dhabi; Ahmed Al Nuaimi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Georgia; several ministers, top officials and the accompanying delegation of the Georgian Prime Minister that includes a number of ministers and senior officials. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Prime Minister of Georgia witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on investment to establish development projects in Georgia. The MoU was signed by Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eagle Hills Abu Dhabi, and on the Georgian side by Levan Davitashvili, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, and Tornike Rijvadze, Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, in the presence of several officials from both countries. (ANI/WAM)
Tel Aviv [Israel], January 27 (ANI/TPS): In preparation for International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday, Israel's Tax Authority is publishing data about a recent pilot, in which the Authority collaborated with the Holocaust Survivors' Rights Authority, in actively reaching out to Holocaust survivors who do not exercise their entitlement to tax benefits due to a qualifying medical disability under the Nazi Persecution Disabled Persons Law or the Nazi War Disabled Persons Law, and assisting those survivors in submitting a tax refund application for previous years. As part of the pilot, tax refund applications from 22 survivors were processed, who received tax refunds totaling approximately 960,000 Shekels (USD 266,000) as a result of the process. Representatives of the Holocaust Survivors' Rights Authority assisted the survivors who were located in filling out the forms and transferring them "via the green route" to employees of the Kfar Saba Tax Assessor's Office at the Tax Authority, who processed the applications. Since 2020, Israel's Tax Authority has been working in what it called a targeted manner among Holocaust survivors, in order to locate survivors who have not exercised their entitlement to tax benefits. (ANI/TPS)
The President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP), Jamil Maqsood, has strongly condemned the ongoing demographic changes taking place in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB). Maqsood stated that the Pakistani government's strategic efforts to alter the region's population and socio-political landscape are a direct violation of the rights of the indigenous people. In a discussion on social media X, Maqsood highlighted that the demographic changes, which include the influx of non-local settlers, are designed to further Pakistan's political and economic agenda, diminishing the power and influence of the region's original inhabitants. He emphasised that there is a lack of protection for local property and citizens, which has led to the marginalization of indigenous communities. The suppression of their cultural identity and resources is transforming the demographic fabric of both PoJK and PoGB, he said. Sardar Shoukat Ali Kashmiri, Chairman of the UKPNP, also spoke out on the issue during the discussion, particularly criticizing the state of land occupancy in these regions. Kashmiri stated," The lack of industries in the area and the growing trend of land being bought by outsiders, which has further exacerbated tensions". He stressed that local residents in PoGB, such as those in the Hunza district, are increasingly losing their land to non-locals, depriving them of their economic and social rights. Kashmiri further condemned," Government's tactics of spreading hatred among the people to maintain control is also affecting the demographic process in the region". He expressed confidence that one day the occupiers would have to leave the region, allowing the people to regain their rights and restore peace. Both leaders stressed the need for global attention to the human rights violations in these occupied regions, urging the international community to support the fight for justice and self-determination for the people of PoJK and PoGB. (ANI)
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has assessed that the COVID-19 virus is more likely to have originated from an accidental lab leak in China rather than from a natural source, CNN reported, citing a statement released by the agency. The agency's statement, issued on Saturday, comes just two days after John Ratcliffe resumed office as CIA Director. For years, the CIA had stated that it did not have enough information to determine which origin theory was more likely, and its new assessment is classified as a "low confidence" judgment. According to the agency, the natural origin scenario remains possible. The decision to declassify and make this assessment public highlights one of the first major decisions made by Ratcliffe, who has long supported the theory that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from research conducted in China and pledged to make the issue a Day 1 priority. In an interview published in Breitbart on Thursday, John Ratcliff said, "I've been on record as you know in saying I think our intelligence, our science, and our common sense all really dictates that the origins of COVID was a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology," according to CNN report. He added, "But the CIA has not made that assessment or at least not made that assessment publicly. So I'm going to focus on that and look at the intelligence and make sure that the public is aware that the agency is going to get off the sidelines." According to a US official, the new assessment was made prior to the Trump administration. The official stated that CIA Director Bill Burns, under President Joe Biden, had pushed analysts to take a stance on the origins of COVID-19. This assessment was published within the US government before Trump left office on January 20. The assessment was not based on new intelligence gathered by the US government. Officials have said such intelligence is unlikely to surface so many years later; instead, it was reached after reviewing existing information. In a statement on Saturday, a CIA spokesperson said, "CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible." The spokesperson added that they have low confidence in this judgment and will continue to evaluate any available credible new intelligence or open-source information that could change the agency's assessment. CIA spokesperson said, "We have low confidence in this judgement and will continue to evaluate any available credible new intelligence reporting or open-source information that could change CIA's assessment," CNN reported. US intelligence agencies continue to unanimously maintain that the COVID-19 pandemic was not developed as a biological weapon. However, there has been no consensus on the virus's origins, according to the report issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in 2023. The report states that nearly all US intelligence agencies agree that the virus itself was not genetically engineered. The intelligence community has been unable to determine with high confidence whether the COVID-19 pandemic originated as a result of a lab leak or occurred in the wild, CNN reported. Many scientists believe the COVID-19 virus occurred naturally among animals and spread to humans in an outbreak that occurred in a market in Wuhan, China. Meanwhile, proponents of the "lab leak theory" argue that the virus originated due to research conducted in a Chinese lab, the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Former President Trump embraced the theory during his first term in office. The US State Department under Trump launched an effort to prove that the virus originated in a Chinese lab. However, the Biden administration did not pursue this effort.(ANI)
The visit of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to China from January 26 to 27 saw several notable developments take place in the India-China ties, with the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from this summer and an agreement to hold an early meeting of the India-China Expert Level Mechanism to discuss cooperation on trans-border rivers. The two countries decided to resume direct air connectivity, with these leading developments coming ahead of 2025 being the 75th year of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and China. The Foreign Secretary also called upon the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Liu Jianchao, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Monday. In a statement by the MEA it was noted, "Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri visited Beijing on 26-27 January for a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Foreign Minister mechanism between India and China on 27 January. As agreed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at their meeting in Kazan in October, the two sides reviewed the state of India-China bilateral relations comprehensively and agreed to take certain people-centric steps to stabilize and rebuild ties". The Ministry said, "In this context, the two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025; the relevant mechanism will discuss the modalities for doing so as per existing agreements. They also agreed to hold an early meeting of the India-China Expert Level Mechanism to discuss resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers". It was noted that appropriate measures to further promote and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, including media and think-tank interactions will take place. Another significant announcement was that the resumption of direct air services will take place between the two countries, with relevant technical authorities on the two sides meeting and negotiating an updated framework for this purpose at an early date, the MEA said. As 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China, the two noted that it should be utilized to redouble public diplomacy efforts to create better awareness about each other and restore mutual trust and confidence among the public. The two sides will conduct a number of commemorative activities to mark this anniversary. Another significant announcement was that specific concerns in the economic and trade areas were discussed with a view to resolving these issues and promoting long-term policy transparency and predictability. MEA said that during his visit to China, Foreign Secretary called on Members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Director of the Office of Central Commission of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, Liu Jianchao. (ANI)
The ongoing standoff between the provincial government and university teachers over the plan to appoint bureaucrats as vice-chancellors at public universities in Sindh escalated, as reported by the Dawn. The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations (Fapuasa)-Sindh announced that academic activities would remain suspended on Monday and that protests would be held across the province, the Dawn reported. Representatives from various institutions, including the University of Karachi, Sindh Madressatul Islam University Karachi, NED University of Engineering and Technology, and other public sector universities, participated in the meeting. They expressed strong opposition to the Sindh government's approach, blaming the government for exacerbating the crisis in public universities. According to a statement released by Fapuasa-Sindh, the government's dismissive attitude and lack of engagement with university stakeholders have led to a disruption in academic activities, the Dawn reported. The association placed the blame for the ongoing turmoil squarely on the Sindh government, accusing it of neglecting the concerns of university faculty. The statement emphasized that teachers were left with no choice but to suspend their academic work in response to the government's provocations. The decision was made after a comprehensive meeting of university teachers across Sindh, as reported by the Dawn. Fapuasa-Sindh also announced plans for a large protest at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, which will be attended by faculty members from various public universities. The group extended an invitation to other organizations, including the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA), Karachi Bar Association, and civil society groups, to join the demonstration in support of the faculty's demands. In addition, Fapuasa-Sindh revealed plans to consult with prominent legal experts in Sindh to explore the possibility of challenging the proposed amendment bill that threatens the autonomy of public universities through legal means, the Dawn reported. Recently on January 16, university teachers launched a strike in response to recent government decisions, including a proposal to hire teachers on a contractual basis. (ANI)
The family of a Nepali mercenary who died while fighting for the Russian side in the ongoing war in Ukraine has performed cremation rituals using a representational body made of "Kush," a sacred grass in Hindu rituals, at the Pashupati Aryaghat. The deceased, identified as 37-year-old Binod Bahadur Sunuwar, had resigned from the Nepal Army a few years ago. His family conducted the cremation using the sacred grass in the absence of his body, which could not be retrieved. "My son (Binod Bahadur Sunuwar) went to Russia and died there, we had expected he will be returning back to Nepal, it had been one year he went to Russia in last October (2024). I had the confidence that he will certainly return but now, even the body couldn't be brought back nor he came alive. We all are in aghast, he was working as (Nepali) Army, there wasn't such need for him to go there (as Nepali mercenary to Russia)," Nar Maya Sunuwar, the mother of deceased Nepali mercenary told ANI. Binod, who had previously served on a UN peacekeeping mission, had saved money and was eager to build a house in Kathmandu. However, his dream ultimately cost him his life. He leaves behind his mother, wife, and 15-year-old son in Nepal after dying in a foreign land as a mercenary. On Monday, a representational body made of sacred grass was brought to the embankments of the Bagmati River for cremation. Binod's 15-year-old son, Bigyan Sunuwar, could not hold back his tears while performing the last rites for his father. The symbolic body was carried from their house in a van, with Bigyan clutching his father's photograph alongside his grandmother, Nar Maya, and maternal uncles. Before leaving Nepal to work as a mercenary for Russia 16 months ago, Binod had not informed his family about his decision. "He had made the preparations to go and informed me that he's leaving in the evening. I asked him not to go as he just had returned back from Peace Keeping mission (of Nepal Army). He was adamant to go, I tried to convince him not to go immediately, he could have gone later to a country where there was enough earning; he wouldn't have died, he would have lived. He had a dream to build his own house, he went there to earn and build a house of his own," Nar Maya recalled, as her son's symbolic body burned in the background. The Nepali government does not maintain records of its citizens working as mercenaries for Russia in the ongoing Ukraine conflict. However, in September 2024, Nepal confirmed the deaths of 43 nationals fighting as mercenaries for Russia. Since then, the figure has not been updated. Binod's family only learned about his death three days ago through various channels, including the organisation Sahayata Nepal, which confirmed his death 75 days after it occurred. "We don't have hope that his body would be located and retrieved. He's gone forever. If he'd gone elsewhere and hadn't messaged for about three years then we could have survived with the hope that he's still out there and console ourselves," Nar Maya stated. Nepal's Foreign Ministry has remained silent on the issue after previously warning citizens against becoming mercenaries. Despite this, many Nepalis have been recruited by Russia to fight on the front lines. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, has resulted in a high number of casualties, including mercenaries from small nations like Nepal. "In between these times he used to be out of contact for days. Last time when he (Binod) went contactless for 20 days and on twenty-first day he sent me a voice message stating he escaped the death. During that time, we were worried and inquired about his condition using all plausible measures. Telephone communication wasn't possible and voice message was the only option for us to connect in absence of network, deep inside the jungle. He stated that he survived eating mud, grass and returned back. He went to Ukraine from Russia and he was kept in Moscow," Nar Maya recounted. According to her, Binod was taken to the war zone under orders from the Russian high command. During his last deployment, he did not provide any details about his mission, and his family was left in the dark. As mercenaries like Binod had mad their way into Russian Army using rouge routes, Nepal finally on 5 January 2024, banned its citizens from travelling to Russia or Ukraine and has also asked Russia to repatriate all Nepalis who were recruited for the conflict. But no response has been made from the other side. Citing "various news sources and reports from returnees from Russia", former Foreign Minister Dr Bimala Rai Paudyal had previously claimed that as many as 15,000 Nepalis were enlisted in the Russian military. Families of over 200 Nepali mercenaries have filed requests with the consular department, seeking information about their missing loved ones. "Before his deployment he used to send the voice message stating the details about the materials he is carrying, days of deployment, details about the clothes and other items of his possession. But during his last deployment he didn't mention anything such. I asked my daughter-in-law in case she is informed about it, not even his fellow mates were appraised about his deployment," Nar Maya told ANI. In their conversations, Binod had mentioned that he had saved approximately 3.5 million rupees in his account. However, his payments were not made during the war but only after his return. With his death, the transfer of these funds remains uncertain for his family. Nepal has allowed its citizens to join the British and Indian forces under bilateral agreements, but not other armies. To curb unlawful recruitment, the government has mandated that Nepali citizens traveling to Russia must secure a No Objection Letter (NOL) from the Consular Service Department. Nepali citizens residing abroad must also obtain an NOL from the respective embassies. "He lost the pink toe in the war. It was all injuries on his leg, his leg had deep wounds, he used to send the photos showing the condition there. Upon seeing that, I time and again requested him to come back. He also had injuries on his knees, for its treatment he also shared that he had to stay in hospital for about 5 days. Being concerned about his condition, I asked him whether he will be taken to the war-front, then he replied that no matter the physical condition, everyone is deployed. Despite injuries and decapitated, they were deployed to protect the guns, keep-an-eye on drone, he used to lament a lot about it over the voice messages," the ailing mother told ANI. (ANI)
The Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj is witnessing an extraordinary influx of devotees from around the world, with an impressive turnout of pilgrims from both India and abroad. Antonio, a pilgrim from Italy, has finally fulfilled his decade-long dream of attending the Kumbh Mela in India. "I feel fantastic," Antonio exclaimed. "There's a lot of blessings in this place. I was looking forward to this. I wanted to visit for over 10 years. And finally, I'm here." Antonio's fascination with India's spiritual heritage began years ago. He had previously undertaken a 2,000-kilometer pilgrimage on foot, known as a "padh-yatra," which deepened his understanding and devotion to Indian saints. For Antonio, attending the Kumbh Mela was a long-held aspiration. "I've been coming to India for almost 20 years, so I always heard this magical word, Kumbh Mela. And finally, I said, okay, I think it's time that I go." Currently, Antonio is staying at an ashram as a guest of a saint who is also a friend. Esther, a pilgrim from Spain, has found herself immersed in the spiritual energy of the Kumbh Mela. Initially, she felt overwhelmed by the large crowds, but as the day progressed, her experience transformed. "I'm feeling great right now," Esther said. Esther has had meaningful interactions with saints, receiving blessings and experiencing a profound shift in energy. "Some of the saints have a really powerful energy," she observed. Esther also believes in the concept of karma, "but I feel that we are all here for a reason. And I think it's beautiful, " she said. The ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj has witnessed an extraordinary surge in devotees, with over 6.019 million pilgrims taking the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers as of noon on Monday, as per the Uttar Pradesh government. Earlier today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a holy dip at the Sangam Triveni in Prayagraj in the ongoing Mahakumbh Mela. Shah was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saints and sages including Baba Ram Dev. Before taking a dip, Shah and CM Yogi also met and interacted with the saints and seers in Prayagraj. Till now, several Union Ministers, including Rajnath Singh and various leaders have visited Maha Kumbh and have taken a dip at the Triveni Sangam. Recently, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet also went to Prayagraj for a meeting and then took a dip at the Triveni Sangam. Meanwhile, several devotees from Russia and Ukraine two countries embroiled in deadly conflict for close to three years attended the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj and presented a message of spiritual unity. Mahakumbh, which commenced on January 13 with the auspicious Paush Purnima, has already witnessed an overwhelming turnout, with over 130 million devotees have taken a holy dip in the sacred waters of Prayagraj. According to tradition, pilgrims flock to the Sangam--the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati (now extinct) rivers--to take the holy dip believed to absolve sins and grant moksha (liberation). Key bathing dates of the Maha Kumbh include January 29 (Mauni Amavasya - Second Shahi Snan), February 3 (Basant Panchami - Third Shahi Snan), February 12 (Maghi Purnima), and February 26 (Maha Shivaratri). Rooted in Sanatan Dharma, the event signifies a celestial alignment that creates an auspicious period for spiritual cleansing and devotion. The Mahakumbh Mela is expected to host over 45 crore visitors, marking a historic occasion for India. (ANI)
Tel Aviv [Israel], January 27 (ANI/TPS): Israeli security forces eliminated 15 Palestinian terrorists and arrested 40 wanted suspects in the Jenin refugee camp, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said on Monday as an ongoing counterterror operation neared the end of its first week. The IDF and Shin Bet said forces also confiscated numerous weapons. "As part of the operation, commando fighters located a bomb inside a washing machine in one of the buildings in Jenin and destroyed dozens of bombs that had been planted on roads in order to harm our forces," the IDF said. "In another operation, an observation post was located containing gas cylinders intended for preparing bombs." Separately, Hamas confirmed on Monday that two of its people were killed in an Israeli drone strike near the Palestinian city of Tulkarem, identifying them as its Tulkarem commander Ihab Abu Atiwi and Ramez Damiri. The IDF said Atiwi was involved in numerous shooting attacks, including one that injured three Israeli civilians in a vehicle near Tulkarem in July. The army's Jenin raid, dubbed "Operation Iron Wall," launched on Tuesday, comes on the heels of the Palestinian Authority's failed crackdown in the Jenin refugee camp. "We are operating in a systematic and decisive way against the Iranian axis wherever it sends its arms, in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Judea and Samaria," a statement released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said at the beginning of the operation. Publicly, the Palestinian Authority had explained its Jenin crackdown as a fight against "lawbreakers" and against Iranian and Islamic State influence. But a senior PA official explained to TPS-IL during the initial raids that its raid was part of a broader strategy to demonstrate PA authority's ability to maintain governance as Ramallah eyes eventually administering the Gaza Strip. One senior Fatah official described the crackdown to TPS-IL in December as a "do-or-die campaign" for Abbas, who is determined to dismantle what he calls "resistance nests" in the refugee camp. Previous Israeli counterterror operations in 2023 and 2024 in the Jenin camp uncovered a tunnel shaft, a rocket launcher, large amounts of weapons and bomb-making laboratories. As of 2023, just over 24,000 registered refugees were living in the camp that Palestinians have dubbed "The Martyr's Capital." An Arab diplomat later told TPS-IL that the PA's raids were insufficient and that Arab leaders are urging US President-elect Donald Trump to replace Abbas. (ANI/TPS)
During the Forum, the Governor met with many leading economists from around the world, including central bank governors, senior international investment bank officials, and senior officials in the global payments industry.

The Governor was also interviewed by international media networks Bloomberg and CNBC. (ANI/TPS)
Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita held a meeting with the Ambassador of Chile, Juan Angulo and He also held a meeting with the Ambassador of Myanmar to India, Zaw Oo. He noted that the discussions were held on the matters of mutual interest and to strengthen partnerships. The details of the meeting were shared in a post on X. The MoS said, "Glad to meet H.E. Mr. Juan Angulo, Ambassador of Chile, @EmbaChileIndia. We had a productive exchange on strengthening bilateral relations and exploring new avenues of cooperation for increasing trade & economic relations @MEAIndia" https://x.com/PmargheritaBJP/status/1883840864558121130 As per the Ministry of External Affairs, India-Chile relations are characterized by warmth, friendship and a commonality of views on a wide range of issues. Chile shares India's concerns over the threat of international terrorism and has regularly condemned the acts of cross-border terrorism that India has suffered. Both countries cooperate extensively in multilateral fora and share similar views on climate change/renewable energy issues and on expansion and reforms of the UNSC. The MoS also held a meeting with the Ambassador of Myanmar to India, Zaw Oo. He noted that the two discussed matters of mutual interest and the ongoing developmental cooperation between the two countries. "Met H.E. Mr. Zaw Oo, Ambassador of Myanmar to India. We discussed matters of mutual interest, including ongoing development cooperation". https://x.com/PmargheritaBJP/status/1883909969365651615 India-Myanmar relations are rooted in shared historical, ethnic, cultural and religious ties. The two countries have cooperation across several fronts. As per the MEA, the Government of India is actively involved in over a dozen projects in Myanmar, both in infrastructural and non-infrastructural areas. These include upgradation and resurfacing of the 160 km long Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road; construction and upgradation of the Rhi-Tiddim Road in Myanmar; the Kaladan Multimodal Transport Project; etc. An ADSL project for high speed data link in 32 Myanmar cities has been completed by TCIL. ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL), GAIL and ESSAR are participants in the energy sector in Myanmar. (ANI)
The two leaders exchanged views on global issues, including the situation in West Asia and Ukraine, and reiterated their commitment to work together for promoting global peace, prosperity and security.

PM Modi and President Trump reaffirmed their commitment to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership.

"They discussed various facets of the wide-ranging bilateral Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and measures to advance it, including in the areas of technology, trade, investment, energy and defence," a PMO release said.

"The leaders agreed to remain in touch and meet soon at an early mutually convenient date," it added.

Earlier, in a post on X, PM Modi talked about his conversation with President Trump on the telephone.

He described President Trump as "my dear friend".

"Delighted to speak with my dear friend President Donald Trump. Congratulated him on his historic second term. We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, and security."

This is the first conversation between the two leaders since the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President for a second term on January 20.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented PM Modi as his Special Envoy at President Trump's inaugural function. He also carried a letter from PM Modi for Trump.

Soon after Trump took the oath of office for a second term, PM Modi had conveyed his best wishes.

"Congratulations my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump on your historic inauguration as the 47th President of the United States! I look forward to working closely together once again, to benefit both our countries, and to shape a better future for the world. Best wishes for a successful term ahead!" PM Modi had said. (ANI)
US State Department has said that it is currently evaluating the next steps with regard to Tahawwur Rana's extradition to India. A spokesperson from the State Department told ANI that the US has long supported India's efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case. "In view of the recent Supreme Court decision, and consistent with applicable US law, the Department of State is currently evaluating next steps in this case," the statement said. "We have long supported India's efforts to ensure the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks face justice," the statement added. Pakistani origin businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was convicted for his role in the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai that resulted in the death of 164 people, could now be extradited to India. Rana's co-conspirators included, among others, David Headley. Headley pleaded guilty and cooperated against Rana. On January 21, The US Supreme Court denied a petition of writ of certiorari filed by Rana seeking to prevent his extradition to India. The writ had been filed in November 2024 against an earlier order of a lower court that had ruled in favour of his extradition to India. A writ of certiorari is a legal document that allows a higher court to review a case from a lower court. This could pave way for his likely extradition to India. Rana was previously prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The second superseding indictment charged him in three counts. The jury convicted him on Count 11 (conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark). The jury also convicted Rana on Count 12 (providing material support to Lashkar-e Taiyba). 174 people, including 20 security force personnel and 26 foreigners, were killed and over 300 were injured in the horrific attacks that took place at Mumbai's Taj Hotel on November 26, 2008. (ANI)
After the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, India committed USD 250 million in grant assistance for post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal, the Embassy of India in Kathmandu said on Monday. "The grant was allocated in 4 different sectors - Housing (100 mn), Education (50 mn), Health (50 mn) and Cultural Heritage (50 mn). A JPMC (Joint Project Monitoring Committee) mechanism was set up in August 2017 to monitor the progress of these projects," the statement added. India and Nepal held the 5th meeting of the JPMC on post-earthquake reconstruction projects on 27th January, 2025 in Kathmandu. The Indian delegation was led by Munu Mahawar, Additional Secretary (North), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and the Nepalese delegation was led by Padma Kumar Mainalee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of Nepal. The meeting was also attended by several other representatives of the Governments of India and Nepal, consultant and other stakeholders engaged in implementation of the projects. The meeting carried out a comprehensive review of the progress of Government of India assisted post-earthquake reconstruction projects in housing, education, health and cultural heritage sectors in Nepal. It acknowledged the successful completion of the projects agreed under the housing sector in 2021 and the education sector in 2024. According to the Embassy of India, Kathmandu, in health and cultural heritage sectors, both sides expressed satisfaction on the progress achieved and agreed to expedite the early completion of projects under these sectors. Since the last JPMC meeting in October 2023, Government of India has handed over 26 projects in the education sector including Tribhuvan University Central Library in Kathmandu, 32 projects in the health sector and 3 projects in the cultural heritage sector, amounting to NPR 335.08 cr. In addition, 43 projects in the health sector and 9 projects in the cultural heritage sector amounting to NPR 173.49 cr have been completed during this period, as per the Embassy of India Kathmandu. Both sides appreciated the positive socio-economic impact of the reconstruction projects, particularly in employment generation and extension of health and education facilities in remote areas. AS (North) also visited the Gusthal Mahavihar reconstruction project, a cultural heritage site located in Guita Tole, Lalitpur Metropolitan City Ward-8. During the visit, he reviewed the project's progress and engaged with members of the user community. Both sides agreed to hold the next meeting of the JPMC on a mutually convenient date. (ANI)
Consul General of Israel to Midwest India, Kobbi Shoshani highlighted the significance of Holocaust Remembrance Day during a ceremony at a synagogue in Mumbai and noted that Jews have lived in India for over 2,000 years without fear of discrimination. The Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed to pay respects to the nearly 6 million Jews killed in Europe during and after the Second World War. Speaking to ANI, he said, "It's a very important day in Israel as it is a memorial of the holocaust. 6 million Jews, mainly in Europe were murdered by the Nazis in gas chambers, or by shooting." Shoshani also emphasised the strong bond between Jewish and Indian people and stated, "Jews have lived in India for more than 2,000 years without any fear of persecution or discrimination." "It's the first time for a Governor to visit here at this beautiful synagogue. It symbolises the bond between Jewish people and Indian people," he said. Earlier in the day, Minister of State for External Affairs (MoS) Kirti Vardhan Singh also spoke to ANI and termed the holocaust as "one of the greatest tragedies that befell humankind." He stressed that they should not forget the holocaust and have to learn from it and evolve their policies and outlook towards humanity. On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Kirti Vardhan Singh said, "The Holocaust was one of the greatest tragedies that befell on humankind. There's an old saying that if we forget history, history is bound to repeat itself." "We must not forget this, one of the darkest chapters in human history, and we have to learn from it and evolve our policies, our outlook towards humanity very much in the way of the Indian sense, where in our country we welcome all faiths, all cultures, all people for ages, and that is what makes our country great. That is what makes our civilization great and this is what we must remember," he added. He made these remarks while speaking to reporters after attending the event on International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Delhi. The United Nations General Assembly has designated January 27 as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. (ANI)
Archaeologists in South Africa made a remarkable discovery on arrow blades lodged inside the femur of an antelope: the oldest mixed poison on record.

The femur bone belonged to an antelope that hunters targeted long ago with three deadly arrows. Researchers have had the bone since 1983, but they only recently decided to examine it more closely.

In a new paper, the rare and significant artifact from the painted rock shelter in Kruger Cave in South Africa possessed a much more exciting feature than just the ancient blades.

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Researchers believe that the femur's contents could be a combination of at least two toxic plant ingredients. There's also evidence of a third toxin.

The complex recipe, as the study authors phrased it, provides a stunning portrait of how sophisticated medicine traditions were 7,000 years ago.

The location and situation of Kruger Cave and bovid femur containing the bone arrowheads and poison / Bradfield, Duber, and Steenkamp

A poisonous mixture with three toxins

Originating from a hunt that occurred 7,000 years ago, the femur might have fallen into researchers hands in 1983, but it remained unexplored until 2022.

A recent excavation of Kruger Cave, a painted rock shelter and living heritage site in western Magaliesberg, South Africa, reopened the intriguing case.

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X-rays in the past showed researchers that three bone arrowheads had punctured the bone, leaving traces behind in the marrow cavity, the first study author, Justin Bradfield, explains in Science Alert.

Advanced imaging techniques such as micro-CT enabled them to take thousands of X-rays to construct a 3D model of the femur. They had a hunch that they might detect toxic plant-based materials. After all, as the paper outlines, research understood that humans started using poisons 60-70,000 years ago.

Tests confirmed that the sediment-like matrix filling the marrow cavity comprised toxic plant residues with a lethal final touch, according to Bradfield.

The hunting poison revealed new details about a hunt

After performing a chemical analysis, researchers detected the presence of digitoxin and strophanthidin. These are two commonly known toxic cardiac glycosides that affect the heart muscle. The addition of ricinoleic acid might reflect the oxidative breakdown of the toxin lectin ricin," as per Science Alert.

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Furthermore, these plant derivatives might have originated elsewhere as they werent native to the area surrounding Kruger Cave. Bradfield suspects they either traveled to gather their organic materials or acquired them through trade.

Though not the oldest poison on record, the antelopes marrow cavity holds the first composite mixture ever found in history. Nonetheless, using poison in the hunt marks an early technological innovation. Human ancestors affirmatively employed complex poisons for hunting.

Bradfield and his colleagues emphasized the importance of their findings, noting, To date, there have been several attempts to identify putative poisons on stone and bone arrowheads with varying degrees of confidence, study authors state in the study.

The research published in Science Direct demonstrates that archaeobotany and organic chemistry as disciplines can enrich and enhance the picture of the past.
Their journeys take them through pine forests and snow-covered mountains, along railway tracks and roads that lead to a hoped-for better life in the promised lands of Western Europe.

For more than a decade, hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia have crossed the Aegean from Turkey to Greece and then trudged north through the Balkans as they seek to forge a new future in Britain, Germany and other destination countries.

In 2022, nearly 145,000 asylum seekers made the journey, evading razor wire and metal fences, guard dogs and border patrols. In 2023, close to 100,000 embarked on the odyssey.

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But last year, the numbers fell dramatically by 78 per cent.

Just over 21,000 illegal border crossings by unauthorised migrants were detected, according to a report this month by Frontex, the EUs border protection and coast guard agency.

Why the dramatic decline? The answer lies in a number of different factors: tougher border controls, new visa restrictions, the high prices charged by smugglers  and the fervent desire of the six countries of the Western Balkans to join the EU.

Firstly, there has been a tightening up of border checks in the region, which consists of Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, all of which are entrance ways to Europe but are not yet members of the EU.

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Much of that has come at the instigation of Brussels.

Under an initiative called the Western Balkans Action Plan launched by the European Commission in 2022, deals have been struck with Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro. A similar deal is under discussion with Bosnia and Herzegovina, which lies at the heart of the migration route.

Frontex has expanded its presence and now has around 500 officers in the region.

Signing the deal with Serbia last year, Ylva Johansson, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, hailed what she called the excellent co-operation at the EU borders between Serbian border guards and Frontex colleagues against crime, smugglers of migrants, and irregular migration.

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In late 2023, a force of more than 800 Serbian police, backed up by drones and helicopters, launched a series of raids on smugglers operating in the country.

In the countrys biggest police operation in 20 years, they moved in on clandestine crossing points in Serbias east, on the border with Bulgaria, in the south on the border with North Macedonia, and on the frontier with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

They dismantled bases used by smuggling gangs and arrested smugglers, charging them with human trafficking and the illegal possession of automatic rifles and ammunition.

Secondly, the dream of joining the EU has been used as a carrot to dangle in front of the countries of the Western Balkans in return for them helping to stem the migrant flows.

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Countries in the region are tightening up border controls and co-operating on patrolling with Frontex in exchange for the promise of EU accession, said a senior EU migration official.

They want to show theyre willing partners. Its much easier to convince countries to co-operate on migration if they want to join the bloc.

Alberto-Horst Neidhart, a senior policy analyst with the European Policy Centre think tank in Brussels, said: The measures put in place by the EU have kicked in and generated results.

When the Commission launched its Western Balkans Action Plan in late 2022, it reflected the fact that the region was seen as a weak link in EU border management. There had been a spike in the number of arrivals that year. The actions taken were critical and involved strengthening border controls and fighting smuggling.

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Thirdly, Brussels has put pressure on the nations of the Western Balkans to bring their visa rules into alignment with those of the EU.

Previously, many of the Balkan countries had comparatively relaxed visa regimes which allowed people from developing countries to arrive directly by plane.

From there, they could pass illegally into the EU. That has now changed, as a result of direct pressure from Brussels. The European Commissions orders were direct and uncompromising: All Western Balkans partners should align their visa policy with the EU as a matter of priority, it said in a report in late 2022.

Serbia, for instance, ended a policy by which the citizens of Tunisia, India, Burundi and Guinea-Bissau could enter the country without a visa. The policy change was a direct result of pressure from Brussels, which was worried that the system was being exploited by migrants trying to use Serbia as a springboard for entering the EU.

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As border controls are made more rigorous, it becomes harder for migrants to move through the Balkans without being detained. That compels many of them to seek out the services of smugglers. But the smugglers have had to come up with more inventive tactics and new routes  and that means they increase their fees.

Tougher border checks means that it is much harder for migrants to make the journey by themselves. More and more, they need to pay smugglers, said Anesa Agovic, the field co-ordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.

Macedonian soldiers patrol near the double razor wire at the Macedonian-Greek border - ROBERT ATANASOVSKI/AFP via Getty Images

The profile of the smugglers is changing, said Ms Agovic.

There used to be a lot of locals involved but we are now seeing a lot of foreign smugglers in the region. There are lots of Turks and Pakistanis but also people from Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. Theres a huge amount of money to be made. They can facilitate border crossings because they have developed a relationship with corrupt officials.

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Its a sophisticated business. They can offer a migrant a package deal that will take them all the way from Turkey to an end destination like Germany or the UK. Britain is in the top five of final destinations.

The smugglers have been helped by advances in technology such as GPS, online money transfer apps and encrypted chat groups.

Each year, traffickers make between 20 to 50 million euros from the Western Balkans, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime estimates.

There have been armed clashes between groups of Afghan and Moroccan smugglers on the border between Serbia and EU member Hungary, with the smugglers wielding automatic weapons.

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The violence became so bad that Aleksandar Vucic, Serbias president, warned his interior minister that he would send in the army if the police could not handle the situation.

Migrants in Croatia board a train on the journey north - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

While the EU and Frontex hail the 78 per cent drop in illegal arrivals as a grand success, operators on the ground are not entirely convinced by the statistics.

Across the region, NGOs that work with refugees and migrants say that tougher border controls have pushed the whole business of irregular migration further underground.

With asylum seekers using new routes and resorting to smugglers, they are harder to detect and therefore go uncounted.

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There was a reduction in the number of migrants last year but not as big as what Frontex is saying, said Ms Agovic, speaking from Sarajevo.

In Trieste in northeastern Italy, which is a destination for many of those travelling north through the Balkans, welfare organisations insist that Frontexs statistics are a dramatic underestimation of the true number of migrants passing through.

The Italian Consortium of Solidarity (ICS), an NGO operating in Trieste and Friuli Venezia Giulia, the region that borders Slovenia, said there were far more migrants using the Western Balkans route than the Frontex figures would suggest.

The ICS pointed out that the number of migrants illegally entering Greece from Turkey increased by 14 per cent last year compared to 2023. Greece is the traditional entry point for the Balkans route and the vast majority of those 69,000 people are likely to have headed north into the region. Migrant journeys are taking place in less visible ways with the assistance of ever more structured traffickers networks, the NGO said.

Movement of people has become more concealed

The International Rescue Committee, an international NGO, said that its staff in Trieste last year helped more than 13,000 migrants and refugees, which was a decrease of just 16 per cent compared to the number of people the organisation assisted in 2023.

The movement of people has become more concealed, rapid, and predominantly nocturnal due to increased border controls. Additionally, smugglers are now utilising newer, less frequented, but more dangerous routes, said a spokesman for the IRC.

As Balkan nations crack down on the multi-million-pound business of people smuggling, experts say there are lessons to be learned by the UK.

One thing that weve learned is that collaboration between countries is key, sharing information is key, said Ms Agovic. Smugglers operate across national boundaries and it is only with joint efforts that the smuggling rings can be fought. I would also say, follow the money. A lot of the dirty money from smuggling ends up being banked by the big-shot smugglers, none of whom live in the Balkans. Some of them are based in the UK or Germany. Thats where the money goes.

For Western European countries that are already struggling to deal with migrants and refugees, the reported drop in numbers through the Balkans may come as welcome news. But the downward trend may not last long.

Are these numbers going to stay the same in the long run? Migrant flows can change rapidly, said Mr Neidhart from the European Policy Centre.

The central Mediterranean has seen decreased numbers thanks to the co-operation between Italy and Tunisia but the number crossing from West Africa to the Canaries has increased. The situation in the Western Balkans could escalate again at any point. If the civil war resumes in Syria, for instance, that will produce displacement and movement.

Theres no guarantee that the numbers we are seeing now will continue into the future.

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A 3.8-magnitude earthquake originating off the coast of Maine shook New England today, with tremors felt in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

The earthquake occurred eight miles underground near York Harbor at 10:22 a.m. local time, according to the United States Geological Service. Smaller earthquakes are fairly common in Maine, but the state typically only sees a 3-point magnitude earthquake once a year, according to the states geological service.

Mondays incident marked the strongest earthquake in the northeast U.S. since last year when a 4.8-magnitude earthquake hit New Jersey in April  the strongest to hit the region in more than a decade, according to NBC News.

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There is currently no tsunami threat in New England, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center.

The earthquake hit just before 10:30 on Monday morning, impacting residents throughout New England (USGS)

This is like a once-in-every-five-years type of earthquake, John Ebel, a senior scientist with Boston Colleges Weston Observatory, told WBZ-TV.

Still, residents were surprised by the sudden shaking.

It was brief, 5-8 seconds, but my entire house shook and I had couple loud bangs that Im not sure what they were. It was pretty intense for something that small and brief, one Massachusetts resident told WCVB.

It lasted about 5-10 seconds and a pocket door near me was rattling and I could feel the vibration under my feet and my body on my couch, another resident told the outlet. My husband came out of his office right away and asked, Was that a tremor?

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There is a 15 percent chance of at least one aftershock of a magnitude 3 or greater within the next week, the USGS said.

If the aftershocks get to be, you know, magnitude 2.8, 3,0, or 3,1, lets say those will be felt probably by the people in the North Shore area of Massachusetts as well as coastal New Hampshire and south coastal Maine, Ebel said.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said there have been no reports of damage in the state as of 10:50 a.m. local time. Emergency management officials in Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine similarly confirmed toThe Independent there have been no reports of damage, injuries or deaths from the earthquake as of Monday morning.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency has told residents to avoid calling 911 unless there is an emergency. As the quake hit, calls poured in from residents who feared the shaking was from an explosion.

Were not sure whats going on, a dispatcher said, according to police scanner audio obtained by CBS News. Were getting calls from all over town about an explosion.
More than 50 relatives of asylum seekers are joining them every day in Britain, according to reports.

Home Office figures, first cited by The Sun, show that the number of relatives coming to the UK has increased to 19,154 in the space of a single year.

The statistics relate to those who can settle here after family members asylum claims are granted.

Immigration laws allow those who are granted asylum, including many refugees who cross the Channel in small boats, to make a claim to let relatives travel legally to the UK.

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Refugees from Syria, Sudan, Eritrea, Iran and Afghanistan make up the bulk of the arrivals.

Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, told the newspaper: There are huge cost implications at play here, all paid for by the public, who are seldom kept in the picture. And it doesnt end there.

Those granted asylum and joined by family members, will be housed if they have children under 18 who live with them.

Add to this access to benefits, schooling, medical and dental care, and we can begin to grasp the frustration and anger felt by people waiting for social housing and in long NHS queues?

The Home Office has been approached for comment.

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A spokesman told The Sun: We have a long history of providing protection through various safe and legal routes for those in need.

The Telegraph previously revealed how London is home to as many as 585,000 illegal migrants, equivalent to one in 12 of the citys population, according to a previously confidential report.

The new estimate has emerged in a study commissioned by Thames Water, obtained by this newspaper under freedom of information-style laws for the environment.

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Fahima rushed her daughter to a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, after she suffered crippling seizures. But the day she was discharged, chaos reigned as the Taliban stormed and captured the capital city and the U.S. hastily arranged evacuation flights.

She could not find her husband, who worked in security for a U.S. contractor, or her sons at home. Nearly trampled at the airport, she and her daughter boarded a U.S. flight hoping they would reunite later on.

Three and a half years later, Fahima is still waiting. The woman, who lives in Paterson with her disabled daughter and son, has worked with lawyers and filed paperwork to bring her family, who fled to Iran, to the United States.

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Ive been in a state of desperation at the thought of my husband and children stuck in Iran in poor conditions, said Fahima, adding that they are destitute and that its too dangerous in Afghanistan, where he could be targeted because he worked for Americans.

Members of the Taliban carrying flags participate in a rally to mark the third anniversary of the fall of Kabul, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 14, 2024.

She fears what will happen now that President Donald Trump has halted the refugee resettlement program in one of his first executive orders in office, she said.

Ive had sleepless nights since Jan. 20 and am tired of the constant worry for my family, said Fahima, who asked that her last name be withheld to protect her family.

Trump signed the executive order, titled Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program, on his first day in office, prompting the State Department to cancel flights even for those already cleared for admission. At 90-day intervals, the president will review reports and determine whether continuing resettlement is in the interests of the United States. In the only exception to the ban, the secretary of state and the secretary of homeland security can decide jointly to admit refugees on a case-by-case basis.

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Advocates worry about the future of a decades-old program that has served as a lifeline for refugees displaced by war and political persecution.

Story continues below photo gallery

It is an evolving situation, but so far we have heard about four families getting their travel canceled, said Courtney Madsen, regional director for Church World Service, a refugee resettlement agency.

The agencys Jersey City Office has settled 66 refugees since the fiscal year began on Oct. 1, Madsen said. It was expecting to receive 134 more people this year.

As far as impact on families, Madsen added, this is devastating because the suspension is indefinite, so we have no idea when these families will be able to come to New Jersey. In most of these cases they are reuniting with people who are already here, so we are already seeing family separation in action by this administration.

Families stranded

Freshta Taeb, co-lead for the New Jersey Coalition for Afghan Refugees, said she had gotten over 60 calls in two days from nervous families.

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People are panicking and theres a lot of misinformation that is going around, she said.

Freshta Taeb, co-leaders of NJ Coalition for Afghan Refugees and a board member of Afghan American Foundation, speaks during the press conference for marking one-year since the fall of Kabul, hosted by NJ Coalition for Afghan Refugees in Paterson, Sunday on 08/14/22.

Many of the refugees expected this year are from Afghanistan, including 1,600 people whose flights were canceled by the State Department. They include children waiting to be reunited with their families and men and women at risk of retribution for cooperating with the former U.S.-backed government.

We dont want folks to think just because flights are canceled that they will never have chance to come, Taeb said. Things are being paused and reassessed. Lets remain calm and steadfast and see what happens.

Others worry about their status in the United States as recipients of humanitarian parole, a temporary admission granted for urgent humanitarian reasons. Congress failed to pass legislation that would have made Afghan parolees eligible for permanent residency, despite support from military groups and veterans. They worry their asylum cases will go unheard.

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On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a memo saying Immigration and Customs Enforcement can strip parole status from migrants who have been in the United States for less than two years. The memo came after Trump suspended parole programs created during the Biden administration for people from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, arguing they were an abuse of the law. The memo did not specify countries of origin or whether it would apply to Afghans and Ukrainians brought in under separate parole programs.

Taeb advised people to talk to an attorney.

We are advising folks to remain calm and steadfast and make sure you fact-check everything with somebody who is knowledgeable about the executive orders, she said.

Sofia Wahdat, program manager at Global Emergency Response and Assistance, a North Jersey-based organization that aids refugees, has also heard from families who were hoping to reunite with loves ones and are waiting in limbo.

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These families have fought through so much insecurity and trauma and lot of doubt on what will happen, Wahdat said.

The case for refugees

Donations are organized, boxed, and loaded onto a truck to be delivered to Ukrainian refugees in Poland at the Ukrainian Orthodox Holy Ascension Cathedral in Clifton on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. The church is still taking donations of cash, diapers, first aid items, canned goods, clothes and more. Information can be found on their website at https://ukrcoc.org/en

The United States, which has long been a destination for refugees, formalized the process for admissions in 1980. Since then, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has welcomed about 3 million refugees. The president, in consultation with Congress, sets an admissions target each year.

While it once held bipartisan support, the program became politicized when Trump entered his first term and deemed it a security threat. Admissions reached a low of 11,411 in 2021 with Trump in office, according to government data.

Refugees: Thousands of Syrians fled to the US. Ten years later, their lives tell stories of resilience

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Over the next three years, admissions grew annually, reaching 100,034 last year from counties including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Syria and Venezuela.

Trumps executive order states that the United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees. The order mentions the availability of resources for Americans, safety and security, and assimilation of refugees.

Those who work with refugees say its misguided. They point out that refugees are the most thoroughly vetted group to enter the United States. They apply from overseas, and the UN screens and refers them to the resettlement program. U.S. agencies then carry out multiple background checks, interviews and medical exams before they can be admitted in a process that can take years.

They also fill critical labor shortages and support local businesses, they said. One federal study found that over a 15-year period, refugees contributed $123 billion more than they have cost in governmental expenditures.

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The Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, CEO of Interfaith-Rise, a nonprofit aiding refugees and asylees, has seen the impact firsthand. The Highland Park-based agency has placed clients in jobs with companies including Walmart, Europastry, Trenton Corrugated Products and Powerspec, which makes electronic parts.

Business owners and managers tell him that the addition of workers has helped them to grow and flourish, Kaper-Dale said. Refugees have also gone on to open their own businesses including Paterson's Iraqi-owned Al Mazaq Restaurant and Syrian-owned Nour Al-Sham and Reem Al Sham.

The refugee program also underscores longstanding American values of generosity and compassion and a commitment to human rights, say advocates.

New Jersey has welcomed those seeking safety and a better life for centuries, Madsen said, and this new refugee ban flies in the face of who we are and what we value.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Refugee resettlement frozen: NJ families worry about Trump order
Gov. Kristi Noem presents her annual budget address to lawmakers in the South Dakota State Capitol on Dec. 3, 2024. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight, States Newsroom.)

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem will be the nations next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security after the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination Saturday.

The 53-year-old Noem, a former congresswoman, will lead one of the federal governments largest departments, with 260,000 employees and a budget in excess of $100 billion. Its responsibilities include border protection, disaster response, cyber and airline security, and protecting dignitaries.

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The bipartisan vote to confirm Noem was 59-34, with her fellow South Dakota Republicans, Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds, casting two of the votes in favor.

Speaking against Noems confirmation on the Senate floor, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, warned that the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants Noem could carry out on behalf of President Donald Trump will harm the nations economy. Among the industries most affected, Durbin said, could be one of vital importance to Noems home state: agriculture.

In many instances, they will be removing the very workers that pick the crop, Durbin said.

Speaking in favor of Noem, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the United States is a nation of immigrants, but were also a nation based on the rule of law, and we have not seen that immigration law enforced over the last four years.

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So Im going to be voting for Governor Noem, because shes committed to enforcing our immigration laws, Grassley said.

SDs lieutenant governor elevated

Noem ascends to the Homeland Security post after serving as South Dakotas first female governor. She was serving her second four-year term after being reelected in 2022.

Noem resigned from that job Saturday and was succeeded by her lieutenant governor, Republican Larry Rhoden, who became the states 34th chief executive and will fill the remainder of Noems term through 2026. Rhoden will choose a new lieutenant governor, subject to confirmation by the South Dakota Legislature, which is in the midst of its annual lawmaking session. Rhodens office released a statement Saturday saying details on a ceremonial swearing-in will be announced soon.

Noems Saturday confirmation vote capped a rise into national prominence that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her decision as governor to avoid ordering widespread shutdowns in South Dakota caught Trumps attention during his first term, and he accepted Noems invitation to a Fourth of July weekend fireworks display at Mount Rushmore in 2020. That helped cement a relationship Noem had begun with Trump while she served as a four-term member of the U.S. House from 2011 to 2019.

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Noem was widely thought to be in consideration for Trumps running mate last year, until her April book release abruptly ended that speculation.

The Guardian obtained an advance copy of the book, No Going Back, and revealed passages Noem wrote about fatally shooting a misbehaving hunting dog and an unruly goat. The Dakota Scout, a South Dakota media outlet, challenged Noems claim in the book that she had met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and she retracted it.

Noem faced withering scrutiny during a national book tour and became the butt of jokes on late-night television. Yet, less than three months later, she had a prime speaking slot during the Republican National Convention. Shortly after Trumps election win in November, he announced Noem as his pick to lead Homeland Security.

Noems role in border issues

While serving as governor, Noem sent National Guard troops multiple times to assist Texas in securing its border with Mexico, and called a joint session of the Legislature to deliver a speech about the border. In her new role as Homeland Security secretary, Noem will be pivotal in carrying out Trumps immigration crackdown.

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Noem appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs last week for her confirmation hearing. She said border security must remain a top priority.

As a nation, we have the right and the responsibility to secure our borders against those who would do us harm, and we must create a fair and a lawful immigration system that is efficient and is effective and that reflects our values, Noem said.

Trump kick-started his immigration plan shortly after he took office Monday.

In part of a barrage of executive orders this week, Trump moved to end birthright citizenship in the United States. But on Thursday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the plan, which was met with a flurry of legal challenges.

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Trump also declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, and earlier this week, the Pentagon said it would immediately send 1,500 active duty troops to secure the area.

Noem is the fourth of Trumps Cabinet nominees to earn Senate confirmation, after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

States Newsrooms D.C. Bureau contributed to this report.

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PIERRE, S.D. (KELO)  Larry Rhoden, who succeeded Kristi Noem as South Dakotas governor on Saturday, brings a lengthy record of success as state legislator to his new office.

The Meade County rancher and welder had already served 16 years in the Legislature and was seeking re-election to a seat in the House in 2018 when Noem, the Republican gubernatorial primary winner, announced in a video that she had chosen him to be her running mate. They went on to win the three-candidate November general election with 50.97% of the vote, making Noem the first woman to be elected governor of South Dakota.

Four years later, Noem turned back a challenge to her re-election to a second term as governor when she defeated the House speaker, Steven Haugaard, in the Republican primary that June. Haugaard however wasnt done seeking statewide office. He challenged Rhoden for the lieutenant governor nomination. Noem in turn went to the floor of the Republican Partys state convention in Watertown and called for Rhoden to remain her running mate. A majority of delegates stuck with Rhoden.

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Rhoden had been on a statewide election ballot once before. In 2014, he was one of five candidates seeking the Republican nomination for an open U.S. Senate seat. Former two-term governor Mike Rounds won the Republican primary with 41,377 votes or 55.5%. Rhoden placed second with 13,593 votes, finishing about 400 ahead of another legislator, Stace Nelson.

Rhoden ran for election to another term in the state House in 2016 and won. During his 16 sessions as a representative, then senator and then representative again, he was prime sponsor of 64 bills, and 43 became law.

Watch: Noem confirmed for Secretary of Homeland Security

Among the Rhoden-sponsored laws was establishing South Dakotas current system of valuing agricultural property for taxes, part of a broader effort with the Rounds administration. Rhoden also led the effort to make rodeo the official state sport and exempting most trucking businesses from the state sales tax, which had been passed at the request of the previous governor, Bill Janklow, as part of Janklows drive for property-tax reduction.

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Rhoden also sponsored the repeal of an anti-corruption and political funding measure that South Dakota voters had passed 52-48% in the 2016 election. Some pieces of of the repealed measure were then put into state law with Rhodens support.

Among the topics that Rhoden, who went to Sunshine Bible Academy as a student and served on the Meade public school board as an adult, most often addressed as a legislator were public school funding and agricultural property taxes. He also sponsored legislation exempting firearms from federal regulation, loosening state requirements for pistol permits, protecting private-property rights, changing political campaign funding and dealing with motorcycles; his legislative district included Sturgis, where bikers from across the nation and the world rally each August.

Heres a look at Rhodens history as a legislator. (Click on the words prime sponsor to see the list for that year. Bills marked with an asterisk* were signed into law.)

He won election to his first House term that began in 2001. That year, he was prime sponsor of two House bills; one* became law.

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1070* allow vendors to sell soft drinks or other concessions on school property. Passed 65-3 by House and 25-8 by Senate. Signed into law.

1245 revise the provisions concerning the licensing, assessment, and taxation of manufactured homes. Hoghoused in House Taxation Committee and killed 10-5.

2002  Prime sponsor of two House bills; none became law.

1247 require payment of certain property taxes if agricultural land is changed to another classification of property. Killed 15-0 by House Taxation Committee.

1282 place a moratorium on certain new outdoor advertising permits, to create a task force to review the state laws regulating outdoor advertising along state highways, and to declare an emergency. Killed 11-2 by House Transportation Committee.

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He won re-election to a second House term that began in 2003 and was selected as House Republican assistant leader. That year he was prime sponsor of four House bills; four* became law.

1075* designate rodeo as the official sport of South Dakota. Passed 66-4 by House and 27-8 by Senate. Signed into law.

1153* revise certain provisions pertaining to the possession of marijuana. (Added possession with intent to distribute to the crime of distributing marijuana) Passed 67-1 by House and 31-2 by Senate. Signed into law.

1172* revise the factors considered in the certification of a county overweight vehicle enforcement program. Passed 66-1 by House and 34-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

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1182* exempt certain shooting ranges from the gross receipts tax on visitor-related businesses. (Exempted gross receipts of shooting ranges operated by nonprofits from the tax) Passed 59-9 by House and 35-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

HCR 1009 requesting that a bipartisan delegation of South Dakota state legislators travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with congressional leaders, administration, and Department of Agriculture officials to express the need for disaster assistance targeted to those in most serious need. Passed 64-1 by House and 26-8 by Senate.

2004  Prime sponsor of four House bills; two* became law.

1180* exempt the gross receipts of certain transportation services from sales and use tax. (Exempted most trucking and courier services) Passed 68-0 by House and 33-2 by Senate. Signed into law.

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1258 restrict the entry of conservation officers onto certain private land without permission. Passed 42-28 by House, died in Senate after Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee sent it to the floor without recommendation 5-4.

1296 restrict, under certain circumstances, the alienation of private real property to the federal government. Died on 58-4 tabling vote by House.

1297* restrict the alienation of public state real property to the federal government. Passed 49-20 by House and 33-1 by Senate. Signed into law.

He won re-election to a third House term that began in 2005 and was chosen as House Republican leader. That year he was prime sponsor of four House bills; four* became law.

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1067* revise the property tax levies for the general fund and the special education tax levy of a school district. Passed 69-0 by House and 35-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

1189* clarify the application of certain provisions pertaining to the sale of pistols. Passed 70-0 by House and 35-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

1190* provide for recognition of certain valid nonresident permits to carry a concealed pistol. Passed 70-0 by House and 35-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

1220* revise the calculation of state aid to general education, to appropriate money therefor, and to exempt from reversion certain funds appropriated for state aid to education. Final compromise passed 53-17 by House and 32-2 by Senate. Signed into law.

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2006  Prime sponsor of four House bills; three* became law.

1009 create additional classifications of agricultural property, to revise certain provisions concerning the valuation of agricultural land for ad valorem taxation, and to revise certain provisions concerning the taxation of certain agricultural property. Passed 55-13 by House, killed 15-19 by Senate.

1054* revise certain provisions regarding an increase of the prizes that certain lotteries may award. (Removed $30,000 limit on lottery prizes) Passed 66-2 by House and 24-11 by Senate. Signed into law.

1060* revise the property tax levies for the general fund of a school district. Passed 67-0 by House and 33-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

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1080* restrict the use of eminent domain under certain circumstances and to protect certain private property rights from acquisition by the use or threat of eminent domain. Passed 67-1 by House and 35-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

Rhoden won re-election to a fourth House term that began in 2007 and was chosen as House Republican leader again. That year, he was prime sponsor of nine House bills; seven* became law.

1084* revise the property tax levies for the general fund of a school district. Passed 67-0 by House and 35-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

1100* authorize the Legislative Research Council to remodel, renovate, and furnish certain facilities on the fourth floor of the State Capitol Building for use by the Legislature, and to make an appropriation therefor. Passed 68-2 by House and 35-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

1127* clarify the authority of county commissioners to set their annual salary. Passed 68-0 by House and 33-1 by Senate. Signed into law.

1139* create and provide for the education enhancement tobacco tax fund and the health care tobacco tax fund. Passed 60-10 by House and 20-15 by Senate. Signed into law.

1140* require an annual adjustment to the general fund levies of a school district by reducing local effort by nine million dollars from funds deposited in the property tax reduction fund from the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products. Passed 69-1 by House and 32-3 by Senate. Signed into law.

1160* repeal the requirement for physician involvement in the execution of a sentence of death by eliminating certain specified roles. Passed 56-14 by House and 31-3 by Senate. Signed into law.

1171* enhance education in the state and to make an appropriation therefor. This was hoghoused and became the teacher compensation assistance fund. Final version passed 49-18 by House and 34-1 by Senate. Signed into law.

1263 revise certain provisions contained in Senate Bill 209, the General Appropriations Act, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, as previously enacted by the Eighty-first Session of the South Dakota Legislature. Killed 9-0 by House Appropriations Committee.

1264 provide counties the authority to acquire, construct, maintain, and operate sewer utility systems. Killed 13-0 by House Local Government Committee.

2008  Prime sponsor of seven House bills; four became law.

1005* revise certain provisions concerning the assessment of real property, to assess agricultural land based on its agricultural income value, to create an implementation and oversight advisory task force, to repeal certain provisions regarding the assessment of property, and to repeal the nonagricultural acreage classification. Passed 45-22 by House, amended and passed 27-4 by Senate, amendments agreed to by House 44-24. Signed into law.

1006* revise certain tax levy limitations and property tax levies for school districts. Passed 48-19 by House, amended and passed 29-4 by Senate, amendments agreed to by House 53-15. Signed into law.

1120* revise the property tax levies for the general fund of a school district. Final version passed 66-1 by House and 30-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

1124 enhance education in South Dakota. A placeholder hoghoused by House State Affairs Committee into a three-level classification system for certified teachers and school service specialists and passed 39-29 by House. Senate changed the content back to a placeholder. Died in House-Senate conference committee.

1191* revise certain provisions regarding the display of customized motorcycles at certain events. (Removed permit requirement for any customized motorcycle being built for and displayed during a sponsored event where the participants had to qualify through competition. Passed 67-0 by House and 34-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

1279 align math and science education with South Dakotas historic and unique scientific opportunities, to direct the Department of Education to initiate Project Lead the Way, to develop a clearinghouse for certain educational opportunities, and to provide for an independent analysis of the states content standards, and to make an appropriation therefor, and to require the Department of Education to develop a framework for a high school for the twenty-first century, and to require high schools to report on activities and results relative to that framework. Passed 50-18 by House, killed 6-29 by Senate.

1280 revise certain provisions regarding public records and public meetings. Killed 12-0 by House State Affairs Committee.

Having been elected to four consecutive terms in the House, Rhoden was up against South Dakotas term-limits requirement. So he ran for the Senate, won a first term in that chamber starting in 2009 and was chosen as a Republican whip. That year, he was prime sponsor of four Senate bills; three* became law.

70* repeal the provision requiring a forty-eight hour waiting period to purchase a pistol. Passed 34-0 by Senate and 67-1 by House. Signed into law.

73* permit persons sixteen years of age to donate blood under certain circumstances. Passed 34-0 by Senate and 70-0 by House. Signed into law.

187* allow the merger or consolidation of a cooperative and its subsidiary. Passed 33-0 by Senate and 66-1 by House. Signed into law.

188 provide for the appointment of members of the State Brand Board by district. Passed 24-8 by Senate, killed 10-3 by House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

2010  Prime sponsor of three Senate bills; two* became law.

79 revise certain format requirements relating to real estate documents to be filed with the register of deeds. Passed 32-0 by Senate, died after 5-7 vote by House Local Government Committee.

89* exempt from federal regulation any firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured and retained in South Dakota. (Applied to any firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in South Dakota and that remains within the borders of South Dakota) Passed 29-4 by Senate and 49-19 by House. Signed into law.

96* provide for the continuation of the waiver of the collaborative agreement requirement for certified nurse midwives providing out-of-hospital birth services. Passed 23-11 by Senate and 59-2 by House. Signed into law.

Rhoden won re-election to a second Senate term that began in 2011. That year, he was prime sponsor of two Senate bills; two* became law.

96* authorize an organization to contribute to a political action committee and to set a limit on contributions. Passed 29-6 by Senate and 57-12 by House. Signed into law.

152* revise certain provisions concerning state aid to education, to revise and provide for the adjustment of the per student allocation for the state aid to general education formula, and to revise certain property tax levies for the general fund of a school district. Passed 28-7 by Senate, amended and passed 47-21 by House, Senate agreed 29-3. Signed into law.

2012  Prime sponsor of two Senate bills; one* became law.

123* revise how the taxes are applied to rural electric companies. Passed 25-9 by Senate, amended and passed 64-2 by House, Senate agreed 31-3. Signed into law.

124 revise per student allocation for state aid to education, to revise the property tax levies for the general fund of school districts, and to revise certain provisions concerning state aid and local effort. Tabled 23-11 by Senate.

Rhoden won re-election to a third Senate term that began in 2013. That year, he was prime sponsor of six Senate bills; four* became law.

6* determine whether factors affecting productivity should be applied if the actual use of agricultural land does not correspond to the soil classification standards. Passed 24-11 by Senate and 59-8 by House. Signed into law.

74* require the forfeiture of preference points for certain hunting licenses upon conviction of unlawfully killing, destroying, taking, or possessing trophy animals. Passed 34-0 by Senate and 70-0 by House. Signed into law.

166* revise the number of years that permits to carry a concealed weapon are valid. (Changed to five years from four.) Passed 35-0 by Senate and 59-0 by House. Signed into law.

191 increase state aid to education and revise certain provisions related to education funding. Killed 6-2 by Senate Appropriations Committee.

195* revise the distribution of the wind energy tax. Final version passed 25-2 by Senate and 58-8 by House. Signed into law.

207 make certain legislative findings concerning federal infringement on Second Amendment rights. Passed 29-4 by Senate, killed 8-4 by House State Affairs Committee.

2014  Prime sponsor of two Senate bills; zero became law.

8 revise certain provisions concerning the assessment and taxation of real property. Killed 9-0 by Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

170 revise the structure for compensating surface owners for losses due to mineral development. Passed 21-13 by Senate, killed 8-4 by House Commerce and Energy Committee.

Rhoden won election to a new House term that began in 2017 and was chosen as a whip. That year he was prime sponsor of five House bills; three* became law.

1066* revise certain provisions regarding permits for the sale of certain trailers, motorcycles, and other vehicles. Passed 68-0 by House and 34-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

1067 revise certain provisions concerning sales receipts maintained by temporary vendors. Killed 7-4 by House Commerce and Energy Committee.

1068* revise certain provisions concerning landowner liability for certain injuries suffered. Passed 68-0 by House and 33-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

1069* repeal and revise certain provisions related to campaign finance and to declare an emergency. (Repealed IM22 that South Dakota voters had passed 52-28 in 2016 election.) Passed 54-13 by House and 27-8 by Senate. Signed into law.

1089 provide certain provisions regarding investigations of misconduct by certain public officials. Killed 65-2 by House.

2018  Prime sponsor of four House bills; three* became law.

1081* repeal the sunset clause regarding the recreational use of nonmeandered water. Passed 51-12 by House and 20-15 by Senate. Signed into law.

1083* revise certain provisions regarding permits to carry a concealed pistol and to declare an emergency. Passed 66-0 by House, amended and passed 30-1 by Senate, House agreed with Senate 63-3. Signed into law.

1101* revise certain provisions regarding used motorcycles offered for sale at an event. Passed 64-0 by House and 34-0 by Senate. Signed into law.

1261 accommodate legislation to improve municipal government. Placeholder bill killed 13-0 by House State Affairs Committee.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Sir Keir Starmer appears to have had a change of heart when it comes to working with the Trump administration  and thats a good thing.

Just a few weeks ago, the Prime Minister was poised to sign away the fate of a joint UK-US military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.

According to reports, Starmer and members of the outgoing Biden administration wanted to finalise the agreement to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands  including Diego Garcia  to Mauritius before President Trump could take his oath.

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Fortunately, cooler  and perhaps wiser  heads prevailed. Prime Minister Starmer agreed to welcome President Trump to the negotiating table. This is great news. Friends dont strike deals behind each others backs, especially when our shared security is on the line.

Diego Garcia is among the UKs most important military assets. Since the 1970s, British and American forces have shared this base to protect our interests in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Diego Garcia offers one of the only locations globally where our militaries can reload submarines. This feature makes it a top target of Chinese spies.

Diego Garcia is secure because the Chagos Islands are a British territory. Our troops dont need any outside permission to protect our interests against threats from China.

The Chinese Communist Party would love nothing more than for the security of Diego Garcia to fall into weaker hands, yet that appears to be what the UK was set to offer Mauritius.

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The British were considering a deal that would have ceded sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius in exchange for a 99-year lease to maintain our shared base on Diego Garcia. The UK offered 90 million per year in rent.

Americas new Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that allowing Diego Garcia to slip into the hands of Mauritius would provide an opportunity for communist China to gain valuable intelligence.

Mauritius and China have grown increasingly chummy. They entered a trade agreement in 2021. Mauritiuss new prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, has signalled his intent to bolster diplomatic relations with China. He once relayed to his supporters that President Xi Jinping told him: China never forgets its friends.

Iran is now seeking to deepen its ties with the nations new government. If Mauritius is growing its friendships with China and Iran, how can we expect it to keep spies away from our base?

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Its hard to believe that China and Iran arent trying to pull Mauritius into their axis and away from the West.

The UK was under some pressure from the Biden administration and the far-Left activists at the United Nations to relinquish control of the Chagos Islands, but there is no clear reason why ceding the territory is a prudent response to this campaign.

Chagossians and Mauritians are practically strangers. They share almost no pre-colonial ties to one another, and they are separated by more than 1,200 miles of water. London is closer to Rome than Mauritius is to Diego Garcia.

Chagossians consider themselves an indigenous people. Members of the Chagossian diaspora have repeatedly expressed their opposition to the deal  and I dont blame them. The Mauritian government may not even allow Chagossians to visit the islands.

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The idea that the UK must hand over the islands to atone for whatever perceived wrongs Britains forefathers may have committed is nonsense. The UN does not care about what is best for the Chagossian, British or American people. They only care about furthering a misguided anti-Western agenda.

The UK is our ally, and Mauritius is our friend, but this is a matter of national security for the US. Anyone who expects the Trump administration to elevate the sensitivities of UN militants above the best interests of America and our allies is writing a cheque that cant be cashed.

The Chagossian, American and British people would all be safer if this deal with Mauritius found its way into the shredder for good.

John Kennedy is a US Senator for Louisiana

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Jan 27 (NHK) - Leaders of Fuji Television announced their resignations on Monday amid growing pressure on the Japanese broadcaster over a major scandal involving a TV personality.

President Minato Koichi and chairman Kanoh Shuji told a news conference in Tokyo they would step down. The company held an emergency board meeting earlier in the day and discussed whether the executives remained fit to lead.

The scandal surfaced last month when weekly magazines reported that Nakai Masahiro, a former member of the now-disbanded pop idol group SMAP, got into "trouble" with a woman in 2023 and paid her a settlement.

The reports also said a Fuji TV employee played a role.

Executives, including Minato, were aware of the incident but continued to work and broadcast programs with Nakai for a year and a half.

Minato said at the news conference: "This case may involve a possible human rights violation. Looking back, we deeply regret that we failed to thoroughly examine issues believed to be behind this case, such as the nature of the dinner parties and gatherings with celebrities and related individuals."

The woman involved ended up needing a long period of recuperation and was unable to return to work as she had hoped, he said.

Minato said the company's response must have caused her deep disappointment, and he wants to meet with her to apologize.

Fuji TV held a news conference about the scandal earlier this month but limited the number of news outlets and did not allow TV cameras. Minato has since apologized, saying that the conference lacked transparency and accountability.

Widespread criticism has been growing in the public. Many companies suspended their ads on Fuji TV.
TOKYO, Jan 28 (News On Japan) - Fuji TV held a press conference on January 27 at 4 p.m. to address allegations reported in the media that an employee was involved in a dispute between TV personality Nakai and a woman. Fuji TV explained that investigating Nakai at this stage might negatively impact the womans mental health and risk further harm if Nakai attempted to contact her.

The press conference revealed significant issues within Fuji TV's corporate governance, with crisis management consultant Kuga highlighting the lack of involvement from the compliance department as a major failing. This absence of action was seen as particularly problematic given the sensitive nature of the case, which involved both privacy concerns and the potential for public harm.

During the press conference, President Koichi Minato acknowledged shortcomings in addressing the matter and expressed regret for not involving the compliance team to better support the individual at the center of the issue. Minato emphasized that the company prioritized the womans wishes, which ultimately led to decisions that bypassed key corporate protocols. The consultant criticized the company's narrow focus on privacy protection, arguing that it came at the expense of transparency and accountability. The failure to fully investigate and address the situation was seen as a missed opportunity to strengthen corporate governance and prevent similar incidents in the future.

The event also drew attention to Fuji TV's broader management structure. Chairman Shuji Kano and President Minato announced their resignations, effective immediately, citing their responsibility for the company's inadequate handling of the incident. Despite these leadership changes, questions lingered about the role of Hieda, the senior adviser and a central figure in shaping Fuji TVs corporate culture. While Hieda did not attend the press conference, his absence was criticized by stakeholders, including the companys labor union, which had called for all directors to appear and address the issue. Some argued that Hieda, as a key architect of Fuji TVs governance system, should have publicly acknowledged his role and outlined steps to rebuild trust in the organization.

As part of its response, Fuji TV announced plans to undertake a comprehensive review of its management structure. The appointment of Kenji Shimizu as the new president is seen as an attempt to stabilize the company while addressing internal challenges. However, experts have noted that structural reforms will require more than leadership changes; the company must confront underlying cultural issues and establish clearer accountability mechanisms. The controversy has sparked broader discussions about the balance between protecting individual privacy and ensuring corporate transparency, with many calling for Fuji TV to take meaningful steps toward restoring public trust.

Source: TBS
A landmark underwater rail tunnel project connecting two continents has entered a crucial new phase as engineering feasibility studies commence, marking a historic step in Mediterranean infrastructure development. The ambitious infrastructure project, which will link Morocco and Spain through the Strait of Gibraltar, has selected a world-leading tunneling technology firm, Herrenknecht Iberica, to conduct the feasibility study for this underwater railway infrastructure in addition to other comprehensive technical and logistical assessments, bringing decades of expertise to this unprecedented engineering challenge.

Herrenknecht Iberica is a subsidiary of the German company Herrenknecht, one of the global leaders in tunnel boring machine constructio.

The news was reported by London-based media outlet Arabian Gulf Business Insight, which quoted the spokesperson for the German group.

The 42-kilometer connection, including 27.8 kilometers underwater, will establish a vital transportation link between Cadiz province and Tangier, fundamentally transforming trade routes between Europe and Africa. The project aims to significantly enhance freight and passenger movement between North Africa and Europe, with projected annual capacities exceeding 13 million tons of cargo and 12.8 million passengers, making it one of the most significant infrastructure projects of the 21st century.

Engineering experts emphasize the projects complexity, noting the unique challenges posed by the straits depth, strong currents, and geological composition. The selected technology firm brings extensive experience in similar underwater projects, though none quite matching the scale and complexity of this undertaking.

Recent developments include the deployment of sophisticated underwater seismometers, capable of operating at depths up to 6,000 meters, to analyze seismic activity in the strait. This $500,000 investment in monitoring equipment will provide crucial data for the tunnels construction, ensuring the highest safety standards and optimal routing through the complex underwater terrain.

The connection points are planned for Punta Paloma in Tarifa and Malabata in Tangier Bay, creating a strategic transport corridor that promises to revolutionize cross-continental travel and commerce. The tunnels design incorporates state-of-the-art safety features and ventilation systems, setting new standards for underwater infrastructure projects.

Economic analysts predict the tunnel will significantly boost trade relations between Europe and Africa, reducing transportation costs and times while providing a reliable alternative to maritime shipping. Environmental studies suggest the tunnel could contribute to reduced carbon emissions by shifting freight traffic from ships and planes to rail transport.

The project represents a significant step forward in Mediterranean infrastructure development and international cooperation, building on decades of preliminary studies and technological advancements. As feasibility studies progress, stakeholders remain optimistic about overcoming the technical challenges and creating a lasting legacy of cross-continental connection.
At least 20 Nigerian soldiers, including a commanding officer, have been reportedly killed as suspected Islamist militants targeted an army base in the remote Malam-Fatori town in Nigerias northeastern Borno state.

The attack that is believed to have been carried out by fighters from the ISIL-affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP) occurred on Friday (24 January) and lasted for more than three hours with bullets raining everywhere, according to surviving soldiers. When the ISWAP fighters reportedly arrived on gun trucks and attacked the armys 149 Battalion, we tried so much to repel the attacks and after more than three hours of gun duel, they overpowered us, killing our commanding officer, a lieutenant colonel, said one soldier who survived the attack.

ISWAP and Boko Haram fighters have mainly operated in Borno state, targeting both security forces and civilians, killing and displacing tens of thousands of people. While weakened by military counter-offensive and internal fighting in recent years, both Boko Haram and ISWAP have stepped up their attacks in the region in the past few weeks, killing dozens of farmers and fishermen in a series of raids. The 15-year-long conflict has claimed nearly 40,000 lives and displaced around two million people. The violence has also spilled into neighboring Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, prompting the formation of a regional military force to combat both insurgent groups.
The UN chief has urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as news has emerged that the Rwandan army has massed just across the border from the major city of Goma besieged by Kigali-backed M23 fighters.

Thousands of people have fled camps on the outskirts of Goma, as fighting intensifies between the rebels and Congolese troops. Intelligence sources suggest battle for the provincial capital of around 2 million people in eastern DRC is imminent after the M23 has made significant territorial gains in recent weeks and is now closing in on the city. In a statement on Sunday (26 January), United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres has expressed his strongest condemnation of the M23 armed groups ongoing offensive and advances towards Goma in North Kivu with the support of the Rwanda Defense Forces. Experts warn that the fall of Goma would be a huge victory for the rebels, but disastrous for the local population.

It comes as large numbers of troops from Rwanda have reportedly been pouring across the border into the DRC to assist the lightning offensive by the M23 fighters aiming to seize the regional capital. Most of the Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) senior commanders are said to have been deployed in the Rwandan city of Gisenyi, located just across the border from Goma. South Africa, Malawi and Uruguay have meanwhile announced that their respective troops, who were part of either the UN peacekeeping force or the Southern African Development Community Mission (SAMIDRC), were killed as they battled to halt the advance of M23 fighters. In light of the escalating security situation in eastern DRC, Kinshasa announced on Sunday it had cut ties with Rwanda after recent attempts at diplomatic talks between the two countries failed.
Tunisian lawmakers are currently deliberating a controversial draft law that would allow the deportation of irregular migrants to their home countries, as tensions rise around anti-migrant sentiment and xenophobic conspiracy theories.

This proposal comes after the Government claimed to have successfully repatriated over 7,000 migrants voluntarily last year.

However, human rights groups have voiced concerns, arguing that the legislation could violate international migration agreements, which Tunisia has signed. The bill is under review in Parliament and includes provisions for exemptions, such as for migrants who could face torture or inhumane treatment upon return, and allows for appeals against deportation orders.

The Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights has condemned the proposed law, calling it unethical and accusing the government of using it to formalize forced deportations. Despite a significant reduction in new arrivalsmigration flows into Tunisia decreased by 64% last yearcritics claim that Tunisia is already engaging in forced deportations under the guise of cooperation with Europe. Reports suggest that many migrants, living in dire conditions, are pressured into voluntary returns, often with financial support from the European Union (EU).

Since 2023, Tunisias crackdown on migrants has intensified following President Kais Saieds inflammatory rhetoric, which depicted migration as part of a deliberate attempt to change the demographic composition of the country. This rhetoric sparked violence against Black migrants, leading to evictions, job losses, and widespread abuse. The government has also faced allegations of abandoning hundreds of migrants at the Sahara desert borders and even committing acts of violence, including rape and physical abuse, against migrants detained in the country.

The EU has continued to support Tunisia with financial aid, including 105 million to strengthen its border control infrastructure. However, despite mounting evidence of human rights violations, the EU maintains that Tunisia has one of the most advanced monitoring systems in the region. Recently, the EU acknowledged the need for stronger safeguards and is in the process of setting clearer conditions to ensure Tunisia upholds human rights standards. The fate of the proposed law and its implications for migrants remain uncertain.
The United Nations chief announced he has appointed Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana as the global bodys new envoy to Libya, replacing Senegals Abdoulaye Bathily who stepped down last April.

The former foreign minister of Ghana, who more recently has been Secretary-General Antonio Guterress special representative to the Horn of Africa, is the 10th person since 2011 to occupy the sensitive post of special envoy and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

The UN announcement said Ms Tetteh brings to this position decades of experience at the national, regional and international levels, including most recently as the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa from 2022 until 2024. Prior to that, she was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) from 2018 to 2020, having earlier served as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi.

Tettehs appointment still requires endorsement by the UN Security Council.

The post, in a North African country riven by conflict and civil war for over a decade, had been vacant since the surprise departure last April of Bathily.

At the time the Senegalese diplomat warned of a lack of political will and good faith by Libyan leaders and said the United Nations could not operate successfully in such a climate.

Libya has been mired in political chaos and conflict since the overthrow of longtime ruler Muammar Gadhafi in 2011 after a NATO-backed uprising.

The UNSMIL acting head, Stephanie Khoury said last December the United Nations will convene a technical committee of Libyan experts in an attempt to resolve contentious issues and put the country on the path to long-awaited national elections.

A Government of National Unity (GNU) under Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021 but the parliament no longer recognizes its legitimacy. Dbeibah has vowed not to cede power to a new government without national elections.
The WTO chief has called for an end to attacks on health care workers and facilities in war-torn Sudan, as about 70 people, including patients, were reportedly killed and dozens injured in a drone attack on a hospital in El-Fasher, in Sudans western Darfur region, blamed on rebel forces.

The United Nations said Sunday (26 January) the attack on the only functional hospital in the besieged city that was carried out by the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had killed 70 people including patients receiving critical care. As Sudans civil war has escalated in recent days, this was the latest in a series of attacks on the only functional hospital in El Fasher, the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital, (which) provides services which include gyn-obstetrics, internal medicine, surgery and pediatrics, along with a nutrition stabilization center, according to WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Local officials have blamed the bloody attack on the paramilitary RSF that had recently experienced apparent battlefield losses to the Sudanese military and allied forces led by army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan. The attack  on the only functional hospital in El-Fasher is a shocking violation of international humanitarian law, said the UNs most senior official in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, who denounced the alarming disregard for human life. The RSF siege of El Fasher, a city of more than 1 million people, had killed 782 civilians and wounded more than 1,140 others, according to the UN.
Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

New Yorkers wont be seeing much of Eric Adams this week.

Late Sunday night, City Hall announced that the mayor hasnt been feeling well and he is now scheduled to have a number of doctors appointments and undergo routine medical tests over the next few days. While Mayor Adams will continue to communicate constantly with staff and ensure city business continues undeterred, during this time, the mayor will have a limited public schedule, Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy said in a statement issued just before 11 p.m.

The sudden announcement was light on details as to Adamss specific health concerns and a timeline for when the mayor will return to a typical schedule. But Levy said residents can be sure that city business will continue as normal. Like every other New Yorker, Mayor Adams has a right to privacy when it comes to personal matters, but we will continue to communicate in the unlikely event he is unable to fully discharge his duties on any particular day, he said.

In recent days, Adams appeared to keep up his regular schedule. Last week, the mayor traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend President Donald Trumps inauguration. The following day, he held his weekly press conference at City Hall. Throughout the week, he conducted several interviews with local media and took part in an announcement about illegal weapons seizures with NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch. On Sunday, Adams was slated to give remarks at the opening of the Altneu Synagogue that evening, but his appearance was ultimately canceled in a later update. As of Monday morning, Adams only had one event listed on his schedule for the day: an 8 a.m. meeting with senior administration officials.

In the event of any temporary medical absence, First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer would likely briefly take the reins in Adamss stead. Under the city charter, in the event that the mayor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, the official line of succession proceeds to public advocate Jumaane Williams and then comptroller Brad Lander.
J.D. Vance at the national prayer service where Trump felt disrespected by the Episcopal bishop of Washington. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

For the most overtly Christian administration since George W. Bushs, the second Trump administration is off to a very bad start when it comes to respect for Christian clergy, at least when they arent leading cheers for the 47th president and his agenda. After her sermon at the national prayer service shortly after the inauguration, Donald Trump went medieval on Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, for having the temerity to beg him to have mercy for those who fear his policies. Now J.D. Vance is openly feuding with the hierarchy of his own Roman Catholic Church for its hostility to Team Trumps mass-deportation plans.

Catholic advocacy for immigrants is a long-standing commitment, particularly in the United States, where a significant percentage of immigrants dating back to the Irish famine have been Catholics. Its one issue (unlike many others) on which traditionalists and modernizers in the Church are in agreement, which has led to a lot of friction recently with right-wing political movements in Europe and the U.S. On the very eve of Trumps inauguration, Pope Francis, who has never been much of a MAGA fan, called Trumps mass-deportation plan disgraceful because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill. Even earlier, the pontiff caused a stir by making an outspoken champion of migrants rights, Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington. Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, himself a conservative Catholic, fired a brushback pitch at the Vatican, suggesting Francis ought to stick to the Catholic Church and fix that. Thats a mess.

But now Vice-President Vance, Americas highest ranking Catholic, has joined the fray after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly objected to an executive order exposing to enforcement raids schools and churches that offer refugees shelter and services. Not mincing words, Vance suggested to Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation that the Churchs advocacy for undocumented immigrants is essentially a money grab:

I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?

The bishops wasted no time in responding to Vance, noting that the expenses associated with their care for refugees far outstrip the compensation they receive from the federal government.

Vance is a recent convert to Catholicism with strong ties to hypertraditionalists in the church who are often rebellious toward Francis, as are some bishops. But again, sympathy for immigrants, rooted in Jesuss many biblical injunctions to care for strangers, is not a topic that tends to divide the clergy. Vance is probably on stronger ground with Catholics in the pews: The Trump-Vance ticket won self-identified Catholics by an estimated 10 percent in 2024 after running even with Joe Biden (the first Catholic president since JFK) in 2020.

Still, clergy bashing isnt a great look for this administration, particularly since there are signs of anti-Trump solidarity across confessional lines. The editors of the National Catholic Register had this to say about MAGA attacks on Bishop Budde:

What Budde did wasnt just taking advantage of an opportune encounter with the commander in chief. What she did was something she was obliged to do as a disciple of Christ preaching the Christian message. She gave a human face to those who, in the approach of a heartless administration, are a faceless group, shamefully maligned and made into a national scapegoat. They have become the new enemy, the inhuman other upon which our social ills and anxieties have been heaped 

If a Christian leader in her pulpit, addressing a president who voluntarily placed himself in that sacred space, cannot speak out of the heart of the Gospel, then we might as well turn our cathedrals, basilicas and other houses of worship into museums.

If the war of words between the Trump administration and religious leaders over immigration policy continues to escalate, it will raise some uncomfortable questions about the loyalties of observant Christians like Vance. Conservatives Catholics like to mock those who reject church dogma on subjects like birth control and abortion as cafeteria Catholics, who pick and choose the teachings they will follow. Vance is rejecting Catholic teachings on the dignity owed to refugees to the extent of accusing his church of corrupt motives for resisting a deportation program that relies on terror and violates sacred spaces in search of its victims. The vice-president is genuflecting to the false god of nativism.
Photo: Intelligencer; Photo: Getty Images

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders intended to curb both legal and illegal immigration. In one of his most controversial orders, Trump called for the revision of the constitutionally recognized right of birthright citizenship to exclude the children of people in the U.S. unlawfully or on a legal temporary basis. The order, which is viewed by many as legally dubious, was immediately targeted by numerous lawsuits, starting off a protracted fight that will likely end at the Supreme Court. Within days, a federal judge temporarily blocked the order, calling it blatantly unconstitutional. I spoke with Gerard Magliocca, a professor at Indiana Universitys Robert H. McKinney School of Law, about the presidents chances in court and whether a push for a constitutional amendment could be next on the horizon.

Trumps executive order looks to redefine the constitutional right of birthright citizenship to exclude the children of noncitizens. In your opinion, does he have any legal ground to stand on?

No. Now, theres really two reasons for that. The first is that this is an executive order, not an act of Congress, right? And so the first question is, does the president on his own have the power to redefine citizenship? And to do that, he would have to be able to point to some law enacted by Congress or something in the Constitution specifically that says the president can do this  and there is nothing like that. The Supreme Court has held, in some cases during the Biden administration when President Biden tried to do certain things on his own through executive orders like student-debt relief or certain kinds of COVID policies, that there was no statute that gave him the power to do these things.

Now, the second problem is even if you thought there was some law that supported the executive order in an act of Congress, its unconstitutional. The reason its unconstitutional is that when the 14th Amendment was ratified, there were only a couple of very narrow exceptions to the rule that everyone born here is a citizen and none of those exceptions have anything to do with the fact that your parents may or may not have done something. The example that the executive order cites is to say people who have come here illegally are invaders. And it is true that back when the 14th Amendment was ratified, if you had an invading army  Canada invades Maine and then children are born in Maine under Canadian occupation  those children would not be considered birth citizens because, in effect, that part of the country would not be under the control of the government, right? It would be totally under enemy control.

Thats a pretty big difference from a situation where you have people coming here peacefully, not from enemy countries, who are perfectly well under the authority of our government because theyre being deported or they could be deported. So, the only example thats being cited as a basis for the constitutionality of this is far removed. And, by the way, theres not a single example of that exception for the foreign invaders ever being invoked. Its never happened. Its an exceptionally weak case for both reasons.

The Trump administrations legal argument seems to hinge on the idea that children who are born in America to parents who are here unlawfully or on temporary status are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. What do you make of that argument?

Okay, if that were literally true, then they couldnt be deported, right? In other words, the ordinary way in which everybody understands subject to the jurisdiction is youre subject to the law and legal authority. And everybody agrees if youre here illegally, youre subject to the law. You can be deported. So, what are they trying to say? Theyre trying to say, Well, it doesnt really mean that. It means something else, which somehow means something about whether your parents are here legally or not. So, thats the part where it kind of falls down.

Now, the exceptions that existed back when the 14th Amendment was ratified all are consistent with not being subject to the law. If the invading army, you know, the Canadians hold Maine, well, the people of Maine are not subject to American law because the American governments not in control at all, right? Theyve been totally kicked out. There was this exception for, well, what if you were the child of a foreign ambassador? The ambassador from Spain has a baby here. Then people said, well, all right, diplomats have diplomatic immunity. No, theyre not subject to American law in the way that everybody else is. So, that doesnt count. But again, that has nothing to do with the fact that someone is here illegally because we have the authority to remove them.

And I doubt that the Trump administration would argue they dont have the right to deport those people.

Thats right. On one hand, theyre saying, We can deport them and were going to do that. And then on the other hand, Well, we dont have any control over them and thats why theyre not entitled to birthright citizenship. It just doesnt hang together. The strongest argument that you can make for this position is simply that when the 14th Amendment was ratified, the United States didnt really have any immigration laws. There really wasnt any such thing as people who were here illegally. So, if you were to go back and try to find, well, did anybody say anything about this issue then, the answer is no because why would anybody have thought about it or said anything about it? It just wasnt on their radar screen. Okay, so someone can say, Look, this is an issue that wasnt there then and so you cant find anybody specifically who says, yes, the children of people who are here illegally are citizens if theyre born here. But, of course, you can also find no evidence for the other side of that either, that somehow those children are excluded. So, it really says nothing about it at all, right? Then what youre left with is there were these couple of exceptions that they had, and those exceptions were all things that had to do with, are you subject to the law or not? And since people who are here illegally are subject to the law and subject to deportation, those exceptions dont cover this situation. And of course, you could say the consistent practice for the last 100-plus years has been to say that those children are citizens.

Trump has indicated that the Justice Department plans to appeal the judges ruling and continue to defend the order in the courts. With the order already facing numerous challenges and that number likely to grow, what can we expect this legal fight to look like?

Well, the Supreme Court is certainly going to take this case when it gets to them because its this very important case. Its hard to say how long that will take. But thats where its going to end up. All the other court rulings are, to some degree, preliminaries for that and are really just a way of fleshing out the various arguments and going through all the historical materials and all of that sort of thing. But its definitely going to end up in the Supreme Court, probably next year sometime.

Normally I dont make predictions. Thats a hazardous business. But I will say the Court will certainly reject as illegal this order. Now, they might only say, Look, its illegal because the president cant do this sort of thing on his own, and they might not talk about the constitutional question at all. But youll get at least seven votes for a Supreme Court opinion striking this down.

Even with the conservative majority on the Court right now?

Yes, because you have this twofold problem, right? The problem of the president acting unilaterally and the problem of unconstitutionality. Suppose it was definitely constitutional for Congress to do it, but the problem is that the president is doing it. Or the president can definitely do it if its constitutional or something like that. Then that makes it a little harder to say what would happen. But when you have two very substantial objections, easily more than five are going to agree on one or more of them.

While this plays out in the courts, is it likely that the order will remain frozen in the interim or will that depend on each next step? Is that at the judges discretion?

I think odds are that it will remain frozen. I mean, you can also say even if it isnt, the order applies only to babies born after January 20. And so as a practical matter, not a whole lot is happening with babies and toddlers in the span of a year such that their citizenship status really means anything. So, even if the order were to come into effect in between certain court rulings, I dont know that it really does anything much for the brief period of time that youre talking about. But odds are itll probably be on hold all the way through or for most of the time through the litigation.

If Trumps efforts fail in the courts, his last option could be advocating for a constitutional amendment to address the issue. Though Republicans currently control Congress and had significant wins across the country including in statehouses, how difficult of a process would that be for his administration?

It would be very difficult because I just dont think you could get the necessary majorities in Congress. To get a two-thirds vote, youd have to get about, what, 14 Democratic senators to go along. That seems like a pretty tall order. Now, it is worth pointing out, though, if the Court were to say, Look, you cant do this with an executive order. We dont express any view on whether an act of Congress can do this, then the administration could go to Congress and say, Look, we want you to pass a law that says no birthright citizenship for these people. Now, of course, thats easier. I dont know that they could get such a law passed. Thats also challenging given the very tight numbers in the House of Representatives, right? But its at least more possible for that to happen than an amendment.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
China approves 52 bln yuan in 2nd batch of pilot programs for long-term stock investments

Xinhua) 08:02, January 27, 2025

BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's financial regulatory authority has approved the launch of the second batch of pilot programs for long-term stock investments, with a scale of 52 billion yuan (7.25 billion U.S. dollars).

China Pacific Life Insurance Co., Ltd., Taikang Life Insurance Co., Ltd., Sunshine Life Insurance Co., Ltd., and relevant insurance asset management firms are authorized by the National Financial Regulatory Administration to participate in the pilot through contractual funds, engaging in long-term stock investments to leverage long-term capital and patient capital, thereby supporting the stable operation of the capital market.

On Wednesday, Chinese financial authorities unveiled a plan outlining measures to encourage medium- and long-term funds to move into the capital market to further stabilize stock performance.

Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, elaborated that public offering funds would increase their A-share holdings of circulating market capitalization by at least 10 percent annually over the next three years.

Efforts are being made to ensure large state-owned insurance companies allocate 30 percent of their newly added annual premium incomes to invest in A-shares starting in 2025, which is expected to inject hundreds of billions of yuan of long-term capital into the A-share market each year, he said.

The second batch of pilot programs for long-term stock market investment from insurance funds will be implemented in the first half of 2025, with a minimum scale of 100 billion yuan, gradually expanding thereafter, Wu added.

In March 2024, China Life Insurance and Xinhua Insurance jointly launched the country's first private equity securities investment fund established by insurance companies to enter the stock market, with an investment scale of 50 billion yuan, which marks one of the first pilot projects for the long-term stock investment reform of insurance funds.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The digital art exhibition "A Dream Journey of A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains" has kicked off the 2025 Happy Chinese New Year celebrations in Auckland.

The Happy Chinese New Year in Auckland is a series of cultural events and celebrations organized by the China Cultural Center in Auckland to bring festive experiences to local communities and residents.

The digital art exhibition, which opened here on Saturday, is the highlight of all events, using holographic projection technology to revitalize the masterpiece A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains, the only surviving painting by Song Dynasty (960-1279) artist Wang Ximeng.

Chinese Consul General in Auckland Chen Shijie is delighted to see that the Chinese New Year has become an important part of New Zealand's multicultural mosaic.

"Telling by its name, it portrays the beautiful landscape of China and the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature. Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," said Chen, adding that China is building a green ecological civilization to ensure the sustainable development of China and the world at large.

"New Zealand people also take pride in its beautiful natural environment. We would like to join hands with our Kiwi friends to carry on green development for the benefit of all people," said Chen.

The painting, 51.5 cm in height and 1,191.5 cm in length, depicts an idealized vision of the vastness and beauty of China's rivers, mountains and rural life in the Song Dynasty.

The exhibition remarkably uses modern technology to bring new life into this timeless masterpiece, allowing the audience to experience the grandeur and intricacy of Wang Ximeng's work in immersive, interactive ways.

Mike Dawson, Auckland Branch President from the New Zealand China Friendship Society, was stunned by the beauty of the landscape in the painting and impressed by the immersive interaction in the way that the technology enables the audience.

"I wondered what mountains and rivers the artist used as prototypes when creating the painting. They are so beautiful and vivid, and the immersive experience is unique," said Dawson.

The digital art exhibitions were highly acclaimed in multiple cities in China. The Auckland exhibition is the first overseas one. Public admission opens from Jan. 26 to March 2. 
20 items in this article 4 items on sale! Photo: Retailer

An all-over-the-place assortment of stood-behind products culled from this very website that appears in the most recent January issue of New York Magazine.

This Things Incredible This Sauna Blanket Lets Me Shvitz at Home Higher Dose Infrared Sauna Blanket $699 $699 As someone who has always belonged to the most affordable gym in the neighborhood, my chances to use a sauna have been few and far between. So when I heard that HigherDOSE had created an at-home, travel-size sauna blanket, I began to obsess over it. It seemed out of reach until I realized that I had an FSA account I needed to drain and the blanket was HSA/FSA-eligible. Its about the width and length of a twin bed, and it can be used on the floor or on your bed. For me, the effect has been undeniable. Days Ive used this have led to nights Ive slept more deeply than ever. My mood becomes stabilized or instantly improved, and my skin has a radiance to it tha tI cant attribute to anything else. Sometimes I use it during colder nights as a way to warm up, not even for a full sweat. Halley Furlong-Mitchel $699 at Higher Dose Buy

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9 items in this article 3 items on sale! Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photo: Tina Rowden, Joe McKendry

If youre like us, youve probably wondered what everyday stuff famous people add to their carts  like hair spray or an electric toothbrush. We asked actor Finn Wolfhard  who partnered with Ring in October as part of the judging team for Rings Great Ghost Search  about the 12-string guitar, security cameras, and travel-friendly game he cant live without.

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Ring Spotlight Cam Plus, Battery $150 $170 now 12% off $150 Ring and I partnered for their Great Ghost Search, and I was a judge to help them find the spookiest Ring footage submitted by Ring users. I have the Ring Outdoor Cam, which is a good way to check on the house and see if its okay. I have it at my home for when Im working so much, and I can check the app. I have the Indoor Cam as well  theyre both the best security for your home that you can get. $150 at Amazon Buy $170 at Ring Buy

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The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
One thing will have become extremely clear to Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the lead-up to Donald Trump beginning his second stint as U.S. President. This is because he wants oil prices lower. He aims to achieve this by dramatically increasing oil exploration and production at home and by pressuring OPEC and its effective leader Saudi Arabia to lower their oil prices too, however they can. Surrounding this are various carrots and sticks that are part of the usual rough and tumble of dealmaking as Trump likes to practice it. These include demands for even more investment from Saudi Arabia into the U.S. than the US$600 billion it has already pledged and Riyadh signing a relationship normalisation deal with Israel. In return, the underlying promise from the U.S. is that it will guarantee the security of Saudi Arabia in the Middle East and beyond and, by extension, the continued reign of the House of Saud across the Kingdom. In sum, it is a full re-assertion of the 2017 Trump variation of the Quincy Pact reached on 14 February 1945 between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Saudi Arabias King Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud, as fully analysed in my latest book on the new global oil market order.

The original version agreed by the two leaders at that time on board the U.S.S. Quincy in the Great Bitter Lake sector of the Suez Canal was essentially that the U.S. would receive all the oil supplies it needed for as long as Saudi Arabia had oil in place. At that point, the U.S.s domestic production of oil and gas was insufficient to drive the high level of economic growth it wanted. In return for this, the U.S. would guarantee the security of Saudi Arabia and the ruling House of Saud. This deal held well enough until the 1973/74 Oil Crisis when OPEC members plus Egypt, Syria and Tunisia, began an embargo on oil exports to the U.S., Great Britain, Japan, Canada and the Netherlands. This was in response to the U.S.s supplying of arms to Israel in the Yom Kippur War that it was fighting against a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. As global supplies of oil fell, the price of oil increased dramatically, exacerbated by incremental cuts to oil production by OPEC members over the period. By the end of the embargo in March 1974, the oil price had risen from around US$3 per barrel (pb) to nearly US$11 pb before settling down for a while, but then it trended higher again. This, in turn, stoked the fire of a global economic slowdown, especially felt in the West. Some branded the embargo a failure, as it did not result in Israel giving back all the territory that it had gained in the Yom Kippur War. However, in a broader sense, a wider war had been won by Saudi, OPEC and other Arab states in shifting the balance of power in the global oil market from the big consumers of oil (mainly in the West at that time) to the big producers of oil (mainly in the Middle East at that point).

Related: Fire Shuts In 300,000 Bpd of Oil Production at Iraqs Giant Oilfield

This delicately rebalanced relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia (and OPEC) also continued to function well enough for another forty years or so, until the U.S. began to significantly develop its own shale oil (and gas) resources. From a modest start, U.S. shale oil production increased from an average of slightly less than 0.2 million bpd in 2011 to just over 8.7 million bpd in 2014, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) figures. Not only did these numbers represent the largest such volume increase since record-keeping began in 1900 but also by 2013 it meant that the U.S. had overtaken Saudi Arabia and Russia as the worlds largest producer of crude oil. Worse still for Saudi Arabia was that both the U.S. and Russia were producing far more gas as well than was the Kingdom. The only encouraging factor for the Saudis at that point in this dramatic expansion of oil production in the U.S. was that, according to virtually all industry estimates, the cost at which each barrel of U.S. shale could be produced (the lifting cost, in industry parlance) was around US$70 pb of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, the U.S. benchmark oil grade. By stark  and positive for the Saudis  contrast, the average lifting cost for Saudi oil (and Iranian and Iraqi oil) was US$1-2 pb only. This apparently high lifting cost and the relatively nascent point of development of the U.S. shale oil sector  plus Saudi Arabias success in the 1973 Oil Crisis (which can be regarded as the First Oil Price War) -- meant that the Kingdom was extremely confident of another success when it launched the Second Oil Price War in the middle of 2014.

This proved to be a terrible miscalculation, as also analysed in my latest book. Suffice it to say here, the U.S. shale oil sector was brilliantly able to reorganise into a leaner, meaner production machine capable of lifting barrels in the low-US$30 pb cost region, and consequently much better able to withstand the lower prices cause by OPEC production cuts than were OPEC countries and Saudi Arabia itself. Consequently, having seen their finances wrecked by this Second Oil Price War, OPEC and Saudi Arabia gave up the fight, reversing the long-running overproduction of oil to attempt to bring prices to levels that would begin to enable them to rebuild their budgets. Crucially though, 2016 also saw a hugely significant change in the Quincy Pact as the prime driver of the U.S.-Saudi Arabia relationship. The agreement then effectively changed to one in which the U.S. would receive all the oil supplies it needed for as long as Saudi Arabia has oil in place and in return would guarantee the security of Saudi Arabia and the ruling House of Saud, but it included the proviso that Saudi Arabia does not jeopardise the economic well-being of the U.S. Or to put it more simply as one senior White House official commented off-the-record to OilPrice.com at the end of 2016: Were not going to put up with any more crap from the Saudis.

For key economic and political reasons examined in my latest book on the new global oil market order, Trump has never wanted to see oil above the US$75-80 pb of Brent level. With his plans to dramatically increase U.S. production and to encourage more output from elsewhere, it is clear he wants the oil price even lower than this in his second term as president. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabias 2025 budget breakeven oil price is $98 pb of Brent, according to the IMF. So, there is a problem, and the problem looks remarkably like that which caused Saudi Arabia to launch the 2020 Third Oil Price War. This was also done to safeguard its oil market share so that it could ultimately steer oil prices above its budget breakeven level and secure its finances. And it was also executed with the same strategy as the 2014-2016 Second Oil Price War, which was to overproduce oil to crash prices to put as many non-OPEC producers out of business as possible. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week talked with Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the strength of the U.S.-Saudi partnership in this time of momentous change. However, if that change becomes momentous enough that oil prices fall too far below the Kingdoms budget breakeven level and stay there, the Saudis may feel they have no choice but to embark on another oil price war in the not-too-distant future.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

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By reversing and axing most climate policies of the Biden administration, U.S. President Donald Trump will not be able to reverse progress in the energy transition as there is still a compelling case in favor of clean energy solutions, according to Citigroups analysts.

Clean energy is cheaper, more widely available, and more efficient, Citigroup ESG analysts wrote in a note carried by Bloomberg.

For advocates of clean energy transition, the power of economics will prevail, said the Citigroup ESG analysts led by Anita McBain.

President Trump reversed most of Bidens energy and climate policies on Day 1, signing last week a slew of executive orders to boost oil and gas production, expand areas for drilling, withdraw from the Paris Agreement (again), halt offshore wind permits until a review into the economics is made, and eliminate the so-called electric vehicle (EV) mandate and the promotion of true consumer choice.

Despite all these measures the Trump Administration introduced on Day one, there remains a compelling case for the energy transition, Citi analysts said.

The energy transition has progressed and is now more advanced compared to when President Trump entered the White House for the first time in 2017, according to the analysts.

Citi also said that the U.S. banks quitting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), including Citi itself, neither impedes progress nor dilutes efforts to advance the energy transition.

After years of scrutiny and blacklisting from Republican states in the U.S. and lawsuits from Republican attorney generals, North American banks and asset managers began quitting net-zero alliances en masse following President Trumps election victory.

The top U.S. banks  Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan  are no longer part of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a group of leading global banks committed to aligning their lending, investment, and capital markets activities with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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Rumaila, the biggest oilfield in Iraq capable of pumping about 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), has seen its oil production cut by 300,000 bpd since a fire broke out at the huge field last week, an Iraqi oil official told Bloomberg on Monday.

Iraq currently does not have a timeline for a full recovery of crude oil production at Rumaila, Mohammed Al-Najjar, Iraqs National Representative to OPEC, told Bloomberg.

A fire broke out on Friday at the Rumaila field, where BP and PetroChina have worked in recent years to boot production. The fire was quickly contained, the Iraqi oil ministry said on Friday.

The incident occurred in a decommissioned storage tank at the fields fifth gas separation station (DS5) in northern Rumaila.

The Iraqi ministry said that the fire erupted due to unidentified technical reasons, adding that there were no staff were seriously injured.

Two of the local oil workers suffered minor burn injuries, three energy sources told Reuters. They also said on Friday that the fire had not affected field operations at Rumaila.

The Rumaila oilfield produces 1.5 million bpd of oil, or around a third of the crude oil pumped by OPECs second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia. Oil production at Rumaila has increased by 40% since 2010, BP says.

The UK supermajor, state-owned PetroChina, and Iraqs state-held Basra Oil Company (BOC) have worked in partnership to develop Rumaila, which is the second-largest producing field in the world.

Rumaila is estimated to have around 17 billion barrels of recoverable oil remaining.

BP and PetroChina have established Basra Energy Company Limited (BECL), an incorporated joint venture (IJV). From June 2022, BECL has owned and managed its interests in the Rumaila field. BECL is expected to enable optimized and continued investment throughout the duration of the existing Technical Service Contract  due to expire at the end of 2034  including enhanced access to external financing.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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Spains biggest oil firm Repsol is entering the data center business with an investment of $4.2 billion (4 billion euros) as part of its diversification drive, Spanish daily Expansion reports, quoting sources close to the plans.

Repsol plans a project of 400 megawatts (MW) near Zaragoza in Spains northeastern region of Aragon, where Amazon and Microsoft have recently announced major investments in data centers.

The Spanish firm is reportedly planning to unblock investments it had frozen amid regulatory uncertainty about Spains windfall tax on energy companies.

The government planned to extend that tax and even make it permanent, which has reportedly prompted Repsol and other Spanish energy firms to halt plans for major investments.

In October 2024, reports emerged that Repsol had decided to pause green hydrogen development projects in its home country, citing an unfavorable regulatory regime. The Spanish firm has a pipeline of 350 MW of electrolysis capacity for green hydrogen projects across Spain, but it has flagged uncertainties over the regulatory framework in the country as a deterrent to investments in green energy.

However, Spains Parliament last week rejected the minority leftist governments proposal for an extension of the windfall tax for energy companies.

Repsols board of directors is expected to meet later this week to unblock billions of U.S. dollars worth of investments that were put on ice amid the regulatory uncertainty in Spain, Expansion reported.

The Spanish energy giant is expected to give the green light on Wednesday to halt green energy projects, the Spanish publication noted.

Projects worth between $1.78 billion (1.7 billion euros) and $2.1 billion (2 billion euros) in Tarragona, Muskiz in the Basque Country, and Cartagena in the Murcia region, are expected to go ahead, according to Expansion.

Repsol has been one of the Spanish companies most hit by the countrys windfall tax.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Crude oil prices started the week slightly lower after President Trump called on OPEC to boost production and reduce prices as a way of bringing the Ukraine war to an end.

One way to stop it quickly is for OPEC to stop making so much money and drop the price of oil ... That war will stop right away, Trump said on Friday, adding the threat of tariffs and sanctions for Russia and other participating countries.

If we don't make a 'deal,' and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries, he wrote on his social network, Truth Social.

Also last week, during his speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said Im going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil. You gotta bring it down. Which frankly Im surprised they didnt do before the election.

Right now the price is high enough that that war will continue, Trump also said at the WEF. You gotta bring down the oil price, that will end that war. You could end that war, he concluded, as quoted by the Financial Times.

Following these statements, oil traders rushed to sell in anticipation of the sanctions and the tariffs, leaving Brent crude down to $77.94 per barrel at the time of writing, and with West Texas Intermediate at $74.11 per barrel, both down from Fridays close, which marked the end of the first week of losses for oil benchmarks since the start of the year.

OPEC, meanwhile, has not responded officially to Trumps calls for more production and it is unlikely that, even if it does, the response would be anything other than a reiteration of the When the prices is right condition.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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At least four independent refiners in China have halted or plan to idle operations as taxes on imported feedstock rose at the start of the year, further cutting into refining margins, trading and refinery sources have told Reuters.

Chinas smaller independent refiners, located in the Shandong province, were already struggling with profitability even before the start of this year, amid weak fuel consumption in the worlds top crude oil importer.

These private refiners, which are short on crude import quotas or havent been allocated such, import fuel oil to process it into more valuable fuels for transportation, including diesel and gasoline.

However, as of January 1, 2025, China raised its import tariff on fuel oil to 3% from 1%. The authorities also reduced rebates on the consumption tax for imported feedstock.

The higher costs are dragging many of the independent refiners into losses.

As a result, refiners are looking to halt operations for maintenance for indefinite periods of time, according to Reuterss sources.

The four refineries that have either closed or plan to do so in the coming weeks are all located in the Shandong province and none of them have been allocated quotas for crude imports by the central government.

Unlike the state refiners, private refiners in China need to be granted import quotas by the government to be able to import crude to process at their refineries.

So these facilities process fuel oil into products. But the higher tax is eating into the profits.

Under the new policy, it's very hard for plants to sustain production, an anonymous refinery manager told Reuters, commenting on Chinas new tax policies.

Due to the hike in import tariffs, Chinese imports of fuel oil are set to slow at the start of the year, which could further weigh on the refining margins of the independent refiners.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Catch the left violating their own "book of rules" in the climate debate

By Tom Harris

web posted January 27, 2025

If those of us who do not believe in the so-called "climate emergency" are to win the day, we need to take a page out of " Rules for Radicals  A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals ." Written in 1971 by Chicago-based community organizer Saul D. Alinsky, "Rules for Radicals" included the crucially important Rule #4:

"Make opponents live up to their own book of rules. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules."

As discussed in part 1 of this series, progressives say that their "book of rules" includes basing their assertions on the findings of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). But alarmists' fears about increasing floods, extreme rainfall, heat waves, intense storms and forest fires are, in fact, not supported by the UN IPCC. So, making them live up to their own rules, we need to call them on this every time.

I also discussed how we must hold leftists to their own book of rules when it comes to social justice, especially caring for the poor, the elderly and those who are disadvantaged in society. We do this by pointing out that, of the $1.27 trillion USD spent on climate finance in 2022/2023, only a paltry 5% went exclusively to helping poor people adapt to climate change, however caused, a clear social justice violation. Similarly, progressives need to be held to account for the violations in social justice that occur as a result of:

the huge increase in electricity rates that is the natural result of the transition to wind and solar power, which hurts the poor and those on fixed incomes the most

the diversion of food crops to the production of biofuels, causing food shortages and soaring prices

the human rights abuses in developing countries that accompany the production of electric vehicle batteries as well as wind and solar power equipment

The ruining of well water on farms in the vicinity of wind turbines.

Another item in climate alarmists' "book of rules" is the requirement that they are helping protect the environment and wildlife when they promote wind and solar power and grid-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Yet nothing could be further from the truth and we should hold them to account for this in public meetings, etc.

In their 2021 book, " 'Clean' Energy Exploitations: Helping Citizens Understand the Environmental and Humanity Abuses That Support 'Clean' Energy ," authors Ronald Stein and Todd Royal explain:

"Green energy uses materials from some of the worst ecological and human rights offenders that exist on Earth The volume of wind turbine waste is projected to soar in years to come, with mining and manufacturing waste, service waste, and end-of-life waste being the major sources. It is estimated that there will be 43 million metric tons just of [wind turbine] blade waste worldwide by 2050."

Lithium ion-based batteries used in BESS systems rely on a mix of materials that require massive amounts of energy to mine, transport, process and refine, far greater than the extraction and transport of oil and natural gas. Consequently, while batteries are often portrayed by manufacturers as generating no greenhouse gases, even the left-leaning Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has pointed out that: "Mining and processing the minerals, plus the battery manufacturing process, involve substantial emissions of carbon."

The CBC cites Jennifer Dunn at Northwestern University's Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience, who explained: "The material that helps power the battery is produced from a number of different metals, things like nickel and cobalt and lithium." And of course, China controls most of the lithium and cobalt, which are often produced with no environmental standards, and often employ child labor and near-slave labor and follow practically no health and safety safeguards. University of Houston Professor Larry Bell reports (" China Targets US Weakness for Afghan Rare Earths, Taiwan Chips ," America out Loud, September 25, 2021):

"China has amassed stunning control over 70% of the world's lithium supplies and 85% of rare earths supply chains to dominate global industries and jobs that depend on them."

Mining and mineral processing of lithium also requires large volumes of water and can pose contamination risks from mine drainage and wastewater discharge. Readers are encouraged to watch the 2020 documentary film " Planet of the Humans " by left-wing film producer Michael Moore. This 2-minute clip from Moore's movie demonstrates that, when you consider how these machines are made, and the huge volumes of toxic waste that is released when they are manufactured, wind and solar power may very well be the dirtiest and most environmentally destructive energy sources on the planet.

But perhaps the greatest lie we hear from "green energy" advocates is that the contribution of Industrial Wind Turbines [IWTs] to bird and bat mortality is negligible. In reality, IWTs cause mass slaughter of these animals, especially raptors such as golden eagles, which the Ontario government labeled as "Endangered ."

Here are some statistics:

According to a 2004 study by leading expert, Dr. Shawn Smallwood, financed by the California Energy Commission, an average of 116 Golden Eagles are killed every year by collisions with turbine blades at Altamont Pass Wind Station in California. Extrapolating that number, well over 3,000 eagles have been destroyed since the wind facility was built in the eighties. Other birds killed at Altamont Pass per year include:

300 hawks



333 kestrels



380 owls



2,526 doves



2,557 meadow lark

And the situation is no better in other countries. Mark Duchamp, President, Save the Eagles International Chairman, World Council for Nature, tells us that birds are killed in Spain at a rate of about 200 birds per turbine per year. It is twice that number for bats, which die simply by flying in the low-pressure zone beside the blades which causes their lungs burst.

The slaughter of birds and bats by wind turbines is a powerful issue to bring up in public meetings with politicians. Click on the following image to watch a superb example of a member of the publicretired teacher Karen Bourdeauconfronting candidates for Ottawa mayor with this issue. Note especially the pathetic answer from the leading candidate for mayor, climate activist Catherine McKenney:

Ms. Bourdeau was so effective because she applied, not only rule #4, "Make opponents live up to their own book of rules," but also rules #2 and #3 which are:

Rule 2: Never go outside the experience of your people. The result is confusion, fear, and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone.

Rule 3: Whenever possible, go outside the experience of an opponent. Here you want to cause confusion, fear, and retreat. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty of your opponent.

As one would expect of a teacher, Ms. Bourdeau did her homework before asking her question and so knew far more about the issue than any of the candidates for mayor. Consequently, she came across as strong and confident while McKenney looked hopelessly uninformed.

Saul Alinsky must be rolling over in his grave that concerned citizens from the right of the political spectrum are using his rules to defeat the left. Let's keep doing exactly that!

____________________

Note: In part 3 of this series on the use of Alinsky's rule #4, I will discuss how to take advantage of the left's supposed support for:

Tolerance of alternative lifestyles & opinions

Rejection of authority & absolutism

Tom Harris is Executive Director of the Ottawa, Canada-based International Climate Science Coalition .
Russian crude oil exports, including overseas shipments and pipeline deliveries, fell by 2.2% in 2024 from a year earlier, Russian business daily Kommersant reported on Monday, citing a source with knowledge of Russias oil export data.

Moscow classified oil production and export data after the invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions and embargoes that the West imposed on Russia in efforts to reduce Putins oil revenues.

Exports of crude out of Russia declined by 2.2% to 295.12 million tons last year, including transit volumes out of Kazakhstan, according to the data reported by Kommersant.

Russia reduced crude oil supply via the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia and the Czech Republic and cut seaborne shipments from its ports in Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea, the data showed.

However, Moscow boosted pipeline crude supply to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline and raised seaborne exports from the Far East port of Kozmino, from where the ESPO crude grade is being shipped to China and India.

The EU has an embargo on Russian crude oil imports by sea, but pipeline deliveries are not banned. Flows through the Druzhba pipeline were exempted from the EU embargo on imports of Russian crude oil by sea that came into effect on December 5, 2022. The EU has exempted pipeline oil flows to landlocked EU member states from the ban.

In light of the latest U.S. sanctions on its oil exports, Russia is said to have been reshuffling tankers to prioritize shipments to China, which has become Moscows top crude oil buyer alongside India.

Aframax oil tankers that serviced crude oil exports from Russias western ports are now being redirected to the Russian Far East-China route to service the exports of Russias ESPO crude, a favorite with Chinese refiners, Bloomberg reported last week, citing shipbroker and ship-tracking data.

The Biden Administrations farewell sanctions on Russian oil trade were the most aggressive yet and sanctioned dozens of vessels that Russia used to ship the ESPO crude blend from Kozmino to Chinas independent refiners.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Australia's natural gas producer, Tamboran Resources Corporation (NYSE:TBN), has asked the Trump administration to invest $US 5 billion in a natural gas-powered data centre to be used for defence and at operations such as Pine Gap. Last week, Tamboran CEO Joel Riddle pitched the idea to U.S. government officials, agencies, and data center investors in a bid to secure public or private investment.

We think the Northern Territory is well positioned for a substantial data center investment. There is an abundant energy resource, abundant land, existing infrastructure, and a customer that is the Department of Defence, Riddle said.

Tamboran became a publicly traded company last June after its U.S. IPO. The company owns assets in the Beetaloo shale sub-basin in the Northern Territory, comparable to the biggest U.S. natural gas field--the prolific Marcellus Shale. Australia is the second largest LNG supplier, behind only the U.S.. The country has 10 operating LNG projects located in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory with a total capacity of 88.6 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). The Pluto Train 2 project currently under construction will bring total capacity to 93.6 Mtpa (126 Bcm) when it starts operations in 2026. However, Australia's total LNG exports decreased to 3.531 trillion cubic feet (100 billion cubic meters) in 2023, primarily because of lower production from the NWS LNG project and the suspension of Darwin LNG production. BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, predicted that the countrys LNG exports will fall again in 2024 to 3.425 trillion cubic feet (97 billion cubic meters) after reaching a record high of 3.567 trillion cubic feet (101 billion cubic meters) in 2022. The decline was attributed to delays in the resumption of feed gas supply for the Darwin LNG project as well as the shutdown of LNG production trains at the Northwest Shelf (NWS) LNG.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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President Donald Trump doubled down on his plans to acquire Greenland, saying over the weekend I think we're going to have it, and adding that the islands 57,000 citizens want to be with us.

Trump was speaking to media onboard Air Force One, following what Danish officials described as a very tense call with Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen on Friday. The Financial Times broke the news of the call, which lasted 45 minutes and during which PM Fredriksen insisted that Greenland was not for sale.

Trump, however, appeared to have not accepted no for an answer and reportedly became aggressive and confrontational following the Danish prime ministers comments that the island was not for sale, despite her offer of more co-operation on military bases and mineral exploitation, the FT wrote.

He was very firm. It was a cold shower. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous, one unnamed European official told the FT.

Greenlands government has stated it does not want to become a state and that it will make its own decisions as an autonomous entity. Greenland is not for sale, the islands prime minister, Mute Egede, said earlier this month when Trump started his campaign for Greenland.

Following a Trump statement that he would not exclude the use of force to take Greenland, Egede said It is very understandable that people are worried. But the most important thing now is that people remain calm. We must be able to meet and talk about this calmly.

Thats what were working on, Egede added. You cant get around the fact that if they [the U.S.] want to talk about Greenland, they have to talk to Greenland.

According to Trump, taking possession of Greenland is a matter of national security.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Joe Biden's disgraceful departure

Mark Alexander

web posted January 27, 2025

As Donald Trump was preparing to leave office in January 2021, it was clear that Joe Biden's "victory" in the 2020 election was fabricated from three dark political strategies.

The first was collaboration between Democrat Party socialists and their deep state operatives to undermine Trump's presidency  seeded by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton hacks even before Trump's 2016 election. The second factor was the Demos' successful strategy to ignite and choreograph their constituents' violent "summer of rage" riots nationwide three months before the election, based on the deceit of their "systemic racism" lie. The third and most effective was the Demos' strategy to use the ChiCom Virus pandemic to justify their massive bulk-mail ballot fraud strategy.

This trio combined as a three-strike Trump takedown.

For this reason, I have argued since Trump's historic 2024 comeback that he and JD Vance would be tasked with more than the formidable challenge of cleaning up the domestic and foreign policy mess that Biden and Harris made. In order to restore Trump's successful domestic and foreign policy strategies, Trump will also have to clean up the mess that made Biden and Harris.

Biden's final actions while exiting the White House exemplified the corruption of his entire presidency. It is no small irony that Biden would leave office on Martin Luther King Day because, over the past five decades, Biden and his fellow Democrats have turned MLK's dream into a nightmare for tens of millions of Americans.

Biden's dark "oligarchy" farewell address was a bookend to a career of unmitigated lies, including the BIG Lie that Trump was backed by more billionaires than Harris. In fact, according to a pre-election review of federal election records, "At least 83 billionaires  two of them centibillionaires with a net worth of more than $100 billion each  are supporting Harris, while 52 billionaires, one a centibillionaire, back Trump."

Then there was all the dark money funneled into the Harris campaign by billionaire leftist George Soros and others who backed her after Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrat power-brokers booted Biden to the curb.

Biden's farewell remarks were a metaphorical caricature of the rise of a thuggish political oligarch on the public dole. Likewise, the Oval Office exit interview that followed was equally infused with lies.

There were his delusional claims, including this whopper: "Compared to four years ago, America is stronger. ... During my presidency, I've increased America's power in every dimension."

A day later, "President Democracy" attempted to rewrite our Constitution with a bizarre claim crafted by his leftist puppeteers that the Equal Rights Amendment is now the "law of the land."

But it was Biden's unpardonable pardons issued in his final weeks  and final minutes in office  that have drawn the most attention and fire.

Over the last 30 days, when most of the Leftmedia talkingheads and scribes were focused on whether Donald Trump would issue pardons to January 6 protesters, Joe Biden started his pardon party by issuing a get-out-of-jail-free card to Hunter Biden, despite repeatedly promising he would never do that because "No one is above the law."

That was just another entry to the bottomless list of Biden lies over the course of his last 50 years.

Then, Biden commuted the sentences of 1,499 people and pardoned another 39 convicts to divert the news cycle attention from the corrupt pardon favor for his son. That was followed just before Christmas with his commuting the sentences of 37 of 40 federal death row inmates, some being the most evil people in federal custody.

Biden began the New Year commuting another 2,500 sentences.

Hours before leaving office, despite warnings from Demos not to issue preemptive pardons, Biden issued preemptive pardons for Anthony Fauci, GEN Mark Milley, and the J6 inquisitors, including witness-tampering former Rep. Liz Cheney. "I believe in the rule of law," said Biden, "but these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing."

Finally, just minutes before Trump took his oath of office, Biden extended pardons to his immediate family members  to the astonishment of many of Biden's Leftmedia defenders, including even CNN leftist Jake Tapper. Apparently, this exceeded even Tapper's tolerance for hypocrisy. He posted combined links to the Biden family pardons and a CNN article just before Trump left office in 2021 about Biden's concern that Trump might issue preemptive pardons to family members (which he did not do). According to Biden then: "It concerns me in terms of what kind of precedent it sets and how the rest of the world looks (at) us as a nation of laws and justice. ... You're not going to see, uh, um, in our administration, that kind of approach to pardons."

Recall also that Trump's most vociferous critic, then-House member Adam Schiff (D-CA), also voiced in 2020 his concern that Trump would pardon family members, declaring that innocent people don't need preemptive pardons.

Clearly, the last-minute pardons of Biden's immediate family members indicate that he was the godfather of the Biden family crime syndicate, and he issued pardons to those closest to him to protect himself.

Of that unprecedented action, political analyst Buck Sexton concluded, "Biden pardoning his whole crime family on the way out the door is the perfect ending to this fetid, corrupt, failed presidency."

Over the last four years, Biden has now issued pardons and clemencies to more than 10,500 criminals, which is, as he proudly declared, "more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history." (For context, Donald Trump issued a total of 237 pardons and clemencies in his first term.)

The big pardon and clemency giveaway was much like his last-minute presidential medals extravaganza when he awarded numerous "trophies" mostly to his disreputable political benefactors.

All this from a man who just claimed, "Telling the truth matters."

Now, I had hoped to end this assessment of pardons with the above summary of Biden's actions, which set even leftist heads on fire, but alas, on his first day in office, Trump diverted all the attention from Biden's pardons to his own.

What happened?

After his inauguration celebration, Trump brilliantly used a political rally to begin signing an extraordinary list of executive orders, first among them being an EO rescinding 78 "Harmful Executive Orders and Actions" by the Biden/Harris regime.

In total, he signed 26 executive orders, 12 memos, and four proclamations.

Of these actions, Trump promised, "We will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense."

All was well and good until after the rally, when Trump signed a proclamation providing blanket pardons and commutations for almost all of those with charges or convictions related to the riot on January 6, 2021.

And just like that, "the revolution of common sense" hit a wall after Trump did what he occasionally does: He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with an unforced error of the type I first wrote about shortly after Trump took office in 2017.

We all anticipated that Trump would issue pardons for the J6 protesters charged or convicted of nonviolent offenses. Trump said recently, "A vast majority should not be in jail," and he was correct. He earlier insisted, "If they were nonviolent, I think they've been greatly punished." Again, correct.

Trump then sent JD Vance out to rebut claims that he would pardon those convicted of violent attacks against police. Vance was clear: "Look, if you protested peacefully on January the 6th, and you've had Merrick Garland's Department of Justice treat you like a gang member, you should be pardoned. If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn't be pardoned."

His attorney general nominee also declared that Trump would not release violent offenders, declaring, "I condemn any violence on a law enforcement officer in this country," adding, "The president does not like people who abuse police officers, either."

They just got their first taste of what it's like carrying water for Trump.

Of the 1,583 defendants charged after the January 6 riot, 1,230 had already entered guilty pleas or been convicted  and almost 200 pleas and 220 convictions were for felonies that included assault on police officers.

It's hard to claim you're the "Party of Law and Order" after this action, and Republicans were stunned by Trump's decision. For his part, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said the decision fit with his "ethos" and "worldview," which is that "we believe in redemption, we believe in second chances." He added: "The president's made a decision. We move forward. There are better days ahead of us."

Notably, U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, who led the J6 prosecutions, said: "A pardon does not wipe away what occurred. There will always be a record of what occurred. There will always be vindication of rule of law, and there's been substantial accountability for hundreds of people involved in illegal conduct that day."

Why did Trump order the release of violent felony offenders among all the other nonviolent offenders  and in the process, divert attention from Biden's pardons?

First, I think Trump's calculation was that the continued prosecution (persecution?) of hundreds of protesters who have been charged but have yet to enter pleas or be convicted would keep the Demos' J6 inquisition going for at least another year, and Trump wants to put it behind and, as Johnson said, "move forward."

Additionally, I think Trump's decision was a smackdown of his House arch nemesis, Nancy Pelosi, for her histrionic "insurrection inquisition," and a smackdown of Demos who refused to prosecute, much less even allow a public investigation of, Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd, who killed Ashli Babbitt  the only deadly confrontation that day.

Finally, back to bidding Biden bye-bye.

I am going to end one last time with these words to those who supported the Biden/Harris regime.

The slaughter of tens of thousands of men, women, and children by Islamic extremists in Afghanistan, by Russians attacking Ukraine, and of civilian victims in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is the direct result of Biden's lethal foreign policy ineptitude.

The violent assaults on thousands of Americans by criminal illegal immigrants are the direct result of "Border Czar" Harris's lethal open border policy. The drugs flooding across our southern border, resulting in the overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans, is also the direct result of the Biden/Harris open border policy.

The dramatic surge of violent crime across America since 2020 is the direct result of the Biden/Harris appeasement of violent criminals and their defund-police campaign.

The blood of all those victims is indisputably and irrevocably on their hands and those of their dullard supporters who are the staple of the Democrat Party's "confederacy of dunces."

Thankfully, America has been "unburdened from what has been!"

Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post.
" " Paris, France. Alexander Spatari / Getty Images

Renowned for its rich history, art and cuisine, this iconic country is home to some of the most beautiful and culturally significant cities and towns in the world. Each of the largest cities in France showcases a unique blend of heritage, modernity and vibrant local traditions. From bustling metropolises to charming coastal hubs, these communities reflect the diverse character of the nation.

The French government divides its provinces into what are known as "urban units" to record official population, similar to what we may call a metropolitan area in the United States. However, since the most recent census information is from 2020, we've ranked the 15 largest French cities based on more recent data from World Population Review.
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

On a typical day, you can't turn on the news without hearing someone say that Congress is broken. The implication is that this dereliction explains why the institution is inert and unresponsive to the American people.

There's one element often missing from that discussion: Congress is confounding in large part because its members can't hear the American people, or even each other. I mean that literally. Congressional staff serve in thousands of district offices across the nation, and their communications technology doesn't match that of most businesses and even many homes.

Members' district offices only got connected to secure Wi-Fi internet service in 2023. Discussions among members and congressional staff were at times cut short at 40 minutes because some government workers were relying on the free version of Zoom, according to congressional testimony in March 2024.

Congressional testimony discusses meetings being cut off at 40 minutes.

The information systems Congress uses have existed largely unchanged for decades, while the world has experienced an information revolution, integrating smartphones and the internet into people's daily personal and professional lives. The technologies that have transformed modern life and political campaigning are not yet available to improve the ability of members of Congress to govern once they win office.

Slow to adapt

Like many institutions, Congress resists change; only the COVID-19 pandemic pushed it to allow online hearings and bill introductions. Before 2020, whiteboards, sticky notes and interns with clipboards dominated the halls of Congress.

Electronic signatures arrived on Capitol Hill in 2021more than two decades after Congress passed the ESIGN Act to allow electronic signatures and records in commerce.

The nation spends about US$10 million a year on technology innovation in the House of Representativesthe institution that declares war and pays all the federal government's bills. That's just 1% of the amount theater fans have spent to see "Hamilton" on Broadway since 2015.

It seems the story of American democracy is attractive to the public, but investing in making it work is less so for Congress itself.

The chief administrative office in Congress, a nonlegislative staff that helps run the operations of Congress, decides what types of technology can be used by members. These internal rules exist to protect Congress and national security, but that caution can also inhibit new ways to use technology to better serve the public.

Finding a happy medium between innovation and caution can result in a livelier public discourse.

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A modernization effort

Congress has been working to modernize itself, including experimenting with new ways to hear local voices in their districts, including gathering constituent feedback in a standardized way that can be easily processed by computers.

The House Natural Resources Committee was also an early adopter of technology for collaborative lawmaking. In 2020, members and committee staff used a platform called Madison to collaboratively write and edit proposed environmental justice legislation with communities across the country that had been affected by pollution.

House leaders are also looking at what is called deliberative technology, which uses specially designed websites to facilitate digital participation by pairing collective human intelligence with artificial intelligence. People post their ideas online and respond to others' posts. Then the systems can screen and summarize posts so users better understand each other's perspectives.

These systems can even handle massive group discussions involving large numbers of people who hold a wide range of positions on a vast set of issues and interests. In general, these technologies make it easier for people to find consensus and have their voices heard by policymakers in ways the policymakers can understand and respond to.

Governments in Finland, the U.K., Canada and Brazil are already piloting deliberative technologies. In Finland, roughly one-third of young people between 12 and 17 participate in setting budget priorities for the city of Helsinki.

In May 2024, 45 U.S.-based nonprofit organizations signed a letter to Congress asking that deliberative technology platforms be included in the approved tools for civic engagement.

In the meantime, Congress is looking at ways to use artificial intelligence as part of a more integrated digital strategy based on lessons from other democratic legislatures.

A panel discussion of various ideas for modernizing how Congress hears from the American people.

Finding benefits

Modernization efforts have opened connections within Congress and with the public. For example, hearings held by video conference during the pandemic enabled witnesses to share expertise with Congress from a distance and open up a process that is notoriously unrepresentative. I was home in rural New Mexico during the pandemic and know three people who remotely testified on tribal education, methane pollution and environmental harms from abandoned oil wells.

New House Rules passed on Jan. 3, 2025, encourage the use of artificial intelligence in day-to-day operations and allow for remote witness testimony.

Other efforts that are new to Congress but long established in business and personal settings include the ability to track changes in legislation and a scheduling feature that reduces overlaps in meetings. Members are regularly scheduled to be two places at once.

Another effort in development is an internal digital staff directory that replaces expensive directories compiled by private companies assembling contact information for congressional staff.

The road ahead

In 2022, what is now called "member-directed spending" returned to Congress with some digital improvements. Formerly known as "earmarks," this is the practice of allowing members of Congress to handpick specific projects in their home districts to receive federal money. Earmarks were abolished in 2011 amid concerns of abuse and opposition by fiscal hardliners. Their 2022 return and rebranding introduced publicly available project lists, ethics rules and a search engine to track the spending as efforts to provide public transparency about earmarks.

Additional reforms could make the federal government even more responsive to the American people.

Some recent improvements are already familiar. Just as customers can follow their pizza delivery from the oven to the doorstep, Congress in late 2024 created a flag-tracking app that has dramatically improved a program that allows constituents to receive a flag that has flown over the U.S. Capitol. Before, different procedures in the House and Senate caused time-consuming snags in this delivery system.

At last, the world's most powerful legislature caught up with Pizza Hut, which rolled out this technology in 2017 to track customers' pizzas from the store to the delivery driver to their front door.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Harmful algal blooms occur when colonies of algaesimple plants that live in the sea and freshwatergrow out of control and produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals and birds. Credit: FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

As harmful algal blooms (HABs) continue to spread across the globe, urgent research is needed to address this growing threat. Studies in Italy, China, and the Atlantic basin have shown that many water bodies have high nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratios, making phosphorus a key factor that drives these blooms. This highlights the critical need for more effective phosphorus management strategies to curb the rise of HABs and protect our ecosystems.

Recently, there's been a growing interest in finding useful ways to repurpose troublesome algal biomass, which could be turned into valuable products like bioplastics, biofertilizers, and biofuels. Researchers have already explored using algal biomass to create materials that can help clean up things such as heavy metals, rare earth metals, dyes, and even capture CO 2 and harmful volatile organic compounds from the air.

However, few studies have looked into how algal biomass, especially cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, can be used to create materials that remove phosphate from water.

Now, researchers from the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University, have filled that gap by transforming cyanobacterial biomass, which is typically a hazardous waste, into custom-made adsorbent materials that can pull harmful phosphorus out of water. Adsorbent materials are substances that can attract and hold molecules or particles such as gases, liquids, or dissolved solids on their surface. Unlike absorbent materials that soak up substances into their structure, adsorbents capture molecules on the outside surface, forming a thin layer.

To convert algal biomass into chemically modified activated carbon adsorbent materials for phosphate removal, researchers collected cyanobacterial biomass from Florida's Lake Okeechobee and processed before activation using fast and energy-efficient microwave heating. To improve phosphate removal from water, researchers tested adsorbent materials modified with lanthanum chloride or zinc chloride.

Relatively abundant, lanthanum is a metal that is part of the rare-earth element group. Both compounds are useful in a variety of fields, including environmental cleanup, industrial processing, and chemical manufacturing. Previous research did not identify any human health risks associated with the use of lanthanum for phosphorus removal.

Results of the study, published in the journal Algal Research, show that materials treated with lanthanum chloride removed more than 99% of phosphorus, even at starting phosphorus concentrations as high as 20 milligrams per liter of water. The best material could be synthesized in three minutes and successfully achieved 90% phosphorus removal efficiency with a low amount of material (0.2 gram per liter of contaminated water) and just 30 minutes of contact time. This material also performed well in the presence of natural organic matter by selectively removing phosphorus.

A schematic of the treatment process to convert algal biomass into chemically modified activated carbon adsorbent materials for phosphate removal. Credit: FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science

The study suggests that lanthanum-modified algae-based adsorbents could help reduce HABs by removing phosphorus from water. The effectiveness comes from the formation of a compound, LaPO 4 .H 2 O (also known as rhabdophane), which traps phosphorus permanently.

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"Our findings suggest that lanthanum-modified algae-based materials could be an effective solution for removing phosphorus and preventing harmful algal blooms if used on a larger scale," said Masoud Jahandar Lashaki, Ph.D., senior author, assistant professor and graduate program director/coordinator in FAU's Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering.

"By using readily available waste materials like algal biomass, combined with lanthanum, an element known for its strong phosphorus-binding capabilities, we have developed an adsorbent that can effectively target and remove excess phosphorus from water. Phosphorus is a major contributor to the occurrence of harmful algal blooms, which can lead to toxic water conditions, loss of aquatic life, and significant economic impacts on industries like fishing and tourism."

Results of this study show the promise of this innovative approach in addressing one of the most pressing challenges in water quality management. With further refinement and scalability, this technique could become an essential tool for managing nutrient pollution and preserving aquatic ecosystems globally.

"Our team's research highlights the high efficiency of these materials in removing phosphorus over a wide range of concentrations. This approach could provide an environmentally friendly and cost-effective solution to mitigate the effects of eutrophicationthe process where excessive nutrients, particularly phosphorus, fuel the growth of harmful algae in lakes, rivers, and coastal areas," said Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean, FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science.

"By applying lanthanum-modified algae-based materials in regions prone to harmful algal blooms, communities could significantly reduce the occurrence of these blooms, improving water quality, protecting ecosystems, and ensuring safe water for both human use and wildlife."

Study co-authors are Vithulan Suthakaran, a civil engineer and doctoral candidate in FAU's College of Engineering and Computer Science; Ryan Thomas, an environmental engineer and FAU graduate; Mitchell Guirard, an environmental engineer and FAU graduate; and Daniel Meeroff, Ph.D., professor and dean of undergraduate studies, FAU Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering.

More information: Vithulan Suthakaran et al, Developing activated carbon adsorbent materials using cyanobacterial biomass as precursor to remove phosphate from surface waters, Algal Research (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2025.103901 Journal information: Algal Research
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NASA/Kim Shiflett Engineers and technicians with NASAs Exploration Ground Systems Program integrate the right forward center segment onto mobile launcher 1 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. The boosters will help support the remaining rocket components and the Orion spacecraft during final assembly of the Artemis II Moon rocket and provide more than 75% of the total SLS (Space Launch System) thrust during liftoff from NASA Kennedys Launch Pad 39B. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Teams with NASA's Exploration Ground Systems Program continue stacking the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket's twin solid rocket booster motor segments for the agency's Artemis II mission, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Currently, 6 of the 10 segments are secured atop mobile launcher 1 with the right forward center segment as the latest addition. Teams will continue integrating the booster stackthe left center center segment adorned with the NASA "worm" insignia is the next segment to be integrated.

The right and left forward assemblies were brought to the VAB from the spaceport's Booster Fabrication Facility on Jan. 14. The forward assemblies are comprised of three parts: the nose cone, which serves as the aerodynamic fairing; a forward skirt, which houses avionics; and the frustum, which houses motors that separate the boosters from the SLS core stage during flight.

The remaining booster segments will be transported from the Rotation, Processing, and Surge Facility to the VAB when engineers are ready to integrate them. The forward assemblies will be the last segments integrated to complete the booster configuration, ahead of integration with the core stage.

Provided by NASA
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The photo shows the moult of a young tri-spine horseshoe craban endangered speciesfound on the beach at Beihai, China. The genomic data gathered by NUS researchers on this species provides a launchpad for conservation strategies. Credit: Dr. Tang Qian

Horseshoe crabs are often referred to as the "living fossils" of our planetthe four known species, including three in Asia and one in North America, remain nearly identical to their ancient relatives from hundreds of millions of years ago.

These arthropods are a fundamental building block of coastal marine ecosystems. Their eggs, for example, serve as a major food source for shorebirds, some of which have evolved to time their migrations to coincide with peak horseshoe crab spawning activity. In addition to their ecological role, horseshoe crabs are also used in biomedicine to test for harmful toxins in vaccines.

Among the four species, only the Atlantic horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), found along the Atlantic coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico, has been extensively studied.

In contrast, scientific information about the three Asian species is so scant and scattered that the IUCN Red List, which tracks the extinction risk of species around the world, listed two of them (the mangrove horseshoe crab and the coastal horseshoe crab) as "data deficient." This designation indicates insufficient data to assess their extinction risk. On the other hand, the tri-spine horseshoe crab is considered endangered.

Understanding our planet's living fossils

To help fill in these knowledge gaps, a research team led by Associate Professor Frank Rheindt from the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS Faculty of Science conducted the first comprehensive population genomic study of all three Asian horseshoe crab species: the mangrove horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda), coastal horseshoe crab (Tachypleus gigas), and tri-spine horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus).

The study underscores the importance of Southeast Asia's Sunda Shelf, a shallow-marine region, as a critical coastal marine habitat. Importantly, this region has sustained the survival of these ancient arthropods for millennia and could continue to act as a refuge for Asian horseshoe crabs amid accelerating anthropogenic climate change.

The researchers have also established the first-ever genomic baseline dataset for these species, which lay the groundwork for targeted conservation planning. Their findings, which propose different conservation strategies for each species, were published in Conservation Letters on 16 December 2024.

Back to the basics: Filling data gaps to advance conservation efforts

"To protect and conserve these species, it is crucial that we first cover the basicsunderstanding their population structure, evolutionary histories and climate-change-driven vulnerabilities," said Assoc Prof Rheindt. "This foundational knowledge will enable us to develop targeted conservation strategies and prioritize habitats critical for their survival."

Tracking and monitoring Asian horseshoe crabs is in and of itself a challenging feat. They spend most of their lives on the seabed, making them difficult to observe, and they take 14 years to maturetoo long to assess population changes effectively through traditional surveys. To overcome these challenges, the researchers turned to population genomic approaches, where they analyzed DNA from 251 horseshoe crabs collected across 52 sites in 11 countries.

Using this data, NUS researchers created the first genomic baseline dataset for Asian horseshoe crabs. This dataset enabled the team to map population structures and delineate genetic boundaries among the three species.

"Such distinctions are important, as they highlight populations that harbor unique genetic traits essential for adapting to specific local environments," said Dr. Tang Qian, the first author of the study. "Genomic data also helps us pinpoint coastal hotspots that should be prioritized for conservation."

The study also revealed how horseshoe crabs have responded to environmental fluctuations over time. The Sunda Shelf emerged as a vital refuge for horseshoe crabs during periods of past climate change. By reconstructing the species' evolutionary histories, the researchers found that the region has not only preserved genetic diversity but also served as a migratory corridor, which allowed populations to remain connected despite environmental changes.

NUS researchers examined the genomic dataset they generated to propose tailored conservation strategies for each of the three Asian horseshoe crab species, including the coastal horseshoe crab (in the photo) that the researchers spotted on the beach at East Coast Park, Singapore. Credit: Dr. Tang Qian

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Tailored conservation strategies needed

The study highlighted that future climate change poses varying levels of risk to the three species of Asian horseshoe crabs. While all are vulnerable, their ability to adapt differs. For instance, the mangrove horseshoe crab, with its limited dispersal capacity, faces higher threats of local extinction compared to the more mobile coastal and tri-spine horseshoe crabs.

Based on these findings, the researchers have proposed tailored conservation strategies to support each species in adapting to climate change:

Mangrove horseshoe crabs:

Protect and restore mangrove habitats, which are essential for the species' survival and ability to migrate southward in response to rising temperatures.

Prioritize the conservation of populations in the Gulf of Tonkin and South China as they face the highest evolutionary pressures from climate change.

Coastal horseshoe crabs:

Protect the Sunda Shelf region, which serves as a critical refugial habitat, particularly around the Bay of Bengal, the Malacca Strait and Southern Vietnam.

Maintain connectivity between populations by safeguarding coastal corridors to mitigate the species' vulnerability to habitat fragmentation.

Tri-spine horseshoe crabs:

Implement sustainable fishery regulations and restore coastal habitats, especially in areas with a history of intensive development, such as Japan, Taiwan and China.

Focus conservation efforts on reducing human-driven threats like harvesting and habitat loss as these currently pose greater risks than climate change.

Next steps

"Our study provides an important impetus and the necessary baseline data for the preservation of key habitats for horseshoe crabs' future survival," said Dr. Tang. "As an important caveat, however, our work is only based on environmental factors and does not take into account future human activities that may directly alter habitats, such as coastal development. The survival of horseshoe crabs will therefore critically depend on interventions based on local contexts."

Looking ahead, the researchers plan to further explore the evolutionary potential of Asian horseshoe crabs. This includes studying how specific functional genes contribute to their ability to adapt to local environments and changing climates.

"We have established the Horseshoe Crab Global Biorepository, with its physical collection located at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at NUS, to support ongoing and future research," added Assoc Prof Rheindt.

"Through this resource, we hope to foster collaborations and secure funding to advance genomic research on horseshoe crabs. We are currently working with the Chinese University of Hong Kong on genomic research specifically focused on the tri-spine horseshoe crab."

More information: Qian Tang et al, Evolution and Viability of Asian Horseshoe Crabs Appear Tightly Linked to GeoClimatic Dynamics in the Sunda Shelf, Conservation Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1111/conl.13074 Journal information: Conservation Letters
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

As wildfires continue to burn in and around Los Angeles, the fact that many of the firefighters battling the blazes are inmates from California's prison system has drawn significant attention in news coverage.

While the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) claims their fire camp program is voluntary and provides prisoners with meaningful opportunities, research demonstrates otherwise.

Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), argue that the program exploits incarcerated individuals, labeling it as "modern-day slavery." One ex-prisoner described it as "involuntary servitude."

An inmate shares his experience fighting California wildfires. Credit: ABC News

The use of prison labor is particularly concerning, given Black Americans are incarcerated at nearly five times the rate of white Americans in state prisons. In 12 states, more than half of the prison population is Black.

California prisoners are denied access to minimum wage provisions, prevented from forming labor unions and denied access to other workplace safety regulations. They're also more likely to be injured or to die on the job than non-incarcerated firefighters. Their wages are capped at US$29.80 per day, compared to non-incarcerated firefighters, who earn up to US$358 daily, not including overtime.

While serving in a fire crew gives prisoners the chance to shave time off of their sentences and have records expunged, neither of these benefits is guaranteed. Both are contingent on the CDCR or county jails deeming the service in a fire camp to be "successful." This leaves prisoners vulnerable to being denied these benefits, despite risking injury or death.

Prison labor in the Canadian context

Some Canadian coverage of the L.A. fires has noted that provincial prisoners in British Columbia also work in a wildfire suppression program. However, little has been said about how that work relates to the larger system of prison labor in the country.

Like their counterparts south of the border, Canadian prisoners are engaged in various forms of labor, including wildfire management, but are denied basic rights as workers.

In 1975, Donald Griggs, then-superintendent of Ontario's Monteith Correctional Complex, told the Globe and Mail that prison labor had been used in response to fires from time immemorial: "When a fire got bad, the jails were emptied and the men were shoved out on the fire line."

By the late 1960s, programs for prisoners to support wildfire suppression had become more formalized. During that time, for example, prisoners at Beaver Creek, a federal prison in Ontario, participated in regional bushfire response efforts. Working in the program offered prisoners, who were paid $1.25 an hour, a chance at some "action."

By the mid-1970s, some Ontario prisoners earned up to $50 a day battling wildfires. Today, however, most prisoners don't earn anything close to those wages. Federal prisoner pay maxes out at $6.90 per day.

In the rare situations where prisoners are relatively well-compensated, prison labor still offers employers unique benefits. Prisoners' lack of freedom and limited ability to refuse work is touted as an advantage. Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) officials have argued that, compared to volunteer firefighters, prisoners "are always in one place and available for duty."

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Prison labor in British Columbia

Canada's most prominent use of prison labor to manage wildfires is in B.C. While prisoners served in direct firefighting roles in the past, today provincial prisoners, who make between $2 and $8 per day, play a critical support role for wildfire-fighting crews by maintaining equipment and fire camps.

Notably, all the participating prisoners have "open custody" status, having "behaved exceptionally well during previous experience on other community work crews."

In Canada, prisoners are supposed to work as part of their rehabilitation, not as punishment. However, the reality often prioritizes the needs of employers over the rehabilitation of prisoners. A review of the CSC's Federal Work Release Program, which was established in 1992 and included a firefighting component, notes: "It is not necessary that the work be directly related to the offender's correctional planwork release is a very flexible program that allows correctional managers to respond to community projects and local needs for labor."

This is particularly concerning given that ex-prisoners often struggle to secure gainful employment upon release, despite their participation in employment programming.

Prison labor as a response to climate disasters

While the idea of keeping people incarcerated to maintain a labor force to fight disasters might sound like something out of science fiction, it's not mere speculation. Responses to climate catastrophes like the L.A. fires demand huge amounts of resources and labor.

Former U.S. vice-president Kamala Harris, as California attorney general, led a campaign to defy a U.S. Supreme Court order to reduce the state's prison population partly because decarceration would "severely impact fire camp participation."

In Canada, prison labor has similarly been used in disaster responses. Most recently, CORCAN, the federal prison industry program, has been contracted to build temporary housing for people displaced by the 2024 wildfires in Jasper, Alta.

Just as Black, Indigenous and racialized people in the U.S. are more likely to become incarcerated, these are also the populations that suffer disproportionately from the impacts of wildfires. Studies have shown that Indigenous communities in Canada are the hardest hit by wildfires, while Indigenous Peoples make up the fastest growing prison populations.

Much like the U.S., Canada also disproportionately incarcerates Black, Indigenous and racialized people, while also depriving incarcerated laborers of access to minimum wage rights, workplace safety provisions and the right to unionize.

The root cause of many of these disastersclimate changeis disproportionately driven by the world's wealthiest elites. The use of prison labor to fight wildfires only further perpetuates the systemic inequalities exacerbated by climate injustice and reflects a continuation of indentured servitude.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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The Studied Camellias and Dr. Harue Abe. Credit: Niigata University

The distribution of plants has been shaped by geological and climatic changes over time through repeated migration, extinction, and adaptation to new environments. The genus Camellia, comprising over 100 species mainly in East Asia, is a representative warm-temperate tree of the Sino-Japanese Floristic Region.

In Japan, four species of Camellia are found, with Camellia japonica and Camellia rusticana being the most well known. C. japonica has a broad distribution from Aomori Prefecture in the cool-temperate zone to subtropical Taiwan and the coastal regions of China, suggesting its high adaptability to different climates.

In contrast, C. rusticana is a Japan Sea element plant adapted to heavy snowfall areas. Plants categorized as Japan Sea elements are generally thought to have evolved from closely related species on the Pacific side, and C. japonica and C. rusticana were also believed to follow this pattern.

Following this idea, C. rusticana was hypothesized to have diverged from C. japonica as an adaptation to snow-covered environments. However, this hypothesis had not been fully tested scientifically.

A study, appearing in Ecology and Evolution, aimed to clarify the evolutionary history of these two species by analyzing their distributional changes using genetic analyses and ecological niche modeling.

Phylogenetic analyses revealed clear differentiation among C. japonica, C. rusticana, and C. chekiangoleosa, a closely related continental species. Their common ancestor is estimated to have diverged approximately 10 million years ago during the Late Miocene, coinciding with the separation of the Japanese archipelago from the continent.

This suggests that the two species diverged simultaneously due to geographic isolation, contradicting the previous hypothesis that C. rusticana evolved from C. japonica in response to Quaternary glacial cycles.

The populations of C. japonica are divided into three major groups: northern Japan, southern Japan (including mainland China and Korea), and the Ryukyu-Taiwan region. Among them, the northern population is particularly distinct from the others.

Tracing their evolutionary history, analyses revealed that the southern population diverged from the northern population about 3.3 million years ago, followed by the Ryukyu-Taiwan population splitting from the southern population 1.8 million years ago, and finally, the continental population (including Korea) diverging from the southern population 27,000 years ago.

These findings indicate that C. japonica, which originally migrated from the continent to the Japanese archipelago, later evolved and eventually recolonized the continent (reverse colonization). This provides key evidence that islands are not evolutionary dead ends but can serve as sources of genetic diversity for continental populations.

This study not only sheds light on the evolutionary history of Camellia but also highlights how the formation of the Japanese archipelago has influenced plant evolution.

"By unraveling the history of camellias, we may gain new insights into the evolutionary processes of other plants unique to Japan," says Dr. Harue Abe. Furthermore, the research is not just about understanding the pastit also provides clues for predicting future changes in plant distribution.

"As global warming continues, understanding how Camellia species will shift their ranges becomes increasingly important. Our findings will serve as a key reference for predicting these changes," she emphasizes.

More information: Harue Abe et al, Evolutionary Histories of Camellia japonica and Camellia rusticana, Ecology and Evolution (2024). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70721 Journal information: Ecology and Evolution
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SwRI is studying how Saturn's largest moon maintains its thick atmosphere. Scientists think Titan's core is covered by several layers of ice and a subsurface liquid ocean. New experiments indicate that nitrogen and methane gases produced by the organic materials at its core could seep up to the surface, continuously replenishing Titan's atmosphere. Credit: Southwest Research Institute

Southwest Research Institute partnered with the Carnegie Institution for Science to perform laboratory experiments to better understand how Saturn's moon Titan can maintain its unique nitrogen-rich atmosphere. Titan is the second largest moon in our solar system and the only one that has a significant atmosphere.

"While just 40% the diameter of the Earth, Titan has an atmosphere 1.5 times as dense as the Earth's, even with a lower gravity," said SwRI's Dr. Kelly Miller, lead author of a paper about these findings published in the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. "Walking on the surface of Titan would feel a bit like scuba diving."

The origin, age, and evolution of this atmosphere, which is roughly 95% nitrogen and 5% methane, has puzzled scientists since it was discovered in 1944.

"The presence of methane is critical to the existence of Titan's atmosphere," Miller says. "The methane is removed by reactions caused by sunlight and would disappear in about 30 million years after which the atmosphere would freeze onto the surface. Scientists think an internal source must replenish the methane, or else the atmosphere has a geologically short lifetime."

Miller was also the lead author of a 2019 paper published in the Astrophysical Journal that proposed a theoretical model of how the atmosphere may have developed and is replenished over the years.

To understand the persistent thick atmosphere on Saturn's largest moon, SwRI worked with the Carnegie Institution for Science Laboratory to create conditions mimicking those at Titan's rocky core. These laboratory experiments heated and pressurized tubes of organics, producing nitrogen and methane, gases necessary to maintain Titan's atmosphere. Credit: Southwest Research Institute

The paper theorizes that large amounts of highly complex organic materials are heated up in Titan's rocky interior, releasing nitrogen as well as carbon gases like methane. The gas then seeps out at the surface, where it forms a thick atmosphere around the moon.

This theory is corroborated by recent experiments that heated organic materials to temperatures of 250 to 500 Celsius at pressures up to 10 kilobars to simulate the interior conditions of Titan. The experiments produced carbon gases like carbon dioxide and methane in sufficient quantities to help supply Titan's atmospheric reservoir.

The paper is largely based on data from NASA's Cassini-Huygens spacecraft mission, which launched in 1997 and explored the Saturn system from 2004 to 2017. NASA plans to launch its next mission to the Saturnian system in 2028 with a spacecraft dubbed Dragonfly. It will include a quadcopter designed to explore Titan up close and investigate whether environments at Titan could have ever been conducive for life. Miller is working next with a global team of researchers to study the habitability of the subsurface liquid ocean.
Pandering to Islamist terror and extremism will bring down western Christianity By Tirza Shorr

web posted January 27, 2025

Pope Francis with Abolhassan Navab, January 3, 2025, Vatican On January 3, 2025, the Pope met with Iranian regime cleric Abolhassan Navab. The Pope said: "We also have no problem with the Jews, and our only problem is with Benjamin Netanyahu, who regardless of International laws and human rights has created crises in the region and the world." Navab's government and their Hamas and Hizbullah proxy militias have murderously attacked Israel both before and since October 7, 2023, dominated Syria and Iraq, and head a world narcoterrorism ring. Yet, Navab told the Pope, "the Iranian government and people are always ready to help spread peace and justice in the world." Since October 7, 2023, the Pope has called for Israel to cease its fire against Hamas, called for an investigation into whether the Gaza war is "genocide," and before Christmas, he was photographed viewing a nativity scene in which baby Jesus was draped in a keffiyeh, reflecting historical revisionism typical to the progressive left trend of "Palestinian Jesus." The Pope's reactions to Israel's multifront war of survival against Islamists, whose ideology also reviles Christians and the West, recall the Church's pre-Second Vatican Council and pre-Nostra Aetate Jew hatred. The Pope may claim to be concerned with human rights, but his statements excuse, justify, and encourage the Islamist source of aggression, endangering Jews and moderate Muslims, but also signaling doomsday for Western Christians. This is because the Pope's prostration before Islamists is symbolic of a larger European crisis that repeats the history of Eastern MENA Christians. The recent exposure of the decades-long cover-up of Muslim rape grooming gangs in England has brought to wider media attention how progressive concerns over racism and human rights have ironically led to the submission of Western society to Islamist elements and the violation of human rights. In Europe, the seat of the Vatican, Christian demographics dwindle, while Muslim populations grow, influencing progressive European politics to provide a sacred place for the Palestinian cause. Meanwhile, disturbing migration-related societal phenomena such as terrorism, violence, sexual grooming, and street anarchy are downplayed. The Pope's adoption of Palestinian replacement theology fits under the umbrella of Liberation Theology, a controversial Marxist stream within Christianity, popularized in the Latin American Catholic Church in the 1960s. Today, two-thirds of Catholics  clergy and laypeople  hail from the postcolonial Marxist-influenced "Global South," including Argentine Francis. Liberation Theology preaches advocacy for the poor and oppressed, a classic Catholic theme, especially in Francis's Jesuit tradition. However, according to Soviet-era Romanian dissident Ion Pacepa, Liberation Theology was a Soviet "active measure" formulated by the KGB to bring Latin American churches under communist influence. Liberation Theology's evolving holistic social justice approach has been embraced by other churches, including Protestants, and Palestinian denominations. Strangely, though Liberation Theology stems from the left, its stances are echoed by America's emerging conservative "woke right." Woke right influencers regularly espouse conspiracy theories to explain both current events and history, and accuse some evangelical Protestants of kowtowing to "neoconservative"  now a code word for Jewish  Zionism, blaming Israel and Jews for starting wars. "Woke right" conservatives popular on social media are hyper-focused on criticizing Zionism, AIPAC, and Jewish influence on American foreign policy, believing it detracts from non-interventionist "America First" objectives. For example, Tucker Carlson has hosted a Holocaust revisionist, has hurled antisemitic tropes at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has promoted Russian talking points, and has interviewed a far-left Columbia professor who has demonized Netanyahu in a clip posted on social media by President Donald Trump. The Pope's selective pacifism and Liberation Theology's West-critical postcolonial bent has become a meeting point of the woke right's classic Jew-hatred and the woke left's Soviet-era Israel hatred, the current "antisemitic horseshoe" of the extremes. The Pope's genocide suspicions echo the "deicide" demonization of Jews, for which they deserve eternal punishment and persecution. These conspiracies feed a narrative that Jews are out to destroy the West and Christianity, which ultimately serves the Iranian, Russian, and Chinese propaganda strategies of subverting the West and its allies. Tragically, some Christians today are unintentionally repeating history by pandering to Islamists, as did their Christian predecessors in the Middle East and North Africa during the Islamic conquests. What began as obsequiousness and accommodation to Islamic conquerors, with the jizya tax duly paid to show inferiority, became repression, discrimination, and domination resulting in the decimation of MENA's Christian-majority population. The slow, painful process of "dhimmitude"  public humiliation, discrimination, kidnappings and sexual violence toward Christian (and Jewish) women, forced conversions, and assimilation  has left today's MENA states with single-digit demographic percentages of Christians. The Pope's uncritical adoption of the Palestinian cause's rewriting of Christian and Jewish history, is a nod to Muslim Brotherhood-affiliate Hamas. Since its inception a century ago, the Muslim Brotherhood has derided the West while using Western image and rhetoric in its long-term jihad. Qatar has led both the rhetorical jihad  through Al-Jazeera and other news outlets  and the kinetic one through its support of Hamas and other extremists. Expectedly, Jews are still being blamed for regional instability by some Christians. After the Syria takeover by Islamist-led Hayat Tahrir al-Shams, some Christians blamed Israel for endangering vulnerable Syrian Christians, while ignoring both the ills of the Assad regime and the larger global threat of Islamic extremism which rejects non-Muslim sovereignty anywhere Islam once conquered  dar al-Islam, which includes swaths of Europe. Jihadists still aim to expand their territory into the realm of war  dar al-harb  whether by da'wa  Islamic missionizing  or conquest  jihad. Scapegoating Jews may be more comfortable than facing the larger threat of global Islamism, but adopting a prefabricated Marxist-Islamist ("Red-Green") Liberation Theology narrative into conservativism leads Western Christians to undermine their survival, where in the past, Christian submission has led to their near-extinction in MENA. Tirza Shorr is a senior researcher and program coordinator at the Jerusalem Center. Her research specialty is the ideology of leftist movements and the Red-Green alliance. Home
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The rocks seen here along the shoreline of Lake Salda in Turkey were formed over time by microbes that trap minerals and sediments in the water. These so-called microbialites were once a major form of life on Earth and provide some of the oldest known fossilized records of life on our planet. NASAs Mars 2020 Perseverance mission will search for signs of ancient life on the Martian surface. Studying these microbial fossils on Earth has helped scientists prepare for the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

About 99% of Earth is uninhabitable; in deep underground places with high pressure and temperature, even the toughest bacteria cannot survive. However, there are places where life thrives, from tiniest toughest bacteria to the largest elephant. Then there are places that are habitable but are devoid of life; lava flows are a great example, as is the space between microbes. A new paper looks at these uninhabited yet habitable areas and considers what we may learn as we search for life in the universe.

Life on Earth has taken millions of years to evolve to the state we see today and has invaded nearly every corner of the planet, except those places where the environment is so extreme that even the toughest extremophile cannot survive.

These regions include places like the Atacama Desert in Chile, one of the driest places on Earth, where rainfall is so rare that even microbial life struggles to survive. Similarly, parts of Antarctica's dry valleys feature subzero temperatures, minimal liquid water and high salinity in some soils, creating an environment hostile to most life forms. It raises interesting questions and perhaps poses limitations on life's ability to survive.

We can learn a lot from life on Earth as we hunt for life elsewhere in the universe. At the moment, there is just one place in the cosmos where we know life has evolved, Earth.

A paper recently authored by Charles S. Cockell from the University of Edinburgh and published in FEMS Microbiology Reviews explores what we might learn from the inhospitable places on Earth and how that might inform our search for extraterrestrial life. The paper discusses places where active microorganisms cannot be found; in particular, those places where the physical and chemical conditions are not far from areas that support life.

The physical spaces where microbes cannot sustain the essential metabolic activity or even reproduce can be categorized into two groups: those with uninhabitable conditions and those with habitable but uninhabited spaces, also known as uninhabited habitats.

Uninhabitable conditions occur in environments where life cannot exist due to extreme factors like intense heat, cold, salinity or acidity. In contrast, uninhabited habitats are environments that are theoretically capable of supporting life but remain unoccupied, often due to barriers to colonization or the absence of necessary organisms. The paper draws a strong differentiation between these "vacant niches."

These uninhabited habitats, which form on both macroscopic and microscopic scales through diverse processes, offer opportunities for scientific investigation. They can act as negative control environments, helping to reveal how living organisms influence geochemical processes, and how they can provide a framework for studying processes like microbial succession and community development. Despite their potential significance, the occurrence of these habitats in environments at the physical and chemical extremes of life remains poorly understood.

As we continue our search for life across the universe, we may find many more locations like these. Doing so will help to expand our understanding of the distribution of habitable conditions and the potential for life across the universe. They may offer insights into the processes that make a location suitable for life, as well as the factors that have prevented life from arising or persisting there.

More information: Charles S Cockell, Where the microbes aren't, FEMS Microbiology Reviews (2024). DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuae034
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Human cells imaged using Cell Painting. Cell nuclei are shown in blue, actin filaments in yellow, the endoplasmic reticulum in magenta, golgi bodies in cyan, and mitochondria in green. Credit: Maria Lozada, Neal Lab

Visualizing cells after editing specific genes can help scientists learn new details about the function of those genes. But using microscopy to do this at scale can be challenging, particularly when studying thousands of genes at a time.

Now, researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, along with collaborators at Calico Life Sciences, have developed an approach that brings the power of microscopy imaging to genome-scale CRISPR screens in a scalable way.

PERISCOPEwhich stands for perturbation effect readout in situ via single-cell optical phenotypingcombines two technologies developed by Broad scientists: Cell Painting, which can capture images and key measures of subcellular compartments at scale, and Optical Pooled Screening, which "barcodes" cells and uses CRISPR to systematically turn off individual genes to study their function in those cells.

The new technique lets scientists study the effects of perturbing over 20,000 genes on hundreds of image-based cellular features. Generating data with the method is more than 10 times less expensive than comparable high-dimensional approaches such as high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing and can be adapted to study a wide variety of cell types.

In their article published in Nature Methods, the researchers applied PERISCOPE to execute three whole-genome CRISPR screens to create an open-source atlas of cell morphology.

The study is the result of a collaboration between the labs of Broad co-senior authors JT Neal, institute scientist and co-director of type 2 diabetes systems genomics; Anne Carpenter, institute scientist and senior director of the Imaging Platform; and Paul Blainey, core institute member; as well as Calico, led by co-senior author Calvin Jan. Broad staff scientists Meraj Ramezani and Erin Weisbart, research associate Julia Bauman, and postdoctoral researcher Avtar Singh were all co-first authors on the study.

"This atlas itself is a first-in-class genome-scale resource for linking cell morphology to gene function, and I think it has a lot of discovery potential," said Neal. "But maybe more importantly, all of the data is open access, and we've built really robust industrial-grade analysis pipelines that can be repurposed by anybody to analyze optical pooled screening data at scale."

Morphological insights

First developed by Carpenter in 2013, Cell Painting is an assay designed to image multiple cell organelles at the same time and at scale, "painting" them different colors such as nuclei blue and mitochondria red. Machine-learning models then detect hundreds of subtle changes in the images, such as the texture of the cytoplasm or area of the nucleus, allowing researchers to test the effects of a gene perturbation, for example, on the cell.

When Neal joined the Broad in 2017 as a researcher in the Cancer Program, he was intrigued by the possibility of applying Cell Painting to cancer cells to learn the function of key genes and variants, which could help in the development of targeted therapies. He struck up a conversation with Carpenter, and also with Blainey, whose lab had developed optical pooled screening.

The three started discussing how they might combine the two techniques and, in 2019, started building PERISCOPE, including an associated computational pipeline that integrates with Cell Profiler, in collaboration with Calico.

In PERISCOPE, the researchers introduce a library of guide RNAs targeting about 20,000 genes into cells. Next, they induce the expression of the DNA-cutting Cas9 enzyme to disable the genes targeted by the guides.

They then convert the guide RNAs to complementary DNA, creating "barcodes" of the gene knocked out in each cell, which allow scientists to identify which gene has been turned off in each cell. This barcoding also enables the study of many genes in a single batch of cells, which is more efficient than testing them one by one.

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Finally, they use a standard widefield microscope to record images of the five Cell Painting stains and the four-color barcodes in the cells, followed by automated image analysis to extract cell features and link them to guide RNAs.

Using PERISCOPE, the researchers created atlases of the effects of knocking out genes in human lung and cervical cancer cells in standard cell culture media as well as in media that more closely resembles the physiological environment.

These atlases not only illustrated known biology but also revealed new information about poorly characterized genes. For example, they uncovered the function of TMEM251, a gene that has been linked to a rare genetic lysosomal storage disease. The team found that it is required for trafficking enzymes to lysosomes.

Next, the team is working on building the capacity to image even more colors simultaneously, expanding the range of traits that PERISCOPE can capture. They're also collaborating with researchers in Broad's Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Genomic Mechanisms of Disease to create perturbation atlases in cardiometabolic cell types, and with Broad's Ladders to Cures Accelerator to identify treatments for rare genetic disorders.

In addition, the team anticipates that PERISCOPE will be applicable to neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease. Neal says PERISCOPE could one day even enable studies of the interactions between multiple genes.

"In the past, that's been tricky because the genetic interaction space scales very quickly," he said. "With PERISCOPE and other scalable optical pooled screening approaches, it's now no longer far-fetched to envision very large genetic interaction screens."

More information: Ramezani M et al, A genome-wide atlas of cell morphology, Nature Methods (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41592-024-02537-7. www.nature.com/articles/s41592-024-02537-7 Journal information: Nature Methods
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Schematic of the multi-level atomic array structure used in this study. Credit: Steven Burrows/Rey and Thompson groups

Interactions between atoms and light rule the behavior of our physical world, but at the same time, can be extremely complex. Understanding and harnessing them is one of the major challenges for the development of quantum technologies.

To understand light-mediated interactions between atoms, it is common to isolate only two atomic levels, a ground level and an excited level, and view the atoms as tiny antennas with two poles that talk to each other. So, when an atom in a crystal lattice array is prepared in the excited state, it relaxes back to the ground state after some time by emitting a photon.

The emitted photon does not necessarily escape from the array, but instead, it can become absorbed by another ground-state atom, which then gets excited. Such an exchange of excitations, also referred to as dipole-dipole interaction, is key for making atoms interact, even when they cannot bump into each other.

"While the underlying idea is very simple, as many photons are exchanged between many atoms, the state of the system can become correlated, or highly entangled, quickly," explains JILA and NIST Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder physics professor Ana Maria Rey.

"I cannot think of a single atom as an independent object. Instead, I need to keep track of how its state depends on the state of many other atoms in the array. This is intractable with current computational methods. In the absence of an external drive, the generated entanglement typically disappears since all atoms relax to the ground state."

Atoms can, however, have more than two atomic levels. Interactions in the system can change drastically if more than two internal levels are allowed to participate in the dynamics.

In a two-level system (weak excitation) with only one photon and, at most, one excited atom in the array, one just needs to track the single excited atom. While this is numerically tractable, it is not so helpful for quantum technologies since the atoms could be thought of more as classical antennas.

In contrast, by allowing just one additional ground level per atom, even with a single excitation, the number of configurations accessible to the system grows exponentially, drastically increasing the complexity. Understanding atom-light interaction in multi-level settings is an extremely difficult problem, and up to now it has eluded both theorists and experimentalists.

Rey explains, "However, it can be extremely useful, not only because it can generate highly entangled states which can be preserved in the absence of a drive since atoms in the ground levels do not decay."'

Now, in a study published in Physical Review Letters, Rey and JILA and NIST Fellow James K. Thompson, along with graduate student Sanaa Agarwal and researcher Asier Pineiro Orioli from the University of Strasbourg, have studied atom-light interactions in the case of effective four-level atoms, two ground (or metastable) and two excited levels arranged in specific one-dimensional and two-dimensional crystal lattices.

"We know that including the full multilevel structure of atoms can give us richer physics and new phenomena, which are promising for entangled state generation," says Agarwal, the paper's first author. With quantum technologies like computing and secure communications requiring entanglement, understanding how to create stable, interconnected atomic systems has become a priority.

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From two to four internal states

For this study, the researchers focused on isolating four energy levels in strontium atoms, arranged in either one-dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) configurations where the atoms are loaded in a special configuration in which they are closer to each other than the wavelength of the laser light used to excite them.

The study concentrated on a set of internal levels with a much smaller energy separation than typical optical transitions. Instead of using truly ground-state levels, the team proposed using metastable levels where atoms can live for a very long time.

This very interesting set of levels has not been explored much before since it requires a special laser with a very long wavelength, but Thompson plans to have this laser in his lab.

"We plan to build the necessary capabilities in our lab to first knock the atom into an excited state that lives for a really long time," Thompson says.

"This will let us use a 2.9-micron wavelength transition between this so-called metastable-state excited-state 3P 2 in strontium and another excited-state 3D 3 state. This wavelength is about eight times longer than the usual separation between nearby atoms trapped in an optical lattice in our lab.

"By having a transition wavelength much longer than the trapping light wavelength, we will be able to realize strong and programmable interactions via this photon exchange that happens when the atoms are jammed in close to each other."

Agarwal adds, "The atoms need to be very close, as interactions weaken with distance, eventually becoming lost due to other sources of decoherence [noise]. Keeping atoms close allows interactions to dominate, preserving the growth of entanglement."

The team focused on the weak and far-from-resonance regime where atoms are allowed to virtually "trade" photons, i.e., moving them between ground states without permanently occupying an excited state.

"By exchanging photons, atoms are effectively only moving between different configurations in the ground state levels, which simplifies our calculations by reducing the number of states accessible to the system," Agarwal adds. "It's easier to eliminate the excited states and focus on the metastable state dynamics, where we observe growing correlations, which furthermore can be preserved when the laser is turned off.

Creating a spin model for entanglement

In the regime where the excited levels are only "virtually" populated, and only atoms can occupy the metastable state levels, the four-level problem can be reduced back to a two-level system at the cost of dealing with much more complex interactions, which involves not only pair-wise interactions but multi-atom interaction.

Rey explains, "We focused on the far-from-resonance regime, where in leading order, only two atoms interact at a given time. In this case, the Hamiltonian describing the metastable state dynamics maps back to a well-characterized spin model."

The team used this well-known model to study what are called "spin waves"coordinated low-energy excitations of atomic spinsacross the lattice arrangement. Moreover, by controlling the polarization and propagation direction of the photons of the laser exciting the atoms, the researchers could determine which "spin-wave pattern" became dominantly entangled.

The entanglement observed was spin-squeezing, a specific form of entanglement that has increased sensitivity to external noise and is thus useful for metrology.

"The spin squeezing in our system can be experimentally measured and serves as a witness of quantum entanglement. Our setup also has possible applications in simulating many-body physics," Agarwal says.

This finding is especially significant, as it implies that quantum systems could maintain entanglement over long periods, without needing constant intervention to prevent decoherence.

Limitations in simulations

While the team's model offered promising insights, it also faced limitations in accurately simulating the system over time. One of the key limitations arose from the dipole-dipole interactions, whichunlike simpler interactionsinvolve long-range forces that couple atoms both near and far in the lattice.

Furthermore, these couplings are anisotropic and depend on the relative orientation of the atomic dipoles, making the system more complex. Each atom interacts differently with its neighbors spaced along different directions in the lattice, leading to varying interaction strengths and signs across the array.

Other popular simulation techniques designed for short-range interactions fail when applied to long-range interactions, as they aren't equipped to handle the many correlations that develop over time.

Although some other methods are more appropriate for long-range atomic interactions, they are constrained to small atom numbers due to their computational complexity, limiting the researchers' ability to observe the long-time progression of correlations in a large system.

Diving further into internal states

The team's findings could open new avenues in quantum information science and quantum computing, offering a potential path for the development of highly entangled and scalable quantum systems.

"We're inching closer to systems that could sustain entanglement reliably, which is a crucial step for future quantum applications," says Agarwal.

Looking forward, the research team plans to explore how more extensive multilevel systems might enhance entanglement potential.

"In atoms like strontium, with as many as 10 ground and excited levels each, the complexity grows significantly, and we want to see how this impacts entanglement," Agarwal says.

"Furthermore, while we have focused here on interactions between atoms in free space, one excited extension is to understand how these interactions can interplay with additional photon-mediated interactions [that are] built when atoms are instead placed inside an optical cavity or in nanophotonic devices," she adds.

"The competition between the infinite range interactions mediated by the cavity photons and the dipole-dipole interactions described here can open fantastic opportunities to harness light-mediated quantum gates, entanglement distribution, and programmable quantum many-body physics," says Thompson.

Provided by JILA
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The Z machine, the largest X-ray generator in the world, is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As part of the Pulsed Power Program, which started at Sandia National Laboratories in the 1960s, the Z machine concentrates electrical energy and turns it into short pulses of enormous power, which can then be used to generate X-rays and gamma rays. Credit: Randy Montoya/Sandia National Laboratories

Researchers have pioneered an innovative method using helioseismology to measure the solar radiative opacity under extreme conditions. Their work, published in Nature Communications, not only reveals gaps in our understanding of atomic physics but also confirms recent experimental results, thereby opening new perspectives in astrophysics and nuclear physics.

Helioseismology is a discipline dedicated to studying the sun's acoustic oscillations, enabling us to probe the interior of our star with remarkable precision. By analyzing these waves, it is possible to reconstruct fundamental parameters such as the density, temperature, and chemical composition of the sun's plasmaessential elements for understanding how our star works and evolves. This method transforms the sun into a true astrophysical laboratory, providing crucial data for refining stellar models and better understanding the evolution of stars in the universe.

A new international study, led by Gael Buldgen, a researcher at the University of Liege, has used helioseismic techniques to provide an independent measurement of the absorption of high-energy radiation by the solar plasma in the deep layers of its structure. This collaborative work sheds new light on solar radiative opacity, a crucial physical quantity for understanding the interaction between matter and radiation in the extreme conditions of the sun's interior.

The results confirm observations made in laboratories such as the Sandia National Laboratories and ongoing efforts at the Livermore National Laboratory, while revealing persistent gaps in our understanding of atomic physics and differences between the predictions of research groups at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Ohio State University and the research center of the CEA Paris-Saclay in France.

ESA's mission Plato, PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars, will use its 26 cameras to study terrestrial exoplanets in orbits up to the habitable zone of Sun-like stars. The mission will discover the sizes of exoplanets and discover exomoons and rings around them. Plato will also characterize their host stars by studying tiny light variations in the starlight it receives. Credit: ESA

Unprecedented precision in stellar modeling

The scientific team used advanced numerical tools developed at ULiege, drawing on the university's expertise in helioseismology and stellar modeling.

"By detecting the sun's acoustic waves with unparalleled precision, we can reconstruct our star's internal properties, in much the same way as we would deduce the characteristics of a musical instrument from the sounds it produces", explains Buldgen.

The precision of helioseismic measurements is exceptional: they allow us to estimate the mass of a cubic centimeter of matter inside the sun with an accuracy surpassing that of a high-precision kitchen scale without ever seeing or touching the matter. Helioseismology, developed at the end of the twentieth century, has played a major role in advancing fundamental physics.

In particular, it has contributed to major discoveries, such as neutrino oscillations, which the 2015 Nobel Prize recognized. These advances demonstrated that solar models were not to blame for the origin of this phenomenon. Still, adjustments were needed with the revision of the solar chemical composition in 2009, confirmed in 2021. This revision caused a crisis in solar models, which no longer agreed with the helioseismic observations.

SOHO's EIT (Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope) images the solar atmosphere at several wavelengths and, therefore, shows solar material at different temperatures. In the images taken at 304 Angstroms, the bright material is at 60 000 to 80 000K. In those taken at 171, at 1 million Kelvin. 195 Angstrom images correspond to about 1.5 million Kelvin. The hotter the temperature, the higher you look in the solar atmosphere. Credit: SOHO instrument consortium

To meet this challenge, advanced tools have been developed at the University of Liege, initially as part of doctoral work, and then enriched through international collaborations in Birmingham and Geneva. These tools have made it possible to revisit the internal thermodynamic conditions of the sun and to reopen an issue that the scientific community had somewhat neglected.

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At the same time, the work carried out in 2015 by James Bailey at Sandia National Laboratory highlighted the crucial role of radiative opacity. The first experimental measurements were first met with some skepticism, as they revealed significant differences with theoretical predictions.

Today's helioseismic measure provides valuable confirmation and makes it possible to specify the temperature, density and energy regimes in which these experiments should be concentrated in order to better reproduce solar conditions. In addition, the Z Machine experiments, although extremely valuable, have prohibitive energy and financial costs. Helioseismic measurements, on the other hand, offer an economical and complementary alternative while guiding experimentalists towards optimal windows for their laboratory measurements.

The implications of this research extend far beyond stellar modeling. It improves the accuracy of the theoretical models used to estimate the age and mass of stars and exoplanets, thereby contributing to our understanding of galactic evolution and stellar populations.

"The sun is our great calibrator of stellar evolution, our preferred laboratory for finding out whether we are on the right track, or not. These results are even more important as we prepare to launch the PLATO satellite in 2026, one of the objectives of which is to accurately characterize solar-type stars to find habitable terrestrial planets.

"What's more, these results have resonances in nuclear fusion, as the sun remains the only stable nuclear fusion reactor in our solar system. Improving our understanding of the sun's internal conditions directly impacts fusion energy research, a key issue in the development of clean energy solutions," adds Buldgen.

The results highlight the need to improve existing atomic models to resolve the discrepancies between experimental observations and theoretical calculations. These advances should redefine our understanding of stellar evolution and the physical processes that govern the structure and evolution of stars. This research confirms the University of Liege's position at the cutting edge of astrophysical science, demonstrating the key role of helioseismology in unlocking the mysteries of the cosmos.

More information: Gael Buldgen et al. Helioseismic inference of the solar radiative opacity, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/S41467-024-54793-Y, www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54793-y Journal information: Nature Communications
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Within hours of taking office last week, President Donald Trump made good on his pledges to wind back the United States' climate actionincluding withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement.

This political show comes barely a week after 2024 was revealed as the world's hottest year and following the catastrophic Los Angeles fires. The fires directly killed 20 people; potentially many more will die from toxic smoke and other after-effects.

The science is clear: achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is humanity's only hope of achieving some measure of climate security. It's time to think deeply on our chances of getting there.

Here, I outline a few reasons for pessimism, and for hope.

Reasons for pessimism

1. The data doesn't lie

The landmark Paris Agreement, signed by 196 nations in 2015, aimed to limit global temperature rise to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels while pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5C. Achieving that requires reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century.

Yet nearly a decade after the agreement, global emissions continue to rise. The Global Carbon Budget estimates a record-high 37.4 billion tons of CO was emitted last year.

And 2024 was not just the hottest year on recordit was the first year to exceed the 1.5C temperature threshold.

It's not too late to change trajectory. But sadly, the data show the bathtub is fast filling, and the tap is still running hard.

2. Renewable energy rollout is too slow

Renewable energy deployment is increasing and the price is falling. But it's not happening fast enough.

According to the International Energy Agency, clean energy investment must more than double this decade if the net-zero goal is to be reached by 2050. In particular, clean energy investment in developing countries must increase significantly.

Richer nationswhich are largely responsible for the stock of emissions in the atmosphere driving the climate problemare failing to help developing countries make the clean energy shift. At the COP29 climate talks in Baku last year, developed nations agreed to give only US$300 billion (A$474 billion) a year in climate finance to developing countries by 2035. It is nowhere near enough.

3. The net-zero smokescreen

Net-zero emissions is not the same as zero emissions. It allows some industries to keep polluting, if equivalent emissions are removed from the atmosphere elsewhere to keep the balance at zero.

This means nations that are purportedly committed to the net-zero goal can continue with business as usual, or worse.

In 2023, for example, then-British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced 100 new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea, saying it was "entirely consistent" with his government's net-zero goal. The same logic has allowed Australia's environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to approve new coal mines.

Both decisions came from governments that have pledged commitment to reaching net-zeroyet both are clearly making the goal harder to achieve.

These are just a few of the reasons to feel pessimistic about getting to net-zerothere are many more.

Barriers exist to extracting the critical minerals needed in low-emissions technology. Differences in human relationships to nature means we will never reach full agreement on how to respond to environmental risk. And globally, there is rising mistrust in international agreements and institutions.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Here's why.

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Reasons for hope

1. Renewable energy is cheap

Renewable energy has become the cheapest form of new electricity in history. The technologies are now less expensive than coal and gas in most major countries.

The International Energy Agency projects global renewable capacity will increase by more than 5,520 gigawatts between 2024 and 2030. This is 2.6 times more than the deployment over the six years to 2023.

The growth in rooftop solar is expected to more than triple, as equipment costs decline and social acceptance increases.

2. Commitments to net-zero are many

Global support for the net-zero goal is significant. According to Net Zero Tracker, 147 of 198 countries have set a net-zero target. Some 1,176 of the 2,000 largest publicly traded companies by revenue have also adopted it.

Without seeing the plans, numbers, laws, regulations and investments required to achieve these ambitions, one should be skepticalbut not cynical.

3. Tech innovation and climate response are in lock-step

Twenty-five years ago, smartphones did not exist, email was new and we "surfed" a new thing called the worldwide web with a slow dial-up modem.

Similarly, our technologies will look very different 25 years from nowand many developments will ultimately help deliver the net-zero goal.

Smart electricity grids, for example, use digital technologies, sensors and software to precisely meet the demand of electricity usersmaking the system more efficient and reducing carbon emissions.

The European Union, United States and China are all investing vast sums to support their development.

Already, we can use smart meters to monitor electricity generation from our roofs to our cars and home batteries. This allows zero-emissions electricity to both be used and sold back to the grid.

Tech innovation is not confined to the electricity sector. As Australia's Climate Change Authority has stated, technology offers pathways to reduce emissions across the economyin transport, agriculture, industry and more.

4. Human talent and capacity

Many of humanity's best minds are now focused on reducing climate risk.

Climate change mitigation is attracting remarkable professionals in roles unimaginable 25 years agofrom engineers developing breakthrough renewable technologies to financial experts designing green investment products, policy specialists crafting new regulations, and climate scientists refining our understanding of climate risk.

And among much of the public, global support for climate action is strong.

No time for despair

The fact that humans caused climate change is an enabling truth: we also have the capacity to make decisions to address the problem.

Our choices today will make a difference. It will be a bumpy roadbut to achieve some measure of climate security, net-zero is a goal we must achieve.

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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

As of 2025, more than 7,000 languages are spoken across the world. However, only about half of them are properly documented, leaving the rest at risk of disappearing.

Globalization has propelled languages such as English and Chinese into the mainstream, and they now dominate global communication.

Parents today prefer their children learn widely-spoken languages. Meanwhile, indigenous languages, such as Copainala Zoque in Mexico and Northern Ndebele in Zimbabwe, are not even consistently taught in schools.

Indigenous people generally did not use writing for centuries and, therefore, their languages do not have ancient written records. This has contributed to their gradual disappearance.

To prevent the loss of endangered languages, field linguistsor language documentaristswork to ensure that new generations have access to their cultural heritage. Their efforts reveal the vocabulary and structure of these languages and the stories and traditions embedded within them.

My research team and I have spent over 13 years documenting endangered Papuan languages in Southeast and East Indonesia, particularly in the Alor-Pantar Archipelago, near Timor, and the Maluku Islands. One of our significant and very recent discoveries is Kape, a previously undocumented and neglected language spoken by small coastal communities in Central-Northern Alor.

Not only is the discovery important for mapping the linguistic context of the island, but it also highlights the urgency of preserving endangered languages by employing language documentation methods.

The discovery of Kape

In August 2024, while working with our Abui consultants, Shiyue Wu, my Research Assistant at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, discovered a previously-ignored, presumably undocumented Papuan language from Alor, "Kape."

At the time, she was gathering information about the names and locations of ritual altars known as "maasang" in the Abui area, with assistance from our main consultant and several native speakers. In Central Alor, every village has a "maasang."

During conversations about the variants in altar names across Alor languages and Abui dialects, some speakers mentioned the name of the "maasang" ("mata") in Kapea language previously unrecorded and overlooked in linguistic documentation.

"Kape" translates to "rope," symbolizing how the language connects its speakers across the island, from the mountains to the sea. Geographically and linguistically, it is associated with Kabola in the east and Abui and Kamang in Central Alor.

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At this stage, it is unclear whether Kape is a distinct language or a dialect of Kamang, as the two are mutually intelligible. Much of Kape's basic lexicon (the collection of words in one language), indeed, shares cognates (related words among languages) with Kamang.

However, Kape is spoken as the primary (native) language by the whole Kape ethnic group of Alor, and the speakers consider themselves an independent linguistic and ethnic community. This could serve as an element for regarding Kape as a language.

Kape also shows connections with Suboo, Tiyei, and Adang, other Papuan languages from Alor Island. The speakers, known as "Kafel" in Abui, are multilingual, fluent, to some extent, in Kape, Kamang, Bahasa Indonesia, Alor Malay, and, sometimes, Abui.

So far, no historical records have been found for Kape, though archival research may reveal more about its origins. Based on its typology and lexical characteristics, Kape appears as ancient as other languages spoken in Alor. Like many Papuan languages, it is critically endangered and requires urgent documentation to preserve its legacy.

Documenting languages: An ongoing challenge

Language documentation aims to reconstruct the unwritten history of indigenous peoples and to guarantee the future of their cultures and languages. This is accomplished by preserving endangered, scarcely documented or entirely undocumented languages in disadvantaged and remote areas.

External sources, like diaries by missionaries and documentation produced by colonizers, can help reconstruct some historical events. However, they are insufficient for providing reliable linguistic data since the authors were not linguists.

My research team and I document endangered languages, starting with their lexicon and grammar. Eventually, we also explore the ancient traditions and ancestral wisdom of the native speakers we work with.

We have contributed to the documentation of several Papuan languages from Alor Island, especially Abui, Kula, and Sawila. These languages are spoken among small, sometimes dispersed communities of indigenous peoples belonging to different but related ethnic clusters.

They communicate with each other mostly in Bahasa Indonesia and Alor Malay. This is because their local languages are almost never taught in schools and are rarely used outside their groups.

Over time, in addition to documenting their lexicons and grammars, we worked to reconstruct their place-names and landscape names, oral traditions, foundation myths, ancestral legends and the names of plants and trees they use.

We also explored their traditional medical practices and local ethnobotany, along with their musical culture and number systems.

Safeguarding Kape is not just linguistically relevant. Its preservation and documentation are not just about attesting its existencethey also contribute to revitalizing the language, keeping it alive, and allowing the local community to rediscover its history, knowledge, and traditions to pass down to the next generations.

This journey has just begun, but my team and Iwith the indispensable collaboration from our local consultants and native speakersare prepared to go all the way towards its completion.

Shiyue Wu, a member of Francesco Perono Cacciafoco's research team at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), who is currently developing intensive fieldwork in Alor Island to document and preserve endangered languages, discovered and first documented Kape during language documentation fieldwork in August 2024 and therefore actively contributed to this study.

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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A hundred years ago, astronomer Edwin Hubble dramatically expanded the size of the known universe. At a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January 1925, a paper read by one of his colleagues on his behalf reported that the Andromeda nebula, also called M31, was nearly a million light years awaytoo remote to be a part of the Milky Way.

Hubble's work opened the door to the study of the universe beyond our galaxy. In the century since Hubble's pioneering work, astronomers like me have learned that the universe is vast and contains trillions of galaxies.

Nature of the nebulae

In 1610, astronomer Galileo Galilei used the newly invented telescope to show that the Milky Way was composed of a huge number of faint stars. For the next 300 years, astronomers assumed that the Milky Way was the entire universe.

As astronomers scanned the night sky with larger telescopes, they were intrigued by fuzzy patches of light called nebulae. Toward the end of the 18th century, astronomer William Herschel used star counts to map out the Milky Way. He cataloged a thousand new nebulae and clusters of stars. He believed that the nebulae were objects within the Milky Way.

Charles Messier also produced a catalog of over 100 prominent nebulae in 1781. Messier was interested in comets, so his list was a set of fuzzy objects that might be mistaken for comets. He intended for comet hunters to avoid them since they did not move across the sky.

As more data piled up, 19th century astronomers started to see that the nebulae were a mixed bag. Some were gaseous, star-forming regions, such as the Orion nebula, or M42the 42nd object in Messier's catalogwhile others were star clusters such as the Pleiades, or M45.

A third categorynebulae with spiral structureparticularly intrigued astronomers. The Andromeda nebula, M31, was a prominent example. It's visible to the naked eye from a dark site.

The Andromeda galaxy, then known as the Andromeda nebula, is a bright spot in the sky that intrigued early astronomers.

Astronomers as far back as the mid-18th century had speculated that some nebulae might be remote systems of stars or "island universes," but there was no data to support this hypothesis. Island universes referred to the idea that there could be enormous stellar systems outside the Milky Waybut astronomers now just call these systems galaxies.

In 1920, astronomers Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis held a Great Debate. Shapley argued that the spiral nebulae were small and in the Milky Way, while Curtis took a more radical position that they were independent galaxies, extremely large and distant.

At the time, the debate was inconclusive. Astronomers now know that galaxies are isolated systems of stars, much smaller than the space between them.

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Hubble makes his mark

Edwin Hubble was young and ambitious. At the of age 30, he arrived at Mount Wilson Observatory in Southern California just in time to use the new Hooker 100-inch telescope, at the time the largest in the world.

He began taking photographic plates of the spiral nebulae. These glass plates recorded images of the night sky using a light-sensitive emulsion covering their surface. The telescope's size let it make images of very faint objects, and its high-quality mirror allowed it to distinguish individual stars in some of the nebulae.

Estimating distances in astronomy is challenging. Think of how hard it is to estimate the distance of someone pointing a flashlight at you on a dark night. Galaxies come in a very wide range of sizes and masses. Measuring a galaxy's brightness or apparent size is not a good guide to its distance.

Hubble leveraged a discovery made by Henrietta Swan Leavitt 10 years earlier. She worked at the Harvard College Observatory as a "human computer," laboriously measuring the positions and brightness of thousands of stars on photographic plates.

She was particularly interested in Cepheid variables, which are stars whose brightness pulses regularly, so they get brighter and dimmer with a particular period. She found a relationship between their variation period, or pulse, and their intrinsic brightness or luminosity.

Once you measure a Cepheid's period, you can calculate its distance from how bright it appears using the inverse square law. The more distant the star is, the fainter it appears.

Hubble worked hard, taking images of spiral nebulae every clear night and looking for the telltale variations of Cepheid variables. By the end of 1924, he had found 12 Cepheids in M31. He calculated M31's distance as a prodigious 900,000 light years away, though he underestimated its true distanceabout 2.5 million light yearsby not realizing there were two different types of Cepheid variables.

His measurements marked the end of the Great Debate about the Milky Way's size and the nature of the nebulae. Hubble wrote about his discovery to Harlow Shapley, who had argued that the Milky Way encompassed the entire universe.

"Here is the letter that destroyed my universe," Shapley remarked.

Always eager for publicity, Hubble leaked his discovery to The New York Times five weeks before a colleague presented his paper at the astronomers' annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

An expanding universe of galaxies

But Hubble wasn't done. His second major discovery also transformed astronomers' understanding of the universe. As he dispersed the light from dozens of galaxies into a spectrum, which recorded the amount of light at each wavelength, he noticed that the light was always shifted to longer or redder wavelengths.

Light from the galaxy passes through a prism or reflects off a diffraction grating in a telescope, which captures the intensity of light from blue to red.

Astronomers call a shift to longer wavelengths a redshift.

It seemed that these redshifted galaxies were all moving away from the Milky Way.

Hubble's results suggested the farther away a galaxy was, the faster it was moving away from Earth. Hubble got the lion's share of the credit for this discovery, but Lowell Observatory astronomer Vesto Slipher, who noticed the same phenomenon but didn't publish his data, also anticipated that result.

Hubble referred to galaxies having recession velocities, or speeds of moving away from the Earth, but he never figured out that they were moving away from Earth because the universe is getting bigger.

Belgian cosmologist and Catholic priest Georges Lemaitre made that connection by realizing that the theory of general relativity described an expanding universe. He recognized that space expanding in between the galaxies could cause the redshifts, making it seem like they were moving farther away from each other and from Earth.

Lemaitre was the first to argue that the expansion must have begun during the Big Bang.

NASA named its flagship space observatory after Hubble, and it has been used to study galaxies for 35 years. Astronomers routinely observe galaxies that are thousands of times fainter and more distant than galaxies observed in the 1920s. The James Webb Space Telescope has pushed the envelope even farther.

The current record holder is a galaxy a staggering 34 billion light years away, seen just 200 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was 20 times smaller than it is now. Edwin Hubble would be amazed to see such progress.

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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Black History Month is a time to reflect on the historical sacrifices of African Americans and celebrate their important contributions to society. Increasingly, it also has become an opportunity for brandsranging from Coca-Cola to Sephorato foster connections with consumers who value diversity, according to Oren Reshef, an assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Yet year after year, corporations miss the mark with Black History Month campaigns that range from inauthentic to offensive. In a time of bitter polarization, even the best-planned campaigns risk alienating a subset of consumers.

With these concerns in mind, how can corporations foster more equitable markets and connect with consumers who value diversity while also avoiding backlash? Reshef's research, forthcoming in American Economic Review, demonstrates one such way.

Reshef and co-authors Abhay Aneja, at the University of California, Berkeley, and Michael Luca, at Johns Hopkins University, analyzed the impact of a search function introduced by Yelp in June 2020 that makes it easier for consumers to specifically identify Black-owned restaurants. Their analysis, which spanned from April 2019 through August 2021, showed labeling restaurants as Black-owned significantly boosted demand, as measured by increasing online engagement, phone calls, food orders and in-person visits.

On average, Black-owned restaurants under this label had a 67% increase in online traffic compared with the baseline. A later rollout of a Latinx-owned business search function resulted in a similar 60% increase in online traffic.

However, the researchers noted that the success of this label largely depended on consumer demographics and attitudes in the market. The positive effects were most pronounced in predominantly white, left-leaning areas with lower biases against racial minorities.

Yelp's Black-owned business label launched during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement. However, additional analyses suggest timing was not the only factor in its success, Reshef said. For instance, nearly 10% of Yelp businesses labeled as Black-owned opted in more than a year after launch. The researchers observed similar increases in consumer engagement for these late adopters once the label was applied.

Additionally, a similar campaign introduced in 2023 by Wayfair, an online furniture sales platform, led to increases in engagement and revenue for Black suppliers.

"Our research sheds light on an emerging tool for companies interested in social impact: making it easier for customers to find and then invest in companies in a way that aligns with their values. Our analysis shows revealing minority ownershipa relatively low-cost changecan improve the economic outcomes of minority-owned businesses," Reshef said.

Designing a winning strategy

Interest in supporting minority-owned businesses has grown in recent years thanks to social movements, like Black Lives Matter, that highlighted racial disparities and inequality in the U.S., Reshef said. That shift in consumer interest led to corporationsincluding Amazon, Target and Instagramadopting strategies to foster more equitable markets.

One common approach has been promoting minority-owned businesses by informing customers about the business owners' racial backgrounds. However, Reshef warned that there are risks to doing so.

"From past research, we know that revealing suppliers' race on a platform can lead to an increase in discrimination. We have evidence of this happening on Airbnb and eBay, for example," Reshef said. "As we approached this project, we were worried the same thing would happen on Yelp."

One of the unique factors of Yelp's programwhich may explain its successis that consumers "opted in." The Black-owned label was only shown to those who chose to use the search function. In this way, Yelp's design only targets the right consumers, Reshef explained.

Another important factor in Yelp's program is that it provided consumers with information but stopped short of providing preferential treatment for minority-owned businesses, Reshef said. For example, if Yelp had offered a discount exclusively for orders from Black-owned businesses, consumer reaction may have been different.

Altogether, Yelp's program offers a model for businesses to foster equity during Black History Month and all year long.

"We expect firms to cater to consumer demands," Reshef said. "If consumers want bigger cars, if they want cheaper products, we expect firms to produce them. If consumers want to have more Black-owned businesses and want a more equitable platform, I think that's exactly what platforms like Yelp should be providing.

"This is a win-win situation: Consumers are happier because they're getting what they want. Black suppliers are doing betterthey're increasing sales. And the platform is also doing better."
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The Shallow Underwater Buoy for Geodesy (SUBGEO) buoys were loaded from the seawall at the USF College of Marine Science. Credit: Sean Beckwith

There's often little warning when a tsunami strikes, but a research team at USF aims to improve the forecasting of these hazardous events for communities that are most at risk.

The Shallow Underwater Buoy for Geodesy (SUBGEO) system is a research partnership between the USF School of Geosciences, the College of Marine Science (CMS), and international collaborators. Born from the need to monitor and forecast earthquakes in shallow coastal waters, the SUBGEO system is designed to measure seafloor motion, such as strain and release processes, at depths of less than 650 feet in subduction zones where earthquakes and tsunamis are most prevalent.

The latest versions of the SUBGEO system were deployed in mid-December at two locations on the west Florida shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. Although the region is not prone to earthquakes and tsunamis, it serves as valuable testing ground for such a system before it's deployed in more seismically active locations around the world.

"The seafloor on the west Florida shelf, including Tampa Bay, is essentially static," said Jay Law, a research scientist in the Ocean Circulation Lab at CMS, who has been heavily involved in the project since its inception.

"The purpose of this deployment is to test the accuracy of the GPS system where there is little background noise. This way we can see how much movement of the buoy is attributed to waves and other ocean processes, and this determines the accuracy of the system in measuring seafloor movement."

The SUBGEO system uses a highly precise GPS to measure horizontal and vertical displacement of the seafloor to an accuracy of one-two centimeters, allowing for the collection of critical data that can help predict events months or years in advance.

Credit: University of South Florida

Constructed in the machine shop at CMS, the original system is approximately 100-feet long and rises 35-feet above the waterline. It was first tested inside Tampa Bay near Egmont Key in 2018 and was deployed again this week off the Florida coast in at a depth of 65 feet.

An additional cabled buoy, also constructed at CMS, is capable of measuring seafloor changes in deeper waters. The larger system was deployed further offshore in the Gulf of Mexico at a depth of about 215 feet.

"Current monitoring technology for tsunamis focuses on deep waters, but seafloor motion in shallow waters is also diagnostic and far less expensive," said Tim Dixon, a Distinguished University Professor at the USF School of Geosciences and principal investigator on the project. "It's our hope that future iterations of the SUBGEO system can be used to save lives in coastal communities around the world."

The buoys will remain deployed for at least 24 months and their baseline results will help refine future versions of the system for operational deployment in subduction zones, where strain and release processes are more common.

"An extraordinary coordinated effort made this science possible," said Tom Frazer, dean of CMS. "This project demonstrates the best of what USF has to offer and shines a light on the combined engineering, fabrication, and logistical expertise that exists at the University of South Florida. We're proud to have partnered with the School of Geosciences and other outside organizations to make these deployments a success."
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The fixed-bed continuous flow reactor used for CO 2 RR, (A) outside view of the reactor and (B) inside view showing the reactor tube and furnace. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2411406122

A study appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences introduces a trimetallic catalystincluding nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) nanoparticles supported on defective ceria (CeO 2 )that achieves unprecedented performance in CO 2 reduction.

The catalyst demonstrated remarkable CO productivity of 49,279 mmol g h at 650C, a nine-fold increase over previously reported catalysts. It displayed CO selectivity of up to 99%, and maintained a stable performance for at least 100 hours without degradation.

The catalyst's extraordinary efficiency is attributed to the creation of a strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) between the trimetallic sites and the defective ceria. This unique interaction fine-tunes the electronic structure, enabling optimal performance.

In-situ TEM of Ni-Cu-Zn/CeO 2 catalyst reduction step (of trimetallic nanoparticle formation) from 400 C to 500 C with a ramp rate of 20C min-1 in H 2 gas. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2411406122

The conversion of CO 2 to CO is a critical step in transforming carbon dioxide into value-added chemicals and fuels. However, commercial viability has been hindered by low productivity, poor selectivity, and instability of existing catalysts. By leveraging SMSI and defect engineering, this study has overcome these barriers, setting new benchmarks in CO 2 reduction catalysis.

This research relied heavily on advanced in-situ techniques and a multidisciplinary collaboration.

Dr. Pieter Glatzel and the team at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble, played a pivotal role in uncovering the electronic dynamics of the system. High-energy-resolution fluorescence-detection X-ray absorption spectroscopy (HERFD-XAS) revealed how SMSI alters oxidation states and electron density distribution across the catalyst.

Dr. Paul Paciok from the Ernst-Ruska Center, Germany, contributed critical insights through in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). These studies visualized, for the first time, the growth and movement of trimetallic sites under catalytic conditions. Once SMSI was established, the movement ceased, preventing further diffusion or sintering.

Prof. Ojus Mohan's group at IIT Bombay utilized density functional theory (DFT) calculations to unravel the reaction mechanism. The studies highlighted how reaction intermediates form and convert into products, driven by a complex interplay of direct dissociation and redox pathways on different active sites.

This research not only provides a highly effective catalyst for CO 2 conversion but also offers a blueprint for designing next-generation catalysts through precise electronic structure tuning and defect manipulation.

These findings open new avenues for the development of advanced catalysts for CO 2 utilization and other critical chemical transformations.

Last author Prof. Polshettiwar states, "By combining traditional catalytic materials with cutting-edge defect engineering and SMSI, we've shown how to address fundamental limitations in catalysis. The study offers a roadmap for designing advanced catalysts and demonstrates the impact of integrating traditional materials with cutting-edge approaches, offering hope for a sustainable future."

More information: Charvi Singhvi et al, Tuning the electronic structure and SMSI by integrating trimetallic sites with defective ceria for the CO 2 reduction reaction, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2411406122 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
With MAGA in charge, new 'RINO removal project' targets sellout Republicans By Rachel Alexander

web posted January 27, 2025 Leo the Lion, a MAGA America First voter, has started a new group to purge the Republican Party of sellout RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) in office. The RINO Removal Project (RRP), subtitled "RINOs Become the Politically Hunted," is targeting some of the most detested sellouts in Congress. Leo told me, "With Republicans now controlling the Presidency, the House, and Congress, this new movement has emerged as the driving force behind an explosive attempt to finally rid the government of one of America's greatest threats: RINOs." He said the goal of the movement is to eliminate Republican politicians from government who deviate from America First values and align themselves with the Democrats. I explained in an article a couple of years ago why RINOs are RINOs  it mostly comes down to "follow the money," not principles as they claim. Nonprofits and think tanks, media, even Republican Party operations are often funded by quirky billionaires with their own agendas, usually tied to protecting their money. Instead of being honest and admitting they have a financial or personal interest affecting their viewpoint, they destroy the reputations and careers of others. Since I wrote that article, I've discovered another significant reason is sexual affairs  the left is increasingly blackmailing Republicans with revealing evidence of their illicit affairs. This has become especially prevalent with judges in recent years. During a December X space about the project, Leo said, "If the party doesn't unify behind Trump, we're going to continue to have divisions. It's a situation that doesn't need to exist, but the RINOs have existed too long. They've become too strong, too fat. They're dug in, and it's going to be helping that we need to be able to pull them out of this self-feeling of they're going to be here, they're going to switch to and [deflect] whatever it is we throw at them." "It's a project that has to stop the establishment and Republicans who are fake," Leo went on. He said the focus will be on finding primary challengers and educating voters. "A lot of it's going to be a grassroots voter education initiative." RRP is beginning by targeting RINO senators in seven states. The first is Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who has a 39% score from The Heritage Foundation during the 118th Congress. The second is Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who has a 46% score and was one of the seven Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. The third is Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has a 54% score. The fourth is Joni Ernst of Iowa, who has a score of 42%. The fifth is Susan Collins of Maine, who has the lowest score at 17%. The sixth is Tom Tillis of North Carolina, who has a score of 39%. Finally, the seventh target is John Cornyn of Texas, who has a score of 35%. All scores are from the 118th Congress. Leo said Graham is opposing the confirmation of Robert Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services. He said Ernst is trying to salvage her reputation by becoming active in Elon Musk's DOGE. Four of those senators are at high risk of losing reelection, Leo said, because they have primary challengers that the RRP will be assisting. Thomas Murphy is challenging Graham and Alexander Duncan is challenging Cornyn (there's a chance that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton runs also). Derrick Evans is running against Capito, and Dr. John Fleming is running against Cassidy. Leo pointed out that the X platform will be effective for RRP, noting how useful it was for exposing Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas. His Heritage score is 62%. However, Leo acknowledged how difficult it is to vote out an incumbent Senator, noting that some of them won reelection by 20 to 30 points over their opponents. This past year, 88% of incumbent senators won their reelections. In 2022, 100% of them won their reelections. The House of Representatives is similar, with 96.6% of incumbents winning their reelections in 2024. Key people are already involved in the project, Leo revealed, including many great MAGA America First patriots who have joined the organization to finally impact real change in the Republican party. We have four years with President Trump and many treacherous RINOS to remove. Trump learned a hard lesson from appointing establishment Republicans to high-level positions during his first administration, who frequently betrayed him, some even writing books afterwards slamming him. His picks this time around show much more savviness, choosing MAGA loyalists. RINOs like the late Senator John McCain established a strong precedent for electing Republicans to office who cave and vote with Democrats due to influence from deep-pocketed special interests. No one wanted to cross him, due to his status as a former POW in Vietnam, so he was able to make this type of activity appear acceptable. But after passing away in 2018, his lingering influence in this area is waning, and instead the term "grifter" has become popularized to describe Republicans who are paid to make money off of the conservative movement from special interests with no regard for the harm it does. Although Republicans control the White House and both branches of Congress now for at least two years, due to the RINOs still in office much of their legislation may be thwarted. RRP seeks to capitalize on conservatives' strong showing now and keep that momentum going. In this era of vast social media scrutiny, the RINOs can no longer hide behind platitudes and fancy speeches. Leo told me, "RINOs have had no greater fear than the growing RINO Removal Project, and true America First candidates have never found a better ally." They're setting up state chapter leads in the seven targeted states. Follow the X account and join the X community , which has over 1,600 members. RRP will be at CPAC next month. The next RRP virtual town hall series on X spaces is scheduled for Wednesday and features a challenger to Crenshaw, KrisiAnn Ava-Zolari. Rachel Alexander and her brother Andrew are co-Editors of Intellectual Conservative. She has been published in the American Spectator, Townhall.com, Fox News, NewsMax, Accuracy in Media, The Americano, ParcBench, Enter Stage Right and other publications. Home
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

It came as a surprise to nobody that one of Donald Trump's first acts on his return to the White House was to sign an executive order withdrawing the US from the Paris agreement on climate change.

Almost 200 other countries will remain part of the deal designed to stem global warming. So how will they fare without the participation of one of the biggest polluters on the planet?

The exit of the US encapsulates a tricky issue when it comes to international efforts to tackle climate change. Any effort to decrease the use of fossil fuels is individual, while any benefits are universal.

And since 1997, the main approach to tackle climate change multilaterally has been through UN-backed summits known as "Cops" (Conference of the Parties) where countries gather and promise each other to cut their emissions.

Richer countries, which polluted more in the past and created most of the accumulated CO 2 in the atmosphere, have also committed to helping poorer countries develop economically while emitting less, to the tune of US$300 billion (244 billion) a year by 2035.

But while plenty of effort goes in to organizing the largest possible coalition of countries, in the end, everything is based on good faith and promises. There is no mechanism by which countries which fail to live up to agreements are punished.

So when national politics or budgetary constraints come into play, climate commitments can be left by the wayside. A project to tax pollution may be cancelled or campaigners may succeed in blocking plans.

Yet there are benefits to be had from leading by example and cutting emissions without any guarantee that others will do the same. This is partly because humans have a tendency towards what's known as "conditional cooperation". People who fail to cooperate when they have to do it at the same time as others are much more likely to join in if they observe previous cooperation.

For this reason, research I recently published with colleagues on game theory (the mathematical study of strategic interactions), suggests that the best thing for advanced economies to do is keep on cutting their own emissions.

Because without efforts from rich countries to pursue a path towards mitigating global warming, there is no hope the others will follow. In that case, even a small wealthy country (like the UK) matters in demonstrating an unambiguous commitment to tackling climate change.

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Carbon cooperation

Beyond encouraging further cooperation, a strong climate policy in the form of carbon taxes is also the most powerful way to punish those who do not take part in the global effort.

Both the US (under Biden) and the EU have developed their own versions of a tool called a "carbon border adjustment mechanism" which means exporters from countries that do not tax emissions (or tax them less less heavily) need to pay the domestic carbon tax instead.

Consider for instance a Chinese company exporting a container to the UK. If Chinese manufacturers have already paid a carbon tax worth 100 to the Chinese government for the product in the container, but the UK's carbon tax would have been 200, the border tax is the difference between the two, 100.

But if the Chinese government increases its domestic carbon tax to the UK level or above, the tax from the border adjustment mechanism drops to zero.

This approach has influenced many countries to start their own carbon tax, because it is better to get tax receipts at home than to send them elsewhere. But again, it helps to lead by example. To influence others with border taxes, you need to implement your own system first.

Cop out?

Despite all of this apparent cooperation, and widespread concern about the impact of climate change, the latest Cop summit in Azerbaijan, held in November 2024, was considered by many to be a disappointment.

But there is also some good news, which suggests that efforts are heading in the right direction. The latest data for example, shows that the EU is not far away from its 2030 target. Greenhouse gas emissions are already 37% below what they were in 1990 level. In the UK, the figure is 42%.

In China, emissions might have apparently already peaked, earlier than expected. Even in the US, emissions are decreasing.

Looking back at the scenarios that led to the first UN climate summit in Kyoto, not everything is bright. The world is unlikely to avoid global temperatures raising to more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

So maybe we shouldn't rely too much on future summits to make the next environmental breakthrough. The path forward could be more likely to come from technical solutions like carbon taxes and border adjustment mechanisms. And perhaps the best way to convince the rest of the world to cut their emissions is not to give them lectures and conferencesbut to lead by example.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Researchers from Japan suggest that organic carbon aerosols from the severe wildfires in Canada during the summer of 2023 were transported over the Arctic Ocean and contributed to the formation of ice clouds at warm temperatures. Credit: Kazutoshi Sato / National Institute of Polar Research, Japan

Clouds, composed of tiny water droplets or ice crystals, play a vital role in regulating Earth's climate by influencing the amount of solar radiation that reaches the surface. The cloud phase significantly impacts the surface energy balance as liquid water clouds reflect more radiation than ice clouds.

Ice clouds typically form at temperatures below 38C, but recent observations indicate their formation at higher temperatures in the Arctic. This phenomenon is facilitated by ice-nucleating particles (INPs), including mineral dust, organic aerosols and bioaerosols, which promote ice cloud formation above the usual freezing point.

These INPs, primarily sourced from outside of the Arctic region, also include traces of organic carbon (OC) aerosols. Wildfires in Canada, Alaska, and Russia are major sources of these aerosols, contributing to higher concentrations of OC, black carbon, and other aerosols over the Arctic.

However, despite extensive scientific evidence of aerosol transport from lower latitudes, a clear link between the transported aerosols and ice cloud formation in the Arctic remains unestablished.

In a study led by Assistant Professor Kazutoshi Sato and involving Professor Jun Inoue from the National Institute of Polar Research, Japan, scientists set out to understand how wildfire aerosols influence ice cloud formation in the Arctic.

The study was made available online on December 24, 2024 in Atmospheric Research.

The field data used in the study was gathered in September 2023 during an expedition to the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in the Arctic region aboard RV Mirai, a Japanese research vessel. The team used various instruments, including cloud particle sensor (CPS) sondes and drones, to measure particle counts and cloud properties. Additionally, atmospheric modeling tools, such as a backward trajectory model, were used to track the movement of aerosols and identify their source regions.

Dr. Sato elaborates, "In the lower troposphere, our drone-based particle counter recorded particle counts two orders of magnitude higher than the voyage average. Using the CPS sonde, we detected ice clouds in the mid-troposphere under temperatures warmer than 15 C, near a stream of warm and moist air coming from mid-latitudes. These streams are often referred to as an atmospheric river (AR).

"Our observations suggest that these wildfire aerosols, which have traveled via the AR, contribute to ice cloud formation under relatively warm conditions."

Atmospheric rivers from lower latitudes contribute to sea-ice decline, while wildfires release aerosols that may influence ice cloud formation. Ocean heat further warms the atmosphere, and volcanic eruptions release aerosols that may impact cloud formation. Together, these factors interact in a complex and dynamic manner, shaping the Arctic climate system. Credit: Jun Inoue / National Institute of Polar Research, Japan

Using the backward trajectory analysis, the team found that OC aerosol masses originating from wildfires in Canada traveled to the Arctic, where they contributed to ice cloud formation at temperatures warmer than usual. They traced the AR coming from the wildfire zones and found that it passed over areas with high concentrations of OC aerosols.

"The AR event is a very important event for moisture transport from mid-latitudes to the polar region, and this study also shows that aerosols can be transported by this system as well," says Prof. Inoue.

This study underscores the critical need for field-derived vertical atmospheric profiles, including the monitoring of aerosol number concentrations and their chemical composition, in developing more precise numerical modeling of the polar regions.

By establishing a clear link between wildfire-emitted aerosols and ice cloud formation, this research paves the way for future endeavors that will refine how aerosol transport is represented in Arctic climate models.

More information: Kazutoshi Sato et al, Impact of Canadian wildfires on aerosol and ice clouds in the early-autumn Arctic, Atmospheric Research (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2024.107893

Provided by Research Organization of Information and Systems
"Third parties" in Canada  updated to 2025 (Part Two) By Mark Wegierski

web posted January 27, 2025 Interestingly enough, some of the most significant "third parties" have existed in Quebec. A major Quebec-nationalist (but also Catholic-traditionalist) party that flourished on the provincial level in Quebec before 1960 was the Union Nationale. The party and the province was led for decades by Maurice Duplessis  a figure somewhat similar to U.S. "strongman" Huey Long  who was called "Le Chef". Duplessis had (in 1948) given Quebec its distinctive, traditional-looking flag  the blue cross with the Bourbon lilies. Duplessis' support for the Diefenbaker Conservatives in the 1958 federal election led to Diefenbaker winning one of the largest majorities in Canadian history  but Diefenbaker was simply unable to make the support from Quebec more permanent. There was also the death of a promising young leader of the Union Nationale in a car-accident  who could have perhaps eventually become Canada's first French-Canadian conservative Prime Minister. The Union Nationale largely disintegrated after his death, and the triumphant Quebec Liberals subsequently enacted the so-called "Quiet Revolution"  a widespread secularization of Quebec life. The Ralliement creditiste, which existed in various embodiments at the federal and provincial levels in Quebec, was sometimes together with, and sometimes apart from, the Social Credit Party of Canada. The Ralliement's main leader was Real Caouette. In the 1962 federal election, the Ralliement won 26 seats in Quebec, while the Social Credit Party won only four seats in English-speaking Canada. The unwillingness of the English-Canadian leadership of the Social Credit Party to allow Real Caouette to lead the whole party, resulted in a split in 1963. Although some years later, Real Caouette became the leader of the whole party, by that time it had lost all of its federal seats in English-speaking Canada. There have been as well the separatists (or sovereigntists) in Quebec -- called the Parti Quebecois (PQ) in the province, and the Bloc Quebecois (BQ) in the federal Parliament. The PQ has frequently formed the government of Quebec  and has been able to shepherd through two referendums on sovereignty, in 1980 (strictly-speaking, a referendum on "sovereignty-association") and in 1995. The 1995 referendum came very close to success. The Bloc Quebecois had largely won most of the Quebec vote (obviously, they ran candidates only in Quebec) in the federal elections of 1993 to 2008. However, in the 2011 federal election, they were routed by the NDP  winning only 4 seats. The Quebec triumph of the NDP in the 2011 federal election (winning 59 of 75 seats)  especially in regard to the victories of some very young and inexperienced candidates  is difficult to adequately explain. In the 2015 federal election in the province of Quebec, NDP support was greatly reduced, and the Bloc Quebecois was able to win 10 seats. However, in the 2019 federal election, the Bloc Quebecois enjoyed a resurgence, winning 32 seats. In the 2021 federal election, they won 32 seats. In recent years, there was also a somewhat more conservative provincial party in the province of Quebec called the Action democratique du Quebec (ADQ) (although it virtually collapsed in the 2008 Quebec provincial election)  which had tended to support the Conservatives federally. There has now arisen a centre/centre-right third party in Quebec, the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) into which the ADQ has folded itself. In the October 1, 2018 provincial election, the CAQ was able to win a strong majority of 74 of 125 seats, while the Liberals were reduced to 32 seats, and the very left-wing Quebec solidaire won 10 seats, ahead of the Parti Quebecois, which was reduced to 9 seats. This was a truly historic election. The Conservatives/Progressive Conservatives had disappeared from provincial politics in Quebec many decades ago. However, in very recent times, the Conservative Party of Quebec has attracted some support. At the federal level, the support of Quebec voters for the Conservatives/Progressive Conservatives was fitful and sporadic. In the enormously important federal elections from 1963 to 1980, the Progressive Conservatives were usually barely able to win one or two seats in Quebec. The Liberal majority in the federal Parliament, especially under Pierre Trudeau, was heavily based on holding nearly every seat from Quebec. One of Brian Mulroney's great successes was the huge support the Progressive Conservatives received from Quebec voters in the 1984 and 1988 federal elections. It was a success, however, that did not last into the 1993 federal election. There is also now a very left-wing party in Quebec, called Quebec solidaire, which holds ten seats in the Quebec legislature. Between 1989-1994, the Equality Party held four seats in the Quebec legislature. They were representatives of the province's Anglophones (i.e., the English-speaking minority, which is mostly centered in West Montreal and the so-called Eastern Townships) (which are actually in the western part of the province of Quebec). The latter term is derived from the fact that these were the eastern-most areas of British-demarcated administrative units (townships). The Equality Party also drew support from the so-called "Allophones"  the minorities in Quebec whose first language is neither English nor French. One of the most enduring "joke-parties" in Canada, the Rhinoceros Party, was centered largely in Quebec. In earlier decades, it was snidely said of the NDP and its prospects in Quebec, that some of its candidates in Quebec ridings in federal elections, actually got fewer votes than the Rhinos. (And the profile of the earlier CCF in Quebec had actually been even lower.) The Rhinoceros Party has never elected a member of a legislature. To be continued. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home
WRVA radio's John Reid announced on his final show Monday morning that he is seeking the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor.

Reid, the third candidate to seek the Republican nomination, kicked off his campaign Monday evening at Atlas 42, an event space in Henrico County in the company of former Gov. Jim Gilmore and Del. David Owen, R-Goochland, and a crowd of a few hundred supporters.

Owen represents the same district as Reid's father, the late John Jack Reid Sr., did for nine terms as a delegate from Henrico County.

"I'm going to fight for you, so you control what your kids are taught, and you're the key person with them whenever there's a big decision to be made in their life," Reid said.

"I'm going to advocate for you so that you have new jobs coming to Virginia, not because of some government program, no, but because we keep Virginia friendly for businesses and entrepreneurs and for rank-and-file workers," Reid said.

Gilmore said John Reid lives on to carry out the tradition of his late father, who was a close friend of the former governor.

"That is exactly what we need," Gilmore said. "We need Virginians who will stand up for what's right when right is before us, and that is our candidate, John Reid."

Reid has been WRVAs morning host since 2017. He previously worked for a decade as co-anchor of Good Morning Richmond on WRIC-TV8 in Richmond.

Reid also previously served three years as communications director for U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., and served as an intern and communications staff assistant for President Ronald Reagan. He also worked in Baghdad with the International Republican Institute during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Historic campaign

Reid, who is gay and has been with his partner, Alonzo Mable, for eight years, would be the first openly gay candidate elected to a statewide office in Virginia. He has previously urged prospective voters not to disqualify him based solely on his sexual orientation.

"I have so many people as I travel around the state who said... that they can't vote Republican because we're racist and we're homophobic, and so I've gotten to the point where I just say: 'Alonzo, you want to take this one?' " Reid said to laughter and cheers.

Last week, 15 of Virginia's 19 Republican senators voted against a proposed constitutional amendment that would repeal the ban on same-sex marriage in Virginias constitution, which voters backed in a 2006 referendum. Federal courts made the Virginia constitutional language moot by backing a right to same-sex marriage.

The proposal would also replace the ban with an affirmative right to marry regardless of race, sex or gender. The week prior, 35 of Virginias 49 Republican delegates voted against an identical amendment.

Reid said he wants to see the ban fully repealed and he wants to marry his partner, but he does not support the proposed amendment because "the language is much more expansive, maybe deliberately, to cause a problem."

During a rally in Richmond last year, President Donald Trump gave a shoutout to radio host John Reid and Alonzo, drawing applause from the crowd. They like you guys, Trump said.

Reid on Monday evening said he wants to partner with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for governor, and Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is running for reelection.

"I'm running for lieutenant governor of Virginia this spring to partner with our Republican ticket to build on Governor Glenn Youngkin's success and preserve and protect the best of Virginia and to help create a society where free people can live and work as if they see fit," Reid said.

"You don't even have to agree with me. I will fight for your rights."

Earlier this month, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity officially announced that he is seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. Herrity has served five terms on the Board of Supervisors for the largest locality in the state. He is a son of the late former Fairfax Board Chairman Jack Herrity.

The first Republican to announce a bid for the GOP nomination was James City County businessman John Curran, who lost a bid for the county Board of Supervisors in 2023.

The race on the Democratic side is crowded with seven declared candidates: former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who previously had sought the party nomination for governor; Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach; Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield; Prince William County School Board Chairman Babur Lateef; Arlington County attorney and former federal prosecutor Victor Salgado; labor attorney and longtime union leader Alex Bastani; and Farmville businessman Carl Eggleston.
Rene Dominguez is president and CEO of VelocityTX, formerly known as the Texas Research & Technology Foundation. The Air Force is adding functions at the organizations East Side offices as it works to increase military-private industry collaboration. courtesy A rendering of the proposed military medical collision center that would anchor VelocityTXs new development on the former G.J. Sutton property. Courtesy VelocityTX A rendering of the proposed "Military Medical Collision Center" that would anchor VelocityTX's new development on the former G.J. Sutton property. Courtesy VelocityTX Rene Dominguez, president and CEO of VelocityTX, speaks during the kickoff event for the Community Health Accelerator program it recently launched with Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas. Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas

As part of the Pentagons continuing efforts to spur collaboration between industry and military medicine, the Air Force has set up an office at VelocityTX to study the effects of traumatic brain injury.

With its new satellite, the 59th Medical Wing is the latest military organization to increase its presence at the East Side innovation hub thats angling to open a $60 million dollar center to help military medicine collide with its civilian counterparts.

Air Force researchers from the 59th, the unit that runs Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center at JBSA-Lackland, are joining colleagues from the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at VelocityTX to study the effects of brain injury in cellular models.

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Both units have leased space at the nonprofits East Houston Street campus.

Increasingly, we hear from our military partners that collaboration with industry is critical to the DODs medical mission, Rene Dominguez, VelocityTX president and CEO, said in a statement. In helping the military work off-post, VelocityTX seeks to promote cross-sector partnership and drive economic activity that will create jobs and investment in San Antonios bioscience industry.

The Defense Health Agency, the massive bureaucracy thats responsible for the military health system and has a large presence in San Antonio, also uses space at the campus for meetings between private firms and the military. Its also been working toward a reorganization that could add several hundred jobs in the city.

The Air Force began setting up its office and lab space in the fall, a VelocityTX spokesman said last week.

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The military said such off-base collaboration can help new technologies get to the battlefield more quickly.

Closer collaboration between military medical researchers and private sector innovators accelerates the process by which emerging technologies can be leveraged by the Department of Defense, Dr. Debra Niemeyer, 59th Medical Wing chief scientist, said in a statement. This initiative not only speeds innovation, it also ensures that our military medics and scientists are aware of the most advanced medical technologies and can quickly establish collaborations.

Dominguez said the new Air Force office is a milestone in recruiting military medical research organizations to VelocityTXs 12-acre campus. Its part of the organizations larger vision to develop a $60 million military medical collision center that would anchor a bigger development that could eventually create up to 2,400 jobs.

Renderings of the roughly 100,000-square-foot center show a multistory building that would include office space, labs, a sandbox area to test equipment, an auditorium and parking. VelocityTX is planning for it to house about 150 workers.

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The center would anchor a development on the old G.J. Sutton site across East Houston Street from VelocityTXs campus that could eventually include as much as 600,000 square feet of office, retail and green space.

The Defense Health Agency is considering that proposal, which is separate from its efforts to consolidate its more than 3,000 employees working at sites across the city.

Military leaders have said the current setup is inefficient and that theyre looking to reorganize the agencys local workforce into more centralized locations.

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City, county and JBSA officials have been in behind-the-scenes talks for the past few years about refreshing an old building at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston for some of the DHA workers. Along the way, the discussions have expanded to include other area players including VelocityTX and Port San Antonio.
Canadian arrested by Chetumal police after stealing boat and heading for Belize

Chetumal, Q.R.  Municipal police in Chetumal arrested a Canadian man Sunday after a water chase through Chetumal Bay. The unidentified man has been accused of stealing a local fishermans boat.

The man is alleged to have stolen the boat from a fishermans pier inside Chetumal Bay to cross into the neighboring country of Belize. Authorities were made aware of the stolen boat and notified the Navy who began to pursue him in open water.

During the chase, the Canadian man jumped into the sea, however, he was captured by Navy personnel and handed over to municipal authorities on land. He has since been transferred to a Chetumal jail.

Authorities have not provided details surrounding the Sunday incident. It is not clear why the man stole the boat and was heading toward Belize. The now-detained Canadian has not been named.
A San Antonio man who has worked as an FBI operations support technician received a sentence of three months of home confinement for fraudulently obtaining a Pay $37,500 Paycheck Protection Program loan. seng kui Lim / 500px/Getty Images/500px

While working for the FBI in San Antonio in 2020, Christopher James Phillips used his agency credentials to obtain COVID aid from the federal government for his fledgling construction company.

He certified that hed only spend the $37,500 Paycheck Protection Program loan on authorized expenses related to his company, Phillips Global Realty LLC, including for payroll, utilities and rent.

Instead, he used it for other purposes including $25,000 to trade stocks  all of which he lost  $8,500 for his home mortgage loan and $5,117 for car payments, according to a plea agreement he entered last summer.

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On Monday, Senior U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra sentenced Phillips, 41, of Schertz, to three months of home confinement to be followed by five years of probation for his guilty plea to one count of wire fraud. Phillips also must pay $39,771 in restitution.

Dont screw up again, Ezra warned Phillips after delivering the sentence. Next time, the hammers going to come down on you.

Phillips told the judge hed never see him again.

Hes been free on a $30,000 unsecured bond but faced the possibility of up to six months of imprisonment.

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Marina Thais Douenat, an assistant federal public defender, asked Ezra to sentence Phillips to probation because he is completing an online bachelors of science degree with Southern New Hampshire University and because of his lengthy service to the country. Phillips served six years on active duty in the military, six years as a reservist and 16 years with the FBI as an operations support technician.

The felony is already punishment enough, the attorney said.

Phillips apologized for his actions, calling it one mistake and saying hed never been in trouble before. He added that he was in a not so good place at the time of the offenses because he was fighting to see two of his children who had been taken to Georgia by their mother.

It was just a bad decision overall, he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons had requested a sentence at the top of the guideline range.

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He used his FBI credentials as a means of identification to get this loan, Simmons said. By using his FBI credentials, what is he saying? Hey, you can trust me. You can trust me. I work for the FBI. You dont need to look any further. 

Phillips also applied for forgiveness of the loan, Simmons said. And hed applied for and was denied two other PPP loans.

So this wasnt just a one-off bad decision, the prosecutor told the judge. This was several bad decisions that he made over a period of time. This was a concerted effort to defraud.

A press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's office on Wednesday described Phillips as a former FBI employee. When reached after the sentencing Monday, the FBI said in a statement it was prohibited by the Privacy Act from commenting on or confirming employment.

The agencys hiring guidelines say it doesnt employ convicted felons.

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FBI operations support technicians duties include supporting search warrants leads and being a vault witness official over sensitive evidence, according to an FBI social media post seeking job applicants.

An online government database shows Phillips received the PPP loan from Denver-based Funding Circle. It also shows the loan was forgiven.

The Paycheck Protection Program was an $800 billion emergency disaster loan program administered by the Small Business Administration during the pandemic. It was designed to provide funds to small businesses with fewer than 500 employees that were affected by the global health crisis. Borrowers could have their loans forgiven if the money was spent on payroll and other eligible expenses.

Phillips is at least the second San Antonio resident to be charged in connection with PPP fraud. A money-laundering charge against him was dropped as part of his plea agreement.

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If youve ever come to work after getting a bad nights sleep and struggled to be productiveor just awakeits probably occurred to you that being able to take a quick nap at work would be an incredibly worker-friendly amenity. Of course, in most offices, sleeping on the job is an absolute no-go and could get you fired  but that doesnt stop people from looking for ways to pull it off anyway.

Over the years at my work advice column, Ask a Manager, Ive heard quite a few amazing stories about people who openlyor not so openlynapped at work, sometimes to hilarious effect. Here are a few of them:

We had an intern who would vanish every day for prolonged periods of time. The interns manager and I kept noticing the disappearances and started looking around for him. We were in a small mixed office/warehouse space. At one point we found a desk chair in a corner of the warehouse where clearly he had been napping. He must have figured out we found it, and so found a new nesting spot. We looked and looked and finally realized he had taken several throw pillows from the informal lounge/meeting area and put them under the stairwell outside our interior backdoor. One of the guys in my department put A MINT ON A PILLOW. The kid actually put a sticky note on it saying Touche. 

I did a brief stint in data entry, and it was so mind-numbing and physically uncomfortable (noisy, smelly, bad chair) that Id get sleepy. The complex was massive, and one day I found a little nook with an exit door, a sort of unused hallway off another unused hallway at the end of an unused wing. I spent my lunchtime and breaks in that nook, lying on the floor on my side. Until the day two security guys rushed down the hall, one carrying a first-aid kit, and woke me up, then grilled me about what Id eaten that morning and if I needed to go to the hospital. Id been spotted on a security camera, and looked sprawled out, like Id died. 

We had a summer associate who decided it would be a good idea to PUT ON HER PAJAMAS and take a nap ON TOP OF HER DESK. I mean, Ive dozed in my office occasionally for sure, but I didnt climb up on top of the desk in my PJs for a snooze. She was not offered a position at the end of the summer.

Some employees resort to creative extremes as they attempt to hide their nap breaks:

I used to have a co-worker who would go into a small closet, sit on the floor with his knees up and phone positioned just so on his ear, and then fall asleep. So that if someone opened the door, they would just think he was doing the very normal action of taking a phone call in a small dark closet 

At my first job, which was an apprenticeship program at a media company, we had a monthly rotation. Every three months, I would be on a team that refused to give apprentices any work. Since this was a media company, we had private suites for phone/Zoom interviews. They werent soundproof but the doors were fully opaque, and you could usually determine if someone was in a phone room by listening at the door. So, I would go in, pull up a recording of an old interview on my phone, play an office keyboard typing ASMR video on YouTube, and take a nap. Anyone who came to listen at the door would hear me asking questions and typing, with the interviewee on speaker. Worked like a charm.

I worked in a clinical lab one summer. The lab technologists had stereoscopic microscopes at their cubicle desks. One of the technologists apparently was on a performance improvement plan because she was caught napping at her desk. She didnt just lean back in her chair or lay her head on her desk, though. She would sit at the microscope and would nap with her head (maybe closed eyes even?) resting on the eyepieces of her microscope in an effort to look like she was working when she actually was sleeping.

Of course, the dramatic increase in remote work has made sneaking away for a nap during work hours even easier. But it doesnt always go as planned:

I was training a group of new hires in a Teams meeting. One guy had his camera on and was working from his bedroom. At one point during my presentation, his wife came into the bedroom and flopped on the bed for a nap. Then their dog followed her and curled up on the bed. A couple minutes later, he got up from his chair, crawled into bed, and started napping with them. I dont think he realized his camera was on. I turned his camera off and continued with my presentation. He had to redo the training with a one-on-one trainer who made him leave the camera on the whole time to make sure he wasnt slipping away for a snooze again.

Related From Slate The Incredible, Totally Unexpected Benefits of Keeping the Same Job for a Zillion Years Read More

But while dont fall asleep at work is a very common office expectationto the point that many companies consider it a firing offensestudies show that napping at work can actually increase your productivity, lower mistakes, help you regain concentration, and improve your memory. One study found that people who took an hourlong nap tolerated frustrating tasks better than those who didnt. Another found that nurses and physicians who napped for an average of 25 minutes showed fewer performance lapses, more energy, less fatigue, and less sleepiness. Obviously you dont want people snoring through meetings, but theres no point in having employees struggle through a workday exhausted if a short power nap means theyll return to work with increased accuracy and productivity.

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Thats why some employers have begun actively encouraging the practice. For example, Google has installed nap pods around its campus (with built-in sound systems so you can drift off to music), Ben & Jerrys has a room with a bed and pillows, Nike has quiet rooms where employees are welcome to doze, and even the conservative accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has a nap room in its Swiss headquarters. Theres now even something called a nap desk, which looks like a normal desk but has a lower panel that doubles as a cot.

Not every company is on board yet, so most nappers still need to tread carefully. And just remember: If you find a mint on your secret nap pillow, assume the jig is up.
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A guy, stool-bound inside the front door of PubKey, a Bitcoin-themed bar in Manhattans Greenwich Village, motioned for my ID. I reached for my wallet. But waitturns out he wasnt actually working the door. Were just trying to get people, he told me, chortling. Epic prank, sir!

Hence got, I made my way to the bars backroom for a panel called Coin Based: Concepts of a Plan for Nation-State Bitcoin Adoption. My how things have changed, read the online event page. Ideas that only a few weeks ago were laughed at by pundits and commentators are now on the table.

It was time to decide what exactly the crypto community desires from the Trump administration on a policy level, and a few dozen guys had gathered to listen to a four-guy panel debate potential legislative achievements that could define Trump 2.0. It was off to an annoying start, as expected, but money buys you that right, even digital money.

The 2024 election was a crypto election, not because there is broad popular support for cryptocurrency, but because the industry paid handsomely to make it so. A small handful of sector whales raised an astonishing $238 million to influence the 2024 field, by far the most corporate cash of any industry. The majority of it went to super PACs, which spent well over $100 million on races all over the country. The sector kicked in another $17 million to lobby already-elected members of Congress. Already, one crypto super PAC, Fairshake, has raised over $100 million to influence the 2026 elections, as well.

Some of that money was spread out, bipartisan-like, but most of it went to Republicans, and a lot went to Trump. (His campaign began accepting donations in crypto last May.) Tech billionaires including the Winklevosses and Marc Andreessen piled millions into Trumps campaign coffers, declaring that the Biden administration was at war with crypto. They bought Trump big at the height of his glide-path mania, at a time when an enfeebled Biden looked hopeless but hadnt yet dropped out. Then came Kamala Harris, riding a frenzy of good feelings and robust polling before her post-convention nosedive. For months, it looked like dumb money.

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But if the 2020s have taught us anything, its that dumb money is often a matter of timing. And in the end, crypto got their man. Now it is time to collect.

In late July, Trump made time for a keynote address at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. There, he promised to make the United States the crypto capital of the planet, create a Bitcoin strategic reserve, implement a crypto advisory council, and fire pesky Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler on Day 1.

From now on the rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry, said the president, who hadmuch earliersaid that Bitcoins value is highly volatile and based on thin air.

The financial world waits with bated breath to see just how handsome the take will be. At the very least, it looks to be a certainty that the industry will see the FIT21 bill resuscitated; thats the crypto industrys preferred regulatory standard that allows it to enjoy minimal oversight from the SEC, and which stalled out after passing in the House last year. The crypto council, after the first week, exists. Maybe next its the strategic reserve? (El Salvador owns 5,969 Bitcoins worth around $625 million; Syria is talking about embracing Bitcoin. This kind of thing is currently a flourish of failed and failing states. Why wouldnt the U.S. get in line for that?)

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The panel at the bar, four white dudes acrossits Trumps America, you cant criticize this anymore!was there to deliberate, before the enthusiasts, what some best-case policy scenarios would be. Among the panelists were David Zell, co-founder of the pro-Bitcoin think tank Bitcoin Policy Institute, and Drew Armstrong, the president and COO of Cathedra Bitcoin, which is a Bitcoin mining company. Also there was Bitcoin magazine writer Shinobi, who wore glasses and a balaclava and a hat that said 100k, which is less than what a Bitcoin costs now, unless it has whipsawed back down by the time you read this.

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The panel deliberated on three visions for making the U.S. government a bagholder of cryptocurrency, a surefire step to increasing the value of Bitcoin.

One is the concept of a Bitcoin strategic fund, which the panel-dwellers explained was a serious proposal that began as a shitpost. Its pretty simple: The government would buy and hold a bunch of Bitcoin. If youre thinking, Hey wait a second, inducing the government to buy this digital asset, the utility of which remains pretty unclear, sounds an awful lot like a scheme to drive up the price and valuations of the coin for all the people who already have itallowing them to cash out while the government is stuck with a digital bauble that no one even seems to be claiming has any utility anymorethen  you probably dont own any Bitcoin. There was no palpable worry about the value of their coin going down, anyway.

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One Wyoming senator, Republican Cynthia Lummis, has already introduced a bill that would require the United States government to buy 1 million Bitcoins over five years. They cost $100,000 each. Where on earth is that money going to come from? Well, Zell explained, Lummis office believes that the government has enough money if it sells or borrows against (or otherwise engages in some accounting tricks with) its gold stocks, thus generating the funds necessary to buy that haul.

If the government could raise that revenue, why wouldnt it just spend it on literally anything else? If were gonna sell gold, we could use it to keep the Social Security Ponzi scheme going longer, suggested Zell, noting a potential setback in that strategy. No matter.

Option two is what Trump pledged: to take all the coins the United States government has seized in its busting up of the online drug ring the Silk Road and the illicit exchange Bitfinex, package them in a fund, and call it a day. Its ultimately a branding exercise. Would that do anything? Maybe not, but it would give the imprimatur of government support, and thus make cryptocurrencies seem more legit.

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The third thing would be an executive order, which Trump has already proven adept at, to create an exchange stabilization fund at the Treasury that would allow it to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin as though it were a foreign currency. But that, too, presented some legal and technical challengesmost of which, Ill be honest, I cant pretend to have fully understood.

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I was trying to be serious about this, earnestly attempting to make sense of the rationale for the U.S. getting in the Bitcoin game. But there was a lot of overly technical language. There were digressions about ossification and protocol. There were jokes that didnt scan to me at all. (I dont think the U.S. government is going to smashbuy on Coinbase, Armstrong said at one point, to laughs.)

But the one thing that was for certain is that everyone was going to get very rich. Were overexcited because Trump is going to pump our bags to kingdom come, warned one attendee during the question-and-answer period, an injunction to take this responsibility seriously.

Not everyone was in agreement about what that responsibility wasor whether it was to the country or the coin. Zell said the U.S. government should be buying Bitcoin; Shinobi disagreed.

There was consensus on certain things. One was that the federal deficit was out of control, and needed cutting. There was some suggestion that the federal government could buy a bunch of Bitcoin, let it appreciate, then sell it to pay down the debt. Shinobi, who was against the strategic reserve purchases, said that the deficit was already so astronomical that the country was basically a lost cause.

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In the case of a great-powers contest with China or Russia, it would be advantageous, some thought, for the U.S. to own Bitcoin, just because it meant that there would be less Bitcoin for China or Russia to own. Hoarding resources was always good policy. Also, infrastructure spending might be good.

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Cut the deficit, prepare for war, hoard resources and wealth. Strip away the technical language, and these some are the oldest, most traditional conservative shibboleths. Reading recommendations were made; a pamphlet published by the Koch-founded Cato Institute was praised.

In this, it didnt feel like the room was planning for the future of the nation state, but the perpetuation of the GOP.

Related From Slate The First Big Trump Scam Is Already Blowing Up in Everyones Faces Read More

Surely, you might be thinking, this panel was an exercise in hypotheticals; these are not the crypto people who have the presidents ear. But actually, the distance between Bitcoin think tanks and Bitcoin media and the powerful Bitcoin lobbying apparatus is not very great. Zell encouraged attendees to call Lummis office and speak directly with her staff. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, now one of the most formidable faces in Washington, endorsed a plan calling for all governments to hold Bitcoin just a day after I attended the panel. So this, now, is what the smoke-filled rooms full of elites making high-level policy decisions for the rest of the country look like. (Its vape smoke, to be clear.)

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Right before the inauguration, the Republican president launched a meme coin, called $TRUMP, and ran up a fortune worth billions, quadrupling his wealth in one day. Then the first lady did the same with a $MELANIA coin. The leader of the worlds foremost empire is engaged in a get-rich-quick scheme that would put late-night infomercialists to shame.

Did Bitcoin exist to bring down the government, as Shinobis bio on X said, or did it exist to advance a muscled-up American empire? There was some risk, Shinobi said, that enthusiasts were losing sight of the original plan to make the world better. How was Bitcoin going to do that? Alas, that was not a topic anyone had come to discuss.

It is prudent to own Bitcoin, concluded Zell.

I eavesdropped as a woman and a man made small talk to my left. The bar accepts Bitcoin as payment, which the man was excited to inform her about. You can use Bitcoin! he said. Did you use Bitcoin?

She looked confused. I just had water, she replied.
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The past week has been one of shock and awe and boundless ugliness, as Donald Trump issued a series of boundary-pushing executive orders and ordered the release of violent convicted insurrectionists.

The new orders have fallen hardest on some of the nations most vulnerable, including immigrants, migrants, asylum-seekers, and others who have done nothing more awful than believe in the promise of the American dream. Among the barrage of executive actions unleashed in the first hours of Trumps presidency were 10 immigration-related orders, sealing borders against lawful migrants and cracking down on immigrants lacking permanent legal status who are already in the United States. Trump also threatened to prosecute local officials for resisting his edicts and supercharged the militarization of immigration enforcement. Its been hard to keep up, but some clear themes are emerging.

On this weeks Amicus podcast, Dahlia Lithwick spoke to Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow and former policy director at the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit immigrant advocacy group, to get a clearer view of those themes and what all this might mean for immigrants and immigration law.

Dahlia Lithwick: The Trump administration has issued threats to go after local officials who resist doing immigration crackdowns. The acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, has directed prosecutors across the country to investigate, and potentially bring criminal charges against, any officials in sanctuary jurisdictions for harboring undocumented immigrants or withholding immigration information from federal authorities. It is my recollection that Printz v. United States and the 10th Amendment say you cannot commandeer local officials to do federal law. But what do I know? Is this just throat-clearing and chest-thumping, or is there an actual possibility that local officials are going to be conscripted to do crackdowns?

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: Before I get into the specifics of that, I think it is worth highlighting the broad aims of the interior-enforcement executive orders. What Trump wants to create is something similar, at least in name, to what the United Kingdom called the hostile environment policy. The goal is to strip undocumented immigrants of any access to protections and to make their lives in the United States more difficult, with the goal that they will self-deport.

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What is a little bit different from the U.K. is a further effort by the Trump administration to also provide a hostile environment to anyone who might resist this in any way, including by raising legal claims, asserting their own constitutional rights, or indeed simply claiming that they dont want to get involved with this.

Sitting on the sidelines is, in their view, taking a position against them. So, beyond the additional legal authorities that the Trump administration wants to use against immigrants themselves, the executive orders contain two provisions aiming to create this hostile environment for anyone who tries to resist.

Related From Slate Trumps Birthright Citizenship Defeat Is Even Bigger Than It Looks Read More

One is the threat to use the Justice Department against any local or state officials who oppose them, as well as a call for the federal government to strip all funding, even funding completely unrelated to immigration, from any jurisdiction that does not comply.

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Thats unconstitutional. Just, quite clearly, in black-letter law, the federal government cannot force states to do certain things, including using state-law enforcement for federal purposes without the permission of the state government. States have their own police powers, they get to control how they use their law enforcement, and they cannot be co-opted by the federal government without their consent. This is very clear, and in fact, multiple courts have held in the past, and during the last Trump administration, that a lot of locations with sanctuary policies are not violating the law but are exercising their rights as separate sovereigns to choose how to use their law-enforcement agencies and what resources they want to spend on assisting the federal government with federal immigration enforcement.

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Nevertheless, we fully expect that the DOJ will be weaponized in these actions. The question, again, will be: How do courts respond, and how does the internal DOJ respond? Will there be one or two splashy lawsuits filed that really dont go anywhere much? Its possible that it just ends up looking like thatmore threats, not actual successful lawsuits. But I think they are hoping that the threat of lawsuits in and of itself causes people to change their behavior. And certainly we have been hearing from state and local governments that many of them are now worried.

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This is going further than just the DOJ. We are now seeing efforts in other places to punish anyone who disagrees at the local level. In Tennessee, the state GOP is introducing a bill that could potentially make it a crime for a local official to vote for a sanctuary policynot even to put in effect a policy thats unlawful, simply to vote to have one. Thats obviously unconstitutional. You cannot throw a legislator in jail for voting for a law. That is absurd. And yet this is where a lot of the opponents of undocumented immigrants are going. They want to criminalize dissent, but beyond that, they want to criminalize simply sitting on the sidelines and not giving full-throated support. I hope that the courts hold in these matters. A lot of this is so obviously unlawful that it should be struck down, but as always, it will remain to be seen.

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Its not just local and state officials who are being targeted in this way; its also nonprofits that assist the federal government. One of the executive orders calls for an audit of every contract and grant between the federal government and any nonprofit organization that provides any services to removable aliensthats not just undocumented immigrants; thats also people with green cards who are facing deportation proceedings. Not only does it call for an audit of those contracts, but it also says all such contracts shall be frozen until the audit is completed.

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This is already happening. Currently, in many ICE detention centers, Congress has provided that there is a limited set of funds for nonprofits to provide basic Know Your Rights presentations. Theres also something called the Immigration Court Helpdesk, which connects people with lawyers if they dont have one. Its pretty basic small-government stuffhelping people get a lawyer and know their rights. Those contracts have already received stop work orders, so Know Your Rights presentations at ICE detention centers have been halted. Efforts to help people find lawyers in the immigration courts have been halted. The chilling effect of this is already happening, and you can see their effort here is to go after anyone who has the audacity to try to resist by asserting their legal rights. Whether this will succeedagain, time is going to tell.

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Last week we talked to professor Pam Karlan from Stanford about a question weve been wrangling with: what one does as a government lawyer in this moment, when you have to make these choices about sticking around, trying to mitigate harms, or being conscripted into a regime that is doing harm. One of the things that occurs to me from reading these executive orders is the degree to which this is really different from 2017, because I would argue that theres an actual government purge going on. Government lawyers are being asked to report on one another, and whole programs are being shuttered or paused. It certainly appears that getting rid of everyone but the loyalists is at the heart of this administrations effort to rethink the federal government.

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There have already been resignations from the Department of Justice. In fact, before I did policy, I was briefly an immigration litigator at my organization and worked on lawsuits seeking to vindicate rights under the law for immigrants. On Wednesday night, I got a court notification that one of the DOJ attorneys on a case from a while ago had left the department. Obviously, I cant confirm why that person left, but I have certainly heard internally that many people are thinking of leaving.

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This also has a counterproductive effect. They are still going to need to have lawyers in courtrooms to defend these policies and to prosecute these policies. If a lot of people in the DOJ quit, they are not going to be able to replace them all that quickly. There are obviously some people who are going to be willing to join, but theyre going to be losing decades of institutional knowledge. Theyre going to be losing relationships with judges, and they are going to really be sending a message to the judiciary that things arent normal.

When it comes to the federal government, theres the presumption of regularity. Its core to a lot of government-related lawsuits that the government is presumed to be acting in good faith and on a normal basis. If there are widespread resignations, then, really, a message is being sent up from the DOJ to the judiciary that things are not normal, and we may get some significant pushback from the courts. But we wont know it until we see it, and it remains to be seen how the judiciary responds to this.
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President Donald Trumps first week back in the White House sparked more drama than maybe any in historythe 70 executive orders, the pardons of 1,500 insurrectionists, the highly publicized raids and deportations. And then there were his opening moves in foreign policy, which wreaked their own kind of havoc.

But while his moves in domestic policy were expectedhed promised them all through his reelection campaignhis moves on the world stage came largely as a surprise and portend capriciousness and chaos in the months ahead.

Even the one move that can be seen as a success in the short runa standoff with the president of Colombiamay boomerang, to his and our detriment, in the long run.

The big promise Trump made in foreign policy was that he would end the RussiaUkraine war in 24 hours, even before taking the oath of office. In fact, though, when he put his peace plan on the table, a few weeks after he won the election, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected it out of hand. Last week, when Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Russian goods, Putin shrugged. (The U.S. imports almost nothing from Russia these days, so theres almost nothing to tariff.)

It seems Trump thought he could get a quick and easy peace treaty because A) hes the self-proclaimed master in the art of the deal, B) his predecessors were totally inept (as he said to a group of world leaders at Davos), and C) he get[s] along with Putin.

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What he seems not to have realized (this was a pattern in his first term as well) is that A) dealing with world leaders is not the same as dealing with, say, the New York City Department of Buildings, B) his predecessors were not so inept (its just that this sort of thing is hard), and C) Putins interests when it comes to Ukraine dont align with ours (they dont even align with Trumps), and, in matters of war and peace, interests outweigh (real or imaginary) friendships.

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In the worlds other major war zone, the Middle East, one might think Trump would have spent the first week basking in his preinaugural triumphthe role his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, played in nailing down a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that President Biden had put on the table eight months earlier. But instead, he made a series of remarkswhether planned or improvised, it was hard to tellthat disrupted not only the ceasefire but the array of U.S. partnerships with the regions Sunni Arab nations.

First, the day after his return to power, Trump said in an interview that he was not confident the ceasefire would hold, adding, Its not our war, its their warseemingly unaware that once a country takes the lead in molding the beginnings of a peace treaty (especially when the U.S. does so, in cooperation with regional powers like Egypt and Qatar), it assumes a responsibility to monitor and guide the deal through its phases.

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Then, over the weekend, Trump called Gaza a demolition site and suggested that we just clean out that whole thingeither temporarily or for the long termadding that he would talk with the heads of Egypt and Jordan about taking in the territorys 2 million Palestinian refugees.

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He seemed unaware that Egypt and Jordan have long rejected suggestions that they take in more refugees than the many they already have. Their leaders, as well as those of Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations, with whom Trump wants to rekindle warm relations, denounced the idea in very strong terms.

Trump also seemed indifferent to the fact that the Gazansstill traumatized by their expulsion from Israeli territory back in 1948have no desire for yet another forced relocation, especially since it would probably mean the end of any hopes for a Palestinian state.

Finally, his proposal mirrored the ethnic cleansing fantasies of Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, the most right-wing members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus governing coalition. (Both, in fact, celebrated Trumps remarks.) Trumps nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Israel, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, has made similar comments, denying that there are any occupied territories in Gaza or the West Bank, saying they all belong to Israel. To the extent Trump shares this viewand his remarks this weekend suggest he doesthere is no way he will fulfill his dream of mediating normalized relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

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Related From Slate One of Trumps Less-Discussed Executive Orders Is Truly Chilling Read More

Then there are the relations with our European allies. Trump churned tensions with the allies in his first termraising doubts about his commitment to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (pledging to treat an attack on one member as an attack on all), threatening to pull out of NATO altogether, cozying up with Putin in a way that cast more doubt still on his allegiances.

He began his second term deepening these doubts and divisions. He threatened to impose tariffs on any EU country that didnt manufacture goods inside the United States, announced he would impose tariffs on our closest NATO ally (Canada) in any event, and declared that the U.S. has an urgent national security need to purchase Greenland, warning Denmarkwhich controls the icy island nations foreign relationsthat he would impose extra tariffs on its goods if it didnt agree to sell.

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Trump briefly raised the idea of buying Greenland in his first term and expressed shockeven calling off a planned visit to Copenhagenwhen his offer was refused. This time around, hes not backing down. He has held at least one reportedly tense phone conversation on the matter.

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The whole thing is a puzzle. Greenland has some geostrategic importance, close as it lies to sea lanes, which Russia or China might exploit, from the melting Arctic into the Atlantic Ocean. But both Greenland and Denmark are NATO allies; the U.S. has a major military base in Greenland, with full access to its resources and no limits on its operations. Theres no need to own the place.

His obsession has amplified the looming apprehensions of all the European nations. Trump brusquely says he will get Greenland, one way or another. NATO allies are treaty-bound to defend one another from outside attack. What are they to do in the event of an inside attack?

Finally, there is Trumps one apparent success. On Saturday, as part of his mass-deportation campaign, Trump ordered the U.S. military to fly two planeloads of Colombian immigrants back to Colombia. Colombian President Gustavo Petrowho had accepted U.S. civilian planes full of returning migrantsrefused to let the planes land, objecting to news footage showing the migrants shackled while boarding the planes. Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Colombian goods unless Petro let the planes through. Petro threatened a counter-tariff. Trump held firm, saying he would double the tariffs if Petro didnt back down. Petro backed down.

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Todays events make clear to the world that America is respected again, boasted a statement released Sunday night by the White House. The clear message was that other countries should take the standoff as a lessonespecially Denmark (in calculating whether to sell Greenland), Panama (whether to give us back the canal), Russia (on negotiating over Ukraine), or even Canada (could he really have been serious about making it the 51st state?).

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But Trump may be miscalculating. Colombia is a tiny country, with one-sixth of our population and 1.5 percent of our GDP, that depends on the U.S. for one-third of its exports (mainly crude oil, coffee, and cut flowers). Trump will find he has less leverageand the objects of his wrath have more freedom to maneuverin future faceoffs.

Finally, Trumps hardball approach may wind up being counterproductive. One lesson some leaders might take from the Colombia standoff is that when Trump tells them to jump, they should ask only how high. However, another lesson might be that they need to reduce their dependence on America.

Shannon ONeil, Latin America specialist and director of studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told me on Monday that many countries south of the border are already searching for alternatives. The Mercosur nationsBrazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguaysigned an agreement with the EU. Mexico is bolstering its ties with the EU as well. China has long been making inroads in the region, including in Colombia. It has alienated many with its own hardball methods, roping them into trade arrangements that undercut their own local industriesbut the experience with Colombia could spur the regions leaders to turn away from Washington as well, and Beijings agents will now exploit this impulse with special enthusiasm.

Trump may soon learn that his brand of America First means America Alone, and that doesnt help America at all.
You know those 90s rom-coms, where there was the nerdy girl in school who the cool-guy/jock type ends up falling for? Porto is that girl.

As a city, its been quietly bubbling under for a while now. Compared to the massive amounts of attention Lisbon receives across the media, Porto has been relatively pretty quiet. But not anymore. The energy and atmosphere in Porto is absolutely electric here in 2025, with an outstanding coffee scene helping to lead the way.

With the signature bridges, a world-famous river cutting through, renowned wine production, narrow cobbled streets, stunning museums, stop-you-in-your-tracks tiles, gildings and sculptures scattered throughout the city, and palatial buildings and churches, there is just so much to love about this place. Lets go exploring, and visit some of the finest cafes Porto has to offer today.

Protest Kitchen

Im not sure what exactly theyre protesting at Protest Kitchen. My guess would be rules, pretense, labels and expectations, and the idea of being defined as a specific restaurant. To do this, there is a freedom on offer, in a menu that sprawls its way across and into all kinds of cuisineswith influences from Turkey, Russia, Georgia, and Cyprusreflecting the roots of owners Pedro Baumgarten and Andrey Mikheev. The general energy and attitude seem to match this punky approach to the food, with a declaration scribbled across the window. It reads: Average vibe, ordinary food, drinkable coffee.

The irony, of course, is that this is all bullshit.

The vibe is brilliant, the food is extraordinary, and the coffee memorable. This is all made possible with old-fashioned hospitality. With a team that welcomes you into a space that (deliberately?) feels like it could be your living room, there is a sort-of elevated execution that translates into everythingbe it a cardamom bun, a thick bowl of hummus, or a plate of smoked salmon and simit (a sesame-crusted, chewy Turkish bread that is similar but also quite different to a bagel). That execution is evident in the coffee, too. An Ethiopia V60 from Dak Coffee Roasters gives bright peach and nectarine notes with calming chamomile, balanced with a perfectly acidic finish. Protest Kitchen leans on Baumgarten to curate and drive the coffee program here, and he is doing a banging job, with beans on rotation from local roasters like SO Coffee Roasters, or international guests like Friedhats from Amsterdam.

A La Marzocco Linea Classic EE espresso machine and an accompanying Victoria Arduino Mythos One grinder for espressoas well as a separate Eureka Atom Pro for filtershow that, despite their best efforts to convince you otherwise, this team takes what they do seriously. Alongside the espresso, milk-based drinks, and batch brew and V60 options, there is the unusual presence of a Cafe Freddoa nod to the strong, foamy coffees enjoyed in Greek culture. This perfectly sums up Protest Kitchen and their anti-conformist approach.

A Certain Cafe

Orson Welles is credited with the quote, The enemy of art is the absence of limitations. Such is the scene at A Certain Cafe, a cafe that greets its patrons with the (bold) declaration on the street-facing windows that they only offer filter coffee. Owners Matias Romano and Agustina Fortunato have managed to answer the question of how to serve a well-thought-out coffee menu without an espresso machine. They have done this by putting together one of the smartest interpretations of a drip-only cafe youll find anywhere in Europe.

Part of this is achieved through a variety of brew methodsAeroPress, Kalita, V60, and Moccamaster. Part of it is achieved through variations in portions (medium and large options for all filter coffee). Part of it is also achieved through fun and creative descriptors on the menu. To address the flat-white-elephant in the room, they simply steam milk with a handheld wand and list a menu item as Foamy. The milk is added to the filter. Genius. The Foamy hedges against expectations, as its not pretending to be a traditional flat-white, nor a cappuccino. It also allows the team to focus squarely on perfecting the filter coffee they know and love. (Spoiler alert: they are absolutely crushing it.)

Beans on my last visit came from local roastery Von&Vonnie, with other options coming from Spanish-based Hola Coffee Roasters. A Moccamaster KBGT741 helps keep batch brews consistent.

Set in a soaring room with voluminous ceilings, light pours in through A Certain Cafes front windows, immediately providing a bright, uncluttered energy. The decor is minimalistic, offset with striking art, sculptures, glassware, and various retro-ish items, including chairs, glasses, and cutlery. Its beautiful and is not surprising given the couples backgrounds as an artist (Romano) and a jewelry designer (Fortunato). The creative streak is further on display in the form of independent, indie magazines and books, which are available for browsing and purchase. Theres a dedicated area on hand for showcasing local artists work, too.

The creativity on display continues through an ever-evolving food menu. Paying tribute to the traditional Portuguese set menu (one soup, one main, one dessert), A Certain Cafe interprets this with their own flair. The structure of the traditional menu remains, but ambitions are clear, with dishes like cabbage, onion, fondue cheese, and bread as a soup offering. A main meal could be (as on my visit): pork feet broth with fried octopus and kale. Not your typical cafe fareand its not your typical cafe experience.

Combi

The story of this cafe and roastery starts with neither cafe nor roastery. It starts, in fact, with a van. Not any van. A 75 Mercedes N1300, to be exact. Brothers Goncalo and Francisco Cardoso bought the vehicle a decade ago and painstakingly restored it, converting it to its former glory and creating a mobile coffee unit for festivals and markets.

The business took off.

With increasing demand, the brothers began roasting beans from an abandoned garage in Rua de Morgado de Mateus. Again, the demand was growing, and pretty quickly (in 2017), that space was converted into a cafe, where it remains today. Instead of a cold, industrial space (which you might expect with this type of conversion), the cafe uses touches of dark wood and plenty of greenery to add warmth. Its a cozy, how-much-coffee-have-we-even-had-since-we-arrived type of setup. You just dont want to leave.

With a clear focus on sourcing quality green coffees, Cardoso told me that beans are roasted according to what we believe will give the end customer the best experience for that bean. He stresses the customer throughout the conversation: Our aim is to slowly, slowly take people who have existing ideas of what coffee is and to introduce them to specialty coffee. We have to be patient to do this. People have been drinking cheap coffee for yearseven decadesand all we want is to create a cup of coffee that they can still enjoy, just a little bit more. We arent serving wild, crazy coffees because we want to serve coffee that people want. And we do. We just do it in our own way.

A perfect example of this is in the development of their signature drinks, where you can find The Mazagran. Often credited as the worlds first iced coffee, this drink tracks back to 1840, where inventive French troops stationed in Algeria were forced (with dwindling supplies) to mix their coffee with sweetened water instead of the preferred milk. Later, the soldiers introduced the drink to regions of France, and it eventually made its way into other parts of Europe. Portugals historical attachment to this drink is particularly strong, and Combis version involves a double shot of espresso, freshly squeezed lemon juice, sugar, a handful of ice, soda water, and lemon zest. Producing this drink, as well as a variety of milk-based and pour-over options, requires some hard-working gear, and the team moves with speed and efficiency, jumping from a Mahlkonig E80S GBW grinder to a custom-made La Marzocco KB90.

With the evolution of Combi, a second store has been constructed. This new shop now houses the Joper BR5 Premium roaster, which has been moved from the OG space. Like the original cafe, this shop also serves as a cafe for people to sit and enjoy Combi coffee.

The Cardoso brothers have been at the forefront of specialty coffee in Porto for more than a decade. You cannot have a conversation about specialty coffee in this city without mentioning them. They have seen businesses come and go and have ridden out market changes, supplier challenges, and that pesky little pandemic. Through it all, they have survived and somehow grown. They are passionate, hard working entrepreneurs who clearly still have a hunger to spread their knowledge of specialty coffee. Porto is lucky to have them.

Von&Vonnie

One of the most exciting roasteries in Porto might also be one of the most exciting roasteries in Europe. Von&Vonnie is making waves across the city, and for good reason. Located in an area slightly removed from the preferredand expectedneighborhoods of Porto, owners Morgan von Mantripp and Yvonne Spresny seem comfortable in forging their own path, even if it is a slightly less beaten one. Non-conformity seems to be a bit of a guiding principle for this couple, who are partners inside and outside of the four walls that make up this emerging microroastery. Their chosen site has less foot traffic than many other fancied areas in Porto, but that doesnt deter plenty of local and international guests from visiting.

The coffee here really is phenomenal. On the day, a choice of eight varieties for beans, all of them roasted by von Mantripp using a Stronghold S7 Pro. Two Bentwood Vertical 63 grinders for espresso; one specifically for milk-based versions and a separate one for straight espresso. A Ditting 807 Lab Sweet takes care of the pour-over grind. Theyre not messing around. The beans offer a diversity in flavor, all of them underpinned by methodical sourcing principles. The profiles cater to the less common (natural Sumatra Indonesia, anyone?) or more muted/traditional options (a washed Huehuetenango Guatemala serves as a reminder of how good simple coffee can be). Von&Vonnie has these extremes covered, as well as everything in between. Coffee is presented on steel trays with thoughtful, considered tasting cards that explain the coffee precisely, without being pretentious.

Do you like clean, bright, airy white rooms with soothing background music? Do you like mixed materials, with hard cement sitting comfortably alongside soft, breezy curtains? Von&Vonnie is your jam. Pops of pastel colors, retro, mismatched furniture. Freakin candles, you guys. That sit on freakin marble tables. Its gorgeousa level of detail that is truly rare to find. Curved lines, a huge window facing the street, floating shelves packed with beans and brew gear. It has it all. The cream Victoria Arduino Eagle One sitting on the counter helps complete the tableau.

With a small bakery on site, they craft a constantly evolving pastry selection here. You might get yourself a slice of Earl Grey cake (like I did), or a cardamom-spiked brioche bun piped with blueberry cream. You could bump into a thick, matcha cookie, a pao de queijo (think cheesy, puffy, light balls of calorific masterpiece), or a perfectly executed banana bread.

Von Mantripp and Spresny met in Southeast Asia, and the dream for what is now Von&Vonnie has grown over years, along with the couples relationship. You get the feeling of real care and real love for the work in this space, translated into every cup, every bite of food, and every detail. (How many brands do you know who point out, via a special sticker, when a coffee is spearheaded by a woman producer?) There is a focus on sustainability and transparency that really walks the walk here. It drives them, as opposed to simply being another brand with another marketing angle. They are telling a story here and doing their best to serve something that transcends whatever is in your cup.

Senzu Coffee Roasters

The owners of Senzu Coffee Roasters come with serious pedigree. Diogo Amorim founded the business, with a resume boasting a Masters Degree in International Relations, a Masters Degree in Economics and Science, as well as a Masters Degree in Coffee. The dude is a certified coffee geek, by any metric. Gianpiero Zignoni (ex-Vernazza Coffee Roasters) and David Coelho (ex-7g Roaster) have since joined the team, providing deep expertise in areas like marketing, business development, and client relations. These three have all earned their stripes the old-fashioned way, with more than a decade of hard-earned experience. It shows, in the way Senzu has gone from strength to strength over the last few years.

The easiest way to measure this success is to simply walk around Porto and see how many top-quality venues are proudly stocking their beans. With a rigorous process of quality control (Amorim has also founded the SCA-certified Abcoffee training school in Porto, so he clearly is well-equipped for this), the faith shown in Team Senzu is evident by the partnerships they enjoy. They also offer an opportunity to enjoy their coffee range as filter, V60, or cold brew at Cru Creative Hub, a co-working space populated mainly with creatives. Here, the coffee bar is open to the Cru community, as well as guests off the street. An impressive lineup of beans greets visitors, with every preference taken care of. An easy, accessible washed Ethiopia Keramo for some, and on the other end of the sliding scale, a more progressive, lactic Native Aroma Colombia. With the beans expertly roasted on site, there is an opportunity to have an everyday coffee or something a bit more experimental.

Or both, if youre so inclined! The team at Senzu has some amazing new projects coming soonbe sure to check back here at Sprudge for more info on their growing footprint in Porto.

Epoca

Epoca is the sort of restaurant that you could visit every day of the week and enjoy every single time. Of course, you should start with coffee. With rotating beans from preferred suppliers, you will often find a local, Porto roastery represented. For example, on my visit Von&Vonnies Primavera Sisterhood washed Guatemala was served as batch brew, courtesy of a Moccamaster. Sharing the countertop is a hard-working Iberital, described by owner Liliana Alves as nothing fancy, and a Mahlkonig EK43 grinder to handle the espresso-based drinks for the cafe. This offhand comment on the machine perfectly sums up Epocas unassuming attitudethe team simply want to put smiles on faces; they seem unaware of how good they are at what they do.

And then theres the food. The first section of the menu is (very cleverly) structured around a super basic formula. Sourdough bread as a base, with various toppings to add. I know, I know; this does not sound exciting. But what if said sourdough was, in fact, more of a hunk of bread than a dainty slice? And what if it was supplied by local indie/culty hole-in-the-wall pizza joint Generosa Porto? What if said toppings were things like labneh with paprika butter, or comte cheese that has been matured for 30 months, or in-house strawberry jam with fennel seeds, or whipped feta with fresh thyme and chili flakes? Or, or, or Its all impossibly delicious. Even simple toppings of extra virgin olive oil, or organic roasted almond butter, are somehow memorable.

There are other breakfast items: creamy, slow-cooked oats get boosted with roasted pears and cacao nibs, granola is served with roasted banana, and eggs are poached and ladled onto thick yogurt. With an extensive drinks menu, there is a deep level of curation that has gone into the selection of natural wines, kombuchas, and teas. Order them, of course, or choose a cortado and a bowl of the tiramisu to end your meal the same way you started itwith delicious coffee. As you do, try and figure out how they manage to make such simple things so deeply complex.

Hakko

The problem with trying to do everything at the highest level is the obvious risk of ending up doing nothing at that level. Instead, settling into a sea of averageness. A sort-of hospitality mediocrity. This is the challenge that comes with ambition.

Which makes Hakko that much more impressive. Not only has owner Tiago Teixeira taken a swing for the fences by tackling almost every single thing in-house, but he has also absolutely crushed it.

Bread is baked daily on site, theres a stellar coffee lineup, and the foodas weve seen elsewhere in Portois outstanding cafe fare, including precise breakfast options, comforting lunch plates, interesting rotating specials, and an absolute belter of a pastry case. Tick, tick, tick, and tick.

Dont be fooled by the modest facade. Look a bit closer and you can see, through a street-facing hatch, the hallmarks of a venue that cares about their coffee program. All the giveaways are there, including a powder blue La Marzocco Linea Mini, a Mahlkonig EK43 for pour-overs, and the Mahlkonig E65S for espresso-based options. There are V60, Orea V3, and Kalita Wave variations to choose from, as well as a batch brew. The expected scales and kettles underline that you are in very, very good hands here.

As for what beans are going into said grinders, the team keeps things interesting with an all-star lineup of roasters ranging from local options like SO Coffee Roasters to other parts of Europeincluding Copenhagen stalwarts La Cabra and Coffee Collectiveand even a European Onyx Coffee Lab, which is, interestingly, now being roasted and distributed by Manhattan Coffee Roasters.

Inside Hakko, the menu reflects the wide and deep range of skills on offer. The French toast is a lot more than the sum of its parts. Brioche bread (yes, baked in-house), caramelized until the edges are slightly charred, is then dressed with a lemony, cardamom-spiked caramel sauce and finished with rich olive oil. It could be easy to write this off as another brunchy, trendy dish, but here at Hakko, it shows balance and an understanding of taking big, robust flavors and introducing them to guests in approachable ways. Same with the marinara eggs, which sees brown butter and a punchy tomato sauce as Hakkos version of the almost-standard-at-a-cafe-nowadays shakshuka. A short lunch menu shows off specials that are heartier, with a Japanese curry being an example of how the kitchen takes influence from Asian cuisine and food philosophies.

Hakko is a Japanese word for fermentation, and there are clues throughout the menu of this methodology to tease out flavors, with vinegars, pickles, miso, gochujang, and soy sauce all being used to good effect.

With edgy, sporadically-placed art, vinyl spinning, neon light fixtures, and mismatched retro furniture, Hakko is undeniably cool. Places like this often get labeled with the dreaded and overused hipster tag. To use it here would be a massive mistake. To do so here would be to overlook the enormous amount of work that goes into executing a menu as diverse as this, and to do it so damned well. Hakko is not a bakery, and its not a restaurant, and its not a coffee shop, and its not a cafe. Its like a secret, fifth thing. Whatever it is, it has substance. Wherever it is, it is worth celebrating.

Andy Fenner is a freelance journalist based in Lisbon. Read more Andy Fenner for Sprudge.
Air conditioning units on both ends of battery storage units are used to keep the batteries inside cool in a battery energy storage system in Mason, TX, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer The sun sets at wind farm in McCook during a heat wave in July 2022. Delcia Lopez/The Monitor file photo An oil pump jack near a field of wind turbines in Nolan. Brandon Bell/Getty Images Power inverters are seen in a battery storage yard in 2023 at the Blue Jay solar and storage plant in Iola. Jon Shapley/Staff file photo Christopher Dyer stands near a battery energy storage system installed adjacent to his home in Mason, TX, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer

Texas battery site operators were ready to demystify grid storage for lawmakers this legislative session  but theyre facing a fight instead.

With data centers, artificial intelligence, extreme weather and population growth creating a voracious appetite for power across Texas, Republicans have filed bills that would create new hurdles for the battery, solar and wind projects needed to carry the load.

Limiting renewables Heres a look at some of the other bills filed in the current legislative session regarding renewable energy: House Bill 1378 by Rep.-elect Wes Virdell, a Republican from Brady, would allow municipalities and county governments to ban battery storage facilities 500 yards from homes.

by Rep.-elect Wes Virdell, a Republican from Brady, would allow municipalities and county governments to ban battery storage facilities 500 yards from homes. Senate Bill 383 by Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Republican from Galveston, would let coastal communities ban offshore wind turbines if theyre found to violate community values related to shipping routes, tourism or commercial fishing.

by Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Republican from Galveston, would let coastal communities ban offshore wind turbines if theyre found to violate community values related to shipping routes, tourism or commercial fishing. House Bill 553 by Rep. Jared Patterson, a Republican from Frisco, would require developers to conduct hearings and seek regulatory approval before beginning construction of a solar or wind farm.

Wind farms are defending against attacks on two fronts, in fact: One with Texas lawmakers and another with President Donald Trump, who took aim at wind power projects in the parade of executive orders he signed last week.

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While the presidents action doesnt have immediate impact in Texas and will be challenged in court, his action makes clear his partys priorities: More oil and gas and less renewable energy.

Its concerning because we need all the power we can get, said Luke Metzger, executive director of advocacy group Environment Texas.

Battery storage has boomed in Texas and, along with solar and wind, has been credited with helping the statewide electric grid keep up with demand increases that are outpacing the addition of traditional generation, which takes longer and is more expensive to build.

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By this summer, the state grid operator says, Texas battery storage sites will be harnessing enough energy to power 2.5 million homes during extreme weather. Texas already leads the country in wind generation and recently surpassed California for building the most utility-scale solar.

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But among the more than 2,300 bills filed by Texas lawmakers this session are proposals for a state-level permit process for battery sites and to give regulators with the Public Utility Commission of Texas final authority over construction of new battery, wind or solar farm sites.

Such regulations dont exist for gas-fired or even coal-powered plants, which are rapidly dying out.

The right information

Lawmakers say their goal is safety, and the new wave of energy generation needs more check-ins along the way.

There have been multiple instances of battery storage facilities going into tiny rural towns that simply do not have the safety infrastructure to protect citizens if something did happen, said Rep. Ellen Troxclair, a Republican from Lakeway who filed a permitting bill. I just want to make sure battery storage facilities are appropriately sited.

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The buzz around such regulation ahead of the session prompted the battery industry to create its own interest group to help educate Texas lawmakers. Its called the Lone Star Energy Storage Alliance.

Part of our job this session is to make sure that people have the right information, said Stephanie Smith, a battery company executive whos chairing the new alliance. A lot of misinformation could potentially wind up in some of these bills. We want to give people the data and the studies so they can start to think of them as an overall solution for load growth.

Battery sites have some residents of rural communities, especially, on edge as they point to battery fires in California and worry about storage sites being built in their backyards.

GOP bills also propose giving counties the ability to ban a battery site within a quarter-mile of homes and require setbacks from property lines. One would impose new fees and environmental studies for all solar, wind and battery sites.

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Chris Dyer looks at a battery energy storage system behind his home in Mason. Hes seen in September atop a 10-foot cedar stake fence installed for him by the battery site developers. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer

So, while the industry was looking forward to good-faith discussions with lawmakers related to safety and environmental impacts, its leaders say bills filed veer beyond reasonable regulations and suggest restrictions that would be harsher than those faced by traditional generation sources.

Their adoption could slow down renewable resources coming online in Texas, Metzger said. That could impact business in a state now known for bringing new generation of all types to market more rapidly because of less red tape than in most other states.

At the end of the day, some of this legislation would grind renewable energy to a halt, he said.

Threats to grid

While the state is trying to spur development of gas-fired plants with a taxpayer-funded low-interest loan program, those plants still take longer to build and are more costly then their renewable generation and storage counterparts. The bulk of new megawatts in the states energy queue already is solar and batteries.

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Curtailing the construction of the majority of the generation that is asking to come online in the next few years, thats going to put Texas in an extreme supply squeeze, said Bryn Baker, policy director of the Texas Energy Buyers Alliance. Thats going to directly threaten the reliability of the grid.

Her group represents more than 260 large and small employers across Texas, including heavy hitters such as Walmart and major tech companies like Microsoft that are building power-hungry data centers. Such companies are attracted to Texas by multiple factors but say they need to know the juice is going to be here to support their needs  and they want that power at the lowest cost.

Weve seen a whole slew of bills introduced that appear to be written to dramatically curtail the additions of renewables and battery storage resources onto the grid, Baker said. The bottom line is thats going to affect the bottom line. That is going to cost consumers significantly.

A study her group recently commissioned found renewable energy saved Texans $11 billion in energy costs in the past two years and saved commercial customers 9% in power costs since 2010.

Battery sites have been coming online steadily. Already, Texas has at least 121 sites providing nearly 8,000 megawatts of power. The number of sites could more than double in the next five years, according to planning data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

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The juice is needed: The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has estimated total demand on the statewide grid it operates could be near 150 gigawatts by the end of the decade. Capacity will be about 115 megawatts by this summer, according to ERCOT. Most estimates say it takes about 1 megawatt to power 250 homes on an extremely hot or cold Texas day.

Batteries pair well with renewables like wind and solar. Theyre like sponges that soak up extra power when the sun is shining on solar panels or the wind has towers cranking out megawatts. They can release that power when capacity is tight or demand high  quickly dispatching electricity in the early morning before the sun comes up. Thats a period when the grid is most at risk for outages during periods of extreme weather. They have also been key contributors on hot summer evenings.

During close calls or high demand periods, ERCOT often relies on batteries to provide power to prevent emergencies. That happened during last weeks severe cold spell. When demand soared Tuesday morning, about 4,000 megawatts of battery power provided a boost that was needed to keep the grid supplied.

Safety concerns

Troxclair, the lawmaker from Lakeway, said her aim is ensuring battery storage sites are located in places that allow safe operation.

Pointing to a site being planned in the Hill Country near a dead-end road, for example, she said a battery fire could leave residents with no way to evacuate. Her bill calls for battery locations to be forbidden if there arent at least two accessible evacuation routes.

We can support diversity in resources without putting residents safety at risk, she said, adding that she views gas-powered plants as a more reliable option for the Texas electric grid.

As it stands, Troxclair said counties or state regulators arent able to weigh in on locations for battery sites. Her HB 1343 would charge the states Public Utility Commission with permitting sites before they could begin selling power on the ERCOT marketplace.

Troxclair and a vocal group of Hill Country residents also worry about battery sites catching fire, emitting toxic fumes and spreading flames.

Kendall and Kerr counties recently agreed to set up an intra-county planning commission aimed at discussing battery storage. The commission would have limited power, commissioners said, but give residents an avenue to speak out.

Residents and lawmakers point to a recent fire at the massive 5-year-old Moss Landing battery site in California as among the reasons they view the new technology as risky. The Jan. 16 fire closed roads and forced more than 1,500 people to evacuate.

Local officials in California said everyone was evacuated safely and about 75% of the fire was out by the next morning. The evacuation order was lifted the next day.

Battery fires or explosions can be caused by thermal runaway, a chain reaction that occurs when a cell overheats. It can happen because of a defect, contamination from humidity or dust, improper electric input and other factors. Lithium battery fires burn hot and do release harmful chemicals. Theyre difficult to extinguish so are usually left to burn themselves out.

There are plenty of battery storage facilities around the state that are located in areas that do have the appropriate degree of safety, Troxclair said. They just need to go in the right locations  not in teeny tiny communities.

Disingenuous rules

Amid booming growth of the industry across the U.S.  the number of storage sites increased 25,000% since 2018  there have been 20 fires or related incidents across the U.S. in the past decade.

So far, no Texas battery site or public safety agency has reported such an incident.

Texas operators typically target locations near existing substations to receive and ship out power, or close to transmission chokepoints that need the support batteries provide.

The LCRA substation for Mason is seen in September between a recently installed battery energy storage system, below, and another larger one in the distance, upper right, in Mason. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer

Smith, chairwoman of the Energy Storage Alliance, said fires or explosions are rare and, when they do happen, dont spread outside the site itself due to site safety standards that have improved since early fleets were first built in California.

Baker, of the Energy Buyers Alliance, said all energy sources have fire risks  and many cause greater damage than batteries. In September, for example, a gas line explosion in a Houston suburb caused a fire that burned for four days, causing evacuation orders. In that case, homes and cars were damaged.

Beyond that reality, business and industry are counting on Texas to acquire the power needed to support rapid economic and population growth and the overall reliability of the grid, she said.

That generation makeup must include gas-fired plants, energy experts say. But the cost and time to build them means theyre not enough to meet the states forecasted growth in demand and transmission needs. Renewables are required.

We support good-faith rules that are going to allow communities to integrate these resources, Baker said. But bills that are disingenuous or discriminatory dont make communities safer.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20250127/record-of-devastation-wrought-by-2000-pound-bombs-sent-by-trump-to-israel-1121505403.html

Record of Devastation Wrought by 2,000-pound Bombs Sent by Trump to Israel

Record of Devastation Wrought by 2,000-pound Bombs Sent by Trump to Israel

Sputnik International

US President Donald Trump confirmed that his administration had lifted restrictions on the delivery of 2,000-pound aerial bombs to Israel.

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Benjamin Netanyahu has formally thanked Trump for lifting restrictions on the export of some 1,800 MK 84 bombs to Israel.Earlier, Joe Biden imposed a symbolic ban on MK 84 deliveries to Israel last May amid the IAFs heavy use of the munitions to flatten Gaza. Researchers from Harvards FXB Center for Health found last fall that between October 7 and November 17, 2023, Israel dropped 592 MK 84s within range of critical hospital infrastructure. The study determined the bombs could kill people 360 m from the point of detonation, and cause injury at ranges up to 800 m away. Of 36 of Gazas hospitals, nine had at least one MK 84 crater in lethal range, two with 21-23 craters. 38 bombs were dropped within an 800 m radius identified by Israel as an evacuation zone. Between late 2023 and mid-2024, the IAF dropped more MK 84s and other munitions on the 365 km2 strip than the combined tonnage dropped on London, Hamburg and Dresden in WWII, hitting an array of civilian targets including hospitals, mosques and Gazas three churches. Israel's intense bombing of Gaza is thought to have killed some 33,000 Palestinians in the first 100 days of the war, more people per capita than any conflict since the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.The MK 84 has been around since the 1960s, and was used by the US and its allies in Vietnam (1965 on), Iraq (1981, 1991, 2003), Lebanon (1982, 2024), Yugoslavia (1999), Afghanistan (2001 on), Yemen (2015 on).MK 84s can be converted into guided munitions using the JDAM kit, which ups its range and accuracy. This variant was deployed by the US and its allies in Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine, where it ran into effective Russian electronic warfare jamming.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20241006/four-in-five-of-gazas-mosques-all-three-churches-devastated-in-year-long-israeli-bombing-campaign-1120442861.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20250127/trump-administration-drafting-agreement-with-el-salvador-to-deport-migrants---reports-1121503502.html

Trump Administration Drafting Agreement With El Salvador to Deport Migrants - Reports

Trump Administration Drafting Agreement With El Salvador to Deport Migrants - Reports

Sputnik International

The administration of US President Donald Trump is drafting an asylum agreement with the Salvadoran government that would deport migrants from the United States to the country, CBS reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the discussions.

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According to the channel, the so-called "safe third country" agreement would allow US immigration officials to deport non-Salvadoran migrants to the Latin American country and deny their asylum requests in the US. According to CBS, the migrants would have to seek asylum in El Salvador, which would be designated as a "safe third country." The broadcaster recalls that such an agreement was discussed during Trump's first term, which lasted from 2017 to 2021. It is noted that the agreement between the United States and El Salvador would also allow members of the Venezuelan criminal organization Trena de Aragua to be deported to El Salvador. However, the channel emphasizes that it is not yet clear what the authorities of the Latin American country will do with the deported gang members. The channel also clarifies that at the moment, the US authorities have concluded one "safe third country" agreement with Canada. Under the agreement, the countries exchange migrants seeking asylum who have crossed the border between the United States and Canada. On Monday, Trump, in his first speech as the 47th president of the United States, promised to immediately stop illegal immigration and begin the process of extraditing millions of migrants. He also declared a national emergency over the situation at the southern border.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20250127/ukraine-loses-over-190-soldiers-2-tanks-in-kursk-area-in-past-day-1121504846.html

Ukraine Loses Over 190 Soldiers, 2 Tanks in Kursk Area in Past Day

Ukraine Loses Over 190 Soldiers, 2 Tanks in Kursk Area in Past Day

Sputnik International

The Ukrainian armed forces have lost over 190 soldiers in the Kursk region in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.

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"Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian armed forces lost more than 190 servicepeople, two tanks, an armored personnel carrier, 10 armored combat vehicles, five vehicles, as well as six UAV control points and an ammunition depot. Three Ukrainian soldiers surrendered," the ministry said in a statement. The Battlegroup Sever of the Russian armed forces has regained control over the village of Nikolaevo-Darino in the Kursk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said added.In total, Ukraine has lost over 55,190 servicepeople and 321 tanks during offensive in Kursk direction, the ministry added.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20250127/ukraine-loses-up-to-610-soldiers-in-battles-with-russian-forces---mod-1121504968.html

Ukraine Suffers 610 Troop Losses Battling Russian Forces - MoD

Ukraine Suffers 610 Troop Losses Battling Russian Forces - MoD

Sputnik International

Russia's Battlegroup Tsentr has eliminated up to 610 Ukrainian military personnel over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.

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"The enemy lost up to 610 military personnel, four armored fighting vehicles, seven vehicles and six field artillery guns," the statement said. Russia's Battlegroup Zapad has obliterated over 355 Ukrainian soldiers, while Battlegroup Yug has wiped out as many as 250 Ukrainian soldiers, the ministry said. Russian forces took control of Velikaya Novosyolka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the ministry said.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20250127/ukrainian-pow-slams-overhyped-on-paper-awol-plagued-military-training-in-france--1121504739.html

Ukrainian POW Slams Overhyped On Paper AWOL-Plagued Military Training in France

Ukrainian POW Slams Overhyped On Paper AWOL-Plagued Military Training in France

Sputnik International

The subpar training of Ukrainian soldiers in France was just a PR stunt, a Ukrainian POW has revealed.

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The subpar training of Ukrainian soldiers in France was just a PR stunt, a Ukrainian POW has revealed. The much-hyped 155th Mechanized Brigade was stocked with around 2,400 unmotivated and only partially fit troops, said Vadim Veikai, a platoon commander taken prisoner by Russian forces recently. Following its inception, the unit suffered a record number of AWOL cases, skyrocketing to as many as 1,700 soldiers, he said. Besides the dozens of deserters, We didnt learn anything new there, he remarked. The Paris-trained specialists were just names on paper, according to the POW. Once the French-trained Ukrainian soldiers were deployed to their positions in Donetsk, they were supplied with nothing but small arms, Veikai said, adding: The fact that theyre overhyped doesnt mean they perform well in combat.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20250116/how-to-spend-900m-and-lose-nato-trained-ukrainian-155th-mechanized-brigade-1121440888.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20250127/what-is-known-about-the-us-colombia-showdown-over-migrants--tariffs---1121503846.html

What is Known About the US-Colombia Showdown Over Migrants & Tariffs?

What is Known About the US-Colombia Showdown Over Migrants & Tariffs?

Sputnik International

What is known about the US-Colombia showdown over migrants and tariffs?

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Colombian President Gustavo Petro blocked two US planes carrying illegal migrants from landing in Bogota, accusing Donald Trump of not treating the handcuffed deportees with dignity. I cannot allow migrants to remain in a country that does not want them; but if that country sends them back, it must be with dignity and respect for them and for our country, he said in a post on X that included news footage showing deportees in Brazil at an airport with their hands and feet restrained.In response, Trump announced that he was slapping 25% emergency tariffs on all Colombian imports, which would be raised to 50% in a week. The US president added that he would also impose a travel ban and visa sanctions on government officials, and enhance border inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo. Petro swiftly announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 50%. Petros government later announced that presidential aircraft had been made available to return the migrants and guarantee them dignified conditions. The White House announced late on Sunday that Colombia had finally agreed to all of President Trumps terms. The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.Trumps government is using the military to help secure the border and carry out deportations to make good on his campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration. Hundreds of people with posters and flags gathered to protest against the new immigration policies in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Protests lasted for several hours near the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, local media reported.

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The Western Heritage Parade & Cattle Drive is part of a weekend of San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo kickoff events. Salgu Wissmath/San Antonio Express-News

A downtown street full of longhorn cattle is reason enough to whoop it up this weekend.

But wait, there's more.

A new Western-themed festival debuting Saturday will add to the rodeo kickoff fun.

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Yee-Haw in the Park will run from noon to 4 p.m. at Legacy and Travis parks.

Legacy Park, 103 W. Houston St., will feature a mechanical bull, a quick-draw contest and a DJ playing country and Tejano music. The park is in front of Pinkerton's Barbecue, which will be selling barbecue inside and craft beer outside.

The fun at Travis Park will include armadillo races, trick roping, horseshoes and food vendors.

The new event is the creation of Centro San Antonio, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and Downtown West.

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The Western Heritage Parade & Cattle Drive turns Houston Street downtown into a vision of the Old West. An honest-to-goodness cattle drive is followed by a parade featuring mounted infantry, wagons and other Western-themed entries.

The parade starts at Milam Park, 500 W. Commerce St., and proceeds down Houston Street to Broadway.

Also this weekend, Market Square, 514 W. Commerce St., will host the rodeo's annual Vaquero Cook-off, with music, food, vendors and junior and adult cook-offs featuring categories such as fideo loco, charo beans, arroz con pollo, carne guisada and menudo.

Among the acts scheduled to perform are Jase Martin, Felix Truvere, Small Town Habit and Grupo Cielo.

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Ericsson announced the appointment of Enrique Garcia as Head of Mission Critical Networks (MCN) & Enterprise within the Market Area Southeast Asia, Oceania & India (MOAI). The Head of MCN & Enterprise is a new role within MOAI and will report into Andres Vicente, Head of MOAI. Enrique will be responsible for establishing the Companys leadership in Mission Critical Networks across the region and developing new enterprise business opportunities. He will take up his new role on March 1, 2025 and will be based in Singapore.

Enrique brings to this role extensive industry experience spanning more than 15 years. Prior to taking on his current assignment, he led Ericssons business towards MasOrange in Spain. In this role, he was instrumental in securing Ericsson and MasOranges landmark partnership on the first open and programmable network integration in Europe, as well as key enterprise deals in railways, ports and transport. Enrique has also previously held enterprise roles at Amazon Web Services and Vodafone.

Andres Vicente, Head of Market Area Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson states, I am very pleased to welcome Enrique to my team as he takes on this very strategic role for the region. Ericssons strategy is to leverage our leading connectivity solutions for growth in Enterprise and Mission Critical Network (MCN) business. Based on Enriques deep understanding of the Ericsson business and his experience of working with enterprises across different industry verticals, I believe he can make a strong contribution to our business in the region.

Top Breaking News Of The Day

Im delighted to take up this role and I look forward to working with Enterprise and MCN customers in this region to harness the benefits of fast, reliable and secure connectivity. The transformative potential this holds for business and society is boundless. says Enrique Garcia.
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: Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2024). DOI: 10.1002/anie.202421107

Lithium-air batteries have the potential to outstrip conventional lithium-ion batteries by storing significantly more energy at the same weight. However, their high-performance values have thus far remained theoretical, and their lifespan remains too short.

In a new study published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a Chinese team has proposed the addition of a soluble catalyst to the electrolyte. It acts as a redox mediator that facilitates charge transport and counteracts passivation of the electrodes.

In contrast to lithium-ion batteries, in which lithium ions are "pushed" back and forth between two electrodes, lithium-air batteries (Li-O 2 ) use an anode made of metallic lithium. As the battery is used, positively charged lithium ions dissolve and move over to the porous cathode, which has air flowing through it.

Oxygen is oxidized and bound into lithium peroxide (Li 2 O 2 ). Upon charging, the oxygen is released, and the lithium ions are reduced back to metallic lithium, which deposits back onto the anode. Unfortunately, the theoretically high performance of such batteries has not become a reality.

In practice, an effect known as overpotential slows the electrochemical reactions: The formation and decomposition of insoluble Li 2 O 2 are slow and its conductivity is also very low. In addition, the pores of the cathode tend to become clogged, and the high potential required for the formation of oxygen decomposes the electrolyte and promotes undesirable side reactions. This causes the batteries to lose the majority of their performance after only a few charge/discharge cycles.

A team led by Zhong-Shuai Wu from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of CAS, collaborating with Xiangkun Ma from the Dalian Maritime University, has now proposed the addition of a novel imidazole iodide salt (1,3-dimethylimidazolium iodide, DMII) to act as a catalyst and redox mediator to enhance the performance and lifespan.

The iodide ions (I) in the salt can easily react to form I 3  and then back again (redox pair). In this process, they transfer electrons to oxygen (discharge) and take them back up (charge). This facilitated charge transport accelerates the reactions, reduces the overpotential of the cathode, and increases the discharge capacity of the electrochemical cell.

The DMI+ ions from the salt contain a ring made from three carbon and two nitrogen atoms. This ring has freely mobile electrons and can "capture" lithium ions during discharge and effectively transfer them to the oxygen at the cathode.

In addition, the DMI+ ions form an ultrathin but highly stable interface film on the anode, which prevents direct contact between the electrolyte and the lithium surface, minimizing the decomposition of the electrolyte and preventing side reactions. This stabilizes the anode and increases the lifespan of the battery.

The electrochemical test cells produced by the team were highly promising, demonstrating a very low overpotential (0.52 V), high cycle stability over 960 hours, and highly reversible formation/decomposition of Li 2 O 2 with no side reactions.

More information: Jing Liu et al, A Bifunctional Imidazolyl Iodide Mediator of Electrolyte Boosts Cathode Kinetics and Anode Stability Towards Low Overpotential and Long-Life Li-O 2 Batteries, Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2024). DOI: 10.1002/anie.202421107 Journal information: Angewandte Chemie International Edition
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:

Elon Musk's Tesla Tesla produces its famous Model 3 in a Shanghai factory and exports it to Europe.

Elon Musk's Tesla and German auto giant BMW have challenged EU import tariffs on China-made electric vehicles at the bloc's top court, the European Commission said Monday.

The carmakerswhich both manufacture EVs in Chinafollowed challenges filed with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) by Chinese automakers BYD, Geely and SAIC against the extra tariffs of up to 35 percent.

"We take note of these cases and we look forward to defending ourselves in court," commission spokesman Olof Gill told AFP.

Brussels imposed the extra tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars at the end of October after an anti-subsidy investigation concluded Beijing's state support was unfairly undercutting European automakers.

The move came as Europe's car industry has been plunged into crisis by high manufacturing costs, a stuttering switch to electric vehicles (EV) and increased competition in key market China.

But BMW said the duties "do not strengthen the competitiveness of European manufacturers" and it had thus filed the lawsuit seeking an "annulment of this regulation" in order to "protect its interests".

"The countervailing duties harm the business model of globally active companies, they limit the supply of e-cars to European customers and can therefore even slow down decarbonization in the transport sector," the German automaker said in a statement.

The EU tariffs followed a more radical US approach that saw former president Joe Biden quadrupling import tariffs on EVs from China to 100 percent, as part of a package of hikes having accused Beijing of "cheating" rather than competing.

Beijing has consistently denied its industrial policies are unfair and has lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization about the EU tariffs.

It later imposed "anti-dumping measures" on brandy imported from the bloc, in what appeared to be a tit-for-tat measure.

Under the EU tariff scheme, Tesla vehicles manufactured in Shanghai face an additional surcharge of 7.8 percent on top of 10 percent already in place for EV imports from China.

BYD similarly faces a 17 percent surcharge, Geely 18.8 percent and SAIC 35.3 percent.

Growing share

The German government was one of five EU member states that opposed the measures, fearing retaliation against its own manufacturers.

The country's automotive flagships, including BMW, are strongly established in China, where they produce certain models, including for the European market.

Similarly, US automaker Tesla produces its famous Model 3 in its Shanghai factory and exports it to Europe.

BMW said it hoped a political agreement could be sought through negotiation, adding that it was "important to avoid a trade conflict that only has losers in the end."

Tesla-owner Musk is a key ally and adviser to US President Donald Trump, who has sent trade tensions soaring worldwide since being elected in November by threatening to impose extra customs duties on allies and rivals including the EU and China.

The complaints by the five manufacturers were filed with the General Court, the lower CJEU chamber, last week.

They are listed on the website of the Luxembourg-based institution, which does not provide any other detail.

Gill confirmed to AFP they concerned the EU's new customs duties.

Europe's auto sector employs more than 13 million people and accounts for about seven percent of the 27-nation bloc's GDP.

The market share of Chinese electric cars has ballooned in the EU in recent years, 14 percent in the second quarter of 2024, up from less than 2 percent in 2020.

The share of Chinese-built vehicles, including those manufactured by foreign brands like Tesla, similarly rose to 27.2 percent from 3.5 percent over the same period.

European automotive CEOs and EU officials are expected to discuss the sector's troubles on Thursday in the first meeting held under a new initiative chaired by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

 2025 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: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The UK government recently published its plan for using AI to boost growth and deliver services more efficiently. It also suggests a fundamental shift in how the UK aims to position itself as a global leader in AI innovation.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan gives further evidence on how the government intends to regulate cutting-edge AI.

The timing of this plan, ahead of the Paris AI Action Summit in February, positions the UK to play a significant role in shaping global discussions on AI governance. Its plans to give more powers to the AI Safety Institute (AISI), a directorate of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, could enhance the UK's influence in international cooperation on AI safety and governance through leading the way on legislation and enforcement.

The previous Conservative government's approach, outlined in its Pro Innovation Approach to AI Regulation white paper, relied heavily on existing regulators and non-binding principles.

But Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle has said there will be a significant shift in the UK's regulatory approach, moving from voluntary cooperation to mandatory oversight of the most advanced AI systems. After looking at these systems, regulators could ask the tech companies to make changes.

The government is proposing the Frontier AI Bill, which would make the AISI into a statutory body with the ability to have legal powers rather than just advise companies. The bill could also grant the AISI unprecedented powers to tell developers to share their models for testing before market release, and offer feedback.

How the EU approaches AI

This new regulatory shift differs from the European Union's approach in two important ways. First, the EU has opted for a voluntary code of practice for general-purpose AI systems.

The EU AI Act takes a comprehensive approach, regulating AI applications across various risk levels and sectors, from high-risk applications in health care and education to consumer-facing AI systems. In contrast, the UK's proposed bill appears more narrowly focused on cutting-edge AI systems before they're released.

The government plans to go ahead with 48 out of 50 of the report's recommendations to start with. This demonstrates a strong commitment to developing the necessary foundations for AI advancement. There are also "partial" agreements to consider visa plans for workers who are highly skilled in AI and the creation of a copyright cleared dataset for training, or improving, AI systems.

These measures aim to address crucial gaps in the UK's AI ecosystem. The focus on infrastructure and developing AI skills suggests maintaining competitiveness in AI requires more than just a favorable regulatory environment, it needs robust capital investments.

Broader risks

However, several challenges remain. The focus on advanced AI systems, while important, has drawn criticism for potentially overlooking broader AI-related risks. There are legitimate concerns about whether this approach adequately addresses the full spectrum of challenges posed by widespread AI adoption across different sectors and cases, such as developers using copyrighted material to improve their AI systems.

The success of this new approach will largely depend on several factors. The ability to introduce effective pre-market testing procedures for cutting edge AI systems without creating excessive barriers to innovation. And it also depends on the capacity of regulators to balance oversight and innovation.

Success will also hinge on the effectiveness of these initiatives in strengthening the UK's competitive position.

The UK's approach represents a bold experiment in AI governanceone that charts a distinct path from the EU.

This plan marks a decisive moment in UK AI policy. The success or failure of this targeted approach could have significant implications for how other nations balance comprehensive AI oversight with focused regulation of the most capable systems.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Egypt rejects displacing Palestinians from their lands

Xinhua) 08:05, January 27, 2025

CAIRO, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Egypt rejected on Sunday any infringement on the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their displacement from their lands, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry firmly rejects any actions that infringe upon these rights, including settlement expansion, land annexation, and the forced displacement of Palestinians, the statement said.

It also condemns policies aimed at transferring or uprooting Palestinians from their land, whether temporarily or permanently, as these actions destabilize the region and hinder the prospects for peace, it said.

It stresses Egypt's unwavering commitment to the constants and determinants of the Palestinian issue's political settlement, and its continued support for the steadfastness of the Palestinians on their land and their adherence to their legitimate rights.

The Palestinian issue remains central to the Middle East, it said, adding that delaying its resolution, ending the occupation, and restoring the Palestinian people's usurped rights fuels regional instability.

It calls upon the international community to actively work towards implementing the two-state solution, including the establishment of a Palestinian state on its entire national territory, encompassing both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, under international legitimacy resolutions and the 1967 borders.

The statement came after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed on Saturday to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt and Jordan.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Animal Care Services issued 47 weather-related citations in two days to residents who left their pets out unprotected when frigid arctic winds plummeted temperatures in San Antonio last week. It is illegal to leave pets outside when temperatures drop below freezing, the agency said. IzaLysonArts / 500px/Getty Images/500px Prime

Animal Care Services issued 47 weather-related citations in two days to residents who left their pets out unprotected when frigid arctic winds plummeted temperatures in San Antonio last week.

ACS has received 330 weather-related calls and issued 71 citations to pet owners since Dec. 1, 2024, according to the news station KSAT.

Advertisement Article continues below this ad

It is illegal to leave pets outside when temperatures drop below freezing, the agency said in a Facebook post. If a pet must remain outdoors, ACS recommends providing the animal with an insulated shelter with a roof and an elevated floor to keep pets warm and dry. Owners should also make sure the animal's food and water doesn't freeze.

"Animal Care Services will have ZERO TOLERANCE for weather-related violations during this freeze," ACS wrote in a Facebook post ahead of the winter storm. "This means violators will receive a criminal citation (starting at $3,000) for tethering or standard of care violations."

It is also illegal to tether any animal with a chain or to tether a puppy, sick or injured pet, or a female dog in heat.

Residents can report violations to 311.
Aurora Private Wealth Inc. trimmed its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE  Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,328 shares of the conglomerates stock after selling 73 shares during the period. Aurora Private Wealth Inc.s holdings in General Electric were worth $221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GE. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $1,465,598,000 after buying an additional 3,719,894 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 21,069.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,173,142 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $598,391,000 after purchasing an additional 3,158,153 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 505.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,908,434 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $359,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,413 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 206.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $278,247,000 after purchasing an additional 973,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $8,181,801,000 after purchasing an additional 898,296 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total value of $1,267,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at $2,407,036.57. This represents a 34.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. The trade was a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Melius Research lifted their target price on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $205.80.

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General Electric Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:GE opened at $196.81 on Monday. General Electric has a 12-month low of $103.75 and a 12-month high of $207.65. The company has a market capitalization of $213.00 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $175.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

General Electric (NYSE:GE  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%. As a group, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. General Electrics payout ratio is 19.68%.

About General Electric

(Free Report)

General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and mechanical aircraft systems. It also offers aftermarket services to support its products. The company operates in the United States, Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa.

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BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN (NYSEARCA:FNGD  Get Free Report)s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $11.51, but opened at $13.09. BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN shares last traded at $12.43, with a volume of 3,429,191 shares traded.

BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.73 and a beta of -5.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.64.

BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

The MicroSectors FANG+ Index -3X Inverse Leveraged ETN (FNGD) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NYSE FANG+ index. The fund tracks -3x the daily price movements of an index of technology and consumer discretionary companies. The note uses derivatives to achieve its -3x exposure. FNGD was launched on Jan 25, 2018 and is issued by REX Microsectors.

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Boeing (NYSE:BA  Get Free Report) is anticipated to release its earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, January 28th. Analysts expect Boeing to post earnings of ($1.60) per share and revenue of $16,870,336.00 billion for the quarter. Persons interested in participating in the companys earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Boeing Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BA opened at $175.95 on Monday. Boeing has a twelve month low of $137.03 and a twelve month high of $214.63. The company has a market cap of $108.77 billion, a PE ratio of -13.64 and a beta of 1.52. The companys 50 day moving average is $166.42 and its 200 day moving average is $164.42.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BA. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Boeing from $240.00 to $200.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Boeing in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Boeing from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Boeing from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Boeing from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $192.11.

Boeing Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services segments.

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Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Invesco MSCI USA ETF (BATS:PBUS  Free Report) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 428,705 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 18,433 shares during the period. Invesco MSCI USA ETF accounts for approximately 1.3% of Capital Asset Advisory Services LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC owned approximately 0.48% of Invesco MSCI USA ETF worth $25,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Invesco MSCI USA ETF by 11.5% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 56,090 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,220,000 after acquiring an additional 5,797 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Invesco MSCI USA ETF in the third quarter valued at about $660,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Invesco MSCI USA ETF by 26,605.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,148 shares of the companys stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Invesco MSCI USA ETF by 4.7% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 405,865 shares of the companys stock valued at $23,297,000 after acquiring an additional 18,386 shares during the period. Finally, Altus Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Invesco MSCI USA ETF by 45.9% in the third quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,878 shares of the companys stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during the period.

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Invesco MSCI USA ETF Stock Performance

Shares of Invesco MSCI USA ETF stock opened at $61.22 on Monday. Invesco MSCI USA ETF has a 52-week low of $24.94 and a 52-week high of $28.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.01 and a 200-day moving average of $57.65. The stock has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67 and a beta of 1.02.

Invesco MSCI USA ETF Increases Dividend

Invesco MSCI USA ETF Profile

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.1871 per share. This is a boost from Invesco MSCI USA ETFs previous dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd.

(Free Report)

The Invesco PureBeta MSCI USA ETF (PBUS) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA index. The fund tracks a market-cap-selected and -weighted index of mid and large-cap US stocks. PBUS was launched on Sep 22, 2017 and is managed by Invesco.

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CKW Financial Group bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC  Free Report) (TSE:MFC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,219 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 103.8% during the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the companys stock.

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Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MFC opened at $30.53 on Monday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $21.54 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The company has a market capitalization of $52.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.09. The businesss 50 day moving average is $31.12 and its 200 day moving average is $29.25.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

Manulife Financial ( NYSE:MFC Get Free Report ) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.296 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. This is a boost from Manulife Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Manulife Financials payout ratio is 59.42%.

Manulife Financial Profile

(Free Report)

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.

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Crane (NYSE:CR  Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Monday. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07, Zacks reports. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%.

Crane Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of Crane stock traded down $5.33 on Monday, hitting $156.35. The stock had a trading volume of 521,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,233. Crane has a twelve month low of $110.49 and a twelve month high of $188.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.99 and a 200 day moving average of $158.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $166.80.

About Crane

(Get Free Report)

Crane Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies, and Engineered Materials.

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Drive Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM  Free Report) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,754 shares of the semiconductor companys stock after selling 1,172 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $1,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 55,974,769 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $9,721,138,000 after buying an additional 3,783,802 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,767,106 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $4,995,984,000 after buying an additional 359,854 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,289,993 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $3,176,423,000 after buying an additional 122,828 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 9,738,181 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $1,733,104,000 after buying an additional 1,206,359 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,485,854 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $1,126,420,000 after buying an additional 1,075,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.51% of the companys stock.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Trading Down 1.3 %

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing stock opened at $221.73 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 2.57. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a 52 week low of $112.61 and a 52 week high of $226.40.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( NYSE:TSM Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The semiconductor company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.08. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 30.47% and a net margin of 40.51%. Analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.5484 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. This is a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings payout ratio is 27.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $220.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Profile

(Free Report)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TSM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM  Free Report).

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First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW  Free Report) by 69.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,892 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 10,904 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 26,088.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 323,427 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $847,610,000 after purchasing an additional 322,192 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $106,352,000 after purchasing an additional 308,935 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,645,972,000 after acquiring an additional 167,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 787.3% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 186,643 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $48,945,000 after acquiring an additional 165,607 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $259.83 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firms 50-day moving average price is $263.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $256.45. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Illinois Tool Works ( NYSE:ITW Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Workss revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

ITW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $269.89.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Profile

(Free Report)

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products.

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Shares of Grupo Simec, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSEAMERICAN:SIM  Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 2,574 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 119% from the previous sessions volume of 1,178 shares.The stock last traded at $25.84 and had previously closed at $26.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Grupo Simec from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

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View Our Latest Stock Analysis on SIM

Grupo Simec Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 0.30.

Grupo Simec (NYSEAMERICAN:SIM  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $452.15 million during the quarter. Grupo Simec had a return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 29.44%.

About Grupo Simec

(Get Free Report)

Grupo Simec, SAB. de C.V. manufactures, processes, and distributes special bar quality (SBQ) steel and steel alloys products in Mexico, the United States, Brazil, Canada, Latin America, and internationally. The company produces I-beams, channels, structural and commercial angles, hot rolled bars, flat bars, rebars, cold-finished bars, electro-welded wire mesh and mesh panels, and wire rods, as well as semi-finished tube rounds and other semi-finished trade products.

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tru Independence LLC raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB  Free Report) by 46.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,099 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock after acquiring an additional 23,910 shares during the quarter. LyondellBasell Industries makes up 1.8% of tru Independence LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. tru Independence LLCs holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $5,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYB. Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,070 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 0.5% in the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,100 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $2,215,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 25.5% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 601 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:LYB opened at $78.08 on Monday. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $77.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.79. LyondellBasell Industries has a twelve month low of $72.21 and a twelve month high of $107.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.06.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

LyondellBasell Industries ( NYSE:LYB Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.98 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $10.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.60 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 5.29%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. LyondellBasell Industriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a sell rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated a neutral rating and set a $95.00 price target (down previously from $112.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $104.00 to $92.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $94.33.

Read Our Latest Analysis on LyondellBasell Industries

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $76.06 per share, with a total value of $380,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,390.50. This trade represents a 37.95 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About LyondellBasell Industries

(Free Report)

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a chemical company in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates in six segments: Olefins and PolyolefinsAmericas; Olefins and PolyolefinsEurope, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology.

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Maggie, the newest member of Vincent T. Davis' family, is pictured with one of her many toys. Maggie, a 1-year old Beagle mix, was adopted Dec. 7, 2024, from the Paul Jolly Adoption Center. Diane Davis/Photo courtesy of Diane Davis Maggie, the newest member of Vincent T. Davis' family, is pictured with one of her many toys. Maggie, a 1-year old Beagle mix, was adopted Dec. 7, 2024, from the Paul Jolly Adoption Center. Diane Davis/Photo courtesy of Diane Davis

In early November, the brown and tan little dog with a black streak on her back was dodging traffic on West side streets.

Residents had called Animal Care Services, concerned about the lean dog  a beagle mix  and her two companions, Fred the Terrier and a German shepherd with no name. Day and night, the trio darted down Ross Avenue, stopping cars near South Zarzamora Street, running past car garages, a mobile home park and a motel named after matadors.

About the author A 22-year veteran of the Air Force, Vincent T. Davis embarked on a second career as a journalist and found his calling. Observing and listening across San Antonio, he finds intriguing tales to tell about everyday people. He shares his stories with Express-News subscribers every Monday morning.

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When an ACS officer arrived, the male canines jumped up to try to stop him from securing the 1-year-old beagle in a kennel on his truck. Not only were they unsuccessful, but minutes later they also found themselves bolted in a kennel, bound for the ACS campus.

On the other side of San Antonio, my wife Diane and I were ready to give up our months-long search for a dog to adopt. We'd been looking for a beagle, her favorite breed, but after weeks of scrolling through animal rescue websites across San Antonio and Texas, we decided there werent any beagles to be found. Any time it seemed wed found a match, there was always a catch  a cost we were unwilling to pay.

Well find our dog, Diane said, when the time is right.

As it turned out, the right time arrived two weeks before Christmas. After weeks of not searching, she clicked on the ACS website and saw every breed but a beagle. Then a page popped up for the nonprofit Animal Defense League of San Antonio, one of the city's rescue partners. My name is Martha! said the headline above a photo of the dark brown-eyed beagle rescued from Ross Avenue a month earlier.

The next morning, wed take in Martha and give her a new name, Maggie, and a new home she would share with two indoor cats adopted from ACS: Jake, a black cat that chases and retrieves balls and Jessie, an orange and white rascal who zips through the house on midnight runs.

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A second chance

According to ACS statistics, Maggie was one of more than 34,000 stray or roaming dogs that can be found on any given day across San Antonio. An estimated 250,000 cats are reported to live on city streets. The website dogster.com said across the nation, an estimated 70 million cats and dogs do not have homes.

ACS spokeswoman Lisa Norwood said a dogs life on the streets is one of hardship, suffering and danger.

That's what was happening with Maggie, Norwood said. Adoptions arent luck of the draw, or a random chance, but a choice. And people who make that choice to adopt a shelter pet are giving that animal the greatest gift that they ever could, and that gift is the gift of the second chance and that's what Maggie has now a second chance.

When we met Maggie, she was being cared for at the Paul Jolly Adoption Center across from the San Antonio Zoo. Operated by ADL staff, the center offers a medical center, room to interact with dogs and cats and viewing rooms.

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After work, I stopped by the center on my way home to see our prospective pet. Still recovering from spay surgery, she laid on her bed and looked up for a few seconds and drifted off to sleep.

The next day, we were the first ones at the center when the doors opened at 11 a.m. We sat with Maggie, whod brush against our legs and look up at Diane. Before completing paperwork, the adoption counselor briefed us on vaccinations, negative heart worm test results and microchip implant information.

Past pets

Weve had our share of four-legged family members through the years. When we met, I wasnt used to having indoor pets. That was not the case for Diane. She always had dogs and cats growing up.

In 1981, a black cat named Ebony was our first pet. While stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, I was taking a night art course at San Antonio College and noticed a black stray outside our apartment door when Id return home. One night, I came home early and the cat was in the kitchen lapping up milk from a bowl. Despite my protests to Diane, Ebony joined our family. When the Air Force assigned us to a post in Italy, Ebony was taken in by a family friend.

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While we were in Italy, for several months we looked after Binkley, a white and grey stray cat we named for a character in Berkeley Breatheds "Bloom County" comic strip. Binkley lived out his days at our landlords villa in the country.

In Denver, we adopted Snowflake, a white ball of fur, for our daughter. When we were moved to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Snowflake grew old at Dianes parents house on the Southwest side of San Antonio. Ramstein was our first assignment without a dog or cat, because we didn't want to chance having to leave a pet behind again.

Falling in love with beagles

In 1996, a neighbor who knew of Dianes love for pets brought her a challenge  a beagle found suffering from barbed wire cuts in the flatlands of Norman, Oklahoma. She named her Sadie. With Dianes care and several vet visits, the floppy-eared dog perked up, and after that she was always at my wifes side.

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In 1997, after retiring from the Air Force, we moved to San Antonio along with Sadie. For several years, she chased any possums or squirrels that dared linger in our backyard.

After Sadie's passing, Diane said she didn't want any more pets. The loss was too hard. But weeks later, that declaration was put to the test. When our friend Nicole Foy heard about Sadie, she sent an email  a family was looking for a home for their beagle they couldnt take with them on a move to the Northeast. After initially saying no, Diane agreed to meet with the family to see if shed bond with the obedience-trained dog.

When we walked into the home, the beagle ran straight to Diane, surprising the owners. Needless to say, that day we left with our newest family member, Jenna.

Jenna became a fixture in the household. She was literally a sturdy foundation for two of our three granddaughters who learned to walk leaning on her back as they took their first steps. She was our own home-alarm system, barking if a doorbell rang or shadowy figure darkened a window.

Then, as old age slowed her steps, she began to falter. After she passed, Diane mourned our loss and and again said no more pets. She held fast until a year later when we took in Sugar Babe, her late mothers Chihuahua. The chunky dog tore across the backyard, yipping and chasing any woodland creatures that ventured on the lawn, until her final run about three years ago. That loss again led to a declaration that we were done with canine pets  until Diane saw the photo of Maggie online.

Now, the dog that was roaming the West Side streets is making herself at home at our place.

Stealing hearts and shoes

We'd had Maggie for three days before we learned that when she barked, it came from deep in her lean frame, like a foghorn. Shes apt to episodes our daughter calls the zoomies, when she becomes a sprinting blur, circling the yard.

We also learned, one missing shoe at time, that Maggie loves to snag one of our slippers, sneakers or sandals for safekeeping by her side.

It might be a sign shes bonding with us. Or it could be a security blanket thing a reassurance well always be there.

Maggie doesn't have to worry.
McLean Asset Management Corp lowered its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV  Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 154,518 shares of the companys stock after selling 7,762 shares during the period. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF comprises about 2.4% of McLean Asset Management Corps investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. McLean Asset Management Corps holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF were worth $8,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Concourse Financial Group Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 125.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concourse Financial Group Securities Inc. now owns 189,989 shares of the companys stock valued at $10,930,000 after acquiring an additional 105,835 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,277 shares of the companys stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 57,069 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,027,000 after acquiring an additional 7,505 shares during the last quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC now owns 77,264 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,378,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lauterbach Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lauterbach Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,428 shares of the companys stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Price Performance

EFV opened at $54.52 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.70. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF has a one year low of $49.15 and a one year high of $59.57.

About iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Value Index. The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East.

Further Reading

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JPMorgan China Growth & Income plc (LON:JCGI  Get Free Report) insider Nicholas Bannerman bought 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 223 ($2.78) per share, with a total value of 11,150 ($13,895.81).

JPMorgan China Growth & Income Stock Up 1.1 %

LON:JCGI traded up GBX 2.50 ($0.03) during midday trading on Monday, reaching GBX 227.50 ($2.84). 264,144 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 220,985. JPMorgan China Growth & Income plc has a 12-month low of GBX 182 ($2.27) and a 12-month high of GBX 281 ($3.50). The business has a 50-day moving average of GBX 222.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 216.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.74, a quick ratio of 11.22 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market capitalization of 189.28 million, a PE ratio of -197.83 and a beta of 0.47.

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JPMorgan China Growth & Income (LON:JCGI  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported GBX 3.39 ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter.

JPMorgan China Growth & Income Announces Dividend

JPMorgan China Growth & Income Company Profile

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 16th will be issued a GBX 2.73 ($0.03) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.27%. JPMorgan China Growth & Incomes dividend payout ratio is currently -956.52%.

(Get Free Report)

Strategic thinking for Chinese markets

JPMorgan China Growth & Income plc aims to provide the best of both worlds. The Manager focuses on investing in Chinese companies listed on domestic exchanges and companies in Greater China by focusing on the growth of New China  companies and sectors that are capitalising on the transition of the country to a more consumer-driven economy  whilst the Company aims to deliver a predictable quarterly income distribution  announced at the start of each financial year.

Key points

Expertise  Strong focus on research capabilities, with investment teams based in Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China.

Portfolio  Focuses on companies benefiting from the transition of China to a consumer-driven economy.

Results  Benefits from the economic transformation and evolving role of China as a global economic superpower while aiming to deliver a predictable quarterly income.

Why invest in this trust

The first investment trust to focus purely on the greater China region, the JPMorgan China Growth & Income plc capitalises on our extensive local knowledge and experience to find attractive opportunities in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

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Strategic Investment Advisors MI lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO  Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,605 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MIs holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Novare Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the companys stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.5% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,812 shares of the companys stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.9% in the third quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 5,430 shares of the companys stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% in the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 9,615 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% in the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 6,702 shares of the companys stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

NVO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 8.4 %

NVO stock opened at $87.94 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $394.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $78.17 and a 12 month high of $148.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.99.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

(Free Report)

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.

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PFG Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK  Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,719 shares of the companys stock after selling 838 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLCs holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the companys stock valued at $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the companys stock valued at $484,231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610,800 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the companys stock valued at $611,924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Barclays dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a peer perform rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $99.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Merck & Co., Inc.s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.

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Piscataqua Savings Bank trimmed its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP  Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,813 shares of the payment services companys stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 1.7% of Piscataqua Savings Banks portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Piscataqua Savings Banks holdings in American Express were worth $2,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its holdings in American Express by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in American Express by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $298,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Compass Point raised their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $282.36.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $320.87 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $226.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $302.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.17. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $186.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. American Expresss dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Company Profile

(Free Report)

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.

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Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA:GLD  Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,050 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GLD. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in SPDR Gold Shares during the third quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of SPDR Gold Shares in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SPDR Gold Shares during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of SPDR Gold Shares by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 161 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of SPDR Gold Shares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.19% of the companys stock.

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SPDR Gold Shares Stock Performance

GLD opened at $255.65 on Monday. SPDR Gold Shares has a twelve month low of $183.78 and a twelve month high of $257.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $245.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.72.

About SPDR Gold Shares

SPDR Gold Trust (the Trust) is an investment trust. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the Trusts expenses. The Trusts business activity is the investment of gold. The Trust creates and redeems Shares from time to time, but in one or more Baskets (a Basket equals a block of 100,000 Shares).

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Magna International (NYSE:MGA  Get Free Report) (TSE:MG) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from $52.00 to $49.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Scotiabanks target price suggests a potential upside of 18.61% from the stocks current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MGA. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Magna International from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Magna International from a neutral rating to a sell rating and lowered their target price for the company from $42.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com raised Magna International from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. CIBC boosted their target price on Magna International from $46.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of Magna International from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $50.35.

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View Our Latest Analysis on MGA

Magna International Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MGA stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $41.31. 447,550 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,178,603. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.62. The companys 50-day moving average price is $42.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.16. Magna International has a 12-month low of $38.01 and a 12-month high of $59.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Magna International (NYSE:MGA  Get Free Report) (TSE:MG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $10.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.34 billion. Magna International had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Magna International will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Magna International by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,111 shares of the companys stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Magna International by 70.4% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 830 shares of the companys stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Magna International by 84.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,121 shares of the companys stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Magna International by 2,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the companys stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Magna International by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,290 shares of the companys stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.49% of the companys stock.

About Magna International

(Get Free Report)

Magna International Inc designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. It operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles.

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Webster Bank N. A. decreased its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,591 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 475 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 230.1% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 23,383 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 5,937 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 46.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,400,000 after buying an additional 21,377 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 155.9% during the third quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 104,168 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $6,751,000 after acquiring an additional 63,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,640,157 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $106,299,000 after purchasing an additional 140,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America cut their target price on Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities restated a market outperform rating and set a $94.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $83.83.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.5 %

SCHW stock opened at $81.67 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $77.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.83. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $61.01 and a 1-year high of $83.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5,190,822.51 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The businesss revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total value of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,391,674.38. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,466 shares of company stock worth $3,352,884. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the companys stock.

About Charles Schwab

(Free Report)

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.

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Tech Giants Launch $100 Billion National AI Infrastructure Project

OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle have announced a new venture, Stargate, through which they aim to build a massive AI infrastructure network across the United States. The initiative, which was announced at the White House with President Donald Trump, has been described as the "largest AI infrastructure project in history."

"This infrastructure will secure American leadership in AI, create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and generate massive economic benefit for the entire world," OpenAI said in a post on X.

The companies pledged an initial $100 billion investment, with plans to scale up to $500 billion in the coming years. The project is expected to create 100,000 U.S. jobs, according to Trump. Stargate will focus on building both the physical and virtual infrastructure needed to power next-generation AI, including data centers across the country. Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison noted that construction on the first 1-million-square-foot data center in Texas is already underway.

"This will be the most important project of this era," said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during the announcement.

As part of the Stargate initiative, Oracle, NVIDIA, and OpenAI will work closely together to develop and manage this advanced computing system. This effort builds on a long-standing collaboration between OpenAI and NVIDIA, established in 2016, as well as a more recent partnership between OpenAI and Oracle.

The initiative comes amid growing concerns from AI leaders over the lack of infrastructure  such as data centers, chips, and power resources  needed to sustain advancements in artificial intelligence. Altman has been a vocal advocate for federal support to ensure the U.S. maintains its leadership in AI, particularly in the face of competition from China.

"Infrastructure in the United States is critical," Altman said in a recent interview. "AI requires massive amounts of infrastructure, power, and chips, and we need to build that here to lead globally in this technology."

Oracle, one of the largest U.S. data center operators, and SoftBank, known for its deep pockets and tech investments, bring significant resources to the table. Altman previously lobbied U.S. officials to support AI infrastructure projects, emphasizing the need to counter China's growing influence in the AI space.

The goals of the Stargate project align with OpenAI's recent policy white paper, which highlighted the need for U.S. investment in AI infrastructure to foster economic growth, create jobs, and maintain national security. The report estimated that $175 billion in global funds is waiting to be deployed into AI projects, warning that if the U.S. doesn't attract these investments, they could flow to China-backed initiatives.

"Stargate will secure American leadership in AI, create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and generate massive economic benefits for the world," Oracle said in a statement. "It will also re-industrialize the United States while strengthening national security."

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son will serve as Stargate's chairman, with SoftBank providing financial backing and OpenAI taking operational responsibility. A fourth partner, MGX, is also contributing funding to the venture.

Ellison emphasized that Stargate's impact would extend beyond economic benefits, creating "a seamless and powerful infrastructure" to propel AI innovation in healthcare, defense, and other industries.

The announcement drew comparisons to previous high-profile corporate investment promises, including the $10 billion Foxconn deal in Wisconsin during Trump's first term. That project fell short of its initial goals, with Foxconn scaling back its investment to $672 million and focusing instead on data server manufacturing.

Altman, however, remains optimistic about Stargate's potential. "This partnership brings together the best in technology, capital, and vision to ensure the U.S. remains the global leader in AI," he said.

The first phase of Stargate is expected to be completed within the next few years. Additional projects are planned nationwide.
Jacob Beltran covers crime, breaking news and general assignments for the Express-News. He can be reached at jbeltran@express-news.net.

A San Antonio native, Jacob began his journalism career in 2010. He's worked for the student-run newspaper for San Antonio College, The Ranger, and for Texas A&M University-San Antonio, The Mesquite.

He enjoys video games, photography and exploring during his free time.
(TBTCO) - Mac du tinh Quang Ninh a trien khai nhieu chi ao quyet liet, ty le giai ngan von au tu cong en thang 2/2025 chi at 2,5%, thap hon nhieu so voi ky vong. Tinh ang oi mat voi nhieu kho khan nhu thieu vat lieu, vuong mac giai phong mat bang va thu tuc hanh chinh. Tuy nhien, cac giai phap manh me ang uoc trien khai e thuc ay tien o, giup hoan thien ha tang va thuc ay tang truong kinh te trong nam 2025.
Seven women were hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning at a North Side home on Sunday, San Antonio police said. carlballou/Getty Images / iStockphoto

Seven women have been hospitalized after suffering from what officials believe is a carbon monoxide poisoning incident on San Antonio's North Side.

Authorities received a call from someone from outside the home at 9 a.m. on Sunday.

The caller, whom had been contacted from someone in the house asking for help, reported that there were "numerous people in the home unconscious," according to a San Antonio police preliminary report.

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First responders with the San Antonio Police and San Antonio Fire Department arrived at the home in the 700 block of Sycamore Moon, around near Wurzbach Parkway. They discovered seven women in their 20s in the home. Six of them were unconscious.

Police also found a vehicle in the closed garage that was idling "long enough to make all but one of the home occupants pass out," according to the report.

All seven women were taken to two hospitals. One of the women was in critical condition, police said.

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None of the people in the home speak English, police were told.
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American University of Sharjah (AUS) has formalised a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Transgulf Readymix Concrete Company as part of the AUS College Engineerings (CEN) Al Nukhba Programme.

The MoA represents an important advancement in promoting collaboration between industry and academia, emphasising research, development, internships and hands-on training opportunities for AUS students, preparing them to excel in their careers and contribute meaningfully to their fields.

The collaboration with Transgulf will enable CEN students to acquire essential industry experience, meeting course requirements through internships and structured field excursions. These programmes aim to offer practical insight into Transgulfs activities, allowing students to gain a more profound understanding of real-world applications in the cement products and construction industries, AUS said.

Moreover, the partnership will include shared research and development initiatives focused on the design, manufacturing and supply of ready-mix concrete, tackling current issues within these sectors, it said.

Our partnership with Transgulf Readymix reflects our ongoing commitment to connecting academic achievement with professional expertise, stated Dr Fadi Aloul, Dean of CEN. With this collaboration, we will provide our students with hands-on learning experiences that combine practical skills with theoretical instruction. Through internships, fieldwork and collaborative research, this partnership supports our mission to nurture skilled innovators who engage in applied projects, address real-world challenges and develop creative solutions that meet critical local needs while contributing to the UAEs and GCCs economic and industrial advancement. Together, we will enable our students to emerge as leaders in engineering and technology, in harmony with the country's vision for a sustainable, innovative future.

Transgulf is honoured to be part of the CEN Al Nukhba Programme, collaborating with faculty from the AUS College of Engineering to provide students with in-action opportunities to explore engineering applications in the ready-mix concrete industry and its critical role in construction delivery. Aligned with the UAEs vision, we are committed to inspiring future engineers and transforming the construction industry through innovation and the adoption of sustainability initiatives and artificial intelligence. Transgulfs internship programs go beyond civil and materials engineering, offering practical exposure to industrial fields including supply chain management, manpower planning, predictive maintenance, renewable energy, waste management and digital engineering. In this partnership, AUS and Transgulf are paving the way for the next generation of technical talent to build a brighter, smarter and more resilient future," said Yasar Abualrous, General Manager of Transgulf Readymix Concrete.

The CEN Al Nukhba Programme has consistently sought to improve student employability by fostering collaboration between academia and industry. By aligning its objectives with national priorities, the programme not only equips AUS students with vital skills for their careers but also supports the UAEs wider ambitions in innovation and building a knowledge-driven economy, said AUS. - TradeArabia News Service
Kamco Invest, one of the largest asset managers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, is partnering with a team led by logistics real estate veteran Ian Worboys to form a new investment and development company, European Green Logistics Space (EGLS).

Worboys, who boasts more than 40 years experience working in the European industrial and logistics market, including leadership roles at Gazeley, Panattoni, P3 Logistic Parks and, latterly, Trammell Crow Company, has co-founded EGLS with Amos Chia, former head of acquisitions at pan-European urban logistics platform, Crossbay, and Glen Lonie, former head of asset management for Central & Eastern Europe at Cushman & Wakefield.

Worboys is EGLSs Chief Executive Officer, Chia is the Chief Investment Officer and Lonie is the Chief Financial Officer.

Kamco Invest has acquired a significant stake in EGLS in line with its expansion strategy. With a robust presence across the MENA region, an esteemed client base, and deep connections within the regional investment community, Kamco Invest is well positioned to support EGLS in broadening its offerings and reaching a wider network of investors in the MENA region.

EGLS will deliver modern, sustainable big box and urban logistics facilities through a two-pronged strategy. It will acquire existing assets which can be improved, retrofitted and turned into modern, sustainable facilities and it will also carry out ground-up developments. For all its projects, it will aim to work with investors and occupiers to meet the highest standards of sustainability, said Kamco Invest.

EGLS will work with Kamco Invest, along with a small number of other large investors, with different investment strategies, on a separate account basis. It has already lined up a strong pipeline of sites and standing assets to be acquired.

Geographically, EGLS will invest initially in the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland before branching out into Spain, the Netherlands and Italy.

Worboys said: I am very excited to be re-entering the European logistics market at this time of the real estate cycle with Amos and Glen in partnership with Kamco Invest. I have more than 40 years experience in the sector, building European businesses, and this feels like an opportune time to be investing when demand for modern, sustainable facilities remains strong but supply is decreasing.

Sustainability is at the heart of what we do, and we believe there is a great brown-to-green opportunity, converting outdated units into modern, sustainable facilities as well as carrying out new developments that meet modern ESG requirements.

Mohammad F Al Othman, Senior Executive Director of Alternative Investments at Kamco Invest, said: We are delighted to partner with an expert management team on this strategic venture in Europe. This move reinforces Kamco Invest's commitment to enhancing fee income while creating valuable opportunities for our regional clients in the logistics sector. Aligned with our sustainability strategy, this initiative emphasises responsible investing and complements our suite of alternative investment offerings, providing clients with access to ESG-focused opportunities in the logistics domain.

Worboys has recruited a team of 18 seasoned logistics real estate operators as department and country heads, sharing more than 300 years of logistics and real estate experience.  TradeArabia News Service
Ericsson is showcasing its cutting-edge technologies and innovation leadership at LEAP 2025, taking place from February 9 to 12, at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center, Malham.

Demonstrating its commitment to Saudi Vision 2030, Ericsson is showcasing advanced solutions, presenting live technology demonstrations, sharing success stories with partners, and unveiling expert insights into the future of connectivity, the company said.

Under the theme Step Forward: Discover the Unfolding Future, Ericsson is reinforcing its long-standing partnership with its partners in Saudi Arabia, which spans more than four decades. Through collaborations with communication service providers (CSPs), enterprises, and government entities, Ericsson is driving the localisation of advanced technologies, nurturing local talent, and contributing to the kingdoms position as a global leader in technology and innovation.

Ericssons booth will feature interactive demonstrations, panel discussions, and technical sessions of its latest innovations across 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and advanced network solutions, and showcases on AI-powered networks and immersive use cases for consumers and enterprises. This allows visitors to get a feel of networks of the future and explore how these technologies are enabling industries to digitalize, improve efficiency, and achieve sustainability goals.

Adding to the events thought leadership, Ericsson is hosting live episodes for its Tech Insights podcast featuring industry leaders and experts discussing the transformative impact of connectivity on various sectors.

Hakan Cervell, Vice President and Head of Saudi Arabia at Ericsson Middle East and Africa, says: Like every year, we are truly excited to showcase how Ericssons innovative technologies at LEAP 2025, and how they are empowering a sustainable, connected future for Saudi Arabia and beyond. Our presence at this event reflects our steadfast dedication to supporting the Kingdoms Vision 2030 by enhancing digital infrastructure, fostering sustainability, and enabling progress through advanced connectivity solutions. - TradeArabia News Service
Petro Rabigh and Honeywell have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the deployment of Honeywell UOPs naphtha-to-ethane-and-propane (NEP) technology.

The signing ceremony, held under the patronage of the Ministry of Energy, was sponsored by Eng Ahmed Al-Zahrani, Assistant Minister for Development and Excellence at the Ministry of Energy.

The non-binding MoU represents a significant milestone in leveraging advanced technologies to transform butane and naphtha into high-value feedstocks for light olefin production, such as ethylene and propylene, Honeywell said.

This collaboration aims to demonstrate and commercialise the innovative NEP technology, enhancing productivity, operational efficiency, and sustainability through the production of value-added petrochemical products from crude oil, it said.

The initiative aligns with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to drive innovation in the energy sector, promote liquid-to-chemical (LTC) processes, and improve energy efficiency and economic resilience.

Petro Rabigh is the largest integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia, producing fuels and high-value petrochemical products. Honeywell has been a key player in the region for over 70 years, delivering cutting-edge solutions and actively contributing to the governments vision of advancing technology adoption and development efforts.  TradeArabia News Service
Ethiopian Airlines has recertified its IATA CEIV Pharma accreditation as an airline and ground handling agent, demonstrating its commitment to providing world-class air cargo services tailored to meet the stringent requirements of healthcare and pharmaceutical manufacturers and shippers.

Mesfin Tasew, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, commented on the recertification, stating, This achievement underscores our unwavering commitment to excellence in healthcare logistics. With a global network spanning key healthcare logistics hubs, Ethiopian Airlines positions itself as a trusted partner in Pharma and life science logistics. We are dedicated to supporting the healthcare industry by providing reliable and efficient air cargo services that meet the highest international standards. Our goal is to make Addis Ababa the premier Pharma corridor in the global south, leveraging its strategic geographical location to address the logistical challenges of healthcare air transportation.

Ethiopian Airlines, the first African airline to achieve the IATA CEIV Pharma certification in 2022, is committed to modernising its cold chain infrastructure, specialised training, and innovative technologies to meet pharmaceutical logistics needs.

This certification provides a globally acknowledged stamp of quality, reassuring customers, partners, and regulators of consistent and reliable operations.

Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics services is the largest cargo network operator in Africa, serving 70 dedicated cargo and 140+ passenger destinations in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

The airline offers a dedicated service for general and special cargo, including horticulture, pharmaceuticals, valuables, live animals, e-commerce, mail, and couriers, through its fully automated, state-of-the-art technologies cargo facility with a capacity of 1 million tons per annum.-TradeArabia News Service
Following the launch of the Manta Retreat in 2022, InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort welcomes guests to the fourth Manta Retreat, taking place from March 17 to 20.

Spreading curiosity and excitement to learn about manta rays and their natural habitat, the Manta Retreat offers a great platform to learn, explore and understand these gentle giants while participating in enriching workshops and conservation activities.

Participating guests can expect an unparalleled experience centred around the majestic manta rays that inhabit the waters of Raa Atoll.

The retreat also includes guided snorkelling excursions that gives guests a chance to swim alongside these gentle giants and observe their behaviour up-close.

A series of workshops, including the Manta ID and Manta Research sessions, will provide insights into the identification and study of individual manta rays, offering participants a rare opportunity to adopt and name their own manta.

The fourth edition will once again be led by Meral Hafeez, the Manta Trust base leader at InterContinental Maldives.

With her marine expertise and passion for educating guests on all manner of underwater creatures, Hafeez will guide participants through an immersive experience allowing guests to explore the lives of manta rays and the learn the importance of their conservation.

Adding to the experience, is another dedicated workshop where attendees can also learn about the fascinating world of plankton, which is the primary food source for manta rays.

Further, guided house reef snorkelling sessions will uncover the vibrant marine life around the resort, while the Coral Restoration and Planting Workshop allows guests to contribute directly to the health of the reef.

For those eager to deepen their understanding, Hafeezs engaging talk, Manta Ray of the Maldives, will highlight the characteristics and behaviours of these magnificent creatures.

The retreat also offers a conservation-focused element, emphasising the collaborative efforts between InterContinental Maldives and the Manta Trust.

Since 2019, the partnership has supported research and education initiatives aimed at protecting the vulnerable reef manta rays and their oceanic relatives.

The retreat helps raise awareness and funds to sustain these vital efforts, ensuring that participants leave not only with cherished memories but also as advocates for marine conservation. This is more than just a retreat; it is an invitation to join a movement dedicated to preserving the oceans delicate ecosystems. Guests can immerse themselves in the luxury and tranquillity of InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort while contributing to meaningful conservation efforts. -TradeArabia News Service
The National Travel Operator - Visit Oman, and the Spanish travel tech startup, Passporter, have joined forces to boost tourism to the Sultanate of Oman.

The partnership, announced at Fitur 2025, aligns with Visit Oman's strategy to create an omnichannel framework that expands the digital distribution of the country's tourism supply chain.

Passporter  a travel planning tool revolutionising the tourism industry by offering a community-driven platform that inspires, plans, executes, and shares travel experiences will play a key role in showcasing Omans beauty and diversity to a global audience.

With over 1 million followers, Passporter supports users throughout their journey, from planning to sharing experiences, making it an ideal partner for Visit Omans ambitious tourism goals.

With a 360-degree marketing approach, the campaign will feature influencers from Spain, France, and Germany exploring Omans hidden treasures and creating inspiring content to captivate travellers worldwide.

The campaign will leverage Passporters extensive reach, distributing engaging content in five languages across its platforms to maximise visibility and attract a wider audience.

Targeting end consumers, with a specific focus on travellers from Spain and other European countries, the campaign will highlight Omans unique cultural experiences, breathtaking landscapes, and luxurious hospitality.

The aim is to increase European tourism to Oman and drive bookings for the countrys various tourism services.

Shabib Al Maamari, Managing Director of Visit Oman, commented: The activation of Passporters destination marketing campaign is a crucial step in our strategy to establish an omnichannel framework. By collaborating with leading digital platforms like Passporter, we are enhancing our digital distribution efforts, raising awareness about Oman, and inspiring travel to the country. This integrated approach will seamlessly connect travellers with booking experiences through online travel agencies (OTAs), support our local tourism providers, and strengthen Omans position as a preferred travel destination.

Diego Rodriguez, CEO of Passporter, added: At Passporter, we believe that inspiring travel experiences are key to driving bookings and turning a country into a must-visit destination. We are thrilled to partner with Visit Oman to showcase the captivating beauty and diverse experiences this incredible country has to offer. Our platform inspires travellers through interactive itineraries and engaging storytelling to support Visit Omans goal of attracting a global audience. With a community of over one million engaged followers who plan, travel, and share their adventures, we are confident we can spark enthusiasm for Oman and encourage its inclusion on their travel lists.

This strategic partnership between Visit Oman and Passporter aims to harness the power of digital storytelling and influencer marketing to position Oman as a preferred destination for discerning travellers, and drive significant growth in inbound tourism. -TradeArabia News Service
A pair of oystercatchers stake out nesting territory on one of two nesting islands created in Cow Trap Lake at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge. A proposal from state and federal officials calls for filling in an abandoned oil field near the reserve to restore up to 200 acres of marsh. Shannon Tompkins/Houston Chronicle

State and federal agencies want to spend $40 million from Deepwater Horizon restoration funds on seven rehabilitation projects to rebuild wetland habitats on the Texas coast.

The projects call for using dredged material from waterways and canals and other sources, ultimately restoring up to 1,927 acres of marsh along the coast.

Work would take place over the next five to 10 years, according to the proposal.

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READ MORE: Feds approve plan to expand two Texas coastal wildlife refuges

Marsh land provides habitat for birds, fish, plants and other wildlife; the restoration work is intended to increase those habitats. Its funded by money from an $8 billion settlement with oil company BP, reached after its well leaked more than 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling unit.

The proposal includes:

40 acres of restoration at Goose Island in Aransas County, north of Rockport

200 acres at the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge in Matagorda County

72 acres at Schicke Point in Calhoun County.

The proposal says combinations of rising sea levels, erosion, subsidence and reduced sediment supplies have resulted in wetland habitat loss in the areas.

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In the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, about 180 miles southeast of San Antonio, the proposal calls for filling in an abandoned oil field adjacent to the waterway to restore up to 200 acres of marsh.

Over the past several decades, the vegetated marsh at the site has undergone physical deterioration resulting in the expansion of shallow open water, the draft plan said.

Sediment from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, private dredging sources and other dredging disposal areas would be used to convert that open water to marsh, creating a viable, vegetated, wetland habitat for fish and wildlife, according to the plan. That would also create a buffer protecting adjacent natural areas from storm surge damage, the agencies said.

The national wildlife refuge provides habitat for millions of migrating and nesting birds, including geese, egrets and herons; bobcats, alligators, fish and shellfish also reside there, the plan said.

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In Aransas County, the proposal calls for placing dredged material in or adjacent to Goose Island State Park on the Lamar Peninsula, between the St. Charles and Aransas Bays.

Schicke Point, in Calhoun County, is a peninsula between two bays east of Victoria. The project would restore marshland behind a breakwater that was built in 2017, according to the plan.

The plan also proposes four other projects east of Houston:

Up to 550 acres at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Chambers County

Up to 224 acres at the Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area in Orange County

Up to 218 acres at the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson County

Up to 623 acres at the Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson County

The sites were selected from more than 163 identified in an initial survey. An eighth project was considered in Refugio County, where up to 1,140 acres of wetlands would have been restored, but it was ultimately listed as "non-preferred," because of a prior ownership dispute that made it less likely to succeed, according to the plan.

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The Texas Trustee Implementation Group, which is tasked with restoration from the spill, is seeking public comment on the proposal. The group is made up of three state agencies, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas General Land Office, and four federal agencies: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Comments can be submitted until Feb. 18 online, by mail to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf Restoration Office or at a public meeting at the Rosenburg Library in Galveston on Jan. 28.

The agencies are also taking comments on extending the existing Sea Turtle Early Restoration Project, which has been underway since 2016.

The project aims to address threats to Kemp's ridley, green and loggerhead sea turtles on their nesting beaches and marine habitat. That work includes a nest detection and projection effort and funding for the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network, which responds to dead and injured sea turtles. It also includes funding for increased enforcement by Texas Parks and Wildlife to prevent bycatch, when turtles are caught in fishing gear and drown.

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The extension would allocate just under $2.7 million to extend the project from 2026, when it is scheduled to end, through 2034.
From the early days of seeking foreign direct investment (FDI) to ensure basic production and meet the needs of survival, the narrative of attracting FDI has now entered a new chapter in Vietnam as the country transformed into a dynamic economy, deeply integrating into the global market.

At the age of nearly 75, Phan Huu Thang, the first head of the Foreign Investment Agency at the Ministry of Planning and Investment, remains full of energy when speaking about FDI attraction.

As the chairman of the Vietnam Industrial Park Finance Association, he enthusiastically discussed the ongoing projects.

He shared that the biggest challenge was attracting investors, particularly in green finance and high-tech sectors, to industrial parks.

Reflecting on nearly four decades of FDI attraction efforts, Thang recalled a journey filled with caution and persistence.

When the first industrial park was opened in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam, officials and leaders worked tirelessly, even going as far as setting up furniture in offices. The excitement was palpable.

Initially, only two cities  Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City  had projects approved with a total capital of US$40 million, while other provinces had approvals for projects with a $10-million capital.

Over time, more provinces joined the race, with approvals often granted within a week, especially for smaller-scale projects, Thang recounted.

New era of FDI

Having undergone nearly four decades, Vietnam is now considered one of the top 16 most successful emerging economies in the world.

The Southeast Asian country is entering a new era of strength, with the nation poised to take its place on the global stage.

Thang expected the Politburos Resolution No. 50, which shifts the focus from simply attracting FDI to fostering cooperation, to help elevate productivity, quality, and economic restructuring.

Attracting investment is a passive process, simply inviting or even gathering capital, but cooperation is a win-win approach," he explained.

If we succeed, we can leverage the advantages of FDI while addressing internal challenges to build a self-reliant, independent economy.

To ensure effective cooperation in the current situation, the first priority is safeguarding capital, creating a favorable business environment, establishing stable policies, and boosting the growth of domestic enterprises.

Thang recalled a story of attracting Intel to Vietnam as a key lesson.

Nearly two decades ago, an investment attraction team was small but powerful, consisting of then-Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem, a deputy minister of science and technology, the then-secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, the president of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the head of the Foreign Investment Agency.

Intel was considering three locations for its $1-billion investment, including India, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Though Vietnam was at a disadvantage compared to the two others, what ultimately persuaded Intel to choose it were the country's favorable conditions, including location, workforce, incentives, and most importantly the trust and determination shown by the leadership.

With this strong commitment, coupled with Vietnam's potential, Intel decided to establish its factory in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City in 2006, where it has operated ever since.

Strong domestic business network is a need

According to Thang, despite FDI contributing 25 percent of total investment, it accounts for a staggering 70 percent of exports.

Vietnam has yet to build up a sufficient number of capable domestic enterprises to deeply join global supply chains.

To attract more giants in the technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things fields, the investment environment needs further refinement by reducing barriers and increasing transparency, along with a strong network of domestic companies.

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Elizabeth L. T. Moore is a Hearst Fellow in San Antonio. She can be reached at Elizabeth.Moore@hearst.com

Elizabeth did her first fellowship year as a reporter with the New Haven Register in Connecticut. Moore has published bylines with Bloomberg News, The Virginian-Pilot and The Daily Tar Heel, the student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Moore placed nationally in the Hearst Collegiate Journalism Program, and she is fluent in Spanish.
I have often had to schedule my international clients to visit neighboring countries to avoid Vietnam's traditional Tet holiday while it is truly a unique cultural feature and a valuable asset for tourism promotion.

However, Vietnam has yet to fully exploit its potential.

On Sunday, or the 27th day of the 12th lunar month, I was on my way back to Vietnam from Phnom Penh after handing over a group of 13 tourists from Canada, the U.S., and the UK to our Cambodian partners.

This group of tourists had signed up for a birdwatching tour in Vietnam for over two weeks. Their tour coincided with the countrys traditional Tet holiday.

Due to the immense challenges of organizing tours during Tet, we had to persuade them to switch to a week-long birdwatching and photography tour in Cambodia and return to Vietnam on February 1.

Tet should be an opportunity to attract international visitors. Besides the primary purpose of birdwatching and photography, these tourists could also experience the unique atmosphere of Tet. So why do local travel companies avoid arranging tours during Tet?

In 2007, I first led a group of international tourists from Scotland and Canada on a birdwatching tour in Vietnam. The tour took place during Tet.

While it was winter in Europe and North America, the climate was favorable in tropical countries like Vietnam.

The journey from Cat Tien National Park in southern Dong Nai Province to Da Lat City in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong and Bach Ma National Park in central Thua Thien-Hue Province in the first 10 days was smooth. But on the last day of the lunar year, as we flew from Hue to Hanoi to travel to Cuc Phuong National Park, we began to face difficulties.

Landing at Noi Bai International Airport, we could not find a car to Cuc Phuong. Everyone refused to transport the group as they had to go home to celebrate Tet with their families.

We spent the entire afternoon searching and pleading. Finally, a broker arranged a shared car to Nam Dinh Province, which was originally meant to pick up passengers from Ho Chi Minh City returning home for Tet.

We could reach Cuc Phuong, but at a price five times higher than normal taxi fares at that time.

Having overcome the first hurdle, we faced another challenge: food.

On the first day of the new lunar year, we discovered that no restaurants were open. The entire group had to ask for banh chung (square sticky rice cakes) to satisfy their hunger.

In the following days in Cuc Phuong, Tam Dao in Vinh Phuc Province, and Xuan Thuy in Nam Dinh Province, things were not much easier, but fortunately, our guests were very understanding.

International tourists celebrate the 2024 Tet at Cat Tien National Park in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Hoai Bao

Things have improved significantly over the past few years.

I still lead tours during Tet. Some years, I celebrated New Years Eve in Bach Ma, others in Cat Tien. And I still encounter difficulties during the first three days of new lunar years when services are limited.

I have often brought guests to celebrate Tet with my family -- sometimes in my hometown (north-central Quang Tri Province), other times in my wife's hometown (the Mekong Delta). The warm family meals, the customs of wrapping banh chung and banh tet (cylindrical glutinous rice cakes), giving lucky money, and the festive atmosphere have delighted international guests.

Many of them still talk about it as one of the most memorable experiences of their lives.

However, even my company often declines to organize tours during Tet for two reasons.

First, employees are reluctant to work. Most people share a common sentiment that after a hard-working year, they want to spend Tet with their families.

Second, domestic services during Tet are limited and excessively expensive compared to normal times, making it difficult to ensure a smooth journey.

If the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism could provide a clear direction on promoting Tet to the world and support businesses in this endeavor, I believe Vietnam would attract many more international visitors.

A well-organized Tet celebration could become a 'unique tourism product,' not only creating a deep impression but also generating significant revenue.

However, it is challenging as everyone wants to return to their families during Tet.

*This article was originally written in Vietnamese by Nguyen Hoai Bao and translated by Tuoi Tre News.

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Police in Gia Lai Province, located in Vietnam's Central Highlands region, dismantled three facilities involved in the production and distribution of counterfeit coffee laced with unverified chemicals, an officer said on Sunday.

The officer announced that the provinces investigators had initiated criminal proceedings against 32-year-old Nguyen Hoang Vu, a resident of Pleiku City, for his involvement in producing and selling fake coffee.

According to investigation results, Vu established the Uyen coffee brand, but the coffee was found to be adulterated with various additives and chemicals of unknown origin, making it unsafe for consumption.

In late December last year, the provinces police launched raids on multiple coffee production facilities in Pleiku City.

Police uncovered three facilities producing Uyen coffee, located on Nguyen Thiep Street.

These facilities were caught red-handed mixing coffee with chemicals and additives of unknown origin before selling it to local retailers.

The counterfeit coffee, already packaged and boxed for distribution, was discovered at a production facility in Gia Lai Province, located in Vietnam's Central Highlands. Photo: Supplied

Over 800 kilograms of packaged coffee were seized during the raids.

Police officers confiscated more than 420 kilograms of coffee that had already been adulterated but was yet to be packaged for sale.

A substantial amount of the seized product, approximately 785 kilograms, was determined to be fake coffee.

The tainted coffee had been distributed to shops in several districts across Gia Lai Province, including Duc Co, Chu Prong and Krong Pa, and even neighboring Kon Tum Province.

Investigators also revealed that a large quantity of the counterfeit coffee had already been sold on the market before the raids.

The provincial police are continuing to expand the investigation into the fake coffee production.

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Read what is in the news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Vietnamese State President Luong Cuong on Sunday sent a congratulatory message to Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn on Australias National Day (January 26), while Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also extended his congratulations to his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese. Similarly, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man sent messages to Sue Lines, President of the Senate, and Milton Dick, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Australia, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Society

-- Police in Da Nang, central Vietnam on Sunday announced the prosecution of six individuals for fraud and money laundering. The suspects include ringleader Zhangmao, a 43-year-old Chinese national, and five Vietnamese accomplices. The group scammed around 800 Vietnamese victims out of nearly VND1.8 trillion (US$76 million).

-- On Sunday evening, the administration of Nam Tu Liem District in Hanoi held a rehearsal for the Ruc Ro Thang Long (Brilliant Thang Long) art program at My Dinh Square, ahead of its New Year's Eve performance on January 29. The rehearsal was interrupted when a fire broke out in the F1 racetrack area due to drone equipment falling during a test flight and igniting dry grass. Three fire trucks were sent to extinguish the flames.

-- Fifty-three traffic accidents occurred nationwide on Sunday, the second day of the nine-day Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, resulting in 25 deaths and 47 injuries, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee. Compared to the same period in 2024, the number of accidents decreased by 30, fatalities dropped by 18, and the number of injured victims reduced by 20.

-- The administration of Binh Duong Province on Sunday approved the selection of investors for the Ho Chi Minh City-Thu Dau Mot-Chon Thanh expressway, which will pass through the province. The project, valued at over VND8.833 trillion ($352.4 million), is the first expressway connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc Provinces. The winning consortium consists of Becamex IDC, Technical Infrastructure Development JSC, Becamex Binh Phuoc Infrastructure Development JSC, and Deo Ca Group JSC.

-- National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man visited Can Tho City in southern Vietnam on Sunday, where he presented 500 gifts to local residents in celebration of the upcoming Lunar New Year, set for January 29. The recipients included 30 families under the states preferential treatment policy, individuals with significant contributions to the Vietnamese revolution, 170 low-income households, and 300 workers and laborers facing difficult circumstances.

-- Police in Gia Lai Province, located in the Central Highlands region, announced on Sunday that they had dismantled three counterfeit coffee production establishments in Pleiku City, seizing nearly 800kg of fake coffee laced with unknown chemicals. Nguyen Hoang Vu, 32, was arrested and charged with producing and selling counterfeit food products. The investigation is ongoing.

-- A cold front has covered northern Vietnam and is spreading to parts of the central region, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting reported on Monday. Temperatures in the northern region will drop to 9-12 degrees Celsius with mountainous areas dipping to 6-8 degrees Celsius and some high-altitude regions possibly seeing below three degrees Celsius. In central Vietnam, temperatures will range from 14 to 17 degrees Celsius in Quang Binh to Hue and 16 to 19 degrees Celsius in Da Nang to Quang Ngai.

World News

-- South Korea's prosecutors indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday for leading an insurrection through his brief imposition of martial law on December 3, 2024, a move criticized by his lawyers as the prosecution's worst choice but welcomed by the main opposition party, according to Reuters.

-- U.S. President Donald Trump mocked Denmark's efforts to bolster Greenland's defense, including adding two dog sled patrols, as he reiterated America's interest in the Arctic island. Denmarks defense minister admitted shortcomings in protecting Greenland but announced plans to invest $1.5 billion in inspection ships, drones, and dog sled patrols, Financial Times reported on Sunday.

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Police in Da Nang City, central Vietnam have dismantled a Chinese-led international fraud and money laundering ring that defrauded more than 800 Vietnamese victims of nearly US$72 million.

The municipal police department announced on Sunday that they had arrested six suspects, including 43-year-old Zhangmao, a Chinese national and one of the masterminds of the fraud ring.

Zhangmaos five Vietnamese accomplices have been identified as 31-year-old H.T.T. from Thai Nguyen Province, 22-year-old P.T.K. from Thanh Hoa Province, 24-year-old N.Q.T. from Hue City, 21-year-old N.T.N.A. from Thai Binh Province, and 34-year-old T.D.C. from Ho Chi Minh City.

All six detainees have been charged with fraudulent appropriation of assets and money laundering under the Vietnamese Penal Code, according to a police report.

The transnational gang began operating in August 2024 and targeted over 800 Vietnamese victims, fraudulently appropriating nearly VND1.8 trillion ($72 million) before being brought down.

Investigators revealed that the criminal network operated under the guise of a company named DH889, located in the Kim Sa 2 area of Cambodia.

The company, managed by several Chinese nationals, employed many Vietnamese workers to carry out its schemes.

A Vietnamese police officer in Da Nang City, central Vietnam is seen questioning a woman who is one of the five Vietnamese suspects involved in a Chinese-led international fraud ring. Photo: H.B.

The syndicate used various methods to con victims, including fraudulent investment apps, dating apps, TikTok, and hacking the victims' Telegram accounts.

One victim from Da Nang alone was scammed out of VND5 billion ($200,000).

DH889 also employed sophisticated methods to launder money obtained from its scams and from other criminal rackets operating in the Kim Sa 2 area.

The Vietnamese suspects who traveled to Cambodia to work for DH889 were aware they were part of a fraud organization.

To avoid detection, they concealed their identities and used aliases during their employment.

This tactic created significant challenges for investigators in verifying the suspects' identities and uncovering their activities.

The Da Nang police department is continuing its investigation to identify and apprehend additional suspects connected to the case.

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The newly signed MOU between NAB Vietnam and RMIT Vietnam focuses on equipping students with the skills and knowledge necessary for success in the rapidly evolving global tech economy. The partnerships vision is brought to life through initiatives that integrate real-world business insights into academic learning and emphasize hands-on experience.

NAB Innovation Centre Vietnams General Director Howard Silby said: We are excited to partner with RMIT University to build talent pipelines and support the development of future leaders in Vietnam. This MOU exemplifies our commitment to investing in education and creating opportunities for students and professionals alike.

The collaboration will see NAB Vietnam actively contribute to RMITs curriculum by integrating case studies, co-designing projects, and aligning specialized majors and minors with industry demands.

Central to this partnership is Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities, offering students real-world experience through internships, fieldwork placements, and workplace simulations at NAB Vietnam. Additionally, NAB Vietnam will actively engage in RMITs career fairs, extracurricular events, and guest lecture programs, providing students with networking opportunities and industry insights.

Jodie Altan, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor-Engagement at RMIT Vietnam, expressed excitement about the partnership: "We are excited about the potential this strategic partnership holds for both RMIT Vietnam and NAB Vietnam, most importantly, for our students. This partnership is designed with RMIT students in mind, and together we aim to nurture the next generation. RMIT students will gain invaluable hands-on experiences through bespoke NAB programs and internships, preparing them for the dynamic workforce."

NAB Vietnam is committed to fostering a thriving and inclusive workplace. Its innovative practices and dedication to people have garnered regional recognition, including being named the "Best Company to Work for in Asia 2024" by HR Asia and a Great Place To Work, and receiving the "Corporate Excellence" award at the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) 2024. These accolades reflect NAB Vietnams workplace culture, employee engagement, and community initiatives.

Similarly, the companys IT career development programs, including StarCamp and WeCamp, have enriched the professional journeys of over 300 students, offering them invaluable mentorship and job opportunities.

About NAB Innovation Centre Vietnam

In 2019, NAB (National Australia Bank) established a presence in Vietnam to tap into the rich pool of technology talent to help it deliver great digital experiences for the banks ten million customers. Since then, NAB Innovation Centre Vietnam has witnessed exponential growth in Vietnam, opening two offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, with the workforce more than doubling in the past two years.

More information about NABs Global Innovation Centres can be found here.
HA NOI  The domestic cement industry faces a bleak outlook this year, with supply significantly outpacing demand, insiders said.

Nguyen Thanh Tung, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Cement Corp (VICEM) said the domestic cement market this year will continue to struggle as supply far exceeds demand.

While cement supply is projected to reach approximately 124.75 million tonnes this year, domestic demand is only expected to be around 63.5 million tonnes. Tung also noted that the production cost of raw materials and fuel remains high.

As a result, many cement manufacturers are engaging in fierce price competition to maintain their market share and boost consumption.

Meanwhile, export markets present a challenging outlook, with several countries and territories tightening trade barriers on imported cement products. Notably, Taiwan (China) has launched an investigation into potential anti-dumping practices concerning cement exports from Viet Nam.

Furthermore, the Philippines has not only imposed anti-dumping taxes on Vietnamese cement, but is also considering implementing additional self-imposed taxes to safeguard its domestic production sector, according to Tung.

Domestic companies are also grappling with intense competition on both selling prices and transportation costs from regional rivals such as Indonesia and Thailand.

They have faced growing challenges in exporting to the European market due to stringent environmental protection policies, tax barriers, strict carbon emission regulations and high quality standards.

Looking ahead, cement producers will need to make substantial investments in technology and waste control systems to meet state regulations on reducing dust and CO2 emissions from the production process. However, these improvements are likely to lead to higher costs, Hung said.

This year, VICEM aims to sell 17.87 million tonnes of clinker in the domestic market, marking an 8.3 per cent increase compared to last year. The company is targeting a revenue of over VN29.41 trillion by the year-end.

Expert Nguyen Quang Cung has petitioned the Government to draw up solutions to increase cement consumption in the domestic market.

To address the surplus in cement supply, Cung highlighted the importance of adopting cement reinforcement technology for roadbeds instead of traditional methods, to enhance the quality and durability of road infrastructure.

The Vietnam Cement Association has urged the Government to quickly submit a proposal to the National Assembly to abolish the export tax on clinker, arguing that it is a deeply processed product, rather than a raw material.

In the short term, if the clinker export tax is not abolished, the association suggested the State retain the export tax on clinker at 5 per cent for the next two years and consider amending the value-added tax policy on clinker production so that clinker is classified as a commodity eligible for the value-added tax deduction.  VNS
HA NOI  In a draft proposal for a National Assembly Resolution on building regional and international financial centres in Viet Nam, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has proposed a controlled testing policy (sandbox) for business models applying technology in the financial sector (fintech).

The Financial Centre Management and Operations Committee will be authorised to issue licences, oversee management, evaluate impacts and manage risks for sandbox trials in fintech activities, including platforms for trading digital and cryptocurrency assets.

The Government will provide detailed regulations on measures to prevent money laundering, as well as inspections and certifications regarding the security, cybersecurity and safety of digital asset service providers.

The management, issuance, ownership and trading of NFTs (a type of digital asset), utility tokens and cryptocurrency mining will also fall under Government authority. This aims to mitigate risks associated with energy security and environmental impact.

Purchases, payments, transfers and other transactions between organisations and individuals in the international financial centres are allowed to be conducted in VN or freely convertible foreign currencies.

Under the Governments plan, financial centres in HCM City and a Nang are set to be established and operational by 2025. The construction of these centres aims to position Viet Nam as a significant financial hub in the region and globally.

Data from CoinGecko indicates that the global cryptocurrency market value peaked at nearly US$3.3 trillion on November 14, 2024.

Viet Nam ranks among the top countries globally in cryptocurrency ownership, according to the latest Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index report by Chainalysis.

However, Viet Nam currently lacks a clear definition of virtual currencies and digital assets. Existing regulations only address the concept of electronic money tied to fiat currencies, such as prepaid bank cards and e-wallets.

Cryptocurrencies are not banned in Viet Nam, but are not yet recognised as assets. The lack of a legal framework for these assets has led many businesses to register in Singapore or the US before operating in Viet Nam, which reduces the countrys competitive advantage and results in tax revenue losses.

From a user perspective, the lack of transparency in this area increases transaction risks.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam expects to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) with the creation of an investment support fund which offers large incentives to large tech firms.

It has signed a decree which will establish the fund, hoping to attract major investors with subsidies which it hopes will be particularly attractive to the foreign tech sector.

On 31 December 2024, the Decree No 182/2024/N-CP on establishment, management and usage of the Investment Support Fund was officially issued by the Government. The Decree establishes the framework for the fund, providing cash grants and subsidies to companies which qualify.

Under the decree, the qualification criteria for project eligibility have been meticulously defined, ensuring alignment with economic development priorities.

The fund will be founded by the Government, along with the Ministry of Planning and Investment who are mandated to operate the fund, which will be financed from the State Budget.

There are two main types of subsidy under the fund, known as an annual expenses subsidy and an initial investment subsidy.

For the first type, the fund is directed at providing annual financial support for enterprises and investment projects in the high tech arena and in research and development, while the second type would be available for enterprises having R&D centres in semiconductors and AI.

Types of expenses for subsidy include training and human resource development expenses, R&D expenses, cost of newly invested fixed assets, manufacturing expenses of high-tech products, social infrastructure construction expenses and other expenses, as determined by the Government.

The decree is expected to encourage development of high-tech industries, particularly in the semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors. Accordingly, enterprises investing in research and development projects in these two sectors will be eligible for financial support of up to 50 per cent of their initial investment costs.

This initiative is designed to also create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to seize opportunities in the global value chain.

The decree will be active from fiscal year (FY) 2024, and the specified timeline for annual applications for subsidy is before 10 July of the year following the subsidised FY.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung stressed that the fund will play a key role in establishing Viet Nam as the leading AI research and development centre in Asia.

For the first time ever, Viet Nam has rolled out this new groundbreaking incentive scheme, marking a significant milestone in the country's efforts to attract world-class high-tech businesses to further invest in Viet Nam, said the deputy general director of Tax and Legal Advisory Services, Deloitte Vietnam, Bui Ngoc Tuan.

This strategic initiative underscores the Government's commitment to fostering innovation and establishing Viet Nam as a hub for cutting-edge technology.

With the decree being effective from FY 2024, enterprises are being encouraged to start their assessment and relevant preparation as quickly as possible, to ensure that they are in a position to get support from the fund, as well as to be ready for the first application to be submitted in July 2025, where applicable, according to Deloitte Vietnam.

The Foreign Investment Agency, Ministry of Planning and Investment, said that in 2024, a number of notable projects of large companies expanded their operations in the country including a capital increase of Samsung Display, the semiconductor manufacturer Amkor and LG Display. In addition there are many projects underway managed by tech firms such as Foxconn, Goertek and Luxshare.

According to the agency, foreign investment to Viet Nam has continued to grow in recent years, but the number of large-scale investment projects with high tech content continues to be modest.

Currently Viet Nam has 110 existing foreign investment projects with a capital of over $500 million per each, of which only 27 projects are in the high-tech sector.

Meanwhile, the global minimum tax applied from 2024 also affects Viet Nam's competitiveness. Some businesses have considered new investment and expansion plans in Viet Nam.

Therefore, the decree on establishing this fund with many supportive policies for investors contributes significantly to increasing the attractiveness of the investment environment in Viet Nam, thereby attracting more large-scale projects, especially in the fields of semiconductors and AI.

FDI disbursement in 2024

Viet Nams foreign direct investment (FDI) disbursement reached an all-time high of about US$25.4 billion last year, an annual increase of 9.4 per cent, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

A total of 3,375 new projects worth $19.7 billion were approved, up 1.8 per cent and down 7.6 per cent year-on-year, respectively. FDI inflows targeted 18 of Viet Nams 21 economic sectors, with the manufacturing and processing industry taking the lead with $25.6 billion, followed by real estate with $6.3 billion.

In terms of investors, 114 countries and territories poured capital into the country. Singapore topped the list with $10.2 billion, followed by the Republic of Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong, and Japan.

Bac Ninh emerged as the top destination for FDI, attracting $5.1 billion, 2.8 times higher than the 2023 figure. Hai Phong and HCM City secured the second and third spots, attracting $4.9 billion and about $3 billion, respectively.

The FIA said foreign capital continues to play a pivotal role in Viet Nams economic development. The implementation of major projects in semiconductors, energy and high-tech industries have bolstered the local economic transformation.

By the end of 2024, Viet Nam had attracted a cumulative $502.8 billion in FDI across 42,002 valid projects. The manufacturing and processing industry dominated with $308.8 billion, followed by real estate ($73.2 billion) and power production and distribution ($41.9 billion).

The RoK was the top investor with over $92 billion, followed by Singapore, Japan, Taiwan (China) and Hong Kong (China). HCM City led in FDI attraction with nearly $59 billion, followed by Binh Duong ($42.5 billion) and Ha Noi ($42.3 billion). VNS
HA NOI  In the newly released second part of the documentary Ho Chi Minh  Con uong Phia Truoc (Ho Chi Minh  The Road Ahead), the remarkable diplomacy of President Ho Chi Minh shines brightly.

Entitled Khai Hoan Ca Giua Long Paris (Victory Song in the Heart of Paris), the second part, by screenwriter and director Ngo Quang Thinh, masterfully portrays Ho Chi Minh's strategic efforts to gain the support of European nations in resisting the American War in Viet Nam.

The film was completed with consultation from esteemed scholars and historians, including Associate Professor Dr Ha Minh Hong, a Vietnamese history expert, Professor Dr Trinh Quang Phu, author of several books about President Ho Chi Minhs life and revolutionary career, and Madame Helen Luc, a former senator of the French Communist Party.

The premiere on January 23 was an emotional affair, as the film crew shared their journey  the highs and lows of the filmmaking process. They discussed everything from battling adverse weather conditions to adapting to changes in historical locations, showcasing the immense effort that went into bringing this story to life.

The crew also delved into the extensive research required to craft a narrative that is both concise and deeply emotional, ensuring the documentary remains engaging and impactful while conveying its powerful message.

The period between 1917 and 1923 in France profoundly influenced the revolutionary life of Nguyen Ai Quoc, later known as Ho Chi Minh.

When Nguyen Tat Thanh (another name of Ho Chi Minh) first arrived in France in 1917, he was a young patriot without political leanings. By the time he left France in 1923, he had become Nguyen Ai Quoc  a renowned communist, the leader of the liberation movement for oppressed nations.

The documentary Ho Chi Minh  The Road Ahead: Victory Song in the Heart of Paris consists of two episodes. Episode 1 is titled From Le Havre to Paris, and Episode 2 is named The Flag on the Spire of Notre Dame Cathedral.

The highlight of Episode 2 is the daring story of three Swiss youths, Olivier Parriaux, Bernard Bachelard and Noe Graff, who bravely hung the flag of the National Front for the Liberation of South Viet Nam atop Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on January 19, 1969, a courageous act in support of peace for the Vietnamese people. This momentous event coincided with the beginning of the Paris Peace Conference negotiations.

This documentary is the first to recount their story in detail, marking the only occasion in 55 years that the three men reunited beneath Notre Dame Cathedral after their heroic act of support for Viet Nam.

The second episode was shot in both France and Switzerland. Notably, in France, the crew filmed at locations that were significant to President Ho Chi Minh, as well as places where the Vietnamese delegation stayed during the Paris Peace Agreement negotiations.

Many guests at the film premiere were deeply moved, particularly by the striking visual effects that vividly portrayed the scene of three Swiss youths climbing and placing the flag atop Notre Dame Cathedral.

The two episodes of the documentary will air at 8pm on 27 on the digital platforms of the Television Film Studios HTV-TFS, including YouTube channels PhimhayTFS, HTVfilms, NewZ and the TFS and NewZ fan pages. It will also be broadcast at 10pm on January 27 on HTV9.

The first part of the documentary, Ho Chi Minh  The Road Ahead: Stories from Russia, has garnered top accolades, clinching the A Prize at the 2023 National Press Awards as well as a Golden Kite Award, Viet Nam's highest honour in cinema. VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam is experiencing a rapid expansion of its digital economy, with over 70 million people, or 71 per cent of the population, actively engaging on social media platforms. This coincides with the growing participation of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) across digital platforms, which is playing an increasing role in shaping public opinion and fostering the national images.

KOLs have demonstrated their power to connect, helping to create new, innovative approaches to reach both domestic and global audiences. Their influence has contributed to advancing foreign information campaigns promoting the countrys images on digital platforms.

A notable campaign, launched in celebration of Viet Nam's 79th National Day (September 2, 1945  2024), was entitled Cung Huong Ve La Co To Quoc (Together Toward the Fartherlands Flag). Organised by the Viet Nam Youth Federation, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC)s Authority of Foreign Information Service, TikTok, and Schannel Network, the campaign garnered widespread support from the youth and the general public, contributing to a massive online movement that celebrated the countrys flag and patriotism.

On TikTok, hashtags such as #NgayQuockhanh, #ToiYeuToQuocToi, and #happyvietnam spread rapidly, amassing more than 60,000 videos and 10,000 instances using video templates featuring the national flag. The campaign generated around 800 million views, with 99 per cent of content being positive. On Facebook and Instagram, over 200,000 people changed their profile pictures to include the flag, while 21,000 used related story templates to share inspiring images.

Building on this success, in October last year, the Authority of Foreign Information Services collaborated with Channel Network to promote the Viet Nam Military History Museum, reaching over 10 million views with 15 pieces of content.

Additionally, KOLs have been instrumental in promoting other national initiatives such as the "Happy Vietnam" photo and video competitions in 2023 and 2024, the 70th anniversary of the ien Bien Phu Victory celebrations in Ha Noi and ien Bien Province. They also took part in tourism promotion events in Quang Ninh Provinces Ha Long City and Thanh Hoa Provinces Pu Luong nature reserve last year, all of which attracted millions of views.

According to a survey by the authority, KOLs have proven to be key in simplifying governmental policies by "telling stories" and making complicated, "dry" information more engaging and accessible. Through regular engagement on social media platforms, they effectively communicate with target audiences across various sectors including culture, politics, economy, and society.

Reports showed that countries with strong digital images often attract more investment and tourism, better promote their cultural values, and create a positive international presence.

Le Quang Tu Do, Director of the MIC's Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information, noted that in 2023, the ministry initiated collaboration with KOLs to align with communication campaigns aimed at achieving national objectives. The ministry also encourages the groups creation of meaningful contents, with rewards and recognition for those who contribute positively to society and the country. VNS
HA NOI  The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Russia and Viet Nam have seen significant progress in recent years, with continued positive momentum in 2025, said Russian Ambassador to Viet Nam Gennady Bezdetko in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the outset of the Lunar New Year Festival (Tet)  Viet Nams biggest annual traditional celebration.

The ambassador attributed this progress to enhanced political dialogue between their leaders, underpinned by mutual trust. Notable milestones last year included Russian President Vladimir Putins state visit to Viet Nam from June 19-20, and his meetings with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the BRICS Summit in Kazan on October 24, which provided a strong impetus for multifaceted cooperation. This positive trajectory continued in 2025 with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin's recent official visit to Viet Nam, during which both sides reached practical agreements in various fields.

According to the diplomat, bilateral trade has been on the rise. Viet Nam's statistics showed that the two-way trade turnover in the January-November period increased by 25 per cent to 4.15 billion USD. The two countries aim to increase this figure to 15 billion USD by 2030, by leveraging opportunities created by the free trade agreement between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU - including Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan).

Bezdetko said promising cooperation areas include oil and gas, nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, automobile manufacturing, agriculture, and high technology. Regional collaboration is also being prioritised by Russia, with efforts underway to facilitate projects involving small- and medium-sized enterprises in both countries.

Both sides are keen to expand joint work in culture and humanities, with over 3,000 Vietnamese students currently studying at Russian universities, the diplomat added.

He stated that for Russia, Viet Nam remains a key partner in Southeast Asia. The ambassador highlighted Viet Nams role as an important hub for Russian exports to the region and shared that Russian companies are focusing on modernising shipping, transport and digital services to streamline trade with Viet Nam.

The diplomat suggested the two sides expand cooperation into new areas such as solar and wind energy, as well as green transport. Russia is ready to implement nuclear power projects in Viet Nam and develop electric waterway transport systems. Additionally, Russia is exploring the possibility of supplying Viet Nam with low-carbon industrial products and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Other potential areas of collaboration include public administration digitalisation, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, where Russia has considerable expertise to share, he recommended.

Talking about his expectations for breakthroughs this year in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, he assessed that both sides are continuing to collaborate to further enhance the supply of goods to each others markets, as well as to explore solutions and secure bilateral payment mechanisms for international trade transactions.

Russia is ready to provide Viet Nam with oil, LNG, and petroleum products, and help Viet Nam develop renewable energy projects and electric waterway transport systems, he said.

Efforts to build the Viet Nam-Russia centre for nuclear science and technology will continue, with Russia offering its expertise to develop Viet Nams nuclear power industry, Bezdetko affirmed. Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom is also ready to participate in the construction of the Ninh Thuan-1 nuclear power plant using state-of-the-art technology, he added.  VNS
HA NOI Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man on January 26 sent messages of congratulations to Micheal Martin and Verona Murphy on their election as the Prime Minister and Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Ireland, respectively.

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son also extended congratulations to Simon Harris on his election as Irish Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Minister of Defence. VNS
GIA LAI  The warm and heartfelt year-end meal brings joy and encouragement to inmates serving their prison sentences.

The event is organised by Gia Trung Prison (under the General Department of Prison Management, Compulsory Education Facilities, and Juvenile Reform Schools of the Ministry of Public Security, located in Gia Lai Province).

Even within the special environment of a prison, inmates still get to experience a cosy atmosphere with traditional dishes such as banh chung (square sticky rice cake), braised pork, gio cha (Vietnamese pork sausage), and familiar vegetables.

More than just a meal, this event is an opportunity for 40 well-rehabilitated inmates and their family members to feel the care and attention from the prison's Board of Officers, Management Board, and the broader community.

Inmate Le Quy Phong, currently serving a 16-year sentence, said: "Over the past year, the Officers Council at Gia Trung Prison has taken great care of us, providing favourable conditions for meals, living arrangements, education, labour, rehabilitation, and medical care.

"Additionally, we are allowed to meet our families. Todays year-end banquet is a precious opportunity for us to reunite with our loved ones. It serves as a great motivation for me to strive harder in rehabilitation, comply with prison regulations, overcome my past mistakes and hopefully receive the governments leniency policies in the near future."

Similarly, inmate Nguyen Lam Son, serving a 16-year sentence and currently in his third year at Gia Trung Prison, said: "During my time here, I have received good care from the prison staff and visits from my family.

"Being able to sit down and share a meal in such a warm and joyful atmosphere makes me very happy. I promise my family that I will continue to work hard in rehabilitation so that I can earn an early release under the states clemency policies."

During her visit to share a meal with her son Nguyen Hoang Ninh, who is serving his sentence at Subdivision No. 3, Nguyen Thi Le Thanh expressed deep emotions:

She said: "No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes at some point. This is a profound lesson that my son will carry with him for the rest of his life. I encouraged him to stay strong, follow the prison regulations, and strive for an early return to our family."

Currently, Gia Trung Prison houses, manages and rehabilitates over 3,500 inmates. Between December 16, 2023, and December 6, 2024, the facility granted sentence reductions in three rounds to over 1,900 inmates and conditionally released 61 inmates in three rounds.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran Van Mai, Deputy Warden of Gia Trung Prison, emphasised that the prison constantly strives to provide the best possible conditions for inmates to rehabilitate and reintegrate into society.

The year-end meal serves as a moment for inmates to feel a sense of closeness and encouragement, fostering a mindset of self-improvement and reformation. Events like this also help reduce tension and contribute to maintaining order within the prison.

While many inmates have made significant efforts to reform, work hard and study diligently, some still do not yet meet the minimum time requirements for clemency policies.

The annual year-end meal organised by Gia Trung Prison is a symbol of compassion, care and responsibility from the prisons Management Board and Officers Council toward the inmates. It also serves as a bridge for families to reunite with incarcerated loved ones during Tet, encouraging inmates to stay committed to self-improvement and rehabilitation.

For Tet 2025, the prisons Golden Heart Fund has allocated support for 181 inmates who face severe economic hardships and had no family visits in 2024, providing them with VN27 million (US$1,100) each. Additionally, nine children living in the prison with their mothers will receive VN1.8 million (US$73) per child.

During the year-end meal, Gia Trung Prison also launched a donation campaign, calling on officers, soldiers, and inmates families to contribute to the Golden Heart Fund. The donations will be used to provide gifts and financial support for disadvantaged inmates and children staying with their mothers in prison throughout 2025.  VNS
CAN THO -- National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man on January 26 paid a Tet (Lunar New Year) visit to the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, where he extended greetings to the municipal Party Committees Standing Board and presented gifts to local heroic mothers, policy beneficiaries, workers, and impoverished households.

Talking to the municipal Party Committees Standing Board, the top legislator commended the remarkable achievements that Can Tho made in 2024, particularly its status as the locality with the lowest poverty rate in the region.

Man expressed his hope that the municipal leaders will continue prioritising care for policy beneficiaries, low-income families, and workers during the Tet holiday. He also urged them to ensure political security, social order, and a clean, green environment to attract tourists during the festive season.

Meanwhile, at a local event held to celebrate Tet and distribute gifts to Vietnamese heroic mothers, policy beneficiaries, workers, and underprivileged families, the NA leader affirmed that the Party, State, and Can Thos authorities have made consistent efforts to safeguard national defence, political stability, and social order, while improving support for disadvantaged communities in the locality.

During his visit, Man also extended Tet greetings at several key units, including the municipal Military Command, Can Tho General Hospital, and the Standing Board of Binh Thuy Districts Party Committee.

He lauded the achievements of these units and the locality and encouraged them to build on their strengths and potential to accomplish even greater success this year, to contribute to fulfilling resolutions of the municipal Party Committees 14th congress (20202025) and of the 13th National Party Congress.

On this occasion, the top legislator personally delivered gifts to policy beneficiaries and various organisations in the city. V
How do you assess the future of business tourism in Vietnam in 2025, considering professionalism and the countrys digital transformation?

Indronil Sengupta, chairman of the Indian Business Chamber in Hanoi

Vietnams event tourism sector is on the verge of significant growth, driven by the countrys digital transformation and commitment to sustainable development. The outlook for this sector in 2025 appears highly promising, with several key trends signalling its potential for growth.

A crucial element behind this growth is the governments focus on clear policies and fostering partnerships within the tourism industry. These efforts are positioning Vietnam as a competitive player in the regional market. A notable 35 per cent increase in business tourism revenue in early 2024 highlights the countrys strong recovery and the growing global interest in its offerings.

Vietnam has also proven its capability in hosting large-scale business events, demonstrated by the successful arrival of 4,500 Indian visitors. This shows the countrys ability to meet the demands of sophisticated business travellers, making it an appealing destination for corporate events.

What key conditions are needed to develop event tourism in regions beyond Vietnams major cities?

While Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City are currently the primary hubs for Vietnams event tourism, regions like Quang Ninh and Khanh Hoa are rapidly emerging as competitive alternatives. These areas are beginning to showcase their potential and growing importance within the sector.

To unlock the full potential of these emerging destinations, several key steps must be taken. First, substantial investment in infrastructure is essential, particularly in modernising transportation networks and building state-of-the-art venues that can meet the specific needs of the event industry. This would significantly enhance the overall experience for event organisers and attendees, making these regions more attractive for international conferences and corporate events.

Equally important is improving service quality. By implementing robust training programmes for local staff in hospitality, event management, and customer service, these regions can raise their service standards, ensuring a seamless and positive experience for all participants.

What are the main challenges the event industry in Vietnam will face this year?

The industry in Vietnam is currently grappling with several significant challenges. Among the most pressing issues are a fragmented market, a lack of systematic connections between key industry players, and an insufficient level of professional training for the workforce. These issues hinder growth and limit Vietnams ability to compete with established regional destinations.

Despite these challenges, significant opportunities lie ahead, particularly in emerging markets like India. The growing middle class, expanding corporate sectors, and increasing international business activities in such market like India create strong demand for high-quality business services. This provides Vietnam with an opportunity to position itself as a preferred destination for Indian companies hosting international events.

To leverage this opportunity, we can support growth by professional training to improve local expertise. Beyond training, we can broaden the countrys presence in the global market by cultivating strategic partnerships between Vietnamese businesses and international firms.

Given Vietnams focus on sustainable tourism, could this be a major factor in attracting more foreign investors this year?

Vietnams commitment to green transformation plays a pivotal role in attracting foreign investors. The countrys focus on eco-friendly practices resonates with the values and priorities of many international businesses eager to invest in responsible initiatives.

By positioning itself as a green destination that emphasises environmental protection, Vietnam not only aligns with global trends but also strengthens its appeal to foreign investors looking to engage in the event tourism industry. This alignment creates a powerful incentive for responsible investment.

For example, Indian companies, particularly those with a strong emphasis on corporate social responsibility and environmental stewardship, will find Vietnams sustainable tourism agenda highly attractive.

The alignment between Vietnams green transformation and Indian investors focus on relevant models creates a significant opportunity for collaboration and investment in the coming year.

The country can actively engage with the Indian business community, emphasising its commitment and showcasing the competitive advantages of its eco-friendly offerings.

Growth prospects for Vietnams event tourism in 2025

What are your predictions for these shifts, and how can Vietnam capitalise on new opportunities?

It is set to undergo significant changes, with digital innovation and sustainability at the forefront. These trends will reshape the industry, influencing how events are organised and experienced worldwide.

The adoption of digital technologies will be crucial, with organisers and venues investing in advanced digital infrastructure, virtual and hybrid capabilities, and data-driven analytics to enhance attendee experiences. Simultaneously, there will be increasing demand for eco-friendly practices, with destinations prioritising green initiatives and responsible tourism.

Vietnam is poised to capitalise on its targets and rich cultural heritage to emerge as a key player in global event tourism. By enhancing its digital infrastructure and promoting eco-friendly practices, the country is well-positioned to attract the expanding international market such as India, where demand for high-quality, innovative, and responsible business events is on the rise. This strategic focus will bolster Vietnams competitive edge on the international stage.

New impetus for the tourism industry Vietnam is crafting rural tourism models to preserve its landscapes and bring higher economic value to the industry.
The robust performance, coupled with low non-performing loan ratios and top-tier key performance indicators, positions the bank for continued success in the coming development phase.

Return on assets reached 2.04 per cent and return on equity reached 25.7 per cent, both surpassing the previous year and solidifying the bank's position among the top banks in the sector. The consolidated non-performing loan ratio was low at only 1.48 per cent. The capital adequacy ratio according to Basel II was 14.1 per cent, higher than the state bank's regulations. All other prudential ratios were also well-maintained.

HDBank's subsidiary, HD SAISON solidified its position in consumer finance, achieving $47.8 million in profit, an 84 per cent increase on-year. This performance highlights HDBank's capabilities and unwavering commitment to sustainable growth and effective risk management.

Total assets reached $27 billion, a 15.8 per cent increase on-year. Capital mobilisation exceeded $24.8 billion, up 15.7 per cent, driven by an 18 per cent increase in deposits from economic organisations and individuals.

Loan growth remained robust, with total outstanding loans reaching over $17.4 billion, a 24 per cent increase. HDBank continues to focus on lending to key sectors driving economic growth, including agriculture, rural areas, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and supply chain financing.

HDBank currently serves approximately 20 million customers, with 97 per cent of retail transactions conducted on digital platforms. Digital channels contributed to 82 per cent of new customers. The bank launched many products and services on modern digital platforms that have been well-received by the market, especially the digital bank Vikki.

The bank completed a 30 per cent dividend distribution in 2024, including 10 per cent in cash and 20 per cent in shares. This places HDBank among the sector leaders in shareholder returns.

HDBank has been entrusted by the government and the State Bank of Vietnam with the compulsory transfer of DongA Bank. This strategic undertaking underscores HDBank's solid financial position and proven expertise in navigating complex restructuring processes. It also presents opportunities to expand the bank's scale, explore new business models, and deliver enhanced value to shareholders, customers, and partners.

Alongside its business activities, HDBank consistently focuses on fulfilling its social responsibilities with practical and meaningful initiatives. In 2024, the bank launched a preferential credit package worth $478.5 million to support customers in restoring production, business, and reconstruction after Typhoon Yagi, which caused widespread damage in northern Vietnam.

Furthermore, HDBank and its business units contributed $3.2 million to a nationwide initiative to eradicate temporary and rundown houses, an initiative launched by the Prime Minister. These actions reflect the bank's strong spirit of sharing and deep community responsibility.

HDBank's efforts in business and social responsibility have been recognised by prestigious domestic and international organisations with many valuable awards.

The bank was honoured for the second time by the Asian Development Bank as the 'Leading Partner Bank in Vietnam' and continued to be included in the Vietnam Sustainability Index of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

HDBank received the Vietnam National Brand Award in 2024, a prestigious recognition by the government honouring esteemed, reputable enterprises that contribute significantly to the nation's economy.

HDBank wins three titles at Vietnam Listed Company Awards HDBank won three prestigious titles at the Vietnam Listed Company Awards (VLCA) 2024 on November 16, reaffirming its position as one of the best in the banking and finance sector through its commitment to information transparency and professional governance.

HDBank in triple victory at listed company awards HDBank won three titles at the Vietnam Listed Company Awards on November 16, reaffirming its position as one of the best in the banking and finance sector through its commitment to information transparency and professional governance.
Abortion-rights demonstrators protest outside the Bob Casey Federal Courthouse Friday, June, 24, 2022, in Houston, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade that guaranteed womens constitutional right to an abortion. Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

At least 100 Texas children aged 17 and younger got abortions in other states during the first year after Texas banned the procedure, including six aged 11 and under, according to the latest state data available.

The total is a nearly ninefold jump in the number of children getting out-of-state abortions from five years earlier and comes as virtually all abortions have ground to a halt in Texas under a ban that makes no exception for fetal abnormality, rape, or incest. Texas age of consent, when a person may legally consent to engage in sexual activity, is 17.

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The figures underscore the effect of blocking the procedure for one of the states most vulnerable populations. Children typically see more complications during pregnancy than adult women, doctors said, including high risks of premature delivery or preeclampsia, a serious condition that causes high blood pressure.

These are not just statistics, said state Rep. Mihaela Plesa, a North Texas Democrat, in an interview Wednesday, the 50th anniversary of the now-overturned Roe v. Wade case that had previously established a federal constitutional right to abortion.

These are real stories about people who are having these traumatic experiences. Its happened right here in my district in Plano. This isn't happening just in low socioeconomic areas or certain districts. This is happening all over our state.

The rise in out-of-state abortions comes as the overall number of Texas minors accessing the procedure has plummeted.

In the years before the abortion ban took effect in August 2022, between 1,000 and 1,400 Texas minors received abortions in the state annually. There were none in 2023, data from Texas Health and Human Services Commission shows. At least 105 Texas children got an abortion out of state in 2023, the majority of them between the ages of 16 and 17.

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The annual data, which was released this fall, is likely an undercount. Texas receives information about out-of-state abortions from a national data exchange called the State and Territorial Exchange of Vital Events, or STEVE, but an HHS spokesperson said not every state provides data on abortions.

HHS originally indicated that the data only covered the first half of 2023 and declined to answer questions about it. After the story was published, the agency said it actually accounted for the entire year. Data on out-of-state abortions from 2024 have not yet been released.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recently said he wanted lawmakers to make clear when doctors can perform emergency abortions amid widespread confusion over how to interpret the bans only exception. Reporting by national investigative nonprofit ProPublica has shown that at least three women have died after doctors delayed treating miscarriages.

But Patrick and other state Republican leaders have made no mention of expanding exceptions to include minors, victims of rape and incest or other vulnerable groups. When asked about the lack of a rape exception to Texas then-six-week ban in 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott said that goal No. 1 in the state of Texas is to eliminate rape.

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Plesa filed a bill last session seeking to expand the exceptions to include unemancipated minors who want an abortion but do not have parental consent or judicial approval. It didnt receive a committee hearing in the GOP-led House, but she said she plans to file a similar bill this session.

She added that in many cases, these are minors who have been abused, who are victims, who have already had a traumatic experience, and now are having to be re-traumatized in order to receive the healthcare that they need.

Rising demand, and costs

While the states age of consent is 17, there are exceptions for consensual sexual activity, such as Texas Romeo and Juliet law, which provides a legal defense for minors who are at least 14 and close in age.

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Still, many of the minors pregnancies represented in the abortion data, and definitely those of the youngest age categories, were likely the result of sexual assault, child welfare advocates said.

John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, did not dispute the data and said that while its a terrifying situation when a very young person becomes pregnant and represents on many levels a breakdown in protecting this minor, the best outcome is a birth, no matter the age or circumstance.

That doesnt mean this individual needs to be a parent, he said. However, we cant ignore what abortion is. It is using violence to take the life of a human being.

Seago said he was not surprised to hear that more minors are traveling out of state for abortions because thats been the trend for adults, which he attributes to an aggressive effort to promote and pitch abortion.

Theres been a lot more money that weve seen from foundations to travel, he said.

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Lucie Arvallo, executive director of Janes Due Process, a Texas-based nonprofit that provides funding for Texas teens traveling for abortion care, said the organization has seen a big increase in demand since the state instituted its bans.

Before the abortion ban took effect, teens in Texas who wanted to terminate a pregnancy needed parental consent or approval from a judge in a process known as judicial bypass. Arvallos group was originally formed in 2001 to provide free legal representation to minors going through the process.

Its had to pivot since Texas ban went into effect because judicial bypass is no longer feasible, Arvallo said, because a minor needing an emergency exception would most likely not have time to initiate a legal proceeding that may or may not turn out in their favor. Typically, its quicker and easier to help the minor travel to a state where parental consent is not required, she said.

The increased demand on abortion clinics in states where the procedure is legal has pushed back wait times, making the costs higher and the procedures more invasive because the pregnancies are further along, Arvallo said.

The average cost per client used to be between $700 and $1,500, but it has jumped to $2,100 to $3,000.

Their bodies are still developing

Arvallo said the most common themes she hears from clients are that they wish they could be treated in their home communities and that they are afraid.

Am I going to get in trouble? Is my parent going to get in trouble for helping me get this? Who is a safe person to talk to about this? they ask her.

Dr. Anitra Beasley, an OB-GYN and medical director for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, said all Texans seeking abortions face greater challenges now that travel is essentially the only option, and each barrier that is put on a minor is even more difficult than it is with an adult.

For a young person, that means finding a trusted adult, if they have one, to confide in and help them find an available appointment, arrange travel and cover the costs.

Teenage pregnancies typically see more complications than those of women, said Dr. Tracey Wilkinson, an associate professor of pediatrics and affiliate professor of obstetric and gynecology at Indiana University.

Their future fertility could also be affected by complications, she added, noting that in a situation where a patient is hemorrhaging, the doctor sometimes has to remove their reproductive organs to save their life.

While their body has the capacity to be pregnant, their ability to carry that pregnancy to term without having bodily harm happen to them during the pregnancy or the delivery is much lower, Wilkinson said. Just because puberty has occurred doesnt mean their body is capable of carrying a pregnancy to term.

Think about the trauma of delivering a child when you are a child, she said. Their brains are still developing. Their bodies are still developing. This is a huge deal.

Threats to doctors in other states

Physicians are skeptical teens could get abortions in Texas even if there were exceptions for rape and incest because they are typically narrow and often have difficult-to-meet requirements. For example, some states require the patient to report the assault to law enforcement or require the patient to access the abortion early in pregnancy.

Even if a patient wanted to exercise the exception and met the requirements, they may not be able to find a provider in Texas where clinics have shuttered their abortion operations, Beasley said. Three of the four states surrounding Texas also have strict abortion bans in place.

The solution would be for people to be able to control their own bodies no matter what the reason they need an abortion, Beasley said.

Seago, with Texas Right to Life, said pregnancy in minors is an outlier. But Wilkinson said the anti-abortion movement has sought to minimize or cast doubt on the very existence of these stories.

Wilkinson is a colleague of Dr. Caitlin Bernard, the Indiana doctor who made national headlines for talking publicly about an abortion she performed on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio.

At first, many anti-abortion politicians and activists, including Indianas Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita, falsely suggested the story was made-up. But later, a 27-year-old man was charged with raping the girl, validating Bernards story. Indianas Medical Licensing Board ultimately issued Bernard a reprimand for violating privacy laws but did not restrict her medical license.

The reaction to Bernards story, Wilkinson said, showed that this is an inconvenient and difficult-to-discuss effect of abortion bans that proponents wish to avoid or pretend does not exist.

From our community, that didnt feel like that outrageous of a story, said Wilkinson, a pediatrician who doesnt perform abortions herself but works with doctors who do. That felt like a Tuesday. But for them, thats not what they want people talking about.

It may become even harder to get a full picture of how many abortions are taking place in the coming years, said Joanna Grossman, a law professor at Southern Methodist University who specializes in legal issues affecting women.

She said thats because GOP officials, including Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, have shown a willingness to go after doctors who provide abortions. Last month, Paxton filed suit against a physician in New York who allegedly mailed abortion pills to a woman in Texas.

He also filed suit in September against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, seeking to overturn a privacy rule that limits the situations in which medical providers must share reproductive health information with state law enforcement officials.

Post-Dobbs, were certainly going to see less data sharing on abortions, Grossman said, adding that some states already dont collect it, such as California. If youre an abortion-protected state, you shouldn't be sharing your abortion data. Why do it? The only people that want it, want it for bad reasons.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
NEW YORK  Costco shareholders rejected a proposal urging the wholesale club operator to evaluate any risks posed by its diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

According to preliminary results shared by Costco executives at its annual meeting Thursday, more than 98% of shares voted against the proposal.

The National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank based in Washington, had submitted the proposal, arguing that Costco's DEI initiatives hold "litigation, reputational and financial risks to the company, and therefore financial risks to shareholders."

The think tank has made a similar proposal to Apple, and like some American companies that already scaled back or retreated from their diversity policies, cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision in July 2023 that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions.

But Costco's board of directors voted unanimously to ask shareholders to reject the motion. The board said it believes "our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary. The report requested by this proposal would not provide meaningful additional information."

The directors' message to shareholders details how having diverse employees and suppliers has, in their view, fostered "creativity and innovation in the merchandise and services that we offer" and led to greater customer satisfaction among Costco members.

In advance of the meeting, Neil Saunders, managing director of consulting firm GlobalData's retail division, said Costco can be confident the proposal will be rejected.

"I think people generally have confidence in Costco's management, and there's an attitude of 'Why rock the boat? It's sailing very nicely,'" Saunders said.

Costco's public stance in support of diversity, equity and inclusion programs contrasts with the positions taken in recent months by other big consumer brands, including Walmart, McDonald's and John Deere.

Last week, more than 30 Walmart shareholders, including Amalgamated Bank and Oxfam America, asked the CEO of the nation's largest retailer to explain the business impact of curbing the company's DEI policies, a move they called "disheartening."

Prominent technology companies, including Amazon and Meta  the parent company of Facebook and Instagram  also have rolled back DEI initiatives, which are expected to face opposition from the administration of President Donald Trump.

Emboldened by the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action at colleges and universities, conservative groups have filed lawsuits making similar arguments about corporations, targeting initiatives such as employee resource groups and hiring practices that prioritize historically marginalized groups.

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order aimed at terminating DEI programs within federal agencies. Conservatives have long condemned them, arguing they violate the U.S. Constitution by considering factors such as race, gender and sexual orientation.

The plan includes leveraging the Justice Department and other agencies to probe private companies pursuing training and hiring practices that conservative critics consider discriminatory against people who do not belong to minority groups, such as white men.

As for Costco, the National Center for Public Policy Research alleged that at least 200,000 of the company's 300,000 employees worldwide "are potentially victims of this type of illegal discrimination because they are white, Asian, male or straight." If only a fraction of those employees were to sue Costco, the legal costs could be significant, the center said.

Costco has a chief diversity officer, but the company's executive ranks do not reflect the diversity of its customers. Nearly 81% of the executives Costco had in place last year were white, and 72% of them were men, according to data published on its website. Saunders said members of Costco's management team typically stay a long time given the company's solid and stable financial performance.

In other ways, Costco has been a bit of a maverick in the corporate world. It doesn't have an official corporate public relations team, and it hasn't focused on building up online business as much as rivals Walmart and Target.

The National Center for Public Policy Research intends to present a proposal at Apple's Feb. 25 shareholder meeting that goes beyond what the think tank wants from Costco. The center's resolution asks the tech company to abolish its inclusion and equity department, policies and goals, describing them as "consistent with, if not more radical than, most corporate DEI programs.

Apple's board wants shareholders to vote down the proposal, saying the company strives "to create a culture of belonging where everyone can do their best work."

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon this week joined the corporate leaders taking a stand in support of the expanded diversity goals some companies added after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd. Dimon defended his bank's DEI policies during an interview with CNBC.

"We are going to continue to reach out to the Black community, Hispanic community, the LGBT community, the veterans community," he said, speaking Wednesday from the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. "And wherever I go, red states, blue states, green states, mayors, governors and they said they like what we do."

Trump's actions this week increase the potential legal risks for companies that resist the conservative backlash against DEI, according to David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at NYU School of Law. But most big companies will have consulted their lawyers or performed an internal self-audit after the Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling, Glasgow said.

"So if you are an Apple or another company who's done that, and you're confident in the legality of your existing DEI program, ... I think what you should do right now is stand firm," he said.
Anthony Franze is a native Texan and very passionate about covering any weather that is thrown at him. He can be reached at anthony.franze@express-news.net.

Anthony earned a degree in Meteorology from Valparaiso University in 2017. He has worked as a broadcast meteorologist for six years, one at NBC Montana and the next five at NewsWest 9 in Midland before joining the Express-News in July 2023.

In his free time, Anthony enjoys watching sports, checking out local restaurants and breweries, and getting outside whenever the heat allows for it. If you have any story ideas, questions about the weather or restaurant suggestions, drop him a line.
Wrexham.com has invited local Members of Parliament and Members of the Senedd to write a monthly article with updates on their work in their respective Parliaments and closer to home  you can find them all here.

In his monthly column for Wrexham.com, Wrexhams MP Andrew Ranger writes:

January often seems like the longest month of the year, the weather turns wintery, the evenings are still dark early, and people try to keep to their resolutions.

However, the work as your MP and my office continues. In January my team have dealt with 229 cases so far but that figure changes daily.

In Westminster, I was privileged to speak in the debate for my Private Members Bill on Licensing Hours Extensions which has now proceeded to Committee Stage.

This is a rare opportunity for a back bench MP and the chance to bring about a small change in legislation that can have a big effect on our hospitality industry and was something that I couldnt miss. It was also able to use my speech to highlight some of the fantastic pubs we have across the constituency of Wrexham.

I have also been part of the Bill Committee for the Armed Forces Commissioner. In Wrexham we have a proud connection with our armed services and this new post will enable serving personnel and their families to have the support they deserve. This Bill has now moved on to the House of Lords.

It was great to meet residents in Llay whilst knocking doors and the issues raised which ranged from adult education to housing will now be actioned as case work by my office team.

Staff and volunteers at the Wallich do such fantastic work with some of the vulnerable in our community.

On my recent visit it was moving to hear about the situations they deal with and the support they provide. I will continue to champion their cause.

I was delighted to meet Mel Morris from Coleg Cambria who has gained a place on the prestigious UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador programme.

Mel will now be using what she has learned from the course to support her students understanding of the UK Parliament and democracy.

Local author Samantha Maxwell visited Parliament for a tour and to promote her two fantastic books Disabling Ableism and CP isnt me.

Sam is an absolute inspiration and doing incredible work to break the stigma around disability. Look out for her next book which is out later this year.

Developing my Welsh language speaking skills is really important to me. I am getting my DuoLingo practice in and even met Duo in Parliament.

With the 6 Nations around the corner, dewch ymlaen Cymru!
North Wales MS urges action to make town centres accessible for all

A North Wales Member of the Senedd has called on the Welsh Government to take action to ensure that town centres are accessible for all.

Welsh Conservative MS Mark Isherwood, who also Chairs the Senedd Cross Party Group on Disability, said that many outdoor spaces are no-go zones for blind and partially sighted people.

Questioning First Minister Eluned Morgan on the matter in the Senedd on Tuesday, Mr Isherwood, who has been calling for improvements for years, highlighted the barriers which still exist for blind and partially sighted people.

He went onto urge the Welsh Government to put words into real action.

Mr Isherwood said: Its almost 22 years since I first attended a Guide Dogs Cymru event here, highlighting the need to stop turning Shared Streets and outdoor public places into no-go zones for blind and partially sighted people by involving them at the design stage.

However, the problem persisted. Early in the pandemic, concern had to be raised by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Cymru and Guide Dogs Cymru about the issue of Shared Space and the implications for blind and partially sighted people of the Welsh Governments temporary transport measures.

RNIB Cymru is continuing to call on the Welsh Government to prioritise the safety of disabled people by incorporating their Key Principles of Inclusive Street Design into the Welsh Governments Active Travel guidance.

And Guide Dogs Cymru are calling on the Welsh Government to act on the findings of their Designing for Inclusion research, and to revise the Active Travel Guidance, Technical Advice Note 18 and other relevant guidance with the involvement of disabled people and other infrastructure users.

How will you ensure that warm Welsh Government words are finally turned into real action on the ground accordingly?

Eluned Morgan MS offered assurances that the Cabinet Secretary for Transport is already working on this issue.

The First Minister said: I do think its important that everybody feels they can be a part of our community.

And, to ensure that, we need to make sure that people with disabilities dont feel locked out; they need to be a part of the process of the development of policies.

So, weve asked the local authorities to ensure that, when theyre working out how to develop their town centres, they take that into account, including people who are blind.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Isherwood said: The Welsh Government action she detailed remains meaningless without monitoring and evaluation of outcomes, followed by intervention when failures to deliver are exposed.
Public set to get vote on booting out misbehaving Senedd members

People would be given a vote on whether to remove badly behaving Senedd members from office between elections under new plans.

The Senedds standards committee published a report recommending a system similar to Westminsters recall of MPs which was enacted in 2015 following the expenses scandal.

Under the plans, from May 2026, voters would be asked if they want to retain a politician who committed a serious breach of the Senedds code of conduct.

With Wales moving to a fully proportional system at the next election, with no by-elections held, the next candidate on a partys list would automatically replace an ousted politician.

During the inquiry, the Electoral Reform Society raised concerns about political parties retaining seats  pointing out that most change hands in by-elections triggered by recall.

Remove or replace ballot

Voters would only get a say if recall was recommended by the committee and signed off by a majority of the Senedd despite concerns about politicians marking their own homework.

The committee recommended a remove or replace vote then be held on a single day, akin to a by-election, with postal and proxy voting. No threshold would be set for turnout and the electorate would get six months notice of a ballot.

Wales would adopt a one-stage process unlike in Westminster  where a petition is opened for six weeks and a 10% threshold must be met to vacate a seat, triggering a by-election.

To avoid confusion between the two systems, the committee recommended referring to the proposed Welsh process as a remove or replace ballot rather than recall.

And, to give themselves more flexibility, Senedd members stopped short of recommending the triggers for such a vote be placed in legislation.

Triggers

While an MP suspended for 10 days or more could face recall, the committee suggested a threshold more than twice as long at about 21 days for Senedd members.

The committee also suggested a prison sentence, whether custodial or suspended, of 12 months or less as a trigger in line with Westminster.

For longer sentences, Senedd members and MPs are already automatically disqualified.

Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds, an ex-MP who was herself elected after a by-election triggered by recall, called for the 12-month threshold to be lowered during the inquiry.

Scotland is seeking to reduce this threshold to six months and extend a rule for councillors to MSPs, so they too can be removed if they do not attend meetings for six months.

Decency

But Senedd members on the committee considered 12 months to be an appropriate trigger and its report made no mention of extending attendance rules for councillors to themselves.

Under the proposed system, a seat vacated by a politician who had left a party, for example, due to a matter of conscience would be filled by a candidate on their original partys list.

In the 52-page report, the committee said it was comfortable, on balance, with having a seat potentially be vacant for years if an independent was removed or a party exhausted its list.

In March 2024, Rhys ab Owen was suspended from the Senedd for 42 sitting days after a finding that he had inappropriately touched a woman and twice called her a bitch.

Mr ab Owen now sits as an independent after being expelled by Plaid Cymru.

Hannah Blythyn, who chairs the standards committee, said: For our parliament to function well, the public must have confidence in members. Politicians must act with decency and integrity and if they fail to do so, they should be accountable to the public for their actions.

Public confidence

Ms Blythyn, who was sacked by former first minister Vaughan Gething in May over claims she leaked to the press, pointed to her committees wider work on accountability.

She said: The report on recall is part of an ongoing programme of work that is aimed at building trust and transparency, in both the Senedds standards procedures and our devolved democracy as a whole.

Its important we create a robust system that means that MSs are fully answerable to the people of Wales. The code of conduct that MSs are expected to abide by must be respected.

That is why we believe that it is right for the Senedd to introduce a system where the public have the option of removing MSs who seriously breach the code.

Today were calling on the Welsh Government to implement our recommendations and bring forward legislation to strengthen our system and reinforce public confidence.

By Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter
Senedd approves stamps 7m property tax rise

Senedd members rubber stamped a 7m increase in the higher rate of land transaction tax.

Mark Drakeford said the rise in land transaction tax makes rates in Wales broadly comparable with the equivalent stamp duty land tax in England and Northern Ireland.

He told the Senedd the higher rate, which applies to additional property purchases, rises by 1% across all bands, creating a 5% surcharge over the rates payable by other homebuyers.

Wales finance secretary stressed no changes have been made to the main residential rates, with higher rates applying to second homes, buy-to-lets and companies buying dwellings.

The regulations came into force overnight on December 10 after being announced as part of the draft budget but Senedd approval was required to make the changes permanent.

Difference of principle

Prof Drakeford said transitional arrangements were provided for buyers who exchanged contracts before rates changed but completed their transactions afterwards.

Sam Rowlands, the Conservatives shadow finance secretary, opposed the increase, saying people are already taxed to a significant level across Wales.

He told the Senedd: There are other people also caught up in this particular tax, such as a parent or grandparent perhaps seeking to support their child or grandchild with a purchase of a property if they themselves are already property owners.

And when we look at the amounts here: while this is a 1% increase on each of those bands, when were looking at average house prices in Wales creeping up to around 250,000  that particular bracket is now at 10%.

Prof Drakeford replied: I understand the point Sam Rowlands has made because  they are a difference of principle between the Conservative party and those on these benches.

Vulnerable

We believe in progressive taxation and the Welsh Conservative party does not.

The number of transactions that the higher rates affect is a small minority  and these are all transactions being undertaken by people who have the broadest shoulders.

The former first minister said it was important to protect the budget against block grant adjustments, which can remove funding based on tax raised by the Welsh Government.

He told the chamber: A decision to vote against the regulations today is not simply a decision to leave the 7m without its impact on public services, but would double the adverse impact through leaving us vulnerable to that block grant adjustment.

Senedd members voted 37-10 in favour of the motion on January 21.

Land transaction tax was introduced by the Welsh Government alongside landfill disposals tax in April 2018, becoming the first Wales-only taxes in around 800 years.

By Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter
Senedd Members criticise Welsh Government over failing cancer care targets

Senedd members debated a damning review that found cancer services have consistently failed to hit a 75% target for patients to start treatment within 62 days.

James Evans, the Conservatives shadow health secretary, said the Welsh Government has failed to deliver timely, life-saving cancer care that people expect and deserve.

He welcomed a statement on improving cancer care, which was published on January 22, the day of the debate, but warned the pace of change in Wales has been far too slow.

He told the Senedd: The Audit Wales report laid bare the truth: the 62-day target for treatment has not been met, not once. Despite a 54% increase in spending on cancer services since 2009, failures remain.

Workforce shortages, outdated diagnostic equipment and chaotic leadership have created a postcode lottery of care  this is simply not good enough.

Worst survival rates

Mabon ap Gwynfor, whose father lives with cancer, said: The findings are things that I can relate to and have often experienced. And the sad truth is that the findings were not surprising at all, as they reflect the experiences of far too many people and their families.

Plaid Cymrus shadow health secretary said almost half of cancer patients are not receiving the treatment they need within 62 days, with no sign of hitting the goal of 80% by 2026.

Raising concerns about serious shortcomings in the workforce, he pointed to a 12% shortage of clinical oncologists in Wales which is expected to rise to 28% by 2028.

Data from the less survivable cancers taskforce showed 61% of people in Wales diagnosed with cancer of the lung, liver, brain, oesophagus, pancreas or stomach will die within a year.

Mr ap Gwynfor warned Wales has some of the worst survival rates. He said: Out of 33 comparative countries, Wales is 21st for liver and oesophageal cancer, 31st for pancreatic and lung cancer, and 32nd for stomach cancer.

Bureaucratic hurdle

Samuel Kurtz was similarly concerned by survival rates for some of the deadliest cancers. He said: These are not just statistics, these represent lives lost and families grieving. Worse still, the gap in outcomes between the most and least deprived continues to widen.

The Tory warned barriers extend beyond delays with certain cancer drugs approved by NICE for some conditions but not for others where they could save lives.

Life should not hang in the balance because of this bureaucratic hurdle, he said.

Labours Julie Morgan focused on the new Velindre Cancer Centre in her Cardiff North constituency which presents a huge opportunity to create a new centre of excellence.

But Tory Sam Rowlands warned of a disparity across Wales, with about three oncologists for every 100,000 older people in the north, so its no wonder theyre at breaking point.

Alarming

Plaid Cymrus Sioned Williams warned of worsening inequalities in cancer care.

She said someone from one of Wales poorest areas will be almost 20% more likely to develop cancer on average and 17% less likely to survive five years.

Ms Williams told the Senedd: More damning still is the fact that mortality rates from cancer are 55% higher in our most deprived areas.

The clear message that emerges from these alarming statistics is that poverty literally kills you  it puts its thumb on the scale that decides the length of your life in this world.

Conservative Gareth Davies said: One of my family members  had early stages of liver cancer last year, and do you know what she said to me? She said, Im glad my treatment was not in Wales. She has not got a political bone in her body.

Stabilised

Responding to the debate, Jeremy Miles pointed to the Welsh Governments quality statement on cancer which sets expectations and standards for services.

He said performance on the 62-day target has stabilised, with some signs of progress, but he accepted far too much variation remains between health boards and cancer types.

The health secretary said the Welsh Government will establish a national leadership group to co-ordinate improvement of cancer services.

Mr Miles welcomed the Audit Wales report recommendations, saying: Its unequivocal in its conclusion that we are committed to improving cancer services but that there is more to do.

Senedd members voted 34-12 against the Tory motion, with Plaid Cymru amendments also falling before the Welsh Governments amended version was agreed 33-13.

By Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter
Thousands of post-16 students in Wales eligible for extended EMA support

Thousands of additional post-16 students across Wales are set to receive the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).

It comes after a Welsh Government decision to raise the threshold for households with two or more dependents from 23,077 to 25,974.

The change means that families with a household income of 25,974 or less will be eligible to receive EMA.

The move, aimed at widening access to financial support, will enable more families to apply for the weekly grant of 40, which helps eligible 16 to 18-year-olds with education costs such as transport and meals.

The uplift, effective from the start of the new academic year in September, is expected to benefit an estimated 3,500 additional students, bringing the total number of EMA recipients to over 19,000. Currently, the programme supports more than 16,000 learners.

Minister Further and Higher Education, Vikki Howells, said: Wales already delivers the most generous Education Maintenance Allowance in the UK, helping post-16 learners to continue studying academic or vocational courses, and this change means we will now be supporting thousands more learners.

We are very proud of our record in maintaining and increasing the Education Maintenance Allowance.

We are clear that our Draft Budget is a budget for a brighter future and the uplift to EMA eligibility is one of the ways we are delivering this.

The announcement means thousands more learners will now benefit from further financial support to continue or start their further education journey.

The change has been welcomed by the NUS Cymru, which represents 350,000 students in Wales.

NUS Cymru has long advocated for reforms to the EMA system by arguing the importance of providing adequate support to all students, regardless of their financial background.

Raising the household income threshold for EMA will enable more than 2700 young people to engage with post-16 learning. Thats 2700 young people that we will now see continue with their education and continue to equip themselves for a better future, said Deio Owen, President of NUS Cymru.

We have been campaigning for this for quite some time, and we are delighted that the Welsh Government have finally listened to student voices.

I look forward to working ever closer with the Minister in the coming months on areas where we can further strengthen the student offer in Wales.

Every student deserves the opportunity to succeed in their studies, and this announcement brings us closer to that goal, added Cai Carter, Student Union President of Gower College, Swansea. 

We are committed to working with NUS Cymru and the Welsh Government to ensure that student voices are at the heart of decision-making and that financial support for further education remains a priority.

NUS Cymru encourages students and their families to take advantage of the extended EMA eligibility and to continue advocating for further improvements in student finance and support.
Wrexham Council ending age-based social housing allocation policy

Wrexham Council has ended the allocation of social housing in certain communities solely to the over 50s amid fears it may be accused of age discrimination.

The councils Executive Board approved plans to lift local letting policies which previously allowed its central allocations team to reserve some properties exclusively for those over 50 as it reviewed its overall social housing allocation policy.

Local lettings provisions were once common in authorities throughout the UK. They were designed around the idea that older people would feel safer in communities where their neighbours were of a similar age.

But Wrexham will now abolish the policy, allowing houses and flats to be allocated to anyone on the housing waiting list that is suitable.

The policy change  which will come in on March 17  does not affect sheltered accommodation or bungalows  which will continue to be allocated to residents over 60 based on need.

Councillor Marc Jones raised the issue at the Executive Board meeting this week.

The proposal to get rid of the local lettings policy gives me cause for concern, he said. I feel in some circumstances it would be problematic.

But Head of Housing Tracy Hague said that the policy needed to end to prevent tenants bringing age discrimination cases against the council.

What were looking to do is remove local lettings policies for general need properties and review that over two years to see if that assists us in any way in bringing down the waiting list, she said.

When we undertook the impact assessment it showed we could be challenged over discrimination with regard to the general need blocks,

We will be monitoring to make sure that, in fact, it is beneficial to the people of Wrexham.

Council leader Mark Pritchard supported the proposal.

I take on board the challenge the housing team faced, he said. Having seen the assessment Im surprised we havent had a legal challenge in the past.

Cllr Dana Davies also raised concerns over the lack of a specific reference to those fleeing domestic violence or fearing a threat to life in the new allocations policy.

Ms Hague explained that where there is an immediate danger of domestic abuse or threat to life vulnerable individuals and dependents are found emergency temporary accommodation.

Once they are safely housed in temporary accommodation they are classed as homeless and placed in Band Two on the waiting list, the second highest priority, for a long-term home.

The Executive Board approved the new policy and it will come into force on March 17.

By Alec Doyle  BBC Local Democracy Reporter
The Washoe County Sheriff's Office, along with other local law enforcement agencies, collaborated in a multi-day event recently for Joining Forces.

The operation, which was focused specifically on speeding, was carried out on January 17 and 24.

The combined efforts of the law enforcement group resulted in 170 citations and 22 warnings during the event.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office alone contributed 50 tickets and 8 warnings to that total.

For more information about Joining Forces, safe driving, and Nevada Zero Fatalities, visit the Nevada Department of Public Safety - Office of Traffic Safety's website.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi over Taiwan on Friday, with Donald Trump's top diplomat denouncing Beijing's "coercive" moves.

Rubio, a longtime China hawk, spoke with Wang for the first time by telephone at the end of his first week in office, which he began by forming a united front with US partners in the region.

In the telephone call, Rubio told Wang that the second Trump administration will pursue a relationship with China "that advances US interests and puts the American people first," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

"The secretary also stressed the United States' commitment to our allies in the region and serious concern over China's coercive actions against Taiwan and in the South China Sea," she said.

Wang in turn cautioned Rubio over Taiwan, the self-governing democracy which China claims and has not ruled out seizing by force.

"We will never allow Taiwan to be separated from China," Wang told Rubio, adding that Washington "must not betray its promise" to recognize only one China, according to a readout by the Chinese foreign ministry.

Wang voiced hope to Rubio that the former American senator would "play a constructive role for the future of the Chinese and American people, and for world peace and stability," it said.

In their call, Wang told Rubio that the world's top two economies should work to find "the right way to get along in the new era" -- presumably referring to Trump's return to the US presidency.

While Beijing had "no intention of surpassing or replacing anyone," it maintained its "legitimate right to development," he said.

The Chinese minister said the pair should follow the lead of President Xi Jinping and Trump, who appeared to have a cordial telephone call.

The United States is a longtime supporter of Taiwan and its largest supplier of weapons, but does not formally recognize it diplomatically.

In his Senate confirmation hearing last week, Rubio vowed to ramp up support for Taiwan to achieve an "equilibrium" that would discourage China from an invasion.

Rubio suggested at the hearing that China could invade the island by the end of the decade unless the United States makes clear that "the costs of intervening in Taiwan are too high."

Rubio has cast China as the top threat to the United States and has accused the Asian power -- whose economy has skyrocketed in recent decades -- of "cheating" its way toward superpower status.

Rubio met immediately Tuesday after taking office with the foreign ministers of Japan, India and Australia -- the so-called Quad that China charges is an attempt to encircle it.

The four foreign ministers jointly warned against any "unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion," in a clear reference to China.

Rubio also spoke by telephone with his counterparts from the Philippines and, on Friday, Vietnam.

With Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Rubio discussed China's "aggressive behavior in the South China Sea," the State Department said.

China has seen rising friction with Southeast Asian nations, especially the Philippines, as it asserts its claims in the strategic and dispute-rife waterway.
Its Lunar New Year, lets celebrate.

Honor the year of the serpent by feasting on Peking duck, partying at the Academy of Sciences, or raising a glass to Napas first Chinese-American vintner.

Its also peak seafood season, so eat it up at festivals in Mendocino and Healdsburg. Have a good one.

Crustaceous dishes are on the menu all around Mendocino during the annual Seafood and Sips. (Visit Mendocino County)

Indulge in Mendocinos Seafood and Sips, a week of crab cake cook-offs, cioppino feasts, and a sparkling wine and oyster celebration highlighting the Pacifics many delicacies; Monday through Sunday. // Details at visitmendocino.com





Create an everlasting bouquet at a dried flower-arranging workshop with Wildpower Floral's Jennifer Sirkus; Monday, 7pm to 9pm.// WorkshopSF, 1310 Haight St. (Upper Haight); register at workshopsf.org , wildpowerfloral.com





Catch the Chinese New Year menu at Z & Y Peking Duck for specials that represent good fortune, prosperity, and family togethernesslike Peking duck with caviar, ma po tofu with wagyu, and miso sea bass; daily except Wednesday. // Z & Y Peking Duck, 606 Jackson St. (Chinatown); reservations at yelp.com





Hear from Joan Baez in a personal, in-depth talk about her life experiences as an artist; Monday at 6pm. // Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California, 110 The Embarcadero (Embarcadero); tickets at commonwealthclub.org

Enjoy a little taste of Uruguay. Argentinian-Italian hotspot Morella is hosting a four-course dinner featuring Argentinean sausages, braised beef pasta, and bone-in ribeye, paired with terroir-forward wines from Uruguays Bodega Garzon wines; Tuesday, 6pm to 9pm. // Morella, 2001 Chestnut St. (Marina); reservations at proofpositive.co





Raise a glass to Sequoia Sake during dinner at Scopo Divino where you can enjoy award-winning sake paired with a three-course tasting menu; Tuesday at 5:30pm and 8pm. // Scopo Divino, 2800 California St. #101 (Pacific Heights); tickets at eventbrite.com





Dig into some Dungeness at Spoonbars crab feed and benefit dinner. Enjoy fresh Dungeness crab with roasted garlic and lemon butter and pours from Emmitt-Scorsone Wines. 20% of proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity Greater Los Angeles; Tuesday, 5pm to 9pm. // Spoonbar, 219 Healdsburg Ave. (Healdsburg); reservations at spoonbar.com





Sip on some whiskey and Irish coffee as you learn about the art of crafting the iconic spirit with Slane Whiskey; Tuesday, 5pm to 7pm. // The Jay Hotel, 433 Clay St. (FiDi); reservations at jayhotelsf.com





Show up for L.A. at a benefit concert for Sweet Reliefan organization supporting musicians and music industry during the Los Angeles wildfiresheadlined by Tommy Guerrero, Money Mark and Jared Mattson; Tuesday at 7pm. // The Chapel, 777 Valencia St. (Mission); tickets at seetickets.us





Ring in Lunar New Year with Chinese dancers, acrobatics, origami, dim sum, and more at a packed celebration at the W. Join for cultural performances and workshops and stay for goodies like chicken shumai, shrimp hargow, and wood ear mushroom gyoza; Wednesday, 6pm to 10pm. // W San Francisco, 181 3rd St. (SoMa); details at marriott.com

Take in the stunning blooms of Lunaire, an immersive exhibit from Fleurs de Villes at Westfield Valley Fair. In honor of Lunar New Year, 15 fresh floral installations pay homage to the year of the snake; Wednesday through Sunday, 10am to 9pm. // Westfield Valley Fair, 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd. (Santa Clara); details at westfield.com





Turn happy hour into aperitivo hour with Redwood Empire Whiskey's master distiller at Delfina. Enjoy crafted cocktails with complementary cicchetti; Wednesday, 5pm to 6pm. // Delfina, 3621 18th St. (Mission); delfinasf.com





Do dinner and a show at the Headlands Center for the Arts. Following a meal curated by chef Damon Little, local artist Nicole Lavelle will give a talk alongside a performance by Stephen Steinbrink; Wednesday at 6pm. // Headlands Center for the Arts, 944 Fort Barry (Sausalito); tickets at eventbrite.com





Get inked, play mahjong, and shop the night market at the California Academy of Sciences adults-only Lunar New Year celebration, also featuring an LED lion dance performance and a set from DJ Mish; Thursday, 6pm to 10pm. // California Academy of Science, 55 Music Concourse Dr. (Golden Gate Park); tickets at calacademy.org





Celebrate Chinese New Year, Napa-style and the legacy of Paul Gee, the first Chinese American vintner in Napa Valley. Join the community for a night of apps and exclusive pours of Bouchaine Gee Vineyard Pinot Noir; Friday, 5pm to 8pm. // China Live, 644 Broadway (Russian Hill); tickets at exploretock.com





See the Bard like never before with the Improvised Shakespeare Company. Suggest a prompt and watch the cast take it away in full Bard glory and hilarity; Friday, 7pm to 8:30pm. // Marines' Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter St. (TenderNob); tickets at eventbrite.com





Boogie down for Black and Latinx culture at the Funky Latin Getdown, a three-day festival of performances featuring Faye Carol and Jesus Diaz; Friday and Saturday at 7pm, and Sunday at 12pm. // Geoffrey's Inner Circle, 410 14th St. (Oakland); tickets at eventbrite.com





Have an Edwardian ball: The annual weekend returns with art, music, theatre, dance, fashion, oddities, circus, and more in homage to the illustrious works of author and artist Edward Gorey; Friday and Saturday. // The Regency Ballroom, 1300 Van Ness Ave. (TenderNob); tickets at at edwardianball.com





Go on a sonic journey with Volti and the Left Coast Ensemble for On the Threshold of Dreamland. Expect an eclectic performance where humor meets folk in powerful harmony; Saturday at 7:30pm. // Noe Valley Ministry, 1021 Sanchez St. (Castro); tickets at voltisf.org

Pour over old books and new zines at Rare Books SF and SF Zine Fest, two days of appreciation for all things paper, including antique books, maps, and more; Saturday, 10am to 6pm, and Sunday, 11am to 4pm. // Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, 2 Marina Blvd. (Marina); tickets at eventbrite.com (PS: 7x7 Social Club members get BOGO tickets.)





Stock up on Valentines Day gifts at the Saluhall maker's market, where you can also learn from Cookery Skola, and enjoy plenty of drinks, bites, and beats; Saturday, 11am to 4pm. // Saluhall, 945 Market St. (SoMa); details at saluhallmarket.com

Raise a glass tomustard? Its officially mustard season in Napa, and Silverado Resort is hosting a wine tasting to celebrate. Savor pours from surrounding wineries alongside mustard-inspired cheese, charcuterie, and even art; Saturday, 3pm to 6pm. // Silverado Resort, 1600 Atlas Peak Rd. (Napa Valley); reservations at silveradoresort.com





Discover your Hidden Brain with Shankar Vedantam, creator and host of the hit podcast, as he reflects on a decade of episodes; Sunday at 7pm. // Curran Theatre, 445 Geary St. (TenderNob); tickets at broadwaysf.com





Grab your tickets to enter the World of Pinot Noir, an annual celebration that brings together hundreds of pinots from around the world to enjoy at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara. An exclusive Bubbles Lounge is new to this year's tasting experience; February 27 to March 1. // The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, 8301 Hollister Ave. (Santa Barbara); tickets at worldofpinotnoir.com

Thank you to our partners at World of Pinot Noir.
Bay Area buyers can stretch their dollar while enjoying world-class water views and the best weather in San Francisco.

Recognized as one of the most expensive cities in the world, San Francisco home-buying is not for the faint of heart. The median sale price for homes in the city in September 2024 was approximately $1.4 million, a 5.3% increase over last year, according to Redfin .

With limited inventory often attracting multiple offers from eager buyers, homes can sell for skyrocketing prices nearly double their list price. Now there is an option for buyers seeking to purchase a new home in SF for under $1 million.

According to real estate professional Chris Lim at Christies International Real Estate, the answer can be found in the citys dynamic Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. New construction housing, water views of the bay, best weather, recently opened India Basin Waterfront Park says Lim, Whats not to love? Bayview-Hunters Point is a very attractive option for buyers.

Were seeing doctors and other medical professionals who work in nearby Mission Bays top medical centers, SFOs airline industry professionals, and biotech execs from South San Francisco all finding that homes at the Shipyard SF offer a unique opportunity for homebuyers seeking modern luxury and convenience for under $1 million.

This vibrant community combines contemporary design, high-end amenities, and a commitment to sustainability, making it a standout choice for those looking to experience the best of urban living without breaking the bank. Here are three options, well beneath the citys median price.

(Courtesy of Shipyard SF)

What You Can Buy for $406,000:



Studio with one bath, 552 square feet, at 52 Kirkwood Ave. #403. This single-level studio condominium home offers a modern open floorplan where the living room, kitchen, and dining room flow seamlessly. The owners suite provides a peaceful retreat with a spacious bedroom, walk-in closet, and direct access to a semi-en-suite bathroom. Perfect for individuals or couples seeking a compact yet stylish living space.

$770,000:

Two bed / two bath, 1,109 square feet, at52 Kirkwood Ave. #426. This beautifully designed two-bedroom condominium home is a perfect balance of comfort and style. The residence features a spacious owners suite with a private en-suite bathroom and a second bedroom with its own bath. The open living area includes a sleek kitchen, dining space, and a cozy living room flooded with natural light.

$849,800:

3 bed / 2 bath, 1,409 square feet, at51 Innes Ct. #403. Located on the top floor, this corner home boasts expansive views and ample natural light. As the last three-bedroom residence available at Monarch, it features an owners suite with a private full-sized bathroom, plus two additional bedrooms sharing a hallway bathroom. The open-concept living area includes a contemporary kitchen, dining space, and family room, making it ideal for families or those seeking extra space.

(Courtesy of Shipyard SF)

The Shipyard SF is steps away from the newly opened India Basin Waterfront Park with its 1.7 miles of waterfront trails, public piers, and a vibrant food pavilion. The community is also home to the renowned Hunters Point Shipyard Artists, celebrating 40 years of creativity. Many of these homes have breathtaking views of the East Bay, the San Mateo Bridge, and the San Francisco skyline.

Residents can enjoy an array of amenities that offer a lifestyle of luxury, including parks, playgrounds, an art walk, and several pocket parks to enjoy the spectacular views and weather.

This historically significant neighborhood is full of thriving local businesses, an eclectic arts scene, and easy access to downtown SF and the Silicon Valley via public transit and major highways. SFO International Airport is a 13-minute drive away.
Winter has so many good things going for it. Theres the mood-boosting look of fresh snow, the energizing walks in crisp cold air, the feel-good warmth of fireside cocoa and the coziness of shearling-lined boots. Whats not to love? Just ask any woman over 50. Youll get an earful about dry, sensitive skin, chapped lips, an itchy neck, flaky shins and torsos that leave a dusty residue inside black sweaters, tights and leggings! Aging skin and winter are not exactly meant to be BFFs, but they'll get along just fine if you follow these 10 tips:

Members only (Left to right) Garnier SkinActive Erase It All Makeup Cleansing Balm with Hyaluronic Acid, e.l.f. Skin Holy Hydration! Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm, Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Cleansing Oil, Burts Bees Nourishing Cleansing Oil with Coconut & Argan Oil, and La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+ Gentle Foaming Cleansing Oil. AARP (Target, 3; Macys; Walgreens)

1. Move on to a balm or oil cleanser.

Washing your face should not hurt. However, the combo of skin thats dry or extra sensitive plus hot water and a cleanser that deep cleans too energetically can strip away natural oils and make this daily ritual sting. Switching to warm water helps, but whats even more effective is swapping your usual face wash or soap for a cleansing balm or oil. Look for the moisture-magnet ingredient hyaluronic acid and soothing lipids (like ceramides, fatty acids and squalane) to plump up lines and protect the skins outer barrier layer. Try a balm like the Garnier SkinActive Erase It All Makeup Cleansing Balm with Hyaluronic Acid ($12, target.com) or an oil-based cleanser like Burts Bees Nourishing Cleansing Oil with Coconut & Argan Oils ($13, walgreens.com) and Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Cleansing Oil ($36, macys.com). All products remove sunscreen, makeup and excess sebum without leaving behind residue  and yes, cleansing balms specify makeup cleansing but function as moisturizing a.m. cleansers too. The ultimate tip? Cleanse and then speedily apply moisturizer on lightly blotted but still damp skin to improve absorption of any serums and creams that follow.

(Left to right) CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2%+ B5 Hydrating Serum, Kopari Moisture Womens Whipped Ceramide Cream, and La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizer. AARP (CVS, Sephora, Target, Walgreens)

2. Trade up to a buttery-rich moisturizer.

As a beauty editor and personal shopper for women over 50, I'm often told by clients that their favorite moisturizer disappoints in cold weather. Heres why. The lighter gel creams and water-based moisturizers you happily use in summer and warmer climates may not contain an adequate balance of humectants and emollients to deal with extreme temperatures and the loss of humidity. Plus, they may contain drying ingredients like alcohol that affect their performance in winter. Remember: Mature complexions are already on the dry side thanks to a decline in estrogen, depleted oil production and sun damage. Look for a combo of moisture boosters such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin and emollients like ceramides, squalane, lipids and oils that trap moisture and seal it into the skin to soothe, heal and reboot your complexion. Those with a thick, whipped or custard-like texture thats not greasy, tacky or sticky like the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream ($20, cvs.com) or the Kopari Moisture Womens Whipped Ceramide Cream ($42, target.com) wont interfere with your daytime makeup or sunscreen application. Another option, if you want to just level up your current moisturizer, is to layer it over a hyaluronic serum including the The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2%+ B5 Hydrating Serum ($10, sephora.com). This increases moisture without making a major product switch. Be sure to ask your doctor about medications youre taking that may also be contributing to dry skin, including antihistamines, oral steroids, beta blockers and statins.

Olay Regenerist Night Recovery Cream and RoC Barrier Renew PM Moisturizer. AARP (Target, CVS)

3. Make moisture your overnight priority.

Sleep hours are ideal for healing and restoring a smoother, softer, plumped-up look without worrying about applying makeup. This is when a really rich cream can address dryness and dehydration. And they are different issues. Dry skin is rough, uneven, flaky and often itchy. Dehydrated skin looks saggy, lined and creased. The basic magical mix of humectants like glycerin and hyaluronic acid and emollients like ceramides, squalane, peptides, fatty acids, botanical oils and shea butter works once again. Look for formulas that also include ingredients that target specific concerns such as peptides to reboot collagen production for a firm look; niacinamide (vitamin B3) to brighten and even out skin tone; and green tea to calm irritation. Night creams like Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Overnight Treatment ($98, esteelauder.com) with peptides, shea butter and hyaluronic acid, the RoC Barrier Renew PM Moisturizer ($23, cvs.com) with squalane, glycerin, ceramides, fatty acids and the Olay Regenerist Night Recovery Cream ($29, target.com) with glycerin, peptides and niacinamide clearly have the right stuff (the latter two boast green tea extract, which tamps down redness if thats your issue). Consider putting any night creams with retinol or AHAs on pause. While effective at reversing sun damage, their exfoliating ability can temporarily get in the way of the soothing and plumping priorities needed now.
NEW YORK  Sitting in the audience of The Drew Barrymore Show feels like being part of an enthusiastic, vocal and supportive sisterhood.

To see Drew's reaction to her AARP The Magazine cover, tune into The Drew Barrymore Show on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. Check local listings for air times.

The stars syndicated talk show, which airs daily, tackles challenging issues such as substance abuse, difficult mother-daughter relationships, aging and mental health. But on this freezing late-January day, the audience is all women, and the show is devoted to all things menopause. Naomi Watts, 56, and Brooke Shields, 59, are on hand to promote their topical new books and their own experiences with mood swings and night sweats. 

AARP'S CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, left, Drew Barrymore and Brooke Shields in front of the February/March cover of "AARP The Magazine." CBS

The taping at the CBS Broadcast Center in midtown Manhattan takes roughly an hour plus, and it showcases Barrymore in all her candid glory. Clad in a tan pantsuit and chunky heeled loafers, she exudes unbridled enthusiasm for the topic. Being proactive and informed about menopause symptoms made her feel less alone and less dreadful, Barrymore says during a panel discussion with Watts, Shields and psychiatrist Judith Joseph, M.D., and OB GYN Suzanne B. GilbergLenz, M.D. 

Members only

I didnt really even understand what my symptoms were, Barrymore says. I figured I was starting to get a fever.

Drew Barrymore and Booke Shields share a few laughs during a taping of "The Drew Barrymore Show." The episode covered the topic of menopause and airs Monday, Jan. 27. CBS

Menopause is part and parcel of aging, and Barrymore is an advocate for educating yourself and communicating with your doctors. But despite the challenges of going through menopause, she loves being on the cusp of 50. Ive never been more happy, clear-headed, functional, she tells the audience about approaching her milestone age. Im starting to let go in ways that Ive only dreamt I could ever. Her sense of personal well-being aside, hitting the half-century mark will make her a member of AARP, which is dedicated to the needs of the 110 million Americans who are 50-plus.